When most people – at least within fitness circles – think of “glutes,” they envision bikini models/figure competitors up on stage or people with 400+ lb hip thrust with the ability to crack a walnut/crush a Volvo between their cheeks, in what’s known as the 21st century’s version of “coolest bar trick ever.”
And well, I can’t disagree with either of those examples.
I mean…..GLUTES!
A more poignant and mature fitness professional, however, will note that, the glutes – or gluteal complex (glute maximus, medius, and minimus) – are a major player in a multitude of strength & conditioning (in addition to general health & well-being) facets.
Having strong glutes allows athletes to lift more weight, jump higher, and run faster. While not always the case and a true indicator of athletic prowess, using the eyeball test and comparing athlete A (who has a big ass) and athlete B (who looks as if (s)he has a 2×4 stuck to their rear-end), I’m going to put my money on athlete A.
The glutes also serve a major role in helping to “bullet proof” the body. Athlete or not, many people complain of chronic lower back pain due to “glute amnesia.”
Get those bad-boys strong(er) and firing more efficiently, reduce the likelihood of faulty compensations, and good things tend to always happen.
Exhibit A: Kellie Davis, co-author of Strong Curves, rocking some solid hip thrusts.
Exhibit B: this sexy firefighter rescuing a helpless kitten from a tree.
That said, we can’t always “muscle” our way to strong, efficient glutes. Sometimes we need to implement lower-level, “corrective” type movements in order to appropriately “access” them.
Note to Self: lets tone it down on the quotations marks, mmm-kay.
Modified Side-Lying Hip Abduction With Leg Slide
Who Did I Steal it From?: Chicago based chiropractic physician and strength coach, Dr. Evan Osar.
What Does it Do?: The objective here is to not to say we’re strengthening the glute medius. We’re not, really.
Most people don’t have a weak glute medius. And frankly, doing an endless array of hip abduction or side lying clam variations isn’t going to be the answer. Sure, some people may need to regress things to include a healthy dose of motor control exercises, but at the end of the day, if you want to “strengthen” a muscle, you need to, you know, do traditional strength-building exercises.
That being said, the intent here is to help people access their glute medius as part of the gluteal complex, to increase the brain’s and nervous system’s awareness of that muscle, and to recruit it once we get people into the upright/standing position and lifting heavy things.
Key Coaching Cues:
We get hip extension, abduction, and lengthening of the anterior hip complex.
Entire backside is flush against the wall.
Shoulders/hips are stacked on top of one another.
Elbow at 90 degrees, knees at 45 degrees. Also, it’s a good idea to place a yoga block or towel between knees to encourage a more neutral pelvic position.
Start by pushing the bottom knee gently into the floor.
Elevate top foot and then push your heel into the wall, engaging glute max.
Slowly straighten leg until fully extended, making sure to keep heel in contact with wall the entire time. Toes will point forward/come off wall when leg is straight.
Return back to starting position, and repeat 6-8 repetitions/side for 2-3 sets.
THAT’S what it feels like to turn your entire gluteal complex on.
You could say I like to write about deadlifts. Well that, and zombies. Or zombies fighting ninjas. Or how adorable my cat is, which has nothing to do with zombies.
In my latest article that went up on T-Nation today, I break down 13 quick-n-dirty tips that many people can incorporate TODAY and see immediate improvement in their lift.
I was invited back by the crew at Mark Fisher Fitness to participate in round #2 of their Motivation and Movement Lab. I, along with Mark Fisher, Michael Keeler, Harold Gibbons, Michael Littig, Steven Ledbetter, Pete Dupuis, and Artemis Scantalides spoke over the course of two days to a group of 80+ trainers, coaches, therapists, and gym owners from around the country on a variety of fitness-related topics ranging from business and behavioral change to program design and assessment.
What’s more…there were roughly 17,459 f-bombs dropped, 245 references to unicorns/dildos, and this Pulitzer Prize worthy picture.
It’s hard not to appreciate the sharp contrast and symmetry between the lighting, Jackie Chan’s facial expression, and my biceps.
Much like last year, I left the event feeling energized and thankful for being included in such an amazing event. I’m a better human being after having been immersed in the infectious MFF culture. Their passion and proclivity at helping every person pursue and amplify the best version of him or herself possible is unparalleled.
It’s quite an honor to see and be a part of it.
On that note: I got back into Boston somewhat late last night, and am in the throes of email purgatory. However, I do have something cool for you to check out.
