CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

2013: Articles in Review

It seems everyone who has a blog or website is taking this week to run their annual “Year in Review” extravaganza, and I figured I’d take the opportunity to hop on that train as well.

2013 was a banner year for TG.com.  It seems I was a writing ninja penning 190+ posts alone on this site, which is a lot more than I thought I did.

All I told I think I had roughly 87 references to Star Wars, 56 to Matt Damon, 35 to how much I despise Tracy Anderson, and probably around 18 references to “poop,” because I’m immature like that.

In any case, people seem to stick around day in and day out and I couldn’t be more appreciative.

The following articles were the most popular of 2013 based off of web traffic.

Oh, before we get started I just wanted to let everyone know that Rick Kaselj, as part of celebrating Boxing Day (the Canadian version of, well, I have no idea), is placing the entire Muscle Imbalances Revealed anthology at a 60% discount from now (Dec. 26th) through this Sunday (Dec. 30th).

Giving full disclosure:  I contributed to two of the installments – Muscles Imbalances Revealed Upper Body and Spinal Health and Core Training – so admittedly I’m a little biased.  But for realz: they’re pretty amazing.

With the likes of other really smart people like Mike Robertson, Dean Somerset, Dr, Jeff Cubos, Bill Hartman, to name a few, you really can’t go wrong.

For more information you CAN GO HERE (<—Click Me).

But What Do You Do For Cardio – People are often flummoxed that I don’t really go out of my way to include a lot (if any) “traditional” cardio in my own programs nor that of my athletes. So…..what do I do for cardio?

Squat Technique: How to Set Up Properly – With any lift, everything starts with a good set-up.  If your set-up is piss poor, you can bet that your entire set is going to be piss poor.  In this video blog I break down the squat.

Deadbugs: The What, Why, and How – For a universally un-sexy topic (I mean, come on, really?  Deadbugs?)….this ended up being a very popular post.

Cutting CrossFit and Break – You can argue that there’s no more of a polarizing topic in the fitness industry than CrossFit.  A lot of people go out of their way to talk down about it – and rightfully so in some aspects – but in this post I discuss the positives.

4 (Not So Obvious) Reasons You’re Not Seeing Results in the Gym – Many people waste time in the gym.  Here are some not so obvious reasons why.

My Take On the “Knees Out” Debate – CrossFit again! Here I break down what I feel is the silliest debate out there. Seriously people might as well argue over whether or not potatoes should be considered “Paleo” or not.  Oh wait…….

Man of Steel: What It Takes to Look Like Superman – It happens every time a superhero movie comes out.  An actor gets all yoked up and people want to find out what the secret is.  Working your ass off – that’s the secret.

Who Says You Can’t Get After It at 80 – I always laugh when people use the excuse of “age” being a factor as to why they can’t train or workout.  It’s BS.  Plain and simple.

5 Reasons Your Shoulder is Jacked Up and Not Jacked – Part One, Part Two – If there’s one thing we know at Cressey Performance it’s shoulders.  Well that and deadlifts.  And steak tips.

Should You Use Scale Weight as a Measure of Success – Answer….no!

A Discussion:  Weight Loss vs. Fat Loss – There’s a huge discrepancy between the two, and in this post I try to elucidate what he latter should take precedence over the former (most of the time).

CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Rocked Back Adductor Stretch w/ Extension-Rotation

So I have to assume that for many people reading my site today one of two things is happening:

1.  You’re recovering from the chocolate and/or peanut butter fudge* induced insulin coma you put yourself into yesterday. Was that 11th piece of fudge really necessary?

Yes, yes it was….;o)

Or

2.  You’re covertly folding the hideous homemade “whatever it is” you received as a present – along with a few pair of the 47 pairs of socks you received – and placing them into the “donate” pile for the Salvation Army.

Don’t worry, I won’t judge.

In any case it’s my hope that everyone reading had a joyous and wonderful few days spending time with their families and loved ones.

I for one had an amazing few days off.  On Christmas Eve Lisa and I headed to the local gym near our apartment and killllled it in preparation for our meal later that night at Fogo de Chao.  Here’s a picture Lisa took of me kneeling on the front steps of the restaurant before we walked in.  I’m classy like that.

I won’t go into all the details of Christmas Day, but suffice it to say Lisa and I were like two giddy kids on Christmas morning. At a little past 6 AM (which, technically, is the time we get up anyways on a normal day) the conversation went like this:

Lisa: Pssst, are you awake?

Me: Yeah.

Lisa: OMG, I want to open my stocking.

Me:  NINTENDO 64!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, Lisa and I are both in our mid to late 30s, and yes, we were both excited to get up at the crack of dawn and see what Santa brought us.

