volume – Beary Strong

How To Build Muscle

Everything you need to know to start growing.

Building muscle is a weird thing. First it is really easy “just eat and lift heavy stuff”. Later it get complicated “autoregulation, individualisation, periodisation”. Then suddenly it everythings clears up again “find what works for you, then stick to it and be patient”. To help you to get to the last stage, I’ve compiled a few articles. We start with the basics and add advanced considerations later. Enjoy!

How To Safely Get Back To The Gym

Train safe and enjoy the process.

After a long time off the gym, returning to training has its own little risks. You are deconditioned and often overly motivated to make up for lost time, which isn’t the safest combination for returning to your old training plan again. To keep yourself injury free and maximising fun, let’s take a look at what you should and should rather not do.

How To Autoregulate Your Training

Making almost every training program better.

Autoregulating training programs are the new way to go when it comes to program design. They have a lot to offer, leaving the old cookie-cutter templates from muscle magazines outdated by comparison. Still, autoregulative training isn’t for everyone. Let’s dive into the pros and cons of this great tool in this article!

Training And Workout Frequency

How often should you go to the gym? A basic question, misunderstood most of the time. Most people assume “more is better” and put much pressure onto themselves, trying to hit the gym as often as possible, only to get frustrated by the high time consumption of doing so. So let’s take a look at the most important factors that influence training frequency, allowing you to make an educated decision for yourself.

Training Volume

Finding the sweet spot for your training volume.

Recently training volume caused a lot of discussion in the evidence based fitness scene. People started fighting each other over the seemingly simple question: How much should I train? High volume zealots and low volume purists collided, leaving no definite answer behind. So let’s take a look at the data and figure out ourselves how much to do at the gym!

Taking A Closer Look At Prilepin’s Chart

What we can (and cannot) learn from a Russian coach.

Prilepin may sound like a Russian potato stew, but actually was a coach and researcher who observed hundreds of athletes and compiled their training data into a handy chart that helps finding an appropriate set and rep scheme. Later this chart went viral due to Luie Simmon’s Westside Barbell system that used it extensively. Let’s take a look at it and explore if it is still a viable tool.

Five Is The Magic Number

What makes a repetition stimulating?

Perhaps you have already heard something like “effective repetitions”, “stimulating reps” or “junk reps”. They all refer to the fact that not every repetition of a set is equally efficient to stimulate muscle hypertrophy. To force a muscle to grow, certain key factors have to be met.

Your Training Plan – The Bare Bones

A minimalistic approach to training.

First of all, I hope you have at least some kind of training plan. If you go to the gym to just get onto some machines you like or that are unoccupied at the moment, that would not be training, that’s just “working out” and as efficient as eating soup with a fork. You need a plan that leads you to your goals and that plan doesn’t have to be fancy! So let’s take a closer look of what every good training plan should include.