Trainer Critique 2: The Deadlift
Last year, both Bret Contreras and Nick Tumminello were part of a video series hosted by ProShapeFitness.com called Trainer Critique “Live” I felt was pretty neat.
The premise was simple: the two of them watched a video of someone performing a lift (in this case, the squat) and they would each provide real-time, “live” feedback on what they saw.
For the second go-round, I was asked – alongside Jordan Syatt – to critique two different deadlifts. Here’s what transpired. Enjoy!
Jump to each critique section:
– Jordan Syatt critique 1: 0:56
– Jordan Syatt critique 2: 3:59
– Tony Gentilcore critique 1: 7:12
– Tony Gentilcore critique 2: 14:07
Assessment in the health and fitness setting can be tricky, and rife with numerous (common) mistakes some fitness professionals make.
This is especially true when we start talking shoulders.
Mistake #1: the shoulder isn’t just the shoulder.
As in: it’s not just one “thing.” We’re actually referring to a shoulder “complex” that’s, well, complex.
The “shoulder” is comprised of four separate articulations (glenohumeral joint, sternoclavicular joint, acromioclavicular joint, as well as the scapulothoracic joint), all playing nicey-nice together in order to perform a wide array of movement(s).
All deserve their time under the assessment microscope.
Mistake #2: However, while all areas are important, I do find that assessing and addressing scapular function/positioning is often the key to unlocking answers. Unfortunately, it’s often the area that’s least looked at with regards to shoulder pain/dysfunction.
Mistake #3: shoulder assessment can – and should be – attacked from a few different perspectives.
Far too often, I find, fitness professionals take a static view of what’s going on and that’s it. They’ll have an individual stand there in the middle of a room, utter a few “mmm’s and ahhh’s,” write a few fancy schmancy words like “internally rotated,” “kyphotic,” or “I have my work cut out for me,” and that’s that.
Assessment complete.
Lets go squat!
When in fact, shoulder assessment should be broken down into a few disparate – but not altogether separate – components: Static Assessment, Integrative Assessment, and Dynamic Assessment.
Not to mention one’s ability to fill in a smedium t-shirt. Very important.
All three provide pertinent information that will help better ascertain the appropriate plan of attack when it comes to movement dysfunction, pain, and/or improved performance within the shoulder complex.
I Got 99 (Shoulder) Problems and….
…..My scapulae are the reason for all of them.
Sorry, I’m no Jay-Z. And I know I just butchered one of his classic hits.
But it was the only way I could think of to best articulate my point.
The scapulae (shoulder blades) are kind of a big deal when we begin to discuss shoulder health. It’s an arbitrary number I’m throwing out there with no research to back it up – so please, don’t quote me2 – but 90-95% of the “shoulder” issues I’ve helped address in the past when I was a coach at Cressey Sports Performance as well as the present (now that I am on my own), can be correlated back to scapular positioning and function.
Static Assessment
The scapulae should be in slight upward rotation. As you can see in the picture above, this individual is in slight downward rotation statically (both inferior medial borders (the two bottom x’s) of the scapulae are inside the superior medial borders.
Both scapulae should rest between T2-T7. The top middle “x” is T2 and you can see this person is below that point and in slight shoulder depression.
The medial borders themselves should rest between 1-3 inches from the spine.
If we only used static assessment it would be easy to assume this person is f****d. Many fitness pros would see this, hyperventilate into a brown paper bag, and immediately go into corrective mode.
But as Mike Reinold has poignantly noted time and time again:
“Statically, everyone’s shoulder blades start in a different position (elevated vs. depressed, internally rotated vs. externally rotated, abducted vs. adducted, anteriorly titled vs. posteriorly tilted, Autobots vs. Decepticons), and it’s moot to take static posture at face value.”
Besides, the above picture is of me, and when this was filmed/taken I presented with zero shoulder pain. This isn’t to imply I don’t have anything to work on, but it does showcase that static posture alone isn’t going to tell you all you need to know.
Integrative Assessment
Once we start adding movement – looking at scapulohumeral rhythm (the interplay between humerus and shoulder blade) or one’s ability to elevate arms above their head – sometimes, people self-correct really well.
What presents as “bad, “faulty,” or “shitty (<— depending on your rating system) statically, may very well be passable or very good once you add movement.
When looking at shoulder elevation/flexion, for example, does the scapula posteriorly tilt, upwardly rotate sufficiently (generally looking at 55-60 degrees of upward rotation), and does the inferior angle wrap around the thorax to the midline of the body?
This is something that can’t be determined if you’re only looking at static posture.
