Note: I've taken the liberty of skipping the usual preamble,
dropped what I see as a few redundant parts and added a few
[words].
Also, the practice of relating "author" with "worth of information offered" does not appeal to me in the least, nor does the time period of publication. Regardless of "who" wrote it, when it was written, or what publication it came from, mag, book, anecdotal, phone call, email, experiential (etc, etc, etc.) . . . the offered information will work for you at this point or some other, or perhaps it will not. Find out. Try things. Appreciate the element of uncertainty in all Creation, cement is for sidewalks. Stop looking to others for a map to your life, it doesn't exist. You are an individual, as is each cell in everything you see on this Earth.
If you need that info, the Name/Date/Source, use the comments and someone else may be able to fill in the gap you might find missing.
It may make it a little more difficult to find certain material; however, I am a very firm believer in the "bumping into" of something even more rewarding/productive when our search-and-seek process is going on, in all things. Hopefully, we've come far enough to realize this blog is not just a Q&A on getting bigger, a bigger Press and/or a sixpack. Our legless long pants await their full-filment.
I don't care who offered the info, when it was presented, or anything along that line of thinking. Some of what are termed "heroes" were wonderful men, no question . . . so are You.
The gaining of what may prove to be worthwhile advice in our training and/or life is all that interests me, hero worship is a child's game, find inspiration from within and be who you are . . . an ever-changing spirit currently in this particular physical form.
The usual provisions apply, as they always have:
If you don't like it, no one has locked the entry/exit door.
This is only my singular view. All submitters, authors and admins have full freedom to do what they desire here on this one small blog dealing with, on the surface, one small and, come on now, really quite minor activity.
We are One here, those who contribute their time, energy and/or material. Yet we are also each individuals.
To sum up with three Esses:
Sharing.
Solidarity.
Serendipity.
Getting a good physical workout is HARD only in the PHSICAL sense. The actual method is EASY.
Complex exercise programs and elaborate schemes of training are not only unnecessary, but they can be a real block to progress, for some.
SIMPLE IS BEST, in bodybuilding as in so many other areas of life. A good all-round workout can be had, I SWEAR! In under one hour, when time is short; and even when you have all day, investing more than two hours would be silly and unnecessary.
If you're serious about getting a good, productive workout, decide that two hours will be your outside limit for any exercise session, and keep most well within the 45-minute to one hour range. If you train hard, that will be plenty.
Next: How much training should be done during a hard workout? I feel that excellent progress can be made with the practice of between five and no more than a dozen exercises. Between 2 and 3 sets are generally ideal [using this approach], and when as few as 5 or 6 exercises are used, I can see using 4 or 5 sets.
Naturally, there is no hard and fast rule that everyone in the world can follow, but I have found that, for me, a workout consisting of a total of more than 30 sets in all is just too much [for me].
Let's say, strictly for an example, that you'll be training on this program:
1) Standing barbell press (front or back]
2) Barbell curl
3) Bench press
4) One-arm row
5) Squat
6) SDL
7) Ab exercise
3 sets per exercise will be plenty, for most lifters.
First set: Select a very comfortable and manageable weight. Your purpose in set one is not so much hard muscle-building is [the usual warmup and groove-getting]. 8-10 reps work well in this set [find out if more or less reps work best for you with this first set, and this can vary depending on the different movements; remember that some lifters may need more of a warmup than the single set . . . older guys, a fella having a sluggish day, use your fucking head].
Second set: Should be a weight that makes you fight for your life [I think we all know how to interpret this by now]. Aim for 6-10 reps. The second set should kill you [lay off with this childish over-the-top stuff already]. Work it hard enough so that the final rep is doubtful, and, occasionally [depending on factors you also are already aware of], should be done to failure.
Third set: [2 sets cool, if that's the deal on that day; you don't need anyone to tell you that, really, it's your body and it's the kind of day you're having that day that'll tell ya, Brother. Use the same weight for set 2 and fight for them last reps. On a strong day I like to take a few breaths between the last two or so reps, no big thing here].
