Bench Press History - Sean Katterle

Click Pics to ENLARGE

Bench Press History, Records and Raw Lifts
by Sean Katterle

Bench pressing began in a crude form in the 1930s, when lifters literally lay on a wooden “bench” or box and pressed a barbell up off their chests. For decades before that men had trained on different versions of the floor press. Some lifted while laying flat on the ground, and others would arch during the lift the way a wrestler bridges. The bridged version of the lift was often referred to as a “belly toss” because the pressing portion of the movement began with a back and leg arching maneuver to get the bar started.

People could obviously move more weight through belly tossing than through flat-backed floor pressing, but many recognized that it was not a true upper-body anterior strength test. Belly tossing was a form of “cheating” for the same reason that barbell swing-curling isn’t an accurate test of a person’s biceps strength. The flat-backed floor press was and is an excellent strength-building exercise, but you need a handoff person to work it properly.

In the ‘20s and ‘30s the proper technique in England was to belly toss the barbell skyward. In 1939 the AAU made a move to standardize what it called the “pullover and press,” pointedly banning the bridging technique. Bending your legs, raising your butt or shoulders off the ground, or separating your heels was cause for disqualification. “Some men are so flexible that they do all of the lifting with the abdomen,” Bob Hoffman complained in one of his weightlifting books, “the arms catching and holding the weight only near the completion of the lift. Retaining the bar upon the abdomen, the body is lowered until the buttocks almost touch the floor, then, with a quick raise of the abdomen, or toss, the bar is thrown from its position across the body backwards over the face. There the lift is finished by a strong pressure from the arms.”
John Sanchez, a noted powerlifting historian, explains why Hoffman felt the need to outlaw belly tossing as an official way to attempt a prone press: “After the rules governing shoulder bridge/belly toss technique were relaxed somewhat during the late 1920s, Bill Lilly was able to set many records due to his incredible flexibility. Lilly could slowly elevate the bar on his abdomen to complete arm lockout position. Some would take issue with this extreme maneuver, alleging it was more a contortionist’s trick than a genuine display of strength, but his records stood nonetheless. Apparently, Bill Lilly was so gifted with this new version of the shoulder-bridge movement that challenges to his 484 lb. record were nonexistent during the ‘30s.

“While the shoulder bridge or belly toss exercise may seem rather arcane nowadays, during its heyday it was a respected lift. Impelling a barbell off of one’s belly to the degree that such a maneuver required could not have been very easy or comfortable. Nevertheless, that was the only way lifters of that era were able to exceed double, or in the case of Lilly, nearly triple bodyweight while lying on their back.”

What’s ironic about the debate over belly tossing and flat-backed prone pressing was that nowadays some lifters have increased their flexibility on the raised “bench” to the point that their range of motion is basically cut in half, and overweight lifters use the combination of a tight-fitting bench press supershirt and a rotund power gut to do a soft handoff to the top of their belly and back again. They hardly have to move the bar vertically at all. They support the weight of the bar with the ultratight-fitting, reinforced bench shirt and then let the bar drift horizontally down their torso until it reaches the peak of their gut, which is very close to the same height as where the bar was handed off to them. When they get the press command, they simply drive it back toward their chest line and few inches upward to lockout.

The best way to keep those people from benching that way is to ban supershirts altogether and to insist that the lifter’s entire buttocks and shoulder blades remain in contact with the bench at all times. It’s okay to arch, as arching is a part of power-benching leverage and stability, but it’s got to be kept to a reasonable level. When the supershirts are removed from competition, the arching becomes less severe, and the heavyset lifters are forced to bring the bar up to their lower chest level. You can’t pull off the belly bench drift without the “support” of the shirt.

It was in the 1930s that trainees began using benches and boxes for the prone press. It enabled them to plant their feet on the floor while keeping their hips low and their butt and shoulder blades in contact with the bench or box. The AAU also approved the use of a spotter for handing off the barbell to the lifter so pressers could begin the lift with the weight in position over their chest.

All three variations of the press on back – prone floor press, belly toss and bench press – persisted relatively unchanged through the 1940s, but a hierarchy among them quickly developed. For bodybuilders the bench version gained dominance, and by the 1950s it was the king of upper-body movements, with noted advocates like Marvin Eder and George Eiferman. A major reason was that, as chest-conscious athletes, they liked its effect on the pectorals. John Sanchez further explains: “Interestingly, the bench press was to remain a somewhat controversial lift during the 1950s as lifters sought to maximize their advantage with outside help during its performance. What many would object to during these times would eventually become the status quo for the sport of powerlifting, however. Bench-pressing during the 1950s was an exercise in the throes of evolutionary ferment. The popularity of the lift as an aid to bodybuilders was responsible for the innovative development of rack stanchions, which some ‘traditionalists’ considered ‘cheating.’ Moreover, hand-offs as a means to get the barbell in place were similarly disdained by those who thought the best way to bench was by oneself, or unassisted.”

Prior to 1964 the sport didn’t have a national or world championship. Lifting competitions were held by independent groups of athletes and promoters, and aficionados of the sport were brought in to witness and credit the “record-breaking” feats of strength. One of the first acknowledged record holders in the press on back without a bridge was the famous German wrestler and strongman Georg Hackenschmidt. In 1898 he pressed 361 pounds – with 19-inch diameter plates – and it stayed in the record books for 18 years. He was eventually exceeded by Joe Nordquest, a heavyweight who pressed 363 pounds in 1916 – while using 18-inch diameter plates. A year later Nordquest would also set a record of 388 pounds in the belly toss, breaking the previous 386-pound record of German strength phenom Arthur Saxon. Among the heavyweights, an early record holder in the belly toss was George Lurich, a Russian wrestler who did 443 pounds in 1902.

Bench press stanchions – the uprights now seen on every make of pressing bench today – showed up in the 1950s, as did the first official 400-, 450- and 500-pound lifts. In November, 1950, Canadian Doug Hepburn became the first to officially pause 400 pounds. He did 450-plus (456 paused) exactly a year later and in December, 1953, made the first official 500-pound lift (502 pounds paused). Four years after that he barely missed the first 600- pound attempt. Hepburn also won a gold medal at the 1953 World Weightlifting Championship in Stockholm, Sweden. Tom Thurston covers the career of Hepburn, one of the icons of the sport of powerlifting, in Strongman: The Doug Hepburn Story (Ronsdale Press).

Though the Olympic lifting powers attempted to stop the odd lifts being performed in competition, they were unable to do so. One reason is that the odd lifts were some of the best for building muscle size and brute strength. What’s more, many of them – notably the squat, bench press and deadlift – didn’t require the flexibility and coordination that the modern-day Olympic lifts demand. In addition, those three moves, now known as the powerlifts, were the most accurate way of determining who the physically strongest person was. Olympic lifts decide who the strongest, quickest, most flexible and coordinated lifter is.

Many strongman lifts are multi-rep events that require conditioning and a different combination of fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle fibers. Strongman competitions are usually designed to favor an athlete who’s taller than average and has a bigger bone structure in his hands. Powerlifting, without the supersuits and bench press shirts, is still the most accurate way to determine who’s truly the best at limit-strength lifting. Skeletal factors influence the lifts’ leverage, but the biggest squatters, benchers and deadlifters of all time are all right around 6’ tall and all have a relatively “normal” limbs-to-height ratio.

It was IronMan publisher Peary Rader who made the first strong move to get powerlifting sanctioned in the United States. In 1958, at a National Weightlifting Committee meeting, Rader petitioned that a list of records be kept. Records set in the power movements were considered unofficial, at least by the AAU.

“Nevertheless,” John Sanchez explains, “Peary Rader sought to provide a national meet venue for which AAU records could be officially set in the new AAU ‘power’ lift category. Had things gone according to plan, that would have been the first ‘national power lift championships’ ever organized and was scheduled for the Fall of 1959. Unfortunately, Rader’s national meet never came to pass. The first national powerlifting competition would not occur for yet another five years, only this time under the auspices of Strength & Health magazine’s publisher, Bob Hoffman.

When the 1960s rolled around, Pat Casey began to take the bench press scene by storm, and he posted his own 500-pound press. He would go on to become the first person to officially break the 600-pound barrier, and his career high was a 615-pound push on March 25, 1967. Pat Casey a highly accomplished powerlifter on all three lifts, and he was the first man to total 2,000 pounds in a meet.

Up through 1962, despite Peary Rader’s attempts, bench records were still not being kept, and it was up to muscle magazine reporters to keep tabs on who had lifted what. The press-or-no-press portion of the lift started getting a lot oaf attention because a lifter could dangerously add a lot of weight to his bench by trampolining the bar off his gut or ribcage.

Bill Pearl wrote about Pat Casey: “I was afraid the benches would not hold the weight. He would do chest exercises with a pair of 220-pound dumbells. There was a corner of the gym where Pat stored his weights for special lifts. Nobody touched Pat’s weights. Nobody other than Pat wanted to touch his weights.”

Pat Casey became the first 600-pound bencher in history just 40 years ago. To this day the 600-pound classic bench press is one of the greatest strength feats an athlete can perform. When I say “classic” I mean a traditional bench press where a lifter gets the weight handed off to him on a bench and can chalk his hands and use wrist wraps and a lifting belt. Lifters can’t use elbow wraps or a bench press shirt and can’t raise their butts or shoulders off the bench, and they have to complete the lift using a full range of motion, with arms fully locked out at the end of the press. The 600-pound Classic Bench Press Roster above is a who’s who of the greatest heavyweight benchers the sport of powerlifting has ever seen. A 600-pound bench done without a supershirt is a remarkable achievement that takes years of dedication, and these athletes should be recognized for their incredible strength accomplishments.

