In talking with many other lifters who are looking for that thick upper back look, I’m convinced that many people are not seeing the results they want, due to a lack of poundage and overall volume.

In my experience with training to build a bigger set of traps and a thick upper back, heavier weights are the way to go.

Optimally, I’d be Deadlifting once a week, hitting other deadlift variations on another day during the week, and then performing some form of heavy Rack Pull or Shrug that requires lifting straps on another day during the week.

However, my lower back has given me some problems through the last quarter of this year, so I haven’t been able to perform those kinds of lifts with the frequency I’d normally go for.

Instead, I’ve had to switch gears and go very heavy on my “isolation work,” for the upper back, and recently I was able to get some of this work on film to share with you.

In the video below you’ll see the following exercises and suggested volumes if you try them out:

1A – Heavy Incline Posterior Flies – 8 to 12 reps
1B – Lighter Incline Posterior Flies – 8 to 12 reps
1C – Heavy Dumbbell Shrugs – 10 to 20 reps

On this particular occasion, I used 65lb dumbbells on the first sub-set of Posterior Flies, followed by 35lbs (I think), then immediately went to 120lb Dumbbells for the Shrugs.

Optimally, I follow the Posterior Flies up with heavier Dumbbell Shrugs, especially if I’m working in my own gym with plate-loadable dumbbells, but I had to make due with the light 120-lb dumbbells at the local commercial gym.

I’m convinced, you need to hit these body parts with heavy weight. Optimally, you go with big weights on barbells, but if your back is acting up, you can do some of the stuff I showed you today.

If you’re looking for more ideas to build a big yoke, cannon-ball shoulders and massive upper back, look no further than YOKETOBER.

Any questions, please let me know.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

Click the Banner Below To
Build Big Traps, Thick Back and Stronger Shoulders

Yoketober 2017

In 2014, I began doing month-long periods of specialization training to bring up specific parts of my body.

After doing August of Arms in August and Legtember during September, I was getting messages every day from people asking me to set them up with similar programming.

So, once October hit, I knew it was time to put something more formal together, and with that, Yoketober was born!

That was without a doubt one of the funnest months of training I’ve ever had, and I must say I thought I saw some pretty darn good gains too!

Since then, Yoketober has been a staple of my training, every Fall.

But this year, I wanted to shake things up.

I wanted to go through Yoketober, totally disassemble it, and put it back together to breath new life into it.

And now, I honestly feel that Yoketober is the best it’s ever been.

So, I’m having a special sale for the last few days here in September, so you can get the new and improved Yoketober for a special price.

And, if you have picked up Yoketober in the past, I’ve got an even better deal for you – all you need to do is contact me through email, Facebook, etc, and we can set it up.

You’re gonna love Yoketober, and the massive gains that come along with it.

Thanks and all the best in your training.

Jedd

Click the Yoketober Banner Below to Start
Building Big Traps, Meaty Shoulders and a Thick Upper Back!

August of Arms 2017

I completed my August of Arms Pre-Test Results this past weekend. I thought I’d share them with you. The idea is to improve performance on all 4 of these events by the end of the month.

August of Arms Pre-Test #1 – Close Grip Bench for Reps

I went ahead and did this one over, so it was more accurate. I used 255 pounds this time and actually got more reps than when I shot the demo video a week prior.

August of Arms Pre-Test #2 – Max Alternated Dumbbell Curl

For the first time ever, I successfully curled my dumbbells that are marked 85’s but actually weigh over 91lbs apiece. They are a tough set to curl, and I’m stoked to start off the month of Arm Training with a big lifetime PR.

August of Arms Pre-Test #3 – Max Triceps Push Down

This is really the only lift from testing day that I was disappointed with. I figured I’d end up over 150, but failed on 140 3 different times.

August of Arms Pre-Test #4 – Wall Curl for Reps

For this one, you take half your bodyweight or 125lbs – whichever you prefer. I chose 133lbs, mainly because it’s easy to load.

Overall, I’m happy with my testing. I’m really looking forward to this month of training, no doubt about. Lots of good things gonna be happening!

Stay tuned.

Jedd

It’s Never Too Late to Begin August of Arms.
Even If You’re a Few Workouts Behind,
You Can Get Started TODAY By Clicking the Banner Below:

August of Arms

The Funnest Month of Training is Just a Few Days Away, Brotherrrr!

August of Arms 2017 has been updated and is ready to go.

This year’s program is totally overhauled, in an attempt to bring you the best version of August of Arms ever.

What started in 2014 as just “going to the gym and doing whatever random stuff I could think of,” has gradually evolved into a more and more purposeful month of training, which is also full of fun.

This year’s program is based around a new set of Test Lifts. I modified them this year for a few reasons:

• feedback that I’ve gotten from past customers
• changes that I’ve made in my training recently
• to give a change of pace to those who have followed August of Arms the last couple of year
• and I feel they match better to the goal of building BIGGER and STRONGER arms

The training you this month is based around improving your performance in the Test Lifts, helping you build bigger, stronger arms, and get the most out of your training, with purposefully selected exercises.

August of Arms truly is the Ultimate Arm Training Specialization Program.

To give you an idea of some of the new stuff I’ve got planned for you, I thought I’d post some of my own Test Lifts.

The first Test Lift I’d like to share with you is the Bodyweight Close Grip Bench Press. I plugged this one into the August of Arms program because for a time earlier this Spring, I did a mini-run at the 225lb Bench Press for Reps, like is done in the NFL combine. I liked it so much, that I built it into AOA 2017.

Bodyweight Close Grip Bench Press

Here is my official Pre-Test video for the Bodyweight Close Grip Bench Press.

Don’t worry if you can’t do your bodyweight on the Close Grip Bench. I go over some alternatives you can take in August of Arms.

I’ll be sharing more Testing Results as I complete the Pre-Test Lifts for August of Arms.

If you’re ready to build BIGGER, STRONGER Arms, then pick up your copy of August of Arms 2017 today.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

2017 Juniata Strength and Conditioning Clinic

Last week, I attended the 2017 Juniata College Strength and Conditioning Clinic. Of all the years I’ve attended, and I’ve been to I think ALL but 2 since it first took place in 2000, this was one of the best, in my opinion!

Today, I went through y notes and compiled a list of all my biggest take-aways from the clinic, and shot a video covering them all.

2017 Juniata Strength and Conditioning Clinic
Part 1

2017 Juniata Strength and Conditioning Clinic
Part 1

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the topics I cover, and of course let me know if you have any questions.

I hope you enjoy it.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

Coaches: This Program Will Help You
Reduce ACL Tears and Other Knee Injuries: Deceleration Training

When to Cheat to Build More Muscle

The Summer months are here now, and that means it’s time for some Cheating.

Call me crazy, but I think people put too much emphasis on STRICT lifting technique.

I’m not saying that you should deviate from the technique so much that you put yourself at injury.

For instance, I think multi-joint movements like the Squat, Deadlift, and their complex variations should be done with excellent form at all times.

But when it comes to isolation movements, exercises where there’s much fewer joints moving and less risk for injury, I think it’s perfectly fine to cheat a bit on your technique in order to bring about more gains.

Here’s why you shouldn’t be afraid to cheat sometimes on your form:

1 – When you go super strict, it limits how much weight you can use.

Eventually, you’ve got to move up in weight a bit, if you want to bring on more muscle growth. But if you’re always staying super strict, it makes it hard to bump the weights up.

For an example of when I like to modify the technique in order to lift more weight, here’s a combo set of Plate Front Raises and Dumbbell Side Laterals. I deviate from the strict form on the Front Raises, because I’m using a 100lb Plate, and I bend my arms a bit to improve my leverage. I still try to lower the plate under control to accentuate the negative.

As you can see, I bend my arms here a bit to be able to get the plate up – just a small adjustment away from textbook form in order to get a lot more weight, and put a lot more loading on the front delts. Believe me, my front delts were SERIOUSLY SORE after this workout – way more sore than the previous few weeks when I worked with much lighter weight.

(2) When you keep everything strict, it limits how many reps you can do.

Appreciable volume is a must in order to build muscle. In fact, I like to stay between 8 and 15 reps on my movements where the goal is building muscle and not sheer strength.

There’s a couple ways to dial back the level of strictness in your lifting, in order to get more volume. Here are my favorites:

Go Heavier and Cheat from the Start: This method pulls from the idea above, of using more weight. Grab something that’s a good 5 to 10lbs heavier than you normally do with pristine form, and use some body english right from the start in order to bump up the volume and feel the pump sink in.

Regular Weight and Cheat at the End: With this one, you’ll start out with your regular “textbook” form, and then if you burn out before you hit your goal number of reps, then stop being a form policeman, and get the rest of your reps.

This is really just a handful of ways you can ease back a little bit on the form, in order to kick-start your gains again by increasing the weights you’re using and the volume you’re hitting in your workouts. I’m sure you can think of a few more.

The way some people talk about lifting, it’s as if the Form Police are there shaking a nightstick at you, watching every rep you do, ready to pounce on you if you deviate even the slightest from perfect form.

That’s all in your head. Don’t feel the need to stay strict on every single set and rep you do.

Naturally, there’s a time and place for everything. You don’t want to get in the habit of ALWAYS using cheat form.

Use cheating as a way to break through plateaus, test yourself with higher weights, and challenge your endurance in higher-rep situations.

I think you’re gonna see that it can help you out a great deal and can bring on some last-minute size increases, now that the Summer is here.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

Want More Ways to Build Bigger Shoulders?
Get Your Hands on Yoketober

Back Contraction and Scapular Control for a Bigger Bench

One of the things I’ve been working on really hard the last few weeks is intensifying the contraction of my lats and the scapular musculature when performing Rows and Presses, in order to improve my back development and increase pressing power.

By doing so, my Barbell Bench Press has never felt better, and it’s almost completely pain free right now, for my shoulder.

I recently shot a video to help understand what I’ve been working on, and the feeling I’m going for when performing a lot of my Row movements.

There’s a million ways to do this, and one way is with Recline Rows, which we just happened to be doing recently.

Shoulder Blades Into Your Pickets

This video also talks about the idea of Shoulder Blades Into Your Pockets. This is exactly what I’m trying to do whenever I do a Seated Row, a Pull-down, and many other pulling/rowing movements.

I think if you try to implement this kind of contraction when you Row, you’ll gradually develop a better mental connection between your lats and scapular muscles, and this will lead a much more stable and stronger Bench Press.

If you have any questions on this, please leave a comment below, and make sure to subscribe to my youtube channel.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

Want a Bigger, Thicker Back? Check out YOKETOBER

How to Avoid Chest Pain from Benching

Every so often, my shoulders and pec tie-ins are sore, on Chest Day.

This kind of stinks, because one of my overall goals is to build my Dumbbell Bench Press to a set of 10 with 150lbs (which I fell very short on last year).

However, I found a nice variation that I can do without pain, and I want to share it with you today.

Pain in the Chest – Try This Benching Variation

Give this variation a try – it BLOWS the chest up BIG TIME and leaves your Triceps completely wasted.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

Sample Circuit from Yoketober Program

I want to show you a sample of the Yoketober program. Here’s a circuit from Workout #3.

Workout #3 was a Chest day, so you’re going to see some Chest work, with some Yoke work sprinkled in.

C1. Shrug Top Holds
3 sets of 10 reps with 3-ct hold at the top

C2. Incline Bench Press
3 sets of 12

C3. Push-ups
3 sets of 15 to 20

Here’s a video from yesterday’s workout. Sorry that the audio is gone. There was an Ozzy Osborne song playing in the background, which YouTube didn’t like, so they zapped all the audio out of it.

Yoketober Workout #3: Shrugs, Inclines, and Push-ups

If you want to blow up your Yoke this month, then there’s no better way to do it than Yoketober.

You can pick up your copy by clicking the banner below or this link: Yoketober 2016 Program

All the best in your training.

Jedd

Monster Yoke Finisher

Every Friday, I wake up early, knowing I’m about to step into battle.

This is not the type of battle that is fought amongst opposing teams or countries, though.

This is a battle fought within myself.

The constant struggle to physically keep fighting, or to listen the voice inside my head telling me to stop and give up.

Fridays is when, I do a my Yoke workout with my adult men training clients, where we hit Upper Back, Traps, Posterior Deltoids and Triceps.

This week, the final siege included this 5-exercise superset:

• Banded Paused Rows
• Rope Bodyweight Rows
• Posterior Flyes
• Dumbbell Triceps Skiers
• Triceps Kick Backs

Each exercise was done for a total of 15 repetitions. We rest-paused as needed and/or dropped down in weight in order to get the reps.

It was nothing short of all out struggle, waged until the very end.

