7-5-3 Wave - Legs...

Back Squat - 185-205-225/205-225-245

Snatch Grip DL - 225-245-265/245-265-285 then, got 365lbs x 2! 

Chain Walking Lunges - 3 x 10 steps @ 64lbs, 32lbs & body weight. 

7-5-3 Wave - Arms...

V-Cable Curls - 100-110-120/110-120-130 

*finish with Standing High Cable Curls - 40x10/50x10

Dips - 55lbs-75lbs-95lbs/80lbs-100lbs-135lbs

Hammer Curls - 35lbs-40lbs-45lbs/40lbs-45lbs-50lbs

Neutral LeverEdge Close Grip Bench Press - 180-210-230/210-230-250

Cash Out: 60 second negative chin up 

7-5-3 Wave - Shoulders/Traps...

LeverEdge Shoulder Press - 200-210-220/210-220-230

DB Bent-Over Laterals - 25-30-35/30-35-40

Seal Rows - 30-35-40/35-40-45

Cable Upright Rows - 130-140-150/140-150-160*

*’DB Farmers Carries - 8x20M @ 125lbs (Supersetted)

Cash Out: Overhead Plate Raises -  2x25lbs

7-5-3 Wave - Back & Chest...

Strict Pull Up - 32lbs-45lbs-64lbs/45lbs-64lbs-75lbs 

LeverEdge Press - 230lbs-250lbs-270lbs/250lbs-270lbs-290lbs

Incline DB Bench Press - 55lbs-65lbs-75lbs/65lbs-75lbs-85lbs

Dumbbell Row -80lbs-90lbs-100lbs/90lbs-100lbs-110lbs then, Max reps @ 125lbs - 3 reps

Snatch Grip Deadlifts & Sprints....

Snatch Grip Deadlifts - 10x5 @ 225lbs

Sprints - 15 x 30M

Bar Muscle Ups & Chain Pull Ups/Dips...

Attempted 100 bar muscle ups. Got:

4–2-2-2-2-2-4-2-2-2-2-2-4

2-4-2-2-4-2-2-4-2-4-2-2 - 64 reps, before I tore my hand. 

Finished with: Chain Pull Ups - 64lbs - 5x5

Chain Dips - 32lbs - 5x5

Gironda 8x8- Shoulders & Traps..

Arnold Press - 32lb chains

Seal Rows - 40lbs*

DB Bent-over Lateral Raise - 32lb chains 

Upright Row -  (Prime Handle) 130lbs

Overhead Plate Raise - 45lbs then, 1x25 @ 25lbs

Training with Chains: Videos...

"Without challenges, the human body will soften. We thrive when we push our boundaries, reach goals, and blast personal records. We perform better, we look better, and we feel alive. Get this straight: you're either progressing or regressing. There is no maintenance phase. Moderation in training can easily turn into stagnation. And moderation is for sissies. So if we want to improve, we have to seek out new challenges, struggle, and win". - Dan John

5 Pull Ups - 64lbs

Close Grip Push Ups - 32lbs

Decline Push Ups - 32lbs

Dips - 32lbs

 

Close Grip Chin Ups - 64lbs 

''The feedback I get from lifters is that exercises with chains feel "smooth" throughout the entire movement. Another advantage of using chains is that they slow down the concentric portion of the exercise, prolonging the time the muscle is under tension. It has the same effect as doing dropsets, which serve to increase the time a muscle is placed under tension. Generally, to stimulate maximal muscle growth, a muscle needs to be under tension for 40-70 seconds, another important factor in using the variable of workout intensity to your advantage. Intensity is defined according to how much an individual can lift in relation to how much weight they can lift for one repetition. High levels of intensity are necessary to work the fast-twitch muscle fibers, which must be activated for a bodybuilder to achieve the highest levels of muscular hypertrophy. Because lifting chains increases the amount of weight lifted during certain portions of an exercise, the intensity of the exercise is higher''. - Chain Gang: How And Why To Train With Chains - Flex Magazine

Gironda 8x8 - Chest/Biceps...

