The Strength Log

How should you perform the bench press if your goal is to lift a ton of weight and build big and powerful pecs, shoulders, and triceps? In this episode, we discuss the biomechanics of bench pressing, the best practices for achieving a technique that will help you become bigger and stronger, the muscles worked, some common mistakes, and how to train the lift. This episode also kicks off a new series covering ”The Big 6” exercises: the bench press, squat, deadlift, overhead press, different kinds of rows, and pull-up/lat pulldown. Up next week: The squat! *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

What determines if you get great results from your strength training, or just spin your wheels without getting anywhere? In this episode, we present our seven principles of highly effective strength training. These principles are not written in stone, and they have considerations and exceptions. But if you listen to the whole show, you'll be better equipped to deal with plateaus in your training and reach your fitness goals faster. Timestamps: 03:00 - Principle 1: Progressive Overload 10:50 - Principle 2: Specificity 16:20 - Principle 3: Consistency 21:30 - Principle 4: Individualization 26:00 - Principle 5: Variation (but Not Randomization) 34:30 - Principle 6: Recovery 42:45 - Principle 7: Technique First *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

Will training fasted hurt your muscle and strength gains? A new study had participants do full-body morning workouts for 12 weeks, with half having breakfast beforehand and half skipping breakfast to see how it affected their strength levels, muscle mass, and body fat. In this episode, you'll learn how important it is to eat before you go to the gym. We also discuss whether fasted training is superior for fat loss or not. *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

Long-distance runners often hesitate to add strength training, for fear it will make them muscle-bound and heavy. But is that really what happens? In this episode, we discuss a new study on well-trained long-distance runners, that looked into how adding strength training affected their running economy and performance. The results? They're really good! Let's break them down and discuss how a long-distance runner should strength train. *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

Research is mounting that strength training is not only good for our biceps, but also for our brains, improving our learning, memory, and focus. That goes for other forms of exercise, too, like cardio. But which type is best, and how much of it should you do for brain gains? In today's episode, we discuss a new meta-analysis that tries to answer these questions. Over 9,000 brain points to anyone who listens! *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

If you improve your cardio fitness, will you also perform better in the gym and recover faster between sets? That's a common hypothesis in the gym world. If proven true, it would be another good reason for adding more cardio training into your routine, since better recovery should mean bigger strength gains in the long run (pun intended). That's the topic today, and we have a new study that examined the relationship between oxygen uptake (VO2 max) and recovery between sets, within-set fatigue, and whether men and women recover at different rates. *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

Forty might be the new twenty, and for many, life feels better than ever. But physical signs of aging are starting to creep up on us at that age. Our backs ache a bit more than ten years ago; we feel tired more often; and let's not talk about our knees and shoulders. So, how do you go about strength training in your forties? Do you build less muscle mass compared to ten or twenty years ago? Is it more dangerous? Should you only do crossword puzzles instead? In this episode, we discuss considerations when strength training after the age of 40, answer common questions people have about getting started in the gym at this age, and talk about whether your dietary needs change with age. *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

Is there too much of a good thing, or should you just keep adding sets to your workouts to grow bigger and stronger? In episode 32, we discussed a meta-regression analysis on weekly set volume for hypertrophy and strength gains. Now, the same researchers are back with an analysis on per-session volume. How many sets should you do per workout for a given muscle or exercise to maximize muscle growth and strength gains? Is more always better, and if so, is there an upper limit? Let's talk about it! We also have time for a listener question, around 22:30 in: What's the fastest way to warm up for training specific body parts? *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

Ten years ago we got an awesome study on powerlifters and weightlifters maxing out in the squat daily. Now, a group of physical therapy students have replicated that study, but in the bench press instead. You read that right. Bench press. Maxing out. Every day for more than a month. Plus back-off sets. That's a lot of bench pressing. But did they die? Super fun study and lots to talk about. Afterwards, around 25 minutes in, we discuss Daniel's results from a 6-week cycle of our training program Squat Samba. Did he set a new lifetime PR? *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

