“Do you even lift, bro?” is a popular refrain from an online video lampooning the bodybuilding subculture. Although the point of the video is to poke fun at a specific community of weightlifting enthusiasts, the underlying theme is accurate—many people who exercise with the goal of adding muscle or improving their appearance may not be…
While some clients hire personal trainers to help them lose weight or increase muscle mass, many are focused on developing sculpted, well-defined muscles. While there are a number of different methods that can help promote muscle growth and increases in muscle definition, one of the most effective methods is called drop setting. Bodybuilders have used…
It’s not uncommon for bodybuilders to glance at the straps of the TRX Suspension Trainer and wonder, “How can these floppy pieces of nylon webbing possibly help me add muscle mass?” The answer, of course, is grounded in the science of how muscle is actually built. When a significant load is applied to the muscles,…
Toning up, or improving muscle definition, is one of the most common goals of individuals starting an exercise program. The term tone comes from “tonus,” which is the technical term for a state of contraction of a muscle fiber. If all of the fibers within a muscle contract, it creates the shape commonly associated with…
If you watch sports on TV, at some point you’ve probably heard a commentator talk about an athlete having explosive or powerful muscles. For example, professional football player JJ Watt has received a lot of attention for his off-season conditioning program, which includes flipping a large truck tire. A sportscaster was recently discussing Watt’s training…
Most people perform cardiovascular and strength training in the same session because it seems to achieve multiple goals at the same time. Yet scientists and trainers continue to ask whether or not this approach really achieves multiple goals or is, in fact, counterproductive. The answer seems to lie in the fact that our muscles are…