CategoriesCorrective Exercise Program Design Rehab/Prehab Strength Training

5 Reasons Your Shoulder Is Jacked Up and Not Jacked Part I

We work with a lot of overhead athletes at Cressey Performance – in particular baseball players – and it’s no coincidence that we deal with, address, work around, and (hopefully) fix a lot of shoulder issues ranging from the acute like AC joint issues and external/internal impingement to the more “oh shit factor” scenarios like shoulder separations and post surgery situations.

And using the word “acute” in this instance isn’t to downplay things like impingement (as anyone who’s had to deal with a chronic case will think otherwise), but rather it’s just to put things into perspective that some shoulder pathologies take a little more attention to detail and TLC compared to others.

As an example I can’t tell you how many times someone’s walked into the facility complaining of consistent shoulder pain preparing for the worst, only to demonstrate to them that their push-up technique is god-awful.

I didn’t need to resort to bells, whistles, and smoke machines or take a page out of Professor Dumbledore’s Magic Book of Bedazzling Hexes and Awesome Shoulder Remedies (on sale now through Amazon!) to show them how to perform a push-up correctly and to not piss their shoulder off further.

Unfortunately, it’s not always so cut and dry.  For many people out there – average Joe’s and meat heads in particular – living their day to day life with shoulder pain or discomfort is sometimes second nature.  Analogous to riding a bike, putting your left sock on before the right, or reaching for that second cup of coffee. Or fifth, don’t worry I won’t judge.

What’s more, some view it as a proverbial right of passage or badge of honor, as if living with daily pain comes with the territory for those who spend their free time lifting heavy things.

While true, there is some semblance of “risk” involved, and many will undoubtedly have a few bumps and bruises along the way (we’re lifting weights here not doing origami), just “dealing” with pain  and sucking it up isn’t an option in my book.

That said, not many things can derail one’s progress in the gym like a banged up shoulder.  Okay, a Zombie apocalypse or a raging case of explosive diarrhea rank fairly high on the list for sure.  But a nagging shoulder injury bites the big one, too.

Below, while not an exhaustive list, are some of the more common “reasons” why your shoulder may be hating you.

1.  No, Seriously, Your Technique Is Horrible

I won’t beat a dead horse here, but it stands to reason that half the reason your shoulder hurts all the time is because your exercise technique is less than exemplary.

I know, I know:  you’ve been lifting weights since stone washed jeans were considered a cool fashion trend, and there’s no conceivable way you’re doing something incorrectly.

Well, I’m here to tell you otherwise!

Taking the time to actually learn how to perform a push-up correctly or how to bench press correctly – or at the very least tweak things to make them more “shoulder friendly” – will go long ways in keeping your shoulders healthy.

It’s akin to lightly tapping your thumb with a hammer.  While seemingly not a big deal at first, before long, it’s excruciating.

Constantly performing your exercises with shitty technique day after day, week after week, and month after month will eventually lead to some bad things happening.  Namely a shoulder ouchie.

And this goes for rowing variations, too.  You’d be surprised as to how many people butcher these on a day to day basis.

A perfect example would be something as innocuous as a face pull.

* Video courtesy of the one and only Mike Robertson

I was training at a commercial gym not too long ago and watched a gentleman perform this exercise with the exact opposite form Mike demonstrates above.

For starters, he held the rope with a pronated (overhand grip) which locks you into more internal rotation and thus compromises the acromion space.

Secondly, he’d allow his scapulae to go into posterior tilt with each rep, and worse he’d substitute scapular retraction with an excessive forward head posture.

While I’m sure he had good intentions for including the exercise in his program, the execution was less than to be desired and was probably causing more harm than good.

And this goes for just about every rowing variation out there.  You’d be surprised as to how many people butcher technique and aren’t even close to performing them correctly.

Take the time do things right, and your shoulder will thank you.

 2.  Your Program Kinda Sucks

More to the point: it’s the structure of the program thats sucks. It’s common in the strength and conditioning community to talk about programming imbalances, especially as it pertains to the upper body.

Dissecting most training programs, it’s not uncommon to see significant favoritism or preponderance towards pushing exercises compared to pulling.  It’s no secret:  guys like to bench press.  And as such, many develop muscular imbalances (overactive/stiff pecs and weak/inhibited upper back musculature) which results in a less than happy shoulder.

To counteract this, many fitness professionals will advocate more pulling motions compared to pushing – oftentimes to the tube of a 2:1 or even 3:1 ratio.

In other words: for every pushing exercise prescribed, they’ll “counteract” it with two to three pulling exercises.

This is sound advice, and definitely a step in the right direction for many trainees.  But we’re omitting another less obvious (yet equally as important) component, and it’s something Eric highlighted last year and that we’ve been addressing at Cressey Performance for a while now.

And that is:

While anterior/posterior imbalances are important to address, not many people give any credence to superior/inferior imbalances.

Translated into English, we also have to be cognizant of the interplay between upward and downward rotation.  More and more (especially with our baseball guys, but even in the general population as well) we’re seeing guys walk in with overly depressed shoulders. For visual reference, cue picture to the right.

Most baller t-shirt, ever ================>

This can spell trouble for those whose livelihood revolve around the ability to get their arms over their head (baseball players) as the downward rotators of the scapulae (levator, rhomboids, and especially the lats) are kicking into overdrive and really messing with the congruency and synergy between the scapulae, humeral head, glenoid fossa, and acromion process.

And this doesn’t just pertain to overhead athletes either.  We’re seeing this quite a bit in the general population as well, as we as fitness professionals have been shoving down their throat  “shoulder blades together and down, shoulder blades together and down” for years now.

In this case, some dedicated upper trap work would be advisable so as to encourage more scapular UPWARD rotation.  And no, relax, I’m NOT referring to barbell shrugs.

These wouldn’t be useful because there’s no “real” scapular upward rotation involved, and you’re doing nothing but encouraging more depression anyways.

Instead drills like Forearm Wall Slides with Shrug;

And Back to Wall Shoulder Flexion will work wonders.

Too, it may come down to toning down things like heavy deadlifts, farmer carries, and anything that entails holding onto heavy dumbbells (since all will pull the shoulder girdle down promote significant shoulder depression) in favor of more overhead/waiter carries, Goblet variations (squats, reverse lunges, etc), and barbell related work.

Just some food for thought anyways.

And that’s it for today. Be sure to check back tomorrow for some more insight and conversation on why your shoulder is jacked up and not jacked.

SPOILER ALERT: your shoulder may not be the issue in the first place!

*Smoke bomb, smoke bomb.  Exit stage left*

Also, as an a side (and giving credit where it’s due):  Title inspiration came from THIS article I read a while back on Elitefts.com.

