The Start of It All
In my first post regarding the Soviet influences in American strength sports I gave a brief overview of the connections and its
conspirators. I spoke about how it made no sense that the Russians would share
with us their secret training methods of the 1960’s to the 1980’s, where they
largely began dominating nearly every Olympic sport. I spoke about how since
the implementation of these so called “advanced” training methods the U.S.
performance in strength sports has been on gradual decline. Then I spoke about
some of the suspected conspirators in this modern age of Soviet insurgency.
Today I will show you just how deep the rabbit hole goes.
And in doing so I will prove to you that nearly every American athlete, even
those beyond the traditional strength sports of weightlifting, powerlifting,
and strongman, has been poisoned from the well of socialist training
propaganda. That poison has left them trapped beneath the glass ceiling of
performance of which our Russian enemies have broken through long ago.
It all began in 1961 where the U.S.S.R. had a few very
influential sports-scientists, namely: Yuri Verkhoshansky, Dr. Anatoliy
Bondarchuk [1], and Vladimir Issurin. These three individuals are credited with
the invention of plyometrics [2], transfer of training, [3] and Block
Periodization [4]. Three components to modern training that surely have had a
sobering impact on the sporting community as a whole. These three men began
what ultimately led to the decline of western athletic performance.
Yuri Verkhoshansky doodling on a chalk board for
the easily impressed and gullible American coaches and athletes.
From the 1960s-1980s it was one man, Michael Yessis [5], an
American born biomechanist, who did a large part of the translation of these
Soviet training methods. It was during this time he, along with other coaches
and athletes, went to the Soviet Union to study the socialist's training methods while
at the Moscow State Institute of Physical Culture. While there he made contacts with the three
major Soviet sports-scientist- grandfathers of this socialist strength
propaganda. He then began the flow of misinformation; a deluge unto the world
of sports as we know it.
Whether or not Mr. Yessis was knowingly spreading Soviet
lies or was simply a pawn used in benefit to the proliferation of communist deception, we will never truly know. But what we do know is that he translated the
following Soviet works: Transfer of
Training (Volumes I and II), Block Periodization Training, Special Strength
Training: A Practical Manual for Coaches, Running and Hurdling, and many
other pieces of socialist sporting propaganda.
Additionally we know that Mr. Yessis has had a massive
impact on a vast array of sports here in the United States. From the NFL to
Olympic sports the spread of his Soviet lies have been felt. He has written
over a dozen books across multiple domains of athletics and thousands of articles
for everything from the rag Muscle &
Fitness to the NSCA Journal.
Once Michael Yessis let the Russian cat out of the bag many
other American coaches and athletes began to jump on the Red bandwagon. He sold
it like a popsicle in Hell. People were jumping at the chance to study under these
Soviet coaches, train at their training centers, and learn these so called
“advanced” training methods.
Soviet domination from the platform
to the race track.
Phase Two:
Recruitment
The Soviets were highly successful in their efforts to
undermine the U.S. advancement of physical strength. And in doing so they
created an avalanche of misinformation that is still falling to this day.
Devouring athletes from all disciplines in its wake. We’re about to move onto
the more well known and critically important persons and factors in the failure
of U.S. performance in strength sports.
Fast forward a decade or so and another major player in this
unfortunate explosion of Soviet propaganda came on the radar. That man was Dr.
Frederick C. Hatfield, who in 1983 traveled to Moscow on a so called
“fact-finding mission.” [6] While there he supposedly encountered a unified
Soviet front against the Americans regarding all things athletics.
Dr. Hatfield, or Dr. Squat as his code name is known, went
to Moscow to learn first-hand the tactics, techniques, and procedures of these
allegedly secret training methods. But they were never secret to begin with.
They were exactly what the Kremlin wanted him to learn so he could take those
“lessons” back to the U.S. and begin deconstructing the American athletic
community from the inside.
In the sourced article Dr. Squat states that since the
1950’s the Russians had started their domination of strength sports.
Specifically weightlifting. Well, that’s a conveniently incorrect statement. In
the 1952 Olympics the U.S. won four gold’s versus the USSR’s three in
weightlifting. Again in 1956 the U.S. remained on top with a four to three rout
of gold’s against the Soviets. Then in 1960, one year before Michael Yessis
began his treasonous relations with Yuri Verkhoshansky the Soviets ousted the
Americans. In fact, they trounced us. In weightlifting the god hating
socialists took home five gold’s to the American’s one. The last remaining gold went to Poland, a
Soviet state. Essentially the Soviets went from sucking at weightlifting to
dominating it over night. [7, 8, 9]
And magically so did Dr. Squat. Coincidence?
But what does Dr. Squat have to do with this connection?
