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Hepburn x Sheiko Blend

April 6, 2019, 1:27 pm
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Note: I don't know the author of this really quite excellent piece of work. Obviously, he's a lifter with experience and a great knowledge of both methods of training.

Whoever you are . . . THANKS BIG, MY FRIEND!!!



Hepburn x Sheiko:
A Hybrid Program for Strength & Hypertrophy


The workouts can be broken down into full body or a split.

Full Body:
Day 1: Squat & Bench
Day 2: OHP (overhead press) & Deadlift

Split:
Day 1: Squat & Deadlift
Day 2: Bench & OHP

Choosing one will depend on your level of skill and recovery (along with other individual factors). You can also play around with frequency if you are finding it difficult to recover between certain lifts, or if you feel some lifts require more frequency, for example:

Higher Squat & Bench/Lower Deadlift and OHP Template:
Day 1: Squat & Bench
Day 2: OHP and Deadlift
Day 3: Squat & Bench

Or

Higher Bench Frequency Template:
Day 1: Squat & Bench
Day 2: Bench & OHP
Day 3: Bench & Deadlift

There are many other variations that can be tailored to suit your individual, varying needs

The set-up is entirely up to you. If you are unsure about which set-up to use, start with the basic 3 day per week template (which is shown below), and adjust it once you complete the first cycle. The one recommended by Doug Hepburn was:

Day 1: Bench & OHP
Day 2: Squat & Deadlift

The frequency of training days would vary. Doug would recommend lifting one day ON followed by two days OFF for older lifters, and lifting 3-4 days per week for most people. Here are the standard 3 and 4 day templates (plus a 3.5 day template):

3 days/week: T/R/T/R/T/R/R
4 days/week: T/T/R/T/T/R/R
3.5 days/week: Train every other day

Some have had success even training 2 days per week with the standard template. However, in this Sheiko Blend version, it is recommended to train 3-4 days per week (or 5 if you're recovering just fine). This is because this method uses Sheiko style waves where volume and intensity go up and down from session to session. You're always going to get a heavy session followed by a light one.

Below are the workouts. Some weeks you may have an option of doing a different rep-range. In those scenarios, go by feel. For instance, if a week offers doing x2 (sets of 2) and x3, you can choose to do x3 for the first lift and x2 for the second lift (or vice versa). It is okay to mix and match rep ranges because each option is based on the same volume for that day.

Follow the reps and sets as prescribed. They may feel easy but the point is to move the weight as explosively as possible. Also, follow the prescribed warmup sets leading up to the work sets. As far as getting to the warmup sets (50-55% range), get there however you wish. Just don't fatigue yourself too much.

The percentages below are based on a TRUE 1-RM MAX (1-REP MAX). This should be a weight that you can hit with proper form and depth, and not an ego-driven grind. Don't choose a grind max that you barely hit. You will burn out . . . and die.

The lifts are written as REPS x SETS x PERCENTAGE. Here are the days and their options:

Day 1: 
Option A -
5 x 50% (5 reps at 50%)
4 x 60% (4 reps at 60%)
3 x 2 x 70% (3 reps for 2 sets at 70%)
3 x 4 x 80% (3 reps for 4 sets at 80%) 

Option B -
5 x 55%
4 x 65%
3 x 2 x 75%
2 x 2 x 85%
3 x 3 x 80%


Day 2: 
Option A -
5 x 50%
5 x 2 x 60%
5 x 3 x 70%


Day 3: 
Option A -
5 x 50%
4 x 60%
3 x 2 x 70%
3 x 6 x 80%

Option B -
5 x 55%
4 x 65%
3 x 2 x 75%
2 x 3 x 85%


Day 4: 
Option A -
4 x 55%
4 x 2 x 65%
4 x 5 x 75%

Option B -
5 x 50%
5 x 2 x 60%
5 x 5 x 70%


Day 5: 
Option A -
5 x 50%
4 x 60%
3 x 2 x 70%
3 x 8 x 80% (8 sets of 3 at 80%)

Option B -
5 x 55%
4 x 65%
3 x 2 x 75%
2 x 3 x 85%
4 x 4 x 75%


Day 6: 
Option A -
4 x 55%
4 x 2 x 65%
4 x 7 x 75% (7 sets of 4 at 75%)

Option B -
5 x 50%
5 x 2 x 60%
5 x 6 x 70% (6 sets of 5 at 70%)

Option C -
5 x 50%
5 x 2 x 60%
4 x 4 x 75%
5 x 3 x 75% (3 sets of 5 at 75%)


Day 7: 
Option A -
5 x 50%
4 x 60%
3 x 2 x 70%
3 x 10 x 80% (10 sets of 3 at 80%)

Option B -
5 x 50%
5 x 2 x 60%
5 x 7 x 70% (7 sets of 5 at 70%)

At the end of Day 7, assess the completed cycle and adjust accordingly. Add 5-10 lbs. to your ACTUAL MAX and start again, or repeat the same cycle if the weights did not move as well as you had hoped.

Play around with lift orders and frequency. If you are finding the workouts too difficult, you may need more recovery (or frequency. It's a guess and test game . . . just be patient).


Accessory Work

The rough guideline for accessories is to get a total of 30-50 reps in the x8-12 rep range. Accessory lifts are meant to help your weaknesses, so choose accordingly. As far as intensity goes, go heavy but always leave 2-4 reps in the tank. And never go heavy enough to break form. Since you will be doing sets of 8-12, fatigue will be a factor, so back if you start struggling.

Rehab work ant to be very low intensity. You're basically chasing the burn, promoting faster recovery while preventing injury. Rehab work can be done for 1-2 sets of x12-20 reps and should be done at the end of each workout. Pick 2-3 Accessories after your main work and 1-2 Rehab exercises for each workout.

Below are some accessories for each lift, as well as rehab work:

Squat & Deadlift: 

Accessories -
Hyperextension
Good Mornings
BB Row
Pull-Up
Glute Ham Raise
Abs

Rehab:
Bodyweight Lunges
Leg Curl
Glute Bridge
Bird Dog


Bench & OHP: 

Accessories -
French Press
DB Chest Flye
DB Military Press
Seated Cable Row
Lat Pulldown
DB Row
Dips

Rehab - 
Triceps Pressdown
DB Hammer Curl
Band Pull-Apart
Cable Face-Pull

Example 1: 
Bench (main work)
OHP (main work)
DB Flye 10 x 3 (accessory)
DB Row 8 x 4 (accessory)
DB Hammer Curl 15 x 3 (rehab)
Cable Face Pull 20 x 2 (rehab)

Example 2: 
Squat (main work)
Bench (main work)
Good Morning 12 x 4 (accessory)
DB Row 10 x 3 (accessory)
French Press 12 x 3 (accessory)
Band Pull-Apart 20 x 1 (rehab)


If you are familiar with the terms NL (Number of Lifts), aRI (Average Relative Intensity), INOLs (Intensity/NL) and Sheiko philosophy, here is some scientific information you can use to analyze the program  and to further structure your own program. If you're not familiar with this type of data then you can disregard this information.

Day 1
Option A. NL: 27 | aRI: 69.2 | INOL: 1.0
Option B. NL: 28 | aRI: 72.5 | INOL: 1.18

Day 2
NL: 30 | aRI: 63.1 | INOL: 0.85

Day 3
Option A. NL: 33 | aRI: 70.8 | INOL: 1.3
Option B. NL: 33 | aRI: 73.9 | INOL: 1.47

Day 4
Option A. NL: 36 | aRI: 70.2 | INOL: 1.28
Option B. NL: 40 | aRI: 64.7 | INOL: 1.18

Day 5
Option A. NL: 39 | aRI: 72.2 | INOL: 1.6
Option B. NL: 37 | aRI: 72.5 | INOL: 1.51

Day 6
Option A. NL: 40 | aRI: 70.5 | INOL: 1.44
Option B. NL: 45 | aRI: 65.1 | INOL: 1.35
Option C. NL: 43 | aRI: 69.2 | INOL: 1.46

Day 7
NL: 45 | aRI: 73.2 | INOL: 1.9
NL: 50 | aRI: 66.3 | INOL: 1.51




















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Ken Leistner

April 7, 2019, 12:15 pm
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THANKS, Doc Ken, for all you gave us. 
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Gainer's Gourmet, Part Eight - Faith Walker

April 8, 2019, 7:10 pm
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Bookfinder: 


Ha! I finally found the missing section of this book I started putting on here five of six years ago.
So then, er, now, here is the final section . . . 

But first, here are the others: 



Part Eight: Potatoes 






Potato Mash

4 large Potatoes, sparsely peeled
1/3 Cup Milk
2 Tbsp Butter
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
3/4 Cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
10 oz. package frozen Peas, thawed

Boil the spuds until done, when a fork penetrates easily.
Drain, add Milk and Butter, mash well.
Stir in Sour Cream, Peas, and Cheddar. 

5 servings, yeah, right.
Calories: 268
Protein: 10
Carbs: 31
Fat: 14

Feel free to add your favorite veggies, corn, green beans, etc. 


Super Spuds

4 Large Baked Potatoes 
1 Cup Cheddar, shredded
1 Cup Cottage Cheese
1.5 Tbsp Mustard
3 Tbsp Mayo
3 Hard Boiled Eggs
several dashes of Cayenne Pepper

Bake the Spuds, scoop out the centers into a bowl.
Mix the Potato meat with the other ingredients.
Fill she shells with the mixture.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Per Potato: 
Calories: 524
Protein: 25
Carbs: 55
Fat: 23

Note: Obviously you can add all sorts of things, barring the kitchen sink, to yer stuffed spuds. 


Baked Potato Supreme

2 Baked Potatoes
1 -10 oz. package frozen Spinach, warmed and thoroughly drained
3/4 Cup grated Cheddar

Beat up the potatoes on the counter, slice down the middle
Top with Spinach and Cheese

2 servings: 
Calories: 428
Protein: 18
Carbs: 58
Fat: 14


Potato Salad

5 Boiled Potatoes
4 Hard Boiled Eggs
2 Carrots, grated
10 oz. frozen Peas, thawed
1/2 Purple Onion, chopped
2 stalks Celery, chopped
2 (or many more) Garlic cloves, minced
1/2 Cup Mayo
1 Tsp (or more) Mustard

Boil the Spuds until done, no need to peel.
Cool, and chop into small cubes.
Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl
Chill

7 Large (?) Servings
Calories: 345
Protein: 8
Carbs: 43
Fat: 16


Potato and Yam Soup

1 Large Yam, peeled
1 Large Potato, peeled
1 Large Onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. Butter
Garlic powder
Vegetable Seasoning
Pepper

Cut Spud and Yams in chunks
Saute Onion in Butter
Add Yam and Spud, sprinkle generously with spices
Add just enough water to cover
Cook until veggies are soft, about 40 minutes
Puree with hand-held blender


Hearty Lentil and Potato Soup

6 Cups Vegetable Stock
1 Onion, chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
3 Carrots, chopped
2 Cups Lentils
1 Tbsp Parsley, chopped
1/2 tbsp Marjoram
1/2 tbsp Thyme
1 Bay Leaf
Cayenne Pepper to taste

Saute the Onion and Garlic in Olive Oil until the Onion is wilted
Add Veggie Stock and remaining ingredients
Simmer about an hour.

Approooooximately 6 tiny servings
Calories: 217
Protein: 9
Carbs: 45
Fat: 5


Okay then. These are fine, simple recipes aimed at use in gain-weight programs. And, duh, for the sheer pleasure of EATING food you prepared yourself, for yourself and/or for others. Now, they're here as a way of potentially getting you used to, or back into, cooking. Damn Fine Beginnings. What with yer porn typewriter/lifting confusion machine/internet now, these recipes and the ones at those links above could serve as a start point. Once you get into it, there's no end to the variety.






















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Home-Grown Back - Steve Holman (2002)

April 8, 2019, 10:18 pm
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Home-Grown Back: 
How to Build a Double-Wide Triple-Thick Back With Nothing But Dumbbells
by Steve Holman (2002) 


Note: Remember the "Train, Eat, Grow POF (positions of flexion) articles that Mr. Holman wrote for IronMan magazine? It always impressed a lot me that layouts for the home gym trainer were included in those. Also, when you get the chance, don't miss out on any of Steve Holman's stuff. There's a lot to be learned from his writings. 

Okay then . . . now . . . 


So you want to do some living in a double-wide, eh? No, that doesn't mean trailer parks, gals with bad tattoos on every appendage and cars up on blocks in the front yard - although some of us could easily learn to dig that lifestyle. 


I'm talking about a double-wide B - A - C - K, capable of eclipsing the sun when it's allowed to spread in its entirety on a hot summer day. And we can't forget about THICKNESS. It's got to be so beefy that when you raise your arms to stretch, your traps jump up next to your ears like two striking cobras. From the back the muscles bulge down the middle of your torso like twin pythons - right next to those manta ray lats. 

Unfortunately, that's a daydream for many bodybuilders because, for one thing, you can't see your back when you work it - unless you're possessed by the devil and can spin your head around during rows. Muscle groups we can't see tend to get ignored, or at least we give them less attention. The way around that problem is to have a plan . . . 

NOW IS THE TIME! 
There's a way-great article on Yoke Building by Paul Carter here:




 . . . a plan that smacks the back from all possible ways in which it can pull. In other words, follow the right exercises and you'll be double wide and triple thick in no time. You can do it with Positions-of-Flexion training, an adjustable bench, a chinning bar, and dumbbells.

That's right, dumbbells. Too many bodybuilders think they need to have all kinds of machines, pulleys and intricate cams to build a great back, but it's just not so - and that's damn good news for home trainees. Nevertheless, as I've suggested in previous articles, home trainees may want to add some equipment before attempting the upcoming bodypart attack.

The routine has you move quickly from one set of dumbbells to a lighter set for the second exercise, for modified supersets and drop sets. [Or, as I like to call 'em, 'drip sets'. If the sweat ain't drippin' you ain't dropping right.] If you have access to a rack of fixed dumbbells, you won't have a problem, but if all you have are those adjustable dumbbells with the screw-type collars, spring for a few extra pairs so you can set up the weights ahead of time - and be wary of loose collars at all times or you may end up with achy-breaky toes. 

The Powerblock selectorized dumbbell set is a better solution than screw-collar dumbbells. 



Note: I had a set of these quite a while back. They got lost in 'the shuffle' unfortunately. But I do have these now, Bowflex up to 90's from 10's in five lb. jumps. They're real way-easy to switch poundage on -
https://www.bowflex.ca/en-ca/selecttech/1090/710000.html


They're kinda awkward feeling at first, but I really like 'em now, after a couple years of use. Sure a lot better space-wise than the full dumbbell rack was! Combined with a half-dozen loadable DBs I'm pretty much satisfied maximally. Not a bad plan, if you're into that sorta thing, to cut down a standard 1" hole bar or two into a bunch of different lengths. If you ever aspire to doing one-arm barbell lifts you can stick collars on 'em and use the different lengths to progressively get accustomed to the feel of a full size bar. If one ever really gets used to that one arm, full bar feel! But yeah, pretty much satisfied maximally with what I use when lifting at home. 

Hey . . . check this out. See all them Powerblocks at the head of those benches? 

Click Pic to ENLARGE
Photo Courtesy of Matt Levan

Okay . . . 'nuff of the pics already. 
The article continues: 

As for this home-grown back routine, it has a few innovative characteristics that make it brief but effective at packing on back width and thickness.


1) Positions of Flexion

Most readers are familiar with POF and working a muscle through its full range of motion. 

Note: This will clear it up for ya if you're not yet familiar with POF. 

There's a whole lot of stuff out there now. Look around for X-Rep training and you'll see. 

To determine the positions, or arc, of flexion for the back, we have to divide it into two sections: lats and midback. Each is a separate muscle structure, and by training them individually you ensure that you get a double wide, triple thick back, as the lats are responsible for width and the midback muscles, or traps, are responsible for thickness. Here are the full-range-of-motion positions: 

Lats - 

Stretch: You reach total stretch at the bottom of a pullover movement - upper arms overhead with the elbows slightly below the plane of the torso.

Midrange: Front-chin or front-pulldown movements - where your upper arms come into your body more from the sides than the front - work the lats' midrange position. The midback and biceps act as synergists to help the lats move the resistance. 

Contracted: You achieve complete contraction at the bottom of an undergrip chin, undergrip pulldown, undergrip bentover row, or stiff-arm pulldown - upper arms down, close to and behind your torso.

Midback - 

Stretch: You reach total stretch at the bottom of a close-grip cable row or one-arm dumbbell row - torso bent at slightly less than 90 degrees to the thighs and arms extended with your scapulae (shoulder blades) spread.   

Midrange: Behind-the-neck chins or behind-the-neck pulldowns work the midrange position of the midback. The lats and biceps are the synergists that help the midback move the resistance. 

Contracted: You achieve total contraction when your scapulae are squeezed together with the resistance pulling on a plane that's almost perpendicular to your torso. For example, you reach this position at the top of a shoulder-width cable row, bentover row, or bent-arm bent-over lateral raise. 

Upper Trapezius - 

Midrange: You work this position during delt work with upright rows or lateral raises. It also gets work during lat and midback exercises.

Stretch: You reach total stretch at the bottom of a forward-lean dumbbell shrug, when you allow the 'bells to come together.  

Contracted: You achieve total contraction at the top of a forward-lean shrug, with your shoulders pulled up and back as high as possible and your hands out to your sides. 

You may not have been expecting that last section, upper traps, but it's necessary. The trapezius muscles, like the pecs, are fan-shaped, so you have to work them in sections. Luckily, the upper area gets a lot of midrange work during delt and lat exercises, so all you really need to finish the upper traps is shrugs. 

POF protocol says you use one exercise that trains each of the positions, and you've got an efficient full-range back attack. Go through the above list and pick one for each position: 

Pullovers (lats, stretch)
Chins (lats, midrange)
Stiff-arm Pulldowns (lats, contracted)

One-arm DB Rows (midback, stretch)
Behind the Neck Pulldowns (midback, midrange)
Bent-arm Bentover Rows (midback, contracted)

Dumbbell Shrugs (upper traps, stretch and contracted).

Just doing a few straight sets of each of those exercises in standard POF order - midrange, stretch, contracted - will give you a very complete full-range workout thanks to precise multi-angular training and optimal muscle fiber recruitment. However, when you combine POF with the postactivation supersets and some drop sets thrown in for good measure, you've got an even better back-blasting routine. 


