Readers Question Answered - By Jim Duggan

Readers Question:

Hi Bob: Another great article by Jim Duggan about the trap bar. Maybe you can get Jim or another great writer to write an article about the Texas Deadlift Bar or similar type deadlift bars. Example would the bar be worth purchasing if you not a powerlifter and just want to change things up. In other words would there be any advantage to using that type of bar over a regular oly power bar for the basement lifter. Keep up the great work! Thanks, Steve ...

Answer From Jim Duggan:

If you're not planning on competing in a Powerlifting or Deadlift contest, then I don't think it's necessary to purchase a special Deadlift bar. These bars are becoming increasingly popular, and are being used in various competitions. It seems like a new "world record" is being set every other month on these things. So, if you are planning on entering a meet in which a Deadlift bar will be used, then it would be a wise idea to become familiar with the equipment that will be used. There is a different feel to these bars, especially as the weight increases past 400- 500 Lbs. or so. Since the goal of a contest is to lift as much as possible on that day, not being familiar with the equipment will place the lifter at a disadvantage. But if you don't plan on competing, then a regular Olympic bar will more than suffice. Real strength doesn't require special equipment.

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The Trap Bar - By Jim Duggan

I was first introduced to the Trap Bar back in 1992, when I joined Iron Island Gym. Prior to that, my only exposure to the Trap Bar was through the pages of Powerlifting USA Magazine. I remember advertisements, and even an article written by Dr. Ken Leistner extolling the benefits of this unique piece of equipment. However, until I finally tried it for myself, I was still "in the dark" as to the advantages of using it.

I'm not going to chronicle the entire history of the trap bar, but I will review a few relevant facts. To begin with it was developed and invented by a gentleman by name of Al Gerard. Mr. Gerard was a powerlifter- and a damned good one at that- as well as an engineer. The original design was diamond-shaped, whereas today's models are hexagonal in shape. In fact, many people refer to it today as a "hex bar." I prefer to call it by its original name: The Trap Bar.

When the trap bar hit the market, the advertisements listed several advantages of using it. I will list a few here:

When deadlifting with a trap bar, the weight is located in a more efficient- and safer- position, relative to the center of gravity. By standing inside the bar, the weight is located to the rear of its normal path of movement. This reduces lower back strain, thereby lessening the chance of injury.

During a trap bar deadlift, the spine is closer to vertical than when using a straight bar. For most people, this will result in vastly improved leverage. Moving the wright closer to the body improves balance, and less effort is required to move the weight off the ground. Most conventional deadlifters find that they can use more weight using a trap bar than they can with a straight bar. In my own experience, my best contest deadlift was 688 Lbs, but using a trap bar, I was able to pull 715 Lbs.. Sumo-style deadlifters may find that they have a different ratio between the two movements.

The Trap Bar is quite versatile. In addition to Deadlifts, other movements can be performed using this strength-training tool. Obviously, deadlifts are the primary trap bar exercise. But, just as with a straight bar, there are many ways to keep it interesting. High reps, low reps, or any combination of rep schemes, can prevent boredom or becoming stale. If you are a competitive powerlifter, the trap bar is an excellent adjunct to your deadlift training. Naturally, if you are preparing for a contest, you must use a straight bar. But the trap bar is a great way to build useable strength, particularly during the "off-season" when you are not training for a meet. High reps done to failure, will strengthen your back, without placing undue strain on your spine. Now, what exactly is meant by "high reps?" When I used to compete in powerlifting, I used to consider anything above five to be "high reps." Over the years, I've allowed myself to become a little more open-minded as to what "high reps" really mean. When I trained with Drew Israel, we would sometimes do sets of ten, with one minute between each set. Other times we would do one all-out set of twenty reps. Another popular rep scheme which we did was to do three sets. Two sets of fifteen, then a set of ten. With only one minute between sets, you can imagine how wiped out we felt at the end of the workout. Incidentally, the most reps that I've ever done on a trap bar were done at contest. One year, at a trap bar "rep-off" contest, I did 400 Lbs. for 28 repetitions. Another time, at another contest, I did 460 for 22 reps. Somehow, over the years, I have never been able to break the elusive thirty rep barrier. At least not yet!

At the opposite end if the spectrum, you can do partial reps with very heavy weights. Recently, I've been doing deadlift lockouts using a trap bar. My friend Steve Weiner introduced me to this, and the results have been impressive to say the least. Steve has an extra long trap bar which fits in a power rack, but you can perform these off of elevated blocks with a regular trap bar. There should be no need to mention the merits of doing heavy rack work. The time and effort that you devote to heavy partials will pay off in the form of great strength. The type of strength that cannot be developed through toning and pumping.

Speaking of the power rack, there is another great exercise that you can do with a trap bar. Overhead Presses. By placing the trap bar in the power rack, resting on the pins set at just below shoulder level, you can grab the handles with the palms of your hands facing each other. In other words, the parallel grip. Similar to when you do dumbbell presses. But, unlike dumbbell presses, it's easier, and safer, to do trap bar presses inside the rack. And by standing inside the trap bar, you can lower the bar to a point that is below that which is possible when doing Standing Presses with a straight bar.

Shrugs are another exercise that can be done with a trap bar. As with overhead Presses, standing inside the bar will make the movement smoother and safer. There is no need to drag the bar up the body, as you would when shrugging with a straight bar. There is also a tendency to cheat, or use excessive "body english" when doing regular barbell shrugs. The Trap Bar eliminates this since the weight will be moving in line with the spine, producing a smoother movement.

Deadlifts, Presses, and Shrugs. These exercises should be part of every Lifter's routine. The Trap Bar provides a safe - and interesting- alternative to these movements. Any experienced trainee will tell you that sometimes a change of pace is needed. For a competitive lifter, the trap bar provides that change with a little something extra. It's just outright effective.

In the decades since the trap bar burst on to the lifting scene, there have been many variations to the original design. I've already mentioned the change from a diamond shape to a hexagonal. There are also bars which are longer and heavier. Some of the newer models have raised handles, to shorten the range of motion when pulling off the floor. There are even new "open" trap bars which are not fully enclosed. I don't really go for these new gimmicks but there is one new version that I have really enjoyed. Last year, I purchased a thick-handled trap bar. The entire bar, including the handles, are two inches in diameter. It is a beast, and turns a deadlift workout into a brutal test of grip strength. Lately, I've been using it on alternate weeks. To make the exercise even more difficult, I place a five inch block inside the bar, and pull off a deficit. It makes for an interesting- and tough- workout.

So, the trap bar deadlift is less stressful on the spine, allows for the use of heavier weights, is easy to learn how to use, and is quite versatile. Therefore, it may be safe to assume that a trap bar should be a staple in every commercial and home gym. Sadly, that is not the case. Just about every person who lifts weights can benefit from using a trap bar. If your gym does not have one, ask the owners/ managers to invest in one. If you train at home, a trap bar is one of the best additions you can make to your gym.

   

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MEANING OF LIFE AND SURVIVAL MY STORY - BY DAVID SEDUNARY

The Death of a young friend from suicide has prompted me to write this story and maybe try in some way to get out to others who suffer depression , anxiety and have thoughts of suicide and even commit it. I would enjoy helping others to become Mentally and Physically stronger throughout their life. People often say to me . you are strong, are wired with a stronger fuse, resilient, never give in , don’t need help , you can do it alone.

That isn’t right I have often called out for help, but they are right I have mostly kept strong using my own tactics as others should try to do , in some way that agrees with them. And after completion makes them feel better and having achieved something.

Firstly as you get to an age to understand yourself and the trials and tribulations of life , or work out who you are and where you are going, you need to tell oneself three things. This has been my Philosophy throughout my life especially the last 37 years.

My three beliefs below are my pathway to a more peaceful and tranquil life, get them fixated in your brain then act upon them:

Life is tough whether you like it or not, it is tougher for some than it is for others.

