T-Nation asked Cosgrove to tell us his top ten tips. He gave us 34.
Ten things you should be doing to reach your size and strength goals.
In Part 2, we'll discuss muscles of the torso and lower extremity, along with my tips to help you write better, more balanced training programs.
Okay, tough guy, so you want to write your own training programs, eh? You think you've got what it takes?
The key to using stimulants like Spike wisely is to find the dosage that fits your mental and physical groove. Here’s how.
I get emails all the time from T-Nation readers who want to know why I don't write programs for the masses. About the only answer I can muster up is: "Because I have a conscience."
Chapter Three: Whole Grains
Lifting weights, slaying dragons, and finding out what you’re really made of. What are you questing for? Check this out.
Ever had one of those days where you just couldn't get into the flow of your workout? Or worse yet, you don't even make it to the gym? It's happened to all of us before. The mind is willing, but the body just isn't ready (or vice versa).
This isn't my usual type of article. Rather than launch into a specific training program, TC's given me this opportunity to launch into an Alwyn Cosgrove rant. A brief warning for the timid, however: I am the king of the politically incorrect.
As I sit here pondering the recently concluded Staley Training Summit, I'm left wondering - as I often do - how far overboard I went with my whirlwind lecture on diet and recovery.
They say fitness has to become a lifestyle. True, but how do you do that exactly? Try this.
If they aren't growing, is high frequency training the answer?
This is Lucky 13, a rapid fire Q & A session with a training or nutrition expert who matters. It's fast, furious, and to the point.
Here's another well-referenced investigation by our friendly neighborhood warrior nerd, offering facts and tips on what might just be the reason for your progress stalemate. This is one article in which the author will actually feel better if you fall asleep while reading it!
Ever since the Olympics were played in ancient Greece, athletes have been looking for an edge. At that time, athletes used some very suspect compounds in hopes of increasing their strength, quickness, and endurance. They ingested various substances with the hopes of giving themselves even a slight advantage over other athletes.
This is Lucky 13, a rapid fire Q & A session with a training or nutrition expert who matters. It's fast, furious, and to the point.
I'm a salty consumer advocate. Ask anyone I know, including the editors of this web site. Being such, I do my best to associate only with good people whether it's in academics, business, or personal endeavors. Likewise, I associate myself only with ideas and concepts that have both empirical and professional support.
Now it's time to take a closer look at the smallest functional unit of training parameters: the repetition. If you build your repetition quality, you'll reap more gains from your workouts. That's definitely a good thing!
Regardless of the profession in question, your "rep" (reputation) is usually what gets you where you want to go. In the world of physique and performance enhancement, building your rep is equally important, except that we're talking about an altogether different type of "rep" here.
If you want to build huge muscles, you must continually challenge them by placing a greater demand upon them. If you stick with the same stress level month after month, you'll quickly reach a point where your body is used to the stress and won't need to adapt (i.e. grow) anymore.
If you've been training as long as I have, I'm sure you can relate to feeling a bit stale and uninspired with your workouts at times.
An uncensored interview with a martial arts champion turned performance coach.
One of my favorite books is A Book Of Five Rings by Miyomato Musashi. Musashi was a badass 17th century Japanese swordsman who never lost a duel in over sixty fights. This book outlines his philosophy of success. I re-read it recently and was amazed by how many of his principles apply to a variety of areas in life, including productive strength training.