2) Postactivation

While POF provides extra fiber recruitment via its stretch-position exercises and activating the myostatic, or stretch, reflex, postactivation can give you even more. One of the most common ways to use it is in modified superset fashion, combining a compound (midrange position) exercise, such as chins, with an isolation (contracted position) movement, such as stiff-arm pulldowns. Unfortunately, most home gyms don't have a pulldown unit (note: they're not too pricey to pick up used if you're patient long enough, and if you have the room, two pulley setups with the upper and lower deals can be set up to do all manner of cable flyes, laterals, crossovers etc.) . . . so, you use the next best thing - bentover scapulae rotations. 

To do that exercise, you bend at the waist with a dumbbell in each hand hanging down at arm's length with a slight bend in your elbows. From there you drive the dumbbells back, keeping the slight bend in your elbows, till your arms are just behind your torso - as in the finish of a triceps kickback but without locking your elbows. That's the contracted position for your lats, so squeeze for a count before you lower to the start. 

To integrate postactivation into the POF back routine, you alternate between sets of chins and bentover scapulae rotations. Rest about one minute between sets. The rotations help recruit more motor units in the lats, priming your central nervous system for maximum fiber recruitment on chins. You'll feel it - have a fire extinguisher handy.


3) Time Under Tension 

Most bodybuilder's sets last only 10-15 seconds. You don't believe it? Go to the gym and watch.

Note: Here's something related/interesting from Richard A. Winett:
http://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2018/12/training-articles-from-single-magazine_8.html
See the section titled An Anthropological Expedition.

Better yet, time your own sets. For optimal hypertrophic-stimulation, you need a variety of rep ranges - up to 40 seconds of tension time. If you're like most bodybuilders, you neglect the longer tension times. Why?

Because high-rep sets are hard (they can burn like hell), and they're boring. Bit to mention the fact that bodybuilders are brainwashed into believing that only heavy, low-rep sets build muscle.


Yes, Hogwash! By avoiding longer tension times, you miss a lot of potential development. 

If you don't like higher-rep sets, drip, er drop sets can help you achieve an extended time under tension. Do a set on which you reach failure at around 8 reps, and then reduce the weight and continue repping out, hitting failure at around 7 reps. Two back-to-back sets like those can help you get your time under tension up to near 40 seconds - if you use a 2-seconds up/2-seconds down cadence on most reps. For example, on the this back routine you'll finish with a drop set of dumbbell pullovers. Do a set of DB PO's with a dumbbell in each hand, hitting failure at around rep 8. Then decrease the weight and continue to rep out, hitting failure at around rep 7. If you average about 3 seconds per rep, that's 45 seconds of tension time - 24 plus 21 - with many seconds of lat-sizzling action toward the end of the 2nd set.

Okay, your mind is grasping all the concepts, so let's get to THE ROUTINE. If you don't quite have the POF and/or postactivation protocols down pat, seeing them in a program may help. Remember, you rest about one minute between exercises in a modified postactivation superset. 

Lats - 
Chins (warmup), 1 x 6
Scapulae Rotations (warmup), 1 x 8
Modified postactivation superset: 
Chins (with weight added if possible), 2 x 8-10
super set with
Scapulae Rotations, 2 x 8
2-Dumbbell Pullovers (drop set), 2 x 8(7).

Midback - 
Chest-supported Bentover 2-Dumbbell Rows (warmup), 1 x 8
actually found a pic of the exercise being done with Powerblocks! 

Bent-arm Bentover Laterals (warmup), 1 x 8
Modified postactivation superset: 
Chest-supported Bentover 2-Dumbbell Rows, 2 x 8-10
superset with
Bent-arm Bentover Laterals, 2 x 8

Upper Traps - 
Forward-lean Dumbbell Shrugs (drop set), 2 x 8(7).


If you have a good handle on the positions of flexion for each back section, you may think there's something missing from the midback part of the routine - a midrange movement. Midback midrange exercises are listed as behind the neck pulldowns and behind the neck chins. Because the midback works as a synergist, or helping muscle, during chins to the front for the lats, you can consider midback midrange work taken care of.

That means for the midback postactivation superset that's listed, you're actually doing a stretch movement (chest-supported dumbbell rows), supersetted with a contracted position exercise (bent-arm bentover laterals). You finish with upper-trap work. You hit the stretch and contracted positions with shrugs - the midrange position was taken care of during the rest of your back work. It's a very efficient, precise program and a total multi-angular blast.

Here are a few exercise performance tips to help you get the most out of the program: 

Chins - Take a grip that's about five inches wider than your shoulders on each side. Remember, the midrange position for lats has your upper arms pulling into your torso from the sides, not the front. Pull yourself up till your chin clears the bar, then lower slowly to a count of two. Don't extend your arms completely or you could damage your rotator cuff. Begin the next rep immediately once your arms are almost straight, and keep moving in a piston-like manner, no pause at the top or bottom. Add weight when you can by strapping a plate or dumbbell around your waist.

If you can't do enough chins, have a box or bench under your feet so that when you hit failure you can stand on the chair, lock yourself in the top position and lower yourself slowly to a count of six. Do as many of those negative reps as you can - till you can't control the descent. These negatives should help build your strength quickly do you're doing 8-10 regular chins on your own in a matter of weeks.

Bentover Scapulae Rotations - I described this exercise earlier. It's basically a stiff-arm triceps kickback performed while keeping a slight bend in your elbows. Be sure to get your upper arms behind your torso and squeeze your lats for a count before you lower the dumbbells. You may feel your triceps getting a little work, but that's okay, as long as you feel your lats too. The slight bend in your elbows should minimize triceps involvement. 

2-Dumbbell Pullovers - You can do these lying on a bench or perpendicular to the bench with just your upper back supported - as in a one-dumbbell pullover. 

Note: Check this out if you're doing the cross-bench variety: 

Have a dumbbell in each hand at arm's length above your face. Lower them with a slight bend in your elbows till your upper arms are on the same plane as your torso or slightly below it. You should feel a wicked stretch in your lats, but don't pause. Begin the next rep immediately to activate the stretch reflex and get more fibers into the action. The weight should be heavy enough that you hit failure around rep 8. At that point grab a lighter pair of dumbbells so that you can continue to rep out in drop set fashion. 

Chest-supported Bentover 2-DB Rows - With a dumbbell in each hand, lean forward and rest your chest on an incline bench. You can rest your torso on the bench or position yourself so your torso is parallel to the floor and just your pecs are on the bench. Lower the dumbbells, holding them parallel and close - palms facing each other - so you get a stretch in the midback, but don't pause at the stretch position. Immediately pull the dumbbells up and out, rotating your hands so the palms are facing back at the top and your arms are angled away from your torso. That gets you from the stretch position to the contracted position. You'll minimize lat involvement by keeping your arms angled away from your body. Remember, no pause at the top or bottom.

Bent-arm Bentover Laterals - Sit on the end of a flat bench with a dumbbell in each hand. Bend over till your chest is almost resting on your upper thighs. With a bend in your elbows slightly greater than 90 degrees, raise the dumbbells out to your sides and feel your scapulae move together at the top of the rep. Hold for a count, then lower slowly. If you don't feel your upper back contracting and releasing on each rep, you may be using too much weight.

Forward-lean Dumbbell Shrugs - With a dumbbell in each hand, stand and let the inside plates of the 'bells touch in front of your thighs. Your palms should be facing back. That's the stretch position for your upper traps. As you shrug your shoulders, allow the dumbbells to move out to your sides so you get a complete contraction in your upper traps. When you hit failure around rep 8, grab a lighter pair of dumbbells and continue to rep out, shooting for 6-8 more.

One last point: If your midback is lagging, you can train it first, followed by lats and ending with shrugs. Or you can alternate, working lats first at one workout and midback first at the next. Any way you use it, the home-grown back routine will give you a wicked all-out back blast. 

         






   





  
      




















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Building a Solid Foundation - Bill Starr (1996)

April 10, 2019, 9:38 pm
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Note: This is the first article Mr. Starr wrote for his Only the Strong Shall Survive series for IronMan magazine. There followed several years of coherent, experience-rich gems, a treasure we should all take a moment to be thankful for. Yes, I'll go so far as to say the series is a thing of great beauty, created by one of the lifting world's geniuses. 

Let's begin . . . 


The initial goal of everyone who seriously takes up weight training is to get bigger. Getting stronger usually comes second, but bigger is almost always the priority. This quest for SIZE takes trainees down the wrong road, however, because the key to attaining greater size is to build a foundation of strength. Strength is the basis for all development, whether it's an infant learning to walk, a patient coming back from a prolonged illness or a conditioned athlete seeking a higher level of fitness.

"Strength undergirds all other factors when one considers the total functioning of the body movements. Without sufficient strength, factors such as endurance, flexibility and skill cannot be used effectively." This quote may sound like something that came from the mouth of a strength coach, but in fact the words are from a professor of physiology, Dr. Gene Logan, author of Adaptations of Muscular Activity.   

Many who write about and teach weight training are of the mistaken opinion that any form of strength training is directly opposed to the principles of bodybuilding - and vice versa. In truth, the two activities are not mutually exclusive. When programmed correctly, they go together quite nicely. 

Every bodybuilder should use some form of strength training during the year, and every strength athlete would do well to incorporate some bodybuilding exercises into his or her routine. 

When I first got involved in physical culture, all the bodybuilders I met were as strong as they looked. Over the years this concept has somehow gotten lost. Part of the change was due to the massive influx of steroids into the gyms across the country. In the past people who considered using some form of anabolic steroid had to visit a doctor and follow some sensible guidelines to ensure their health. Once it was discovered that black market steroids were big business, they suddenly became very easy to buy in locker rooms. A few gym chains became notorious for distributing them, and they could also be had through the mail.    

The issue of health isn't the only reason that the drugs are detrimental. They make a person lazy. It's so much easier to get bigger and stronger, but at some point progress comes to a halt. That's just the natural process. Before steroids came along, trainees had to learn how to break through the plateaus. They were forced to analyze their routines, make modifications and then work a great deal harder in order to get to the next level.

Drug users, on the other hand, are unaccustomed to dealing with the challenges through serious study and more effort, so they merely increase their drug intake, sometimes to absurd limits. Unfortunately, the result is similar to what happens when someone builds a house on a foundation of sand. Eventually, they can't up the doses anymore, as the pharmaceuticals start acting like poison. All progress comes to a grinding halt, and the gains that were achieved via drug use vanish because the trainees have absolutely no idea what to do. 

The second reason bodybuilders have lost the habit of building a solid strength base is the tremendous number of machines that have flooded the market since the 1980s. Today there's a machine for every imaginable bodypart. Now, I'm not anti-machine. Not at all. I believe they serve an important function in strength and fitness training. I also believe, however, that when they're used exclusively of used in place of a more difficult exercise, they deter progress. Simply put, it's easier to work on a machine than it is to use free weights. It's less stressful to do leg presses or squat inside a Smith machine than to perform full squats with a barbell, and it's more fun to work on a T-bar row and the lat machine than to grind out the final few reps of a heavy set of deadlifts or high pulls. In other words, anytime an exercise is made easier, apart from improving technique, that exercise is going to be less productive. The body responds to stress, not to comfort.

Training for strength is currently considered the exclusive domain of Olympic lifters, powerlifters and those engaged in scholastic, collegiate or professional athletics. This was not always the case. The top physique men of the '40s, '50s and '60s were often among the strongest people in the world. These older champions fully understood the necessity of strength work and spent a great deal of their training time on pure strength movements. They built their physiques on strength, and many were extremely powerful. John Grimek, the grand master of bodybuilding, could clean and press 350 pounds at a bodyweight of 180. Vern Weaver may have been the strongest Mr. America ever. He once power cleaned and jerked 380 in an Olympic lifting contest. Val Vasilef was also impressively strong. So were Sergio Oliva, Bill Pearl and Dennis Tinerino. Many of the best in the world of bodybuilding put on strength exhibitions.

The change in training philosophy came about when Joe Weider assumed control of physique competition in the early '70s. When the AAU ran the sport, the contestants were awarded athletic points, and these were absolutely critical for success in the major contests. Since the AAU bodybuilding contests were always held in conjunction with weightlifting meets and bodybuilders generally trained with weightlifters and did many of the same exercises, they found it convenient to compete in the meets in order to obtain the athletic points. In the process of doing clean & presses, snatches, clean & jerks heavy front and back squats, plus lots of heavy pulls, they developed the massive powerful physiques that we don't see on today's bodybuilders.

When Weider took over the sport of bodybuilding, the athletic points were dropped. This really made perfect sense, but as a result, the newer wave of competitors stopped doing the difficult exercises and turned to the easier ones. Why wear yourself out doing heavy pulls off the floor when there's a T-bar row just aching to be used? Bench presses and incline presses are certainly more enjoyable than clean & presses. The baby got thrown out with the bathwater.

One final reason that today's bodybuilders don't do strength training is, they really don't know exactly how to do it. There's some information in some of the magazines, but for the most part it's fragmented and presented in a way that overwhelms the timid trainee. In the event a strength program is publicized, readers often skip over it, since they quickly understand that it involves lots of hard work. There's no question that grinding out a max set of squats is much more demanding than doing countless sets of bench presses or curls. And that's basically why so many people who train are so pathetically weak.

During the blizzard that socked the East Coast last winter, I was forced - and forced is the correct word - to train at the local la-de-da club. In two workouts, which took a total of maybe three hours, I didn't see a single person do squats or heavy pulls. College-age trainees were straining on 95-lb. inclines and 155-lb. benches. The machines, however, were so popular that there were actually lines of people waiting to use them. The concept of trying to be as strong as you look certainly didn't apply in this facility.

Many who are primarily interested in improving their physiques are confused about the role of strength training. Those who only want larger arms and a thicker chest cannot always see why they should bother with squats or deadlifts. "I never plan on entering a powerlifting meet, so why should I do those lifts?" is something I hear a lot. "All I'm after is another inch on my biceps."

If I'm in a patient mood, I take the time to explain that doing the big-muscle exercises, such as squats and deadlifts, will give someone a much better chance of adding that extra inch or two to his upper arms than if he just continues to work his biceps directly. I once observed two high-school age trainees spend an hour and a half doing nothing but curls: standing barbell curls, preacher curls with an EZ-curl bar, then set after set with the dumbbells. Two months later I saw them again. They went through the exact came routine, so I assumed they'd been doing it steadfastly over the past eight weeks. Amazingly, after all that work their arms weren't a millimeter bigger. Admittedly, they were well-defined, but a 13-inch arm, defined or not, is still not all that impressive.

On the other hand, I've put several youngsters on a pure strength routine who packed two to three inches of muscle on their upper arms in less than a year. In many cases they only did a couple of sets per week for their biceps. The strength exercises gave them all they really needed to add size to their arms.

How can that be? How is it possible to get bigger arms without doing lots and lots of specific exercises for your biceps? The secret - if one can be so naive or presumptuous to call it a secret because the concept has been around since Milo first lifted his calf - is that when you stimulate the larger muscles of the body with heavy workloads and force them to get stronger and grow, there's always a corresponding positive effect on the smaller muscles. Simply stated, if you pack on 20 pounds of bodyweight by performing heavy squats and deadlifts, you're automatically going to add size to your upper arms.

Strength training is primarily aimed at enhancing attachment strength. The tendons and ligaments are the body's sources of strength. Make the attachments stronger and it's so much easier to increase both strength and size in the various muscles. One of the reasons that many trainees are able to increase upper-arm size without doing any curls whatsoever is that they do pulling movements with heavy weights. Exercises such as power cleans, high pulls, bentover rows and shrugs all activate the attachments in the elbows as well as the prime movers, the brachioradialis and brachialis.

After handling 500-plus pounds in the shrug, those attachments and prime movers are forced to get stronger. That means you can use a much heavier weight for curling.

When performed correctly, strength training is fun training. Nothing is quite so addictive as getting stronger. Progress comes quickly in a properly administered strength routine, and this makes it self-motivating. I've placed a number of aspiring bodybuilders on strength programs, and they've all responded most favorably. Contrary to what some believe, bodybuilders do thrive on hard work. In most instances they just haven't been taught correct form on some of the strength movements or been given a concise program to follow. Once they learn proper technique and understand the principles of strength training and how it applies to bodybuilding, they work as hard as my most dedicated strength athletes.

In future issues I'll present a precise course on how to organize and implement a strength program. I'll also explain the various concepts of strength training, such as overload, figuring workload, the heavy/light/medium system, plus several other principles intrinsic to the science of strength training.                  















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I'm Married to a Weightlifter - Sandy Cantore

April 11, 2019, 8:54 pm
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Mr. Sandy Cantore, er, Dan Cantore


From This Issue
COURTESY OF LIAM TWEED

Bob Hise and Sandy Cantore
Bob Hise at USA Strength & Conditioning Coaches Hall of Fame: 


This article is dedicated to all the wives, girlfriends, and lovers of men who are athletes, those in particular who are Olympic Weightlifters. My name is Sandy Cantore, and I am here to sympathize with all of you who have been set aside at one time or another for a set of weights.

I met my husband Dan in high school (Eagle Rock - a Los Angeles school). At that time he was into track and field, and cross country. If anyhow would have told me then that my 110-lb. boyfriend would be a national champion, and of all things, in weightlifting, I would have laughed in their face! Running track was a full time thing, even then I spent many hours at a time waiting for him to finish a workout. I followed him all over to see him in meets, stopwatch in hand. I guess, due to all that early training I had in track and field, it has become my second love to weightlifting. 

When Danny first started lifting weights, at the L.A. "Y" under capable coach Bob Hise, I was really surprised. He was so skinny, weighing a heavy 115 pounds! It hardly seemed possible that he could move those weights around, but he had an amazing amount of natural strength and coordination. He became very interested, and began by entering novice meets. Winning most of these along with Coach Hise's encouraging words gave him incentive to go on to bigger things. This all led to more workouts, longer workouts, and less time with me. I thought he'd outgrow lifting, but instead it became an obsession. It soon came before school, his family, and me. 



When we got married, Danny's coach, Bob Hise, told me I'd become a "Weightlifter's Widow." At first I didn't understand, but it didn't take me long to catch on. By being married, I thought I would see him all the time . . . no chance! When we got back from our honeymoon, the honeymoon was over, believe me. He even brought his workout bag on our honeymoon. Adjusting to married life was no easy task. Danny worked from four to midnight, so I didn't see him evenings, and he trained during the day, so I didn't see him then, either. He began traveling to meets. It seemed like he spent more time away from home than he did at home. I wanted to be a good wife, so I tried to keep my gripes and complaints about lifting to myself, but it was really hard.

