| Another Skinned Cat By Captain Jack Reape |
There are very few new ideas in powerlifting or anywhere else for that matter, and even less
original ones. This article shares an idea I got from the Great Louie Simmons and reinforced
by my friend and WPO Bencher James Burdette, who left Louisiana and now lives and trains
in California with some guy named Mendy or something like that. Far more importantly it is an
idea that I have tried, have seen work for others, and so know it works well. Like any good
idea in powerlifting, some folks may disagree with it. Lots of things others disagree with have
worked for me like speed work, board work in a shirt, dumbbell extensions, and Repetitive
Effort raw work. Other things like pin presses, barbell overhead work, floor press, and
dumbbell extensions didn’t work or stopped working. There are lots of ways to Skin a Cat, and
the more you know the more you can work in and out of your workout when and as needed.
The Genesis of this idea is an old Louie Simmons article in PLUSA where he wrote it should
take your opener in the squat to get you to depth in your squat gear. In modern squat
equipment, even single ply, if you are getting 405 to depth and 804 is your opener, you may be
bringing a stick to a gunfight. At a Seminar at Wake Forest a few years ago I was lucky enough
to sit next to Louie at dinner and I brought the subject of tight gear up at about the third hour.
He said the Russians use much tighter gear than US lifters and you have to get used to the
tightness and what it takes to touch or get to squat depth. He explained how working the shirt
collar up or down would affect what touched in a given shirt. He then suggested getting some
loose shirts to use on Max effort days or even Repetitive Effort days. If you get a PR for a
single, three reps or even 6-8 reps, in the same loose shirt, you are getting stronger. Now I
know Metal Militia says they can teach you to touch anything in any shirt, and I believe it. I just
can’t do it yet and haven’t figured that out. I will hopefully Skin that Cat some other day.
Later that year, I was training with James and mentoring him, giving him grooming tips, and
even hints for impressing the ladies, when I noticed he had a lot of shirts with him. He was
constantly trying different shirts and taking them off between each set, tweaking and
adjusting before each board or full ROM rep. He always carefully noted what touched at each
bodyweight in each shirt. Training for the 2006 Arnold, he was using three denim shirts, and
carefully dialed in each shirt, making his most important notes when he was within 5 pounds
of his weight class. Anything more than 5-7lbs of bodyweight change will make your shirt fit
and work differently. In a closed back model the effect can be like going up or down a size
which can be a 20-40lb difference. His three open back denim shirts had 601, 617 and 650
written inside in magic marker, and he changed between each attempt, just like in training. 601
was perfect, but 611 in the 617 shirt was a tough touch. He needed 633 for the win but knew it
wouldn’t touch in the 650 shirt. He missed 633 in the 617 shirt. A narrow range of error but that
is modern Powerlifting in modern gear. I was convinced and had just switched to the Titan F6,
a size 48. I also bought a size 46 F6. James gave me a size 52 F6 that was a bit broken in
given to him by a female admirer, a large female admirer actually, but that is another story…
Swapping and playing with shirts in training really helped me to understand the arts of
touching a weight, moving sleeves and collars around, getting a shirt on correctly, and
seating a tight shirt with the belt. I learned that at around 240lbs, the 48 F6 took 530 to touch,
the 46 F6 took 570, and the 52 took anywhere from 405 to 475 depending on how much I
jacked it down in the front and wound the sleeves. The 52 was loose enough to help me really
learn to play with the shirt, and also allowed me to do RE sets with as little as 405. Full reps in
a loose shirt are in many ways better lockout work than board press according to my training
logs and results. Using this information in May 2006 at Biggest Bench on the River I opened in
the 48 F6 with 530, then went to 550. I changed to the 46 F6 and hit 575 and just missed 600 at
lockout. At the USAPL Nationals in July 2006 my weight had dropped a bit the last week due to
an ear infection and even forced feeding left me at 234lbs. My goal was to hit 577, but I knew
that was going to take all things going perfectly and they were not. I opened at 523 but had no
pop. I made the lift but got 3 reds for just being ugly. Even in a super fast meet I was able to
pull the shirt off and rotate the sleeves inward (toward the thumbs), not seating the shirt all the
way in the chest, and getting the neck down a lot locked in by the belt. 523 went very nicely
the next time. Knowing how hard 575 was to touch in May in the 46 F6, I didn’t feel comfortable
dropping my third attempt too much, so went to 562 and rotated the 46’s sleeves outward
(toward the pinky), and didn’t jack the shirt a whole lot. I missed it at lockout but that was
another problem. Knowing my gear’s limits and adjustments gave me a shot. Now that I have
dropped to 220 the numbers have all changed and I am in new territory. The 46 F6 is only
taking 505 to touch at 225 lbs of bodyweight. Luckily, the 46 Katana looks like a 570 touch
shirt even at 225. Pretty good things to know with a meet coming up. Update!!! The 46 katana
took 568 to touch weighing in at at 221 lbs(probably 226 on the platform) without too much
shirt jacking in the front, and with the shirt really cranked down in the front 584 didn’t touch.
