CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 6/30/18

What the what?

A Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work? On a Saturday?

I know what you’re thinking:

“This is the best Saturday……….EVER!”

Or, that’s probably not what you’re thinking.

Either way, pretty cool right?

Copyright: wamsler / 123RF Stock Photo

BUT FIRST…CHECK THIS STUFF OUT

 1. Strong Body-Strong Mind – Boston, MA

We had such a great response when Lisa and I hosted a SBSM Workshop in Boston last year that we decided to do it again this summer.

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.

The umbrella theme of this workshop is to enhance the SOFT skills of coaching, how to garner a connection, and build rapport with your athletes/clients.

  • Spots are limited
  • Early Bird rates apply for both students ($99) and professionals ($129)
  • CEUs will be available (NSCA)

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

2. 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.

STUFF TO READ WHILE YOU’RE PRETENDING TO WORK

Glutes, Core, and Pelvic Floor Workout System – Sarah Duvall, Kellie Davis, and Meghan Callaway

If you’re a human, trust me, you likely could use some improvement in one – if not all three – of these areas.

Sarah, Kellie, and Meghan have curated a lovely resource that women, men, fitness professionals, and non-fitness professionals alike can benefit from.

You only have until Monday (7/2) to take advantage of the sale price.

Learn How to Fail – DeShawn Fairbairn

Learning how to fail well – in both life, but more germane to this article, the weight-room – is one of the best traits you can possess.

This article is MONEY.

What’s the Deal with Eggs and Cholesterol? – Physiqonomics

 

Well, shit, an article written entirely as an infographic.

Brilliant.1

Social Media Shenanigans

Twitter

Instagram

I’ve long championed the notion pretty much anyone can train around pretty much any injury. My client, Ben, a local high school basketball player here in Boston, is a testament to that. He had knee surgery two weeks ago, is in a knee brace, and using crutches to get around. But he’s still getting after it coming to CORE to train. In the top video I took inspiration from @benbrunotraining and had Ben do some Hollow Position Landmine Presses. Man, these are hard. In the bottom video we’re doing 1-Legged RDLs w/ Wall Assist (on the non-injured leg only). Being injured isn’t a death sentence, and it certainly isn’t an excuse to not train. Make your “trainable menu” (make a list of what you CAN do), and get to work.

A post shared by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore) on

Categoriescoaching Strength Training

Stack the Rings For Better Squat Performance

There’s a lot that can go awry with the squat.

  • Knees caving in too much.
  • Excessive rounding of the back.
  • Getting stapled to the ground.
  • Explosive diarrhea.

There’s one cue, however, I believe has carryover to pretty much anyone and it’s almost guaranteed to make your squat look and feel better.

Copyright: spotpoint74 / 123RF Stock Photo

Stack the Rings

It’s not lost on me there’s an easy Lord of the Rings reference to be had here, and I’m going to try my best to be professional and abstain and….

Fuck it.

One ring………..to bind them.

Okay, with that out of the way, what do I mean when I say “stacked rings?” and how how can that possibly help your squat?

I had to audit myself a few years ago when it came to coaching the squat. After being introduced to the concepts of PRI (Postural Restoration Institute) and listening to other strong dudes like Chad Wesley Smith speak on the topic, I wondered if cueing people to “arch, hard!,” and to” sit back” were the right things to be saying to the bulk of my athletes/clients when they were getting under the bar?

Very few were competitive powerlifters and even fewer were geared lifers. I.e., none wore squat suits when training (which require an aggressive arch and sitting back to reap the benefits).

To be clear: There are still many very strong dudes (and coaches) who advocate squatting with a hard arch, and that’s their prerogative. The thing to appreciate, however, is that what works and is ideal for a geared lifter won’t necessarily (read: rarely) ever translate well to a non-geared lifter.

If I were to balance the “I want to be brutally strong AND not shit my spine on this next set” teeter-totter, I’d opt for not arching (aggressively).

Like this.

The ribs & diaphragm are pointing in one direction (up) and the hips & pelvic floor are pointing in another (down).

Put simply, this is all sorts of fuckeduppery not a stable position.

We’re placing a ton of shear load on the spine.

What’s more, this will invariably force the lifter to initiate the movement by sitting back (rather than down, you know, like a squat). As a result, often, the chest will fall forward, and the cue we default towads is “arch, arch, arch, chest up, chest up, chest up, you crap you’re going to fall on your face, too late.

This only feeds instability.

A better approach, I believe (again, for non-geared lifters) is to tone down the arch and adopt what’s been referred to as the “canister” position or to “stack the rings.”

Giving credit where it’s due, the first person I ever heard use this phrase was Dr. Evan Osar. A simple analogy he used was to think of your pelvis as one ring and your rib cage as a bunch of other rings.

We want all those rings to be stacked.

This will nudge us into a more stable, joint-friendly environment

Now, a minor glitch in this way of thinking is that some people think this infers going into posterior pelvic tilt, where we flatten out the lumbar spine.

This is not what’s happening. As you can see in the picture above, my hips are still behind the bar (still very important) but there’s less of an aggressive arch. Telling people to posteriorly tilt their pelvis towards spine neutral is different than telling them to flatten out their spine.

From there it’s a matter of owning the canister position and to squat down rather than back.

Maybe this quick 3-minute video will help:

Want More Tips Like This?

Yeah, I thought so.

My friends Dr. Sarah Duvall, Kellie Hart, and Meghan Callaway released a stellar product this week – Glutes, Core, and Pelvic Floor Online System – and it hammers home points like the one above. It’s often necessary to break down movement(s) into their respective parts to make certain we’re getting motion from the right areas and that we’re using/engaging the areas we want to use/engage to perform exercises well.