CategoriesFemale Training Motivational

Why We Are the Even Weaker Sex

Today’s guest post comes from someone many who read this site regularly should recognize –  Kellie Hart Davis.

For those scratching their heads, Kellie’s essentially the female equivalent of me except for the slight distinction of being way smarter and much better looking than myself.

Plus, given she’s a copy editor and prolific health & fitness writer herself, she can tell you the difference between an independent and dependent clause, whereas I’m the king of run-on sentences.

So I guess we’re nothing alike- except for our affinity to lift heavy things and to encourage (and to enlighten) women all over the world on why they should do the same.

Nevertheless, this post was inspired by and serves as an adjunct to last week’s post by Emily Socolinsky.

While this is a phenomenal stand alone article in its own right, I’d highly encourage anyone who didn’t read Emily’s post from last to click on the link above before proceeding. Trust me it will be well worth it.

*Cue Jeopardy music*

All caught up?  Good.

Why We Are the Even Weaker Sex

As a kid, I didn’t put much thought into how my grandmother lived.  But now I sit here marveling at the very thought of it. How she accomplished so much in a given day without ever making mention of the work involved.

My grandfather passed away the year I was born. He left her with a modest 3-bedroom home and a backyard garden that would gain approval from Martha Stewart. It hosted an expansive 20 x 5 meter vegetable garden, an apple, cherry, plum, and apricot tree. Bushes of various berry varieties and other types of edible plants.

Below in the basement she stored the finished products of her agricultural ventures.  A cabinet filled with jams, pickled vegetables, and canned sauces and fruits all made with her hands. The freezer held prepped vegetables, potatoes and cuts of meat to get through the winter.

And this was just a hobby. She worked at Colorado State University everyday up to her forced retirement at age 66. Until she was in her late 50’s she rode her bike to and from the printing press on campus (weather pending). This wasn’t the flat terrain of the Midwest. It was Fort Collins, for heaven’s sake. That’s no easy ride.

I remember days as a kid when all my aunts, uncles, and cousin would gather at my grandmother’s house for harvest. The women would sit in lawn chairs shucking corn and beans for dinner while the kids dropped cherries down from the tree and the men pruned bushes.

That was her life for 70 years. She was as strong as an ox, but never made mention of it. She never made noise about how she activated her lats tilling soil or how she had to cut back on carbs in the winter because she was more sedentary.

She didn’t think about it. She just lived everyday knowing these were things that had to get done. So, when I read this recent article titled, “The even weaker sex: Faddy diets and fears that muscles aren’t feminine have left modern women weaker than their grannies,” I nodded in agreement.

Yeah, I can say that my grandmother was indelibly stronger than I ever will be. There’s no shame in that. She was pretty badass. I grow potted vegetables and bake bread in a $300 bread maker that does the work for me. There’s no way I would ever compare to Granny Hart.

What really struck a cord with me: faddy diets and fears that muscles aren’t feminine have left modern women weaker . . .

Is that really it?

My grandmother never thought about dieting or bulky muscle. But she was into Clean Eating™. Tosca Reno would be proud! Grandma was never overly muscular either. She was rail-thin even though she was totally Primal™.

I guess one could argue that modern women have all the luxuries that women in the past never did. Sure, when my dad was a kid they lived on a farm with no running water in the plains of Nebraska. They had to walk to the outhouse in the dark and milk their own cows.

But when I was a kid things weren’t so. Grandma had a washer and dryer, a vacuum cleaner, running water, a dishwasher, and many of the same luxuries that I have. Okay, so she wasn’t totally Primal by this point.

I don’t think it’s the fear of being bulky or eating too much that sends modern women fleeing to the couch with their iPhones so they can tweet their daily macro accountability.

I think it’s an innate fear of all things.

We are a society that is scared shitless of everything.

We’re scared of injury, disease, germs, dirt, robberies, getting hit by cars, concussions, aging, peeping toms, pederasts, guns, not having guns, too much real violence, not enough fake violence, loss of internet connection, Facebook hackers, identity theft, zombies, not having a hot vampire to love, too much carbsfatprotein, muscular arms, flabby triceps, bulky legs, fat legs  . . .

We think so much about what could possibly go wrong in our lives that we live in a state of paralysis. That is why we are weak and lazy. It’s safer to sit around and talk text and tweet about what we think we should do or aren’t going to do rather than unplugging so we can actually do something.

That is the generational difference.  Our grandmothers acted on instinct, doing what they must to make life possible. But now the female mind switches to making choices. We must choose to be active, to eat well. All instincts are gone because life comes in a ready-made package with automated systems.

It’s time to turn off automation.  It’s time to reach deep down in your belly to pull out those instincts. The ones that tell you to move and eat the way that your body was designed to do. To unplug from a world that you cannot touch or hear and get involved in the world that is tangible and interactive.

So be it if you pick up a barbell or plant an orchard. Just be present in your daily life.

Presence is what we are all missing. Never once do I remember my grandmother not hearing my voice because her mind focused on something arbitrary (she wasn’t around when Facebook and Pinterest launched). She was always there with us in that moment. She never talked about all that she had to get done. She just did things, and if she didn’t finish she did them the next day.

When I talk about presence it means to tune out the part of your life that is not actually happening and tune into what surrounds you.  Sounds a bit archaic, huh?

So, going back to faddy diets and fears that muscles aren’t feminine have left modern women weaker.

That’s just our excuse to live in this alter state of reality. To think about how doing these certain things will change our perception of an ideal body.

How we don’t want to do these things because we don’t want the perceived results. If this is so, then don’t do those things. Do other things. No one is saying that you have to deadlift or eat skirt steak. Yes, these two activities rank right up there with finding out Mark Cuban left you a fraction of his estate, but they aren’t for everyone.

That doesn’t mean you should sit in a stinking heap of fear either. Look where that’s getting you—smack in the headlines of a news article that goes on to talk about how you can’t even whisk an egg without hurting yourself.

Is that the legacy you want to leave in this world? Is this what you want your granddaughter to write about on the Internet 30 years from now?

I write all of this not to point a finger at society. I am just as guilty when it comes to not being present in my life at times. I’ve mastered the art of ignoring the world around me by shoving my face into a handheld device or opting out of a weekend activity because I downloaded 3 seasons of Boardwalk Empire.

I write all of this to evoke change within us. All women, including myself. May we finally adopt those skills our grandmothers and great-grandmothers tried to instill in us. A sense of pride in our homes, our bodies, and our lives.

If we take this back and own it, strong will always be sexy.

Author’s Bio

Kellie Davis is a freelance writer and blogger turned fitness coach living in Northern California. She published short fiction and essays in anthologies and literary magazines before starting a full time career as a health and fitness writer. She currently works as a contributing author to several online fitness publications including Greatist and Bodybuilding.com, and also runs corporate health blogs.

