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Tell an experienced lifter to do 20 reps of curls and they’ll say it’s too easy. Tell them to do 20 reps of pull-ups and they’ll say it’s too hard. Tell them to do 20 reps of squats and, if they know their stuff, they’ll start to tremble.

The 20-rep squat program has a long and fabled history in the strength and fitness community because it emphasizes the basics: the classic barbell back squat, plenty of hard work, and a fair amount of mental and physical endurance.

This time-tested plan is sometimes referred to as “the squats and milk program” due to the abundant whole milk consumption typically considered part and parcel with the massive leg exercise. Here’s a look at how and why this training strategy has been a reliable staple for nearly a century.

The 20-Rep Squat Program

• History of the 20-Rep Squat Program
• How to to Program 20-Rep Squats
• Benefits of 20-Rep Squats
• Drawbacks of the 20-Rep Squat Program
• Sample 20-Rep Squat Program
• Frequently Asked Questions

History of the 20-Rep Squat Program

In today’s age of quick fixes and training hacks peddled by online “fitfluencers,” it might be hard to believe that one specific workout program originated in the 1930s and continues to be promoted as a viable routine in the 21st century. However, that’s exactly the case with 20-rep squats. The program was first popularized back when Babe Ruth was calling his shot. It had a resurgence in the ‘80s and the plan continues to be a go-to solution for building size and strength relatively quickly.

Training in the 1930s

From 1914 to 1935, Strength magazine, known informally as “America’s First Muscle Magazine,” was a monthly publication. It featured fitness and nutrition advice collectively known at the time as “physical culture,” rather than “bodybuilding” or “powerlifting” since those activities hadn’t yet formally begun.

Mark Berry was the magazine’s editor from 1927 until the its bankruptcy in 1935. Berry was also an Olympic weightlifter and national weightlifting coach for the 1932 and 1936 Olympic teams. He used the magazine to advocate for, among other tactics, high-repetition barbell squatting for adding muscular bulk and strength.

The training program was built around one centerpiece exercise — the back squat — with very few additional exercises, mainly to address the torso and arms. This type of abbreviated training plan was performed two or three days per week, allowing rest and recovery on the remaining days.

The minimalist training was complemented by high-calorie foods to fuel muscle growth. Specifically breads, fruits, eggs, and good old fashioned milk. These basic staples were generally available to most households, even as The Great Depression rolled across the country.

One of the first names associated with successfully implementing this mass-building routine was Joseph Curtis Hise, or J.C. Hise, a reader of Mark Berry’s work. Hise wrote Berry to announce his results after diligently following the 20-rep squat program. Hise gained nearly 30 pounds of muscular body weight in 30 days, and would go on to be an innovative and influential strength icon in his own right.

Continuing Berry’s work, training advice centered around high-repetition squatting would be echoed in popular fitness magazines over the decades to follow. Most notable was Peary Rader’s Iron Man magazine in the 1960s, where strength advocate and columnist John McCallum would continue preaching the protocol’s benefits. The training tides might’ve ebbed and flowed, but the 20-rep squat program continued to be a mainstay in the weight room.

“Super Squats” and the ‘80s Fitness Craze

The 1980s were a relatively wild time in the fitness world. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sly Stallone made muscular physiques mainstream in Hollywood; legwarmers and leotards filled commercial gyms; and follow-along workout videotapes made their way into homes.

People were getting their training guidance from an array of newsstand magazines, VHS cassettes, and workout books often emphasizing aerobics and extreme calorie restriction. In a likely welcomed change of pace, one book in particular hit the shelves in 1989 — “Super Squats” by Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D.

“Super Squats” featured the eye-catching (though debatably accurate) subtitle: “How to Gain 30 Pounds of Muscle in 6 Weeks.” This was a clear testament to the significant gains and relatively short timeframe commonly associated with the 20-rep squat program.

In his book, Strossen recalled the lessons of Berry, Hise, and those who came before him in the lifting world. He also re-introduced the 20-rep squat program itself, in detail, while presenting related ideas such as the importance of proper diet, ample rest, and even a section discussing the correct attitude and mindset for the challenging routine.

While plenty of emphasis was placed on the thrice-weekly training sessions, just as much discussion was given to realistic goal-setting, tracking progress, and building the self-motivation and mental toughness needed to complete all 20 repetitions.

More than 30 years since its first printing, Strossen’s book remains on the “suggested reading” list of many strength coaches, personal trainers, and experienced lifters in large part to its continued relevance and applicable lessons.

How to Program 20-Rep Squats

The 20-rep squat program has a few fundamental, non-negotiable aspects as well as general principles that could allow a degree of flexibility.

Breathing Squats

Performing a typical set of 20 repetitions is usually a fairly straightforward scenario. Whether it’s a push-up, lat pulldown, or dumbbell curl, you typically just lift and lower the weight consistently until the set is completed.

However, with the 20-rep squat program, you’re not simply performing a set of squats for 20 reps. You’re performing breathing squats, so named because deliberate, deep breathing is a mandatory part of the exercise technique.

Rather than exhaling while exerting force and inhaling as you lower the weight, or bracing your core throughout the movement and quickly stealing a mini-breath between repetitions, a set of breathing squats is done with very intentional breathing — fully exhaling and fully inhaling multiple times— between individual reps.

This extends the overall duration of the set, keeping the weight on your back for minutes at a time. A long duration set means your body stabilizers are put through a long time under tension which may help to trigger systemic muscle growth. (1) Interestingly, and perhaps not surprisingly, modern sports science research has validated the potential muscle- and strength-building benefits of this type of mid-repetition resting protocol. (2)

As one might expect, several permutations of breathing squats have been attempted over the years, manipulating the breathing patterns with the loading and repetition performance. Two primary methods have remained.

Breathing squats can be done with multiple deep breaths between each individual repetition. This is a more traditional method, in line with Berry’s original recommendation. After unracking the bar and setting up your stance, take two or three deep diaphragmatic breaths before performing the first repetition. Upon locking out in the standing position, take two or three breaths before performing the next rep. This pattern is continued until 20 squats have been performed.

This approach is very similar to the “cluster rep” technique and helps to maintain performance for longer duration sets. The set of “20 reps” can almost be approached as 20 individual repetitions (without racking the bar between each repetition). This can help to ensure optimal technique and focus. It also accommodates lifters of any strength level and can be performed with any weight, unlike the next breathing squat alternative.

Perform a 10-repetition maximum lift with standard technique, taking deep breaths from reps 11 to 20. This approach requires the lifter to load their 10-repetition max (10RM) on the bar and perform a straightforward set of 10 reps with a typical breathing pattern. Upon reaching muscular failure, rather than re-rack the weight, the lifter stands in the locked out position and takes three to five deep diaphragmatic breaths before performing an eleventh rep.

Upon lockout, take another three to five deep breaths before rep number 12. Repeat this grueling process until you stand up with the twentieth rep, before gratefully racking the bar. For many lifters, this “do 20 reps with your 10RM” method is the more challenging version because it requires taking the movement to muscular failure before continuing the set one arduous squat at a time. It’s not uncommon for lifters to simply be unable to complete all 20 repetitions with this approach.

Assistance Exercises

While the barbell back squat is the training priority of any 20-rep squat program, additional movements are needed to address the rest of the body.

Typically these movements focus on the upper body with little to no added lower body exercises. Performing an excessive amount of assistance exercises would increase fatigue and decrease recovery ability without contributing significantly to results.

