All Articles & Reviews by
Derek 'D-Rock' Peruo
(15 posts in total - only latest ones shown)
Derek Peruo, CSCS, is the owner of Renaissance Fitness, an exclusive personal training service based in New York City. He shares his training philosophy via magazines such as Men's Fitness, Muscle & Fitness, and Men's Health; and in the Renaissance Fitness Newsletter.
NB : Like to write a guest post for Straight to the Bar? Here's how.
Full Spectrum Cinnamon Extract from Planetary Formulas
My Mini Review
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Research shows that cinnamon is an excellent way to lower blood glucose levels after consuming sugary or carb-dense foods. If you're serious about fat loss, cinnamon extract should be an integral part of your program!
Carlson Labs Fish Oil
A brief review of this vital supplement
TweetResearch shows consuming 250-1,000 mg of high-quality polyunsaturated Omega-3's per day reduces inflammation and pain from physical training, reduces stress and lowers body fat. Read our review of Carlon Labs Super Omega-3 Gems Fish Oil to find out how it can help you improve practically everything.
Green Tea Fat Burning Pills from Applied Nutrition
A brief review of an ancient remedy.
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Magic Green Pills? Hardly...
Glycomaize from Optimum Nutrition!
My very starchy review of very fancy corn.
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Carbohydrates at its finest!
Get Extreme With Hydroxycut Hardcore Elite
Take the red pill.
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Take the red pill. I insist!
Become Superhuman with Solaray Probiotics
Multidophilous for the rest of us!
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Solaray Probiotics: How the powerful get more powerful
Fight Fat With CLA from eVitamins
Why Red Meat and CLA Are Good for You
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CLA from eVitamins
Gettin' Swole, Part 2
My Review of Now L-Citrulline Performance Supplement
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L-Citrulline: The underdog of strength!
Today we have a brief follow-up review of Arginine's baby brother, L-Citrulline.
Gettin' Swole
My Review of Now Arginine and Glutamine Performance Supplements
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Glutamine and Arginine: Your new power combo!
This month, my friends at eVitamins.com sent me L-Glutamine and Double-Strength L-Arginine from NOW FOODS to review. Let's jump right in.
You Need More Drugs
My Review of Vasopro Xtreme Pre-Workout Supplement
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Vasopro, from Mega-Pro
As a self-proclaimed professional caffeine junky, Vasopro Xtreme from Mega-Pro has a lot to live up to.
Hercules for a Day
My Review of MuscleTech NeuroCore Pre-workout Supplement
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A Hardcore Pre-workout Supplement
How to Build Your Own Sandbag
Whether it's for the versatility, experimentation or budget constraints - this is the only way to go.
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Here's one I made earlier.
Suspension Training 101
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TRX Adjustment tab.
Don't Sweat The White Stuff: Chalkless Chalk Reviewed
A look at the Metolius Eco Ball.
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Chalked.
Fix Your Body with a Foam Roller: The Basics
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Foam Roller work.
Want more?
As you can doubtless see, I love talking about training. Becoming stronger, bigger and faster; using any number of styles and techniques. If you share this passion, grab the newsletter. Absolutely free. |
what we're saying
images of strength
Want to see (and learn) more Feats of Strength like this? Dive in.
how to
Bending (Nails, Horseshoes)
Easily one of the most rewarding ways to train.
Clubs & Maces
A great way to get a top workout in, without wasting time.
Grippers
I love training with grippers. Beautiful things.
Kettlebells
Fantastic.
Ropes (Climbing/Dragging, Battling Ropes)
Have you got what it takes?
Sandbags
If you're ready to take your conditioning workouts up a notch, grab one of these.
Suspension Training
Perfect for outdoor sessions.
recommended
It'll come as no surprise that we've reviewed many, many products over the years. Everything from books, magazines and DVDs to racks, benches and complete home gyms.
To give you an idea :
- Carlson Labs Fish Oil
- Get Extreme With Hydroxycut Hardcore Elite
- Review : Fixing Elbow Pain
- Gettin' Swole, Part 2
- Gettin' Swole
- You Need More Drugs
- Isopure Protein Powder - My Review
Looking for a full list of the various equipment and services we use and recommend? No problem - it's all here.
join the discussion
The Gymchats are weekly discussions on a range of strength-training topics. Quite apart from being fascinating discussions in their own right, they're a lot of fun.
This week :
Gymchat 203 - Fat Loss (with Vic Magary)
We hold these every Wednesday, starting at 9pm Eastern. If you're in a different timezone, here's the quickest way to see when that is.
NB : if you'd like to be interviewed in an upcoming discussion, I'd love to hear from you. It's great to hear how other people train.
the team
There are some superb writers here, looking at the world of strength training from a number of angles. The regulars :
Scott Bird (@scottbird)
Writer and Fitness enthusiast
Conor Doherty (@sfactoryfitness)
Educator and Personal Trainer
'Captain' Kirk Fontaine (@fitnewbie)
Personal Trainer and Host of the Gymchats- Derek 'D-Rock' Peruo (@DerekPeruoCSCS)
Personal Trainer and Creator of the Renaissance Fitness Supplement Kits 
Jedd
'Napalm' Johnson (@jeddjohnson)
Grip champion and Strongman
'Unbreakable'
Adam T Glass (@adamtglass)
Bending freak and Strongman
Kat
'The Mighty Kat' Ricker
Bodybuilder and Writer
NB : It's a big team - full list here.
In addition, articles are submitted from across the globe. Got a piece you'd like to share? Let us know.
elsewhere
This is a fantastic book. If you've ever considered learning this
incredible strength feat, the Card
Tearing eBook (review)
is the perfect place to start. Love it.
In addition to the articles on this site are a number I've written elsewhere. Including :
- Paleo Diet : Increased Mental Clarity
- The Art of Working Out Alone
- The Ultimate Guide to Freezing Food (part II)
- Rock the Kitchen: Plan for Diet Success
- 10 Challenging Bodyweight Exercises
- Buying Your First Kettlebell
- Switching to Biphasic Sleeping? Start here.
reading
If you're new to the world of nail bending, this is the perfect book to get. It'll show you the exact techniques you'll need to get started right away. Written by world-class bender Jedd Johnson.
The Diesel Crew's Card Tearing eBook
This is a fantastic book. If you've ever considered learning this incredible strength feat, the Card Tearing eBook is the perfect place to start. Love it.
If you ever wake up with that 'just run over by a truck' feeling, you need a copy of Tim Hull's Functional Correction Manual. Not only will it help you to locate and repair the problem, it'll help prevent it happening in the future.
When it comes to body transformation - whether that's an increase in strength, packing on a bit of muscle or losing a bit of excess fat - this is the perfect place to start. Dr Berardi's Precision Nutrition.
This is a fantastic book. As Josh explains, it superbly shows what's going on while you train. Love it.
101 Fitness Myths [Kindle Edition]
A superb combination of fitness mythbusting and no-nonsense advice. If you're not quite sure where to start, grab this.
The Art of Expressing the Human Body
If you've ever watched a Bruce Lee film and marveled at his strength, speed, agility, endurance, flexibility or muscularity, this book should take pride of place in your collection. Unlike many other writings covering everything from Lee's training methods to nutrition, this book is based not on the recollections of people around him; but on Lee's own notes. Brilliant.
For a full list of what we're reading and watching at the moment, just head over to the Recommended Books & DVDs page. See you there.