With the sleeves on the 46F6 twisted inward, my opener of 523 went very fast and smooth.
Last hint: Do your heaviest workout 3-4 weeks out. I did a 1 board with 565 4 weeks out from
the meet in the 46 Katana at 226lbs, and a 525 1 board 2 weeks out at 224 lbs in the 46 F6.
Takeaways: 1. Know what touches in your shirts at a specific bodyweight range. I used to
use my two board numbers as a guideline, but as the shirt technology has improved you need
to go to your chest or a 1 board at most to know what you can touch. You don’t have to do it
often but as Dirty Harry’s perp claimed, “youse gots to know!” Practicing switching shirts is
the only way you will be able to do it under meet pressure.
2. Using a loose shirt is a great option for ME or RE day, and with a loose enough shirt you
can practice the speed from the shirt at the bottom in a shirt that gives you nada after coming
off the chest. Crank that sucker down and wind the sleeves a bit and you can make it hard to
touch 75 more lbs. Good things to know in the heat of a meet someday.
3. If this whole article makes you deplore the state of Powerlifting and the gear whores who
are ruining it, I feel your pain, really I do. Tweaking gear is no replacement for smart and hard
training, but it is a complement to it. In the World of bringing a Gun to a Gunfight, I am
comfortable using the best gear and technique the Fed I am lifting in allows me to use to
optimize my training efforts. To paraphrase Tip O’Neill, who stole it from FP Dunne’s imaginary
barkeep Mr. Dooley, “Powerlifting Ain’t Beanbag.”
I told you at the start there weren’t many original ideas.
Jack Reape is career Navy Pilot and competitive powerlifter based in Southern Louisiana. He
has taught James everything James knows but not everything that he knows.
original ones. This article shares an idea I got from the Great Louie Simmons and reinforced
by my friend and WPO Bencher James Burdette, who left Louisiana and now lives and trains
in California with some guy named Mendy or something like that. Far more importantly it is an
idea that I have tried, have seen work for others, and so know it works well. Like any good
idea in powerlifting, some folks may disagree with it. Lots of things others disagree with have
worked for me like speed work, board work in a shirt, dumbbell extensions, and Repetitive
Effort raw work. Other things like pin presses, barbell overhead work, floor press, and
dumbbell extensions didn’t work or stopped working. There are lots of ways to Skin a Cat, and
the more you know the more you can work in and out of your workout when and as needed.
The Genesis of this idea is an old Louie Simmons article in PLUSA where he wrote it should
take your opener in the squat to get you to depth in your squat gear. In modern squat
equipment, even single ply, if you are getting 405 to depth and 804 is your opener, you may be
bringing a stick to a gunfight. At a Seminar at Wake Forest a few years ago I was lucky enough
to sit next to Louie at dinner and I brought the subject of tight gear up at about the third hour.
He said the Russians use much tighter gear than US lifters and you have to get used to the
tightness and what it takes to touch or get to squat depth. He explained how working the shirt
collar up or down would affect what touched in a given shirt. He then suggested getting some
loose shirts to use on Max effort days or even Repetitive Effort days. If you get a PR for a
single, three reps or even 6-8 reps, in the same loose shirt, you are getting stronger. Now I
know Metal Militia says they can teach you to touch anything in any shirt, and I believe it. I just
can’t do it yet and haven’t figured that out. I will hopefully Skin that Cat some other day.
