If you have been involved in the iron game for even a little while, you probably know most of the “get big advice.” Stuff such as “eat a lot of protein and calories,” “train heavy on the big lifts,” “get plenty of rest and recovery,” and other such “basic” advice can be found in any number of articles, YouTube videos, or Facebook posts. And most of it is pretty good and fairly sound—I’ve written plenty of such articles covering similar material here on the blog and I will continue to do so. But in this essay, I want to do something just a little bit different. Here, I want to look at some various tips, training ideas, and nutritional hacks that are not your run-of-the-mill suggestions. Most of these are not to be used long-term, but they can be quite useful when utilized over a short period of time, such as one training cycle or even over the course of only a few weeks. Before we get starte...
While doing research for my last article, I was re-reading Bradley Steiner’s original “Rugged Size and Strength” essay (from 1972) and came across this bit of advice: “Do not attempt to set up a pre-planned schedule of either sets or reps.” That may not seem like much—it’s the kind of “basic” advice that’s easily overlooked—but there is wisdom in it, minimal as it may seem at first glance. Depending on the workout program and the lifting population it’s aiming for, that quote could be either good or bad. It’s not good advice for a beginner’s program, any beginner’s program. It’s not good advice for intermediate or advanced lifters, either, who are attempting a new workout program or a new “style” of lifting that they haven’t utilized before. For instance, if you’ve been training for the past decade on a bodybuilding workout consi...