Training Articles

• Enter the Burn Zone  

  (posted 07/02/2008)
  We would love to tell you that shedding unwanted pounds is easier than scoring touchdowns in the Arena Football League. However, if you've been studiously and furiously doing your cardio, lifting weights, and eating clean, and not seeing the physical changes you're hoping for, you already know better...
  




• Overrated  

  (posted 06/19/2008)
  You've heard of them, and chances are, you use them - we tell you why these 6 exercises are more hype than help, and what better alternatives you can use to replace them in your workout.
  




• Home Remodeling  

  (posted 06/12/2008)
  Ready to get back to the basics of growing? Here's a simple workout regimen that only requires an adjustable bench, barbell and plates, perfect for home or the gym.
  




• Machines Remastered

  (posted 05/22/2008)
  Bust boredom in your workouts and get the most out of the common machines at your gym with these five unique exercises. Did you realize you could do biceps curls on two different types of back machines? Or train your legs on an assisted pull-up machine? The following are five ways you can squeeze brand new benefits out of the same old equipment, thus giving you more options to keep your workouts fresh and your muscles growing.
  




• Shock Treatment Series: Part II (Build That Stubborn Chest)

  (posted 05/16/2008)
  When you glance at some of those old black and white pictures of Arnold Schwarzenegger, taken in the original Gold’s Gym in Venice on Pacific Avenue, what’s most noticeable about his physique is his massive chest. It is full and thick and when he does his side chest pose it swells up and seems to stick out a mile. Just standing there relaxed it appeared thick and dense like two massive slabs of beef sitting on his rib cage.
  




• Shock Treatment Series: Part I (Build Those Stubborn Calves)

  (posted 05/08/2008)
  Calves are the one muscle group that almost everyone trains incorrectly. Isolating the workload on muscle groups that have only one fulcrum (one joint involved in the exercise) like seated calf raises for instance is theoretically the most direct way to train a muscle group and in most cases that theory holds true. Calves are a different animal, pun intended, because of how the lower leg is constructed so just isolating the movement isn't enough to necessarily make them grow.
  




• Rack Up the Gains

  (posted 05/06/2008)
  You're probably familiar with the power rack - a tall, metal-framed structure usually found in the free-weight area of the gym. It's also likely that, if you include barbell squats in your training routine, you've done them within the confines of one.
  




• Renegade Training for Fat Loss

  (posted 04/15/2008)
  Within the exercise world, the notion of "isolation" is for the most part the norm in virtually every avenue. Exercise facilities are designed in carefully laid out plans with machinery that focuses on certain isolated muscle groups, in essence leading the user from "station to station" so that they can "workout" in an orderly assembly-line like fashion. Typically to the side there is a "cardio" area with treadmills, elliptical, rowers and stair-climbers and a much smaller area for general floor exercises. Depending upon clientele and size limitations, a club might further offer a separate room that houses fitness, yoga and any assortment of this year's (decade's) top exercise class. With this well laid out plan, individuals will enter the facility and proceed through their workout in an orderly and predictable manner ensuring each aspect of their body's development "in isolation" (whether intentional or not). The expanding home gym environment is much the same with cleverly engineered exercise equipment that features multiple stations so that you can; you guessed it, isolate your muscular development.
  




• Front To Back Growth

  (posted 04/15/2008)
  In recalling a few of the famous (and infamous) duos throughout history, a truism emerges - they are often stronger together than separately. Abbott without Costello? Bert sans Ernie? Cheech minus Chong? Hell, Wile E. Coyote would be nothing more than a demented desert drifter without his raison d'?tre and nemesis the Road Runner.
  




• A Bodybuilder's Guide to Power Cleans

  (posted 04/11/2008)
  There was a time years ago when working out in the gym meant something more than a strenuous hour of super-setting 'hang-outs' with 'check-out-chicks' followed by 30 minutes on the treadmill watching a giant television screen among an endless sea of cardio equipment. Weight training equipment back then didn't come with speakers and silky voices cautiously encouraging you through your set. In fact silky voices of any kind were rarely heard and machines for the most part were frowned upon as the "easy" way out. They were believed to be less effective as basic movements with barbells and dumbbells for building those enviable mounds of thick dense muscle.
  




