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All-round strength training
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A blog about strength training for men and women. All types of strength - maximal, explosive, bodyweight etc. How to perform exercises, how to maximise your training or try something new, debunking myths about women's weight training and introducing new
Recent Posts Tagged With 'attitude'
Boost your motivation
Photo credit: Jon Tunnell Most of us have felt a lack of motivation at some point, no matter how dedicated we are or how much we love training. Occasionally things just don’t go well, or life starts to interfere with training. It’s easy t...
What is functional fitness?
Many people including myself and many readers of this site would say we do ‘functional fitness’. We use the phrase almost without thinking, but most people have never heard of it and it must sound very odd. This thought struck me as I was watch...
National powerlifting championships: where next?
I’ve just come back from competing at the BDFPA British Unequipped Powerlifting Championships 2009 this weekend. I didn’t set the world of powerlifting alight but my final results are probably a fair reflection of where I am at the moment. Squat...
Life’s too short
I suspect many of you have had the experience of trying to explain to people at the office why you do what you do: why you watch what you eat, why you get up at 6am to train, why you’d rather go to the gym on a Friday night than go to the pub. And...
Good habits
Photo: sarcozona You know what, guys? I am feeling crap at the moment. I am tired, listless and unmotivated. It’s dark and cold outside and it is really difficult to heave my ass out of bed in the morning. I am eating like crap, drinking too...
How much can you lift?
This is a question as much for my male readers as my female readers: do you have a conception of how much weight women can/should be lifting? Because relatively few women lift free weights and of those who do, many are new to lifting, it is deemed ap...
The Loneliness of the Lifter
Psychology plays a big part in any sport but strength training is an interesting example in that it is pursued by many on their own, often in their own basement or garage gym. For those of us who train in solitary, it can be a lonely business. It is ...
Is it really about looks?
A woman’s weights: Catherine Imes’ painted kettlebells It struck me recently that whenever the topic of women and weights crops up, we feel the need to address the ‘fear of bulking up’ issue. The usual argument proferred in ...
Paralysis by analysis
Ever noticed how everyone seems to be obsessed with form these days? I blame books like Starting Strength – great book of course, but now suddenly everyone’s an expert! It’s one thing to know the theory; it’s another thing to apply it to an i...
A weighty topic
I mentioned to a friend that I was training for a powerlifting competition and he said, “So you’ll be wanting to bulk up then!” I explained that you can be any weight you want since, like boxing, there are different weight classes. It is easy t...
The Wisdom of Dan John
Who is this man who has such a suitably evocative name? ‘Dan’ conjures images of a deadly judo master; ‘John’ is reminiscent of the prophets. Even T-Nation calls him “Yoda”… Dan John is one of the few strength pundits who is both te...
Sporting strength
I have been away from this blog for a while, spending much of my time rock climbing, surfing, hiking, cycling and generally enjoying the great outdoors down here in beautiful Cornwall. One thing my recent sporting activity has brought home to me is t...
How do workouts make you feel?
I suspect all of us have emotional routines attached to our training sessions that play a big part in the training process. I often feel nervous before a workout, but at the same time I know this is a good thing. If I don’t feel nervous, a litt...
Benchmark your strength and fitness
I came across this interesting tool on the Crossfit Seattle website: a programme of athletic skill levels. It covers four levels from well-rounded beginner through intermediate, advanced and finally elite. The programme lists, by type of strength or ...
What lengths do you go to for your training?
You know what I mean, those things that make your family and friends roll their eyes, the things that cause other people to shake their heads and almost pity your obsession! What lengths do you go to in order to make sure you get your training sessio...
What do you do when you see someone lifting with bad form?
Commenting on a fellow trainee’s form seems to be the ultimate no-no in today’s fitness clubs. Recently I’ve seen some poor deadlifting form in my gym. Basic stuff: rounding of the lower back, hyper-extending at the top of the lift, that kind o...
