The Great Squat Experiment, Week 9

Wednesday, 12/3/14

Competition Squats

 - 365x1 (added belt before this)

 - 405x1

 - 435lbs x 4 - PR +2 reps - had room for at least on more rep.



 - 405lbs x 3

Wider Sumo Deadlifts - moving closer to competition stance.

 - 365x1

 - 405x1

 - 455x1

 - 475lbs x 3 - +10lbs PR at 3 reps


- 455lbs x 3

Thursday, 12/4/14

More Low Bar Competition Squats!

 - 365x1 (belt is on at this point)

 - 405x1

 - 445x3 - PR!



 - 425x3

 - 405x2

Close Grip Bench (Paused)

 - 225x1

 - 235x5x4 sets - Felt fantastic, except for the last set. My elbows started to give me a little trouble at that point, which typically happens after a couple of low bar sessions. Still got the work in though.

Some random accessory stuff to finish out the day.

Friday, 12/5/14

Beltless Paused High Bar

 - 365x1

 - 375x2 - PR +1 rep

 - 355x4 - PR +1 rep

Some accessory work, and done. Squats are going fantastically.

Saturday, 12/6/14

High Bar Squats w/ 4-count eccentrics

 - 365x1

 - 395x3 - +10lb PR

 - 365x5 - new 5RM on this lift

All this despite feeling very crappy going in. The end of the week always feels very crappy for me, probably due to the accumulated volume throughout the week. Finished up with some rear delt work, some transverse ab work, and a little stretching of the external rotators and called it a day.

Sunday, 12/7/14

Front Squats

 - 315x1

 - 365xfail - bar was just not sitting in the rack like it should. Dropped it on the way down and said screw it.

 - 315x2, 2

Called it a day. Kinda pissed off about the performance here. Positionally it just wasn't there today.

Monday, 12/8/14

Bench Press

 - 225x3

 - 245x3

 - 270x3 - ties a PR triple

 - 245x3

 - 225x3

Some miscellaneous circuit work involving glutes, anti-rotational work, and hanging

The Great Squat Experiment, Week 8

Josh Trammell

Lots of driving this week, which means I've had to do a lot more in the way of warm-ups to get ready for lifting. Still getting the work in though.

Wednesday, 11/26/14

Competition Stance Squats w/ Belt

 - 365x1

Add Belt

 - 345x1

 - 385x1

 - 405x1

 - 420x5 - PR 5RM - I was expecting somewhere between 2-5, based on how the first two reps felt. Told the spotter the same. Turns out, the first 2 reps felt easy, the 3rd rep felt easy, the 4th rep felt easy, and the 5th was slightly grindy, but I had one more rep in me. Very, very, very happy with this PR. Biggest PR of the cycle, in my book.

Sumo DLs w/ Belt

 - 365x1

 - 405x1

Add Belt

 - 405x1

 - 465x3 - +10lbs PR - my goal is to just add 5-10lbs on my triples each week leading up to the meet on this day, eventually transitioning to heavy doubles, and max effort singles about 2 weeks out or so. Again, happy with this.

 - 425x2 - hexagonal plates were rolling all over the place, whether it was into my shins or away from the body. I got pretty pissed at this point and just called it at 2 reps.

Friday, 11/28/14

Competition Stance Squats w/ Belt

 - 365x1

Add Belt

 - 365x1

 - 405x1

 - 435x2 - PR 2RM. Felt pretty crappy after long days of traveling and sitting down in a car. All the sitting down wrecked my hips and threw my groove off (again), but I managed to hit this on a pretty bad day, all things considered.

 - 405x2

Close Grip Pause Bench

 - 185x4

 - 225x5x3 sets - fairly happy with this. Again, max is probably sitting around 270-275 or so. Some elbow pain, not quite as bad as last bench session though.

Saturday, 11/29/14

High Bar Paused Squats

 - 365x1

 - 365x2

 - 345x3

This day felt like absolute crap. Came in and put in the work and called it a day.

Sunday, 11/30/14

Eccentric-Emphasis High Bar Squats w/ Belt

 - 365x1

 - 385x4 - +1 rep PR


Deficit Sumo Deads:

345 x 1,1,1,1,1

355 x 1,1,1

365 x 1,1

Playing around with this more than anything. Just an experiment. Tried to move bar as fast as possible off the floor.

Monday, 12/1/14

Front Squats

 - 315x1

 - 345x1

 - 365x1 PR + 10lbs

 - 345x2 - new 2RM PR

Week really thrown off, but I ended up with a couple of nice PRs.

The Great Squat Experiment: Week 7

Josh Trammell

Tuesday, 11/18/14

Still recovering from food poisoning, but I wanted to get in the gym and see what I could do. Wasn't going in expecting much - my goal was to come in, work up to 315-365, see how it felt, and if I felt like crap, leave, if I felt good, go a little heavier.

Low Bar Squats (Beltless)

 - 365 x 1, 1, 1, 1 - was very out of the groove. A couple of adjustments plus just working at this weight loosened me up and things felt better. Felt good enough to move up.

 - 385 x 1 - felt good, moved up

 - 405 x 1 - felt easy

 - 415x2 - new 2RM. No video, unfortunately. Wasn't prepared to set a PR after food poisoning.

Paused Low Bar

 - 365x3

Called it quits. Who says you can't set PRs after getting sick and not eating much at all for 3 days?

Wednesday, 11/19/14

Low Bar Squats with a Belt

 - 365 x 1 (add belt), 1,1

 - 405 x 1

 - 425 x 1

 - 450 x 1 - PR +5lbs



Conventional Deadlifts w/ Belt

 - 365x1

 - 405x1

 - 455x2 - PR 2RM - Not really KK/ Pete Rubish like. First time I've videoed these. Felt good though.

Sumo Deadlifts w/ Belt

 - 365x1

 - 405x1

 - 455x3 - PR +1 rep



 - 435x3

Thursday, 11/20/14

Felt very exhausted going on. That's why, typically, the day after deadlift days is a Pause squat to reduce absolute volume/loading and compression on the spine.

Pause High Bar Squats

 - 355x1

 - 375x1 - could've gotten 2, but it would've been a real grind. Decided against it.

 - 355x3 - PR 3RM +10lbs I believe

 - 315x3

Short ab/decompression/stretching circuit, and called it quits.

Friday, 11/21/14

4-second Eccentric High Bar Squats w/ Belt (That's a mouthful...)

 - 365x1, add belt, 1

 - 385x1

 - 405x1

 - 415x1



 - 385x3

Not a particularly big fan of these, but I never work on the eccentric phase of the lift, so I figured it was time to do so. Plus, it is a nice change of pace.

Saturday, 11/22/14

Felt absolutely wrecked going into this session. Tired, worn down, not really ready to get a lift in, honestly.

 Low Bar Squats w/ Belt

 - 365x1 - add belt

 - 345x1 - moved down to get my groove

 - 385x1 - felt horrible

 - 405x1, 1 - both sets felt awful. This is something I did earlier in the week, without a belt, with ease. Just called it quits here. Still got quality work in that 85%+ range, so it's all good.

