(Guest blog by Tom Sheppard, Strength Coach and Author) For physique athletes, whose goals are purely based on aesthetics/hypertrophy, the role that heavier loading plays is controversial. Some will point to the famous videos of Ronnie Coleman lifting crazy pounds even during contest prep, along with training styles such as DC Training or those utilized by Mike Mentzer and Dorian Yates, to illustrate the important role heavier lifting can play. On the other hand, it’s easy to point out a long list of fantastic and successful physiques that have been built without the use of heavier loading or even much...

Guest post by by Gary Chappell. Speak to some people, and they will convince you carbs are sent from the depths of hell to torch your gains and make you an eternal slave to fat gain.“I can’t even look at a carb without gaining weight” is one favorite you might hear from the doom-mongers of this particular macro. But let me tell you this: working alongside Justin Harris of Troponin Nutrition and 1st Detachment, I stepped on stage at a shredded four or five percent body fat, eating 1000g of carbs at least once a week through my 16-week contest prep....

When it comes to sculpting those arms, understanding the muscles you're targeting is crucial. So, before you even pick up a weight, let's ensure you have a solid grasp of the muscles involved and their functions.   Biceps and Triceps: The Basics Biceps: Location: The biceps are located on the front of your upper arm, running from your shoulder down to your elbow. Composition: It's called 'bi-ceps' because it has two parts or "heads": The long head (outer part) which creates the peak when you flex during biceps exercises. The short head (inner part) which gives width to the bicep. Triceps: The triceps are...

Guest article written by Tom Sheppard of Phoenix Performance Training. Alas, here we are, the conclusion of this article series. For those of you who have made it this far, congrats. By reading these three articles, you will have likely done more reading than the average adult does in a year. Which should be celebrated.  Now that we’ve established what triggers hypertrophy and how much volume (at what intensity) we need to stimulate it appropriately, I want to cover two often misunderstood concepts:; special or intensification techniques and de-loads.    Training Efficiency When we refer to “special methods” with regard to...