ADFPF Blog 

Lately, it seems like I am seeing more and more powerlifting “experts” regarding training techniques both online and around the gym. This article is not intended to dispense training advice but rather to help young lifters in finding a coach and confirming that they are getting sound advice. Tip #1 This advice can apply to everything from politics to religion, and it certainly applies to powerlifting. Do not listen to advice you find on social media from self-proclaimed powerlifting experts. Virtually everything I read regarding training advice on social media is complete garbage (and that is being polite). As I read most of the powerlifting advice I see on social media, I am convinced of two things. Firstly, you are almost guaranteed to over-train and/or injure yourself. I see so many videos of people using bad form; and lifting too heavy and too often. Not too mention the terrible advice on form which I see people dispense. Secondly, I am sure you will have severe digestive issues if you follow some of the dietary advice I see. Generally speaking, social media has become a platform for everyone to be an expert on every topic. Feel free to discuss things, but please remember that the advice you are receiving may not be coming from someone who really knows what they are talking about. Tip #2 Look for a coach that has a long history of competing or coaching others. When a coach has a long history, that coach has seen a lot of techniques and a wide variety of body styles and personalities. A good coach will also know how to keep you injury-free while training. A lifter should NEVER injure themselves training. A good coach knows that there is no reason to push yourself to that level in training. It is better to be 100% on MEET DAY rather than leaving your PRs in the gym. There is no standard or perfect training method that works for everyone. Different body styles and personalities will dictate the method of successful training to be employed with individual lifters. Tip #3 Just because a coach has a successful lifter does not mean they are a great coach. When a coach has an athlete with great genetics and a natural build, he or she will be successful with almost any coach. Granted their performance will be better with a good coach, but that is not the whole story. I believe anyone could coach Kobe Bryant in basketball and he will still be a great player. I would be more interested to see how the coach was able to coach the players around Kobe to achieve an even higher result. The same is true in lifting. A great coach cannot make an average person a National or World champion lifter. However, a great coach will see steady improvement in all of his or her students, not just the ones with natural talent. Tip #4 Before working with a coach, discuss your goals and determine if they are compatible. Some coaches work better with competitive athletes who can push themselves beyond “normal” expectations, while others prefer to coach individuals who are more laid back and see their training as more of a hobby. Unfortunately, there are coaches who also do not want to coach people unless they are willing to put anything (including PEDs) into their body to get better. If I put all my lifters on steroids, of course, they will improve by leaps and bounds. But does that make me a good coach? Lifters may even swear by these coaches. At least until they have their second or third surgery to repair a torn rotator or pec, or even joint replacement. You and your coach need to be on the same page regarding what you are willing to do to improve. This is not only PEDs, but also the amount of time you want to put into your training. It is also important to consider how well your personalities work together, among other things. I hope these tips regarding finding a coach helps those of you looking for a good coach. You will know when you have found the right coach for you because you will listen to him or her without question. I was coached for a very long time by Dick Connors. To this day, I do not believe you will ever find a better coach than Dick. His knowledge is unsurpassed, and his lifters ALWAYS improve. Having said that, Dick always had a low tolerance for (well let’s call it what it is) bullshit. As a result, some lifters did not always gel well with Dick. Those that did, myself included, considered his word as law. If Dick told me I could lift a certain weight, there was virtually no doubt in my mind that I could. In my mind, my coach knew everything and if he said I could lift a certain amount of weight then that meant I could do it. This is the kind of relationship you will have when you have found the right coach. As always, I hope this advice helps you and I always welcome your thoughts, stories, and feedback!