Sunday, 11/23/14

Front Squats

 - 315x1

 - 355x1 +10lb PR. Haven't done these in like 6 or 7 months, so I was very pleased with the speed of this on camera. Also pretty obvious that there are some left-right differences in front rack flexibility from this video. Not very comfortable looking front rack, probably due to the fact that I just haven't done them in a while.



 - 315x3 +40lb PR

'Speed' Sumo Deadlifts

 - 345x 1 x 10 sets - about 60-90s rest between sets, focusing in on maximal velocity off the ground to lockout. Felt decent.

Paused Bench Press

Haven't been able to bench press due to elbow pain, but I got my compression cuff in, so I wanted to test it out.

 - 225 x 3 x 3 sets - not too bad. Had a couple reps where the left elbow just gave out on me, but I'm still probably good for about 270 right now. Could've done all sets for 5 reps. Decently happy with that. Need to get my speed back, but everything else was fine.

Monday, 11/24/14

Remedial circuit and recovery work. Nothing of note to post about.

The Great Squat Experiment, Week 6

Josh Trammell

Wednesday, 11/12/14

 Wide(r) High Bar Squats w/ Belt

 - 315x1 - Add Belt

 - 315x1

 - 365x1

 - 405x1

 - 415x3 - PR + 10lbs - around a 10 RPE though. Went a little too hard. Was pissed from the struggle all last week though.

 - 385x3

Narrow Sumo + Belt

 - 365x1 - Add belt

 - 405x1

 - 455x2 - ties previous PR at a narrower stance

 - 425x3

Felt like crap, so I stopped.

Thursday, 11/13/14

Beltless Low Bar Squats

 - 365x1

 - 395x1

 - 405x3 - Rep PR + 2 reps (also, PR + 20lbs)



 - 375x5 - Rep PR +2 reps



Felt like crap, but it appears fast on video, so I'll take it.

Friday, 11/14/14

Birthday Pause Squats (low bar)

- 365x1

- 395x3 - PR + 40lbs (haven't done triples for weight in a while)



- 365x3

Saturday - Monday:

Ate at my favorite restaurant for my birthday, and managed to get food poisoning in the process. Thus, no training happened on any of those days.

The Great Squat Experiment: Week 5

Josh Trammell

I will preface this log by saying I spent around 20 hours driving in a car from Monday - Wednesday afternoon. Hips were destroyed, didn't get any lifting in, generally felt like crap that first workout back. Anyway, here it is.

Thursday, 11/6/14

 Beltless High Bar Back Squats

 - 365x1

 - 395 x miss (what the hell?) - hips shifted out behind the bar. Got pissed. Took another shot at it

 - 395 x 1 - kept hips in a better position, less shifting, more lifting. Still pissed though

 - 335 x 5

Friday, 11/7/14

Beltless High Bar Squats

 - 365x1

 - 385x1

 - 405x1 - get recruited by powerlifting team, turn them down

 - 365x3

 - 315x3, 3-second pauses at the bottom of each squat, cause I felt like it

Conventional Deads (no belt)

 - 365x1

 - 405x1

 - 405x5x3 sets - PR + 20lbs and 2 sets

- Starting to get the hang of conventional pulling. Took a while. Turns out my build favors a KK/Pete Rubish-ish type of pull. Almost enjoying conventional now, after hating it for so long.

Going to play around with 2 deadlift days: 1 conventional (for volume), 1 sumo, where the intensity will be upped. See how that goes along with all the squats.

Saturday, 11/8/14

Staying on the strugglebus...

Pause Squats - beltless

- 315 x 1

- 345 x 1

- 365x2 - PR +1 rep (cheap, I know)

- 335 x 3

Sunday

The strugglebus continues!

Beltless High Bar

- 365x1

- 385x1

- 405x1 - a little slower than normal, still haven't fully come back from that dang car ride.

- 365x3

- 315x3

Monday - Recovery/Pump Day

1A) Kossack Squat -> crossover Step-Up 3x12/leg
1B) Chest Flies 3x12 (5-10s eccentric for the stretch)
1C) Rear Delt Flies - 3x12

2A) Bar Hangs x a decently long time
2B) Bear crawls focusing on neutral spine and breathing
2C) Half Kneeling Chops - 3x8-10/side

Week 5 sucked.

The Great Squat Experiment: Training Log, Week 3 (or 4?)

By: Josh Trammell

*Note: This is a little over 3 weeks into the training cycle I'm currently in, experimenting with very high frequency, every-day max (EDM) style squatting. I won't go into the specifics of the plan here (future article will), but here's my log from the last week.

Previous videoed PRs:

385lb Belt Pause Squat x 1

Beltless, 415lbs x 1 High Bar Back Squat

Competition Stance Low Bar Squat 435lbs x 1 with a belt

445lbs x 1 Competition Stance Low Bar Squat, with Belt

Wednesday, 10/29/14

Beltless, Low Bar Back Squat:

 - 365lbs x 1

 - 395lbs x 1

 - 420lbs x 1 - +5lb Beltless PR

 - 385lbs x 4: +1 rep PR @ 385lbs

 - 355lbs x 3

Thursday, 10/30/14

Beltless High Bar Back Squats

 - 365lbs x 1

 - 390lbs x 1

 - 365lbs x 5 - +2 rep PR

Bench

 - 225lbs x 1

 - Elbow decided to crap out on me. Called it a day here. No use in aggravating it any more.

Friday, 10/31/14

 - Beltless, Paused High Bar Squats

 - 355lbs x 1

 - 375lbs x 1 +10lb PR

 - 385lbs x 1 +20lb PR

 - 335lbs x 3 new 3 rep PR

Conventional Deads:

 - 365x1

 - 405x1

 - Add belt: 405x5 (7 RPE)

Narrow Sumo:

 - 365x1

 - 405x1

 - 455x1 - tied Beltless PR with a narrower stance. Oh, and I haven't pulled sumo in around 6 months

 - 425x3 - 7 RPE

Sunday, 11/2/14

Safety Bar Squats

 - 330x1

 - 380x1

 - Add Belt: 410x1 - +60lb PR

 - 350x6 + 35lb PR

 - no belt: 310x5

Lifter Profile: Bob Peoples

Aris DeMarco

Note: I haven't seen any really comprehensive articles describing Bob Peoples and his training online, so this is my somewhat lengthy attempt to remedy that. I've been looking forwards to writing this one for a while now.... Happy holidays!

Previous historical posts--
Marvin Eder
Continental weightlifting
Eugene Sandow
Lillian Leitzel
Maxick

In March 1949, Bob Peoples, a middle-aged, middleweight farmer from Tennessee, smashed the world heavyweight deadlift record by pulling 725 pounds. The record would stand in the 181-pound class until 1972, and was never officially surpassed in the pre-drug era. Peoples did not use any equipment other than a belt and chalk, and made the lift with a mismatched, odd collection of plates on a standard bar. He trained alone, in his basement, while doing demanding physical labor work full time, and received no money for his efforts. Small wonder, given his circumstances, that Peoples became a legend even in his own lifetime.

Tough to tell, this may be the historical 725, right before lockout. Looks like at least 695 or so.

