One of the best methods for being healthier and more productive is to use the power of habits. In this episode, we discuss a new review study on how long it takes to form new habits and what factors increase your likelihood of success. *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You’ll find Daniel at @strengthdan , and Philip at @philipwildenstam . Become a part of our Reddit commun...
Aug 18, 2025•27 min•Ep. 71
After working out, can you improve the strength and health of your tendons and joints by drinking a collagen shake or bone broth? And will that also help your skin look more youthful and beautiful? That’s right, we have a new study to discuss, looking into the hype and claims of collagen supplements! *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You’ll find Daniel at @strengthdan , an...
Aug 11, 2025•26 min•Ep. 70
What is the correlation between grip strength and health? How do you keep yourself motivated when injured? And is muscle soreness really a good sign that your training is working? In this episode, we finish the Q&A we started last week, with five more listener questions on strength training! Timestamps: 01:30 - Question 1: Is muscle soreness a good sign that you've trained hard or just have unaccustomed muscles? And do you stop getting soreness when you reach a particular strength level/habi...
Aug 04, 2025•30 min•Ep. 69
Can you maintain your muscle mass with just one full-body workout per week? Are planned deload weeks necessary or overrated? How do you balance squats and deadlifts in the same training program? We’re in the midst of summer and it’s time to answer your best questions! We have five questions this week, and we’ll finish this Q&A round next week with five more. Timestamps: 01:50 - Question 1: How long can you maintain your muscle mass with just one full-body workout weekly? 07:15 - Question 2: ...
Jul 28, 2025•30 min•Ep. 68
The pull-up is one of the most classic strength training exercises you can do, and also one of the best! But how do you manage your first rep if you can’t do pull-ups today, and how should you train to progress to 10+ reps? Or should you stick to lat pulldowns instead? In this episode, we also discuss the biomechanics and muscles used in the pull-up and lat pulldown, as well as their pros and cons. This is the sixth and final episode in our series covering ”The Big 6” exercises: the bench press,...
Jul 21, 2025•58 min•Ep. 67
You don't see it, but everyone else does. Your upper back holds some of the biggest muscles in your upper body, and the way to train them is with rowing exercises. In this episode, we talk about the barbell row and other common rowing variations, which muscles they work, best technique practices, biomechanics, and more. This is the fifth episode in our series covering ”The Big 6” exercises: the bench press, squat, deadlift, overhead press, different kinds of rows, and pull-up/lat pulldown. Up ne...
Jul 14, 2025•50 min•Ep. 66
The standing barbell overhead press (also known as a military or shoulder press) is a classic strength training exercise. Before the ascent of the bench press in the 1950s, it was the most important lift for upper body pressing strength. It mainly targets your shoulders and triceps, but it’s also great for the core muscles and athleticism in general. In this episode, we’ll examine this lift in depth, including its technique, biomechanics, muscles worked, and variations. We also spend a lot of ti...
Jul 07, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 65
The deadlift is one of the most primal exercises in the gym and a true test of strength from head to toe. In this episode, we look into the muscles worked when deadlifting and how to perform the lift safely and effectively. We also break down the biomechanics of deadlifting, best practices for your technique, common mistakes , a bit about how dangerous it actually is to deadlift with a rounded back, and workout routine suggestions . This is the third episode in our series covering ”The Big 6” ex...
Jun 30, 2025•50 min•Ep. 64
The squat is known among gym-goers as the king of all exercises. In this episode, we talk about whether it lives up to the hype and how to perform the squat if your goal is to maximize muscle and strength gain. We also discuss the biomechanics of squatting, best practices for achieving a technique that will help you become bigger and stronger, the muscles worked, some common mistakes, and a bit about our squat specialization programs in the StrengthLog app. This is the second episode in our seri...
Jun 23, 2025•57 min•Ep. 63
How should you perform the bench press if your goal is to lift a ton of weight and build big and powerful pecs, shoulders, and triceps? In this episode, we discuss the biomechanics of bench pressing, the best practices for achieving a technique that will help you become bigger and stronger, the muscles worked, some common mistakes, and how to train the lift . This episode also kicks off a new series covering ”The Big 6” exercises: the bench press, squat, deadlift, overhead press, different kinds...