GCPF is a 12-week online course that will teach you how to assess movement and how to implement the correct drills and exercises to help you (or your clients) get stronger and to move better.

TODAY (6/29) is the last day to get it at it’s FULL sale price. You can still get it at a discount until Monday (7/2), however today is your last chance to get it at $200 OFF.

It’s a great resource and one I feel will help a lot of people.

—-> I Like Saving Money, Tony. Thank You <—-

CategoriesCorrective Exercise Program Design

Are You Engaging the Right Muscles When You Squat?

I’m in Europe for the next two weeks traveling.1

Fear not. I’ve still managed to queue up some stellar content for you in my absence.

Today Dr. Sarah Duvall is pinch-writing for me talking about a topic that’s relevant to anyone who likes to lift heavy things: Squats (and how to make them feel better).

Her new resource, which she developed alongside fellow coaching superstars Kellie Hart and Meghan Callaway – Glutes, Core, and Pelvic Floor Workout System – is on sale starting today (6/28) and runs through 7/2.

It’s stellar and I think you should check it out.

Copyright: viacheslavmaksimov / 123RF Stock Photo

Are You Engaging the Right Muscles When You Squat?

Several months ago Tony and I met at Caffe Nero to talk shop.

After a combined 30 + years of working with people, we have both come to the conclusion that strength is your friend!

It’s your friend for rehab, for life and for aging.

In other words,

“You need to lift shit to fix shit.”

It can get a little tricky, because I’ve often found for patients with tightness or pain that we have to first make sure the right muscle is doing the work before overloading.

A great example of this is doing squats but primarily loading quads and low back instead of balancing the lift with glutes and abdominals. Or doing deadlifts but primarily feeling them in your back, never your glutes or hamstrings.

So you’re lifting and trying to get stronger, but in reality if you’re experiencing the above you’re overworking a subset of muscles instead of the intended target.

That’s why you should always know what muscles you want to work and where you should feel it.

Educated lifting!

Let’s take a second to break down the ever-elusive squat a little further. There are so many varieties from goblet to back to front squats and everything in between.

You’ll want to pick a variety that feels best for you, but I’d like to share a couple tricks for squatting in a way that targets your glutes and abs. This will be especially helpful if you primarily feel squats in your quads and low back.

Let’s work from the ground up at 4 key areas of the body.

#1. Keep Your Toes Firmly on the Ground

Somewhere along the way the cue to lift the toes got popular.

This is an easy way to shift your weight back to help get the squat more into your hips instead of your knees.

When we make cues too easy they often miss the mark. It’s true that you want to sit back into your hips, but the body follows patterns and when you pick up your toes you set off a flexion chain in your body that can increase hip flexor activation and decrease abdominals.

Give it a try now.

Pick up your toes for a squat and focus on how much you feel your abdominals. Now, give me a nice short foot (big toe down, arch engaged, weight spread evenly between the ball and heel) and see if this grounded foot turns your abs on more.

Those hardwired neuro patterns are hard to break, and having great foot placement sets the tone for the rest of the body.

 

So how do you sit back instead of coming forward onto your knees? Try practicing your squat by sitting back to a box or chair.

This will help train the pattern without picking up your toes.

#2. Sit Into Your Glutes

You want to feel your glutes lengthening for your squat.

It’s not a deadlift, your knees will bend, but it shouldn’t be all knees.

Two signs you’re not lengthening and sitting into your glutes:

  • You have to fold in half to sit back. (Now, if you have really long femurs or a narrow stance, you’ll need to lean forward a bit more. But if you widen your stance and you still find yourself bending over at the waist, it might be a good idea to check your rockbacks.)
  • You start with a neutral spine but then overarch your back to sit into the squat. Overarching the back and lengthening the hamstrings is a great way to look like you’re sitting back into your glutes when in reality you’re just going into a big anterior pelvic tilt. If this is the case, your low back will often feel tight after your squat.

To fix the folding in half, try holding on to something when you squat, like suspension straps. Then you can practice sitting back and down into those glutes.

 

#3.  Neglecting to Keep a Neutral Spine

How we initiate a motion sets the tone for that exercise.

So if you arch your back to start, then your brain gets the signal, “this is a back exercise.” If you lengthen your glutes to start, then your brain gets the signal, “this is a glute exercise.”

Sitting the tone is important!

It’s much easier to do something right from the start than it is to play catch up. Wait, are we talking about life or squats?

See if you can spot the difference between initiating for the glutes lengthening vs the low back overarch?

 

#4. Head Alignment

Let’s do a test.

Look up at the ceiling and squat.

Did you feel how you wanted to overarch your back?

Now, put your chin to your chest and squat.

See how you wanted to tuck your bottom?

Our body follows our head. You’ll never see a gymnast look the opposite way for a flip.

Playing around with head positioning and where the eyes are looking can dramatically change a squat. If someone is having lots of trouble keeping their abs engaged, I might have them look down just a pinch more. If they are really having trouble sitting into their glutes, I might have them look up a pinch.

The real takeaway from this is to know where you should feel an exercise and make sure that is what’s working. When you’re doing squats, you should feel both your glutes and quads working, as well as your abs and low back. A balanced squat works everything, and working everything means you’ll be able to do more and get stronger without getting hurt because the effort is shared.

Want to learn more about where you should be feeling an exercise and which muscles should be working?

You’re in luck!

Glutes, Core, and Pelvic Floor Workout System

Three expert coaches in the fitness and rehab industry came together to build an incredible 12 week workout program to help you reach your fitness goals.

