Category: Strength

Strength: articles about getting strong: pushing, pulling, and lifting more weight.

Beer, Muscle, and Testosterone

One of the tips mentioned in the Renegade Diet is minimizing the consumption of beer (or avoiding it altogether).  Turns out this “manly” drink can have some very unmanly effects on your physique.

It doesn’t take a degree in nutrition to know beer isn’t good for you.  It is a source of empty liquid calories–alcohol alone has 7 calories per gram.

The negative effects of alcohol don’t stop there.  Alcohol is a diuretic and negatively affects hormones associated with building muscle and losing fat (cortisol, growth hormone, etc).

But beer has yet another ingredient: hops.  Hops are very high in chemicals called phytoestrogens, which act like estrogen in the body.  It seems even moderate, regular drinking with beverages containing these chemicals can produce “estrogenlike effects” in humans.  Men who have abused alcohol to the point of liver disease often suffer from testicular failure and feminized physiques.1

I’m not saying a couple of beers every once in a while will ruin your physique.   But I think you should keep this information in mind when setting up your overall nutrition plan.

Reference:

1.  Alcohol Health Res World. 1998;22(3):220-7. Alcoholic beverages as a source of estrogens.

Full Body Workout Routine

Full/whole body workout routines seem to have fallen out of favor as many trainees try to

Old School

emulate the 5-6 day split routines of professional bodybuilders. But the way genetically gifted, steroid-using professional bodybuilder trains is not relevant for most of us. This is especially true for a genetically typical, natural trainee who walks in a gym with the goal of putting on his first 10-20 lb. of muscle.

A novice lifter should make pretty rapid gains in strength and be able to lift a little more or do a few more repetitions with each session. For this reason it makes sense to train every major muscle group 2-3 times a week. Otherwise you are missing out on opportunities for growth.

I wish I had understood this back when I first started lifting weights. I could have gotten bigger and stronger much faster if I had done a properly designed full body workout routine.

A beginner should stick to a few basic exercises in order to build his/her foundation of strength. It’s pretty simple: you need to train your legs, push, and pull. Balance these three things and you’ll be on your way to safely building muscle.  You should be pulling as much as you push, for example, to avoid muscle imbalances.  You should also not neglect leg training.

A beginner routine may look like this:
1. Squat (or leg press)
2. Deadlift (or rack pull)
3. Bench Press or Dips

Do each exercise for 4-5 sets of 5-8 repetitions. Do this workout 2-3 times a week for a month or two and you’ll be well on your way to building the foundation.

I’d highly recommend you check out some of my recommended training programs if you’re interested in learning more about lifting weights and getting strong. .