I have the privilege of acquaintance with men like Clarence Bass, Dave Draper, Larry Scott, and Dennis Weis. Bodybuilders of the golden age. I have great respect for these men. Not for their physiques because, to be blunt, I have no interest in that sort of thing. I respect them for everything today’s bodybuilders are not.
The old-timers are men’s men. They kept their pursuit of bodybuilding in perspective, unlike the modern generation of catty beauty queens. They despised muscles that were for show only. The golden age knew true renaissance men like Tommy Kono and Bill March who went to the top in both strength and physique competition. With the exception of Ronnie Coleman and Dorian Yates, I am hard pressed to name today’s bodybuilders who are as strong as they look.
We go to a bodybuilding expo every year. Last few years we ran a challenge at our booth. A one-arm military press with an eighty-eight pound kettlebell. The rules are simple: the fist must be lower then the chin at the start of the press and the knees must remain locked. You don’t even have to clean the bell because I do not want any of the ‘this is all technique’ whining. We’ll hand it to you if you insist.
Let us face it, pressing eighty-eight pounds overhead is not a feat of strength. Definitely not for a two hundred-fifty pound man. Yet the overwhelming majority of the big sissies just can’t do it. And that is the ones who at least try. Most are plain scared. I call out to the passing muscleheads: “Do we have a man here?” Most flinch and keep walking. One year there was a Jazzercise booth across the isle. Whenever my challenge was ignored I would smile sweetly and say, “Sir, I understand. Not all forms of exercise are right for all people. Perhaps you would like to check out Jazzercise over there?”
Clark Bartram of ClarkBartram.com. As strong as he looks.
The purpose of this collection of articles is to make today’s bodybuilder ashamed of his weakness and narcissism and get him as strong as he looks. Appropriately, I asked Clark Bartram to model for the photos. Not just because he is a friend but because this Marine vet is as strong as he looks. And because he used to write and model for Muscle Media, a great magazine.
Most of the articles in this anthology first appeared in MM. My friend and colleague Steve Maxwell used to cut them out and put them in a binder for his trainers at Maxercise in Philly. It was Steve who suggested that I publish them in one volume.
These articles made many bodybuilders catch the strength bug. If you are a musclehead unfamiliar with ‘the Party methods’ I hope this volume will do the same for you. If you are with the choir, ignore my strength preaching and pay attention to the training advice. A ton of work and research went into this volume. Think of it as a sequel to Power to the People! You will get the answers to many questions you may have had. For instance:
• What are the top Russian set and rep schemes for power?
• How to use the High-Tension Techniques outside the gym?
• What is the best way to build strength with singles?
• How to peak strength in two weeks?
• How to make the most out of the classic ‘countdown to power’ method?
• Powerlifters ‘lift the weight’. Bodybuilders ‘feel the muscle’. What is the PTP way?
• Are there other simple and effective power cycles to be used with PTP?
• Are there other simple and effective set and rep schemes to be used with PTP?
• What if I want to squat rather than deadlift?
• Under what circumstances should I explode rather than grind my deadlifts?
• Are there benefits to lowering my deadlifts slowly?
• I live in an apartment. I can’t deadlift heavy and I can’t drop my deadlifts. What should I do?
• Are lay-offs any good?
• Is twice-a-day training worth the trouble?
• How to convert accidental overtraining into great strength gains?
• Does being a training minimalist have exercise variety?
• What is the best neck strength routine of all time?
Plus a lot more.
Power to you!
Pavel
December 2004
Santa Monica, California – where it all began
