We’re sometimes asked by aspiring fitness professionals what the best way to learn is. Short of seeking out a relevant university degree, start by reading, watching, and subscribing to everything on this page.
Learning How to Lift
- The Big 3 Basics — Teach yourself to master the Squat, Bench Press, and Deadlift. (🎥 Product)
- The Lifting Library — Teach yourself the other lifts. (🎥 Product)
- How To Low Bar Squat (📝+🎥)
- How To Bench Press (📝+🎥)
- How To Deadlift Properly (📝+🎥)
Book Recommendations
- The Diet Adjustments Manual.📙
- The Muscle and Strength Pyramids: Nutrition and Training, by Eric Helms, Andrea Valdez, and Andy Morgan. 📕📘
- Everything Fat Loss, by Ben Carpenter 📓
- The Science and Development of Hypertrophy, by Brad Schoenfeld 📓
- Building Strength and Muscle After 50, by Chad Landers
Website Recommendations
- To learn about bodybuilding: 3DMuscleJourney.com
- To learn about the science of lifting: Strongerbyscience.com
- To find reliable supplement information: Examine.com
- For translations of my work, see here.
Coaching Recommendations
I have known all of these people for years and would trust them with my house keys:
- Patrick Umphrey of EatTrainProgress.com for recreational trainees.
- Sohee Carpenter for recreational female trainees.
- TheStrengthAthlete.com for powerlifting and remote injury rehab, run by Bryce Lewis.
- StrongerbyScience.com for bodybuilding and powerlifting, run by Greg Nuckols.
- 3DMuscleJourney for physique and bodybuilding, run by Eric Helms.
- ReactiveTrainingSystems.com for elite-level powerlifting, run by Mike Tuchscherer. (RTS is a gold medal factory.)
Instagram Recommendations
- Ben Carpenter consistently releases the best nutrition debunk videos I have seen.
How We All CoNNect
If you’re interested, here’s how we all connect:
- Sohee Carpenter attained her Ph.D. under Eric Helms (3DMuscleJourney). We first met in San Francisco in 2012, as I was on my way back from The Fitness Summit conference in Kansas City. This conference is where I first met Chad Landers, Greg Nuckols, Patrick Umphrey, Sol Orwell, James Krieger, Brad Schoenfeld, and Alan Aragon.
- Greg Nuckols may be the smartest person I have met in our industry and one of the funniest. But he cheats because he has an almost perfect memory.
- Bryce Lewis was the 2018 IPF 105kg (230lb) World Champion and has held world records in drug-free powerlifting. I met him through my co-author Eric, as he coached him during his world championships.
- Mike Tuchscherer is a record-breaking, gentle giant and world champion maker. We first met at a conference in Ireland.
You’re in good hands with these people.
Research Review Recommendations
Making sense of the latest research is exceptionally hard; I trust these guys to do it. These monthly publications are more technical than our average reader is likely looking for, but this is where I mainly learn from and what my team and I are subscribed to:
- Making Applications in Science Simple (MASS), a research review for sport, nutrition, exercise, and health science. By Eric Helms, Michael Zourdos, Lauren Colenso-Semple, and Eric Trexler.
- The Weightology Research Review, by James Krieger.
- Examine+, by Sol Orwell.
- Alan Aragon’s Research Review.
– Andy