Gironda Dips*

Decline Neutral Push Up - 32lb chains* 

Hanging Ring Flyes - 3x8 - 32lb chains 

Rope Hammer Curls - 140lbs* then, 90x8, 40x8

Close Chin Ups - 4x4 - 64lb chains* then 10 second negative

 *Superset

Cash Out: Barbell Curls - 45lb bar - 25 reps then DB curls: 20x5, 25x4, 30x3, 35x2, 40x1

Gironda 8x8 - Legs...

Back Squat - 8x8 @ 190lbs

Snatch Grip Deadlift - 8x8 @ 205lbs*

*30M Sprint in between sets 

Taking the next few days off from training...

I think it’s time to take three or four days totally OFF from training. I’m feeeling exhausted and burnt out.

The Importance of Rest...

Go into your gym and look around some time. What I want you to look for is the people with the knee braces, wrist wraps, elbow braces, etc. continuing to train intensely (or at least trying). Or the ones just going through the motions, who are only there out of some confused sense of obligation or what have you. Perhaps, if you think about it, you’re one of those people.

Rest Day
I want you to ask yourself how many days off you take each week. And when I say off I mean off. Not “I do an hour of aerobics but that doesn’t count.” I mean off. One, maybe two. Probably not that many. How many people (the ones wearing the various braces) are in there every day, sometimes more than once? Either they are doing weights multiple times per week and cardio on the off days or they are doing both each day.

Trust me, I’ve been there too, trying to train 6 days/week (I at least conceded one day off per week, although I didn’t do that consistently until my late 20’s) and wondering why I was burnt out, tired all the time, not performing well, etc.

But you argue, Lance trains 6 days/week, so do most road cyclists. Well, elite road cyclists are genetic freaks, train full time (they don’t have job and such cutting into their time) and the majority of the peleton is using drugs so you really shouldn’t derive very many conclusions about how you, who has a job, has real life stress and isn’t preparing for the Tour De France.

Most runners run 6 days/week. Yeah, and most runners are overtrained and chronically injured. And Arnold and his ilk lifted 6 days/week. Genetics and drugs. Same with the Bulgarians, the Soviets, you name it. These are the genetic elite, training full time with no job or life stress, and juiced to the gills. Unless you have all those things going for you, you shouldn’t try to emulate their training. And given that a massive percentage of elite athletes report being overtrained, perhaps even they should be training less frequently.

Which is simply a long winded way of suggesting that, if you are anything like the normal trainee, you’re doing too much. You probably train too many days per week and take too few days off. You’re lifting 3-4 days/week and trying to do cardio another 3-4 days/week (this is especially true if you are a fat/weight obsessed female). And you wonder why your joints are always kind of sore, you don’t really look forwards to your workouts anymore and everything that signals, if not true overtraining, at least overreaching (the distinction is another topic for another day).

So, I want you to look at your current training schedule, how many days are you training, how many days do you have off? I recommend that everyone, and this is true from the beginning exerciser to the elite athlete have at least one day completely off from training. That’s the minimum.

This is called passive rest, I want you to sit around all day. I’m not a religious person but this is best summed up by a quote from Charlie Francis’s book Speed Trap. Francis had asked his coach if they could afford to take Sunday’s off. His coach told him “The Lord made the world in six days, and on the seventh he rested. Do you think you could do better than that?” Most elite athletes take at least one day off from training each week and the ones who don’t usually pay for it in the long run. Why do you think you need more training than they do? If you simply can’t stay still and not do something, go for a brisk walk outdoors. But stay out of the gym. See if you aren’t refreshed when you go back to the gym the next day.

At least one (and probably two) other days per week, you should be doing active rest. This is light activity done to improve recovery. An endurance cyclist who typically trains for 2 hours might spin very easily (at a heart rate of 130-140 or lower) for 30-40 minutes. And I mean light spinning, almost no pressure on the pedals. It pumps some blood, burns a few calories, and helps recovery. Sipping a protein/carb drink during active recovery may help shuttle nutrients to the worked muscles. A runner should do some sort of cross training to give their connective tissues a rest. Try the EFX/elliptical or something non-impact.

