The Jefferson lift, also known as the Jefferson deadlift, Jefferson squat or straddle deadlift, is not a commonly seen exercise. In fact, I would put it as something that is forgotten or unknown by 99% of the population.
According to my research it was named after Strongman Charles Jefferson.
But since I’ve been introduced to it, I’ve absolutely loved it. Let me tell you why.
First off, let’s talk about how to do the Jefferson lift. It is like a conventional deadlift except you’ll step one foot over the bar so that you are straddling it.
At first glance, men are going to be scared of this lift as I‘ve heard it been referred to its nick-name the “nut-crusher”. Let me say that I’ve personally never had this particular problem. I suppose it does depend on several factors though including arm length, torso length, and how its hanging. For that reason it may not be appropriate for everyone. Anyway…
The great thing about the Jefferson lift is how you can find your own personal groove with it.
- You can hinge at the hips more to incorporate more back. (more like a regular deadlift)
- Squat down more, making it similar to a sumo deadlift, and use recruit more quad involvement. (more like a squat)
- Move the feet closer of further.
- Change your hand position closer or wider.
- Turn more to the side, or stay facing straight forwards.
- And of course you can switch what foot is facing forwards.
There’s a lot of variation here. If you’ve ever looked for something that is same but different this is a great one. If you do biofeedback training, this exercise alone is a testament to what can be done. And on that note its note surprising the results David Dellanave has gotten with it. Here he is lifting 605 lbs. in the Jefferson.
It has been instrumental for me in increasing my conventional deadlift up to 505. And now I’m working to go even further.
Here is one more important point. The Jefferson is similar to the trap bar deadlift in that the weight is centered under you, unlike in a conventional deadlift where the weight is slightly in front of you. For this reason alone I find the Jefferson lift is actually a safer variation for many people.
Of course there is some unique core work involved, which could be great for you, or not so much. After doing a set of heavy Jeffersons you’ll feel your rib cage on one side perhaps unlike ever before.
Go ahead and try this deadlift out if you never have.
Here’s your question for the day. If you’ve done the Jefferson deadlift before “what are your experiences of it?”
In strength,
Logan Christopher
P.S. If you want to learn a whole bunch more similar “oldtimer” exercises I suggest you check out the Arthur Saxon Power Pack.
Filed under Barbells and Dumbbells, Bio Feedback, Lifting Technique, Oldtime Strongmen, Strength Training Concepts, Videos by on Jan 18th, 2012. 7 Comments. 
Did you know that the more you study a sport (in our case weightlifting and exercise) the better you’ll be?
According to Dr. Judd Biasiotta in his book 2001 A Sports Odyssey:
“Research in the field of psychomotor development consistently revealed that the more information afforded an athlete about physiological, psychological and mechanical demands of the sport in which he engages, the more likely that he will excel.”
“The athletes that were given special intellectual training – lectures, demonstrations, and readings concerning the physical, psychological, and biomechanical demands of the sport – performed significantly better that the athletes who were not exposed to this type of special tutoring.”
So if you want to get stronger you should read more?
That’s part of it and one of the reasons I put together the new Physical Culture Book Club.
Of course, reading about lifting does not actually replace it. I’m not out to create an army of armchair lifters. The above reference presupposes actual practice.
But when you apply what you learn you’ll become stronger, if you’re smart about it.
Back many years ago I would read one book, or watch a DVD then switch my training program to reflect entirely what was in that program. Of course this would only last until I saw the “next big thing”. This is the WRONG way to do it.
These days I study just as much, but I take a different approach. Instead of looking at everything as “this is the holy grail” I operate from the “principle of the slight edge”.
If I can take one, just one technique from a book, then that makes it more than worth it to me.
What could one exercise you’ve never done, or had forgotten about, do for you, if that exercise is just what you need to bring up your weakness?
What if there’s a technique that you never learned before that can instantly add 10% to what you can do?
A single paragraph or even sentence in a 200 page book can change your training for the better
When you listen to the Oldtime Strongmen you’ll hear some contradictory advice. That’s fine. The world doesn’t end if two people don’t agree. But you take what works, add to what can be done better, and discard the rest.
The new book club is to do much more then just read the books, but discuss and bring out the best points. The more participation we get the better it will be.
Thomas Inch was strong. He also taught a lot of other people how to be strong. So we’re starting with his book aptly titled On Strength this month.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
P.S. Don’t forget you can pick up the whole package of books for this year by clicking here.
Filed under Book Club, Oldtime Strongmen, Strength Training Concepts by on Jan 3rd, 2012. Comment.
This is one of the over-arching principles of strength and endurance which I call the Conditioning Continuum.
It’s one of the 7 principles found in Explosive Bodyweight Conditioning that I want to discuss today.
