PS: Your last answer began with an insult, Fortress. Good stuff. However, your points on attitude, aggression and technique are appreciated.
You made the subtle suggestion, though, that the use of a wide squatting stance is cheating. If this is what you are saying, I call bullshit.
I would venture to guess, since you, Fortress, use a narrow stance, if you went wide you would have to significantly lower your poundage. Use of wide foot placement is just another style; one that might be better for an individual. Regardless, one will improve by switching things up from time to time, don't you think?
RF: Easy, Bernice. I didn't mean to suggest an athlete who uses a wider foot stance is necessarily cheating his way to strength. And I would certainly struggle if I were to suddenly switch to a power style. But there's a wider stance ... and there's the horeshit we see in certain federations. You know, where the competitors have their feet so spread it's uncomfortable to look at?
Bottom line is, when a lifter squats using the power style, he does transfer a majority of stress to the back, hams, etc. He also lessens the "stroke" (ROM). To hit parallel requires far less movement. And the depth required in many federations to get three white lights is laughable. Break at the knee and you're almost there. It's cool to witness someone support half a tonne on his back, but the vast majority of these powerlifters are not truly squatting with the weight.
Look at a guy like Coan. He uses a power stance, sure, but it isn't ridiculous, and he truly sinks into the hole. It's an actual squat, you know? Fortress is not ripping on those who employ a wider foot placing. But to suggest there isn't more horsepower and structural integrity in the athlete who squats several hundred pounds using a more moderate style is just foolish. Again, moderate does not mean strictly Olympic, but much less than having each of your feet in a different time zone, man.
I do go wide from time to time to strengthen weaker areas. It's a great idea. Squatters who use a power style should go narrow from time to time for the same reason. Definitely squat with the style that best serves you, mechanically. But it's far more impressive to see Tom Platz sit deep in the hole and rise up with 600 pounds using an Olympic style than it is to see some fancy dancer score a "good lift" in a meet with 800 when his feet are 18 miles apart and he didn't even come close to what could reasonably be called parallel.
PS: I agree with you, Fortress. Shit has gone too far in certain powerlifting circles. It takes balls to get under 1000 pounds, sure, but much of what we see nowadays is not what I consider true powerlifting. Records are being broken by lifters who are doing so under much different, and more advantageous, conditions. I think this is why we're seeing a resurgence of raw and minimal-equipment meets.
Talk about your training, hitting weaknesses and going wide on squats from time to time. Also, what is a typical week and training cycle for Fortress?
RF: I believe in making everything as difficult as possible. Wimps do the opposite. They try to make everything as easy as possible. They're lazy and are much too concerned with stroking their egos. If there's a way to make an exercise more uncomfortable, that's the way I do it. It's got to hurt. Apart from the core movements, I only perform an exercise if I can justify its use. In other words, it must make sense to do it. I don't do random work. My accessory work is done to strengthen all the individual components that contribute to full-body performance.
I pride myself on not having any particular weakness. I mean, certainly there are always parts of the machine that need extra work, but nothing is ever badly lagging. I place emphasis on making sure I train for ultimate structural integrity. That's what I call it. Half the battle in lifting obscene weight is being physically tough enough to endure the strain of applying ridiculous force.
As far as taking a wider stance on squats, I do this those times when I box squat. And Fortress ain't sitting on some bench that puts him way above parallel, either. If the gym doesn't have something that puts me deep, I bring along my milk crate, or this contraption I built out of wood. I take up to half an hour to loosen enough so I can actually get that deep with my feet apread wider than usual. With box squats I mainly stick with doubles.
I don't just touch the box with my ass. I fully sit, rock back a little and then back into position, and then accelerate upwards with as much power as I can muster. I find doing this semi-regularly helps improve my mechanics and control deep in the hole, as well as emphasizing slightly different muscles.
It also serves to give my rebounding strength a rest. With box squats, the eccentric and concentrate components of each rep are broken up sufficiently enough to allow my knees to freshen. Not to mention that the use of a box doesn't have me as deep in the hole as when I am performing regular squats with my normal Olympic stance. With box squats I also concentrate to really sit back as I descend. I love the stretch I feel in my upper hams and glutes.
A typical week for Fortress? Lots and lots of heavy metal music, a few hamburgers, horror movies ... and as little gym work as I can get away with. But not because I don't like it. If I could, I'd train each and every day. But the stronger you get, and wish to become, the more recuperation becomes paramount. I usually have three scheduled workouts each week, but will only do two if I feel my recuperation is being comromised.
