It seems I’ve stirred up a lot of interest with the GPP and especially the Powerlifting articles.  A few  people had forgotten the advantages of building a substantial strength base and appreciated  sophistication of the “tri-ring” formula applied to the important conventional movements.  In the following series, I’ll be addressing the queries on the application of the Circular Strength Training  protocols to the seemingly primitive but unparalleled strength building movements.

We’ll start with what I consider the king of all powerlifting movements – the Deadlift.  I honestly think that this is the daddy of strength training. Whereas the pec’s, abs, biceps are what not get you laid; the back, tri’s, glutes and hamstrings will get you paid!  Yes, despite what conventional fitness modalities would have you believe, humans are rear wheel drive,  our power is primarily from the posterior chain.  Nothing will develop the backside of your body in a more functional movement pattern than pulling a heavily loaded bar off the floor as in the Deadlift.

The brutish strength, confidence and just flat out alpha type feel you get from ripping monstrous poundages off the floor with your bare hands is just hard to match.

The Deadlift, being a compound movement, utilises nearly every major muscle of your body:
• Spinal Erectors
• Quads
• Glutes
• Hamstrings
• Lower Back
• Middle and Upper Trapezius
• Abdominals and Obliques
• Lats
• Calves

Manning up (even if you are a woman) and  getting properly acquainted with this movement will ensure you’ll be doing away with 60% of the machinery in your local gym!  Wave goodbye to your leg press and smith machine and shake hands with your new found crushing grip strength with the pulling and lifting strength developed through diligent practice of this incredible lift.

This lift is so great that it will even affect you on the bio-chemical level.  The multi joint, compound lifts such as this have been shown to stimulate release of testosterone and growth hormone, the two essential chemicals, if an increase in lean muscle, strength and fat loss is your goal – as it should be!

I personally have a lot to thank the Deadlift for.  Years ago, I was plagued with patellofemoral pain and a host of other problems at the knee, hip, ankle, and lower back; the worst being an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear which required a replacement ligament from my hamstring.  This, I later discovered, was a general weakness in the posterior chain and in particular my bicep femoris (hamstrings).  I spent time with the good old leg curl machine, but make no mistake my friends – although this piece of seemingly suitable apparatus looks like a perfect fit for my needs, it does not require a co contraction of the glutes and hamstrings, works in the open chain and occurs in a fixed line of motion.  Our bodies are a little smarter than that and crave the closed chain, truly functional movement like the deadlift (and its variations) over some piece of selectorised equipment!  My knees have been pain and injury free since – even post-surgery!

How to Deadlift Video

Here is what you’ll see in the video:

Mobility/movement primer

Explanation of the 7 key components in relation to the Deadlift

Conventional Deadlift stance

Distance from bar

Hip placement / posture

Hip fold movement

Power breathing causing bracing, intra-abdominal pressure

Grip (over/over and over/under) considerations

Concentric phase

Eccentric phase

Head posture, where to keep your gaze during the lift

Compensatory movement – down dog – to decompress and rebalance the body by working the functional opposite movement.

Extra tips

Footwear

When deadlifting, resist the urge to wear your favourite Nike Max or any other shoe that looks like an astronaut should wear it.  Instead, opt for a shoe that gives you the ability to actually feel the floor and get some kind of feedback on correct weight distribution, foot position and placement. Flat, thin soled footwear like Chuck Taylor’s, wrestling shoes, UGS (Universal Grappling Shoes) or Vibram Five Fingers – like the ones I wear in the video – are the way to go.  When you start lifting some serious weight, you’ll be glad you are not doing so from and unstable, thick soled platform!

Do NOT use gloves!  Your swanky weight lifting gloves will inhibit the reflexes in your hands stopping you from gripping the bar as hard as you normally would and prevent you from recruiting the maximum amount of muscle fibres throughout the body.   They also look ridiculous. You want to grip the bar better? Then invest in some chalk.  If you want to complain about rough and calloused hands – I don’t want to hear it!

As for the weight belt – just don’t do it to yourself. The job of the core is to contain the pressure you create through your use of correct power breathing and in turn, stabilise the spine. Wearing the belt will be robbing your midsection of its responsibilities whist making you look silly in the process. Consistent use of the belt will teach your body to function incorrectly and become reliant on its use. Unless you walk around all day wearing one…..which is not cool.

Special considerations

Maintaining the correct back position – a tight arch in the lumbar spine – is imperative to efficient and safe performance of the Deadlift.  Rounding of the lower back is not permitted during this movement and has been the reason for many a destroyed back.  If you cannot maintain correct alignment in the spine then may I suggest strengthening the back with an exercise like the Good Morning.  Failing that, search out a good coach and get to the root of the problem.  This is a great exercise ONLY when performed properly!

Now go and get beastly strong – enjoy!

