StrengthLog: Recent Episodes
Daniel Richter
Learn about training, fitness and health from the StrengthLog podcast, and take your training to the next level by using our app StrengthLog!
No matter if you're an active athlete or you just enjoy living an active life, injuries are something you want to stay clear of. But are injuries a given part of both training and life, or can you train in a way that greatly reduces your injury risk?
In today's episode, we discuss a new research review looking into how different types of training affect your injury risk.
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 does fasting affect your workouts? Do you still have the same strength, power, and endurance as when you are well-fed and hydrated?
That's what a new study sought to investigate, which we're discussing today!
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.
Runners who strength train become muscle-bound and slow. Or, at least that is what many still seem to believe. But research into strength training for long-distance runners actually paints a very different picture.
In today's episode, we talk about why basically every runner with even an iota of ambition should add strength training to their training regimen – along with how to do it, and what you, as a runner, should prioritize in 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.
Another week, another summer mailbag! And we have six great questions for you today, including ones about deadlifts, injury rehab, and sleep quality. See the timestamps below.
Timestamps:
- 03:30 - Question 1: Why does everyone (meaning Philip) hate the deadlift?
- 12:15 - Question 2: Benefits and drawbacks of slower rep-tempos (e.g., 3-0-3).
- 20:45 - Question 3: I just completed a 6-week program that focused on arms, and I am very happy with the results. Now, I'm going to do a month of either your Mad Cow or 4-day push-pull program. When could I start following an arm program like yours again?
- 26:00 - Question 4: What about sleep? I know you talked about sleep in other episodes, but are there studies that help quantify its impact? Also, the number of hours of sleep is one thing, but what about sleep quality?
- 33:30 - Question 5: Injury rehab! I've just been told that resting my elbow tendinitis is the worst thing I can do. I'm healing my elbow with slow eccentric hammer curls. I was told about arthrogenic inhibition – my brachialis was "turned off," and the bicep was taking over. Any insight? The hammer curls seem to be working, but so did resting?!
- 40:30 - Question 6: Do you have an opinion or advice about workout/exercise snacks? Not the stuff you eat, but doing small workouts throughout the day instead of a single workout session. Also, what are your thoughts about the bro-split? Is there sufficient volume? Why does the volume have to be spread out throughout the week? Is it because of fatigue management?
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.
Summer mailbag time, and you guys and gals sent us a bunch of great questions once again! The first one deals with the hidden gap between fitness science and real life: If research shows that building muscle is easy, why isn't every person you see at the gym jacked?
We spent a good deal of time on that one before moving on to four more questions; see the timestamps below.
We'll be back next week with the second part of this mailbag, answering another handful of questions.
Timestamps:
- 04:00 - Question 1: It seems to me that many of the studies you discuss show that it's easier to gain muscle and strength than what is commonly believed. This clashes a bit with my real-life experience, where I see the same people (more or less) at the gym, seemingly not progressing much. Why this dichotomy?
- 19:15 - Question 2: I've started doing the incline bench press due to time constraints, as I believe it's a good exercise for both the shoulders and the chest. But will it instead mean that neither of them gets enough training? Is it better to choose either shoulder presses or regular bench presses instead?
- 24:45 - Question 3: You guys do an amazing job with StrengthLog, this podcast, and the community. Top quality in everything. What are the main challenges you face in keeping this up? Especially when there are f***ing annoying people like me?
- 30:00 - Question 4: What do you think are the most under-trained muscles or muscle groups, and why? Should programming best practices include coverage for these muscles, and can it be done without very specialized equipment?
- 39:30 - Question 5: I'd like to know your origin story! How did you meet? What made you decide to make your app/company?
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.
Getting your first pull-up or chin-up is a major milestone for most people who train. But how do you go about it effectively and quickly?
In today's episode, we present a plan that's been proven to work time and time again, no matter if you're a woman or a man, light or heavy. We break down the exercises that will take you towards your first pull-up, and explain why lat pulldowns and rows aren't as useful as a lot of people claim on the road to your first pull-up.
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.
Summer vacation is coming up, and we gym rats start wondering how little strength training we can get away with without losing muscle mass and strength.
And what if we skip training altogether?
In this episode, we cover everything you need to know about scaling back your training when traveling or spending time in a hammock. We also give you tips on practical programming when you don't have access to a fully equipped gym, including exercises targeting the larger muscle groups.
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.
Strength training is among the best things you can do to improve your health, and that goes for both adults and children. But what kind of effects does strength training have on children who are overweight or obese?
In today's episode, we're discussing a new study review looking into exactly this – and the results are encouraging!
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 focus on feeling your muscles work while lifting, can you increase their activity and grow them faster?
In bodybuilding, this concept is known as the mind-muscle connection. But is it real, and – even if it is – should you care?
The mind-muscle connection is the topic of today's episode, and we have a new study on it to kick us off!
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.
Starting Strength is probably the most famous strength training program in the world, and a huge reason that barbell lifting took off 15-20 years ago.
But is it really a good program for beginners in the gym? And which claims by Mark Rippetoe in the Starting Strength book have aged badly? How would we improve Starting Strength?
A listener on Spotify requested an episode about the pros and cons of Starting Strength, and today we deliver just that!
Pour yourself a gallon of milk; this is going to be fun.
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.
Most of us already know that alcohol can have bad consequences for our health, but how much will a couple of drinks after a workout affect our bodies' ability to recover and build new muscle mass? And what about binge drinking?
That's what we're here to find out, and in this episode, we dive headfirst into umbrella cocktails in search of answers to what alcohol does to our muscle growth, hormones, and fat storage. We discuss the studies that have looked at alcohol consumption and strength training, and offer our recommendations on this hotly debated and sensitive topic.
Cheers!
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.
Can you slow your aging by eating a low-protein diet? Is protein really more satiating than fat and carbs? And does an upper level of safe protein intake exist?
In this episode, we discuss the evidence behind eight common protein claims, aided by a new article published in Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, in order to find out what we can be basically sure about – and which claims lack science to support them.
Timestamps:
- 03:00 - Presentation of today's topic: Protein myths and truths
- 04:30 - Protein proposition 1: Optimal protein intake per meal is crucial for muscle growth, with upper and lower limits that affect muscle mass.
- 08:45 - Protein proposition 2: Higher protein intake preserves lean mass and muscle strength during weight loss.
- 12:00 - Protein proposition 3: Protein is the most satiating of the macronutrients and helps to reduce energy intake.
- 16:00 - Protein proposition 4: An appropriate protein intake can slow aging and promote longevity.
- 21:45 - Protein proposition 5: The theory of protein leverage, meaning that we eat until we've covered our protein needs, and that a higher-protein diet will make you consume less total energy.
- 24:15 - Protein proposition 6: Dietary protein benefits can be optimized equally and effectively with plant and animal proteins.
- 28:45 - Protein proposition 7: There is a threshold above which too much protein can be detrimental to health.
- 33:15 - Protein proposition 8: Protein and chrononutrition: timing of protein intake can affect health
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're training with weights close to your max versus weights that you can lift 30, 40, 50, or even 60 times, what difference does it make?
In today's episode, we're looking at a study that examined exactly this. And even though we were a bit underwhelmed by the study design, it led to a great discussion!
To bring you even greater value, we answer your best questions on the topic. See the timestamps below.
Timestamps:
- 04:30 - Today's topic: How good are 30-rep sets for muscle and strength?
- 24:00 - Question 1: Is the total volume lifted king? If I lift 10,000 kg, does it matter how many sets or reps I spread the volume over?
- 26:45 - Question 2: No question, but I truly hate high reps, so I hope you say good things about low reps.
- 28:30 - Question 3: When doing low reps and low sets (2-3), should you always go to failure in every set?
- 34:15 - Question 4: Is it good to periodize low and high reps when your goal is strength? Or should you just do low reps for life?
- 38:45 - Question 5: Is low or high reps more suitable if you're over age 40 or 50?
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 do you get big arms? In this episode, we go over the exercises, the programs, and the muscles important for developing your biceps and triceps into big guns.
To help guide us, we asked for your questions on the topic of arm training – and you guys and gals delivered once again! In total, we answer seven arm-specific questions; see the timestamps below.
Timestamps:
- 09:45 - Today's topic: How to get big arms – muscles worked, exercise selections, sets and reps, and more.
- 29:30 - Question 1: Are supinated lat pull-downs a good or great way to build biceps?
- 37:30 - Question 2: Are compound exercises enough for big arms?
- 42:30 - Question 3: What's a reasonable growth to expect from following a good arm routine for someone who's not a beginner?
- 47:15 - Question 4: I thought it was as easy as "as long as you bend your elbow, your biceps are working." But people on social media are talking about wrist angles and different grip widths, as if a 2 cm wider grip on the bar would make you an Arnold-contestant, while your current grip only activates your glutes or something. How much does it actually matter?
- 50:00 - Question 5: How does 'long-limbed' bloke get them to grow (or at least show more shape and width from the front, especially). Yes, yes, we know there are different muscles to train. But some of us are a shape that doesn't seem to respond, or at least doesn't show easily visually.
- 54:45 - Question 6: Any good ideas on how to avoid elbow pain and other issues with tendons and such on a high volume/intensity arm-focused program?
- 57:45 - Question 7: Should you dedicate one day or several days weekly to arms?
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 do you lose fat without losing muscle? In today's episode, we go over and rank the most important factors for achieving this holy grail, and present you with our step-by-step guide to help you focus on what truly matters.
After that, we answer a bunch of your questions on the topic of fat loss and strength training.
Timestamps:
- 04:00 - Today's topic: How to lose fat without losing muscle mass
- 30:30 - Question 1: Which is more harmful to the muscles when losing weight, a big caloric deficit or a lack of training?
- 32:15 - Question 2: How do I know if I'm losing fat and not muscle, with or without a scale?
- 36:30 - Question 3: Do I need to modify my strength training volume and/or intensity when trying to lose fat?
- 42:15 - Question 4: How should I split my calories when losing fat while still maintaining as much muscle mass as possible? I'm currently getting 40% of my calories from carbs, 30% from fat, and 30% from protein. Any suggestions?
- 46:15 - Question 5: How does fat loss and muscle gain change with age? Being 49 and a late starter in strength training, it seems hard to gain or retain muscle without also getting a bigger belly.
- 51:30 - Question 6: Could you talk about Lyle McDonald's rapid fat loss stuff. Seems brutal but efficient.
- 56:30 - Question 7: I'm currently undergoing a 3-month fat-loss phase with a daily caloric deficit of around 500 kcal. Is it a good idea to take a one-week diet break in the middle, to regain some strength in the gym, and then go back to a caloric deficit? I feel like my recovery and progression take a really bad hit during my cut.
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.
The mean age for menopause is 50, but some women enter perimenopause at 40 or even earlier.
What do the hormonal changes of menopause mean for your strength training results, muscle mass, body fat levels, and quality of life?
In this episode, we discuss a major new study comparing strength training outcomes before and after menopause, and give you our recommendations for how to strength train when affected by menopause.
After that, we dive headfirst into your topic-related questions, including one about strength training through the different stages of the menstrual cycle!
Timestamps:
- 00:00 - Today's topic: Strength training before and after menopause.
- 18:30 - Question 1: According to my own study (myself vs guys I meet at the gym), I'm clearly stronger on reps than my 1RM suggests, while all guys I meet seem to be stronger on singles than reps. Is it just me being stubborn as a donkey and a coward when it gets heavy, or is it a real male/female difference?
- 21:45 - Question 2: I wonder what the science says about sex differences when it comes to relative progress? For the bench press, guys who started later than I did are progressing much faster, while I stay stuck at 2.5 kg plates. I understand that there are tons of individual factors at play, but it feels like a pattern, and I'm getting frustrated.
- 24:45 - Question 3: Is it true that higher reps and lower weights become less effective after menopause, compared to lower reps with heavier weights?
- 28:00 - Question 4: Not a question about menopause, but what about pregnancy: can you strength train pretty much like usual if you feel alright?
- 31:00 - Question 5: What about women who lift really heavy weights and pee themselves? Why does it happen, and is it more common than people think?
- 37:30 - Question 6: What does recent research say about strength training and strength levels during the different phases of the menstrual cycle? And how do female sex hormones affect strength and recovery?
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 do you combine Brazilian jiu-jitsu with strength training? What does the ultimate back workout look like? And how much do we bench, bro?
We're back with another mailbag, thanks to you sending us so many great questions a week ago! See the timestamps below for all questions.
Timestamps:
- 06:30 - Question 1: How much do you bench, bros?
- 11:15 - Question 2: How would you, as big, heavy, not young men, go about running a half-marathon?
- 17:40 - Question 3: How do I combine Brazilian jiu-jitsu and strength training?
- 22:45 - Question 4: Construct the ultimate back workout with a maximum of 5 exercises. Deadlifts are trained on a separate day.
- 28:00 - Question 5: What are your favorite features in the StrengthLog workout tracker app?
- 38:30 - Question 6: Tips for a 30+ years old strongman looking to keep competing past 40?
- 45:50 - Question 7: What are your thoughts on isometric holds above 1RM for strength gains?
- 49:45 - Question 8: Deadlifting in lifting shoes with a raised heel, is it beneficial or just personal preference?
- 53:00 - Question 9: My sister is starting her journey with strength training now. What can she look forward to in the following weeks if she sticks to your program "Beginner Strength Training Program"?
- 58:10 - Question 10: I am a forest worker, a very physically demanding job. I have little time and energy after work, but I want to build muscle and become stronger. What kind of exercise/program/split would you recommend for me?
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 do you get back from injuries? Balance your strength training with a competitive sport? And what is the optimal rest time between sets?
We asked for questions, and as always, you guys and gals delivered! Lots of fun stuff to talk about this week. In fact, we got so many good questions that we'll probably do a mailbag next week, too.
Timestamps:
- 04:15 - Question 1: For fat loss, which is more effective: sprints or 10k steps per day walking? I'm also lifting weights 5 days a week and in a caloric deficit.
- 10:20 - Question 2: What is the optimal rest time between sets when muscle building is the focus?
- 16:45 - Question 3: How do you balance strength training with competitive sports?
- 21:30 - Question 4: What should your macros be when bulking?
- 27:00 - Question 5: If I train bench press and lateral raises, do I also "have to" train shoulder presses?
- 31:00 - Question 6: Daniel talks about getting a leg pump. Which program or workout is best for building big legs?
- 34:00 - Question 7: Do you always follow programs when you work out, or do you do more random training mostly?
- 37:45 - Question 8: Do you ever go to the gym (or garage) together with your wives? Why? Why not?
- 40:45 - Question 9: How do you handle injuries? I'm referring to your thoughts, mindset, and getting back to your desired level of performance.
