Hi, my name is Eric Troy. I own a site called Ground Up Strength. This is my new site, where I will be posting many strength training and related articles. I will also be transferring many of the articles here which I previously published on Ground Up Strength.
If you read and absorb what you find here, you not only can, but you WILL become strong. This is not a site where you will find the flavor of the month training routine, leaving you to desperately look for the newest thing you “should be doing” a month from now. This is a site that brings a thinking person’s perspective to strength training, based not only on science and experience but on years of critical thought. This is why the site is called StrengthMinded. It’s about having a mind for strength. I cannot ignore, however, the psychological ramifications! Mastering your body, in some ways, can mean mastering your mind. And any exercise, including strength training, bodybuilding, etc. is good for the brain! If you’d like to skip straight to the training stuff, see the routines.
You will not find discussions of single studies or the abstracts of single studies and far-reaching conclusions or brand new ‘theories’ based on such studies. If you do find such discussions, it will be to make a point or illuminate how scientific evidence actually relates to strength training and the wider practice of fitness training. What you will more often find is a sober discussion of emerging information, solid foundational science, and seasoned examination about how we actually become stronger, with plenty of biomechanical and kinesiology-based explanation.
You will also not find self-experiments being generalized to a wider population. What I write about is grounded in experience training others, not just myself. I will not rest on personal glory or ego, telling you that you should listen to me because I lift a certain amount of weight. While this may be impressive, or not, depending on the case, it in no way signals credibility as an authoritative source on strength training. However, unlike a great many strength training writers, I practice what I preach and I believe in lifting heavy! I also use and advise what would seem like tremendous volume to those who are up to it. If you are afraid of heavy weights and lifting them many times, you are afraid of strength training.
I should further note that I’m not here to tell you what you should do. My purpose is to help you learn the think clearly about these topics and to give you accurate information so that you can choose what you want to do. I will never try to use fear or other emotional tactics to get you to follow my advice. I will never try to appeal to your ego and say something like “if you are smart” or “if you want to be a real man, you will…” I will never use buzzwords for effect, and I will try, to the best of my ability, to eliminate peripheral persuaders from my writing. Most of all, I will never lie to you. I will express myself honestly and if I’m not sure about something, well, I’ll let you know.
You will find broader discussions of fitness and of my favorite pastime, bullshit busting. This is also the home of my online book, The BS Vaccine For Fitness and Nutrition.