Over the next few years I grew to really hate lifting, and everything and everyone associated with it. Socially our lives revolved around other lifters; doing things with them, day in, day out, seven days a week. I shared him, and deeply resented it. It seemed to me that all the lifters got together to support each other's bad habits, and egos. 

Drugs entered our lives, too. At first we were socially accepted, but drugs almost destroyed us, along with everything else. At the time I didn't want to have anything to do with weightlifting and completely ignored the fact that Danny was well into the national rankings. So many people in lifting had come between us that we soon found ourselves divided. 

Oddly enough things took a turn for the better when we moved to San Francisco. Being in a new place with only a few friends and acquaintances, we drew from and depended on each other. We reevaluated our lives, and ourselves. Danny met new friends at the gym, then Alex's Sports Palace. Being away from our friends and Coach Hise in L.A. was difficult at first, and Danny had a hard time adjusting, but I loved it. It was the first time in three years that I saw him with any regularity. It was easier for me to get into lifting now, knowing that I didn't have to share him with his friends. His training that first year in San Francisco was steady, not terrific, but okay. He lost the Senior National title in 1970. I felt guilty.  I thought I had done this by taking him away from his friends, training partners and his coach. We both were looking for some kind of direction and order in our lives. We found our answer in Jesus Christ, and living and believing in God. It was when our faith turned to God instead of other people that our life together had some kind of meaning.

I became more involved in lifting. It was easier for me to help my husband now. I began attending meets regularly, keeping score, selling tickets, etc. I was actually a part of it all now, rather than an outsider. I really felt good about helping Danny, and supporting him in lifting. Despite my efforts and good intentions, Danny bombed out at the '71 Seniors. I got my first taste of politics in lifting, and it proved to be an educational experience.

1972 was a big year, it was an Olympic year. I never really thought about it much, the Olympics; something too big and too fantastic to let creep into my mind. As the year began, Danny really concentrated on planning his workouts; cycling and peaking for the season. By early April he had finished school and graduated from the University of Cal-Berkeley. This left nearly two months of good training before the Olympic tryouts. With no school to worry about he spent the time to train. From this time on, we both became super psyched.

Danny trained four times a week with Roger Quinn, which was really beneficial.

There's an article by Roger Quinn, from this same issue, here:
http://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2018/09/my-special-leg-routine-roger-quinn.html

Danny added 50 pounds to his total in 10 weeks time! We were a pretty good team . . . Danny trained and rested, without working or going to school, and I worked full time and supported the three of us - Danny, myself and our five year old daughter, Jami. Everything paid off . . . proper diet, rest, and a lot of psyche . . . and the results were fantastic!

I really wanted Danny to make the Olympic team, and tried to do everything I could for him. I actually felt like a part of Danny now. When he went to the Seniors, part of me would be with him. I didn't go to the tryouts with him, I was too nervous. Besides, he didn't train and work so hard just for me to go along and make things complicated. To this day I still won't go to a Senior Nationals with him for that reason. When Danny finally called to let me know he had won, and had broken four American records while doing it, I could hardly believe it. The best part of all was that we both were going to Munich . . . to the Olympics!

Going to the Olympics made everything worthwhile. This was my reward for being, as Pa Hise had said, a "Weightlifter's Widow." Munich was a great experience for us both. We were nervous about the competition. This was Danny's first time in an International meet, and what a way to start - at the Olympics.

The competition was stiff, but I thought he did very well, 9th overall. The important thing was that he didn't bomb out. He proved himself worthy of International competition. We really had a great time sightseeing in Munich, but meeting people from all over the world was the greatest thrill. What we learned and experienced from our trip to the Olympics is something we will never forget.

Last year, 1973, was a good year. Danny won the Senior Nationals, and went onto the World Championships. He placed 7th, and won the Pan American Championships, bringing home three gold medals. I am so proud, and at times I'm really impressed with myself when I think of who I'm married to!

Weightlifting has now become a very real part of my life. I really love the sport, and enjoy good competition. I feel I've really stood by my man and encouraged and helped him to do something he enjoys passionately, and I must admit it hasn't been easy. I've had to give much of myself and sacrifice a lot of my own personal ambitions. There's been many a time I've stayed at home while he traveled to really great places. Selfishness and jealousy creep in, and aren't easy to cope with. I've really had to be mature about these things, but I realize that all I can do for Danny makes things a little bit easier for him, and believe me, I'll do anything I can to make him a champion.

At a weightlifting banquet in Los Angeles, Coach Bob Hise introduced Danny for an award, and he added, "Behind every great man is a great woman."

Not great, just patient . . . very patient.              















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Eight Sets of Eight - Tom Venuto (2002)

April 14, 2019, 1:51 pm
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Note: I'm going to include a short article by Steve Holman on his opinion and uses of Gironda's 8 x 8 method.
It will follow this article by 

Tom Venuto:






EIGHT SETS OF EIGHT: 
Vince Gironda's Radical Muscle-Building System
by Tom Venuto (2002) 


When Joe Weider brought Arnold to America, the first thing Weider did was to send the over-bulked Austrian to Vince's Gym in Studio City, California, to whip him into top shape. Legend has it that when Arnold walked in the door, he introduced himself to owner Vince Gironda by saying, "I am Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mr, Universe." The inimitable Vince replied, "You look like a fat fuck to me." 

Yes, Gironda had way with words. He was also known for his mercurial temper and complete intolerance of anyone who refused to follow his rules. The list of reasons for expulsion from his gym included such offenses as laziness, back-squatting, bench pressing, taking steroids, mentioning the word jogging and asking for advice and not following it.

Personal foibles aside, Vince Gironda may have been the greatest bodybuilding trainer who ever lived. He was brilliant - decades ahead of his time - and some of his ideas about training and nutrition were controversial, of not downright bizarre. But no matter how peculiar his methods seemed, the results spoke for themselves.

In his heyday Vince was credited with turning out more Mr. America and Mr. Universe champions that any trainer in history - and that record may still stand. Two of Vince's most famous pupils were Larry Scott, the first Mr. Olympia . . . 


and Mohamed Makkawy, twice runner-up at the Olympia (behind Samir Bannout in 1983 and Lee Haney in '84) . . . 



Vince himself achieved an amazing level of muscularity and definition long before being shredded was in vogue. It's speculated that the reason he never won a major physique title was because he was too ripped for his day and age.


Trainer of the Stars

Before he closed his doors after nearly 50 years in business, Vince's Gym was the number one destination for Hollywood stars who had to get in shape in a hurry. Movie execs sent their flabby leading men and women to Vince so he could work his magic on them. Although it was located conveniently on Ventura Boulevard near several movie studios, Armand Tanny once said, "If Vince had his place on a Tibetan mountaintop instead of near the major motion picture studios, his followers would make the pilgrimage." 



Vince had the ability to get movie stars in shape so fast, it was almost uncanny - not in months but in weeks or even days. Cher, Erik Estrada, Clint Eastwood, Denzel Washington, Michael Landon, Kurt Russell, Burt Reynolds, Carl Weathers and Tommy Chong were just a few of the names on his star-studded client roster.

Vince was one of my first influences in bodybuilding. When I was a teenager just starting out, I saved every one of his articles from the mags.

Check this out - 

I purchased all of Vince's mail order courses and studied every word as if my life depended on it. I experimented extensively with his techniques and came to the conclusion that Vince possessed esoteric knowledge about the art of bodybuilding that few others will ever have.  
  

Vince's Most Powerful Training System

Gironda was known for his unusual training methods. His unique exercises included the bench press to the neck, the sternum chinup (touching the chest to the bar), drag curls, and sissy squats with what he called a burlesque bump. His training systems included 15 sets of 4 . . . 

I'm tellin' ya, check out this site for an incredible amount of Vince info: 

3 sets of 12 (go on, check 'em all out), 6 sets of 6, 10 sets of 10, and four exercises in a giant set - one for each "side" of the muscle . . . 

Of all Vince's techniques the 8 sets of 8 program was his favorite for advanced bodybuilders. "I have a definite preference for the  8 by 8 system of sets and reps," he wrote. "I come back to this high-intensity honest workout more often than any other for maximizing muscle fiber growth in the quickest possible time for the advanced bodybuilder."

Eight sets of eight might be the most effective set-and-rep combination ever developed for rapidly building muscle fiber size while simultaneously shedding bodyfat. Vince called it an "honest workout" because of the pure muscle fiber size that can be achieved on it. "Keep to 8 x 8, and your muscle fibers will plump out, giving you a solid mass of muscle density as a result," he promised.

8 sets of 8 is so effective that, a a 20-year old novice competitive bodybuilder I was able to gain 17 pounds of muscle drug free - contest weight from one show to the next - in less than nine months using this system. To this day I still use it whenever I need a shock program to bring up a lagging bodypart.

Vince warned that this combination is not for beginners: "You have to build up to the stage where you can benefit from this extremely advanced form of training. I doubt if anyone with less than two years of consistent training experience could benefit from it." 


How It Works

8 sets of 8 is a fast-tempo, high-volume, size-building workout. It's not designed for strength development - it is purely for bodybuilding or cosmetic improvements. 8 sets of 8 will also help you get leaner, as the short rest intervals stress the cardiovascular system to the point where calories are rapidly burned, the metabolism is stimulated, hormones are stirred up, and fat is melted away.

Here's one of the ways it can be worked: 

You select three or four exercises per muscle group and perform 8 sets of 8 on each exercise. Yes, that's up to 32 sets per bodypart! You work two or three muscle groups per session, rest only 15-30 seconds between sets and complete each workout in approximately 45 minutes - never more than 60. 

Although the apparent excessive volume might seem reminiscent of the Steve Michalik, John Defendis intensity-or-insanity style of training, it's not the same thing. There are no two-to-three hour marathon workouts. You complete each session in less than an hour. The reason the high set count doesn't constitute over-training is that you don't exceed the time at which a negative effect on recovery and anabolic hormones sets in. You simply overload the muscles by condensing more training into less time. You also don't take all those sets to failure, as you'll see in a moment.


Why It Works

Many people are under the impression that the only way to make a muscle larger is to increase the amount of weight you use. That's not true. Overload is an absolute requirement for building muscle, but the overload can come in more ways than one.

Progressively adding weight may be one of the best ways to provide an overload, but it's not the only way. Vince was all in favor of adding weight to the bar, provided you maintained good form, but he believed that performing more work in less time was a better method of overload for the bodybuilder. 

The Iron Guru's advice: "To acquire larger muscles you must increase the intensity of work done within a given time. That means minimal rest between sets. Push yourself. I feel workouts should be timed, and you should constantly strive to shorten the time it takes to get through your routine. That's another form of progressive resistance and it's more important than increasing your poundages. The overload principle explains why sprinters have bigger muscles than distance runners. Although it's more work to run a mile than it is to run 100 yards, the sprinter is doing more work per second. Consequently, his muscles will become larger."   


8 Sets of 8 vs. Conventional Training 

The most popular method of training for advanced bodybuilders is to choose between 2 and 4 exercises per muscle group and do 3 or 4 sets of 6-12 reps on each exercise. The rest intervals range from 60 seconds to 4 minutes, depending on the goal. So why bother with such an outrageous program as 8 sets of 8? 

The answer is because honest, high-volume, fast-tempo training will be a complete shock to your body, especially in the beginning, when you're unaccustomed to it. An advanced bodybuilder will adapt to any training program within a matter of months and often within weeks. Once adaptation occurs, you must seek out new types of stress to coax your muscles into continued growth. Although Vince didn't advocate over-training in any way, shape or form, he did advocate using muscle confusion for stimulating gains, even if that meant temporarily over-training. 8 sets of 8 is simply an unusual and effective method of overload and muscle confusion.

Obviously, the program is not intended for year-round use. It's a shock routine you can use for brief periods to kick-start a new growth spurt. After completing a cycle of 8 sets of 8 you can go back to more conventional methods. 

How long should you use 8 sets of 8? 
As long as it keeps working. 

Another advantage to 8 sets of 8 is that it can be used to work around an injury. Heavy training with 5- to 6-rep maxes is impossible when you're babying a strain, pull, of soft tissue injury, but you can do 8 sets of 8 because you get such an honest workout with a fraction of your usual weight on the bar.   

8 sets of 8 is a fantastic method for pre-contest definition training, because doing 50-70 sets in less than an hour is decidedly aerobic. You can easily count each weight training session as a cardio workout. Fast metabolism types may not even need any other aerobic work. 


How Much Rest Between Sets? 

Vince advocated "a very businesslike approach toward tempo." He said that using the 8 sets of 8 format is not enough to ensure muscle gains. What's more important is the speed with which you get through the program. "Minimum rest between sets is a must," said the master. When Gironda was training Mohamed Makkawy for the Olympia, he had him conditioned to the point of doing 8 sets in as short a time as 5 minutes or less. 

Your goal is to reduce your rest intervals to 30 seconds or less, ultimately cutting them down to just 15-20 seconds between sets. Once your conditioning adjusts to the demands, you'll need just 5-10 deep breaths after each set . . . then it's on to the next set. 

If your rep speed on each exercise is 2/0/2/0 - two second eccentric, no pauses and two seconds concentric - then each rep will take you 4 seconds. 8 reps per set means that each set will take you 32 seconds. With a 15-20 second rest interval, 24 sets should take only 18-21 minutes, and 32 sets will take 25-28 minutes.


Tempo Tips

The proper tempo combined with the correct resistance is the key to the success of this program. Vince defined optimal tempo as "the evenly spaced sets (time-wise) without any distractions and with complete concentration on when to pick up the next weight and do the next set." 

That means no magazine reading, no walking around the gym, no changing your music and no going to the bathroom. The program requires 100%  total concentration. If you get interrupted or distracted, you might as well pack up your gym bag and go home. 

Don't put the dumbbells down between sets. Rest them on your knees, but don't put them put them down or re-rack them. Also, don't release the bar between sets; rack it, but keep your hands on it. If you using straps, don't unwrap them. Stay on the bench or machine until you complete all 8 sets of 8. take no rest between bodyparts. When you finish the last exercise for the first muscle group, move directly into the first exercise for the next muscle group.

By the way, to follow the tempo guidelines, you'll have to do the program solo. 


How Much Weight? 

Using 15-20 second rest intervals will limit the amount of weight you can use, but that's okay. Initially, you'll experience a large drop in your normal training poundages. Most people will need to reduce their normal 8-rep max by about 40% to successfully complete 8 sets at the correct tempo with such brief rests. For example, if you normally perform dumbbell flyes with 55's for 8 reps with a 60-90 second rest interval, you're going to have to reduce your dumbbells to about 35's to successfully get through the 8 sets taking 15-30 second rests.

As you become more conditioned you will be surprised at how much weight you'll be able to build back up to while maintaining the short rest interval. You may even get close to your original poundage. At that point some serious growth will begin to occur.

Proper weight selection is critical. You should intentionally make the first workout easy. If you attempt too much weight too quickly, you won't be able to complete 8 reps on the last several sets, nor will you be allowing room for progression over a period of weeks. Vince cautioned that it's imperative to use the same weight for all 8 sets. If you fail on the 6th or 7th rep on the last set or two that's fine, but if your reps drop below 8 by your 4th or 5th set the weight is too heavy.  


Whole-Body Training or Bodypart Specialization? 

8 sets of 8 is excellent for bodypart specialization or whole-body training. You can use it very effectively on one bodypart at a time. For example, if your chest is lagging, you would do the 8 sets of 8 routine to specialize on chest, and do conventional training for the rest of your body.

If you decide to use the technique for large muscle groups such as legs and back, be warned: It's brutal beyond belief. It's extremely difficult because cardiovascular failure may limit your performance. Prepare to be huffing and puffing. You may have to start with longer rest intervals - about 30 seconds - and work down to 15-20 seconds. Alternatively, you could start with very light weights and build up gradually.


Which Exercises?              
    
Select your exercises carefully to hit the aspects of each muscle you want to target the most. For example, if your after big side delts and shoulder width, you should select side-delt movements such as lateral raises and wide-grip upright rows instead of front raises and military presses.

Machines and single-joint movements are easier, but don't shy away from the big compound movements just because they're more difficult. As with any training program, the basic exercises will always produce the best results. So, if you want a massive back, think rows and chinups, not one-arm cable pulls. 

8 sets of 8 works as well for calves, abs, and forearms as it does for any other bodypart. Vince was always partial to 20 reps for the calves. He often suggested staying with 8 sets but upping the reps to 20.


"Training Over Your Head" 

Most of your sets will not be taken to failure, and none will be taken beyond failure. On your last set or two of each exercise it's normal to fail on the 6th or 7th rep. When you can easily complete a full 8 sets of 8 reps increase the weight at the next workout.

Although you won't be reaching failure on most of your sets, make no mistake: This is some of the most difficult training you'll ever undertake. Training large muscle groups and doing multi-joint free-weight exercises are especially difficult. You'll face the burn of local muscle fatigue, the challenge of oxygen debt, and the difficulty of maintaining concentration. 

This method is a test of strength, endurance, and mental toughness. Gironda called it "training over your head." At times you won't be sure if you can go on, but once you start, you can't stop.


How Many Sets and Exercises? 

As a general rule Vince suggested limiting your total sets to no more than 12-15 per bodypart. He said that if you can't get a workout in 12 sets you're not concentrating properly; however, he also said there are certain occasions when the rule could be broken. The 8 sets of 8 program is one of them.

Gironda recommended anywhere from 1 to 4 exercises per muscle group, depending on the circumstances. For this particular variation of the program you will perform 8 sets of 8 reps on 2-4 exercises per bodypart. Generally, you will aim for 3-4 exercises for large muscle groups and 2-3 exercises for small muscle groups. 

That's the way he had Makkawy do it when he was training for the Olympia, but Vince was quick to point out that Mohamed was a true genetic superior and that not everyone can handle that kind of volume. The optimal number of exercises and total sets per muscle group will depend on your experience, your tolerance for stress and your recuperative abilities. The most important point os to do only as many exercises as you can fit into the 45-minute limit. 


What Type of Split? 

The number of exercises per bodypart will also depend on the split routine you use. Vince advocated different types of splits for various purposes. Sometimes he had his pupils train 6 days in a row, working each muscle group 3 times per week. More often, he was partial to 2- and 3-day splits, where each muscle was trained twice per week. He advised advanced bodybuilders to use a 3-day split with 72 hours of recuperation between maximum intensity workouts.

