Training for Strength, Not Trends: A Tactical Athlete’s Smart Approach to Strength - By RJ Hicks, MS, CSCS

Sean wipes the sweat of his brow before he steps under the Pendulum Standing Squat Pro for his third and final paired set of squats followed by pullovers performed on the Medx Pullover. Sean is a police officer who struggles to reach full depth with barbell squats without severely rounding his lower back and therefore chooses to use the Pendulum standing Squat Pro to perform the squat motion. This is a lower body squat (knee-bend) movement that aligns well with his body, causes him no pain, and allows him to constantly increase the weight as he gets stronger every week. This is a go-to A+ exercise for Sean because he can continually train on it to get bigger and stronger, all while keeping his body feeling good in the process.  Sean priorities all A+ exercises over competitive lifts, because his GOAL is to increase his muscular size and strength to reduce his severity of injuries at work and allow him to perform law enforcement tasks in a more efficient manner, not to compete in a strength sport or fitness competition.

Sean squeezes out the eight rep and racks the weight after reaching the goal for the workout. He will move up 5 pounds as he was able to complete all three sets of eight in good form despite the challenging loads used during all three sets. If the rep goal is not reached or it is a real strain to meet the goal, the weight does not move up and he continues to strive to reach the goal. Sean did not have to decrease the loads on each set nor sacrifice his intensity because of the four plus minute built-in rest between each set. Sean rested long enough between the squats and pullovers until he was ready to deliver a hard effort on pullovers and again rested afterwards until he was ready to attack the squats for another set. If we were to cut down some of the rest between the sets, we would have no choice, but to reduce the load each set or drop the target number of reps. One method is not superior over the others as long as all three are trained in a progressive manner. 

After performing squats and pullover Sean moves to the barbell bench press for three all out sets in a descending format of ten, eight, six. He prefers the barbell bench press movement, while I prefer the Medx Chest press. Neither tool is more functional then the other. They both allow you to progressively load the muscles involved in horizontal abduction of the humorous (upper body horizontal push). He pairs this movement with the Hammer Strength Iso Row. He always chooses the Hammer Strength Iso Row movement over the barbell row because he feels it is a safer and more effective way to overload the muscles of the upper back. Sean doesn’t look at free weights and machines as an either-or decision. He understands basic muscle function and decides on which specific exercise is the best for him to use on each major muscle group, regardless of the tool used. He doesn’t get caught up in the functional fitness debates or myths that athletes need to use free weights and older trainees need to use machines, because he understands there is no one exercise that he must use, since he is not competing in a specific strength sport. 

His last paired set consisted of Pulldowns and the nautilus power plus lateral raise for two sets each. The lateral raise is iso-lateral, meaning both arms move independently, just like the Medx pullover and Hammer Strength Iso-Lateral Row.  The advantages to incorporating iso-lateral equipment are you force both limbs to work independently. This can be used to identify strength difference left to right and allow you to isolate un-injured limbs.  We omitted the vertical push for lateral raises and chose to focus more on upper back today, because his next workout incorporates incline, vertical and horizontal pressing. Most weeks he will perform vertical pressing in two different workouts, some workouts he will perform vertical pressing and lateral raises on one day and still perform vertical pressing on the next, it just all depends on how we decide to set up the training. Each week at a minimum we cover the horizontal and vertical push/pull planes of motion for the upper body, squat and hip hinge movement to ensure Sean is strong from top to bottom and front to back.

To finish up the workout Sean completes a quad-set (meaning four exercises) of dumbbell bicep curls, cable triceps pushdowns, Nautilus Four-way Neck flexion/extension and the Medx Lumbar Extension machine for two rounds total. These are less-taxing exercises that do not interfere with each other’s performance, allowing for a reduce rest period in-between exercises. These four isolation exercises fill in the strength gaps missed from the compound exercises. It is a delicate balance of incorporating critical isolations exercises without deemphasizing the basic planes of motion and turning the workout into a marathon of different exercises. Other exercises such as calf raises, shrugs, wrist rollers and leg extensions are sprinkled in throughout his other workouts.

Sean trains all of his major muscle’s groups twice a week with a mix of barbells, dumbbells and good machines. He utilizes the heaviest weight he can for the prescribed goal in good form where his muscles are performing the lifting and lowering of the weight and always adds load when he earns the right to. He rests in-between workouts and never trains the same muscles back-to-back days. Sean eats high quality food with plenty of protein and limits the amount of alcohol and junk food he consumes. Outside of the gym he runs a variety of distances for cardiovascular health, trains law enforcement tactics, weapon handling and firing on the range and studies state and federal laws to ensure he is mastering his craft. 

Training principles do not change from individual to individual. The bicep supinates and flexes the same on a football player as it does on a Dentist and the way to overload it is the same. The tools/exercises selected, sequence of exercises and protocols used are specific to Sean’s goals and preferences, but the training principles used are the same for all trainees. Bob Whelan summarized it perfectly in his article “Dinosaur Women” when he stated “muscle fiber is human" ... and "It is the training GOAL that determines how the principles are used”. It doesn’t matter what your sex, profession, or age is, the strength training principles are "Human" and the same for a young tactical athlete like Sean as they are for a middle-aged woman who is a lawyer. The training goal determines how the principles are used. What they do outside of the gym as a result of their career, passion or sport is a completely separate activity and is not always the same as the goal.

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Off To A Great Start - By RJ Hicks

My 13 month old son had his first workout! ... 2.5 pound crawls. Haha! (This is a joke!) 

Editor's Note: Awesome RJ! Great picture! Hahaha! This will be so cool for him to show his friends when he really does start training. 

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Peary Rader: The Iron Man - By RJ Hicks MS, CSCS

Peary Rader was an early bodybuilder, weight lifter and strength training writer who left a huge impact on the Iron game. As a young, undersized boy he built himself up with heavy, high repetition back squats. In just a few years of training his weight shot up 80 pounds as he focuses on lifting heavier and heavier weights in high rep back squat, eventually earning local success in competition as a lifter. This sparked Rader’s lifelong passion for weight lifting and bodybuilding, which he shared with others through his writings, publication and promotion for natural training methods.

Rader’s interest in weight training began in his teenage years when started training with homemade weights made from scrap metal. Frustrated with his size, he became fascinated by the idea of building his own strength and sculpting his physique through weight training. He would supplement limited sets of; the deadlift, clean and jerk, military press, barbell row, bench press, barbell curl and sit-up to his 20 rep squats. It was not long after his success in weight lifting and bodybuilding that Peary Rader took up writing for various bodybuilding publications. His articles were well-received by his few readers and he soon established himself as an expert in the field of weight training and bodybuilding. Rader used this platform influence other like-mind fitness enthusiast, leaving many everlasting contributions to the field. Going down in history as one of the greatest figures in the Iron Game.

One of Peary Rader’s most significant contribution to the Iron Game was his publication, Iron Man magazine. The magazine originated in 1936 at his own dining room table. As a small newsletter and quickly grew to become one of the most influential publications in the field of strength training for 50 years. Through Iron Man, Rader was able to reach a large audience of weightlifters, bodybuilders and weight training enthusiast, providing them with training tips, workout routines, nutrition and spiritual advice. It was an educational tool to people interested in weight training.

It was one of the first magazines to promote twice a week training, women training with weights, Arthur Jones training ideas and at the time his new nautilus machines. Similar to Bob Hoffman’s Strength and Health magazine, Rader didn’t just cover weight training. He promoted overall health, character and spiritual health in his editorial section. Dr. Ken Leistner, Stuart McRobert and Bradley Steiner were just some of the great past writers for Peary Rader’s publication. The magazine was known for its innovative approaches to training and its emphasis on natural bodybuilding methods. A true godsend at that time to counter the rampant drug training found in the Muscle and Fitness magazines.

