Think about this for a moment; a wrestler has to shoot in for that take down or a water polo player needs to elevate themselves high out of the water for a shot.  These are both extremely explosive movements that we want to recruit as many muscle fibers as possible to get a maximal result.  Sprinting, especially the first couple of steps, is all out power and explosion which propels the weight of the body forward.  I think it is easy to see a correlation and benefit as to why these athletes should supplement sprinting types of workouts.

This is the last installment of a three part series that was filmed at 6am with a variety of Bucknell athletes, including wrestlers and water polo players, who all participated in the same workout.  Per NCAA rules, all summer workouts are voluntary.  This shows great dedication that these athletes have given up some of their summer, not only to stay and train for their upcoming seasons; but to do it at 6am 5 days a week!

The sprinting sequence for this day was a 1:3 work to rest ratio.  Basically that means what ever the average time was for the group, for the distance they sprinted; they would get three times that time for their rest period before they would sprint again.   For example, if they sprinted 10 yards in 2 seconds, they would get 6 seconds rest before the next sprint.

I ran this days sprint workout on the football field and used the yard lines as markers.  They started on the goal line and was instructed to sprint out 10 yards, through the line and then walk back to the 10 yards line and be ready to sprint back 10 yards to the goal line.  They then would get there, rest and I moved to the 20 yard line.  I ran this sequence in 10 yard increments back and forth until I reached the full 100 yards.  The rest times got longer each time as the distance increased.

As you can see, there is nothing fancy or overly complex about this workout.  Good attitudes and a will to improve with a high work ethic, made this workout successful.  Exactly what every athlete should strive for no matter what the workout or challenge is for each training session.

We then did a cool-down with a light jog and walk followed by a old school static stretching session.  Some days we will use jump stretch bands to stretch with as well.

I always pull the athletes in before they leave and tell them my thoughts of that workout and give them information of what the next days workout will consist of.  I want them to be mentally prepared in advance so they can perform to the best of their abilities.  Just like they should mentally prepare for a game or match.

Hope that helps!

To your health,

Jerry

This is Part II of a three part post.  We filmed video clips of a 6am workout that I ran a mixed group of athletes through. There were athletes from wrestling, women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s water polo, and field hockey who participated in the voluntary workout.  Per NCAA rules, all workouts held by a college strength coach in the summer are voluntary.

The set of video clips in this post is of our quick feet line drills.  I put our athletes through this right after our functional or dynamic warm-up.  I also ended these drills with some basic deceleration and landing drills.  These are great for learning body awareness and preventing ACL tears.

Most of these drills are very short and quick.  Roughly 7-12 seconds each depending on the exercise.  The athletes are instructed to perform each exercise to the best of their ability and as fast as possible without compromising technique.

Here are the drills:

• Two Foot Line Hop-Both feet hop Shoulder width forward and back over the line
• Two Foot Side To Side Hop-Feet together, both feet hop side to side over the line
• Right Foot Line Hop-Just the right foot forward and back over the line (then left)
• Right Foot Side To Side-Just the right foot hop side to side over the line (then left)
• Right Foot 45 Degree Hop Out and Back-Keep your toes forward and hop across the line in a 45 degree angle away from the body.  Land with the toes forward not pointing in the direction you are hopping.  Then hop back (then left)
• Right Foot 45 Degree Hop In and Back-Keep your toes forward and hop across the line in a 45 degree angle across the front of the body.  Land with the toes forward not pointing in the direction you are hopping.  Then hop back (then left)
• Straddle Line Sumo Stance-Straddle the line with the feet wider than shoulders with one foot in front of the line, the other foot behind the line.  Quickly hop feet back and forth over the line.  Swing arms at the shoulder joint as well in a running motion and maintain a wider stance
• Straddle Line Semi-Lunge Position-Stand over the line with one foot on each side and get into a 1/4 lunge position or deeper.  Maintain that position as you hop the feet side to side over the line (then switch feet position)
• Step Over Forward-Stand with both feet on one side of the line, step with the outside foot over the inside foot and the line, quickly bring the other foot around as you step back over the planted foot and the line.  Repeat quickly without trying to mover forward
• Step Over Backward-Stand with both feet on one side of the line, step with the outside foot behind the inside foot and over the line, quickly bring the other foot around as you step back behind the planted foot and over the line.  Repeat quickly without trying to mover backward
• Command Step Over Forward & Backward-Start performing the step over forward but this time you travel down the line forwards.  On the “backward” command, from the strength coach, quickly reverse the movement and start stepping over backwards moving backward down the line.  The strength coach will continue to give directional commands
• Deceleration Tuck Jumps-Stand with both feet on the line shoulder width apart, squat down and explosively jump straight up into the air tucking your knees towards your chest.  Try to land back down on the line very softly as you decelerate into a squatting motion contracting your glutes.  Reset and go again.  This is NOT done in quick repetitions like the previous drills.  I usually do 2-3 sets of 10 jumps.  Athletes are instructed to do each one to the best of their ability and not to rush through them
• Deceleration 180 Degree Tuck Jumps-Stand with both feet on the line shoulder width apart, squat down and explosively jump straight up into the air twisting your body 180 degrees as you tuck your knees towards your chest.  Try to land back down on the line very softly as you decelerate into a squatting motion contracting your glutes. You will be facing the opposite direction.  Reset and go again.  Athletes are instructed to perform 2-3 sets of ten reps, 5 reps in each direction per set

