Chain suspended good mornings

[bigokie]

I was wondering what size and length of chain you guys use to do these. Haven't done them from chains but I have used them off pins and I was told the chains were better. I was thinking of using the 1/4" chains that I use for Dyn stuff. I figured these will work.

Also, off topic but if you guys haven't been to elitefts.com and read Dave's new article "The Big Woof" You are missing out. This has become one of my favorite articles that he has written. It's worth the five minutes to read, just for motivational purposes.

 

[Deciever]

i would assume that yuou could use the chains that use for dyn. days.

and about the big woof article, yeah thats a great article, really motivational

 

[benchmonster]

1/4 would probably be fine. Westside uses some fairly light chains for theirs, probably 1/4 or pretty close. Let me know how it works out. I have been doing mine off the pins, but maybe a trip to Sutherland's is needed.

B.

 

[Hannibal]

1/4 would probably be fine. Westside uses some fairly light chains for theirs, probably 1/4 or pretty close. Let me know how it works out. I have been doing mine off the pins, but maybe a trip to Sutherland's is needed.

B.

Thats what we use...the same chains that we do Dynamic Work with. In fact we are doing chains suspended GM's tomorrow. Another day of PR's

 

[bigokie]

Update

Tried these today as my ME exercise. Worked up over many many sets to 405. Missed it twice then one the third try smoked it, easy. Went to 495 missed once, then on second try got it. Didn't smoke it but it went up and that's all that matters to me. Then went to 585. Tried this one 4 or 5 times. Couldn't get it. I budged it off the pins but couldn't finish. By this time my lower back was screaming. Decided in a moment of insanity to follow these with pull throughs for 4 sets of max reps. Let's just say after all this my lower back was actually throbbing in pain. Not wanting to let well enough alone, I did cable pulldowns for sets of 10 until I couldn't go anymore. All in all a bitch of a workout.

Now to my question, I figure on alternating the heighth of the chains from time to time. Is this what you guys are doing? How much difference from time to time? Also, what kind of numbers do you guys post on this? Thanks

 

[Screwball]

Hey BigOkie! I need to get some chains to do suspended barbell exercises with. Yesterday for my ME day I did wide-stance arched-back goodmornings off of the pins set at belly-button height. These were not done from the bottom up. I unracked the weight and set up in a typical squat stance. Then I slowly lowered the weight until it rested on the pins, waited for a count of 1,001 and powered the weight back up to lockout. This is what the workout looked like

bar x 10
135 x 6
225 x 3
315 x 3
365 x 3
405 x 3 (put belt on)
455 x 2
495 x 1

I stopped there but 495 was only moderately difficult. I think I'm good for 545+. At 455 I started using my hips & legs but my lower back really got a good workout. Oh by the way, my lower back is good to go now. No more severe back pumps for me. I'm ready to hit some big numbers on my lower body workouts again.

 

[bigokie]

Screwball, you should really try these from the bottom up. They are tough as shit. I think it is because you can't get into groove like you would when you start from the top and go down. You really have to start out tight or the bar will not budge. I found this out the hard way. It took me so many sets to get up to 585 that I was drained by the time I got there. That plus the fact that I was making 90# jumps just really did me in. Hey if your interested in some chains I found a place that is selling 5/8" for cheaper than toppers'. I know you don't want to use those for this but they are good for dyn stuff.

 

[IrishPower]

hey bgiokie,

suspended chain good mornings have become one of my favorite exercises.

we use 3/8" chain to suspend the bar. be careful. the chains wont break even if you slam 800+ lbs into them but the carabeeners (spelling???) you use to hold them together might. we put safety bars in just below where the chains suspend the bar and sometimes we double up the carabeeners.

when i use a close stance, i think they come close to simulating my deadlift because they start from a static position.

when i use an ultra-wide stance, they really seem to help that lockout portion of my squat.

we use a variety of heights. of course, the heigher we raise the chain, the more weight we can use.

i have a TON of videos of us doing good mornings at various stances.

www.growordie.com/training/videos

just look for all of the titles with good morning in them.

/irish

 

[IrishPower]

BigOkie,

We did suspended chain good mornings today with an ultra-wide stance. I used a new bar position: 41.5 from the floor to top of bar.

My previous best off of a 43" position was 655.

Today, I hit 675, missing 705 by a hair.

Two weeks ago, I hit 815 off of a 45" position.

Moving the bar up or down a few inches seems to massively change my leverage and effect my poundage on this exercise.

I love these. They seem to work my whole body yet not trash my tendons like heavy pulling.

Good luck. Next week I am going to take 705 and nail it. I will have a video too!

/irish

 

[bigokie]

Irish, that's crazy weights. What do you squat and pull? Not comp lifts but what do you think you could do in the gym with equipment? Also, how tall are you? Just trying to compare how high your bar is compared to mine. I'm about 6'5" so I think I need to move the bar up a little. These seem to be very difficult, just because I can't get them in groove and it's hard to get myself under the bar. When I did them this last time I was close to parralell at the bottom. I'm pretty satisfied with what I got considering it's my first time to try them. How often do you train gm's like this? Do you train pretty much Westside? Thanks for your help

 

[IrishPower]

BigOkie,

I am 5'9.5. We have a partner who is about 6'5" and uses the same heights. Of course, they are much harder for him to do

My gym lifts:

squat: 800+
dead: 675+

Have you had a look at my videos? You can see where our back positions are in them.

/t

 

[bigokie]

No I can't get your videos to work on my home computer. One of these days I'll take a walk to campus and look at them on the campus computers, they are much faster and I'm sure have the equipment to run them. Thanks for your answers.

 

[vtec96]

would it be a good idea to do these after squats? Not as a ME but maybe a few sets of 4-5 right after regualr squats? I usually do some sldl but wanted to add some other acc's also?

 

[vtec96]

would doing either chain suspended GM's or pin GM's after doing reqular squats be a good idea? Im doing my squats today around 1pm and just wanted to know if it would be good to do some of these GM's as assistance. Last week i did some regular GM's going almost to parrl, but maybe will try some arch backed ones and not go down as far? Anyone?

 

[Screwball]

vtec96,

Sure, you can do good-mornings as an accessory movement after your ME or DE movement (Box squats). I would do them in the 3-6 rep range. Make sure your form doesn't break down when repping.

 

[vtec96]

screwball....Hey i did them today and they worked great!
I know i did not do them fully correct but here is what I did, maybe u can tell me how to imporve it for next time....

after regular sq's, I put the safety pins 4 holes below where i was lifting off of...the pins were at about were my rib cage starts when standing straight up. Not sure if this was too high or not, but it was like a 1/4 sq range. Now my first 3 sets, I realized I was using much more leg drive than i thought i should, almost making this a 1/4 sq! Then i stopped adding weight and keep my legs a little more straight and used more back! Now i started by lifting off like a full squat, then stepping back and going down to touch and pause on the pins. I had to be carefull about dropping it too hard since it would loose the grove on my back with the pins! then after my 5 reps, i re-racked it to the top! Now that i have seen Irish's video's again, I think i was supposed to start each rep from the pins?

what is the difference between pausing on the pins/chains and not? Same principle as the box squat right? And would it make any difference if i only used the pins compared to chains? I w/o at my local college gym, so may or may not be able to use chains?

Thanks bro, I think im getting there

 

[Hannibal]

what is the difference between pausing on the pins/chains and not? Same principle as the box squat right? And would it make any difference if i only used the pins compared to chains? I w/o at my local college gym, so may or may not be able to use chains?

What makes suspending the Good Mornings from chains so effective is there is No Eccentric to start. You are starting from a static position. Just like a deadlift. If you walk it out like a squat...and then just touch the pins...you are able to stay tight..and you don't break of the concentric/eccentric chain.

I know that when I do the chain suspended that the first rep is the hardest...if I can get it, I can usually get the triple....even with the pause on the chains. IMO the chain suspended is the best way to do the good morning.

Depends on which college it is. If it is UF you might be in luck...little more hardcore...but a smaller school like FAU or UNF and they have more of a "fitness center" atomosphere.

 

[vtec96]

Depends on which college it is. If it is UF you might be in luck...little more hardcore...but a smaller school like FAU or UNF and they have more of a "fitness center" atomosphere.

Actually its F.I.U. in Miami.....The power rack is in the corner almost out of view from the staff, so i might be able to ...... do u think the chains are that much better than the pins? I have some, so i might get them ready for next week if i decide to try them ...

