Meanwhile in Egypt …
Mohamed Ehab (69kg) does a Snatch Grip Deadlift Complex.
He does those to keep a tight back throughout all phases of the pull and as you can see, even after 22 reps he never compromises form.
For this one he loads the bar with 155kg, his current Snatch 1RM and does
- 5x Snatch Grip Deadlift
- 5x from the hang to below the knee
- 11x hang pulls / shrugs
- 1x slow negative to below the knee and a final pull
= 22 reps of back / traps / glutes / hamstring pump goodness.
Update: Brent approved
Update: Translation of Mohamed’s description from commenter “Guy”
First he mentions the things you said about the complex “22 total reps, 5 snatch deadlifts etc etc”.
Then he says “This is part of the functional isometric system and the point of implementing this in training is to overcome the weaknesses present during different angles/positions of the pull. This complex can be modified to focus on the athlete’s specific weak positions/angles during the pull.”
After that he mentions an interesting detail about the complex. Apparently he approximates the distance of some of those pulls during the complex. specifies 8-12cm here (for hang pulls im guessing). Then mentions the importance of being tight throughout the whole complex.
He says that this improves the weak points in the pull thus giving the lifter more strength dedicated to the actual second pull. “This contributes to the explosiveness of the second pull and to the increase of the 1RM”
More from Mohamed:
- 170kg Step Ups
- Weighted Barbell Broad Jumps & Weighted Barbell Box Jumps
- 212kg (Triple Bodyweight) Front Squat
Update 30.04.2014: Another Deadlift Complex. This time with 160kg.
- Snatch Grip Deadlift to knees, 10s pause
- Snatch Grip Deadlift to mid thigh, 10s pause
- 2x Snatch Pulls
- Snatch Grip Deadlift to below the knees, 10s pause
Update 10.06.2014: Today Mohamed attacks 170kg.
- Snatch Pulls x5
- Snatch Grip Deadlift to Knee, Pause
- Snatch Grip Deadlift to Power Position, Pause
- Snatch Grip Shrugs x7
thanks for the share !
A good complex for overall strenght.
ilya ilyin upload training footage almost everyday to his channel btw
Yes and I regularly share those on ATG’s facebook/ Twitter.
Let me know if you need translation for any of his videos. He gives a pretty detailed technical explanation of why he does the exercises he does.
That would be nice. The machine translations from Google/Bing are very cryptic for Arabic.
First he mentions the things you said about the complex “22 total reps, 5 snatch deadlifts etc etc”. Then he says “This is part of the functional isometric system and the point of implementing this in training is to overcome the weaknesses present during different angles/positions of the pull. This complex can be modified to focus on the athlete’s specific weak positions/angles during the pull.” After that he mentions an interesting detail about the complex. Apparently he approximates the distance of some of those pulls during the complex. specifies 8-12cm here (for hang pulls im guessing). Then mentions the importance of being tight throughout the whole complex. he says that this improves the weak points in the pull thus giving the lifter more strength dedicated to the actual second pull. “this contributes to the explosiveness of the second pull and to the increase of the 1rm”
Thanks for that. I included it in the post.
Kind of curious what the general consensus here is about the mass volume in his complexes? Just my gut/intuition says that training such high volume in a sport where the goal is to peak a 1RM doesn’t make much sense. Perhaps high volume at a lower weight would suffice either for technique work or injury prevention, but that doesn’t seem his intent here. My previous understanding was that the law of diminishing returns had a significant application in the world of weightlifting. We have seen other heavy complexes on this website but usually no more than 5-6 repetitions overall. I’m not saying that this won’t make him stronger at all, but I am saying that I don’t think he his maximizing strength gains by doing such mass volume. I interpret volume like this in two ways (in terms of faults with it): 1. He is fatiguing his muscles to the point that he will minimize his gains and 2. He could be doing more weight with lower volume to maximize strength gains.
Thoughts?
He probably just squeezes them in around deload time so the thoraco lumbar will be glad to rest, and wont require 3 workouts to be back to normal (squat depth, pulling posture) just speculation on my part though… the updates Are 1-2 months apart, which i believe supports that theory (weightlifting programs often require deloads, moreso than powerlifting, bodybuilding or other barbell related activities). Otherwise i dont see anyone recovering within 2 days from something of this fashion.
I’ve always wondered about the “roars” or maybe screams that top level lifters do during their lifts. Is it simply a reaction to the heavy weight? or is it pressurize their core? I know that martial artists, Muay Thai kick boxers in particular, press air out of their abdomens in a SSSS sound. But the quantity of air pressed out is minimal when kick boxers hiss whereas when Ehab does his roar, it seems like a huge quantity.