• Finishing Touches

  (posted 03/26/2008)
  Don?t let the finer details of your physique lag behind. From forearms to calves and everything in between, ProSource tells you how you can bring six neglected body parts up to par.
  




• Quadruple Your Gains

  (posted 03/20/2008)
  It's not recommended all the time, but combining two or more exercises into one mega-set can pay off in a big way as far as muscle growth. Use the tactic too much, and your body will go bust from overtraining, but knowing when to get a little greedy can be, to paraphrase Michael Douglas in his Oscar-winning turn, a very good thing.
  




• The ProSource Weekend Warrior Workout

  (posted 03/07/2008)
  Can?t find any spare moments to train? Here's how to pack a week's worth of workouts into Saturday and Sunday, while still having time for rest and relaxation.
  




• The 4-Week Pre-Conditioning Workout

  (posted 03/03/2008)
  Big guys huffing, puffing, and sweating their way through even the simplest of tasks in the gym are as common as, well, big guys in the gym. Of course that would foster the assumption that being out of breath all the time is alright if you are a big guy, or perhaps an indication that you have ?arrived? as a bodybuilder. While labored breathing may indicate that you have packed on some pounds recently, it's not the best condition to be in if you want to continue to grow and maximize your potential as a bodybuilder.
  




• Crimes Against Growth Part II

  (posted 02/04/2008)
  Be on alert! There's an outbreak of bad form in gyms nationwide. We throw the book at 12 of the worst offenses, and show you how to clean up your own act for maximum gains.
  




• The Ultimate V-Taper Workout Plan

  (posted 10/23/2007)
  Fulfill your pursuit of physique perfection! This three-month training program, designed to expand your shoulders and lats while tightening your core, will help you build the definitive "V" shape.
  




• Armed & Dangerous

  (posted 10/16/2007)
  In a man's world, bigger is better. We want the highest-horsepower engine, the largest flat-screen television, a garage you could park a plane in, and arms that you can proudly refer to as "guns" or "pythons" without eliciting derisive snickers. Use this training program to build bigger biceps, triceps and forearms in 12 weeks!
  




• Crimes Against Growth

  (posted 09/25/2008)
  Is your exercise form so bad it's criminal? We lay down the law on how to correct 12 of the most common errors perpetrated in the gym. Listen up ? we have some crimes to report, and everyone in the weight room is a suspect. You?ve seen it for sure, and likely you?re at least a little guilty yourself. Stopping short on your squat. Swinging your arms like pendulums on your curls. Cheating a bit too much on your bench press to lift more weight than you can safely handle. Those are just a few examples, but there's more.
  




• Rookie Mistakes

  (posted 09/05/2007)
  Whether you're a beginner or seasoned lifter, these answers to 10 of the most common training questions can help you get fit faster.
  




• Mass Development

  (posted 09/04/2007)
  For all the mystery that mass development appears to be steeped in, the endless magical exercises and unique protocols that are often suggested, it is far simpler than explained.
  




• Master your mindset

  (posted 09/04/2007)
  Most of us want to be better bodybuilders, and most of us can if we only put our minds to it. Yes, some people hold the advantage of being smarter than others but on many occasions success boils down to who wants it bad enough.
  




• Strong Medicine

  (posted 08/20/2007)
  Is one (or more) of your body parts lagging behind the rest of your development? We have cures for eight common bodybuilding maladies, from a weak upper chest to stubborn calves and everything in between.
  




• More than a Game

  (posted 08/07/2007)
  Medicine ball training is one of the most effective training mediums available. It allows for a free range of motion, is easily adaptable to athletes of all abilities, can be used for explosive power training as well as general recovery and fitness work, and is highly affordable and transportable. No training program would be complete without Medicine Ball work.
  




• Less cardio = Less fat!?

  (posted 08/06/2007)
  Think of it in simple terms and ask yourself this question, - do I really want to conduct lengthily cardio sessions to burn off excess calories, or do I want to eat less calories and conduct much less cardio. Nine out of ten answers will relate to the latter.
  




