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PUBLISHER CrossFit NorCal DESIGN Greg Everett www.greg-everett.com COVER Annie Sakamoto Photo by Greg Everett BACKISSUES Backissues are available at www.crosstnorcal.com THE PERFORMANCE MENU is published monthly and distributed exclusively to subscribers by CrossFit NorCal. Yearly subscriptions can be purchased for $25.00. Visit www.crossfitnorcal.com for more information. CROSSFIT NORCAL PO Box 5501 Chico, CA 95927 www.crosstnorcal.com
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FEATURES
3 The Golden Ratio A deeper exploration of the Athletes Zone and its relation to the Paleo Diet Guinea Pigs, God, and the Zone The wit and wisdom of Brad Hirakawa From the Floor to Overhead An excerpt on Olympic Lifting from Dan Johns new book, From the Ground Up

12 13

REGULARS
8 Recipes for Health & Performance New ways to feed yourself for optimum health and athletic performance

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THE GOLDEN RATIO

AN EXPLORATION OF THE ZONE AND ITS RELATION TO THE PALEO DIET by Robb Wolf Have you heard of Phi? The Golden Ratio of mathematics? One of Phis descriptions is as follows: underplay of key information. This is unfortunate, as the Zone offers a remarkable degree of dietary precision. I would like to set the Zone amidst a broader context and make sure people understand there are multiple facets to the Zone. Ill use myself as an example and walk through the WHOLE Zone process. I also want to look at the Zone from a Paleo perspective. To do this, I will compare it to the recommendations of Loren Cordain. I discovered a few surprising things in this process that ironically paint the Zone as a diet of extreme moderation. The basic How To portion of the Zone focuses around ones protein requirements. Whether one uses the book or the handy online calculator, one must nd his or her lean body mass and factor that into an activity level to discover the number of blocks needed. CrossFit founders Greg and Lauren Glassman can perform the feat of prescribing blocks based on an individuals height, weight, and visible leanness. Typically they are within one block of what the sophisticated calculators recommend, and this is based in part on the fact that most women require 10-12 blocks and most men fall in the 15-17 range. I am 172 lbs and approximately 6-8% bodyfat. This leaves me with 158 lbs of lean body weight, and with a Physical Activity factor of .7 (158 X 0.70, Enter the Zone pg 80), this leaves me with 118. I divide the 118 by 7 (for each block there is 7g of protein) and my Zone block recommendation is 17. I have been doing 16 as per the Glassmans recommendation, so you see this is pretty close.

The legs of a golden triangle (an isosceles triangle with a vertex angle of 36) are in a golden ratio to its base and, in fact, this was the method used by Pythagoras to construct . The ratio of the circumradius to the length of the side of a decagon is also X, Phi is found throughout mathematics and was the basis of some quasi-religious sects nding the Devine in nature. What does this have to do with health, longevity and performance? Possibly nothing, but there does exist another Golden Ratio: namely the 4030-30 ratio of food macronutrients espoused by the Zone, which for many holds the key to their performance goals. Like Phi, the ratios described by the Zone have been open to broad interperatation. Unlike Phi, however, it is obvious when detractors have neither read nor followed the Zone, let alone bothered to check the numbers, when the Zone is called low carb or high protein. Modern nutritional science seems to suffer simultaneously from the inability to interpret empirical ndings and the lack of insight necessary to couch questions germane to health and tness from a reasonable theoretical basis. Much of the confusion surrounding the Zone can be attributed to the developer of the Zone himself, Barry Sears, because of his omission or

