Hack Squats for Olympic Lifting

by Atomic Athletic on Friday, December 16, 2011 at 5:48pm

The old school strongmen had some really innovative ways of training. Sometimes you did a lift to force someone to learn technique, they just happened to get strong at the same time.

Where did I read about this one? I have no idea. Yet, I remember reading that a deadlift, which “started from the floor and behind the calves” was helpful in learning the clean. Whoever wrote that was absolutely correct.

Use the same barbell that you will be using to do your cleans. Use the same hand position on the bar. Here are some of the things that the Hack Lift will force you to do.

1. High Chest
2. Narrow grip will make you have narrow foot position off the floor
3. Curling your wrists
4. Pulling the bar back

Try doing three hack lifts then immediately do three power cleans with those ideas in mind.

Don't worry. You do not even have to do super heavy weight in the Hack Lift to get those benefits for your cleans.

Live strong,

Roger LaPointe

Links

Iron Grip IWF Spec Bar

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

Vic Boff Collection

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

Traditional Training Legendary Strength

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

Solid Rubber Discs

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

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Olympic Weightlifting at BGSU

by Atomic Athletic on Thursday, December 15, 2011 at 5:06pm

BGSU has some nice Olympic weightlifting. The coaching staff actually teaches technique and you can see it in every lift.

I doubt you can find a collegiate strength coach today who would say they don't do some variation on the Olympic lifts. I also know that you would be hard pressed to be able to actually walk in to see their technique and how they teach their athletes. I have seen technique that is all over the map. That's to be expected by freshmen, but for upperclassmen, it can be scary. This is reflected in their equipment.

If you want to focus on your Olympic lifts then you need decent equipment. No one would expect a football player to go out on game day with a broken helmet. Yet, I will see coaches using forcing their athletes to do power cleans with bars that have ends that are seized up and don't rotate. Worse yet, that bar might have only one end that rotates. That is simply dangerous.

I highly recommend the Iron Grip IWF Spec Olympic Bar. For those of you who went to the clinic last weekend, that is the bar you saw at BGSU in the Olympic lifting area. That great rotation you felt, was because of the German needle bearings in the ends. Nice stuff. It makes for quick turnover on clean and snatch movements.

Here is the link:

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

Live strong,

Roger LaPointe

Books n Videos with Iron Boots

by Atomic Athletic on Wednesday, December 14, 2011 at 4:43pm

At the BGSU Strength Summit, I introduced Iron Boots and Indian Clubs to a lot of people who had never previously heard of them. The big question was, “where do I find out more about these training techniques?”

Here is a list of information sources for the Iron Boots:

Atomic Athletic Leg Development Course

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

Atomic Athletic Ankle Stability Kit

http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=IBAK1

Classic Core Training

http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=VID120

The Art of Hojo Undo: Power Training for Traditional Karate

http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=BK91

Traditional Training Legendary Strength

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

The Vic Boff Collection

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

Study and absorb all of this information and you will be well on your way to being an expert on Iron Boot training.

Live strong,

Roger LaPointe

PS. We also have one set of Antique York Barbell Iron Boots with the Original York Leg Development Course – WITH the original POSTER! (They are in as close to freshly printed mint condition as you can possibly imagine. They didn't look this good on the news stand in 1950!) Here is the link:

http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=VINTAGEYORK21

5 Iron Boot Exercises with Variations

by Atomic Athletic on Monday, December 12, 2011 at 5:16pm

The Bowling Green State University Strength Summit was fantastic. There were a lot of naysayers who said that a December clinic wouldn't get anybody and they were wrong. Explosive lifting, from the pure Olympic lifts to accessory exercises to support tools and training really worked. It was a topic that brought in the coaches.

This was the first time I had done Iron Boot training as a topic and it won't be my last. Of course, I also did Indian clubs, with about a 50/50 split and it was a good combination.