These drills are not meant to be conditioning drills and are not run in a continuous circuit style fashion.  I will run a few in a row giving some rest in between each one.  After three or four drills, I will stop them and tell them to shake out their legs and give them some additional rest.  I will vary how many of these type of rests depending on how the group is doing.  I will also keep them focused on breathing through their nose an out their mouth for all the drills.

These are great drills that can be done anywhere.  These are also just a few variations of line drills.  Your imagination is the only limit as there are hundreds of different footwork patterns you can do with a line.

In Part III of this series, I will go over the rest of the workout which will include a sprint set workout and cool-down.

Hope this helps,

To your health,

Jerry

Atlas Stones are a fundamental test of strength in many strongman competitions, and they have also become a staple among strength training enthusiasts who are looking for the ultimate strength workout.

Stones literally tax everything from head to toe. In fact, try not contracting any major muscle group like your legs, glutes, back, chest or biceps during a stone lift, and letís see if the stone even comes off the ground – fat chance.

The world record atlas stone lifted by a strongwoman competitor is over 300lbs, and the men’s world record is 529lbs. However, you can get the very same benefits just by lifting lighter atlas stones.

Youíve just got to know how to do it right! So let’s get into that right now.

Strongman DVD Special

LEARNING THE STONES

It’s time to get your hands on some stones and get to work.

At first, it can be easy to get frustrated with atlas stones as they fight you the whole way up. Since they are round, they make your job of lifting them very difficult, and once they start to get loose on you, they often win the battle. Learning how to conquer the atlas stones takes time and requires understanding the proper technique. Once you master the technique you then can really start to work on using the stones to take you to a new level of fitness.
SAFETY FIRST

Stone lifting is generally done by pulling the stone from the ground and either placing it on top of a platform or barrel, or it is put over a bar of a designated height (usually 4 feet or higher). Whatever you choose to lift the stone onto or over, make sure that it is stable. Here are some examples of loading strategies we have used.

Normally, we lift the stone over an adjustable strongman yoke bar. We also at times use solid platforms to load several stones one after the other. To make the platforms, we fastened wood pallets on top of each other, and attached plywood to the front and around all sides. We sometimes use whisky barrels or oil drums, but if you use a barrel watch out for the lip, as it can be a finger pincher.

With all platforms, please use caution making sure the back side of the platform is braced; this will keep the platform stable so it will not tip if the stone hits it. Once youíre more experienced you can work on shouldering the lighter stones. Incidentally, the world record for a shouldered stone is held by Derek Poundstone. In 2009 he shouldered a massive stone in the range of 420 lbs.

If you practice stone shouldering, make sure you use plenty of rubber mats to drop the stones on. At our club we use four of the 5/8î thick stall mats with plywood under them so we can just drop the stones off of our shoulder or the top platforms without damaging the floor or the stones.

As for lifting the stones, there are some basic cautions to be concerned with for safety.

