Fitness Distilled

Yo, yo , yo. Here’s what I came across this month in the world of research.   Forced Reps Don’t Work I love Arnold and all the old bodybuilding idols to death, but they often recommended using forced reps to “shock” the body into new growth. Decades later, there’s still no real evidence that it […]

There’s more evidence that protein, particularly whey, has value for building muscle and helping you lose fat than any other supplement you’ll see on the shelves at a GNC. That’s why I’ve always recommended protein supps and hardly ever recommended any other kinds of supplements.   The catch with drinking protein shakes is what happens […]

I probably get about a dozen emails a week from people I don’t know and have never worked with who reach out to ask me for fitness advice. Most of the time I have no problem with this and am happy to help, but here’s an example of the type of email I rarely reply […]

Everybody wants to deadlift, but most probably shouldn’t. I’ve seen more successful pick-ups in gyms than I’ve seen properly performed deadlifts, and most of those ended less painfully, too.   There’s nothing inherently wrong with the conventional deadlift. If you can perform it correctly, particularly when the weight gets heavy, more power to you: it’s […]

I hurt my shoulder. No, it wasn’t from benching or setting a new PR with five, 10, or 20 more pounds than I should have been using. It was while doing a Turkish getup (and, as my friend Ben Bruno said when I told him, “it serves you right for doing Turkish getups”).   Ironically, […]