The "Bradstock" Jump Squat: Is it a safe and effective exercise?

[StuWard]

I think you should go to Drsquat.com and talk to Fred Hatfield.

You should also point out that you have already posted this on at least 5 other sites including masterstrack.com, Javelin Discussion Forum, Track and Field news, Dave Draper and this one. It can save people from sending you in circles.

It sounds to me like you made a recommendation in 2 of these sites, were criticized for it, and now you are checking to see if it was a safe recommendation. You would be better to talk to experts in the field privately. Now it sounds like you're not sure of what you're recommending.


Stu

[MAXX]

In addition to the sites that StuWard posted, I also saw this guy post on a baseball forum: Best single weight exercise for baseball pitchers! - Baseball Fever.

Smells more and more like some type of bad spam. I'd be leary of his recommendations based upon what I've seen so far...........

[bullandbear]

Roald, I watched the video and was amazed that anyone would even try that and I mean it in a very admirable way.

However, are your clients athletes looking for the edge AND have run out of training ideas? I've used jump squats before but never with more than 50% of my max and personally feel that they do give you that variety you need sometimes. Yet, I'm not so sure if there isn't something else I could do relatively more safely, such as getting much stronger and seeing more weights added on a regular squat.

By your own admission, you've been training on this for a while (specifically) and I would say that you are conditioned by now to attempt this quite safely. I am sure that there are some out of your entire client portfolio who might be able to replicate what you did, given proper duration and training. Again, I need to ask how it would benefit them as the only time I see a golfer needing that kind of strength is if he needs to support himself from being crushed by a falling tree during inclement weather.

You do bring a rather unorthodox approach and having attempted jump squats of up to 50% max load, I personally haven't seen the cutting edge benefit it brings relative to the risk involved in performing it. I would be most interested to hear your comments about any injury, pains or imbalances you might have during this period you started adding the exercise to your routine. What are you currently doing for restoration? You are either one tough SOB or you have hell lots to teach us if you remain pain-free.

[jvernacchio]

Spam is delicious in a funky weird salty sort of way.

[roald62]

First - this is not spam.

Second - I did not know it was not allowed to join / post on other sites. I must have missed that information when I registered. Hmm..

Third - Regarding my posting:

I asked a question about the exericse I was doing - the actual movement itself. Most people address the weight I was using. It is the exericse that "I" do, it was "me" demonstrating it and it was "my" video. Non of my clients or athlete do this. I can't do jerks, or pulls from the ground even with light weight - those hurt my back and shoulders. If I do a full squat my legs get massive, my back gets tight as do my adductors. The exericse I show is really a mixture of a jerk behind the neck, a pull and squat all modified. Through experimentation this is the exericse I now do. I do also do bounding double and single leg.

My thinking is I have taken out the dangerous parts and kept the benificial part of a jerk, clean and squat. To me, dropping under a bar and catching a weight over head with locked arms is risky. With the clean (or snatch ) the pull from the floor is risky because you go from zero to max in a weak position - most people(athletes) lack the ankle flexibility or the knowledge of how to stay back on the heels and use the lower body - they straighten their legs too quickly and then use their back. The bar is also too far infront of the body. At the top of the movenent when you catch the weight most people don't catch it high enough their elbow are way to low so they are straining to hold the weight using their upperbody - putting pressure on their wrists and upper and lower back.

To be clear my comments above are targeted at non weight lifters as in people that are not power lifters and/ Olympic lifters - those guys for the most part know what they are doing and the proper mechanics.

FYI: In my teenage years I was both a competitive power lifter and a competitive Olympic Lifter.

cheers

[MAXX]

Your posts here may not be spam, but your post over at Baseball Fever sure smells like spam. You are claiming that the dumbbell pullover is the greatest exercise for pitchers, and you do not provide any support for your claim.......

[roald62]

it is the single best "weight" exercise for a baseball pitcher - in my humble opinion.

Just doing the pullover alone will not work. You must do lots of stretching, medicine ball throwing and swimming too.
You want proof. Well I can't give that to you. All I have is myself
a sample of well "One"....an old guy that has been throwing for almost 40 years and had no injuries or surgeries. I don't believe I am some freak of nature. It is not just luck! I believe it because the way I train.

[Jean-Paul]

I think it has been established that Roald is not a spammer, so let's focus on his content and drop that charge.

Roald, please understand that there are scores of "gurus" out there who will pop in here and make one post and never show up again, so people here are naturally suspicious.

This is also probably a better informed group of trainees than you will find anywhere else on the net (along with BR and Strengthcoach.com), so they won't really accept training methods just because someone is a successful athlete and claims they work. You need to be able to back up what you say here.

One thing I have learned is that some people are successful in spite of themselves. Good genetics and determination can be enough for some people to compete at the elite level. Case in point, I can't tell you how many pro football players I see doing leg presses or DB curls ad infinitum, and some people hang on every word they say as if by virtue of being a good athlete they are automatically an authority.

I always say, "follow a horse home and you'll find horse parents."

That's not to suggest you don't know what you're talking about... Just saying that this crowd is a little tougher than the average crowd, and you will need to fully explain yourself. Also, expect some debate, ideally in a courteous manner (although sometimes it can get heated). Don't let that prevent you from participating though. I personally hope you stick around.

All that aside, I really like your art. You have some great designs. Kind of like throwing a weight lifter in a blender with MC Escher and hitting the frappe button!

[roald62]

Thanks for your post Jean-Paul and also everyone else that has posted.

Yes this is indeed a good forum, with people that are interestied in discussion unlike some other forums - yikes - I had no idea I would get some of the reactions and personal attacks. But that in itself was an interesting experience.

The title of my post was a two part question: Is this exercise safe and is it effecitive? I showed myself doing a set of jump squats with a lot of weight. Almost everyone focused on the weight and only the weight which obviously is part of the equation but what about the actual movement itself?

My thinking is that yes there is an increased risk as the weight increases but the limited range I was working in reduces that risk. I was in a rack, I had warmed up and I had done several periodizations cycles leading up to what you saw on the video. I am an experieced athlete, coach and trainer and I have a very specific reason for doing that exercise / movement and with that much weight. I had weighed up the risk / reward ratio for myself.

I am not claiming to be some guru. I am always experiementing - on myself - to work around the growing number of physical restrictions I have to over come and to see what new effective exercises I can create. Also, to keep things fresh. I always ask questions of myself and others. All you have to do is to look at my YouTube videos to see that.

My training as an artist is to look, to watch, to ask questions - thats what I do. To grow we must be open to new things and as Captin Kirk would say: " To seek out and boldly go.." I do not believe everything is written in Stone. The fitness Industry is so, so new still.