I’m going to finally reveal the secret to bodybuilding success! You’ve been so patient, dear reader, but you’ve suspected all these months that there were secrets to losing fat and gaining muscle that I was keeping from you. Well to be quite honest there are several secrets to bodybuilding success. This week I’m going to … Read more
The more I read and travel the more I find the same issue coming up time and time again. I hear it from fellow powerlifters and get a ton of questions on how to deal with it. Though I train at Westside, my traveling and busy schedule still allows me to experience this first hand. … Read more
Most of you will already know this, so feel free to skip this paragraph. Other than a few anecdotes you won’t get much out of it. Sets and reps are notions to go by, suggestive guidelines that serve as a relative intensity-measure. When you do any given exercise you have to decide on a number … Read more
Traditional sit-ups emphasize sitting up rather than merely pulling your sternum down to meet your pelvis. The psoas muscles run from the lower back to the front of the thighs. This muscle action is to pull the thighs closer to the torso. This action is the major component of sitting up. Because of this, when … Read more
Slowly but certainly the focus when training the body has shifted from muscular shoulders and a tiny waist, to building a chest that resembles the armor of a mythical soldier. The bench Press replaces the military press as the major lift for strength and bodybuilding was never the same again. Now every young lifter strives … Read more
The sport of powerlifting is simple- the person who lifts the most combined poundage in the Squat, Bench Press, and Deadlift wins the contest. For this reason, the Squat, Bench Press, and Deadlift should be the core of a powerlifter’s training routine. Training for power lifters should consist of hard, brief, and infrequent workouts using … Read more
Coaches who are well read in the area of strength training will attest to the fact that considerable differences exist in training beliefs, philosophies, and the concurrent day to day implementation of techniques and exercises. As we have stated here many times in the past, any program that holds true to the tenets of comprehensive … Read more
The off-season is a time for athletes, regardless of their sport, to regain focus, and allow their bodies and minds time to recover from a season of intense training and competition. Although this is a time for recovery, I venture it can also be a time to push one’s limits. In fact, the off-season provides … Read more
Today in the strength and conditioning field there are as many ways to train athletes as there are different ways to run a football or basketball team. Being around collegiate athletics for almost 10 years I have seen hundreds of different strength and conditioning programs for virtually every sport. Some programs incorporate Olympic Lifting; some … Read more
Free weights and machines are just tools to place stress and tension on your muscles. At STANFORD we use barbells, dumbbells, machines, leverage equipment, manual resistance, and body weight exercises. This provides variety psychologically and physically, allowing us to use change as a motivator. Your muscles cannot tell where the tension comes from. It is … Read more