When most guys talk about their man-crushes they’re quick to gravitate towards movie stars like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson or professional athletes like Cam Newton.
I can’t say I disagree with those picks. Both are really good at what they do and both are really good looking.1
I have some fitness-industry man crushes too. Plenty of them, actually. One of my most current crushes belongs to Ryan DeBell of The Movement Fix.
He’s smart (earned a doctorate in Chiropractic).
He’s successful (has built several business, released several successful products/resources, and travels the world speaking to fitness professionals).
And he fucking crushes wearing a bowtie.
I mean, who can get away with that and not get punched in the face within 0.7 seconds?
Ryan. That’s who.
I’ve been a big fan of his work and the information he provides for awhile now and I HIGHLY recommend heading to his site to check it out.
Anyways, I’ve appeared on his show before and we’ve actually made several attempts to meet up in person the few times he’s been to Boston to present. Alas, it was always a case of bad timing and nothing ever transpired.
A few weeks ago, however, he reached and said he was going to be in town again and that we should hang out, get a lift in, and maybe record a live podcast.
I didn’t make it nearly as awkward as all of this probably makes it seem like it should have been.
After a quick bro-session at the gym we headed to a local Starbucks to record an episode of his podcast. We discussed what it’s like running a business, training gen pop clients, how to grow a blog and brand, and how I was able to juggle being a new Dad last year.
I had a blast recording it, and I hope you give it a listen.
Whenever one of my clients or athletes walks in and starts to say something to the effect of “hey, my neck is really bothering me…..”
….I immediately put my fingers in my ears and start yelling “lalalalalala, I can’t hear you.”
Okay, kidding.
Neck stuff can be tricky if not terrifying, and I know my limitations as a strength coach. 90% of the time I refer out to clinicians more qualified in this department, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some “first step” actions I can take to hopefully help and provide some relief.
In today’s guest post by Dr. Michael Infantino he provides some insights that are well within many strength coaches/personal trainer’s scope of practice.
Neck Pain and Headaches: The Link and How To Find Relief
Today I want to help you figure out if your neck is the source of your headache and how to treat it. Headaches, similar to many other diagnoses, can lead you down a rabbit hole of confusion.
So many subtypes of headaches exist that it becomes overwhelming to actually go about treating them. Luckily, the link between your neck and headaches is becoming more recognized.
I regularly see patients who are referred for suspected cervicogenic headache. Cervicogenic headaches imply that the neck is the cause of your headache.
This can be tricky because most headaches will actually result in some type of neck tension. This isn’t to say that treating the neck in these scenarios is a waste of time. It may resolve neck pain.
It just isn’t the answer to resolving your headaches.
Assuming that your headaches are cervicogenic in nature, what is the next step? Treating your neck pain is only one piece of the puzzle. We need to get to the route of the problem. Blaming your headaches solely on your neck is somewhat naïve. You need to consider how your lifestyle may have resulted in your neck pain and headaches.
Remember, everything affects everything. When our neck hurts we start wondering what ligament, muscle, nerve, disc or bone may be injured. Often times neglecting the actual cause of neck pain.
Injury and inflammatory processes local to the neck can occur for a multitude of reasons. It is not always secondary to trauma. Most of us start wondering if we slept in a bad position the night before or think back to a neck injury we sustained twenty years ago.
“That must be the problem! I used to play way to hard in pee-wee football [#glorydays].”
Instead, we need to consider the BIG 3. Sleep, nutrition and exercise. Ask yourself these questions.
How has my sleep been?
How about nutrition?
Have I been neglecting exercise or neglecting recovery?
Most problems start with sleep, nutrition and exercise. If you are missing the mark in any one area expect problems. Missing the mark in multiple areas? Now we have BIG problems.
How To Diagnose Cervicogenic Headaches?
Here’s your sign…
Headache triggered by sustainedpostures.
Neck pain that triggers a headache.
Neck pain and headaches that are located on one side.
Less than 30 degrees of upper cervical range of motion.
It is more common for cervicogenic headaches to be located on one side of the head, but not always. In some cases, people will sustain a whiplash injury or concussion. Headaches associated with these injuries are often multifactorial. However, we have often seen improvements by treating each suspected cause.
Treating your neck in these situations tends to do wonders.
Considerations For All
Posture… blah, blah, blah. I know we hear about it all the time.
You need to be cognizant of your posture.
This doesn’t mean that you need to sit at attention all day.
My biggest pet peeve is hearing that an “ergonomic specialist” told you that you needed to sit like a statue… all day. “Tall, chin tucked, flat back, shoulder blades pinched…” You’re kidding right?
As always, “poor posture” is not necessarily the culprit when it comes to pain.
Staying in one position for too long is the problem.
This doesn’t mean you have free reign to sit like the Hunch Back of Notre Dame. Studies have shown that a forward head position can increase the frequency of headaches (C Fernández-de-las-Peñas, 2006).
We often overlook the fact that our posture can have a huge impact on how we feel. Picture someone that is sad or depressed. What does their posture look like? Now think of someone confident and enthusiastic. What does their posture look like? How you position yourself can really play into how you feel physically and emotionally.