I thought I would share some random observations and thoughts from my past 30+ years of participation in this sport. It is meant to be light-hearted and enjoyable to read. None of these observations should be considered as training advice (fair warning). So let’s start with the question that every beginning lifter always asks their coach. “What is that guy sniffing?” I know I asked this question when I was starting out. The answer is ammonia. Then the next question, “What does it do?” My favorite answer has always been, “It kills brain cells.” When you think about it this really does make sense and in a warped way improves most lifters. How you might ask? Well, I have always stated that powerlifting is not a thinking man’s sport. I mean really, imagine if you are walking down the street one day and someone says to you, “Hey, let’s put on really tight one-piece spandex suits then put a ridiculous amount of weight on our back and then see if we can squat down with it and come back up.” “There is a good chance you will throw your back out, bust some blood vessels and perhaps pull a muscle.” “If you do really well, you can get a small piece of metal to commemorate your achievement that no one really cares about.” My point is that any reasonable person will be able to talk themselves out of doing this much easier than talking themselves into it. Enter the ammonia capsule. Crack it open and inhale deeply. The burning sensation in your nose, mouth and lungs will immediately cause you stop thinking. Then you will be able to walk onto the platform not quite realizing where you are and complete the lift before you really have time to think about it. Over time, the continued use of the ammonia capsule will gradually kill more and more brain cells until eventually you revert to some form of Darwin’s missing link only able to grunt and lift heavy things. After all, this is the real goal of any powerlifter. The various teams and shirts I have seen over the years bear out this fact: “Apeman Strong,” “The Pit,” “The Den,” “The Missing Link,” “Monsters of the Gateway,” “Big Bastard Powerlifting,” “Beast Mode,” “Monsta Power,” “Squat is a gateway drug,” “American Iron,” “Black Iron,” “The Iron Pit,” “Iron Arena Power Team,” “Tyson’s Gym,” “Murder of Crows Barbell Club,” and the list goes on. Over the years I have determined that powerlifters really want to be viewed as some sort of semi-literate Neanderthal. I personally am a raw lifter. I often ask equipped lifters why they wear equipment. There are a variety of answers that make little sense. My favorite, “I have bad knees and need wraps.” Ummm….yeah. You have bad knees so you will wrap your knees, wear the most uncomfortable suit possible so you can place an extra 150lbs on your back to…..get this…..protect your knees! In a similar way, the answers for wearing a bench shirt are just as misleading, “I have a pec tear” or “To protect my shoulders” and my personal favorite, “It gives me confidence.” Since a good bench shirt can add 100 lbs. to your lift I suspect any “protection” benefits are lost when adding an amount of weight that you could never handle otherwise. Why can’t lifters just be honest and say, “I am an egomaniac and I will do anything within the rules that will add any amount of poundage to my lift.” Now that we are talking about lifting, the most entertaining things I hear are after a missed lift. In fact, Jim Bell told me this past weekend that my squat (which buried me btw…) had really good depth. I looked at him rather incredulously and responded, “I could have gone even deeper if the spotters had not taken it.” Another great quote I heard, “That weight felt really light until it didn’t.” Quotes are just as funny when a lifter completes a lift. He comes off the platform after a gut busting lift where you are thinking that some extra chalk would have been the difference between a good and bad lift and says, “I have another 20 lbs. in me.” Many lifters after missing an attempt will stare at the bar and question if it is loaded correctly. That is a fair question though since most loaders are lifters also and may have sniffed one too many ammonia capsules. Finally, there are two additional characteristics one must possess to be a full-fledged powerlifter. A true powerlifter is always convinced that anyone who ever outlifts him (or her) must be on steroids. They will even speculate on how the competitor has managed to beat the last four in competition tests and two out of competition tests. The last characteristic found in powerlifters is that more chalk equals more weight. In fact, chalking the front of your hands, back of your hands, back, shoulders and any other part you can reason has anything to do with your lift will help. Years ago, I even witnessed a lifter lick a block of chalk (after his buddy slapped him around). He ran onto the platform screaming with chalk all over his body and face. He promptly unracked the weight claiming how light it was. He received the squat command, bent his knees and cried, “Take it,” as he accelerated to the ground. In truth, I love the powerlifting culture. We are all a little crazy and incredibly supportive of each other. I laugh about the odd things lifters do while enjoying every single minute of it. So sniff your ammonia, wrap your knees, eat the chalk but please lift drug-free and healthy. Mike Stagg

November 10, 2016 In little more than a handful of days, I have resigned myself to paying a small fortune for ugly shoes, stripping down in a locker room as though I’ve just been inducted into a women’s prison, being publicly weighed in nothing more than my drawers, and wearing a brassiere that smashes my bosom so flat I’ll never get them fluffed out again, all in preparation for my first meet on Dec. 3. I have bought a singlet, ripped it apart for a pattern, sewn a singlet in which I can actually tolerate myself in the mirror, and deluded myself into thinking nobody will ever notice what’s underneath. I have measured seam widths, breadths, and depths. I have tried on knee socks and been quickly reminded why we actually stopped wearing “tube socks” with shorts back in the seventies. But tonight, I draw the line. I cannot, shall not, will not wear the belt. I’d sooner have the hell beaten out of me with a tennis racket than ever even attempt to put that thing on again. That is the most hateful device I have ever encountered. Lucifer himself couldn’t have designed anything worse. Let me tell you, I was elated when I saw that Rogue box at my door. I couldn’t wait to get it open. I carried it in with both hands, gently set it on the bathroom counter, carefully slit the box seam, peeled back the packing, and freed the black leather from the protective plastic covering. Upon picking it up, I noticed it felt a mite heavy, but it is four inches wide after all. As I uncurled it, my first impression was that it was a bit unforgiving. I had been warned that it might be a