 

[Screwball]

Sounds good. There are endless variations to the good-morning. Like Hannibal said when you perform good-mornings from a suspended chain (called Anderson Good-mornings or Anderson's) there is no eccentric portion of the lift (much like a deadlift) so the movement teaches you how to be explosive out-of-the-hole (attempting to fire as much muscle fiber as possible instantaneously). I also agree with Hannibal in that the first rep is always the most difficult. Once you break it from the chain or pins you can usually lock it out and get a few more reps.

A few tips for you. If you do good-mornings suspended from a chain then it is easier to get into position at the bottom. If you place the bar on the power rack's pins then it is more fixed and, therefore, more difficult to get into position. You can get a little "swing with the chain to get some momentum when the weight gets really heavy. I like to set the bar at about the navel level. The lower you set the bar the more difficult it becomes to move the weight.

You don't have to initiate the good-morning from the bottom position all of the time. There is nothing wrong with setting up just like a squat and perform both the eccentric and concentric portions of the lift. Just make sure you lower the weight slowly and under control. If you're lowering to the pins or chain then don't let it drop at the bottom. Set the bar onto the chain or pins lightly.

When the weight is relatively light you can lean far out past your toes and really hit the erectors hard but as the weight gets heavy the tendancy is to move those feet up under you so that you can use your hips, glutes and hams to assist in the lift. I try to be cognizant of where my foot placement is so that I can keep the movement as strict as possible for as long as possible. But, when the weight gets heavy I move my feet up under me and use the entire "rear chain" to move the weight. Many times on maximal attempts the movemnt looks more like a squat but as long as you are overloading those muscles then the exercise is affective. Mix it up often with bar heights, foot placement, bands, chains, etc... Good luck!

 

[Hannibal]

You can get a little "swing with the chain to get some momentum when the weight gets really heavy. I like to set the bar at about the navel level. The lower you set the bar the more difficult it becomes to move the weight.

Swing with the chain to get some momentum??! I can't believe it....CHEATER CHEATER.



Our chain setup is right at waist level for me. Which is a bitch to get under...have to hold onto the rack and squat down before I set up. Maybe I should try the momentum thing.

 

[vtec96]

Thanks again... now i understand much better...found a new main excersise will try the pins for one more week and get out my chains to see if they will fit for the power rack!!

 

[Screwball]

Take a look at IrishPower's Good-morning vids and you can get a good feel for the momentum thing. It's subtle but it helps when the weight gets heavy.

 

[vtec96]

Take a look at IrishPower's Good-morning vids and you can get a good feel for the momentum thing. It's subtle but it helps when the weight gets heavy.

those vid's are Awesome!!! When i see them i just want to move there and Workout with them!!! Would really like to workout with people like that!!! I workout alone or with some "BB" freinds at the gym!! No one does box squats and GM'S.. one dude asked what was i doing when he seem me do a GM! He said he thought it was a f'kd-up squat!!! HEy, i hear lots of comments and crap at the gym, but you know everyone has to say their opinions!!!
Need to find someone here in MIA(south) that trains WS or at least PL'g to workout with! Maybe soon

 

[Screwball]

Vtec96, I believe Cubanito, Cytomel and Bob Youngs are in Southern Florida. You could probably hook up with one or all of these guys to train. Let people know where you're located and your desire to find lifting partners. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

 

[vtec96]

yea, i did already but cubanito is like 50 miles away and i think BY is prolly more since he is North from Cubanito, and i think Cytomel is also in broward and im over 50 miles from there? But one day when i have time im gonna try to arrange to workout with them and take a drive up north

 

[Screwball]

I drive 200+ miles (3 hrs.) to train with Benchmonster & BigOkie at the Dungeon. You do what you've got to do! You need to hook up with Bob. He will definitely help your lifting. He knows his shit!

 

[vtec96]

damn!!! Really? 200 miles?? Your RIGHT!!! I need to.. I meet Bob about 1 yr ago at the Seminar, so maybe i will .. also will try to workout with the other peps too.. I think im gonna try to do this Real soon... at least 1-2 times a month!!! Im sure he can really give me some good advice and all which can make a good difference!!! but 200 miles? thats alot of miles, makes my 50 sound like nothing .. how can i get in touch with bob? i dont have his info?