My First Quarter-Century In The Iron Game - Siegmund Klein

Siegmund Klein, center
at age 16

Klein at 18

At 20

My Quarter Century in the Iron Game
By Siegmund Klein – Chapter One

Unlike many Physical Culture Teachers, I am proud to say that I have always been a healthy child and realized at a tender age that I was considerably stronger than my friends. I would delight in testing my strength. At school I partook of the exercises with great delight, and was usually chosen at act as leader in the various sports.

My father was gifted with more than usual strength, and I would like nothing better than to listen to some of the stories he would relate to me. On many occasions, he would lift a 112 pound ring-weight with his little finger from the floor, and place it upon an ordinary table, then return it to the floor again.

I would, oh, on so many occasions, watch my father washing, with his sleeves rolled up, or without his shirt on, and never tire of watching his muscular arms moving during this period. Then I would go through the same movements, in front of my mirror, but in vain; my muscles did not look the same. My age at this time was about twelve. Even at so tender an age, I was “muscle-conscious.” I did want to get muscular and strong.

One day, while a carpenter was fixing our windows, new cords and window pulleys had to be installed. I kept my eyes on the old ones and wondered if the carpenter was going to take the pulley weights along with him. Much to my delight he left them, and these were my first set of iron “dumb-bells.”

I trained with these weights, going through the various movements I had learned at school with wooden dumbells. My enthusiasm could not be kept secret and soon some of my friends were invited to exercise with me in my “little gymnasium.”

Up to this time I did not know that Physical Culture books or magazines were published.

At school our physical training teacher took delight in teaching some of the more enthusiastic boys tumbling. Soon a trio – Mike Ritter, Yale Sharp and myself – was formed and we would give tumbling exhibitions at school displays and field days. We would attend the vaudeville houses in Cleveland, and would usually see some “hand-balancing” or tumbling acts, then go back to our school gymnasium which was at Kennard School, and try to do some of the more advanced stunts. I being the strongest of the trio would be the “bottom man” or supporter of the other two athletes, when such stunts required it. I was getting stronger and it was not long before I was able to lift Mike, the lightest member, overhead with two arms.

As enthusiastic as I was about hand-balancing and tumbling, I felt that this was not exactly what I wanted. My “dumb-bells,” which I kept exercising with, were getting much too light for me. I did not know of heavier weights at this time.

Our trio attended East Technical High School in Cleveland, but would go back to Kennard School for our practice periods.

At East Tech I was always happiest when gym period was at hand. Professor Kern, our gym instructor, was indeed a very good teacher.

He knew how to inspire and get the most out of the boys. Special classes were formed for those boys that intended to become physical training teachers. The preparatory courses consisted of apparatus work, tumbling, group gymnastics, and how to instruct calisthenics. I was selected for this class as I intended to make physical training my career.

Fate, however, had other plans for me at this time. My older brother who had a bake shop could not get sufficient help, so after school I would work in the bake shop until late in the evening as well as all day Saturdays and Sundays. This of course put an end to my attending the Prof. Kern “after school” gym class. My father thought that this would be the best for me. He wanted to send me to a baker’s college after completing high school.

While working for my brother, many opportunities presented themselves to “show off” my strength. When for instance supplies would be delivered to the bakery, I would, to the delight of the truck drivers, help them. I would take two jelly pails that weighed thirty-five pounds, “muscle-out” one of them, and walk into the shop. Or lift a sack of flour that weighed one hundred and forty pounds overhead with two hands.

It was about this time that a friend of mine, who knew my interest in strength, showed me a “Physical Culture” magazine. I was all eyes. I hoped that the magazine would have been published more than once per month. Each month exercises would be illustrated, and I would practice them faithfully. Tommy Faber posed for many of these illustrations, and little di I know at the time that Mr. Faber, who was, as I learned later, a professional hand-balancer, never obtained the shapely figure he had from practicing those particular exercises. From time to time Charles Atlas, Earle Liederman, William Waring and other well known athletes posed for these articles.

In the pages of “Physical Culture” magazine advertisements appeared such well known Physical Culture Teachers as Lionel Strongfort, Adrian P. Schmidt, “Prof.” W. H. Titus, Earle E. Liederman and Anthony Barker. Each of these advertisements showed a picture of the teacher and some featured one or several pupils. Most of them mentioned that for as little as ten cents (some gratis) they would mail you their booklets and therein describe what they had to offer you in detail.

I at once sent for the booklets. This was done without my parents’ knowledge, and when the booklets started to arrive, I was of course questioned about this, and my father was a bit perturbed, telling me that I was “strong enough” without taking any such courses. This was, as you shall read, only the beginning of trouble with me.

To take a “course” I was determined. Reading and re-reading the booklets, I could not make up my mind which course to purchase. Some o the teachers kept their system a secret until purchases, others would show pictures of the apparatus that was sold, with glowing terms of praise and informing you that if you followed this particular course you too could get the development shown. In fact, you could become a Sandow.

Up to this time I did not know or hear much of Sandow, save that he was reputed to be the “Strongest Man in the World.” I did see a picture of Sandow on a “strength testing machine.” It was his famous column pose.

Though this “machine” with Sandow’s picture was quite a distance from our home, I would, whenever the opportunity presented itself, go there.

This pose was to me, the greatest, most magnificent display of sheer muscular beauty that I have ever seen. Sandow’s well-shaped head, his handsome face, powerful and muscular arm, his well-molded torso, his capable looking legs – all inspired me to greater heights. Here, I thought, was the athlete that I would pattern myself after.

Knowing that Sandow was a weightlifter, and if Sandow obtained such a fine development by using weights, then I too wanted to train with weights.

None of the booklets I read advocated barbell training.

In 1919, an advertisement appeared in “Physical Culture” magazine that attracted my attention. Some pictures of a “Muscular Marvel,” Edward Goodman of Los Angeles, graced the page on which appeared a notice that subscriptions were being accepted for a little magazine called “STRENGTH,” and that this magazine was being published again, having discontinued publication during the World War.

I ran to the post office to mail in my subscription. I always thought that my subscription must have been the first one received.

After what seemed ages to me, the magazine finally arrived. I could hardly wait to get it out of the envelope. I read and re-read every page of that little issue of STRENGTH. Here, for once, barbells were being advocated for exercise!

A few days later a catalog arrived with illustrations of the various types of barbells that the Milo Barbell Company of Philadelphia sold. Inside were photographs of strongmen showing their fine development, and testimonials by these athletes mentioning that through the use of barbells they obtained their strength and development.

This was exactly what I had been looking for. The urge to send for the barbells was only dampened by what my folks would say or do if I purchased them, and had them shipped to our home. I did not dare ask for permission, knowing full well what the family thought about my training.

With determination, off to the post office to mail my money order. Together with the information sheet all filled out, I sent for a One Hundred Pound Barbell Set, and instructed the company to ship the weights by freight (so that I would call for the weights at the freight station). Though I was never aware hat it would take considerably longer than by express, it was nevertheless the wiser method.

Being seventeen years of age at this time, another discouraging thought occurred to me. Would this company accept my order without the consent of my parents?

A few days later a letter arrived confirming the order and that my set of barbells would be shipped as requested in a few days . . .

The Soft-Hard Routine - Mike Livingston

Frank Schofro

Jack Lalanne

The Soft-Hard Routine
by Mike Livingston

What is a soft-hard routine? Essentially, it is a two-part, four to six month program in which the muscles are first softened by very heavy, low rep movements, then toughened and expanded by use of high repetition movements.

Before beginning, however, two things must be assessed. First, decide what you want from this program. If it’s size and physique development then perform bodybuilding movements in phase one. If power is your aim, then concentrate on presses, squats and cleans, etc. Second, determine how much weight you need in each exercise to complete 1 set of 2 reps. Once the exercises are determined and the weights ascertained you are ready to begin.

Do between 6 and 8 sets of singles with the weight you’ve selected in each movement. Forget completely about reps and endurance work. It’s power you’re building now. Increase weight as soon as you can perform 2 reps in your first set and still complete 7 more sets of singles. For example, with a best single bench press of 300 you might work to 280 for a double and 7 singles before adding weight.

But – and this is important – don’t jump too quickly. Make sure the first 4 sets feel as if you could force out another rep. Otherwise you’ll go stale too quickly. Phase One must last at least two months to be effective.

The moment you begin to go stale, that is, when you dread each workout and your lifts begin to drop, switch to the second phase. Now, instead of doing the double and singles, force out 3 sets of 8, 10 or even 12 reps with the same movements. Put power completely out of your mind. Concentrate on expanding and pumping the muscles. At the end of the two phases you will have gained in strength and in development.

I guarantee you’ll be surprised at the effect.

Add Strength With The Quick Lifts

One of the best things about weight training is that there are so many ways to improve your functional strength. To me, functional strength is all that matters, for if you can’t use your new power in some manner, what’s the purpose of training? There are dozens of excellent exercises for the various parts of the body. There are also many variations of set-and-rep sequences. Some coaches believe in using higher reps and less weight, while others say that handling heavy weights for lower reps is the ticket to success. There are systems designed for the rank beginner, the intermediate and the advanced lifter.