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The Physical Activity Factor is an important frequent. One need only use the May 2004 point that needs clarication. It is a surprise issue of the CrossFit Journal to construct to most that doing the CrossFit Workout of meals of the proper proportions. the Day 3 on 1 off or 5 on 2 off along with martial arts training or other activity only Lets take a moment and do a little bookplaces them in the 0.7-0.80 activity level. keeping with regards to caloric content and The WOD although very intense is not long macronutrient ratios. For carbohydrates, we and does not require that much energy to go have 9g/block x 17 blocks; for protein it is through. For one to score the 1.0 level, sev7g/block x 17 blocks; and for fat it is 1.5g/ eral hours of practice in addition to a dediblock x 17 blocks. This means we have 153 cated strength and conditioning program is grams of carbohydrates, 119 grams protein necessary. This is an important point we will (we already knew this one) and 25.5 grams look at more later. In short, I was shocked of fat. Dont forget, we need to double our by how inactive I was and pretty spooked fat at this point, as the Zone assumes a hidat the prospect of dropping my calories to den block of fat in most protein sources. Zone Levels. In light of what we know from That means an additional 25.5 grams of fat. caloric restriction, intermittent My caloric breakdown (carbofasting and the work of Art De hydrates and protein both have Important Weight Note Vany, I should not have been so 4 calories per gram and fat has nervous about the prospect of 9) looks like: C-612, P-476, FSeven grams of chicken some short term caloric restric459, with total calories at 1547. breast on a scale is NOT tion with adequate nutrition. If we are diligent and check our a block!!! We have reThis was a classic example of work the ratios actually come ceived quite a number over thinking a situation. Occaout to be: C-39.6%, P-30.8%, of emails from folks confused on this matter. One sionally it pays to forget what F-29.7%. Fairly close to 40-30block of chicken breast we know in favor of what we 30, no? has a precooked scale can learn. For now, have some weight of approximately faith you will not wither away This is one of the rst places 1 oz, which is close to and starve on the appropriate Barry Sears really loses people, 30 grams. Most of the block recommendations. and a reason why research on weight is water, with 7 the Zone has gone badly awry. grams of the weight acRemember blocks? The deal Sears hangs so much of his evitually being protein. with blocks is that they are a dence regarding the Zone on convenient unit of measure, the performance of elite level like the Mole in chemistry and physics or athletes, yet he says virtually nothing about the Dozen in baking. Specically, blocks the specics of their process! This has made are: protein 7g, carbohydrate 9 g, and each the little independent research into the Zone fat block is 1.5 g. Once one knows what a all but worthless. Sears asserts that this apblock of any given food is, constructing a parent caloric decit (the ADA would put two, three or four block meal is easy. my caloric needs at around 2800 Cal vs the Zones 1550) is ne for the rest of your life. Going back to my seventeen block daily reIf one is quite sedentary this may be the quirement, this means I need seventeen tocase, but if one is an athlete, this is not gotal blocks each day. That is seventeen blocks ing to work forever. This is where the Atheach of protein, carbohydrate and fat. Ideletes Zone comes in. ally these blocks are broken into ve or six meals/snacks. Seventeen blocks could be Barry Sears is a master of cooking and resplit into 5 x 3 block meals with a 2 block cooking his material in a staggering number snack. One can apportion this anyway they of books but there is only one page in all like, but it is better to make meals small and of them that makes the recommendation of

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ramping up the mono-unsaturated fat in the diet to support activity level. In Mastering the Zone pg. 42, we get the goods, in a way. We are never told how to ratchet up the fat content, just that it can be done. I suspect the reason why Sears is virtually mute on this fact is that once one increases the fat content the original 40-30-30 is placed in a questionable light. I had never heard of the ramp up until Greg Glassman mentioned that most CrossFitters following the Zone settle at a level of 3-5 times their original fat content. In practical terms, this means that once one has leaned out on the basic Zone, they will increase fat content of each meal between 3 and 5 times. Ideally one takes a week or more at each level to get a feel for things and nd their best performance with the least possible calories. Lets see what this ramp up does both to caloric content and macronutrient ratios:
LEVEL 1X 2X 3X 4X 5X CALORIES 1550 1780 2010 2240 2470 RATIOS C-40 C-34 C-30 C-27 C-24 P-30 P-26 P-23 P-21 P-19 F-30 F-38 F-45 F-51 F-56

150g of carbs per day. Low perhaps by ADA and vegetarian standards, but far above the level typically recommended by the seriously low carb crowd. Approaching this purely from an empirical, black box perspective, we can reap all the Zone has to offer, and perhaps this is where we should leave it. But how do we know for sure the Zone is not high protein or low carb? What standards are being used here when these statements are made? When our Doctor says high protein diets will destroy your kidneys, does this have any basis in reality, or should our health care providers have a bit more exposure to anthropology and a bit less pharmacology? To understand what is happening here and place all of this in a meaningful context, we need to look at some studies of intermittent fasting and caloric restriction, and then some of Loren Cordains work. The study, Intermittent fasting dissociates benecial effects of dietary restriction on glucose metabolism and neuronal resistance to injury from calorie intake, looks at the effects of intermittent fasting and longevity. I want to devote a whole article to this topic in the future, but for now it can simply be used to shed some light onto our Zone understanding. Essentially, the acts of caloric restriction and intermittent fasting increase nitrogen (protein) retention. The presence of ketone bodies from high fat intake accentuates this even further. What this means is that when one is following the low calorie 40-30-30 Zone, the mild caloric restriction combined with the by-products of body fat metabolism (ketones), greatly reduce the need for protein. Once one has leaned out it is additional dietary fat that provides sufcient calories and ketone bodies to spare protein. One question you may have is how we are getting ketosis when we are not completely glycogen depleted? In simple terms, all of our metabolic machinery is in action all the

