The deadlift has become very popular over the past few years. It’s a relatively easy exercise to understand.
Over the past two to three decades, there has been an almost never-ending debate regarding human requirements for protein. The basic argument has come down to whether or not athletes need more protein than average, sedentary individuals.
Aside from the Atlas Stones, the tire flip could be one of the most recognizable strongman events in the sport. However, it is probably the one event most incorrectly performed by athletes and most improperly used by strength coaches.
We’ve had the EFS Professional 45-degree back raise in the EFS weight room for about 2–3 years. It’s the best low back strengthener I’ve ever used.
With new and stronger squat suits and bench shirts hitting the market, more attention has been given to training the lockout. It seems most experts believe that since the lifter is doing most of the work at the top, then range of motion should be trained the most. Although common sense tells us that the suits and shirts will get us out of the bottom of the lift, I have modified my belief somewhat.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), high cholesterol, or hyperlipidemia, is one of the primary causes of coronary artery disease.
Getting ready for a big meet is stressful. There are a lot of things to consider, especially when using equipment. I am not going to write out all of my workouts, but I am going to give you a few points that I have learned over the last 20 years, and hopefully you can avoid some of my mistakes. Then again we are a bunch of hard headed powerlifters so who knows. This is based on a 16 week program.
As covered in my last article, the dynamic effort (DE) session is dedicated to speed. Max effort (ME) is dedicated to huge weights and re-writing the record books every session you train. My approach is a bit different from the traditional Westside approach.
Almost a year ago, Matt Bash and I put our collective heads together and were thinking of different ways to approach our weak point in the deadlift; the lockout.
When I look back at my experiences as a bodybuilder there are plenty of good memories, tons of fun workouts, painful workouts and some injuries.
As I traverse the bumpy road that leads to elite level lifting, I’ve pondered what things can hasten the journey. Most trainees can rapidly progress from being a beginner to an intermediate level lifter, but many often plateau and never move out of the intermediate phase. This article is designed for the intermediate level lifter, to help them kick-start their process and get back on the road to elite lifting!
We get a lot of questions regarding how to choose openers for powerlifting meets and there are a lot of ways to look at this.
Since most veteran powerlifters have their own way of doing things and will probably never read this article, we are not going to address them. What I am going to do is address the lifter that is entering the first powerlifting meet.
The deadlift is the bastard child of powerlifting; it doesn’t get much love. Maybe it’s the fact that the deadlift is less impacted by equipment than are the squat and bench press, so it may require less practice.
A few weeks ago I was weighing guys at the Kentucky Fighting Challenge weigh-ins and I realized how bad these athletes needed some direction regarding nutrition. In fact, I have realized this for a long time as I speak with numerous combat athletes weekly. . I finally decided to address this issue with an article.
I’ve wanted to write this article for awhile and there have been several questions on the Q/A that touched on this subject. For those not familiar with the term “deload” by basic definition of it is this: to take a break from extreme training.
A lot of my tips are just repeats from everyone else but I think they get overlooked while everyone is looking for the next gear craze or shortcut. Some are gear related and some are raw work.
The handoff for the bench is very important but an often-overlooked skill. There are two major mistakes that are often made.
Dan White had a lot of trouble gaining weight through his years of wrestling. As a freshman in high school he barely weighed 90 lbs and wrestled in the 103 lb weight class. As a sophomore he finally gained enough muscle and was able to wrestle at 103 lbs with no problems making weight.
The number 3 is held in reverence by many people. Of course, the title of this article is in reference to the Roman Empire and where would we be without them?
One of the biggest things that I struggled with during my deadlift training was my grip. This was never a big deal when I was lighter (under 250lbs), but as I became bigger my grip began to suffer.
In the past two articles, we have given you ideas and progressions for strengthening your torso. As you know by now, strong abs isn’t all that is needed.
I still get goose bumps when I think of how John Smith, two time Olympic Gold Medalist was training when I attended his intensive wrestling camps.
There is a lot of confusion on how a fighter or grappler should train. Managing their time between training in the ring / mat and in the gym (or out of the gym) becomes important.
What is torso training? Torso training is strengthening your body from just above the hips to just below the chest. Training your torso involves many movements, but can be done effectively in just a few minutes, 3-4 times per week.
The IRON-ic rule of strength training for sport: The objective is not to get stronger per se but to improve athletic performance to build better athletes. I It’s important for the coach and the trainee to focus on improving sports performance.
I’m known as the Strongman guy around here because I own a Strongman/Powerlifting gym, and Dave and Jim like to make fun of me for it. It makes them feel good to laugh at me. Anyway, strongman training can be adapted to athletic training in many ways. In this article, we’ll look at how to improve our athletes’ level of conditioning through the use of strongman events.
For those that don’t know how I train or how I think – it all comes down to one thing; Going Heavy.
If you look at any of the biggest benchers out there, raw or equipped, two things that they all have in common (besides freakish strength) are solid bases from which to bench and great leg drive.
We get asked all the time what the difference between an accessory lift and a supplemental lift. After doing some research, I came up with the following ideas. I got these from “A System of Multi-Year Training in Weightlifting” by A.S. Medvedyev. To make things easier here are some basic definitions;
The super Bench Press Monster, Mike Brown, brought a massive 730 pounds down to his chest and blew it off like it was a broomstick.
Matt is one of the least physically gifted lifters that I have ever seen.
One of the first things I learned to appreciate was feedback in the weight room.
This past April as I was fulfilling my twice weekly obligation of GPP by actively surfing the infinite amount of useless cable channels, I happened across a topic that piqued my interest. The science program I viewed centered on hormones and the development of the sexes.
There are thousands of recipes out there but the problem is the large majority aren’t geared for the powerlifter.
Yes, it’s finally here! You now have the final part in this three part series on how to go up a weight class. All the while making sure you don’t look like you have been on a serious diet of hot dogs and marshmallows.
One of the most asked questions that I receive is how to gain lean muscle tissue while maintaining their current body fat percentage.
In the first part of this series I discussed 8 top ways to pack on mass when going up a weight class. In the second part of this three part series I will continue with the next 8 tips to take you to success.
Being a powerlifter allows you more room for error in your nutritional plan than say, a bodybuilder, but getting the right amount of calories and nutrients is just as important.
Risk is one factor that can and will make or break you. There are many types of risks you can take and trying to organize them in an easy way is not as easy as you may think.
As the sport of MMA progresses so must the specific means and methods of fighter training.
I want to acknowledge the guys from PES for welcoming me into their group.
Most periodized training programs for athletes follow a Western or linear model.