• Crank Up Your Cardio

  (posted 08/06/2007)
  Take a break from the ordinary - and get extraordinary results - with one of these nine high-impact cardiovascular training techniques.
  




• Get Up and GROW!

  (posted 08/03/2007)
  When is the last time you experienced noticeable improvements to your body? If your progress has ground to a halt, these six powerful rut-busters including a complete three-month training program can get your gains back on track.
  




• Bicep Blasting

  (posted 08/03/2007)
  The arms are a strange beast. They come in every size available and no matter what they look like, and as a general rule, people don't mind showing them off or posing them for their friends or the opposite sex.
  




• Keep Training

  (posted 08/03/2007)
  Never miss a workout by incorporating these ten antioxidants into your nutrition regimen.
  




• MIDSECTION MELTDOWN

  (posted 07/19/2007)
  Get ready for the ultimate set of hard, ripped and defined abs. These 12 workouts -- 6 for beginners, 6 for more advanced fitness buffs -- can help anyone carve a killer set of gut ruts.
  




• 7 Intensity Techniques

  (posted 07/10/2007)
  Looking to greenlight more mass and strength? Don't waste another second: Try one (or more) of these seven proven ways to amp up the intensity and get more out of your very next workout.
  




• The Perfect 10

  (posted 07/10/2007)
  Score better workouts and more muscle mass with ProSource's picks for the world's greatest bodybuilding exercises. In sports, determining the best comes down to proving it on the field of play. The top team in the NFL is determined through a grueling 16-game regular season, followed by a 3-4 game playoff system. You win, you?re the best, debate over.
  




• The Top Eight Fitness Mistakes

  (posted 07/10/2007)
  These eight bonehead maneuvers can derail your progress. Here's what to watch out for, and how to fix what you're doing wrong to maximize your results.
  




• Roc Solid Back

  (posted 07/19/2007)
  Spend a day with Rashid "Roc" Shabazz and it all starts to make sense. Not that he is an IFBB pro bodybuilder that can hold his own in any competitive lineup, he certainly looks the part and has many times proven himself in battle. No, it's not where he is that is so unbelievable; it's the distance he has come to be there.
  




• Training for Fat Loss

  (posted 02/22/2007)
  Often people want to get into ripped shape, or even just drop a few "LBs", so they turn to dieting too hard and perhaps adding a session of cardio to their weekly workout routines. This is the wrong approach. One can "strip the fat" by incorporating the right types of high-intensity exercise either alone or combined with smart eating and a quality diet supplement. By using all three (exercise, smart eating, quality diet supplement) the results can happen in a more expedient manner. The aspect of relatively clean eating can easily be summarized as eat natural foods, avoid foods high in saturated fat, skip the fast foods, enjoy smart MRP's, eat fruits and vegetables and know how to control portion sizes. Seriously, there are great articles on this website regarding how to food shop, how to eat, what supplements to use and thus, this article will focus on one type of a smart workout that you can use to help shed fat over a 21-day period.
  




• Radical Abdominal Training: The Smart Way to a Perfect Midsection

  (posted 03/19/2007)
  Open up any fitness magazine, and you'll likely be bombarded with the latest in abdominal training gadgetry and "ultra-secretive" training methods for a perfect six-pack. In reality, there aren't any hidden secrets or magic philosophies, only smart training. It's training based on knowledge of body mechanics and your own anatomy, hardly confidential topics. But it's just smart enough that you might call it radical.
  




• The MMA Warrior

  (posted 02/22/2007)
  t has become a darling of sporting media in the last few years, the modern gladiator, the combative athlete in the many fighting styles. Where once was a unique and rarely visited domain within the cages, octagon's or mat's has now all of sudden become, dare-I-say, become popular in the mainstream. Oddly while there are few sporting activities that I feel were as overdue for acceptance and respect as the combative athlete, yet with this new found publicity, invariably some peculiarities would arrive with it as well. It wouldn't be too long before a hodge-podge of training equipment and theories would be pitched to the new found combative athlete market and possibly most disturbing is the modern profile of this combative athlete was decidedly different from the classic vision, which I whole-heartedly embrace.
  




