Feature Articles

[17 Pages] ... The loft was used for storage in those days and little else. All of the welding dust would settle up there, coating everything in a fine dust of iron particles. There was no heat on the third floor either. I couldn’t help but think it was perfect......keep reading

[10 Pages] One of the ways in which additional rest could be built into an abbreviated program was a rotation of workouts that St. Louis based lifter Warren Salade latched onto in the mid-to late 1970’s. One of the bigger name lifters wrote a number of articles about this approach a few years later, giving it a scientific name and implying that he had developed this methodology. He did not....keep reading

[5 Pages] Most powerlifters like to read articles about nutrition. They find them interesting, thought provoking, but most commonly, a source of hope. The bulk of research indicates that the majority of people, in fact, the majority of athletes, do not need excessive supplementation if they are eating the foods that provide minimal standard amounts of certain nutrients.

The usual recommendation is that a well-balanced diet will obviate the need to supplement at all. Most lifters do not believe this, and do not wish to believe this....keep reading

[20 minutes, 6 Seconds] Part 1 of The Iron Island Gym Memorial Day Powerlifting Classic held May, 28, 1995....keep reading

[2 Pages ] I hope my comment in the article Curls: Not Just For The Girls was clear: the EZ curl bar (and the one I have out in my garage is an original Iron Man EZ Curl bar made in 1966 or 67 by Warren Tetting) is NOT the best way to work the biceps because the hand is not in full supination but is in fact, a great way to work the...keep reading

[12 Pages] It may seem a bit unusual to begin a monthly column that is dedicated to my perspective on the history of becoming stronger and the sport of powerlifting with notice of a bodybuilder, but I wanted to mark the passing of Dennis Tinerino. I have made it clear that at least until powerlifting became an "official" sport with sanctioned competitions, most Olympic weightlifters, powerlifters, and bodybuilders had numerous similarities in their training....keep reading

[8 Pages] Most muscle magazines present programs that require two to three daily visits to the gym, with the completion of up to thirty sets per session. Others encourage one training session per day, four-to-seven days per week, doing thirty-to-sixty sets. — These things are read and accepted as truth. When the program leaves the typical trainee exhausted, or unable to complete that many sets, he usually feels that he didn’t have the intestinal “stuff” necessary to be a champion. If not that, he rationalized his failure, relative to Mr. Body Beautiful, as his refusal to use anabolic drugs (or as much of a drug as the top winners). The simple truth is that a few gifted men or women can do almost anything in the gym with consistency, and grow beyond the realm of normalcy....keep reading

[2 Pages] I don't use the term core strength, or other bullshit jargon. We're building muscle tissue, period. If one works hard at the basic multi-joint movements that require support of the weight such as overhead movements, squats, deadliftss in any form as examples, their so called core muscles of the low back, obliques, and abs will get plenty of work....keep reading

[6 Pages]

I have often wondered if all serious lifters are compulsive. Powerlifting, as are most forms of the Iron Game is a repetitive, clearly defined activity that fits comfortably into the mindset and activity level of those who enjoy or respond best to prediction and order. Admitting a certain degree of compulsiveness that allows for enhanced organization, punctuality, the accomplishment seen in completing a written or mentally visualized list, and responding best to predictability is vastly different than being called to wash one’s hands forty times per day.

some of these noted traits and having worked in what used to be called a “mental institution” has given me some insight to both ends of the compulsive behavior spectrum. When my wife, former members of our commercial gym whom I still visit with frequently, and I discuss some of the trainees we encountered at Iron Island and in other establishments, it is quickly evident that perhaps gym attendance cover...keep reading

[6 Pages]

One does not have to be at all compulsive to slip into the training habit of giving disproportionate attention to one of the three specific powerlifts. I believe it is a tendency or trait to have a greater attraction towards what one is good at, has more success with, or gains recognition for....keep reading

[17 Pages] While the squat is admittedly uncomfortable and difficult, the deadlift, when done properly and intensely, is to be dreaded. Although this has always been my favorite exercise, in almost any variation, I will be the first to admit that it is excruciatingly difficult to do for high and hard reps. However, there are many advantages and benefits to not only doing the deadlift in one’s program, but specializing in it. One of the factors that makes the deadlift very effective, very hard, and very uncomfortable, is the fact that it works “a lot” of muscle....keep reading

[23 Pages] I was pleasantly surprised with the rather heavy response to my prior article on Lee Moran. Before continuing the saga of Lee Moran's 1,003 pound squat at the 1984 Senior National Championships, I would like to expand upon the concept of "coaching and handling" as quite a few of the younger lifters were a bit lost relative to my comments in the last installment. I admittedly have been removed from the powerlifting contest arena since 1998. I have continued to train some competitive lifters but have not attended any contests since the five annual meets that we ran for many years at our Iron Island Gym, the last of which was in 1998....keep reading

[4 Pages] Until the early 1970's, if you lifted weights and looked as if you lifted weights, strangers would most often ask the question, How much can you press?- As one of the three contested Olympic lifts and the one exercise that was done by every bodybuilder, athlete and casual trainee, the press, or as it is referred to today, much to my chagrin, the overhead- press was considered to be the standard of strength....keep reading

[6 Pages]

One of the very hard to accept facts of Powerlifting and the activity of just getting a heck of a lot stronger is that “less is more.” Powerlifters are driven, often compulsive, analytic, have great attention to detail, and of course competitive. These are all positive traits for an athlete seeking success in what will always be our beloved though obscure sport....keep reading

[11 Pages] Quoting from my prior installment, allow me to remind our readers that the equipment used for both training and in competition often wasn't safe. Steve Baldwin, a very successful long time competitive powerlifter and friend from Memphis, Tennessee who has an official 628 squat to his credit at 181 pounds, offered some comments after reading the June article. Those like Elite Fitness honcho Jim Wendler, who told me that after his reading of Part 12, as much as he already appreciated his equipment, "I was ready to kiss my Monolift and bench press" may be taken aback by Steve's description of what passed for competition conditions- in the squat....keep reading

[14 Pages] ...Of course, lifting a barrel of even 250 pounds as I eventually did in the late morning of July 1, 1968, is no big deal to the behemoths who now populate the organized strongman competitions, but the shifting water in Zuver's 250-pound Big Barrel was a tremendous challenge to me. Unlike today, when familiarity with the event due to exposure on television — and as part of the general assortment of strongman exercises at least allows one to develop the concept of lifting a barrel from the ground to overhead — the presentation of this monstrosity left me, and many others, perplexed. Rolling the barrel up the front of one's body and arching under it before trying to push-press it proved to be both dangerous and damaging to one's chin, chest and spine....keep reading