Saturday, March 22, 2008

PLUSA Top 100 List.

Thumbing through the latest issue of PLUSA and having just spoke with Brett Jone's about the Top 100 list for the 181 lb weight class I was more than pleased to see some of my best 181 lb lifts still in the mix even after all these years off the platform.Of course they weren't listed but the numbers I did would still put me in good stead.
I was dissapointed to see my 545 squat just miss the top 100 but 5 pounds( 551 was 100) but my 435 bench made it up to 80th or so.Now I wish I had enjoyed what little talent I had in that lift more and taken it's pursuit more seriously. My deadlift also missed the top by the same amount as my squat ( 545 best, 550 to make the list) but my total,1485, would be at 60th position, which has moved up the list!
I can't wait to see what they are on the Masters Top 100 list. They should be pretty high up in the rankings I would suppose.Ah, the crumbs that I am left to feed on in my dotage,lol! I still miss being able to powerlift and love to follow the sport and help others obtain their PL goals.
Here is a great video of how to really "shove" the bench press up by my friend Scott Cartwright. Note the elbow position throughout the lift and how he doesn't "press" the weight up but "shoves" it lockout. Chain work is SO critical for accomodating resistance and teaching one to accelerate properly,especially on the bench and squat.

7 comments:

Katie, KettlebellKate said...

Hi Rif! Nice work on your ranks in PLUSA. Built to last,you are! I've several shoeboxes of fading gymnastics ribbons and trophies tucked away somewhere in PA.Can't quite shake the competitiveness but training now brings me more joy than ever!

Mark Reifkind said...

hey katie, good to hear from you!If I was built to last I would still be powerlifting,lol.
I still miss the platform but dont miss the stiffness, pain and lack of mobility all the heavy training brought. Its all a tradeoff and being able to push kb training hard is more than enough for me these days.

Petr said...

"he doesn't "press" the weight up but "shoves" it lockout"

Rif, could you please explain it in different way ? I just can't get the sense of it. Thanks a lot

Mark Reifkind said...

petr,

basically its a push press lying down. the drive starts in the legs, travels through the toroso, into and through the lats and then a big push AWAY FROM THE BAR AND BACK THROUGH THE BENCH,trying, at the same time,to lock the arms as soon as possible.
The real key is pushing yourself AWAY from the bar as you shove the bar to lockout.
You want to try to go from having the bar on your chest to a lockout in ONE MOTION.
This concept is why dynamic effort speed work with bands or chains to accomodate resistance is so important.They teach you to accelerate all the way to the top.
Check out bench videos of Brian Siders for more visuals.

fawn said...

Mark,
I cannot thank you enough for all the coaching you've given me over the past few months. I have learned so much about training and the human condition...

Mark Reifkind said...

my pleasure fawn, you are doing great.

Petr said...

very interesting ! thanks Rif.

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