Blog Summary
Introducing… The Sisyphus Strength Training App
7 May, 2021
Today we’re proud to launch the brand new Sisyphus Strength Training app, in collaboration with My Strength Book. The app is built specifically for beginners and intermediates in the weight room, including powerlifters, bodybuilders, and bench pressers. This is the next evolution from using janky excel spreadsheets and programs you found on the internet. Join the team today.
The Muscle And Strength Pyramids - A Review
30 March, 2021
I first encountered the Muscle and Strength Pyramids in about 2013 when, like many 19 year olds, I was trying to work out how to get more jacked and I was wading through screeds of bullshit on Reddit and Bodybuilding.com. I was lucky enough to come across Eric Helms’s video series, The Muscle and Strength Nutritional Pyramid. (There’s also the Muscle and Strength Training Pyramid, here.) In it, Mr Helms (now Dr Helms) laid out a straight forward approach to the priorities an athlete should have when dieting for muscle gain and fat loss. That video series helped me cut through the rubbish on the internet and start focussing on what actually mattered.
Screening Powerlifters For Sleep Problems
15 April, 2019
My last couple of blog posts have been about how to improve your sleep quality, and how to get over jet lag quickly, but there’s one last thing I want to cover to wrap up this blog series. How do you know if you’re in a sleep deficit, as an individual? How do you, as a coach, know if your athlete’s are sleep deprived? How much sleep should you/they be getting? How do you assess the quality of their sleep?
These are all the questions I intend to cover in this post. If you missed the previous blog posts, I’ve linked them here.
Part 1 - Sleep Plans for Powerlifters
Part 2 - How to Kick Jet Lag
How To Kick Jet Lag (Like An Athlete)
14 March, 2019
Most people have, at some point, suffered from jet lag. It’s horrible - eyes popping open, wide awake in the middle of the night, and daytime drowsiness to the point where you can barely keep your eyes open. It is unpleasant, but more to the point, in detriment to your performance as an athlete (or a coach). In this blog post, I’ll cover off what jet lag is and why it happens, and a plan to kick it as as fast as possible.
My last post, Sleep Plans for Powerlifters, was targeted at sleeping regularly in your home time zone. This post is specific to travel - how to kick jet lag as quickly as possible. It’s written with a bent towards competitive athletes, but the same principles apply whether you’re traveling to lift, traveling to coach, or even traveling for work or a holiday.
Note that the advice in this blog post is aimed specifically at adjusting to a new time zone. If you regularly have trouble sleeping in your home time zone, consider a sleep plan, or seeing a medical professional.
Sleep Plans For Powerlifters
4 March, 2019
I’m just starting to play around with the idea of sleep plans for powerlifters, and I feel like this is something I should have been thinking about a long time ago. I think we all agree that sleep is essential (both duration and quality), but I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone talk seriously about a sleep plan, at least not in the context of powerlifting. What I’m going to do here is lay out why sleep is so important, and then the key variables that I think we should be focusing on to improve sleep. I’d love for you to share any thoughts you’ve had on sleep in the comment section below.
This post is aimed squarely at sleep as it relates to recovery and training; not crossing time zones in order to compete. This is intended to be the first in a series of three posts, covering sleep plans, assessing sleep deficits, and adjusting to new time zones (especially as it relates to competition.) I’ll link each of the posts as they’re finished.
Note that this post is not intended as medical advice. If you’re having serious sleep problems, you should see a doctor.
How To Water Cut Like A Pro
26 June, 2018
Recently, I have seen a lot of competitors, even smart and experienced competitors, make their lives unnecessarily harder and throw kilos away on the platform by cutting weight for a meet poorly. There are lots of smart ways to cut weight, and I'm going to lay out my preferred method, layer by layer, here.
This is a proven method which I've used dozens of times, both on myself, and athletes that I've coached. That said, deliberately dehydrating yourself for sport is neither particularly smart nor safe, and you should consider seeking medical advice before doing so. I will not address the more aggressive weight cutting strategies employed for 24-hour weigh ins here, as I think they're disproportionately more dangerous than those discussed here.
Just want to be told how to do it? Pick up a water-cut template here.
