A deload is a crucial part of a resistance training program… but also the least sexy.
 
Who wants to be told to take a break from hardcore training?
 
But hear me out: You don’t grow when you’re smashing the weights in the gym. In that session, you’re actually doing the opposite, creating a lot of stress to challenge your body to become fitter.
 
It’s when you’re resting, in the hours and days following each session, that your body grows bigger and stronger in order to handle that training stress better in the future.
 
So recovery is the Super Soldier Serum that transforms you into Captain America.
 
However, when you’ve been training hard for a few weeks, just taking one or two rest days may not be enough to restore your body.
 
That’s when a deload comes in.
 
It’s the quick pit stop you make to propel yourself forward. Without it, sooner or later your car will slow down, or you might even lose a tyre. 
 
Now, if you’re ready to boost your training, this article will cover:
 

• What a deload is
• The purpose of deloading
• Different types of deload
• When and how to use one

 
Time for some brain gains.

​If you’ve been reading this blog since 2019 (hats off to you, OG Reader!), you might remember “Hardgainer, Now What?”, an article I published in January 2019.
 
Over two years later, I decided it was high time to revamp the original post, tackling the topic from a new perspective:
 
What are some key aspects of training and nutrition, which hardgainers typically struggle with, and which could have a dramatic impact on your physique?
 
First of all, a hardgainer is someone who thinks they struggle to build muscle or to put on any weight at all. They usually look like the typical “skinny kid” and believe they have “bad genetics” for muscle growth.
 
I view myself as a hardgainer and, at some point in my bodybuilding journey – and sometimes to this day – I’ve had all three of the issues I’m going to cover in this article.
 
What’s more, over these past years working as a coach, I noticed that many clients who wanted help building muscle, were facing similar hardships.
 
So I’m going to share:

• Three hardgainers’ common problems
• How to solve them

 
Ready for the brain gains?

​Are you at the beginning of your fitness journey and want to design your own workouts? Then you’re in the right place. Read this article and learn to apply basic principles of exercise science to create your own full-body training sessions.
 
First of all, I’ll be completely honest with you: A single blog article is no substitute for a personal trainer or coach, who can teach you correct form and draw upon their expertise and experience to craft a training program suited to your current fitness level, skills, and individual body.
 
But not everyone has access to a coach, and some training is better than no training.
 
As a beginner, what you need the most are consistency and practice, so you can get great results for months with a simple, well-structured full-body workout.
 
I trained this way three days a week for six months when I started bodybuilding. I have clients who do the same, even if they’re not beginners anymore, and still get incredible results.
 
Now that I’ve spent long enough singing the praises of full-body training, let’s get into the basics.
 
In order to create a science-based muscle-building workout, you need to understand:
 

• Exercise selection
• Exercise order
• Reps
• Sets
• Rest intervals
• Tempo

 
Ready? Strap in.

​What if you’re doing everything you can to build muscle, but you’re still not getting the results you expect?
 
You don’t need a better pre-workout drink. You don’t need to hop on a new program from the latest fitness magazine. You don’t need to sprinkle more protein powder over your problem.
 
What you need is this article. (I talk big, I know.)
 
Are you ready to take the start of 2021 as a new beginning to upgrade your physique?
 
Then read on to learn three simple steps that can make your training three times more productive.

If you want to increase your strength or muscle mass, the solution is obvious: Add some kind of resistance training to your workout routine, whether that’s lifting or callisthenics.
 
But did you know that you need to train in two different ways to maximise strength or muscle mass?
 
In today’s article, I’m going to cover exactly that and more, including:
 

• What is strength?
• What is muscle mass?
• What are the main differences and similarities when training for one or the other?

 
Let’s start off with strength.