[THINK into what you do. DRIVE YOURSELF. Your mindset matters when you lift. Some guys like to divide this sort of layout approach into an upper and lower day. If you're one of 'em, keep to the set/rep layout and don't add on a ton of stuff.
[Your mental/physical energy levels are gonna vary, deal with it, and don't be a moron who kicks his ass around the block just because he was a little lacking that day. Linear progression ain't all it's cracked up to be. Be persistent and consistent, play the game like the game it is. Shit happens outside of lifting. Put on the long pants and tailor each workout to what you have available to put out, remembering to save some for days when you'll need it later for the much more important things in life. Has fun with your heavy toys . . . seek progress in ALL the endeavors in your life and stop being an anal asshat about this stuff.]
This is simple shit, this type of workout approach. Keep it that way, or go with something more complex if that's what you want to do for a while.
No right way, no wrong way . . . only the way that works for you right now, and it'll change over time.
I would like to commence this chapter of the series by thanking the various authorities for the valuable information I have obtained from their books. I am giving a list of these so that the reader may obtain them from the local library or purchase them.
"Aspects of Physical Therapy" by O.L. Huddleston
"CLINICS" (periodical) April 1946.
"Physio Therapy Review" (periodical) March 1949
"Functional Testing and Training" by R.L. Bennet and Hazel Stephens
"Physical Therapy Aspects" by R.L. Bennet and Hazel Stephens
"Rehabilitation, Re-Education and Remedial Exercise" by Olive G. Smith
"Kinesiology of Corrective Exercise" by Gertrude Hawley
All knowledge is relative.
The poet Kipling said some years ago in verse that it "depends on the point of view." When we witness an occurrence from different vantage points, we are more than likely to see something which the other fellow a few yards away misses. We know what the other guy doesn't, and what we know is related to time, condition and WHERE as well as other factors.
Now, I don't intend to indulge in a philosophical discussion here for there is a reason why I have commenced the abdominal chapter in this manner.
When the ordinary man talks about his abdomen, he is more than often not concerned with how many stitches he collected when he underwent an appendicitis operation. The bodybuilder thinks of the abdomen and the muscular structure, the obliques, the Pouparts ligaments [inguinal], the rectus muscles and DEFINITION. The doctor regards the abdominal region in purely medical terms, the combat of constipation, visceroptisis [a prolapse of or sinking of the internal organs below their natural position], the action of peristalsis. He is not so much concerned with muscularity as he is with HEALTH.
If you think that abdominal muscularity and abdominal health are not synonymous terms then you have another think coming. There are a heap of fellows possessing muscular abdominals who are far from healthy in that region. I know one famous bodybuilder who has a bowel movement once every three days, and there are as many men who have no definition in the "tummy" region to speak of yet who are completely healthy. Actually, the two conditions are inseparable.
One should strive not only for muscularity in the abdominal region, but also for health. The old plea is what I am making, for INTERNAL strength as well as external power.
The extent to which some people get confused can be very aptly illustrated by something which has nothing to do with weight training. In . . .
London's Hyde Park
. . . they have a special section where soap box orator's can get up, curse the King, give the government a good slagging over and generally tell everyone where they get off. Of course the orators get heckled and sometimes the proceedings take on anything but a peaceful complexion.
There is one soap box which is always the scene of strife. The man who speaks from it is a gentle old man with long white hair and a clear, wax-like skin. He wears a black cloak-like cloak and a homburg hat. He is known as the "Shorthand professor" and his particular brand of hallucination is that if the entire world adopted his system of shorthand, the millennium would arrive in short order, and peace on earth and goodwill toward men would reign.
His hecklers can make no head or tail of what he talks about and RESENT it. So they divide themselves into two bodies -- the throwers of paper darts and the lighters of fires. The former as indicated, throw darts of paper, and the latter pick up the paper darts and, placing them in the old boy's soap box, light them and smoke him out and away
To the professor, shorthand means peace and brotherly love, while to his audience shorthand is a quick method of recording words and the professor's treatment of it is crazy, and both the professor and his audience are right up that well known dirty creek.
Now THAT'S an add-on. Thank You, Charles Smith!
