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

A perfectly composed back workout routine As any regular reader here at Penandbarbell.com will know I sometimes share my own exact workout sessions and comment on them. This is a way for me to exemplify some of the principles and ideas that I advocate. The different concepts that I like to put emphasis on in connection to muscle building and fat burning comes to light in these examples of my own routine. In today´s article I will present you with a back routine that I think c

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

The empirical superiority of the old school bodybuilding split It has become popular to come up with alternative approaches to muscle building. You can´t read a fitness or health magazine without coming across some advice whose deliverer wants to replace the classical bodybuilding split with something else, be it “functional” training, low volume strength training, body weight gymnastics, Olympic lifting, training “like an athlete”, kettlebell routines, minimalistic training,

I recently wrote an article about my own personal favourite kind of warm –up routine. In a segment of that article I recommended the habit of performing a warm up set for each and every exercise during your workout session. Today I will elaborate on why I feel this is something worth implementing into your routine. For the rest of this article I will call this kind of extra warm up set a “honing set”. This is a more apt description of what I’m talking about. The benefits of p

If you are a regular reader here at Penandbarbell.com you will have noticed my love for high volume training. In a recent blog post I wrote about how I once more turned back to a high volume approach, after having had a few weeks where I prioritized heavier weights and fewer reps. As I concluded in that blog post of mine I always come back to high volume simply because I like it. It's not all about what "works" and "doesn't work" - it's also about what you like and what makes

The shock workout routine, part 2: a 550 reps arm workout This article will give you a new example of what I call shock workout routines – in other words, a routine that you can apply whenever in need of a physical and mental change at the gym. More often than not these routines will be hard and challenging – but they will also be rewarding and strengthening. When you go back to your usual way of doing things you will most probably feel invigorated by these somewhat eccentric

Light is heavy Today I performed 40 sets of grueling arm work. And I do mean grueling. This was truly hard training. It was a workout session during which I encountered an old truth: light is heavy. What I mean by this is that I relied, throughout the whole workout session, on light weights ("light" in this context meaning weights that allowed me to perform at least 12 reps per set) - and that this kind of training can be really taxing if one make sure to push oneself. It wen

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

Friday's workout session went like this: Myotatic crunches on Bosu ball, 3x12 Alternating crunches on Bosu ball, 3x24 (12/side) Dynamic side planches, 3x20/side Lunges, 3x12/side Lower back extensions, 3x12 Sisyphus squats, 3x15 Dips, 3x12 Inclined push ups, 3x20 Calf raises, bodyweight, 1 foot at a time, 3x20/side Hanging leg raises, feet to the bar, 3x6 ... and Saturday went like this: Body rows, under Smith bar, with biceps grip, 10x10-16 Triceps pushups, with elevated fee