Increasing Work Capacity The Key for Gaining Massive Strength and Size Years ago, lifters – be they bodybuilders, powerlifters, or Olympic lifters – knew how to train. [1] Take Marvin Eder, for instance (still my favorite of the “old timers”): Eder could squat close to 700 pounds, clean and press 355 pounds, snatch 285 pounds, bench press 515 pounds, and do reps on parallel bar dips with over 400 pounds strapped to his waist. He also had 19 inch arms at a bodyweight of around 200 pounds. And just how did Eder lift such prodigious poundages and attain one hell of a physique? He began training around the age of 16 by using a 3-days-per-week, full-body workout plan (as everyone did at that time, I might add). As he advanced – and by “advanced” I mean that he increased his strength [2] – he increased the number of exercises he used, the number of sets per exercise, the overall length of his workout, and the number of days per week he trained. ...
Essays on Old-School Strength Training, Classic Bodybuilding, Traditional Martial Arts, and Budo Philosophy