• Science-Based Training for Size: Undulating Periodization

  (posted 02/22/2007)
  If you've had it with self-proclaimed "gurus" and their training programs that fail to embrace new developments in exercise science, this article is for you. A new approach to training called Undulating Periodization (we'll call it "UP" for short) is making major waves in college and professional ranks. In fact, some strength coaches consider it to be one of the most effective training methods ever developed.
  




• Xvest Training: Part I

  (posted 02/22/2007)
  Throughout history, man has been fascinated with longevity, eternal youth and the embodiment of physical perfection. From ancient writings to 16th century explorer Ponce de Leon's search for the fountain of youth to today's cosmetic surgery and gene research the public's insatiable desire for "physical" perfection has been relentless. And with this obsessive fascination increasing, the lengths that people will go to have equally changed. Arguably the most peculiar paradox of this era is that the appreciation of natural beauty, the parallel maturation of the body and mind, has all but eroded in our culture. The sensuality of time is now all but an extinct vestige from another era.
  




• Stoke the Fire : Part I

  (posted 02/21/2007)
  There are tons of workouts that are focused on getting you ready for the summer. How about one to get you through the winter? As we all know, winter is one of the most tempting times of the year. It's a special time of family, frivolity, and feast notorious for adding calories and blowing off workouts. If left unchecked, this festive time of year can easily sabotage your plans of being lean when spring arrives. Stoking the Fire is all about turning up your body's internal furnace to burn more calories and stimulating intracellular myogenic regulatory factors to promote gains in lean mass. If you do it right, the results you get from this workout may well eclipse those of any other program you've tried. That said, be forewarned -- Stoking the Fire is not easy. But then again, nothing worthwhile ever is.
  




• Kettlebell Training

  (posted 02/21/2007)
  A number of years ago I was contracted by a very large University to develop their Football teams off-season training program. At that stage the team was firmly entrenched in last place of their conference and few considered a chance of success likely. After visiting with the coaching staff and observing their training my initial thoughts were that while they were using "fine" exercises in their training but within my many concerns, they lacked the challenges and diversity required to become a successful team.
  




• Complexes with Kettlebells

  (posted 02/21/2007)
  Efficient use of time is a perilous problem in today's society. Whether due to intense work schedules or dealing with many of life's demands, time is a rare commodity. However there is a simple solution to this problem, a particular style of training that not only provides a "harder-than-hardcore" training session, but can be completed in a fast and efficient manner. The key is contained in a regimen centered around "complexes."
  




• Endurance Training: To the Max with Master Methods

  (posted 02/21/2007)
  If you're a dedicated endurance athlete, regardless of your chosen sport, hitting the weights is an absolute must. I know you don't want to get huge, or you think you simply don't have the time, or you feel it may interfere with your aerobic progress, but your choice in this matter is simply out of the question. Whether your athletic endeavor of choice is running, cycling, swimming, or extreme skateboarding, there is an efficient weight training workout for you, and that workout is called circuit training.
  




• General Physical Preparation

  (posted 02/21/2007)
  While each of the physical attributes noted in the Renegade Wheel of Conditioning is essential, work threshold needs to be considered carefully given the broad age of those who play the game. Golf is truly a lifetime sport and naturally given how our level of health and fitness change during our lives, work threshold plays an integral part of our game. From an intensely practical vantage, it is quite easy to see that the majority of golfers, with their vast age range, focus their training on range of motion and this topic, general physical preparation. To enhance total work threshold we look to an area of generalized development, GPP.
  




• Improving Bench Press and Increasing Chest Size

  (posted 02/21/2007)
  You know the look. They sweep down from your clavicles and front deltoids and attach to your lower ribcage. When they are swollen and full there is little else more satisfying to look at for a bodybuilder. A well-developed chest looks incredible from almost any angle, as it frames up your entire upper body. Bad pecs (an under-developed chest) make everything look out of proportion and weak pecs are usually bad pecs. While increasing absolute brute strength and increasing size are not always synonymous, it is very possible to get stronger while focusing on adding size to your chest. It's going to take some time, 8 weeks is a good start, but the principles you learn here you can use for the rest of your life and along the way, make your chest your best body part.
  




