This is a little belated—should have done it a couple of weeks ago—but my latest article is out in Planet Muscle magazine (October, 2013). It is on "strongman-style" training, replete with a few weeks of workouts to get you started if you want to begin such a thing.
Here I am—in my study, semi-naked as usual when writing or engaging in creative endeavors—holding up the cover:
And here is what the article looks like inside the magazine:
Here I am—in my study, semi-naked as usual when writing or engaging in creative endeavors—holding up the cover:
To whet your appetite just a little bit more, here's a brief excerpt:
Most
of you reading this will probably never compete in a strongman competition, but
the kind of lifting they utilize can be a great way of training for any
bodybuilder looking to pack on some muscle mass.
The program presented
here allows you to train as if you were preparing for—or even competing in—a
strongman competition. First, I am
going to lay out the parameters of the program. Second, I will discuss the benefits of training in such a
manner. And third, I will offer an
example of what a couple weeks of training should look like.
The
Nuts and Bolts of Strongman Muscle
This program has you
training 2 days-per-week. (No, you
did not read that
incorrectly. You will only
need 2 “primary” training days each week, though it’s perfectly fine to have 1
or 2 “extra” workouts to aid in recovery and to promote growth—but we’ll get
around to that in a little bit.)
The most popular days for lifters is usually Monday and Thursday, but
any 2 non-consecutive days will work.
Each training session
will have you performing (at the minimum) 4 exercises. You will perform a lower body “pushing”
movement, a lower body “pulling” movement, an upper body “pushing” movement,
and an odd lift at each session.
On each day, you will
pick one of the exercises as your “max effort” movement. For this exercise, you will work up to
a max single. This exercise will
be rotated from at each workout.
On each day, you will
select one exercise as your “max for reps” movement. After a thorough warm-up, you will select a heavy weight
where you would expect to reach failure somewhere between the 5th
and the 10th repetition.
(The repetition range doesn’t have to be exact.) You will take this set to the point of
momentary muscular failure.
On each day, you will
select one exercise as your “max for sets” movement. On this exercise, you will select a weight that is somewhere
between 80%-90% of your one-rep maximum.
You will then select a certain number of reps (be it 2, 3, 4, or 5 reps)
and you will perform as many sets as possible for the prescribed number of reps
that you choose.
Your last exercise
for each day will be an “odd lift.”
This exercise will be either a “distance” exercise while carrying or
holding an object, or it will be a “timed” exercise, in which you have to see
how long you can hold or carry an object.
Each workout will be
different. You will constantly
rotate exercises for each “event” above.
If you're interested in reading the rest, make sure you pick up the October issue of PM.
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