How to Train the Bench Press for Big, Explosive Pecs

If you want to get a stronger bench press, bigger pecs, and become more explosive when pushing or punching, should you train for max strength, muscle growth, or explosiveness? And what is the overlap between those three training philosophies? Today, we break down a new study that compares exactly this, and give you our recommendations on how to plan your own strength training for these different goals. *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with "Train hard, eat well, die anyway", check out our shop here.

We've all heard that we should eat healthy, specifically to avoid ultra-processed food. But why? Yes, it's easy to overeat ultra-processed food because it's tasty. But if you count your calories and don't overeat, are ultra-processed foods still bad for you? In today's episode, we explore a new study that put people on either a diet consisting of ultra-processed foods or unprocessed foods. The researchers wanted to know a lot more than just if the participants would lose or gain fat weight, and they tested a lot of fascinating stuff, from sperm quality to phthalates (plastics) and lithium levels in their bodies. Let's break it all down! If you're interested in how the two diets looked, check out this pdf from the study. *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with "Train hard, eat well, die anyway", check out our shop here.

Are there any scientifically proven methods to reduce muscle soreness after hard workouts? And if so, should you? We're back with another episode based on listener questions, and this is a good one. Besides muscle soreness, we discuss paused deadlifts and paused squats, as well as the optimal time of day for working out. See the timestamps below for all questions! All questions for this episode came from our subreddit StrengthLog. Join us there and be on the lookout for when we post asking for listener questions; if you have one you'd like answered on the podcast! Timestamps: 02:20 - Question 1: Is there a biologically optimal time of day to train? 10:50 - Question 2: Should you always go for perfect form, even if it means you don't "progress" in weight lifted, or is it okay to sometimes increase the weights for a set or two, without perfect form for all reps, to "push yourself"? 16:00 - Question 3: When will the muscle heat maps in the StrengthLog app become clickable, so that we can click a specific muscle to see which exercises we can do to train it? 19:00 - Question 4: Opinions on differences in usefulness between paused deadlifts and paused squats? 26:30 - Question 5: Are there any scientifically proven methods to reduce muscle soreness after hard workouts? 36:00 - Question 6: I'm new to the gym, and my grip fails before my back when deadlifting. How do I solve this? 41:30 - Question 7: If I am able to move significantly less weight in the hack squat machine compared to in regular barbell squats, is that a sign of me cheating in the barbell squat? *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with "Train hard, eat well, die anyway", check out our shop here.

We have two topics for you today. First out is a new meta-analysis examining the impact of timing your protein intake immediately before or after workouts. Does it matter? And if so, how big are the differences? Then we tackle a topic a lot of you have been curious about: "Daniel is training weird." Let's explain. Daniel has been performing the big barbell lifts almost daily for over fifty days, and he feels stronger and in better shape than he has in a long time. He's also shared a lot about it on Instagram, and it seems you have questions. What's his reasoning behind this experiment? How long does he plan to continue with it? What are the risks? Don't your muscles need 48 hours of recovery before being trained again? And how should you go about it if you want to try it? Timestamps: 02:20 - Protein timing: Does it matter if you eat your protein immediately before or after your workout? 10:20 - Daniel's weird training routine: Easy Strength – daily full body workouts for over fifty days straight. *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with "Train hard, eat well, die anyway", check out our shop here.

Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is becoming more common as more and more men suffer from low testosterone. But for many men, it might just treat the symptoms instead of the root cause: unhealthy body fat levels. In today's episode, we discuss a new study that compared one of the new weight loss drugs (tirzepatide) to TRT, to examine which is more effective for treating low testosterone. The results? Way beyond interesting! You're going to want to hear this. We also talk about other ways to increase your testosterone levels naturally. *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with "Train hard, eat well, die anyway", check out our shop here.

How many sets should you do weekly for your muscle groups to maximize strength and muscle gains? That is the eternal question for gymgoers, and even though this is a relatively well-researched subject, we still can't say for sure. Let's look into a new study that had participants perform eight sets of leg presses per week with one leg and 16 sets with the other, to see which leg got the biggest gains in muscle mass and strength after five months of training. In this episode, we discuss this study, its results, and its practical implications for your strength training. *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with "Train hard, eat well, die anyway", check out our shop here.

Rows are great for developing your upper back, but do they also work your biceps sufficiently? That certainly would be a good incentive to do more boring rows and less direct biceps work, to kill two swole birds with one stone. So, what does the science have to say about this? In today's episode, we break down a new study in which participants trained dumbbell rows with one arm and bicep curls with the other for eight weeks, and measured how the arms grew. The results were telling. *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with "Train hard, eat well, die anyway", check out our shop here.

Longer rest times between sets typically mean larger strength and muscle gains. But what if you're short on time? Enter: alternating sets!  Don't know what alternating sets are? No worries, we explain them in the episode, while looking into a new study that compares alternating sets with traditional sets, to see if they are the fastest route to big gains. *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with "Train hard, eat well, die anyway", check out our shop here.

Pre-exhaust training is a strength training philosophy popularized in the 1970s. Many bodybuilders still swear by it, but what does the scientific evidence say? In today's episode, we examine a new study comparing pre-exhaust training with traditional training, and give you our thoughts on when and how to implement it in your own training. Also, here's the bulletin on "the pre-exhaustion principle" by Nautilus founder Arthur Jones, which we read an excerpt from during the episode (if you want to read the whole thing). *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with "Train hard, eat well, die anyway", check out our shop here.

Getting good sleep is one of the best things you can do to increase muscle growth, strength gains, fat loss, and general performance.  In today's episode, we examine a study in which soccer players implemented different sleep hygiene tactics to improve their sleep. The tactics they had to choose from were: Avoid all electronic stimulants (TV, mobile phones, and computers) from 8 PM. If not doing the above, avoid them 30 minutes before going to bed. Change any electronic stimulants screen to the warm light setting from 7 PM. Wear SleepSpec glasses before going to bed. Minimize excess light from 9 PM to 9:30 PM by only having a bed lamp on. Change the bed lamp to a low-wattage globe. Manipulate the room temperature to 19–20 °C/66–68 °F. Avoid consuming caffeine or any supplements from 5 PM. Have the last large meal at least 2–3 hours before sleep. Consume a glass of lukewarm milk before going to bed. Consume a glass of chamomile tea before going to bed. Take a warm bath or shower before going to bed. Wear an eye mask whilst sleeping. Wear earplugs whilst sleeping. Remove any timing instruments (i.e., clock) from the room. Avoid any sleep disruptions (for instance, bathroom visits). Sleep at least eight hours. Avoid napping from 2 PM. Which of these did the soccer players choose to abide by? Did it work? What were the effects on their performance? And what might this mean for you? Let's discuss! *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that follow button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You'll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our Reddit community here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with "Train hard, eat well, die anyway", check out our shop here.