Squats, Part 2
Originally Posted on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 4:38 PM
Okay, so once we know we can squat, what do I do and teach? There are three basic squat variations we do in the gym with a barbell: Back Squat, Front Squat, and Overhead Squat.
I covered the Overhead Squat in a previous blog: http://www.mckennasgym.com/blog/2011/09/25/Overhead-Squats.aspx
Since we don't need to rehash all that material yet, let's talk about the back squat today. In my opinion, three different types of back squats exist in the training world: The Powerlifting Back Squat, the low bar back squat, and the high bar back squat. The Powerlifting squat is how I describe the low bar squat done with shins perpendicular to the ground and often involve a deep back bend, almost a good morning. These squats are how you see most 1,000 pound squatters squat. Here's a link to a T-Nation article with a picture of Louie Simmons squatting this way: http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_interviews/the_mad_monk_of_power_lifting_an_interview_with_louie_simmons
I don't teach people how to squat like this. This type of squatting is a specialized form of the movement designed to move bigger weights. Not everyone is cut out for this type of squatting, and I sincerely believe that squats like this are best done with more assistance gear than I recommend. People can move very big weight this way; I've personally spotted on a few 1,000+ pound squats, along with several 700-800+ pound squats by 220 pound lifters. These guys are all strong as hell. But these guys also want to do one thing: squat big. Let them do this. Here's a link to a good series of videos teaching you how to squat like the powerlifters. http://articles.elitefts.com/articles/training-articles/articles/powerlifting-articles/so-you-think-you-can-squat-part-1-and-2/ (In the interest of full disclosure, I used to squat this way. I moved a whole LOT of weight, but I had trouble getting deep in the squat, and that hurt my Olympic Lifting when I came back to lifting at the age of 27. Not until I was 30 did I get a good, deep squat where I could move some weight).
The low bar back squat is often, in my opinion, confused with the powerlifting style squat. Mark Rippetoe teaches the low-bar style, and this style is emphasized in his book Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kawBY5p29fQ In this video, Mark teaches you how to low bar squat.
While I advocate the high bar squat, and I teach all my trainees the high bar squat, I face two situations where the low bar squat is necessary. The first is when I have someone who wants to powerlift Raw. If they're really into powerlifting, then they should low bar and not high bar squat, since you can move more weight this way; I usually don't teach the powerlifting style squat, since I will not work with equipped lifters, and I don't think that that kind of squat is beneficial for the general lifter. If I ever get someone who can squat so much hat we want to switch to a Powerlifting style, I'll do make that switch. Here's a video of Shane Hamman low bar squatting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cL-C69w2z4
And here's a picture of Shane's 1008 pound squat. http://en.allpowerlifting.com/lifters/USA/hamman-shane-3882/
This video shows Donnie Thompson working up to a 1300 pound squat. Notice the difference in the set-up between Donnie and Shane, also note how Shane's shins go in line with his knee, and they also move past perpendicular to the ground. Donnie keeps is shins almost perfectly perpendicular to the ground. I provide both of these videos so the average reader can see what I mean by the difference between a low-bar and what I call a powerlifting style squat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdQ2X4SudvA
And here we have Behdid Salimi of Iran, 2011 World Champion in Wieghtlifting.
http://www.allthingsgym.com/2011/11/behdad-salimi-360kg-squat-at-2011.html
I have no idea what he's saying, but I'm sure it has to do with the ability of athletic tape to hold 7 25 kg plates on each side of an Eleiko bar which is bending like a palm tree in a hurricane. He goes down slowly because if the bar bounces too much, the weights will fall off. He comes up like a shot. This is a beautiful squat. Let's watch some more:
Pat Mendes 363 kg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK7m6I5m6gY
Chinese lifters at the 2008 Arnold:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_jxTc2ITA8
Zhang Guozheng:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y8yKSJbpFI&feature=related
Jalaine Ulsh:
http://www.youtube.com/user/IronSportGym#p/u/68/O9_-syY1EfQ
Rizelyx Rivera
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDN6BIdkgMM
Cara Heads
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmO4JJrP5P8
Hilary Katzenmeier
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgQrS12WnlA
Erica Yamasaki
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5s-raA8IhM
17 year old Brittany Harris back in the original McKenna's Gym in Vineland, NJ:
http://www.youtube.com/user/Weightlifter4lift#p/u/5/Z7VrkrlzsnU
That was fun, wasn't it?
So what is the High Bar Back Squat and why do we do it?
In the high bar squat (which I'll just call the squat from now on), the bar is carried on the back above the top of the anterior delts and below the neck itself. I carry the bar high on my traps, though it does get a bit lower for heavier work. One of the interesting things about the HBBS the quads are not the primary movers; though people often think they are. The erectors, glutes, hamstrings, and adductors are all also heavily involved in the squat. The greatest concern in squatting is depth. As long as you keep your feet flat and track your knees in line with your toes, you can squat deep safely. Your depth may not be great when you first start, bit it will get there. I have two women in their late 40s squatting 100 kilos deep and they started lifting less than two years ago with no athletic backgrounds at all. If they can do it, so can you.
Let's walk through the squat from the beginning:
Take your set up seriously. There should be a lot of weight on the bar, so don't goof off. Focus on the bar. I put my hands on first, squeeze the bar, and pull myself under; I use my clean grip on the bar so that my traps are high and my scapulae are tight together. I then duck my head under and get comfortable, take a deep breath, and use all my power to lift the bar from the racks. Yep, this liftoff should be powerful. The shock to your body from this explosive liftoff will prep your body for upcoming squat. You then take a careful step or two or three back; make sure you clear the stands entirely. Reset your breath, get a big lungful of air, and descend.
The descent should begin with your knees and hips at the same time. I focus on using my adductors to pull myself down; I also use them to accelerate through the bottom of the lift; this gives me a little bounce out of the hole. Yep, I bounce when I squat heavy. As long as you control your descent and accelerate after the hips are below the knees, you should be fine. The speed I get here immediately returns me to driving upward with the bar. Anytime spent in the bottom is going to kill your lift.
So, once you get deep, what do you do to get out of the hole? Well, you push hard with the INSIDE of your legs. Yep, the adductors. You want the Back Squat to mimic the second pull, and starting with the adductors gets your hips through as fast as they can. You can NOT let the hips be lazy in this position, nor can you let the knees buckle in (knee buckling happens to everybody, and especially on heavy weights. But make a habit of preventing it). In order to keep the torso erect during the back squat, you also need to push with your arms. Pushing against the bar with your arms means to push UP and pull your elbows forward; this will keep your chest up when squatting, and the chest up prevents your hips from getting too far back and you bailing with the bar over your head (Andrew M.). As I finish, I also remember to ACCELERATE. I like the bar to pop at the end of the lift. Since the weight gets easier to lift when you finish, you should move faster, not slower, to finish the lift. Slowing down will lead to bad things happening (missing the lift). Speeding up leads to good things (making the lift). Once I finish the lift, I take it slowly into the squat stands, standing straight up until I hit the back, and then lower the bar. Don't lean down to put the bar away.
The back squat needs to be embraced and accepted. Heavy squats are difficult. It's easy to get stuck and stop, but pushing through a hard sticking point is a spiritually rewarding experience. Remember, no matter what kind of squat you do, you should always squat for the benefits of the squat. Never cheat to get a weight, because cheating in squats can be deadly.