Below is a testimonial from the man himself:

“I have been grappling and cross training martial arts for many years including, BJJ, Wrestling, Judo, Tae Kwon Do, K1, Muay Thai, all for MMA. I have developed my skills enough to secure a British MMA Title, but always looking for ways to improve my chances of success in the cage. I have known Vik Hothi for many years, but never knew until very recently that he has achieved black belt status in Sambo. He is humble and never one to brag. I have heard about this art and the devastating leg locks, so naturally i was keen to find out more. I asked Vik if he would hold a seminar at my gym Fight Science. He agreed and we were all completely amazed. He is a fantastic instructor as well as being an awesome practitioner of the Sambo art. I am now on a quest to reach the black belt grade through Viks instruction. Amazing guy, amazing coach, very inspirational and someone whom i would fully recommend.”

Nick “The Headhunter” Chapman, Managing Director at Fight Science Limited, UK      MMA Champion.

There’s a lot of misinformation about powerlifting and its main movements such as the deadlift, squat, bench press barbell rows. I believe that these have come from uneducated trainers, people looking at the SPORT of powerlifting and the athletes involved in that, weak people who want an excuse to not be strong or new age yogis.

Just like with ANY training protocol there are chances of injuries and over specifications – especially with training programmes asking for increased loads over a training cycle. At the beginning stage of powerlifting, the movements are performed with relative ease and a low level of skill in order to see and feel progressions in physique and strength.  As the neuromuscular system and the body get strong quite quickly when powerlifting (perhaps more than most exercising protocols) the ego gets massaged and the excitement coupled with the alluring promise of Herculean strength ensures the inevitable – over training and injury soon follow as the athlete attempts to match the previous weeks success.

Make no mistake, this will happen with bodyweight, kettlebell and even clubbell movements if workouts are not structured properly – it’s just a lot more obvious when you are attempting to lift your bodyweight over your head, such as in an overhead press or ripping triple your bodyweight off the floor with a deadlift.

Correct cycling within a routine, rep range, times under tension etc. Is incredibly important to continual and injury free progress during a powerlifting cycle.  Knowing when to push the poundage is not nearly as important as knowing when to push yourself AWAY from it.  Cutting back on your poundage in order to work your way back up and exceed your previous best lifts is an essential skill learnt through trial and error or taught to you by a knowledgeable and thoughtful coach.

I’ve also heard the ill-informed mention that the movements are unnatural for the human body and “excessive” weight bearing is bad for our joints and structure.  That the “performance breathing” will cause horrible internal injuries, so it’s best to keep using your colour coded Ken & Barbie kettlebells in “functional” movement patterns in order to get the body and the athleticism you you’ve always wanted.  Try telling that to your ancestors.  I wonder, if they couldn’t cut down and pick up materials (weight bearing squats, pressing), throw spears hunting and picking up boar or dear (pressing,lunges and squats), would  those same “experts” still be around today to advise the public not to perform the movements that ensured the continuation of their bloodline!

Power breathing also has its place.  Whereas I think it’s totally overused in workouts nowadays (I’ve personally seen gym goers hissing away while pulling away on a pink Dynaband!), power breathing when performing heavy lifts ensures the rise in intra-abdominal pressure, creating a ‘virtual weight lifting belt’ which braces the core and protects the spine.  Imagine pressing your body weight or more over your head without a strong and sturdy core – it would give you a one way ticket to my osteopath.  And he charges a lot!

After figuring out how you are going to cycle your workouts, rep ranges, etc. We can now move on to performance of the workout and the individual exercises in a safe and progressive manner.

(Ring 1) Starting the workout with movement(s) to specifically prime the joints and movement pattern for the individual exercise has been found to aid significantly in the prevention of injury and prepared the athlete (physically and mentally) for the work ahead.  This will ensure that the correct and safe ranges of motion and form can be maintained for that particular exercise.  This is very different to stretching the muscles before performing power lifting movements, as stretching will destabilize the joints. You want to be mobile but not loose.

(Ring 2) Next will be the actual performance of the individual exercises.  Despite the powerlifting movements looking brutish and basic in nature (and they kind of are at the beginner stage of training) there must still be quite a few technical points for you to adhere to to ensure the safe passage to the island of strength.

The best, easiest to assimilate and safest way to proceed is to use the 7 Key components. The 7KC were taught to me by one of my coaches, Scott Sonnon, who uses this as a measure for good quality athletic movement. Any time you see good quality movement, you’ll be able to identify them by noticing the following:

The 7 key components from the ground up are:

-Leg drive (pushing away from the earth with the legs)

-Hip recruitment (making sure to drive through with the hips)

-Core activation (by power breathing)

-Crown to coccyx alignment (top of the head to tail bone)

-Shoulder pack (keeping the arm “sucked” in to the shoulder socket)

-Elbow position/lock

-Grip confirmation/wrist alignment.

