May 2018 – Tony Gentilcore

5 Quick Tips to Increase Strength

There are no “hacks” to getting strong. I’m a firm believer you get out of it what you put in.

It’s hard, and it takes a lot of hard work; oftentimes over the course of several years.

That said, below are a few “quick” tips that can help expedite the process. Admittedly there’s nothing profound or elaborate included, but I felt it important to suggest things that are easily accessible to the bulk of people who read this site.

Hope they resonate and help.5 Quick Tips to Increase Strength

1. WARNING: Captain Obvious suggestion of the day: Creatine

It still dumbfounds me to think there are people out there who train on a consistent basis, yet are still not taking creatine (and yes, this includes you as well ladies). It’s the most researched supplement in human history and it’s efficacy has been proven time and time again.

*It’s safe

*It works

*It’s NOT steroids

Just take five grams of creatine monohydrate (no need to buy the expensive brands that are laced with rocket fuel) per day and that’s that.

ADDENDUM: This is a suggestion. Not mandatory. The first step to addressing lack of progress is to audit your program and nutrition. If those two factors aren’t getting the job done, no one supplement is going to be the panacea.

That said, you still need to go train like a savage. Taking creatine alone isn’t going to mount to much.

2. Deadlift Barefoot

Everyone who trains with me here in Boston is told to take their shoes off when (s)he deadlifts.

To quote a new client I started with the other night

“Why?”

BECAUSE I SAID SO. HOW DARE YOU QUESTION ME. KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!!

Just kidding.

Well for starters, by taking your shoes off you’re now 1-2 inches closer to the ground, which is 1-2 inches less distance the bar has to travel.

Secondly, and more germane to the point, by taking your shoes off you’re now able to push through your heels. As a result, you’ll recruit more of your glutes and hamstrings to help out.

It’s not uncommon for some people to see a significant increase in how much weight they can pull off the ground from a little more posterior chain recruitment.

Thirdly, people will automatically think you’re badass cause you’re training with no shoes on. Of course, this is contingent on whether or not your feet smell like you’ve been walking through a sewer all day.

In that case, it’s your call.

3. Glute Activation

If your glutes aren’t able to fire full throttle, the hamstrings and lower back have to do more work than they’re accustomed to doing.

So from that standpoint paying more attention to glute activation can have positive repercussions for those suffering through chronic low-back pain.

However, people often forget the badonkadonks are not only the body’s dominant hip extensor which play a key role in athletics and strength, but are also a fairly large muscle that’s aesthetically pleasing to look at (cue obligatory fitness Insta-celebrity pic here).

Don’t worry, I got you too ladies:

By “turning on” the glutes with some simple activation techniques beforehand, you will undoubtedly be able to handle more weight when you squat and/or deadlift.

To that end, while I don’t have any PubMed research articles to back this up, more weight=more strength=more people want to see you naked.

Here are some of my favorites:

Up 2, Down 1

I like this variation because it allows for more eccentric overload on the lowering leg. Obviously one will need to master the two-legged variation first, but this is a nice progression to consider.

Band Resisted 1-Legged Hip Thrust

This is an ingenious variation I stole from Dean Somerset. If you’re looking to progress you’re 1-Legged Hip Thrust and having a hard time figuring out a way to do so, give this a try.

Creepy McCreepypants Frog Pumps

Popularized by none other than Bret Contreras, Frog Pumps are another fantastic exercise that aid in getting the glutes nice and juicy.

Thing is, they’re awkward as fuck to perform in public.

So, there’s only one way, and one way only, to perform them….

…..by copying Bret and Dr. John Rusin’s lead and making direct, intense eye contact with someone and making things creepy AF.[footnote]Actually, please don’t do this. Unless you want to have several restraining orders in your name[/footnote].

Reps can range anywhere from 15 to infinity.

4. Stop Testing Strength and Build It

I’m not the first to say this.

Many other coaches stronger than I – Chad Wesley Smith, Greg Robins, Julia Ladewski, Pavel, to name a few – have reverberated this quote on repeat throughout the years.

