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 Like most boys, growing up I read a lot of comic books. While all comic book heroes were well-muscled, none compared to The Incredible Hulk in my opinion. He was green, seven feet tall and weighed half a ton. In addition to his tremendous girth, he had superhuman strength. In my young mind, I equated size with strength: Bigger muscles meant more strength. As a powerlifter and bodybuilder, I know a couple things about size and strength. I know that elite bodybuilding today has become extremely specialized. Today’s bodybuilders are amazing when it comes to their genetic gifts. However, unlike in the past, the cult of strength is no longer pursued as vigorously as in the days of Grimek, Park, Oliva and Schwarzenegger. Both strength and power training give a physique a look of power not seen on today’s bodybuilders who practice pumping movements exclusively. Compare the bodies of the current Mr. Olympia, Ronnie Coleman, a competitive powerlifter with runner-up Flex Wheeler, a man who is known for his less aggressive training approach. Ron Coleman has a density and ruggedness in his frame which screams power. If you’re looking for an added edge in your physique, supplementing with power moves may be the ticket. Specific exercises, like squats, rows, deadlifts, and bench presses are ideal. Technique is equally important. Your goal should be to add weight progressively without sacrificing form. Anything that makes an exercise easier removes stress from the body. It’s this stress which increases strength. |
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Think of the difference
between a powerlifter and a bodybuilder in this way: A powerlifter wants
to lift the weight as easily as possible, because the harder he or she
works, the less weight will be lifted. A bodybuilder lifts the weight as
easily as possible. Though this distinction exists between the two, you still want to perform your exercises like a bodybuilder. For example, when you squat, you could lift more weight by spreading your legs wider and keeping the bar low on your back. But if you do, your legs won’t grow as quickly. I’ve seen this happen to guys in the gym so many times, I’d laugh if it weren’t so sad. I tell these guys to keep the bar high on their traps, feet shoulder-width apart, and avoid the use of knee wraps and a belt (except on the heaviest lifts, if needed). Last year, I squatted 805 pounds with a narrow stance (without a belt or knee straps) in an APF meet. Powerlifting gives you strength like this. Whether you’re benching, deadlifting, rowing or whatever, be sure to perform your exercises like a bodybuilder. At the same time, strive to increase your pounds. Be careful not to overtrain, especially when training to increase strength. The bigger and stronger you get, the less you need to train. That’s right, you heard me. Here’s what I mean. When you first walk into a gym, you may bench press 50 pounds for ten reps for a total of 500 pounds. Two years later, you might bench 200 pounds for the same reps, totaling 2000 pounds. So in the same time that it takes to crank out ten reps, you’re placing four times the stress on those same muscles groups. This is just one set. Can you imagine the kind of muscle-building stress you’d be putting on your body over the course of an entire workout? Now consider that as you get older, your recovery times get longer—that is, you don’t recover from workouts (or injuries) as quickly as you used to when you were younger. This, combined with the fact that you’re training with heavier weights, increases the likelihood of experiencing the “overtraining syndrome”. The older you get, the idea of training six days a week will become more of a distant memory. If your gains have stopped, give yourself more rest, fewer sets, or preferably both. When determining the number of sets, as |
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a general rule of thumb, keep
your total number of sets to a minimum. Eight to ten sets for the large
muscle groups and four to six for the smaller muscle groups should be
fine. If, for example, after ten sets of legs or six sets of triceps,
you have energy to spare, it means that you haven’t worked hard enough
or used enough weights. Period. I’m not going to kid you. Training for high levels of strength and muscular development is hard work. Extremely hard work. Elite level strength athletes are called “grinders”—when it looks like another rep is impossible, these athletes grind out another rep. And another. This kind of effort produces results. Does this mean I endorse high-intensity techniques like forced reps, supersets, partial reps and burns? While these techniques are easy to employ (just pick up any bodybuilding mag for info), I firmly believe that they tap too deeply into the body’s recovery ability. If you are putting 100% into every set, these techniques will be unnecessary and, for many, even detrimental. Aside from training with peak intensity and proper rest between training sessions, nutrition plays a key role in muscular development. I wouldn’t be squatting over 800 pounds if I didn’t address all three of these areas. I personally keep my protein intake at 2 grams per pound of bodyweight (up to 600g per day), along with a moderate carb intake and controlled fat consumption. Use a top quality multivitamin geared towards strength athletes (my personal favorite is Genesis Pak). I also stack A.M.P., Creatine Chews, Specialized Protein: For Gainers, and Animal Stak (it’s got a great all-in-one formula I love). I use all these supplements and can personally vouch for the extreme effectiveness of this combination. So now you know my secrets. Go train hard! |