Dynamic Assessment
This is basically the part of the assessment where I ask the person to do stuff. Rather than boring someone to tears poking and prodding for an hour and making him or her feel like a patient, I prefer to get them moving and have them demonstrate certain exercises.
The push-up tells me a lot. Not only does it give me insight on their ability to move their scapulae (many times they’re “stuck” in adduction), but it also provides details on their lumbo-pelvic-hip control.
Because, something like this makes my corneas want to jump into a pool of acid:
Note: I understand the point of the video above was to purposely showcase a bad push-up. Mission accomplished.
More importantly, if someone comes to me with pain present, having them demonstrate how they perform certain exercises provides unparalleled understanding of what needs to be fixed.
A common theme I see amongst many trainees is allowing their shoulders to roll forward during execution of given exercises.
A Brief Review: when we elevate our arms above our heads the shoulder blades posteriorly tilt (hug the rib cage) and upwardly rotate. Reversing the action calls for scapular anterior tilt and downward rotation.
Many people “feed” into excessive downward rotation/anterior tilt by allowing the shoulders roll forward during common exercises like rows, push-ups, curls, and tricep press downs.
Stop It
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9ytqrIf-dc
I Said, Stop It!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47xXBhD7SuI
The “fix” here is easy:
Me to Client: “Okay, show me how you’d perform a standing cable row and tricep press down.”
Client: “Um, okay.”
[Then proceeds to emulate technique from the videos above.]
“Yeah, that hurts.”
Me to Client: “Stop doing them that way.”
[Puts client in a better position…shoulders rolled back with posterior tilt.]
Client to Me: “Wow, that feels so much better. You’re so smart and attractive.”
That’s Not All
What’s described above is in no way an exhaustive approach to shoulder assessment, but I hope it at least opened your eyes to the notion that it’s more multi-faceted than many give it credit for.
And on that note, I’d be remiss not to point people in the direction of guys like Eric Cressey, Mike Reinold, and Dr. Evan Osar.
And, pimping myself up a little bit, I cover the above and many other shoulder related topics in mine and Dean Somerset’s Complete Hip & Shoulder Workshop coming to the Toronto area in a few weeks (1 week left to take advantage of the Early Bird Special), Seattle, and two stops in Europe in May.
If you’ve ever picked up a VHS off the shelf at Blockbuster—you still do that too, right?—you know that movies often aren’t what they appear to be at first glance.
The Deer Hunter isn’t about hunting deer.
The Neverending Story actually, you know, ends. There’s even a sequel.
50 Shades of Grey is not a coloring book.
Strength training is the same way. Plenty of movements look like a whole lot of weirdness—or a whole lot of nothing—when you see them in a 10-second YouTube clip without context. But with a little more context, they turn out to be just the thing you needed all along to build an epic overhead press or nail that first pull-up.
These three movements are all worthy of being performed without a shred of self-consciousness. Still, it’s a good idea to be prepared for the inevitable question: “What is that working?”
SPOILER ALERT: exercises discussed in the article are HBT (Hanging Band Training) Overhead Press, Lying Hollow Position, and the Spoto Press (pictured above).3.
Congrats to Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos on the win.
But screw the game. Did everyone see that new Jason Bourne teaser trailer?????
It took all the will power I could muster not to start dry humping the television screen. I knew a Bourne movie has been in the works for a while now – because I’m a nerd and read Entertainment Weekly and hang out on IMDB – and had been anticipating something epic in the coming months now that both (Matt) Damon and (Paul) Greengrass are back on board with the franchise.
But I was NOT expecting to see a sneak peak teaser last night. I caught me completely off-guard.
The only thing more manly would have been if it showed Bourne bare knuckle fighting a grizzly bear.
On an aside – and serving as the worst segue in history – I recently recorded a video “chat” with Ryan Ketchum for the Elite Training Mentorship titled Behind the Scenes: Tony Gentilcore on Program Design Made Simple.
As a whole, the Elite Training Mentorship gives you access to monthly “inner circle” content from the likes of Eric Cressey (and the entire coaching staff of Cressey Sports Performance), Mike Robertson (and the entire coaching staff of IFAST), in addition to Tyler English, Dave “the Band Man” Schmitz, and Steve Long and Jared Woolever of Smart Group Training.
For a very fair price ($29.95/month, $299.95/year) you gain access – past and current content – to the entire library.
HOWEVER, because this is my first solo addition to the service, you go HERE you can take advantage of a special trail rate of $4.95 for the first 30 days.
That’s pretty sick if you ask me.
