Reload: Your Barbell Strength Blueprint

Book Synopsis: 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 blueprint:

• 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 in: 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!

About the Authors

• Fabio Zonin is a former powerlifter and natural bodybuilder. He is a former Master Teacher and member of the Advisory Board for FIF (Italian Federation of Fitness) and a former vice president of the AINBB (Italian Association of Natural Bodybuilding).
• Fabio is a Master StrongFirst Instructor and has trained many athletes at national and international levels in natural bodybuilding, powerlifting, and other sports.
• Pavel Tsatsouline is a former Soviet Special Forces physical training instructor and a Subject Matter Expert to elite U.S. military and law enforcement special operations units. Pavel is the Chairman of StrongFirst, a global school of strength offering instructor certifications and user courses in kettlebell, barbell, and bodyweight strength training.