Tip: Change position every twenty minutes. Taking a walk can do wonders. Drinking a lot of water can force bathroom breaks. If you are stuck in a car shift positions often. Add some neck motions, some back arches, etc.
Be creative… and safe.
Flexibility
With a forward head posture normally comes tense muscles. Doing a quick scan to see which neck motions and shoulder motions feel more limited can make a huge difference.
Multiple studies have found a correlation between cervicogenic headaches and tightness of the sternocleidomastoid, upper trapezius, scalenes, levator scapulae, suboccipitals, and pectoral muscles (Page, 2011).
The picture below keeps things relatively simple.
Stretch the tight muscles and strengthen the weak ones. We will give more guidance on this in the next section.
Strength
Strengthening the neck has shown to improve neck pain and cervicogenic headaches.
Pain, poor posture and trigger points can alter the strength, endurance, timing and proprioception of the muscles around your neck.
Once you address trigger points and flexibility, restoring strength and endurance around the neck can happen relatively quickly.
The more research we have, the less specific it seems we need to be with these exercises (Ask, 2009; Jull, 2009; Gross, 2009; Van Ettekoven, 2006). Studies have shown that specific neck and upper body strengthening can be just as effective as general strengthening (Anderson, 2011).
Some medical providers will argue for the use of “deep cervical strengthening” using a biofeedback cuff.
A what!?
This is basically a rigged up blood pressure cuff. I love using this with patients because it teaches them how to realign their neck without using a lot of big muscles. If you do not have a blood pressure cuff have no fear. Gently performing chin tucks while attempting to avoid large muscle contractions will do.
[Watch the Neck Pain and Cervicogenic Headache Strength video below for more details on chin tucks].
Breathing
Telling someone they need to breath a specific way comes with some challenges.
We don’t always know why they have adopted an upper chest breathing strategy. It could be postural or even developmental. Some of us adopt certain postures because of work requirements or cultural norms. Other times it could be related to how we breathe; mouth vs. nose breathing.
Studies show that mouth breathers more commonly present with forward head posture.
It seems that a forward head position helps increase respiratory strength by using neck and chest musculature (Okuro, 2011; Int J Neiva PD, 2009).
So a forward head position is good?
No, this is a compensation that leads to increased tension and trigger points.
The emphasis placed on diaphragmatic breathing has been great over the past few years. We also need to make sure people are learning how to perform nose breathing. Besides helping improve oxygenation and preventing forward head posture, it has many other wonderful benefits. Since this is not the main topic of today I digress.
How To Test & Treat Yourself
The goal here is to keep things QUICK and DIRTY.
We will go through (1) motion and (2) strength testing.
Do you need to do all of these tests?
Absolutely not.
The benefit of testing and retesting is to see if you are actually making change. If your motion and strength improve after a couple weeks without resolution of headaches we need to go back to the drawing board. Consider seeing a skilled medical provider.
If you are short on time just go right to the “Ouch Test.” This is when you roll some inanimate object on your neck in an effort to identify trigger points. With a smile on your face of course.
Motion and Tissue Quality Testing:
1. Flexion/Rotation Test
The goal here is to see if your upper cervical rotation is limited in one direction. Cervicogenic headaches are usually attributed to dysfunction at the upper three cervical levels.
Flex your neck and rotate your head in an attempt to identify a “tighter side.” Keep in mind that what you feel isn’t always real. Give it a shot and consider using a friend to assist or a video camera to identify the direction you are limited in.
If you can’t get your chin to touch your chest we already know your neck needs some work.
2. Rotation/Flexion Test
If you had trouble getting your chin to your chest this test will help you identify if one side is tighter. This time you are rotating and then attempting to touch your chin to your collarbone.
This lets us know if upper cervical flexion is more limited on one side than the other. If you are limited, the assumption is that the opposite side cervical musculature is limiting you. To measure, see how many fingers can fit between your chin and collar bone.
Having objective measures will help you see if you made progress after treatment.
3. Follow The Map
Sometimes a roadmap is helpful for identifying the muscles that may be contributing to your pain and headaches. Being familiar with muscle referral patterns can help remove a little anxiety related to your pain. It helps prevent you from always thinking the worst when pain sets in. With a road map it is easier to get to your destination.
4. The “Ouch” Test
This is a more simple way of identifying which muscles may be triggering your headaches. Use your fingers, a roller stick, Thera-cane, lacrosse ball or whatever to identify tender regions around the upper neck and shoulders.
If a spot actually recreates your headache, you struck GOLD.
If you identify a tender region that does not recreate your headache, it would not hurt to treat it anyway.
5. Strength Testing
Chin Tuck and Lift Test
Lying flat on the ground or in bed, place on hand underneath your head.
First perform a small chin tuck and then remove your hand from behind your head without changing position.
Men should be able to maintain this position for at least 40 seconds with minimal shaking local to the head and neck.
Women should be able to maintain this position for at least 30 seconds with minimal shaking local to the head and neck (Domenech et. al, 2012).