little on the stiff side to begin with, but the Holy High Priest bends more than this thing. Yet I didn’t let that deter me. I wrapped it around myself and began to tug. It didn’t budge. I must have been feeling particularly svelte the day I ordered it. I held it in, sucked it in, and braced for impact. I stood tall, rocked forwards then backwards, and after working up the initial signs of a sweat, I managed to get the buckle in the first hole. Victory was mine, and I was quite pleased with myself until I took my first breath. That belt was so tight that when I exhaled I cracked a rib. I kid you not. I couldn’t catch my breath and I knew for certain I was being halved in two by a medieval vice scrip. I immediately developed a stomachache along with a feeling of room spinning claustrophobia. I had to get free of that torturous contraption. I tried my best to remain calm before full blown panic set in, but it was too late. My breathing was shallow, my palms were sweaty, my eyes began to bulge, and I was turning blue. There was no question that frothing at the mouth would soon follow. I instantly started yanking at the buckle with all my might, but it wouldn’t give an inch. It was as stiff and relentless as a bridegroom on honeymoon. At this point, it crossed my mind that save for my forty-five pound six year old child, who doesn’t know the first thing about 911, I was alone in the house. The mere thought of that caused the walls to close in around me. Fighting to keep my wits about me, I tugged again and again to no avail. This thing is of the devil. Unable to abate my shaking knees, I sat down whereupon I immediately discovered that was a mistake. I feel certain I dislodged a kidney. In ghastly pain, I dropped to my knees contemplating whether to pray for a quick death or go down with a fight. Feeling not quite ready to meet my Maker, I chose the latter. In a desperate attempt to re-position myself, I fell prostrate like a whore on Judgment Day. The flattening of all that is flesh and bone must have done the trick. With my dying breath, I yanked once more, thrashed about, and freed myself from the vengeful cowhide. I coughed, sputtered, and gasped for air finding comfort in the coolness of the bathroom floor underneath my cheek. I felt like a drowning victim regaining breath. To suggest that this is a supportive device is a misnomer at best. The blue bruising about my midriff attests to the contrary. I’m just thankful I don’t have a spinal cord injury. You’d have to assemble an entire crew of OWOWs to get me in and out of this thing. No thank you. If it doesn’t give in the next day or two, it will find itself riding a slow boat back to China and I will go cow tipping and whittle my own. I’ll need the specs and regulations, but a nice hand tooled belt and a freezer full of beef sounds good. I might even dye the leather OWOW purple.

PUMP, SHREDD, CRZY STRONG, T BOOST, does this sound like your supplement? If so, it may not be legal in the ADFPF . The business of dietary supplements and sports nutrition products is huge and big money. The industry is projected to exceed $45 billion by 2022. Athletes take supplements for many reasons , including improving performance, losing weight, and enhancing recovery. While some supplements do improve athletic performance, many contain illegal and banned substances by WADA and ADFPF standards. Legal supplements that have medical evidence (subject of another article) of improving performance include creatine, caffeine (but there are limits), HMB, beetroot, and protein powder. The challenge has always been to assure that the supplement you are using is not only effective but also safe and legal. While many drugs are regulated by the FDA, it currently doesn’t require that supplements be proven safe or effective before they enter the market. However, this is under reconsideration. A supplement must be proven dangerous before it can be removed from the market and many are harmful to your health . The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act ( DSHEA ) defines dietary supplements as “vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, other dietary substances, and any concentrate, metabolite, constituent, extract, or a combination of any of these ingredients.” Too many sports supplements contain banned substances that are “hidden” in the product or mislabeled. Many companies fail to follow good manufacturing procedures (GMP), which may leave their products contaminated and unsafe. Sports supplement products make claims that their products offer benefits that nobody else can match. But this doesn’t mean they are safe or legal. Athletes may unknowingly consume products containing varying quantities of banned substances, such as anabolic steroids, designer drugs, amphetamines, and stimulants. The FDA has found hundreds of adulterated supplements, but resources are limited to do anything about it. So how do you determine whether your pre-workout or recovery formula is safe? Well, sorry to say, it’s up to you! Third party certification programs run by private organizations can help. Among them: NSF : This is the gold standard program and used by MLB, MLBPA, NFL and NFLPA. Look for the logo. Informed Choice tests finished products at different levels. They also showed that even trace amounts of steroids can result in a positive drug test. USDA : has some general guidelines and information regarding supplements and nutrition. Consumerlab : A subscription site that independently evaluates supplements. Labdoor : Another independent site that rates various supplements for quality and value. So what should you do to check out your product? Well the first thing is to read the label carefully including the list of ingredients: Avoid if the label lists WADA-prohibited substances. And here is the newest WADA list . Avoid if it contains ingredients ending in -ol, -diol or -stene, or the ingredient contains several numbers, which indicate possible steroids, designer drugs or stimulants. Avoid supplements made by a company that sells products containing prohibited substances, products for bodybuilding, weight loss, pre-workout/energy or sexual enhancement. Their products may have low levels of cross-contamination which may be enough to be illegal. Avoid “Proprietary blends”—if you see this, DO NOT TAKE! It’s impossible to know the amounts of individual ingredients, and the likelihood of a prohibited substance is high. Think twice about complicated products with lots of ingredients or/and unfamiliar chemical names. See something you don’t know? Check it out at the Global DRO . Consider where it was manufactured. China is well known for adulterated and misbranded products that may not be what they claim, or contain undisclosed additives, or worse, including harmful things like lead. Look for a disclaimer giving a long list of potential side-effects. This likely means there is some type of drug activity in the product, and