In Part 2, I started with an addendum to Part 1, examining the simple fact that tesotsterone was synthesized in 1937, available by 1940, might have been mentioned in 1938 in the primary bodybuilding/fitness magazine of the time and was assuredly in use to some degree by the mid 1940’s.  This raises severe questions about the claim that any top bodybuilders (including Grimek who had a supposed FFMI higher than Arnold’s in 1941) were natural.… Keep Reading

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Today I want to continue with a re-examination of the topic by first making an addendum to the last part that is critically important.  Then I want to  look at an important physiological distinction and then examining a slightly different issue which is the upper limits of FFM that a human might carry to begin with.  I’ll finish by asking a cliffhanger question to set up the third and final part.… Keep Reading

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The idea, as I’ll detail below had to do with the suggestion that there was a cutoff for FFMI that did or could be used to indicate that someone was or was not using anabolic steroids. Since the original concept was originated back in 1995, there has been a lot of back and forth about the topic.  I suspect it kicked off some of the FAKE NATTY nonsense and I’ve seen various counterarguments against there being a specific FFMI limit that can be used to determine if someone is natural or not.… Keep Reading

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That question has to do with what kind of calorie surplus is optimal for muscle gain.  That is, people continuously ask what kind of daily, or weekly, or monthly surplus is required to optimize muscle gain and hopefully avoid excessive fat gain.  And, at long last, having run out of podcasts to post links to for a bit, I want to address that question.

Now I have mentioned this at least obliquely in earlier articles, primarily the one on the energy balance equation but I want to look at it more comprehensively here. … Keep Reading

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Because while a lot of people tend to jump back and forth from one to the other (often, I think, spinning their wheels a bit), taking a more long-term approach, a nutritional periodization of sorts, can be beneficial in terms of working with rather than against the body’s inherent physiology.

Gaining to Dieting: The Pre-Diet Phase

Way back in the early days of bodybuilding you would hear physique athletes talk about a “hardening phase” which was meant as a transition from their off-season bulking to their contest diet.  Now, in hindsight, it probably had as much to do with switching out their drugs from heavy androgens to more anabolic compounds to reduce water retention but it basically entailed “cleaning up the diet” to prepare for the actual contest prep.… Keep Reading

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I am Not an Anabolic Steroid Expert

Ok, let me start this with a disclaimer: I am not a steroid guy. I know enough to be a little bit dangerous and can throw around big words like leutinizing hormone and steroidogenesis but that’s about it.  I’ve read most of the major books (and I have both Duchaine’s Ultimate Steroid Handbook and USHII so nyah nyah) because it interests me on some level but that’s it.   … Keep Reading

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My Beginner Machine Program

I might as well get the “simplest” beginner program out of the way which is a basic machine circuit.  This is actually the routine that I used with the majority of my beginner clients.  Do realize that I was typically working with mid-30’s or older individuals without a training or movements background.

They were intimidated enough without my giving them exercises they couldn’t do well from the get go.  So I would start with simpler machines and then worry about teaching more complex things later down the road.  In many cases, I only had them for 3 sessions to begin with.

For that reason, I had to choose exercises that they could do safely and competently after only 3 teaching sessions. … Keep Reading

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I’d make the point again that one huge assumption that is going into what I’m going to write is that the individual has no underlying issues (such as muscular imbalances or injury) that are oh so common in the modern world.   In those specific cases, an “imbalanced” program may be required to fix things.  But since I can’t cover that in any detail, I’m going to draw up what is basically a ‘balanced’ beginner routine.… Keep Reading

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It’s still a book I highly recommend, if not for the training wisdom it contains then for its highly entertaining and readable style.  I reread it about once a year and something in it always manages to make me chuckle or think.

As a collection of articles there wasn’t really any single theme that ran through it except for perhaps the fact that Dan is as old as the hills and has truly seen it and done it all when it comes to the weight room.

I mean, I’m fairly sure Dan was the guy who pointed Milo at the bull and told him to get cracking.  Hell, Dan might have been the bull.  For those who have truly been living under a rock, as the story goes, Milo lifted a bull on a daily basis.… Keep Reading

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Chapter 11: Dietary Supplements for Athletes

If there is a single area of sports nutrition that is constantly changing (in terms of the products being marketed) and which athletes are always interested in it’s dietary supplements. As I mentioned in Chapter 2 of this book, I consider supplementation to be the third tier of the pyramid (after overall daily nutrition and around workout nutrition) in terms of what athletes should concern themselves with.… Keep Reading

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