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Ever Grateful, Never Satisfied
by Jonathon Sullivan MD, PhD, SSC I'm just finishing an individualized three-month block periodization cycle. I did my conditioning month (general physical preparation block), then my accumulation month (volume or hypertrophy block), and now I'm in the intensity block, where the volume is lowest and the weights are heaviest. I'm not done chasing intensity yet, but so far I've put up 95% on the squat, press, and bench, and 93% on the deadlift. So, no PRs in there, but they're
How to Shorten Your Legs Without a Hacksaw
For athletes with long legs, artificially "shortening" the legs may be necessary for the deadlift. Jonathon Sullivan MD, PhD, SSC, PBC In certain gyms occupying the danker realms of the Inferno, there exists an unpleasant assistance exercise called a deficit deadlift, used by advanced and competitive athletes to take their deadlifts from Damn Strong to Really Damn Strong. In this variant, the lifter positions himself above the level of the floor, so the bar is an inch or two
Barbell Training is the Fountain of Youth
Fitness after fifty is possible, and strength is the key.
Jonathon Sullivan MD, PhD, SSC, PBC As we age, we lose fitness—power, stamina, flexibility, endurance, and balance. But the most important of all fitness components is strength. In our fifth decade and beyond, we can lose muscle tissue rapidly, and we lose precisely those muscle fibers that are most important for strength and power. With the loss of muscle and strength we are doomed to brittle bones, diabetes, heart
New Video: Become a Tower of Power!
At the top of the deadlift, you must become an unbending Tower of Power, with all the forces acting vertically. This position strengthens the back, the knees, and the skeleton. Learn how to finish your deadlift strong!
Athletes vs. The Word Police
Jonathon M. Sullivan MD, PhD, SSC, PBC If you train like an athlete, you're an athlete. Every now and then, somebody tries to take us to task for using the term "Athlete of Aging." The objection is always strictly semantic, fastidious, sclerotic...and, well, obtuse. As in, "wow, Dude, you really missed the entire point."
Most recently, somebody sent me this: I don't think you're right. Yes, if someone's participating in these physical activities and training for something, t
The Zeroth Rep (Don't Be a Dork!)
The Omega Rep is the process by which the bar is properly returned to the rack at the end of the set. Sully describes how the proper performance of the Omega rep insures that every set ends with safety, authority, and dignity. All you have to do is remember the four magic words: THERE ARE NO HOOKS.
THE ZEROTH REP
In many ways, the most important rep of the set is the one you never log--the ZEROTH rep, the one in which the bar is unracked and carried out. The zeroth rep has a big impact on the technical parameters of the remaining reps of the set. Give it the respect it deserves!
COVID-19 LOCKDOWN WORKOUT!
We're hunkered down, locked down, feeling down. Many of us work out in commercial gym spaces and suddenly we're without access to our bars and plates and racks. Clearly, this sucks...although it's also a reminder of how important our training is, how deeply embedded it is in our lifestyle. If you are lucky enough to have a home gym or access to a private facility with barbells right now, give thanks to whatever deity or principle stands in for Providence in your world view. I
Research Review #3 w. Dr. John Petrizzo
Drs. Jonathon Sullivan of Greysteel and John Petrizzo of the exercise science faculty of Adelphi University discuss papers on programming, hypertrophy, creatine, nutrition, and over-the-counter pain meds in the March 2020 edition of the Greysteel Research Review.
CREATINE
Sully talks about creatine, one of the few supplements he recommends for the Athlete of Aging training for strength.
Precision, Balance, and the Deadlift
As we discussed in a recent short video on the Greysteel Channel, barbell training is a precision activity.
Precision is an interesting word. It does not actually denote a correct activity or measurement, but it does denote an exacting and highly reproducible measurement. One can measure very precisely with a mis-marked ruler. The results will be highly reproducible, but not accurate. Similarly, one can take an accurate measurement with a device, obtaining the correct resul
On Mindfulness
Jonathon M. Sullivan MD, PhD, SSC, PBC Mindfulness is an essential attribute for any athlete, and for any fully developed human being. When people first begin a training program or a new sport, there is always a neurocognitive adaptation that has to occur. Indeed, neurocognitive and neuromuscular adaptation are the first adaptations in physical training--motor patterns have to be learned, and the neuromuscular system undergoes remodeling at multiple levels to bring more motor
STRONGER MEDICINE: Interview with Dr. Julian Donovan
Check out this new podcast from my colleague across the pond, Dr. Julian Donovan. In this episode, we talk about how an aging meatball ER doc and brain injury researcher ends up as a full-time barbell coach.
New Video: Type 2 Diabetes, Part I
In the first part of our series on Type 2 Diabetes, Sully explains what it is, how it happens, and why it seems to be getting worse.
New Video: Five Nutrition Tips
Sully reveals five hacks the Athlete of Aging can use TODAY to improve nutrition for health and performance.
New Video: Camp Q&A 2019 Part II
Greysteel Coach Jonathon Sullivan MD PhD and Black Iron Coach Chris Kurisko SSC answer questions at the QA held after the Starting Strength Squat Camp held at Greysteel in Feb 2019. In part II, they discuss considerations for the later Novice Progression, publication of "The Barbell Prescription," and using the strict (1.0) press instead of the Press 2.0.
The Bench Press Prescription
Sully explains how the bench press meets our criteria for a strength training exercise and our exercise medicine criteria.
Just Do This One Weird Trick. Yes. I Really Said That.
As the New Year really gets underway, we're going to talk a bit more about nutrition. Starting Strength's beloved Robert Santana and others have talked a lot about focusing on habits when it comes to nutrition and body composition, and I think that's the right emphasis. When we just change a diet, it's too easy to change back...or drift into something else.
But when we change a habit, we begin to change our relationship to eating and to food. That's a far more powerful app
THUMBLESS GRIP FOR THE COMPLEATE IDIOTE
In this video, from our Greysteel Channel, Sully discusses all the reasons for using the thumbless grip, and why none of them make a damn bit of sense.