From Gym Lifter to Competitive Powerlifter

Bulk Up Weight Lifting

Bulk Up Weight Lifting

Get All The Support And Guidance You Need To Be A Success At Weight Lifting And Bulking Up. This Book Is One Of The Most Valuable Resources In The World When It Comes To Simple & Practical Ways To Effective Weight Lifting.

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All About Powerlifting The Book

The Definitive Book On The Sport Of Powerlifting. Tim takes a detailed look at all three powerlifts (and there is even a chapter on the strict curl which is a part of some competitions) looking in great detail at each. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn how to squat, bench and deadlift even if they have no interest in competing. One chapter a piece is dedicated to the performance of the lifts, along with a description of standard meet technique and rules; a second chapter talks about improving the lifts with lists of popular assistance exercises (along with when they might or might not be useful) and a listing of the muscles involved in the lifts, their relative importance, and the exercises that target them. For folks who want to know how to bring up a specific part of a movement, these lists will be intensely helpful. He also mentions little tips and tricks that often go unmentioned, things like using a band stretched across the power rack to make sure you hit depth and putting black paper over the mirrors as you get closer to competition.

All About Powerlifting The Book Summary


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Differences between bodybuilders vs powerlifters

As stated above, some training authorities have suggested that neural factors and muscle CSA can be developed differentially (23-25). Although little research appears to have directly examined this assumption, we may be able to gain insight from comparisons of the adaptations seen in elite powerlifters and bodybuilders. Powerlifters typically train with low reps often considered the 'neural' training zone while bodybuilders typically train with higher reps, often considered the 'growth' zone. Please note that it is impossible to know for certain if the following adaptations are a result of the type of training done or individual genetics. The major differences between powerlifters and bodybuilders appears in table 1. With the exception of total number of muscle fibers, all of the characteristics listed have been shown to change with training. Overall, it appears that bodybuilding training has the effect of increasing muscular endurance (i.e. capillary density and mitochondrial...

It Wont Make You Too

Even Deidre, a former two-time world powerlifting champion who was able to squat nearly three times her body weight, looks exquisitely feminine. Very fit Yes. Masculine Not even close. In other words, lift to your heart's content. You probably couldn't bulk up if you tried. We'll show you how to customize your workout to the particulars you desire, but to a large extent genetics determine how much each of us can change and how quickly these changes will occur.

ALCs Effects on Teestosterone

Weighed 90 kilograms (198 pounds) so this works out to about 22.2 mg per kg of bodyweight. This is much less then what the Italians were giving the rats. Now my buddy was a bodybuilder powerlifter and had been training for several years. When his T levels were checked they had increased 13 . Now we only measured total T. Some of you will know that the free T and albumin bound T are really important in terms of muscle building and total T doesn't tell us what happened to those fractions. My guess is that the free T would have increased by about the same amount.

How to take advantage of the eccentric portion of an exercise

Why is it incomplete It is possible to lower a weight under control by relying on intramuscular and intermuscular friction as well as relying on the non-targeted muscle groups the target muscles can actually relax even though you are controlling the weight as you are lowering it. Most powerlifters use the coaching queue lower the bar with your lats when you bench press by flaring out your lats, the friction between your inner arm and your lats will breakdown the descent, allowing the chest, triceps and deltoid muscles to work to a lesser extent (conserving energy for the actual lifting portion). This is good if you want to max out on a lift. However, to simulate maximal muscle growth it isn't optimal. Maximum hypertrophy stimulation is achieved if there are no breaks in muscle tension during a set. This means that the target muscles should always contract maximally during the whole movement (thus you should not rely on friction during the eccentric portion of the exercise) and also...

Other weight class athletesother athletes


Ten Steps To Killer Quads

Unless you're attempting a one rep max (a dubious endeavor, unless competitive powerlifting is your goal), wrapping the knees provides no benefit. It's interesting that so many people look upon knee wraps as protection when in fact, wrapping the knees causes compression and consequently, abrasion between the vastus medialis and the patella. True, wraps will allow you to use more weight but once again, what's the goal Lifting more weight or working the thighs as effectively as possible

Your body hates you

In many societies people would fatten up in the summer so that they could survive through the winter and repeat for as long as they lived. Now, we just stay in one long fattening cycle (if you're a powerlifter, you can call this a bulking cycle and not feel guilty) without a break.

Total Triceps Training

The biggest factor is your individual body type. For example, powerlifters aren't big because they lift heavy. They lift heavy because they're big Some people are born with more white fibers than others and those are the people who will respond best to heavy training. (4-8 reps per set) Of course, some heavy training is necessary for everyone in order to build even the limited amount of white fibers, but if you're the type who has more of the thin, red muscle fibers, the 1015 rep range may result in more overall development.

The Sad Truth About Fad Diets

The ever-curious, always-skeptical Jonathan brought out his magnifying glass and went to work and came away extremely unimpressed. True, this man had lost a whopping seven pounds in seven days however, when you know that carbs, which are stored in the body as glycogen (energy fuel), hold three times their weight in water, you realize that this suddenly svelte Zone-ite had lost water and sugar, not fat. That's a good way to travel if you're like Deidre trying to make weight for a powerlifting competition, but useless if your aim is to drop fat. Once again, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Athletic Applications of the Reverse Hyper

The Reverse Hyper is also excellent for correcting the ham-to-quad ratio. Powerlifter Laudra Dodd scored a 60 ham-to-40 quad ratio at Ohio State University. This is the value that we look for when developing top-level sprinters in Canada. Results from Canadian sprinters at the last Olympics in Atlanta pointed out the veracity of this ratio.

