CategoriesNutrition

Recovering Your Metabolism: Do You Need to Increase Or Decrease Your Calories? (Part I)

Today’s guest post comes from personal trainer and strength coach Lucas Serwinski.  Some of you may remember his name from an excellent series of articles he wrote for my site last year titled How Did Your Food Live? Know the Health Behind Your Food Parts One and Two.

He did a bang-up job with that article, and given I don’t discuss nutrition nearly enough on this blog I felt inviting him back would be a welcome change of pace.

Enjoy!

PS:  I also understand that this is a topic that MANY people are passionate about, and to give full disclosure this is NOT an area that I am an expert in.  Ie: I did not write the article.  Someone who has more experience on the topic did.

I understand that by posting it I’m “vouching” for it, but having said that, if it sparks some debate and conversation, fine.

Hopefully we can all get along….;o)

Recently I’ve been considering the path I’ve taken with my eating and how my calories and macronutrients have changed and increased or decreased so many times that it’s mind boggling.

With some influence from Layne Norton and John Berardi (always giving props)I’ve been delving back into the science concerning the adaptations our metabolism makes while increasing or decreasing calories.

Let me tell you right now, I can feel this article giving a Tolstoy novel a run for its money in length, but I think understanding that the relationship between our metabolism and necessary functions of our body are so heavily influenced by our diet is important to know.

Observationally, I’ve noticed ( and other coaches may tell you the same thing), that some diet approaches work best the first time and only the first time.

Some people respond the same to supplements.  They’ll take creatine for the first time, gain 10lbs and get stronger.  However, the next time they add it back into their regimen, nothing happens.  I find this approach work very similarly with low-carbohydrate diets, low calorie diets and the addition of excessive exercise.

Ask yourself what happened the first time you ever dropped your calories very low?  You probably lost a significant amount of weight, albeit some of it was probably water weight and muscle, but I bet some bodyfat came with it.

How about the first time you ever dropped your carbs way down, or went from no exercise to four-days of exercise a week?  These initial changes sometimes produce drastic and impressive results, but the momentum is usually short lived and such extreme waves in calories and exercise duration often produce the most inconsistent results.

Here’s a scenario comparing two women who both need to lose significant bodyfat.

They are both 5’2” but  Person A is 210 lbs and Person B is 180lbs.

Person A – Basal Metabolic Rate 1692calories

Daily Energy Expenditure from Exercise and Activity:  946 calories

Total Daily Calories Needed to maintain Weight:  2623 calories

Person B – Basal Metabolic Rate 1561 calories

Daily Energy Expenditure from Exercise:  851 calories

Total Daily Calories Needed to Maintain Weight:  2420 calories

Consider that Basal Metabolic Rate is just the energy it takes to keep you alive.  Energy expenditure is added on top of that to factor in exercise and daily activity.  These samples are merely hypothetical but are taken from the Harris-Benedict Equation and give you an idea of how two people of the same height, age and sex with different bodyweights “hypothetically” expend different amounts of energy.

Even if both people are overweight, we can assume Person B has less total bodyfat from Person A simply because they are 30 lbs lighter.  I would find it highly unusual, especially for a woman, to have 30 lbs more muscle than someone of similar height.

At 5’2” and 210lbs, Person A may very well be about 45% bodyfat.  Since Person B is significantly lighter but still considered “overweight”, she might be closer to 35% bodyfat.

Person A:  210lbs, 45% bodyfat =  115.5lbs lean body mass

Person B:  180lbs, 35% bodyfat =   117lbs lean body mass

Here’s where the above formula doesn’t really hold up.

Simply weighing more doesn’t mean you are expending more energy than someone who weighs less.

As noted above, person B is lighter but actually has slightly more muscle mass than person A who is heavier.  Consider that fat tissue has barely any mitochondria, unlike muscle cells which use mitochondria to burn nutrients.

So fat tissue is almost entirely inactive from an energy use perspective.

“Well, Luke….wouldn’t someone who weighs more have to exert more energy because they are carrying extra weight around?”. 

This would make sense if you think simply in terms of more weight equating to more energy expended.  However, fat tissue is all about efficiency.  It is highly calorie dense, doesn’t require much energy to stay on the body and even insulates against cold.

People with more bodyfat are simply more efficient with their energy than leaner people.  Muscle tissue is highly active and literally IS your metabolism.

In addition, individuals with significant bodyfat may even find it (and I note this observationally) harder to exert the same level of intensity during exercise, when similar muscle mass is taken into account.  Having a lot of bodyfat and not being well-trained just means its going to be hard to exert your full potential any time you exercise, making your total calorie expenditure, again, less than a leaner person with similar muscle mass.

Back to the Harris-Benedict Equation above.

I’ve seen many times people fitting the height and weight used in the above equation consuming much fewer calories than Person A and not losing weight.  Why?  Remember, there is a baseline number of calories you need daily just to maintain a healthy metabolism.

Add to that the stress of work, kids, commuting and then exercise and you have significant requirements for energy.

Cutting your calories too low doesn’t leave much wiggle room for intense weight training, jogging, gardening, making dinner for the family and anything else you do on a daily basis.

The body’s response is to down-regulate the amount of energy it needs by lowering thyroid (t3).  T3 activates mitochondria in your muscle cells and organs  to burn nutrients.  T4 is the inactive form of thyroid and is the majority of what your thyroid produces.  You rely on liver and kidney enzymes to convert T4 to T3, but if your body is over-stressed from dieting, excess cortisol can suppress thyroid stimulating hormone and decrease thyroid function.

Still following me here?  I didn’t lose you did I?

The two most disruptive changes to thyroid levels are first, reducing calories too low and second, reducing carbohydrates too low. 

A study on hypo and hyper caloric diets with different ratios of macronutrients showed that when calories stayed the same, but carbohydrates were replaced with fat, concentrations of T3 dropped significantly.  So, even if you don’t drop your calories too low, dropping carbohydrates too low can inhibit your metabolic functioning.

You’ll find people who reduce their calories too low are often less energetic, cold and don’t respond to stress very well.

Note from TG:  They’re also 10x more likely to scissor kick you in the face the second you eat a piece of bread in front of them. It’s science.

Maybe they exercise often and keep doing their normal life activities but at the cost of their metabolism.

I’ve seen real people such as Person A above who is exercising often and leading a busy life consuming less than 2000 calories a day. 

Hmmm….shouldn’t they be burning at least 623 calories a day from fat, leading to over one pound of fat lost a week? (3500 calories in a pound of fat).

Quite often, they don’t because their metabolism has adapted to such a low calorie diet that it won’t chance increasing energy expenditure for fear of burning through it’s precious energy stores.

Calories in and calories out work to a point, especially with a healthy metabolism.  However, with some metabolic issues, consuming more of the right calories might be the first step to losing weight.  If you’re already at rock-bottom with your calorie consumption and exercising often, you have only one caloric place to go:

Up.

What the First Step?

Here’s where things get personal.  That is, they need to be personally adapted per person, as just prescribing all encompassing recommendations rarely work for most people.

