From Olympia to Atlanta: A Cultural-Historical Perspective on Diet and Athletic Training

Galen, the prominent Greek physician, was the doctor to gladiators, and he practiced medicine at Pergamum, in the geographical region now in western Turkey. His principle contributions to athletics are through two essays that consider exercise in general and how to train gladiators. He presents the advantages of exercise using a small ball, as the following selection reveals: The best philosophers and the best doctors among the ancients have frequently stated how beneficial exercise is toward health, and that it must precede eating. ... I say that the best athletics ... are those which not only exercise the body but are able to please the spirit. ... Play with a small ball is so much a people's activity that even the poorest man is able to have the equipment. ... [Such exercise] needs neither nets nor weapons nor horses nor hunting dogs, but only a ball, and a small one at that. ... This kind of exercise is the only one which moves all parts of the body so very equally. ... Many [other] exercises achieve an opposite effect: they make people lazy and drowsy and dull witted. ... [Many] who work out at the palestra [tend] toward being muscular rather than toward the pursuit of excellence. Many have become so weighed down that they have difficulty breathing. ... Perhaps you will suppose that I recommend running and other exercises that slim down the body. ... That is not the case. ... I assert that every [exercise] should be practiced in moderation. ... Accordingly, I do not approve of ... running [with] which people slim their bodies and in which they gain no practice or manly spirit. Victory does not go to those who flee quickly but to those able to persevere in confrontation. ... If you should ask how healthy running is, the answer is that in the same measure that it unequally exercises the parts of the body, it is unhealthy. For by definition [running] has to overwork some parts and leave others utterly idle. Neither of these is good, [and] both nourish the seeds of diseases and render one's forces feeble. Accordingly, I approve of exercise which produces a healthy body and a balance between the various parts of the body, and along with that a fine spirit.

Louis E. Grivetti and Elizabeth A. Applegate

Pushing more, more ways, more harder.

5 Pushup variations worth including in your arsenal.

Core / ABZ / Waist Training

Get your midsection strong.

Keeping Balance While Specializing

Sane thoughts on what to do with the other aspects of your training when you're specializing on one lift - The REST of Your Program.

Progress

The smallest steps can be taken the most often.
Productive work can be done frequently.
The deepest inroads take longer to recover from.
It is a power law distribution. Your true max Max MAX cannot be drawn from frequently.
All modes of lifts can lead to strength.

Training Articles

A whole bunch of training articles collected here.

Stone Training in the Gym

4 lifts/techniques on training for the stones in the gym from one of the few men who loads 500lb+ stones.
Atlas Stone Training: Part 1: Gym Training By Craig Pfisterer

Programming - Chase Karnes

Three Common Strongman Programming Mistakes
While there’s endless ways to set things up, here’s a sample:

Week A

Monday

• Log clean and press
• Bench
• Chin-ups
• Accessory work

Wednesday

• Squats
• Romanian deadlifts
• Carries (sandbag or Husafell)
• Accessory work

Saturday

• Circus dumbbells
• Yoke
• Atlas stones

Week B

Monday

• Axle clean and press
• Strict overhead
• Bent-over rows
• Accessory work

Wednesday

• Deadlifts
• Front squats
• Heavy drags (sled or Prowler)
• Accessory work

Saturday

• Keg press
• Farmer’s walks
• Medley of some sort (i.e. carry/drag, carry/load, drag/push)

 

Swings and Pulls

Have you been building strength with swinging? Start pulling. Made progress on pulls and swings? More progress.

Specializing in the Deadlift - Louie Simmons

" Even great deadlifters have to do rack pulls or pulls off boxes. Those better built to deadlift, i.e., long arms, short torso, fairly long legs - don't need to do as much assistance work because of good body mechanics. I was not blessed with great leverage for deadlifting yet did fairly well: 670 at 181, 710 at 198, and 722 at 220. I was going nowhere fast until I read an article by Bill Starr. He had a program that was designed to increase the deadlift by not doing the lift in the usual manner. This, along with learning the conjugate method of training used by the Russians, was and still is the foundation of my training philosophy. To increase the deadlift, you must gain strength in the legs, back, abs, and glutes, as well as address all aspects of strength: explosive, accelerating, and, of course, absolute strength."

