In bodybuilding, there are two primary reasons to use anabolic agents: 1) to build muscle mass, and 2) to keep muscle mass.

In Part I, our first five adages focused predominantly on the lower body. Now, in Part 2, we’ll look closely at some commonly maligned upper body exercises.

Yes, Dan'l Webster's dead ----- or, at least, they buried him.  But every time there's a thunderstorm around Marshfield, they say you can hear his rolling voice in the hollows of the sky. And they say that if you go to his grave and speak loud and clear, "Dan'l Webster ----- Dan'l Webster!" the ground'll begin to shiver and the trees begin to shake.  And after a while you'll hear a deep voice saying, "Neighbor, how stands the Union?"  Then you better answer the Union stands as she stood, rock-bottomed and copper-sheathed, one and indivisible, or he's liable to rear right out of the ground.  At least, that's what I was told when I was a youngster. —The Devil and Daniel Webster, by Stephen Vincent Binet

Evodiamine: Does It Work? Q: I'm seeing something called "evodiamine" appear in some fat burners. What is it exactly? Does it work?

Big Bad Europeans The more you're involved in the world of strength training, the more you get to meet interesting people and learn new training methods. Last year I attended the Weider International Grand Prix of Canada, a bodybuilding contest organized by the Quebec Federation that included several of the world's best amateur bodybuilders from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Poland, etc.

We live in a society that doesn't want gray areas. People want right or wrong, up or down, and left or right. This mindset carries over to the gym, too; lifters want to be able to say that Exercise A is evil, and Exercise B is safe.

The guy who runs the place is about five feet tall. He’s got teeth the exact color of the urine-stained floor tiles in the bathroom. His face looks like an old catcher’s mitt. You just can’t get teeth that yellow or a face that weather-beaten unless you really, really work at it. You’ve got to want it . Anything less than, oh, two million cigarettes just ain’t going to do the job.

A regular Joe uses steroids and keeps a diary. Controversy ensues. If you missed the first five parts of this series, you can follow the links below to catch up:

"I'm sick. Should I train or not?" That question pops up on forums all the time. The answer? Yes , you should train!

Many lifters and coaches grasp the big picture when they read about the movements I prescribe for strength development, but they often miss the finer points. I've written this "Toolbox" series to help these experienced lifters fill in the blanks. It'll also help newer lifters learn about some very effective exercises.

Back in the mid ‘90s, I was an avid Muscle Media 2000 reader. As a young punk in his teens, I had a lot to learn about training and MM2K was just the ticket. Not only was it the initial exposure to my current mentor of penmanship, TC, but it also served as an influential introduction to a handful of outstanding strength coaches. In fact, MM2K was where I first learned about Charles Poliquin.

I was reading Ann Landers' column the other day, you know, because I feel empathy with all the letter writers who share the same problems that I have, from "Never Got Toilet Trained in Tampa" to "Chronic Masturbator in Cleveland."

Building a Better Boomerang In Part I and Part II of this series, we explained how some creative thinking and efficient programming can kill a flock of birds like a boomerang. Instead of using one dimensional thinking and throwing rocks by doing cyclical modes of cardio, why not try to cover as many needs as possible in a short period of time with a circuit of exercises?

The Hard Way Let me say right off that I'm not a great bencher. I never benched 315 until after college. I didn't bench 400 until I was 38 years old and didn't reach 500 until I was 42. I did 400 and 500 weighing about 230 pounds in a single ply shirt. I reached 500 the hard way, but if you pay attention then you might hit that mark much sooner than I did.

There is a maxim to which I have long subscribed. If memory serves, it goes something like this: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

As I type this, several of Major League Baseball's heroes and villains are appearing before a special congressional panel. The subject? Steroids. What else? Have the words baseball and steroids not been used in the same sentence in the last couple of years?

I have this fantasy. There’s this woman, you see. Every day from my window, I watch her as she passes by on her way to work.

It never ceases to amaze me how trainees like to talk two and a half times their actual size. Only in the gym will complete newbies rant about their Ronnie Coleman-like genetics before even entering their first Mr. Akron contest.

In Part I, we discussed the many pros and cons associated with traditional "cardio" practices. In today’s training world, most experts would agree that high intensity interval training (HIIT) performed after resistance training is the best way to get lean. While neither of us disregards the benefits of those practices, we want to shed some light on why low-intensity cardio performed before your workout can help you lean out and get stronger in the process.

Are Antioxidants (Gasp!) Dangerous? Although it could make me roughly as popular as boiled-over microwave oatmeal, I think it’s time I bring some emerging research to light. Yes, perhaps it’s time we take a more cautious look at antioxidant supplements and decide whether they're really all they're cracked up to be.