These days it's more popular to split up the bodyparts over 4 or even 5 days. with a 4- or 5-day split you work each muscle group once every 5 to 7 days. If Vince were around today, he would surely give me a verbal beating for saying this, but I've discovered that 8 sets of 8 works with nearly any split routine, whether you train each muscle group once a week of twice a week. The important thing is to adjust your volume so you can observe the tempo and time limit rules. If you have a split routine that works well for you, by all means stay with it.

For example, if you're on the popular 4-day split where you train two days on and one day off, you'll get great results on 8 sets of 8. With that type of split you can do 7 or 8 exercises for 8 sets of 8 and fit it all inside of 45 minutes. If you're on a 2- or 3-day split, as Vince often recommended, you may have time for only 1 or 2 exercise per muscle group. 

The sample routine I'll be giving is based on a 4-day split. 

8 sets of 8 is a little known and largely misunderstood program. That's partly because Vince never explained it in great detail - not even in his famous mail-order courses. Even whey they fully understand it most people don't attempt the program because it seems like too much volume and the weights seem too light to get anything out of it. Too bad for them. The real reason most people never finish a fully cycle of 8 sets of 8 is because it's too damn hard. 8 sets of 8 performed in 5 minutes for a large muscle group can test the grit of even the toughest bodybuilder.

You don't have to agree with all of Vince's teachings to use the program. It's natural to resist concepts that are so radical. Gironda was used to it. Nearly all of his ideas met with a certain degree of skepticism initially, yet eventually - sometimes two or three decades later - many of them became accepted as bodybuilding truths.

When questioned, Vince replied, "If in doubt, try these concepts and try others. Results count.
Examine. Test. Then make up your own mind. The secret to success is to believe that the course I give will work, and it will. If you have doubts, you'll find it won't work." 

Regardless of whether you think Vince was the greatest trainer of all time of just a crusty old curmudgeon, I urge you to give this honest workout an honest try.


8 sets of 8 Routine

Day 1

Chest: 
Decline low-cable crossovers (touch handles at waist), 8 x 8
Bench press to neck, 8 x 8 . . . all exercises are 8 x 8
Incline dumbbell press (palms facing each other)
Wide grip V-bar dip

Biceps: 
Drag curl
Preacher curl
Incline DB curl

Forearms: 
Barbell wrist curl
Reverse wrist curl


Day 2

Shoulders: 
Seated lateral raise
Wide grip upright row
Front-to-back barbell press
Bentover lateral raise

Triceps: 
Behind-the-head rope extension
Lying extension
Two DB kickback


Day 3

Back: 
Sternum chinup
High-bench two DB row
Low cable row on 18" pulley
Medium grip pulldown to chest

Abs: 
Double crunch (pull in elbows and knees at the same time)
Weighted crunch
Lying bent-knee leg raise


Day 4

Quads: 
Front squat
Machine back squat
Sissy squat
Leg extension

Hamstrings:
Leg curl
Seated leg curl machine

Calves: 
Standing calf raise
Seated calf raise



Here's Steve Holman's take on the 8 x 8: 

Tom Venuto did a fine job of analyzing Gironda's  8 sets of 8 program, and providing a routine based on it. I found the article very intriguing and wanted to comment. I haven't tried the technique for every bodypart, but using it for only one muscle group or one exercise can build size quickly; more proof that the Iron Guru knew what he was talking about.

The 8 x 8 protocol has you choose a weight for each exercise with which you can get 8 reps on all 8 sets with a 20-30 second rest between sets. Your last couple of sets are the hardest and to failure. That has a number of advantages:

You don't use extremely heavy weights, which saves your joints from trauma.
Your first few sets are fairly easy, so they act as a warmup.
You get a lot of work done in minimum time thanks to the short rest periods. 
Your workouts last less than an hour if you hustle properly.
You get an incredible pump.

The negative is that it's not a strength-building program. 

As you can tell, you have to use lighter poundages to get 8 reps on all 8 sets, although your poundages move up quickly as you build up a tolerance to the short rests and fatigue accumulation. Vince never claimed it was a strength-building program; he said it was purely a cosmetic-oriented routine for building large muscles fast.

He suggested using up to four exercises per bodypart, which translates to 32 sets. That's a lot of volume, especially if you're using 8 x 8 on every bodypart. If you decide to try it, you may want to use it on only one or two bodyparts at a time and train others in a more conventional manner. Or you may want to apply it using POF instead of randomly choosing four exercises. With POF you train the muscle through its full range of motion - from midrange to stretch to maximum contraction - which should make the 8 x 8 system even more precise and effective. 

For example, let's say you want to specialize on your delts. Here's an 8 x 8 POF delt program that will make you feel like you have bowling balls for shoulders: 

Midrange: Smith machine presses, 8 x 8
Stretch: One-arm incline lateral raise, 8 x 8
Contracted: Dumbbell upright row, 8 x 8. 

Remember, for each exercise you pick a poundage and use it on all 8 sets. If you get only 6 or 7 reps on the last two sets, that's okay, but if you stall at rep 6 on set 4, you know the weight you chose was too heavy.

Be forewarned: 8 sets of 8 may not sound that tough, but it will wind you. You'll be gasping for air, especially on leg and back exercises and any one-arm movements. For example, you'll be breathing hard on incline one-arm laterals because you'll have to go back and forth from arm to arm without rest. You're only supposed to rest about 20-30 seconds - and that's just enough time for a quick 8 reps with one arm. Then it's on to the other arm.

If you have a bodypart that's lagging, an 8 x 8 blast will get it to respond with new growth and muscularity, guaranteed. You don't even have to do it on all exercises. In fact, I found it effective to use it on the last exercise for a bodypart. For example, I'll use it on lateral raises to end my delt routine, which takes about 5 minutes for all 8 sets. I'm just starting to integrate that protocol into our routine, so watch for more on it in the next installment of Train, Eat, Grow.   

    






  
  



       



































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Getting Started on a Strength Program - Bill Starr

April 14, 2019, 3:56 pm
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Note: This is the second installment of Bill Starr's Only the Strong Shall Survive series he wrote for IronMan magazine. The first installment is here: 




The very first step in getting started on a strength program is to have a well-organized plan. Sit down and take some time to lay out your routine so that you know exactly what you're going to do for the next few weeks. You don't have to plot out the exact weights you'll use, for it may take a few workouts before you know your upper limits, but you should write down the lifts you want to do, along with the sets and reps for each.

Most people like to sets aside a few months during the winter or summer for pure strength work, leaving the spring and fall for more specialized training. By cycling their training in this way, they stay motivated and can move up their top-end weights more effectively. Others, however, enjoy strength training and do it for longer periods, often switching to a different routine for only a few months each year.

In any event, a strength cycle should last at least six weeks. Longer is even better, but any less than six weeks won't be nearly as productive.


Start With The Basics

A strength program should be geared to increasing your strength and also your size. You accomplish this by focusing on the larger muscle groups - the shoulder girdle, back and legs. The smaller muscles, such as the biceps, triceps and calves, will take a backseat to their larger brothers for a time. They'll get some attention but not nearly on the same scale as what the larger groups get. Force the big bodyparts to grow and the smaller ones will follow.

For anyone who's starting out on a strength cycle for the first time - or who's just getting back after an extended layoff - I recommend a three-days-per-week routine. I fully understand that the split routine is very much in vogue, but it's not the best system for building a solid strength base. You can switch over to a split routine after each strength cycle. For now you work all the major muscle groups at each session. Then you can spend some time exercising the smaller muscle groups or some area that needs special attention.

Three days a week works nicely for a great many people simply because it's easier to get to a gym three times a week than it is to make four trips. It also gives you adequate rest between workouts, which is critical to making progress.

Strength training is concentrated training. You attack the larger groups, add some auxiliary work for the smaller muscles, then leave the gym. In too many programs the trainee lingers in the facility doing set after set of a specific exercise - usually one that's rather fun to do like curls or pushdowns. As a result, gains come more slowly because the extra work taps into the energy supply. More is not always better when it comes to strength work, especially in the earlier stages.

For the first couple of weeks the three-days-per-week routine might be rather demanding, since you're working all the major groups each time. The body will adapt quickly, however, and then begin to thrive on the big muscle movements.


Select Exercises That Are Productive

Note that I didn't say select exercises that are fun. That's because there are some exercises you must include in a strength program that really aren't fun at all. In fact, they're downright ugly at times. Squats, deadlifts and good mornings aren't usually placed in the fun category, especially when they involve serious weights. I happen to believe that if you enjoy every exercise there's something missing in your routine. I realize that this is completely against the philosophy of most experts, but hitting a weak spot with a difficult movement isn't going to be enjoyable, at least not at first. If an exercise is productive, though, it suddenly becomes much more palatable.

The emphasis on getting stronger is aimed at making progress, not just having a great time in the gym. The enjoyment factor comes directly from the gains you make, and believe me, that's sufficient. I understand that it would be terrific to be able to build a program around flat-bench presses, inclines, curls and maybe a few token sets of squats and pulls and accomplish significant gains in size and strength, but, unfortunately, it just doesn't work that way

The main reason that so many trainees in those high-priced, machine-loaded la-di-da gyms across the country remain so embarrassingly weak is that they just don't want to do the hard work or the difficult exercises. The problem is, merely showing up in the right outfit and going through a routine a cheerleader could do without breaking a sweat isn't going to bring you the desired results. In order to get stronger, you have to exert yourself and do some exercises that make your eyes cross. 

One of the main criteria in the selection of your exercises should be your weak point - or in the case of most trainees your weak points. That's not always an easy thing to do, since no one really likes to do exercises in which he or she is particularly weak. That's especially true when people train with friends. It's a great deal more satisfying to work on those lifts in which you're at least semi-strong. In order to achieve a higher level of strength, you have to suck up your ego and lean on the weaker movements.

The exercises selected must be serious ones, not token movements performed on machines. If, for example, you have trouble picking up a full bag of groceries, you need to start doing deadlifts and good mornings and not be content with merely doing lat pulls by the hour.

If this is your first pure strength cycle or you're about to start back after a layoff, your program should revolve around free weights, not machines. The reasoning is basic. Free weights involve your tendons and ligaments much more than machines. The attachments are the sources of pure strength. You'll use machines in the overall program but strictly for the auxiliary work.


Emphasize the Three Major Muscle Groups

In order to become stronger, you have to do a primary, core exercise for each of the three major muscle groups: the shoulder girdle (or upper body), back, and legs. In the beginning the more basic the core exercise, the better. Full-range movements are also better than partial movements.

As you grow stronger and discover some specific weaker areas in those major groups, you can turn your attention to bringing them up to standard. For example, after doing squats for three weeks and steadily moving up the top-end weight, you notice for the first time that your knees have a tendency to turn inward when you use heavy weights. This is an indication that your adductors are lagging in strength, so you must spend time building up that group. Working on the adductor machine or doing wide-stance squats will remedy the problem. Recognizing and remedying your weaknesses will speed the rate at which you are able to gain strength, as well as saving you from some major injury-based setbacks later on.

There are quite a few productive exercises to choose from, which provides greater variety in any program. Some people even prefer to plan two separate programs, doing one during one week and the other the following week. This is particularly useful after you establish a solid base.

For the shoulder girdle the best core exercises are bench presses, incline presses, dips and overhead presses. Because they require different ranges of motion, you must include them all in your strength program. Of all the areas of the body the shoulders are actually the most vulnerable to injury. Why? Because the joints are relatively smaller than those of the hips and legs and cannot tolerate the amount of work those potentially stronger joints can.

There are many productive strength exercises for the back, including deadlifts, bent-over rows, stiff legged deadlifts, good mornings, clean high pulls and shrugs. The back is the most neglected bodypart for most trainees. This occurs partially because back exercises are really demanding, but it’s also due to the fact that the back is seldom seen. Out of sight, out of mind, out of strength. 

Yet the back is typically the fastest of all bodyparts to respond to strength training. That’s because it’s so potentially powerful that once those large, overlapping muscle groups are sufficiently stimulated, they grow rapidly. In many cases the back muscle have never really been challenged, so they lie dormant, waiting for the right stimulus.

When organizing your program, keep in mind that the back is fashioned in three separate parts: upper, middle and lower. There are, of course, several groups that overlap, such as the traps and lats, but for the sake developing your program, the concept of three separate training areas works nicely. Shrugs and high pulls hit the upper back, pulls hit the upper back, bent-over rows and deadlifts hit the middle, and good mornings and stiff-legged deadlifts hit the lower back.

You only need one core exercise for legs - full squats. I know there are other leg exercises, but none can really match the productivity of full squats. Later on, if you want to add some variety to your leg routine, you can include lunges or even leg presses, but initially you want to stay with full squats - not partial squats. The full movement activates so many more muscle groups - especially in the hips, glutes and legs - that you should do only the full movement from the very beginning.


Auxiliary Exercises

After you complete the three core exercises in a workout, you can spend additional time working the small groups. Again, you should give attention to the weakest groups, not just those that are showiest.

The auxiliary exercises will take a backseat to the primary movements until you establish a solid strength foundation. Then you can include more auxiliary work in the program. It's a mistake, however, to do too much auxiliary work in the early stages. The few extra sets may seem harmless, but they are in fact detrimental to your progress. You should use higher reps and adhere to the 40-rep rule. This translates to two sets of 20, three sets of 15 and so on. Don't do any auxiliary movements for fewer than 12 reps in the beginning. Later on this is permissible.


Sets and Reps for the Core Exercises

The sets and reps formula for increasing strength was established many years ago, and it's still quite valid. Four to six sets of six reps gets the job done nicely. I use the mean and stay with five sets of five. That makes the math so much easier. For a few of the primary exercises, however, especially those targeting the lower back, I find that slightly higher reps are better. Good mornings and stiff-legged deadlifts are more productive when you do them for eight to 10 reps. This gives you a higher workload but without undue stress. The same idea holds true for any exercise in which you're particularly weak.

Form is the cornerstone of any strength program. You should never let yourself get sloppy in any exercise just to elevate more weight. Resorting to rebounding the bar off your chest or excessive bridging while bench-pressing or letting your back round too much in the deadlift will eventually deter progress. The exercises are only effective when done correctly. There are, of course, variations in individual technique, and it's acceptable to alter the form to some degree, but you must take care to learn proper technique from the beginning.

I have listed two basic programs to get you started. You may decide to stay with one of them for a month or so, then switch over to the other, or you might decide to do both, alternating them every other week. It's most important to be consistent and not miss a session, as consistency is really the key to making gains. If you're forced to miss a workout, make it up the next day.

In any event, warm up before training and stretch thoroughly after each session. Do an abdominal exercise like situps or crunches before lifting and end the workout wit another one, like leg raises.

Next time I'll discuss how to develop the program further and explain more strength training principles.


Sample Beginning Routine A

Monday (heavy day):

Squats (to limit) - 5 x 5 
Deadlifts (to limit) - 5 x 5
Bench Presses (to limit) -5 x 5
Incline dumbbell presses - 2 x 20
Calf raises - 3 x 30

Wednesday (light day):

Squats (50 pounds less than Monday) - 5 x 5
Good Mornings - 4 x 8
Incline Presses - 5 x 5
Straight arm pullovers - 2 x 20
Curls - 2 x 20 


Friday (medium day):
Bench presses - 4 x 8, 2 x 2
Squats (20 pounds less than Monday) - 5 x 5
Shrugs - 5 x 5
Overhead presses - 5 x 5
Chins - 4 x failure


Sample Beginning Routine B

Monday (heavy day):

Squats (to limit) - 5 x 5
Bent-over rows (to limit) - 5 x 5
Bench presses (to limit) - 5 x 5
Incline dumbbell presses - 2 x 20
Calf raises - 3 x 30


Wednesday (light day):

Squats (50 pounds less than Monday) - 5 x 5
Stiff-legged deadlifts - 4 x 8
Overhead presses - 3 x 5, 2 x 3
Dips - 4 x failure
When you can do 20 reps, start adding weight and
drop the reps back to eight.
Curls - 2 x 15


Friday (medium day):

Squats - 3 x 5, 2 x 3 (10 pounds more than Monday on last set)
Clean-grip high pulls - 5 x 5
Incline presses - 5 x 5, backoff set - 1 x 8
Close-grip bench presses - 3 x 12
Chins - 4 x failure









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Dr. Ken Leistner Workout

April 14, 2019, 4:10 pm
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This tape was made for the enjoyment of the Leistner children and friends of the family, with a special "Thank You" to Steve Baldwin, Pat Casey, and Sean Kelleher for their insistence that it be made. 

Check this out. 
I believe Mr. Leistner was around 160 lbs. 
Not sure of his age in this workout, around 52.
Prepare to be humbled.
And very inspired. 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ht1ft5ub-wM

Overhead Press - 253 x 4 
Full Oly Squat - 407 x 22
Stiff Legged Dead on a Box (full lower with round back) - 347 x 14
Log Clean (from Hang) & Push Press - 216 x 3
Shrug (strapped) - 347 x 13
Nautilus Pullover (slow eccentric) - 160 x 9
Farmer's Walk Bar Shrugs - 119 x 11
Strict Barbell Curl - 154 x 4 plus 2 with a wee swing
And . . . putting all the plates back where they belong. 

Right crazy stuff! One after the other.  

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Marvin Eder Trains for the Press - Paul Waldman (1953)

May 6, 2019, 7:29 pm
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From This Issue (June 1953) 

ARTICLE COURTESY OF LIAM  TWEED. 




Muscular Marvin Eder has told me one of his ambitions is to train with Dave Sheppard in York and be on the same lifting team with him. Consequently, I thought it fitting that his article be devoted to Marvin Eder the weightlifter. So then, let us see how Marvin trains for the Press. 

Before I proceed further, let me say that I do not intend to discuss Marvin's style in performing the press, but not because he wishes this kept a dark secret, but because doing so would be pointless. Marvin performs the press in strict style - the York Style - and I'm sure that from reading the many issues of Strength & Health in which this has been described in detail you know what it is. The one thing I might mention in regard to style is that Marvin uses a slightly wider than average grip in the press. Now for Marvin's pressing workout: 

Like most lifters, Marvin begins with a warm-up. In this he presses 205 pounds 5 times. After this, he jumps the weight to 255 for 2 reps. Then he presses 290 x 3, and tops off the workout using 300 pounds in 4 to 5 sets of 3 repetitions. Naturally these poundages are not to be regarded as permanent. Even as I am writing this article they may be slightly inaccurate because as Marvin improves his pressing ability he increases the weight used in his workout. To date, Marvin's press has usually increased about 15 pounds every six months. As of February, 1953, his best press, at a bodyweight of 193, was 340 pounds. 