From the day you are born , you are going to get kicked in the face , some get kicked harder than others, some think it is hard but it is soft compared to how others are kicked. But unfortunately you are going to get kicked in the face, that is a truth of life.

Prepare yourself for the two above points and the challenges life brings you, do it , don’t put it off, don’t say do. By looking for weak options such as drugs , alcohol, legal drugs and cigarettes, is a quick fix which leads you down the path to further depression and negative and like threatening thoughts.

I believe the set backs in life have helped me to become stronger, firstly my son became ill at 7 months of age , he got whopping cough, was immunised and all the trouble started , he had an Epileptic seizure which lasted 3 hours, looked as though he wasn’t coming out of it , but he did.

Since then and he is now 37 years of age , suffers epilepsy ( approximately 72 seizures a year ) and is physically and intellectually disabled, lives alone with 24/ 7 help. It was a tough ride, for my wife and I throughout 35 and a half years, and still is for me now as my wife died from lung cancer in June 2019.

Having had to care for her for 8 months , was torture for her and me, it has left a mark, like a tattoo from a prisoner war camp, it won’t go away, I just have to push forward like we all do when things get tough, and look for ways to make my life a slight improvement on the day before, or as it is now.

Before the death of my wife in February 2018 I contacted a lung virus which caused my heart to race and my heart beat to become irregular, and I now suffer with Atrial Fibrillation, take medications first time ever and have some bouts of AF, which scares me some.

So getting back to points 1 and 2 what did I do about it then 37 years ago and what am I still doing about it now.

Three things I have worked on which have pathways into other helpful areas are:

Training

Diet

Rest

A triangle which needs to remain even at all times to have a better and more full filling life. I will look at each separately and show you how each area falls into others areas , and how important each area relies upon the other.

Training, strength training, running, hill walking, biking, boxing, self defence , swimming keep moving do it every day moderately or once or twice a week hard, and have easy movement days the remaining days. This will squirt good , feel good chemicals throughout the body , making you high in a healthy way, serotonin is the drug produced the feel good drug, great for the brain and enabling to feel good about yourself.

Head up and shoulders back, strong muscles move the bones, and training or exercise encourage blood flow throughout the body , giving us needed oxygen and energy.

I love strength training, Self Defence, have done it since I was 16 years of age, walking and working in the yard.

When younger and able to squat 300 pounds for 20 reps, had me believe I could handle any challenge which came my way, strong , body strong mind.
Training makes me feel great, I can handle the face kicks better , and the challenges are weaker. I train for :  (a) Health, (b) Longevity, (c) Vigour.

To achieve the above I 1. Strength train, 2. Train for self defence, (3) Keep body fat low. (4 ) Maintain cardio vascular fitness, (5) Keep flexible, ( 6) Remain free from injuries, ( 7) Keep my mind strong and positive.

“Make savage the body and civilise the mind”

“Every man should have a set of weights in his shed and a punching bag and never stop using them”.

Diet

One needs to eat a healthy diet, supplying yourself with all the necessary nutrients, and avoiding all white sugar and flour , and man made processed food. Never , never smoke , drink alcohol in small amounts or eliminate it as it is a depressant in larger doses. I eat three good sized meals a day evenly spaced , lighter meal at night, when hungry I eat fruit , nuts and maybe a milk drink. If you don’t eat healthfully and regularly , you will have no energy or strength to train and your training will suffer, and then you may give it up and fall further into depression. Keep moving and eating the right food. Investigate , what works for you and makes you feel and look good.

Read , books, visit the Dietician they are the experts and have completed University so should know.

Rest

Rest is the last side of the triangle and just as important as the other two, if it is not followed , the triangle becomes uneven and weak, and will faulter causing you to give in, and become ill. Have late nights through alcohol abuse etc, you won’t train and feel like eating, no training no feel good , no energy, lack vitamin B , and you feel worse.

Go to bed same time each night say 10-30 pm and up at 7pm as an example, do some movement for 15 minutes after you rise and are awake, don’t eat before bed, you will sleep better, what are animals doing in the forest when the sun goes down , resting and sleeping, as we should all be doing. I enjoy as I have got older 68 years young at the time of writing , a sleep and meditation for an hour each day.

All the above ingredients , with educating yourself therefore reading and writing up positive affirmations to boost your self esteem such as :

I deserve to be happy and successful

I have the power to change myself

The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary

Make savage the body and civilise the mind.

Don’t say do

Keep moving ,and always go forward

Never Never give in

Will keep you strong and on the right pathway, it has kept me on it , and at times I have wandered off as we all have, but I keep finding ways to get back on the right path, as I don’t want to stay off as it leads to a deep state of depression.

Hope you can stay of the right path and Train, Rest and Eat right , it is a simple way that has worked for me, since the age of 16.

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What Is Strength? - By Jim Duggan

This is the title of an article that appeared in the July 1946 edition of "Strength and Health" magazine. It is also a question that has been asked - and debated- countless times over the years. Just about everyone who has ever "hoisted the steel" has asked themselves the same question. Yet, no matter how many times the question has been asked, there has never been a simple, standard answer. And, over seventy years after Bob Hoffman first posed the question of what is strength, we are still searching for an answer.

Let's start with the dictionary definition of strength: " The quality or state of being physically strong." Of course there are other words that are synonymous with strength. Power, vigor, brawn, are a few that come to mind. Many words to express the same idea. But for someone who lifts weights, there are definite opinions on what is considered strength.

In the original article, Bob Hoffman raises some valid questions in regards to the ultimate definition of strength. He mentions famous heavyweight boxers of that era, as well as prominent track and field athletes as examples of men who possess great Strength. He also mentions performing Strongmen of that time. Harness lifting was a popular way of demonstrating or displaying strength back then. But is moving a heavy weight a couple of inches off the ground a true barometer of Strength? Probably not. Nor is pulling a vehicle with one's teeth, or hair, which, apparently, were popular in many strongman performances.

It should come as no surprise that the "Father of World Weightlifting" believed that the best demonstration of strength is the ability to lift heavy weights. More specifically, the Olympic lifts were the best way to decide who is strong. Naturally, since Mr. Hoffman was a long-time coach of the US Weightlifting team, and produced and sold barbells, his opinion on the matter was a bit biased. But was he necessarily wrong in his statement?

While discussing the merits of Olympic Weightlifting, Mr. Hoffman admits that there are other factors that contribute to weightlifting success, besides brute strength. Leverage, whether it be favorable or unfavorable, will always play a role in a how much weight an athlete can lift overhead. Along with skill, speed, coordination and balance. This was true in 1946, and it is still true today. Simply put, the gold medal will not always go to the person with the most strength. Nevertheless, Mr. Hoffman still made the claim that the Clean and Jerk is the "greatest exhibition of strength and ability." He went on to make the additional statement "until we find a better way, the strongest man is the one who lifts the greatest weight overhead." But, in the seven decades after the article appeared, haven't we found a better way?

In the years since 1946, I think a better way has most certainly been found. The sport of Powerlifting became popular in the Sixties and Seventies. Naturally, as Powerlifting grew in popularity, the question arose: Who were the strongest athletes, Weightlifters or Powerlifters? I remember hearing that debate when I first began to lift weights back in the 1970s. I remember watching the 1976 Summer Olympics, and I'll never forget the super-heavyweight lifters being touted as the strongest men in the world. Later that year, the super-heavyweight Powerlifting champion was given the same unofficial title after the world championships. To make matters even more confusing, a year later there was a contest called the "World's Strongest Man," which was broadcast on television in the Fall of that year. This contest drew athletes from the sports of weightlifting, powerlifting, track and field, pro football, and even professional wrestling. Over the years, the sport of Strongman has evolved to the point where we now have a new class of strength athlete: competitive strongmen. Athletes who train for - and compete in- various strongman contests, which feature a variety of events.

