Finger Strength

by Atomic Athletic on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 at 4:24pm

So you want bigger and stronger forearms? 

Maybe you want a crushing, scary grip?

You will never get that without strong fingers.  Think about how the hands, wrist and forearms are constructed.  Think about those scenes showing robotic forearms in the Terminator and Star Wars movies.  There is a lot of small stuff crammed into small spaces, especially when compared to your legs and hips. 

I designed one of the simplest and yet most effective grip machines you will ever see.  It's called the Aftermath Sniper Grip Machine.  Here is the link:

http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=GRIP1

The unique dial allows you to work your fingers and thumb 3 different ways, with the: Archer's Ring, Sniper's Trigger Band, and Climber's Finger Tip Plate.

If you have seen these units at our showroom, there are 3 NEW Updates:

1.Industrial Rubberized Palm Rod

2.Grip Length Adjuster

3.Bolt Tabs, so you can anchor this baby down!

We have them in stock and ready to go!

http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=GRIP1

Live strong,

Roger LaPointe

Club Swinging Basics

by Atomic Athletic on Monday, July 25, 2011 at 1:03pm

I have a torn rotator cuff.  The tearing of it had nothing to do with Olympic lifting, but it has had a greater effect on it than almost any other factor in my life.  It happened twelve years ago, so this is nothing new.

Thanks to Indian Club training I am back doing full snatches several times a week.  I almost always do some sort of Indian club swinging every workout.  In fact, sometimes I will just do the clubs and no other work.  It all depends on my schedule and how I feel.

This is what makes the clubs so great: circles and arcs. 

The weight you use with the clubs is less important to me than what I am doing with them.  You see, in addition to the actual weight of a club, you also have leverage and centrifugal force.  That means you can get added resistance, with exactly the same exercise, simply by increasing the speed of your swing.  Add in the fact that, done properly, the range of motion will stretch muscles, ligaments and tendons in ways that can't be done with barbells, dumbbells and kettlebells, and you have a really powerful and important tool for your training arsenal.

TRY THIS

This is for anyone who does not yet own a pair of Indian clubs. 

1.Take an empty dumbbell bar.  Grab it by one end with one hand.  Hold it in front of your body, almost like a sword, with your arm bent at 90 degrees.

2.Now let that bar swing straight back, as if you are attempting a triceps kickback, then right back up into the starting, or Presentation, position.

That tiny little taste of what is possible with a real club should get you hooked.

Live strong,

Roger LaPointe

PS. I always recommend that new club swingers start with a one or two pound pair.  Then study that DVD.  Really learn those basic movements.  Be insane about technique.  Work on that technique every time you train.

http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=IC121BKC

Russian Sighting of Atomic Athletic Shirt

by Atomic Athletic on Wednesday, July 20, 2011 at 12:42pm

Sensei Mike Sherman was recently photographed in Russia, wearing an Atomic Athletic Stonelifting T-shirt.  OK.  It was last year, but he just got us a copy.

As if that is not cool enough, in the photo, he is seated with a couple of legends in competitive kettlebell lifting: Andre Stepanov and Nikolay Chrnykhalo.  These two were setting records in Russia over ten years ago. 

If you do not know about Mike, he is one of the foremost competitive kettlebell lifters in the US.  In fact, in his new location for American Kenpo Karate, he has a room dedicated just to strength training, including: our stone balls & padlocks, iron boots and, of course, kettlebells.  He has also done demos at four out of five of our our Atomic Athletic Great Black Swamp Olde Time Strongman Picnics.  Most recently, his demo was specifically on competitive kettlebell technique.

Atomic Athletic salutes Sensei Mike Sherman!

Live strong,

Roger LaPointe

F=MA

by Atomic Athletic on Tuesday, July 12, 2011 at 11:06am

Force equals Mass times Acceleration. 

Increasing the force generated during weightlifting is a measure of your strength.  There are two ways to generate more force in your lifts.  You can either lift heavier weights or make them move faster. 

Here is the problem for “full body” type lifts, you have a great distance to move the weight.  That distance translates into an increasing degree of technique required.  Here is a trick to help you improve your technique, thus resulting in greater ability to lifting heavier weights.

Training Tip

As Norbert Schemansky once said about a missed lift, “The weight's too heavy.”  Of course the weight was too heavy, that's why it was missed.  Think about that statement.  The guy he was critiquing wanted a suggestion on ways to fix his technique.  What Norb meant, is that the guy needed to lower the weight for training.

One way to improve the speed of your heavier lifts is to start off light, working the acceleration.  Andy and I , recently did this with our power snatching.  As we are training partners, we try to pay attention to the other guy's technique.  I noticed that he was a little forward on his overhead position, but not missing the lift.  Basically, Andy was grinding it into place with his delts.  It was very impressive, but also poor technique.  Essentially, he could have been lifting far heavier.

I had him start with 40 Kg (88 lbs.) for sets of 3 Power Snatches.  He could only increase the weight by 5 Kg, but he had to do all three lifts perfectly.  Believe me, it is harder than it sounds.  Ultimately, he made it up to 65 Kg.  He must have done seven or eight sets with that first 40 Kg until he cemented the concept into his neuro-muscular system.  Then he needed only one or two sets, until he got to 60 Kg.  This is still very light, as he is a very muscular 215 lbs., doing dumbbell presses with far more than a combined 65 kg, but he just started working his snatch a few weeks ago.  He's highly dedicated, so I see some good lifts in his future. 

Live strong,

Roger LaPointe

PS By the way, I did the same routine for part of my workout.  It was very helpful.  It forced me to look at my lift under a microscope.

On His Feet Again

by Atomic Athletic on Thursday, July 7, 2011 at 5:01pm

One of our regular truck drivers stayed for a few extra minutes yesterday.  We had finished loading his 56 footer.  It was all one 6 foot pallet, but the driver was interested in what it might be.  He had seen the Everlast name through the shrink wrap and he loves MMA.  This was a cool order, including: a  couple heavy-duty wall mounted chin-up bars, med-balls, a custom ships pulley set-up for the bag and a pro-grade brown leather Everlast heavy bag.

He recently got a new ground floor apartment that has extra room and wanted to start setting up a good home workout area.  I asked, “Why the sudden interest?”

“Well, I'm on my feet again,” was his reply.  He went on to say that he had lifted regularly and done some hard core karate.  Before his divorce, he had a great home set-up, but the EX took all of his stuff.  He said it was “short term awful”.  He was left with no equipment.  Having no place to put it in his previous one room apartment, he figures this is his opportunity to upgrade with quality stuff.  I could make a couple of jokes here, having gone through the “upgrade” myself, but this guy had such a positive attitude that I just have to give you his plan.

He is going to gradually get quality pieces that fit into his current apartment, but will not be replaced when he gets a new house in a year or two.  All he has right now is a curl bar and a set of spin-lock adjustable dumbbells with old concrete filled plastic weights, and about 150 pounds of Olympic sized cast iron plates. 

THE PLAN:

1.) He is going to get a ¾ inch thick 4' x 6' rubber mat and a pair of 45# bumper plates with a trap bar (it's less than 7 feet long so won't take up much space).

2.) He will gradually get standard sized flat pancake plates to fill his curl bar and dumbbells. 

3.) Then he will get one of our Iron Boot Racks to store odd implements, while gradually building a set of pro-style dumbbells. 

4.) A real leather heavy bag is also in his future.  He has to measure his current ceiling height, because he is going to need a bag stand, instead of a ceiling mount.  Next time he comes around, we will work on which type of bag he will get that will never have to be replaced, once he moves into the house and wants to do a ceiling mount job.

5.) He is also going to get one of our used commercial grade dumbbell benches on wheels and have a buddy with a custom car shop repaint and upholster it in some wicked cool colors. 

6.) After the bench is done and he moves into the house, he will get some sort of “squat rack” that he can also do Olympic sized benching off of.  I gave him some catalogs and places to look at on the Atomic Athletic web site.  He has some time to decide.

7.) Finally, he will get a good Olympic bar after the house and rack become a reality.

This guy wants to join a new karate studio, but he figures he will wait to join one until he finds out where he will ultimately live.  That way, he won't be locked into a contract. 

Smart.

In the mean time, he will be using his “karate club dues”, that he still puts aside every month, for the quality and “compact movable” lifting and fighting equipment.  He also knows about our “boat anchor” box of factory 2nd items and the various deals we periodically have on fight accessories.

I've seen him doing common carrier pick-ups and deliveries for about a year now and every time he gives me a little update.  It's great to see him getting back on his feet with a rock solid plan.

I'm glad that we can help him make it a reality.

Live strong,

Roger LaPointe

What do you Press?

by Atomic Athletic on Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at 2:19pm

I am learning why lifters loved the Olympic press.  Technically, it should be called the clean & press, but back when it was an official Olympic lift it was just understood that, of course, you had to clean the weight to your shoulders before the barbell could be pressed.  Today, we have the bench press as the most popular lift, but until the mid-1960s, there were no powerlifting contests, and when those started they used narrow, standard sized benches.  My how things have changed.

The clean & press is a fun lift.  Sure, you can do it in a strict, upright “military” fashion, but I have Dave Polzin teaching me the way they did it in Olympic style competition.  It's pretty cool.  I am already doing more than my bodyweight.  According to Dr. Ken Leistner, the number everyone aimed for was 200 pounds.  That was sort of like hitting a 300 pound bench press today.

Pressing Technique

Norbert Schemansky called the odd forward and back movement in the press “massaging the weight”.  He never did a really low layback, but some guys certainly did.  You can find photos of some of the guys in the late 1960s and early 1970s who practically did a standing bench press.  It simply became too hard to judge.  If you want to start working that lift, here are a couple tips.  I am no expert, but the tips come from Polzin, as he has critiqued me.

1.Start the lift as upright as possible with your elbows under the bar.

2.Lay back as you press.

3.It's not an explosive lift, but if you can get some initial explosion, it will help. 

4.The press is almost moves through a scooping arc, when viewed from the side.

5.Now combine all of those thoughts into one smooth and continuous movement.

Have fun with this new movement.  Don't get crazy with the layback.  The USAWA rules limit you to a 27 degree layback. 

Live strong,

Roger LaPointe

PS.  When you see me writing about a particular lift, odds are pretty good that it, or a variation will be part of an up and coming meet...  Think about it.