Aesthetics and exercise selection

10.151 Once you have built good overall development, aesthetics may play a large role in the exercises or specific variations you employ. If you are a function-first strength trainee, such as a powerlifter, aesthetics may be of little importance but strength balance should be very important. If you are primarily a bodybuilder, aesthetics may heavily influence your exercise selection.

Its Quality Not Quantity

There are no real differences between the muscle fibers of men and those of women. On a pound-for-pound basis, women are capable of becoming as strong as men. (When Deidre competed as a powerlifter, on a pound-for-pound scale she routinely outlifted most of the men at the meets.) However, because men tend to be larger and have a greater percentage of lean tissue (lower percentage of body fat), men generally have greater strength potential. Dr. Wayne Westcott put it best Men are stronger than women due to muscle quantity, not muscle quality. While there are differences between the sexes, the methods used to train women need not be any different than those used for men. And in fact, the glut of women's exercise programs arises more from a marketing angle than from genuine need.

Stretch only after an adequate warmup has been performed


Polemics From The Traditionalists

Somewhere along the line, you can expect to hear the dis-paraging statement, With partials you're not really as strong as you appear on paper because you're not doing a full-range rep. This is an argument advanced only by people who enjoy arguing. In reality, it's an argument that has no end. For example, cambered bench press bars that force your hands below chest level allow you to achieve a greater range of motion than a straight Olympic barbell is capable of providing. But does this fact mean that all powerlifters are weak or not really as strong as they appear on paper because their range of motion is less with a straight Olympic bar than it is with a cambered bar

Scientific Bbing Experiment

Having been heavily involved in nutrition for almost 3 decades (1948-1975), especially in the field of bodybuilding and power-lifting of all types - Ernest F. Cottrell occasionally experimented on himself and special personal and bodybuilding mail-order students to prove-out certain theorems of exercise and nutrition.

Supplementation A Nononsense Guide To What To Take When To Take It And

The so-called anabolic steroid substitutes are especially noteworthy here. You'll see them advertised all over bodybuilding, powerlifting, and other sport magazines, and they'll tell you that these substances are even more effective than anabolic steroids, possess no side effects, and will change your life overnight. It's all a bunch of baloney.

Advanced Weight Training

The earlier chapter on weight training is, hopefully, adequate to provide for the strength needs of the majority of people, but in fairness to those who need serious strength gains, I have added the following disciplines, mainly derived from power lifting, a sport in its own right. Boxing requires all-round body strength the chest and back muscles are responsible for the throwing and retraction of punches the legs provide push-off power and stability for both offensive and defensive actions.The following may prove useful for anybody whose strength gains have reached a plateau, or those seeking to explore the potential for explosive power These exercises may require professional tutelage, and as I have already suggested, seek the advice of a qualified instructor which will almost certainly

Tips on Shoulder Workout Design

Unless you are a powerlifter or Olympic lifter, I really can't see the need to perform any isolation work for the anterior deltoid with exercises such as the Front Dumbbell Raise. The fact is that the anterior deltoids usually receive more than enough development from the high volume of chest work that most lifters employ if they have even a moderate level of machismo so additional work will probably result in overtraining. What Regardless of the exercises performed, one of the most confusing aspects of designing a shoulder workout (or any workout, for that matter) is determining how many sets and reps to perform. Powerlifters and Olympic lifters have built impressive shoulders using low reps for multiple sets, whereas there are plenty of bodybuilders who have achieved fantastic deltoid development by concentrating on high reps and fewer sets. I believe that the best approach is a combination of both methods, which means that you would perform periods of high reps, alternated with...

Fraud and the commercial imperative

The train like a champion to become a champion mentality carries a great deal of marketing clout, and even works very well for the elite of the bodybuilding and powerlifting worlds. These people who are often credited with having written articles and books promote the sort of training that worked for them. They never had the experience of being bona fide hard gainers, so can never get in the shoes of typical trainees. So the training masses continue to be led astray.

Remember More Is Not Better

Many of the most successful people I know in bodybuilding, powerlifting, or Olympic lifting, are fastidious record keepers. They keep detailed records of every workout (sets, weights used, etc. ) in order to track their progress. Keeping records allows you to know how much progress you make over time. People can only remember so much about a workout. Sure, you can remember last week's bench press session, but can you remember what routine you were doing three years ago What effects that routine had on your overall success

High Velocity Explosive Moves

High-velocity exercises (which often include power lifting) are very demanding. They involve your mind, body, and your instincts. This kind of training should be done once a week. If you've already tried it, you know how it feels to do a few repetitive heavy sets of, say, clean presses. It takes all you have. But whatever you put in, you're sure to get back. For me, high-velocity training days are fun. When I do them I feel like I'm playing with power.

Section 3 Energy Metabolism during weight training

Fatigue during weight training is addressed in section 4 based on energy systems. Sets of 1-5 repetitions, as typically used by powerlifters and lasting 20 seconds or less, are discussed separately from sets of 20-60 seconds, typically used by bodybuilders. The metabolism of both energy systems are discussed in the previous chapter and are not be repeated here.

Bottomline Bodybuilding

A heavy weight, low rep kind of guy, why not kick back on the poundages for a while. Intensity can be maintained by utilizing rep ranges you rarely approach. Cut the weight by 15 and add an additional 5-10 reps per set. Since your muscles aren't used to this form of stress, it may very well encourage new growth. This will provide a break from your regular routine without the fear of any muscle loss. In fact, high reps are thought to increase mitochondria production which in turn allows for more muscle fiber, so at the very least, you can look at it as an investment in future muscle growth. Consequently, if you are more of a pumper, try some powerlifting. A workout consisting of just a couple of sets of some basic moves like cleans and presses can be refreshing as well as challenging.

