What do you guys want to talk about?

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Look, I really don’t have anything to post. I have lots of medium length posts that I have to write, lots of lifters to induct into the hall of fame, lots of Olympic lifting to cover, lots of people to feature, but none of that is a quick write up, and none of it is happening tonight (Sunday night). You’ll always get my honesty.

We had a small group at the 70’s Big Workshop in Allen, Texas. I’ve mentioned that the workshop will adapt to the crowd, and this one shifted into the benefits of strength training and ways to incorporate it into training programs. If you want to host a workshop, e-mail me.

On a similar note, Chris graduated from college this past weekend. We had a little shindig and congratted him. To celebrate, here is the following video.



So, somebody strike up an interesting conversation in the comments. You guys are always welcome to send me links to stuff that you consider 70’s Big (it makes for entertaining posts, like last Friday’s), send in photos (although sometimes they don’t make it on the site), or send in videos. Maybe somebody will come up with something good. Happy Monday.

38 thoughts on “What do you guys want to talk about?”

  1. Although this might be controversial, what about discussing howe to lose some of the gained bodyfat, while keeping(most of)the strength we gained during the year?

    I know it’s fairly straightforward but so is gaining strength and muscle. Perhaps interesting now the summer comes around and we want to look just a bit tighter. Hell, even Gary Gibson is doing it.

    This has been mentioned before. You can look here in the mean time Johnny Pains Q & A

    –A.C.

  2. I have PPST, but i would like to talk more about intermediate programs and how how to incorporate them with training for other sports, specifically short-sprinting type sports like tennis, lacrosse, and basketball.

    I am planning on having a weekly schedule that incorporates two lower body days with squats, deadlifts, and powercleans, and two upper body days with presses, bench and chin variations. with some assistance stuff thrown in like curls etc, and change it up to try to keep everyone happy and motivated. I do the 4 day split to keep time in the gym short. But I am not sure of what to do for several variables: volume of work, especially on the taxing squats and deadlifts, because I don’t want to take too much away from the sport specific skill workouts. I have 2 programs, one for an “offseason” where there are no games/matches but skill work is still taking place 4-6 days a week, and one for a true offseason, where we include some more short sprints and box jumps to keep that up and to support strength increases.

    This is all a work in progress, but I could do a more detailed writeup of my initial program and thought process if you all are interested in talking about it.

    So you’re looking at the split routine model for intermediates. When is your season? I would have the program change depending on if you were in true off-season, building up to the season, and then during the season.

    –Justin

  3. Is the 3 part steroid series one of the medium length articles in the list to write?

    Otherwise intermediate weightlifting programming have not been covered well yet here.

    A lot here:
    http://www.exrx.net/WeightTraining/Weightlifting.html
    http://startingstrength.com/resources/forum/showpost.php?p=115182/resources/forum/showthread.php?p=120474

    But when you say an intermediate could do a TM style program and only do 1 olift once per week until they get closer to their meet.

    What is the recommended course of action now that I’m now 6 weeks out from my meet, way stronger than I was last meet and need to start snatching and clean and jerking frequently again without losing that strength?

    Well, intermediate weightlifting programs are dependent on the individual, so trying to claim that there is a template would be erroneous. There is enough leeway in a novice program where it is hard to have a general template, and it gets more complicated with an intermediate.

    Work backwards from your event. Last week taper, week before that kind of taper (dropping strength stuff), then the four weeks before that it will be some kind of combination of the Oly lifts with strength training. I won’t get more specific here, because it would take quite more time and thought.

    –Justin

  5. There has been a lot of talk about using a double overhand hook grip for deadlifts.

    But no on has mentioned about taping thumbs to make it easier to do.

    Could you tell us how to tape thumbs?

    I often end up with the zinc tape sliding off my thumbs mid-lift, then have to resort to doing it without tape.

    many thanks,
    R P McMurphy

    I thought about this today when I was training, because I tape it a certain way. I figured that people would figure out what they like best, but I guess I can make a video.

    –Justin

  6. I second what Leeuwer requests. A nice discussion on losing the extra body fat so i dont look like a lard ass.

    I’m not convinced you guys are lardasses, but Johnny Pain’s Q&A on Rip’s board will be the first thing to check.

    –Justin

  7. I’d be interested in thoughts on deload weeks and how they fit into a novice linear progression. I know when I did SS, the lack of deoad started to exact a big toll.

    I don’t think there needs to be an entire week of de-load in a novice program, but maybe a couple days or so. This is assuming that other factors of recovery are accounted for. I’m making a note of this topic to post about.

    –Justin

  8. @Ignatius OReilly

    that’s a good discussion subject in my opinion.

    what I found out to be working for me during the season was 2 Max Effort workouts a week, with only 1 exercise. the scheme was to get 3-5 singles with 90% and that’s about it.

    high volume seemed to kill me in the team practices (tackle football) and be overtrained.

    what do you do?

    Yep. We want to maintain strength in season, and we’ll do that with less than five reps above 85% of max. Guess we need a post on it.

