by Mike Arnold

Getting started in BB’ing can be an overwhelming experience, especially if the individual has minimal education in the areas of training & nutrition. Without proper guidance, the beginner is sure to make numerous progress-halting mistakes. Many aspiring BB’rs waste years of effort on ineffective training programs and unless a concerted attempt is made to educate oneself, most individuals will continue to engage in inferior routines to their own detriment.

by Geoff Roberts

The average power lifter will laugh like an intoxicated Will Ferrell fan watching Step Brothers if asked whether or not bodybuilders are as strong as power lifters. The answer to this question seems obvious at first glance. Of course power lifters are far stronger than bodybuilders! Their sole purpose in the gym is strength, whereas bodybuilders only care about the cosmetic effects of training. However, this fails to paint the entire picture.

by Mike Arnold

As a bodybuilder, you don’t need to be told that diet plays a direct and critical role in the achievement of your goals. Even beginners understand this, yet knowledge of this fact is no guarantee of success, as evidenced by the many who continue to struggle with this part of their program. When it comes to bodybuilding nutrition, simply knowing something and being able to implement it effectively are two different things entirely, making book smarts only one aspect of personal success. As for why so many seem to struggle in this area, it is impossible to lay the blame on any single thing, but there is one factor (outside of consistency) that accounts for the vast majority of difficulty in most cases—our individuality.

by Matt Weik

We’ve all been there a time or two (or for some of us majority of the week if you’re in sales) where we are traveling—whether it be for business or pleasure. You plan out your trip and where you’re staying in advance and then the big day comes and you check into the hotel after a long day on the road. You’re sitting in your room wondering what to do for the rest of the night. Maybe some television? Or hit the sack early to get ready for the next day? If only you were home you could get in a good workout. Or can you? Of course you can!

by Mike Arnold

As bodybuilders, our unceasing quest to understand the effects of hormones on the body is driven by a singular purpose—that we might be able to manipulate them to our advantage in the pursuit of physical excellence. Over the decades, three classes of hormones have emerged as the most influential, due to both their vast range of effects in the body and their overall degree of impact on the attainment of our goals. These are steroids (AAS and estrogens), growth hormone, and insulin. Although each of these hormones can provide both positive and negative effects, for the most part, they are viewed as beneficial from a bodybuilding standpoint. But what happens when one of these produces a cosmetic side effect that is contrary to our goals? In most cases we simply employ the appropriate countermeasure and the problem goes away. However, such a remedy is not always available, leaving us to decide between the lesser of two evils.

You may have heard buzz about how anabolic supplements are not very healthy, but this is simply not the case. There are plenty of people who are safely using them to achieve the definition they have been looking for. The main problem with them is the fact that many people begin taking them without educating themselves first. Here are six tips you must read before you get started.

by Geoff Roberts

Human beings are far too corrupt for subjectivity to ever be the main determining factor in any competition. For that reason, subjectivity is one of the great downfalls of the bodybuilding industry. The “human” factor of judging, often leaves spectators and competitors alike feeling cheated, or at the very least confused. Bodybuilding is loosely judged based on specific criteria, although we are lead to believe it is judged strictly on these criteria. To be of the opinion that the judges do not have biases or personal preferences, is to say that the judges are not human beings at all. To make matters worse, the fans and athletes have no idea how each judge claimed to have seen the show, causing a complete lack of personal accountability for the judges. In other words, as individuals, the judges can get away with placing athletes however they wish, regardless of how inaccurate these placings might be in relation to “bodybuilding criteria”.