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Ano Turtiainen Deadlift Training



The deadlift is considered to be a national sport in Finland and for a good reason, they have been breaking deadlift records since 1970. There have been many world record pulls done in a variety of different weight categories but for big and heavy Ano Turtianen leads the way for the last few years.

There are a number of important factors that Ano uses to train for the huge deadlift records he has achieved. We will briefly discuss a few of the important techniques that Ano uses to increase his deadlift pulls and how he trains them on a regular basis to ensure success.

The first technique that he uses is squatting with narrow stance and not a wide stance. This is important for two important reasons; Firstly, it increases core strength of the hamstrings and glutes and secondly squats can be trained as much as three times a week.

At the peak of his deadlift career Veli Kumpuniemi, called Mr. Deadlift in Finland, often trained deadlift up to four times in a week. Just like his hero Ano would use a narrow stance doing movements like back and front squats with a few squat movements like lunges and step squats added to create a brutal workout.

Ano Turtianen always trained with a box, he explained that using the box helped him develop the explosive strength in both his deadlift and his squats. He would use a box deadlift to ensure that he was always doing full range of movement making sure that the femur is always parallel to the floor when starting the explosive concentric move.

Ano would also incorporate deadlifts on a block, doing a deadlift while standing on a 2-6-inch block. He would commonly do 3-5 reps conventional style even though he pulled sumo style at his powerlifting meets. Ano would also use the straight legged deadlift movement.

His stiff-legged deadlift was done Romanian style using an arched back, pushing the glutes backwards. But this movement is done heavy and Ano Turtianen would increase the stress on the hamstrings by standing on a 4-inch box and would easily do 5 reps pulling 727 lbs.

Although we cannot even come close to describing the techniques that Ano Turtianen used to improve his deadlift weight he pulled, we have included a few movements that he would use above. However, he would also commonly do assistance work like doing 5 or 6 pull-ups with a 200lb dumbbell attached to his belt.


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DISCLAIMER: This information is not presented by a medical practitioner and is for educational and informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read.