Uncovering the Soviet Strength Ruse

II: The Socialist Insurgency in

American Athletics
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 1960s to the 1980s, 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. Were 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 1950s the Russians
had started their domination of strength sports. Specifically weightlifting.
Well, thats a conveniently incorrect statement. In the 1952 Olympics the
U.S. won four golds versus the USSRs three in weightlifting. Again in 1956
the U.S. remained on top with a four to three rout of golds 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 golds to the Americans 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? Hes not a
weightlifter. He wasnt even on the scene in 1960. Well, we have
photographic evidence of him meeting with Yuri Verkhoshansky. And he
wouldnt 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 wouldnt.

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 1960s 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 its 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. Louies 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 1960s weve 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 1990s to the early 2000s 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 Ill graciously label as 1990-2005)
the U.S. only won a total of 34 golds. Won by only 16 different athletes.
Contrast this to the countries of the Iron Curtains 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 1980s. This coincides perfectly with Dr. Squats 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 Ill 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 havent 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.
Im sure youve 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 theyre in the Top 10 of
Powerliftingwatch.coms All Time list, theyre 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.

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.
Sources: