Tag Archives: USAWA

Taking Care of Your Back – Part 4

Part 4 – Reverse Hyperextensions

by Al Myers

Al Myers demostrating the "bottom position" of a Reverse Hyperextension.

Al Myers demonstrating the "bottom position" of a Reverse Hyperextension.

The routine of using a Reverse Hyperextension Machine in your training is nothing new.  This exercising device has been around for close to 20 years now, thanks to its inventor Louie Simmons.  I remember reading years ago Louie came to develop this machine when he was recovering from a serious back injury, and the only exercise he could do was  leg raises while laying on his stomach in his bed after surgery.  As he improved,  he started letting his legs hang off the bed, and then eventually starting hanging small amounts of weights on his ankles as he did this exercise.  He made a full recovery, and returned to high levels of competitive powerlifting, after sustaining an injury that would have left most people as lifelong cripples.  He is the ONE who should receive full credit for the invention of the Reverse Hyperextension.

I have used the Reverse Hyperextension in many ways, but I have found that the BEST use of it is for back recovery.  It has always been part of my “active recovery” back workouts on Thursday.  I don’t go very heavy on it, usually just 100 pounds for sets of 10.  I only do 4 or 5 sets.  This exercise is a non-compressive exercise, meaning that it does not apply any compressive force to the vertebrae.  It is the ONLY back exercise that I have found that will  “work out the back” at the same time it stretches the back muscles in tension.  You will especially feel it in the muscles at the lower lumbar – pelvis tie-ins.  You will feel a slight “pump” in these muscles after doing this exercise. This increase in blood flow to these muscles will greatly enhance the back’s recovery from your  previous hard deadlifting sessions.  Truly an essential exercise that should be part of everyone’s training program!  All together you can accomplish this with only 15 minutes per week.   I add a unique “twist” to the Reverse Hyperextension by adding a light band to it.  This band adds slightly more tension at the “top” of the lift, when your legs are fully extended behind you.

Al Myers demonstrating the "top position" of a Reverse Hyperextension. Notice how the band is attached.

Another exercise I like to do with the  Reverse Hyperextension Machine is Leg Curls, to work the hamstrings muscles.  I have never read about anyone else doing this particular exercise with this machine, even though I am sure others have.  To perform this Leg Curl, my initial movement is to curl the legs, after which I extend the legs behind me (while keeping the legs bent)  like a normal Reverse Hyperextension.  You will feel the ENTIRE hamstring being involved in this movement, from the knee to the pelvis tie-ins.  I used to do recumbent lying leg curls to work my hamstrings, but abandoned that movement in favor of this one. I felt lying leg curls only focused on the lower hamstrings, and didn’t work the upper hamstrings adequately. Again, I’ll do 4-5 sets of 10 of this exercise following my normal Reverse Hyperextensions in another 15 minutes.  So there you have it- 30 minutes a week on the Reverse Hyperextension, but with benefits that far exceed that time commitment.

This sums up my Thursday workout.  I feel it really helps my back recovery so I can train my back hard twice per week on a regular schedule.  Other things – make friends with a good chiropractor and make frequent appointments.  A slight shift in vertebral alignments or pelvis alignment needs to be adjusted as soon as it happens to avoid training setbacks.  Don’t wait a week and see if things get better – make an appointment immediately!!   I don’t have access to massages, but I know some lifters who feel that really helps in back recovery.  I use a jacuzzi a few times per week – and I know that helps relax the back which aids in recovery.  Occasionally I combine it with a cold shower, or a “cold douche” as my English friends would call it.  This was a favorite recovery method used by the great Old-Time Strongman Arthur Saxon.

If anyone has more specific questions on this workout on mine, please contact me and I’ll be happy to explain it further.

Taking Care of Your Back – Part 3

Part 3 – Have Strong Abs

by Al Myers

Training the abdominal muscles is often overlooked by weightlifters.  Bodybuilders usually go overboard with ab training because they are in search of the perfect 6-pack.  Us weightlifters are just as happy having a perfect keg instead. I learned in college during a physiology course that opposing muscle groups should be of comparable strength in order  to prevent injury due to muscle imbalances.  That hit home for me in my training.  It is easy to overlook less important muscle groups because they don’t seem to be “the  major players” needed in a certain lift.  Think about this, and I’m going to use Powerlifters as my example. Are most Powerlifters upper back as strong as their pec and front shoulder muscles?  Are their hamstrings as strong as their front quad muscles? And are their abs as strong as their back?  I would say usually not because the first muscle groups is not directly involved in the strength of the three powerlifts as the second muscle groups,  with the result over time leading to muscles strength imbalances,  setting up the possibility of injuries.