Monster Finisher for Building a Massive Yoke

We went through this one time, as we were running out of time, but if you go through this with the goal of finishing in 3 to 4 minutes, one set is really all you need, brother.

I’ve talked about it before, how much I love the Back & Triceps combination – can’t say enough about the rush I get each and every week. These workouts are probably the hardest I do each and every week, because at only 1 hour, including warm-up, I don’t take up a bunch of time with Grip Sport lifts, which is actually a big mental relief for me.

If you’re looking for some absolutely SICK WORKOUTS that will help you build a big Back, cannon-ball deltoids, and Traps that deform every tee shirt you put on, then try out Yoketober, below.

All the best in your training.

-Napalm-

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Build a Big Back, Thick Traps, and Massive Delts:

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I wanted to share this workout with you that I did last Friday morning.

This was the second time I’ve done it (with just a couple of modifications), and I’m telling you, this workout is awesome.

It involves 4 separate blocks (A,B,C,D), each with 3 exercises (1,2,3), done with minimal rest between sets for a maximized pump and engorgement of the muscles.

If you’re not familiar with the exercises, watch this video:

Big Back Workout

A1. Pull-ups – 3×10
A2. Dips – 3x 10-20
A3. Ab Wheel – 3×10

B1. Pull-downs – 3×10-12
B2. Front Laterals – 3×10
B3. Crucifix – 3x15sec

C1. Reverse Curl – 3×8-12
C2. Prone Pull-downs – 3×12-15
C3. Band Face Pulls – 3×15

D1. Unilateral Pull-aparts – 3x10each side
D2. Belly Pull-ups – 3×5
D3. Chain Hammer Curls – 3×15

As you’ll notice, there’s a lot more than “Back” exercises in there. I had to modify this workout quite a bit because my Chest/Shoulder/Biceps workout got interrupted last week, and I wasn’t able to get my Biceps or Deltoid work in. I added these in where I’d normally have my other Triceps exercises (I only did one pure Triceps exercise, Dips).

I’m gonna be straight up with you here – you can’t mess around between sets with this workout, or you won’t get it all done.

A lot of people will not be able to get this workout done inside of an hour, like my buddy Mark and I did.

In fact, a lot of people are not in shape enough to do all of this PERIOD, let alone inside an hour.

If you can’t finish the workout, don’t worry about it. Work on it.

We’ve been training this way for a while, and while it’s intense, I truly feel this is a great way to train, especially on days when you don’t have strength-specific work (requires longer rest periods), and are only looking at building slabs of muscle all over your body.

Like I said, if you don’t know the exercises, check out this video, because all of them but 2 are in there:

Any questions, please let me know.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

P.S. I just completed something I worked on all last week. It’s a complete Catalog Page of all my products, many of which you might never have heard of, so I wanted to share it with you: Full Diesel Product Catalog

Many of the prices on that page are newly reduced, so be sure to check them out.

August of Arms 2015: Update #1

With yesterday being August 10th, it was my first Re-Measure Day for August of Arms.

I was PSYCHED to report about a 1/4 inch improvement on each arm, especially since the first 7 days of the month I was on family vacation.

As a review, I started out at roughly 19 inches per arm and now I am at 19.25 inches. The still shots are in the video below.

On Saturday, I was driving back from the beach, so I was only able to get some high-rep band work in and missed the planned workout, so on Sunday I combined both Saturday’s and Sunday’s workouts and got a great session in.

Here’s a video of one of the exercises I did, called Arm Wrestler Dumbbell Curls. It was part of the Fame of Arms workout in the August of Arms program.

Arm Wrestler Dumbbell Curls

As you can see, Arm Wrestler Dumbbell Curls is all about strength. The dumbbell used was pretty heavy and the isometric hold at the half-way point was very demanding and produced a different kind of pump in the arms.

The way I see it, it’s still early in the month. Plenty more time to produce add size to the guns.

Being home, I will be able to get better quality workouts than when I was on vacation, so I’m really looking forward to the next 2/3 of the month!

It’s not too late to pick up your copy of August of Arms. So what if you’re late to the ball game.

Your month of August of Arms starts RIGHT NOW!

Pick up your copy of August of Arms TODAY.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

Growing up with a steady feed of wrestling during my younger years, I always wanted to build up my own big set of arms.

I grew up with guys like Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, the Warlord, the Barbarian, Jimmy Snuka, and other wrestlers who were JACKED beyond belief. So I wanted to be big and muscular, too, with a THICK set of arms.

Unfortunately, I had no weights as a youngster and I was actually kind of lazy in high school, so I didn’t have much chance of building big arms until I was in college, playing baseball at Mansfield University.

That was when I met Scott Costa.

Scott was another one of the first-basemen on the team, and the first day of practice, I was instantly impressed with his muscular development. I had only ever met one dude in real life, before that who was actually muscular.

As a fan of weight training with no idea how to get started, I really looked up to him because I could tell he worked hard and knew what he was doing.

He was also a pretty funny dude. “Look at these aesthetics, Johnson. Aesthetics.”

I didn’t even know what that word meant at the time. All I knew is I wanted to build arms like his…

Once I started lifting, I was always serious about my arm training.

I never made it a habit to miss or skip arm workouts and took my training seriously, even though some people don’t even bother training arms, for whatever reason.

But last year, I decided to raise the intensity up a notch.

I was driving in the car on the way back from New Jersey with my long-time friend in lifting, Brad Martin, and we came up with the idea of training arms every day during the month of August. I’d first seen Dave Depew doing daily arm training, and after I saw his awesome results, I decided I wanted to try it.

So, I started posting about “August of Arms” here on the site, out on Facebook, and on some other forums and websites. Before I knew it, other people were joining in as well.

So, during August of 2014, I trained Arms every single day and I was very happy with the results. I added about an inch to each arm, going from right around 18 to right around 19 inches. I heard from several others who said they saw good gains as well.

But the other thing I kept hearing a lot of was the fact that people wanted a program to follow. Some people felt like they were wandering around aimlessly without some guidance. Some were adding stuff in at the end of the workout and getting tired of the same old stuff. Others felt like they could have gotten better results with more of a plan.

That kind of feedback came to me enough times that I decided I would put something together for August of Arms 2015.

So, for the majority of July, I have been working hard to put together an awesome month of training for you.

August of Arms contains 31 workouts, one for each day of the month of August, to help you both increase your arm size as well as your strength.

While being big has always been an interest of mine, I always liked the idea of building strength along with it too.

And since some people got tired of plugging the same handful of exercises into the end of their workouts last year, I made sure to mix things up this year, adding 69 different exercises into the program.

There’s even more great stuff I packed into the program. If you want to find out more about it, and especially if you want to add Noticeable Mass to your arms this August, be sure to get August of Arms.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

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Coan Phillipi Deadlift Program

After Nationals, I decided I want to work on my full-body strength more by following the Coan Phillipi Deadlift Program.

Free on the internet, the Coan Phillipi Deadlift Program was designed by Ed Coan and Mark Phillipi.

Aside from that, I don’t know much about the program itself, except that my partner, Luke, began BLOWING UP when he started following it, and his strength went up BIG TIME.

That’s what I wanted too! So I got started.

We jumped in on Week 3, because Weeks 1 and 2 seemed too light. I just finished Week 7 this past weekend, of the 10-week program.

What I’ve got for you below is footage from Weeks 7, 6, and 5 in reverse order, as well as a little Q & A I did recently on my YouTube Channel in an episode of Cooking with Napalm.

You’re gonna see, I do a lot of my Deadlift stuff with some version of Double Overhand Grip, whether Full DO, Monkey Grip, or Thumbless, depending on the weight. This is to strengthen my fingers & hands, as I don’t get as much grip work in on the days I’m deadlifting.

Week 7 Coan Phillipi Deadlift Program

Week 6 Coan Phillipi Deadlift Program

Week 6 Coan Phillipi Deadlift Program

Q&A on Coan Phillipi Deadlift Program

Look, I’ll be honest. I’ve only ever followed a Deadlift program once, and only for a few weeks. That one did nothing for me.

This Program however, I like. I’m feeling good and the weights are going up, so that’s cool.

I really thank my friends Eli Thomas and Jerry Jones for turning me on to this.

I’ll keep you posted on my progress. In a few weeks, we re-test our maxes.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

August of Arms is Coming Soon!
Stay Tuned for Updates and Add Your Info Below:

Build Bigger Arms – August of Arms

If you want to build bigger arms, pack some size on those bi’s, and develop some thick triceps that hang right off your arm, then August of Arms is going to be the most productive, and probably the most fun, block of training you do all this year.

I’ve packed the program with all kinds of cool exercises – you won’t get bored doing the same stuff all the time, you can believe that.

Also, I’ve sprinkled in several cool challenges throughout the month.

“Attack the Stack” is my favorite challenge. I filmed the demonstrational video for it yesterday, and it was INTENSE.

Attack the Stack is similar to the old bodybuilding exercise called “Run the Rack,” which involves hitting a serious of dumbbells, one after the other, either up or down the dumbbell rack, or both.

“Attack the Stack” is different though. This one involves a cable machine, so it can be done at any commercial gym, like the vast majority of what I have planned for August of Arms.

I’m saving Attack the Stack for later on, but if you want to see one of the cool moves I’ve got for you, check out Ab Wheel Isometric Holds…

Build Big Arms: Ab Wheel Isometric Holds

Might not look too tough, but try it pre-exhausted and for a few more reps, and it will blow your triceps up BIG TIME.

Here’s the thing about August of Arms, DIESELS.

This month is gonna be FUN.

Too often, I speak with coaches and lifters and it sounds like they DREAD their training, more than they LOOK FORWARD to it.

One of the biggest things I’ve done the last few years is I have made my training more enjoyable.

I don’t mean I go in there and screw around – not by any means.

But now, when I go into the weight room, I leave BETTER than when I went in.

I absolutely LOVE training, but there was a time during 2011 and 2012 where I HATED going into the gym.

You can’t be successful with your training, if you DESPISE even going to the gym.

Slowly, in late 2012 and even more so in 2013, I began changing my mindset about training.

It wasn’t ALL about stressing over the next competition anymore.

It wasn’t about hitting some crazy feat, or some far-off number on a certain lift.

It was about challenging myself, competing with myself, and actually having fun.

And lo and behold, these days, I’m stronger and performing better in just about EVERYTHING I could possibly want to anyway.

One of my biggest objectives with August of Arms is to make lifting FUN again for you, all while helping you see as much progress and value out of your training as possible.

I hope you decide to come along for the ride, and if you want updates about the program, just add your info to the box below.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

Last year, in May, I performed a Strongman Show during the Bodybuilding Contest at the Empire Classic Fitness Expo in Spokane, Washington.

I also assisted with several other events that were part of the Expo, including a Strongman contest, and that’s where I met Luke Ehlis, one of the competitors in the Strongman Contest.

Luke had been a bodybuilder prior to the Strongman Comp, and I was extremely impressed with his prowess in Strongman.

Let’s face it – you don’t often see competitive bodybuilders who are able to crossover in Strongman competition and excel, but Luke did.

What’s even more impressive, to me, about Luke is that he trains primarily in his garage, not some giant warehouse gym, not some fancy fitness center, but his own garage gym at his home.

I’ve stayed in touch with Luke since the contest and have an interview with him planned, and since then, I’ve enjoyed watching Luke’s videos on Instagram and Facebook, because the dude is an innovator.

One of the things I saw him do recently was what I refer to as a Pendulum Row. In a recent video, he attached a Bar to his Reverse Hyper device, and used the hanging weight as the resistance for his Bent Over Rows.

I thought that was awesome, because I knew it would feel completely different from a regular Bent Over Row.

This past weekend, my lifting partner, Lucas Raymond, and I got the chance to try out these Pendulum Rows, and they are KILLER!

Build Your Back with Pendulum Rows

These are so stinkin’ Intense, brotherrr! The swinging action of the Reverse Hyper makes the weight pull away from you at the highest point of the Row. What I was trying to do was to get a good, solid pause at the top of the movement, but it was HARD!

To challenge our grip more, we used the FBBC Crusher, which is a free-spinning thick bar handle, much more difficult to use than the Rolling Thunder, plus, we were flexing our wrist into a partial gooseneck position, which made these even more difficult to do.

I’m telling you right now, these are a WINNER for your back training. The way you have to brace your core on these is just plain sinister. You feel them BIG TIME in your back. Try them if you dare.

Stay tuned for an interview with Luke Ehlis, as soon as I can get my act together.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

P.S. August of Arms is coming. GET READY.

P.P.S. If you want even more cool ideas to build a bigger upper back and thicker set of traps, check out YOKETOBER:

Last week, I travelled to Juniata College, for the Juniata Strength and Conditioning Clinic.