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Once one has revved up to the Athletes Zone it appears one is consuming both a low carb and low protein diet! We recently had a very long debate on the CrossFit message board regarding the potential health dangers of the Zone. One of the main arguments was that the Zone is a high protein diet. Perhaps we should only show the 5x version of this diet to the folks with this argument. Frequently, however, the Zone is called a low carbohydrate diet, which, if one is at the original 40-30-30 level, we can explain away by saying 40% of calories come from low glycemic sources, mainly vegetables and fruits. But what if we are at the 5x level? Did I just start Atkins because our carb percentage is at 24%?! Obviously the answer is no. I am still taking in around

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time. Under the conditions of intense exercise, intermittent fasting and increased fat intake, concentrations of circulating ketone bodies increase dramatically, even when liver glycogen has not been fully depleted. Ketones are powerful, and we will look more closely at them in the future. THE PALEO DIET Just as a refresher, Paleo really refers to what we are eating, or perhaps more succinctly, what we are not eating. That means no grains, legumes or dairy. Unless one is a serious paleo purist, some non-paleo but good items make the cut such as olive oil and tomatoes. Now that we have established what to eat, how much of any given thing should we eat? A place many have gone to answer this question is the diets of historical and contemporary hunter gatherers (HGs). Dr. Boyd S. Eaton did this back in the early 1980s and used the Ethnographic Atlas to determine how much sh, fowl, meat, fruit, veggies, etc. our ancestors ate. From this information, he made recommendations as to what we should be eating. His paper was a powerful turning point for many researchers, including Loren Cordain. Professor Cordain was a successful exercise physiologist teaching at Colorado State University when he found Dr. Eatons paper. This paper was apparently a moment of enlightenment for Prof. Cordain, as he from then on approached the research of diet and exercise from the perspective of Evolution via Natural Selection. What does this have to do with the Zone, Paleo diet, and most importantly, your performance and happiness? Im getting there! Prof. Cordain, being the inquisitive guy that he is, started looking at Dr. Eatons paper and found that it was thermodynamically impossible to obtain all the calories sufcient for life on the largely plant based diet given the environment of our ancestors (pre-agriculture). What had been missed was a large

amount of small game that ended up in the Gathered Plants section of the atlas. When Prof. Cordain made some adjustments to the previous calculations, he found that MOST HGs (over 73%) derived most of their energy (>/= 56%-65%) from animal foods. You can read that whole article at www.thepaleodiet.com/articles/AJCN%20PDF.pdf, but here are a few key points: 1] Peoples living further and further from the equator rely less and less on gathered plants and more on hunted/ shed foods. 2] Regardless of location, there exist seasonal shifts in macronutrient content. 3] An average Paleolithic diet might look like C-23 P-38 F-39 Compared to the Zone, we have some obvious similarities but some signicant points of departure. The ratios look pretty good, especially when compared to the Athletes Zone. One obvious difference is the greatly increased protein intake. Cordains ndings point toward a protein intake more than DOUBLE that of the Zone. Over 350g/day on average for me! Before the Nephrologists in all of you scream out in protest, please consider this is based upon contemporary and historical HGs. These people did not keel over from sudden onset kidney disease. There are plenty of research citation on Medline debunking the high protein = kidney disease myth. Another apparent departure from the Zone is the total caloric content that Cordain recomends. From Cordains perspective, I should be consuming/expending ~3900Cals. This based upon his work here: www.thepaleodiet.com/articles/Int%20J%20Sport%2 0Article.pdf It looks like things are getting further and further apart, but if you remember we used a 0.70 Activity Factor to determine my protein/caloric needs. This was based on my

