Vince Annello Deadlift King

Interview with Vince Anello done by Igor N. Jolevich

The Deadliest Deadlift!

"Vince Anello is known as the first man under 200 lbs. to deadlift over 800 lbs.
He is the owner of 20 individual world deadlift records and 5 world titles.
He is ranked 15 in the world of all time strength champions."
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5 times World Champion: 1972, 77, 78, 80, & 87
3 Time NCAA Champion - 1968, 69 & 70
Winner of 10 National Titles

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Deadlift
MEET: 1978 Senior Nationals
PLACE: Los Angeles, California
WEIGHT: 805 lbs.
WEIGHT CLASS: 198 lbs.

Igor: Mr. Anello, I’ve recently read on the forum about your negative accentuated DL training. Can you please give us some more info on that? How much does the time under tension last during the eccentric phase, how slightly do you pause, what rep/sets set up do you use, and how much rests between sets?
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Vince: I estimate the negative portion of the deadlift from top to floor to be between 5-8 sec. I pause at bottom for a couple sec before the fast explosive positive. After a warm-up I would perform 5 singles with one minute rest between sets.

Igor: Why do you think the negatives are so beneficial?
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Vince: I think negatives are beneficial because it exposes the muscle to more tension and stimulus for growth than just performing the positive and neglecting to concentrate on the negative. I believe in them because I have trained both ways and have developed a lot more back strength when I concentrated on the eccentric part of the lift as well as the concentric.

Igor: Since your grip was the weak link in your dead-lift, what kind of work did you do to improve your supportive grip?
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Vince: I did everything. Gripper work, wrist curls, I used to hang on to a thicker bar until it fell from my hand, but my hands are just too darn small!

Igor: When using the alternate grip in training, did you change the grip during the training? Or did you figure out which hand had a weaker grip, and then use a supinated grip for that hand, and a pronated grip for the stronger one?
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Vince: I checked the grip strength in my hands with a dynameter and they were just about even.

Igor: When the dead-lift sticking point is very low to the ground, which muscle group(s) would you say are laggingbehind, and also, via versa, when the sticking point is rather high, just below the knees?

Vince: In my deadlift the start was a lot of lower back. I helped my finish with a lot of Lat and trap work...
Igor: What do you think about Bill Starr’s suggestion that ‘to improve your deadlift, don’t deadlift’…
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Vince: Bill Starr is a great trainer and technician and I do see how his theory of working the muscle groups involved in the deadlift has merit. I, however thrived on working the deadlift as I feel it developed coordination of the muscle groups. Everyone is different however.
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Igor: What kind of assistance exercises would you recommend for the DL?
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Vince: I did a lot of partial pulls, heavy Lat and trap work also.

Igor: Did you ever use GM’s in your routine and what kind of GM’s?
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Vince: I did not do a lot of GM work as I felt it led to overtaxing the lower back.

Igor: What kind of ab work would be beneficial?
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Vince: I did weighted crunches for upper abs and weighted leg pull-in's for lower abs...

Igor: Some of us that live far from USA have never had the opportunity to actually see you deadlift (aside from looking at pictures). Can you please describe you’re pulling technique? Do you start with the hips rather high?

Vince: I used a lot of lower back, almost stiff leg from below the knee.

Igor: I have read that during your lifting career you have had only minor injuries. What were they and how did you deal with them?
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Vince: I saw a chiropractor 2 times per week, did a lot of bodybuilding, and consulted weekly with a nutritionist.

Igor: I would also like to ask you a question about choosing a weight class. Do you think that a lifter should strive to beas heavy as he can for his height/built, or should there be some other criteria which should be considered when choosing a weight class?
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Vince: I think the most important issue in choosing a weight class is general health. Cholesterol, Blood Pressure, must be monitored. Body fat should also be not too high or too low.
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Igor: Could you please tell us the anecdote about your visit to Louie Simmons and when he suggested that you should try doing box squats in your training?
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Vince: Louie is a good friend and a great powerlifting and strength authority. I have trained with Louie a few times and have gotten good results using some of his theories.

Igor: And finally, I’d like to ask a question regarding a tip you gave on the forum: When you suggested using the
partial singles for the bench press, do you mean only the concentric part from the lift (from the pins – upward) or should there be a lowering phase first?

Vince: I do partials for my bench but not off pins. In the last few weeks before a contest I add block partials. After my last set of benches I add 10 lbs, put a 2 inch board on my chest and do one single (slow negative, pause and fast explosive positive). I then add a 4 inch board add 10 more lbs and do another single.

Igor: Mr. Anello, thank you very much for this interview!
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Vince: Thank You, Igor !! I hope I answered the questions adequately...........if you have any more questions please let me know.

Your friend in strength,
Vince Anello