I’ll be heading out to sunny LA this weekend to meet up with Dean Somerset for our last go at the Complete Shoulder & Hip Workshop of 2015.
We’ve been on a tear lately with stops in Edmonton, St. Louis, and Chicago earlier this fall, and I hope people aren’t starting to get Dean and Tony fatigue…
…because we also have BIG plans for 2016 as well.
A trip to Europe (Prague and Oslo in the Spring), as well as various cities around North America (Toronto, Austin, TX, etc).
NOTE: speaking of Texas, I’ll be in Frisco, TX on Dec. 27th for a 1-day workshop at Full Throttle Athletics. For more info you can go HERE.
And, who knows, we may very well go intergalactic and hit up Naboo. We like to live life dangerously.
Anyways I need to pack and get things organized before I leave tomorrow morning, so today I wanted to take a few moments to point you in the direction of various appearances I’ve made around the internet.
Recent Podcast Appearances
After linking to his awesome article, Is Diet Coke Bad For You?,1Scott Baptie reached out and asked if I’d come onto his Food For Fitness Podcast.
I was also invited by Nada Nasserdeen to make a cameo on her Rise Up For You podcast. It’s a quickie (less than 10 seconds 25 minutes), but we discussed some of my grievances with the mainstream media’s approach to women’s fitness, in addition to delving into my general approach to working with and training women.
My latest article on MensHealth.com dives into how to instantly clean up technique on several basic exercises using EXTERNAL cuing rather than INTERNAL cuing.
Also, I made a cameo on BuzzFeed recently contributing to an article written by Sally Tamarkin on tips to Actually Start Lifting Weights.
Cool New Apparel
Two things to note in the video below.
1. My DL technique is on point, son! After working through some back issues at the start of this year, I’m starting to amp my deadlift numbers back up and feel like I’m making some good progress. Here’s my first set (of 3) of 435 for an easy 4 reps.[/efn_note]The video was cut off at 3 reps. Trust me, I got the 4th.[/efn_note]
A video posted by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore) on
I was contacted by a new Australian company, WPN Active Wear, and they were kind enough to send me some free swag – shorts, compression shorts/shirt – to try out and use during some recent training sessions.
I’m normally not someone who wears compression gear when training, but I may change my ways. I found I was able to get warm quicker (and stay warm) and I did sense the compression shorts (underneath the shorts in the video) gave me a bit more of a stable feeling with my back. Huge bonus.
Plus, you know, I look jacked.
I know I have a fair number of Australian readers, so if you’re looking for a some cool, comfortable, reasonably priced fitness apparel give WPN a look.
SIDE NOTE: I like the idea of this being a small company of passionate guys who want to introduce a high-quality product, and aren’t some faceless conglomerate. I receive ZERO kick-back in pointing you towards their KickStarter campaign – HERE – if that’s something you’re interested in supporting/backing.
There aren’t many coaches out there who are as “diverse” as Nick Tumminello. He’s equal parts meathead and evidence based, which basically means he can sit at any table he wants to in the proverbial high-school cafeteria.
It doesn’t matter if it’s with the cool-kids, football players, hipsters, Honor Society, or theater nerds…Nick’s “in” with them all, just like in the fitness community.
Bodybuilders, powerlifters, CrossFitters, Olympic lifters, barbell lifter uppers, you name it, he’s always invited to the party.
I respect Nick a ton. He’s someone I’m always learning from and someone who always keeps things in perspective. What’s more, he’s never dogmatic in his approach to training people. If something works – and can be backed up with a rationale explanation (whether anecdotal or backed by evidence/research) – it works.
There’s a reason his Twitter profile says the following:
“I train the trainers.”
His latest resource, S3 Training Method: A Programming Framework for Improving Speed, Size, and Strength, is a doozy (<– it will rock your world it’s so thorough, and is an excellent addition for any trainer or coach looking to add a little “kick” to their programming for the new generation of clients looking to have it all), and is available starting today at a heavily discounted price.
He was kind enough to contribute a stellar guest post today.
Enjoy!
The 3 S’s of Hybrid Training: How to Increase Speed, Size and Strength
Is it possible to get stronger, enhance your performance and get bigger all at the same time?
I’d say yes…
Training through a spectrum of movement speeds and loads will enhance your explosiveness, improve your strength, and increase your muscle will leave. Gone are the days where you must focus on one specific goal and ignore the others.
The Three S’s
Let’s explore the three S’s—speed, strength, and size—to help you understand exactly what each quality is.
Movement-Speed Training
In the context of this article, movement-speed training focuses on improving your rate of force development—that is, how quickly you can use your strength.
Remember: power = strength × speed. Therefore, exercises used to improve your movement speed are total-body power exercises. The heavier the load you’re working against, the slower your movement becomes. For this reason, the principle of specificity dictates that, in order to do all you can to improve your explosive power, you don’t just do exercises that involve moving against high loads (i.e., strength exercises). You also do exercises that require you to move at high speeds.
Adaptations to training are specific to the demands that the training puts on the body. Therefore, regularly performing exercises that require you to move fast in certain directions makes your body more capable of moving fast in those or similar directions.
With this principle in mind, you should include exercises for each of the three pillars of power—vertical (or diagonal), horizontal, and rotational—in order to improve your functional capacity by enhancing your capability to move fast in multiple directions.
Since the goal is to move fast, the exercises improving total-body power (i.e., movement speed) use loads that are not heavy (relative to the loads used to improve strength). In fact, they should incorporate very light loads (sometimes just body weight), but demand that you move at high speed – as fast as you possible can.
In addition to training movement speed, we also need to better adapt to and potentially refine the tri-phasic muscle-activation pattern used only during fast, ballistic athletic movements.
One of the best workout methods to achieve both of these goals is to perform medicine-ball throwing exercises.