In addition to writing, Davis helps women all over the world achieve optimum health as a fitness and nutrition coach. She runs MotherFitness, is the co-owner of Get Glutes and the co-author of Strong Curves: A Woman’s Guide to Building a Better Butt and Body (with Bret Contreras) due out in stores April 2.

CategoriesMotivational

Personal Training/Coaching/Writing: Why You’re Not That Special

Sorry for the slight gap in between posts from last week to today.  While I’d like to sit here and say something honorary like I decided to prep my food for the week, or I don’t know, I spent my Friday morning reading scripture to orphans, what I really ended up doing was making the mistake of watching my very first episode of The Walking Dead.

What started as “oh, I’ll just check out one episode, and then get some work done,” turned into a Walking Dead marathon where I had season one completed by Saturday afternoon, and I’m already 3/4 of the way through season two as I type this.

How did I not start watching this show sooner??????  I mean, what’s not to like about it?  It’s zombies for crying out loud!  Zombies walking. Zombies running. Zombies attacking. Zombies getting shot.  Zombies getting a pitchfork thrown through their eyeball.

I can’t tell you how many times I’d be sitting there watching, and out of no where I’d yell “ohhhhhhhhhh snap. Lisa?  LISA???????  You HAVE to see this!!!!

As you might expect, she’s just ecstatic that I’m obsessed with this show at the moment (slight sense of sarcasm there).

But enough of that. My goal today wasn’t to sit here and type away on why zombies are the awesome. Although, lets be honest: that would make for an entertaining post.

Instead I want to exercise a massive brain dump on a topic that comes up every so often (maybe once every week or so), and something I’ve let marinate for quite some time.

I receive a fair number of emails on a daily basis from people asking questions ranging from why their [insert body part here] hurts to programming questions to my opinion on certain fitness related books and DVDs

And everything in between.

Too, I also receive a fair number of emails from people asking me for career advice.  Specifically I’ll get emails that sound similar to this (Cliff Notes version):

Tony,

How did you get to where you are today?  I’m a new trainer and I’d really like to get my name out there more. How do I get more clients?  How do I go about starting a blog or trying to write for places like T-Nation or Men’s Health?

While I’m always humbled to get such emails, and I always go out of my way to write back a detailed and positive response, there’s still a teeny-tiny percentage of me that wants to do nothing but face plant my forehead into the keyboard and yell out any number of expletives.

What I want to say (but don’t, because I don’t want to come across as an a-hole) is something along the lines of this:

How about understanding that I’ve been working as a personal trainer/strength coach/business owner for about a decade! That I spent the first five years (FIVE years!!!!) working in corporate fitness (and a number of shitty commercial gyms) trying to get better at what I do, working with as wide of an array of clients as I possibly could.

The way I saw it the only way I was going to get better was to expose myself to as many different types of people as possible; whether it was a 15 year-old kid who was only there because his parents forced him to be and could barely perform one push-up, or a 88 year old grandmother who wanted nothing more than to be able to pick up her cat without throwing her back out.

Part of that entailed getting up at 3:45 in the morning every Monday and Thursday to drive 45 minutes to work so that I could be there to open the doors for people who did nothing but walk on a treadmill and stare at a television.  Awesome.

The other days were spent closing the gym at 8 PM, only to drive home 45 minutes so that I could write programs for an hour.

No one ever talks about stepping outside their comfort zone, either.  While I don’t regret working in corporate fitness and various commercial gyms for five years, I knew that in order to grow as a professional I needed to take the next step and learn to “spread my wings” so-to-speak.

This involved packing up all my things – on a whim – to move to Connecticut into an apartment with some dude named Cressey.

Talk about a leap of faith.  I had no idea what the heck I was getting myself into, but I knew I had to take the chance.

Then, throwing myself another curve ball (on a whim), a year later, I quit a pretty sweet job to move  yet again. This time to Boston.

I arrived in Beantown with no job in sight and a dwindling back account.  But things worked out in the end because I was willing to start at the bottom of the totem pole (again), work crappy hours for a less than stellar wage, and not bitch about it.

I was adamant in making myself better through coaching my tail off and helping people reach their goals.

I still did my part: continued to read, attend seminars, and started to explore the idea of writing a blog (and eventually articles) while other colleagues were stuck in neutral and would do nothing but brag about how wasted they got the night prior.

Then, in 2007, we opened up Cressey Performance, which wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. We literally started from scratch building a successful business from the ground up.

Five years later, I’m only just now feeling as if I’m hitting my stride and starting to “get it.” But I also understand that I still have a loooooong ways to go, and that I’m no where near where I want to be.

The key point to take home here is that it wasn’t a matter of just showing up and expecting things to fall into place.  I didn’t pet a unicorn and things just happened.  I worked my ass off to get to where I am today! And you know what?  I know I have A LOT more work to do before I feel like I’ve accomplished anything.

As far as the whole writing thing is concerned, lets put things into context. If you want use writing as a way to get your name out there – whether it be starting a blog or possibly writing for other fitness sites – great!  I think that’s a wonderful goal to stive for.

The best piece of advice I can give anyone in this regard is to just write!  Quit talking about it, and do it.

As a frame of reference, I was talking about this with Ben Bruno over the weekend, and he made a pretty solid point. He had 26 articles published on T-Nation last year, at an average of 2500 words per article.

That’s 65,000 words, which, for those wondering, is a metric shit-ton of writing.

Throwing myself into the mix: I had six articles published on T-Nation, which is no where near as prolific as Ben. But giving a little credit where credit is due, I also did a lot more writing on my blog comparatively speaking, and published 204 blog posts last year.

Holla!

On average I’d say my posts run anywhere from 800-1500 words per.  For the sake of brevity, lets keep it on the conservative side and say I average 900 words per post.

That’s 183,600 (mostly grammatically correct) words!!!!!

* Or the equivalent to one Bret Contreras blog entry.

And that doesn’t take into consideration the amount of writing I did for the likes of T-Nation.com, Livestrong.com, Greatist.com, Men’s Health, and everything else I’m completely drawing a blank on at the moment.

Now, I’m not suggesting I’m anywhere near the same stratosphere as Malcolm Gladwell, Stephen King, or JK Rowling as a writer (who is?). But I’m not hesitant in vociferously stating I’m a much better writer than I was a year ago, let alone six years go when I first started.

I mean, come on –  I just used the word “vociferously” in a sentence. That has to count for something.

And, don’t be one of those people who goes out of their way to read all the “go to” texts on becoming a better writer like On Writing Well, Bird by Bird, or to be bit more specific in the realm of fitness writing, How to Get Published: Writing Domination in the Fitness Industry.

 

While all are fantastic resources, and ones that I recommend all the time, none of them will ever trump the act of actually sitting down in front of a computer screen and writing.

