On a scale of 1 to NASCAR they’re not very exciting. They’re not exciting to perform, much less write about. You think I want to sit here and write about push-ups?
I can think of a litany of things I’d rather write about:
Standing in line at the Post Office.
Rugs.
Buying socks.
Attending another kid’s clarinet recital.
Alas, given the pickle we’re all in at the moment (everyone’s training at home with access to minimal equipment) and the tsunami of push-up tutorials and variations making my eyes bleed on social media I felt it prudent to add my quick two-cents on the topic.
As much as I may bellyache on the push-up I’m actually a huge fan.
There’s a bevy of benefits.
They’re one of the more user-friendly exercises out there, require no equipment other than your body, can be easily progressed or regressed depending on the needs and ability level of the person performing them, are gluten free, and, maybe most important of all, have a superb carry-over to both everyday and athletic pursuits.
I’ve been coaching people for 18+ years and I have yet to come across a client/athlete who’s improved their efficacy in performing a push-up and not seeing a noticeable improvement in their ability to execute sexier lifts like squats, deadlifts, you pick.
A push-up done well improves lumbo-pelvic control (canister position or stacked joints) which then helps with force transference which then helps with…E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G.
Poor Torso Position:Lower back arching, anterior pelvic tilt (porn star). Thanks to the folks at Mark Fisher Fitness for the porn star analogy.
But this isn’t even the main mistake I want to point out.
Everyone points this one out and I am wowing no one here.
Here’s the One I Wanted to Point Out
Performing them with pants on.
Why?
What’s the benefit of wearing pants?
Tell me.
TELL ME!!
Okay, the REAL Thing I Wanted to Point Out
Another bonafide benefit of the push-up is it’s proclivity to bolster one’s overall shoulder health.
Sometimes (but really almost always) whenever someone comes to CORE to work with me in person due to a shoulder that hates them, I’ll watch him or her perform a push-up and I’ll inevitably see this:
Other than the obligatory game of connect the dots you could play with the “beauty” marks on my back, what do you see?
SPOILER: Two shoulder blades that are glued together.
THIS is the mistake I see most people make. The (in)ability of the shoulder blades to upwardly rotate and move around the ribcage.
The shoulder blades are meant to move. This cementing effect can spell trouble:
Overactive rhomboids, which feeds into scapular downward rotation syndrome.
Ligaments of anterior shoulder capsule become lax and are more prone to injury.
A part of my soul dies.
Instead, what I prefer to see is something like this:
(Kudos to my wife for the Stanley Kubrick’esq camera work).
The subtle “plus,” or protraction (pushing fully away) at the top of the push-up is MONEY for Serratus Anterior activation which then helps nudge the scapula into upward rotation (as well as abduction).
The result is a proper push-up and most likely a pair of shoulders that will feel infinitely better.
Whether or not to wear a weight belt when lifting weights can be a conundrum. On one side of the fence you have those who swear by it and would never think about lifting (much less looking) at a weight without one.
Not exactly ideal.
And then on the other side you have those people who are “purists” and think wearing a belt should be avoided at all costs and that you’re cheating if you do so.1
Not exactly an ideal train of thought, either.
Sooooo, what’s the deal then?
Let’s discuss.
Benefits of the Weight Belt
The obvious starting point is to ask:
“Why do people start wearing a weight belt in the first place?”
My guess is most start because they see others using one in the gym and figure that’s just what the cool kids do. I mean, if you’re just starting out and new to the gym what other conclusion is there?
– That person over there performing lat pulldowns is wearing one:
– And so is that person over there performing deadlifts who looks and sounds like he’s passing a kidney stone the size of Kansas:
One exercise is pretty inane, the other extreme, and both are utilizing a weight belt.
What gives?
I can understand the confusion and tendency for some lifters to think that wearing a weight belt is somehow unspoken gym etiquette or something that has to be done at all times; you know, for safety.
To be candid: Neither are cemented as fact.
Examples of Actual Gym Etiquette:
Re-racking or putting away your weights when done.
Clearing the way for others to grab dumbbells from the rack when you’re using dumbbells. I.e., don’t perform bicep curls in front of the mirror directly in the way of the DB rack.
Wiping up your sweat after using a bench or piece of equipment.
Avoiding direct eye contact (of 3 seconds or more) with anyone when performing Hip Thrusts.
Pumping the brakes on the Ax body spray.
There’s no “rule” that states you have to use a weight belt for every exercise.
There are, however, legitimate reasons where you may want to use one:
1. Improved Performance
Strength coach and researcher, Greg Nuckols, wrote a thorough piece a few years ago on the efficacy of weight belts and one of the main points was that a bevy of research shows that wearing a weight belt can allow someone to lift anywhere from 5-15% more weight.
As Greg notes: Yes, there are instances of lifters NOT wearing a belt and still lifting an appreciable amount, but since you’re not them let’s just say that for 99 out of 100 people, wearing a belt will help you lift more weight and maybe even help you win a cage fight.
How?
Improved intra-abdominal pressure.
IAP helps to counter shear load on the spine; a sort of safety net if you will. I’m not going to go into the details here on this post, but I’d encourage you to check out anything and everything Dr. Stuart McGill has written on the topic. He’s the world’s foremost spine biomechanics researcher (and mustache haver).
It behooves anyone interested in lifting heavy things to seek out way to improve their intra-abdominal pressure.
This is a good thing.
That being said, learning how to appropriately push into the weight belt – on all sides – to enhance IAP is key.
Conversely, there is a drawback.
IAP increases blood pressure, which can be a contraindication for some.
2. Faster Lifts
No need to pontificate here.
Wearing a weight belt, for all intents and purposes, allows you to perform your lifts faster.
3. More Repetitions
And lastly, wearing a belt allows for more repetitions (in the ballpark of 1-3) to be performed at a given load.
In concert: More weight, performed faster, and for more reps = a nice recipe for added muscle and strength. Not a bad tradeoff if you ask me.
There is a Caveat
Personally speaking I don’t advocate using a weight belt until working with loads approaching 85% (and up) of one’s one-rep max. I can’t say I have a slew of PubMed articles in my pocket to back up my claim…
…it’s just a combination of anecdote and intuition.
