I have accepted a position that will limit my ability to write for 70’s Big for a few months. In order to be successful I will not have time to reply to messages on the website, social media, or e-mail. Fortunately, Jacob Cloud will continue to help in his new role as Editor and will make sure you are supplied with quality, entertaining content. I’ll be around — helping Jacob — but I won’t be interacting as much.
Even though this website is a part of my personality and life, throughout the years I’ve made it a point to hold onto some element of privacy. Thank you for not violating my privacy by repeatedly asking about it.
Enjoy the site, get edu-muh-cated, have a good time, train hard, and eat well.
I first joined this site as an enthusiastic reader, eventually started contributing as an occasional meet-reporter or recipe-guy, and now I serve as ze Editor. In my time with this site, I’ve been consistently in awe of what I’ve watched our community grow into. We come from all sorts of backgrounds – guys and gals, civilians and special forces, Weightlifters, CrossFitters, and Powerlifters. We have competitive lifters among our ranks, and people who are nervously adding 2.5 pounds to their linear progression workouts. One thing unites us, though, and that is the fact that we are part of a supportive community of badasses.
From time to time the site calls our arms to support a cause, like during Movember, and you guys always respond. That’s what I’ll be doing today. I met with one of our own, Ryan Carrillo, this weekend, and I’m not sure I’ve ever been as impressed by a 21 year old kid. He’s trying to reach his first World Event in May, the IPF Bench Press World Championships in Lithuania. I think we can help get him there.
I first officially met Ryan at 2012 USAPL Raw Nats, when the 6’5″ beast came up, politely introduced himself, and asked me about my beard. When a giant of a man compliments your beard, that is a very special thing. He asked if he could take this picture of me as part of a photo like this Raleigh family photography project he was working on (he really captured my…oldness, didn’t he?) He’s also supplied gritty facebook profile pics for some of our other lifters, like Mike Battaglino, and is working on even more videos and pictures of the sport he loves.
Ryan’s Self-Portrait
I’ve seen Ryan at almost every local meet around central Texas, either competing, coaching, or just supporting his team. You really can’t miss the guy. He’s bigger than Brad Gillingham, and nicer than Jenn Thompson. He consorts with other young world class lifters like Ian Bell and Preston Turner, and cheers on everyone. His coach is the legendary Gene Bell. He’s a full-time student, works a few jobs, is big into photography as a hobby/passion, and still makes time to become a world-class Powerlifter.
He has suffered through serious back injuries and is currently an equipped bench specialist in the USAPL, though his long-term goal is to return to full meets. For now, he has the chance to represent our country in Lithuania this May at the World Championships.
Ryan drove up to my neck of the woods last Friday and we shared a few beers and a lot of good stories. He is absolutely one of the most impressive, respectful, and polite guys you can imagine. At 33, I’m constantly made aware of how young most of the 70sBig crew is, yet I would have never guessed Ryan was 21 by how he handled himself. The two of us collected more than our fair share of slack-jawed stares at the Biergarten, and he handled it like a seasoned vet. I guess walking around every day of your life looking like a pro wrestler tends to create that kind of understated confidence. Having the words “SHUT UP AND SQUAT” on the back of his shirt was a nice touch, too.
Please check out Ryan’s site at txstrongman.com and send him a few doll hairs. Every bit helps, and I trust that Ryan will proudly represent us well not only at this year’s World Championships, but for many more to come.
This is what our community is. We don’t just praise the camaraderie, facial hair, attitude, and general awesomeness of the lifters of the 70s – we strive to create a new generation of strength. How do we do this? We open doors. We slam bars after PRs. We grow facial hair and don’t apologize for wearing tanks and short shorts when the sun’s out. We encourage new lifters to get stronger, healthier, and to have more fun. Most importantly, we support our own.
How was your Valentine’s Day? Did you eat several pounds of medium-rare steak? If not, get off the computer and fire up the grill. If so, please continue. I had a T-Bone and a Strip, and they were both bloody and delicious, thanks for asking.