• RIDE HARD: The wild world of BMX / MTB

  (posted 02/21/2007)
  The following is an excerpt from the recently published e-book "Ride Hard - the wild world of BMX/MTB" that will be available in paper-back in early 2006. This section is applicable to all athletes looking to improve their abilities or the average person looking to improve the life.
  




• Biceps Blasting Basics

  (posted 02/21/2007)
  You would think bicep training should be pretty simple...just do curls. Dumbbells, barbells and if you have a half way's decent gym there is probably a good variety of machines that will help you assault the stubborn little monsters with enough variety you shouldn't get too bored. It all sounds pretty good and hardly a topic you would pen an entire article about and if everyone had massive swollen biceps after all that bicep training then chances are this article would be about building your quads or some bodypart a little more complex.
  




• High Intensity Leg Training

  (posted 02/21/2007)
  Every day, somewhere hidden deep in the musty catacombs of some dingy turn of the century building that found it's purpose once again as a gym, bone crushing poundage's bent over gargantuan backs rise and fall to the clang of heavy iron amidst a haze of chalk dust. The anticipation, dare we say fear, leading up to leg day is finally faced sitting in quiet resignation while knee wraps are wound into place. Then with the courage of a warrior turning his stallion toward the battle, the belt is cinched tight and with jaw set and eyes filled with defiance, destiny is faced. As the weight is hoisted from the rack, bar bending in protest and the brutality of this struggle etched deep in his face, squat day begins. There is a respect among men who have tasted this brand of battle and without trying to explain what can only be felt, three simple words describe the experience carved on their souls...Hard Core Training.
  




• Get Conditioned to Grow

  (posted 02/21/2007)
  Most self respecting bodybuilders think good conditioning means being lean and shredded. The problem is they can be lean and shredded and still get purple faced, out of breath and soaked in sweat just tying their shoes. Cardiovascular conditioning is not measured in how a person looks but in how efficient their cardiovascular system is at oxygenating blood and recovering from physically demanding activity. If you're a UFC fan then you have seen guys that may look a couple bags of Doritos past the shirtless limit yet they can battle for 3 five-minute rounds of non-stop rockem-sockem action and not look exhausted. Just watch a lineup of pro bodybuilders on stage bent over sucking air and unable to talk after doing a one minute pose-down and the difference between looking conditioned and being conditioned becomes painfully clear.
  




• The Foundation Training Series: Legs Day

  (posted 02/21/2007)
  Leg days are intimidating, plain and simple. Any guy that claims he isn't a little nervous about an impending leg workout is either a liar or he isn't training hard enough. If you put 100% into your training then all workouts are tough. The difference is that training legs can make you lose your lunch, pass out, and leave you gasping for precious air like an East Indian pearl diver. If you can reach that level of intensity in a leg workout then you can't help but get a little anxious about the next one.
  




• The Foundation Training Series: Back Day

  (posted 02/21/2007)
  No other body part impacts a physique more significantly than your back. It's visible from all angles in all poses and when it's full, round and detailed, it can make a physique look overwhelming and even compensate for other slightly weaker body parts. When your back looks like a training afterthought then no matter how good everything else looks, the whole package appears inferior and out of balance.
  




• The Foundation Training Series: Chest Day

  (posted 02/21/2007)
  ew body parts are as satisfying to train as your chest. You can see it swell up before your eyes, filling up your shirt, and it gives your whole upper body a look of thickness and strength. If you are honest, you have to admit you can't finish a set without checking the mirror at least once and giving those slabs of engorged muscle a good squeeze, just because you can. A pumped chest feels good, it looks good, and people notice it. Few people dislike training chest so that can make chest day very easy. But don't make the mistake of taking it lightly. Training your chest can be a complex issue because it's very easy for other muscle groups to take over the work and in some cases, for injuries to occur.
  




