Row Row Your Back!!

by Scott Tully

Scott Tully training one arm dumbbell rows with 175 pounds using a dumbbell handle specifically made for rowing.

I’m going to start this off by letting you know I’m not a writer, ha ha.  I want to write this about something that has helped me a lot in my overall training, and also want to let you know how we have tried to come up with a new handle to allow you to get even better Upper back and trapezius strength and gains.  When I started training at the Dino Gym almost 10 years ago, I had mainly competed in Olympic lifting and strongman.  One area of major weakness for me was the top end of my deadlift.   I also noticed weakness in my strongman training with stone loading,  as I could lap heavy stones but had a hard time transitioning to the load.  Al Myers and my training partners can attest I would miss many deadlifts over the knee.  We talked extensively about how to fix this.  Rack pulls  helped a little, but it seemed there was another issue.  Al recommended I add in more upper back and trap work.   I had always done lat pulls, but never that heavy and always for high reps, and very rarely any rows.  I thought I got enough of that type of work from strongman training, well I was wrong.  After we had this conversation, I started adding in heavy lat pulls,  not shying away from heavy sets of 5, and added in 4-5 sets of rows.  Rows included standing 45 degree dumbbell rows,  bent over dynamic rows (Pendlay or Russian Rows),  chest supported dumbbell rows on a incline bench, and seated cable rows.

A close up picture of the Dino Row Dumbbell Handle.

Over the years I’ve been able to make this an area of strength. It’s still not what I’d like it to be, but at least it’s  not a glaring weakness. I truly believe that I get the most out of standing 45 degree and chest supported rows with dumbbells.  The problem that myself and a lot of others run into is being able to use a heavy enough weight.  At the one gym I train at our DB’s go up to 120, and at the Dino Gym they go to 150.  The other problem with a DB is that often the plates hit your body before your elbow is far enough back to engage the lats all the way and being that a DB is totally fixed, it doesn’t rotate in your hand at all to allow the elbows up and to be able to pull back.  So I found an idea on the net for a handle and got a hold of Al, and 3 days later we had the Dino Row handle.  The problem with the one I had the pic for was that there was not enough room to add the weight needed, mind you, because I wanted to be able to shrug with these also.  We  were able to make the handle the exact height away from the loading shaft that we needed.  After using these and testing them out I think it’s the most effective way to hit your lats in a rowing movement.  This handle can go as low as 25lbs, and as high as around 250lbs.  One thing I mentioned above was hitting the traps.  The problem I have with barbell shrugs is that they wreck my lower back.  I had a microdiskectomy of my L-4 and L-5 in 2006 and a few movements still bother it, but with these handles I can hold them out to my side and take the pressure off the lower back and  extend the shrug higher. By hitting the Lats  more specifically with the rows I have taken my deadlift from the low 500’s before my back surgery to a 617 in competition and a 650 in training, and rarely do I ever miss a deadlift over the knees now.  There are pics included in this so you can see the handle, and if you’re at the Dino Gym you have to try this out, and the next day your lats will thank you for it.

Art’s Big Hook

by John McKean

John McKean demonstrates a band hookup for the 2-Bar Deadlift using a big S hook that attaches to his belt.

“SPROOOONG! SPLAT!!”  Those two sounds had Art Montini and the rest of the gym in stitches -complete howling laughter throughout the Ambridge VFW Barbell cavern!  The object of their mirth was this ever experimental author proving once again that some flex band set ups don’t adapt too well to certain all-round lifts!

You see, I’d looped each end of a band around the bar (braced from around my upper back) and attempted to do a pullover and push with the set up.  Overestimating the combined resistance, the push went halfway up then ROCKETED back down, the barbell being vigorously propelled by the stretched flex band!  Looking back, I think it must have appeared pretty darn funny, but at the time I felt like one of Al’s shotgunned ducks!

A close-up view of Art's Big Hook.

After that awkward episode, I became a bit more cautious toward THINKING how to best apply the advantages of bands to the individual mechanics of lifts!  And I determined that some moves can be done with a SECTIONED approach (not actually involving a wrap around the bar) to applying extra resistance.  For instance, in certain balanced moves such as one arm deadlifts, Zerchers, and two bar deadlifts the regular grips and positions can be taken, but the band pressure -sometimes considerable extra band pressure- can be simultaneously applied to just the thighs and hips. All that is necessary is a BIG “S” hook to attach the middle of a band to one’s lifting belt, leaving both ends of the band to wrap securely around the feet.  So, in a constant vigil to keep me from killing myself on our gym platform, good ole Art ,the man of steel, made one for me!

Recently I’ve been using this approach toward training the two bar deadlift.  As the above photo shows, I am free to grab the bars in a normal manner, with the bars’ delicate balance unimpeded by extra forces.  The band pressure goes just to the thighs and hips, not adding a lot of extra work, but certainly adding to the chore without necessity of hitting max poundage or leading to burn out.  Really , it’s like doing two exercises at once.  All the usual band advantages are there -this set up thwarts acceleration,yet encourages speed & finishing strong; concentration on the extra stress actually TEACHES proper form and channels power for two bar deadlifts.

OK, get yourself a big hook and add this” harnessed leg lift” into some of your pulling movements & deadlift types! Remember, you don’t want to ever shoot for an overburdening extra resistance, just enough to make the combined exercise “interesting”!