All of the methods of achieving a higher level of strength fitness are based on some logical principal and, in fact, they’ll all help you get stronger. At least that’s almost always true. Individual variances play a major role in the process of gaining strength. The program that works best for you often depends on your athletic background, age, limits due to old injuries, ability to recover and the amount of time you can afford to spend in the gym. What’s good for the goose is not always right for the gander.

There are, however, some truisms that apply to all systems. One is that working your muscles and attachments at a faster-than-normal speed influences growth in a positive manner. Changing the speed of movement you use on an exercise helps jar the body out of complacency, a state it always seeks. Training with weights isn’t a normal situation. It’s contrary to what the body really desires, which is to relax with a cool drink and the remote control in hand.

Sweating and straining over heavy barbells and dumbells in a hot, smelly gym for an hour or more doesn’t fit into the physical self’s notion of an ideal day. Fortunately, we humans have some control over our minds, and that allows those of us who have determined that resistance training is beneficial – which may mean better health, more vitality, improved physical appearance and/or enhanced athletic skills – to make ourselves believe that the time spent in the gym is actually enjoyable. And, when the numbers are consistently moving up and we’re adding muscle and defining our physiques positively, it’s fun.

One of the sad facts about any form of physical training, however, is that eventually your body will adapt to the work being done and fall into complacency once more. When that happens, progress comes to a halt. Now, if people have achieved a rather high level of strength fitness, plateauing isn’t so disturbing, for in some instances they’re happy with their physical state. Even so, most are eager to push the numbers up and do something to kick their bodies into gear in order to make even more gains.

Changing the speed of exercises is an excellent way to jar your body out of a homeostatic state, but the approach has to be sensible, as many exercises should not be done in a rapid motion. To do bench presses in a snappy fashion or try to squat too fast is merely inviting injury.

The solution is to incorporate some exercises into your weekly routine that can be done quickly. In fact, they must be done quickly, as it’s the only safe way to perform them. There are a number of these so-called quick lifts, and they’re part of every Olympic lifter’s repertoire. That’s one reason why many who train for general fitness avoid them: They’re under the impression that in order to do any of the quick lifts you have to be gifted with better-than-average coordination, speed and timing. The quick lifts, they reason, are much too complicated to even attempt, let alone put into a weekly routine.

Not so! Some quick movements can be inserted into anyone’s routine, regardless of his or her current level of strength, background in weight training or even athletic ability. It is, of course, a fact that the more athletic people are, the faster they’ll master the quick movements, but even awkward folks will benefit. I’ve also found that many who seem to be rather clumsy initially end up doing the lifts perfectly in time. Keep in mind that some of the better Olympic lifters over the years weren’t the least bit gifted athletically. They achieved success in the sport only because they were willing to work hard.

There’s yet another common fallacy concerning the quick lifts – the belief that you must do them perfectly in order to achieve any strength benefits. If you’re aiming to compete in Olympic lifting, perfection is a necessity, but it’s not a requirement if your goal is to improve your overall level of strength. Obviously, the more precise the technique the better, for that enables you to use more weight, but you don’t have to do the movements perfectly to benefit from them.

There are two quick lifts I recommend: the power snatch and the clean & jerk, or in some cases just the jerk. They’re enough to start with. Once you’ve mastered the form on them, you may decide to add a few more quick lifts, but these will serve you well, for you can do them with a minimum amount of equipment and achieve the skills rather easily. Also, they’re safe, so you can do them in a home gym.

I should add that you’ll find a set of bumper plates to be most useful. They’re really worth the investment and have become affordable in recent years. A pair of 10-kilo, or 25 pound, rubber plates will enable anyone to do power snatches right away.

The power snatch works the back in a very dynamic way because of the speed of the exercise and the wide grip it calls for. It really hits the lats and traps in an unusual manner and is one of the bet exercises for strengthening the rear deltoids. The rear delts are extremely difficult to hit directly with any amount of weight because the bar has to be elevated very high in order for them to become involved. Most movements that work the rear delts, such as upright rows, don’t let you use much weight, but relatively speaking, you can use a considerable amount on power snatches.

The wider grip works the rear delts uniquely as well. Lifting a loaded barbell over your head brings them into play much more forcefully than any other exercise. What’s more, the snatch is much safer than some exercises used for the target muscles, such as behind-the-neck presses.

There’s an added bonus for the back. Holding a barbell over your head helps activate some muscles that are seldom used. Whenever I start trainees on power snatches, I ask them the next day, “Where did you get sore?” The answer is always two places – the rear delts and high middle back, both are hard to strengthen.

I’ve found that power snatches put less stress on the shoulders than power cleans, which makes them ideal for people who have some sort of shoulder problem or lack the flexibility to rack a power clean properly.

Power snatches fit nicely in a weekly strength routine on the light day, for they have built-in limitations. Compared to the other Olympic lifts, you cannot use much weight on them. They’re a very high-skill movement, requiring a high degree of coordination, timing and quickness, which makes them desirable for any athlete. I’m a firm believer that the more exercises like that athletes incorporate into their routines, the better.

Some experts argue that doing high-skill movements in the weight room doesn’t carry over to any specific sport, but none of them works with 200 athletes, as I do. My experience has taught me that when athletes learn to do a complicated, high-skill exercise, using a decent amount of weight, the skill is very transferable – even in sports such as tennis and fencing, which don’t put as much emphasis on strength as some of the others.

Even if you aren’t weight training for an athletic endeavor, though, the power snatch is still a great exercise because it works so many useful muscles in an entirely different manner from other exercises. Many trainees find they can’t snap the weights dynamically to the locked-arms position, especially when they put some weight on the bar. The bar sticks at eye level, and they end up having to press it to arm’s length.

Power snatches are beneficial even if your form isn’t perfect. Of course, if your form is so sloppy that you risk injury, then you should avoid doing power snatches; but, if you’re pulling the bar correctly off the floor, keeping it close to your body through the middle and trying to snap it overhead, it will serve you well, for you’ll be working the same muscles the Olympic lifters work. Just keep in mind that by definition a high-skill exercise requires more patience and perseverance than a basic, simple movement.

The main thing is to keep the line of pull right. If the bar tends to pause at eye level when the weight gets heavy and you’re forced to press it out, that’s okay, even desirable. At that point the exercise becomes a combination movement, and I like to put as many of those as I can into a strength program. I have beginners start with light weights until they can do power snatches in decent form. By that I mean they keep the bar close to their bodies and snap it to the locked-arms position. After they learn how to do the lift correctly, with any amount of weight, I have them start increasing the poundage.

Eventually, they’ll get to a weight that they cannot snap to lockout but have to press out to the finish. I encourage that, for it really works the shoulders and back. On the final rep of the heavier sets I always have them hold the barbell over their heads for at least five seconds, longer if they can. That’s the icing on the cake, as it forces the muscles of the shoulders, back, hips and legs to work in a new way.

As mentioned above, the power snatch – and that includes the version where you press out your heavier sets – fits nicely into a weekly routine on the light day. That may be Tuesday on a four-day schedule or Wednesday on a three-day plan. For example, if you do deadlifts on Monday, you can come back the very next day and do power snatches because the weight used in the quick lift is relatively light. Lifters who handle 315x5 on their deadlifts will usually handle 155 or 165x3 on power snatches. Note that I said three reps, for after a couple of warmup sets of five reps or more, you should do all the sets of a quick movement in triples. With a high-skill movement the exercise isn’t as effective once your form starts to falter, so low reps help prevent you from breaking form.

Doing power snatches with 155 after deadlifting 315 isn’t all that demanding, but over several months the numbers will add up and help to increase your total workload appreciably. Plus, there isn’t any pressure to keep moving the weights up on the power snatch. It will plateau and stay there for some time – which isn’t a point of concern unless you happen to be an Olympic weightlifter. On the days when the bar is really jumping, you can move the top-end sets up and add a few extra sets, but on days when you feel extra tired and your coordination is off, you can handle less weight and just concentrate on doing the movement as correctly as you can.

How To Perform The Power Snatch

Assume your basic foot stance. If you aren’t sure what that should be, try this approach. Stand on the lifting platform, shut your eyes and place your feet as if you’re about to do a standing broad jump. That’s the right foot spacing, for it will give you the most thrust. Your grip will be very wide. Using an Olympic bar, place your ring finger on the outside of the score on each side. If you don’t have the benefit of an Olympic bar or your bar isn’t scored, experiment. Wider is better than too close, but if your grip is too wide, the lift might irritate your shoulders. Try some different grips until you find the one that serves you best.

When pulling with the wider grip, many people have a tendency to round their backs. Before you break the bar off the floor, concentrate on getting your back very flat. You can accomplish that by pulling your shoulder blades tightly together, which will flatten your upper back. When that area is tight and flat, the rest will follow.

Perhaps the most important point to remember when doing power snatches is to keep the bar close to your body throughout the movement – as in ridiculously close. The bar must travel right up to shins, be close enough in the middle to hit your belt – which you shouldn’t be wearing, by the way – and tucked in tightly at the top, so tightly that it brushes your chest on the way up. In other words, it can never be too close.

