[quote]Eric Talmant wrote:
20 June 2008 (2 Videos):
[/quote]
Eric,
What’s the purpose of lying on the ball? Does it help with improving the arch?
The link in your post wasn’t working for me so here it is again.
http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/training-logs.asp?qid=76006&tid=138
21 June 2008 (Video):
http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/training-logs.a…=76042&tid=
[quote]CrewPierce wrote:
Damn, very cool to see you over here at T-Nation.
I was wondering if you have any plans on lifting in the UPA. I ask because that is the main Fed I lift in and I’ve seen several of the other guys over at elitefts.com lifting in it.
One last question (for now), what is your favorite exercise to strengthen the hips?
Thanks for your time.[/quote]
Well, the latest is that the UPA is perhaps going to have a raw division and if that is the case then I am sure that I will compete there at some point. With powerlifting as fractured as it is currently it is my opinion that it is best for me to just compete locally 2-3 times a year and then I do 2 big meets a year.
One of those is the Raw Unity Meet which I am the meet director and founder for http://www.rawunitymeet.com and the other one this year is the IPA Cincinnati Power Station Pro/Am. I will be competing raw at this meet but I am going because I know that the meet will be well run but more importantly I will get to see many of my friends compete in multi-ply equipment on Saturday and Sunday and I will most importantly get to talk to my sponsor Elitefts via Dave Tate, Jim Wendler, etc. This is very important for me.
When you say “strengthen the hips” what do you mean? You can have the strongest hips in the world but still not have the motor pattern to be a successful squatter or deadlifter. If you can be more specific as to why you want to strengthen your hips then I can better answer your question. Remember to always look at the body or the movement collectively as a whole rather than piecemeal or in different parts.
[quote]Ruggerlife wrote:
Eric Talmant wrote:
20 June 2008 (2 Videos):
Eric,
What’s the purpose of lying on the ball? Does it help with improving the arch?
The link in your post wasn’t working for me so here it is again.
http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/training-logs.asp?qid=76006&tid=138
[/quote]
I am not sure why my original link was not working but yours worked fine so thanks for that.
The purpose of lying on the deflated volleyball is twofold: one, it helps me to improve my arch or bridge on the bench press. The ball should not be used every single time you bench, but it will help if you use it once a week or so. The higher your arch or bridge, the less the bar has to travel to your chest and back up to lockout which in most cases results in a bigger bench press. Second, when you are pausing heavier weight on your chest for sets of 3 at 4 seconds each, it becomes very difficult to keep your air, keep tight on the bench, and maintain your arch/bridge. So, to facilitate the focus of the exercise on the 4 second pause in the bottom of the bench press I use the deflated volleyball so I do not have to be concerned about my arch as well as the long pause. In short, it just makes that particular exercise much more efficient for building strength. Good question!
22 June 2008 (2 Videos):
I have no idea how I have missed this. I am glued to this thread from here on in.
Thanks for the volleyball/arch bench trick. I’ll be putting that one to use.
Can’t wait to see your prep for the Pro/Am’s. Nice to be able to follow along; thank you.
[quote]Eric Talmant wrote:
Well, the latest is that the UPA is perhaps going to have a raw division and if that is the case then I am sure that I will compete there at some point. With powerlifting as fractured as it is currently it is my opinion that it is best for me to just compete locally 2-3 times a year and then I do 2 big meets a year.
.
.
.
When you say “strengthen the hips” what do you mean? You can have the strongest hips in the world but still not have the motor pattern to be a successful squatter or deadlifter. If you can be more specific as to why you want to strengthen your hips then I can better answer your question. Remember to always look at the body or the movement collectively as a whole rather than piecemeal or in different parts.
[/quote]
I know here in SC we have a RAW division in the UPA and I believe more and more state chairs are getting into it. As I am still new to powerlifting I am only competing in RAW meets for the time being. Good to hear you’ll try them out sometime and the sport certainly has fractured into many, many different feds.
By strengthen the hips, I mean I am slow coming out of the hole in squats. When I posted over at Elitefts as to what I should do to increase my speed at the bottom of the squat I was told to strengthen my hips. As to what exactly that means, I was unclear so that’s why I asked you haha.
[quote]MsM wrote:
I have no idea how I have missed this. I am glued to this thread from here on in.
Thanks for the volleyball/arch bench trick. I’ll be putting that one to use.
Can’t wait to see your prep for the Pro/Am’s. Nice to be able to follow along; thank you.[/quote]
Sure thing on the arch trick; you can use whatever object might be most suitable just as long as it forces you out of your “comfort zone” and requires you to arch higher and harder. I would recommend using it at least once a week in a preparatory cycle and even the first few weeks of a competition cycle. Most “tricks” such as this one are eliminated 10-14 days out from a competition, though, so keep that in mind.
