There are only a few products that I wholeheartedly endorse, and Mark Bell’s Slingshot is definitely one of them. I’ve written about it before, but it was before I met Mark Bell and Jesse Burdick at the 2012 Arnold Sport Festival. Mark and Jesse were both really nice guys and they took the time to let me demo the Slingshot as well as chat about it afterwards. Observe the demo:



The weight on the first set was 185 while the second set was 275. Note that they told me it was 225 on the bar for the second set, so I felt like a fucking loser when it felt hard (your demo secret is out, Mark, you bastard). I’m not an exceptionally strong bencher (I’ve done 350), yet I usually do sets of 135, 185, 225, and 255 before I move to 275 for my final warm-up on bench (I found that more sets on pressing movements helps warm me up better). As you can see, I do 185×10 and then 275×9 with about 20 seconds of rest in between. As you can see, the slingshot allows the lifter to impart an exceptional work load on their benching musculature.

With a Slingshot you can either perform more reps at a given weight, more weight in a give set/rep scheme, more total sets, improve your mechanics, or improve your raw bench lockout. That’s some impressive utility, and that’s just for a raw powerlifter. Learn more in the following video:



The mechanics are improved because the Slingshot helps keep the elbows in a good position that results in an externally rotated shoulder. If you’ve read this post, then you understand that the lats are stretched and isometrically acting during a bench press (they are internal rotators, so when the shoulder is in external rotation, they are stretched). This provides greater shoulder stability in the bench and is necessary for a strong bench. The Slingshot can reinforce shoulder external rotation, especially in lifters (male or female) who have issues with habitual internal rotation. Chronically stroking the bench with good mechanics via a Slingshot will develop the musculature to do it raw.

Since the Slingshot provides the most assistance out of the bottom and maintains good mechanics, the triceps are properly recruited to do their job in locking out the bench. This is amplified when the lifter is using greater loads or volume with the Slingshot.

All in all, I think it’s a great tool. Pick one up if you’ve run into shoulder or elbow problems when you bench. It’s not a substitute fix-all for shoulder health (e.g. you still need to do the overhead press properly), but it can allow quality bench training despite the normal bench-related injuries.

It’s funny how CrossFit has such a staunch anti-bodybuilding sentiment, yet it’s participants clearly share a narcissistic vibe. Early on the workouts were short, intense, and effective and the high enthusiasm laid the foundation for how well CF has expanded. True athletes like my friend Eva Twardokens and Greg Amundson excelled and were highlighted, and everyone wanted to be like them. There was that element of “showing some skin”, but an argument could be made that it was for the sake of utility. For example, in this video, Amundson starts fully clothed and sheds the shirt mid-workout.

I’ve done a lot of CrossFit and high-intensity training in climates that are much harsher than California, and I can assure you that life is easier without a shirt on. But nowadays, fashion—whether it concerns clothing or the body—is the norm in CrossFit. And even wear accessories like luxury brand watches. However, for those needing a watch repairs service, contact an expert to assist you. Those who would like to wear stylish watches without breaking the bank may look for a luxury replica watch.

Let’s be clear: there’s nothing wrong with this.

I’d rather it be that way. Let’s be honest, we like seeing attractive people. Lots of people also like clothing fashion as it relates to CF. I know nothing of fashion, but I know this because I see, “Can’t wait to see what everyone is wearing in the CF Regionals comp this weekend!” on Facebook.

I, of course, have a bias in that I appreciate well built folk who are exceptionally strong, powerful, and athletic. It’s why this website exists. So when I see people fawning over a 170 pound guy’s quads, I’m not really impressed. And it’s not just because he’s 170 pounds (though it doesn’t help). It’s because he severely lacks a posterior chain — hamstrings, adductors (groin), and gluteals. This isn’t relegated to males, because I see it equally in females.

Most of the CF training progressions are anterior chain dominant. There’s the air squat, front squat, and overhead squat. Press, push-press, and push-jerk. Deadlift, sumo deadlift high-pull, and med-ball clean. All of the squats are anterior chain dominant. The way that the push-press/jerk is taught is anterior dominant (bend knees). Other than the deadlift, the SDHP and med-ball clean typically turn into anterior chain movements. In reality, the deadlift is supposed to be a posterior chain movement, yet it hardly ever is (especially in almost all CF environments). Whether it’s fatigue, going to heavy too soon, or bad coaching, lumbar flexion is overly common in all of lifting, but especially CF, and this results in slack, non-working hamstrings. You can read more of my thoughts on this topic in this Q&A post.