It’s a good idea during the learning phase to start the bar off the floor rather delicately, as opposed to quickly. When people try to hurry the bar off the floor, they usually bend their arms in the process. That’s another key point: Your arms must stay straight until the bar has passed your midsection. If your elbows bend too soon, you won’t have any snap at the finish, where you need it most. That’s one of the hardest things to learn. Feel your traps shrug before you bend your arms. The traps will elevate the bar, and then you can use your arms and shoulders to drive it overhead. Most people worry too much about getting the bar in proper position overhead. Don’t be overly concerned at first. Just get it overhead, lock out your arms firmly, lower the bar and do the next rep. Eventually, you’ll become more exact. When the bar is fixed overhead, it should be slightly back. If you could draw a line from the back of your head upward, that’s where the bar should be. It’s the strongest overhead position, for it places the bar directly over your spine and hips.

Be cautious when lowering the bar back to the floor. Beginners almost always round their backs far too much. First lower the bar back to your hips, cradling it in your lap momentarily before placing it on the floor. Don’t bounce the plates off the floor on the reps. Stop at the bottom and reset your back so that you do each rep as correctly as possible.

Try to think of this exercise as a whip. It starts slowly, then picks up speed until at the very conclusion the bar is a blur. You’re trying to throw the bar upward. Once it’s locked out, hold it momentarily, and you’ll feel it working your back in a way nothing else does. Stay with a light weight until you get the form down. Your form doesn’t have to be perfect, just functional. Then you can run the poundages up and on the heavier sets press out the weights. Some days you may want to stay light and do snappy movements for all your sets. I usually recommend 2 sets of 5 as warmups, then 4 or more sets of 3, working up to a max poundage. Many trainees like to take the same top-end weight for 3 to 5 sets. When the can handle that easily, they move the numbers up the next time they do power snatches.

The other quick lift I believe is useful for people who want to develop their overall strength, particularly athletes, is the clean and jerk or jerk. If you can power clean and jerk, fine; if not, then the jerk portion of the exercise still has value. The jerk is one of the few exercises for the shoulder girdle that you can do in a dynamic fashion. Push presses fit into that category, too, as do push jerks; however, it’s a bad idea to attempt to do flat benches, inclines or even overhead military presses extremely fast, for that always causes problems. Jerking a weight overhead, on the other hand, is something you can do explosively. If fact, you have to do it explosively, or it isn’t really a jerk.

Whenever I suggest that people should insert this lift into their routines, they usually balk, stating that it’s much too complicated. That isn’t true, for I’ve found that the jerk is really a natural movement for most trainees – once they’ve been taught correct form. Like the power snatch, it really helps to strengthen the back muscles that support the weight overhead. I like this exercise, for it makes you call upon many athletic qualities: coordination, timing and foot speed. It is, without a doubt, one of the very best exercises in all of weightlifting for enhancing foot speed. That makes it ideal for all athletes, but especially those who rely on quick feet, such as shot putters and interior linemen in football.

Jerking a weight overhead is a unique movement. It requires that you change your mental keys in the middle of the exercise. You have to think about thrusting the bar upward forcefully, then instantly shift your concentration into your feet so they’ll respond correctly. If your timing is off, the lift usually fails. As with the power snatch, I allow a bit of pressing out of the bar at the top on jerks, but, in fact, when the weigh gets heavy, if you don’t jerk it in the proper groove, there’s really little chance of actually pressing it out. The line on the heavier weights is most precise.

When people insert the jerk into their routine, they almost always find that they’re unable to support much weight overhead. That’s a good discovery, as it indicates that there’s a weak area in their structure. In a short period of time the weaker area, usually in the upper back, will become stronger, and that newfound strength will have a positive effect on all other shoulder exercises.

If people can power clean without any difficulty, I have them power clean a weight, then jerk it. That’s because it’s actually easier to jerk a weigh after cleaning it than it is to take it from a rack and jerk it. Eventually, though, you’ll need to do the jerks from a rack, for most people can handle much more weight on the jerk than they can power clean.

Where should you put the jerks in your weekly program? You must do them on a day when you’re fresh. Since they’re a high-skill exercise, it’s a mistake to attempt to do them when you’re tired. You should do them on your heavy day or, if they fit well for you, on your medium days. As with the power snatches, you can do the first few sets for 5 reps to warm up, then drop the reps to 3. Also a with the power snatches, there’s no pressure to move the weights up every week. On perky days you can handle more than on droopy ones, but you’ll be rewarded regardless.

How To Perform The Jerk

I’ve found that the jerk comes naturally for most people. Once they’ve been taught the correct form, they do it rather easily. If you can clean a weight without the movement’s bothering your elbows or shoulders, start out doing that. Eventually, though, you should move to the rack to do the heavier jerks, for that will enable you to concentrate on your form.

The first step is to spend a bit of time stretching your shoulder girdle. Very few people have the necessary flexibility to rack a barbell on their shoulders right away. That’s often discouraging, but it shouldn’t be, for in a matter of a few weeks almost everyone can acquire the needed flexibility. It’s simply a matter of spending some time stretching out your shoulders, which you can do at home. Lift your elbows upward while pressing down on your hand, guiding it gently back towards your shoulder. Prior to doing any jerks, set a bar inside the power rack and stretch out your elbows and shoulders.

I also allow beginners and anyone who doesn’t plan on entering an Olympic meet to place a towel around their necks when learning to perform the jerk. That provides a helpful cushion, but once you achieve adequate flexibility, you have to lose the towel.

With the bar locked tightly to your front deltoids, take it off the rack. You should learn to elevate your shoulder girdle slightly so the bar rests on your front delts, not on your collarbones. Your elbows should be set in the same position they’d be in if you were planning on overhead pressing the weight. Some trainees like to put them a bit higher.

Once the bar is firmly in place, take a short dip, less than a quarter squat. Don’t go too low, for that will carry you out of position, but a short dip will give you a powerful upward thrust. Drive the bar upward, very close to your face. It should nearly touch your chin. While the bar is flying upward, you move your feet. It’s just a quick split, with one foot moving in front. Which foot you shift to the front is up to you. One side will feel much more natural than the other, like being right-handed or left-handed.

At this point the time factor becomes important. The instant the bar hits the lockout position , your feet slam into the floor. Any deviation will adversely affect the success o the lift, especially when you use heavy weights.

As for the all-important foot position, you begin the jerk with your feet in the same strong thrusting position you use for the power snatch, which is typically a bit narrower than shoulder width. When you drive the bar upward, you rise high on your toes. That serves two purposes: It helps elevate the bar higher, and it enables you to move faster. You can split more readily when you’re on your toes than when you’re flat-footed. Your front foot travels about a foot, while your rear foot goes much farther. With light weights the rear foot may only reach back about a yard, for that’s all the split you need, but when the weights get heavy, the rear foot will have to go so far back that the final split resembles a lunge. It’s not a deep lunge, however, for too deep a split isn’t recommended. As in a lunge, your rear foot should be on its toes.

The real success with the jerk is to get a strong upward thrust, for without that nothing else matters. If you drive the bar upward with enough force, a small split will be enough to make the lift. Once the bar is fixed overhead, bring your feet back to parallel, keeping the bar locked out all the while. Reset and do the next rep. When the bar is overhead, it should be in the same powerful position I mentioned for the finish of the power snatch – slightly back, forming an invisible straight line from your ankles, up to your hips and back through your shoulders directly into the bar overhead.

Lower the bar back to your shoulders deliberately; don’t let it crash. Use the same set-and-rep formula as listed for power snatches: 2 sets of 5, followed by as many sets of 3 as you can manage.

Most people discover right away that quick lifts are fun to do. There’s a sense of satisfaction when the bar hits the right slot and jumps overhead.

So, if you’re seeking variety and feel the need for something different to attack your shoulders and back, insert one or both of these quick movements into your routine. They’re great additions to any strength-training program.

Q & A - George Turner

Click Pics to ENLARGE

Ronald Walker

Q & A
by George Turner

Question: How have you adjusted your training and diet as you’ve gotten older?

Answer: My training has changed a number of times over the years. Back in the 1940s I trained my entire body every time I worked out. When I got out of the service in 1946, I continued training that way and was lucky enough to get a lot of help in planning my workouts from Clancy Ross. In 1948 I got a job running the weight room at the YMCA where I trained, and around that time I began working out four days a week. To my three-hour, Monday, Wednesday and Friday workouts I added a Saturday session. I was still training my entire body each time and actually added a set to each of the dozen or so exercises I did. I was 30 years old, and I thrived on all the work.

In 1950 I opened my first gym and began training five days a week on a two-way bodypart split. One week I worked legs, chest and back on Sunday, Tuesday and Friday, and shoulders and arms on Monday and Thursday. The following week I simply reversed the bodyparts worked, with Wednesday and Saturday always my off days.

I moved to Santa Monica and the Muscle Beach scene in 1957, and managed the famous Dungeon for two years. For the next ten years I did variation on the five-day schedule. By now my workout included many sets and again lasted about three hours.

In 1967 I began separating upper- and lower-body training. I worked my entire upper body on one day, then on the next I ran two miles and trained legs and abs. I’d follow that schedule as many as 12 days in a row before taking a second day off. I continued training that way until late 1968, when I opened another large gym.

I was now 40 years old and had been training very hard for 26 years. I realized that I’d begun to need additional recovery time. I was quite strong but was beginning to experience wear-and-tear problems, tendinitis, muscle pulls and the like – not really injuries but clear warnings. To give my body the recovery time it required, I cut back to three days on/one off and started warming up thoroughly before each session. That way I was training each bodypart seven or eight times a month. I was still separating upper- and lower-body training. It’s a simple principle: You cannot work upper two days in a row, no matter how different you think the bodyparts might be. It just knocks the top off the recovery cycle.