Far too often trainees head to the gym week in and week out and “test” their lifts rather than actually build them.

Now, mind you, lifting heavy things (90% + of 1 rep-max) is a non-negotiable factor to getting strong. However, as I noted in THIS blog post sub-maximal training (I.e., predominately using loads in the 65-85% range) is much UNDER-valued component to strength training.

In other words: loads in those ranges help one to BUILD strength.

Moreover, utilizing more sub-maximal training – while having an obvious muscle building effect (bigger muscles often equate to more force output) – also allows trainees to hone their technique and to get into (and maintain) proper positions to exhibit their strength more effectively.

5. Use Novelty Sparingly

Unlike coaches Dan John or Mike Boyle, I don’t find myself to be a very quotable person.

However, I am proud of this one:

“Look, I’m not bashing exercise variety. Variety has a time and place. However, the greatest gap in most people’s training isn’t lack of novelty, but rather lack of mastery.”

Many trainees have what I like to call “Squirrel Syndrome” when it comes to working out.

They start doing an exercise (or in most cases start an exercise program) and before they’ve put down the dumbbell on their first set they’re distracted by a new “squirrel.”

In this case the squirrel is an entirely new exercise program or a bright, shiny, new exercise.

– “Jumping Jack BOSU Bicep Curls?”

– “Sweet Christmas, I need that in my life.”

Want to get stronger?

Stop hopping exercise to exercise or program to program. It’s almost impossible to see steady progress if you’re heavy-handed on the novelty.

I like Jim Wendler’s approach to programming for strength:

“The boring shit works.”

Observe anyone who’s strong or has a physique you admire and almost always they’re doing very vanilla things in the weight room.

Contrarily, watch most other asshats who cry afoul about hitting their genetic ceiling[footnote]Which does exist, mind you. But come on, most people don’t work remotely that hard to hit it.[/footnote](or something equally as lame):

Jumping Jack BOSU Bicep Curls.

May 30, 2018 Tony

Program Design Rehab/Prehab

All About Recovery

I always like to say the progress you make in the gym are the direct result of how well you allow yourself to recover.

As counterintuitive as it sounds you break muscle down in the gym, and it’s the time away from deadlifts, squats, and daily WODs that your body recovers and bounces back stronger than before.

Today’s guest post from TG.com regular, Dr. Nicholas Licameli, expounds on some of the best (and simplest) ways you can get a little more recovery in your life.

It’s not as easy as telling someone to “go to bed.”

Enjoy.

My Top Recovery Tips

As soon as a training session ends, the goal should be to start the recovery process.

In order for us to consistently make improvements in our bodies and our training, we need exercise that overloads our current tolerance AND adequate recovery. In other words, we need to challenge, break down, and fatigue our muscles as well as recover from that challenge, break down, and fatigue.

There are many ways to look at fatigue. One common breakdown is peripheral fatigue and central fatigue. Peripheral fatigue is simply the physical stress, break down, and depletion of glycogen that muscles experience during training. This decreases strength, power, and performance and causes muscle soreness.

Central fatigue is a bit different.

Without going too in depth (that’s for another article), I introduce the autonomic nervous system, made up of the sympathetic (SNS) and parasympathetic (PNS) nervous systems. The SNS controls our stress response, or “fight or flight.”

SNS controls our bodies when we come face to face with a grizzly bear. We’re going to sweat and our heart rate, blood pressure, and respiratory rate will increase. During this state, we are essentially mentally and physically breaking down our bodies. The PNS controls the recovery response, or “rest, digest, and recover.” During this state, our blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rates all decrease.

It is in this state that we mentally and physically rebuild and recover.

Interestingly enough, the brain’s mechanism for learning works similarly to the mechanism by which muscles grow and become stronger.

Muscles do not grow in the gym.

Training causes muscles to be broken down. It is during recovery and sleep that muscles make adaptive changes.

Similarly, we do not learn while we attend a lecture.

via GIPHY

The lecture is like a training session because we do not make adaptive and lasting breakthroughs while in class. Our brains make new connections and truly absorb new knowledge during the rest, digest, and recover phase, which occurs after the lecture and usually during sleep.

