JB

I've always found it weird that they test strength through max reps with a relatively low weight (for athletes anyway)!

I don't begrudge him the move, I just can't believe he's "only" going to Liverpool. He should be playing alongside world class players and I'm struggling to think of a single one in their team... He's too good for them. Some truly big clubs are really missing out on a bargain. Also, he was a player who I thought I would always keep an eye on as he's so good to watch. But because I loathe Liverpool so much, I have to hope he fails, unfortunately.

I'm not going to let emotion get the better of me and start spouting rubbish about how he was limited and shit etc etc. He's clearly a class player who we'll miss massively. That said, what a **** sneaky, horrible, lying little word removed. **** him. **** football. I hope it all goes horribly wrong for him and City. The game is broken. There is literally no point in doing anything more than staying up. Any good players will just clear off at the earliest opportunity.

No issue with him moving on. Just that as others have said, he's better than Liverpool. He should be winning things and playing in the Champions League. That's not going to happen if he goes there. Whereas, if he stays here for one more year and continues to bang them in, he'll have his pick of the top clubs. Even if he succeeds on a personal level up there, it will probably be at least 3 years before he gets a move to a top tier club. It would be a really, really, really dumb move on his part.

There was one line in the last episode that actually made my girlfriend and me properly laugh out loud... I can't for the life of me remember what it was but I'm definitely not sitting through that episode again to find out!

He's been pulling his "Today we spell redemption R-O-N" face a bit too much for me. Just can't convince as being genuinely threatening. Lines like "Never do anything out of hunger, not even eating" don't help either.

Agreed. And to add: I know people who train others who'd never advise beginners to do deadlifts and squats. The reason being is that some people quite simply find them uncomfortable, or not enjoyable, so all this does is makes them dislike working out and they end up quitting the gym. People need to find a programme that suits them and not get too obsessed with doing big compound movements. You can build muscle without them, despite what the bro science says, so you need to find what suits you the most. If you can incorporate them - great - but if you can't then it's okay to find alternatives. Spot on that is.

Personally, I would probably do a traditional (body part/upper-lower/PPL) split for 2-3 weeks, or at least until you're back in the swing of things. I'm not sure there's anything magical about GVT to be honest. I guess it's just a way of getting more reps/sets which combined with slow eccentrics equals more time under tension, which in turn should equal more growth. The prescriptive strength increments also pushed me to try weights that I probably wouldn't have. I kind of tried it on a whim as I was in a bit of a rut planning my own programs. I enjoyed it. Although I wish I hadn't paired Bulgarian split squats with DB straight-leg deadlifts! As you've been lifting for a while I reckon you should try the advanced program with the lower reps/higher loads. Oh and really try and pair the exercises if you can! Charles Poliquin talks an awful lot of shit (and makes a lot of money doing so. Bioprint courses for example) and is a bit of a laughing stock in some circles but he knows his apples when it comes to training.

Not all machines are isolations. Anything that requires the movement of more than one joint is a compound exercise. Any machine that involves a push or pull is still a compound. Machines definitely have their place in beginner programmes - particularly for older people. In fact I'd strongly argue that something like the hack squat machine would be better than a free-weight squat for some beginners to help them build up the necessary strength and stability to handle free-weight movements.

Wouldn't say I'm any of those (definitely not a **** cross fitter!!!). If I'm honest I'd say that I train for equal parts aesthetics, aka vanity (although definitely not aspiring to the bloated bodybuilder physique), strength and general athleticism. I probably suffer from a lack of specialism to be fair.

Sorry to call you out again (not trying to be a dick at all) but that is simply not true. Recently been proven to be perhaps the most bro-ist of bro myths. (FWIW I agree with most of the other stuff you say)

Don't post something you read somewhere or heard somewhere? Eh? So where can we get our knowledge from then? I think it's all about choosing your sources carefully. For example, after reading a published study by Dr. Brad Schoenfeld, I feel pretty confident about reporting his conclusions as fact .

Probably, yes. If your focus is building muscle certainly. I'll be honest, until the last year or two I generally avoided them, too - so you live and learn . However, some of them are most definitely a waste of time.

"That was the RKC plank." Errr no it wasn't! He's missed out the most crucial cue! If you can hold it for 30 seconds to a minute it's not an RKC plank. 10 seconds max. I have a very short list of trainers whose I articles/videos I trust. Bret Contreras is probably at the top...

I'd agree that it's somewhat of a myth that free weights are always better than machines, certainly if the focus is building muscle. A good example is the bench press vs the chest press machine. To put it in simple terms, quite often with free weights, certain muscles (synergists) take over or take focus away from the agonist or the muscle you are primarily targeting (e.g., anterior deltoids and triceps reduce pec activation with the bench). A well-designed machine keeps the focus on the target muscle and importantly, maintains tension throughout the entire movement. I've been using the Hammer Strength press quite a lot lately (in addition to BB and DB benching) and noticed a real difference. Hack squats and a couple of rowing machines are favourites of mine as well. All of that said, free weights make up the bulk of my training and I would say that they're generally preferable for the majority of healthy, young-youngish beginners.

RKC plank. Game changer.

I'm writing it off as shit already. It will have to completely change in the remaining episodes for me to think otherwise. Unless I missed something then pretty much nothing happened (until the end, obviously). It's boring, convoluted and at times unintentionally hilarious. Oh and Vince Vaughan will always be Wes Mantooth.

Independent of the first season, this is a bit crap so far. Trying too hard maybe? I don't know but it's just not doing it for me. Cliche-ridden, some terrible dialogue and a mystery that it's hard to give a shit about. Will stick with it in the hope it picks up, though. At least it raised a laugh this week... "Smells like piss" .

Examine.com is amazing.

Interesting that you dont use an intra shake, you dont add them to the diets/programs you create either? Nope. I guess I haven't done enough research on their efficacy to justify it. I find that I do fine just sipping water throughout. I never feel like I run out of gas before the end of a session either. I took BCAAs for a while but didn't feel like they did anything for me.

I know naff all about pre and during workout supplementation if I'm honest. I got a free sample of something called Haemo Rage once (and it did give me a bit of boost) but apart from that I've never used a pre-workout formula. All I take is creatine pre-workout, whey, creatine and maltodextrin or vitargo post-workout. Sometimes I'm curious about what I could do if I went on one of those crazy pre-workouts stack I see guys in my gym taking. But I can't be arsed.

I tend to use the Harris-Benedict formula and it's proved pretty accurate for myself and people I've done diets/programs for.

Yep textbook stance and torso angle on the avatar . I'd recommend Diesel SC and Joe Defranco videos on dead lift. Their tips on set-up, particularly taking the slack out of the bar, were gamechangers for me. Do you not find that the OH press destroys your lower back? I'm not a huge fan of the movement anyway but I don't even bother trying it anymore. I build my sessions around the same compound movements as you - only switching the OH press for pull-ups (and I prefer front squatting to standard).

Have you thought about learning the sumo dead lift? I mentioned before that I didn't dead lift for ages because of some lower back issues that would come back if I ever tried loaded carries or conventional dead lift. I've been doing sumo for a couple of months now and am (touch wood) pain free. In fact, if anything I feel a bit better. Obviously I've got no idea what your back issues are so it might not work for you.

Well that was just typical Villa. Build us up just to knock us back down, really **** hard. I was expecting that in the semi final to be honest. I let myself get excited about football for the first time in god knows how long and was just reminded why I started to hate it in the first place. Gutless, pathetic, cowardly performance. Our "senior" players should be ashamed of themselves. I'm sick of being laughed at for supporting Villa. Unfortunately, this club keeps on giving people reasons.