In the early days of Mark Berry and J.C. Hise, the squat was complemented by the behind-the-neck shoulder press, barbell curl, and barbell pullover. This barebones plan allowed lifters to focus their energy on completing the squat portion first and foremost, with the supplemental exercises rounding out a very simplified “full-body workout” by training the chest, back, shoulders, and arms with the chosen exercises.

Strossen offered two detailed workouts in “Super Squats.” The “basic routine” was quite comprehensive and included the behind-the-neck press, bench press, barbell row, barbell curl, squat, a pullover variation, stiff-leg deadlift, calf raise, and crunch.

The book also offered an “abbreviated program” for lifters who had particular trouble gaining body weight on the expansive basic routine. This condensed program required simply the bench press, squat, barbell row, and a specialized pullover variation known as a “Rader chest pull” — essentially a standing, static/isometric exercise that mimicked the mid-point of a pullover.

The common thread with any assistance training was to primarily target the upper body with a “pushing” exercise, a “pulling” exercise, and some type of pullover. The pullover, in particular, was often suggested to “expand” the lifters’ ribcage. While there’s no anatomical way for that to occur, the exercise does efficiently target the back, chest, shoulder, and triceps muscles, making it an excellent choice for overall upper-body growth.

Two to Three Workouts Per Week

The nature of the 20-rep squat program — full-body workouts performing the squat in every session — allows three concentrated training days with four days of rest.

For lifters with a poor recover capacity or those who perform significant physical activity outside the gym (such as a career in manual labor or playing rec-league sports), two training days could yield better overall results.

This can be a drastic change of pace for those more accustomed to training four or five days per week with a more conventional bodybuilding-style training split. Balancing high-frequency training (working the squat in each workout) with sufficient overall recovery is critical for steadily recovering and growing during the course of the plan.

This intensity of the 20-rep squat set is so high that many lifters come to realize, “if you feel like training more days per week, you’re not pushing hard enough during the breathing squats.”

GOMAD: Gallon of Milk a Day

The 20-rep squat program isn’t designed for lifters who are looking to get lean. It’s not even necessarily for those looking to get into “bodybuilding shape” by targeting individual muscles, or lifters who want to move heavy weights and hit new PRs.

20-rep squats are used, first and foremost, to gain muscular bodyweight. That requires an abundance of high-quality calories to maximize recovery, growth, and performance in the demanding workouts. (3)

One keys to reaching the necessary (arguably excessive) calorie surplus is a habit promoted since the program’s inception: drinking a significant amount of whole milk every day, in addition to three hearty, well-balanced meals. Drinking milk instead of meals is a common but extremely counterproductive mistake made by some lifters new to the program.

Whole milk has long-been associated with building muscle. (4) It’s packed with highly efficient protein while delivering usable carbohydrates and calorie-dense fats to round out a complete nutrition profile. It’s also a relatively inexpensive way to add calories compared to whole food sources.

Liquid calories (those that are drank rather than chewed) are generally less satiating, which can make it easier for lifters to take in enough calories when their appetite might otherwise be an obstacle.

Berry’s initial recommendation was two liters (a half-gallon) each day, delivering 1,200 total calories. Strossen took a more drastic approach, suggesting lifters begin with a half-gallon daily and progress up to one full gallon per day to support significant growth.

Benefits of 20-Rep Squats

High-frequency squatting, high-calorie intake, and consistent hard work should be a reliable recipe for progress in the gym. Here’s what you can expect when you push yourself with the 20-rep squat program.

Size

This program is inherently associated with packing on pounds of muscular bodyweight. When the workouts are followed and complemented by an abundance of calories, the scale will be moving up.

Whether you’re looking to go up a weight class in a sport or trying to build a base of muscle, 20-rep squats are one of the most challenging, and most effective, bulking routines the fitness world has seen in almost a century.

Strength

Emphasizing a single lift — the back squat, in the case of the classic 20-rep squat program — is an effective way to improve strength, technique, and overall performance of that exercise. Spending four to six weeks focused on the back squat as your primary lower body exercise should carry over to improved strength gains overall.

The supportive muscles of your core and lower back also get recruited for high-frequency training. As they adapt, you’ll build strength and endurance along with the capacity to tolerate a greater workload, making them stronger stabilizers to carry over to other lifts.

Mental Toughness

This benefit might not seem as apparent or objective as muscular size or strength, but breathing squats are notorious for building mental toughness with each consecutive repetition. When you’re standing at lockout, supporting the weight across your upper back and taking each deep breath, you’re convincing yourself that you can complete just one more rep.

Repeating that positive self-talk rep after rep, and workout after workout, and week after week can have a net-positive effect on your overall mental approach to challenges, in the gym and outside of it. After some weeks of performing 20-rep squats, a “regular” hard set of deadlifts or bench presses likely won’t seem as daunting compared to the struggle of high-rep breathing squats.

Drawbacks of 20-Rep Squats

While the 20-rep squat program has survived and thrived through generations of lifters, it’s not without a few inherent issue. Here’s what to watch for before tackling this long-established training plan.

Body Fat Gain

Any type of “bulking” routine is often associated with a degree of body fat gain. While you can’t necessarily rush the process of muscle-building, you can encourage it by providing your body with an abundance of nutrients — particularly calories and protein — to create new muscle tissue.

Once the rate of muscle tissue has been met, additional nutrients will be shuttled toward stored body fat. This is sometimes seen as a “necessary evil” when the goal is overall muscular growth. While the body may only be able to build up to two to three pounds of muscle tissue per month, a caloric surplus is an efficient way to achieve the end result. (5)(6)

Before beginning the 20-rep squat routine, understand that lean ab definition is neither the goal nor the end result of the program. That may be a target for a later date, but the 20-rep squat program itself isn’t a means to that specific end.

Limited Development

Any type of minimalist program — one that uses few exercises and/or few training days per week — will knowingly compromise on overall potential development as it works along a more generally efficient training plan.

The 20-rep squat program isn’t for lifters looking to develop a necessarily fine-tuned, entirely symmetrical physique. It’s also not for lifters looking to target muscle groups with multiple exercises per session for maximum growth in a specific body part. In fact, certain muscles may go under-addressed in the short-term due to the relatively limited exercise menu of the workout plan.

This is necessary by design, since the 20-rep squat plan focuses on the squat itself and only a handful of additional exercises for several weeks. It’s acceptable that the triceps or the abdominals or the calves don’t receive direct training during the course of the plan because the focus is on successfully completing 20 reps of the squat, several times per week.

Were the program to be continued for a long-term, this could potentially raise noticeable development issues. One benefit of the training plan being intentionally a short-term training phase is that those developmental issues never come to pass.

Sample 20-Rep Squat Program

Ready to tackle this time-honored training program? Here’s a plan that’s quite in line with Berry’s original routine. Use the original breathing squat pattern — taking two to three deep breaths between each repetition in the standing, locked out position. Repeat the workout three days per week, with at least one day of rest between each session.

As a consistent means of progress, add five pounds to the squat each workout. For example, if you perform 20 reps with 185 pounds on Monday, use 190 pounds on Wednesday, 195 pounds on Friday, 200 pounds the following Monday, etc. If you fail to achieve all 20 repetitions in a workout, repeat the weight for the following session until successful.

