The Tight Tan Slacks of Dezso Ban

Freaky Beasts: Revelations of a One-Time Bodybuilder - William Giraldi

2012-02-01T22:51:00.000-08:00

Aethlon: The Journal of Sport Literature

from The Kenyon Review, Fall 2009

Now, my tongue, the mystery telling

Of the glorious Body sing

-- Thomas Aquinus, Pange Lingua Gloriosi

We walked the earth as gods, heroes, monsters, true anomalies who existed in an underground culture of iron and anabolic drugs, of mammoth protein dishes and a shared understanding that we were Úbermenschen , superior to the unmuscled rabble of the world. Our ways were alien, extreme, unholy, hellbent. We puked and bled and broke laws in search of massive, striated muscle, in search of stares and whistles from strangers. I see now that we shunned the wimpy Christian ideal that places a beautiful soul above the perfection of physical form. Instead, we were magnificent Greeks, idolizing male beauty and believing that the exterior was a reflection or embodiment of the interior. Achilles, Adonis, Atlas, Hercules: look at them. And, my Lord, we were arrogant, solipsistic bastards. We were New Jersey bodybuilders, and, for a brief time, singing the body electric, I rived in triumph.

But before immersing myself in the clandestine madness of belonging to this club for gods, I was a naive sixteen-year-old whose first-ever serious girlfriend had chewed up his heart and spat it on the pavement. My uncle Tony had been a weightlifter and bodybuilder in his early twenties and, missing the iron, had recently set up a no-nonsense, professional-grade gym in one half of his basement: dumbbell set from 10 to 100, squat rack, pulley machine, preacher bench, and the scores of Olympic plates held in various racks under the mirrors. My uncle lived across the street from my grandmother, and since my father was struggling to raise three kids by himself, besieged by a revolting mortgage, we ate dinner every night at my grandmother's house.

One late afternoon before dinner, stultified by grief and boredom, I went into the basement to visit my uncle, absentmindedly picked up a barbell to squeeze out a set of bicep curls, and found a passion I didn't know I needed. Part of my motive became to alter my pathetic, emaciated physique into a monument worthy of my estranged girlfriend's lust, and another part was an (unconscious) attempt to meet my family's outrageous, Homeric standards of manliness: their conception of the masculine was divided into the heroic and the cowardly, with no room for gradation. But the largest part of my motive was simply to stave off the aimlessness I felt bearing down on me. And I didn't become just another body in my uncle's basement gym every weekday from 3:30 to 5:00; I became his trusted partner, and together we set out on a mission of manliness.

Those first results I noticed in the mirror produced euphoria, infective and addictive. After only a few weeks of high calorie force-feeding--enormous piles of pasta for dinner each evening, a quart of protein shake before bed each night--and not a single missed day of training, my deltoids and pectorals began to mushroom, my biceps balloon, my back thicken and widen, my traps swell out from my neck, my quads sweep out from my waist. Each week I packed on more pounds, and my strength increased steadily; more and more plates were added to my bench press, my squat, my straight-bar and preacher-bar curls. In that fluorescent end of my uncle's basement, with the primal howls of AC/DC blaring through a pair of speakers, with the scent of dampness and rust hanging in that stagnant air, with posters of Bruce Lee and bodybuilder Tom Platz looking on (Platz was a steroid-ballooned aberration with the legs of a rhinoceros), I witnessed that teenage boy transform in the mirror before me, and the transformation proved all-empowering. I could move boulders, topple buildings. And already I had been thinking about achieving an outrageous freakiness with anabolic steroids in my own blood, but at this early stage I knew very little about drugs. That would change.

In the seminal documentary Pumping Iron (1977), Arnold Schwartzenegger--still the monarch of all things bodybuilding--likened a good workout pump to an orgasm, Despite the ecstasy of those pumps, I cared more for what was permanent, for what I could carry through the day with me: the body armor that announced the arrival of a formidable opponent, a disciplined warrior ... a man. Because, after all, being a man is the chief concern of any adolescent male, whether he recognizes it or not. In my family the concern was amplified: Giraldi men were burly, stoic, hard-working carpenters, and I needed to make my place among them. I had the formula--I had it right there, bulging out in luscious roundness from beneath my T-shirt. In War and Peace Tolstoy likens the body to a machine, and so what I sought was the best possible machine, the mightiest machine, perhaps believing that it would make life's certain travails more endurable, much the way a luxury car makes highway traffic less nightmarish. And "machine" is the perfect word, because the grotesque bodybuilders I admired and aspired to join looked more mechanical than human.

I trained all that summer like a Spartan, and when I returned to school in September, as a junior at Hillsborough High, some people had trouble recognizing me. Friends and enemies both appeared befuddled, and my ex-girlfriend eyed me with fascination from distant recesses of the hallway. My math teacher, Mr. Roba--former Marine and star athlete--blessed me with what remains perhaps the greatest compliment I've ever received. He said, "It looks good on you, kid." In June they had beheld a 115-pound waif with longish hair and a blanched, pimply complexion. What stood before them now was something altogether different--it didn't seem plausible: 145 pounds of lean muscle beneath a bronze sheath. The awe-struck reaction I prompted is the sole reason any person desires the physical conversion I had achieved, never mind what he tells you about the health benefits. Compliments and admiration are what fuel the addiction to the iron, to the mirror. And I did manage to win back my estranged girlfriend, though the reunion was a laughable failure and lasted only a few months.

Milan Kundera has named youth "the lyrical age" because, like the lyric poet, the youth is "focused almost exclusively on himself, is unable to see, to comprehend, to judge clearly the world around him" (40). Give to this same youth the self-worship that bodybuilding fosters and what you get is a Narcissus so detached from the normality of others that his ego threatens to turn him into a loathsome sociopath, one who sees himself as walking poetry. But I had no qualms about my new life: it was indeed an addiction--one that would soon take me into some seedy, steroid-infested corners--but it also allowed me strength, poise, surety of character, and respite from a brutish melancholy. And so I intensified my training, since 145 pounds was still a munchkin; I needed another fifty pounds of lean mass, and it looked like anabolic drugs were the only route. If someone had told me then that in just over a year I would waltz across a stage in a frenzied bodybuilding competition, wearing only a blue bikini bottom, tanned an unnatural bronze, and mushroomed on three different anabolic drugs, I would have doubted it. My only focus at this juncture was to look like a genetically enhanced Atlas, to be the strongest eighteen-year-old guy in town. Formal competition seemed an impossibility.

Each day I devoured muscle magazines and took intricate notes on specialized diets and new training methods; these notes filled my composition pads alongside rudimentary observations on The Great Gatsby, The Sun Also Rises , and The Catcher in the Rye --the three novels that would play the most instrumental role in my pursuit of literature. Then, in my senior year of high school, after eighteen months of steadfast training, my uncle began to go wayward, lose interest, get more involved in work and his children. But he had taught me every trick I needed in order to forge ahead without him: what to eat, how much, and at what times (eating was still my biggest issue--I hated to force-feed myself every night before bed, wolfing down a thick turkey sandwich); how to increase mass and strength (high weight, low reps); how to sculpt that mass (low weight, high reps); how to alter a workout routine in order to overcome a plateau, that dreaded wasteland of making no gains; how to target a lagging body part (pectorals in my case); how to get inspired for two unforgiving exercises known to defeat even the most austere bodybuilder, squats and dead-lifts. "Squats and deads are what separate the men from the boys," my uncle would say.

My uncle had come from the Draconian gyms of New Jersey, Apollo Gym and Diamond Gym, hardcore dungeons for freaky beasts, elite training fields that eschewed the pencil-neck businessman and the middle-aged housewife. These gyms were bastions of unapologetic masculinity, of men preparing for the most prestigious bodybuilding competitions in Jersey, and my uncle cut his teeth there among the cracked mirrors, leaky pipes, and bloodstained floors. Some men carried buckets from exercise to exercise because they trained to the point of puking. To walk through those gyms was to be among single-minded giants, dedicated champions injecting themselves with the finest drugs science could muster. My uncle himself was always too honorable for drugs--for him the only glory came in doing it naturally, and he never had the slightest urge to step onstage. I didn't either.

As in gorilla or chimpanzee troops, reverence and fear dominated those gyms; if a larger, more animalistic specimen needed a machine or dumbbell, you humbly surrendered it. And you always kept yourself covered in a sweatshirt and sweatpants: to flaunt your own hard-won muscle in the presence of even greater muscle was blasphemous, hubristic, a cause for shame. This same hubris damns Pentheus in The Bacchae of Euripides: the young ruler tries to flex his muscle in the presence of the god Dionysus, but the god possesses superior muscle, and so Pentheus dies a gruesome death. The play is a masterpiece of eroticism, which was exactly how we bodybuilders viewed ourselves and each other: as muscled Casanovas. I didn't realize till long after I had left that odd world that, despite all the female attention and sex with women, the eroticism was chiefly homoerotic. We were more Greek than we realized (about which more later).

So my uncle imparted to me that Draconian workout ethic. When he retired from the iron, he allowed me to bring over my own training partners--since the kind of heavy lifting we executed made training without a partner or spotter deadly--and I in turn attempted to impart the same view to the friends who tried to join me. My longtime comrade Russ Brit began coming to my uncle's dungeon, and to my surprise he possessed the blood-and-guts warrior credo. Then, in a comical twist I couldn't have foreseen, my enemy Jimmy Ruh asked me to train him. Jimmy was the football player and class president who had snagged my girlfriend away from me eighteen months earlier. We were supposed to brawl in the parking lot a number of times but, thankfully, those brawls never came to fruition--I would have been savaged and humiliated. Now, thinking me a mighty Proteus, Jimmy wanted me to transform him the way I had transformed myself. And we attempted to undergo such tutelage, but Jimmy didn't have the necessary genetics for muscle mass, or the even-more-necessary barbarian gumption to wrestle with iron five days a week. The psychological benefits of witnessing another man get crushed by the fierce training regimen and severe diet were in themselves almost worth the hours of sweat-drenched agony.

This severe diet, the bane of many, was for me not so severe because, like my uncle, I had a rapid metabolism: gaining and keeping weight was my problem. I could eat hefty portions of whatever I wanted (as long as I consumed the requisite grams of protein) and, as long as I kept training, the pounds adhered to the proper places, filled out my deltoids, quadriceps, pectorals, and biceps. I was doubly lucky because my waist was only twenty-nine inches, which allowed me the much-sought-after V-shape. Also, in addition to having full muscle bellies, I had narrow joints, which meant that I always appeared more muscular than was actually the case. For the competitive bodybuilder, aesthetics matter more than strength. I would discover that when you're on stage nobody cares about how much you bench press.

A precontest diet exacts cruel punishment, but at this point in my development I was able to eat anything, as long as I ate. And I did, nearly every two hours: I carried Tupperware containers to school, containers over-stuffed with tuna fish and wheat bread, and I sat in the hallway between classes and forced down the food. Fellow students glared at me as they passed by holding their noses. The smell of tuna fish was another way for me to garner attention, to announce my distinction, my discipline, my godliness. But still, I hated it--all those mounds of protein piled before me several times a day. It was exhausting to eat that much. A bodybuilder spends half his time thinking about the iron, and the other half thinking about food. If he ever gives himself a break from thoughts of iron and food, he thinks about drugs.

My first real attempt to score a cache of steroids came about through my boyhood chum Russ Brit, who was still training with me in my uncle's basement. Russ knew someone who frequented the pizzeria where he worked part-time, someone who had promised him a shipment of anabolics from a hardcore gym in New York. Youth is brazen--or, as Disraeli has it, "Youth is a blunder" (61)--and so, after discovering the location of this guy's apartment, I rode my twelve-speed bicycle there and knocked on his door. After telling him who I was, I tried to hand him a fistful of cash in exchange for the ampoules and needles. This nervous young man told me that the shipment hadn't arrived yet but that it would within a week, and then he asked me not to show up at his apartment anymore. I rode home without feeling even the slightest bit of blunder in me, certain that I was one step closer to procuring the drugs I needed to realize my ideal physical form. I never once considered steroids a weaker man's shortcut; the kind of freakiness I desired just wasn't possible without them.

Of course we never heard from that fellow again, but sometime during my senior year of high school some pals and I were able to score--through vigilant negotiations with other bodybuilders and weight lifters who belonged to various gyms in the area--a potent oral anabolic called Anadrol. Designed for anemics, Anadrol was the most sought after bodybuilding drug on the black market, a badass chemical invention that increased size and strength as nothing else could. Anadrol was so attractive, not only because of its supreme effectiveness, but because it wasn't an injectable steroid: many of my companions had a fear of needles, a paranoia about addiction and disease, and weren't capable of plunging one into their buttocks.

The irony is that injectable steroids are much healthier because, unlike pills, they get directly assimilated by the body without having to pass through the liver. Anadrol, on the other hand, was so potent it unleashed hell upon the liver--sometimes I could feel mine aching. But the stuff was sweet magic: I inflated from 155 pounds to 165 pounds in just two weeks, and this for someone who could go months on end without gaining a single pound. Never mind the high blood pressure that caused me constant, beleaguering headaches: the granite roundness of my deltoids and biceps, the added body mass I felt in each step, the way my quads shook under my sweatpants, how my lats (latissimus dorsi) propped up my arms--it was so intoxicating I could think nothing of the possibility that I had begun inflicting damage on my vital organs with black market chemicals.

Nearly everyone in my orbit noticed the added mass, the increased irritability and aggression, my complaints of headaches. My pal Mark Holden one afternoon ransacked my locker in hope of finding my pills; he said I looked like a cartoon character and was damned impossible to be around. I bickered incessantly with my new girlfriend Monique. Testosterone is the Yahweh hormone: too much turns a man into a hostile, unreasonable despot eager to flex his brawn. One day in the hallway I literally ripped a door off its hinges when it wouldn't open properly, and for some reason this felt good to me, much the way I imagine Yahweh grinning as he smites Gomorrah to ash. My uncle noticed the change in me, as well. At a picnic, a family member asked me, "How are you doing?" to which my uncle countered, " What are you doing?" He meant, What kind of poison are you pushing into your body? He of all people knew what a drug physique looked like, and he didn't approve, although he never mentioned it to me again.

* *

At around the time of my high school graduation my uncle's basement ceased to be enough for me. I had up till this point avoided joining a real gym because I feared I was not muscular enough to hold my own--this despite the fact that I was now 165 pounds at five feet eight inches, had only three percent body fat, was pumped full of Anadrol, and was lifting my highest numbers ever: 225 bench press for five reps, 315 squat for eight, 400 dead lift for three, 125 barbell curl for ten. Some boyhood friends from my hometown had recently joined the weightlifting and bodybuilding cult and were training at a gym a few towns over called the Physical Edge. Set back in an industrial park, off an ordinary road with patches of forest, the Edge was a sprawling facility with modern equipment, and it catered to both the overweight housewife and the dogged bodybuilder. I have seldom known the brand of excitement I experienced upon joining that gym and becoming a key member of its core. I was eighteen years old, fresh from high school, postponing college, living at home rent-free, loving a girlfriend who modeled in Manhattan: these are the formative circumstances old men miss.

Within only a week of joining I paired up with Pauly, a short Italian with diamond thighs, monstrous arms, and an unforgiving case of acne from anabolic steroids. His partner had just suffered a hernia lifting too much weight, and so Pauly had been hunting for a serious, skilled replacement. His choosing me was confirmation that my rigorous training had impressed him, that I had achieved the kind of muscularity that wins admiration. We trained like animals: grumbled and groaned, spat and sweat, cursed and yelled. Our weight was heavy, our focus undeterred. And Pauly wasn't the only one impressed by my attitude and physique: the manager and head trainer of the Edge offered me a job working the morning shift from five to twelve, which meant that I was now an Edge representative. I had been there less than a month and was already the go-to guy, beginning friendships with gargantuan freaks of nature, guys who were so consumed by drugs and the bodybuilding lifestyle that they could scarcely hold a two-minute conversation with anybody who wasn't.

The fact that these champions considered me worthy of their friendship loaded me with a pride and honor that I have not felt since. What did they look like? You've seen them on the cover of magazines: the vascularity, thick cords coursing over dense, lean muscle; the complexion, a mixture of bronze, orange, and red; the outfits, skimpy and skintight; the facial expressions, determined and of singular purpose. And the women there who flocked to us: they, too, were fitness maniacs, all of them obsessed with physical perfection. We inspired each other immensely, helped each other with the weights and machines--skin against skin, sweat against sweat, the sexual grunts and groans coming from us as the iron rose and fell, as our strong blood surged through muscle tissue. The women spent hours there training, stretching, and talking with us, wanting to bathe in the expert light we radiated. This was our army, and part of the pleasure of belonging resulted from the secrecy, the illegality, the shunning of normal people and their normal ways.

It got to the point where most of us could not associate with anyone who wasn't a member of that army. Although none of us drank alcohol we would sometimes go to a popular bar and delight in how the whole place would part for us to pass through, this band of mechanical mammals. But we lived mostly for the charged environment of the Edge, looking forward to it when we weren't there and savoring every minute we were. We could not imagine how ordinary people walked through this life without muscle. And for me this was especially true: I literally could not imagine what that felt like, much the way any given person can never accurately fathom having the genitalia of the opposite sex.

Imagine us there in the locker room of the Physical Edge: a clan of hairless, nearly naked men harpooning each other's buttocks with needles, massaging the painful cramps out of each other's deltoids and quads, positioning each other into poses before the mirror, lying naked in the tanning bed, showering each other with compliments on muscle shape and density.... Didn't this strike any of us as extremely gay? As a love affair with the muscled male form? If a sexologist had shown up and pointed this out to us, we would have insisted that he just didn't understand--the passion, the code, the discipline, the masculinity in extremis ... right before slapping him senseless. We would have insisted that a portion of our esoteric zeal resulted from wanting to astonish women, to bed as many as possible. After all, procreative dominance is the main benefit of being alpha male in a chimpanzee or gorilla troop--those noble cousins of ours who would have felt quite at home in our gym. Or pick up Darwin's masterpiece and reread the chapter "Selection in Relation to Sex" to see how eerily similar a bodybuilder is to a bird: flashy plumage influences sexual success.

But the real aim of our esoteric zeal--so hidden from us then--was to astonish each other, to gain the unadulterated affection and admiration of other elite men. As in Hemingway's universe of men relying on men for survival, of disdaining the female and her interfering ways, we too responded only to male influence and praise. The irony, of course, is that we had ourselves turned into females: we sought the esteem and approval of men, shaved and tanned our bodies, wore scant clothing, were food-obsessed beyond reason. We had undergone sex changes and behaved exactly as prototypical women, constantly fretting over our fragile images and self-worth and control or lack of it--it was straight from the pages of an anorexia handbook. Pauly's hideous case of ache brought on by steroids was a tolerable consequence of his trying to be beautiful, much the way anorexic women become skeletal and hirsute and hideous in their quest to be stunning.