Flat Barbell Bench Presses

Although some advocate a J bar path to directly over your face at the top of the movement, a strict vertical movement is neither better nor worse. Bodybuilders tend to favor the former method because the bar travels through a greater range of motion, while powerlifters tend to favor the

Principle 3 Training frequency is determined by the progress in strength

Powerlifting champion Fred Hatfield is a strong proponent of this system. So was Mike MacDonald, one of the most successful bench pressers of all time. Terry Todd related to me that he would test how he felt in the bench press muscles with just using a broomstick for resistance. If it felt odd he would take an extra day off, or whatever how many days offs he felt it would take to be stronger than the last workout.

AC Where can people read more about your theories and programs

Mike Boyle has been in the field working with real athletes and real people long before it was trendy to do so. Mike was a competitive powerlifter who took his real world experience into the strength coaching realm and has helped the industry advance our theories ever since. One of the industry's good guys, Mike has taught me a lot and I really appreciate his giving his time to do this interview.

In accumulation phases load the muscles for at least 40 seconds per set

To gain size the muscles need to be loaded long enough. Of course, there are genetic freaks who can gain with sets of only 5 to 10 seconds duration, but they are the exception not the rule, and they don't even need to read this chapter anyway. Powerlifting champion Roger Estep comes to mind in this matter, he had a better physique than most Mr. America contestants, yet his preferred rep set scheme was multiple sets of one rep.

Strive to increase your poundages for reps

Be aware that before bodybuilders became walking pharmacies, in the days of Reg Park and Bill Pearl, they were strong. Reg Park was known to press behind neck over 300 lb. for reps. In those days, gyms were not so abundant and the Iron Game participants weightlifters, bodybuilders and powerlifters all trained together, so there was pressure for bodybuilders that have muscles to could produce strength. Powerlifters and Olympic lifters often put 40 to 50 lb. to their lifts without gaining a significant amount of weight, but if they were to get the same poundage increase for their best 6 reps performance, you can be sure they would be competing in the next weight class up.

How To Get The Most Natural HGH Secretion For Your Genetics

One of the best natural ways to get the most natural HGH secretions for your genetics is to workout at a high intensity for periods no longer than 45 minutes. This is according to the Bulgarians Olympic power lifting studies. I personally believe you should be monitoring your affected muscles for the amount of blood gorging they have.

Layoffs And Vacations

In fact, a best performance in many types of sports can only be produced after a layoff. Powerlifters, for example, are well advised to avoid training entirely for three or four days prior to a contest. While a longer layoff might result in a reduced performance, a few days out of training often makes it possible to lift more than ever before. Similar results can be observed In those sport activities that require brief but very Intense effort pole-vaulting, shot-putting, and sprinting are examples.

Focus your workouts around the squat and deadlift

Squats and deadlifts have long been the secret of powerlifters for packing on muscle mass very quickly. For example, one of the best powerlifting gyms in the country attributes 3040 lbs. of muscle added to each beginner in the first year to these exercises. That's how powerful they are

Should I go to failure on each set

This is a variable that can be experimented with and manipulated on an individual basis. Despite what you may have read elsewhere, it is indeed possible to make progress without going to failure. Many powerlifters and Olympic lifters build an enormous amount of muscle mass and strength without ever going to failure. In general, higher volume routines require less going to failure and lower volume routines require more of it. Use failure judiciously, as it can lead to overtraining just as well as too high of a volume or frequency of training can.

Aerobics or weight training first

While trainees should always perform a short aerobic warm-up prior to weight training, the choice of whether to do weight training or aerobics first in the same workout session is debatable. Performing aerobics after weights will make the aerobic training harder (27). So if the primary goal is aerobic training, that should be done first. If the primary goal is weight training, that should be performed first when the trainee is fresh. While performing aerobics after training should in theory rely more on fat for fuel, recall that it does not appear that using fat during exercise has any bearing on fat loss. Bodybuilders, powerlifters and other strength athletes should always perform weight training first after a short warmup.

AC I know you study the field a lot Who do you go to for training advice

I have volumes of copied old Soviet Sports Reviews in my office. I have almost every article Louis Simmons and Dave Tate wrote. I love Verkoshanski, Siff, and all of the other greats. I also love to study guys like Santana, Mike Boyle, Brian Grasso, Alwyn Cosgrove, etc. I love to view multiple perspectives and derive my own methods. I have books and videos on everything (except bodybuilding, yoga, pilates, and anything that combines them) from physical therapy topics, massage therapy, powerlifting, general strength training, martial arts, speed development, agility, plyos, and on and on. So it's not just one main influence-Louie and Dave for their influence on band and chain training and powerlifting programming, C. Santana for creative training techniques, Lee Taft for speed development, Siff and Verkoshanski (spelling) for scientific perspective

Bentknee Barbell Deadlifts

Start with a shoulder width stance, squatting down grasping a bar resting on the ground. Use a pronated (palms down) grip with wrist straps or a mixed grip (one hand pronated and the other supinated or palm up). Pow-erlifters must use the mixed grip in competition however, this grip is associated with biceps tears if done improperly. For most non-powerlifters, most of the time, who are using the deadlift for bodybuilding or general strength training purposes, the pronated grip with straps is probably best. The bar should be as close to your shins as possible. Your shoulders should be vertically over the bar. Your butt should be down. Keep your lumbar spine flat or even slightly concave. Your scapulae (shoulder blades) should be retracted and depressed (brought together and lowered) in the start position. Initiate the movement by extending your legs, contracting your abs and glutes to maintain pelvic and spinal alignment, and maintaining contraction in your middle back (maintaining...

