Strength, Conditioning & Muscle

By Nick Mitchell This is the original version of an article that Nick was asked to write for the May 2010 edition of Men’s Health magazine. Let me break this to you gently, science needs to catch up with the reality of real world gym training and physique improvement.  Those of us in the trenches know what works, and are often so far ahead of the curve that the “scientists&rd...

By Michael Porter The plateau effect occurs in strength training when one can no longer see improvements in their training intensity (as defined by _weight lifted”) or volume. The body cannot adapt to the attempted progression in overload and as a result strength stagnates and improvements in performance and aesthetics cease to occur.   From the elite lifter to the novice fitnes...

By Nick Mitchell Testosterone is a much maligned thing. An excess of it is blamed on all sorts of aggressive, anti social behaviour, and even the poor old prostate unjustly points it’s finger at testosterone for all it’s problems in later life. True, the irrationalities of our youth can sometimes be blamed on a wild excess of testosterone, but a lack of wisdom and life experience a...

By Michael Hoad, UP Personal Trainer. Unfortunately it is all too common to see trainees give up on a set they could have easily finished. Half the problem is allowing negative thoughts into the mind. It is best to remain positive during the set or not to think at all. This article outlines techniques you can use to extend a set that would otherwise be over. Extended sets equal longer time und...

By Justin Maguire The measure of true ego and boasting rights in the gym: The Bench Press. Of all exercises in the gym the bench press is by far the most utilised. In order to increase your gym status one will have to look at postural positioning and technique to improve power and explosiveness. If we look at an exercise as a chain and each muscle involved in that exercise as a link, we may b...

By Nick Mitchell Achieving optimum structural balance doesn’t sound half as sexy as building large muscles or dropping 20 lbs of body fat, but it is a highly important component of achieving either of those goals, and takes on even more significance if you have any aspirations for the playing fields and athletic tracks. It was once written that you can’t shoot a cannon out a cano...

By Justin Maguire Eccentric loading / eccentric weight training / eccentric lowering is the process of lengthening muscle tissue from the point of origin to the point of insertion (lowering the weight as opposed to raising it).  Incorporating eccentric loading in training will benefit breaking through strength plateaus as well as aiding in a rehabilitation program.  We use thisa as...

By Justin Maguire PNF has been a revolutionary discovery of the twentieth century in sports medicine and rehabilitation. Sports therapists and elite personal trainers employ PNF techniques to increase patients’ functional capacity. Ranging from basic rehabilitation to top performing athletes any patient’s performance can be enhanced quickly through activating the neuromuscular syst...

By Nick Mitchell 5 Bodybuilding Secrets to get you in beach shape in double quick time Bodybuilders often have a hard time of it. Set up as pariahs because of rampant drug usage, and ridiculed for their ridiculous fashion “sense” (genie pants and do rag anyone?!), any man who struts around with the old obligatory rolled up carpets under his armpits definitely has questionable so...

By NIck MItchell “Lift big, eat big, sleep big” was once the mantra of choice for all aspiring muscle builders. It was a very simple philosophy that stood the test of time, and outlasted all the numerous fads that have come and gone within the bodybuilding fraternity, for one reason. It worked. And if you were dedicated, never missed a protein packed, calorie laden meal, diligent...

By Nick MItchell The following is a very tiny excerpt from my new book (tentatively titled “Forging the Ultimate Physique”).  It deals with the much misunderstood concept of intramuscular tension and why it is so critical for success in strength training and bodybuilding. In anutshell, if you wish to get bigger and /or stronger you must do everything you can to increase the in...

Nick Mitchell is personal training the Fitness Editor of Men's Health for a cover shoot.  In the following PDF article taken directly from a 2 page piece in the August 2008 edition of Men's Health we look at some of the early protocols that help shape a future cover model!  

By Justin Maguire Controversy surrounding Hyperplasia (this is the creation of new muscle cells after puberty, as opposed to the standard thickening of existing muscle cells) in the physiological world is greater than ever. Traditionally scientist thought that hyperplasia only occurred mainly during puberty, once the cells had divided one was left with a set number of cells that could increase...