Mass training

Picture of a man drinking a protein shake at home.
Mass training

The benefits of protein shakes for muscle growth and fat loss

These days, protein shakes and pre-workout supplements are being consumed everywhere around the world.

At first, they were only being digested by avid athletes and fitness fanatics. Fast-forward to the current time, and they are being used by all types of people. Ranging from bodybuilders, powerlifters, people looking to lose weight to people who don’t work out at all.

These are the benefits of protein shakes for muscle growth and fat loss.

Read More »
Image of a man shoulder pressing with a barbell.
Mass training

How to get bigger shoulders

Big, broad shoulders are often associated with physical strength in males.

Men are typically looking to improve their appearance, either for themselves, or to attract a mate.

This is how to get bigger shoulders.

Read More »
Picture of multiple people lifting with barbells in a gym.
Mass training

Why everyone should exercise

Cardiovascular training, and resistance training, are great to keep yourself healthy. Preferably, both should be combined for the best results.

That’s why everyone should exercise, in my opinion. And with everyone, I mean both young and older folks alike.

That’s because exercising has many proven advantages, such as reduced injury risk and decreased risk of cognitive decline.

Read More »
A young woman deadlifting in the gym.
Mass training

How to do a barbell deadlift with proper form

Deadlifting is a great but complex compound exercise with the potential to put on some serious mass and strength but can be one of the most dangerous exercises out there as well if performed incorrectly.

But with the following tips, you’ll learn how to do a barbell deadlift with proper form to prevent injuries in the future.

Read More »
Picture of a man holding two dumbbells while sitting on a bench.
Mass training

The best upper-body dumbbell workout at home

How do you get in shape when you can’t afford a gym membership and don’t have access to a home gym?

By performing an upper-body dumbbell workout at home. With just dumbbells as your training tool, you can make a pretty awesome and effective workout. This is how.

Read More »
Table showing the amount of repetitions to target depending on the training goal.
Mass training

The best rep ranges, sets, and rest time for weightlifting explained

There are a lot of subtle differences in the weightlifting world regarding rep ranges, how many sets to perform, and how long the rest time between sets should be.

A lot of this depends on whether your main goal is increasing strength, gaining muscle mass, or getting leaner.

These are the best rep ranges for weightlifting and endurance according to science.

Read More »
Image of someone's home gym.
Cardiovascular training

How to build a home gym during the lockdown

How to build a home gym is a question that often comes up during the COVID-19 times and the frequently associated lockdowns.

While a bodyweight workout can also be performed at home without any equipment, bodyweight training is rather limited and not ideal for strength and mass gains.

That’s not to say that you can’t get fitter and more toned with a no-equipment workout, of course.

Read More »
A man bench pressing in the gym.
Mass training

How and why you should bench press

Few weightlifting exercises develop the pectoral muscles as much and effectively as the bench press does.

The bench press, also called the chest press, is one of the most effective and well-known exercises to develop the chest muscles. Various grips can be used when bench pressing to target different parts of the chest.

A lot of weight can be moved with the chest press because it’s a compound exercise. This has a lot of benefits for building strength and muscle mass.

However, since large amounts of weight can be moved, it’s important to lift with proper technique to prevent injuries.

Read More »
Image of a man performing a back squat with a barbell.
Mass training

Intermediate strength training program

This strength training program is designed specifically for intermediate lifters.

I would recommend starting this program when linear progression on this strength training program for beginners or any strength training program that’s geared towards beginners is no longer possible.

Not being a novice lifter anymore means that it’s no longer possible to add weight to every workout, even after you tried to deload to break through this strength plateau. Thus, you must switch to a more advanced strength training program with more advanced programming.

This will eventually happen to all of us if we lift long and heavy enough. With this intermediate strength training program, you will still be performing full-body workouts. It will however teach you valuable and more complex skills like programming, deloading, non-linear progression, and most importantly, varying training intensity to recover adequately. These skills are all vital for making progress as an intermediate lifter.

The biggest difference in this intermediate strength training program compared to my beginner strength training program is the non-linear form of periodization. This means that the amount of sets, reps, and weight being added is not constant and will vary from workout to workout. Instead of adding weight to the bar every workout to get stronger, we’ll try to hit a new 5-rep max each Friday. Our volume days on Mondays and recovery days on Wednesdays are calculated based on our hopefully new weekly 5 rep max.

Read More »
Mass training

Why and how everyone should squat

Squatting is a great functional compound exercise. Why, you might ask? Because we often need to pick up stuff from the ground during our daily lives.

It mimics the proper technique that we should use to pick up things from the ground, particularly if those things happen to be heavy. Picking things up with a straight back places the least amount of possible stress on our back, thus reducing the chance of potential injuries.

Let me explain why and how everyone should squat.

Read More »