I am now running the 6 week russian peaking program for front squats…and figured I could do some extra hammy work.
What’s the name of it? just curious
I think one has to think in terms of what forces you to use your posterior chain more than other muscles. I like good mornings, hyperextensions and reverse hyperextension, seated good morning.
If you’ve been doing a lot of deadlifts of a certain type lately, then you can simply switch up the kind of deadlift you’re doing. Try deficit deadlift, stiff legged deadlift etc… Even switching up the way in which you train your regular deadlift could help. If you’re used to going really heavy, try lifting singles for speed with about 70% or so.
Some people at my gym have told me powercleans are great, although I see them as being overrated in a powerlifting routine.
Just my two cents. I’m no expert on the posterior chain and deadlifting since I don’t compete in it, but I take tips from the better powerlifters and coaches at my gym all the time, and they all seem to like speed pulls
[quote]Tim Henriques wrote:
[quote]Caltene wrote:
What you’re describing at the end, with regards to range of motion, can’t be done with RDL. That would be a stiff-leg deadlift.[/quote]
Caltene - your posts never cease to give me a chuckle. Thanks for broadcasting that you don’t know what an RDL is.[/quote]
Exactly. I have done RDLs elevated on a 4.5" platform. Didnt quite touch the floor, but went beyond regular ROM. I worked up to 495x7 with straps.
Rack pulls.
[quote]Tim Henriques wrote:
I like high rep RDL’s (3 sets of 20 is great)[/quote]
While I agree that RDL is amazing, why 20 reps? It is my understanding that the hamstrings, as a rule of thumb, tend to be rather fasttwitch for most people due to the nature of their function.
[quote]cavemandiary wrote:
[quote]Tim Henriques wrote:
I like high rep RDL’s (3 sets of 20 is great)[/quote]
While I agree that RDL is amazing, why 20 reps? It is my understanding that the hamstrings, as a rule of thumb, tend to be rather fasttwitch for most people due to the nature of their function.[/quote]
I just found that to work well especially when done explosively. Think of running a 100 M race, how many powerful steps are you going to take? Plus I really like the significant time under tension that my erectors and traps experience, it is basically a quasi isometric exercise for them and that is what the upper back is doing in a deadlift anyway, so I am not just doing it for the hammies.
Tim, when doing 3X20 RDL’s Is this done after low rep heavy lifts (let’s say 531), or is this more than enough as a standalone workout?
[quote]pushharder wrote:
I’ve been to the land of 3 x 6 x 485 (from the floor and lightly tapping the floor) and think RDL’s do hammer the posterior magnificently.
The heavy poundage and reps of course are killer but it’s the cardio on those sets that gets me as I can hardly suck in any air between reps. I feel like I’m practically holding my breath during the entire set. I definitely have this problem with Zercher squats too. On both exercises I just can’t hardly expand my ribcage to take in enough air (or it sure feels that way).
Anyone else experience this?
[/quote]
Definitely when I’m doing moderately high rep deadlifts (10-15 reps). Even going one rep, exhale, inhale, one rep… makes me run out of air surprisingly quick. Nothing else does it to me quite like that.
[quote]Wesmar wrote:
Tim, when doing 3X20 RDL’s Is this done after low rep heavy lifts (let’s say 531), or is this more than enough as a standalone workout?[/quote]
You could do both but if you are interested in strength you want some exposure to heavy weight so I would either do it after lower rep work (say heavy squats) or combine it with some heavier/lower rep work on another day of the week. If you just want size and general strength but aren’t prepping for a 1RM or meet then you don’t need to go heavy, but I would still usually have at least 2 and more commonly 4 exercises for the area I was training so a workout might look like this:
Squats
Front Squats or Leg Press
RDL’s
Leg Curls/Hypers/Single leg work stuff, etc
I picked up split stance RDL’s from Ben Bruno’s article on here.
Have used them myself and on my own clients and have got to say they hit the PC so well. Give them a go.
Thanks for the Reply Tim! I train for strength, will be sure to do this on my next Squat/DL day.
[quote]Tim Henriques wrote:
[quote]cavemandiary wrote:
[quote]Tim Henriques wrote:
I like high rep RDL’s (3 sets of 20 is great)[/quote]
While I agree that RDL is amazing, why 20 reps? It is my understanding that the hamstrings, as a rule of thumb, tend to be rather fasttwitch for most people due to the nature of their function.[/quote]
I just found that to work well especially when done explosively. Think of running a 100 M race, how many powerful steps are you going to take? Plus I really like the significant time under tension that my erectors and traps experience, it is basically a quasi isometric exercise for them and that is what the upper back is doing in a deadlift anyway, so I am not just doing it for the hammies.[/quote]
How many days per week would you recommend doing these? I am needing to strengthen my back, work on hamstring flexibility and work the glutes… So I do these on back days right now which are tue, and thurs
I’m not sure you mentioned it, but about how explosive would the RDL’s be? About 3 seconds total per rep?
[quote]DSSG wrote:
I’m not sure you mentioned it, but about how explosive would the RDL’s be? About 3 seconds total per rep? [/quote]
I’ve tried RDLs 3x20 at 50% of deadlift max as Tim recommended, and my experience was that you do them pretty much any way that you can. If you want to try and get a certain time per rep, make sure someone is nearby to catch you in case you pass out. I did them double overhand without straps and will say that they do a good job of working the grip, too.
[quote]krummdiddy wrote:
How many days per week would you recommend doing these? I am needing to strengthen my back, work on hamstring flexibility and work the glutes… So I do these on back days right now which are tue, and thurs[/quote]
I would not do the high rep RDL’s more than once per week. I think you can work legs/lower back with this style of training once or twice a week.
[quote]DSSG wrote:
I’m not sure you mentioned it, but about how explosive would the RDL’s be? About 3 seconds total per rep? [/quote]
I would not be too concerned with a time per rep, I would do the negative with enough control to keep your arch and feel the stretch, but then pop back up explosively. I am doing these to help with the lockout portion of the lift so each rep practice driving your hips into the bar at the top. I have no issue using straps for this lift assuming your grip is fine on regular deads.
I tried this weekend… that was some intense cardio. I started feeling like I was inhaling razor blades.
I’ve been throwing them in on squat day but haven’t gotten to 20. Monday was 170 for 3x15. My ass hates me.
[quote]CPFC_1905 wrote:
I picked up split stance RDL’s from Ben Bruno’s article on here.
Have used them myself and on my own clients and have got to say they hit the PC so well. Give them a go.[/quote]
Thanks for pointing these out man. I’ve been looking for an additional variation other than RDLs or GoodMmornings to hit the posterior chain after ME squats or deadlifts, and these really did the trick. Will definitely add these into the rotation.