Exercises You Should Be Doing: Stationary Bear Crawl
Who Did I Steal It From: I got this bad boy from Dr. Mark Cheng when I watched his excellent DVD, Prehab=Rehab 101. In particular the exercise stems from when he covered the topic of ground based training, transitioning from primitive patterns – rolling, sphinx pose, etc – to crawling patterns.
What Does It Do: crawling (and bear crawls especially) have grown in popularity in recent years…mostly in group training environments such as boot camps and/or CrossFit classes.
However I don’t think most people understand what advantages or uses the exercise provides other than “making people tired” and provoking a cacophony of groans whenever they’re placed into a WOD.
The “making people tired” approach makes me cringe because, well, that’s when bad shit starts to happen.
The real reason(s) bear crawls carry weight in a program are as follows:
1) When performed correctly – hips level with shoulders (no excessive arching or rounding of the spine) – they’re an excellent way to train lumbo-pelvic stability/control. More importantly, they help the trainee dissociate hip movement from lumbar movement.
I like to tell people to pretend as if a glass of water or wine is lying their back upright and the objective is to not allow one drop to spill.
2) There’s extensive motor learning (or motor remembering) involved here. I’ll purposely go out of my way to not coach someone on these at the start.
I’ll demonstrate and then point to the floor and say, “your turn.” I feel like a big a-hole in saying it, but I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a smidgeon of entertainment and comedic relief when watching some people try to perform a bear crawl.
It’s as if some are cemented to the floor. They don’t move.
But after awhile it’s just a matter of them figuring things out and reacquainting themselves with some simple motor patterning.
If you really want to be mean have people reverse the action, or go sideways.
2) Bear crawls are also an excellent anterior core exercise (due to the aforementioned focus on lumbo-pelvic control). I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a client contact me the day after saying something to the effect of “WTF, Tony, my abs are on fire today.”
Weird how when you perform something right it becomes more challenging and “stuff” is engaged to a higher degree or turned on.
3) There’s also a fair amount of serratus activity involved, which is a great fit for those with excessively adducted and/or downwardly rotated scapulae. Another BIG mistake many people make with their bear crawls is “hanging” on their shoulder blades and allowing them to touch the entire time. This causes a lot of ramifications with glenohumeral issues. The scaps should more or less move around the rib cage.
4) And, too, I can’t deny the conditioning component to the exercise. There are innumerable ways to make people hate life here. Performing them for time, for distance, dragging a bulldozer behind, it’s endless.
All that being said, oftentimes people don’t have the luxury of having turf or open space to perform traditional bear crawls.
So why not do them in place?
Key Coaching Cues: Hands under shoulders, knees under hips. Depending on one’s ability and comfort level, how wide someone has to go – base of support – will vary.
Brace abs, chin tucked. From there I’ll say “lift opposite limbs a few inches off the ground, but prevent any teeter-tottering of the torso/hips.”
Of Note: the water/wine analogy from above works well here.
Another crucial cue is to make sure the trainee pushes him or herself AWAY from the floor. Basically, make sure those bad boys are moving AROUND the rib cage.
I’ll have someone perform these for “x” number of repetitions (usually 5-8/side) or for time (15-30s).
This is a great exercise for many populations. I’ve used it with clients/athletes with chronic low back issues, as well as with clients/athletes who need to be humbled….;O)
You can always regress the exercise and have someone focus on ONE limb at a time too. Also, I’ve had people perform this in clockwise/counter-clockwise fashion, lifting/lowering each limb in both directions.
My dream as a kid was to be He-Man play professional baseball. Growing up in Middle-of-Nowhere, NY4 made this dream a bit more of challenge because 1) I often had to resort to doing things alone and 2) I didn’t have a ton of access to watching baseball.
My parent’s house was outside of town lines, which meant we didn’t have access to cable television. I had five channels to choose from (<– borderline child abuse nowadays), and the only way I could watch a MLB game was to wait for the “Game of the Week” broadcast every Saturday afternoon on one of the major network channels.
Although, sometimes, if I used enough tin foil on my small black and white television in my bedroom, and angled my antenna juuuuust right, I could snake a regional broadcast out of Elmira, NY of the Yankee games.
I’d stand there in the middle of my bedroom with my bat and emulate the swings of Don Mattingly, Jesse Barfield, or Steve Sax pitch by pitch.
Anyways, I’d record the weekly broadcast on Saturdays on our VHS player and play back the game over and over and over again throughout the week.
The real treat was the annual All-Star Game. I’d record that game too, and play it back ALL year…oftentimes watching an inning or two and then heading outside to my backyard to pretend I was Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, or Greg Maddux.
