I’ve had several emails in the past few days telling me that the blog has been acting batty. After posting Monday’s blog, an error message started to appear along the lines of ~ (WTFTHEINTERNETSUCKS) ~ Apparently the issue is not a Boston Herald issue. Rather, it’s totally the internet’s fault. I’ve had people who use Internet Explorer write me, as well as those who use Firefox- and to no avail, both have been affected. Fun fact: there’s another Tony Gentilcore out there who’s a programmer for Firefox. For the record, I’m way cooler. And have a six pack. I win.
In lieu of this debacle, I’ve decided I’m suing the other Tony Gentilcore for being pretty much the worst programmer ever, and I’m asking for a kajillion, billion dollars and/or a 1983 Donruss Willie McGee rookie card. No one messes with my blog traffic and gets away with it dammit!
In any case, it’s been a while since I’ve had an Exercise You Should Be Doing post up- here’s hoping that this actually works.
What Is It: DB Waiter Walk
Who Did I Steal It From: Originally, I learned about this particular exercise from Gray Cook in his Secrets of the Shoulder dvd. Likewise, Dan John talks about this exercise extensively in his book, Never Let Go.
What Does It Do: Teaches trainees to learn to “pack” their shoulder (glenohumeral) joint into the scapulae, providing more shoulder/thoracic stability when pressing objects over their head. You’ll notice that when I lift the DB over my head I’m not shrugging it- instead, I “pack” my shoulder back through a mechanism Gray Cook calls irradiation. In short: crush DB with your hand = sends signal to the rotator cuff to “turn on.” How’s that for simplicity? That’s what I like to call physiology people.
Furthermore, this is also a fantastic way to train the core musculature, as well as unilateral hip stability due to the asymmetrical nature of the exercise.
Key Coaching Cues: Outside of packing the shoulder, the trainee must do his/her best to stand as erect as possible throughout the duration of the exercise. Which is to say- chest tall, no tilting to either side, etc.
I like to go for distance if possible. So I’ll have clients walk 30-40 yds with one arm, switch, and walk back. However, I realize most people don’t have an indoor sprint track to use, so you could also go for time as well. Start with 20 seconds and work your way up to 30-45 seconds per arm. Two to three sets should suffice, at the end of a training session.
Now someone get me Jim “THE HAMMER” Shapiro (Syracuse’s finest) on the phone. Tony Gentilcore has a world of hurt comin his way.
