july 29, 2002
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1.....RICKEY DALE says.....
good day to all............and the heat goes on and on and on.....adversity is what makes you better...it is what makes you a champion as you overcome it........so when it comes...always look at it as a way to grow and become better..........
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........
also....."the weightlifting discussion board" url is below....a great discussion board.............
http://www.weightliftingdiscussion.com/cgi-bin/wdb.cgi?
the answer to the trivia question is HIPC or the hawaii international powerlifting championships......many of you guessed the record breakers or budweiser record breakers...which is what the name became later on.........and the winners were travis werner of lafayette, louisiana......joe scalzitti of downers grove, illinois....and rick "ten times world champ trivia winner" fowler....of granite city, illinois.....way to go guys..........
and this week's trivia question for next week's winner of the famous CMW t-shirt..........is.....?????.....
what is the name of a famous supplement of the 40's...50's...60's....and 70's.........that was revered by bodybuilders and olympic lifters and powerlifters alike...as the best product on the market at the time.....
below is a pic of ryan kennelly's 749 second attempt this past weekend, that he smoked..........i was in awe........
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 PERFECT
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closing out all the used dumbells and plates........call for prices and availability of stock.......
4.....NUTRITION and SUPPLEMENTS.....you are what you eat.....
some interesting products are starting to emerge again over the past few years........little or no RESEARCH CAN BE FOUND ON THEM...but i am sure more will emerge........i am taling about the isoflavones.........we will see if they can do what they say.......if they can..it will put an end to the andro products most likely...
.....and check out the incredible supplement specials at
www.crainsmuscleworld.com/supplements.html
5.....PARTING THOUGHTS.....
well another day another dollar..........
good day to all....til next week....
IN HIS NAME
Rickey Dale Crain, b.b.a., i.s.s.a.
IPF/WPC/AAU World Champion
2000 powerlifting hall of fame inductee
CRAIN'S MUSCLE WORLD, LIMITED
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rcrain@charter.net
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