I usually like to do all three of the powerlifts on the same day, and then my accessory work on the other two, but recently decided to shake things up and do one, with its appropriate accessory stuff, on each of the three days. I'll do bench, squat and deadlift in that order when I am not emphasizing the squat, and switch the order to "meet order" ... squat, bench and deadlift ... when I am. I space my three sessions out as best as possible throughout the week.
Almost everyone overtrains. Hell, I find myself overtrained a lot. Intense weight training is ridiculously stressful on all the systems of your body. How educated and informed folks can hit the gym four or more times each week, drug-free, and expect to get anywhere is beyond me. Fact is, the better and stronger you become, the less you can train. Being hugely strong and powerful means being a threat to oneself.
PS: Very true. And this is something that's difficult to get across even to ourselves, the need to take it down a notch periodically. Less can most definitely be more.
Diet, nutrition and eating. Talk to me, Fortress. I am sure things have evolved since the time you transitioned from bodybuilding to powerlifting. What are three points you would emphasize? Where do people usually go wrong?
RF: I would never proclaim myself a master of nutrition. Far from it. There are many folks in this industry who know infinitely more than I. Training is my domain of expertise. But I will say a little on the matter.
You know, my eating hasn't changed all that much from how it was during my bodybuilding days. The biggest mistake I made in the early years was simply not eating enough, and trying to eat too clean. Once I loosened things up, and by extension began consuming more calories, growth really began. Look, packing on mass and becoming much, much, stronger requires a person settle into the realization that some accumulated fat is to be expected. Unless you're using drugs and hormones, it's a reality.
A young trainer needs to eat all the good food he can, and as much of the other kind, as well. As non-PC as it might be, a rookie male needs to hit the drive-through several times each week and consume a pizza or two. You know, for between-meal snacks and all. A can of tuna and a skinless chicken breast ain't gonna cut it. Our bodies like to gain fat with muscle, and lose muscle with fat. Sad but true. We must eat an overbundance of food ... all kinds ... to push our bodies into an anabolic state.
I am sure there are gurus who dispute what I say. But this is what I have observed. Few can have an Ivan Drago scenario where the brightest minds of a nation are monitoring and mapping your every dietary and training move.
Even if you were like Dolph Lundgren's character in Rocky IV, the occassional triple hamburger wouldn't be a bad idea from time to time. Here's another infammatory comment. To be unusually strong and muscular requires a lot that runs in opposition to that which promototes longevity. Some might not like Fortress for saying that. Fortress says suck on it.
Three points to emphasize, eh? Drink lots of water. Eat a considerable breakfast. Fuel tomorrow's workout with what you eat today.
PS: In a world of pills and potions, both legal and not, how does an athlete know what is effective and what’s junk? What is your stance on supplementation, in general? What role, if any, do supplements play your program?
RF: I don't have a program. I have a mandate to be stronger and more fierce than the next guy. Let me answer your questions in reverse. Supplements have a very small role in my lifting career. The occassional protein drink in a pinch ... a bit of creatine powder in my glass of water every once in a while ... Without question, the supplement I most consistently take is a multi-vitamin tablet each morning. Every young guy wants to explore the world of bodybuilding supplements. And every guy who does gets jacked for hundreds of dollars. Sometimes thousands. A majority of these products are worth shit. Truly. And the biggest brands out there right now have fabulously rich owners without a shred of integrity.
Supplements are exactly that: things that are meant to be used as a way to supplement what you should already be comsuming in your diet. Somewhere along the way we've forgotten this. My advice to folks is, if you want to supplement your diet, buy protein, vitamins and perhaps creatine. If some new product actually works to any appreciable degree, you'll find out soon enough without wasting your money.
There was something to be said for prohormones, I suppose. But really, if you're gonna go to the trouble, just take "real" anabolic steroids, you know? Not that I'm suggesting people do.
It's hard for the average person to know what is valuable and what is junk. So like I say, suppress your impulse to try the latest fad supplement. And ignore all the ads that spout nonsense and show some gassed-up bodybuilder. Like he uses the crap. I mean, how would he even know if it works? Dude's using so much testosterone and performance-enhancing drugs it's almost pointless for him to even waste his time with the little time it takes to pop the supplelement pills and mix the shitty drinks.
There are reputable companies out there that offer quality protein supplements, etc. Buy from them and don't give the "special report" supplement companies your dough. Advertorials make Fortress wanna punch his way through a wall.
PS: Thanks! When will we see Fortress once again don a singlet again and compete?
RF: Thank you. It's been a pleasure. When? When Fortress feels like it. That might be never. But a platform appearance is likely sometime in the next year. Regardless, I wish everyone the best. Your life is your own. No one owns you. No one. Be the best person you can be, in every way, and strive for integrity. After this life, there's nothing. We're worthless and all-important at the same time.
Hail and kill!
Originally Published on StaleyTraining.com
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