.
Inside The Grow Stronger Method You’ll Discover…
- Why your current training program may be making you weaker by damaging your nervous system forever.
- What the REAL king of all exercises is and why most people are doing it wrong.
- How training for STRENGTH builds harder, more dense muscle tissue.
- The best training parameters and diet to avoid the common “Puffy Muscle Syndrome” (PMS) that plagues most strength athletes.
- The simplest diet to follow while cutting fat while gaining strength.
- Why guys with the biggest muscles in the gym are often the weakest and why smaller, harder muscles may produce more POWER!
- How to set up your training journal to track results, shatter your strength records and set PRs every single month.
- The two best barbell movements for building full body strength and the only rep / set scheme you’ll ever need to follow.
- How to GROW STRONGER without suffering from achy joints or chronic pain.
- How to GROW STRONGER without sacrificing flexibility, mobility, agility or athleticism.
- What “minimum effective dose” of heavy weight training is needed to get stronger while avoiding chronic muscular soreness.
- The “magic number” of reps that you should NEVER exceed when trying to build maximal strength.
- Why harnessing the “electricity” in your body is a more effective way to get stronger than just pumping iron.
- How adding certain Crossfit workouts to your weekly routine can add more weight to your pressing and pulling strength.
- What it means to have a “Strong Training Economy” that helps you grow stronger without spending more than 4 hours a week in the gym.
- What two “gymnastics exercises” builds stronger, flatter abdominals than every single ab exercise ever.
- Discover “Play Workouts” and how adding them to your weekly training routine can build cardiovascular conditioning and make your life more enjoyable.
- The only two pieces of training equipment that you’ll ever need to become The Strongest Version Of Yourself.
What Others Have Discovered Through
Elliott Hulse Strongman / Strength Coach:
STILL NOT SURE? Click Here To See What Others Have To Say…
Your Questions Answered Here: (357 comments so far)
The comments are closed.
-
Elassad
-
Tosh Farnborough
At what age do you stop growing the reason i ask is i am 62 years young but find it hard to put size on
admin Reply:
July 10th, 2012 at 2:24 pmTosh,
Muscle growth is intrinsically tied to hormones. As your body begins to produce less anabolic hormones, your capacity for muscular growth diminishes. But this doesn’t mean that you can’t get stronger.
Strength is a function of the nervous system, and you can always increase the efficiency of your nervous system.
Keep up the great work. And keep lifting forever.
-
Aaron Morabito
Yo Elliot! After standing still for even short amounts of time (doing dishes or brushing my teeth) I catch myself standing on the outsides of my feet and need to actively correct it repeatedly. I’ve been more aware of this more so in the last 2 years and wonder what this could be doing to my ankles/feet and how I might be able to correct it?
Thanks for your time and keep up the amazing work, really love the YouTube channel, it has helped me immensely with working on my posture and building the strongest version of myself. My favorites are the bio-energetic exercises and I’m currently destroying those muscle viruses!
admin Reply:
July 11th, 2012 at 4:50 pmSince you like my bioenergetic exercises I’ll share this with you.
Many muscular tightness is an weakness in the legs are due to an ungrounded character structure. Someone who may have a hard time “standing their ground”.
Try heavy stomping one or both legs on the ground, and include deep whooo sounds each time you land.
On a neuromuscular level you may have very tight arches in your feet and tight cats I found that by rolling your feet out on a wine bottle and foam rolling your calves you release much of this tension.
-
Brian
I’ve started to Box, and as a right-handed person, I naturally have a weak jab, therefore, I automatically switch to a south-paw stance as a reflex, which I should not do! What kind of exercises would you suggest I do to strengthen my CNS to my left arm better so my punching would feel more natural?
admin Reply:
July 11th, 2012 at 4:45 pmAny time there is a left to right imbalance I always invite my clients to have their Atlas checked by an upper cervical specialist.
This may or may not be the case for you. You may simply need to ingrain a brand-new motor Engram.
Just like with learning any other skill you will be required to practice 3000 to 5000 new reps.
Keep practicing with proper form and eventually it will come like 2nd nature. It’s amazing how the nervous system works. The world’s most amazing computer!
-
Craig o
Hey Elliott I’ve been on a program called max overload training for about a year now and at the beginning I was gaining strength fast this program is a heavy weight low rep routine where u max out and shoot for 4-6 reps if u can do 7 reps then its time to increase the weight this routine was fairly effective for a while but as of recently I feel as if i lost a bit of strength and haven’t been able to excel any further with this program my goal is to be the strongest person I can be but havent been able to increase my max what do u think I should do to overcome this brickwall?
admin Reply:
July 11th, 2012 at 4:43 pmIt sounds like you’re on a pretty good strength training program.
