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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
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Fitness on a budget
I don’t know about you but I have been feeling the credit crunch bite recently. It got me thinking about how you can cut down on your fitness expenses. Gym membership, expensive clothing, shiny new kit, supplements – they all cost money. But ther...
Save Britain’s Strongest Man!
Apparently Channel 5 have decided they no longer want to show Britain’s Strongest Man. A petition has been started to persuade the channel to keep it on. Sign the petition I am sure there are plenty of BSM fans out there who have enjoyed watch...
What’s your food personality?
Photo by tobo I have just taken part in a Myers-Briggs exercise at work (INTJ in case you were wondering) and this got me thinking about how my personality dictates my approach to exercise and dieting – particularly dieting. For those who aren’...
Strength standards for women
After a recent discussion here on strength standards for women, I have come up with some standards using the collective wisdom of All Round Strength Training! Click to go straight to table of strength standards for women (below) There’s not much g...
How low should I squat?
Photo credit: weightlifting365.com This is a very common question on strength training forums and it is not surprising. Across all the sports and activities that involve squatting, each seems to have a different rule or convention: Olympic weightlif...
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...
The low-fat myth
Photo by malias Anyone who has delved into current theories of nutrition has probably heard that the low-fat obsession of the last few decades has largely proved unhealthy and damaging. The new culprit in today’s western diet is carbohydrate – ...
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...
Planning your training
Now that summer is over (did it ever really begin?) I am planning my autumn/winter training. This is a process that starts with ideas and goal-setting and ends up with a weekly training schedule. Because I am involved in so many sports and activitie...
Your thoughts: Supplements?
I’m interested in your thoughts about supplementation. I am talking about all the different types of supplements: vitamins, minerals, fish oil, creatine, stimulants, protein, recovery drinks and so on. I have rarely used them up till now as I have...
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...
What is ‘functional strength’ anyway?
I’ve seen some valid criticisms of the notion of “functional strength” or even “functional fitness”. After all, strength is itself functional, however it is developed. The “functional strength” crowd doesn...
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...
Your ideal gym?
I’d love to have a gym of my own one day. I don’t like training by myself all the time, so even if I had a home gym I’d have to invite people round to use it. There are many aspects of a gym that affect the training experience. There is the spa...
Why do most women still avoid the free weights room?
This puzzles me because almost every strength website I come across these days has the obligatory “why women should lift weights” article. Yet despite all these attempts at myth-busting, it appears the message isn’t getting through. Body Pump, ...