Even though calories count in total weight loss or gain equations, actually counting them is an exercise in futility. Furthermore, simple fixes need to be applied to most diets before getting obsessed with the details.  These usually are eating more protein, hydrating properly and getting enough vitamins and minerals.

Thermic Effect of Food

First off, each of the three macronutrients; protein, carbohydrates and fat require a certain percentage of their inherent calories to just be metabolized.  What’s the percent?

-Protein 20%

-Carbohydrates 5%

-Fat 5%

Right off the bat, consuming greater percentage of certain macronutrients directly affects how many calories are burned for digestion.

In one study, participants consumed either 5, 15 or 25% of their calories from protein, with each group consuming almost 1,000 calories a day OVER maintenance.

Each group gained  about 3.5 kg of fat over the course of the study,  but the high protein group actually gained 3.5 kg of muscle while the low protein group lost a kg of muscle.

In addition, the high protein group saw an 11% increase in their metabolic rate.  Researchers concluded while over eating, the low protein group turned about 90% of their excess calories to fat while the high protein group only turned about 50% of calories into fat.  Pretty cool.

Thermic Effect of Whole vs Processed Foods

Studies have shown that while consuming equal calories and macronutrients, whole food has a 50% greater thermic effect than processed foods.  The whole food groups in such studies had an increase in their metabolic rate hours after eating while the processed food group actually had a decrease in metabolic rate.

Hydration

I’ve noted in past articles that a 2% decrease in bodyweight from water loss can have a 22% decrease in aerobic performance and 10% decrease in anaerobic performance.

Remember that your aerobic metabolism runs primarily on fat for fuel.  Inhibiting general aerobic performance by being dehydrated actually makes burning fat for fuel harder!  Dividing your bodyweight in half and consuming that many ounces a day in water is a good jumping off point.  Even more feedback-based is checking urine color.  Anything the color of hay/straw is good.  If your urine is dark, you are already dehydrated.

Vitamins and Minerals

This is certainly a tough one to tackle because to check if you are deficient in any vitamins, minerals or micronutrients you’d have to get a blood test.

You can do a dietary recall and plug it into an online database but that may not be as accurate.  Even for those of us who consume lots of greens and veggies, we most likely consume the same ones week in and week out, out of habit.

As a whole, many Americans are deficient is some of the most important nutrients.  86% of us are not meeting the RDA for Vitamin E, 68% for magnesium and 73% for calcium, just to name a few.  The RDA is quite conservative as well, so not even meeting their standards is pretty lame.

Vitamin E is the body’s most powerful antioxidant, more than C.  Magnesium is involved in hundreds of metabolic reactions and calcium is necessary for bone growth, blood clotting and nerve function (depolarization, anyone?).

Taking a chance on being deficient in just a few areas can lead to trouble, so a low-level multivitamin and mineral is probably a good idea.

Note from TG: And that’s it for part one.  In part two Lucas covers intervention strategies and numerous measures one can follow to help “recover” their metabolism.

And just to throw it out there, for those interested in reading more into the topic – it’s a doozy and something that affects more people than you think – I’d HIGHLY suggest checking out Leigh Peele’s excellent manual Starve Mode.

Author’s Bio

Lucas Serwinski is a Strength and Conditioning coach and nutritional consultant for athletes and weekend warriors alike. Lucas holds a Bachelor’s in Strength and Conditioning from UCONN as well as an Associate’s in Culinary Arts from NECI,and is currently coaching at Bodylogy Fitness Studio, located in Hamden, CT.

Lucas has interned at Cressey Performance in Hudson, MA, worked on low-carbohydrate research for fat loss and health,and  trained and competed in powerlifting.

He extensively studies the roles of digestion, sleep, nutritional habits and homeopathic medicine to help people of all walks achieve greater health. Lucas has also worked in multiple award-winning restaurants, including Arrow’s which was named 14th best restaurant in the country by Food magazine. Lucas incorporates knowledge and skill from cooking experience into creating a comprehensive plan for those he works with. Lucas has also worked as a social worked for years and takes mental and emotional considerations into each person’s plan and goals for success.  You can visit his blog HERE.

CategoriesMotivational

My Five Most Influential Books (

Today’s post really has nothing to do with fitness – at least not directly anyways. Call me crazy, but I don’t feel I need to be some fitness RoboCop* where all I do is write about strength curve continuums, muscular imbalances, protein to carb ratios, and/or deadlifts.

I do have a life outside of the gym. But dammit, I do love me some deadlifts!

For those who need their daily “fix” or crumb of insightful fitness knowledge, however: go lift something heavy today; eat more kale; drink more water; perform some hip mobility drills to unglue those hips; do some hill sprints.  And, for the love of god, stop “squatting” your kettlebell swings.

There you go.  You’re welcome.

* =  I’m referring the the 1987, Peter Weller version here.  Not the POS version that just came out a few weeks ago.  

It’s been stated that, on average, you’re the aggregate “sum” of the 4-5 people that you hang out with or spend the most time with the most.

As a kid growing up in middle-of-nowhere-central-New York my “posse” was my bike, a baseball, any baseball field, Luke Skywalker, my best (human) friend, Joe, and my best (overall) friend, my dog, Daisy.

Some would look at that list and say that I lived a lonely childhood.  I guess in some ways I did. My hometown was (and is) small.  To this day it still doesn’t have one traffic light, and the closest fast-food chain is about ten miles away. I lived out in the “country,” several miles outside the main village – which might as well have been an entire continent as a kid – so I didn’t have easy “access” to friends or playmates.

I spent a lot of time alone.

I spent a lot of time in my bedroom playing with my GI Joe and He-Man action figures, playing Nintendo here and there, as well as organizing my baseball card albums.

Then again, the internet didn’t exist then, and I was perfectly content going for a long bike ride, shooting some hoops, “playing army,” exploring with my dog, or hitting a baseball back and forth in the side yard.

You could literally see patches in the yard where I wore down all the grass, and if the sun beat down juuuuuuust right, an endless trek of footprints reminiscent of Bilbo Baggins.

Once I hit college, and was lucky enough to call myself a student-athlete, the people I hung out with the most were my baseball teammates.  I loved those guys.

Even then I was still sort of a loner and rather than play beer pong and head out to the dance clubs, I’d opt to spend my Friday nights at home doing endless crunches and sit-ups while watching Beverly Hills 90210 and Party of Five re-runs.

You can only imagine how much of a hit I was with the ladies back in the day!

And now, as an adult, while I’m truly lucky to have a supporting network of friends, family, and Lisa that I hold dear, in addition to the luxury of having people like Eric Cressey, Mike Robertson, Bret Contreras, Ben Bruno, Joe Dowdell, Nia Shanks, Jen Sinkler, and many, many other exceptional fitness professionals on speed dial, the people, or better yet, the things that I feel “mold” or define me the best are……

……Books

My friend and colleague, Mark Fisher of Mark Fisher Fitness, stated recently that “Since the summer of 2010, I’ve tried to read at least two books a week. Many weeks I’ve managed three, and of course some weeks I’ve barely been able to read. But I do keep at it. I genuinely believe consistent ongoing education is the common denominator of high achievers.” 

I couldn’t agree more.