I’m a real believer in ab training in order to keep your back healthy.  I also believe the abdominal muscles should be trained like any other muscle group.  Too many lifters make the mistake of thinking the ab muscles are different somehow. These lifters  will do sit-ups or crunches EVERYDAY, and wonder why they are not getting stronger or building more abdominal muscles.  They will train with repetitions in the 100’s on these movements and wonder why it isn’t working.  Would these same lifters even THINK training the squat or deadlift like that would improve their strength??  I train my abs once per week – and train them hard and with low to moderate reps, just like any other exercise.  I do sets and rest between the sets like any other muscle group.  I like variety in training the abs, and have over 25 exercise that I will train (not in the SAME workout) in a random fashion.  I also pick ab exercises that don’t put undo stress on my lower back on my Thursday workout, as that would defeat the purpose of this “active recovery” day for my back.  When I was training for the 1000 pound Roman Chair Sit-up that I did a couple of years ago it was not on this day!  It was on one of my back days. This would also apply to other All-Round ab lifts  like the Roman Chair Bench Press.  I have my ab exercises grouped into three categories – light, moderate, and heavy.  I do one exercise from each group, starting with the light ab exercise first, then the moderate ab exercise,  and finally the heavy ab exercise.  I try to spend 20 minutes per exercise, so my entire ab workout can be accomplished in 1 hour per week.  My abs are always sore the next day after this workout.  I don’t do more than 10 reps per set on any exercise.

Al Myers performing a Front Ab Raise with a dumbbell on a Stability Ball.

One of my favorite ab exercises is an exercise I have called the Front Ab Raise on the Stability Ball.  OK – I admit I have one of those silly stability balls in my gym that have been popularized by Health Clubs across the country!  At first, I thought those balls seemed like they wouldn’t be of any value to a Hard-Core lifter like myself, but I always like to “test things out” before I form an opinion.  I found that using a Stability Ball with this exercise will put a heavy strain on the abdominal muscles and at the SAME time put no stress on my lower back.  I have a couple of other ab exercises I train using the Stability Ball – the Allen Lift (bar extended at arms’ length)  and the Abdominal Raise (bar behind my neck), but the Front Ab Raise is my favorite.   My advice for the heavy lifter is to buy the strongest Stab Ball you can find, and plan to replace it every 6 months.  The plastic will degrade with time and weaken the ball.  The forces I put on a Stability Ball is probably more than someone using it for general fitness  (often supporting myself at 250# and dumbbells over 100#s).   I have not had one “pop” on me yet, as I’m sure this amount of weight exceeds the ball’s rating,  but I always replace the Stab Ball if it is worn in any way.

Coming tomorrow – Part 4, Reverse Hyperextensions

Taking Care of Your Back – Part 1

by Al Myers

Mike McBride, the Best Lifter at the 2005 USAWA National Championships, performing a Deadlift with Heels Together with over 600 pounds. This All-Round variation of the deadlift increases the stress placed upon the back compared to a traditional deadlift.

Recently, I was contacted by an all-round lifter who asked my advice in dealing with persistent back pain caused from his training.  I’m not going to give his name out here, but he is one of the strongest current All-Rounders in the World and is capable of deadlifting over 700 pounds.  This says quite a bit about his overall back strength, as we all know All-Rounders have many exercises to train and can’t be deadlift specialists, like powerlifters.  He obviously knows how to train very hard to reach this level of performance.  This is just the way it is with All-Round Weightlifting – it is about being all a round strong, not just in specific lifts.  After reading his description of his training, it was obvious to me that he was over-training his back, which can be very easy to do. We have close to 200 lifts to prepare for at any given time, with about 75% of them requiring back strength to accomplish.  I once found myself in this same “over-training trap” as he is when I switched my competition focus to the All-Rounds from Powerlifting.  I still wanted to train like a powerlifter, but just decided to add in extra training for the All-Round lifts.  Combining this extra training volume on my back, in addition to being older, I quickly reached a state of over-training.  I don’t mind my back being a little sore after a hard back workout, but when it is constantly sore the entire week, and affecting my other training, I knew it was time to re-evaluate my training routine and make some changes.