For many years now, bodybuilders and weight-trainers have had some mistaken impressions about abdominal exercise and foremost among these mistaken impressions is that complete stomach muscle development can be obtained from the various forms of sit-ups, movements in which the exerciser lies on his back and sits up or else places himself on an incline board and again assumes the "sit up" position.
Actually the sit up movement is motivated by the "Psoas" muscles (1950), muscles which pull the body to the thighs. They are attached to the lower spine and this is my chief objection to the sit up, it causes or CAN cause a mal-posture -- lumbar lordosis or a FORWARD curve to the lower spinal column.
The abdominal muscles ARE involved in a minor way by the sit up, but the Psoas group are the ones which pull you up.
During the time I have been active in the weightlifting world, I have had hundreds of men write to me about the exercising of the abdominal region. They have of course told me they did sit up with little or no results. The main reason why they underwent a period of period of "tummy" training was because they wanted to reduce a bay window [great term that's fallen out of usage there]. They all cried that the bay window was still there, only a little lower and they now had BACK ACHES.
I well recall attending a show at a YMCA. The champion sit up King performed throughout the show raising his trunk about 5,000 times. What struck me as significant [hang on a second, sounds like this was the guy's profession. Out there on 52nd Street, sit-upping away like crazy, tin cup, small, quickly-written sign on a piece of scrap cardboard, "Situps For Spare Change." Nowadays, it'd be "Situps to Save the fill-in-the-blank country currently under siege," pictures of one wailing women, two crying babies and a three-legged dog (with eye patch) on a small piece of scrap cardboard].
What struck me as significant was that he had NO abdominal definition and he also had a PRONOUNCED forward curvature to his lower spine giving him a nice little "pot" to his lower belly.
The function of the abdominal muscles, the ones on the front of the body, is to flex the trunk on the PELVIS. Just try this experiment:
Shit on the floor. Raise your drawers. Sit on the floor. [No stain, No Gain. Perfect place for a laundry detergent advert. Contact Ditillo2 Mission Control for arrangements and by-the-click payout; we just LOVES this here Iron Game so much, don't we just. The "business" end of our operation can be contacted at RunningDogsOfCapitalism.com. We also do light yardwork and as always, situps for spare change.] Raise your knees and spread them well apart. Clasp the hands back of the neck and point the elbows forward, then bend down and IN, trying touch the elbows as close to the crotch as you are able. If this doesn't produce a greater contraction of the rectus muscles than sit ups, you are an anatomical freak. The ultimate in abdominal development, definition and health is not to be gained by the orthodox methods of exercising, but by the unusual [ears perk up]. Where the conventional forms of exercise fail, the unconventional succeed. Where sit ups are unsuccessful and side bends nonproductive, the Latissimus machine comes into its own and provides you with a whole new range of attractive and sensational muscle movements. A program can be arranged with the lat machine which will take care of almost every muscle in the abdominal region -- the sides, the upper and the lower abdomen, and will build up the important internal abdominal health as well as the more superficial abdominal external musculature. Without further discussion, I will outline a series of LAT MACHINE abdominal exercises. You will find it necessary in some of the exercises to detach the 5-foot bar and replace it with a broad band of canvas or rope, of sufficient circumference that the head can pass easily through it. In the exercises that require iron shoes on the bar, a training partner will be needed to help you with the fastening and unfastening of the shoes.
Exercise 1
Place a bench under the bar and seat yourself on it. Pass the loop of rope or canvas over the head and hold onto it with both hands so that the knuckles are up and the backs of the forearms to the front. Tuck the chin down on the upper chest and slightly round the back. From this position and without moving the legs pull down making every effort to touch the ELBOWS into the groin. Return to upright position and repeat. Use a weight your can handle for 10 reps and raise to 20 reps by gradually increasing the number of repetitions per workout. 2 sets of reps will be sufficient.
Exercise 2.
