This email is to help anyone who hasn't trained in a while, or has let their training drop off significantly. You might be wondering things like how many gains you've lost, how long it will take to get them back, and what should you be doing for your training. By the end of this article you should know the answers to all these and more. If you'd like some more in-depth discussion on this, give the latest podcast a listen. Start With Self-Reflection Look, I'm not tryin

Do you ever wonder how often you should change you training programme? Let's take an objective look at why you would do this, and some logical reasons for when and how to do it. Just a warning: this will be a longer article as this is a somewhat complicated topic. Variety / Variation This is sometimes called a principle of training, although I'm not sure I believe it's important enough to be a principle. I'll discuss that later though. Variety is basically the ide

One of the most common questions I'll get from people who struggle to get in shape is how to maintain motivation. The answer is: you're asking the wrong question. Before I begin, for a more in-depth discussion on this, check out my most recent episode of Philosophy of Strength podcast. What is Motivation? When most people think about motivation, they think about the kind of photo and quote above. I often poke fun at these kind of photos, but they do have their place.

Back with another edition of the Q+A, as it seems to be one of the most popular topics with you. If you'd like to have a question answered for the next edition, you can get me at: Email: cill@cillianoconnor.net Instagram: @cilloconnor "Is it true that a wider grip on pull-ups will work the lats more?" Some research would indicate yes. More importantly though - does it really matter? Remember, I always talk about flipping the big stones first, before you go looking

Training is very easy to understand if you just stick to a few key principles. One I discussed recently on the podcast is that of specificity. Essentially, your training should reflect your goals. Whatever you do in a training session, you should be able to justify in the context of what it is that you want to achieve. However, most trainees and coaches seem to fall flat on their face at this point in the planning process. Below I'll give some sample mistakes you could

Another week of lockdown. I hope you're all keeping well and not gone insane just yet. Today I want to provide you guys with the best leg exercises to do in lockdown if you have no equipment. Any of these exercises can be subbed in for a major lower body exercises in the bodyweight or dumbbell programmes I sent out. 1. Girlfriend Squats Hands-down, the best leg exercise I've concocted since I've had to leave my beloved barbell. I call it the girlfriend squat, but that's