I continued this method very successfully for a number of years, but by the early ‘80s even the three-on/one-off schedule began causing me to experience the overwork syndrome again. I knew quite well what the problem was – it’s called aging.

By 1984 I’d brought down my weight – which had been approximately 230 for 30 years – and settled in at a constant 208 to 210 pounds, even dropping to 185 to enter the Open division at the ’84 Mr. USA. I also started spreading my three workouts over five days, as follows:

Day 1 – chest and arms
Day 2 – cardio, legs, lower back and abs
Day 3 – rest
Day 4 – back and shoulders
Day 5 – rest
Day 6 – start again

I don’t sacrifice any heavy free-weight work with this schedule. I squat and deadlift religiously six times a month, heavy! I always warm up for 10 minutes on upper body days and ride a Lifecycle hard for 12 minutes to start my lower body workout.

My diet is very simple. I take a shitload of vitamins and supplements every day and have for the past 50 years, and because my metabolism has slowed, I eat just three moderate-size meals a day. I also take a meal replacement drink in the afternoon after my workouts. And, by the way, I eat two dozen eggs – including the yolks, of course – a week and about three pounds of meat. My cholesterol is 168 and my blood pressure is normal, as it’s been all my life.

I hope this long-winded answer to your question helps in your training.

Question: I like bodybuilding, but I also like powerlifting. Can I do both and be reasonably successful, or should I just concentrate on one?

Answer: I don’t think you can do both, I know you can! After all, powerlifting is a compilation of weight lifted in the three most fundamental bodybuilding exercises: the squat, bench press and deadlift. The list of champion bodybuilders who were also great powerlifters is endless. How about Bill Seno from Chicago? Bill was a world champion in the ‘70s who also placed in the top five or six at several Mr. America contests. Ten years earlier Chuck Collras was winning one big physique show after another in addition to being one of the three or four best 148 lb. class powerlifters in the world. Bill “Peanuts” West, my close friend for many years, has been credited with creating the modern sport of powerlifting around 1960, but before that he won any number of West Coast physique contests. Six or seven years later Bill won the national powerlifting title at 198 lbs.

Question: Who’s the greatest bodybuilder you’ve ever seen, Arnold, Reeves or Yates?

Answer: John Grimek.

Question: How do I get my calves to grow?

Answer: Your problem is one that has baffled bodybuilders for as long as we’ve been around. The easy way, of course, is to have parents who have large, well-developed calves; however, if, as with most of us, that isn’t the case, there are a number of things you can do to make them grow. Remember – it won’t happen overnight.

If you’re like most lifters, you’re likely doing too many exercises and, I suspect doing far too many sets and reps. There’s no point in analyzing your mistakes, though. Just switch to a routine that will get the job done right. This one has done the trick for many top people I’ve worked with and there’s no reason it won’t work for you as well. Here’s what I want you to do:

1) Train calves three times a week.
2) Do only one exercise. Never worry about your so-called lack of proper equipment. I owned several gyms between 1950 and 1992, but I can tell you that the most exciting, fun times I ever had while training took place in my basement and, later, in a handball court at the local Y that had been converted to a weight room.
3) Make that one exercise the first one you do on those three days.

The best calf exercises around, in my opinion, are donkey calf raises done with a partner – not on a machine! – and the standing calf machine. Since it’s not always easy to find someone who’s the right weight for donkeys, I’d stick with the standing calf machine.

Do only 8 sets total – and no more than 12 reps per set. It’s not how many reps you do but how you perform them. The reps are 12, 12, 10, 10, 8, 8, 8, 8.

Start with a weight that you can handle for 12 strict, slow reps. Hold each rep at the top, fully contracted position for a count of three. Without bending your knees at all, lower the weight slowly and deliberately to a full-stretch, heels-depressed position. Hold it for a three count, then, with the same smooth, deliberate action, raise your heels back to a complete contraction. Hold for a three count at the top and bottom of every rep.

Increase the weight by one plate on each successive set. When you get to the fifth set, stay with that weight for the 4 sets of 8.

Don’t kid yourself. If you do this exactly as I’ve outlined two things will happen. Your calves will get sore as hell, and they’ll start growing. This workout will test your powers of concentration, but it’ll give back what you put in.

Teeth Lifting - Hugh Cassidy

Click Pics to ENLARGE

Teeth Lifting
by Hugh Cassidy

The first time I tried teeth lifting I knew I was in for a real challenge. There was a tremendous pressure on the teeth and jaw, and the facial bones around the nose and eye-socket area really ached. When I released the weight I felt the bones ease back into place and the pain was even greater, and later in the day the back of my neck was somewhat sore.

I had sent away for a mouthpiece after first making a cardboard impression of my teeth. Teeth lifting sounds fascinating and very unusual, and as I was interested in neck strength I thought this might help and add variety to my training. After that first experience I was ready to chuck the whole business. Being part Scotch, however, I was determined to at least get my money’s worth out of the mouthpiece. One of the first problems I had to overcome was gagging. The mouth and throat seem unwilling to accept anything inedible at first. It was only after whittling the strap shorter allowing more space for the tongue that I overcame the gag reflex.

Getting the Proper Fit

It is important that all of the teeth, especially the rear ones, fit onto the mouthpiece, yet the strap be no wider or deeper than necessary so as to allow tongue and mouth freedom and to prevent gagging. The mouthpiece has as extra layer of leather on each side to prevent it from slipping out should your jaw pressure relax or give out. These two layers rest against the front teeth and it is a good idea to put the weight down when you feel great pressure here of you’ll never lisp again! The pressure should be felt in the neck and molar area. Too much pressure on the front teeth is your warning of trouble and indicates the molar pressure is lessening. A well-known English bodybuilder lost a few ivories a while back by evidently ignoring the pressure on the front teeth. I had 360 lbs. about six inches off the floor trying to pull it higher. The audience was shouting encouragement and I was pulling for all I was worth despite the great pressure on the front teeth. I didn’t want to set it down and look like a quitter and yet my teeth were really beginning to move instead of the weight. So I eventually wised up and put the weight down. Sometimes an audience will make you overexert yourself and get to, or actually, injured.

A good lifting mouthpiece sustained with a strong even jaw pressure will eliminate any strain on the front teeth. Without a good mouthpiece you’ll eventually have teeth so spread apart you’ll be able to gnaw an ear of corn through a picket fence. A well-fitting mouthpiece such as the one I recently had made and was a steal at $30. One can readily fashion his own cheaply with a little help from the local shoemaker, or send away for one. My teeth lifting partner Gary Beltoya put many hours in, whittling my mouthpiece to an exact fit. He worked from a plaster model of my teeth which my dentist (who thinks I’m nuts) made. Gary got a perfect fit, covering every tooth and getting the proper thickness of the outside layers even with the gumline. My strap is so constructed so that if one tooth goes, they’ve all got to go. Unless you’re eccentric or trying for a world record, or both, the regular mouthpiece will do nicely.

If your mouthpiece fits properly you will quickly find that teeth lifting is more a test of neck strength than that of teeth or jaw. I’d suggest a good warmup of the neck prior to a teeth lifting attempt, or else start very light. You’ll be surprised to find that you’re able to work up to over 100 lbs. quite soon. Even Bill Trueax, one of my training partners, was able to lift 145 lbs. on his first workout and he has no front teeth. Teeth development can serve two goals, that of neck development and that of strength. With practice and some heavy lifting, you can start lifting people with straps as well as weights. Lifting a human body never fails to elicit surprise and wonder in a gym or in front of an audience. Unfortunately, I stole the show from Santa Claus at a Christmas party last year. The kids completely flipped when I lifted Santa a few times. I was fatter than him but nobody seemed to notice. There are often comments of “Who’s your dentist?” and “He’s gonna break his teeth out!” Keep ‘em guessing if you will, but the secret of teeth lifting is in the neck. Long after your face and jaw and teeth become accustomed to the weight, the neck will still be the limiting factor as to how much you lift.

Feats of Teeth Lifting

Warren Lincoln Travis holds the World’s record in the teeth lift with hands behind back at 460 lbs. Joe Vitole, a middleweight, holds the record of 550 lbs. in the teeth lift with hands on knees. Others have approached these records. Both Alexander Zass (Samson), a traveling Russian strongman, and Eric Soeder, a Scandinavian circus strongman, were quite proficient in this lift. Pullum, the famous English chronicler, credits Zass with an unofficial training lift of about 580 lbs. consisting of a girder “weighing about 300 lbs. with a 10-stone man seated on each end.” Soeder claims a 550 lb. teeth pull, also unofficial. Both Zass and Sigmund Breitbart were able to drive loaded wagons where the only connection between horses and wagon was a “bit” held in the teeth of the driver. More common some years ago were the circus “iron jaw” acts where the performer hung from a trapeze by his teeth or slid down an inclined tightwire. Somewhat less bizarre, and easier too, are the feats of pulling cars and trains etc. with the teeth. In his fantastic book The Super Athletes, David Willoughby mentions the feat of Joe Tonti, who in 1945 pulled a five ton truck with his teeth while walking backwards on his hands! Needles to say, the feat of pulling an ordinary car is considerable easier – provided you are on level ground. Te hard part is in starting the car rolling and overcoming inertia. Once it gets rolling the feat becomes one of endurance. One parking lot length ought to give you a good workout. As for freight cars, I haven’t tried one, but I’m told that the tracks and wheel bearings do 80% of the work.