And not for nothing, the coolest (and funniest) present I got was a Wampa Claw ice-scraper!

For those not geeky enough to know what a Wampa is:  1) I feel sorry for you. and 2) I suggest you watch The Empire Strikes Back. Gosh!!!!

As is the case every year……..it goes by way too fast.  It’s back to reality today.

I figured I’d ease my way back into my normal routine today and introduce a new exercise that you may or may not be doing.

Rocked Back Adductor Stretch w/ Extension-Rotation

Who Did I Steal It From:  Eric Cressey, actually.  He came into the facility a few days ago and mentioned to all of us how he was “toying around” with a few things the day prior – this is what Eric does in his free time – and he came up with this doozy.

What Does It Do: It kills a few birds with one stone.  For starters it bears a close resemblance to the regular ol’ quadruped extension-rotation, but with this variation we’re able to work on adductor length.

Of note, in the rocked back position, we take the lower back out of the equation so-to-speak, which makes it less likely someone can compensate through that area.

And, of course, this is also an excellent drill that works on thoracic mobility.

Key Coaching Cues:  I think this one is pretty self explanatory – it’s not like we’re trying to cure cancer or solve an advanced algorithm or anything.

Simply kneel down, brace your abs, try not to place yourself in too much extension and then rotate on one side following your hand with your eyes.

I will say, though, that for those who do tend to live in a little more extension it may be more beneficial to kneel down onto the forearms to help flatten out the back a bit more (I actually demonstrate this in the video).

This drill is more or less something I’d include as part of a warm-up, but it can just as easily be included as a filler in between sets of deadlifts or squats or nunchuck training.  I tend to stick to sets of 5-6 repetitions per side.

Give it a try today and let me know what you think!

CategoriesUncategorized

Are Unpaid Strength and Conditioning Internships Worth It?

Today’s guest post comes from Justin Kompf, who’s been a familiar face here on TG.com (he’s written a handful of other posts for this site in the past and I’ve always enjoyed the messages he delivers).

Today’s post deals with a hot topic and something that’s caused a bit of a dichotomy in the “real world.”  Should people do an UNPAID internship.

On one hand you have those who feel it’s the road everyone has done in the past, and if you read books like Decisive by Chip and Dan Heath, unpaid internships are a way give yourself an “ooch” or “taste” to figure out whether or not you even like that particular career path.

On the other hand, you have those who gravitate towards extremes and feel unpaid internships are the worst thing since Pepsi Clear.

I don’t agree with this for many reasons.

In any case, Justin does a great job at giving some perspective and I hope that if you’re someone who’s considering taking an unpaid internship in the S&C field that this post helps – TG.

Oh, and before I forget: on April 5th, 2014 I’ll be participating in the First Annual Cortland Strength and Conditioning Symposium, which Justin is kindly organizing.

With the likes of myself, John Gaglione, Dr. Mike Roussell, Dr. Cassandra Forsythe, and Spencer Nadolsky as the slated line-up it’s going to be an unparalleled event for students and fitness professionals alike.

Registration is now open, and it’s set at a VERY reasonable price as we want to ensure that this is an event that’s accessible to everyone.

For more information you can go HERE.

Okay for real this time, I’m done.  Have a wonderful Holiday everyone.  See you in a few days – TG.

About a week ago I received an email from a former student. He was considering a strength and conditioning internship in San Diego, the only catch was that it was an unpaid internship. This student wanted to get my take on unpaid internships.

Little did he know that he was talking to the king of unpaid internships. Before I received a paid strength and conditioning position I spent close to two years interning at two colleges and one year observing a physical therapy practice.

This is a question a lot of young strength coach hopefuls have and I think my experiences and the insights gained from them can help these people (possibly even you) make that decision.

I’d like to go over the three internship experiences I had and what I learned from each of them.

SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

Before graduating from the Kinesiology program at SUNY Cortland I had to complete an internship. I had my sights set on Syracuse University. After spending my Friday mornings observing the football team for two months one of the strength coaches gave me an intern position with the Olympic sports teams.

That semester was far from what I had expected.

It consisted of cleaning equipment and observations. I suppose I was naïve to expect that I would be coaching from day one. I ended that semester wishing I had gotten more out of the experience so I made the decision to stick around and intern with another Olympic sports strength and conditioning coach the following Fall semester.

By then I was a graduate, had passed my CSCS, and was familiar with what was going on at Syracuse so I was given a lot more responsibility. I was able to be hands on with the women’s lacrosse, softball, volleyball, and rowing teams.  I spent most of my day at Syracuse before I would go personal train.

I can say two things about that experience, without it I would not have had the skills to coach big groups on my own and without that experience I probably would not have gotten a job as a strength coach or teacher at Cortland.