Later that year, I was training with James and mentoring him, giving him grooming tips, and
even hints for impressing the ladies, when I noticed he had a lot of shirts with him. He was
constantly trying different shirts and taking them off between each set, tweaking and
adjusting before each board or full ROM rep. He always carefully noted what touched at each
bodyweight in each shirt. Training for the 2006 Arnold, he was using three denim shirts, and
carefully dialed in each shirt, making his most important notes when he was within 5 pounds
of his weight class. Anything more than 5-7lbs of bodyweight change will make your shirt fit
and work differently. In a closed back model the effect can be like going up or down a size
which can be a 20-40lb difference. His three open back denim shirts had 601, 617 and 650
written inside in magic marker, and he changed between each attempt, just like in training. 601
was perfect, but 611 in the 617 shirt was a tough touch. He needed 633 for the win but knew it
wouldn’t touch in the 650 shirt. He missed 633 in the 617 shirt. A narrow range of error but that
is modern Powerlifting in modern gear. I was convinced and had just switched to the Titan F6,
a size 48. I also bought a size 46 F6. James gave me a size 52 F6 that was a bit broken in
given to him by a female admirer, a large female admirer actually, but that is another story…
Swapping and playing with shirts in training really helped me to understand the arts of
touching a weight, moving sleeves and collars around, getting a shirt on correctly, and
seating a tight shirt with the belt. I learned that at around 240lbs, the 48 F6 took 530 to touch,
the 46 F6 took 570, and the 52 took anywhere from 405 to 475 depending on how much I
jacked it down in the front and wound the sleeves. The 52 was loose enough to help me really
learn to play with the shirt, and also allowed me to do RE sets with as little as 405. Full reps in
a loose shirt are in many ways better lockout work than board press according to my training
logs and results. Using this information in May 2006 at Biggest Bench on the River I opened in
the 48 F6 with 530, then went to 550. I changed to the 46 F6 and hit 575 and just missed 600 at
lockout. At the USAPL Nationals in July 2006 my weight had dropped a bit the last week due to
an ear infection and even forced feeding left me at 234lbs. My goal was to hit 577, but I knew
that was going to take all things going perfectly and they were not. I opened at 523 but had no
pop. I made the lift but got 3 reds for just being ugly. Even in a super fast meet I was able to
pull the shirt off and rotate the sleeves inward (toward the thumbs), not seating the shirt all the
way in the chest, and getting the neck down a lot locked in by the belt. 523 went very nicely
the next time. Knowing how hard 575 was to touch in May in the 46 F6, I didn’t feel comfortable
dropping my third attempt too much, so went to 562 and rotated the 46’s sleeves outward
(toward the pinky), and didn’t jack the shirt a whole lot. I missed it at lockout but that was
another problem. Knowing my gear’s limits and adjustments gave me a shot. Now that I have
dropped to 220 the numbers have all changed and I am in new territory. The 46 F6 is only
taking 505 to touch at 225 lbs of bodyweight. Luckily, the 46 Katana looks like a 570 touch
shirt even at 225. Pretty good things to know with a meet coming up. Update!!! The 46 katana
took 568 to touch weighing in at at 221 lbs(probably 226 on the platform) without too much
shirt jacking in the front, and with the shirt really cranked down in the front 584 didn’t touch.
With the sleeves on the 46F6 twisted inward, my opener of 523 went very fast and smooth.
Last hint: Do your heaviest workout 3-4 weeks out. I did a 1 board with 565 4 weeks out from
the meet in the 46 Katana at 226lbs, and a 525 1 board 2 weeks out at 224 lbs in the 46 F6.
Takeaways: 1. Know what touches in your shirts at a specific bodyweight range. I used to
use my two board numbers as a guideline, but as the shirt technology has improved you need
to go to your chest or a 1 board at most to know what you can touch. You don’t have to do it
often but as Dirty Harry’s perp claimed, “youse gots to know!” Practicing switching shirts is
the only way you will be able to do it under meet pressure.
2. Using a loose shirt is a great option for ME or RE day, and with a loose enough shirt you
can practice the speed from the shirt at the bottom in a shirt that gives you nada after coming
off the chest. Crank that sucker down and wind the sleeves a bit and you can make it hard to
touch 75 more lbs. Good things to know in the heat of a meet someday.
3. If this whole article makes you deplore the state of Powerlifting and the gear whores who
are ruining it, I feel your pain, really I do. Tweaking gear is no replacement for smart and hard
training, but it is a complement to it. In the World of bringing a Gun to a Gunfight, I am
comfortable using the best gear and technique the Fed I am lifting in allows me to use to
optimize my training efforts. To paraphrase Tip O’Neill, who stole it from FP Dunne’s imaginary
barkeep Mr. Dooley, “Powerlifting Ain’t Beanbag.”
I told you at the start there weren’t many original ideas.
Jack Reape is career Navy Pilot and competitive powerlifter based in Southern Louisiana. He
has taught James everything James knows but not everything that he knows.
