Thursday, April 28, 2011

Live Cheesecake

Cheesecake photos have a long history and relationship with the world of serious weightlifting. From their traditional association with the world of side show and circus to Mae West and her burlesque performances, the weightlifters and strongmen have been more than happy to bow down to the vast knowledge of the barkers and PR men.

As we get ready for the Atomic Athletic Great Black Swamp Olde Time Strongman Picnic, I am going to teach you a little about strongmen and their performances. As much as cheesecake sells, it is good to pair it up with some genuine skills that will knock your socks off! Enter the strongmen!

See Circus strongman Circa 1926 Photo
If you want to learn to lift like the guy in this old 1926 Strength Magazine photo, then you need to check out my Train Like A Strongman stuff:


A strongman lifting a heavy object is totally cool, but wouldn't it be better if it were a hot looking woman? Even if that guy has 20 inch arms like Larry Scott, heck the old time adagio dancer spinning around a hottie in the air is going to turn heads. The acrobatics involved in that sort of ballet certainly made it into vaudeville theater and onto the popular dance floors that became part of many side shows and even into theme park dance halls. One of those parks was in my home town. My grandpa remembers going to that dance hall, as it was well known for having a spring loaded floor! I am sure that led to some acrobatic dance moves.



Maybe the strongman didn't have the grace of a dancer, but he did have plenty of strength. Lifting “odd” objects, like people, doesn't have to be left to the dancers, gymnasts and cheerleaders. Try this one out for size:



Better yet, learn to do some of the people lifting yourself. Here is the link:


I hope this ride through the strongman & cheesecake past is been inspirational.

Live strong,
Roger LaPointe

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

One Hand Deadlifts

Adding a sanctioned USAWA meet is clearly of great interest!  I am getting a lot of questions about it.  Many of those questions are training related.
Chad asked, “Rog, I am just getting into this all-round concept and like the idea of a 1 hand deadlift, but how do I decide on the type of lift I am going to do?”
I have never really worked my one hand barbell deadlift, but I started a few months ago, when Durniat asked if I was seriously considering adding a sanctioned meet to the picnic.  I will not be competing, I will be announcing and “apprenticing” for my ref card with the USAWA so we can do more meets out of the Atomic Athletic Club warehouse gym.  That being said, I really like the lift and will make sure to have it in a future contest here.

REGISTER FOR THE MEET

TIPS
1. My first recommendation is to just add the lift into your weekly routine and do it every workout. Starting out light is the key.  When I say light, don't be afraid to use just the bar.

2.
Attempt a different style every workout.  Make sure you work both hands to stay balanced.  There are many different variations of this lift: front, side and straddle are each legal.  The USAWA also allows a hook grip.  That makes six different styles for each hand.

3.
Add weight slowly.  Don't be ashamed of adding only 2 ½ kg per workout until you start finding real sticking points.  There will be real balance issues with this lift and there will be one style that is most suited for your body type.  Trust me, you don't want to over work your grip and develop tendonitis.

4.
Don't neglect your full and partial Olympic lifts, like the Power Clean, Front Squats and standard deadlifts.

Personally, improvement has been very steady.  Balancing the bar has my sticking point, but I am sure progress will level off as I get that nailed down.  I have worked up to 80 Kg and feel like the front position is probably best for me, but I am training with the other positions as well.  Each one has its benefits.  Besides, in the USAWA there are many one hand lifts.  Just adding a hook grip was its own adventure.

Here is some great reference material for your All-Round training:
The Moore Muscle Classic
The USAWA 2000 Nationals
Train Like A Strongman Intro Package

Live Strong,
Roger LaPointe

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Female Invaders

Our Latest Edition to the Atomic Athletic Club
Hmmmm. Chalk, rust, concrete and foundry dust all mixing with locker room sweat. We also have the clanging of crashing weights, maybe a heavy bag being hit and even the occasional hard ripped fart. I have even heard some unlikely facts mixed with dirty jokes. It certainly seems like all the parts of a hard working serious gym. A serious gym that would make most women run in fear.

