Author Archives: Al Myers

Trap Bar Training

by Al Myers

Dino Gym member Chuck Cookson set a new Dino Gym Record in the High Trap Bar Deadlift this week, with a lift of 800 pounds.

The Trap Bar Deadlift has been contested in the USAWA since 1996. I think this is one piece of equipment that every gym should have. The original Trap Bar was the Gerard Trap Bar developed by Al Gerard, a powerlifter from North Carolina, over 20 years ago. Since then several other companies have developed Trap Bars that are very similar, but with minor design changes, getting around the original patent held by Al Gerard. For those not familiar with a Trap Bar, it is an apparatus that contains a frame around the lifter, and has parallel handles located at the lifter’s side for gripping.

Trap Bar training is beneficial and supplemental to deadlift training for several reasons. First of all, it gives a “different line of pull” than deadlifting with a straight bar. By having your arms to your sides, the hips and legs are engaged much more than a bar deadlift, with less demands being placed on the lower back. It is easier to maintain good lifting technique in keeping the shoulders up and the back curved (instead of rounded). More weight can be lifted with the Trap Bar than a straight bar, unless you are a very experienced deadlifter. The grip is easier to maintain. Also, unlike a traditional deadlift where bad technique can lead to “hitching”, it is impossible to “hitch” a Trap Bar Deadlift. I have in the past trained young kids in weight training during the summer, and I always include the Trap Bar Deadlift as one of their key exercises. It is very safe for young kids to do as long as you limit the maximum you allow them to lift. I have a rule that I only allow them to lift up to 150% of their maximum squat set with the Trap Bar. So if they want to improve their Trap Bar Deadlift – they better be improving their squat! I once started training a young girl on the Trap Bar Deadlift, and immediately she complained about the “rough knurling” on the handles. Well, at the end of the week when I was reviewing the kid’s training logs, I noticed she had written the name of this lift as “the Death Grip”. Apparently she misheard me call it “the Dead Lift”, and innocently named it what she thought it should be called!

The "Hex" Trap Bar

The "Hex" High Trap Bar

The Baier Trap Bar


I am not going into set and rep schemes done with the Trap Bar. There are several good programs that can be done -and in the gym we have tried them all. Describing all of these programs would take more space than I have for this story. We also have a couple of other types of Trap Bars in the gym – one with 3″ elevated handles (only regular handles are allowed in USAWA competition) and one very unique Trap Bar given to the Dino Gym by Shawn Baier, which we call the Baier Trap Bar. It has three adjustable handles with diameters of 1″, 1.5″ and 2″. The height of the pick is 12 inches from the floor (a normal Trap Bar pick is 9″). The use of these High Trap Bars is great for giving variety to Trap Bar Training. We will often add chains to the Trap Bar in order to increase the difficulties at the top of the lift. Chains really help in developing a quicker pull, as less weight is on the bar at the bottom position. I even like to do Trap Bar training in the same workout as straight bar pulls. I find I can do them after regular deadlifting and still able to workout heavy on them.

The Trap Bar Deadlift is going to be a big part of All-Round competition this year. It is in the USAWA National Championships and in the IAWA World Championships. This seems like reason enough to get one for yourself – if you haven’t already. You won’t regret it – and the progress you will make with it will pay off in overall strength gains.

38 New USAWA Records at Club Challenge

by Al Myers

Kohl "the Young Samson" Hess set the most USAWA Records at the Club Challenge with seven.

An amazing 38 new USAWA Records were broken or set at the most recent Club Challenge in Ambridge.  The Kohl “Young Samson” Hess lead the way with 7 records.  Kohl has made great strength gains since I last seen him lift at Worlds in October, undoubtedly the result of hard work and good coaching from Denny Habecker. Kohl is only 15 – but weighing a solid 272 pounds he is built like a grown man.

A few more meets like this and this will be a RECORD YEAR for records. Records that impressed me the most were these:  Kohl Hess and his 407# Jefferson Lift with the Fulton Bar, John McKean and his 353# Jefferson Lift with the Fulton Bar (more than he did over 20 years ago at the 1988 Nationals with a regular bar), Ernie Beath and his HUGE 201 pound French Press (he had no problem touching his neck since Big Ernie’s neck goes to his ears), Chad Ullom doing 265# in the Reflex Clean and Push Press, Art “the Man of Steel” Montini benching 135# in the Andy Goddard Postal (and he INSISTED on keeping his feet up even though that is not required for this meet), and Scott Schmidt doing 358# on the 2″ 2 Bar Vertical Bar Deadlift (the TOPS of the meet and the bars were VERY slick!).

The RECORDS RACE between Art and Denny is heating up, with Art taking advantage of Denny’s absence at this meet due to illness. Art has increase his TOTAL NUMBER of USAWA records to 353, which is one more than Denny had after Worlds, but Denny still has the lead with 361 TOTAL RECORDS.

An interesting lift we did at this meet was the Reflex Clean and Push Press.  This lift was introduced many years ago by John Schubert (and is also known unofficially as the Schubert Clean and Push Press).  It is like a normal Clean and Push Press but the bar must not come to a stop after the clean, and must be immediately put over head with a push press.  This adds great difficulty to the lift as the lifter can not “collect himself” after the clean to prepare for the Push Press.  Also, since you can’t move your feet during a push press you must have your feet in good position after the clean. Scott Schmidt is a very experienced Olympic Lifter and great presser so this lift came very natural for him.  Scott had just competed at the Arnold in the Master’s Olympic Meet and didn’t even prepare for this lift, but still put up a big lift.  Check out this YouTube Video of Scott showing how to properly do the Reflex Clean and Push Press.

