Hey guy i have noticed that alot of you guys are training more towards funtional strength theses days so when i noticed in another post that Coach Davies wanted to start a general discussion on it i thought i would give us all a place to do so.
I’m going for looks, but I’m doing it the hard way with low reps & heavy weight. I say it’s more fun to be strong, so I guess functional strength is my goal. I still need to read Dinosaur Training though.
That is a cool topic.I train almost exclusively for functional strength and I think it has alot of carryover to the weight training, especially things like squats and deads.A couple of productive exercises I have used are the sandbag carry and farmer’s walks.With the sandbag carry, my partners and I would take turns picking up our 215-pound sandbag and walking the length of the yard(about 35 meters).This really hammered our back,shoulder and arm muscles and helped to build crushing strength as well as building up our endurance.This is a great exercise for grapplers.With the farmers walks, we would pick up a pair of gas containers loaded with sand and water, which weighed about 105 ibs each.We would then walk back and forth until they fell from our hands.Definetly a good grip exercise.
Thanx for replying natey, i just want awsom strength thats all but i find that a nice package is coming along with it, i believe that it is not really training that governs the way the your body will look but more diet and genetics than ne thing else.
what is your routine like Natey and if anyones who’s principles is it based on. mine is more or less based on pavels but i can only train three times a wekk at the gym and in the days between i incorporate a host of bodywieght exercises i have found that i am much stroonger with this type of training than i have ever been.ps I too haev still tp read dinosaur training so if you get it first or if anyone elses has read it fill us in would yah!!! Oh that goes for interesting tips that you have come accross regarding strength.
yeah i like the farmers walk to i don’t have access to sandbags though but i will source something out maybe gravel or cement yeah that would do 
ne ways i like to load a sled with wieghts and drag it or my fav now which has some great carry over in pushing events ( football , wrestling?) is pushing as hard as possible against a wall for timed intervals, also those one minute pullups bottom portion hangs are cool too try sets of them with a 44 lb plates to build the grip.
Dinosaur Training is definetly a good book!It talks alot about old school methods like singles,rack programs,breathing squats and yes, functional strength through the lifting of awkward objects.He talks about lifting logs,rocks,barrels and sandbags.He gives a couple of sample programs and gives some examples of his own training.
i’ll see if i can get a hold of his book thanx for filling us in ballast . does he have any unorthodox exercises in it that you could describe casue i just love those wierd and whacky movements!!!
My gym is temporarily shut down, so I’m working on functional strentgh. I cannot do deads or clean and press, so that sucks. I am doing jacknife pushups, janda situps, pushups, rowing various objects, chins, sprints, sled drags, bridges, bodyweight squats, etc and I’m having loads of fun. I got access to a place w/ 300 pounds the other day and I was doing it for deads and squats and I believe I have gotten stronger since I’m training the CNS correctly.
Great to see others are interested. Functional training can reap you unbelievable results. The example of Farmers walk was a good one or try one of favorites; wheelbarrow walks. Load 300 pounds, lace up the workboots and walk 5 minutes. Done best after a Pulling/Leg routine. It will build an unbelievable back/posterior chain, thicken you up and yes if you are interested in looks - you will be astonished at your biceps.
In faith,
Coach Davies
FFB-Here are some unorthodox exercises he lists:Overhead press w/sandbag(these are one of the most difficult exercises I have ever performed),Sandbag curls(these are excellent for the grip),keg clean and presses,loading rocks or sandbags on 4-5 ft high platforms.Alot of the exercises he recommends are using sandbags or kegs.Putting your car in nuetral and doing car pushes are brutal(especially if you have a sadistic training partner who does the steering and applies the brakes every so often for extra resistance).One exercise he advocates is called the turkish get-up.Lay on the floor,wrestle a heavy dumbell onto your chest then press it to arm’s length.Now try to stand up by rolling to your side and using your non-lifting arm to help you get to your feet, then stand straight up keeping your lifting arm rigid at all times.Helps build alot of core strength.Hope this helped.
patty read you’r update on the other post good for you bro, i hope that you will continue to get strong as for me i know i will as i will unleash hell in order to do so if need be
happy and productive workouts to yah all!!
hello and welcome Coach Davies, thanx for that wheelbarrow exercise, will give it a try as a supplementary exercise tomorrow morning, i am pressuming that it will also work your grip to a large extent. I have one question though do you have your athletes wear any type of straps belts or gloves when perfroming exericies such as this, as i am against the use of these as i believe they hinder your training in the long run and i was wondering what your viewpoint was on this was !
happy and productive workouts to yah all!!
thanx for those ballast i will try some out especially the car one i forgot how much fun that can be
have you tried the hanging circumduction that is a killer and builds alot of core strength aswell. i have heard that in dinosaur training he uses towel curls and such what else could the towels be used for, i already do chinups with them which is a fantastic for your grip by the way !!