I will leave you with this picture of Joe Dube squatting at the 1970 World Championships:
Squatting
originally Posted on Sunday, November 27, 2011 8:13 PM
One of the long term topics I've wanted to write on is squats. I love squatting, and I have many thoughts on the subject. I've squatted often, a lot of weight, high reps, low reps, etc. Here are a few of the basics in which I believe:
- Squatting is necessary in a program
- deeper is better
- light is just as import as heavy
- minimal assistance gear
Any good program has squats in it. Any personal trainer, coach, whomever who doesn't have people squat is a joke of a trainer. This doesn't mean that people have to high bar back squat for 5x5; but the squatting movement is the foundation for everything else in a training program (in my opinion). I always evaluate new trainees on their capacity to squat the first day I meet with them. Here's what I look for:
- Can the person keep their back arched until their hip joint goes below their knee joint?
- Can the person do this while keeping their feet flat?
- Can the person keep their knees tracking along their toes while they do this?
- Can the person put their arms overhead or behind their head and do this?
If the person can do all of this, then they generally can begin to do back squats with little further preparation.
Many people cannot do these things, so I have to find a way to get them bendy and confident. If someone has difficulty arching their back, I need to make sure they don;t have any medical issues. Assuming the person can arch their back without medical exclusions, I'll have them start with back extensions on the 45 degree hyper bench. When we do these, I have people hold their arms at their sides and slowly move themselves into a bent over position. To rise out of the hole, I have people squeeze only their back extensors to pull themselves up. To help people with their proprioception, I can either put fingers on their extensors or put a foam roller across them and have people push their muscles against it.
The next remedial movement is to have people us the reverse hyper (http://www.westside-barbell.com/products/index.php?page=2&c=9). Nothing else works the extensors as well in people with weak postures. I would like to add here that I NEVER recommend doing an unloaded reverse hyper, whether on a glute ham bench, a reverse hyper machine, or anywhere else. The movement is totally different when some load is on the ankles; without a load, the movement becomes dangerous. I will, therefore, always have people load the movement, even if it is only with the t-bar apparatus and no extra weight. beginners will do sets of 5-10 on the reverse hyper, adding weight slowly and only when they can do the movement precisely.
The other work we do for people learning to arch their back is a stretch I call "Happy Cats". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-67HQ5xetzk The stretch is the yoga cat stretch; it's effective and comfortable to teach people to arch their back and feel good in that position.
If someone can't move their feet flat, sound stretching and strengthening usually fixes the problem. I do some movement education here, including introducing Amosov squats: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWFJf0dqoZ8 These squats lead nicely into the next piece of remedial squat education, the tracking of the knees with the toes.
When you squat, your knees should go more or less along the same path your toes point. You need to stay on the heels and trust your knees to do the right thing. Sometimes, you need to cue the athlete to "sit their butt down/ back", or, my favorite cue: "sit back like you're going on a dirty public toilet" If people do this movement, keep their feet flat, and then keep their knees in line with their toes, they can get into a deep squat. I don't want people to do a powerlfiting style squat, though, with their body bending into a good morning. I do want the shins to track in front of the ankles, and most people end up doing this naturally. I just stop cueing them or cue other movements when their hips start to go below the knee joint.
If peoples knees buckle in, have people stretch their IT band and roll them, along with some basic movement exercises. I like putting a mini band around the knees and doing some shuffling, I also have people do the Ickey Shuffle to learn what muscles to use: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8f-m-Fmd1lY
We keep one foot on the ground and push to the other foot, push back; I have folks work up to single support for the drill (single support means one leg at a time; we start with two legs on the ground, working up to one leg on the ground). If the athlete can do it like Ickey himself, we usually don't need to do it at all.
The final part of my evaluation is always to see if the person can get up from the squat.
More often than I think, someone gets down and can't fire their muscles to get back up. Sometimes they relax totally in the bottom of the squat, sometimes they are just week in this position and get onto their toes, or sometimes they fall down. Usually a couple assisted squats (with my hands) helps people figure out how to get up.
Usually, people move through the above progressions, if they need them at all, in a few sessions and then I let them squat. Honestly, most of the time people can squat within the first workout or two unless they have serious stability issues.
When there are serious stability and strength problems, I like to use plyo boxes, stools, or benches to have people squat onto. I teach them to sit back, sit down and arch their back, keep their feet flat, and push their chest into the air when they get up. I've had a women start doing these onto a kitchen stool with 10 pound dumbbells; 15 months later she's squatting 100 kilos deep with good form. The other day she did 85 for a set of 5.
This first section of the squat blog was brought to you by your adductors. Find them; they will matter in the next post.
Next: High bar squats, low bar squats, powerlifting squats, and when to claim you're strong.
I usually will start people with a light weight have them sit as deeply as they can and feel a stretch each time the get to the bottom of their range of motion.
What Are "Extras", and my Suggestions
Originally Posted on Thursday, November 17, 2011 12:55 PM
If you take a look at my programing for the Intermediate lifters, you see "Extras" on the bottom of the page. What are extras, why do them, and which ones do I do?
Extras are the little things you do in addition to the program which will make you a better lifter. I like the idea of doing these throughout the day, but if you only have time at the end of a workout, do them then. Extras do NOT include things like the bench press; pressing is an integral part of training my lifters, and I bench for specific reasons. generally, any cycle I write has a version of the press: Incline, flat, or military; dumbbells, kettlebells, or barbells. So, the bench is NOT an extra, although you could use it as such. Westside Barbell folks (http://www.westside-barbell.com/westside-articles/PDF.Files/03PDF/Extra%20Workouts.pdf) will recognize the concept of "Extra Workouts", or stuff you do during off times which helps you recover, get stronger, and improve.
Why do they work or help? Well, for many reasons. Increasing your blood flow, stimulating muscle growth, focusing on a weak area, improving conditioning, etc. They also work because, in general, they're fun to do. Extras don't require the intensity a heavy clean does, nor do they give you the bone-crushing soreness heavy deadlifts can generate. In fact, they can alleviate that soreness. Basically, though, extras work because of increased blood flow and strengthening weak areas. You can go do more research for specific reasons, but trust me; if you don't, go read the article I linked to above. It's a start and will lead you to other pieces and questions and answers; in a quest, that's what happens.
If you do your extras at the end of a workout, try to do something which will help you recover from that day's lifting. Here are my thoughts on these:
Stability Ball Push-Up on heavy snatch days (rings or blast straps work, too).
Blast strap scapula pull-ups on clean days (I finish these into the full movement, focusing on keeping my shoulders down (no shrug) and moving the scapulae first.
Curls. Yes, curls. Dumbbells curls with full rotation of the wrist work nicely. Do a couple heavy sets of 10, or 5x5. Whatever you want. I also like thick bar curls for a few sets of 10.
Tricep Extensions with a plate in your hands or a dumbbell
One-legged squats or one leg deadlifts. You don't need weight to do these, but a kettlebell or med ball is fine.
Sled Drags on heavy squat days. You will feel better.
I also like bodyweight stuff as extras, expecially for the strongman, Olympic Lifter, powerlifter, and thrower. Bodyweight exercises are a different organism than what we usually do, and they will improve you overall.
Pull-ups (use a band if you can't do them; do sets of 5-10). NEVER kip a pull-up.
Push-ups; yeah, I like these a lot. Blast Strap push-ups are great, as are regular ones. Keep them simple; sets of 10-20 are fine for 1-3 sets.
tumbling/ rolling of some kind. Do some front rolls in the back yard or on a mat; do some backward rolls, cartwheels, something. Move your ass.
