It can be hard to find a more classic strength-training picture
than Arthur Saxon performing a bent press with 300 plus pounds on
the bar, a feat that would be tough for most strongman to duplicate
even today. Today modern-day great strength coaches such as John
Davies and Pavel Tsatsouline have brought back the one-arm lifts.
The benefits of these lifts are impossible to duplicate and can
serve a wide variety of functions in training.
Benefits of the One-Arm Lifts
Grip Training: Many sports require the athlete to possess
a strong grip. The strength of one's hands can be one of the biggest
examples of "functional" strength. Sports such as American
and Canadian football, gymnastics, wrestling, baseball, softball,
and hockey have extremely high demand of grip strength.
Coordination: Kettlebells definitely offer a unique variation
in the coordination required in lifting. However, the leverage
of one-arm barbell lifts takes this difference to the next level.
Each repetition must be performed with great precision; otherwise
the bar will take the lifter for a ride.
Injury Prevention Training: Injuring the rotator cuff
is a too common occurance for many athletes. Simple and isolation
exercises are usually prescribed for both treatment and prevention.
Because of the great demands placed on this unstable joint, greater
challenges need to be made to the shoulder joint to avoid such
problems. The leverage of these one-arm lifts acts as a stabilizer
to shoulder muscles. Like many of the traditional kettlebell lifts,
these exercises can also be performed with a barbell. Strengthening
the shoulder in many ranges of motion are impossible to duplicate
with machines or other common bodybuilding approaches.
Core Training: Athletes will find some of the most effective
ways of improving core strength is by implementing one-arm lifts.
By loading the body in a unilateral manner, the opposing trunk
muscles must contract even greater to avoid excessive lean to
one side. Many of our favorite one-arm exercises involve overhead
lifting, a great but highly underutilized way of increasing core
strength.
How to Implement
The utilization of the one-arm barbell lifts should be dictated
by the goal of the program. At our facility, we often use these
lifts after the more complex focus lift (i.e. snatch) to avoid
a detrimental effect to the focus lift. However, these lifts are
not placed at the end of the workout when fatigue may compromise
proper technique.
Since the grip will typically be the first to fatigue, the repetitions
should remain on the lower end, 3 to 5 reps. This will normally
encourage a higher number of sets be implemented to compensate
for the lower repetitions. Lifters will also find their performance
will vary depending upon the size of the bar. Having been in many
different gyms, I know that the grip size of bars will vary a
lot, thicker bars will seem heavier, but may be more appropriate
for those that are trying to challenge their grip.
The Exercises
The exercises depicted below are far from an exhausted list.
These are some of the lifts we like to employ. You will notice
many are hybrids because time is often a great concern for our
athletes.
One-Arm Snatch + Overhead Squat/Lunge
- Start from the hang position (slightly above the knees)
- With an explosive pull with the hips, drive the weight overhead
- Stabilize the bar overhead by using the lats. This requires
holding tension beneath the armpit by actively pulling the shoulder
down in the joint. Perform either an overhead squat or lunge
- During the squat, the lifter may want to lean slightly away
from the bar to help restricted flexibility
One-Arm Curl + Press + Windmill
- Actively squeeze the bar with your posture held tight (the
bar will want to pull the shoulder forward)
- Curl the weight to the shoulder and rotate the bar slowly
- Drive the bar above the head with the lats and trunk muscles
- Once the bar is stabilized overhead, turn the feet away from
the bar at 45 degrees
- Drive the hips back towards the direction of the bar
- Bending at the hips, descend down by the outside foot
- Make sure to keep the lats and trunk tight during the entire
movement
One-Arm Floor Press
- Lay lateral to a power rack or a slightly elevated platform
- Knees should be bent, a tight arch must be placed by the low
back causing contracted lats, glutes, and abs
- Grip the bar either with two hands or with the help of a partner
out of the rack
- Slowly lower the bar so the elbow touches the floor, take
a full pause without releasing tension
- Drive the bar up by pushing the body into the floor and flaring
the lats
Josh Henkin is the Director/Owner of Advanced Athletic Performance.
A sports conditioning company dedicated to developing the complete
athlete. Please visit www.aaptraining.net
for more information.