Monday was the conclusion of Bert and Marijke’s story about her introduction to lifting and her first powerlifting meet. Here’s Part 1, and here’s Part 2. I hope you gals send me more articles about your experiences. The whole community is behind you.
Speaking of behinds, everyone’s second-favorite Jacob wrote up a great little article about posterior training, with the follow-up coming next week. Hopefully you read it thoroughly, or at least scrolled past the picture of Ariel’s back and saw some of the other stuff. I dunno, I didn’t look. I do know that our own Glenn Pendlay made a couple appearances, and hey, he’s a pretty cool guy, right?
Yeah, boyeeeeeee.
Had a couple people submit questions:
Karen asks: I am a female crossfitter (2/yrs) who is not getting enough lifting in the classes and finding them quite unsatisfying for a few different reasons. I am not dumb enough to think I can oly lift on my own but am considering taking the bench press to the globo gym (gym options are limited in my small town). So question for all: Are you all annoyed when/if a stranger asks for a spot? Any tips?
Karen, three things:
1. Talk to your coach first. Tell them you want to get stronger. Always give your coach a heads-up when you’re not happy, and allow them the chance to fix the situation. If he/she doesn’t pay you attention, or refuses to allow you to bench for some asinine reason, send them to me and then go ahead and send your ass to another gym.
2. At a globo, good spots are rare. Know that ahead of time. But you can try. Find someone that looks remotely like they know what they’re doing, and just ask if they mind spotting you. Hint: No bro minds giving a lady a spot. But it’s up to you to define your expectations. A sample conversation would go something like this: “Hi, random fella. I’m going to ask you for a spot not because your neon green shirt and shoes match, but because you’re one of the few people in here that squats, presses, and deadlifts and/or has a sweet beard. Can I get a spot on bench? I’m going for 5 reps. I’d like a little help on the liftoff (on the count of 3) and will ask you to take it IF AND ONLY IF I FAIL THE REP (emphasize this part, make eye contact, and realize that they’ll STILL screw it up half the time). Please don’t touch it unless I mention it. If I ask, grab the bar and rack it. I do not want a bro-spot.” Wink if you’re down with that, or if the beard is that legit.
3. Always put three things in a list. And never say “Oly lifting” near Pendlay in person. Trust me.
JayGreenShirt asks: I have been wondering how to program in order to maintain strength on certain lifts. I’ll give you my own example as a basis for this question. I will likely (hopefully) pull 500 within the next month. I do not care to take my deadlift higher than that at this time and would like to shift my focus to bringing up other lifts. That said, I want to be able to maintain the 500 lbs. deadlifting strength. I would like to know your thoughts on what I would do with my deadlift given this situation.
Congrats on getting close to the ol’ 500 mark. I’m not sure why you’re not re-gearing and getting ready for 600, but to each their own. I think that in order to maintain strength in a movement, you need to maintain your relevant musculature, and maintain your efficiency at the movement (i.e., practice). The deadlift, of all the lifts, is the easiest in these regards. Once you have your form down, you really only need to pull about every 7-10 days to improve strength, and every 10-14 days should be OK for maintaining it (I am speaking in terms of novice to intermediate pullers, obviously). So pull at least 2-3 times a month, do a max effort set, and push those pulls hard. Something in the range of 405×10, 425×7, 455×4-5, etc. outta do it. You could use the 5/3/1 percentages, or just wait for my ebook to come out on the KISS deadlift program. Whatever you decide, don’t completely neglect your pulls just for the sake of pushing your other lifts, and you’ll be fine.
Last week, I promised some really cool vintage stuff. I didn’t get to it this week, but here’s a preview, because it’s totally in the pipeline. You might have heard of Doug Young, right? Well, I’m going to share some information from this book:
And do you recognize this picture? YUP!
