With some variation, most of us would probably churn out a similar list of “Money Exercises” for strength. These would be your first or possible second exercise in a given exercise and one which you might at least work up to a heavy triple in. I wanted to first list mine and invite input about other such exercises:
- Power style squat with doubled bands
- Concentric only deadlifts
- Clean/snatch high pulls with bands
- Power style bench press often with doubled bands
- Underhand pullups
- T-bar rows
- High incline closegip bench
- Strich weighted incline sit-ups
- Heavy tire flip or tire flip curl
Now I wanted to include 5 “missing links” that I feel make all the difference in a program. Making these things a priority can make as much difference for me as exercise selection:
-
Post workout nutrition 1 1/2 to 2 Surge +5 grams creatine or comparable meal immediately after a workout. I didn’t use to be a believer here, but the results are unquestionable.
-
Extensive stretching of the entire hip structure.
-
Regualar External rotation work. I usually set up two bands on the bottom of a rack with handles and externally rotate to a double 90 degree (shoulder-elbow) position.
-
Short, intense endurance training to maintain conditioning. I use intervals of 30 seconds fast 30 seconds slow for 5-10 minutes on an upper/lower body airdyne cycle.
-
Extra sleep-better than any supplement just getting 2 extra 90 minute naps on a weekend and going to sleep early. I don’t do this all the time, but when I do, I have to hold back on my next 2-3 workouts because I will be so regenerated.
Yup- those are money lifts. I would add good mornings and some kind of partial DL- straight leg, RDL, or rack pulls.
How do bands work out on high pulls and cleans? That sounds hard as hell.
What the heck is a concentric only deadlift? I thought all deadlifts were concentric only.
1.Box Squats
2.Good Mornings-all types all bars
3.Speed Pulls with bands
4.3 Board Presses
5.Soft Touch bench press
6.Band Pullthroughs
7.Reverse Hypers
8.Speed Bench with Soft Touch
9.Close Stance Low Box squat-SSB,buffalo Bar,Manta Ray.
Missing Links-
1.Stretching the hips. I learned this the hard way. If your back hurts, its more than likely got something to do with this. Stretch every night.
2.Eating-I see it with my training partners all the time. They complain that they cant gain weight or get stronger, yet they will go 7 hours during the day without eating.
- Video your training. This helps so much.
[quote]Tallman555 wrote:
Yup- those are money lifts. I would add good mornings and some kind of partial DL- straight leg, RDL, or rack pulls.
How do bands work out on high pulls and cleans? That sounds hard as hell. [/quote]
I will put the bar with some weight in the rack about knee high. Then I attach double looped (not choked but doubled under the rack) #2s or #3s. This gives a little tension right from the start. I put bungees across the rack at the height I am aiming to pull. Its tought but you have to learn coordination and how to pull maximally at the end. If I pull to the bottom of the sternum, the #2s add a little over 100 pounds and the #3s add a little over 200 pounds at that point. Also, for me, I think full rack cleans are unnecessarily stressful on the shoulders. I can pound out a lot more reps with a lot more focused intensity if I don’t rack each rep.
[quote]RJay Floyd wrote:
What the heck is a concentric only deadlift? I thought all deadlifts were concentric only.
1.Box Squats
2.Good Mornings-all types all bars
3.Speed Pulls with bands
4.3 Board Presses
5.Soft Touch bench press
6.Band Pullthroughs
7.Reverse Hypers
8.Speed Bench with Soft Touch
9.Close Stance Low Box squat-SSB,buffalo Bar,Manta Ray.
Missing Links-
1.Stretching the hips. I learned this the hard way. If your back hurts, its more than likely got something to do with this. Stretch every night.
2.Eating-I see it with my training partners all the time. They complain that they cant gain weight or get stronger, yet they will go 7 hours during the day without eating.
- Video your training. This helps so much.
[/quote]
For these, I use rubber plates, tuck down and grab and then explode up, but just let go at the top, tuck down and repeat. This is conventional style. I tried doing speed deads with a controlled lowering but I think the lowering was an unnatural movement and kept me from pulling my fastest. For example, I’d usually go up to 315 with speed deads for singles and a lowering-about 1 rep per minute with rest for 7-10 singles. Without the lowering, I can get 375 for 5 “singles” in about 15 seconds and with more rep speed. I also think that the lowering (when you get relatively heavy) is what cuts into recovery so much.
By the way, I think you mentioned the hip stretches on an earlier thread? It has worked wonders. I was really tight in that one little muscle where you have to pull your leg across the front of the body to stretch. So, not only don’t I have some kind of disk problem (whew) I might have avoided one.
I was kidding about the concentric only deads. I never lower with control on deadlifts. I think its a waste. I lower in less than a half a second.
You might want to add in some side lying external rotations too …
Here’s part of Eric Cressey’s post on External rotations:
" I’ve actually been seeing even better results with those who utilize a twice-weekly protocol. Essentially, just split the program in half and perform two exercises on each of your upper body training days. One day should include a movement with the humerus abducted (e.g. elbow-supported external rotations, Cuban Presses, L-lateral raises), and the other should include a movement with the humerus adducted (e.g. side lying DB external rotation, low pulley external rotations)."
You’ll be surprised how you’ll have to reduce the poundages on the side-lying version … but ,that version will have a lot carryover to your elbow supported external rotations .
Hope this helps.