The final piece of the puzzle is the decompressing and compensating of the weight bearing movements.

(Ring 3) Working the body in the functional opposite direction is a lot different from merely performing a couple of random stretches after a heavy set.  Specifically designed or assigned yoga movements can be used here.  The selected exercises are performed not by merely holding the pose but actively working in the functional opposite movement pattern for strengthening it, whilst the worked movement pattern is forced to “relax” off and decompress.  Following this process will also ensure that your joints will stay lubricated and mobile after being compressed by the weight.

Adhering to the 7KC will have you performing PB’s (personal best) lifts like a pro safely and efficiently.  The joint mobility and yoga movements will mobilise and rebalance the body ensuring that the athlete doesn’t experience the over specification so feared by the functional trainer.

Keep these points in mind when performing these primal but important lifts and create a solid foundation of strength and general physical preparedness that your future sophisticated programs can truly build upon.

Note* power breathing has been shown to increase blood pressure, so do get checked by your doctor to make sure it’s safe for you to perform the lifts and use this breathing technique.  Also, weightlifters sometimes suffer from Valsalva retinopathy. This is a haemorrhage of the retina caused by holding your breath while “pushing”.  While the damage isn’t usually permanent, it’s still something to think about.  If you have vision problems after an intense lifting session, you now know the reason.

Many of my new clients like the idea of lifting kettlebells and swinging clubbells, training and possessing increased levels of sophistication but can’t do 10 pushups, a single pull-up or get tired walking across the room – that’s where GPP or General Physical Preparedness  training comes in!

“GPP training serves several functions: 1) the formation, strengthening or restoration of habits (skills) which play an auxiliary, facilitory role in sports perfectioning. 2) As a means of educating abilities, developed insufficiently by the selected type of sport, raising the general work capacity or preserving it. 3) As active rest, assisting the restoration processes after significant, specific loading and counteracting the monotony of the training. These functions define the role of the general-preparatory exercises in the athlete’s training system.” (Medvedeyev, 1988)

GPP can be done in many different ways but over the years i’ve seen time and again the the heavy, basic natural movements are the way to go. Cant beat them. Squat, deadlift, some kind of rowing or pulling movement (barbell rows/pull-ups) and a pressing movement like the over head press or the bench press, will be the strength base that everything can platform off.

Providing these movements are done with the correct instruction, the benefits can be great. Increased strength, fixing imbalances, the ability to attain greater levels of flexibility safely and increased cardio are all rewards for time spent lifting real iron. Once you’ve really studied these brutally basic movements you’ll discover that they too can be performed with there own level of sophistication.

GPP isn’t just for the new and uninitiated but also for the athlete or weekend warrior who’s moved up the pyramid performing and spending more time on other, more sophisticated levels of training. You will actually bring your increased and developed motor functions to the more “traditional” exercises and be able to perform them with greater efficiency, less chance of injury and with better results.

A lot of coaches will argue if GPP is even necessary! Many say that it is not and that that an athlete’s time is better spent on their sport. In my findings and opinion, i have found that purely training for one’s sport will all but ensure over specification and weakness.

And if you’re in the sport of LIFE, then creating a large enough (GPP) base that everything else can easily platform off is a must for a heathy, pain free journey up the sophistication ladder.

I like revisiting and increasing my foundational level of strength, VO2 max and various corrective exercises every year as it ensures that I am able to endure the rigorous of the specific training I put my body through. One of my teachers, Scott Sonnon, is often quoted in saying ‘be more prepared than the challenges you face’ and i think that describes this whole subject perfectly.

If i’m entering a grappling competition where i’ll be suplexing 85kilo fighters I want to be deadlifting/squatting double that. Not only then will I be able to safely perform specific power-metric movements (increasing my explosiveness) in preparation for contest day but also to endure the months of training leading up to that day. Possessing strength in the bank will help with long, injury free training camps.

GPP isn’t specific to strength training or cardio but for me, going back and performing basic levels of Intuflow (joint mobility) really concentrating on deepening my practice focusing on flexibility (the rebalancing benefits of deep yoga practice) and getting treatments with an osteopath or structural integration practitioner are all important pieces of this base level puzzle.

Cultivating something I like call Essential Life Force (ELF) energy (others call it ‘Prana‘ or ‘Chi’)  by meditating, yogic and chi kung breathing exercises, crystal healing and spending more time with friends and family are incredibly important and beneficial. Life, the world and everything that happens within it can drain you, stress you out and can leave you drained emotionally and spiritually (which will obviously affect you physically) and investing in some active recovery for you mind as well as your body can go a long way in preventing burn out and illness.

Don’t be scared to revisit and spend some quality time with GPP – your body, mind and spirit will thank you for it!