Glute Ham raises
If you're fat and need to lose weight, do some complexes/ finishers as extras. Also, if you feel you need better endurance, do some of these, too. WARNING: for the power and strength athletes out there, don't go 100% out on these. You want to be powerful and fast, not dead tired. Do these at about 80% of your capacity. That doesn't mean lower the weight or volume, just don't crush yourself. You have nothing to prove until the zombies come.
kettlebell swings
jump rope ladders
barbell or kettlebell complexes
sprints up a hill
As for stuff to do during the day, try to throw in some reverse hypers and grip work. Again, nothing too serious, just get the blood flowing and strength going.
Since we are not professional athletes for the most part, remember your time commitment. Don't spend twenty hours a day in the gym. Do your workout, throw in some sprints and tumbling one day, some pull ups and curls another, some tricep extensions and glute ham raises another time. It'll add five minutes to your workout and you'll feel better. Also, remember that these are extras and not the workout itself. No one really cares how much you can curl, and only Randy Strossen cares if you can crush a number 3.5 gripper. The rest of us just want to feel better and be stronger.
Back and Posterior Chain Strength in Olympic Lifting
Posted on Thursday, November 03, 2011 1:24 PM
Today's topic is back strength in weightlifting, including the whole posterior chain. On returning from the 2010 Junior Worlds, Glenn Pendlay remarked that the difference between the medal winners and the rest of the lifters was that "The top guys were LEAN usually, and, VERY musculasr all across the upper back... not neccessarily high traps, but just very thick and muscular on the backs of the shoulders, around the shoulder blades, between the shoulder blades, etc..." http://goheavy.com/forums/olympic/index.cgi/read/465085
Since this has the endorsement of Glenn, Pete Roselli, and many other coaches, let's begin with the upper back. Why do we need a strong upper back in the lifts? Well, the upper back holds the bar close to your body, puts it into your hips for a good second pull, and enables you to get under the bar faster. When you pull the bar from the floor, you want your shoulder blades retracted but the lats flared: I call this the Conan position, because I always want to look like Arnold as Conan the Barbarian. The shoulders are back in good posture, the lats are flared. This action is similar, if not exactly the same, as the "packing the shoulder" in Kettlebells. Lock that shoulder joint in, use your back to keep that bar close to you, and good things follow. I'll give us an ample of a normal lifter doing these things, or trying to, so we can all relate better.
In the next picture, my brother-in-law Pete is pulling a 149 kg clean. While I'd like to see his shoulder blades tighter, this is a pretty good job. If his scapular are retracted a bit more, the bar will be higher at this point in his pull, making for a faster transition into the second pull and therefore an easier lift. We want that extra height to enable a more forceful delivery of the hips in the second pull. This clean is 62 kilos more than Pete weighs, and for a part-time lifter in his 30s, that isn't bad.
But what Pete does well is hold this position into his second pull, shown here:
You also see here a nice description of the flared lats. Those flared lats are the reason this bar is so close to Pete's hips. With the bar that close to his hips, it's easy for Pete to finish the pull on his heels (I know he isn't on his heels right now, but he's also done the pull and is getting under the bar already; I know this because I am a coach and it's my job).
So, we have a demonstration of a decent lifter keeping his back tight and how it improves the lift. So, what happens with a great lifter? Here's Chigishev in his pull position. Notice how high the bar is while his hips are still relatively low. That's some strong backness (Sally, Christine, Brandi, and the rest of the blocky fans, this is also for you). I like this picture because you can see that his lats are flared, his shoulder blades are retracted, and his elbows are out (yes, there is an arm bend, no it is not bad). So, we now know the benefits of keeping the back tight, but how to make it strong?
We make sure to pay attention when we pull, and we make sure to train our weaknesses. Do some dumbbell rows and Pendlay rows; do pulls from blocks and finish the snatch pulls with high elbows once in a while (I always recommend doing this for one week out of four, or for a four week cycle out of every few months); do some real pull-ups or do pull-ups with a band if you can't do a pull-up (no kipping). How often should you do these things? I'd say do some back strengthening stuff once a week as a part of the "extras"; four sets of six in Pendlay rows, a few sets of pull-ups, maybe dumbbell rows. Don't overthink it.
And now for the lower back and hamstrings. Yes, you need them when you lift. You think Chigishev has a weak lower back and weak hamstrings? Go here for talk about RDLs: http://www.mckennasgym.com/blog/2011/08/17/There-are-always-RDLs.aspx
And to add to this discussion of making your lower back stronger, you'll need to do some Glute Ham Raises. Yes @fitters, the GHD should be sued for something besides GHD sit-ups (horrible things, those GHD Sit-ups. They'll ruin your body. If you subbed Glute Ham Raises in every time you had a GHD sit-up workout, you'd be well on your way to strength) Here is how to use that fancy bench properly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWoBJwYIdgM I don't like going past parallel on these with my upper body. I also like doing them slower. But whatever. Do them as extras a day or two a week; do not do them if you have to do heavy lifts or back squats the next day.
The posterior chain strength is especially important for tall lifters, and is the reason I'm writing this now. Mike, you need some back strength big man. The flexibility isn't the problem as much as the strength is. You can do 140/180 but you need the strong to get into those positions.
"I really wanted that lift."
Originally Posted on Monday, October 24, 2011 1:39 PM
The meet in Moorestown, NJ this past weekend gave me ideas for a few blog posts. Today follows up on last week's post about managing anxiety while lifting. In the last session Saturday, one of the lifter's missed his final clean and jerk. He complained to his coach "I really wanted that lift." There was no possible way this dude wanted to make that lift. He maybe wanted to have achieved putting that weight overhead, but he really didn't want to go through the process of that lift and make it. What he should have said was "I wish I could have made that half-assed effort and the bar would have magically lifted itself into the air so I could claim a PR while degrading the nobility of this sport". Unfortunately, that bit of honesty is lost on the kids these days, so I'll attack this ignorance the way doctors attack disease (by the way, a free sticker to the first person who identifies that allusion correctly).
What the guy needs to do is love how it feels to lift more than he loves to have a big number. Loving the lift, loving how it feels every time, how technique gets better day to day leads to big numbers. You need to embrace the little things, want to dip straight on your jerk, want to keep your back tight, want to move fast; when you're there, when that's your focus, the big numbers will come. Next time you train, understand that squatting is about squatting and not about the 100/200/300 kilos on your back. Just get down and push hard to get back up. Then do it again tomorrow.
Normal Women, Extraordinary Effort
Originally Posted on Thursday, October 20, 2011 10:24 AM
I'd like to take the time today to talk about two women from the gym. Lisa T. and Caprice T. (no relation) are both in their 40s and started working out with me in 2010 in the original Strength Training for Women class. Neither had ever lifted weights before, and each came in with different physical problems. Lisa's was her back pain; Caprice had some pretty serious mobility issues. In the last two years, both have gained strength, confidence, and transformed themselves into competitors.
Caprice decided to become a competitive Olympic-Style lifter in July of 2010 when she entered the Keystone Games. She's since entered three other meets, improving her totals and generally becoming a better athlete and competitor each time. In addition to her kindness and work ethic, Caprice brings an internal drive essential to competition; her squats have improved by 15 kilos in the last two months and her presence has mentored younger women in the class and forced them to match her intensity. I want to salute and thank Caprice and wish her luck this weekend at the Gold Cup Challenge in Morestown, NJ. She truly embraces what Athena Strength training is about and is a great ambassador for our gym and the sport.
Lisa T. decided recently to compete in Steve Pulcinella's Strongwoman contest. Lisa has never previously competed in anything. In the last few months, she's back squatted 100 kilos, power cleaned 60 for a triple, and won the strongwoman contest. Yep, she won with an ease and gracefulness I've never seen before. Lisa doesn't realize her own strength, and what's more, she doesn't find it unusual. The most impressive part of Lisa's strength is that she doesn't train to compete; she's a member of the regular strength training class.
