Friday, October 05, 2007

Note the similarities


Note the similarities in form and body position while both press the Beast.Shoulder down in the socket, hip under the weight, forearm vertical. Kenneth is 6'2 and 210 and Joe is 5'5 and 170. Good leverage and technique go beyond body type in this movement.BTW, Joe will tame the Beast Challenge this February in San Jose. Count on it.

13 comments:

Joe Sarti said...

Not a bad guy to be compared with ;-). And, yes I will tame the beast in Feb.

See you monday, have a kick ass workout tomorrow. PS: The 32 is going up easy with that technique you mentioned in the picture.

Mark Reifkind said...

no kidding dude.and yes I have full confidence the pullups as well as the other lifts will go in february.

Shaf said...

Let's note the differences:

Kenneth has more of a hammer, or neutral grip, whereas Joe's palm is facing forwards. He is also grabbing the bell more in the middle rather than at one end of the handle.. Looking at the angle of the forearm, it's clear he's in greater control than Joe is. Joe's looks almost like he's pushing it out.

Kenneth's arm is more forward, in the scapular plane, than Joe's. Joe's is almost directly out to the side. Joe's torso also seems to have more lean than Kenneth's does.

More differences than similarities. Should get more similar as Joe gets stronger with it.

Taikei Matsushita said...

Mark, have you seen any common attributes among beast lifters? Great at Dead Lifts ?

Tommy Shook said...

Both guys are very strong, no question.

BUT since when did kettlebell lifting become some kind of weird hybrid of powerlifting? I mean, seriously, you guys need to take a long look at what you're doing.

Kettlebells are just something different.

4 Ranges, RKC said...

Great observation Rif!

KB lifting has a long history, which includes HEAVY, low rep lifting. I'm reading Sandow's bio at the moment, and they lifted 150lbs. KB's for singles.

Mark Reifkind said...

steve,
the basics I was referring to are the key points I usually see people not do when they miss the press at the cert.Not locking down the shoulder,not getting the hip under the weight and not keeping the forearm mostly vertical.
of course there will be differences,especially since the photos were taken at diffent points in the lift but I see more similarities than differences.coudnt press it otherwise, as so many at the beast challenge find out.
granted this was truly a limit lift for Joe whereas KJ can do reps with it.This was also the first time Joe had even picked up a Beast!Hadnt even trained above a 32 kg bell before the attempt. says a lot for submaximal training.

Mark Reifkind said...

takei,

the most common thing is that they can press correctly. most rush the clean, dont get "loaded" afterwards, dont pack the shoulder or get their hip under it.
the pullup is the next hardest lift for most.

Mark Reifkind said...

wildcard.
It's not a weird hybrid of powerlifting but it requires many of the same techniques of high tension for the grind lifts.
You have to remember that the roots of kb training is strength.The press used to be one of the first official kb lifts.
Although many scoff at pressing the beast or even a two pood as not a feat of strength, for most people it surely is.How many do you know that can train with two beasts in the press for sets and reps?
The techniques and principles of creating tension, linking the body parts and focusing the forces produced are transferable to all strength disciplines.
the fact that you can use a bell to get stronger AND create great endurance is what makes it such a great overall tool.

Shaf said...

I think most kb pressers are going to have the basic skeletal alignment down.

It's a good strong press though...I'm not trying to take anything away.

Franz Snideman said...

Great post Rif. You're right, they do look similar. I think Yoana and I will come up for the seminar in San Jose to see my twin brother get tortured. He is signed up for the RKC.

It will be fun to see the BEAST CHALLENGE if we stay that long!

Mark Reifkind said...

steve I am always suprised when I see strong guys at the certs attempt to press the Beast and DON'T have the basic positions and tensions down to be able to press it strongly. SO many try to make it into a shoulder press, dont' pack the shoulder, use the lat, root through the ground,etc.

Mark Reifkind said...

franz,

cool! get to meet keats and see you guys too.excellent.

155 x 3 x 5, 160 x 3 x 5, 20 kg swings 5 x 8/8, floor pushups 40, 35

 Thought about going back to 5x5 for a hot second then my left shoulder  reminded me why I stopped doing them before. It doesn't seem to...