So the male bodybuilder and the female anorexic are separate though equal manifestations of the same social pressure placed upon both genders: women must be rail thin, men superhero muscular, and damn everything else. You can blame prime-time TV and the magazine rack at the grocery store, but the real culprit is a modern malaise dictating that nothing is ever good enough: your job, your car, your spouse, your body. And so we dive into dangerous extremes to achieve an unattainable perfection, forgetting that the goal is to be attractive and healthy and loved. This is the American Dream of our bodies, as fallacious and silly as the American Dream that sells us all a ruse of guaranteed economic success (with a splash of fame). We different genders are more equivalent than we get credit for, and nowhere is this more obvious than in the gym.

So what did the Homeric patriarchs of my family think about my turning into a woman, my father and grandfather and the uncles I was desperate to impress? They didn't see it that way because I looked like a magazine's dream of masculinity, all marble brawn. And the truth is that they remained mostly ignorant to what happened at the Edge; they never saw my shaved body (except for my arms in the summer), didn't know that I pined after the acceptance of other men, considered my food obsession a necessary sign of election, and didn't witness us there in the locker room like a band of adoring femmes.

* *

Of course I didn't see it that way either, because I was too young and too busy harvesting the benefits of my physique. But, oddly, the most titillating erotic affair I experienced during my time at the Edge was not the result of the body I had so obsessively sculpted, but of F. Scott Fitzgerald. I had been keeping my pursuit of literature a secret from my family and bodybuilding comrades because reading Goethe and writing stories were considered effeminate, anathema, a high-minded waste of time that could in no way aid one's muscle mass. Erika came to the Edge every morning just after I opened the doors at 5:00 a.m., and she would sit at the counter for a while, chatting with me as she sipped on the protein shake I had blended for her. When one morning she pulled out of her duffel bag a copy of The Beautiful and Damned , I said, "Anthony and Gloria Patch. Miserable, aren't they?" I had finished the novel three weeks earlier, and Erika looked across the counter at me as if I had just conjured the dead. She said, "You read?" I said, "Yes." She said, "Books?" I said, "Yes." She said, "Literary books?" And I said, "Yes, I think so." My relationship with Monique was dying; she had gone off to Rutgers and buried me in the farthest reaches of her gray heart. So for the next few weeks I went to Erika's apartment in the middle of the night, and as she ground fanatically in my lap with her wild blonde hair flitting around her head, she'd say, "Call me Daisy!" and this I would do, right before the eager ejaculatory bliss that only youth and anabolic steroids can inspire.

The drugs were necessary now--and not merely a tool for my vanity--because an inevitability had occurred: my fellow enthusiasts had talked me into competing in a popular bodybuilding show called the Muscle Beach, held in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. I wasn't surprised by my allowing them to convince me of this; being around so many competitive bodybuilders at the Edge had begun to make me curious about my own potential on stage. It seemed the natural next step: from my uncle's basement to the Edge to competing on stage. Was I petrified of having to strut almost naked in front of several thousand people, all of whom would be scrutinizing my every millimeter? Someone this deep in the bodybuilding headspace doesn't blink at dancing in a bikini bottom; in fact, that's the point: to show the cosmos what you created. I viewed my readiness for the stage as another signal of my worthiness as a man, never mind the fact that the competitive bodybuilder is more femmy than his noncompetitive brethren: a guy in a bikini wearing self-tanning bronzer and performing a little dance routine.

If I intensified my training, altered my diet slightly, and became even more of a single-minded beast, I could place high in the teenage division. Pauly and I and some others had been driving around Jersey each Saturday to watch different competitions, and at one of these shows we all became convinced that I could excel onstage if I wanted to. But I would have to wean myself from the Sustanon 250 I was injecting every week because this mass-building, oil-based anabolic caused water retention, and water retention blurred vascularity and muscle striation. It made one look strong, yes, but also puffy, and puffy was not the desired aesthetic on stage; rather, one wanted to look "ripped" or "shredded"--diaphanous skin with no water beneath the surface so that the thin lines of muscle composite were visible.

I had begun accumulating boxes of steroids for my own use; the drugs would come into the gym from our key sources--two fellow freaks we trusted--and I bought up whatever I could, even if I wasn't just then using that particular blend of testosterone. Word of one's drug stash passed quickly through an incestuous gym such as ours, and when a fellow soldier needed an anabolic for his battle, you happily sold it to him. This hoarding and selling became rather chimerical once when a pal named Tom stopped by my place to pick up a thousand dollars worth of Dianabol, a magical anabolic difficult to come by. Tom was a gigantic cop, six feet seven inches tall and well over three hundred pounds, and he arrived at my apartment that day in his police cruiser and police uniform. So I sold a uniformed cop a bag of anabolic steroids in my sunlit kitchen. Through the window above the sink I watched him leave, and I remember saying aloud to myself, "What on earth am I doing?" But I didn't give it much thought after that moment, because this was the reality of the world we inhabited. None of us experienced even a second of shame over our drug use--shame was for everyday people, and we were champions who relished the secrecy and law breaking.

My precontest training spanned several weeks; the most taxing part was the purified diet: chicken breast, cup of brown rice, cup of steamed broccoli--all of it plain, seven times a day. My dreams were detailed collages of chocolate, cake, and candy. When I stopped the heavy anabolic drugs, I lost some of my mass, but this was necessary: each day I got leaner, more striated, more vascular. This effect was helped along by a drug called Winstrol-V, a water-based steroid designed to make horses run faster--it burned as it went in. Each evening after my workout I sat on the exercise bike for fifty minutes and tried not to let anyone see that I was holding Goethe's novel The Sorrows of Young Werther . I practiced my contest routine in the aerobics room under the guidance of some contest veterans who wanted me to win, to represent the Edge in the teenage division.

Sometimes the image in the mirror startled me: that chiseled bronze statue had my eyes. When I shopped in the supermarket at night I could see the other shoppers pointing and whispering, and some of them not in admiration, but mockery. As I rappelled deeper into a contest mentality, I had mostly forgotten to think about the patriarchs of my family, about whether or not they were proud of what I had accomplished. If they wanted a real man (albeit one who had turned into a woman), there I stood. But the solipsistic bastard doesn't have the space to consider his family; he's too consumed with his own lovely vision of himself. And was I a real man now, or just an image of one?

Scores of supporters and family members trekked down to Point Pleasant for my competition; the air inside that auditorium felt radioactive. Backstage, Pauly and some other pals from the gym covered me in a final coat of bronze paint--skin must be as dark as possible in order for muscle definition to be visible under the strong lights, otherwise your cuts get washed out. The distinct coppery smell of this body paint nearly overwhelmed me--every man backstage was drenched in the stuff. And there we stood in our bikini bottoms, eighty misunderstood warriors from each weight division, gently pumping up with the dumbbells, our eyeballs glowing against our newly blackened hides. Stage fright did not occur to me, and failure did not occur to me, even though I was smaller and weaker than I had been before the new diet. I spotted other teenagers who were larger than I was, but Pauly and the guys kept making the point: "You're shredded, bro. That dude ain't ripped like you. You're nails, got veins everywhere. Don't sweat him. You're nails ." Of course it was a monumental task not to sweat because I was wearing an extra layer of bronze skin and the temperature backstage rose to ninety degrees.

My song began and I strutted onstage to the eruption of shouts and hollers. The hot lights distorted my vision of the crowd; I could make out only a few faces; the rest was a bleary canvas of color. I performed my muscle-showing, semidance routine just as I had practiced it for weeks, and after a minute and forty seconds I was done, walking off into the wings, my hand held high in appreciation, exhilaration, joy. After every man had his chance to perform individually, all ten of us in the teenage division stood in queue on stage for the group competition, during which the judges called for various poses: front double bi, back lat spread, etc. Because my physique was harder and more symmetrical than the larger guys, I won second place that night. I carried offstage a two-foot sculpture trophy that weighed forty pounds, and as I walked behind the curtain and out into the fluorescent hallway that led to my seat in the auditorium, I became flooded by bliss. There's no other word for it. Bliss. I haven't felt that way since.

* *

Things began to unravel after that. The Edge went bankrupt and chained its doors dosed; our group scattered to various other gyms in central Jersey. My relationship with Monique crumbled for good, my father sold my boyhood home, and a ruthless melancholy clobbered me into oblivion. Pauly and I remained training partners--I planned to compete in another bodybuilding show in just five months--but without the camaraderie and compassion at the Edge, the training and drugs and lifestyle began to lose their meaning for me. Pauly and I were driving long distances to try out various gyms in Jersey, but none of them ever came close to promising the happiness we experienced at the Edge. At this time of suicidal blackness my physique never looked better: I was fifteen pounds heavier than my previous contest weight, harder and more symmetrical, and this because I got the drug cocktail right. But still: I suffered through each workout with Pauly and through each forced meal (depression annihilated my appetite). I missed the Edge, regretted my estrangement from Monique, and read Raymond Carver's doleful stories every night and morning, wanting to shift my life from the gym to the library... wanting to write. I was nineteen years old and felt the jadedness of someone twice my age.

When it was time to step on stage again, I didn't even care: I fell asleep in my car in the parking lot before the show. That day and the day before I had screwed up my diet in a way I could not rectify--if you don't have the proper ratio of carbohydrates, potassium, and water in your muscle tissue before you step onstage, all your cuts vanish. Pauly said he couldn't spot a single abdominal muscle from his seat in the audience. It didn't matter. I took fourth place and walked offstage.

The depression would get a lot worse before I could begin to see my way out of it; the old crowd from the Edge--all those men and women I cared so much about and shared so much with--promised to keep in touch, but it never happened. Without the Edge as our mother ship we were unconnected orphans. If I thought that bodybuilders lived a bizarre, esoteric life, I was soon to find out that the life of a writer can be every bit as solitary and obsessive. People ask me all the time now if I miss those glory days, if I miss having that physique, that mind-set, those dangerous methods. How could someone miss so much vanity, so much narcissistic pride and drug use? And why did I walk away so suddenly? The truth is that I had simply outgrown the iron, that fixation on my physique. I couldn't reconcile being a bodybuilder with wanting to be a student of Homer, Milton, Hopkins. And let's face it: a grown man looks rather silly flexing his biceps in the mirror, especially if he's holding The Iliad in one hand. I had found another way of being a man, one that involved imagination, knowledge, compassion. If the men of my family and my former gym friends couldn't buy that, I couldn't help them.

But I do miss those days terribly. And who wouldn't miss them? Didn't you see us?

The Shoulder and Heavy Squatting - Jason Rash

2012-01-30T18:20:00.000-08:00

NSCA Strength and Condition Journal
http://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/pages/default.aspx

The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research:

http://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/pages/default.aspx

The Shoulder and Heavy Squatting
by Jason D. Rash (2000)

Introduction

The shoulder complex is made up of two different structures: the glenohumeral joint and the shoulder girdle. In terms of the power squat for the powerlifter, this article will focus on the glenohumeral articulation and is intended to evaluate shoulder function and injury prevention in the power squat.

Impingement

The glenohumeral joint is made up of the glenoid fossa (a socket) of the scapula and the head of the humerus (the ball). The arrangement of the joint consists of a shallow socket and a humeral head, which is less than halfway in the socket at any one time. This allows for multiaxial movement in all three plains. The drawback to this arrangement is that because the fossa slightly tilts anteriorly and superiorly, the shoulder is susceptible to dislocations and impingement, respectively, as well as other injuries.

In the power squat, the bar rests on the posterior deltoids, accomplishing several things. First, this puts less downward pressure on the shoulders and and shoulder girdle. Second, this bar position forces the lifter into a more forward leaning position, thus increasing the angle of flexion at the hips and increasing the force production from the lower back and gluteal muscles, thereby increasing the total weight lifted. The downside to this bar position is the increased chance of anterior shoulder impingement and pressure on the long head of the biceps.

Impingement is defined as compression of the bursa, rotator cuff, and/or the tendon of the long head of the biceps. The muscles that constitute the rotator cuff are the supraspinatus, the infraspinatus, the subscapularis, and the teres minor. The function of the rotator cuff is to compress the humerus against the glenoid.

Impingement and the resulting pain can manifest itself in squatting and when performing the bench and/or overhead press. The dilemma is how to consistently increase the weight lifted while decreasing the chance and recurrence of an injury.

The approach to this problem is threefold: strengthening the posterior elements of the shoulder, proper stretching and warm-up prior to lifting, and manipulation of sets and repetitions of the power squat itself.

Strengthening

The muscles targeted here are the posterior deltoid, teres minor, and the infraspinatus. Excellent exercises for these muscles are the following:

1.) Side-lying external rotation.
2.) Standing external rotation.
3.) With progression to 70-90 degree shoulder abduction lateral rotation.
4.) Rear deltoid extension.
5.) Prone flyes.
6.) Reverse shrugs.

Exercises 1 and 2 should be done with a small pillow or rolled up towel placed between the ribs and the elbow to allow for greater rotational motion of the humerus.

Later rotation (exercise 3) is more sport-specific because it replicates the actual position of the humerus during power squats. The rear deltoid extension (exercise 4) and the prone flye (exercise 5) work the posterior deltoid, which is an external rotator, but if also, if hypertrophied, will serve as a better resting place for the bar during a power squat.

Also, if the bar has a better surface on which to rest, there will be less shifting of the bar during execution of the squat. Since the primary external rotators, the teres minor and infraspinatus, have a downward angle from the humeral head to the inferior angle of the scapula, they can also play a part in the depression of the humeral head away from the acromial shelf. Therefore reverse shrugs (exercise 6) are also included.

All exercises should be done with very light weights (2-5 lbs.) for high repetitions (10-20) and in a slow and controlled fashion. This is done because of the small muscles involved and because form and technique are crucial.

An isometric exercise that has been used with good results is pictured in Figures 13 and 14. The forearms are placed behind the back with fingers touching. The palms are then pressed down and together isometrically contract the posterior shoulder elements. Start with 5 repetitions for 5-second holds and slowly increase the time of each hold

Stretching and Warm-up

Muscle tightness can also contribute to shoulder impingement. Anterior thoracic muscular tightness due to overdeveloped pectorals and anterior deltoids when compared with upper back strength is the primary cause. The pectoral/corner stretch (Figures 15 a and b) with the forearms flat on the wall surface stretches the anterior deltoid, pectoralis major, and subscapularis. Including at least 3-4 sets of a warm-up exercise prior squatting and pressing, in addition to the previous exercises, can also help alleviate impingement.

Set and Rep Manipulation

In powerlifting, all that is required is one successful repetition, so multiple repetitions are not needed. Several sets of repetitions in the 1-3 range using weights in the 70-80% range done explosively from the bottom position allows the lifter to get many "first" repetitions with which to practice the initial foot positioning and setup of the power squat. [Simmons, L. "Percent training. What is it really? Part II. Powerlifting USA. 19(6):26.1996.]
http://www.deepsquatter.com/strength/archives/ls02.htm
This set and repetition scheme is recommended so that the lifter avoids multiple repetitions in which the bar can shift or slip, thus increasing the pressure on the shoulder and possibly causing injury.

Conclusion

Shoulder impingement can be caused by many different mechanisms. In this article, the concerns of the competitive powerlifter and/or power squatter have been addressed. By utilizing specific posterior shoulder exercises, anterior shoulder stretching, and manipulation of training variables such as sets, repetitions, and poundage, a lifter can prevent and alleviate injury and subsequent time off from training.

Train-Eat-Grow Routine 2 - Steve Holman & Jonathon Lawson

2012-01-29T20:23:00.000-08:00

http://www.x-rep.com/xshop.htm

http://www.home-gym.com/20simhomgymp.html

http://www.ironmanmagazine.com/site/

Train-Eat-Grow: Routine Two by Steve Holman & Jonathon Lawson (1999)

If you've been using training program number one for four weeks, you're now ready to build on it with routine two. We want to minimize overtraining while keeping our calories up in order to gain size. Extra calories from nutritious foods can speed muscle growth, but try not to let your abs go into complete hibernation. Ann extra 200-400 calories a day over maintenance should be a good starting point, and you can easily get that amount without much trouble.

Another key to keeping growth coming is to change routines. That not only forces your muscles to adapt to new stresses, but it also keeps your training from becoming boring. One of the biggest mistakes bodybuilders make is to stay with the same routine for too long. As a result they get bored, just go through the motions and let fiber recruitment decrease due to their body's learning to leverage up poundages. A new program, even one with seemingly minor changes, keeps things fresh.

Train the muscle fibers' full length, with resistance every inch of the way. Rep speed should be our average 2 seconds up and 2 seconds down. No levering for higher poundages and if you hitch up the weight, you'll have to repeat the whole set. If you're not accustomed to lifting with this rep speed do a practice session of the exercises included, and use a timer until you get the groove smooth.

The Program

If you compare Program 1 with Program 2, you'll notice that we kept a lot of the same exercises; however, we moved from splitting up the positions over two workouts -- midrange and stretch at one workout, and midrange and contracted at the second -- to training all three positions for the target muscle at every session. Doesn't that make the workouts too long? It might, but we made an adjustment to prevent that: We train arms, abs, and neck only once a week on Wednesdays, so the new split is the following:

Monday: Quads, hamstrings, calves.
Tuesday: Chest, back, delts.
Wednesday: Arms, abs, neck.
Thursday: Quads, hamstrings, calves.
Friday: Chest, back, delts.

If you think your arms are going to shrink because you're only training them once a week, think again. Your biceps, triceps and forearms will get plenty of indirect work when you train chest, back, and delts, so essentially you're training arms three times a week -- once directly on Wednesday and twice indirectly with upper-body work. Also, you're working arms first on Wednesday so you can go all-out when you're fresh, which doesn't happen on conventional split routines.

While training the different positions at different workouts has its benefits, POF (positions flexion) training is designed to be most effective when you train the midrange, stretch, and contracted positions for each target muscle. For example, the POF triceps routine is as follows:

Midrange: Close-grip bench presses.
Stretch: Cable long-pull extensions.
Contracted: One-arm pushdown.

Midrange: The midrange-position exercise trains your triceps with muscle teamwork, which allows for more overload on the belly of the muscle. It's considered the big mass movement.

Stretch: The stretch-position exercise puts the triceps in a state of full elongation with every rep, which can trigger an emergency response -- an increase in muscle fiber activation -- due to the body's sensing possible injury. (Stretch position exercises have also been linked to muscle fiber hyperplasia, or splitting, and an increase in IGF-release.

Contracted: The contracted-position exercise takes advantage of the heightened fiber activation of the previous exercise by placing the target muscle in its ultimate contracted state. For the triceps the position of complete contraction is the point at which the elbow is locked and the upper arm is down and slightly behind the torso. That position forces the most extreme contraction possible.

With these three exercises you work the triceps through its entire arc of flexion -- upper arm next to your head, upper arm perpendicular to your torso, and upper arm down and slightly back behind your torso. The full-range protocol can produce more fullness and complete development in the target-muscle structures.

For biceps you do preacher curls, with your upper arms in front of your torso; incline curls, with your upper arms down and slightly behind your torso for stretch; and spider curls on the vertical side of the preacher bench, with your upper arms close to your head for peak contraction. Once again, you train the target muscle through its full arc of flexion for better development.

In Program 2 you hit each target muscle through its full arc by training in all three positions, which results in a synergistic growth response from the muscle fibers. Using a midrange-, stretch, and contracted-position exercise for each bodypart every time you train is the number one factor that makes Program 2 different from Program 1. Of course, the split is also different, and there are a few new exercises.

