Ever since Shunryu Suzuki’s Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind was first published back in 1970—when very few folks in the West even knew what the heck Zen actually was; not that many know very much about real Zen even today—no telling how many Zen, Buddhist, or just “spiritual” books have been published since that time with similar-sounding titles. Plenty of them are outright rips on Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by using a four-word title with two words followed by a comma and then another couple words to round it off. Just the other day I read one titled Zen Mind, Franciscan Joy in my personal favorite sub-genre of Zen, “Catholic Zen.” Heck, while perusing the bookstore a couple weeks ago, I even came across one with the title Zen Mind, Zen Horse that was apparently about the “spirituality” of horse training. When I saw it, I wondered what the ranchers and cowboys of my ancestry—Texans through and through—wou...
AKA: The Last Deadlift Training Article You EVER Need to Read! Tips, Techniques, Tricks, Workout Routines, and Training Suggestions for Building Incredible Deadlift Strength and Power Okay, maybe my “also known as” title here is a little, you know, over the top. But as I sit here at my laptop, tapping away at these keys, my goal is (or at least make a valiant effort) to write the end-all, be-all article for building a monstrously strong and powerful deadlift. I have the deadlift on my mind after penning my last few articles—a few on Anthony Ditillo’s training methods, another on a 3-day Russian training program, and my recent essay on an overview of Russian methods—because here’s the lowdown for the deadlift: while I love Ditillo’s training methods and Russian workout plans overall, I don’t necessarily think any of those methods are the best when it comes to the deadlift. If you want to get really big and strong, plus build up your squat...