Everyone – women AND men, powerlifters AND CrossFitters, Batman AND Care Bears – can spend more time developing their glute, core and pelvic floor strength and integrity.

Sarah, Kellie, and Megan are phenomenal coaches and have put in a ton of work to make this a resource that can equally help (and be applied) fitness professionals and general population alike.

Fitness Professionals: to be able to assess and write effective corrective and training programs to address things like pelvic floor dysfunction, rectus diastasis (which effects males too), incontinence, and many other “intricate” issues that aren’t easy to train around (much less talk about).

General Population: to show you the basics needed to feel great and to set yourself up for as much success as possible if or when you choose to attack the iron.

Batman (in case you’re reading this): to fight crime in a more efficient and timely manner.

This program is thorough AF and the beauty is that it requires minimal equipment and can be done at home or in a gym.

I’ve performed a few of the workouts & movements myself and lets just say its highlighted a few glaring weaknesses on my end. What’s more, I’m learning a lot. This WILL make me a better coach.

The price is heavily discounted – $200 OFF – for two days only (6/28 and 6/29).

  • It increases $100 on June 30th – July 1st.
  • And then increases to full price on Monday, July 2nd.

You don’t have much time to take advantage, so I encourage you to do NOW.

—> Hurry! Click Me <—-

CategoriesUncategorized

Win a Free Ticket to the RISE Fitness Business Conference in San Jose

I am honored to be speaking on stage amongst some of the pioneers in the fitness and business space this October at RISE 2018 in San Jose, CA.

Copyright: spvvk / 123RF Stock Photo

Tony’s Coming to the Bay Area – Whoop, Whoop

I’ve never been to the Bay area and am pumped for this opportunity.

Yeah, yeah, I just Googled Mapped it and San Jose is 55 miles from San Francisco.

Close enough.

Either way I’m totally coming a day early so I can visit the Full House houses.

After that I’ll mozy on down to Palo Alto and try to make a cameo appearance at Stanford University to hang out with my boy Cory Schlesinger (<— Epic beard and an even epic(er) strength coach. You should follow him on Instagram HERE) and attempt to beat him in a game of H.O.R.S.E.

After my victory parade I’ll head to San Jose, either in a Nissan Sentra or a tank (whichever is a cheaper rental), to take part in what will inevitably be an amazing weekend hanging out with like-minded fitness professionals.

I’ll be presenting on the third and final day, first thing in the morning actually.1

My presentation will be: The Shoulder: From Assessment to Badass.

I.e., How to improve overhead mobility and shit. <— a working sub-title.

There are many outstanding presenters lined up for the RISE 2018 weekend including Molly Galbraith, Mark Fisher, Kellie Hart, Craig Ballantyne, and Pat Rigsby (to name a few).

If you’re a gym owner, studio owner, personal trainer, independent trainer, strength coach, or, I don’t know, a one-legged pirate, and you’re serious about taking your fitness business to the next level this is an event that can’t be passed up.

Register ——–> HERE.

Early Bird Rate Is In Effect ——-> HERE. (same link as above, but marketing research suggests you’re 136% more likely to click this link2).

I’ve Got 5 TICKETS to Giveaway for FREE

As a presenter I’ve been given five tickets to give away.

“I……have…….the………power!”

[NOTE: One ticket has your name written all over it Matt Damon, Gal Gadot, Nolan Ryan, and/or He-Man.]

To that end, everyone who signs up within the next two weeks will be put into a raffle where I’ll randomly pick five names to win a FREE ticket to the event.

Pretty sweet, right?3

All you have to do is go HERE to register and your name will automatically be put into the drawing.

Easy peasy.

I’ll then notify the winners via email in a few weeks.4

Hope to see you there.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 6/22/18

Lets jump right into this week’s “stuff.”

Copyright: wamsler / 123RF Stock Photo

BUT FIRST…CHECK THIS STUFF OUT

 1. Strong Body-Strong Mind – Boston, MA

We had such a great response when Lisa and I hosted a SBSM Workshop in Boston last year that we decided to do it again this summer.

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.

The umbrella theme of this workshop is to enhance the SOFT skills of coaching, how to garner a connection, and build rapport with your athletes/clients.

  • Spots are limited
  • Early Bird rates apply for both students ($99) and professionals ($129)
  • CEUs will be available (NSCA)

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

2. 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.

4. Strength Squad Podcast Appearance

 

STUFF TO READ WHILE YOU’RE PRETENDING TO WORK

The Best Barbell Exercises You’re Not Doing – T-Nation

Here’s the latest compilation article on T-Nation I was asked to contribute to. I have to say, Christian Thibaudeau’s first offer is a CLASSIC.

Why Do You Bother? An Open Letter to “The Diet Absolutist” – Iron Exec

My biggest pet peeve in this industry – other than kipping pull-ups1 – are people who think their way or what’s worked for them will automatically apply to everyone.

This applies to training, but it especially applies to nutrition.

Exercises to Improve Your Thoracic Spine Mobility – The Prehab Guys

I picked up some new drills myself from this one.

Great stuff.

SOCIAL MEDIA SHENANIGANS

Twitter

Instagram

I try not to be obnoxious with sharing pics of my kid. But…….

A post shared by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore) on

CategoriesExercise Technique Strength Training

Face Pulls: Do Them Right, Do Them Often

I know what you’re thinking.

“Face pulls? Really, Tony? That’s what you’re going to write about today? What’s next: Talking about the Kreb’s Cycle? Discussing all the uses of Osmium? Breaking down who will win this season of The Bachelorette?”1

I get it. Face pulls aren’t the most exciting exercise in the universe, but I’ve never been someone who feels exercise has to be entertaining.

I want to help get people results and I want people to stay healthy.