Another important contribution that Rader made to the iron game was his emphasis on proper form and technique in weight training. Rader believed that proper form and technique were necessary for achieving optimal results and avoiding injury. He stressed the importance of starting with lighter weights and master proper mechanics before progressing to heavier weight. Rader encouraged trainees to focus on maintaining proper form throughout each exercise from start to finish. He believed you must earn the increase in weight through your performance rather than sacrificing form to continue to lift heavier loads.

Rader was a strong advocate for natural bodybuilding and weightlifting, which focused on achieving strength and physique goals through hard work and dedication, rather than through the use of performance-enhancing drugs. His philosophy of drug-free training was based on his belief that using performance-enhancing drugs was not only unethical, but dangerous to trainees. He knew that the use of drugs could lead to serious health problems and that the risks outweighed any potential benefit.

Instead, Rader promoted the importance of natural training methods, such as progressive overload, good form and a focus on nutrition and recovery. He believed natural training methods were not only heathier but also more sustainable in the long run, allowing athletes to achieve their goals without putting their health at risk. Rader advocated for a holistic approach to strength training, which not only weight training, but proper nutrition, and recovery.

Training Philosophy

One of the key principles of Peary Rader’s weight training philosophy was the importance of progressive overload. Rader believed that the body needed to be challenged progressively with heavier weights (not volume, exercise variations or training frequency) in order to continue making gains in muscular size and strength. He advocated a gradual increase in weight overtime, as opposed to sudden jumps, in order to minimize the risk of injury and ensure the body could adapt to the new stresses being placed upon it.

Rader also believed that nutrition was an important factor of any effective weight training program. He stressed the importance of consuming a balanced diet that provided the body with nutrients it needed to recover from workouts. Rader recommended trainees consume a sufficient amount of protein, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats, while minimizing their intake of processed foods and refined sugars. He pushed natural foods for protein such as milk, eggs and animal proteins. There were no large advertisements, no hidden agendas or selling garbage products like most of the muscle magazines today.

In addition to nutrition, Rader also believed rest and recovery were necessary components of a successful weight training program. He encouraged trainees to get plenty of sleep, take rest days as needed, and allow their bodies time to recover between workouts. Rader was the first to promote twice a week strength training during a time that three whole body workouts was the norm. Long before Arthur Jones or High Intensity Training practitioners established it as general doctrine. He already figured out overtraining and lack of rest would lead to injury, burnout, and stalled progress in the gym for natural trainees.

A basic template of the training he promoted twice a week:

Squats or Deadlifts 1x20 Military press or behind the neck press 1 to 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps Barbell curl or chin ups 1 to 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps Bench press or dips 1 to 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps Bent over barbell rows 1 to 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps Sit ups or leg raises 1 to 3 sets of 10 to 12 rep

Peary Rader was without a doubt one of the best and truly ahead of his time. He was the most honest guy ever, disciplined in his craft and extremely admired by the people who knew of him. His training philosophy never veered centering around poundage progression full body workouts with basic exercises, twice a week with plenty of rest and recovery between workouts. Though Peary Rader is gone, his legacy lives on in the pages of his original Iron Man magazine, which has some of the greatest training advice ever recorded.

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Strength and Athletics - By RJ Hicks MS, CSCS

One of the most common misconceptions in the field of strength is that athletes need to train differently than the common non-athlete. Many coaches believe that athletes must always train on their feet, train specific movement patterns, train only with free weight or use ballistic movements in order to best prepare them for their sport. These strength coaches confuse athletics and the Iron Game. They want to be attached to the athletes because of their love for athletics, not for their passion and knowledge for strength. They lose sight of why athletes are supposed to weight training and attempt to blend their training over to what the sports coaches is suppose to do. Athletes will benefit from weight training, but will not become better athletes because of it.

If you want to improve performance in the sports venue, you must train the entire body. It doesn’t matter what sport someone participates in or what position they play. It takes all of the muscles coordinated efforts at once to perform any athletic skill, regardless of their sport. Every muscle comes into play whether it is actively contracting to initiate movement, assist with movement, stabilize the body during movement or resist against movement. That is why the training program should include every muscle in the body, from the neck on down. The more force your muscles can produce the more efficiently your body will be able to move. It is that simple. When athletes train all the major muscles surrounding their joints, they increase their structural integrity. The most important aspect of training is to keep the athlete healthy so they can continue to develop their sports skills and compete in competition. Injured athletes can’t practice their sports skills and hurt the team’s chances from winning. By strengthening the total body, you are increasing the physical function of the body, improving the quality of muscle, increasing bone mineral density, and reducing the risk of soft tissue injuries by increasing the thickness and stiffness of tendons and ligaments. Dan Riley, Mark Asanovich, Ken Mannie and many other great coaches have said it many times that the number one priority in the weight room is to protect the athlete from the high levels of force they are exposed to in their sport.

The program should consist of mostly compound exercises and some isolation exercises to ensure all of the major muscle groups are being trained. There should be equal emphasis on pushing and pulling exercises, executed in both a bi-lateral and iso-lateral fashion. Athletes need to be strong front to back and left to right. Iso-lateral exercises will help balance out strength levels between each limb from the natural imbalance that occurs from playing sports. The program foundation should consist of: vertical push/pull, horizontal push/pull, leg/hip/back push/pull. Exercises for the neck, grip, calves, low back and the mid-section must also be included in the program so that the athlete can be strong from their head to their toes.

These basic exercises make up the main part of the program, regardless of the sport. The only thing you can do to make the program more specific it to identify which exercise an athlete can and cannot do and to identify the top injuries for each specific sport. At the end of the workout, you want to include a few exercises that combat those specific injuries. This is something I learned from Jamie Labelle, who coached hundreds of athletes at his old training facility “The Quality Repetition”. If the knee and ankle are the most common injuries for a basketball player, at the end of the workout make sure to perform a specific exercise to strengthen those areas. The more exercises you include in the program the fewer sets you will be able to program. The goal of the program is to strengthen all the major muscles groups of the body, not to develop a high-level skill of lifting. One or two sets for each exercise will be enough to develop strength if meaningful overload is used. Athletes do not need to perform three to four sets per exercise to develop strength. There is no rep/set protocol that produces more significant results than another. What’s more important is the quality of training rather than the quantity of workouts. Remember strength training is only part of the equation for athletes. They must be able to recover from specific skill work, conditioning, sports practice and competition.

The argument of free weights over machines for athletes is purely based on perception. Coaches like to argue that free weights are better for athletes, because they more functional due to the balance and skill needed to use them. Balance and skill have nothing to do with developing strength. They are not in the weight room to recreate different movement patterns in the weight room, they are in there to build strength. Greater instability decreases the amount of muscular force an athlete is able to produce, working against their ability to provide overload to the muscles. The more skill involved in an exercise often times the less effective the exercise becomes. There is no reason to incorporate exercises that require great skill for non-strength athletes. Motor learning experts agree that for positive transfer of a skill to occur, training must be exact not similar or close too. If an athlete is wanting to improve their tackling, they must practice tackling an opposing play with proper technique at near game speed. Lifting a bar from the floor to their knees and violently extending their hips is not the same movement and will do nothing to improve the athlete’s skill.

