I'm slowly working my way back into some training this week, taking it slow and easy. My wrist is not fully healed but getting better day by day. I'm sure me leaving it alone has helped a tremendous amount. My left hamstring that ties into my glute on the other hand is still an issue, but I'm leaving it alone as well. The only thing that seems to bother it is when I bend over to pick up something. With that said, I am doing my best not to drop anything.
During this week I am working my team in their off season training, which is a combination of hell plus more hell. Really it's a shit ton of reps and technique work but if you ask them it's hell and more hell. I am transitioning three of my lifters into multiply training. I am expediting their training in multiply this off season so each of them can be ready to compete in March 2019. I am working them each of them diligently so we can get this multiply technique perfected in this short amount of time.
The three lifters that I am training in multiply are Dillon, Shelly and Melissa. As you know or don't at Team Nebobarbell, to train in gear at our gym, the prerequisite required is to attain an open elite full power raw total before one can come to the dark side. Each of them has meet this prerequisite.
I have never trained women in multiply before so this is a new challenge for me. A challenge that I am very excited to take on. I have managed to accumulate some used gear over the past couple of years for these girls to use when the time came and luckily all of it fits perfectly. For me used gear is broke-in gear which helps in the process of them using it. New gear can be a little finicky and a hassle to learn in a quick manner. So far so good with each of them on how we are going about doing things.
Now when I teach new people how to lift in gear I also teach them other very important information that they must know about gear. And that would be:
1. Every lifter must know how to put gear on. I know that seems simple enough, but really it's not. If you have never worn multiply gear before it's allot more difficult than one would think to put on. Also your handlers must know how to help you put the gear on and know how to do so and what to look for.
2. There is probably a million different opinions on what I am about to say next but I have my own way of doing things so here it goes: Myself and my lifters when wearing gear for squats put briefs on right out of the gate when doing squats. I mean empty bar first rep, briefs will be on. Then for me as a coach it's my call until the familiarity sets in on when to put the suit on. As reps and sets continue it's also my call as a coach as to when we put straps up and how tight we get with those straps from set to set. Once they have their own rhythm and routine and reps in gear it will become their call instead of mine but until then it's mine. Deadlift is the same whether that lifter feels comfortable in briefs and a suit or just the suit to deadlift in they will start out in gear from one plate until....When using straps on the deadlift I use the same system as on the squat with the strap tightness. When we are training in the bench shirt, this is the only one of the three that we start out raw in warm ups with. All the raw warm up sets are taken to a one or two board using a similar stoke as you would in your shirt. Then on their last warm up set raw we will use a sling shot/catapult to hit that set with. After our warm up sling shot/catapult set, we put our bench shirts on. It truly sounds like a complicated system but these are very important things that need to be learned how to do when training in multiply.
This can be very lengthy and very complicated process which I could write an entire article about doing, but this is just giving you a tidbit of information on how a real coach teaches his lifters on how to train in multiply gear. I will be very specific over the next few weeks on how the training is going for each of these lifters so when they compete in March I can evaluate my process and learn from any mistakes that I have made in their training for this meet. Lifting is no different from life, one must always continue to learn.
Next week I start doing some real training!