These teaching progressions aren’t necessarily bad, especially when compared to the lack of compound movements in the conventional fitness world, yet they don’t inherently build a posterior chain. Being an athlete requires a balance of musculature around the hips to achieve optimal performance and prevent injury. CrossFit is an activity that, for better or worse, allows trainees to ignore their muscular weaknesses and still “get by” or excel; you can have good CF performance and still have weak hamstrings.

It’s easy to see when someone has a weak posterior chain because their quads will be quite noticeable while the backs of their legs are not (you can see this in some weightlifters too). When they are in action, you’ll see them shift their mechanics to put an emphasis on using the quads and alleviating the tension on their hamstrings; it’s because their hamstrings are unable to withstand the load and tension due to lack of development.

When I work with CrossFitters I like them to peform two posterior chain movements each week, not counting deadlifts. My favorites to program are RDLs, banded good mornings, and glute-ham raises. Of course, regular good mornings could be used, and reverse hypers are very effective (though they are more focused on the lumbar/gluteal area than the hamstrings). Each movement can be done for 3 to 5 sets of 5 to 15 reps (depending on which exercise and the goal). Strengthening and building the posterior chain is the single most important thing athletes can do to improve their performance, and that’s infinitely more so for a CrossFitter.

As an example, my friend Shana Alverson is someone who has performed at a high level in CrossFit, is someone that has a pretty good posterior chain. At this point, she doesn’t do any direct accessory work, but she has a good balance of musculature (read: balance across anterior/posterior chains) that has yielded a 66kg snatch, 77 clean and jerk, 102kg squat, and 148kg deadlift at a 60kg body weight. It’s all paid off because she’s qualified for the CF Games for the 4th year in a row.

Any shortage of posterior chain on Shana?

Train CrossFitters? Are one? Make sure the posterior chain gets proper attention.

Unless you’re a skinny teenager or a bulking Dave Tate, you don’t need to (and shouldn’t) eat like shit all of the time. Sure, it’s pretty cool to slam “dirty” food like a binging bulemic, but chronically doing so will have negative effects on your body composition, your health, and (ironically) more important, your training.

You’d think health would be most important, but clearly the majority of western society isn’t concerned with health when they put things into their mouth. Food quality is more important than the “lifting culture” admits. Choosing low-inflammatory foods that are dense with nutrients will curb systemic inflammation and therefore allow the body to devote all of its resources into training recovery and healing. Shitty food creates more work than the recovery work force can handle. Anyone who pretends to take their training seriously and doesn’t focus on food quality isn’t taking their life seriously.

Yes, there’s a place for lower quality meals for the sake of consuming calories (or enjoyment). No, it should not be the norm. It’s possible to hit appropriate caloric and macro-nutrient demands with higher quality food, and anyone who claims otherwise is a poon and probably cries about how uncreative they are. Don’t be a dumbass; start eating better food.



I made this recipe up after finding a “Spicy Bourbon Pork” seasoning packet at the store. The package called for ribs in the oven. Instead, I used a slow cooker. You’ll need:

– boneless rib meat (at least 2 pounds)
– several sweet potatoes (at least 2)
– 2 gala apples
– seasoning (I used “spicy bourbon pork” seasoning)
– .5 to 1 cup of orange juice
– water

Slice the rib meat up if you want, but it will end up being so tender it’ll fall apart. Cut up the apples and sweet potatoes; they can be large pieces because they too will fall apart. Throw all that stuff in the cooker. Mix the seasoning with a bit of orange juice and water and then pour it over the meat/potato/apple combo. Cover and cook. Typically a slow cooker on ‘HIGH’ will be done in 4 to 6 hours while ‘LOW’ is kinda like 6 to 8. If you’re going to work and training all day, you probably want it on low.

Voilà. A non shitty meal that is “paleo”, has plenty of protein with quality carbohydrate sources. If you’re worried about insulin sensitivity or fructose density in your diet, just use less orange juice (or none at all). If you need more fat (extra calories for recovery), then just consume it with or after the meal. It’s not hard to eat good quality food, and you need to pay attention to what goes in your mouth if you want to look “jacked” instead of just “like some fat guy who puffs his chest out when he walks”. It’ll also make you tan.

It’s been a hectic month, and things still aren’t normal. I’d like to formally thank Tom, Pete, Shannon, Shaun, and Shari for a lovely time in Australia. There are plenty of other assholes — like Stu, Josh, Sean, Jobbo, Kurt, Jeff, Steady, Sharpie, Gary, and plenty more that I’m forgetting — that made the trip heaps of fun. To all of you: stay in touch, train hard, eat well, and mob your genitals off.
Edit: I also have some good footage of a koala flipping his shit (literally and figuratively).