Athletes should use the best tools available to them, whether it is barbells, dumbbells or good machines. There are some good barbell and dumbbell exercises that an athlete can use, but training the neck, upper back and lower body are limited without good machines. As Bob Whelan says “good machines are nothing but guided barbells”. They are very beneficial to have and allow some athletes to perform movements productively they would not be capable of otherwise. The best option is to use a mix of both, but if free weights are the only option the training principles remain the same. With a mix of free weights and machines you can incorporate more exercises, greater variety and fit the tool to the athlete instead of fitting the athlete to the tool. Below are a few sample programs.

Basketball player-

Military press Iso lateral row Leg press Neck flexion/ neck extension Calve raise Iso lateral chest press Pulldown Iso lateral leg press Abdominal crunch/back extension Gripper

Extra work: Knee and Ankle Leg extension Leg curl Seated calf raise/tibia flex

Baseball player-

incline press iso lateral pulldown Squat Neck lateral flexion Abdominal rotation Iso military press Seated low row HS one legged deadlifts One legged calve raise Wrist roller

Extra Work: Shoulder and Elbow Lateral raise External rotator cuff Reverse thick bar curls Tricep pushdowns

The program is supposed to help protect athletes and maximize their muscular strength to improve their physical function. Moving fast with weights will not make an athlete run faster in competition. The speed at which muscle fibers contract are pre-determined by birth. Power cleans and depth jumps will not change their biological make up or their neurological efficiency. An athlete is either “hook up” or not based off of their genetic potential. Improvement in technique, tactical knowledge, experience, body composition, and an athlete’s determination to make the play are what make an athlete explosive past what was decided at birth. The only thing in the weight room an athlete can do to increase their speed is to continue to strengthen their muscles used for running. A stronger muscle will always produce more force. The safest and most efficient way to do this is to allow the muscles to lift and lower weights through the fullest range of motion. Yanking, jerking, bouncing or throwing weight around in the weight room will minimize the total amount of muscle fibers recruited at best and lead to acute or chronic injuries at worse.

The truth is an athlete’s training program looks very similar to a non-athletes training program. There are no special exercises, equipment or training principles that athletes need. Muscle fibers are human. Human anatomy and philology do not change because of the activities you participate in. The same basic total body training template that works for an office employee will work for a professional soccer player. The weights, intensity and some preventative exercises may vary between the two, but the training principles remain the same. Good form, progressive overload and proper rest will allow muscle to adapt and grow for athletes and non-athletes alike.

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My Undeniable Truths of Weight Training for Beginners – Part 9 - Adopt a Label-Free Approach to Training – By RJ Hicks, MS, CSCS

I know a lot of coaches that like to label their training as the most effective or efficient way. They take a one size fits all approach to strength training no matter the clients experience, preference or goal. Their training philosophy becomes the very methods and modes they have chosen. This can be confusing for beginners and enough pressure to make them feel the need to choose a specific camp. If you want to maximize your muscular size and strength ignore these coaches and ditch the dogmatic mentality in your training.

There is no one best way to train for every individual. Many coaches rather cramp their style of training down your throat then to take the time to understand your goals. I see it all the time where a coach says we do barbell training or HIT training or Olympic lifting at this gym. They try to fit the client to the methods rather than the methods to the client goals and interest. It is a backwards approach to training that limits the physical potential a client reaches since no one method will work for each individual.

When you label yourself in training you handicap yourself from progressing in the long term. Injury, burn-out, mental blocks are all real factors when it comes to training. It has nothing to do with a lack of knowledge or motivation as to why you cannot train in one particular method for the rest of your life. You do not have to swear allegiance to anyone camp to be a serious lifter. It is better to have the freedom to adjust your training as you see fit for the specific goal. it is not the tool, exercise or rep scheme that determines your success; it is your attitude and effort towards lifting greater resistance on the basic exercises that does this.

Do not label yourself. When you become a disciple of any one of the many camps in the field of strength you close the door to many other good training methods. Strength training is not an either-or conflict. Take the good parts of each training camp and discard the bad from your training. Your own instincts, knowledge and experience has to override what any one camp may say. You do not want to be bound by one individual camp and their training methods. Instead, you want a large tool box of methods so that you have the opportunity to choose the right tool for the right job.

Be a label-free zone like Naturalstrength.com. NaturalStrength.com is not a HIT, DINO, Super Slow, Hard Gainer, NSCA, BFS or Starting Strength site. All training philosophies and methods of training are welcome as long as they are drug-free and productive. The site promotes the best of each training method and highlights the commonalities between the groups. It’s the basic principles that they share that makes the training successful, not the differences.

Successful drug-free lifters all utilize he same basic principles. They train their whole body with the basic compound exercises. They ensure to place equal emphasis on pushing and pulling for both the upper and lower body. They also train hard, prioritize load progression and always plan for enough recovery between workouts. How they incorporate the specific modes and methods into their training is of minor importance and based on the individual. Jim Duggan, Linda Jo Belisto, Bob Whelan and Jamie LaBelle’s are just a few examples of successful lifters who demonstrate different variations on how they apply the same basic principles to their training, based off of their goals and enjoyment.

You can train in a pyramid set fashion, straight sets, super sets or one set per exercise. You can train to failure or just shy of complete muscular fatigue. You can use train with high repetitions or low repetitions, with good machines or free weights with great success. There is no one rep/set scheme or rest interval that is always the right choice. What matter is if you train hard and progressively and specific to your goal and interest.

You should be able to enjoy your training and not feel confined to only one method of training. I know guys who miss training with heavy weights and using a mix of free weights and machines, but refuse to switch up their training because they label themselves Super Slow. The tools and methods you decide to use has nothing to do with the foundation of strength training. As long as you train the whole body hard with equal emphasis on pushing and pulling, with poundage progression as the main goal you can make many methods work! It is good for both your body and your mind to switch your training up and set new goals.

Make a strategic change every four to five months based off your goals. Alternate the rep ranges you are using for your exercise every few months. Don’t be afraid to experiment with higher reps for a period of time and then with lower reps. If you are always training on machines and want to train on free weights, switch up your tools for four months. Train in a high intensity format for several weeks if you’re an in-season athlete and time is tight. Then, if in the off-season you want to see how strong you can get take the next few months to train with straight sets and a lot of rest to see how much you can increase your poundage’s. Listen to how your body feels and chase after goals that will keep your motivation high. You will become much bigger and stronger this way rather than if you settle for a dogmatic approach.

Brooks Kubik said it best in Dinosaur Training, “The common denominator for all guys who are serious about their training is very simple: THEY TRAIN HARD! They may use different equipment, do different exercise, use different set/rep schemes and so on, but the bottom line is always the same: HARD Work!” Skip the internet wars and go out there and find the training approaches that excites you the most. If anyone asks you which camp you belong to, respond with the “Hard, progressive, drug-free training camp”.

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Abbreviated, Not Minimalist Training - By RJ Hicks, MS, CSCS

There are many lifters that are confusing an abbreviated training philosophy with a minimalist training approach. This group of lifters look to do the minimal amount of work in a training session and take long layoffs between workouts in fear of over training. Many of them refuse to do any additional exercise outside of their lifting, as it is dangerous and will cause them to lose strength. No workout they do seems to take longer than 20 minutes. 

Most of the lifters who fall into this category are over sensitive to injury and over training. They often have an average build and look lean, but in dress clothes you could never tell they were lifters. They love to read and talk about training, but hate to do it themselves. For some lifters, they use it as a weak excuse to not work hard. These lifters will tell you they respond best to a low volume. Then with the next breath claim that they have reached their genetic potential after two years of training. Many of these lifters haven’t been training long enough to know this and have most likely made it up in their mind.