Treatment. Let’s Get To Work.
1. Soft Tissue and Joint Treatment
Our goal here is to restore motion to the upper cervical region and resolve any trigger points.
2. Strength Treatment
We believe in being better than the average.
Your goal is to be able to hold the chin tuck and lift position for 1 minute, in a curl up position. We work on short duration holds with repetitions to help avoid excessive soreness.
Please do not be a hero and do long duration holds each time you exercise.
This recommendation is not for your general strength routine, only for this rehabilitation plan.
Goal: 1 minute hold in curl up position.
Retest: At the end of each week.
Protocol [See strength video above for demonstrations]:
Phase 1: Chin Tuck and Lift. 5 second holds for 10 repetitions. (5x/week)
When you can perform this with ease and no pain move on.
Phase 2: Chin Tuck and Lift. 10 second holds for 10 repetitions. (5x/week)
When you can perform this with ease and no pain move on.
Phase 3: Curl up + Chin Tuck and Lift. 5 second holds for 10 repetitions. (5x/week)
When you can perform this with ease and no pain move on.
Phase 4: Curl Up + Chin Tuck and Lift. 10 second holds for 10 repetitions. (5x/week)
Headache Diary: Become A Good Detective.
Using a headache diary is a great way to identify the source of your headache.
If you want to be a good detective you need to take some notes. Noting the time of day, triggers (specific activity, specific movement you made, foods you ate, your mood, etc.), symptoms that preceded your headache, medications used and how you found relief.
Achieving 1% gains in various regions of your life, on a daily basis, is a surefire way to resolve most health issues.
Overview
The link between cervical dysfunction and headaches is often overlooked.
Basic maintenance that includes soft tissue work, strength, awareness of posture and proper breathing could be the fix you need. The medical community as a whole has been getting better at addressing the cause of headaches rather than covering them up with medication. Putting a spot light on the fundamental components of health should always be the answer.
Getting sleep, nutrition and exercise right is often the answer to most disease and illness. This will make your life much simpler, not to mention how much better you will feel.
Interested in a FREE home exercise plan. Click here to get started today!
About the Author
Dr. Michael Infantino is a physical therapist. He works with active military members in the DMV region. You can find more articles by Michael at RehabRenegade.com.
I had to take a break from The Fitness Summit last year for two reasons:
1. Whenever I go I always eat way too many cookies.[Props to Dave & Nick Bromberg’s mom.[/efn_note]
2. But mostly because I succeeded in making a baby and my wife would have tossed me so much shade if I was all like “Hey Babe, going to KC for three days. Toodles.”
Well this year I’m back and excited to take part in a Fitness Summit first. Dean Somerset and I will be putting on a Pre-Conference day where we’ll spend a few hours test driving some new material as a follow-up to our Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint.
Tentatively titled The More Completer Hip & Shoulder Blueprint.
We’ll be taking deep dive into squat and deadlift technique: discussing ankle, foot, hip and upper extremity considerations in conjunction with regressions/progressions and programming. Whether you’re a coach or just someone who likes to lift heavy things you’ll undoubtedly learn something.
And if not, cool, you still get to hang out with us for a few hours.
Registration is now open for returning and new attendees.
I’m excited to announce that both myself and my wife, Dr. Lisa Lewis, will be presenting at the inaugural Spurling Spring Seminar at Spurling Fitness in Kennebunk, ME in a few months.
If you live in New England and you’re a fitness professional you won’t want to miss it. Early bird special is currently in effect.
Whenever Dean and I present together one of the major messages we try to smack people across the face with is the idea of symmetry and how we need to stop obsessing over it.
This was really neat to watch John Rusin take Dave Tate through a movement screen. The video spliced in at the 13:00 mark made me laugh hysterically.
Social Media Shenanigans
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I find some of my clients are hard on themselves when they have an “off” day in the gym. I remind them it’s normal and nothing to worry about. Get your reps in, even if it’s with less weight, and come back tomorrow. Being consistent is more important.
NOTE:This post is a bit of a face-lift from a similar post I wrote last year.
I’ve noticed a growing trend in recent months in the fitness community and it’s something that’s been grinding my gears.2
It seems it’s become trendy or a “thing” for some (not all) people to bash certain exercises – specifically, from a more general standpoint, lifting appreciable weight – due to the stress it can cause. I’ve been noticing this trend a lot in the comments section of this site and in the comment sections of other training forums I frequent. It’s certainly not at pandemic levels or anything, but it’s happening enough where I felt compelled to get a little ranty today.
“Don’t do this exercise because it’ll stress your knees.”
“It’s probably best to avoid lifting heavy weights because it’ll stress your joints and back.”
“You shouldn’t do “x” or “y” because it’ll cause too much stress.”
Blah, blah. blabbidy, blah, blah.
Now, let me preface everything by saying I understand it’s not everyone’s goal to get strong(er), hoist barbells and dumbbells every which way, and/or, I don’t know, make people clench their sphincters when they watch you bench press.
It’s not everyone’s bag, and that’s cool.
