We’re supplement enthusiasts and fitness coaches who’ve been doing this for a long time. Long enough to know the difference between the good stuff and the over-hyped wannabes. Long enough to have changed our minds about things we were once certain about. And long enough to have watched the fitness industry produce decade after decade of complicated, expensive nonsense when the simple stuff keeps working.
That’s the lens everything on this site goes through. Does it actually work? Is the price honest? Would we recommend it to someone we care about? If the answer to any of those is no, it doesn’t make the cut.
PowerandBulk.com didn’t start as an ecommerce store. It started as a forum.
Back in the late 2000s and early 2010s, the PowerandBulk legacy forum was one of the better strength training communities on the internet — not the biggest, but the quality of conversation was genuinely high. Real lifters, posting real numbers, having real arguments about real things. Topics ranged from the Bulgarian training system to CNS burnout to whether Ed Coan was actually the greatest powerlifter of all time (still unresolved). Someone started a thread about sit-ups that somehow ran to 72 posts. Someone else debated the science of exercise rotation with the same intensity most people reserve for geopolitics.
There were threads on presses and shoulder health, on grip training, on Dan John’s 40-day program, on Hepburn singles, on hamstring isolation work. There were sticky threads of inspiring lifting videos that racked up 5,000+ views. There was a member named Snake Plisken who seemed to post in every thread simultaneously. It was, in short, exactly what a good forum should be: a place where people who cared deeply about getting strong showed up and argued productively with other people who cared deeply about getting strong.
Our own Ron Males was a regular fixture in those threads — posting grip training advice, debating programming, answering beginner questions at 2am the way forum veterans do when they genuinely enjoy the subject. That community shaped a lot of what PowerandBulk stands for today, even if most of the original threads are now archived and the forum itself has wound down.
From that foundation, the site evolved. The forum gave way to long-form articles. The articles attracted an audience that wanted product recommendations alongside the training knowledge. The product recommendations grew into a proper ecommerce operation. Along the way, we brought in certified coaches, IPF-level powerlifting expertise, and developed our own flagship course — the 30-Day Anabolic Alchemy program — for people who wanted to go deeper on the hormonal side of performance.
What you’re looking at now is the result of that journey: workout articles, expert coaching, supplement science, a training program built on strength-first principles, and a supplement store run by people who actually use what they sell. The forum is gone but the ethos isn’t. We still approach everything the same way those threads did — with honesty, specificity, and zero patience for marketing nonsense.
If there’s one principle that runs through everything on this site, it’s this: strength first. Build the base. Get strong on the movements that matter. Let everything else follow from that.
This isn’t a competitive powerlifting philosophy, though it has roots there. (Learn more about Powerlifting here.)
It’s a practical philosophy for regular people — the guy in his 30s who wants to feel athletic again, the woman who’s tired of being steered toward cardio, the beginner who needs a real starting point instead of a 6-day bro split.
Ron Males — our lead training voice and one of the original forum regulars — built a simple protocol, what he calls – The Foundation 5×5 specifically for this. It’s a simple, three-day-a-week barbell program built on five movements: squat, bench, overhead press, row, and deadlift. No gimmicks. No confusion. Just progressive strength building for people who want results without spending their life in the gym. If you’re new to PowerandBulk and don’t know where to start with training, start there.
From there, our training content expands into grip strength (an area Ron has written about extensively (and used to contribute immensely on the legacy FORUM) — see the full grip strength series here), and his latest article on grip strength. The StrongFirst philosophy applied to everyday training, nutrition strategy for strength athletes, and the hormonal side of performance — which is where Anabolic Alchemy comes in.
PowerandBulk has always been a community effort. Here’s who’s behind the content and coaching you’ll find on the site.
Ron is the lead training voice at PowerandBulk.com and one of the original members of the legacy forum community. An ISSA Certified Nutrition Coach, he’s been coaching regular people to get strong since 2015 — specializing in grip strength training and the strength-first philosophy for everyday lifters. He created The Foundation 5×5, wrote the foundational grip strength series, and co-authored the 30-Day Anabolic Alchemy course. His coaching philosophy: get strong first, let everything else follow.
Lyle was one of the most respected voices on the original PowerandBulk forum — the kind of contributor whose posts stopped arguments because the logic was airtight. His thinking on programming, nutrition periodization, and evidence-based training influenced a generation of serious lifters who came through that community. Lyle now offers personalized Zoom consultations for people who want expert eyes on their training and nutrition approach. Not one-on-one in-person coaching — consultations only, and worth every minute. He has also authored several books.
Toni and Antonio both hold IPF Level II Coaching Certification (the International Powerlifting Federation’s advanced coaching credential — one of the most rigorous coaching certifications in the sport of powerlifting). They bring competitive powerlifting expertise to the PowerandBulk coaching network, working with athletes who want to take their strength training from recreational to serious. Their involvement keeps the technical standards on this site honest — when we write about technique, programming or other workouts related content, it goes through people who’ve actually competed and coached at that level.
Adam is the reason PowerandBulk exists — he was one of the founding members of the original community (legacy forum), kept it going through the forum years, and shaped it into the training and supplement platform it is today.
Michael handles how PowerandBulk reaches the people who need it. Less front-facing, more behind-the-scenes — the reason you found this site in the first place.
PowerandBulk.com also operates as an ecommerce store — and we’re straightforward about that. We sell supplements. We make money when you buy them. That’s the business.
What we don’t do is recommend things we wouldn’t use ourselves, inflate claims that aren’t supported by the research, or pretend every product in every category is worth your money. Most supplements are fine. Some are genuinely useful. A small number are exceptional. Our job is to tell you which is which.
For those serious about performance, the endocrine system is where a lot of the real action happens — testosterone, Human Growth Hormone, recovery hormones. We carry a curated selection of protein supplements, fat burners, HGH supplements, testosterone boosters, legal Performance Enhancers like Andros and more. Every category has been through the same filter: does it work, is the price honest, would we recommend it to someone we care about.
PowerandBulk.com also places strong emphasis on consumer reviews — real perspectives from people who’ve actually used the products. Without that feedback loop, supplement recommendations are just opinions. With it, they become something closer to evidence.
We also publish Editor’s Picks — periodically updated recommendations across the major supplement categories. We update them when the market changes, when new research lands, or when something we previously recommended stops meeting our standards. They’re updated to keep up with the market, not to rotate affiliate relationships.
The Power and Bulk 30-Day Anabolic Alchemy: Transform Your Testosterone & HGH in One Month is our flagship course, co-authored by Ron Males with the PowerandBulk.com team.
The premise is straightforward: training is maybe 40% of the equation. The hormonal environment in which that training happens determines the other 60%. Testosterone, growth hormone, cortisol management, sleep quality, nutritional strategy — these aren’t separate from getting strong and building muscle. They’re more like the foundation underneath it. The course addresses all of it together, in a structured 30-day protocol, for people who want to stop leaving results on the table.
If you’ve been training consistently and eating reasonably and still not progressing the way you should be — particularly if you’re over 35 — the hormonal side is almost certainly where the answer is. That’s what this course is for.
→ Learn more about the 30-Day Anabolic Alchemy Course here
Many people are cautious about buying supplements online — reasonably so, given how much noise and misinformation exists in this industry. Here’s how we try to make that easier.
Knowledgeable people behind the reviews. Our supplement coverage is written by coaches and practitioners who actually train — not someone giving generalized “supplements advice” or “bro science”, not content writers or ghostwriters. When Ron covers a supplement from a nutrition coaching perspective, or when our IPF-certified coaches weigh in on a performance product, that’s some serious expertise, not sponsored enthusiasm.
Wide selection, honest curation. We carry a broad range across proteins, fat burners, HGH supplements, testosterone boosters, legal steroids, prohormones, and more. Certain categories — like Andros, prohormones — simply aren’t available in most conventional stores. We stock what serious lifters actually look for, not what’s easy to source.
Buying muscle building supplements online is an overwhelming task for the newbie. However if you buy supplements online, it is strongly recommended that you complete your homework by going through the various consumer reviews before placing your order. Also make sure to go through our Editor’s picks which we update from time to time to help you get the best products at best prices possible. For example, take a look at this article on andro supplements or Barry’s Power-Lifting routine & supplements guide.
Bodybuilding supplements aren’t just for bodybuilders – they’re also designed to help powerlifters and anyone participating in sports, running, biking, grip sport and swimming along with anyone lifting weights. But where should you be shopping for your bodybuilding supplements?
Generally speaking, as long as you live in a larger town or a city, you’ll have the choice of department stores, drug stores, chain stores and independent bodybuilding supplement stores. In almost every case, your best bet is to patronize a local independent online supplier, and here’s why…
More Knowledgeable Specialist Staff coupled with Consumer reviews – In drug stores, department stores and the like, supplements are one small area of their business. As a result, there’s no pressure for their staff to be experts in fitness, exercise or nutrition, and there’s no strong motivation for them to stay up on the latest research. You’ll usually fare better in a supplements chain store, but they have to hire a lot more staff to cover all their stores and like most retail operations it’s hit and miss as to whether you’ll get a dedicated athlete or a general retail employee serving you.
By contrast, usually only someone dedicated to lifting weights, be they a powerlifter, powerbuilder or bodybuilder, will open a bodybuilding supplements store. Often they’ll be a former or current fitness competitor themselves, or just love the sport. They’ll have a fairly well-rounded knowledge of the purposes and uses of each of the supplements plus usually some anecdotal results from their own nutritional regime experiments and those of their friends.
Competitive pricing. If you find a lower price on a product we carry, tell us and we’ll beat it. That’s a standing commitment, not a promotional line.
Real consumer reviews. We prioritize publishing genuine customer perspectives. That’s also something that keeps our recommendations honest. If something we recommend consistently underdelivers in real-world use, we hear about it — and update accordingly.
The legacy forum is gone, but the community isn’t. The PowerandBulk Facebook group carries on the same tradition — real conversations about training, supplementation, nutrition, and getting stronger. Less anonymous than the old forum, arguably more useful.
If you’ve got questions, topic suggestions, or just want to connect with people who take this stuff seriously: join the group here.
And if you’ve been telling yourself you’ll start tomorrow — you know the rest.
— The PowerandBulk Team