Jun 16, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 62
What determines if you get great results from your strength training , or just spin your wheels without getting anywhere? In this episode, we present our seven principles of highly effective strength training. These principles are not written in stone, and they have considerations and exceptions. But if you listen to the whole show, you’ll be better equipped to deal with plateaus in your training and reach your fitness goals faster. Timestamps: 03:00 - Principle 1: Progressive Overload 10:50 - P...
Jun 09, 2025•55 min•Ep. 61
Will training fasted hurt your muscle and strength gains? A new study had participants do full-body morning workouts for 12 weeks, with half having breakfast beforehand and half skipping breakfast to see how it affected their strength levels, muscle mass, and body fat. In this episode, you’ll learn how important it is to eat before you go to the gym. We also discuss whether fasted training is superior for fat loss or not. *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in y...
Jun 02, 2025•32 min•Ep. 60
Long-distance runners often hesitate to add strength training, for fear it will make them muscle-bound and heavy. But is that really what happens? In this episode, we discuss a new study on well-trained long-distance runners , that looked into how adding strength training affected their running economy and performance. The results? They’re really good! Let’s break them down and discuss how a long-distance runner should strength train . *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-st...
May 26, 2025•28 min•Ep. 59
Research is mounting that strength training is not only good for our biceps, but also for our brains, improving our learning, memory, and focus. That goes for other forms of exercise, too, like cardio. But which type is best, and how much of it should you do for brain gains? In today's episode, we discuss a new meta-analysis that tries to answer these questions. Over 9,000 brain points to anyone who listens! *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast pl...
May 19, 2025•28 min•Ep. 58
If you improve your cardio fitness , will you also perform better in the gym and recover faster between sets? That’s a common hypothesis in the gym world. If proven true, it would be another good reason for adding more cardio training into your routine , since better recovery should mean bigger strength gains in the long run (pun intended). That’s the topic today, and we have a new study that examined the relationship between oxygen uptake (VO2 max) and recovery between sets, within-set fatigue,...
May 12, 2025•30 min•Ep. 57
Forty might be the new twenty, and for many, life feels better than ever. But physical signs of aging are starting to creep up on us at that age . Our backs ache a bit more than ten years ago; we feel tired more often; and let’s not talk about our knees and shoulders. So, how do you go about strength training in your forties? Do you build less muscle mass compared to ten or twenty years ago? Is it more dangerous? Should you only do crossword puzzles instead? In this episode, we discuss considera...
May 05, 2025•54 min•Ep. 56
Is there too much of a good thing, or should you just keep adding sets to your workouts to grow bigger and stronger? In episode 32 , we discussed a meta-regression analysis on weekly set volume for hypertrophy and strength gains. Now, the same researchers are back with an analysis on per-session volume . How many sets should you do per workout for a given muscle or exercise to maximize muscle growth and strength gains? Is more always better, and if so, is there an upper limit? Let’s talk about i...
Apr 28, 2025•29 min•Ep. 55
Ten years ago we got an awesome study on powerlifters and weightlifters maxing out in the squat daily. Now, a group of physical therapy students have replicated that study , but in the bench press instead. You read that right. Bench press. Maxing out. Every day for more than a month. Plus back-off sets. That’s a lot of bench pressing. But did they die? Super fun study and lots to talk about. Afterwards, around 25 minutes in, we discuss Daniel’s results from a 6-week cycle of our training program...
Apr 21, 2025•37 min•Ep. 54
Which type of bicep curl is best if you want to grow your biceps ? How do you know if you are applying progressive overload and pushing yourself, or just ego lifting? And what’s the point of accessory exercises? We collected ten questions from our Instagram account and the StrengthLog Subreddit , to create a really interesting and fun episode for you today. See the timestamps below for all questions. Timestamps: 02:30 - Question 1: What old-school strength training practice has been discredited ...
Apr 14, 2025•49 min•Ep. 53
Which type of bicep curl is best if you want to grow your biceps ? A new, impressive bicep study adds to the evidence that just doing regular curls might not be optimal, comparing bicep growth between two exercises where one was performed with a shortened bicep position and one with a lengthened bicep position. After discussing optimizing your bicep growth, we move on to two listener questions. See the timestamps below! Timestamps: 03:20 - Main subject 15:20 - Question 1: If I want to increase m...
