The purpose of this guide is to provide background into basic training principles so you’re able to comprehend the weekly workouts or programs being posted. How to Read The Workouts & Programs: All training is written as Sets x Reps. Example 4x12 means 4 sets of 12. All percentages (unless otherwise noted) are based off your 1 repetition maximum of that lift. Example: Bench 70% 3x8 means if you can bench 200lbs for 1, use 140lbs (70% of 200) and perform 3 sets of 8 repetitions with that...

“What weight should I use?” Weight selection is an art and science. You want to push yourself, but also leave room for progression. It really isn’t complicated, you’re probably just over thinking it. Below are some loading strategies I use for myself and my clients, if you’re stuck benching the same weight every time you’re in the gym then it’s probably time to change your loading strategy. Straight Sets This is also known as standard sets or constant loading. Straight sets require using the...

Diets suck. I try to avoid the term diet (as a verb) as much as possible. I truly believe if most people did any of the protocols below and adhered to the simple rules in the next section, they could have a decent body composition and minimize many health issues. Especially if you layer in regular training and activity into their lifestyle. This article is going to just cover 5 protocols I recommend for clients to try for their nutrition. They’re intended to be used forever, not for a 7 day...

Back in my day all we wanted to do in the gym was biceps and chest. Nowadays, many of the kids I work with want to be flexible, they don’t want to be too bulky, or they have a lofty idea about being strong. Can’t relate. This article is to bring us back to our roots, to build the bulging pipes you always wanted despite never admitting it. The purpose of this article is to provide an anatomical approach to training your biceps. The best training always combines the science with art so we close...

The goal of this series is to relay scientific and anecdotal principles of training and biomechanics for each muscle group so that you can make the most out of your training. Keep in mind, we all have different goals so I will try to relate information in these series to performance, muscle gain, and soft tissue whenever possible. However, most of these articles will likely be speaking to the hypertrophy crowd. That being said, who would complain about looking a little more jacked? Thicken...

We have access to more information, experts, and research than ever before and yet people are still struggling with their nutrition. Logistics and practical tactics are the difference between sticking to a nutrition plan and constantly falling off track. It sounds crazy but most diets fail not because somebody is dumb or doesn’t understand nutritional biochemistry (because they don’t need to) but because they don’t plan. Contingencies should also be in place to account for the unexpected....

Rapid healing is an underrated superpower. It’s also an aspect of fitness often left unspoken. Rapid healing is essentially enhanced immune function. Enhancing immune function is a more complex topic, but we could work backwards by at least mentioning things that will hinder your recovery. Sleep deprivation, over training, under eating, eating calorically dense and nutrient poor foods, alcohol consumption, dehydration, and stress. These factors should be best mitigated before attempting...

Mike Mentzer was a character to say the least. He’s also my favorite bodybuilder (fun fact). To sum up his principles he didn’t believe a particular exercise was a key to success, but instead, intensity of effort was key to determining results. High intensity training (HIT) was a mode of training popularized by Mike and it lives up to the name. Instead of performing multiple working sets to failure, you perform just one per exercise. In Mike's opinion, this is because any more sets will...

There are countless training programs available online. Recently i’ve been downloading free ones from popular sources that I won’t name. I wasn’t impressed. Almost everything was just a bodybuilding bro split with 3 sets of 10 and way too many exercises. The internet provides an abundance of information and I can understand how that makes it difficult for novices to navigate the internet fitness scape. That’s where simple strength comes in. This is a free template you can customize for your...

Change is the name of the game when it comes to periodization. Most of us get prescribed 3 sets of 10 for everything when we first start off in the gym, and that’s fine. However, 3 sets of 10 is going to get boring and stop working really quick. If you do the same workotus every week, expect to not only stay the same, but to eventually start going backwards (the law of accommodation). While this may seem obvious to some, it clearly isn’t if you’re doing the same thing in the gym most of the...

Intensity can be defined as a percentage of your 1RM. It’s not a state of being. Meaning, intensity isn’t all about turning purple and spitting all over the place as you rip a deadlift off the ground in the position of a dog sh*tting a razor blade. There are three common ways powerlifters quantity intensity. Percentages, RPE, and RIR. Percentages are common in traditional powerlifting programs and are great for intermediate and advanced lifters. I don’t recommend true 1RM’s for beginners....