Back when I was squatting ~405 for 2, I could clean 275#, but it was difficult and not particularly pretty. Don’t think I could have gotten 285 even if I had tried. I didn’t because I found that dropping the weight a bit and focusing on accelerating the bar was a better route than going for pure numbers.
They use different tests @ the Canadian federation and the American. They are pretty similar overall, but they most definitely have tested the back squat for selection as recently as this year.
The US fed uses the back squat. I would be surprised to see a 170 lbs. brakeman, teams want to max out the weight limit with bodyweight.
From my conversations with the team chiro for USA bobsled and a former athlete himself, he basically said to look at training as if you had 8 months a year to train and the only thing you would be tested on is pushing an unweighted Prowler for 30 meters. That kind of puts things in perspective.
Eros has some experience at the Europa Cup level I believe, maybe he can chime in.
Here I am Thomas…( recovered fully???I hope so!)…RJ, check the archives…there are some interesting threads regarding Bobsled training.1 thing is sure…technique matters…it is not just x squat + y 30m + z clean to give you a good time.
In 2 man is far easier, but still, the push start has many peculiarities…do you have a place to practice dryland push?
Transferring power and speed to the sled is a key, this is why a strong upper body is important ( and close grip bench was tested in canada …us maybe normal grip?)
If you are a brakeman, you start from a bent leg, fixed knee position, so, training with block cleans, halting squats, box squat, concentric rack squats, is of paramount importance.
The training of the europeas, is usually loaded with different bounds, alternate and frog hops, and it shows in the amazing testing results they have!
Multi throws…I find they are special, particularly with heavy shot, in blending all the qualities for a good start. ( BLF for exaple is very similar to the start of a brakeman)
When I was training at home and not on the ice I devised a training equipment using gymnastic mats, 15 inches height, 7 feet lenght, to simulate the first push .
Running…sled pulls are useful, hills too…you cannot go wrong with a HI LO set up, without SE…top speed has a role, so work on it, esp. on 4 man if you are a brakeman.
If you have any question, I’ll try to give you some hints…
Regarding testing…sometimes they do not prove anything…
I had faster push times of people out cleaning me by 30kg, out running me by 3 tenths , and overall bigger and stronger…good luck…
The first time you’ll run downhill on a bobsled, you’ll felle like being in a washing machine.
Is it really that frightening? Everyone makes it seem like 10x worse than any roller coaster you’ve ever been on.
Frightening…no…but very very exciting…off course it depends on the track, and on the driver.
On some tracks,like IGLS, there are no high G-forces turns, overall very flat…and easy for the driver, even if he is unexperienced.
In Some tracks…like Cortina, Winterberg and others…you have very tight high speed turns…reaching 6g of acceleration…
and that for sure you cannot experience otherwise…( excpet if you are a jet fighter’s pilot)
Also…if you driver is not a very skilled one, every time the sled bounces on the ice…you’ll experience some very painful contacts with sled frame and your hips, thights, shoulders…At driving school, I saw people unable to run for 2 weeks after some…not perfect downhills:)
Finally picking a sport where the alaskan weather works to your advantage?
I hope training goes well and things work out for you. Definately keep the journal going. You always have an interesting view on things. So do you have a general outline of the training you plan to do yet?
Haha, I know. Alaska is a good place to be for once.
And thanks. I’m still working on refining my views, and they’re getting a Hell of a lot simpler.
As for a plan, I’m just flying by the seat of my pants now. I want to get my squat up to like 460+ lbs and to do it I’m just going to lift every 4-5 days for moderate reps. Besides the squat though, I’m really working on ab strength and coordination with plank progressions and various activation drills.
Once my strength gets to where it needs to be, I’ll start adding short sprints back in. Until then, I’m going to have to live with plyos before each session.
October 25th, 2009
Lower Body Focus
Condition:
I’m still running on far too little sleep. I was up late last night writing a report on alternate treatment methods for sub-periosteal haematomas, and I’ve got two more papers to write before tomorrow morning. Looks like my sleep deprivation is set to continue for a while. Oh well, I feel fine.