Before Day 1, I hooked up with Jerry Shreck and Cody Miller, both from Bucknell Strength and Conditioning, and we hit a nice, quick, solid back workout.

It’s always fun to hit a workout in a different gym from time to time, because you get to try stuff you wouldn’t normally get to, especially when you usually train in a garage gym.

Here are some clips we got from this Big Back Workout. Believe me, my lats, posterior delts, and the rest of my back were PUMPED for hours from this one.

Warm-up 1 – Peg Board

It was a chore getting warmed up. We were rushed, hadn’t had any coffee, no breakfast, and got poor sleep, so the regular full-body joint mobility-style warm-up I am used to just wasn’t cutting it.

That’s when we spotted the Peg Board in the next room, and that’s when the blood finally started pumping.

What we did: +/- 3 sets each

Warm-up 2 – Freedom Climber

Right in the same room, on the same wall, even, Juniata had a “Freedom Climber.” I’ve never even heard of these before, let alone seen one, but we were both excited to try it out. With this one, the further you climb to one side, the quicker it turns. For me, the grip was no problem. The issue was the footwork – I couldn’t move my feet fast enough to stay on the holds. Really fun device – can’t imagine what it costs though.

What we did: +/- 3 sets each

Exercise 1 – Dumbbell Rows

Now, we were warm, so we headed back into the training center. We started off with Dumbbell Rows. I was interested in trying something heavy, upwards of 150, but the heaviest they had was 125, so I stuck with those and tried to keep the reps slow and controlled. This was great, my back was blown up.

What we did: 3-5 sets each of 8 to 10 reps, emphasizing control

Exercise 2 – Cable Pull-Downs

This might be one of the toughest Cable Pull-downs I ever tried. I rarely fail to get a rep on the full stack of a Cable Pull-down, but I literally could not do it on this piece. Jerry and I mixed up the tempo and range of motion of our repetitions on this one to try to mix things up and make our backs grow!

What we did: 5 sets each of 8 to 15 reps, manipulating ROM & tempo

Exercise 3 – Football Bar Curls

The Football Bar is something I don’t have in my gym, so I made sure to hit this before leaving. Naturally, we took it directly to the Squat Cage, the best place to hit Curls in the gym of them all.

What we did: 3 sets of 3 to 5 reps on each handle

Jerry and I packed this workout into about an hour or so, and I was very happy with it, especially considering the struggles we were having in getting rolling.

It was great training with Jerry, too. We always come up with some pretty intense stuff to push each other with. My only regret is that we didn’t have more time to work in some Trap work and some Triceps. Hopefully next time!

All the best in your training.

Jedd

Did you know that Jerry and I collaborated on a product a few years back? It’s called Deceleration Training and it will help you prevent ACL tears. Click the banner below to find out more:

Want to Build a Big Back, Traps, and Wide Shoulders? It’s time to get YOKED with Yoketober:

3 Tips for Building Big Forearms

For many lifters, the Forearms end up lagging behind in development.

The reasons vary, but could be any of the following…

Maybe you’ve relied on straps too much in your training and as a result your forearms just aren’t challenged.

Maybe you’ve been doing the same handful of exercises all the time and need a change.

Or maybe you get locked into doing the same old “light weights for lots of reps” approach, because either that’s what you were told to do, or it used to work before so you just kept on doing.

Regardless of the cause, here are 3 things you can start doing in order to get bigger forearms.

1. Start Training for Strength

Maybe the problem is that your forearms are on the weaker side.

Try bumping up the weights and setting yourself a goal for hitting a specific strength mark in your forearm training.

This will force you to change up your approach and can result in improved forearm development.

2. Start Training More Movements

Your forearms are capable of a LOT of different movement patterns.

Unfortunately most lifters only train a couple of these patterns.

This neglect of key motions can be a BIG contributor to stalled forearm gains.

And once you start plugging these new movements back in, you’ll start seeing growth again.

3. Think More Wrist

It does no good to have a weak, brittle, fragile set of wrists. The wrists NEED to be trained hard and completely, too.

Training the wrists for both strength and volume will built those sick serpent-like sinews that run alongside the bones in your forearms.

When those wrist postural muscles get built up, that’s when your forearms really POP and start to look truly FIERCE.

So, are you ready to build some bigger forearms?

If so, you need to check out my new Workout of the Month: Fierce Forearms.

If doing High Volume forearm work was all that was needed, then EVERYBODY would have big, bulbous forearms.

You’ve got to attack the forearms the right way in order to see sustained growth.

Don’t use the caveman approach and think the harder you work in the gym and the more time you spend there, the bigger your forearms will get.

For best results, you want to train the forearms like you would the rest of your body.

This means different angles with different loads, rep speeds, and other variables…

And that’s what my Fierce Forearms workout is all about <= Grab your copy right now.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

In the Yoketober program, and in any good quality muscle building program, there is going to be plenty of multi-joint exercises, movements where there is movement across more than one joint.

And while these types of movements are very beneficial for build strength and muscle, they are also much more technical than other simpler, isolation-style movements. If you don’t do these things correctly, not only will you not get the results you want, but you can also injure yourself.

Today, I have a couple of videos for you that can help you with your technique so you can maximize your training results and reduce and eliminate risk for back injury.

Check them out below:

Back Safety Considerations for Hip Hinge Movements

Back Safety Considerations for Bent Over Lifts

These videos are short, but if you apply these quick pointers to your training, you should be able to keep your back healthy and strong and that in turn will lead to more intense workouts and better results.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

20 Rep Squats for Building Massive Muscle

Since August, I have been experimenting with 20 Rep Squats.

Performing 20 Rep Squats is a tactic that was made famous by many oldtime strongmen and other writers of yesterday.

The claim is that by performing 20-Rep Squats, you can put on substantial amounts of muscle mass.

Since that is one of my primary objectives right now, along with increasing full body strength, I decided to give 20-Rep Squats a try.

Now, from my understanding there are a couple of ways that 20 Rep Squats can be done. The method I am using is what was described to me by James Fuller, who actually is the one who made me consider doing these after all.

He suggests taking your 10-rep max weight in the Back Squat and performing 20 Reps with it. You rep out the first 10 Reps without rest, and then you finish with the last 10 Reps with any rest-pauses you need, but you absolutely do not set the bar down. It remains on your shoulders from the moment the set begins until you hit the 20-rep mark.

Other approaches exist. For instance, some teach rest-pausing as needed throughout the set. Others suggest taking as big of a breath as possible into the lungs before each repetition, in an effort to expand the rib cage as much as possible.

As far as expanding the rib cage, I have not researched that, but I will say that after my set of 20-Rep Squats, I do lie on a bench and perform chest stretches using the Dumbbell Pull-over movement.

Regarding MY 20-Rep Squat Sets

When you watch the videos below, take note that I am not using my 10-RM in any of them. There are a couple of reasons why…

1) I am always cautious of my back and I am siding toward being cautious. Nothing sucks more than being hurt and unable to train, especially when you know you could have prevented the injury by being cautious, so that is exactly what I am doing.

2) I do a great deal of Squatting BEFORE I do my 20-Rep Squat set. I pair Squatting with my gripper work and often do 8 to 10 work sets before my 20-Rep Squats, so I am already fatigued.

3) These 20-Rep Squats have essentially become my Squat finisher. These are the last thing I do before I move on to the next portion of my workout. My 10-RM is probably closer to 305 or 315.

Tom Platz Squats 500 for 23 Reps

Reading Sources for 20-Rep Squats:

I have not read these books

My 20-Rep Squat Workouts

20 Rep Squats: 225lbs – Aug 17

20 Rep Squats: 235lbs – Aug 26

20 Rep Squats: 255lbs – Sep 2

20 Rep Squats: 265lbs – Sep 10

I did 20-Rep Squats one time back in like 2004 and hated them. I got extremely sore and it interrupted a whole week of my training, so I said to hell with them.

This time however, I really wanted to see what they could bring me, so I have stuck with them.

I plan on gradually moving up in weight and will eventually be up over 300-lbs with them, I am just taking my time.

I welcome comments, especially from those who have followed the program, and I would love to hear about your results.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

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Learn Another Great
Full Body Strength and Muscle Building Method:
STONE LIFTING

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I recently wrote about Slaughter Sets here: Slaughter Sets.

Here is the latest installment in the Slaughter Set Legacy. Try this out if you dare.

Set up your own Slaughter Sets, by following the guidelines here => Diesel Crew Slaughter Sets

All the best in your training,

Jedd

I love variety in my training.

If I do the same old stuff all the time, I get bored.

Honestly, as good of a lift the Bench Press is for developing upper body strength and putting on muscle, I just can not get “into it.”

Lately, I have been doing a lot more Dips instead.

And, I have been going super heavy on them.

I think you should try Dips Plus Weight too, and today, I am sharing my Top 10 Reasons for why you should use Dips Plus Weight in your Upper Body Training.

10 Reasons to Train Dips Plus Weight

1. Better for Shoulders and Elbows

On most Dip Set-ups, your hands will be in a neutral grip, or close to it. If your shoulders are beat up, this will take pressure off them. If your elbows are beat up, this will give them a break. Less distraction from pain, better effort during the exercise!

2. Freedom of Movement for the Shoulder Blades

When you lie on a bench, the shoulder blades are restricted in their movement. When you perform Dips, the scapulae can move freely. Again, if you are feeling beat up, this can give your body a chance to recover while still training hard.

3. Better for the Back

If you have lower back issues, a hard arch of the lumbar spine can really cause you problems. Believe me, I know. But with Dips, you actually experience a degree of traction, and the back can feel better. I talk more about how dips can make the back feel better here.

4. No spotter needed

When you are going heavy on the Bench you want NO DOUBTS whatsoever. It is a lot easier to do this if you have a spotter. No spotter, and you are taking a risk. You don’t even need a spotter with Dips. If you miss, you just drop down to the floor or foot platform.

5. Better Stretch for the Chest

One key aspect of lifting weights is getting the muscles to stretch under tension. This results in microtrauma that our body must repair, making us bigger and stronger. With Dips, I feel a better stretch than with Bench Press, and if you pay attention to your form closely, I think you will feel this too.

6. Works the Triceps Big Time

Just like the Bench Press, Dips will hit the triceps hard too. Depending on how wide the handles are and how you angle and load your body, you can also switch up how hard the triceps get hit by the movement.

7. Add Weight with Belts or Chains

You might not have tried this, but you can add a lot of weight to your body for Dips. You can use a Dip Belt and hang Kettlebells, Inch Dumbbells, Weight Plates or a Loading Pin from it. You can also use Weight Vests, Chains, and other forms of weight to your body to progressively overload Dips and keep your body growing.

8. Dynamic Stability for the Grip

I like the stability aspect that Dips require. You need to grip the handles harder in order to keep your balance, especially when you are loaded with a dynamic load, such as weight from a Dip Belt, or Chains around the neck/shoulders. Your hands get good solid work from Dips when you go heavy.

9. Improve Speed

You’ll quickly notice when training Heavy Dips that SPEED is your FRIEND. Being explosive out of the whole will get you more reps with heavy weight, and help you build more muscle and strength.

10. Deload the Body from Bench

If you are feeling beat up from the Bench, make Dips your primary lift for a couple of weeks. When you go back to it, your body will feel refreshed and ready to set new PR’s on the Bench Press.

Here is a recent video of 1RM Dip Plus Weight from the Grip Monsters Challenge. While super tough, I felt no pain in either of these attempts in my shoulders or chest, which is something I could never say about Bench Press.

Dip Plus Weight: 442.8 Total Lbs

Obviously, you don’t have to go adding close to 200 pounds to your body to get great benefit out of dips. Instead, start lower and go up. I think you will be happy with your results.

Dip Plus Weight Training Plan

Try this ramp-up for Dips Plus Weight.

Week 1: Bodyweight Only. 3 Sets of 20

Week 2: 25lbs Weight Added. 3 Sets of 15

Week 3: 50lbs Weight Added. 3 Sets of 10

Week 4: 50lbs Weight Added. 4 Sets of 12

Week 5: Deload

Week 6: Return to Bench or Dips + 25lbs 3 Sets of 20, and so on.

Enjoy your Dips and all the best in your training.

Jedd

P.S. Due to an ordering error, I am overstocked on copies of the Nail Bending DVD. Through this weekend, you can get your copy and save $10. Click below for the Nail Bending DVD. ONLY 20 COPIES AVAILABLE

Slaughter Sets – SICKEST PUMP EVER

This article will show you how you can pack a ton of training into a short time, resulting in an amazing pump to your muscles, better muscle gains, and more fun while you train. You will burn more calories in a short time and look forward to training even more because lifting becomes competitive. Enjoy!