Hand & Thigh, Neck Training Tips

by Joe Garcia

Joe Garcia, the World Record Holder in the Hand and Thigh, shares his secrets of training this lift.

With the Heavy Lift Championships coming up out at York, and seeing Al’s story on the Hanging Dumbbells, I thought I would share information on how I train and perform two of the lifts, the Neck lift and the Hand and Thigh lift. The reason I have put these two lifts together is that the basic movement mechanics are very similar. For two old time lifts there is alot of useful technique available for increasing your poundages.

When training either of these lifts, you will probably find that once a week is frequent enough. I usually do 2 – 3 sets, anywhere from 5 – 10 reps in the HT and 5 – 15 reps in the Neck, but your mileage may vary. When I trained for the record in the Hand and Thigh, I worked up to 1 or 2 warmup sets of about 5 reps at half the weight for my final set, then usually 10 reps for the second set. For the hand and thigh lift, no matter what you do, if you are using heavy weights, your fingers will suffer damage and need time to recover, so in order to protect my fingers so that I can keep training, I usually place a pad between them and my thighs. I also believe it is very important to hold each rep and not just lift and drop. This both lets you feel the weight better and is required for the actual lift. This concept applies to both lifts.

The biggest mistake I see during either lift is the direction of the push. Most people go much too vertical when they should be thinking about driving backwards. Visualize that you are 2 – 3 feet from a wall and the object is to touch the wall with the top/back of your head, and looking at the ceiling at the same time. You body position should resemble a bow. The only muscles that move are your legs, so you should get them really bent at the start of the lift. For the Hand and Thigh, place your hands just at the top of Quad muscles, using it as a shelf.  Biomechanically, it usually helps to get your feet as high up and close to the big bar as possible, so 4×4’s to stand on are very useful. You also want to make sure your fingers contact the skin of the thighs with nothing in between. In the Neck lift, I try to bend backwards even more at the start of the lift. Angling the strap that goes over my head to as far forward as it will go, seems to keep the drive straighter with less resultant ‘snap’ to the front.

Again, when you start either lift, don’t think up, think back. Neither lift is a deadlift. For comfort sakes, you may want to have a spotter standing by. Good luck!

Zercher Meet

By Joe Garcia

MEET RESULTS – THE 2011 ZERCHER MEET

The mighty have fallen. This last Saturday, Jan 29, the longest running meet in the USAWA, in fact dating prior to the formation of the USAWA, the Zercher meet was once again held in Clarks gym at Columbia, MO.  At one time, it was one of the premier meets  of our organization,  but recently has fallen on small times.  This one was no exception.  We had a total of three people in the gym, Bill Clark who judged the meet; Tom Powell, our exceptional loader, who never lifts in any of these meets, but like clockwork, shows up to put the weights on the bars; and myself, the lone lifter in the meet.  Quite a bit different from the ones back in the late 80’s,  where we ran three platforms for the lifters.  Consisting of 13 lifts, it makes for a hard day on the body.

On a side note, we may see Bill back lifting in the near future.  He has been to Atlanta to see his favorite surgeon, and they will be replacing his shoulder down the road.  That will be welcome news as he really can’t even move his arm more than about 3 – 4 inches at this point.  Add a new hip and he’ll be good as new.

Since I have been favoring a rotator injury from last summer that started out with a fall from a horse, I pretty much knew that the overhead lifts and the bench weren’t going to be too outstanding for me.  I was correct in that they were all down in poundages, though not as much as I thought they would be.  In the other lifts, except for the Hand and Thigh, I either was able to do the same as last year or bettered a couple of the lifts.  The older lifters in the association will understand how that becomes a victory.  Anyway, for the most part I was happy with the results, and as always, enjoyed seeing Bill and we did end up at the Golden Corral for a late lunch.

2011  Zercher Meet
Clark’s Gym, Columbia, Missouri
January 29, 2011

Meet Director:  Bill Clark
Official:  Bill Clark
Loader: Tom Powell

Lifts: Leg Press, Heels Together Clean and Press, Clean and Jerk, Heels Together Deadlift, Bench – Feet in the Air, Hack Lift, One-Hand Deadlift, Zercher Lift, Steinborn, Neck Lift, Hand and Thigh, Hip Lift and Harness Lift.

Results

Lifter Age BWT Lg Press HT Press C&J HT Dead Bench
Joe Garcia 57 212 400 150 165 315 205
Hack 1Hd Dead Zercher Steinborn
275 245 -R 255 195
Neck HandThigh Hip Harness Total
375 1075 1675 2300 7630

All results in pounds.  BWT is bodyweight in pounds.

News from the IAWA(UK)

by Steve Gardner

Andy Tomlin is awarded the Clubman of the Year for the Castlemilk Gym.

I attended the Castlemilk Gym Weightlifting Clubs annual dinner in Glasgow on Friday 14th January. It was a very pleasant evening, and after dinner William Wright made the presentations of the clubs awards for their acheivements through 2010. Andy Tomlin was the winner of the overall clubman of the year cup. At the end of the presentation I took them all by complete surprise when I told them that in fact myself and Karen had not just travelled up to see them and enjoy their evening with them, I had another duty to perform. It was well worth the trip to Scotland to see the expression on young Robbie Hughes’s face when I presented him with the wonderful Health and Strength Cup, which is presented annually for the best performance by a IAWA(UK) Junior lifter!

Robbie Hughes receives the Health and Strength "Best Junior" Trophy for 2010.

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