DESIGNING BETTER LIVING THROUGH STRENGTH
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EUGENIZATION
a personal training blog

From the category archives:

Muscle and Strength Gain

Single Progression.

by Eugene Thong on June 10, 2010

Single progression is the gradual addition of weights over time.  Yep – that’s about as sexy as it gets.  In a single progression model, you select a fixed number of reps (or time) – say, 5 reps (or 60 seconds).  Select a weight.  Lift it.  If you can successfully lift that weight for the target [...]

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Programs Vs. Workouts.

by Eugene Thong on June 6, 2010

If you’re like most people, when it comes to exercise, you use the terms “program” and “workout” interchangeably.  But they are completely different things.
Individual workouts are important, as they’re the building blocks upon which real results are made.  But what ultimately gets you the results you want is not a single monumental workout, but a [...]

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Powerlifting training, in one line.

April 16, 2010

“Spend most of your time on squats; spend pretty much your balance of time on bench presses. Every now and then see what you can do on the deadlift.”  – Bradley J. Steiner.
Sounds about right to me.  How about you?  What are your thoughts?  Post to comments.

    

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Strength, Skill; Skill, Strength?

September 30, 2009

One prominent  and controversial question in strength training circles: Is training strength and demonstrating strength the same thing or different things?  In other words, what’s the best way to build strength – by “demonstrating” it through heavy maximal lifts, explosive movements, and plain-ol’ ‘lifting stuff‘, or by ‘training it’ through more measured and precise means?
This [...]

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The Problem With Bodypart Mentality.

August 11, 2009

One good thing about the rise in popularity of bodybuilding in the 60s and 70s was that it got people interested in lifting weights.
One bad thing (”One bad thing?”, the peanut gallery asks) about bodybuilding going mainstream was that it made “bodypart mentality” a part of the training consciousness – bodypart mentality being the idea [...]

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Priorities – Part 1: Exercise.

May 29, 2009

This whole fitness and nutrition thing can be tough.  The newsstand at your local Barnes and Noble carries no less than 10 different magazines, all purporting to offer The Program for vibrant health and physical beauty; and did I mention that each magazine contains 8 or 9 different routines (all different, of course, depending on [...]

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Deconstructing “The Pump” – What’s The Science Behind Muscle Pumps?

February 11, 2009

Ah, the muscle pump – in the annals of bodybuilding, is anything more sacred?  For the uninitiated, the pump is that sensation of muscle fullness after performing a lot of work for a given muscle group (whether directly or indirectly).
Ah, who am I kidding.  Everyone knows Arnold explained it best, way back in ‘77:

Of course, [...]

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David and Goliath: What Determines Strength?

December 16, 2008

Teri asks:
I have larger hip muscles than Joanne.  So why is it that she can lift more than I can in lower body exercises?
It may surprise you to discover that there are lots of factors that determine strength (or, more accurately, expression of strength).  Here’s a quick and dirty list compiled off the top of [...]

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Random Things To Remember.

December 12, 2008

If your weights aren’t getting heavier, then you’re not getting any stronger, your bones aren’t getting any denser, and your muscles aren’t growing.
Every missed workout is a missed opportunity to stimulate exercise benefits.
You accrue the benefits of exercise during the rest periods between workouts, not during the workouts.
And if you’re not eating in a manner [...]

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To Stabilize, or Not To Stabilize?

November 14, 2008

A reader from the UK recently commented on an admittedly tongue-in-cheek post I made on the usefulness (or not) of stability balls:
I have to disagree with your point about strength gains on the ball. Whilst the instability initially means you are limited in the force you can create, the recruitment of more muscles and the [...]

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