Section 2 Strength Power Athletes

As with mass gains for bodybuilders (previous section), the CKD is not ideal for powerlifters and other strength power athletes (throwers, sprinters, Olympic lifters, etc). The extremely high intensity nature of training for these sports absolutely requires carbohydrates for optimal performance. Additionally, the dehydration caused by ketogenic diets may compromise joint integrity, increasing the risk of injury. However, if a powerlifter or other athlete needs to maintain performance while losing body fat to make a weight class, the CKD may be a viable option.

Thursday clean emphasis

The clean-grip deadlift is useful when a trainee is learning the Olympic lifts. It strengthens the muscles involved in the clean and teaches proper positioning for this lift. It is not specific to the clean in the sense that it is a slower movement. However, it does increase strength in the starting position, which can be helpful while the lifter is focusing on lifts from blocks. Remember that this is not a powerlifting deadlift. The objective is not to max out on the lift, but to use the same pulling technique and sequence as during a clean.

Anabolic Androgenic Steroids

Anabolic Androgenic steroids, hereafter referred to as AAS, have been used by athletes to improve performance for more than 30 years. The non-medical use of AAS is widespread among athletes engaged in power sports such as power-lifting, bodybuilding, football and rugby. Their popularity stems from their perceived contribution to increase muscle bulk and strength and to improve competitiveness. There are more than one million estimated users of AAS in the United States alone. Approximately 2 of athletes between the ages of 10 and 14, and 5 to 10 of high school athletes have used AAS. even though their use is prohibited. In addition, approximately 5 of college athletes currently use AAS. Because of legal and

Step 2 When The Going Gets Tough The Tough Get Inspired

CHARLES A couple months ago I was looking for inspiration as I was rehabbing through an injury. I started reading about a competitive powerlifter (who's name escapes me unfortunately) with a prosthetic leg who squatted 600 pounds in competition. Now, we all chalk up our inability to squat 400 or to get our bodyfat into the single digits to bad genetics, a hectic work schedule, or whatever your favorite excuse is, but look THIS DUDE SQUATTED 600 POUNDS WITH ONE LEG Did you hear what I just said Think about that for a bit and you might find yourself asking yourself some serious questions.

Omega3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids

Your absolute strength in a given movement. Powerlifting competitions are a test of 1RM strength. For many bodybuilders, especially beginners, 1RM training is harmful because of the higher risk of injury. A weight that you can just complete in 10 reps is a good approximation for most people of 75 of their 1RM. Effectively, the greatest amount of weight that can be handled by a lifter for a single repetition in good form.

New Hamstring Bench

Reverse Hypers For Back Pain

Although Arthur Jones missed the boat on coming up with the best way to train the hamstrings, the powerlifting world has revolted against puny hamstrings and has made an amazing contribution. In my ongoing search for new research and innovative equipment I ran across the Reverse After coaching my athletes, I stayed at the gym to do my workout. The gym being busy, I shared the equipment with a couple of the local power-lifters who held a few National titles. These Austrian powerlifters swore by the efficiency of the Reverse Hyper bench at improving their deadlift and squat performances. Both athletes claimed it made a difference of between 35 kg (77 lbs) and 50 kg (110 lbs) on each of their squats and deadlifts. Even though I had seen it advertised in back issues of Powerlifting USA, I had never paid any direct attention to it. Since the Austrian athletes did not market the machine, I was intrigued, jumped on the machine and pumped away. The movement felt quite right the glutes,...

Chest stimulation exercises

To properly stimulate the pectoral muscles and thus making them grow optimally we must select exercises that will allow us to focus on that muscle and to stretch it under load. Remember the third principle we discussed take advantage of a loaded prestretch of the target muscle. In that regard, a board press (movement used by powerlifters) is fine and well to build bench pressing strength, but it is far from being a good chest exercise.

Constant working poundages

7.123 As John McKean explained to me, some of today's old timers, when they were in their prime, used constant working poundages for most of their training. (McKean has extensive experience in competitive Olympic weight-lifting, powerlifting and all-round lifting, with the latter being his current focus.) A constant poundage means a fixed weight for each exercise, not the same poundage for all exercises.

Tuesday Jerk emphasis

This consists of a partial deadlift with the bar starting at, or slightly above the knees. You can use really heavy weights for this exercise, which will do wonders for your dynamic lower back strength and isometric trap and back strength. For competitive powerlifters this can really help develop a strong lock out.

The Modern Bodybuilder

As often happens, the blinders went on to alternatives to the high carb movement, and the high fat diet was ignored by most people. I was the exception. I began working with the diet as an active powerlifter in the 1970s and used an earlier version of what you'll find in this book on my way to winning the world championship in powerlifting in 1976 and the World Games in the sport in 1981.

Above squatting with two different sized kettlebells

The only time I would reduce emphasis on work capacity GPP is when someone's primary goal is to increase muscle mass. Too high a level or work capacity makes it difficult to hang on to muscle mass. Take a marathon runner for instance. Very high work capacity. Very little muscle. At the other end of the spectrum you have a super-heavyweight powerlifter. Huge muscle mass, but they get gassed walking up a flight of stairs.

