My 2022 Fitness Plan
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Seattle dropped the indoor mask requirements 9 days ago, so after a very long absence, I am back at my Glitter Gym. 🥳 I estimate that I lost 3-5 pounds of muscle during this period and some...
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54 posts
Fitness Mentors Then and Now
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I thought I would do a post on the history of people who have most influenced me on fitness. Dave Scott and Mark Allen In high school, I recall seeing the Ironman on TV. It was the era where Dave...
Read more →My Wrong Advice For the Big Guys
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For almost 20 years, I've advised my heavy friends to lift weights instead of doing cardio as they lean out. The logic of my case went something like this: 1. Muscle burns more calories than fat, so...
Read more →Use Intuition and Directional Accuracy to Build Your Workouts
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This week was an exciting one if you like to watch the drama in the fitness community. On Facebook, there was some heated disagreement on the role volume has on hypertrophy between Lyle McDonald,...
Read more →Heavier Weight, Greater Volume, and Going to Failure
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This is a follow-up to the previous post The Case For High Intensity Training Seems to be Getting Weaker. Heavier Weight or More Volume? Chris shared this article by Lyle McDonald, which was...
Read more →The Case For High Intensity Training Seems to be Getting Weaker
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This post is what I hope to be the start of a conversation. I haven't made up my mind on this topic yet. Before I share some things I've learned recently, I'll give a little background on the topic....
Read more →Hedging High Intensity Training
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When it comes to lifting weights, I think everything that needs to be said probably has been. There is nothing new. Everything is a remix or resurrection of ideas someone else put forward years or...
Read more →Don't Wait to Start Lifting
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The worst health mistake I've made in my life was that I didn't start lifting weights until I was 24. I should have started at 16.\ Whenever you see an amazing male physique, you almost learn they...
Read more →Woo Woo Fitness Idea
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Before I start this post, I want to disclose my belief on building strength. The 2013 post On Building Muscle is a good representation. In that post, I summarize a Conditioning Research article. >...
Read more →New Respect for Assisted Pull Up Machines
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I've never been a fan of Assisted Pull Up Machines. From my 2012 post How I Improved My Chin-Ups: > When you get under one of these machines, if you start with a decent pull, the lifter slides upward...
Read more →Use Ghost Reps To Reduce Injury Rate
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Today in the gym I watched a lady doing "squats". I use quotes because her form was atrocious. It wasn't really a squat, but more like a good morning where the knees give out at the last minute. Her...
Read more →20 Years of Weightlifting
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Although I actually started lifting weights on a regular basis after I moved to Florida in June 1994, I do recall going to the old Ohio State student weight room a few times during winter break of...
Read more →Never Forget that Size is the Prize
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Gather around my fellow ectomorphs. I have something to say about weight training. My belief is that our goals got mixed up when we started following the bad advice of genetically gifted mesomorphic...
Read more →Reps, Sets and the Weight Aren't That Important
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When I first started lifting weights in 1994, I read the muscle magazines which endlessly repeated the golden rule of bodybuilding, which was to do 3 sets of 8-12 reps with a wide variety of...
Read more →When I Would Measure My Workouts
In the post Why I Don’t Measure My Workouts, I explained why I no longer keep data for my workouts. Just because I have my reasons for not tracking workouts, that isn't a blanket recommendation for...
Read more →Is High Intensity Training Best for Ectomorphs?
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Since December 2010, I have been a huge fan of High-Intensity Training. I'm in the best shape of my life and unlike my free weight days, I never get injured anymore. In other words, everything is...
Read more →Why I Don't Measure My Workouts
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One of the core principles of high-intensity training and many other fitness programs is to record your workouts. I remember reading years ago that strength coach Charles Poliquin wants to see at...
Read more →My First REAL HIT Injury
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In May I was certain that I got injured during a High Intensity Workout, but it turned out to be nothing. However, there is no mistake that I messed up my back yesterday. When I get back pain, I now...