And although the course is about explosive bodyweight exercises for endurance this principle applies to your training no matter how you do it.
People like to separate things. It’s a useful ability but it can also close you off to even more useful ideas.
One of these is the concepts of strength and endurance.
When you think of strength what do you imagine? Lifting a heavy weight? A one repetition maximum?
That would be what most people think of. And its right although there are many other definitions that work equally as well.
When it comes to the Conditioning Continuum that sort of strength is on the far left. Its maximum strength with no real endurance needed.
On the other side we have endurance. The common even stereotypical example is a marathon runner. No real strength needed here, but a whole bunch of endurance.
Here’s where the problem is. If you only think in these terms of limit strength and close to it, and extreme endurance examples you’re missing out on everything in the middle.
The middle is where everything lays that could be called strength-endurance. Of course things don’t just neatly fit into this category either.
Think about a 10 minute kettlebell snatch test.
Or pushing a van for 100 yards.
What about a mile run?
In these examples your strength could be what is holding you back from doing more or going faster. But it could also be your endurance.
When you look at what you’re doing and what you want to accomplish you need to see where your time is best spent.
Tons more information is available in Explosive Bodyweight Conditioning, a 2 DVD set that gives you tons of exercises, variations, workouts and how to put this Conditioning Continnum to work for you.
Grab it today as a bonus with the Advanced Bodyweight Training Course
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Bodyweight Exercise, Conditioning, Kettlebells, Running, Strength Training Concepts by on Nov 3rd, 2011. 1 Comment.
Can you even comprehend it? 370 lbs. overhead with one hand!.
It boggles the mind.
Just pick that weight up off the ground (if you can!) and feel how heavy that is.
Just try to shoulder the weight into place. Much harder than you might think.
Since diving into the Saxon material I’ve been doing a whole bunch of new exercises. I honestly feel like I was missing out on something big in my training, and these forgotten exercises provide just what I needed.
Plus I’m having a blast doing them. Today I was doing 120 lb. dumbbell clean and jerks followed by press lockouts. What fun!
You see the one of the main principles I gathered from studying the Iron Master was that overhead lifting is one of the big keys to overall strength. That’s why at least two thirds of his recommend exercises involved just that.
There’s two more major principles I gathered as well just as important at that one, which brings me to something I hadn‘t done in years.
Yesterday I was working on the bent press. Set a new record for myself of 115 lbs. which I did pretty easily.
Taking it slow as I improve my technique (Though I’m not a stickler for “correct” technique, the difference here is this is a highly technical lift). By the end of the year I plan to hit at least 135 lbs.
Arthur claims that this is the best lift, and he says his success in it did not sway this opinion.
If you‘re looking for something new and different for your workouts…
If you want to handle barbells and dumbbells in ways that will stop most others cold…
If you want to broaden your shoulders and beef up your back and arms…
If you just plain want to become FREAKISHLY STRONG…
In strength,
Logan Christopher
P.S. The Arthur Saxon Power Pack is one of my new favorite courses.
Filed under Barbells and Dumbbells, Feats of Strength, Lifting Technique, Strength Training Concepts by on Nov 2nd, 2011. 2 Comments.
This is a model I came up with on the three areas you can focus in on to increase your performance. I call it the Peak Performance Trinity.
The question to ask yourself is what area are you lacking in and what can you do to make it better?
1. Physical Training
2. Health and Nutrition
3. Mental and Energetic Training
Most people aim to help you in one area but I’m seeking to do all three. And on that note I have something very special I’m unleashing for you later this week.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Strength Training Concepts, Videos by on Oct 11th, 2011. 2 Comments.
Making exercise a habit probably isn’t a struggle for most of the people that read this site. Yet, every once in awhile even the best of us slip up.
When I travel I don’t always have time to workout. This is for a couple reasons. Generally, my trips are short so I use it as a break. Other times I do have access to somewhere I’d like to workout so over a weekend trip I might get one good workout in. But if I don’t I don’t worry about it. A little time off never hurt anybody.
Like this past weekend I did some NatMov style training with my brothers. Fun stuff and very different from my normal training. More on that later.
And usually when I get back home I get right back into training.
However, after this last trip that wasn’t the case. I went a full two days back without using my gym.
I know what you’re saying, oh man Logan, you’re really starting to slip. Two days you lazy bastard! All joking aside I am quite serious. Going two days without working out when I have no real excuse, when I feel I should, is a huge deal for me.
Sure I could blame it on all the work I had to catch up on. And the fact that the weather changed and now it’s very cold up here. Or I injured my hand in the martial arts. But those are just excuses and you know what they say about excuses.
Yesterday I finally got back in the gym, after what seemed like a long lay off to me. I did some squats, chinnups and barbell presses and felt great afterwards.
