Return of the prodigal Hamburger

People with German ancestry are the single largest ethnic group in US. Yet, it’s a testament to their ubiquity that it’s often not understood by Americans themselves just how subtly German popular culture has influenced their own. My mother’s family are typical German-Americans as they live in Midwest in a semi-rural setting. German-americans largely live […]

Germany Competition Recap – stuff happens.

So last weekend I competed in the stand-alone bench press event in the 2018 German Powerlifting Championships for my federation. It was an interesting weekend in many ways, I learned a lot about what I should, and should not, do for my next competition, how I feel about “stand-alone” events vs. the traditional 3 event […]

The bench-press: It’s not just for meatheads any more…

In honor of Monday (aka International Chest Day) and my upcoming competition this weekend, this post will examine why the bench-press is so misunderstood, why you should do it and some surprising tips I’ve learned over the years that have helped me improve my bench-press. As I sit here alternating between sips of black coffee […]

Starting Strength – The vegans of the strength-training community

Yes, the title of this post is very much tongue-in-cheek but, like all humor, there is a lot of truth to it. On the surface, the communities couldn’t be more different. Peruse any Starting Strength forums or groups and you’ll quickly realize that their 2nd favorite topic is probably the consumption of meat. And I’d […]

The reasons that absolutely nobody should be intimidated by strength training

We’ve all been there. Most of us mere mortals have been in lousy physical shape at least once in our lives. At some point we think “hmm, I should really go to the gym” but we hesitate. A quick perusal of social media, YouTube videos and blog posts reveals that a big reason many people […]

The Safety squat bar – the best exercise you should, but don’t, do

Pros: It will straight up make you stronger for squats and deadlifts You’ll be the vegan of your powerlifting crew, that condescending dude who has staked a claim on the moral high ground (could also be considered a “con”) Physique gainz, son Cons: Really hard Not for beginners When coming out of the hole, all […]

Aging, self-image and weight-training

How old do you feel? How old do you look? If you’re past the age of 40, in your minds-eye, what version of you is your self-image based on? Maybe this is a purely masculine thing, but if I was honest my “mental avatar” is me, albeit circa 29 years old. I mean that is […]

Lifting – a day in the life

Yesterday I was reminded, repeatedly, about the value of keeping an open mind. Last night I went to the big Globo gym near my work. My programming called for bench press, safety bar squats (as my rotator cuff is still very much an issue) and accessory exercises. However, the globo gym does not have specialty […]

Do you even lift, bro?

“Do you even lift, bro?” was the cliched, but very real, sarcastic put-down of a heavily Italo-american US East Coast bodybuilding subculture that thrived from the early 80s until roughly 5 years ago. The pathos in this phrase is self-evident (to everyone except the person asking it) and Broscience Life is the brilliant comedic Youtube […]

Obstacle or opportunity?

This post has been ruminating for some time now and has been inspired by conversations with my kids, some great feedback I received a few weeks ago from a fellow blogger and, believe it or not, the latest Chris Rock special on Netflix. Chris has this riff about how bullies provide an essential part of […]