LESSON LEARNED: if you intern at a major university you probably won’t be doing too much coaching, even over the course of an entire semester.

Most of your job will be cleaning and observing. If you want to take the coaching experience seriously I highly recommend riding out this period and sticking around. If I had just left Syracuse after one semester I would not have gotten to get the coaching experience I needed.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE

Less than a week after graduation I took a flight out to California to live with my cousin while I interned at the University of California at Riverside. UC Riverside is a D1 school like Syracuse but the resources that they had to work with were a small fraction of what we had at Syracuse. Syracuse has four strength coaches (still considered understaffed) and three weight rooms. UC Riverside had two coaches and one weight room.

Their head strength coach was in China for the summer teaching so I had the opportunity to step in and work with a lot of his teams. This was the first time I got to be hands on in my coaching so it was all new to me. The assistant strength coach was great in going over their coaching protocols. He took me through all of his progressions for teaching cleans, squats, and deadlifts which I still use at Cortland.

LESSON LEARNED: I was stepping out of my comfort zone in so many different ways. I was 3,000 miles away from home and didn’t know anybody other than my cousin and her husband and I was essentially thrown into the fire to learn how to coach.

I learned how to coach with minimal equipment which has came in handy since Cortland is a division three school with limited resources as well.

SUMMIT PHYSICAL THERAPY

Note from TG: Being originally from the Syracuse (Go Cuse!) area I’m very familiar with Summit Physical Therapy.  Most notably I’m familiar with Mike Hope.

I remember back in like 2004 I was having some knee issues and by chance someone referred me to Mike at SPT.  Having worked with several PTs in the past and being less than satisfied my hopes weren’t too high upon my initial visit…..but I tried to stay positive.

Within two minutes of meeting Mike I was hooked – thanks to no small part in that he references Louis Simmons and WestSide Barbell during casual conversation.  

My mind was blown:  a PT who actually lifted weighs???  

Not only that, at the time, Mike was a regular contributor to Elitefts.com as one of their rehab specialist. 

Long story short:  Mike’s the shit.  That is all.

The first time I went into Summit Physical Therapy I immediately learned that I didn’t know anything.

Imagine that, a senior in a kinesiology program who just figured out he didn’t know anything.

Crap!

In that year I would go in at least once a week whenever I would have a break from Syracuse or personal training. I learned so much about functional anatomy as well as the importance of research. Every time I left Summit Physical Therapy I would have a new book or paper in my hand that I had to read. It helped me a lot when it came to teaching my personal training class at SUNY Cortland.

LESSON LEARNED: Coaching experience is extremely important but it is also important to have people that will challenge you intellectually.

There were actually times when I would walk away quite jaded where I felt like my intelligence was being insulted, times when I considered not going back. Luckily I got over myself and decided it was worth it if I could learn something new whenever I went in.

I learned that I should always have a reason for everything that I do as well as a thorough understanding of any topic I want to discuss. I would be light years behind in terms of knowledge if I didn’t spend time at Summit Physical Therapy.

Take Away?

So should you do an unpaid internship?

Will it benefit your career in anyway?

Based on my experiences I’ll put it this way:

Doing an unpaid internship does not guarantee that you will get a job as a college strength coach, however, passing up on an unpaid internship guarantees that you will not get that strength coach job.

If you decide to embark on this experience I recommend getting out of your comfort zone, and coach as much as possible.

Make mistakes, they’re bound to happen, and learn from those mistakes. That way when you move up to running your own program you won’t make them when it’s important.

Be sure to retain good relationships with the coaches you work with as well. You’ll want to use them as references at some point. Odds are they will know someone down the road who might be able to help you get a job.

My student ended up emailing me a couple days later informing me that he had accepted the intern position in San Diego. Unpaid internships are a crucial stepping stone in the career path of a strength coach so without reservation I would recommend them.

About the Author

Justin Kompf is a certified strength and conditioning specialist and certified personal trainer through the NSCA. He graduated from SUNY Cortland in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology. He currently teaches and trains clients at the University. Justin like burritos, deadlifting, peanut butter, and The Fast and the Furious movie saga (minus 2 and 3). He is an author for bloodandiron315.com . He can be reached at [email protected].

CategoriesExercise Technique Strength Training

Tony Takes a Kettlebell Class

In keeping with the running theme of past segments like Tony Takes a Yoga Class (Part One and Part Two) and Tony Takes a Pilates Class, yesterday I added another adventure to my on-going exercise bucket list:

Unfortunately, it wasn’t Tony Performs a Cannonball Into the Playboy Mansion Pool.

Tony Takes a CrossFit Class will have to wait for another day (<— But this one is coming soon!).

And sorry, it wasn’t Tony Fights Rambo with a Flamethrower, either.