It’s basically a general rule I use – kinda like wearing pants on Thursday – that can be a judgement call the day of. I mean, there are instances where, depending on the exercise, I’ll toss on the belt for my last challenging set (or two) because read above.
Too, I know there’s a myth out there stating that if you wear a weight belt incessantly that you run the risk of weakening your lower-back muscles, to the point where you then rely on it or else your muscles shut down.
I think it’s exactly that…a myth.
But, again, intuition tells me – outside of prior/current injury – you’re likely not gaining anything wearing a belt for non-challenging sets anyway.
❌ For every set, of every exercise, on every day of training. Again, I tend to lean more on the side of saving the belt for high(er) intensity sets.
❌ In the shower.
And that’s pretty much it.
That being said, I do find value in purposely going through blocks of training where the belt is not utilized no matter what.
For instance, for the past five weeks of my training I’ve made a conscientious effort to NOT use a weight belt for all my squat and deadlift sets.
Dafuq, Tony?
Here’s me last week performing 540×3 on my deadlift.
I think there’s a lot to be said about getting comfortable being uncomfortable.
For example, when my wife and I first started dating, she was studying to be a psychologist, and felt it imperative to the growth of our relationship to talk about our feelings.
I just assumed throw an ax into my face than do that.
It sucked at times and it was hard for me, but I did it…and our relationship (and now marriage) is all the better for it.
Likewise, purposely making training harder – no belt, shorter rest periods, using crappy bars, etc – is a germane way to level up your subsequent training blocks.
I mean, I totally could have done like 31 reps in the video above if I had a weight belt on.
I wanted to highlight some of my thoughts and programming suggestions on the topic. Don’t get me wrong: To get better at any activity – pull-ups, chess, baking, fighting grizzly bears – you need to actually do the activity. Specificity reigns supreme. I’ve highlighted several ways to progress one’s pull-up prowess on this site before.
I mean, you’re not here for Macadamia Nut Cookie recipes, or, I don’t know, best uses of tape.2
As such, I figured I’d take today to highlight a few of my “go to” non-pull-up exercises that help build the pull-up.
Lets get to it.
NOTE: Before anyone chimes in with the inevitable snide comment that the picture above is a silhouette of chin-up and not a pull-up, I get it.
You’re a hero.
A Quick Aside
I work with many clients – both male and female – who are very interested in performing their first strict, bodyweight pull-up.
And, to no big surprise, they’ve likely been told, via various articles and coaches, to hammer the same two exercises time and time and time again:
Eccentric Only Pull-Ups
Band Assisted Pull-Ups
Kind of like their own version of Groundhog Day hell.
Except without all the LOLs.
Suggesting those two exercise is not altogether bad advice.
I mean, in the name of specificity I implement them all the time too.
However, it’s a bit shortsighted and derails one key component of pull-up training I feel many trainees (and coaches) tend to overlook:
To that end, you need to provide a more diverse training menu (so you can train it more often).
Whenever I work with someone who’s main goal is to perform their first pull-up I try to implement an exercise or drill EVERY session that nudges him or her towards that goal.
Like the Hollow Position “Pull-Up” I discussed the other day HERE.
So, yeah, this means I do include exercises like Band Assisted or Eccentric Only Pull-Ups. It also means I utilize various hanging leg raise exercises (knees bent 90 degrees, straight-leg, etc), bent-arm hang holds (chin above bar and hold for time), tons and tons of rows, and/or various pulldown exercises.
But here’s a few more for you to consider.
1. Bear Stance Fallout
I got this one from Virginia based strength coach Vernon Griffith. I don’t think he posted it as a drill to help build the pull-up, but I’ve been using it as such because it HAMMERS the core (which is often a weak link for many trainees) in addition to teaching more of a “pulling” action back to the starting position (which carries over to the pull-up).
To be fair, I would always start out with plain ol’ push-ups and making sure people get proficient at them first. I have yet to see someone improve on their push-up technique (and ability to do more) and not see an improvement in pretty much everything else – squats, deadlifts, pull-ups, arm wresting a great white shark, you name it.
That said, if you’re looking to up the ante a bit give this drill a go.
2. Bottoms-Up Carry w/ Band
This may make zero sense to some, but hear me out.
“Connectivity” of the pelvis to the ribcage is huge. The pull-up is more of a FULL-BODY exercise than people give it credit for, and if someone is flailing all over the place while attempting it it makes sense why they may be having a hard time progressing.
This drill helps to build some context of the CONNECTION I am after while also building a set of sturdy shoulders.
I don’t have anything profound or sciency to add to this drill other than I like it for nothing else than it just gives people a nice confidence boost. I also like it because there’s a degree of specificity tethered to it (I.e., it’s a vertical pull, but still not quite actual pull-up territory).
Or, maybe it is.
Whatever.
And That’s That
For me, the main goal of getting someone to perform their first pull-up is to attack it more frequently and provide them more exposure to an array of exercises that will help them get there.
I hope these make sense and you can use them yourself!
As this post goes live Lisa and I are en route to Australia. I’d like to sit here and say I’m doing something productive with 20 hours on a plane like reading a book, catching up on some writing, or, I don’t know, looking lovingly into my wife’s eyes.
But in reality I’m probably watching John Wick or something.
Anyway, I didn’t forget about everyone and I do have a bunch of great content prepared for while I’m away. Today’s pinch writer is Baltimore, MD based trainer, Tim Hendren.
Blood Flow Restriction Training: The Holy Grail of Gimmicks?
The fitness world is usually full of shit.
What seems like every 30 seconds, a new product pops up in gyms or online that’s hailed as the next cutting-edge tool to take your training to the next level. From the thigh master to waist trainers to oxygen deprivation masks, bullshit peddlers have been taking advantage of the insecurities of fitness enthusiasts for decades.
Tell someone that it takes ten years of consistency with training and nutrition to achieve their desired results and you will struggle in the fitness space. Tell someone to strap a belt around their waist and magically lose 10 lbs. for three easy payments of 12.99 and you’re a millionaire.
I’m skeptical at this point when I see something gimmicky.
My stance is guilty before proven innocent for almost everything that doesn’t involve getting stronger using basic core lifts and eating the right amounts of the right foods for your goals.
