“Shoot for the moon, and you’ll land among the stars” It’s a nice saying. Aim high and you’ll get further than you thought. But it’s equally pretty important to aim realistic, as well as high. Shooting for one of Jupiter’s moons is not really a goal, because you’re never going to get near it. How…
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Just like with anything in life, you can set your plans but they don’t always go the way you want every time. With training, when you’re pushing yourself you can find the sessions don’t always go to plan. Whether you are trying to put some numbers on your lifts, trying to get a personal best…
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One thing I used to do a lot, and still do sometimes, is Google search a particular fitness topic I happen to be interested in at the time. For example I used to be overly concerned with improving my bench press, so I would type phrases like “how to improve your bench press” and “best…
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A big buzzword in fitness in recent times has been the theory of muscle confusion. Some of the fastest growing fitness followings such as Crossfit are built on the idea that doing traditional programs that focus on the development of the body through repetition and practice are not the optimum way in which to achieve…
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For the volume of material that is and has been written about it, you might think that building muscle is a highly complicated process. Certainly when it comes to trying to eek out the last one percent of performance at a high level it can get quite scientific and complex. But for most of us…
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You might have heard that world athletics is in ‘crisis’ according to the IAAF chief, Lamine Diack following a German documentary which claimed that the ‘majority of Russian athletes dope’ along with allegations that the IAAF itself have covered up or not reported positive tests. Since steroids were introduced into the public consciousness via Ben…
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When I move to a new place the number 2 thing on my priority list after accommodation is finding a place to train. I’ve moved quite a few times in the last few years, and as a result I’ve checked out and trained in a lot of different gyms. But it has always taken me…
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If you ask anyone involved in weight training about what they find to be the hardest muscles to train, the chances are you’ll get the same answer: calves and forearms. Out of all the muscles, calves in particular seem to get an indecent amount of attention and focus, with many dedicated gym-goers practically obsessing over…
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A term I’ve used a lot is natural. Someone is natural or training natural. What do I mean exactly? Evidently it means no drugs are involved, of the performance-enhancing variety. But what about supplements like protein powders, pre-workout caffeine drinks? What about creatine supplements, that are apparently meant to be ‘cycled-on and off’? Can you…
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The first time I lifted a weight I was probably about 15. The first time I did a pull-up? Probably when I was about 10 or something, I really can’t remember. The point is it was a long time ago that I was a complete beginner to training. And sometimes that makes it hard to…
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