Colossus
Master Don Juan
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2005
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I noticed H&F has a lot of articles about mass and cutting, but very little on strength and power. I’m going to post these in a series of installments—because there are different considerations for different experience levels and backgrounds, and it’s wayyy too much to put in one post.
A little bit about me: I’ve been lifting for about 7.5 years. When I started lifting I was about 5’11’’ tall, 160 lbs; today I am 6’ and close to 230 lbs---lean. I always had an interest in massive feats of strength and superhero-like power, but like most I got my start in bodybuilding training.
After several years of lifting consistently and learning, I was drawn to powerlifting by a friend at the gym who saw me benching and suggested I try it. My first meet I set a state record, and placed 1st, 2nd, and 1st in my next three meets. Soon I went to college, and while I stopped powerlifting I kept training and more or less maintained my mass.
After college I began to regain my fire for competing, and recently joined a Strength and power gym to prepare for Strongman. I’ve hit a 365 raw bench, a 520 raw dead, a 255 overhead press for 5 reps, and a 445 deep raw squat for a triple. Not world class, but not bad for a former 98 lb weakling.
Now on to the good stuff.
So you want to be strong?? You want to hit that mythical 315 bench, or squat 4 plates for reps?? You want to be able to tear phone books in half and lift 300-lb stones like you own the muthaf*cka?? Well read on.
Believe it or not, most men have far more potential for amazing strength than they would ever guess. They just never see that potential, either because they don’t like hard work, they can’t stay consistent or they are more concerned with rippling sexy beach-abs and biceps that look like apples. Well those things are great, but if you’re more concerned with aesthetics than savage power this might not be for you. We all want to look good, and trust me strength training can give you a look of power that sets you apart from the puffers and pumpers, but no one ever got strong doing endless sets of concentration curls and taking ab classes with all the daisies at the health club.
Strength training is centered on the 5 most basic of exercises: Bench, Squat, Deadlift, Overhead Press, and the Clean. I know what you’re thinking: “Great, another meathead telling me I need to bench, squat, and deadlift. Pfffft.” You’re right, Nancy, that’s what I’m telling you. But that’s what I’m telling you FIRST for a reason. Every strong man of modern times had these lifts in his repertoire, in some capacity. These are the foundation of strength and power, and they will continue to pay dividends in your other endeavors if you have the right form and are always progressing. You hear these lifts preached often for a reason.
So, first things first, let’s talk about FORM.
I know, I bet you think you already have perfect form. Got news for you---You probably don’t. I can’t tell you how many new or even seasoned lifters I see who have form discrepancies or outright horrendous form on their big lifts. I even get corrected from time to time on form technicalities from pros, and I’ve been at it for a while!! So, if your form sucks, don’t take it personally. Bad form not only impedes gains, but it also opens you up to serious injury the more weight you use.
Weight is the great equalizer. If you have any form issues at all, they WILL come out with near-maximal weight, which is why it is critical to establish that neuromuscular “groove” with weight you can lift with moderate effort.
So what exactly is proper form? Well, I could fill up 5 pages with stuff about form; but I’m not gonna do that. One, because you wanna read about HOW to get big and strong, and two, form talk is f*cking boring. So I’ll direct you to some videos you can use as a starting point that I would use myself. Keep in mind your form will differ considerably between RAW and equipped lifting, so what I will give is for RAW lifting only.
Bench: Dave Tate tells it like it is---
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh3t6T-nqP0
Squat: There are several different ways to squat. There is the Olympic high-bar squat, where your feet are closer together and the knees are over the shins; there is the Power squat, where your feet are wider apart and you ‘sit back’ into it with the bar lower on your traps, knees perpendicular to the floor; and there is the ‘bodybuilding’ style squat, which is similar to an Olympic squat but you don’t go as low, because most bodybuilders are pussies.
For all intents and purposes, this video outlines good squat form for any gym lifter:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRnGI3c5Jjs&feature=related
Deadlift: There are two different ways to deadlift: Sumo and Conventional. This will depend on your body proportions and personal preference. I use Conventional form, because it feels much better and biomechanically speaking you have a much stronger power curve, allowing you to pull more effectively throughout the lift. There are some Sumo-style lifters who have great deadlifts, however.
You can grip with an overhand grip, or with the alternate grip, which is more stable and almost always used for max effort lifts. Best to stick with one grip for all your deadlifting.
Conventional:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-O_MT72rck
Good step-by-step breakdown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOkiMNxdirs
(Note: there is a slight bit of rounding to his back, but this is acceptable as long as the form is consistent throughout the lift.)
Sumo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r--etdWUmc0&feature=related
Cleans are tough to learn. I don’t even have perfect clean form, so I’m not going to sit here and write about how to clean. In strongman clean form doesn’t matter; as long as you can hoist that weight up to your chest. There are a number of videos on YouTube that can show you how to clean properly, as in Olympic-style.
Overhead pressing has its variations. I recommend ALWAYS doing the standing OHP for all your heavy training. You can throw in DB presses and other variations after your big lift.
Several ways: You can clean the weight and press it, or you can take the bar from the rack at chest height and press. I do both, but for max effort pressing I take it from the rack so my focus is all on the press.
-You can do a strict OHP, with no ‘push’ from the legs;
-You can do a Push-Press, with a forceful thrust from your legs to “jump start” the weight;
-You can do a Push-Jerk, which is a cross between a Push Press and a Jerk;
-Or you can do an Olympic-style split jerk.
All of these are acceptable, and all can be found on YouTube.
That’s it for this installment. Next, I’ll talk about some actual TRAINING; as in what methods you can use to get that savage power you dream of. I’ll discuss Westside Training, Dinosaur Training, and some Strongman Training methods---with sample templates for the lifter new to strength training.