People involved in heavy weight training can do something similar for passive rest, just very light cardio activity (brisk walking, spin on the bike) but, again, the intensity should be pretty low. If your trying to bodybuild, your focus should be on lifting anyhow and 3-4 days/week should be plenty for everyone. Most powerlifters only lift 4 days/week (on average) although many are starting to do extra stuff of late. Again, these are typically full time athletes and there is always the steroid factor to consider. Why do you think you need more time in the weight room than they do? If you want to do a little aerobic conditioning, either double it up on one of your training days or keep it very low intensity on the off days.

Even for general fitness exercisers, I think taking extra days off (or performing active rest) is beneficial. Find places to cut your weight training down (most people’s workouts are absurdly long) and put some of your cardiovascular work after your weights (on upper body days). I think you get the idea. Find a way to get your training down to 3-4 days/week total with 1 day completely off and a couple of days of active recovery.

Try this for the next 2 weeks, cutting back your training days and increasing how many days you rest and recover. See if you don’t freshen up and start to get more enthusiastic about the days you are in the gym. In the follow up to this article, in 2 weeks, I’ll talk about taking longer breaks from training and why it’s such a good idea.

More Rest Considerations

Now, I want you to ask yourself when the last extended break from training you took was. By extended I mean more than a day or two off from training, more like a 5-14 day span where you stayed out of the gym, where you either did nothing or did something completely different than your normal training program. If you can’t think of one, try to think about the last time that you got sick or injured and were forced to take an extended period of time off from your training. What did you notice when you came back?

Unless it was a very extended time off (more than 2 weeks), I bet you were far more enthusiastic about your training, some of those little twinges or aches had gone away. Perhaps you busted through your previous plateaus after a short break in period.

And then, if you’re like everyone else out there, you went right back to training the way you had done before. Hammering for weeks, months, even years on end without a break. Or until you got sick or injured again. Repeat the cycle until you wise up. If you ever do.

Odds are, if you’re like most out there, the mere idea of taking 5 days (or more) off from training fills you with fear. All your strength, muscle and fitness will just disappear. And, oh my god, you’ll just get fat.

Except that the detraining studies, and real-world experience, show something different. You lose very little fitness in a 5-14 day span, depending on what you’re looking at. I mean think about it this way: if you spend 11.5 months out of the year getting in-shape, how much fitness can you honestly lose in 5-14 days? Not very much is the answer.

Given how overtrained many people are, many come back stronger or fitter than before. Even in terms of fat loss, I’ve seen people who were training at insane levels and watching their diet get leaner when they took a break from all that training and ate more (this magic trick usually lasts about a week maximum).

Almost all athletes take easy periods in their training (some call this unloading or deloading) although this depends significantly on how they are training. And the ones that don’t should. The average scheme is to train intensely for 3 weeks and then take an easy week where volume, intensity, frequency or all three are reduced. Others will go 5-6 weeks and then take an easy week. My generic bulking routine, alternates 2 weeks of easy training with 4-6 weeks pushing the weights up I’d probably suggest, on average, taking a full week off from training after every 3 cycles (18-24 weeks) of continuous training.

Longer cycles of 16-18 weeks are often followed by periods of 5-10 days completely off from training. Charlie Francis, sprint coach extraordinaire, often gave his athletes 5 days completely off from training between every 12-16 week block. So they’d work up to a new peak over 12 weeks (on a 3 week hard/1 week easy schedule) including their final taper, take 5 days off to recharge and then do it again. Yet most people training recreationally think they can go all out year round (bodybuilders are notorious for this).

Additionally, at the end of every training season, most athletes will take anywhere from 2-4 weeks away from their sport during what is called the transition phase (where you transition from the previous season of training to the next). This used to be called the off-season, athletes would sit around for a month or two but, with periods that extended, they would detrain and lose a lot of fitness. Now it’s closer to 2-4 weeks but with some amount of activity to prevent too much fitness loss.