The Classic Workout

Back Squat 1 x 20

Pullover 1 x 15-20

Romanian Deadlift 2 x 10-12

Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3 x 10-12

Reverse-Grip Pulldown 3 x 10-12

Hard Work Always Pays Off

With nearly a century-long lineage, calling the 20-rep squat program “a unique experience” is an understatement. For some lifters, the routine is a rite of passage marking full-fledged entrance to intense weight training. For others, surviving a few weeks of 20-rep squats is a bucket list item to be done for bragging rights, if not size and strength. While some fitness trends come and go, this dependable training plan will continue delivering gains for generations to come.

FAQs

References

1. Burd, N. A., Andrews, R. J., West, D. W., Little, J. P., Cochran, A. J., Hector, A. J., Cashaback, J. G., Gibala, M. J., Potvin, J. R., Baker, S. K., & Phillips, S. M. (2012). Muscle time under tension during resistance exercise stimulates differential muscle protein sub-fractional synthetic responses in men. The Journal of physiology, 590(2), 351–362. https://doi.org/10.1113/jphysiol.2011.221200
2. Tufano, James J.1,2; Brown, Lee E.3; Haff, G. Gregory1. Theoretical and Practical Aspects of Different Cluster Set Structures: A Systematic Review. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 31(3):p 848-867, March 2017. | DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001581
3. Slater, G. J., Dieter, B. P., Marsh, D. J., Helms, E. R., Shaw, G., & Iraki, J. (2019). Is an Energy Surplus Required to Maximize Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy Associated With Resistance Training. Frontiers in nutrition, 6, 131. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2019.00131
4. Roy B. D. (2008). Milk: the new sports drink? A Review. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 5, 15. https://doi.org/10.1186/1550-2783-5-15
5. Thomas, M. H., & Burns, S. P. (2016). Increasing Lean Mass and Strength: A Comparison of High Frequency Strength Training to Lower Frequency Strength Training. International journal of exercise science, 9(2), 159–167.
6. Brett A. Dolezal and Jeffrey A. PotteigerJournal of Applied Physiology 1998 85:2, 695-700
7. Tagawa, R., Watanabe, D., Ito, K. et al. Synergistic Effect of Increased Total Protein Intake and Strength Training on Muscle Strength: A Dose-Response Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Sports Med – Open 8, 110 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40798-022-00508-w

Featured Image: Jacob Lund / Shutterstock

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Some young powerlifters take time to find their groove and get comfortable on a sanctioned lifting platform. It’s an understandable struggle to figure out what works and hone in on one’s strengths. Such a descriptor does not seem to apply to the 20-year-old Samantha Eugenie.

On Apr. 8, 2023, during the 2023 Fédération Française de Force (FFForce) Junior Nationals, Eugenie set two International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) raw Junior World Records in a first-place performance in the 69-kilogram weight class. The first mark was a 220.5-kilogram (486.1-pound) deadlift, achieved by Eugenie on her final pull of the contest. The second IPF raw Junior World Record was Eugenie’s final triumphant total of 515.5 kilograms (1,136.4 pounds). The marks are official because the FFForce is under the IPF’s jurisdiction.

Eugenie’s raw Junior World Record accomplishments are so impressive, they eclipsed the reigning 69-kilogram IPF Junior World Champion in the record books.

The athlete’s deadlift is more than Clara Peyraud’s previous record of 218 kilograms (480.6 pounds) from the 2022 European Powerlifting Federation (EPF) European Classic Powerlifting Championships by 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds). Eugenie’s Junior record total also leapfrogs another past number from Peyraud, who notched a total of 510.5 kilograms (1,136.4 pounds) at the same European contest.

Peyraud captured her first 69-kilogram Junior world title in August 2022. Eugenie is a defending Junior World champion herself, but in the 63-kilogram division. In only her second-ever appearance as a 69-kilogram competitor, it’s clear Eugenie is already on par with its best Junior athletes.

In addition to her IPF raw Junior World Records, Eugenie scored an all-time raw competition best bench press of 110 kilograms (242.5 pounds) and back squat of 185 kilograms (407.8 pounds). Here’s an overview of the top stats from the athlete’s overall performance:

Samantha Eugenie (69KG) | 2023 French Junior Nationals Top Stats

• Squat — 185 kilograms (407.8 pounds) | All-Time Raw Competition Best
• Bench Press — 110 kilograms (242.5 pounds) | All-Time Raw Competition Best
• Deadlift — 220.5 kilograms (486.1 pounds) | Raw IPF World Record
• Total — 510.5 kilograms (1,136.4 pounds) | Raw IPF World Record

According to the IPF database, Eugenie is the owner of the 63-kilogram raw IPF Junior World Record deadlift, with a pull of 216 kilograms (476.2 pounds). The athlete captured that mark at the 2022 IPF Junior World Classic Powerlifting Championships while taking home first place.

Eugenie has firmly established herself as a dynamic force in two separate powerlifting divisions. All that might be left for the athlete is to make her stamps in the 69-kilogram class on a grander, international stage. The athlete will likely get the golden opportunity to do so this late summer at the 2023 IPF World Championships in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

Featured image: @coeurlymonster on Instagram

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On Apr. 10, 2023, powerlifter Blake Lehew shared an Instagram video of himself capturing a 319.9-kilogram (705.4-pound) raw back squat during the 2023 USA-UA Pioneer on the Beach. The contest took place on Apr. 8 in South Padre Island, TX. According to Lehew’s caption, it is the first instance in which the athlete has ever completed a raw squat of at least 317.5 kilograms (700 pounds). A quick perusal of the 27-year-old Lehew’s Open Powerlifting profile confirms this fact. Lehew had previously tried and failed for the same weight at the 2022 World Raw Powerlifting Federation (WRPF) PPC Finals.

Blake Lehew has long since established himself as one of the 82-kilogram division’s top titans in powerlifting. However, many of the athlete’s achievements have come while competing raw with wraps. That includes, per Open Powerlifting, a World Record total of 930 kilograms (2,050.3 pounds) notched in a first-place result at the 2022 WRPF American Pro. As this 319.9-kilogram (705.4-pound) squat demonstrates, Lehew has officially taken his 82-kilogram catalog of accomplishments to the next level.

In addition to his all-time raw competition best squat, Lehew secured a personal record (PR) raw DOTS score of 620 — the ratio of an athlete’s body weight to the weight they’re lifting. Lehew also matched his all-time raw competition best total of 915 kilograms (2,017.2 pounds), which he initially recorded during a first-place performance at the 2022 WRPF PPC Finals.

Here’s an overview of Lehew’s top stats from the 2023 USA-UA Pioneer on the Beach:

Blake Lehew (82KG) | 2023 USA-UA Pioneer on the Beach Top Stats

• Squat — 319.9 kilograms (705.4 pounds) | All-Time Raw Competition Best
• Bench Press — 220 kilograms (485 pounds)
• Deadlift — 374.9 kilograms (826.7 pounds)
• Total — 915 kilograms (2,017.2 pounds) | Matches All-Time Raw Competition Best

Notably, Lehew had teased his pursuit of surpassing a 385-kilogram (848-pound) raw deadlift by performing it beltless during a late February 2023 training session. The athlete ultimately fell short of repeating the in-gym performance during the Pioneer on the Beach contest, as he summed up portions of the rest of his performance as “subpar” in an Instagram post. That goal will have to wait for another competition to come true.

In the same Instagram post recapping his performance, Lehew — who noted he brought a personal team to a full meet for the first time — seemed over the moon at what he could accomplish in this raw, sanctioned powerlifting setting.

It appears to be one of the best and most collaborative moments of his professional career.