I’d tried so hard to perfect their mechanics and their way of doing things, that I’d get frustrated whenever things didn’t click or make sense. Things would get even more frustrating when I didn’t throw 95 MPH.
I mean, WTF!?!
Suffice it to say, in looking back (hindsight is always 20/20), it was the mentality I took in striving for PERFECTION and not focusing on PROGRESS that was the issue.
Not coincidentally it’s a mantra I feel holds a lot of weight in many facets of day-to-day lift…especially in the weight room.
New slogan I’ve been reiterating to clients: “strive for PROGRESS not PERFECTION.”
I started working with a new female client a few months ago and knew within the first 15 minutes of coaching her squat that she was a perfectionist.
She’d get easily frustrated and discouraged whenever she performed a “bad” repetition and would seemingly respond like a reprimanded puppy whenever I coached her or offered some advice.
Mind you, I like it when people take a more proactive approach to their training and want to get better. What I don’t like is when people set the bar so high for themselves that it becomes more of a detriment than anything else.
I started repeating the above mantra to her…noting that small, incremental “wins” in technique (progress) trumps the perceived need for perfection, every day of the week.
Except for every other Saturday. Just because.
To put things into perspective: I’m pretty good at deadlifting (best pull of 570 lbs at a bodyweight of 190), and would consider myself an “advance lifter” in that realm.
I still tinker and tweak my technique, and understand (and accept) the notion that I’ll never be perfect.
What’s more I’m often dumbfounded by my client’s dumbfoundedness when they realize that I, too, their coach, am still trying to “figure things out” when it comes to lifting stuff.
I should know all there is to know by now, right?
And here they are giving themselves a hard time for not understanding a concept after reading one T-Nation article and/or training seriously for only six months.
Sheesh, relax.
But lets get back to the squats.
Look at a guy like Chad Wesley Smith, one of the best squatters in the world.
He’s pretty locked in with his technique, but you can peruse any number of his articles and videos and he’ll reiterate the same sentiment: He’s still tinkering.
I am no where near Chad’s level when it comes to performing – let alone coaching – the squat. However, I know a thing or two.
Sometimes.
And, having done some major finagling myself for the past year or so with my squat I wanted to share some of my own thoughts and experiences with how I’m striving for progress and not perfection.
1) There’s No ONE Right Way to Squat
This is by no means a new revelation on my end. I mean:
Meryl Streep is kind of a good actress.
Richard Dawkins is kind of smart.
Bacon is kind of delicious.
No new news there.
I’ve always taken the stance that everyone is going to be a little different when it comes to squatting. I never quite understand the steadfastness of some coaches who are adamant that everyone needs to squat “x” way, and if they don’t they might as well jump into a live volcano, cause they’re stupid and suck.
It’s a very standoffish, ornery – borderline childish – approach to take.
I mean, sure, we could make an argument for this way or that approach with regards to lifting as much weight as humanly possible but:
1. Not every cares about max strength.
2. Even with strong dudes (and women), if you watched 20 different videos of them squatting, you’d see 20 different approaches.
And that more or less feeds into the dilemma at hand.
Someone watches a video of Dan Green squatting:
Then tries to emulate his squat stance, his bar position, his hand width, his whatever (training program, volume, etc) and is left wondering why they end up hurt all the time or never make any progress.
[NOTE: I recall Chad Wesley Smith saying something to the effect of “you shouldn’t emulate what elite level lifters are doing NOW in their training. You should do what they did 10, 15, or 20 years ago to get to that level.”]
Some people will squat better with a narrow(er) stance (maybe even an asymmetrical stance), some with a high(er) bar position, and some with their feet pointing out more.
More to the point, as Dean Somerset notes in THIS excellent article, no two hips are the same and variances in things like anteversion, retroversion, degree of APT, and angle of inclination will dictate what type of squat (and depth) will be the best fit.
To put my word vomit into a short sentence: We need to respect everyone’s individual anatomy and anthropometry.
It’s hard to pound a square peg into a round hole. I feel that’s what many trainees end up doing when they fall into the trap of holding themselves accountable to copying a specific individual or book/article 100% of the time.
Speaking for myself I prefer a narrow stance when I squat with a high(er) bar position. It just feels better to me. I finally accepted this a few months ago and have seen much better progress overall.
Which serves as a nice segue to…..
2) “Feel” of a Set Matters
Too, since we’re on the topic of falling into traps, I feel many trainees think the only way to gauge progress is to lift more weight.