Likewise, any conversation of this magnitude should come with the assumption that whatever exercise or modality we’re referring to – squats, overhead pressing, juggling chainsaws – is, in fact, an appropriate fit for someone based off their goals, ability level, taking into account their current/past injury history, and individual anthropometry.
Moreover, we can make the case for any exercise having an inherent risk, if not tinkering on the edge of dangerous, if it over-steps someone’s ability level, is performed incorrectly, and/or is done with too much volume.
A newbie performing conventional deadlifts on Day #1 probably won’t be a good fit.
A heavy back squat performed with an excessively rounded back = stop blaming the exercise and fix your technique, Sherlock.
Even if someone has immaculate dynamic control of their rotator cuff, spends time addressing soft-tissue quality, and also stays on top of their ability to upwardly rotate their scapulae, even if they do all of that (which is saying a lot), the acromion space will always narrow when you overhead press. Doing too much of it (volume) can still cause shoulder issues.3
That said, it’s not lost on me there’s a heavy bias on my end given I’m a strength coach. I like getting people strong. It’s what I do and it’s what I’m about.
Well, that, and crushing ice-cream.
And still trying to figure out why Carrie broke up with Aidan in Season 4 of Sex and the City.4
I have rarely found anything negative that results from getting someone stronger; whether we’re referring to helping an athlete perform better in his or her’s respective sport, helping a grandmother be able to carry her own groceries, or helping anyone be less fragile.
Everyday life is filled with trials, tribulations, tripping over Legos on the carpet, and general levels of shitstormery. What harm can come from getting stronger and to be better equipped and prepared for it?
Yet, time and time again I witness people’s backlash towards strength training – or any sense of straining – by using the excuse “it’s too much risk at stressing the body.”
Ummmmmm.
The point of exercise, and more specifically, lifting weights, is to stress the body.
Strain, effort, and yes, even some level of discomfort is warranted, nay, needed, in order to make the body more resilient and ready for sport AND life.
I’m not making this stuff up either.
There are laws (meaning, proven, undeniable facts backed by science) to back me up:
BOOM
Wolff’s Law – States that bone in a healthy person or animal will adapt to the loads under which it is placed.
As a corollary to Wolff’s Law there’s also the term known as Minimal Essential Strain (MES) which also states there’s a threshold (strain) that must be reached and repeated often enough to signal to the osteoblasts to travel to the area of strain and lay down collagen to increase the strength of the bone.
Davis’s Law – Describes how soft tissue models along imposed demands.
I-Just-Threw-My-Face-Into-a-Brick-Wall-Because-I-Became-Dumber-For-Having-Listened-To-What-You-Just-Said Law – Describes the spontaneous reaction that results when someone says something stupid.5
We can’t always live in a bubble or “safe space” filled with non-threatening exercise, pink dumbbells, and Adele radio playing on Pandora.
It behooves us to teeter with end-ranges of motion and to sometimes tinker with someone’s ability to just do more.
Lets take the squat.
A common argument against it – again, for some, not everyone – is that it should be avoided because it stresses the knees.
Well, when done incorrectly I’d agree.
There’s much that can go awry with the squat.
However, some trainers/coaches take it to delicate flower levels that I can’t begin to comprehend. To the point where, if there’s any deviation from perfect, they’ll start hyperventilating into a paper bag and shut the set down faster than you can say “When’s Season 3 of Stranger Things coming out?”
Sometimes you have to let people figure things out for themselves and stop over-coaching.
The knees caving in isn’t always bad.
“Caving” to neutral is a lot different than actually falling into knee valgus.
Don’t be so quick to pump the brakes on people.
Hell, the point of someone going to physical therapy is to do something physical. Those therapists who tend to get the best and most efficient results tend to be those that include strength & conditioning to compliment the clinical side of the equation.
If you’ve done your job as a coach and properly progressed your clients/athletes it’s okay to allow them to deviate from perfect. It’ll help them in the long run.
I’d make the case it’s beneficial to allow people to experience compromising positions anyways. That way they’ll know how to get out of them if or when they happen again (and they will).
It’s imperative to make the body do more work in order to adapt and make progress. To steal a quote from Nick Tumminello:
“It’s all about creating STRESS (to stimulate adaption) W/O DISTRESS (that exceeds one’s tolerance and causes injury).”
In today’s day and age being a personal trainer runs somewhere in the spectrum of one of the most rewarding careers out there and a dumpster fire.
The latter comes into play often, especially when you work in a large commercial gym where you’re one of dozens of trainers vying for everyone’s attention (and wallets). It’s seemingly become harder to separate yourself from the masses, and when you compound that with the long hours and the massive trepidation from many trainers to understand the business side of the equation, it’s no wonder the burnout rate is so high.
In today’s excellent guest post Michael Anderson he explains why keeping the clients you do have may be the “x” factor.
This is sort of a weird post to write for me because I’m specifically speaking to the coaches and trainers that read Tony’s blog rather than the average Joe or Jane who just likes training and wants to be awesome.
It’s also weird because I don’t often talk about the business side of this industry…mainly because I’m a WAY better trainer than businessman.
