C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

Thoughts on the Two-Barbell Rule      Over at T-Nation, Tony Gentilcore has an article where he mentions something he calls the “two-barbell rule.” [1]   The “rule” is pretty simple: At each training session, perform two barbell exercises before doing anything else.      Although I never thought about making this one of the “rules” of training, I like it.   In fact, a couple of things crossed my mind upon reading about it.   First, I wished I would have thought of it myself—it’s one of those things that’s so simple, it should be blatantly obvious to most lifters, but it’s not.   Second, I realize that I “do” this rule almost every time that I train myself or others.      The two-barbell rule—although simple, and although it should be obvious to most lifters—needs a little clarification.   What I would like to discuss here, then, is ways that you can make this “rule” work.   If applied properly, in fact, I think it can be the thing that takes your training from mediocre or