Bob Peoples began training at the age of 15, in 1925. He started by following a Farmer Burns course for three years, using a 60 and 75-pound dumbbell, before acquiring a barbell set at the age of 18, and commencing training with it. He was immediately able to deadlift 350 and 'awkwardly' clean and jerk 160, weighing about the same himself. 350 @ 160 is obviously nothing to write home about but is excellent for a first-time effort. Peoples' leverages were doubtless partly to thank for that (he had long legs but proportionately even longer arms, and a shorter torso in comparison. When standing upright and relaxed, his hands hung to about mid-thigh). Within a year of barbell work, he had pulled 450, weighing 165 at a height of 5'9''. 

In addition to the barbell work, Peoples used implements around the farm for his training. He set up a pair of barrels with a pipe through them, weighing 500 pounds. He used them for yoke walks and partial deadlifts, gradually standing on higher blocks in order to pull 500 for the first time. Using the dumbbells, he apparently did many swings, presses, and snatches. The olympic 'classical' lifts, which at the time were the snatch, clean & press, and clean & jerk, were the accepted method for strength testing and competition at the time so Peoples began work on those as well. He recalled "For some time I trained rather irregular on the five lifts, the deadlift and squat, as well as some strength stunts and played a year of football in college. Eventually, I began keeping notes and records of my lifting and training. The first of these is dated November 1, 1935..."

His first weights listed were a 500 deadlift, 150 press, 150 snatch, 215 jerk, 300 full squat, 125 bent press, and right arm jerk 150. He began really focusing on the deadlift, squat, and 3 lifts, starting a regular program at this point: 

Warmup

Deadlift

Full squat

Press

Snatch 

Clean & Jerk

Each for one set of 3-5 repetitions, using double progression (i.e. taking a working weight for 3 reps and progressing to 5 reps with it, before adding weight and starting over at 3). 

Peoples did this daily for six weeks. His deadlift jumped to 540 and his C&J to 225. 

Peoples' basement gym, which he excavated himself. Note the 'ringweight', an elementary trap (hex/shrug) bar, in the background of the top photo. Also note Peoples' lanky build--short torso, long arms and legs.

In 1937, Bob entered a weightlifting contest. He pressed 150, snatched 160, and C&Jed 205, weighing 163. He began deadlifting more at this point, using multiple sets of 3-5 reps and employing a reverse grip. (A mixed grip, that is--one hand supinated, the other pronated.) Peoples wrote that "this was my first experience in such a contest and I didn't do too good. I trained in the back yard... set up two posts in the ground and bored holes in them in such a way that I could load up a bar at finish deadlift height... dead hang deadlifts [were] of great value in developing the deadlift." Point of interest: heavy deadlifts starting from the top but not touching the floor at the bottom of each rep are an excellent assistance exercise--for some. I read someplace that most lifters are either the 'good morning' type or the 'stiffleg deadlift' type when it comes to deadlift assistance... it seems that lankier lifters such as myself benefit more from the lift closer to the deadlift itself, while wider, squatter lifters with shorter legs benefit more from the exercise more closely resembling the squat. Makes sense, right? 

In addition to the aforementioned ring bar, Peoples constructed a power rack with pins, straps, and holes every four inches. He wrote that "this apparatus is an absolute necessity for anyone training alone as I do." He used this to deadlift 600 for the first time, in 1940. The program consisted of stiffleg deadlifts from a dead hang, conventional deadlifts from a dead hang, and conventional deadlifts from the floor, all for single reps increasing in poundage, and also ring weight deadlifts. Bob said that he believed he had too much variety for best results... but this was also the point in time he began thinking of making a world record in the deadlift. 

Here are some more of Bob's programs along with his notes (and mine): 

"Sample program from the summer of 1940. 

Deadlift 450x1, 484x1, 519x1, 560x1, 584x1. Press 143x4, 153x2, 163, 173, 178, 183. This was one day's workout. On the second day--

Half deep knee bend 300x4, 490x12, 530x6, 555x4. On another workout day--

press behind neck 123x5, 133x2, press 143x5, 153x2, bench press 153x6, 163x1, alternate press 70x5."

It is curious that this is the only mention Peoples ever made of bench pressing in his training. He does not mention doing any regular work on this lift or even owning a bench; too, the poundage is rather low in comparison to his overhead presses. Perhaps he meant some other exercise--maybe standing incline presses, popular at the time, wherein a lifter would lean back against a board placed against the wall at an angle. Either way, this is likely where the rumor that 'Peoples could barely bench his own bodyweight' originated... but he could doubtless have done much more. 

1941: Worked on the three lifts and also the leg press (done with a barbell on the soles of his feet, lying on his back in the power rack), full squat and deadlift, "mostly dead hang lifts in both stiff legged and regular style. After this training period I did a 630 deadlift, 400 deep knee bend, 170 press, 190 snatch, 260 clean and jerk, and 290 clean."

1942-3: missed 5 months training due to work. Deadlift dropped to 400. "My back strength did not seem to come back very fast and I seemed to have lost the technique. My leg strength came back very rapidly, however..."

July 1943: partial squat (~1 foot ROM) 635x1 and 600x7, did 600x10 in August. Deadlifted 500 again in September, press back up to 185 and snatch to 195. 

September 21: dead hang deadlift 600, partial squat 675. 

October 21: full squat 410, snatch 190 "without any foot action" (presumably a power snatch)

According to Peoples, "my program was still the same--usually 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps with each lift."

1944: Partial squat 725, dead hang deadlift 600x2, 625x1. Then, in 1945:

February 1: squat 350x10, alternate dumbbell press

February 2: squat 400x2, alternate press 80s x7/arm

February 3: squat 400x3

February 6: alternate press 90s x5/arm

February 7: partial squat 600x7, alternate press 90x5

February 8: deadlift 450x5, dead hang deadlift 600, press 170x4, 180x3, jerk 230x2

February 10: deadlift 500x3, dead hang deadlift 600, snatch 180x4, press 180x3

February 11: partial squat 650x1, alternate press 90s x6/arm, jerk 230x4

February 12: deadlift 500x4, dead hang deadlift 600, press 180x4, snatch 180x4

"You will note that I did not use any set schedule but varied the program between the lifts according to the way I felt, some days doing just one lift and on others doing several. Most of the time I worked every day but never did more than 3 to 5 reps on any lift. I followed this program throughout 1945 with slight variations and finally worked up to a 475 squat, 217 1/2 press, total 670." (The total being press, snatch, and jerk.)

1946: missed 6 months training. Began again in July, training to set a world deadlift record. "I used the three olympic lifts and then worked on the deadlift starting with about 350lb for 3 reps and adding weight in 50lb jumps until my limit was reached. I trained daily in this manner."

September 1946: Tennessee State weightlifting meet--185 press, 220 snatch ("state record," he remarks), 230 jerk. Deadlift 651 1/4 weighing 175. 

What looks to be about 650 going up....