I’ll also discuss grip training, nutrition, and assistance exercise in the next volumes.
Stay strong, and PM me with any questions.
Colossus
A little bit about me: I’ve been lifting for about 7.5 years. When I started lifting I was about 5’11’’ tall, 160 lbs; today I am 6’ and close to 230 lbs---lean. I always had an interest in massive feats of strength and superhero-like power, but like most I got my start in bodybuilding training.
After several years of lifting consistently and learning, I was drawn to powerlifting by a friend at the gym who saw me benching and suggested I try it. My first meet I set a state record, and placed 1st, 2nd, and 1st in my next three meets. Soon I went to college, and while I stopped powerlifting I kept training and more or less maintained my mass.
After college I began to regain my fire for competing, and recently joined a Strength and power gym to prepare for Strongman. I’ve hit a 365 raw bench, a 520 raw dead, a 255 overhead press for 5 reps, and a 445 deep raw squat for a triple. Not world class, but not bad for a former 98 lb weakling.
Now on to the good stuff.
So you want to be strong?? You want to hit that mythical 315 bench, or squat 4 plates for reps?? You want to be able to tear phone books in half and lift 300-lb stones like you own the muthaf*cka?? Well read on.
Believe it or not, most men have far more potential for amazing strength than they would ever guess. They just never see that potential, either because they don’t like hard work, they can’t stay consistent or they are more concerned with rippling sexy beach-abs and biceps that look like apples. Well those things are great, but if you’re more concerned with aesthetics than savage power this might not be for you. We all want to look good, and trust me strength training can give you a look of power that sets you apart from the puffers and pumpers, but no one ever got strong doing endless sets of concentration curls and taking ab classes with all the daisies at the health club.
Strength training is centered on the 5 most basic of exercises: Bench, Squat, Deadlift, Overhead Press, and the Clean. I know what you’re thinking: “Great, another meathead telling me I need to bench, squat, and deadlift. Pfffft.” You’re right, Nancy, that’s what I’m telling you. But that’s what I’m telling you FIRST for a reason. Every strong man of modern times had these lifts in his repertoire, in some capacity. These are the foundation of strength and power, and they will continue to pay dividends in your other endeavors if you have the right form and are always progressing. You hear these lifts preached often for a reason.
So, first things first, let’s talk about FORM.
I know, I bet you think you already have perfect form. Got news for you---You probably don’t. I can’t tell you how many new or even seasoned lifters I see who have form discrepancies or outright horrendous form on their big lifts. I even get corrected from time to time on form technicalities from pros, and I’ve been at it for a while!! So, if your form sucks, don’t take it personally. Bad form not only impedes gains, but it also opens you up to serious injury the more weight you use.
Weight is the great equalizer. If you have any form issues at all, they WILL come out with near-maximal weight, which is why it is critical to establish that neuromuscular “groove” with weight you can lift with moderate effort.
So what exactly is proper form? Well, I could fill up 5 pages with stuff about form; but I’m not gonna do that. One, because you wanna read about HOW to get big and strong, and two, form talk is f*cking boring. So I’ll direct you to some videos you can use as a starting point that I would use myself. Keep in mind your form will differ considerably between RAW and equipped lifting, so what I will give is for RAW lifting only.
Bench: Dave Tate tells it like it is---
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh3t6T-nqP0
Squat: There are several different ways to squat. There is the Olympic high-bar squat, where your feet are closer together and the knees are over the shins; there is the Power squat, where your feet are wider apart and you ‘sit back’ into it with the bar lower on your traps, knees perpendicular to the floor; and there is the ‘bodybuilding’ style squat, which is similar to an Olympic squat but you don’t go as low, because most bodybuilders are pussies.
For all intents and purposes, this video outlines good squat form for any gym lifter:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRnGI3c5Jjs&feature=related
Deadlift: There are two different ways to deadlift: Sumo and Conventional. This will depend on your body proportions and personal preference. I use Conventional form, because it feels much better and biomechanically speaking you have a much stronger power curve, allowing you to pull more effectively throughout the lift. There are some Sumo-style lifters who have great deadlifts, however.
You can grip with an overhand grip, or with the alternate grip, which is more stable and almost always used for max effort lifts. Best to stick with one grip for all your deadlifting.
Conventional:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-O_MT72rck
Good step-by-step breakdown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOkiMNxdirs
(Note: there is a slight bit of rounding to his back, but this is acceptable as long as the form is consistent throughout the lift.)
Sumo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r--etdWUmc0&feature=related
Cleans are tough to learn. I don’t even have perfect clean form, so I’m not going to sit here and write about how to clean. In strongman clean form doesn’t matter; as long as you can hoist that weight up to your chest. There are a number of videos on YouTube that can show you how to clean properly, as in Olympic-style.
Overhead pressing has its variations. I recommend ALWAYS doing the standing OHP for all your heavy training. You can throw in DB presses and other variations after your big lift.
Several ways: You can clean the weight and press it, or you can take the bar from the rack at chest height and press. I do both, but for max effort pressing I take it from the rack so my focus is all on the press.
-You can do a strict OHP, with no ‘push’ from the legs;
-You can do a Push-Press, with a forceful thrust from your legs to “jump start” the weight;
-You can do a Push-Jerk, which is a cross between a Push Press and a Jerk;
-Or you can do an Olympic-style split jerk.
All of these are acceptable, and all can be found on YouTube.
That’s it for this installment. Next, I’ll talk about some actual TRAINING; as in what methods you can use to get that savage power you dream of. I’ll discuss Westside Training, Dinosaur Training, and some Strongman Training methods---with sample templates for the lifter new to strength training.
I’ll also discuss grip training, nutrition, and assistance exercise in the next volumes.
Stay strong, and PM me with any questions.
Colossus
