In this week's podcast episode, I attempt to answer the question "are abs made in the kitchen?". After last week's heavily researched podcast episode, I decided to have a more laid back approach to this one. The podcast is more of a collection of thoughts and anecdotes I've had around weight loss and body image in the fitness world, particularly for men. Not that women don't have that same issue, but 1) I am not as qualified to talk about it, and 2) I feel that this topic is pretty well...

We've all heard of dieting documentaries such as "What the Health" and "Supersize me", but I'm going to ask you to do something for me. Stop watching dieting documentaries! They are absolutely terrible, completely unscientific, and a plague upon mankind. As you can imagine, this podcast is going to involve a high degree of ranting. Stop Watching Dieting Documentaries I actually did quite a bit of research for this podcast. During the podcast, I talk about the importance of citing sources...

In today's episode, I tackle six ridiculous fitness myths that have somehow entered the public subconscious. I chose this title a while back because I thought it would be an easy podcast to research. How incredibly wrong I was! Finding fitness myths that hadn't been disproven 500 times already was really difficult. Six Ridiculous Fitness Myths I won't name all six ridiculous fitness myths here, as they are all in the podcast. But I have to say, I'm starting to believe that the tide is...

In this podcast, I teach you how to fix your bench press. This will involve leaving your ego at the door. Lowering the weight, working on your grip, learning how to set up properly. It will also involve a few training tips that can make huge differences over time. How to Fix Your Bench Press Considering that the bench press is probably the most important and iconic gym exercise for men (and increasingly for women). It surprises me just how many people perform it terribly. Even men who warm...

I'm a fence-sitter, I like to think that most people in the fitness industry should be. Fence sitting should be your default move in an industry as young as this. This is why I tend to be sceptical (cynical?) about any part of the fitness industry that reduces the world into black and white. Does the anti diet movement do this? That's what this podcast looks to uncover. The Anti Diet Movement Another name for the anti diet movement would be the body acceptance movement. If you listen to the...

In the final episode of the series, I will take a look at the best beers of season two. Naming my personal top ten out of the twenty beers I've tried. I also look back on the season and talk about how much it differs from season one and my initial plans for it. The Best Beers of Season Two I'm not going to mention all ten beers here, got to keep something for the podcast! But picking my ten favourite beers was quite fun. I've tried to have a varied selection of beers and I think I managed...

In today's podcast, I talk about the worst exercises to perform in the gym. It's more a look at exercises or workouts that you shouldn't perform in a busy gym. Either because the exercises themselves are bad, or because doing so can be disruptive to your fellow members. Worst Exercises to Perform in the Gym The worst exercises to perform in the gym in my opinion are: * Adductor/Abductor machine - pointless, works the muscles in isolation when they work best when performed in compound...

In this podcast episode, I look at the real reason behind the obesity epidemic, and I also attempt to dispel many of the incorrect theories out there. Now, while I am fairly confident that my theory is the right one, there is no single reason for the obesity epidemic, but more a collection of reasons. The Real Reason Behind the Obesity Epidemic Whilst researching an article for work, I stumbled across a study from 2002 that looked into how portion sizes have increased over the years. The...

If you've been reading my blog, you'll probably know about the downsides of steroids, and many of the benefits. But what is my actual opinion on them? Should steroids be legal? By which I mean, should they be legal to buy without a prescription? Or should the status quo remain? Should Steroids be Legal? My opinion on the legality and benefits of steroid use has lurched from one extreme to another over the years, and it has taken 15 years to establish my current belief. This is that steroid...

Most diets fail. They either fail immediately, within a couple of weeks or after a number of weeks. Sometimes they can appear to succeed, but after a year, you're back to square one. Which if you think about it is a fairly common result. In this podcast, I give five reasons why your diet is failing. Why Your Diet is Failing I won't go into each specific point, that's what the podcast is here for. But the main reason for a failing diet is not taking it seriously enough during planning. What...

The inspiration for this podcast came from an article I wrote a few months back, it was looking at the potential health benefits of drinking beer, and weighing them up against the downsides. The article was fairly interesting to write, and I thought that it might suit podcasting even better. So, is beer healthy? Let's find out. Is Beer Healthy? There is a lot of evidence that light to moderate beer drinking can provide some health benefits, but heavy drinking is guaranteed to cause health...

