AboutVveth Hammer Expertise I can answer questions relateing to practical strength training, that is, training that you can actually use. sports. martial arts or just wanting to satisfy the instinct to be powerful, I can assist you.
Experience I have trained for jiujitsu, for military and street combat, I have trained others to adapt to physically hard jobs, for martial arts and team sports. I know what really works.
I have been reading many of your answers and you seem to train the way i train. I am a 17year old male, i weight 11 stone.
My main goal is to get some awesome strength that will carry over into every day life, my current Lifting Stats are a 160kg Deadlift and a 60kg Standing Overhead Press.
My goals are lately to overhead press 70kg, and Deadlift 180kg.
I can only train once per week.
My current routine has been as follows...(once per week)
Week 1
Sumo Deadlift 80percent of max 5x3
Conventional Deadlifts from blocks just below the knees, 1x3
Overhead Press 80percent of max 5x3
Week 2
Sumo Deadlift 85percent of max 3x2
Conventional Deadlifts from blocks just below the knees, 1x3
Overhead Press 85percent of max 5x2
Week 3
Sumo Deadlift 90percent of max 3x1
Conventional Deadlifts from blocks just below the knees, 1x3
Overhead Press 90percent of max 3x1
Week 4 start the cycle again but with a slightly heavier weight for each stage.
What do you think of this routine?
Also Sumo Deadlifts are the style of deadlift i use, are these a good deadlift to use for power and stregnth or are they more for the competing powerlifter? I find them more comfortable than the regular deadlift, but i see allot of people say they are "Easier" and not a true show of strength, which puts my confidence in them low. I use the conventional block pulls just to make sure i hit the back some more, with the legs being hit pretty tough in the sumos.
Hope to hear from you soon
Thanks.
ANSWER: sumo deadlifts are easier for some of us only because of the way we are built, I know people who can't pull as much with the sumo style as they can with the conventional .
I personally do sumo deadlifts exclusivly as it fits my physique and because of that is the safest way to for me to lift.
I think your routine is excellant.
I use singles in my lifting and usually lift once a week as well.
I like to do pulls with an over or under(curl) grip, if you can hold 500 pounds with your palms faceing out, you can do most any task in the world you'd ever be doing outside the gym..people come looking for me all the time..to move their refrigerators or whatever heavy awckward thing they want moved...
keep pulling and pushing, I think you're doing it RIGHT !
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QUESTION: Thanks Vveth for the quick answer, muchly appreciated. So as i am doing the sumo deadlifts do i really need the Conventional pulls of the block or would you think that Sumos strengthen the back, legs and core enough?
Say in a few weeks after christmas when the cold winter sets in, i might try and bulk up a bit, i have Pavels book and for bulking up he advises the BEAR routine, you are probably familiar with this, i may try that or maybe do deadlifts and presses for 10 to 15 sets of 2reps once a week, what are your views on this?
Answer I used to do a version of that "bear" routine...I did 30 sets of 3 reps.
one routine consisted of powerclean and press only...another was cleanpull and overhead press, superset for the 30x3. I always muscled up on these programs. I would lift on monday-friday one week and wednsday the next...and my job was hot physical work so I stayed pretty lean while bulking the muscle.
I think given enough weight, the sumo's alone might cover everything, but listen to your own body, only you can determine what's working for you.
