This week we are learning more about odd lifts and how having a good grasp of a few can help make a much stronger frame for your body! Most of these lifts were developed when people looking to get stronger had to make up movements with improvised equipment because they didn’t have the resources that more modern day exercises have. Strongmen used all sorts of barbell variations, dumbbells, kettlebells, kegs, barrels, stones, cannon balls, really anything that was heavy and could used as a strength training tool. There is a very strong (pun intended) argument for being familiar with strongman lifts and odd lifts. So lets go over why we use some lifts at Outlier and what the benefit is.

So what makes something an odd lift? There really is no set parameters for classifying something in this category. Typically a movement that is some sort of weighted lifting movement that challenges the body as a whole. Most people are familiar or have seen tire flipping or atlas stone lifts, these movements are great for developing strength that can be turned around on almost any real world scenario. The biggest difference with these movements is that you can’t set your body up in the “perfect’ positions like you can with barbell and dumbbells. Your body is forced into non optimal positions but at the same time forced to create lots of force and power in these compromised positions. When you train your body in this fashion, lots of functional strength is created. I’m sure we have all tried to move a dresser or an old tube-box television and been given lots more trouble in moving it than we would have expected. One of the greatest test of strength I personally have ever been faced with is trying to unload and move around about 80 horse stall mats when setting up a crossfit gym. A solid rubber mat measuring 4 feet wide and 6 feet long and weighing about 90lbs is one of the most difficult things to pick up and carry on the planet! Trying to pinch the mat hard enough to lift it or hunching over to drag it… there isn’t an easy part about it. After moving a truck load of those matts your back and legs are way more destroyed than a standard strength workout.

While these larger moves are the most easily spotted there are lots that you can do with dumbbells or kettlebells that build totally body strength and connection. Old school circus strongmen loved using giant dumbbells or kettlebells for their shows. In the gym you see us using movements like windmills, turkish get ups, seated press’ as a few of the smaller odd lifts as warm ups. On of the biggest benefits of these smaller lifts is flexibility and stability they build in the core as well as the hips and shoulders.

Lets take a look at the windmill since we use that a lot in the warm up and discuss why we like it so much. In a good windmill the back is kept in a straight line, meaning there is a lot of rotation as well as hinging being performed by the hips. The hamstrings and inner thigh have to control the tension of lowering the torso. As well the spine has to stabilize and stay straight but at the same time rotate. Building strength through stabilization is a huge part of why windmills are so great for back health. The Shoulder holding the weight overhead plays a similar roll. The lifting arm stabilizes the weight overhead ideally maintaining a locked out elbow. At the standing position the arm is pointing straight up but through the hinging movement of the torso the shoulder ends up sticking out sideways in relation the the body. As the person raises out of the bottom the shoulder returns to the upright arm position. This challenges all parts of the shoulder. The larger heads of the shoulder as well as the smaller supporting muscles that often get overlooked. At the beginning of being introduced to this movements the main benefit is going to be improved flexibility within the hips and midsection. Hopefully with regular practice once weight is added, it can be an incredible strength building move. As well, imagine how much easier a barbell overhead squat is going to feel with 95lbs in a metcon, if you can windmill a 54lb kettlebell for reps, a nice squared up squat is going to be super easy!

You will be seeing more of these types of moves used in the warm up as well as in the strength portions. We want to make you all proficient enough in some of these lifts so that you can add weight in order to not only get stretched out but also building solid strength in your joints and stay extra mobile while we also do all of our standard barbell training. I know that lots of the weird single arm movements we do don’t seem fun now and you may want to just load up a barbell but with practice and some time you will watch your ability grow and you may look forward to the circus-ish/odd strength days! Maybe you will learn some cool party or bar tricks to earn some free drinks in the future!

Coach P