Q: I have a question about your latest blog post. In the question, that was ask, you talk about Dr. Eric Cobb saying "Strength training 'cements' your neural patterns." How does strength training affect your neural patterns vs. repetitive motion with no weight (i.e., weighted squats vs. body weight squats).
In particular, pay attention to the Law of Repetitive Motion (#7), which we cover in detail in our Building the Efficient Athlete DVD set. Resistance is the "F" in the equation - and you can use that equation to iron out imbalances in the same way it causes imbalances in the opposite direction (hopefully that makes sense).
Reps are still important – and light weights are the way to go early on when you’re trying to groove appropriate movement patterns. As an example, we can do supine bridges and birddogs to get the glutes firing in our warm-ups, but the real meat and potatoes in terms of ironing out quad vs. posterior chain dominance and improper glute-ham-adductor-lumbar erector firing patterns comes when we add in loaded single-leg movements, deadlifts, box squats, glute-ham raises, and pull-throughs.
Q: Eric – I read your article, “It Looked Good on Paper,” where you recommended the following for an experienced lifter who is too weak for his cross-sectional area:Week 1: 8 singles over 90%
Week 2: 6 singles over 90%
Week 3: 10 singles over 90%
Week 4: 2 singles over 90%, or 2x3 easy (5RM load)My questions are:1. Do you test out each week?
2. How many times do you do this protocol per week for an exercise - once I am assuming or am I incorrect.
3. When you hit failure just after PR , how do you approach the next set. Drop down slightly and try stay at the highest possible load or back off fully to the drop off threshold and try work back up again (does it matter)?
A: This would only be performed once a week on a lower and/or upper body day. There are essentially tests built in to each session.
For the singles over 90% stuff, how you get those numbers will depend on your best for the day. Here's what it might look like on a bench for you:
45x10
135x5
185x3
205x1
225x1
230x1 (PR for the day) - 90% of 230 is 207, so only the 225x1 would count toward your total (you've got two over 90% by this point)
So, to get five more singles, you'd take between 210 and 220 for your remaining sets.
If you MISS a rep, count it as two singles over 90%. The idea is to NOT miss reps, though.
Remember that you aren't going to be using the same exercise each week; you'll want to rotate more frequently than that.
Q: I want to ask for some advice on transforming my body so that I can become an elite athlete.
Current Stats : Age - 17 Height - 193cm Weight - 85kg Gender - Male
My goals are : - Increase speed and vertical leap - Get bigger and stronger - Increase flexibility and range of motion - Improve endurance level - Keep body fat percentage low - Improve basketball skills (eg shooting, passing, dribbling)
The sport that I compete in is basketball. I do MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) as training and for fun as well.
What sort of training should I do considering what my goals are and what sports I am doing?
I have done lots of research on athletic improvement but there is so much information out there and it is hard to know what information I should use. None of the countless number of training books and programs I have bought tailors specifically to what my goals are either; I’ve read DeFranco, Cosgrove, Ferruggia, and Baggett.
A: 1. Recognize that you cannot ride two horses with one saddle. It's very difficult to develop endurance and maximal strength/power simultaneously, but at your age, it's still likely a possibility. Strength endurance is dependent on maximal strength, so if you get stronger, you'll automatically improve endurance-wise regardless of what endurance-specific activities you do.
2. There are many ways to skin a cat. DeFranco, Baggett, Cosgrove, and Ferruggia are all good friends of mine and all of them get results. Additionally, there are hundreds of other coaches getting results - and all of them are using unique programs. What you'll find is that we all agree on the 90% and play around with the leftover 10%. And, what you’re also find is that no matter how well written a book is, it’ll never cater to your specific situation perfectly.
3. A large portion (probably 75%) of my athletes are your age, and I have an appreciation for what it takes for you to compete at the next level, if that's of interest to you. Right now, focus on becoming a better ATHLETE before you work overtime becoming a better basketball player, MMA fighter, etc. Can you jump rope? Can you do a clean push-up? Can you even skip? How about sprint mechanics; are they good? If you're like most of the kids who walk into Cressey Performance on Day 1, the answer is NO - and we need to backtrack a bit.
Many of you are going to hate me for what I’m about to say. I don’t let my overhead throwing athletes overhead press or bench press with a straight bar.
There. I said it. Call me all the names you’d like but ask yourself this:
“Am I cursing Eric’s name because I think that the cost-to-benefit ratio of overhead pressing and straight bar bench pressing justifies their use, or is it because I feel naked without these options? I have to bench press. I can’t start an upper body day with any other exercise.”