This minimalist philosophy stems from the believe of performing the least amount of work possible to stimulate muscular growth.  Many lifters love this approach, but then are confused as to why they are not bigger and stronger several months down the road. They do not want to dedicate the time and effort it takes to train the whole body hard and progressively. Many of them have never overtrained before, but find it easier to explain their lack of results. They fail to realize that performing the bare minimum amount of lifting, cardiovascular training and eating will only bring them minimal results.

Too many lifters confuse high training volume and high training frequency. Training volume is the amount of exercise you perform while you are at the gym for a given workout. Frequency is the number of times you go to the gym. Most lifters are going to the gym too many times rather than performing too much volume during their workout. The body needs less visits to the gym not shorter workouts. An hour-long workout is an abbreviated workout if you are training your whole body. You are not going to over train by doing more than one set per muscle group. More than likely, you will actually obtain better results.  

Read any of the muscular hypertrophy research by Dr. Brad Scheinfeld. His studies suggest up to 10 sets per muscle group per week is required to maximize muscular size and strength in most lifters. Many of the basic compound exercise have a great deal of muscle overlap, but performing only four or five total sets in a routine is far from optimizing your potential. It can really benefit you to perform a second work set on many of the basic exercise or include a few additional exercises for a more rounded workout. This will put you closer to Dr. Scheinfeld’s research and is a far cry from what drug infested bodybuilding champions try to promote.

Minimalist training is the result of taking abbreviated training to the extreme. There is a big difference between having an extra day of rest and taking a whole week off between workouts. Once a week is not enough training to maximize the potential of most people. Certain exercises such as the deadlift are best trained once every seven to ten days, but a majority of the other basic exercises will benefit from a slightly higher volume of exposure.  Too much time off in the weight room will lead to deconditioned muscles and eventually atrophy. Especially if you are training with such a low training volume. If you hate lifting and only have time once a week, then once a week is better than not training at all. But if you are serious about maximizing your potential then you will find a way to train the whole body twice every seven to ten days most of the time.  

Many minimalists avoid all extra training outside of their once weekly workout to include any cardiovascular exercise. They like to pretend it is redundant and unnecessary for the body to preform any additional anaerobic or aerobic work. One workout a week with short rest intervals and a high level of effort may be enough to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, but it is not enough to maximize the health benefits of being active and your cardiovascular ability.  Two to three cardiovascular workouts should be completed to help you recover better during workouts, burn more calories and improve your endurance outside of the gym.  The current literature on concurrent training (performing both weight training and cardiovascular exercise) shows that a moderate amount of cardiovascular training has no significant negative affect on strength training. As long is cardiovascular training is not over done your weight training workouts will not be affected at all. 

This same group of minimalists often times push long fasting windows, usually eating only one meal a day, hardly ever eating any carbohydrates. Diet recommendations should always come from a registered dietitian, but I can tell you eating one meal a day is not going to maximize your muscular growth. Registered dietitians may recommend a heavy protein feeding once a day to a client who is pre-diabetic or attempting to lose weight by reducing blood sugar levels and caloric intake. Not to someone who is looking to build muscular size and strength. Fueling your body with enough proper nutrition is just as important as your training, you cannot skim on either! 

If you want to be a closet lifter where nobody can tell you lifts weights, then train once a week in a minimalist fashion. You will still capitalize on the numerous health benefits and slowly continue to improve your strength if you remain progressive with your training. If you want to maximize your muscular and strength potential then you will need to train and eat more than just the bare minimum. Stop looking at how little you can do in the weight room and start looking at the optimal amount of work for the greatest results!

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Piecing Your Workout Together - By RJ Hicks, MS, CSCS

There are many unaccounted variables that are not laid out when a beginner is presented the basics of training. It is easy to say, train the whole body twice every seven to ten days, progressively, with the basic compound exercises, but it can be challenging to write out. You may not know what exercises are best to use to cover the basic planes of motion or which method of progression is best. It is tough to create a routine without specific training goals. 

Your specific training goals are the most important question to creating the best training routine for you. General goals of increasing size and strength are good, but the more specific you can get the more likely your program is to be successful for you. The specific goals of your training help determine the best exercises and equipment to use, the priority of exercises they should be completed in and the best methods of progression to implement. 

Exercise Selection

When designing your own routine, you want to first ask yourself what exercises do I want to improve on? The exercises you decide to perform are the specific exercises you are going to increase your strength with. If you train progressively with the barbell bench you can expect your barbell bench pressing numbers to go up. If you train progressively on the Hammer Strength Chest Press you can expect the same for your numbers on the Hammer Strength Chest Press. Both horizontal pushing movements will increase the size and strength of the same muscle groups, but will not guarantee an increase in strength between the two. 

There is no direct correlation between free weights and machines. You cannot compare them because they are completely different exercises. Just like if you were trying to compare a barbell bench press and a dip. The muscles used are similar, but the movements are different. The barbell bench press and Hammer strength Chest Press have their own specific motor learning patterns. Your nervous system looks at each exercise as an individual skill. A skill that takes several weeks of practice to enhance performance. Motor learning experts suggest that practice must be exact, not similar, for there positive transfer in skills. 

It is inefficient to train with a barbell in hopes to increase your strength on a specific machine and vice versa. What determines which exercises are better are your training goals. If your goal is to increase your barbell bench press then you will include the barbell bench press in your routine. If your goal is to increase the amount you can perform on the Hammer Strength Deadlift, then you will have to include the Hammer Strength Deadlift. You can perform the Hammer Strength Chest Press and a barbell deadlift to assist some with both of the aforementioned exercise, but the most effective way to improve your performance on a specific lift is to train that specific lift.

Pick a specific compound exercise or two for the horizontal/vertical pushing and pulling for the upper body. Then do the same for a lower body push and pull movement. There is no answer on what you should pick, other than which ones are safe for you to perform and that you have interest in improving on. If you chose an additional compound lift you can alternate between two workouts for the added variety. These exercises can change overtime, but it is wise to give them at least four to five months of consistency to give your training enough time to work.

Sequencing your Exercises

When it comes to sequencing your exercises, you want to ask yourself two things. What are my priority exercises and how can I maximize by performance on my selected exercises? There is no one best method for sequencing your exercises. It doesn’t matter if you start with lower body first or upper body first. It doesn’t matter if you start with a pulling exercise first or with a pushing exercise instead. It doesn’t matter if you perform your vertical pushing and pulling movements before you perform the horizontal pushing and pulling movements or vice versa. What matters is that you sequence your exercises based off of your specific goals.

The most important exercises should always be sequenced at the start of the routine. This is when you have most energy and will most likely do the best at the exercise you do first. If your main priority is to increase your performance on the chin-up then chin-ups should be the first exercise you perform. You want to perform the chin-ups when you have the most amount of strength, performing any other exercise that may take away from the chin-up’s performance. From there you would be able to sequence the rest of the workout picking either the next priority exercise if you had one or by strategically sequencing your exercise for optimal performance. 

The goal of sequencing exercises should always be on how to maximize your individual performance on each movement. You selected each exercise for a purpose so you should order them in a way that benefits you the most. Do you do best training legs first? Or are you physically drained after performing heavy squats, deadlifts and or leg presses? Can you do back-to-back compound exercises for the upper body or do you need more built-in rest? Obviously if you are competing in a specific strength sport there is a set sequence you must follow, but outside of that you need to sequence your exercises to optimize your performance. 