Which type of bicep curl is best if you want to grow your biceps? How do you know if you are applying progressive overload and pushing yourself, or just ego lifting? And what's the point of accessory exercises? We collected ten questions from our Instagram account and the StrengthLog Subreddit, to create a really interesting and fun episode for you today. See the timestamps below for all questions. Timestamps: 02:30 - Question 1: What old-school strength training practice has been discredited by research, but you still sort of believe and/or practice? Even though you know it's not evidence-based? 05:50 - Question 2: What exercises do you feel guilty about not doing because you never really want to? 12:55 - Question 3: If you could go down a weight class in powerlifting but don't want to lose too much strength, how would you plan to lose around 5 kg from now until a competition in September? 15:30 - Question 4: Are there any disadvantages to using a belt when deadlifting with lighter weights? 19:00 - Question 5: What is the best way to maintain a diet that provides a caloric deficit and, at the same time, helps me avoid being hungry? And how should I think about calories from fruits? 23:30 - Question 6: I've started to feel a slight pain in the front of my shoulder after doing dumbbell presses, rows, and military presses. Any tips on how I can adjust my technique or training to prevent this? 27:20 - Question 7: We know sleep is great for recovery, but do you have any tips and tricks for someone who has trouble falling asleep? 31:10 - Question 8: Is there any risk of wearing down or damaging your teeth while doing heavy lifts repeatedly week after week and year after year, often biting down hard? 34:25 - Question 9: How do you know if you are truly applying progressive overload and pushing yourself, or just ego lifting? 38:00 - Question 10: How important are accessory lifts really? If the goal is strength, what is the benefit of putting together a workout with both bench press and dumbbell press, plus isolation exercises for the arms and shoulders, for example? *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

Which type of bicep curl is best if you want to grow your biceps? A new, impressive bicep study adds to the evidence that just doing regular curls might not be optimal, comparing bicep growth between two exercises where one was performed with a shortened bicep position and one with a lengthened bicep position. After discussing optimizing your bicep growth, we move on to two listener questions. See the timestamps below! Timestamps: 03:20 - Main subject 15:20 - Question 1: If I want to increase my strength in squats, do you recommend Squat Samba or RSR in your app? 21:10 - Question 2: Do I have to drink my creatine supplement, or can I mix it into food? *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

If you want to build more muscle mass, is it a good strategy to bulk up first before cutting down to the same weight again, hopefully with more quality mass on your body than you started out with? Bodybuilders do this all the time, but do you really need to if you don't plan to compete? Another strategy is to stay at the same weight, slowly losing fat while adding muscle mass. That's what we're discussing today. Using a new case study in which beginners did a 24-week bulk and cut cycle, we examine their results and talk about ways they could have been improved, and the practical takeaways for you, the listener.  *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

If you lower the weights slowly when training, will that boost your muscle growth and strength gains? In today's episode, we're discussing a new meta-analysis (still in preprint) that pooled the results from eight studies on this topic, to see if an intentionally slow eccentric tempo when strength training produces better results. The results gave us a lot to debate, so let's dive in! *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

If you eat carbs before bedtime, you'll become fat. At least, that's what people have been claiming for decades—but is it true or just another fitness myth? Today, we have a new study looking into whether carbohydrates eaten in the evening are more prone to becoming body fat, and whether it matters if the carbs are of the fast (tasty) or slow (boring) kind. We round off the episode with a listener question about 1RM-based training programs in the StrengthLog Workout Tracker App. Timestamps: 03:15 - Main subject: Will late-night carbs make you fat? 22:00 - Listener question: I'm about to finish my first cycle of a 1RM-based training program that's given me great results. Should I run another cycle, and if so, how should I adjust my 1RMs? *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

Which type of training is better for fat loss and reducing your risk of cardiovascular disease: cardio or strength training? Today's topic is a new, impressive study looking into this question, and we break it down for you! If you exercise at least partly for your health, this is the episode for you! *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

How can you measure progress without testing your 1RMs? How do you best deal with plateaus in your training? And what do we think about low-volume, high-intensity training for muscle hypertrophy? The first mailbag of the year is here, and it's a good one! Read the timestamps below for every listener question we answered. Timestamps: 01:45 - What's your best tip to mentally handle periods without progress (in both strength and physique) for intermediate lifters? 08:00 - What are the most overlooked features in the StrengthLog app that you would like more people to know about? 14:10 - My current bench press PR is 135kg, but last week I had a great workout and did 10x10 with 100 kg in under 45 minutes. How much do you think I can bench press now if I shoot for a new PR? 19:45 - How would your training be different if you got paid for being in the gym? 23:40 - How can I measure progress without testing my one rep max? 27:15 - Is cuing straight wrists during the bench press misunderstood, over-, or underrated? Personally, I've recently had much greater success with a slight bend in my wrists. 31:25 - If you could choose one (and only one) behavior that would immediately be eliminated from public gyms, what would that be? 34:40 - The 80/20 rule! What are the major things to focus on when it comes to exercise frequency, volume, intensity, recovery, and diet that you should think of, and what are the things that people focus on that only have a small effect in relation to the effort? 41:10 - If you could remove one rule or thing from powerlifting, what would it be? I personally would remove the "press" signal. Or deadlifts. 47:10 - Thoughts on low-volume, high-intensity training for muscle hypertrophy? *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