“This was the first time I’ve been able to bring a team to a big meet and it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.”

Featured image: @deadliftingorangutan on Instagram

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Pre-workout supplements have become increasingly popular among fitness enthusiasts in recent years. It’s almost as if, are you even a serious lifter if you don’t dry scoop some pre-workout in the gym parking lot before your warm-up?

Due to their prevalence within gym culture and notable performance-boosting effects, everybody has their go to pre-workout supplements whether it’s a simple cup of coffee (aka “caffeine”) or a scoop of the latest tropical punch-flavored, ultra-secret-ingredient formula.

The world of pre-workouts can be intimidating, sometimes rightfully so. You don’t want to spend more money than you have to. You don’t want to choose an ineffective formula. And you definitely don’t want to take something that makes you so jittery, you end up doing push-ups on the floor of the emergency room.

Here’s what to know about some of the most popular pre-workouts available, so you can approach your pre-training supplementation with a better idea of what should and shouldn’t be in there.

What Does a Pre-Workout Do?

• Potential Benefits
• Potential Drawbacks
• 10 Most Common Pre-Workout Ingredients
• How to Use a Pre-Workout 

Potential Benefits of Using a Pre-Workout 

Pre-workout supplements can be a game changer for many people. It’s a staple supplement category for many lifters, whether it’s something used before every workout or only when the planned session calls for it. It’s not necessary, but for lifters who want a high-performance edge, having a go to pre-workout is ideal.

Increased Motivation and Focus

A good pre-workout can help to get you in the right mindset on days when you’re paying more attention to the playlist in your headphones than the barbell in your hands. Even the most dedicated lifter has days when they’re just not feeling it, and a good pre-workout may be able to fill the gap.

Certain pre-workout ingredients have been shown to improve focus, concentration, even your mood. (1)(2) This can carry over to greater general energy levels, allowing you to attack the training session with higher intensity, as well as potentially better attention to technique.

You might also notice a better mind-muscle connection during certain exercises, which can help to recruit more muscle fibers and trigger greater muscle growth. (3)

Improved Strength, Power, and Endurance

Physiologically, a pre-workout can directly boost your performance in the gym by improving strength, increasing power output, or increasing endurance and delaying fatigue — all of which can translate to better training adaptations and improved results. (4)(5)(6)

Whether it’s a stimulant to create a stronger muscle fiber contraction or an ingredient to decrease your required rest periods, pre-workouts can have some significant and impactful influence on your training session. (7)

Cumulatively, these performance benefits can yield greater results from training. However, that doesn’t mean you should, or need to, rely on pre-workouts consistently to perform at a high level.

Even when used sporadically, these benefits can trigger responses that yield better results than you might otherwise find without strategic supplement usage.

Potential Drawbacks of Using a Pre-Workout

Here are the major concerns you should be on the look out for when purchasing a pre-workout supplement.

Proprietary Blends 

The term “proprietary blend” describes a mixture of ingredients that is unique to a particular supplement brand. Unlike more transparent labeling practices which list the specific amounts of each ingredient, proprietary blends only list the total amount of the blend without specifying how much of a given ingredient is included in the formula.

This means that you’re not being told exactly how much of each ingredient you are getting. Imagine being served a hamburger: Would you rather be told it’s made of “meat mixture,” 20% ground beef and 80% ground hot dogs, or 100% ground beef? That’s basically the situation with proprietary blends.

With proprietary blends, you don’t know if you’re getting the ingredients you desire in a safe or effective dose. Supplement company take advantage of this gray area and often fill proprietary blends with cheap fillers and less effective ingredients, compared to relatively more expensive and more useful ingredients, to improve their profit margins while compromising on efficacy.

Many supplements also require some degree of troubleshooting, so it might take you one or two (or more) different pre-workout purchases to find a formula your body responds well to. If you are not responding well to a pre-workout, it can be hard to pinpoint an exact reason when you’re dealing with a vague proprietary blend. Learning which ingredients help and hurt you is crucial to finalizing your pre-workout choice.

Stimulant Overload

Stimulants, such as caffeine or yohimbine (and ephedrine before it was banned), are commonly found in pre-workout supplements. These substances work by increasing heart rate, blood pressure, and metabolic rate. While this can provide a temporary boost of energy, it can also put a strain on the cardiovascular system and increase the risk of potentially adverse health effects.

The very ingredients that make pre-workouts useful can also be abused by some individuals, especially if you’re prone to the side effects of stimulants. If you already have a high-level of caffeine intake, are anxiety prone, have high blood pressure, struggle with sleep, you should exercise care when it comes to stimulant-laden pre-workouts.

If you’re not careful with your pre-workout blend or the doses you use, you might not have the most pleasant experience. Palpations in the gym can land you on viral tik tok video or in the hospital. Nobody wants either of those. Always start with a half serving of any pre-workout and increase if appropriate.

10 Most Common Pre-Workout Ingredients

Whether you’re searching for a useful pre-workout formula or are looking to create your own by hand-picking specific compounds, here are some of the most reliable, science-based, effective pre-workout ingredients.

Caffeine

Caffeine is a well-known stimulant that is commonly found in coffee, tea, and other beverages. It is also added to many pre-workout supplements because of its ability to increase alertness and reduce fatigue. (8) Caffeine works by blocking the action of adenosine, a neurotransmitter that promotes sleepiness and relaxation. By blocking adenosine, caffeine makes you more alert. (9)

Without caffeine, many pre-workouts might not even feel like they are working. It’s the primary stimulant that leaves you feeling, “Whoa, I’m not as tired anymore. Time to hit the squat rack.”

Some pre-workout supplements may contain as little as 50 milligrams of caffeine per serving, while others may contain as much as 400 milligrams or more. For context, an “average” cup of coffee contains about 100 milligrams of caffeine.

Generally, you want to err on the lower end when using caffeine as a pre-workout, especially if you’re caffeine-sensitive or prefer a stimulant-free pre-workout (when training later in the day, for example, to avoid interrupting your sleep).

Don’t overlook the compounding effect caffeine can have over the course of a day. Because caffeine has a half-life of roughly five hours, if you have, for example, a large cold brew coffee with an extra shot at 9 a.m., you’re taking in roughly 325 milligrams of caffeine.

By 2 p.m., you’ve still got around 160 milligrams circulating in your system, so re-consider throwing back a pre-workout loaded with another 200+ milligrams of caffeine before your lunch break workout.

Synephrine 

From the depths of Southeast Asia, synephrine is a compound derived from bitter orange. It’s been used to treat digestion and congestion issues, but can also be a stimulant in pre-workout.

Synephrine is a stimulant that is similar in structure and function to ephedrine — another stimulant that was commonly used in dietary supplements before being banned by the FDA in 2004. Like ephedrine, synephrine is thought to increase energy expenditure, reduce appetite, and enhance athletic performance. (10) However, synephrine is considered to be safer than ephedrine because it has a weaker effect on the central nervous system and is less likely to cause adverse side effects.

In pre-workout supplements, synephrine is often combined with caffeine and other ingredients that are intended to increase energy and focus during exercise. These supplements are marketed as a way to improve athletic performance, increase muscle strength, and reduce fatigue. (11)

Research has shown high doses up to 100 to 200 milligrams per day are tolerable depending on body weight, but more common effective doses are closer to 50 milligrams per day.

