The Strength Log

Daniel Richter & Philip Wildenstam
The Strength Log

Learn about training, fitness, and health from the Strength Log podcast. Your hosts, Daniel Richter and Philip Wildenstam, are two Swedes with decades of experience in the gym, as well as reading and translating science into understandable insights for anyone looking to gain a better understanding of how to reach their fitness goals. To support the show, download the StrengthLog workout tracker app for free from Apple's App Store or Google Play today!

  1. 3 DAYS AGO

    How Long Can You Be in a Caloric Deficit? Mailbag!

    In the last episode, we established that you can build more muscle mass while losing fat—even if you’re not a beginner in the gym. Let’s follow that up with a bunch of great questions on the same topic, sent in by our fantastic listeners! Timestamps: 05:50 – Question 1: I'm trying to be in a caloric deficit to lose body fat and lower my body fat percentage. How long can you be in a deficit of around 500-800 calories daily before the effect diminishes? Does the metabolism decrease by a lot? 12:00 – Question 2: How would you structure your strength training during a caloric deficit? 17:00 – Question 3: How much does muscle mass affect caloric needs? Can you increase your resting metabolic rate if you build bigger muscles? 21:00 – Question 4: How big of a caloric surplus should you be on to build muscle? When does the surplus become unnecessarily big? 26:00 – Question 5: If I recall correctly, you mentioned in an earlier episode that you should eat the amount of protein appropriate for your target weight when on a diet. This means that if I weigh 100 kg and want to drop down to 80 kg, and I want to eat 2 g protein/kg, I should count my protein need using 80 kg and not 100 kg. Will I lose more muscle mass if I do that compared to if I would have counted using 100 kg? 30:30 – Question 6: I strength train 3-4 days per week, and on the 5th day, I started doing kickboxing cardo, which usually burns around 1,000 calories in an hour. On the kickboxing days, I end up in quite the caloric deficit compared to the rest of the week, where I eat to a maintenance level of around 2,400 calories. My question is: should I make it a point to replace those extra 1,000 calories I burn from kickboxing in order to maintain my muscle growth, or is it not such a big deal since it is just one day a week? *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that subscribe button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You’ll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

    39 min
  2. 21 OCT

    Mailbag: Your Best Questions on Arm Training!

    It’s time to wrap up the mini-series on training for bigger arms, with your best questions on how to succeed. Should you, for instance, train your arms daily for better gains? And how do you train if one of your arms is in a cast because it’s broken? You guys had so many good questions today! See the timestamps below. And don’t miss the last one, where we discuss muscle asymmetry between the left and right arm. Having one arm that’s bigger and stronger than the other one, is quite a common worry out there … Timestamps: 03:15—Question 1: Is it counterproductive to train arms every day? By that, I mean to train them hard and with high volume—not just a few reps after the regular training. Some believe that it is not possible to overtrain the arms. 09:30 – Questions 2 & 3: What has more visual impact, big biceps or big triceps? And how much of a difference do the shoulders make for the appearance of the arms? 12:25 – Question 4:  Please give us some fun and effective exercises for the forearms! 17:50 – Question 5: Is it possible to train your arm to prevent tearing the bicep tendon while deadlifting? 22:00 – Question 6: How should you train if you have a broken arm? 26:40 – Question 7: When doing overhead triceps extensions I get a cramp in my left rotator cuff. Is that because of mobility issues, and will it disappear if I just continue doing this movement? 30:30 – Question 8: What is the best exercise method to increase 1RM in barbell bicep curls? 35:50 – Question 9: I’m 79 years old and I have, against all odds, managed to build substantial biceps and triceps muscles after 5 years of strength training. The problem is that I got bigger muscles in my left arm. I’m right-handed and can handle more with that arm. Should I do more reps with the right arm to trigger those muscles more? *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that subscribe button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You’ll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

    47 min
  3. 30 SEPT

    Is Your Physique Balanced Enough? Listener Questions!

    Wow, you guys and gals really sent in a bunch of great listener questions today. Thank you for making this podcast both informative and fun! How about talking about the concept of progressive overload for older lifters? Or about the often-claimed importance of having a balanced physique to avoid injuries? See the timestamps below for all listener questions. Also, we have merch now! Check out strengthlog.com/shop for t-shirts and coffee cups. We’ll add more products and prints soon. Timestamps: 02:10 – Question 1: Is it too long between workouts if I only do full-body workouts every fifth day? 06:45 – Question 2: If I’m never going to compete in powerlifting, should I use a lifting belt anyway? 11:45 – Question 3: How do I know if my physique is balanced enough? 17:10 – Question 4: How do I recover from acute low back pain (lumbago) as fast as possible? 23:10 – Question 5: How do I count my working sets? 26:00 – Question 6: I have a little ribbon of fat just below my belly button that I’ve been trying to get rid of. I’m 74 years old I go to the gym six days a week and I train an hour to an hour and a half every day. 30:10 – Question 7: How do I adjust progressive overload goals when my body is naturally slowly declining because it’s aging? 36:00 – Question 8: How important is it to refill with electrolytes after a workout? 38:40 – Question 9: I drink a full pot of coffee during my workouts. Am I stupid? *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that subscribe button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You’ll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

    45 min
  4. 23 SEPT

    The Most Overhyped Fitness Supplements

    Last episode covered the three best fitness supplements to spend your money on, and three that might be worth it under special circumstances. We flip the coin today, talking about the most overhyped supplements for strength and fitness. Either because they have been shown to not live up to the claims of the supplement companies or because they can’t be deemed safe for human consumption yet.  Does this mean that it might be worth your money if we don’t mention a specific supplement in this episode? Absolutely not. The ones in the timestamps below are only the most popular ones, but there’s a lot of crap out there. Save your money. Timestamps: 04:10 – BCAA 09:30 – Turkesterone & ecdysterone 15:15 – Testosterone boosters 18:30 – Fat burners 22:45 – HMB For a more complete supplement guide in PDF form, sign up for our newsletter here. *** Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player. And hit that subscribe button! You can also follow us on Instagram. You’ll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam. Become a part of our community on Facebook here. *** This podcast is brought to you by Styrkelabbet AB, Sweden. To support us, download the world's best gym workout tracker app StrengthLog here. It's completely ad-free and the most generous fitness app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more even if you stay a free user for life. If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

    30 min

About

Learn about training, fitness, and health from the Strength Log podcast. Your hosts, Daniel Richter and Philip Wildenstam, are two Swedes with decades of experience in the gym, as well as reading and translating science into understandable insights for anyone looking to gain a better understanding of how to reach their fitness goals. To support the show, download the StrengthLog workout tracker app for free from Apple's App Store or Google Play today!

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