I own 60 issues of the Crossfit Journal and use some of the Crossfit principles with people I train. There’s a lot of stuff I like about Crossfit, but there’s also a lot of stuff that I don’t like. Read on.

What is Crossfit? Crossfit is a strength & conditioning program. You train 3 days on/1 day off or 5 days on/2 days off. Crossfit posts your workout of the day (WOD) each day on their website.

This comes from the Crossfit FAQ:

CrossFit is in large part derived from several simple observations garnered through hanging out with athletes for thirty years and willingness, if not eagerness, to experiment coupled with a total disregard for conventional wisdom.

Let me share some of the more formative of these observations:
1. Gymnasts learn new sports faster than other athletes.
2. Olympic lifters can apply more useful power to more activities than other athletes.
3. Powerlifters are stronger than other athletes.
4. Sprinters can match the cardiovascular performance of endurance athletes, even at extended efforts.
5. Endurance athletes are woefully lacking in total physical capacity.
6. With high carb diets you either get fat or weak.
7. Bodybuilders can’t punch, jump, run, or throw like athletes can.
8. Segmenting training efforts delivers a segmented capacity.
9. Optimizing physical capacity requires training at unsustainable intensities.
10. The world’s most successful athletes and coaches rely on exercise science the way deer hunters rely on the accordion.

What I Like About Crossfit. Mainstream gyms have you work with machines or make you do cardio only which leads to subpar results. Crossfit is one of the fastest growing fitness movement and offers a better alternative.

• Free Weights. No machines. You’ll do Power Cleans, Overhead Squats, Turkish Getups, Snatches, but also body-weight exercises, kettlebells, rings, etc. Even women do these exercises and they aren’t bulky.
• Hard Workouts. You always try to beat your previous record. Your goal is to decrease your time or do more reps/sets each WOD.
• Low Carb Diet. Most people do better eating high protein/high fat/low carb, getting the majority of their carbs from fruits & veggies.

What I Don’t Like About Crossfit. It’s a lot better than what mainstream gyms have you do, and you’ll get in shape, but there are several things wrong with doing Crossfit without any additional work.

• Too Much Endurance. You’ll increase your strength, but don’t expect to increase your Deadlift to 2x body-weight.
• Lack of Programming. You jump from one thing to another every WOD: today long runs, tomorrow singles. Too much of everything at the same time will make you average in a lot of things, but great at nothing.
• Hard for Beginners. You can’t learn proper technique using endurance workouts. Crossfit also seems to think that puking is normal/hardcore.

Mixing Crossfit with StrongLifts 5×5. One approach I like with people who are past the beginner’s stage, is mixing a Crossfit WOD with a strength training program. Reader haig asked:

I’m doing a 5×5 advanced schedule right now and am going to start crossfit next month 5 days a week. I would love to get your opinion as stated by a previous commenter on how you would possibly schedule a hybrid crossfit/strength training regiment to get VERY strong and VERY fit.

Understand that you can’t get very strong AND very fit at the same time. Your muscles can’t adapt to both types of exercise. Training endurance & strength simultaneously will inhibit your strength gains.

Realize also that increasing your maximal strength will increase your endurance as explained here & here. If you need to lose fat or need extra endurance work or if strength isn’t that important, try this:

• Monday: StrongLifts 5×5
• Tuesday: WOD
• Wednesday: StrongLits 5×5
• Thursday: off
• Friday: StrongLifts 5×5
• Saturday: WOD
• Sunday: off

Pick one WOD and do it for a couple of weeks — I like John Davies‘ “The Bear“. Try to beat your previous record every time. If your strength goes down, and food/recovery is ok, you’re doing too much.

Copyright © 2007-2009 STRONGLIFTS BVBA. Disclaimer.

Since I started strength training I’ve gained 10lbs already. Now I’m 180lbs. My strength also increased. Thanks for this wonderful site, it really helps me achieved my goals. Keep up the good work, Mehdi.

Six weeks later JD decided to switch routine:

I consulted my cousin and I told him that I’m doing strength training for 2 months. He recommended me to try doing endurance training for shape and size before I switch to strength training.

He gave me a 2 month endurance program. I’ll give it a try. I really want to be muscular (not that muscular as body builders have) but at the same time I want to be strong. By February 2008, I’ll switch again to strength training.