Training

If one desires to really elevate some poundage in the teeth lift, it would be advisable to incorporate into your program a few assistance exercises. Teeth lifting requires a strong lower back and good hamstrings. You will quickly realize this when you attempt reps and pull them as high as you can. Stiff-legged deadlifts will take care of both of these areas, and high reps are preferable. Also of value is some trapezius work. Both the spinal erectors muscles terminate at the base of the skull and are therefore much involved in teeth lifting. With the shirt off, it can be seen that the upper back and trap muscles flex quite a bit when teeth lifting. Shrugs, upright rows and high pulls will serve to condition this area. and if done just prior to your teeth lifting will help to get some needed blood and warmth to the affected area facilitating your first teeth lifting set. Direct neck work, of course, gets the area better and should be done next. Or, if you prefer, go right to your teeth lifting, starting with a low poundage for reps to avoid neck injury. I like Frankenstein’s sidekick Igor for five days once after failing to do a few warmup sets. In Igor’s case it was, unfortunately, somewhat worse as his neck was broken from a hanging and never healed properly.

For my teeth lifting, I use a stout chain about two feet long with an S hook on either end. I loop this through an 85 lb. block weight for my warmup of 20 reps. The hooks, of course, hook right on to the ring on the end of the teethstrap. You’ll have less jiggling and be able to set the weight down more firmly if you get a block weight or facsimile, or use a stopper of some sort on one end of your chain and load from the other. Some fellows wrap a chain several times around an Olympic bar and lift using the hands lightly on the weights for balance. In any case, don’t get a kink in your chain, as if invariably comes out during your lift and can give you quite a head snap. Sets of 10 and 20 are great for developing the back of the neck as well as serving as warmups for the maximum triples, doubles or whatever. My present routine for teeth lifting consists of the following:

Deadlifts – 335x8, 435x8, 505x8.
Upright Row (press grip) – 115x15, 135x10x3sets, 115x15.
Neckwork – 40x25x2, 55x25x2, 70x15, 70x20, 50x30x4.
Teeth Lifting – 85x20, 150x15, 200x10, 250x5.

The neckwork is done by means of a helmet with weights loaded on a pipe on top. Second and third numbers above in each group represent supersets working the front and back of the neck laying on a bench with head hung over. All of the above is done twice a week except for the rows which are done three times a week. I’ve only had one trial with my new mouthpiece, but it looks like I’ll be able to improve on the 360 which really isn’t very good as teeth lifts go.

Technique

Your light teeth lifting sets can be raised much higher than the heavier sets and you should try to lift it is high as possible. If not too heavy, you’ll be able to stand fully erect. Heavier poundages only come about 6” off the floor as the back, leg and neck strain is so terrific. The legs are used a lot in this lift and the neck tends to stay in a rigid isometric condition as the weight gets heavier. For more neck involvement, throw the head up at the highest point of the lift. This again can only be done with the lighter sets. When lifting a maximum weight you may have to pull a few seconds longer, but once you get it started you’re sometimes good for a triple. At times it will feel as though your teeth, gums, eyeballs and even the whole face is going to tear right out, but keep pulling a mite longer and the weight will slowly rise. Often with maximum attempts, as in other lifts, a psych condition is the only thing that’ll get it going.

Foot Position

Seasoned walkers and runners fully understand the importance of their hands. The hands must work in rhythm with the lower body to create a fluid motion. For weightlifters it’s the feet that are critical, an aspect of lifting that’s usually ignored or overlooked. In any gym I walk into one of the very first things I notice is how many of the members don’t pay the least bit of attention to their feet when they’re lifting.

Most know that proper foot position is beneficial to doing squats and heavy pulls, but few bother to use a solid foot base for pushing movements, such as flat-bench, incline and standing presses. They perform the lifts as if their feet were more of a bother than an asset. The feet, however, shouldn’t be considered useless appendages in the weight room; rather, they’re extremely helpful on any lift, from the most basic to the most complicated.

The correct foot position can make all the difference on any exercise. It can even allow you to use more weight on simple movements, such as standing barbell curls or dumbell presses. On any serious strength exercise, particularly when you’re attempting max weights, foot placement becomes absolutely critical to success.

What’s more, having the proper stance makes many strength exercises much safer to do. So not only is knowing how to use your feet helpful in elevating more weight, but it can also save you some problems in the form of aches, pains and even injuries.

Since the flat-bench press is unquestionably the most performed exercise in the country, I’ll start with it. Seldom do I see people take the time to plant their feet firmly on the floor before commencing the press itself – but all the top benchers certainly do. The good ones set their feet on the floor with authority before they plant their backs tightly down into the bench. Only after they’ve established that firm foundation from their feet up through their bodies to their necks will they take the bar in their hands to press.

The majority, however, merely lie on the bench as if it were a couch, with their bodies relaxed and their feet dangling like vines. With no solid base they’re in trouble instantly when the bar hits the sticking point. Typically, they begin to twist, bridge and, more often than not, allow their feet to leave the floor entirely. The odds of their completing a heavy attempt are totally against them.

The primary reason that it’s so useful to have your feet locked to the floor during a bench press is that when the bar finally does hit the sticking point, you can draw power from that firm base. I’m not talking about the act bridging but, rather, having your entire body so tight that you can bring the power source up from your feet, through your legs, hips, back and into your arms, shoulders and chest.

Those who try it for the first time are amazed at the difference it makes. Yet it’s only common sense. If you don’t have a firm base, there’s no strength movement you’ll be able to do with a max poundage. It may not matter much when you’re using light warmup weights, but when personal records are on the bar, it makes the difference between success and failure.

The same idea holds true for inclines. The incline press is really a better exercise on which to learn this skill because it’s a bit easier to plant your feet firmly, since you’re more upright. Even on the incline most let their feet wander about freely, as if they have no part in the activity. That in no way helps to move heavy weighs – for the same reasons mentioned above regarding the bench press.

Even though having a firm foot base is more useful for heavy singles, doubles and triples, you should do it from the beginning, with all the warmup weights. Over time it will become a habit, and that’s what you want.

Those of us who did the overhead press as part of Olympic lifting understand all too well the importance of having a solid foot base on this lift. Unfortunately, once it was dropped from competition, the overhead press was relegated to the status of an auxiliary movement. People used light weights and high reps, so form didn’t really matter all that much.

Recently, however, the overhead press and related exercises such as push presses and push jerks have been making comebacks. Collegiate strength coaches have learned – or relearned – that those movements are useful for building not only shoulder strength but also upper-back strength. Elevating and holding a heavy barbell overhead hits the muscles and attachments of the shoulders and upper and middle backs in a manner quite different from any other exercise.

Foot position is essential to overhead pressing a max poundage. We used to compare our foot position for heavy presses to that of a bird clinging to a limb of a tree: We’d try to grip the floor with our toes, which assured us of a solid base. Once we did that, it was much easier to keep the rest of our muscles taut – and every single muscle in the body has to be tight when you’re elevating a heavy press, push press or push jerk.

Once the overhead press stopped being a part of most strength routines, technique went down the toilet in a hurry. In most gyms trainees do their presses with one foot behind the other, a practice that’s wrong on three counts. First, the base isn’t firm enough, so you have to use less weight. Second, it keeps you from ever using correct form. Perhaps the most important problem, however, is that placing one foot behind the other puts an unequal stress on your back, particularly your lower back. It’s not helpful and can prove to be troublesome, so why do it?

The best position for most people on the overhead press, push press and push jerk is slightly wider than shoulder width. The majority do better with their toes pointed straight ahead, although a few prefer to turn their toes a bit outward.

Once lifters have learned how to lock their feet solidly into the floor for their overhead presses and push presses, I teach them how to do jerks. They’re great for athletes because they require a high degree of coordination and timing. They also enhance foot speed. The foot placement on that quick lift is even more crucial than it is for the less explosive movements.

For the jerk you should set your feet at shoulder width or slightly beyond; however, your toes do need to be pointed forward for the jerk. After driving the bar upward off your shoulders, your feet should move lightning fast and hit the exact same spot on every rep. The front foot must move directly forward about six to eight inches, generally the length of the lifter’s foot. The rear foot will extend backward and also move in a straight line. Both feet should slam forcefully into the platform at the exact same time, ideally at the instant you lock the bar overhead.

Most beginners have a tendency to swing either or both of their feet toward the middle. That causes their feet to end up on a line, which adversely affects balance and control. Some find that if they turn their front foot in a tad, it helps with their balance.

The same notion also applies to lunges. The feet are the keys to using heavy weights. The starting position is the same as for any overhead pressing movement: shoulder width, toes ahead. When you step into a deep lunge, your lead foot has to move in a straight line, not toward the middle. The real secret to lunging is to slam that lead foot into the floor, which creates a solid base and makes the movement much smoother.

Most lifters will tell you that they know how useful proper foot placement is for and pulling exercise, but few actually practice their beliefs. More often than not they step up to the bar and pull on it without paying any attention to their feet. That’s not helpful when you’re trying to move big weights. Before you even grip the bar for a power clean, deadlift, snatch, high pull or bentover row, take a moment to set your feet snugly on the platform – very snugly. Push your feet down into the platform and try to grip it with your toes.

Once again, you have to have a firm base. If the base isn’t solid, it’s virtually impossible to tighten up all the muscles you’re using in the lift once the bar is in motion. With a solid foundation you’re better able to pull in a more correct line and also pull with more intensity. It also helps at the end of the pull on some lifts because your feet are in a position to move more quickly from that base.