• Best Diet Plans: A Step-by-Step Guide to Fat Loss

  (posted 02/21/2007)
  Bodybuilding and nutrition, weight loss and diets can seem very confusing at times. Have you ever wondered why is it that some people can eat whatever the heck that they want and still have a six-pack? Some of these people even drink a six-pack and yet still stay ripped and look fit. Then there are those of us who struggle on an ongoing basis to keep a tight, ripped look and be functional in the gym and in life. You believe that your diet is right, you go to the gym on a pretty frequent basis and even believe that you know what you are doing once at the gym, but perhaps, just perhaps there are keys to "rippedness" that you are not exploiting. Thus, this article aims to arm you with the basic knowledge of just how to maximize your gym activity (exercise), cull your diet (food manipulation) and use the best weight loss supplements when appropriate to get that extra edge. The edge that separates you from the person who always looks like they are one or two months away from being or appearing fit.
  




• Roc's Reality Back Workout

  (posted 02/21/2007)
  Why is Rashid "Roc" Shabazz the guy you should talk to if you want to learn how to pack some lbs of beef on your back? Because in 1991 when he graduated college and moved to Atlanta to learn how to become a bodybuilder from Mr. Olympia, Lee Haney, he weighed a paltry 132lbs soaking wet.
  




• Rotational Axis Training

  (posted 02/21/2007)
  In the world of the health, fitness genre as well those who affiliate themselves within the loosely defined "strength and conditioning" field, the term "core" has become a buzz word over the last decade. And while I'm prone to say the term "core stabilization" is over-used the intent is important, as there should be a firm realization that virtually every complex motor pattern and efficient movement (lower body in particular) will only occur in optimum degree's with proper development of the trunk. Suitable development of this area will infer strengthening of the pelvic -- hip complex to prevent folding, enhance posture, thereby improving force production capabilities and ultimately reduce injuries throughout the body.
  




• S6-Pack Abs in 8 weeks

  (posted 02/21/2007)
  I like to make things easy and understandable. If your abdominals are, dare I say, flabby, I have a crash program that can get them sleek and chiseled in eight weeks flat, pardon the pun.
  




• SQUAT POWER : Part I

  (posted 02/21/2007)
  Squats are a rarity in strength training because they can be performed with variety of styles, with equally varied levels of intensity to satisfy an incredibly broad spectrum of goals. While naturally the bodybuilding community employs the movement for superior hypertrophy needs, athlete's will make use of Squat for building power and explosive legs and yet equally if you are just the average gym-goer, the benefits of Squatting are far-reaching in your life. With proper technique employed it will help develop tremendous range of motion, strengthen the lower back, enhance work capacity that will carryover to all other training and dare I say life. In an even odder twist of fate, while in the modern gym the epidemic to perform curls appears to run rampant and mirror space is dwindling--if you want great arms and a powerful back, the route starts in the Squat rack.
  




• DON'T MISS A WORKOUT - KEEP YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM STRONG

  (posted 02/21/2007)
  Speaking as someone who just spent three weeks in bed with the flu - coughing, sneezing, throat on fire, aching muscles and just plain miserable - I can tell you that missing my workouts only added insult to injury. And I thought I was doing all the right things to stay healthy and fit.
  




• Ham-Blasted

  (posted 06/12/2006)
  For a lot of novice and intermediate bodybuilders hamstring training is something they do after quad training is done, sort of an afterthought, and it's done with whatever energy is left over after what they think is the "important" part of their leg training. Those guys, unless they are genetically gifted somehow with good hamstrings, will most certainly build bigger quads but their legs will never have that impressive thickness and density you only get from balanced development of all your leg muscles, including hamstrings. Hamstring training is just as important as quad training and not only deserves, but requires just as much attention if you expect them to grow and have balanced leg development.
  




• Victor Martinez's Road to the 2006 Mr. Olympia

  (posted 02/22/2006)
  Does Victor Martinez have what it takes to be the next Mr. Olympia? Many top IFBB officials agree with a resounding "YES!" With a major pro win under his belt (2003 Night of Champions) a 5th Place finish at the 2005 Mr. Olympia, and now backed by premier sports nutrition company, MHP, many bodybuilders, fans and industry insiders are predicting him to be the next Mr. O! In fact, in the press conference before the 2005 Mr. Olympia, Mr. O. himself, Ronnie Coleman predicted Victor Martinez to be his successor to the crown.