The Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrnold is here!

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It’s finally here – this is the week of the Arnold Sports Festival, which runs this Thursday to Sunday in Columbus, Ohio, and is so massively awesome, it might make you shit your pants. You’ve been warned. If you do, just own it.

This is a huge deal. We have a bunch of 70sBig lifters competing, a lot of readers attending, and there will be more sports and competitions and displays than we could possibly begin to preview, or cover. Luckily, I’m guessing not many of you care as much about the “5k Pump ‘N Run” or the World Jump Rope Championships, and we’ll be sticking to covering mostly the lifting exploits, and probably a few pictures of the IFBB stuff just for funsies.

In the spirit of Ladies’ Mondays, I thought I’d highlight two female weightlifters who will be competing on Saturday, and whose coaches actually post on here.

Glenn Pendlay is a household name in our world (unless you’re ow3n), and his MuscleDriver USA team will be very well-represented at the Arnold, which also serves as the qualifier for the Pan-Ams. I think he’s coaching around 9 athletes, which sounds pretty much like cardio. We’ll cover some of the guys later in the week, but you already know Jon North is one of ’em. Did you realize, however, that Jon’s wife is also competing? Jessica is a ton of fun to watch in the MDUSA training streams, because her quiet intensity and determination is inspiring as hell. Check out this video, ignore the cheesy music (really, Jon, really?), and tune in Saturday to see how she does in the 75kg class.

Big Ben “Brown Thunder” Claridad has also been a friend of the site for a long time, and was teaching us all how important it was to have ginormous arms before we even knew who CT Fletcher was. He’s not only competing (105+), but also coaching two female lifters, Emelie (75+) and Cecily (69). I haven’t met Emelie, but I can attest to the fact that Cecily is just as fun and inspiring to watch as Jess North. When I briefly met her and Ben at Cal-Strength, I got to witness one of the most badass jerk recoveries of all time. Little did I know she would make a habit of it.

Amanda and Jess at Raw Nats

In Powerlifting, I could go on and on about at least half of the female competitors. There are several who have posted on here in the past, and several who I’ve met in person and are flat out awesome. Amanda Padgett’s long humble discussion with my special lady friend at Raw Nats is something Jess still smiles about to this day. She also loves to tell the story about her competitor, the one-and-only Jennifer Thompson, taking time to cheer her on mid-meet. JT is one of the best powerlifters of all time, male or female, and at last year’s Arnold, she broke the 300lb bench barrier – raw and drug tested – at 132 pounds. I think she’s going to break that this year… Check out this vid she put out in the past week of her smoking a 305lb training lift.

We’ll continue coverage this week of more lifters, more sports, more hookers, and more blow. If you’re attending the Arnold and would like to submit some photos, I’d appreciate it – click on Submissions and get’r’dun.

PR Friday, 22 Feb 2013

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It’s PR Friday! The new phone book’s here!

We started off the week strong, with a write-up on Ryan Carrillo, his quest to compete at the IPF Bench Press World Championships, and a quick interview .

For those that have donated, may Crom grant you many bench PRs. You are good people. Ryan is sincerely thankful to everyone who donated. He got about 150 doll hairs from our readers on Monday, but I think we can improve on that. Go to http://www.txstrongman.com/ and donate your face off. For best results, do it about 30 minutes before your scheduled intensity day training.

Here’s a picture of Ryan eating a Brontosaurus rib. Yes, this is how we do it in Texas.

 

Justin dropped us a quick note on Tuesday to let us know he’s still around, just busy stacking paper. Lots of good, positive comments by all, which he appreciated. I’ll be taking over the Editor duties, though I’m not as funny or ripped as Justin, just more ridiculously-good-looking, and I like run-on sentences. Any non-grammar feedback is appreciated, so you can always hit me up via email, mmmk? I’ll respond when I’m not doing curls. Many thanks to BSmith for helping me out with all the behind-the-scenes work…and for making this killer .gif.

