| 02-08-98 My answer to Björn Morén,
when he told me about B&K's summercamp 1998 in southern Sweden
He had been in
BM> Samuelsson's seminar about training. He trains
like this:
BM> 3-4 days/week, 1 hour each. 4 weeks gymtraining,
then
BM> one week WSM-specific training.
Too little WSM-specific training, but then again,
he lacks strength more than
skill. Could be also too few gym hours when you
think that endurance plays
now a very big part in strongman competitions.
Probably he's just trying to add
muscle mass?
Top competitors need much rest because of heavy
workouts and big
muscles, but usually they also eat better and
sleep more than we do,
so I think that at least when training for WSM,
4 gym workouts / week is needed.
Those who recover exceptionally fast, or train
to recover fast, or do more
endurance training, from which one recovers faster,
can take the fifth workout.
Training splits has much to do with this. If
Samuelsson trains many muscle
groups at the same time, I can understand even
three times / week. But I
wouldn't say that's the way to do it.
Marko Savolainen, who is a Finnish top bodybuilder,
trains mostly two days
in a row, then keeps one day off. And he wants
only mass, not endurance.
He's a bit against five days in a row -training
for he ephasizes nerve recovery.
But I think Jouko has proved that it also can
work fine at least for WSM. I don't
know his sports specific routines though (every
other week strongman training).
BM> No cardio until some weeks before competition.
BM> Each exercise is performed like this:
Sounds to me that also too little cardio if he
doesn't do more strongman
training, where he would get what's needed. Before
Helsinki IFSA GP he
would have needed at least some cardio!
BM> First he does a lot of single lifts, starting
light and adding
BM> weight all the time until he reaches his
maximum one-rep. Then
BM> he does the same thing with 3 rep sets. Then
he does one pumpset
BM> with moderate weight, about 30 reps. Then
he changes exercise.
Odd enough. But I have to still appreciate him
for probably
not using steroids.
That idea of his is known to work but with far
less sets. I think
very few individuals have gone that far.
BM> He is very much against drugs, and portraits
himself as very
BM> "clean" and off drugs. Maybe he has never
done anabolic steroids,
BM> I don't know. But not many of these guys
are likely to have been
BM> totally clean all their life.
He might be clean really, who knows (or just gets
more money
from sponsors by saying that, huh am I negative
today).
By the way, have you followed the discussion around
ando* products?
In Finland most of these one-molecule-off-from-testosterone
"supplements"
have been classified as medicaments and already
banned in sports, meaning at
least that supplement companies aren't allowed
to sell them any more. Even in
USA, where the supplement market has been mostly
uncontrolled, much has been
happening lately to move these "natural supplements"
to pharmacies.
BM> Well, who cares, Magnus seems to be a very
nice and calm guy.
BM> But Svend told me: "You know Magnus is not
very strong. You know
BM> what makes him do so well in WSM? He is crazy!"
Yep I have heard that before. And he really tries
hard, have to give
him that. You know what makes Jouko do so well
in WSM? Maybe
it's that he can already be analytic when he
has done every event thousand
times before in workouts - like crazy.
BM> Magnus showed his strength by holding two
chainsaws in each hand,
BM> straight out from the body with straight
arms (lateral raises) for
BM> 60 secs. Then he lifted his car and walked
for 20 meters.
BM> Was fun to see. |
