Articles & Guides

8 Ways Women's Magazines Got Fitness All Wrong

“The One Trick to Improve Your Workouts Right Now!” “The Secret to an Instantly Flat Belly!” There’s good reason people roll their eyes at fitness magazines. They make outlandish promises claiming to have all the answers to your most pressing problems. Women’s magazines are notorious for eye-catchin...

Women And Creatine Supplementation

Creatine is the most common muscle building supplement used. It is also the most tried and proven supplement. I believe that creatine should be a staple is one's supplement arsenal if they undertake anaerobic or resistance training. In saying that, many individuals - especially training newbies and...

Can Women Lose Weight Without Exercise?

At My Garage Gym I occasionally get these types of question:  “Do I need to do all this exercise to lose weight?” and “I am exercising my butt off, why don’t I lose weight?” In layman’s terms, the answers are: No you don’t have to exercise to lose weight. ...and: You are doing all that exercise and...

Women: Shaping The Perfect Glutes

Next to a sleek and sexy, toned midsection, high, tight glutes are the focus and desire of many women. They want the hard muscles of a fitness model combined with the round derriere of a pop star. Women like fitness supermodel Jamie Eason and actress/singer Jennifer Lopez have a booty that is the en...

Women's Fitness Articles

Women: 5 Tricks For A Great 30 Minute Workout

I did a little poll of my Facebook friends yesterday – probably the wrong forum, considering that half of my Facebook friends are physique competitors and the others just flat out know me too well and knew the answer already. The question was: You have only 30 minutes in the gym. Of these two which...

15 Reasons Why You're NOT Building Muscle!

Here’s a question I see time and time again in online bodybuilding & fitness forums: “Hi, I have been working out for __ [insert long time period here] months and I have only gained __ [insert small amount of weight here] pounds. I train hard and have been taking XYZ supplements. I can’t gain weight...

Why You Don't Have The Body You Want

A common reason for getting into weight training and hitting the gym is that people are not happy with the shape that they are in; they're not happy with the body that they have. So with this reasoning so commonplace, why do so many people fail to achieve the body and shape that they want/deserve? T...

Why You Failed at Achieving Your New Years Resolution

Millions of people walked into the gym on January 1st, and were ripping, roaring, and chomping at the bit to get after it. Now there are some depressing statistics out there about how people don’t make it past January and blah, blah, blah about how people aren’t motivated. But the truth is, it proba...

Why Women Should Deadlift

Deadlifts. They are by far one of the best exercises for producing overall strength. But even more than that, they can even help you improve your physical appearance too. So, before we get into the meat of this article, I want to explain why women in particular should do deadlifts on a regular, cons...

Why Intra-Workout Supplementation Works

What you consume pre- and post-workout is important. But to maximize your exercise performance, improve recovery, and decrease muscle damage, there’s another window of opportunity you may be missing. Intra-workout supplementation. Intra-workout supplementation is the scientific-sounding name for sup...

Why You Need A Better Multivitamin (Now!)

Athletes and hard-training fitness fanatics are not like sedentary persons. Our needs for both macro and micro-nutrients are far different than that of an average person.  We manage our food intake to best meet our macronutrient needs (carbohydrate, protein, fat). While doing so we also hope that th...

Fat Loss: Why The Scale Isn’t the Best Measure of Progress

You’re working hard on your diet and hitting the gym regularly. You’re excited about the results you’re about to receive. But when it comes to actually tracking those results, what do you do? If you’re like many, the first thing you do is step on the scale. While there’s nothing wrong with using the...

Why Flexible Dieting (IIFYM) Isn't Actually Flexible

Two definitions from Merriam-Webster Dictionary provide some context for this article: Flexible: Capable of being readily changed; Not bound by rigid standards Diet: Food and drink regularly provided or consumed; A regimen of eating and drinking sparingly so as to reduce one’s we...

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 Cardio Doesn't Work For Some People: A NEAT Explanation

I get a question which comes up with alarming frequency: “Why isn’t my cardio working?” Despite not only doing regular cardio for weeks, but actually increasing the duration of her workouts, one member still saw no added fat loss and started wondering what she was doing wrong… or what was wrong with...

Which Training Style is Best for You?

I’m probably going to be one of the very few people you hear say this over the course of your training journey: There’s NO “best method” to lifting. So much of your results ride on your genetics, physiology, and personal response to exercise and diet, that there’s no one to say what you’re doing is...

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...

Why Cardio Can Negatively Affect Women's Fat Loss

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result. Unfortunately this could not be truer for the standard women’s fat loss protocol. For the majority of women, the fat loss battle is a multiyear process filled with yo-yo dieting and ultimate failure. I...

Whey Protein: The Most Frequently Asked Questions

Christine Hronec is co-owner and the food scientist behind Muscle Gauge Nutrition. What is whey protein? Whey is a "complete" protein, meaning it contains all the essential amino acids that the human body requires for proper repair and function.  Whey protein is also a rich source of the branched...

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...

Mass Confusion: Which Supplements Are Worth Their Weight

Open a magazine and just look at not only the amount of supplement ads but all the different types of supplements on the market. It is no wonder that bodybuilders are always researching the latest information on the newest supplements and how and when to use them. It can be difficult to sift through...

Whey vs. Casein Protein Powder: Which Should You Use?

The two most popular supplemental powder forms of protein, whey and casein, are both milk proteins, but is one better or worse than the other? Well, frankly, they both have some merit and application in many instances, especially when we are concerned about performance and physique enhancement. Give...

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...