I had seen Khali Muscle introduce these ultra-volume workouts where he was doing something like 500 reps, and I wanted to try them THAT DAY.

But I thought, how can you make these work if you have a partner? One dude is going to be standing around for a long time, and that sucks!

I thought about it for a bit, and I figured it out.

We gave the idea a try and it worked awesome. We started calling them Slaughter Sets.

Here is how to set up a Slaughter set with more than one person training, so both or all people get a killer workout WITHOUT having to stand around waiting while the other guy trains his ass off.

How to Set Up Slaughter Sets

Slaughter Sets are comprised of the same number of exercises as the number of people lifting. So, if there are two people, there are two exercises. If there are three people, three drills, etc. We have done these with up to 5 people before and they work great.

The Dictator: Regardless of how many lifters and exercises you have, one of them is called the Dictator. This is because that lifter dictates the speed of the set, because he has to hit 100 reps. Once he hits 100 reps (or whatever desired number you select), you take a short break and switch positions.

An example of a Slaughter Set combination for two people is Push-ups and Barbell Curls. One lifter starts out on Push-ups and goes until he hits 100 reps. He can group the repetitions however he wants to and take as many rest-pauses as he needs.

While he is doing this, the other lifter is performing as many reps as possible in Barbell Curls. He can rest-pause as often as he wants, too.

This can become a competition between the two lifters.

You can time how long it takes each person to finish the repetitions and see who can do it faster. You can also keep track of the number of repetitions each dude gets in the non-Dictator lifts, to see who can get more reps there too.

What you end up with is between 5 and 10 minutes of super-high volume training, unbelievable pumps, and a very competitive atmosphere in the weight room that will bring out the best of you and your partners.

Here are a couple of examples of Slaughter Sets we have done recently:

Slaughter Set 1: Triceps and 2HP

Dictator: Banded Tricep Push-downs
Also Performed: Two Hands Pinch Lifts

Slaughter Set 2: Shoulders and Abdominals

Dictator: Banded Front Raise
Also Performed: Ab Wheel Knee Roll-outs, Band Pull-Aparts

These are just a couple of awesome Slaughter Sets we have done recently that we actually caught on tape, but we’ve done a few more. We even did one combo when we have 5 dudes here.

Freakin’ awesome.

When it is as cold as it is outside, and you don’t want to go for a jog, or pull the sled out in the snow, this is a great way to burn a ton of calories in a really short time, while also getting the benefit of the mean pump.

In short, they will change your life.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

Baseball Season Will Be Here Soon – Is Your Grip Ready to Go?
If not, you better get Ultimate Forearm Training for Baseball

I feel like I am Carson Daily, counting down the Top Videos or something. Man, what a terrible feeling. Someone, please help me.

Anyway, here are numbers 6 through 10 of the 10 most popular videos I put out this year, based on the number of views each video got.

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6. AB Wheel Basic Technique | Core Training | Core Strength – 1937 Views

I made this video for a friend of mine, Chris, who got back into strength training this year and got himself an Ab Wheel to work is core, but was using it totally wrong, and I was worried he was going to mess his back up big time. Since then, it’s been viewed about 2,000 times and I have been told by some that it is the best Ab Wheel Demo video they have ever seen, so that is pretty cool. You might be surprised to learn I do core training. Well, I surely don’t do crunches, but you’ve got to do some regular core work in order to be as strong as you can be, and I love my Ab Wheel.

Related Article: How to Use the Ab Wheel Correctly

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7. Pat Poviliatis Breaks a Bat over Mike Bruce’s Throat – 1468 Views

Yes, this is for real. Pat “The Human Vise” Povilaitis is probably my best friend in the small community of performing strongman, having known him for nearly 10 years now. In this video, he breaks a legit baseball bat over the neck/throat area of Mike “The Machine” Bruce, another one of my good friends, and the man with the strongest neck in the world. This took place at the Arnold Classic this year, right on the center stage of the event center. Awesomeness. Be sure to check it out.

Want to watch the whole documentary? It’s 100% free – just add your email to the box below:

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8. Build Bigger Traps – Horizontal Band Loaded Shrugs – 1396 Views

Earlier this year I was dealing with a slight back tweak (What else is new?) and I was trying to think of a way I could work my traps harder without having to load so much weight on the bar. Knowing that the Traps run down your spine, I thought about how I could get more than one section of the Traps to fire hard all during the same movement. That is when I came up with this Shrug variation that absolutely kicks your ass. Enjoy.

Related Article: Build Bigger Traps by Intensifying the Shrug

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9. Strength Equipment Review – Globe Gripz – 1384 Views

Let me be 100% honest with you. I have enjoyed my training SO MUCH MORE this year because my joints are not hurting all the time anymore. Part of that is because I improved my diet so much this year, but another reason is because I have been extremely mindful of the exercises I am doing and the equipment I am using, so that there isn’t so much unnecessary wear and tear. One BIG PART of that has been the use of Globe Gripz for Barbell Curls. What used to KILL me is now essentially pain free and I love it.

Get your Globe Gripz here => Globe Gripz

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10. My New Speed Bag Platform – 1273 Views

I used to hit speed bag all the time in the mid-2000’s. I did it as part of my warm-up to get my elbows and shoulders warm and get the blood flowing. And I did it at the end of the workout to constantly learn new combinations and techniques on the bag. Then, I change the gym location and put in a downstairs bathroom, and I lost my spot for the bag for several years. Earlier this year, I got a new one and have been digging it ever since.

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We are well on our way to viewing the Top videos of the year, DIESELS. Check back tomorrow for numbers 1 through 5.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

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If One of Your Main Goals This Year is to Close the #3,
Then Get CRUSH: Total Gripper Domination, and Learn EVERYTHING You Need to Know About Gripper Training

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There are a ton of crazy workout gadgets out there that are absolute wastes of time.

I am sure you have tried a few now and again and can name some that were totally useless.

Well, one item that you might have seen at one time or another that is NOT useless, is the Globe Gripz handles.

I have been training with Globe Gripz off and on since 2012. I immediately was impressed by their packaging and the quality of the product.

For the last few weeks, though, Globe Gripz have been a weekly part of my training. In fact, I have had a resurgence in my Biceps training, especially in the Barbell Curl.

For several years, I did not do Barbell Curls because they hurt my wrists and forearms so intensely sometimes that I would feel the leftover pain for several days down the line.

However, with Globe Gripz on the bar, I feel ZERO pain in these areas when curling. I have been able to put several good, solid weeks of training in and have upped my 1-Rep-Max in the Barbell Curl to 160-lbs and have been increasing my repetitions with 135-lbs on the bar on a near weekly basis, nearly hitting 10 reps just yesterday.

Barbell Curl Training

Here some clips of some of the recent Bicep Curl training sessions…

Barbell Curl: 135-lbs X 10 (Almost) + Attempt at 170-lbs Barbell Curl with Globe Gripz

Strict Barbell Curl: 155, 157.5, 160-lbs

If you feel the same kind of pain in the Barbell Curl that I do, I strongly encourage you to check out Globe Gripz. Naturally, there are LOTS of other ways Globe Gripz can be used, just like Fat Gripz and the other Instant Thick Bar Handles that are on the market. Barbell Curls is simply what I use Globe Gripz for the most. Actually, that’s all I really use them for.

You can get Globe Gripz here => Globe Gripz

I am sure the Form Police will show up and say these curls ARE NOT STRICT. That’s fine. My response is “Show me your video with stricter form and comparable weight.”

Now, I am also aware that there are strict curl competitions, where people stand against a wall or some other structure to prevent swaying back or using the delts and back for assistance.

Awesome! I am all about competition and comparing my lifts against others, ESPECIALLY when there is a standard, so I tried them too.

I have seen a few clips of these competitions and an EZ-Bar is often used. So I gave this a try using an EZ Bar in an attempt to match the competition standard as closely as possible. Here is the video…

Strict Curl with Back Against Door: +/- 158-lbs

I really do not know where this would put me in the established competition lifts that exist. I am assuming that for my bodyweight (about 235 on the day of that lift), this would be pretty low, as I am sure the competitors have a much better grasp on the proper technique of the lift. For instance, I noticed some substantial stress on my lumbar during the first rep and had to adjust where I had my feet to reduce it. It’s definitely not just a vacation performing this lift, especially when you are going for a near-max.

So, here’s the deal. Some people think Curls are stupid. If you feel this way, that is fine.

I personally like to keep track of things like this. I have an idea of my PR in lots and lots of lifts and I like to push myself in this nature.

Plus, I love competition. Ever since I was a child and played baseball, I have loved the field of competition.

Over the years, that field turned from a diamond of dirt and grass with a fence around it to the Strongman and Grip Strength Platforms.

If I can find a Strict Curl competition nearby, I might add that to my Competition Portfolio as well. If anyone is familiar with them, I’d love to hear about them.

Now, if you are not into competition, but just want to get bigger and stronger arms, then be sure to check out Call to Arms, an ebook I put out last year with Joe Meglio.

Check out Call to Arms => How to Get Bigger Stronger Arms

Naturally, the chain is only as strong as its weakest link. If you are not training your biceps with some intensity on a regular basis, then they could be your weakest link. At the least, they might hold you back on other lifts. At worst, you could run the risk of tearing a bicep and be out of competition and training for a while, waiting for it to heal.

Intense Arm Training, like what we cover in Call to Arms can help you erase that weakness.

Also, if you are Grip Enthusiast, you should consider adding Arm Training of some sort to your routine. Both Paul Knight and Steve McGranahan have made mention of the relationship between Grip Strength and their overall arm strength.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

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Armaid: The Best Lower Arm Therapy Device on the Market Today

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This is Part II to the Epic Upper Body Workout that I started at the tail end of September when my good friend Chris came up to train. This is the Pulling Work we did.

I wanted to show him some new stuff he add into his training to not only build muscle, but also to balance out his shoulder training, as well as be better prepared for physical altercations in his line of work as a Corrections Officer.

Part IV: Bigger Back and Stronger Grip with Pull-up Variations

This video shows several variations for Pull-ups that will not only build your back muscles, but will also balance your shoulder strength and build better grip strength. Having a strong set of hands is very important for Chris in his line of work as a Corrections Officer.

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Part V: Build a Big back with Low Cable Row Variations

We split these sets up with both wide and narrow rows. I showed Chris a correction to keep the emphasis on the lats and other big back muscles and to reduce the level of upper trap involvement. The set-up we used made the range of motion much shorter than normal, but this was because of the seat we used, due to my left lumbar area being very touchy. You can see once Chris adjusted, it began feeling totally different.

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Part VI: Upper Back Postural Strength with Bodyweight Training

The Inverted Row is a great exercise and it can be loaded with chains draped over the body to make it more difficult. On top of that, we also held the concentric for a 3-count pause. I also used some mental distraction tactics to mimic the sound of an alarm going off due to a prison riot. This may sound annoying, but it is something that would be real during an actual emergency in the jail.

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Part VII: Odd Object Loaded Hyper Extensions

Since Chris occasionally runs into situations where an inmate will get physical, instead of loading the Hyperextensions with normal dumbbells or barbell plates, we bear-hugged sandbags and heavy bags. This feels much more like actually having to control an inmate than just gripping some weights.

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Get a FREE Strength Training Magazine When You Buy Any DVD.
Find out more here: October Special Offer

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I still have several clips coming your way from this workout. Stay tuned in a couple days for the Arm Training that we did. My arms were blown up like water balloons after what we did. It was AWESOME.

Sign up for updates to make sure you get notified every time a new article or video is posted here at DieselCrew.com:

All the best in your training.

Jedd

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When it comes to strength training, fat loss, flexibility and athletic development, the last thing you want to encounter is the nasty P-word.

Plateaus

What is the definition of a Plateau? I checked out the dictionary and here are the first two definitions.

1. a land area having a relatively level surface considerably raised above adjoining land on at least one side, and often cut by deep canyons.

2. a period or state of little or no growth or decline: to reach a plateau in one’s career.

Definition 2 is the one we want to avoid – the point in your training where your growth and development ceases.

No More Training Plateaus

Today, you’re gonna learn two ways to demolish your training plateaus and to keep them from ever showing up in the first place.

The primary cause for plateaus is lack of variety. People get in the habit of doing the same stuff all the time in their training, never varying from the norm, and as a result, their results drop off and they see the same numbers going up in their lifts, the same movement quality in their sports, and the same body in the mirror every day.

What I’ve got for you today are a couple of examples of how you can slightly modify the Deadlift, and more specifically in this case, the Trap Bar Deadlift, in order to break through plateaus and enjoy continuous Gains, PR’s and Progress.

What’s cool is, you can use the same exact amount of weight on the bar, but make that weight feel more challenging in your hands with just a couple small changes.

