The Bear is a brutal test of courage and a real challenge both physically and mentally. It's also great for showing you exactly where your weak links are. The Bear, probably more than any other single movement, will zero in on those weaknesses and, in many cases, fix them.
Another advantage of this beast is it teaches the body to work in a single harmonious fashion. Your body will become a seamless series of links: fluid, powerful, fast, and with great range of motion.
Training complexes like the Bear will improve power production and lead to hypertrophy. Furthermore, because of the total body approach to this movement, additional physiological benefits are gained with demands on motor skill coordination in an extraordinarily short period of time. Yes, for those in a time crunch, complexes like the Bear get the job done in a hurry.
Anatomy of the Bear
The Bear is basically five lifts in one, but with some subtle differences in how I piece them together. It's comprised of the following:
1) Power clean (from the hang position usually, but it can also be done from the floor)2) Front squat3) Push press (from front of shoulders)4) Back squat5) Push press (from behind the shoulders)
You'll need to comfortably be able to perform each of these components with satisfactory technique. I like to personally add the "stomp" into the power clean portion of the lift and substitute the push jerk for the push press, but I'd only recommend this for lifters with topflight technique.
In performing this lift, first ensure that good form is maintained throughout with full range of motion. The training load should be based upon the push press maximum. This is important: check the ego. Don’t underestimate this bad boy; use an appropriate weight.
In performing this lift, I follow a basic protocol of varying intensity between 50 and 65% for three to four sets of six reps with roughly two minutes rest between sets.
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