MULE
New member
I just purchased a grappler from Lou Simmons and it got me thinking how important core movements really are. This is not a Westside commercial but I have to tell you I really like this piece of equipment. If you are a powerlifter or an athlete of any kind the grappler should be part of your weekly workout.
Your core strength is the basis for all your power, this can be the difference between a good squat and a great squat and many lifters do not honestly spend a lot of time working their core. Lets be honest how many of you devote time to sit ups, sled dragging, side bends etc. I’m sure not a lot, and why is this? Because core work is hard work. It’s a lot easier to lay down on a bench and do some reps than it is to do 4 sets of 25 weighted side bends, or to do trunk twists until you feel your sides ache.
I decided to do an experiment this year with core work. I recently became the strength coach of our local high school wrestling team and decided to try the theory out on them. I wanted to see if I eliminated there basic lifts ie: squat bench dead, power clean and replaced them with another movement would they continue to get strong at that lift and if so how much. Theses kids were very easy to train and as with all new lifters gains come very fast so they stayed very motivated. The ages range from 15-18 and body weight from 95 lbs to 150lbs. None of these kids have ever had any formal weight training. They were all tested the first week on al lifts. The first eight weeks were devoted to technique on power cleans flat bench, squats and deadlifts. They worked out 3 days a week and every work out started with sled dragging. They make three trips 200ft in each direction with 145 lbs on an 80lb sled. They would then move onto cleans, squats, bench, or deadlifts. On squats they started with a set of purple bands immediately and each using a different bar weight for 10 sets of 3 the same was done with the bench. We used a five sets of 3 for the power cleans and deadlifts. The next three weeks instead of squats they did plyometric work on 4 different boxes ranging from 16-27 inches all while holding a 20or 40 lb medicine ball they flipped either a 350 or a 500 lb tire for 3sets of 5 in place of deadlifts and did an over head keg toss in place of power cleans. Sit ups, weighted pull ups, weighted dips, trunk twists on the grappler, chain suspended push ups, the rev hyper and glute ham raises were all done twice a week and each workout ended with three trips again with the sled. They were all tested and after 6 weeks total there squat improved by no less than 20% there benches and average of 15-18% there deadlifts 20% and there power cleans 10-13%. The lightest lifter at 95 lbs squatted 235 and the biggest at 150 sqautted 385 all lifters made there lifts raw with only a belt.
I was really pleased with the results and not only did the kids obtain a load of functional strength they had a variety of exercises to do and this keeps there workouts fun. Now these are wrestlers, not powerlifters, and they are all new to lifting in general so after some extended time under the bar the results will be much less, but it just goes to show you how important it is to keep your core strength up. These kids not only maintained strength in each lift but improved considerably.
(A side note here all squats were done of a parallel box, bands and chains were utilized for deadlifting, squatting and benching.) If you want to up your squat, bench press or deadlift, throw in some extra core work and treat it as serious as you would your main movements. Thanks to Lou Simmons for some great ideas and a great piece of equipment.
Your core strength is the basis for all your power, this can be the difference between a good squat and a great squat and many lifters do not honestly spend a lot of time working their core. Lets be honest how many of you devote time to sit ups, sled dragging, side bends etc. I’m sure not a lot, and why is this? Because core work is hard work. It’s a lot easier to lay down on a bench and do some reps than it is to do 4 sets of 25 weighted side bends, or to do trunk twists until you feel your sides ache.
I decided to do an experiment this year with core work. I recently became the strength coach of our local high school wrestling team and decided to try the theory out on them. I wanted to see if I eliminated there basic lifts ie: squat bench dead, power clean and replaced them with another movement would they continue to get strong at that lift and if so how much. Theses kids were very easy to train and as with all new lifters gains come very fast so they stayed very motivated. The ages range from 15-18 and body weight from 95 lbs to 150lbs. None of these kids have ever had any formal weight training. They were all tested the first week on al lifts. The first eight weeks were devoted to technique on power cleans flat bench, squats and deadlifts. They worked out 3 days a week and every work out started with sled dragging. They make three trips 200ft in each direction with 145 lbs on an 80lb sled. They would then move onto cleans, squats, bench, or deadlifts. On squats they started with a set of purple bands immediately and each using a different bar weight for 10 sets of 3 the same was done with the bench. We used a five sets of 3 for the power cleans and deadlifts. The next three weeks instead of squats they did plyometric work on 4 different boxes ranging from 16-27 inches all while holding a 20or 40 lb medicine ball they flipped either a 350 or a 500 lb tire for 3sets of 5 in place of deadlifts and did an over head keg toss in place of power cleans. Sit ups, weighted pull ups, weighted dips, trunk twists on the grappler, chain suspended push ups, the rev hyper and glute ham raises were all done twice a week and each workout ended with three trips again with the sled. They were all tested and after 6 weeks total there squat improved by no less than 20% there benches and average of 15-18% there deadlifts 20% and there power cleans 10-13%. The lightest lifter at 95 lbs squatted 235 and the biggest at 150 sqautted 385 all lifters made there lifts raw with only a belt.
I was really pleased with the results and not only did the kids obtain a load of functional strength they had a variety of exercises to do and this keeps there workouts fun. Now these are wrestlers, not powerlifters, and they are all new to lifting in general so after some extended time under the bar the results will be much less, but it just goes to show you how important it is to keep your core strength up. These kids not only maintained strength in each lift but improved considerably.
(A side note here all squats were done of a parallel box, bands and chains were utilized for deadlifting, squatting and benching.) If you want to up your squat, bench press or deadlift, throw in some extra core work and treat it as serious as you would your main movements. Thanks to Lou Simmons for some great ideas and a great piece of equipment.
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