Charles R. Poliquin

[Daisy Hughlett]

Inthe early eighties, I was commissioned by a few National Sports Governing Bodies to write up strength training chapters for their technical certification programs, having to research background materials for the volleyball and basketball federations, I came to understand the importance of training the posterior chain to maximize strength gains as they clearly transfer over to the vertical jump. The muscles which are recruited most for the vertical jump are the glutes and hamstrings which contribute each relatively 40 & 25% of the force output. Contrary to popular belief the quads only contribute 5% or less to the vertical jump.

Training for a maximal vertical jump requires a solid base of strength work in evidently the right muscles. The posterior chain strength preparation exercises will give a foundation for the power exercises which I will outline in an upcoming article. The strength preparation exercises are outlined in table 1.

Starting Position Set-Up

Stand facing a barbell placed on the floor. Step up on the 4 inch platform that is set under the bar. A Trap Bar can be substituted for the barbell as a source of variety. Squat down and grab the bar with a snatch, that is 4 to 6 inches wider on each side than your shoulders. For sets calling for 3 or more repetitions, you may want to use straps to prevent the isometric strength-endurance of your gripping muscles to be the limiting factor in overloading the posterior chain and your quadriceps.

Ascent

Driving with legs first, raise the bar off the floor under control. The angle of your back to the floor should remain constant until the bar has reached at least mid-shin level. Make sure to keep a slight arch in the lower back throughout the movement. The bar should brush the body at all times. The elbows should be turned outward and remain locked throughout the movement.

Descent

Reverse the process of the ascent making sure that the chest is held high throughout the descent.

Be sure that you keep that lower back arched.

Throughout the ascent the athlete exhales.

ROMANIAN DEADLIFTS PROPERLY

When to do Romanian Deadlifts

I was first introduced to Romanian deadlifts by former Romanian weightlifting star Dragomir Cioroslan as he was at the time just appointed U.S. national weightlifting coach. Dragomir went on to coach World Championship silver medalist Wes Barnett.

Of course, this exercise was around before it was popularized by Dragomir. It use to have names like Keystone Cop deadlifts, but the point is that it was somewhat forgotten, and the weightlifting performances of athletes like Nicu Vlad drew attention to its effectiveness.

Besides prescribing it to strengthen the posterior chain, I like use this exercise to improve its dynamic flexibility. In that case, I instruct the athlete to decelerate in the last few inches of the eccentric range and to concentrate on improving the range.

Starting Position Set-Up

The grip on the bar should be pronated and just slightly wider than shoulder width.

Bend the knees about 25 degrees to relieve pressure on the ilio-tibial band.

If you are going to do more than 3 reps per set, I suggest you use a pair of quality straps like the ones made by Schiek.

Descent

Go down until you are about to lose your lordotic curve.

The glutes should shoot backwards during the descent to compensate for the shift in center of gravity.

Most trainees will not be able to go lower than mid-shins without losing their lordotic curve in the eccentric range. However, I have seen exceptional athletes like World Cup medal winner, alpine skier Cary Mullen, need to it on a bench so that the barbell plates would not hit the ground.

SEATED GOOD MORNINGS PROPERLY

I was introduced to this exercise twenty years ago by former Canadian national weightlifting coach Pierre Roy, who himself had learned it from talking shop with his Polish colleagues.

I like it for athletes who have yet to be exposed to intensive lower back work. In other words, I am more likely to prescribe it to a beginner than to an Olympian. Even though at times, it might the proper choice of exercise for that elite athlete.

Since I use this exercise mainly in general preparatory phases, I tend to use slower tempos such as 3030 and higher repetitions (8 to 12) when I prescribe it. Therefore I use it mainly for anatomical adaptations. In this exercise, I am concerned with creating intra-muscular tension by forbidding the use of momentum. Of course, when I use such slow tempos, I rarely exceed 6 repetitions per set.

Starting Position Set-Up

Stand facing a barbell placed on a pair of squat racks or a power rack. In this exercise, I prefer to use the Tribar Olympic bar, as the unique shape of the bar prevents it from rolling.

Duck under the bar and place it on the meaty area of the traps.

The grip on the bar should be as wide as possible, preferably collar to collar.

Back up and sit down on an exercise bench.

Descent

Keeping a lordotic curve lower the upper body until the lower ribs make contact with the adductors. Very important to keep your eyes looking forward throughout the movement. Inhale and hold breath in for the eccentric phase.