I don't think that Mr. Hoffman, in his wildest dreams, could have imagined how the sport of strength has developed over the years. When I began lifting weights as a teenager, the popular question in the weight room was " How much can you Press?" Within a few years that question became "What do you Bench?" Now, many training facilities have an assortment of Stones, Logs, Yokes, and other training modalities. I don't believe that strength can be accurately tested, or demonstrated, with just one or two lifts. And, of course, back in 1946, Mr. Hoffman could not have predicted the proliferation of steroids, lifting suits, bench shirts, wraps, and all the other so-called advances which have cheapened the sport, and made a mockery of the idea of building - and measuring- strength the right way.

There is another interesting point that was made in the 1946 article. He goes on to say that while he admired lifting strength, he would not measure a man's strength only by his ability to lift heavy weights overhead. Mr. Hoffman believed that "Strength should be measured by the ability to do things. Many things." He made a point about the importance of endurance. "The ability to extend oneself to the limit when necessary and to keep going at the heavy work is my idea of real strength." Strength is of little avail if it cannot serve you in the many and diverse manners in which it can be used. Naturally, he was addressing these words to the working man. The man who worked in a physically demanding job. Back in the 1940s, this made up a big part of the workforce, and a large part of the "Strength and Health" readership. I don't think a steroid-bloated powerlifter in a double denim, triple-ply bench shirt would satisfy his idea of strength.

Lifting weights will benefit you in many ways. The way you feel, the way you look, and the things you can do with your strength you get from lifting. A variety of exercises is necessary to become stronger. Muscle, tendons, and ligaments need to be strengthened. Poundage progression is required to get stronger. Training consistently, and progressively will make you stronger. No matter what your profession, regardless of what sport you train for, lifting weights will build Strength. And Health.

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Another Look (or Two) at Intensity - By Burt Gam

We all understand that the necessary ingredients to programming resistance training involve intensity, volume, training frequency and rest intervals between sets. Much like the ingredients in a cake recipe, the interplay of these four factors largely determine the final product. Too much or too little of any of these four factors can throw the whole end result out of whack. Under or overtraining are likely outcomes. They four variables all play a necessary role in the implementation of any worthwhile program. But how so?

Over the years, there have been proponents of both high volume and high intensity workouts. But unfortunately, any overemphasis on one variable can be at the detriment of the other. It would seem there is an inverse relationship between volume and intensity. Due to the bodies limited ability to recuperate or perform optimally. If one goes up the other must go down. But exactly what does intensity mean? It depends who you ask.

In bodybuilding, intensity is more of a perception and is somewhat subjective. If you go by what is known as perceived exertion which uses a scaled numerical progression to any given effort, intensity seems more subjective to how the exerciser feels. As a set progresses for example, each succeeding repetition becomes increasingly more difficult. This is because the momentary ability after each rep for a given muscle is reduced. If taken to an extreme, the end result is muscular failure. This methodology is fundamental to most HIT based programs. These types of workouts tend to be brief(low volume) and quite taxing. There are problems here though. For one, most people cannot tolerate this type of punishment for long periods of time. Moreover, the only way to measure the intensity is to go to failure since the intensity on the last repetition of that set would be 100%. If a person were to terminate the set sooner the intensity would be less. For example, if a person can bench press 300 pounds they might be good for 225 pounds for ten reps. The first rep in the set would seem easy because the lifter is capable of lifting 300 pounds. Therefore the intensity of effort would be 225 divided by 300 or 75%. But each successive rep will feel more intense because the momentary ability to lift the weight is reduced by a certain percentage. By the 7th or 8th repetition the weight may feel quite heavy because the lifter might only be capable of bench pressing 235 pounds or so at that point. By the 10th repetition the lifter is pushing with all they have with 225 pounds of force or 100% effort or intensity. At that point, muscular failure has occurred and the muscle is no longer capable of further work unless an adequate rest period is taken.

For a weightlifter or powerlifter the concept of intensity is more about maximum poundage lifted. Lower reps with higher weight is the norm. If a lifter is moving up in poundages on their lifts then intensity can be quantified by poundage. It is not a perception and is easily measured. But is intensity alone the magic bullet as some advocates believe?

Suppose a person were to go to one extreme and perform only the best select exercises with the absolute maximum weight and effort they could muster for one all out effort. If they were to train exclusively that way would it be optimal for the development of hypertrophy and/or strength? Probably not. Or let's say a lifter performs an exercise with a light weight for 100 repetitions before reaching failure. Would they expect to make much in the way of any gains? Likely not. So what is the point in all of this?

For the best overall gains in strength and size, steady progressive overload is the key to success. Intensity alone will not be enough for most people. There must be a balance between intensity, volume, frequency of training and rest intervals between sets for optimal training stimulus and recovery.Each variable plays an important role in programming training.How each variable is manipulated is what really matters. And progressive overload is the vehicle that will get you where you want to go, regardless of whether you are a bodybuilder, powerlifter, olympic lifter, strongman, or strength athlete. These principles apply equally in all cases.

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An Iron Reunion - By Jim Duggan

During the Summer of 1983, I had just turned nineteen, and was looking for a place to train. There were several local gyms in the area, and I wasn't sure where to go. Eventually, I made my decision based on cost ( at that age, cost will definitely factor into anything you do!), and proximity. I was fortunate that Bruno's Health Club was close to where I lived, and relatively inexpensive. Looking back, I can't believe the good fortune I had when I walked into Bruno's, on July 27, 1983.

As I've often described, Bruno's was the ultimate hard-core gym, when the term "hard-core" really meant something. Nowadays, "hard-core" is a euphemism for steroids. Back then, it signified a place where hard, heavy workouts were the norm. The big basic exercises- Squats, Deadlifts, Presses, Bench Presses- were emphasized. Machines were frowned upon. Instead, there was plenty of steel. YORK steel, to be more precise. At a time when most gyms had three or four olympic bars, Bruno's had twelve, plus two York Power Bars ( which were relatively new at the time.) You didn't go to Bruno's to "pump iron." You went there to LIFT. And there was no shortage of Lifters at the gym. Powerlifters and Olympic Weightlifters. If you trained hard and heavy, Bruno's was for you. There was one more thing about Bruno's that separated it from most other gyms: Steroids - and steroid users - were not welcome. I realize that many places claim to be against steroids, but, for the most part, they only talk a good game. Larry Licandro, the owner of Bruno's, had the guts to actually enforce his "no drugs" rule. More than once, a drugged-up pumper would try to join the gym, only to be shown the door, and told to go someplace else.

Even though Bruno's was only in existence for less than ten years, the impact that the place had on its members can't be underestimated. Many of us who trained there, are still lifting today, over thirty years after the gym closed its doors for the last time. The spirit of Bruno's is alive and well, as evidenced by the number of us who still "hoist the steel," and remain true to the values that we learned at Bruno's.

Each year, a bunch of us get together for a Holiday reunion dinner. We've been doing this for over ten years now, and while we may be few in number, we are still dedicated to lifting hard and heavy. This year, as in years past, we gathered at Domenico's Restaurant in Levittown, N.Y., which is down the road from where the gym once stood. This year, we had eight attendees, which is about average for us. Our ages range from 55 to 64 years old. But our enthusiasm for lifting has not waned over the years. The coming year will be particularly memorable as one of our members - Tom Tedesco - will turn 65 in March. Also, January will mark the 25th anniversary of the passing of Larry "Bruno" Licandro. Hopefully, we will all continue to lift for many years to come.

Season Greetings from Bruno's Barbarians!
Standing ( L to R ):  Dr. Rich Seibert, Tom Tedesco, Chris Newins, Mike Doucette.
Sitting ( L to R ):  Jim Duggan, Bill Mannino, Bob Sailor, Steve Matthews.

   



Editors Note: Great article Jim! I always love hearing about Bruno's and wish I could have met Larry.  We both ran our gyms the same way. Merry Christmas!

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More Work and More Weight - By Jim Duggan

"Weightlifting has proven to be the best means to attain your physical desires." These are the opening words of an article written by Bob Hoffman in the April 1942 issue of "Strength and Health" magazine. The title of the article is, appropriately enough, "More Work and More Weight is What You Need." You can imagine how this caught my eye, as I was looking through the table of contents on the first page of the magazine.