It’s actually an excellent way to gauge progress. I should shut up here and move on.
But it’s not the only way.
“Feel” of a set matters too. And this is something I’ve latched onto more and more with my own squatting.
A video posted by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore) on
3) Upper Back Tightness Is Crucial
This is a concept lost on some trainees. Nothing saddens me more than poor attention to detail during the set-up.
Well, that and a well done steak.
You want to see something that will have an instantaneous effect on someone’s squat? Have him or her actually take the time work on their upper back tightness.
Hand position will vary person to person, and mostly be a slave to one’s shoulder mobility. That being said, a closer grip will generally lead to better upper back stiffness compared to a wider grip.
Moreover it’s important to note that the elbows should not only point towards the floor but be INSIDE the hands. If the elbows are outside the hands and then you crank them forward it will lead to some, well, cranky elbows.
Additionally, two cues I like to use to get people to turn on their lats to improve upper back tightness other than saying “turn on your lats:”
“Place your shoulder blades in your back pocket.”
And
“Try to get your triceps to touch your lats.”
Progress over perfection can mean different things to different people. With squats it can mean something as simple as not holding yourself to some unrealistic expectation (that you HAVE to do it one way) or staying more cognizant of “feel” of a set.
But the mantra as whole can be applied to anything: whether you’re following a nutritional plan to lose fat, learning how to salsa dance, or playing a piano. It works. Life’s easier that way.
The kettlebell swing offers many benefits and can be utilized in many ways.
It’s a fantastic modality to train explosiveness and power (especially as a more “user friendly” alternative to Olympic lifting), it’s a back saver in that 1) when it’s performed correctly it helps to dissociate hip movement from lumbar movement (it’s all about the hinge baby) and 2) even Dr. Stuart McGill agrees that the KB swing is the bombdiggidy5, it serves as an excellent conditioning tool, and it’s one of those things that doesn’t take up too much gym space or equipment.
The thing is, the kettlebell swing isn’t as intuitive as it looks.
Frankly, more often than not, whenever I watch someone try it (or even coach it), it ends up looking like whateverthefuck dance Drake’s doing in his Hotline Bling video.
There’s a lot going on with a (good) swing, and it’s understandable why many mess it up on their first go. And second, and 7, 912th.
A lot of “things” need to happen and be in working order from a patterning standpoint to perform one competently. And it’s compounded further when we start to factor in load, not to mention the ballistic nature of the movement itself.
Whenever I begin to coach someone up who’s new to the movement (or even if I’m working with someone with a little more experience and have to iron out some technique kinks), I prefer to break things down into more manageable, bite-size chunks and attempt to “layer” the swing.
Layering the KB Swing
Technically, the first “layer” is slowing things down and allowing people to appreciate what the finished – standing tall– position should feel like.
Here is where abs should be engaged, knees are locked out (quads/knee caps flexed), spine is an anatomical neutral position, and one should be firing their glutes so hard that their butt cheeks could crush a Volvo.
I’m not kidding.
Here, too, is where I try to get someone to understand what it means to HINGE and not SQUAT the swing.
The KB should never dip below knee level – again, it’s a hip hinge not a squat – and there are a litany of cues I default towards to get this message across:
One I like a lot is one I stole from Dan John: “attack your zipper.”
Another one I like is to tell people to “play chicken with your (you know what).”
Essentially I need to get people to appreciate that they’re going to stay upright for as long as possible – till the very last split second – before they “break” and get out of the way.
From there I find time best spent working on the set-up.
A big mistake people make is to pick up the KB and then try to start the swing from a standing position. It’s awkward and vaguely resembles dry humping a tree. See? Awkward.
Teaching the HIKE POSITION is crucial, as it gets people in a more efficient starting position and helps to set the tone for the subsequent hip snap.
This in fact may be someone’s wheelhouse for a week, maybe longer. I’ll generally keep things in the 8-10 rep range and perform multiple sets as either part of an extended warm-up or as a stand alone exercise.
The key, though, is to ensure an aggressive hike and that the hips don’t pop up too far.
Once we have that nailed down, it’s time for the next layer….
The Hike +1
Here is where we take the hike and start to incorporate an actual hip snap (swing)…albeit only ONE repetition.
The goal is to ensure quality reps.
I also want to ensure people learn to use their HIPS (and not “muscle” things with their arms). The hips more or less serve as a launching pad to “thrust/push” the arms out front.
Note: and since we built a little context beforehand and started everyone in the end position (standing tall) they should kinda-sorta know what it feels like, or what to expect. Basically, it’s not a foreign “thing” to them like a good episode of The Kardashians or, I don’t know, a leprechaun.
