Kirk Karwoski Appreciation Thread

[BendtheBar]

Kirk Karwowski - 1003 pound squat - YouTube

Kirk Karwowski - 1003 pound squat - YouTube

[BendtheBar]

Bas' Barbell: Kirk Karwoski Training Routine

I get tons of questions on just how Kirk trained. I love this split , and use it all the time with people.
When I was around him, here was his training split:

Day 1- Monday- Squat- working up to a heavy set. He would cycle 8's for awhile, then 5's, then 3's and 2's as the weeks went on. Because he was so strong, his volume was still pretty high, and the tonnage was also. The most impressive squatting I have seen was when he did 800x5 deep as hell with just a belt. To me, that is more impressive than 1000x2 with equipment. 800x5 with a belt?! Buy his dvd and check it out, it' on that and is simply amazing.
Kirk would hit some hack squats after squatting, but only if his knees werent bothering him. Basically, he would squat and leave. I told Jim Wendler about that at a seminar in Texas that we did together and he loved that- Squat and Leave!

Day 2-Tuesday-
Arms- close grip bench press, ez curls, db curls. Heavy on all of this. He cycled the close grip and worked HEAVY on the db curls, strict with the 80's and up.

Day 3-Thursday-
Deadlift
same kind of cycling as the squat, but usually lower reps becuase of grip issues. Lots of doubles and triples here. He then would do Kirk Shrugs like I have written about before. They were for his grip and trap development. He also at times, did some t-bar rows, focusing on squeezing at the top. He felt like they contributed to his back development.

Day 4- Saturday-
Bench Press- lots of sets of 5 here, heavy and pausing. Eventually, before a meet, he would do heavy doubles and singles.
Incline press- heavy sets of 5 here
Lateral raises- he would work these on a machine, just a few sets.

No pressing, lat pulls, pushdowns dips, etc. He just liked barbells, and training heavy. I saw him a few weeks ago, and he is still the thickest person I have ever seen. Years of heavy, heavy training with sets of 3-8, lots of protein and carbs, and a never-say-die attitude was what set him apart. He used to go out to drink beer, and mix his MET-RX with it. Now thats dedication!

[BendtheBar]

Kirk Karwoski training routine

From Marty Gallagher's "The Purposeful Primitive".

Squat
CG bench
off
Deadlift
off
Bench
off

Squat
------
Squat-7-10x2-8
Leg curl-2-3x5
Lef ext-2-3x5

CG bench
---------
CG bench (touch and go)-7-10x2-8
DB curls-2-3x5
Pushdowns-2-3x5

OFF

Deadlift
---------
Deadlift-7-10x2-8
Grip shrugs-3x5
T bar row-3x5-8
Pulldowns-2-3x5
DB shrugs-2-3x5

OFF

Bench press
------------
Bench press-7-10x2-8
WG bench (paused)-3x5
Incline bench-3x5
Front raises-2-3x5
Side raises-2-3x5

OFF

Kirk used this 12 week peaking cycle for a meet.
Weeks 1-2 work up to 1x8
Weeks 3-8 work up to 1x5
Weeks 9-10 work up to 1x3
Weeks 11-12 work up to 1x2

[BendtheBar]

Powerlifting Legend Kirk Karwoski

What does your training week look like?

Kirk: My ideal training week is:

Monday- squat and leg work

Tuesday- close grip bench and arms

Thursday-

deadlift and back,

Saturday- Bench, chest and shoulders.


I like to do the primary movement and four assistance exercises each workout. However, in my geriatric condition, training for the raw meet, I had to back off due to the lack of knee wraps. I squatted and dead lifted alternately on the same day, i.e. one week I squatted, the next I squatted 60% and pulled. It worked well and my knees felt healthy.

[J_Byrd]

Best squatter of all time to me. Limited gear, walked out, over 1k!

[miked96]

My favorite power lifter of all time! Everyone should get his DVD "From Cadet to Capt", all his training sessions including the 1000x2 and a 800x5 in just a belt. Heres his squat routine from the Powerlifting USA where he is on the cover with a shovel "burying" a half a ton.

Offseason Squat:
Squat:Work up to one set of 8-10 reps with no equipment, emphasize depth.
Leg Curl: 3x10

Contest Squat:
Squat
Week 1-4:Top set of 5 in a belt.
Week 5-10:Top set of five in a belt, knee wraps, and a loose suit.
Week 11-14:Top set of three in competition gear.
Week 15-16:Top set of two competition gear.

[miked96]

Kirk-Competiton Squat ch5.m4v - YouTube

Kirk-Competiton Squat ch5.m4v - YouTube

Kirk-Competition Bench ch8.m4v - YouTube

Kirk-Competition Bench ch8.m4v - YouTube

Kirk-Competition DL ch11.m4v - YouTube

Kirk-Competition DL ch11.m4v - YouTube

[Bodybygamma]

[themaster2981]

Originally Posted by miked96

My favorite power lifter of all time! Everyone should get his DVD "From Cadet to Capt", all his training sessions including the 1000x2 and a 800x5 in just a belt. Heres his squat routine from the Powerlifting USA where he is on the cover with a shovel "burying" a half a ton.

Offseason Squat:
Squat:Work up to one set of 8-10 reps with no equipment, emphasize depth.
Leg Curl: 3x10

Contest Squat:
Squat
Week 1-4:Top set of 5 in a belt.
Week 5-10:Top set of five in a belt, knee wraps, and a loose suit.
Week 11-14:Top set of three in competition gear.
Week 15-16:Top set of two competition gear.

The big boss of powerlifting. The best ever IMO. He got me into Powerlifting.

[JordanK91]

I love this guys attitude!

"5 minutes!!" - Power unlimited vid is very funny.. Every time I hear his name I think of it immediately