How important are carbohydrates for your strength training results? And if you're planning for a long, grueling workout—should you even bring carbs with you to the gym, to eat or drink during the workout? That's the main subject for today, aided by a new, randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial on intra-training carbohydrate ingestion in CrossFit-trained adults. In the second half of the episode, we move on to more personal matters: How did Daniel's bench press competition go? And is Philip still doing his cardio quarters at the gym? *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

How can you save time in the gym while still building muscle and getting stronger? Today, we're discussing time-saving training techniques like drop-sets, rest-pause training, myo-reps, and supersets. A follow-up question for people short on time in the gym is: If you only have time to focus on one muscle group or lift, how little can you train the rest of your body without losing strength and muscle mass? *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

What does a training journey look like, going from being a beginner to intermediate to advanced? And how should your training change so that you keep making gains? That's the topic for today, and we talk about how your body responds to training differently depending on how much and for how long you've trained, how your approach to your workouts will have to change during the journey, and why sleep, diet, and other recovery tools become increasingly important the more advanced you become. Fun topic! Let's dive in. *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

Is it a myth that you lose weight from exercise? A huge new study looked into how much weight you lose for every 30 minutes of aerobic exercise (cardio) you do per week—and the results are disappointing, to say the least. This fits the evidence we already have, so why do people continue recommending exercise for weight loss? Well, exercise is kind of great for everything else—and an obvious part of a healthy lifestyle. Today, we'll break down how much fat you can expect to lose if you start exercising more, and explain why our bodies quickly tend to adapt to our new routines, making dietary changes absolutely necessary for weight loss. *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

How many calories do you burn lifting weights, and do you burn more calories if you use light or heavy weights? Also, should you even care about that when the main reasons for strength training are to build muscle and become stronger and healthier (plus look better naked)? Knowledge is power—and in today's episode, you'll learn what researchers have discovered when measuring calories burned during weightlifting! We end the show by talking about Daniel's upcoming bench press meet. Timestamps: 02:30 - How many calories do you burn lifting weights? 26:00 - Daniel will compete in bench pressing in a few weeks! How will he train, and how does it feel to make a competition comeback? *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

Which is better for muscle growth and strength gains: unilateral exercises, where you work one side at a time, allowing for more focus on that particular muscle, or bilateral exercises, which lets you use heavier weights? Today, we're breaking down a new meta-analysis looking into this, and give you our practical takeaways. We also answer a few listener questions, see the timestamps below. One final thing: We have a Reddit community now! Join us at r/strengthlog/. Timestamps: 03:45 - Unilateral vs bilateral exercises for strength and hypertrophy 20:40 - Listener question 1: Which unilateral exercises would you have as the foundation in a program during a period when bilateral exercises don't work for me because of a cranky back? 22:30 - Listener question 2: I mostly do kettlebell training at home. Do you think it's better to do the exercises with one or two kettlebells simultaneously? 27:00 - Listener question 3: Do you notice a big difference in making the podcast in English vs in Swedish? Is there a difference in the questions you get? *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

Last week, we gave beginners to the world of strength training our ten best insights and tips, to make the journey to success in the gym easier. Today, we answer some of the most common questions beginners have about starting to lift weights! Timestamps: 03:40 - Question 1: Protein is important. But how important are carbohydrates and carbs? 07:30 - Question 2: Do I really need to follow a program from day 1 as a beginner? 11:20 - Question 3: When can I count myself as strong? 15:00 - Question 4: Should I stretch before/after I lift? 19:10 - Question 5: Beginner programs often only have like three sets of five for a few exercises. Is that really enough? 22:30 - Question 6: I can't progress. Week after week I can only manage to lift the same weights for the same reps. Why? 27:00 - Question 7: How do I warm-up before lifting weights? 32:20 - Question 8: Machines or free weights? 36:50 - Question 9:  My 13-year-old nephew started strength training recently. What advice would you give him for long-term success? *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