Instead, myself, Lisa, and our friend Diana headed over into Needham, MA (a few miles outside of Boston) to visit Iron Body Studios – co-owned by Artemis Scantalides and Eric Gahan – to take part in one of their introductory kettlebell classes which are offered every Sunday morning.

Some of you may recognize Artemis’ name because I’ve included a handful of her articles several times in my Stuff You Should Read While You’re Pretending to Work series, and to speak candidly, her and I have been internet pen pals for a while now.

When her and Eric opened their brand spankin new, and utterly gorgeous facility a few months ago they gave me an open invitation to come take a class whenever I wanted, but it was only within the last few weeks that my schedule was free to do so.

Of course kettlebells aren’t some foreign entity to me.  We have them at Cressey Performance, and not only use them in our own training, but  incorporate them into the programs we write for our athletes and clients.

In addition I’ve written a fair share of articles and posts on the topic:

There’s a Time and Place for Everything – Kettlebells Included (which points the finger at KB elitist who think KBs are the end all, be all of exercise).

Cleaning Up Kettlebell Swing Technique

Tony Gentilcore on Kettlebells – via TribeSports.com

Admittedly, and thus serving as the main impetus for visiting Iron Body Studios in the first place, my knowledge base and expertise on kettlebell training – while I think is up to snuff – is limited to reading and watching videos from the likes of Dan John, Gray Cook, Brett Jones, Neghar Fonooni (now Romaniello), as well as Artemis and Eric, to name a few.

If anything I wanted to visit them to see if my technique (swing and get-up in particular) was on point, and more importantly to see whether or not the coaching cues I use with my own athletes mirrored theirs.

Too, it served as a nice way for Lisa and I to start the day (we rarely ever get the chance to train together), get the blood flowing, and just feel like a million bucks.

Artemis was a champ and took all three of us through an introductory “history” on the differences between the Russian hard style she advocates and teaches (she’s both a Level II RKC Instructor as well as Level II StrongFirst Instructor:  AKA: a badass) and the American style which, lets be honest, sucks (my words, not hers).

From there we went through an extensive warm-up, which felt amazing, and then Artemis coached us through how to pattern a proper hip hinge, which is the backbone for the entire hard style philosophy, and not surprisingly the swing itself.

After that Artemis broke down the swing and I definitely took some mental notes on how I could better cue my own athletes.  Of note I’ve always wondered what the deal was with all that aggressive “hissing” noise that many KB enthusiasts practice, and Artemis explained how it’s a simple way to teach tension and to get the diaphragm to better stabilize the spine – which, upon thinking about it, made TOTAL sense.

Then it was game time.  Artemis watched us in action and critiqued our swings. I felt a little nervous, and after the first set I looked up and was half expecting this:

But thankfully, I passed with flying colors.

From there we went through the basics of a Get-Up (to the hands), which is an art in of itself.  And then Artemis took us through the ringer and had us perform three circuits of get-ups, RKC planks, glute bridges, KB deadlifts, and then KB swings.

I haven’t done that much “cardio” in a while and it was readily apparent that I need to do more. I guess doing heavy triples of deadlifts ain’t cutting it……;o)

All in all, it was an AWESOME experience and I think Lisa and I spent a good hour after the fact discussing how much we’d enjoy doing that a few Sundays every month.  In my case I can see unlimited benefits in terms of helping me address some imbalances and weaknesses I have, and I can only assume that learning how to better use “tension” to my advantage will help my deadlift and squat numbers skyrocket.

Nevertheless, you can bet that Lisa and I (and hopefully Diana…….if you’re reading this Diana, you’re doing this!!!!) will be heading back to Iron Body Studios sooner rather than later.

To that end I asked both Artemis and Eric if they’d be willing to do a quick video on swing technique and they were more than happy to oblige.

WATCH THIS – trust me:

CategoriesUncategorized

Stuff To Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 12/19/13

Here’s this week’s list of stuff to read while you’re pretending to work.

Paleo: The Good, Bad, and Ugly – Dani Shugart

Here’s a joke for you:

Q: How do you know someone is “Paleo?”

A: They tell you.

Hahahahahahahahaha.  Get it?   Oh man I love that one.

Okay here’s the dealski:  I’m not a Paleo guy through and through.  Sure I have a few Paleo tendencies.  I eat a ton of meat and vegetables, I don’t go out of my way to include a lot of processed foods, and I’m pretty sure I ate enough saturated fat during breakfast this morning for an entire platoon.

But I don’t have a major conniption if I happen eat a piece of bread or two (or three)* at dinner, and I’m sure as shit-fire not going to deprive myself of ice cream when I want it.

My sentiments run parallel with my good friend John Romaniello’s:

Whether or not our ancestors (in a given period) ate a certain food is ultimately not relevant to whether that food affects you positively or negatively.