When I saw blood flow restriction (BFR) for the first time, my brain immediately filed it in the category of useless shake weight’esque type nonsense.
Then I gave it a shot after I saw some trusted coaches (John Meadows, Ben Pakulski, and others) advocating it.
Ok, maybe there’s something to this.
I gave it a shot and the massive pump it provided my arms was undeniable.
Keeping blood trapped in the targeted muscle and reaching failure with an absurdly light weight had to have some legit benefits.
It was time to dig deeper.
What is BFR?
BFR refers to a training strategy that employs the use of cuffs, wraps, bands, or a BFR device placed strategically on the extremities to occlude venous blood flow away from the muscle while maintaining arterial flow into the muscle during an exercise.
In other words, blood goes into the muscle when it’s contracting and gets stuck there while you’re wrapped up.
When done properly and to failure, BFR is quite painful. Want to see someone humbled? Take the baddest dude at the gym, put him through a BFR exercise and watch him writhe in pain and hit failure with 20-35% of his 1 rep max.
To put that in perspective, that’s failing with a 60 lbs. squat when you max 315.
The duration of the exercise and total time with wraps on is under 4 minutes, light speed in terms of reaching muscular failure using a weight you typically warm up with.
What Does the Research Say?
This is all fine and dandy but who cares about the pump (I’m that guy with his hand raised) if it’s not producing any lasting results? When you take a closer look though, it turns out BFR isn’t just a tool for a bro to get a massive arm swell before he puts on his smedium t-shirt and hits the club.
In a recent meta-analysis of almost 50 studies (Lixandrão 2018) comparing traditional heavy load training and training using low loads with BFR, it was a wash with regards to muscle hypertrophy.
Think about that.
Almost 50 studies and the differences between traditional heavy training and light lifting with BFR were statistically insignificant when looking at muscle growth.
I guess this isn’t in the shake weight category after all.
It must be stated that in the same meta-analysis, it was determined that differences in strength were in favor of the heavy load groups by a wide margin.
Training for specificity still reigns supreme, especially regarding maximal strength.
In another study (Takarada Y 2000), patients fresh from ACL surgery were observed.
One group was given traditionally loaded exercises for the quadriceps and another group were given low load exercises combined with BFR. The group using BFR showed markedly less atrophy in the quadriceps when compared with the traditional group and certainly what is typically seen in patients after an ACL repair.
Another win for BFR as a prehab/rehab tool!
Practical Uses
When programming BFR into your training sessions, it’s important to keep in mind that its efficacy is limited to the biceps, triceps, quads, hamstrings, and calves due to the location of the occlusion sites. Sorry folks, it doesn’t matter where you put those wraps, you aren’t occluding your glutes or pecs.
Another limitation is its reluctancy to produce strength gains.
Based on the available research, while BFR hasn’t shown to increase maximal strength anywhere close to traditional lifting, it could be an effective way to maintain strength when dealing with an injury or joint issue that inhibits the trainee from lifting with heavy weight.
Other Scenarios Where BFR is Useful
1. Golfer’s or Tennis Elbow
The dreaded medial or lateral epicondylitis has provided quite a roadblock for arm gains.
There is nothing quite like attempting an overhead triceps extension with an inflamed elbow and the searing pain that follows. One of the more effective strategies I’ve found personally and with clients is taking the weight down, applying the cuffs, and pumping away pain free.
Typically, under these conditions, if the weight is light enough, you can get away with performing the exercise.
Add in the pillow-like effect of blood pooling around the joint due to BFR, and you’ve created an anabolic environment for the muscle minus the pain and risk for more inflammation.
2. Knee Issues
Whether it’s arthritis or simply cranky knees from heavy compound lifts, BFR can be a great way to hammer the quads and hamstrings without placing more stress on the knees. The same concept from #1, your inflamed knees will appreciate the low loads and allow the targeted muscles to reach failure without pain in a full range of motion.
3. Added Frequency
When working with heavier weights in a strength phase, it may be helpful to limit the load of isolation work for arms and legs. Training with BFR can provide an intense stimulus to the targeted muscles without anywhere close to the amount of muscle damage or joint stress from high loads. Furthermore, if you are using low loads and BFR, you can do the isolation lifts more frequently without sacrificing performance in the heavy lifts.
4. In-Home or On-the-Road
If you are training at home or in a hotel gym working with weights that resemble “My First Weight Set” by Fisher-Price, BFR can be a great way to jack up the intensity and train closer to failure regardless of load.
We’ve all been burned by bullshit online hotel gym pictures. You book the room thinking it’s an acceptable gym then show up to lift and they don’t have any dumbbells over 25 lbs. Infuriating.
Pack your wraps or cuffs just in case.
5. Prehab or Rehab
As stated earlier, the resulting atrophy from an injury or operation can be mitigated with low loads and BFR.
6. During a Deload
Taking a week off to recover from an intense training block? Sprinkle in BFR to provide the muscles a stimulus that won’t require much recovery or tax the central nervous system.
7. When You Need a Sick Pump Without Sacrificing Recovery from Programmed Training
Don’t act like you haven’t done this.
You’re about to head to the pool or beach and need to catch a quick arm swell.
You have exactly 2 ½ minutes to bang out 12,000 reps of curls and close grip push-ups to get the arms poppin’.
Wrap up, use BFR, and ensure that swell lasts well into the outing. You’d hate to lose that pump if someone starts snapping poolside pics for the gram’.
Note From TG: No BFR was done prior to the snapping of this pic…;o)
Get the pump you need without digging into your recovery from programmed training.
How to Wrap Up Safely and Effectively
Upper body: Place the wraps, cuffs, or BFR device directly under the deltoid tuberosity located at the attachment of the deltoid and humerus. Wrap your arms with a perceived tightness of 7/10 as this will provide enough pressure to occlude the cephalic vein but ensure you are still allowing arterial flow.
Check for a distal radial pulse after you are wrapped to make sure you didn’t go too tight. Do not perform the exercise if you can’t find your pulse.
Lower Body: Place the wraps, cuffs, or BFR device as far up your thigh as you can. Wrap your thigh with the same 7/10 tightness as upper body. Make sure the wrap, cuff, or device is lying flat and not wrinkled or bunched up. The goal here is to occlude the deep vein and femoral vein.