The last specific routine Peoples mentions is similar to the one preceding it: Daily training with the deadlift and either the press or the snatch, sometimes doing partial squats, working up to a top set of 1-3 reps. August 1947, deadlift 700x1, 600x7 (a week later). September 1947--680 deadlift, 500 full squat. October 4th--at the Bob Hise Show, deadlifted 700x1 for an official world record. End of 1947 in Nashville--deadlifted 710x1. 1948, 'near miss' with 719 in Detroit. 1949--deadlift 725 3/4 weighing 181. 

Bob listed his records, in 1952, as the following: 

225 press, 230 snatch, 271 C&J. 530 full squat. 725 deadlift. 

Rye Bell also wrote (in 1948) that Peoples could do:

Full squat 450x7

Leg press (as described above, with a barbell) 750

Alternate dumbbell press 100s x5 each hand

Deadlift repetition PRs: 450x28, 500x17, 600x8, 650x4. Stiffleg dead hang deadlift with 625. 

I have seen quoted from other sources:

'Highside' deadlift (partial lockout, presumably from knee level or just above it) 900 lb. 

Dumbbell cleans, pair of 110s x10--first rep from the floor, and then 9 reps from the hang

On the classical lifts:

Rye Bell wrote that "[Peoples] has cleaned over 300 pounds, but is a comparatively poor jerker. His form in the three lifts is very rough and he is capable of far more than this. In the snatch he simply pulls the bar up and walks under it...." Peoples himself remarked that the jerk was "always hard for me due to my extremely long arms though the clean was very easy due to my powerful back."

On the squat:

According to Pete Vuono "Bob was one of the first to do serious work with and utilize the 'power' squat... upon ascending out of a deep squat, Peoples would intentionally bend forward to utilize the combination of legs, hips and back. To further enhance this movement, he created a harness with a bar inserted through it. The harness encircled the shoulder and allowed the attached bar to 'ride' almost halfway down his back. This provided a better center of gravity and thus allowed for a very helpful overload method. 

Bob Hise said the same: "his back being very strong, he noticed that coming up out of squats he would do a type of exercise which was between a knee bend and a good morning movement. A shoulder apparatus was built to support weight and facilitate the exercise. This and quarter squats plus taking heavy weights from the racks and doing rapid deadlifts by bouncing the weight off the floor (i.e. touch 'n' go reps) increased his strength a great deal more."

Peoples wrote that he tried 3/4 squats but they did little for him, so he preferred to do heavy lockouts, half squats, or full squats (apparently with a focus on hinging on the way up). He also did some of his ring bar deadlifts from a maximum deficit, that is, starting from the position of a full squat; and of course leg presses in the power rack, to increase leg strength. 

On the deadlift:

Bob went back and forth between using a hook grip and a mixed grip. For a while, he even tried a double underhand hook grip, but must have abandoned it along the way since there are no photographs of him using it. He always lifted with a somewhat wide conventional stance, and a rounded back. In a famous quote: "I would breathe out to normal then do my deadlift. I feel this is much safer than following the customary advice of the experts to take a deep breath and then lift. By breathing out you lessen the internal pressure and by lifting with a round back you lessen the leverage--all of which helps add many lbs. to your lift. I realize this style may not work well with everyone but it my case it seems ideal."

Terry Todd imitating Peoples' form under the watchful eye of the man himself

Terry Todd noted that "[Bob] correctly reasoned that a rounded back helped the leverage in the deadlift by shortening the lever arm (the back) and therefore increasing the amount of weight that can be lifted."

Bob Hise recalled that Peoples would "study his body leverages and gravity centers. He would take a bar in a starting deadlift position and view himself in a mirror and notice by the raising or lowering of the bar as he changed grips, using different height shoes, inhaling slightly, inhaling heavily, exhaling slightly, exhaling heavily and observing the positions and conditions that suited him best. He decided that the best position for him was rounded back, palms forward, hook grip and to lift barefooted and with a completely exhaled thoracic cavity...."

Bob Hise II wrote that Peoples wore no shoes, only socks, to deadlift. He deadlifted 728 @ 178 [presumably the 725 @ 181 performance, according to a different scale... no digital scales in 1949!] with a double overhand hook grip. However, he experimented with an underhand grip "because it is the natural way to lift." Hise Jr. also remarked that Bob deadlifted with "a steady, no-pause lift from the floor to a strong stand up finish." That is--constant tension, not an explosive grip 'n' rip. Bob Hise Sr. also wrote that with Peoples' 725 lift, "it seemed like an eternity before the barbell left the floor" and the lockout was "a final mighty heave." Thus, Peoples' form was perhaps not the most explosive or coordinated movement, but relying on brute strength, tension, and an ideal leverage point to elevate the weight. 

Peoples noted that "I would breathe out to normal, round my back, raise my hips, look down and begin the lift." All of these cues had a purpose. In addition to lessening the internal pressure, breathing out decreases the length of the pull stroke (range of motion) by a little and, in my experience, results in slightly greater activation of the obliques in comparison to bracing out with the stomach. This, combined with rounding the back and raising the hips, also moves the bar closer under the lifter's center of gravity (shortening the lever arm, as Todd explained), especially if the lifter has rather long legs. Raising the hips, rather than dipping them down for the start, also activates the hamstrings more than the quads. This is useful because the quads will not be able to come into play very strongly with such a back-dominant form as this one. An important detail--I have found no clear pictures of Peoples deadlifting from the very revealing side angle. I am not sure if he was incorporating lumbar flexion, like Orlando Green or Jouko Ahola--or merely thoracic flexion, like Vince Anello or Konstantin Konstantinovs. I am guessing that Peoples used a decent amount of lumbar flexion, as that naturally occurs with the 'bracing in' of an exhale before the lift, and that is what Terry Todd demonstrates in the photo above; but it's really impossible to tell exactly what Peoples did without a photo of him doing it. 

As can be seen above, Peoples' training was for the most part, very simple. 3 to 5 lifts (and perhaps a few variants), 3 to 5 reps, one top set. Basically, low volume high frequency ramped stuff, similar to what a lot of knowledgeable strength coaches advocate today. 

• Peoples commented that "I usually used one set of low repetitions for strength building. I used the most weight possible and went for as many repetitions as I possibly could.... Many have used the set system... in my case, I found this to be more tiring and as I always used maximum weight and repetition, I felt I could not make as much progress." 
• He believed that double progression was "the most foolproof method known" and liked using 3 to 5, 5 to 7, and 7 to 15 as the rep ranges. 
• He also liked training every day though he found it "more difficult to gauge my progress. For example, if I could use 450 pounds for the dead lift each day for about two weeks, I was good for 600 pounds in a single dead lift." 
• He experimented with pre-exhaustion, doing very high repetitions with a heavy weight by way of a 'warmup', and also descending sets. But both sapped his energy and strength and he returned to the basic one top set format. 
• He liked training 4 to 5 days each week, and in the afternoon, but had to train whenever he could--sometimes every other day, sometimes as little as 1 or 2 days weekly; and sometimes late at night after work. 
• As is apparent from his logs above, lots of fairly instinctive daily heavy training was done. He also liked working to a daily top set of deadlifts for a while, and then when he went stale doing the same with squats, and working back and forth. 
• He experimented with different types of machines, including a 'hopper' that could raise the supramaximal deadlift bar to lockout. From there, Peoples would do a controlled negative and then bounce the bar off the floor, attempting to use the stretch reflex and rebound to lock the weight back out. He also tried to build "a handstand machine. This however, didn't work out and my press remained the same. I also tried a rowing machine adjusted to about 500 lbs. in an effort to localize the blood circulation in the hip area but this too failed." Peoples was not immune to defeat, Bob Hise II recalled that "his wife Juanita told me of times he would get so angry with himself because he wasn't progressing that he would actually carry his weights from the dungeon and throw them down the hill--swearing never to lift again. A few days later he would lug all the weights up and back to the dungeon and train harder than ever."
• As can be seen from his logs, Peoples was very fond of heavy partial movements. Heavy 'high deadlifts' and partial squats were done often, and he experimented with combining partials through various parts of the ROM with full lifts. "For example, in the press, you can start and do five repetitions with 300 pounds. Using this in a separate movement, five starts do not use much energy. Then do the finish movement, starting slightly above the sticking point. If you can use 300 pounds for five repetitions, this can be performed with much less energy. Then do the regular press. For example, in using maximum resistance, 200 pounds is the maximum weight at the point of longest leverage (sticking point). By using 200 pounds in a regular movement, more repetitions can be accomplished." 