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activity level, which according to Cordain and these molecular geneticists: http:// jp.physoc.org/cgi/content/full/543/2/399, is too low. If we assume an activity level consistent with that of our ancestors and give me a 1.0 Activity Factor, my total caloric intake at a scaled up 5x Athletes Zone is 3700. The Zone is still lower in protein than Cordains recommendations, but it is not so far off as to not make sense from a theoretical perspective, and well, the Zone just works! My main point with all of this is that if the diet we evolved on is reasonably safe (a remarkable number of people would argue this point) then a protein intake 50% LESS (such as we nd in the Zone) is by default safe. What can we take form all of this besides some paper to line the birdcage? 1] The Zone has a very distinctive starting phase and a ramp-up phase for athletes. This has been seriously under-emphasized and is perhaps the primary reason the Zone has not met broader acceptance. It is interesting that a research biochemist who has lived in a world where reproducibility is everything does not adequately communicate how to reproduce his diet! 2] The Zone is perfectly compatible with what we know about human origins with regards to amounts and ratios of food. It is lower in protein but it may be that the Zone optimizes protein utilization. There is no doubt that when we increase the intake of a macronutrient we increase its utilization as an energy source. It makes sense that one would want to be fat adapted but not protein adapted. The Zone may accomplish both tasks very effectively. 3] The Zone appears to home in on a caloric and macronutrient level consistent with our energy expenditure even when the activity level is less than what may be optimum for our species.

This is pretty intriguing to me. I suspect that both our performance and results would optimize when our activity reaches that 1.0 Activity Factor (or 50 Kcal/kg per day from Cordains work) and our food is scaled to match. Art De Vany has talked at great length about living at high-energy ux. Lots of activity and lots of food. I am seeing a convergence of both clinical experience and theory. NEXT TIME One troubling aspect of the Zone (Im not the only one with this opinion) is its static nature. If we have learned anything from CrossFit and Evolutionary Fitness, it is that intermittency describes and supports optimum human performance, longevity and health. Next month I will look at a punctuated phase-shift program, The Metabolic Diet, by Mauro Di Pasquale. It is my hope that delineating the similarities between these approaches will help both in what program to choose and ultimately adherence to a healthy program for life.

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RECIPES FOR PERFORMANCE

BEETS!
The beet is the most intense of vegetables. The radish, admittedly, is more feverish, but the re of the radish is a cold re, the re of discontent not of passion. Tomatoes are lusty enough, yet there runs through tomatoes an undercurrent of frivolity. Beets are deadly serious. Tom Robbins, Jitterbug Perfume average human holds about nutrition... Jitterbug Perfume is a thrill, a must read for the ction lover. Enough said. Lets eat some beets! First, it must be said that we are talking about fresh beets, not the canned variety. Canned beets frequently contain added sugar, and the processing and breakdown of cellulose that occurs during the canning process increases the beets glycemic index.

Acclaimed author Tom RobYOU CANT BEAT A BEET The Zone places beets in bins reveres beets in his the unfavorable carbohycharacteristically wild and enNutritious, tasty & seasonal drate category. We disagree. tertaining novel Jitterbug PerIntermediate carb density Fresh beets fall between leafy fume, a book that incidentally Promotes circulation greens and fruit in carb density addresses longevity, fasting, Aids liver function and are rich in antioxidants. alternating hot and cold waAntioxidant rich ter immersion, eating frequent Tis currently beet season, small meals, the importance which means youll nd loads of practicing breathing exerof them at your farmers market. There are cises... and sex. His insight into the confoundmany varieties (try to nd some heirlooms) and ing topic of nutrition is also spot on: ...tis better a vast array of colors. All are delicious. to swap bubble gum with a rabid bulldog than challenge a single one o the varyin beliefs your

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Grated Beet Salad

Time 10 minutes Ingredients

minutes. Add chard, another Tbsp of toasted sesame oil, and saut for 3-5 minutes until done. Zone blocks 3 blocks carbohydrate, 15 blocks fat (a great 5x meal)

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. 1 medium sized beet, grated . 1 medium sized chicken breast, grilled . Olive oil . Lemon juice
Ah, how we love simplicity! Grate the beet, add sliced chicken breast and drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Toss and enjoy! The acid in the lemon juice will tend to hydrolyze the sucrose in the beet, making it a bit sweeter. Zone blocks Every half-cup of grated beets is a block of carbohydrate. 1 oz of grilled chicken is a block of protein. 1/3 tsp of olive oil is a block of fat. Construct the salad to suit your block needs. The tops of beets or beet greens are also known as chard. They are discarded by many folks, but are in fact quite tasty. You can use them just as you would spinach or kale. and sliced

Coconut Beet Borscht

This is a hearty and avorful dish. The fat content of the coconut milk makes it perfect for those following the athletes zone. Time 30 minutes Ingredients

. 5-6 medium beets (a variety of colors . 1 yellow onion . 1 can coconut milk . cup minced ginger
makes for a radiant dish!)