Stop worrying about whether something is healthy based on the criteria that some hypothetical caveman may have eaten it.

Criticizing a version of the paleo diet because it contains potatoes is like criticizing Jurassic Park because most of the dinosaurs in the movie were actually from the Cretaceous period.

Stop nitpicking. It’s just a name. If it makes you feel like shit, don’t eat it.

Exactly.

Either way, in this very well written article, Dani Shugart brings some clarity to an ever polarizing topic.

Your 2014 Weight Loss Challenge – Dan John

It’s no secret that I have a ton of respect for Dan John – and a teeny tiny man-crush, too – and it should become fairly self-evident once you read this article he recently wrote on MensHealth.com

Coach has a way with words.

Weighing the Risks – How Weekend Athletics Can Ruin Your Gainz – JC Deen

No one is saying that you can’t go play a pick-up game of basketball here and there, join a beer league slow-pitch softball team, go annihilate and ruin some random kid’s day at your local paint ball course, or play a leisurely game of lawn darts (preferably not drunk).

Sports, hobbies, and other fun activities are a part of life.

BUT there does come a point every so often where you need to weigh the rewards along with the risks – especially as it relates to your fitness goals.

* = or four, don’t judge me

CategoriesProgram Design Rehab/Prehab

Steps You Can’t Afford to Skip: The Warm-Up

Yes, this is an article on warming up (both the pre-lift ritual as well as how to warm-up for your main lift of the day).

Yes, most people are going to read the title and subconsciously yawn.

Yes, these are the same people (athletes included) who tend to get hurt more easily, have more nagging injuries that never seem to resolve, and quite frankly – although not always – are shooting themselves in the foot from a performance standpoint for not taking the ten minutes (tops) it takes to warm-up.

Seriously, we’re talking ten minutes here!

Yes, this is something I feel is important and that most trainees haphazardly gloss over.

And yes, this article includes a Twilight burn. So at least there’s that.

Don’t you roll your eyes at me!  I’ll give you something to roll your eyes about!

Warm-Up Fundamentals (<— Seriously, Don’t Skip It!!!)

CategoriesExercise Technique Strength Training

How To Do the Top 8 Back Exercises

Six pack abs and biceps don’t really impress me that much.  I can walk into any commercial gym in the country or peruse an Abercrombie and Fitch catalog and see plenty of dudes with both.

Not that I go out of my way to flip through an A&F catalog on a regular basis or anything – the chances I’d be able to fit into a pair of their jeans is about as high as me reading a Nicholas Sparks novel or washing all the dishes that are currently in the sink.

Which is to say, HAHAHAHAHAHA.

But not for nothing….cashmere sweaters are on sale this month.  Holla!

Speaking candidly:  Whenever I see someone with a thick, muscular back I know that they’ve put in their time in the weight room.

Likewise, it’s pretty rare for someone to have an impressive back and be weak. Chances are they’re stronger than a bulldozer.

In any case, in my latest article for T-Nation I dive into some of my favorite back-building exercises.  Some you’ll undoubtedly be familiar with – albeit technique may leave a lot to be desired – while others may be a “new to you” variation.

Enjoy (and I’d love to hear your comments).

—> How To Do the Top 8 Back Exercises <—

CategoriesAssessment Strength Training

My Take on the “Knees Out” Debate

In case you’ve been living in a cave for the past few months or engrossed in the latest season of The Walking Dead, you’ve undoubtedly noticed a hot debate in the fitness and weight-training community surrounding the whole “knees out” technique when performing the squat (or deadlift for that matter).

As far as debates in this industry are concerned, it’s a doozy. I’d put it right up there with other debates which make people go bat-shit crazy with rage such as steady state cardio vs. HIIT, eating every 2-3 hours vs. intermittent fasting, ShakeWeight vs. ThighMaster, or which is the superior late 90s-end-of-the-world-asteroid-slams-into-Earth-disaster-flick:  Deep Impact or Armageddon?

The impetus behind the madness is one Dr. Kelly Starrett, owner of CrossFit San Francisco and author of the New York Times best selling book Becoming a Supple Leopard, who, at least recently, is the prime example of someone who’s championed the “knees out” cue.

Just to be clear though:  he’s not the first (nor will be the last) to use this cue, but writing a national bestseller will pretty much guarantee your name is placed in the spotlight, and open the floodgates to the critics.

Addressing the pink elephant standing in the middle of the room, let me preface all of this by saying that I don’t work with elite level olympic lifters – in fact, I rarely work with anyone who does olympic lifting outside of the occasional college athlete or meathead who wants to learn how to perform a hang clean.

But in a non-explosive reverse bicep curl kind of way.