I think it was William Faulkner (or maybe Kurt Vonnegut) who, when standing in front of a room full of writing majors and asked what piece of advice he’d give on how to become a better writer, just simply said, “write.”

And while many people don’t like to hear it:  you often need to write for years (and for free) before anyone actually reads your stuff, let alone pays you for it.

Just to reiterate:  I’m always more than happy to help people out and to offer advice and words of encouragement, and I’d certainly be the first one to state that I don’t have all the answers.  I just wish more people would take a step back and understand that it takes a lot of hard work, sacrifice, and yes, sometimes years in order to become “successful.” At least a lot more than what I can offer in one simple email response.

As Malcolm Gladwell states in his phenomenal book, Outliers (which I feel everyone should read at some point in their life), it takes 10,000 hours of deliberate and purposeful practice in order to become good at anything.  It doesn’t just happen.

So, have you even sniffed 10,000 hours?  1,000?  What about 100?  Don’t expect things to just happen. You have to work your ass off and put the time in just like everyone else. You’re not that special.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work Uncategorized

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: Chest Builders, Tickets to the Gun Show, and New Blogs

6 Coaches on Chest Training – A Bunch of Smart (and Swole) Dudes

A while back I was contacted by the editors of T-Nation to contribute to an article specifically geared towards people interested in pull-ups:  how to not suck at them, how they can go about building a back wider than Kansas, you know, stuff like that.

It went over really well, so the higher-ups at T-Nation decided to ask the same crew to write their thoughts on chest training, and this was the end result.

60 Must-Read Health & Fitness Blogs for 2013 – Greatist.com

I was truly honored (and humbled) to have my blog listed amongst so many other esteemed health and fitness professionals.  As it turns out, many of the blogs I follow on a consistent basis (Mark’s Daily Apple, Bret Contreras, Adam Bornstein, Eric Cressey, Kellie Davis, Girls Gone Strong, to name a few) made the list, which doesn’t really surprise me because they’re all fantastic.

But it was nice to get e-introduced to a number of other blogs that are equally as awesome and badass.

Maybe you’ll find one on the list you’ll enjoy?

2 Tickets to the Gun Show – Dan Trink

Honestly, Dan had me a “Gun Show,” so I’m already in and an easy sell.  But in case you’re not up to snuff with broscience lingo, my good friend Dan Trink, Director of Training at Peak Performance in NYC and co-author (along with me) of the first three month’s of programming for Greatist’s Workout of the Day (GWOD), released his very first fitness product this week that’s a 4-week arm specialization program.

For those who don’t know Dan, he’s a brick shit-house and has arms bigger than both Optimus Prime and Megatron combined.

See?  Told ya.

But he’s also one of the nicest and most down-to-earth human beings I know.  Not that that really matters when purchasing a product, but I just thought you should know….;o) I generally shy away from people who are a-holes, let alone endorse their products.

Anyhoo:  As a dude, I know the first thing I do when “sizing up” other dudes is to look at the size of their arms. While it doesn’t necessarily tell me much in terms of how strong they are (or if they have some super secret Jedi mind trick powers that I don’t about), chances are if someone’s rocking 18″ pythons, I’m not going to attempt to take their lunch money.

Having big arms is the “holy grail” for just about any guy who has ever lifted a weight in the history of the world, and this 4-week program delivers the goods.

The manual includes 4-weeks of programming, training templates, and links to videos of every exercise.  The only thing it doesn’t include is a tape measure and a copy of Hulk Hogan’s theme song, “Real American.”

It’s on sale now for $14.99 until this Friday at midnight, and then it reverts to the normal price of $27.99.  So for 0.54 cents per day, you could have Rambo arms.  Seems like a no-brainer to me.

====> Get Your Tickets Here <====

CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: KB Lateral Lunge with Pulse

Some of you may recall an exercise I featured a year or two ago that I stole from Dan John called the Goblet Squat with Pulse.  For those who may need a gentle reminder you can click HERE to get the gist.

Similarly, today’s exercise takes the same “pulse” concept yet adds a slight modification in the form of a lateral lunge (and some pretty sweet techno in the background).

KB Lateral Lunge with Pulse

Who Did I Steal it From:  Well I guess by extension Dan John, but given I haven’t yet seen this tweak anywhere else on the interwebz, Cressey Performance is calling dibs on this one.

Bitches!

What Does It Do:  I love this exercise for people with short or stiff adductors for obvious reasons, but really this is a fantastic exercise for just about anyone as it gets them out of their comfort zone in the sagittal plane. Moreover, the pulse component adds a significant anti-flexion flavor into the mix that Ben & Jerry can’t touch, not to mention, by association, helps encourage people to maintain more t-spine extension which is never a bad thing.

Key Coaching Cues: First of all don’t be a hero and automatically reach for the 24 kg kettlebell, because that ain’t gonna happen. As far as weight selection goes, I’d start on the conservative side – the lighter the better.

One major point to dive into is how to perform a lateral lunge.  Many people make the mistake of stepping to the left or right and allowing their knee to translate too far forward over their toes.  Now I’m not one of those alarmist who feels that the knees should never go past the toes (try walking up a flight of stairs without that happening, or play a sport), but in this scenario I coach people to make their step/lunge to either side and to SIT BACK into the hip.

The knee is obviously going to come forward slightly, but the heel should stay DOWN and glued to the floor at all times. If anything, the tibia (lower leg) should stay a bit more vertical, but if you’re making an effort to sit back into the hip this shouldn’t be an issue.

Once in the bottom position, press the KB out in front of you until your arms are fully extended (elbows locked out), and pause for 1-2 second count.

Bring the KB back towards your torso, return back to the starting position and repeat for the desired amount of repetitions.

I generally shoot for anywhere from 6-8 reps per side.

For those who don’t have access to kettlebells, you should still be able to perform this exercise with a standard dumbbell.  Except in this case you’ll have to hold the DB with both hands wrapped around the handle.  It’s a bit more cumbersome, but doable.

And there you have it.  Try it today and let me know what you think!

CategoriesCorrective Exercise Rehab/Prehab

Introduction to Spinal Health and Core Training

Some of you may recall I took a little trip out to Edmonton, Alberta back in June to take part in the Spinal Health and Core Training seminar alongside my fellow cohorts Rick Kaselj, Dean Somerset, and Dr. Jeff Cubos.

While I’d like to sit here and state that what transpired was a Hangover inspired two-day extravaganza of hookers, cocaine, tigers, and babies wearing oversized sunglasses, what really transpired was completely not that.

Nope, our Wolfpack was all about program design, corrective exercise, assessment, and anything and everything that you can think of as it pertains to core training and spinal health.

Okay, maybe there was a tiger involved……but that was Dean’s idea, not mine.