Strength Training Made Easy

To blend strength training and bodybuilding training, you can perform more exercises than a strict powerlifting routine would normally dictate and include both lower rep sets, below 6, along with normal bodybuilding rep sets - closer to 10. However, as strength is the main concern, you will abbreviate the number of times you train each week to 4 sessions, on a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday scedule. This gives you 3 days out of the week,

Muscle gain templates

* Note that for the following powerlifting workouts I recommend using an Ed Coan split of squat, bench, deadlift, bench (4 weekly workouts). Powerlifting template - Beginner level (bench press workout) Powerlifting template - Beginner level (bench press workout) Powerlifting template - Powerlifting template Powerlifting template - Intermediate level (bench press workout) Powerlifting template - Intermediate level (bench press workout) Powerlifting template - Powerlifting template - Powerlifting template - Advanced level (bench press workout) Powerlifting template - Powerlifting template

Matt Mclaughlin Bodybuilder

What Causes Vascularity

Lifting weights between 90-100 percent of your 1-repetition maximum (1RM) produces maximum hypertrophy in the Type lib fibers. Visual proof of this theory can be found in the physiques of legendary iron athletes like Roger Estep from powerlifting, and David Rigert and Victor Sots from Olympic lifting. These great world champions seldom did more than three consecutive reps in their training, but nevertheless possessed physiques that many competitive bodybuilders would envy. Another strength athlete with an impressive physique is British strongman Gary Tailor. Tailor has push pressed, behind-the-neck, 496 lbs for 6 reps (which converts into a max single of 600 lbs ) and has full squatted 683 for 3 reps without knee wraps or a super suit. At 5 feet 10 inches tall and a solid 297 lbs, Tailor's heavy weight training has unquestionably helped him look like one of the strongest men in the world.

Common sense and those new training programs

Despite the recent influx of Soviet influenced approaches to powerlifting training, common sense will dictate the optimal number of times that one should squat, deadlift, bench press or train per week. Most lifters are more than willing to abdicate the responsibility of their own judgement to a higher authority, believing that there is one, or perhaps a few routines that hold the answer to a state championship or an Elite ranking. As soon as powerlifting usa, muscle & fitness, or j

Success Stories Building Strength

Rill Kazmaier, whose numerous powerlifting championships and strong man titles earned him the additional title of being the World's Greatest Strong Man, told the authors his thoughts about this great training technique 1 liked partials because of the overload they delivered. I did partial squats just to be able to handle the weight and also partial dead lifts to increase parts of the lockout. I did 1,000 pounds for partials in the squat as an assistance exercise, and . . . they were very helpful in adding muscle mass.

Bonus 4 My Personal Examination Of Your Training and Nutrition Programs

What good is all this lean muscle if you can't get stronger I turned over some big rocks and found AJ Roberts hiding under one and knew that I had to get him involved. At just 23 years old AJ Roberts is a strength phemon in the powerlifting world and he was even recently invited to the powerlifting event at the Arnold Classic. Here's some of what you'll learn

Partial Rep Deadlifts In Power Cage

Start with a shoulder width stance, squatting down to grasp the bar. Use a pronated (palms down) grip or a mixed grip (one hand pronated and the other supinated or palm up). Powerlifters must use the mixed grip in competition however, this grip is associated with biceps tears if done improperly. For most non-powerlifters, most of the time, those who are using the deadlift for bodybuilding or general strength training purposes, the pronated grip (often requiring straps with heavier loads) is probably best. Understand that you lose a lot of the grip-training effect if you use straps, however.

Negative Feedback Control

Unfortunately, just the opposite may occur when a person maximizes his or her athletic skills. Trained bodybuilders and powerlifters who have reached a peak of muscle development are the ones most likely to reach a plateau or a stagnation point after which they fail to gain more muscle or strength. Many athletes feel that they are getting weaker in spite of adhering to a diet and exercise routine. What they don't realize is that at a peak anabolic state, the body's catabolic activity increases as if it is trying to shrink the body down to its normal size. However, an athlete can activate a most powerful anabolic state by following a special dietary cycle that induces a temporary catabolic state, thus prohibiting the body from reaching a stagnation point.

Principle 14 Strive to increase your poundages for reps


Muscle growth part

Now I should mention that the idea of myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic hypertrophy as two separate entities is not really supported by American research (or researchers for that matter). But most European texts do make the distinction. Beyond that, you can look at athletes who do different types of training and they simply look different. Yeah, I know, all of the mainstream folks reading this think I'm full of shit now but it's true. Guys who train with heavy intense loads (tension training) have muscles with a different visual quality than guys who only train with high reps and short rest intervals (pump training). That is, powerlifters who almost exclusively use tension training look different than the guys who use only pump training. Even bodybuilders like Dorian Yates, who train with heavy loads, just look denser than the guys who just pump the muscle endlessly. Of course, to maximize total size, you should use both but I'm getting ahead of myself here.

What Goes Around Comes Around

PUDGY STOCKTON One of the first women bodybuilders who was also a master gymnast and acrobat as well as a powerlifting champion. Now 84, Pudgy still works out with weights. She's coyly stated I used to total over 350 pounds, but I don't think I'll be matching those numbers anytime soon.

Flatbench Dumbbell Flye

Competing at a massive 260 pounds, the super heavyweight built his foundation by training like a powerlifter. Now his routine reflects a mix of those strength-lifting concepts and the higher-rep sets needed to bring about a muscle pump. > > Your first exercise is the most important one in your workout because that's when you'll be able to push yourself the hardest, Omar says. Choose mass movements like the bench press to start. > > To build your pecs, a squeeze at the apex of every rep is vital.

By Chris Shugart Originally published at wwwtmagcom

CT Well, I've got what I'd call good overall strength I'm not extremely strong in a few lifts. I can't compete with elite powerlifters as far as the deadlift, squat, and bench press are concerned and I started Olympic lifting too late to be an international force, but I have no weakness.

