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The thing about AFCs are that they’re a bunch of crabs in a barrel. Just as one starts to lift himself out of the barrel, the other crabs will grab him and pull him back in.

StrongLifts 5×5 doesn’t work endlessly. Once you can Squat close to 1.5x your body-weight, your body can’t handle 3 weight increases per week anymore. The weight becomes too heavy for your body to recover in time.

The solution is to switch to weekly increases and include light days. Add weight each week instead of each workout. Include a light mid-week Squat day to help recovery. This is how StrongLifts 5×5 Advanced works.

Do you need long distance running or jogging on top of weight lifting for healthy heart & lung function? Do you need aerobic training on top of weight lifting to improve your cardiovascular fitness? Or is weight lifting enough?

Mariusz Pudzianowski. Polish strongman. 31 y old, 6′1″/1m85 & 315lbs/143kg. 4 times winner of World’s Strongest Man competition. Deadlifts close to 900lbs/400kg and Squats close to 800lbs/360kg.

Mariusz tested positively for performance-enhancing drugs in 2004. But taking drugs while sitting in your coach all day doesn’t make you big & strong like him. You must work hard. Here’s how to get bigger with strength training.

Which condition do you have to master before you can get successful?

Power comes from the hips: your posterior chain. It consists of your lower back, hamstrings, calves & glutes. A strong posterior chain is important for Deadlifts, Squats, Power Cleans, jumps, sprints, …

Excessive sitting shortens your hip flexors. This stretches the opposite muscles: your glutes. They become dormant. You can’t fire your glutes properly anymore. The solution is glute activation exercises. Here’s how.

In August 2007 Jamie Gillentine dove head first into the ocean. But he didn’t know it was a sand bar. Jamie Gillentine shattered his 6th cervical vertebrae. Spinal fragments were lodged in his spinal cord.

Jamie Gillentine lost all feeling and movement from his upper-chest down to his legs. He had some arm movement but no hand dexterity. Here’s a video of his recovery which took several months.