It’s necessary to move your feet, even slightly, on any quick lift such as the power clean, hang clean, full clean, power snatch or full snatch. You can handle more weight on all those lifts if your feet move in a flash, but they must also hit in the exact same spot on every rep.

It ‘s not an easy skill to master. The act of transferring the mental keys from pulling the bar upward as high as possible to instantly thinking of foot movement and placement is one of the most difficult maneuvers in athletics. The only other activity that compares to cleaning or snatching and also jerking is pole vaulting, in which you have to transfer our momentum and though processes form forward to upward. I believe it’s even harder when you have to switch from pulling upward as hard as possible to exploding downward to a perfect bottom position.

I have all my athletes move their feet on the power clean as soon as they have the basic line of pull and sequence down to some degree. Their feet don’t have to move much, just a quick skip jump. Once they drive the bar upward with their traps and arms, they must switch their mental gears to their feet. For some it comes rather easily, but others often take weeks of practice to get it right.

If an athlete is having a great deal of difficulty learning the skill, I have him do hang cleans rather than full power cleans. Hang cleans are better for learning the foot movement because the range of motion is shorter. To do them correctly, you throw the weight upward, using your hips as the primary power source, then catch it using a skip jump. I teach my athletes to drive their heels into the platform, as most tend to jump onto their toes, which doesn’t provide a solid enough base. Some do better if they don’t extend all the way up on their toes but, rather, drive the bar upward almost flat-footed, then skip jump.

Foot placement is even more important in full cleans and full snatches. Your feet have to move correctly and quickly. In addition, you have to train them to hit the exact same spot every time. If you don’t master the skill, you won’t be able to lock out simply because the base won’t be there.

There’s a very simple way to find the ideal starting foot position for every heavy pulling exercise. Shut your eyes and set your feet as if you were about to do a standing broad jump. They’ll move into the best position to provide you with more upward thrust when you pull.

Your feet are also essential to handling heavy squats. Without a solid foundation you won’t be able to move heavy poundages on that movement either. The very best foot position for the squat is an individual matter to be determined through trial and error. In lost instances taller lifters do better with a wider than shoulder width stance – but not always. The basic stance is slightly wider than shoulder width, with your toes slightly turned out. The more you widen your stance, the less you should turn out your toes. When your toes are turned outward with a wide foot placement, you put a great deal of unnecessary stress on your knees. So lifters who use a very wide stance for a sumo-style squat should point their toes straight ahead.

The same notion applies to front squats. The best stance for that lift is also found through some experimenting, but whatever foot placement you use, you have to drive your feet forcefully into the floor before commencing the movement downward. The idea of gripping the floor with your toes works perfectly for either form of squatting because it helps establish a solid foundation.

Don’t take your feet for granted. They’re an integral part of every strength movement, and the sooner you learn how to use them properly, the sooner you’ll make more progress.

Cinquavalli - W. A. Pullum

Click Pics to ENLARGE

Cinquevalli
by W. A. Pullum

It is said of some men that they were born great; of others, that they won to such eminence by achievement. Of the great Paul Cinquevalli it can be said his name is on both registers!

To know Paul, one must first know Valli, an Italian trainer of tumblers and acrobats extraordinary. Valli, like all good men at this branch, believed in getting his material young. To do this, he periodically traveled a good bit of the world, being familiar with most of its capitals.

At the time that this story commences, the preface to a project he had in mind was nearing its consummation. Explained, this was the discovery of five youths who could bee trained into super-performers. His eye for latent talent had already lighted on four. Now he was looking for the fifth.

In Poland, he found the boy Paul, and knew that his search was over. A dreamy mystic was this child, with large, wondrous eyes in which gleamed the lambent flame of genius. At least, so thought Valli as he gathered Paul unto himself. How right he was, we shall see!

Back in Italy, the training of the selected five began and progressed. Time passed, and eventually their mentor decided that enough of it had to market his creation. Casting about for a suitable title for the act, he finally fixed this with his own imprint. So were launched “The Five Vallis” to an immediate and expected success.

The years went on, and Paul had won to the leadership of the act. In a group of the most extraordinary talent, he was seen to be a scintillating star. Graceful, daring, amazingly strong, all his work was marked with uncanny skill. His stage presence, too, was remarkable. Deportment, actions, smile – all had the same magnetic touch.

Paul, though, was still young, and no wiser, in some things, than his years. With all his skill, he secretly exulted in the strength he also possessed. Whereby came what appeared to be a disaster. Trying something once which came within his province as “bearer” in the act, he shook, staggered, then collapsed. Obviously in trouble, when examined afterwards, he was found badly ruptured.

His career seemingly finished, actually it had not really begun. For out of this misfortune, aided by a great spirit, rose Paul Cinquevalli, probably the most wonderful juggler the world has ever seen. To live up to that title, he was not content simply to work wonders – as other contemporaries also did that. Paul Cinquevalli seemingly worked miracles!

As he sojourned in hospital after the operation, downcast by the blow that Fate had dealt him, he mused upon what he could do on the stage when his hurt had mended. For he knew himself to be now a true child of “the footlights,’ the world outside possessing no glamour at all. Temporarily he toyed with the idea of becoming an outstanding instrumentalist, for he was a most accomplished musician. Continuing reflection, he finally rejected this in favor of becoming a juggler, leanings toward which he had already shown by mastering the elements of the art.

Recovered, he set out on his path, resolved to carve his way to the top of his new profession. With the genius that was truly in him, it was written that he could not fail.

Identifying himself with his old mentor and associates by adopting the name of Cinquevalli, Paul speedily showed that he was not only mindful of the earlier days, but that those to come would prove a crowning sequel. I have been able to supply the Editor with a few illustrations of this wizard-juggler performing. They portray some of his most extraordinary feats!

In all he did Cinquevalli was daringly original. Take his great billiards cue performance, for example. On the butt-end of an ordinary cue he would first “set” one billiard ball, then, on top of that, set another. Into a socketed mouthpiece held in his teeth he would then place another billiard ball, on to which he would then place the tip of the cue, still balancing the two balls, one on top of the other, on its butt-end. Indeed, also in fact, a wondrous feat of skill.

This, however, was not all! Attached to a special coat he wore for this feat, which he designed himself, were four “cup-pockets,” one at the side of each shoulder, the others fitted at its back and front. After maintaining everything under control for a few seconds, he would then knock the cue away and catch the falling balls in three of the four pockets. Seldom, if ever, did he fail.

Balancing two steel tubes upright on his forehead, a glistening cannonball on one – “rocked” over afterwards to the other, without the first one falling – was yet another of his miraculous feats. Spinning a large, flat tub on a high pole overhead, knocking the pole away and catching the tub as it fell dead in the center on a spiked helmet he wore, was yet another in the same category.

He loved juggling with gleaming cannonballs, as they reminded him of his strongman days. After erecting a heavy one overhead balanced on a slender steel shaft, he would drop it and catch it at the base of his neck. To convince people that it really was heavy, sometimes he would purposely fail and let the ball fall on to a table behind him. When it did, this table was always smashed.

After performing other spell-binding feats, he would raise aloft a man seated on a chair, reading at a table. By an ingenious method of counter-balance, he would hold the lot by his teeth and walk off slowly – meanwhile juggling with three or four balls at once.

Cinquevalli died just as he had finished playing the piano one night to a friend. Among other things, he left £27,000.

The Light Day

I receive a steady flow of mail from people who want me to check out their programs. Some want specific exercises to help them improve a weak area, while others want my opinions on their exercise selection, exercise sequence and sets and reps. High school coaches are often looking for substitute movements, since they don’t have the necessary equipment for certain exercises.

There seems to be more confusion setting up a light day routine in the weekly program than any other strength-training principle. The problems generally take two forms. Either the poundages are so ridiculously low that the lifter might as well stay home, lie on the couch and watch TV, or he performs far too much work.

The idea of doing a light workout after a heavy one is certainly not a new one. The old-time strongmen used it even if they weren’t aware of it at the time. Bob Hoffman and Joe Weider have both taken credit for formulating the idea, but it was around before either of them got into the publishing business. In the mid-1930’s Mark Berry explained the principle of heavy, light and medium training days in his book Physical Training Simplified. Nevertheless, – and even though it’s been expounded on as one of the Weider Principles as well as one of the York Training Principles – most beginners still overlook its importance.

Strength programs should always include a light day. When you set up a program, it’s important to keep in mind that what constitutes a light day depends to a very large extent on the lifter’s strength level. In other words, a light day for an advanced strength athlete is entirely different from that of a beginner or intermediate. Not only will the exercises be different, but the amount of weight will also vary considerably, as will time spent in the gym.

Usually, ambitious beginners learn about the heavy, light and medium system by chance. Beginners typically go all out at every session, training to the absolute limit on every exercise. For a while that system works nicely, for growing, enthusiastic bodies will respond to the work and be able to recuperate sufficiently. Eventually, however, the weights and the total amount of work being done in a session reach a demanding level. At that point progress grinds to a halt. Trainees plateau on the lifts and/or their numbers drop off. If at that point they don’t learn to incorporate a light day into the total scheme of things, they’ll most likely become discouraged and stop training altogether.

Some stumble onto the idea of having a light workout by accident or due to circumstance. They may or may not have as much time as usual to go through their entire routine, so they cut it short and discover, to their surprise, that the abbreviated session allowed them to rest enough that the following workout was considerably above par. Another frequent scenario is that they start including a light day out of necessity. They’re so tired from the heavy session that they decide to stay with light weights and cut down on the number of movements the next time they go to the gym.