Recently I received an email asking me what FIVE books have most influenced me throughout my life?  Like, whoa!  Talk about a daunting, mindf*** of a question!

And not just training books or books related to my field, either, of which are many….

Science and Practice of Strength Training, Facts and Fallacies of Fitness (Mel Siff), Athletic Body in Balance, Functional Training for Sport, Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance, to name a few.

Note: For those interested, you can go HERE to see an extensive list of some of my favorite and most influential “fitness” reads.

But rather, which books helped shape my life or altered my way of thinking in some fashion?

I can’t say that what follows is a deep or insightful Deepak Chopra’esq commentary on why I choose these books. All I can offer is that I just like them, and they struck a chord with me for whatever reason.

Catcher in the Rye

I know, I know – this choice comes across as very cliche and borderline bourgeoisie. I might as well be rolling down my car window and asking for some Grey Poupon as I type this.

I didn’t choose this book because I somehow “connected” with JD Salinger’s protagonist hero Holden Caulfield.

Speaking candidly, the reason why I choose to read this book in the first place was because 1) I wanted to feel grown up and read something other than Sports Illustrated for a change and 2) it was skinny and didn’t look intimidating.

In other words: I knew I wanted to jump into reading some literature, but I also took one look at War and Peace and said “fuck that! I’m touching that with a ten foot pole.”

Funnily enough – well, at the time it wasn’t funny – what attracted me to this book in the first place was a break-up.  My girlfriend at the time (circa 2002) broke up with me, and in between days of  work (which was at a gym), going to the gym (to workout), and watching countless episodes of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (hey, don’t judge!  It was a dark time.) I came across the Modern Library’s 100 Best Novels.

I decided that summer I was going to make better use of my time and put a dent in that list.  I started with Catcher in the Rye and before I knew it, I had read like 10-15 novels off that list in less than a year.

I read in my house (when it was cold); I read outside my house, on the front steps (when it was warm); I read at the bookstore (my home away from home); and I even read on park benches.

And so, in my mid-20s (better late than never!), I became an avid reader.  It’s a trend that I still carry with me in my, ahem, late 30s.

I don’t read as much literature now as I did back then, but I do still enjoy reading fiction, and am usually juggling between that, a non-fiction book, as well as something related to my field simultaneously.  It’s not uncommon for me to be reading 2-4 books at once.

But this book is where it started.

Starting Strength

I can’t include a list of “books I love” without referencing at least one in my chosen field – strength and conditioning.

This book, written by strength coach Mark Rippetoe, is universally recognized as one of the seminal books within the fitness community.  No other book is able to equally satiate the fitness nerds out there who want to get into the nitty-gritty details of exercise physiology and read big, smart-looking words, while concurrently be “accessible” to the general public than this one.

I remember when I read the first edition it blew my mind.  What makes it so great is its simplicity.  Not so much in the topics covered – the squat, bench press, deadlift, and clean – but the fact that that’s ALL it covered.

There were no smoke-n-mirrors involved.  No bullshit.

You want to get stronger and look like a brick-shit-house (or coach people who want to get stronger and look like brick-shit-houses), you need to get really good at the squat, bench press, deadlift, and clean.

[I believe in future editions, the Military Press was added].

Simply put, what makes this book legendary is that it forces people to understand, respect! the notion that the “big rocks” matter.

Get rid of the fluff.

Wash, rinse, and repeat.

Moreover, and to follow suit with what strength coach Jim Wendler had to say on the matter, think of how long people have been writing about lifting weights.  Hint:  it’ been a long time.  It wasn’t until Starting Strength was released – back in 2005 – where people started to “get it.”

That’s saying a lot about a book.

The Kid Who Only Hit Homers

As I noted earlier, I wasn’t an avid reader until my mid-20s. But that’s not to say I didn’t immerse myself into a handful books in my younger years.  I think I read every Choose Your Own Adventure book there was.  And Encyclopedia Brown was a personal idol of mine. Too, there was one another author  – a local author!  Central New York in the house! – who’s books were a personal favorite:  Matt Christopher.

And it should come as no surprise, given I was kid obsessed with baseball, that my favorite Matt Christopher story was The Kid Who Only Hit Homers.

Outside of finding my step-dads stash of nudie mags (sorry Mom), as a twelve year old, if there was ever going to be a book who’s title would give me an instant boner, it was this one.

I mean, come on!  A book who’s sole premise was a kid who hit nothing but home runs!?!?  The only thing cooler would be a book based around a kid finding out his long-lost uncle was Han Solo.

Nevertheless, no one book stands out in my memory as something I cherished more than this one.  And that’s why it makes the list.

The Tipping Point

Anyone who’s familiar with Malcolm Gladwell’s writing knows it’s infectious.  I liken it to taking crack.

Full Disclosure:  I’ve never taken crack.

While Gladwell does have his fair share of detractors, it’s hard to dismiss the notion he’s a wonderful and talented storyteller.

I picked up The Tipping Point by chance when I was living in Connecticut back in 2006.  I was in the local Borders – yes, that Borders. The one that no longer exists – hanging out in the cafe when I started paging through this book.

I started reading, and before I knew it I was on page 50.  I ended up buying the book on the spot and immediately drove home and read more.  It didn’t take me long to finish it, and by then I knew I was hooked on the topic of Behavioral Economics.

This book in particular is about why certain ideas flourish (Pet Rock anyone???), and why others fizzle.

Behavioral economics in general, though, is about people and why they do the things they do (as well as why the choose not to do certain things).

As a personal trainer and strength coach I find this sort of thing fascinating.  People know better than to go home at night and crush a bag of Doritos.  They know that that’s not healthy or going to help them lose a few inches off their waistline.

But they do it anyways.  Why?

It has nothing to do with knowledge.  Like I said, most things as it pertains to fitness isn’t rocket science and people generally know better.

In actuality, it has everything to do with behavior.

Half of my job is trying to convince, educate, and/or “trick” people into doing what I feel will get them to where they want to be.

Arming myself with a little ammunition on the psychology behind people’s actions and why they choose to do certain things is only going to help me better do my job.

Other authors which fall into this genre would be Dan Ariely (Predictably Irrational), Chip and Dan Heath (Made to Stick, Switch, Decisive), and  Dr. Robert Cialdini (Yes!)

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

Those familiar with author Dave Eggers are very familiar with his memoir which helped make him a household name.

I can’t say with certainly why I love this book so much, why I consider it a game-changer, or why I feel it’s helped mold who I am.

I didn’t suddenly lose my parents in a car accident only to be left to put my own life on hold in order to raise my younger brother.

That’s more of less what the memoir is about.

I guess it just comes down to the writing.  It’s beautiful. And equal parts real, frustrated, humorous, engaging, angry, and entertaining.

I don’t know:  as a writer myself I’m often drawn to stupid things like how certain words are used, how sentences are structured (how the fuck did they pull that off!?!?!), and just the general cadence of good prose. It’s awesome.  And dare I say, sexy!

I find reading other’s words helps me, in some form or another, become a better writer.  And, too, there’s always a pinch of jealousy in the mix.  But I think every writer can commiserate with that.