In this podcast, I talk about the seven mistakes I made as a personal trainer. This was not the most enjoyable thing for me to do! But it led to a pretty damn good podcast (in my opinion). Much better than if I'd named my seven greatest successes or my best features. The Top Seven Mistakes I made as a Personal Trainer Analysing my mistakes as a trainer helped me improve, and now that I've got some perspective on my time as a PT, it's really helping me to plan for the future. I'm not going...

I've been planning on writing an article that answers the question "can bodybuilding be considered a sport?", but decided to do a podcast first. I'll write the article at some point and may come out with a completely different answer! Can Bodybuilding Be Considered a Sport? In the podcast, I first discuss my relationship with bodybuilding. Anyone who has met me in person will NOT be surprised to know that I have never had any interest in being a bodybuilder. But after 60+ articles on...

I talk about creatine a lot, I've written hundreds of articles online about its benefits, drawbacks, and supplements that contain it. I've been a freelance fitness and nutrition writer for 6 years now, and clients are always asking for articles about it. This podcast talks about five surprising benefits of creatine. What are the Five Surprising Benefits of Creatine? I am not about to ruin the surprise for my podcast listeners here, that would be pointless. If you want to find out the...

In the past, I've written articles for other websites that have argued for and against the paleo diet. This may sound hypocritical, how can I write one article while having an opposing opinion? Well firstly, I got bills to pay y'all. Secondly, I am not for or against the paleo diet. So I can write positive and negative articles while staying true to my beliefs. So, what is wrong with the paleo diet? What is Wrong With the Paleo Diet? In the podcast, I talk a lot about some of the illogical...

Today's podcast is all about discovering why personal trainers hate cardio. Obviously, not all personal trainers hate it, but there are enough PTs spouting off about their hate for traditional cardio for it to be worth looking at. Do they have a point? This episode explores the truth. Why Personal Trainers Hate Cardio The podcast looks at the legitimate reasons why personal trainers don't often add cardio into their sessions. High injury rate, practical issues, coaching issues, and...

I try not to lean too heavily on one side or the other when it comes to fitness arguments. Partly because I hate conflict (unless I'm drunk) but mostly because I think that having strong views on scientific subjects should only come once you have mastered your field. The truth about keto diets is that they can work for some people, but are not ideal for most people. That isn't a particularly controversial stance though, and it won't get me hundreds of followers or hundreds of enemies. But...

This podcast was recorded in October, but due to severe procrastination I have only just got around to publishing it. In fact, I have a backlog of SIX podcasts that still need to be uploaded. I guess it's just a lot more enjoyable to drink beer and moan about the world than it is to upload podcasts! Today's podcast is about the biggest dieting mistake people make. The Biggest Dieting Mistake People Make The answer isn't exactly a massive secret. In my opinion, one of the biggest mistakes...

In the second episode of our new-look podcast, we are discussing perfect warm-ups and drinking Badger beer. Well, we call it badger beer, but actually, the brewery is called Hall & Woodhouse brewery. We really enjoyed ourselves during this podcast, mostly thanks to the excellent beers! We're loving this 30-minute format, it's easier to listen to, and more importantly - it is a LOT quicker to perform. Perfect Warm-Ups I've changed my mind a lot about warm-ups over the years, when I...

On the 4th of June 2017, Todd and I got drunk, very drunk. The kind of drunk where you stand up after a while on shaky legs, walk outside the pub and decide to create a podcast about beer n biceps. You've probably done exactly that yourself right? What were our qualifications to do so? I knew quite a bit about fitness and nutrition after a degree in Sports Science and 7 years as a personal trainer. Todd had been my most successful client ever. Neither of us knew anything about beer except...

Our last Beer N Biceps episode of the year is a xmas special where we drink Elf Juice by Bad Company and talk about the ways in which you can maintain your weight, prevent weight gain, or even lose weight over the Christmas holiday. This is not something that you need to do, and Todd and I are quite honest about why we're not going to be following the rules too strictly ourselves. But if you decide that this is the year when you don't gain weight over the holidays, then this podcast can...