Face pulls will achieve both.

Copyright: gekaskr / 123RF Stock Photo

Face Pulls Are the Sexy

Face Pulls have been an exercise I’ve utilized in my programming – both personally and with clients – for as long as I can remember. I try not to play favorites but I can’t think of an instance where I haven’t sprinkled them into a program in some way, form, or fashion.

They’re one of the most user-friendly and effective exercises to strengthen the upper back, posterior cuff, and help keep the shoulders healthy.

Now that’s sexy.

In fact, if I were to rank their sexiness in the pantheon of sexy things it would look like this:

  • 1. Sade singing pretty much anything.
  • 2. Tom Selleck’s mustache.
  • 3. Face Pulls.
  • 4 – 13,908,743. Anything my wife wears, says, or does.

Hyperbole aside – is it too late to add my pecs onto that list? – there are few things to consider when it comes to common mistakes people make with the exercise and execution in general.

1. Face Pull Fix – General Set Up

It’s not inherently wrong to do so, but I’m not a huge fan of people utilizing a pronated (overhand) grip with this exercise.

It locks people into a more internally rotated position in the glenohumeral joint as well as narrows the acromion space, which can predispose people who are vulnerable to impingement syndrome.

Instead I like this approach:

 

2. Face Pull Fix – Too Much Low Back Movement

Another common mistake some make with the execution of this exercise is using a squared stance.

Again, it’s not inherently wrong, but a squared stance provides an opportunity for some people to crank through their lumbar spine and promote more of a rib flare.

The fix is to

  1. Adopt a staggered stance
  2. Revert to a tall or half-kneeling position.

Both options help omit extraneous movement from the lower back.

NOTE: Excessive forward head posture is common too and can be fixed by telling people to 1) stop doing that, 2) telling them to make a “double chin,” or 3) place a tennis ball underneath the chin.

 

3. Face Pull Fix – Adjusting to the Lifter

There’s never a one-size fits all approach to any exercise. As coaches and trainers it’s important to do our due diligence and adjust/temper any given exercise to fit the needs, goals, and ability level of our clients.

With the Face Pull I’ll usually set it up so the vector of pulling is in more of a top-to-down fashion.

Meaning: most often the goal is to nudge people into more scapular retraction and depression.

However, in some cases it can be challenging for some lifters – due to a litany of scenarios: pattern overload (too much bench pressing), sitting in front of a computer for half their life – to get into proper position to perform the exercise well.

Some may present with more anteriorly tilted scapulae and/or over-active upper traps and the exercise has to be adjusted.

 

4. Face Pull Fix – Scapular Motion

We want bone-on-bone congruency between the shoulder blades and rib cage throughout.

In other words: I want to see the scapulae move around the ribcage during this exercise.

Many retract/depress the shoulder blades when they bring the attachment towards their face, and then make the mistake of keeping the shoulder blades there when extending their arms.

To repeat: the shoulder blades should move around the ribcage.

I like to tell trainees they should feel a slight/subtle “stretch” when extending their arms out in front.

Face Pull Variety

For those who do like to keep things interesting, here are two Face Pull variations you may like.

Face Pull to Y Press

I got this one from Zach Long of thebarbellphysio.com.

 

It looks all inane, simple, and easy and stuff…but this one is a lot more challenging than it looks.

This will fire up everything on the backside of the shoulders and is superb at improving strength of the upper back and posterior cuff.

Face Pull w/ Band Abduction

I stole this one off Dr. John Rusin

and started experimenting with it recently. This is another variation that will really fire up the posterior cuff and strengthen the entire upper back.

Programming Tidbits

I try to include one form of rowing variation in just about every training session – yes, even on lower body days – with the bulk of my clients/athletes.

Face pulls, and rowing in general, are one of those things most people can’t perform enough of. To wrap things all in a nice little bow, I’m all about the “feel” of this exercise and am not entirely concerned with going very heavy.

To that end, I do prefer high(er) reps with Face Pulls and will often opt for 3-4 sets of 10-2o repetitions 2-4x per week. I tend to stick with using them as a stand alone exercise towards the end of a training session, but am also a big fan of pairing them with squats/deadlifts/bench press and performing them with EVERY set (even warm-ups).

It serves as a great way to ramp up rowing volume, but because they’re a relatively low-grade, non-aggressive exercise, they won’t compromise performance of subsequent sets of the big 3.

Pants optional.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 6/15/18

Last week was the first week in many weeks I hadn’t posted a Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work.

I hope you weren’t too sad.

Not first time watching Titantic sad, but, you know, maybe my cousin didn’t wish me a Happy Birthday on Facebook sad.1.

Anyway, be sad no more. Lets get to this week’s list.

Copyright: wamsler / 123RF Stock Photo

BUT FIRST…CHECK THIS STUFF OUT

1. 2-Day London Workshop

I’ll be in London in three weeks for this 2-day assessment, program design, PRI, deadlift till our faces melt off bonanza.

My buddy Luke Worthington (London’s handsomest man alive) and I are really excited for this workshop. We’re going to do a deep dive into the systems we both use to help our client/athletes get better.

What’s more, this event will be held at the brand spanking new Third Space location in the heart of London.

All details HERE.

2. Strong Body-Strong Mind – Boston, MA

We had such a great response when Lisa and I hosted a SBSM Workshop in Boston last year that we decided to do it again this summer.

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.

The umbrella theme of this workshop is to enhance the SOFT skills of coaching, how to garner a connection, and build rapport with your athletes/clients.

  • Spots are limited
  • Early Bird rates apply for both students ($99) and professionals ($129)
  • CEUs will be available (NSCA)

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

3. 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.