It was a staple of the training regimens of most Soviet athletes. In North America, it is rarely done. Or in some colleges, it is their interpretation of a full squat& I like prescribing it as a foundation exercise before starting a squat cycle. Particularly if the athlete has been diagnosed as having a weak lower back. If I prescribe the standing good morning for a given cycle, I will center the other leg exercises around the variations of step-up and the split squat exercises. When trying to drive the good morning poundages upwards, you should not try to increase the loads on squats concurrently. This will overtrain the lower back and lead you nowhere.

Starting Position Set-Up

Stand facing a barbell placed on a pair of squat racks or a power rack. In this exercise as-well, I prefer to use the Tribar Olympic bar to prevent rolling of the bar.

Duck under the bar and place it on the meaty area of the traps.

The grip on the bar should be as wide as possible, preferably collar to collar.

Bend the knees about 25 degrees to relieve pressure on the ilio-tibial band.

Descent

Keeping a lordotic curve lower the upper body until you feel your weight being the on the metatarsal joints. For some trainees that may mean the top of the trunk is 4 inches above the horizontal line, while for another trainee, it may mean 2 inches below the parallel line.

REVERSE HYPERS

The vast majority of the www.charlespoliquin.net members are interested in gaining large amounts of muscle mass and functional strength. This is best accomplished by concentrating the bulk of the work on legs and lower back training. One machine that can target very effectively those muscles is the Reverse Hyper Machine. I first got to try out the Reverse Hyper Machine. a few years ago while coaching our Bobsleigh team in Innsbrck Austria. After coaching my athletes, I stayed at the gym to do my workout. The gym being busy, I had to share the equipment with some of the local powerlifters who held a few National titles. These Austrian powerlifters swore by its efficiency at improving their deadlift and squat performances. Both athletes claimed it made a difference between 35 kg (77 lbs) to 50 kg (110 lbs) on each of their squats and deadlfits. Even though, I had seen its advertisement in back issues of Powerlifting USA, I had never paid any direct attention to it, until I tried the machine. Since the Austrian athletes did not sell the machine, I was intrigued, jumped on the machine and pumped away. The movement felt quite right, the glutes, hamstrings, and erector spinae were being trashed by the machine. After my workout, I went to inquire about it with the gym owner/powerlifting coach.

This device is the brain-child of Westside Barbell Club owner and powerlifting coach extraordinaire Louie Simmons. This exercise has contributed to the building of many World Records in the deadlift and squat. Louie uses it as a staple in deadlift training. To gain more insight on the possibilities of this training, I made the trip to Columbus Ohio to speak to Louie about the machine.

The reverse Hyper machine will allow one to work the posterior chain in a synchronized manner. Your back extensions would target the same muscle group but not in the same recruitment pattern. Another disadvantage of the back extensions is the dizziness associated with their performance.

Starting Position Set-Up

Stand facing the reverse hypers unit.

Step in one leg at a time into the ankle strap provided, back up until your Achilles tendons make contact with the material of the strap or pad.

From this position, jump face down on the supporting surface and reach out to grasp the handles with a shoulder width pronated grip.

GLUTE HAMSTROC RAISES PROPERLY

Former Soviet athletes, particularly their track and weightlifting stars such as David Rigert, have always been known in athletic circles to have erector spinae development parallel to Arnold Schwarzeneggers biceps development. One of their secrets to huge erector spinae development had to be the Glute Hamstroc Raise. It was originally done in the Soviet Union with no more equipment than a set of of Swedish bars and pommel horse with a few mats thrown over it. In North America, we are fortunate to have more comfortable and easily adjustable Glute-Hamstroc raises benches. The best ones on the market are the ones made by Atlantis and Powerlift.

The design of the glute-ham bench allows an athlete to strengthen the erectors especially in the middle range of the movement which, in most sports, is where the body is exposed to high forces. Another plus for the glute-ham raise is that it is one of the most important exercises for preventing back and knee injuries, especially the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). The spine is exposed to great compressive forces in many sports, I have found that athletes who are weak in the hamstrings, glutes and lower back not only are more likely to injure their lower back, but are especially prone to tearing the ACL. Because the glute-ham exercise increases muscle mass and strength in the back, glutes and hamstrings, those athletes who include this exercise in their program are better able to withstand the compressive loads on the spine and those that occur with sports such as football and Alpine skiing.

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