Today’s lesson is one I learned probably 7-8 years ago and it should help anyone who heeds this advice make more money: retain your clients.
I don’t mean tie them up and keep them in the yoga studio, I mean make sure that once you get a client you’re keeping them for the long haul.
Many moons ago I was a personal trainer at a fairly upscale privately owned globo gym in Boston. Per the usual for a commercial gym like that they constantly pushed the trainers to sign new trainees up for sessions. The owners and manager went to great lengths to keep increasing new sign-ups. We offered two free sessions when you signed up for a year membership, several times a year we offered a special deal where you could buy three sessions for $99 and they started to give bonus incentives to trainers who signed up new clients for X amount of sessions.
The only problem was that this ultimately didn’t make anyone any money; neither the trainers nor the gym itself.
The two free sessions would work well if you had a really polished approach, but it took a long time to get comfortable with it. The sessions that we put on sale were a waste of time and effort; the “sales hunters” would wait until these were available and then buy a few of them with no intention of training beyond the length of those packages.
They’d do a few sessions and get some new ideas and then work out on their own until the sale became available again. As the trainer conducting these sessions, you were doomed to fail.
These people almost never wanted to continue as a regular client.
Providing a financial bonus to the trainers when you signed up a new client created a system where people were more interested in selling packages to get the extra money short-term than they were in building a solid long-term client base.
The result of this was that there were a lot of gym members who did a few sessions with trainers who were just trying to get paid vs enjoying quality sessions. Ultimately these people would now be harder to convince to use our training services again.
Why Long Term Is Better
As a personal trainer it is going to benefit you dramatically in the long term to have clients that come back to you month after month, year after year.
During my five year stint training at that gym, I had 8-10 clients who would train with me multiple times per week and that core group lasted for 2-5 years.
Most of these clients would purchase our largest package of sessions (52) which was sold as the “annual package” and resulted in the cheapest per session cost; my clients were going through 2-3 of them a year!
Out of about 35 available training hours per week, my schedule typically contained about 20-25 hours of long-term clients. The rest of my schedule was usually filled in with new members who were using their two free sessions. My conversion rate with these was pretty good, so my goal was to get them interested in training regularly and then I would pass them off to other trainers who had more availability or were just starting out.
I hate suggesting this, but its important thing to remember from time to time: your clients are your business and each one represents money to you.
In the grand scheme of things you will make more money having 3-5 people train 2-3 times a week each for multiple years than chasing new clients every month so you can get the bonus.
I’ve heard a general rule when it comes to business marketing that it takes 5-10 times as much money to obtain a new customer as it does to retain an old one. In the personal trainer world this means it takes you more time talking to people on the gym floor, more time emailing and cold calling and more time doing intro sessions that I’ve always found to be much more draining and intensive than someone you’ve been working with for a while.
If you’ve ever had a day where you do 3-4 first time sessions with someone then you know what I’m talking about. Now, I’m not suggesting you should be opposed to doing all of those office-work things, but I feel like many of you would agree with me that it’s more fun to be in the gym coaching than it is to be sitting at a computer send out the same annoying email over and over.
The other benefit is that when you work with someone for a long time and they really trust and appreciate you they will do the marketing for you.
These clients will tell other gym members and friends about how much they enjoy working with you. If you read Pete Dupuis’ blog (and you should) then you’d know that word of mouth advertising is the One Ring of fitness business advertising….it rules them all.
These referrals almost always produce a stronger client relationship than someone who just walks into the gym and says “yea I guess I’ll try a session with you”. If a person you’ve been working with for 18 months can produce one or two more people who will work with you for 18 months each, you’re doing really well.
But, How?
Unfortunately this is where I tell you that there is no secret formula to creating and retaining a good client base.
I think Tony’s blog in general is filled with great advice that will help you succeed in this regard; I know that it helped me tremendously back in the day when I was figuring this shit out (and still today). Other than that you just have to work hard and refine your technique.
It also really helps if people like you. No one likes working with a dick.
Make sure you take care of your current clients first.
Much like exercise, make sure you master the basics of good customer service first: be on time, don’t smell like hot ass, don’t let them see you pick a booger at the front desk, don’t complain about your personal problems during a session, don’t allow their time slot to get compromised because you’re a shitty scheduler, and ensure that you’re doing your part to help them meet their goals.
Personal training is both a soft science and an art form. You have to do what you know is right to help them achieve a goal, but you also have to relent a little on some stuff. If a client hates push-ups and you keep forcing push-ups on them, they will just say “F it” and not come back.
You’ve got to develop a broad enough range of methods and approaches that you can meet any client where they are and create an enjoyable training experience.
As a current small business owner, I’ve seen this scenario play out even more substantially than it did when I worked at a globo gym.
I don’t have the capital to spend on any advertising and showing up at high school sporting events to hand out business cards isn’t a great use of my time. It has become even more important that I focus on keeping the clients I have and slowly adding to my roster through word of mouth referrals.