Overhead lockouts. 

I do think that while Peoples' love of machines and contraptions and lifting gadgets cannot be exaggerated, he did not use them as much as one might be led to believe just by reading other articles. The great majority of his training was either full or partial barbell lifts, done for low sets of low repetitions, almost every day. The most important things we can take away from Peoples' legend?

1. Consistency and hard work. Though he did have excellent leverages for his most famous lift, Peoples had to work for it--he deadlifted 450 within a year of starting lifting at age 18 but did not pull 500 until he was 25, did not pull 600 until five years later, did not pull 650+ until SIX years after that, 700 the next year and 725 two years after that. Twenty-one years of constant hard work towards one singular goal--a maximal deadlift--from his start to his eventual peak. Keep in mind, of course, that Peoples was not a professional athlete but 'just another guy' lifting in his basement every day after work....

2. Simplicity. 3-5x3-5, basic lifts, a few variants. No need for anything fancy. No drugs. No complex periodization schemes. Complexity isn't a bad thing, of course, but everything has its place--and keep the 80/20 rule in mind. If you can make as much of your training as possible that '20%' that gives the results... your progress will be better. And that goes for anything, not just lifting. 

3. Experimentation. Peoples constantly explored his form, exercise variations, built new machines and lifting apparatus, etc. We're all individuals, and have to find things out for ourselves at some point. That goes for life beyond lifting too, of course. 

Sources:

Bell, Rye. "Tennessee Hercules." 1948. 

Hise, Bob. "Bob Peoples: World's Greatest Deadlifter." 1964. 

Hise, Bob (II). "The Bob Peoples I knew."

Peoples, Bob. "My Training Methods." May 1952.

Peoples, Bob. "Systems and Methods I Have Used."

Todd, Terry. "Bob Peoples and the Roundback."

Vuono, Pete. "Bob Peoples". 1984. 

*Note--I think that all these articles except for Rye Bell's and 'My Training Methods' be found at the Dezso Ban blog, hands down one of the best sources for historical strength and physical culture information on the internet. 

As always--hope you enjoyed the blog. There'll be more great stuff coming in 2014, including at least one post on roundback lifting. Comment below or email at affectinggravity@gmail.com with any questions! Happy holidays! 

Creating the perfect training routine, part 2: the triple bodyweight deadlift

Aris DeMarco

In part one, I wrote about the general factors you should consider when designing a specific training program, regardless of what your goal(s) are. Here's a detailed example; a recent program of mine that got me to my first triple bodyweight deadlift.

Setting the goal:
After joining the strongfirst deadlift team, I of course began thinking of our competition and wanted to put up a good number on the platform. About two months before the meet, my best deadlift was 395. The goal I settled on was simple--add 15+ pounds to my deadlift 1RM in 8 weeks. I'd been hovering around a 2.5-2.75x bodyweight pull for some time, and figured that my first powerlifting meet would be a good place to smash through the triple bodyweight barrier and break through into the 400s. Plus, a triple bodyweight lift would be a state record in the IPA, albeit an unofficial one (as it would not be done in a full power meet).

Limitations:
I had some severe limitations at this time. I trained at home, and my mismatched plates, knurling-deficient bar and uneven basement floor didn't exactly provide great lifting conditions. Also, I'd be recovering without the very high protein, high calorie diet of the all-you-can-eat meal plan I enjoyed while at school. Thus, I had to take steps to adapt. First off, because I was training under less than ideal conditions with only 8 weeks to go before the meet, any sort of pre-planned periodization cycle would be ill advised at best.

Not exactly the Russian camp at Taganrog...

Sacrifices:
Given my recovery limitations and the fact that I really wanted to work as hard as possible on deadlifts, I decided to cut all 'unnecessary' exercises out of my training. Ideally, of course, I'd do some sort of pullups, rows, hyperextensions, shrugs, or whatnot to help boost my deadlift; or include squats or presses to balance out my routine, but I decided that wasn't necessary to improve my pull. I'm built pretty decently for the deadlift and can gain well on it just by doing it. So deadlift I did, and... for 7 weeks that's all that I did.

Personal enjoyment:

This was pretty straightforward. The deadlift is one of my favorite lifts, and I was perfectly content doing nothing else for almost two months. Meet prep was frustrating at times, especially when my basement flooded and I had to wear rubber boots to lift, but my eventual progress was definitely worth any temporary lack of my usual zeal for training. 

An effective approach:

Over the past couple of years, I'd come to notice that moderate frequency, low to moderate volume, high intensity training was best for my deadlift. Working up to a top set of varying reps every 4-7 days or so really seemed to be the best course. I decided to stick with those basic guidelines (moderate frequency, fairly low volume, high intensity) when planning my prep program for this meet. 

Regarding my deadlift itself, speed off the floor is definitely my strong suit and lockout is my weak point. Generally, I rip the bar off the floor and try to blow through most of the sticking point with momentum from a fast start, then grind the rest of the way to lockout. I decided to alternate sessions in which I spent a lot of time developing speed, with sessions developing grinding strength and lockout power. So:

Day 1

Beltless speed pull doubles in 2 or 3 progressive waves of 2-4 sets, for example:
215x2, 245x2; 235x2, 265x2; 215x2, 285x2; 255x2, 285x2, 305x2
*I tried to increase the weight I could lift in 1 second, videotaping many sets in order to time the lifts. I pulled from a low pause because it wasn't as rough on my recovery. I don't have a video of this, but I slowly squeezed the bar off the floor about an inch, paused, and snapped it to lockout from there; a 'standing start', if you will.

Day 2
Ramp up to a top set of 3-5 belted deadlifts, or a top double-paused DL single. I often followed the double-paused pulls with a set of 5-10 RDLs, e.g.
Double pause DL 135x5, 215x1, 265x1, DL 305x1, 335x1, double pause DL 365x1, RDL 215x5, 285x10
*Double pause deadlifts were done with a short pause just off the floor, and another at the knee. This was to take away my momentum completely and force me to grind the lift all the way through instead of relying on my speed.