I have seen athletes twist at the top of a stone load. If you are going heavy or you are doing reps to failure for conditioning, once you get the stone to the tip of the platform, do not pause in that top position longer than a few seconds, and do not twist in order to try to get it onto the platform, as accidents have happened at this point before.

HEIGHT OF PLATFORM

If you use a platform for stone loading, for most stone training I think it is best to use a platform that is around sternum height or somewhere below. This is a good position, especially if you are training for a particular sport that requires hip drive and/or triple extension like a football player exploding off the line of scrimmage or a swimmer leaping off the diving block.

As a variation and progression from the normal platform, we also sometimes use a hanging target. It may be a jump stretch band or a large rope hanging from a rafter or a power rack. We dangle the band or rope from the rack as a goal upon which to touch the stone. When you touch the top of the stone to the bottom of the band, you have achieved your goal. You can also have a partner pull the band/rope up slightly after each successful rep, so you try to increase the height on each rep.
Strongman DVD Special

LEARNING THE TECHNIQUE

I will discuss the best way that I have found to lift an Atlas Stone, although we all may lift them slightly differently.

In training, strive to keep good form so you can strengthen your body using the safest way of lifting. As for myself, when it comes to lifting the stone, I first position the stone about 6″-8″ away from what I may be loading it onto. I then face the Atlas Stone and straddle my feet over it so that my calves are around 1″ from it on both sides. I make sure I stand almost directly over the stone so the balls of my feet are positioned at the center point of it.

Next, I squat down to near parallel, grabbing the stone with my arms straight down and hug the center of it with my forearms and hands trying to get my fingers as far under the stone as possible without smashing them. My finger nails will likely be touching the ground at this point.

I then squeeze hard with my fingers, hands, forearms and begin to pull with my legs and entire back. This is when I think of contracting with everything I have. My legs straighten slightly as the stone begins to come up, although the legs are never completely straight. As the stone starts to pass my knees, I then re-bend my knees back into a near parallel squat and I roll the stone onto my lap. If possible, I also may try to walk my feet in slightly. Since I’m resting the stone on my lap, bringing the feet together will position the stone higher on the abdomen when I start the second part of the lift.

From here, I will reposition my hands more towards the top of the stone maybe about 1/3rd of the way up but not all the way on top or the stone will drop down. Your palms will not be facing each other any longer. They are now angled more towards the ground. I squeeze the stone again and press it against my chest so my chin is as far over the stone as possible. Then I will dip forward and down slightly to get a stretch reflex and pull back explosively with my upper body, forcefully standing up and driving my hips forward.

If I am just lifting the stone to the high chest and then returning it to the floor, I try to keep the center of the stone directly over my feet and lean back slightly to keep my balance. If I am loading the stone to a platform or over a marker, then I will propel it upward and forward, as shown in the image above. If loading on the platform, I also quickly reposition my arms just in case I donít quite make it and I have to push it fully onto the platform.
Strongman DVD Special

BEGINNER WORKOUTS

You now have an idea on technique. Let’s look at how to train with the stones.

For a beginner workout, I suggest you work with a light stone and focus on reps so you get used to the proper technique as well as conditioning your muscles for something they are not used to doing.

Even if you are a very strong athlete, I suggest that you keep to a stone around 200lbs or under to start with. If you are in good condition and you are new to stone lifting, try not to exceed a stone that is anything above 70% of your bodyweight. In other words, if your bodyweight is 100lbs, use about a 70lb stone, or if you weigh around 180lbs you would use about a 130lb stone, plus or minus a few pounds.

Take this stone and load it for 2-3 sets of 5-8 reps and 2-3 times per week for the first three weeks so you work on technique and conditioning. You may be tempted to go heavier, but just remember the best is yet to come so take it slow. Just try to improve your technique with the lighter stone.

For a stone workout that is centered on hardcore conditioning, you might try the following variations. Pick out a lighter stone and break the stone lifting technique down into segments. You will do the following stone lifting segment work for 3 sets of 10 reps.

The first 10 reps will be the LAP, SQUAT, DROP drill. To begin, pick up the stone, LAP it to the SQUAT position and stand up driving hard with the hips, pushing the stone upward and forward as high as you can. Then, DROP the stone on rubber mats and repeat.