There are many different tactics you can use to strategically sequence your workouts for optimal results. Most good routines follow an upper body pushing movement with an upper body pulling movement to allow more rest for the primary muscles involved. A common example of this is performing the seated row followed by the military press. If more than one set is desired you would continue to alternate between the two exercises until all sets were complete. A second tactic for more rest is to sprinkle in the tinkering exercises, as Bob refers to them, (abs, grip, neck, calves) periodically into the routine to act as additional built-in rest. Sticking with the first example you could follow the first set up seated row and military press with neck flexion and neck extension prior to performing a second round of the seated row and military press. A more extreme example would be placing an easy exercise between each compound movement. You could perform the seated row, neck flexion/neck extension, military press, abdominal flexion then repeat the cycle or move on to another compound exercise. A third tactic is to save your hardest compound exercises for the end of the workout. You can place the leg press after the two cycles of seated row and military press so there is no concern of the leg press negatively affecting the amount of weight you can lift on the seated row and military press. It is all specific to your individual goal. You can decide what order is best as long as you end up getting all the exercises done and stay consistent with the order you perform them. 

Number of Repetitions

As a beginner it is important to understand that all reasonable sets and reps’ schemes work If done in a progressive manner. You can get stronger utilizing low reps or high reps, as long as the weight is heavy relative to the number of repetitions being performed and that the set number of reps falls within the anaerobic energy system timeframe. The key however, is that each set needs to have a repetition goal. The repetition goal is a guide for adding weight. That being said your set/rep goals are specific in nature just as the exercises you choose and the order of exercises you perform. 

Progress in a specific repetition range is specific to the number of repetitions you actually perform. You will always improve the most on the repetition ranges you consistently perform for a given exercise. If the goal is 8 repetitions you will be improving your ability to lift heavier weights for around 8 repetitions. The further away your goal becomes from the actual number of repetitions you perform the least effect your training becomes. This is common sense, but many exercise programs will have you train with moderate to high repetitions for several weeks then have you attempt a one repetition maximum.  

Your goal determines how many repetitions you should utilize not the recommendation of an on-line authority in the field. If you are competing in a strength sport you will program low repetitions a majority of the time in the competition lifts. If you are an athlete looking to compete in a non-strength sport, your goal will be a repetition range that utilizes primarily the same energy system as does your sport. If your goal is to improve your 20-rep squat then you must squat for 20 repetitions. If you are consistent in a specific repetition range your weight you can handle for that repetition range will significantly increase.

Putting it all Together

Spend sometime and determine your specific personal strength training goals. Most people who lift weights want to increase muscular size and strength, but the more specific you can be the more effective your training will be. Spend some time and determine your specific personal strength training goals for right now. Find the exercises you want to improve on the most, determine how you want to measure the performance and the most effective way for you to complete all of the exercises and stick with it for four to five months. Your specific goals will (and should) always change down the road, but you must give the current routines enough time to work. 

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Priorities of Strength - By RJ Hicks: MS, CSCS

One of the major strength training topics Bob and I talk about is intensity. Intensity is defined as the amount of work done per unit of time. I have been mentored by Bob for many years and have had his personal definition of increasing Intensity ingrained into me. Bob believes there four ways to increase intensity. Poundage progression or adding weight to the bar. Training with sets to muscular failure, forcing the muscles to do more work in one set. Reducing the amount of rest you take between sets, allowing you to do more work in less time. Lastly, using good form during your training. This forces the muscles to perform more of the work, rather than using momentum and gravity to assist with moving the resistance. All of these methods will increase intensity, but it is essential that you train with progressive resistance in good form as it is the backbone of all successful strength training programs.

Sets to Failure There are many professionals in the field who believe training intensely only means lifting a weight until momentary muscular failure. They forget all about poundage progression and believe as long as they train with a high level of effort to failure, they will maximize their muscular size and strength. There are training facilities across the U.S. that utilize training to failure as their main goal for their clients’ workouts. They book appointments in 30-minute blocks and use high end strength training machines so the clients can safely train to failure in all of their exercises. This is both a great business plan for business owner and for the client. The business owner can train twice as many clients in a day and double their profit. While, the client can receive an extremely hard work-out and only sacrifice 30 minutes of their day.

There is zero doubt that intensity is one variable to maximizing muscular size and strength, however it is the way some trainer’s priorities the different methods of raising intensity that detract from the goal of maximizing strength. Training to failure can be a very beneficial way to train, especially for athletes whose sport doesn’t involve a barbell. It is a productive way to train, because it requires fewer work sets to be done. Usually, training to failure only requires one hard all-out work set with a moderate rep range as opposed to performing three to four work sets of a specific exercise. It is time efficient because less work sets are required to produce the amount of muscular overload needed to increase muscular size and strength. Bob and I both agree training to failure can be a great way to train, IF it is done progressively.

You can go to failure with light weights all you want, but if you never increase the weight, you’ll progress little. Going to failure with light weights has the same pitfall that training with only calisthenics present. It deemphasizes strength (the amount of muscular force you can produce) and emphasizes muscular endurance (the amount of repeated submaximal force your muscles can reproduce over an extended period of time). If they weight is too light your muscles will not improve the amount of muscular force they can produce. You will only get better at lifting light weights to failure. If this wasn’t the case there would be no need for weights and everyone would just use calisthenics. You can make training to failure a productive element of your training, but without poundage progression your ability to maximize strength will be limited.

For most of Bob’s years competing in powerlifting he never focused on training to failure and only focused on trying to get the goal for each work set. Failure happened by accident, but was never thought of as the goal. It was a natural byproduct of training hard and heavy. It wasn’t until later in his training years after reading “Heavy Duty” that he started to alter his training. The main exercises (bench, squat, deadlift, incline press and behind the neck presses) were still trained in a pyramid style fashion, but the supplementary exercises were done in a high intensity training manor. He knew it doesn’t really matter if you go to failure, it just makes you do less sets.

Many of the Oldtimers never trained to failure either and made tremendous gains in muscular size and strength. Most of the training courses advertised in the early “Strength and Health” and “Muscular Development” magazines used a double progressive system, meaning the reps were increased first and then at a certain point the weight was increased. Take the arm curl as an example on a routine that trains three days per week. The athlete would choose a weight which they could complete the arm curl at least ten times, and for four exercise days it is repeated for the same number. Then it would be tried for 11 times for four exercise days. Then 12 times for four exercise days until the athlete is able to repeat the arm curl twenty times for four exercise days. At this point five pounds would be added and the process is repeated until another five pounds is added, and so on. The old-timers built up to handling large weights on the basic exercises through consistently prioritizing POUNDAGE PROGRESSION. They didn’t worry about training to muscular failure, burn-out sets or creating large amounts of fatigue in their muscles.

Rest Between Sets Reducing the amount of rest between work sets is another great way to increase intensity. The less sitting around you do the more challenging each exercise will feel. Your heart rate will stay at a higher pace as you continue to lift weights not fully recovered. I think reducing rest between sets is great way to increase the intensity of your workout, but if you get too carried away with limited rest it can negatively affect your muscular strength development.

There are still trainers that like to utilize a method of reducing rest called “the rush factor”. I know people who swear by this method and whose workouts only last 15 to 20 minutes. It is a non-stop workout where you move from one exercise to the next with no rest in between. Some motivated enthusiast even run between exercises to further reduce their resting time. Using the rush factor brings cardiovascular benefit to the workout and certainly raises the intensity level, but it is not a priority in maximizing strength. There are no physiological strength benefits from putting your body into metabolic shock. Vomiting and rolling around the floor at the end of your workout looks hardcore, but does nothing to build greater strength. When you severely decrease the amount of rest you take between sets you actually hurt your ability to maximize your strength. Without rest your muscles are unable to produce enough force to optimally provide overload to the muscles. You get a watered-down version of strength training most times, because your cardiovascular system ends up holding you back. That is why powerlifters take plenty of rest between their heavy work sets.