PR Friday
It’s been a while since we’ve had a formal day to post training updates and PRs, so make sure and do so. I’ll remind you that one of the coolest parts of this site is the interaction between the readers, and if you don’t actually post, you miss out on that indefinitely. I’d like you guys to point out any specific aspects of your programming that you think have helped out in the past several months. This could be a programming template, a mob, or an accessory movement.

Pan American Championships
The Pan Ams begin today and will mark the last chance any American men have at earning the single spot to the Olympics. Chad Vaughn has pulled out of this competition due to a groin injury — Chad had an excellent career and competed in the last two Olympic games and was a top 20 world competitor. Kendrick Farris is currently sitting in the driver’s seat for the single spot while Donny Shankle will try to hit massive numbers to earn the spot. More information on this throughout the day (after I train) as well as any streaming links. There may also be a live chat with the stream as well as current coverage of the competition. Facebook and Twitter will provide the most updated coverage.

Week In Review
On Monday we talked about the “banded good morning” (with video) and how it has immense utility in working the posterior chain, rehab, and a finisher that can aid recovery. I highly recommend it’s inclusion in most programs. On Tuesday we talked about how Prilepin’s Chart can a trainee’s programming template to ensure appropriate doses of stress. There will be a follow up on using different intensities in the same training session. On Wednesday we took a look at the 94kg class in preparation for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. It seems that Ilya Ilin and Artem Ivanov are hitting great numbers in training, and it could lead to a toe-to-toe battle in London.

Questions
There won’t be a Q&A this week, but feel free to ask questions for next week’s Q&A in the comments. If it’s a simple question, some of the other readers may attempt at an answer, and I’ll take the best ones for next week’s column. I’ll also sift through some of the comments, e-mails, and messages I received while abroad and pick out the good ones.

Johnson of Warrior Performance (Shannon Green's gym) preps for a big bench

I took notice of how 2008 gold medalist Ilya Ilin (94kg) had charisma at the 2011 World Championships. I couldn’t decide if I liked him because he seemed to have a good time, but I could see him acting kind of like a dick towards his opponents. At one point, he hit a lift (I think it was his first or second clean and jerk) and as he was walking off the platform he gestured to an opposing lifter by throwing his palms upward as if to say, “What ya got, SON?!” He then smoked the hell out of a 226kg clean and jerk on his second attempt to win the world championship on body weight (because Artem Ivanov missed a WR 227kg clean and jerk on his third).

The other day I posted a video of Ilya hitting some shit-hot snatches (below), working up to 192.5kg (which I think is 4.5 above the WR). He looked ridiculously solid, but lifters typically do in training. They have the luxury to weigh more than their competition weight, but they are probably in the middle of some kind of drug cycle that inevitably has to be tapered for a competition. Nevertheless, it’s a significant improvement over his 181kg second attempt snatch from the 2011 World Championships.



Kevin P. commented on the video and said that the Ilya vs. Artem Ivanov battle would be a good one. He cited that Ivanov hit 190/230 in a competition recently in the Ukraine. I don’t know if there is video, but that’s a scary improvement over what he did at World’s in 2011. Watch this video and you’ll see his 186kg snatch, which was kind of hard, and his crack at 227 on his third CJ (there was no chance on the jerk, maybe because of the jump). Now watch his second attempt CJ at 221 and you’ll see an unstable jerk. It’s surprising that he can make such a stark improvement. However, maybe the “meet in Ukraine” didn’t drug test, and he’s humming on a cycle? I mean, c’mon, a 406 total to a 420 total?

I’d expect Ilya to improve upon his World Championship total because he missed a 184 snatch on his third, yet he cranked the hell out of his snatches up to 192.5 in the first video (shown above). I’d expect him to go at least 186, maybe 188? I guess it depends on what Ivanov is hitting. However, Ilya’s strength is in the CJ, and his potential wasn’t tapped in the World Championship last year. It’s almost scary how nonchalantly Ilya hits his CJs; this video shows him easily hitting 230 (allegedly in response to Ivanov’s recent 190/230 meet). He’ll go for whatever he needs, and I think he’ll make it. I just don’t think Ivanov is going to have enough to beat Ilya.

If we base it off their performance at last year’s World’s and their potential to improve, Ilya clearly had weight left on the bar and Ivanov was clearly maxing out his potential. If they both have improvements, it would seem that Ilya will still have the edge. If Ivanov can hit similar numbers as his 190/230 meet (he won’t), it will be close, yet I think Ilya would still edge him on CJ after they go toe-to-toe on snatch. If Ivanov wins, it’d be a hell of an upset, but I don’t see it happening. There’s something about Ilya’s attitude about enjoying competition and training that will have me rooting for him when the showdown occurs in London. Can’t wait.