So it’s $10 for a BJ, $12 for an HJ, $15 for a ZJ…
What’s a ZJ?
If you have to ask, big man, you can’t afford it.

 

 

 

This concept popped into my head last night when I was brushing my teeth. Antigen and I were talking about a lifting contest we will host here on the site, and I thought about ego lifters.

Ego lifters are folks who a) are under the impression that everyone else in the gym gives a shit about what they are doing, b) think it’s a good idea to do one more set or make one more jump in weight, or c) unintelligibly make a huge jump in weight typically followed by a complete failure.

Coaching, by definition, shouldn’t be ego driven. Coaches want the most out of their lifters, especially in competition, but knowing when to challenge their lifter is important. For example, let’s say I have the squat attempts planned out for “Timmy” in his fourth power meet. I will usually have a “best case scenario” and “not as good case scenario” attempts written out. Let’s say Timmy hits his second squat at 502, and we wanted to go to 524. Well, if that 502 was harder than it should be (because he had to cut weight, because of a bad taper, because he didn’t sleep — any random reason), I might say, “All right, Timmy, do you want to go to 513 or 524?” knowing that I may choose 513 and not the original 524 since 502 was a grinder. If he hesitates in his answer, then I already know my answer: 513. If he says “524” right off the bat, then I know he has confidence that he can get it. In this case, confidence and adrenaline may summon the demons to hit that 524, but if Timmy isn’t confident in it when asked, then it most likely isn’t gonna happen.

If a lifter has to ask himself, “Can I make this jump?” or “Should I get one more set?”, then he probably can’t afford it. When training, I advise you to think about what the goal is for the day. Are you trying to get some accumulated volume? Then three sets of five is probably enough, especially if the third set was kinda tough. Are you trying to keep the volume down? Then don’t do another set if you’ve done a 3×5. If you were keeping the volume down and trying to get some intensity, it’s relative. If you hit your minimum goal of, say, 425 for a double after doing 405 and 415 for doubles, then a fourth double will be superfluous.

If you have to ask, big man, you can’t afford it.

ExtremePullups.com is having an internet pull-up challenge to see who can do the most pull-ups with a 45 pound plate (see rules here).

My buddy Antigen is participating in this event. In the following video, he does 21 reps at a body weight of 181.



Pretty damn impressive. Pull-up strength is something that I’ve been working on this year and I definitely see the utility in its carry over into other lifts like bench press and press. Weighted pull-ups also help build musculature in the lats, rear shoulder girdle, biceps, and forearms. They can be done once a week, or twice a week with the second session done with chin-ups (supinated grip). Typically you’ll be stronger with pull-ups than chin-ups, although when you start this may not be the case (it wasn’t when I started). Place pull-ups/chin-ups after other larger exercises. They can be done as the primary back work for the day, or after other exercises that stress the back (for example, I regularly do chin-ups after deadlifting on Friday).

There are some various ways to train them. Here is a quick synopsis:

1. A simple 3×5 progression over time. I usually recommend this at first, especially if there isn’t a lot of weight being added.
2. Once the 3×5 gets to the 50 pound mark, then one option is to drop and go for max reps with 25 pounds, and then go for max reps with body weight. I’ve hit 21 body weight pull-ups after several heavy sets of weighted work.
3. Saul told me this next tidbit, and he got it from Bill Starr. You would rotate through these every week.
a) 8RM
b) 5RM + -50lb rep out
c) 3RM + -50lb rep out
As you see, after the 5 and 3RM, you would drop 50 pounds and rep out at that weight.
4. This last portion is what Saul used to train his “45 lbs for reps” set. He simply did 3 sets of as many reps as he could with a 45lb plate. On the chin-up day, he rotated the options in #3.

These are four methods you can use in weighted pull-up programming with the first two progressions aimed at a beginner. Oh, one more thing: it helps if you do them in a tank-top.

We don’t really get an opportunity to talk about historic women on 70’s Big, so I’d like to highlight some women lifters from the 1981 Women’s National Powerlifting Championships. You’ll see that these women were not only strong, but pretty good lookin’ too. All the numbers from this meet are in kilograms. All of the following women won their respective weight classes. And “(WR)” denotes a world record.

