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BLOWING KISSES
Obj: Strength
Warm up:
4x Barbell Complex (95#, 105# 115#, 125#)
1x complex = 6 reps each of:
Dead Lift
Bent over Row
Hang Power Clean
Front Squat
Push Press
Back Squat
Push ups
Training:
(1) Work up to 1RM Front Squat
(2) 5 Rounds
1x Front Squat @ 90-90% 1RM
15-foot Rope Climb
(3) 5 Rounds
20m Sandbag Lunge @ 80# (10m each shoulder)
5x Standing Press (increase weight each round)
(4) 5 Rounds
8x Kettlebell Clean & Press Each Shoulder @ 24kg
1x Tire Drag or sled push
Comments:
Nothin' fancy about Blowing Kisses. Heavy and hard today starting with a big barbell complex, and finishing with dead
lifts and a tire drag/sled push.
Today's major lift is the front squat - an exercise I've come to appreciate more and more. Strength Coach Mike Boyle was
the first to push me to the front squat. He felt it was just as effective as the back squat to build lower body strength,
but safer, because less weight could be used.
I've developed my own reasons for liking it. The front squat reinforces the rack position, and helps with heavy cleans.
And it taxes the abs like no other exercise. I coach my athletes to squeeze and tighten their abs as hard as possible before
dropping into the "hole."
I learned from Dan John that the weight of a 1RM front squat should nearly equal the weight of a 1RM bench press - demonstrating
a good balance between upper and lower body strength. Dan also believes that a tabata front squat is one of the best workouts
ever.
Coach Robert dos Remedios calls the front squat the "king of lower body exercises." He writes, "No other
exercise imposes quite the demand that these place on your body. Let's take a look at some of the muscle requirements: writs,
shoulder, hip, knee, and ankle flexibility; core/torso, lower back strength and stability; balance and the obvious strength
and power demands on the entire lower body."
He continues, "Full front squats are an extremely taxing exercise that can expend a lot of energy and increase the
hormonal responses that can improve strength; there are important benefits to anyone's strength-training program. The position
of the weight makes the exercise more difficult than traditional back squats; therefore you don't need as heavy of a load
to elicit the same type of strength-gaining response from your body. Lastly, the placement of the bar also places less vertical
stress on the spine, which is very important to your health and longevity."
BLOWING KISSES also drills the standing press - a difficult, awkward lift I found we only did once a month. Me and my
athletes need more work on it, hence its inclusion in this session.
Many strength coaches like heavy unilateral work, and we do some of that with this session also. The sandbag lunges work
the legs unilaterally, and also cause the core to stabilize an unbalanced load. The 1-armed Kettlebell Clean & Press works
the shoulder and chest unilaterally.
Finally, the old tire drag is a great strongman-inspired exercise aimed at developing overall strength, work capacity,
and general physical preparedness.
- Rob Shaul
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| The mighty front squat... |
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| Sandbag lunges |
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| The standing press is a simple, yet awkward exercise. It takes practice. |
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| Strongman exercises build overall strength and work capacity. |
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