Dead Serious - Taylor Wilson

The deadlift is the easiest lift to perform, and the most difficult to train, for me. It lends itself to over arousal, since there's really no "over" with deads, and I love that. But, past the novice stage, I've always burned out pulling heavy from the floor. The result was that I was forced to consider one of my least favorite things: conjugate periodization. My deadlift is really the only lift I figured out, and trained, alone.

Twitchy

Table 2 summarises the best methods for enhancingfast-twitch motor units. Conversely, the wrong training – and even what might in some cases seem to be the ‘right’ training – can compromise their development.

Table 2: The best training methods for fast-twitch motor units
Method	Comments
Lifting weights in excess of 60% 1RM	The heavier the weight, the greater the number and size of fast-twitch motor units recruited. A weight in excess of 75% 1RM is required to recruit the largest units
Performing a physical activity flat-out – eg sprinting, swimming, rowing or cycling as fast as possible	Good recoveries are needed to maximise effort. The short-term anaerobic energy system will positively adapt. The minimum speed needed to contribute towards absolute speed development is 75% of maximum
Training your muscles eccentrically	Research indicates that this form of training increases fast twitch motor unit recruitment.(6) An eccentric muscular contraction generates force when muscle fibres lengthen (see plyometric training, below)
Plyometric training	These exercises utilise the stretch-reflex mechanism, allowing for much greater-than-normal force to be generated by pre-stretching a muscle (the eccentric contraction) before it contracts. A hop, bound or depth jump is an example of a plyometric conditioning drill; a long jump take-off is an example of a plyometric sport skill.
Complex training	This can induce greater recruitment of fast-twitch motor units by lulling the protective mechanisms of a muscle into reduced activity, allowing it to generate greater force. Complex training involves combining weights exercises with plyometric ones in a systematic fashion (see PP 114, Feb 1999). A good example is: 1 set of 10 squats at 75% 1RM followed, after a 2-minute recovery, by 10 jump squats, repeated 3 times
Over-speed training	This will have a transferable neural effect only if the athlete consciously moves his own limbs at the increased pace. It includes downhill sprinting and hitting or throwing sports using lighter implements
Good recovery	24-48 hours’ recovery should be taken between very intense plyometric/complex training and speed work sessions. A further 24-36 hours’ recovery will result in an over-compensatory peak – ie opportunity for a peak performance
Sport specific warm-up	This will reduce the risk of injury, increase the receptivity of the neuromuscular system to the ensuing work and reduce the potentially contradictory effects of non-specific preparation on fast-twitch motor units
Mental preparation	Maximum fast-twitch motor unit recruitment can result from specific mental preparation before and during competition

Overcoming Plateaus: The Deadlift By: Louie Simmons

"Most litters deadlift too often and too heavy. This has an ill effect on the central nervous system. A better method is to use a variety of exercises that mimic the deadlift or special exercises that develop the individual muscles that are used while deadlifting (the conjugate method). One must build the muscles that start and finish the lift. Also, there must be methods used to develop speed and acceleration; the quicker the bar Is locked out, the less chance for the grip to give out. "

I am not whole-hog Westside by any means, but endorse the idea that you can use lighter pulls and heavy "other" exercises to increase your max pull.

Increasing the Deadlift for the Collision Sport Athlete

Great piece by Dan John.

You need to pull to pull heavy, but you don't need to pull heavy all the time to pull heavy.

A few years the past I had achieved 90% of my current deadlift max (done after some deadlift focus) by never doing deadlifts except for a couple "tests."

The Purposeful Pause

"Pausing in the bottom position of extensor chain movements such as front squats forbids the use of the stretch reflex, thus increases intra-muscular tension, a great way to vary the strength building stimulus." Says Charles Poliquin.

If you do a lot of Olympic lifting you're probably used to training the bounce out of the hole. Don't neglect the pause technique to work the muscles without the rebound effect.

The deadstop lift is another method to eliminate the bounce effect in training. Dan John used it with success.

