POWERMAG.ORG
april 15, 2002
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1.....RICKEY DALE says.....
good day to all......a brand new week.......congrats to all the national collegiates champs over the weekend......must
have been tough training for a meet through the spring break...now that takes dedication....
i would like to talk off the top of my head...............i hope i do not offend anyone but...............lifting/powerlifting/bb
terminology in general is getting ridiculous................everyone is trying to impress everyone else with all
the big scientific words they know...when in most cases it only confuses the average lifter.................and
the beginning lifter feels like a complete fool......and the older lifter just laughs....because he knows they
usually do not know what they are talking about anyway......
i realize if one has a phd in a subject he has a tendency to talk like that...but pleeeeeeeeeeease........for someone
with a high school education....save the spiel for the higher ups in the area of elite academia......(or should
i say for the smart ones...)
seems like everything has initials now.......i am going to catch a quick ptw (partial training workout) for my
uws (usual weekly session) for this week...are you doing the rdcfrw (rickey dale crain flab riddance workout) to
work your nmb (non-existent muscled brain) or??????
get real...talk in english....nobody is impressed when you talk about compensatory acceleration and can't even
spell the word bench press right......
so...get back to the basics.......everyone will be more impressed with your knowledge if you know what you are
tallking about than if you are using big scientific terms and have no clue?????
'nuff said ....now onto the meat (or should i have said amino acid enhanced bovine).....?????
2.....POWERLIFTING PARAPHERNALIA.....TRIVIA and STUPID QUESTION OF THE WEEK........
and the answer was $5.00....all entries were 5.00............and the winners are jeff parks from sheperdsville,
kentucky.......and HE WAS IT.......... THE PAST 3-4 WEEKS THEY ARE GETTING TOUGH...HUH??
and this week's trivia question is.....?????.....WHAT WAS THE FIRST TRUE POWER BAR CALLED?????????
also....."the weightlifting discussion board" has moved....see the new url below....some of you may
have been floating around for a week or two...wondering where everyone went....well now you know....
http://www.weightliftingdiscussion.com/cgi-bin/wdb.cgi?
3.....FORM.....STYLE.....TECHNIQUE.....and ROUTINES.....
"If You Look Like A Clown In Training,
You Will Perform Like One In The Meet!"
~Me~
In all honesty I really believe that in some of the contests that I won, I wasn't the strongest, but I was the
smartest and had the best form and style. In executing the lifts better, I utilized my strength to its utmost in
perfection, and won! But I'm sure I lost a few for the same reason, that is, not executing proper form and style.
Everybody's structure can and does dictate different form and style, but some things are the same for the majority
of most lifters.
Now let's take a look at the following:
-Hand and Bar Placement
-Feet Placement
-Walk Out and Set Up
-Head Placement
-Breathing
-Flexing Certain Muscles
-Thinking and Concentrating Through the Lift From Beginning to
Finish
Important: Make sure all equipment is on and fitted properly. Everything must be in place to avoid injury!
Okay, let's go through this and hope I did not miss anything.
Do most of your psyching up away from the bar. By the time you get to the bar you want to be concentrating as much
as possible on the set up and execution of the lift and not on your mental state. If you are not psyched up when
beginning the squat it is just too late--You are already defeated!
-Hand Placement
A person's structure and size has alot to do with hand placement. A rule of thumb is, the closer in, the better.
You should allow some support of the weight to transfer to the arms, wrist, and shoulders and the more narrow the
grip the more this is possible.
Smaller framed people will be able to have a closer grip than a bigger person, i.e. Phil Hile can put his hands
closer together than Bill Kazmaier. Grip the bar tight. The tighter the grip, the less pressure put upon the wrist,
as well as elbows and shoulders. Also the bar will not roll, which can cause form problems and injuries. If your
shoulders, wrist , or elbows hurt, try tilting your elbows up as you get under the bar, or rotate your hands to
an inward angle grip and/or move your grip out. The wider the grip the more you probably will have to turn your
hands in at an angle. I disagree with the false grip, as well as, a grip holding onto the collars. You do not have
as much control and the bar must sit higher on your neck as opposed to lower down your back, which will hurt your
leverage points.....but nothing is for sure. The key is to be and feel tight and make the bar as secure as possible
on your back. This will allow you to sit into it and utilize your hips and lower back more. You should not squat
upright utilizing legs ONLY. Only a few people are so big they cannot grip the bar fully and squeeze the bar inside
the collars thus making them utilize this technique. Walk under the bar, elbows high, squeezing the bar tight and
pull yourself under the bar with the bar about 1 to 2 inches below the deltoid or shoulder. There is a little groove
for it to set in - you may have to experiment to find it. Or ask from an experienced lifter to help. After the
bar is sitting tight on your back, set your feet side by side or one just ahead of the other (this is the preferable
method) to get ready to lift up and walk out. (And OH, don't forget to chalk your back good enough to help keep
the bar from slipping down your back)....take a very deep breath, squeeze your hands, shoulders, stomach and push
up. Walk out with minimal amount of steps, 2-3 at the most. Practice your walk out with lighter weight as you warm-up
to perfect it; to get into the habit of doing it right every time! After walking out and setting up make sure your
feet are at the proper distance apart - now you ask what is the proper distance. Hopefully you have some idea what
is comfortable and best suited to your body structure and strengths, but in case you haven't a clue as to what
planet we are now on here goes with a few helpful suggestions.