Sit on the floor [be grateful you're regular. Thank your perception of the Creator while experiencing the joys of movement with whatever version of prayer suits your temperament. "Hey, Big Guy, Tiny Guy here. Thank You for this motion, and this body my spirit is in for now.] with the legs stretched straight out. Your training partner can pull the rope or canvas handle down to you or you can do that before you sit down, so that you are all ready to begin when you extend the legs in the sitting position. With the hands grasping the band of rope or canvas as in the previous exercise, and with the chin tucked down on the upper chest, pull down at the same time TWISTING the trunk so that the right elbow touches left groin. Return to upright position and repeat, then alter the twist of the body so that the left elbow touches the right groin. Start off with a weight you can use comfortably for 10 reps and 2 sets. Gradually work up to 2 sets of 20 repetitions before increasing the weight.
Exercise 3.
Place a bench under the lat machine and lie face down on it so that hte hips are right on the end of the bench. Get one partner to hold your legs on the bench, and with the bar held at the back of the neck, pull the trunk down until your head is an inch from the floor, then return to upright positron end re: Pete. [I'm training myself to write A.I.-style so as not to wind up unemployed in the future. Oh Brave New World, please hear my plea, and by the grace of your loving robotic arms find a place for me, eh, men.] ALWAYS keep your chin tucked down onto your upper chest. As in previous exercises commence with a weight you can make 10 comfortable reps with and 2 sets. Work up to 2 sets of 20 repetitions.
Exercise 4.
The next lat machine movement is for the obliques. Use your band of rope or canvas in place of the 5-foot bar [4-foot acceptable, but don't lower the length of it too-too much; always seek to raise the length of the bar and try harder in many ways and through many endeavors]. In this exercise, a kettlebell handle will do just as well as the rope band and speaking of kettlebells, apparently that particular emperor with no clothes has gone the way of all BS fads peddled to the gullible masses, Comrade. Try to remember, the kind of September . . . remember the gurus who peddled it, never forget who they were, and respond accordingly with the opening and closing movements of your wallet. What the hell is next, for God's sake! Carrying some absurd large log around by the sea while filming yourself? How on Earth some of these bozos manage to keep a straight face while videoing such garbage is beyond me. Rest assured, they're laughing all the way to the . . . come back from the brink of all this everchanging hooey, if you please. Or not. Your call. Call out the BS and stop being such pathetic fanboys. "Hi! Been a halfwit for the last two decades, and still love your stuff. Question: I don't have a large log. Will two smaller ones be acceptable? Utter nonsense; better yet shout out rationally against the peddling-for-pay of this garbage, resist all manner of such flotsam at all costs, and for the love of God will you let us enjoy the seaside in peace and take your "seriousness" elsewhere! Burn Logs. Lift Stones. Audio on . . .
Stand under the machine and reaching up, pull down the weight with either the right or left hand until the upper arm is alongside the body. Stand with the legs fairly wide apart and bend over to the side AWAY from the lat machine. Don't allow the body to travel sideways and don't lean back. The entire movement of the trunk should be to the side only. Pull down with ALL YOU HAVE, be PROUD of that fern in your home gym, motherfuckers, hold the position for a short count of three then return to upright position and repeat. Start off with a weight you can comfortably handle for 10 reps, 2 sets and work up to 2 x 20, and no, moron, I don't mean 20 sets of doubles.
Exercise 5.
This movement is designed to pull down the bulge right over the diaphragm and increase the definition of the upper serratus muscles. Stand at arms' length away from the lat machine and grasp the bar keeping the bar at arms' length. The legs should be apart and firmly braced. Keeping the arms and trunk in a straight line, pull down on the bar and continue past the right angle formed by the legs and trunk until you are an inch from the floor, then return to upright position and repeat. [Sounds much like a personal ethical tragedy nearly avoided . . . back away from the attraction of the addiction, return to upright position and repeat, this time without slipping]. Throughout the exercise, the arms and trunk MUST be held in one straight line. The grip should be shoulder width and the chin must be held down on the upper chest. Start off with Step One, um, with a weight you can EASILY handle for 10 reps, 2 sets and work up to step 12, er, up to 2 sets of 20 repertitions.
Exercise 6.
