Pavels News letter

Power by Pavel: What I Learned from Com. Bud Jeffries

Appropriately, this issue's strength tip comes from a Christian man
of strength, Com. Bud Jeffries. Here is an excerpt from his
newsletter:

"Constantly be on the look out for little ways to make your
training more effective and productive without adding extra
movement. I'll give you an example.

I do almost all of my squats "starting from the bottom." Meaning
that whether I'm doing a full range or a partial range, I'm going
to set the rack at that height and start there instead of a
traditional walk out and squat down style. I think there are many
advantages to doing it this way. Not the least of which is safety,
convenience, and real world applicability to the strength that you
build. However recently I've been experimenting with doing an
almost isometric hold while in the down phase of the lift.

Why? Because I can build a very controlled, lowering type of
strength without adding any extra repetitions or exercises. I can
use it within the progressive distance system which I normally use.
So I simply squat the weight up and then on the way down, stop
about an inch from the pin before I set the weight down and do a
short hold there. This way I'm continually building the strength
to not only lift the weight, but control it more effectively and
all I've added is few seconds to the repetition that I'm already
doing. Should I choose to come out and do a powerlifting
competition and squat in it, I have less trouble transitioning from
one style of squatting to the next and I've already built an
applicable style of strength with very little more work and time.

There are multiple other ways you can look at training efficiency
without adding extra time to your workouts. Combining strength and
cardio work, upper and lower body exercises alternated, using a
"chain style" of lifting progression - a la Herman Goerner.
Explore, experiment and think for yourself. If you come up with a
cool tip... share it."

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Merry Christmas
Tom