While synephrine may provide some benefits for exercise performance, it is important to be aware of the potential risks and side effects associated with its use. Some studies have suggested that synephrine can increase blood pressure and heart rate, which can be dangerous for people with certain medical conditions, such as hypertension or heart disease.

Yohimbine

Yohimbine is a potent stimulant that works by blocking alpha-2 adrenergic receptors in the body. This action can increase blood flow which is why many tout it as being helpful with treating erectile dysfunction.

But nonetheless, some people swear by the muscle pumps from yohimbine. Mechanistically, yohimbine has also been shown to increase the release of norepinephrine, a hormone that can stimulate fat metabolism and promote weight loss. Although, actual fat loss recorded in studies seems minimal. (12)

Doses from 10 to 20 milligrams are generally effective, but, similar to other stimulants, yohimbine can pose blood pressure and cardiovascular risks when combined with other stimulants.

Beta-Alanine

Beta-alanine is a non-essential amino acid that is naturally produced by the body. Beta-alanine has gained popularity among athletes and bodybuilders, due to its potential to enhance athletic performance and increase muscle endurance. (13)

Beta-alanine works by increasing the concentration of carnosine in the muscles. Carnosine is a dipeptide found in high concentrations in fast-twitch muscle fibers — the fibers responsible for explosive power and strength. Carnosine acts as a buffer, helping to prevent the build-up of lactic acid in the muscles during exercise.

In layman’s terms, it allows you to push longer and endure higher intensities because it delays muscle-burning. (14) This can lead to improvements in athletic performance, especially in activities that require extended bouts like endurance work or high-rep sets with minimal rest periods. It’s also known for producing a “tingly” feeling which can be hit or miss for people. Two to five grams per day have been shown to be effective.

Highly Branched Cyclic Dextrin

Highly branched cyclic dextrin is essentially pure carbohydrates for performance. Unlike many other types of carbohydrates, cyclic dextrin is “highly branched” which simply means it is rapidly absorbed by the body.

It provides your body fast-acting carbs to replenish muscle and liver glycogen while maintaining blood glucose levels. The ergogenic effects of carbohydrates are well-established, especially for high intensity interval training or endurance training. (15)

For some of your more intense workouts, this is a useful ingredient, especially when you don’t want to stomach carbohydrate-dense foods like potatoes or rice near your training session. As a carb source, as little as 15 grams per workout have been shown to be beneficial.

Citrulline 

Citrulline is a non-essential amino acid found in watermelon and certain other fruits. If you’ve ever overheard locker room advice about drinking watermelon or pomegranate juice before a workout, there is actually some truth to that.

Citrulline is known to stimulate nitric oxide, which improves blood flow, increases aerobic performance, and gives you those tremendous pumps everybody talks about. (16)

Citrulline has ergogenic properties making it a seemingly perfect pre-workout ingredient. To increase nitric oxide production, six grams is the minimum recommended dose. Depending on your body weight and individual metabolism, you might need doses as high as eight or 12 grams to get noticeably bigger pumps.

BCAAS or Amino Acids 

Many pre-workout supplements will have amino acids or branched chain amino acids. While these amino acids can be useful, most people already get plenty in a protein-sufficient diet.

Having incomplete amino acids will always be inferior to a complete protein like whey. These standalone amino acid formulas in pre-workouts often significantly spike the price of your pre-workout while providing little benefit.

If you want extra calories in your pre-workout, you’re better off opting for carbs like highly branched cyclic dextrin instead, which will bring along improved performance.

L-Tyrosine 

L-tyrosine is a non-essential amino acid that is found in many protein-rich foods, including meat, fish, and dairy products. It has gained popularity as an ingredient in pre-workout supplements due to its potential to enhance mental and physical performance. (17)

L-tyrosine works by increasing the production of neurotransmitters in the brain, such as dopamine and norepinephrine. These neurotransmitters are important for mood, motivation, and focus, and they play a key role in regulating the body’s stress response. By increasing the production of these neurotransmitters, L-tyrosine can help to improve mental focus during exercise.

However, L-tyrosine seems to primarily have a noticeable effect in stressful, anxious, or sleep-deprived scenarios. It could be considered the “sleep-deprived saver” — it might not make a big difference in your usual routine on days when you have sufficient sleep, but if your night’s sleep pattern is disrupted, it may be more beneficial. The effective dose seems to be between 500 to 2,000 milligrams depending on your body weight.

L-Theanine

L-theanine is an amino acid commonly found in certain tea leaves. L-theanine works by increasing the production of neurotransmitters in the brain, particularly gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). (18) GABA is a calming neurotransmitter that helps to reduce feelings of anxiety and stress.

It has many cognitive benefits as well. It doesn’t sedate or make you tired, but it could be seen as more of a “downer,” compared to over-the-top stimulants working as “uppers” as they ramp up your nervous system. Theanine generally provides a more mellow energy and is often added to pre-workouts to serve as a way to add more performance clarity while reducing the jittery side effects of stimulants like caffeine.

L-theanine also has a relatively positive safety profile at any dose, but around 300 milligrams is recommended as a minimum effective dosage.

Creatine Monohydrate

Creatine is an extremely popular ingredient, considered one of the most thoroughly researched sports supplements in the field, known for its ability to enhance physical performance and muscle growth. (19)(20) It is a naturally occurring compound that is found in several animal products such as red meat and fish.

Creatine works by increasing the body’s levels of phosphocreatine, which is used to produce energy during high-intensity exercise. By increasing the body’s stores of phosphocreatine, creatine can help to improve athletic performance, increase strength, and reduce fatigue. It’s even been shown to boost cognitive function and general brain health. (21)

It also draws water into your muscles cells, signaling for anabolic processes. It’s almost like the strength and hypertrophy version of beta-alanine. Despite its common everyday use and scientific reliability, creatine only works once your muscles are fully saturated. This process takes a couple weeks of consistent use.

If you don’t take your pre-workout daily, you will have a hard time leveraging creatine’s benefits. Many brands also add creatine to spike up the price of their pre-workout, due to the “name recognition” of the ingredient, even though creatine on its own is relatively inexpensive.

While it might be more convenient to have it in your pre-workout, a better approach is to supplement with creatine separately, using a standalone creatine monohydrate powder. This is a way to save money while maximizing creatine stores within the muscles, since you can take creatine daily without any additional pre-workout ingredients.

How to Use Pre-Workouts

One of the most overlooked aspects to pre-workouts is taste. Make sure it tastes good, so you’ll actually want to take it, and make sure you feel energized without your blood pressure exploding or your sleep-quality tanking.

Be on the lookout for a pre-workout that has the ingredients you want in the doses you need, and be careful about the number of stimulants in them. Whenever possible, avoid proprietary blends.

For most ingredients to work well and be properly digested and absorbed, take your pre-workout 30 to 60 minutes before your workout. Most people just take it before they leave for the gym, regardless of timeframe. Worse, they might quickly down a pre-workout in the gym’s parking lot while they’re loading up their favorite playlist.

The only other thing you have to consider is how often you take a pre-workout. For some lifters, taking a pre-workout boost before every workout has become a part of gym life — just another ritual like packing your gym bag or filling your water bottle.

Others prefer to take a pre-workout only on days they’re dragging and need a good pump or an extra boost to hit a new PR. This latter approach should help to make sure you don’t desensitize yourself to any of the ingredients, especially stimulants like caffeine, which can quickly lose it’s effects if taken too often in high doses. (22)

Pre-workouts can also be useful if you train fasted, and they may be less needed if you train well-fed. The carbohydrate, sodium, and nutrient component of your pre-workout meal can improve your performance, mental alertness, and muscle pumps even without the stimulating jitters.