Read more →The Mentor Workout
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Due to my headache struggles this summer, the intensity of my workouts hasn't been as high as I'd liked. However, this morning I felt great. The gym wasn't crowded or too warm and an idea for a...
Read more →Keeping a Workout Journal
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In the post High Intensity Training My 6 Month Update, I confessed that I no longer collect data from my workouts. > I violated a core HIT rule. I didn't record any workout. ...My training philosophy...
Read more →The New High Intensity Training
My interest in High-Intensity Training continues. !The New High Intensity Training: The Best Muscle-Building System You've Never Tried The New High-Intensity Training: The Best Muscle-Building System...
Read more →Power To The People - 10 Years Later
It was almost 10 years ago that a book arrived in the mail that would change my life. !Power to the People! : Russian Strength Training Secrets for Every American Power to the People! : Russian...
Read more →Static Contraction Training
John Little is one of my favorite writers in the fitness field. He co-wrote the definitive fitness book Body by Science. Recently, I listen to an outstanding interview with him on High Intensity...
Read more →High Intensity Training at Ideal Exercise of Seattle
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After posting The Myth of Cardiovascular Training, I received an email invitation from Greg Anderson to come to visit his North Seattle gym. Ideal Exercise is not a glitter gym (bright lights,...
Read more →Returning to Slow Motion Weight Training
Earlier this year I decided to abandon my normal weight lifting protocol and try slow motion weight lifting. Body By Science is a stellar book and it made an excellent case for slow motion weight...
Read more →The Perfect Number of Reps Is...
I have said repeatedly that most of the people lifting weights in the gym use too many reps and not enough weight. What is the perfect number of repetitions? Before I give you my answer, let us...
Read more →My Exercise Program - April 2010 Edition
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Last month I shared my current diet program in the post What I Eat and What I Don't Eat - March 2010 Edition. Now it is time to discuss the exercise part of the equation. Note that I don't consider...
Read more →Is Slow Motion Weight Training Superior?
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In January, I read two books that advocated using a super slow movement while weight training. One of the books was awful, and one was outstanding. I ended my review of the second book with this...
Read more →Body By Science
This is an outstanding book that challenged many of my beliefs about weight training. !Body by Science Body by Science by Doug McGuff and John Little makes a damn good case for super slow weight...
Read more →I Wanted to "Slow" Burn This Book
Three fitness authors that I respect are supporters of slow weightlifting. I personally have yet to be convinced, but I wanted to challenge my beliefs. This book failed to do so. !The Slow Burn...
Read more →My 10 Gym Tips For 2010
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It just pains me to see well intentioned people enter the gym just after the New Year and make the same mistakes year after year. Some last a month or two. Most will fail and sadly, most will blame...
Read more →Weight Lifting Wisdom For the Tall Lanky Guy
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Today T-Whatever released a new article titled How Tall Guys Get Jacked by Jimmy Smith. The article is full of tips to help us ectomorphs lift more weight in the gym. Some of the better tips include:...
Read more →The Two Types of Muscle Growth
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There have been several posts where I rail against high-repetition weight training, especially for women. When I tell people who are fearful of bulking up that they should lift heavier weights for...
Read more →Maximum Muscle - The Science of Intelligent Physique Development
This past summer T-Nation (oops, now it is T Muscle) made some radical claims about creating the most amazing muscle-building strategy ever. They called it "I, Bodybuilder". When I saw it, I just...
Read more →The Best Kind of Glitter is Free Glitter
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Today I wrapped up a two-week free trial gym membership in a downtown Seattle gym. This gym has some great equipment, but I've never seen a place that does a worse job racking the weights. Weights...
Read more →Good Day at the Gym
I set some new personal records today at the gym. My bodyweight (BW) today is 189. - Weighted Dip = 3 x BW+70 , 1 x BW + 80 - Weighted Pull-Ups = 3 x BW + 60, 2 x BW + 70 I use the 3 rep number...
Read more →250 Pound Weighted Dip
For the past month, I haven't done a single weighted dip or pull-up. Instead, I've been focusing on volume. I've lowered the weight and greatly increased the number of sets. The reps ALWAYS stay in...