If you can't train five days a week, (Monday to Friday) as suggested, you may want to substitute an every-other-day split. Workout 1 on Monday, workout 2 on Wednesday, Workout 3 on Friday, workout 1 on Sunday etc.

WORKOUT 2

Jonathon Lawson: I really look forward to Wednesdays because we're training arms first. I get a much better pump and have a lot more strength for working arms. It feels great.

Steve Holman: Yeah, but big old pumped arms make your calves look smaller. Stay close to the mirrors so the dumbbell rack hides them.

JL: Good idea, although mine are starting to look better lately.

SH: Combining low reps and high reps works. We'll stay with that strategy. Ready to work triceps?

JL: Close-grip bench press, right?

SH: Yeah. Don't go too narrow or you'll tweak your wrists. Grip the bar a few inches shy of shoulder width and make sure the bar touches your low-pec line.

JL: You just couldn't bring yourself to say nipples, could you?

SH: Nipples!
[Just as Steve screams "Nipples!" three men walk into the gym to train.]

SH: . . . stiltskin. Wasn't that the name of the guy who slept for all those years -- Nipplestiltskin?

JL: Yeah. I think he had a bad case of gyno.
[They each do two light warmup sets and then two heavy sets with the same weight for each.]

SH: Long-pull cable extensions on the overhead cable. One set. Really make these slow and controlled, but don't pause in the stretch position. Fire out as soon as you activate the myotatic reflex.

*The stretch reflex; which is also often called the myotatic reflex, knee-jerk reflex, or deep tendon reflex, is a pre-programmed response by the body to a stretch stimulus in the muscle. When a muscle spindle is stretched an impulse is immediately sent to the spinal cord and a response to contract the muscle is received. Since the impulse only has to go to the spinal cord and back, not all the way to the brain, it is a very quick impulse. It generally occurs in 1-2 milliseconds. This is designed as a protective measure for the muscles, to prevent tearing. The muscle spindle is stretched and the impulse is also immediately received to contract the muscle, protecting it from being pulled forcefully or beyond a normal range. The synergistic muscles, those that produce the same movement, are also innervated when the stretch reflex is activated. This further strengthens the contraction and prevents injury. At the same time, the stretch reflex has an inhibitory aspect to the antagonist muscles. When the stretch reflex is activated the impulse is sent from the stretched muscle spindle and the motor neuron is split so that the signal to contract can be sent to the stretched muscle, while a signal to relax can be sent to the antagonist muscles. Without this inhibitory action, as soon as the stretched muscle began to contract the antagonist muscle would be stretched causing a stretch reflex in that one. Both muscles would end up contracting simultaneously. *

JL: Should I pause at the lockout?

SH: Just for a count, then get it moving again so you keep as much tension on the triceps as possible. Keep the negatives slow.
[They both do one slow, controlled set.]

JL: My triceps feel like blimps!

SH: Let's hope they don't do a Hindenburg during our triceps pushdowns. We just had the place cleaned. We'll do one set with a straight bar, then one set with a cable handle one arm at a time so we can get our upper arms behind our torsos for a harder contraction.
[They do one set each of straight-bar pushdowns, then move to the one-arm pushdowns for one set.]

JL: Whoa! Now my triceps are really trashed.

SH: Wait till tomorrow. I hope you can brush your teeth without screaming in pain.

JL: Lately I've been screaming in pain anyway, especially when I look in the mirror and notice my disappearing abs.

SH: Hey, they're still visible -- and you're looking a lot fuller. You can't gain mass with a reduced food intake. Let's hit preacher curls for biceps.

JL: I thought we were doing midrange movements first. Isn't that a stretch-position exercise?

SH: A common misconception, grasshopper, but I can understand your confusion. Your arms are out in front of your torso, so it's a midrange exercise, although the muscle teamwork is minimal and the pull on the biceps is more noticeable than it is with barbell curls. That's where the confusion comes from. We were getting more synergy with the barbell curls, our biceps midrange exercise in Program 1.

JL: So aren't barbell curls a better basic movement choice then -- because of the synergy?

SH: Not necessarily. Our bodies learned how to leverage the weight up, and the fiber activation was starting to decrease. Switching to preacher curls should kick in some new adaptation and keep the growth coming.
[They each do one warmup set, then two heavy sets of preacher curls with the same weight on both sets.]

JL: Next, we stretch 'em out with one set of incline dumbbell curls, right?

SH: Yep.

JL: So that's really the only strech-position exercise for biceps?

SH: Well, you could do seated one-arm cable curls, facing away from the stack and letting the cable pull your arms back behind your torso, but I prefer the dumbbell version. If we go stale on these, we'll switch.
[They each do one set of incline dumbbell curls to failure.]

SH: Now, one set of spider curls and one set of concentration curls. That should take advantage of the heightened fiber activation from the incline curls.
[They each do a set of spider curls and one set of dumbbell concentration curls, both to failure.]

JL: Big, bloated biceps. I love it. I just hope I don't have to pick my nose 'cause my biceps are too pumped to bend my arms that far.

SH: Which reminds me, don't look at your calves while your arms are pumped.

JL: Right. Look straight ahead. Maybe we should start wearing sweatpants on arm day.

SH: Noh, we have to use Arnold's shortened pants strategy and be tormented by our calves at every opportunity -- so we can torture the hell out of them on calf training day, which is tomorrow. Here, let me start tearing down your self-esteem. Wow, are those calves or calf fetuses?

JL: Hey, was your dad a flamingo or did someone replace your lower legs with buggy whips?

SH: That should do it. Let's do brachialis. Two sets of dumbbell hammer curls.
[They do two sets, keeping the dumbbells moving simultaneously like pistons, with a slight pause at the top.]

JL: On to forearms -- if I can hold the bar.

SH: Premature forearm fatigue. You must have taken home the new swimsuit video.

JL: Ha, ha. Is it let's-pick-on-the-new-guy day?

SH: No, I just notice that your vision has been getting worse lately, so I assumed . . .

JL: Okay, load the bar for reverse wrist curls before this workout turns into a Seinfeld episode.
[They each do one set of reverse wrist curls, add weight and do one set of wrist curls.]

SH: Now one set of forearm rockers. Just let the dumbbells hang at your sides with a slight bend in your elbows, and try to wrist curl the 'bells up and out to hit the extensors and then in and out to hit the flexors. Keep rocking till your forearms flame out.

Next are ab bench crunch pulls.
[They each do one warmup set,then add weight a do a slow set of crunch pulls for about nine reps, with no pause at the stretch and a one-count hold at the contracted position.]

JL: Incline knee-ups?

SH: Yep. One set, and then one set of crunches.
[They each do a set of incline knee-ups, with no momentum, rolling their hips off the bench and holding their knees at the chest for a count on each rep. Then they do regular crunches, emphasizing the top contracted position with a two-second hold while expelling the air from their lungs to enhance the squeeze.]

JL: It's amazing how three sets can do in your abs when they're done right. This POF is great stuff. You should get other people to try it. Why don't you write a book or something?

SH: Very funny. Next month we're going to crank up the intensity a bit with some supersets. Aftershock supersets can change the pH of the blood, which has been shown to increase growth hormone release.

JL: You're always thinking. Let's hit neck, and then we're out of here.

Deadlifts - Sumo Style - Hollie Evett

2012-01-25T17:19:00.001-08:00

In this photo the author shows the different hand spacings possible in the sumo deadlift. These vary from narrow to wide. Find the place where the arms are hanging lowest for you. Note lines on wall and in back for relationship. Remember, an inch or so can make quite a difference.

Above you see the Sumo squat which conditions and strengthens the inner thighs and is helpful in the Sumo deadlift.

The photos above show the foot angles and the erectness of the body with the toes or feet spread outward. You will find that the hips are lower, the back more erect and the arms in a better position for the initial drive off the floor. When the bar is lifted it will be nearer to the main fulcrum, the hip area. In the photo on the right, when the feet are pointed a little more straight ahead the hips tend to raise more in the initial break off the floor. The back will probably bow, causing shock absorber effect. Bar and hands will come up more in front of the legs, not inside as shown in the photo at left. Thus, the bar will be farther down from the fulcrum, which will not be as strong a position.

These two photos show the feet pretty much straight ahead in the top photo and pointed out in the bottom one. Pointing them out assists you as mentioned above, and in keeping your back straighter and getting a better pulling position.

Above we have a photo showing the hand spacing at the start of the deadlift, then in erect position, showing the spacing that seems to fit this style of deadlift. You start with the hands inside the knees and finish with the hands just outside the thighs as shown. This position allows you to use more muscles in a uniform manner and it effects the legs, hips, glutes and back. In the third photo above we see the author using the isokinetic machine for deadlifts with the feet wide and the toes pointed out. This machine is very helpful due to the fact that all areas are worked to their maximum through a complete range of motion. The governor of the machine is shown in the bottom of the picture. It automatically adjusts to muscle strength throughout the full range.

Deadlifts - Sumo Style
by Hollie Evett (1980)

In my opinion, the wide stance or sumo style deadlift is the most efficient way to deadlift. I wish to discuss why it is so efficient.

Some of the points are:

1.) Shorter stroke than the conventional deadlift.
2.) Sumo style takes advantage of tremendous hip and leg power.
3.) Hands placed on the inside of the legs allow for the bar to be closer to the major fulcrums, which are the gluteus and upper thigh.
4.) By using the sumo style, full advantage is taken of all the time spent squatting. Squats are the most important assistance exercise for the wide stance deadlift.

In understanding the proper forms of the sumo style, it is important to know the major fulcrum part. They are ankles, knees, hips, gluteus, lower and possibly upper back. To take advantage of the sumo style, it is important to use all of the muscles and fulcrum points together and at the same time. If this is done properly it can result in a very explosive and smooth lift. If the muscles are developed properly and proper form is maintained, there should not be a specific strain on any one muscle group.

An important factor is to deadlift in a flat foot or flat soled shoe. Weight should be distributed in the mid-sole area when starting the lift. If heels are used there will be a tendency to throw the hips up and shoulders forward. This will result in the bar getting out in front of the legs and away from the main fulcrum area.

Hand spacing is important, too. If the hands are too narrow the shoulders tend to squeeze together, thus binding the trapezius muscles. I the grip is too wide, it means the bar will have to be lifted higher to finish the lift.

The best way to find your hand spacing is to stand in front of a mirror, make a fist, hands down at the side, knuckles toward mirror. Move the hands out and into the side. Notice that their is a point where the hands hang the lowest. This probably would be the most efficient spacing for you (see top photo).

Foot spacing is variable but several factors should be kept in mind. The wider the stance, the shorter and slower the stroke. It is a little more difficult to maintain balance at the top or finish. A narrower stance will be more explosive but it will be a longer stance.

I prefer basically the same heel stance as my squat, with my toes pointed out slightly more than when squatting. The toes being pointed out is important for efficient form. This allows the lift to be started and maintained with the weight in the middle of the sole of the feet. It also allows for the bar to be kept in close inside the legs when deadlifting. Remember the factor, to stay close to the fulcrum.

With proper foot spacing and toes spread apart further than the heels, it gives more time to think of the involvement of the legs. Most people try to lift with their frontal thighs. This is not entirely correct. Much of the power is generated by the adductor or groin muscle. This is important because the knees must remain spread apart so the hands, arms and bar can remain close to the fulcrum.

It is important to have the hips down, back arched, stomach tight and arms straight when starting the deadlift. If this is not done, the explosiveness at the start of the deadlift is lost. The above body parts, if not in proper position, will act as a shock absorber and reduce the momentum that is applied to the bar.

It is not necessary to put the hips down excessively. Remember, the legs are stronger in a half-squat position than below parallel.

The sequence of the sumo deadlift would be:

1.) A visual picture is made of form, explosiveness and completion of the lift before the bar is touched;

2.) The var is touched to the shins (toes spread apart) in proper stance;

3.) The bar is torqued and squeezed for the grip;

4.) Hips are cocked down with back arched, stomach tight, shoulders back, arms ;

5.) As soon as the hips are cocked down and explosion erupts (remember the reformed effect).

The feet are pushed through the floor, inside top legs squeezed together (adducted) and pulled at the same time.

The bar will travel in a straight line from the floor to the completion of the lift.

Usually sumo deadlifts with heavy weights are better to do as singles than as repetitions. This makes it easier to concentrate on explosiveness and form. If repetitions are done the first rep has good form and then the form gets progressively worse as more repetitions are done.

Muscles can be developed and strengthened through a variety of assistance work. Some of the favorites are? bent knee situps, shrugs, leg presses, calf work, hyperextensions, lat rows, grip work, isometrics and self hypnosis.

I would like to elaborate on a favorite of mine. This exercise can be done with weight of with the isokinetic power rack. If a weight is used it can not be so heavy that form is lost. The exercise is done doing the deadlift from the floor to knees and back down. This exercise works the adductors and helps prevent a groin injury. It is also an excellent time to practice explosiveness.

The advantage to the isokinetic power rack is that heavier resistance can be used with strict form. The reason for this is that the principal of isokinetics is that the resistance accommodates the force applied. Thus, there can be a maximum resistance throughout any range of motion either long or short.

I would like to make a couple of minor observations: Straps are extremely valuable as they allow for total concentration on explosiveness without fear of losing the grip. If this is done, a little extra work on the grip is necessary. If straps are used in a workout, they should not be used until they are necessary because the arms need conditioning for the reverse grip. This minor thing could prevent a biceps pull on the arm that is reversed during a meet.

It is a good idea to keep the fingernails cut and callouses filed down. A pumice stone can be purchased and is excellent for callous removal.

Does Cardio After An Overnight Fast Maximize Fat Loss? - Brad Schoenfeld

2012-01-25T00:01:00.000-08:00

Brad Schoenfeld's Blog:
http://workout911.com/

More Schoenfeld articles:
http://www.lookgreatnaked.com/articles/articles.html

Strength & Conditioning Journal:
http://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/pages/default.aspx

Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook, 4th (2008) edition:
http://www.humankinetics.com/products/all-products/nancy-clarks-sports-nutrition-guidebook-4th-edition

DOES CARDIO AFTER AN OVERNIGHT FAST MAXIMIZE FAT LOSS?
by Brad Schoenfeld (2011)

A common fat burning strategy employed by bodybuilders, athletes and fitness enthusiasts is to perform cardiovascular exercise early in the morning on an empty stomach. This strategy was popularized by Bill Phillips is his book, "Body for Life". According to Phillips, performing 20 minutes of intense aerobic exercise after an overnight fast has greater effects on fat loss than performing an entire hour of cardio in the postprandial (occurring after a meal) stage. The rationale for the theory is that low glycogen levels cause your body to shift energy utilization away from carbohydrates, thereby allowing greater mobilization of stored fat for fuel. However, although the prospect of reducing the body fat by training in a fasted state may sound enticing, science does not support its efficacy.

First and foremost, it is shortsighted to look solely at how much fat is burned during an exercise session. The human body is very dynamic and continually adjusts its use of fat for fuel. Substrate utilization is governed by a host of factors (i.e., hormonal secretions, enzyme activity, transcription factors, etc.), and these factors can change by the moment. Thus, fat burning must be considered over the course of days -- not on an hour-to-hour basis -- to get a meaningful perspective on its impact on body composition. As a general rule, if you burn more carbohydrate during a workout, you inevitably burn more fat in the post-exercise period, and vice versa.

If should be noted that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) has proven to be a superior method for maximizing fat loss compared with moderate intensity steady-state training.
[Tremblay A, Simoneau JA, and Bouchard O. "Impact of exercise intensity of body fatness and skeletal muscle metabolism." Metabolism 43: 814-818, 1994.]
[Schoenfeld D andDawes J. "High-intensity interval training:Applications for general fitness training." Stength Conditioning Journal 31: 44-46, 2009.l]
[Gibala MJ, Little JP, van Essen M, Wilkin GP, Burgomaster KA, Safdar A, Raha S, and Tamopolsky M.A. "Short-term sprint interval versus traditional endurance training: Similar initial adaptations in human skeletal muscle and exercise performance." J Physiol Sept. 15 2006 575 (3) 909-911.]

Interestingly, studies show that blood flow to adipose tissue diminishes at higher levels of intensity. This is believed to entrap free fatty acids within fat cells, impeding their ability to be oxidized while training. Yet, despite lower fat oxidation rates during exercise, fat loss is nevertheless greater over time in those who engage in HIIT versus training in the "fat burning zone" [see Tremblay, A - above], providing further evidence that 24-hour energy balance is the most important determinant in reducing body fat.

The concept of performing cardiovascular exercise on an empty stomach to enhance fat loss is flawed even when examining its impact on the amount of fat burned in the exercise session alone. True, multiple studies show that consumption of carbohydrate before low-intensity aerobic exercise (up to approximately 60% Vo2max) in untrained subjects reduces the entry of long-chain fatty acids in the mitochondria, thereby blunting fat oxidation. This is attributed to an insulin-mediated attenuation of adipose tissue lipolysis, an increased glycolytic flux, and a decreased expression of genes involved in fatty acid transport and oxidation. However, both training status and aerobic exercise intensity have been shown to mitigate the effects of a pre-exercise meal on fat oxidation. Recent research has shed light on the complexities of the subject.

Horowitz et al. studied the fat burning response of six moderately trained individuals in a fed versus fasted state to different training intensities. Subjects cycled for two hours at varying intensities on four separate occasions. During two of the trials, they consumed a high-glycemic carbohydrate meal at 30, 60, and 90 minutes of training -- once at a low intensity (25% peak oxygen consumption) and once at a moderate intensity (68% peak oxygen consumption). During the other two trials, subjects were kept fasted for 12-14 hours before exercise and for the duration of training. Results in the low-intensity trials showed that although lipolysis (the breakdown of fats and other lipids by hydrolysis to release fatty acids) was suppressed by 22% in the fed state compared with the fasted state, fat oxidation remained similar between groups until 80-90 minutes of cycling. Only after this point was a greater fat oxidation rate observed in fasted subjects. Conversely, during moderate-intensity cycling, fat oxidation was not different between trials at any time -- this is despite a 20-25% reduction in lipolysis and plasma free fatty acid concentration.

More recently, Febbraio et al. evaluated the effect of pre-exercise carbohydrate consumption of fat oxidation. Using a crossover design, seven endurance-trained subjects cycled for 120 minutes at approximately 63% of peak power output, followed by a "performance cycle" where subjects expended seven kJ (kg. body weight) by pedaling as fast as possible. Trials were conducted on four separate occasions, with subjects given (a) a placebo before and during training, (b) a placebo 30 minutes before training and then a carbohydrate beverage every 15 minutes throughout exercise, (c) a carbohydrate beverage 30 minutes before training and then a placebo during exercise, or (d) a carbohydrate beverage both before and every 15 minutes during exercise. The study was carried out in a double-blind fashion with trials performed in random order. Consistent with previous research, results showed no evidence of impaired fat oxidation associated with consumption of carbohydrate either before or during exercise.