If you are a beginner in the gym, wanting to learn how to lift weights, get stronger, and become more muscular, this is the episode for you. How should you plan your training? What exercises should you do? And which equipment is worth your money? In short, we discuss the ten things you should know for a successful strength training journey—tips that can save you from years of mistakes. If you already are a loyal listener, we believe this one has good stuff to teach you, too—it's quite easy to forget the basics, so view this as a refresher course. And once again, happy new year! *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

Do you have a New Year's resolution prepared? Setting and chasing goals can be fun and inspire you to become better, but it's way too easy to set the wrong kind of goal—and then fail after just days or weeks. Whether you want to lose weight, hit a new PR in the gym, or create the habit of working out a few times per week, this is the episode for you. We discuss evidence-based methods for goal setting, that will increase your chances of success, boost your motivation, and make you feel better about yourself while pursuing them. Happy New Year, everybody! *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

We have a great episode for you today, powered by awesome listener questions! How about planning the road from a 100 kg bench press to a 200 kg bench press? Or what about active recovery, is it really a thing to sweat about? Ten questions, all in all. See the timestamps below. Timestamps: 05:10 – Question 1: How would you plan the road from a 100 kg to a 200 kg PR in the bench press? Roughly! 15:50 – Question 2: What is active recovery, and does it work? 20:10 – Question 3: My feed is overflowing with videos about how important it is for us stiff-necked office gnomes to train the hip flexors, but I can't remember even hearing the word hip flexors from you guys … Is this something you need to worry about, and if so how? 24:10 – Question 4: Alternating dumbbell curls or both arms simultaneously? Which is more disco, and how much sweating the details is it to care about the difference? 29:00 – Question 5: If you can't or don't want to strength train more than 90 minutes a week spread over 2-3 sessions, and don't have higher ambitions than to bench your body weight, deadlift twice that, and squat somewhere in between, is there any reason to go beyond a beginner's program? 35:00 – Question 6: Do you have a training program that you return to again and again? 37:50 – Question 7: I have a question about the set point theory, meaning if you lose weight, the body wants to try to restore it, restoring what you once weighed. But if you lose weight and then put on muscle mass until you reach the original weight, is the body "satisfied" then? Or is it more connected with the amount of body fat, so if the body finds its way back to the "status quo" + the new muscle mass, it results in a higher new total weight? 43:00 – Question 8: I want to get brutally strong in dips. I currently train 1-2 times a week, practicing handstands and freestanding handstand push-ups. I see some OK results, but I feel that I could improve more if I were properly structured. I've been using the app since 2019, and before I started training calisthenics, I pushed my bench press PR around +20kg with Benchpress Boogie, and similar in squats and deadlifts. I know that your programs work well for me, and I miss the structure they gave me. Do you have any tips? 47:00 – Question 9: What sets do you count as warm-up? I use your app, and, for instance, if my program says 5x5 for the first exercise I usually do like 5-6 sets with 6-12 reps building up to that weight, but the two final sets are fairly tough. Should I log those sets as warm-up or working sets? Ps. The total weight for the workout is not unimportant for my satisfaction 51:00 – Question 10: What is the biceps circumference at which you don't have to quote studies anymore, and can just drop truth bombs instead? *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

The standing overhead press (also known as a shoulder press or a military press) is one of the most popular barbell lifts in gyms all over the world. But it's also a lift many people struggle with, ultimately abandoning it in favor of the bench press. So, how do you become a strong, successful overhead presser? In this episode, we'll break down the best practice technique, look into some small details that might make a big difference, and talk about the most common questions people have about this beautiful lift! *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make in your training is not following a training program. Today, we're discussing why this is the case and how to find the right workout routine for you! There are many factors you might consider when picking a training program. We run through the following and give you our opinion on how much they actually matter: Your age. Your sex. How strong you are. Your training goals. Your experience level. How you train today. Will you enjoy the new program? How many days can you train weekly, and for how long each time? We finish the episode by answering two listener questions: Is "greasing the groove" productive, or does it count as junk volume? As an experienced novice, how should I periodize for strength? Also, check out the free fitness advent calendar in our workout tracker app StrengthLog! It's live now and gives you a new workout every day up until Christmas Day.  *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

Which exercise is better for building your glutes and quadriceps, the barbell squat or the hip thrust? And which is better for improving your jumping and sprinting performance?  Today, we're discussing a new study that looked into these questions. And we follow that up by answering the following listener questions on hip thrusts versus squats: Why do training discussions always seem to be either or, never both? If I'm only gonna do one of them for a big beautiful butt, which one? Is it productive to do both in the same workout? I don't like hip thrusts. What is the best foot position to make squats hit the glutes more? My coach programs squat myo-reps sets, (30 reps @ 70% 1RM). How can I get her to stop? Lastly, check out the free fitness advent calendar in our workout tracker app StrengthLog! It's live now and gives you a new workout every day up until Christmas Day.  *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

