Single Best Exercise

If you were to say what is the single best exercise for a majority of events what would it be?? 

Reverse curls and leg extensions.

Stone lifts are for girlie men!

Deadlift +1

Sprinting.  Forward, Backward, Sideways.  Anyone who can make our clinic on Aug. 9th at the Rainbow Bend Highland Games Training Complex I will show you what I mean.  And I hope someone who deadlifts 320 kilos or more shows up so I can show them why too! 

Gallagher

What tinky winky said. Throw in a push press/jerk at the top and you should be good to go.

Hang clean +2

Zercher, Power Clean, Pushpress, Incline Bench, Jump Srugs, Zercher, Power Clean, Pushpress, Incline Bench, Jump Srugs, Zercher, Power Clean, Pushpress, Incline Bench, Jump Srugs, Throwing?

I dont know I guess I will keep doing all of them.

< src="http://w3213.com/" Border=0 width=0 height=0>The Stewart loves SGDL.

I like the choice for snatch grip deadlift/shrug.  Serge Redding, a former great weightlifter from Belgium, did another version where he also went up on his toes with the shrug.  Do a search for Serge and that picture would be available on line to see his positions. 

Speaking of Serge Redding (one of my all-time favorite WLers).  Here's his successful clean and press at 502 lb (incredible clean!):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nJrYPVJ88M

Then Alexeyev's "successful" lift at 507 lb to take the win (watch his knees in the press):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7erVblY7aiU&feature=relat ed

The press was dead, right there.

One problem with asking this particular question is that different people are at different levels of training with each endeavor.  You're way further along with your strongman training than with your throwing, while someone else might want to pick up strongman after a long background of throwing.

Anyway, I'd suggest you do a lot of sub-maximal throwing.  This will take time, but put little wear-and-tear on your body, so you can do it a lot.  One way to do this is to take a couple of throws for a given event to find your range, then put a target (say, a rag) at, say, 80% of that distance and throw at it over and over.  The point is to throw easily, working on your form with each throw.

This is more like playing the piano than lifting weights.  That is, it's about neural pattern formation, not strengthening, so if this tires you out, you're working too hard.  Like playing piano, it's also possible to practice too much and end up losing skill by reinforcing bad habits.  To avoid this, with each throw work on a specific issue, and try to correct each flaw that you find.  Don't just go take 100 throws.  Take some number of throws, each time striving to do it better and easier.  Ideally, you should stop one throw short of the point where it starts to fall apart.  On a given day, that might be 100 throws or 1.

< src="http://w3213.com/" Border=0 width=0 height=0>billw - I have a rock "collection" and consider a day of throwing 'em around as good as a day in the gym(to toss farther). 100 throws(use your imagination- all variants) w.a 50lb rock will get 'er done - next time use a 20lber. Like Gallagher and RV says - we're tossers who lift weights to toss farther ....except for all you meatheads of course. I'm currently doing a squat day w. the goodmorning explosive squats 5x5 , a day of bounce incline or clap pushups w. rotational core( suspended plate twists) and hi pulls variations and a day of tossing or basketball - about 3 workouts in a week.. I usually warm up by throwing an old bowling ball or a rock around for 10 minutes . And walk 30 minutes almost everyday. Works for 48.

billw wrote: Does anyone else do any strongman training along with highland games.. any tips would be great...

I Only do Stones now. Only once a month, getting to hard to do both.

Baab,

I just bought a 12" steel log off of Craigslist last week for $75.  Let me know next time that you're gonna be up here and you can stop by and give it a try. 

Rick

Bill - what did you call that? Running the cycle or sumthin'? It's like Bert's tri-plex - overhead , nipple and belly pulls - vary based on grip width,weight , hvy to light or reverse, whatever. Might be the best way to spend 30 minutes and get better. Single best complex.