When throwing the ball, unlike when lifting weights, you don’t have to slow down at the end of the range of motion; you can just let the ball fly. Therefore, simply throwing the ball in different directions (power is direction specific) trains your body to generate explosive power without putting on any brakes.
Also, whereas Olympic weightlifting can be difficult to learn and trains only in the vertical or diagonal power pillar, explosive medicine-ball throwing exercises are easy to learn and require you to move fast and explosively in all three pillars of power.
To do so use a variety of medicine-ball throwing exercises—throwing either against a wall or into open space (e.g., field or parking lot)—to help you become more explosive and therefore more powerful and athletic.
Movement-Strength Training
Training for improved strength means improving one’s capability to produce force in various movements. Put simply, the more force you can produce in a given movement, the stronger you are in that movement.
Like power, strength is task specific; therefore, the further an exercise gets away from the specific force-generation and neuromuscular coordination patterns of a given movement, the less directly it carries over to that movement. This fact in no way makes the exercise bad, and it certainly doesn’t make it nonfunctional. It simply means that the less specific an exercise is, the more general it is.
You should incorporate a wide variety of cross-body and compound exercises to help you improve your functional capacity by developing strength in various movement patterns, directions, and body positions.
Remember, if you can perform a broader range of specific tasks, you possess a higher functional capacity. This relationship is crucial because you don’t want your body to be merely more adapted to a limited number of gym-based exercise movements (only Olympic lifters and powerlifters need to specialize in specific exercise movements).
Instead, you want your body to be more adaptable so that you can successfully take on a variety of physical demands.
Although training for strength gains and training for size gains (i.e., hypertrophy) are certainly not mutually exclusive, the size–strength continuum is characterized by some important differences between the two.
Although both involve creating mechanical tension on the muscles, strength training is geared toward increasing force production. Size training, on the other hand, is geared toward getting a muscle pump and creating microscopic damage in the muscle, which causes the muscle to repair itself and grow larger.
If you think of your body as a computer, then strength training is geared more to upgrading your software (your central nervous system, or CNS) than to upgrading your hardware (your muscles). In contrast, training for size is geared more to upgrading your body’s hardware—bones, connective tissues, and, of course, muscles.
Muscle-Size Training
The rule of thumb in training for size calls for using more reps and lower loads than when training for strength. In practical terms, this approach means using a weight load that allows you to perform about 9 to 15 reps per set; performing 6 to 8 reps per set serves as a nice middle ground between the general strength.
Although all types of training can provide neurological benefits—especially early on—the goal of training for size is more physiological than neurological.
In fact, contrary to popular belief, increasing muscle size depends not on the specific exercises you do but on the specific physiological stimulus you create. To build muscle, you need to create a training stimulus that elicits the three mechanisms for muscle growth (i.e., hypertrophy): mechanical tension, metabolic stress, and muscle damage (Schoenfeld 2010).
In short, there are two ways to get stronger and build a great-looking body that can get things done: neurologically and physiologically. Both approaches are addressed by the S3 Method: A Programming Framework for Improving Speed, Strength & Size, which helps you reprogram your body’s software and improve its hardware for more muscle and better performance capability.
References
Adam, A., and C.J. De Luca. 2003. Recruitment order of motor units in human vastus lateralis muscle is maintained during fatiguing contractions. Journal of Neurophysiology 90: 2919–27.
Baechle, T.R., and R.W. Earle. 2008. Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning. 3rd ed. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Cheung, K., P. Hume, and L. Maxwell. 2003. Delayed onset muscle soreness: Treatment strategies and performance factors. Sports Medicine 33 (2):145–64.
Grant, A.C., I.F. Gow, V.A. Zammit, and D.B. Shennan. 2000. Regulation of protein synthesis in lactating rat mammary tissue by cell volume. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 1475 (1): 39–46
Millar, I. D., M.C. Barber, M.A. Lomax, M.T. Travers, and D.B. Shennan. 1997. Mammary protein synthesis is acutely regulated by the cellular hydration state. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 230 (2): 351–55.
Miranda, F., et al. 2011. Effects of linear vs. daily undulatory periodized resistance training on maximal and submaximal strength gains. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 25 (7): 1824-30.
Mitchell, C.J., et al. 2012. Resistance exercise load does not determine training-mediated hypertrophic gains in young men. Journal of Applied Physiology 113: 71–77.
Prestes, J., et al. 2009. Comparison between linear and daily undulating periodized resistance training to increase strength. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 23 (9): 2437–42.
Rhea, M.R., et al. 2002. A comparison of linear and daily undulating periodized programs with equated volume and intensity for strength. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 16 (2): 250–55.
Santana, J.C., F.J. Vera-Garcia, and S.M. McGill. 2007. A kinetic and electromyographic comparison of the standing cable press and bench press. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 21 (4): 1271–77.
Schoenfeld, B.J. 2010. The mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy and their application to resistance training. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 24 (10): 2857–72.
Simão, R., et al. 2012. Comparison between nonlinear and linear periodized resistance training: Hypertrophic and strength effects. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 26 (5): 1389–95.
Stoll, B. 1992. Liver cell volume and protein synthesis. Biochemical Journal 287 (Pt. 1): 217–22.
Werner, S.L., et al. 2008. Relationships between ball velocity and throwing mechanics in collegiate baseball pitchers. Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery 17 (6): 905–8.
I’ve been fortunate enough in recent years to have the opportunity to do more traveling for both business and pleasure…oftentimes combining the two.
Upon being told by my wife that we’ll be making the trek down to Dallas, TX to visit family for Christmas, I asked if she’d be cool if I put out a few “feelers” to see if there’d be any interest from local facilities in me doing a 1-day workshop in the area.
When I say “Frisco won” lets implement a bit of expectation management here.
Unfortunately this isn’t one of those surreal Oprah moments where I walk down the street and scream, “You get a car, you get a car, and YOU get a car3.”