All kidding aside, it was an amazing weekend and everyone who attended walked away with a gulf of information.  Lucky for you we taped the entire thing and plan on releasing it as a product in the very near future.  And by “very soon,” I’m talking about within the next few weeks.

To wet everyone’s palette, Rick K. is releasing a series of “sneak peeks,” and for those interested below is a quick 22-minute clip of my presentation.

And there’s A LOT more where that come from. I ended up speaking for close to three and half hours that day (how, I have no idea), and Dr. Cubos finished off with another three hours himself.

Day 2 revolved around Rick and Dean, and while I had to take off for Vancouver that day for a friend’s wedding, I heard it was equally as informative and awesome.

Like I said, we’ll be divulging more information on the actual release within the next few weeks, so keep your eyes and ears peeled.

CategoriesFemale Training Motivational

A New and Better Butt? Why Not a STRONGER Butt?

Today’s post comes courtesy of my internet buddy, Emily Giza Socolinsky. Some of you might recognize her since I’ve linked to several of her articles in the past. She sent this one my way last week, and after reading it (and doing a few cartwheels down the street because 1) why not? and 2) this article was the bees knees and deserved it) I asked if she would be cool with me slapping in on my site for your viewing pleasure.

I mean, what’s not to love?  She talks about badonkadonks.  More specifically she discusses the outright pervasive attitude that much of our mainstream culture has towards women and how they “should” look, as well as its meager attempts at offering training advice.

To be blunt:  I trust the mainstream media with giving fitness advice towards women about as much as I trust a barber with a mullet.

To that end, this one is a doozy and sends an absolutely wonderful and positive message.  It’s my hope that you’ll read it.

I don’t get women into my gym by promising them a great ass. They acquire their awesome asses as a result of doing goblet squats, split squats, kettlebell swings, step ups, reverse lunges, deadlifts…you get the picture.

I don’t promise them “toned” arms. But they end up with awesome arms from push ups, rows, chin ups, face pulls, presses….you get the picture.

In fact, I don’t promise them anything. They come to me because they want to get stronger. They come to me because they want to move better. They come to me because as one of my clients said to me today, “Because I don’t want to be in pain. Because I want to be able to keep moving this way when I am 90.” And of course, I will not deny the fact that many of them also want to look better too. I am not going to ignore the fact that most women wish they had ______. (You fill in the blank.)

I just want other things to take priority.

Because if you promise a woman a better butt or if you promise weight loss or toned arms and after weeks of exercising, it doesn’t happen as fast as they like, she will be left feeling worse about herself than she did before she started.

I think that these type of promises encourage negative thinking in women. I think that when you focus on body image, you put a woman’s body image before performance, before health, before confidence.  These empty promises encourage a woman to feel bad about herself, not better and honestly, she has enough to feel bad about as a woman. Remember, it is hard enough just being a woman (I wrote about that recently here.)

So in my mind, these types of promises should not exist. It is easier and WAY more satisfying to build a woman’s confidence by introducing her to the deadlift (by the way, a great ass exercise), boost her self-esteem by teaching her how to do a proper push up (toned arms anyone?) or a barbell squat (another great ass exercise) than just help her fit into a pair of pants. Women do not need to be reminded of what they don’t have. They need to be reminded of what they DO have and they need to be coached how to use the body they DO have.

Just ask my ladies.

The other night, after watching one of my clients bang out a set of 10 push ups, my husband asked her if she started off at my place with such good push ups. “NO way,” she said. “This is what I am most proud of too. My push ups.” She told me that she has also been getting compliments right and left from friends about how awesome she looks and these friends just cannot wrap their heads around the fact that all she has been doing is squatting, pressing and rowing.

No running? They ask. No cardio, she tells them aside from a few ball slams and rope slams here and there.  Of course, she said, she would rather them ask her how much she can squat these days than how she got her body.

This past summer, I wrote an article about my ladies and their feelings about strength training. You can read it here. The women speak about the empowerment they feel as a result of strength training, how much more confidence they have in their daily lives, how they are able to do things they never thought was possible.

They talk about the focus and concentration that goes into training, why they do it, what they get from it. And yet, I still find it difficult to get some women to believe in the power of the iron. I was recently on my Facebook News Feed and I saw a post by a friend of mine (a dancer) who was talking about building a new butt for the new year at Pop Physique. I had heard of this place (it’s a chain) and knew that it was just another type of barre class (They are popping up like mad all over the city. You can read about my feelings  in regards to barre classes here.)

Note from TG:  I actually linked to Emily’s article above in a recent Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work segment, and the feedback/response that it received was nothing short of awesome.  If you’re someone caught in the “dancing/yoga/pilates/pick your poison trap” and think such classes are the key to lean, toned arms, I HIGHLY encourage you to read it.

I checked out the website and the first thing staring at me was some woman’s ass. Ugh. Seriously?

Right there, I knew what this place was all about. With a little more digging, I found a YouTube clip from one of the classes. Take a look.

What bothers me the most (I was face palming so much I turned my forehead red – it was like hearing nails on a blackboard), was the fact that the woman interviewing the instructor in the video is seen at the beginning of the video standing in front of a squat rack with a loaded barbell. Loaded with 45lb plates and a couple of smaller plates.

A squat rack people.

The clip then goes on to show women pulsing with 3lb dumbbells and then humping a ball. WTH? Where did the squat rack go? Why was it there in the first place? To tease us women who believe in the power of the rack? For the love of…..where the hell did the squat rack go??? NOOOOOO!

Okay, okay….I get it. The point of these classes is to  build a better butt. How do you do that when you use no resistance?

Do you want to see what a butt looks like from a barre class? Cue picture to your right. Whoa. Now, mind you, during this time, I was also teaching cycling and doing some machine work at the gym. But this is my butt after two years of barre classes. Flat as a pancake. Non-existent. Is it even there, you ask? I just see wrinkles.

Yes, there is something beneath the pants. Not much though. And look at my chicken arms too. Hell, look at my breast. Where is the muscle????? Where is the butt? I thought I looked great…..until I saw this picture and saw my body and realized how pathetically weak I looked.

I had recently lost weight too (due to not eating as a result of my back injury – in too much pain to eat. This was the year I had my relapse.) But all the time I was teaching my barre class. I was squeezing and pulsing, squeezing and pulsing. Where was my ass to show for all that work??

Fast forward one year. ONE year.

Take a look at my ass now after a year of squatting, deadlifting, pressing, benching, doing chin ups, push ups.  Uh, big difference, wouldn’t you say? I was still teaching my barre classes (this was the year before I opened my gym), but what had I added into my program that was not there before? You guessed it. Heavy squats, deadlifts, glute bridges.

More specifically, weight. Weight, people. Weight. None of that 3lb bullsh**.  Real weight.