If you want to become really strong, you'll also need to become bigger. But how much does your muscle mass correlate with your strength levels? And how should you train to optimize either one? This is a fascinating topic. To kick things off we have a new study examining the correlation between chest muscle thickness and bench press 1RM. Yes, yes, we know. Every person who confuses correlation with causation ends up dying. But hear us out! To broaden the discussion, we also answer a bunch of great questions from you guys and gals. *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

How many sets should you do weekly for the biggest and fastest gains in strength and muscle size? How many workouts per week? Is the sky the limit, where more training always leads to more muscle growth? Today, we cover a new meta-study that hints at what the upper limits of muscle growth, strength gains, and training frequency might be. *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that subscribe button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

In the last episode, we established that you can build more muscle mass while losing fat—even if you're not a beginner in the gym. Let's follow that up with a bunch of great questions on the same topic, sent in by our fantastic listeners! Timestamps: 05:50 – Question 1: I'm trying to be in a caloric deficit to lose body fat and lower my body fat percentage. How long can you be in a deficit of around 500-800 calories daily before the effect diminishes? Does the metabolism decrease by a lot? 12:00 – Question 2: How would you structure your strength training during a caloric deficit? 17:00 – Question 3: How much does muscle mass affect caloric needs? Can you increase your resting metabolic rate if you build bigger muscles? 21:00 – Question 4: How big of a caloric surplus should you be on to build muscle? When does the surplus become unnecessarily big? 26:00 – Question 5: If I recall correctly, you mentioned in an earlier episode that you should eat the amount of protein appropriate for your target weight when on a diet. This means that if I weigh 100 kg and want to drop down to 80 kg, and I want to eat 2 g protein/kg, I should count my protein need using 80 kg and not 100 kg. Will I lose more muscle mass if I do that compared to if I would have counted using 100 kg? 30:30 – Question 6: I strength train 3-4 days per week, and on the 5th day, I started doing kickboxing cardo, which usually burns around 1,000 calories in an hour. On the kickboxing days, I end up in quite the caloric deficit compared to the rest of the week, where I eat to a maintenance level of around 2,400 calories. My question is: should I make it a point to replace those extra 1,000 calories I burn from kickboxing in order to maintain my muscle growth, or is it not such a big deal since it is just one day a week? *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that subscribe button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

We've already done three episodes on fat loss (see episodes 20, 21, and 22). Now it's time to tackle the holy grail: How to build more muscle mass while still losing fat! Most know that this is quite easy for overweight beginners. But what about the rest of us? Can it even be done without cycles of bulking and cutting? Let's discuss it! To help guide us, we will also answer a handful of questions on the topic from you guys. *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that subscribe button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

Do you gain more muscle and strength when you change your exercises regularly, or can you keep doing the same ones all the time? That's the topic for today, and to kick the discussion off we have a fun new study on this subject! The researchers wanted to see if varying exercises (for the same muscle group) are superior to just doing the same exercises all the time, and recruited 90 untrained women to do so. The results? Expected and surprising at the same time! *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that subscribe button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

It's time to wrap up the mini-series on training for bigger arms, with your best questions on how to succeed. Should you, for instance, train your arms daily for better gains? And how do you train if one of your arms is in a cast because it's broken? You guys had so many good questions today! See the timestamps below. And don't miss the last one, where we discuss muscle asymmetry between the left and right arm. Having one arm that's bigger and stronger than the other one, is quite a common worry out there … Timestamps: 03:15—Question 1: Is it counterproductive to train arms every day? By that, I mean to train them hard and with high volume—not just a few reps after the regular training. Some believe that it is not possible to overtrain the arms. 09:30 – Questions 2 & 3: What has more visual impact, big biceps or big triceps? And how much of a difference do the shoulders make for the appearance of the arms? 12:25 – Question 4:  Please give us some fun and effective exercises for the forearms! 17:50 – Question 5: Is it possible to train your arm to prevent tearing the bicep tendon while deadlifting? 22:00 – Question 6: How should you train if you have a broken arm? 26:40 – Question 7: When doing overhead triceps extensions I get a cramp in my left rotator cuff. Is that because of mobility issues, and will it disappear if I just continue doing this movement? 30:30 – Question 8: What is the best exercise method to increase 1RM in barbell bicep curls? 35:50 – Question 9: I'm 79 years old and I have, against all odds, managed to build substantial biceps and triceps muscles after 5 years of strength training. The problem is that I got bigger muscles in my left arm. I'm right-handed and can handle more with that arm. Should I do more reps with the right arm to trigger those muscles more? *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that subscribe button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here. If you are a strength and conditioning coach or a personal trainer, please check out StrengthLog Coach, our online software for online coaching.