This week 3 of 6 in my current preparatory block is the highest volume week. My coach and I believe (so far) that this is the toughest programming that I have done for a competition to date so the journey is as interesting for us as it might be for you 
Thanks for your interest and support!
[quote]CrewPierce wrote:
Eric Talmant wrote:
Well, the latest is that the UPA is perhaps going to have a raw division and if that is the case then I am sure that I will compete there at some point. With powerlifting as fractured as it is currently it is my opinion that it is best for me to just compete locally 2-3 times a year and then I do 2 big meets a year.
.
.
.
When you say “strengthen the hips” what do you mean? You can have the strongest hips in the world but still not have the motor pattern to be a successful squatter or deadlifter. If you can be more specific as to why you want to strengthen your hips then I can better answer your question. Remember to always look at the body or the movement collectively as a whole rather than piecemeal or in different parts.
I know here in SC we have a RAW division in the UPA and I believe more and more state chairs are getting into it. As I am still new to powerlifting I am only competing in RAW meets for the time being. Good to hear you’ll try them out sometime and the sport certainly has fractured into many, many different feds.
By strengthen the hips, I mean I am slow coming out of the hole in squats. When I posted over at Elitefts as to what I should do to increase my speed at the bottom of the squat I was told to strengthen my hips. As to what exactly that means, I was unclear so that’s why I asked you haha.
[/quote]
Well, in order for me to give a proper assessment I would need to see you squat either in person or on video and at different percent ranges; but my “generic” suggestion to you would be to really concentrate on form and keeping your head and chest up when coming out of the hole. In addition, you can always do some extra sets of very deep squatting at lighter weights. If you look in my training log, on Wednesday I do very deep squats (there are videos that show how I do them in my log) for 5 or 6 sets of 5 at 50% of my 1RM in the squat. I do these to help with the lower part of my squat. Nevertheless, learning how to squat efficiently and the law of repeated efforts for you right now will probably rule the day and what that simply means is that you need to squat, squat, and then squat some more-over time-in order to become a better squatter.
Once your form is spot on and efficient then it is easier to make specific changes that are geared towards specific parts of a movement, but in my experience this takes at least a good 2-3 straight years of solid devoted training and oftentimes more.
I hope this helps and if not then just post again with some more information and I will see what I can do to help.
[quote]Eric Talmant wrote:
Well, in order for me to give a proper assessment I would need to see you squat either in person or on video and at different percent ranges; but my “generic” suggestion to you would be to really concentrate on form and keeping your head and chest up when coming out of the hole. In addition, you can always do some extra sets of very deep squatting at lighter weights. If you look in my training log, on Wednesday I do very deep squats (there are videos that show how I do them in my log) for 5 or 6 sets of 5 at 50% of my 1RM in the squat. I do these to help with the lower part of my squat. Nevertheless, learning how to squat efficiently and the law of repeated efforts for you right now will probably rule the day and what that simply means is that you need to squat, squat, and then squat some more-over time-in order to become a better squatter.
Once your form is spot on and efficient then it is easier to make specific changes that are geared towards specific parts of a movement, but in my experience this takes at least a good 2-3 straight years of solid devoted training and oftentimes more.
I hope this helps and if not then just post again with some more information and I will see what I can do to help.
[/quote]
Thank you for the quick reply! It was helpful as I have added in lighter squats for sets of 5 going much deeper, so it’s good to hear I’m on the right path.
I’ll keep working on my form and I know I have years ahead of me in getting better at it, but that’s half the fun/battle of the sport!
I’ll also try and get some videos up in the near future in my log and if you ever get the chance you could look at them. Thank you for your help and good luck in your meet prep, I’ll be following along!
[quote]Eric Talmant wrote:
MsM wrote:
I have no idea how I have missed this. I am glued to this thread from here on in.
Thanks for the volleyball/arch bench trick. I’ll be putting that one to use.
Can’t wait to see your prep for the Pro/Am’s. Nice to be able to follow along; thank you.
Sure thing on the arch trick; you can use whatever object might be most suitable just as long as it forces you out of your “comfort zone” and requires you to arch higher and harder. I would recommend using it at least once a week in a preparatory cycle and even the first few weeks of a competition cycle. Most “tricks” such as this one are eliminated 10-14 days out from a competition, though, so keep that in mind.
This week 3 of 6 in my current preparatory block is the highest volume week. My coach and I believe (so far) that this is the toughest programming that I have done for a competition to date so the journey is as interesting for us as it might be for you
Thanks for your interest and support!
[/quote]
After checking your volume and GPP work, I broke a sweat. You’ve definitely renewed my interest in trying Sheiko so I really hope that you keep sharing your training with us.
Incorporating the ball for your arch is not comfortable:) It took a while to set up the upper back on the bench.
Just listening to your interview now on powerliftingcast now. Thank you so much for all of the great links!