Nope. Instead you get an entire day of me talking about shoulder assessment, program design, and at least 1,078 references to Star Wars.
NOTE: the workshop will take place three days after having watched Star Wars: The Force Awakens, so don’t be surprised if I show up dressed as an Ewok, a Storm Trooper, or Han Solo. I haven’t decided yet.
Time: 9-5 (with an hour for lunch and mechanical bull riding. Clothing optional).
Cost: $99 Early Bird rate until December 1st, and $129 thereafter.
It was important to make this event something that would be affordable given the time of year, and considering you’re going to be able to hang out with me for eight hours it’s pretty much a win-win.
Sign-Up: All you have to do is go HERE and you’re all set.
This past weekend I attended the I Am Not Afraid To Lift Workshop at Iron Body Studios in West Roxbury, MA. It’s an event created by Artemis Scantalides geared mainly towards women – although men are encouraged to attend too – that teaches strength training as a form of empowerment, a road to improved confidence, and a less arduous avenue towards increased autonomy.
(In addition to giving the attendees any excuse to flex their biceps whenever possible).
It shouldn’t take more than 1.7 seconds to find where I’m located in this picture.
What made this past weekend particularly special for me was that my wife, Dr. Lisa Lewis (located front row, 3rd from left, next to Artemis, on her right), was a co-presenter invited to speak on the topic of mindset, dealing with negative self talk, and to elucidate further on some of the psychological hurdles that many trainees tend to encounter in the weight room…and in life.
As someone who works with a lot of women and who has long championed the idea that strength training is a good thing and something that should be embraced and not euthanized in lieu of buzz words like “toned,” “long,” “lean,” and “sexy”…I felt this was a perfect melding of worlds, and something there’s a massive need for.
Artemis speaking to the intricacies of the deadlift, squat, swing, press, and chin-up/pull-up – both from a coaching/cueing and program design perspective – and Lisa speaking to many of the pervasive mental road blocks many women and men battle on a daily basis which CAN be managed with some easily implemented drills and strategies.
“Should-ing” On Ourselves
While speaking with an attendee about her anxieties and frustrations about not being able to hit a specific fitness goal, Lisa commented, “It sounds like your “SHOULD-ING” all over yourself, instead of feeling energized by your goal.”
The entire room erupted in laughter4. I’m lucky I wasn’t drinking anything at the time, because this totally would have been me:It was an awesome line, but not a Lisa original.
She borrowed it from Dr. Albert Ellis who’s the man responsible for something referred to as RET, or Rational Emotive Therapy. RET was popular decades ago, before CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) came on the scene. Ellis would focus on “irrational thoughts” as the source of our anxieties and negative emotions.
I have to assume there’s a book somewhere out there with big, fancy words or entire courses describing this type of therapy in more glamorous detail, but in other words it can be broken down like this:
The origin of your problem isn’t actually the problem… it’show you’re thinking about the problem.
Some common health and fitness examples may include:
“I’m not fit until I can run a marathon or deadlift 2x bodyweight.”
“I’m not in shape until I have a six pack or I’m “x” dress size.”
“I have to workout every day.”
“If I don’t achieve my goal of hitting a bodyweight chin-up, I’m a failure.”
Lisa interviewing an attendee on her “mental roadblocks” and anxiety about hitting a specific fitness goal.
Many of us form these beliefs and inevitably turn them into doctrine:
Who says they’re real in the first place?
Who says you have to deadlift 2x bodyweight?
Who says you have to train everyday?
Who says you have to lose 10 lbs. in order to look good in a bikini?
Who said that? Who says these rules?
A trainer? An article your read on the internet? Some magazine cover? A Kardashian?
Even me?
Even if a reliable source makes a professional recommendation about what you “should” be doing – does that mean it’s come down from the mountain? No5. My goal as a fitness professional is to help – offer ideas, alternatives, new ways to approach your strength goals. But if something I (or anyone else) recommends doesn’t help, and in fact makes you stressed, feel bad, or NOT WANT to pursue your fitness goals, THROW IT OUT!
Try a different approach.
It’s All Made Up
The thing to point out – especially as it relates to YOUR goals and YOUR happiness – is that there are no rules. Everything – more or less – is someone else’s belief. Someone else’s opinion.
[Not coincidentally to help sell an ebook, or DVD, or Gluten-free, GMO, organic, Acai Pills soaked in Unicorn tears.]
That doesn’t mean it’s right for you.
As Lisa notes:
“Buying into a “rule” that makes you unhappy is the problem.”
And this is something that permeates into other aspects of our lives as well; not just fitness.
We make rules for ourselves – often irrationally and without much thought – and make a habit of measuring our happiness, sense of well-being, and worse, our overall sense of self-worth on our ability to successfully cross these rules off like a checklist:
I have to – should – be married by the time of 28.
I have to – should – make Dean’s List every semester.
I have to – should– be making “x” amount of money per year.
I have to – should – get caught up on Game of Thrones6.
Bringing the discussion back to health and fitness, according to Lisa:
“If “shoulding on yourself” is messing you up and makes you feel upset, then it’s time to reevaluate.”
That’s not the point of fitness. Don’t should on yourself.
If you can deadlift 290 lbs and your goal is 300, are you any less accomplished or less of a person? Does all the hard work you put in for the past few months (or years) all of a sudden become moot or negated because of 10 lbs?
It’s true: we celebrate growth and progress in the gym by how much weight is on the bar. We take before and after pictures. We set goals and standards for ourselves, which is fantastic.
However, once we allow someone else’s arbitrary (even if well intentioned) rule from a magazine or book affect our well-being – I should be avoiding carbohydrates after 6PM (even though I feel lethargic and want to drop kick everyone in the face), I should be back squatting (even though it never feels good, despite good coaching) – and it becomes more toxic than helpful… it’s time to change your mindset.