I’ll keep reps a little lower here, usually around FIVE, and utilize the same approach as above with the hike.
Moving Forward
Once those two things are dialed in, we can then experiment with an actual repetitive swing. However, I find many people will benefit more by not being too aggressive from the get go and veering too far away from the Hike and Hike + 1.
Some may pick things up quickly and be able to perform a swing within 10-30 minutes – Dean Somerset and I do it all the time at our workshops: TORONTO (3/19), SEATTLE (4/9) – and for others it may take a few sessions, if not a few weeks.
The important point to consider is to break the swing down into more manageable parts for people, and to not perform or coach an American Swing.…;o)
Today’s guest post comes courtesy of Providence, RI based strength coach, Joe DeLeo. He discusses the kettlebell deadlift and why it can have a lot of influence on one’s performance with the barbell deadlift.
Enjoy!
3 Ways the Kettlebell Deadlift Can Improve Your Barbell Deadlift
The kettlebell deadlift can help you improve your barbell deadlift and the hip hinge.
I know what you are thinking…. “There can be only one!”
Hopefully by the end of this article I will have convinced you of the value of both and how you can improve your barbell deadlift with the kettlebell deadlift.
Key Benefits & Differences
Deadlifts can be performed two ways: conventional and sumo. A conventional deadlift has the feet placed inside the grip and a sumo deadlift has the feet placed outside the grip.
If this is confusing, I highly encourage you to go back and read Tony’s blog “The Deadlift: Beginner Basics” as well as his E-Book Pick Heavy Things Up which can you get for FREE by subscribing at the bottom of this article.
Note from TG: I agree. They’re both life changing. And come with a lifetime supply of hugs.
There are three main differences between the kettlebell and barbell deadlift: Grip, Stance, and The Path of the Handle.
1) Grip
In the barbell deadlift you maintain an overhand grip (palms down, knuckles up) for as long as you can maintain perfect technique or until you get to a heavy enough weight. At this point you will switch to an alternate grip. In the kettlebell deadlift you maintain an overhand grip the entire time.
One of the limiting factors in being able to deadlift heavier weight is your grip strength. Usually a person’s grip will fatigue before their posterior chain does. As Boston based coach, owner of Iron Body Studios, and Xena herself, Artemis Scantalides, notes in THIS article:
“As kettlebell sizes increases so does the thickness of the handle. A thicker handle requires more muscle activation!”
Another added benefit is that when performing the double kettlebell deadlift you will be training the grip of each hand independently while simultaneously learning to maintain equal tension through the left and right sides of your back and latissmus dorsi. You can easily monitor this, by noting if one of your shoulders becomes unpacked or you have greater difficulty maintaining control with one hand over the other.
This really helps to develop the mind/body connection or in scientific terms the neuromuscular connection.
2) Stance
In the conventional barbell deadlift your feet will be about 12 inches apart and toes pointed at about 30 degrees. The handle of the barbell should align over your midfoot as seen in the pictures below.
In the kettlebell deadlift your stance will fluctuate depending on whether you are deadlifting one or two kettlebells and the bell size. The kettlebell deadlift by nature is more similar to a sumo barbell deadlift as your hands are going between your legs and you’re in a wider stance (picture below).
One of the most difficult aspects in the barbell deadlift is finding the correct back position and making sure the chest is ‘up’ (I should be able to see the logo on your t-shirt!).
Mark Rippetoe makes a great point in Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training:
“Everything else can be wrong with the deadlift and nothing really bad will happen but if your low back is round under a big load, safety will be compromised.”
It is very difficult to round your back with the kettlebell deadlift because the weight is behind you. If you round your back you will shift weight to the balls of your feet and tip over.
3) The Path of the Handle
This is probably where the greatest difference lies and the biggest benefit as well.
The path of a barbell deadlift should be vertical, always. It is the most efficient way to get the bar off the floor.
With the kettlebell deadlift that’s not possible due to the placement of the bells level or behind the malleolus.
The path of the kettlebell takes the shape of a “J” as it travels from the ground through full hip extension.
Now this actually works to one’s advantage because it elicits a stronger stretch reflex in the glutes and the hamstrings. This is because the weight is traveling behind our center of mass. This helps to really groove a solid hip hinge for the barbell deadlift and build some serious strength in the posterior chain, not to mention it makes for a lot of fun picking heavy things up!
Focus on really building control and coordination with the kettlebell deadlift and see your barbell deadlift improve as well.