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.
Does spot reduction work? Will your muscles grow faster if you confuse them? And does fasted cardio burn more fat?
In today's episode, we look into a new article published in the Strength and Conditioning Journal, and discuss ten popular bodybuilding myths to see which ones can be debunked.
Timestamps:
- 04:15 - Myth 1: Periodization is necessary to maximize muscle growth
- 08:15 - Myth 2: Muscle confusion leads to optimal muscle growth
- 13:30 - Myth 3: Training to failure is required to gain muscle
- 18:30 - Myth 4: Cardio training will significantly harm muscle growth
- 23:45 - Myth 5: Lifting will make women bulky
- 27:45 - Myth 6: Bodybuilders need to follow strict and restrictive diets
- 33:00 - Myth 7: You need to eat every three hours
- 35:45 - Myth 8: You need to consume protein immediately after your workout
- 39:15 - Myth 9: You can target specific areas to lose body fat
- 44:00 - Myth 10: Fasted cardio burns more fat
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.
In theory, it's simple: just exercise more to lose weight. In practice, that is rarely what we see happen. Why is that?
In this episode, we discuss a new, really cool study that looked into one of the many ways our bodies adapt and react when we suddenly start burning more calories than we eat. There is more going on than us becoming more lazy the rest of the day, or simply compensating by eating more calories—and these are the kind of insights we're here for!
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.
Intermittent fasting is gaining popularity, promising weight loss and great health benefits.
In today's episode, we talk about a new Cochrane review comparing intermittent fasting to regular dieting, to examine how the evidence actually stacks up.
Is intermittent fasting all that it claims to be, or just another fad diet?
And if you're fasting, how much do you need to pay attention to stuff like protein timing, insulin levels, and when you 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.
One of the most common pieces of advice in strength training is progressive overload, most commonly in the form of gradually increasing the weights as you get stronger. But how big a difference does it actually make for your muscle growth?
That's what a new study sought to investigate, and that's our main topic today.
We end the episode with two listener questions; see the timestamps below.
Timestamps:
- 00:00 - Philip's lower leg injury and the death of a walking streak.
- 11:00 - The study on progressive overload and muscle growth.
- 37:15 - Listener question: One thing I've been thinking about more and more is how important technique and angles are when training. If you listen to different people in bodybuilding, everyone usually has similar opinions about diet, sleep, set rest, and various performance-enhancing drugs. But even at the highest level, the approach to technique and training differs quite a bit. For me, who has been training since the 90s, it also feels like a lot of what was said back then, which has been out of fashion for quite a while, is starting to come back into fashion. I'm starting to believe that the most important thing is to train hard, activate the muscles through the lift, and train in a way that doesn't hurt you. Then, beyond that, technique feels less important than what experts say when they want to sell programs. Thoughts?
- 45:45 - Listener question: Is it true that he who drinks alcohol and lifts will be stronger than he who does neither?
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.
Dear listener, we made it! Episode 100 is here!
To celebrate the occasion, we're doing a Q&A where we answer as many of your questions as we can in under two hours.
And today, in contrast to our usual episodes, we deviate a bit more than usual from the training-related questions and include a few more personal ones (see the timestamps below).
Cheers!
Timestamps:
- 06:45 - Favorite premium features in the app; our thought process when planning workouts; what measurements to track; and is belly circumference a more useful measurement than body weight?
- 18:45 - How do we handle setbacks in life, and how do they affect our training?
- 24:00 - Why does Philip, the hedonist, not drink coffee?
- 27:30 - Biggest differences in gym culture across the world? Do you speak any other languages besides Swedish and English?
- 34:00 - Philip's desert island wines? Daniel's desert island books?
- 39:30 - Who is more likely to a) start a fight with a bear? b) win a fight against a bear?
- 43:45 - If you could go back in time (with all your knowledge about training and about yourselves) and train in a particular way from an early age, how would you train?
- 51:30 - What's the biggest mistake modern fitness culture makes that the Golden Era of bodybuilding got right? Do you think modern lifters over-optimize details like tempo, rest times, RIR, science-based stuff, etc., at the expense of just keeping it simple, lifting heavy and intense, and simply being a monster in the gym?
- 57:00 - What results from a scientific study were you most surprised by?
- 1:03:00 - What does the science (and your experience) say about the diminishing returns of rest time between sessions?
- 1:08:45 - Are you considering Norwegian intervals sometime in the future?
- 1:15:00 - Any pet peeves when it comes to other people's behaviour in the gym? Any tips to get past the fear of a new injury or at least live with the fear and still train? Who was the coolest 80s-90s action movie star? Arnold? Stallone? Van Damme? Kurt Russel? Chuck Norris? Dolph Lundgren? Which is your favourite "bad" eating habit?
- 1:22:45 - How do I dial in the volume and intensity when trying to do daily lifting?
- 1:27:30 - Other than strength training, are there any particular hobbies that you are passionate about?
- 1:40:30 - What's your push-up PR (reps)? And the current approximate level?
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.
When you have limited time for training, how little can you train and still make gains? Or, if you're a beginner and don't want to invest a lot of time getting started in the gym, will your efforts be worthwhile if you strength train only once weekly?
In today's episode, we're talking about the minimum effective dose for strength training. To kick things off, we have an overview study covering different strategies for minimalist strength training.
After that, we discuss practical takeaways and our recommendations for when you're short on time but still want to make gains or maintain the muscle mass and strength you already have!
We finish the episode by answering a handful of your questions on this topic.
Timestamps:
- 02:30 - Study breakdown: "Resistance Exercise Minimal Dose Strategies for Increasing Muscle Strength in the General Population: an Overview."
- 35:45 - Listener question 1: Give me the sweet spot for time, sets & intensity for muscle growth. Where more only adds a few gains.
- 39:30 - Listener question 2: For experienced lifters who've been on a bro-split for a long time, can gains still be made on a minimalistic routine?
- 45:45 - Listener question 3: If strength is my goal, why shouldn't I do as much as my body can handle?
- 50:30 - Listener question 4: When you're weak like me, every workout is minimalistic.
- 53:30 - Listener question 5: What do you think about same-muscle supersets, for instance squats followed by sissy squats, for time efficiency?
If you want to ask a question for episode 100, here's our thread on Reddit for that!
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 much of a difference does warming up make, and how should you warm up to maximize your performance in the gym?
In today's episode, we talk about two new studies: a review of different warm-up strategies and a study on how psyching up affects your deadlift one-rep max. And we end the episode by answering common questions about warm-ups, including one about stretching.
But before that, we gotta tell you about a new, completely free, and totally awesome feature in our workout tracker app StrengthLog.
Timestamps:
- 00:00 - Strength Levels are live in the StrengthLog app!
- 16:00 - Why warming up is important for performance
- 22:00 - The study on warming up
- 31:00 - The study on psyching up before heavy lifts
- 45:00 - Common questions on warm-ups
Most of these questions came in through our Subreddit. You should join the conversation over there, if you haven't already!
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.
For decades, there's been debate about and research into the so-called interference effect between cardio and strength training. In other words, are you setting yourself up to fail in the gym if you do too much cardio?
In today's episode, we take a look at the current scientific picture on combining cardio and strength training. How much of an issue is it really, and how can you work around it when you want to do both?
After the main discussion, we answer questions on this topic from our listeners. See the timestamps below.
Timestamps:
- 00:00 - How to combine cardio and strength training
- 18:30 - Do we really need more than walking as cardio if getting stronger is the main goal?
