all posts post new thread

Barbell Two Exercises Only

Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
You mean THE 90 degree push-up? As in "Handstand drop into bent arm planche, then press back into Handstand"?


From the fact that no one else seems to have made much notice of your choice, I'll go ahead and guess you're referring to something else. Otherwise, hat's off to you sir as that's a tremendously difficult exercise that I've been working towards for many months now. Hard for me to think of any other kind of press that requires as much sheer tension, coordination and multiplanar pushing strength as the 90 degree PU.


I wondered about this also. Is the 90 degree the vertical? Personally I'm not sure, but to not mention the vertical push up was not a dis on my part. Every time I speak with Warren Tetting he tells me I should be doing these, vertical push ups. : ]
 
The Clean is a pull, and one of the most powerful strength, and size builders for the whole back, and traps.
Low back the entire lift, lats to pull the bar into you to stay over the bar as long as possible, traps for powerful shrug to explosively finish the second pull, and the upper back to pull yourself under the bar in the third pull.

To build a strong grip I trained the Clean without the hook grip, and that's all the grip training I needed.

If I count the Clean and Power or Split Jerk(which ever works best for you) as two exercises, I would be very strong, powerful, and conditioned by only training those two exercises.

Yea, the clean is a pulling exercise that works the entire body really well. The clean would take care of a lot as long as you work up to a pretty heavy press or jerk to facilitate the clean. (The clean and press/jerk is one lift in this scenario) You can do high reps and low reps and get a great workout for the whole body. I know from experience that heavy pulls lead to respectable bicep curls but I still want to hit the biceps more if we are talking wrestling. Hence, the pull-up....Do cleans really hit the UPPER-BODY pulling muscles enough. I'm not saying they don't but I'm not sure they do..

If the clean and the press/jerk are 2 exercises then I would be all for a full clean and jerk. Coarse this whole argument is mainly just brain storming for fun : )
 
1. Full Clean (aka Squat Clean) & Push Press - too me that's one exercise and not two. You can move more weight than just pressing it, have another explosive component in the push, still uses the shoulder and triceps for pushing (instead of isometrical in the Jerk) and it's not as technically demanding as the Jerk. Works the whole body and teaches you to pick something up and put it all the way overhead.

2. Muscle-Up - one of the most "functional" exercises. Develops the complete upper body. Teaches you to get up on and over fences, walls etc.
 
If I had to pick only two exercises they would be Deadlift and KB Presses....which is what I am working on now. Simple, efficient and easy on my recovery. I'm 51 and do these M, W, Fri/ light, medium, heavy. So far so good.
 
@billyp. Do you do both lifts light, medium and heavy per week. I'm doing something quite similar at the moment. Tell us more about your routine.
 
@masa: I got back into weights after a long run (about 2 years) of nothing but bodyweight training. I believe bodyweight training is excellent but I felt like something in my overall strength was missing so I started incorporating barbells (squats, deadlifts, bench, military barbell press) along with bodyweight like pullups, hanging leg raise, aussie pullups, etc. The barbells helped with my overall strength a lot.....but I started to get carried away and added more exercises and started to exceed my recovery. Just because I can train a lot doesn't mean I should...lol. I get carried away because I love training so much as I'm sure a lot of people on this forum can relate. So I just wanted to pare everything back to as little as possible and focus. So I chose the deadlift and the barbell press....but then changed my mind to the KB press. So now I train Mond, Wed, Fri. Light on Monday, medium on Wednesday and heavy on Friday. Deadlifts I work 5x5 working up to a top set of 5. The KB's I'm just getting back into so I am working with a 24kg, slowly building reps. Tomorrow I will do 2x2 and 3x1. Using a sort of Doug Hepburn method of adding reps. Once I can get up to doing some sets of 5 reps I will apply just the C&P of ROP (no swings) or the "Chinese Food For Rapid Pressing Gains". I also may scale back the deadlifts to 3x3 and incorporate the swings. See how it goes building up the KB press reps. I also do some neck work a day or two per week. On the other days I do not train I walk 30-45 mins with a #45 weighted vest and lost of joint mobility, yoga type stretching and 1lb clubs to stay loose. So that's where I'm at. I'm excited to get back to the KB's. I started training with them in 2004 online with one of the first RKC guys. Hope that's not too much info....lol.
 
Last edited:
@billyp: Thanks for your reply. Good information. I got some ideas. I trained too much in the past too. Went too far with Starting Strength. Good program, but one has to be careful when following that program. At the moment I do C&P with ladders and some variations of deadlift. When I have my knee fixed, I'll start to add some swings and maybe TGU in. Probably with block method manner.
 
Because light, medium and heavy might work as well and if my memory serves it was Bill Pearl's version. I have used that myself too.
 
Last edited:
I will probably rotate light, medium, heavy after about 4-6 weeks to change it up a bit. I'm thinking medium on Monday, light on Wednesday and heavy still on Friday. Then probably rotate again with heavy on Monday, light on Wednesday and medium on Friday. Breaks it up to keep from going stale...
 
Thanks for the link. I made fool out of myself. It was Bill Starr, not Bill Pearl as I suggested above.
 
I like the variety, and self limiting exercises on heavy, light, and medium days. I did back squats on heavy day, and front squats on light, and medium days.
 
The original Power To The People! Program - 2-leg, 2-arm barbell deadlift, plus a 2-leg, 1-arm overhead press.

-S-
I noticed in the Power to the People book that there is the floor press too (cheap man's bench press) - is it not really part of the programme?
 
The floor press is an alternative to the side press. I've heard that some people have done well with bench press and deadlifts, too, but I don't think the bench press is mentioned since it requires more equipment.
 
Double KB front squat and double KB press. Total body work with tons of tension. And you have no choice but to clean so a little extra benefit.
 
Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
Back
Top Bottom