I read certain books (like this one), or articles, or blogs, and often think to myself………man, I suck donkey balls.  I’ll never be that good.

But if I’m honest with myself, I know deep down that that feeling is normal. I think.  The more books I read on the topic of writing – Dani Shapiro’s Still Writing is a current favorite of mine – the more I accept that it’s okay to feel jealous, and that other writers feel the the exact same way. I think.

And that’s cool, because in the end it’s about finding inspiration in any way you can.

Right?

I’d love to see everyone else chime in below.  What are some books that have influenced you?

CategoriesMiscellaneous Miscellany

Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday: Oscars!, Deadlifts, and Myths of Stretching

1.  Raise your hand if you stayed up last night to watch the entire broadcast of the Oscars.

*Sheepishly raises hand*

Yes, I stayed up till just past midnight to see 12 Years a Slave win Best Picture and to watch director Steve McQueen and company be handed the statue by Will Smith.

I know it’s borderline silly to spend 4-5 hours of my night watching a bunch of attractive, rich people who make their living pretending to be action heros, real-life heros, icons, and pirates celebrate other attractive, rich people and hand one another a golden statue.  Especially when there are so many other pressing issues going on around us.

Even so, I’m a firm believer that movies and film offer all of us a sense of release and escape. Whether it’s calling a “time-out” from worrying about a mid-life crisis or a recent break-up, or even if it’s just two hours inside, away from this insane Polar Vortex, movies give us everything from joy and happiness to awe and inspiration.  Not to mention there are a select few that do a bang-up job at scaring the bejesus out of us and making us destroy the back of our pants.

What’s more, as someone who loves (LOVES film), I can appreciate the hard work and talent it takes to do what those people do.  Whether it’s sitting there and reveling in the cinematography of Gravity, the costume/set design of The Great Gatsby, the unabashed “holy-shit-I’m-really-uncomfortable-watching-this-but-this-is-what-happened-so-suck-it-up-Tony” realism of 12 Years a Slave,  the side boob and overall “cleavaginess” of American Hustle, or the breakneck speed and cadence of Captain Phillips (Tom Hanks’ last scene in that movie is one of the best acted scenes I have ever watched), I’m always appreciative and thankful for the movies.

So what can I say:  the Oscars are my SuperBowl – albeit without the large pizza and pretzels on the side.

Lisa and I sat down at 7PM to watch the pre-show festivities, although to be honest I’m not really as much of a fan watching and listening to the fashion mumbo-jumbo. It’s all Elvish to me.  I was actually sitting on the couch reading during that portion of the telecast, but I was listening to Lisa’s commentary which was hilarious.

In fact, I was thiiiiiiiiis close to starting a #shitlisasayswhilewatchingtheoscars on Twitter, but I elected not to

All in all I was very pleased with the show.  Ellen was Ellen, and there were a handful of times Lisa and I broke out and laughed our butts off.  How bout those pizzas!

I fully expect that random pizza-delivery guy to have an agent by now, and to have his own reality show greenlit by summer.

I can’t say I was surprised by any of the winners.  I was secretly hoping that DiCaprio would somehow snake out a win for Best Actor for his role in Wolf of Wall Street, but I knew that either McConaughey or Chiwetel Ejiofor (you know, the guy who’s name no one can pronounce) were the favorites.

Spoiler Alert: McConaughey won.

I was happy to see Jared Leto win, and was really happy to see Alfonso Cuaron win for Best Director (Gravity).

And, OMG, can you freakin believe Helium won for Best Live Action Short??????  (<— Yes, that’s sarcasm).

All in all, as always, I loved every second and can’t wait till next year.

2.  This is really out of character for me, and I know this is going to raise a few eyebrows, but I watched a Tracy Anderson DVD over the weekend wrote an article on deadlifting for Men’s Health last week.

You can check it out HERE.

3.  And since we’re on the topic of “stuff I’ve written,” I also contributed to a piece last week on Stack.com titled 13 Fitness Challenges That Will Destroy You.

They won’t literally destroy you – that’s a bit much – but it stands to reason they’ll offer a change of pace to your routine if you’re looking to add a little variety.  Check them out!

4.  I received a question recently that I felt would be better served answering here since I’m able to reach more people on this blog and I’m sure many reading have toyed with the same topic.

Q: Tony, where would static stretching fit into a week of working out? Do you recommend it on recovery days, or a specialized flexibility training day? Post-workout? Before bed?

A: As with anything: it depends. Not a sexy answer, but it’s the truth.

Stretching for the sake of stretching isn’t necessarily a good thing. While their intentions are in the right place, I see many people flopping on the stretch mat at local commercial gyms doing what they deem as “stretching,” but all I really see is a complete waste of time.

Stretching IS important – as a society it’s crystal clear that we sit a lot, and as such things tend to get adaptively short or stiff.  This is something that definitely needs to be addressed, because if it isn’t one runs the risk of developing muscular imbalances that not affects posture but can lead to pain or injury down the road.

The thing is:  the vast majority of people tend to stretch what they’re good at or what feels good.  What’s more, people tend to get into positions thinking they’re stretching one muscle, when in fact they’re not even close. Does this one ring a bell?

Many would recognize this as a hamstring stretch.  Wanna know what I see?  A lower back stretch.

Moreover, you could argue whether or not traditional stretching actually does anything?  Doing a few 30-second stretches here and there won’t really mount to much.  If a tissue is truly short it has lost sarcomeres  In order to really make a difference, you need to increase the series of sarcomeres and that takes A LOT more than a few 30-second stretches.

In fact if you asked Bill Hartman how much stretching it actually takes to make a difference, he’d say you need to cumulatively hold a stretch anywhere from 20-60 minutes!

Of course, that’s not practical for most people.

This isn’t to say that some stretching isn’t better than no stretching……but rather just to give some people a semblance of expectation management.

And then there are other factors to consider.  Someone who scores high on the Beighton Laxity Test certainly doesn’t need to go out of his or her way to perform a lot of static stretching.

Another thing to consider is HOW people stretch.

One key factor that many people tend to conveniently gloss over is alignment.  Stretching the hip flexors is an often targeted area for most people, and rightfully so.  Because we tend to sit in flexion all day, it stands to reason many people need a crowbar to “un-glue” their hips.  To counteract this many will opt to stretch, like this:

Notice the massive extension pattern and anterior pelvic tilt she’s in?  This isn’t really accomplishing anything other than to run the risk of developing femoral anterior glide syndrome (where the femoral head is literally jammed forward.)

Unless this person cleans up he starting position – brace the anterior core, squeeze the glute of the trailing leg, getting, encouraging more posterior pelvic tilt and getting out of extension – she can do this stretch for hours on end and really not accomplish anything.

Now all of this isn’t say that I’m poo-pooing on stretch altogether.  It DOES have its place, and it DOES serve a purpose.  But I just feel more people need to be cognizant of what they’re stretching and more importantly, HOW they’re stretching.

I feel stretching before a training session is best.   What good is it to stretch before bed when you’re just going to lie down anyways?

I’d rather see people address tissue quality, mobilize, stretch, and then “cement” that new length with appropriate strength training.

Again, the idea is to encourage more “neutral,” get into more optimal alignment, and then train.