The article itself is geared to the trainee who is not entirely satisfied with his progress insofar as it relates to getting bigger and stronger. Mr. Hoffman mentions several of the "superstars" of that era. Men like Louis Abele, Steve Stanko, and, of course, John Grimek. Every serious fan of the Iron Game will immediately recognize these names. They are, rightfully, held up as shining examples of the benefits of lifting weights. They were - and are - inspirations to all who "hoist the steel." But Mr. Hoffman makes an interesting point: "The men who have succeeded, the weaklings to begin, men who were small, weak, and ailing, are the ones who have gained the most and continue to gain,"

There are several reasons why people succeed when it comes to strength training. Perhaps the number one reason is that they train progressively. There is a reason why it's called "progressive resistance training." Sometimes we lose sight of this simple truth. Adding reps to each set and weight to the bar. Poundage progression. If you are using the same weight on all your exercises as you were six months ago, then there is something wrong. Constantly strive to handle more weight.

Another reason why people succeed is that they are persistent. If you dedicate yourself to a regular routine, and you don't miss workouts, and you push yourself to work hard, then you will be successful. To be a successful strength athlete - or to be successful in any endeavor- one must be willing to work hard. Even when you don't feel like it. Especially if you don't feel like it. When it comes to lifting weights, you must overcome the inevitable plateaus, stay the course, and keep pushing.

One of the things that Mr. Hoffman mentions is something that is as true today, as it was nearly eighty years ago: " Most men expect too much in too little time. To gain, you must put plenty in your strength and health bank." This may sound a bit hokey, but how many times have you seen someone start a weight training program with great enthusiasm and then lose interest after a short time? People embark on an exercise program, they go all out for a while, and then they burn out. This very scenario will be playing out in commercial gyms across the country in a few short weeks, once the new year begins. People who haven't lifted anything heavier than a fork for the last six months, will all of a sudden try to become Jack LaLanne. When they don't see immediate results, they will inevitably quit. Nothing good ever comes from quitting. Actually, there is one good thing: The gym will be a lot less crowded!

There is another quote by Mr Hoffman that caught my eye: "If a man will continue to train intensively and wisely, he will continue to improve until an advanced age is reached." Of course, in the 1940s an advanced age was considered to be fifty years of age. Today, there are countless strength athletes who train hard, and who are in their sixties and seventies.

Now, what happens when you hit the inevitable "sticking point?" If you've been lifting long enough, you've experienced the temporary plateaus. There are several solutions. Taking a short break is one, of course. But what if you just don't want to stop training? According to the article, you can simply replace barbell movements with dumbbell exercises. Embarking on a heavy dumbbell routine, if only for a change of pace, will challenge your body in a different way. For example, if you've hit a sticking point in your Deadlift, you can try doing Dumbbell Deadlifts for a while. There a few things more intense than a set of high-rep Dumbbell Deadlifts. An all-out set of twenty or thirty reps will challenge even the most experienced lifter.

There is one more valid point that Mr. Hoffman mentions in his article. It has to do with keeping a journal or log, to keep track of your workouts. The importance of keeping a training notebook has been covered by numerous Iron Game authors, and cannot be overstated. By keeping track of each workout, you can chart your progress. Exercises performed, sets, reps, poundages can be easily recorded in a simple notebook, or daily diary. Personally, I've been keeping track of my workouts for over thirty years now. Whether I was training for a contest, or trying to gain, or lose weight, each training session has been recorded. There a few things more gratifying than looking back over your workouts and seeing the progress that you have made over the course of a year. If you are trying to lose weight, or gain muscle mass, you can even keep track of your food consumption, and make it easier to count calories.

As I write this article, there are less than three weeks left in the year.  While 2019 is almost over, there is absolutely no reason why you can't get a head start on the New Year. Promise yourself that nothing will stop you from achieving your goals. Make 2020 a year of great Strength and abundant Health.

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Steroids are as Commonplace as Marijuana - By RJ Hicks, BS, CSCS

Every time I go into the gym I see 10 obvious steroid users. Most people pass right by them without even knowing the difference. Many beginners have no idea about drugs and give these people their full attention. They are the first people beginners begin to idolize and go to for training advice.

Whenever I watch them train they are always working on the easy exercises. I never see them doing heavy squats or deadlifts. I never see them overhead pressing , doing weighted chin ups or heavy rows. I always see more focus on pumping the muscles than progressing the weights, more flexing than lifting and more resting in the gym than actually training. These trainees are nothing but frauds.

Many of these people are in the gym for the wrong reasons. They get into training for the egotistical purposes and bottom line results. They could care less about earning the muscle and are willing to sell their health and integrity just to look big. There is a need to recognize that these people are doing it wrong and to stop giving them the credit they don’t deserve.

But who is to blame them when all the bodybuilding champions past the mid 1960s have been heavily involved in steroids. Professional bodybuilding has become a game of who has the best chemist. You can tell from how bloated and unnatural all of the top professional bodybuilders look. Whats worse is the magazine companies will try to deceive you by using these drug-enhanced champions to promote their supplements for profit. Throw away all of your copies of “Muscle and Fiction” and refuse to follow the advice of any of these drug assisted bodybuilders. Drug user routines do not work for natural trainees simply because you are not on the drugs. The training routines they follow have NOTHING to do with their results. What they are doing and what natural trainees do are completely separate activities. None of the pre drug era champions would come close to the monsters seen in today's contests.

Power lifting has been practically ruined from the rampant use of steroids. The record totals these athletes are producing at meets have been artificially enhanced by the use of equipment and drugs. It is nearly impossible to compete in any of the top organization unless you submit and become drug assisted. Many people will lie and suggest they have new ground breaking training methods, but in reality it is just them using drugs. Former Powerlifting coach Dick Conner in Bob Whelan’s Natural Strength Night Podcast on MindForceRadio.com even said if you can bench over 350 pounds natural, (and raw, no gear), you could bench over 500 with a bench suit and steroids. What difference does it make? It is all a joke. It is the equipment and drugs doing all the work not the athlete. This is not just the case for power lifting, but in all the strength sports.

Steroids have gotten so out of control that there is hardly any good information to read anymore. Bob Whelan has expressed his frustrations with me many times about how much over the last 15 years the average training knowledge has gone down. All through the 90s before the Internet there was good information to read; HardGainer by Stuart McRobert, Hard Training by Ted Lambrinides, The IronMaster by Osmo Kiiha and the original Dinosaur Files by Brooks Kubik. Now most of what people read is riddled with drug user routines with the exception of a few good sites like NaturalStrength.com. Although NaturalStrength.com has been around for over 20 years, the average trainee doesn’t know about it because it is dwarfed by all the crap on the internet.

Drugs are so common that the average person thinks if you control the way you take it or how much you take that you can take them safely. What a complete lie! Why do you think many steroid users die prematurely? The truth is there is no safe way to taking steroids. Bradley Steiner another guest on Bob Whelan’s Natural Strength Night Podcast said the idea of believing there is a safe way to take steroids is as insane as saying there “is a safe way to play Russian roulette”. That any athlete or person interested in strength training should stay away from it because, “there is no way to predict 100% about how it [the drugs] will effect the body even when it is used for legitimate medical purposes.” But that is not what people want to hear.

All of this to say if you train natural AND train properly like what is advocated on NaturalStrength.com you are unique. Most natural guys train like the drug users and wonder why they are having all sorts of problems.



Editor's Note: Awesome article RJ!

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You Have Time - By Jim Duggan

The most common excuse for not training regularly is "I don't have time." This weak rationale for not working out has been in existence for as long as people have been engaged in the pursuit of Physical Culture. In other words, making excuses for not exercising is nothing new under the sun. You hear them all the time, especially around this time of year when the holidays are approaching. It just so happens that time constraints are the most common excuse. But, let's be brutally honest: If you want to do it badly enough, you will find time. Or you will endeavor to make time. Either way, you find a way to get the job done.

