1. You can now purchase CORE @ Home for whatever it is you want to pay.
During quarantine I started a platform where I’d deliver 20-40 minute workouts that could be performed in everyone’s living room using minimal equipment.
In all I curated 36 workouts using nothing but bodyweight, bands, and kettlebells and/or dumbbells. With many people still reticent to head back to their regular gyms (not to mention the scarcity of gym equipment out there to purchase) I figured this would be a nice opportunity to help.
Whether you want to spend $1 or $100, the workouts are ready and available to start.
I just dig anything and everything Smitty puts out there and he’s always striving to make the industry better. This is one of the most comprehensive programs that will help you make progress in the gym while keeping your joints from hating you.
Ageless Athlete 3.0 is on SALE through this weekend.
You hear this cue a lot with regards to deadlift technique and performance.
I could say something as equally abstract like, I don’t know, “banana honkeydorey train whistles” or “please pass the parmesan, Chad” and seemingly get the same message across.
Which is to say…
…what the heck does “get slack out of the bar” even mean?
In short, it refers to getting better leverage and “connectivity” before you initiate the pull.
Many lifters yank the bar off the ground, which in turn makes me cringe because I’m always afraid someone’s going to rip their bicep tendon off the bone. Moreover, the yanking action elicits a loud “clank” noise (barbell hitting inside of plates).
Getting the slack out of the bar means using the barbell as a counterbalance to 1) gain leverage, and 2) get everything connected – inner cylinder of the plates “connecting” with the barbell – BEFORE you initiate the lift.
I like to tell my clients/athletes to get two clicks: bend the bar (get the slack out), then pull.1
Deceleration Training & Landing For the Everyday Athlete
Everyone pays close attention to how powerful and explosive an athlete can be, and how quickly he or she can speed up and take off. However, everyone ignores the foundational components that precede acceleration and force production, which are deceleration and force absorption.
All athletes, regardless of sport or athletic endeavor, need to develop the skills necessary to slow down, absorb force, and land in an organized manner.
Decelerate & Land on Two Feet
Drop Squat to Stick:
Grabbing a rebound or spiking a volleyball comes easy to most since the task is clear: jump up into the air as high as possible and either gather the basketball or launch the volleyball. But, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone as concerned with their jump height as their jump landing.
Put the squat jumps on pause for a moment and dial in your technique here first.
This is a good place to start if you’re new to deceleration training and landing skills. Here’s a drill that requires much more focus than what you see in the video. The entire emphasis should be on creating as much speed as possible when dropping down to the floor.
Your goal is simple: slow down fast.
Yes, that’s correct. The same way that you’d want to speed up fast during acceleration, you’d also want to slow down fast during deceleration.
Coaching Keys:
Stand with both feet hip-width apart and your hands down by your pockets
Now, reach both hands up high toward the ceiling above you
Raise both heels off the floor, but keep the toes glued down for a moment
Quickly snap down as fast as humanly possible while allowing the toes to leave the floor ever so slightly
Finish in the bottom of a squat with your arms long and behind you
Learn How to Land in a Split Stance
Drop Reverse Lunge to Stick:
The same rules apply here as in the above exercise.
Don’t be fooled though; this variation is much more difficult.
Whether you’re doing split squats in the gym or sprinting in your sport, the split stance is a highly-coveted position to become strong and durable in. Quit doing split squats for one block of training and replace them with these for faster performance results.
On paper, the goal here is pretty simple: reach up and drop down fast into the reverse lunge position. However, performing this deceleration exercise is much harder than just that. The front leg will take most of the load while the back leg works in an assisting manner.
Think: jab that foot back and slightly lean your trunk forward. That’s the key to results here.
Coaching Keys:
Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your hands down by your sides
Reach your fingertips high and up toward the ceiling
Raise both heels up off the floor
Snap down quickly while simultaneously jabbing one foot back behind you
Make sure to finish in the bottom of a reverse lunge with your arms reaching back
Pump The Brakes & Land on One Foot
Drop Squat to 1-Leg Stick:
Watch an athlete in any sport perform a cutting action, a change of direction, or even turn the corner. It’s likely that you’ll see the athlete, at one point or another, land on one foot. Even when athletes land on both feet they tend to favor one side over the other. The point is that all athletes will find value in developing the skills in the weight room necessary to be strong and durable on one foot.
Deceleration training and landing is no different.
Single leg strength starts at the foot and lower leg.
Building legs and feet that are resilient to loading, whether from the speed emphasis in deceleration training or from the weight on the bar, is the pivotal first-step to longevity in the iron game. Drop quickly here and stick your landing on one foot.
You’ll be surprised at how many reps it takes until you get it right.
Coaching Keys:
Stand with both feet hip-width apart and both hands down by the pockets
Reach your hands up toward the ceiling
Raise both heels off the floor, but keep the toes glued down for a moment
Quickly snap down as fast as possible while allowing the toes to leave the floor slightly
Finish the landing on one foot with both arms behind you
Stick Your Landing Off An Elevated Surface
Depth Drop to Stick:
At some point, performing all of these drills from the floor will become too easy. This is why it’s important to provide some sort of overload stimulus to continue making progress in your deceleration training. Starting from an elevated surface from a box or a bench will do the trick.
The key here is to avoid jumping off the elevated surface, and instead, dropping down as fast as possible. This goes back to the whole notion of slowing down fast. The faster you come down off the box, the more challenging it will be to land in an organized manner. Step up to a box or bench height that will challenge you if your ultimate goal is to build quality deceleration and landing skills.
Coaching Keys:
Stand on a plyo box in the range of 12 to 24 inches
Lead one foot off the box out in front of you
Reach your fingertips up high above you
Drop down off the box and stick the landing on both feet with your arms behind you
Now, Do it On One Foot
Depth Drop to 1-Leg Stick:
Not much different here than the previous exercise aside from the fact that now you’ll be forced to land on one foot. There’s a reason this is the last stop on the train in this series of exercise progressions since it challenges you the most, both from a speed overload and stability standpoint.
The challenge here is to demonstrate body control during landing by sinking into your hips and letting your chest dip forward a bit. Again, your arms play a big role in this drill due to the amount of speed they can create based on how hard and fast you swing them down from the top position.
Ease into this one, but once you master it, let it rip.
Coaching Keys:
Stand on a 12 to 24-inch plyo box
Lead one foot off of the box out in front
Reach both hands up high toward the ceiling above you
Drop off the box and stick the landing on the lead feet with both arms long and by your pockets
Closing
Deceleration training and landing skills are where it all begins in plyometrics. It doesn’t matter if you’re a sport-based athlete or an iron athlete in the weight room, landing skills are important for everyone. Build the brakes before you slam down on the pedal.
About the Author
Matthew Ibrahim serves as Co-Owner, Director of Strength & Conditioning and Internship Coordinator at TD Athletes Edge in Boston, MA.
He is also an Adjunct Professor at Maryville University and Endicott College, in addition to being a Ph.D. student at Rocky Mountain University in the Human and Sport Performance program.
As a public speaker, he has provided presentations at Google Headquarters, Stanford University, and Equinox, in addition to speaking at several NSCA conferences and clinics.
As a writer, his articles have been featured in some of the world’s largest publications, such as Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Men’s Journal, and T-Nation.
Matthew Ibrahim serves as Co-Owner, Director of Strength & Conditioning and Internship Coordinator at TD Athletes Edge in Boston, MA.