Terry Dillard squatted 137.5 (WR), benched 57.5, and deadlifted 145 for a 340 (WR) total. That’s a 302.5 pound squat for a 105.6 pound woman. She also won Best Lifter.



Gayla Crain, a 56 kg lifter, squatted 152.5, benched 70, and deadlifted 180 for a 402.5 (WR) total. Great hair. She’s my favorite of this bunch.



Vicky Gagne competed in the 82.5 kilo class. She squatted 202.5 (WR), benched 115, and deadlifted 220 (WR) for a 537.5 total! That is a 445.5 pound squat and a 484 pound deadlift. In the picture, she had been red lighted on a 507 lb. deadlifted, and said, “It’s ok, I’ll get it next time.” Kinda cute.



Wanda Sander won the 82.5+ kg class with a 192.5 kg squat, 110 kg bench, and a 210 kg deadlift. Damn strong.

Who are your favorite female athletes?

Happy PR Friday. Post PRs or updates to comments

The Romanian Deadlift (RDL) is a quality exercise that can be used to strengthen the lumbar erectors, gluteals, and hamstrings — but primarily the hamstrings. The lift was introduced to the U.S. when Romanian weightlifter Nicu Vlad (coached by Dragomir Cioroslan) was doing them while training the OTC. Vlad has the heaviest double body weight snatch ever; he snatched 200kg while weighing 100kg. In any case, the RDL was adopted by weightlifters, strength trainees, bodybuilders, etc.

The RDL is often butchered by many lifters and trainees. The point of this exercise is to stretch the hamstrings, incorporate a slight stretch reflex out of the bottom, and extend the hips primarily with the hamstrings. The most often error is flexing (bending) the knees too much. Flexing the knees closes the knee angle and contracts the hamstrings a little bit. If the hamstrings are contracted slightly, then they can’t be stretched out appropriately for the efficacy of the lift. In movements like the RDL and Good Morning, the purpose isn’t to load weight on the bar and measure your dick. Instead, they should be done correctly as to work the muscle.

 

How To Do It

Assume a hip-width deadlift stance. Some inexperienced trainees deadlift with wider stances and aren’t going to properly train their structures. It may be that their structures haven’t been developed to do it correctly, so they use a wider stance because it allows them to lift more weight. This is like taking vitamin C to treat a cold; it merely treats the symptoms. The RDL can help develop musculature for the deadlift.

The grip will be right outside of the legs and hips — not narrow enough so that the knuckles of the thumb drag on the thighs, but not much wider. The RDL stops in the “hang position”, or the same position of a locked-out deadlift. From this standing position, the knees are merely UN-LOCKED as the hips are pushed back. It’s imperative that the knees don’t flex more than this UN-LOCKED position since knee flexion will reduce the stretch on the hamstrings. More weight can be lifted when the knees are flexed more, but that doesn’t make it right. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

Pus the hips back with UN-LOCKED knees. The upper and lower back will remain in extension (but not hyper-extension — females take note) while the hips are pushed back. The lifter can imagine pushing their butt back towards the wall behind them. The knees should NOT travel forward at all. If the knees have traveled forward, then they have flexed. Keeping the shins vertical accounts for not allowing them to travel forward.

The next important point is to keep the bar back into the legs. If the bar flops forward, then it throws off the mid-foot balance, ruins the efficacy of the lift, and the extensors of the shoulders don’t get any work.

Now look at the picture of Vlad doing them above. Notice how he has some extra knee flexion? Don’t do this. He appears to be aiming for a greater stretch in his hamstrings and is even standing on a block to do it. Instead, emulate the following picture.

The only thing wrong with this guy is that the third picture isn’t the bottom of the RDL. The angle of the back will be right at, or possibly above parallel. The weight will NOT touch the floor; it will reduce the tension on the hamstrings as well as the stretch reflex. However, that guy is doing a good job of un-locking his knees and not letting them go forward while he pushes his hips back to lower the weight. Another way to think of it is that the knees are slightly flexed but don’t flex anymore while the hip flexes.

