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Stuart McRobert (born 1958 in England) is a writer on strength training, best known as the founder and publisher of Hardgainer magazine. [1]
McRobert started weight training at age 15, and began writing articles on weight training while attending college in Liverpool, England. His first article was published in Iron Man magazine, in July, 1981. McRobert moved to Cyprus in 1983, teaching at an English language school in Nicosia.
McRobert founded CS Publishing, and began publishing Hardgainer in July, 1989. He continued publishing the magazine until June, 2004. Despite no longer publishing the magazine, he continues to operate the Hardgainer web site and his book publishing operation. In addition to Hardgainer, McRobert has published numerous articles in popular bodybuilding magazines such as Iron Man.
He has written several popular books:
McRobert is focused on strength training for the so-called "hardgainer"; someone who is not a natural athlete (i.e. the vast majority of trainees). He feels that most of the workouts that are published in the bodybuilding press and magazines are not effective for normal people (without genetic advantages and/or the use of steroids) and will either be ineffective or induce injury if attempted.
McRoberts emphasizes strict, correct form for lifts to avoid the possibility of injury, and his publications are exhaustively detailed about correct and incorrect forms. Trainees are also encouraged to use only weights that allow strict form to be maintained. Routines are also to be entered into gradually, again to prevent injury. McRobert also endorses Active Release Techniques and Trigger Point Therapy between workouts to minimize discomfort and injury. In his latest book he also espouses the benefits of yoga to improve flexibility.
McRobert lives in Nicosia, Cyprus with his wife and two daughters.
Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses on physical appearance instead of strength. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. In professional bodybuilding, competitors appear in lineups and perform specified poses for a panel of judges who rank them based on symmetry, muscularity, size, conditioning, posing, and stage presentation. Bodybuilders prepare for competitions through the elimination of nonessential body fat, enhanced at the last stage by a combination of extracellular dehydration and carbo-loading, to achieve maximum muscular definition and vascularity; they also tan and shave to accentuate the contrast of their skin under the spotlights.
Weight training is a common type of strength training for developing the strength and size of skeletal muscles. It utilizes the force of gravity in the form of weighted bars, dumbbells or weight stacks in order to oppose the force generated by muscle through concentric or eccentric contraction. Weight training uses a variety of specialized equipment to target specific muscle groups and types of movement.
Mike Mentzer was an American IFBB professional bodybuilder, businessman and author.
Francesco Maria Columbu was an Italian bodybuilder, powerlifter, actor, author, producer, and a licensed chiropractor.
Dorian Andrew Mientjez Yates is an English retired professional bodybuilder. He won the Mr. Olympia title six consecutive times from 1992 to 1997 and has the fifth-highest number of Mr. Olympia wins in history, ranking behind Ronnie Coleman (8), Lee Haney (8), Arnold Schwarzenegger (7), and Phil Heath (7). He is widely considered to be one of the top pro bodybuilders in history, and was well known for his wide and thick back.
The bench press, or chest press, is an upper-body weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight upwards while lying on a weight training bench. The exercise uses the pectoralis major, the anterior deltoids, and the triceps, among other stabilizing muscles. A barbell is generally used to hold the weight, but a pair of dumbbells can also be used.
High-intensity training (HIT) is a form of strength training popularized in the 1970s by Arthur Jones, the founder of Nautilus. The training focuses on performing quality weight training repetitions to the point of momentary muscular failure. The training takes into account the number of repetitions, the amount of weight, and the amount of time the muscle is exposed to tension in order to maximize the amount of muscle fiber recruitment.
Strength training or resistance training involves the performance of physical exercises which are designed to improve strength and endurance. It is often associated with the use of weights. It can also incorporate a variety of training techniques such as calisthenics, isometrics, and plyometrics.