Terrible video quality, but you get the idea

And... there you have it. I designed a program based around 1. my very clear goal, 2. what had worked for me in the past, and 3. my training conditions (and limitations) at the time; trained very hard, and was successful. My deadlift went from 395 to 412.5 in 8 weeks. 

Other stuff...

As I anticipated (though I did hope--and try--to prove myself wrong) I was unable to pull a really good top single in training; failing with 375 and 385 several times... quite stupid, really. The biggest weight I moved during prep was 365. I did manage 360x4 about two and a half weeks out from the competition, and that let me know that I was on target. Simply put, the strength I built could not be demonstrated well under training conditions. 

As far as tapering for the meet went, I just worked very very hard and then took the week off before competing. Doing only one lift, I chose my first two attempts very conservatively (360 and 385) so that I'd have plenty of energy to go all-out on my third; a strategy that paid off. 

The lift I wanted to make before I even started lifting....

As always, I hope this blog was informative (and didn't bore you to death!) --I'll have the next posts for the old(e)time strongman series and the bodyweight progressions series up before too long. 

You can leave comments and questions below or send them to affectinggravity@gmail.com, and watch our youtube vids here. 

Simple progression part 1: staggered conditioning and 'the daily max'

Aris DeMarco

The 'simple progression' articles will be a series of blog entries giving examples of some of the most straightforward and effective ways to progress with basic training. This first method is primarily intended for beginners or intermediates using high repetition exercises--primarily bodyweight, but also kettlebells, or sandbags. Perhaps high repetition barbell lifting as well, though not many people do that (I'll have a post giving one useful example of that soon). Of course, more advanced athletes and lifters can use this first method as well, when in a deload or base building phase when more endurance is desired.

For a rank beginner, movement is most important. Or, to be more precise, making movement a daily habit. I don't train hard every day, but I believe it's important to be active on some level, every day or close to it, in order to be generally healthy. It's a cliched saying in training but I believe it holds  for beginners nonetheless--if you are only active for 30 minutes each day, do you think your body will respond to those 30 minutes, or the 23 hours and 30 minutes you spend sitting in a chair behind a desk, on a couch, or lying in bed? The most important thing to do is not only begin activity, but maintain it, and force your body to adapt and 'realize' that it has physical demands to meet.

Thus, beginners should train every day. It won't be possible to make progress or even give a best effort every day, of course; (though beginners can certainly progress more quickly than more advanced trainees as their bodies rush to adapt to the new strains). So, a very basic rep cycling program can be easily implemented to make those first forced progressions a bit more efficient. Some days, you'll work harder and go for a new 'personal record', or PR. Others, you'll take it easy. These lighter sessions will help get some blood into your muscles and aid in recovery (some people call this 'feeder' work), and also keep you moving and doing something even on the days you can't go all-out.

Here's an example. Say you can do 30 pushups to begin with. You'll do one set each day.
Monday: 30 reps (all out effort)
Tuesday: 15 reps (very sore from the day before, but this wasn't too hard)
Wednesday: 20 reps (last one was only slightly challenging)
Thursday: 33 reps (struggled, but got a new PR!)
Friday: 25 reps (not as sore as after Monday's effort, so did a decent number)
Saturday: 15 reps (took it easy, did these with scarcely any effort)
Sunday: 35 reps (another PR)
etc.

If you want a percentage plan, 100-50-75-100+ is one simple way to program this, i.e. max out, do half the reps the next day, three-quarters of your best the day after that, and if you feel good on the next day, try to beat your original number.

Because you're doing only one set, recovery is fairly easy, and your body will adapt quickly, so gains will be rapid. Also, you should probably do several exercises one after the other if you want some conditioning/cardio benefits, because a single set won't do much for elevating your heart rate. A set of pushups, then squats, then pullups or rows, then glute bridges or hyperextensions, then situps or leg raises (see Alex's blog here)--each following the above pattern of high reps on some days and low reps on others, can form a complete mini-routine that can be done daily. Before too long you'll be hitting some pretty good numbers.

After a few weeks of this (yes, you really will adapt that quickly!) you'll likely have doubled your initial reps, maybe more. I used this format several times when I was just starting out, for bodyweight squats and kettlebell swings. I went from 100 to 200 consecutive squats pretty quickly, and went from under 100 straight swings with a 16kg kettlebell to over 300 straight within less than a month.

The Daily max:
Doing this sort of daily work is extremely effective but after a month or so it can become monotonous for some--that's why I'll have plenty more basic progression examples in blog posts to come. However, if you like the habit of doing 'one set for everything, every day' here's the next step. You'll keep doing one set daily, but stop alternating between 'easy' and harder sessions on purpose. Each day, you'll go for a 'daily max'; this is a maximum effort but not a truly all-out one, something that requires hard work but won't cripple you because you'll be doing another 'daily max' the very next day.

An example with unweighted (bodyweight) squats: your best is 150 reps.
Day 1: 130
Day 2: 120
Day 3: 150
Day 4: 125
Day 5: 140
Day 6: 155

Or maybe something like that. One good way to go about a daily max is simply to do as many consecutive reps as you can without pausing in between. When you're really going all out, stopping and breathing a few times between the last rep (or dozen reps, depending on how many you're doing) is natural. But with daily max work you don't want to prolong the effort. Instead, you'll do close to your best (80-90%, perhaps) without really pushing yourself, every day, and every now and again if you feel good push just a little harder and break through to a new PR. And if you don't succeed in a new PR, don't worry about it--there's always the next day, and the day after that....

This is one of the more effective methods that you can use as a beginner, or for general conditioning, improving your max reps in one set, or building the work capacity to train every day. Try it--good luck!

Lessons learned from Marvin Eder

Aris DeMarco

Originally posted on Bret Contreras' blog, http://bretcontreras.com/

Ever since the primitive beginning of heavy athletics and strength sports, there has been the simple question “who is strongest?” And while the quest to define a single ‘strongest man ever lived’ may be a fruitless one, there are quite a few names that should be brought up in such a discussion—Marvin Eder’s is one of them. Pat Casey, the first man to bench press over 600 pounds, said that “pound for pound, Marvin Eder was probably the strongest man of all time.”

Eder was something of a tragic figure in the world of physical culture, due to his early retirement from strength sports at age 23. His short-lived career, however, only makes his tremendous accomplishments that much more impressive. Never weighing more than 200 pounds, he was a top tier Olympic lifter and bodybuilder, and had enormous strength in a number of uncontested ‘odd’ lifts.

