The following post is by Gant. When you have to load four Atlas Stones on a trailer, the heaviest weighing over 400 pounds, your pullup God will not be able to save you.
-Dave Van Skike
There have been a lot of positive steps in the exercise industry in the last few years. While corporate “health centers” and machines still dominate the fitness landscape, a growing percentage of people are getting theirs from the iron. Gyms are starting to look less like dance clubs and more like a place you can get some work done. Many people have been turned on to this kind of training because of CrossFit, RossTraining, Mountain Athlete, or some other iteration of full-body functional training.
Unfortunately in the quest to become functional/tactical/elite/hardstyle, we have tossed out quite a few babies with the bathwater. People are pressing overhead again, which is great. But the bench press has been scorned and, apparently from the bench numbers in last month’s challenge, largely forgotten.
The case against the bench press is usually made by some domestique-looking guy who tries to convince you that doing 92 snatch burpees with an empty bar is better than pressing your body weight overhead. The problem is that some of you people have listened.
But nothing has been vilified like the barbell curl. Somewhere we have been told that all isolation training is bad, that we don’t need to curl because we can get all the arm strength and size we need from swinging madly about on a pullup bar. If your training goals culminate in posting more shirtless pictures of yourself on Facebook, you probably don’t need curls. But if you participate in a sport, especially one of the strength sports, you might consider throwing in a couple sets of a week.
Why are they helpful? For the same reason any isolation work is helpful. Because you are limiting the number of joints involved in the exercise, you will be using lighter weights (and typically higher reps). This lets you focus on strengthening the connective tissue, which does not adapt to heavy loads as quickly as muscles. This comes in handy when lifting odd objects, fighting an arm bar (or an armed bear), or throwing a lead weight as far as you can. I have heard people use them for everything from stabilizing the rack position in a snatch to tossing small trees.
I couldn’t care less about my arm size, but I’m damn concerned about my tendons. I didn’t do curls for years for the same reasons you guys don’t do them. A few months ago, I added a few sets of drag curls or hammer curls in a few months ago (once every week or so). You feel like a douchebag at first, but then you start kissing your guns at the top of each rep and “checking the time” and it’s all good.
The best quote on curls came from one of CrossFit’s videos with Louie Simmons. They were doing a CrossFit powerlifting cert at Westside. As someone was trying to put PVC into a monolift, a CrossFitting male asked one of the Westsiders why he did curls. The guy shrugged his shoulders and, with big arms folded, replied, “The strongest guys in the world do curls. If it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for me.”
——————-
Training Opportunity: I am discussing topics like this (training myths) at a seminar in Brogue PA on July 17-18. I will also cover analyzing and programming for physical atrributes of single/multi-sport and GPP. Also presenting are Jack Reape (writer for T-nation, champion powerlifter) on powerlifting and programming for strength and sport, Matt Foreman (Olympic lifter, football and track coach, writer for Performance Menu) on Olympic lifting for strength development, and Jay Ashman (strongman, soon to be of Gorilla Pit, has published on EliteFTS) on strongman training and training and periodizing for team sports and GPP. It’s great for beginners or experienced trainees and athletes. If you want to get stronger and perform better, you don’t want to miss it.
I’m glad to hear that you guys are listening about belts. I had a talk with Brent, who is an Olympic weightlifter, last year about wearing one while squatting, and he listened. ‘Twasn’t long before he was squatting more than the rest of the Asian population in Wichita Falls combined. This video is from earlier this year (he would later unintentionally break the Texas State Raw Record on his third attempt at the USAPL Texas State Meet in April with a 458 pound squat):
Brent is 5’5″, so a conventional four inch belt doesn’t fit him. He bought a belt from Elite FTS that is 2.5 inches in the front. Yes, it is one of those belts that tapers from a wider back to smaller front (look at the links below to (re)learn why this is silly), but it is one that he can wear comfortably and take advantage of the strength building benefits of wearing a belt.