Few days later JD posted his cousin’s endurance program:

My cousin gave me these exercises:

Monday – Chest and Triceps: Incline Bench Press, DB Flies, Flat Bench Press, Decline Bench Press, Dips, Triceps Pulldown, Tricep Extension, Tricep Kickback

Wednesday – Back and Biceps: Pull-ups, Lat pulldown, close grip pulldown, Barbell Rows, one are DB rows, Deadlift, Bicep curl, alternate DB Curl, Preacher Curl, concentration curl

Friday- Shoulder and Legs: Overhead Press, DB press, front raise, side lateral raise, Upright row, shrugs, Squat, Leg Press, Leg Extension, Calf raise

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday: Cardio

*All exercise will be 3 sets of 10 reps with moderate weights.

My Goal: To get big and strong.

What do you think of this exercises? Is it really for endurance? Any suggestions and comments?

Why This Routine is Bad. StrongLifts 5×5 improves your cardiovascular fitness. If you need more endurance work, do Ross Enamait’s routines. The routine of JD’s cousin won’t build endurance, neither will it make you big & strong.

• 1 Squat Session/Week. StrongLifts 5×5, Bill Starr & Rippetoe 3×5 give fast muscle & strength gains because of the 3 Squat sessions/week.
• Isolation Exercises. Too many exercises that focus on a single joint. Dips are better than kickbacks, Overhead Presses better than front raises, Squats better than leg extensions, etc.
• More Arm Than Leg Work. 8 exercises for your arms. 4 exercises for your legs. You’re training one of your largest bodyparts with half the volume than your arms.
• High Reps. You don’t get strong using high reps. You can use more weight doing reps of 5 than reps of 10.
• No Rest Days. 3x weight lifting & 4x cardio. No physical, nor mental rest.

JD decided to do StrongLifts 5×5 instead of his cousin’s routine. If someone ever gives you a similar routine: give them StrongLifts 5×5 eBook.

Copyright © 2007-2009 STRONGLIFTS BVBA. Disclaimer.

Keith Wassung has a 710lbs Squat, 480lbs Bench Press, 700lbs Deadlift & 355lbs Overhead Press at 220lbs body-weight. He walks the talk.

I knew Keith Wassung’s Timed Total Tonnage strength training program but never tried it until recently. I’m using it to increase my Overhead Press & I like it. Here’s Keith Wassung Timed Total Tonnage program.

What’s Total Tonnage? Timed total tonnage is similar to Bill Starr 5×5 & the Texas Method. The program has 1 heavy, 1 medium & 1 light day.

• Heavy Day: 5 sets of 10 reps
• Medium Day: 5 sets of 5 reps
• Light Day: 5 sets of 3 reps

Heavy, medium & light refer to the total volume or tonnage lifted. Volume is the sum of the reps x weight lifted. 5×5 with 60kg is 1500kg volume. The heavy day is highest in volume, the light day lowest.

Your goal is to increase the volume every workout. You lifted 1500kg on the 5×5 today, increase the volume the next 5×5 workout. Do the same for the 5×10 & 5×3: beat your previous record. Mark this in your training journal.

Intensity on Each Day. Don’t be fooled by the term light. The light day isn’t necessarily light. Each day has its own characteristics.

• Heavy Day. High reps, less weight, high volume. Physically challenging.
• Light Day. Low reps, more weight, low volume. Mentally challenging.
• Medium Day. Something in between the heavy & light day.

If you’ve been training at lower rep ranges – 5 & below – for some time, the sets of 10 will be hard at first. This shows a weakness. Progress on the sets of 10 & you’ll progress on the other rep ranges.

Timed Sets. This is similar to Charles Staley EDT program. Do your 5 sets in a set time. If it takes you 15 mins to complete the 5×10, do the 5×10 the next time within these 15 mins or faster.

Working with timed sets forces your body to do more work (more volume) within the same time frame. This is an old way to build strength & thus muscle.

Making Your Program. Doing Timed Total Tonnage for more than one exercise on the same day would be too challenging, but feel free to experiment. I’m doing it for the Overhead Press combined with Smolov for Front Squats.

You can do Timed Total Tonnage for the Squat, Front Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, etc. Any compound barbell exercise works. A typical layout of the program looks like this:

• Monday: 5×10
• Wednesday: 5×5
• Friday: 5×3

However you don’t need to do the 3 sessions in one week. I sometimes skip an Overhead Press session when I don’t feel ready, doing 3 workouts in a 10 day time frame. One benefit of mixing Timed Total Tonnage with another routine.

