Russian Deadlift KINGS - Koklayev, Belyaev, Pozdeev, Konstantinovs

As I surfed internet the other night I found this vid below and I think it is damn amazing:

Koklayev is the tall massive guy pulling conventional in blue shoes, Belyaev is the short stocky guy pulling sumo (massive legs), Konstantinovs is the tall muscular guy with no T-shirt and Pozdeev is the sumo machine with headset on.

I think this vid is pretty unique as it shows for different pulling styles of pulling kings (all of them pull close or over to 400k (880lbs). We are talking here about the absolute top of the premium level.

They pull all differently, yet they have some things in common:
1/ they all are Eastern Bloc lifters (Koklayev, Pozdeev and Belyaev are Russian, Konstantinovs is Latvian)
2/ they all pull multiple times a week
3/ they rarely max out in training
4/ they do huge volume at lower intensities

See any take home notes? Yes, it's that simple. Forget the Western bullshit where you pull infrequently, you have shitty and inconsistent form and get injured frequently.

Let's get some more analysis of their pulling styles ...

Konstantin Pozdeev:
Actually, I do not have info how his training is set-up but I am pretty damn confident that his training will be very similar to Belayaev's: multiple pulling weekly, shitload of volume; Sheiko style sets and reps; lower to medium intensity. Look at his form. His lightest warm-up and his heaviest meet pull look exactly the same. This is due to tens of thousands reps and insane volume. I think he has the best sumo technique these days. Watch closely: he pulls strongly with the hips, wide stance, locks legs quite early, then powerful hip thrust and glutes extension. Pozdeev is a beast. I think he will shatter multiple world records in coming years.

Andrey Bealyaev:
Bealyaev is a monster. He is below 100k (220lbs) yet he would kick just about everybody's ass in Europe and America. His style is one smooth piston-like motion. Starting his sumo with powerful hip dominated-squat, he extends hips and lock knees at the same time. Again, Sheiko follower with insane volume at medium intensity, frequent pulling. Guys like Belyaev do weekly more volume that average Joe does monthly or bi-monthly.

Misha Koklayev:
Former Oly lifter turned powerlifter and strongman, Misha lifts somewhat differently than others. As a former Oly lifter he relies heavily on his powerful butt and legs and that is why he dips his hips quite deep when he begins to pull (starting in a somewhat clean position). Actually, his training, again, is high volume, high frequency.

Konstantin Konstantinovs:
This guy is a beast. He pulls with a rounded upper back (yet rock solid lower back which does not extend during the pull). Rounded upper back allows him to shorten the ROM and get the bar close to hips for more powerful pull. There is a shitload of vids on Youtube of this guy showing his multiple pulling sessions. Not only he pulls multiple times a week, sometimes he pulls twice during one session, for example he starts with low block pulls, then does some bench pressing and finishes the session with heavy-as-fuck trap bar pulls or deficit pulls followed with some assistance.


Why am I writing this? Each of us is different: someone is short, someone is tall, long legs, long arms, blah, blah. Pick your poison: you can pull with low hips as Koklayev does or high hips and rounded upper back as Konstantinovs. If you are a sumo puller, you can squat the weight more as Belayev does and make at a smooth combo of hip extension and knees locking or go like Pozdeev with early locked legs and powerful hip extension a split second later. Whatever style you choose, remember what they share and why they are the deadlift kings: multiple pulling a week, shitload of volume at low or medium intensities, huge volume on squatting as well; practice of tens of thousands reps.

Now, go pull something heavy ;-)



P.S. Yep, chicks should do some high-volume pulling as well ...

front squats - the mass king and your No.1 assistance lift

Front squats seem to be getting back some popularity. Rightly so. They used to be forgotten somewhat due to the Westside bandwagon where they said you did not need quads for squatting. Well, that maybe true for heavy-equipment lifting. Definitely not true when it comes to raw squatting.




Raw squatters use medium to narrow stance and they sit back AND down at the same time so quads are used big time. After the back squat, the king of powerlifts, the front squat takes a very close second place.

Front squats will give you many things: huge quads, steel core, strong upper back, confidence in the hole.

huge quads:
Because your torso is pretty much upright and you sit down more than you sit back, you have a pretty solid compound lift to hit your quads. Front squats will take some stress of your hips and lower back and overload your quads way more. This is very important for strong conventional pullers who tend to have stronger backs than legs. I strongly advise front squats as the No.1 assistance lift to deadlifts. Especially, if you are weak off the floor. Do some heavy ass to grass front squats and watch your deadlift rise.

You could do many protocols for front squats: 5 sets of 5, 4 sets of 8, 6 sets of 3 with heavier weight. Play with the frequency too: maybe once a week 5 heavy sets of 3 and then 4 medium heavy sets of 8. Yes, additionally to back squats. "But then I'd be squatting three times a week!!!" So what ?! Many huge squatters from the Eastern Bloc countries have been doing that for decades.



steel core:
Do some big volume heavy front squats, like 8 sets of 3 and let me know the next day. If you keep proper form, upright torso and no belt, your abs will be sore as fuck. For a good couple of days. Front squats will give you the best lifting belt you can imagine. Painful, though. Eventually, this should improve your form on back squats as well. As a bonus, deep heavy front squats build pretty strong glutes as well.

strong upper back:
What happens sometimes when lifters back squat is that they tend to round upper back slightly when in the hole. This can be cured with heavy front squats as well. Your upper back fights heavily to keep the bar in place and after several months of heavy front squats your upper back erectors should get pretty huge and strong.



confidence in the hole:
When front squatting you usually go pretty deep and sometimes you can practice a good re-bound. You can also pause in the hole briefly. All this builds tension and confidence in the hole which should translate to back squats as well. Because you sink all your front squats pretty deep, you will not be afraid to do the same with your back squats as well.


Hmmm, so many benefits ... then why so many people ditch front squats?

Front squats are painful and not easy. Large volume heavy front squats will give you pretty sore shoulders, troubles breathing, you will be shaky on some last reps and your whole lower body will hurt. But you get strong quads, abs and upper back as a reward. Front squats are not sexy, they require no machine and no fancy equipment, just old barbell, plates and squat stands.


What is strong? Sets of 5 with 100k (225 lb) are fine for some mass building, 140k (315 lb) is strong. Sets of 5 with 180k (405 lb) are pretty damn strong and should give you some massive wheels.



... and as Dan Green nails it summarizing his training: "I just do the powerlifts and for assistance I push the front squat, shoulder press and rows"