The other day, I got an email from a guy who was worried that he was overtraining. Someone had looked at his training program, told him that he was doing too much exercise, and that chemicals in his body would eat into his gains as a result. It would be great to be able to […]

How long does it take to lose muscle when you stop training? Will it take a few weeks before lockdown-induced muscle shrinkage starts to kick in? Or are you going to lose size faster than Superman losing his powers whenever a chunk of kryptonite shows up? To answer that question, researchers from Baylor University rounded […]

If you’re currently in lockdown, concerned about losing muscle, with no access to a gym and no equipment at home, and you want a simple but effective workout that will help you retain (maybe even gain) muscle mass, this page will show you what to do. Here’s the story. Unless you’ve recently arrived from a […]

There are many things about the modern world that I find puzzling. When, for example, did it become acceptable to attempt to strike up a conversation with someone when they’re in the middle of a set? Why is everyone now “reaching out” instead of simply contacting someone? Or using the term “journey” to describe anything […]

Volume is the key driver of muscle growth. If you want to build muscle as fast as humanly possible, you need volume, and lots of it. Volume, volume, volume. As far as size gains are concerned, volume is the undisputed king. Or at least, that’s what some people will tell you. In fact, some folks […]

Came a question about the wisdom of doing full-body workouts on consecutive days: “Out of curiosity, could you train your whole body back to back on Saturday and Sunday? Or should you avoid training the same muscle groups on consecutive days?” In days gone by, I would have told you to take at least a […]

How does stretching before you lift weights, or between sets, affect muscle growth? Does it speed it up, slow it down, or have no effect at all? To answer that question, a team of Brazilian scientists set up a very simple experiment [1]. They rounded up a group of men, and got them to train […]

Some say that certain types of stretching can play a critical role in making your muscles bigger, unlocking your body’s capacity to grow and unleashing monstrous muscle growth. One article I came across claims that stretching has the potential to increase muscle mass by a whopping 318% in just 28 days. It all sounds too […]

In which the question is asked: “I recently came across an article talking about this 1000 Rep Armageddon challenge which was basically 1000 reps split between biceps and triceps. I’m wondering if you’ve ever tried this and if so whether it’s worth my time to attempt it.” The idea behind the 1000 Rep Armageddon Challenge […]

How many exercises per muscle group should you do to build muscle as fast as humanly possible? As a rough guide, I’d suggest doing 1-3 exercises per muscle group, and somewhere between 2 and 5 sets per exercise. That’s the short answer. The long answer, as ever, starts with “it depends.” Specifically, the number of […]