4. Recent Podcast Appearances

Easy Wins Podcast w/ Mitch Harb – HERE.

Primal Academy Podcast w/ Steve Cuthbert – HERE

STUFF TO READ WHILE YOU’RE PRETENDING TO WORK

3 Exercises to Improve Your Sumo Deadlift Without Deadlifting – Lana Sova

You don’t always have to deadlift to improve your deadlift. Lana shares some insights and exercises she likes to help with performance on the sumo deadlift – especially for women.

How Hip Anatomy Affects Squat Mechanics – Dr. Aaron Horschig

This is a bit of an older article from 2017, but it’s still sharable as fuck.

I’ll say it before and I’ll say it again 18,943 more times:

“Not everyone is going to squat with the same stance or depth. Stop pigeonholing clients into ONE way.”

Read this article.

Dan Sanzo on Mindset, Coaching, and Becoming a Mentor – Mike Robertson

Dan’s a coach I feel more people need be more aware of.

I’ve known him for several years, first meeting him when he was an assistant strength coach at Boston University, and now as the head S&C coach at Northeastern University here in Boston.

He’s one of the most forward thinking coaches I know.

He recently made a cameo on Mike Robertson’s podcast and, well, you should listen to it.

Social Media Shenanigans

Twitter

Instagram

New client started last week and noted that some of her previous trainers pointed out her “scapular winging” and that she’s never been able to fix it. I took a picture of it (top pic). Fast forward roughly 1 minute and 13 seconds later I took the bottom pic. Better. I’m Gandalf. Unless you have a defunct long thoracic nerve (likely not) TRUE scapular winging isn’t really a “thing.” What is a thing is people not engaging their Serratus enough and/or not appreciating tension and working on motor control. Adding LOAD can be a game changer here. Wall Presses, push-ups, and anything that nudges the scapulae to adhere to the ribcage is going to be money. Stop telling people they’re broken and start getting them to train. Read more in the article linked in my bio.

A post shared by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore) on

Categoriesmuscle growth Strength Training

Tuning Tension: Getting the Most From Your Muscle

A few weeks ago I presented at the Spurling Spring Seminar up in Kennebunk, Maine. The first presenter of the day, Portland based physical therapist Noah Harrison, blew me away with his talk on muscular tension.

Honestly, the only way his presentation could have been better is if he somehow included a pair of nunchucks.

Or a t-shirt cannon.

His message resonated with me and after he spoke I asked if he’d be interested in summarizing his thoughts in an article for my site. He was more than happy to oblige.

Enjoy (it’s REALLY good).

Copyright: tatom / 123RF Stock Photo

Tuning Tension: Getting the Most From Your Muscle

There are two aspects to what dictates the strength of a muscle; how big it is and how hard it can contract at any given moment, with any given movement. Keeping that in mind there are then two ways you can train a muscle to become stronger:

  1. Make it bigger and give it more leverage.
  2. Teach it to contract harder by creating more tension.

While hypertrophy obviously has its use, there are times our goal is simply to increase strength without having to buy a new wardrobe, or jump a weight class. There are also times we have a little more strength in our muscles as they already are, and it is simply a matter of getting them to work fully in the moment.

This article is about ways in which you can train your muscles to fire a little (or a lot) harder, instantaneously, and apply it to nearly any exercise you are performing.

Yes, you can practice tensing your muscles like a body builder during “X” movement, and if an EMG was attached to your area of focus it would read a spike.

The problem with consciously focusing on flexing your muscles during a movement is that this does produce increased tension locally where you are focusing, but often times at the expense of your performance. Quite often tensioning your muscles consciously while moving will result in you simply working harder, moving slower, and experiencing premature fatigue (1).

So how do you get your muscles to pump out more power without destroying your performance?

Simple: you will not do it consciously.

Instead you will do it reflexively. You will use the reflexive reactions you already have.

What I will map out are three body areas/actions that you can focus on with any given activity, and depending on what you do with these areas/actions will either elicit a reflexive increase or decrease in body wide muscular tension.

Again, this article will solely focus on increasing muscular tension.

The three areas/actions are:

  1. What you do with your breath.
  2. What you do with your hands.
  3. What you do with your face.

Now there is no better place to begin talking about changing bodily tension than talking about…

What You Do With Your Breath

The general rule is that if you want to increase muscular tension then either hold your breath or forcefully exhale.

The latter, a forceful exhale, is preferred.

Why?

First, let’s look at what is happening with both these situations.

In one case you hold your breath and barrel down (a valsalva maneuver) and in the other you forcefully exhale through resistance. In both situations you are jacking up your intra-abdominal pressure (IAP), which is necessary to keep your trunk stiff and give your limbs leverage with anything difficult.

Core strength is pressure production, and if you want to be strong, you need to be able to make a lot of it.

However the valsalva maneuver (VM) has a few significant draw backs. The most notable is that you really cannot do many repetitions this way. One rep, maybe, but once you get to two or three repetitions deep into an exercise you will need to breathe.

The second drawback is that a VM is associated with some negative cardiovascular effects, including a sharp increase in your heart rate, blood pressure, as well as an increased risk of cerebral hemorrhage (2). Again, if it doesn’t kill you, holding your breath is going to gas you quicker than necessary.

The third problem is that a VM is associated with an increased risk of incontinence in certain populations (3, 4), which is not desirable if you or your client is trying to be active. Nobody, regardless of what Adam Sandler says, likes to pee themselves, and especially in the middle of a fierce effort.

via GIPHY

Performing a forced exhalation (FE) has none of these issues, and has been shown to be as equally effective at spiking your IAP as a VM (2).

