Articles Archive - Iron Forge Gym

Think More, Progress More: How Reflection Builds Strength

Phil Horwood — Mon, 06 Oct 2025 13:46:13 +0000

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 […]

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Bring the Energy You’d Want to Train Around – Phil Horwood

Phil Horwood — Thu, 02 Oct 2025 15:46:22 +0000

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 […]

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Improve Thoracic Extension for the bench..

Phil Horwood — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 14:39:30 +0000

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 […]

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Overshooting In Training

Phil Horwood — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 14:21:35 +0000

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 […]

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5 Best Bicep Exercises

Phil Horwood — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 14:12:26 +0000

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 […]

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Warming Up

Phil Horwood — Wed, 22 Jan 2025 15:54:02 +0000

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 […]

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Giving accessory work purpose by addressing Structural Balance.

Phil Horwood — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 15:25:18 +0000

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 […]

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Mini Workouts

Phil Horwood — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 14:53:00 +0000

Mini Workouts Most people will have some kind of structure to their training week involving 2,3,4,5 or even 6 main training sessions spread across the days. For those of you with 4 or less main training sessions in the week you will invariably have experienced how it can be a challenge to fit all the […]

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Bench Press OverLoad Methods

Phil Horwood — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 15:50:18 +0000

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 […]

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‘Buy Local’ – Why you should reject big chain gyms in favour of supporting small local gyms.

Phil Horwood — Fri, 27 Sep 2024 16:19:17 +0000

You could choose to train in a big chain commercial gym with no sense of community where you will remain anonymous and the staff will not get to know you. You could train in a big chain commercial gym where you will struggle to get on equipment, no one will be willing to ‘work in’ […]

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