The best exercises to use with BFR are isolation movements such as leg extensions, leg curls, bicep curls, and triceps extensions. Play around and find your favorite variations.
The most heavily utilized and researched rep/set scheme of 30-15-15-15 is considered the gold standard by practitioners.
Set 1: 30 reps
Set 2: 15 reps
Set 3: 15 reps
Set 4: 15 reps
Take :30 rest between each set. Unwrap after set 4. Breathe.
Perform BFR up to 2-3x per week per muscle group for best results.
About the Author
Tim is an exercise science graduate and CSCS who has been training in Baltimore MD since 2004. While his specialty is body composition, he has extensive experience working with clients from young athletes to cardiac rehabilitation patients. Tim has been published in a variety of fitness publications and writes for his blog when he isn’t helping clients get stronger, leaner, and generally more awesome in person.
Being a former fat boy, Tim developed a deep seeded passion for training and nutrition in his teenage years after a major body transformation. This passion is what drives him to seek the best results for his clients and readers. Tim combines a knowledge base earned from years of practice in the field, research, and time spent under the bar with practical advice to help his clients accomplish their goals.
You can find Tim on Instagram HERE or his blog HERE.
I had a new client start at CORE recently who, before we even met in person, let it be known that 1) he hated techno and 2) he hated squats.
Well, why don’t you let me know how you really feel?
Personally, whenever I email someone for the first time, my approach is to just, you know, introduce myself, say I’m a big fan, and maybe butter them up with a savory compliment like “oh, and your cat’s adorable.”
I generally refrain from taking a proverbial shit on the things the person on the other end enjoys:
“…and while I’m at it, Tony, I also hate 8o’s cartoons, cheese, rainbows, and your kid.”
I’m exaggerating of course, but once I dug a little deeper and had a bit more back and forth with this individual I got a better sense of his lack of enthusiasm towards squatting.4
When “Ken” came in for his initial assessment he noted that he had, at one point, enjoyed squatting.
Admittedly, those days were more than a decade ago, and despite his current disdain for all things squatting, he was still very much interested in putting them back into his training repertoire and giving them a go again.
The obvious question from me was, “why?”
“If you don’t like back squatting and more to the point, they hurt, why insist on doing them? We can also perform other variations – Goblet, Front, Zercher – that may be a little more back friendly.”
“That’s the thing,” he said, “they didn’t always hurt. When I trained all through college and into my early 30s I never had any issues.”
“But then, you know, I became more sedentary due to life, was stubborn and not taking into consideration I wasn’t 25 anymore, and things just fell apart.”
SIDE NOTE: “Ken” is 47, works long hours mostly at a desk, and I can’t stress this enough, hates techno…;o)
To speed things up all I’ll say is that, while Ken isn’t the most supple person in the world, nothing during his initial assessment came up as a stern red flag or required an exorcism. Sure, he had a few aches and pains, but nothing outside of the normal “niggles” that come with the territory of lifting heavy things for a large portion of one’s life.
I did notice with his passive vs. active squat screen that his active ROM was limited (while his passive ROM was pretty darn okay).
Pertinent information. And if you want to know why that’s pertinent information read the article hyperlinked a sentence above this one.
He also noted he had worked with several trainers in the past who, like me, noticed his lack of ROM with his active squat.
Seriously, read the article.
It’ll help.
As a result he was used to being given a laundry list of hip mobility drills in addition to a plethora of aggressive soft tissue “smashes” to perform daily:
A1. Take a 88 lb barbell and roll it over your thighs. Have someone stand on it and jump up and down for added pressure. Doesn’t that feel great!?
A2. Take a lacrosse ball and poke around in your glutes. If you feel nothing, glue on some razor blades to make it more challenging. Splendid!
A3. If neither of those work, go get a chainsaw. RELEASE.
brb
Moreover, Ken was also given poor advice and told to arch his lower back aggressively whenever he squatted because, #powerlifting.
As a result, whenever he hit a certain depth – usually juuuuust as he passed 90 degrees of hip flexion – he’d compensate with more lumbar flexion and exhibit what’s often referred to as “butt wink.”
Photo Credit: GirlsGoneStrong.com
Again, pertinent information.
No wonder his back always hurt when he squatted:
His issue wasn’t a mobility issue, but rather a POSITIONING issue.
Squat cues that work for powerlifters usually don’t work well with non-powerlifters.
Alignment Affects ROM
To be clear: I am not some anti-anterior pelvic tilt lobbyist.
Anterior pelvic tilt is normal.
There’s a natural lordotic curve to the lumbar spine which is accompanied with a slight forward/anterior tilt of the pelvis.
It’s when it becomes excessive – or people are encouraged to seek it out – that it can (not always) elicit negative repercussions.
Ross et al (2014) noted that:
In 3D modeling of pelvic motion from x-rays of test subjects an increase of anterior pelvic tilt of 10 degrees resulted in:
In short: more anterior tilt (may) require more spinal motion during squatting exercises compared to more posterior tilt.
The dotted section(s) to the left represent the acetabulum (or hip socket). As you move down from A to C we lose site of the acetabulum due to increased anterior pelvic tilt. This will incite increased bone on bone contact – or impingement – sooner as we go deeper into a squat.
Now, I am not suggesting we all walk around in more posterior pelvic tilt like a bunch of Ed Grimley wannabes:
However, what I am suggesting is that nudging a little more posterior pelvic tilt so our clients/athletes get out of their aggressive anterior pelvic tilt (and closer to neutral) may be the more appropriate long-term play.
Sure, it may entail “some” releasing of this and “some” mobilizing of that…but not as much as most people think.
Much of the time the more pertinent approach is to have your clients adopt a better bracing strategy in addition to spending more time strengthening the anterior core and glutes (both of which aid in posterior pelvic tilt).
Likewise, I don’t feel cuing people to “arch their lower back” during a squat is beneficial. As pointed out above, increased anterior pelvic tilt resulted in increased impingement of the hip. Once someone runs out of room in his or her’s hips, in order to squat deeper they have to gain ROM elsewhere.
Their soul lower back.
Moreover, the reason many powerlifters adopt a hard arch when they squat is more out of necessity than because it’s better.
They wear gear/squat suits (that require an aggressive arch in order to hit passable depth).
