Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Hack Squats with a Barbell

by Atomic Athletic on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 4:47pm

Yep. You read it correctly. Before the days of the big commercial gyms, Hack Squats were not machines associated with the leg press, but a barbell lift!

George Hackenschmidt was one of the greatest professional wrestlers and strongmen of his generation, ie. About a hundred years ago. The USAWA actually calls it the Hack Lift, which is more appropriate, because it rightfully belongs in the deadlift category. Amazingly, because of the bar starting position, it works your body in a way that is almost a cross between a deadlift and a squat, yet is also totally different from a Trap Bar (Shrug Bar) Lift.

USAWA Rulebook Description of the Hack Lift B16.
“The rules of the Deadlift apply except that the bar will be placed on the platform behind the lifter, and will be lifted behind the lifter. Any grip may be used. The bar may touch the calves and the rear of the upper legs as it rises. Should it bind against the upper legs, the bar may be stopped momentarily while a hip adjustment is made. The bar must not be lowered during the adjustment.”

Try this lift. I have had lifters use this to train back position for the power clean. I will get into some details for body positioning with some more additional tips in the future Atomic Athletic Bomb Proof Bulletins. For now, just refer to the sequence photos and lift description. You can't quite grasp what I will be talking about until you have tried this movement.

1st TIP: Make sure you use bumper plates, if you are doing lower reps and heavier weight. I always dump the heavy ones after the lockout. Try lowering it and you will know why.

Links:
USAWA Nationals has some of the best Hack Lifting you will ever see in a contest!
http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=VID004

Leg Development DVD
http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=BK103

Bumpers
http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/category.aspx?categoryID=399

Live Strong
Roger LaPointe

Wednesday, November 23, 2011



Take advantage of our new Free Shipping on Stocking Stuffers!!

Atomic Athletic is offering Free Shipping on all of the items in our Stocking Stuffer Category!

http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/category.aspx?categoryID=778
 









Friday, November 18, 2011

Prepping for the Clinic

by Atomic Athletic on Friday, November 18, 2011 at 5:31pm

Here is a FANTASTIC question. I had a guy call up asking for the best way to prep himself for the BGSU 2011 Strength Summit.

I have been to so many of these clinics where people just show up and sit there with a glazed look in their eyes. This guy wanted to actually be prepared to get the most out of the clinic! Good for him! He will probably learn the most.

The three basic topics are: “Olympic Weightlifting”, “Speed Training” and “The Core Lifts”. All of the Demos and Presentations will fit into those categories. Obviously, someone who is really serious could jump on the internet and hunt and peck around for similar information. However, here is what I recommend. Start off with the power clean.

  1. The “Power Clean Clinic DVD” is an outstanding place to start, if you want to improve your power clean. It is basically me working with two different athletes, who already do decent power cleans, and bringing up their numbers in the course of a three hour clinic. I have even reviewed it for my own technique issues, just to jar my memory. We all get stuck into a rut occasionally.
    Here is the link:
    http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=VID103
Fred Lowe did a mini-clinic on the Olympic lifts at our 2009 Atomic Athletic Great Black Swamp Olde Time Strongman Picnic. He is a 3 time Olympian. Enough said.
Here is the link:
http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=VID212
Arthur Dreschler's “Weightlifting Encyclopedia” is exactly what is sounds like, an encyclopedia of everything you can think of regarding the snatch and clean & jerk.
Here is the link:
http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=VID103


Now start prepping. See you at the clinic. Here is the clinic link:
http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=BGSUSS2011

Live strong,
Roger LaPointe

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Cool New Winter Hats

Winter is coming! Hold onto your hat, it's gonna be a cold one...

Wait a minute, your old knit cap has grease smudges and smells kinda funky? You don't want to be seen like that. Have some respect for yourself and check out the brand NEW Atomic Athletic Fleece Winter Hats!

Our hats have the full color Atomic Athletic logo embroidered on the front. The stretchy fleece they are made of is amazingly comfortable.

Here is the link:

http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=T09


Live strong,
Roger LaPointe


Friday, November 11, 2011

The Classic Starlet's Legs

by Atomic Athletic on Friday, November 11, 2011 at 4:48pm

Beautiful pair of legs? Thank you girls, show me a pair from old Hollywood. Yes, some girls also call some men's legs beautiful. So, if you have always wondered how a guy like John Grimek, or the Hollywood starlets of the 1940's and 50's got those great gams, they all did it with the same exercises.

Check out these hot photos of Abbye “Pudgy” Stockton, from the March 1947 issue ofStrength & Health magazine. She was much more than a lifter and writer. She was a trainer as well. In addition to doing the standard free weight leg exercises, like squats and lunges, she promoted extensive use of the Iron Boots. Great legs do not require a room full of exercise machines, but the are the result of great education.

Here is the secret. Folks, they used Iron Boots for an extensive list of exercises. Abbye shows 5 Iron Boot exercises in this one article alone. Any Cross Fit girl should be thrilled to have Abbye's legs, abs and entire physique.

Exercise #8: “Leg Swinging” is one of the more unusual and forgotten exercises. I love this Iron Boot exercise because in addition to the benefits mentioned by Abbye, many Atomic Athletic customers have reported that it is good for reducing sciatic pain. For those of you unfamiliar, sciatica can have a number of causes, but it is very basically any kind of tenderness or pain associated with the sciatic nerve that runs down the back of the leg.

Here is how you perform the exercise. “Lie on back. Place arms out to the sides in a straight line with the shoulders. Keeping the knees locked – raise the right leg (toes pointed) and try to touch the left hand with the right toe. Do not allow the upper body to move or twist-- the movement should be in the hips.” Then make sure to do the opposite leg as well, obviously doing the opposite movements, left toe to right hand. Make sure the leg moves in a nice slow high arc.

If you would like to see photos of all eight exercises, you will need to check out the Atomic Athletic Facebook page and go to the Notes section. You will find this Atomic Athletic Bomb Proof Bulletin, as well as many past bulletins.

Link: www.facebook.com/AtomicAthletic

Live strong,
Roger LaPointe

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

406 Pound Engine Lift

I know, there was a guy in high school auto shop class that was scary strong.  I am going to bet that he couldn't do lift an engine like this.  The photo shows Strongman Arthur Dandurand from the April 1930 issue of Strength magazine.

If you want to learn how to most efficiently and explosively lift odd objects, you will want to check out these three items:














Live strong,
Roger LaPointe

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

All You Can Do

by Atomic Athletic on Tuesday, November 1, 2011 at 5:27pm

I was reminded today that a really smart guy once said:

 “All you can do is everything you can do to improve yourself. Everything will then fall into place.”

Live strong,
Roger LaPointe

http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=BK22C

HTTP://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=BK90

HTTP://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=BK101B