    –Justin

  9. I went 120/140 at my meet on Saturday, much better than my performance in January of bomb @ 95 snatch / 125CJ

    Now to get back into PL mode and go 272.5/180/325 in August

    Sweet. What weight class?

    –Justin

  10. Well, I threw in my first highland games this weekend. I learned a lot about the difference between strength and sport-specific technique training. I was more than strong enough for all of the implements, but I could feel the technique inefficiencies killing the power of my throws even as I was doing them.

    That said, I got some good coaching from the veteran athletes running the games, had a blast, and am going to have some throwing implements fabricated so I can start working on my technique. It was a blast, and I recommend it to anyone.

    The funny thing was the games didn’t beat me up as much as I thought they might. I’m 41, and I found that a day of HG throwing was way easier on my body than TM volume day.

  12. I signed up for an oly lifting seminar with Sage Burgener being held June 12 @ Derby City CF in Louisville, KY. I’m pretty excited about that. Anyone close and interested check out their website.

  13. Congrats to Chris, great news :)

    I would like to see a topic on “Conditioning” at some point.

    How would one include some conditioning in a novice program? Intermediate program? What if we wanted to do conditioning once a week? or maybe twice a week?

    Metcon examples? use of/programming the prowler?

    I get into this at the workshops for the sake of the strength folk competing in sports that need conditioning. Noted.

    –Justin

    that sort of thing would be cool.

  14. I was going to wait to PR Friday for my first post, but today seemed like it would work.

    So yesterday day when I was coming out of the hole on my third set of squats, I heard a big rip. At first I thought it was my boxers but then I racked the bar and looked down to see the belt I was wearing barely hanging on by a thread. Have any of you ever ripped a belt? I have to admit, it wasn’t my belt, it was one I borrow from my school’s gym, but still. I’m not sure what material it was made out of, but it still probably shouldn’t have ripped. At least I know that it’s really working my abs, ha.

    Hey, Big Mike, how are you doing?

    What kind of belt was it?

    –Justin

  15. I agree. Congratulations to Chris on making such an awesome video. Graduating college? No big deal.

    I made the video, you goon.

    –Justin

  17. I’d be interested in hearing more about the mental approach to a lift. I do the usual “You got this, now take it” kind of mantra stuff, and obviously each person’s most effective psyche-up technique will be somewhat different, but I’d be interested in hearing about mental preparation. This might be part of a larger post on prepping for a big lift that includes discussion of what is with ammonia/smelling salts, etc.

    I have never used ammonia as I’ve always been able to get my adrenaline up without it. Maybe I can try it for the sake of an article.

    Mental aspect of training or at competition?

    –Justin

  18. Brian S and homerj742,
    I am currently doing the novice progression with some modifications, to include a deload week and some conditioning. Justin’s CFWF is a great template that we use at our gym, but I wanted to squat 3 times a week so Im trying this out. My conditioning is really very short, and is done after I lift that day. It is usually something like a Prowler workout, manipulating the weight and rest intervals, but I usually do something like 6×40 yds with a minute and half rest. I will shorten the rest by about 15 secs each session and then go back to minute and half and up the weight. I also do some rowing, usually like a tabata or a 4x200m sprint lowering the rest interval each session. But like I said I keep them short and sprint like. I am planning on doing a deload every 4th week, havent made it to 4 yet, but I was thinking like 60-70% on all the lifts that week and then when I restart the next week starting with 90-95% of the last working sets. Three weeks in I feel pretty good. Been eating and sleeping a lot. Have either of yall (BrianS and homerj742) done any experimenting yet with either of these?

  20. Ryan, thanks for the information, let me know how it works out for you. I’m considering doing some light conditioning once a week.

  23. All of these recommendations are great but I only want to see one topic covered more extensively…JOHNNY SPUKE!

    I sent him an e-mail to check up on him. I’ll let you know if he answers.

    –Justin

  24. coming from a Kin background, any uselful academic material (biomechanics, sports sicence, human anatomy, etc.) as it relates to lifting or sourcing quality journals/articles outside of SS,PP2.

  25. I thought I was going to be the one to mention Johnny Spuke but Sams beat me to it.

    Congrats Chris. I’ll go ahead and assume you pressed the president on stage for the PR of the week.

  27. knee sleeves, i use them. my TK bands are starting to tear and split after about 6-7 months use (don’t get me started). who here uses some and which ones do you like? can anyone comment on the durability of others, Rehband, Elite FTS, etc?

  28. I’d like to see more food. Because I am always hungry.

    Also, more readers should send in vids, unless they have been and Justin is just keeping them in his “personal collection.” Nolanpower, you went 120/140, congrats – that’s freaking manly. So…where’s the damn vid? ;) I’ve sent in a couple, and will continue to do so when I have something worth sending. You guys should, too.

    I also second 20repsquat’s suggestion, but only because he’s about the most mellow guy around. This would be even better if you slapped him around next time you were in the Seattle area and got footage of it, preferably in slow-mo.

    If I had a weekly award for post of the week, this would be it.