Chard & Cashew Saut

Time 10 minutes Ingredients

Mince ginger and chop the onion. Infuse both in a small amount of olive oil for 35 minutes on medium heat. Chop the beets into bite-sized pieces and add to the pot. Add about cup of water, cover and let steam for another 5 minutes. Add coconut milk and stir. Cook covered for 10-15 minutes on low heat, stirring periodically. When the beets are tender enough to stick a knife into them, you are ready to eat! Zone blocks As prepared above, the recipe contains 14 blocks carbs (every cup beets is 1 block of carbs) and 45 blocks fat. This makes for a convenient 3x fat meal. Each cup of the nished product yields 1 block carb and 3 blocks fat. Add a lean protein source and youre set.

. 6 cups of chard (beet tops) . cup chopped cashews . 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
Finely chop the chard and set aside. Lightly cook chopped cashews in Tbsp of toasted sesame oil on medium heat for about ve

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Frittata Fun
For a breakfast that can also serve as lunch, dinner and snacks, a frittata is the way to go. Depending on how you scale it, you can get 4-5 meals from one of these relatively simple beauties. There is no end to the creativity that can be applied here. Frittatas can be comprised of virtually anything, so long as the wild combinations you come up with actually appeal to you. Onions, garlic, any type of meat, a variety of veggies and spices, all can be thrown in to create a tasty frittata. The one we are featuring is a simple but delicious combination of lean beef, garlic, and green onion. And of course, eggs! When creating variations of the frittata, be sure to add slower cooking ingredients rst, followed by those that cook more quickly. Note: For this recipe you will need a nonstick skillet with a well-tting lid. Time 30 minutes Ingredients

dium heat. Peel and chop garlic and add to the beef. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add green onion and cook an additional 2 minutes. Mix the eggs in a bowl and add to the skillet. Cover and immediately reduce heat to low. Cook covered until done (approximately 10-15 minutes) keeping an eye on the center, as it will be the slowest to cook. Zone blocks

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If you are following the Zone, you will want to construct the frittata according to your block needs. The recipe above, when cut into quarters, makes four 4-block meals, or three 4-block meals and two 2-block snacks. This is perfect for someone on a 16-block plan. If you think ahead a GARLIC PEELING 101 bit it becomes easy to construct a frittata that Many of you may know this little trick, but will cover your block for those who dont it can save mountains needs for the entire of time when trying to peel the skin from a day. clove of garlic. Heres the easy way: You will need to round . Separate cloves from the head of garlic out your meals with . Cut the tips off the end of the cloves some carbohydrates, as . Use the at side of the knife to forcefully the frittata is primarily press down on the clove (try to almost protein and fat. The atten it). This breaks the skin so that it green onion and garlic virtually falls off in your hand! are negligible when it . Now youre ready to chop or mince! comes to overall carb content.

. 8 oz lean beef . 8 eggs . 2 cups chopped green onion . 8 cloves of garlic, chopped . Dash of olive oil
Cut beef into small pieces and place in skillet with a dash of olive oil. Cook on me-

Not So Corny Corned Beef

Im Irish. Well, Im mainly Swedish and Scottish, but I know there is some Irish lurking in here somewhere. This may account

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for my calm demeanor while driving and my penchant for odd foods, for example corned beef and cabbage. Perhaps not as bad as liver and onions (dont worry, we are not planning an issue devoted to organ meats... well, hmmm...) Corned beef and cabbage brings me back to my childhood. Especially since St. Pattys is arriving in just a few days. So to help you experience the joy of being Irish, here is a Paleo-friendly gem from the Emerald Isle. Time 10 minutes prep. Ingredients

Zone Blocks Each 1.0 oz. of cooked meat is one block of protein. Each cup of cabbage is 1 block of carbs. This recipe is going to be a little skinny on the carbs. Check out our beet salad to help round out the meal.

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Kumquats
A tasty citrus option that many have never tried! They require no peeling, just pop the whole thing in your mouth and chew. Tangy on the inside with a much sweeter peel, they are a refreshing treat. As an added bonus, the d-limonine in the peel is a potent anti-tumor agent. D-limonine is found in most citrus peels, but since eating orange and lemon peels is something that most of us avoid, kumquats provide the perfect opportunity to get some of this good stuff. Most fruit being 2 blocks, it can sometimes be challenging when needing a 3 block meal... what to do with the remaining half piece of fruit? Kumquats are a good solution. Four of these little guys make a block.