Misconceptions Of Muscle Soreness

The next issue is exercise selection. Bodybuilders tend to have more DOMS than powerlifters, Olympic weightlifters, or other athletes. This may be due to greater variety in exercise selection and joint angle and stimulation of different motor unit recruitment patterns, therefore greater potential for microtears in myofibrils previously not heavily stimulated. Approach this issue the same way you do volume and intensity variety is good only as long as it is needed. Be judicious about introducing too many new movements at the same time, especially for excessive volume or load. There's training stimulus, and then there's simply injuring yourself. An interesting observation among bodybuilders is that soreness is greatest the first time using an exercise, but most of the muscle building benefits occur after subsequent training sessions using that exercise for most trainees. There tends to be less soreness after these subsequent sessions, yet there is a generally greater hypertrophy...

Those ubiquitous lifting belts

A competitive powerlifter benefits from the wide, thick belt he or she wears while making a maximum squat attempt because that belt can help to increase the intra-abdominal pressure, thus providing added support to the vertebral column. The Olympic-style weightlifter might benefit from a belt while holding a heavy jerk overhead, with the belt serving to give some support and reminding him to maintain proper back and hip position. But a bodybuilder wearing a belt A lifting belt is a part of almost everyone's gym attire. There's a longstanding belief that the typical belt gives support to the low back region during a workout, and that you would have to be foolish to squat, deadlift, press or do any other heavy movement without one. This, like most gym myths, is far from the truth. To truly give support to the lumbar spine, the belts would have to be cinched quite tightly, certainly to the point of discomfort, something which is done by competitive powerlifters. If you watch these...

The Anabolic Cycle Timing is Everything

Professional athletes, bodybuilders, powerlifters, and veteran martial artists know that real gains in muscle and strength require time. While fat burning is a process that can be initiated instantly through diet and exercise, muscular growth is a slower event that takes place in a wavelike manner. Understanding and applying these principles is crucial for effective muscular development.

The Notsofine Print

We didn't write it for guys who have already spent successful, productive years in the weight room, or who are competitive athletes or aspiring bodybuilders or power-lifters. We like those guys just fine our best friends and our most respected colleagues are all lifelong lifters, some of whom are accomplished athletes and guys who've won powerlifting and bodybuilding titles.

Who are you

First and foremost, if you're a male, you should have no more than 15 bodyfat, female no more than 22 bodyfat. Most likely you want to get leaner while maintaining or even increasing muscle mass. This could be for a bodybuilding contest, for some special event, or simply because you want to see where the body has veins. Alternately, you may want to gain muscle without the accompanying fat gain (or even slight fat loss). Perhaps you're a performance athlete like a powerlifter or an endurance athlete who needs to lean out while maintaining performance. The UD2 can be used for all those goals.

Stay Focused

You are not training to be a powerlifter. You are in there to improve your body. I'm not the strongest guy in the gym, nor am I the biggest, but I can honestly say that I have a better looking physique that 98 of the guys I see working out. So stop worrying about how much you can or can't lift, and concentrate on working your muscles.

Rep Maxes

A rep range under 6 promotes increases in muscle strength. In fact, the lower the rep range, the less changes in muscle size and the more radical the changes in the muscles strength. It's fully possible to continue to build muscle strength year after year without adding any significant lean muscle mass at all This explains how powerlifters, those athletes who foremost goal is to increase muscle strength, can increase their one repetition maximum on lifts such as the bench press, the dead lift and the squat without adding body weight or muscle size. Training in the 1 to 3 rep range will induce increases in strength with little increases in muscle mass.

Strength Speed method

The strength-speed method includes exercises in which the force output is a result of both a high acceleration and a moderate heavy mass to be moved. The best known example of this form of training is the Olympic lifts and their variations. Recently, another way to use this method has been popularized by powerlifting coach Louie Simmons. Simmons recommends using the dynamic effort method by using 55-60 of your max in lifts such as the bench press and the squat while lifting the weight as fast as possible. He uses a low number of reps to maximize acceleration during each rep. I would like to point out two things at this point 1. Simmons uses the dynamic effort method with the bench and the squat because these are the lifts being contested in his sport (powerlifting), an athlete could use other exercises.

Support gear

6.91 You may be able to add about 100 pounds to the total of your best squat and bench press singles, but without building any strength or adding any muscle. Just become an expert with the use of a squat suit, knee wraps, a thick belt, and a bench shirt. is serves no function other than removing an advantage your competitors would have should you be lifting in powerlifting contests. As they prepare for a contest, powerlifters must use all the support gear that is legal. At other times, though, and for all non-competitive powerlifters, train without support gear other than perhaps a belt.

The Hyper Types

Deidre has a photo taken of her deadlifting 365 pounds during a power-lifting competition. What's striking about it, besides the fact that she's lifting the equivalent of a baby elephant, is the terrific strain that shows on her face Her eyes bulge like Marty Feldman's, and the veins in her neck are engorged like bloated worms. (We call this the Beauty and the Beast syndrome.) While few of us are likely to try to hoist that amount of weight, the fact remains that weight lifting can increase your blood pressure during the actual exercise.

Heading into the

In 1985, she impulsively walked in off the street to check out a gym. At the time, she didn't know the difference between a leg press and a printing press. However, one day after a long-term relationship ended and she was feeling low, she saw some women working out through the window of a second-floor Manhattan gym, and thought, What the heck It was the first time she'd ever been inside such a sweaty place. Luckily for a tenderfoot like Deidre, she stumbled into a small gym specifically geared for women, staffed with competitive bodybuilders who were supportive, knowledgeable, and amusing. Less than 10 years after that uneasy start, she won the New York State Powerlifting Championship, setting a state record (314 pounds) in the squat.

