Training and recovery

Attention! The exercise described in this article works even if you are not slim and you have fat on your belly. Do not wait until you get slim, start...

The 5 most common deadlift mistakes – and how to correct them

Deadlift is an essential mass-builder exercise because it stimulates a whole lot of muscles. Like every other essential exercise, you gotta learn how ...

The eternal question: how much weight should you lift to get the most muscle?

How should you increase your muscle mass? Some say heavy weights and low reps are needed for optimal muscle growth, while others believe that's only f...

So you want more muscles? Stretch!

Getting muscles ain't easy, we know that by experience. But only a few people know that with the most underrated area of bodybuilding and fitness, the...

Pyramid method: maybe you were using the wrong weights!

You have to take your time when it comes to proper warmup. But watch out, doing too much of warmup can make you lose your gains. You can't start your ...

7 great bodybuilding superfoods

LAYMEN THINK THAT BODYBUILDERS SIMPLY CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT THE COMBINATION OF CHICKEN BREAST AND RICE, AND THEY JUST EAT THAT ALL THE TIME, NOTHING ELSE...

Dynamic positive phase for greater mass

We've talked a lot about the speed of moving weights here in the columns of Shop.Builder, but 99% of cases were about the negative phase of exercises ...

Once more (and never again) about warmup

It's true, you shouldn't rely on the weather when it comes to warmup before a hard workout session. But how does a professional warmup look like? We'l...

Pre-workout stretching? Are you for real? Yes, we are!

There are two types of stretching, and while you must avoid one of them before a workout, the other is very much beneficial for you before you hit the...

Learn what bodybuilding greats can teach you about squats

Squats are very complex exercises, they give a very strong impulse for your body, telling your nervous system that it's in the middle of a big movemen...

Female workout plan for beginners – with a little extra!

We have a lot of readers who, for various reasons only trained in their homes, with or without weights. We have heard stories about people not wanting...

Complete training program for the best body shape

Like every aspect of bodybuilding, several myths are surrounding women's training programs. In reality, a woman has to train the same way as a man if ...

Protect your joints – here's how!

WHEN IT COMES TO SUPPLEMENTATION, THE FIRST THING COMES TO EVERYBODY'S MIND IS PROTEIN POWDER, BECAUSE PROTEIN IS THE NUMBER ONE THING OUR MUSCLES NEE...

Forget everything you knew about muscle soreness!

Let's start with forgetting everything we knew about muscle soreness so far. Everything, from the accumulation of lactic acid to the micro-tears in th...

How muscular do you have to be?

Self-evaluation is a difficult topic. Many people want to meet the criteria of actual trends, we like to idealize unreachable physiques and fitness go...

The most common ab workout mistake

Breathing is a lot more important than you think when it comes to ab training. If you are not breathing well in your ab workout, it may ruin your phys...

Can You Pull Yourself Up?

The pull-up is a basic back exercise (beside the deadlift, of course). True, it is f’ckin hard to do it right: after all, you have to pull up your fat...

Dip Basics

The dip is quite a controversial exercise. Some people swear it is the best exercise ever. Others don’t think it is really effective. Moreover, it is ...

The Truth About Muscle Strain

Many think muscle strain is a painful condition that goes hand-in-hand with physical exercise. If you have trained for real, you must have muscle stra...

Express Leg Workout

Does it sound familiar? Time is ticking: you have an appointment in 2 hours. Or, you have to do overtime today, but you also want to get a good night’...

7 Tips for Bigger Deadlifts!

You must have heard it a million times, but we cannot repeat it enough: deadlift is one of the most complex exercises, involving a lot of muscles. Th...

Recovery After Extreme Heavy Training

Martial artists often train for extreme long at a time. While an optimal bodybuilding training lasts for about one hour, martial artists often train f...

The Truth About Overtraining: What Overtraining Is and Isn’t

We have all been enthusiastic beginners once, so probably all of you guys are familiar with this scenario: you go to the gym every day and you wouldn’...

Super Intense Back Workout

Here we are again, with an offbeat training method, because we dig these quasi heretic approaches. The concept is as follows: super-strict repetition...

The 100-Rep Workout

Are you tired of your usual routine and want to spice up your training program? It’s time to let your hair down with this 100-rep workout! Among other...