So, I want you to look at your last year’s training, when’s the last time you took an extended break from training, or took a week or two to do something completely different. Stay out of the weight room, go do bodyweight circuits in the park. Hike in the hills for some leg training, just go do something different. And don’t be afraid to take 5 days of easy training every 3-4 months to give your body and mind a break, you won’t lose anything and you may find that you gain a lot when you come back to the gym. Both physically and psychologically. Because, let’s face it, if training is a chore and you’re not pushing yourself, you’re not making gains anyhow. Taking some time away from your training can refresh the mind as well as the body and get you more excited about your training.

(From http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/)

Gironda 8x8 - Back/Triceps...

Pull Ups - 8x8 - 32lb chains

Wide Cable Rows - 130lbs*

DB Pull Overs - 65lbs*

Dips - 4x8@ 32lb chains/4x8 @ BW*

Diamond Push Ups - 4x8 @ 32lb chains/4x8 @ BW*

*Superset

25 x 20M Sprints...

25 x 20M Sprints

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A 10-Minute Sprint Can Change Your Life: Five Reasons Why Sprinting Is Great For You

   

Next time you make an excuse for sprints, think again! Sprints help in weight loss, build muscle, improve your health, and as a result promotes healthy living

Written By: Anisha Bhatia | February 13, 2018 3:46 PM | Fitness

If you’ve decided to shed those extra kilos this summer then stop whatever you are doing and just start sprinting. Did you know that sprinting boosts your metabolism and can regulate your fat burning hormones, giving you the abs you’ve been dreaming of? Sprinting is not an easy exercise and requires a lot of strength and dedication, but the excellent results it leads to can provide the best motivation.

Running on the treadmill for an hour can often get tedious, and after a few days you might lose the motivation as well. As a result, your dream to shed weight and get into shape is shattered. But wait – Binod Bhadri, Fitness and Adventure Sports Expert have got you covered!

He suggests an alternative that is more effective in the world of fitness – Sprinting. Sprints are basically short runs which requires you to run as hard as you can, utilizing all your energy and muscle power for short intense bursts.

The benefits of sprinting are endless. It is an excellent cardiovascular exercise, it increases your stamina, burns lot of calories in a short time and moreover, it gives a boost to your metabolism so even when your workout is over, it keeps on burning calories, says Mr Bhadri who leads a fitness group – Dare To Gear.

What To Do: Initially start sprinting for 10 minutes and then gradually increase the duration. Aim to do 10 rounds and each time cover a distance of 15-20 metres. Take a rest of 30 seconds after completing one sprint.

So, just grab your running shoes and hit the floor!

Also Read: Age No Bar: 7 Easy Exercises To Keep Your Fitness Clock Ticking At 60

1. 1 Hour Of High Intensity Cardio = 10 Sprints For 15 Minutes. What’s Your Pick?

Why sweat extra when you can achieve the same results in a shorter period of time. Sprints give you quick bursts of movements thereby helping you lose weight effectively. They are just as, if not more effective, than jogging for an hour. If you are crunched for time then going for sprints is the best workout decision you can ever take. It maximizes your workout in half the time!

Doing the same type of workout every day is boring; moreover it is not effective for your body. Every day, I see people going for long runs or are just simply running on the treadmill in order to lose weight. That’s not how fitness regimes work, people should have variety. Doing sprints adds just that, added Mr Bhadri.

2. Sprinting Makes Muscle

As sprinting is an anaerobic exercise, it helps in build muscles in the same way that weight training does. However, while weight training you focus on one body part at a time. Sprinting, on the other hand, uses dozens of muscles at the same time, making it one of the most complete muscle training exercises available.

There are studies that show sprinting can enhance protein synthesis pathways which helps in breaking down protein by as much as 230 percent. With the right nutrition and recovery, sprinting can actually promote muscle building, allowing your body to become leaner.