Points of Emphasis

1. Start in the hang
2. Un-lock knees
3. Push hips back
4. Don’t let knees go forward
5. Keep the bar back
6. Once the back angle is arbitrarily parallel, or the hamstrings are sufficiently stretched (you’ll know), reverse the movement
7. Drive the heels through the ground
8. Continue to keep the bar back and not let the knees go forward
9. Return to the hang position

Let’s look at some common faults.

1. This picture is what most people look like while doing RDLs, and it’s dead wrong. It looks like this dude has 295 lbs. on the bar when he may not be able to do 185 correctly. There is no lumbar extension, his hips haven’t been pushed back, the bar has gotten away from him, and he’s using an alternated grip. The RDL is an assistance exercise and should be trained with symmetry. If you can’t hang onto the weight throughout the course of the set, then use straps with a double overhand grip. This is all kinds of wrong.

2. This guys isn’t terrible, but he has allowed his knees to flex too much. Now he has just turned it into some kind of light weight deadlift. If you think about it as merely UN-LOCKING the knees, then you aren’t incorrectly allowing them to flex any more. Knees back, hips back.

3. This girl has done a good job of not letting the knees flex and pushing the hips back, yet she has a rounded lumbar/sacral junction. It is very possible that she has an overly long sacrum and short back, but that would require her not going as low since she has broken away from a straight torso. Make sure that the thoracic/lumbar and lumbar/sacral junctions are straight — and not hyperextended or flexed — during lifting. Another noteworthy point with this girl is that she’s looking up. Her cervical spine is extended, and having the cervical spine anything other than neutral during lifting is not preferable. Most people won’t get hurt, yet keeping a neutral spine during lifting is preferable than awkwardly extending it up (and I would say the same thing for squatting).

I’ve been meaning to take some pictures and video of the RDL, but hopefully by looking at some random internet pictures you can get an idea of what constitutes a good and bad RDL.

The Important Cues

1. Un-lock the knees
2. But don’t let them go forward
3. Push hips BACK

When To Do Them

RDLs are a great assistance exercise for deadlifts and can even be used in lieu of deadlifts in older trainees, very weak trainees, or females. It’s no great secret that a lot of figure competitors use RDLs to build wonderful backsides, so the prospect of incorporating them with squats may appeal to the gal who is weary of lifting in general.

I like having high-bar squatters RDL on a regular basis. The high/low bar bickering may be boring or entertaining, yet the two movements develop hip musculature differently. By adding in RDL’s in a high-bar program, they can help develop the strength and musculature of the hamstrings.

For a regular strength trainee, I would have them do the RDL’s in the opposite end of the week from deadlifts. If you deadlift on Fridays in a LP or TM set up, then do RDL’s on Monday or Tuesday (the Assistance Day for the TM). If you are running the Greyskull LP, then you could do them on Friday.

If the RDL is used correctly, it can help out a lot. I suggest starting with 135 for 8 to 10 reps. Assuming you haven’t been doing them, you’ll probably be sore. Increase the weight each workout and decrease the reps until you’re doing it for 3×5 and progressing it like a strength lift. Take your time getting to 225 lbs for three sets of five. That’s normally where my work sets are and I’ve done it with 110kg before. If you’re getting beyond 275 and you don’t weigh over 230, then you’re probably doing them wrong. I’ve seen various sub 200 pound friends doing them with around 300, and they weren’t getting the full benefit. Gutting through RDLs with a round back and knee flexion isn’t doing RDL’s, it’s doing shitty deadlifts. Use this to train the lumbar extensors to maintain their position while the hamstrings eccentrically and concentrically work. It’s what is supposed to be happening in a deadlift anyway, and unless you’re a powerlifter it’s how deadlifts should primarily be done anyway.

Let’s talk about something else. How about doggies and puppies?

Here are my two dogs (note the tank top and shorts). When I grow up, I am going to have a brindled army.

Here’s a sweet pic of Leda on the beach.

Here’s a pic of Leda when she went to Vegas.

Here’s a pic of Leda and her former band, “Metal Shop and Leda”.

Are any of you dog trainers? I have various questions if you are. Commence dog conversations. Additionally, if you’re looking to support your dog’s health and nutrition, shop now for weight gainers that can help address any dietary needs or concerns your furry friend may have. We’ll talk about lifting and shit tomorrow.