Saturday, January 14, 2012

workload

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The Concept of Workload

by Bill Starr
bill starr The Concept of Workload


Understanding and using the concept of workload is very valuable to anyone who’s seriously interested in getting stronger. It provides you with useful information on just how much work you’re really doing. This, in turn, helps you analyze your current program and plan your future workouts. If you don’t know exactly how much total work you’re doing, this planning process is usually hit-or-miss.

widen your wingspan

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Only The Strong Shall Survive: Widen Your Wingspan

By: Bill Starr

BillStarr widen your wingspan

Lats were never high on my list of muscles I cared about, and I never made a conscious effort to enhance them. I was much more concerned with developing strong traps and lumbars, since I participated in Olympic weightlifting. In my mind, wide lats were for bodybuilders. That changed when I started dating a young lady who was completely enamored of big lats. I'd always thought that the opposite sex was attracted to big arms, chests and even glutes. But lats? That threw me, but since they turned her on, I added a few specific exercises to try to make mine larger.

warming up

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The Value of Warming Up and Stretching

by Bill Starr
The Value of Warming Up and Stretching


As I watch the members of various health clubs and gyms go about their routines, one of the things that strikes me the most is just how few bother to do any type of warmup. The majority walk into the weight room, drop their gym bags and proceed to lift. What’s more, only a very few do any stretching before they lift, or afterward, for that matter. Once they complete their workouts, they grab their bags and rush out the door.

variation by bill starr

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Variation

by Bill Starr
variation by bill starr


One of the questions I’m asked most frequently is, “How can I fit all the exercises I want to do into my program?” Sometimes their lists take up most of the page. If they did all those movements in a week their workouts would last three hours or more, which is certainly not a wise approach.

timed squats

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 Strong Shall Survive Time to Squat

by Bill Starr
Strong Shall Survive Time to Squat


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

the press part 2 by bill starr

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The Press, Part Two

by Bill Starr
the press part 2 by bill starr


In my last article, I listed many reasons why I believe all strength athletes should include the military, or overhead, press in their routines. I presented some basic instruction on performing the lift and also pointed out that even though the military press is easy to learn, the form becomes more complicated once the weights get heavy. Few have any difficulty pressing light and moderate poundages, but it’s an entirely different story when a max double or single is being attempted. At that point the technique must be perfect. the smallest form flaw will result in failure – not just sometimes but always.

the press part 1 by bill starr

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The Press, Part One

by Bill Starr
the press part 1 by bill starr


Last February (2006) Dave Draper’s wife, Laree, contacted me regarding an online forum about my book The Strongest Shall Survive. She asked if I’d respond to questions posted by members of the forum. Since I’ve never been one to pass up free publicity, I readily agreed. See here - http://www.davedraper.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/7317