Both Lisa and Caprice show what hard work and confidence can do for women, and I would love you all to join me in wishing them good luck in their training.
The Lift is the Battle
Originally Posted on Thursday, October 13, 2011 12:47 PM
While we're only exercising and not facing the threats that the USMC, the other lesser branches of the military (Chuck and Gabe, that's for you), and First Responders face daily, we still battle with ourselves to get into the gym in the first place, to eat right, to stretch, and to the workout; put your personal battle into perspective and just train. This battle, however, often causes anxiety. I'll define this anxiety as the distance between achieving goals we've set and doubting our ability to achieve those goals. In order to manage this anxiety, I like to break the situation down into manageable components. Building confidence in these discreet areas leads to overall confidence, which diminishes anxiety and lead to improved performance.
I call this process winning the situation (credit goes to the former Glasgow (DE) High School wrestling Coach Mark Vettori for the actual term). In lifting, winning the situation means controlling positions. If you get set up over the bar correctly, you win that position. Pull correctly every time- another win. Drive your legs through the bar, punch with your hips, pull with your fists from the hips, punch your elbows through, all wins. Each position can be strengthened, and lifters learn to trust the positions and then become more confident in the lift. By focusing on discreet variables which an individual can control, the individual translates those variables into a full, successful lift. How, though, can an athlete control herself in each situation?
The answer to winning each small situation is focus on a positive movement or condition. You can't control the weather, the wind, etc. You can control your hand position on the bar and where the bar is over your feet. Start there. Grasp the bar confidently and quickly, get your hands to feel right. Then adjust the bar in position more or less over your first metatarsophalangeal joint (Laurie, tell your students that stuff they learn is needed for general life): put the bar at the bottom of your big toe. Perhaps consciously point your thumb knuckle at the big toe joint. This process will become automatic, and lead to confidence. This position naturally allows you to SIT DOWN and arch your back, which naturally allows you to pull the bar toward your body by straightening out the legs and pulling your scapulae together while flexing the lats. All these movements are discreet and POSITIVE. Positive in the sense that you are DOING something. By doing these things the lift will be better. By doing these things, the lift will feel right, and you will have confidence in your lift. A little psychological swagger as you go into your second pull.
The positive action in the second pull is to go FAST; again, though, anxiety arises. Well, here are the positive actions you can take during the second pull: push through your heels until your legs are straight, punch with your hips, and pull with your fists from your hips, and watch this before you train: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwNWviK5z0Q. I summarize this process in the word BOOM.
The last part of the lift is often neglected in my opinion. Once you went BOOM, the lift is not done. You need to secure it overhead. Anxiety in this phase of the lift arises due to the heaviness of the bar, the imminent moment of success or failure, and your individual desire for achievement. At this point in the lift, there are still positive physical actions to take which enable a successful lift, but there is also a moment of transformation. The positive physical actions to take here are to keep your back tight, get your elbows through/ up and to spread the bar when you catch it. At this point, this culmination of the lift, the climax, the point of highest tension, a transformation must occur in the athletes mind. It is at this point in the lift that all the positive physical actions taken turn to achievement, and achievement eliminates anxiety.
This transformational moment is critical in the development of the athlete. Anxiety and doubt at the beginning of the lift serve as a measure against which we can better the lifting. Overcoming the self doubt and anxiety is the true goal of lifting; achievement is the by-product of the overcoming moment, what the Ancient Greeks called Agon. The agony of the lift is not when it's overhead, not when you pull from the floor or explode your hips violently, but when you go to secure it overhead. Right there you become successful. Again, success occurs when you make the conscious decision to finish the lift, when you handle the greatest moment of tension and anxiety and successfully overcome your self-doubt.
Here, Pyrros Dimas fights to keep a double bodyweight snatch overhead. This is the moment of agony, of FIGHT, which we must embrace and overcome. This is the critical moment of lifting, the moment of success.
In order to keep these emotions from hindering, rather than helping, our lifting we must self-determine the lift. We must enjoy the process of lifting itself, and not merely want the achievement. Enjoying the process, involving yourself actively in overcoming anxiety, physically acting to push doubt away, builds your relationship with the bar, and thereby builds up your confidence. As we become more confident in the lifting, we push the weight up and increase, again, our anxiety; we overcome it again, and then add weight. This process is the goal of my training, the goal of competition; the transformation itself must be embraced as the focus, and not the achievement. Achievement is a by-product of the process and the transformation, the victory over ourselves, our coming out on top in the agony of lifting.
Pyrros Dimas shows us what it's like to win that battle, and by doing so daily for years, he brought home Three Olympic Golds and a Bronze. Those results are the by product of the battle, not the battle itself.
Being a Weightlifter vs. Lifting Weights
Originally Posted on Thursday, September 29, 2011 2:57 PM
I've wanted to address the psychological aspect of weightlifting for some time now, and today I'll begin. I have many athletes who want to be weightlifters. I have others who like the discipline of lifting and want to improve their technique. I have still others who just do what they need to as a part of their program. Some, however, are discontented. They want to be a weightlifter, but they don't approach the sport as such. I'm writing this column to address some of the ways to make that transformation from someone who lifts weights to someone who is a weightlifter.
The simple difference is that a weightlifter is someone who does the movements and focuses on them rather than focusing on putting weight overhead. Anthony Hernandez is hopefully coming by this Saturday, and he is a weightlifter: http://marketplace.omaha.com/shop/images/D/d-35626.jpg
He's also an example of my first characteristic of a mentally prepared lifter. When Anthony trains, he doesn't mess around with the bar. He lifts it and puts it down, and if the bar has bounced a bit off center, he moves his body and does the clean or snatch with his body just a bit off center to the platform, but centered on the bar. Why does this make an impression on me? Because it doesn't matter where the bar is. The bar doesn't care if it's off center. Your mind might, but tuck that weak part of you away and just LIFT TE BAR. A snatch is a snatch, and your body should do the same thing no matter where the bar is, no nonsense. Just snatch the bar. I started becoming a weightlifter and not just lifting weights when training with Jason Gump in Moorestown about 10 years ago, and guess what? He did the same thing.
Here's a video of Jason snatching 150kg in training (Thank you, Carissa Gump) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr12BXyRI40&feature=related Jason was a 94 kg lifter and competed for the USA several times, including a brave showing at the 2003 Pan Am Games. While I have some good stories about Jason, one of my favorites is for one Saturday morning when several of us were in the gym. We'd been there for an hour or so when Tom dropped a 190 kg squat. Jason had just walked in and been lazily putting on his shoes, and said something smart-ass to Tom about the miss. Tom said:
"Why don't you put it back in the rack for me and I'll do it again?"
Jason said "Okay" (really, he isn't a man of many words) "I'll do it for $10." I threw in another $10, because JASON HADN'T WARMED UP. Gump approached the bar, looked at it for a minute or so, got set over it, and cleaned it and put it in the racks. Jason weighed about 95 kilos. That's a double bodyweight, un-warmed up for clean (he'd done 200 and 205 at this time in competition, but missed the 205 jerk, I believe). This act illustrates my next point: You can do it. Jason didn't worry about lifting the weight, didn't consider how much weight was on the bar, he just knew he could clean it, and he cleaned it. Trusting himself, trusting his body, Jason was confident.