Trap Bar Deadlifts with Straight Weight

Here are some clips from a recent Trap Bar Deadlift training session. I am using Fat Gripz on the handles because I am preparing for a Deadlift and Hold in an upcoming Grip Contest, the Holdfast Gauntlet.

So, nothing out of the ordinary. Just pulling straight weight and going for 5 sets of 2. With the Fat Gripz added, this was a bit too heavy to get all the doubles I wanted.

But let’s imagine that I completed all 5 sets of 2 reps.

Now, let’s look at a couple of ways to modify the lift in order to make it slightly harder.

Trap Bar Deadlifts with Chains

With Chains attached to the Trap Bar, the weight in your hands gets heavier as you lift the bar further. This allows you to hold heavier weight at the top, as if someone is throwing a couple on 10’s on each side once you hit lockout.

So, what you could actually do is perform your first few sets of, say 300lbs, with straight weight. Then, you could do a few more sets with chains added to make the lift target your lockout strength more and make it even more taxing on your grip.

Trap Bar Deadlifts Pulling Against Band Tension

Now, let’s look at a way to make the same movement, with the same weight, even harder – Bands. With these giant rubber bands placed over the bar, the challenge to keep hold of it all the way to lockout is increased even further for both the hands nd the lower back and glutes.

Now, these videos were all taped during different sessions with different weights used, but the potential is there for you to incorporate all three techniques in the same workout to gradually increase the difficulty of the sets, and to help you plow through plateaus in your training.

Where to Get Chains and Bands

Chains and Bands are available in many places, and many of these suppliers operate through Amazon.com. In fact, here is an entire page of various Lifting Chain Suppliers

That page will give you a whole variety of options, including different chain sizes, and packs of various chains so you can save on shipping and get a better value.

Training Bands are available there too. There used to be only on good supplier of exercise bands, but now there are lots of them. Go to this page, Fitness and Strength Training Bands, and you will find all kinds of different bands to choose from.

Where to Get Fat Gripz

Naturally, if you don’t have Fat Gripz yet, I consider them a must. These thing stake up no room at all and they go on so fast, you waste no time at all. They are a fraction of the price of thick-handled dumbbells and barbells, and make more sense for the person who is just looking to increase their hand strength but not interested in accomplishing world-class feats of Grip Strength.

Grab your set here => Get Fat Gripz

Screw Plateaus!

With these kinds of tactics, you’ll never have to worry about Plateaus in your training again. Any time you start to see stagnation in your training, you can start adding chains and bands into your training in order to shock your muscles and your mind into additional growth and strength increases.

And, you can head these plateaus off before they can even set in by including this type of work in your training on a regular basis. It is very popular to throw in band and chain training once a month to your target movement, and every 3 weeks of training is what Josh McIntyre highlighted in the recent interview I did with him.

You are going to feel like a MACHINE when you start including these things in your training. Especially, the chains, due to the awesome mechanical sounds they make. Its like training inside a Strength Building Factory.

All the best,

Jedd

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Some of the classic bodybuilding pairings for the upper body are Chest and Triceps, Shoulders and Triceps, and back and Biceps.

These are time-tested methods, of course, BUT sooner or later, you’ve got to mix your training up a bit.

Do the same stuff for too long, and you’re sure to become stagnant in your results.

Before you know it, your training split is actually holding your training results back.

And if you’re anything like most people, you get sick of doing the same stuff like that all the time.

Today, I am going to show you how you can mix your training split up. The guys who have tried this with me have loved it, and I think you will too.

Reverse Muscle Building Workouts

Here’s how I do most of my upper body workouts with a “bodybuilding/muscle building” style workouts.

• Chest and Biceps (or Chest, Shoulders, and Biceps)
• Back and Triceps

What you end up with is some of the most ridiculous pumps you have ever felt.

Chest and Biceps day blows up your chest and biceps until your shirt screams in agony. Throw in some shoulder work and its even more phenomenal.

On Back and Triceps days, your lats, posterior delts and traps get smoked, and when you throw in triceps along with it, you get the most interesting pre-exhaust sensations.

Here is an example Chest, Shoulders, and Biceps day that JT Straussner and I recently did.

Example Reverse Muscle Building Workout:

Note: Each letter signifies one training block, either a single exercise or a pairing. Each number shows the order of exercises done in pairings.

Example Reverse Muscle Building Workout

A. Bench Press: We worked up to 275 and hit it for 3 sets of 6 to 8.

B. Seated Dumbbell Military Press: We worked up to 70’s and we to failure or near failure on these, since we didn’t pair them with another exercise.

C1. Rock Front Raise: I saw the Rock doing these in a recent issue of Men’s Fitness. Good for an occasional use now and again, but I prefer Kneeling Landmines to be honest.
C2. Farmer’s Shrugs: This is my favorite way to work shrugs. Perfect way to go with heavy weights without straining the back. Find out more here: Heavy Shrugs Without Hurting Your Back.

D1. Push-ups : This is a great pushing exercise that builds your chest, delts, and triceps. We did a slight variation of the push-up with the feet elevated, since we also did Flat Bench Press.
D2. Pull-aparts: This is often used with a light band to work the smaller muscles that abduct the shoulders, BUT we used heavier bands here to work the bigger muscles and the triceps.

***Note: For the D1/D2 combination, we focused on 20 reps per exercise and for some sets, we had to do Rest Pauses in order to get the target reps.

E. Reverse Curls Stare-down: This was just plain INSANE. We loaded the EZ Curl Bar and hit set after set until our arms were about to blow up.

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Left: Superstar Billy Graham Right: Arnold

So, the majority of the workout was Push & Biceps. I added in Shrugs because I like to get those in a couple of times a week. Same with the Pull-aparts.

This workout provides some of the necessary ingredients for growth: multi-joint movements, isolation movements, varied rep-ranges, and varied loads. When you mix the variables like this up on a routine basis, you can’t help but grow.

My suggestion is to try one thing at a time though. First off, try the switch to Chest and Bi’s and Back and Tri’s using some of the exercises, rep-ranges and loading you like. Once you get a taste of these two non-conventional workout set-ups, then you can start tweaking with some of the other adjustments.

Enjoy the crazy pumps.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

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Overhead Lifting: A Must for Shoulder Strength and Size

I Love Pressing Movements

I love shoulder training. I especially love the idea of taking barbells, axles, logs, stones, kegs and other odd objects and lifting them over my head like an absolute caveman or barbarian.

Hell, I’d Overhead Press every workout if I could recover quick enough. When you are doing overhead lifts, it’s like you can just feel the muscle fibers expanding and becoming stronger.

I Hate Shoulder Isolation Work

But one thing that bores the hell out of me is isolation work for the shoulders, like front and side laterals.

Now, if you’re talking posterior delt work, postural work, shoulder stability specific training, I am all about it, but as far as doing Dumbbell Side Laterals, man, I’d rather have you jab me in the eye with an ice pick.

The other reason I don’t like doing a lot of Side Laterals is the fact that the rotator cuff is responsible for the initial movement of the dumbbell, and I have read of people injuring these small muscles doing this exercise, and being out of the weight room for a while because of it, so I don’t like to press my luck in that way, either.

But recently, I wanted to start putting some more emphasis on the Front Delts, so I entertained at least doing some Front Raises with an EZ Curl Bar.

After a couple of shoulder sessions, I was bored out of my mind and looking for something else to try.

Enter: The Landmine Press

Then, out of nowhere I saw an article by Tony Gentilcore on T-nation that showed several lifts for training the front delts, and one of them that caught my eye was Landmine Press, as if he was reading my mind.

I instantly gave the lift a try in my next upper body workout, and I loved it.

Although not a full-on isolation movement for the anterior delts, it did hit them hard and provided yet another way to get my press on.

The next day after the workout, I had that familiar feeling of working the delts hard, but without the stinging pain of straining the underlying, smaller stabilizer muscles.

I tried a couple of variations of the lift, but by far my favorite is the Kneeling Landmine Press. By kneeling, you end up pressing upwards more and it makes the movement a bit more challenging this way.

For instance, I was able to hit the Standing Landmine with 100-lbs added for a set of 8 with each arm, but in the Kneeling position, I could only muster half the reps, plus there seems to be a better core engagement.

Low Ceiling Getting Your Press Down?

When I posted this video up on YouTube, Nate Brous, a friend of mine and certified Red Nail Bender, mentioned that the exercise looked very promising for him in particular, because he is very tall and his home gym has a very low ceiling which makes overhead pressing very difficult. By performing the Kneeling Landmine Press, he can work the pressing muscles without having to deal with the ceiling.

I know all about that, because I used to have a hell of a time pressing in my basement, due to the low ceiling. If you are in the same boat and a low ceiling is keeping you from getting your press on, then this might be the accessory movement for you.

Main lift vs Accessory lift

Take note that I think this lift is best used as an accessory lift. I think for sheer shoulder mass and strength, you will be much better off doing some form of overhead pressing, either standing, or seated, simply because you will be able to move much more weight and work much more overall muscle all at the same time.

To see how to set up this exercise check out this video.

Programming the Kneeling Landmine Press

Here is how I have been training the Kneeling Landmine Press.

Set 1: 25-lbs added. 8 reps per arm
Set 2: 50-lbs added. 8 reps per arm
Set 3: 75-lbs added. 8 reps per arm
Set 4: 100-lbs added. Max reps left arm, match reps with right arm.
Set 5: Same as set 4.

I have done this two weeks in a row and my best is 4 reps per arm at 100-lbs, if you count that last rep with my right arm in the video as a rep. I got out of alignment, lost my balance, and had to chase the barbell in order to keep from dropping it.

I am toying with the idea of ramping up quicker through the loading and then going for some sicker volume next time I hit this. This is what I am planning:

Set 1: 50-lbs added. 8 reps per arm
Set 2: 75-lbs added. 8 reps per arm
Set 3: 100-lbs added. Max reps left arm, match reps with right arm.
Set 4: 75-lbs added. Max reps left arm, match reps with right arm.
Set 5: 75-lbs added. 8 left, 8 right, 7 left, 7 right, 6 reps left, 6 reps right, and so on.

To me, that sounds like some sick-ass volume and it should blow the delts up big time. I will give this a try and report back here.

Until then, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more awesome videos.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

The Call to Arms is NOW!

Building a Bigger Bench Press

It goes without saying that the Bench Press is one of the most popular lifts that are done in the gym.

And no wonder – it’s one of the best lifts for building upper body muscle, especially the chest, shoulders, and triceps. On top of the mass building potential of the Bench Press, it is also a great lift for building upper body strength.

In this post, I am going to cover a subtle adjustment you can make when you Bench Press to increase the weight you are able to press, the number of reps you can perform, and the safety of the Bench Press itself. When you can increase those three factors, your potential for size increases and strength gains is practically guaranteed.

The Power of the Lats in the Bench Press

Many trainees do not think about the lats when they Bench, because the lats are part of the back and are prime movers in rows and pull-ups, but the lats actually play a very important role.

Unfortunately, they do not realize that the lats are there to provide stability to the shoulder during the Bench Press. When the lats are activated properly, they provide a much better foundation for the shoulder, and this can be HUGE for your confidence under the barbell, when you are benching.

So, since the lats are so important, it makes sense to get them involved in the Bench Press as soon as possible, correct?

Well, many lifters miss the boat on that one as well. In fact their problems begin right from the moment they prepare to take the barbell out of the rack or hooks.

You can see exactly what I am talking about in the short video below.

Activating the Lats RIGHT AWAY for a Bigger Bench Press

I really want to thank Todd Hamer, strength coach from George Mason University, for showing me this technique modification. I met up with him at the Juniata Strength Clinic in June and asked him to take a look at my Benching Technique, and this has been a big help to me. It starts each new Bench Press set off with a completely different feel.

This way of un-racking the barbell may only be slightly different from what you are doing right now, but the way the bar feels in your grip and as you support it in the ready position is not. There is a night and day difference between these two techniques, and when you get this right, you can begin to see big improvements in your Bench Press.

And what’s great is, you can use this pulling lat activation method on your other Bench Press variations, such as Incline Bench and Decline Bench.

Let me know how you like this technique. Give it a try and leave a comment below.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

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Back and Triceps Training

Here is a recent workout compilation that my buddy Mark Gannon and I did.

In it, we are Back and Triceps.

This is a crazy combination. Many people don’t realize that the triceps will assist in the movement pattern of shoulder extension, so when you work Lats and Triceps together, it makes for a freakin’ sick pump with a pre-exhaust factor that is hard to put into words.

I also threw in some Ab Wheel. Sure, it works the core primarily, but I love adding it in on this day because it also works the lats, when you pull back to the starting position, and it hits the triceps hard too, because they have to hold your bodyweight up as well.