Taken together, these studies show that during moderate-to-high intensity cardiovascular exercise in a fasted state -- and for endurance-trained individuals regardless of training intensity -- significantly more fat is broken down than than that the body can use for fuel. Free fatty acids that are not oxidized ultimately become re-esterified in adipose tissue, nullifying any lipolytic benefits afforded by pre-exercise fasting.

It should also be noted that consumption of food before training increases the thermic effect of exercise, compared to the lipolytic effects of an exercise session in either a fasted state or after consumption of a glucose/milk (GM) beverage. In a crossover design, four experimental conditions were studied: low-intensity long duration exercise with GM, low-intensity long duration exercise without GM, high-intensity short duration exercise with GM, and high-intensity short duration exercise without GM. Results showed that ingestion of the GM beverage resulted in a significantly greater excess postexercise oxygen consumption compared with exercise performed in a fasted state in both high- and low-intensity bouts. Other studies have produced similar findings, indicating a clear thermogenic advantage associated with pre-exercise food intake.

The location of adipose tissue mobilized during training must also be taken into account here. During low-to-moderate intensity training performed at a steady state, the contribution of fat as a fuel source equates to approximately 40-60% of total energy expenditure. However, in untrained subjects, only about 50-70% of this fat is derived from plasma Free fatty acids; the balance comes from intra-muscular triglycerides (IMTG).

IMTG are stored as lipid droplets in the sarcoplasm near the mitochondria, with the potential to provide approximately two-thirds the available energy of muscle glycogen. Similar to muscle glycogen, IMTG can only be oxidized locally within the muscle. It is estimated that IMTG stores are approximately three times greater in type I versus type II muscle fibers, and lipolysis of these stores are maximally stimulated when exercising at 65% Vo2Max.

The body increases IMTG stores with consistent endurance training, which results in greater IMTG utilization for more experienced trainers. It is estimated that nonplasma fatty acid utilization during endurance exercise is approximately twice that for trained versus non-trained individuals. Herley er al. reported that the contribution of IMTG stores in trained individuals equated to approximately 80% of the total body fat utilization during 120 minutes of moderate-intensity endurance training.

THE IMPORTANT POINT HERE IS THAT IMTG STORES HAVE NO BEARING ON HEALTH OR APPEARANCE; it is the subcutaneous fat stored in adipose tissue that influences body composition. Consequently, the actual fat burning effects of any fitness strategy intended to increase fat oxidation must be taken in the context of the specific adipose deposits providing energy during exercise.

Another factor that must be considered when training in a fasted state is its impact on proteolysis. Lemon and Mullin found that nitrogen losses were more than doubled when training while glycogen depleted compared with glycogen loaded training. This resulted in a protein loss estimated at 10.4% of the total caloric cost of exercise after one hour of cycling at 61% Vo2Max. This would suggest that performing cardio-vascular exercise while fasting might not be advisable for those seeking to maximize and retain muscle mass.

Finally, the effect of fasting on energy levels during exercise ultimately has an effect on fat burning. Training early in the morning on an empty stomach makes it very difficult for an individual to train at even a moderate level of intensity. Attempting to engage in a HIIT style routine in a hypoglycemic state almost certainly will impair performance. Studies show that a pre-exercise meal allows an individual to train more intensely compared with exercise while fasting. The net result is that a greater number of calories are burned both during and after physical activity, heightening fat loss.

In conclusion, the literature does not support the efficacy of training early in the morning on an empty stomach as a tactic to reduce body fat. At best, the net effect on fat loss associated with such an approach will be no better than training after meal consumption, and quite possibly, it would produce inferior results. Moreover, given that training with depleted glycogen levels has been shown to increase proteolysis, the strategy has potential detrimental effects for those concerned with muscle strength and hypertrophy.

Front Squat Round Table - Mark Lawson/Joe Wier/Gerard Martin

2012-01-23T19:39:00.000-08:00

Front Squat Q & A
by Mark L. Lawson, Joe Weir and Gerard Martin (1991)

1.) List some of the common technique errors observed in beginners when instructing proper exercise technique for the front squat.

Weir: The most common errors are not maintaining a vertical torso, loss of heel contact with the floor and letting the elbows drop. Dropping the elbows is related to loss of vertical posture in the torso; it may lead to a rounding of the back and loss of balance to the front [Note: all of Weir's responses assume the Clean rack position technique.]

Larson: When racking the bar on the front deltoids, it is common for beginners to have their elbows pointed downward, creating a situation where poor control of the bar may exist. This usually occurs when they use a Clean-style method of gripping the bar. This may produce poor balance and a subsequent loss of control of the bar. To remedy this problem it is necessary that the trainee place the humerus segment of his upper arm in a position parallel to the ground. Individuals experiencing chronic problems with this technique may experience greater success by using a cross-arm grip, which consequently forces the bar to be held higher on the frontal deltoids, thus preventing any forward/downward slipping of the bar.

Some individuals have a tendency to shift their weight forward toward the balls of their feet, thus producing a loss of balance and control. Instructing the exerciser to shift his center of balance back toward the heels will help to remedy this error in technique.

Martin: Common technique errors include:

a.) Rounded back causing excessive amount of stress on the supportive structure of the back (ligaments) instead of on the muscular system of the lower back. Back should be tight and arched.

b.) Elbows low and behind the bar or flared out to the sides. Both of these improper positions can cause a poor rack of the bar, thus causing the bar to actually slip out of the hands of the trainee. The error may be caused by poor flexibility of the shoulder and/or wrist. Also, check to see if the hand grip on the bar is too wide. This can prevent the trainee from achieving the proper position of getting his or her elbows high and in front of the bar.

c.) Bouncing out from the bottom position of the lift. This can cause undue stress to supportive tissues of the knee. Lift should be smooth and controlled at all times.

d.) "Jamming" the bar near top of lift and possible hyperextension of the knee at top of lift. Lift should be smooth and controlled at all times.

e.) Knees pulling together, causing excessive wear on knee joint. Knees should be over the same plane as feet. Feet should be at shoulder width and can be pointed out slightly out to help open the hip joint so the athlete can achieve the parallel position or lower.

f.) Coming to toes during ascent of lift. Poor distribution of weight could cause the athlete to fall due to faulty base. This may be due to inadequate hip flexibility. Feet should always be flat. Weight should be distributed over mid-foot/heel of foot.

g.) Hyperextension of the cervical spine. Head should be in neutral position of slightly up.

2.) Are there any prerequisite strength or skill requirements before trainees should include the front squat in their workouts?

Martin: If starting from the floor, the lifter must be familiar with competent power clean/hang clean movements in order to bring the bar up to the proper rack position to begin the front squat.

Flexibility of the wrist and shoulder joints is necessary in order to keep the bar secure in the rack position. Flexibility of the hip is necessary for the exercise to be properly performed with a straight/arched back.

The trainee needs a strong midsection (abdominal/lower back). Due to the weight being so far from the body's center of gravity, the midsection must be strong in order to properly support the lift.

Weir: My own opinion is that any healthy trainee is ready to learn to squat, whether front or back, as long as appropriate technique is stressed throughout, and light weight is used as a beginning load. There are, however, some flexibility requirements that may facilitate proper technique. These include flexibility in the wrist flexors, iliopsoas, hip extensors, gastrocnemius/soleus and the erector spinae.

Simultaneous with learning proper technique, developing strength in the abdominals and erector spinae should be emphasized in the beginner. This will aid injury prevention and will facilitate proper technique development.

Larson: All lifters should develop sufficient back squatting proficiency before attempting this movement. As a supplemental exercise to the back squat and a source of training variation, I recommend the trainee possess the ability to back squat at least 1.5 times his bodyweight before incorporating this movement into his regimen.

All lifters should adopt either the clean-style rack positioning on the front deltoids, or the cross-arm grip, which places the bar even higher up toward the clavicles. This should be done according to comfort and/or personal preference. The cross-arm grip may produce discomfort with breathing, as technique tends to position the bar too close to the throat and may interrupt normal air exchange.

4.) Are there any particular instructional methods you have found helpful when teaching the front squat to your athletes?

Larson: Wrist flexibility -- wrist flexion and extension stretches should be regularly included in the warm-up procedures prior to any workout involving the front squat.

Grip -- as noted above, according to comfort/personal preference.

Elbows -- positioned parallel to the floor.

Descent -- slow and controlled; do not bounce at the bottom. Eyes directed straight ahead. Weight positioned over the heels. Trunk straight and arched at base. Toes directed slightly outward at approximately 30 degrees..

Ascent -- drive feet into floor, thrust elbows upward and drive hips forward and upward. Eyes remain focused or slightly up.

Weir: There are several critical clues that need to be focused upon when teaching/learning the front squat. The first is that the elbows need to be held high ("elbows up"). This is related to adequate flexibility in the wrist flexors. A drop in the elbows leads to forward lean in the ascent. Second, the lifter needs to either look straight ahead or slightly upward at all times ("head up"). Finally, it is important that the back be arched as opposed to rounded, and that the lifter lead with the chest ("chest out").

Tips that are helpful include using a weightlifting shoe with slightly raised heel and lateral support, as this helps maintain heel contact and an upright torso. Also, some lifters find wearing a thick sweatshirt provides padding across the clavicles and can reduce bruising when using heavier weights or higher reps. Avoid thick towel wrapping or commercial pads, as the bar will be more likely to roll with these.

Martin: I use the following methods:

a.) Video. We use a video camera and monitor in the weightroom. By this process, the lifters can see themselves right after the completion of a lift. The use of water soluble markers can be used to draw right onto the monitor's screen in order to emphasize and correct improper form and to acknowledge good technique.

b.) There are products that come over the shoulder and hold the weight in the racked position for the lifter. This is helpful if the athlete lacks the necessary flexibility, is recovering from an injury or is presently rehabilitating from surgery.

c.) I also use dumbbells in order for the lifter to learn the necessary mechanics of the lift. The athlete holds the dumbbells along the side of his body and proceeds to do the squat exercise, concentrating on the proper back alignment, foot width and position and form. Once this has been accomplished, the athlete can concentrate on the placement of the bar and the proper positioning of the upper body.

Overcoming Sticking Points in the Bench Press - Don Pfeiffer

2012-01-22T13:50:00.000-08:00

Overcoming Sticking Points in the Bench Press
by Don Pfeiffer (1981)

The occurrence of a sticking point during the performance of the bench press is common to all individuals who perform this exercise. In order to maximize your bench pressing ability you must attempt to overcome sticking points as much as possible. Bear in mind, however, that you can never totally eliminate a sticking point. What you can do is move the sticking point upwards, and increase the amount of weight that you can handle.

The first step in overcoming a sticking point -- moving it upwards -- is to accurately determine where the sticking point occurs. This is where most lifters make their first mistake. Many trainees determine their sticking point by analyzing unsuccessful lifts. The point where they fail is, they assume, where the sticking point occurs. This, however, is not necessarily so. The proper way to determine where the sticking point occurs is to observe successful bench presses. The best method is to perform several sets of bench presses with as weight that will allow from 3-6 reps. Your only concern should be the successful completion of the lift, while someone watches you perform the lift attempting to determine the sticking point. The area where the bar's ascent slows down of momentarily comes to a halt is where the sticking point occurs.

Now that the sticking point has been determined we must attempt to strengthen that area of the lift. This can be accomplished in two ways:

1.) You can isolate the specific range of movement where the sticking point occurs, or

2.) You can isolate the specific muscles that are dominant when the sticking point occurs.

The point of either method is to strengthen the muscles which in turn will push the sticking point upwards.

To begin, let's examine how we can isolate the specific range of motion where the sticking point occurs. We will discuss five different, yet effective methods. They are:

isometrics
isometronics
pauses
negative pauses
isometric negatives

The first method, isometrics, is a static form of exercise. That is, there is no movement; the muscle is exercised only at one point along its range of motion. Supposing that your sticking point occurs during the middle range of the bench press. Here is how isometrics would apply. Using a power rack, set the pins at the point where the sticking point is most pronounced. Then, assume the exact position your would be in for a full-range bench at that part of the lift, and take an empty exercise bar and press it against the pins gradually increasing pressure until you are exerting a maximum effort. Hold at maximum force for about six seconds, without changing your body position. Again, it is important that you remain in the same position as you would be if this were a full-range bench press. To insure that you work the sticking point along its entire range you could place the pins at high, middle, and low parts of the sticking point and work each area separately.

Isometronics, on the other hand, are short range movements with an isometric hold at the end. Assuming once again that your sticking point occurs during the middle portion of the lift, here's how isometronics would be used. You will again need the use of a power rack, but this time position two sets of pins: one pair at the bottom of your sticking point and one pair at the top of your sticking point. Start with the bar on the bottom pins and press upward until it touches the upper pins. Continue this for 3-5 reps. On the last rep press the bar against the upper pins as hard as you can and hold it for approximately six seconds. Here again, a position identical to that used in your full-range bench press is mandatory. The point is not to see how much weight you can lift by shifting position. This is assistance work, used to strengthen your weaknesses and thereby increase the lift. Define fun for yourself and find a way to experience it while training.

Pauses simply involve taking a moderate weight and lowering it to a point about two inches below your sticking point, holding the weight at that position for several seconds and then pressing the weight upwards. This can be continued for reps.

Negative pauses, on the other hand, require the use of very heavy weights. Starting from a point of full contraction -- lockout position -- lower the weight very slowly. When you reach the sticking point, stop the weight and attempt to hold it there for as long as possible. Use spotters.

Isometric negatives are very similar to negative pauses. The main difference being that you start at the sticking point. You will need at least two spotters to hand you the weight at the place where your sticking point occurs. At this point hold the resistance at that position for as long as possible. When the weight begins to drop don't give up -- continue to delay the bar's descent for as long as possible. Be sure your spotters are alert and ready to catch the bar and help you up with it.

Let's now examine how we can isolate the specific muscles that are involved when the sticking point occurs. First of all, we must consider the relationship of your elbows to your torso. If your elbows are at a 45-degree angle to your torso the initial surge of strength is supplied by the deltoids. After about 4-5 inches the pectorals and triceps take over with the triceps supplying the final strength needed for lockout.

This style of benching is characterized by a narrow bench press grip. As the angle of your elbows to your torso increases, less emphasis is placed on your deltoids. At a 90-degree angle, which means your elbows are perpendicular to your torso and which is characterized by a wide grip, most of the stress is placed on the chest from the beginning of the movement. Towards the end of the movement triceps strength becomes very important.

Sticking points will normally occur at a transitional stage where one muscle group takes over from another. Thus, if you keep your elbows at about 45 degrees to your body the sequence of power is: deltoids - chest - triceps, whereas if your keep your elbows at a 90-degree angle to your torso the sequence is: chest - triceps.

When you have determined at which transitional stage the sticking point occurs you can then use the appropriate assistance exercise to strengthen that muscle. Listed below are my picks for best assistance exercises for the bench press, for the three muscle groups:

Deltoids: front deltoid raise performed either standing or lying.

Chest: dumbbell flyes, incline presses.

Triceps: lying triceps extensions, dips.

With regard to the shoulders, the best exercise is the lying deltoid raise. If you are unfamiliar with this exercise here's how it is performed. Assuming your normal bench press position start with the barbell over your head, then slowly lower it until it touches your lower body, the raise the bar back over your head. At all times keep your arms straight.

To briefly summarize, sticking points can be attacked in two different ways. You can isolate the specific muscle group involved in the sticking point, or you can work the muscles along the area where the sticking point occurs. Both methods are effective, and for maximum results you should use both.

The Development of the Clean & Jerk, Part Nine - David Webster

2012-01-20T22:35:00.000-08:00

Column 1 shows the time from the discs leaving the floor until the bar passes the knees. Column 2 shows the time until the lifter reaches full extension and starts to split or squat. Column 3 shows the time the bar continues to rise after the lifter has begun to move. Column 4 shows whether or not there is a "plateau" when he bar is still as the lifter goes under it, and finally Column 5 shoes the time the bar is actually dropping. All times are in sixteenths of a second.

Recovery in the Jerk

The principles of recovery in the jerk are exactly the same as those in the clean except it should be easier in jerking! Balance is sometimes a bit harder owing to the great rise in the center of gravity of the bar, but the fact the you do not have to rise from a deep position more than outweighs the disadvantages.

The legs are straightened and the front foot retraced a little -- not a lot -- then the rear foot is moved up to place both feet on a straight line with each other. THE GREAT THING IS TO AVOID EXAGGERATED ACTIONS. KEEP THE MINIMUM DISPLACEMENT OF THE BAR SO IT REMAINS OVER THE CENTER OF THE HEAD. If you take a big step backward with the front foot or a huge lunge forward with the back one then you are asking for trouble. I would go as far as to say that in a very wide split you should recover from the front foot first with the usual shortish step and bring the back foot up but not necessarily the full way. The movement can then be completed by a very small step with the front foot. In this way you will have moved the bar the minimum distance. Some of the pathways of movement with a light fastened on the end of the bar have shown terrific movement in recovering from a split.

Avoid forward recoveries; i.e., moving the back leg forward first. This maneuver only be used as an emergency measure. If you feel you MUST use a forward recovery, then your weight distribution must be all wrong and you should look very carefully at your technique.

An unfortunate trait with excitable lifters is trying to recover too soon. You must have the weight quite securely overhead before you ever start to recover. The split position is a much safer and easier position in which to fight and hold a weight. Our world championship lifters show this admirably. They will often hold a jerk for quite a while, struggling to get a bar centered. Many lesser lifters would either give up the fight right away or try to recover and juggle with the bar as they stand up. Be restrained; get the bar under control before standing up in the method advocated here.

The jerk is completed. All you need now is the referee's signal and the three white lights.

Weight Transference

Weight transference and balance should perhaps be discussed together, but faulty transferring of weight is so common, that a special section must be devoted to it. It is particularly evident in split lifting, and this of course includes the jerk.

How often do you see a lifter landing in a split and then having to take a step to one side to keep his balance? It's happening all the time! Faulty weight transference is the cause, the step is the effect, but there are more subtle signs too which the coach should observe.

Lifters are sometimes perturbed at one arm dragging behind the other as the weight is pulled into the chest. The bar will, as a result, tend to be uneven, dropping at one end. Often it is thought that the dragging arm must be weaker but more often than not the fault is due to weight transference onto one leg.

Power comes from the ground. The jumper, the thrower and the lifter, by driving forcibly against the ground, produces dynamic action and in pulling for the clean (or the snatch), as soon as you lift one foot off the ground you reduce the force almost by half. As has been said, many splitters anticipating the foot movement will transfer their weight onto what will eventually be the forward leg, thus getting ready to lift the foot going to the rear. As soon as the weight is transferred there will be a loss of power and supposing the right foot goes to the rear you will often find that the right arm, although it may be stronger, may lag behind the other as full force is not being exerted on the right side. If, however, there is a very bad case of weight transference you will find the entire bar and body shifts to bring the center of gravity over the base provided by this forward foot. Because the body and bar are adjusted the bar stays level until the feet are split, but now comes the big snag; once you imparted momentum to the bar and the bar and body going to one side like this, it will tend to keep going in this direction, so now the arm on the side of the FORWARD foot gets the greatest share of the work and the bar will often be lower on this side.

