Ever since I was a kid I remember being very winded when I had to climb up to the top of my building. And since lately I’ve been strapped for time, I decided to start …

A couple of weeks ago I watched a cool sci-fi movie – The Day The Earth Stood Still. I just wanted to share some reflections on it with you. The reason for this is that …

I receive many questions from young guys asking me how they should train. Almost every single one of those emails includes a question about what supplements I would recommend to someone who is trying to …

A reader of this site, Andy, asked me in Part I of the renegade rows series what to do once renegade rows become way too easy. He says he doesn’t feel his abs sore after …

The renegade row, developed and named by coach John Davies, is one of the hardest and most effective abdominal exercises. The reason for this is that renegade rows force you to use the primary function …

What if it were possible to achieve the core and abdominal strength of a world class gymnast while training at home, only for a few minutes per day with no equipment or gadgets? Well guess what – it is possible to do it if you master the L-Sit.

1. Variations

January comes and it is a time when many people decide that they are going to change their lives. We have all heard it and we have all done it. You know the kind of resolutions I’m talking about. From next year I’m going to train or starting next month I won’t eat junk food anymore. Or how about from next week I will start saving money. Starting tomorrow, I will drink more water. Blah, blah, blah. Well guess what?

There Is No Tomorrow

Lots of programs and approaches exist when it comes to gaining muscle. Do this, do that, count tempo, lift fast, train with high volume and no failure, train with low volume to failure, etc. But do you know what the real secret to gaining muscle is? It’s all about consistency and intensity.

The Worst Workout Program In The World Will Give Results If You Stick To It

Some people want to look just sort of OK. Not too fat, not too skinny and with steady energy levels. The problem with this is that when you shoot for a mediocre target, you may not even accomplish this easy goal. Let me explain.

It’s always better to aim a little higher. To overshoot if you will. Even if you don’t get to your targeted body, you will have achieved a physique way better than average. If you go for mediocrity though, you may get something way below that.

Now, the worst thing would be if you didn’t have a goal at all. You see, the mind works in a way that when you give it a goal or a time constraint, it gives its best to fit everything you do within the parameters of that goal or time constraint.

Enter Parkinson’s Law

A few years ago I was reading this book called Ultimate Diet Secrets from Dr. Gregory Ellis, a nutritional expert. The book itself is a very comprehensive explanation of the process of losing fat. Ellis details energy metabolism at a cellular level and offers a practical way to lose weight with a low carbohydrate diet (under 100g of carbohydrates per day), as well as some energy shortage from eating less and exercising a bit more. The author had interwoven his personal fitness story in between the dry biochemical background.

So anyway, what reminded me of this book was the author’s physical culture journey. There are two types of people who develop a keen interest in the workings of the human body.

The First Kind Are Folks Who Are Natural Athletes

“The greatest art is to attain a balance, a balance between all opposites, a balance between all polarities. Imbalance is the disease and balance is health. Imbalance is neurosis, and balance is well-being.”
–Osho

The Case For Functional Training

There has been a trend in the recent years towards the so-called functional training. It emphasizes training the body so that it performs better in sport activities and life in general. As with many trends sometimes the pendulum swings too far in one direction. What I mean is that after fitness training for decades meant working purely for size and aesthetics with a split training routine, now the completely opposite thing is in style.

The Olden Ways Of Bodybuilding

People usually look their best in high school. Young women and men are almost always thinner and more athletic than older folks.

It’s kind of ironic really, because this is also the period full of the most insecurities and body image issues. Girls don’t feel thin enough or pretty enough while boys feel they don’t have enough muscle.

A Few Years Later These Same People Realize How Good They Actually Looked In High School.

I like to learn and discover stuff. One of the tricks I have stumbled upon for really getting the true nature of things is to borrow from lots of sources and track where their opinions coincide.

Almost all fitness authors talk about the importance of establishing a solid foundation of strength for folks that are new to training. One of the best explanation I’ve read was by Arthur Jones – a talented pioneer of bodybuilding. He revolutionized the way training is perceived by the general public by introducing the Nautilus machine.

This post is inspired by his writings where he advises new trainees to progress as quickly as possible in a simple but solid full body routine. With brief workouts and hard work, within a short few months significant progress is achieved.

Nothing Really Interesting Happens 2 AM Anyway

People just sort of hang out and try to get themselves a bigger alcohol buzz. The reality is that at some point the party has got to stop. In this way you can be a trooper the next day.

I once read this book that was talking about socialites and how some people manage to have it all. They work hard and productive and go out to all the parties and have fun.

This was the secret – a power socialite would show up for an event but would soon go to another party and after a few such stops head home early. This was what differentiates pros and wannabes. The amateurs would stay up all night and party. The next day however they would be completely burnt out from exhaustion.

Don’t Disturb Your Natural Ultradian Rhythm