. 1-4 lbs of London Broil (Brisket is tradi-

tionally used but is quite marbled. For a leaner cut choose the London Broil) . 1 head green cabbage chopped in long thin strands . cup peppercorns . 5-10 bay leaves Pour peppercorns into the bottom of a slow cooker. Brown meat for 1 minute on each side in a skillet with a small amount of olive oil. Place meat atop peppercorns. Cover meat with bay leaves then cover with cabbage. Set slow cooker on low for 4-5 hrs or high for 2 hrs. The meat should be very tender, but one may slice it thin and serve with some of the cabbage. Dont eat the bay leaves!

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GUINEA PIGS, GOD & THE ZONE

by Brad Hirakawa I have two pet guinea pigs. Really, I do. Im weird like that. And it makes me laugh when I tell my friends what I do for a living, right after I tell them about my pets. Plus, I once had a seven-foot boa, and they make great boa snacks. My theory: God is busy, and can only look in on your life a few times each year. You know, like Santa. So, Im gambling that he sees me caring for these guinea pigs and says, That Brad... Hes a good guy. The unfortunate other side is that he sees me experimenting on lab animals and says, That Brad... send him to the hell of 10,000 rats. The Zone point... One pig eats the zone, and the other eats your standard guinea pig chow. I will post videos of them, with highlights of the zone guinea pig repeatedly kicking the other pigs ass, having his way with him (its a dontask-donttell cage), while running laps around the cage with the fat pig sitting in the middle asleep. Its just like my grappling sessions with my high-carb runner/cycler friends. Well, minus the me having my way with them. How much more proof does anyone need?

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FROM THE FLOOR TO OVERHEAD

World renowned lifter and thrower Dan John has a new book available for FREE!! The following is from Chapter Three. Go to his website. Read the book. Or else. Squat right. Clean right. Put the bar overhead. Repeat. That is usually my little formula for teaching people the basics of getting strong. But, people always insist on the follow up questions: What do I do now? How do I measure up? I can remember being told that the Olympic Lifts were dead just a few years ago. The machines, the protocols, the safety issues, and the thiss and thats had put the nails in the cofn for those who snatch and clean and jerk. Do a snatch at a spa and the rst question from the spandex bunch is what does that build? Then, the owner kicks you out for scaring the grandmas in the step aerobic class. But recently, there has been a surge of interest in the sport and the lifts. Football coaches, breaking from the decades of following the follower and non-productive training, have embraced the snatch and clean as basic training for their athletes. Of course, track and eld athletes, at least at the elite level, seem to have continued pulling and pushing in the increasingly darker ends of gyms and spas. The internet, for all its problems, seems to have been part of this phenomenon that has found a resurgence in the popularity of the O lifts. Starting the true neophyte off in the O lifts is a matter of debate, but I would follow the Bulgarian method. Simply, the Bulgarians begin by teaching a perfect deep back squat. This means that the athlete has a high bar placement on the upper traps, the chest is held up, and the lower back tucked in. The athlete sits straight down between the legs and continues down until the ass is on the grass. What does between the legs mean? One of the true keys to squatting and the O lifts is this simple concept. I teach it this way: have the athlete stand arms length from a door knob. Grab the handle with both hands and get your chest up. Up? I have the athlete imagine being on a California beach when a swimsuit model walks by. Immediately, the athlete puffs up the chest which tightens the lower back and locks the whole upper body. The lats naturally spread a bit and the shoulders come back a little. Continuing with the arms in the hammer throwing position, with the Muscle Beach chest, lean back away from the door. Now, lower yourself down. How? Well, I teach young lifters to think that their feet were stuck to the ceiling and they would have to pull their butt to the ceiling. Sure, an odd image, but it works. What people discover at this moment is a basic physiological fact: the legs are NOT stuck like stilts under the torso. Rather, the torso is slung between the legs.
Bar resting on the shoulders

The Front Squat

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As you go down, leaning back with arms straight, you will discover one of the true keys of lifting: you squat between your legs. You do not fold and unfold like an accordion, you sink between your legs. Dont just sit and read this: do it! To develop the ability to squat snatch or squat clean hinges on this principle! Foot stance, hand grip, and most questions are not as relevant as the key point of sitting between your legs. I must admit, I usually just have someone jump two or three times. Note where they land on jumps two and three. Have them look at their heel to toe alignment. That is the stance. A touch wider, a touch narrower, it takes a few tries, but I think it is fairly natural.