- 22:30 - If running and strength training on the same day, which workout should you do first?
- 26:00 - Which type of cardio is the least stressful and easiest to recover from?
- 30:00 - Is it possible to progress in both if you're already at a high level? And is a sub 3:30 marathon and a 180 kg squat a reasonable goal?
- 34:30 - How much do walks do for your cardio?
- 38:30 - I have a hard time recovering from cycling and strength training. Am I eating too little? I also want to lose weight.
Most of these questions came in through our Subreddit. You should join the conversation over there, if you haven't already!
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.
Strength training is more and more looking like the closest thing we have to an elixir of youth. But how do you get started building muscle when you're over 60? And if you're already bitten by the iron bug, are there any changes you should make or be aware of past that age?
In this episode, we try to answer all of your questions on the topic (see the timestamps below) to leave no stone unturned.
Timestamps:
- 05:00 - The benefits of strength training for people over 60.
- 09:15 - Intro to building muscle after 60: sarcopenia, lower hormone levels, and blunted signals for muscle growth.
- 15:00 - Common questions and objections: it's too late to start, it's dangerous, and joints hurt.
- 22:30 - The effects of menopause: is it game over?
- 28:40 - What actually changes in your body after 60?
- 30:20 - How do you keep your connective tissue strong and healthy so it doesn't become a bottleneck?
- 31:30 - Do you need longer recovery time after heavy workouts when you're over 60? Would it be better to split your training into shorter, more frequent workouts?
- 33:40 - How to strength train when over 60.
- 38:30 - Are higher rep-ranges safer?
- 41:00 - Should we reduce or increase training volume and/or frequency as we age?
- 42:00 - Choosing the right training program.
- 44:20 - Eating for muscle, strength, and health: metabolism, macronutrients, and supplements.
- 52:00 - Will nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) impair muscle growth?
- 55:45 - Managing joint pain.
- 01:00:00 - Specific advice for women getting back into lifting after 60.
- 01:00:45 - For how long can people with impressive physiques maintain their muscle and strength as they age?
- 01:05:00 - What are the most impactful recovery methods?
Most of these questions came in through our Subreddit. You should join the conversation over there, if you haven't already!
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.
Preserving your muscle mass during a weight loss diet is critical for preventing sarcopenia and maintaining metabolic health. It also means you're going to look better both clothed and naked, which is kind of sweet.
So, what's the best strategy to lose mainly fat?
In today's episode, we're diving headfirst into a brand-new study showing what you can do to massively increase the amount of fat you lose when dieting, while minimizing muscle loss.
The study had participants do either strength training, cardio, or nothing at all – and the differences were remarkable!
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.
Your body uses carbohydrates to power your muscles, organs, and brain. But how important is it to eat carbs before your strength workouts?
That's the topic today, and we're discussing a new meta-analysis that looked at the effects of acute carbohydrate feeding on resistance exercise performance. Or, in other words, how much (or little) carbs up to an hour before your workouts can benefit you in 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.
The range of motion you use when lifting can have a profound effect on your strength and muscle-building results.
In today's episode, we break down a brand-new meta-analysis that compares the effects of strength training at short versus long muscle lengths.
By now, we're really starting to get a clearer picture of what range of motion you should aim for most of the time – and with the help of this study, we give you our recommendations regarding full range of motion, when you might benefit from doing partial repetitions, and at what muscle length those partials should be performed.
Nerdy but important stuff.
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.
One of the biggest hurdles to strength training is a lack of time. Luckily, there are several advanced techniques to cram a lot of training into a short amount of time, one of the more popular ones being drop sets.
In today's episode, we're discussing a new study comparing traditional strength training to drop-set training, to determine if you can achieve the same muscle growth in a fraction of the time.
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.
One of the most popular goals this time of year is to lose some (or a lot) of fat. But how do you go about that, and is it a good idea (like so many people do) to put off the strength training until after you've lost your fat?
If you're looking to make healthy changes to your lifestyle this year, this is the episode for you. We cover the basics of losing fat and building muscle mass, and explain why it's better to focus on both goals simultaneously.
Here are three helpful guides from our website:
- Strength Training for Beginners: The Ultimate Guide
- How to Cut: Lose Fat and Keep Your Muscle Mass
- How to Build Muscle: Sets, Reps & Exercises
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.
We're in the final days of 2025, and it's time to wrap up this podcast year on a more personal note.
What have been our wins and losses, what do we want to change in 2026, what scientific findings about strength training and health have surprised us the most, and which episodes of this podcast were our own favorites?
Happy New Year, dear listener! Let's talk again in January.
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.
We all know that cardio is great for us. But as lifters, cardio is seldom a passion, and many of us skip it entirely.
2025 was the year this changed for your two podcast hosts. As heavy guys, we had a hard time fitting cardio into our lives, and all efforts to build a cardio habit in the past had failed. But not this time! Both of us managed to turn things around, and although 'love' might be too strong a word, we can proudly say that cardio is something we no longer struggle with.
In today's episode, we discuss what changed for us, how we successfully built our cardio habits, and what results we've seen from this after almost a full year as cardio bunnies!
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.
When you're on a weight loss diet, strength training is the most effective tool for increasing your fat loss while minimizing your muscle loss. But how do you maximize your chances of an efficient weight cut when you're not able to spend a lot of time in the gym?
That's the topic in today's episode, where we lay out our minimalist plan for short but effective strength training workouts while cutting!
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.
For anyone who's been training consistently for a couple of years, the plateau is an ever-present companion. But why do we plateau in the gym, and what can we do about it?
As far as we know, there's basically no research on plateaus, mainly because that would require really long training studies. However, that won't stop us from discussing this issue!
In today's episode, we draw on our own knowledge and experiences, and break down our best tips to break through to the next level of strength and muscle gains when everything seems to have stopped working.
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.
By now, it's pretty clear that deep squats are superior to half or quarter squats in basically every way: better strength gains, more hypertrophy, improved athletic performance. But what about your knee health?
Squatting deep definitely puts more stress on your knee joints, so will you regret having done ass to grass squats when you're older? In other words, are deep squats the cause of knee pain and knee injuries, or are they the solution to long-term knee health? Let's look at the science!
In today's episode, we delve into a review article titled "Impact of the Deep Squat on Articular Knee Joint Structures, Friend or Enemy? A Scoping Review".
And since it's December 1st when this episode airs, we talk a bit about our free fitness Christmas advent calendar in the StrengthLog Workout Tracker app. You can open the first calendar door today, with a new one becoming available every day until December 25th. It's a lot of fun, you should tag along!
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 happens if you squat, deadlift, and bench press daily for more than one hundred days?
That's what Daniel's done, and in this episode, we discuss his experience with high-frequency training—and our new premium training program Groundhog Gains, which is available now for anyone who wants to try training like this.
We also address the most common questions about daily training, such as recovery issues, whether it's better for strength or muscle gains, and how hard you can go when following a routine like this.
If you want to check out Groundhog Gains in our app StrengthLog, it's available here.
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.
Bit of a mixed bag for you today, with three unrelated topics.
First, we look into why athletes on anabolic–androgenic steroids so often experience tendon injuries. As far as we can remember, a possible explanation has been that the tendons can't keep up with the fast gains of muscle mass and strength from AAS use, but new evidence indicates that there's more going on here!
Second, there's growing evidence that isometric training at long muscle lengths can build equal amounts of muscle as traditional full-range-of-motion training. We have a new study on isometric training in resistance-trained subjects that's kind of cool, and we break it down for you.