Here is a movement which will develop the little known Pouparts ligaments of the lower abdomen [do I have to tell you again what those are! See above. Get it right this time! The beatings will continue until European religious beliefs are increased, Tonto.] Raise the legs under the bar and get your "training" partner to fasten your feet to the iron boots [say what? what exciting sex-madness have we here!]. Place your hands under your hips so that the hips are raised and supported by the hands and arms. This racy, near-risque illustration can be yours, along with all others from the The Tight Tan Gay Delights Catalog, first Mr. Olympia nudes included, for the low, low, price . . . The damned illustration explains this exercise, you perverted idiot! From this position, pull down on the bar with the feet and legs until the toes almost touch the ground back of the head. Return to commencing position and repeat.
Take care not to bend the legs during the movement and keep them, ahem, stiff, allowing movement to take place at those sexy hips only. This exercise is also good for straightening the spine -- lordosis -- and reducing an accumulation of fat around the hips and buttocks. Start off with a weight you can handle for ten reps, 2 sets and work sweatily up as in the other exercises to 2 sets of 20 repetitions.
Exercise 7. Paging exercise 7 . . .
The final lat machine abdominal exercise is another excellent movement for reducing the bulge of the lower "tummy" and acting as a corrective movement for any lower spinal curvature. The use of ironic boots on the lat machine are needed again. Lie under the machine with the logs, no, legs extended straight above, and then pull down bending the thighs at the knees and hips. Pull down until the upper thighs touch the abdomen, hold for a short count of three then return to the original position and repeat. Commence with a weight you can handle for 7 reps, 3 sets and work up to 3 sets of 15 repetitions.
Great to be back, some changes still taking place, all good, heading for better.
Training for the Press by Russell Knipp as told to Bill
Starr
Strength & Health October 1967
Russell Knipp has broken the world record press four times
in his short career. He is the current
world record holder in the press for the 165-pound division, having done 346 ¼
on June 24th in Mexico City.
He is the only active United States lifter who holds a world record.
Besides being a fantastic performer, Russ is also an astute analyser of the
game. His critical eye has helped many lifters overcome flaws in their lifting.
In this special feature Russell gives some of his personal views on how to
train for the press. Both the novice and
the advanced competitor will benefit from his advice. BS
Basically, the press is an easy movement to learn. The
problem that I have found that most lifters have today is that they just lack
the strength in pushing the weight overhead. The easiest way to teach someone
the correct position in the press is to have them do “forced” repetitions in
the military press with a slight layback. By “forced” repetitions, I mean to
have someone do just as many reps with a given weight as possible so that the
last few movements really make him put out. I’ve made a few changes in my style
of pressing since last year and found that by placing the bar off my clavicle
about 2” lower than before I could get a more direct drive from my shoulders to
arms length. You must learn to keep the bar directly over the balls of the feet
at all times during the press. By putting the bar in this position, it
increases your efficiency and there is less chance for error. This is a mistake
that I see a lot of lifters doing incorrectly when they do military presses.
Instead of bending into the weight much as the way an archer strings his bow,
then bend backwards away from the weight thus decreasing the amount of force to
push the weight upward. You have never seen a lopsided bow, in which one end is
bent more than the other. This is what I mean by bowing into the weight –
having an even knee bend from your shoulders to your ankles.
It is important to realize how to do the military press so
as to receive the maximum benefit and also to understand how it correlates with
the Olympic press. In doing the militaries, start with the slight layback that
you use as your starting position for the Olympic press. Keep the abdomen and
thighs as tight as possible. Now push the weight upward to arm’s length and
hold the layback for all your remaining reps. This is the important factor as
the weight is going upward – use your hips as a wedge to force the weight out. You
have to work up to a heavy set for reps to experience this, as the weight
begins to stop, then lean into it with the hips. I usually advocate 5 reps in
this exercise. Another thing that I recommend is a wide grip (I use 20” hand
spacing) for my press. The reason for this is there is no sticking point in my
press. If your grip is too narrow, then
you restrict your triceps strength in locking out the weight.
The other afternoon I was in the York Gym and noticed a
youngster performing military presses.