Choosing Your Weight. Get all your reps on every set while increasing the total volume of that workout. It’s tricky to choose your weight correctly the first time to get all your reps. Especially if you haven’t done sets of 10 in months.

If you did a 5×5 routine like the Beginner Strength Training Program you have a reference point. Increase the weight for the 5×3, decrease it for the the 5×10. The weight should allow you to do 10/5/3 reps on the first set but not 11/6/4.

You’ll have to reduce the weight on the following sets most of the time. A 2.5kg or 5kg decrease depending on the exercise. Increasing the volume is your main goal, but don’t make it easy by decreasing the weight too much.

Timed Total Tonnage Rules. You can use the following guidelines on the heavy, medium & light days of the program.

• Get all your reps on every set
• Increase the total volume every workout
• Finish all sets within the same time frame or try to do better
• Try to add weight on the first set every workout
• If you don’t achieve all reps, decrease the weight on the following set
• Use the same weight on the next set if you think you can get all reps

Practical Example. Here’s how I applied Keith Wassung’s Timed Total Tonnage program for the Overhead Press during the last weeks. It gives you an example of how it works. All weights are in kg.

• Th 04/10: 8×40 | 6 x 37,5 | 6×35 | 6×32,5 | 7 x 32,5
• Mo 08/10: 5x 50 | 5x 47,5 | 5×47,5 | 4×45 | 5×42,5
• We 10/10: 3×52,5 | 3×50 | 3×50 | 3×50 | 3×50
• Mo 15/10: 10×40 | 9×40 | 9×37,5 | 9×35 | 7×32,5
• Th 18/10: 5×52,5 | 5×50 | 5×47,5 | 5×47,5 | 5×45
• Mo 22/10: 3×55 | 3×52,5 | 3×50 | 3×50 | 3×50
• Th 25/10: 10 x 42,5 | 10 x 42,5 | 9x 42,5 | 7×40 | 7×37,5
• Mo 29/10: 4×52,5 | 5×50 | 5 x 47,5 | 5 x 47,5 | 5 x 47,5
• We 31/10: 3×55 | 3 x 52,5 | 3 x 52,5 | 3 x 50 | 3 x 50
• Fr 02/11: 10 x 42,5 | 9 x 42,5 | 8×40 | 8×37,5 | 8×35
• Mo 05/11: 5 x 52,5 | 5 x 52,5 | 4×50 | 4×47,5 | 5×45
• We 07/11: 3×55 | 3×55 | 3 x 52,5 | 3 x 52,5 | 3 x 52,5

Deciphering the Numbers. The above is brute data taken directly out of my training journal. Let’s take a closer look at these numbers.

• I missed reps on every set the first 5×10 workout on 04/10. I’m weak endurance wise because I haven’t done sets of 10 in years. The same weight was much easier the next workout on 15/10. Although I was greedy by trying 2 sets of 10 & therefore missed reps.
• The first 5×5 on 08/10 was easy because I’m coming from a 5×5 routine. All reps on every set done. Same with the 5×3 on 15/10.
• Check how the weight on the first set(s) increases every workout.
• Whenever I missed reps, I reduced the weight on the next set. Sometimes I fail getting all reps & decrease the weight again. This mostly happen on the sets of 10 which are more a question of endurance than of strength. The lactic acid build-up can be painful.
• Sometimes the first set was using a weight that I could have done more than 10 reps with. That explains the second (or third) set with the same weight. Ideally you should take more weight on the first set. But on the Overhead Press a 2.5kg increase quickly becomes too much.
• On 7/11 the 55kg felt like I could have done 3 reps with 57,5kg on the first set. I’ll try the 57,5kg next workout. But if I get these, it doesn’t mean I will be able to do 3 reps with 60kg the next time (as my max is 1×60kg). In this case I look at the total volume lifted, trying to beat the total volume of that workout. Which also means progress.
• On 7/11 my brother told me to do a third set with 55kg. I preferred lowering the weight & wait 2 workouts before trying with 57,5kg on the first set. Greed is bad.

As I wrote above, it’s tricky to choose the weight correctly. Greed, ego, etc. But you get better at it as the workouts go by. You’ll probably have more questions: use the comments below.

