Chin ups are a core part of the basic Starting Strength programme. Though they are classed as an ancillary lift in the blue book, they are really on par with the other main lifts for strength development in my opinion. Whenever the topic of chins comes up there is always the inevitable question, “what about pullups?”. Well, what about them? Why do I prefer the chin up to the pull up as a general strength training tool? When evaluating the usefulness of exercises for general s

This article was first published on StartingStrength.com Strongman is a rapidly growing sport in the strength world and as someone who has a lot of love for strongman, I thought I’d try to offer a little guide for anyone interested in having a go at this most entertaining of strength sports. Here are my humble thoughts on how best to prepare yourself for your first strongman contest. Build your foundation The first thing you need to do is to actually be strong (it is in the n

This article was first published on StartingStrength.com Let me tell you a tale of two lifters: Bob and Kelly. Bob is an accountant, he’s in his mid-thirties, he’s married to a stay-at-home mum, and he has two kids and a dog. Kelly is a project manager in a tech company, she’s also in her mid-thirties, she’s married to a soldier who’s often away for long stretches, and she has one child. On the face of it these two people live quite similar lives. They’re both in high-paying

My favourite thing about this time of year is the blackberry harvest. Late summer in this country brings forth a glorious harvest of...

When COVID travel restrictions from the UK to the US were finally lifted in 2023 I decided I would make the trip to beautiful downtown...