The Legendary Wrestler Milo

Legendary wrestler Milo was born in the sixth century BC in the Greek colony of Croton in southern Italy. To this day, the athletic accomplishments of Milo not only have inspired athletes to strive for greatness but also have had a profound influence on how we view strength training. What Milo discovered, as well as what he didn't, can help you smash through training barriers.

Milo was a six-time Olympic champion who was known for showmanship in feats of strength. He is reported to have carried a full-grown bull, which would have weighed as much as 900 pounds, 200 yards into the Olympic stadium. Then, in one blow, he killed the animal and ate it! He would hold a pomegranate in his hand and challenge all comers to take it from him; none could, and the fruit was never damaged.

Milo is celebrated most of all for inspiring the term progressive resistance for his idea to lift a calf every day until it was fully-grown. Technically, you could say that he was gradually increasing the intensity of his workout because the load continually increased. While this is an interesting story (and is quite possible, as proven by the fact that strongmen such as H. Mann have been able to lift adult bulls), there is one problem with Milo's training model.

Progressive Problems
One problem with Milo's bullish workout is that, although the resistance did increase, eventually the bull would reach a peak weight. If Milo continued lifting the same bull, his strength could at best be only maintained; he needed to either find a heavier bull or look for another species . . . a hippopotamus, perhaps?

Another problem with the workout is that resistance was increased linearly, instead of in wavelike patterns associated with periodization models. As anyone who has ever used the high-density programs recommended by many bodybuilding writers and exercise machine manufacturers can tell you, such programs quickly lead to stagnation. The body is not a machine; it needs time to recover from bouts of high-intensity training.

But the biggest problem I have with Milo's workout is the lack of variety. Milo was performing the same exercise in the same manner every single day. To continue making rapid progress, an athlete must vary the exercises performed; a more advanced athlete must vary the exercises more frequently than a beginner. Sometimes I will change an exercise once a month, sometimes once every two weeks, and sometimes even once a week.

In addition to stimulating growth, variety helps prevent repetitive strain injuries. Carpal tunnel syndrome in this country is epidemic, but it's not because typing is such a strenuous task but because typing in the same manner for long periods is stressful. I know one physical therapist in California who said that when he treated bodybuilders with biceps tendonitis, one common denominator he found was that they had been performing the same exercises for months without change.

When we talk about variation, the changes you make don't have to be extreme. About 20 years ago at a NSCA convention I bought a pair of Pignatti lifting shoes, which had a slightly lower heel than the Adidas I had always used. Once I got home, like a kid with a new Christmas toy, I couldn't wait to try out my Pignatti shoes on 10 sets of triples in the squat. When I got out of bed the next day, I was so stiff that I thought I'd been whacked on the legs with bamboo sticks by a crowd of Kendo practitioners. Again, the only difference was the lower heel height of the Pignatti shoes.

Seeing how a change as minor as this can cause a major response makes it easy to understand how effective you can make your workouts by simply alternating your grip or foot stance. American powerlifters to Russian weightlifters have used that concept to break through strength plateaus. To prove it, try an Omni squat workout.

Omni squats are those that vary the type of squat you perform not between workouts but between sets. I have more than 25 workout variations in my computerized software program; here is one of them:

Omni Squats Mode 1

Set 1 - Back squats, medium stance, and elbows under the bar - 6 reps
Set 2 - Back squats, wide stance, hands to the end of the collars; lean forward 15 degrees, and keep trunk angle constant through entire set - 6 reps
Set 3 - Cyclist squats, heels 4 inches apart, elevated 6 inches or so - 6 reps
Set 4 - Back squats, medium stance, and elbows under the bar - 8 reps
Set 5 - Back squats, wide, hands to the end of the collars; lean forward 15 degrees, and keep trunk angle constant through entire set - 8 reps
Set 6 - Cyclist squats, heels 4 inches apart, elevated 6 inches or so - 8 reps
Set 7 - Back squats, medium stance, and elbows under the bar - 12 reps
Set 8 - Back squats, wide stance, hands to the end of the collars; lean forward 15 degrees, and keep trunk angle constant through entire set - 12 reps
Set 9 - Cyclist squats, heels 4 inches apart, elevated 6 inches or so - 20 reps (yes, 20 reps; do not write in to ask if it's 20 reps)

Do this routine, and see how well you can tango for the next few days. It may not enable you to lift a full-grown bull like Milo did, but you will achieve gains you never thought possible.

And if you're wondering why Milo did not win more than six Olympics, legend has it that he was alone in a forest when he found a tree trunk that had been partially split by woodcutters. To test his strength he tried to pull apart the tree trunk with his bare hands; however, when a wedge placed in the opening by the woodcutters slipped, Milo found himself caught, leaving him defenseless when wolves attacked him.

Although death by wolves is a gruesome way to die, who's to say it wasn't preferable (in Milo's mind anyway) to losing in the wrestling arena or dying in his sleep of old age?