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used by Cressey Performance Pitchers after they Throw!
The deadlift is the bastard child of powerlifting; it doesn’t get much love. Maybe it’s the fact that the deadlift is less impacted by equipment than are the squat and bench press, so it may require less practice. Or, it might just be vilified because lifts 7-9 of a powerlifting meet feel like cardio after a long day of lifting. Finally, it may be that many lifters and coaches hold that the deadlift is best trained indirectly, and that the chips will just fall into place if you focus on squats, good mornings, and plenty of assistance work. While this may be the case in some instances, there are also quite a few lifters who have made tremendous progress with more frequent pulling, and that’ll be my focus in this article.
Up until this past July 30, I was a member of the “leave it alone” crowd. All that changed between August and November of this year, though. Going into AWPC Worlds this past summer, my best pull was 556.5 at a body weight of 163. It’s not a tremendous pull, by my own admission, but it was good enough for a Powerlifting USA Top 50 ranking. In preparing for Worlds, I had what I thought was a very productive training cycle; both my squat and bench felt great, and I expected the pull to just come along for the ride and magically improve. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
I wound up going out and pulling 567.5 at 164. It was a PR, but I was anything but content with it. Very simply, I felt like crap when the time came to pull. In my mind, there was no excuse for me to not be ready when the time came – especially as a lightweight (who are expected to recover faster between lifts than their heavier counterparts). My opener should have been speed weight, but it came up slower than expected.
My second attempt (567.5) was a good six-second grinder. At this point, I was completely gassed; I practically needed a hit of ammonia just to get out of my chair and up to the platform for attempt #3. Needless to say, I missed the lift after getting it to about mid-shin; I didn’t have anything left to grind it out. In spite of taking home the junior lightweight best lifter trophy, I beat myself up on the inside for the entire flight home from Chicago that night. This flight actually turned out to be one of the most productive two hours of my training career, though, as I mapped out my plan for the subsequent 12-week training cycle.
The end result? A 6% improvement in 12 weeks; I wound up pulling an easy 601 on my third attempt in November, leaving a good 15-20 pounds on the platform – all after setting PR’s on my squat and bench press. So, it wasn’t inconceivable to think that the template I outline below added 10% to my pull in a single 12-week training cycle.
Outlining a Solution
There are seven basic tenets for the program:
1. On the whole, pull more frequently. Specificity of training is more important than you think; it takes practice to fine-tune your set-up and movement execution.
2. Pull for speed after your dynamic effort squats for the first three weeks of the month.
3. During these three weeks, your first assistance exercise on max effort squat/deadlift day should be a deadlift variation.
4. In the fourth week of each month, your max effort squat/deadlift movement will be a deadlift variation in order to allow you to monitor progress. The other three weeks should be squat and good morning variations.
5. Learn to pull in a state of fatigue – which is exactly what happens in competition.
6. Make sure to do your DES/D session before your MES/D session in the weekly training split. For example, I do my dynamic work on Sunday morning and my max effort work on Wednesday night.
7. Overall training stress – a function of volume, intensity, exercise complexity, and a number of other factors – should be fluctuated from week to week using the following format: high, medium, very high, low.
I’ve made some modifications to suit the unique needs of different lifters. As a lifter whose sticking point is at lockout, I focus more on accommodating resistance. Lifters who tend to have problems off the floor would be best off with pulls from a deficit, as I’ve noted in parenthesis to allow you to modify the program as needed. Keep in mind that the pulling below was just one component of my program; I was also doing squat and good morning variations, GHR’s, single-leg movements, and plenty of core work.
12 Week Deadlift Program
Week 1: High Volume
Dynamic Effort - DES/D: Speed Pulls vs. Bands (if you’re weak off the floor, perform these while standing on a 2-4” step and eliminate the bands). Bar Weight = 50%, 10 sets of 1.
Max Effort - MES/D: First Assistance Movement: Snatch Grip Deadlifts (wearing straps is fine). 3 sets of 4 (work up to them; they should be heavy).
I used a controlled bounce between reps, as I am weak at the top. Those who are weak off the floor should pause between reps.
Week 2: Medium Volume
Dynamic Effort - DES/D: Speed Pulls vs. Bands (if you’re weak off the floor, perform these while standing on a 2-4” step and eliminate the bands). Bar Weight = 55%, 8 sets of 1.
