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, balanced […]

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 can […]

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, people, […]

This puzzles me because almost every strength website I come across these days has the obligatory “why women should lift weights” article. Yet despite all these attempts at myth-busting, it appears the message isn’t getting through.
Body Pump, a group exercise class involving free weights set to music, seems to be as popular as ever with […]

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 if […]

You will often hear or read people debating the merits of training with free weights or machines. Most people seem to fall into one camp or the other. A lot of it comes down to individual circumstances: the purpose of one’s training, a bad experience with one method, or simply a personal preference.
I am a […]