5 MOVEMENTS TO UNLOCK NEW (AWKWARD) STRENGTH

5 MOVEMENTS TO UNLOCK NEW (AWKWARD) STRENGTH

By Shane Robert

Barbells are amazing tools. They allow for an incredible variety of movements and have stood the test of time as the go-to piece of equipment to get very strong. We even know, thanks to years of experiments, generally what the best movements with a barbell are to get very strong. Though it is widely agreed upon that the classic movements that we are all aware of, things like squats, presses, deadlifts, etc., are hard to beat, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t benefit to doing other movements with a barbell. In fact, NOT doing other movements with a barbell might just be holding you back.

Awkward strength is a concept that comes from doing lifts or movement patterns that are, as the name suggests, much more awkward to execute. What does awkward mean? Essentially, things like unilateral or unbalanced loading, disadvantaged body positions, and unusual loading can all contribute to awkward strength.

The king of awkward lifting is probably any type of sandbag lifting. There is simply no easy or straightforward way to lift and/or carry a sandbag, and even “light” weights can be incredibly challenging. The drawbacks to sandbags are the sand itself that has a tendency to spill, and the amount of space that a variety of sandbags, which you will likely need for different movements, take up. For everyone who doesn't own a strongman gym, being able to use a barbell to build awkward strength is the second best option.

Below are 5 of the best movements that can be done with a barbell to unlock a new level of strength.

1. Zercher lifts from the floor 

2. Barbell Turkish Getups 

3. Anderson Squats

4. Single Arm Barbell Presses

5. Suitcase Deadlifts & Carries

6. Sots Press

ZERCHER LIFT

The Zercher positioning, where the bar is held in the crook of your elbows, has become more common in the last decade thanks to the influence of social media. Zercher squats, marches, and good mornings are all great movements. None, however, beat the original Zercher lift (named for Coney Island strongman performer Ed Zercher) that was done, similar to a deadlift, dead stop from the floor each rep.

The extreme range of motion and unusual loading position, in the crook of the elbows, turns this exercise into a full body movement. Your entire posterior chain, from your calves to the top of your head, will be lit up, but, due to the extreme depth, your quads will also get challenged. Throw in your biceps and chest, which help hold the bar, your abs also get a lot of work trying to prevent you from being folded over like a taco.

BARBELL (TURKISH) GETUP

The kettlebell community has advocated for getups for a long time now. Though that movement is also great, using a barbell makes the movement even more difficult and forces your core, grip, lats and shoulders to work extra hard to stabilize the long bar. The real benefit to this movement, in my opinion, despite how cool the “up” part of the lift looks, is lowering back to the starting position.

This exercise was popular at the turn of the 19th century with wrestlers and strongmen and was simply known as a getup or getup from the floor. I’m not sure when the Turkish prefix was added, though versions of this movement have been done for a long time, going back to the Persian empire, so it’s possible that the Turkish part comes, somehow, through the Ottoman Empire that ruled over former Persian territories when lifting started to become more mainstream in the west.

Make sure to start light and work the weight up slowly over time. There is a small element of safety to consider here, so make sure you don’t drop a barbell on your face. The current world record is 255 pounds so, as long as you are smart about progression, it is still perfectly safe.

ANDERSON SQUATS

Most people are probably aware of Anderson Squats to some degree. Named for Paul Anderson, aka the Dixie Derrick, who used a form or progressive range of motion to build a massive squat.

There are two ways to do this movement that are both great and offer different benefits:

1. Original style: starting with a very heavy weight, up to 50% over your current 1 rep max, and squatting for a small range of motion, perhaps only a few inches, for as many reps as you can. Up to 50. Do this 3-7 days per week and increase the range of motion 1 inch every 3rd workout. Over time, the amount of reps that you do will likely decrease, but the increased range of motion makes up for that. This style builds tremendous total body strength and gets you used to very heavy loading. I was shocked at how sore my lats were the first time I tried this. 
2. Start the weight at the lowest point of, or just about 1” above, your usual squat depth. Stand up with it and return under control. These are best done as cluster singles. In other words, do 1 rep, step out from under the bar for a moment, reset and lift again. Repeat for the desired number of reps. Starting with a dead weight from the bottom forces you to get very tight suddenly and having no stretch reflex to bounce out of the hole is powerful for increasing the rate of force development. 

Both of these options are a great way to use Anderson Squats that are hard but fun.

SINGLE ARM BARBELL PRESSES

Like the Getup, this movement used to be a staple of early era lifters. Once you try it you can understand why. Single arm presses force your grip, core, lats, and, of course, shoulders and triceps to work extra hard. The offset nature of the loading, meaning it is only on one side, and the length of the bar makes this much harder than even single dumbbell or kettlebell pressing.

It’s simple enough to execute: put the barbell in a rack and step under it, like in a squat, then simply grasp it in the middle of the bar. Unrack the bar so that it is resting on your traps. Press up and fight hard to minimize any twisting, rotating, or bending from your torso as you do.

SUITCASE DEADLIFTS & CARRIES

This is a deadlift variation that has the bar set next to you, rather than in front. You line up evenly with the middle of the bar, the knurling if it’s there, and grasp there. Similar to a regular deadlift, you hinge over and pick the weight up. Where it differs is, due to the single side loading, the weight trying to pull you over, which makes your abs have to work overtime to prevent that. Doing multiple reps is quite a bit harder than simply one single rep, which is often the case when only doing carries.

After doing the set number of reps for the suitcase deadlift, go ahead and take a walk with the weight. At the end of the walk, switch hands and repeat. Dr. Stuart McGill has called the suitcase carry possibly the best exercise you can do for lower back strength. Putting them together, in my opinion, is ever better.

SOTS PRESS

The Sots Press is named for Olympic Weightlifter Victor Sots who, so the story goes, trained in a low ceilinged space and couldn’t do a standing barbell press. Not to be deterred, Victor decided to do his pressing from a deep squat position. Thus was born one the hardest pressing variations you can do.

Being in the deep squat position when you press is a huge demand on your hip, ankle and thoracic mobility, as well as your core. Expect to use 40%, or less, of the weight you would normally press the first time you try this move. There is a behind the neck version that has become somewhat more popular recently but that makes the move easier. Although that is a fine movement, we aren’t trying to make things easier here, so I recommend sticking with the original.

The 5 preceding movements all challenge your mobility, stability, and overall strength in ways that tend to get missed with the more traditional barbell movements. They don’t have to become main movements, but there is great benefit to including them as assistance movements.