When you go for long runs or marathons you lose muscles, simply because your body is in action for longer duration. But sprinting is different; it works in your favour. Sprinting is for a shorter duration, and your muscles get enough time to recover after the sprint action. Therefore it helps in building muscles, said Mr Bhadri

Also Read: From Flab To Fit: Top 5 Exercises To Beat Belly Fat

3. Sprinting Boosts Metabolism – You Lose Weight Even After The Workout Is Over

There is no doubt that sprinting helps in burning a lot of calories in a short span of time. But, what’s great is that one loses weight even when the workout is over. If you are wondering how, the answer is simple. When you sprint, you kick-start your metabolism that allows you to burn more calories even when you stop sprinting. This fact is also backed by a study done by Professor James Timmons from the Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh which reports that sprinting can actually boost the body’s metabolism sharply.

4. Sprinting Take Cares Of Your Heart – Improves Heart Health

Sprinting is not just about weight loss, but also comes with cardiovascular benefits. It can help lower your blood pressure. The fast-twitch muscles (type II muscles) that you are building while you sprint helps in improving your heart function. When you do sprints, you put all your effort on your muscles making your heart pump harder, thus improving overall blood circulation. As a result, your heart is healthy and strengthens up which reduces your chances of heart disease.

Also Read: Switch To Endurance Training For Holistic Fitness

5. Sprints Increases Human Growth Hormone Production

The other exciting benefit of sprints is its ability to naturally increase the production of human growth hormone (HGH) in your body, which also plays a significant role in weight loss and also slows down the aging process by enhancing the tissue growth in your body.

VINCE GIRONDA’S 8 X 8 WORKOUT...

''8 sets of 8 is a high volume, fast tempo, size building workout. It is not designed for strength development – it’s purely for bodybuilding or “cosmetic” improvements. 8 sets of 8 will also help you get leaner. The short rest intervals stress the cardiovascular system to the point where calories are burned, the metabolism is stimulated, hormones are stirred up and fat is melted away''.

Click link to read article: VINCE GIRONDA’S 8 X 8 WORKOUT

Gironda 8x8 - Shoulders & Traps..

LeverEdge Press - 210lbs

Seal Rows - 40lbs*

DB Bent-over Lateral Raise - 35lbs*

Upright Row -  (Prime Handle) 140lbs

*Superset

Cash Out: Farmers Carry @ 250lbs (125 DBs) 6x20M then, 4x8 shrugs at 250lbs

Benefits of Lifting Chains...

Benefits of Lifting Chains:: Accommodating resistance, which is accomplished by training with bands and chains, has the ability to take your training to the next level.

Gironda 8x8 - Chest/Biceps...

Reverse LeverEdge Bench Press - 200lbs*

Decline Neutral Push Up - 32lb chains* 

Hanging Ring Flyes - 4x8 - 32lb chains 

Rope Hammer Curls - 130lbs*

Close Chin Ups - 32lb chains*

*Superset

Finished my Chest/Arm workout with 4x20M of Goblet Farmers Carry @ 70lb

Gironda 8x8 - Legs...

I had no time to get to the gym today so I did this in the garage after dinner: 

Back Squats - 8x8 @ 185lbs 

Snatch Grip Deadlift  5x3 @ 255lbs 

Build Lean Muscle With Intermittent Fasting, Carb And Calorie Cycling...

When it comes to controlling body composition, carb and calorie cycling is the way to go. Combine this with daily intermittent fasting, and you are sure to be lean, compliant, and an overall badass. Reward yourself for lifting weights by eating carbs. You have to earn them.

Click the link to read the article:

Build Lean Muscle With Intermittent Fasting, Carb And Calorie Cycling...

Gironda 8x8 - Back/Triceps & 5 Chain Pull Ups @ 64lbs!

Pull Ups - 4x8 wide/4x8 neutral - 32lb chains

Dumbbell Rows - 60lbs*

DB Pull Overs - 60lbs*

Dips - 4x8 @ 32lb chains/4x8 @ body weight 

LeverEdge Close Grip BP - 4x8 @ 230lbs/4x8 @ 180lbs*

*Superset

Cash Out: 5 pull ups with 2 chains - 64lbs! 