In the end who cares? What matters and what’s important is that you recognize the process is every bit as important as the outcome.
It’s time to stop SHOULDING all over yourself.
How about you? Any “shoulds” out there that you’d like to share? Lisa says it can help to acknowledge and “put it out there” to help yourself start to reevaluate what really matters…
As a quick reminder: Dean Somerset and I will be in LA (Anaheim) next weekend (Nov. 14th-15th) for our CompleteInterpretive Dance of Lord of the Rings WorkshopComplete Shoulder & Hip Workshop.
Not to get all emotional or anything, but here’s an email I received this morning from an attendee of our Chicago workshop:
Dean and Tony – You both provided an incredible weekend of instruction and mentoring. You guys were so fabulous and enormous credits to our industry. I am honored to have experienced you both. Thanks for inspiring me to always strive to get better!!! Thank you.
– Sean A.
Dean and I try our best to make this workshop equal parts informative and applicable to coaches and trainers (as well as general fitness enthusiasts), and it’s always amazing to get feedback like that
I’ll admit that when I first saw the title (and read the initial few paragraphs of the article) I thought to myself, “OH. MY. GOD…Berardi has gone all Poliquin on us.”
Spruce oil, peppermint, lavender… all may play a role in increasing testosterone levels and help reduce chronic pain and inflammation?
What’s next? Telling me swallowing a teaspoon of cinnamon will increase my vertical jump 15%7 or that I can adopt a pet Liger on Craigslist?
But then I kept reading. And before I knew it I was bathing in a tub of peppermint.
Okay, kidding.
But in all seriousness my interest was piqued, and I respect the way John explains his own anecdotal experience while at the same time discussing the science behind using essential oils.
See what you think.
Note to Self: be sure to look into stock on lavender scented candles on Monday.
If someone asked me “what’s your go to resource for beginners (or anyone) to really learn the deadlift” I’d point them in the direction of this manual.
Very thorough resource with programming included as well as an extensive video database (and a bunch of add-ons and bonuses). And it’s gluten free.
The sale ends TONIGHT (11/6). Soooo, yeah…take advantage of it, if saving money is your thing.
I’ve been on a “less is better” stick to the basics kick lately with my writing8.
Last week I wrote an article on T-Nation on why I feel “muscle confusion” is wack, and this week I have a new article on BodyBuilding.com with a similar vibe…
…extolling people to make the “classic” moves (squats, deadlifts, rows, presses, etc) a priority, but to also do versions of those lifts to help improve technique.
This image came up when I did a search for “classic exercises” in Google. I thought it was hilarious, and ran with it.
It’s a good article with some solid advice (if I do say so myself9). But I understand if your eyes glaze over. I get it: an article telling you to focus on the basics is about as exciting as watching NASCAR. Or this video:
However, I do offer some neat10 exercises you may find interesting and worth giving a try.
I came across this comment yesterday on Twitter from a friend of mine who’s an accomplished trainer and someone I respect a lot:
How many articles can be written about the deadlift? And when writing, does the author ever say to self, “maybe I should wait on this one.”
I can’t say I disagree with his tone. I mean, I get it. There are metric shit-ton11 of deadlift articles out there, and I’ve helped contribute my fair share.
Sorry!
The way I see it: Michael Bay keeps making those god-awful Transformers movies due to popular demand. Deadlifts are popular. So, yeah, there’s the correlation.
Just run with it.
I’ll admit that there’s really nothing new to say about deadlifts (except that they’re not god-awful), and I can understand the degree of eye-rolling by some coaches when the internet is hijacked for a few days with a flood of articles and blog posts on the topic; not coincidentally all of which happen to coincide with the revamped re-release of a stellar resource like David Dellanave’s Off the Floor: A Manual for Deadlift Domination.
For what it’s worth: there are a lot of people who stink at deadlifting and are eager to learn how to perform them right and learn how to implement them into a well-structured, properly progressed program.
I like to think of myself – and this website – as a resource that helps point people in the direction of quality information. Information from friends/coaches I trust (and more often than not have a personal relationship with) and information I know will help many people.
I can do it in a way that’s non-douchy and provide unique, useful content – because I know what I’m talking about – as an adjunct to the material (like I will do below).
Or I can do one of two things:
1. Be annoying internet marketing guy
“HEY EVERYBODY BUY THIS MANUAL/DVD BECAUSE I SAID SO, AND BECAUSE I LIKE DEADLIFTS (even though I don’t train anyone in real life). AND BECAUSE I HAVE A TRIBAL TATTOO ON MY ARM! “
2. Stay silent and rely on videos like this to educate people
I choose neither.
And on that note here’s some words I put together for you to read.
The Deadlift: Beginner Basics
The deadlift is a “simple” movement, and I’d argue the least technical of the “big 3” (squat, bench press, deadlift). Which isn’t to say it’s easy to perform nor doesn’t require some attention to detail. But for all intents and purposes we can describe the deadlift as follows (courtesy of renowned strength coach, Mark Rippetoe):
“Bar is on the ground. One bends over to pull the bar, with straight arms, off the floor and up the legs until the knees, hips, and shoulders are locked out.
And then you piss excellence all over the place.”
That last part was added by me.
Another perspective is that of Dan John:
Squat = maximal knee bend and maximal hip bend. In other words, the squat is a squat.
Deadlift = minimal knee bend and maximal hip bend. In other words, the deadlift is a hip hinge.
[NOTE: for some ideas on how to groove a solid hip hinge before adding an external load, check out THIS article on How to Hip Hinge Like a Boss.]
Benefits of the Deadlift
It Gets You Stronger
Deadlifts have been around since the beginning of time. And while I can’t back that up with any scientific evidence, it’s true.
Of Note: I can’t tell you how many times I’ve trained at a gym other than my own and after a set of deadlifts someone will approach me and comment: “hey, that thing you’re doing. Is that, like, CrossFit?”