He’s not a weightlifter. He wasn’t even on the scene in 1960. Well, we have
photographic evidence of him meeting with Yuri Verkhoshansky. And he wouldn’t
want to betray that trust and subject himself to a KGB investigation. Fred
Hatfield had already defected from the U.S. to the U.S.S.R. why would he risk
repatriation back to the Americans?
He wouldn’t.
Codename Dr. Squat took what information was
given to him and started up his own propaganda mill here in the United States.
He went on to write multiple best-selling books about training and in total
over 60 pieces of pro-Soviet literature. In 1983 and 1986 he won the IPF World
Powerlifting Championships. At 45 years old he set a world squat record of 1014
pounds. [10] A feat so far ahead of its time it is unquestionable whether or
not he had access to the actual secret training regimen of the U.S.S.R. Had he
been training with what lies he was spreading then his competition would have
been much more fierce, and his squat hundreds of pounds less.
He also went on to found the International Sports Science
Association in 1988 [11], which is just two letters short of U.S.S.R. How serendipitous...
After the 1960’s the United States began to lose their grip
on weightlifting. The remainder of this article will mostly focus on
powerlifting. The last bastion of American performance… until that too
collapsed under the influence of faulty Russian science.
By 1964 the Soviets had a stranglehold on weightlifting.
The Man Who Killed
American Powerlifting
The next spider in this web of Soviet lies is Louie Simmons,
founder of the infamous Westside Barbell and it’s namesake conjugate training
system. Louie started powerlifting in 1966, and by his own account, he sucked.
In fact he sucked so hard that great American lifters like Larry Pacifico
attempted to help him by giving him training advice. To which he ignored.
Instead he went on to purchase books from whom would you know? Yuri Verkhoshansky.
Translated by… Michael Yessis. [12]
The plot thickens.
Louie claims that his Westside method is a superior mix of
both the Soviet training system of cycling through various exercises and the
Bulgarian system of using near max lifts frequently. However, both of
those systems originate from behind the Iron Curtain. Louie’s infamous Westside
conjugate system is merely the stitching together of Soviet misinformation.
Louie will point to his system being based in science. Thus
making it better than the rest. But the reality is that his basis is built upon
the textbooks he purchased in a back alley from Mr. Yessis. And the science
contained in those books is failed. On its surface the concepts seem
legitimate. However like I pointed out in my first post, does it make sense
that the Soviet Union would spend an enormous amount of money developing its
sports-sciences only to share it with their arch rival, the United States?
Absolutely not.
The Soviets were conducting scientific experiments on their
athletes, this we knew. But unfortunately the Soviets knew that we knew. And in
order to combat our attempts at athletic espionage they fought back with
deception. Rather than hide in secrecy they threw a diversion. They invited our
best and brightest behind the Iron Curtain, showed them a dog and pony show of
science, and sent them back. Meanwhile the actual scientific progress of Soviet
athletes remains unknown. Hidden deep within the red walls of the Dynamo Barbell
Club. Protected by their diversion.
And since the 1960’s we’ve been so gullible to believe that
the Russians would tell us the truth about their actual training methods.
Besides the connection to Verkhoshansky and Michael Yessis,
Louie Simmons is connected also to Codename Dr. Squat. It is known that he has
read and implemented the lies spread by this Soviet conspirator. [13] Nearly
every piece of information Louie Simmons publishes is “backed” by Soviet lies.
Lies in which we are not sure whether or not he believes himself, or knows
their true origins and purposes.
Louie Simmons looking only
moderately suspicious.
There is no solid photographic or written evidence of Louie
Simmons meeting personally with any of the above mentioned Soviet
sport-scientists but we could easily assume he has. We have a few anecdotal
accounts and blurry images, but nothing solid. He is a very careful and methodical operator.
From the 1990’s to the early 2000’s Louie Simmons and his
Westside barbell training system dominated the American powerlifting scene. Since 1974 the United States has won gold in the Powerlifting World Championships a
total of 62 times. [14] Which seems like a lot. Except during the Westside
Barbell era (which I’ll graciously label as 1990-2005) the U.S. only won a
total of 34 gold’s. Won by only 16 different athletes. Contrast this to the countries of the Iron
Curtain’s total of nearly 150 gold medals from between 1973 and 2010.
The last time the United States dominated the World
Championships was into the mid 1980’s. This coincides perfectly with Dr.
Squat’s rise to powerlifting fame and Louie Simmons beginnings. It is clear that
after about 1985 Americans started getting weaker in comparison to their Soviet
foes. That year, 1985 is what I’ll call Year Zero. The year the Soviet
deception mission was realized. The goal
to sabotage American strength training by replacing it with their faulty
methods had become reality.
Those damn Russians also somehow convinced us
it was beneficial to become morbidly obese
in order to gain strength.
