Patryk R Piekarczyk

Change is the name of the game when it comes to periodization. Most of us get prescribed 3 sets of 10 for everything when we first start off in the gym, and that’s fine. However, 3 sets of 10 is going to get boring and stop working really quick. If you do the same workotus every week, expect to not only stay the same, but to eventually start going backwards (the law of accommodation). While this may seem obvious to some, it clearly isn’t if you’re doing the same thing in the gym most of the t...

Mike Mentzer was a character to say the least. He’s also my favorite bodybuilder (fun fact). To sum up his principles he didn’t believe a particular exercise was a key to success, but instead, intensity of effort was key to determining results. High intensity training (HIT) was a mode of training popularized by Mike and it lives up to the name. Instead of performing multiple working sets to failure, you perform just one per exercise. In Mike's opinion, this is because any more sets will imped...

Contrast training allows you to lift heavy, jump higher, and run faster so you can build strength and athleticism concurrently. Big muscles are cool, big, strong, and powerful muscles are cooler. Don’t be all show and no go. Contrast training is a great way for athletes, and regular gym-goers who want to be more athletic, to develop their capacity to generate greater force.
Contrast training involves a superset of a heavy lift with a plyometric/power exercise. This method was common in the so...

How should I warm up before lifting?
A proper warmup is often overlooked in most programs. Crossfit and guys like Kelly Starrett popularized body tempering, foam rolling, and lacrosse balls as a standard for warm up routines. This eventually led the pendulum to swing and people began performing a 30-minute warmup before even picking up a barbell. Not warming up properly is just as bad as overdoing it. As with most things, the truth is in the middle when it comes to warm ups.
Components of a G...

“What weight should I use?”
Weight selection is an art and science. You want to push yourself, but also leave room for progression. It really isn’t complicated, you’re probably just over thinking it. Below are some loading strategies I use for myself and my clients, if you’re stuck benching the same weight every time you’re in the gym then it’s probably time to change your loading strategy.
Straight Sets
This is also known as standard sets or constant loading. Straight sets require using the ...

Intro
Estimated Read Time: 15-20 minutes. This is a WHOPPER!
Skip through to the parts you’re mos t interested in. Each section has key points. Find my supplement recommendations at the bottom. More supplement articles coming soon in this series.
Magnesium (Mg) is the second most abundant electrolyte in the human body and is involved in over 300 (known) chemical reactions. The majority of Americans don’t meet the recommended guidelines for Mg intake. Mg deficiency can elevate the risk for mor...

*Flashback a few years ago* I was standing at the front desk of the gym and a woman that I’ve worked with before approached me and told me she hurt her knee a couple days ago. She was walking fine and didn’t have any other indications of injury (bandages, braces, crutches, etc.). I asked her what she meant and she said her knee was in pain. As she mentioned her knee pain she pointed right above her knee joint to her quads.
I asked if she could point to where it’s most sore. She pointed to the...

When somebody hears “Core” they immediately think of a six pack, but the core is more than a set of washboard abs. Don’t get me wrong, I think six pack abs are cool and a status symbol few people can flaunt. Beneath your abs is your “deep core”, the muscles that stabilize the trunk and provide real core strength that braces your trunk and drives athletic performance. A well developed core requires implement all planes of motion and varieties of core movements in your program.
Get Deep with yo...

95% of diets fail and it shouldn’t be a surprise. In this article we’ll go over why that happens and ,most importantly, how to avoid regaining the fat you worked so hard to lose.
We’ve just turned the page on a new year not too long ago and most people that embarked on their fitness journey have probably failed. Maybe they tried what they tried before, even though that didn’t work last time (this time it’ll work though, just not the first 5 times).
Everyone wants “the program” or they finally...

How do you successfully offer RIR (Reps in Reserve) and RPE (Rated Perceived Exertion) in Online Personal Training Periodization?
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COVID-19 has shown us how vulnerable the fitness industry is. Thousands of trainers immediately lost all of their income when gyms closed. Countless more are making career changes in anticipation of another shut down in the near future. However, if you’re a great trainer and this is something you truly love to do, there’s no reason to leave. Having strategies to secure your income is vital to moving forward. I highly recommend finding ways to diversify your packages and training income. This ...

The order of operations for training is important. However, if there isn’t an emphasis on performance ,the order tends to not matter as much. There are both logical and physiological reasons for ordering workouts a certain way. Let’s begin by defining “cardio”. Cardio is short for “cardiovascular” and is typically associated with aerobic activity. This article won’t go into the bioenergetics of aerobic vs. anaerobic training, just understand that aerobic activity is any activity done for a lo...

COVID-19 laid a reckoning on many gym owners and personal trainers. The commercial fitness industries’ low-price, low quality, and high-volume model are churning to a grinding halt. The big box corporations are struggling to get members in the door even at next to nothing rates. Their group classes promote a highly replaceable, easily-repoducible, structure of “toning” exercises and endless step aerobics.
Yet, some in this industry are thriving.
What the big box gyms fail to realize is techno...

What diet should I do to lose weight? I get derivatives of this question pretty often as a trainer. Nutrition for most people gets confusing because the internet offers conflicting information. There needs to be a context for every dietary recommendation. People get caught up wondering whether carbs or fats are actually good for them based on the latest headlines.
Most food is neither good nor bad, it all depends on the context. Understanding when or why to eat certain foods or macronutrients...