CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 11/2/18

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BUT FIRST…CHECK THIS STUFF OUT

1. (Even More) Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint – Los Angeles, CA

This workshop will piggyback on the material Dean Somerset and I covered in the original Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint.

We just returned from Slovenia where we taught the course to 40+ fitness professionals from across nine different countries. We received amazing feedback

With this iteration, though, we’ll be going a bit deeper into the coaching and programming side of things:

  • How to program around common injuries.
  • How to “connect” the appropriate exercises to the client/athlete.
  • How to squat and deadlift like a boss.

All who register will:

1. Receive free access to the digital version of the first series.

2. Receive 1.4 continuing education credits via the NSCA.

3. You also get a super secret bonus we won’t reveal until the weekend of. HINT: Attendees are blown away by how cool is is.1

To register and for moe details go HERE.

 2. Coaching Competency Workshop – NYC

I’ll be back in the city that never sleeps this Fall to put on my popular Coaching Competency workshop. Albeit this will be condensed version (five hours instead of seven); a fitness amuse bouche if you will.

Honestly a better title for this workshop would be: From Assessment to Clients.

I’ll go into detail on how to create better “buy in” with potential clients, in addition to creating a better (current) client experience starting with the assessment to programming suggestions.

Full details (itinerary, location, and cost) can be found HERE.

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Here’s another gleaming example of how TRAINING is corrective. . First picture shows a clear asymmetry and lack of Shoulder flexion on the left side. What’s the culprit? . It could be a few things: capsular issue, lack of scapular rotation, soft tissue restriction, lack of lumbo-pelvic control, it’s Wednesday? I don’t know. . I have to respect my lane and understand it’s not my job as a strength & conditioning coach to diagnose. . I can, however, assess movement, use my knowledge of anatomy, and perform a little trial and error to see if I can improve things. . What actions have to happen at the scapulae to get the arms overhead? . – Upward rotation – Protraction – Posterior tilt . Emily wasn’t getting much upward rotation on that left side, so I had to think about what muscles help with that action? . – Upper and lower traps – Serratus . I noticed she also had a more depressed shoulder girdle as a whole; her clavicular angle was more horizontal rather than having a slight upward grade. . I surmised her UPPER traps needed some attention. They often get a bad rap and are avoided like a Coldplay concert. We often forget the upper traps are a major player in UPWARD ROTATION, not to mention help with scapular elevation…both of which, in my eyes, Emily could use some more of. . I didn’t get over corrective with her and have her start performing some voodoo shenanigans like tap her big toe three times while flossing her teeth with a strain of hair from a Hippogriff. I didn’t have her perform a laundry list of correctives that would likely bore her to tears. . Nope, I had her TRAIN and just modified a few things. We did: . – Landmine Presses with a Shrug/Reach – Face Pulls in an upwardly rotated position (so the upper traps were engaged) – And instead of performing movements that would pull her into more shoulder depression and downward rotation (deadlifts, farmer carries, etc) we opted for Landmine Squats, Zercher RDLs, and Hip Thrusts. . In short: we turned shit on (upper traps) and trained movements that (likely) wouldn’t feed into the root causes of her symptoms. . The second pic was taken at the end of her session. I’m Gandalf.

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STUFF TO READ WHILE YOU’RE PRETENDING TO WORK

4 Best Compound Sets For Size – Lee Boyce

Are compound sets the same as super sets?

Nope.

Is this is an awesome article by my boy Lee?

Yup.

Assessments You May Be Overlooking: Installment 6 – Eric CresseyEric possesses a keener eye than most when it comes to assessments.

He sees stuff many of us mere mortals overlook. I wouldn’t be surprised if he can see SOULS.

Nonetheless, per the usual…Eric is smart and provides some great insights in this latest installment of Assessments You May Be Overlooking.

And, you totally are. Me included.1

Should You Fear Lumbar Flexion? – Sam Spinelli

I’m a little late in getting to this article (it was written in August), but that’s par for the course when you have a toddler at home.

EXCELLENT stuff by Sam here.

CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Band Resisted Hinge Row

Copyright: realstock / 123RF Stock Photo

 

This edition of Exercises You Should Be Doing puts a little spin on a similar iteration I stole from Joel Seedman a few years back.

Or maybe it was John Rusin?

Either way, my brain doesn’t work the same way their’s does and I gladly borrowed the idea.

It involved adding resistance bands to KB/DB Rows while in the hinge position. The pull of the bands really (and I mean REALLY) added another element to the exercise I wasn’t expecting.

Because I had to resist the anterior pull of the bands, the exercise hammered my lats, and I loved it.

Well, here’s the same exercise, albeit with a little bit of a twist.

Band Resisted Hinge Row

 

Who Did I Steal it From? – Doug Balzarini of Iron Village Strength and Conditioning in Beverly, MA.

What Does It Do? – A lot.

As Doug noted in a recent post of his:

“This one checks off a lot of positive boxes. The accommodating resistance of the super-band, the constant tension from the active hinged position, the big range of motion from the scapula, the muscle squeeze at the top…goodness.

And the wall support allows you to “sit back” a bit and really focus on the squeeze of the mid/upper back.”

Key Coaching Cues – It may take a little trial and error to get the setup juuust right, but when you do:

  • Make sure to push your hips back INTO the wall. It’s still important to feel a fair amount of hamstring tension, though.1
  • With pretty much any row variation I like to tell people to think about allowing their shoulders blades to move AROUND the ribcage; you should feel a reach/slight stretch when your arms are extended out in front.
  • In playing around with this exercise myself, I think it bodes best to do it for high(er) reps, in the range of 12-15 reps.