And more weight. And more weight. My goal was a stronger butt, not a “better butt. Hell, my goal was to just get stronger. The butt came as a bonus from all the hard work.

And I continue to work on getting stronger each and everytime I train. And consequently, my glutes get stronger too.

So, ladies, if you are looking to build a stronger, more able backside, please for the love of all that is humane in this great world, give up humping the barre while squeezing a ball between your thighs and grab a freaking dumbbell and start doing some goblet squats.

Or teach yourself how to do a kettlebell swing. Holy backside Batman! Or roll a barbell over your hips and thrust away! Your glutes will thank you and will appreciate the work. Because the work you do in your “build a better butt class for the New Year” will only work for some time then it stops working because nothing has changed. No resistance has been added. If you stick with 3lb dumbbells, you will end up looking the same. The body adapts. So, instead of working towards a cute ass, why not do yourself a real favor and work towards a stronger body and consequently, a stronger, maybe cuter ass.

Author’s Bio

Emily is a certified Starting Strength Coach, AFAA certified, USA Weightlifting certified Level 1 Sports Performance Coach, and cycle certified through Madd Dogg Athletics. Emily holds a Masters degree in Education and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance from the University of Maryland at Baltimore County. As a fitness coach and mentor, she has helped many clients explore their true potential through hard work and persistence. Emily has also been active as a professional dancer and teacher for over 20 years. During that time, she has focused on strength training and a variety of cross-training methods that helped her grow and develop as a dancer and athlete.

For more information, visit her website HERE.

CategoriesMotivational Program Design

5 (Simple) Ways To Make Your Workouts More Effective

So we’re what, three weeks into the New Year? As I suspect, most reading this site have made your New Year’s resolutions three weeks ago, and whether it was to try to read more, watch less television, eat less cheese, smile more, put 10% of your paycheck into a savings account, drink more water, eat out less often, introduce a little culture into your life and watch more foreign film (or listen to jazz, or buy Grey Poupon), travel more, floss more, or simply accept the fact that a shirt is required attire when grocery shopping (which is utter BS!), I’m sure many are crushing it and still going strong.

But lets be honest, when it comes to New Year’s resolutions, 90% of them revolve around finally (like, I mean it this time) making a concerted effort to head to the gym on a regular basis and getting into shape.

While many have undoubtedly taken the plunge and dedicated some time and energy to fitness goals, the real coup de gras is sticking to these New Year’s resolutions for more than a month!  Understandably there are many reasons why people don’t stick to their workouts and fitness New Year’s Resolutions.

Some of them are just facts of life, such as time commitments, financial concerns, and lofty expectations, as my friend Mike Reinold noted in a recent post of his. Some of them are just lame as lame can get , such as “oh, American Idol starts tonight!” or ” Dammit, I forgot my gym shoes!” or “I have a hang nail.”

While I’m being a bit facetious in tone, it’s certainly not outside the scope of reality that there are some people out there who are pros at sabotaging their own efforts.

But then again, there are far, far more people who make a resolution to get healthy, purchase their gym membership, iPod, and new white kicks, and stay about as consistent as humanly possibly.

Yet, for some reason, fail to garner the results they’re after.

Many may head to the gym 3-5x per week, for weeks on end, yet fail to see the fruits of their labor.  Before long frustration sets in (why the heck do I ever bother!), and soon they become nothing more than a New Year’s resolution statistic.

While it’s almost impossible to nail down (exactly) what, why, and how someone fails to achieve optimal results in the gym, below are some ideas/thoughts/insights I’d like to throw into the mix for everyone’s consideration:

Supersets (Are You Using Them?)

Simply put, supersets are arguably (but I don’t really see what there’s to argue about) the most efficient way to set up your programming.

For those scratching their heads, all a superset implies is that you pair two exercises – preferably ones that work opposing muscle groups or an upper/lower tandem – together that are performed back-to-back.

So, rather than performing a set of bench presses and then walking around for two minutes twiddling your thumbs, annoying the hot personal trainer you have no shot with, or watching highlights on SportsCenter, you’d pair another exercise like a row variation, lunge variation, or mobility/activation drill. You increase training density, and can use the pairings to bring up weak areas.

Many people waste too much time in the gym by performing straight sets, where they’ll perform a set of an exercise, rest for an allotted amount of time, and repeat.

While there’s definitely a time and place for straight sets, instead try to pair exercises in an A1-A2, B1-B2 format.  By doing so, you’ll get more work done in a shorter amount of time, and burn infinitely more calories in the process.

If you’re still kind of lost on the idea, and need some ideas for exercise pairings, check out THIS post by Eric Cressey, which should turn on a few light bulbs.

Implement Fillers

Pigging back on the point above, adding “fillers” to your program is an awesome way to address imbalances and weaknesses.

Another common mistake I see many trainees make (along with trainers for that matter) is taking too long to warm-up or getting too caught up in “corrective exercise” mode.

Yes, it’s important to active “stuff.”  In fact, I’m often flummoxed that some people still don’t understand the importance of taking themselves through a proper warm-up.  Getting the body and nervous system primed for physical activity is kind of a big deal, and I won’t belabor the point here.  You should be doing it.

But I do feel – at times – people baby themselves.

I’m sorry but if you’re someone who takes 30 minutes to active your left glute, you’re missing the bigger picture here.

To save time I LOVE implementing fillers into my programs.  The idea is to address common “problem areas” by tossing in some low-grade activation/mobility drills during one’s rest intervals.

The key point here is LOW-GRADE.  Performing a set of 400M sprints or Tabata anything IS NOT a filler, and defeats the point. We’re trying to turn stuff on, not train for a cage match.

Instead, if I’m working with someone with poor T-spine mobility I may have them do a set of side lying rib rolls after their bench presses:

If they have poor glute function, I may throw in some glute bridges in between sets of squats:

Or if they’re just one massive knot in general, I may have them perform a Yoga Push-Up complex to work on everything:

Again, the idea here is to keep it simple, address common weaknesses, and not to shit an appendix.

There’s no need to go overboard here.

Don’t Perform Anything Sitting

It’s insane how much people sit during the day.  I’m a fairly active person, and yet I still sit upwards of 4-5 hours a day writing in the morning and driving to and from work.

But that’s peanuts compared to most people.

Many have a rough commute to work, and then have to spend 8-10 hours sitting in front of a computer all day, only to head to the gym and sit even more on the recumbent bike or through various exercises like seated DB press or seated leg extensions or seated whateverthefuck.

Performing the bulk of your exercise standing will not only be more challenging, but it will also force you to engage more muscle groups, which in turn will help you burn more calories, which will probably increase your chances of seeing someone of the opposite sex with their clothes off.  Maybe even with the lights on.