    –Justin

    And finally, congrats to Chris. I’m probably less jealous of his degree than his 600+ DL, but what does that say about me?

  29. i have a question, i guess. i recently experienced very sharp pains in my head during my 5×5 squat. actually, it was fine throughout each set, but as soon as i racked the bar, the pain was shocking enough to make me drip sweat and curl up into a ball. i thought maybe it stemmed from excessive neck stiffness or strain, but my neck and occipital lobes feel fine. and making sure i was looking toward the baseboard of the wall in front of me didn’t help. the pain is more in the temporal and frontal lobe region, and it feels better when i squeeze my head and clench my jaw.

    so, questions:
    -has anyone ever experienced this?
    -do you know the cause?
    -do you know how to fix it?

    Could be a few different things, but go over and check Rip’s Q&A — there have been some posts like this before.

    –Justin

    thaaaaaaaaaaaaanks

  30. I think a conditioning article would be awesome. I enjoy some conditioning work every now and again and I kind of miss it.

    I went over to my high school and did some hill sprints the other day. Thinking about pushing my Grand Marquis around the parking lot. Tire/sledgehammer work? Barbell complexes?

    Also, if anybody has seen the Philly burger from Applebees on tv…GET IT. It’s fucking awesome.

  31. ThunderThighs –

    In a time long ago in a land far away, I had a similar problem while doing the “SuperSquats” routine. I never quite figured it out, but the passing out it cause was pretty awesome. I chalked it up to the andro I was taking at the time (…ugh), and took a couple weeks off and it went away. I even went to the doc about it and they couldn’t find anything. Good luck, sorry if this wasn’t very helpful, but I can at least relate to the intense fucking pain.

  34. In Justin’s divisions of 3 off-season, preseason, and in-season,
    I would think you’d probably want to do this:

    Off-seaseon: more focus on strength, don’t waste too much energy/recovery on being fast

    preseason: keep strength going up if possible but shift more focus towards speed/power.

    In season: maintain strength in the weight room, use track workouts for a break and fun team building stuff, but mostly rely on the practice matches/games for conditioning and speed. If some athletes have problems in a certain area then maybe do small amounts of power or conditioning to keep them in shape during the season.

    Justin, I would really like to hear more of your thoughts about how to accomplish these goals. You say less than 5 singles above 85% twice a week? What do you think about only once a week with 1 other lighter day? I am a little wary of having someone squat above 85% 2 days away from a competetion.

    Schedule might look something like this for tennis:

    Mon off
    Tues practice drills Powerclean, heavy squat <5 singles/doubles, Bench/Press

    Wed light practice
    Thurs practice drills, lighter lift?
    Fri light practice
    Sat match day
    Sun match day

    I think it might be difficult to balance 2 heavy lifts per week with the matches/tournaments that can be very unpredictable with how taxing they are. Maybe as intermediates this will be more okay because the athletes wont lose their strangth as fast if they have been maintaining it at that level for some time.

    I didn’t say less than 5 singles, I said less than five reps. You don’t want a lot of volume because more volume is harder to recover from than less volume and more intensity. Also, the marker >85% will help maintain strength gains.

    The program for an athlete will depend on too many factors for me to give you an answer that can be generalized. Obviously the competition comes first, and then it matters with what their weaknesses are, what stage of adaptation they are in — stuff like that. Most high school athletes will most likely be novices, and they could probably train twice a week at least.

    But, all this is less important if they aren’t lifting properly anyway…

    –Justin

  36. Today, I am going to train at 24 hr fitness(LOL). I usually train at home, but I got this free pass in the mail. I am going to do some squats at 225, just do as many as I can until I’m crying. I’m also going to make it a point to go as deep as possible(like i don’t already, HA!), to show the locals what’s happenin.

  37. Hey, Big Mike, how are you doing?

    What kind of belt was it?

    –Justin

    I think it was some dark leather with some kind of suede material on the inside, with double prongs. It looked a lot like the bottom one in this picture:

    http://www.uc.edu/reccenter/images/facilities/member_services/Weight_belt.jpg

    I had to resort to a slightly-too-small leather belt yesterday, it was the only thing they had at my gym. Maybe it’s time for me to get my own.

    -Mike

  38. Justin,

    Oh sorry, I combined what you said with what The Sun said, but now i understand. I would enjoy a post about how to maintain strength in season.

    Specifically, when you day 5 reps above 85%, is that per week or in one workout. I think doing that once per week in a single workout would be feasible, but probably not more for people I work with in tennis.

    And not too worry, I understand that they need to lift correctly first, and we are not talking about high schoolers, I am talking about college and low level pros who have exhausted linear gains as defined in SS. And they are slow if they squat near a match, but this is using a 3×5 Squat workout, or a 1×5 Squat then 1×5 DL, I have not yet tried using lower volume than that yet within 72 hours of a competition because we have been staying away from squats that close. Maybe I’ll convince somebody (or myself) to try it before a practice match.

    Anyway, looking forward to that post if you do it!

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