a Having previously examined weight lifting belts and weightlifting shoes, the time seems right to examine weightlifting straps. For some weightlifting straps are just another everyday piece of equipment. They boost your numbers on the dead lift, the barbell row and just about anything else that requires grip strength. Yet for others weightlifting straps signify… Continue reading  The History of Weight Lifting Straps
Let's face it, very few people in the business of muscle building seem to respect the Tricep Kickback. Indeed a cursory glance online sees it described as pointless, useless and ineffective. Strong words for a relatively simplistic exercise. From my own observations, it is interesting to note in my own gym that women tend to… Continue reading Why Aren’t You Doing Barbell Kickbacks?
Massive muscle growth...a Cold War defection and a Romanian scientist with a cool sounding name. What could be more impressive and appealing that German Body Composition Training? Popularised in the US at the turn of the twenty first century GBC training has floated around the fitness industry between those who praise it as revolutionary and those… Continue reading What is German Body Composition Training? And Who Invented It?
Sleep is a vital part of every human's life. Without good and restful sleep, a person will become disoriented, tired, and stressed. If you want to have good physical and mental health, you must ensure that you get enough sleep. Sleep is one of the ways that elite athletes recover from the intense training that… Continue reading Guest Post: Historical importance of sleep quality in AthletesÂ
The reality of physical injury is omnipresent to all human beings. Whether it comes in the form of broken bones, muscle tears, strains or sprains of connective tissue, damage to our all-too-fragile form is a cost of doing business on earth. While a proper strength training program can do much to decrease our risk of… Continue reading Brian Minogue, ‘Injury Recovery,’ Hard Gainer, 61 (1999), 18-21.
Randy Roach's Muscle, Smoke and Mirrors series has had a profound influence on my life. It was of the first historical books on fitness I stumbled across during my college days and it's probably, in part, one of the reasons why I became so interested in the history of fitness. Having read, and reread the series several times,… Continue reading Covid 19 and the Return to Physical Culture
Let's face it, very few people in the business of muscle building seem to respect the Tricep Kickback. Indeed a cursory glance online sees it described as pointless, useless and ineffective. Strong words for a relatively simplistic exercise. From my own observations, it is interesting to note in my own gym that women tend to… Continue reading Forgotten Exercises: Barbell Kickbacks
"Wrap a band around your bicep until it begins to go numb, then pump out 30 reps with a light weight... Trust me, the pump is worth it." These are not the words of an enlightened man but rather my first experience of Kaatsu or Blood Restriction Training. Brought to my attention by a training… Continue reading The History of Kaatsu Training
A recent spate of travel has made access to heavy weights a near impossibility. Hotel and College gyms with dumbbells up to 30 kilos and in some cases, with not a barbell in sight have forced me to be inventive with my training. In the past such occurrences would have caused me a great inconvenience… Continue reading The History of Resistance Bands
Let's face it, very few people in the business of muscle building seem to respect the Tricep Kickback. Indeed a cursory glance online sees it described as pointless, useless and ineffective. Strong words for a relatively simplistic exercise. From my own observations, it is interesting to note in my own gym that women tend to… Continue reading Forgotten Exercises: Barbell Kickbacks