Finally, we got a question about lifting belts on our subreddit. What do they contribute, and is it worth buying one?
Timestamps:
- 05:00 - Use of anabolic steroids and increased risk of tendon injuries
- 16:10 - Isometrics done at long muscle lengths build muscle better than full ROM?
- 26:15 - What's the point of lifting belts, and when should you use one?
(If you want to listen to the older episode we mention, about testosterone replacement treatment, it's episode 77.)
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 long you rest between sets is an important factor to consider, as longer rest times often lead to better training results since you can perform more reps in each set at any given weight compared to shorter rests.
But what if you compensate for shorter rest times by doing more sets, until you've reached the same number of reps you would have been able to hit with longer rest between your sets?
Today, we're discussing a study that compared a traditional 2-minute rest between sets with resting for just 20 seconds, but doing additional sets until the participants had completed the same number of reps as the longer rest group.
The results were fascinating, and we provide our breakdown and recommendations on how and when they can be applied to your own training.
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.
To maximize strength and muscle growth, how many sets should you perform per week for each muscle and exercise?
A year ago, we reported on a meta-study that found surprisingly low levels of training volume were sufficient to maximize strength gains. To say that had us confused is to put it mildly.
It's finally time to revisit the topic of training volume for strength.
Today, we have a new analysis of the same data from a year ago, showing that you might actually have to train a lot more to maximize your strength gains.
Phew. All is right with the world again.
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 get a stronger bench press, bigger pecs, and become more explosive when pushing or punching, should you train for max strength, muscle growth, or explosiveness? And what is the overlap between those three training philosophies?
Today, we break down a new study that compares exactly this, and give you our recommendations on how to plan your own strength training for these different goals.
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.
We've all heard that we should eat healthy, specifically to avoid ultra-processed food. But why?
Yes, it's easy to overeat ultra-processed food because it's tasty. But if you count your calories and don't overeat, are ultra-processed foods still bad for you?
In today's episode, we explore a new study that put people on either a diet consisting of ultra-processed foods or unprocessed foods.
The researchers wanted to know a lot more than just if the participants would lose or gain fat weight, and they tested a lot of fascinating stuff, from sperm quality to phthalates (plastics) and lithium levels in their bodies.
Let's break it all down!
If you're interested in how the two diets looked, check out this pdf from the study.
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.
Are there any scientifically proven methods to reduce muscle soreness after hard workouts? And if so, should you?
We're back with another episode based on listener questions, and this is a good one. Besides muscle soreness, we discuss paused deadlifts and paused squats, as well as the optimal time of day for working out. See the timestamps below for all questions!
All questions for this episode came from our subreddit StrengthLog. Join us there and be on the lookout for when we post asking for listener questions; if you have one you'd like answered on the podcast!
Timestamps:
- 02:20 - Question 1: Is there a biologically optimal time of day to train?
- 10:50 - Question 2: Should you always go for perfect form, even if it means you don't "progress" in weight lifted, or is it okay to sometimes increase the weights for a set or two, without perfect form for all reps, to "push yourself"?
- 16:00 - Question 3: When will the muscle heat maps in the StrengthLog app become clickable, so that we can click a specific muscle to see which exercises we can do to train it?
- 19:00 - Question 4: Opinions on differences in usefulness between paused deadlifts and paused squats?
- 26:30 - Question 5: Are there any scientifically proven methods to reduce muscle soreness after hard workouts?
- 36:00 - Question 6: I'm new to the gym, and my grip fails before my back when deadlifting. How do I solve this?
- 41:30 - Question 7: If I am able to move significantly less weight in the hack squat machine compared to in regular barbell squats, is that a sign of me cheating in the barbell 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.
We have two topics for you today. First out is a new meta-analysis examining the impact of timing your protein intake immediately before or after workouts. Does it matter? And if so, how big are the differences?
Then we tackle a topic a lot of you have been curious about: ”Daniel is training weird.”
Let’s explain.
Daniel has been performing the big barbell lifts almost daily for over fifty days, and he feels stronger and in better shape than he has in a long time. He’s also shared a lot about it on Instagram, and it seems you have questions.
What’s his reasoning behind this experiment? How long does he plan to continue with it? What are the risks? Don’t your muscles need 48 hours of recovery before being trained again? And how should you go about it if you want to try it?
Timestamps:
- 02:20 - Protein timing: Does it matter if you eat your protein immediately before or after your workout?
- 10:20 - Daniel’s weird training routine: Easy Strength – daily full body workouts for over fifty days straight.
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.
Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is becoming more common as more and more men suffer from low testosterone. But for many men, it might just treat the symptoms instead of the root cause: unhealthy body fat levels.
In today's episode, we discuss a new study that compared one of the new weight loss drugs (tirzepatide) to TRT, to examine which is more effective for treating low testosterone.
The results? Way beyond interesting! You’re going to want to hear this.
We also talk about other ways to increase your testosterone levels naturally.
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 sets should you do weekly for your muscle groups to maximize strength and muscle gains? That is the eternal question for gymgoers, and even though this is a relatively well-researched subject, we still can’t say for sure.
Let’s look into a new study that had participants perform eight sets of leg presses per week with one leg and 16 sets with the other, to see which leg got the biggest gains in muscle mass and strength after five months of training.
In this episode, we discuss this study, its results, and its practical implications for your strength training.
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.
Rows are great for developing your upper back, but do they also work your biceps sufficiently? That certainly would be a good incentive to do more boring rows and less direct biceps work, to kill two swole birds with one stone.
So, what does the science have to say about this?
In today’s episode, we break down a new study in which participants trained dumbbell rows with one arm and bicep curls with the other for eight weeks, and measured how the arms grew.
The results were telling.
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.
Longer rest times between sets typically mean larger strength and muscle gains. But what if you're short on time? Enter: alternating sets!
Don’t know what alternating sets are? No worries, we explain them in the episode, while looking into a new study that compares alternating sets with traditional sets, to see if they are the fastest route to big gains.
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.
Pre-exhaust training is a strength training philosophy popularized in the 1970s. Many bodybuilders still swear by it, but what does the scientific evidence say?
In today’s episode, we examine a new study comparing pre-exhaust training with traditional training, and give you our thoughts on when and how to implement it in your own training.
Also, here’s the bulletin on ”the pre-exhaustion principle” by Nautilus founder Arthur Jones, which we read an excerpt from during the episode (if you want to read the whole thing).
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.
Getting good sleep is one of the best things you can do to increase muscle growth, strength gains, fat loss, and general performance.
In today's episode, we examine a study in which soccer players implemented different sleep hygiene tactics to improve their sleep.
The tactics they had to choose from were:
- Avoid all electronic stimulants (TV, mobile phones, and computers) from 8 PM.
- If not doing the above, avoid them 30 minutes before going to bed.
- Change any electronic stimulants screen to the warm light setting from 7 PM.
- Wear SleepSpec glasses before going to bed.
- Minimize excess light from 9 PM to 9:30 PM by only having a bed lamp on.
- Change the bed lamp to a low-wattage globe.
- Manipulate the room temperature to 19–20 °C/66–68 °F.
- Avoid consuming caffeine or any supplements from 5 PM.
- Have the last large meal at least 2–3 hours before sleep.
- Consume a glass of lukewarm milk before going to bed.
- Consume a glass of chamomile tea before going to bed.
- Take a warm bath or shower before going to bed.