I Sleep Every Night, Isn’t That Enough?

Not quite.

Imagine this sample day:

Alarm goes off (for the 5^th time…thanks a lot snooze button) and you jump out of bed feeling like you’re running late. You go into the bathroom, get washed, get dressed, sprint down the stairs, grab some coffee and a quick to-go bite to eat, and you get into your car.

Some traffic, nasty drivers, and frantic lane changes later, you make it to the office a few minutes late. With no time to prepare, you dive right into your daily work duties.

After a stressful day at work (and getting yelled at by your boss for being late) and four cups of coffee, you rush to get home to pick up the kids from school. The commute home is no better than the morning, but you manage to get there on time. You make it home, give the kids a snack[/footnote]As if I know anything about childcare. Sorry parents, this article is written by a young man without children…yet.[footnote] and head out to the gym.

After taking a pre workout with enough caffeine to give heart palpitations to a Clydesdale horse, you manage to get psyched up for your workout. After a great workout, you jump in the car newly energized and ready to make dinner for the family and help the kids with homework. After collapsing on your bed and staring blankly at your Instagram feed until you can’t keep your eyes open, you manage to somehow fall asleep.

What’s the point of this example?

This is an entire day spent in a sympathetic state!

Remember, the sympathetic system is the fight, flight, and physical breakdown system. There is no time allotted to the parasympathetic system: rest, digest, and recover.

Things like stress, caffeine, and training are all highly sympathetic.

Here’s the good news!

A day like this can be easily changed for the good. All it takes is a few minutes of actively disconnecting from the grind. My favorite (and in my opinion, the simplest) way to accomplish this is simply breathing.

That’s right. Good ol’ breathing.

Inhale deeply and exhaling slowly. Let your shoulders drop down on the exhale. Redirect your mind away from the day-to-day and focus on your breathing (more on this below).

via GIPHY

In my office, we set an egg timer for one hour. When the timer goes off, everyone stops and takes a deep breath. It takes maybe 6 seconds and has had a significant impact on staff and patients alike. No egg timer? Every time you slip away for a bathroom break, try making it a point to take a deep breath. It may even be a good idea to bring along loved ones. What could be a better way to end the day than a couples breathing session in bed?

Actually, don’t answer that.

Note From TG: BOM, CHICKA BOM BOM

It seems logical that a proper recovery plan would target both types of fatigue. The following is a list of some recovery techniques that research has shown may be effective.

The techniques will target both types of fatigue and keep you on your way to achieving and surpassing your goals. Before we go on, it is important to note that no recovery technique, including the ones below, will be effective without proper sleep and nutrition. Getting your Z’s and eating properly to fuel and refuel our bodies are most important.

That being said, let’s get to it!

In an already packed schedule, it is not feasible to think you will be able to set aside time to do each technique, so I’ve numbered them from 1 (most important) to 4 (least important), in my opinion of course.

My opinion is based on the current research, effectiveness, convenience, and anecdotal experience both personally and professionally. It should be noted that although there is some research supporting the use of these techniques, many of the mechanisms and overall effectiveness still warrant further study.

For more information about specific parameters and references (and if you want to feel really insignificant about yourself and the quality of your own content), be sure to check out Chris Beardsley’s work at strengthandconditioningresearch.com right here.

1. Deep Breathing and Meditation

What Is It?

Using deep, controlled breathing and meditation to induce a state of physical and mental relaxation.

What Does It Do?

Deep breathing and meditation increases parasympathetic nervous system activity (rest, digest, recover) and decreases sympathetic nervous system activity (fight or flight).

How to Do It?

Choose a relaxing environment (an empty room, out in nature, etc.) and position yourself in a comfortable position (I prefer lying on my back with a pillow under my head and a pillow under my knees). Breathe in deeply through your nose and imagine the breath filling up and expanding your abdomen and lower back.