I’ve grown out of my hatin on CrossFit phase – I recognize the good it’s done with getting the masses excited to exercise, and better yet, lifting weights – so I generally just chuckle it off and inform the commentee that, “No, I’m not CrossFitting,” and that “No, CrossFit didn’t invent lifting weights.”
Anyways, deadlifts have been around for a while and there’s a reason why they’re a staple in every single successful strength-training program ever written, ever. (citation needed).
They work.
If strength is the goal, you need to incorporate movements that allow you to lift a bulldozer boatload of weight. Deadlifts fit that bill.
It Builds Muscle
A funny thing happens when someone starts deadlifting consistently. They add muscle to their frame. More specifically they add muscle to the areas which can’t be scene by the mirror and are often most neglected – the posterior chain (glutes, hamstring, erectors).
Which serves as an appropriate segue to the next benefit…
It Improves Performance
What kind of performance? I don’t know…any kind of performance.
Hitting a baseball or golf ball further, dunking a basketball, improving running efficiency (the more force you can develop and put into the ground, the more efficient you are at propelling yourself towards the finish line), the ability to walk down a flight of stairs and not break your hips in half, making yourself harder to kill, the bedroom (BOM CHICKA BOM BOM), it’s all fair game and part of the conversation.
One of the best explanations I’ve ever heard comes, again, from strength coach, Dan John. He was asked one time by an athlete of his “what muscle does (insert name of any exercise you want here) does this exercise work anyways?”
I don’t recall he was being asked about the deadlift, but his answer is fitting nonetheless:
“You know that muscle that allows you to jump really high, over the defending cornerback, to catch the football for the game winning touchdown? That muscle.”
Fuckin A.
In reality, however, we don’t have to correlate the deadlift to just athletic performance.
It carries many other “real life” benefits with it outside of the football field, baseball diamond, soccer pitch, or basketball court (to name a few).
Anything that requires a basic hip hinge pattern – while maintaining a neutral spine – can be labeled a deadlift.
Grandma bending over to pick up a potted plant? That’s a deadlift.
The random woman picking up her child at the local playground? A deadlift.
Franco Columbo moving his father’s car out of a cramped parking space in the documentary Pumping Iron? You guessed it, deadlift.
It Makes You Bulletproof
Now just to be clear, that’s a metaphor. Deadlifts won’t actually make you bulletproof. Don’t be stupid. Bullets hurt. And will kill you.
Bulletproof in this context is just a more nerdy way of saying “prevent injuries.”
From an athlete’s perspective: Deadlifts will (hopefully, nothing is guaranteed) help prevent injuries like ACL tears as well as nagging injuries to the knees – like tendinitis (acute inflammation) and tendinosis (chronic inflammation or actual degeneration of soft tissue) – due to the fact the posterior chain is so heavily activated and strengthened.
From a non-athlete’s perspective: Deadlifts will help to “offset” many of the postural imbalances and dysfunctions that tend to manifest when forced to sit at a desk all day in front of a computer.
Think of what’s required in order to perform a deadlift: ample ankle dorsiflexion, hip extension, thoracic spine extension, and pelvic control, amongst other things…all of which tend to diminish when seated for long periods of time.
Plus, deadlifts help to address any pent up aggression that may spill over from work. I.e., they’re a much better alternative to stabbing your boss or annoying co-worker in the neck. Unless they deserve it.
In that case, stab away.
Note: video below doesn’t include any stabbing, but it’s hilarious nonetheless.
One last thing to consider is Wolff’s Law and Davis’s Law.
You can’t discount physics.
The former states that bone in a healthy person or animal will adapt to the loads it is placed under. The latter states the same thing, except with regards to soft tissue.
Deadlifting = strong bones + soft tissue. You need a minimal essential strain (MES) in order for tissue to adapt. Likewise, in order to strengthen tissue, you need to load it. Sorry, but your cute little leg extensions and leg curls all in the name of “being more spine friendly” aren’t going to get the job done.
Key Coaching Cues and The Importance of Getting (and Maintaining) Tension
David actually nailed all the key cues to use with regards to cleaning up deadlift technique in yesterday’s post.
To repeat:
These probably aren’t going to be groundbreaking, but time tends to prove out what works best, and these have been around for a while.
Chest up – let me read the writing on your shirt.
Pull the bar into your shins, you’re going to keep contact with your body through the entire pull.
Take the slack out of the bar by making it “clink”.
Pull your shoulder blades down into your back pockets.
Push the floor away, and stand up tall.
Optionally, if someone over-extends or arches, I like to explain that you want to try to cinch your ribs down to your pelvis. I don’t like “ribs down” as this never seems to make sense to people.
That’s it. I found that those five or six cues fix 99% of the issues I see.
Another component to consider – and one I feel is crucial – is the idea of getting and maintaining tension throughout a set. Many people lack the wherewithal to engage their lats from the start, and hence lack upper back stiffness. One of two things inevitably happens: they round their upper back or the hips shoot up first.
To counteract this I like to cue people to pretend as if they’re trying to squeeze an orange in their armpits. Research backs up the efficacy of using more external cueing when coaching clients, and this cue works like magic much of the time.
However, in the event that that doesn’t jive, a simple drill I’ll use is to attach a band to the barbell itself and the trainee/athlete must learn to pull the bar close to the body AND KEEP IT THERE the entire time.
The band will want to pull you forward, and the objective here is not to allow that. That thing you feel? Those are your lats.
Get More Juicy Information
That is no where near everything I’d like to cover with regards to the deadlift for beginners (the part where I explained the benefits is section of a treatise I’m writing for the Personal Trainer Development Center that I hope will serve as “go to” source on anything/everything deadlifts,” but hopefully it gives you some insight and “ammo” as to why it’s an excellent exercise to include in your training and that of others.
