June 21, 2006

6 responses to A Russian twist

  1. Scott Says:
    June 22nd, 2006 at 12:12 pm

    I like the look of that. As you pointed out, there isn’t much room for recovery in there - have you got anything formal planned for the off days, or are you just doing these according to current needs?

  2. Alberto Caraballo Says:
    June 22nd, 2006 at 5:30 pm

    I am tracking your every move, so catch that blog of yours up. Looks killer but you might look like a brick house afterwards. How’s it going so far?

  3. Mike Says:
    June 22nd, 2006 at 5:47 pm

    I used this routine when I was in the Army. Adding in sprints on tuesday and thursday for recovery and dips and pull ups on monday and friday. Had great success with it doing 505/275/550 at 198 under ipf judging.

  4. Mike Says:
    June 22nd, 2006 at 5:56 pm

    Just read about you changing your bench technique. Let me send you this article on Ken Fantano and athletic benching. It works VERY well and I am currently making the transition. ALthough I am a big believer in Blakelys’ staying tight and not letting it sink, with some practice on “athletic benching” you will become very explosive.
    http://www.martygallagher.com/more/259_0_1_0_M/
    http://www.martygallagher.com/more/350_0_1_0_M/
    Good Luck

  5. Kris Says:
    June 22nd, 2006 at 9:42 pm

    Scott, most definitively have something planned for the off days, and that’s formal rest and restoration. :-)

    Alberto, just finished the deadlifting at week 4. Have had some overuse issues (groin pain, left biceps) but have managed to clear those up. I am feeling stronger every week and am now looking forward to forge ahead with the heavier weights. More detail to follow.

    Mike, those articles expanded my mind and I got to see a wholly new dimension in terms of getting explosiveness out of the bottom of the bench, thanks for sharing! Here’s the gold nugget:

    “All kinds of things happen as the bar is lowered…the legs are progressively loaded with more and more tension and the leg tension maxes as the bar touches the chest. WE purposefully let the bar sink into the chest. [..] A correct leg drive starts at the feet travels through the legs and ends up in the prone torso. Send a freaking shock wave though the torso Mart… time the bar push to start at that exact instant when the leg shockwave passes through the torso and under the barbell. When the shock wave arrives at the chest/shoulder/arm region, the jolt is combined with a really violent expansion of the chest and waist.” Ken had learned how to expand his chest/waist so dramatically and powerfully that he had blown apart the half-dozen rivets that hold the monster steel buckle onto a 5-inch wide powerbelt. He exploded belts on two or three different occasions. “The leg drive and chest/waist expansion get the bar moving.” He was explaining how to generate momentum out of thin air. “The bar is moved upward explosively. Do it right and the bar leaps off the chest. It is dependant on the timing and execution.”

    I don’t feel quite ready to experiment with this right now as so many variables of my bench are already changing and I’m learning how to really tighten up at the bottom, but I’m highly interested in hearing how it turns out for you. Seeing video of this in action would be really cool. This is really cheating taken to a fine art, but as we all know, powerlifting is about getting the most amount of weight up within the rules. I still have that little voice in me though, that feels we should all go back to benching full-range and flat-backed. That’s one of the reasons I have resisted working on an extreme arch, but am slowly getting there… Good luck!

  6. Måns Says:
    June 23rd, 2006 at 10:37 am

    Which is almost what I do when benching: feet on the bench, back flat against bench. Except I stop the bar just shy of touching.

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