Hold for a few seconds and then exhale through your mouth in a controlled manner (don’t just blow the air out). With each exhale, imagine your body melting into the floor. Keep your mind focused on your breathing. “Is this an ‘in’ breath or an ‘out’ breath?” is the only thinking that should be happening.

If you hear a car horn and your attention goes to the car, redirect your mind back to your breathing. If your mind drifts to that report you have to write at work today, redirect your mind to your breathing. Some types of meditation actually involve allowing those intrusive thoughts in, and accepting their presence. If they are of significance, take moment to write them down.

If they are insignificant (be honest with yourself), push them away and redirect your mind to your breathing. Meditation takes practice, but as you train your brain to control intrusive thoughts and focus on the moment, you’ll see drastic changes in your recovery as well as your life.

2. Active Recovery

What Is It?

Active Recovery involves performing light resistance training or cardio either immediately following a workout or between workouts.

What Does It Do?

May reduce muscle soreness, limit strength losses, and even improve mood.

How to Do It?

Perform active recovery by using a light load (30% of 1 rep max) for about 20-50 reps for less than 60 minutes or using an active cool down such as a stationary bike for roughly 15 minutes.

Note From TG: Check out my Bloop, Bloop, Bloop Workout HERE which touches on the same idea a Nicholas describes and gives you some ideas on what to do.

3. Foam Rolling

(For an in depth look at foam rolling, be sure to check out my previous article here and my podcast here, which are much more comprehensive than what is described in this article.)

What Is It?

Foam rolling involves lying on a roller and using gravity to apply pressure to a muscle. The roller is pressed into the muscle belly and the user rolls up and down the length of the target muscle.

What Does It Do?

Like deep breathing and meditation, foam rolling can tap into the parasympathetic nervous system (rest, digest, recover) and reduce sympathetic nervous system activity (fight or flight) by inducing a global short-term decrease in muscle tone.

Muscle tone is the continuous passive contraction of a muscle controlled subconsciously by the brain. In other words, it’s a muscle’s resistance to passive stretch.

Tone is created by a constant subconscious message from the brain telling a muscle to contract. Many times the sensation of muscle “tightness” has more to do with tone and less to do with actual muscle length.

How to Do It?

1. View video above.

2. Or, if you learn better by reading:

Start off with a slow, steady roll covering the entire muscle group, scanning the area for tender spots. Think of scanning the area as a blind person would scan a new environment. Once you find a tender spot, pause and hold on that spot until a release is felt and the tenderness lessens. Add some deep breathing while holding on the tender spot to further assist in the release. Follow this up with another slow, steady roll over the entire muscle, just like how you started. It is true that foam rolling should be a bit painful, but too much pain will cause an increase in muscle tone, which, as previously mentioned, is exactly the opposite of what we want to do. More pain is not better.

Better quality is better.

4. Water Immersion

What Is It?

Water immersion is the use of ice baths or hot tubs.

What Does It Do?

May reduce muscle soreness and limit losses in performance.

How to Do It?

Use cold-water immersion (8-15°C/46°F-59°F) for 5-15 minutes or alternate 1-4 minute bouts of cold and hot water (38°C-42°C/100°F-108°F). Be sure to be submerged to shoulder height.

Where to Start?

A great place to start is with (1) deep breathing and meditation.

Start small.

Try devoting a few minutes each day to disconnecting and breathing. Work up to longer durations as you start to get the hang of it.

This will help in all aspects of life.

Once you’ve successfully made it a habit to disconnect and breathe for a few minutes each day, try adding in some (2) active recovery days.

After you have a solid daily breathing and meditation routine and you’ve managed to add in some active recovery to your week, consider using a foam roller combined with deep breathing for a few minutes after training and maybe even before bed. Once you have all these in place, feel free to give (4) water immersion a shot if you have the time and resources.

Use these techniques, along with proper sleep and nutrition, and you will soon reap the physical and mental benefits of proper recovery!

