By Pavel Tsatsouline, Chairman
Why do so many men give up on being men once they have reached a certain age? (I could ask women the same question.)
Not my father. A month ago seventy-five year old Vladimir deadlifted 407 pounds at a bodyweight of 193 (no belt, naturally). Another American record.
1,000-pound bencher Scott Mendelson who competed in the same APF meet exclaimed: “That’s your father?! That man is a stud!”
Since he does not barbell squat, Vladimir pulls twice a week, once light and once heavy. Last several cycles he stood on a 45-pound plate to slightly increase the ROM and strengthen his start.
In addition to deads he does parallel grip pullups, hanging leg raises, fist pushups (vertical fists, elbows against the lats, slow and strict), and kettlebell goblet squats. He swims, runs, and climbs stairs.
I vary the type of a cycle my dad follows. More often than not it is a Marty Gallagher inspired linear cycle. To write such a cycle, pick the target for the last heavy day (1×3, 1×2, 2×2, etc.) and work back 6-12 weeks. Trial and error have taught me that 15-pound jumps are optimal for my dad. He tends to overtrain with 10-pound jumps and 20-pound jumps do not allow him to gain enough momentum.
Vladimir’s Cycle for the 2012 APF Viking Challenge, Solvang, CA
This time I bumped his reps up to eight and ten in the beginning of the cycle. Given my conviction that “anything over five reps is bodybuilding,” why did I do it?
Exactly because it was time for some bodybuilding. My father had grown out of the 181-pound class, so reps gave him an extra nudge up to fill in the 198-pound class faster. His muscularity noticeably improved and he got leaner.
I had many a conversation with Marty on the topic of reps. One of the many priceless lessons the Grandmaster taught me was: higher rep sets do not need to push the limit. If you operate in my dad’s poundage range in any lift, you will realize that 295×8 is hard but not RM for a lifter with a 400-pound max. Write this down: 1-3×8-10 done with an 80-90% effort will build mass without compromising technique and safety.
The back of a seventy-five year old deadlifter. 100% drug free.
Vladimir picked up the barbell less than five years ago and never looked back. Coaching him is a challenge because, like a young man he believes he is, my dad tends to overdo things. Once he did not perform as well as expected in a meet. After a thorough interrogation my old man fessed up that he had climbed 306 floors several days before!
Coaching my father is about holding him back and I would not have it any other way. Over the years people have asked me why don’t I offer motivation tips. The answer is: I have none. We are all adults here: either you have it, or you don’t.
StrongFirst is not in the babysitting business. We serve the top 1% performers and those who are totally committed to claw their way up to the 1%. Which is why the sports psychology text that we chose to publish, Psych, is the manual on reaching world class performance—not cheerleading drivel to lure the lazy off the couch.
As they used to say in the Rhodesian army: “Be a man among men.” Regardless of your age or circumstances.
This is so awesome and inspirational. I have been wondering how your father is doing since 1st reading about how he got bit by the “deadlift bug” in Easy Strength (p.143 to be exact). As we age, we need to do everything we can to increase our strength, while keeping safety in mind, of course. A 75 year old with that kind of strength, hypertrophy, and work ethic is truly admirable and astonishing.
Thanks for posting the update and this is really amazing. I hope this inspires older gents that there is no excuse to not be stronger…We all need to be strong, no matter what age!
Best, Scott
Gotta laugh out of the motivation comments. Strongly agree that motivation is either there or it isn’t. But even more importantly whether motivation is there or not, it is critical that YOU be there cranking out the work. How you feel mentally is a bad guide, where how you feel under work loads is a much better yardstick. You can train with a broken hear tbut not a pulled hamstring. If you must feel psyched to work out, or use stimulants to get through workouts, i have doubts about your training future. The road to the top is long and there are times you won’t feel like working hard if at all. These are not the days to double your efforts, these are days to do your work and call it a day.
Much respect to your father for his success and attitude. I’m sure that his achievements on the platform are merely the latest example of a life of success.
The really instructive thing about this whole post isn’t that he’s doing amazingly well “for his age” (he is) but that he’s progressing. You indicate that he “grew out of the 181″. He’s not only doing well, he’s breaking new ground, and it’s that mindset that keeps him going and makes him the ideal example.
Bravo.
Thank you for your kind words, ladies and gentlemen!
Outstanding piece of work, and inspiration for me. Certainly teaches one that age is simply a number and with intelligently designed training one can compensate for infirmities…
I wish all the strong men and women a happy new year!
Funny, most people think, that you get weaker when you get old. Fact is, that when you have a potential to get stronger, you can get stronger. With “the potential” I mean the deficit to your maximum at that age. Of course an Olympic weightlifter cannot get even stronger with the years, he gets weaker, but if he would have started ten, twenty or thirty years later with weight training, he could get stronger. It’s never too late to get stronger. I started with kettlebells when I was around 50 years, and Pavel knows, that it is some years ago. And I enjoy my body, getting older and stronger. Pull up with 28 kg / 62 lbs.
My wife never ask me, will you try to unscrew the lid of this glass or can you open it? She says, open it, please! It’s great to be strong.
Holger Danske, still going strong
Holger Danske, you are an inspiration, Sir!
Thank you, Pavel, thank you very much. I chose the company of strong men, because I get inspired there. And I do the best of what you and your instructors taught me and still teach me. It’s a never ending story.
Thank you Chief! I have recently became worried if I was doing something wrong when letting people around me know about strength training as I could only get very-very few people to train with me… But it’s not me, it’s just that most are just not (yet) strong in mind… And I can’t do the ‘showing up’ for them. So I’ll be happy, VERY happy for the few who turn up, return and take it seriously. As those are the guys who are ready to follow me through everything
And yes, this was only the last few lines. It will take a while to digest the main part of the article.
As I explained to Pavel a few weeks ago, I’d be nervous if I had to face him in a fight.
Chuck Norris said the same thing about Pavel.
Inspirational Stuff and really shows one as no excuse for sitting on their Bums!
“We serve the top 1% performers and those who are totally committed to claw their way up to the 1%. Which is why the sports psychology text that we chose to publish, Psych, is the manual on reaching world class performance—not cheerleading drivel to lure the lazy off the couch.”
Love it.