For me exercises is a habit. In fact, if I don’t do it regularly I begin to become depressed, real fast. And the longer I don’t do it the harder it becomes to not do it again. Resistance builds up. However since I’ve been doing it so long as a habit, I really can’t do without. I’m addicted!
Many people have to force themselves to workout. But if you enjoy what you do (and there are so many ways you can exercise, so find one, two or five things you enjoy doing) it is not a chore. I always tell people that if I had to spend 45 minutes on a hamster wheel treadmill I wouldn’t exercise either. But tossing some kettlebells around, lifting heavy weights or doing handstands and I’m in.
For me I couldn’t stop if I wanted to. When you reach this place you’ll never have to worry about not doing enough for you fitness and what that can do for you health.
Making exercise a habit is simply a matter of doing it long enough, with enough enjoyment, that you need to exert no effort in making it happen again and again.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
P.S. Join us for the Oldtime Strongman Blueprint Workshop and discover the habits of becoming a strongman.
Filed under Strength Training Concepts by on Oct 7th, 2011. 5 Comments.
I just had an awesome weekend in Minneapolis at the Smarter Strength workshop. What I learned there will have some big changes for the future. Look for a full review later on.
There I taught others the basics of hand balancing as you can learn in the Secrets of the Handstand Quick Start DVD.
People were loving the progressions and different movement patterns then many aren’t use to. I even taught Adam Glass how to do a cartwheel (look for a video sometime soon).
I’m extremely happy about this video where I juggle a 70 lb. kettlebell behind my back.
Now I plan on getting back into juggling kettlebells regularly. Want to join me? Then I recommend you check out The Definitive Guide to Kettlebell Juggling.
I hit several other big PR’s. A 485 lb. deadlift. A 645lb partial deadlift.
Holding back levers easier than ever before.
Tearing a Mini Deck of Cards in half for the first time ever.
Doing a bridge lockout of 325 lbs. as is described in the Advanced Bridging Course.
I don’t say this to brag. I say this to inspire and show you that you too can achieve great things if you put your mind to it.
And if you want to get there faster having quality instruction is the best way to do so. That’s why I put together all my programs. To help you achieve your goals faster.
I taught Dave the progression I’d been using towards a one arm chinnup, described in the Advanced Bodyweight Training Course. Considering he’s busted out a chinnup with 56kg of added weight for two reps I predict he’ll be able to do the real thing soon.
Whether your goal is holding a handstand, lifting heavy weights, snatching a kettlebell for 10 minutes or anything else.
I’ve received 57 orders from people all over the world looking to get stronger and gain more crazy skills. Everything from my $1 digital video offer to the whole package for $997.
There is a lot to learn.
But this sale won’t be around long. Just a few more days then its gone for good. So grab what you want right now.
Sincerely,
Logan Christopher
P.S. Plus everything on the sale still comes with my 3 month guarantee. So you can try it and if you don’t like it for any reason just let me know and you’ll get all your money back. There’s no risk.
Filed under Barbells and Dumbbells, Bodyweight Exercise, Feats of Strength, Hand Strength, Kettlebells, Strength Training Concepts, Videos by on Jun 14th, 2011. Comment.
Back when I started to get serious about training (after moving out the commercial gyms) I got into bodyweight training and kettlebells.
A short time later I stumbled on Twisted Conditioning by Bud Jeffries.
Here was a man that claim you could build insane strength and conditioning at the same time. And it wasn’t just empty claims he was doing it. A 1000 lb. squat in one workout and 1000 bodyweight squats in another. More often then not it was mixed workouts that would involve lifting some heavy weights between long sets of endurance exercises.
Wow! I want that ability…
I bought the book (and more) and started training that way. I haven’t looked back since.
Yes you can have super strength and super endurance at the same time. In fact, by doing it right they actually aid in building each other.
It’s a far cry from the “I can’t run on the treadmill as I will lose my hard-earned muscle” idea common to bodybuilders and others.
It’s actually quite simple to do once you understand that basics of it.
Since then I’ve had the pleasure to start working with Bud. And he’s still a big influence on my training. If I have a question or problem in my workout, he is one of the first people I talk to for ideas on what to do.
His ideas are continually innovative. I tried one of his dumbbells conditioning workouts. Just two 25 lb. dumbbells and in less that 10 minutes I got my butt kicked.
Much has changed since Bud wrote Twisted Conditioning 1 and 2. It’s time for an update of the material.
That’s what he’ll be showing at the Super Human Training Workshop in the Monster Strength and Conditioning segment.
It’s his latest ideas and training on how to put it all together. All the ideas on why you should do what Bud does, of course tailored to the results you want to get.