Warm Up:
Some RW Drills
Some activation drills (mostly non-tripods)
Some plyos
Workout:
Back Squats (close stance, start a new set every 3 minutes)
8 sets x (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3) reps @ 315 lbs (21 total reps), <180 sec. rest
Plank Progression
7 sets @ BW
Cool Down:
Some more activation drills
Mild plyos
Notes:
No PRs today, but this is more volume than I’ve ever had with 315 in one session before. It felt good. Every rep was nice, deep, and smooth. The set of 5 and the final set of 3 were fairly difficult.
As a side note, I’m really liking non-tripods.
mreoyn did 315x10 today. You got some work to do…
Haha, Ian is doing great. Looks like I’m going to need to start sleeping again if I want to keep up with him. 
October 27nd, 2009
Upper Body Focus
Condition:
I’ve finally been able to get some sleep recently. I’m still way in debt, but I’m working on it.
Warm Up:
Some push ups and chin ups
Some ab coordination work
Workout:
Chin Up Dropset
(6 @ 90 lbs) + (8 @ 45 lbs) + (6 @ BW), rested only long enough to strip plates
EZ Curls (pretty d**n strict)
2 x (6, 4 reps) @ 105 lbs, ? sec. rest
Handstand Push Ups on Cinder Blocks
A couple singles and a few negatives
Cool Down:
Some more ab coordination work
Shoulder prehab
Notes:
Today’s session went well. The chin up dropset was Hell, but I’m proud of how I did. I could have had 90 lbs x 7 reps, but I didn’t want to wreck the rest of the set. Immediately afterwards, the curls were surprising. If my arms weren’t completely dead, sets of 10-12 wouldn’t have been out of the question.
The handstand push ups were tough. I’d like to get better at these though.
Nice page, Rog. Pretty straightforward. Glad to see you back on the CF.
A GB bobsledder trains with Dave Lease at my training centre. They use a little buggy with 4 wheels, to push.
NS, thanks. And yeah, things are staying straight forward for a while.
Cheetah, thanks for that piece of info. I could probably study the real sleds they use and rig something up.
Seeing as your weakest test is going to be your sprints and it is also the one given the highest weight/importance in the selection process once you hit a certain bodyweight, you probably want to work on that a bit soon.
October 29th, 2009
Lower Body Focus
Condition:
My quads are still sore and my glutes are a little fatigued. I should wait until tomorrow to lift, but I don’t have the time tomorrow. I feel good though.
Warm Up:
Some RW Drills
Some activation drills (mostly non-tripods)
Some plyos
Workout:
Conventional Deadlifts
Worked up to 455 x 1, missed 505 twice, rest varied
Power Cleans
Worked up to 245 x 1 (eeeeaasy), rest varied
Back Squats (close stance, rock bottom)
1 x 10 reps @ 275 lbs, rest varied
2 x 5 reps @ 275 lbs, rest varied
Plank Progression
7 sets @ BW
Cool Down:
Some more activation drills
Mild plyos
Notes:
Well, today didn’t go too badly. I haven’t deadlifted (besides RDLs) in over a year, so 455 was nice. I even managed to budge 505 about 2" off the ground on my second attempt at it, but it didn’t want to come up.
After that, my back was tired, but I wasn’t done screwing around yet. I don’t do power cleans either, but I managed to catch 245 while standing up straight. I had a lot left in me, but my crappy bent bar makes it almost impossible to whip my elbows through. Not only that, but I lift on concrete with iron plates, so lowering it is a pain in the ass too.
And finally, the squats went well. I was pretty tired at that point, but all of the sets were nice, smooth, and very deep.
Things are going well.
You are about to prove FOG wrong, I smell 305!! 
Haha, I don’t know about that. But with how easy the 245 was (especially compared with the 225), I should have 275 in me right now.
And to Fogelson, I’ve been going back over all my old sprinting videos and besides just flat out sucking at it, I’ve found one thing really wrong with my sprinting. My abs are doing practically nothing out there. My pelvis is anteriorly rotated, my arms and head are a little wild, I’m just not running right.
After a lot of testing, my abs aren’t nearly as strong (relatively) as the rest of my body, and I don’t think they ever have been. This would explain my much better bounding and jumping numbers (where ab strength and function don’t play nearly as large of a role). To fix it, I’m going to start doing plank progressions after EVERY session from now on. It should have me fixed up in no time.
Don’t worry though, I’ll be doing plenty of sprinting too.
245 after deadlifting 455 you got 275 with ease.