More Info

• Original Timed Total Tonnage Program. On Marty Gallagher’s site.
• Sherdog’s Strongest Man. Keith Wassung ranking first.
• The Lessons of Keith Wassung. Keith Wassung’s articles on Sherdog.

Copyright © 2007-2009 STRONGLIFTS BVBA. Disclaimer.

This post was submitted by StrongLifts.com reader Flying Fox.

This is a description of Bill Starr’s strength training program described in The Strongest Shall Survive: Strength Training for Football (1976). I recommend reading Bill Starr’s book, even if you’re not a football player.

Bill Starr’s program shows similarities with many other routines: Madcow’s 5×5, Eclypse, Starting Strength, The Texas Method, Timed Total Tonnage, …

What Are The Big Three? The Big Three are the Squat, Bench Press & Power Clean. The reason Bill Starr chooses these movements is that they build strength in all major muscle groups.

Even though Bill Starr’s program is designed for building overall strength and explosiveness in American Football players, it can be used to build strength and explosiveness in any other athlete.

Programming the Big Three. The Big Three are trained 3 times a week in a heavy/light/medium fashion. Which means you don’t train with maximum poundages every workout.

• Heavy Day: Work yourself up to one heavy set.
• Light Day: 80% of the heaviest set on Heavy Day.
• Medium Day: 90% of the heaviest set on Heavy Day.

Sets & Reps. 5×5 is used for The Big Three: 5 sets of 5 reps. The weight is increased on each successive set, the 5th set being your strongest set. The first 4 sets are used to warm-up to your heavy 5th set.

For the advanced trainee, a change of rep range is useful:

• Presses. Instead of doing 5×5, the trainee does 3×5 reps, 3×3 reps & 1 “back-off” set of 6-10 reps. Sets of 3 enable the trainee to handle heavier weights on the final set. The back-off set insures sufficient work. Back-off sets can also be applied to squats, but are less useful for pulls.
• Squats. Tens, fives and threes is another proven rep range. One would do 5×10 on Monday, 5×3 on Wednesday and 5×5 on Friday, increasing the weight each set. The difference with this routine is that a trainee goes to the maximum each workout. The program still follows the heavy / light / medium system, based on total tonnage. Even though the tens utilize the lightest weight, they produce the most total work load. The threes produce less workload and the fives something in between.

Circuit Method. The Big Three are trained with the Circuit method. The trainee does one set of an exercise and then moves on to the next exercise. When he has done the first set of every exercise, he will do the same for the second set, the third set, and so on.

The Circuit Method insures all exercises obtain equal attention and workload. This might not be possible due to a lack of equipment, so the trainee may do all his sets of one exercise before moving on to another instead. It could be a good idea to change the heavy/light/medium structure if you drop the circuit method. For example:

• Monday: Heavy Squats, medium Bench Press & light Power Clean.
• Wednesday: Light Squat, heavy Bench Press & medium Power Clean.
• Friday: Medium Squat, light Bench Press & heavy Power Clean.

Substituting Exercises. Although it is perfectly possible to do the program with nothing but the Big Three, variations are possible and recommended when you stall. This is where we replace the big three on some of the workouts by exercises that have a carry over on them.

An important thing to remember with these substitutions is that a trainee goes heavy on each of the lifts. If he does only bench press in the program, he would decrease the load on light and medium days. However, if he does military presses on light day, he should go to the maximum on this exercise. The muscles involved in benching still get some rest, because of the lighter load that is used on the military press, so it can still count as a light day.

The general rule is: put the heaviest load on heavy day, the lightest load on light day and the one in between on medium day. This can be accomplished by lowering the weight on the same exercise or by choosing a less or more stressing exercise. Bill Starr describes the following:

• Overhead Presses. These can replace the bench press on a light day or medium day, as they are less stressful to the shoulder girdle. Behind the neck presses would be done on light day and military presses on medium day.
• Incline Bench Presses. Similar to the overhead presses, we can replace the bench press with incline press on medium day.
• Front Squats. Because lighter loads are used compared to the back squat, Front Squats would replace back squats on light day
• Power Shrugs. A good way to overload the pulling muscles, and thus a good replacement for power cleans on heavy day. This is an advanced exercise that should not be put in the program without enough experience in the power clean.
• High Pulls. A good replacement for power cleans on heavy or medium days. It works the same muscles as the power clean, but has some advantages. There is no stress on the wrists and more weight can be used. Doing the power clean on light day is still recommended to keep the form which you have developed. Just like power shrugs, this exercise is more advanced.