References
Jones, Brett. Cook, Gray. Kettlebells from the Center: Dynami. Functional Movement Systems. 2010. Print.
Joe DeLeo is a former collegiate rower turned strength coach. His practice focuses on working with endurance athletes to get stronger so they can perform their best. He also has tremendous experience rehabbing rowing-related injuries and stresses. He focuses on three modalities to train his athletes and clients: bodyweight, kettlebells, and indian clubs.
He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He holds certifications as a Functional Movement Specialist, Rocktape FMT II, and is a Level I Girya with StrongFirst.
He lives in Providence, RI, where he can be found both off and on the water helping his athletes get stronger and faster! You can read his blog posts HERE.
“Most trainees can never really do enough (horizontal) rowing.”
I tend to agree.
It’s no secret most guys (and girls) are mirror-centric, often training the muscles most easily viewed when staring into a mirror – pectorals, shoulders, biceps, abdominals, and the tranzipidous7
It’s also no secret most guys (not so much girls) often skip leg day
Whenever I audit a program it’s amazing to me the ratio of pushing exercises compared to pulling. I saw one program recently that, when broken down into it’s parts, looked like this:
Push (benching variations): 45 total sets
Pull: 7 total sets. And none of them were horizontal in nature. All were the obligatory handful of sets of lat pulldowns – more glenohumeral internal rotation – tossed in for good measure.
And this person was wondering why their shoulder was bothering them. Weird.
Horizontal rowing variations (think: inverted rows, seated rows, chest supported rows, 1-arm row variations) do a superb job at targeting the upper back – specifically scapular retraction – which often helps to offset or counteract the muscular imbalances and injuries seen with too much pressing.
Moreover, horizontal rowing offers many aesthetic advantages and I’m pretty sure it’s a well known scientific fact it also cures gonorrhea8. And a bad hair day.
For all the accolades and hoopla, horizontal rowing does have a dark side and is not immune from scrutiny or interrogation from the technique police.
As I covered in THIS article a few months ago, I do feel there’s a common flaw in how many people perform their row variations.
More people are rowing: Yay!
More people are rowing incorrectly:
So today I wanted to share a variation I’ve been using with many of my own athletes/clients which helps to address the technique flaw discussed in the link above (<— seriously, you should read it).
The Hinge Row
Who Did I Steal It From: This exercise is nothing new (and it is one I’ve used sporadically in the past), but it wasn’t until I watched a video from Jordan Syatt where I had a better appreciation for it’s value.
What Does It Do: The fatal flaw many people make with their rows is that they keep their scapulae (shoulder blades) “glued” together the entire time. They’ll perform their first repetition by squeezing their shoulder blade(s) together (retraction/adduction) – which is correct – but then keep them there throughout the duration of the set.
You need to let those bad boys move.
By not letting them move – think: shoulder blade should move around the rib cage – the bulk of the motion comes form the glenohumeral joint alone (often leading to anterior humeral translation, and hence instability) in addition to leading to rhomboid dominance and the risk of scapular downward rotation syndrome.
A sort of “reverse posturing” if you will.
As a result the shoulder blades can’t effectively upwardly rotate, which exposes the shoulder to a whole host of other issues and makes performing activities overhead difficult.
And makes this kitten sad.
The hinge row allows for more scapular movement – particularly upward rotation.
Key Coaching Cues: You’ll set up as you would for a normal suspension trainer (TRX, Jungle Gym, rings) row with the body in a straight line. Maintaining a straight/rigid torso you’ll pull the shoulder blades together keeping chest up. On the way down, however, instead of maintaining the rigid torso you’ll allow a “hinge” at the hips when your arms are fully extended and lower them to the ground. Basically, you should feel a subtle stretch at in the bottom position.
This allows the scapulae to upwardly rotate, which is money.
Of Note: This can also be performed if you don’t have access to a suspension system, like so:
If you notice, I have a pad on the bar to serve as a target for my chest and to prevent myself from going too far into glenohumeral extension.
I like this variation, but I prefer the former because it doesn’t lock me into a pronated (overhand) grip which then locks me into internal rotation.
The suspension system allows for a little more wiggle room with regards to external rotation of the shoulder.
Of Note (again): you can easily make this exercise more challenging by 1) elevating the feet onto a platform (box, bench) or by 2) adding an external load with either a weight vest or by placing chains across the hips.
Don’t be too quick to jump to the progressions. This exercise is every bit about the QUALITY of movement as it is about anything else. And if I catch wind of anyone adding a “kip” to this, I’ll punch you in the face.