Additionally, a forced exhalation has been shown to increase the activation of your abdominal wall (5), is as effective at stiffening the trunk as bracing your abdominals (6), and even result in an instantaneous increase the strength of your grip and several large muscle groups throughout the body (2, 7).

We all know that a tight midsection is necessary to keep the body from crumbling during a strenuous task, but the take home from this should be to focus less on bracing your abdomen consciously.

Just forcefully exhale with the movement, and the abs will kick in automatically.

You have to breathe anyway; you may as well make it work in your favor. The general rule is to exhale with effort, and ingrain it with the movement you are performing.

How do you ingrain it? Every movement has a sticking point, you simply exhale through it.

See the video below for a demonstration of how to ingrain this into any exercise.

 

What You Do With Your Hands

This one is pretty simple.

If you want to increase body wide muscular tension, maximally tense your hands, preferably in a fist. If you are holding something, grip it hard (very hard). As a result, the rest of your body will “grip” harder as well.

In matters of strength, this is very convenient, because very often we are gripping something and either trying to move it (A barbell, dumbbell, kettlebell, etc) or ourselves around it (a pull up or dip bar). Simply aim your attention on what you are already doing.

How or why does this work? It probably comes down to both the law of irradiation, and how your cerebral cortex is organized.

Irradiation is a principle stating that the activity of a group of muscles will have a ripple effect on its neighboring parts (8). Meaning as you clench your hand harder, not only does your forearm tighten up, but your whole arm and shoulder does as well.

Grip even harder and your whole torso will become engaged. If you are not already trying this I encourage you to begin.

This has actually been measured, as research has shown that the harder you grip your hands, the harder your rotator cuff fires (9, 10). This is convenient, because if you are gripping a hold of something you would really like your shoulder to grab a hold of your body as well. Not only does gripping effect your shoulder, but your body as a whole; postural stiffness will increase the harder you grasp an obect (11). The utility of these reflexive responses with any pressing movement should go without saying.

So that is one factor, how about the second; your brain?

Well what is known is that there is a very large sensory and motor representation of both your hands and your face in the brain. Google “Homunculus Man” and you will see a model representation of this. It is a distorted image demonstrating the density of neurons in our cerebral cortex as it relates to sensing and moving our bodies in our environments.

You can think about this as that your brain both perceives and interacts with the world primarily via your face and hands, so whatever you do at these places will reverberate throughout your body.

If your hands are relaxed, your body will be as well. If your hands are tensed, then your brain will take you seriously and give you more juice. And in matters of strength, we all want juice.

So now we come to our third and final place to consider…

What You Do With Your Face

You may have a hard time believing your face matters so much in terms of strength, but it is true.

Do not forget that strange little homunculus man. Remember; your brain thinks the vast majority of you is face and hands. What you do in these places will resonate through your body.

What you do with you face can be further broken down into three factors;

  1. Your eyes.
  2. Your jaw.
  3. Your facial expression as a whole.

Eyes

What you do at your eyes can be thought of as more steering your bodily tension than necessarily jacking it up or down.

It is well established that the body follows wherever the eyes gaze (12).

This means that if you look to the left, you will have a reflexive weight shift to the left, and the same goes for looking to the right, up or down. Although gymnasts, power lifters and weight lifters will use this often to their advantage to drive extension or flexion with a movement, the vast majority of us should stick to simply looking relatively forward with whatever movement we are performing.

So, for maximal tension; fix your eyes when doing something hard, and do not let them wander.

Jaw

Just as the tension in our hands seems to reverberate through our bodies, what we do at our jaws does as well.

No different than our hands, the amount of tension that we hold at our jaw has the ability to increase reflexive activity as distant as our forearms and calves (13, 14).

Yes you read that correctly; clench your jaw and your forearms and calves will fire harder. In fact, clenching your jaw has been shown to improve your athletic performance across varying endeavors, including a back squat and vertical jump (15, 16).

I would advise caution with this (and for some a mouthpiece), as some people have trouble relaxing their jaws then necessary engaging it. Other people may not have a fully congruent bite, and heavily clenching may cause more of a problem than a help.

Simply focus on setting your jaw and keeping your teeth touching firmly when you need more muscular effort.

Facial Expression

Think about it: setting your eyes and jaw is pretty much a game face now isn’t it?

Besides focusing on where your eyes look and keeping your mouth shut, it is common sense to be serious during a heavy or difficult lift.

Laughing is completely out, as it has been established that there exists a body-wide inhibition of muscular tension for up to 45 minutes after a bout of laughter (17, 18).

So, save the jokes for after the work is done.

Putting It All Together

Here it is; the meat and potatoes of it all.

If you want to increase body wide muscular tension, then simply:

  1. Exhale with resistance.
  2. Clench your fists.
  3. Fix your eyes.
  4. Set your jaw and be serious.

This comes down to learning to place your mental effort on these choice few factors with whatever challenging movement you are performing.

By doing this you set yourself up for the best chance at eliciting the highest potential your muscles and body as a whole has in that given movement, on that given day.

Integrate this into your training, and you will likely find that you become stronger not simply because your muscles have grown, but because they have learned to work together, better.

Enjoy!

[List of references below]

About the Author

Noah is a Physical Therapist and Strength Coach based out of Portland, Maine.

He is the owner of Portland Integrative Physical Therapy, through which he provides one-on-one musculoskeletal rehabilitation with a holistic, full body approach.

Noah has extensive training in a variety of rehabilitative approaches, and combines this with progressive strength training in order to build and restore strong and capable individuals.