EXERCISES

We covered four basic exercises with variations: Reverse Hyper-Extensions, Leg Extensions, Leg Curls and Thai Knee Strikes. We had variations on these exercises that included the use of three different types of benches and three different types of bars and loading techniques. I could have gone on forever.

Free Weight Hip Extensions

I prefer to call the Reverse Hyper-Extension a Free Weight Hip Extension. It is more descriptive of the tool and actual movement.

Andy, my assistant, demonstrated the Iron Boot exercises. We used all three types of benches, from a Power-Lift brand Reverse Back Extension with the weight arm removed, to a Glute-Ham bench and then a basic flat table. As I have sold Iron Boots for many years now, I have found that most people will use the Glute Ham bench in a reversed position. Of course, everyone uses more weight with the boots linked with the 20” bar than with the short bars as an iso exercise.

More on the Clinic with Exercises tomorrow. We are also going to try and put up some video footage. Stay tuned.

Live strong,

Roger LaPointe 

BGSU Strength Summit 2011

by Atomic Athletic on Friday, December 9, 2011 at 4:15pm

Don't forget that BGSU has their Strength Clinic tomorrow.

Download the PDF from our web site. You can register in person tomorrow morning.

Here is the link:

http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=BGSUSS2011

Atomic Athletic President, Roger LaPointe, will be speaking around noon, with a demo featuring the Iron Boots & Indian Clubs, with applications to Explosive Lifting. Rumor has it that there will be a demo of both the Thai Knee Kick and the ISO Reverse Hyper movements.

See you there!

Gift Certificates!

by Atomic Athletic on Wednesday, December 7, 2011 at 3:37pm

The perfect gift for a strength fan.

When a good evening includes rust, chalk and sweat mix, achieved through a PR in an ice cold garage, then you have a real lifter on your hands. 

Strength training is an essential part of life for this person, but you don't know which specific item will be best for this prehistoric behemoth or martial arts guru. 

That is when you need a gift certificate.

Take the decision making process out of your hands. 

Our most popular gift certificate is for $25, but we will do them in any amount, if you call your order in. Other common sizes are $100, $500 and $1000. Otherwise use multiples of $25 to make your purchase on the web. 

Gift Certificate Link:

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

FREE SHIPPING on Gift Certificates!

Order today to recieve yours by the Holidays!

"Today is a good day to lift."

Atomic Athletic Gift Certificates! http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=GIFTCERT

Hack Squat Positioning

by Atomic Athletic on Thursday, December 1, 2011 at 5:10pm

Did you try the Hack Lift last night? If so, then if you didn't know it before, you do now. The Hack Lift is very different from both the standard deadlift and the clean pull.

Let's look at body types first. All of my tips are based on personal experience. I am a life long natural lifter who is 40 years old. While I am a short guy, I have a fairly normal skeletal structure for limb length ratios. Which is actually somewhat unusual, but great for commenting on lifting technique. If you are one of those ape arm guys, you have a serious advantage in the Hack Lift and most of this Atomic Athletic Bomb Proof Bulletin won't apply to you. Now, the rest of the world can keep reading.

I have found the most important concept for the Hack Lift is arm length. Since we can't increase the length of our arms, we can maximize what god gave us. You want to grab the bar with a hand placement that is at a genuine shoulder width. For most lifters, this is actually a little narrower than the grip you use for a power clean. This also leads to a narrower foot position with almost parallel feet.

Technique Benefit

Many lifters engage the biceps during a deadlift, clean or power clean. Also, as you lift, don't pull with the biceps. In fact, you will find it very difficult to pull with the biceps in a Hack Lift. When I am teaching the power clean, I will sometimes have the lifter do a complex like this, Hack Lift, Power Clean, Power Clean before moving into full cleans or heavy clean pulls.

Try that complex in your next workout and you might find that actually have a much easier time staying over the bar in your cleans and power cleans.

Enjoy,

Roger LaPointe

“Today is a good day to lift.”