Think More, Progress More — How Putting the Time and Effort into Reflecting on Your Training Pays Dividends “The barbell rewards those who think as much as they work.” Most people don’t train with purpose. They lose sight of their goals and just show up to lift. They load the bar, grind through a session, and walk out exactly the same as last week. No thought. No reflection. No progression. Ask them what their plan is for the day, and they’ll glance at their phone. Ask what their goals are, and they’ll mumble something vague about “getting stronger.” Ask how they’re going to make that happen — silence. That’s the real reason so many lifters stall: they don’t give training enough thought. They want results but never stop to understand how results are built — through progression, adaptation, and deliberate intent. They treat training like a checklist, not a

Bring the Energy You’d Want to Train Around At Iron Forge, training isn’t just about hitting PBs or chasing numbers. On the surface, those goals matter — but for most of us, the real reason runs deeper. People come here for achievement, for challenge, and for the support of a community that pushes them to be their best. That’s what makes a small, independent gym different. It thrives on the people inside it — their commitment, their support, and above all, the energy they bring. The Gym as a Safe Haven Everyday life is stressful, especially in today’s climate of uncertainty and constant noise. The gym should be a sanctuary away from that — a place where you can focus fully on the work, switch off from outside pressures, and find satisfaction in achieving something you once thought impossible. That only happens when the atmosphere is right. Energy Is Contagious

Q – What exercises will help my thoracic extension for bench and deadlift? A – Thoracic extension is vital in all the powerlifts, but certainly no lift suffers more than the bench when there is restricted movement in this area.  People talk often of arching on the bench press, but too few understand that the arch (extension) should come from the upper and mid thoracic, and not from the lower back.  The problem with when people over arch the lower back is that when you maximise the extension in the lower back you cause the upper back to round.  So what we are looking for on the bench setup is a fairly neutral lumbar spine to enable maximum thoracic extension and an upper back arch.  Whilst many simply approach this with just stretching and arching over a roller (which are both valid and should be incorporated into a warm up)

TRAIN SMART, BUILD MOMENTUM Why Overshooting Your Program (and Your Training Max) Can Stall Your Progress One of the fastest ways to derail a training program is by overreaching—setting targets based on what you hope you can lift, rather than what you’re actually capable of on a consistent basis. Many lifters begin programs by overshooting their current ability, training too heavy, too soon. The result? Fatigue, technical breakdown, plateaus, and a gradual loss of momentum. Progress in training isn’t about hitting the ceiling—it’s about building the floor. That means starting at a level you can perform well, and improving gradually through consistency, not chaos. ⸻ The Role of the Training Max A big contributor to this problem is how people choose their training max—the number used to calculate percentage-based work in strength programs. This number is often misunderstood, and when chosen poorly, it can make sessions unnecessarily difficult and unproductive.

Top 5 Bicep Exercises Want to get bigger arms this autumn? Try incorporating these 5 bicep exercises into your routine.  EZ BAR STANDING CURL with back to wall (against swiss ball or med ball) Use a shoulder-width or closer supinated grip. Go heavy on this exercise. Allow a little ‘body english’ as does not have to be perfectly strict but try not to swing the bar up with too much momentum. You will find that the med ball / swiss ball prevents you from heaving the weight and leaning back. As you reach the top of the curl, raise your elbows up slightly to finish the movement. Hold and squeeze the bicep at the top of each rep. For variety, occasionally throw in a fat grip EZ BAR bar.  – Perform 3-5 sets of 6-8 reps. SEATED INCLINE CURL The focus of these should be maximising the stretch in the

Warming up can take many forms when it comes to strength training. Lifters tend to go one of two ways. There are those who spend 20-40 mins performing all manner of dynamic stretches, myofascial release work, ‘muscle activation’ and CNS Potentiation drills.  There are also who do a set of 10 reps on the empty bar on the first exercise they are training that day and then start working up in weight.   Which is right?   Well in actual fact, neither and both. Context is key and intention trumps the specific content of the warm up.   When warming up, you should be attempting to achieve a state of readiness to perform the exercises and tasks of your workout. Which way you do this, provided the outcome is positive, will come down to a certain amount of personal preference and will be specific to the person. So what should

When it comes to the exercises you use to build up your main primary lifts (accessory work), many will often procrastinate which exercises they include, and yet when it comes to the effort which goes into training them, some can be a little lacklustre in their efforts. Lifts are built up through dedicated accessory work and must be developed to be proportionate to the degree of strength you are intent on displaying on your primary exercises. In other words, if you are a targeting a 150kg bench press, but only use 15kg dumbbells for your incline dumbbell presses then this is not going to transfer as useful strength work to build to the 150kg bench press.  If you deadlift 300kg but use 100kg for your Romanian Deadlifts then your posterior chain needs greater stimulus in order for this hip hinge focussed exercise to benefit your maximal deadlift. Whilst there is

When training any lift, after a period of time progress slows down and what’s needed is some familiarisation with heavier weights to acclimatise your joints, muscles and C.N.S. If you are stuck in a rut and struggling to make that leap to a next big milestone in weight, then you might like to try some overload methods.  Whilst some of these bench press overload methods can be overused and don’t always solve the problem entirely, they can build confidence with heavier weights.  A huge part of lifting, especially bench pressing is tied up in your confidence to handle the weight so these methods can enable you to get over the fear and ‘break in’ weights you will soon hit in the future. Here are some examples of benh press overload methods which you can try… Board Presses These reduce the range of motion so very often enable you to use