“Discipline equals freedom”! - Jocko William

“Building a gym in my garage was one of the best thing I’ve ever done. I love the training environment of a gym but when life gets in the way - which is most of the time - I have zero excuses. Something is ALWAYS better than nothing. Discipline equals freedom”! - Jocko William

The "Seal Row": A Unique Exercise For A Bigger Back...

Click link to read article: The "Seal Row": A Unique Exercise For A Bigger Back

Gironda 8x8- Shoulders & Traps..

No time to make it to the gym today so I did this in the garage:

Seal Rows - 35lbs*

Wide Grip Barbell Upright Row -  75lbs*

Double KB High Pull - 35lbs*

KB Bent-over Lateral Raise - 35lbs*

*Superset 

Cash Out: Overhead Plate Raise - 8x8 @ 35lbs then, 50 reps @ 10lbs

Gironda 8x8 - Chest/Biceps...

Low-to-High Cable Flyes - 8x8 - 50lbs

Decline Neutral Push Up - 32lb chains  

LeverEdge Bench Press - 4x8 @ 280lbs 

Rope Hammer Curls - 130lbs*

Drag Curls - 40lbs

*Superset

Finished my Chest/Arm workout with 3x60m of Goblet Farmers Carry @ 44lbs

Snatch Grip Deadlifts For Explosive Muscle Growth...

The snatch grip deadlift is a quality, low back friendly alternative to the conventional deadlift. This article explores the many benefits of this muscle building movement.

There’s no debate: deadlifts have a seat at the grown-up table. They are one of the best bang for your buck exercises. Compound full body movements that require total body tension and strength form the basis of any high-performance training program.

I have a love/hate relationship with deadlifts. On one hand deadlifts require full body tension, strength, and sheer willpower to build strong bodies and stronger minds, as hoisting heavy steel is extremely functional and demanding of the body. Plus, it’s part of the big 3 in powerlifting, great for building muscle, and causes women to flock to you like teenage girls at a pop-concert.

Unfortunately, deadlifts aren’t always polite to the lower back. Huge amounts of torque from sheer and compressive forces can be problematic, specifically to the lumbar vertebrae L4, L5. Though no exercise is inherently bad, conventional deadlifts do carry a higher risk than other exercises, especially when performed incorrectly or with incorrect loading.

Due to consistent issues with conventional pulls and bitchy lumbar vertebrae, I was ready to hand in my belt and sulk my posterior chain away. During one session I was crouched over and gasping for air my body was finished. Legs thrashed, grip fried, and back yoked, but no crippling pain.

I've had some success adding variety into my pulling routine with sumo deadlifts, trap bar deadlifts, and single leg variations, but nothing matched the high performance muscle building snatch grip deadlift.

Enter the Snatch Grip Deadlift

Snatch grip deadlifts are the red-headed stepchild of deadlift variations for one reason: they are brutally difficult. If you try to lift your conventional deadlift max off the ground you might think someone played a cruel, ego crushing joke and glued plates to the ground. Unfortunately that’s not the case. Lower the weight and prepare for a battle--snatch grip deadlifts offer benefits for even the most adept iron warriors.

1. Increased range of motion (ROM)

Due to a wide grip you must pull from a deeper starting position. This increased range of motion increases total body tension at the beginning of the pull and requires additional leg drive.

2. Grip training

Always using a mixed grip on your deadlifts? Tisk, tisk. A strong, balanced grip is vital for strength transfer, muscular development, and long term health. Use a wide, double overhand grip in the snatch-grip deadlift; your forearms will beg for mercy after a few short reps. Avoid straps as long as possible; grow a pair and pull.

3. Posterior chain development

The increased range of motion and full body mechanical tension makes the snatch grip deadlifts a powerful muscle builder, specifically for the delts, traps, hamstrings, and glutes.

4. Assistance/deloading your deadlift

Because most lifters hate the de-load, snatch grip deadlifts are a great way to lighten the load every four to six weeks and preserve the nervous system. Due to grip restrictions and an increased ROM weight must be decreased compared to conventional, sumo, and trap bar deadlifts.