Developing confidence to this extent isn't easy. It's a process of repetition and trust in yourself built day after day for months and years. Establishing confidence starts with routine. Your routine should consist of the necessary; shed useless actions and habits and streamline your preparation. Your warm-up should be simple and effective, maybe a few loosening up movements. You can do mobility work later and throughout the day; when you go to lift, do the most important stuff and keep it simple (doing mobility work throughout the day is actually a much better way to get bendy than to cram it all in at one time before you train). Pavel Tsatsouline has a good warm-up which consists of starting at your extremities and wiggling your toes, rolling your ankles and wrists, moving up toward your knees and elbows, until you finish by doing some hip circles. Throw in some bodyweight/ Asamov Squats and some hip flexor stretches (yes, you do need them) and you're golden. A warm-up like this is simple, helps you focus, and doesn't require you to use mental energy.
When you lift, make sure you know what the program is, get your weights written down, etc. before the session. If your coach is telling you what to lift, just lift what he or she puts on the bar. Your job is to lift, not think. At this point, you should make sure that you approach the bar not in relation to the platform, but in relation to your body. If the bar is off center, move your feet. You are the center; the platform doesn't matter. You do.
Next, take the bar and lift, and focus on the feeling of the lift. You cannot see yourself moving the bar. You cannot think about punching with your hips or pulling big. If you think these things and can react to them, you're too slow. Stop thinking and move fast. Strong feet, squeeze the bar off the floor; push violently with your legs, rip it from the hips, spread the bar at the top of the snatch and jerk and punch your elbows in the clean. Remember what felt good from that lift and emulate the feeling. If you replicate that feeling, everything else will follow in order. Every snatch, whether 40 kg or 140 kg, should be a snatch. Never just put the bar overhead. When you do pulls, feel the bar. 25 years ago I read a quote from Arnold Schwarzenegger. He said to put your mind in the muscles when you train them and learn what they do. Get to know them. I want you to do the same thing. Learn your clean, learn your squat, so that your body does it every time. Building this good repetition increases your confidence. I want you to simply focus.
So, our mantra is:
No Nonsense
You can do it
Focus
One final point I want to make about hitting big weights or goal weights in the training room is that the weight doesn't matter, the body does. I have an athlete who is outstanding physically. She is incredibly gifted. She rushes through the lifts, though, and gets to 90 and misses them every time. Why? because she's worried about getting to 90% and doing it. She needs to focus on the snatch, do right thing at the right time, and she'll do those 90% lifts every day.
I have a couple more athletes o worry about the weights on the bar. Please stop the worry. Trust yourself. Focus on what needs to get done with the lighter weights, and your lifts will come along. Simplify, simplify, simplify. Read the above post and ask questions. Remember:
No Nonsense
You can do it
Focus
Overhead Squats
Originally Posted on Sunday, September 25, 2011 8:55 PM
A buddy of mine, who is an okay Olympic lifter, posted a video of his friend overhead squatting. That video is why I'm writing this post; I hope you read this guys.
In order to avoid many basic questions about the overhead squat and why it rocks, please read this article before reading todays blog post:
http://danjohn.net/the-overhead-squat-article/
I always- always- evaluate beginners with the overhead squat. It tells me about people and what they can do. Sometimes, though, people need more remediation before even putting a broomstick overhead; in these cases, I know that when they can do an OHSQ competently, program difficulty can increase significantly.
So, how do I want you to do an Overhead Squat? First of all, you need to get the bar overhead. A few years of coaching revealed to me that I do need to tell people how to put a bar overhead. There are two ways you can put a heavy bar overhead: Snatch it, or take it out of a squat rack.
Here's rule #1: In order to do an overhead squat out of a squat rack, take the bar out as if you will back squat it. Then slide your hands out to your snatch grip with the bar behind your neck. Push Jerk or Push press the bar into overhead position. Do your squats, put the bar back behind your neck, or put it on the ground. Please, people, do not lower the bar in front of your face to your shoulders while you still have the snatch grip. It's foolish and idiotic.
Once you have the bar overhead, squeeze the heck out of it and try to pull it apart. Don't bend it; the bar will only fall forward. You can practice this movement with a band- the old Jumpstretch ones are fine, or some of the new ones from Elitefts or Iron Woody. When you overhead squat the band, you pull the band apart, otherwise you can't overhead squat. Do the same thing to the bar.
When the bar is overhead, I want your shoulder blades retracted, your traps shrugged up holding your neck, and your humerus fully rotated. The bigest controversy I see in teaching the overhead squat is what to do with your elbows, specifically your antecubital region, or the inside part of your elbow. Try to point this part straight up. Therefore, try to point your elbows straight down. You may or may not be able to do this, but intentionally turning your elbows out will lead to you dropping weights and/ or hurting your shoulders. If your humerus is rotated and your shoulders up, your elbows may turn. If this happens, that's okay. If you try to turn them, bad things can happen, like a twinkie the size of Manhattan bad. Jennifer "Rabid Wombat" recently learned about this fancy technique also known as "not intentionally dropping heavy snatches" and really likes it.
http://www.eastcoastgold.org/images/LeoSn83.gif
This is Leo Totten doing this correctly before many of you were born. I was 8.
http://www.eastcoastgold.org/images/Lance140snatch.jpg
Lance Frye is also doing this correctly in this photo.
http://www.davedraper.com/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/PmWiki/OverheadSquat
Robin Byrd does it perfectly here (there is also a discussion of the overhead squat on that page).
This is wrong:
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=overhead+squats&hl=en&biw=1280&bih=803&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=L0uUJTLQKICgPM:&imgrefurl=http://www.channels.com/episodes/show/6869942/Plank-Variations-Prone-Iso-abs-Core-Training%3Fpage%3D2&docid=Sqi1cH0KBOyHPM&w=720&h=480&ei=88F_TuL8FuHV0QGHtZX6Dw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=545&page=3&tbnh=125&tbnw=168&start=53&ndsp=26&ved=1t:429,r:8,s:53&tx=88&ty=65
That abomination brings up my next point: The bar should be over your ears, or as close there as possible. What you really want to do is to make sure your elbows are in line with your ears with (have you heard this somewhere else?) your humerus fully rotated. If you can fully rotate your humerus, you will greatly reduce the risk of shoulder injuries or dropping the bar. I see many people overhead squat who cannot turn their upper arm without engaging the torso like they're incline benching. If this situation describes you, stop squatting deep. You will hurt yourself. Go as deep as you can, stretch, and keep the bar in good position. You will get better quickly enough. The weight you squat, the rate you can do squats, or your ability to show off by overhead squatting is meaningless. What has meaning is your quest for strength and health.Often, when people lack shoulder flexibility, they stick their butt out and reach way behind their head and pretend they got deep. Nope. You must keep your good position when you squat and be honest with yourself. Put your hips back, knees over your toes, and squeeze the bar and your body DOWN.
Okay, we're now at the feet. I should have started here, but the last shall be first and the first shall be last. Your feet should be slightly wider than your hips. Point your toes out slightly. Keep them on the ground and squeeze them into the ground. Keep your knees over toes. Bring your hips down between your legs. Keep your torso as erect as possible. And once you hit the bottom, come back up.
Your torso shouldn't bend too much when you OHSQ. Depending on your proportions, you should be anywhere from slightly forward to completely straight. Some folks will be more bent over than others (Christine and Krastev http://mysite.verizon.net/vze8gnq0/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/Krastev_216_edge_preserve.jpg). You will do the torso straightness as best you can. It will get better. If your HUMERUS IS ROTATED you will be okay.
So, there you have the longest post yet from me. I'll finish it with this story I heard on a website somewhere about Mario Martinez, the US Super from the 80s and 90s. When Mario heard that Antonio Krastev Snatched 216 kilos, Mario wanted to see what that felt like. So he went to The Sports Palace and loaded a bar to 200 and did an overhead squat. I'm sure he warmed up, but next time you think that 95 pounds is heavy, check your ego and squat right.