it often contains an illegal stimulant. Don’t be fooled if the product claims to be “natural” or derived from natural products. So is cocaine. Don’t assume herbal blend products are drug free. Herbs may contain compounds that have pharmaceutical activity. In fact, many of our drugs in current use were discovered in plants. There are NO guarantees for an untested product. We have all seen college level players taking an off the shelf supplement and testing positive for drug use. This has happened at ADFPF meets as well. Everyone is surprised, shocked and disappointed, but unfortunately its still banned and you will be disqualified. Depending on the substance, this may incur a lifetime ban. If the supplement is not NSF or otherwise certified, you are AT RISK! Remember the FDA doesn’t have to test products for drugs, and even trace amounts of restricted substances may show up in drug tests. An athlete may be extremely careful and still test positive for a prohibited substance or fall victim to negative health effects of a product. The ultimate responsibility for being drug-free for competition is yours. Now Pump me up ! Richard D. Hammer, MD Dr Hammer, I have one question. You imply there are some limits to allowable use of caffeine – what is that? I have read articles showing the ergogenic benefit of 200-400 mg of caffeine, and I have taken that much from time to time. Now I wonder if that’s allowed. Could you clarify that for me? Robert White Robert, Currently Caffeine is on the monitoring program of WADA for 2017. It was previously illegal but was removed in 2003. It is now under watch again this year, with some expectations that it may become illegal at certain limits. The prior limit was 12 mcg/ml. Currently NCAA limits caffeine to less than 15 mcg/ml for college athletes. There is an opinion WADA may adopt this level as being illegal and performance enhancing. This is roughly six to eight cups of coffee ingested two to three hours before a competition. So depending on whether you are a slow or fast metabolizer of caffeine (which can be determined by genetic tests) and other individual variables, 300mg caffeine could put you over the edge. So that pre workout containing 150-200mg may be fine, but a double dose may pass the limit. However, currently you are ok, as WADA is till in the Monitoring phase, and no final word until after September when they will make a decision. I suspect they will set a limit similar to NCAA. Keep in mind TOO MUCH caffeine, can actually be detrimental to performance. So like everything else, there is a sweet spot that may vary among individuals. Best regards, Richard Hammer

STRENGTH TRAINING FOR CHILDREN AND TEENS Part II By: Dave Mansfield MA, MSPT, HFI, CSCS Free Weights or machines? Or does it matter? In Part I of this discussion we answered the question: Is strength training safe for children and young teens? This time we will discuss some of the pros and cons around training with free weights vs. training with machines. Generally speaking, this discussion is applicable to adult trainees as well as children and teens. Of course, if you coach young or future Powerlifters you know that they will need to lift free weights eventually in order to train the “power lifts”. Should free weights be a part of the regular strength training programs for youngsters? The short answer is “yes”. Training with barbells or dumbbells, particularly movements performed in standing, challenges the body’s ability to balance and requires good coordination skills. Free weights also challenge the adult coach’s organizational abilities since keeping track of all those loose plates and making sure that the bars are properly loaded and secured while also watching your youthful charges can be difficult! The athletes must first be trained to perform the movement flawlessly using nothing more than body weight and a broomstick, or at most, extremely light resistance. Only after they have mastered the correct technique should they be allowed to add resistance to the bar. In addition to coaching the athletes you will need to provide spotting while they perform their exercises. Since free weight training requires more technical skill than machine based strength training good form throughout each repetition of each set cannot be overemphasized. The coach needs to be on the alert for even small changes in technique that suggest a lack of focus or fatigue as bad habits are easily acquired and difficult to break! In addition, lack of attention can quickly lead to injury. It isn’t that these problems cannot occur with machine or body weight training but with free weights the risks seem greater. Despite the risks involved, a properly designed and executed free weight based training program will deliver the most “bang for your, training, buck”! These movements require far more involvement of other, supportive muscle groups and balance than the “equivalent” machine exercises. This is particularly true for exercises performed in standing such as the overhead press, deadlift, squat, low pull, etc. The coach must be well versed in the techniques for these lifts in order to correct technique flaws early in the training process. Let’s compare a small muscle so called “isolation” movement done with free weights vs. the machine based version. The dumb bell or the bar bell biceps curl performed in standing. Before the athlete can initiate the curl the first muscles to contract are the calf muscles in order to provide balance for the upcoming movements. After that the legs and hip muscles must contract to establish a stable base. Next the Core contracts (the abdominals, lumbar paraspinals, hip flexors and extensors etc. After that the thoracic paraspinals and the parascapular muscles contract to provide a solid proximal base for the impending distal movement (the biceps curl itself). Then as the curl is initiated the hands, wrists, and forearms must tense to control the moving bar. Whew! That’s a lot going on to perform a simple curl! Contrast this with the seated, machine-based version where the equipment is secure on its platforms and the weights glide on well-lubricated chrome tubing. True you will work your biceps and most likely your hands, wrists and forearms but very little else. Of course, the machine is safer since you can’t drop anything on yourself or your friends (provided everyone keeps their fingers out from between the plates on the weight stack). Safer? I suppose so. Effective? Sort of. Efficient training? No way! All this happens with a “simple” properly executed biceps curl! Just imagine what goes on when your athlete performs a barbell back squat! I won’t bore you with the details. Let’s just say that you I can’t think of any muscles in the entire body that don’t work during a squat… well maybe, maybe your eye muscles don’t work more than just a little during a heavy squat. Try it yourself. If you think I’m mistaken then you probably need a little