How to Train: Female Edition

By Jim Laird Women hire trainers far more often than men do. It’s a proven fact. Women are more likely to ask for help, and they’re more likely to trust that what they’re being told about fitness is the truth. Trouble is, most of the information available for women, both online and otherwise, is … [Read more...]

Book Excerpt: Carb Back-Loading

Exercise a Little Control It probably sounds as though insulin sensitivity lies beyond our control. Muscles will, however, use sugar efficiently—in high-volume—without manipulating insulin sensitivity. Bypassing the whole sensitivity paradigm and moving tGLUT to the surface of cells is both … [Read more...]

Shockwave: Nothing More, Nothing Less

In anticipation of the upcoming release of the next Shockwave Protocols programming system, here’s a newly edited re-release of the original introductory Shockwave article (Shockwave 1.0) from two years ago. We’re a few versions in at this point, with the biggest one to come, but this blast from the … [Read more...]

From Bookworm to Bikini: Week Six

By Caroline Gick I now have seven weeks until the Contra Costa Bodybuilding Championships, and it’s time to think about all those “other” things I need to do in preparation for competition: Things like membership applications, entry forms, tanning appointments, hair, makeup, and choosing my posing … [Read more...]

The Cute Girl Dream Sheet

  Women want compliments. If you don’t think so, you’re crazy. If we tell you we don’t, we’re lying. If you’ve read my last article here on, however, you know I’m of the opinion that the compliments we want need to be delivered a certain way if they’re going to do you—or us—any good. Regardless, we … [Read more...]

How To Be Awesome: Dealing With Bad Days

By Jesse Burdick Eric Spoto’s day was shit. Absolute, total, unmitigated shit. At one in the afternoon, he’d managed just two hours of sleep since the night before. All he’d had to eat since three in the morning was a handful of pistachios, a cup of yogurt, and a glass of apple juice. For most … [Read more...]

The X-Frame Protocols: An Introduction to Excellence

By Monte Spicer Clear your mind. Now, picture the letter X—an X with the caps lock on, and not the lowercase version. Look at the structure of the X. Examine its design. It’s wide on top, narrow in the middle, and wide again at the bottom. … [Read more...]

Book Excerpt: The Carb Nite Solution

First it was no food, and then no fat, and now it’s no carbs. As you tell friends about your new diet, you’re warned—no, almost threatened, with a list of ailments: an inability to think, bad breath, clogged arteries, obesity, and cancer. Finally, your nutritionist strikes the deathblow: your body … [Read more...]

From Bookworm to Bikini: Week Five

By Caroline Gick I have two months before my competition, so if I wanted to, I could still structure my carb nites the same way on my contest prep diet for another few weeks. For a variety of reasons, however, I think I’ll be more successful if I start taking a stricter approach to my refeeds … [Read more...]

Anabolic Cardio

When you want to reach ridiculously low levels of body fat, what’s the first thing conventional wisdom tells you to do? More cardio. The idea, then, is to put in hours and hours of work on treadmills, ellipticals, and bikes, right? That, conventional wisdom says, is how you’ll get the fat off. … [Read more...]