- Wear an eye mask whilst sleeping.
- Wear earplugs whilst sleeping.
- Remove any timing instruments (i.e., clock) from the room.
- Avoid any sleep disruptions (for instance, bathroom visits).
- Sleep at least eight hours.
- Avoid napping from 2 PM.
Which of these did the soccer players choose to abide by? Did it work? What were the effects on their performance? And what might this mean for you?
Let’s discuss!
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.
One of the best methods for being healthier and more productive is to use the power of habits.
In this episode, we discuss a new review study on how long it takes to form new habits and what factors increase your likelihood of 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 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.
After working out, can you improve the strength and health of your tendons and joints by drinking a collagen shake or bone broth? And will that also help your skin look more youthful and beautiful?
That’s right, we have a new study to discuss, looking into the hype and claims of collagen supplements!
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 is the correlation between grip strength and health? How do you keep yourself motivated when injured? And is muscle soreness really a good sign that your training is working?
In this episode, we finish the Q&A we started last week, with five more listener questions on strength training!
Timestamps:
- 01:30 - Question 1: Is muscle soreness a good sign that you've trained hard or just have unaccustomed muscles? And do you stop getting soreness when you reach a particular strength level/habit?
- 06:00 - Question 2: Is there any study on the connection between grip strength and health?
- 10:10—Question 3: My problem is that no matter how hard I push myself, I’m just not adding weight to the bar. Why?
- 17:45 - Question 4: I’d love to hear some perspectives on how to keep motivation up when you’re plateauing or injured.
- 24:00 - Question 5: I want suggestions for exercises/programs to prepare my body for working out at the gym again in the fall. I haven't worked out in 7–8 years, because I gave birth to 2 children and lived through the toddler years!
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.
Can you maintain your muscle mass with just one full-body workout per week? Are planned deload weeks necessary or overrated? How do you balance squats and deadlifts in the same training program?
We’re in the midst of summer and it’s time to answer your best questions! We have five questions this week, and we’ll finish this Q&A round next week with five more.
Timestamps:
- 01:50 - Question 1: How long can you maintain your muscle mass with just one full-body workout weekly?
- 07:15 - Question 2: Is there any benefit to regularly adding wall-sits to your training to increase your maximum strength in the squat? I hope the answer is no because it's a f*cking pain.
- 12:20—Question 3: Can you please talk about deloading? I’ve been lifting since January. Should I do deloads periodically?
- 17:55 - Question 4: Why do you have so many exercises in the StrengthLog app? Don't you think it might trick people into doing anything other than deadlifts?
- 21:15 - Question 5: I would love it if you could talk about the difficulties of balancing squats and deadlifts within a training program.
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.
The pull-up is one of the most classic strength training exercises you can do, and also one of the best! But how do you manage your first rep if you can’t do pull-ups today, and how should you train to progress to 10+ reps?
Or should you stick to lat pulldowns instead?
In this episode, we also discuss the biomechanics and muscles used in the pull-up and lat pulldown, as well as their pros and cons.
This is the sixth and final episode in our series covering ”The Big 6” exercises: the bench press, squat, deadlift, overhead press, different kinds of rows, and pull-up/lat pulldown.
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.
You don't see it, but everyone else does. Your upper back holds some of the biggest muscles in your upper body, and the way to train them is with rowing exercises.
In this episode, we talk about the barbell row and other common rowing variations, which muscles they work, best technique practices, biomechanics, and more.
This is the fifth episode in our 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 pull-up and lat pulldown!
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.
The standing barbell overhead press (also known as a military or shoulder press) is a classic strength training exercise. Before the ascent of the bench press in the 1950s, it was the most important lift for upper body pressing strength. It mainly targets your shoulders and triceps, but it’s also great for the core muscles and athleticism in general.
In this episode, we’ll examine this lift in depth, including its technique, biomechanics, muscles worked, and variations.
We also spend a lot of time discussing why you shouldn’t give up on the lift once it gets harder and harder to add weight to the barbell. The overhead press will love you back if you only give it the attention it deserves, we promise.
This is the fourth episode in our 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 barbell row!
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.
The deadlift is one of the most primal exercises in the gym and a true test of strength from head to toe. In this episode, we look into the muscles worked when deadlifting and how to perform the lift safely and effectively.
We also break down the biomechanics of deadlifting, best practices for your technique, common mistakes, a bit about how dangerous it actually is to deadlift with a rounded back, and workout routine suggestions.
This is the third episode in our 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 overhead press!
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.
The squat is known among gym-goers as the king of all exercises. In this episode, we talk about whether it lives up to the hype and how to perform the squat if your goal is to maximize muscle and strength gain.
We also discuss the biomechanics of squatting, best practices for achieving a technique that will help you become bigger and stronger, the muscles worked, some common mistakes, and a bit about our squat specialization programs in the StrengthLog app.
This is the second episode in our 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 deadlift!
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
Which squat mistakes are actually holding you back from becoming a world-class squatter? Or even a decent one?
They might not be the ones you think (clickbait!), and in this episode of The Strength Log podcast, our mission is to make you less afraid of the stuff random squat gurus on the World Wide Web tell you that you must fix before you’re allowed to put some real weights on the barbell.
So, how much should you care about your buttwink? Your knees collapsing? Not breaking parallel?
We have around fifteen squat mistakes to discuss, so let’s get started!
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 strength training 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, also check out StrengthLog Coach, our online software for online coaching.
We made it to ten episodes! That’s worth a small celebration, don’t you think?
That’s why this episode is fully dedicated to answering questions from our listeners.
From the ones you sent in, we picked eighth. See the timestamps below!
Timestamps:
- 02:50 – Question 1: What rep ranges do you prefer when strength and muscle mass are the priorities?
- 06:40 – Question 2: How do I build bigger glutes without hip thrusts? I'm doing at-home workouts with only a barbell and dumbbells.
- 09:00 – Question 3: It’s summer soon. How much do I need to train to avoid losing my gains?
- 13:20 – Question 4: Do cold showers (not baths) harm muscle growth if taken 12–24 hours after training?
- 16:30 – Question 5: What is the #1 lesson you’ve learned in the gym, that helped you the most regarding progression and/or motivation for your training?
- 20:00 – Question 6: Say that you want to test your general strength and fitness in the gym quarterly, using the same tests every time. The test can only take one hour, not including warm-up. Which exercises should the test contain, and for how many reps?
- 27:25 – Question 7: Does creatine lose its effect if you put it in coffee or tea?
- 29:50 – Question 8: Bench press, squat, or deadlift: You can only do two for the rest of your life. Which one will you never train again, and why?
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 gym 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, also check out StrengthLog Coach, our online software for online coaching.
Free weights are the superior choice at the gym, says many people. Barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, and such are much more natural and functional! Don’t waste your time sucking up to the machines!
But wait! Don’t use free weights, you’ll hurt yourself! Use machines instead, they are much safer and more efficient for building your muscles and strength! Says others*.
Free weights vs machines: the eternal debate amongst gym bros and sisters.
Today, we’re here to settle this debate.
What does the science say? Can we clearly say one option is better than the other, no matter if you’re training for strength, bodybuilding, sports, or just the health benefits of lifting heavy stuff?
We finish the episode with a handful of questions from our listeners. If you want to be able to ask us questions in the future, check out StrengthLog Community on Facebook.
After a four-week hiatus (i.e., sick leave), The Strength Log podcast is finally back!