It’s a win-win.

Start With a “Money” Movement (The rest is just details.  Kinda).

When I write my own programs I don’t necessarily take the mindset that Monday is a “leg day” or a “lower body day.”

It’s deadlift day!

Likewise, Tuesday isn’t “chest day,” it’s bench day.

Are you picking up what I’m putting down?  Well good – you should.

Each workout – or to be more appropriate, each training session – should have a main exercise (or focus) of the day.  That’s the what I mean when I refer to a “money movement.”

And for the record, you should put all your heart and soul into that money movement.  When I know it’s a deadlift day, I don’t pussyfoot around.  I’ll get myself mentally prepared by planning out my session, visualizing hitting all my lifts, cueing up some mid-90s hip hop, and either sparta kicking a wall or punching a dolphin in the face.

Whatever gets me amped.

It’s me vs. the bar and that’s really all that matters.

And if I did everything right, and didn’t leave anything in the tank, I’m absolutely trashed afterwards.

Of course I’ll have a list of accessory exercises I’ll perform after the fact, but those are just details and serve just to “compliment” my money movement and to help me bring up my weaknesses.

I truly feel if people placed more of a premium on that money movement, got a little angrier, put every ounce of energy into it, and did more than just putter around on the Cybex circuit, they’d see marked improvements in their progress.

Include More Movement/GPP/Or Whatever You Want To Call Them Days

Know what I can’t stand (other than Ryan Seacrest)?  Are “off days” where people head to the gym only to walk on the treadmill for half an hour.

Listen, I get it:  getting your cardio in and improving your heart health is important. And if it’s something you want to do, than do it.

But if it were me, I’d nice the warm and cuddly cardio sessions and perform more movement based or GPP days into the mix.

Instead of hopping on the elliptical and dying a slow death of boredom, why not get your heart rate up in other ways and actually work on things you need to improve?

If you have access to a Prowler, farmer carry attachements, kettlebells, TRX, and the like, you’re golden.  You can set up some killer circuits and absolutely torch yourself.

Understandably, most of you won’t have access to those things, but that doesn’t mean you’re relegated to treadmill hell.

You can simply set up a circuit like this:

A1. LIGHT Goblet Squats: x10

A2.  3-Point Extension-Rotation: x10/side (thank you Conor Nordengren for the video)

A3. Side Plank w/ Row: x10/arm

A4. Bodyweight Reverse Lunge: x10/leg

A5.  Hand Switches w/ Push-Up: x5/side)

 A6. High FIve Someone

Perform in circuit fashion with as little rest as possible between each exercise.  At the end, rest 30-60s, and repeat for a total of 3-5 rounds.

It’s roughly 10-15 minutes of work (depending on how long you rest and how many rounds you complete), but it will definitely get your heart rate up (and be of more benefit because you’re addressing common weaknesses like poor glute function, core stability, etc), and it’s a heckuva lot more exciting than rotting away in the “cardio” section.

And I’m Done

While I could throw in a few wildcards like getting more (quality) sleep, drinking more water, hiring a reputable coach, or making an effort to train with people who will push you (even if it’s only once per week), I think I stated my case.

Nothing I mentioned above is revolutionary, but I think the above suggestions will go a long ways in helping people take their programs to the next level.  We often think that making things more complicated than they have to be is the way to go, and that couldn’t be further from the truth.

In reality just making an effort to simplify things, or to be more aware of common mistakes we’re making can make all the difference in the world.

CategoriesUncategorized

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 1/16/13

The weather in Boston today is pretty craptastic, and as such, I spent a fair amount of time cleaning off both our cars this morning.

For me it’s not that big of a deal because I’m able to park my car in the parking lot at the adjacent building next to our apartment complex, so I only have like a 30 second walk to my car.

Lisa on the other hand has to park her car down the road a ways at some random person’s driveway in a spot that she rents on a month by month basis.  I rent a spot too. But like I said, I’m only like a 30 second walk away.

You see Brookline, the town in which we live, has a “no overnight street parking” policy where the powers that be decided it would be an awesome (and be “awesome” I mean the complete opposite of awesome) idea to not allow any street parking from 12-5AM.

Why?  I have no idea. Either way it sucks whale vagina, and unless you own a helicopter and can park that badboy on a rooftop somewhere, or can somehow defy the law of physics and teleport yourself from point A to point B, you’re renting a parking spot.

Anyways long story short:  the weather sucks, I just spent half an hour clearing off both our cars, and I now only have a few minutes to get this here post up for ya’ll before I have to head out the door early to give myself ample time to get to work on time.

And yes, I just used the word ya’ll. I have no idea where that came from.

3 Step to Getting Your Girl to Train – Joy Victoria

I had the pleasure of meeting Joy in person a few weeks ago when she came to Cressey Performance to observe for the day. We had the opportunity to talk some shop, and I could tell right off the bat that she was someone who really had a passion for what she did, not to mention had an insatiable appetite to get better.

I mean, why else would she spend an entire day at CP?  It certainly wasn’t for my good looks and witty banter.

Nevertheless, I was stoked to see the above article on T-Nation last week that was written by her, and thought it was fantastic.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE:  Guys, read this article before even thinking about approaching this topic with your significant other.

There’s definitely a lot more to it than just slapping your girl on the tush, handing her some creatine, and yelling out, “lets go get hyyyyyyyyyyoge.”

Trust me. Don’t do it. This will have the opposite of the intended effect.  Just read the damn article, okay?

Best Squat Depth for Glute Activation – Chris Beardsley

An incredibly thorough (and honest) review of some research on the topic of squat depth and glute activation by Chris Beardsley via Bret Contreras’ blog.

The geek factor is high here, but Chris does an amazing job at breaking things down and explaining things in way where us mere mortals can understand.

Sitting is the Smoking of Our Generation – Nilofer Merchant

I “stole” this article from Jen Sinkler via Twitter, and loved it.

We sit, like a lot.  And there are a plethora of long-stemming health ramifications from all the sitting we do.

And while I’m a bit hypocritical in posting this article given I’m typing this while in fact sitting down (bad Tony!), I also know that I’ll be spending the next 6-8 hours running around coaching my tail off.

In case you’re wondering, I’m totally sticking my tongue out at you…..;o) I have the coolest job ever.

CategoriesUncategorized

Beware of Cookie Cutter Training Programs

Today’s guest post comes from Liberty University undergrad student, Joe Amberlock. Joe’s a bright kid who’s writing has been featured on T-Nation.com as well as Elitefts.com.  It’s a slightly different flavor compared to the posts I normally write (or even include as a guest post), but for those who like to geek out on baseball, and more to the point, baseball mechanics, this one will be right up your alley.