Lots is written about HOW to train your back to make you stronger, but very little is written about how to TAKE CARE OF YOUR BACK  so you don’t sustain a back injury from your heavy training.  I consider this very important.  I have a history of back problems in my family.  My dad and grandfather both had back surgeries for herniated discs.  One of my brothers has issues with chronic back pain.   I know most health issues are linked genetically – and with this family history I am probably more at risk than others to have a “bad back”.   You can find all kind of information about how physical therapists rehab a person after back surgery, or exercises for the non-weightlifter to strengthen their back in suffering from back pain.  However, these things don’t really apply to a weightlifter who wants to be able to at least have one VERY HEAVY back training session per week, and recover fully so it can be repeated the next week. I am going to revel some of my “secrets” that I have learned through the years that have helped me keep my back strong, and preventing  injuries.  I not going to discuss ways of making your back stronger. The things I am going to discuss are all about recovery, things that help you be back to full strength for your next heavy back workout.  I am willing to bet that most lifters do NOTHING in this regard, outside of maybe just some “light stretching”.  That is not enough.  I have discussed these things with my friend Thom Van Vleck in the past, who also believes in this,  and he termed the expression calling these workouts “active recovery” workouts.  I plan to do a 4-Part story on my Thursday workout, which is geared completely to maintaining a healthy back.

The first change in my training philosophy  when I became an All-Rounder was realizing that I have to be careful not to train the back in every workout.  I ONLY train exercises that put ANY strain on my lower back TWICE per week to give adequate time for back recovery.  I am sure this training frequency is different for every lifter, but that is what works best for me.  Now you got to remember – exercises like doing Push Presses or Jerks constitute as a back exercises.  Doing 1 arm full body exercises, like the One Arm Snatch,  puts demands on the back, even though the demands are not like deadlifting.  These exercises need to be trained on one of these “back days”.  Training the upper back also puts demands on the lower back. Even common All-Round upper body lifts like the Pullover and Push or a Clean and Press put pressure on the back.  So you can see where I’m going with this, it doesn’t leave too many exercises available for the other training days during the week!   My back day workouts are Tuesday and Saturday.  I like this schedule because if I have a small meet coming up on the weekend, I can just substitute my Saturday workout for the meet and it doesn’t interrupt my training.  It also spaces my “back days” out evenly – 3 and 4 days.  I do my active recovery back workout on Thursday – two days after my heaviest back workout of the week.  The sole purpose of this workout is to get my back  ready to lift heavy again on Saturday. The details of this workout of mine is what I’m going to highlight over the next three USAWA Daily News segments.

Coming tomorrow – Taking Care of Your Back  Part 2 – Be Sure To Limber Up

Improvements to the USAWA Officials Program

by Al Myers

Level 2 USAWA Certified Official Frank Ciavattone officiating at the 2010 USAWA National Championships.

One of the big changes this past year in the USAWA was the development of an Officials Program.  This started at the 2009 Annual Meeting with the approval of the new improved Rulebook that outlined the new Officials Program, and by electing Joe Garcia as the Officials Director for the USAWA.  Improvements were made to the Officials Program at the 2010 Annual Meeting last month.  I am going to describe and explain the USAWA Officials Program so everyone will be more knowledgeable of it.  Everything I say here is outlined in the Rulebook or on the website.

The USAWA has two levels of Certified Officials – Level 1 and Level 2.  Level 1 has been split into two subdivisions – Level 1 Test Qualified and Level 1 Experience Qualified. The Rulebook (Section VII. 9) explains these two levels as follows:

There will be two levels of classification for Certified USAWA officials.

• Level 1 Test Qualified – The official has passed the USAWA Rules Test.

• Level 1 Experience Qualified – The official has the experience of officiating in 25 or more competitions or events.

• Level 2 – The official has passed the USAWA Rules Test and has the experience of officiating in 25 or more competitions or events.

I want to emphasize that ALL OFFICIALS (Level 1 and Level 2) have the same authority as a Certified USAWA Official.  Nothing in the Rulebook says different.  It is simply a classification that details HOW one became certified.  These classifications are recorded for each official in the “Officials” section of the website and are kept up to date at all times.  To become a Certified Official (if you are not Experience Qualified) requires taking and passing an Open Book Exam of the USAWA Rulebook.  It must be sent to the Officials Director Joe Garcia for grading.  You must score over 90% correct answers to pass.  Once you pass, Joe informs me to list you on the website as a current official. All of this is detailed in the “Officials” section and the Rules Test is available in several different formats, so hopefully, one will work for you to  download.