*Skynet
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 gym 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, also check out StrengthLog Coach, our online software for online coaching.
What are the most common deadlift mistakes? In today’s episode, we’ve compiled the deadlift mistakes we believe are holding people back, but are also easily correctable.
If you want to improve your deadlift instantly, correcting these mistakes will be the closest you’ll come to a quick fix.
We also discuss injury prevention and equipment like shoes, lifting straps, and chalk, and recommend proven training programs for the deadlift.
For a video demonstration of the five-step deadlift set-up mentioned in the episode, click here.
Daniel also recommends Adam Meakins’ Instagram account, which you’ll find here.
Alrighty then, let’s lift until we’re dead!
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 absolutely amazing gym 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, also check out StrengthLog Coach, our online software for online coaching.
Do you build more muscle mass when you train to failure, versus stopping a few reps short?
In today's episode, we discuss a new study that examined this. Then we’ll zoom out and debate a lot of different scenarios, to give you a better understanding of when it might matter more if you train to fail, and when it might matter less.
Two common definitions of training to fail are muscular failure (when you can’t lift the weight anymore, no matter what), and technical failure (when you can’t lift the weight anymore with the technique you want to use). Both definitions are legitimate, and regardless of which one you use for your training, we believe you will learn useful information from this episode!
We finish by answering a handful of questions from our listeners on this topic, including:
- How hard is knowing when you’re 1–2 reps from failure?
- How does training to fail affect recovery?
Let’s go balls to the wall!
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 workout tracker 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.
The bench press is not only the world’s most popular barbell lift, it’s also a technical lift that many people will struggle with for years before figuring it out.
So, what are the most common bench press mistakes you should avoid to improve faster?
If you google ”common bench press mistakes”, you’ll find many articles trying to serve up one-size-fits-all solutions. Don’t flare your elbows! There’s one grip-width everyone should stick to! Leg drive is king! Don’t bend your wrists! Et cetera.
Don’t be discouraged.
Yes, the bench press might not be the most intuitive exercise. But your body will figure it out if you just learn the basics and then make sure to train it deliberately and continuously.
In this episode of The Strength Log, we’ll focus less on offering you the perfect technique cues – our experience tells us that they will differ on the individual level. Instead, we’ll look at the do's and don'ts that anyone can implement immediately, which will make a big difference for your bench press results in the long run.
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.
This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden.
To support us, download our workout tracker app StrengthLog. It's completely ad-free and the most generous workout tracker 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.
The most important principle in strength training is progressive overload, i.e. to continuously lift more than you have before. In one way or the other.
But does it matter if you progress by increasing the weight you lift or the number or reps you do?
In episode 5 of The Strength Log, we're discussing a new study that examined this, and give our opinions on how you should progress your training to become bigger and stronger.
Want to learn more about the study we discuss in this episode? Daniel wrote an article about it, that you can read 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.
This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden.
To support us, download our fitness tracker app StrengthLog. It's completely ad-free and the most generous workout tracker 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.
The squat is the most important lift in the toolbox for anyone looking to build stronger and bigger legs.
If you squat with a barbell, you basically have two options: putting the barbell on your upper back, or putting it on your front deltoids, i.e. in front of your throat.
So how does the front squat and back squat differ in terms of muscle growth and strength gain?
In episode 4 of The Strength Log, we break down a brand new study comparing these two versions of the squat, to give you our recommendations on which you should choose.
Want to learn more about the study? Read our article about it here.
Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five star review in your podcast player.
You can also follow us on Instagram. You’ll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam.
This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden.
To support us, download free workout tracker app StrengthLog. It's completely ad-free and the most generous workout tracker 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.
This is episode 3 of The Strength Log, and it’s time for a proper introduction.
Who are we – your hosts – and how did we end up in your ears?
And … Do we even lift?
Since the answer obviously is yes, we’ll expand the question into ”Why?”.
Your strength training journey will hopefully continue through the rest of your life. But for it to do so, you’ll also have to find new motivation and new goals along the way, as you go through the ebbs and flows of both everyday life and aging.
Both of us have certainly had to.
So yeah. A bit more of a personal episode for you today, but we’ll also talk about what you can expect from The Strength Log podcast going forward!
Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five star review in your podcast player.
You can also follow us on Instagram. You’ll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam.
This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden.
If you want to support us, download and use our gym app StrengthLog. It's completely ad-free and the most generous workout tracker 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.
Creatine is the one legal supplement to rule them all. At least if you’re looking to become stronger and build more muscle mass.
The supplement has been studied for decades by now, in thousands of trials. And the positive effects are very well documented, along with its safety for human consumption. Creatine improves strength, strength endurance, muscle growth and aids in recovery.
It’s also dirt cheap, compared to most other supplements.
But will it also make you smarter?
That’s the subject for today’s episode of the Strength Log, where we’ll look at a new study on creatine’s effect on intelligence and working memory.
Listen to the episode to hear us break down this study and to get our practical takeaways.
Want to learn more? We have a great write up on this study:
Does Creatine Supplementation Increase Intelligence and Memory? Maybe.
And a big guide on everything creatine here:
Creatine: Effects, Benefits and Safety
This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden.
If you want to support us, download and use our fitness app StrengthLog. It's completely ad-free and the most generous workout tracker 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.
Welcome to The Strength Log, a podcast about strength training, nutrition, health and fitness. Your hosts, Daniel Richter and Philip Wildenstam, are two Swedish gym rats and science nerds, with decades of experience of helping people reach their fitness goals.
In this premiere episode, we’ll jump straight into a new study that finally shows us that protein timing is of much less importance than your total daily protein intake.
For decades, the evidence has pointed to a rather low upper limit when it comes to how much protein from a single meal your body can use to build muscle. That gave everyone the conclusion that if you want to maximize your gains, you should space out your protein intake with many meals each day – each one containing around 20 to 30 grams (or around 1 oz) of protein – to not waste those precious amino acids on silly stuff like energy.
That never made much sense, and we finally have the study to prove it didn’t.
In it, the researchers compared meals of 25 grams (0.9 oz) of protein with meals of a whopping 100 grams (3.5 oz), ingested after a full-body workout. And wouldn’t you know it, the participants who ate the larger portions also built a lot more muscle mass!
Listen to the episode and we’ll break down the study for you, as well as give you our practical take-aways.
Let’s go!
Want to learn more about this subject? Read Daniel’s article on the study here.
Want to calculate how much protein you should eat daily? Check out our protein calculator here.
This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. If you want to support us, download and use 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, also check out StrengthLog Coach, our online software for online coaching.
How can you fix muscle or strength imbalances? What should you do if one arm or leg is bigger and stronger than the one on the other side?
Article version of this episode: https://www.strengthlog.com/how-to-fix-muscle-and-strength-imbalances/
This podcast is produced by StrengthLog. On StrengthLog.com you can find articles about training, nutrition, and supplements, as well as exercise guides.
Improve your training results by tracking your lifts and following our programs with our app StrengthLog: https://www.strengthlog.com/app/
Is it important to stretch after strength training? Does stretching after weight training reduce muscle soreness and stiffness?
Article version of this episode: https://www.strengthlog.com/stretching-after-strength-training/
This podcast is produced by StrengthLog. On StrengthLog.com you can find articles about training, nutrition, and supplements, as well as exercise guides.
Improve your training results by tracking your lifts and following our programs with our app StrengthLog: https://www.strengthlog.com/app/
How much protein can your body absorb per meal? How much protein per meal can you use to build muscle?
