Saturday, January 14, 2012

squat variation by bill starr

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Squat Variation

by Bill Starr
squat variation by bill starr


Most lifters want to make continuous progress and move their top-end numbers up on a regular basis. Change is an excellent method of achieving these goals. Changing a routine, even slightly, can instill enthusiasm for your workouts, and anything that helps you look forward to your next session in the weight room is a positive thing.

squat alternatives by bill starr

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Squat Alternatives

by Bill Starr
squat alternatives by bill starr


I get a lot of questions from strength athletes regarding squatting. Some say they’re stale after doing the same squat routine for a number of years. Others relate that they’re unable to do conventional squats due to an injury or shoulder surgery. Still others want to know how they can build more variety into their squat routines.

sid henry program

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Only the Strong Shall Survive

An Ideal Beginning Strength Program

By: Bill Starr
sid henry program


The majority of requests for information I receive deal with back injuries and programming. This month I present what I believe to be one of the best beginning routines for strength training, but it also holds special interest for anyone who includes high-skill exercises in his or her program. While I like to think that I've come up with some original programming concepts over the years, this isn't one of them. This came from Sid Henry of Dallas.

shrugs by bill starr

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High Pulls and Shrugs

by Bill Starr
High Pulls and Shrugs


All serious strength athletes include at least one dynamic pulling exercise in their routines. They understand that by handling heavy weights in an explosive fashion, they build much stronger and more functional muscles. Of course, some sports require more powerful back, hip, leg and shoulder muscles than others. Those who participate in contact sports absolutely must prepare their entire bodies for stress on the playing field, and Olympic-style weightlifting is all about developing the muscles and attachments used in pulling big numbers in the snatch and clean.

shoulder rehab

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Shoulder Rehab

by Bill Starr
shoulder rehab


I was patiently waiting for the last of my luggage when I spotted Davey amble through the doorway. He stood for a bit, surveying the scene, in hopes of finding me in the crowd around the baggage claim turntable.

sequence for strength

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Only The Strong Shall Survive: Sequence For Strength

By: Bill Starr
sequence for strength


It had been more than three years since I'd seen Uncle Buddy. There had been an occasional card from some foreign country to let me know he was still breathing, but that was the extent of it. Then one day I opened my door, and there he was, full of grins and carrying an armload of gifts. Over coffee I asked the obvious question, and it took an hour for him to fill me in. He'd been all over the map but had spent the majority of the last year in Amsterdam. Uncle Buddy was a merchant seaman, and it wasn't at all like him to settle in one place for so long. 'Why Amsterdam?' I asked.

semchem

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Sets and Reps Sets and Reps

by Bill Starr
Sets and Reps Sets and Reps


"The researchers found that 4-6 repetitions of 4-6 sets, increasint the weight on each successive set, produced the most significant increase in strength. [...] I simplified the formula to five sets of five reps [...]. So the program would consist of fice sets of fice on each of the "Big Three" including the warm-up." "The researchers found that 4-6 repetitions of 4-6 sets, increasint the weight on each successive set, produced the most significant increase in strength. [...] I simplified the formula to five sets of five reps [... ]. So the program would consist of fice sets of fice on each of the "Big Three" including the warm. "

rotator cuff

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Only the Strong Shall Survive

Tough Cuff: Bullet-proof Your Rotators for Pain-free Power

By: Bill Starr
Only the Strong Shall Survive


Injuries to the rotator cuff have risen significantly over the past few decades. Nowadays it seems that everyone who's trained seriously for more than half a dozen years suffers from some degree of rotator cuff problems or has pain in the shoulder itself. The severity ranges from nagging aches during the night to sharp pains that prevent you from doing any physical activity that involves your arm.

rehabbing the lower back

     
Rehabilitating the Lower Back

by Bill Starr
rehabbing the lower back


The sky was ash-gray with all the signs of an incoming storm straight off the Gulf. The air was muggy and still. I found a place on the screened porch that always catches a bit of breeze, regardless of the weather, and turned by attention to Michelangelo’s epic confrontation with Pope Julius as recorded by Irving Stone in The Agony and the Ecstasy. I was at the point of the story where the Pope was trying to convince Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, a task the strong-willed artist was resisting with all his body and soul.

quick lifts by bill starr

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Add Strength with the Quick Lifts

by Bill Starr
quick lifts by bill starr


One of the best things about weight training is that there are so many ways to improve your functional strength. To me, functional strength is all that matters, for if you can’t use your new power in some manner, what’s the purpose of training? There are dozens of excellent exercises for the various parts of the body. There are also many variations of set-and-rep sequences. Some coaches believe in using higher reps and less weight, while others say that handling heavy weights for lower reps is the ticket to success. There are systems designed for the rank beginner, the intermediate and the advanced lifter.

questions

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questions
questions

#1
The Power Clean is what I would call a technique intensive movment, if done properly. The slow pull from the floor with straight arms, the explosive second pull, with elbows up and up, rising on the toes with a full shoulder shrug. This is a good movement for a well-conditioned athlete...but there exists quite a potential for damage from the uncoached movement, i.e. like Cajin turning his wrists over either too slowly or with lack of sufficient height...either one will strain the wrist tendons.

quarter squats

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Write Bill Starr on page 81 of Strongest:

quarter squats


"One of the best ways to overload the muscles of the legs and hips is by doing heavy half or quarter squats. What most people call a half squat is in actuality a quarter squat, so I will use the latter term.

proportionate strength

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proportionate strength

By Bill Starr
proportionate strength


Achieving a higher level of strength fitness is a constant, everchanging challenge. The program that enabled you to reach one level may no longer be as effective when you try to move up another notch. To some this is quite frustrating, for change is bothersome and requires you to adapt by learning new exercises, altering the order of exercises or even switching the set and rep sequence. To me, however, this is what makes strength training so intriguing. It's also one of the main reasons that there aren't many genuinely strong people in this country.