The triceps are one of the biggest muscles in the upper body, and for big-looking arms, they are more important than your biceps—making up around two-thirds of the muscular volume in your upper arms! Training the triceps is not as straightforward as training the biceps, and if you want big, strong triceps, you'll need to know the tricks of the trade. In this episode, we give you a quick anatomy lesson, followed by exercise selections and our recommendations for sets and reps. In the next one, we'll answer your questions about training for big arms. If you want to know more about our workout routine Armageddon, read this article. *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that subscribe button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here. If you are a strength and conditioning coach or a personal trainer, please check out StrengthLog Coach, our online software for online coaching.

Here we have it, every man's (and quite a few women's) biggest dream: bigger biceps! Is it enough to only do pull-ups and rowing exercises for maximum bicep growth, or should you add direct bicep work too? After a short anatomy lesson, we present you with everything you need to know about building big, juicy upper arms, including exercise selection, training frequency, and different approaches on how to include bicep training in your workout routine. Next episode, we'll flip the coin and talk about the other side of your upper arm—your triceps! Also, we have merch now: check out strengthlog.com/shop for t-shirts and coffee cups. We'll add more products and prints soon. *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that subscribe button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here. If you are a strength and conditioning coach or a personal trainer, please check out StrengthLog Coach, our online software for online coaching.

Wow, you guys and gals really sent in a bunch of great listener questions today. Thank you for making this podcast both informative and fun! How about talking about the concept of progressive overload for older lifters? Or about the often-claimed importance of having a balanced physique to avoid injuries? See the timestamps below for all listener questions. Also, we have merch now! Check out strengthlog.com/shop for t-shirts and coffee cups. We'll add more products and prints soon. Timestamps: 02:10 – Question 1: Is it too long between workouts if I only do full-body workouts every fifth day? 06:45 – Question 2: If I'm never going to compete in powerlifting, should I use a lifting belt anyway? 11:45 – Question 3: How do I know if my physique is balanced enough? 17:10 – Question 4: How do I recover from acute low back pain (lumbago) as fast as possible? 23:10 – Question 5: How do I count my working sets? 26:00 – Question 6: I have a little ribbon of fat just below my belly button that I've been trying to get rid of. I'm 74 years old I go to the gym six days a week and I train an hour to an hour and a half every day. 30:10 – Question 7: How do I adjust progressive overload goals when my body is naturally slowly declining because it's aging? 36:00 – Question 8: How important is it to refill with electrolytes after a workout? 38:40 – Question 9: I drink a full pot of coffee during my workouts. Am I stupid? *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that subscribe button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here. If you are a strength and conditioning coach or a personal trainer, please check out StrengthLog Coach, our online software for online coaching.

Last episode covered the three best fitness supplements to spend your money on, and three that might be worth it under special circumstances. We flip the coin today, talking about the most overhyped supplements for strength and fitness. Either because they have been shown to not live up to the claims of the supplement companies or because they can't be deemed safe for human consumption yet.  Does this mean that it might be worth your money if we don't mention a specific supplement in this episode? Absolutely not. The ones in the timestamps below are only the most popular ones, but there's a lot of crap out there. Save your money. Timestamps: 04:10 – BCAA 09:30 – Turkesterone & ecdysterone 15:15 – Testosterone boosters 18:30 – Fat burners 22:45 – HMB For a more complete supplement guide in PDF form, sign up for our newsletter here. *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that subscribe button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here. If you are a strength and conditioning coach or a personal trainer, please check out StrengthLog Coach, our online software for online coaching.