Apr 06, 2025•26 min•Ep. 52
If you want to build more muscle mass, is it a good strategy to bulk up first before cutting down to the same weight again, hopefully with more quality mass on your body than you started out with? Bodybuilders do this all the time, but do you really need to if you don’t plan to compete? Another strategy is to stay at the same weight, slowly losing fat while adding muscle mass. That’s what we’re discussing today. Using a new case study in which beginners did a 24-week bulk and cut cycle, we exami...
Mar 31, 2025•36 min•Ep. 51
If you lower the weights slowly when training, will that boost your muscle growth and strength gains? In today’s episode, we’re discussing a new meta-analysis (still in preprint) that pooled the results from eight studies on this topic, to see if an intentionally slow eccentric tempo when strength training produces better results. The results gave us a lot to debate, so let’s dive in! *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follo...
Mar 24, 2025•33 min•Ep. 50
If you eat carbs before bedtime, you’ll become fat. At least, that’s what people have been claiming for decades—but is it true or just another fitness myth? Today, we have a new study looking into whether carbohydrates eaten in the evening are more prone to becoming body fat, and whether it matters if the carbs are of the fast (tasty) or slow (boring) kind. We round off the episode with a listener question about 1RM-based training programs in the StrengthLog Workout Tracker App . Timestamps: 03:...
Mar 17, 2025•36 min•Ep. 49
Which type of training is better for fat loss and reducing your risk of cardiovascular disease: cardio or strength training ? Today’s topic is a new, impressive study looking into this question, and we break it down for you! If you exercise at least partly for your health , this is the episode for you! *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You’ll find Daniel at @strengthdan , ...
Mar 10, 2025•28 min•Ep. 48
How can you measure progress without testing your 1RMs? How do you best deal with plateaus in your training? And what do we think about low-volume, high-intensity training for muscle hypertrophy? The first mailbag of the year is here, and it’s a good one! Read the timestamps below for every listener question we answered. Timestamps: 01:45 - What’s your best tip to mentally handle periods without progress (in both strength and physique) for intermediate lifters? 08:00 - What are the most overlook...
Mar 03, 2025•56 min•Ep. 47
How important are carbohydrates for your strength training results? And if you’re planning for a long, grueling workout—should you even bring carbs with you to the gym, to eat or drink during the workout? That’s the main subject for today, aided by a new, randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial on intra-training carbohydrate ingestion in CrossFit-trained adults. In the second half of the episode, we move on to more personal matters: How did Daniel’s bench press competition g...
Feb 24, 2025•31 min•Ep. 46
How can you save time in the gym while still building muscle and getting stronger? Today, we’re discussing time-saving training techniques like drop-sets , rest-pause training, myo-reps, and supersets. A follow-up question for people short on time in the gym is: If you only have time to focus on one muscle group or lift, how little can you train the rest of your body without losing strength and muscle mass? *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast pla...
Feb 17, 2025•43 min•Ep. 45
What does a training journey look like, going from being a beginner to intermediate to advanced ? And how should your training change so that you keep making gains? That’s the topic for today, and we talk about how your body responds to training differently depending on how much and for how long you’ve trained, how your approach to your workouts will have to change during the journey, and why sleep, diet, and other recovery tools become increasingly important the more advanced you become. Fun to...
Feb 10, 2025•52 min•Ep. 44
Is it a myth that you lose weight from exercise ? A huge new study looked into how much weight you lose for every 30 minutes of aerobic exercise (cardio) you do per week—and the results are disappointing, to say the least. This fits the evidence we already have, so why do people continue recommending exercise for weight loss ? Well, exercise is kind of great for everything else—and an obvious part of a healthy lifestyle. Today, we’ll break down how much fat you can expect to lose if you start ex...
Feb 03, 2025•37 min•Ep. 43
How many calories do you burn lifting weights , and do you burn more calories if you use light or heavy weights? Also, should you even care about that when the main reasons for strength training are to build muscle and become stronger and healthier (plus look better naked)? Knowledge is power—and in today’s episode, you’ll learn what researchers have discovered when measuring calories burned during weightlifting! We end the show by talking about Daniel’s upcoming bench press meet. Timestamps: 02...
Jan 27, 2025•39 min•Ep. 42
