Train Hard

Posted on January 26, 2010 by Justin

“By the beard of Zeus!”

I hope you enjoyed Gary’s post yesterday — it made me cry tears of joy. I have enjoyed reading Gary’s post on the Starting Strength Forums, but every time I would watch a video of him squatting, I would think, “Egad! Surely there is food where this guy lives…” In any case, I am excited to see Gary gaining body weight. He will be formidable indeed.

Let me ask you a question; after seeing Gary’s picture from 20 years ago, do you think he is genetically gifted? Did he have the qualities that make him a genetic freak? The answer is an obvious no.

I do know that Gary has busts his ass to get where he is now. Most of the people that are highlighted on this site have done the same. None of us are exceptionally gifted. AC was less than 185 pounds until last year, I squatted 325 for my work sets my first day at the WFAC, and Chris was just a low 400s deadlifter a year ago. We are not special.

The thing that we have in common is that we train correctly, and we train very fucking hard. Someone asked me how many training days I had missed last year. When I thought real hard about it, I realized I didn”t miss any. Sure, I had to take forced breaks because of (irritating and unnecessary bouts of) overtraining and getting sick, but I never missed scheduled training days. In other words: we are not dicking around.

Furthermore, nobody seems to have eating problems at the WFAC. Besides, if they do, the are berated until such problems are resolved. Here is a real conversation that occurred between a skinny high school kid and me:
“How was that set?”
“It was pretty good. You’re doing a better job of bouncing out of the bottom since your knees are shoved out, but it would look better if you gained 20 pounds.”
“Aww, I’m trying!”
“No. You aren’t.”

For example, I got sick and had a few set backs before a weightlifting meet a couple of weekends ago. One scale in the gym said I was about 225. I weighed in at 100.2 kilos at the meet (in my skivvies). This means that I weighed 220 in a weight class that is capped at 231. This was mega embarrassing since I run a mother truckin’ website dedicated to not being a wee man. I was pretty pissed off (especially with the results of the meet), so I started eating seriously that day while still in Austin. I got chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, scallop potatoes, and macaroni and cheese for dinner. Then a half gallon of milk on the ride home, among other goodies. Six days later on Friday I weighed in at 228 on the lighter scale at the gym, 230 on the other. In other words, I gained about eight pounds in six days. While starting at 220. And Skinny Guy is pumped about gaining five pounds in a few weeks. Bah…

When I started working with and training with Chris, he was about 245. He has accidentally gained weight while getting a great deal stronger. His deadlift started in the low 400s and we got it up to doing 540×5. He easily pulled 600 for a single, and has since been doing rack pulls and haltings (intermediate programming style). He has done 515×8 on haltings (an exercise that has no hip extension, just knee extension off the floor) and 575×5 on rack pulls (an exercise that has no knee extension, just hip extension with the bar starting right below the patella). I expect him to pull 700 in the next few months. Oh, and did I mention that he accidentally weighs 285? That’s right, his normal diet (that does not include many carbs) makes him gain muscle consistently. And no, he is not on steroids — none of us are. That bastard ate 21 pork chops in two days last week. That was not a typo. 21 pork chops. In two days.
I told Brent about this online:

me: chris ate 21 pork chops in two days
Brent: chris is a man
me: that he is, brent, that he is
Brent: i wish he were my dad

Chris loves pork chops

Look, the point is that getting bigger and stronger is a lot of hard work in and out of the gym. We train very hard. We don’t think we are done with the linear progression when things seem hard. Likewise, volume days in the Texas Method are grueling, sometimes painful endeavors. AC has helped a lot of guys get strong in Statesboro, and I have helped a lot of people get strong in Wichita Falls. Neither of these cities are a mecca for genetically gifted strength athletes. We just help people train hard, eat right, and they will inevitably get strong. Make sure that this is what you are doing.

Gary Gibson – Part 1

Posted on January 25, 2010 by Justin

The following is a post by Gary Gibson, a friend and contributor on the Starting Strength forums.

