Central Nervous System Training

I see it all the time, three guys in the 198lb weight class. One deadlifts 315, one 450, and one 650. All have similar BF%, similar body types. Both feel as though they are lifting at their capacity. How does one explain the fact that for the same muscle density and body physiology one lifter is twice as strong as the next?

"Although the maximal force which a muscle can exert is directly related to its cross-sectional area, there is a poor correlation between increases in strength and muscle size."

Enoka R. Sports Med6:146-168, 1988.

What? Hot damn, that just about throws a big monkey wrench into this whole idea of get bigger to get stronger.

The answer I hear time and again cites the central nervous system. If I remember correctly, the relative strength of a muscle group is due to three factors: muscle density, insertion points, and connection to the central nervous system. Trying to remain in the 198-lb weight class, increasing muscle density stops at a certain point once one maximizes strength at current BF%. Insertion points of the muscle can have a huge difference in the relative strengths of different athletes, but it is something one cannot train to get better at, it is fixed from birth. That leaves the neuro-muscular connection, when the brain or spinal chord fires its commands to the muscle to illicit a response. Supposedly, this is the final frontier of muscular development.

The weightlifting world seems chock full of suggestions to improve neuro-muscular response. All seem to revolve around training for explosive concentric and eccentric to spur this brain-movement relationship that equates moving fast with lifting.

Training routines such as westside-barbell training dedicate half their workouts to training in the low-rep, high-set range with 50% 1RM, essentially conducting the concentric and eccentric as fast as possible. I am currently employing this program, since the efficacy is justified by most of its members recording a combined of 2000 and above. It will be interesting to see if this approach to neuro-muscular development works.


For further research, this is a very interesting read on the effect of the brain on muscular development.

Have fun out there.

The Making of the Strong Fat Man, Part One

Part One: Diet

Big guys are at a tremendous advantage when they decide they want to become a monster at iron moving. Pencil necks have a problem because they need to gain mass, and they have all the vagaries associated with eating a shit ton for the first time, eating the right type of shit ton, and working from square one with muscles that are unused to moving anything other than their piddly 140lb frame.

Great website, by the way.

Fat guys on the other hand, already consume lots of calories. So the ingredients to build muscle are already part of their daily regimen. Also, since they are big their muscles are already preconditioned to larger amounts of strain from moving them around doing fun fat guy things like drinking way more beer than me and embarrassing me with insane choke holds.

Points for?

Lots of calories already present in diet
Already has strong tendons, bones, musculature

Points against?

Need to change where they are getting their calories
Need to combat crushing I'll just sit on the couch syndrome

The first key here is to change the diet by moving away from empty calories and carbohydrates in mass quantities. The good thing is here is the fat man doesn't need to eat less, he just needs to eat different. This is good news to the fat man because, like all men he enjoys to eat. Empty calories and sugar needs to be almost completely eliminated and instead substituted with an absolutely insane quantity of protein. Zoidberg suggests at the beginning of the week, the fat man bake himself 4 or 5 lbs of chicken breasts, cover them with some sort of low-cal sauce (mustards, lemon-pepper, etc.) and stick it in the fridge.

Every time the fat man feels his stomach a-growling, rather than eating chips, pretzels, sweets or other carb-heavy stuff he simply grabs a hunk of chicken and eat it. It is much better for you, and it feeds your muscles. Plus, you'll be eating more animals, something I heartily endorse. You can achieve the same goal by baking/grilling a mass quantity of turkey burgers and lean beef or pork.

The key here is to have these meats available. Notice how I am not condoning the fat man stop eating, or eat less. Just eat different. This is far easier, much more fun (the animals thing), and in the long run healthier. You'll find yourself losing weight from the sheer benefit of the fact that you'll be consuming far more of your calories through protein, rather than fat and carbs.

Also, follow this general rule:

Fats and Proteins = yes!
Protein and Carbs = yes!
Carbs and Fats = no!


So let me summarize Part One, Mission Powerlifting Fat Man of Strength - The diet.

1) Cut out carbs as best you can. No pretzels, chips, breads, white pasta (whole wheat if you can), white rice.

2) No fucking sugar other than booze. Yeah yeah booze has 7 calories per gram, but I am trying to meet people half-way here. A life without beer is not a fun life. But you can definitely cut out sugar as a compromise. Drink Diet soda, the aspartame scare is a goddamn lie.

3) Make a shit ton of meat and keep it in your fridge. Eat that stuff whenever you get hungry rather than resulting to the typical snack. Meat, meat, meat! I recommend a Costco Membership and a big oven. It helps if you aren't a vegetarian. But if you are, you don't belong on my blog.


Coming Soon: Part Two - The Workout of Undeniable Awesomeness.

Old Hardware

I come to my audience of five and half to spread the knowledge of a new wondrous beverage. It really isn't new, but it inspires wonderment...or at least headbutts from my dear friend C-Brinkles.

Lo, I speak unto ye about the rusty nail!


The rusty nail is a delicious poultice composed of 2 parts cheap scotch and 1 part incredibly overpriced Drambuie. Drambuie itself is quite a treat, as its swirling complexity of herbs and honey meld together well with the fact that it is an aged scotch whisky of questionable origin.

"But it's from Scotland! Surely it must be like the morangiedalimorefiditchiglens, and full of lots of numbers denoting how much you have to spend....and excitement!"

Blast, no you confounded fools! Since when has any distiller in his right mind decided to add such powerful aromatics and sweeteners unless to confuddle the senses and fool the plebes into thinking it is drinking ambrosia? Besides, scholars (wikipedia) maintain that contrary to modern chemistry Drambuie can indeed be lit ablaze despite being only 80 proof.

But damn the torpedoes and loose lips shank sips, this beverage is an absolute delight!

"But Zoidberg, there is nary a bit of corn within a mile of this recipe! It is bourbon-free and from the dreaded land of the Scots!"


(google result of stupid Scots)

These are dark times my friend, full questionable policies regarding when I can club baby seals and slide tackle emo kids at the gym. When I seek solace, I seek it with whatever is left in my liquor cabinet and goddamnit the only thing left is scotch, drambuie, and this disgusting mess called Pimms. Why anyone would drink anything called Pimms is beyond me.

So go forth and fire up the old liver because this beverage is a welcome change of pace.

Points for?

* Sounds goddamn manly as hell, makes you feel like a Viking when you order it.
* It is a brown, so it fits well within the regime of drinks acceptable to Zoidberg
* Easy to mix
* Tastes like freedom

Points against?

* Costly to obtain ingredients ($20 for run of the mill blended scotch, $40 for drambuie, BLAST!)
* Hangovers can get nasty
* People will assume you like scots, bloody scots!

Damn Son

Albeit in the grand scheme of things this much anticipated achievement would get brushed apace by such monolithic monstrosities as this magnum force (who by the way just sported a combined 1500 lb combined, holy fucking shit!).

Regardless, Zoidberg is on the upswing. Having just discovered things like "competition parallel" and " 1.5 g protein / pound body mass" I feel like I am just cresting the realm of something I have worked for endlessly.

So here it is. Zoidberg deadlifted 500. Finally. I then summarily got d-zazzled and j-thrilla's place post-haste.

Thanks to J-thrilla for the abode.

Thanks to Rockstar for indulging my latent horrible musical talents. I still blame shitty drumming.

Family Tech Support

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