Bodybuilding Exercises for the Powerlifter — Rear Delts Rows
Get a bigger bench and boulder shoulders with this easy movement.
Toothpicks to Horseshoes — How to Build MASSthetic Triceps
Having big, strong arms is more than just something to flex and brag about. It shows health, vitality, and does absolute wonders for your confidence. And all you have to do to achieve them is train your arms intelligently.
My Favorite Intensity Techniques
Moving increasingly heavier weight from point A to B served me well until I tore my pec benching 500 pounds and blew out my lower back squatting 700. Now I find new ways to add intensity.
WATCH: Table Talk Compilation Series — Justin Harris
All in one spot, check out the entire 7-part discussion with Dave Tate and Justin Harris. Pre-workout energy, GPP, muscle loss while dieting, and training age are just a few of the topics discussed.
Win Free Elitefts UGSS with Special Guest Mark Dugdale, Jan 14th 2017
Win Free Elitefts UGSS with Special Guest Mark Dugdale
WATCH: Strength Training — Simple or Complicated?
Training programs, nutrition plans, supplement protocols — sorting through all this information to find really works may seem difficult. It doesn’t have to be.
7 Ways to Optimize Health
If you’re seeking advice on how to successfully navigate a mid-life crisis, I’m probably not the guy. I am, however, uniquely attuned to my body from years of competing at a high level of bodybuilding.
Pull Through Reps: How To Maximize Back Gains
It is my opinion that most body parts do not necessarily need to be worked through a full range of motion to be effective. Exclude the back.
WATCH: UGSS John Meadows Presentation — Getting Ripped
Play your cards wisely. Once you use them, you can’t get them back.
Bodybuilding Exercises for the Powerlifter — The Vacuum and Reverse Hype...
This article series describes how you can incorporate bodybuilding exercises into your powerlifting training for big benefits in strength and aesthetics.
What I Think I Know About Muscle Growth
I am not an in-the-lab scientist; per my own training practice, I care about what I can apply, not what I can argue about.
WATCH: Is Fasted Cardio the Best Cardio?
Does it really make a difference if you do your cardio before or after eating in the morning?
WATCH: UGGS John Meadows Presentation — Building Calves
Now that we’ve covered the four phases of Mountain Dog Training, let’s talk about a difficult—but very important—body part.
WATCH: Justin Harris Shoulder Training
You can train shoulders in a lot of ways, from a lot of different angles. Including the full workout, one of bodybuilding’s brightest minds shows how to do it best.
WATCH: UGSS John Meadows Presentation — Phase 4 and Designing the Program
In the third part of his presentation, John goes into great detail about the layout of a training program and how to manipulate frequency to bring up weak body parts.
Stimulate Don’t Annihilate
After all these years and cycles through training trends, it turns out that Lee Haney might have been right all along.
WATCH: UGSS John Meadows Presentation — Phases 2 and 3
After completing Phase 1 (Pre-Pump Activation), Mountain Dog Training moves to Phase 2 (Train Explosively) and Phase 3 (Supramax Pump).
WATCH: John Meadows UGSS Presentation — Principles and Phase I
In this first video in the series, John discusses how Phase I of the Mountain Dog Training Program utilities a variety of hypertrophy principles to help you grow while avoiding injury.
15 Tips for Getting JACKED...Over A Long Period of Time
Some lessons are learned only through experience and accepting reality. If I could tell my 15-year-old self anything about training, it would be this.
My Wife and God Cause All of My Stress
While I was recently wallowing in my own self-pity, I had an idea: what else could possibly go wrong?
Our Evolving Understanding of Hypertrophy — Comparing New and Old Theories
Science is in a state of constant development. This article examines several recent studies that provide new theories on hypertrophy.
2016 Olympia 212 Showdown Report
In four months, I tasted the emotional joy of winning and then the character-shaping process of dealing with missed expectations.
WATCH: Table Talk — Lessons from Training with John Meadows
What happens when an expert in powerlifting and an expert in bodybuilding train together for five years?
I Might Be an Asshole But I'm Not Arrogant
Apparently when you become a self-proclaimed expert in training and nutrition, you also know everything about politics, social issues, and life. Have we always been this arrogant?
Who’s the Greatest?
It’s more than athletic prowess or shredded muscularity that flows with beautiful symmetry and balance.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Kevin Jabroni?
The 2016 Mr. Olympia ended up being more about Kevin Levrone than Phil Heath. Was it empty hype?
Contest Prep Aftermath: Reverse Diet and Training Gone Wrong
In this second part of the series I am going to discuss the top-three nutrition and training mistakes I see when competitors reverse out of a show, how they may affect long-term progress, and what to do if you make them.
Why Bodybuilders Have a Love/Hate Relationship with Vacations
I get asked a lot about what to do about workouts, diet, etc., while on vacation. My response?