However the book (and the cue) speaks to more than JUST elite level olympic lifters – and I believe the book was intended for a much broader audience, and was written as such.

Sure there’s sections dedicated towards the Olympic lifts – and CrossFit (for better or worse, mostly worse, but that’s another ball of wax I don’t want to get into right now) – encompasses a large olympic lifting component. But the book as a whole and Kelly’s message throughout is to help people move better and to avoid technique faults or errors – with the squat (and by extension, the deadlift) taking the forefront.

Still, due to the whole phenomena, you’d be hard pressed to find more spit-fire and venom directed towards Kelly within various articles, blogs, and forums. It’s like playing the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game, except here the premise is to see how many time you can click your mouse or notebook pad before you come across someone on the internet shitting a kettlebell because Kelly has the audacity to cue people to squat with their knees out.

What an asshole!

And that’s the thing – he doesn’t even subscribe to that “cue” in the first place!  At least not in the literal sense.  He’ll be the first to tell you that squatting with an excessive knees out pattern (or excessive varus, bowing) is a fault and that he would NOT want an athlete or client to do that.  In fact, he uses it as a CUE for when an athlete begins to go into knee valgus when squatting.

But more on that in a second.

Before I continue:  lets take ad hominem jabs out of the picture. I love how a lot (not all) of the arguments against Kelly is that he calls himself a “Dr” (he has a doctorate in Physical Therapy), that just because he treated “x” athlete one time doesn’t mean he trains said athlete, and that CrossFit San Francisco has yet to churn out an elite level CrossFit athlete.

For starters the book is titled Becoming a Supple Leopard: The Ultimate Guide to Resolving Pain, Preventing Injury, and Optimizing Athletic Performance.

It’s NOT called The End-All-Be-All Guide to Winning the CrossFit Games:  Go Fuck Yourself, Everybody.

Secondly, the man has run his own successful gym (for nine years) and clinic (for six) and he and his staff have logged over 100,000 athlete sessions during that time.

100,000!!!!

I’m sorry but as someone who’s been coaching for a while and who co-founded one of the more reputable strength training facilities in the country, that number HAS to be respected.

That is a crap ton of sessions.

So lets just take a chill pill and respect the fact that Kelly probably knows a thing or two about training people, Mmmmkay.

So Back to This While Cueing Thing

As Kelly notes in THIS video series he posted on his MobilityWOD.com website were he defends his stance and tries to clear up any miscalculation on his message regarding the “knees out” debate:

“A cue is a relationship between a coach and an athlete specific to that moment for something that’s going on. Ie: trying to solve a specific problem.”

What other cue (key word: CUE!!!!) is supposed to be used to prevent the knees from collapsing in?

“Hey, hey, hey, HEY!!  Stop doing that thing you’re doing!!!!”

Or, as Kelly and his staff jokingly state:

“Knees not in.”

They coach people to squat with flat feet, cueing an external rotation torque (rotating femurs?) to create more stability in the hips and lower back. During the descent and ascent out of the hole, the knees should track in the same path.

Starrett even notes, “if you push out too far and your knees bow out into excessive varus, and your foot comes off the floor, that’s an error.”

How this has somehow been lost in translation is beyond me.  I don’t know of ANY strength coach – and I know a lot of very smart strength coaches – who would disagree with this assertion.

Knees collapsing into valgus when squatting is unacceptable, and I don’t know of ANY coach who doesn’t use the knees out CUE.

For 99.99% of people out there who aren’t elite level OLY lifters this is a bang on cue and helps to significantly improve technique.

[I recognize that many elite level OLY lifters will go into excessive valgus on the catch to explode out of the hole.  Okay, cool.  They’re ELITE.  They’ve perfected technique to the point where if they do get into a compromising position, when the shit hits the fan, they’re less likely to injure themselves.  This doesn’t mean Dave from accounting, on his first day of training, should be held to the same standard.]

Which then begs the question:  what if someone can’t squat well?  To perform a “deep” squat you need adequate hip internal rotation.  If you don’t have it, the default isn’t quite so much knees caving in (that much), but more so someone leaning forward too much.  Either way it’s a faulty pattern.

Likewise for those who lack ample ankle dorsiflexion, the typical default pattern will end up being a collapsed arch in the foot with subsequent knee valgus.

And all of this doesn’t take into consideration one’s hip or bony structure.  As Dean Somerset has touched on recently:  genetics do come into play.  Depending on one’s body (hip) structure, this may dictate how well they’re able to handle heavy loads and/or even which squat or deadlift variation is most suitable for them.

As well, you have to take into consideration one’s current (and past) injury history, soft tissue restrictions, posture, experience, and ability level.

