LOTS of questions for PL'ers in here (Grey, Sammi, Robb)

[trucelt]

:gossip:Hey guys-

have a few questions for the veterans in so here goes:

btw im 43 have been training for close to 30 years and have competed in 13 BB shows and 3 meets to date. also have had a pec tear (repaired) and back surgery (car accident)

DEADLIFT- ive pulled conventional for the last 10-15 years, but as i get older sumo seems to be easier on my lower back, i am much stronger conventional....if i wanted to make that switch from con to sumo any advice or experience with this?

do you use the alternate style as an assistance exercise?


SQUAT/DEAD- any theory to squat wide pull narrow or pull wide and squat narrow? i lift raw and squat wide and pull conventional (narrow)?

BENCH PRESS- tore my pec in 2011, since then i press with shoulder width grip elbows tucked and low bar placement, im also very comfortable with wide grip but ONLY reverse grip. The reverse grip is tougher to train solo as i prefer a handoff once it gets heavier. Any expereince training guys who have had the same injury?

FLOOR PRESS- used as an asst exercise or as a main exercise for certain cycles(i ask becase D. Tate credits it with his ability to recover from a pec rupture)

BOARD PRESS- for a raw bencher are they a decent asst exercise for pressing or should i toss them?

sorry i know thats quite a bit to ask any help would be appreciated

Mahalo,
Jason

[Sammich]

Remind me to answer this tomorrow when I'm bored in the office.

[theroymccoy]

I know you asked for experienced Plers but I know Konstantin Konstantinov benches narrow because he gets injured with shoulder width/wide grip...something to think aboot...

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9D9w6FSX4w[/YOUTUBE]

[DCBliever]

:gossip:hey guys-

have a few questions for the veterans in so here goes:

Btw im 43 have been training for close to 30 years and have competed in 13 bb shows and 3 meets to date. Also have had a pec tear (repaired) and back surgery (car accident)

deadlift- ive pulled conventional for the last 10-15 years, but as i get older sumo seems to be easier on my lower back, i am much stronger conventional....if i wanted to make that switch from con to sumo any advice or experience with this?

*just get your form down, sumo is more form oriented than conventional. You'll have to find a stance that fits you, some are closer and some go wider. Just find what's comfortable for you*

do you use the alternate style as an assistance exercise?

*you definitely can, do i? No but i probably should.*

squat/dead- any theory to squat wide pull narrow or pull wide and squat narrow? I lift raw and squat wide and pull conventional (narrow)?

*me too, if it works.......you know the rest*

bench press- tore my pec in 2011, since then i press with shoulder width grip elbows tucked and low bar placement, im also very comfortable with wide grip but only reverse grip. The reverse grip is tougher to train solo as i prefer a handoff once it gets heavier. Any expereince training guys who have had the same injury?

*i'd go narrower and stay tucked and tight. My bicep feels better now that i do as well as my pecs. Close grip inclines also.*

floor press- used as an asst exercise or as a main exercise for certain cycles(i ask becase d. Tate credits it with his ability to recover from a pec rupture)


*main or assistance good to go*

board press- for a raw bencher are they a decent asst exercise for pressing or should i toss them?

*for tricep strength good, raw bench, nah*

sorry i know thats quite a bit to ask any help would be appreciated

mahalo,
jason

see above

[thsfootball]

I wouldn't say I'm an experienced powerlifter, but I was reading power magazine and can parrot advice from Dan Green who meets your criteria. He was a conventional puller and switched to sumo, struggled at first. He recommends for people who are trying to learn sumo to pull from 4" blocks to get a feel for keeping the knees out.

I definitely recommend buying the online version of the mag. I got 6 issues for 20$ and it is more than worth it. Tons of advice from the best raw and geared lifters, very different from typical muscle mags

[DCBliever]

I wouldn't say I'm an experienced powerlifter, but I was reading power magazine and can parrot advice from Dan Green who meets your criteria. He was a conventional puller and switched to sumo, struggled at first. He recommends for people who are trying to learn sumo to pull from 4" blocks to get a feel for keeping the knees out.

I definitely recommend buying the online version of the mag. I got 6 issues for 20$ and it is more than worth it. Tons of advice from the best raw and geared lifters, very different from typical muscle mags

Yeah I agree, also the supertraining.tv power project is good also.

[Sammich]

I'm in red below.

:gossip:Hey guys-

have a few questions for the veterans in so here goes:

btw im 43 have been training for close to 30 years and have competed in 13 BB shows and 3 meets to date. also have had a pec tear (repaired) and back surgery (car accident)

DEADLIFT- ive pulled conventional for the last 10-15 years, but as i get older sumo seems to be easier on my lower back, i am much stronger conventional....if i wanted to make that switch from con to sumo any advice or experience with this?
I see no reason not to do both, but within limits. I switched to sumo for the same reason and found not only did it help my back, but it helped me pull conventional (from time to time) with MUCH better form, which in turn also helped my back. I would focus on whichever feels better for your back, and try out the other from time to time. For example, yesterday I pulled conventional for the first time in quite a few months and matched a lifetime PR. I think the much better form I developed by doing sumo helped tremendously on that.

do you use the alternate style as an assistance exercise?
That's also not a bad idea. Like pull mainly sumo, but you could do lighter deficit conventional pulls (or such) as assistance.

SQUAT/DEAD- any theory to squat wide pull narrow or pull wide and squat narrow? i lift raw and squat wide and pull conventional (narrow)?
I think it depends entirely on the person. But it's good to always do both, just to force the body to adapt in new ways.

BENCH PRESS- tore my pec in 2011, since then i press with shoulder width grip elbows tucked and low bar placement, im also very comfortable with wide grip but ONLY reverse grip. The reverse grip is tougher to train solo as i prefer a handoff once it gets heavier. Any expereince training guys who have had the same injury?
I suck so bad at bench I'm gonna punt on this one. But above all, if it hurts, DON'T DO IT.

FLOOR PRESS- used as an asst exercise or as a main exercise for certain cycles(i ask becase D. Tate credits it with his ability to recover from a pec rupture)

BOARD PRESS- for a raw bencher are they a decent asst exercise for pressing or should i toss them?
They're ok for assistance (and triceps like Robb said), but they're much better for equipped benchers than for raw guys. For a raw presser, your weak point will be off the chest, not at lockout like a shirted bencher.

sorry i know thats quite a bit to ask any help would be appreciated

Mahalo,
Jason

:peep:

[trucelt]

WOW. Thanks guys

@Roy-thats pretty close to the form ive adopted, if nothing else its cool to see that it hasnt slowed down a super-human juggernaut like Kon

@Robb-thanks, the advice of "if it works..." is grat andi need to be reminded of the KISS principal. Also i want to use the the board presses as a TRICEP movement not as a main pressing movement so yoru advice is well taken.

@Sammi- thaks bro, yoru expereinces with switching is what i was looking for...its very motivating to hear that you have had success AND your conventional has gone up as well. You guys make some gret points about sumo being more technical...ive always been an extremely technical bencher but with deads it was always more about a brute force approach (kinda what made it fun) i will really focus on form and getting it right...also your point about where the weak point on raw bench is very valid its ALWAYS the first 1/3 rarely the lockout....

thanks again i knew you guys would come thru

[trucelt]

Bottom position work?

do you guys do bottom position presses or squats?

i can see where bottom positon squats could be awesome for coming out of the hole....have never done a bottom position bench

[Sammich]

Bottom position work?

*snicker*

do you guys do bottom position presses or squats?

i can see where bottom positon squats could be awesome for coming out of the hole....have never done a bottom position bench

Yeah, like always pausing on them, or taking exaggerated pauses, too. I'm not a fan of using the bars with the elevated middle portion (to make the ROM bigger) because I don't think those are healthy for the shoulders and especially pecs.

[-AJA14-]

*snicker*


Yeah, like always pausing on them, or taking exaggerated pauses, too. I'm not a fan of using the bars with the elevated middle portion (to make the ROM bigger) because I don't think those are healthy for the shoulders and especially pecs.

Whats the best assistance for off the chest work, sammich?

[Sammich]

Whats the best assistance for off the chest work, sammich?

tren ace

[trucelt]

sammich-

i meant pressing of pins set at chest height so your pressing from a dead stop, same with squats settign the pins and bars at parallel and starting the movement from the "hole"

[-AJA14-]

tren ace

Ill stop by the CVS and pick it up tomorrow

[53greystreet]

-response to your original post-

deadlift, conventional vs sumo- I would say it depends how bad conventional hurts. If it becomes detrimental then stopping may have to happen. Giving sumo a run certainly sounds like a good idea. Seeing video of both would help my assessment tremendously. Sumo is all technique, brute force will not work. If you have the hip flexibility to do sumo then in time you should be able to reach your conventional poundage as long as the technique gets dialed in.

Bench- go with the grip that allows you to bench, nothing wrong at all with the grip and technique you are using right now. A lot of raw lifters, like KK above, and Wendler do much better with a closer grip

Floor press- good movement indeed that may be programmed in

Board press- can help raw bench, depends where you stall. Most raw lifters stall at the bottom but someone like Spoto has so much speed and bottom end strength he stalls at the top similar to a shirted bench. If you stall at the bottom as most do, then hammering a 1 board as a secondary movement can certainly be effective. Higher boards can be used every now and then simply for tricep assistance. A high board press most likely will not have a huge direct carryover to a raw bench but they will make your triceps stronger- nothing wrong with that. The priority of them would simply be lower than movements such as bench, pause bench, dumbell work, military press but they are a great tricep move

Bottom position work- I did a lot of this prior to powerlifting and it beat me up too much. Josh Bryant has been having a lot of success with these type moves with a bunch of people so certainly worth a try for 4-6 weeks to see how you respond. Maybe a secondary movement for 4-6 singles, 80% range, minimal rest