Would you might need is to add some more speed or explosive work to your routine.
This could be in the form of plyometrics, medicine ball, jump training.
You can add these to the beginning of your workouts or creates separate days to do these plyometrics. Good luck.
-
Eliezer
Yo elliot,
As a person training as a Fire Fighter, I was wondering if you had any tips on how to maintain hydration or increase stamina. You see, wearing our bunker gear with an SCBA tank on our backs; this really adds on about 55 pounds and can really tire someone out FAST! Maybe you had some tips on building the muscles we need or how to endure a high temperatures? Maybe how to stay focused?
Thank you, your friend Eliezer Mandujano
admin Reply:
July 11th, 2012 at 4:41 pmWith regard to hydration I would suggest drinking half your body weight in ounces of water every single day also add a pinch of Celtic sea salt to your water this will help you retain hydration.
My football coach used to tell me the only way to get better at football is to play football. This is true with every activity the only way to get better carrying your tanks with minimal oxygen is to practice can your tank with minimal oxygen.
Keep up the great work and keep saving lives. Thank you.
-
How would you go about building a stronger body when you’re limited by a herniated disc?
admin Reply:
July 9th, 2012 at 2:21 pmSrdjan,
While injured its best to rest. But there are some corrective stretches and exercises that you can do to help speed the process and help you avoid the injury again in the future.
This video may help:
-
Mark
I like the group fitness classes at my gym. They Seem to be more endurance than strength based and I find myself increasing volume over intensity though. How do I fix this?
admin Reply:
July 9th, 2012 at 2:40 pmkeep doing the class if you like it.
In the Grow Stronger Method I teach people to use low volume (no more than 10 reps), high intensity (90%) workouts about 3 times a week. This will ensure that you have enough time and energy left over to play sports or do any other activities that you enjoy.
I call this “Training Economy” in the book.
Thanks!
-
james
Hiya
i have been a subscriber for some time now but i am really struggling with pull ups. im kinda new to working out and building muscle and just wounderd if there were any exersizes that would strengthen the muscles that i need to do pull ups?
Rgds
James
admin Reply:
July 9th, 2012 at 2:38 pmJames,
I made this video a few years ago… I think it might help you. High volume might be the answer for you.
-
Tyler Gambino
Hey Elliot i have a question about my right knee, every time i bend it into a 90 degree angle it tends to make a cracking sound, it doesn’t hurt or anything but i find this to be very strange. But, the big problem is when my knee makes contact with anything, the smallest tap gives me this strong sharp pain. I’ve spoken to my Doctor and he told me i should start stretching it, do you know any effective stretches i could do for this knee pain? i really need your help.
Love your YouTube channel by the way, keep up the good workadmin Reply:
July 10th, 2012 at 2:27 pmTyler,
The cracking sounds in your knee is most likely due to a muscular in balance.
Most commonly this imbalance will cause your need to track improperly within the joint.
The imbalance is most likely between your the adductors and abductors of the femur.
Usually this causes the femur to medially rotate.
Using exercises like the belt squats in this video may be helpful to you.
Adtron Reply:
July 11th, 2012 at 6:16 amI have a VERY similar painless cracking in my knee when i bend or squat low. I worry that doing anything with weights could start causing problems, and I want it gone SOON so I can start squatting again! Elliott, do you think doing bodyweight movements (like the side lunge) would cause damage or further facilitate the problem if the cracking happens during the exercise?
admin Reply:
July 13th, 2012 at 5:51 pmIf the cracking is not causing you pain or discomfort then you might be fine just doing all of your normal exercises. What if the cracking causes pain or is an obvious manifestation of a muscle imbalance then that needs to be dealt with 1st.
-
Sunil
Hi Elliot, I’m 6’2″ tall and 26 years old. I’m learning boxing now. 8 years ago I’ve injured both of my shoulders while playing (I could not move the shoulder that time and I recovered from it after one month). A year ago I hurt my shoulder while working, same problem and it took a month to recover. I’ve then joined a gym and lifting weights, and now I feel stronger. But somewhat I feel like my shoulder is not that strong. Sometime the shoulder joint pops out and when I stretch the shoulders, it will be fine. But, I don’t want to hear that popping sound. I want to make my shoulder joint more stronger. There is no pain in the shoulder but it feels tight sometime. I want to make my shoulder joint strong and powerful. Please give me some advice. Thank you.
admin Reply:
July 9th, 2012 at 2:35 pmSunil,
It sounds like you have what I call a “Muscle Virus”. This is a muscular imbalance in a joint that inhibits performance and can lead to further injury.