Between the foot movements and the tilting of the bar you have a series of signs, not only to help you spot faults of weight transference, but also to tell you the degree to which they are being committed.

Let's summarize these signs:

1.) If the lifter keeps balanced in a split but the end of the bar corresponding to the REAR leg is slightly lower than the other, then there is a small degree of weight transference onto the side of the forward foot.

2.) If the lifter has to readjust his foot positions, moving toward the side of the forward leg, then there has been a little more weight transference.

3.) If the end of the bar tilts to the side of the forward leg, there has been quite a lot of transference.

4.) If any of these points are combined, then there is a definite need for a lot of work on technique.

The Cure for Faulty Transference of Weight

The first advice I would give a lifter with this fault is to keep his shoulders forward of the bar as long as possible during the pull for the clean. Those who take the back leg away too soon are those who tend to pull the weight backward. Keeping the shoulders forward gives a well-balanced position.

The second hint is to cultivate a very full extension of the body with a good hip thrust in all your lifts. Special exercises which will help are high pulls using hip thrust to set you off balance forward, and when you lose balance forward make sure you regain it by moving forward what would normally be your forward foot, thus keeping the weight on what is your rear leg in a split.

Squat cleans will also help train you in correct distribution of weight. No doubt someone will ask what causes loss of balance to the side of the REAR LEG. Believe it or not, in all the films I have of world championships I don not seem to have one case of this happening. If it does happen, it probably means that the lifter has extended well and as he hangs on to get maximum extension he whips his rear leg away. This I class more as a fault of balance rather than weight transference, but the resulting foot adjustments are similar to those mentioned earlier so should be kept in mind to avoid any confusion between the two errors.

The Speed Factor

How important is speed in weightlifting, primarily the clean & jerk? Is it as important as some would have us believe? Surprisingly enough these are difficult questions to answer.

Speed in itself is no indication of good technique or fine physical condition; there are many pitfalls in considering a lifter good just because he is a fast lifter. Let me elaborate a little to clarify the issue.

If a lifter aims for speed in the first phase of the clean, taking the bar from floor to knee height he will, more likely than not, achieve a very faulty position. The initial lift from the floor involves overcoming of inertia and the body is not in its strongest position. A fast pull will probably cause the back to round and even if you start with the back at a good angle it may well be moved to a more acute angle to the floor by the time it reaches the knees. This means a loss of angular momentum. These faults are very likely to happen unless you take the bar steadily from the floor to knee height.

The second phase may also be completed quickly and still be wrong. This is a part of the lift where you should try to impart great velocity to the bar, but speed must always be relative to the distance the body or bar travels. Some lifters start splitting or squatting far too soon and thus cut down the time taken for the lift but this is not good. THE BODY MUST BE FULLY EXTENDED BEFORE YOU GO UNDER THE BAR. In getting under the bar, again some lifters will not go low so less time is taken. This sort of thing should not be cultivated.

If you lifted too fast to the knees, did an incomplete extension and a short dip you would be a very fast lifter and impress SOME people by your speedy actions, but you would never reach your true limits. By all means cultivate speed, it is absolutely essential, but remember not to become faster by reducing the range of movement.

In my opinion maximum speed is most important in getting under the bar (after the feet leave the floor until the lowest position with the weight fixed CORRECTLY at the chest). It is also important to build up bar speed before your feet leave the floor and this is discussed elsewhere.

From the time the discs leave the floor until the lowest receiving position in the clean takes about 1.25 to 1.50 seconds to perform, excluding the recovery.

None of the current top competitors take less than a second and none as much as 1.5 seconds. I averaged a large number at 1.25 seconds for squatters and 1.125 seconds for splitters. The splitters are generally faster than the squatters at all phases of the lift. Surprising as it may seem, even the splitters take nearly .50 second to get under the weight from the time their feet come off the floor until the lowest position.

This may be hard to believe but it is true. The squatters average even more than this. Lifters like Louis Martin of Britain and Tony Garcy of America take as much as .625 second on some occasions.

All this kills the belief that the clean is done in a split second. I feel that too many novices are brainwashed into the desire for speed and do a lot of harm to their lifting by increasing their speed -- not by lifting faster, but merely by cutting down on the range of movement. Incidentally, the times I quote for Martin and Garcy do not make them "slow" by any means. Tony, for example, goes 15% lower than many other lifters at the same international level, so his movements are bound to take more time.

You should aim for maximum speed in taking the bar from knee height to FULL (and I do mean FULL) EXTENSION. You must then get under the bar as fast as possible, achieving a low but fairly upright position rather than getting a fairly high one and leaving a margin to go down"if you have to." The latter is bad policy -- get FAST into a low position each time.

Remember I am stressing that speed IS important but it must be kept in correct perspective. I can always remember when the pendulum swung too far with me as an active lifter. My technique had improved tremendously but my top poundages remained the same. Friends praised my style but could not tell me why I was not improving. When Al Murray visited my club as part of his duties under the Ministry of Education scheme, it took him about two minutes to set me right.

"Davie," he said in his usual forthright fashion, "your technique is grand, much better, but you are doing the lifts almost in slow motion!" From then on there was an immediate improvement.

It seems ridiculous to mention my own efforts on the same page as the current greats, but this book is being written for ALL lifters and the timings of average lifters vary but slightly from the champions. Another excellent comparison of speed was seen when young Gerry Hay, a bantamweight at the Tokyo Olympics, returned from Australia to his native Scotland. His tremendous speed was an inspiration to our local lifters and I feel they benefited from this example.

The Whoopass Workout - Javorek

2012-01-20T00:55:00.000-08:00

From Muscle & Fitness, December 2005

http://www.muscleandfitness.com/

The Whoopass Workout
by Istvan Javorek with Joe Wuebben (2005)

Istvan "Steve" Javorek has been a fixture in the international lifting community for more than four decades. His career began in Romania, his birthplace, where he was the head weightlifting and conditioning coach at Clujana Athletic Club-Cluj from 1964 to 1982. In that span, he trained several junior and senior Romanian national weightlifting teams. In '83, the South Korean Olympic Committee invited him to coach its lifting team. Then he came to the United States.

Javorek became an Aggie in 1984, serving as an all-sports conditioning coach and head weightlifting coach at Texas A & M University (College Station) for three years. From there, he went to Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas, where he's still a full-time professor of fitness and the all-sports conditioning head coach today. Since going abroad, his resume, which includes coaching everyone from Olympic-caliber strength athletes to hoops stars, including Wayne Simien (a 2005 NBA first-round draft pick by the Miami Heat) and Kareem Rush (currently with the Charlotte Bobcats), has grown as beefy as his pupils.

His list of nicknames has lengthened considerably, as well: The "Dumbbell King"--aka "Coach Comrade" and "Coach Javorkian"--has delicately tortured athletes with his Big Fun and Tremendous Pleasure programs, to name but two of his most cleverly titled and wildly effective training regimens.

Now Javorek turns his attention to bodybuilding, with a three-days-a-week, four-week program specifically designed to build strength and hypertrophy via a meticulously calculated progressive-resistance scheme. Before we proceed, here's what Coach Javorek has to say about his program.

"After receiving hundreds of letters from M & F readers requesting a routine specifically designed for bodybuilders, I decided to develop a program that can last either eight or 12 weeks and which suits anyone wishing to use a different type of protocol to achieve great results.

"This program provides general fitness for anyone who wants to spend 1-1 1/2 hours exercising three times a week. It includes many dumbbell and barbell exercises beloved by bodybuilders, and follows my philosophy on bodybuilding and conditioning.

"I'm a firm believer in total-body involvement in a daily routine and not of isolating certain muscle groups within a workout. When you change the bodypart or muscle group involved in an exercise, it gives your neuromuscular system a chance to 'refresh' the previously exercised muscles. I like to think of this approach as exercising with the benefit of a so-called 'active rest,' because as you train another bodypart, the muscles you worked previously rest and recuperate.

"For this program I chose six exercises (including combinations) per workout with eight sets per exercise. You may ask, 'Why eight sets?' My answer: In order to get bigger and stronger, you should stimulate your muscle fibers for several sets, always starting with lighter intensities and finishing with heavy sets. As you'll see in this program, I vary the intensities from set to set within an exercise as well as throughout the four-week cycle. Week 1 is the least intense, with intensity increasing each subsequent week. You'll also notice that intensities oscillate during the week: Monday is moderate, Wednesday is low and Friday is the highest.

"I like to keep my routines ever-changing. One exercise is performed with a continuous increase of intensity in each set (for example, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, etc.), while another will have double-step intensities each set (50%, 50%, 55%, 55%, 60%, 60%, etc.) or 'wave' intensities (50%, 60%, 55%, 65%, 60%, 70%, etc.). The list could be endless, so don't be surprised to find different intensity cycles on each exercise. No one said this would be easy.

"But my reason for this is simple: I like to avoid the monotonous core of exercising. Mundane programs tire an athlete's neuromuscular system, which delays improvements in strength and size, and causes the whole body to suffer from a lack of success and satisfaction. I try to make my workouts enjoyable (relatively speaking) so they refresh the body and mind with varying exercises and intensities. Hopefully, this bodybuilding program will achieve just that."

BARBELL HALF-SQUAT OVERHEAD PRESS

This is but one example of a move that improves strength, power, muscle mass, core stability, balance and overall athleticism.

BARBELL SQUAT JUMP

Go into a deep squat and jump up at the top of the motion. Always lower slowly into the squat, and land on the balls of your feet when you jump.

DUMBBELL SQUAT-PUSH PRESS

Standing with a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder level, face straight ahead with your abdominal muscles tight. Lower to a full squat position, keeping your weight centered between the balls of your feet and heels. Keep your shoulders, hips and ankles in a vertical line. Follow with an explosive overhead pressing movement, done in one fluid motion. Depending on your goals, you can finish this move with your feet flat on the floor or up on your toes (the latter is preferable).

PUSH-UP (ON PUSH-UP BARS)

Perform push-ups using specially designed raised bars instead of on the floor. If this equipment is not available to you, do regular push-ups.

BARBELL QUARTER SQUAT CALF RAISE

Perform a quarter squat, then at the top, go up on your toes with your knees extended--that's one rep. Perform these two moves as one fluid motion.

DUMBBELL STEP-UP SQUAT-PUSH PRESS

As noted in the program, do all prescribed reps for step-ups with each leg (onto a plyometrics box), then do all reps for squat-push presses on the floor.

BARBELL HALF SQUAT OVERHEAD PRESS Upon reaching the down position of a half squat, press the bar over--head without extending your legs. To maintain your balance, stay flat on your feet and keep your shoulders, hips and ankles aligned.

(DUMBBELL COMPLEX NO. 1)

UPRIGHT ROW SUPINATED CURL OVERHEAD PRESS HAMMER CURL SQUAT-PUSH PRESS HIGH-PULL SNATCH

Do these movements in nonstop succession as a combination exercise. Do six reps of dumbbell upright rows, then six reps of supinated curls, and so on.

(BARBELL COMPLEX NO. 1)

BARBELL UPRIGHT ROW HIGH-PULL SNATCH SQUAT-PUSH PRESS GOOD MORNING BENT-OVER ROW SUPINATED CURL UPRIGHT ROW Do these movements in nonstop succession as a combo move. Do six reps of upright rows, then six reps of high-pull snatches, etc.

IRON CROSS COMPLEX

Stand holding light plates or dumbbells directly in front of your chest with your elbows bent and your forearms parallel to the floor. Begin the movement by extending your elbows until your arms are straight out in front of you. Then bring the weights out to your sides, keeping your arms straight and parallel to the floor in an "iron cross." Bring the plates back to the start. Repeat or perform in reverse.

BARBELL SQUAT-PUSH PRESS

Perform a barbell squat with your feet flat on the floor and your knees pointed outward. Keep your chest up and your back slightly arched, and make sure your head faces forward. Rise from the squat and push the barbell overhead in an explosive motion. Finish the movement by rising onto your toes.

HALF SIT-UP

Hook your feet under something stable at floor level, cross your arms over your chest and perform a sit-up only halfway up. Pause, then continue all the way up. Lower back to the halfway position, then pause again and lower all the way. That's one rep. Half sit-ups consist of doing only half this movement, bottom or top.

BARBELL WAVE SQUAT

In one continuous motion, do a barbell quarter squat and rise onto your toes at the top (similar to a calf raise). Do this for three reps. On the fourth rep, jump slightly after rising onto your toes. On the fifth rep, do a full squat plus a jump at the top. Repeat this five-rep cycle six times when the program calls for 30 reps and four times when it calls for 20.

HIGH-PULL SNATCH

Start in the down position of a barbell bent-over row: knees slightly bent, back flat and head neutral (eyes looking down). In one motion, push your heels into the floor, extend your lower back and pull the bar toward the ceiling like an upright row--except you'll pull the bar up past your head. At the top, extend up onto your toes and flip your wrists back to catch the bar overhead.

JAVOREK JACKKNIFE

Lie faceup on the floor with your legs together and straight and your arms straight overhead. Raise your legs and arms at the same time until your hands and feet touch over your body.

8 SETS

Javorek believes this number of sets produces strength and mass gains most effectively and best stimulates muscle fibers

NINE

THE NUMBER OF OLYMPIANS THAT COACH JAVOREK HAS TRAINED

80%

OF 1RM: BEST FOR HYPERTROPHY

* When determining intensity, if you don't know your one-rep-maximum weight (1RM), estimate. The percentages listed for each set can be used loosely; for example, 40%-60% means you should use a relatively light weight (something you could normally do at least 20 reps with), 60%-80% calls for moderate weight (something you could do at least 15 reps with), and 80% and higher indicates a weight close to your 1RM (less than seven reps).

* If a given weight feels too light for the prescribed number of reps, resist the urge to keep going or add weight.

* Rest two minutes between straight sets and three minutes between combination sets.

* On combo sets (those with a " " between different moves), base your intensity level off your weakest move.

* Before starting this program, you should have at least one year of training experience.

Perform the following cycle as a circuit, with minimal or (preferably) no rest between exercises. Do a total of 80 reps per set; one cycle counts as one set.

JAVOREK ABDOMINAL COMPLEX

EXERCISE REPS

Full Sit-Up 10

Half Sit-Up (bottom half) 10

Half Sit-Up (top half) 10

Crunch 10

Half Sit-Up (bottom half) 10

Crunch 10

Half Sit-Up (top half) 10

Javorek Jackknife 10

WEEK 1

DAY 1

EXERCISE SETS REPS (INTENSITY/%1RM)

Dumbbell Upright Row 8 sets 14 reps at (55% of 1 rep maximum), 14 (55), 12 (60),

12 (60), 12 (60), 12 (60),

10 (70), 10 (70)

Dumbbell Hammer Curl 8 14 (50), 12 (60), 10 (70),

10 (70), 14 (50), 12 (60),

10 (70), 10 (70)

Abs 1 80

Bench Press 8 14 (50), 12 (60), 10 (65),

10 (70), 12 (60), 10 (60),

10 (70), 6 (75)

Barbell Quarter Squat Calf Raise 8 10 (60), 10 (60), 10 (60),

10 (70), 10 (70), 10 (70),

10 (60), 10 (70)

Dumbbell Kickback 8 14 (50), 12 (55), 12 (60),

10 (65), 10 (70), 8 (75),

10 (70), 8 (75)

DAY 2

EXERCISE SETS REPS (INTENSITY/%1RM)

Barbell Quarter Squat Calf Raise 8 14 (50), 14 (50), 14 (50),

12 (55), 12 (55), 12 (55),

10 (60), 10 (60)

Abs 1 80

Dumbbell Overhead Press 8 14 (45), 10 (60), 12 (50),

10 (65), 14 (45), 10 (60),

12 (50), 10 (65)

Reverse-Grip EZ-Bar Curl 8 14 (40), 14 (45), 14 (50),

12 (55), 12 (60), 10 (65),

10 (65), 10 (65)

Barbell Squat 8 10 (40), 10 (60), 10 (45),

10 (65), 10 (50), 10 (70),

10 (50), 10 (70)

Flat-Bench Dumbbell Flye 8 16 (35), 16 (40), 14 (45),

14 (50), 14 (55), 12 (60),

10 (65), 10 (65)

DAY 3

EXERCISE SETS REPS (INTENSITY/%1RM)

Standing Dumbbell Curl* 8 12 (60), 12 (65), 12 (65),

10 (70), 10 (65), 8 (75),

8 (75), 8 (75)

Abs 1 80

Dumbbell Push Press 8 12 (60), 12 (60), 12 (65),

12 (65), 10 (70), 10 (70),

8 (75), 6 (80)

Incline Dumbbell Press 8 12 (60), 6 (80), 12 (60),

6 (80), 12 (60), 6 (80),

12 (60), 6 (80)

Barbell Wave Squat 8 30 (50), 30 (50), 30 (60),

30 (60), 30 (55), 20 (65),

30 (55), 20 (65)

Barbell Upright Row (narrow grip) 8 12 (65), 10 (70), 12 (65),

8 (75), 10 (70), 6 (80),

10 (70), 4 (85)

Iron Cross Complex 8 10 (50), 8 (55), 6 (60),

6 (65), 6 (65), 5 (70),

5 (70), 5 (70)

*It goes against convention to work bi's before larger bodyparts;

however, use light weights here to warm up your muscles for subsequent

moves.

WEEK 2

DAY 1

EXERCISE SETS REPS (INTENSITY/%1RM)

Dumbbell Reverse Curl* 8 14 (50), 12 (55), 12 (60),

10 (65), 10 (70), 8 (75),

8 (75), 8 (75)

Barbell Squat Jump 8 8 (50), 8 (55), 8 (60),

6 (65), 4 (70), 4 (70),

4 (75), 4 (75)

Squat-Push Press 8 10 (60), 10 (65), 10 (70),

8 (75), 10 (70), 8 (75),

6 (80), 6 (80)

Abs 1 80

Barbell Complex No. 1: 8 6 (50), 6 (55), 6 (50),

Upright Row High-Pull Snatch 6 (55), 6 (60), 6 (60),

Squat-Push Press Good Morning 6 (65), 6 (65)**

Bent-Over Row Supinated Curl

Upright Row

Dumbbell Lateral Raise 8 16 (40), 14 (45), 14 (50),

12 (55), 10 (60), 10 (65),

10 (70), 8 (75)

DAY 2

EXERCISE SETS REPS (INTENSITY/%1RM)

Dumbbell Bent-Over Row 8 14 (50), 12 (60), 14 (55),

12 (65), 12 (60), 10 (70),

12 (60), 10 (70)

Abs 1 80

Seated Dumbbell Overhead Press 8 14 (50), 14 (50), 14 (55),

14 (55), 12 (60), 12 (60),

10 (65), 10 (70)

Dumbbell Front Raise 8 16 (40), 14 (50), 14 (50),

12 (55), 12 (60), 10 (65),

12 (60), 10 (65)

Barbell Squat Barbell Wave Squat 8 10/30/10 (50), 10/30/10 (55),

Barbell Squat 10/20/10 (60), 10/30/10 (50),

10/30/10 (55), 10/20/10 (60),

8/15/8 (65), 6/10/6 (70)**

Dumbbell Step-Up 8 14/6 (50), 14/6 (55),

Squat-Push Press 14/6 (55), 12/6 (60),

12/6 (60), 12/6 (65),

12/6 (65), 10/6 (70)**

DAY 3

EXERCISE SETS REPS (INTENSITY/%1RM)

Bent-Over Lateral Raise 8 12 (60), 12 (60), 6 (80),

6 (80), 12 (65), 4 (85),

10 (70), 4 (85)

Abs 1 80

Barbell Upright Row (narrow grip) 8 12 (60), 10 (70), 10 (70),

8 (75), 6 (80), 8 (75),

8 (75), 5 (85)

Barbell Half Squat Overhead Press 8 14 (50), 10 (70), 12 (60),

6 (80), 10 (70), 6 (80),

8 (75), 4 (85)

Barbell Squat 8 10 (60), 10 (60), 4 (85),

10 (70), 4 (85), 10 (60),

10 (70), 4 (85)

Dumbbell Complex No. 1: 8 6 (50), 6 (70), 6 (50),

Upright Row Supinated Curl 6 (50), 6 (70), 6 (60),

Overhead Press Hammer Curl 6 (60), 6 (70)**

Squat-Push Press

High-Pull Snatch

*It goes against convention to work bi's before larger bodyparts;

however, use light weights here to warm up your muscles for subsequent

moves.

