the Blog
Client Case Study: How Mike Vieth Has Lost 120 lbs. and Kept It Off
I wanted to write a client case study that illustrated the precise hows and whys of success. On top of the obvious reasons for success, there are also subtler, harder-to-see reasons. Below I am going to cover an actual example email from my client Mike Vieth. Mike is...
“Hardgainer” Genetics and the Compare, Contrast, Compete Game
You might have seen Andy in many of my recent videos. Andy's an international magazine cover model, and he often seems like he has "great genetics," but the truth is more complicated... The Hardgainer Solution complete course is open for a limited time....
Sleep: The Unsung Hero of Sustainable Weight Loss
I’ve just returned from the bookstore to pick up some research I ordered. Because of my background in sociology, one of the things I always do at the bookstore is go over to the diet section and to see what books people are looking at and buying. Of course there is a...
The Joy of Being a Muscle Head
This is a guest blog by Perry Mykleby: Meat head. Iron head. Muscle head. Those are terms used to describe guys (mostly) who are longer on muscle than brains. In recent years, I’ve learned there’s a lot more head involved in building muscle than I...
Abel Leg Thirties
I wanted to share a brutal workout or "circuit" that is for hypertrophy, and especially useful if you want to bring up your legs. It's called the "Leg Thirties." Oh yes indeed there are a lot of reps :) I have two demos to show you what they're like. One thing I want...
Happy Tenth and Thirteenth “Coaching Anniversaries” for Two of my Clients (…and what YOU can learn from them!)
One of the things I take great pride in as a Big-C Coach is my client retention rate. Believe it or not, my clients average about five years staying with me before they move on. Some will also come to me for coaching, stay a couple years, then try things on their own,...
The Twelve Days of Christmas: Naughty, Obsessed, Psychotic Fitness Coach Version
This time of year I get letters and inquiries regarding all kinds of crazy advice that supposedly comes from “Coaches.” Well, I’ve had enough. So I rewrote “The 12 Days of Christmas” and I call this “The 12 Days of Christmas: Obsessed/Psycho Fitness Coach Version.”...
Review of the Audio66 BTS Sport Headphones
This is a guest post by Mike Forest. Scott was recently offered a set of headphones in exchange for an honest review. Thing is, Scott doesn’t listen to music when he works out, or even when he goes on long walks. Mike does. All the time. So… we had the company send...
The “Post-Facts” Era in the Fitness and Diet Industries
Journalists are describing the times we now live in as "the Post-Facts Era," and they are at a loss as to what to do about it. It was bad enough back when politicians and pundits would look at the exact same set of facts, but use those same facts in opposite ways,...
“BINGO”: How One Word Can Create An Automatic Success Habit
I developed an accidental mental habit back in the early days of my bodybuilding career. It was a mental habit that set me up for incredible success and achievements, whether winning bodybuilding contests or earning academic scholarships for intellectual proficiency...
Training Priorities for Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Trainees
The first real gym I went to was a local YMCA. After kicking around the “Y” for a bit I managed to connect with a guy who had won the Mr. Canada title the last several years in the lightweight category. He agreed to let me train with him. I was more like his lackey. I...
Fitness and Physique Over 50: Welcome to the Platinum Club
I want to tell you about a club I belong to -- I call it “The Platinum Club.” Many of you are charter members already and I will be asking for your input as well as offering you a little of my own right now. But first let me give you some background. I live in the...
The Victor or Victim Mindset: How to Choose the Victor Mindset
Someone wrote me the other day, and it reminded me of one of my very first radio interviews. This was a radio program more generally about “success,” so having a bodybuilder was a bit "out there" for them. The interviewer’s face had a look of puzzlement to some of my...
How Overtraining Happens, and How to Prevent It
On the heels of my articles on the “base hit" approach to training intensity, I think it is necessary to follow that up with an article going more in depth on overtraining. Overtraining can creep up on someone quickly, and it can take a long time to resolve. The sad...
Personal Lessons from Setbacks
You'‘ve been working hard, training hard, and following your diet. Things seem to be going fine—great, even. But then, you get faced with an unforeseen setback. A major one. Maybe even a life-changing one. They happen. It’s happened to me, that’s for sure, and later...
How I approach online Coaching (examples, pictures, and 10 key principles)
I’m writing this giant post to address some of the most frequent questions/misconceptions I get about my coaching services, and to give people a better idea of how I approach what I call “Big-C” Coaching. This should be valuable for people looking to hire a Coach, for...
Life Matters
As many of you know I recently lost my father. I have just returned from taking care of his affairs, and tending to my mother. A few of you have written to me asking if I would please write about “death” when I am back among the matters of life. I’m not sure what and...
From the trenches: bad coaching nonsense
I’m going to give you a real-life case study below. But first, let’s face it. There are more bad Coaches than good Coaches in this industry. That’s the fact of it. It seems every person who has won some kind of physique contest now feels “qualified” to Coach other...