the Blog
Real People, Real Cases: Coach Abel (or, how food restriction leads to binge eating)
Judge Judy is the longest running television show of all time, even longer than Oprah. I can see why: she’s a no-nonsense, get-to-the-point kind of person and her authenticity in her role as judge comes through loud and clear. That obviously resonates with viewers...
“A calorie is a calorie” — Um… NOT.
One thing that's remained true about the fitness and diet industry for the past four decades is this: it loves its math and formulas. For decades the calories in/calories mathematical “balance” equation has ruled. But real science has been calling that into question...
Let's talk squats — what you need to know about the king kong of exercises
No matter what end of the strength and conditioning spectrum an expert may be interested in; any expert worthy of being called an expert will agree that although there are many “pertinent” exercises to be used in specific programs, there is one exercise that stands...
Lessons from the Tao athlete: What does it all mean? What is physique transformation for?
I get it. I’ve been there. I started where you started: working out to develop my physique, not even sure why it appealed to me so much. I was just a kid who did all sports growing up and excelled at them. Now I wanted to be in the iron game – even though I sucked at...
Poor Pitiful Peter, the Paleo Pundit: Debunking Paleo yet again, part 2
Part 1 explored the Paleo Diet Religion from the outside-in. In previous articles I have discussed the fact that Paleolithic humans were not lean because of what they ate (another point often insinuated in the Paleo Religious dogma). Humans were lean because of how...
Poor Pitiful Peter, the Paleo Pundit: Debunking Paleo yet again
A while back I wrote a couple of articles regarding “The Nonsense of Paleo Diet," yet I still receive questions about it. Since it seems to be making the rounds again, I’ll write about this hopefully one last final time. But I have a lot to say, so I’ll write this in...
Using the power clean and olympic lift variations for size and development
The past decade or so has witnessed a real comeback in popularity of Olympic Lifts and Olympic Lift variations across a wide range of fitness applications. I have implemented Olympic lift variations in many of my MET Programs as well, although often for very different...
Training, program design and the process of adaptation: what you need to know
In my book The Abel Approach I discuss the training model used for proper programming and client considerations. There are 5 factors to consider: 1) Effort 2) Training Strategy 3) Work Capacity 4) Recovery Capacity 5) Internal Biochemical and Hormonal Environment....
The sh*tter: a cautionary tale about biofeedback, metabolism, and diet cults
I have a million stories from my decades in the industry. Some stories are positive, some… not so much. However, all of them are at least educational. This is the sad yet true story of a girl who was unfortunately nicknamed “The Shitter.” I tell the story to make four...
The truth about the “coffee controversy” (I've got good news)
As I sit here drinking my venti Columbian blend, I recall how I wanted to write this article some two years ago when two contradictory research findings about coffee came through the news cycle within a week of each other. One study “concluded” that coffee drinking...
The truth about deadlifts and program design
When discussing the most difficult resistance exercises to do... well, there's no doubt that squats and deadlifts are at the top. Both movements are complicated to master, and both create a specific systemic intensity that cannot be matched by other exercises. The...
The Hardgainer Solution is now on Amazon, and is being featured by Buck Books today
My new book, The Hardgainer Solution, is now available on Amazon! And what's more: it's not "$49.99" or "$29.99" or anything like that. It is exactly $0.99. Yes. 99 cents. This is a special 99 cent promotion just for the launch. (Extra special thanks to the guys at...
Considerations for the hardgainer, and the limitations they're working with
Identifying the "Hard Gainer" is pretty simple. Actually, it is something most trainees can tell about themselves just by thinking about it for a second. If you are working hard and doing the same programs that are common to the physique-enhancement industry, but you...
The Potato and the Satiety Index
In Part 1 of my discussion of the potato, I showed you not only how incredible are the nutritional components of the potato; but I also showed you its importance throughout history in terms of supporting the development of various cultures and societies. But there is...
An amazing new “supplement” you might be unreasonably biased against
What if I could tell you about a new wonder supplement? What if I could tell you that the amino acid profile of this wonderful new supplement is as good or better than whey protein calorie for calorie. What if I could show you that this new wonder supplement has a...
How a world champion powerlifter and bodybuilder does “low carb”
World Powerlifting Champ Kevin Weiss and I get together at least once per week for coffee. At our last get together I could tell Kevin had dropped a couple lbs. “Back on the high-fat diet” I asked him. “Yep”, he said. You see Kevin is just several weeks out from the...
The REAL low carb diet — before the marketers got to it (part 1)
Most of what you’ve been sold about “low carbs diets” is incomplete and misinformed. I am not a fan of low-carbs diets to begin with... and that is when they are done right! But what is passing for a “low carbs diet” now doesn’t even equate to the original intention...
Muscle density and the weight of gold
I still shake my head at what passes for “knowledge” when it comes to building muscle and a better physique. For example: which of these is heavier: a lb of feathers or a lb of solid gold? What would your answer be? Most people know the answer to this riddle: a pound...