You can bet I’ll be taking plenty of notes during this presentation right along with all the attendees.
And it won’t just be talk. You’ll get to watch and participate in workouts in action there.
Its going to be a blast.
To get more details and sign up go here.
It’s a really cheap price with a bunch of extra goodies thrown on top to sweeten the pot. Be sure to sign up before March 31st for the early registration price.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Conditioning, Strength Training Concepts, workshops by on Mar 23rd, 2011. Comment.
Thanks to everyone who has snapped up the Keys to Successful Training Online Course.
It’s is going off the market for good this Wednesday. Get it now for half price or never get it again.
One of the things I talk about in the course is whether or not to listen to music.
For well over a year now my workouts have been silent. With no music there are no distractions. It allow you to go deep inside, to concentrate better at the task at hand.
That was my reasoning behind it. And I still believe it.
Yet a couple of things I’ve read recently are making me do a switch.
In a little book from 1945 called How to Relax: Scientific Body Control comes the following:
“A few years prior to World War II Mussolini engaged Boyd Comstock, the University of Southern California’s well-known track coach, to work with Italian athletes. The object was to improve their performances at the Olympic Games. Comstock worked tirelessly at the task. But is seemed almost hopeless, until the canny American trainer hit on an idea.
“He had observed that these Italian youths were passionately fond of music. Could the natural rhythm they show in singing, for instance, be applied also to track? At least it was worth a trial. So Comstock told his protégés to sing as they ran, hurdled and jumped. Almost miraculous improvements resulted, Comstock reported.”
There is other information and stories in the book along the same lines. It makes sense that rhythm in music can be of useful effect in athletics.
My thought is that listening to music with the right tempo could be a big help especially in conditioning tests. Whether it’ll help in singles and low rep exercise I know not. Also the wrong tempo could possibly throw you off.
But then music can help you in another way. If its music that you enjoy, that gets you going, it can turn on the radiant circuits and put you in the right state for training.
So here is where I’d like your input. Plus a little experiment.
In the comments below, tell me if you listen to music, and what kind, when you train. Then for the next week or so (if you have control over it, meaning you don’t workout in a commercial gym) workout without music to see what sort of difference it makes.
And if you don’t listen to music write that below and try the opposite. Put on the tunes and train along with them.
I’ll be doing this and report back next week with any differences I notice.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Mental Training, Strength Training Concepts by on Oct 25th, 2010. 16 Comments.
No not me, but one of my products.
The Keys to Successful Training Online Course will be going away permanently in just a few days.
I have to tell you a bit of story about it to get to why.
First of all, it was to be the culmination of everything I do in my training. The why’s and how’s of the way I train. This was all addressed in 6 modules including, Goal Setting, Progression, All Around Fitness, Keeping Healthy, Pushing the Limits and Psychological Tactics.
This wasn’t the basics of ‘this is how you do a squat and you should do it for 3 sets of 10 reps‘ that the majority of fitness programs are.
Instead I aimed to give the keys to being able to make your own training plan and to make rapid progress with it.
Not only that but how I delivered it was unique. I thought this was awesome (if I didn‘t I wouldn‘t have spent so much time working on it). Using a special software platform I was able to make a multimedia portal with text, video and audio to learn the lessons. And once you finished them you were quizzed to make sure you comprehended the material.
But it was a flop!
Although I believe it carried my best information at the time and was cutting edge, the market was not there with me. I can guess as to why this was, but it doesn’t really matter.
I’ve left it open but it hasn’t sold more than a handful of copies over time, especially without me ever really mentioning it anywhere.
Those that did buy it seemed to love it…
“After learning the first tip in the first module of “Keys To Successful Training” I feel like I got my entire money’s worth for the course.”
-Najeeb Siddique
“This course is a gold mine of information. If you came up with this yourself, you’re a very intelligent individual.”
-Mighty Joe
Since that time, some of my ideas on training have changed. Not the least of which, biofeedback training, in particular. But that’s certainly not all.
Still the vast majority of what is in there is solid gold. If you truly understand and use the material in just modules one and two you will get stronger. There is no doubt about it. Add in some of the advanced stuff like in module 6 and you will get stronger faster.
I’ve been thinking about doing this for a little while. Now I have decided to do so. The Keys to Successful Training Online Course is being retired.
But as always I wanted to give you a last chance offer.
For today you can get the Keys to Successful Training Online Course for half off. From $49 to $25.
This offer only lasts a couple days. If you want it now you can get it for just $25.
If not, not a problem.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
P.S. I am serious about this retirement. After this offer you will never be able to get it again. Click over to read more details and even see a little video showing how the course is laid out.
Filed under Bio Feedback, Mental Training, Strength Training Concepts by on Oct 21st, 2010. Comment.
