Sometimes I have been prioritizing heavy weights and a lower training volume than the one I usually perform. The number of sets have been kept low (2-4/exercise) and the number of reps as well (3-6/set). Most sessions have been following the thoughts behind the so called reversed pyramid training – meaning that I have started out with the heaviest set, after which I have decreased the weight for the following 2 or 3 sets of the same exercise. It can be inspiring to change thi

Gym training is the best kind of workout you can spend time on in order to get in shape. There is no other sport or activity that match the benefits of resistance training where you are using weights and your own bodyweight. Besides the obvious ones there are also bonus benefits in the form of self-knowledge and body awareness. All this should be reason enough for most to want to start lifting weights if they are not already addicted to the iron game. But there is more. Body

Development is a fine thing. We don’t want to live in a stale universe where things just remain the same, do we? No. We don’t. We want movement and change. We want news. This is true in many, if not most, fields of life. The world of fitness and muscle building is no exception. Things move on. We don’t want to just keep on doing what all previous generations already did. We evolve. We get better. We learn. We discover. We innovate. All this having been said, there are things

Gym manners - how to be a gentleman and not a fool Today I’ll make a list of what signifies good gym manners. I take it for granted that all readers here at Penandbarbell want to be regarded as someone belonging at the gym. If you’re not doing all that I'm listing, it is time to start doing so now. Don´t be a clumsy fool. Be a gentleman/gentlewoman. 1. Put the weights back after having used them At my last gym there was a sign on the wall that read: “Real strength is to be a

Building muscle is about technique, not blunt force. This remark appears contra-intuitive for people who have never taken up gym training. However, once they have become permanent inhabitants in this world of pain – sorry, I meant in this joyous and beautiful world of gym training – they will also have learned to appreciate the truth of this statement. If you want a chiselled and aesthetically pleasing physique, you will have to master all the different techniques that the va

Many people have goals at the gym that could be summed up something like this: I want to be in great shape, with a muscular and strong body that lacks weaknesses. I want an impressive upper body, six pack abs and well developed legs with great calves to go with them. This is not a bad ambition. On the contrary, it is a good thing to be conscious of the many different parts that together will form an impressive and aesthetically impressive physique. In today´s post, however, I

Yesterday was arm day. But above all, it was focus day. When I arrived at the gym I had a clear vision of what I wanted to achieve, right down to the number of sets in each planned exercise. This isn´t rare for me – on the contrary, I most often have a detailed preconception of what’s going to take place at the gym. This time, however, it didn’t turn out like that. I had planned to do the following: Superset 1: Biceps chins 5x10 Triceps pushups 5x30 Superset 2: Inclined Bicep

Many of us that regard lifting heavy weights as one of the greatest pleasure in life share a fault: we don´t always warm up properly. This is, of course, a bad thing. We really should get a hold of this bad habit of going straight to work when we hit the gym. One of the reasons - and in my opinion the major one - for the often felt urge to skip the warm-up, or at least keep it at an absolute minimum, is because we have entered the gym in a certain mind-set. We are there to li

1. Improvisation. In general I’m all for planning, but I do believe that the best workouts (and, to a certain degree, the best performances in all fields of life) take place when the original plan is (for the right blood full reasons) abandoned and you allow yourself to go with the flow. One should not let the preconceived come in the way of true inspiration. I’m a strong believer in the power of knowledge - knowing what you do and why will accelerate your development - but o

I have been lifting weights for many years. I have gone through thousands of workout sessions. I have tried many different approaches and pursued many different goals. But I’m still able to surprise myself – and to surprise my muscles. I’m not fully learned. And the fact is, in the iron game, one is never fully learned. If one tells oneself so, that only means one has gotten stale in one’s attitude. Gym training offers endless possibilities, endless variation and never ending