To review some information that I have written in the past on belts, click the following links: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
I didn’t get a chance to talk about some other things in yesterday’s post — my post was long enough and it was getting late. Here is a little list of stuff I wanted to mention.
Pronouncing My Name
If anybody saw the webcast, they had all 11 lifters walk out and introduced us one by one. The announcer said “Justin Las-check”, and I was right next to the table so I said, “It’s Lah-sick.” He smiled and said they’d get it figured out in a minute. I guess not. But anyway, it’s pronounced “Lah-sick”. I’d rather have it said “Las-check” than “Lay-sick”, though.
First Jerk
Using a lower eye gaze definitely made the bar collide into my jaw/chin. When it happened, it almost made me bite a chunk out of my tongue (the back right portion). My tongue was swollen for the rest of the day. I do not recommend this.
Crass
I met Rachel briefly. She was wandering around looking for something unimportant (I’m kidding, Rachel). I watched her lift, and I hope I can get as solid a rack position in the snatch as she has sometime soon. I think the new rule is that you aren’t allowed to ask eating questions until you’re lifting more than her. Correct me if I’m wrong, Rachel, but you are qualified for the world team with Sunday’s performance, yes?
Problem Areas
My primary problems with the Olympic lifts are technical. I don’t rack heavy snatches solid and my jerk used to be a mess. I think that getting more experience/practice with the lifts will be the first step into solidifying these things, and I think I’m on the right path with the cues I have implemented lately. There may be a couple drills that will help the snatch situation. As for the jerk, I recently changed my grip, my elbow position, and how I dip/drive. The dip/drive has been the hardest to reconfigure, but I think I did pretty well with it at the meet, especially on the third attempt (which was the most important). The bar moving back at the rack of the jerk is a new development, and I haven’t bothered spending time to figure out the mechanics behind it yet.
“The Face” Is Hard To Do
I think I’ll need to have a tutorial on how to make — what I guess is being referred to as — “the 70’s Big face”. I took a picture with Ben, and it looks like he’s doing more of a kissy face. Maybe he was trying to spread love to all of his adoring fans.
I purposely didn’t put a whole lot of hoopla on 70’s Big about the USAW Senior National Championships because I didn’t want any unnecessary attention placed on myself as a lifter. I figured that it was my first national meet, and I didn’t want to have to think about anything other than the lifting. I discreetly linked you guys to the live webcast (I hear it was good), so hopefully you got a chance to see some of our country’s best Olympic weightlifters. Since it was my first appearance at a national meet, I figured I’d briefly share my experience.
(If you want to see how some other lifters did, look at the USAW Website)
The meet was held in the Peoria Civic Center, which was a good looking building in a pleasant city center. I would liken Peoria to Chattanooga, TN – it’s clean, not crowded, and has a lush landscape. The lifting was in a large, cavernous concrete room and a black curtain separated the warm-up area from the competition area. Bleachers were set up in front of the competition platform (if you watch the video below, the warm-up area is to the left), and the whole building was very clean.
The warm-up area was equipped with some good platforms with high grade rubber (not sure of the brand) and Werksan bars and plates. There were probably eight or so platforms, so things weren’t crowded. They also had the attempts projected on screens in the competition and warm-up areas with a TV in the warm-up area of what was happening on the lifting platform.
I was in the B session for the 105kg weight class that started lifting at 11:00 AM. Earlier at the weigh-in I met Ben (who looks exactly like AC) from the Hassle Free Weightifting in Sacramento, California. This is primarily a 20 & Under club, but they have some older lifters as well. Some of you astute readers will recognize the head coach, Paul Doherty, from an article in a 2009 issue of Iron Mind’s Milo. Ben was a cool dude, and he said he liked the website, so we got along pretty well right away.
This was a good thing, because Ben was how I met Paul, and this had a very important impact on my meet.