He seemed to be having some difficulty and asked me to assist him. So I
demonstrated the movement from start to finish. I break the military press down
into four basic parts.
1)The starting position is the layback you assume
for the Olympic press
2)Now come forward to the erect position so that
the bar is at the top of your head. Remember that all of the drive comes from
the tight grip, the contraction of the abdomen and the thighs.
3)As you drop back into your layback position the
arms should lock out
4)Finally, you recover to the finished erect
position.
Within ten minutes the youngster was doing the whole
movement correctly, driving the broomstick from the shoulders to arms length in
one movement. This is what I call “all drive”. I instructed him to use light
weight to practice the “all drive” movement and to do military presses for
power. The movement with the light weight is called “Developing Motor Pathways”
(part of the PHA system) so that the pattern will eventually become automatic.
This is the system that I use for my press up until three
weeks before a contest and then I work up to heavy doubles so that I have to
press out where the drive stops. This is where the work with the militaries
really pays off.
Remember that the military and the Olympic press are done
the same. The movements are identical 0 the even bow from start to finish,
maintaining the layback until the arms are locked to keep your balance, making
sure that the weight is always over the balls of the feet, and the arms,
abdomen, and thighs are tight. The only difference between the military press
and the Olympic press is the explosive speed that you must use in the latter.
The press is now a quick lift and speed is as critical in the Olympic press as
it is in the snatch and clean and jerk. So think speed on all of your pressing
movements. I have outlined a program for the press that I used prior to setting
the world record at the Mexican National Championships. I hope that some of
these exercises will enable each of you to put pounds on your Olympic press.
MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY
Bench Press to Neck: 135 x 10, 205 x 8, 240 x 5, 255 x 5,
275 x 5, 255 x 5
Reverse Curl: 45 x 8, 65 x 8, 75 x 5, x 3
Sit-up Crunches: 25 reps for 8 sets
TUESDAY and THURSDAY
Military Presses: 135 x 10, 175 x 8, 205 x 5, off rack 225 x
5, 230 x 5, 235 x 5, 220 x 5 x 2
Reverse Curl: Same as M-W-F
Sit-up Crunches: Same as M-W-F
SATURDAY
Olympic Press: 135 x 5, 175 x 5, 205 x 5, 240 x 5, 275 x 5,
290 x 3
Reverse Curl: Same as M-W-F
Sit-up Crunches: Same as M-W-F
Dips from Chairs: 6 sets of 15 reps
Hanging from upside down after each workout to decompress
vertebrae.
I'm considering looking for a trustworthy person or team of people who
would enjoy taking over full control of this blog.
Wanting to spend more time (71 this month), on writing I find much more enjoyable, challenging and expressive, it's become something of a shoe that don't fit right no more.
I do still love lifting things in many different ways, as always shunning any goal and without a sense of direction. Wouldn't have it any other way!
As long as a promise is made not to involve money, adverts, selling it off for profit, you know the deal, in ANY way, I'd be more than willing to hand it over freely.
Downsizing menta-physically here in many ways. Ditching and dumping most of my books and mags in the bin, stripping down/giving away/binning my straight lifting stuff to a very simplistic setup . . . you know this process I am sure.
It'd be nice to free up my mind and allow space for a different type of type-writing and symbol-play.
It's all food for thought right now, I'll see in a few weeks, but if you or youse are interesting and interested, consider it.
Hella nice sixteen year run! Some fun, some posterior chain pains-in-the, involving both ass and neck as well . . . life's like that; an experience for me, nothing less or more, a road to nowhere selected with no gas-energy set aside for goals, hanging on to the ability to walk away from anything before it sours. No desire for backpats, thank-you's and the lot of that. Just me, no big thing or philosophical/perceptual stance.
So . . . give it a thought or two, and if it does materialize I will see to it.
Ideally, it would involve several folks, all with Admin privilege, who were capable of getting along with each other smoothly.
NO MONEY, NO ADS, NO SELLING OFF, NO PERSONAL GAIN, AND PREFERABLY A LIKE MIND OR MINDS WHO PREFER ANONYMITY.