Coaches and Coaching Styles
Originally Posted on Thursday, September 22, 2011 10:53 AM
I've been behind with my blogs lately, and I apologize for the absence. I have, however, built a backlog of topics I'd like to discuss, including squatting, volume and how it builds lifters, safety and etiquette in the gym, psychological approaches to training, and todays topic: Coaching.
My first coaching experience was in 1992 with the Immaculate Heart of Mary CYO Wrestling team. I had about six wrestlers, all of whom were rote beginners; I learned more from that experience than I ever thought I would. What this experience engendered in me was the desire to have my athletes do more than I did, and to train everyone with these basic goals: Enjoy the sport, get a sound footing in the basics of the sport, and improve incrementally.
Since that erstwhile group of 4th-6th graders, I've coached Soccer, Football, Wrestling Girls Lacrosse, Track and Field, and Weightlifting. I've coached Conference and State Champions, All-Star and All-State athletes, international medal winners, and kids and adults who quit. Sometimes I've made mistakes, but I always try to improve.
My coaching philosophy is simple and basic: relate to people, treat them with respect, and get them to improve. I have a cogent and dynamic training philosophy, which is to get people using basic strength movements accompanied by specific individual skills to improve weaknesses. Coaching begins with this philosophy of programming. I can't work with people unless I know what I want them to do.
As for motivation, I can't say the same things to everyone to motivate them, nor do I treat a 17 year old boy the same as I do a 48 year old woman. What I try to do is treat Jason as Jason, Michelle as Michelle, and my wife as the wonderful, perfect woman she is while telling her to stop talking and squat more (I love you, honey). The key to motivating people is to build a relationship and find out why they're training: do people want to lose weight, compete, stop their back from hurting? When you determine their goal, show them how they're achieving specific objectives on their way, and be positive with them. A good way to do this is to work, even for five minutes, alone with someone. Talk to them, see what their problem is; show some special interest in them. You'll find out something about them, how to relate to them, and you'll also find out a way to help them overcome an obstacle in their training.
Possibly the most important aspect of coaching is to put your ego aside. Many coaches refuse to treat people as individuals. This mistake leads to an antagonistic relationship with your athlete or trainee. Someone might be an extraordinary Olympic Lifter, but they like mixing up their program with other things. My choice in this situation is to either stop coaching the athlete or accept their goals and work with them. Otherwise you can turn the athlete off entirely, and you've lost a good lifter and a good client. Most of all, you've hurt your sport and your business by pushing someone out of it who could have helped them both grow.
For those of you who are looking to become more effective coaches, or who are looking for more effective coaches, I've included some links below to help provoke discussion and understanding.
http://www.slideshare.net/Rewazie/coaching-philosophy
http://www.usyouthsoccer.org/assets/Coaching_Styles_and_How_They_Impact_Player_Development.pdf
Organizing a Workout
Originally Posted on Wednesday, August 24, 2011 11:40 AM
When I plan a workout for people in a general population or a specific program for throwers or Olympic Lifters, I take into consideration the following general areas of fitness: Endurance, strength, power, speed, and flexibility. I'll address flexibility in another blog, but will say right now that a good program addresses flexibility integrally as well as separately: a person should get more flexible just by doing the workout, and not just in a stretching specific program before or after training.
When planning workouts, I follow a simple model. We train first for speed, then power, then strength, then endurance. For someone like Lindsey L, this order of training means she lifts then she runs. For the Athena Strength training classes, we lift then do our conditioning. The lifts we do first are those that demand attention to technique and which are the fastest: The Olympic Lifts. We begin workouts with the snatch, clean, or push press in Athena Strength training, and for the Olympic Lifters we begin with the Snatch or Clean. We then do the Strength exercises which utilize our entire bodies: Squats, presses, deadlifts, etc. We follow those up with any strength exercies which isolate body parts: pull-ups, single leg deadlifts, down the list to curls. We finish with a hard conditioning type workout. This workout usually consists of higher intensity training such as tabata intervals or barbell complexes. Occasionally this is a longer, 20+ minute workout such as Michelle M. did this morning on the Airdyne.
Why do we do the exercises in this order? Well, there are many reasons. In summary, due to how the body utilizes energy, we do these exercises in this order because we'll have less interference and exhaustion. In other words, running before you do cleans makes you tired and makes cleans difficult. Cleans before running won't hurt your running too much. Simple, huh? If you want to test yourself on a long run, then go ahead and do a long run. You don't need to lift right then.
In Olympic lifting, organizing a workout can get complex. Basically, train full movements then partial movements, faster movements to slower movements. Sometimes you mix this up- I will do Snatch Pulls or Power snatches before I jerk, although the jerk is a full movement, because I need that CNS Stimulation and the warm-up to my shoulders. Sometimes I do Power cleans and then snatch. But generally, we snatch, clean, squat, pull, more or less in that order. We train in that order because the Snatch requires much concentration and a high level of CNS readiness, while the RDL requires less of the same.
There are always RDLs
originally Posted on Wednesday, August 17, 2011 12:06 PM
Lucy: Daddy, when are we going to get my special big hungry treat?
Me: When Ms. Andrea is done her Squats and RDLs.
Lucy: We don't have RDLs tonight.
Greg: Lucy, there are always RDLs
I love the RDL, or Romanian Deadlift. It's a much misunderstood exercise, and often underrated by trainers, athletes, and coaches. After squats and the classic lifts themselves, the RDL is the next tool in the preparation of a lifter. Even in the general population of trainees the RDL is a valuable tool to fix back problems, although I use them with variations in the general population. Beginner to intermediate Weightlifters should use these at least once a week or so; they are a great way to pack mass on your hamstrings and lower back, and they improve your flexibility.
A little RDL history for you: I think, based on the stories I've heard, that the RDL was introduced to America by Nicu Vlad( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qA6_tH-OGs) in the old Sports Palace in San Francisco. Jim Schmitz could probably confirm this story. I've also heard that Dragomir Ciroslan brought them with him when he came to the OTC, but either way, they were used by strong Romanian Dudes to get stronger.
There are many misunderstandings of RDL technique. This video from Catalyst Athletics demonstrates good, proper form: http://www.cathletics.com/exercises/exercise.php?exerciseID=101
The video also has a link to the stiff-legged deadlift; watch both videos to distinguish the exercises.
When doing the RDL, remember to lower the bar by pushing the hips (your butt) back. Don't just bend over; make sure your back STAYS ARCHED the entire time. Go only as deep as you can with the arched back. For some people, this range of motion ends above the knee; for others, it ends well below the knee. I don't think anyone needs to lower the plates below their feet, even if they are extremely flexible. Just go until the plates hit the floor. The second key piece of technique in the RDL is to keep the shoulder blades retracted and the lats flared, just like in good pulling form.
Many people find the RDL difficult to learn. I often start athletes using their hands against their thighs with no weight to get a feeling for the movement, then move to dumbbells or kettlebells, then to the bar. As a Coach, I need to make sure the athlete's back stays arched, and until I can see the arch, I never let people do heavy RDLs.
What, then, is heavy? I always use the Back Squat as the basis for the RDL. For some folks, it's their front squat (usually powerlifters). I don't ever max in the RDL (it isn't an exercise lending itself safely to 100% testing). In fact, I rarely do fewer than five reps in the lift. So, 80-85% of your back squat for a set of 5 in the RDL is heavy; this weight is one you work up to, don't just go into the gym and figure that you can do this the first day. Also, use straps at the beginning, and after a few months only for heavy sets. I use straps when I go over 400 pounds.
