Getting HUGE on a time budget. The STRONGMAN way...

Strongman training classic: The tire Flip

Finding a strongman athlete who is not BIG, will put even the greatest of intelligence services out of service, per se. The monsters lifting even more monstrous weights for prolonged periods of time manage to put the best bodybuilders to shame by their sheer size. Men like Bill Kazmaier from the 80s to Pudzianowski of today have the size envied by most top ranked bodybuilders except a few.

The great KAZ, how many bodybuilders can hold a candle to him?

 Kazmaier, primarily a strongman competitor showed the world that you did not need to train like a bodybuilder to achieve gigantic proportions. Lifting like a strongman served that purpose alongwith providing strength of mythical proportions.

The Indomitable Mariuz. His physique speaks for himself.

Mariuz, a freak of nature is so big and ripped throughout the whole year that the competitors at Olympia have constantly bribed him to stay away from their stage! Alright that was a bit too much ranting, but you get my point.

Now the question remains, HOW?

How exactly does these supermen turn into, well, supermen? A quick search at Google will pretty much provide you with the training routines of these strongman athletes.Surprisingly, the routines do not reveal much to the inexperienced eyes. They actually look more ordinary than of those steroid pumped freaks at Olympia. But to the experienced eyes their lies a pattern. A scheme of things. What is it? The secret to such superhuman proportions alongwith the strength to match! It is a simple principle of progression. Progression in either of the three variables every week. The variables to be manipulated are:

• Load
• Reps
• Time

For example, lets consider the clean and press. In week 1 you choose a load of , say , 50 kg and complete 30 reps in total in 15 mins. Next week you either increase the load while keeping every other variable constant or decrease the time or increase the number of reps, all while maintaining the other two variables. This is as simple as it gets. Likewise you can choose any other compound movements like The deadlift, Squat, Bench Press etc. You do not have to worry about the sets. The load you choose will determine whether you get massive or strong or both. Anything below 70% of your 1RM will target hypertrophy and anything above 90% will target maximal strength. And in between is good enough for both worlds.

Now that you have the principle at your fingertips, you can adjust your training routine to suit your busy time schedule. If you do not have more than two days per week to train, fret not. Here's a routine based on the above principle that you can perform in any gym without the need of special strongman equipment such as Atlas Stone, Yoke, Tire etc. and still reap all the benefits.

Day 1 :

1. Squat : 30 total reps at 70% 1RM

Do I even need to mention what this is?

2. Overhead Press : Work up to the heaviest triple possible

The Overhead press

3. Pull Ups : 100 reps, complete it anyway you can.

Day 2 :

1. DeadLift : Doubles at 80% 1 RM for 20 mins

If a chick can deadlift this heavy, the question is, WHERE ARE YOUR BALLS?

2. Bench Press : 30 total reps at 70% 1 RM.

The almighty Bench press

3. Clean and Press : Work up to the heaviest 5 reps possible

Every week try to improve upon at least one variable in every exercise as possible. This is an suggestive outline. Use your own brains to choose the loads and volume according to your present capacity. Erring on the side of too low is way better than starting off too heavy. This is a solid two days program for a busy man or woman looking to pack on lean muscle mass in the quickest time possible. For any person trying to increase their maximal strength more than hypertrophy should increase the load while decreasing the volume on all the major lifts. You are free to add any isolation movement at the end of the training session as long as it does not interfere with your primary training routine. This is by no measure a powerlifting specific routine. Though this principle holds true for devising a powerlifting specific routine. But that is a topic for another post.

For the combat athletes out there this is a well rounded program suitable of fitting into your present martial art practice routine. Just be careful about the volume. Reducing the time frame in which you complete the designated reps will build unbreakable endurance as well.

Extremely sorry if this post was not as exciting as the previous ones. But you can definitely rest assure that this is one of the most effective routine possible. Give it a shot and you WILL get shot in return by chicks whom you neglect.

I would definitely like to "shoot" this chick! What about you?