About the Author

Nicholas M. Licameli

Doctor of Physical Therapy / Pro Natural Bodybuilder

Youtube: HERE

Instagram: HERE

Facebook: HERE

Every single thing he does, Nick believes in giving himself to others in an attempt to make the world a happier, healthier, and more loving place. He wants to give people the power to change their lives. Bodybuilding and physical therapy serve as ways to carry out that cause. Nick graduated summa cum laude from Ramapo College of New Jersey with his bachelor’s degree in biology, furthered his education by completing his doctoral degree in physical therapy from Rutgers School of Biomedical and Health Sciences (previously the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey) at the age of 24, and has earned professional status in natural bodybuilding. His knowledge of sport and exercise biomechanics, movement quality, and the practical application of research combined with personal experience in bodybuilding and nutrition allows him to help people in truly unique ways. Love. Passion. Respect. Humility. Never an expert. Always a student. Love your journey.

May 29, 2018 Tony

Stuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff To Read While You’re Pretending To Work: 5/25/18

It’s Memorial Day weekend. Thanks to those who have had loved ones, friends, or colleagues serve and make the ultimate sacrifice.

And, thanks you everyone currently serving.

No witty intro this week, lets get right to it.

BUT FIRST…CHECK THIS STUFF OUT

1. Even More Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint – Dates/Locations Announced

Dean Somerset and I are currently in the throes of drumming up new content for our staple workshop series.

We’ve presented this workshop all over the world – London, Vancouver, Oslo, Prague, Boston, LA, Hoth – and even turned it into a popular digital product HERE so everyone can enjoy it.

We’ve already nailed down dates in Slovenia, Houston, and LA this fall (2018) and are also in talks to bring it to Detroit, Philadelphia, Edmonton, Australia, and Singapore in 2019.

If you’re someone who’d like to host this event/participate in a tickle fight please reach out to either Dean or myself.

Go HERE to register in the announced cities.

2. Strong Body-Strong Mind – Bonn, Germany

My wife and I will be in Bonn, Germany on Saturday, June 30 to put on our 1-day Strong Body-Strong Mind workshop.

I’ll be speaking to assessment, coaching up common strength exercises (squats, deadlifts), and how to better “match” your programs to your client’s abilities and goals.

Lisa will be discussing how to better manage client expectations, motivation, and how to adopt better mindset strategies for success.

And then we’ll have a beer….;o)

Spots are limited and the Early Bird rate is still in effect (but not for long).

For more details (including itinerary and registration) go HERE.

3. 2-Day London Workshop w/ Luke Worthington

^^^ It’s so good we didn’t even feel the need to come up with a witty title for it.

After my workshop in Germany I head over to London to take part in a 2-day event (the weekend of July 7th) with my friend and colleague (and handsomest man alive) Luke Worthington.

This one is filling up fast…..go HERE for more info.

STUFF TO READ WHILE YOU’RE PRETENDING TO WORK

5 Types of Squats for Runners: More Variation, More Strength – Jason Fitzgerald

I may as well quote myself from the very article:

“Moreover, runners can always benefit from more force. Squats help make people stronger, which in turn helps to generate more force. As a runner, if you’re able to put more force into the ground to propel yourself forward, the likelihood you’ll see faster race times is pretty high.

Please don’t tell me squats will make you slower. They won’t.”

A Trainer’s Guide to Protein – Mike T. Nelson

Any fitness professional worth his or her’s weight in chicken breasts knows that one of the more challenging aspects of the job is helping clients get dialed in with their nutrition.

Inevitably one of the questions you’re bound to hear is “how much protein should I be eating?” or “which sources are best?” or “will eating too much protein make my kidneys shit a kidney?”

Dr. Mike T. Nelson answers all your questions here.

How to Do a Goblet Squat, From the Man Who Invented the Move – Dan John

I’ve taught hundreds (if not thousands) of people to squat in mere minutes by using the Goblet Squat.

Thank you Dan John.

Social Media Shenanigans

Twitter

Lifting weights isn’t supposed to tickle. Hitting the numbers or getting the body you want is going to entail a little bit of suck. You have every right to complain about the process, but if you’re not willing to put in the work, consistently….shut up.

— Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore1) May 22, 2018

Instagram

Sesame Street sucked us both in.

