Video Quickie

Posted on October 13, 2009 by Justin

“I never used ammonia, it always pissed me off”

I’m a bit late posting because we got in late last night from doing a barbell seminar in Denver — a guy needs sleep, ok?

It’s a lot of fun having friends who are strong, and my good friend AC is one of those people who is pain-in-the-ass strong. He’s on the brink of plateauing in his linear progression. Yesterday he squatted 450 for three sets of five, pressed 212 for three sets of five, and a few weeks ago deadlifted 500 for five…all at a bodyweight of 205. Oh, and he’s 20 years old.

Since he has pretty much linearly progressed his deadlift, I gave him the green light to work up to a 1RM yesterday. Keep in mind that he squatted and pressed the previously mentioned numbers before pulling this.

A.C. Max Out from A.C. on Vimeo.

He missed 575 at the knees after that last attempt. AC will start competing in powerlifting and eventually weightlifting. He’s also a pretty good coach, so if you’re in the Atlanta area and want some coaching, e-mail him. You can also find him in south Georgia when he’s at school.

AC is also the one who edits the Rippetoe interview videos, and here is part 7 of the 70’s Big Interview with Rip:

70’s Big Presents: Mark Rippetoe Interview Pt. 7 from 70s Big on Vimeo.

On The Road

Posted on October 12, 2009 by Justin

“You got a fork, Adventure Boy?”

Justin and JP

This past weekend I got to hang out with my buddy John Sheaffer while we coached at Rippetoe’s barbell seminar. We’re both on the quest to getting 70’s Big; I just started competing in weightlifting and he’ll compete in powerlifting. JP is the owner of Greyskull Barbell in Pennsylvania, home of many obnoxiously strong men, women, and kids. He’ll be a regular contributor to this site.

The seminar was at Front Range CrossFit. Despite the name on the door, this gym has the equipment to get 70’s Big. Their facility is set up for Olympic lifting with 10 platforms, jerk blocks, and a couple of squat racks. They are also building a weightlifting team, so if you’re interested and live in the Denver area, check them out.

Your gym can be featured and eventually added to a list of “70’s Big Gyms” as long as it has the proper equipment. If you’re interested, e-mail me.

Here is a video from the WFAC of my friend Chris pulling 600 and 625 (with a bit of hitching on the latter):

I am still on the road, so the Rippetoe interview will continue when I get back into town tomorrow.

You Are Average

Posted on October 9, 2009 by Justin

“You gotta make sacrifices if you wanna be 70’s Big”

Go ahead and face it now; you are average. If you were a genetic freak, somebody would have noticed by now. More than likely you are sitting here reading this, and you want to be stronger and like learning about guys that are strong (or you like looking at guys that are strong…and are female?). In any case, you aren’t in that small percentage of the gene pool that are genetically predisposed to being freakishly strong.

Do you realize what this means? You have to get strong and big with good ol’ fashion hard work.

There are no shortcuts. You have to follow a carefully made training program. You have to eat more than you want to, especially when you don’t want to. You have to find the energy to conquer that last work set of squats or deadlifts when nobody is around and there is no glory. You have to realize that if you avoid doing the things that are hard, then you are preventing yourself from accomplishing your goals.

How badly do you want to be strong? How badly do you want to be competitive? How badly do you want to be 70’s Big?

We look up to the demigods of 70’s Big yore (above), and they are gifted individuals. They undoubtedly worked hard, but you may not be so genetically fortunate. You will need to bust your ass for the same progress that others can make easily. You cannot afford to dick around with training, eating, or rest. You don’t have time to allow yourself to make excuses, so don’t bother.

So, sit down tonight and have a beer (Note: not fermented deer piss). As you sip, think about how your training can improve on Monday. Figure out what you can do better.

’Cause you gotta make sacrifices if you wanna be 70’s Big.

Click “read more” for more fun.

Continue reading →

Competition

Posted on October 8, 2009 by Justin

“A beautiful thing indeed”

'The Pizz', a unique pencil drawing of Pisarenko at the WFAC

70sBig.com does not merely suggest that you only become strong. My friend Gant — a competition enthusiast and judo player — said to me recently, “What’s the point of being 70’s Big if you can’t throw anybody around?” He’s got a point.

Aiming to only get strong and big is a waste of hard work and developed talent. Anybody wanting to become 70’s Big would probably enjoy displaying their strength, and what better way to to do so than to compete? It isn’t a coincidence that our 70’s Big co-captains, Doug Young and Anatoly Pisarenko, were successful in the sport of powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting respectively.

Besides, aiming your goals at a specific sport will not only justify the purpose of training, but it will fuel your desire to improve. The official stance of this website is that its members should participate in sport in congruence with their strength training.

Sports that specialize in the development of strength and power would be excellent choices. Some options include, but are not limited to powerlifting, weightlifting, highland games, football, throwing implements (track and field style), throwing people (judo), wrestling, and strongman competitions. As this site grows, you’ll see that there are men who are 70’s Big in each of these sports.

Some of the aforementioned sports separate competitors by weight class. This seems to be a dichotomy to the idea of 70’s Big, but ease your troubled mind. There is a bodyweight at which a person will function optimally for a particular sport (typically dictated by height). Gant will eventually share his story of changing weight classes for judo, but he’d probably tell you he functions best in the 90 kilo class. This doesn’t make him 70’s Big, but the quest is never over, my friends. Athletes will function better in sport, especially in the sports listed here, when they are stronger. So you see, everyone is on a quest towards 70’s Big. And that is a beautiful thing indeed.

As scheduled, here is part 6 of the 70’s Big Interview with Rippetoe. This is one of my favorite parts of the interview, because it explains what a female would look like who would be fit for a 70’s Big guy.

70’s Big Presents: Mark Rippetoe Interview Pt. 6 from 70s Big on Vimeo.

The Pizz

Posted on October 6, 2009 by Justin

“That’s the sign of a real champion”

The Pizz bench pulling what looks like 220

Pisarenko Week continues with a look at Pisarenko’s championships. The Pizz won multiple USSR Championships (1982 and 1984), European Championships (1981, 1982, 1983, and 1984), and World Championships (1981, 1982, and 1983). Pisarenko set 13 world records in his short career in the super heavyweight class.

Unfortunately, he was unable to participate in the 1980 and 1984 Olympics. He missed out on the 1980 Olympics because two of his veteran teammates were selected to lift for the USSR (even though he lifted more than both of them). In 1984, the USSR pulled out of the Olympics for a number of political reasons. By the 1988 Olympics, Pisarenko’s lifting career was over.

Check out this website for a detailed look at his championships and totals.

The following video is from the 1982 World Championships and outlines Pisarenko’s battle with Antonio Krastev (Bulgaria). It shows the top snatches in the super heavyweight weight class. This is a rare look at Pisarenko lifting in a meet and speaking with his coaches backstage. Tomorrow we will watch Krastev and Pisarenko battle in the clean and jerk finale. Enjoy watching this beast of a man.

Fun fact: Pisarenko was a former Greco-Roman wrestler. I can’t think of any males that would like to have his hands on them. Females, however, are a different story.