He lives in Portland, Maine with his wife Heidi and their young daughter, and can best be reached via his website www.portlandintegrativept.com and email noah@portlandintegrativept.com

References

  1. Makaruk, H, Porter, JM “Focus of Attention for Strength and Conditioning Training” Strength and Conditioning Journal Feb 2014, 36:1 16-22
  2. Ikeda, ER, et al “The Valsalva Maneuver Revisted: the Influence of Voluntary Breathing on Isometric Muscle Strength” J Strength Cond Res 2009 Jan: 23(1): 127-132
  3. Nitti VW, et al “Correlation of Valsalva leak point pressure with subjective degree of stress urinary incontinence in women” J Urol 1996 Jan; 155(1): 281-5
  4. Peschers UM, et al “Difference between cough and Valsalva leak-point in stress incontinent women” Neurourol Urodyn 2000; 19(6): 677-81
  5. Ishida et al “Maximum expiration activates the abdominal muscles during side bridge exercises” J Back Musculoskeletal Rehabil. 2015; 27(4): 481-4
  6. Ishida et al “Comparison between the effectiveness of expiration and abdominal bracing maneuvers in maintaining spinal stability following sudden trunk loading” J Electromyogr Kinesiol 2016 Feb; 26: 125-9
  7. Li S, et al “Forced ventilation increases variability of isometric finger forces” Neurosci Lett 2007 Feb 2; 412(3): 243-7
  8. Gontijo LB, et al “Evaluation of Strength and Irradiated Movement Pattern Resulting from Trunk Motions of the Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation” Rehabilitation Research and Practice Volume 2012, 6 pages
  9. Sporrong H, et al “Influences of handgrip on shoulder muscle activity” Eur J Appl Occup Physiol 1995; 71(6): 485-92
  10. Sporrong H, et al “Hand grip increases shoulder muscle activity, an EMG analysis with static hand contractions in nine subjects” Acta Orthop Scand 1996 Oct: 67(5): 485-90
  11. Ustinova KI, et al “Postural stabilization by gripping a stick with different force levels” Gait & Posture 2013 May: 38(1): 97-103
  12. Ivanenko YP, et al “Effect of gaze on postural responses to neck proprioceptive and vestibular stimulation in humans” Journal of Physiology 1999; 519(1): 301-314
  13. Takashi T, et al “Modulation of H reflexes in the forearm during voluntary teeth clenching in humans” European Journal of Applied Physiology 2003 Nov; 90(5-6): 651-3
  14. Miyahara T, et al “Modulation of human soleus H reflex in association of voluntary clenching of the teeth” J Neurophysiol 1996 Sep; 76(3): 2033-41
  15. Ebben, WP, et al “Jaw clenching results in concurrent activation potentiation during the countermovement jump” J Strength Cond Res 2008 Nov; 22(6): 1850-4
  16. Ebben WP, et al “Kinetic analysis of concurrent activation potentiation during back squats and jump squats” J Strength Cond Res 2010 Jun; 24(6): 1515-9
  17. Paskind, J “Effects of laughter on muscle tone” Arch Neurol Psychiatry 1932; 28: 623-8
  18. Overeem S, et al “Is motor inhibition during laughter due to emotional or respiratory influences?” Psychophysiology 2004; 41: 254-8
Categoriespodcast

Appearance On the Easy Wins Podcast

I was recently invited onto the Easy Wins Healthy Lifestyle Podcast hosted by Mitch Harb.

Copyright: dr911 / 123RF Stock Photo

 

The concept is simple: to inspire people to take action on living the healthy life they deserve. Mitch sits down with guests to discuss habits, fitness, diet, and overall happiness.

I was fortunate enough to be one of those guests.

You can download our conversation via iTunes HERE (episode #64)

Categoriesfitness business

A Cliff Notes Albeit Honest Guide to Successful Presenting in the Fitness Industry

I’m a little over a week removed from two workshops I did in Vancouver & Victoria, British Columbia.

That’s in Canada for the geographically challenged.

One was a four-hour shindig on shoulder assessment at the downtown Equinox in  Vancouver for a team of their trainers.1

The second event took place in Victoria, on Vancouver Island (which, by the way, involved maximal clinching of sphincter on THIS contraption), where I spent a lovely 2-days taking a group of fitness professionals through my Coaching Competency workshop.

When all was said and done I spent 18 total hours presenting over the course of three days. By the end I was exhausted. But on the ferry ride back to Vancouver to start the trek back home to Boston I couldn’t help but to also feel inexcusably elated.

Elated I completed another seemingly successful trip, elated the t-shirts I chose to wear highlighted the “peciness” of my pecs, elated I was on my way home to see my wife and son, and elated I had a 90 minute ferry ride to sneak in a power-nap.

To date I’ve been invited to 40+ (give or take) speaking engagements/workshops/seminars across North America and the globe. I’m far from perfect and have had my fair share of flubs, but feel I’m doing something right in order to continue getting requests and inquiries to present.

No one has ever pulled out a pitchfork, asked for their money back, or screamed “the fuck outta here, Gentilcore. My scapular upward rotation is perfectly fine. YOU’RE RUINING MY LIFE.”

*slams door*

UPDATE: No one’s done any of those things, yet.

With that in mind I wanted to share some thoughts and insights on how YOU may best be able to set yourself up for success if presenting at health & fitness events is something you’re interested in.

Copyright: wavebreakmediamicro / 123RF Stock Photo

Before We Begin Lets Assume the Obvious

If you’re thinking about presenting at fitness conferences/workshops it makes sense to check off the following criteria:

  • You’re a fitness professional.
  • You’re not a ghost or spirit. Cool, but weird.
  • You have experience.
  • You have a relevant, actionable, possibly unique message to share.
  • You don’t smell like an old-lady fart passing through an onion.
  • You’ve read THIS really, really, REALLY good article by Sol Orwell on how to nail public speaking.

