Articles · 40 published · 229 citations
Long-form reference for lifters and runners.
Pillar guides go deep on the literature — Schoenfeld, Seiler, Morton, Kouri, Riegel. Standard guides answer a single question, with every specific number traceable to a source. No plans, no protocols, no “transform” language. Just what the evidence supports, with dated caveats.
Long-form canonical references
Pillars 25
Body Recomposition for Lifters: A Calorie-Math First-Principles Guide
Recomp is real for specific populations under specific conditions. The four conditions, the protein math scaled to LBM, and a 12-week worked example.
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The 2026 Lifter's Guide to Evidence-Based Programming
Volume, intensity, frequency, and specificity reviewed through the Schoenfeld meta-analyses and the hypertrophy literature. With dated caveats.
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Zone 2 Training: What the Literature Actually Says
Polarised training, Seiler's 80/20, Stöggl & Sperlich 2014, and the San Millán mitochondrial framing — separated from the social-media version.
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DOTS vs Wilks vs GL: Scoring Coefficients Compared
Why the IPF moved from Wilks to IPF-GL in 2019 and to DOTS-style scoring for open comps, with coefficient behaviour plotted against bodyweight.
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Protein for Lifters: The 2026 Dose-Response Meta-Analyses
Morton 2018 BJSM, Helms 2014 JISSN, and the current ceiling around 1.6–2.2 g/kg — plus what the bodybuilder-contest literature adds.
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VO2 Max Field Tests: Which Derivation to Trust
Cooper 1968 vs Rockport walking vs Nes HRmax-to-HRrest ratio — accuracy, population limits, and when each derivation breaks.
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Race Time Prediction: Where Riegel Holds and Where It Breaks
Riegel's 1981 fatigue exponent is remarkably durable at mid-distance, but it overstates marathon time for undertrained runners and understates it for elites.
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TDEE Formulas Compared: Mifflin-St Jeor vs Harris-Benedict vs WHO/FAO vs Katch-McArdle
Population bias, measurement drift, and why a 5% RMSE between formulas still matters when you're running a cut on fixed calories.
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Natural Muscular Potential: What the FFMI Literature Supports and What It Doesn't
Kouri 1995 proposed an FFMI 25 ceiling for natural lifters. Thirty years later, what still holds — and what the replication attempts showed.
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Body Composition for Athletes: Bod Pod vs DEXA vs Calipers
Precision, bias, hydration sensitivity, and the gap between an absolute body-fat number and a tracked trend you can actually trust.
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FFMI Limits and Natty Boundaries: What the Data Actually Shows
The FFMI 25 ceiling is statistically informed but soft. Four confounders flip an honest natty into looks-juicy, and trajectory beats snapshot.
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Zone 2 Training: The Literature, the Methods, the Limits
Lactate threshold below LT1, three methods to set the upper bound, dose-response by adaptation goal, and how Zone 2 fits the Norwegian double-threshold structure.
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RPE-Based Programming: Why the Math Matters More Than the Coach
When RPE prescription dominates fixed %1RM, when it doesn't, and how to calibrate the scale so the math actually works for an intermediate lifter.
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Heart Rate Zones: Karvonen vs Maffetone vs Tanaka vs Lactate Threshold
Four methods for setting aerobic and threshold zones, ranked by population validity, input requirements, and how badly they fail at the edges.
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Race Time Prediction Across Distances: VDOT, Riegel, and Their Failure Modes
Riegel and VDOT compared honestly: where each model holds, where each breaks, and why a 5k time only predicts a marathon if weekly volume supports it.
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Block Periodization vs DUP: A Math-First Comparison for Hypertrophy
Block periodization concentrates a stimulus. DUP rotates it. The math behind which produces more hypertrophy at a given fatigue cost.
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Sleep Debt and Training Stress: The Interaction Most Lifters Ignore
Sleep debt and training stress compound nonlinearly. The TRIMP-adjusted recovery model and what 5 hours of sleep does to next-day output.