Art’s Birthday Bash

by Al Myers

Meet Announcement

Art’s 20th Annual BIRTHDAY BASH

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2010

AMBRIDGE V.F.W. BBC GYM

1098 DUSS AVENUE

AMBRIDGE, PA 15003

SANCTIONED BY: U.S.A.W.A.

ENTRY FEE: Donations to help pay for insurance

LIFTS: Your choice of FIVE.

SET or BREAK existing records

WEIGH IN: 8:00 AM

FOR ENTRY CLIP & RETURN TO:

ART MONTINI

194 RAVINE ST.

ALIQUIPPA, PA 15001

OR PHONE:

724-375-2052

Entry Form –Art’s Birthday Bash 2010

The Snaggin’ Curl

by Al Myers

Dino Gym member Casey Barten put his weight training to good use in landing this 75 pound paddlefish.

Use an over the top grip

As promised yesterday, today I am going to present an exercise to you that will show that weight training virtually helps EVERYTHING. Most people would think fishing was a relaxing low effort sport – but that depends on the type of fishing you do! For the past several years Casey and I have taken part in snagging for paddlefish (also known asspoonbills) during the Missouri season. Paddlefish are one of America’s largest freshwater fish, and can grow to weights of over 100 pounds. Every spring, paddlefish will make their “spawning runs” and migrate into the upstream rivers from the reservoirs. However, there is one big problem with catching paddlefish – they are filter feeders and won’t bite on a baited hook! So we use a much more strenuous method of “catching them” – we snag them! (All of this is legal by the way). I was introduced to this unique way of catching fish by a good friend, outdoor enthusiast Kevin Yaeger, and I was immediately HOOKED (or you could say snagged)! It is by far the most physically draining type of fishing I have ever done. It is done like this – you allow the heavy pound and half sinker on the end of your line to touch bottom, at which time you give a hard pull on the rod, fighting the water resistance of the three big treble hooks on your line. If you don’t snag anything – you do it again and again at the rate of one pull every 5 seconds. The harder you work at it – the greater chances you will have success. Reeling in a 75 pound paddlefish is the easy part. It is the thousands of “pulls” you do before you snag the big paddlefish that wears you out.

Lift the kettlebell straight up

So what does this have to do with weight lifting?

Well, after the first year I went snaggin’ I was somewhat embarrassed by how I was “worn out” afterwards. I don’t train for endurance! Casey and I decided that prior to the next season we had to get ourselves in shape for snaggin’! This is what lead to the Snaggin’ Curl. Many years ago I was introduced to this exercise by armwrestler Jason Payne. He told me it was an exercise that the armwrestlers loved – and they called it the Cobra Curl. I’m always up to try something new so I gave it a try and found that it worked the EXACT same muscles that are required in pulling back on a fishing pole – thus Casey and I renamed it the Snaggin’ Curl!!

This exercise is very easy to do. You can use a dumbbell, but I prefer a kettlebell. Sit on a seat and place the kettlebell between your feet. Place your elbow of the lifting arm against your leg, and grab the handle of the kettlebell with an over the top grip. Lift the kettlebell straight up from the floor until the wrist is turned over and you can’t go any higher. At the top position hold the kettlebell for a slight pause, at which time you lower the kettlebell slow back to the floor and repeat the motion. I am not usually a high reps lifter but we will go up to 50 reps per set with this exercise – all in a slow and controlled motion. Do several sets. When finished your forearms are BLASTED! Rest a minute and then do them with your other arm – after all I rotate arms when snaggin’ and I don’t one to be my weak link.

The top position of the Snaggin' Curl (notice the flexed wrist)

Casey and I are now a month away from snaggin’. We are training the Snaggin’ Curl hard – hoping that our training will pay off and we will snag a BIG ONE this year!!

Block Bar Curls

by Al Myers

Dino Gym member Casey Barten performing a Block Bar Curl.

Would you like to try an exercise that works the grip, forearm muscles and the upper arm in one exercise?  Then try the Block Bar Curl!  This is a very simple exercise – but does require a piece of specialized equipment. I initially made this Block Bar for grip training, but the guys in the gym have found many other uses for it.  It has the same gripping dimensions as the IronMind Pinch Grip Block (3″ by 6″) and is painted with the same slick gloss paint finish.  The Block Bar is 36 inches long and weighs 45 pounds empty. I am really surprised no one has marketed a bar like this (at least I haven’t seen one). Really anyone could make one without even having shop skills. All it would take is two 2x6s nailed together, with a bolt on each end to bolt weight to.

It is very difficult to do curls with it, as all the arm muscles need to be contracting in unison to be able to execute the curl. You will find this exercise is great for developing wrist strength and stability.  Surprisingly, you will “feel” it in the biceps even with the much smaller amount of weight used versus a regular bar curl.  I think the reason for this is because of the added demands the Block Bar Curl places on the forearm muscles, and the forearm muscles must be in contraction at the same time as the upper arm muscles. This exercise has to be performed with good technique and under control or the grip on the block will be lost. The sets and reps we do with this Bar are pretty typical –  3 to 4 sets of 8-10 reps and adding weight with each set.

The Block Bar Curl  is a very practical exercise, and the strength it develops in the hands and arms will carry over to work applications.  Casey is a Veterinarian, and doing Large Animal Veterinary work requires strength in the hands and arms to perform some procedures. Much of his training is geared to increase the strength in his hands, arms and shoulders.   His training is not just about getting stronger, but about making his work easier!  You have to remember weight training can accomplish different things for different people.

Coming tomorrow –

Casey’s favorite weight training exercise for fishing!

1 … 289 290 291 292 293 … 321