PR Friday, 31 May 2013

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Cloud

Hope you had a great week. It was pretty quiet on the site, but hopefully you caught Justin’s Memorial Day post. Probably best to go re-read it anyway. Since there weren’t very many posts, that gave you less time to read, and more time to lift. Make sure you post your PRs that resulted. There seems to be quite a few people competing this weekend (myself included), so everyone, please: Seek and Destroy.

Mike didn’t have enough Q to make a Q&A this week, but he weighed in on something I personally think is really important. Watch, listen, and see if you agree.

Entertaining stuff has been sent in. Here’s some of it.

Brooks Conway’s buddy John Rivas squatted 793 at IPF Jr. Worlds last year, and has finally shared his secret with us mere mortals. Behold: The Ultimate Squat Setup.

This might be the perfect demonstration of intensity and mobility coming together for ultimate lifting domination. This is a HIGHLY ADVANCED move – I suggest using a basic linear progression on your setup for quite some time before advancing to a weekly linear periodization, then tapering for 6-8 years and using an American Wave method before finally giving this a go. You’ve been warned.

Reader Dimitri sent in a couple pics of his 70sBig face – this was the best. He said something about being in Canadia in it, but we’ll let that slide this time, because he mentioned that many beers were consumed in the process of celebrating some sort of “hockey” victory. I guess that’s like football with funny accents?

I also had some great pics of young future-70sBiggers submitted by dads and uncles, but sorry guys, I’d feel weird about posting pics of kids. I still thought the pics were cute, though. Made me want a dog.

Last Friday, I recounted the soon-to-be-legendary story of our buddy Ryan Carrillo showing up to IPF Bench Worlds and bringing home the gold on his final attempt. He got back in the states last night, and there was a news crew waiting for him at the airport – he’s a pretty medium deal. We’ve already heralded his achievements on this site, but showing some love to the news stations that cover this is only going to help them believe that powerlifting IS news. So, uhh, click these links, and let’s make one more small push to getting powerlifting the recognition it deserves. And if you don’t click the links…Ryan might just eat you. So do it. KENS5, KSAT12

Justin will be back writing SOON for everyone’s amusement. Til then, just lift more, and keep your short shorts on. It’ll be worth the wait.

PR Friday, 17 May 2013

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Cloud

Did you have a good week? I hope you had a good week. I hope you hit a couple nice PRs, and I hope you tell us about them below.

This week, I put up an article about coaching the sumo deadlift. I also pulled the short-shorts article out of the archives, because dammit, it is Time. Gotta love the summer. I already have weird tank-top tan lines, which is like a badge of honor. The teardrops are slowly crisping up to a nice golden brown, too. Tanning PRs count as long as you’re in the process of getting more jacked.

Mike answered all the questions he could find in another Q&A video that also features his dog. Hit him up on our facebook page if you have more questions. If the person with the labrum tear wants more info, they can hit me up – both mine are shredded and even when I had my left AC joint scoped, they didn’t repair that one. Have fun with that.

Additionally, the USAPL Women’s Nationals (single-ply equipped lifting) is this weekend. Check out http://www.usapowerlifting.com/ for a schedule and livestream, and to see 150lb females out-squatting you, by a lot, if you need that kind of brotagonistic motivation, or just enjoy watching awesomely strong ladies compete.

Our friendly neighborhood giant Ryan Carrillo is headed to Lithuania for IPF Bench Worlds next week. Give him a good-luck shout-out on our facebook page as he goes to collect some hardware for Muricuh’.

That’s all I got today. Say something entertaining in the comments. I ran out of face submissions, but here’s something topical, sorta:

2/10 – One point for the tank top, one point for the shorts…no points for the 70sBig face attempt. Needs practice, or possibly a heavy Magnesium dose.

PR Friday, 26 April 2013

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Cloud

Quick Recap of the week’s post:

I bragged a bit about my lady friend. Lots of good feedback; we both appreciate it.

AC talked to you about coaching squats. He’s quickly becoming a legend on Reddit.

I discussed my Over-Warm-Up method. Try it and report back with your findings.

Lots of pic submissions this week:

Scott representing the 70sBig face at his bachelor party in front of what appears to be a ’57 Chevy. Bonus points for the beard.

Nick and the CF Annandale crew (host site of three 70sBig seminars) made a nice little group shot. Except for nobodystopstheblob, of course.

Kevin didn’t tell me if he’s the Pedro-lookin-dude with the sweet stache, or the headband-wearin’ bearded fella tacklin him, but either way, we get the point: Rugby’s rad.

Did I mention rugby’s rad? Here’s Joshua after a tourney, sporting the 2nd place keg. A little work on the face, some extra jaw-juttin’, and he might be getting that 1st place keg soon.

James is 47 and squats 440 @ 198lbs bodyweight. Get started, kids. You might beat him in 20 years. Maybe. Or not.

Reece gets it. Grass, weights, aviators, and a nip slip? He’s clearly been paying attention. Good job.

Post your PRs and have a great weekend!

PR Friday, 19 April 2013

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Cloud

Weekly Recap: AJ Loreto pulls more than you, has a boat, and said you should do some sumo work, fool. I suggest you try it. (I’ll get a post up on coaching basic sumo form next week.) I went ahead and laid out some basic supplement and nutrition advice. A few people loved it, some people hated it, but the bottom line is this: you better be eating some steak and kale this weekend. AC benches more than you, and showed us his bench setup (and sweet shirt) after teaching us some press tips last week.

