by Matt Weik

The fact that someone is starting their journey through health and fitness itself is a step in the right direction. It can be scary, yet rewarding at the same time. The old saying “if it were easy, everyone would do it” applies to the situation. If becoming strong and healthy were easy or came in a pill, the US wouldn’t be flooded with a population that is overweight and obese. Starting a workout program can be overwhelming and confusing.
Read More »Learn from Noob Mistakes

by Josh Hodnik

Much like growth hormone, insulin is a functional protein. Unlike proteins that are physical building blocks of muscle, insulin is a protein chain of amino acids that is folded in such a way that makes it act more like a signaling mechanism than a building block. Insulin originates in the pancreas, and once it leaves there it enters the bloodstream and travels throughout the body to various tissues, including muscle tissue. These tissues are lined with insulin receptors, and once the insulin attaches to the receptor, it signals the muscle cell to open it’s gates.
Read More »Mastering Insulin Levels to Limit Fat Storage & Maximize Muscle Gains

by Matt Weik

With so much information out there today, it’s difficult to weed through the BS “Bro-Science” and the legitimate research backed science. These days everyone who picks up a weight is a fitness guru in their own mind. Everything they read in magazines is taken as gospel and these goons will hang onto every word that the biggest guy in the gym says. “I just read an article that showed Phil Heath’s workout on how to get 20+ inch arms! Now I can finally look like ‘The Gift’ himself!” Cool bro, I have a needle of the highest quality oxygen for you to inject into your vein too that will make you huge. Actually, don’t attempt that last sentence, it’s a sure way to end up dead—but you get the sarcasm, right? Come on, get real people. Snap out of it. Stop listening to the opinions of individuals and start looking into the actual concrete research.
Read More »Effective Training Frequency for Hypertrophy

by Matt Weik

If you’re like me, you hate going to the doctor. I’m just about on my death bed before I finally decide to go in to see what could be wrong with me. In fact, whenever I call to schedule an appointment I wonder if the doctor I had previously is even practicing anymore—or alive even as that’s how long it is between my visits. Doctors certainly have their place, but I’ve personally found most doctors that I’ve seen to be total quacks. After all, someone has to graduate last in their class, right?
Read More »Since When Do You Take Advice from Your Doctor?

by Mike Arnold

To those of us who have been part of the bodybuilding community for the last few decades, it doesn’t seem like that long ago when hardcore gyms were a dime a dozen. In those days, training facilities that catered to the competitive bodybuilder were the norm, rather than the exception. This mind-set was reflected in the gym membership itself, in which most of the people who trained there either looked like bodybuilders or aspired to, while the remaining members were comprised primarily of powerlifters and other serious athletes. By and large, gyms both existed for and were run by bodybuilders.
Read More »Planet Fitness Violates Women’s Rights…and Worse!

by Matt Weik

Fats for years have been touted as a main contributor as to why people are overweight/obese. Without fully understanding the differences in fat everyone was told to stay clear of fats and eat as little as possible. Even the food pyramid was leading people down a path of eating meals high in carbohydrates and lower in protein/fats. Labels were calling out in large letters “low-fat” and “fat free” thinking these options were better than the “fat laden” counterpart. As more research is conducted, we are finding out that not all fats are created equal. Fats are comprised of a chain of carbon atoms bonded to hydrogen atoms. What differentiates them is the length and shape of the carbon chain and the number of hydrogen atoms.
Read More »The Skinny on Fats

by Josh Hodnik

Looking back, its easy to see that the steroid culture has changed in many ways. My first personal interaction with anabolic steroids was in a gym in the mid 90’s. This particular gym was a small, locally owned place that catered mostly to hardcore bodybuilders and power lifters. Unlike most corporate gyms today, the music was played too loud, and you were an outcast if you didn’t deadlift and squat. After workouts, members would gather around the front desk, which also served the purpose of a smoothie bar. The stools around the bar were often filled with bodybuilders that were drinking high calorie weight gainer shakes, which were common at the time. The topic of discussion was usually anabolic steroids. During this time, information about steroids couldn’t be found on the Internet. People learned about these drugs through the few books available, a few bodybuilding magazines, and word of mouth.
Read More »The Evolution of the Steroid Industry

by Matt Weik

I’m an extremely honest person, which sometimes can be a bad thing. I prefer to be around people who are honest and open about things, and who don’t try to lie their way through bypassing an answer. I also need to say, I absolutely love the sport of bodybuilding and what it represents, but I’m having a difficult time biting my lip on things that many bodybuilders say in interviews and on social media. The sport of bodybuilding is all about building your body, not building a foundation built upon lies.
Read More »Why is There So Much Deception in Bodybuilding?

by Josh Hodnick

We’ve all been guilty of slipping into auto pilot at the gym. You know those training sessions where your mind is so preoccupied with so many other things that you have no idea whether you just completed your third or fourth set of squats. The mental slumps can last a few days or a few years. You can probably recall that you were focused, mentally energized, and mindful of everything you did in the gym when you were making progress. Also, you will notice that time the time periods where you are mentally disengaged at the gym, progress slows or stops completely. This is no coincidence.
Read More »Think Yourself BIG!

by Josh Hodnik

Anabolic steroids could possibly be the most misunderstood class of drugs prescribed today. Steroids are believed by many to be some sort of magical potion that will turn ordinary men into muscle bound monsters with super human strength.
Read More »5 Common Anabolic Steroid Myths