How to waste time in the gym, or not
posted by Listener on Dec 4, 2011 - 275 comments

9-year-old Naomi Kutin squats 187 at a bodyweight of 88 lbs. This breaks the 100% Raw record for the 97 lb class, held for a number of years by a woman in her late 20's. [more inside]
posted by Anatoly Pisarenko on Apr 11, 2011 - 60 comments

The conventional wisdom says that in the best of circumstances, a male beginner weight trainee cannot hope to gain more than a maximum of 2 pounds of muscle per month. Enter Mark Rippetoe, author and gym owner, and his 20-year-old trainee Zach Evetts. Zach gained 2.84 pounds of muscle a week. In his article "The Novice Effect," (PDF) Rippetoe explains Zach's results and why they're not surprising. [more inside]
posted by ludwig_van on Mar 10, 2010 - 108 comments

The Third World Squat (Some images not 100% safe for work) When it comes to training someone who's new to the world of squats, deadlifts, and the fine art of picking up heavy stuff, I've found a substantial disparity in the learning curve between North Americans and those from third-world countries . . . There are a variety of possible reasons for this, but there's one dominant variable that's a great predictor of a trainee's immediate potential before they even step foot in the gym: The third-world squat.
posted by jason's_planet on Dec 29, 2007 - 48 comments