23 Jul Team Samson Powerlifting- Project Cranberry.

Generally after local meets, we get a few emails about joining the team. Some stay, most go. After the APF Equipped Nationals, a lifter named Cranford joined us. Cranford has been around for some time, training at a local chain gym with some friends of ours. Lately, He’s decided to take his game to the next level, and join us.

There were some pretty specific goals he had in mind. One of them being, to fix his deadlift. Now, he doesn’t have a bad deadlift, as far as the weight being moved is concerned. His form was rough, hindering him in the process. This video is from the last meet he did.

This is part one of Project Cranberry. Cranford (aka Cranberry) is a local lifter who is pretty damn strong. In the 4 weeks he has been with us we have been working a lot on form. This is video from his last meet. #squat #benchpress #deadlift #dtwd #health #fit #strong #instagood #bodybuilding #gym #instahealth #photooftheday #workout #wod #weightlifting #train #training #tentwentylife #teamsamson #powerlifting #fitness #fitspo #fitfam #beardgang #1020l #1020life

A post shared by Shane Ford (@smford85) on Jul 23, 2017 at 10:57am PDT

The video shows a lot. Loose upper back, head and shoulders over the bar, and the lift being two motions. The first thing that had to be done was to get him to wedge more and find a decent starting position for his hips. The lifters wedge is the basis for both the squat and deadlift. Cranford is a quick learner and applies the concepts pretty easily. There may be some hip mobility work that needs to be done, but that’s low on the priority list.

Secondly, along with the wedge, upper back tightness was addressed. Getting Cranford to pull his shoulder blades together a bit and pull his lats to the floor did the trick. Between both, working into the wedge and getting his upper back tight, it forced his head and shoulders behind the bar. This video is after a few weeks of work.

This is after some assessment and form tweaks from @onlythestrong275 and @briancarroll81 Check out the log and see more of what we are doing to help him rebuild his deadlift. Link in bio! #squat #benchpress #deadlift #dtwd #health #fit #strong #instagood #bodybuilding #gym #instahealth #photooftheday #workout #wod #weightlifting #train #training #tentwentylife #teamsamson #powerlifting #fitness #fitspo #fitfam #beardgang #1020l #1020life

A post shared by Shane Ford (@smford85) on Jul 23, 2017 at 11:01am PDT

With all of those tweaks, the change is clearly evident. For the interim, yes, his deadlift will go down. However, the positions that he is now in put him in a positive position as far as leverages go, and his back health is concerned. This is what being part of this team is. As iron sharpens iron, we sharpen each other. I hate quotes like that. But this one rings true.

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Team Samson Powerlifting

Team Samson was founded by Adam Driggers who built the Team Samson compound. Some of the biggest names in powerlifting have trained with Team Samson including Dondell Blue, Al Caslow, and Gary Frank. What began as a small group of members has grown into an accomplished team of lifters that continue to chase after new strength gains. Team Samson is made up of pro lifters Brian Carroll, Clint Smith, and Jonathan Byrd along with lifters in various stages of their lifting career including Adam Driggers, Keith Price, Filipe Gusmão, Mike Holman, Paul Key, Shane Ford, Shane Shepperd, and Tony Garland.

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