While getting new clients in the door is important, I’d be a fool to not first take the best care of the people currently coming to train with me. Do right by those you train now and build on that slowly.
If you have any questions please feel free to reach out!
About the Author
Mike is a personal trainer and strength coach living in Cleveland with his fiance and adorable pit bull. He is the owner of Anderson Strength and Fitness, the strength coach for Healthy Green Athlete and is an all around badass dude. You can follow him on Instagram @AndersonStrengthFitness or shoot him an email at [email protected].
I had to take a break from The Fitness Summit last year for two reasons:
1. Eating way too many cookies.
2. But mostly because I succeeded in making a baby and my wife would have tossed me so much shade if I was all like “Hey Babe, going to KC for three days. Toodles.”
Well this year I’m back and excited to take part in a Fitness Summit first. Dean Somerset and I will be putting on a Pre-Conference day where we’ll spend a few hours test driving some new material as a follow-up to our Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint.
Tentatively titled The More Completer Hip & Shoulder Blueprint.
We’ll be taking deep dive into squat and deadlift technique: discussing ankle, foot, hip and upper extremity considerations in conjunction with regressions/progressions and programming. Whether you’re a coach or just someone who likes to lift heavy things you’ll undoubtedly learn something. And if not, cool, you still get to hang out with us for a few hours.
Registration is now open for returning and new attendees. Come experience one of the best fitness events of the year.
I’m excited to announce that both myself and my wife, Dr. Lisa Lewis, will be presenting at the inaugural Spurling Spring Seminar at Spurling Fitness in Kennebunk, ME in a few months.
If you live in New England and you’re a fitness professional you won’t want to miss it. Early bird special is currently in effect.
Having the ability to differentiate between what you think should be happening and what actually is happening is often what separates the good coaches from the excellent ones.
As a self-described Diet Coke fan I approve this message.
Thanks TC!
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General Rule: For optimal performance you want to “pin” shoulder blades together and down (think: bench press). For optimal health you want the shoulder blades to MOVE (think: push-ups). Protraction/reaching is kind of a big deal.
Many people spend an inordinate amount of their time in a ball of flexion that having “access” to requisite amounts of t-spine extension is a commodity it today’s day and age.
What’s more, many of the drills and exercises prescribed to people in order to gain that extension is so poorly executed or altogether the wrong fit that it’s not uncommon for some people to spend years chasing their tail.
Take for example the plain ol’ vanilla t-spine extension off the foam roller.
It’s a great exercise, and a simple one, when done right.
Thing is: many people do it wrong, which I explain in THIS article from last year.
In the same light, I want to highlight a similar drill I came across recently that I really like and have been implementing with my own clients.
What Does It Do? – Allows to “lock” people in position to get movement from the area we actually wan to get movement from.
The T-spine isn’t really supposed to extend that much; to the point where it emulates the picture shown above. In that scenario said person is allowing the rectus to lengthen too much – resulting in excessive rib flair – and gleaning motion from the lumbar spine.
The Anchored T-Spine Extension tries to eliminate all of that.
Key Coaching Cues – First, it’s important to “clear” people for adequate shoulder flexion. If they’re unable to extend their arms overhead without compensating through RA, lumbar spine, or even via excessive elbow flexion, then this won’t be a good fit for them.
Second, I like to tell people to picture an imaginary line from their belly-button to nipple line, and that as they lower their hips that that line shouldn’t lengthen too much.
In effect, much like the regular t-spine extension drill off a foam roller most are accustomed to, when done right, most will be very surprised at how little motion there actually is with this drill.
But that’s the thing: This is not a ROM drill per se. It’s a getting motion from the right area(s) drill.
I like to use this drill as a catch-all warm-up drill. It’s relevant for any upper body work that requires scapular retraction, depression, or even upward rotation, as well as any lower body work that requires someone to maintain an upright/extended torso.
It can also be used as a filler exercise during rest sets.
Straight sets, pyramid sets, drop sets, cluster sets…
…it can all be rather confusing to the newbie lifter, or even seasoned veteran. How many sets should you do? What exercises are the best fit? What about rest? Is it normal to not feel the right side of your face?
All are pertinent questions and with today’s guest post Dallas based personal trainer, Shane McLean, helps to clear the air.
When I first started lifting, I had no idea about all the different types of sets.
When I went to the gym, I would saunter over to the dumbbell rack and bust open my biceps with some curls.
And when I did curls, I did them it front of the mirror and the whole gym knew about it.
However, my biceps remained small and so did I.
That’s until I started learning about all the set schemes that exist in the iron universe. Like most boys when they started out lifting weights, I did the workouts from muscle magazines hoping that it would make me look like the guys on the cover.
That didn’t work out at all but, it was the first time I heard about pairing sets together, known as supersets. You mean you could pair exercises together, increase training efficiency and build muscle all at the same time?
My mind was blown.
This led me further down the rabbit hole of all the different set methods which in turn led me to be armed with a coffee cup, a clip board, a stopwatch and telling people what to do with a dumbbell while wearing comfortable pants.
Yes, that’s right I’m a Personal Trainer.