**Base your intensity level for all exercises in the combination

on your weakest movement. To perform a set of the combination, do six

reps of the first exercise, then six reps of the second, and so on, in

nonstop succession.

WEEK 3

DAY 1

EXERCISE SETS REPS (INTENSITY/%1RM)

Overhead Dumbbell Extension 8 14 (55), 12 (65), 8 (75),

12 (65), 10 (70), 8 (75),

10 (70), 5 (80)

Abs 1 80

Barbell Upright Row (medium grip) 8 12 (65), 10 (70), 8 (75),

6 (80), 10 (70), 10 (70),

8 (75), 6 (80)

Overhead Barbell Extension 8 10 (60), 10 (60),

10 (70), 10 (70), 6 (80),

8 (75), 8 (75), 6 (80)

Barbell Squat Jump 8 8 (50), 8 (55), 8 (60),

8 (65), 6 (70), 4 (75),

6 (70), 4 (75)

Barbell Incline Press 8 10 (70), 10 (70), 6 (80),

6 (80), 8 (75), 8 (75),

6 (80), 4 (85)

DAY 2

EXERCISE SETS REPS (INTENSITY/%1RM)

Barbell Wave Squat 8 30 (50), 30 (55),

30 (60), 25 (65),

20 (70), 20 (70)

Dumbbell Complex No. 1: 8 6 (50), 6 (50), 6 (50),

Upright Row Supinated Curl 6 (55), 6 (55), 6 (60),

Overhead Press Hammer Curl 6 (60), 6 (65)*

Squat-Push Press High-Pull Snatch

Barbell Upright Row (wide grip) 8 14 (50), 12 (55),

12 (60), 12 (65),

10 (70), 12 (60),

12 (65), 10 (70)

Abs 1 80

Standing Barbell Curl 8 14 (50), 12 (60),

12 (55), 12 (65),

12 (60), 10 (70),

12 (65), 8 (75)

Barbell Complex No. 1: 8 6 (50), 6 (65), 6 (50),

Upright Row High-Pull Snatch 6 (65), 6 (55), 6 (65),

Squat-Push Press Good Morning 6 (60), 6 (65)*

Bent-Over Row Supinated Curl

Upright Row

DAY 3

EXERCISE SETS REPS (INTENSITY/%1RM)

Squat-Push Press 8 10 (60), 10 (70),

6 (80), 10 (65),

10 (75), 10 (70),

6 (80), 4 (85)

Barbell Quarter Squat Calf Raise 8 12 (60), 10 (75),

10 (70), 10 (80),

10 (85), 10 (80),

10 (85), 10 (85)

Flat-Bench Dumbbell Press 8 10 (70), 6 (80), 3 (90),

8 (75), 6 (80), 3 (90),

6 (80), 3 (90)

Barbell Complex No. 1: 8 6 (55), 6 (60), 6 (65),

Upright Row High-Pull Snatch 6 (70), 6 (55), 6 (60),

Squat-Push Press Good Morning 6 (65), 6 (70)*

Bent-Over Row Supinated Curl

Upright Row

Abs (see p. 144) 1 80

Chin 8 8

*Base your intensity level for all exercises in the combination on your

weakest movement. To perform a set of the combination, do six reps of

the first exercise, then six reps of the second, and so on, in nonstop

succession.

WEEK 4

DAY 1

EXERCISE SETS REPS (INTENSITY/%1RM)

Dumbbell Squat Upright Row 8 10 (70), 8 (80), 10 (70),

6 (85), 8 (75), 6 (80), 4 (85), 6 (85)

Abs 1 80

Dumbbell Push Press 8 10 (70), 8 (80), 8 (75),

5 (85), 8 (75), 5 (85), 6 (80), 5 (85)

Barbell Squat 8 10 (60), 10 (70), 6 (80),

10 (65), 3 (85), 6 (80), 3 (85), 3 (85)

Dumbbell Incline Press 8 10 (70), 8 (75), 6 (80),

5 (85), 6 (80), 4 (85), 6 (80), 4 (85)

Wide-Grip Pull-Up 8 8

DAY 2

EXERCISE SETS REPS (INTENSITY/%1RM)

Standing Dumbbell Curl 8 12 (60), 12 (65), 10 (70),

8 (75), 6 (80), 10 (70), 8 (75), 6 (80)

Barbell Squat Barbell Wave Squat 8 10/20/10 (50), 10/20/10 (60),

Barbell Squat 8/15/8 (70), 10/20/10 (60),

8/15/8 (70), 20/10/20 (65),

6/15/6 (75), 5/10/5 (80)*

Squat-Push Press 8 10 (65), 8 (75), 10 (70),

6 (80), 10 (65), 8 (75),

10 (70), 6 (80)

Dumbbell Complex No. 1: 8 6 (50), 6 (60), 6 (55),

Upright Row Supinated Curl 6 (65), 6 (60), 6 (65),

Overhead Press Hammer Curl 6 (55), 6 (70)**

Squat-Push Press

High-Pull Snatch

Abs (see p. 144) 1 80

Dip 8 15

*Reps correspond to aforementioned exercises. Do all reps of the first

exercise, followed immediately by all reps of the second, and so on,

without rest.

**Base your intensity level for all exercises in the

combination on your weakest movement. To perform a set of the

combination, do six reps of the first exercise, then six reps of the

second, and so on, in nonstop succession.

DAY 3

EXERCISE SETS REPS (INTENSITY/%1RM)

Barbell Squat 8 10 (70), 4 (80), 5 (75),

3 (85), 2 (90), 5 (75),

4 (85), 2 (90)

Dumbbell Reverse Curl 8 12 (60), 8 (75), 10 (70),

6 (80), 5 (85), 5 (85),

5 (85), 5 (85)

Dumbbell Bent-Over Row 8 6 (80), 5 (85), 3 (90),

6 (80), 3 (90), 5 (85),

6 (80), 3 (90)

Abs 1 80

Decline Dumbbell Press 8 10 (70), 6 (80), 2 (90),

5 (85), 2 (90), 8 (75),

2 (90), 2 (90)

Push-Up (on push-up bars) 8 18, 14, 18, 14, 18, 14, 18, 14

The Benefits of Combination Lifts - Istvan Steve Javorek

2012-01-18T23:28:00.000-08:00

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http://istvanjavorek.com/

The Benefits of Combination Lifts
by Istvan Steve Javorek (1998)

In recent years, the term "combination lifts" has been used more frequently in sports conditioning circles. Armstrong discussed the use of combination lifts for in-season training.

[Armstrong, D.F. "Combination Lifts for in-season training." Strength and Conditioning 16(4): 14-16. 1994].

The purpose of this article is to share ideas on combination lifts, incorporating them with earlier publications.

[Javorek, I. "General condition with Complex I and II." NSCA Journal 10(1):34-37. 1988.]

[O'Connel, J. "Triple Threat." Muscle & Fitness pp. 90-97. Jan. 1998.]

By definition, combination lifts consist of two or more free weight exercises that are combined in a nonstop, continuous movement. Although some conditioning specialists believe these lifts consist of just a few exercise combinations, frequently a power clean and another exercise, in reality the list is much larger.

The main purpose of combination lifts is to:

1) Improve and stimulate neuro-muscular coordination.
2) Increase the workout load and intensity.
3) Stimulate the skeletal muscular system.
4) Increase the cardiovascular benefits of the free-weight program.
5) Make the program more dynamic and efficient.

The number of combination exercises is unlimited, depending on a coach or trainer's knowledge and creativity, the availability of equipment, and the goals of the coach and/or athlete.

Program Overview

I make a distinction between the major multi-joint lift exercises (snatch, clean, jerk, pulls, squats) and auxiliary exercise combinations, categorizing them as follows:

A. Simple -- two major lifts in combination.
B. Complex -- more than two major lifts in combination.
C. Assistance exercise combinations.

Variations of the Three Categories

A. SIMPLE
I classify the simple exercise combinations (two major lift exercises) into four major groups: clean, snatch, pull, and squat.

Variation 1. Consecutive repetitions of two major lift exercises.
Example: Snatch grip pull/4 + split snatch/6.

Variation 2. Alternating repetition of two major lift exercises.
Examples: Snatch grip pull/3 + split snatch/3 + snatch grip pull/3 + split snatch/3, or repeat these 4 exercises but 3 = 1 each time.

Depending on the goals and a coach's imagination, these combination variations are virtually unlimited.

Clean Related (power, squat, or split clean from the platform, hang, or boxes).

Simple Combinations:
-- Clean + overhead press
-- Clean + push press
-- Clean + push jerk
-- Clean + split jerk
-- Clean + front squat

Snatch Related (power, squat or split snatch from the platform, hang, or boxes).

Simple Combinations:
-- Snatch + overhead squat
-- Snatch + behind-neck overhead press
-- Snatch + behind-neck overhead push press
-- Snatch + behind-neck overhead squat push press

Pull Related (clean or snatch grip, from the platform, hang, or boxes; single knee bend pull*, straight leg deadlift pull, or "double knee bend" pull + snatch or clean.

* On a single knee bend pull, the knees of the lifter do NOT re bend a second time. However, many lifters hold a bent knee position until their last split second before extending on a second pull, and it is that holding of that bent knee position that has confused many lifters into thinking such a style is a double knee bend pull.

On a double knee bend pull, the knees of the lifter must "re bend" slightly more from the original slightly bent leg or straight leg position, when the bar reaches the top of the thighs. This can NOT happen unless a shrug with traps is initiated a split second before the rebending of the knees.

Simple Combination:
-- Single knee bend snatch grip pull + snatch
-- Single knee bend clean grip pull + clean
-- Single knee bend snatch grip pull + shrug
-- Single knee bend clean grip pull + shrug
-- Same exercise combinations with straight leg pulls or regular pulls

Squat Related (back squat, front squat, squat jump, wave squat, quarter squat + other exercises).

Simple Combinations:
-- Front squat + overhead press
-- Back squat + behind-neck overhead press
-- Front squat + push press
-- Front squat + jerk variations
-- Back squat + behind neck overhead push press
-- Front squat + squat push press
-- Back squat + squat push press
-- Back squat + good morning
-- Back squat + squat jump
-- Back squat + wave squat
-- Squat jump + wave squat
-- Front squat + clean variations
-- Front squat + snatch variations
-- Lunge variations + clean variations
-- Heel raise + wave squat
-- Heel raise + quarter squat
-- Heel raise + back squat

B. COMPLEX
There are three variations of the complex (multiple major lift) exercise combinations.

Variation 1. Pull (clean grip) + clean (squat, power, split) + press (military press, push press, squat push press).
Example: Clean grip pull + squat clean + push press.

Variation 2. Pull (clean grip) + clean (squat, power, split) + jerk variations.
Example: Clean grip single knee bend pull + split clean + push jerk.

Variation 3. Pull (wide or snatch grip) + snatch (squat, power, split) + press variations.
Example: From hang below the knees, snatch grip pull + power snatch + snatch grip overhead squat + behind-neck snatch grip overhead press variations.

C. ASSISTANCE EXERCISE COMBINATIONS

Assistance exercise combinations should be sequenced in a way that avoids interruption, providing a smooth, continuous motion. It is important to finish this smooth progression of the drill with the combination's most dynamic movement, thus stimulating the athlete's explosive qualities. It is very simple to combine several assistance exercises to give this smooth progression.

Depending on the athlete's own goals, the number of variations is virtually unlimited. Five barbell complex exercises that use in all sports conditioning are included in the complex combination lift assistance exercises:

(a) with barbells, and
(b) with dumbbells.

They can be considered the major assistance-exercise combination groups.

BARBELL COMPLEX EXERCISES

Exercises 1 and 2. Upright row + *high pull snatch* + squat push press + good morning + bentover row.
*High pull snatch (not a snatch grip high pull) is demonstrated in this video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eZH1nwl45g
Complex 1 is just 1 cycle performed with 6 reps of each exercise.
Complex 2 is performed with 3 reps of each exercise, repeating the 5-exercise cycle 2 or 3 times from the beginning, nonstop.

Exercises 3 and 4. Curls/6 + high pull snatch from hip/6 + bentover row/8 + behind-neck press/6 +good morning/10 + behind-neck push press/6 +curls/6 + upright row/6.
Complex 3 involves 1 cycle of each exercise.
Complex 4 involves 3 reps of each exercise, repeating the 8-exercise cycle 2 or 3 times from the beginning, nonstop.

Exercise 5. Upright row/6 + high pull snatch/4 + bentover row/8 + push press/6 + upright row/6 + behind-neck alternating leg step-ups on box/14 + 14 + high pull snatch/4 + good morning/16 + squat jump/8.
Complex 5 is just 1 cycle performed with the given repetitions each exercise. Some other exercise samples:

Variation 1. Upright row + high pull snatch + overhead squat + behind-neck push press + squat jump.
Variation 2. Upright row + bentover row + snatch grip pull + good morning + behind-neck push press + wave squat.

DUMBBELL COMPLEX EXERCISES

Combination Lifts (with 1 hand; with 2 hands). I have developed 5 DB combination exercise complexes.

Exercises 1 and 2. Upright row + high pull snatch + squat push press + bentover row + high pull snatch.
Complex 1 is just 1 cycle performed with 6 reps of each exercise.
Complex 2 involves 3 reps of each exercise, repeating the 5-exercise cycle 2 or 3 times from the beginning, nonstop.

Exercises 3 and 4. Curl/6 + upright row/6 + bentover row/6 + high pull snatch/6 + overhead press/6 + rotational curl/6 + upright row/6 + squat push press/6.
Complex 3 is just 1 cycle performed with 6 reps of each exercise.
Complex 4 involves 3 reps of each exercise, repeating the 8-exercise cycle 2 or 3 times from the beginning.

Exercise 5. Curls/8 + upright row/8 + overhead parallel press?6 + overhead parallel push press?6 + high pull snatch/6.
Complex 5 is just 1 cycle performed with the given repetitions each exercise.

TRAINING PROGRAMS

I use combination lift exercises year-round. The number of sets and reps differ, depending on goals and preparation periods that demand different intensities.

In the first part of a workout I use combination exercises as a general warm-up drill. Different variations can be used in the complete workout when there are specific goals for training. These might include stimulating muscular hypertrophy, strength, specific endurance, muscular tone, muscular coordination, or rehabilitation.

A coach should first teach the proper technique for each exercise, then establish the 1-rep maximum for each. After this comes the mandatory steps, gradually combining more and more exercises. This is when the coach should determine the number of repetitions, sets, and intensities that will yield maximum benefit to athletes as they prepare for their specific sport.

One of the biggest benefits of combination lifts is that novice athletes can use them. I believe every young athlete should start exercising with assistance exercises and their combinations. The wonderful thing about free weights is the possibility of choosing the intensity, repetition, and sets based on one's preparation level and goals.

Like any other exercise form, teaching (and learning) the combination lifts requires professionalism and patience. The goal is to get the athlete gradually involved in a whole combination lifting program.

Muscle Beach Inc. - Arnold J. Hansen

2012-01-17T20:06:00.000-08:00

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Muscle Beach Inc. is housed in the building shown in the photos above. Left to right on top photos: an adjustable incline bench at rear; flat bench in front; weight racks are cans filled with concrete. Photo 2 shows the rugged lat pulley that will hold unlimited poundages. Dressing rooms are in the rear. Photo 3 shows several of the lifting platforms. One is 13 feet square, while the others are 10 feet square. Photo 4, second row, shows the hack machine and abdominal boards. Photo 5 is a closeup of the 10 foot platform in use. Those are 135-lb. plates standing in the rear. Photo 6 shows the unusual squat racks the members have built. Rubber capped pins set in 4x4's are spaced to permit use for overhead support lifts as well as squats in quarter down to full squats and heavy half-deadlifts.
Left to right, starting at top: Photo 1 shows the "staircase" squat rack, a novel idea. In front being used is the dip bar area. This also has a slotted overhead power lift rack. Photo 2 shows a chin bar of two diameters, skip ropes and several tape measures, for the tape-happy trainers. Photo 3 is a general view of the dumbbell area. They go up to 135's. Photo 4 shows Jim Hamilton, who teaches physical chemistry, doing incline bench presses while postman Wes Johnson and Dick Abbott, a university student, spot him. Photo 5 shows two of the boys chinning and benching. In Photo 6 we see the dumbbell racks made of planks and milk crates.

Muscle Beach Incorporated:
A New Organization of Great Promise
by Arnold J. Hansen (1959)

Muscle Beach W.C.
118 Broadway (rear)
Santa Monica, California

This story begins sometime during the nebulous past. It seems that in the late thirties or early forties someone brought their barbell to the beach. With a pleasant year-round climate, bright warm sunshine, broad blue Pacific, clean sandy beach, beautiful semi-tropical surroundings and congenial companions who were interested in health, working out on the beach was a natural.

Growth took place. More weights, more equipment, and more members. Then it happened. Someone decided that they did not want the Muscle Beach area as such longer. Through various channels and processes the club activity terminated.

At this time and at the present time the club was and is composed mainly of a group of individuals of a high caliber. Our vocational range includes the following: postmen, chemist, furniture movers, physician, mechanical engineers, machinists, chiropractor, electrician, draftsman, physical therapist, wrestlers, factory workers, assemblers, mathematicians - one of whom also teaches chemistry, certified public accountant, a factory owner, author, movie actor, lawyer, college students, geologist, high school science teacher, elementary school teacher, gym managers, police officers, supermarket operator, and many more.

A very fine gentleman, now retired, offered to store the weights in his basement until the time arrived when they could again be used. We owe him a debt of gratitude. At that time also, a small group of weight men donated their services and hauled the weights to the basement for storage.

During the months of September and October of this year certain men put their heads together and decided that, for the present at least, it would be a good idea to house the weights somewhere indoors. Club meetings were held, heated discussions took place during the latter part of October, and finally our new location opened early in November for the serious business of training. We are training.