In the video, I added text blocks to show the set-and-rep schemes we use, and in some cases the loading. Go through it and you’ll see what I mean.

Try this workout combination and let me know what you think. I bet you will be hooked on this combo as much as I am.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

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Build Big Traps Without Hurting Your Back

I LOVE all forms of Back Training. Rows, Pull-ups, Chins, Pull-overs, Shrugs…You name it, I include some form of it in my training.

However, up until a few months back, one movement that many people do, I was cutting out of my regular routine.

This lift was Barbell Shrugs.

You see, I have a history of lower back issues, and a handful of times over the years when I would go heavy on Barbell Shrugs, I have tweaked my back.

So, I eliminated them from my program and stuck with Dumbbell Shrugs, because the weight was positioned at my sides and they felt better on my back.

Unfortunately, it is hard to go heavy enough on Dumbbell Shrugs to really shock the Traps into growing. As I mentioned in this post on Trap Training, my 100-lb dumbbells have begun to feel like warm-up weights after doing them so long, so I added Bands to the equation to make the Traps work harder.

Watch the Video: Band-Intensified Shrugs

Click Image to View Video

The method shown above is great because it makes the Traps work harder without causing additional stress to your back.

Today I am going to show you another way you can take your Shrugs to the next level, without hurting your back. This way is so basic, I can’t believe I never thought of it. This variation is simply Shrugs with Farmer’s Walk Handles.

Shrugs with Farmer’s Walk Handles

Provided your back is strong enough to pull the weight off the floor, you should be able to perform this lift safely. For me, at least, I can keep my core stable enough while performing this lift so that my back feels no unnecessary strain.

This is a great way to perform more weight in the Shrug. While it is almost impossible to find 200+ lb Dumbbells, if your gym has Farmers Walk Handles, you should have no trouble getting to that weight in the Shrug with this technique, plus, it is a great way to work your Grip Strength.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

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Powerful Traps are very important for Braced Bends, and particularly important for bar bends started with the Row Technique over the Knee. For more information on Braced Bending, check out our DVD – Braced Bending: How to Destroy Everything in Your Path

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Build Bigger Traps

A common body part that lags behind other body parts is the traps. Many lifters I have spoken with have asked if I know any good ways to build the traps up besides normal shrugs. Today I will share that with you, but first let’s look at what the traps are designed to do.

Functions of the Traps

The traps, or trapezius, (so-called because altogether the three sections of the muscle are shaped like a trapezoid) is a muscle with many functions. While they are most visible at the top of the shoulder, they also extend down the back.

There are 3 segments of the trap, each with a different responsibility.

1. Upper Trap: Primarily responsible for elevating the shoulders and shoulder blades. Secondarily responsible for pulling the shoulders and shoulder blades back.

2. Middle Trap: Primarily responsible for pulling the shoulder blades together.

3. Lower Trap: Primarily responsible for pulling the shoulder blades down.

Now, when it comes to “building big traps” most people think of the section of the traps above the collar bone and shoulders. Dave Batista, pictured in the image at the top of the page, had some of the biggest traps I have ever seen in all my years as a wrestling fan.

Classic Trap Building Exercises

The classic exercise for building big traps are Shrugs and their variations. These are usually done with a barbell at the front of the body or with dumbbells at the sides of the body.

However, just because Barbell and Dumbbell Shrugs are what “everybody does” doesn’t mean everybody loves them.

Here are a few reasons why Barbell Shrugs and Dumbbell Shrugs fall out of favor with some trainees. Maybe you agree…

1. Barbell Shrugs, when done in front of the body, can be hard on the back if you have back injuries, especially when you start getting into serious weight.

2. Barbell Shrugs can also be done behind the body, but they can be uncomfortable on the shoulders and can force poor posture.

3. Dumbbell Shrugs are a fairly safe alternative, but some gyms are limited in their heavy dumbbell sizes and may not have loadable dumbbells that can be used to go heavier.

4. Because Dumbbell Shrugs are often done with lighter weights, you can find yourself doing very high rep sets in order to get the feeling that you have accomplished some effective muscle-building stimulation of the traps.

Because of all of these things, and possibly others you can think of, today I am going to show you one way you can intensify the Shrug to help build bigger traps.

In my garage gym, the heaviest matched dumbbells I have are 100’s. For anything higher than that, I use my loadable dumbbells and 25-lb plates. However, it is hard to do Shrugs with 25’s on loadable handles because the plates roll up your thighs, so to keep the movement legit, I have to stick with the 100’s until I get bigger dumbbell pairs.

I have gotten to the point now where I can perform upwards of 20 reps with my 100’s, and it doesn’t even feel like I have stimulated the traps unless I have already pre-exhausted them with another movement, like High Pulls. Unfortunately, those are tough on my back, so I don’t do them that much.

Instead, I have found a way to make the traps work even harder on every single repetition of the Shrug. You see, as listed above, the upper two portions of the trapezius are involved in pulling the shoulders back, as well as elevating them.

If you perform a shrugging movement, and then combine that with pulling the shoulders back, you will feel a much more solid contraction when you combine both movements. Even though the change is subtle, it has a big effect.

Try it now, even without weight in your hands and you’ll feel the difference.

Now, you can obviously just pull your shoulders back while you shrug in order to engage the traps differently, but I have found that there is a better way to accomplish this by combining bands with the exercise.

Watch the video below to see exactly what I mean.

Band Resisted Shrugs to Build Bigger Traps

So, as you see in the video above, the heavy band resistance makes you fire the traps and other musculature of the upper back intensely. This creates a movement that hits the traps in a much different way to help build them better.

Putting it Into Action to Build Bigger Traps

If you try this, I encourage you to start out with light dumbbells and band tension. This way, you can get used to the feeling of this movement, which is much different from a normal Shrug. Then, over the course of a few short sets, work up in weight and tension.

Also, you can play with the point the band is rigged to the structure. Since shooting this video, I have movement my anchor point higher for an even better feeling with this movement.

I think you will be surprised how much harder it is to perform Shrugs in this manner compared to just holding dumbbells. To give you an idea, I can Shrug the 100’s for more than 20 reps, and have yet to hit 15 reps with the blue bands on without taking a rest period mid-set.

Suggested Trap Building Workout

Barbell Clean or Log Clean – 6 Sets of 2
Overhead Lifting (Military Press, Dumbbell Press, or others) – 4 Sets of 3
Horizontal Band Resisted Shrugs – 4 sets of 10 to 12
Grip Training: Open Hand – Work up to a Max, then perform 10 doubles with 70 to 80% of Max

For more training tips, make sure to sign up for my free updates delivered right to your inbox, below:

All the best in your training.

Jedd

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My absolute favorite type of Strength Training, aside from Grip, is Overhead Lifting. Whether done in strict fashion, like a press, or a more dynamic fashion, like a jerk, it is all good to me.

As I highlighted in a recent video, I had been having discomfort near my right collar bone which was interfering in some of my lifts.

Initiating movement out of the rack position was causing difficulty for me on strict movements, such as the Barbell and Dumbbell Press. I mentioned it in this video: My Approach to Overhead Work.

Well, there was no way I was going to cut Overhead Work out of my program. After all, it was only a few lifts that caused me problems.

Since straining out of the rack position was feeling like someone was driving a wooden stake into my chest like I was a vampire, I just didn’t do strict press.

Instead, I cycled in Push Press and Jerks, and there was almost ZERO pain when I trained.

I think many people make the mistake of just shutting things down when they have an injury, especially something minor like I was having. To me, work-arounds such as exercise replacements are much better options and keep you from losing strength while you recover.

In fact, last week, I found that even though I had not done tried 100-lb Dumbbell Press since June, I was still able to match my all-time personal best of 3 Reps.

The only thing I did notice is that I felt slower out of the rack position, which makes complete sense, since I had not worked that specific portion of the lift in a few weeks. In fact, I think if I had been working the rack position intensely all of this time, I probably would have hit 4 or even 5 reps.

I say this because being slow out of the whole made me work harder for the lockout, and if I had more burst out of the bottom, I would have had more left for the lockout. Just speculation, of course…

If you currently have shoulder pain, you need to stay tuned to my site or, even better yet, sign up for my newsletter. Two of my friends, Rick Kaselj and Mike Westerdall have teamed up to put together an excellent resource for recovery from Shoulder Pain.

I reviewed almost all of it on Friday and this thing is packed with info. It is going to help a lot of people get out of pain.

And the best part is, it is designed specifically with people who train hard and take their workouts seriously in mind.

Sign up below for updates if you haven’t already, and all the best in your training.

Jedd

Around here, the kids are all back in school and they have the whole year ahead of them.

There’s tons of excitement as they look forward to the many possibilities and potential for the year.

I still remember my Senior year, when I said I was going to not play basketball (which I pretty much hated) and just concentrate on baseball.

I wanted to go into the school weight room three days a week and put on some serious muscle, because I was 6-feet tall and about 200-lbs, but thought for sure with hard work I could put on some muscle and show up for my Freshman Year in college looking like Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire.

While I never ended up looking like Mark or Barry, I did end up putting on some muscle and planting the seeds that would grow into a life-long interest in weight training.

Unfortunately, at the time, I didn’t realize some of the things these guys were doing and taking in order to get so freakish. I also didn’t realize that there was a difference between training for size and for training with strength. I just went in there and did what I read about in bodybuilding magazines and didn’t understand the importance of proper loading and rep schemes in order to get stronger. If finding a balance between muscle gains and improvements in strength levels is something that you struggle with, then today’s article is perfect for you.

Today’s post comes from Eric Cressey. Eric is probably best known for his work with professional baseball players at his facility in Connecticut, Cressey Performance, but he is also know for his work in the arena of fitness and especially the field of strength & conditioning. His knowledge blows me away and he is one of the few professionals in the field I subscribe to. Every article, video and product he puts out is GOLD. Possibly his most well-recognized work, Show and Go: High Performance Training to Look Feel and Move Better is on sale for this week only for $50 off the regular price.

Enjoy today’s post from this world class author, speaker coach, and lifter.

5 Reasons You’re Not Getting Stronger

By: Eric Cressey

Like most lifters, I gained a lot of size and strength in my first 1-2 years of training in spite of the moronic stuff that I did. Looking back, I was about as informed as a chimp with a barbell – but things somehow worked out nonetheless. That is, however, until I hit a big fat plateau where things didn’t budge.

Truthfully, “big fat plateau” doesn’t even begin to do my shortcomings justice. No exaggeration: I spent 14 months trying to go from a 225-pound bench to 230. Take a moment and laugh at my past futility (or about how similar it sounds to your own plight), and we’ll continue.

All set? Good – because self-deprecating writing was never one of my strengths. I have, however, become quite good at picking heavy stuff off the floor – to the tune of a personal-best 660-pound deadlift at a body weight of 188.

Eric Cressey, 660-lb Deadlift

My other numbers aren’t too shabby, either, but this article isn’t about me; it’s about why YOU aren’t necessarily getting strong as fast as you’d like. To that end, I’d like to take a look at a few mistakes people commonly make in the quest to gain strength. Sadly, I’ve made most of these myself at some point, so hopefully I can save you some frustration.

Mistake #1: Only doing what’s fun and not what you need.

As you could probably tell, deadlifting is a strength of mine – and I enjoy it. Squatting, on the other hand, never came naturally to me. I always squatted, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that it took the back seat to pulling heavy.

Eventually, though, I smartened up and took care of the issue – by always putting squatting before deadlifting in all my lower-body training sessions (twice a week). I eventually wound up with a Powerlifting USA Top 100 Squat in my weight class.

More interestingly, though, in addition to me dramatically improving my squat, a funny thing happened: I actually started to enjoy squatting. Whoever said that you can’t teach an old dog (or deadlifter) new tricks didn’t have the real scoop.

Mistake #2: Not taking deload periods.

One phrase of which I’ve grown quite fond is “fatigue masks fitness.” As a little frame of reference, my best vertical jump is 37.3” – but on most days, I won’t give you anything over 34” or so. The reason is very simple: most of your training career is going to be spent in some degree of fatigue. How you manage that fatigue is what dictates your adaptation over the long- term.

On one hand, you want to impose enough fatigue to create supercompensation – so that you’ll adapt and come back at a higher level of fitness. On the other hand, you don’t want to impose so much fatigue that you dig yourself a hole you can’t get out of without a significant amount of time off.

Good programs implement strategic overreaching follows by periods of lighter training stress to allow for adaptation to occur. You can’t just go in and hit personal bests in every single training session.

Mistake #3: Not rotating movements.

It never ceases to amaze me when a guy claims that he just can’t seem to add to his bench press (or any lift, for that matter), and when you ask him what he’s done to work on it of late, and he tells you “bench press.” Specificity is important, but if you aren’t rotating exercises, you’re missing out on an incredibly valuable training stimulus: rotating exercises.