Now you can benefit from my 25 years in the iron game, with eight of those years writing programs for people that get results.
Read on and learn things.
NOTE: These are guidelines and there will be exceptions to the information presented here.
1) Straight Sets
What Are They? – Doing just the one exercise for one or multiple sets with rest in between sets
The Best Use For Straight Sets? – They’re often used for barbell exercises like deadlifts, squats, presses and rows. All your energy is focused on getting stronger with that one move.
Types of Exercises That Straight Sets Work Best For? – Compound barbell/dumbbell like those discussed above.
How Many of Sets Should You Do?– It depends on how many reps in each set. More reps mean less sets and less reps mean more sets. Another factor is load. The closer you are to your one rep max, you’ll do less reps more sets and vise versa.
For example- 3 sets – 3 reps 90% 1 rep max. Or 4 sets of 5 reps 83% 1 rep max.
How Much Rest Between Sets?– usually 2-3 minutes rest between sets.
2) Supersets
What Are They?– Is one set of an exercise is performed directly after a set of a different exercise with minimal rest in between them.
The Best Use For Supersets?– They’re ideal for building muscle, fat loss and for those who have a limited amount of time to train.
Types of Exercises Supersets Work Best For?– Really anything goes here. Barbell, dumbbells, kettlebell, bodyweight, resistance bands and machine exercises all work. You can use compound (exercising multiple muscles groups) or isolation (single muscle) exercises.
Different Types of Supersets
1. Compound supersets, when both exercises work a similar body part.
For example:
1A. Squat
1B. Lunge
2. Non-competing supersets, pairing a lower body exercise with an upper body exercise.
For example:
1A. Squat
1B. Dumbbell bench press
3. Isolation/compound supersets which you pair a single joint exercise with a compound movement or vise versa.
For example:
1A. Triceps extension variation
1B. Barbell bench press
How Many of Sets Should You Do? – Anywhere from 2- 5 sets (depending on how much time you have to train) and repetitions can range from anywhere between 6- 15 reps per set.
How Much Rest Between Supersets? – Limited rest between the exercises themselves and anywhere between 60-120 sec rest between supersets.
3) Tri-Sets
What Are They? – Doing 3 different exercises back to back to back.
The Best Use For Tri-Sets?– They are ideal for fat loss, muscle building and for people who want maximum training efficiency.
Types of Exercises Tri-Sets Work Best For?– Really anything goes here also. Barbell, dumbbells, kettlebell, bodyweight, resistance bands and machine exercises all work. Furthermore, having all the equipment close to you will cut down on transition time between exercises.
Different Types of Tri-Sets
You can use them to bring up a lagging body part.
For example, shoulders:
1A. Single arm shoulder press
1B. Lateral shoulder raises
1C. Reverse fly
Or mobility tri sets to help improve your movement.
For example, hip mobility exercise for the squat:
1A. Goblet squat
1B. Push up
1C. Half kneeling hip flexor stretch
Or when pushed for time you can combine strength and cardio exercises to get the best of both worlds.
For example:
1A. Leg exercise
1B. Upper body exercise
1C. Cardiovascular exercise 30- 60 seconds
How Many of Sets Should You Do? – Usually 3- 4 sets and anywhere between 6- 15 reps per exercise.
How Much Rest? – Limited rest between the exercises and 90-120 seconds rest after each tri-set.
4) Timed Sets
What Are They?– Doing an exercise for certain amount of time or completing the programmed reps in a certain amount of time.
The Best Use For Timed Sets?– They can be used for building muscle but they’re excellent for incinerating body fat.
Types of Exercises Timed Sets Work Best For?– Any piece of equipment that allows for an easy transition between exercises is a winner. For example, barbell, dumbbell, bodyweight, kettlebell and resistance bands.
Different Types of Timed Sets
Every minute on the minute sets where you complete a certain amount of reps and then rest the reminder of the minute before moving on to the next exercise.
For example:
1A. Goblet squat- 8 reps
1B. Row- 8 reps
1C. Goblet reverse lunge- 8 reps on each leg
1D. Chest press- 8 reps
1E. Biceps curls – 8 reps
Or you can scrape the reps and it’s just you versus the stopwatch where you try to do as many reps as possible in a pre-determined timeframe. For example, a full body circuit using bodyweight, barbells and dumbbells.
1B. Push variation- Incline push up, Push up or Dumbbell bench press.
1C. Single leg exercise- Reverse lunge, Forward lunge or Side lunge
1D. Pull variation- Rack pull, Dumbbell bent over row or Standing cable row.
1E. Core- Alternating side plank, Mountain climbers or Front plank.
How Many of Rounds Should You Do? – It depends how long you’ve got to train. Using the above examples, these circuits takes 5 min to complete so 3- 5 rounds would suffice.
How Much Rest?– You rest when you’re done.
5) Ladder Sets
What Are They? – One big superset when you compete the reps of both exercises in an ascending or descending order. For example, 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 or 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10.
Best Use For Ladder Sets – They’re great way to finish your training and to add volume to a body part that needs working on. Furthermore, they can be used for a stand-alone training when pushed for time.
