Build Muscle

Once, I was reading about a guy who was on selection for the Special Boat Service, or SBS, the special forces unit of the Royal Navy. During the hills phase, he had a special routine he’d follow every night. Before going to sleep, he’d drink a liter of water from a bottle he kept next […]

How long should a workout last if you want to gain muscle? Is 30 minutes enough? Is 90 minutes too long? Will your cortisol levels shoot through the roof after 45 minutes? Let’s find out. Since you’re reading an article about how long a workout should last if you want to build muscle, I’ll assume […]

People often turn to strength standards — benchmarks for different exercises based on your weight and sex — to see how strong they are compared to the average man or woman, or because they want some strength goals to aim for. The problem with most strength standards, for a lot of folks anyway, is that […]

What is the fat-free mass index? How is it calculated? And does a FFMI of 25 really represent a natural limit to the maximum amount of muscle you can gain without using drugs? Let’s find out… What is the Fat-Free Mass Index (FFMI)? The fat-free mass index (FFMI) is a height-normalized index of fat-free mass. […]

If you want to build muscle, when is the best time to work out? Are you going to see faster results if you train in the morning? Or is it better to hit the gym later in the day once your body’s had a chance to warm up? There are pros and cons to whatever […]

Some say that the barbell row, also known as the bent over row, should be a staple in nearly every program, whether you’re trying to build muscle, lose fat, or improve your deadlift. Personally, I take the opposite view, which is why I rarely include the barbell row in any of my training programs. That’s […]