Milo Of Croton

So what does your average CrossFit athlete or patron of Aquila Fitness have in common with the story of a century’s old greek wrestler? Funny that you would ask such a thing! Let me tell you. Every story of greatness involves an origin story, and Milo’s is no different. Milo’s story, and one of anyone who desires to transcend mediocrity, is one of dedication, consistency, and the theme for this blog… progressive overload.

First, I’ll give you the readers digest version of Milo’s story, next ill give you some basic principles of what transformed him from someone with the genetics and desire to be a champion into an unstoppable force of nature who could perform feats on the level of demi gods.

There are many versions of the story of Milo of Croton and the calf. Today, I’ll use this one I made up by combining (plagiarizing) a couple of the better ones that I found. (Jen R… maybe you can remind me how to site references again?)

Milo was a resident of Croton (a small town in Greece) around the time of 510 BC. There are many tales of his athletic dominance, and overall greatness. In addition to being the Greek’s most dominant wrestler of the time Milo was a war hero during the battle of the Crotonites and the Sybarites.

According to legend Milo was said to be basically invulnerable due to his overwhelming strength and athleticism. Well, he was… until his later years when he tried to pry apart a tree stump with his bare hands. It didn’t work and ultimately they got stuck in the stump when it slammed shut. Milo was subsequently devoured alive by a pack of wolves. There is actually a statue commemorating this epic demise. Anyways, that’s beside the point, his name to this day is synonymous with strength and power.

To become the greatest wrestler in Greece, to win six Olympic laurels, and over 32 total championships, Milo had to train like the rest of us. His method? Borrow a new born calf and carry it around Croton day after day, week after week, and month after month. As the calf grew, so did Milo’s strength, until he was the strongest wrestler in Greece and could carry the now full grown bull upon his back.

What did he do once the bull was grown? He ate it. Duh.

That’s what we’re about here, carrying the weight, getting in the miles, doing the work, day in and day out, making small gains, occasionally dropping the calf, but always picking it back up. It’s a simple enterprise – do the work, get better. At sport, at life, at everything.

The Moral of the Story is “Progressive Overload.” Challenging the body a little more every time you train in some different or more intense manner. Here are some very basic principles of progressive overloading that you can follow in your training to carry your proverbial calf up the steps and become constantly bigger stronger and faster. When simply adding more weight to the bar becomes ineffective, and it will if you’re into training for the long hall, you can try a few of these tricks.

1) Lift the same amount of weight with greater range of motion. (think deficit deadlifts, lower squats, etc)
2) Lift more weight with less range of motion
(think deadlifts or benches off blocks for some overload)
3) Lift the same weight for more reps
(try to make what used to be your 3RM your 5RM)
4) Lift Bigger or different things
(you’re going to need a bigger cow, or rock, try different bars DBs or Kbs… don’t be scared.)
5) Lift the same amount of weight in less time
(This is the basic principle of CrossFit, do more work in less time.  If it used to take you 10 minutes to do 30 reps at a weight, try to do it in 8 mins)
6) Lift lighter things with more speed and acceleration.
(Think about lifting things that aren’t heavy with perfect form as fast as you can, this is what speed days and plyometrics are about.)
7) Do more work on benchmark workouts in the same amount of time (Think about trying to get an extra round on your AMRAPS, every rep counts and helps!)
8) Do the same amount of work as before in less time.
(Try to take a few seconds off your fran time, 2K or your mile.)
9) Do more volume of the same weight.
(If you’re always doing 5 sets of 5 at a certain weight, try for a 6th, set of 5… Arnold Schwarzenegger was a big fan of this approach.)
10) Increase Frequency
(Work out an extra day of the week, or train the muscles you want to improve 2x a week instead of once.)
11) If you’re losing weight, yet maintaining strength, this also represents progressive overload, because you’re increasing volume relative to your decreasing size!
12) Employ advanced training strategies, train to muscular failure, use the rest pause technique (training to near failure, resting 10 seconds and finishing a couple more reps at the end of the set), use drop sets (doing a certain amount of weight for 5 reps or more, decreasing the weight immediately and continuing past muscular failure, this can be done until the bar is empty), static holds, partial reps etc to increase the intensity and amount of total work done.
13) Variety… change the order of your training. If you ALWAYS do cleans before you bench press, or do pushups before pullups, change the order occasionally (this includes training days) in order to be able to focus on another lift or body part when you’re more fresh in the workout or the week. This is a great way to prioritize and bring up relative weaknesses. Oh, and its ALSO our business model. You’re welcome.

Well there you have it, the not entirely simple but very effective and very attainable concept of progressive overload that can point each of us in the direction of greater muscularity, better athleticism, leaner bodies and better overall health and well being. If you want to put some of these principles into your own routine ask any of the trainers at Aquila, and we’ll be happy to steer you to your own version of the bigger calf, and hopefully away from any stumps.

-Trav