We all have twenty-four hours a day. That comes out to 1,440 minutes a day. Over the course of a week, that equals 168 hours. If you work forty hours per week, and sleep 56 hours per week ( eight hours a night), you will still have 72 hours left over. Naturally, your work - or school- schedule may vary, and perhaps you require more than eight hours of sleep per night. You can still arrange your time so that one or two hours each week can be used to build your body. In other words, you can still find time to train.

Depending on your goals, you can easily find a couple hours during the course of a week to exercise. If your goal is simply "to get in shape," you will require less time than someone who wants to maximize his/her potential. If you want to build maximum size and strength, you will require more in the way of time to reach your goals. But, even if you want to get as big and strong as possible, you do not need endless hours in the gym to build strength. Great strength can be developed by doing two or three heavy workouts per week. You will still be able to hold a job, go to school, and lead an active life. In other words, you do not have to live in the gym, despite what you may read in the various muscle magazines.

If you are determined to get stronger, then you find a way to make time for your training. Determination to get bigger, stronger, and healthier will help you achieve your goals. One of the best ways to build determination is to force yourself to do things you would rather not do. If this means waking up an hour earlier in the morning in order to complete a workout, then so be it. Every day you must do things you don't want to do, if for no other reason than the fact that doing things you don't want to will strengthen your character.

Don't be a procrastinator. Don't wait until tomorrow. One of my favorite lines from the movie Rocky III was when Apollo yelled at Rocky: "There is no tomorrow!" Think about that the next time you feel like putting off your workout. When it comes to finding time to train, there is today. Now. Don't put it off. As I am writing this, there are less than forty days left in the year. In a little over a month, we will be ringing in the year 2020. How will you spend the last month of this year? Will you get a jump on the new year and push yourself to work hard towards achieving your goals? Just think, if you've been planning on starting a strength-training program, you can get a head start on the New Year Resolutioners by getting started right now. You will be richly rewarded for the effort to you put forth. Let the weak-minded procrastinators wait until January 1st. You will be ahead of the game, in more ways than one. The best part is that you don't need a lot of time. Twenty or thirty minutes, several times a week, is a good way to begin. Whether you train at home or in a commercial gym is not important. Just get going, and continue with your routine.

You will fail only if you don't start. It may seem trite to say that you get out of lifting what you put into it. Don't let anything interfere with your ambition. If you put forth the effort, you will derive the benefits of strength and health. Last year, I wrote an article titled "Strength and Health Must Be Earned." And while nobody ever said that it would be easy, progressive strength-training will be the best investment you will ever make.

This is the time of year when it is customary to take inventory of ourselves. What have we accomplished over the past year? If you are currently engaged in a weight-training regimen, then you should plan now to continue with what you are doing. What if you are not satisfied with the progress you've made? Or what if you have stopped training for one reason or another? Then you must determine what mistakes you have made, and formulate a plan to go forward. Set a goal, devise a plan to achieve that goal, and then don't allow anything to deter you from achieving what you want.

Don't make excuses, and, especially, do not claim that there isn't time. One of my favorite quotes came from a High School yearbook. The Principal's message to the graduating class ended with these words: "Time is the only thing of real value that you possess. Don't waste it!" Don't wait for tomorrow. It's time to lift.

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Adaptations and Adjustmants For Training Longevity - By Burt Gam

This is probably the most difficult article I will write but I think some things, no matter how distasteful, need to be said. Over the years I have trained, studied, and learned a lot about training. The methodologies may have changed over the years, but at the core of it all has always been driven by the concept of progressive overload. Progressive overload is probably the one link that all spheres of lifting and strength sports have in common.

Powerlifters, bodybuilders and Olympic lifters all are based on either steadily increasing poundage (intensity) and/or the number of repetitions performed (volume) over time. Unfortunately I like many others have reached a crossroad. Due to acute and chronic injuries which have accumulated over time, I have been forced to make some adjustments in my training. Bad knees due to osteo-arthritis from years of wear and tear have made squatting and deadlifting painful some days. Rotator cuff issues in my right shoulder have made any kind of pressing meaningful weight impossible.

Progressive overload is no longer possible on these key movements. Mentally this is very tough for me to digest since I am an old school and hard nosed hard-ass. At 63 I have gotten about as strong and probably as big as I am going to be in this lifetime. There I said it. Ouch....

The good news is I feel I can still continue to work out at a lower level. I always knew this day would come but was not ready. I can probably maintain my strength on these movements and avoid atrophy and loss of strength through lowering the resistance and performing more repetitions. On days when the pain is higher I have experimented with other exercises. For example, today I could not squat so I substituted leg presses.

Good mornings and stiff legged deadlifts take care of the hamstrings and lower back. Bench presses, inclines and overheads can be performed for reps with lighter weight. Lately I have implemented stiff arm pullovers to work the specs and lats and stretch my shoulders.I also perform shrugging and neck exercises as I find them to be therapeutic. I am able to perform most other exercises and even add a little weight here and there with the exception of lateral raises. I strongly feel that the things learned over the years teaches us to be creative and adapt when inevitable changes occur in our bodies.

Overcome and adapt and make the necessary adjustments. Allowing more time between workouts to allow the body to heal is necessary as we age to prevent overtraining. I also feel as we get older our bodies benefit greatly with stretching and flexibility exercises. This can help overcome stiffness and soreness in the muscles. Including a bit of low impact cardio will not hurt you. The body can still improve other parameters of fitness. So what does all this mean?

At the end of the day we must recognize and accept our limitations. Even when progression over time becomes impossible, we can still continue to train around our physical issues. We can also continue to acquire more knowledge and apply this to our unique training situations. Simply because we are no longer making consistent gains should we throw in the towel. If the day I die I can still lift 10 pounds I guess I went out a winner. When it comes down to it, the quality of life and the ability to perform daily tasks efficiently is more important. Avoid injury and train smart. You will last longer and live better. Good night and good training.

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My Undeniable Truths of Weight Training for Beginners - Part 4 - Train Infrequently - By RJ Hicks, BS, CSCS

One of the hardest concepts of proper training people refuse to accept is training infrequently. Far too many programs have people lifting weights four, five and even six days a week. It is hard to progress long term on any program like this as a natural trainee. For best results in the gym try training the entire body no more than twice a week.

Many of the old-time greats trained and preached infrequent training. These men knew recovering between workouts was need to progressively get stronger.They instinctively knew training everyday was incorrect. In fact, they always suggested irregular training on abbreviated workouts for people who were severely underweight. They were no strangers to the idea that the body needed time to rest and grow. It was learned early on training irregularly allowed you to work up to your limit or beyond on a regular bases.

It can be hard to follow this simple principle. Beginners fall into the trap of listening to all the bad information in this field and begin to believe more is always better. The current fitness fad is to have no off days. People brag about how much they go to the gym, but rarely talk about how much stronger they are in each exercise. So many of them are so screwed up they don’t even understand what progressive resistance training is. If your goal is to getting bigger and stronger you must go against what the majority believes and cut back the amount of training days. More training is not better, hard, progressive, safe training is.

Stop following the routines from the muscle and fiction magazines or the neighborhood drug users.It is not possible for 99% of natural trainees to train all the time and make anything past beginner results. Many of the programs that insist on high frequency training cannot be followed long term, usually because of injury or burnout. Training the body four to six times a week is grossly overtraining for a majority of people. One or two days off a week for recovery does nothing. You can pretend to split up the routine anyway you like, but a most of these programs have too much muscle overlap and create too much systemic fatigue, if you are truly training hard. No adaptation or growth can occur when the body is constantly being trained like this.

To avoid wasting years in the gym with little progress try limiting your workouts to no more than two full body training sessions a week. Peary Rader made no notice gains in weight training for several years until he switched to a twice a week training program built around heavy high rep squats. You can even take an extra day or two of rest if needed as long as you get two workouts in a 10 day span. There is no rule which says you must get all your training done during the week, as long as you don’t completely fall into the minimum mentality Training twice a week or twice every 7 to 10 days allows, two to three days of rest between each workout. If you plan on training the whole body using the big pushing and pulling exercises for both the upper body and lower body (which every healthy individual should), you will need the rest.