training in how to properly perform a squat. What do you get on a Smith machine or Hack squat? Well, aside from sore knees. Not much, eh? Leg press? Not even close! Just what I thought. Of course, some exercises, some important exercises, simply can’t be done in standing. The bench press is the most common. Nevertheless, a free weight bench press, like the squat and standing barbell curl provides much more bang for the training buck! In order to perform the movement correctly the trainee must firmly push the feet into the floor (calf muscles, hamstrings/glutes etc.), next he or she must use the quadriceps to drive the shoulders down and back into the bench (make sure you squeeze the butt cheeks tight here). Of course, the Core muscles must be tight to provide the bridge. Then the shoulder blades must be squeezed tightly together to give the upper body a solid base to push from. After all this, you squeeze the bar very tight (hands, wrists, forearms) and drive your head down tight onto the bench (cervical paraspinals). Then, and only then, do you begin your bench press. Did I hear anyone say that the reason you do the bench press is to strengthen your “pecs” and “tris”? Oh really, is that all that the bench does for you? Think again. Do all of the above with dumbbells rather than a barbell if you want to get serious. Now consider how many muscles go into a seated “bench press” motion with a weight stack. Case closed! Other exercises that may be exceptions are chin-ups or pull-ups. These require much more coordination and bring far more muscle groups into play than, say, cable pull downs. That being said, however, if your charges cannot do a single bodyweight chin-up the cable pulldown is what you will need. As soon as they can do a few bodyweight chins, however, you will want to get them away from those cables. Note, again, that to provide a safe training environment for your young athletes you will need to keep track of all those pesky, loose plates. Make sure that the bars are properly loaded and secured. Provide careful and timely technique training cues. Spot your lifters to assure safety and make sure they do not try to progress the resistance faster than their technique and strength gains will safely allow. That is a lot of responsibility. Of course you will also need to supervise exercises done on machines but you do have a larger safety margin there. In the end, for practical reasons, you may find that a judicious mix of free weight and machine-based exercises works best for you and your facility and the athletes who train with you. Of course, if the athletes intend to compete in Powerlifting or Weightlifting they will need to train the competition movements using free weights. At any rate, the basic guidelines still apply. Do not let them try to progress too fast, make sure that technique comes first and is flawless. Discourage young lifters from seeking a maximum single. Even in competitions pre-teen and early teen lifters should not be pushed beyond their comfort zone with excess poundage. Keep them fresh, enthusiastic and injury free and they will have many years to enjoy their sport and to push their limits as they mature. © 2007 rev. 9-20-2018 Dave Mansfield

STRENGTH TRAINING FOR CHILDREN AND TEENS Part I By: Dave Mansfield MA, MSPT, HFI, CSCS Is it safe? Misconceptions abound over the safety and effectiveness of strength training for children. In the past, it was thought that resistance exercises were dangerous for the immature bodies of children and early teens. It was suspected that this could damage the growth plates of the long bones resulting in deformity or developmental damage. Others held to the belief that, since children’s bodies change so quickly strength training was a waste of time as children would naturally get stronger as they grow. While it is true that there is some inherent risk with participation in strength training, a well-supervised program does not impose any greater risk than does participation in youth sports or recreational activities. Limited evidence of apophyseal injuries in skeletally immature individuals does exist but these injuries are uncommon and can be prevented by using proper lifting technique. There is no evidence that strength training programs have a negative effect on long bone growth. In short, their now good evidence that supports the use of well-designed strength training programs for children and adolescents. The American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Sports Medicine and Fitness recommends a medical exam prior to beginning a strength training program to identify possible risk factors. A training program must be designed so as not to put undue stresses on the growth plates before skeletal maturity. Properly designed training programs will take these factors into consideration. It should be noted that studies have shown that compared to the total number of injuries to children as reported by physicians, relatively few occur to the growth plates. The National Strength and Conditioning Association current position on “Youth Resistance Training” states: "A properly designed and supervised resistance training program is safe for children.” "A properly designed and supervised resistance training program can increase the strength of children.” "A properly designed and supervised resistance training program can help to enhance the motor skills and sports performance of children.” "A properly designed and supervised resistance training program can help to prevent injuries in youth sports and recreational activities.” "A properly designed and supervised resistance training program can help to improve the psychosocial well-being of children.” "A properly designed and supervised resistance training program can enhance the overall health of children." Other organizations that have issued position statements in support of or offering guidelines for strength training and youth are: The American College of Sports Medicine, The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine. It is clear from the literature that properly designed and supervised strength training programs are safe for children and for teens. These programs may include the use of free weights, strength training machines (weight stacks and cables or plate loaded), elastic tubing and bands, medicine balls and body weight exercises. The fact that children exercise is not new… they do now and always have through play and sport either organized or at the “sandlot”. Today’s society provides far more opportunity for exercise and, unfortunately, for lack of exercise than any other time in our history. In many cases, the challenge is not to protect children from too much exercise but rather to get them to exercise at all. In Part II of this series, I will discuss the benefits of strength training and its role in injury prevention and weight management. In future articles program design and implementation will be discussed.