At 5’10″ and a little over 160 lbs, I used to cling to the absurd notion that I was somehow past quick “newbie” gains. You see, about 15 years ago I graduated from college at my full adult height and weighing only around 130 lbs. This looked as frighteningly malnourished as you imagine. I wondered why women didn’t take me seriously as a potential mate even though I had a dazzling smile and a razor sharp eight-pack.

I spent the next decade squatting deeply, but with poor form. My overall programming was even worse and I fell under the sway of nonsense like HIT and partial-rep training. About five years ago, I convinced myself that I “just wasn’t built to squat and bench press” and dedicated myself to the deadlift, various overhead presses and chin ups. I also got into learning the full versions of the Olympic lifts even though I was only about 150 lbs with a shaky 245-lb squat to legal depth.

About three years ago, I recognized my scrawny nonsense for what it was when I had a confrontation with a much larger guy in my construction job and had to back down because I realized that I was grossly outsized and outmatched, despite being able to full squat snatch my own bodyweight.

Gary 20 years ago. Even Calvin Klein would have rejected him.

Over the next few months, I started taking the squat seriously again and got it up to 315 lbs while I hit a bodyweight of 160 lbs. About a year after that I entered my first powerlifting competition and squatted 347 lbs with just a belt and knee sleeves in the 75 kg class. I thought I’d done pretty well considering how light and weak I had always been. I convinced myself that I couldn’t possibly gain much more weight and that at best I’d get a bit stronger in my current weight class and then that would be it.

By this time I’d read Starting Strength and started frequenting Rip’s online forum. I kept hearing about this GOMAD stuff, but just didn’t think it applied to me. After all, I’d been training properly for at least a couple of years and had gotten over three wheels on the squat! But Rip told me something that really stuck with me: “At your height you have to weigh 198 at least to be a competent powerlifter.”

198? Just didn’t seem possible. But I’d been bitten by the powerlifting bug and really wanted to get as big and strong as I could. So I started buying several gallons of milk at a time and dedicating myself to drinking a gallon each day.

I’d gotten as high as the mid-170s with a 405-lb squat, but then I cut weight for what was supposed to be my third meet in December 2009. This decision came after a lot of deliberation. At my level, getting bigger and stronger should supersede making weight classes. Ironically the meet got canceled because of a snowstorm that crippled the entire region. I got down to 164, but I lost a lot of strength. This proved to be a perfect chance to prove the power of GOMAD and squats.

A week after the meet cancellation I embarked on a program of volume squats and bench presses, fueled by GOMAD. Almost exactly one month later I am 20 lbs heavier than that low of 164 and my 5RM squat has become the weight I use for sets of five across. Let me make that clear: I was 164 lbs last month with a max squat of around 370; one month later I’m 184 lbs and am on track to a max squat of around 440. Will I actually squat 440 or more? Well, I could barely squat 335 for five last month and last night I used that weight for six sets of five…and the cycle isn’t even half over. You can keep track of my progress by reading my log on the Starting Strength site.

To be big and strong I need to weigh at least 200 lbs at this height with a final goal around 220. I wonder how many other skinny minnies are malingering in gyms across the world, crying about skinny wrists and hard gaining. Funny thing is, I still don’t look “big”–and I’m far from 70’s Big–despite a 20% increase in overall mass. I have to shake my head in disbelief when I imagine myself at 5’10″ and 150 lbs and thinking that that was Just Fine. 150 lbs is just fine…if you’re 5’4″. If you’re a male of the average 5’8″ to 5’10″, you need to weigh around 200 lbs if you want to be strong. You need to squat, eat big, and drink your GOMAD.

If you’re starting out at 150 and under, then the eating big and the GOMAD can be scary and uncomfortable. It’s going to seem like your gut’s getting way to big for your skinny little limbs. But stick with it. Once your gut is full and round, your body will take this as a sign that it has the reserves to support growth. You will not grow if your body “thinks” it is in permanent semi-starvation mode. So eat big, drink your GOMAD and keep upping your squat.

PR Friday

Posted on January 22, 2010 by Justin

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“We confide in our strength without boasting of it; we respect that of others without fearing it. ” –Thomas Jefferson

PR Friday means you post your personal records in weight lifted, gained, or consumed. We hold each other accountable for quality training and will continue to be supportive of anyone getting stronger.