One of the big changes to the Officials Programs is adding time limits to the Official Cards.  The membership agreed to a 3-year Officials Card before re-certification is required. The new Rulebook (available August 1st on the website) will have this information in it.  Section VII. 12 and Section VII.13 have been added to the Rulebook, as stated below:

12. Once an official has passed the Rules Test, the Officials Director will issue an Officials card that will be valid for 3 years from the date the official passed the test. Level 1 Test Qualified Officials will be required to retake the Rules Test after 3 years to maintain Certified Official Status. Level 1 Experience Qualified Officials will receive an Officials card that is valid for 3 years and will be automatically renewed unless the official has been inactive as an official during the previous three year period, in which a new Officials Card will not be issued unless the individual makes a written request to the Officials Director. Level 2 Officials are exempt from recertification, and are issued a lifetime officials card.

13. An individual must make a written request to the Officials Director in order to apply for Level 1 Experience Qualified Certified Status or to show proof of officiating experience in order to change their level of certification.

Level 1 Experience Qualified Officials were developed originally as a “Grandfather Clause” to allow those VERY experienced qualified officials not to have to take a Rules Test.   These officials have always been the backbone of officiating in the USAWA and have proven their worth as a good official.  However, now, if they have not been active as an official for 3 years (and officiating ONLY ONE meet in this time keeps them active) they will be dropped from the list and must make a written request to Officials Director to regain Certified Officials Status.  I think this is very reasonable.  Why keep someone on our Officials List if they haven’t been contributing to the USAWA as an official?? Also, if someone IS Experience Qualified and hasn’t been officiating for several years, requiring a written request from them to become active as an official again in the USAWA doesn’t seem out of line to me. It’s not much to ask of them to drop Joe or me a short letter or email about their intentions of wanting to officiate in the USAWA again.    Joe and I  have no way of knowing who is “Experience Qualified” without someone telling us and giving us proof.  Most old meet results in the Strength Journal didn’t list the Officials.  Truthfully, I really don’t understand why Level 1 Experience Qualified Officials don’t want to take the Rules Test and become Level 2 Officials.  Lots has changed in the Rulebook and I’m sure they would learn something new as well as giving support to our new Officials Program.

Another new addition to the Rulebook involving officials is adding the minimum age of 16 years. Section VII.2 states The minimum age for a Certified Official is 16 years of age. Much debate arose at the meeting when this was discussed.  Some felt like it should be a higher age requirement.  Myself, I think 16 is a good minimum age to be an official.  Afterall, I’m meeting kids on the road that age when I’m driving!   I still think that at big meets (like Nationals and Worlds) more seasoned officials should be used.

I am pleased how the USAWA Officials Program is going.  We started it last year with a simple system,  and as time goes we are adding more requirements to make it better.  I feel the reason the USAWA Official Programs have failed in the past is because they were too complicated and required too much to start with.  They failed before they had the time to succeed.  We still have a long ways to go before we have a great Officials Program – but at least we have SOMETHING.   So as of now to become a Certified USAWA Official – all you have to do is take and pass a test!

Updated Rulebook and New Bylaws

by Al Myers

The USAWA Rulebook 4th Edition

The updated Rulebook (Edition 4) and new Bylaws are now available on the website.  Both can be found in the header line of the website.  This section also contains a document titled “2010 Rulebook Changes/New Approved Lifts”.  This is the new information added to the previous Rulebook (Edition 3).  I included this so if you already have a previous Rulebook and don’t want to buy or print off a new one you could simply just add these pages to your Rulebook.

I  added some new pictures to the Rulebook (the print-off doesn’t have these).  So if you want to see who made it you’ll have to open up the new Rulebook and have a look! The Rulebook is now 91 pages long, contains rules for all 164 Official lifts, and contains 94 pictures of 55 lifters.  The new USAWA Bylaws are also available now on the website.  These new bylaws were prepared this past year by the Bylaw committee of Joe Garcia, Tim Piper, and myself.  They were approved by the membership at the 2010 Annual Meeting. These new Bylaws replaced the non-functioning bylaws that were originally written in 1987, which were  never updated to reflect how the USAWA has evolved in the past 20 years.  The new USAWA Bylaws reflect how our organization has been functioning in recent years.  The only “new thing”  in them is the formation of a 5-person Executive Board that will govern the USAWA throughout the year.  Membership will still have final say on the majority of issues, and decisions made by membership vote at the Annual Meeting will continue to make the ultimate decisions on issues.  Please take the time to look over the bylaws on the website.

I will have “hard copies” of the Rulebook for sale again.  These copies will also contain the Bylaws.  The book will sell for $30 (including postage).  Let me know if you want one.  I am only going to print off copies for what I have orders for to prevent unnecessary carry-over.  I plan to have a printing by the end of August and again the first of the year.

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