Kiama Spartan Training Club transition from strength to power

Welcome to the first July edition of the Spartan Insider VIP Newsletter.

Spartans are completing the final session of a 4 Week Strength Program today. This classic 5 x 5 routine has seen lower than normal volume but good work zeroing in on technique.

The guys have lifted moderate to heavy weights, with only three exercises per workout but some of the tips and techniques will be useful for years to come. There’s also been a nice change in terms of our finisher with Farmer’s Walks and Burpees proving to be a tough little combo.

Next week we transition into 4 weeks Power as our Kiama Strength & Conditioning Program enters a new phase of periodisation. It’s also got some great power based finishers that will get the heart rates up and test them out. Bring it on I say!

Dave Lambert

Oxygen Health & Fitness

Barbell Rows

For building back thickness, you don’t need to look any further than the Barbell Row. However, forget the idea that a barbell row is just a “back” or “upper body” exercise. You need to unrack the bar, set your stance, and bend at the waist. But before you even perform your first pull, the glutes, hamstrings, and hips are working to stabilize you. Oh, and don’t forget the abdominals, which keep your low back from crumbling.

A big benefit of the barbell row is that you can use more weight than with other rowing variations. The more weight you use, the more these “other” muscles are called into play to help – and on heavy sets, they need to fire to allow the back muscles and shoulder girdle to experience maximum recruitment.

If they don’t fire efficiently, it could be the difference between a smoothly pulled row and one involving a lot of jerky momentum. When that happens it usually involves subtle movement at the hip and glutes. This takes them out of their stabilizing role, leading to a greater likelihood of a rounded lower back.

So while it’s a kick-ass full body exercise, the barbell row is also prone to a whole lot of butchering. Let’s look at some key technique points that will have you barbell rowing correctly.

You should grip the bar for a barbell row like you would a bench press. A tight grip will transmit force to the shoulder and make it stronger. The position for the hands when rowing is just outside shoulder-width

So we have a solid grip on the bar and we’re bent right over the barbell. You should be closer to 90 degrees than 45. If you can get closer to 90, and maintain a strong position, you should. If you can’t, you need to work on some flexibility and mobility exercises to improve your hip hinging ability.

Lift the chest up slightly, arch the low back a bit, and get your head in line with your spine. Brace the abdominals to get as stable as possible.

Lastly, tighten up the glutes and “grip the floor” with your feet. Tightening the glutes and “gripping the floor” may be new to you, but for best results the barbell row should be treated from a total-body viewpoint. You tighten your glutes and grip the floor when getting ready to bench – there shouldn’t be any difference for your rowing setup.

Pull through your elbows to somewhere around the lower abs/navel. Pulling to your upper abdomen encourages shrugging the weight up rather than pulling it back, which can shift the entire focus of the exercise.

Focus on pulling your shoulder blades together hard at the top, getting everything you can out of the actual contraction. After squeezing hard at the top it’s natural to want to send the weight crashing down to the floor, but stay strong and lower the bar under control.

Squeeze the Shoulder Blades

At the top contracted position, squeeze your shoulder blades together, activate those back muscles and hold for a brief pause of 2 seconds. If you can’t hold your reps for that long you need to lower the weight slightly.

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Spartans hitting their targets

There are a number of Spartans hitting their Strength Goals this week, which 4 weeks ago seemed like a looooong way off. Every time a new program begins, we look at what weights have been lifted in the past, start off slightly less than that number to gain confidence and ensure optimum technique.

This program was only a short block (4 weeks instead of the usual 6) and was divided into a 2 day Split meaning what we train on Tuesday was different to Thursday. However with the longer recoveries between sessions, we’ve been able to make bigger gains in terms of weight lifted and it’s been done with optimum technique to boot. Here’s a few highlights from the past 4 weeks:

95.5kg ass to grass Squats for 25 reps. Dave Lambert, Sean Casey
83kg Incline Press for 25 reps. Guy Farland
7.5kg Weighted Chin Ups for 25 reps. Dan Turnbull
145kg Trap Bar Deadlift for 25 reps. Guy Farland, Dave Lambert

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Jamie Williams strong & injury free for the marathon

One of our 6am Spartans Jamie Williams heads for Queensland today as he prepares to tackle the 42km mission that is the Gold Coast Marathon. A natural endurance athlete, Jamie has realised the importance of strength training and flexibility to cope with the demands of his sport and has been a consistent trainee at Spartan Training Club and Friday Stretch sessions with Oxygen for well over a year. As well as consistently completing his endurance training sessions on his own, he’s stayed really committed to our strength training programs in Kiama.

Despite being a veteran of 16 Ironman events, Jamie will amazingly tackle his first ever marathon on the Gold Coast. The Ironman involves a 3.8km swim, 180km cycle and then a 42km run. Should be a breeze without having to do all that beforehand hey Jamie? Good luck champ!

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