For the next 10 reps, try the LAP, SQUAT and RETURN drill. In this drill, you will LAP the stone, SQUAT it up, and then this time RETURN the stone under control to your lap. Do this for 10 reps but DO NOT drop the stone.

Rest again and for the last 10 reps, do the LAP AND DROP drill, lapping the stone and then dropping it back down between your legs. Repeat this for 10 reps.

If you still have some gas in the tank, you might also finish off with 10 reps of bent over rows with an even lighter stone.

Start light with this series of drills because this can leave you exhausted and sore for days.

REVIEW

As you can see, Atlas Stone lifting can be a very beneficial practice that can quickly have you building muscle, burning calories, and becoming more powerful. This is particularly helpful for power and combat athletes that need to drive with the lower body, and also certain professions such as Law Enforcement and Corrections Officers who have to be able to subdue perpetrators.

With all the benefits of stone training, there are some risks involved, but the benefits far outweight the risks. As you train, start out light and use caution. Also, condition yourself to the stresses of stone lifting. As you progress, you can add equipment into the mix such as loading platforms, hanging targets, and drop areas, and before you know it you will be performing drills for speed, explosiveness, and conditioning. In time, you will be extremely rugged.

For more information on Atlas Stone training and many other types of Strongman Training events, please check out my Strongman DVD, Introduction to Strongman Training. Loaded with technique and safety tips, I can show you how to correctly train like a Strongman or Strongwoman. And whether you ever enter a competition or not, you will definitely be a stronger version of yourself in no time.

Steve Slater

Click here for the Strongman DVD Special

I would like to thank Steve for providing us here at Variety Trainer this informative article on atlas stone training.  Mr. Slater is an accomplished professional strongman competitor and considered by many, an expert in training technique and form for these lifts.  If you have any interest at all in learning these lifts or how to incorporate them into your current training program; I highly recommend you taking a look and consider getting his Introduction To Strongman Training DVD.  He teamed up with Jedd Johnson, who is a strength and grip expert (currently holds the world record for the two hand pinch dead lift) to film this DVD.  Tons of experience and excellent information!  Thanks guys!

To your health,

Jerry

Jedd Johnson from Diesel Crew came up with the events and ran the competition.  Unfortunately, not many stepped up to compete besides myself and two other brave men (Chance Smith & Paul Berry Jr.).  It was competitive and one heck of a great time!

There were three events:

The first event was the log press.  We had 1 minute to clean and press a 12 inch log bar as many times as possible to full lockout with your head through.  I think the bar weighted 110-120 pounds which is not extremely heavy but none of us have a log bar to train with normally, so the awkwardness of it was the difficult part.  You just do not clean a log bar like a regular barbell.

The second event was the mace swing; which proved to be even more awkward and as you seen or will see from the video, very challenging.  We also had one minute to swing the mace back and around our head to the point of attention (straight up in front of our body) as many times as possible.  I personally liked this event the most but was honestly glad when it was over.

The third event was the kettlebell sled drag.  The sled was loaded with 50 pounds and a 50-55 pound kettlebell was attached and used as a handle.  What you had to do was pinch the kettlebell between your hands and back peddle a certain distance.  Quickest time won.  This actually proved to be my worst event as I quickly found out that I need some work on my back peddling skills.  I guess I am just not as quick as I once was (getting older sucks!).

In the end; Paul, Chance, and I had a great time and had some good laughs afterwards; especially with my graceful stumble across the finish line.

I think it is great to get out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself with new and different types of training and strongman lifts will definitely do just that.  They can also be dangerous if not understood and done correctly.  Always make sure you understand the techniques involved in any of these types of exercises. Jedd Johnson is releasing a new DVD soon describing how to not only execute these movements correctly but also how to implement them into a training program.  I was able to review this DVD and it is totally awesome.  I will keep you posted when that will be available.

I would like to thank Jedd Johnson for organizing and running the event and Doug Smith for putting together what some say is the best strength & conditioning conference on the east coast!

I hope you enjoyed the video!  I was glad to share that with you all.