The order I prefer is this:

Foam Roll—Dynamic Warm-Up—Dedicated Static Stretching—Lift Heavy Shit

After rolling out, you’d hit up your standard dynamic warm-up (THIS or THIS may help), perform some static stretching to help lengthen the tissue (for most people hitting up areas like the glutes, hip flexors, lats, and pecs would be ideal), and then go…..you’re a free bird.  Fly fly away.

Go lift something heavy.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: CrossFit “Elitism,” 10 Do’s of Mass, and Superhuman Strength

I wanted to start things off today with an interesting conversation I had with a friend/colleague of mine concerning CrossFit.

I can sense the eyes rolling already.

There’s enough CrossFit bashing on the interwebz to feed a small country (<—- that doesn’t make sense but I’m rolling with it), and I’m certainly not immune to my share of criticism. To that same tune, however, I feel like I’ve held a fairly “middle-ground” stance.

I’ve long noted my “qualms” with CrossFit, and I’ve also championed its many merits.  I see the good and bad in just about everything.  Except Justin Bieber.  He’s a douche.

And sushi.  I can’t get into sushi.  Sorry.

I’m not one of those people who talks a bunch of smack, yet has never been to or walked inside an actual CrossFit affiliate. My experience with CrossFit lies outside of watching YouTube videos which make my corneas bleed and playing internet hero on an anonymous fitness forum

As it happens, I train at an affiliate 1-2 times per week – albeit in an “open gym” format – so I feel like I’m able to give my perspective and it has some context.

Does CrossFit “Bullying” or “Elitism” Exist?

Here’s an email I received yesterday from a friend (sadly, not IronMan):

“Hope things are well my friend! I had a question and potential favor to ask from you. For the past 1.5ish years I’ve been battling with how to run our CrossFit gym as well as possible, to the point of even receiving criticism from “elite” CrossFit gyms saying we have too much of a bias towards classic strength training. 

What I have found extremely challenging is trying to establish an effective assessment system that carries over well to the CrossFit movements with which individual correctives can be prescribed.

What I was hoping to do was pay for some of your time in a consult to get some help in this area. I have tremendous respect for what you’ve done in the field, especially related to movement correction and know you would be a huge asset for us.”

My Response:

(And let me preface everything by saying I understand that CrossFit is a BRAND and that certain things are expected of its affiliates).

UPDATE:  To say that I was wrong.  Kinda.  In actuality, as another friend of mine pointed out to me via Facebook, “What many people don’t understand about CrossFit is that it is anything but a franchise that enforces uniform standards. In some ways, it is an anti-franchise. Affiliates are free to set their own fees and programming, buy the equipment they prefer, and even sell T-shirts with their affiliate name on it and keep all the money.

What I have heard is affiliate owners argue passionately for their vision and try to build their business on that basis.”

I’m honestly at a little loss for words that “elite” CrossFit gyms are criticizing anything? Why?

What makes them “elite” anyways? Total number of members? Revenue? Number of members who compete in the Games? They’re somehow more “paleo” than the next affiliate?

Who cares if someone chooses to take more of a “classic” strength and conditioning approach with their programming? 

And what does “classic strength and conditioning” even mean? Is it bad or frowned upon in the CrossFit community to help get their members stronger, to move more efficiently, and, god-for-bid, actually progress (and regress) people appropriately?

If so, I think Kelly Starrett just shit a copy of Becoming a Supple Leopard!!!

What concern is it of their’s how someone else runs THEIR facility?????

I would think, if anything, one should be applauded for actually giving a shit and taking the time to properly assess/progress his or her clients!

Are these “elite” affiliates upset that he’s not putting in enough “Kool-Aid” (high-rep OLY lifting, kipping pull-ups, WODs which make no sense) into the juice?

(Yes, that’s a bit of a generalization. But lets not delude ourselves into thinking that that’s NOT what a vast majority of people feel embodies the CrossFit brand).

I don’t get it. There are some things I like about CrossFit, and I’d be remiss not to tip my hat to them for helping to get people excited to move.

But I have to say: this elitist, holier-than-thou attitude doesn’t do it any favors.

This topic led to a ton of great dialogue on my Facebook page, and since the whole impetus behind it was assessment I wanted to share a link someone else posted which I feel points the conversation/debate in the right direction.

Can FMS and CrossFit Coexist? – Gray Cook and Kelly Starrett

If you have fifteen minutes to spare I HIGHLY recommend watching it.  Two brilliant guys talking shop. What’s not to like?

10 Must-Do’s For Mass – Bryan Krahn

Bryan has over 20 years experience in this field – both as a lifter and writer – and it’s uncanny how often I find myself nodding in agreement whenever I read some of his articles.

Guys like to make things more complicated than they have to be.  Adding mass doesn’t entail following some advance algorithm that would confuse a NASA scientist.  It doesn’t require some super secret, Eastern-Bloc periodization protocol you had translated from some Russian textbook. And it certainly doesn’t entail any deer antler powder.  Is that trend over yet by the way?

What it DOES require is some common sense and accountability.

Superhuman Strength – Artemis Scantalides

“You can’t rush strength.”  And in this article, Artemis explains why.

CategoriesUncategorized

The Greatest Push-Up Article in the History of Ever

Today’s guest post is brought to you by strength coach and current Cressey Performance intern, James Cerbie.  I first met James last year when he came to observe for a few days at the facility, and then again late last summer when he attended mine and Dean Somerset’s Boston Workshop.

Note:  Dean and I are in talks at bringing our little “show” to several other destinations in North America later this year, as well as London.

By that point I believe Star Wars will already be filming in the U.K’s Pinewood Studios, which basically means I’ll be packing my movie quality Chewbacca mask for the trip.  And my Jedi cloak.  And I might as well bring my vintage Empire Strikes Back lunchbox while I’m at it. OMG – it’s going to be awesome! NINTENDO 64!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nonetheless, stay tuned for more info coming soon.

Crap, this is about James, not me.

James is a former collegiate baseball player and up and coming strength coach in his own right.  I’m excited to have him on the site today, and I hope you enjoy his contribution.

My good friend the push up seems to get no love these days.

He’s been degraded in many circles to mere punishment, and often gets overlooked by gym goers for being “too easy” or not as sexy as the bench press.

Well I’m here to take a stand for my good friend the push up.  He’s plenty sexy and deserves your attention.

What Is A Push Up?

That may seem like a stupid question, but most people don’t know the difference between a push up and the bench press.  At least they don’t know the difference from an anatomical standpoint.

So a push up is a closed chain horizontal press (distal end of extremity is fixed), while the bench press is an open chain horizontal press (distal end of the extremity not fixed).  Here’s why that’s important:

An open chain movement “allows any one joint in the extremity to move or function separately without necessitating movement of other joints in the extremity,” while in a closed chain exercise “movement of one joint cannot occur without causing predictable movements of the other joints in the extremity.”[i]

In plain English, this means open chain exercises tend to isolate one segment of the kinetic chain and closed chain exercises work the entire kinetic chain.