To Summarize: 1] Sit between your legs 2] Minimize shin movement 3] Keep a big chest and big arch in your back 4] Every time you get hurt, not sore, squat ting...have someone watch your shins; they shouldnt be coming forward very much at all. 5] Done correctly, squats may be the single exercise you need to do for success in sports. Done correctly Next, the Bulgarians teach the clean, arguing it is simpler than the snatch. This parallels my learning experience, too. Growing up with the Ted Williams Sears cement lled barbell, we all cleaned and pressed as young lifters. 1] That Muscle Beach chest position, with the lower back locked in and lats puffed et al, must be maintained throughout the lifts. 2] As you address the bar, the get set position, think of your arms as ropes or cables. Keep them long and loose.

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Bar locked out over the head

The Overhead Squat

The best way to x squat problems is to... squat. I think that alternating the three great variations (back, front and overhead) as well as occasionally adding the old lifts like Jefferson or straddle the bar squats or Hip Belt Squats (a special belt with chains is attached to the weight and you simply squat up and down) is the best way to x problems. Overhead squats teach the arch of the lower back better than any drill, as well as providing a superior back isometric. Front Squats certainly push the stress more to the quads as well as demanding increased exibility. Back squats clearly help the other two variations by pushing the load higher. So,...if your struggling on one: focus on the others!

3] I like to start with my hands on the bar and my legs sorta straight, then squeeze my hips down to the starting position. It helps for me to ex my lats and literally pull my butt down BEFORE I begin the pull. 4] The best advice I know to get the bar going up is to Push the Floor Away. You need to hold the hips and shoulders in the same angle to the oor for as long as you can. Physics and physiology will help you nish the lift correctly. Former champ, Russ Knipp argues that all you ever do in pulling, throughout the whole clean or snatch is to focus on pushing the oor down. Think of this rst part, the rst pull, as a leg press on a machine. An even better image is to think of pushing

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your heels all the way through the earth. 5 For new lifters, I stress a drill that sounds crazy, but works well. I teach new lifters to take the bar from the oor to about two inches above the knee as SLOWLY as possible, one inch a second. Why? It teaches the core truth of lifting (and throwing events): proper acceleration. When the bar gets to that spot two inches above the knee: jump! Thats it. Snatch or clean, you have just learned the key principles. After mastering the clean, while continuing doing the squats, it is time to put the bar overhead. In the ideal world, the athlete would have a set of tall boxes two feet lower than shoulder height. The bar would be placed on these high boxes, the athlete would grab the bar, place it on the chest and stand tall. Standard racks work well very well, in factbut there is nothing that builds condence more than a safe place to dump a lift. Pad the oors, if you must, and consider buying bumper platesthose rubber plates that cushion the sound and protect the gym. Over a period of weeks, the athlete would learn the true military press, the power press (the lifter starts the press with a leg push), the power jerk (after starting the lift with the legs, the athlete catches the bar with bent legs when the momentum stops), the split jerk (the athlete dips the bar by bending the knees, drives it over head, then catches the bar by slapping the feet fore and aft) and the behind the neck variations of the same lifts. Finally, the athlete would slide the hands out to the snatch grip, push the oor away, jump and snatch the bar overhead. Throughout this basic training, the athlete would be exposed to variations of the squat

(basically the front and overhead squat) and lots of exibility work, as well as an orientation to the history of the sport and the rules of the sport. If you have no interest at all in these lifts shocking!...here is a simple addition to add to your workout: Pressouts. I learned this trick from Pacica Barbell Club coach Dick Notmeyer. Simply, at the end of any overhead lift, including presses, jerks, or push jerks or presses, nish the set with pressouts. As you stand tall, with arms locked out overhead, bend your elbows so the bar moves no more than three inches. Continue to do this up to eight times. Now, put the bar down. As simple as this seems, this exercise builds the whole support system. Soon, you may notice the serratus muscles, the ngers on the rib cage, becoming a lot more noticeable. As your body tightens to compensate during the pressouts, you are building support strength. This idea may be used any time. Try sneaking the pressouts into a workout, by the way, it also works in bench presses, but have a good spotter. Youll see the difference in your ability to support the big weights. Now, lets go from oor to overhead with the bar. Why? 1] Great for cardiovascular conditioning try it and see! 2] True measure of strength 3] Impress your friends! 4] Get functional strength 5] Lift in REAL meets! Im telling you, the best single investment you can make is a piece of PVC pipe or an old broomstick. Use the stick to perfect your positions. In addition, the athlete would be