5. Improved sports performance

Look at the most dominant strength and power athletes and you’ll see a common trait: jacked glutes, traps, hamstrings and lower back erectors—all of which play critical roles in jumping, sprinting, and moving heavy objects (or bodies). A strong and stable backside is a must for optimal sports performance.

6. Improved hip mobility

A deeper starting position requires limber hips. Practicing this pull builds dynamic mobility and flexibility in the hips. Can’t get into the proper position? Pull from short boxes, work on your hip mobility, and continue to work towards pulling from the floor while maintaining a braced core and welded spine.

7. Potentially safer on the spine

Although the greater range of motion increases stress to the vertebrae the load lifted during a snatch grip deadlift is significantly less than more common pulling variations. The grip and increased range of motion are limiting factors—forcing you to use less weight.

*This is dependent on your ability to maintain a neutral spine and prevent tucking at the initial pull.

8. Quad & glute killer

A lower starting hip position forces the quads and glutes to handle more load, especially on the initial pull. Snatch grip deadlifts are an excellent lift for building massive quads and glutes.

The Set Up

Rotate the feet out slightly as this allows you to achieve a deeper starting position. Your feet should be about shoulder width apart with the bar lined up over mid-foot.

Pull your body to the bar, with your middle finger lined up on the ring of the barbell—play around with width based on height and limb length, but always have at least one finger touching the ring.

Drop the hips until the bar touches the shins, pulling the bar tight with your lats, locking the elbows, and lift the chest. You should have splitting tension across the upper back and a welded spine: 

Congrats, you’re ready to pull.

Doin’ The Snatch… Grip Deadlift

Stop giggling. Good? Okay, it’s time to execute these bad boys.

Concentric: Drive your heels into the ground, maintaining locked elbows and tightness across the posterior chain. Once the bar passes the knees drive the hips and finish with the glutes. The body should be in proper alignment, with joints stacked from ankle to earhole.

Eccentric: Maintain maximal tension across the back and begin descending by breaking at the hips. If able, do a controlled drop once the bar passes the knees.

If you’re at a certain gym with a “lunk alarm” drop the bar as hard as possible. Then, sprint out laughing, kiss some babies, and never return.

I’m kidding, kind of.

In seriousness, if you can’t drop at your gym maintain tightness and drop the hips with the bar once it passes the knees, maintaining a welded spine while returning the bar to the floor.

Programming the Snatch Grip Deadlift

Because you’re much stronger in a conventional deadlift than the snatch-grip deadlift you’ll handle more volume without a ton of neural fatigue.

Grip be damned, I prefer a higher rep approach with snatch grip deadlifts. Program them as an accessory movement after a heavy lower body movement such front squats. If you pull over 315lbs then 185lbs for five sets of six is a great starting point. Perform a linear ramp until you can’t hit six reps, then move to fours or threes. Reset each rep and treat them as singles.

If you suffer from a shoddy lower back or poor hip mobility pull from short boxes and work on your hip mobility. Continue to work towards pulling from the floor while maintaining a braced core and welded spine.

How about deficit snatch grip deficit deadlifts?

Although snatch grip deficit deadlifts are a killer exercise for muscular development, I’m not a fan. With any exercise, performance gains must be weighed against potential injury risk.

Most clients have the mobility of a monkey wrench, so excessively loading the lumbo-pelvic region in a compromised position has risks that outweigh the benefits. Jamming square pegs into round holes rarely achieves desired results, so unless you maintain neutral spine and proper form steer clear.

It’s a Wrap

Snatch grip deadlifts create a powerful stimulus and offer a multitude of benefits: Limber hips, explosive power, bone-crushing grip, and a massive posterior chain. Snatch grip deadlifts are a worthy addition to any program whether you’re taking on the platform, playing field, or local frat boys.

Just don’t complain when you have to invest in a new wardrobe.

Resources:

Leyland, Tony. "Biomechanical Analysis of the Deadlift." Sfu.ca. Simon Frasier University. Web. 4 Dec 2013. <http://www.sfu.ca/~leyland/Kin201 Files/Deadlift Mechanics.pdf>.

Link: https://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/snatch-grip-deadlifts-muscle-growth