Stuart McRobert is a writer on strength training

Strength training

Strength training is the use of resistance to muscular contraction to build the strength, anaerobic endurance, and size of skeletal muscles. There are many different methods of strength training, the most common being the use of gravity or elastic/hydraulic forces to oppose muscle contraction...

, best known as the founder and publisher of Hardgainer

Hardgainer (magazine)

Hardgainer magazine was a weight training magazine for hardgainers .-History:Hardgainer was available only through subscription, and was initially published on a bi-monthly basis starting with the July-August, 1989 issue...

magazine. McRobert lives in Nicosia, Cyprus with his wife and two daughters.

Biography

McRobert started weight training at age 15, and began writing articles on weight training while attending college in Liverpool, England. His first article was published in Iron Man

Iron Man (magazine)

Iron Man Magazine is a publication which discusses bodybuilding, weightlifting and powerlifting. It was founded in 1936 by two Alliance, Nebraska natives, Peary Rader and his wife, Mabel Rader.-History:...

magazine, in July, 1981. McRobert moved to Cyprus

Cyprus

Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

 in 1983, teaching at an English language school in Nicosia

Nicosia

Nicosia from , known locally as Lefkosia , is the capital and largest city in Cyprus, as well as its main business center. Nicosia is the only divided capital in the world, with the southern and the northern portions divided by a Green Line...

.

McRobert founded CS Publishing, and began publishing Hardgainer in July, 1989. He continued publishing the magazine until June, 2004. Despite no longer publishing the magazine, he continues to operate the Hardgainer web site and his book publishing operation. In addition to Hardgainer, McRobert has published numerous articles in popular bodybuilding

Bodybuilding

Bodybuilding is a form of body modification involving intensive muscle hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. In competitive and professional bodybuilding, bodybuilders display their physiques to a panel of judges, who assign points based on their...

 magazines such as Iron Man.

He has written several highly regarded books:

• Brawn (1991)
• The Insider's Tell-All Handbook On Weight-Training Technique (1996)
• Beyond Brawn (1998)
• Further Brawn (2001)
• Build Muscle, Lose Fat, Look Great (2006)

Training philosophy

McRobert is focused on strength training for the so-called "hardgainer"; someone who is not a natural athlete (the vast majority of trainees). He feels that most of the workouts that are published in the bodybuilding press and magazines are not effective for normal people (without genetic advantages and/or the use of steroids) and will either be ineffective or induce injury if attempted.

McRoberts emphasizes strict, correct form for lifts to avoid the possibility of injury, and his publications are exhaustively detailed about correct and incorrect forms. Trainees are also encouraged to use only weights that allow strict form to be maintained. Routines are also to be entered into gradually, again to prevent injury.

McRobert also endorses Active Release Techniques and Trigger Point Therapy

Trigger point

Trigger points, also known as trigger sites or muscle knots, are described as hyperirritable spots in skeletal muscle that are associated with palpable nodules in taut bands of muscle fibers. Trigger point practitioners believe that palpable nodules are small contraction knots and a common cause of...

between workouts to minimize discomfort and injury. In his latest book he also espouses the benefits of yoga to improve flexibility.

External links

• Hardgainer.com