I'll skip the filler-intro and get right to it here . . .
After a brief introduction from Don Reinhoudt, the clinic was broken down into bodybuilding, bench pressing, the deadlift, injuries, making weight, and steroids. Other subjects like nutrition and Larry's career were also touched along the way.
The first point stressed about bodybuilding was that a powerlifter should just strictly body-build at least three months out of the year for maximum results. Pacifico felt that bodybuilding for a few months gives the body a chance to rest from the enormous strain of lifting heavy weights. It also gives the psyche required for competitive training a rest, and gives the athlete a chance to isolate some muscles which don't receive a lot of attention while powerlifting.
When bodybuilding, Larry said that the lats should be emphasized. In fact, he works them right up to competition, because he likes to have them tight when attempting poundages in all three powerlifts, including the squat for which lats have an important supportive role. He reminded the audience that this is a large muscle group, extending down to the erectors, and that most powerlifters do not give the lats adequate attention.
He favored wide grip front chins to the chest, pulls behind the head with a dorsi bar, and narrow grips for overall development. He also thought that bentover rowing, reverse grip, to the stomach, was effective because it aided the deadlift lockout. As an alternative to that he also recommended one-arm dumbbell rows with the elbow tucked into the stomach at the start, the wrist slightly turned inward on the way down, and a full extension at the bottom. To flush out at the end of his lat work, he uses stiff-arm pullovers with a bar or bent-arm pullovers with a dumbbell, with the emphasis on breathing.
For the sake of clarity, I'll cover the rest of Larry's bodybuilding program as it applies to the individual lifts.
In discussion of the bench press, the following points were made in relation to technique: one should attempt to arch the back as much as possible since this shortens the distance the bar must travel. The feet should be dug in as much as possible underneath the bench with the exception of some bigger men. Grip width was acknowledged as an area of individual preference, although one should at least experiment with a wider grip, since this too shortens the distance the bar must travel. A false grip as employed by Bud Ravenscroft was also suggested in which the hand is twisted so a part of the wrist is on the bar, and this brings more triceps into play.
For assistance work on the bench, Pacifico stated that prone triceps presses with an EZ-curl bar are essential. He said that he trains these like a 4th powerlift and inevitably when his strength goes up on these, so does his bench press. Dips and triceps pushdowns were also recommended for the triceps. He felt that overhead presses were not beneficial because they develop the upper triceps area in such a way that it hinders prone pressing. He stated that when he stopped doing behind the neck presses his bench press began increasing substantially.
Along with "things not to do" he mentioned that curls are not that important for powerlifting and he only trains them occasionally.
With the overhead presses eliminated for shoulder work, he uses lateral side raises, front deltoid raises with a close grip on the bar, and pulleys to work his delts.
For the chest he recommended dumbbell bench presses, incline flyes with the arms bent, and bench presses to the neck with a wider than usual grip and feet up on the bench.
As for technique in the squat, Larry stated that one should experiment with the three types of stances . . . narrow, wider than the shoulders, and very wide, to determine what will work the best for you. He did mention, however, that unless a person has very thick quadriceps and glutes he should not squat narrow. He also stated that most lifters get the best results with flat shoes and the bar as low on the back as the rules permit. He also recommended pushing up with the hands on the bar when coming up, and stressed that one should be sure to arch the back when descending because it is less strain on the erectors and helps position them for their supportive role.
For assistance work on the squat three exercises were mentioned as the most important: leg extensions, hamstring curls, and a bodybuilding squat in which the bar is held high on the traps. the stance is narrow, and the heels are preferably elevated. In fact, even when he is close to a meet he uses these squats on every other set of the heavy portion of his workout. He said they were very good for the glutes and quadriceps. Larry also mentioned that he likes to work a set of 3 repetitions on the squat with short pauses at the bottom each workout.
In discussing the deadlift, Pacifico said that a person should try sumo style and the regular style to determine what works best for them, because depending on leverage one might work better than the other. Using himself as an example, Larry said that he uses sumo sometimes at 198, but a 220 with the extra bulk he finds it harder to lock out with the sumo style.
He also stated that he works out strictly with straps and a front grip because the alternate grip causes the body to twist a bit on the way up which could take its toll on the body if practiced for many years. In competition, of course, he uses the alternate grip.
Pacifico also uses straight-legged deadlifts for 90% of his workouts, switching to regular deadlifts approximately one month before a contest. And by "straight-legged" he meant the legs should be slightly bent. By doing them this way he seemed to make better gains and also decrease the chance of injury.
Larry also said that the bar should never be bounced off the platform when doing reps because it gives on a false sense of security.
For assistance on the deadlift, besides the aforementioned exercises for the lats, Larry recommended exercises for the lats, including good mornings, hyperextension, and pulling from the knees in a power rack or off blocks.
He also stated the isometrics focusing on the sticking point were excellent and suggested 4 sets of 6 seconds. In fact, he said that these worked for the sticking points on the other powerlifts as well. When doing hyperextensions, he cautioned that one shouldn't come up more than 3/4 of the way, since he has seen a couple of people fuck up their tailbones by coming up with too much of an arch in the back.
Larry said that power cleans from the knees, and shrugs (front and back) were also essential; and because he uses straps when working out, forearm work was a must too.
He recommended deadlifting only once a week, owing to the overlap with the squat.
Larry's actual program then, goes roughly like this, although it can vary because of his busy travel schedule.
Sunday Morning:
Squat - 10, 8, 6, 4, 3x3, 2x8 (every other set is done narrow for the 3x3 and 2x8, and one triple is done with pauses).
Bench - 10, 8, 6, 4, 3x3, 2x8 (the last two are done to the neck, wide grip, with feet up on the bench).
Monday Evening:
Deadlift - 3x8, 6, 4, 3x3, 1x2, and some accessory work.
Tuesday:
Shoulder work, abdomen, and maybe leg extensions.
Wednesday Evening:
Repeat Sunday's workout.
Thursday:
Power cleans, shrugs.
Friday:
Triceps work.
Don Reinhoudt pretty much agreed with Pacifico's program, although he emphasized that the bigger a man is, the more he will have trouble maintaining a good energy level. To cope with this problem, Don recommended a curtailed program; how much depending on the individual. He himself used the following squat program when he weighed 360:
1x6 / 3x3 / 2.
He also cited recuperation as a problem for the bigger man even when using boat-loaded shit-tons of juice, mentioning that within a month of a contest, he would switch to doubles on the squat and deadlift, while doing only one workout per week on each.
Something here about charting biorhythms and injury prevention. There's all manner of stuff on that elsewhere. Stuff by Bernard Gittelson was big back then.
Cut weight by cutting carbs, gain weight by increasing carbs.
Fruits, rice, potatoes, not Lucky Charms and Mars bars.
And there ya go.
A clinic with Larry Pacifico.
Enjoy Your Lifting!
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