Take a look at this great close up image taken by Dan Hugo. The scene is a track session on the Hawaiian island of Maui and the athlete in picture is one Bradley Weiss. By now, most will know of the Stellenbosch triathlete's monumental victory at the XTERRA World Championships. Great running form is on display in this shot as Brad readies himself for World Championship glory only days later. But a closer look reveals an impressive musculature.
Almost every sinew of Brad's physique is visible – the term "skinny fat" certainly does not apply here. Sure, hours and hours of endurance training and racing have sculpted South Africa's latest World Champion into a lean and mean racing machine. And at 59kg, he certainly is lean. So it might come as a surprise to many that the diminutive Bradley Weiss is a dedicated disciple of the strength training, more specifically heavy weights and plyometrics.
Under the tutelage of strength and conditioning (S&C) guru Naude Jordaan and running wizard Ernie Gruhn, Brad follows a structured regimen of S&C work at Jordaan's Stellenbosch facility. While many athletes are afraid of getting bulky, low repetitions of heavy weights builds lean muscle mass, all the while developing explosiveness and helping minimise injury. The goal for Brad is to be able to comfortably deadlift 1.5 to 2 times his body weight. A massive load for some but one that Brad has gradually progressed to over a long period.
'People are surpirsed at how heavy I lift at the gym,' said Brad recently. 'But it didn't happen overnight.'
Consider then the following deadlifting workout:
- 3x10 reps at 60kg (warmup)
- 10 reps at 80kg
- 8 reps at 90kg
- 6 reps at 100kg
- 4 reps at 110kg
'I probably could take it up to 120kg but I don't do that too often,' says Brad. 'It's important not to sacrifice form for weight. It's taken quite a while to adapt to this sort of load but I'm sure feeling the benefits. Having some sort of load on one's skeleton is hugely beneficial, not only for athletic performance but for long term health in general. It helps an athlete become more balanced.'
