Ever noticed how everyone seems to be obsessed with form these days? I blame books like Starting Strength – great book of course, but now suddenly everyone’s an expert! It’s one thing to know the theory; it’s another thing to apply it to an individual. If it was that easy, we wouldn’t need strength coaches [...]

I mentioned to a friend that I was training for a powerlifting competition and he said, “So you’ll be wanting to bulk up then!” I explained that you can be any weight you want since, like boxing, there are different weight classes. It is easy to forget that most people don’t know what powerlifting or [...]

I have been away from this blog for a while, spending much of my time rock climbing, surfing, hiking, cycling and generally enjoying the great outdoors down here in beautiful Cornwall. One thing my recent sporting activity has brought home to me is the importance of sport-specific training. If you are a generalist and a [...]

I’m interested in your thoughts about supplementation. I am talking about all the different types of supplements: vitamins, minerals, fish oil, creatine, stimulants, protein, recovery drinks and so on. I have rarely used them up till now as I have been unconvinced of the need for supplements for myself.  I reckon I eat a pretty healthy, [...]

I suspect all of us have emotional routines attached to our training sessions that play a big part in the training process. I often feel nervous before a workout, but at the same time I know this is a good thing. If I don’t feel nervous, a little voice in the back of my head [...]

I’ve seen some valid criticisms of the notion of “functional strength” or even “functional fitness”. After all, strength is itself functional, however it is developed. The “functional strength” crowd doesn’t have a monopoly on whole body or compound exercises. These are used across the strength disciplines by powerlifters, bodybuilders, martial artists and so on. I [...]

I came across this interesting tool on the Crossfit Seattle website: a programme of athletic skill levels. It covers four levels from well-rounded beginner through intermediate, advanced and finally elite. The programme lists, by type of strength or conditioning, an appropriate benchmark for each of the four levels What makes this ranking different from the [...]

You know what I mean, those things that make your family and friends roll their eyes, the things that cause other people to shake their heads and almost pity your obsession! What lengths do you go to in order to make sure you get your training session in, or you have access to the right [...]

I’d love to have a gym of my own one day. I don’t like training by myself all the time, so even if I had a home gym I’d have to invite people round to use it. There are many aspects of a gym that affect the training experience. There is the space, equipment, décor, [...]

Commenting on a fellow trainee’s form seems to be the ultimate no-no in today’s fitness clubs. Recently I’ve seen some poor deadlifting form in my gym. Basic stuff: rounding of the lower back, hyper-extending at the top of the lift, that kind of thing. But gym etiquette dictates that you can’t say anything to people [...]