I’d encourage you to check out Off the Floor: A Manual for Deadlift Domination for more similar content in addition to a full manual, programs, a video library, and a bevy of other goodies.
It’s on SALE this week only and you can go HERE for more information.
My good friend and fellow colleague, David Dellanave12, was kind enough to sit down and talk deadlifts with me today.
Deadlifts? SQUIRREL!!!
He’s just released a revision of his amazing resource, Off the Floor: A Manual for Deadlift Domination today with all sorts of add-ons and bonuses that will, well, help anyone dominate their deadlift.
Specifically, though, his goal was to write a manual that could be handed to a beginner, and it would help them get started with a deadlifting-based strength program.
He succeeded.
Tony Gentilcore (TG):We’re both bald strength coaches who love to deadlift. We also both married up (for those who don’t know, David is married to Jen Sinkler making them one of the industry’s strongest – and most lovable – fitness couples). I think there’s a correlation there.
David Dellanave (DD): Basically what people can learn from this is that the quickest route to a smart, hot wife is by shaving your head and deadlifting a lot.
TG: I think what I respect the most about you is that you don’t fluff anything and aren’t afraid to call BS when you see or hear it. What are some of the things happening currently in the industry that grinds your gears? Or, if we’re going the non PG-13 route, drives you bat fucking shit crazy?
DD: Oh. Dear. I wrote about this recently but I think one of the most fundamental issues, that goes beyond the specific things that it’s applied to, is that people can’t seem to think of things in anything but black and white terms. I called it the false dilemma problem.
Note from TG: Ooooo, I like that. I’m totally stealing that.
Either you’re full-on Paleo and you’re convinced that it’s the end all be all of human nutrition, or you’re IIFYM and it’s pop tarts for every meal.
Can we please just acknowledge that everything between and including the two extremes of any topic are probably going to be exactly right for someone?
A couple years ago errybody was all like “all the fish oil all the time!” A paper came out last month that discovered that the Inuit have specific genetic adaptations in fatty acid metabolism which could explain the benefits of fish oil IN THOSE PEOPLE. One of the study authors literally said, “The same diet may have different effects on different people.”
Turns out fish oil might not be so good for people with other genetic phenotypes.
Could it also be that for some people a high fat diet is going to work better, and for others a high carb diet is going to be more suitable? That’s a rhetorical question. Every time we investigate these things we end up finding out that the answer is “both” (and/or all of the above) more often than not.
I think the point is we get deep in the weeds on stupid mechanistic explanations and arguments while forgetting the big picture that it all varies from person to person and THAT is a fact.
TG: Men’s Health ran a story not too long ago titled “Normal-Sized Guys Who Are Freakishly Strong Tell You How They Did It,” which featured you. 1. Were you pissed they called you “normal sized? And 2. It is pretty impressive how strong you are (deadlifting 3x bodyweight in three different deadlift variations)…has relative strength always been a priority for you?
DD: I hung up the phone with Michael (<– MH author who wrote the article) and immediately considered going to Sam’s Club to buy food and steroids in bulk, but turns out they don’t sell steroids.
The truth is I just don’t have the nutritional stamina or discipline to eat big like you need to really grow. There’s a part of of me, like any meathead, that always wants to be just a little bit bigger, but it seems like when it really comes down to it, it’s not a big enough priority to actually pursue it. That’s something I talk about with clients often.
Is losing that last little bit of body fat really worth not having a couple drinks a week or enjoying a macaroni and cheese pizza? (The latter is something I would actually never condone because I’m Italian and I think words like pizza mean something.)
That being said, yes, relative strength has also been important to me. To me both the physique and capability of the lightweight strongman (say 180-200lbs) is the sweet spot of form and function and is one of the most versatile and useful tools you can carry with you every single day.
TG: Lets talk beginner deadlift basics. Do you have any criteria as a coach that people need to meet before they can start deadlifting? What about deadlift order or progressions? Do you prefer to start everyone off the same way (trap bar vs. sumo vs. conventional) or do you have a specific system you like to stick to?
DD: This is one area where I take a bit of a different approach than many. As far as I’m concerned, with only rare exceptions, everyone can deadlift from day ones – it’s just going to vary what kind of deadlift they do.
TG: Nope, I agree 100%!
So for some people that may look like a single kettlebell suitcase deadlift, with yoga blocks raising the handle up above knee height to raise the pick height. For others it might be a classic two-handed kettlebell deadlift from the floor, between the feet.
And others yet might even start with the barbell right away depending on how they move.
One of my favorite movements for people who might not move very well and have had some prior back issues is to use a high pick with two kettlebells, but offset the weights. If you give someone a single 8kg bell in a suitcase position, there’s a 8kg asymmetrical load, which isn’t insignificant, but it’s not a lot of load in general. So you give them a 16kg in one hand, and 8kg in the other hand.
The offset is still 8kg, but now you’ve got a total of 24kg. It’s almost certainly not more load than they deal with in daily life, but it’s creating more total overload and demand on the tissue, plus you get more of an “anchor” effect from the higher load. This is one of those cases where less weight is not always better, and in my experience this is a neat trick for better results.
That being said, the single biggest thing I’m looking for (besides being pain free) is the ability to maintain back position from top to bottom of the movement.
Lots of people can’t pull from the floor because if you watch their back position as they go down to meet the implement it changes. Likewise if it changes on the way up, but the problem starts at the bottom. If you can maintain that, we can progress. If not, we have to figure out how you can do that first before moving on.
TG: I always love listening to other coaches explain or articulate their approaches to coaching the deadlift. I know it’s a topic that entire books have been dedicated towards – you’ve written one (hint, hint, nudge, nudge) – but what are 2-3 of your “BIG ROCK” cues you feel carryover to most individuals?
DD: These probably aren’t going to be groundbreaking, but time tends to prove out what works best, and these have been around for a while.