Monday, heavy day:
squat: 5 x 135, 5 x 165, 5 x 185, 5 x 205, 5 x 225
bench press: 5 x 135, 5 x 155, 5 x 175, 5 x 190, 5 x 200
power clean: 5 x 115, 5 x 135, 5 x 145, 5 x 155, 5 x 165
Wednesday, light day:
squat: 5 x 135, 5 x 150, 5 x 160, 5 x 170, 5 x 180
bench press: 5 x 135, 5 x 135, 5 x 145, 5 x 155, 5 x 160
power clean: 5 x 115, 5 x 115, 5 x 115, 5 x 125, 5 x 135
Friday, medium day:
squat: 5 x 135, 5 x 155, 5 x 175, 5 x 190, 5 x 205
bench press: 5 x 135, 5 x 150, 5 x 160, 5 x 170, 5 x 180
power clean: 5 x 115, 5 x 125, 5 x 135, 5 x 145, 5 x 150

A little more advanced, and with the different heavy/light/medium structure:

Monday:
Heavy squat: squat 5×5
Medium bench: Incline bench press 5×5
Light power clean: power clean 5×5
Wednesday:
Heavy bench: bench press 5×5
Medium power clean: High pull 5×5 (90% of Friday’s heavy set)
Light squat: Front squat 5×5
Friday:
Heavy power clean: High pull 5×5
Medium squat: Squat 5×5 (90% of Monday’s heavy set)
Light bench: Military press 5×5

Including shrugs and more advanced rep ranges:

Monday, heavy:
squat 5×10
bench press 3×5, 3×3, 1×6-10
High pull 5×5
Wednesday, light:
squat 5×3, 1×6-10
Behind the neck press 3×5, 3×3, 1×6-10
power clean 5×5
Friday, medium:
Squat 5×5, 1×6-10
Incline bench press 3×5, 3×3, 1×6-10
High pull 5×5

There are many other possibilities, depending on your own experience and preference. I leave adding extra exercises at the readers own discretion. However, I do not recommend adding too much. Make sure the extras don’t have a negative influence on the main lifts.

Copyright © 2007-2009 STRONGLIFTS BVBA. Disclaimer.

The Texas Method is the logical next step after the Beginner Strength Training Program II. I’ve followed the Texas Method for several months this year with great success. Here’s how the program works.

Intermediates & Progressive Loading. You can’t add weight every workout as an intermediate. You use more weight, workouts get intenser. You need 4 days or more to recover. If you stall 2-3 times in a row, you need more recovery time.

Intermediates still have to apply progressive loading, but differently. No more workout to workout weight increases. Instead weekly increases. Your goal is to lift more weight than the same day the week before. That’s the Texas Method.

The Texas Method. You’ll alternate between volume days, recovery days & intensity days on the Texas Method.

• Volume: 5 sets of 5 reps with the same weight.
• Recovery: 3 sets of 3 reps with the same weight.
• Intensity: 1 heavy single, double or triple (1×1, 1×2 or 1×3).

Monday volume, Wednesday recovery, Friday intensity. Always at least one day rest between two workouts. Train on Tu/Th/Sa or Su/Tu/Th if you prefer.

Volume, Recovery & Intensity. The volume day is the toughest workout. It will cause the most soreness. The recovery day is easy & speeds up recovery by getting blood flowing into your muscles.

You’ll lift your heaviest weights on the intensity day. Work yourself up towards one heavy single, double or triple. Beat your previous record.

Exercises. Choose exercises based on your goals. If you tend towards powerlifting: more Bench Press. If you prefer Olympic lifting: more Front Squats & Overhead Press. Whatever your goals, always do the basics:

• Squat & Front Squat
• Deadlift
• Overhead Press & Push Press
• Bench Press
• Bent-Over Barbell Rows & Pendlay Rows
• Pull-ups, Chin-ups & Dips
• Power Cleans

Choosing Your Weight. It’s better to start too light & work with bigger weight increases, than starting too heavy & stall sooner.

