Author Archive

  • Prohormone Basics

    Prohormone Basics

    After you read this you'll have the basics down for sure.

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    By Marc Bartley

  • The Beheading of the Angry Troll

    The Beheading of the Angry Troll

    So ends the same ole tale of three dudes who screamed never ever will we marry.

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    By Marc Bartley

  • Sticking Point Tips

    Sticking Point Tips

    These simple changes made my deadlift jump from a hard 700 to a solid and easy 740 with room to spare.

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    By Marc Bartley

  • CK FMS – The Spud’s Take

    CK FMS – The Spud’s Take

    The kettlebell side is mostly skill and re-certification on all the basic moves plus that damn snatch test.

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    By Marc Bartley

  • Bench by Numbers

    Bench by Numbers

    The more intently you focus on single points during a training session the more the body will do what you want it to do.

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    By Marc Bartley

  • 5 Squat Tips for Immediate Improvement

    5 Squat Tips for Immediate Improvement

    The following article is a quick five tips to help you with your squat.

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    By Marc Bartley

  • How to Pick a Good Coach

    How to Pick a Good Coach

    I think we all are attracted to like people. Like people make us feel comfortable and at ease. I guess it applies to pretty much any situation but my thoughts today concern you as an athlete picking the most suitable coach possible. Best bang for the buck is another way you can look at it. [...]

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    By Marc Bartley

  • Spud Speaks by Marc Bartley

    Spud Speaks by Marc Bartley

    This has been one year I wish I could totally wipe off the resume. I guess it could’ve gone otherwise, but what lessons would I have learned? I

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    By Marc Bartley

  • New Scars

    New Scars

    Well, this is what’s going on…I’ve been pretty much confined to the house since the Pro Am. This the first week I’ve been to my gym since the meet. It hasn’t been the greatest month of my life—or year for that matter—but other people got it much worse so I ain’t bitchin’ too much. Well…maybe [...]

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    By Marc Bartley

  • Marc Bartley’s Squat Routine

    Marc Bartley’s Squat Routine

    Squatting big in a meet is every powerlifter’s dream. For some, it can make or break the meet. The big squat sets the tone for the meet. This is truly the case for me. Therefore, my focus is always on the BIG SQUAT.

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    By Marc Bartley

  • Strap It On

    Strap It On

    Lifting accessories have been around since lifting began. Accessories cover the gamut from bars to gloves to belts to hats to knee and wrist wraps. If you can think of it, it is out there. The next question is why? Very simple—people want to lift more, target different muscles, and in general, make lifting weights [...]

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    By Marc Bartley

  • So You Want to Gain Weight?

    So You Want to Gain Weight?

    We have to go way back to get some understanding on this one. Back in 2000, when we were skeletons and I was almost ripped, Adipose had just sold his gym and was going for his—literally—all for broke, make it or break it, in powerlifiting. Now, in order to complete his master plan, he had to dissolve all ties. I know this is silly, but this is how the man thinks.

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    By Marc Bartley

  • Converting to Sumo Deadlifting: How I Made It Work for Me

    Converting to Sumo Deadlifting: How I Made It Work for Me

    Deadlifting is one of the oldest and hardest exercises around. It’s very simple—you just pick the bar up off the ground and stand up with it. Well…it’s not that easy for everyone. All lifts are lever situations. To put it differently, if you have long arms and a short torso, your deadlift is usually better than if you had the opposite, which would be my case.

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    By Marc Bartley

  • Frequent Pulling for Faster Progress: 12 Weeks to a Bigger Deadlift

    Frequent Pulling for Faster Progress: 12 Weeks to a Bigger Deadlift

    The deadlift is the bastard child of powerlifting; it doesn’t get much love. Maybe it’s the fact that the deadlift is less impacted by equipment than are the squat and bench press, so it may require less practice. Or, it might just be vilified because lifts 7-9 of a powerlifting meet feel like cardio after a long day of lifting. Finally, it may be that many lifters and coaches hold that the deadlift is best trained indirectly, and that the chips will just fall into place if you focus on squats, good mornings, and plenty of assistance work. While this may be the case in some instances, there are also quite a few lifters who have made tremendous progress with more frequent pulling, and that’ll be my focus in this article.

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    By Marc Bartley

  • Bigger and Better Benching

    Bigger and Better Benching

    A lot of my tips are just repeats from everyone else but I think they get overlooked while everyone is looking for the next gear craze or shortcut. Some are gear related and some are raw work.

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    By Marc Bartley