During the period when the weights were stored, a number of small garage-type gyms served some of our members very well. Some have joined us and others will still train, at least partially, in their home gyms.

Our Muscle Beach Weightlifting Club is directed mainly by a dedicated nucleus of interested individuals. This group is composed of a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and five councilmen. They are all working-type officers -- chair-warmers and dead wood have no place in our club. Our time and patience leaves no room for the "popularity poll" type of officer nor the "executive type" -- there is work to be done. Regular members also have the opportunity to take full part in the proceedings of our regular Saturday afternoon meetings.

We had very little money and there are expenses such as rent, lights, etc.; therefore, we made much of our equipment out of used material. For the various jobs to be done we have depended on the talent of the members. Also, some loaned their cars, tools, pickup truck, and other equipment of various types. A radio was given for the gym itself and a T.V. was given for the office/lounge; the so-called office/lounge was formerly the bake oven for the automobiles that were painted here. More about the building later. One of our members is a house-wrecker; we received a good supply of much needed used lumber for platform building, squat racks, long lat pull, dip bars, bench platforms, power rack, etc. A coat of paint gave the final touch.

We are incorporated. Again, one of our members, a lawyer, came to the rescue with his specialty. Our mission statement is: "The Promotion of Weightlifting and Bodybuilding." We have the usual police permit and building license.

A word about the building. It is an industrial type, 50' x 85' formerly used as an automobile paint shop. The walls and ceiling are not beautiful, there is no wall-to-wall carpet, our legs seem to care little for such luxuries when straining under a heavy squat; also, our prones seem to go better when looking high into the rugged rafters. The bake oven lends itself well with the office/lounge. Frankly, we find it adequate, paint test-spots and all. Rough and rugged.

We rented it from a lady who is a retired osteopathic surgeon. She feels the youth of the nation are weak and therefore was very happy to rent the place to us for this purpose.

Our members cover a wide age range. One of our members is 50 years of age and improving steadily. He prones 370 pounds and military presses 269; he has done 270 in rough form.

Our oldest member is 84 and still works out. Tell that to the youth of the nation.

Already, with a booming membership of real huskies, it is evident that there will be many fine records made here; several are bench pressing over 400 and rising steadily.

This may possibly be the most functional gym this side of the Iron Curtain. A club of this sort can be a reality in towns throughout this nation. A number of gyms of this type could mean the difference between success and failure in our upcoming Olympic games. A dedicated group can make a start.

The most phenomenal aspect of our situation was the fact that once the move was started cooperation came from all directions. Dwell on the positive, start the thing, and keep it rolling with hard work which is, after all, the true secret of success in any field.

The gym is operated by the members, many of whom have keys to the regular lock. A master lock is put on at 10 at night and taken off at nine in the morning; the president has the only key to this lock. The big brother form of instruction is in force as there is no regular instructor. Our four officers and five councilmen reserve the right to terminate the membership of any member who seriously hinders the club objectives.

The sands of Muscle Beach are now peaceful and relatively quiet. We are happy in our new location. May all live in peace and contentment for a time but not forever as that would put an end to progress.

The Power Clean: Perspectives & Preparation - Bob Takano

2012-01-16T18:35:00.001-08:00

Bob Takano

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The Power Clean: Perspectives and Preparation
by Bob Takano (1992)

Since joining the NSCA five years ago, I've noticed the increased emphasis that has been placed on multi-joint, athletic movements (i.e., Olympic-style lifts) in the training programs of developing athletes. The growing interest in the snatch and the clean & jerk is reflected in the large turnouts at the national conferences for presentations that deal with instruction and inclusion of these movements in training programs. While an excellent job has been done in convincing strength and conditioning personnel of the value of the quick lifts, there is bound to be considerable variation in the levels of success attained by the many enthusiastic workers who have tried to implement this type of training in their programs.

For some, low success levels may cause them to discard the lifts. Many factors may have led to this point, including the inability of the coach to progress the athletes beyond the power clean and power snatch to the squat snatch, squat clean and split jerk. While this may be attributed to a lack of coaching experience in this area, a coach also should realize that not all athletes have the physical assets to perform the full lifts successfully. Yet it must be realized that a training program that includes the power clean is usually more productive than one based solely on single-joint movements. In terms of statistical density, gray may not be as potent as black, but it is better than white.

In the last two clinics I've presented, I've begun with a rationale for the inclusion of Olympic lifts in the training program. This rationale also applies to the power clean, and I present it here for those who need to justify its inclusion in a training program to the participants and others.

The power clean, when performed properly, elicits the following conditions:

-- The movement involves all of the major muscle groups and many of the minor supportive muscles during each repetition. Because each repetition requires greater caloric output than that required by single-joint movements, the power clean has greater value as a developer of anaerobic endurance.

-- The performance of the power clean requires instantaneous, sequential contraction and relaxation of many muscles. This conditions the nervous system to perform in a manner that is most conducive to the development of speed.

-- Because the major muscles are required to work synergistically, they are strengthened in a harmonious manner, rather than in an imbalanced manner as is often produced by working the muscles individually.

-- The constant isometric tension required of the torso musculature through the movement allows these muscles to be developed in a manner that is not possible through conventional, isolative approaches.

-- Because so much of the skeleto-muscular system is stimulated by the power clean, the amount of time available for weight training can be used more efficiently, and can be minimized for many athletes.

-- Gripping strength is stimulated by the power clean. The increased hand development is beneficial for all activities involving the hands, and will minimize minor injuries.

Implementing the Power Clean

Because the specifics of teaching the power clean have been covered extensively, I will refrain from treading this well-trod ground, and instead deal with -

The Teaching of Technique

Technique must be the highest priority in deriving optimal benefits from this exercise. A successful coach should expend great effort in teaching proper technique, just as a trainee should also expend great effort in learning this technique, because this technique probably will remain with the athlete for the rest of his or her career. Proper technique ensures that physical development will be harmonious and that the nervous system will develop the greatest functional ability.

The movement should be taught from the hang, before progression from the floor is attempted.

Placement of the Power Clean in the Training Sequence

In the event that no other explosive movements are performed during the weight-training session, the power clean should be placed first in the list of exercises. This will ensure that the speed of movement is highest due to the freshness of the nervous system. If the weight-training workout is held after a specific sport practice session, a short rest should be inserted between the two sessions to allow the nervous system some restoration.

Frequency of Implementation

This topic is a variation on the question of how often to weight train.

The accepted practice of weight training three times per week is probably the product of facility management practices as much as an earnest attempt to obtain optimal results. The three-days-a-week program was born out of a need to accommodate two different groups of people (Monday-Wednesday-Friday, and Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday) in a commercial gym. Many university and high school strength-training operations may also use this system to adapt their athletic population to limited facilities.

A competitive athlete or any serious trainee can be conditioned to perform activities as strenuous as sprinting six days per week. The same is also possible for the power clean. In both cases, training loads and intensities must be varied in order to maximize the training efforts. Weight training can be performed on a daily basis, and power cleans may be included as frequently. Load and intensity must be varied, however, and coordinated with other sports training activities. Primary reasons to eliminate the power clean from a given session are to accommodate injuries and to avoid boredom.

Remedial Exercises

It is the norm for aspiring weightlifters in my opinion to have imbalances in their physical development due to genetic or environmental factors. For these reasons, they cannot perform the type of training that ultimately will be demanded of them. I am therefore required to provide an arsenal of exercises to remedy these weaknesses. Much of the early training in the lifting career is devoted to harmonious physical development for performing the snatch and the clean & jerk; in short, weight training for weightlifting. This early training features a much wider variety of exercises than are used after proficiency is achieved. At the elite level, the athlete is training primarily with weightlifting-related lifts, and only periodically with remedial exercises.

The situation is the same for performance of the power clean. Many novice lifters may be of insufficient strength in various parts of the body to properly power clean. These trainees must undergo a period of remedial training before attempting the power clean. Others may begin learning the movement with light weights while conditioning the weak areas with the appropriate weight-training exercises. The conscientious professional must individualize training at this point if maximal benefits are to be obtained over the athlete's career.

Flexibility

Power cleans may call for static stretching for the wrists and ankles. The wrists must be able to bend backward sufficiently to allow the bar to rest on the shoulders, and not be supported by the arms. Athletes who progress to power cleaning heavy weights while supporting the bar mainly with the arms are susceptible to wrist injuries. A contributing factor to this condition may be excessive hypertrophy of the biceps, in which case the athlete may have to refrain from performing the standard barbell curl.

A limited capacity for ankle dorsiflexion (upward movement of the foot at the ankle joint) will inhibit the athlete's ability to use the quadriceps during the explosive portion of the movement. Football players who have experienced shortening or tightness of the Achilles tendon due to ankle taping often are limited in this range. Workouts for these athletes should always begin with static wrist and ankle stretches.

Front Squats

The front squat performed with a clean-width grip often is viewed as merely a quadriceps developer, but it has greater benefits for those interested in developing proficiency in the power clean. It is an excellent way to develop the torso musculature for the support of weight at the shoulder, and for flexibility of the wrists. The athlete should be encouraged to perform the movement with the chest expanded and raised, and the back kept tight and straight. The elbows should be held high, and the head should not be allowed to drop. If the proper foot spacing is used, ankle flexibility is also developed.

The Bentover Row and Posture

Proper posture is always an important factor in the performance of athletic movements that take place while standing erect. The most frequent postural deficiency in the performance of the power clean is a kyphosis (a curving of the spine that causes a bowing or rounding of the back, which leads to a hunchback or slouching posture) caused by a relative weakness of the rhomboid muscles, which allows the scapulae to move laterally. The bentover row, performed with strict technique while the back is arched, will help to overcome this deficiency.

Hyperextensions and Good Mornings

The spinal erectors are subjected to great stress during performance of the power clean and these two movements, performed properly, will remedy weakness in these muscles. The hyperextensions should be performed with the head curled under toward the abdominals at the bottom of the movement, and then uncurling to the point where the line of sight is horizontal at the completion. Good mornings will work the spinal erectors in an isometric manner if the torso is held rigidly erect while the knees are slightly unlocked.

Upright Rows

The deltoids and trapezius need to be worked harmoniously, and upright rows will assist in this development. A clean-width grip should be used, and concentration should be placed on the height to which the elbows can be raised to the side of the shoulders. The elbows should not be allowed to drop or move backward.

Deadlift to the Knees

The most common error in performing the power clean from the floor is the tendency to rip the weight from the floor by shooting the hips up rapidly at the beginning of the movement. The deadlift to the knees should emphasize the maintenance of a rigid torso, performing the movement by coordinating the quadriceps with the hamstrings so that the hips rise at the same rate as the shoulders. The latissimus dorsi must be used to keep the shoulders in front of the extended path of the bar.

Back Squats

When performed properly, this exercise will strengthen the thigh, hip and back muscle involved in the initial portion of the power clean.

Conclusion

The power clean is an effective, multi-joint movement that can significantly enhance athletic performance in events that require explosive performance from a standing position. If used properly, it can improve anaerobic endurance, minimize training time, enhance coordination of major muscle groups, stimulate muscular development and hormonal secretion, develop the body's ability to withstand physical contact, increase hand strength, improve balance, increase metabolic rate and provide an enjoyable alternative to more conventional progressive resistance exercises.

Although it may be considered an intermediate step on the path to performance of the snatch and the clean & jerk, the power clean is a valuable training tool in itself. With all these factors being equal, athletes who train with the power clean will experience greater success than those who fail to use it in their training regimens.

The Atkin Multi-Poundage System - Henry J. Atkin

2012-01-16T00:58:00.001-08:00

Muscle Beach Inc. Gym, Santa Monica, 1959 -
135-pound plates leaning against wall

Harry Fussell

Bill Pearl

The Atkin Multiple Poundage System
by Henry J. Atkin (1949)

It all happened as a result of a broadcast to schools by an eminent professor who explained the physiological effect of muscular energy used against resistance and how a muscle became fatigued as a result of continued pressing and relaxing while in constant contact with resistance.

I disagreed with certain of his explanations and proceeded to prove my points by testing my own reaction and the reaction of selected pupils to the fatiguing of certain muscle groups. The broadcast was on a Friday evening and proved me correct.

During the next day I found my mind wondering back to theories regarding muscular fatigue as explained by several physiologists, including the broadcaster of the previous day. Now, there are some body-building authorities who insist that a muscle must never be fatigued in body-building, and that exercising should be discontinued when it is felt that three or four further reps could be performed.

In the past two years I can rightly claim to have developed among the pupils training at my club some of the finest physical specimens in this country today, including Ken Kerridge, Adrian White, Alan Conway, "Wag" Bennett, Tom French, and a new sensation -- Harry Fussell. These men are not only good to look at, they are strong; as it is a policy of the club not not only develop shapely muscular physiques, but to develop strength in proportion. One 15-year old youngster (Ken Cooper) recently performed two repetitions on the bent arm pullover with with 220 pounds, a dead lift with 415 pounds and a deep knee bend with 300 pounds. All these men, without exception, squeeze the last possible repetition out of a set, and they have all built their physiques at the Viking club in under two years of training.

There are many theorists who would, and do say (turning a blind eye to the results) that I work my pupils too hard, and there are other professional instructors who insist that I drive away certain clients because of this tendency. Be this as it may, I prefer to keep the men who are prepared to work hard and confidently, as I am not out to make a fortune from the ones who are willing to believe they can build a powerful muscular physique without hard work.

I have always felt that when performing 10, 15 or 20 reps, it was the last 3 in 10, the last 4 in 15, and the last 5 in 20 that had the greatest value, and that if one could perform those last few reps without the first reps that are normally performed easily, a much quicker result could be obtained.

My discussions with physiologists suggest to me that no one really knows what makes a muscle grow. We know, of course, that a muscle grows as a result of exercise, but not what chemical reaction builds muscular tissue or increases the size of muscular fibers. It is fairly well established that the number of muscle fibers never increases -- it is the increase in size of the fibers that develops muscular bulk.

One of the leading physiologists in this country recently made a series of tests on developing the muscles of rats. He anesthetized these rats and at regular intervals sent electrical impulses into their systems. This caused muscles to react violently against one another without any movement of the limbs. In a short period of time, approximately one month, the muscular bulk of the rats had increased by a third. This is very interesting because it seems to bear out a theory of the experimenters that muscular tissue is developed by isometric contraction.

If this is so, it means that you can develop muscle tissue by attempting to move unliftable weights far beyond your physical capacity. In fact, to develop your biceps muscles, for an example, you can have a bar set into two concrete posts, then simply attempt to curl with the bar fixed in the appropriate central position of a normal curl, and by straining against the weight, develop the muscle. Such a theory as this is difficult for me to believe, but it will be put to the test at some date in the future, and I will inform readers of our findings. Meanwhile I will get back to my explanation of the Multi-Poundage System.

As I explained earlier, I believe in using muscles until not another rep can be squeezed out of them. During the conflicting thoughts and theories that flashed through my brain on this Saturday, was a theory that maybe I could incorporate certain ideas of physiologists regarding the building of muscular tissue with my own. "Wag" Bennett had asked if he could train at the club on the Sunday morning following. I had agreed that he could and decided that I would map out a special experimental program of training incorporating my new ideas. These ideas kept me awake most of Saturday night, and on Sunday morning I was so excited and confident of the scheme that i was unable to wait for "Wag" to arrive -- I commenced experiments alone. This saved a certain amount of time, for when my training partner arrived I had decided the commencing poundages for us both on most exercises.

We commenced with the press on back with a poundage that we could both normally perform about 7 reps. At the end of 5 reps, and without stopping, one 20 pound plate was removed from each end of the bar, making for a 40-pound reduction in the weight being used. It was then possible to perform another 6 reps. At the end of 5 of these, the weight was again reduced by 40 pounds, and it was found that another 5 or 6 reps could be performed, but with the last 2 reps, although the weight felt very light in the hands, great difficulty was experienced in locking the elbows because of the apparent choking of the muscles with lactic acid. It was discovered that a slightly longer rest than normal was required between sets. At the end of 3 sets the pectoral muscles of the chest and the anterior deltoids really felt as though they had a terrific work-out and were flushed with blood to the extent that they appeared abnormally large.

From the press on back we proceeded to the standing curl, and we adopted the same procedure, but owing to somewhat lighter weight being used the reductions were of 30 and 20 pounds. (an approximate 20% reduction between each no-rest set of reps seemed to be ideal.) Again we performed 3 sets of between 12 and 15 total reps and again the muscles were worked as they had never been worked before. No matter what the poundage was for the various reduced reps, it always felt as heavy as the weight used for the previous reps. Consequently, we used what appeared to be a maximum poundage all the time while performing 15 reps.

We then tried a similar test with the pulley-weight machine on latissimus developing. The reaction here was so unusual and the flushing of the muscles so extreme that I felt uncomfortable when trying to place my arms straight down the sides of my body. From the pulleys we switched to the pullovers to arms' length on bench for triceps, performing 3 sets with a similar reaction.

The deep knee bend proved the effect to be the same, and for our last exercise we performed the press behind neck seated. This was the toughest of all exercises, and although the weight was reduced by 20% at the end of each 4 reps, great difficulty was experienced in completing 12.

The result of the first test of the new method of training was extremely exhilarating and gave us a new zest for bodybuilding. We agreed to plan a schedule and practice it four nights a week for a month to see what sort of result could be obtained. At the time of writing we have completed three weeks with excellent results, but although the muscular gains have been very good, the increases in strength have been remarkable. We increased the poundages on the first few reps of the press on back by 50 pounds, in the curl by 40 pounds, in the pullover to arms' length by 40 pounds and in the press behind neck by 30 pounds.

I have switched several of my pupils to this method of training on two or three exercises of their schedules. The results obtained are excellent and prove the system is efficient and effective. It will most likely prove too intense for relative newcomers to the weights, but advanced men will find that they will get remarkable results from its practice. It takes an evening or two to get accustomed to knowing just when to reduce the weight -- this should be when it is felt that only one more rep could be squeezed out.

The unfortunate part about this system is that on many exercises it is necessary to have one or two training partners working with you. The man training at home on his own would be restricted. Naturally he would have no one to slide the weights off for him. One or two of the lads have overcome this in exercises such as the curl, in which they have lowered the bar to a bench, slipped the discs off quickly, and carried on their reps with very little rest. Using preloaded dumbbells of varying weights would make it possible to put one pair of bells down and pick up another pair immediately. In the press on back one is stymied unless he has someone to assist.

Incidentally, I would point out here that it is extremely uncomfortable when handling heavy poundages on the press on back to have one end reduced in weight before the other -- always try to whip them off quickly and together.

3 sets of 4 to 5 exercises are sufficient, and I would not recommend that any more be used.

A Combined Weightlifting/Powerlifting Program - Timothy J. Piper

2012-01-14T12:05:00.000-08:00

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A Combined Weightlifting/Powerlifting Program
by Timothy J. Piper (1998)

Athletes who compete in both weightlifting and powerlifting need a program that will produce maximum lifts for each sport. Coaching such athletes requires a balance between the maximum strength requirements of powerlifting and the explosive, high-skill requirements of weightlifting.