Chest up – let me read the writing on your shirt.
Pull the bar into your shins, you’re going to keep contact with your body through the entire pull.
Take the slack out of the bar by making it “clink”.
Pull your shoulder blades down into your back pockets.
Push the floor away, and stand up tall.
Optionally, if someone over-extends or arches, I like to explain that you want to try to cinch your ribs down to your pelvis. I don’t like “ribs down” as this never seems to make sense to people.
That’s it. I found that those five or six cues fix 99% of the issues I see.
TG: For me, the best way to get better at the deadlift is to deadlift. A lot. That being said, we’d be remiss as coaches not to appreciate that accessory work plays a huge role in addressing/improving technique flaws in various portions of the lift. Can you elaborate?
DD: Agreed. Practice, practice, practice. Both for technique and volume overload.
But I’m also a big believer in upper back exercises to improve the ability to keep the spine stable so it moves at the fulcrum of the hips. Zerchers, front squats, and even specific upper back exercises like Bret wrote about in THIS great article.
One of the biggest reasons I think people fail at the upper end of deadlifts is because the back starts to flex or round and driving the hips forward harder just makes that problem worse right up until the moment you fail.
A more specific simple drill I really like for the common issue of letting the bar drift out away from the body is to setup bands on rack to pull the bar forward slightly. In that way you can practice generating a little more shoulder extension and tension with your lats to keep the bar in tight.
TG: Awesome stuff, I love using that drill too. What do you feel are the biggest faults in trainees who have issues off the floor, mid-range, at lockout?
DD: Off The Floor – Either you lack the mobility to be pulling off the floor in the first place (you can usually find out if this is the case by using biofeedback testing) or you’re just weak in that range. Personally I don’t think you can do better than deficit deadlifts to improve strength off the floor, but you ONLY need an inch and a half or two of deficit. A standard iron 25lb plate is the perfect thickness.
Mid-Range – I think this is where the glutes really come into play, and Bret’s favorite hip thrusts and glute bridges can help a lot. The caveat is always that if the back isn’t strong enough to keep the lever acting as a lever, it doesn’t matter how strong your glutes are.
Lockout – This is where you really see the back strength issue become the point of failure. When the back starts to round, you only have a certain range of motion before you get too close to end range and the body just shuts down power output. Driving the hips forward harder here just causes failure more quickly as you push the spine to end range. So this is where the upper back extensions and upper back rack pulls can help you both overload and learn to maintain back position through the finish of the pull.
TG: What would your cousin, Dellanavich, say to anyone who states the deadlift is bad or dangerous for their spine?
DD: In Russia, deadlift is not bad for back, back is for deadlift.
I’m so over beating the dead horse on this topic. The back pain statistics in the U.S. are absolutely outrageous, and the vast majority of these people certainly aren’t doing any deadlifts.
The point you’ve correctly made before is that doing crappy deadlifts is bad for your back. Using your body as it was intended to move and doing it against progressive resistance is exactly what keeps you healthy, not hurts you.
TG: I know you’re a big advocate of using biofeedback to compliment programming strategies. Do you have any new thoughts on this topic? How can people use this to better improve their deadlift performance?
DD: Biofeedback has been such an integral part of training for me and the people in my gym it’s hard to even know where to begin. Last year Jen basically won a powerlifting meet because she used biofeedback to decide how to change her stance during the meet.
Here’s my suggestion: use biofeedback to test a couple variations every time you deadlift. Go with the one that tests the best for 4 weeks, and see what happens. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.
For people who have pain or functional issues, biofeedback can be even more useful because it really allows you to see what you can and can’t do.
Go back to the mobility example earlier in this post. I find tons of people for whom deadlifting from the floor doesn’t test well, but raise the bar 2-3” and suddenly it tests great for them. Lo and behold, they usually have back pain now and then before, and after a few sessions of doing what tests best they have no problems at all.
TG: Okay, outside the box, but I have to ask: favorite movies you’ve seen this year?
DD: I should be asking you, so I’d know what to go see. I legit think I’ve only seen one movie in the theater this year and it was that crappy Amy Schumer one. Was Lone Survivor this year? That was pretty good.
For less than what it would cost you to hire a sub-par trainer for an hour here’s what you get with the revised version of Off the Floor:
All the goodies from before (Off the Floor manual, programs, video library, Biofeedback Training Guide, etc)
PLUS
– A new section in the beginning that sets the tone and an understanding for newer lifters.
– Entirely new section for beginners, to coach them through their first deadlifts and get them to feel confident pulling.
– Two guest articles from Dean Somerset and Tony G (<– THAT’s ME!) on deadlifting with disc hernations, and how deadlifts are horrible for you (not) respectively.
– Almost completely redone layout and formatting of the book to make it easier to print.
– Printed version available via Amazon.
ALL of that – and more – for a heavily discounted price (over half off) for this week only. If you’re not doing cartwheels down the sidewalk from sheer excitement I don’t know what to tell you.
I hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend and have had ample time to recover from their Halloween candy induced insulin coma.
Don’t worry, I’m not judging. If you want to dress up as a Stormtrooper or slutty vampire and walk to a party while double fisting Butterfingers, have at it. This needs to happen more often if you ask me.
I for one DID NOT dress up for Halloween. It’s not my bag. Well, I didn’t dress up in a costume anyways. We went out to dinner with another couple at a fancy schmany place near our apartment and I wore jeans and a blazer. A BLAZER!!
That in of itself is a costume. I could make the case I dressed up as “non-strength coach.”
Anyways, it’s been awhile since I’ve done a Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday post so lets jump right into the nuts and bolts.
1. I’ve Teamed Up With Pedestal Footwear
I’m only two weeks into my new venture as a solo “gig” in Boston and I’ve been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to team up with a really cool company called Pedestal Footwear.