I have powerlifted since I was 14 years old. That works out to 36 years. I am almost 50 years old and the one thing that really disappoints me over the past several years is my deadlift. Back in my “prime”, I pulled 515 lbs at 142lb bodyweight. I pulled 470lbs at 18years of age weighing 132lbs. And now, at 165lbs I am pulling 446lbs. So what went wrong? As recently as three or four years ago I pulled a 500lb double in preparation for nationals. The day did not go quite as expected as a nagging back problem interfered with my meet and I only pulled 485lbs, albeit with a hurt back. This issue started a couple of years prior and finally progressed to the point that I could not pull sumo without injuring my lower back. So, I bit the bullet and started pulling conventional again. However, my conventional pull was never as good as sumo and my loss of enthusiasm for the deadlift resulted in a significant backslide on my numbers. Over the past year I started training cautiously with a sumo stance again but could immediately tell that my lower back was not going to cooperate. It was time to try something radical, something I had heard talked about but never seriously tried: the hook grip. I had known for years that my back gave me fewer problems when I used an overhand grip while warming up so I decided to take it to the next level. In 36 years of lifting, I had never trained this. I talked to some people who are more expert than me (Olympic lifters actually) to get some pointers and then started my training. I was not very optimistic after my first training session as I could not even hold onto 315lbs for one rep. So I dropped the weight down and kept practicing. Finally, I was able to hold 315lbs with a hook grip but it REALLY hurt my thumbs. I was assured by other to give it time, so I kept at it. By thumbs toughened up, I perfected the technique and setup and just like that was able to pull a “recent PR” of 446lbs without any grip problem at all. The best part is that I have had no back issues at all. My confidence in my favorite lift is coming back. I know I will likely never be as good as I once was. But, as Toby Keith so eloquently stated, I hope to be as good once as I ever was. So that is my story regarding my experience thus far with a hook grip. I am still a rookie at this but it does illustrate that no matter how long you have lifted you can always learn. My purpose in sharing this adventure is I know there are other Master lifters like myself who are limited by similar issues. I am sharing this to give some hope to those lifters. I have also started training younger lifters in this technique. The immediate benefit I have noticed is the speed off the floor significantly increases. I think it is fair to say, that I am a believer in hook grip. In future articles, I can discuss the actual benefits that minimizes injury risk as well as some of the finer things I have learned about the technique. I encourage you to try this but be patient and realize it will take some time. If you are like everyone else, you will believe it to be impossible after the first attempt.

“Big Meet” Competition Day Some Tips and Suggestions for lifters new to National or International Competition Once you have lifted in a few local or gym meets where you know the people, the gym and, the landscape, you may get the urge to test yourself outside your comfort zone. This usually involves registering and training for a larger regional meet or a National or International Championship. Things get exponentially more complicated for the new (or even not so new) competitor at this level. I have “been there and done that”…made lots of mistakes and learned a few things along the way over the past 30 odd years. So here we go! Some thoughts, suggestions and ideas to improve your chances for a successful competition. Training: (not the place for specific training advice) but in general, if you are new to big meets and the related travel then you want your goals realistic and your training cycle well planned. Stay with your plan. Do what you know. Lift the way you train and don’t look for, or listen to advice from others who do not know how you train and how you lift. They may mean well, they may even have lots of experience but they do not know you…so their last minute advice will do nothing but cause you problems. YOU DO NOT WANT DISTRACTIONS. Oh, and by the way: Read the Rule Book …know the rules of performance… know what gear is legal. You might be amazed to know how many lifters arrive at weigh in with “illegal” gear. The wrong underwear is most common, belts that are illegal, no knee socks, etc., etc., etc., Travel: if you need to travel a long ways then plan carefully. Travel fatigue, strange food and time zones can play havoc with your best laid plans. If you will need to “make weight” things get much more complicated. Don’t expect to have access to a calibrated scale. Arrival: When you arrive “in town”. Check in, settle in, then go out and scope the route to the venue, food sources (restaurants and markets), and the venue itself. This will take uncertainty out of meet day morning. Re-read The Rule Book. Venue: go to the venue the day or evening before the competition. Locate the registration and gear check area, find out where the weigh in rooms are and check out the warm up area. Are the plates in pounds or kilos? What do the bars and racks look like. Gear check: frequently there is an early gear check the evening before the competition. Get your gear checked early. This gives you time to make adjustments if you made a mistake and only brought boxer briefs and forgot your knee socks and time to find a belt to borrow if the one you bought on Amazon turns out to be “just a little too wide”…or to cut the extra padding out of the back of your illegal Vallejo belt. Re-read The Rule Book . Ask questions if you have any ‘cause tomorrow everyone will be too busy to