If you are limited by equipment and time, training athletes for both strength and power can be complicated and frustrating. Greater explosive power for jumping, throwing, or hitting is developed via weightlifting, whereas the raw strength the athlete develops through powerlifting has little to do with speed of movement.

Most sports require varying degrees of both strength and power depending on the athlete's level and position. This article describes a model that combines strength and power training for maximal gains with limited time and equipment.

One of the most efficient ways to develop speed and power is through Olympic-style lifts. Both the snatch and clean & jerk will contribute to power development in activities that rely on the hip and back musculature. The kinesthetic sense developed with these lifts may also reduce the chance of injury when participating in other sports because they not only strengthen the muscles, tendons, and ligaments but also increase the athlete's overall coordination.

All of these factors will enhance the athlete's performance in any anaerobic sport with a high strength/power component.

The Case for Powerlifting

Powerlifting has been gaining respect as an effective way to develop total body strength. Centered around the three competition lifts of the squat, bench press, and deadlift, powerlifting develops strength in almost all major muscle groups with the possible exception of full range-of-motion development of the upper back. Powerlifters are known for their leg and chest strength.

Both weightlifting and powerlifting have their place in training programs for strength/power sports. Weightlifting involves virtually every major muscle group in the body as well as many smaller stabilizer muscles.

The term powerlifting is actually a misnomer when one considers the higher levels of power output created during weightlifting versus powerlifting. When compared to the relatively slow movements of the powerlifts, which produce approximately 12 watts per kilogram of bodyweight (W/kg), the second pull phases of the snatch or clean lifts may generate four times as much power, averaging 52 W/kg.

On the other hand, much heavier loads are typically used in powerlifting, but the exercises are performed at a much slower speed.

It makes sense that training with explosive, Olympic-style lifts will develop power. However, recent research has shown that speed training alone may not be enough to enhance power development.

Wenzel and Perfetto studied the effects of speed training on power development. One group underwent a timed leg-sled program to enhance power; the other group underwent a squat program to enhance strength. Finding no significant difference between groups, Wenzel and Perfetto concluded that speed training was not superior to strength training for developing power. They recommended combining speed AND strength training.

In the first eight to 12 weeks of training, increased neural adaptations account for most of the strength and power gains. As athletes become more experienced, they need higher intensity training if they hope to make further gains. While the use of low-speed powerlifts may initially improve both strength and power, the need for power/speed via weightlifting seems warranted in the latter stages of training, especially for elite athletes.

The critical factor is to determine whether your program will concentrate on (a) weightlifting, developing great amounts of power at the expense of total strength, or (b) powerlifts, developing greater overall strength at the expense of power.

The Program

The program presented here represents a compromise between the two. It is a strength/power program. By combining the faster weightlifting movements with the slower powerlifting movements one can optimize the potential for gains in both strength and power. The use of assistance exercises for injury prevention and muscle balance varies depending on the athlete's own weaknesses and injury history.

With limited time for training, each session is designed to develop power and strength via a combination of weightlifting and strengthening exercises, as follows:

Snatch Related -
- Snatch
- Overhead Squat
- Snatch Balance
-Power Snatch

Clean Related -
-Clean
-Power Clean
-Power Clean & Jerk
- Clean & Jerk

Jerk Related -
- Push Jerk
- Push Press
- Snatch Press

Core Strength -
- Squat
- Bench
- Deadlift

Supplementary -
-Front Squat
- Camber Bench Press
- Close Grip Bench Press
- Dip
- Romanian Deadlift
- Lat Pulldown
- Pullup
-One-arm Row
- Pullover

The general program design concentrates on low volume training with ever-increasing loads. All loads need to be adjusted for each athlete. Each training session should take approximately 45-60 minutes, depending on the athlete's rate of adaptation and the intensity of the phase.

The periodization program shown in Table 1 and has four phases. The average length of time spent in each phase ranges from two to six weeks. The number of weeks in each phase is based on how the athlete's lifting technique progresses and on upcoming sport seasons or competitions.

Within each phase are three separate but similar workouts, labeled A, B, and C. Choosing which workout workout to perform in each session is based on which areas the athlete needs to focus on most. If the athlete is proficient in all the Olympic-style lifts and powerlifts, each workout can be performed once a week.

It is also good to vary the order of workouts because this decreases boredom. One week the athlete may choose to do the workouts in A-B-C order and the next week in A-C-B order.

Regardless of which workout is chosen, the Olympic-style lifts are executed first, followed by the powerlifts. Some workouts list more than one exercise (e.g., snatch balance/overhead squat), thus offering an option. the athlete may execute the snatch balance, starting with the bar on the shoulders similar to a back squat, then explosively drive the body under the bar into a deep squat snatch position, or an overhead squat, in which the bar is held overhead while doing slow controlled squats.

The coach and athlete work together to determine which phase -- 1, 2, 3, or 4 -- and which workout -- A, B, C -- as well as which exercises to choose when options are given.

The first two sets of each weightlifting exercise are used as a warmup. The third and fourth sets are the most intense. Once the lifts are completed correctly, the athlete may raise the weight on any subsequent sets. The loads they use are altered on a weekly basis; from high, for optimal power development; to low, for optimal skill acquisition. Intensity ranges are listed at the left in Table 1. The exact percentage is determined by the coaches.

Powerlifting and all other assistance exercises are performed to a repetition maximum on each set, as opposed to a percentage. Each exercise is done with strict technique. The repetition maximum is based on the inability to perform any further repetitions with good technique, as opposes to complete muscle failure.

Although further research is needed to substantiate the use of training to failure, some proponents claim that it yields greater rates of hypertrophy and strength development.

Points to Ponder

Sometimes athletes complain of delayed-onset muscle soreness, in which case the training intensity is decreased. Even though this muscle soreness is sometimes common and even expected, coaches should always be on the lookout for joint aches and pains which may indicate overuse and possible injury.

Specific supplementary exercises are used throughout the program depending on muscle imbalances and weaknesses of the individual. Proper exercise technique is the most important determinant for progression with all these exercises. An emphasis is placed on back and shoulder exercises to decrease shoulder inflexibility.

Common problems encountered by powerlifters, even though not well documented, are shoulder pain and rounded shoulders. These problems are most likely related to a lack of back training and/or poor chest flexibility. An example of how the program variables can be manipulated for an adolescent or an older athlete is shown in Table 2.

One area that is not discussed, though just as important, is abdominal strengthening and conditioning. Each workout includes abdominal exercises to ensure a strong core. The core muscles, including the abdominals and spinal erectors, work together as stabilizers during the lifts and decrease the chances of back strain. This is a very important, but often overlooked area of the body. Athletes are only as strong as their weakest link, and without a strong core they place themselves at risk for injury.

The focus is on the quality of work, not the quantity. Total volume, in terms of sets and reps, may seem relatively low compared to some conditioning programs, but the workout intensity is much higher than most. That's because time is not being wasted going through the motions like so many young athletes do because of lack of knowledge, motivation, or supervision.

This type of program gives the coach a lot of flexibility in designing a program to meet each athlete's needs without having to set up a rigid routine spanning many weeks. One drawback to designing very rigid programs over many weeks or months is the inability to foresee complications such as injuries, difficulty of learning certain lifts, game schedules, personal life issues, and individual adaptation rates.

An individualized program allows the athlete to become a more active participant, which in turn builds responsibility. The athletes who have been involved in this program have enjoyed the variety and flexibility it offers and have found that it fits into their busy schedule.

For prepubescent lifters, all weights are kept very light, perhaps at a load that would reflect an estimated 15-rep maximum. The attempts are still only executed within the repetition ranges presented. This is to ensure an emphasis on proper technique. Olympic-style lifts are never performed to fatigue or failure, due to a high potential for missed attempts and possible injury.

With this program, one can emphasize either sport depending on what type of meet is upcoming. There is even a new lifting federation in which compete in all five lifts in a single competition.

This is only one example of a combined Olympic-style lifting/Powerlifting program. After using variations of this program for more than four years, we have found it to be highly effective for athletes from ages 11 to 27. Constantly updating, altering, and improving these programs to meet the needs of each athlete will help the coach find the best balance for each individual.

Improving the Press/Milk and Weight Gain - Charles A. Smith

2012-01-13T23:08:00.000-08:00

Melvin Wells (1950)

Floyd Page (1949)

Wladek "Killer"Kowalski (1951)
6' 7", 275 pounds.

(1949)

Question: In your recent articles on the Two Hands Press you said the only way to improve the Press is to Press. Yet a few paragraphs later you mentioned several exercises that will, so you said, also improve the Press. How do you reconcile these two statements?

Answer: I cannot for the life of me understand why you fellows try to read different meanings into the words I write. I meant exactly what I said. The only way to improve the Press is Press. This rule applies in any specialization program. The only way to improve the Clean is to Clean, and the Squat, to Squat . . . and so on. This is so obvious that it is no wonder why some people cannot realize the truth. In fact, they just cannot see the woods for the trees. The actual practice of the Lift in itself is sufficient to effect an improvement.

The muscles taking the weight overhead in the Press are are not confined to one or two groups. The trapezius, the serratus magnus, the triceps and deltoids all play their part in this strength test. To me it is plain that the stronger these muscle groups are individually, the stronger they will be collectively. While the practice of the Press improves the Press, there will come a time when the weakest of the muscles involved will hold back improvement simply because it will be unable to handle the weight that the other muscles can handle. Let me make myself more clear.

Let us suppose that an athlete is working on the Press. He makes pretty good progress, but there comes a time when he finds that progress is becoming more and more difficult, and finally comes to a standstill. Now, this athlete, using his common sense, doesn't, like his less knowledgeable brother, start exercising more furiously, or using a million and one exercises. He analyses the reason for his failure to progress. He might observe that he has difficulty in starting the weight away from the shoulders and in this instance will rightly conclude that his deltoids need a little extra work and specialization. He might find that he can get the weight away from the shoulders easily, but experiences a sticking point in the region of the forehead. In this case there is a need for more triceps strength, more side presses, more specialization to improve elbow lock. The practice of the lifts which demand plenty of action of the triceps will help him greatly. The Press-grip press on back, the press on box, the Press-grip incline press, the various one and two-arm dumbbell presses, the recently popular triceps press and its variants, will improve his triceps strength and development and elbow locking power. For putting power into the serratus and deltoid muscles the various leverage movements such as the lateral raise standing, the holdout in front lowered from above, the crucifix raised to the side and the various dorsal bar exercises are splendid choices.

Let me repeat again and emphasize that the only way to improve the Press is to press. All other movements are merely assistance movements and aids to this improvement.

Question: I have noticed that some authors and trainers advise the drinking of from two to four quarts of milk per day. Is this a good idea?

Answer: We cannot delve too deeply into this subject in the limited space allowed, but will try to give a satisfactory answer. We definitely do advise the underweight trainee to drink milk if he wishes to gain weight. We know some doctors claim that milk is only a food for children but we do not believe they have any actual facts to substantiate this claim. On the other hand, there are thousands of cases to prove the value of milk as a healthy drink and a curative food. It is our opinion that milk is one of the finest foods in existence.

We have known of many bodybuilders who tried to gain weight without the use of milk to no avail, but after they added two or more quarts to their daily diet immediately began to gain. One quart does not seem to be enough for satisfactory gains and you seldom notice any great gains from this amount, but two to three quarts make can make an amazing difference. There are some who have even used four or more quarts per day. As a general rule, over three quarts causes you to lose your appetite to such an extent that you cannot do justice to your regular meals. Nearly all the leading bodybuilders of our acquaintance drink milk in large quantities and swear by it. It can be taken either at meals or between meals. We always preferred to take it between meals as it seemed to give us more benefit. However, the trainee should determine for himself which is best. To take it with meals seems to fill the stomach so that no other food is desired and this, of course, is not good. If you take it between meals (not too close to meals) this condition should not exist. Those who do not like regular milk should make a milk-based drink of some kind that they particularly like. We have heard of many weird concoctions being mixed up with all types of healthy ingredients.

If you have been afraid to use milk, we feel you have been neglecting an important part of your training to gain solid weight.

How to Properly Miss With a Barbell - Mike Burgener

2012-01-13T22:25:00.000-08:00

NSCA Dartfish Lift Analysis Videos:
http://www.nsca-lift.org/videos/displayvideos.asp

NSCA Strength & Conditioning Journal:
http://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/pages/default.aspx

NSCA Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research
http://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/pages/default.aspx

How to Properly Miss With a Barbell
by Mike Burgener, C.S.C.S. (1991)

It has been my experience that most high school coaches choose not to teach Olympic lifting movements, as well as other quick-lifting movements such as the power snatch, power clean, clean & jerk, push press, push jerk and Olympic squats because of safety considerations. If coaches do not believe that Olympic lifting movements can be taught in a safe and efficient manner, then the coach should not teach these movements to his students. I have found that kids make safety mistakes on the lifts due to misunderstanding of the the lifts or the lack of teaching by the instructor.

Teaching students to miss correctly is critical in the safety aspects of a weightroom and should be included in the lesson plans of all instructors. As an example, a student in a Northern California school district was performing the Olympic squat inside a power rack. A spotter was used, the pins in the rack were at the appropriate level, and experienced supervision was abundant in the weightroom. As the student was rising out of the squat, he realized the weight was too heavy. The bar rolled over his head as he rounded his torso, while he grabbed the pins in the rack for added support. The bar came down on the athlete's hand, severing four fingers. Everything was basically correct, spotters were used, collars were used and supervision was taking place. The problem with this situation was that the student was a victim of lack of teaching. Lack of teaching of what to do in case of missing with a weight.

Too much emphasis is placed on the responsibility of spotters. I believe that spotters are necessary, but, more instruction is needed. I have actually seen lifters let go of a bar while bench pressing for a personal record. The spotter is left trying to hold the bar in an upright row fashion while it comes crashing down on the lifter. The spotter feels badly, but the fault is the lifter's as well as the instructor who fails to teach his students never to release their grip on the bar until the bar is properly seated in the rack of the bench.

In the case of squats we use personal spotters. We use pins in the rack placed at the appropriate height allowing for a proper depth squat. We teach kids how to bail out with the weight when they see that they are going to miss. We teach them to never under any circumstances release the bar and grab anything else. We teach them to roll the bar off their backs, not over their heads, stepping forward and allowing the bar to come down on the pins in the rack. We don't just tell them how to perform this move -- we demonstrate this technique to them. They hear the bar hitting the rack pins, they see that it's okay to drop the bar, or bail out as we call it (Photo 1)

All the overhead movements face the same type of instruction and demonstration of how to safely miss with the weight. On many occasions, when I have seen kids miss with a jerk, the bar is either too far out in front or too far to the back. The student doesn't know what to do with the bar. He tries to save the weight, refusing to let go of the bar, and rides it down, getting pinned under the weight. Our philosophy is never, never save a weight. We demonstrate how to let the bar go back over the head while stepping forward when the weight is too far back and we are going to miss the lift (Photo 2). We demonstrate how to miss with the weight when the bar is too far forward. This technique seems to be natural, but, we still demonstrate missing the weight to the front and stepping back (Photo 3).

Needless to say, demonstrating to lifting students the dropping of weights as they come crashing down from a seven-foot height to a platform can be a hair-raising experience. the bars hit hard, sound loud and scare the students.

Our philosophy is that barbells, platforms and bumper plates can all be replaced.

Bodies cannot.

Mastering the Snatch - A.K. Samusevitch

2012-01-12T10:56:00.000-08:00

Alan Williams

Mastering the Snatch
by A.K. Samusevitch (1974)
translated by Michael Sheen

The study of the technique of lifting the bar to the chest (cleans), and the study of the press and the jerk precede and form a good foundation for the study of the snatch. Many of the details of the snatch, such as the start, the pull, the "explosion" (high pull), and the squat, are familiar to the trainee from the press and the jerk. The width of the grip and the work of the arms upon entering the squat will be new. Therefore, the study of the snatch must start with the mastery of the work of the arms, at first without dropping into the squat, and subsequently in conjunction with the drop into the squat. The mastery of the technique of the snatch is accomplished through the fulfillment of a series of snatching exercises, in the following sequence:

1 -- Snatch a bar of light weight, from a hang to overhead at straight arms, with a medium grip.

2 -- The same, with a wide (optimal) grip.

3 -- Snatching the bar to straight arms, with a drop into a squat, but without shifting the feet (in place).

In these exercises the bar is lifted from the starting position to a fully upright position, with the arms held straight downward, then, with a slight flexing of the legs at the knees, and with the body bent forward at the waist, the bar is lowered to the lower third of the thigh, and the snatch is executed. During the performance of these exercises, particular attention is given to the following points:
a) The correct trajectory of the movement of the bar overhead, which must take place as closely to the body as possible.
b) The speed and coordination of the movements.
c) The high rise on the toes at the end of the "explosion."
d) The rapid amortizing lowering of the heels,with the simultaneous completion of the straightening of the arms.

After the study of the snatch from a hang, the snatch with a drop into a squat is studied. But first it is necessary to determine the aptitudes of the trainees for each method. Dropping by means of the "split" method can be accomplished by anyone. To determine the trainee's abilities, squats with the bar held at arms' length overhead (overhead squats) are used. Having lifted the bar overhead to arms' length with a wide (snatch) grip, and having spaced the feet slightly wider apart than shoulder width, with the toes turned outward, the trainee squats as deeply as possible and then stands up. If the trainee completes this movement without particular difficulties, and if the bar is held at straight arms, it is advisable for this trainee to learn the squat style snatch. The trainees who do not complete the squat with the barbell overhead at arms' length should study the "split" style snatch. But this does not mean that those athletes who were unable to perform the squat in this manner at first cannot change to this style in the future, with the development of joint mobility. However, independent of the abilities of the athletes to do this or that type of drop, many weightlifting specialists recommend dropping in the split style, and, after the acquisition of firm habits. changing over to the study of the squat style snatch.

4 -- Snatch from the same position as in exercise 3, dropping the body by the chosen method.

5 -- Snatch from stands. At first the gripping area of the barbell is set at a height corresponding to the beginning of the "explosion" (thigh pull), then it is lowered to the normal starting position.

6 -- Snatch from the starting position, on instruction: in a half-squat, a full squat according to the technical rules, for a result, etc.

During the study of the drop into the squat in the snatch, the optimal position of the feet is also determined by each athlete, which allows him to make the deepest squat, and at the same time insures ease in rising out of the squat. To develop accuracy in the shifting of the feet when going into the squat, according to the determined squat position, it is advisable to mark reference points on the platform according to the direction and distance relative to the original position of the feet, the axis of the grip, and the center of gravity of the barbell, in the form of lines showing the shift of the feet, and the place of execution. In this instance the accuracy of the barbell's movement overhead acquires special significance.

While studying and developing the snatch technique as a whole, the greatest attention must be given to the correct rhythm of the movements, the completion of the movements with full amplitude, and to the well timed and rapid drop into the squat with the simultaneous straightening of the arms.

During training toward the development of the special qualities and high results in the snatch, special exercises are used, such as the snatch grip pulls for speed and height, one arm dumbbell or barbell pulls, squats with the bar OVERHEAD in the squat or SPLIT method, bends with the bar behind the head, lunges in the high pull position, and others.