The Five Factors of Being Stage Ready
After back-to-back-to-back wins, Mark Dugdale is sharing his methods for making sure he is stage ready on show day.
The Quest for Quadzilla Status — 5 Methods for Growth
These are my five favorite methods for achieving ridiculous quad growth and smashing through the dreaded ‘why won’t they grow’ barrier.
Build the Back, Spare the Spine
The healthier you can keep your spine, the longer you can train heavy and grow muscle. Here are my top-10, spine-friendly exercises.
Contest Prep Aftermath: Reverse Dieting and Training
In this first installment of the three-part series, let’s dig into the rationale behind reverse dieting and why it is so important for not only your growth as a competitor but your long-term health.
Maximizing Muscle Growth Q&A: Rep Ranges, Chest Size Without Heavy P...
You have questions, team elitefts has answers. Today’s topic: building muscle through rep ranges and exercise selection.
5 Key Lessons From Contest Prep
Stepping on stage is reserved for a special breed of lifter, but the lessons you learn from competing apply to all training goals. Here are the things my rookie bodybuilding season taught me.
Three Effective, Underused Exercises
As a passionate bodybuilder, it brings many a tear to my eye that the following chest, back, and hamstring exercises have been all but forgotten or underused by many lifters.
Relentless Hypertrophy Protocol: How Sequencing and Repetition Stimulate...
The goal was to create a training model that would maximize hypertrophy in minimal time and that would be “low tech, high effect” in its design.
Whiny Physique Competitors, Let’s Get Something Straight
It occurs to me that the large majority of whining is coming from physique competitors. Apparently no one has been honest with you up to this point.
IFBB Arctic Pro 212 — My First Pro Win
If nothing else, this show proved I still have something left in the tank at 41 years of age.
Quit Blaming The Judges
I’m getting tired of hearing words like “politics” thrown around to scapegoat a lost competition. Yup, it’s rant time.
Backward Sled Pulls for Quad Size and Strength
If your leg development is lagging, it’s time to start dragging.
Perspectives on Hypertrophy
My viewpoint runs counter to much of the current climate, which is dominated by the short-term perspective of a “hypertrophy phase.”
The Diet of an IFBB Pro Six Weeks Out
This is a practical example of exactly what I ate during the sixth week before hitting the contest stage. Why is this important to you? Because it pushes right up to that life sucks and I hate dieting threshold.
Building the Biggest Hood in the Hood — Juarez Valley 10 Push-Ups
The Juarez Valley 10 is the ultimate chest finisher — this sequence will have your chesticles swell up like the Himalayas!
7 Bodybuilding Lies That Are Keeping You Skinny and Weak
These fallacies are plastered in every shitty magazine and web blog — you may still be falling for them. I’m here to share the truth.
3 Old-School Exercises You Need in Your Training Plan
Growing and progressing is the name of the game. You should do what works even if it isn’t new.
Juarez Valley 8 Deadlift Workout
You’ve probably heard of ascending or descending pyramid methods. The Jaurez Valley 8 is different. It’s a valley that is as brutal as it is effective.
Why Comfort Can Kill Your Progress
Familiarity and comfort aren’t always bad things — I drive the same route home every day. But in your diet and training? Be ready for change.
Hypertrophy Is The Holy Grail
After so many years and so many clients, I’ve begun to realize that everyone’s training needs are the same.
Building the Biggest Hood in the Hood — Spoto Press
Why the hell not just use a full range of motion? This is why.
Passion vs Zeal — Reconsidering What Matters Most
If passion most closely relates to desire, then zeal implies action. I often say I’m passionate about training, but in reality I possess more of a zeal for the iron.
Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed…Someone’s Blue
There’s a difference between using someone’s ideas or concepts and flat-out stealing them. It’s very simple to figure out, even though a lot of you blow it.
Building the Biggest Hood in the Hood — Unchained Chest Mass
Chains change the game — and not just for powerlifters. I’m going to show you an unconventional fly that is fit for the bro to the top pro.
WATCH: Dumbbell Rows vs Barbell Rows for Back Development
These two back exercises are a staple of every bodybuilder’s program but there are many ways to screw them up. Are you performing them correctly?
Where Everybody Knows Your Name
If I left work and went to the bar instead of the gym, would it really make a difference?
A Call to Arms Series: Building Billy Club Forearms and Perfect Peaks
You won’t win the arms race with puny forearms and flat peaks. Enter the Fat Bar Reverse Curl.
Calves to Cows — 5 Methods to Improve Your Calf Development
You can’t easily change the shape or insertion of the lateral or medial head of the gastrocnemius muscles. But you can develop impressive calves with these techniques.
Debunking Dieting Myths: Is Skiploading Unhealthy?
For sixteen years I have been honing the method of Skiploading and only now am I starting to hear complaints from inexperienced kids who don’t understand it. Let me break it down for you.