I’ve found 1.5 miles to be the perfect “worst” distance. Too short to settle into a groove, too long to sprint and gut out.
Beyond your press goals, I haven’t paid close enough attention, probably. Because until you hit that, nothing else matters.
~2.5km? Seems like an appropriate distance to slot easily into a session too. Once gyms reopen, or the heavens stop opening, I’ll see where I stand with it.
Yeah, there abouts.
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Agreed.
Next year I’ll be doing a year of 531. And trying to stay pretty close to Jim’s recommendations and principles as much as possible without dying of boredom.
The tests at the end will show either how well 531 works, or how compliant I am.
Ah, right, I do remember your year of 531. I thought you were on about something else, talking about these tests and stuff.
The tests are my goals for the end of the year. Seems to be a pretty solid approach to balance.
Are you going to integrating the jumping stuff into your program? I kinda thinkg that - while strength helps - that is a skill all to itself.
Yep. I’ll be following templates pretty rigidly, and trying to avoid doing too much funky shit like ROM progression or drop sets or non-531 methods. That means jumps or throws every (lifting) session.
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Nice. I have never followed a full program of his, just take the lifting parts. Should be interesting to see how it works.
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If you ignore the professionals (aka the elite) then I believe there’s a reason the majority of the strong people you see at the gym are less than 5’10". Leverages, bone structure, limb length - they all play a role.
Yes, the giants in strongman are tall but they also started early. You don’t achieve what they do without being leaps and bounds ahead of the curve in terms of growth. You’re not going to take a 6’5" string bean who’s 175 at age 17 and turn him into a 250-300 lb beast just because he has more room to hold mass.
On the other side of the coin, it’s not a stretch for a kid who’s 5’6" and 140 to turn into a 185-200 lb stud by the age of 25.
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While I agree that these things have an effect, my height is not the thing that’s stopping me being an elite lifter/athlete.
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I mean, it worked at 6’9 and 230 for Thor
I think it can be done: it just needs to be the goal of the trainee to do it.
Height plays a role, but I think the larger factor is single-mindedness.
Absolutely this.
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I blame my joints, connective tissues, and life circumstances (you know, having to work and stuff).
I’ve had way too many injuries and surgeries to really pursue crazy numbers. I also don’t care because there’s more to my life than lifting weights.
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And steroids. Lots and lots of steroids. I still consider him to be in the gifted category.
I’ve seen Eddy’s documentary, but who fed Thor along his journey?
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I feel you’re on a similar page here.
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Well yeah. I didn’t realize we were excluding them. I don’t think anyone becomes a monster without them.
I think Magnus Ver Magnusson adopted him early as a fellow Icelander. Pretty sure that’s the story I’ve heard.
Absolutely. I know I could be a 300lber if I decided that was my goal, but it would just get in the way of too many other things.
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I think part of it is the simple fact that us shorties can more easily make use of calories to build muscle as well. I don’t think too many hardgainers are shorties.
On the flipside of that…the tall dudes get ripped and shredded far more easily.
I think you’re confusing ripped and shredded with skinny.
I really got hosed because I gain fat if I try to bulk and it’s a battle to get lean. I can do the latter, but it’s not fun. And I think anyone can cut weight.
I also think I got hosed because I’d eat two cans of off brand Chef Boyardee as a meal when I was a kid. By middle school, I was eating three of those mini frozen pepperoni pizzas made by Schwan for lunch
No one taught me that that stuff wasn’t healthy.