Also, as a quick reminder, Bootcamp in a Box, an excellent collaboration between Mike Robertson, Jim Laird, and Molly Galbraith geared towards bootcamp owners is now available (and currently on sale throughout the rest of the week). 

Loaded with 6-months of tailor-made programming, as well as a plethora of progressions (and regressions), this product is a must have for anyone looking to separate themselves from the bootcamp masses.

Beware of Cookie Cutter Training Programs

Improving performance in sport is always the goal of an athlete’s training. However, in many ways the training community has begun to veer away from this goal of late. Progress is being placed on how much an athlete can squat, clean, or press rather than on the increase effectiveness in the actual sport.

This is true in all sports, not excluding baseball. An example would be a baseball player that increases his max back squat from 400 to 500 pounds over the course of an off-season. This is viewed as progress, the player has improved. He returns to spring training pleased with his improvements, tells his coach and everyone is happy. However, the athlete plays no better on the field and can’t figure out why his gains are not transferring to his sport.

Unfortunately this form of “progress” is a frequent occurrence. Common knowledge says increase the athletes power, speed, strength and they will improve. Hence athletes are given “cookie cutter” programs that only take into account the athlete’s current state of performance which is determined by a set of lifts and pre-determined speed and agility protocols. The athlete improves in these “cookie cutter” programs however their sport is not performing “cookie cutter” movements, it is baseball.

Power, speed, and strength of a movement are not the only contributors to an athlete’s success in a given movement (task) but also heavily weigh on the athlete’s skill to effectively use and execute the task with the potential power, speed, and strength developed.

Every sport consists of the body completing a series of small tasks to form what to the naked eye would seem like a simple movement.

However, a sport cannot be generalized or simplified as just a body in motion, but rather every sport presents its own complex motor patterns to complete a task as it is presented during the competition of that sport.

Every game a player will encounter numerous tasks and they must accomplish this task through a motor pattern (Sequence of movements arranged to succeed).

That motor pattern can involve several different tasks throughout competition such as in baseball. An athlete will be expected to complete tasks such as fielding a ground ball, throwing to another player, or hitting. Each task is different in its own unique way, and each athlete is unique in how he accomplishes each task. Hence why cookie cutter programs aren’t the most effective way to train.

Say an athlete swings on a fastball, makes enough contact to hit over the right field fence, home-run. Spectators marvel at the athletes’ power and strength, the pitcher had no chance. The athlete was able to hit the homerun because he overcame the external opposition he was facing; the pitcher. He studied the pitchers tendencies and knew what was coming.

Although the battle at the plate is often chalked up to the pitcher vs. the hitter there are many other oppositions the hitter must overcome in order to complete his task successfully.

When an athlete steps into the batter’s box to hit the focus is generally placed on the external opposition. In this case it is the pitcher. The pitcher will present resistance in the form pitch selection, pitch speed, and location.

An athlete’s preparation is usually catered to focus on the external opposition he is certain to face. However, the athlete will also encounter forces he cannot directly see.

Opposition comes in the form of gravity, balance, inertia, and reactive force. All of these come into play and must be overcome. Each of these forces can be analyzed and broken down on the effect of the swing just as pitchers tendencies can be analyzed.

Therefore increasing the effectiveness of a task requires improvement of specific skill to control body movement and to generate force to overcome external resistance.  Not just getting more powerful and stronger in a squat or deadlift. 

When an athlete is first taught the correct form, technique, mechanics on how to swing and hit a pitch generally it is not a pretty sight. Perhaps his technique shows progress as he takes each swing slowly and deliberately. You then ask him to perform that same technique but now swing as powerfully as possible, as I’m sure you can imagine the swing mechanics would almost entirely break down and the athlete looks as if he had never swung a bat in the first place; It looks as if there is no rhyme or reason to his technique.

Note from TG:  Sort of like CrossFit, but without all the blacking out, and puking on the floors and stuff.  Ohhhhhhhhhhh snap!

Okay, sorry Joe, I’ll let you finish.

As the athlete becomes more mechanically proficient inefficiencies in his mechanics become harder to realize.

Flaws in the swing are not as apparent as they were at the beginner stages. Although this does not imply that the inefficiencies, although smaller, are any less important. Every portion of the swing’s motor pattern must be analyzed.

Each portion of the swing interacts with another forming a specific pattern of sequential actions known as a biodynamic structure. A small mechanical error can affect the entire biodynamic structure and throw off an entire at bat just like an incorrect guess at an oncoming pitch can.

There are key elements and movements that must be broken down in each athletes swing and accompanying these elements are secondary-elements that assist them. A good example of this is the athlete’s bat speed would be a key-element and movement and the elastic energy stored in the muscles before the swing would be an example of secondary-elements because they assist in the key-elements success.

To improve these key elements there must be a specific analysis of the biodynamic structure of the swing. The analysis should consist of the following:

Identifying the key-movements in the swing

There must be an examination of where during the swing there is a shift or displacement of the athletes’ center of body mass.

In relation to this center of body mass how does this shift or displacement impact the force propulsion throughout the swing; a small inefficient shift could result in failure. Also the key displacement of the body’s limbs from the center of gravity during the swing must also be taken into account and the phase in which the ball makes first contact with the ball.

Finally there must also be a mechanical observation of the synchronization of these two (the center of body mass and displaced limbs upon contact) An athlete at a glance may have a smooth proficient swing, this appearance is due to the syncing of all these small aspects.

Increasing the key-movements abilities

Increasing the effectiveness key-movements in the swing is a multifaceted task.

However it is made easier if the principle of dynamic correspondence is implemented correctly. This principle assures that the athletes training will be applicable to the improvement of the swing. The muscle groups and their range of motion, along with direction of motion must be observed. It is also necessary to examine types of muscle contractions that are taking place throughout the movement.

All of these observations must be taken into account before planning out an athlete’s preparation. Key movements and elements must be analyzed and broken down to find inefficiencies. If these inefficiencies are not trained and improved than the athletes increases in power, speed, and strength will not be used or translated into the sport if mechanically there is something out of whack.

This takes time and patients however, with these observations progress can be correctly measured rather than with vague movements or drills that contribute little to actual on the field performance.

And That’s That

To summarize, a program designed to increase a player’s performance is not a one size fits all deal. Each athlete is different and therefore each approach to an athlete must be unique to them. What works for one athlete may only be detrimental to another. Be wary of cookie cutter programs and arbitrary methods and take the time to analyze and get to know what your athletes really need to improve.

Author’s Bio

 

Joe Amberlock(Orlandi) is an undergraduate student at Liberty University pursuing a degree in Kinesiology. Joe’s tutelage under master strength coaches Bill Gillespie and Dave Williams along with experience working with Division 1 collegiate athletics has allowed him to learn, apply, and share his methods to all levels of athletes. Find out more at AmberlockPerformance.com