Before proceeding to another phase of Marvin's workout for the press, I should like to call attention to a few things. First, you will note that in order to gain power in the press, Marvin favors a great number of sets with low repetitions. In the routine described in the preceding paragraph, the maximum number of reps done in any one set was 5. Second, Marvin rests quite a bit between sets when doing heavy lifting.



Of course, Marvin's workout doesn't consist solely of presses. To help one's pressing ability one must, he believes, do auxiliary exercises. Thus he follows his pressing routine with dips on the parallel bars, doing 8 sets of 10 with 220 pounds tied around his waist. 

Next, to get the hip and thigh power so necessary to the weightlifter, Marvin does squats, 8 sets of 3 with 500 pounds. 

Finally, Marvin does snatching, here favoring 10 sets of 2-3 reps.

This, then, is his typical workout on days when he seeks to improve his press. I would like to underscore again the fact that the key to gaining power, in Marvin's estimation, lies in employing very heavy weights for a great number of sets with low repetitions. 

Marvin follows this workout devoted to the improvement of his press with another of a different type on the very next day. In this, he presses dumbbells together in sets of 5, doing 7 to 10 sets with 120's. He then does bench presses, 5 x 8 with 350 pounds. 

Note that he does standing presses and supine presses on different days. He never does them in the same workout. Incidentally, Marvin has done 450 in the bench press.   

The remainder of his routine on this day, which we might call rather imprecisely his bodybuilding day, is extremely flexible. Since Marvin does not believe in engaging in intensive bodybuilding while training to improve his press, he has no set routine but merely engages in those exercises he feels inclined to do or believes will be of most immediate benefit to him. 

Thus his schedule runs as follows: 

Day One - pressing workout
Day Two - bodybuilding routine
Day Three - rest
Day Four - pressing workout
Day Five - bodybuilding routine
Day Six - rest
Etc. . . 

Besides doing the exercises mentioned above, Marvin feels that one should do a considerable amount of calf work - at least 5 sets of 40 repetitions. The calves, according to Marvin, are shock absorbers, and in the lifting of heavy weights one needs them to be as strong as possible. I did not include the calf work in either of the two routines outlined above because they can fit in to either. Decide for yourself the appropriate point for the exercising of the calves. 

Marvin Eder's pressing style (with 300 pounds) is according to York principles, using a wider than average grip. Dave Sheppard writes that Marvin has pressed 315 for 3 repetitions.  


There are still other things to be considered in the development of one's pressing ability. First, according to Marvin, one must concentrate exclusively on the movement one is doing. No one can develop great skill in any sport without paying strictest attention to what he is doing; weightlifting is no exception to this. 

Second, inasmuch as the the weightlifter is seeking above all to increase his power, he must pay more attention than ever before to his diet. He must consume adequate quantities of muscle building foods - lean meats, fresh vegetables, eggs, milk and milk products - and avoid those foods which merely add fatty tissue to his body and contribute little or nothing to his strength.

Finally, one must obtain sufficient sleep so the body can rebuild, stronger than before, the tissues torn down during the course of a workout. Marvin gets about eight or nine hours sleep a night when doing heavy training.

By following the routine described in this article, Marvin hopes to continue to improve his press, a lift which comes naturally to him and in which he hopes he will always be strong. In addition, he hopes to increase his poundage in the other Olympic lifts so that he can become the next 198-lb. weightlifting champion and represent the USA in Europe in the world championships. 

Supporting Marvin's aspirations are his strength, his youth, and his great devotion to a way of life which will not only preserve but augment that strength. They make him a strong contender for the 198-lb. title.   



















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Marvin Eder Trains for the Bench Press - Barton Horvath (1951)

May 9, 2019, 9:31 pm
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Taken From This Issue (May 1951) 


Young Marvin Eder is a "wonder boy" in more than one way. Four short years ago he was a total unknown. 

Note: I found this short write-up in the August 1949 issue of Strength & Health magazine! From the Self Improvement Heroes column.

"Superman at Age of 17"

Dear Bob (Hoffman)

I am sending to you three pictures of a boy who deserves a lot of credit. He is Marvin Eder of the East Side Barbell Club of New York City which is equipped with all York apparatus. Some people don't really believe that Marvin has been working out for just 2 years and 10 months, but it is true. He is 17-1/2 years old and is five feet seven inches tall.

These photos were taken on our club roof. His power is really amazing. You can sen an official to witness his strength. He can supine (bench) press 340 for 2 reps, Press 255, and do 3 full dips with 260 lbs. (a fat man holding on his legs). Marvin squats 370 lbs. for 10 reps and he does 6 underhand chins with 125 lbs. tied to his waist. And last, which I think is amazing, 5 reps with 155 lbs. stiff-arm pullovers on a bench. His bodyweight is 181 lbs. stripped.

Irvin Snyder.      



Okay then . . . 

One year after he had his first taste of the "iron pills," he astounded the bodybuilding world, at the age of 15, by taking second place in the Jr. Mr. North America contest, being nosed out of the title by the sensational Johnny Icino. The next year, he reversed this decision, winning the title. One year later he again amazed the critics by annexing the title of Mr. Eastern America, upsetting predictions with a smashing victory over the great Leo Robert, and today, just 19 years of age, he is not only one of the world's GREATEST physique stars, but recently he unofficially established a world's record in the bench press, a stupendous lift of 410 pounds!!!

Still growing in size, his present height is 5' 8.5", weight 190 pounds, upper arms of 18", chest 49, waist 32 and thighs of 26" give some indication of the even greater glory which is destined to be his in future years. 

Streaking across the strength and muscle horizon with the blinding speed of a comet, in four years he has blazed a path of physical acclaim which will glow forever. Remarkable as his massive muscular perfection is, right now his greatest fame lies in his record shattering ability in the bench press . . . which is the King of Lifts among bodybuilders. There is one question uppermost in the minds of bodybuilders . . . "How did Marvin Eder train for power in the bench press?" 

It was to gain the answer to this question that I recently sat down with Marvin at Abe Goldberg's great gym in New York City. It here that Marvin always trains, and anyone who enters this most modern and thoroughly equipped gym, one of the very finest in the world, finds himself at once seeped deep with an atmosphere of STRENGTH and MUSCLE. No wonder Marvin established his record there . . . the place brings out the very best that is in you. 

I have known Marvin quite well for several years, and have been watching his sparkling career carefully. The very first time I saw him, I recognized the he possessed all the qualities for physical greatness, so his recent triumph was not a surprise to me. The bench press of 410 pounds, while unofficial, still is one that cannot be denied. Performed in perfect style, on a Jackson International bar, known for its accuracy, the lift was witnessed by Joe Weider, Abe Goldberg, Frank Stranahan, Charlie Smith and many others.

Without any reflection upon the great lift of Marvin Eder in any way, it should be mentioned in fairness to all that since he made the record, Danny Prata of Rhode Island has been reported as performing a bench press of 415 pounds, which exceeds Marvin's poundage. However, at the time of this writing, Marvin is devoting all his time and energy to pushing the record even higher, so it is very possible that by the time this article appears in print he may have made 420 or even more. He told me that he is confident that he will make 420 to 430 within three months. I feel that he will.

The first thought in my mind when I started my interview was how it felt to make a record, and I asked Marvin this. The answer was that of course he was thrilled, but also was a bit surprised to make it. He had been very busy at work the previous month, and had been able to train very little. Two days before, he had taken his first big workout in a month, in which he had done a lot of sets of bench presses, besides a full program for the other parts of his body. His muscles were just a little stiff after this workout. Still, when he tried the first weight the night of his record performance, he knew that he was set, for his starting poundage of 330 pounds went up like a feather.

Marvin feels that it may have been his irregular training the previous month which had given him a needed break in his workouts, and permitted him to build up the reserve for this record lift. Always a hard and steady worker, in the four years he has been training he has had no real layoff, except the one mentioned. He now realizes that a rest once in a while may be helpful and has decided to take at least two full days of rest in the future before again trying for a record. This makes good sense and shows one quality which Marvin possesses which will be a great asset. He is always willing to learn, and doesn't have that attitude that he knows it all. He is fast to recognize new ideas which can help him with an open mind. He feels that he has learned another important lesson through this forced layoff.

I was curious to find out whether there was any guide that a beginner could use to determine whether or not he possessed unusual ability in the bench press. Marvin feels that if a beginner can bench press more than he can either curl or standing press at the start that this is an indication that he can go places in the lift. In his own case, he was able to bench press 110 pounds the first attempt, which was considerably more than he could curl or standing press. Of course he agrees that this is not a fast rule, but it did prove itself in his case.

It was not until two years ago, however, that Marvin showed any real ability in the movement. Up to this time he seldom practiced it, and then one day at the suggestion of Abe Goldberg he included it in his routine, with the main idea being to develop more impressive arm, chest and shoulder muscles. Finding 200 pounds too light, he decided to try his strength at heavier workouts and succeeded in his first workout with 270! It was then he determined to specialize on the exercise with the idea in mind to someday break the record.

From that day on up to the present, the bench press has always been his first exercise. By placing it first in his routine he felt that he would have more power and energy to give it all he had each workout, and the results speak for themselves. He has never skipped the exercise in his workout since.

While he feels that many factors are responsible for his present success, the one he stresses more than any other is the fact that he has worked hard and steadily on the bench press year in and year out. This certainly is a logical presumption, for hard and steady work certainly stands as a proven success formula in any field of endeavor.

Marvin cautions against anyone specializing entirely on one lift. It is his contention that only the bodybuilder with the utmost all around development will smash the records. Therefore, if you do hope to become a top bench presser, you must never neglect your other exercises. If you do, there will be a certain spark lacking which will hold you back. In fact, Marvin is so convinced of this close association of all around physical power for a record performance in any lift that he presently is paying a lot of attention to the deadlift, feeling that steady practice in it will give him still more all around power which in turn will push his bench press up further.

His exact method of practicing the bench press is one which will build both power and muscular size. He performs at least 5 sets each workout. The first is the heaviest, using a weight he can handle for about 3 reps. Then he drops the weight 20 pounds and performs about 5 reps. Then another drop in weight and about 7 reps. He continues this until his final set finds him using a weight he can handle for up to 12 reps. This, in a sense, is a variation of the rest pause method of training, which is known for creating tremendous power. Marvin's variation includes the essentials for large muscle building as well.

While each workout is a tremendous one, Marvin wisely sticks to the three-times-a-week training program. More than that is too much in his opinion. "You must rest a lot when you train hard with weights," says Marvin. "If you don't, you're bound to go stale and not progress as you should. Too many lifters and bodybuilders try to develop overnight, and hold back their own progress by training too often. In some special cases, for a short period of time, particularly before a bodybuilding contest, 5 or 6 workouts a week can make you razor-sharp, but year in and year out three times a week has been proven best for the vast majority of bodybuilders. Remember that the next time you become overanxious!

Being that Marvin only weighs 190 pounds, which is fairly light for a man who raises such tremendous poundages, I asked him if he thought bodyweight was important in the bench press. His answer was that bodyweight in itself was not as important a factor as the development of as close to maximum muscular size as possible. In other words, a short man who was heavily muscled stood as good a chance as a larger man with an equal degree of development in this lift. It is logical to see how a pair of 16" muscular arms on a short man could be as powerful or more powerful in a lying movement as a pair of 18" arms on a taller man. The taller man would have to push the weight further, his bones would be longer, and actually inch-for-inch he would have no greater proportionate development. His bodyweight, while a definite advantage in the standing lifts, would do him little good when lying down. Marvin, with his bodyweight of 190 and arms of 18: at a height of 5' 8/5" is proportionately just as massively developed as John McWilliams, who stands much taller, weighs 250 or so and whole arms hit well over 20 inches. Incidentally, McWilliams has performed an official bench press of 408.5 pounds, which I believe is still recognized as the official record, unless Prata's 415 has been officially accepted at this time. The comparison between Marvin Eder and is an ideal example to prove the above point.

But sheer, massive development is not the whole answer. Quality of muscle is even more important, and highest quality comes from working a muscle hard from all possible angles, according to Marvin. This too, is something I have been preaching for many years. You need variety of exercise and apparatus to do the job right.

While Marvin uses heavy weights in each workout on the bench press, he does not bench to his limit too often. He prefers to stay well within himself generally, and then, when he feels like shooting for a record he starts a bit higher for each workout for several weeks, gradually coaxing the muscles to handle more and more weight until he has them set for the very limit.

The bodybuilder and lifter can learn another important lesson here. Too often is a record attempt made on the spur of the moment. By this I mean a "personal" record attempt. A man will go to the gym and say to himself, "I feel good today. Guess I'll try my limit." Then he goes and pulls up a lot of weight without any preparation beforehand. More often than not he won't lift as high a poundage as he would have had he prepared properly. And sometimes he will pull a muscle or do damage to himself.

On the other hand, Marvin plans his record attempts well in advance. Weeks in advance. In this way he protects himself from any strain, and also is correctly "set up" for the very best performance.

Some of you may remember that Marvin has been mentioned more than once in these publications for his remarkable endurance. He has performed over 1,000 parallel bar dips and 500 chins in a workout. I next asked him if he felt that this endurance work helped him in any way in his bench press. The answer was . . . NO! He enjoys dipping and chinning, and once in a while follows such a workout. However, he does not feel that this has helped him in the bench press in any noticeable way. I am inclined to agree with him there . . . but it is certainly amazing for a man to have all the power, endurance and massive development all wrapped up in one package of physical perfection the way Marvin does.

I knew that readers would want to know the exact routine Marvin follows in his bench press training, so I asked him this next. Here it is.

The first exercise is the wide grip bench press.


The number of sets and weights you use will depend on your experience, however, it is advises that you employ the most weight the first set and decrease the weight each succeeding set, increasing your reps accordingly. Use a weight you can do about 4 reps with the 1st set and then wind wind up with a weight you can do about 10 reps with on the last set. 3 to 4 sets total will be the best for the majority.

The next exercise is the parallel bar dip.


Marvin has done 1 rep with 345 pounds attached to his body, and 10 reps with 230! At first you may only be able to use your own bodyweight. Later on, attach some weight to keep making the exercise difficult. Perform 3 sets of 10 reps here.

Now for a variation of the bench press.


Perform a regular floor press with the hands held a little wider than shoulder width. Marvin can handle more weight in this exercise than in the bench press, owing of course to the shorter action. He feels it gives him more drive in the middle of the bench press.

The power press off boxes will get you used to handling stupendous poundages and give you sensational lockout power.


It will also strengthen your wrists, elbows and shoulders, creating a new type of ligament and tendon power so necessary for limit bench presses. This exercise is a new addition to Marvin's routine, but already it has paid off with huge dividends and he is convinced that it is one of the very greatest. Reps and sets the same as the bench press.

For a wind-up, Marvin likes a direct triceps movement, and generally performs the standing triceps curl with a dumbbell, exercising each arm separately.


In this, he sticks to sets of about 10 reps and generally performs about 4 sets for each arm.

Then, after these 5 exercises are concluded, Marvin takes a short rest and goes into the rest of his program. A beginner should break in with lights weights and only one or two sets of each exercise. After a while he should increase the weights and sets, with 4 sets of each exercise being the limit.

Time was running out and Abe Goldberg's gym had become a beehive of activity, so it was hard for me to take up too much more of Marvin's time. But there were a few more questions I had to ask.

The first, and important to all bodybuilders and weightlifters, was whether steady practice on the bench press restricted ability on the standing press. Several people in the past have made such an assertion, so I asked Marvin for his opinion on this. His answer was, "Of course not!" He makes no claims of being an authority except where his own training is concerned, but it has been his experience that even when he didn't practice the standing press, every time his bench press went up, so did his standing press. He feels that aside from the element of increased power there is a psychological reaction resulting from handling very heavy weights in the bench press which makes lighter weights used in the standing press comparatively easy. The fact that he now does a 300-lb. standing press, without any real practice on the lift, forcefully demonstrates this fact. He is certain that as his bench press climbs up that his standing press will keep pace. I don't see any reason why it should not.

When asked what he thought his potential limitation on the bench press was, Marvin shook his head and said . . .

"I can't see any end in sight. I sincerely feel that a 500 pound lift is within my ability!

THIS -- my friends, is a quarter of a ton!!!
      

         

 






















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So, You Want to Bench Press - Louie Simmons (1992)

May 11, 2019, 2:09 pm
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Article Courtesy of Liam Tweed. 

Note: Here's an article by Louie Simmons from a '92 issue of PLUSA. I'll be 66 wee years old come the end of this month, and it don't bother me at all to be half deaf, half blind, wandering around dribbling pee and shedding hair everywhere . . . as long as I can lift. Hey, look on the bright side. My testicles tell me when it's time to mow the lawn. 

Okay then . . .

The Author. 
See those crutches? 


My goal was always to be a great bench presser (I consider 550 great). I was always impressed by Larry Pacifico.

http://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2014/04/a-seminar-with-pacifico-richard-trimble.html

In 1972 in the Cincinnati Open, I saw him bench 530 at 198. Six weeks later he did 590 at 228 in Dayton. What a feat - especially without a bench shirt! Larry said triceps were 75% of his bench press. He had amazingly strong arms. He could do 300 for reps in the triceps extension.

A man who really helped turn my bench around was Bill Seno.

http://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2008/10/pushing-for-power-part-one-bill-seno.html
http://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2008/10/pushing-for-power-part-one-bill-seno_31.html
http://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2008/11/pushing-for-power-part-three-bill-seno.html
http://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2008/11/pushing-for-power-part-four-bill-seno.html
http://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2008/11/pushing-for-power-part-five-bill-seno.html

He held the 198 bench press record at 435 in 1967. He also won several best chest awards in the Mr. America bodybuilding contests. I asked Bill what would help my bench press, which was a meager 360 at 181 in 1972. He told me to do extremely wide benches outside the rings. He said to work up to a 6-rep max in a few weeks, then to do 8 reps for a while until I maxed out, then 10 reps for a max. I was then to go to 6 reps and start over. I thought he was either a genius of he was trying to pull the wool over my eyes, because he was so massive and benched close - just the opposite of what he told me. It eventually took my bench from 360 to 480 at 220.

After talking to these two great lifters, I became very observant of great bench press technique and body type. I asked a lot of questions then, and I'd like to relate what I learned.

Why are some lifters better bench pressers than others?

Body type plays a big role. A long torso and short arms are optimal - just the opposite for the deadlift. Lamar Gant may argue this, having held the bench press and deadlift world records at the same time, but, Lamar is the exception, not the rule.