The best thing to do at this point would be to increase the stability in the joint using corrective stretches. Typically the Pec Minor, medial rotators and Biceps are the tight. Stretch these muscles before training… and also make sure that you’re doing lots of thoracic extension and pulling exercises such as the bend over row. Good Luck!
Rave Reply:
July 9th, 2012 at 11:19 pmHi Elliot and Sunil,
I have the same problem as Sunil and after consulting alot of different physiotherapists and spending hundreds of dollars, I found a physio who gave me the same advice as Elliot. When you have an injury in the shoulder, or any other joint for that matter, it causes an imbalance. Elliot has defined this better than anyone I have come across and actually given this EVIL “Virus” a name. I myself have a subluxed shoulder. However through understanding the reason for this and using Eliiot’s fantastic teachings to motivate me and correct my exercises I’ve really come along great in a short period of time. Thanks for all of your great work Elliot, I look forward to buying your book. Get Strong, Be Strong and Stay Strong brothers!!! -
What are your views on doing a body building routine and exercises(mostly compound, no machines free weights only and maybe a couple isolation curl or a fly here and there) with power lifting parameters to build strength. The thing is i love this routine and am seeing strength gains, i like hitting major muscle groups on 3 separate days than everything combined on Legs day.
I don’t want to be just doing presses squats and dead lifts, i do all that already on the particular days. But yes strength is of higher priority to me than size and shape.admin Reply:
July 9th, 2012 at 2:24 pmWaseem,
This sounds very similar to a routine that I followed for years while trying to keep my muscle mass high during strength building phases. I think it’s a great program and if you’re getting results, there is no need to change it. My rule is… IF IT WORKS, DO IT. Experience > So-Called Science (all day)
-
Ayaz
I don’t have access to gym I have only 2dumbbells in my room how I can become stronger and powerful?
admin Reply:
July 9th, 2012 at 2:52 pmLearn how to do REAL body weight training!
In The Grow Stronger Method I teach readers to use HANDSTAND and LEAVER progressions as a means for building incredible static core strength. If you can get a chin up bar for your doorway you’ll be set. Also check out Al Kavaldo and The Bastarzz on YouTube.
HANDSTAND PUSH UP (working up to it) is a big part of the Grow Stronger Method -
Jonny
Yo elliot!
I have ‘knock knees’ and I’n not sure how to correct them, can you please help?
I love your channel, I am subscribed, I’ve learnt so much (I cured my back pain ever since learning about anterior pelvic tilt etc)
Please please please let me know how i can fix these knees! I want to grow big strong legs!
kind regards
much respect
Jonnyadmin Reply:
July 12th, 2012 at 12:52 amJohnny this is one of the times where I honestly don’t have an answer for you. In fact I’m not too sure would knock knees actually is. Hopefully is not causing you pain and you are still able to train to a high degree. If you can squat lunge and deadlifts without pain then the knock knees may not really be a problem. Sorry I wish I could offer you more. Good luck.
-
Julio
I’m having trouble getting ripped, if a cut calories I start feeling lethargic and with no motivation in the gym. If I continue eating the same amount of calories I use to eat my weight doesn’t go up but my body doesn’t seem to change.
My normal workout regime is
M-W-F Weights in the Morning
T-T 40 min walk in the morning and yoga class in the eveningWhat would you recommend in a situation like this?
admin Reply:
July 12th, 2012 at 12:50 amTo be honest I’m not the best guy to ask how to get ripped questions.
But my uncle is very ripped and a bodybuilder, he used to always tell me that it’s best to do cardio and other parasympathetic type exercises 1st thing in the morning and leave weight training until the evening.
This may seem like a small change but it might be the very thing you need to try.
I hope this is helpful for you. Good luck
-
I was wondering about help for a 73 year old who cannot make my biceps grow and how can I order your new product to increase my testosterone all I have is an old I pad
admin Reply:
July 11th, 2012 at 5:13 pmJack. Congrats for still kicking butt at 73 years old. I would spend most of my time focused on doing more chin ups. This will build all of your pulling muscles including your bicep in a integraded fashion. this will cause you to be safer and have a more balanced body.