In This Room

We know a gym in Brooklyn that's adequately equipped, but extremely nontrendy. New members are given a cursory tour by either an overweight woman who smokes, a Spanish-speaking guy who maintains the equipment, or a hulking powerlifter who can bench press a barnyard animal but is unintelligible in any language. In other words, they show you the lay of the land, and you have to hire a trainer to figure out the nuances of how to use what and when. The point is, not all gyms will make your orientation as seamless as a guided tour of the Louvre. Don't worry too much about this bare-bones approach. After reading this book, you'll know your way around just about any gym even if you're blindfolded.

Hey Stretch

Now while Deidre told her patients to stretch like there was no tomorrow, she lifted weights each day and diligently skipped stretching herself. The result During her powerlifting career she suffered from chronic lower back pain. When she was evaluated, she was told that the flexibility of her lower back musculature was that of a 75-year-old driving instructor. When she began to stretch on a regular basis, this nagging injury receded into the background.

The Muscles

If you talk to Louie Simmons, training guru to the world-class powerlifters at Westside Barbell in Columbus, Ohio, you'll come away believing that the quadriceps are the enemy of the successful squatter. Simmons believes the power behind the squat should come, literally, from behind the gluteals and hamstrings. But Simmons trains his powerlifters to squat a different way, using an exercise called a box squat. They descend until they're sitting on a box (or bench, or chair). They pause on the box, then rise to the standing position. They can't sit down on a box in powerlifting competitions, but that's the way they train, setting the muscle-action patterns that they replicate in contests when they don't have the box. The study showed that this type of squat uses more hip action than the traditional squat and less knee and ankle movement. (The study used older adults as subjects, but I think it's safe to say the results accurately describe the divergent muscle-use philosophies of King...

What no bench press

The powerlifting bench press is first and foremost a triceps exercise. To make the bench press and effective pectoral movement we must use a wide grip, flare the elbows out and bring the bar down to the collar-bone (known as a neck press). However this way you cannot use as much weight as with a regular bench press and ego is quick to jump in and you revert back to a less effective variation of the bench press. This is why I didn't include it in my list. But if you are able to leave your ego at the door and perform a proper neck press, then it can be a useful addition to a good pectoral program.

Going Against Type

But Andy Fry, **, and his colleagues at the University of Memphis showed otherwise. The researchers rounded up five competitive, drug-free powerlifters and compared them to five regular guys. The powerlifters averaged 224 pounds, the regular guys 187. (Average heights were the same about five-foot-ten.) The powerlifters were strong dudes, averaging best-ever lifts of 375 in the bench press and 625 in the deadlift. And they had no greater percentage of fast-twitch fibers than the non-lifters.

How Much Rest

For certain advanced programs like circuit training (Chapter 23, High Tech), supersets (Chapter 22, Getting Fancy), bodybuilding, or powerlifting (Chapter 24, And the Winner Is ), we will vary the rest interval that we recommend. But for now let's stick with two minutes.

Advanced trainin

The following training disciplines are aimed at those with a fairly good level of fitness.The weight training power lifting section, for example, requires working with an Olympic bar which weighs 22 kilograms unloaded. Some of the plyometric drills should not be attempted by anybody with a history of, or current, knee or back problems.These drills are a system to improve fitness for the already quite fit person it is highly inadvisable for unfit individuals to attempt them. If in any doubt speak to a qualified fitness professional before commencing a programme involving advanced training of any nature.


In Chapter 24, you'll get a primer on the basics of bodybuilding, powerlifting, and Olympic lifting, the three pillars in the pantheon of weight-lifting sports. And in Chapter 25, we'll give the serious athlete and the weekend warrior suggested workouts to help elevate your game. Finally, in Chapter 26 you'll find everything you'll need to know about cardiovascular exercise.

Deidres World

Powerlifting, a sport that became popular in the '70s, was for a long time the ugly stepchild of bodybuilding. Oftentimes, powerlifting events were held late in the evening only after bodybuilding competitions were over. Early in Deidre's weight-lifting career, she seriously considered competing as a bodybuilder. However, as she learned more about the two sports, she decided powerlifting was the more pure sport because, unlike bodybuilding, it was not subjective. The goal in powerlifting is quite simple The one who lifts the most wins. Just as bodybuilding is a display of muscularity, powerlifting is a demonstration of strength. The disciplines in a powerlifting meet are the squat, the bench press, and the deadlift. A powerlifting competition consists of nine rounds of lifting for each competitor three attempts at each event. Since the highest successful lifts are added together, the winner is the one who totals the most weight.

How Its Done

When we described the squat in Chapter 15, Below the Waist, we advocated bending your knees until they're parallel to the floor. Stop there in a powerlifting meet and the lift is considered a no-go. > - You arch your back while bench pressing. In Chapter 17, Chest or Bust, we told you to always keep your back pressed into the bench when lifting in order to protect your lower back. Powerlifters arch their backs as much as possible to bring their chest up higher and shorten the range of motion of the lift. Again, their sole aim is to hoist as much weight as possible.

What is Done

There are two types of powerlifting events those with equipment and those without. The equipment involved in powerlifting is nearly as restrictive as medieval armor. Once a lifter actually manages to wriggle into it, the lifting is the easy part. For the equipment-aided event, you'll need > - Knee wraps These wraps are made of semi-elastic material that grudgingly gives an inch when you bend your knees. Along with the suit, the wraps are what give the lifter bounce when coming out of the squat. If you are eager to walk like a mummy, powerlifting knee wraps are for you. > Bench press shirt Made of either the same material as the squat suit or denim, these shirts are so tight that it is virtually impossible to hold your arms at your side. Claustrophobics need not apply. An old powerlifting joke is that a good bench shirt can lift 40 or 50 pounds if you just lay it on the bench. If you ever want to get the normally animated Deidre really hot and bothered, ask her about the joys of...