To your health,

Jerry

The Plate Push has the ability to do all this based off how the exercise is applied.  Before we get to all that; lets discuss the basic set up for the hands and body.

• First, make sure the plate is set down with the smooth side down on the ground or floor.
• Your hands will be places just slightly behind the mid line of the plate.
• You will get down low just like a sprinter would who is ready to explode out of the starting blocks.
• Position yourself behind the plate so that your shoulders are not over the plate but behind it.
• Contract your core by pulling in your belly button towards your spine.  This is a draw-in technique and you should still be able to breath.
• Lift your knees off the floor and you are ready to start pushing!

There are factors to be considered here which will determine the level of resistance.

• How much of your body weight will you be pushing downward onto the plate.
• Your surface area.  The plate will push much easier on a smooth surface and much harder on a surface like a rubber floor, carpet, or grass.
• How much paint is on the smooth side of the plate.  A plate with a lot of paint will tend to feel tacky when pushing on a rubber floor verses a plate with very little paint on it.

If you are looking to use this exercise for conditioning purposes; I would suggest you know the distance you want to accomplish or set a time frame and see what distance you actually did accomplish.  You may find this is be much harder than you think depending on your level of muscular and cardiovascular endurance.

If you are looking for the exercise to produce power and explosion; you would want to define your distance such as 10-20 yards.  Then perform the plate push with as much intensity and power as possible for the set yardage, followed by a good rest period before going again.

Both of these techniques work great but I do want to point out that this is much harder than it looks and should be practiced before jumping right into a solid workout with it.

To your health,

Jerry

First, get yourself a jeep or truck tire.  I just kept my jeep tires when I got them replaced but you can go to any tire shop and they will gladly give you as many tires as you want for free.  They have to pay to dispose of them, so you taking tires saves them more and adds to their profits.

Next, get yourself around 12-16 feet of strap for dragging the sled.  I get mine from Wal-mart in the craft/material department for around $3.00.  The strap seen on the sled in the video is around 12 feet but I would recommend getting it a little longer-closer to 16 feet.  You can get more heavy duty straps or towing straps but that will also increase the cost and that is entirely up to you and what you like.

Finally, off to the hardware store for some bolts, big washers, and seat belt floor attachments.  You could use eye-bolts in replace of the seat belt attachments.  Just know in advance what strapping material you are going to use to ensure it will fit through the chosen bolt. 

You will require a few tools to make your sled:  High powered drill, heavy duty drill bit, jig saw, and appropriate size wrenches or sockets.

Now you are ready to put it all together.  Measure from the inside rim of your tire about 2-3 inches and drill a hole.  You will use that hole to insert the blade of your jig saw and then cut the inside rim out while maintaining the same distance from the rim.  This will allow you to place standard 45 pound plates into the tire.  Only cut one side of the tire out.  The other rim will not be big enough to allow the plates to fall through the tire.  You will have the ability to stack multiple plates in the tire.

Next, drill a hole in the middle of the tread with your heavy duty drill and bit and insert your hardware as explained in the video.  Drill the second hole in the tread on the opposite side of the tire but slightly in front of a plum center diameter line.  I have found this to be a better set up when you are going to drag heavy weight.  The tire will slide more evenly across the surface creating more contact and greater resistance for you.

Lastly, tie your strap on and you are ready to start dragging!!!

I would recommend dragging outside.  The rubber will get warm and tacky and can leave drag marks on the floors inside. The best surface resistance you will get is off the pavement.  Oh and if you have kids; they love to climb in and get dragged all over the neighborhood.

Well, there you have it; a cheap but highly productive training tool.  Enjoy!!

To your health,

Jerry

So let’s talk about hill sprints.  First look for a hill that is a gradual incline.  It does not have to be steep but it should be about 50 yards or more.  The steeper the incline the less yardage typically needed.  I also think it is best to find a hill that is grass and not rocky.  Obviously, if you live in a city this might challenge you some.

