Time To Think For Yourself: Jim Wendler And T-Nation

Recently, one of the readers of IronGangsta.com has left a comment in which he complained about how the popular powerlifter Jim Wendler charges USD 20 for his forum. We decided to investigate the issue and see what is really going on. It turns out that Mr. Wendler truly has a paid forum with monthly subscription.

Obviously, it's not illegal to have a message board with paid membership. The problem here is the double standard displayed by Mr. Wendler who has written the following: “Don’t fall for the crap that people are peddling on message boards, in magazines or on TV.” {source}.

So, he is not a big fan of message boards but having a paid one yourself seems to be perfectly fine?

On top of everything Mr. Wendler, who is the poster boy for “I don't give a fuck” mentality, has written numerous articles on T-Nations which is a site selling ineffective supplements to young and not so young people eager to look like the models they see, in the almost pornographic pictures on that web-site. In one of his articles Mr. Wendler has even taken the liberty to present his “stack of supplements”. IronGangsta took a screen shot of that particular piece of supposedly useful information. {source}

As you can see from the image above Mr. Wendler has basically become a T-Nation supporter and by now most of you probably know IronGangsta's position on that company – run away, they just want your money.

It seems that Mr.Wendler, however, finds that the products of the company are “worth their weight in gold”. Interestingly enough in an old brief interview on YouTube.com Mr. Wendler has stated that according to him the secrets to getting big are: “Dbol (anabolic steroid) and Milk”. You can see the video here: 

So, what is the secret to big muscles, Mr. Wendler - “Dbol and milk” or “Indigo 3G and Plazma”? 

To those of you who are unaware, every powerlifter who competes at a high level has used or is using some kind of anabolic steroids. Supplements have never been a crucial part in the preparation process. They are just a nice addition that is meant to allow the fitness industry to exist on the back of ignorant individuals.

Most of the supplements companies out there have no respect for the little guy. Their way of justifying their actions is as follows:

“If the individuals buying our products are foolish enough to believe that all they need to look like a fitness model are protein powder and creatine they deserve to be scammed.”

This is an extremely lame statement and is no different than a professional fighter saying:

“Anybody who is small and weak and does not know how to fight should not complain that he is taking a beating.”

Being ignorant on a specific subject does not make you a bad person but it could turn you into a victim. If a medical professional is selling placebo drugs to a sick patient most would consider that doctor immoral and even evil. So, why is it fine to use the same scheme when it comes to training? After all, as Will Smith has said: “Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects.”

Mr. Jim Wendler and the gentlemen from T-Nation are welcome to continue with their symbiosis based on hypocrisy. We know it will never end and we don't expect it to. Maybe the next time there will be a report revealing the existence of new miraculous gas based supplement which makes you bigger and leaner by just inhaling it? We have now idea. What we do know, however, is that IronGangsta will be here to read between the lines for those who can't.

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Lamar Gant - Born To Deadlift

Lamar Gant (born 1957 in Fort Collins, Colorado) is an American world record-holding powerlifter with idiopathic scoliosis. He was inducted into the International Powerlifting Federation Hall of Fame in 1980. Gant set his first world record in 1974 by deadlifting 524.5 pounds (238 kg) at a bodyweight of 123 pounds (56 kg) at the Flint Olympian Games. In 1985, he became the first man to deadlift five times his own bodyweight, lifting 661 pounds (300 kg) at a bodyweight of 132 pounds (60 kg). 

For this, he has been included in the Guinness Book of Records. As of 2006, he holds the world records for deadlifting in both the 123- and 132-pound weight classes. His best lifts at 123 pounds are 314 pounds (142 kg) RAW bench press and 638 pounds (289 kg) deadlift; at 132 pounds are 595 pounds (270 kg) squat 615 pounds (279 kg) (in training), 352.5 pounds (159.9 kg) RAW bench press, and 688 pounds (312 kg) deadlift.

Lamar Gant was born with damaged spinal chord - he used it to his advantage and became a legend

Long arms help too

Lamar was also a good bencher thanks to his arch

And just because I am 100% certain someone will ask me: No, he was not natural. He was 135lbs but also super short.

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Unrealistic Expatations - Give It To Me Baby One More Time

I have talked about having unrealistic expectations many times on this blog and Rookiejournal.com. Today I decided to cover the same topic once more because I saw an interesting discussion on StartingStrength.com (no link on purpose...u mad son?). 

