Now Introducing, Gains for Good!

Hi everyone! As most of you know, my name is Thomas Coons, and I am a competitive powerlifter with a thorough informal education in strength science. In addition to ad hoc nutrition and training advising, I make regular science and training related posts to my Instagram, @thegainsmanifesto, and to my personal website, where you are …

The Beginners Guide to Lifting

The Motivation There is a lot of information out there regarding training, and a lot of it is frankly super cool and applicable. A quick perusal of this site will show you just how obsessed I am with the nitty-gritty details of training, and I’ve worked hard to learn about all of the factors that …

Episode II of The Gains Manifesto Podcast is out now!

I've just put up my conversation with Aaron Miller on training, recovery, and sleep from the summer! Check it out on Soundcloud here. Here are the thumbnails/topics covered: TRAINING 00:00:40 The Importance of Exercise 00:09:25 Aaron’s Top Tip - Unilateral Work 00:10:55 What is Proper Aerobic Work? 00:15:05 Basic Hypertrophy Mechanisms and Tips 00:19:14 Sex …

The Beginners’ Series Part I: Compound Movements and Main Obstacles

*Sigh.* Oh, what I would do to be a beginner lifter once again. The opportunity for growth, the lightning-fast gains, and the exhilarating rush of weekly PRs. If I knew what I know now... And yet, that time did not come without its downsides. Every movement felt clunky, every gaze felt judgmental, and every training decision …

BMI Sucks and Here’s Why: The Fat Loss Series – Part IV

BMI, or body mass index, is a metric that is based on just two inputs: your height and weight. Interestingly, BMI has been around for about two centuries now as a metric but only entered the public consciousness in the last 20 or so years as a result of up-shoots in body weights. People seem …

What I Really Believe About Fat Loss: The Fat Loss Series – Part 0

I have a tendency to dive deep into the subjects that I research. And when I say dive deep, I mean deep. In the process, my obsession over the physiology at hand can oftentimes cause me to lose sight of the big picture in my articles. As such, a lot of readers might get the …

Metabolism Basics and Macronutrients: The Fat Loss Series – Part II

So you already read my previous article on fat loss, got all excited for a Thomas-style rant on the cool physiology behind it all, and instead all you got was a weirdly abbreviated how-to guide that basically just said ‘track your caloric intake and then make it less.’ If you’ve been around the fitness industry …

A How-To Guide: The Fat Loss Series – Part I

The concept of fat loss is often overcomplicated by health professionals - fad diets, ‘thermogenic boosters,’ and the demonizing of specific food groups have been long-held tactics by the worst members of the fitness industry to gain some sort of market power on what is really a fairly simple topic. For better or for worse, …

Now Introducing: The Gains Manifesto Podcast!

Hello fellow fitness enthusiasts, I have some exciting news - we have created a brand-new medium for The Gains Manifesto. Our podcast can be found here for now, but I'm hoping that our submissions to Apple and Spotify will go through soon. Check out the first episode for tons of great information on nutrition from me …

A Tidbit by Thomas: Workout Splits

ATTENTION: THIS ARTICLE IS SHORT. And I mean it. Like actually short. Welcome to your first Tidbit by Thomas. Since my articles have a tendency to grow long and inaccessible to much of my audience due to their scientific complexity and technicality, I have decided to introduce a brand-new medium - the Tidbit! All Tidbits …