If you’ve read my most recent post, “From Dusty Recesses to Hearts and Minds: Review of ‘War Yoga’ by Tom Billinge”, then you know that I’ve revealed there’s a Pulp Fiction Fitness for Fighting System in the works. 

And if you’ve spent any time around Pulp Fiction Renaissance in general, then you know that the rule around here is “Quality over Quantity”. 

You know that every piece I put up on here is backed up by over a decade of research. Unlike all the “internet influencers” out there, I don’t like to run my mouth and jump on the bandwagon of tricks and trends in any area of my life. 

And the Fitness arena is no different. I have been studying and experimenting Strength and Health coming up on 7 Years this May 29, 2023. 

7 is a rather Esoteric, Magical Number. I don’t know why, but it seems like it takes at least that long to really learn anything to be good enough to teach it. 

And Strength and Health? 

Well, that’s no different. 

So read on my friends, as I lay out in great detail my beliefs and doctrines on Strength and Health that are the culmination of years of study. 

ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS  

When it comes to Strength and Health, there’s a lotta people out there who like to pretend that they’ve reinvented the wheel. 

That they have some manner of proprietary knowledge that they came up with that nobody can figure out without them. 

That everything that went before is useless and obsolete, and that they are originals in every way without mentor or peer. 

But the truth is, we all stand on the shoulders of giants who helped to get us to the spot we’re in today. 

Consequently, my Strength and Health Doctrine is a composite of a number of people in the industry past and present, people that I consider the Heroes of Strength and Health, for one reason or another. 

Each of these people has in some way changed the way I look at this arena. Some I have met and spoken with in person. Others, I know only through the third party of their published works. 

But the common thread of all of them is: I wouldn’t be where I am today without them! 

These Heroes of Strength and Health are: 

• Zach Even-Esh 
• Logan Christopher 
• Paul “Coach” Wade
• Pavel Tstatsouline 
• Thomas Kurz
• John du Cane 
• Matt Furey 
• Ben Patrick 
• Tom Billinge
• Bud Jeffries 
• Steve Justa 
• Dan John
• George Hackensmidt, “The Russian Lion” 
• Joseph L. Greenstein, “The Mighty Atom” 
• Alexander Zass, “The Iron Samson”  
• Dragon Door Publications
• The Strongfirst Foundation  
• The National Academy of Sports Medicine

But just what is it they have taught me, you ask? 

A MAN AMONG MEN

My Strength and Health Doctrine is for a unique collection of people with a unique collection of needs. 

First of all, my goal is to build Strong Men. 

The Artist who dreams of being one of his heroes, who’s desperately desirous to turn dream into reality. 

The Blue Collar Worker who’s breaking his back day in and day out, whether that’s on the construction site or the retail floor. 

The Cop or the Soldier who was given the bare minimum to get through Basic…nowhere near enough to be elite and have a chance against our nation’s foes. 

Anybody who is in or wants to enter into Grappling and Striking Combat Sports, and has been lied to that “you just need more technique”…even though you are getting squashed by 300 lbs pro fighters on the mat day in and day out. 

Whoever you are, my mission is to make you a Man Among Men. 

And with such a unique mission, a unique training doctrine is needed. 

7 RULES FOR 7 YEARS

My Strength and Health Doctrine is built on 7 Rules…one rule for each year that it has taken me to come up with this doctrine!

The First Rule is that I don’t like to use machines. My general rule of thumb is that if they didn’t have it in the 19th or early 20th Century, I don’t like to use it. 

I mean, come on! It’s not Pulp Fiction Fitness if they didn’t have it in the days of Pulp Fiction…

I really don’t like machines so much because they can become a crutch and a barrier to people getting strong…you gotta get to the gym to get to them, and if for whatever reason you can’t get to the gym, then you’re not getting strong! 

Throwing the crutch out from the start cures this problem…and if the Great Strongmen of the Pulp Fiction Days didn’t need them: do you? 

Instead, I like using Bodyweight, Kettlebells, Dumbbells, Barbells, Sleds…you name it. The list goes on and on. 

The Second Rule is that Tendon and Ligament strengthening is what separates the men from the boys. Tendons and Ligaments are what our joints are made out of, and they are the limiting factor in super strength. 

For Tendon and Ligament strengthening, I like Isolation work…that means you work on a single joint per move in the body. I like to do these for high reps…30 to start out with, 100 as the basic standard to work up to. Past 100, the sky’s the limit! 

The Third Rule is, Strength is the King. You gotta be strong to be able to do anything in life, and that means maximally tensing to move resistance slowly…through a joint’s full range of motion!

These are often Compound Moves, meaning they use multiple joints. The reps I like are 3-5. 

I also like to intentionally make the Leverage bad so that it’s harder…alongside high rep tendon and ligament work, low rep slow strength work with poor leverage was the secret to the super strength of the old time Pulp Fiction Era Strong Men!

The Fourth Rule is that the lower body needs the lion’s share of attention in order to maximize your strength and to avoid injuries. That means the Hip, Knee, Ankles, and Toes are critical to understand and work. These are your foundation, so I focus on these big time in a unique way. 

The Fifth Rule is to always take the joint through its full range of motion, whether on High Rep Isolation work or Low Rep Compound work. 

This gives you more bang for your buck in the strengthening department, prevents and rehabilitates injuries, and lubricates the joints with synovial fluid so they work like they should. 

Training full range of motion does for your joints what getting an oil change does for your car. And while you may have many cars in your lifetime, you only get one body! 

The Sixth Rule is Weighted Carries solve many problems and get you tough in a hurry. Pick up heavy weights and carry them, both forward and backward: but whatever way you carry them, do them on your tiptoes! Talk about tough…for the whole body and mind!

The Seventh Rule is to work on flexibility…especially on the lower body!

Don’t just work on dynamic high rep Isolation and low rep Compound exercises…stretch these joints out statically through the full range of motion you can go into. 

And don’t do it for just 30 seconds: that is useless! Go for 5 minutes or more. That’s where you’ll see lasting change and greater range of motion gains. 

That’ll help you big time on your way to the super strength of the Pulp Fiction greats!

THE SADDLE, THE BULL, AND THE ADVENTURE!

Well, there you have it! My Strength and Health Doctrine I have developed over the past decade.

It’s 7 Rules for 7 Years, painstakingly researched and tested by yours truly, so that my toil may be your gain!

These rules have changed the game for me, and have finally allowed my body to cash all those checks my ego likes to write!

And if they could change the game for me, well my friend, I know that they will change the game for you, too!

The truth is, the ability of the Pulp Fiction Strong Men is waiting for you just around the corner…

All you gotta do is take it!

So saddle up, grab that Mithraic Bull by the horns, and join me on this arduous adventure of Pulp Fiction Strength and Health…worthy of the Indo-European Heroes of Old! 

Sincerely,

Richard Barrett 

03-12-2023

1:24 AM