Assistance Training for Strongman and “Functional” Strength
By C.J. Murphy, MFS
For www.EliteFTS.com
A lot of guys who train for Strongman don’t put much thought into assistance work, if at all. Assistance exercises can improve specific attributes and get you through your sticking points in many cases.
For the sake of discussion, we’ll call attributes specific abilities we need to improve on such as starting strength, strength endurance and so on. Sticking points should be fairly obvious – they are points where you get stuck in certain lifts or events such as locking a heavy log overhead.
I’m going to give you a few of our favorite exercises for some events.
Jump Stretch Band Squat Thrusts (Event: Tire Flip)
This is an excellent exercise to improve starting strength in the tire flip and also a great football exercise for linemen. Many athletes have trouble starting a heavy tire off of the ground and this will help you fix that problem.
Though this exercise is well illustrated in Dick Hartzell’s Jump Stretch video, available at EFS, we have modified it a bit to fit our needs. You can see a movie clip of how we use this exercise at our facility by going to our Strength and Conditioning page or click on the link: http://www.totalperformancesports.com/strength_conditioning.htm
To perform this exercise, you need at least 3 Jump Stretch bands. What bands you use is up to you – it depends upon you strength level. We usually start with 3 green bands (average bands).
Attach one band to a fixed object such as a power rack (bolted down) and loop the other two through it. Put one band around each shoulder and get in a 4-point stance.
Your training partner will have a stability ball positioned about 5-10 feet directly in front of you and they will be bracing it for you as well. When you are ready, EXPLODE out of your stance and drive forward as you reach for the ball. Try to achieve a good triple extension of the ankle/knee/hip as you drive your hands into the ball. Return to the start position and repeat.
We like the stability ball because you can apply force all of the way through the exercise and push into the ball without fear of injury. Sets and reps are up to you. Try 3 sets of 6 reps to start. This is also a good substitute for the tire flip if it is raining or icy outside and you can’t get outside.
Plate Hugs (Event: Stones)
The Plate Hug is great to help you in stone lifting. This exercise builds great strength across the chest and will help you move into heavier stones. A T-bar row is best used for this exercise.
Load a T-bar up with some 45’s and straddle the plates as if you were lifting a stone. Hug the plates as hard as you can and stand up as much as you can with them.
Suspended Log Lockouts (Event: Overhead Log Press, Viking Press)
A lot of people take our advice on this one and then forget what we said and miss the boat!
Suspended Log Lockouts are a tool to help you learn to do several things: (1) Lock a weight out overhead by using your triceps, (2) If allowed in your event, drop under the weight as it is locked out (3) build strength and confidence with heavy weights in the finish position.
Suspended Log Lockouts are very similar to Chain Suspended Lockouts in the bench press. Chains can be used but we prefer nylon rigging straps or jump stretch bands. Bands are the number one choice for a few reasons which I’ll explain in a moment. First let’s discuss how people miss the boat.
A lot of guys get hung up on the amount of weight that can be handled (I’ve personally done 420 from chest level and I’m as weak as a kitten). I’ve seen people suspend the log 1-2” from lockout and pile on 500 or more. This is pretty useless as it is too small of a range of motion to derive any benefit. It is best to suspend the log and have it hang (in the rack with pins set under it a few inches in case a band snaps) about chest level.
This is ideal for several reasons. First, it forces you to pull the log into your chest as you dip down to begin the Push-Press or Jerk. By pulling the log into your chest as you do this, it keeps the log in contact with your body and ensures that 100% of the force you generate with your leg/hip drive will transfer into the log. This is important because a common mistake we see is the log drifting upwards off of the chest as an athlete dips down for the Push-Press. When this happens and the log looses contact with the body, its force can be absorbed with your arms and not used for the weight.
The second is that the more the bands stretch, the more energy returns to the press. This helps you get through the sticking point which is usually 1-2” off the chest to about half-way up. Finally, it teaches you to finish with the triceps and then stabilize the weight overhead.
Execution of this exercise is pretty straight forward. Grip the log at chest level and pull it into your chest, dip down and explode back up as hard as you can. Once the weight is overhead, hold it for a second, lower it, and repeat for the desired reps. Keep the reps and volume low as these can be very tough on the elbows. Try to focus on speed as you do these and keep your form strict.
Well, there you go - 3 more specialized exercises for your toolbox. I hope they work for you!
Train Hard and Get Strong!
CJ Murphy
Total Performance Sports©
www.totalperformancesports.com
Assistance Training for Strongman Part 2: Using the Safety Squat Bar
By CJ Murphy, MFS
For www.EliteFTS.com
The Safety Squat Bar (SSB) is one of the most versatile tools you have in the gym. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Powerlifter, Athlete, Strongman, or Body Builder (it pains me to write that last word) – EVERY GYM NEEDS A SAFTY SQUAT BAR! (Available at Elitefts.com).
As I troll around on the Internet forums, I see this is a subject of many questions from “How do I use it?” to “Can girls use it?” In this article, I’ll give you some examples of our favorite Strongman assistance exercises. You can invest a few hundred bucks in a SSB, which will last longer than you, and use it for countless exercises, which is great for the budget conscious.