The truth is reducing the amount of rest you take between sets plays no part to increasing your muscular strength. You can rest as long as you want between exercises and make fantastic strength gains, as long as you are focusing on poundage progression. Paul Anderson used to rest for several hours between exercises, while he trained. He would do some heavy squats, then go inside to eat and relax, then he would come back outside an hour or two later and do some heavy military presses. As long as you get all of your training done within the day, it really doesn’t matter how much rest you are taking if you are looking to just increase your strength.

For a business this is not an optimal way to train clients, because you are charging them by the hour. Nobody wants their money wasted by sitting around for three to four minutes between every work set. Too much rest also takes away from the overall workout intensity and can play mental games on clients. One way Bob taught me to strategical build in rest between work sets is to add in tinkering exercises between the basic compound exercises. An example of this would be to go from the bench press to the seated row to an abdominal exercise. You may be only resting 30 seconds between each exercise, but there is a three to four minutes rest before you return to do another set of the bench press or seated row. This way you are increasing the number of exercises done in the hour, while prioritizing lifting the heaviest weight that you can.

Good Form Good form is the third variable to increase the intensity of a workout. Good form is a given and always expected to be used during training. Good form forces your muscles to work more to contract against a certain load, raising its intensity. Good form means using a safe full range of motion and not allowing momentum or gravity to assist in moving the weight. Good form is always needed and doesn’t even need mentioning, however, there are some who take good form to an extreme and train with a very slow speed of motion.

Slow training was a method of performing repetitions that was popularized in the 90s and is still imbedded in many trainers’ philosophies today. The idea behind it is to move the weight so slowly that the momentum is nearly all eliminated from the movement and that every repetition can mirror the next to accurately measure progress. The most popular repetition cadences seen from gym that follow this philosophy are 10/10 rep speed (10 second raising the weight and 10 seconds lowering the weight). 10/5, 8/8 and 6/6 are other popular cadences, but a 10/10 rep speed is the most common.

There are advantages to using a slow speed in some instances and it is without a doubt a workout intensifier technique. A slower rep speed compared to a fast rep speed can be safer since less force is imposed on the surrounding muscles, ligaments and tendons. A slower rep speed forces the muscles to stay under load and contract longer than a fast rep speed does. The problem arises when trainers overemphasize the form of exercise, but decrease the speed of movement

The disadvantage of the normal way slow training is administered when it comes to maximizing strength is that it prioritizes rep speed over poundage progression. Slow training dissuades the use of heavy weight, due to the strict rep rules. You can get strong in the beginning using slow training, but once the weight gets heavy you can’t finish the rep. It is against the rules to pick up speed to finish the rep, you are constricted to lifting at a specific cadence. This makes it very difficult to move heavy weight. The weight ends up holding you back from getting stronger, because you cannot push through the mid-range of the rep. The only gains you’ll make over a few months is a couple of 2.5-pound plates.

Drew Israel, a frequent guest on Bob Whelan’s “Natural Strength Night” had a very similar experience with slow training. Drew used slow training for two years and found his strength was diminishing from what his previous training built. He noticed a loss in overall size and strength when he experimented going back and forth between using normal speed training and slow training. He did note that slow training can still be beneficial to beginners or if you have injuries that are bothering you, since it could allow you to train on exercises that your body couldn’t tolerate at normal speeds.

If you like slow training than do it. There is nothing wrong with slow training and it is a great way to get a challenging workout in. Some trainers will have you performing repetitions between two and three minutes, which is a killer cardiovascular wise. There are ways to add it into your training as a specific theme for the day as a form of variety or on a specific movement that causes irritation. One of my clients suffered from a shoulder impingement for years and was unable to do any consistent overhead pressing. I had him train the overhead press for several months using a 10/10 speed which allowed him to get stronger and remain pain free. I prioritized poundage progression by setting the goal at three reps and not being overly critical on the timing/form. his way he was still training in the anaerobic energy system since no set lasted longer than 60 seconds. If he had to pick up speed naturally on the last rep to finish, so be it. The speed was still slow enough not to cause any pain.

Poundage Progression Poundage progression is the fourth variable, yet equally important as good form when it comes to increasing intensity. Without poundage progression none of the other three methods will maximize your muscular size and strength. The principle of poundage progression goes all the way back to the late 1800 in the United States when physical culture really started to take off. Everyone in the know knew poundage progression was the main focus for developing strength. That’s why tools like the adjustable barbell are so valuable to the Iron Game, because it was the first tool of its kind to easily allow users to incrementally add more weight. Every barbell and dumbbell course published during early to mid-1900s was built around the premise of continuously adding weight to the bar overtime. Every authority in the field agreed that training with tools that allowed you to progressively add resistance were far superior compared to calisthenics. It was even the main method of muscular rehabilitation during World War II. Poundage progression is the key-ingredient that makes different training routines work. It doesn’t matter if you use machines or free-weights, high reps or low reps, one set or multiple sets, or prefer to do Olympic lifts over bodybuilding movements. The key is that no matter what you are doing if you systematically implement a method of adding weight overtime then you will get stronger.

To force a muscle to grow larger and stronger you must provide muscular overload. This occurs when a muscle is driven to work beyond what is comfortable. Training progressively does this by increasing the weight against which the muscles develop tension. The heavier weight the muscles are able develop tension under and create movement the stronger the muscles become. This is the best intensity variable to use to increase the total work output during a training session.

There is no one best progression scheme for anyone or for any one specific lift. There are many ways to set up a progression scheme best off of your preferences and instincts. The main rule is to have a set/rep goal and to add a little weight when you are no longer straining to reach it. The exact load to increase by varies amongst individual and is base on the current ability of the muscle’s groups being trained. The key is once you have a systematic progressive scheme in place is to stick with it for several weeks before switching to another.

All of these ways of increasing intensity can be thought of as a It balancing act. The more emphasis you put on any of the four ways of increasing intensity, the more you must take away from the other variables. How you prioritize each variable is ultimately up to your preference and goal. If you prioritize poundage progression you must decrease the emphasizes on reducing rest. If you prioritize limited rest between exercises, you must decrease the amount of weight you are handling. Each variable of increasing intensity comes with its own benefits and can be made to work as long as some form of increasing resistance is systematically applied. As Bob has stated numerous times “poundage progression is the unifying factor in all successful training programs”.

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Remember the Goal of Strength Training - By RJ Hicks MS, CSCS

The goal of strength training is to train progressively with the most weight you can in perfect form. The weight must be challenging for you, depending on your specific repetition goal. When the weight is no longer heavy you add a little weight to keep the total weight challenging for you to lift. It is so simple, but misunderstood by many.

The only competition in the gym is between the lifter's past performance and their next performance. Each workout is a competition where the lifter strives to improve how much weight they are able to lift. It doesn’t matter what other lifters in the gym are doing, world records that have been achieved or what is displayed on social media. All that matters in strength training is whether or not a lifter is able to add weight to the barbell or machine they are handling over time.

However, nobody said you add weight every time you train or at all, unless you are physically able to in good form when the goal is reached. You cannot just add five pounds each workout. It is unrealistic for the body to be able to adapt to this long term. If it was possible everyone would be benching over five hundred pounds after a few years of training.

Poundage progression is based off of your individual performance not based off of time. You can only add weight when you earn it, by surpassing the training goal for each specific lift. Training with long cycles doesn’t make sense if you are a natural trainee. You cannot pre-plan when to add weight unless you are starting so light in weight that you waste most of the year training sub maximally. Drug users can pre-plan poundage progress, because the training cycles work in conjunction with the amount and type of anabolic drugs they are taking.

