I hope you’re enjoying your weekend!

It’s been a crazy busy week with work and training.

I’ll start with a recap from my meet last weekend, followed by strength tips and 15 of the best articles from this past week.

Meet Recap

660, on the left was my opener.

Felt good, very light in my hands. I was happy with how this moved.

705, on the right. It felt good off the floor.

I missed the lift due to the bar going up and down. My callous ripped on this attempt and I think that the bar sliding in my hand was what caused the up and down.

While I didn’t get whites for the lift, it was my first competition sumo and I’m glad I locked it out.

It was a weird training cycle. A couple months out from the meet I tweaked my back and thought I would have to pull out of the meet. I ended up switching to sumo which felt much better on my back.

While I did not hit the numbers I had hoped for this time, it was still an awesome experience. I got to compete and share the platform with friends and some amazing lifters.

My back is feeling much better now and I plan on going back to conventional and hitting the platform again in March or April.

A video posted by Adam Pine (@adam_pine) on Oct 18, 2015 at 8:06pm PDT

I was really happy to see three of my clients perform exponentially well last weekend! A big congrats to Scott, Nick, and Eric for all PR’ing big at their meets!

Huge congrats to my friends and clients @schirm77 and @nicksantangelo198 for smashing PR’s and killing it at their competition today! So proud of you guys! Scott: 280/180/400 @ 165 Nick: 605/385/520 @ 198 #rpspowerlifting #rpspowerchallenge #powerlifting A photo posted by Adam Pine (@adam_pine) on Oct 17, 2015 at 6:50pm PDT

I wasn’t sure the video would fit on Instagram when he sent it to me. I want to give a huge congrats to my friend and client @rosenthalec on hitting a new PR total and grinding out one of the most badass deadlifts I’ve seen at the USAPL Raw Nationals. Absolutely awesome job! #powerlifting #deadlift #Repost @rosenthalec with @repostapp ・・・ Finished USAPL Raw Nationals with 375/275/540 in the 83kg weight class and successfully added about 30 lbs to my total from my last meet. Shown here is my 3rd squat attempt, a 10kg meet PR and 10 lb all time PR. Thank you very much to @adam_pine for the programming, coaching, and helping me stay focused through the ups and downs of training over the last few months!! #usaplrawnationals #titanbarbell

A video posted by Adam Pine (@adam_pine) on Oct 19, 2015 at 11:50am PDT

Strength Tips

 

A photo posted by Adam Pine (@adam_pine) on Oct 22, 2015 at 5:45pm PDT

Deadlifting big is all about optimizing your technique.

These are the cues I’ve used to find my strongest technique:

* Jumping stance. Feet approx hip width. Toes pointed out or straight forward depending on preference.
* Start with your shins a few inches from the bar.
* Make your arms long and grip the bar just outside your hips.
* Tight brace. Neutral spine. Big breath – 360° of air. Tight abs.
* Push your butt back to the wall behind you. Hinge your hips back as far as you can until your hamstrings stretch and prevent you from moving them any further. Shins stay relatively vertical the entire time.
* Grip the bar, back flat and lats tight. Create tension to the bar. Try to bend the bar over your knee caps.
* Use the weight as a counter balance. Keeping your weight back, use the bar to pull your hips down into place and drive your chest up. Build tension in your hamstrings.
* Mentally commit to the lift. Stay tight and be aggressive!
* *PUSH* the floor away using your legs. Drive your heels through the ground.
* Lock out hard. Squeeze your glutes to pull your hips through. Hump the bar and stand tall with a proud chest.

The slow eccentric bench press is awesome for building a big bench. When I’m benching, I imagine my arms and lats are being spring loaded. As I lower the bar my lats and arms are coiling up and I’m building so much tension in my lats, that when the weight finally touches, it feels weightless. Then using all the tension I’ve built, I use my arms to fire the weight up as fast as possible. 3X3 today with a top set of 315. The goal was to create a ton of tension and press the weight as fast as possible. #powerlifting #bench #eccentric

A video posted by Adam Pine (@adam_pine) on Oct 21, 2015 at 6:14pm PDT

Recommended Reading

1. 8 healthy ice cream recipes you have to try now. via Precision Nutrition
2. Tip: Do These 3 Heavy Movements or Stay Weak via Dan John
3. A Teacher Lost 56 Pounds Eating McDonald’s & People are Pissed via Nia Shanks
4. Overnight Success In Business and Sport via Ross Enamait
5. Tip: Do This to Make Push-Ups More Effective via Bret Contreras
6. Fitness Pollenator: AskMen.com: Reaching Your Muscular Potential via Travis Pollen
7. Why You’re Training Hard And Not Seeing Results via Jen Comas, Girls Gone Strong
8. What Is A Typical Day In Your Life? via Juggernaut Training Sysgtems
9. Anterior Humeral Glide: Preventing it to Keep You In The Game via Dean Somerset
10. Technique Tuesday: How and When to Flare the Elbows During the Bench Press via Tony Bonvechio
11. Making Movement Better: Different Paths to the Same Destination via Eric Cressey
12. 5 Critical Coaching Cues, Confused via Greg Robins
13. 5 Tips for Your 1st Meet via Chad Wesley Smith, Juggernaut Training Systems
14. Weight Training For Women: What You Need To Know via JCD Fitness
15. Emotional State of Lifting via Adam Pine