Many of the top researchers suggest there is a 72-96 hour window of recovery before de-conditioning occurs and muscle atrophy begins.This is why two to three days off between workouts is perfect. It maximizing recovery without risking muscular atrophy on a regular bases and ables you to work past your old training limits for years.

Trust the advice of men like Bob Hoffman, Mark Berry, Sig Klein, George Jowett, Peary Rader, Bradley Steiner, Dick Conner, Stuart McRobert and Bob Whelan and train infrequent. You might just be surprised how strong you get.

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The Importance of a Proper Warm-up - By Jim Duggan

"A pitcher warms up before he pitches a ballgame, I gotta warm up before I play the piano." - Ed Norton to Ralph Kramden.


The above quote is from The Honeymooners episode titled "The $99,000 Answer." And while it might seem odd to mention The Honeymooners on a website devoted to Strength Training, Ed Norton hit the nail on the head when he mentioned warming up. The importance of a proper warm-up cannot be overstated. This is true for all athletes, including - and especially- strength athletes. Whether you are just starting out in the world of strength training, or you are an experienced lifter, a thorough warm-up is essential if you plan on lifting heavy weights. In fact, the stronger you become, the more important it is to do a proper warm-up.

There are many reasons to warm-up before a workout, but the most important one is to prevent injuries. If a muscle isn't warmed up adequately, then there is a greater chance of sustaining a tear or a "pull." This is particularly true if you are attempting maximal or near-maximal poundages. Nobody playing with a full deck wants to sustain an injury, and pulled/torn muscles are frustrating, as well as painful. Nothing can derail your training worse than an injury. Strained muscles can set you back a week or more. Tendon and ligament injuries, on the other hand, can be very serious because their recovery times are usually much longer.

It is important to remember to warm-up on each exercise that you're doing. Begin each exercise in your workout by warming up for that particular movement. In other words, if your workout calls for you to do Squats and Bench Presses on the same day, then you should do a separate warm-up for each movement.

Every lifter should determine just what constitutes an adequate warm-up. This is something that you can learn from experience. I remember reading about some of the Soviet Weightlifting champions from the 1970s. They would begin each exercise by lifting an empty bar. I have always tried to use a similar approach in my own training. Regardless of what exercises I'm doing, I always begin with an empty bar to get the blood flowing, so to speak. By warming up, you actually are increasing blood flow to the muscles. Increased blood flow means more oxygen to the muscles. The trick is that you want the muscles to become warm, and not fatigued. You want to get your body ready for the heavier sets that will follow.

Naturally, as you get older, you may need to make allowances and give yourself extra time to properly warm up. You can't get away with doing things that you may have done when you were younger. At some point, youthful mistakes will catch up with all of us, unless we learn to train smarter as we get older. An example of an extra warm-up would be riding a stationary bicycle for five or ten minutes as a way of increasing your body temperature before you begin your warm-up sets.

Once you're properly warmed up, and have commenced your workout, you want to stay warm. This is usually not a problem during the Summer months. And if you train in a commercial gym, the temperature is usually set at a comfortable level. Even during the Winter, most commercial gyms are set at a comfortable temperature, so staying warm is usually not a problem. What if you train at home? A "cellar dweller," or "garage gorilla" may find it challenging to keep warm when the temperatures take a plunge. If you train in an unheated garage, then a proper warm-up is even more important. Obviously, a portable heater will make it easier to keep your body temperature elevated for the duration of your training session. I remember when i was fifteen years old, and had just started lifting weights. My training area was an unheated porch in the back of my parents' house. Naturally, when the temperatures plummeted, it was freezing in that porch. We had an old wood burning stove in that porch, but we were never allowed to use it ( my Dad, being a Fireman, was VERY cautious about that sort of thing.) Despite wearing layers of sweatshirts, it was hard to keep warm. But I never missed a workout, and I think it was that determination that caused my Dad to relent and allow me to light up the stove whenever I lifted weights. Problem solved! When I joined Bruno's Health Club at the age of nineteen, I thought the problem of keeping warm during the Winter was over. Boy, was I mistaken! Since Larry's heat rarely worked, his gym was almost as cold as my parents' porch ( except that there was no wood-burning stove to provide relief.)

A very important thing to remember when it comes to staying warm, is to avoid resting too much and cooling off. Don't take too long between sets. We've all seen people at the gym who seem to take forever between each set. But if you allow yourself to cool off, then you are defeating the purpose of warming up in the first place. If you are doing multiple sets of low reps ( heavy weights), then you should rest only as long as it takes to recover from your last set. You don't want to take time out for anything that might interrupt your workout for more than a few minutes. In today's climate, that means no phone calls, selfies, texting, or other distractions. Do yourself a favor and leave the phone in your locker, if you train in a commercial gym. Leave the constant texting to the pumpers and toners. They're in the gym for the wrong reason anyway, so let them waste their time. But don't waste yours!

The whole idea behind warming up is that you want to prepare your body and mind for lifting heavy weights. Don't underestimate the importance of getting your mind ready for the task at hand. A thorough warm-up will prepare you physically, as well as mentally. Your body will be prepared to lift progressively heavier weights. Your muscles will be able to function at a high level. Your blood circulation will be improved, providing more oxygen to your muscles. This will allow you to train hard, heavy, and injury-free.

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To Dead or Not To Dead - By Burt Gam

Lately I have been coming across some interesting stuff on the deadlift out there. It seems there are some folk out there who seem to believe that Deadlifting is not such an effective tool for increasing muscle mass or hypertrophy.I even read a statement from a leading and well known certifying fitness organization that deadlifts alone are great for increasing strength but not so much for hypertrophy. Really? But just to be fair, I will say that the majority of what I have read up to this point contradicts this notion and supports the theory that deadlifts DO increase muscle mass effectively, particularly in the posterior chain.Now I want to say straight out from the start I am and always have been a HUGE fan of the deadlift. I was raised on milk, cookies, all kinds of good food, and DEADLIFTS. The deadlift was among the first resistance exercises I was taught at a young age. It required nothing more than a barbell, and perhaps some padding to protect the floor. I was taught proper form, the muscles which were activated, and the physical and mental benefits derived from it. And I knew and felt with every rep I did that I was doing something really useful for myself. To this day, if I had to pick just one exercise to the exclusion of all others it would be my choice. So yes I am very biased when it comes to this topic and I acknowledge this.

The purpose of this article is very simple. I realize that a lot of you out there reading and contributing to Natural Strength are pretty smart with lots of real life experience with weight training and was hoping to generate some opinions on this topic. And personally, I consider myself a lifelong student of the weights and really would like to hear from the Natural Strength community on this topic. So what I would like to do to get this going is simple; (1) Give a quick summary of what my reading and experience has taught me on this topic which positively supports my theory that deadlifts build strength and mass like no other(2) Summarize the thinking that seems to prevail to the contrary, that deadlifts while useful for developing strength, are not so effective for gaining mass.(3) My rebuttal. Whew ok, lets try to do this so here goes!

Arguments For Hypertrophy

1. Well the first and most obvious problem I see is the obvious connection between strength and hypertrophy. It is a fact that a larger muscle, all other factors being equal is a stronger muscle, and vice versa. And guess what? The deadlift is without equal for promoting strength gains. It excels here, mainly because it incorporates more muscle groups and muscle mass than just about any other exercise. From head to toe the body must work as a unit so the carryover to athletics is obvious. More weight(ideally) can be utilized as a result. It is the best test of overall muscular strength in existence. It has earned its place rightfully so as the "King of Exercises". If strength and size are even remotely related it would make sense for all lifters from bodybuilders to powerlifters and strongman and cross fitters and even fitness enthusiasts.

2. The deadlift in a related sort of way joins the upper and lower body as a unit and forces them to work together. It has been shown that increasing deadlift or squat poundage have a positive effect on each other.

3. The posterior chain is worked hard and heavy. From the quads, hams, to the glutes,lower back lats and traps. Even the arms and calves.Even the grip.

4. Along with this a number of stabilizer muscles are activated, particularly the core. I am not just talking abs here, but also the deeper tissues, like the obliques and transverse abdominis which also improve posture and promote trunk stability.

5. Greater hormonal response such as testosterone, growth hormone and insulin growth factors are released due to the amount of musculature used as well as the higher intensities from the heavy loading.Increased hormonal release contributes to hypertrophy and strength.

6. Increasing strength is foundational to increased power production. The deadlift movement in fact imitates the first movements of the Olympic lifts. But that is a topic for another article.

7. I will conclude here for the sake of brevity by saying that some of the more "enlightened" bodybuilders throughout history(which was nearly all of them back in the day) have utilized heavy deadlifts into their bodybuilding programs. And from looking at those that did, they clearly benefited from this heavy work by being rewarded with some thick and dense muscle, particularly in the posterior.

Argument Against Hypertrophy

1. Deadlifts are not essential for hypertrophy. There are compound and isolation movements which are effective for increasing mass in all of the muscle groups. Sure, while this may certainly be true, it would also make good sense for a natural drug free lifter to be very selective in exercise choice, that is to select exercises which give the most "bang for the buck". And since deadlifts are extremely taxing it would make sense to perform this movement first on a training day.i think the aversion some bodybuilders have to doing deadlifts is that they cannot nearly fit it into a typical split program, as they do lend themselves better to total body workouts which seem to have fallen out of favor these days and sadly so. Where do you put them, on leg or back day? Plus I think they are avoided because they are so damn hard!

2. There is little or no eccentric work when performing deadlifts. This one is a bit tricky, but it basically has to do with proper form and injury prevention. Sure most if not anyone would ever take a long eccentric lowering the weight to the floor, it is just as certain that improper protocol for lowering is to drop the weight which would be not good for the equipment or gym members having to hear that. It is usually done in a controlled manner when the weight is lowered. And while it may be true that eccentric loading is important for mass as well as strength it is not the only factor involved either. Sometimes where an exercise may fall short it can make up in other ways. This is true of the deadlift in the amount of muscle used as well as the super high intensity that is necessary to perform this exercise. There are no perfect exercises. But deadlifts are a damn good one.

3. Deadlifts are usually performed in the low to moderate rep strength gaining protocols. Yes, I have not met too many people who want to attempt suicide by deadlifts by performing high repetition sets.The argument against this has some validity, since performing high strength and power exercises with high reps while great for conditioning and to increase hypertrophy, can result in a breakdown in form and possibly increase the risk of injury.But if proper form is used it could be possible. But as stated earlier while there are optimal repetition ranges for developing strength, power and hypertrophy, there is definitely overlap. They cannot be totally separated. If the program is balanced by providing assistance exercises, compound and otherwise, performing deadlifts makes great sense as a cornerstone to any worthwhile weight program.

4. Deadlifts are dangerous. Yes I admit I screwed my back up once or twice doing deadlifts. But I have also hurt myself doing squats, presses, even curls! It all boils down to using good form and proper warmup. This is always important. Any physical activity can hurt you, football, baseball, even golf or just bending over.Risk is inherent in any physical movement, but performing deadlifts with proper form can go a long way toward injury prevention in the lower back, and could even minimize back pain.Risk versus rewards.

So there you have it. The condensed version of Deadlifting pros and cons. I love and am an advocate of deadlifting and always have been. I know that most of you out there probably feel the same or you would be somewhere else. I am very interested in hearing any thoughts on the topic of deadlifts and their effects on hypertrophy using typical training protocols, how to best incorporate them into a full body or split program, and any other related thoughts.

And guess what? Deadlifts are first up tomorrow. Cant wait!

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Self Defense and Strength when Times Are Hard - By David Sedunary

All my life from 13 years of age I wanted to be strong and be able to defend myself. I started early, never got bullied, never backed down from a fight and never looked for a fight. My Dad God bless his soul, said, "Son there is always someone better than you, so don’t go looking for a fight.”

I started on the trail as a skinny little prick of 120 pounds, doing press-ups and chin ups, boxing with my brother, playing football against my brother with no holds barred, belting the piss out of each other until Mum said that’s enough and learning from my Dad who had 20 professional fights in and out of the Army during World War 2.

My brother was younger than me, bigger naturally, strong and tough. I used the Bull worker, and bought Joe Weiders Course when I was 16 years of age, just started my trade as an Electrical Fitter on the mine, and was scared of no one, fuck em I said to myself I am getting stronger, tougher, and can handle myself.

I started to go to the local boxing Gym with long time friend and trainer Jimmy Johns. Jimmy loved boxing and taught me heaps, but as the years went on I wanted something different: "True" self defense.

Twelve years ago I contacted Bradley J Steiner (the most knowledgeable Self defense trainer in the world bar none) via email and have learned from, and even visited and trained under Bradley in May 2014 for two weeks.

Brad taught me his style, American Combato, you know, street fight stuff, nothing fancy, fingers to the eyes, chops to the throat, hammer fist blows to the bridge of the nose, smash the balls, ear boxing, and sidekicks to the knee. One can break the knee with only 80 pounds of pressure, so why wouldn’t you do it in an emergency?

Before I met Brad I practiced my style at home always twice a week straight after Strength training. It was bag work usually 5 by 3 minute rounds of elbows, knees, an plenty of punching, straight lefts, right crosses, left hooks, upper cuts and body blows. This was my cardio plus 5 minutes on the air dyne bike at 80% max heart rate.

Now I practice American Combato twice a week for 30 minutes a time, at a slow easy pace concentrating as I have become older, doing it right so to speak. I also had several months of online training and consultations with Bob Whelan too.

I played (Australian Rules) Football from 10 years of age until the age of 32, and I feared no prick, only because of strength training and self defense mainly boxing and my own style of self defense.

Some people said I was a dirty bastard while playing football, but I knew if I didn’t get in first, they would get me, I WAS NEVER EVER INTIMIDATED. Never backed off and gave as much as I received.

I once stood up to a bully in Alice Springs, who was bad mouthing my girl friend who became my wife, I belted him and I followed him into the toilet and belted his useless fucking head in to the hand basin taps.

He kept his mouth shut in future around me, and my girlfriend.

I always trained with the weights twice a week, squats, dead lifts, behind neck presses, curls, dumbbell rows, the bench press, and dips.

Loved grip work and become strong in the hands and fingers.

Eventually got to 193 pounds and was strong for a bloke who didn’t have large bones, only a 7 inch wrist.

Squatted 285 lbs for 20 reps, and 325 for sets of 6 reps, dumb bell rows 120 lbs, and behind neck presses with 140 lbs, I love dips and could dip body weight plus 88 lbs for 6 reps.

My arms always grew to 16 and a half inches, could curl 125 lbs strictly for 6 reps.

As I have become older,  68 now, I can defend myself. I have learned to be Respectful, Peaceful, Gentle and Reserved, but know that at anytime I can explode like an atomic bomb. My training has changed a bit since I am older, same exercises just less weight and in proper style with great form, no cheating. Twice a week, once at home in my Gym and once in a local Gym where a trainer like Bob Whelan pushes the shit out of me.

I love that .. I decided to go and train at a local Gym, to add some variety and meet people as my wife of 44 years died of Lung cancer June 6th 2019.

This knocked the wind out of my sales, I lost 15 pounds of muscle and strength and it has become a huge challenge for myself to keep going, but I am slowly getting back to previous size and strength through hard work, good food and rest.

Those who have gone through it know, those who haven’t, I hope you don’t.

I know I need to keep going forward, easier said than done, I must and will. Strength training and self defense kept me sane, strong and able to handle the stresses of life.

WHY DON’T MORE PEOPLE DO IT?  I HAVE BEEN AT IT FOR 55 YEARS AND IT STILL WORKS FOR ME.