In short:  everything’s a little more complicated than nitpicking over semantics, and toy actually should assess your athletes and clients.  And I have to assume that Kelly along with his staff would agree with this.

But I can’t think of one coach who would advocate nor tolerate someone squatting with the knees caving in.  By that token, the cue “knees out” is the universal go to.  All that’s being asked is to create peak torsion to create the system for stability in the hip and back. No one is asking for someone to stand there, perform a squat, and then push the knees out so far that they’re hanging on the end of their joint capsule.

I could be wrong, but I have yet to interpret anything Kelly has said or written to think otherwise. I don’t doubt that there are some coaches or CrossFit affiliates out there who may be coaching their squats in this fashion, and if so, they’re wrong.  Direct your hate towards them.

Or, you could actually go coach someone before you start throwing darts.  Just sayin…..

CategoriesCorrective Exercise Exercise Technique

Deadlift and Grip Pain

Q: My fellow lifter in Germany has long maintained that the things that happen to me under the bar are just plain weird. As it happens, I’ve not yet seen anyone write on this (if you did and I missed it, just point me there!); I hope you’ll be able to help me figure out what on earth is going on.

I love deadlifts, but it seems they absolutely hate my right forearm. At all of 95lbs, double overhand, I start feeling a mildly painful strain at the elbow when I close my hand. As the weight goes up, the pain gets worse.

Last year, I ignored the pain thinking it was something that would get better with time. Instead, by the time I got to 190lbs, the pain was so hideous that I couldn’t even open the refrigerator door without wanting to cry. It took five months of strict rest for it to heal.

I definitely don’t want to go through that again! What annoys me even more is that 190 is well short of what I could break from the floor if whatever-this-is wasn’t doing what it’s doing (left arm has no issues at all). What on earth is going on here, and how do I make it stop???

A: Hi Jackie, thanks for writing and sorry to hear about your grip issues.  I know how frustrating it can be to be hurt and unable to train like you’d like, so hopefully I can offer some insight.

But first, given you’re writing to me all the way over from Germany, can you answer me just one minor question?

What is up with the obsession German’s have with David Hasslehoff??????

I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I didn’t idolize the guy back in his Knight Rider days, and I certainly have to give my man kudos for rocking the 80’s mullet and chest hair like a boss…….

But German’s take things to a whole different level and go bat-shit crazy for the guy.

What gives?

Please, tell me, it’s killing me.

Okay – with that out of the way, lets state the obvious:  while it’s pretty much impossible for me to make any definitive assertions over the internet without being able to observe you in person, I have a few comments/insights.

1.  It sounds like you need to get some aggressive soft tissue work done. Honestly this is the best piece of advice I can give you and takes precedence over everything else.

The forearms and by extension – the elbow – is a very “claustrophobic ” area where a lot of “stuff” converges in a small area resulting in a lot of friction that takes place amongst muscle, ligaments, facia, and other soft tissue.

On the medial side you have all the muscles in the forearm that flex the wrist (I could list them all here, but it’s early and I don’t feel like it. But trust me: they’re there) which connect to the medial epicondyle via the common flexor tendon, with the pronator teres (which I suspect is going to be a HUGE player for you) attaching nearby.

The same can be said on the lateral side:  you have all the muscles in the forearm that extend the wrist which connect to the lateral epicondyle via the common extensor tendon.

Posteriorly you have all three heads of the trciep attaching to the olecranon via another common tendon.

And lastly, anteriorly, you have the attachment points of the bicep brachii, brachioradialis, and brachialis on the elbow.

See what I mean?  There’s a lot going down in one teeny tiny area.

We call it a Zone of Convergence, and it stands to reason that if your forearm is that painful whenever you grab a pencil, let a lone a barbell, you have poor tissue quality in that area.

Just resting – while it may alleviate the symptoms temporarily – won’t get at the root of the problem.  To that end, I can’t stress enough how crucial it will be to seek out a reputable manual therapist – someone who can perform Graston or Active Release Therapy – to treat that area.

As I noted above I have my suspicions that the pronator teres (which, as the name suggests, pronates the forearm) is on fire and that you need to take a bit of a grenade approach in terms of addressing the entire spectrum.

While manual therapy takes priority, you can take the self myofascial release route and use something like The Stick on the forearms, biceps, and triceps.

2.  Another less obvious – albeit equally as important – thing to consider is something that many people overlook.  While soft tissue restrictions in the forearm and elbow area make a lot of sense and is a great place to start, it’s not uncommon for everything to manifest itself higher up the kinetic chain into the brachial plexus area – upper traps, neck, etc.

The brachial plexus is basically an area where a network of nerves start at the spine, run through the neck, and all the way down to the elbows, forearms, and to each finger

If you’re someone who spends a fair amount of time in an office staring at your computer, that area is notorious for getting gunked up (<— how’s that for a technical term?) and it may bode in your favor to have a manual therapist perform some work there as well.