For an easy example of this just consider what happens to your scapulae while performing either of these movements.  In the bench press, your scapulae are pinned (at least they should be) and don’t move.  While in the push up, however, your scaps move freely on your rib cage and go through retraction and protraction as you move up and down, respectively.

From an athletic standpoint, that’s why closed chain exercises can be more beneficial:  it forces you to coordinate movement throughout the entire kinetic chain, as opposed to isolating part of the kinetic chain.

Here are a few other reasons why the push is so awesome:

1.  Teaches you to posteriorly tilt your pelvis by activating your glutes and core.

2.  Teaches you to maintain a posterior tilt and “neutral” lumbar positioning because you’re basically holding a moving plank.

3.  Reinforces proper head posture via making and holding a double chin.

4.  Teaches proper scapulohumeral rhythm as you retract and protract your scapulas in coordination with your humeral head.

5.  And much, much more.

Ultimately, this is why you’ll see people who can crush the bench press struggle with push ups, and vice versa. They are similar movement patterns but vastly different from the principle of specificity.

Technique

Like everything else, an exercise is only as good as its technique:  bad technique = bad exercise.

For example, my friend in the picture below (she’s not really my friend) is getting pretty much nothing out of these push ups:

Does that mean we can’t have her do push ups?  Absolutely not.  It just means we have to find the right variation for her.

Well what’s so bad about her form anyways?  To answer that question, let’s go over the initial set up:

Feet:  Can be together or slightly apart

Lumbopelvic region:  Butt squeezed, core tight, and pelvis posteriorly tilted.

Shoulder/thoracic region:  Engaged and actively pressing the ground away from you.

Hands:  Underneath shoulders or out slightly wider than shoulder width.

Head:  Making a double chin.

Once the set up looks good, you’ll want to execute a rep in the following manner:

Keeping your head back and pelvis posteriorly tilted, actively pull yourself down to the ground by activating your upper back.  Once your chest and nose hit the ground at the same time, then press the ground away from you as hard as you can.

To help tie all that together, check out this video on how to do a push up properly:

Where To Start?

As awesome as it would be if everyone could drop down and start banging out push-ups like Sylvester Stallone in Rocky, we all know that’s not the case.

A lot of people struggle with push-ups and need to regress the movement to set themselves for success.

As opposed to doing push ups on your knees, which I personally think is a waste of time, either of the following variations will be a great place to start if you’re a beginner.

1.  Elevated Pin Push Up

This is usually my first go to on the regression front, and I’ve found it works really well.  For starters, it keeps the kinetic chain in tact by having the contact points be the feet and hands.  This allows people to train the movement pattern as similar as possible to the real thing.

Also, this regression actually allows people to see results (#winning).  For example, if someone starts off doing push ups on the 15th pin whole week 1, but moves to the 10th pin whole by week 4, we know they are making progress.

2.  Band Assisted Push Up

This is a great option for someone who’s right on the edge of doing real push ups because it gets them all the way down to the ground.  It can also be adjusted in a snap by changing the band tension.

Where To Go?

“But James, I’m already like super awesome at push ups.  What should I do?”

Don’t worry, I once made the mistake of thinking I was too cool for push-ups too, but I’ve got you covered.

Here’s how to progress push ups in a way that would make Chuck Norris proud.

1.  Add Chains or Bands

Wanna make anything harder?  Add more resistance.  It’s that simple.

Throw some chains on your back or wrap a band around yourself and go to work.  Please note:  you can use chains and/or bands for every variation I’m about to go over.

(apologies for the dreaded Iphone vertical youtube video)

2.  Elevate your feet

By changing the angle you completely change the movement and its demands.  Feel free to elevate your feet for any of these variations.  It’s a quick, simple, easy and effective way to make things harder.

3.  1 Leg Push Up

By taking away one base of support you make the movement much more challenging.  In particular, you introduce a rotational component, as you must resist the urge to let your hips rotate, drop or move out of position.  Like the two options before this, changing to a 1 leg stance can be used with pretty much any and every push up variation around, so don’t limit yourself.

Now it’s time to go rapid fire.  Here are 7 other variations to challenge your push up prowess with:

4.  Embrace Your Inner Spiderman

5.  T Push Up

6.  Yoga Push Up

Side note:  awesome option for people who are working on getting upward rotation out of their scaps.

7.  Bodysaw Push Up

8.  1-Arm Pin Push Up

9.  Reverse Ketllebell Push Up

Side note:  please don’t be that person who tries to load these up like crazy and breaks their wrist.  If you do, however, be sure to video it because it would go viral on youtube in a second.

10.  Plyo Push Ups

Wrapping Up

Well that’s about it for today kiddos.  I think there should be enough there to keep you busy for a while.

A few things I hope you’ve taken away would be:

  • Push-ups are a closed chain exercise and different than the bench press.
  • Your scapulae should move nicely on the rib cage throughout the entire range of motion.
  • You should think about pressing the ground away from you when pressing yourself up.
  • It’s really just a moving plank
  • Push-ups can be as hard or as easy as you want.  It’s all about using your imagination and finding ways to challenge yourself.
  • On the programming front, I personally like being in the 3-5 set range and using between 6-10 reps.

If you have any questions please post them below, and I’m sure Tony would love to see some videos of people doing it big (if he doesn’t then I do).

About the Author

James Cerbie is a certified strength and conditioning specialist, Precision Nutrition level 1 certified, USA weightlifting sports performance coach, and CrossFit Level 1 certified.

He has been blessed to work with athletes from the middle school to professional level, powerlifters, olympic lifters, and CrossFit athletes alike.

At the end of the day, James gets no greater enjoyment than seeing people improve, succeed, and achieve their goals.  He’s the owner of Rebel Performance and currently works as a strength and conditioning intern at Cressey Performance.

Come hang out with James on Facebook, Twitter, or drop him a line at Rebel Performance.

[i] Thompson, Clem W., and R.T. Floyd. “The Kinetic Chain Concept.” Manual of Structural Kinesiology. 14th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001. 103. Print.

 

CategoriesProgram Design Strength Training

CrossFit and Baseball: The Two Don’t Mix

Some things are just made to complement one another.

Will & Grace

He-Man and BattleCat

Boston & Red Sox

Peanut butter & jelly, peanut butter & chocolate, peanut butter & well, pretty much anything.

Hint: I really like peanut butter.

It goes without saying we could fill an infinite abyss of “synergistic” pairings that play off one another, of which one component helps to enhance or harmonize the effectiveness of the other.

One pairing that doesn’t belong on that list is CrossFit and baseball.

We work with a crap ton (just a shade under a boat load) of baseball players and one of the more common themes or questions we receive on a weekly (if not daily) basis is our opinion on CrossFit.

It seems you can’t walk more than 20 yards nowadays without crossing paths with a CrossFit gym – or someone bragging about their Paleo lifestyle.  And, for better or worse (mostly better, it’s hard to dismiss anything which gets people excited to grab a barbell), it’s abundantly clear it’s been tattooed into our popular culture.

As such, many people – athletes in particular – are curious about its merits.

CrossFit is a great fit for a small percentage of people, an okay fit for a slightly larger percentage, and an absolute ball of walking fail for an even larger percentage.

Baseball players fall into the latter category and in my latest article for Stack.com I explain why.