Eugen Sandow was a Prussian bodybuilder and showman. Born in Königsberg, Sandow became interested in bodybuilding at the age of ten during a visit to Italy. After a spell in the circus, Sandow studied under strongman Ludwig Durlacher in the late 1880s. On Durlacher's recommendation, he began entering strongman competitions, performing in matches against leading figures in the sport such as Charles Sampson, Frank Bienkowski, and Henry McCann. In 1901 he organised what is believed to be the world's first major body building competition. Set in London's Royal Albert Hall, Sandow judged the event alongside author Arthur Conan Doyle and athlete/sculptor Charles Lawes-Wittewronge.
William Arnold Pearl is an American retired professional bodybuilder and athlete. During the 1950s and 60s, he won many titles and awards, including winning the Mr. Universe contest five times, and was named "World's Best-Built Man of the Century." He later became an expert trainer and author on bodybuilding.
Joseph Weider was a Canadian bodybuilder and entrepreneur who co-founded the International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB) alongside his brother Ben Weider. He was also the creator of the Mr. Olympia, the Ms. Olympia and the Masters Olympia bodybuilding contests. He was the publisher of several bodybuilding and fitness-related magazines, most notably Muscle & Fitness, Flex, Men's Fitness and Shape, and the manufacturer of a line of fitness equipment and fitness supplements.
Hardgainer magazine was a weight training magazine for hardgainers.
Bodybuilding supplements are dietary supplements commonly used by those involved in bodybuilding, weightlifting, mixed martial arts, and athletics for the purpose of facilitating an increase in lean body mass. The intent is to increase muscle, increase body weight, improve athletic performance, and for some sports, to simultaneously decrease percent body fat so as to create better muscle definition. Among the most widely used are high protein drinks, pre-workout blends, branched-chain amino acids (BCAA), glutamine, arginine, essential fatty acids, creatine, HMB, whey protein, ZMA and weight loss products. Supplements are sold either as single ingredient preparations or in the form of "stacks" – proprietary blends of various supplements marketed as offering synergistic advantages. While many bodybuilding supplements are also consumed by the general public the frequency of use will differ when used specifically by bodybuilders. One meta-analysis concluded that – for athletes participating in resistance exercise training and consuming protein supplements for an average of 13 weeks – total protein intake up to 1.6 g/kg of body weight per day would result in an increase in strength and fat-free mass, but that higher intakes would not further contribute.
Robby Robinson is an American former professional bodybuilder. Known early in his career as Robin Robinson, he is also known as The Black Prince and Mr Lifestyle. He won various competitions including Mr America, IFBB Mr. World, Mr Universe, Masters Olympia, and other titles of the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness (IFBB), and appeared in several films over a 27-year career as a professional bodybuilder, retiring from competition in 2001 at the age of 55.
Super Slow is a form of strengthening physical exercise popularized by Ken Hutchins. Super Slow is Hutchins trademarked name for the High intensity training approach advocated by Arthur Jones. It is based on ideas from the 1940s and 1960s called 10/10 "muscle contraction with measured movement" and implemented using fixed weight Nautilus machines. In more recent times such "Time Under Load" ideas have seen a renaissance with Dr Doug McGuff's best selling Body by Science.
Progressive overload is a method of strength training that advocates for the gradual increase of the stress placed upon the musculoskeletal and nervous system. The principle of progressive overload suggests that the continual increase in the total workload during training sessions will stimulate muscle growth and strength gain. This improvement in overall performance will, in turn, allow the athlete to keep increasing the intensity of his/hers training sessions.
In bodybuilding and weight training, using drop sets is a technique for continuing an exercise with a lower weight once muscle failure has been achieved at a higher weight. It is most often performed on weight machines because reducing the weight quickly is thought by some to be extremely important, but it can also be performed with dumbbells and other free weights.
Tony Emmott is an English bodybuilding champion, who won the 1977 Mr. Universe (professional) competition.
Frank McGrath is a Canadian IFBB professional bodybuilder and model.
German Volume Training (GVT), commonly referred to as the "10x10 workout", is a form of weight training. It employs high set counts and moderate repetitions. GVT workouts typically involve 10 sets of 10 repetitions focused on a specific muscle group.