Like anything else in fitness, you have to experiment with what works best for you when it comes to taking a pre-workout. As you find with most things in the gym, a bit of patience, combined with well-informed periods of trial and error, should gradually steer you in the right direction of safe and effective goal-focused results.

References

1. Jung, Y. P., Earnest, C. P., Koozehchian, M., Galvan, E., Dalton, R., Walker, D., Rasmussen, C., Murano, P. S., Greenwood, M., & Kreider, R. B. (2017). Effects of acute ingestion of a pre-workout dietary supplement with and without p-synephrine on resting energy expenditure, cognitive function and exercise performance. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 14, 3. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-016-0159-2
2. Curtis, J., Evans, C., Mekhail, V., Czartoryski, P., Santana, J. C., & Antonio, J. (2022). The Effects of a Pre-workout Supplement on Measures of Alertness, Mood, and Lower-Extremity Power. Cureus, 14(5), e24877. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.24877
3. Calatayud, J., Vinstrup, J., Jakobsen, M. D., Sundstrup, E., Brandt, M., Jay, K., Colado, J. C., & Andersen, L. L. (2016). Importance of mind-muscle connection during progressive resistance training. European journal of applied physiology, 116(3), 527–533. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-015-3305-7
4. Martinez, N., Campbell, B., Franek, M., Buchanan, L., & Colquhoun, R. (2016). The effect of acute pre-workout supplementation on power and strength performance. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 13, 29. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-016-0138-7
5. Schwarz, N. A., , PhD, & McKinley-Barnard, S. K., , PhD (2020). Acute Oral Ingestion of a Multi-ingredient Preworkout Supplement Increases Exercise Performance and Alters Postexercise Hormone Responses: A Randomized Crossover, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Trial. Journal of dietary supplements, 17(2), 211–226. https://doi.org/10.1080/19390211.2018.1498963
6. Beck, T. W., Housh, T. J., Schmidt, R. J., Johnson, G. O., Housh, D. J., Coburn, J. W., & Malek, M. H. (2006). The acute effects of a caffeine-containing supplement on strength, muscular endurance, and anaerobic capabilities. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 20(3), 506–510. https://doi.org/10.1519/18285.1
7. Martinez, N., Campbell, B., Franek, M. et al. The effect of acute pre-workout supplementation on power and strength performance. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 13, 29 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-016-0138-7
8. Ruxton, C.H.S. (2008), The impact of caffeine on mood, cognitive function, performance and hydration: a review of benefits and risks. Nutrition Bulletin, 33: 15-25. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-3010.2007.00665.x
9. Delleli, S., Ouergui, I., Messaoudi, H., Trabelsi, K., Ammar, A., Glenn, J. M., & Chtourou, H. (2022). Acute Effects of Caffeine Supplementation on Physical Performance, Physiological Responses, Perceived Exertion, and Technical-Tactical Skills in Combat Sports: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nutrients, 14(14), 2996. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14142996
10. Stohs, S. J., Preuss, H. G., & Shara, M. (2012). A review of the human clinical studies involving Citrus aurantium (bitter orange) extract and its primary protoalkaloid p-synephrine. International journal of medical sciences, 9(7), 527–538. https://doi.org/10.7150/ijms.4446
11. Ruiz-Moreno, C., Del Coso, J., Giráldez-Costas, V., González-García, J., & Gutiérrez-Hellín, J. (2021). Effects of p-Synephrine during Exercise: A Brief Narrative Review. Nutrients, 13(1), 233. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13010233
12. Ostojic S. M. (2006). Yohimbine: the effects on body composition and exercise performance in soccer players. Research in sports medicine (Print), 14(4), 289–299. https://doi.org/10.1080/15438620600987106
13. Trexler, E. T., Smith-Ryan, A. E., Stout, J. R., Hoffman, J. R., Wilborn, C. D., Sale, C., . . . Antonio, J. (2015). International society of sports nutrition position stand: Beta-Alanine. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 12(1), 30. doi: 10.1186/s12970-015-0090-y
14. Derave, W., Everaert, I., Beeckman, S., & Baguet, A. (2010). Muscle carnosine metabolism and beta-alanine supplementation in relation to exercise and training. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 40(3), 247–263. https://doi.org/10.2165/11530310-000000000-00000
15. Furuyashiki, T., Tanimoto, H., Yokoyama, Y., Kitaura, Y., Kuriki, T., & Shimomura, Y. (2014). Effects of ingesting highly branched cyclic dextrin during endurance exercise on rating of perceived exertion and blood components associated with energy metabolism. Bioscience, biotechnology, and biochemistry, 78(12), 2117–2119. https://doi.org/10.1080/09168451.2014.943654
16. Pérez-Guisado, J., & Jakeman, P. M. (2016). Citrulline malate enhances athletic anaerobic performance and relieves muscle soreness. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 30(10), 2937-2942. doi: 10.1519/jsc.0000000000001591
17. Stecker, R. A., Harty, P. S., Cottet, M. L., & Jagim, A. R. (2019). The effects of tyrosine supplementation on clinical and healthy populations under stress or cognitive demands – a review. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 16(1), 1-14. doi: 10.1186/s12970-019-0318-5.
18. Nobre, A. C., Rao, A., & Owen, G. N. (2008). L-theanine, a natural constituent in tea, and its effect on mental state. Asia Pacific journal of clinical nutrition, 17 Suppl 1, 167–168.
19. Wu, Shih-Hao, et al. “Creatine Supplementation for Muscle Growth: A Scoping Review of Randomized Clinical Trials from 2012 to 2021.” Nutrients, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 16 Mar. 2022, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8949037/
20. Chilibeck, P. D., Kaviani, M., Candow, D. G., & Zello, G. A. (2017). Effect of creatine supplementation during resistance training on lean tissue mass and muscular strength in older adults: a meta-analysis. Open access journal of sports medicine, 8, 213–226. https://doi.org/10.2147/OAJSM.S123529
21. Rawson, E. S., & Venezia, A. C. (2011). Use of creatine in the elderly and evidence for effects on cognitive function in young and old. Amino acids, 40(5), 1349–1362. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-011-0855-9
22. Quiquempoix, M., Drogou, C., Erblang, M., Van Beers, P., Guillard, M., Tardo-Dino, P. E., Rabat, A., Léger, D., Chennaoui, M., Gomez-Merino, D., Sauvet, F., & Percaf Investigator Group (2023). Relationship between Habitual Caffeine Consumption, Attentional Performance, and Individual Alpha Frequency during Total Sleep Deprivation. International journal of environmental research and public health, 20(6), 4971. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20064971

Featured Image: MARKOFIT PRODUCTION / Shutterstock

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After shocking the bodybuilding world by winning the 2023 Arnold Classic (AC), Samson Dauda appears to be keeping his nose to the fitness grindstone. At this rate, with stated lofty ambitions of capturing the 2023 Mr. Olympia title in early November, Dauda’s diligence may well pay off. That is, according to a recent tease of his current physique.

On Apr. 8, 2023, during the 10X Ben Weider 2023 contest in Maidenhead, UK, Dauda appeared as a guest poser on stage. Even while the rising superstar didn’t formally compete, it’s still apparent his ongoing training is paying off with a hulking physique. A short clip of Dauda’s impressive posing was shared on Instagram via photographer Viktor Källberg (@vkallbergphoto).

