"SUCKER MEAT"

Objective: Power/Strength

Warm up: 4x Barbell Complex - (75#, 85#, 95#, 105#)
6 reps each of:
Dead lift
Row
Hang Power Clean
Front Squat
Push Press
Back Squat
Push up

Training:

(1) Work up to 1RM Push Press

(2) 5 Rounds
5x Push Press @ 75% 1RM
15-foot Rope Climb

(3) 30-20-10
Pull ups
Elevated Push ups

(4) 7 Rounds
20m Walking Lunge holding 2x 20kg kettlebells
30m Sled Push

Comments

Self promotion is easy. Admitting limitations is another matter. Here's what our training can't do.

1) We can't train forearm and grip strength and endurance nearly as well as a rock gym. This sport-specific strength takes time to train, and a rock gym is a perfect place to do it. I believe elite rock climbers can benefit greatly from doing dead lifts and sandbag getups, but they can't ignore the required time spent in a rock gym training grip and forearm strength.

2) We can't prepare you for multiple long days strung together. I've done one 23 1/2-hour push training like this and was strong the whole way, but the next day, I was hammered. I couldn't have done another in a row. This type of training is no shortcut around long, slow endurance training in the field. This is something Gym Jones has identified also.

3) We can lay an elite foundation for overall strength and conditioning, but we are no substitute for sport-specific strength & conditioning. This means that if you want to compete in a kayak competition, you need to spend time on the water paddling around. And as the competition gets closer, you need to spend more and more time on the water developing sport specific strength and less time in the gym. Remember, training in the gym is "artificial" training designed to complement and enhance sport specific training in the field.

About "Sucker Meat" -

While the push press seems to be a basic exercise, in practice, I find it much more difficult. We go heavy today - all the way up to a 1-rep max, but then back down for 25 total reps at 75% of the 1RM. This weight is about right - heavy enough to challenge the athlete, but light enough to help "grease the groove" and learn the lift.

The lunge/sled push combo at the end is a crushing experience. Go heavy on the lunges - I used 2x 20kg kettlbells, and also heavy on the sled push. You should be gasping for air and walking a little funny between rounds.

If you don't have a sled, a tire drag, hill sprint, or even 30-seconds of jingle jangles is a substitute.

Here's a question I received via e-mail:

QUESTION: Rob, I've been going over your site and especially like your input in the comments section explaining the reasoning behind the workouts. That kind of information is invaluable and on behave of us "DIY folks", thanks for the info. One thing I noticed and wanted to ask was about the Snatch and OHS. I don't see if in too many workouts at your gym. You definitely seem to focus more on the Clean, DL, and Presses. Is there any reason for this? Or, am I just missing it? I've found OHS to be the hardest thing for me to do/learn. Just curious.
Ray, Durango, Colorado

ANSWER/COMMENT:

We used to do snatches and overhead squats, but I've subconciously moved away from them. Here are what I think are the reasons:

1) Learning Curve - It does take time to learn the snatch and overhead squat - more I believe than the clean, and front squat. At some point, I've got to decide if the pay off is worth the time in the gym. The Snatch and OHS are great exercises, but how much time do you have to spend learning the lifts before you can start "training" with them? As you've discovered, these are technical lifts that take some time to coach and perfect.

Is the snatch better than the clean at building explosive power? Is the OHS better than the front squat at building quad and core strength? Both these lifts will be loaded a lot less than the clean and front squat - so that has to be taken into account.

In other words, does doing a bunch of snatches and OHSs make you better at anything else, other than doing snatches and OHSs?

There's a classic crossfit video of Annie doing more overhead squats with 95# than some big 250# guy. The goal of the video was to show that Annie was stronger than this fella. But in the video, you can clearly see that it wasn't the guy's legs that failed, it was his shoulders. Later I heard him interviewed and he said that at the time the video was shot, he wasn't doing overhead squats in his own training, and he simply didn't have the shoulder flexibility Annie did to rap out a bunch of reps. In other words, Annie's "victory" in the OHS contest had as much to do with her familiarity with the lift as her fitness.

Because these are technical lifts, they need practice - lots of it. You can't just do them once per month.

Dan John has written that he feels it's easier to teach the snatch than the clean. I'm not sure I disagree with him - lately the clean has been pretty hard to teach .... - but I did notice when I mentored at his school that he didn't start teaching snatches until the second semester - after his kids already had plenty of time under the bar.

All that being said - Dan's "The Drill" of a power snatch followed by an overhead squat is an incredible exercise. We used to do it a lot and I'm thinking we should move back to it with my more experienced lifter.

Sorry for the long-winded non-answer, Ray.

- Rob

Heavy lunges...

Marybeth tackles the rope climb.

Push press - simple, hard, work.

Dig, Dig, Dig!