Last week, I told you to watch the USAPL Collegiate Nationals. If you didn’t, you missed out. Here’s an excellent write-up on the Men’s sessions. A huge congrats to my buddy Ryan Carrillo for winning the SHW division with the final pull of the meet. Preston Turner, world champion and fellow hair farmer, destroyed his competition (not only did he open with an American Record Bench, he then worked up to 716 pounds), and Ian Bell won his 3rd Gold in a row – even though he was pulling after midnight (Saturday was a long day)! I also have to give a shoutout to another friend from my gym, Joe, who benched 195kg…in a t-shirt! I have to say, TX lifters pretty much dominated the show, to nobody’s surprise. Congrats, y’all.

Mike quotes Gremlins, answers some questions, and gives Stroup kind of an evil eye.

I’ll keep it short, because we have a shitload of reader pictures this week. I appreciate you guys sending in your photos and will keep putting them up on Fridays ’til we run out. It’s gonna be awhile, so be patient.

First up: Rob. Rob’s wearing a kilt, so he gets bonus points for that. He’s also got some sort of hiking boots on, and that orange fence might be a police scene…so we’ll just leave the minor critiques of the actual 70sBig face alone, mmmk?

Elliot sent this in from Afghanistan. Thank you, Elliot.

Cal may or may not be performing any aspects of the traditional 70sBig face – it’s pretty much hidden by what looks to be an Eleiko bar. Cool pic. And he’s from Oz – bonus points.

Matt’s face uploaded crooked. I was gonna fix it, but honestly, it just kind of amuses me having it this way.

“Blister” wins this week’s points. He basically looks like he could be Justin’s little brother, except he’s probably too smart to be a Browns fan. This, folks, is a 70sBig face submission. Shirt? NAH. Creepy aviator glasses? YUP. Random field and forest and trap flex? DUH. Fact: He chainsawed some shit after this pic.

See ya next week, folks. A special shout-out to my lady friend, who is competing at the USAPL TX State Championships this weekend in San Antonio. If you’re around, I’ll be coaching her and a couple other lifters, so say howdy, damnit. I’ll be the one with the beard.

PR Friday, 12 April 2013

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Cloud

Annnnnnnnd we’re back! Our servers made some mistakes yesterday (burpees instead of squats…tsk, tsk) and had to be put in timeout for half a day. Some unplanned maintenance later by our men in Berlin, and the ISIS mainframes have been upgraded with new neural net processors – learning computers – and our R2 is back on our 6, by the light of Kate Upton’s eyes. Bueno? Bueno.

So, let’s get back to business. This week, we had a post about Iris’s strength journey. AC taught us how to press more gooder (this was real, real popular on reddit). Markotta had us reflect on our motivation. Mike used the time off from reading the site to ignore Paul’s question and answer everyone else’s.

Additionally, USAPL Collegiate Nationals is this weekend in Killeen, TX. There’s going to be some pretty impressive single-ply lifting going on, and there are some fierce rivalries between teams. Naturally, I think Preston Turner, Ian Bell, and the rest of the Longhorn Team is going to take the cake, but watch and see for yourself.

http://mass-lift.com/2013-collegiate-nationals/

Last week, I asked you guys and gals to submit pictures of your “70sBig face.” Wait, back up. First, I asked you to go back and re-read the original post on HOW to make a 70sBig face, and then to submit some examples. I got some great ones, and I got some that, well, I’m pretty sure were taken on the shitter in a time of duress We’ll get there, folks, but this might take some work. I appreciate the flood of pics I got, and will post some each week.

“Billy” (we’ll use a code name to keep his identity a secret) sent in a picture that proves his commitment to the cause. He gets bonus points for the glasses, but the striped v-neck is hit or miss depending on yokeability. Guys, you can wear v-necks, but only if there’s chest hair poking out, mmmmk?

MeneGene spent the better part of the morning posing for this pic, showing off a pretty glorious mustache. There are literally ninja chicks beating up Abercrombie wannabee’s in the background, and he is sitting there stoicly not giving a fuck. I approve. I think there’s real blood on his shirt, too.

Jason lacks facial hair, but I’ll cut him some slack. If he was sporting a ferocious Viking beard, half the grease from this amazing burger would go to waste. Is that HAM on that hamburger, too? Shit, now I’m hungry – with a few fried eggs on top, that’d be a pretty dece breakfast. Good job, Jason. Next time, cut the sleeves off your plaid shirt for date night. Trust me, she’ll be impressed.

CriedTheFox shows us a classic selfie here, driving in some sort of van with “Free Ice Cream” scrawled on the side of it. Facial hair? Check. Cheap sunglasses? Check. Thrift-store t-shirt you’re unafraid to rip in half in case of emergency? Check. Bravo, sir. Bravo.

Blake’s got a pretty dece face here. The bushy brows, the insane look in his eyes, and a ‘Murican flag in the background are all excellent. A little more jaw-jutting would be nice, but HOLY SHIT there’s a Mustang snorting FIRE on his shirt.

We didn’t get nearly enough female face submissions, but Amanda played the game…sorta. She sent this in with the comment “No, this is not a 12 y/o boy but a 34 y/o woman.” I…I….look, I really appreciate the pic, but I….well, shit. I’m scared. You took some creative licensing and the end result is equal parts terrifying and awesome. I award you all the points, and hope to never cross your (bar)path when you’re angry.

That’s all for today. Keep the submissions coming, make sure they are LESS THAN A MEGABYTE (you’ve seen what happens when our systems get angry), and I’ll keep posting these on Fridays until I run out or get bored. Post your PR’s below. Have a great freaking weekend. Stay safe.