Is CrossFit a Good ‘Fit” for Baseball Players? (<—- Spoiler Alert:  No.)

CategoriesMotivational

Bus Bench vs. Park Bench Workouts

I hate doing laundry.

Lisa and I moved in together coming up on three years ago now, and as much as we love our apartment and the neighborhood we reside in – Coolidge Corner – the one major drag about the place is that there’s no laundry room on premise.

It’s certainly not the end of the world, and I don’t like to consider myself someone who complains about trivial things – especially when there are people out there suffering FAR worse than myself.  But still, I think I’ve come to conclusion that I hate doing laundry more than I hate a dumb Tracy Anderson quote.

And that’s saying a lot.

Lisa and I have an understanding, though, and we’ve done a really good job at “divying” up the chores around the house. She does the bulk of the cooking and food prep (okay, she does ALL of it), and I wash the dishes and make the two block trek down to the laundry mat – colors and whites in tow – every Sunday morning.

I’ve been doing it for a while now, and I still somehow manage to mess it up occasionally.

To quote her, “if it’s silky, satiny, or sexy…..it DOES NOT go into the dryer. FOR. THE. LOVE. OF. GOD.”

In three years I’ve managed to completely destroy only two blouses, two pair of dress pants, and a baker’s dozen of Lisa’s fancy underwear.

Not the greatest batting average in the world, but it’s definitely above the Mendoza line.

But no one reading really cares about mine and Lisa’s laundry woes. The point was to serve as a segue to today’s post.

Lately, to help pass the time in the laundry mat, I’ve been happily enjoying my copy of Dan John’s Intervention: Course Corrections for the Athlete and Trainer.

I’ve been enjoying it like I enjoy a cup of delicious chai tea……………………Slowly!

I haven’t devoured it in one sitting, but rather, just reading at my own pace – namely, between spin cycles – taking in all the savory components as they come.

Yesterday I read the section where Coach John discussed the concept of Bus Bench Workouts vs. Park Bench Workouts, and thought it was one of those brilliant analogies/points that never dawned on me until that very moment.

To reiterate his point:  the fitness industry does a bang-up job at selling full-throttle, death-march, total-commitment training concepts.  And frankly, most of us can’t do that day in and day out.

To help elucidate his point, Dan referred to the Tale of Two Benches, by Archbishop George Niederauer.

Bus Bench

Anyone who’s familiar with “city life” knows how much public transportation can suck the life out of you.  The Bus Bench fills us with expectation. We wait for the 5:13 bus, and if the 5:13 bust doesn’t arrive precisely at 5:13, we get anxious.

We….want….the…5:13….bus…..now!!!!

And if it doesn’t arrive at 5:13, but instead at 5:17……our day us ruined.  Grab the Ben & Jerry’s!

Far too often this is how most people train. With too much urgency and a “I want it now” attitude. It has its place, mind you, but shouldn’t be a priority.

Park Bench

Conversely, the park bench is more casual, and goes with the flow.

We can relax (so-to-speak) and enjoy the ride.

We can sit and people watch if we want, or just sit and read a book, or just sit.  There’s nothing wrong with that.

As Coach John noted in his book, most athletes (and non-athletes) tend to take the bus bench route. For athletes it goes like this:

On Saturday the 26th, I will defeat all who show up, break all my personal records, find perfection in all I do, and meet the person of my dreams.

For non-athletes it goes like this:

I have a class reunion/vacation/World of WarCraft Convention in July and I need to look gooood.  I will go to the gym six times per week, train for a marathon, maybe hit up a CrossFit class or two when I can squeeze them in, between yoga class of course, omit all carbohydrates, find perfection in all I do, and meet the person of my dreams.

This approach rarely (if ever) works out in the end.

Instead, for most athletes most of the time, and for most of us for most of our lives, the park bench model is much more appropriate.

As Coach John states, “When you compete or train, take time to enjoy the view, breathe the air, and don’t worry about the minutia! Whatever comes along during your competition or training should be viewed through the lens of wonder and thanks.”

Fitness doesn’t have to be a ball buster all the time. And, not coincidentally, taking the park bench approach is often what yields better, long-lasting results.

CategoriesUncategorized

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 2/21/14

I think I’m in heaven right now.  Unfortunately, no, I wasn’t invited by JJ Abrams to his hidden lair to proofread his screenplay for the next Star Wars movie.  And no, this version of heaven doesn’t include me driving a tank to work, which is still on my bucket list.

Nope, it this sense there’s a lot mess machismo involved.

Due to some foreseen circumstances – namely, Lisa had to borrow my car today –  I had to hop on the “T” early this morning and head in to my old stomping grounds – Davis Square, Somerville  -to hitch a ride into Cressey Performance with Pete.

I decided to come in a little early so that I could hang out at the local Starbucks here.  It’s Starbucks so it’s like every other Starbucks out there filled to the brim with Apple laptops and Norah Jones playing in the background.  But this one is a bit unique in that there’s this huge fireplace right smack dab in the middle of the floor space, which makes for perfect chill-out writing ambience.

So I am here sipping my Chai tea while writing this blog post and catching up on some other things.

Heaven.

Coffee: Healthy or Not? – Patty Rivas

Since I’m sitting in a coffee shop I figured it was as apropos as a time as any to post up a link to a some literature on coffee.

I’m not a huge coffee drinker.  Actually, I hate it….and prefer to get my caffeine fix either through tea or by injecting Spike directly into my left ventricle.

I should at some point switch to coffee because at least in that context, instead of a bunch of chemicals and artificial sweeteners I’d get the benefit of some antioxidants.

Either way, I felt Patty’s post on the topic was a nice succinct summary.

5 Back Squat Hacks – Greg Robins

Fellow CP coach, Greg Robins, hits the nail on the head.  Here are a handful of tips, suggestions, and insights on how to better improve your squat technique and performance.

Speaking of squats:  Jordan Syatt’s Elite Performance Squat Seminar is still on sale through TODAY (Friday, Feb. 21st) at the discounted price of $29.  For what mounts to two tickets to go see Endless Love (I won’t judge) you can learn all the tricks to dominating your squat from someone who’s a world record squatter.

After today, the price jumps up to the regular price of $49.

Big. Scary. Delts – Ben Bruno

I really enjoyed this article by Ben namely because not having “meaty” shoulders is one of my own personal weaknesses.  Well that, and ice-cream.

CategoriesNutrition

Meathead Fro-Yo (Yo!)

Lisa and I are heading on vacation to the Dominican Republic in 23 days, 17 hours, and 43 minutes (but who’s counting?), and as such have both been “dialing it in” on the nutrition side of things.

We haven’t been depriving ourselves too much. We still venture out into the city every weekend to find a new restaurant to try out and raid their bread basket, but she and I have definitely been a bit more “strict” during the week.

Lately, Lisa’s been making this cool low-carb/low sugar concoction every night that I thought I’d share with all of you since I’m sure many are similarly looking for healthy snack alternatives that don’t taste like sandpaper.