It's important to position yourself correctly on the bench. The most common method is to keep your feet flat on the floor, arch the back to elevate your chest, clench your knees to the sides of the bench, pull your shoulder blades together, bring in lots of air, and hold your breath before taking a handout until the press is completed. Don't experiment with different grips or let strangers change your form at a meet.

Where do you place the bar on the chest?

This must be determined individually. The elbows must be under the bar at all times. As Mike Bridges said, the forearms should remain vertical. For example, someone with long upper arms will place the bar well below the chest. This would be wrong for a lifter with short arms, because the elbows would be closer to the face than the bar, forcing the lifter to use too much delt and hardly any triceps. A high chest position for a long upper arm lifter would result in a modified triceps extension, because the fists would be closer to the face than the elbows are. Your forearms act like columns to hold up a bar. A vertical column is stronger than one that is tilted.

Many people don't believe I only train with 365 lbs. but can bench over 500. In my training I use three different grips, two closer than my regular grip. My index finger touches the smooth part of the bar on my closest grip. This method ensures that my shoulders and triceps will not be sticking points when I bench.

I pick my assistance work carefully.

Most lifters tend to train their strong muscle groups and ignore their weak ones. If you have long upper arms, you need extra triceps work to make up for your poor leverage. Do extensions with a straight bar, not an EZ curl bar. Curl bars take the stress off the wrists and elbows; however, you need to work the elbows thoroughly. Warm up with a light weight for about 20 reps to force blood into the tendons and ligaments. This should prevent undue strain.

The elbow joint starts the press, so it seems obvious to me to emphasize triceps strength. Pushdowns only work the lateral triceps head, which does little in pressing movements. A good exercise for triceps is a modified close grip high on the sides (Paul Dick's press). This decreases the bench leverage and forces your triceps to work harder. Remember, all assistance work should be hard. (The exercise should place all the stress on the muscle group you are working). This way, the bench press will feel easy, because so many muscle groups work in unison.

The upper back is very important in benching.

I do a lot of shrugs and standing rows, where I pull the bar to my face. Always pull the shoulder blades together. When I bench, I try to push myself through the bench, or push myself away from the bar. This makes me aware of my back muscles and their use in pressing. I also shrug when I lower the bar. This makes me more compact and tighter while increasing my leverage.

Shoulder work is a must.

If you can't lock out a bar it's not always due to weak triceps. It could be that the shoulders are unable to keep the bar in the groove. There are many good shoulder exercises such as front plate raises, front bar raises with straight arms, and side raises - standing, seated, or lying on your side.

Don't forget rear delts.

Try inverted flyes or stand up and pull a lat bar to your face. I also do Bradford presses. These are like military presses, except you never extend the arms fully. Press the weight just over the head, down behind the neck, over the head to the front shoulders and repeat. This keeps the triceps out of the exercise so the delts do all the work. Behind the neck presses get a lot of attention because of great lifters like Ted Arcidi. However, I know a lot of lifters who get great at behind the neck presses but can't bench press well. I believe muscles other than the shoulders are doing the work. Anytime you do pressing, your triceps could be doing a lot of the work. Raises of all types are better at working the shoulders because only the delts are used. Reverse grip benches work well. The delts don't rotate with this exercise. I recommend using just 2 or 3 exercises for front delts at one time. Then, switch to 2 or 3 others after a few weeks.

The side delts are also important for a big bench press.

When bench pressing, the sticking point occurs when the elbows turn out. A wide grip bench presser turns out in the beginning of the press. That's where it will be hardest without a shirt. Of course, a close grip bencher stalls near the top. I sue a cable device for side delts. Also, I lie on my side on a bench and do side raises with a dumbbell. Make the movement with a straight arm in the largest circle possible. I use a pec deck in reverse for rear delts. I also do standing pulls to my face on a lat machine, pulling the arms outward.

Dumbbells are a must.

I like high reps, heavy weight on a slight incline and slight decline. I've done 125 lbs. for 20 reps in the incline. I believe high reps are best because dumbbells should be used to build connective tissue as well as muscle. This can't be done with 3 to 5 or even 8 reps. I keep my elbows turned inward to simulate my bench press style and to use more muscles in unison.

My main triceps exercise is extensions with a straight bar to the chin or throat I prefer bringing the bar to my throat because more elbow rotation is needed, and, of course, the elbow is what extends the arm. I do them lying down in the same fashion as a French press. I roll the elbows backward and upward. This is how you put stress on the triceps around the elbow. Once the bar touches the throat, press straight up. Most lifters I watch do triceps extensions incorrectly. They don't move the elbows on the way down, but cheat by lowering the weight down toward the chest before pressing it back up. It becomes a modified press and not an extension. I also do regular seated French press with a cable.

Larry Pacifico and former Mr. USA, Jim Seitzer, did a lot of handstand push-ups. However, you need a partner with these, and there's no way to add weight. I use a similar method where I elevate my feet and place a bar across the bottom of a power rack to do push-ups. I have done 58 reps with a 100-lb. plate. It works like an incline press.

Try a cambered bar, too. I have had great success with using the cambered bar in a power rack where I lower it to pins 2 inches below chest level. My thumbs are inside the curved part of the bar. These are great for triceps. And there's no strain on the shoulders.

I also do rack work at three different levels. First I take the bar off the supports and lower it to a pin 6 inches off my chest, pause without relaxing, and press it back up. Work up to a certain weight. Lower the pin to 4 inches off the chest and do a reduced weight. Lower the pin to 2 inches and the weight accordingly, pause, and do a single rep. Then lower the pin to chest level, reduce the weight, pause, and do a single rep. Establish a max off each pin level. This workout is harder than you think on shoulders and arms because your body can't help press the bar.

To increase the concentric (ascent) portion of the bench, I do isokinetic bench presses. They're great for explosion and compensatory acceleration. The machine has a force meter to gauge your force output, which should increase at the top. If it doesn't, you're not using compensatory acceleration - the secret of a big lift of any type. Fred Hatfield discussed the value of isokinetics with me years ago.

The descent is very important to a good lifter.

A controlled descent is best. Naturally the faster you lower a weight, the greater its downward force. For example, you may be able to walk on thin ice, but you better not jump on it. Jumping magnifies your weight.

As far as the pause, or static portion of the lift, just hold your breath from the time you take the bar out of the rack until you finish the set. (I hold my breath for 5 reps.) I thought this was common knowledge, but after watching people at meets I found I was wrong. Larry Pacifico told me about holding my breath in 1973. I first saw it in Powerlifting USA in March '91 in an article by Alan Zeitlin. This is an example of something so simple, but overlooked by so many.

*****Fer sure! From April '91 Ploosa:

The Secret Bench Press Technique by Alan Zeitlin

This secret never has been published. Even thorough bench press analysis has missed it. I developed the method almost 30 years ago. I realized that the movement was unknown.

The technique is an addition to form, and also, it is a technical correction of an error. One that is committed by the world's best. The following explanation is not difficult to learn or remember. The procedure is simple. The secret is to take the bar only after the lungs are filled. Keep the chest full and hold that breath before getting the bar.

It is impossible to get as much air while supporting the weight. The very poundage of the loaded bar prevents it. The chest cannot be held as high, tight, or ready as it could be.

The higher the chest is held the shorter the bar has to be pressed. The less the load has to travel the greater the amount lifted. Scientifically, other advantages that allow and aid maximal strength are enhanced: greater intra-thoracic and consequently greater intra-visceral pressure.

Prior to the attempt, show spotters when to hand off. A brief rehearsal is all that is necessary. The last deep breath is the most dramatic. It will be easily recognized by the spotter(s). While lying on the bench, two distracting steps have to be removed: Asking for the bar, and taking a breath after getting it. There is no need to diminish air intake by actually giving a verbal request for the weight.

Concentration is greater. Focus is not interrupted.

It now becomes apparent that inhaling after getting the bar overhead is incorrect. It is self-defeating. Proper technique is to take the attempt breath BEFORE receiving the weight.*****

Chest work is popular among powerlifters. You see some with massive pecs and others with hardly any. I don't believe a great chest is necessary, but I'm sure it can't hurt. Wide grip benches for reps will build the chest. I found by doing 40% of my max for 2-3 sets of 25 reps 4 times a week I could really build my chest. A cambered bar works fine, if you're not restricted by tight shoulders. Remember, incline works the upper chest and decline works the lower. Don't do either too steep.

Biceps and forearms have some effect on lowering a bench press.

I tore my right biceps in 1979 and never had it repaired. Now, I regret it because the right side of my upper body is smaller than the left. The reason is probably the limited resistance I have on that side when lowering and pulling weights. Forearms are apparently very important. They act as stabilizing muscles for a controlled descent. I have also noticed that when my grip is weak, I can't bench as well. I've never seen a great bencher with small forearms. Have you?

To train the assistance bench day, I choose only 2 main exercises at the most, such as incline and decline dumbbells. I stay with them for 3 or 4 weeks or until I burn out mentally or physically. The first week or two I get acquainted with them and then it's time to break my rep record with a certain weight. I may be able to increase for a week or two, then I usually become stale. I switch to a new pair of exercises, such as cambered bar and weighted push-ups for 3 or 4 weeks. Then I may switch to rack presses using 3 different levels for a set amount of weeks and switch to a stand-up bench press machine.

You can train heavy this way all year long. If light workouts worked, that's all I'd do. But they don't. I have seen people train heavy for only 6 months of the year because they touched every piece of equipment in the gym and had nowhere to turn. This has never happened to me. I can't afford to take off weeks on end; there are too many talented lifters out there who are half my age. On your assistance day, make small realistic goals.

One sure way to increase your bench press is to gain weight.

Every time Larry Pacifico talked to someone about getting stronger he would say, "gain weight." I thought those were the only two words he knew. And for those of you who say you can't gain -

BULL!

Quit looking in the mirror and be more concerned with your lifts. I've done well in 5 weight classes. There are so many supplements to choose from that anyone can gain.

The most important thing I use in my workouts is my training partners.

We load weights, analyze, cheer, push, and support each other. No matter how bad we may feel, at least one of us will bring the rest of the group up. I used to watch a great lifter train by himself. He claimed he didn't need a partner. Well, he eventually burned out. He had to psyche up so much just to do a workout, he went from being on top of the world to watching from the sidelines. Or, by training alone, you could find yourself never pushing hard enough to make progress. Don't let this happen to you.

Have patience.

It takes years to master anything worthwhile, especially the bench press. I've seen many lifters overestimate themselves and when things got tough, they quit. Think about your goals as often as possible. I see lifters who only think about lifting when they're in the gym. It must occupy your mind full time. Make small goals and you will probably succeed. Look at men like Ernie Frantz, John Ware, and a handful of others. They look like they do and lift what they lift because of PERSEVERANCE. They are dedicated to a single goal - their ultimate strength.

Watch lifters with good form.

There are many methods and exercises from which to discover which will work for you. 18 years ago, Bill Seno told me it takes about 7 years to learn how to bench. It's been 25 years, and I'm still learning.

I want to thank everyone who took the time to teach me what I know today and others for what I will learn tomorrow/








                  






















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Marvin Eder on His Training - 1969

May 12, 2019, 2:34 pm
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Marvin Eder was born Oct. 22, 1931.


It is rather difficult to describe to the reader, in any one encounter, how I trained specifically and in detail. The detail lies in the fact that during the period when I was active in weightlifting I trained in every conceivable manner. There was no exercise, or combination of exercises that escaped my willing efforts. 

Olympic lifting in conjunction with bodybuilding, liberally interwoven with bar work, made up a large part of my training program. As a matter of fact I labored at partial movements as well as full range ones, employing cheating methods as well as strict performance. In some of the strictest forms I was strapped to a pole to enforce absolute rigidity without any motion. 

At other times I raced against the clock, barely having any time to breathe between sets, and this sometimes was counterbalanced with other sessions that afforded as much as 20 minutes of rest between sets.

Perhaps this hodge-podge, this veritable deluge of myriad workouts will confuse and frighten away the fledgling weightlifter. There is, however, no need to flee in disgust or to seek hidden knowledge from false prophets. There existed one unmistakable trend through all the years of my training, and this paramount feature marked my every workout: Ultimate and maximum exertion was the trademark of all my training. 

 I guess the best way to impart my method of training for exact reference would be to relate one particular training routine. This training program was distinguished by its use of dumbbells in a very special manner. The same pair of dumbbells, that weighed 120-pounds apiece, were used throughout the whole workout. 

I commenced the workout by doing seated presses for 5 sets, and doing between 10 and 15 presses. I then went on to curl them, still in seated position, from 5 to 8 times and repeated that for 5 sets. The supine (flat bench) press was next in line, doing between 15 and 20 repetitions for another 5 sets. From here I went to the lat machine, and while utilizing a very wide grip I pulled the bar down behind my neck using 370 pounds and gradually decreased the poundage to 300, doing approximately 8 reps and repeating it for 5 sets. Next came the dumbbell triceps curls with the same 120-pounders while in a supine position, which I repeated for 5 sets and averaged 8 reps per set. 

The aforementioned procedure constituted the upper body portion of my training which I alternated with the lower body the following day. I started the lower body program by doing 5 sets of parallel squats and fluctuating with poundage from 350 to 475 pounds while doing 10 reps per set. The calves were worked next by having a training partner sit on my back (donkey calf raise) while resting the ball of the feet on a four inch block, then raising up high on the toes. High reps were usually followed and were especially productive for stimulating growth. Unusual attention was paid to making sure that full extension and contraction of the calves was achieved. The midsection came next and was worked for 5 sets of 10 with legs bent while on a very high incline and using 50 pounds for resistance. 

Of course, this training regime was only one of the many I went through and profited by.

I have always maintained a belief that only a certain type of training would have lasting benefits and create fundamental changes to one's body. This belief or guide can be stated as follows: 

Training for development AND power concurrently would achieve these so-called lasting factors. My hypothesis is based upon many years of training of which I am the principle example of my belief. I use myself as proof of my contentions in all humility. Can there be any finer evidence supporting my theory than if my own body were put to the test of critical and glaring scrutiny? 

I offer as proof a photograph taken at about the same time this article was written (above). I further state that I have not engaged in any serious training for about 10 years prior to writing this article and having this photo taken. Now, draw your own conclusions. 

A note for the reader: 

I am still capable of cleaning and pressing 285 pounds! 

That's evidence of lasting power, is it not?      


















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A 1991 Ken Leistner Article

May 12, 2019, 3:12 pm
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As often as it is said that "the more things change, the more they stay the same" it just as often remains true. In the sport of powerlifting, there have been obvious advances in the areas of equipment and nutritional supplementation, but a close look reveals that the basics of the sport and those that participate in it provide a constant that is a positive.

If one opens up the pages of PLUSA from issues dating back to the early '80s, there are several manufacturers and suppliers supplying belts to our very specialized market. The originator of the thick, wide, powerlifting belt was Bob Morris. One of the best squatters of the late 1970's and early 1980's was a California lifter by the name of Marvin Phillips. Bob made the first belt for Marv, and it was such an obvious advantage that others soon requested one for themselves. Within a short period of time Bob was making his quality belts on a full time basis. He was the first to use suede coverings, both for improved function and appearance. His buckle designs evolved so that the belt could be used in an "easy on/easy off" manner.

In these older PLUSA magazines, there are others providing belts to the market, but it seemed to be the general agreement that Bob's was the best. A look at today's magazine yields the same results. There are a number of belts available, but in my opinion Bob Morris still made the best one. And do these belts help? Are they an advantage over the typically seen skinny gym models?

Dr. Tom McLaughlin, also within the pages of an old PLUSA, provided good research data indicating that the production of increased intra-thoracic pressure provided, in effect, a rigid column anterior to, or in front of, the spinal column, that supported the spine in a significant manner. The proviso was that one wore the belt very tightly, tightly enough to at least allow for the internal pressure increase. The smaller belts do not do this to a significant degree. This means that it is impossible to benefit from the belt if it is worn loosely, so it becomes obvious that one cannot strut around the gym in one's belt. It has to be tightened to the point of discomfort prior to a set, and unbuckled immediately afterward to avoid respiratory discomfort. Was this a step forward? Obviously it was for the purpose of competitive lifting. New type buckles have also been available since the early 1980's, but it is only recently that they are being widely seen.

The tight lifting suits that are unique to powerlifting are also not new. Again, those date back to the late 1970's. George Zangas was one of the earliest to bring a tight fitting lifting suit, made of elastic type material, to the marketplace. John Inzer is relatively new on the block, as Titan, Elite, Bridges, and a slew of others too were selling suits as long as eight years ago. Some materials and design improvements have occurred, but basically, the suit, like the canvas underwear multiple Ace Bandage wraps around the body before them, provides unyielding support which leads to a rebound effect. As much as I detest all of the supportive gear, the suits were a major step forward relative to adding pounds to the total. They don't necessarily lead to gains in "strength" but they will obviously help one to use heavier weights. If we date the first "suit" back to Tom Overholtzer's penguin wrap at the 1968 Seniors, then it is obvious that this, too, is not a new concept.

The so-called advances in nutrition have been discussed often in this column and this magazine. The basics of a multiple vitamin/mineral supplement and protein powder, which long served the lifting community, may still have a place for those who do not eat well, consistently, or enough for what their goals require. A look at the old PLUSA mags indicates that each new "breakthrough" has a lifespan of high popularity of approximately one year, and then settles in for another year or two of sluggish sales. After a while, occasional ads can be replaced by yet another "indispensable" item for increased totals. Many of our football players used Mike Bridges' weight supplement this summer, because it was impossible for them to eat enough to gain weight with the demands of our lifting and running programs, work, and summer classes. Yet, skim milk powder, malt powder, chocolate powder, eggs, peanut butter, bananas, etc., and milk, mixed in a blender could have served a similar purpose, had they wanted to take the time and effort to procure the ingredients and then mix them. Nutrition for the lifter, despite claims that increases in totals have occurred because of it, hasn't changed in decades. Despite the glitz, like training, the accessories, nutrition, and equipment have remained stable and basic. The same could be said of training methods, although that's something we discuss constantly.

BE CONSISTENT, EAT WELL, USE SAFE, CLEAN EQUIPMENT, AND HAVE FUN. 
THESE ARE THE TRUE KEYS TO PROGRESS.      