answer them. The night before: if you are unsure of anything: Re-read the Rule Book . Pack you bag, pack your food. If you have not already done so, now is the time to write down your warm ups (in both pounds and kilos), write down your attempts 1, 2, 3 and I recommend an optional opener (lighter) and an optional 3rd (heavier) so that you don’t need to think about this during the meet. BE SURE THAT YOU USE KILOS….all the “big meets’ use kilos on the platform. Have the numbers already in your head (if it helps to know what the kilos are in pounds then writing that down too). They always have conversion charts (well usually) at the venue but why wait to figure it out under pressure. Know your warm ups, know your attempts, less to distract you at the competition. The kilo to pound conversion is 2.2046. Weigh-in: arrive early. Some weigh ins are conducted by lottery number, if your number is called and you are not there then could miss weigh-in (tragedy) or best case go to the end of the line (bummer if you are trying to make weight and need to eat before you lift in an early flight). Some weigh- ins are first come, first serve. Either way it is to your advantage to arrive early. This also gives you an opportunity to stake out your “camp site” for the duration of the meet. Be sure to do that. Find a spot at the venue that allows you somewhere to leave your gear, to keep track of what’s going on but also allows you a place to go to relax, eat, hydrate etc. If you are traveling alone weigh- in is also a good time to make some connections with other lifters or their crew who may be willing to help with your gear, track the progress of the competition and lend some support. Powerlifters tend to be congenial and helpful sorts. I have traveled overseas and to nearly every state in the union to compete, often without my support crew and have never failed to find help and support. It is truly one of the things I love most about this sport. You will need to give your opening attempts at weigh-in. Have them ready, in kilos for the weigh in officials. You will need to strip down for weigh- ins. Most federations (but not all) allow you to keep your underwear on and to wear your socks on the scale. This information is in the Rule Book . Competition: flights will be posted shortly after weigh- ins are complete. Find the posting and know what flight you are in and where you are in the order. Figure to start your warm ups using your pre-established sequence as soon as the previous flight begins lifting. Find other lifters in the warm up room who are in your age and weight class and jump in with them. No one appreciates another lifter who wants to make a lot of changes to the weight on the bar during warm ups. That said, you know what your warm up weights are so you want to stay with that. You may have to adjust your pace a little to accommodate the other lifters but this should not be much of a problem if you are with those who are competing on the same class as you. Keep track of where the previous flight is so that you are not ready too soon, or worse, are not rushing to finish your warm ups. Warm ups at big competitions are a bit of an art form. But if you stay alert to what weight is being loaded and the pace of those around you, you should be able to get a satisfactory warm up with minimal stress. Attempts: be in the corral prior to the start of your flight. Find a seat. Get your gear ready. If you are an equipped lifter you will need to be alert to the pace of the flight particularly those lifters immediately preceding you. Some competitions mix equipped and unequipped lifters in the same flights. If that is the case and you are equipped you need to be particularly alert as unequipped lifters will tend to step up to the platform quickly when they are called while equipped lifters will tend to use much of their allotted 60 seconds. Once you have completed your attempts get off the platform and move over to the expeditor table within 60 seconds to give your next attempt. State of Mind: in the corral get a feel for the flow of the flight. Be alert to your lifting position. Stay focused on your upcoming attempt. Do not let distractions into your space. You have trained for this lift. You know the Rule Book . No need to do much thinking. Just go into your pre attempt routine, whatever it may be, and then go out and get a successful attempt. I constantly tell my lifters “don’t think”. Once you step toward the platform there really should not be any need for thinking. At this point you are simply performing movement that you have done hundreds, if not thousands of times before. Odds and Ends: the most common mistake of a new, or relatively new, lifter at a big meet (or really any meet) is not waiting for the commands. If you train using commands during your peaking cycle then this is less likely to be a problem. Another common mistake is losing track of the pace of the competition and not being ready when your flight begins or when you are called to the platform. The third most common mistake is not knowing The Rules. Did I mention that you need to READ THE RULE BOOK? It is truly amazing how many lifters show up at a competition that have only a vague idea of the rules of the association they are lifting with. Even if you have lifted with this association in the past and think you already know the rules… READ THE RULE BOOK . Rule books are regularly updated on all the major federations and small and sometimes big changes are made to the rules. Expect the Unexpected: my mantra to my lifters is “meet conditions” even during training, when things don’t go quite right. Control what you can and be prepared as best you can but be ready to make adjustments as needed. No point in bitching and moaning during the meet (you can do that when you get back to the gym). The venue may be too hot, too cold, too loud, not loud enough. The flights may run very, very