Types of Exercises Ladder Sets Work Best For?– Bodyweight, kettlebells, medicine balls, battle ropes and dumbbells work great.
For example, the kettlebell swings/medicine ball slam combo:
Instructions:Do 20 reps each of the swings and the slams and go down by 2 each time you perform a round until you reach two reps for each exercise (for example 20-18-16-14….2). If you don’t have access to medicine balls, substitute in battle rope slams.
Battle Rope Slams
Med Ball Rotational Slam
https://youtube.com/watch?v=YHgXAFY4H1Q
How Many Rounds Should You Do?– Just one will do, if you’re doing it right.
How Much Rest? –Again, you’ll rest when you’re done.
6) Cluster Sets
What Are They?– Sets with a predetermined rest period between reps within the same set.
For example:
Load the barbell to 85-90% of your maximum, a weight you could normally lift 3 times.
Do one rep and rack the bar.
Rest 10 seconds.
Do another rep and rack the bar.
Rest for 10 seconds.
Do this 4-6 times total
Best Use For Cluster Sets– They’re best used for building strength but be warned, when using heavier weights with shorter rest periods while increasing volume can lead to fatigue.
For example, (4×2) x5 sets – is 5 total clusters of 4 mini sets of 2 reps with 10 seconds rest in between. That’s 40 reps at 85-90% of your 1 rep max.
Types of Exercises Cluster Sets Work Best For?– Barbell exercises like squats, presses and rows but can be used for chin-ups also.
How Many Sets Should You Do?– Anywhere from 3- 6 clusters.
How Much Rest Between Clusters? – 3 minutes or more between clusters because of their demanding nature.
7) Drop Sets
What Are Drop Sets? – Is a method where you perform an exercise and then reduce the weight (usually 15- 30% drop) and continue for more reps until you reach failure.
Best Use For Drop Sets– Ideally, it’s your last set of the day. This method is used to add muscle and volume to a body part. However, it’s not for the faint of heart because you will feel the burn.
Types of Exercises Drop Sets Work Best For – Barbell, dumbbell and machine exercises.
A Different Type of Drop Set
Rather than dropping the weight and lifting till failure, you can perform mechanical drop sets where you use the same weight the entire time. You start an exercise in a mechanically weaker position to one in which you’re in stronger position.
For example, the dumbbell bench press mechanical drop set:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=KfYNhAGAm0w
This is a truly sadistic method for building muscle, but it works. If you want more ideas, read this excellent article by John Romaniello.
How Many Drop Sets Should You Do? – Once per training and probably no more than twice per week.
How Much Rest? – If you’re doing it right, you’ll need a nap.
Wrapping Up
Wow, you got to the end and you’re probably hungry. Please go get some protein.
Now, you’re armed with the knowledge to take your training to the next level and to hulk smash your way through any plateaus. Happy lifting.
About the Author
Shane “The Balance Guy” McLean, is an A.C.E Certified Personal Trainer working deep in the heart of Texas. Shane believes in balancing exercise with life while putting the fun back into both.
I had to take a break from The Fitness Summit last year for two reasons:
1. Eating way too many cookies.
2. But mostly because I succeeded in making a baby and my wife would have tossed me so much shade if I was all like “Hey Babe, going to KC for three days. Toodles.”
Well this year I’m back and excited to take part in a Fitness Summit first. Dean Somerset and I will be putting on a Pre-Conference day where we’ll spend a few hours test driving some new material as a follow-up to our Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint.
Tentatively titled The More Completer Hip & Shoulder Blueprint.
We’ll be taking deep dive into squat and deadlift technique: discussing ankle, foot, hip and upper extremity considerations in conjunction with regressions/progressions and programming. Whether you’re a coach or just someone who likes to lift heavy things you’ll undoubtedly learn something. And if not, cool, you still get to hang out with us for a few hours.
Registration is now open for returning and new attendees. Come experience one of the best fitness events of the year.
I’m excited to announce that both myself and my wife, Dr. Lisa Lewis, will be presenting at the inaugural Spurling Spring Seminar at Spurling Fitness in Kennebunk, ME in a few months.
If you live in New England and you’re a fitness professional you won’t want to miss it. Early bird special is currently in effect.7
This FREE multi-day course by John Berardi will help give coaches the knowledge and resources necessary to help their clients decide what the best diet is for them…
…whether Paleo, ketogenic, low-carb, high-carb, intermittent fasting, or the all cold cereal diet (<—not a thing, but it should be)
And even if you’re not a coach it’ll help make the waters less murky on the topic of diet and nutrition and what may be the best fit for YOU and YOUR goals.
All you have to do is offer your email and you’ll get instant access. Don’t worry, John won’t spam you. Because, he’s not a dick.
Here’s an effective drill to help improve t-spine extension. A common mistake many people make is getting too much motion from lumbar spine. This helps eliminate that: pic.twitter.com/xltqoNRdeM
Dr. Michael Infantino is a physical therapist. He works with active military members in the DMV region. You can find more articles by Michael at 