The RDL works well because it is an eccentric movement; your body learns quickly through the eccentric range of motion. Also, the isometric contraction required of the traps and rhomboids (and their accompanying musculature) carries over well into the full lifts, and encourages healthy, strong posture in the general population.
Alternatives to the RDL vary in their effectiveness and difficulty. The first alternative to the RDL is the Good Morning. Your body follows the same movement pattern in a GM as in an RDL; the bar is merely placed on top of your shoulders. The bar placement makes this lift difficult for many; I use the Ironmind Buffalo Bar when I GM (http://ironmind-store.com/Buffalo-Bar153/productinfo/1270/), but if you don't have one of these, I would use a regular power bar and hold it in a low bar squat position. Steve Pulcinella of Ironsport Gym in Glenolden, PA did a nice variation on the GM for his Highland Games career: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhQaHTKVbFg. I think throwers benefit from the GM. more than most athletes, and I use it sparingly in my training, and rarely program it in the training of others.
The Single Leg RDL or Deadlift with a Kettlebell is a nice version to use to teach the hip hinge and good position for Olympic Lifting (retreat the hips!). I use this often, even without weight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWLg7MrA9y4. There are many variations on this exercise, but please only use a kettlebell or dumbbell as loads.
The Band Good Morning is another good exercise to substitute for the RDL, especially as a part of a complex or in higher reps: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTxTFVELEzQ.
Remember, none of these exercises should be done without proper supervision and training, and I'm not telling you to do any of these. This blog is merely my opinion and a few examples of what I do when I train others or myself.
2011 PA States and York Open
Originally Posted on Saturday, August 13, 2011 2:14 PM
I apologize for taking so long to blog about the meet. I have had literally no free time since July 29th; I've driven many hundreds of miles, trained people, worked in the gym, and shuttled kids all over the mid-Atlantic. I'm blogging, in fact, from Severna Park, MD while delivering equipment.
The PA State Champs and York Open was an outstanding meet, easily the best meet I've ever produced or help produced. When Dave Miller started his affiliation with the Keystone Games, the meet grew from six participants to 25 or so, then 27 in my first year, then 49, now 80 registrants for our first PA State Championships (we are no longer associated with the Keystone Games); this is tangible local growth in our sport, following on the heels of the Baltimore Open with 77 lifters; in the two meets along I83 this year, at least 150 unique individuals lifted. The local participation is a credit to Tim Guarino, Leo Totten, John Fillippinni, Phil Stablein, and all the other coaches who bring lifters up and get them to compete. I would like to thank my co-Meet Director, Regis Becker, for his support and helping me with the meet. Without him, Dave, the Montgomery men, and the rest of Pittsburgh Barbell, we could not have had a successful meet. Likewise, I'd like to thank the folks at York Barbell, especially Tim and Dave, for their gracious welcome and assistance. I need to mentiont he support of Jason and Lindsey Lauer, John Fillippinni, Pete and Chuck Wan de Water, and my wife, Sally Van de water, for all their help in the prep and completion of meet labor.
The first session was the School-Age males and the Open Men's 56, 62, 69 kilo lifters. The only Senior lifter in this group was Jon Zajac from Lancaster County, who valiantly finished a great total after having surgery earlier this year. Matt and Cody from York catholic High School qualified for Schoolage Nationals in their first meet, and Dante Clementi, Nick Musa, and Stephen Mink also posted totals which would qualify them for School-Age Nationals. The early highlight of the session was Reese LaDuke qualifying in the 13-under age group and 35 kg weight class as an 11 year old weighing only 26 kg. Dante took home the best schoolage male award.
Our second session was the women's session; we had lifters ranging in age from 14 through 60 (almost 60, Sheron). Sheron Smith from Crossfit Hanover won the best Master Award in her first meet; she also set State age group records in the 75+ class. The best lifter award went to Kelly Charniga, who came from Michigan to compete. Kelly, thank you for coming out; you inspired many of the women and girls in the audience and competition with your determination and strength. Aubriee Luckenbaugh from York qualified for Collegiate Nationals, and Samantha Wright of Crossfit Center City, in her first meet, qualified for Senior Nationals and the American Open.
Our third session was the Men's 77s and in-state 85s. This session started about 30 minutes late, which was the case for the rest of the day. School-Age lifter Jonathan Rizk totaled 215, and two other 77s totaled over 220, led by Phil Schneider's 247.
The fourth session was the out of state 85s and all 94s. Rich Landry from New York came out of the session as the best Master Lifter with a 418 Sinclair-Metzler-Malone total, though he placed 2nd in the weight class to Alex McInnes of Delaware. Pittsburgh Barbell's Cameron Davidson, a strength coach at PSU, qualified for the American Open and Nationals with his 269 total.Pete Van de Water had a 250 total in his return home, though he just missed a 260+ total.
Michael Kreatsoulas of Pendragon was the only lifter of the day who totaled over 300 with his 302 as a 105 in the 5th session. Jim Rutter hit a 286 total, and had the highest total of any Master Lifter. Michael George of PBB won the 105+ State title with his 232 total.
Please keep lifting and competing and coaching, and we'll see you next year.
Meet Prep Week
Originally Posted on Monday, July 25, 2011 11:31 AM
The PA State Championship is this weekend, so I'll take the time today to address pre-meet week.
For years, I've used a basic pre-meet workout template:
Day One
SN 50, 60, 65, 70 % x2; 80% x1 (3 sets)
rest 10 minutes
CL+J 50, 60, 65, 70 2+1; 80 x1+1 (3 sets)
Back Squat 60, 70, 80% x3
Stretch really well
Day Two
SN 50, 60, 65, x2; 70 % x1 (3 sets)
rest 10 minutes
CL+J 50, 60, 65, x2+1; 70 x1+1 (3 sets)
FS 60, 70, 80% x3
Stretch really well
Day Three
SN 50, 60, 70% x2x2
Clean and Jerk 50, 60, 70% x2+1
Stretch really well.
I use some variations, occasionally going as high as 80% on Day Three or doing singles in the squats, and of course taking into considerations the expertise of each lifter. For instance, my Novice lifters in this meet will go heavier this week, even to 90% of their best lifts, because they can recover form those lifts faster as they are not a true 90% effort.
Aside form lifting, we should prepare ourselves emotionally and psychologically for the meet. This week is not a time to slack off on diet and training so you feel better. This is a week to tune in your CNS and emotions so that you are excited, positive, and confident going into Saturday. Here are a few hints on getting there:
1. Eat right, even a little better than usual. Come Saturday, it's better to be a bit lean and eager than to be full and satiated.
2. Sleep well, take naps.
3. Don't get too excited; be patient emotionally. Your have a chance to show off and do well Saturday, get yourself ready by feeling the lifts, not thinking about lifting the weight. Feel how a good snatch will be, feel a good clean and jerk; don;t just visualize by imagining the good lift, feel your body making that good lift.
4. Get a massage or go to the chiro, or both.
5. Pack your gym bag and act like you're in an 80-'s movie montage.http://www.cracked.com/article_17417_6-awesome-80s-movie-montages-that-make-no-damn-sense.html I have never heard of Number Two.
6. Watch this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V30tyaXv6EI&feature=related
If this doesn't get you ready, you must not have been a boy in the 80s.
The day of the meet, relax. Get there early, expect a schedule change, expect a bit of chaos. Since you have complete control only over yourself, be a bit selfish meet day and worry only about yourself.
Finally, remember, it's just a meet. Probably just a local one. Be cool to people, not arrogant. Help out, meet others, and enjoy your time. Most people in competitions don't win, don't lift the heaviest, don't win the best lifter trophy. Those things are nice, but they aren't the point of competing. You're the point of competing, so make the day positive.
