Some time ago, a strength coach by the name of Mike Boyle caused controversy when he announced the death of the classic barbell squat. “The back gets injured the most when squatting,” says Boyle. “So we train our legs for size and strength by bypassing the back.” Boyle has his athletes perform an exercise called […]
High Reps vs. Low Reps for Muscle Growth: What the Science Says (2018 Update)
Conventional wisdom has it that training with high reps and light weights builds endurance, but makes little contribution to gains in muscle mass. Heavy weights and low reps has long been the accepted “best way” to maximize muscle growth. Back in 2010, Stuart Phillips, a kinesiology professor at Canada’s McMaster University, began to overturn much […]
What 22 Studies Say About the Best Way to Build Muscle
You want to know the best way to build muscle in the shortest time possible. But, you’re confused by all the conflicting opinions about how to go about it. One article says that you should do 6-12 reps per set, while another says that you’re far better off doing 4-6 reps per set. Expert A […]
Ice Baths: Good or Bad for Muscle Growth?
Here’s another question that popped up in my inbox, this time on the subject of whether or not it’s a good idea to immerse yourself in a tub of cold water after a workout: “One thing I’ve tried to find more about is cold water immersion after training and whether it’s actually beneficial or not. […]
Is Training to Failure Necessary for Muscle Growth?
One study that caught my eye this week, from John Sampson and Herbert Groeller at the University of Wollongong in Australia, looked at failure versus not-to-failure training and its effect on gains in size and strength. Sampson and Groeller took a group of 28 untrained men and assigned them to one of three groups. All […]
Fitness Lessons from The Big Vote
Unless you’ve just arrived from a parallel universe, you are no doubt aware of the result from last week’s vote here in the UK. I certainly wasn’t expecting it. And the consequences are still not entirely clear. But the public’s decision to eject Malin from the Love Island villa will surely go down as one […]
Why I Gave Up Exercise
Most of the people you see in the gym are there to exercise. Very few are there to train. Training and exercise may look the same. But they are in fact two very different things. For most people, exercise is all they need – it gets them hot and sweaty, burns off some calories, makes […]
Free Weights vs. Machines: A Tip from The Divergents
The other day, I was watching a film called Divergent. It’s set in the future where society is divided into five factions. As soon as they reach the age of 16, everyone has to choose a faction to which they pledge allegiance for life. But the hero of the film finds out that she is […]
How Your Workout Should Change After You Turn 40
Behold the latest bit of nonsense I came across the other day. It was all about how your workout should change after you turn 40. Reading most “mainstream articles” on the subject of fitness is usually a painful experience for me. This one was not an exception. First up, we have this statement: “Train your […]
To The Busy Man with No Time to Exercise
You are busy. Stressed. Under pressure. You’d like to go to the gym more often, but with everything that’s going on you just don’t have the time. Obviously, I can’t wave a magic time wand and add an extra day to your week. But what I do have is something that – if you implement […]
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