I got my dirty paws on a copy of this rare and expensive book (published in 1978, when, oh, dudes were 70sBig), and chances are, you can’t. So I’ll share with you some really great stories from it and some of the history, including awesome stuff from the Texas Athletic Club (predecessor to where I train and coach, Hyde Park Gym in Austin). By the time we are done, I fully expect all of you to be pressuring Terry Todd to re-publish it.
Luckily, if you’re on the hunt for ol’ Dr. Terry, he’s going to be at the Arnold, along with a large portion of the 70sbig crew. I don’t personally know the man, but I do know he’s in charge of the Arnold Strongman event, which is just one of the hundreds of things you can see at the Arnold. In the next couple weeks, we’re really going to dive into a preview, some coverage, and then some recaps of one of the coolest sports festivals in the world.
Finally, I’ll be interviewing Ryan Carillo this weekend. He’s a 21 year-old powerlifter and already practically the definition of 70sBig at 6’5″ and 300lbs. Ryan is raising money to go to IPF Bench Press Worlds in Lithuania, and I think we’re going to be able to help him out a bit. If we’re lucky, he’ll give us some tips on increasing our bench, too. Or at least, not eat us.
Post your PRs for the week. Have a great weekend. Get big.
Remember that time you said “Man, I wish my back was weaker?” Yeah, I didn’t think so. This is the first of a two-part series by Jacob Tsypkin on effective movements for training the posterior chain. Tsypkin coaches competitive weightlifters, CrossFitters,and even a powerlifter or three (if you force him) so his advice works well for most of you. As with most things in the gym, there’s a right way and a wrong way to do these, so read this carefully, watch the videos, and get to work.
Ariel says “Don’t be such a guppy. Get swole.”
To anyone remotely familiar with strength training, it is quite obvious that the posterior chain plays an important role in the sport of weightlifting. However, developing strength in the hamstrings, glutes, and back for improving performance in the snatch and clean & jerk isn’t quite as simple as it may seem.
I break the movements I use for this purpose down into two groups. This article discusses the first of those groups, the general: These movements are designed to create strength throughout the posterior chain in a way which is not specific to the snatch and clean & jerk. You are probably at least familiar with most of these movements.
1. Romanian Deadlift
If you are a consistent reader of 70’s Big, it is pretty unlikely that you haven’t heard plenty about the RDL. I’ll keep it simple here: we train it once a week, usually for 3×5, occasionally building up to a top set of 5 with good form before resetting. For mechanics, I’ll refer to you Justin’s post on the topic.
2. Pendlay Row
Basically a strict barbell row. The man himself tells you how to do it in the video below. We usually do these for heavy sets of 3-5 across, occasionally doubles or singles. In a lighter training phase, or for a lifter who needs some hypertrophy, we’ll do sets up to 10-12 reps.
3. Glute Ham Raise
I like sets of 5-10 on these. If 10 reps is easy, add some weight. Use with great care; these will make you sore for days. Once a week is plenty, and start with a low dose, like 3×5 (if you can do them at all…a lot of very strong people can’t.)
(I had Tsypkin create a GHR video because 90% of the GHR’s I see out there in the cold dark world are turrible. Just turrible. He got Ariel to be his lovely assistant. You’re welcome. – Cloud)
4. Back Extension
This is a true back extension, as taught here by some strange non-bearded Pendlay impersonator. Typically I start a lifter with 3×10-15 at bodyweight, and increase the reps up to 20 over a week or two, then add load at 3×10.
5. Back Raise
This is what most people refer to as a back extension. In reality the hips and hamstrings are doing the work here, but it’s still a very useful exercise. I follow the same protocol for applying these to a lifter’s training as I do for the back extensions, and Glenn covers this in the back extension video.
In the next segment, we will discuss posterior chain exercises specific to the sport of weightlifting.