Dauda’s guest posing appearance is probably more of a culmination than an outright shock to anyone who has paid attention to his recent exploits. His reflection speaks more to someone who has their eye on a bigger prize while hoping to leave the ladder behind for peers who could follow in his footsteps.

He’s no longer an “outsider,” so to speak.

“We had such an amazing time at [the 10X] Ben Weider Pro qualifier this past weekend,” Dauda wrote on Instagram. “It was motivating watching up and coming athletes battle it out showing us all how hard they’ve worked to take the stage and earn their pro cards. It was truly a great event and a fun day.”

After winning the 2023 AC, there’s a clear pattern to a meteoric rise for Dauda.

According to NPC News Online, Dauda’s first notable appearance on the scene might be his second-place finish at the 2020 Monsterzym Pro and a top-five result at the 2020 Europa Pro, respectively. Dauda would follow that competitive year by finishing in at least the top three in each of the 2021 Arnold Classic UK, the 2021 Yamamoto Pro, and the 2021 Romania Muscle Fest Pro.

Then, in 2022, after earning his first-ever berth to an Olympia contest, the bodybuilder finished in sixth place behind notable titans like eventual champion Hadi Choopan, runner-up Derek Lunsford, and third-place finisher Nick Walker.

All of that said, Dauda’s 2023 AC triumph appears to have acted as an early-career zenith. It’s no wonder some bodybuilding icons have begun to hype up his 2023 Olympia victory chances. It’s also no shock that Dauda is feeding into the hype, using the pressure of higher expectations as motivation to follow through on his recent momentum.

Until his 2023 AC win, Dauda would have had to earn a new roster berth for the 2023 Olympia. Instead, the AC victory not only gave him qualification for the 2023 flagship contest, it built his profile. It elevated the reputation he now possesses as an elite bodybuilder and gave him breathing room to focus on climbing the tallest summit in bodybuilding.

Something says this recent guest posing appearance won’t be the last jaw-dropping Olympia teaser Dauda shares with his contemporaries.

Featured image: @samson__dauda on Instagram

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Last summer, Australian CrossFitter Ricky Garard took home an Individual podium finish at the 2022 CrossFit Games. This year, the veteran CrossFitter will have to take some time away to recuperate before he can enjoy that kind of performance again.

On Apr. 6, 2023, Garard revealed in a YouTube video that his 2023 CrossFit season is over after suffering a recent shoulder injury. At the time of this article’s publication, the precise severity of Garard’s ailment is unclear. However, he received surgery to repair a torn acromioclavicular joint (or AC joint) from falling off a mountain bike. In turn, his ensuing recovery of four to six months will knock him out of the rest of the 2023 CrossFit season.

Garard didn’t mince words describing how the nature of this injury hit his sensibilities. After spending four years away from CrossFit competitions following a suspension related to performance-enhancing drugs, the athlete was undoubtedly hoping to build on his 2022 podium result.

“Pretty disappointing,” Garard said. “I’m still trying to take it all in and realize what’s actually happened … I came off my mountain bike, landed on my shoulder, and ruptured my AC joint. So, a fair bit of damage resulted in me getting surgery just two days ago now. It’s looking like I’m out for four to six months recovery … That means my season is gone for 2023. So, yeah, it is devastating. I can’t really believe that it’s happened to be honest.”

While Garard’s injury will force him out of the 2023 CrossFit Games on Aug. 3-6 in Madison, WI, the Australian didn’t rule out a return to later-year competitions outside of the CrossFit season paradigm. For example, the 2023 Rogue Invitational, which does not have a concrete date at the time of this writing, could be in play depending on how Garard’s recovery unfolds.

Given that the contest has taken place in October for the past two years, that could be when the CrossFit world sees Garard compete again.

“I will work for coming back at the end of the year, possibly Rogue [Invitational], Dubai [CrossFit Championship], Down Under [Championship], Miami [the 2024 Wodapalooza],” Garard clarified. “There are still plenty of competitions.”

Garard has made two CrossFit Games appearances in his career, in 2017 and 2022. He was subsequently disqualified from the 2017 iteration for performance-enhancing drug issues but earned his best-ever podium result in last year’s edition. Garard finished in seventh place worldwide during this year’s CrossFit Open and placed first in the Oceania region and Australia.

Garard likely had ambitious plans to build on his third-place performance in the 2022 CrossFit Games. He’ll have to wait until the year 2024 to come back strong and in an ideal top form.

Featured image: @rickygarard on Instagram

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Ukrainian strongman Pavlo Nakonechnyy has officially withdrawn from the 2023 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) contest. Nakonechnyy will not make the trip to Myrtle Beach, SC on the week of Apr. 19-23, 2023, due to the same knee injury that forced him to withdraw from the 2023 Europe’s Strongest Man competition in mid-March. His fellow countryman, Pavlo Kordiyaka, stepped up and won that competition on Apr. 1, 2023. Nakonechnny initially suffered the injury during the deadlift portion of the 2023 Arnold Strongman Classic.

The World’s Strongest Man promoters shared the news on Instagram on Saturday, Apr. 8. Nakonechnyy later posted comments on his own Instagram page regarding his absence.

“I [will] miss WSM 2023. I wish all athletes success and see you next year at WSM 2024.”

On the same day as the withdrawal announcement, WSM organizers also shared that American competitor Thomas Evans will replace Nakonechnyy in the lineup.

Evans is coming off a fifth-place finish at the 2023 Arnold Strongman Classic in early March 2023. Mitchell Hooper won that contest, but Evans finished one spot ahead of two-time World’s Strongest Man champion Tom Stoltman. This will be Evans’ first WSM appearance.

Prior to the 2023 season, Evans was the 2022 Arnold Amateur Strongman winner and he won the 2022 Shaw Classic open contest. He also competed in the 2022 Official Strongman Games, where he placed eighth out of ten men. The 28-year-old be one of seven Americans on the roster to compete at the WSM. The others are Kevin Faires, Trey Mitchell, Spenser Remick, Evan Singleton, Bobby Thompson, and four-time World’s Strongest Man Brian Shaw, who will be competing in the contest for the final time.

With this change in the lineup, the complete 30-man WSM roster is now as follows:

• Tom Stoltman (UK) — Defending two-time WSM champion
• Oleksii Novikov (Ukraine)
• Brian Shaw (USA)
• Trey Mitchell (USA)
• Luke Stoltman (UK)
• Pavlo Kordiyaka (Ukraine)
• Mitchell Hooper (Canada)
• Evan Singleton (USA)
• Adam Bishop (UK)
• Aivars Šmaukstelis (Latvia)
• Kevin Faires (USA)
• Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted (Iceland)
• Paul Smith (UK)
• Rauno Heinla (Estonia)
• Bobby Thompson (USA)
• Mateusz Kieliszkowski (Poland)
• Gavin Bilton (UK)
• Spenser Remick (USA)
• Eddie Williams (Australia)
• Thomas Evans (USA)
• Konstantine Janashia (Georgia)
• Graham Hicks (UK)
• Mathew Ragg (New Zealand)
• Gabriel Rhéaume (Canada)
• Fadi El Masri (Australia)
• Jaco Schoonwinkel (South Africa)
• Jean-Stephen Coraboeuf (Australia)
• Mark Felix (UK)
• Pa O’Dwyer (Ireland)
• Cheick “Iron Biby” Sanou (Burkina Faso)

Featured Image: @theworldsstrongestman on Instagram

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2023 Arnold Strongman Classic (ASC) champion Mitchell Hooper is in the final stages of his preparation for his next contest — the 2023 World’s Strongest Man (WSM), being held Apr. 19-23, 2023 in Myrtle Beach, SC.