Why is the light workout so critical to long-term success in strength development? Why not train just as hard as possible until overtraining sets in, then take a layoff? Or why not simply rest for extended periods between workouts? That would ensure that you don’t become overtrained and you could push each workout to the limit.

The answer is that neither of these methods of training will lead to a high level of strength fitness. I’m talking about functional strength development, for I deal with athletes. I don’t know of any sport in which participants are allowed to rest extensively during competition. Maybe the field events in track would qualify, but even then the better conditioned athletes will come out on top. Athletes who can come out of the box strongly and sustain that intensity for the duration of the contest are going to emerge as victors. That applies to wrestling, football, basketball and any other sport. In any athletic endeavor the game is usually won or lost at the finish.

While it’s certainly true that people who take five or six days’ rest between workouts will have plenty of energy the next time they go into the gym, it’s also true that they won’t develop the kind of conditioning needed to excel at the athletic arena because they aren’t really building a solid foundation of strength. Their total workloads aren’t expanding enough.

The light day serves several purposes. It allows you to add to your total workload without becoming overtrained. A light workout after a heavy one also facilitates recovery, and, especially in the early stages of strength training, it’s valuable in helping you to learn correct technique on all the exercises.

There are different phases of light days, depending on your strength level. When it comes to beginners, I start all my athletes on the same routine, unless they have some physical problem and cannot do one of the exercises. The workout includes the big three – the bench press, squat and power clean – for 5 sets of 5 reps on all. That not only makes the math easy, but it helps beginners concentrate better on each rep as well. The lower reps will keep them from getting tired and sloppy with their form. That may seem like a trivial point, but for beginners it’s extremely important to keep matters very basic.

For the first two or three weeks I don’t bother with a light day. The athletes do all three workouts with about the same top-end weights. That’s fine, as beginners haven’t developed their form enough to handle any big weights yet. They can recover easily, for they’re only doing three exercises. I don’t include any auxiliary work during this period; however, I do start adding some after the third week.

That’s also when I have the athletes start using the heavy, light and medium system. Many object to it, for they don’t like the idea of using a much lighter weight than they know they can handle. After all, they ask, what’s the value of handling 50 pounds less on an exercise?

The value is that you prevent overtraining and hone our technique on the exercises – two very important variables in terms of continuous, consistent progress. On the subject of overtraining, it isn’t possible to gain strength without becoming overtrained at some stage of the process. Lifters have to push into some degree of overtraining, or they’ll never be able to push their limits any further or know for certain just how much of a workload they can actually carry. The key is to be able to identify that state of overtraining and pull back on the amount of work being done so that the condition doesn’t become chronic. Long periods of overtraining are detrimental to anyone who’s trying to enhance his overall strength.

How much work should beginners do on their light day? Approximately 60 to 85% of what they handle on their heavy day. Any less is a waste of effort. That means a beginner who has advanced to where he’s squatting 205x5 will use 175x6 on his light day, which is in no way, shape or form taxing. I use a rather simple method of selecting the weights for the light day: The third set on the heavy day becomes the final set on the light day. In the example of the lifter who squats 205, his heavy-day progression looks like this: 135, 155, 15, 195 and 205 for 5 reps. The third set, 175, becomes his final set on the light day. So the progression looks like this: 135, 145, 155, 165 and 175 for 5 reps.

That simple method is most useful for coaches who set up programs for lots of athletes. Once you explain it to them, the athletes can easily determine their weights.

The first time beginners do a light-day routine, they usually feel cheated. They can’t understand the purpose of handling less than maximum weights. Because they don’t feel tired when they finish the workout, they don’t think they did enough. That’s a dangerous stage, for in far too many instances the beginner will then add increasingly more auxiliary work to their routine – so much that it completely destroys the concept of having a light day.

There are ways to make the light day taxing. In fact, it can be the most demanding of all the workouts. You can move especially fast through your session, taking short breaks between sets. For the first three sets you should barely take any rest time at all. Compressing the time spent doing the exercises forces your body to respond in an entirely different way, and it’s beneficial to strength development. Better yet, set up three stations and move through your workouts in a fast circuit.

Once beginners learn correct form and build a firm foundation, they’re ready to do more work and also to start including more exercises in their program. For the back there’s a variety of movements to choose from: deadlifts, bent-over rows, good mornings, stiff-legged deadlifts, snatch- and clean-high pulls and shrugs. The list for the upper body includes inclines, overhead presses ad dips, which complement the flat-bench presses nicely. At this stage of development, however, I don’t let athletes vary from squatting. They need to do it three times a week, period.

With the inclusion of auxiliary exercises, the concept of the light day changes somewhat, as the exercises determine whether it’s a heavy, light or medium day. Squats are the easiest to figure. My basic rule of thumb is to use 50 pounds less on the light day than you used on the heavy day. I make subtle alterations as lifters get stronger. Until they reach the high 300’s, I stay with the 50-pound-less idea, but once they start flirting with 400 for reps, I have them use 315 for their light day. In order to increase the total amount of work for the light day without making it too demanding, I eventually have them do three sets with 315. They do two warmup sets with 135 and 225, then jump to 315 for 3 sets of 5. After that I add a final twist: I have them change their foot positions on each of the heavy sets, performing the first set with a regular stance, the second with an ultrawide stance and the third with a ridiculously close stance. As their squats advance, so do their poundages on the three work sets.

The sequence for the shoulder girdle, or upper-body, exercises is usually the following: flat-bench presses on the heavy day, overhead presses on the light day and inclines on the medium day. The exercises themselves satisfy the principle, since lifters who bench 300 pounds will have their work cut out for them in doing a 200 pound overhead press and a 250 pound incline.

The same idea holds for back work. Schedule the most demanding back exercise on the heavy day. By that I mean the one that ends up producing the most workload. I mention this because the light day back exercise in my program is the good morning, which may be the most demanding exercise in all of strength training. Since the weight used on good mornings or even stiff-legged deadlifts is much lighter than what you use on the heavy day, however, it fulfils the requirements of a light day exercise.

I have my athletes do shrugs on their medium day. Since they handle more weight on shrugs than they do on any other back exercise, it would seem that he exercise violates the conditions of the heavy, light and medium concept. It’s a short-range motion, though, so it’s much less taxing than a great many back movements, such as bent-over rows, high pulls or even power cleans when you work them hard and heavy.

Once lifters start to make progress, you can alter the sets and reps on the various exercises each week. That, too, helps to stimulates strength increases, for it keeps the body from falling into a rut.

I’ve observed that there are two ways in which most people abuse the light day concept. The first is that they run the reps up, thinking that since the bar is relatively light they have to do more reps in order to make gains. So, instead of doing the suggested 80 to 85% on an exercise for 5 reps, they double up and do 10. You can see how that throws the numbers off. Our 205 squatter is scheduled to handle 175x5 on his light day. He feels as if it isn’t enough work, so he knocks out 10 reps. In the process he does a workload of 1,750 pounds total. On his heavy day he only did 1,025. It doesn’t take a genius to see that his light day workload will eventually cause problems.

The other way many disrupt the flow of the heavy, light and medium program is to add increasingly more exercises on the light day. Once again, since the routine is relatively easy, they feel as if they need to do more – and more and more. The extra work is almost always some form of beach work, and their attitude is, “How is working my arms going to hurt me?” The harm is that all those sets and reps add up, just as a runner’s mileage does. If you do too much on the light day, in the middle of the week, it will adversely affect your next session the medium day. Now, the medium day may not seem all that important, but it’s the setup for the upcoming heavy day session. The three workouts serve each other and fit together in an orderly fashion.

The very best way to determine if you’re adhering to the heavy, light and medium principle is to write down your poundages and calculate the amount of work you do at each session. The numbers don’t lie. Naturally, intensity is a factor as well, but a quick check of your workload will give you all the feedback you need.

As you advance to a higher level of strength, you’ll need to make further minor adjustments in your program to satisfy the principle. For example, you may want to increase your weekly workload but know that you cannot carry much more work in the three days, so you add another day. Tuesday fits best, but it has to be a light day, since it comes right on the heels of the heavy day. What does that make Wednesday and Friday? Medium days. Again, the selection of exercises is the determining factor.

Here’s the way that schedule might work. On Mondays you do squats, deadlifts or power cleans and flat-bench presses. On Tuesdays it’s overhead presses, power snatches or high pulls and some auxiliary work. On Wednesdays you do squats as usual or start substituting front squats or lunges, along with inclines and good mornings. On Fridays it’s squats, flat-bench presses and shrugs.

Finally, for very advanced lifters there’s a way to use the light day concept with a different angle. Some people find they do well by performing two heavy exercises on Monday and the third with lighter poundages. They hit that third exercise heavy on either Tuesday or Wednesday. For example, there are lifters who don’t find they can get much out of deadlifting when they do it on the same day as they do heavy squats, which is Monday, so they do power cleans on Monday and heavy deadlifts the next day. That lets them handle more weight on the deadlift, which is a plus.

While the above may seem a bit complicated, it really isn’t. All you have to do is keep track of what you did and periodically do some math to figure your workload. If you find that you’re doing more on your light day than you should, cut back, for it will eventually be counterproductive. By constantly monitoring your routine and making adjustments, you’ll be able to consistently add to your overall level of strength fitness.