Jacob Tsypkin is a CrossFit and weightlifting coach, the co-owner of CrossFit Monterey and the Monterey Bay Barbell Club in Monterey, CA, and a very handsome young man. He is available for weightlifting seminars and orders triple meat on his Chipotle burritos with a straight face.
Last Monday, I posted an article by a long-time reader, Bert, about how he introduced his lady friend, Marijke, to lifting, and what a dramatic difference it quickly made in her life. It had a great response amongst dudes and dudettes, and I promised a follow-up article on her first meet, which happened just 4 months after she started lifting. Here it is. A huge thanks to Bert for this well-written submission, and extreme props to Marijke for getting out there and competing after her first four months in the gym. How long have you been lifting? Have you competed? Have you trained a significant other?
In my previous article, I outlined the training and diet I had my girlfriend use during her first four months of powerlifting to have her recover from intestinal and spinal problems. In this article, I’ll review her experiences and results from her first contest.
The Results
First off, we both had a great day of lifting.
The Olympic Ghent Team
She went 7/9, doing 70 kg (PR) in the squat (154lbs), 35kg in the bench press (77lbs) and 70 kg (PR) in the deadlift (154lbs). Her second squat attempt was not approved because she racked the bar before the command, and she missed her last bench press attempt of 42.5kg (91lbs) because she gripped the bar closer than normal. Her bodyweight was 54.4 kg (120lbs) in the 56kg weight class, senior category (+24).
Cloud says “get your shins vertical!”
I went 9/9 and hit 170kg (375lbs) – 110kg (242lbs) – 220kg (485lbs) at a bodyweight of 75.25 kg (165.55lbs) in the 83kg weight class, senior category. I chose not to cut weight for the 74kg class since 75 is already light for me and I’m not yet near my actual all-time PRs yet, so I’m just going to “grow into the class” and get back into competing.
Other impressive performances were a 105 lifter of our club who hit 300 – 195 – 300 (geared) and a 125+ lifter who squatted 360kg (geared) and deadlifted 330kg (raw).
Experiences at the Meet
Going into the meet, she was nervous: “What if I am the only girl?” (she was); “What if I’m the odd duck there?” (she wasn’t; much odder ducks were present), “What if my butt looks big?” (it does, but that’s a good thing).
All these worries proved to be unfounded. All lifters were extremely supportive and friendly towards her and myself, and encouraged her each time she stepped up to the platform. Seeing her be accepted in this way pleased me enormously, let me tell you (this made the Hank Hill in me happy, btw, I tell you what. – Jacob). By the end of the day nearly every lifter had come by for a talk and words of appraisal for our lifting execution and lifts.
The camaraderie at the meet was exceptional and there was no rivalry at all to be found.
Post-Meet Impressions
My girlfriend claimed this was the most fun and friendly competition she had ever entered (having experience from competition in martial arts, gymnastics, dog and horse sports).
She was shocked how well-mannered (and often highly educated) the lifters were. No less than 2 lifters out of 20 had a PhD. Also, she received compliments that her back position was very good, without anybody knowing that she had such grave problems in her spine only months before.
She had an amazing time and felt accepted from the first moment. Besides constantly bombarding me with questions about how her new training schedule will look, she’s registered for the next comp on March 2nd. I’m enormously happy for her and hope that we’ll continue to have such a great time as a couple in this sport. I can recommend it to anyone.
Video of Bert and Marijke’s attempts:
I hope everyone learned something from Bert and Marijke’s experience. Training a significant other can be much more difficult than Bert let on, but can also be extremely rewarding. My lady friend is capable of hitting 10 reps with what she hit at her first meet now, but those early days weren’t easy, though she did experience a lot of camaraderie when she entered her first few meets, including USAPL Nationals. Ladies, I’d lofe to hear from you about your experiences as you got into lifting. Let’s get more females involved with competitions, and spread the word about how rewarding being 70sBig can be. I will always be a huge proponent of females competing, because I have seen the smile that ensues. Get big!
