WOW!
Lots of emotion heated up from yesterday's video with Ricky Bruch.
But, even though some disagreed with what may have been Ricky Burch's past (who can say for fact what he did or did not do and deep down who gives a shit), let's look at what we can learn from his videos.
That's how I like to view things: How can I LEARN from X, Y, Z, rather than finding the negative.
There is enough negativity on the internet, I ask you to please not bring it here.
This light of trying to learn and find the positive rather than the negative has been a LARGE factor in my success, which is largely in part due to my mind set.
Check this next video out, a favorite lift of mine is hit HARD in this video with Ricky Bruch:
That movement? we can call it the power curl.
It's a hybrid hang clean and cheat curl, and it places your wrists in a more comfortable position than a typical olympic style hang clean.
Is one better than the other, it all depends on your goals.
If you're an O lifter, than obviously the olympic style clean is best.
I have cranked these power curls sometimes FIRST in a workout, hitting 205 on a straight bar and curl bar.
I was FIRST exposed to these while training with a super heavyweight bodybuilder at my old stomping grounds, Diamond Gym.
The guy who cranked these would hit several sets of 6 - 10 reps during a workout with 275 lbs! The guy was a PURE beast and strong as hell, he LOVED to train heavy and would routinely do 4 - 5 EASY sets of deep squats for 10 reps with 495 lbs, NO joke.
The power curl will pack muscle on your back, shoulders, traps, biceps and forearms.
I suggest you give it a go, with a straight bar, thick bar or an ez curl bar.
The Power Curl will NOT be performed with 95 lbs.
I don't suggest cranking these until you can perform them properly with at least 135 lbs.
Let me hear your thoughts on other unorthodox lifts and this last video of Ricky.
I do like the low budget gym he is training in, it's amazing the type of results one can get from inside these "hole in the wall" warehouse gyms.
Peace!
--Z--
PS: Love the unorthodox lifts? Get busy with my 30 Day Trial to The Underground HERE.
14 Responses
Very interesting! I like how you try and pick out the positive in people and not focusing on the negative. Almost everyone I have come in contact with usualy has a negative remark about someone or something. I try and not sterotype people before I can get to know them. I like how this guy is always busting his ass and goes for what he believes in. The drugs are the neg,but look how he is dead serious on what he is trying to acomplish.
Love it. Bring on the hard core intensity videos. Roger Estop, Bill Kazimer, Doug Youngs, Chuck V now adays.
that guy is roid raging hard, but he is a badass mofo!
love that blog post!
the cheat curl rocks – i use this on some of my athletes, who need power for their sport and who don’t have the flexibility to perform cleans. anyway, in my suggestion, a power curl is easier (the technique, not the weight) to perform than a clean.
I think also Richard Sorin is an advocate of this kind of power curls!
what I also do now more, are zercher lifts. great full body lift!
Loving the passion and commitment ricky put in to his training, certainly admirable
those powercurls wohh they look fun!
ima go and practice my way into them
time to hit the iron!
peace
-Luis-
I’m doing power curls today and I garantee that people are going to look at me like I’m crazy haha I love it.
You can give the 2 videos to 2 different groups of people and have each one write a comment about it and you will get 2 completly different responses.
The power of your mind and how you can see things will give you a direction for your goals. But you decide to take it or not.
I gonna kill those 135 with a powercurl and then see how much more do I have to add
Seriously, where is the so called “greatness” in Ricky Bruch?
All I can see is an emotional wreck of a man. He is a total psycho and besides being a great athlete, I don’t see what this man has accomplished in his life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77nK-wIxVZo&feature=related
Look at this video for example.
Just yesterday you could read about him in the swedish newspaper about him going for “the oldest bodybuilder in the world”. I would say that being a great athlete has taken over his head.
That is NOT greatness.
Zach,
I learned that move from a free-agent footballer from the 80’s who was also an alternate pick for the Olympic weightlifting team years ago.
Worked up to 225 and sometimes a little more. Guys used to give me a hard time about it; “that won’t make your bi’s grow!”
I didn’t care how big my guns were.
So I challenged the guy to a curl off with 135. He just looked at me.
I said, “Strict. No cheating.”
He grabbed the bar and could not even get one rep.
I did 6 strict reps with no swing at all and then slammed the weight to the floor. He never bugged me again. I was 32 at the time, so I wasn’t some twenty year old spring chicken. He was.
I’ve been layed up for two months from surgery, but I bet as soon as I can lift again, in several months of doing what my friend called “cheat or power curls” I could repeat that strict curl w/135 for 6 reps pretty easily. And I’m 47. I might just do it for the he-double hockey sticks of it…I think I will…
Booya!
Walter
Antwon – great point bruddah, at the time, from what I read, his throws in distance were several years ahead of the best throw in the olympics.
So, in regards to his goals, he achieved them and broke records, in life, yes, looks like he is a wreck.
As he went from training for olympics and world championships, to bodybuilding, singing, porn and now oldest bodybuilder in the world….
It’s unfortunate as it seems he never “found himself” and is always searching.
This is why I encourage people to go for their dreams, if porn is your dream, go for it, ha ha
But seriously, it seems as if he was just never satisfied or happy with where he was.
I’m a HUGE believer in balancing my family, work and health.
But, no lie, sometimes I work too much, other times not enough, it’s a game I will always juggle, but I have made the steps to get away from working day / night which could have made me an emotional wreck as well.
I’m pretty damn happy now and I want others to be happy as well.
Just payin it forward bruddah.
Peace!
–Z–
Walter, u never cease to amaze me bruddah!
PURE Beast!
OK, I take back my comment on your last post… this guy is a beast and he does throw around some big weights! I liked this video better than the last… it illustrates his passion and obsession with training better than the previous one did. Awesome stuff Zach… thanks for the post!
Hell Yeeeaaaaah!
I love the part in the scene where he is doing the power curls and he throws the weight onto the rack and it falls over and he just walks away not giving a f*ck.
I wish my old gym would have let me do that.
Im gonna be tossin weights around when i get my underground gym next year.
I will send a vid to Zach so he can post it up.
admin –
I couldn’t agree more.
If I can quote yourself;
“Fuck this.
I’m taking control. It’s my choice on how I react to everything that goes on around me, and everything
that happens to me. I can either cry and let it bring me down and make me weaker. Or I can say screw it
bring it on, I will go through any mountain, any roadblock, any brick wall and I will smash it to be a
success.”
Being a success is more than reaching your goals. According to me it’s a mindset and a way of life. And with a mindset like the quote up there I think you can go far.
As we say in Sweden: “Vägen är viktigare än målet”, which basically means the road is more important than the goal. (I guess that quote is popoular “over the pond” aswell).
Thanks for the answer