Not too long ago, I was asked whether the popular deadlift routine of Ed Coan is good for natural lifters. While I have never done the program in its full form, I am familiar with its linear peaking style. You can find the complete routine here. I’ve done two linear peaking cycles for my deadlift with […]
Height does not equal a large frame by default. Many people are tall but have thin bones. Unfortunately, a fragile frame limits the potential for growth. People with small frames are usually ectomorphs. Larger Bones = Larger Muscles? By default, bigger bones and joints require bigger muscles and tendons to operate properly. Thus, individuals with […]
A few years ago I got extremely frustrated with my lack of muscular size. I was still looking for a way to hack the system and acquire a respectable physical development that would earn me the right to flex in public. During one of my desperate quests for muscle glory, I found online posts which […]
It’s close to impossible to see a calisthenics master with a big gut and massive love handles. As a result, many wrongfully assume that bodyweight exercises have a secret property that leads to ultra-leanness. The lighter you are, the easier it is to do lift yourself. Extra body fat does not help at all. Therefore, most […]
Today, I present you physiques that can become a reality without anabolic steroids. 1. Jung Ji-Hoon a.k.a. Rain Note: For those wondering, this is what 6-8% BF looks like on a natural. Jung Ji-Hoon (born June 25, 1982), better known by his stage name Rain, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, actor, and music producer. He played […]
The popularity of the low bar squat has reached epic proportions. In many commercial gyms, Starting Strength zealots occupy the squat rack for 45 minutes in order to do weird bar bends with the back almost horizontal to the ground. I am very familiar with similar training because once upon a time, I was one […]
When I was a teenager, two male gymnasts used to live in my building, and I had the opportunity to follow their progress indirectly. At first, I didn’t know that they were gymnasts. Both of them were pricks, and we didn’t talk much. One of them lived next door and gave us cockroaches because his […]
Undoubtedly, the rise of weightlifting is connected directly to the advancement of anabolic steroids. The better the pill, the higher the record. In this post, I presented you material revealing the early use of anabolic steroids by Bill March of York, Pennsylvania, and Louis Riecke of New Orleans. Of course, their rivals from the Soviet […]
For many years, I have been trying to find the secret to bigger muscles. In this post, I will share my observations on the most common roads to hypertrophy. Strength = Muscle size? Many gurus (e.g., Mark Rippetoe, Lyle McDonald, Pavel Tsatsouline) have been saying for years that more weight on the bar equals bigger muscles […]
About a year ago, I wrote the guide How Big Can You Get Naturally. It reveals how much growth lifters can expect without steroids. I am sorry, but nothing has changed. Actually, I think that the numbers are even lower for the average person. Many people ask me how I came up with the numbers […]
I spent the last two days reviving old memories from the beginning of my journey in the land of muscle construction. I did an online search for two legendary muscle scholars – the creator of P90X Tony Horton and the author of Starting Strength Mark Rippetoe. Those two have sold millions of books and DVDs which makes them […]
According to my inbox, people really want to know how so many vegans are getting lean and mean. It appears that muscular vegans have developed an aura of pureness around them. This makes the crowd hope that veganism could be both – respectful to the animal kingdom and anabolic. After all, vegans would never put anything unhealthy in […]