Photo Credit: EliteFTS.com
People who don’t compete, don’t wear squat suits (and “passable” depth is arbitrary and highly individual anyway).
Circling back to Ken (remember him?), all I had him do in our initial session(s) was to appreciate POSITION. I took away the cue to arch his lower back, and instead had him focus more on posteriorly tilting his pelvis to scoot him closer to neutral (which, remember, is STILL an anterior tilted position).
He was able to squat pain free AND was able to squat deeper without “falling” into that butt wink posture.
I’ve often championed the notion that there’s “no such thing as textbook technique.”
How we’re taught to execute certain exercises in a textbook often won’t translate to the real world because, well, we don’t live in textbooks.
This is a theme that’s hit on several times in The Complete Trainers’ Toolbox. Sam Spinelli, one of the contributors, was kind enough to share a bit of an amuse bouche from his presentation “All Things Squats, Knees, and Hips” with everyone today.
To check out the full presentation, as well as contributions from eight other renowned industry leaders, go HERE for more information.
Humans are these incredibly awesome, adaptable, and diverse creatures.
Within our awesomeness, over time we have adapted to have a diverse set of unique features in our anatomy that provides for a wide range of movement from person to person. This is something that we did not readily acknowledge for a long time and tried to fit people into square holes.
The squat is a perfect example of this topic.
For such a long time it has been advocated to squat with your toes forward and perfectly hip width apart. The unfortunate thing is that this limits a significant majority of people from being able to squat comfortably – or to an appreciable depth.
While some people may be able to do so with practice and working on range of motion, for a vast majority it is just not realistic due to their bony anatomy.
As we examine the ankle, knee, and hip, we can see that there is significant variation within the bones forming them and the resulting joints.
For example, at the hip we have an acetabulum that can vary in depth of which will impact how much motion a set sized femoral head can have. This will impact the capacity of motion for hip range between individuals, leading to diverse squat stances already. When we begin to layer on the other ways our anatomy differs, it compounds and leads to a breadth of variations in how people may squat.
How Should I Squat Then?
There isn’t a set stance that will accommodate everyone – some people will do well with a hip width stance and slight toe out, others may do better with a narrower stance and feet directly forward. Finding what works best for you can be a challenge at first and require some experimentation.
To help expedite the process, try out these four methods:
1) Find Your Squat Stance – Standing
2) Find Your Squat Stance – Supported
3) Find Your Squat Stance – Seated
4) Find Your Squat Stance – Kneeling
The goal with each is to start with feet together and progress foot/knee width. You will find that one width generally feels better than the others, that’s the one to stick with for now. Then you can start playing around with foot/knee angle and continue experimenting.
This will get you a great head start on your squat stance and making it unique to you.
Two additional details – you may find your stance more comfortable with your feet not symmetrical and you may find that your stance changes with time. These things are normal for many people.
Did I Just Blow Your Mind?
This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of stuff I cover in my presentation “All Things Squats, Knees, and Hips” in the Complete Trainers’ Toolbox, an online resource that became available this week that also features presentations from eight other industry professionals – including Tony Gentilcore, Dean Somerset, Dr. Lisa Lewis, Alex Kraszewski, Kellie Davis, Meghan Callaway, Dr. Sarah Duvall, and Luke Worthington..
It includes 17 total hours of content covering a wide range of topics every health/fitness professional is bound to relate with. It’s on sale this week at a significant discount, but only until Sunday, February 17th at midnight.
If I want to learn more about astrophysics I listen to Neil deGrasse Tyson.
If I want to learn more about how to to be jacked while rocking a bowl cut I listen to He-Man.
Moreover, if I want to learn about or become a legit badass at pull-ups, my go to expert is Meghan Callaway. She’s a straight-up gangster when it comes to pull-ups and pull-up programming.
With the release of The Complete Trainers’ Toolbox this week, of which Meghan and myself are a part of (along with seven other health/fitness professionals), we felt it important to give people a bit of insight as to what kind of information they can learn from this resource.
Meghan goes into the weeds on anything and everything regarding programming for the pull-up and today she offers a little insight on some commonly made mistakes people make.
Countless people of all genders have the goal of being able to perform one or many pull-ups. Yet it is no secret that most people struggle to execute a single strict pull-up, and this includes many elite athletes.
Sam Bennett, the number one draft pick in the 2014 NHL draft, made the news when he failed to perform a single pull-up at the NHL draft combine.
So the inability to excel at pull-ups definitely isn’t limited to the general population, or purely beginners. Most people fail to conquer pull-ups, not because they are physically incapable, but because they are making some key mistakes.
I have great news for you.
This can be rectified.
Case in point, shortly after Sam Bennett bombed his pull-ups in the NHL draft combine, with some proper training, he banged out 11 reps.
Note From TG:I actually wrote an article a few years ago on the reaction to people giving Sam Bennett grief about not being able to perform a pull-up initially. You can read it HERE.
In this article I am going to discuss FIVE key mistakes that are preventing an abundance of people from excelling at pull-ups.
Mistake #1: Relying on the Arms to Perform the Movement
When pull-ups are being executed correctly, the shoulder blades, not the arms, should be initiating the movement. Instead of using the muscles in the mid and upper back to perform the bulk of the movement, a myriad of people rely on their arms.
To be clear, while the muscles in the arms will play a role, they should only be assisting the muscles in the back, not performing the majority of the work.
During the initial phase of the movement, and as your body is traveling towards the bar, you want to draw each shoulder blade in towards your spine and down towards your opposite hip (depression, retraction, downward rotation), not pull with your arms.
During the eccentric phase of the movement, rather than keeping your shoulder blades pinned, a mistake that plagues many individuals and can again cause them to rely on their arms to execute the movement, your shoulder blades should perform the reverse movements and should move away from your spine and away from your opposite hip (elevation, protraction, upward rotation).
As you can see, the ability to control the movement of your shoulder blades is a key component of being able to perform pull-ups.
Solution
The scapula pull-up is a really useful pull-up specific regression as it teaches you how to initiate the movement with your shoulder blades instead of pulling with your arms. This exercise is also specific to pull-ups as it requires you use the same body positioning, and it helps improve grip strength.