A post shared by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore) on May 21, 2018 at 11:46am PDT

May 25, 2018 Tony

personal training

The One Thing That Annoys Me Most About the Fitness Industry

I consider myself a fairly even keeled guy.

I try not to sweat the details nor to come across as someone who complains or argues about trivial things such as traffic, the weather, low bar vs. high bar back squats, LCHF diets vs. any other diet equated for protein and total calories, or which is the best Harry Potter book.[footnote]Anyone who feels it’s not Prisoner of Azkaban can go jump into a live volcano.[/footnote]

Then again I am human and sometimes my capacity to suppress my annoyance hits a crescendo, and I’m left with no other alternative than to write about it, like every other a-hole in the world with an opinion and access to a laptop.

Brb…I need to go throw my face into a brick wall.

Incessant Entitlement

I can’t tell you how many emails or messages I receive from new(ish) trainers on a routine basis bemoaning the fact they work in, GASP, a commercial gym.

They usually invade my inbox in several iterations, but this is the most common:

“Tony, this sucks. I don’t know what to do. I want to train professional athletes. I didn’t go to school to work with house wives or Jack from accounting. My life is over.

How do I get to where you’re at in your career?”

I don’t know what people expect from me.

I’m not their boss. There really isn’t much I can do, even with a high speed internet connection.

The meanie-head in me wants to say something like:

“I’m all for having goals, but LeBron doesn’t want to train with you.”

However, I’m not a meanie-head and what I usually end up saying is something to the effect of:

“Not to blow up your spot, but I didn’t train my first athlete until year five of my career. His name was Tim, a sophomore in high-school. He played basketball.

I didn’t train my first professional athlete until year seven.

Also, what’s wrong with training house wives? I love house wives. And Jacks from Accounting. Hate to break it to you, but those lowly house wives (and accountants) you’re too cool for outnumber professional athletes by a ratio of a kajillion-billion to one and are going to be the ones paying your bills and helping to pay off those student loans of yours.

I also hate to break it to you, but working with athletes isn’t as lucrative as Instagram makes it seem.

What’s more, and this may come across as blasphemous, I prefer training general pop clients.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1Y73sPHKxw

Pretty much every “successful” or well known coach today, every…single…one, from Mike Boyle to Eric Cressey to Mike Robertson to Nia Shanks, at some point or another, worked in a commercial gym.

What’s more, there are an infinite number of fitness professionals out there right now who thrive in commercial gyms and end up building very successful brands (and careers).

This may be an unpopular viewpoint and not what you want to hear, but I’d make the argument working in a commercial gym for 2-5 years is often what’s necessary (if not mandatory) to be successful in this industry.

Well, that and a decent bicep peak…;o)

In the end, you get out of it what you put in.

You can either bitch and whine about your situation like every other entitled asshat, or go out of your way to use this time to gain experience, hone your craft, take pride in having an insatiable desire to learn and get better and to make yourself more indispensable (FYI: this should never really stop), get up early, work late, work on holidays, and weekends, fail, fail again, fail some more, and then, at some point, inevitably, reach the same conclusion as many before you.

That who you work with has far less of an impact on your success in this industry and is as insignificant of a thing to concern yourself with as say, what Meghan Markle had for breakfast this morning, or, I don’t know, Tom Selleck having too sexy of a mustache.

None of it matters.”

Okay, that still had a bit of a meanie-head vibe to it.

But it had to be said.

May 23, 2018 Tony

Corrective Exercise Program Design

4 Exercises to Strengthen Your Core and How to Program Them For Lower Back Pain

Raise your hand if you watched The Royal Wedding this weekend.

*raises hand*

But I only tuned in because Julian was up so early Saturday morning and there was nothing else to watch.

Yeah, yeah….that’s it.

Anyway, I’ve got an excellent guest post for you today from Florida based trainer William Richards covering a topic pretty much everyone can get on board with…..

…..low back pain and how to choose or modify the best bang-for-your-buck exercises to help nip it in the bud.