Now that you have found your hill and established your yardage; it is time for the workout.  Start at the base of the hill and sprint as hard as you can, driving yourself forward with each powerful step, while swinging your arms loosely from your shoulders.  When you reach the top, turn and jog back to the starting position.  As you are jogging back down you should focus on your breathing and try to breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.  It has been proven you recover much faster with this breathing pattern than breathing forcefully in and out of your mouth.  When you reach your starting position repeat your sprint aggressively back to the top.  Do this for 5 trips to the top and then rest for 2 minutes or until you have gotten your breathing and heart rate back to near normal resting rates.  We desire this to ensure you are able to go ALL OUT when you sprint up.  We typically do 4-5 total sets.

I forgot to mention that you  should always do a good warm-up prior to and a good cool down after.  I will have my athletes perform a series of dynamic movements, followed by some low grade plyometrics, then complete a series of short progressive sprints for our warm-up.  For the cool down we typically will go for a short jog and focus on breathing, then we will walk and shake out our arms and legs.  We will finish with total body static stretching.  Sometimes we will also stretch with jump stretch bands.

Make sure you are getting outside and making the best of your surroundings.  You may be surprised how many training possibilities there might be if you just start looking to add a little variety into your program.

To your health,

Jerry

Circuit training for conditioning and fat loss is huge and doing it with weight just makes it that more productive.  What I mean when saying circuit training is doing one exercise and then follow it up with another exercise with little to no rest.  That does not mean a circuit could not be defined by a set rest period between exercises; it can.  The point is that you are changing the exercises.  The less rest or heavier weight between exercises typically equals higher intensity.

This type of training can be done many ways such as body weight, barbells, dumbbells, sandbags, machines, or as demonstrated in this video with kettlebells.  Combinations of of all these can make for unlimited possibilities.  The kettlebell is a tool I like to use because of the smooth transitions you can do going from exercise to exercise.

This circuit in the video is very demanding and might not be for a beginner to kettlebells.  I would suggest you learn each exercise first and then work on combinations.  These are challenging and fun.  You will be able to feel how productive this circuit is the first time you try it.  Give it a shot and let me know what you think.

Double KB Swing 5-10 reps

Double KB Swing Clean-To-Front Squat-To-Push Press 5-10 reps

One Arm KB Snatch (hold onto the other kettlebell) Left/Right 5-10 reps

Alternating KB Cleans 6-10 reps

Finish with another set of Double KB Swing for 5-10 reps or for time 30sec-1minute

Rest for a set period of time typically 30sec-2minutes and repeat.

You could easily make modifications to the circuit if you wanted to do this whole circuit with just one kettlebell.

I hope you enjoyed this circuit and I will continue to post up more conditioning and fat loss type of workouts as I have been getting a lot of requests for them lately.

To your health,

Jerry

The key to fat loss is plain and simple: High Intensity Interval Training.  I spoke of this type of training on an older post labeled “4th of July Power Eating”.   Before you start, always make sure you are properly warmed up (I prefer dynamic warm-ups).  Now you are ready to hit the road for today’s workout.  I actually did this workout back in high school, not to burn fat, but to get in shape for soccer.  It worked great for me back then and still does today.

Find a road that doesn’t get that much traffic, a country road or a suburban street works great and start walking.  When you come up to your first telephone pole; start jogging to the next telephone pole.  When you reach it, sprint as hard as you can to the following pole and repeat this whole sequence with a brisk walk, jog, and sprint.  Each time you are doing your brisk walking; I want you to try to concentrate on lowering your heart rate and getting you breathing under control.  Do this by breathing in through your nose and exhale out of your mouth.  With each inhalation; imagine pulling the air slowly into your stomach.  This will train your body to recover quicker and allow you to push yourself harder.  Remember, never let your breathing control you; you control your breathing!  Breathing is the basis of life and should not be overlooked.  When you walk, jog, or sprint make sure you are getting great arm swing from the shoulders.  Do not run tight; run loose with your hands partially open.

This workout can be done for time or for distance.  You can plan ahead and drive your route with your car to figure out the distance in advance.  This is also a great way to set goals for progressively increasing your distances.  If you live in an area that does not have telephone poles you can use houses as markers or count in your head a certain time like 30 seconds for brisk walk, 20 seconds for jogging, and 10 seconds for all out sprinting.  If you live in a hilly area….BONUS!!! This will make your workout all that more demanding and productive.  Now get out there, get some fresh air and burn off some calories!

Train with a purpose,

Jerry