The key for natural trainees is to strive for poundage progression. Do the best you can, handling the heaviest weight you can for the proper repetition range. You may hit seven repetitions two weeks in a row, six the next week and seven the fourth, but it doesn’t matter. Pat yourself on the back if you gave it your best effort and move on to the next set or the next exercise.  As long as you are TRYING to continue to lift more weight you are doing everything you can to get stronger. Eventually you will surpass seven repetitions if you stay with the weight and continue to train hard, eat the proper nutrition and take plenty of rest.

Where many beginners go wrong is they get attached to a certain repetition range or scheme and allow themselves to become negative when they reach a sticking point in their training progression. There is no magic behind any repetition scheme, whether it is straight sets, descending sets, single sets etc. They are all just systems that guide poundage progression in your training. Once you are able to surpass the goal of the repetition scheme you know to add weight. You use the repetition scheme to assist you in the goal of adding weight, but the specific repetition scheme is NOT the overall goal of training.

If you keep missing your goal with the same weight, it has a negative effect on your confidence and mood. You can start to expect to miss your lifts with a certain weight and fall into a sticking point. Strength training requires struggling with weights, but it shouldn’t become negative. Never let yourself get crushed by the same weight more than two or three times in a row without making a change. Most training plateaus are more mental than physical.

If you’re training with higher repetitions to failure, change the poundage and goal for the sets. Instead of training doing twenty repetition squats all the time, switch it up and train in the ten to twelve repetitions range for a few months. If you are training with three sets for a specific exercise, drop one of the sets or only judge your performance on the first set. This will get your mind set on a new goal and let you forget the past failures. Your mind will begin to focus on working to constantly improve instead of focusing on a specific number.

Bob Whelan coined this style of training “Common Sense Periodization” years ago as an alternate method to the popular long periodization training cycles that some of the top certification like to promote. Bob suggests every few months adjusting the equipment type, repetition ranges and or the exercise to keep things fresh. It is all dependent on how you feel and not written in stone. If you are on a roll and not burned out with your current training, continue to ride the wave. If you are stalled out and need a change of pace, switch things up responsibly. There will still be linear progression because the basic exercises and principles of strength training never change.

Poundage progression all comes down to using your own judgement when to move up on weights. If you are straining to meet the goal, stay with that weight until you exceed it. If you have a psychological issue on a specific lift change the repetition goal or repetition speed so you don’t feel negative on your performance. There is no specific rule on what system of poundage progression you use, only that you strive to improve on whatever system you train with. In the end, you are only competing against yourself. Strive to set new PRs for different repetition goals if you are stuck on a specific one.

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High Intensity Strength Training for Wrestlers - By RJ Hicks MS CSCS

I was fortunate enough to experience training at a high intensity “strength” training studio when I was wrestling in high school.  I add the word “strength” to high intensity training because everything was focused around training progressively, not just training to failure, rolling around puking on the floor. Both of my wrestling coaches doubled as strength coaches at the gym and were excited to get the team in there to train during the off season. The gym was tucked away on the back side of a several small businesses and had two large garage doors that would be lifted up every time we arrived.

The gym was filled with tons of high quality strength training equipment. Medx, nautilus and original hammer pieces flooded the gym floors. There were over 30 pieces of equipment of all different brands and colors packed away like a Swiss Army knife with plenty of motivational pictures and quotes covering the walls. What I like best about this high intensity training gym was the fact that they still had plenty of free weights, farmer carrying bars and sandbags to mix into the training. It was a completely different training atmosphere from the traditional bench press stations and squat racks that I was use to training with at the high school and we were all excited to training there.

We trained twice a week after school during the off-season. Each workout varied in exercises, but followed a similar format as a bases of training. We would do an upper body pull, upper body push, lower body movement followed by a different series of upper body pull, upper body push, and lower body movement. Isolation movements, manual resistance, bodyweight exercises and strongman implements would be sprinkled in throughout the workout to complement all of the compound movements. It was a simple way of devising routines and allowed for a ton of variety, but devastating to all of us. No one ever left wishing they had done more.

Every set was in your face coaching until you hit your best effort on each exercise. There were no do-over or repeated sets to make up for, it was a now or never mentality every exercise we approached. Technique for the first time ever was heavily enforced on every repetition. It was demanded that you allow the muscles being trained to lift and lower the weight through the fullest range of motion. It was also the first time I trained where there was no sitting around between exercises. All of us paired up in twos and would follow a “you go I go” format. One athlete would coach, while the second athlete would lift. Roles would reverse between moving on to the next exercise. We each carried a notebook and recorded the exercise sequence, weight used and the repetitions completed. This would allow us to always keep track of our progression and act as an accountability tool.

Each workout would start off with a dynamic warm up and six 60 yard relay sprints outside in the front parking lot. We would partner up and race down and back each sprint to get the most out of each bout. After the running was done we would grab water and move inside to complete three exercises in a row. We’d hit a vertical/horizontal upper body pull, vertical/ horizontal upper body push and a compound lower body movement  for one all-out set of the heaviest weight we could handle for the target repetition range. Then we would move to an abdominal movement or 4 way neck for some built in recovery, without truly resting. It would be back to another similar three/four exercises in a vertical/horizontal upper body pull, vertical/ horizontal upper body and an isolation lower body combo (i.e leg curl and a leg extension) to cover additional planes of motion. At any point after a compound exercise we could follow up with exercises like shrugs, curls or lateral raises. And on the rare occasion we would substitute the lower body isolation movements for the hammer one legged deadlift to really drive up the intensity of the workout. Just like the first series, we would follow up the second lower body exercise(s) with another ab/lower back movement and some sort of challenge/finisher. Some days we would finish with farmer carries/sand bags, and or wrist rollers for the hands and forearms, other times we would perform chin ups/dips and or pushups at an extreme slow cadence for added torture (30 seconds up/30 seconds down or a 10/10 cadence for push-ups).

The amount of flexibility in the training allowed us to train eight to ten athletes at a time with full supervision. Each pairing could start anywhere in the sequence and never overlap or wait on a piece of equipment to become available. Poundage progression and good form were able to be prioritized in our training, because of the sequencing of exercises. We always used a push/pull format and followed less taxing exercises i.e. calf raises, 4 way neck, mid-section exercises with more demanding exercises for the lower body (squats, leg presses, and deadlifts) to maximize the amount of quality work in the shortest amount of time. This allowed us to be at our strongest during each exercise and not force us to go down from too much metabolic demand all at once.

I think the most valuable thing we got from this training that every athlete could benefit from was the clear distinction between strength training to build are bodies stronger and more resilient then going to practice to take our stronger and more resilient bodies to become better wrestlers.  Never once did we try to mimic sports specific movements underload in the weight. Nor did we waste precious lifting time trying to build explosiveness and speed (something genetically inherited) by performing quick lifts or plyometrics. Strength training is a completely separate activity from wrestling and our coaches did a great job of making that clear. They strength trained our whole bodies hard and progressively and never tried to turn weight training into something it was not. My advice to athletes and non-athletes alike is to keep the fads/gimmicks out of your training like we did and just train for STRENGTH!

Example routines:

Pulldown                                                    military press

Chest press                                                chin up

Bicep curl                                                    shrug 

Leg press                                                     squat machine

4 way neck                                                  ab movement

Seated row                                                  dumbbell row

Military press                                              decline press

Leg curl/leg extension                               Add/abd

Lower back                                                  calf movement

60 second chin up/dip                               farmer carries

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Training and Eating in the Sunshine State - By RJ Hicks MS, CSCS

I arrived in the outskirts of Hudson, Florida around 8 am to meet with “Maximum” Bob Whelan. This was the third time I had come to visit Bob since my mother lives so close to him now. It is always a great time to visit Bob as we can talk about anything for hours and we both love to eat.