There is no better combination of strength training and self defense in my opinion, to keep you fit, strong and ready to handle the chaos of life.

Don’t sit at home and do sweet F All, get off your arse and train, keep healthy by eating right, keeping your body and mind strong, to give you health, vigor and longevity.

Read as much you can from Bob Whelan, Stuart McRobert and Bradley J Steiner! You can’t go wrong with these 3 experts.

The Only Place "Success" comes before "Work" is in the dictionary.

Make savage the Body and civilize the mind.

The above are always in eye sight of me.

Editor's Note: Great story of life long determination my good friend David.  

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Money in the Bank - By Burt Gam

I just now finished reading an article by a guy named Daniel Braun. Daniel it seems is a very accomplished guy. I have to begin by crediting him with the article originally featured in OP ED. Powerlifting. Dan holds a JD, LLM and is an adjunct professor. He is a Bronze Medal winning powerlifter and is a Certified Powerlifting Coach. Anyway I found the article quite interesting and feel his message was something worth sharing. The message is simple yet powerful, and to me is the heart and soul of why so many of us toil and sweat with the iron. It has to do with lasting functionality..... or loss of it as we age.

It might not have mattered in my 20s, 30s, or 40s. Not even 50. But I now realize I lift now for far different reasons than when I started. Daniel points out the stark reality that aging is regressive. Doctors measure aging not in a chronological way but rather "a loss of physical or mental reserves". He further states that this decline can come in the forms such as muscle atrophy or sacropaenia, bone mass loss, and neuro-degenerative disorders. Daniel believes that the most effective way to delay the onset of these types of markers is to perform Powerlifting exercises, Bench Presses, Squats and Deadlifts! Why is this so?

It would seem that these three basic exercises will give most people all of the functional strength necessary to perform any tasks likely to be part of one's daily life. Growth hormone and other beneficial hormones are released, muscle and bone mass is maintained, and exercise even seems to provide a degree of neuro-protection.

Additionally, powerlifting or weight training with moderate repetitions he feels is less stressful on the body and more safe than many sports, especially high impact. Furthermore, although strength training alone may not turn you into a marathon runner or even a sprinter, it is a fact that increased strength has a positive indirect effect on the cardio-respiratory system. The chosen example is if a person can squat or deadlift twice their weight they will have a much easier time climbing flights of stairs than if the can only lift their bodyweight. Additionally, although typically performed in slow controlled fashion, increasing strength will provide the potential for increased power and speed. Dan states that a 650 pound deadlifter has a better chance of power cleaning 300 pounds than someone who deadlifts 450 pounds. Sure sounds logical to me.

And this is where it gets a bit depressing, but sooner or later age catches up to all of us. The analogy Daniel uses is a comparison between building strength and muscle and saving money early in your life, as much as humanly possible. What happens is you build(save) as much as you can in the years you have the capability to do so.As you atrophy(spend) the reserves you have built up, you will last longer than someone who did not. Dan's example is a person with a million dollars can last longer than someone with only a hundred. A strong person will decline more gradually and last longer. Here is how I see it; When you are nearing the end of your journey and you are having trouble getting off of the toilet, you will not wish you had done more cardio but rather that you had squatted more! Down here in Miami I used to jog with a retired IRS agent. I dropped out a long time ago, but I still see this guy going at it. He must be over 80 and although he can run for miles, he is rail thin. I really admire this guy, but had a vision of his beating heart being the last thing left of him while the rest of him disintegrates. But he has the heart of a 30 year old!

Anyway, I thought Daniel wrote an effective and thought provoking article with a simple but powerful message. Like life itself, everything eventually fades. But we can still be strong and healthy well into old age. And at the end of the day, for me having the ability to carry in the groceries at 85 will matter more that what I did when I was 25. Good health and strength to all as we look forward to the new year!

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The Proper Way To Train - By Jim Duggan

There is a world of difference between training properly, and just working out. Training properly will allow you to achieve your maximum potential in terms of Strength and Health. And, make no mistake, maximum strength and optimum good health should be the goals of every person who lifts weights. Of course, "Strength and Health," was also the name of one of the great magazines devoted to strength training, which is no coincidence.

Naturally, not all trainees will have the same training goals. However, whether your goal is to gain muscular size and strength, lose excess bodyweight and become leaner, or if you're lifting weights as part of a strength training program for another sport, you will want to be able to fulfill your potential. Nobody playing with a full deck wants to just "go through the motions." There are several basic principles that apply to everyone who lifts weights.

1. Progression.  Progression is the key to getting bigger, and stronger. The whole idea of "progressive resistance" rests on this principle. The goal of any strength training program is to increase the number of repetitions, or the amount of weight used, in each workout. If you are performing the same number of reps, with the same poundage, every workout, then you are NOT training progressively. Naturally, if you want to make progress, you will have to work hard. Nobody ever said it would be easy. I remember a quote from a former weightlifting champion: "It takes a very brave man to lift heavy weights." Pushing the poundages does, indeed, takes guts. But it will be worthwhile.

2. Proper Form.  Using proper form in all of your exercises will go a long way in keeping you from getting injured. Of course, injuries can be caused by other things besides poor form: insufficient warm-up, over-exertion, fatigue. Likewise, I'm not saying that using proper form will prevent you from ever becoming injured, but it will make an injury less likely to happen. Another benefit of using proper form is that it will help develop the muscles being trained. For example, if you are doing a standing barbell curl, it makes absolutely no sense to cheat by utilizing excessive swinging. Yes, you may use more weight, but you will not derive the benefits of the exercise. Likewise, if you are Squatting, all of your reps should be done to proper depth, especially if you are a competitive powerlifter. And if you are Deadlifting, and it seems today like everyone has jumped on the Deadlift bandwagon, do NOT bounce the bar off the floor between each rep, but rather start from a complete stop. And don't even think about doing a Bench Press without a pause between each and every rep. Here's a hint: If you are training for a contest, perform every rep as if you are being judged by the strictest referee in the history of the sport. This will guarantee that you will never bomb out of a meet. And it will build greater strength. Greater Strength!

3. Adequate Rest/Recuperation.  If you are training hard, then it only stands to reason that you must allow your body time to recuperate from your workouts. You can't do justice to your training if you don't recover from one workout to the next. At some point, you will pay the price in the form of overtraining and/or injury. You can't expect to make continuous gains if you don't get adequate rest between workouts. This is especially important for the drug-free trainee. That is why it is foolish - and potentially dangerous- to follow the routines of steroid-bloated, so-called "champions." As natural strength-athletes, we only have so much training energy to expend. And don't be foolish enough to fall into the trap of "body part training." The silly idea of training arms on one day, legs the next, etc.. The old "split routine" that was propagated by the old muscle magazines. Leave this type of foolishness to the pumpers, and toners. Use common sense, and devote yourself to two or three full-body workouts per week, with an emphasis on the basics.

And while I'm on the subject of the basics, remember that is is the basics that have built such legendary figures as John Grimek, Norbert Schemansky, and Bruno Sammartino. If your goal is to do pumping movements, you can't reasonably expect to develop an appreciable amount of strength. Pumped up bodybuilders usually lose their "size" once they stop training. Mere size should not be an end in itself, but, rather the combination of size and strength should be the goal of all trainees who are just starting out.

4. Make Every Workout Count.  When you go to the gym, be ready to train hard. Try to eliminate any and all distractions. This means NO cell phones. You do not need a phone while lifting weights. I realize that this is not a popular sentiment, especially in today's world, but let's be brutally honest: How is a cell phone going to help you train harder? Leave the phone, and its inherent distractions, to the toner crowd. You'll make better progress. But aside from cell phones, your workout should be a time to train, not to engage in lengthy conversations, or waste time.

While there have been many books, and articles devoted to the concept of "proper training," the four which I have described above will build a solid foundation, and establish healthy training habits. And good training habits will lead to more successful workouts, not just for today, but for years to come.

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