Weights or bodyweight, barbells or dumbbells, high or low repetitions, Eder did it all and did it frighteningly well. His pressing strength and endurance from all angles was nearly otherworldly—he overhead pressed 330 in competition as a middle-heavyweight when Jim Bradford, a 270-pound superheavyweight, held the world record with 370. Eder became the first man under 200 to bench over 500, did a parallel bar dip with over 400 pounds of extra weight, 25 handstand pushups on a horizontal ladder, side pressed a 120-pound dumbbell for 50 repetitions and managed a crucifix hold with a pair of 100’s. According to David Gentle, Eder could squat 475 for multiple sets of 10 in a normal training session; Eder himself claimed that he squatted 300 for 50 and deadlifted 665 “like an afterthought” after one training day. The rest of his lifts were equally impressive—he split snatched 265 in competition with poor form, almost muscling the weight up; strict curled over 215 on a straight bar at an exhibition, did 8 one-arm chins with each arm (some training partners say that they saw him do 12 or more) and 80 wide grip pullups, and performed a straight-arm pullover with 210 pounds. These are staggering numbers, especially when one considers that they were all accomplished by an athlete normally weighing 180-190 pounds.

pressing 305 in street clothes

Doing all of this, in the pre-steroid era, before even turning 25 clearly marks Eder as a genetic marvel—a very, very gifted athlete. Eder himself said when speaking with Gene Mozee, “I was blessed with God-given strength”, and in a 2007 interview with David Robson noted that “I had enormous recuperative powers and was always ready for the next workout” and that he was “not at all” an average person. Obviously, attempting to copy Eder directly would not be wise, and certainly would not get a trainee nearly the same results. However, there is much we can learn from Eder and his training methods, especially because his abilities as an ‘all-rounder’ are undoubtedly something for any lifter to aspire to. Having looked over many of his interviews, anecdotes and routines, I think there are a few lessons that can be taken away from Eder himself.

1. Don’t limit yourself
Unless you yourself are an elite level competitor in a certain strength sport, there’s no reason to have tunnel vision and limit your focus to just the powerlifts, or the Olympic lifts, or anything else specifically. One thing that many of the best lifters from the 1890s all the way through the 1960s seemed to have in common was their willingness to experiment, and develop their own favorite lifts in addition to whatever they had to do for competition. There’s definitely something to be said for that jack-of-all-trades mentality, developing all-around power and general rather than purely specific strength. And though Eder was a competitive Olympic lifter he also did plenty of heavy benches, laterals, curls—which doubtless helped him in his bodybuilding career—along with his heavy chins, dips, and occasional phases of high rep training. “I sometimes felt like doing high repetitions in the deep-knee bends,” Marvin said in his 2007 interview with Dave Robson, “so I did sets of 50 with 300 pounds and I would do side presses with 120 pound dumbbells, sets of 50 on each arm….” Clearly, this sort of ability with varied lifts in different rep ranges can’t be attained by sticking stubbornly to just one type of training or only a few lifts.

2. Focus
This may seem somewhat contradictory to the first point, but it’s important to focus even when more variety is incorporated. Looking at Eder’s own training, it’s apparent that in addition to the three Olympic lifts (press, snatch, and clean-and-jerk, at that time) he liked squats, benches, chins and dips, along with curls and laterals. Prioritizing that handful of lifts for years, for low or high reps, through many changes in routine, is what gave Eder the sort of all-around power apparent from seeing his records. I believe that focusing on progression continually with any chosen lifts, even through changes in routine, is a very important piece of common sense that some lifters miss. It seems that quite a few trainees change many of their goals every time they alter their routine—but no one will have really impressive numbers without actually concentrating on a particular lift for at least a few years. So focus, even when diversity is incorporated, is very important. Eder definitely didn’t throw random lifts together for his training, he stuck with a fairly short list of his own favorite exercises along with the ones he competed in, and took them as far as possible over a long period of time.

weighted dips with a tolerant training partner

3. Build volume gradually
Eder reportedly trained like a maniac, saying that Reg Park “was one of the few guys who could keep up with me.” Reg was himself a tremendous lifter as well as a champion bodybuilder—Schwarzenegger’s original role model, in fact—and he too was known to train at a very fast pace. That he and not many others could keep up with Eder is proof of the intensity that Marvin brought to the gym. Eder also incorporated very high volume in his training, saying to Dave Robson that “at one time I would train six or seven hours a day and the number of sets sometimes went up to 15 per body part….” For a drug-free lifter, even one with well above average recovery abilities, this tolerance for heavy training must have been built up over time. Eder explained that “at the beginning I trained every other day. Then as I advanced I would do split training: upper body one day, legs and midsection the next day. Then as I advanced beyond that I started to do Olympic lifting along with the training and at that time it went to four times a week….”
Here’s one of Eder’s more basic routines as explained to Gene Mozee: The whole body is trained every session, 3 days a week on alternate days.

1. Squats. Close stance, slightly below parallel.
2. Bench press. Medium grip width, lower to a high point on your chest.
3. Bent over row from hang, same weight as bench press. Keep your back parallel to the floor and pull the bar to your rib cage.
4. Standing press, taking the weight off the rack. Don’t pause at the top or bottom.
5. Chins or pulldowns, bringing the bar to your upper chest.
6. Seated dumbbell curls
7. 100 reps for abs.
Sets and reps for the above done as follows. Do 3 sets of 8 with a straight weight for the first two weeks, then 4x6 for another two weeks. Deload for a week, then do 5x5-7 for a month, deload another week, then 3x3-5 for a month followed by 3x6-8 for a month. Rest as long as necessary between sets and warm up well, and try to eat 1.1 grams of protein for each pound of your own weight.

After those basic full body routines, as Eder said, he switched to an upper/lower split approach. One of his press routines from this period, according to an article by Paul Waldman:

Warmup: 205x5, 255x2, 290x3
Workout: 300x4-5 sets of 3
According to the article, “Marvin’s press has usually increased about 15lb every 6 months. As of February 1953, his best press, at a bodyweight of 198 pounds, was 340 pounds.”

Eventually, Eder moved on to his preferred four-day split, two on one off.
Day 1—overhead press, dips, squats, snatches, abs
Day 2—Bench, chins, deadlifts, calf raises.
Day 3—off
“Train consistently and use whatever set and rep scheme you feel comfortable with.”

This was apparently when Eder really began ramping up the total volume and workload on his primary lifts. Reps and sets ranged from 5x10 to 10-15 sets of lower reps, to the aforementioned 50-rep sets on some exercises, maybe higher volume for the chins, dips, and abs; or even the occasional grueling 7-hour session as Eder mentioned to Robson. As you can see from these routine examples, Eder built himself up and conditioned himself to train hard and heavy and high volume, over a long period of time. Again, he was no average lifter but he is proof that a natural trainee can adapt to seriously high workloads in the gym, given enough time and dedicated work.

4. Don’t neglect conditioning
Even with an emphasis on heavy training, it’s important to keep some endurance or conditioning work in the mix. This doesn’t mean throwing circuit training or long runs or HIIT in after every lifting session, of course. Eder said that he didn’t really do much in the way of cardio, but “very often weight training was done at a rapid pace with very little rest between sets. And this depended on the type of training I was doing. So we might have considered it aerobic when I did it that way.” One example of Eder’s intensity was when he decided to break Jack Lalanne’s record for the fastest time doing 1,000 parallel bar dips. Jack had done it in 20 minutes… Marvin ground the thousand reps out in just 17 minutes! That sort of training, along with his 50-rep squat and press sets, show how variety and endurance work can be incorporated into a strength based routine. Long after his official retirement, in his 60s and 70s Eder still did very high rep workouts, including 500 consecutive split squat jumps or 500 crunches in addition to other calisthenics, and powerwalking—he believes that light endurance type training is most important for the older trainee.