While there is certainly a place for extended periods of specificity (Smolov squat cycles, for instance), you can’t push this approach indefinitely. Rotating my heaviest movements was one of the most important lessons I learned along my journey. In addition to helping to create adaptation, you’re also expanding your “motor program” and avoiding overuse injuries via pattern overload.

I’m not saying that you should overhaul your entire program with each trip to the gym, but there should be some semi-regular fluctuation in exercise selection. The more experienced you get, the more often you’ll want to rotate your exercises (I do it weekly). Assistance exercises ecan be shuffled every four weeks, though.

Mistake #4: Inconsistency in training.

I tell our clients from all walks of life that the best strength and conditioning programs are ones that are sustainable. I’ll take a terrible program executed with consistency over a great program that’s only done sporadically. This is absolutely huge for professional athletes who need to maximize progress in the off-season; they just can’t afford to have unplanned breaks in training if they want to improve from year to year. However, it’s equally important for general fitness folks who don’t have an extensive training background to fall back on, unlike the professional athletes.

If a program isn’t conducive to your goals and lifestyle, then it isn’t a good program. That’s why I went out of my way to create 2x/week, 3x/week, and 4x/week strength training options – plus five supplemental conditioning options and a host of exercise modifications – when I pulled Show and Go together; I wanted it to be a very versatile resource.

Likewise, I wanted it to be safe; a program isn’t good if it injures you and prevents you from exercising. Solid programs include targeted efforts to reduce the likelihood of injury via means like mobility warm-ups, supplemental stretching recommendations, specific progressions, fluctuations in training stress, and alternative exercises (“plan B”) in case you aren’t quite ready to execute “Plan A.”

For me personally, I attribute a lot of my progress to the fact that at one point, I actually went over eight years without missing a planned lift. It’s a bit extreme, I know, but there’s a lesson to be learned.

Mistake #5: Wrong rep schemes

Beginners can make strength gains on as little as 40% of their one-rep max. Past that initial period, the number moves to 70% – which is roughly a 12-rep max for most folks. Later, I’d say that the number creeps up to about 85% – which would be about a 5-rep max for an intermediate lifter. This last range is where you’ll find most people who head to the internet for strength training information.

What they don’t realize is that 85% isn’t going to get the job done for very long, either. My experience is that in advanced lifters, the fastest way to build strength is to perform singles at or above 90% of one-rep max with regularity. As long as exercises are rotated and deloading periods are included, this is a strategy that can be employed for an extended period of time. In fact, it was probably the single (no pun intended) most valuable discovery I made in my quest to get stronger.

I’m not saying that you should be attempting one-rep maxes each time you enter the gym, but I do think they’ll “just happen” if you employ this technique.

To take the guesswork out of all this and try some programming that considers all these crucial factors (and a whole lot more), check out Show and Go: High Performance Training to Look Feel and Move Better.

-Eric Cressey-

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Around here, the kids are all back in school and they have the whole year ahead of them.
There’s tons of excitement as they look forward to the many possibilities and potential for the year.
I still remember my Senior year, when I said I was going to not play basketball (which I pretty much hated) and just concentrate on baseball.
I wanted to go into the school weight room three days a week and put on some serious muscle, because I was 6-feet tall and about 200-lbs, but thought for sure with hard work I could put on some muscle and show up for my Freshman Year in college looking like Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire.

While I never ended up looking like Mark or Barry, I did end up putting on some muscle and planting the seeds that would grow into a life-long interest in weight training.
Unfortunately, at the time, I didn’t realize some of the things these guys were doing and taking in order to get so freakish. I also didn’t realize that there was a difference between training for size and for training with strength. I just went in there and did what I read about in bodybuilding magazines and didn’t understand the importance of proper loading and rep schemes in order to get stronger. If finding a balance between muscle gains and improvements in strength levels is something that you struggle with, then today’s article is perfect for you.

Today’s post comes from Eric Cressey. Eric is probably best known for his work with professional baseball players at his facility in Connecticut, Cressey Performance, but he is also know for his work in the arena of fitness and especially the field of strength & conditioning. His knowledge blows me away and he is one of the few professionals in the field I subscribe to. Every article, video and product he puts out is GOLD. Possibly his most well-recognized work, Show and Go: High Performance Training to Look Feel and Move Better is on sale for this week only for $50 off the regular price.
Enjoy today’s post from this world class author, speaker coach, and lifter.

5 Reasons You’re Not Getting Stronger

By: Eric Cressey
Like most lifters, I gained a lot of size and strength in my first 1-2 years of training in spite of the moronic stuff that I did. Looking back, I was about as informed as a chimp with a barbell – but things somehow worked out nonetheless. That is, however, until I hit a big fat plateau where things didn’t budge.
Truthfully, “big fat plateau” doesn’t even begin to do my shortcomings justice. No exaggeration: I spent 14 months trying to go from a 225-pound bench to 230. Take a moment and laugh at my past futility (or about how similar it sounds to your own plight), and we’ll continue.
All set? Good – because self-deprecating writing was never one of my strengths. I have, however, become quite good at picking heavy stuff off the floor – to the tune of a personal-best 660-pound deadlift at a body weight of 188.

Eric Cressey, 660-lb Deadlift
My other numbers aren’t too shabby, either, but this article isn’t about me; it’s about why YOU aren’t necessarily getting strong as fast as you’d like. To that end, I’d like to take a look at a few mistakes people commonly make in the quest to gain strength. Sadly, I’ve made most of these myself at some point, so hopefully I can save you some frustration.

Mistake #1: Only doing what’s fun and not what you need.

As you could probably tell, deadlifting is a strength of mine – and I enjoy it. Squatting, on the other hand, never came naturally to me. I always squatted, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that it took the back seat to pulling heavy.
Eventually, though, I smartened up and took care of the issue – by always putting squatting before deadlifting in all my lower-body training sessions (twice a week). I eventually wound up with a Powerlifting USA Top 100 Squat in my weight class.
More interestingly, though, in addition to me dramatically improving my squat, a funny thing happened: I actually started to enjoy squatting. Whoever said that you can’t teach an old dog (or deadlifter) new tricks didn’t have the real scoop.

Mistake #2: Not taking deload periods.

One phrase of which I’ve grown quite fond is “fatigue masks fitness.” As a little frame of reference, my best vertical jump is 37.3” – but on most days, I won’t give you anything over 34” or so. The reason is very simple: most of your training career is going to be spent in some degree of fatigue. How you manage that fatigue is what dictates your adaptation over the long- term.
On one hand, you want to impose enough fatigue to create supercompensation – so that you’ll adapt and come back at a higher level of fitness. On the other hand, you don’t want to impose so much fatigue that you dig yourself a hole you can’t get out of without a significant amount of time off.
Good programs implement strategic overreaching follows by periods of lighter training stress to allow for adaptation to occur. You can’t just go in and hit personal bests in every single training session.

Mistake #3: Not rotating movements.

It never ceases to amaze me when a guy claims that he just can’t seem to add to his bench press (or any lift, for that matter), and when you ask him what he’s done to work on it of late, and he tells you “bench press.” Specificity is important, but if you aren’t rotating exercises, you’re missing out on an incredibly valuable training stimulus: rotating exercises.
While there is certainly a place for extended periods of specificity (Smolov squat cycles, for instance), you can’t push this approach indefinitely. Rotating my heaviest movements was one of the most important lessons I learned along my journey. In addition to helping to create adaptation, you’re also expanding your “motor program” and avoiding overuse injuries via pattern overload.
I’m not saying that you should overhaul your entire program with each trip to the gym, but there should be some semi-regular fluctuation in exercise selection. The more experienced you get, the more often you’ll want to rotate your exercises (I do it weekly). Assistance exercises ecan be shuffled every four weeks, though.

Mistake #4: Inconsistency in training.

I tell our clients from all walks of life that the best strength and conditioning programs are ones that are sustainable. I’ll take a terrible program executed with consistency over a great program that’s only done sporadically. This is absolutely huge for professional athletes who need to maximize progress in the off-season; they just can’t afford to have unplanned breaks in training if they want to improve from year to year. However, it’s equally important for general fitness folks who don’t have an extensive training background to fall back on, unlike the professional athletes.
If a program isn’t conducive to your goals and lifestyle, then it isn’t a good program. That’s why I went out of my way to create 2x/week, 3x/week, and 4x/week strength training options – plus five supplemental conditioning options and a host of exercise modifications – when I pulled Show and Go together; I wanted it to be a very versatile resource.
Likewise, I wanted it to be safe; a program isn’t good if it injures you and prevents you from exercising. Solid programs include targeted efforts to reduce the likelihood of injury via means like mobility warm-ups, supplemental stretching recommendations, specific progressions, fluctuations in training stress, and alternative exercises (“plan B”) in case you aren’t quite ready to execute “Plan A.”
For me personally, I attribute a lot of my progress to the fact that at one point, I actually went over eight years without missing a planned lift. It’s a bit extreme, I know, but there’s a lesson to be learned.

Mistake #5: Wrong rep schemes

Beginners can make strength gains on as little as 40% of their one-rep max. Past that initial period, the number moves to 70% – which is roughly a 12-rep max for most folks. Later, I’d say that the number creeps up to about 85% – which would be about a 5-rep max for an intermediate lifter. This last range is where you’ll find most people who head to the internet for strength training information.
What they don’t realize is that 85% isn’t going to get the job done for very long, either. My experience is that in advanced lifters, the fastest way to build strength is to perform singles at or above 90% of one-rep max with regularity. As long as exercises are rotated and deloading periods are included, this is a strategy that can be employed for an extended period of time. In fact, it was probably the single (no pun intended) most valuable discovery I made in my quest to get stronger.
I’m not saying that you should be attempting one-rep maxes each time you enter the gym, but I do think they’ll “just happen” if you employ this technique.
To take the guesswork out of all this and try some programming that considers all these crucial factors (and a whole lot more), check out Show and Go: High Performance Training to Look Feel and Move Better.
-Eric Cressey-

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“How Much Ya Bench?!”

This is a guest post from Chandler Marchman, designer of the SWOLE System: The New Authority for Building Size, Strength, and a Lean Athletic Body

The Bench Press – the one lift in the gym that’s seemed to transcend beyond the realm of just meathead weightlifting enthusiasts, and solidified itself as the official lift that every man must know his number for. So pretty much, if an over eager Man-Crushing beckons the question, we as men must be prepared to respond proudly with a stout number otherwise risk getting asked to turn in our MAN-Card…

But what if you are a competitive Strongman, CrossFitter, or Olympic lifter that holds the Overhead Press in higher regard????

I for one can attest to this dilemma. However, instead of ditching the bench press all together, I have found a simple and extremely effective way to not only do both, but also utilize one of powerlifting’s most prominent training systems to do so. That’s right, for those of you afraid to expose your undying allegiance to the Overhead Press, you no longer have to shamefully explain to people that you prefer a different movement pattern than the King of Meathead lifts…So rejoice, and restore your MAN-Card to its rightful place in your wallet. You no longer have to just do Overhead, you can Bench Press too!!!

The Birth of the SWOLE System

The solution I found to this meathead conundrum was birthed whilst training for my last Strongman Competition in which the pressing portion of the competition would be a certain number of reps on different implements for time. Noting that the weights for this event weren’t my limiting factor, I had to focus my time and effort on developing as much speed overhead as possible.

It wouldn’t be enough to just be able to lift maximal loads overhead, I had to lift them with a relative degree of speed. So taking what I have implemented successfully with my own interpretation of the Westside Method, I simply adopted the same principles utilized to build the bench press, only using the Overhead in its place.

Let’s examine.

If you know the Westside Method and the results this program produces you can expect to produce an athlete that can lift a hell of a lot of weight as fast as greased lighting. Pretty much, their power output rivals that of an angry bear with the munchies going after your picnic basket. Scary…I know…

The Basic Concepts

How are they able to do this? Simple, their training goals (squatting, benching & deadlifting as much as humanly possible) are met by two different methods with two different objectives. The Dynamic Effort Method, which is put in place to increase the rate of force development in each core lift, and the Max Effort Method, which is put in place to be able to continually overcome the maximal load your body is able to lift.

***Because inducing hypertrophy and a greater degree of work capacity are important goals for my athletes and I, we also implement a Repetitive Effort day for our core lifts as well***

Applying Dynamic Effort Training to Overhead Lifts

The objective of the Dynamic Effort Method is to increase the rate of force development in your core lift so that your max effort lifts will have greater bar speed. In order for me to take advantage of this training effect so that I could lift not only heavy weights overhead, but do so with speed, I would focus my efforts on the Strict Press, Push Press and Jerk as my core lifts instead of the Bench Press. I follow the same percentage (40% – 60%), rep (3 reps), and set (8 – 12 sets) range as the Westside Method, just with a different core lift.

