Seek Strongth

Instead of a full post, I'll make this one a collection of brief thoughts I've had rattling around in my head. I don't know how much Building the Monolith is doing for my strength, but I certainly feel like I've gained muscle. Eggs are wonderful. Pfft. Like I need 8 reasons. The more muscle I build, the worse hot weather gets. I don't get why some people care about the way other people lift. If someone is experiencing success training the "wrong" way, is it still wrong? The more research I do on nutrition/training, the less I care about optimising either of them. To expand on the above, my diet philosophy is now pretty much "Eat like an adult". I always enjoy conditioning workouts, but still tend to put them off if I don't force myself. I have no idea why this is the case. I am getting quite bored of sets of five reps. If Rogue started selling raw sewerage with the Rogue logo on it, I imagine I would still be interes...

This post is a thought I’ve had rattling around in my head for a while now, and I thought that writing it down would help me in really fleshing out my thoughts on this matter. This will be something of a mish-mash of lifting and video games, so bear with me here. The anecdotal observation from many people in the lifting community is that analytical, science-focused, “nerdy” types, tend not to experience the same success in lifting as those who fit the “dumb jock” stereotype. Do you think this guy spends hours arguing about the most effective training split? First, we have to look at the way “nerdy” types tend to think. Speaking as a maths nerd myself, I think I can offer some insights into the way we tend to think. “But everyone is different; you can’t possibly lump everyone into the same bucket!” Yeah, sure, but I’m talking about averages here, and I definitely feel that my analysis will be true for the average of “nerdy” people. Right, with that said, I think it is ...

The advent of the internet has seen a great deal of information being spread about strength training. Overall, I think of this as a positive thing, as it allows trainees from around the world to share ideas, thus exposing people to methods of training they would otherwise have been oblivious to. For example, I would never have found out about any of the 5/3/1 programs without the invention of the internet, for which I am very grateful. However, there are some aspects of the internet that have, in my opinion, led to a great deal of mis information being spread. One of these areas is the topic of beginners, and how they should train. Before I go into my arguments about this being a meaningless term, I’d just like to touch on what the “conventional wisdom” commonly advocates for beginners. Tell me what to do Most beginners have no idea what they need to be doing in the gym, so they go to the internet and search up “weight training programs for beginners”, or some...

Many of the greats in the strength/bodybuilding world swear by writing down a set of guiding principles for one's training. I figure I'm nowhere near strong/aesthetic enough to challenge such giants, so I thought I'd write down my foundational beliefs about strength training. Note that nothing here is particularly groundbreaking 1. "Big" movements should almost always take centre stage in one's training This isn't to say that isolation movements aren't worth doing (see point 2), but for 99% of people, weighted pull-ups are more important than biceps curls, for example. Some more examples of "big" movements being better than "small" movements include: Squats > leg extension; deadlifts > kettlebell swings; overhead press > lateral raise, etc. You get the idea. Plus, who am I to argue with those arms? 2. "Small" movements should almost always be a part of one's training While the first point highligh...