Max Effort - MES/D: First Assistance Movement: Snatch Grip Deadlifts (wearing straps is fine). 2 sets of 3 (work up).
Same guidelines as noted above.
Week 3: Very High Volume
Dynamic Effort - DES/D: Speed Pulls vs. Bands (for those who are weak off the floor, perform these while standing on a 2-4” step and eliminate the chains). Bar Weight = 60%, 12 sets of 1.
Note: These last few sets shouldn’t feel much like speed in light of the higher percentage of 1RM, considerable band tension, and accumulated fatigue.
Max Effort - MES/D: First Assistance Movement: Snatch Grip Deadlifts (wearing straps is fine). 4 sets of 4 (aim to use work weight from week 2).
Same guidelines as noted above.
The goal with week three is to dip into your reserves considerably, so a run-down feeling is to be expected at week’s end and into the first 4-5 days of week 4. Remember that fatigue masks fitness; the idea is to deload considerably in the early part of week 4 so that your system will recuperate to the point of being able to demonstrate its true fitness by later in the week - when you’ll test your max.
Week 4: Low Volume
Dynamic Effort - DES/D: No pulling (easy day).
Max Effort - MES/D: Main Movement should be a deadlift variation (e.g. competition pull, altered stance, reverse band deadlift, deadlift against bands/chains, or deadlift from a deficit).
Omit first assistance movement (Snatch Grip Deadlifts) from weeks 1-3.
Week 5: High Volume
Dynamic Effort - DES/D: Speed Pulls vs. Chains (for those who are weak off the floor, drop one set of chains and perform these while standing on a 2-4” step). Bar Weight = 55%, 10 sets of 1.
Max Effort - MES/D: First Assistance Movement: Rack Pulls (just below kneecaps for those with lockout problems; mid-shin height for those who are weak off the floor). 3 sets of 5.
Week 6: Medium Volume
Dynamic Effort - DES/D: Speed Pulls vs. Chains (for those who are weak off the floor, perform these while standing on a 2-4” step and eliminate the chains). Bar Weight = 60%, 8 sets of 1.
Max Effort - MES/D: First Assistance Movement: Rack Pulls (just below kneecaps for those with lockout problems; mid-shin height for those who are weak off the floor), 3 sets of 4.
Same guidelines as noted above.
Week 7: Very High Volume
Dynamic Effort - DES/D: Speed Pulls – no chains, from the floor (regardless of your weakness). Bar Weight = 65%, 12 sets of 1.
Max Effort - MES/D: First Assistance Movement: Snatch Grip Deadlifts, 4 sets of 5 (aim to use weight from week 6).
Same guidelines as noted above.
Here, we’re still imposing a significant amount of fatigue, but we don’t want any spillover to the last deadlift test (end of week 8) prior to the meet. As such, we’ve swapped bands for chains, eliminated accommodating resistance altogether in week 7, and limited the total work done on our assistance deadlift movement (less distance to pull with rack pulls). You’ll still probably feel run-down, but it shouldn’t be as bad as it was after week 3.
Week 8: Low Volume
Dynamic Effort - DES/D: No pulling.
Max Effort - MES/D: Last Heavy Pull – Competition Deadlift test (with or without suit, depending on how you pull). As a general rule of thumb, the last heavy pull should be no less than 21 days out from competition. I go with four weeks to err on the side of caution.
Week 9: High Volume
Dynamic Effort - DES/D: No Pulling.
Max Effort - MES/D: Speed Pulls – No Accommodating Resistance (test with suit, if you wear one). Bar Weight: 55%, 8 sets of 1.
Week 10: Medium Volume
Dynamic Effort - DES/D: No Pulling.
Max Effort - MES/D: Speed Pulls – No Accommodating Resistance. Bar Weight: 50%.
Week 11: Very High Volume
No Pulling.
Week 12: Rest End of Week 12
Meet.
Closing Thoughts
Regardless of why so many powerlifters place it on the back burner, the fact remains that the pounds accumulated on the deadlift count just as much as those amassed on the squat and bench press. Sure, thousands of lifters have seen great results by avoiding deadlifts, but that’s not to say that there aren’t thousands more who can benefit tremendously from more pulling; there is more than one way to skin a cat. If you’re searching for a new strategy – especially if you notice you’re dragging when lifts 7-9 roll around on meet day – give this template a shot and let me know how it works out for you.