Grip Training for your Deadlift By James Smith (www.dieselcrew.com)

Have trouble opening jars? Your hands look someone who got smashed by a house in the Wizard of Oz? You’ve got problems. Well, fortunately you are doing something about it. You are accessing a wealth of knowledge, on the greatest Powerlifting site on the web – www.EliteFTS.com. To increase your bench, dead and squat, one essential aspect everyone forgets – is strengthening your grip. Gripping the bar with the strongest / tightest grip possible is essential for locking your body into a solid, weight bearing structure. There are many different types of grip strength; supporting, pinch, crush, levering, bending and tearing – for instance. For this article we will focus on supporting strength as it pertains to your deadlift.
Here are 3 quick, simple exercises that will help increase your deadlift grip.

How to Strengthen Rosie and her Five Friends - Grip

By Jim Wendler
One of the biggest things that I struggled with during my deadlift training was my grip. This was never a big deal when I was lighter (under 250lbs), but as I became bigger my grip began to suffer.

...


The big embarrassment came when I pulled 585 and it fell out of my hands. I had everyone telling me to go see a doctor because of the numbness, but I knew what the real story was; I had not taken my grip training seriously enough.
Now I was in somewhat of a dilemma – I know I needed to train my grip but everything I’ve read was contradicting itself. I’ve heard that the best way to better your deadlift grip is to deadlift. While I believe this is true, the only problem with this is that when one becomes more advanced, the less you can perform deadlift workouts. The deadlift is extremely hard on your body and can take a long time to recover from. So what was going to suffer? My overall training or my grip?
Then I got the shot in the ass that I needed. (No, not that shot.) I met Jed and Smitty from the Diesel Crew at the 2003 Boston Seminar and they got me on track. First, they showed me what it is like to have fun and train again. Like many of you, training often became a job for me; something that I did only because of habit. It was the same routine over and over again and I would feel guilty if I didn’t do Reverse Hyperextensions or ab work at the end of a workout. I know that many of you are or were in the same boat. Then I met the Crew and things changed. They loved what they did and it showed. I had a renewed sense of training after seeing them.
The Diesel Crew (www.DieselCrew.com)  is known for grip prowess as well as doing lifts that have long been forgotten. They’ve got dozens of strange videos on their website; most of them showcase some kind of lift that will make your head shake in amazement.
Anyway, with their guidance (along with some other people) here are some of the things that helped my grip tremendously. They are simple to do, but grip work takes time. While I noticed results in about 6 weeks, it took about 8 months of training my grip to get it where it needed to be. To give you a point of reference – when I began doing this, I couldn’t close the Captains of Crush Trainer with my left hand (this was my numb/weak hand). In about 6 months, I was able to close the #2 fairly easy. I think this was a substantial improvement. The biggest thing that you will notice is that I didn’t really focus on improving my crushing grip, but my finger strength. In doing so, my overall grip improved. Remember the saying, “You are only as strong as your weakest link”? Well, much of grip training focuses on the thumb and forefinger. These are already strong on most people. It’s the pinky, ring and middle finger that are usually weakest.

Deadlift Grip Development - Ernest F. Cottrell

There are many reasons that lifters fail to make a record deadlift they have worked so hard to attempt, and one of the major problems appears to be in grip strength for two important reasons: 1. Obviously, if the grip isn’t strong enough to hold the bar it is lost during the lift, and 2. If the grip is just strong enough to get the weight up in an accepted lift, your grip strength may not be strong enough for you to do this at any given time, and you either lose the lift now and then, or when it weakens, your confidence weakens too, and it’s left up to accident whether you make it or not. Naturally, this is a big problem you’d like to eliminate if possible, and develop a grip that has reserve power at all times.

Adding 100 pounds to my deadlift by Paul Carter

"So for all of you crappy deadlifters out there such as myself, I'm going to write about how I took my deadlift from the 550 range to it's current 650-660 range over the last few years, and put into a program you can use combining some of the methodologies I used to get there.  So I hope you enjoy benefiting from my mistakes."

The Finnish Deadlift Routine

A lot of work in the lower % area makes this volume intensive program good for people with an already heavy pull. (new link)