Keep up the great work. -
Jonathan
When I do chest exercises such as bench, incline bench, incline pec fly, etc I feel it more in my shoulders than my chest. I’m trying to build my chest bigger faster but I’m not feeling anything.
admin Reply:
July 9th, 2012 at 2:47 pmIf you’re trying to build strength in your bench press, then don’t worry about “feeling it”.
But If you’re trying to build up the chest muscles, then you’ll need to isolate it. Bench press is NO GOOD for isolating the pecs.
Vince Gironda taught bodybuilders that the best exercise for isolating the chest / upper pecs is Wide Grip Dips. Try those for 6 weeks instead of the bench press, let me know how it works. Good luck.
-
Adam
Yo Elliot!
Love your stuff, your dedication to helping people become the strongest versions of themselves really shows through in your work. I’m 27 have my gym time divided into Push/Pull/(Legs/Shoulders), try and usually stick to a program for ~3 months and then make a few changes to keep things fresh. My problem is I keep hitting walls usually 1.5 months in. I’ll hit a point where I just stat to struggle with an exercise so I deload and try and work back up but keep hitting the same wall. Eventually I actually start to struggle with even the deloaded weight and really just end up going backwards by the last 2-3 weeks of each cycle. Was hoping you could give some advice about busting these plateaus so I can keep moving forward in my strength gains. Hope all is well for you and your family and thanks for taking the time to read (and hopefully respond) to this.
Stay Strong
-Zadmin Reply:
July 11th, 2012 at 5:10 pmOne thing that I might look at in your case is lifestyle. Take notice of your sleeping habits, stress, dietary habits, etc. When things seem to be leveling off in the gym.
Very often the things that are happening outside of the gym are far more important than what we are doing inside the gym. Even the best training program will fall short if you are overstressed, tired or toxic.
Just something that think about. Good luck buddy.
-
Shaun McDonald
Hey.
Whenever I do overhead pressing, clean and jerks or snatch’s I get this irritating pain in my right shoulder. It’s not a sharp pain more of a ache/fatigued type feeling. it holds me back whenever I do the following movements. It tends to be more the rotation of snatch’s and cleans that trigger it more than the act of pressing. Rotator cuff maybe?
Any advice will be awesome.
Thanks
admin Reply:
July 9th, 2012 at 3:04 pmIt sounds like you might need to stabilize your scapula (more thoracic extension). If this is the case you’ll want to stretch your LEVATOR SCAPULAE, UPPER TRAPS, PEC MINOR and possibly your biceps.
Then work on strengthening your scapula adduction with exercises like Bend Over Rows, Perfect Form Dead Lifts and Prone Cobras.
-
Noah
I’ve been learning a lot about proper dieting in the past 6 months, and I’ve gotten down below 10% body fat (one of my life-long goals) through balanced eating (roughly 500 calorie deficit per day) and controlled strength training. For the past 2 or 3 months I’ve been going low carb (50-80 g on non-training days and 100-120 g on training days) with a very high intake of unsaturated fats (almonds olive oil, etc; over 80-100 g per day). Most of my carbs come from some high fiber cereal with breakfast and then straight veggies all the rest of the day. I’ve heard everyone say you need carbs to properly build muscle, and that on a low carb diet you’re usually tired and irritable and lose strength. I’ve found just the opposite, that on days I’m not working out I actually have near boundless energy. My question is this: is there a possibility that my body is just designed to run on low carb-high fat diet (I’m a really skinny dude, small bones/shoulders, 145 lbs at 5’8″), and if so am I hurting my muscle and strength growth by limiting my carbs? I have definitely gotten bigger during this cutting diet and stronger too, but if I continue this diet (which I really like so far) will I be limiting my ability to grow stronger?
admin Reply:
July 11th, 2012 at 5:08 pmI have spoken about metabolic typing in the past. You may be what is called a fast oxidizer. Here is a video where I talk a little bit about it, I think it may be helpful to you.
The bottom line is that if something is working for you stick with it. No one knows all the answers but your experience is very important.
-
Nicely
Yo Elliot!
I’m 24, 6’1, 155lbs. I had acl/pcl surgery and fully recovered back to doing pistol squat box jumps, however, a section of my hamstring was used to replace my acl and pcl so it (hamstring) is still fairly weak on one leg. It doesn’t affect my running (i run barefoot) but it does affect static holds like doing heel hooks in rock climbing. I’ve been doing Romanian deadlifts and leg curls with low volume and high weight with slow negatives and explosive positives to get stronger and balanced hamstrings. What are your opinion and thoughts on that? Thanks a ton.
admin Reply:
July 11th, 2012 at 5:05 pmIt sounds like you’re doing some great things and you’re on the right track.
