I recently lifted in the 2019 APF Raw Challenge in Chicago. I ended up with an 1802 total via a 705 squat, 463 bench and 633 deadlift. I'll be starting an offseason right after New Years. 


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1. One Board Close Grip - 275, 275, 315 x 5

2. Incline Dumbbell Press - 75 x 3 x 8

3. Swiss Bar Tricep Extension - 95 x 4 x 12

4. Pushups - BW x 4 x 15

5. Rope Pressdowns - 45 x 4 x 20

My upper body was pretty tight going into this session. Getting under the buffalo bar the day prior had me kind of sore. Not in a beat up way but in a "I haven't done for a couple weeks" kind of way.

Dave has talked about this some concerning the SS Yoke bar. The SS bar is an excellent tool to save your upper body but you do lose some mobility for getting under a straight barbell if you use it all the time. I need to be maintaining that range of motion but protect my upper body at the same time.

I'm actually less concerned about this for myself than I am for one of my training partners, Chris. I can tolerate getting under a straight bar every other week pretty easy. I don't think I need to do any specialized mobility work to maintain this. Just get under either a buffalo bar or a straight bar a couple times a month. Maybe a little static stretching, but otherwise good to go.

I help Chris with his programming. Straight bar squatting beats the crap out of his arms so I have him use the SS bar a lot! It saves his arms, but I wonder if I am creating another problem. Right now, I have him getting under a straight bar once every 4 weeks. Hopefully this is often enough, but will continue to monitor to figure out if it is good enough.