A few key points:
Initiate the movement by drawing your shoulder blades in towards your spine and down towards your opposite hip (retraction, depression, downward rotation).
In the top position, pause for a brief count.
Perform the eccentric component with complete control.
During the lowering/eccentric portion of the movement, your shoulder blades should perform the reverse movements as they did during the concentric component, and should move away from your spine and away from your opposite hip (protraction, elevation, upward rotation).
For the duration of the movement, your elbows should remain in a fixed position and should not bend at all. All of the movement should occur via the shoulder blades.
Mistake #2: Inability to Maintain the Proper Body Positioning
This might surprise you, but if you hope to perform pull-ups as efficiently as possible, your entire body must function as a synchronized unit.
Pull-ups are not just an upper body movement.
If you are not able to maintain the proper body positioning, and in order to do so your lumbo-pelvic region and lower body must remain in a relatively fixed position for the duration of the movement, you will struggle.
Your path to the bar will likely be longer and less efficient as you will be more prone to swinging, and you will likely be forced to move unnecessary deadweight to and from the bar. This is not conducive to optimal pull-up performance. Keeping your head, torso, and hips in a stacked position, something I often liken to a canister, is extremely important. Proper breathing, bracing, rib positioning, and glute engagement are crucial. In terms of your lower body, you want to fully extend your knees and contract your quadriceps, cross one foot over the other, and dorsiflex your feet.
Solution
The dead bug, and its many variations, is one of my go-to exercises for improving lumbo-pelvic stability.
This exercise, which can accommodate people of most fitness levels and abilities, trains your anterior core muscles to generate the requisite levels of tension needed to perform pull-ups efficiently. This versatile exercise also trains your muscles to resist the extension of the spine, and this is an area where many people labour. When heaps of people perform pull-ups, it is extremely common to see their ribcage flaring and lower back hyperextending. Dead bugs will help resolve these issues.
A few key points:
For the duration of the exercise, keep your head, torso and hips in a stacked position. Keep your ribcage down, and do not allow your lower back to hyperextend. In other words, maintain the canister position.
As you initiate each rep and lower the opposite arm and leg towards the floor, steadily exhale, and brace your anterior core muscles as hard as you can.
Start out with your knees bent at a 90 degree angle and maintain this position for the duration of the movement. Only extend your knees (and perform more advanced variations) once you’ve mastered the movement with your knees bent, not before.
Here is an innovative and extremely effective dead bug variation you can try.
Mistake #3: Lack of Specificity
Are you spending endless hours training yet are still unable to execute one or more pull-ups?
The exercises you are performing might not be specific enough to pull-ups.
With your pull-up training, you need to perform exercises that develop pull-up specific mechanics and pull-up specific body positioning. Pull-up regressions develop these key components, and serve as great stepping stones towards being able to bang out one or many unassisted pull-ups. In terms of body positioning, exercises like hollow body holds, dead bugs, and hanging leg raises help you learn how to develop and also maintain proper pull-up specific body positioning.
Some common culprit exercises that many people believe will help their pull-up performance, yet have a relatively low carryover as they are not specific enough to pull-ups, include lat pull-downs, biceps curls, and machine assisted pull-ups.
These are just a few of many exercises I could list. The fact I named machine assisted pull-ups as one of these exercises might surprise you, so I will discuss this in my next point.
Mistake #4: Relying on Machine Assisted Pull-ups and Band Assisted Pull-ups
In most cases, I am not a fan of machine assisted pull-ups.
At least, I strongly believe there are many better options.
While machine assisted pull-ups do allow you to focus on scapular movement, so this is one benefit of the exercise, due to the fact you are kneeling on a pad, your body is in a completely different position to when you are performing regular pull-ups, and you don’t need to generate and maintain full body tension.
In essence, the need for pull-up specific body positioning and lumbo-pelvic stability are almost entirely removed from the overall equation. When it comes to training for actual pull-ups, there are plenty of other pull-up regressions and accessory exercises that are much more specific to actual pull-ups, and will have a vastly greater carryover to your pull-up performance.
Now when it comes to band assisted pull-ups, if they are implemented and execute correctly, and at an appropriate time in your training program, they can have a positive impact.
However, an abundance of people make the mistake of training for pull-ups by relying purely on band assistance, and they omit performing all of the other extremely important pull-up specific regressions.
With band-assisted pull-ups, the band provides the help in the bottom position of the movement, and this is when most people do not need the most assistance. Another key issue with band assisted pull-ups, the band makes it easy to disregard proper body positioning, and generating the requisite levels of tension around the spine, hips, and lower body.
Due to all of the above, when many people eliminate the band and attempt to perform regular pull-ups, they flounder.
Before you introduce band assisted pull-ups to your training program, you should have already developed the proper pull-up specific technique, the ability to control the movement of your shoulder blades and shoulders, and the ability to generate the requisite levels of tension and pull-up specific body positioning.
In short, when you are utilizing band assistance, it is imperative that your form is identical to when you are performing regular unassisted pull-ups. Also, you want to use as little assistance as needed, but as much as necessary so you can perform 100% of your reps with impeccable form.
Mistake #5: Insufficient Grip Strength
While this kind of goes without saying, if you cannot support your bodyweight from a hanging position, your ability to perform pull-ups will suffer. An insufficient grip plagues many people of all fitness levels and abilities, not just beginners.
Adding some grip specific exercises to your training program will positively impact your overall ability to perform pull-ups.
A few of my favorite exercises for improving grip strength include loaded carries, and bottoms-up kettlebell presses.
Loaded Carries
Key Points:(describing loaded carries with dumbbells by sides)
For the duration of the exercise, maintain the canister position. Your head, torso and hips should remain in a stacked position. Do not allow your lower back to hyperextend or ribcage to flare.
Keep your arms rigid (all the way down to your hands), and pretend you are trying to crush something in your armpits.
For the duration of the exercise, maintain your 360 degree brace, and maintain regular breathing (360 degrees of air around your spine).
Bottoms-Up Kettlebell Presses
Key Points:
For the duration of the exercise, maintain the canister position. Your head, torso and hips should remain in a stacked position. Do not allow your lower back to hyperextend or ribcage to flare.
Keep the muscles in your forearm engaged, and wrist in a vertical position.