Moreover, this is also an opportune time to run an audit on your breathing patterns.  If you’re someone who’s a “chest breather,” meaning whenever you take a breath you tend to rely on your accessory breathing muscles like the upper traps, levator, scalenes, etc, it’s no wonder you’re jacked up!

Think about it:  you take upwards of 20,000 breaths everyday.  Not that every breath is going to be “optimal,” but it stands to reason that if you’re a dysfunctional breather bad things may happen.

Taking the time to address something as simple as how you breath, becoming more of a “belly breather,” and learning to use your diaphragm more efficiently, can go a long ways.  More than you think.

Check out THIS post I wrote last year on the topic.

3.  As a corollary to the above, it’s also important to run a check on your technique on stuff like push-ups, rows, and chin-ups.  If you’re someone who has a tendency of shrugging everything – and relying too heavily on the upper traps to do everything – that’s just going to feed into the issue(s) at hand.

While addressing soft tissue quality and breathing patterns are high on the “to do” list, it’s going to be a waste of time if all you’re doing is heading back to the gym and shrugging everything.

So, you might as well give yourself an audit on those things too.  Just something to consider. I know everyone thinks their technique is spot on, but I can assure you that everyone needs a little tweaking.

I realize it wan’t the sexiest answer in the world, but hopefully it helps a few people out there.

But seriously, Hasslehoff……what’s the deal?

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: Haters Gonna Hate

Ever notice that when it’s cold outside – for the record:  yesterday and today are the first two days of legitimate snow here in Boston – people bitch and whine about how cold it is?

By that same token, when it’s too hot – people bitch and whine about how hot it is!

I don’t get it.

Then again – these are the same people who will find any excuse to complain about something. It’s too windy; the Dew Point is f’ed up; ObamaCare is the next Death Star; the barista at StarBucks put too much cream in my latte; I can’t believe “so and so” is on the new season of Dancing With the Stars; the checkout person didn’t ask me if I wanted my receipt, bitch; that rainbow is too “raibowey;” for the love of god, people, HAN SHOT FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyways I have no other reason behind this keen observation other than it’s something I noticed today while standing in line at Panera while someone complained that the line was moving too slow.

People complain way too much.

Now if you excuse me, someone just looked at me wrong and I have to go scissor kick them in the pancreas.

If You Are Not Sore, You Are Not Working Hard Enough…Or Are You – Kyle Arsenault

It’s a common fallacy people make.  If they’re not drowning in a pool of their own sweat or don’t feel like they’re on the verge of an epileptic seizure after a training session, it obviously was a waste of their time.

This is a battle I have fight all the time and my retort is usually saying something along the lines of “any tool with a certification can make you tired and sore.  But it takes a COACH and someone who actually know what they’re talking about to be able to tweak programming to garner a desired effect – whatever it may be.

Making someone tired for the sake of feeling tired is a pointless endeavor and rarely yields positive results in the long run. Likewise soreness doesn’t mean much either

On one hand, especially with newbies, it’s a matter of teaching them the difference between sore and hurt.

On the other, especially with those who are more advanced, it’s a matter of teaching them that fatigue will always mask one’s true level of fitness.

Yes, soreness is okay and it’s perfectly fine to want to kick yourself in the ass sometimes so that you ARE sore the next day.

But it’s certainly not the “x-factor” when it comes to long-standing results, and it’s certainly not something that should be strived for on a consistent basis.

Supple Leopard vs. The World – Dr. Quinn Henoch

It’s the fitness industry’s latest version of the classic West Side Story rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks.

On one side you have those who lean towards the CrossFit mentality – in particular, Dr. Kelly Starrett – and advocate pushing the knees out when squatting or deadlifting in an effort to create more torque and not to allow any torsion stress on the body.

On the flip side, you have those who have a little bit of an issue with this mindset.

I thought this was a fantastic (and fair) discussion which lends the opportunity for the reader to make up his or her own mind on the topic.

My thoughts?  I think much of the controversy is lost in translation.  I’ve heard Kelly talk about this and from what I can gather – and I could be wrong on this – he never really states that he wants people to excessively push their knees out.  Rather, it’s more of a cue so that people don’t go into knee valgus (which I agree with, 100%).

I know I’d never go out of my way to allow someone to squat with excessive knee valgus. And I think by that logic it makes sense that letting the pendulum glide too far to the other side – where people are going into excessive knee varus – doesn’t do them any favors either.

What are people arguing about again?

Take the Lunge – Lee Boyce

Lee’s been on a writing tear lately, and with this gem he touches on the intricacies of the one of the more overlooked movement patterns – the lunge.