The only thing that you might want to add to your program is some more stability work.
You can do this by working your pistol squats with eyes closed or while standing on an uneven surface.
Basically you’re doing all the right things, keep up the good work and good luck.
-
Yo Elliot, if my goal is to get stronger, regardless of building muscle or not, do I need to focus on the mind-muscle connection, or should my main concern be lifting that heavy ass weight no matter how, as long as I keep good form??
Also, how many questions am I allowed? I have TONS man
Finding your channel has been the best thing thats happened to me with regards to training. All the best to you.admin Reply:
July 11th, 2012 at 5:03 pmIf your only goal is to build strength and not muscle, Then you want to focus on that mind muscle connection that you’re describing.
This can be done in a number of ways. 1st slow down your reps and pay close attention to your form, you can also add more static exercises like the gymnastic moves that I teach you in the grow stronger method.
I also talk a lot about tension strength, this is a function of how well your nervous system relates to the muscle.
-
Jeremy
Hello!
I seem to have puffy muscles, where every 2-3 days my muscles start deflating. I know I have a fast metabolism yet I eat plenty, take protein supplements and workout every 2 days, but regardless I can’t keep a solid musculature.
Any tips? Thanks!
admin Reply:
July 11th, 2012 at 5:00 pmIf your muscles are deflating every 2 to 3 days it may mean one of 2 things.
1st you may be to carb depleted. This will cause your muscles to look flat. Try including more cards into your diet.
Also it could mean that’s your training needs to be adjusted. If you have gone 3 days without lifting especially for a pump you will find that your muscles feel flat.
Good luck.
-
Mike
Yo Elliot, I have a lordosis posture, should i stay away from glutes and hamstring stretches? they feel very tight.. also exactly which muscles support thoracic extension
admin Reply:
July 11th, 2012 at 4:58 pmMike,
If you have a hyper lordosis and you find that your hamstrings are fairly loose then do not stretch them.
Your glutes namely the piriformis may actually be tight.
As far as thoracic extension is concerned, the body works as a whole, when you correct the lordosis the mid back will be easier to correct. For now you might want to stretch your neck and the front of your shoulders. Also include form deadlifts into your program to strengthen your mid back.
-
Izaak
Yo Elliott!
Izaak from the tribe here! Awesome can’t wait for this! I still can’t manage to build mass in my legs although my squat and deadlift numbers keep on increasing. Hope this helps!
admin Reply:
July 11th, 2012 at 4:56 pmA lot of people don’t realize that muscle mass and strength required 2 very different types of programs. Although you are getting shrunk or you may need to add more muscle building parameters to your program. This means higher volume higher time under tension and lower rest intervals.
I might also suggest that you foam roll your legs regularly in order to open some of the fascia.
Izaak Reply:
July 11th, 2012 at 5:58 pmWhat you think of a main lift of 5x2, 3x3, or 6x1 followed by accessory work of 8-12 reps like db lunges or db step ups as an example?
admin Reply:
July 13th, 2012 at 5:22 pmI love it.
I was wondering what I should do in regards to my hip pain when I go too low on squats or do any activity that requires bringing my knee high up, such as biking or sprinting. I’m a 17 year-old boy, 6 feet 2, lifting for 7 months now using SL5x5 and getting some decent results so far. If I don’t go back to squats and deadlifts soon enough, I’ll go crazy.
The pain only occurs when I do some sort of effort, when I don’t, it just calms down. So I guessed it was just some tightness in the hip flexors or something like that. It’s not a stabbing pain, so I guess I know for a fact that it’s not a joint pain… I dunno, you tell me, you’re the expert.
admin Reply:
July 9th, 2012 at 2:15 pm
Elassad,
You’re probably right about your hip flexors being tight. Add the following “posture stretches” to your routine (see video) AND work to strengthen core stabilization with exercises like “the plank”, etc.
Phil B Reply:
July 9th, 2012 at 3:42 pm
Elliot,
Can the three stretches in the bar stool video be done on the floor with a foam roller?
Thanks,
Phil B
admin Reply:
July 12th, 2012 at 1:15 am
yes, it can but I promise you that the stretch will not nearly as severe an effective as when done on the stool. You can have a stool set up like the one in my video for about the same price that it would cost to buy a foam roller. I would suggest making one and using it daily. In fact I use it 3 to 5 times a day.