Strength makes you invincible

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/337/jul01_2/a439

Polish weightlifting training videos

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=308D0F3E52764BA9

Kinda long, but interesting.

Listen and learn

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dryessis/page/1

Yessis = the man

Plyometrics

Interesting stuff on plyometrics for those of you who may be playing other sports.

Good case for belt squats

http://www.sportivnypress.com/documents/73.html

Not that anyone thought they were a bad idea anyway.

Another article, a rare good one from T-Nation

http://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/dispelling_the_glute_myth

I'm going to implement this.

Also, this should help with thrusting strength... Just another reason to work those glutes, especially if you're into larger women.

Rare, very good T-Nation Article

http://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/combat_psychology_and_sports_performance

Favorite quotation:

"This is why repetitions are so crucial in learning a motor skill. More repetitions equal more associations and a more strongly ingrained motor pattern. "

Do more volume!

Sergey Fedosienko

Here's why Kyle should do Sheiko.

Linky time

Section 7 of this book on powerlifting says it all.

Interesting stuff from Lon Kilgore

Interesting stuff on detecting hormone fluctuations without (expensive machines such as) the OmegaWave. For those blanking, the Hormone Fluctation model of training is described in Practical Programming and basically combines alternating intensity/volume weeks while monitoring hormone levels in an effort to disrupt training homeostasis and peak for contest.

In plain English:
If your "power" movement speed (Snatch, Power Clean, Vertical Jump, etc.) is down (assuming you track these things), then you are not in the optimal state for performance. If you are "fast", then probably you are.

The Tale Of Eddie

Follow Eddie on his adventures from zero to hero.

Book Club: East German Steroids

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=4226712&cl=12558250&src=news

Direct info from Ivan Abadzhiev

http://www.americanweightlifting.org/askivan.htm

This was a bit of an experiment and business venture that Abadzhiev did up in northern California. It didn't last very long, probably because no one cares enough about weightlifting in the US to commit to it. But, in the Ask Ivan section he does answer some questions.

Interesting Article

On Mark Henry and Steroids in the Olympics.

Gabi's Training

I have a friend who I recently brought to the gym and introduced to powerlifting-style training. She's been bugging me a lot to give her a real plan.

She wants to do 3 days a week with the sole goal of getting stronger. She is fairly new to heavy lifting, particularly, she has trouble with squatting to parallel without losing balance and strength. She is also a beginner so I didn't think that a Sheiko plan was appropriate (maxes would increase much faster than the 3 month training cycle accounts for). I wanted something simpler, so I Frankenstein'ed Sheiko, 5x5, and 5/3/1 into the following ... Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.

Day one:

Bench (a)

Squat (b)

Bench (b)

Bench assistance (c)

Deadlift assistance (c)

Day two:

Deadlift (a)

Bench (b)

Bench assistance (c)

Deadlift (b)

Squat assistance (c)

Day three:

Squat (a)

Bench (b)

Bench assistance (c)

Squat (b)

Deadlift assistance (c)

I've grouped the exercises into a/b/c, which means...

(a) - Following a 5/3/1 plan. Go for a 5rm, 3rm, or 1rm in successive weeks. I'm thinking these should be staggered so that on week one, day one goes for 5rm, day two goes for 3rm, and day three goes for 1rm; week two, one goes for 3rm, two goes for 1rm, three goes for 5rm; etc. I'm not completely convinced about that, though. I'm thinking that as a beginner, recovery time won't be paramount and this will keep thinks more interesting ... and it's intuitive to me somehow.

(b) - The main lifts done after the 5/3/1 lifts. These are just done 5x5 style. Jake suggested the following weights, based on the most recent max done in that lift: 90% of 5m, 80% of 3rm, or 70% of 1rm. The goal is to stay around 70% of current 1rm for the 5x5.

(c) - Exercises selected from a "menu" of possible assistance. These are generally done around 4x8. So far I have the following "menus" ...

Squat assistance menu:

Leg press, lunges, front squats

Bench assistance menu:

Dumbell bench, skull crushers, dumbell military press, close-grip bench

Deadlift assistance:

Rack pull (high or low), good mornings, pull-throughs, cable rows, bentover rows

The exercises are spread over the days to achieve roughly equal work load...

# squats - 3

# benches - 4

# deadlifts - 2

# squat assist - 1

# bench assist - 3

# deadlift assist - 2

So the deadlift has slightly lower volume just because its a deadlift, but this is compensated for by extra assistance. Also, the squat + deadlift volume is roughly the same as the upper body volume.

Thoughts?

HMMMMMMmmm

Yep, this is about right

Books & Such

Recommendations for other training books? I've gone through:
- Starting Strength, Rippetoe (excellent)
- Practical Programming, Rippetoe/Kilgore (excellent)
- Strong Enough?, Rippetoe (good)
- The Strongest Shall Survive: Strength Training for Football, Bill Starr (great for training groups, good nutritional advice)
- Defying Gravity: How to Win at Weightlifting, Bill Starr (good for laughs)

I'm going to pick up Powerlifting: A Scientific Approach by Hatfield, since it's like $7.00 on Amazon. Maybe Mike Tuscherer's book on his Reactive Training System? After that, maybe jump in the deep end with Zatiorsky's stuff.

Strength == Power?

An interesting thread over Strengthmill. Ol' Rip claims (based on the thousands of people he's trained, 30 years of experience in the field, observing elite athletes at the Olympic Training Center, etc.) that power production is largely a genetic trait and can't be trained to a large extent.

Other people in the thread chime in that this isn't true (at least in all cases), and can be trained by increasing strength and practicing sport-specific skills (ie jumping and what not). Thought's on this?

I know personally that I can't reach the rim on a basketball court, but I'm only just now approaching a 2x BW raw squat. I'm sure Dave has much more success. Then again, there are high-school basketball players who can dunk in their sleep but can't squat 225 to save their life.

I think the two strongest indicators of power production are the vertical jump and the power clean/snatch. I don't track my vertical, but perhaps I should.

Chinese kids own you

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A-m9W-3_9M

Starr article on OL Movements

Here

At some point, I'll start alternating between Push-Presses/Strict Presses/Jerks for overhead training.