The Aftermath of Year
Zero
Fast-forward nearly 30 years from Year Zero to 2014. The raw
powerlifting scene is exploding with popularity. The number of powerlifters
seems to be growing exponentially. The popular lifters of the day, with their
widely known and practiced training programs include: Jim Wendler of 5/3/1,
Brandon Lilly of Cube Method, and Mark Rippetoe of Starting Strength. [15]
The first two trained directly under Louie Simmons at
Westside Barbell. The last one trained under Bill Starr, a known associate of
Dr. Squat. [16]
In this modern era of raw powerlifting we have a litany of
training programs, but unfortunately due to the success of Year Zero nearly all
of them are based upon faulty Soviet science, thus the reason why so many
American athletes fail to reach the top tiers of powerlifting success. The few
who have set modern all-time World Records are all in the Soviet Strength Mafia
(SSM).
I have two theories as to how these people make continued powerlifting
success. The first is that they knowingly train under Russian coaches,
receiving their programs via cyphers passed by couriers and messages broadcast
from secret Russian radio stations. [17] The second hypothesis is that the
lifters training via cyphers and radio transmissions influence other athletes
in the SSM. Whether this second type subconsciously or knowingly understand what is going
on is what I haven’t discovered.
What's that? A copy of Starting Strength?
Nope. It's a secret radio to collect Russian Programs.
All the big name athletes in powerlifting these days are part
of the SSM. They operate as a guerrilla force within the borders of the United
States. I’m sure you’ve heard of a few of them: Jim Wendler, Brandon Lilly, Sam
Byrd, Dan Green, Chad Wesley Smith, The Lilliebridge Family, Derek Kendall, Mike
Tuchscherer, Richard Hawthorne, Pete Rubish, Mark Bell… and many more. Chances
are if they’re in the Top 10 of Powerliftingwatch.com’s All Time list, they’re
in the SSM.
There are two easy ways to identify a possible SSM member.
First, are they in any way associated with Juggernaut Training Systems or
Westside Barbell? Second, are they affiliated with the supplement manufacturer
Animal? A yes answer to one or both of these questions will solidify whether or
not an athlete is an SSM member.
These athletes pass misinformation, whether knowingly or not,
to the masses of lifters here in the U.S. This Soviet propaganda goes on to
provide just enough progress to satisfy these amateur lifters but will
ultimately never lead them to the kind of world wide powerlifting success the Soviet
insiders of the SSM have achieved.
These programs work, but not nearly as well as the true Soviet science backed programs. A
premature plateau is imminent.
The only secrets we know are the ones
they've told us.
In conclusion, the Soviet propaganda war machine against
American strength has proved successful. It did so by having the Three Grandfathers,
Verkhoshansky, Bondarchuk, and Issurin. The Three Grandfathers recruited Michael
Yessis and Dr. Frederick C. Hatfield, codename Dr. Squat. These two are the
bosses, or “Godfathers.” These two Godfathers proliferated the Soviet sabotage
throughout the U.S. across many sporting events. Everything from swimming to
strongman has felt their knife of influence. In their efforts they went on to
recruit Louie Simmons, a Brigadier, who then carefully enlisted a crack team of
lifters at Westside Barbell.
While Louie Simmons was developing his guerrilla athletes at Westside the two Godfathers went on to recruit other influential Brigadiers, most notably Bill Starr. Bill Starr went on to mold Mark Rippetoe, author of the seminal work Starting Strength. He is also a known collaborator with Glenn Pendlay, possibly the greatest modern U.S. Olympic Weightlifting Coach. Back at Westside, Louie Simmons was busy spreading his own Conjugate System. He also tutored both Jim Wendler and Brandon Lilly. These four Boyeviks, Rippetoe, Wendler, and Lilly, to a lesser extent Pendlay, are the ringleaders of smaller groups of lifters (known as Kryshas) as well as spreading their own faulty training systems: 5/3/1, Cube, Texas Method. The other lifters, the Kryshas are numerous, and growing.
While Louie Simmons was developing his guerrilla athletes at Westside the two Godfathers went on to recruit other influential Brigadiers, most notably Bill Starr. Bill Starr went on to mold Mark Rippetoe, author of the seminal work Starting Strength. He is also a known collaborator with Glenn Pendlay, possibly the greatest modern U.S. Olympic Weightlifting Coach. Back at Westside, Louie Simmons was busy spreading his own Conjugate System. He also tutored both Jim Wendler and Brandon Lilly. These four Boyeviks, Rippetoe, Wendler, and Lilly, to a lesser extent Pendlay, are the ringleaders of smaller groups of lifters (known as Kryshas) as well as spreading their own faulty training systems: 5/3/1, Cube, Texas Method. The other lifters, the Kryshas are numerous, and growing.
We may never recover from the events that lead up to Year Zero. But one thing we can do is educate ourselves against the Soviet misinformation machine and the members of the SSM who are responsible for its propagation.
