Awesome Quote from Poliquin re: Functional Strength……

From the standpoint of sport specificity, a strength coach should consider that outside of weightlifting and powerlifting, athletes in most sports must be able to apply force with an open hand. I’ve heard of one study of judo athletes in which the level of ability was highly correlated with grip strength – a fact that has not gone unnoticed by many of the elite in the grappling sports. Take amateur wrestling, for example.

One of my strength coaching colleagues told me that in the early ’70s during a press conference prior to a Russia versus US wrestling competition, it was brought up that the American wrestler in the 165-pound bodyweight class could bench press 365 pounds – quite a remarkable accomplishment in that time period, especially for a non-powerlifter. And consider that athletes were not using the elaborate equipment they have access to today that can add literally hundreds of pounds to a raw performance. The Russian counterpart responded by producing two pairs of pliers and proceeded to squeeze them so hard that they snapped! After the match, the defeated US wrestler commented that when the Russian grabbed his arms, he felt as if they were locked in a vise grip and that he immediately began to lose sensation in his arms and hands. Again, the US wrestler was certainly much stronger than the Russian from a weightlifting standpoint, but the Russian had achieved a remarkable degree of functional strength for his sport.