  
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When in Doubt, Overload - Bill Starr (1996)

May 13, 2019, 10:03 pm
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Taken from This Issue (Oct. 1996) 

Note: This is the 3rd installment of Bill Starr's Only the Strong Shall Survive series he wrote for IronMan magazine. The first two are here: 



Nice to also note that there's yet another generation out there learning from Bill's hard-won expertise. Timeless beauty, Baby! 




When in Doubt, Overload

The strength-training principle of overload has been around for a very long time. Historians credit Milo with bringing it to the civilized world, although I have a suspicion that a number of cavemen practiced the concept with various sized rocks. 


Milo began lifting a small calf every day, and as the calf grew into a stout young bull, Milo got progressively strong. He'd overloaded his muscles and attachments very systematically. 

The idea seemed reasonable enough and easy enough. At least that's what I though when I was 14. My father brought me a Holstein calf to raise for a 4-H project. I decided to emulate Milo, for I desperately wanted to add some muscle to my frame. For two weeks the plan worked rather nicely. At least it did for me. Elmer wasn't too keen on my experiment in strength development, but, fortunately for him, he grew much too rapidly and quickly outdistanced by strength gains, and I had to give up the project. 


Note: Calf birth bodyweight can vary by as much as 60 pounds in a typical Holstein herd with the average newborn heifer calf weighing 85 pounds. Heifers will weight at least 440 pounds at eight months of age. Mature Holstein cows typically weigh 1,500 pounds and stand just under six feet at the shoulders.    

The principle was still quite valid, but, as I later learned, you have to increase the rate more slowly than I expected. That's one of the great things about weights. You can add them in extremely small increments. 

  

The Overload Concept applies to all forms of strength training, as well as bodybuilding. It's often misunderstood, however, simply because there are so many ways in in which you can overload the body. Some forms of exercise do not apply. Only when you force your muscles, tendons and ligaments to work at a greater intensity than usual or to work for a longer period of time than normal will they gain added strength or endurance.

In a nutshell, the overload principle means that increased strength only occurs when you push your body beyond its normal limits, when you force it to work harder than it did before. Overloading requires that you place your muscles and attachments under increasingly more stress. You should apply the new stress systematically and steadily to allow your body time to adapt. Try to move too fast and overloading will become a detriment to progress rather than an asset.

This principle is based on the idea that the proper kind and amount of increased physical activity will bring about improvements in the range of joint motion, level of structural strength, tone, size and endurance of skeletal muscles. The same principle also applies to aerobic activities. Overloading for endurance brings about improvement in the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Runners practice the overload principle when they slowly increase their weekly and monthly distances. This enables them to run farther without fatigue. 

Since overloading requires pushing the body beyond its normal limits, athletes often intentionally go through a period of over-training (overreaching). It's a necessary part of getting stronger, but you can't remain in a state of over-training for very long. Prolonged over-training is a definite negative and is something to avoid, but you must be willing to face a brief period of being especially tired or sore in order to move to the next level of strength fitness. 

Overloading is often equated with the progressive-resistance system, another important principle of strength training. The two are closely linked, but they're not the same thing, nor are they dependent on one another. The term "progressive-resistance training" refers to the technique of starting each exercise with a light weight and steadily adding more poundage to the subsequent sets. 

This system is valuable because it lets the muscles and attachments become thoroughly warmed up before they encounter the heavier weights. It also lets you hone your technique on a particular exercise before trying your max. Even so, you can use the progressive-resistance system without overloading, and, conversely, you can overload without using the progressive-resistance system. 

I mentioned above that the overload principle is often misunderstood because there are several ways to incorporate it into the program. 

For example, one method of overloading is to handle more weight in a certain exercise than you used before. If you move your bench press from 300 to 305, you overload your pressing muscles and make them stronger. 

You can also overload isometrically by applying pressure to a stationary bar for a longer period of time.    

Another valid form of overloading is to increase the total amount of work you perform in a session, or even your total workload for a week or a month. You can do this by adding more exercises to your routine, or by increasing the number of sets or reps. 

One method of overloading that people generally don't think about is to increase your rate of work by training faster, with shorter rests, completing your routine in less time than usual. Since this forces your body to work beyond its normal limits of physical stress, it meets the requirements of overloading. 

Everyone who wants to get stronger has to do some form of overloading, but not everyone should use the same type. There should be a direct relationship between the technique you use and your level of development. In other words, beginners should overload much differently from advanced trainees. When a beginner, influenced by some article in a magazine, tries to copy one of his idol's programs, he usually comes up short because he just doesn't have the foundation to make such methods work.

There's plenty for the beginner to do, however. The first step is to slowly increase the total workload. "SLOWLY" is the key word here. Many zealous beginners add exercises to their programs too rapidly. This is certainly understandable. They want to move out of the beginner stage as quickly as possible, but doing too much too soon is as undesirable as doing too little.

Beginners can benefit from moving through their workouts more aggressively, taking less rest time between sets. This can establish a more solid fitness base and leads to a higher strength level. Beginners can also overload by handling slightly heavier poundages on heavy days, even if it's for fewer reps than usual.

An important point to keep in mind is that any form of overloading only brings positive results after you establish a firm foundation. In other words, it's only productive when your body is ready to handle more work.

The best way to establish a solid base is to increase your workload. This is most useful for beginners and intermediates. I compare it to building the foundation of a pyramid. Once you sufficiently widen that foundation, you can build the crown of the structure much higher. The same holds true in strength training. Being able to do more work in a week and recover from that work will enable you to handle higher top-end poundages.

You can increase your workload in several ways. You can do more warmup sets, more top-end sets, or more back-off (a.k.a. cool down) sets, or you can increase the number of reps in your normal sequence. For beginning and intermediate lifters I recommend more warmup and back-off sets. For the more advanced, more top-end and back-off sets fills the bill quite nicely.

The back-off set is a very productive way to add to your total workload. It's also an easy way of increasing the amount of work you do on any exercise. The back-off set should not be easy; it should only be relatively easy in comparison to your heaviest set on that exercise. 

Let's say you've been doing your squats for the conventional 5 progressively heavier sets of 5 reps, ending with 350 for the required number of reps. To increase your workload, simply start doing a back-off set of 8 reps with 295. After you handle the 350 for 5, the 295 isn't going to feel all that heavy, but the one extra set will add over another ton to your workload (295 x 8 = 2360). 

Another painless way to slip in some extra work is to do 1 or 2 additional sets on the way up to the heaviest poundage. This works best on the light and medium days, as the extra sets can detract from your maximum attempts if you do them on your heavy day. As with the back-off set, when you add extra sets with 185 and 275 for 5 reps on the way to 350 for 5, the additional work isn't tiring, but it will increase your day's workload on the squat by over a ton (185 x 5, plus 275 x 5 = 2300). 

There are some exercises that you should do for relatively higher reps, and the best way to increase the total workload on these is to add extra reps slowly. Good mornings and stiff-legged deadlifts are perfect examples. I recommend keeping the reps at 8 on those two lifts, but at some point you're not going to be able to get out that many reps with a new weight. To keep making progress, start doing only 5 reps when you go up in poundage and then add 1 rep per week until you can perform the necessary 8. When you move to the next poundage level, drop your reps back to 5 again and follow the same procedure. 

Also, I never advise doing back-off sets on those two movements. If you want to increase your workload, do more warmup sets, generally with a rather light weight.

Once you're satisfied that you have, indeed, built a sound foundation of strength, then you're ready to do other forms of overloading - primarily, to increase the intensity of each exercise. Since the basic sets and reps formula for strength is 5 sets of 5 reps, most trainees start out using that routine. Eventually, in order to involve the attachments more directly, you have to lower the reps and increase the poundage. 

Unless you put your tendons and ligaments under stress, they won't get any stronger, and the attachments are really the key to this. You can increase the size and shape of a certain muscle by using light-to-moderate weights, but in order for that muscle to become considerably stronger, you must overload the attachments. 

So, instead of doing an exercise for 5 reps, do it for 3, 2, or even 1, for this will force your tendons and ligaments to become involved to a much greater extent. I also find it extremely useful to change your sets and reps sequence for an individual exercise on your heavy day. 

For example, let's take everyone's favorite, the bench press. Say, Monday is your heavy day each week. One Monday do 3 progressively heavier sets of 5 reps as a warmup, then 2 heavier triples (3's) followed by one back-off set of 8. On the next Monday do 3 progressively heavier sets of 5 reps as warmups, then 3 heavier doubles followed by a back-off set of 8. For the third Monday switch to 3 progressively heavier sets of 5's followed by 2 or 3 singles (1-rep sets). When you do singles, ease up by performing back-off sets of 5 instead of 8. The constant change will keep your body from becoming complacent, and this is really one of the keys to getting stronger.

More advanced lifters can benefit from doing more sets at the top end on any of these sequences. So, instead of doing 2 or 3 sets of 2's or 3's, you do as many as 5 sets with your heaviest weight of the day. Since this is quite demanding, skip the back-off sets.

How much is too much? This is strictly an individual matter. Some people can almost immediately handle a much greater workload than their counterparts of the same bodyweight and lifting background. Recovery is a big factor here. If you are unusually tired and sore the next day after a hard workout, you shouldn't do any excessive overloading the next time you train. If you find that you're recovering, however, then by all means overload again.

One way to avoid doing too much is to incorporate the HEAVY, LIGHT, AND MEDIUM SYSTEM into your program. I'll explain this in depth in a future article, but the basic idea is to do a less strenuous workout after you've done a very hard one. If you try to link too many tough sessions back to back, you're asking for trouble, especially in the early and intermediate stages of development. A good rule to follow is to only overload a specific exercise once a week. Some folks find they're better off if they only overload a lift every two weeks.

Keep in mind that the total amount of work you perform in a workout is also a form of over-training. So, if you do additional sets of an exercise and also move up your top-end poundage, you actually do two types of overloading on that lift in one day - which would indicate that you should give yourself some time to recover before you attack it again.               

Here's a fine related article by Anthony Ditillo on The Single and Double Progression Method, something to look at later: 


Once you've been training long enough, you can benefit from advanced forms of overloading. One of the current favorites is forced reps, but I consider this technique to be THE BIGGEST JOKE IN STRENGTH TRAINING. I've never seen a serious strength athlete use forced reps. I can't even imagine an Olympic lifter asking for assistance on his heaviest Clean & Jerk or Snatch. 

The only person who gets any stronger doing forced reps is the spotter. Granted, they may help flush more blood to a muscle group, but for enhancing strength, forget them. 

The cries of "All you! All you!" I often hear in gyms are a total farce because the screaming spotter is the one who's actually pulling the bar through the sticking point for the straining lifter. This is the very part of the movement that needs the extra work. To gain strength in the troublesome area of the lift, the lifter should be working harder, but the assistance relieves him of the needed work. In addition, since the spotter assures the lifter that he only took 2.5 pounds off the bar after they hit the sticking point, the lifter gleefully counts all the reps as successes. It seems to me that this is the same as being carried across the finish line in a race. It would make much more sense for the lifter to do a few extra sets using a weight he can handle properly without assistance. Weight training is not a team sport. 

Negatives are a valid overloading technique, but they should be reserved for the very advanced lifters. Your form has to be hairline, or they won't be effective. They're also a great deal of trouble. You must stay inside a power rack, and you must have two very alert spotters. Power racks are easier to find then reliable spotters, however. 

Negatives take a bit of learning, for you are, in fact, trying to resist a descending bar rather than elevate it. It takes time to learn how to do them and a great deal of time to do them properly. The bar must be moved to to topmost position after each rep, and you must get time to rest. Then weight is added and you do the next rep. Since negative training involves relatively heavy weights, it's a very concentrated form of strength training. This is another topic I'll discuss in detail in the future.

The most effective form of overloading for intermediate and advanced strength athletes is a combination of isometrics and isotonics (sometimes referred to as isometronics . . . there's some articles and book segments on this blog about this method). 

You can only do these safely inside a power rack. You don't need spotters, however, so a person who trains alone can benefit from this technique. 

Isometric exercises are those in which the length of the muscle doesn't shorten during contraction. Pushing against a stationary object and holding the exertion is an isometric exercise. It develops strength because there's tension in the muscles and adjoining attachments. 

Isotonic exercises are those we use most often in training. In this case the muscles do shorten and contract while the work is being done. 

Both of these exercise forms help increase strength, but the combination of the two works best . . . 

Set the pins inside the power rack so that the bar can only move an inch or two. Move (pull of push) the weighted bar into the top pins and hold the contraction for 8 to 12 seconds. Moving the bar up to the pins is isotonic, and holding it against the pins is isometric. 

This method of overloading is extremely useful, since you can isolate weaker areas very specifically and make them stronger. My discussion of hos to use isometrics, "Isometric Incinerator," appeared in the June '96 issue of IronMan. 



More from Bill Starr on isotonic/isometrics:

And here: 
Scroll down for part 1 - 

The original York/Hoffman Isometric Training Manual:

There's one final consideration when you embark on any form of overloading. Make sure you get sufficient rest after an overloading session, regardless of the method you use. Be sure to follow a difficult workout with a light one, and if you use any form of overloading in the power rack, give yourself two days rest afterward.

At some point everyone must overload in order to get stronger. You can select from a variety of programs, or you can go out and buy a calf.  

   
    



















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Isometric Incinerator - Bill Starr (1996)

May 14, 2019, 10:41 pm
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I dug up the issue of IronMan with that Starr isometric article mentioned in the last post.
Wunnerful!


In an article in the October '95 IronMan, Richard Winett, Ph.D., commented, "Remember the fiasco of the early 1960s? Some equipment manufacturers sold thousands of 'isometric power racks' to a gullible public before this worthless concept was proven false."


 The concept has never been proven false, and the isometric contraction system is not at all worthless. On the contrary, isometric exercise - done correctly - is a terrific way to build strength.

The main reason isometrics fell from favor in the strength training community was the disclosure some years after the concept's introduction that those who had made fantastic gains on the isometric system were using steroids at the same time. When someone went on steroids, his lifts increased regardless of the type of training system he was used, so many people assume that the isometric program was just a smoke screen that allowed Bob Hoffman of the York Barbell Company to market thousands of power racks - and that isometrics were useless. It was a classic case of throwing the baby out with the bath water.

John Ziegler, M.D., is often credited with inventing functional isometrics, but this is not, strictly speaking, true. Ziegler was a prominent physician in the Washington, D.C., area, and he was fascinated with strength. He came across some research on the subject done at Springfield College in 1928, but the researchers didn't couple the method with a specific groups of exercises. In 1953 Dr. Mueller of Germany began conducting some experiments with isometrics, but they weren't relevant to strength athletes. Ziegler took the concepts and geared them specifically to Olympic weightlifters. Later, he did the same for bodybuilders.

The early results were most encouraging, but he needed a test subject. He selected Bill March for several reasons.

Note: In case you haven't read this yet, more details from Mr. March here:
https://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2017/09/isometrics-isotron-dr-john-ziegler.html
   
William "Bill" March was a lifter on the rise having just totaled 745 as a 181-pounder, and, most important, was willing to make the 180-mile round trip to Ziegler's base in Olney, Maryland, four or five times a week. His progress - and that of the second subject, Louis Reicke - was staggering in a time when gains came in five-pound increments per year, not 100-pound gains in six months.

People often forget that Ziegler wasn't the only one doing such testing. At Louisiana State University Dr. Barham put 175 subjects through an isometric program and found the average gain in strength to be 5% a week. Many scientists and physical educators wrote papers on the subject. All of their results were very positive: Isometrics would improve strength.

The merits of isometrics were zealously promoted by Bob Hoffman in Strength & Health magazine throughout the '60s. With Hoffman spreading the gospel and prominent researchers such as Dr. C.H. McCloy of Iowa State University and Dr. Arthur Steinhaus of George Williams College in Chicago supporting his claims, isometrics became part of every strength athlete's program until the late 1960. By then, however, the secret had leaked out. Steroids, not isometrics, were the reason the York lifters made such spectacular gains. The system slowly lost favor and eventually was put aside entirely.

The assumption that steroids were the primary factor in the strength gains was absolutely true. March and Riecke would not have gotten as strong had they only used isometrics. They would, however, have gotten a bit stronger with just the isometric exercise.

When the system first came out, hundreds of competitive weightlifters, strength athletes and even bodybuilders used it. They all benefited in terms of improved strength. None of these people used steroids. In fact, only two test subjects, March and Riecke, were using steroids. The rest of us were natural, but when we followed the program as outlined in the magazine and the course, we got stronger. A few did nothing but isometrics three or four times a week, then did squats and the Olympic lifts one day a week. Others preferred to mix the isometrics with their regular routines. Everyone got stronger. Some got a great deal stronger.

I was an Olympic lifter in Dallas at the time, and like everyone else in the Southwest I learned of isometrics from Riecke, for he came to all of the meets in Texas. The isometric training helped my Press somewhat, but it really improved my pulling power. Others had different results, making gains on the presses or squats but not so much on their pulls.

One thing we all discovered was that it took some practice to learn how to perform the isometrics correctly. It was simply a matter of pushing and pulling against a stationary bar. It required a great amount of focus and concentration, so several weeks passed before we got any results from our workouts. It was difficult to tell if we were, in fact, really exerting ourselves completely. 

This is the main reason Ziegler quickly modified his program. He had March and Riecke move a weighted bar a short distance, then lock into an isometric hold for the required count. Those of us in the hinterlands, unfortunately, didn't learn of this adaptation for many years. It seems that Hoffman didn't want to revise his published course - 


although he knew that the change would make it obsolete. 

Winett is partially correct in his comment about equipment manufacturers selling thousands of power racks, but it wasn't a number of manufacturers, it was just one. The York Barbell Company sold all of the racks, and it sold a lot of them. Schools, colleges and YMCA gyms embraced the new system, for it was safe, fairly simple, and could be done quickly.

Note: A lot of people nowadays don't realize how big the isometric thing was in the 1960s.

     Bruce Lee demonstrating one of the "chain" versions of isometric exercise.
There were many companies and individuals selling the 'block and chain' device.


The Roberts "Portable Exerciser"
Wall chart from Mickey Mantle's "Minute a Day" pitch.



Bullworker!

The Iso-7X by Ontel had a "calibrated strength meter" 







Weider's halfhearted entry into the market.




Good Grief.






















Yes, music for isometric exercises! 

But these should not be confused with the more valid isometric and isotonic/isometric (isometronic) forms of strength building that were developed for serious strength athletes. Some of the old ads, you gotta admit, are fun to get a look at.  You get the idea here, I'm sure. Isometrics in the '60s was a saleable item! Just don't get all in a stinkin' huff thinking that Hoffman and York were the only lot that made some money with the idea. 