• Monday: start with a weight you know you can do 5 sets of 5.
• Wednesday: 10% less weight than Monday.
• Friday: warm-up & attempt a personal record.

Don’t limit yourself by rules. If you feel the weight is too heavy on Wednesday, decrease the weight somewhat. It’s a recovery day after all. If the weight is too light on Monday use a bigger weight increment the week after.

Progression. Your goal is to make progress on a weekly basis. Lift more weight than the same day one week before.

• Monday: add 2,5kg/5lbs every week.
• Wednesday: 10% less than Monday.
• Friday: hit personal records.

You can’t add weight every week endlessly. You will stall. Never on Wednesday because that’s a recovery day. But you will stall on Monday & Friday.

Stalling on Monday. Example. You did 3 sets of 5 reps, but only achieved 3 reps in the last 2 sets. Two solutions:

1. Retry. Try again the week after with the same weight. Get the 5×5.
2. Deload. Lower the weight by 10% on Monday. Build up from there adding 2,5kg/5lbs every week.

The weight on Wednesday is always 10% of the weight on Monday. Retry for up to 3 weeks in a row. If that doesn’t help: deload. Don’t deload too soon: bad days often cause stalling.

Stalling on Friday. I’ll assume you’re training hard on Monday. If you are, but can’t break personal records on Friday consistently:

• Alternate between singles, doubles & triples weekly.
• Lower the weight on Monday by 10%.

Sometimes the Monday’s workout is too stressful. You need more time to recover. Deload 10% & see what happens.

Texas Method Excel Program. Use this template as a guideline. You’re an intermediate, you have a feeling for the weights now.

You need Microsoft Office or OpenOffice to view the file. Click here to download the Texas Method Excel File (right click – save as). The file is 38kb & takes less than 1 minute to download.

Trying the Texas Method? Post your questions using the comments & start your training log in StrongLifts.com Forum.

Copyright © 2007-2009 STRONGLIFTS BVBA. Disclaimer.

“I’m 5′ 7″ and weight 175lbs. My goals are to drop down to 150lbs, to lose fat around my waist & to build muscle.

My diet:

• 08:00:1 scoop EAS Protein from Costco, 1% milk and a banana.
• 10:30: High Fiber Cereal (no milk) and a banana.
• 12:30: Vegetables and Legumes. Chicken occasionally.
• 15:30: Apple & raisins or fruit bar.
• 20:00: Dinner
• 22:00: 1 scoop EAS Protein from Costco and 1% milk.

My training program on Monday/Wednesday/Friday:

• 10 min warm-up on elliptical machine
  
• 30 Push-ups
• 30 Forward crunches
• 30 Reverse crunches
• 2 sets of 10 reps Lat pull-down, Bench Press, Triceps, Biceps, shoulders.

Tuesday:

• 3 miles running
• 30 Forward crunches
• 30 Reverse crunches

Thursday:

• 45 mins swimming
• 30 Forward crunches
• 30 Reverse crunches

Sat or Sun:

• 6 miles running
• 30 Forward crunches
• 30 Reverse crunches

Rest one day a week.

I started 3 weeks ago. I feel fitter, but barely lost 2-3 lbs. Is there a change that I need to make to attain my goals?”

Protein. This is a rough estimation of your daily protein consumption:

• 2 scoops whey: 48g protein
• 200g chicken: 50g protein
• 200g meat at dinner: 50g protein

Your body needs protein to build muscles. 150g protein a day isn’t enough. Aim for 2g protein per bodyweight in lbs. In your case, that’s 350g protein daily.

Whey. EAS Protein from Costco contains soy. Soy decreases your testosterone levels. Consider another brand.

Squats. You’re not training your legs. This is probably the biggest error a beginner can make. Running doesn’t count. Running is nowhere comparable to the muscle development strength training exercises like the Squat will induce. Not only in your legs, but in your whole body. Start squatting and take a look at the beginner strength training program.

Daily Crunches. Your abs are like any other muscle: they need rest to grow. You’re training your abs 6 times a week. They have no time to rest. Train your abs on Monday/Wednesday/Friday & add weight systematically.

Running is great for endurance & losing fat/weight. But it will also burn muscles. You need to choose what’s more important to you. If you want to look like a marathon runner, run. If you want to be muscular, strength training is your tool.

Copyright © 2007-2009 STRONGLIFTS BVBA. Disclaimer.