Note: if you're looking for more options for specializing on certain lifts over the course of a powerlifting training cycle, I'd encourage you to check out The Specialization Success Guide, which includes detailed plans to bring along the squat, bench press, and deadlift.
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The Smith machine is the equipment parallel to High Intensity Training. On one hand, it's been called more dirty names than Madonna on a trip to the Vatican. On the other hand, there are those who vehemently adhere to it in spite of the fact that it's an inferior way to train.
I'm about as anti-machine a guy as you'll ever meet, but I'm also open-minded enough to realize that as is the case with most things in life, the answer rests somewhere in the middle.
I'll be the first to admit that if I was to outfit a training center tomorrow, I wouldn't put a Smith machine in it. Beyond the obvious injury risks associated with a fixed line of motion on the exercises people normally perform on this machine, it just makes no sense financially.
Why spend $1,200 on a coat rack when I could buy one at Wal-Mart for $19.99 and use the leftover cash to pick up a glute-ham raise, some Jump-Stretch bands, and surprise TC with that Russian mail order bride he's coveted for so long?
Unfortunately, it's a moot point, as many gym-owners have already made their purchase and devoted precious floor space to it. That's not to say, however, that we can't work with the situation and make lemonade out of rotten lemons. With that said, here are ten ways to make the Smith machine eyesore more attractive
So Read More...
I'm a deadlift-aholic. I don't just want to pull; I want to pull every minute of every day for the rest of my life. I dream about grinding out heavy pulls where the bar seemingly bends in half, and I jump at the opportunity to do speed pulls so quickly that I nearly castrate myself with the bar. This passion has led me to a ranking in the Powerlifting USA Top 100 for my weight class, and the brink of a 1RM of 3.5 times my body weight.
Do I expect you to share my enthusiasm? No, although it would be nice if you'd at least get a little excited to humor me! I do, however, hope that you'll derive some benefit from my passion and the perspective it's enabled me to attain. Whether you're a powerlifter, bodybuilder or athlete, the deadlift and its variations should take a central role in your training.
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Eric Cressey
The other day, I was speaking with one of the top collegiate strength and conditioning coaches in the US, and he said that even after 30+ years of coaching, he still thinks that the top two things he can teach his athletes are attitude and environment. I may be a guy who writes articles and books and pretty much lives and breaths training, but I still agree with him completely.
You see, at a point, knowledge works against you. The internet has helped us a lot with advice and sharing of information, but it’s also led to a generation of people who think and talk about training way too much relative to the amount of time they spend actually training!
To that end, if you’re a beginning or intermediate lifter, feel free to read everything in sight. However, leave the bookworm in you at home when you go to the gym. In place of the geek lifting weights, I want you to focus on two things:
1. Teach your body to move efficiently.
2. Apply that efficiency to improve performance. Simply try to be a little bit better in each training session. There is always something you can do to get better - even if you're injured or tired.
Don't get stuck in the curse of knowledge; it’s been said that a bad program executed with lots of attitude and effort will outperform a good program with a foo-foo training style anyday. Use the gym to let loose and take out some aggression. This is supposed to be fun, you know.
Eric Cressey
Earlier this year, I wrote an article called “Are You Doing Stupid Stuff in the Gym?” Several people took issue with the following statement:
“I've said it before and I'll say it again: any healthy male under the age of 50 can deadlift 400 within two years of proper training — and most can do it even faster than that.”
In that article, I also mentioned how my old college roommate, Pete Dupuis (now my business partner at Cressey Performance), had taken up lifting and seen remarkable gains. When Pete first started out last November 15, he lacked the flexibility to even pull from the floor safely. In his first session, he used 40kg (88 pounds) with a sumo stance just so that he could get down to the bar with a neutral spine.
Today, 364 days later, Pete pulled 400. That 364 days includes a 3-month hiatus from lifting when he was wrapping up his MBA.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQXmpEM3NPQ
The take-home lesson? Whether a big deadlift is a goal of yours or not, Pete’s deadlift tells us several things:
1. Cressey is always right.
2. Arguing on the internet will not make you stronger (Pete hasn’t spent a minute on a strength training forum in his life).
3. Work on technique, optimize range-of-motion, and create stability within that range of motion, and the strength is sure to follow.
4. Surround yourself with the right people, in the right environment, with the right programming, and you’ll do exceptional things.
5. If you want to be strong, train around people who are already strong.
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