With that out of the way.

1) Establish a Clear Itinerary

Not having a clear itinerary or not sticking to one that’s set are two ways to derail a day of learning.

The former seems self-explanatory

It should surprise no one that people want to know what they’re getting themselves into and what they’re paying for.

Tony’s Coming to Talk About Stuff,” while an idea I definitely need to test-drive now that I’ve said it, likely won’t garner as much interest (or numbers) as something more concrete such as “The Shoulder: From Assessment to Badass.”

Likewise, you’re not going to have many happy campers if you send out a bullet-point itinerary of what you’ll cover – squatting biomechanics for example – and then end up scratching 17% of it in favor of attempting to convince people bowl cuts are cool because He-Man had one.

Tossing myself under the bus for a second, I had a slight snafu while presenting in Victoria two weekends ago.

I noted in my itinerary I was allotting an hour towards the end of Day #2 to discuss program design.

Sadly, I ran out of time and profusely apologized to the attendees.

When I followed up with my hosts a few days later here’s the email sent my way which helped put things into perspective:

“You got some amazing feedback. Seriously, some of the best we’ve had. No need to change much, really. I think the only thing that was a “mistake” on your behalf was talking about potentially doing the programming talk and then running out of time.

A couple people mentioned it in the feedback, not in a seriously annoyed sense, but they were disappointed. It’s just like having kids, you can’t say “if we have time, we’ll get ice cream” if there’s any chance in hell you won’t get ice-cream. 😉

It’s a common mistake presenters make, but I would just consider keeping the thought inside, then if the time comes and we can do it, you look like a god because you get the opportunity to ask people if they want a “bonus” session, more than they bargained for.

It’s all in the perception, you know?”

2) Itineraries Are Great, But Sometimes You Gotta Say “Fuck It”

Every crowd or group is different.

I may present in Austin and a certain portion really engages the attendees and I end up spending more time there than I had planned because they’re more switched on.

Conversely, I’ll do the same workshop in say, Milwaukee, and the same part of a presentation elicits nothing but blank stares and yawns.

Fuck off Milwaukee!2

When I’m presenting I’m very much “on” and feed off the energy of the group. And if they happen to be digging a particular topic – conversing and asking questions – who am I to not give them what they want?

When this happens I often take the Choose Your Own Adventure approach to presenting.

We have “x” time left, do you want me to talk about “y” or “z?”

Or bowl cuts?

Sometimes giving a modicum of choice to the attendees can help offset any itinerary detours.

3) Hands-On Portions Are Game Changers

Fitness professionals are like sharks…they constantly need to be moving. It’s a huge ask to expect a group of trainers and coaches to sit still for hours on end.

I preempt my talks by informing the group I’m more than capable of not being distracted if a few need to get up periodically to stretch, foam roll, or, I don’t know, perform some parkour on the side.

That being said I feel it’s integral – especially given the material I present on – to include intermittent hands-on portions.

In truth I like to get a little dirty when I present.

My presenting flow tends to go like this:

  • Talk about shit.
  • Lets break off into groups so we can practice the shit I just talked about.
  • Look at this cute picture of my cat.

In fact, one of highlights of my recent Victoria workshop was when I broke down squatting and deadlifting technique and then turned on 90’s hip-hop and had all the attendees squat and deadlift for 45 minutes.

This approach not only helps keep the attendees engaged and excited, but also keeps me fresh.

I’ll use this time to walk around, coach people up, and answer questions of course. But selfishly, I’ll also use it as an opportunity to sneak away for five minutes and recharge my introvert batteries.

4) Don’t Be Zod

I think one of my strengths as a coach (and presenter) is that I’m very much open to other people’s perspectives and ways of doing things.

I don’t think I’m that big of a deal.

It’s not lost on me that people pay to listen to me speak and to listen to my way of doing things.

Still, I try not to have a Zod complex about it.

 

I spend a good minute or two at the start of every presentation or workshop to reiterate to the attendees that I am not there to tell them what to do. I tell them I think I have some cool things to say and feel I’ll be able to help them be better fitness professionals, but in no way, shape, or fashion am I there to insinuate that it’s “my way or the highway.”

In fact I repeatedly ask them for their insights and to share their experiences. I often learn from them as much as they learn from me.

Moreover, I never talk down to anyone or try to make anyone feel inferior. I’ve heard some horror stories from people who have had unfortunate experiences at other events where the presenter was immature, unprofessional, didn’t like to be questioned, and basically was a douche to the douchiest power.

I.e., the god complex.

Don’t be that person.

5) Give Credit

Trust me: you’re not that original.

Another thing I’m very adamant in doing is giving credit where and when it’s due. I’ll often have an entire slide dedicated to the people who’s information I’m “stealing,” just so people are 100% clear I am not that smart.

Too, I’m always name dropping other coaches – I got this variation from “so and so,” I heard this from “such and such” – during my presentations. If anything I think most attendees appreciate the honesty and candor.

But more importantly it’s just the right thing to do.

6) BONUS: Know Your Audience

Swearing.

I’m all for it and do feel it provides a degree of authenticity and “pizzaz” to a presentation.

I’m not shy to swear when I present – a well-timed f-bomb can be comedic gold, help break the ice, keep people entertained, and can really hammer a point home – but I also know when to have some feel and to scale it down when needed.

It’s one thing to be in places like Boston or NYC and be liberal with language. It’s another thing altogether, if not uncouth, to be in places like Fargo, North Dakota – as I was a few years ago – and drop a MF-bomb to the cacophony of crickets chirping.

Awwwwwwwwwkward.