As the name implies they’re a Boston-based company that specializes in socks (and helping to make people into savages).
But not your every day run-of-the-mill white socks like the lame ones you get for Christmas or from your significant other because all your other pair have holes in them.
No, these socks are more baller because they’re made by people who lift for people who lift.
For starters they’re super comfy and look cool (just look at Exhibit A above). More to the point (speaking to why they’re made for people who lift)…have you ever tried to deadlift in socks on a lifting platform or something equally as slippery?
It’s annoying.
On a scale of how annoying with a 1 being “a pebble in your shoe” and 10 being “Kanye West,” it’s around a 5. So, yeah, annoying.
Pedestals are made with these sticky thingamajigs on the bottom that prevent your feet from sliding around as you train.
^^^ Sticky thingamajigs ^^^
They’re also made with a fabric that reduces the “your feet smell like a fart passing through an onion” phenomenon by a factor of ten. It’s science.
Last but not least: they’re packaging is so on point. If you’re someone who appreciates packaging, Pedestal Footwear is basically the Apple of the sock industry.
Nonetheless, all new clients who start working with me at my studio in Boston will be given a complimentary pair. Holla!
And even if you’re not a client of mine I’d encourage you to check them out anyways because 1) if you lift weights you’ll appreciate the quality 2) I really dig the product and 3) I said so.
Full Disclosure: I am NOT receiving any affiliate income for promoting this product.
Full Disclosure II: I am not at all opposed to considering sponsorship from other companies too. Especially Audi.
2. Beast Sensor
Autoregulation in training (and keeping tabs of velocity and bar speed via bio markers) is all the rage nowadays, and rightfully so. There’s a ton or efficacy, anecdotal evidence amongst coaches, and research to back it up.
Just a few gleaming examples:
– Bryan Mann, university of Missouri and NSCA, “Developing Explosive Athletes: Use of The Velocity Based Training in Training Athletes”
– Carmelo Bosco, Muscular Strength, Physiological Aspects and Practical Applications
– Jidovsteff et Al, Inertial Muscular Profiles allow a more accurate training load definitions,
– Rontu, Pekka et Al, One – Repetition Maximum Bench Press performance estimated with a new accelerometer method
– Gonzalez-Badillo and Sanchez-Medina, movement Velocity as a Measure of Loading Intensity in Resistance Training
– Jandacka and Beremlisjski, Determination of Strength Exercise Intenisties based on the Load Power Velocity Relationship
– Verkhoshansky and Mell Siff, Supertraining
– Zatsiorsky, Science and Practice Of Strength Training
Products like Gymaware, Push, and Tendo have made velocity based training more accessible to the general public at a fraction of the cost compared to years past.
Another cool app/product that’s grown in popularity and is fast gaining traction as of late is the Beast Sensor.
I’m only just getting acquainted with the product myself, but so far I really like it and feel it has a lot of uses outside of the “it looks cool” factor. The Beast can help with motivation, adapt lifting to daily conditions (depending on how you feel you may need to tweak optimal loading per day), help organize data via their WebPortal, in addition to more advanced analytics that are outside my scope of experience because I’m not a NASA rocket scientist.
Needless to say: you can do a lot with the data and get instant feedback on your daily performance. Check out their website if this has piqued your interest and let me (and them) know what you think.
And again, I receive NO kickbacks for recommending this product.
3. “Work Smarter, Not Harder”
My boy Tony Bonvechio wrote a great article yesterday titled 20 Frustrated Fitness Thoughts that I feel everyone should read.
In it he had the following gem of a quote:
“Work harder, not smarter” doesn’t apply if you’re not working hard in the first place.
Let that marinate for a moment and think twice before you send out that Tweet this AM that you’re “rising and grinding.”
No one gives a shit. Really, I’m not kidding. No one.
As a frame of reference I just listened to the latest episode of Mike Robertson’s Physical Preparation Podcast where he interviewed his business partner, Bill Hartman.
Bill noted that he had worked every Saturday from 1998-2013. For those who suck at math that’s 15 consecutive years of working six days a week.
You’re bragging about getting up at 5AM two days in a row to train clients? That’s cute.
New Rules of Lifting for Women is still a book I refer women to all the time. It’s saved me innumerable hours trying to explain why Tracy Anderson is a moron in addition to counteracting many other myths and fallacies with regards to women and strength training.
I was sent an advance copy of Lou and Alwyn’s latest book geared towards women and it’s nothing short of amazeballs13
I believe it’s slated for release on November 10th, so it’s right around the corner. Keep your eyes peeled and make sure you purchase a copy for your mom, girlfriend, aunt, best friend, sister, or your old 11th grade Enblish teacher. Cause, that’s not weird at all.
5. Actually, I Lied. I’m Reading Other Stuff Too
My wife likes to pick on me because I tend to read 3-4 books at a time. I’ll read a few pages or a chapter in one book and then move onto the next.
Ever thought to yourself, “in the movie 300 they shoot arrows up into the sky and they seemingly blot out the sun. Is this possible, and how many arrows would it take?”
This question is answered (and many more like it) in this book. It’s basically nerd heaven.
I’d like to make a submission: “why can’t my wife go more than five minutes without giving me the look of death whenever I leave a dish in the sink without washing it?”
Oh, hey babe! I didn’t realize you were standing there behind me as I wrote that. I love you. What’s with the lead pipe? Babe? BABE????? Ahhhhhhhhh…..
6. Did You Know I Dabble In Movie Reviews?
I have a silly day dream that I’ll one day be paid to write movie reviews. I can think of nothing more that would make up the most perfect day than going to the gym and then spending the rest of the day watching movies.
Okay, maybe diving into a swimming pool of Honey Nut Cheerios or playing Laser Tag with 100 clones of Olivia Munn would rank up there too. But after that, I’d watch the shit out of movies.
I wrote some reviews for the following movies recently:
