Almost every fine, powerful pair of legs in existence today is the result of the squat. You should do many sets of from 10 to 15 or 20 reps. The number of sets you can work up to will depend on your energy and ability. It may be as high as seven sets, or you… Continue reading Peary Rader, ‘LEG SPECIALIZATION’, THE RADER MASTER BODYBUILDER AND WEIGHT GAINING SYSTEM (1946)
Strength sports, as an endeavour, are simultaneously a modern, and pre-modern, sport. Accounts of men engaging in contests date back to the Chinese practice of lifting heavy stones and cauldrons in 6000 BC (Hai-sheng, 2012). Likewise, Ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt, among other regions, had strength cultures (Crowther, 2007). That withstanding, strength contests and feats,… Continue reading A Brief History of Strongman
Almost a decade ago, a retired Soviet hammer thrower came to the conclusion that traditional forms of squatting were not the best way to strengthen the muscles of the thighs and hips. Many in the Soviet Union considered this heresy, as the squat was the king of leg training in that country just as it… Continue reading Dr. Terry Todd and Angel Spassov,’Bulgarian Leg Training Secrets,’ Muscle and Fitness (1989).
I have spoken so much of Louis' great strength that now I must tell you of his great weakness - eating. His excuse for eating so much was that his great expenditure of strength required it. That was just his joke, though, for he was a slave to the table all his life. He could… Continue reading How Much Could Louis Cyr Eat?
Paul Childress said that a big squatter is not always a big deadlifter, but a big deadlifter is al- most always a big squatter. How do you build a big deadlift if you weren’t born with one? Ernie Frantz always said that to increase your deadlift, you should just deadlift. Westside has always relied on… Continue reading Louie Simmons, ‘Deadlift Training,’ Powerlifting USA, 33 no. 8 (2010), 24 & 94
This article may make for uncomfortable reading. It’s been included to illustrate why it’scritical that you’re always sensible and conservative in your training. No matter how experienced one may be, the rules of sensible training still apply. Properly done, weight training is very safe and healthy, but take liberties and it becomes a dangerous activity.… Continue reading Fernando Vallejo, ‘Things Happen, and Lessons to Learn’, Hardgainer Magazine, September (2002), 32-33.
Training Intensity can best be explained as the amount of work you perform in your workouts. Over the past few years, this forgotten and misunderstood concept has begun to gain vast popularity, both in its usage and in its basic approach to training theory. What the proponents of training intensity are saying is: More work… Continue reading Anthony Ditillo, The Intensity Factor
Well ... it finally happened. Gyms are beginning to open around the world. Lifters rejoice! Now I've previously discussed my own training struggles down the global lockdowns. For the first time in my life I was unable to go to the gym, had virtually no access to a barbell and ... somehow ... I survived.… Continue reading How Has Gym Equipment Changed Over Time?
CULTIVATE FEARLESSNESS. Plenty of people say they need to feel the weight on their backs before a meet so they are conditioned to it. Well, I have found that it doesn’t matter how conditioned I am; the squat is always heavy. This means that when the weight is on your back in a meet or… Continue reading Scott ‘Hoss’ Cartwright, ’10 Steps to a Huge Squat,’ Power, 1 no. 1 (2009), 15-19
Who invented the Landmine? No. I'm not talking about the explosives! What I am talking about is the landmine attachment that is found in gyms all over the world. Many of us are now firm devotees to the landmine. Over lock down, and in my small but beloved home gym, my landmine attachment was a… Continue reading Who Invented the Landmine?