AC compared with Ben -- the similarity is striking
Other than my girlfriend running the cameras in the stands, I was by myself. I figured I would be opening early since I totaled 287 to qualify (the qualifying total was 285). There were a few guys who totaled an even 285. Lifting was supposed to start at 11:00 AM, so I figured I’d be read to go by then. I started taking warm-ups and felt very good hitting 60kg, 90kg, and 100kg. During this process, Paul asked if anybody was handling me (there wasn’t) and he asked if I wanted some help (I did). That’s when he told me that the bar was opening at 110kg and that there were “like 85 guys opening with 120”, so wouldn’t be lifting for at least fifteen minutes. Well, balls. I guess because of all the hoopa I didn’t even go look at the attempt cards on the table – stupid beginner mistake. I started warming up to early, so then I just sat down and chilled out a bit.
This would end up being slightly detrimental. I was feeling really good warming up the first time, and when I started taking lifts again, things didn’t feel as good. Ben and I lift about the same weight, so we warmed up together and had the luxury of Paul’s lifters, Sae and Keelen (sp?), loading the bar us. I took 70kg, 90kg, 100kg, 110kg, missed 120kg (stupid error), and completed 120kg.
I opened with 127kg. Off the floor and through the middle, everything was fine. Once I racked the bar, I had the slightest bit of bar movement from not catching it tight and solid, but I was able to hold it in place and squat it up. White lights on the lift.
Rob, another coach that helps out with Hassle Free was counting attempts for me as I snatched. Paul came by and asked what I wanted next, and I said, “Well, the plan was to go to 132,” so that’s what he gave me. I wasn’t prepared for the long wait before I went. There were lots of attempts and misses around 130, so this delayed my second attempt. In retrospect, I should have done a power snatch with 100 or so to stay warm (something I would implement later in the clean and jerk on Paul’s advice), but I didn’t. I had never been in that situation before, so I didn’t have a clue.
When I approached the bar for my second attempt at 132kg, my mind wasn’t right. When you’re competing, it’s easy to forget simple things like the cue you are supposed to be thinking about, or maintaining/managing your mindset. I just wasn’t thinking about much at all, and this didn’t give me the “killer instinct” for the lift. I pulled it perfectly overhead, but just didn’t rack the damn thing.
I was kind of pissed off, so I had a short rest and then repeated the lift. This time I racked it, but let the bar drift backwards only to lose it (I’ve only done this a few times ever). My cue I had been using was “stick it back” (I can explain the mechanics behind it another day), which had been working until that lift.
Paul, Me, and Ben afterwards
So, there I was, heading into the clean and jerks with one successful lift. I only let myself stay irritated for a moment or so, and let it go. I am pretty sure Ben only hit one snatch as well, and I said, “Hey, at least we’re on the board.” My girlfriend had gotten me some food to eat during this time, and one of the items was som Muscle Milk. Ben let me have some yogurt before we snatched, so I asked him if he wanted some protein. After catching the Muscle Milk I tossed him, he said, “Ah, this is the ‘Lite’ kind…definitely not 70’s Big.” True. Later the lady friend told me she made it a point not to get the ‘Lite’ kind, but must have gotten it accidentally.
Ben and I pretty much warmed up together since we were both opening with 152 – I had planed on moving this up to 155 or 157, but after the irritation on the snatch I figured I’d get on the board with an easy opener. Ben and I went lift for lift on warming up when Paul told us to take them, and I had a goofy last warm up at 147 (there was only a short rest after doing 140). Eventually 152 was loaded on the competition bar, and I headed out. I made an easy clean and a nice sharp dip/drive on my jerk, but the bar whacked the piss out of my chin on the way up. I dropped the bar and staggered back holding my chin. I didn’t just skin it, I clocked it an inch and a half from the end of my chin (that’s where the bruise is). After reviewing the video, I figured out that my eye gaze was significantly lower than it usually is (I was trying to avoid looking at people since they can move around) which lowered my head and kept my chin down and in the way of my bar path. It sounds like a stupid little detail, but it was definitely the culprit here. I wonder if that had an effect on my second snatch.