Bob met me at a door with a big smile and greeting, telling me to come on in. Walking into Bobs living room is like walking into a physical culture museum. He has a massive bookshelf on the right as soon as you walk in with 100s of old books and magazines from the greatest names in physical culture. He has 8 original Sandow books, over 35 Bernarr MacFadden books, all of the original Bob Hoffman books, the original Super Strength by Alan Calvert, the Original Keys to Might and Muscle by George Jowett and the original Way to Live by George Hackenschmidt and many others. Below the books he has most of the “Strength and Health” issues between the 30s-60s, tons of Peary Rader's "Iron Man" and all of the “Muscular Development” from the first issue all the way up to the early 70s. To add on to the impressive list he has tons of Iron Master, Hard Training, Dinosaur Files and a complete collection of the original issues of Hard Gainer. Sitting on top of the massive bookshelf are three replica globe barbells and dumbbells produced by Osmo Kiiha and a HEAVY cast iron globe barbell resting on the floor. Osmo told Bob the only person who bought more than him is Kim Wood whose whole house is said to be an impressive Iron Game museum.

After looking through many of the old magazines and books, talking about the sports being showed on ESPN and my upcoming trip to Cape Cod, we were ready to fuel up on some good breakfast. One of Bobs favorite spots for breakfast is Rams. Bob seemed to know everyone in the joint, introducing me to people left and right. We both got omelets filled with meat and vegetables that were delicious. I made sure to eat my breakfast potatoes and a few pieces of whole wheat toast to ensure I had enough energy to train when we got back to Bobs place.

Bob no longer has all the machines and free weights that were at Whelan Strength Training. During his most recent move I was lucky enough to buy his best machines he originally held on to after retiring his gym in Washington, DC including his prized possession the Athletic Edge squat machine. Now Bobs equipment is exclusively free weights, due to size restraints. Free weights give Bob the most versatility to train his whole body versus a big machine that has only one purpose. When you move into his bedroom to the right of the bed is a Promaxima chin/dip assist machine. This is an awesome machine and free weight, as it gives you the option to do dips and chins assisted by adding weight to the counter balance arm. To the right of that a few feet over you’ll find an old school Stairmaster from 1993, right by the dresser that still works perfectly! The rest of the equipment is located on his back porch (called a linai if you are resident of Florida). Wedged into the back porch, Bob has everything you need to have an awesome workout. The room is filled with some of the best free weight equipment I have ever seen. Bob has several thousands of pounds of York plates, to include a pair of Iron Island gym plates from Dr. Ken. They look lavender, but Bob was quick to jokingly tell me that Dr. Ken called that color Iron Island purple. He has multiple York olympic bars, a heavy-duty power rack, a black onyx EZ curl bar, 2 sets of adjustable Olympic dumbbell handles (including a custom-made pair made for him by Bob Hise), a powerlift trap bar which Drew Israel and Bob Whelan agree is the best trap bar made, a heavy-duty adjustable bench made by Jim Sutherland suggested by Dr. Ken and Drew Israel to purchase back in the 90's, a neck head strap chain, a power lift safety squat bar which is awesome for squatting and performing good mornings, and several grip training devices from Ironmind.com.

The workout started with weighted dips, I move smoothly into the descent and paused before I fired up through the concentric position. Bob was yelling at me to drive up harder each repetition as fatigue built in like a drill Sergeant because he knows I like the tough coaching. When I got to 9 my chest felt like it was going to explode, but Bob encouraged me to get two more before I was completely unable to budge on the 12 rep. Next up were chins, palms facing away from me. We put a small weight on the counter balance to so that I could achieve 20 perfect repetitions. It did not become difficult till around 15, but at the completion of the set my upper back, arms, and grip were fried. We moved into the porch to finish the rest of the exercises. The periods between exercises are not too long, but we were not rushing between exercises to create a cardiovascular effect. We were focusing on building strength by handling the heaviest amount of weight I could use for the target number of repetitions.

Up next was dumbbell chest presses on a slight incline. Heavy dumbbells become difficult to use because of the energy it takes to get the into position, but just recently Bob purchased a dumbbell spotter rack which fit into his power rack perfectly which allows him to rack and un-rack dumbbells just as if he was barbell benching.  After the chest presses, we moved to the bed room for bent over rows. Most people do not do bent over rows correctly which is why they can be so dangerous for your lower back. I was instructed to take a wide stance and to really bend my knees. My back was flat and just above parallel. There was no jerking or heaving the weight up. I pulled the bar as hard as I could into my upper abdomen and paused before the decent on each rep. The risk of hurting yourself this way is extremely low when the barbell row is practiced like this and the amount of upper body muscle used is much greater. After a short configuration of the power rack, I used the power lift safety squat bar to perform good mornings. This bar is fantastic as it allows a lot of people with lower back problems to squat with no pain at all. Similar to the barbell row I am instructed to take a wide stance again and to really bend my knees when I perform the good morning. The safety bars are set up to catch me as I hit parallel in the good morning. Each repetition is done smoothly for 10-12 reps to earn a hard effort, but stopped short of failure to avoid any unnecessary risks of injury to the lower back. After the good mornings it was on to the seated military press and upright rows to round out the upper body training. I enjoy doing upright rows with a strap similar to how Kim Woods explains he has his players use in “Hard Training” rather than a barbell. The upright row might not agree with everyone’s shoulders, (don't pull the weight all the way to the chin), but is a fantastic upper body exercises that is often overlooked. Last up was trap bar deadlifts with the power lift bar. This thing is a beast, it weights 100 pounds without any plates, has three revolving grips between 1.25 and 2 inches and is constructed to where the plate horns are higher than normal so the plates never touch the ground, this makes it a breeze to load plates on to it. We decided to use the medium grip handles for one set of 20 repetitions with a dead stop between each rep. This is extremely tough on your legs, grip and cardiovascular system when you use a heavy weight. That is why we saved it for last. If this was the first exercise I did, many of the exercises following would have suffered in performance since I would have been too fatigued to give a great effort on the rest of the movements.

The workout sequence in total was-

Weight dips

Chins

Slight incline DB press

Barbell row

Good mornings

Military press

Upright row

Trap bar deadlift

After a short rest

20 minutes interval on the stair master

After the workout we headed to Bob favorite BBQ spot for some ribs, green beans and potato wedges. We don’t always eat like this, but after a hard workout and when visiting good friends, it is a real treat! No scraps were left to spare.

It is easy to look back and count the many lessons I have learned over the years from Bob Whelan when it comes to training. I now know that having a goal going into each training session is more important than a magical number of sets, repetitions or percentage-based calculations. I understand that there is no difference in the tool you use whether it be a barbell, dumbbell, or good machine as long as they fit you and can be used safely and progressively. I realize that there is no one correct way for sequencing a workout. You do not have to do legs first, or have the bench press be the first major upper body exercise. Instead, you should manipulate the sequence to your advantage. Lastly, I now know there is no one exercise you must do just because everyone else is saying so. If you cannot squat find a good squat machine or leg press like Pendulum or Hammer. If barbell benches hurt your shoulders try dumbbells pressing. If you do not like straight bar deadlifts, but like the trap bar, use the trap bar. There are no hard-set rules to strength training, just be sure you are training natural, hard, safe, and progressively.

 It is always a blast to visit Bob, I look forward to the next visit!

Great article RJ! I always look forward to your visits! 

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