« 'Interval circuit training' for power on a tight time budget | Main | To pause your deadlift or not to pause the deadlift, that is the question »
July 11, 2005
Shock your shoulders into shirt-ripping strength and mass... with the 'RKC Ladder'
Question: My bench press is not too bad but I just cannot make any progress in my military press. Help!
In the good ole' days when the clean-and-press was the measure of a man and the bench press was unheard of, Russian weightlifters had an expression: “To press a lot you must press a lot.” The shoulders, unlike the legs, back, and, to a lesser degree, the chest will not budge until you blast them with a high volume of heavy iron.
The following RKC routine is almost guaranteed to ram you through your shoulder strength and size plateau. Pick a kettlebell you can clean and press – a clean before each press that is – roughly six to eight times. C&P it once with your weaker arm and switch hands. Rest briefly. Ideally your training partner will do his set while you chill. Two reps. Another short break. Three reps. Then start over at one… Feel free to rest longer between each series.
Repeat the 1, 2, 3 series five times, which will total you 30 quality reps. Follow this program three to four times a week. Do a skeleton chest and triceps regimen while you are on it.
Add a series per workout until you are up to (1, 2, 3) x 10 = 60 repetitions. Sixty reps with a seven-rep max is a very powerful muscle-building stimulus!
Now start doing 1, 2, 3, 4 reps, starting out with three series which totals 30 reps. As before, build up to 60 total reps, or (1, 2, 3, 4) x 6.
Move up to (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) x 2. Work up to (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) x 4. By now your shoulders will be swelling with dense and powerful muscle. Take a couple of days off and test yourself on the one-arm military press. You will blow your old PR out of the water!
For more information on this and related strength topics order Pavel’s Beyond Bodybuilding today.
Posted by james at July 11, 2005 6:19 AM