NAked Warrior - ZANDERBILT

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T H E P U R P O S E F U L P R I M I T I V E
pull is being done—the barbell moves (or should move) upward in an absolutely straight
line. Here are exercise descriptions of two exercises not explained previously…
High Pulls
After finishing power cleans, we add poundage and continue onward into high pulls for
2-3 successive sets. A high pull is identical to a power clean. The difference being that the
barbell is not being pulled high enough to wrist-snap and rack. Pull the barbell to belly button
height or higher on each rep. Add poundage for each subsequent set. If the bar can only
be pulled to crotch height—bag it! High pulls hit the erectors, rhomboids, teres and upper
and lower lats. Try and go up on your toes and shrug your shoulders at the top. The
poundage should be too heavy to arm pull. The arms should be thought of as hooks that
hold the poundage, not arms that lift the poundage. Use the legs to start the weight moving
and keep the arms straight and extended throughout—don’t bend the elbows. Pull straight
up with a tight, arched back.
Stiff-Legged Deadlift
You have gone upward in poundage from power cleans to high pulls to deadlifts. Now it’s
time to strip some weight off the bar and head back down in weight. A stiff-legged deadlift
is a lower back and hamstring developer without peer. I would reduce the conventional
deadlift weight by 35 to 50%. If you deadlift 400 x 5 perform stiff-legs with 200-250 x 5.
Pull the first SL rep to completion using standard deadlift technique. Stand erect with the
bar in deadlift fashion on the 1st rep. Now lower the barbell downward on semi-straight
yet rigid knees, allowing the bar to break away from the body. Lower slowly with straight
arms until it touches the floor, gently. No bouncing the plates off the floor to create
rebound.
Upon touching the floor, quietly, begin an immediate rising up using a tight arched back.
Pull to complete lockout. As you lower, pay attention and push the hips push rearward. At
the turn-around, where descent becomes ascent, use the hamstrings and lower back to
power you erect. I think of the stiff-leg dead as a “hip hinge” exercise. Everything below
the hip hinge stays rigid and tight (the legs) and everything above the hip-hinge stays rigid
and tight (the torso.) The hip joint is the fulcrum. Strip weight off the bar between the first
and second set. This exercise done right is a hamstring and erector developer without peer.
After 2-3 sets of power cleans, 2 sets of high pulls, 2-3 sets of deadlifts, 2 sets of stiff-leg
deadlifts and 2 sets of bent-over barbell rows, you should feel physically decimated. If you
aren’t exhausted, drained, battered and ready for a nap, I would strongly suspect you’re not
handling enough poundage. Done correctly and completely this routine will lay low the
mightiest of Iron Warriors.
For complete information on Marty Gallagher’s The Purposeful Primitive, or to
purchase the physical book, visit http://www.dragondoor.com/b37.html now