5. Keep health and personal enjoyment as first priorities
This may seem obvious to some readers, but keeping personal satisfaction and health as the primary concerns is a key aspect of anyone’s training. In his interviews, Eder repeatedly stressed that “health was never divorced from my training… above all, have the goal of good health.” According to him, the stronger he got the healthier he felt. He also emphasized his distaste for chemical enhancements—which were just starting to come into play in sports when he retired. Eder noted that his training was for its own sake, and though he enjoyed competition he was not one to obsess over records or recognition. Even when he was banned from amateur competition due to some professional involvement, he overcame disappointment by saying, “they denied me, but I had the sheer joy of doing it and that sustains me.” I have always firmly believed that doing something just for its own sake is the most powerful motivator and Eder certainly exemplified that. His ‘lifting advice’, was simply: “enjoy the feel of the steel in your hands, but struggle to get it overhead. Make contact with that. Build yourself up in that manner and you enjoy it for the rest of your life.”

Consulted sources/further reading:
http://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2009/03/marvin-eder-gene-mozee.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/drobson304.htm
http://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2011/05/powermass-training-gene-mozee.html
http://www.ironhistory.com
Willoughby, David. The Super-Athletes

The first one-arm chin

Aris' article--originally written March 2012

Now that I can do full OACs with either arm, I think I'm allowed to write on this topic....

I wanted to do OACs basically since I started training, so I guess I trained directly or indirectly for about 3 years, give or take. When I started I could do about 5 full chins, it took me a little over a year to get to 20-straight strict pullups.

A while after that I began doing weighted chins, after some time working with sets of 5 I was able to do a single with +80lb. After that, working with triples (mostly 3x3 with a weight, when I could do all 3 triples with a minute 30 in between I'd increase the weight). This led to PRs of +70x4 and +105x1 (underhand chinups) at a bodyweight of 145.

After quite a long time off from focusing on chinning (~8 months) I started up again with high frequency, low volume sets of 8-12. I worked on this for about 4 months, working up to +45x10 chins and +35x10 pullups with a very wide grip, at a bodyweight of 140. Finally, I spent about 4 months doing 1 or 2 sets of 1 to 4 reps, 2 or 3 days per week.

At this point I was comfortable using +80 or so with very good control and an overhand grip and began thinking of going for a full one arm chinup. I'd spent some time training for the OAC with the 'towel' method over a year earlier, holding onto a towel with my 'non working' arm and gradually moving down the towel to provide less assistance, but that ended badly--only able to do 15 consecutive chins at the time, I simply was not ready. That was the first and only time I got bad elbow tendonitis.

The final 3 months leading up to the OAC were when I began doing specific exercises.

At first, I felt weakest at the top of the movement, so I started pausing my weighted chins at the top to take away all momentum and get comfortable at holding myself there. I also ended my sessions with a two-armed bodyweight-only hang either at the halfway point, or with my chin over the bar for 1 or 2 sets of 30 to 45 seconds. Both of these additions helped a great deal and soon I was able to 'lock off' with one arm, chin over the bar, for 5 seconds or so without trouble. However, the bottom of the movement had now become my main weakness.

To solve this new problem, I began doing my weighted chins with an extra hang at the bottom between rests, pausing for a full second or two and relaxing my shoulders. I had to work into this one slowly to avoid shoulder pain/injury but it did pay off with increased lat/rear delt power off the bottom and increased chest (serratus/pec) recruitment. The other technique I used in the final month or so before the OAC was a one-arm isometric, pulling up from the bottom of an OAC as hard as I could with my lat/bicep and bending my arm as much as possible. I also did a lot of dead-start partials, either 1/2 or 2/3 range of motion on the OAC, for about 6 weeks before the OAC to maintain my specific strength in the upper range of the movement.

In the middle of February I learned that there would be a bodyweight training event on the 25th of March to commemorate Jasper Benincasa's passing. I decided to try and get the OAC with each arm by then; at the time I was able to do 2/3 reps with each arm and had chinned +90x2 (normal style, no extra pauses). This final month, as aforementioned I did a lot of weighted chins paused at the top and bottom (working up to +90x3 this way), partial OACs (standing on stacked barbell plates beneath the chin bar), isometrics, and finger-assisted full range OACs.


I got my first OAC with my right arm on the 12th, and continued normal training until the 3rd week of March, at this point I took a few days off and then did the following sets:

Which at the time was probably the best personal record I'd attained in all my training.

Summary:
-be able to do at least 20 consecutive strict pullups from a dead hang (many different methods of achieving this will be outlined in future blog posts)
-add weighted chins, cycle between 3s and sets of 8-10, alternating between a top set and 2-3 sets when progress stalls
-When you can chin about +2/3 bodyweight with full range and good control, begin working on specific stuff
-Partial OACs, slowly adding ROM were my biggest specific helper.
-Pausing weighted chins at the top, and bodyweight chinup holds at the top helped strengthen my 'finishing' portion of the chin.
-Isometrics and 'relaxed' hangs between reps of weighted chins strengthened my 'starting' portion.
-Lots of reverse curls reinforced my brachialis. I did not get tendonitis though my elbows still do hurt for a day or so after a hard OAC session.

That's about it. Hope this helps all you guys who also want to do OACs.


Alex's article--from May 2013
Everyone already knows all there is to know about the OAC.
Except maybe how to beat it when you're just... so...very.. close.

There are many great resources about training one handed chins, one that is by Aris here and it's awesome. Look at that first to get a feeling for what actual strength goal you should have and how to lay out the training program. I was not strong enough when starting to train with a focus on one hand, so you should learn from my mistake and build a base first.

I've posted about training weakpoints before and this comes up now again. My weakpoint was not endurance, it was not strength, it was neither biceps nor triceps. It was tension.

Perhaps you are great already at building the right tension through your entire body and can generate good force through one arm with it. In that case, I have nothing to contribute. Keep training! If you're stuck with good strength but still can't just understand how to get the right groove, read on.

I used loads of uneven chins, pullups, negatives and weighted chins but nothing got me better at building tension than static holds. I call it lockoffs, like climbers do. This means no movement at all, just very high tension holds. Instead of working only more uneven chins and other two hand movements, try this:

- learn the top lockoff, chin over bar and arm tucked in tight. Curl your legs up if it feels easier, like and L-sit.
- Work this as your primary chinning movement and work up to 15 second holds

- work in 90 degree holds when you can master the top lock. Work up to 15 s holds as well
- add 120 deg holds if you feel up to it.

- you can add weight to the top lockoff, I got to +10 kg for 6-8 second holds before completing a OAC.

1,2 or 3 times a week depending on your other goals. 3-5 holds at top, and 2 holds at 90 and 120 deg is what I did.

I'm now working singles of OAC and using lockoffs for one arm pullups on a sharp edge, I enjoy the thought of being able to bust out a OAP anywhere so I train for it.

My final goal is the one finger OAC and you can bet that I'll train for it using different locks!


Train good.