Bret Contreras a.k.a the GLUTE GUY has posted a video of his first powerlifting meet. Here it goes:

The guy immediately got criticized by the Starting Strength fat fucks:

Click On Image Enlarge

While I don't really care to defend the Glute Guy I find it amusing how people on Starting Strength have lost all contact with reality. And numbers such as 350 squat, 250 bench  500 deadlift are not considered respectful. 

Reasons can be found here: http://www.rookiejournal.com/steroids.html

To be honest the majority of people I've seen in the gym cannot squat 350, cannot bench 250 and definitely cannot deadlift 500 pounds. I've trained in many underground gyms. One of them was considered a powerlifting gym and a lot of high level powerlifters from the town were training there. All of them were on steroids. They were deadlifting 750 lbs +, benching 600lbs+ with a shirt and squatting 700-800lbs with equipment. In other words pretty strong guys. Besides them virtually all people I've seen including local bodybuilders would consider 350 squat and 250 lbs bench a good number. To give you a better perspective I've seen a guy who is 275 lbs and very tall ( 6'4 ) struggle with 300 lbs bench for a double. Yes, he was on steroids and was obsessed with powerlifting. 

So, why is that?

Virtually all articles on sites such as T-Nation, Starting Strength...etc are talking about guys lifting insane poundages. When everybody around you talks about 500lbs bench presses it's really hard to take a 200lbs bench press seriously. At the same time there are guys who are ectomorphic and have really long and thin bone structure. A good example would be Snoop Dogg or Chris Rock. Guys like them will need a few years to bench 200-220 lbs. If they don't give up, get on a cycle or simply join the Starting Strength fat fuck community.

"Reality. It hits you like a cold slap in the face."

In the end of the day however the consequences are paid by the brainwashed Starting Strength guys. 

Keep Dreaming Guys. It's All About How Bad Do You Want It ?

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Unrealistic Expectations

Pretty much 90% of the training articles out there are presenting unrealistic expectations. Natural wannabes thinking they are different are constantly reading articles coming from people like Louie Simmons, T-Nation, Mark Rippetoe, Marty Gallagher, Pavel Tsatouline...etc. While all of those people are obviously 100% dedicated to their "craft" similar articles create bad habits and never reveal the real secret.

The truth is that whether your goal is to get strong or big and reach the lifts and muscular development of the people presented in the articles you have to do much more than "eat big and lift big." You have to use gear and taking anabolics is not a game. In most countries it's hard to find good steroids without prescription and going to the black market is like going to the black market - you are getting closer to the criminal world and the guy selling testosterone shots and "real" anavar or trenbolone may be selling cocaine and other fancy stuff. Let's put that away and say that you have found a good dealer selling quality steroids at the "right" price. What's next? What should you buy and how much should you take? That's usually not included in the articles.

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It's funny how authors like to throw numbers such as 500 pounds bench press, 600 pounds squat and 800 pounds dealift in their articles but never mention how you actually get there. What takes you there is consistent training, dedication, nutrition and a lot of drugs. How much drugs? Well, you have to think in grams here. I know a guy who had the following training history - he trained for 10 years naturally and was able to bench press 365 pounds. I don't remember his bodyweight. He started using anabolics and at some point he was injecting 2 grams of compound steroids a week. He was benching 405 pounds on the decline for 13 reps and claimed 565 bench press max on the decline bench press.

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Did reality hit you? Yes, this guy was far above average. Most people including me have never benched 365 pounds. He did so naturally and still needed 2 grams of consistent steroid usage (he did not go off even when he wanted to have a second child and just took some other drug, I forgot the name of, and got his wife pregnant) to bench 565 pounds.  Pretty sad story to the people who though that 405 bench press was just around the corner using Rippetoe's programming. Maybe if you bulk to 280-300lbs it's possible. Sorry I am not sorry, Mr. Rippetoe. 

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Mr. Rippetoe himself is a good example - he never even benched 405 at a bodyweight of 220 and 5'9 height. He was also on anabolics during his powerlifting career. His best bench (396 lbs) while impressive is nothing compared to his huge claims. How much gear was he using? I have absolutely no idea but it was not 200 mg.

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300 mg of testosterone is considered a small steroid dose. Some people would even laugh at it. Hell, there are some rich grand daddies using that for HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy). But let me tell you, 300mg of testosterone a week equals about 10 times more than the natural testosterone production of an average not so old male. Sounds like a big deal to me. Anyway I knew a guy with some decent training history who was benching 175 lbs for 10-12 reps on the decline press. He started injecting 300 mg of testosterone a week and in 12 weeks added 20 pounds of bodyweight and his bench went up to 250lbs for 10-12 reps on the. This person gained 20 pounds of LBM by getting 10 times more testosterone in his body than the average male - I bet now people who claim gaining 50 pounds of muscle doing Rippetoe's magic routine look pretty funny. I would even say that most people would never ever gain 50 pounds of real muscle in a lifetime naturally.

