On the morning of Aug. 7, 2024, American weightlifter Hampton Morris set the tone for Team USA’s weightlifting efforts. Morris, 20, won a bronze medal during the Men’s 61-kilogram event at the 2024 ... Continue Reading
Olivia Reeves Plans for World Record at 2024 Olympics; Coach Expects Gold Medal
In Paris, Olivia Reeves might do something no American women's weightlifter has ever achieved. Reeves, just 21, is heading into the 2024 Olympics as the favorite for gold in the Women's 71-kilogram event ... Continue Reading
“I’m Here, Motherf$#kers”: Jay Cutler Reflects on His Epic Quad Stomp at the 2009 Mr. Olympia
In 2009, Jay Cutler did something historic at the Mr. Olympia bodybuilding competition. After having his reign cut short one year prior by Dexter "The Blade" Jackson, Cutler returned in force to win the ... Continue Reading
Are You Doing Progressive Overload WRONG? Mitchell Hooper Teaches the Right Way
When Mitchell Hooper won the World’s Strongest Man competition in 2023, it was kind of a big deal. Competitive strongman hadn’t seen a fresh face perform so ferociously, so quickly, in the sport’s modern ... Continue Reading
Why Chris Bumstead Can’t Build More Muscle
Chris Bumstead has a problem. The reigning and five-time champion of the Classic Physique bodybuilding division at the Olympia was long considered nearly untouchable: Bumstead, 29, first claimed ... Continue Reading
Why You Need a Spotter on Machine Exercises for Max Muscle Growth: Bodybuilding Coach Explains
Phone a friend. If you’re trying to build muscle — as much of it as you can — you might need to recruit a spotter, even for machine exercises. At least, according to renowned bodybuilding coach Joe ... Continue Reading
How To Build Muscle After 40 + Tips From PhD Bodybuilder Dr. Eric Helms
“How do you build muscle after 40?” is the question I posed to Dr. Eric Helms. After listening to him discuss the implications of aging on his bodybuilding career in a Dec. 2023 episode of the Iron ... Continue Reading
Figure Olympia Champ Erin Stern Says These Are the 2 Best Exercises for Hamstrings
When it comes to building leg muscle, few people know what they're talking about better than Erin Stern. The two-time Ms. Figure Olympia splits her time between coaching clients and competing on the ... Continue Reading
The Most Overlooked Factor for Lower Chest Development (Says Jay Cutler)
Everyone wants a big chest — we blame Arnold Schwarzenegger for this, at least partially. So when four-time Mr. Olympia winner Jay Cutler talks about the most important factors for lower chest growth, we ... Continue Reading
200LB Squats at 7 Years Old: How 3X Olympic Champion Pyrros Dimas Was Chosen for Weightlifting
For many athletes, the journey to the Olympic podium begins decades before the opening ceremonies. In some cases, countries will spend millions to scout, select, and develop future medalists. Others are ... Continue Reading
Stronger Than China? Alexey Churkin (73KG) Snatches 170KG Unofficial World Record
Many of the strongest weightlifters in the world are gathered in Paris, France, for the 2024 Olympics — but not Kazakh weightlifter Alexey Churkin. Yet Churkin, 20, may just be one of the strongest ... Continue Reading
3 Ways Smartphone Addiction Might Be Ruining Your Gym Progress
Most weightlifters prefer to practice their craft in secret — strength sport athletes, particularly Olympic lifters like Clarence Kennedy, are a rare sight in so-called commercial “globo” gyms. But ... Continue Reading
Does Andrew Huberman’s Science-Based Workout Routine Actually Work?
“Science and science-based tools” may be Andrew Huberman’s bread and butter, but does his expertise measure up in the gym just as well as it does in the lab? Exercise and Sport Science PhD Dr. Mike ... Continue Reading
Working Out With Arnold Schwarzenegger Made Tom Platz “Small and Fat”
Arnold Schwarzenegger is the world’s most popular bodybuilder, well, ever, probably. Anyone who’s ever picked up a dumbbell or watched Pumping Iron would relish a chance to get a bodybuilding workout in ... Continue Reading
For Some Olympic Athletes, Getting a Medal Through TSA Is the Hardest Part
Ever since she won a medal at the 2020 Olympics, Kate Vibert has been embroiled in a beef with the Transportation Security Administration. “[The medal] almost always gets flagged when I’m going ... Continue Reading
“I’m Carrying a Legacy”: Meet 2024 Olympian Mary Theisen-Lappen
Mary Theisen-Lappen has big shoes to fill. The 33-year-old got a late start in competitive Olympic lifting, and yet in less than five years’ time has climbed just about as high as anyone can go — she joins ... Continue Reading
How To Watch Weightlifting at the 2024 Olympics
Hold on to your butts — the 2024 Olympics are right around the corner. This summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, France, begin on Jul. 26 and run through Aug. 11. This year’s weightlifting events, though, ... Continue Reading
Bodybuilder Hadi Choopan Shares Rare Physique Update Ahead of 2024 Olympia
Hadi Choopan isn't settling for second again. The former Mr. Olympia made history in 2022 as the first of the competition's 18 winners from Iran before finishing in second place one year later to current ... Continue Reading
Dorian Yates Says Hormone Doctor Turned Him Away in the ‘90s: “You Know More Than I Do”
The cat’s out of the bag. For bodybuilders like Dorian Yates, the landscape of physique sports has shifted dramatically. Yates had his competitive heyday in the 1990s and helped to usher in the “mass ... Continue Reading
These Are the Olympic Records in Weightlifting…for Now
The summer Olympic Games have been held just about every four years since the inaugural event in 1896 in Athens, Greece. The Games are about international cooperation, camaraderie, and ... Continue Reading
Your Bench Press Grip Doesn’t Matter for Muscle Growth, Study Suggests
Bodybuilders love their little rules. “Does your row grip matter?” — pitch that question to any science-based gymgoer and you’ll get an earful about biomechanics and optimized training techniques for ... Continue Reading
Rep or No Rep?: Larry Wheels Deadlifts 675LB With One Hand
'Til the wheels fall off: Powerlifter, bodybuilder, and social media superstar Larry Wheels has built a career around his eye-popping physique and world-class strength. His latest feat? A 675-pound ... Continue Reading
“He Can Be Top Five”: Meet 2024 Olympian Wes Kitts
“This is the best weightlifting team that the United States has sent to the Olympics in modern times,” said senior international coach Wil Fleming on Reddit in June. Not only is he correct — Team USA is ... Continue Reading
Music Critic Anthony Fantano Is Trying To Squat 365LB in His “Brat”-Themed Home Gym
Anthony Fantano is on the loose. The self-styled "Internet's busiest music nerd" and mastermind behind theneedledrop, a platform upon which Fantano critiques music for nearly three million devoted ... Continue Reading