Learn form the Gift—Phil Heath’s arm routine

Phil Heath won his fifth Mr. Olympia title this year. His brutally massive guns are undoubtedly one of his biggest strengths, which contributes to the...

Full body routine, as Arnold did it

There can be periods in your life when you only have time to go to the gym once or twice a week. In this case the best you can do is a short and inten...

“Blitzkrieg” for Your Arms: a Quick and Intense Routine

“Blitzkrieg” for Your Arms: a Quick and Intense Routine. Is this what you are looking for? No fancy stuff? Then you should give this routine a try! ...

How to apply forced reps correctly

Forced reps can be your friends. But if you use them the wrong way, they might even break your career. This is to explain how to apply this technique...

30-minute workout routine – in case you’re in a hurry

Little time to work out? Here comes an intense 30-minute workout routine to follow for short time periods, or to bring some diversity into your progra...

Restart Psychology

This article is for those who had to make a pause in training for any reason, for a shorter or longer period of time. This is a story we all know: sma...

Do you have shoulder pain? That’s how to do bench presses!

Shoulder pain and shoulder joint injuries are often disadvantages in pressing exercises and bench pressing. If you have shoulder pain, that’s how to d...

No Time To Work Out?

There are times when you can only make it to the gym once in a blue moon. Even worse: when you don’t know when will be the next time you can make it. ...

Close Grip Bench Press With a Twist

Below you can read about a small technical trick on the close grip bench press, which will hopefully help you feel this exercise in your triceps for r...

A bootcamp for the calves

Having lower legs without calf muscles sucks. I know it by experience. True, you can live with it. You won’t feel the absence of spectacular calves. I...

Double Chest Workout

We at Builder usually do not recommend to train a muscle (group) twice a week. Although this system works for some, experience shows that about one we...

Are your triceps lagging behind? We’ll show you how to bring them up!

The triceps make up a remarkable part of the muscle mass on your upper arms. Many make the mistake of focusing their arm regime primarily on their bic...

Upper chest-specific training program

Is your “upper chest” (the upper part of the chest muscle) lagging behind? What it means and what you can do about it Here you go: the Upper chest-spe...

5 Tips to Relaunch Your Development

Have you come to a plateau? Is one of your muscles stuck in development? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, we have 5 tips for you to rel...

Biceps home workout

We have already trained back and legs at home. Now it’s time for biceps! You can hit your biceps hard at home, even without any serious equipment. Wan...

Home back workout

Our series of short articles on home workout goes on, with another muscle group that is mostly considered impossible to train at home, or at least wit...

Home leg workout

You want to work out at home, but it seems hopeless because you lack the necessary knowledge or equipment? This is to give you a few hints on a real k...

Does running suck?

Running is generally not considered as an ideal form of training to complement workout with weights. Its benefits, however, are undeniable. Does runni...

Alps—Biceps Training with a Pinch of Philosophy, Arnold’s way

In the 1970s, everybody in the US knew that really impressive peaks were not to be found at Yosemite National Park, but at Gold's Gym in Venice, Calif...

Overtraining? WTF?

Perhaps many of you are familiar with this scenario: you work your guts out in the gym; you spend a lot of time working out and never skip a training....

Curl-up vs. Sit-up: which one is better?

Thousands of people do sit-ups by the hundred, hoping to get six-packs. This article will show you which muscles you actually use for sit-ups and it w...

Train like Navy SEALs!

Navy SEALs are really tough guys. They have to hold on in all kinds on different circumstances. And they have to maintain a constant state of physical...

Working out at home

You are a beginner, and have no intention to go to a gym yet, but you still try to create some foundation to the program to come? Or you are about to ...

Ab workout with ab wheel

Sit-ups, curl-ups, leg raises... an exhaustive ab workout may take several exercises. So let’s see an exercise now, which can be enough in itself as a...

7+1 Mistakes You Should NOT Make While Bench Pressing

Bench press is one of the most popular exercises. But if you do it wrong, that can be not only ineffective but dangerous as well. Let’s see the most c...

Straight Sets vs. Pyramid

An eternal question many want to know the answer to: is the straight set or the pyramid pattern a more effective training method? Let’s see the Builde...

What lags behind is your chest? Work some extra, that’s the best!