Meathead Fro Yo

1 Scoop Vega Chocolate Protein Powder, or Biotest Metabolic Drive Chocolate Protein Powder.

Note:  Any brand of protein powder will get the job done. But for those with gluten or dairy allergies, VegaSport would be the best option.

1 TBSP Spectrum Decadent Mix Blend (this stuff is delish —->)

2/3-1 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk

1/2c Cup Canned Pumpkin (Note:  this is just regular ol’ pumpkin.  NOT pumpkin pie mix.  Nice try).

Some Ice

Blend it up! (Magic Bullet or some kind of serious Vitamix or Ninja recommended)

Choose a topping (or two…)

1 TBSP Cacao Nibs

1 TBSP Unsweetened Coconut Flakes

1 TBSP Chia seeds

It’s Creamy. It’s a little crunchy. It’s the perfect way for a meathead to end the day!

Give it a try and let me/Lisa know what you think.

CategoriesExercise Technique Product Review Strength Training

4 Little Known Tips to Increase Your Squat

Today’s guest post comes from a very good colleague of mine, Jordan Syatt.  Jordan actually interned for us at Cressey Performance a few years ago and since has gone on to do some pretty fantastic things in the industry.

Not only is he one of the more passionate coaches I’ve ever met, but he’s just an awesome human being.  There aren’t many people who are more genuine and gracious than Jordan.

I sincerely mean that.

Oh, and he’s also one strong son-of-a-bitch (no offense to Jordan’s mom.  She’s wonderful, too). My man deadlifts over 3x bodyweight, and he’s also an IPA World Record holder in the squat.

No big deal.

Jordan’s Elite Performance Squat Seminar went on sale this week, and to speak candidly…..it’s awesome. It’s two hours of anything and everything you’d need to know about the squat from someone who knows a thing or two about squatting.

Jordan was nice enough to write up some unique content for the site regarding some (not so common) tips that will help to increase/improve your squat.

Enjoy!

I struggled with the squat for years.

No matter how hard I tried or how much I read, I just couldn’t pin-point which style worked best for me.

To make matters worse, I was beyond confused with the programming aspect. Some coaches were telling me to squat once per week while others told me to squat every day.

I was lost.

As the years went on, though, I eventually figured it out. Following my internships at Westside Barbell and Cressey Performance, I learned not only how to squat but, more importantly, how to adjust my technique and programming based on biomechanics, goals, and preferences.

Fast-forward 3 years and I’m currently an IPA Powerlifting World Record Holder, I raw squat 2.9x bodyweight, and have helped countless lifters improve their squats by hundreds of pounds.

In this article I’m going to share with you four little-known tips to help increase your squat as quickly as possible.

By the end you will understand the squat better than most strength coaches and be armed with four new tips to help you achieve your ultimate strength potential.

1. Drive the Floor Away From You

We’ve all heard popular squat cues like:

“Head back!”

“Chest Up!”

“Knee’s Out!”

Cues like as these are known as internal focus cues because they force the lifter to focus on how the body moves in relation to itself.

While they aren’t completely useless, internal focus cues have been shown to be drastically less effective than their counterparts: external focus cues.

Note from TG:  For those interested, and who want to explore the rabbit hole a bit further, you can check out THIS article I wrote on internal vs. external cues.

Contrary to the former, external focus cues force the lifter to focus on how the body moves in relation to its environment. Take, for example, one of my all-time favorite cues:

“Drive the floor away from you!”

Rather than trying to move your body in relation to itself, this cue allows you to focus on moving your body relative to the environment.

On paper it might seem arbitrary, but research has consistently found external focus cues to be drastically more effective than cues with an internal focus.

So what does this mean for you?

When squatting, think about driving the floor away from yourself as hard and fast as humanly possible.

Don’t think about pushing into the ground or pressing as hard as possible.

Instead, try to push the floor away from you so forcefully that you leave a foot-print in the ground.

2. Nix the Box Squat

The box squat is overrated.

It’s great for geared lifters and doubles as a fantastic teaching tool but for intermediate & advanced raw lifters it’s a waste of time.

With my Westside background I know I’ll get a lot of flak for this but, in my experience, the box squat will not only do nothing to improve your squat…it will actually de-train it.

First and foremost, sitting on a box takes the stretch reflex out of the equation. While geared lifters don’t need to worry about this, raw lifters depend on the stretch shortening cycle (SSC) to rebound safely and explosively out of the hole.

Second, box squatting often changes the mechanics of the lift. Since geared lifters predominantly depend on the posterior chain (hamstrings, glutes, erectors), sitting back to a box is in their best interest. For raw lifters, however, it’s of the utmost importance to squat using a more knee-dominant approach that includes the quads. When performing box squats, though, most lifters focus entirely too much on maintaining a vertical tibia which reduces quad involvement and makes it less specific to raw squatting.

Plain and simple, if you aren’t a beginner and/or a geared lifter…nix the box squat.

3. Grip the Bar As Hard as Humanly Possible

Try it.

Next time you un-rack the bar and let it sink into your traps I want you to grip the bar as hard as you possibly can.

Tony has a great cue for this which works extremely well: “Try to melt the bar in your hands.”

^^^ Yep, I do use that one a lot.

Dean Somerset uses another good one: “Squeeze the bar so hard it oozes through your fingers like play dough.”

I’m more of a simpleton and stick with “Choke the bar,” but they all work.

Regardless of which cue you use, I guarantee if you squeeze the bar as hard as you possibly can you’ll immediately squat more weight.

Don’t believe me?

Give it a shot. I’ll be the guy laughing in the back of the gym saying “hate to say I told ya so!” even though I really love saying it.

4. Grip the Floor with Your Feet

Many powerlifters and coaches advocate squatting with all of your bodyweight centered directly under the heels. Some lifters take this to such an extreme that they literally pick all of their toes off the floor and visibly rock backwards to make sure they’re only on the heels.

I think that’s excessive.

While it’s important to keep some weight on the heels, it’s also important to create a stable base of support through using what’s called an “active foot.”

Watch this short clip to see what I mean:  CLICK ME!

As you saw in the video, an active foot only works if your bodyweight is centered on three points of contact: the knuckle under the big toe, the knuckle under the pinky toe, and the heel. This creates a tri-pod, of sorts, from which you can “grip the floor” with your feet.

To grip the floor, imagine centering your weight on the tripod while trying to pinch the floor in the middle of each foot. Done properly, you’ll stimulate the nerves of the feet while improving overall foot position to give you a stable base of support off of which you can squat more weight.

Wrapping Up

I hope you enjoyed this article and were able to take away some valuable information.

If you’re still looking for more information to improve your (or your clients) squat performance, my Elite Performance Squat Seminar covers all the topics mentioned above in more detail…..and then some!

In just under 2 hours I cover everything including:

  • Self Assessment and Correction
  • Technique Analysis
  • Progressions and Variations
  • Programming Considerations
  • And much more!

I legitimately cover every single thing you could ever want to know (and then some) related to the squat.

The best part?

For this week only the seminar is on sale for just $29! The sale only lasts until Friday (2/21) at midnight at which point the price will nearly double so if you really want to learn the secrets behind optimal squat performance don’t miss out – download your copy today!

Never Minimal. Never Maximal. Always Optimal.