Complex Conditioning
originally published Friday, July 22, 2011 9:46 AM
Many of my competitive lifters have the PA State Championships coming up next weekend and they've started to share with me that they think their conditioning is declining. On one hand, I disagree- the're superbly conditioned for lifting heavy in a meet. But I understand their concerns. Some are doing Steve Pulcinella's StrongWoman contest in October, and others just want to get a little more cardiovascular capacity, and some, including me, need to lose bodyfat. These goals require a bit more than heavy doubles and singles in the lifts; but we need to do conditioning in our workouts which won't effect our strength. We do this through complexes with the barbell, dumbbells, and kettlebells.
Complexes aren't a new idea, and I won't go into much detail on their history, or as much of it as I know. They remain an effective tool for increasing your heart rate, burning fat, and making it easier to walk up the stairs. A complex is, essentially, a mixture of exercises done without letting go of the bar (or DB or KB). One I use most often in Athena Strength training is the Power Clean, FS, Push Press. We'll do these in that order, or sometimes as a series of cleans, then squats, then presses. Most often, we'll do three to five reps of each exercise for three to five sets without a rest. For example, we will take the bar and do three cleans, followed immediately by three front squats, followed immediately by three push presses, then repeat as many times as necessary. Sometimes we do a clean, then a squat, then a press, followed by a clean, then a squat, then a press, etc. These simple, three exercise complexes are great as a finisher after the workout. Jason L., a good friend of mine and a strength coach at a high school in Baltimore, loves the Bear, or a modified version of it. He'll do a deadlift, hang clean, front squat, push press, back squat, push press, then do it all over again.
Dan John http://danjohn.net/pdfs/complex.pdf and Istvan Javorek http://istvanjavorek.com/id6.html have their own, highly effective, versions of the complexes. Javorek may be the most significant contributor to the use of the complex in contemporary strength and conditioning; he clearly has done much research and is a profound believer in their effectiveness. I love using his dumbbell complexes, and they are a great alternative to the barbell complexes. Dan John simply rocks, and he will kick your butt. As for kettlebell complexes, you can do swings, snatches, cleans, renegade rows, etc. thrown in. Make sure exercises flow into each other. Glenn Pendlay also has a nice discussion on complexes here: http://www.pendlayforum.com/showthread.php?t=2689&highlight=complexes
Personally, I enjoy the complexes because they give me a decent amount of work in a short amount of time. I don't like keeping the bar at the same weight and doing multiple sets; I prefer to start low and go up each set. One of my personal favorite complexes is three power snatches, three overhead squats, three behind the neck presses. I'll start at 40 kg, and add 5 kg a set until I get to 70. The only rest I take is the time it takes me to add weight to the bar. On occasion, I'll do sets of 5 or go up to 90. I also like a bodyweight complex we did in wrestling practice: push-ups, mountain climbers, knee-tuck jumps. Start at 10 each and work your way down; or start at 15 or 20. Better yet, get a partner, hit 5 double leg takedowns each, then do the complex from 10 down, get up, and drill another move, repeat the complex, then get up, drill a third move, then repeat the complex and rest.
A few keys I've found to the effective use of complexes: If they're a finisher, you don't have to go all out on them. It's an exercise, a complement to your training, not a cause in itself. The weights can vary session to session and time to time. Keep your heart rate going, but stop if you feel short of breath or dizzy. Passing out while training is not cool, nor is throwing up. Also, choose an appropriate weight. For conditioning, I rarely go over 70% of my best lift. Make sure the conditioning complex doesn't become a strength workout; if you are doing complexes with 80% of your best clean, you probably can't clean enough and need some strength intervention. Also, complexes are short and sweet. They shouldn't last more than a few minutes. Doing the Bear for 20 minutes is stupid. If you want to do something for 20 minutes, go run a couple of miles.
Kettlebell Swings (originally published July 19, 2011)
With many thanks to Christine Petty, Randy Hauer, Marc Cameron, and others, I'd like to write about the kettlebell swing. The biggest thanks go to Dan John, who recently wrote this article for T-Nation: http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/the_metabolic_swing
I will not explain the technique of this swing, as Dan did so in his article with an eloquence and attention to detail I lack. What I will do is endorse this swing as the primary non-bar based conditioning tool I use for Olympic lifters, especially older lifters (over 18) who have learned bad technique. Also, this swing is awesome for throwers, and will go a long way to helping you make big things go far. The repetition of this swing teaches folks to use their hips efficiently and explosively. High rep swings are easy on the CNS, and can therefore go a long way to "greasing the groove" for someone learning how to bring the bar and their hips together. They also burn tons of calories and fat. I show the swing in my clinic for lifters and throwers, and I always distinguish this swing from the overhead swing.
For a general population, the swing teaches people to protect their back and use their hips to properly move something. We often hear the cliché "lift with your legs", but people cannot replicate the actions needed to move heavy things. Swing away, folks, and learn how your legs and hips work together to lift heavy stuff, be it your printer, your dog, or your next clean and jerk.
Using the correct weight on the swing is imperative to avoid injury and strain on the lower back. The men I train use a 16 or 20 kg kb, the women anywhere form an 8 to 20 kg kb depending on their strength. People should use the heaviest weight they can and keep good form; sometimes, I have people use a heavier weight to slow them down. Why would you do 20 swings in 20 seconds with an 8kg kb when you can do 12 with a 20? I do my one-arm swings with Olga, my 32 kg kb, and I do two arm swings with this torture device: http://store.sorinex.com/Hungarian_Core_Blaster_s/76.htm loaded to 100-125 pounds. The core blaster will force you to swing properly, since you cannot put it over your head or get it going without the proper hip action. It's also adjustable and cheaper than a bunch of different sized kettlebells.
As always, use caution when swinging. If you have a bad back or cannot keep your back arched, do something else and swing later on in your training career. If you don't feel you get anything from the swing, check your form, change weights, or find something that works for you.
Intro and Welcome (originally published July 17, 2011)
Welcome to my new blog here at McKenna's Gym. I plan to write a few times a week, and perhaps I'll invite some others to write from time to time. We're about 30 minutes from York, PA and an hour from Baltimore. The gym isn't a typical gym where you go and workout however you want. We offer group classes Monday through Thursday at 8:15 a.m. and 4:15 for women, and at 6:30 for Olympic-style Weightlifting and Strength and Conditioning (We do not have Wednesday evening or afternoon classes). Currently, we have anywhere from 4-12 attendees at each class; we average 6 or so people. Evenings, especially Thursday evening, are packed. I also offer personal training at your house or here at my gym.
I'm a USAW and USATF Certified Coach, and as such I bring a strong dose of experience and science into my training philosophy. I think strength is the primary goal of any training program, and I use basic exercises such as squats, presses, cleans, and deadlifts to achieve overall body strength. I supplement those core exercises with more full body movements and a few isolation movements. We follow strength training at each session with a intense period of conditioning, often including kettlebells, the Concept2 Rower, jump rope, and bodyweight movements. The sessions conclude with flexibility work.
Our Olympic Lifting and Strongman sessions are dedicated to developing competitive athletes in a strength sport. We currently have a dozen competitive Olympic lifters training here during the month, and most compete as members of the East Coast Gold Weightlifting team, though members of other teams are welcome. I emphasize an efficient, strong pull from the floor ending with explosive hip drive and a fast pull-under of the body.
I bring 25 years of competitive athletic experience to my coaching, and all my coaching is based on solid teaching progressions. These progressions are tailored to each individual based on her backgrounds and needs, and I welcome questions about my programming from my clients at any time.