Copyright: lightwise / 123RF Stock Photo

4 Exercises to Strengthen Your Core and How to Program Them For Back Pain

When it comes to core training and sensitive lower backs I have been through the gauntlet.

I have experimented on myself and have worked with so many frustrated clients who want to train their core but always seem to re-injure their backs or stay on what I call their own pain cycle.

They go to the gym with minor inflammation thinking a good workout is what they need. They knock out what they think is a “safe” workout and spend the last 20-30 minutes hitting some hanging leg raises, decline sit-ups and maybe even some weighted jumping ball slams (because they heard a stronger core will beat their back pain). The intention behind this workout was good and hopeful but they go home and slowly start to experience this gradual increase in pain and tightness in their lower back.

Fast forward 24 hours and mornings feel like you have a tree branch wedged between two vertebrae.

Forget bending over to tie your shoes let alone put pants on. You feel 80 years old until the Extra Strength Tylenol and Ibuprofen concoction kicks in and you get a small glimpse of what it feels like to be pain-free and healthy. For most this is the only sense of relief they will ever experience.

We all know lower back pain can be complex. There could be a lot of different factors at play here but one of the key topics I want to shed light on is the core training approach.

How Should I Approach Core Training With Lower Back Pain?

In my experience with coaching corrective core training for sensitive backs, there are three key points I find myself covering over and over again.

(1) Safe modified approaches to “modern” exercises that have the sensitive back in mind.

When you here modification you immediately think “an easier version of what your showing me.” Which is true in most cases, but when dealing with a sensitive back your not looking for “easy” you’re looking for a certain pain threshold that the individual/you can control.

This threshold is extremely important to coaching sensitive backs because that very threshold can put someone on the couch for a week popping pain meds or training and moving towards freedom and a faster recovery.

So when picking and executing your core exercises think more about how the variation is affecting the way your lower back feels in the moment AND 24 hours after doing it.

Nothing you should be doing will consists of training through pain. Often times any irritation or discomfort from an exercise will kick in the next day once all the feel good chemicals have worn off.

(2) The correct coaching through these modifications to safely progress to the level of difficulty that is safe for you.

Once you have dialed in on your own safe threshold it’s time to start modifying the exercise to fit your needs. There are tons of ways to do this so I will highlight a few of my top cues here.

If you’re experiencing pain:

-1- Check the position of your pelvis.

Is it neutral?

Especially with exercises like the ones you will see below it’s paramount that you take unwanted stress OFF the lumbar spine. Some of this stress is commonly caused by an overextended or flexed lumbar spine. If you’re experiencing pain, simply being overextended or over flexed will only get worse when you add compression or a form of challenge to the position.

Note From TG: Here’s a great way to teach/cue people how to (safely) move their spine into flexion and extension IN CONTROL. Sometimes back pain is the result of being “stuck” in an over extended or flexed position. Allowing people “access” to range of motion can be a game changer.

-2- Bring the loads or limbs closer to your body.

Wait, what?

Try this out: If you have back pain, take a 10 lb plate and hold it straight out in front with your arms stretched out. How does that feel on your lower back?

Now bring the weight closer to your chest. Did that bring relief?

The majority of instability issues will produce pain with the outstretched arm. The closer the load or limbs are to your body the less your body (in this case your lumbar spine) has to work to keep you upright.

You can apply this cue to exercises such as the plank (side and front) or a Pallof press. The more fully weight bearing you are with the plank the more stress it will put on the irritated lower back. The same goes for the Pallof Press.

The further outstretched your arms are the more demand it will place on the lower back.

The more sensitive the lower back the more pronounced this will be.

(3) A Mindset Change

When training your core for back pain relief you have to adopt this way of thinking.

It’s not about the exercise you’re doing but the position of your painful points when doing the exercise. I did a quick 1-minute explanation of what I mean below:

Answering a question I got on Core Training. It’s all about how you approach what your doing for your lower back pain. Don’t get caught up in the specific exercise. Tried posting this to my stories but I don’t think it worked right!

A post shared by William Richards (@fitness4backpain) on Apr 19, 2018 at 4:44am PDT

Where Should I Start With Core Training?

