From Bookworm to Bikini: Week Ten

By Caroline Gick What’s your favorite body part? My shoulders are definitely mine. I like them now, and I like them even better compared to what they used to be. Every time I see my shoulders in the mirror, I have a clear reminder of what hard, focused work can do for me. This makes me proud of … [Read more...]

From Bookworm to Bikini: Week Eight

By Caroline Gick CAUTION: FITNESS BUZZWORD AHEAD. Balance. We see and hear this word everywhere. Most times, people use it to talk about obtaining and maintaining it in their lives. They want a healthy combination of work, family, training, and everything else that goes into a productive week. I’d … [Read more...]

Book Excerpt: Carb Back-Loading

Don’t Let Training Derail You Although this is a book about targeted performance nutrition, the outlined plan relies heavily upon training for its efficacy. I need, therefore, to discuss training—and what qualifies as acceptable. When it comes to Carb Back-Loading, not all training is created … [Read more...]

From Bookworm to Bikini: Week Seven

By Caroline Gick Last week was all about shit. I felt like shit, I looked like shit, and I didn’t want to do shit—unless we’re talking about beating the shit out of anyone who tried to motivate me with any positive, “can do” type of shit. I couldn’t even muster the energy to do that, though, so I … [Read more...]

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...]

Training on the Bleeding Edge: Joel Jamieson and BioForce HRV

Be brutally honest with yourself right now. What do you really want to look like? How do you really want to be able to perform? Most guys these days, when asked, will tell you they want to look and perform like they fight in the UFC. They may or may not want to get elbowed or choked on a regular … [Read more...]

Bookworm to Bikini-Ready: 13 Weeks to the Figure Stage (Week 2)

By Caroline Gick This week, I’m going to get more specific about how I eat and how I train. I also want to talk about how I’ll be adjusting my diet and my workouts in the coming weeks as I get closer to my competition. The entire program I follow—both training and nutrition—has been developed for … [Read more...]

A Plateful of Kitchen Sense

By Alex Navarro Eat this. Do that. Don’t eat this. Don’t do that. We’re hearing commands and getting directions all the time on this site, but sometimes it’s a good idea to take a step back and assess what’s actually realistic for your lifestyle, especially when it comes to your relationship with … [Read more...]

How to be Awesome

By Jesse Burdick Every second of every day gives you a new chance to start shit over. Even if you don’t think it’s possible at this point, you can get moving on something good right now if you want to. That’s the best thing about training: it’s always there. Tomorrow morning, you can resolve to get … [Read more...]

The Sexy Strong Woman: Part 2

  Women and muscle mass have a strange relationship, and it’s been that way forever. When you’re trying to decide whether you actually want to put on muscle, it’s a very personal decision that a lot of women eventually choose not to make at all because they don’t want to “bulk up.” Still, a lot of … [Read more...]