I have been going to Force Training Seminars, either to help Dave or to do them on my own, for almost 3 years and one of the hardest things to do is get someone to squat correctly.
What I intend to offer you is an example of what has helped me increase my own lifts.
The author of the book, Mark Rippetoe, owns and operates the Wichita Falls Athletic Club in Wichita Falls, Texas.
Squatting big in a meet is every powerlifter’s dream. For some, it can make or break the meet. The big squat sets the tone for the meet. This is truly the case for me. Therefore, my focus is always on the BIG SQUAT.
After competing in the Iron House Classic this past spring, I wanted to turn my attention to developing my raw strength. Based on some reading and videos I had seen, I made some unique adjustments to my dynamic effort bench training. These changes helped improve my raw (sushi) bench by 40 lbs in only 14 weeks.
[Billy Mimnaugh is known for speaking his mind, whether it’s about politics or powerlifting. If you are easily offended, read no further. Billy has a loud voice, and we want to give him the opportunity to speak. —Jim Wendler, EFS]
[Billy Mimnaugh is known for speaking his mind, whether it’s about politics or powerlifting. If you are easily offended, read no further. Billy has a loud voice, and we want to give him the opportunity to speak. —Jim Wendler, EFS]
The deadlift can be scary. It comes last in a meet and is the most stressful event on the various components that make the body a lifting machine. And well, it even has a scary name. On top of all of that, there are now a hundred and one ways to raise your one rep max on the deadlift. Rack pulls, stiff legs, speed pulls; sumo, conventional, modified; and high hips, low hips, leg drive, hip drive. It can get very, very confusing.
Sometimes I reflect back on my days (or is it daze?) in college when I could just wake up, go directly to the gym, and pump away.
I know this may seem a bit strange, but it crossed my mind the other day as I was showering that certain individuals in history would make great training partners. I quickly compiled a list of historical figures that met certain personal requirements for being a good workout comrade.
“People need to understand how to train themselves. When that happens and they finally figure it out, they no longer need to use someone else’s program. That’s the breakthrough factor.” –Dave Tate
Last week, I wrote about dynamic bench work and how you shouldn’t just kick it to the curb. I listed several different dynamic cycles, and there are approximately 5,000 more that have been written about. The whole purpose of the article was to revive the dead and bloated dynamic bench press.
Since the “reactivation,” everyone seems to be interested in Dave Tate’s log. Why? Well because it’s Dave.
You see, I’ve been hounding Dave Tate about his reasons for being big. For him, it was all about being strong. So to get another perspective, I thought you would be a good person to hear from when it comes to gaining weight and getting bigger.
I think the best method for cutting weight for a 24-hour weigh-in is to get your weight down and back up as fast as possible. The less time your weight is down the less it will affect your performance.
I think you may find it interesting because I compare what we train with to NSCA methods and explain to the reader why so many NSCA studies are not completely accurate for use when designing a strength program.
It is no secret among competitive bench pressers that big, strong lats make it easier to drive heavy weight off your chest.
Triples in the shirt is hands down the best exercise to increase your bench. What sucks is that they are hard as shit to master. They need to be completed on one breath. I don’t know how many times I have told lifters to do this exercise. But what I usually hear from the lifter is, “why?” Because I said so, that is why!
We have to go way back to get some understanding on this one.
Back in 2000, when we were skeletons and I was almost ripped, Adipose had just sold his gym and was going for his—literally—all for broke, make it or break it, in powerlifiting. Now, in order to complete his master plan, he had to dissolve all ties. I know this is silly, but this is how the man thinks.
Billy Mimnaugh wrote an article for elitefts™ about the South Side Gym in Stratford, Connecticut. Here’s an update.
The deadlift has become very popular over the past few years. It’s a relatively easy exercise to understand.
I received a call two weeks ago from a friend of mine, and he had some good news for me. About five months ago, he and I were discussing a three-day split that would accommodate his needs and time schedule. He’s an ex-football player, and competes in the 242 lbs class. Like many of you, he’s tried the standard four-day split, but because of work commitments (60+ hours a week) and a long drive time to the gym, he has trouble getting to the gym all the time.
With new and stronger squat suits and bench shirts hitting the market, more attention has been given to training the lockout. It seems most experts believe that since the lifter is doing most of the work at the top, then range of motion should be trained the most. Although common sense tells us that the suits and shirts will get us out of the bottom of the lift, I have modified my belief somewhat.
In our series, “Overcoming Lousy Leverages,” Eric Cressey and I covered all three power lifts and discussed how smart training can lead to bigger totals. In this series, we will discuss the biomechanics behind each lift as well as several strategies to destroy any sticking points you may have. We will examine:
Keeping your athletes motivated is one of the hardest things to do as a strength coach.