Oh i one last thought before i turn in for the night one exercises using the olympic bars are excellent for building both functional strength and a great deal of stability !!
happy workouts and productive training to yah all!!
Speaking of lifting logs and bodyweight exercises, I’m looking to get into the military and am wondering what kind of program I should follow to prepare. I’m currently following the fat fast program because I have a lot of weight to lose. After the 4 weeks, I want to change my training and diet and will focus on preparing for the military. If anyone can offer some suggestions I’d appreciate it. Thanks.
FFB-yeah, I’ve tried the hanging circumduction and I think they are awesome.As for towel exercises, doing them with chins is a superb grip builder.I don’t know if it is Dino Training, but a good towel exercise is neck flexion/extension.Either wrap a plate in a towel or have a partner perform manual resistance with it.Brooks Kibik also recommends alot of olympic lifts and their variations.Clean and presses, hang snatches and push presses.These movements hit the entire body and will give you some good functional strength.
It’s been a while since marine core boot camp, but the physical training is pretty tough.They emphasize LOTS of chin ups(the goal they have you strive for is atleast 20 perfect reps).3-mile runs(the goal is an 18 minute/3 mile run).Push-ups and sit-ups(I think they wanted 80 reps in two minutes).We did a circuit of bodybuilding exercises with fixed barbells.And the o-course.I would recommed circuit training three days a week.Include chins,push-ups,sit-ups and if you wanted to incorporate some traditional bar exercises, throw in some squats and overhead presses.About four weeks away from your ship date you might want to include some distance runs.
I think functional training is the best kind. Look at all the strong men. They are huge and definitely functional. If i could look like anyone it would be them. I just started cheerleading and i get stunts a lot faster than everyone else cause of my superior strength. My feeling is if your really strong your gonna at least look like you work out. I only get bigger if i do functional stuff. Ive never gotten anything out of machines or “beachwork”.
FFB & others
- Re your question; completely raw - no wraps or straps. Yes your grip is certainly taxed - core strength is built incredibly. Anyone doing combative work, this is a must. I use a list of about 20 things. Let me know if you want anymore ideas but believe if you are interested in improving functional strength this is the best road.
In faith,
Coach Davies
What a fantastic topic. I am quite interested in functional strength and have been training with the basic exercises with heavy weights and low reps for the past three months. Once I get back from vacation, I’ll be starting Staley’s Convergent Phase Training. This will allow me to focus on getting stronger on some basic lifts (barbell rows, deadlifts and close-grip benches) while still hitting all parts of my body once, twice and some even three times a week. I’m looking forward to it. In addition to the weight training, I’ll stay busy with in-line skating, mountain biking, sprinting and other activities. So this type of support group is right up my alley. As I am a chin freak and can be found doing them anywhere, anytime. I managed to knock out a few sets hanging off the spiral staircase at my cousin’s house yesterday. Today I did them off a swing set. The thick bar made quite a difference. It felt great! And I knocked out a bunch of sets of 6-8 reps. I’m still sore as hell from yesterday’s sprint session on the beach along with some frisbee and volleyball! Oh yeah, I had a great time tossing those rocks while I was on the beach too. Most of them were only about 50-60 pounds, but I got a great workout trying to hold rocks of various sizes and shapes, bringing them up to my chest and throwing them with both hands. Great fun!
Coach Davies, I apologize for not getting back to you sooner. I actually sent you an email once I received your reply. Unfortunately, something happened with my e-mail at work, and the message “vanished.” So I will send you another one when I get back from vacation. I had some questions about my training that I know you could help answer! And I’m looking forward to your articles on T-mag! I hope they get posted soon as there is a great interest in functional strength training. Also, many people are interested in looks but many fail to realize that this type of training will affect how they look. What’s the point of having a nice-looking physique if you can’t do anything with it? I want to be strong and useful while looking pretty good. So let’s do this right! Any tips you have for us would be greatly appreciated. And please be sure to let us know when your book is ready! Thank you.