Now that we have covered how you should be approaching core training, let’s get into applying what we learned. Below I want to show you four of my favorite exercises to use and modify for various levels of clients.

Let’s dive in.

1. Banded Quarter Crunch

One of the biggest reasons I love this exercise so much is because of the full upper body muscle recruitment it requires. Sometimes as new lifters or even those who are more seasoned we forget that bracing the trunk and engaging our body with a certain movement requires a lot of interaction between joints and muscle fibers.

To save on energy we subconsciously do the bare minimum to get the exercise done.

This is where weak links in our chain are created.

When doing these banded crunches I want you to think about bringing your arms down and out and engaging your lats before you begin moving anything. When in position be sure your spine is neutral, shoulder blades are tucked down and back and your chin is pulled in towards your neck.

When you go for lift-off, the goal is to move everything together and using the trunk as your primary mover while everything else upstream stays rigid and stiff. One way I like to cue this exercise so that the person isn’t trying to do too much of a sit up is to think about pushing your for-head up towards the ceiling. This will actually make the exercise seem a bit harder and trigger an even more intense muscle fiber recruitment.

You can get creative with this when it comes to the sets and reps scheme. You can do just reps or holds for a number of breath cycles. One rep would be a lift-off followed by a full cycle of breathing (inhale and exhale). For holds, after lift off, you can cycle 3-4 breaths before returning to the starting position.

2. Banded ISO-Deadbug

The dead bug can be a major let down for someone with a sensitive back. Most articles you find on the internet for lower back pain and core training you will find the dead bug. Unfortunately, those who take the dead bug at face value and don’t know how to tailor it to fit them are the ones who quit on the exercise before any benefit is seen.

In this video, I show you four variations that you can work from easy to more difficult with this exercise. We are going to use a similar band like the exercise above to help with upper body engagement.

3. Banded Sit Backs With ISO Hold

One thing I am a huge fan of other than hole-in-the-wall (probably should get shut down) Mexican restaurants are exercises that are designed or coached not only to make the individual stronger but to teach and groove healthy movement patterns.

One of these movements I see butchered is the hip hinge.

We do tons of exercises that include the hip hinge but with every rep and set we are putting ourselves in more danger than anything else. It’s hard to find an extra 30 minutes a day to practice proper bracing, coordination or healthy movement patterns separately. Which is why I will always work them into my workout like you see in this video.

Key points to remember with this exercise.

The most import thing is what I said HERE

I care more about the integrity of your body position then I do how many sets reps or weight you can do. You have to earn those gradual increments.

You want to stay within your pain threshold. No pushing through the pain to get a better burn. Leave that to the people who enjoy soaking in salt baths every night and are popping muscle relaxers and Percocet just to sleep at night.

4. Banded Birddog

This is another one of those exercises that can lead to frustration and more pain if not taken in small increments depending on how sensitive your back is to this type of movement.

I didn’t respect this exercise when I first introduced it into my personal rehab program. Instead, I just did what it LOOKED like I should be doing and went from there.

I want to help break this habit of the copycat approach. The more you know WHY you’re doing the variation of the exercise the better you will understand what you’re doing.

When doing this exercise, I want you to focus on the different modifications that are available with this move. We talked earlier about your specific pain threshold. These modifications should help keep in the safe zone.

Key things to remember:

Don’t rush the exercise. Start by breaking it down into segments and make sure there are no gaps or missing factors that are causing your pain.

You can attach the band to both the wrist or ankle to add difficulty to that individual limb either in the full Bird Dog or broken segments.

I Know What You’re Probably Thinking

Well, what exercise should I start with or which one is best for _________.

Don’t fall into this trap.

Remember, It’s not about what exercise you’re doing that will unlock your potential for long-term relief. It’s how you approach the exercise that you’re using. Focus on the position of your body BEFORE you even start the exercise then use the exercise to challenge that healthy position.

If you apply this to every core exercise, or any exercise for that matter, your ability to train towards lasting relief will significantly improve.