Read more →The Ectomorphs Dilemma
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About 10 years ago, I came up with a phrase to best describe the choice ectomorphs must make when pursing their fitness goals. Before diving into the topic, review the image below to show the...
Read more →The Primal Blueprint - 10 Old School Laws For Nutrition and Fitness
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The newest trend in nutrition is actually the oldest trend. Evolutionary nutrition and fitness are gaining momentum online. When it comes to diet, I've been slowly moving in the evolutionary...
Read more →Ending The Quest To Be Decent
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Last November I started my quest To Be Decent. The Quest is based off the article Are You Strong? by Tim Henriques. Using the metrics of the article, I nailed 7/12 Decent and 1/12 Good. When you...
Read more →Flashbacks on a Dead Lift Gone Wrong
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Back in April 2007, I reported how I injured my back doing a dead lift. It was and still is (by far) the worst pain I've ever experienced. There hasn't been a single gym visit since that I haven't...
Read more →How Mickey Rourke Gained 27 Pounds of Muscle For The Wrestler
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If you like this post, be sure to check out How Tim Ferriss REALLY Gained 34 pounds of Muscle in 28 Days. I was reading this morning how actor Mickey Rourke made massive muscular gains by training...
Read more →The Calm Before the Storm
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I arrived at my Glitter Gym a little before 8 AM this morning. It was quiet. There was a lady reading a magazine on a stair-stepper. In the pin weight machine area there was some old-timer blasting...
Read more →Maximum Strength by Eric Cressey
One of the writers over on T-Nation wrote a book recently on a weight training subtopic that I was interested in learning more about. !Maximum Strength: Get Your Strongest Body in 16 Weeks with the...
Read more →Tales From the Glitter Gym - The 105 Pound Dumbbells
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Today my glitter gym became just a little more glitter. We have three racks of dumbbells. Rack #1 is a fine pairing of weights from 5 to 50 pounds. Rack #2 is a massive collection of weights between...
Read more →The Quest To Be Decent Part 5
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Today I nailed my first GOOD score on my Quest To Be Decent. As Ronnie Coleman would say - YEAH BUDDY! 1. Pull-Ups - The 3rd time is a charm. My first GOOD score ever is on the pull-up. At the start...
Read more →The Quest To Be Decent Part 4
No milestones today. I thought for sure I was going to nail Good status on the pull-ups. Nope. 1. Pull-Ups - I needed 20 to move from Decent to Good. I got 17, which is a new personal record, but...
Read more →The Quest To Be Decent Part 3
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As predicted in Part 2, I nailed the Dips. I focused on three exercises today. 1. Dips - Have I mentioned how much I loathe high repetition training? But I really want to be Decent, so I needed to...
Read more →The Quest To Be Decent Part 2
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Yesterday I outlined my Quest To Be Decent. Today I tackled four more exercises. 1. EZ Bicep Curl - Since I take a functional approach to weight lifting I rarely do direct arm work, but I knew I'd...
Read more →Hey Ladies in the Place I'm Callin' Out To Ya
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2014 Update. This post made me cringe a little because my opinions have changed, so I made a few updates. Not complete, but better. This post is for the ladies. On many occasions, I've ranted...
Read more →250 Pound Pull-Up
Long arms and small wrists make pull-ups a challenge, which is exactly why I do them. After years of not progressing past the 5x5 body weight pull-ups, I decided to grab a belt to see what I was...
Read more →The Stick Boy Explained
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In a few previous posts, I casually threw out the term stick boy. Without thinking, I assumed everyone would understand that phrase. Although I would love to take credit for the term, I first heard...
Read more →A Decent Bench Press?
According to the article Are You Strong? Find out right now with these strength standards! by Tim Henriques, a decent bench press for a male is 225 or 1.25 times body weight. My average weight is 210...
Read more →No More Morning Dead-lifts
I completely threw out my back today after doing a warm-up set of dead-lifts at the gym. After 3 hours and 3 Vicodin, I still can't move. This is the worst pain I've ever experienced. No more morning...
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