Which supplements are worth your money, and which are not? In this episode, we'll examine what the science actually says about fitness and strength-related supplements, to give you our list of the best ones. When all is said and done, not many supplements remain that are worthy of your money—the opposite of what supplement companies want you to hear. However, we hope you'll be interested in this knowledge. But! There are a few that will help you become bigger and stronger. And they are mostly quite inexpensive. We'll discuss six different ones (see the timestamps below), how they can improve your training, and to what degree they are worth investing in. Next week, we'll cover overhyped supplements to avoid! Timestamps: 07:00 – Protein supplements 18:00 – Creatine monohydrate 26:00 – Caffeine 31:50 – Vitamin D 35:40 – Omega 3 fatty acids 41:20 – Beta-alanine For a complete supplement guide in PDF form, sign up for our newsletter here. *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that subscribe button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you are a strength and conditioning coach or a personal trainer, please check out StrengthLog Coach, our online software for online coaching.

In the final episode of our trilogy on fat loss, we discuss crash dieting. Crash diets—also known as very-low-calorie diets and semistarvation diets—are very popular, and we're here to tell you exactly how stupid it is to go on one and expect sustainable results. Especially if you care about your muscle mass, which we do believe most of our listeners do. But can you do a successful crash diet, and how would that look?  And what's the superior alternative? If you haven't listened to parts 1 and 2 of our How to Lose Fat trilogy, you can do so here: How to Lose Fat – The Basics How to Lose Fat – Your Best Questions Want all answers and secrets about fat loss in an easy-to-read format? Check out our ebook How to Build Muscle and Lose Fat. *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that subscribe button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you are a strength and conditioning coach or a personal trainer, please check out StrengthLog Coach, our online software for online coaching.

In part 1, we covered the basics of fat loss. Today, we continue this miniseries on training and eating to lose fat by answering your best questions on the topic. Is starvation mode real? How do you deal with the lack of energy on a caloric deficit? Is it a myth that strength training burns fat? How do you avoid regaining all the weight you've lost? See the timestamps below for all questions! Timestamps: 05:20 – Question 1: Should my approach to losing weight differ if my goal is to retain as much strength as possible, compared to retaining as much muscle mass as possible? 09:00 – Question 2: Why is it so hard to lose weight? 11:20 – Question 3: How do you best deal with the lack of energy when on a caloric deficit? 14:00 – Question 4: What should I do to not gain weight quickly again after a weight loss diet? 18:10 – Question 5: Is it a myth that strength training leads to weight loss, or more specifically, fat burning? 22:50—Question 6: Why does my weight loss diet stop working and my weight loss stagnate, and how should I counteract that? 28:40 – Question 7: Are you two, the hosts, comfortable in your bodies, or do you want changes? For Philip's more extensive answer to question 7, read his column Life Is Too Tasty: Confessions of a Fat Lifter. Want all answers and secrets about fat loss in an easy-to-read format? Check out our ebook How to Build Muscle and Lose Fat. *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that subscribe button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you are a strength and conditioning coach or a personal trainer, please check out StrengthLog Coach, our online software for online coaching.

Losing fat is the most common fitness goal for both men and women. It's most commonly expressed as wanting to lose weight, but it's fat we want to lose – not our hard-earned, important, beautiful, and sexy muscle mass! In this episode, we teach you the basics about eating and training to lose fat. Should you count calories? What should you eat? How much protein?  In the upcoming part 2, we'll explore the subject further with the help of your best questions. Have a question you want answered? Leave it in our community on Facebook! Timestamps: 05:30 – Why do people want to lose fat? 08:30 – Why do we gain weight? 13:00 – How to lose fat Want all answers and secrets about fat loss right here, right now? Check out our ebook How to Build Muscle and Lose Fat. *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that subscribe button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you are a strength and conditioning coach or a personal trainer, please check out StrengthLog Coach, our online software for online coaching.

For optimal quad growth, it's probably not enough to just train squats, leg presses, or similar exercises. This has been bro science for decades, and today we will discuss a new study that confirms this. The study had the participants train the leg press with one of their legs, and leg extensions with the other one. And the results of muscle growth in the quadriceps differed enough to make a long-term difference in your training! Want to try a great leg workout? Check out this article, then download our app StrengthLog and find the same workout for free on the workout tab. It's simply called Leg Workout. *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that subscribe button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you are a strength and conditioning coach or a personal trainer, please check out StrengthLog Coach, our online software for online coaching.

Training volume is a never-ending topic of debate. How many reps should you do when you want to become bigger and stronger? How many working sets?  We focused on reps in episode 5, so today it's time to focus on our favorite way to measure training volume: the number of working sets you train at or close to failure for any given lift or muscle group. We kick things off with a new study from Brazil on football players with plenty of gym experience, that measured the effects of different weekly set volumes. Then we broaden our discussion, by answering a handful of questions on this topic from our listeners. *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that subscribe button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you are a strength and conditioning coach or a personal trainer, please check out StrengthLog Coach, our online software for online coaching.