Transitioning from the early-March ASC to the WSM didn’t leave the Canadian strongman much time to rest, so “The Moose” has been training hard with a target in sight for quite some time. He’s also been doing other work to maintain optimal wellness, as he documented in a recent YouTube video published on his channel on Apr. 3, 2023.

This session at Athletic Kulture in Barrie, ON, Canada wasn’t one that would include major lifts one might expect of a strongman just weeks away from the sport’s biggest competition. Instead, Hooper focused primarily on “accessory” movements designed to maintain shoulder health and joint stability.

Hooper can be seen performing bent-over lateral raises to target the rear deltoids, standing lateral raises, face pulls, and walking with a 48-kilogram (105.8-pound) kettlebell in one hand overhead (known as a “waiter’s walk”). He also did walks while holding a lighter kettlebell upside down to work on stability.

When explaining why he was focusing on the movements, Hooper cited the events in the Finals of the WSM.

“If you think about the events in the [WSM] Finals, max dumbbell and Fingal’s Fingers can be particularly taxing on shoulder stability. So, (I’m) dedicating a day to that … I’m not as big and as strong in the chest and shoulders as most. So, working on weaknesses while preparing for [competitions] …

This is the hardest bit of all of the training, to me. Doing some of this basic, boring stuff. Because you don’t get into this sport because you enjoy building a base. You get into the sport because you enjoy lifting heavy things.”

Throughout the training session, Hooper’s videographer prompted him to more thoroughly explain his decisions for the training day. Hooper, who holds a master’s degree in exercise physiology and operates a personal training and exercise physiology studio, went in-depth sharing several tips to reap more benefits from the shoulder-health focused routine.

To better target the rear deltoids during the bent-over dumbbell lateral, Hooper explained:

“Biomechanically, if you externally rotate your arm, you’re taking [the muscular stress] off of your rear delts and you’re taking it off of your back, and you’re turning it into more of a [side deltoid-focused] lateral raise. So try to keep the elbows pointed out to the side.”

After performing the waiter’s walk, Hooper offered cues to better address shoulder stability during the overhead exercise.

“Elevated scapula — bring your AC joint to your ear. And actively stabilize the shoulder. Actively squeeze everything around the shoulder. Keep it protected.”

Hooper then transitioned to bottoms-up kettlebell walks, inverting the weight to aim the ball of the kettlebell toward the ceiling, further challenging his shoulder stabilizers. Similarly, he offered practical performance tips.

“Anyone can squeeze the handle so hard that inertia doesn’t matter. The key is to have a super-loose hand, so the responsibility is on your elbow to stay under your hand, rather than your hand doing the work for you.”

Hooper stepped on the scale during the workout and revealed a body weight of 145.4 kilograms (320.5 pounds). He told his 18,400 subscribers that he is five pounds heavier than he was at the 2022 WSM. Hooper then concluded the session with cable external rotations for the rotator cuffs and a treadmill run, aiming for maximum distance in three minutes.

The former marathon runner completed 608 meters (.37 miles). At the conclusion of the video, he explained the importance of the treadmill work and its potential carryover to the strength sport.

“Think about this. What’s the most important quality for us to be able to do well at World’s [Strongest Man]? Think of the events … Start with the Loading Medley — obviously running. Conan’s [Wheel] — obviously direct carryover in terms of endurance of the legs. Shield Carry — obviously endurance of the legs. Truck pull — obviously endurance of the legs. Deadlift, you could train that indirectly.

I’m going to say there’s four or five events that all directly relate to your ability to run. So it’s sort of, arguably, one of the most important things to do, you’d think.”

While the work Hooper did was frequently described as “boring,” he clearly believes it could help him in the big contest. Hooper will try to improve upon his eighth place finish at the 2022 WSM, his debut at the flagship contest, which was won by Tom Stoltman. The last time both Hooper and Stoltman were in the same contest was the 2023 ASC, where Hooper’s victory placed him six spots ahead of the two-time WSM champion.

Featured image: Mitchell Hooper / YouTube

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Two-time World’s Strongest Man Tom Stoltman and his older brother Luke Stoltman are both in the final stages of their preparations for the 2023 World’s Strongest Man contest, to be held the week of Apr. 19-23, 2023 in Myrtle Beach, SC.

The Stoltman brothers have been sharing portions of their contest prep with their followers, including a recent event-focused training session that was published their YouTube channel on Apr. 3, 2023.

The title of the video is “Our Best Session Yet,” indicating that they deemed the training to be productive. The massive training included the log press, circus dumbbell press, Fingal’s Fingers, a pulling phase designed to simulate the Truck Pull, and Atlas stones. All of these lifts are events that will be a part of the prestigious strongman contest in South Carolina.

Log Press

The strongmen started by replicating a Log Press ladder, adding weight with each successful rep. Luke Stoltman lifted first and performed five individual reps with weights ranging from 140 to 180 kilograms (310 to 397 pounds) in 10-kilogram jumps performed with nearly no rest between each repetition.

Tom followed after, but he didn’t lock out the 180-kilogram lift. Their younger brother, Harry, also trained with them using lighter weights. Both Stoltmans completed a second set with the same weights, where Tom was able to successfully complete the heaviest lift.

After the set, Tom reflected on his performance while breathing heavily, “I knew the first one was there, I just didn’t put enough chalk on it. So, you can see the power’s there and that’s nice. It’s good to do it on the second round, as well. That’s how fatigue will be at World’s [Strongest Man].

Circus Dumbbell Press

They moved on to Circus dumbbell press next. Weights weren’t revealed on the screen, but Tom Stoltman told the camera that he performed two presses with 120 kilograms (242 pounds) for two, which he was proud of considering he did the log work before.

“My shoulder power’s feeling very good right now, so, I just need to keep it up.” Tom said, referring to his PR on the dumbbell press.

Fingal’s Finger

The third event of the day was with their custom Fingal’s Finger apparatus, which Luke said they did “nice and comfortable for a couple of sets.” Each athlete donned gripper gloves, not unlike what an American football wide receiver might wear, to assist their performance in the unconventional overhead movement.

Simulated Truck Pull

The fourth event was scheduled to be a Truck Pull, but it was raining in their area. So, they loaded up a sled with a combination of a 125-kilogram (275-pound) keg, 180-kilogram (397-pound) sandbag, one of the brothers weighing “almost 200-kilos” (440-pound), plus additional undisclosed weights would sit on top while the other pulled. Each Stoltman pulled twice across their building for an undetermined total distance.

Atlas Stones

The final training event was the Atlas stones. Both men lifted a 160-kilogram (352-pound) stone up and over a wooden bar setup for reps, simulating a Stone Off event. Tom can be seen doing nine, while Luke is shown on camera doing six reps.

Tom Stoltman is looking to add a third WSM trophy to his mantle while Luke will be competing for his first title. If Luke were to win the contest, he and Tom would be the first brothers to have both been the World’s Strongest Man. If Tom does “three-peat,” he would be the seventh champion to attain the title at least three time in the contest’s 46-year history.

Featured Image: Stoltman Brothers / YouTube

The post Tom and Luke Stoltman Share Event Training for 2023 World’s Strongest Man appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

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