Optimize your effort: How to look past the numbers on the page and unlock the real power of your routine. By Dan Thorpe | For the Strength in Depth Podcast - listen to the Audible version here Part 1: The Question "What are the optimal sets and reps for my goals, and how much rest do I actually need between them?" To answer this, we have to look past the surface of the workout. Past arbitrary recommendations, We have to look at the biological "why" that dictates every rep you perform. Before...

Two brilliant books explain this perfectly: Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman and The Chimp Paradox by Prof. Steve Peters. Both basically say this: You’re not one person; you’re two minds trying to share one body. System 1 AKA The Chimp System 2 AKA The Human Let’s break them down in simple terms. System 1 / The Chimp - Your Fast, Emotional Brain This part is: fast impulsive emotional comfort-seeking reactive habit-driven This is the part of you that says: “Biscuits? YES.” “Gym? No.”...

Why is the Chin-Up Such a Pain at First? The chin-up has a very different learning curve compared to most exercises. Unlike the bench press or squat where you start light and build up, the chin-up begins with a supramaximal load—your bodyweight. That’s right, the “weight” is you. Imagine being asked to learn the bench press, but you had to start with more than what you can lift for even one rep. You’d have to think long and hard about how to even attempt such a feat (and hopefully say no,...