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But who do you ask about drugs? Well, you either go to some underground steroid forum where you meet shady people or you simply ask shady strong guys in the gym - 11 times out of 10 all of them are on steroids unless they weight 300lbs. Usually the basic scheme goes like this - you find a good dealer and you start using small doses. Slowly you bump up the dose over the years until you are rolling with the big boys. During that period of time you will experience a lot of trouble with side effects, running out of money, addiction, family issues....etc. Once you are on steroids for a long time you will never go off unless you end up in prison or broke. Never. When you have been abusing steroids for years you simply do not have testosterone in your balls and without testosterone in your balls you feel like somebody has stolen your man pride - you feel like a woman and chances are you will start to look like one. Bodybuilders and powerlifters at some point start to see steroids as food - no life without them.

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So, wannabes are welcome to come at me. Tell me how you benched 405 lbs at 15-17% BF when in reality you are 22% BF and on low doses of test. There are a lot of liars in this sport, a lot. I would say that 90% of  the "impressive" people on famous web-sites such as Bodybuilding.com are on steroids but very few are willing to admit it. 

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What is reality?

Reality is sad. Imagine that you were a little baby and your mom was telling you stories about being able to fly. Well, you can probably believe those stories as a kid but when you grow up you know that as a human being you can only fly using something like this:

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Disclaimer: IronGangsta.com does not support the usage of illegal steroids.

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Snatch Deadlift = Back Murder

Probably most of my readers have tired deadlifting. Well, now it's time to try deadlifting with a snatch grip. Why? It simply owns your back and you don't have to use a lot of weight. The snatch-grip deadlift is quite similar to the regular one except that you use a wide grip.

You will have to either use a hook grip or straps. Yes, you heard me correctly. The functional crowd full of morons can go hell. Use some straps if you truly want to work your back. 

Perform the movement slowly under control. You don't even have to lower the bar all the way down because the most important part of the movement are the last 2/3 because that's where the back really gets hit. 

FAQ:

Q: How many reps and sets?

Perform 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps

Q: Should I do the exercises in the beginning of my back workout ?

I would but you don't have to. You are a big boy. Trust your instincts.

Q: What are the benefits compared to the regular deadlift?

The wider grip puts the emphasis on the upper back, rear delts and even lats. Also you are forced to use less weight and the movement is less stressful on the lower back.

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Why People Don't Give A Fuck About Powerlifting

Powerlifting have become more popular over the recent years but whatever happens it will forever remain one of most unattractive sports forever. The reason is that the sport lacks a lot when it comes to creating original content and attracting auditory.

Nobody wants to see fat asses squatting 1000 lbs in ten suits and a monolift. It's ugly, boring and most of all pointless. Yes, geared powerlifting is pointless. Who gives a singular fuck how much you are bench pressing using a shirt....wait let me rephrase that. Who gives a singular fuck how much you are bench pressing at all? When you think about it the bench press number of somebody else is not particularly important. It's like asking somebody how often he/she goes to the toilet. It's that useful.

Another reason why powerlifting is boring as fuck is this never endless repetitiveness. You wait one whole day to see the same thing over and over and over. Let's be honest - seeing somebody else bench press/squat/deadlift is not very interesting after the first 10 minutes. Sure, you may learn something if you are a lifter but if you are outside spectator you would certainly prefer to watch funny animals than this crap.

Another reason why powerlifting will never be popular is the gear. Like bodybuilders powerlifters like to abuse gear. The lifts would fall down by hundreds of pounds if gear usage is stopped. You think this guy is natural ?

People don't like the iron sports because gear plays a heavy role. Of course all athletes take steroids but in powerlifting and bodybuilding steroids are super important and a major factor. That turns people off.

My advice for upcoming lifters would be to find another career outside of the iron sports and just use weightlifting to improve their health and life instead of focusing on it like it's super important. You can compete and what not but powerlifting is not going to pay the bills.

This could never be mainstream and the only way for powerlifting to ever be part of the Olympics is to remove the usage of suits, bench shirts and knee wraps but since the whole sport is built on hurt egos my guess is people will continue to be slaves of the big numbers. 

Good for them. 

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