Do not keep your shoulder blades pinned. They are supposed to move. This applies to both the concentric and eccentric components of the movement.
Before you initiate each press, take a deep breath in, (360 degrees of air around your spine), brace your core (360 degree brace around your spine), tuck your ribs towards your hips, and squeeze your glutes. This will help stabilize your hips and spine.
Nine fitness professionals tackle a bevy of topics ranging from assessment and program design to differentiating flexion & extension based back pain and battling negative self talk.
We all have encountered the same problems you have as a fitness professional; so here’s how we handled them.
Two things with regards to the title of today’s post:
I’m thinking it could pass for the title of the next big children’s book.6
Searching stock images for “big toe” pretty much made me want to throw up a little in my mouth. I’d place it somewhere between kipping pull-ups and gonorrhea in terms of stuff I’d rather not see with my eyes ever again.
There’s a lot to consider and that can go awry when discussing the squat. To say there’s a plethora of moving parts – not to mention positional considerations (hand position, stance, bar position, etc) – would be an understatement.
One of the last things you’d probably ever consider when it comes to your squat performance is your big toe. Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s a pretty damn important and something you should consider considering.
Also, this is about as non-pukey of a picture as I could find of a toe.
What inspired this post was an interaction I had with a new client recently. During his initial evaluation I had him show me his squat because he had mentioned the movement has always bothered his lower back.
He’d worked with previous trainers in the past who had attempted to “fix” things, more often than not resulting in him stretching this, smashing that, performing a cornucopia of positional breathing drills while repeating the Elvish alphabet backwards, and otherwise being over corrective exercised to death
In fact, I’d be surprised if I’m not nominated for a Nobel Prize for how revelatory what I did was.
Are you ready?
Wait for it…
Wait for it…
I watched him squat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1Y73sPHKxw
I’m flummoxed as to why this seemingly obvious “intervention” is often overlooked. I think a lot of it has to do with something John Rusin spoke about during his keynote talk at the SWIS 2018 Symposium:
“We’re in an industry that gets too distracted by bright, shiny objects.”
Watching someone squat is boring.
Having someone stand in a zero gravity chamber while a bunch of lasers attempt to release their psoas isn’t.
We’ve become infatuated with gadgets and gizmos so much so that it’s become much harder to galvanize the masses into trusting what it is they do best……
………..COACH.
To that point, I’m old school and I just wanted to watch my man squat.
I had him take off his shoes and pants, and it’s here where I noticed something.
I watched his feet and saw that with every repetition his toes would come up off the ground, like so:
FYI: this is a picture of me doing a reenactment. See you in a few weeks at the Oscars.
Now, for the sake of brevity, it is a conversation to have as to whether or not he was cued into lifting his toes off the ground or not? I’ll nip this in the bud and say for the record that he wasn’t.
He was just never coached on how to squat properly.
As such, it became glaringly clear why his back had always been flipping him the middle finger whenever he attempted to squat (Goblet, front, back, all of them).
When your toes – most often the big toe – comes off the ground you lose your core.
Bullet Points (for those of you too lazy to watch):
When toes come up, you lose canister position (ribs stacked on pelvis) and thus lose your core and stability.
When toes comes up, you crank into lower back.
Think more about foot pressure (pushing into floor and even weight distribution on big toe/metatarsal, small toe, AND heel).
Cement toes to the floor.
Take your clients’ shoes off when they squat. It will tell you a lot.
My biceps looks amazing in salmon colored t-shirts.
But Wait Tony, Some Coaches Cue People to Squat With Big Toe Up on the Way Down, and Then to Push It Into the Ground on the Way Up. Are You Saying They’re Assholes?
No.
Coaches such as Mark Cheng and Cal Dietz – who are both the shit – often advocate the big toe stays up on the way down during a squat (but the ball/metatarsal still stays glued to the floor) and then press the toe down on way up.
I find this to be okay – and far be it from me to say they’re wrong. They’re both developing outstanding athletes and making people better.
I just find that with all the other mental gymnastics that come along with the squat – big air, ribs down, sit down, not back, spread the floor, drive your chest into the bar, hips through, don’t poop your pants – that it gets a little crowded when you add in the “toes up on the descent, toes down on the ascent” cue.
As I note in the video above I like to cue the idea of foot pressure – with three points of contact – and to cement the toes down during the squat.
Moreover, the objective is not to grip or dig into the floor with your toes.
“I don’t like “digging” because you don’t want to press the tip of the toe to the ground, more the pad of the toe. Big toe, ball of the foot, 5th metatarsal, heel. Pressing big toe helps the windlass mechanism as well.“
Here’s a nice demonstration of everything in action by Essex, Vermont based strength coach, Jess Voyer (who was kind enough to refer to me as a genius in her IG post. 4,000,000 points to Gryffindor):
First off: Yeah, that’s right I just put the slang version of “Gucci” into the title of a blog post about deadbugs.
Second: I promise I won’t ever do that again
Third: I’ve been swamped with travel the past few weeks (and the subsequent catching up on emails, programs, projects, and life shit-show) and I apologize for my lack of writing prowess. Thankfully I’ve had a handful of regular contributors to the site help to pick up the slack in my absence.
Thanks to Boston based coach, Lana Sova, for today’s contribution.
Fourth: Maybe I should have used “lit?” No? Okay, I’ll GFM.
When it comes to core training, people often fight over which exercises are the best, but that’s kind of like arguing whether Cardi B or Nicki Minaj is a better rapper.
In my opinion (which no one really asked for, but Imma say it anyways because #internet) there is space for both, much like there is a time and a place for different core strengthening exercises.
When people ask me which is the best core strengthener, I give the most boring answer — it depends.
There are many things I take into consideration when I include core strengthening exercises in a client’s program.
Things like goals, training levels, level of lumbo-pelvic control, and mind-body awareness all matter.
Much like the aging process, things are never the same with core training — what could be the best core exercises for a client today will not be the same a year or two from now because they’ve gotten stronger and advanced their skills.
Which leads me to today’s article.
For some reason, when it comes to core training, we go from zero to a hundred in no time. And by “we,” I mean personal trainers. I get it, often we’re tempted to impress clients and show them what we’ve got under our sleeves.
And, often, our clients swear by the fact that they are so advanced they can hold a plank for ten minutes while multitasking and doing 20 other things.