CT Fletcher Curling

We also had a follow-up by Tsypkin on posterior training, specifically for weightlifters, complete with how-to videos featuring his lovely assistant. Some guy named Pendlay commented a couple times. How many other sites have world-class coaches giving you free advice in the comments? That’s a rhetorical question; I don’t read other sites. We did get the comment of the week, though:

Who the hell is this GlenPendlay guy and where did he come from? Can’t believe someone here named themselves after a kind of row… – ow3n

Ow3n wins 12 points.

Most importantly, we are ONE WEEK FROM THE ARNOLD. This is the biggest sports festival in the entire freaking universe, and a bunch of our folks are competing, so pay attention. We’ll get you previews and links to streams and whatnot next week.

Mike’s training has gone well and he’s looking to hit some big numbers. Subscribe to his Youtube channel, read his training log, and watch this video about what he does in the final week before a big meet.

Big Chris will be defending his North American Championship from last year’s Arnold. How does he prepare? He drinks chicken. He. Drinks. Chicken. If you don’t pull 700+ double-overhand, and/or can’t spell “K-A-L-E,” watch this video, and get to work. cya

List your PRs and which event you’re most excited to watch at the Arnold. Personally, I hit some modest bench PRs and got a brutal PSOA-release massage (DIY Guide for you sickos), and I have to give a shout-out to my special lady friend, who pulled 280. I’ll be watching the Arnold streams while at a Bachelor party next weekend. Whatcha got?

Posterior Round-Up: Part 2

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As promised, here’s the second article by Jacob Tsypkin about building up your backside. This one is specifically targeted towards weightlifters, but every general trainee can learn a lot about a coach’s approach to attacking weaknesses by really analyzing these lifts. 

 

Last week, we discussed various general posterior chain strengthening movements which, while useful for improving the snatch and clean & jerk, are not specifically designed to improve those lifts.Today, I want to give you some drills and variations which are particular to creating positional strength for weightlifting.


1. Paused Snatches/Cleans

I typically employ a 2 count pause just below the knees. This is the mechanically weakest position in the pull and this helps develop the ability to stay over the bar. For newer lifters, the pause also presents them with a chance to correct their positioning during the pull. Singles and doubles are best here.

2. Two Stop Pulls

I’m not a big fan of plain old pulls. I think pulls are better employed when you do something to alter them from the actual lift. This is one of my favorite variations: stand on a board, 1-3”. Assume your start position, and SQUEEZE the bar off the floor, so that you are in your “normal” starting position with the bar floating in mid air. Pause for a 2 count, then proceed with the pull until the bar is just below the knees. Pause for a 2 count, and then finish the pull. We usually do 3-5 triples here, with around 100-105% of the best lift, but some heavier singles or doubles wouldn’t kill you.

 

3. Snatch/Clean Deadlifts

You should strive to pull these with exactly the same line that you pull your snatch or clean. If you can’t do it, it’s too heavy. Doing these without straps is great to build up some grip strength and confidence off the floor. A rep scheme I’ve been using, which I got from Coach Don McCauley:
90%x5x2
100%x3x2
110%x2x2

Percentage of your best snatch/C&J. Do them touch-and-go (not BOUNCING, just TOUCHING,) and after two workouts, up the weights about 2.5kg.


4. Snatch/Clean RDLs

Instead of standing straight up at the top, start at your first position (bar in crease of hips for snatch or mid thigh for clean, weight in heels, shoulders slightly behind bar and knees slightly in front of bar.) From there, lower the bar to your second position (bar just below knees, weight in heels, shins vertical, shoulders well in front of bar) and come back up TO YOUR FIRST POSITION, and then aggressively finish the hips as you would in a pull. 3 sets of 5 is good here, typically I will start a cycle at about 85-90% of the best snatch or C&J and work up over the course of 4-6 weeks.


5. Eccentric Pulls

Do a snatch/clean pull. Lower the bar over a 10 count, back to your starting position. Focus on maintaining tension and hitting proper positions all the way down. A word of caution: it is best to do a few weeks of isometric paused work (such as the aforementioned paused snatches/cleans or 2 stop pulls) before jumping into these. Start with around 100% of the best snatch or C&J, and three singles of 10 seconds each should be plenty.