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Heat Acclimatization: Sodium, Plasma Volume, and Workout Math
Heat acclimatization shifts plasma volume up 10-12% in 10-14 days. The sodium math that supports the adaptation and the workouts that drive it.
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Pre-Fatigue Training: When the Math Says It Helps (And When It Doesn't)
Pre-fatigue protocols (light isolation before compound) work for some populations. The literature on when they help vs when they reduce total volume.
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Carb Periodization for Hybrid Athletes: Math, Not Anecdote
Hybrid athletes need different carbs on lift days vs run days. The g/kg math, fueling-window logic, and mode-by-mode periodization.
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Powerlifting Peaking Math: Smolov vs Sheiko vs Texas Method
Three classic peaking templates compared on volume, intensity progression, and realistic 1RM gain. The math behind which template fits whom.
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Lean Bulk vs Aggressive Bulk: Long-Term Math for Hypertrophy
Lean bulks (200-300 cal surplus) vs aggressive bulks (500+). The literature on muscle gain rates and the long-term math when fat loss is included.
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Mini-Cuts: The 4-Week Math That Resets Body Fat for Lean Bulks
Mini-cuts (3-5 weeks aggressive deficit) reset body fat between bulk phases. The week-by-week math, recovery-debt cap, and re-feed protocol.
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Recovery Math: How HRV, Sleep, and RPE Predict Tomorrow's Session
HRV, sleep score, and yesterday's RPE form a 3-input recovery model. The literature on which combinations actually predict next-day performance.
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Marathon Training Tapers: The Volume Reduction Curve That Works
Three-week tapers vs two-week tapers vs the Pfitzinger 14-day. The Mujika meta-analysis, the volume curve, and the intensity that survives the cut.
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Focused how-to articles
Standards 15
How to Build Muscle as a Beginner
A beginner's first twelve weeks of resistance training — volume targets, protein intake, and a three-day full-body template with progression rules.
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How to Break a Weight-Loss Plateau
Adaptive thermogenesis, tracking error, and the four levers that actually move the scale again when a deficit stalls.
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TDEE for Athletes: Why the Standard Formulas Understate You
Mifflin-St Jeor was fit on sedentary adults. Here's how to adjust activity multipliers for competitive training loads without over-eating.
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How to Train for a 5k
A ten-week plan built around polarised training, aerobic base work, and a weekly VO2 max session — with pacing pulled from Riegel.
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How to Plan a Deload Week
When to deload, how to cut volume and intensity, and why a bad deload week is worse than none at all.
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How to Structure a Powerlifting Meet Day
Attempt selection, warm-up ramps, and the pacing decisions that decide whether you total your openers or bomb out in the third attempt.
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How to Eat Enough Protein
Practical distribution, leucine thresholds, and why hitting 1.6–2.2 g/kg across four feedings beats a single large dose.
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How to Count Macros
Protein first, fat floor, carbs as the energy lever — with an explicit procedure for starting, tracking, and correcting weekly.
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How to Estimate a 1RM Without Testing for One
Epley, Brzycki, and Lombardi compared — and a rep-range lookup that gets you within 3% of a true max without injury risk.
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How to Use RPE for Training
The 1–10 RPE scale, reps-in-reserve framing, and how to anchor percentages to a moving 1RM instead of a stale one.
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How to Use Heart Rate Zones
Karvonen is the default. Here's how to set HRmax and HRrest well enough that the zones actually describe the work you're doing.
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How to Improve VO2 Max
Interval prescriptions from the Norwegian 4×4 literature, Tabata's original 1996 study, and why polarised base still comes first.
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How to Improve Sleep for Recovery
Duration, regularity, and the small number of levers the sleep literature actually supports — cold showers and magnesium are not among them.
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How to Measure Body Fat at Home
Skinfolds, Navy tape, and BIA scales compared — with the expected error on each and the one that's worth retaking weekly.
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How to Run a Mini Cut
A four-to-six-week aggressive deficit, positioned inside a longer building phase — when it pays off, and when it costs you the progress.
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