Throughout my gym-going life, I’ve been dogged by questions about how much I can bench. Even in high school and college, when athletics and functional strength were my highest priorities, I was notable to others primarily because of the weight I could move on the bench press....
Imagine this: You’re at the gym, using a weight belt, lifting straps or wrist wraps, when some bro scientist approaches you and tells you that you’re “cheating.” Basically, the bro scientist is saying that the gear you purchased after a considerable amount of online research, including reading articles written by yours truly, somehow invalidates...
Two decades ago, I was a 15-year-old meathead awash in a sea of meathead jargon. I tipped the scales at 240 pounds of puffy, puberty-powered muscle — big and “swole,” but not quite “buff” and certainly not “ripped” or “cut.” I referred to the pizza slices I downed by...
