The Ultimate Strength Exercise

[stef]

by Bill Starr

In the early sixties, a new form of strength training burst on the scene and swept across the country like wildfire...Fast forward six years. Isometrics and also the combination of isotonics and isometrics had all but disappeared from strength training in sports...[but it is] information that every serious strength athlete and coach needs to have at his disposal, because there are only a handful of people still alive who know how to do the concept correctly.

The Ultimate Strength Exercise (http://startingstrength.com/index.php/site/the_ultimate_strength_exercise/)

Resources Page (http://startingstrength.com/index.php/site/resources/)

[Dastardly]

I havent even read this yet, but I thought I just yell a "Oh Goody!"

Ive been curious about this whole isometrics thing for ages. Starr mentions them in SSS and rips racks seem to be set up for isometrics (two sets of pins).

The charnigas (sportivny press) seem to thing isometrics was a big waste of time, and just marketed by York who wanted to sell racks and propogated by the sucess of people like Bill March who were taking steroids while they practiced isometrics.

Goes off to read.....

[tertius]

Wow. Great article.
It's really interesting to get these insider looks at the beginning of the modern strength game in this country.

I look forward to the next installment, even though I'm a hell of a long way from needing to do iso-anything!

[Dastardly]

Not dissapointed, was a great article! Starr has a nice way of telling stories. Was good to hear all the details like the Doc getting drunk with the russians!

Will be interesting to see the programming details in the next article. Its amazing that Starr/Aasguard is providing these great articles for free.

[knoted]

Excellent article Mr Starr, I found reading about the history just as interesting as the training articles!

[sapper09]

Absolutely fascinating article on the introduction of steroids into strength training and sport. Truly one of the most important events sports history (for good or ill).

Thanks again for another great read, Bill. I'm nowhere near advanced enough to be worrying about most of the subjects you write on just yet, but I always enjoy reading your work. Thankyou for sharing your knowledge and experience with us all here.

Adam.

[sapper09]

Bill, after posting my previous comment, I recalled the beginning of the article and that the Russians were already using something similar. Had they already discovered steroids or were they using something else? Had they mastered the use of steroids (if that's what they had) when ziegler uncovered the secret, or did it take ziegler to refine it?

Thanks,
Adam.

[lanky]

Cool article.

Got me thinking of what Louie Simmons thinks of isometrics.

http://westside-barbell.com/westside-articles/PDF.Files/06PDF/isometrics.pdf

[Tan Man]

Enjoyed that immensely.
From the Fall of 1960 to March 1961 34 year old Riecke gained:
40 lbs. on the Press
20 on the Snatch, and
55 on his Clean & Jerk.

Looking forward to future articles.

[robertdawson]

I don't really know that much about isometrics at all. I suppose they aren't really talked about nearly as much as they used to be. Anyway, don't isometric exercises only build strength at the angle they are done at? So if you are doing isometric stuff for deadlifts, you pull the bar from a certain position up into a set of pins a bit higher and pull as hard as you can. You're developing strength at that position, but the other positions remain the same strength?

Do you have to do isometrics for each section of the lift to get the full strength effects? Or, do you do deadlifts normally and do isometrics at the weak points? I thought that people mostly used rack pulls for that purpose, so you can use isometrics too? The only thing I have heard that is even close to this is putting 110% of your 1RM on the bar and holding it at the top of a bench or a squat.

[Good Ryan]

Robert,
Me thinks Mr. Starr said he will be covering those topics in the next installment...

[thersites]

Bill, after posting my previous comment, I recalled the beginning of the article and that the Russians were already using something similar. Had they already discovered steroids or were they using something else? Had they mastered the use of steroids (if that's what they had) when ziegler uncovered the secret, or did it take ziegler to refine it?

Thanks,
Adam.

Adam,

I believe the Russians were experimenting with synthetic testosterones, so no they had not 'mastered' steroid use yet. What they were using had some nasty health effects. Ziegler explored something that would have fewer side effects, and his Dianabol was very (& reportedly still is) very effective.

I think the Suggs interview w/ Rip has a brief discussion on what Ziegler learned about the Russian drugs.