For a more intense workout, add ankle weights, weight vests, or both for added resistance. For extra hamstring work, walk with the straps between your legs and lower them to knee level. Walk with as large a step as possible, or they can be done like pull-throughs. Just switch styles as often as you like to keep new stimulation of the lower or upper body. One of my favorite exercises is good mornings with the sled. Use a neck harness attached to the sled strap, walk backwards slowly, bend over, and methodically stand erect, then walk backwards with tension at all times. This will blow up the back like nothing else. Note: you don’t need very heavy weight for this to be effective.
Phil Harrington has broken several world records in the squat. His best is 905 pounds in the 181-pound class, before Mike Cartinian raised it to 930 pounds lifting for Big Iron. Phil set a goal to break Tony Fratto’s raw record at 198 set in 1972, 749 pounds, and in March 2011 Phil did 755 pounds. He was concentrating on jumping exercises of all types and not doing a lot of squatting. Here is a list of jumping exercises Phil used to break the raw squat record. First, to prepare himself for jumping, he started by doing presses with a barbell and dumbbells while sitting on the floor. They are used to condition all muscles involved in jumping. First while on his knees, he did several repetitions of jumping to his feet. Next, Phil added a barbell on his back while jumping to his feet. Then, he did the following over several weeks. First, he held a bar on his thighs while kneeling and jumped to a power clean.
Next, from a kneeling position with the bar on his thighs, he jumped into a power snatch. After mastering the mentioned movements, he held a bar on his thighs and jumped into a split clean and then split snatch. After this, he set records in the kneeling squat up onto a box or from a kneeling position into a long jump. These jumps build explosive power. For strength, jump onto boxes with ankle weights or a weight vest. Hold dumbbells and jump onto boxes for record heights with a certain amount of weight or combinations of weight.
Switch the resistance often and do 10-30 jumps per workout. Two or three jump workouts a week works well. About once every month try a body weight jump record. This may look like a sports workout, but it will serve to condition a lifter as well as making his legs very explosive.
This is just a small sample of workouts you can do. Don’t overdo it. You must raise your GPP to recover from your high-volume or high-intensity workout. Phil proved it works, and Laura Phelps is experimenting with jumps as well. Do easy jumping as a warmup or come back to the gym later for a more intense workout and watch your squats and pulls go up.
