by Cade Thomas

The current state of the top ranks of professional bodybuilding is a topic of hot debate lately. Consistency, quality, and the execution of events in general have been called into question. Similarly, the number of bodybuilders in amateur events seemingly continues on the path of being swallowed by overwhelming entries in the MPD and female divisions.
Read More »Young Freaks: Is It Progress or Cause For Concern?

by Mike Arnold

It seems like just yesterday that every aspiring bodybuilder was following the example of men like Dorian Yates and Ronnie Coleman, who were known for lifting ungodly amounts of weights on a near daily basis. But over the last 10 or so years bodybuilders seem to have moved away from that, focusing more on “the pump” rather than continually testing the limits of their strength. This is not surprising though, as bodybuilding training tends to move in phases, with each generation following the example of whoever is on top.
Read More »Are Heavy Weights Necessary for Maximizing Muscle Growth?

by Geoff Roberts

It is not uncommon for bodybuilders, or any other person for that matter, to think that their issues are the exception to the rule, when in reality, they are not. It is equally common for people to misunderstand the reasons why they are dealing with a particular issue or issues. Of the hundreds of misunderstood problems in our industry, the one that tends to really get under my skin is bodybuilders who eat like small children complaining about their fast or slow metabolism. It seems that every athlete in our sport claims to have a metabolism like a hummingbird, or the metabolic rate of a cold blooded reptile. Why is it that athletes rarely if ever claim an average metabolism? This question is especially interesting when one considers that the word average implies to something that applies to the majority of people. So why do the overwhelming majority of people feel that their metabolism is atypical?
Read More »Ravenous or Repulsed; That is the Question

by Matt Meinrod

Which training split is the best one? Some say you should train each body part once per week. Others say you have to train twice a week. One camp says stimulate, don’t annihilate, and another camp says you need volume to stretch muscle fascia and force blood to create round muscle bellies. Is it high volume or high intensity? Why can’t it be high volume and high intensity? Do I choose FST-7, Mi40, or Y3T? Ahhhh!!! It’s all so confusing, even advanced guys second guess their training programs. What’s worse, you have to have blind faith in what you’re doing is right, because even the best programming doesn’t yield overnight results.
Read More »Stimulate or Annihilate?

by Blane Morton

The saying, “There’s no such thing as over-training, only under eating,” might be the most overused cliché in all of bodybuilding. If there’s one thing I’ve observed, it’s that most people don’t train hard enough, but eat way too much. And because of this, it’s always strange to me when I hear a bodybuilder has a hard time eating enough food throughout the day. The same guy spins his wheels further by staying in the gym too long and what do you know? He’s over trained. How is every other type of person in America able to shove food down their throats and stay out of the gym, and our over trainer seems to have found a way to do the opposite on both?
Read More »Under Eating and Over Training

by Josh Hodnik

Genetics are set before birth and our DNA is copied to every cell in our bodies. Our genetic blueprint is passed down from generations. Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is both a gene and the protein it expresses that plays an important role during childhood growth and stimulates anabolic effects. It has been known for more than a decade that IGF-1 and myostatin levels play a determining role in a person’s ability to add muscle from resistance training.
Read More »Don’t Let Genetics Limit Muscle Growth

by Cade Thomas

When you break it down, bodybuilding is pretty simple in theory. Lift heavy weights to breakdown muscle tissue, eat high protein food to repair it larger than it was before, and get lots of rest to allow the process to happen. These basics hold true for even the more advanced lifters and sometimes it needs to be reinstated in your head. This is definitely an over simplification but no matter how far scientific research takes us these facts will always remain true. However for those who like to keep it simple, there is one thing that might be stopping this simple equation from proving to be effective for you.
Read More »Bulking: Don’t Cheat Yourself

Gaining weight is easy, most of us know that. Sit down and eat pizza, ice cream, and cookies every night for dinner and you’ll be packing on the pounds in no time. But we’re not looking for sloppy weight; we want to do it the right way, the healthiest way possible. There are several techniques I’m going to outline in this article that should put even the hardest of hard gainer down the right path towards adding at least a good ten pounds of lean muscle tissue to his frame this winter.
Read More »The Hidden Secrets to the Clean Bulking

Some say steady state, some says HIT, and some say none at all. There are literally dozens of different cardio methods that have been proposed by the experts throughout the last half century. To say that there’s a one size fits all cardiovascular program for each person is quite a big stretch to say the least. However, you should consider several key factors that can help design a routine that best suits your body and daily needs.
Read More »Which Cardio is Best for You?