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Comparing Popular Periodization Models to Hypertrophy-Centric Cyclical Training (HCCT)
Periodization models have been used for decades to structure training programs for hypertrophy, strength, and power development. While traditional periodization approaches offer structured progression, they often fail to account for long-term adaptability. Hypertrophy Centric Cyclical Training (HCCT) bridges the gap between rigid structure and necessary flexibility, making it a superior choice for lifters seeking both…
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Healthy Fats for Powerlifters: Hormones, Joints, and Staying Strong
Carbs fuel the session and protein rebuilds the muscle, but fat is the one people cut first and miss the most. For a powerlifter, dietary fat is not just calories. It is the raw material your body uses to run its hormones and protect the joints you are loading with heavy iron. Why Fat Matters…
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HCCT Strength Phase: Prioritizing Neural Adaptations While Sustaining Hypertrophy
The Strength Phase in the Hypertrophy-Centric Cyclical Training (HCCT) Model focuses on maximizing neural adaptations, enhancing motor unit recruitment, intramuscular coordination, and force production, while ensuring that muscle hypertrophy is sustained through strategic assistance work and complementary hypertrophy-driven strategies. Key Objectives of the Strength Phase Hypertrophy-Driven Strategies Complementing the Strength Phase Since the primary goal…
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Carbohydrates for Powerlifting: Fueling Heavy Training
Protein rebuilds you, but carbohydrates are what let you do the work in the first place. I have seen plenty of strong lifters cut carbs too hard, chase a leaner look, and watch their bar speed and their grind disappear at the same time. If you want to move heavy weight session after session, you…
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What I Learned From Louie Simmons and Westside Barbell, and How I Used It to Build Muscle
When I first started hearing about Westside Barbell, I wasn’t interested in secondhand information. That’s never been how I’ve operated. If I want to understand something, I go to the source. At the time, I had a unique opportunity. I was hosting a radio show, before podcasting was really even a thing, and that gave…
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Getting Started with Strongman Competitions in San Diego
Entering a strongman competition starts long before you ever step on the platform. Most people begin by learning the events, building a base of foundational strength, and training in an environment that actually prepares them for the structure and demands of a contest. From there, you move into novice competitions and keep developing inside the…
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Protein for Powerlifters: How Much You Need and Where to Get It
In thirty-plus years of coaching strength, I have watched protein quietly decide who keeps adding weight to the bar and who stalls out. It is not the flashy part of a powerlifting diet. It is the part that turns hard training into actual muscle and strength instead of just soreness. Here is the honest truth.…
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The Culture That Matters
When you train at Grinder Gym, you step into an environment built on four things: We expect guests to treat the facility and the community accordingly. This is not a hard ask. It is the standard that makes the room what it is. If you respect the space, you will be welcomed. Recommended Reading Grinder…
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Why People Visit Grinder Gym
Many lifters make it a point to schedule extended visits specifically to train at Grinder Gym. The reason is simple. This is not a commercial gym. When you train here, you have access to: In addition, guests often coordinate visits around: For some, it is a stop on vacation. For others, it is a planned…
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The Role of Coaching and Training in Strongman Competition Success
Strongman doesn’t just reward the strongest guy in the room. It rewards the one who prepared right. In over thirty years around this stuff I’ve watched genuinely strong lifters show up to a contest and come apart, and less-gifted ones clean up, because raw strength is only the raw material. What you do with it…
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Understanding Competition Structure in Strongman
Strongman doesn’t test one kind of strength. It tests several, and it tests them across a full day. A contest isn’t a single max lift you either hit or miss. It’s a series of events, and you earn points in each one based on where you place. Your final ranking comes from your total across…
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Neural vs Structural Training: Why Most Lifters Get It Backwards
Most people spend years in the gym, working hard, pushing weight, chasing progress, and never quite reach the level of strength or size they’re actually capable of. It isn’t a lack of effort. It isn’t that they don’t want it. It’s that they don’t understand what they’re building. They chase lifting heavier instead of building…