Article version of this episode: https://www.strengthlog.com/how-much-protein-per-meal/
This podcast is produced by StrengthLog. On StrengthLog.com you can find articles about training, nutrition, and supplements, as well as exercise guides.
Improve your training results by tracking your lifts and following our programs with our app StrengthLog: https://www.strengthlog.com/app/
Can you get stronger while cutting and losing weight?
Article version of this episode: https://www.strengthlog.com/getting-stronger-while-cutting/
This podcast is produced by StrengthLog. On StrengthLog.com you can find articles about training, nutrition, and supplements, as well as exercise guides.
Improve your training results by tracking your lifts and following our programs with our app StrengthLog: https://www.strengthlog.com/app/
Can you build muscle in a caloric balance, and how does it compare to bulking?
Article: https://www.strengthlog.com/building-muscle-in-a-caloric-balance-vs-bulking/
This podcast is produced by StrengthLog. On StrengthLog.com you can find articles about training, nutrition, and supplements, as well as exercise guides.
Improve your training results by tracking your lifts and following our programs with our app StrengthLog: https://www.strengthlog.com/app/
How do you improve your max strength relative to your rep strength in the bench press? How should you train, and with what weights?
Article version of this episode: https://www.strengthlog.com/training-for-rep-strength-vs-max-strength/
This podcast is produced by StrengthLog. On StrengthLog.com you can find articles about training, nutrition, and supplements, as well as exercise guides.
Improve your training results by tracking your lifts and following our programs with our app StrengthLog: https://www.strengthlog.com/app/
Should you calculate your protein needs based on your fat-free mass or total bodyweight? How much protein do you need?
Article version of this episode: https://www.strengthlog.com/protein-need-based-on-fat-free-mass/
This podcast is produced by StrengthLog. On StrengthLog.com you can find articles about training, nutrition, and supplements, as well as exercise guides.
Improve your training results by tracking your lifts and following our programs with our app StrengthLog: https://www.strengthlog.com/app/
Do you know what the fundamental principle of resistance training is? It is to increase the stress you put on your muscles, and thus stimulate them to grow bigger and stronger. In this video, I'm sharing five different methods to progress your training. Or if you will: five ways to get bigger and stronger.
Article version of this episode: https://www.strengthlog.com/five-ways-to-get-bigger-and-stronger/
This podcast is produced by StrengthLog. On StrengthLog.com you can find articles about training, nutrition, and supplements, as well as exercise guides.
Improve your training results by tracking your lifts and following our programs with our app StrengthLog: https://www.strengthlog.com/app/
What is the difference between smith machine squats vs. free weight squats? Which one should you use to build muscle and strength?
Article version of this episode: https://www.strengthlog.com/smith-machine-vs-free-barbell-squats
More about free weights vs. machines: https://www.strengthlog.com/free-weights-vs-machines/
This podcast is produced by StrengthLog. On StrengthLog.com you can find articles about training, nutrition, and supplements, as well as exercise guides.
Improve your training results by tracking your lifts and following our programs with our app StrengthLog: https://www.strengthlog.com/app/
What if you regularly use creatine, but forget to take it for a few days? Do you need to start over with a new loading phase? I answer that and more in this episode.
This podcast is produced by StrengthLog. On StrengthLog.com you can find articles about training, nutrition, and supplements, as well as exercise guides.
Improve your training results by tracking your lifts and following our programs with our app StrengthLog: https://www.strengthlog.com/app/
More training volume equals more results ... until it doesn't. In this episode, I answer a question whether or not you could do more than 30 sets per muscle and week, if you still feel great.
If you've got a question that you'd like me to answer in an upcoming episode, just leave a comment or send a message!
This podcast is produced by StrengthLog. On StrengthLog.com you can find articles about training, nutrition, and supplements, as well as exercise guides.
Improve your training results by tracking your lifts and following our programs with our app StrengthLog: https://www.strengthlog.com/app/
While cardio definitely can help during a diet, it isn't as effective for fat loss as most people think.
Read more in our guide on how to cut: https://www.strengthlog.com/how-to-cut-lose-fat-and-keep-your-muscle/
Video available at: https://youtu.be/JTog1_BQQSs
If you've got a question that you'd like me to answer in an upcoming video, just leave a comment or send a message!
This podcast is produced by StrengthLog. On StrengthLog.com you can find articles about training, nutrition, and supplements, as well as exercise guides.
Improve your training results by tracking your lifts and following our programs with our app StrengthLog: https://www.strengthlog.com/app/
Supersets are time-efficient! But how do they affect your performance, muscle growth, and strength gains? And are some supersets better than others?
I answer that question in this episode but if you'd rather watch the video or just read, you can find links for that below.
Got a question or subject you would like me to talk about in an upcoming episode? Please leave a comment!
Article available at: https://www.strengthlog.com/supersets-for-muscle-growth-and-strength
Video available at: https://youtu.be/EnXk7qpUyQU
This podcast is produced by StrengthLog. On StrengthLog.com you can find articles about training, nutrition, and supplements, as well as exercise guides.
Improve your training results by tracking your lifts and following our programs with our app StrengthLog: https://www.strengthlog.com/app/
A few days ago, we received a great question from Emma: “I am 14 years old, and I have decided to start strength training in a few months. I wonder if I have to follow a meal plan to build muscle, like bicep and tricep?”
I answer that question in this episode but if you'd rather watch the video or just read, you can find links for that below.
Got a question or subject you would like me to talk about in an upcoming episode? Please leave a comment!
Article available at: https://www.strengthlog.com/meal-plan-for-building-muscle
Video available at: https://youtu.be/ndbV4E61NBo
This podcast is produced by StrengthLog. On StrengthLog.com you can find articles about training, nutrition, and supplements, as well as exercise guides.
Improve your training results by tracking your lifts and following our programs with our app StrengthLog: https://www.strengthlog.com/app/
In this bold third episode of StrengthLog, I talk about rep ranges for strength gains. Like with hypertrophy, virtually all resistance training can increase your strength, but some rep ranges are better than others.
Got a question or subject you would like me to talk about in an upcoming episode? Please leave a comment!
Article available at: https://www.strengthlog.com/how-many-reps-should-you-do-to-build-muscle-vs-strength/
Video available at: https://youtu.be/ndbV4E61NBo
This podcast is produced by StrengthLog. On StrengthLog.com you can find articles about training, nutrition, and supplements, as well as exercise guides.
Improve your training results by tracking your lifts and following our programs with our app StrengthLog: https://www.strengthlog.com/app/
In this humble second episode of StrengthLog, I talk about rep ranges for building muscle. Recent years of research have proven that you have a lot of options, but still, some rep ranges might be better than others.
Got a question or subject you would like me to talk about in an upcoming episode? Please leave a comment!
Article available at: https://www.strengthlog.com/how-many-reps-should-you-do-to-build-muscle-vs-strength/
Video available at: https://youtu.be/L4ArBJFqvpg
This podcast is produced by StrengthLog. On StrengthLog.com you can find articles about training, nutrition, and supplements, as well as exercise guides.
In this very first episode of StrengthLog, I answer the question "Are assistance exercises necessary to get stronger in the squat and deadlift?".
This episode is also available in video and text form at: https://www.strengthlog.com/are-assistance-exercises-necessary-to-get-stronger-in-the-squat-and-deadlift
This podcast is produced by StrengthLog. On StrengthLog.com you can find articles about training, nutrition, and supplements, as well as exercise guides.