Yeah my form is probably horrendous with the power cleans, I cut it to 2 reps and added some weight to get a better feel for it. It'll be a work in progress for a while I guess. My traps are sore right now which is probably also related to that.
Ha you mean the 500-400-300-200? That would be pretty impressive. I like that guy and he does admit the purpose of that style bench. Kind of refreshing.
I think I'll stick with the lighter weight landmines, what weight are you doing now with them?
Still thinking about doing a kind of land mine push press, like half of what this chick is doing.
Just browsed through some youtube videos there are some amazingly terrible ones out there. Probably better to stay away like you are doing. Yeah skip that contreas article, its pretty much worthless details, with a million silly variations of exercises. How the hell do these guys even get a workout complete following their own advice?
My understanding is that the power clean is much more of a leg and hip lift than the way most of us perform it. I think the load has to be heavy enough that you don't cheat with your arms, but not so heavy that can't learn it with good, smooth form. I waver as to whether I should do them, and they have bothered my shoulders when I've tried them recently, presumably because my technique is bad, but I'm kind of thinking I should stick to a simple 'get strong' phase for a year or too, to take advantage of my diminishing ability to pack on mass, and then maintain those strength gains while working more on conditioning with things like power cleans. Of course, Starr/Rippetoe think you should do power cleans right from the start, but Starr at least was writing his original 5x5 strength training program for football players, who need that explosive power. I might have to dedicate an extra 30 minutes to my workouts for a week or two to iron out all these details, and try to figure out how I really feel about some of the options outside of the six main lifts. Actually I need to figure out the rows too.
Anyway, yeah, I think Rip and/or others say that Power Cleans are best done three reps or less. Anymore than that, and the form invariably degrades, and you look like a Crossfit fool.
Yep, 500/400/300/200. I have no idea if that's even possible, given my genetics and age, but it's good motivation, and it organizes the logic of my training real well to think in those terms, kind of like how signing up for a race organizes one's running routine. My presses are only fifty pounds off, but my squat PR is 125 pounds off, and my deadlift PR 145. Still, when you consider I've only been taking the squat, deadlift, and overhead press seriously for less than a year, and have made rapid progress whenever I've been able to train consistently, it seems like it might be in the realm of possibilities. Plus I'm not expending energy anywhere else like you. For cardio training, I'm pretty sure I'm going to max out in the 15-to-25-mile-per-week range once my running is back up to speed.
I think while I wait for this toe to heal up 100%, I might start running hills exclusively, to build up my aerobic capacity while minimizing the pounding on the feet. For lifting, I'm just going to keep emphasizing the squat and overhead press for as long as I'm making steady progress. If I can add 10 pounds every cycle to the squat, and five pounds to the overhead press, then that's about 10-12 cycles to reach my goals, or two years or less. In any case, focusing on those two lifts above all else really simplifies things and introduces a lot of clarity. And I'm really liking the weekly wave routine. Not only is it probably good to have that set/rep variety for overall strength development, but it keeps the workouts somewhat fresh too.
Yah, I like Alan Thrall's videos a lot. He shares the same no-nonsense approach we have, and he looks like your avatar, another plus. Take a look at his "supplement stack" video when you have a break, it's good for a chuckle. He's part of the strong man scene too, which reminded me of my brief exchange with the guy who sold me the rubber grip plates. I think the strongman scene might be the most appealing of the four meathead sports--Olympic weightlifting, powerlifting, bodybuilding, and strongman. Bodybuilding is the least appealing, obviously, as it's basically a beauty contest for hyper-vain men (although I appreciate the discipline and sacrifice their training involves), Olympic weightlifting is too hard, and powerlifting is too ridiculous with the gear and limited ROMs. That said, I have adopted something of a powerlifting approach with my emphasis on just getting strong at the big compounds lifts, and it would be awesome to be able to perform the two Olympic competition lifts with some proficiency. Have to wait for a higher ceiling for the latter though.
I haven't done the landmine twist for a while, but I used to do them 100 pounds for a small arc, and 75 pounds for a wider arc. Given our recent discussion, I'll probably go with a wider arc next time I try them.
Yah, the landmine press looks like a good variation, in addition to the dumbbell presses, for the OH Press. A one-arm press of some kind is probably a good lift to get good at. My shoulders have felt even better now with this recent focus on the press.
Yah, Bret kind of annoys me, and I think it did take him years and years to pull 600, so you're right, he's probably too distracted. I still get his weekly newsletter though, and he seems to mean well. He's a firm believer in the "studies" school of fitness, and measuring muscle activation blah blah and exploiting every fricking joint angle conceivable, not to mention his whole "glute guy" schtick, whereas I'm more of an old school, tried-n-true sort of guy, like Starr and his disciples. Whenever I'm tempted to add variety for variety's sake, I re-read some Rippetoe and he reminds me that until you've gotten past intermediate level on the basic lifts, you're just needlessly wasting valuable time and energy on the rinky-dinky stuff. Even if you're a bodybuilder, you need to add mass first before you can sculpt with all the isolation exercises. The logic is simple: the prime movers force the secondary and supporting and stabilizer muscles to keep up with their development, and the best way to develop the prime movers is with the basic, compound barbell lifts, to which you can progressively add weight for years. Seriously, I could almost see just doing squats and presses for a couple of months and nothing else.
