More Evidence of the Benefits of Extremely Brief Exercise
More Evidence of the Benefits of Extremely Brief Exercise Here’s an article from the New York Times about the effects of 4-seconds of all out exertion on a flywheel bike.…
Fitness Novelty vs Fitness Science
Fitness Novelty vs Fitness Science I had to chuckle when this new fitness device showed up in my news feed today. Novelty drives the fitness marketplace, and that’s a shame…
Have You Developed Your Own Diet/Training System?
Have You Developed Your Own Diet/Training System? Over the years there have been many hundreds of thousands of people on this mailing list. At any given time there are tens…
Strength Coaches in College Football
Strength Coaches in College Football A longtime customer in Massachusetts sent me this Wall Street Journal article in the (postal) mail and I’ve been meaning to post it online. (Thanks,…
What’s Your Mass Gain Diet?
As most of you know, my focus has always been on ways to objectively increase a trainee’s power output on individual exercises. I’ve never done any independent research into diet.…
Do 15 Reps With Your 1-Rep Max
“Thinking outside the box” is a cliche these days. We hear it so often you’d think regular people are doing it as a matter of habit. Of course, the boxes…
A Confession + Are You Put Off By Macho Goons?
The state of strength training is, frankly, pretty dismal. It has been for decades. Nowhere is that more obvious than late night TV ads for fitness gadgets and from the…
Most H.I.T. Training is Actually Very Low Intensity
Anybody can claim his routine is a “high intensity” H.I.T. routine as long as he never takes an objective measurement of that intensity. And especially if he uses “effort” as…
Your Recovery Time Spectrum
We lift weights to build our muscles. We force our body to make an adaptation to lifting heavy loads. We essentially trick our Central Nervous System into thinking that, in…
Age 64: 8lbs Gained in 10 Workouts
Even seasoned trainees who’ve been lifting heavy for many years can experience training breakthroughs. The fact is, a healthy human body wants to adapt. It wants to get stronger when…
How To Do Workout Zero
When you try your first Power Factor routine you’ll run into a couple of elements you might not be used to. Timed Sets After many years of open minded (read:…
What Can Happen in 86 Days
About three months ago we started our special program of tracking people for exactly 10 workouts and then comparing several important, no-BS metrics. The first wave of trainees are now…
Six Personal Benchmarks Worth Having
Thanks to technology we are entering an era of personal health metrics. Many health conscious people today know their HDL and LDL cholesterol numbers. The new Apple watch tracks resting…
Strength Training and Size Gains
Truth: The size and shape of your muscles depends on your genes. We’ve had a few comments come in this week from people struggling with their lack of progress and…
A Century of Mistaken Strength Training
Ever think about what percentage of a World Record lift you can achieve right now? The current ‘raw’ Bench Press record is about 740 lbs. So if you can bench…
What If You Did 10 Workouts in a Row?
What if you did 10 workouts in a row and always made measurable progress? What if every weight you selected was the optimum weight for doing that particular exercise today?…
Data = Individualized Weightlifting Workouts
How data driven strength training will forever change your perspective on two very common (but wrong) pillars of weightlifting advice. Try Our 10-Workout Program
Webinar: Data Driven Strength Training
Imagine a guy who is pretty serious about running 10K races. He enjoys the fitness benefits, the endorphin rush, and his enhanced sense of well-being after a good run. But…
Allow Me To Explain
Following our recent survey, we received tons of really useful feedback from customers. Many thanks to those who took the time to contribute. One of the things that became clear…
Proof Frequent Weightlifting is Wasted Effort
Every once in awhile it’s possible to have an interesting exchange on social media. Recently I had an exchange with a smart and well-respected trainer who questioned whether infrequent training…
Power Factor Mass Gain Workout on ESG
From 2014 to 2015 we ran an informal study among our customers to test several methods of training to see what specifically delivered the best mass gain. Every participant…
Joel Waldmans Inspirational Story of Decline and Recovery at 68
Joel, back in the day. At 260 lbs Joel’s only slightly heavier than each of his two dogs, at 240 and 205. He also says his neck is at its…
50-Year-Old Man Lifts Boeing 737 in 3 Minutes of Training
“We find no sense in talking about something unless we specify how we measure it; a definition by the method of measuring a quantity is the one sure way of…
Measure Your Gains
As many of you know, we’ve been testing and measuring a lot of newer techniques and tactics, especially over the last three years. I’m a believer in using experimentation and…