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exposed to lots of repetitions with broomsticks while learning the basic terms of training and method. You will be amazed at how much sweat this stick can produce! Dave Turners Hercules Barbell Club beginners use a simple program for learning and developing the rudiments of strength. Three days a week, the team members go through a ten minute warm up of shoulder dislocates with broomsticks, overhead squats with broomsticks, followed by front squats, then a cardio-like few minutes of snatches and clean and jerks with the broomsticks. Dave reinforces the terms used in lifting: Get set, Push the oor, Jump, Dip, and Down. Then, Daves team does the following simple workout three days a week: Warm Ups with the Broomstick Snatch: 8 Sets of Doubles (A Double is two perfect repetitions) Clean and Jerk: 8 Sets of Singles (A Single is a perfect repetition) Front Squat: 5 Sets of 5 Repetitions Press: 5 Sets of 3 Repetitions If your form is perfect, you add weight the next workout, if not, you stay at this weight. I know, I know, it looks easy on paper. Try it...then, tell me it is easy. Dave is teaching his lifters how to lift during the warm ups! I stole this idea for my discus throwers and our throwers warm up with the basic movementsover and over and over againof Stretch-12-3. They hear the terms,

do the movements and warm up their bodies and their techniques at the same time. Next, Daves workout is always the same with one variation. The athletes all do the same program but they start at different lifts. A typical variation: Clean and Jerk: 8 Sets of Singles Front Squat: 5 Sets of 5 Press: 5 Sets of 3 Snatch: 8 Sets of Doubles So, one day, an athlete might start at the Clean and Jerk and nish with the Snatch, the next workout Front Squat rst, the next Press, and the next week begin with the Snatches and nish with the Presses. A little variety is nicethats all the beginner needs! But, just a little The genius of Daves system is two fold; rst, the athletes are preparing from the moment they enter the gym to lift on the platform at a meet. All their training is focused on the two meet lifts: the Snatch and the Clean and Jerk. The Front Squats and the Presses are the strength moves. Yes is the answer to what most people then ask: this isnt what the guys in the NFL/Bulgarian Olympic Team/World Championships do, right? Thats right, they dont do this stuff now. But, you can almost be certain that the great ones had a long period of learning the basics. Performance of the Lifts One thing Dick Notmeyer, coach of the PBBC, was adamant about, perhaps even obsessed about, was the insistence that his lifters never power the weight up but always take the lift

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to the deep position. He felt that power lifts taught the wrong pull and would fail the lifter on maximum attempts. I think the beginning lifter would be wise to follow this advice. The more experienced an athlete is as they enter the sport of O lifting the more likely it is for this athlete to nd that their power is far beyond their technique. Hang in there for a few months and learn to do it right! Whats a Power Movement? Simply, it is lifting the bar as high as you can versus just high enough to squat under the bar. So, somebody asked me, What would you do if you could get in a Time Machine and start all over again? 1] I would have an excellent coach. 2] I would have excellent facilities. 3] I would have the patience to take the rst few years to learn the sport with light weights and broomsticks. 4] I would have started at age 8. But, since there is no magic machine to do thislets start doing it right right now! Some standards I have used with boys in the high school setting:
Grade 9th 10th 11th 12th Snatch 95 lbs 115 lbs 135 lbs 155 lbs Clean & Jerk 135 lbs 175 lbs 200 lbs 225 lbs

make the standard. Could this be the secret to success? Summary 1] As a coach, with beginners, I need to be ruthless in cutting to the core of what works and spend all of our time repping those things that work. A freshman team is not like the NFL, your local church basketball team is not the same as coaching the Lakers, and you shouldnt train a beginner like a member of the Bulgarian National Weightlifting Team! 2] The job of a coach is to think tactically. Part of preparation for competition is to put the athlete in a setting that reects competition. An endless variation of if-then does not prepare the beginning athlete for competition. The novice needs to do this. One thing. If you follow this advice, you will soon nd that your athletes make very few mistakes in competition. Recently, Jimmy Johnson said on Fox Sports that you always play the guy who makes the fewest mistakes, not the guy with all the talent. Theres a gem right there.

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No, its not perfect. I dont have weight classes nor do these take into account all the varieties of humanity. But, its funny having a standard seemed to make the kids

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