-Shorter people usually are narrower
-Taller people further apart
-Short back and long leg people; i.e. Lamar Gant and Jarmo Virtanen can use either form of feet placement.
Look at this chart to summarize stances:
Short Back Medium Back Long Back
Short Legs Med/Wide Medium/Wide Short/Medium
Medium Legs Med/Wide Med/Wide Short/Medium
Long Legs Narrow/Med/Wide Medium Short/Medium
This is only a generalization - there is a reason for the above - It would take 5 pages to discuss it and give
the reasons - If you really want to know ...Call Me - We'll talk.
Hip, leg and back strength also dictate the stance - Below is a chart to show it! Depending on where your strong
points come from.
Strength comes from: HIPS LEGS BACK
Stance: wide wide/med med/narrow
After walking out and setting up.....LOOK UP!!! or at least OUT!!! but NEVER DOWN!!!
Now your head can be in 1 of 4 places.
1. Looking way up - For people with wider stances and the
bar higher on their back.
2. Looking out - For the most or the average lifter.
3. Looking down - For the closer stance squatter with the
bar lower on his back.
4. Looking at the mat - With a flat face! Showing you
screwed up and haven't listened to anything I've
said to you!!!
You should still be holding a DEEP BREATH from setting up..... Make sure as you get ready to descend (that means
to go down for some of you) you are flexing your stomach, hands, neck, face,..... all upper body parts, etc.
As you are going
D
O
W
N
push your knees out a bit,(not forward)
chest out, shoulders back, buttocks
back (causing a small arch in your back)
and DESCEND!
At the bottom of the lift, your shins should be almost vertical and your knees are over your ankles. Michael Bridges
made this popular by giving it a name "The Bridges Flair", even though it has been a part of my form
for 30+ years.
As you approach your bottom point - where the imaginary line from the top of your knee to your hip joint breaks
parallel - you pull yourself through the point with a slight BOUNCE and then DRIVE UP with your upper body, hands,
arms, legs, hips, back,..... otherwise with EVERYTHING YOU OWN!
Sometimes the imaginary line is more imaginary than at other times depending on how much you paid the referees
or whether you are dating his sister or daughter.
Any way.....as you stand up (or get scraped up, whatever the case may be) after completing the lift, go ahead and
walk forward racking the bar. Hopefully the spotters aren't taking a lunch break and will help you a bit-NO! HOPEFULLY
ALOT!!
Stop, Walk, Rack and Breath! Finally it's over.
A FEW VITAL POINTS TO REMEMBER!
Squat slow and under control,
FORM IS EVERYTHING
Always squeeze the bar
Always squeeze your abs (stomach),
OR AB
whatever the case may be
ALWAYS SQUEEZE EVERYTHING
(or something)
PRACTICE MAKES ALMOST PERFECTXIAMEI
closing out all the used dumbells and plates........call for prices and availability of stock.......
4.....NUTRITION and SUPPLEMENTS.....you are what you eat.....
ONCE AGAIN......flu, cold and allergy season is upon us.......keep that vitamin c complex coming........to help
ward off all the bad stuff that can mess up your training..........
just a few boxes or oat bars left at .75 each..........
.....and check out the incredible supplement specials at
www.crainsmuscleworld.com/supplements.html
5.....PARTING THOUGHTS.....
it is great to hear from old powerlifting buddies.......and one is coming out of retirement again for the 10th
maybe 12th time.........phil trujillo of fort collins, colorado........runner-up of the 1976 senior nationals and
a 300 pound bencher at 132......26 years ago.....
he is making a comeback once again and i am sure you will see some masters records bite the dust again.....good
luck phil......dad ...says hi...............
AND TIL NEXT WEEK....................
IN HIS NAME
Rickey Dale Crain, b.b.a., i.s.s.a.
CRAIN'S MUSCLE WORLD, LIMITED
www.crainsmuscleworld.com
APPLETREE MINISTRY
www.appletreeministry.com
3803 North Bryan Road
Shawnee, Oklahoma 74804-2314 USA
800-272-0051
405-275-3689
405-275-3739 fax
405-627-0134 cell
crain@ionet.net
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