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Greg and his wife from St. Louis found a 70’s Big Lego guy

Allen, a WFAC member, snags a 70’s Big cat

Vids

Posted on January 21, 2010 by Justin

“We are the future, Charles, not them!”

Starting Strength Seminar in Wichita Falls, TX
If you are on the quest to get 70’s Big or have considered coaching other people to get strong, then check out the new Starting Strength Seminar. You will learn the nitty gritty details on mechanics and anatomy, and then apply those lessons while coaching other people and getting coached while under the bar. There will be one at the Wichita Falls Athletic Club in Wichita Falls, Texas on February 26-28. This would be a good chance to train and learn at one of the best gyms in the country.

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Some of you are actually doing what you’re supposed to: getting strong and not complaining. AC has been busy coaching people in getting strong at Georgia Southern University. His pal Pat has done well:

Pat Squat and Deadlift (506) from A.C. on Vimeo.

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I my as well run all of these Rippetoe interview videos again for all you noobs. Let’s start at the beginning.

70’s Big Presents: Mark Rippetoe Interview Pt. 1 from 70s Big on Vimeo.

I’m Done With You, Skinny Guy

Posted on January 20, 2010 by Justin

“It’s quite simple, David…”

Listen Skinny Guy, you aren’t trying. You sit down at night and wonder why you aren’t getting stronger as you pick at chicken breast and broccoli. You might even be the guy eating a bowl of cereal for breakfast…like a child.

It’s time to man up Skinny Guy. I don’t like skinny guys, much less you, Skinny Guy. You either think you ought to be skinny like all of the psuedo-manly guys on TV and in movies or you like to be skinny. If you didn’t like being skinny, you’d do something about it. You would take your skinny jeans and skull cap off (you probably wear the skull cap in summer time too), and you would engage in activity that would require you to not be skinny.

Some of you Skinny Guys have actually decided to do something about it, but you haven’t gotten past this phase of BITCHING about everything that goes on. If your name is Skinny Guy and you don’t gain five pounds in the first week of training, then you aren’t trying. Guys in our gym gain 15 pounds in two or three weeks. I have heard some of you rejoice in the fact that you gain five pounds in a month. That disgusts me, Skinny Guy. I know you’ve been skinny your whole life, but get over the fear of gaining some kind of bodyfat. Your name is Skinny Guy for chrissakes! As we have said before, if you have been skinny your whole life, you don’t get to have an opinion on being fat.

Things that are worth doing are typically not easy, but some of you give up and think that you have a special scenario that requires some kind of unique advice that is not A) eat more food, B) squat, press, and deadlift, and C) stop your whiny bitching.

For some reason I have been in a foul mood, and I think it is Skinny Guy’s fault. My patience is wearing thin. If you think you have a form issue with any of your lifts, then pick up Starting Strength and figure out what that might be. There are plenty of videos on Rip’s Q&A Board. Find a coach if you can. Assuming you have done these things, you should know what you are doing wrong and may be able to cue it yourself. If you think your form is “pretty good” and your name is Skinny Guy, then you aren’t eating enough.

From now on, you guys are only allowed to ask for programming advice if you meet the following weight requirements:

5’7″ and taller: >200 lbs.
5’3″ to 5’6″: >185 lbs.
Under 5’3″: Submit an application to be chased by Jarred Allen

If you have met the weight requirements, then you have done something difficult enough that you have learned not to bitch about your inadequacies and you have manned up. Ladies are always welcome to ask for advice, because that means you have at least considered getting strong, and this gets you a gold star.

And since I know you are going to ask, Fat Guy, keep eating your protein and fat, but cut back your carbs. If you are Really Fat Guy, then you may want to try a drastic approach for a few weeks (no carbs at all). Oh, and I apologize to Fat Guy and Big Guy that we have to give Skinny Guy so much attention…he just doesn’t fucking listen.

Brian lifts a beam that is 300+ lbs. Skinny Guy couldn’t do that.