Reload: Your Barbell Strength Blueprint

by Pavel Tsatsouline, Pavel Tsatsouline

Where do you go next when your strength gains hit the wall?

You learned your way around the barbell. And made quick gains as a beginner.

Then you moved on to some reliable classic program, like 5×5. You put meat on your bones and pounds on your lifts.

But, finally, you hit the wall. How do you break through it?

Your best move is to find an expert coach to individualize your loads. If that is not an option, this purposefully concise book is your answer. Reload takes one of history’s most successful strength training methodologies and shows you how to customize it—and make it nearly foolproof.

Powerlifting “cycling” was born in the 1970s as a joint Russian-American venture. It produced some of the strongest men in history. Other than the Soviet Olympic weightlifting system of the same vintage, no other method has ever asserted such decisive and lasting dominance on the lifting platform.

At StrongFirst, we enjoy the challenge of polishing the chrome of classic methods. We stand by “cycling” as one of the best ways to build barbell strength. We also recognize that even timeless methods benefit from periodic updates.

Cycling works great for many. But it can fail others by imposing a cookie-cutter rhythm of progression that does not fit the individual athlete. To tackle this pitfall, StrongFirst developed a series of straightforward tests and instructions for you to build your own custom power cycle, while respecting the original cycling system’s spirit and simplicity. Test after test, Reload delivered.

Get your barbell strength

• Build a custom power cycle that matches your rate of adaptation—almost guaranteed to prevent undertraining or overtraining.

• Choose your 2 to 5 lifts to get strong Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, Military Press, Barbell Row.

• Select your perfect assistance exercises—or not to remain a minimalist.

• Rinse and repeat…

Barbell power to you!

Genres: Fitness

81 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 31, 2019

Reviews

[James Freund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Straight To The Point

I’ve been researching several barbell “powerlifting” programs and this is one of the easiest to implement, allowing for novice or advanced lifters to determine current 1RM’s, formulate a training plan according to their own training adaptations and goals, then retest 1RM’s at the end of the cycle. It even includes some troubleshooting for common issues.

The book was about as long as most internet “lifting” articles, but the practical knowledge surpasses reading a hundred of them.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very interesting take on traditional cycling. The meat of this book is going to be familiar to anyone that has spent time in the gym and knows what periodization is.

What really sets it apart is the testing phase that customizes what is commonly a cookie cutter template to your individual strengths.

This is the kind of book you read, take to the gym, do the tests, go home and break out the spreadsheet and get to planning.

[Kenneth W Korcak]

Great help

For anytime that wants a straight forward way to program lifts. Make sure you read multiple times, and try all options.

[Ramón Nogueras Pérez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obtuve este libro de oferta con el anterior, la versión revisada de Simple & Sinister. Es un programa breve de fuerza con barra olímpica, que está bien pero asume ya familiaridad.

[Chuckdee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent perspective and plan from the Strong First team. I am adding this to my routine- the 8 week cycle really appeals to me