There's been much ado about bench press in this podcast. In episode 6, we talked about the mistakes you should avoid if you want to become a great bench presser. But that episode focused on the negatives, and today we feel much more positive. What are the best practices of training the bench press, that you should implement immediately in your own workout routine? We've gathered our 10 best tips on how to increase your bench press, no matter if your goal is to build bigger pecs or to compete in powerlifting. Enjoy! *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that subscribe button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the best free gym workout tracker app, StrengthLog, here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you are a strength and conditioning coach or a personal trainer, also check out StrengthLog Coach, our online software for online coaching.

You asked, we answered. And what an amazing bunch of questions you sent in! Thank you for both listening and contributing to the podcast. The timestamps for all questions are listed below. We'll discuss yoga, sleeping positions, high-rep training for squats and deadlifts, rest days, and more! Timestamps: 04:30 – Question 1: Do you think the sleeping position matters for muscle growth? 08:45 – Question 2: I want tips on calluses in the palms of my hands! What do you do to keep them at a reasonable level? 12:40 – Question 3: What's your view on endurance-focused strength training such as Body pump? 19:25 – Question 4: If you are training for strength, would you expect better gains over time (say after 2-3 months) if you did yoga (45-minute sessions) on rest days (at least 2-3 times a week) vs. just resting? 23:30 – Question 5: How important are rest days really? 28:10 – Questions 6 and 7: If one is doing suboptimal training (at least by the definitions for what is considered optimal) but still “working hard,” can gains and/or maintenance still be made? And: If you stop progressing in weightlifting and keep on lifting the same weights (same sets, reps, and weights), what happens with your strength and muscle size? 38:30 – Question 8: Why does high-rep training work better for the bench press than for squats and deadlifts? 43:15 – Question 9: What is the body recomposition method, and does it have any credibility? 48:30 – Question 10: How do I train to maintain being a good runner and a great powerlifter simultaneously? 58:00 – Question 11: Does poor form/technique when lifting weights in the gym cause injuries? *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that subscribe button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you are a strength and conditioning coach or a personal trainer, please check out StrengthLog Coach, our online software for online coaching.

How much does the lifting tempo you use in the gym matter? Well, a lot, at least according to a new meta-analysis that lays the foundation for today's episode. The study showed that lifting weights intentionally slowly leads to slower strength gains, while lifting them as fast as possible leads to faster ones. But what about injury risk? The eccentric phase of the lift? Take our hand and we'll show you the way to faster gains! *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that subscribe button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you are a strength and conditioning coach or a personal trainer, please check out StrengthLog Coach, our online software for online coaching.

Strength training and enough protein are the keys to stimulating muscle growth. Recovery and sleep matter, too, of course, and we'll cover those subjects in future episodes. But today we're talking about protein, buddy. Because everybody loves protein. How much protein should you eat daily for muscle growth? Does the amount change if you're also trying to lose weight? How much protein can you use for hypertrophy from a single meal? And what are the best sources of high-quality protein? In this episode, we cover all the basics about protein for anyone looking to pack on more muscle mass! *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that subscribe button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you are a strength and conditioning coach or a personal trainer, check out StrengthLog Coach, our online software for online coaching.

If your goal in the gym is to train for muscle growth, you just need to know the basics and a few core principles. In this episode of The Strength Log, we'll break it down for you: How fast can you gain muscle mass? What causes your muscles to grow? How often should you train a muscle group? How many weekly sets should you hit your muscle groups with? How many reps should you do in each set? How long should you rest between sets? What are the best exercises when training for muscle growth? That's about it. It's not very complicated—in theory—but the more time we spend in the gym, the more we tend to forget about what actually matters. So, here you go: our quick guide to muscle growth! *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that subscribe button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you are a strength and conditioning coach or a personal trainer, please check out StrengthLog Coach, our online software for online coaching.

Compound exercises are the closest thing you'll ever come to a shortcut in your strength training. These lifts will not only work a single muscle group; instead hitting several at once, saving you time. Compound lifts will enable you to train all major muscle groups quickly and with fewer exercises, compared to working each muscle separately with isolation exercises. This episode discusses the benefits of focusing on compound exercises—and a few cons—and gives exercise suggestions for all muscle groups. *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that subscribe button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download our free workout tracker app StrengthLog. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you are a strength and conditioning coach or a personal trainer, check out StrengthLog Coach too, our online software for online coaching.