Don’t misread me, I’m not saying the SSB replaces event training, but for those without the cash or the room for a full set of Strongman implements, the SSB can give you a tremendous bang for the buck. Many, if not all of the exercises, will benefit everyone – not just Strongman!
Besides the basics (squats & good mornings) which are listed in Dave Tate’s SSB article, I’m going to present 4 of the best exercises you can do with the SSB and the events they will help you with.
They are: Zercher squat, Zercher walks, walking lunge, and SSB yoke walk.
SSB Zercher Squat
As many of you know, the Zercher squat is one of the gym lifts that has the most overall carryover to Strongman events. It places a greater load on the biceps, torso, and for many, their will to continue. The Zercher squat is absolutely no fun to do heavy.
The SSB makes a great Zercher bar for two reasons: The camber of the bar keeps the weight closer to your centerline, minimizing shearing forces on the lumbar spine but more importantly, it’s padded! The padding on the yoke takes a great deal of the bicep pain away, allowing you to squat more weight for more reps.
To perform a SSB Zercher squat, set the bar in a power rack about even with the upper portion of your abs. Set the pins in the rack about 1 inch below the bottom of your lowest point in the squat. Wrap your arms around the yoke, lift it out if the rack, and begin your squats. Try to keep the bar from sliding down as you squat and keep your upper body straight This means no excessive forward leaning.
I’m not going to discuss specifics of how to squat, as there are many great articles about that on this site, but try different stances from shoulder width to very wide to stress the body differently.
This exercise will not only improve your Strongman training by strengthening your whole body, but it will also help in certain events like the Conan’s Wheel, the Yoke Carry, and any event requiring walking with heavy objects.
SSB Zercher Walks
Zercher walks are done very similarly to the Zercher squat, with the exception of squatting.
Lift the bar as if you were going to do a Zercher squat and walk with it for a predetermined distance. A pair of squat stands are best for this but a power rack can be used. Try to use a weight you can walk with for 50 to 100 feet. You’ll also need a fairly large area for you to do these as turns are usually required, unless you have two squat stands or are doing these on a soft surface.
I would also advise against dropping the bar on the ground when done. Instead, walk, turn, and return it to the racks. Your turns should be slow and precise as this exercise really stresses the torso strength at the height of the turn. It also strengthens the ankles much like in the Farmers Walk.
SSB Walking Lunge
The walking lunge is one of the best overall exercises to strengthen the legs, hips, and torso and doing them with the SSB adds an even greater load to the torso and upper back.
Before starting, make sure your area is clear of obstructions. I would also suggest doing these with the empty bar the first time you try this to get used to the movement. In the beginning, try doing these for distance, 100 feet is a good start. Once you have gotten the hang of it, load the bar up and try for 200’ or more. And one more thing, use collars.
To perform this exercise, step out of the rack with the bar on your shoulders as if doing a squat. Step forward into a lunge, making sure your knee is behind your toe on the lead leg. Explode up from the lunge position and step forward moving into the next lunge. Try to go from one lunge position to the next without stopping for the desired number of reps.
As the lunge is a basic exercise, I won’t bore you with the discussion on technique, but there are two key points worth mentioning. First, take as long of a stride forward as you can and second, step up with your weight on your heel.
Doing these two things along with keeping the knee behind the toes and in-line with the feet will minimize shear forces on your patella tendon.
The SSB walking lunge doesn’t specifically strengthen any one Strongman event in particular like the other exercises I’ve listed so far. It does, however, when done heavy and for high reps and/or distances, kick your ass!
The SSB walking lunge will make you stronger, increase your conditioning, improve dynamic flexibility, your balance, and more. This truly is one of the few “wonder” exercises that will give you unbelievable gains if you are man enough to train at it hard.
SSB Yoke Walk
The SSB yoke walk is a great substitute for those who don’t have a yoke but it does differ from a regular yoke as the weight lever is much higher. You won’t be able to go as heavy on these as you would on a yoke, but it really won’t matter. Remember, this isn’t a replacement for the yoke, it is assistance work, and one of the best substitute exercises if you don’t own your own yoke.
The SSB yoke walk, like all SSB exercises, hits the traps and upper back like a sledge hammer. One thing we have found when training with the yoke is that heavy weights find your weaknesses fast and it’s usually in the torso region. You’ll see people start squirming and wiggling on these pretty quickly when the yoke is loaded up.
The SSB Yoke Walk stresses the torso from a different position and less weight can be used to achieve the same effect. That makes the yoke walk a perfect assistance exercise or a great dynamic exercise if you are following our WSB/Strongman hybrid.
For example, heavy yoke walks 50 to 75 feet on Monday then SSB yoke walks 150 to 200 feet on Friday. If you are doing a 500lb yoke, two plates per side will probably be enough on the SSB yoke walk.
This exercise will greatly improve your Yoke, Conan’s Wheel, Farmer’s Walk, Atlas Stones and more! For some real fun – add chains! I’ll definitely be expecting some hate emails after you try this one!
Train hard and get strong!
CJ Murphy
Total Performance Sports©
www.totalperformancesports.com
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