By Austin Baraki MD, FACP Reviewed for medical accuracy on 12.3.2025 by Jordan Feigenbaum MD, MS Medical Disclaimer: The content on this page is for informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Consult with a qualified healthcare professional before making significant changes to your diet or supplementation. […]
“Eat more protein!” This advice is shared everywhere and plastered all over social media. Trainers and even doctors tell us to eat more protein. Our friends and relatives may tell us they’re trying to eat more protein. Food companies are beefing up everything from waffles to bread to cookies and granola bars with extra protein. […]
People start working out for all sorts of different reasons, but weight loss is one of the most common. Despite being billed as necessary for weight loss, the effects of exercise on body weight are nuanced. For example, an exercise program that includes both lifting weights and conditioning improves the body composition. In individuals who […]
Heart disease is the leading cause of death globally, taking an estimated 17.9 million lives each year. Most people are aware of the major ways to reduce the risk of developing heart disease, i.e. eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly, get enough high quality sleep, maintain a healthy weight and body composition, and be sure […]
Collagen is the most common structural protein in the human body, making up about 25% of the body’s total protein content. Its primary role is to provide structural support to connective tissues like ligaments, tendons, bone, cartilage, and skin, though it is found in virtually every tissue, including teeth, eyes, blood vessels, and more. There […]
Over a lifetime, the average human will consume enough energy to fly a Boeing 747 jet from Los Angeles to New York just over 50 times. That’s an enormous amount of fuel to be sure, which speaks to how much nutrition plays a role in not only powering our daily activities, but also our well-being. […]
Pull-ups are often treated as a benchmark of strength or a test of relative bodyweight performance. In a hypertrophy context, however, they are simply another way to train vertical pulling. That distinction matters. When pull-ups are treated as a skill or a challenge, they are often performed in a way that prioritizes completing repetitions rather […]
Lat pulldowns are one of the most commonly used back exercises, and one of the most commonly overcomplicated. Much of that complication comes from trying to optimize small details—grip width, attachment choice, torso angle—while overlooking the variables that actually determine whether the exercise produces hypertrophy. As a result, lifters often end up changing variations frequently, […]
Hip hinge movements are often treated as lower body exercises, and in many contexts that classification makes sense. From a hypertrophy perspective, however, they are also one of the primary ways the spinal erectors are trained under load. If they are absent or underemphasized, a significant portion of back development is simply not being challenged […]
Vertical pulling is one of the primary ways the back is trained, and for many lifters it becomes the main focus when trying to build the lats. That focus is not wrong, but it is often misapplied. Pulldowns and pull-ups are frequently treated as exercises where the goal is to “feel the lats” as much […]