Tag Archives: barbell training

BarStarzz, Paul Wade, Supplements, Kettlebells and Sandbags Q&A

Full-Body Routines, Auto-Regulation, Squats and Deadlifts Q&A

John Grimek Recently I received some e-mails from readers of RoughStrength.com with questions and I thought it might be useful to share the answers with all the audience. So here it is.

Rough Strength Questions and Answers:

“Hi, Alex!

So you believe in whole body programs over split routines yourself correct? I do not believe you can split bodyparts up period and I do not know who came up with them but in the old days that is all the old timers did and they were stronger, more powerful, better conditioned, and much more healthier back in those days then today?” Continue reading →

The Best Exercise for Huge Legs

10 Replies

Tom Platz

It seems that nobody likes to train legs nowadays. People in commercial gyms can do several things:

– socialize

– bench

– work their biceps

– work their abz

– work their biceps from different angle

– work their abz some more with the faith to see them someday and etc.

It’s a HUGE mistake to neglect legs in your training. Legs are 60% of your body. Training legs is a fast track to getting big (remember 20-rep routines?). Anyway, who wants those toothpicks? Why not to have the entire package? Legs must be trained as hard as the rest of your body. It’s a no-brainer.

Look at the picture above. This is Tom Platz. He was possessor of the most impressive legs in bodybuilding (and by ‘bodybuilding’ I mean those times when it was a sport of masculinity, beauty and grace).

How did he manage to obtain such legs? He had one secret exercise in his arsenal. Continue reading →

What Is ‘Heavy’?

6 Replies

You can often hear such phrases: “To get big you need to lift heavy!” or “Lift heavy stuff to get strong!”. Many personal coaches preach this approach nowadays. Arguments are hard to beat:

Heavy lifting strengthens tendons and ligaments
Heavy lifting ends with more muscle growth response
Heavy lifting even brings more metabolic cost
Heavy lifting is badass
Oldtimers lifted heavy
Etc

They say: “Bust your ass off in the gym!” or “Train heavy as hell!” You name it. It’s all cool but average trainee can become little confused. He starts to add weight every workout, he ‘busts his ass off’ every workout, he adds as much reps or sets as he can, he feels exhausted and beaten after every workout. And his progress stalls in matter of weeks. He tries new program but after couple of weeks he becomes even weaker. And on and on.

What’s the Problem?

Continue reading →

Pyotr Kryloff – The King of Kettlebells

9 Replies

As you know the goal of Rough Strength is to help people reach their health and fitness goals rough. The problem here is that people nowadays don’t believe that they need very little in their training. People are so obsessed with gym memberships, latest supplements, fancy machines and brand new clothes that they forget what training is all about. Training is about gaining primal rough strength at first place not about pumping up or toning the rear delt or outer thigh or endless crunches and curls. So I decided that people need to know who were the strongest people of the past, what were their stats and how did they train. And the first post I decided to dedicate to one of my all-time favorite old school strongmen Pyotr Kryloff. Read on and discover how was built one of the most impressive bodies of the beginning of XX century. Continue reading →

Deadlifting at Home

26 Replies

The Deadlift. Exercise that involves pretty much all the muscles in your body into action while none of them go through full range of motion. One of the most productive exercises on earth while one of the hardest. One of the simplest exercises in setup. Benefits of the deadlift are endless. Besides, it’s one of my favorite exercises (:

You will always notice a good deadlifter in the crowd. Good deadlifter is a lucky possessor of massive traps, shoulders, lats, forearms and legs. And these are just visible bonuses. Good deadlifter (not stupid deadlifter) is a possessor of strong and healthy posterior chain. And posterior chain is one of the main muscles in your body if your goal is strength and performance. Strongmen use to say: “If you want strength then train your back”. Forget about curls and crunches. Leave them for sissies. Build your back and get big and strong!

Wondering how? Read on. Continue reading →

Mixing Training Implements for Ultimate Results

8 Replies

There are so many debates on what implement is the ultimate training tool. Barbells? Dumbbells? Sandbags? Kettlebells? Bodyweight? You name it. People tend to oppose them to each other. One camp says: “Barbells are the best because you can always make micro adjustments in weight”. The second camp replies: “Sandbags or kegs are the best because they rock the stabilizers big time; barbells cannot offer this”. Yet other dudes say: “Kettlebells are the best because they are fun and versatile and can offer unique exercises”. The fourth camp states: “Forget about weights! Old school bodyweight strength training is the king because you learn to master your own bodyweight”.

So who’s right and where’s the truth?

Alex Zinchenko's Rough Strength

Calisthenics, Sandbags, Kettlebells, Intermittent Fasting and Stuff