The old-school way to perform donkey calf raises was to have someone sit on your back. These days, there are dedicated machines for this purpose. Regardless of which version you choose, donkey calf raises impose an incredible stretch on the fascia—so take full advantage by lowering your heels as far as possible. This exercise is…
Dutch exercise physiologist Dr. Jan Voss was one of the early researchers of muscle fiber types. As part of his research, Voss performed numerous muscle biopsies on himself and observed that the color of his gastrocnemius muscle tissue would change from week to week. Sometimes, there was a predominance of red (slow-twitch) fibers; other times,…
A popular bodybuilding technique is the 21-rep system, or simply “21s.” To give you a glimpse of how it works, here’s an excerpt from Robert Kennedy’s book Reps!: This is a method which was popular on the West Coast bodybuilding scene in the fifties and sixties. Let’s use the barbell curl as an example. Begin…
Here’s a superset routine that targets the entire body one joint at a time. It follows a split routine where the lower body is trained on Day 1 and the upper body on Day 2. Each workout starts with a proximal pair of exercises and progresses distally with each subsequent pair. In other words, larger…
One of my favorite TV shows was the Spartacus series on Starz, which ran from 2010 to 2013. The first season (Blood and Sand) and the six-episode prequel (Gods of the Arena) were fantastic. But in the second season (Vengeance), they introduced a new lead actor—one who didn’t have the type of muscularity you’d expect…
My new book, Mass Explosion: Blast Through Your Training Plateaus!, is now available! Mass Explosion is a comprehensive guide to the art and science of building muscle. Packed with the latest research and proven training strategies, this book shows you how to achieve drug-like gains—naturally! Why Most Lifters Plateau (And How to Break Through) Anyone…
Discover how alternating extensive and intensive training phases can help prevent plateaus, improve workout progression, and support maximum muscle mass through structured strength-training cycles.
Learn how moderate loads, reps, tempo, and rest intervals can help lifters train smarter, manage recovery, and continue building strength and size as training age and life demands increase.
Discover a focused one-lift-a-day training approach that removes unnecessary exercise volume and uses simple, targeted programming to build size, strength, recovery, and long-term progress.
Explore the difference between true strength training progress and shortcut thinking, including the role of discipline, smart programming, and consistent work in building long-term muscle and performance.