 

Jacob Tsypkin is a CrossFit and weightlifting coach, the co-owner of CrossFit Monterey and the Monterey Bay Barbell Club in Monterey, CA. He is available for weightlifting seminars and rarely gets mad. 

 

A Quick Note

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Dear 70’s Big Readers,

I have accepted a position that will limit my ability to write for 70’s Big for a few months. In order to be successful I will not have time to reply to messages on the website, social media, or e-mail. Fortunately, Jacob Cloud will continue to help in his new role as Editor and will make sure you are supplied with quality, entertaining content. I’ll be around — helping Jacob — but I won’t be interacting as much.

Even though this website is a part of my personality and life, throughout the years I’ve made it a point to hold onto some element of privacy. Thank you for not violating my privacy by repeatedly asking about it.

Enjoy the site, get edu-muh-cated, have a good time, train hard, and eat well.

–Justin

 

 

Ryan Carrillo is 70sBig

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I first joined this site as an enthusiastic reader, eventually started contributing as an occasional meet-reporter or recipe-guy, and now I serve as ze Editor. In my time with this site, I’ve been consistently in awe of what I’ve watched our community grow into. We come from all sorts of backgrounds – guys and gals, civilians and special forces, Weightlifters, CrossFitters, and Powerlifters. We have competitive lifters among our ranks, and people who are nervously adding 2.5 pounds to their linear progression workouts. One thing unites us, though, and that is the fact that we are part of a supportive community of badasses.

From time to time the site calls our arms to support a cause, like during Movember, and you guys always respond. That’s what I’ll be doing today. I met with one of our own, Ryan Carrillo, this weekend, and I’m not sure I’ve ever been as impressed by a 21 year old kid. He’s trying to reach his first World Event in May, the IPF Bench Press World Championships in Lithuania. I think we can help get him there.

I first officially met Ryan at 2012 USAPL Raw Nats, when the 6’5″ beast came up, politely introduced himself, and asked me about my beard. When a giant of a man compliments your beard, that is a very special thing. He asked if he could take this picture of me as part of a photo like this Raleigh family photography project he was working on (he really captured my…oldness, didn’t he?) He’s also supplied gritty facebook profile pics for some of our other lifters, like Mike Battaglino, and is working on even more videos and pictures of the sport he loves.

Ryan’s Self-Portrait

I’ve seen Ryan at almost every local meet around central Texas, either competing, coaching, or just supporting his team. You really can’t miss the guy. He’s bigger than Brad Gillingham, and nicer than Jenn Thompson. He consorts with other young world class lifters like Ian Bell and Preston Turner, and cheers on everyone. His coach is the legendary Gene Bell. He’s a full-time student, works a few jobs, is big into photography as a hobby/passion, and still makes time to become a world-class Powerlifter.
He has suffered through serious back injuries and is currently an equipped bench specialist in the USAPL, though his long-term goal is to return to full meets. For now, he has the chance to represent our country in Lithuania this May at the World Championships.
Ryan drove up to my neck of the woods last Friday and we shared a few beers and a lot of good stories. He is absolutely one of the most impressive, respectful, and polite guys you can imagine. At 33, I’m constantly made aware of how young most of the 70sBig crew is, yet I would have never guessed Ryan was 21 by how he handled himself. The two of us collected more than our fair share of slack-jawed stares at the Biergarten, and he handled it like a seasoned vet. I guess walking around every day of your life looking like a pro wrestler tends to create that kind of understated confidence. Having the words “SHUT UP AND SQUAT” on the back of his shirt was a nice touch, too.

Please check out Ryan’s site at txstrongman.com and send him a few doll hairs. Every bit helps, and I trust that Ryan will proudly represent us well not only at this year’s World Championships, but for many more to come.
This is what our community is. We don’t just praise the camaraderie, facial hair, attitude, and general awesomeness of the lifters of the 70s – we strive to create a new generation of strength. How do we do this? We open doors. We slam bars after PRs. We grow facial hair and don’t apologize for wearing tanks and short shorts when the sun’s out. We encourage new lifters to get stronger, healthier, and to have more fun. Most importantly, we support our own.