Applying Max Effort Training to Overhead Lifts

The same principles apply to my approach to Max Effort Method training days. Three days after my Dynamic Effort Day, I would focus on hitting anywhere from a 1-5 rep max on the SAME core lift I did three days prior (it’s important to note that I’d rotate implements as well as the style of OH lift in order to continuously adapt to different stimuli).

By focusing on developing as much maximal strength as speed, I was able to develop tremendous power output in this movement pattern, insuring that on competition day, those lifting against me would soil themselves in fear! It worked… #Strength,Speed,&Stamina=Dominance

So where does the Bench Press fit in? Well, just like with the Bench Press, I found that focusing your supplemental work on the muscles involved in the core lift itself was the best way to improve the core lift. In this case, conveniently enough, the same muscles that are used in increasing your OH Press are the ones being used in the Bench Press (triceps, shoulders, and upper back to be specific). So my supplemental work was composed greatly of Bench Pressing.

Training Volume Considerations

As far as volume goes, I used the same protocol as that of many powerlifters using the Westside Method. On Dynamic Effort Method training days where the weight is submaximal, my supplemental work (on the Bench Press) would be relatively heavy (3-5 sets of 4-8 reps), whereas on Max Effort days when I’m lifting near maximal weights for my core lift, the supplemental work would be much lighter with far greater volume (3-5 sets of 12-20 reps).

So all I had to do was implement the Bench Press as my supplemental lift and BOOM, I could actively achieve my objective of increasing not only the weight I could put over head as well as how fast I could do it, but also answer the most important question any and every meathead could be faced with… HOW MUCH DO YOU BENCH?

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This has been a guest post by Chandler “MANdler” Marchman, author of SWOLE System: The New Authority for Building Size, Strength, and a Lean Athletic Body

---

NOTE FROM JEDD: I recently met MANdler at a seminar in New Jersey and asked him to tell us a little bit about his program, and this is what he had to say (I had just beaten him in a Hulk Hogan impersonation contest).

Here’s a run-down of what is included in the SWOLE System:

Component 1: The Training Manual
Understand the SWOLE System and how MANdler gets such awesome results with his clients.

Component 2: 12 Week Training Routine
MANdler lays out 3-months worth of programming to turn you into an ass-kicking machine.

Component 3: Exercise Video Database
MANdler shows you exactly how to perform each exercise to ensure proper form and best results.

Component 4: The Diet Manual
Understand how to eat the right way in order to get Swole even faster.

Component 5: Meal Plans
Apply the Swole Methods for quickly and easily with this done-for-you diet plan.

Component 6: Supplements Guide Book
Not all supplements are bad – find out the ones that are worth your money and will help support all your other hard work and discipline.

Common Questions About the SWOLE System

:

Q: What is the SWOLE System and HOW does it work so fast?

A: The SWOLE System is an all-inclusive training packet that focuses on a percentage based scientific approach to training and easy to follow diet guide, that lead to fast and efficient results such as increased size, strength, endurance, and a lean athletic physique.

---

Q: What is included with this training system?

A: Included in this success pack are a done for you 12-Week transformation program, Video tutorials for EVERY exercise, a simple to follow diet guide, as a well as a theory portion that explains WHY the SWOLE System works so well for increased size, strength, power, endurance, and SEX APPEAL (you’ll look good while performing good as well)!!!

---

Q: I’m an athlete that needs to build strength, size and SPEED…will this training system work for me?

A: This system was actually started with athletes in mind. You will build size, strength, endurance and yes, even speed at a ridiculous rate! All things held constant, the athlete with superior strength, speed and conditioning ALWAYS wins. You don’t want to be left behind or face an opponent that has trained with this system. TRUST ME!!!

---

Q: Is there a diet component to this program? How does it work?

A: Yes. It’s one of the most important issues you must address when working towards your goals, and the simple system we use to address WHAT to eat, WHEN to eat, and HOW MUCH to eat, are what make this done for you, “Plug & Chug” diet system SO effective.

---

Q: Will this program work if I’m just trying to get ripped?

A: HELL YEA!!! For many of the weekend warriors at my gym, this is there one and only goal!!! When you focus on the training protocol that we focus on with this training system, it is theoretically IMPOSSIBLE to not decrease your body fat percentage while developing a lean athletic physique.

---

Q: I’m older than a lot of your “success stories” seem to be (in my late 30’s), will this program be suitable for me as well?

A: Absolutely it will work for the older than 30 crowd! Our bodies are meant to adapt to the demands that we place upon them. When we go through this specific, science based training protocol, it’s all the more important that we focus on training efficiency. And that’s the cornerstone of the SWOLE System’s philosophy. Train smarter, not harder. Train optimally, not maximally. When we match our training, our nutrition, and our lifestyle with the proper road map that are dictated by our specific goals, we are guaranteed to have success, REGARDLESS of age!

---

For more information on the SWOLE System, click the image below:

---

---

“How Much Ya Bench?!”

This is a guest post from Chandler Marchman, designer of the SWOLE System: The New Authority for Building Size, Strength, and a Lean Athletic Body

The Bench Press – the one lift in the gym that’s seemed to transcend beyond the realm of just meathead weightlifting enthusiasts, and solidified itself as the official lift that every man must know his number for. So pretty much, if an over eager Man-Crushing beckons the question, we as men must be prepared to respond proudly with a stout number otherwise risk getting asked to turn in our MAN-Card…
But what if you are a competitive Strongman, CrossFitter, or Olympic lifter that holds the Overhead Press in higher regard????
I for one can attest to this dilemma. However, instead of ditching the bench press all together, I have found a simple and extremely effective way to not only do both, but also utilize one of powerlifting’s most prominent training systems to do so. That’s right, for those of you afraid to expose your undying allegiance to the Overhead Press, you no longer have to shamefully explain to people that you prefer a different movement pattern than the King of Meathead lifts…So rejoice, and restore your MAN-Card to its rightful place in your wallet. You no longer have to just do Overhead, you can Bench Press too!!!

The Birth of the SWOLE System

The solution I found to this meathead conundrum was birthed whilst training for my last Strongman Competition in which the pressing portion of the competition would be a certain number of reps on different implements for time. Noting that the weights for this event weren’t my limiting factor, I had to focus my time and effort on developing as much speed overhead as possible.
It wouldn’t be enough to just be able to lift maximal loads overhead, I had to lift them with a relative degree of speed. So taking what I have implemented successfully with my own interpretation of the Westside Method, I simply adopted the same principles utilized to build the bench press, only using the Overhead in its place.
Let’s examine.
If you know the Westside Method and the results this program produces you can expect to produce an athlete that can lift a hell of a lot of weight as fast as greased lighting. Pretty much, their power output rivals that of an angry bear with the munchies going after your picnic basket. Scary…I know…

The Basic Concepts

How are they able to do this? Simple, their training goals (squatting, benching & deadlifting as much as humanly possible) are met by two different methods with two different objectives. The Dynamic Effort Method, which is put in place to increase the rate of force development in each core lift, and the Max Effort Method, which is put in place to be able to continually overcome the maximal load your body is able to lift.
***Because inducing hypertrophy and a greater degree of work capacity are important goals for my athletes and I, we also implement a Repetitive Effort day for our core lifts as well***

Applying Dynamic Effort Training to Overhead Lifts

The objective of the Dynamic Effort Method is to increase the rate of force development in your core lift so that your max effort lifts will have greater bar speed. In order for me to take advantage of this training effect so that I could lift not only heavy weights overhead, but do so with speed, I would focus my efforts on the Strict Press, Push Press and Jerk as my core lifts instead of the Bench Press. I follow the same percentage (40% – 60%), rep (3 reps), and set (8 – 12 sets) range as the Westside Method, just with a different core lift.

Applying Max Effort Training to Overhead Lifts

The same principles apply to my approach to Max Effort Method training days. Three days after my Dynamic Effort Day, I would focus on hitting anywhere from a 1-5 rep max on the SAME core lift I did three days prior (it’s important to note that I’d rotate implements as well as the style of OH lift in order to continuously adapt to different stimuli).
By focusing on developing as much maximal strength as speed, I was able to develop tremendous power output in this movement pattern, insuring that on competition day, those lifting against me would soil themselves in fear! It worked… #Strength,Speed,&Stamina=Dominance
So where does the Bench Press fit in? Well, just like with the Bench Press, I found that focusing your supplemental work on the muscles involved in the core lift itself was the best way to improve the core lift. In this case, conveniently enough, the same muscles that are used in increasing your OH Press are the ones being used in the Bench Press (triceps, shoulders, and upper back to be specific). So my supplemental work was composed greatly of Bench Pressing.

Training Volume Considerations

As far as volume goes, I used the same protocol as that of many powerlifters using the Westside Method. On Dynamic Effort Method training days where the weight is submaximal, my supplemental work (on the Bench Press) would be relatively heavy (3-5 sets of 4-8 reps), whereas on Max Effort days when I’m lifting near maximal weights for my core lift, the supplemental work would be much lighter with far greater volume (3-5 sets of 12-20 reps).
So all I had to do was implement the Bench Press as my supplemental lift and BOOM, I could actively achieve my objective of increasing not only the weight I could put over head as well as how fast I could do it, but also answer the most important question any and every meathead could be faced with… HOW MUCH DO YOU BENCH?

---

This has been a guest post by Chandler “MANdler” Marchman, author of SWOLE System: The New Authority for Building Size, Strength, and a Lean Athletic Body

---

NOTE FROM JEDD: I recently met MANdler at a seminar in New Jersey and asked him to tell us a little bit about his program, and this is what he had to say (I had just beaten him in a Hulk Hogan impersonation contest).

Here’s a run-down of what is included in the SWOLE System:

Component 1: The Training Manual
Understand the SWOLE System and how MANdler gets such awesome results with his clients.
Component 2: 12 Week Training Routine
MANdler lays out 3-months worth of programming to turn you into an ass-kicking machine.
Component 3: Exercise Video Database
MANdler shows you exactly how to perform each exercise to ensure proper form and best results.
Component 4: The Diet Manual
Understand how to eat the right way in order to get Swole even faster.
Component 5: Meal Plans
Apply the Swole Methods for quickly and easily with this done-for-you diet plan.
Component 6: Supplements Guide Book
Not all supplements are bad – find out the ones that are worth your money and will help support all your other hard work and discipline.

Common Questions About the SWOLE System

:
Q: What is the SWOLE System and HOW does it work so fast?
A: The SWOLE System is an all-inclusive training packet that focuses on a percentage based scientific approach to training and easy to follow diet guide, that lead to fast and efficient results such as increased size, strength, endurance, and a lean athletic physique.

---

Q: What is included with this training system?
A: Included in this success pack are a done for you 12-Week transformation program, Video tutorials for EVERY exercise, a simple to follow diet guide, as a well as a theory portion that explains WHY the SWOLE System works so well for increased size, strength, power, endurance, and SEX APPEAL (you’ll look good while performing good as well)!!!

---

Q: I’m an athlete that needs to build strength, size and SPEED…will this training system work for me?
A: This system was actually started with athletes in mind. You will build size, strength, endurance and yes, even speed at a ridiculous rate! All things held constant, the athlete with superior strength, speed and conditioning ALWAYS wins. You don’t want to be left behind or face an opponent that has trained with this system. TRUST ME!!!

---

Q: Is there a diet component to this program? How does it work?
A: Yes. It’s one of the most important issues you must address when working towards your goals, and the simple system we use to address WHAT to eat, WHEN to eat, and HOW MUCH to eat, are what make this done for you, “Plug & Chug” diet system SO effective.

---

Q: Will this program work if I’m just trying to get ripped?
A: HELL YEA!!! For many of the weekend warriors at my gym, this is there one and only goal!!! When you focus on the training protocol that we focus on with this training system, it is theoretically IMPOSSIBLE to not decrease your body fat percentage while developing a lean athletic physique.

---

Q: I’m older than a lot of your “success stories” seem to be (in my late 30’s), will this program be suitable for me as well?
A: Absolutely it will work for the older than 30 crowd! Our bodies are meant to adapt to the demands that we place upon them. When we go through this specific, science based training protocol, it’s all the more important that we focus on training efficiency. And that’s the cornerstone of the SWOLE System’s philosophy. Train smarter, not harder. Train optimally, not maximally. When we match our training, our nutrition, and our lifestyle with the proper road map that are dictated by our specific goals, we are guaranteed to have success, REGARDLESS of age!

---

For more information on the SWOLE System, click the image below:

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