I received this article and immediately realized that Alan’s plight mirrors many other lifters.
I think everyone was holding their breath at this years WPO meet at the Arnold Classic.
I am a powerlifter. One of my great passions in life is spending time in the gym lifting heavy weights. To this day, I cannot think of anything more satisfying than setting a hard earned personal record. Well, let’s just say there are very few things that are more satisfying.
I’m going to do is make a list articles and other assorted products that will make things very, very easy for someone navigating this site and trying to learn.
Getting ready for a big meet is stressful. There are a lot of things to consider, especially when using equipment. I am not going to write out all of my workouts, but I am going to give you a few points that I have learned over the last 20 years, and hopefully you can avoid some of my mistakes. Then again we are a bunch of hard headed powerlifters so who knows. This is based on a 16 week program.
Almost a year ago, Matt Bash and I put our collective heads together and were thinking of different ways to approach our weak point in the deadlift; the lockout.
“There are a hundred ways to skin a cat, I am only good at one of them”, is something my grandfather used to say to me all the time.
As I traverse the bumpy road that leads to elite level lifting, I’ve pondered what things can hasten the journey. Most trainees can rapidly progress from being a beginner to an intermediate level lifter, but many often plateau and never move out of the intermediate phase. This article is designed for the intermediate level lifter, to help them kick-start their process and get back on the road to elite lifting!
We get a lot of questions regarding how to choose openers for powerlifting meets and there are a lot of ways to look at this.
Since most veteran powerlifters have their own way of doing things and will probably never read this article, we are not going to address them. What I am going to do is address the lifter that is entering the first powerlifting meet.
The deadlift is the bastard child of powerlifting; it doesn’t get much love. Maybe it’s the fact that the deadlift is less impacted by equipment than are the squat and bench press, so it may require less practice.
“Well, I stand up next to a mountain I chop it down with the edge of my hand.” –Jimi
I’ve wanted to write this article for awhile and there have been several questions on the Q/A that touched on this subject. For those not familiar with the term “deload” by basic definition of it is this: to take a break from extreme training.
A lot of my tips are just repeats from everyone else but I think they get overlooked while everyone is looking for the next gear craze or shortcut. Some are gear related and some are raw work.
The number 3 is held in reverence by many people. Of course, the title of this article is in reference to the Roman Empire and where would we be without them?
The circa max phase is a three week squat phase designed to peak you for your contest.
I have been training with Todd Brock for over 12 years now. I first met Todd during my 2 hour road trips to Westside Barbell.
How things have changed. Five years ago, all you ever read were articles on how to use your gear, how to use your bench shirt, squat suit, knee wraps, etc. Now people want articles on how to train without gear. Very strange.
In the spirit of the 4th of July, we are going to focus on explosive (re: dynamic) training. So listed below are the top 3 cycles for the squat and bench.
For those that don’t know how I train or how I think – it all comes down to one thing; Going Heavy.
If you look at any of the biggest benchers out there, raw or equipped, two things that they all have in common (besides freakish strength) are solid bases from which to bench and great leg drive.
We get asked all the time what the difference between an accessory lift and a supplemental lift. After doing some research, I came up with the following ideas. I got these from “A System of Multi-Year Training in Weightlifting” by A.S. Medvedyev. To make things easier here are some basic definitions;
When training your lower back, think about it two ways; to strengthen your lower back and injury prevention. These don’t necessarily go hand in hand. Many people who have very strong backs injure themselves.
Matt is one of the least physically gifted lifters that I have ever seen.
The Monday after the 2005 Arnold Classic I had to attend a meeting about 45 minutes away and found myself driving the back roads of Ohio
There are several reasons why we have not run meets over the past few years and they are all time and business related.
I was watching our new bench video with Bill Crawford this weekend and I asked him what he thought. He said, “The video is great but your benching technique is horrible.”
The alarm goes off signaling for me to get my ass up and moving. Today is dynamic squat day and I have to be in the gym by 8:15 to begin the session by 8:30
Being a part of Elite Fitness Systems for the past couple of years as well as powerlifting and competitive sports, I have been exposed to a lot of critics telling me what I’m doing is wrong or, in the case of football, what the team is doing wrong.
We have happened upon a new age of strength and conditioning. I have seen this coming for sometime now but tried to dismiss it as a fad.
Dave and I wanted to do an interview with Chuck Vogelpohl for awhile and for several reasons.
I want to acknowledge the guys from PES for welcoming me into their group.