fast…or very, very slow….the loaders may be really fast “holy carp I’m up already” or really slow “crap I wrapped too soon”. The warm up area may be crowded and a long way from the competition without monitors “where the hell are we, what attempt is the flight on”. Be ready for any and all of the above. Adjust. Stay as calm as possible and go with it. Worse case drop your openers (with in the time frame per The Rules ). If you have taken care of your end with careful planning and preparation it will be easier for you to make adjustments to the “meet Conditions” and there always will be “meet conditions”. The platform: when you are called to the platform (you have 60 seconds to begin your attempt): take a quick look to assure that the bar is loaded correctly, that the rack height is correct, that the platform is “safe” E.G. no powder on the dead lift platform, no blood on the bar, the bar is centered in the racks etc. If you do this in training then it will be second nature in competition. Establish good habits in the gym and they will serve you well on the competition platform. If things are “not right” ask the official to correct the problem. Never argue with an official. You have nothing to gain. Ask for an explanation of a red light then thank the official and step away. The officials are, I can assure you, trying to do the best job they can. They are not out to “screw you”. A mistake can be appealed to the jury or to the Head Official. Be polite at all times. Come away satisfied that you did the best you could have done or if not, then come away satisfied that you learned something of value for next time to allow you to continue to improve. © 2017: Dave Mansfield MA, MSPT, CSCS

“LAT” PULL DOWN ANALYSIS Dave Mansfield MA, MSPT, CSCS “Is it safe to do a behind the neck lat pull down?” A question that should be, but is never, heard at health clubs and clinics all over “fitness land” as trainees blissfully go on doing the exercise to “hit the lats and upper back”. Lat pull downs behind the neck are potentially dangerous and always unnecessary in your fitness or rehab plan. Let’s take a look at this from a biomechanical point of view. The primary reason that this exercise is potentially dangerous is that it places the shoulder at a severe biomechanical disadvantage. The end range of upper extremity external rotation and abduction places increased stress on the inferior glenohumeral ligament. Add resistance and repetitions and you place one of the primary stabilizers of the joint at risk. In addition, many of those who use this exercise have a tendency to pull the bar down ballistically which has the very real possibility of causing trauma to the cervical spine by impact of the bar on the spinous process. The glenohumeral joint, as we know, sacrifices stability for mobility. The joint capsule allows for significant displacement of the joint anteriorly and inferiorly during movement. The joint is protected superiorly by coraco-acromial arch. That is comprised of the coracoid process, the acromium and their ligaments. Anteriorly the joint is protected by the three aspects of the glenohumeral ligament the transverse humeral ligament and the coracohumeral ligament. There is no major passive restraint inferiorly to the joint inferiorly. Since the glenohumeral joint is externally rotated to about 90 degrees and more throughout both concentric and eccentric phases of the pull down there is increased stress on the external rotators of the rotator cuff (supraspinatus, infraspinatus and teres minor) to stabilize the joint. The performance of the behind the neck pull down puts the torso and cervical spine in flexion in order to place the bar behind the head. As a result, the glenohumeral joint is placed in adduction, external rotation, extension and abduction. This position places severe anterior and inferior stress on the joint while it is under load. A serious strength trainee with currently healthy shoulders might consider the risk worth taking if it would lead to attainment of strength or hypertrophy of the involved muscles. However, as demonstrated in a recently published study, the benefit is not worth the risk! It turns out that the front pull down works the same muscle groups just as, if not more effectively, than it’s wayward cousin (the behind the neck pull down). In this study 10 rep max pull downs were looked at using four techniques: close, neutral grip, front pull down close, supinated grip front pull down wide grip front pull down wide grip behind the neck pull down The results are summarized as follows. Front wide grip pull downs resulted in the highest latissimus EMG activity. There was no difference in the other groups. There was no difference in any of the grips for teres major activity. ( These results were the same for both concentric and eccentric portions of the lift). Rear deltoid activity was higher for all three front movements than for the behind the neck variation. (Eccentrically, the close grip had the greatest activity). Other muscles looked at were the pectoralis (close grip provided the most activity) and the triceps (wide grip front provided the most activity). The bottom line is that you can effectively train the lats and the teres major (and to a much lesser degree the pecs and triceps) using the lat pull down. There is no evidence that the behind the neck version is superior but there is plenty of evidence of the risks. Conclusion: do pull downs to the front. REFERENCES Anderson, James E. Grant’ Atlas of Anatomy. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 8th edition 1983. Crate, Tiffany. Analysis of the Lat Pulldown. Strength and Conditioning. June 1997. Krieger, James. Hand Position During the Lat Pull-down. Pure Power. Vol.3 No.4, July 2003. McRobert, Stuart. The Insider’s Tell-All Handbook on Weight-Training Technique. CS Publishing LTD. Cyprus, 1996. © 2003 David Mansfield Rev. March 2017