I didn’t have to follow myself to repeat 152, but still had a short rest. I was a little pissed off, and went out, made the clean without much trouble, had a decent dip/drive on the jerk (my limiting factor on my jerks), and then racked it over head. However, I did something to move the bar backwards once I racked it, and this made me recover out of the split awkardly, and I had to fight with the bar to get into a solid position to receive the down command. White lights, but damn if it didn’t feel like wrestling a big ol’ snake.
I sat down behind the curtain, and Paul asked me what my PR was (meet PR was 157kg). He said, “Well, you want 158? You didn’t pay all this money for nothin’.”
“Yeah, fuck it, give me 158.”
I really didn’t think it was likely after my crappy jerk lockout from a minute before. Objectively speaking. I had to wait quite a while for 158 since I made a six kilo jump, and we had eleven lifters in the session. During this waiting around, I power cleaned and jerked 110 twice to stay warm. I had never had to do that before, and it really helped a lot. It kept me from getting cold, and I never would have thought to do it on my own if Paul hadn’t recommended it. Paul was very respectful (even though he didn’t need to be) of not trying to step on my toes about how I warmed up or performed my lifts. He was exactly what I needed; guidance and soon to be motivation.
After taking the 110kg in the back, I was waiting with Ben for 158 (he was going for 160 on his third attempt). As the lifter before me was finishing up, Paul smacked me into shape…literally. I had seen lifters get their quads slapped before a lift, and I never really understood why. Paul said something like, “All right Justin, you’re up. Let’s get this.” He double hand smacked the FUCK out of my right thigh – kind of like what The Hulk would do to a bad guy’s head. He walked to my left thigh, and did the same thing as he was talking. He then said Brent Kim’s all-time favorite line, “This is competition, Justin. Go out there and compete.”
He said some other stuff, but I can’t remember what it was. All I know is that Paul was the catalyst for my adrenaline. The smacks on the thigh forced blood to the muscle and my legs felt warm instantly. I stormed the bar with purpose; this would be the lift of the day for me.
The plates broke the floor, and once they passed my knees I exploded upward. I racked the clean routinely as can be, and had to give a pretty decent effort to squat it up. It felt harder than it actually was (see the video), and I settled for the jerk. I had a nice, sharp dip/drive and the bar exploded overhead quickly. Again, the bar traveled back a bit at the rack, but not much, and it wasn’t as much trouble to control to get the down command. I checked the three white lights, and felt one of the coolest feelings you can feel in sport – doing something that you didn’t think was going to be possible earlier. I truthfully don’t think I could have done it without Paul.
A few seconds later, Ben would hit his 160kg clean and jerk to finish with a total of 291kg – good for 6th place. I finished with a 285kg total and 8th place overall (including A session). It wasn’t my best total (I had done 287 to qualify) but all things considered – only 8 months of experience, first national meet, 4th meet overall, first travel-by-plane meet, just recently overhauled my jerk, and warmed up goofy on snatch – I’ll take it.
I talked with Ben and some other lifters (Keith, from Austin, TX, was another guy I met that lifted in the 105s) who were in their first national meet. They might get on and comment what their experience was throughout the meet.
Again, here’s a big thank you to Paul Doherty. He was kind enough to help me out, and I was really impressed with how he handled Ben and I – he’s a good platform coach. Also thank you to my friend (and chiropractor) Dr. Lee Birk who helped crack me back from a February injury. I could barely stand up to coach at one point and didn’t squat for two months before he started treating me, and it wasn’t long before I could do all the strength lifts to get stronger than I ever had been before. This set me up to get a little bit of practice with the Olympic lifts in the last five or six weeks before this meet. Without those two guys helping me out when I was in a bad situation, I probably would have had much different results.