Well, that pretty much describes the atmosphere at the “Atomic Athletic Club”. Sometimes we call it the warehouse gym, but whatever it's name, we are getting some notoriety for results. This is a garage gym where relaxing means hard work. There is a particular atmosphere I want to cultivate and this is no commercial fitness facility with daycare and a spa. You won't find a fern in our spittoon. But there is something nice about a female presence to look at while you train, isn't there? So I am finally adding a friend for Marilyn Monroe and my signed Detroit Derby Girls poster. I've been holding off on releasing this one for the right moment. It's another classic magazine cover poster out of an old issue of The Body Builder.

You can see it here:

Yep, even back before WWII they were putting hot women on the covers of “fitness” magazines. In this case it is a purely classic red head pin-up. Grandpa LaPointe would have been just a kid when this issue hit the news stands, but this beautiful girl would have been perfect for the nose of some fighting ace's plane.

As for the occassional girls that sometimes meander in and find themselves lifting at the Atomic Athletic Club warehouse gym, I  hear that they are at least  impressed with the way most of the gym art has been properly framed. One of the guys also called our spittoon a cuspidor the other day.

Obviously, we're not complete Neanderthals.


Live Strong
Roger LaPointe

Thursday, April 7, 2011

3 Strength Builders for Runners

Runners take note, this bulletin is for you. For those of you who don't know about Atomic Athletic Club member, Eric, you need to know that he is basically a runner. He does distance stuff: 10 K's and all the way up to marathons.

Of course, anyone lifting in the Atomic Athletic Club warehouse gym is going to be doing power cleans and deadlifts, but there are three exercises I want to point out that are truly exceptional for any runner, particularly the distance people. If you are a runner, then you want to do round back stiff leg deadlifts, hanging frog kicks with iron boots and hanging leg curls with iron boots.

Round Back Stiff Leg Deadlifts
Standard stiff leg deadlifts (SLD) are tremendous for the calves, hamstrings, glutes and low back. If you are not already doing them, then start. You should also add the Round Back variety. Everyone says that rounding your back is bad, well not this one. Do this at the end of your workout. Where your standard SLD stops at the bottom you gradually and slowly relax your back and let gravity take over. You will be using a much lighter weight than you would with your regular SLD, the point is stretching all the muscles in the posterior chain. It may also help to stand on a plate, or use smaller than 45 pound plates. When I say light weight, I never used more than 135 pounds, even when I was repping out front squats with over 300 pounds (weighing 152 pounds).


Iron Boot Hanging Leg Curls and Hanging Frog Kicks
The key to these two hanging exercises is keep from swinging and really isolate the muscles you want to work. So, if you are hanging from a chinning bar, the only movement in your hanging leg curl is in your knees. Don't lift those knees either. You want to really focus on the hamstrings.

When you do the Hanging Frog Kicks, don't think of it as a kick, it is just that type of range of motion. Think of hanging knee raises, but you will draw your knees apart and your feet in as you raise them. That movement really helps stretch out all the muscles in the low back and works your abs in a way you have probably never felt before. In fact, if you also suck in your stomach during the movement you will really engage the low abs.

Both hanging movements will help you decompress the spine after running. The constant pounding of your feet hitting the ground can be terribly hard on the spine and related supporting muscles, ligaments and tendons. Using the iron boots will also have the added benefit of giving you ankle work at odd angles. I only use weight added to the boots if my “hanging” is done from the dip bars. You won't get as good a spinal decompression on the dip bars, but the extra weight can be nice, especially for sprinters.

Here is a direct link to the Iron Boots:

Live strong,
Roger LaPointe

PS Yesterday, I forgot to add the link for the 2011 Atomic Athletic Great Black Swamp Olde Time Strongman Picnic. Remember, entrance to the Picnic is FREE. Here it is: