Hacks

[v1hyp]

Nice set done by Big Dave Smith!

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn9aLFFXyjs&feature=g-all-u[/YOUTUBE]

[dcwannabee]

Nice to see some new videos from Big Dave again. I was disappointed when the video on rxmuscle with Palumbo expired. I used to watch that every once in a while.

[theroymccoy]

Nice set! No wraps even! You could tell his quads are his strong point when the heels come off to move the weight.

I concur dcwannabee; good to see these vids from Dave again.

From anyone's experience, how does the Icarian hack compare to the HammerStrength hack? Harder? Easier? Bout the same?

[Daniel7908]

Brutal stuff! Thanks for sharing that, V1Hyp!

[liftweights]

This is probably a stupid question, but shouldn't he be using lighter weight and pushing through his heels?

[v1hyp]

This is probably a stupid question, but shouldn't he be using lighter weight and pushing through his heels?

It was only the last few reps where the heel went up. At that point, I think he just happy he can get it back up!!

[big ross]

This is probably a stupid question, but shouldn't he be using lighter weight and pushing through his heels?

If he's pushing through through his toes it's more of a quad movement, thus the remark of quads being his strong point. The Icarian looks like a better angle than the one at my gym, also a larger platform for the feet.

[thundergod]

Looks like someone cut out the part where he pukes...LOL
Definitely a tough set though. I use around 5 plates per side right now and when I'm done, I usually like to find the nearest trash can just in case.

[SAHD]

By my re-viewing of the vid I would say his heels come up on rep 1..... Does this matter? In my opinion no. Depending on several factors such as your foot placement and the machines dynamics your heels may or may not come up. I have always found pushing mainly with my heels means alot of Hamstring and Glut involvement.

If it is safe the who cares, Dave is lifting some 360kg, plus the actual machine rest plus his own weight. I am sure he knows what he is doing.

[theroymccoy]

If you can hack 9 plates per side, all the way down, with no knee wraps, for reps, you can do whatever you want!

[liftweights]

It's an honest question, I'm not saying he doesn't know what hes doing. Ill rephrase it.

From a bodybuilding standpoint, would you not lower the weight and or readjust your feet to make sure you can push through your heels on (almost) every repetition? Does proper quad activation occur when your on your toes?

The biggest quads on stage > The most weight used during a youtube video

[theroymccoy]

It's an honest question, I'm not saying he doesn't know what hes doing. Ill rephrase it.

From a bodybuilding standpoint, would you not lower the weight and or readjust your feet to make sure you can push through your heels on (almost) every repetition? Does proper quad activation occur when your on your toes?

The biggest quads on stage > The most weight used during a youtube video

We're just teasing/having some fun...

Maybe he does use lower weight and push through his heels and he was just testing his strength/got bored/messing around when he went up to this weight? This is just one video...I don't know what he does on the regular.

Take for example Ronnie Coleman's "Unbelievable" DVD. As stated in later interviews, he doesn't do 800 lb. squats/deads on the regular; he stays in the 600 lb. range, 8-12 rep range for his real workouts. He just did that for the DVD.

I'd venture to say the closer your feet are to the floor, the more you'd activate the quads. The higher up on the platform you'd bring more glute/ham into the movement.

For most people I think the higher up your feet are on the platform, the more weight you would use because the hams and glutes are helping the quads move the weight, not necessarily more quad stimulation.

I think Dave's quads are so dominant that they take over any pressing movement, hence the heels come off. I think no matter how he adjusts his feet, the quads are gonna take over no matter what. IMO.

[SAHD]

Sorry but I took your question seriously the first time, he really does go all toes by my watching but I believe in exactly what I said.

Due to back issues (genetic malformation, not weights issues) I have hip flexability issues. I almost always end up on my toes. My Quads are fine. To stay on my heels would mean having an extremely high foot placement and thus all glut and ham.

To help solve this I use an elevated heel platform to make me track better.

Just get any random 10 guys to stand next to each other and you will see a large variety of leg to torso ratio's that mean different exercises will mean they move different ways.

Experiment and find what works for you.

Also with what Thermos said (sorry theroymccoy), Dave may have been testing the waters and just posted this as he did it.

[homonunculus]

It's an honest question, I'm not saying he doesn't know what hes doing. Ill rephrase it.

From a bodybuilding standpoint, would you not lower the weight and or readjust your feet to make sure you can push through your heels on (almost) every repetition? Does proper quad activation occur when your on your toes?

The biggest quads on stage > The most weight used during a youtube video

In Dave's case, he's going to win in both of the above cases, jut about all of the time.

-S