Cue *major eye roll*.
While it’s a good thing to keep your clients happy and help them fall in love with training and working out, there is also a thing called common sense, not to mention the art of giving a client not only what she wants, but also what she needs.
Enter Deadbugs
The deadbug exercise is my all time favorite core strengthening exercise.
When done correctly, it’s one of those exercises that looks easy, but isn’t when you do it yourself.
Progressions to this exercise are diverse and can be lots of fun. And while progressions are great and we do need them to help a client succeed, we also need not forget about regressions.
Deadbugs are one of the exercises where attention to the details matter. It’s easy to spot bad form on a deadbug when you see a client arch her back from the get go. But it’s much more challenging to notice incorrect form when things are not so obvious.
For example, ideally we want a client show us that she can maintain a canister position while performing a deadbug. What’s a canister position? If you live under a rock and never heard Tony speak about this concept, here’s a video for you.
But often, clients will cheat.
Like when I see clients bring their knees closer to their chest to help them with a posterior pelvic tilt.
Or maybe the second they begin to extend their leg out, they lose any core tension; to help them reach the floor, they’ll shift into an anterior pelvic tilt.
It’s our job as coaches to help a client succeed with this exercise without cheating, because the key to their success is doing exercises with correct form.
Happy client AND successful client = Happy coach.
Here are FIVE of my favorite deadbug regressions.
1) Deadbug ISO Hold with a Dowel
Deadbugs are a core stability exercise. This is where I often introduce the concept of an open or closed canister in relationship to the hips and rib cage.
Pssst: (Watch the video earlier in the post.)
Before we start moving the legs and arms and begin to resist any movement in the hip region, it would be a good idea to learn to own the closed canister.
The reason I love this exercise is it helps the client learn how to keep tension in the whole body while also feeling the abdominals working. Adding a dowel to the equation, with the client holding it above her chest while keeping her legs up in a tabletop position, helps her to learn what it means to activate her lats, which can translate to more advanced exercises like bench pressing or deadlifting later on.
I often use the cue ‘’Try to bend the dowel with your pinkies.” Go ahead and give it a try. This should fire up your lats like crazy.
2) Core-Engaged Deadbug ISO Hold with Band
Much like the previous exercise, this variation teaches the client to keep the closed canister position while keeping the tension in the entire body. However, she’ll hold a resistance band above her chest, which acts as a multiplier in creating the tension in the upper body.
3) Core-Engaged Deadbug March
This is an exercises I stole from Florida-based coach William Richards in one of his guest post for Tony on this site.
This is the exercises where, once your client learns how to control the canister position and knows how to create tension in the whole body, she can start moving her legs and making the exercise so much more advanced.
4) Deadbug w/ KB Overhead Hold
This exercise can teach your client how to maintain the canister position with her hands above her head. I like to use this exercise to build up the context for future exercises such as overhead presses.
5) Deadbug with a Pallof Press
This is probably more advanced than the previous exercises; nonetheless it’s still a great regression before you dive head first into all the glorious deadbug variations and completely destroy your client’s core.
It’s great to show your clients advanced movements and spice things up here and there. But before you do so, make sure your client is competent with the exercises and can perform them well. This will help your client show up at the gym more willingly and ultimately reach her goals.
About the Author
Lana Sova is a powerlifter and an in-person and online strength coach in Boston, MA. She helps women to change the way they look by making them strong.
What follows is what works for ME and MY clients. This shouldn’t be taken as a personal attack against YOU, your favorite coach, or any methodology that’s seemingly at odds with my point of view.
By all accounts you’re still a decent human being, even if you happen to disagree with what I’m about to say.9
Here goes.
I prefer people to squat down rather than back.
I want the squat to look like a squat.
I Can Hear the Cacophony of Moans Now
But, “moment arms!“
And, “hip extension torque!“
“Biomechanics, Tony. WHAT ABOUT THE FUCKING BIOMECHANICS!?!U?!!!AHHHHH!??!JUMPSOFFCLIFF“
Relax: In no way, shape, or fashion am I discounting any those things, nor turning a blind eye to science or evidence-based approaches and modalities.
I’m on your side my fellow anthropometrical nerds.
What I AM discounting, however – but not necessarily turning a blind eye towards (maybe tossing some shade?) – is the fact that, while all those things mentioned above – moment arm lengths, hip extension torque, biomechanics – can be used to make a solid case for squatting the most amount of weight possible, as coaches we often forget two things:
1) Many people could give two shits about squatting the most amount of weight possible.
2) Most people aren’t powerlifters.
Don’t get me wrong: I am all for people training with intent, striving to get strong(er), and pushing some appreciable iron. The tagline for this site is “Because Heavy Things Won’t Lift Themselves” for crying out loud.
That said, I’m also very much interested in the long-game. I want to keep my clients/athletes healthy and set them up for the most long-term training success possible.
One such way I accomplish this is how I prefer to coach the squat. Again, what follows is what works for me and what I feel fits the needs/goals of the bulk of MY clients and athletes.
If you disagree you’re wrong hopefully we can hug it out if we ever meet in person.
Squat Down, Not Back
The video above demonstrates me initiating the squat by pushing my hips back, but specifically getting a lot of motion via the lumbar spine.10
This won’t bode well for most lifters.
Is it wrong?
Well, no.
Plenty of lifters do this and move a lot of weight. However, what often works for powerlifters, wearing squat suits, won’t be the best fit for “natural” non-powerlifters, not wearing squat suits.
Plus I’m pretty sure a a piece of my soul dies every time I see it.
Instead, I prefer this approach:
Take in your air at the top, create a flexion moment (clamp down abs to prevent excessive lumbar movement), and squat DOWN by breaking with knees and hips simultaneously.
For most lifters, most of the time, this will be the better long-time fit in terms of being able to 1) not only squat a decent amount of weight, but also 2) make it less likely your lower back will hate you.11
Tim is an exercise science graduate and CSCS who has been training in Baltimore MD since 2004. While his specialty is body composition, he has extensive experience working with clients from young athletes to cardiac rehabilitation patients. Tim has been published in a variety of fitness publications and writes for his blog when he isn’t helping clients get stronger, leaner, and generally more awesome in person.
