The Muscle and Strength Pyramid books, Now on Amazon!
I’m excited to announce that the second editions of The Muscle and Strength Pyramid books I co-authored with Eric Helms and Andrea Valdez are now available on Amazon!
Book Samples
Sample sections from our nutrition and training theory books for powerlifters and physique athletes, The Muscle and Strength Pyramids.
How Important Are Lateral Raises for Building Big Shoulders?
In bodybuilding, middle deltoid development is important to make you appear wider and tapered. Due to this, I often see emphasis placed on lateral raise variations and hear the concern that without their inclusion, delt development will lack. While I don’t dispute the importance of lateral raises (you will even…
How to Cut Weight for a Powerlifting Competition (Without a Caloric Deficit)
If you’re a fan of boxing or MMA, you may have wondered how professional fighters can walk around in the ring some 15–20 lbs heavier than they weighed in the day before. The answer, for the most part, involves an extreme level of water manipulation. Professional fighters with a 24-hour…
How to Address Weak Points in Your Lifts
We all find ourselves struggling at a specific point of lift, at some time or another. Addressing sticking points might be a more efficient way to attack the weakest link in the chain of a movement, and therefore a faster way to increase strength. If you have stalled with traditional…
How to Make A Workout Plan for Strength Training in 6 Steps
Everyone starts their journey by taking a pre-built training program and trying it out. I made my first program choice after a three-minute perusal of my local supermarket’s magazine rack. That month’s copy of Men’s Health advertised a program promising 10 pounds of gains in 6 weeks, which was exactly…
How to Break Training Plateaus [Decision Tree & Checklist]
This is possibly one of the most important articles I have ever published. It addresses how to break through a training plateau, which is probably one of the most commonly asked questions on the internet, along with, “How do I break through a bench press plateau?” — The principles, whether…
Cardio For Cutting — How Much You Should Do For Fat Loss
A caloric deficit doesn’t have to come entirely from the diet, and you probably guessed that adding some cardiovascular work to expend more energy rather than restricting your energy intake alone, could also be useful. A simple way to estimate energy expenditure during cardio requires you to determine a rating…
Metabolic Damage Isn’t Real (But Relative Energy Deficiency Syndrome Is)
The term ‘energy availability’ refers to whether or not you have adequate energy to maintain not only the energy demands of exercise or sport but also of normal physiological function. You can be at energy balance, maintaining a stable body mass, but be in a state of ‘relative energy deficiency’…
How to Warm Up for Strength Training
Some people really overcomplicate their warm-ups. Do ALL the people I see on the stretch mats have issues that require a 30-minute complex of body pretzeling before hitting the weights? I think not. The majority are just mimicking others, avoiding getting the real work done…
How to Systematically Test if Keto is Right for You
Keto is currently trendy, and I’m sick of answering questions about it. So, what does the science say about high-fat diets for people that lift like us? Here’s an excerpt on the topic from our Muscle and Strength Pyramid Nutrition book.
Bodybuilding For Beginners Program
If looking like The Hulk, Wolverine, or Batman is your primary goal, then a training program with a bodybuilding focus is what you need. If you have been struggling to grow, this program may help by giving some balance to your routine. Don’t make the mistake of training your chest,…
The Best Powerlifting Program for You In 2023 (For Beginners)
If getting strong as hell is your primary goal, knowing that size and symmetry will mostly come along for the ride anyway, then you need a strength training program that will emphasize that for you. This Novice Powerlifting Program taken from our Muscle and Strength Training Pyramid book is a…
The Intermediate Bodybuilding Program
This is a sample bodybuilding program from our Muscle and Strength Training Pyramid book. The explanation section in the book is fairly detailed, so I have cut it down to give just the overview, relevant notation and exercise selection explanations. This, the Intermediate Powerlifting Program, and the Detailed Guide to…
The Intermediate Powerlifting Program
This is a sample powerlifting program from our Muscle and Strength Pyramid training book. The explanation section there is fairly detailed, so I have cut it down to give just the overview, relevant notation, and exercise selection explanations. This, along with the Intermediate Bodybuilding Sample Program and Detailed Guide to Training Progression…
Linear Progression and Linear Periodization
Rules For Novice and Intermediate Trainees
What follows are the exact initial guidelines on training progression that I give to clients. They are an abbreviated version of the guidelines in The Muscle and Strength Training Pyramid book that I co-authored with Eric Helms and Andrea Valdez. They are exceptionally logical and structured, the antithesis to the approach of…