24 June 2008:
http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/
training-logs.asp?qid=76170&tid=
[quote]CrewPierce wrote:
Eric Talmant wrote:
Well, in order for me to give a proper assessment I would need to see you squat either in person or on video and at different percent ranges; but my “generic” suggestion to you would be to really concentrate on form and keeping your head and chest up when coming out of the hole. In addition, you can always do some extra sets of very deep squatting at lighter weights. If you look in my training log, on Wednesday I do very deep squats (there are videos that show how I do them in my log) for 5 or 6 sets of 5 at 50% of my 1RM in the squat. I do these to help with the lower part of my squat. Nevertheless, learning how to squat efficiently and the law of repeated efforts for you right now will probably rule the day and what that simply means is that you need to squat, squat, and then squat some more-over time-in order to become a better squatter.
Once your form is spot on and efficient then it is easier to make specific changes that are geared towards specific parts of a movement, but in my experience this takes at least a good 2-3 straight years of solid devoted training and oftentimes more.
I hope this helps and if not then just post again with some more information and I will see what I can do to help.
Thank you for the quick reply! It was helpful as I have added in lighter squats for sets of 5 going much deeper, so it’s good to hear I’m on the right path.
I’ll keep working on my form and I know I have years ahead of me in getting better at it, but that’s half the fun/battle of the sport!
I’ll also try and get some videos up in the near future in my log and if you ever get the chance you could look at them. Thank you for your help and good luck in your meet prep, I’ll be following along![/quote]
No problem. I check to see if I have any questions in this thread every day and most of the time I answer them right away; so if you or anyone ever has a question please post it either here or submit it over at Elite.
I certainly would have the time to give your videos a look an offer my .02 when you get them up. Just let me know when and where you post them.
Here is a couple of recent videos that might help you with your squatting technique:
[quote]MsM wrote:
Eric Talmant wrote:
MsM wrote:
I have no idea how I have missed this. I am glued to this thread from here on in.
Thanks for the volleyball/arch bench trick. I’ll be putting that one to use.
Can’t wait to see your prep for the Pro/Am’s. Nice to be able to follow along; thank you.
Sure thing on the arch trick; you can use whatever object might be most suitable just as long as it forces you out of your “comfort zone” and requires you to arch higher and harder.
I would recommend using it at least once a week in a preparatory cycle and even the first few weeks of a competition cycle. Most “tricks” such as this one are eliminated 10-14 days out from a competition, though, so keep that in mind.
This week 3 of 6 in my current preparatory block is the highest volume week. My coach and I believe (so far) that this is the toughest programming that I have done for a competition to date so the journey is as interesting for us as it might be for you
Thanks for your interest and support!
After checking your volume and GPP work, I broke a sweat. You’ve definitely renewed my interest in trying Sheiko so I really hope that you keep sharing your training with us.
Incorporating the ball for your arch is not comfortable:) It took a while to set up the upper back on the bench.
Just listening to your interview now on powerliftingcast now. Thank you so much for all of the great links!
[/quote]
Well, if one subscribes to Sheiko philosophy then there is a required number of reps for each classification of lifter that need to be done during certain blocks of training as well as a minimum total amount of reps for the year.
http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/
training-logs.asp?qid=54819&tid=138
Since I am high on the classification chart I have to continue to do a lot of work to continually get predictably stronger.
Conversely, since I am of a higher classification then my G.P.P. is not as intense and does not have to be as long in terms of minutes per week. If you are really interested in how to program the proper G.P.P. for you individually then I would highly encourage you to run a search over at http://www.elitefts.com under their Q&A for “G.P.P.” and use me as the author.
Many of the rated lifters that I program training for are doing 200-300 total minutes of G.P.P. a week along with their Sheiko programming. The notion that “cardio” will not make you weaker is pure bull. I have much experience in the training and researching of programming for powerlifters and this is never the case; in fact, in my experience the less G.P.P. a lifter can do the less his returns are in the gym.
The key is programming the proper G.P.P. in terms of exercise selection and intensity so as not to “over train” while still getting stronger with the weights; as you will see with my writings concerning G.P.P. over at Elite.
Yes, setting your upper back on the bench with the ball (or similar object) under your spine is a bit difficult at first; but like anything else your body adapts and so forth.
The Powerlifting Cast interview was a bit lengthy but I believe that the exchange of information was really excellent for anyone that is interested in this type of training or in powerlifting.
[quote]Ruggerlife wrote:
I was also curious, what weight do you walk around at?[/quote]
This is me at 175.
Hey Eric i’ve seen the pics you post on EFS about the vintage powerlifting, can you name this guy?
[quote]Vz wrote:
Hey Eric i’ve seen the pics you post on EFS about the vintage powerlifting, can you name this guy?[/quote]
That would be Roger Estep
26 June 2008:
http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/training-logs.a…=76286&tid=