Articles & Guides
Learn how to build muscle, burn fat and stay motivated.
Are You Weaker Than You Think? Here's How to Get Stronger
We need to have a talk. This is a topic we both have been putting off for a while now but the time has finally come to face some tough facts. You’re dedicated and pushing yourself to achieve those goals of getting bigger and stronger. You want it and no one is questioning that. The thing is we all k...
You Are What You Lift
I’m sure many of you are familiar with the phrase “You are what you eat”. Outside of the genetic predispositions some people have that allow them to eat whatever they want; this phrase still holds true today. What it implies is that if you constantly eat healthy and you watch your calorie intake, we...
Workout Partner Training: Maximize Your Gym Time With A Buddy
Almost anyone who ever touched a barbell is familiar with scenes from Pumping Iron of the overwhelming camaraderie between all of the bodybuilding champions at Gold’s Gym, Venice Beach. The fast pace, motivation and absolute fun those guys had back then were incredibly contagious even through your T...
How To Workout In A Crowded Gym: 9 Tips For Better Training
Brad Borland is a strength & conditioning specialist, cancer survivor and the founder of WorkoutLab. Does this describe you in some way? You enter your local gym on a weekday evening to find it crowded as usual. It’s 5:30 or so and all of the after-work wannabe bodybuilders and wide-eyed weight trai...
The Working Man's Guide to Gains
The internet is riddled with training and diet programs tailored for the gym rat. Intricate and time-consuming training programs and expensive eating plans that require special trips to the local specialty food store aren’t all that practical. It can eventually lead you to believe that the results y...
Women's Body Bible: Training, Diet & Supplementation
The primary concern women have when it comes to weight training is, "I don't want to get big or bulky." We are here to tell you that you won't! Men vs. Women - What's the Difference? Training Studies have shown that men and women do not need to train differently. If you are a woman and want to gain...
Why Do My Joints Hurt? How to Diagnose and Work Around Lifting Injuries
Key Points Programming plays a key role in preventing injuries. Neglect it long enough and it will catch up with you. Most trainees should be hitting their "go" muscles more than their "show" muscles. The hips, knees, and shoulders are the primarily load bearing joints within the bod...
Why Bodyweight to Strength Ratios Are Dumb
I’m sick of the internet. That may sound steeped in hypocrisy as you read my online article, but I’m being honest. The availability of great information is a huge plus, but the number of online trolls and keyboard warriors only seems to be multiplying as time goes on. Scour YouTube, and you’ll see m...
Which Olympic Lifts Should Bodybuilders Learn to Do?
I know what you’re thinking. You’ve read the title of this article and are ready to litter the Muscle & Strength inbox with your vitriol that a coach is egregiously trying to promote a crossover that isn’t useful in any way. Before you do that, hear me out. The thing that makes bodybuilders successf...
Where Are My Abs? How To Build A Great Abdominal Foundation!
When people start working out, they almost invariably go straight for their abs. And perhaps it is reasonable – the abdominal area is where people are most acutely aware of carrying extra weight, bloat, or softness, and it is the spot almost all people want to see direct improvement. What’s more, ha...
What Mainstream Media Got Wrong About Ab Training
Abs are somewhat like uninformed scientific opinions, everyone has them regardless of age, gender, or physical location. However, you may find the two are often interrelated – many individuals have uninformed “scientific” opinions regarding core training, stored body fat, and spinal injury rates. Wh...
What Powerlifters Can Learn from Bodybuilders (And Vice Versa)
When it comes to those of us who strength train, we often choose a camp to stick our flag in – it is never just strength training, we often label ourselves as either: a powerlifter; a bodybuilder; a Crossfitter, or an Olympic lifter. For the powerlifters who want to be successful, you need to be, at...
What's the Best Way to Train Your Core While Bulking?
It’s a common question a lot of lifters have. How should I train my core while on a bulk? It’s much easier to set up a core road map while shredding. After all, a major point of emphasis while on a cut is to walk away from it all with a visible 6 pack. But while you’re bulking things can be a little...
Westside Barbell Powerlifting Training Made Easy
There are a lot of articles on the Westside Barbell template, but it can be confusing to someone that is new to it. I am going to try to simplify it and make it work for you. The key is to keep it simple and work hard. Westside Barbell Upper Body Training The upper body portion of the Westside...
Weight Training Programs: You Can’t Just Keep Adding
Can I just add some sets and reps of direct arm work? How about cardio? Would a few 30 minutes interval training sessions work? What if I did extra rotator cuff stuff every day? Just a little tubing, you know? I’m going to add two extra days of calves, abs, and forearms. It shouldn’t be a problem...
What are the Three Body Types and Which One are You?
Over the years, there have been several different types of categorizing the human body. In Ayurvedic medicine that evolved from five-thousand-year-old Sanskrit teachings, body types and their associated personalities were defined as Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. If we go back to our high school/college da...
Weight Training Exercise Form: Is Using English OK?
One of the lesser-known dichotomies in the gym is the split between form perfectionists and those who just focus on moving more weight regardless of how bad their technique is. People seem to cling to one extreme on the form spectrum, but is either side really better than the other? Well, not so unl...
Vince Gironda Part 1: The Man And His Philosophies
This article is the first part of a three part series about one the most influential people the beloved iron game has ever seen, and a man who also happens to be a coach I look up to: Vince Gironda. Vince who you may ask? Let me just put this out there: Vince Gironda was the Bill Gates/Steve Jobs of...
Using Resistance Bands for Explosive Muscle Growth
AML Athlete Joe Donnelly always has some innovated tips when it comes to training and workout routines. From occlusion training to high intensity interval weight circuits, Joe never fails to impress with his unique training styles. Naturally, when Joe has a tip for muscle growth, the Muscle & Streng...
Variable Split Training
I am often asked questions about the science of bodybuilding, training and nutrition. Most common questions revolve around how many days per week should someone train, how many reps per set and what type of volume should the workout entail. People expect me to sort out the facts and provide a one si...
Upping the Training Intensity: Plateau Busting Training Methods
In order for us to achieve progression in our training, we must increase our work capacity. The body will react to this increased training work capacity by an increase in muscle growth and increased strength; this increase will quickly be followed by a training plateau unless training load is furthe...
Upper Body Alternatives to Your Favorite Gym Machines (Plus Free Workout!)
Getting the motivation to train at home can be tricky. You’re not at the gym surrounded by other people training with the machines that you like to use. As a result, you might need to take extra time to talk yourself into going through with the workout with the options you have available. You should...
Transform Your Training by Understanding Heart Rate Variability
Wearable devices are now commonplace in just about every active population. When I say wearable devices, I’m talking about technology like Fitbits, Whoop Bands, Oura Rings, and dozens of other pieces of technology designed to provide insights into your training, health, and recovery. This technology...
Understanding Muscular Fitness
Following on from my article on muscle and muscle fibers, we know that we have two types of muscle fibers, slow twitch and fast twitch. The larger, faster-contracting fast-twitch fibers have a greater potential for the development of tension. Individuals who have a higher percentage of fast-twitch f...