York also put out a course specifically for football.
Not many people still have a copy of this one.

And here's a great article by Bud Charniga on the marketing of functional isometric contraction:


The real article will  continue from here . . .


















   






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Arm-Focus Routine for Size - Steve Davis

May 16, 2019, 6:50 pm
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Total Body Training That Will Get Your Guns Fired Up for the Summer


In the early 1960s high school weight rooms were jammed with football players doing countless sets of what are called "beachies." In case you're wondering, a beachie is an exercise that builds muscles that look good at the beach. 

In those days there was no value for appearance's sake in working calves, rear delts or any of the finishing muscles that are so necessary for a polished and complete physique. The only bodyparts that were trained in those springtime weight rituals were chest and arms. 

Much has changed since those days but some things remain the same. Summer is coming, and it's time to build those ARMS. 

Enough about history and physique values, however. Here's a routine that's guaranteed to put a bit more size on your arms in six to eight weeks.  

This arm program is part of a total-body routine in which you train with weights five days a week. Now, you can either train a muscle for strength or for endurance. Since you're looking for size, we'll stick with a strength-oriented approach, which in this case means short, intense workouts. 

I like the idea of training the torso one one day, and arms and legs the next. In this program you do your arms and legs sessions three days a week, and work the other muscles twice a week on the following schedule: 

Monday: Torso
Tuesday: Arms and Legs
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Arms and Legs
Friday: Torso
Saturday: Arms and Legs
Sunday: Off

As you can see, Wednesday and Sunday are your off days, and you should take them. Even so, you should try to include 45 minutes of aerobic activity. For instance, take a five or six mile walk, jog at a local park, or ride the hills on a mountain bike. Sure, you can to to the gym and put some miles on a machine, but I prefer the cross-training effect of finding aerobic activity outside of the gym during the Spring and Summer. There is, after all, life outside of the gym. 

Here's the workout for Torso Day: 

Monday/Friday

Chest - 
Bench Press. 4 x 12, 8, 7, 6.
Incline Dumbbell Press. 4 x 12, 8, 7, 6.

Transition
Dumbbell Pullover. 3 x 10-12.

Back - 
Pulldown. 4 x 12, 10, 8, 15.
Barbell Row. 4 x 12, 10, 8, 15.

Shoulders - 
Seated Press Behind Neck. 4 x 10, 8, 7, 6.
Bentover Lateral. 4 x 10. 

Waist - 
Hanging Knee-Up. 4 x 15-25.

Lower Back - 
Hyperextension. 3 x 15-25.


Focus on Arms

I've paired arms and legs in this so-called arms program. There's an old Muscle Beach axiom that says legs are the foundation for all your training. After all, if you can squat with 405, you shouldn't have any problem doing incline curls with 45-pound dumbbells. 

Besides the obvious strength correlation, having powerful legs means you'll have stamina and endurance throughout your body. What's more, training big muscles like thighs and glutes burns bodyfat nicely. 

For this program I've kept the leg workout short and sweet - and heavy. The arm routine is another thing entirely. Here's a rundown of some of the exercises.

Barbell Curl - 
You perform this movement in what I call compound sets, though the technique is also known as strip sets. You perform a set of, in this case, 6 reps with the heaviest weight you can use, then without resting strip off 10 pounds from each end of the bar and perform 6 to 8 additional reps. If you do it right, your biceps will be screaming.

Low Incline Dumbbell Outside Curl - 
For this exercise you plant your elbows against your sides and keep your hands - and the dumbbells - as far out to the side as possible. If you train in front of a mirror, the inside of your upper arms should be visible as you do this movement. When you can't get any more full reps, try to squeeze out 2 to 3 top-half burn reps at the end of each set.

Lying EZ Curl Bar French Press - 
This is a great mass builder. I recommend using an EZ-Bar to take the pressure off your elbows. Be sure to lower the bar behind your head and fully extend on each rep.

Here's the complete Leg and Arm part of the routine. The biceps-triceps combination in the final superset will really gorge your arms with muscle-building blood. 

Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday:

Thighs - 
Squat. 5 x 15, 10, 8, 7, 6.
Leg Extension. 4 x 15, 12, 10, 8.
Leg Curl. 4 x 15, 10, 10, 15.

Calves - 
Standing Calf Raise. 4 x 15-25.

Biceps - 
Barbell Curl. 4 x 6 (see above)
Low Incline Outside Dumbbell Curl. 4 x 10, 8, 7, 6 (see above) 

Triceps - 
Lying EZ-Bar French Press. 5 x 12, 10, 8, 7, 6.
Cable Long Pull. 3 x 12, 10, 8 
superset with
Pushdown. 3 x 12, 10, 8. 

Biceps/Triceps Superset - 
Close Grip Cable Curl. 3 x 10
superset with
Bench Dip. 3 x 15.  

  






















  





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Shoulder Development - Bill Pearl (1954)

May 18, 2019, 12:10 pm
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Article Courtesy of Liam Tweed





See Bill Pearl's booklet "Your Key to Broad Shoulder"here: 



Did you ever notice how men who frown on weight training and always have a sarcastic outlook towards the sport are the first to purchase the suits and sport coats with the exaggerated shoulders? Of course, there is nothing more impressive than a pair of shoulders that takes up a whole seat on a bus - but not with the aid of five pounds of cotton! 

And then, what about the summer, when you can't wear a coat? A person who owns a large pair of shoulders, minus the padding, is sure to look impressive year round.

Some people are blessed with naturally broad shoulders, but most bodybuilders who have reached the "top" in the game spend as much time developing trapezius, and especially deltoids, as they do on their arms and chest. This gives their physiques that finished look that all bodybuilding enthusiasts should set as their goal. Deltoids that are round and full will add inches to their owner's shoulders. 

Many bodybuilding beginners make it a habit to work their arms, pecs, and lats, forgetting their shoulders, which are, or course, just as important. This is a sad mistake, because it is possible for these muscle groups, in time, to get much stronger in comparison to the deltoids and shoulders, as well as out of proportion in size. This makes it all the harder for the deltoids to develop when the trainee finally wakes up and discovers how badly they are lagging. For by now, the other muscle groups have taken over and are doing most of the work. Then the time that could be used developing the rest of the body has to be sacrificed for the specialization needed for the deltoids. 

The "greats" such as John Grimek, Reg Park, and Steve Reeves all have exceptionally massive deltoids and have spent a great time developing them. John Grimek, before the Mr. America contest, stressed several times in his letters that I should work hard on deltoids, if nothing else. He said that deltoids that were big and full would help to exaggerate the smallness of the waist and tend to give a much more massive appearance. He is the one who made me conscious of the great part they play in an impressive physique. If a physique does not have too well developed arms and pectorals, deltoids that are nicely developed can do a lot to compensate for this.

The exercises that are listed in this article are the ones I have done time after time to develop my deltoids. I consider them some of the best there are for adding that championship look to your physique. I suggest that two or three of these exercises be added to your routines as you go along. Primarily, you must remember that one muscle group is as important as another. 

The only time it is advisable to specialize on any one muscle group is when it is lagging behind. Don't make the mistake of using half of your workout periods for your chest or arms. Neither will be as impressive if you haven't the shoulders to support them. Always be conscious of your proportions and symmetry. 

Here, then, are my deltoid exercises: 


1) Upright Rowing: 
These can be done with a barbell, dumbbells, or a floor pulley. All are effective and work the outside of the deltoids, giving them size. The exercise is started from a standing position with the hands fairly close together. As you commence to pull the weight up to a position under the chin, with your elbows out wide, you take a deep breath and hold it until the weight is again at arms' length. The poundage should be kept light enough so that the back is kept straight and very little cheating is done. 3 sets of 10 repetitions should be performed. 

  
2) Press Behind Neck, Seated: 
This is a tremendous exercise and throws most of the work on the deltoids and triceps. Doing them seated permits less back bend and cheating. Lighter weights will have to be used than if the exercise was done standing. A grip of 3 to 5 inches wider than the shoulders should be used. The breath is taken while the barbell is still on the shoulders and held until the weight has been locked out overhead and brought down smoothly. 3 sets of 10 are sufficient. 


3) Press, Seated: 
This exercise is done with a barbell and a grip about shoulder width. The breath is taken as the press begins and held until the weight is again at the starting position. Make sure the elbows are kept in and the arms are locked out overhead. By doing them seated, less bend in the back is allowed and more stress is put on the deltoids and triceps. 3 sets of 8-10 is best here. 



4) One-Arm Military Press: 
Seldom ever seen, this exercise is exceptional for shaping the deltoids and triceps. A dumbbell or barbell is used that is light enough to eliminate all cheating. The arm that is not being used should be held braced against the wall and locked out, supporting the body and keeping it stationary. Using the triceps and deltoids, you push the bar directly over your head and bring the weight down smoothly. You may find it a little awkward at first in balancing the barbell, but a couple of sets and you'll begin to feel more confident with it. The breathing is the same as on the above exercises, and 3 sets of 10 should be performed. 

5) Dumbbell Side Laterals, Straight Arms, Standing: 
A light pair of dumbbells is used in this exercise and the back should be kept straight throughout. The exercise starts with the dumbbells at arms' length at the sides, keeping the arms straight. The dumbbells are brought up to a point higher than the shoulders and lowered slowly to starting position. It is not necessary to raise the weights completely overhead. 3 sets of 15 are enough. 

   
6) Supine Press: 
Needing very little explanation due to its popularity, the supine press is generally done for pectoral development, but it is also very good for front deltoids and triceps. A medium-wide grip should be used and it should not be done for maximum poundage for our purposes here. While pushing the barbell to arms' length, keep your lower back firmly fixed on the bench, making the arms, pecs, and deltoids do all of the work. 3 sets of 8-10 are sufficient. 



7) Bentover Rowing Motion: 
Bent rows are very good for the upper back and rear deltoids. The exercise should be done here with a fairly wide grip on the bar, and the breath taken at the beginning of the pull and held until the weight is again hanging at arms' length. The body should be kept that way. If you find this hard to do, use something to rest your forehead on. Again, 3 sets of 10 should be done. 

8) Handstand Dips: 
For a real deltoid and triceps pump, this one is it! They are done on a pedestal especially made for the exercise, or, on the floor. If you are not able to keep your balance while standing on your hands, do them against the wall or have your training partner hold your legs. Lower your body as far as possible and keep your elbows in. Concentrate on working the deltoids and triceps as you lower and raise your body. Three sets and as many repetitions as possible should be done. 

You will notice that all of the described exercises also bring the triceps into play, making them doubly effective. Include these exercises in your routines to come and you will notice your deltoids beginning to take new shape and your shoulders becoming more impressive. 

Here is the routine I am following with these exercises at the present: 

1) Side bend, 35, 50 each side
2) Situps on incline, 50
3) Close grip chins, 45, 3 x 8-10
4) Concentration curl, 45, 3 x 8-10
5) Press behind neck, 160-190, 3 x 10
6) Military press, 180-200, 3 x 8-10
7) One arm military press, 80-100, 2 x 8-10
8) Straight arm dumbbell laterals, 30's, 2 x 15
9) Barbell row, 200-250, 3 x 10
10) Dumbbell pullover, 100-120, 3 x 10
11) Supine press, 250-290, 3 x 8-10
12) Handstand dips, 3 x 7-10
14. Kneeling triceps pulley extension, 120, 3 x 7-8
15. Bend overs, 75, 10  reps
16. Leg press, 600-650, 2 x 8-10
17. Calves, 2 x 15-20.
  
















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Springtime Mass Builder - Steve Holman (1996)

May 18, 2019, 2:17 pm
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Ah, spring is in the air and thoughts of getting in shape are prying their way back into your conscious mind. When you step outside and feel the warm sun on your neck, you know it won't be long before you'll be going shirtless again - which can send the off-season bodybuilder into extreme panic mode. 

If you're on the verge of spring fever but your physique is still in winter hibernation, it's time to get with a proper program, crank up the training intensity and chisel your muscle structures before summer rolls around. One of the best places to put your plan into action is your very own home gym.

If you train in a commercial facility, don't stop reading just yet. You can use the following training advice and routine no matter where you work out. It's simple, straightforward and only requires three days a week. 

Here's the routine: 

Monday

Squat: 2 x 6-8
Leg extension: 1 x 8-10
Leg Curl: 2 x 6-8
Bench press: 2 x 6-8
Low incline flye: 1 x 8-10
Incline dumbbell press: 2 x 6-8
Undergrip chin: 2 x 6-8
One-arm dumbbell row: 2 x 6-8
One-leg calf raise: 2 x 10-20


Wednesday

Deadlift: 2 x 6-8
Dumbbell press: 2 x 6-8
Lateral raise: 2 x 8-10
Triceps Kickback: 2 x 8-10
Lying triceps extension: 2 x 6-8
Concentration curl: 2 x 8-10
Seated dumbbell curl: 2 x 6-8
Wrist curl: 1 x 8-10
Reverse wrist curl: 1 x 8-10
Crunch: 2 x 8-10


Friday

Front squat: 2 x 6-8
Leg extension: 2 x 8-10
Stiff-legged deadlift: 2 x 6-8
Bench press: 2 x 6-8
Low incline flye: 1 x 8-10
Incline dumbbell press: 2 x 6-8
Undergrip chin: 2 x 6-8
One-arm dumbbell row: 2 x 6-8
One-leg calf raise: 2 x 10-20


Not many sets? You'll be using a 2 second up/2 second down rep cadence, and taking every set to positive failure. 

You hit delts directly only once a week. As with the arms, you pound your delts indirectly during other exercises on Monday and Wednesday, primarily cheat and back work.

You do lower reps on the compound movements and slightly higher reps on the isolation exercises. This should help you concentrate on moving heavy weights on the big power exercises, and focusing feel on during isolation moves. Make your single-joint exercises very deliberate and concentrate strongly on each rep of every set. 

You do squats on Monday and front squats on Friday. This gives you some nice variation. If you truly hate front squats, you can do regular squats on both days, but try doing them flat-footed on one day and with your heels elevated on the other. 

Train hard on every exercise, but don't start adding extra sets. Put your energy into making each set intense and put out when approaching positive failure.    










  
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Powerlifting and Its Importance to the Population - Matt Wenning

May 18, 2019, 3:36 pm
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In my 20-plus years of professional lifting, coaching and helping many achieve their individual goals and sporting endeavors, I have learned one major thing: 

Powerlifting and its movements are for everyone, regardless of their ability and needs. There are no machines that replace the squat, deadlift or bench press. Many may argue this point, but I'm here to educate those people.


Powerlifting Movements Make You Strong

This may sound like a general statement, and it is. But many things come back down to one thing: Strength. If you are not strong, your limits are finite. Furthermore, your injury level during certain tasks, moving, lifting, running, etc., is a a much higher rate. Being strong is sometimes the only way to combat an environment that is less than optimal. And those situations are all around us, every day. 

People argue that squatting and strength training are dangerous.  
I'm here to argue that being weak is dangerous. 

This environment is no place to be weak. With this much equipment, endurance will only get you so far. Being stronger may not only help you move, but it could save your life. 

Let's face it: our American population is getting bigger. Most fire departments and hospitals deal with this on an hourly basis. Unfortunately, our strength level in these fields is lacking, which increases injury rates. My local fire department in Dublin, Ohio, has an average deadlift of 320 pounds across 130 firefighters and medics. How strong are the people who take care of you? 

Whether moving objects in the garage, the house or helping out friends, we have all been put in situations where our strength is tested. 

The real point is that, regardless of your needs and/or background, strength at a higher level will allow your life to become easier, even it it's as simple as getting out of a chair. Remember that strength allows us to keep doing the easy things in life. As we age, our strength decreases after around 35 years old. What you build from the ages of 25 to 40 is what you will slowly wean off of in your later years. Many of the clients at my facility want one thing: to perform better at the game of life. Strength is an asset regardless of your goals. 


Powerlifting Movements Help Combat Aging and Decreased Testosterone Levels

Another great benefit to back squats, deadlifts, etc., is that they build a beefy testosterone base naturally. After a heavy squat session, the body tends to secrete loads of testosterone and other muscle building components in order to heal the vast tissue damage. Although everyone's testosterone levels are different, you can optimize your own levels my making sure you're doing the big, strong movements. But going in and doing your general circuit of machines may have only marginal results. The real changes involve the large movements of powerlifting at moderate and high intensities. 

Powerlifting movements increase ligament, tendon and bone strength while decreasing arthritis. 

We have all seen toe commercials for osteoporosis (bone density issues), arthritis and joint medication. The real answer is that joint health may be dictated by more joint movement, as well as increased ligament and tendon density. In my opinion, the only real way to get lasting results is to be a relatively strong squatter, deadlifter and bencher (compared to bodyweight) and to train using large multi-joint movement for your entire life. 

My good friend and client Earl Bruce, former head coach of Ohio State University's football team, is 81 years old. When he started with me, his arthritis was so bad that I considered turning him away from training. 

But with my continued drive to challenge new obstacles, I took on the task. Earl was frustrated after four knee operations and multiple post-surgery issues due to aging joints, and a lack of strength. After six months of training (mostly powerlifting-specific), his knees are free from aggravation and he is capable of dragging sleds in excess of 200 pounds for 10 minutes straight, not to mention squatting well over his bodyweight, and he can now get out of bed without pain. Powerlifting helped an 80-plus year old man with little weightlifting experience have a better quality of life. 

It can do it for you as well. 


Powerlifting Fixes Imbalances

Strength training in a powerlifting fashion helps to create better posture throughout your life. Some of the most fit and physically sound older people I have met are the ones that used to be great lifters. Why is this? Powerlifters know the value of evaluating posture and structural weaknesses on a daily basis. Great powerlifters are masters of exposing weak muscle groups and making them better. Most other types of training ignore weak points and play on genetic strengths to complete the tasks. 

Powerlifting movements are required to have minimal to no weak points, so most issues are caused by weak posterior chain muscles (lower back, hamstrings, glute activation, etc.). The amusing part is that these are the same muscles that most people are weakest in. It only makes sense to use exercises that will strengthen these areas for our future health.

For most people, strength training is a means to better health. The only way to optimize this is to train your weak points and make sure you are attacking your largest muscle groups. A proper powerlifting-based-movement routine will not only make you stronger in lifting movements, but any activity where strength is needed. 

Powerlifting has put me in better shape at 33 than I was at 18. My body fat is lower, and my strength is not even comparable now to when I was a senior in high school. If you can't say the same,  maybe powerlifting movements can help.         

















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