Okay, that must have hurt. Don’t be nervous, rhymes are over. Pectoralis muscles are the most problematic muscles for many. But problems are there to ...

Can’t You Feel Your Biceps?

For some reason, in the case of the biceps, you can often hear about the problem that people do not feel these muscles during workout. Let’s see a few...

Common Back Workout Mistakes

There are several mistakes you can make during your back workout, if you are not careful enough. Below you can read about the most notorious ones. Doe...

Top 10 muscle building moves

“What’s this bullshit” you might think to yourself: “Food is the alpha and omega of muscle gain.” And you would be right. We have told you several tim...

Phil Heath Mr. Olympia workout and meal plan

Phil Heath won the Mr. Olympia in 2011, defeating his former mentor Jay Cutler. But what kind of dietary and training regimen did the young prodigy ...

High rep workouts – full plan

Some high rep workout routines were published in the past few weeks. We did our best to compile a routine for each of the major muscle groups. However...

B.Y.O.B. (Bomb Your Own Back) With High Rep Counts

Our series of articles on high-rep workout would not be complete without the back, the second largest muscle group, right? You were hoping to get away...

Fires of Hell – High Rep Leg Workout

Highs are the largest muscle-groups in the human body, so you need to work them hard to get results. A few sets of leg extensions and leg curls are ok...

Pad your shoulders – with muscles!

Shoulder muscles have three heads: anterior, lateral, and posterior. It is a well known fact for most of you. The workout programs should be designed ...

Triceps on fire – are you ready for that?

A greater part of the arm’s mass (about two thirds) is made up by the triceps. Knowing that, it would be a mistake to neglect it, wouldn’t it? Still m...

Pump your biceps to the next level!

We are delighted to see how our readers liked the article about working the pecs using a high rep routine. So here comes another version that is “adju...

A new boost to the pectorals!

Here you can find tips about training pecs in an “unconventional” way, and that might just be the thing to make your chest develop to a new level. Thi...

The secret of Stallone

Hollywood stars can do miracles for a role. True: more money means more opportunities. We might never know what goes on behind the scenes. But you sho...

Brutal Branch Warren leg workout

A champion can always say something new. You can always learn some new tricks you can incorporate in your training program. Some of these might prove ...

Three Heads Are Better Than One

Many start bodybuilding because they want larger arms. Consequently, they devote much more attention to biceps workout than to triceps exercises, even...

Larry Scott biceps workout II.

So, the following is the arm routine that enabled Larry Scott to go from 15¼ to almost 21-inch arms – and earned him an honored spot among the all-tim...

Larry Scott biceps workout

Imagine a baseball player today having the opportunity to step back in time to talk to Babe Ruth. Imagine him hearing the Babe say, “All right, kid, I...

Arnold on biceps workout

Many years ago, I found that it takes much more than barbell curls to build peaked biceps. The right solution is not to increase the number of reps, s...

Arnolds back workout

I have always liked back workout, because for me, this was the muscle group that responded best to training. For beginners this might not be an import...

Lee Haney back workout

Many bodybuilding articles begin with a detailed analysis of the anatomical and kinesiological relations of muscles, just to sound as scientific as po...

The king of all back exercise

Beginners often overlook the importance of proper back training for one simple reason: They cannot see this part of their bodies. “Out of sight, out o...

Arnolds chest workout!

I’ve never been a huge proponent of the theory “good structure = great potential”. True: Having an ideal bone structure may provide you some advantage...

The secret of the 130-cm chest

_In the following article, Jerry Brainum tells you how to build a 130-centimeter (52-inch) chest. He will share with you what did those guys do, who o...

When you have only 15 minutes...

_Pressed for time? Below you can read about some techniques that can provide you everything you need for growth._ Yeah, we know: You are a hardcore ...

A killer superset!

This article is about a superset routine that will challenge both your muscles and your willpower, but believe us: it’s worth trying every now and the...

The Science of Squats

The squat is considered a pretty simple exercise by many bodybuilders and other athletes. On the surface, all you need to do is put a bar on your shou...

Fill your upper pecs with muscle!

Training the upper chest is of high priority for many, even though such a muscle group technically does not exist. Your chest is made up by one muscl...

The Heavy Duty training method

Accuracy is essential in each scientific discipline. This applies to exercise training as well. You need accuracy when you set up rules and when you i...