The Squat

The squat is the first event in a powerlifting meet and the most nerve racking, primarily because you wear the most equipment and feel the most vulnerable standing under all that weight. It is also the lift that requires the lifter to be almost perfect in terms of form and technique especially when the weight approaches double or triple body weight. As we mentioned, for the squat attempt to be deemed good, you must lower your body until your hip joint is below your knee joint. In other words, below 90 . Such a maneuver is what keeps orthopedists in business.

The DeadtiH

There's an old powerlifting adage that says, The meet doesn't start till the bar hits the floor. This sage piece of lifting wisdom means that meets are often won and lost with the deadlift the final lift of the day. So there you have it familiar lifts done with unfamiliar technique. With all their hooting and hollering, chalk-smattered and often bulky bodies, powerlifting meets can be an intimidating place. (Although the raw meets are generally a bit more laid-back, we hesitate to call them civilized.) In either case, many meets have a novice division, which is a great way to check out this little-known sport. USA Powerlifting is the largest sanctioning organization in the sport, though many others exist. Powerlifting USA magazine is the bible of powerlifting and a good resource for information on upcoming meets and coverage of the sport.

The Big Boys

The sport of Olympic weight lifting, sometimes known simply as weight lifting, is better known to the general public than powerlifting due to the exposure it receives every four years during the Olympics. The fact that very few Americans distinguish themselves on the international level tends to keep it in the athletic closet. (The Eastern Europeans dominate the sport.) Compared to powerlifting, there's a minimum of equipment only a belt and knee and wrist wraps. The competitor wears a singlet and hard-soled shoes.


Periodization is a training method where over a series of weeks the number of reps is dropped and the weights increased. The idea behind this is to shock the muscles into growth by varying the reps & weights. Part of the theory of periodization revolves around the idea that a person can't always train with 100 intensity and that the body may actually need some periods of lighter weight, variable rep training to allow for recuperation. In addition, periodization is based on the idea that not all muscle fiber types can be trained with the same rep schemes. Many powerlifters follow some form of periodization to peak for a competition.

You Dont Know Squat

Now, don't make the mistake of thinking that we're discussing the vague and unproven bodybuilding folklore that tells us that turning the feet in different directions will activate different areas within the four main quadriceps (thigh) muscles. Rather, we want to impress upon you the idea that the right combination of stance and foot position will help you stay more upright, thus keeping the majority of the stress on the quads, hamstrings, and glutes, and off the spinal erectors (lower back). It would be different if you were a powerlifter with the objective of moving as much weight as possible. In that case, sticking that oP rump out would be just fine, since it recruits those hips and spinal erectors like nobody's business. However, seeing as how there aren't a whole lot of ectomorphic powerlifters, and considering that your primary reason for even attempting to squat is likely to build up your thighs without hurting yourself in the process, the more upright you can remain, the...

Dirtiest Diet Award

Many top competitors in bodybuilding and power lifting stayed on AAS cycles for years. This was due to many factors (none of which were health). For bodybuilders, it was a matter of being in top shape so as to make a living from guest appearances, and the almost year-long competition circuits now common. For all, the loss of performance and muscle mass created a real concern.

Brian Mac Kenzie

I come from a power sports background where I excelled as a youth and teenager in short-course swimming and water polo. In my early twenties, I was into powerlifting, but I wrecked my back with a poorly done deadlift set, which didn't allow me to do anything for several months after.


Deadlift Mid Range

One of the three powerlifting exercises, the deadlift is one of those good news bad news deals. First the good news The deadlift is one of the best overall body exercises that you can do. Every muscle is involved during the dead lift upper back, hips, quads, hamstrings, abdominals, you name it. Now the bad news It's an advanced lift and must be performed with perfect form or you'll risk injury. While we'll omit it from beginning programs, it can become a valuable weapon in your back-training arsenal as your strength training progresses.

QA With Coach Staley

This may or may not be what you want to hear, but in the overwhelming majority of cases, improving maximal strength will give the most bang for your buck for the time and energy expended. This is because maximal strength is easy to develop and is foundational to almost every other motor quality. Also, for most athletes (powerlifters excepted) practicing your sport does not provide an opportunity to develop maximal strength.

The future

Jeremy Thiel began Olympic weightlifting at the age of 12, power lifting at the age of 15, and kettlebell training at 22. Jeremy is the co-founder of CrossFit Central in Austin, Texas, and has over eight years of experience training large groups. He is a level-3 CrossFit trainer, an Olympic weightlifting coach, and a Trigger Point Ultimate practitioner. Jeremy has trained thousands of high school athletes through his youth strength and conditioning company, PowerPlant Athletics.

Squatting Techniques

One of the common myths in bodybuilding is that there is one single way to perform an exercise. The truth is that in order to force adaptation for maximum growth, you should vary the types of squats you perform. The two most commonly used squats are commonly referred to as the bodybuilding squat and the powerlifting squat. With the bodybuilding squat the back is kept as vertical as possible and there is considerable forward movement of the knees. In the powerlifting squat there is considerable forward bending from the waist so that there is minimal forward movement of the knees. Also, to use more weight, powerlifters often do not squat as deeply as bodybuilders. Which style is best Neither and both. The fields of biomechanics and neurophysiology tell us that even slight variations of movement (i.e., how deeply we squat, bend forward from the waist, and move the knees) stimulate different muscular recruitment patterns. Therefore, to stimulate the most motor units, and therefore...