WHEW – talk about a whirlwind day yesterday. I spent the bulk of it glued to my laptop1 making sure things ran smoothly with the launch, answering questions and emails, and trying to stay on top of social media engagement.
This sucker contains 11+ hours of content covering everything from upper and lower extremity assessment, corrective exercise strategies, numerous hands-on breakouts, as well as program design and exercise technique troubleshooting (with maybe, 37 seconds worth of Star Wars references).
Here are two sneak peak segment from both Dean and I.
The One Where Tony Discusses Scapular Motion
The One Where Dean Talks Hip Integration (and makes a bunch of fitness pros groan)
And there is tooooooons more where that came from.
If you’re a fitness professional I can almost guarantee you’ll pick up something valuable (hopefully several) that will help your clients or athletes. And even if you’re not a fitness pro, and just like listening to two dudes talk shop about training or you’re just looking to pick up some cool new exercise variations to keep your shoulders and hips healthy this resource would be a home run.
Dean Somerset and I have spent the better part of the past two years traveling all across North America and parts of Europe presenting our Complete Shoulder & Hip Workshop. All told, we’ve presented it 10-15 times2.
I’m not kidding, either: I…could…not…sleep last night.
I kept waking up every few hours as if I were 11 years old again waiting for Christmas morning to arrive. To say I am excited for this would be an understatement. There’s also a small fraction of me doing the best I can not to destroy the back of my pants out of shear terror.
As of this moment it’s 99.2% excitement, and 0.8% “hoooooooly shit this is happening.”3
I mean, there’s always a degree of vulnerability anytime you put something out there for the masses. However I KNOW this is going to be a resource that will help tons of people.
What Is It
The Complete Shoulder and Hip Blueprint is an 11+ hour digital product that takes you through the systems that both Dean and I use with our athletes and clients to improve upper and lower body function, strength, endurance, and resiliency.
We show you how to connect the dots between a thorough assessment, understanding what corrective strategies (if any) will work best, and how to build a training program to help you and your clients in the most direct way possible.
And there’s a few cat memes and light saber jokes tossed in for good measure.
Why This Matters to You
Are you a fitness professional? Do you work with people with shoulders? What about hips?
Well then, this sucker is right up your alley.
More specifically here’s what you can expect:
Help your clients get through common shoulder issues more effectively.
Streamline your assessment and program design, helping you get faster results and more efficient use of your time, and that of your clients’
Help you see the details of shoulder motion you didn’t notice before, and whether something you’re using in your exercise program is working or not.
Upgrade your exercise toolbox to address commonly overlooked movement issues.
You can help clients see IMMEDIATE improvements, sometimes in as little as a minute or two, which will help them buy in to your abilities.
Help you target in on what will work best for the person in front of you, saving you both the time spent on useless exercises or drills.
Connect the dots between assessments, mobility, strength, and conditioning program considerations
Break down a system you can use today with yourself or your clients to see instant benefit while removing the guess work.
And you don’t necessarily have to be a fitness professional in order to reap the benefits of this resource. Dean and I offer tons of practical information in the form of hands-on applications in addition to breaking down many common exercises such as the deadlift, squat, chin-up, and Landmine variations.
The Part Where I Entice You More (or Guilt You) Into Buying
Choose any of the following that resonates with you:
1. “What is this, Napster? Pay for something once, would you?”
2. “Pretty please?”
3. “I got kids! Well, I’ll have one soon, in January, and that shit’s expensive.”
4. “I’ve written tons of free content over the years. Each time I’ve written an article or blog post that’s helped you out, I put a dollar on your tab. It’s collection time, you son of a bitch.”
Okay, for real: I think it’s a great resource, I feel it’s going to help a lot of people, and I’d be honored if you’d consider checking it out.
We’ve put Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint on sale this week. From today through Saturday, November 5th you can purchase it at $60 off the regular price. What’s more there are Continuing Education Credits (CEUs) available through the NSCA, which makes this a solid professional development investment.
I’ve often be anointed as the “guy who dislikes or hates overhead pressing” on the internet. Given it’s the internet, this is pretty good. There are worse things to be called.
“I am not against any one exercise or feel a exercise in particular needs to be contraindicated 100% of the time.4 I do feel there are contraindicated lifters and exercisers.”
Point blank, most people move like shit; especially overhead. And while it’s a blanket comment to make, and there’s a degree of N=1, I’ve-been-coaching-people-for-14-years-(eight of which in a facility where a bulk of the clientele were overhead athletes)-I-know-what-I’m-talking-about, snootiness involved, if you watch most people attempt to do anything overhead, the proof is in the pudding.
First off, pudding is delicious.
Second, here’s what you (tend to) end up seeing:
This:
Take note of the picture to the left. Excessive lumbar extension, massive rib flair, and forward head posture.
Or This:
A cascade of clusterfuckery. <– Not the scientific term, but you get the idea.
Now, to be fair: there are plenty of people who perform overhead pressing movements like the ones pictured above and never have any issues. They’re the outliers. You (and your clients) are likely not them.
In my world…“people need to earn the right to overhead press.”
We spend very little time overhead on a day-to-day basis. Unless you’re paid to hurl 95 MPH heaters 60.6 feet, are an competitive OLY lifter, or, I don’t know, are obsessed with jazz hands…you (probably) don’t spend a lot of energy within that range of motion.
Photo Credit: www.medfordpublicschools.org
To reiterate: I am not against overhead (or vertical) pressing. It’s a basic movement pattern that should be trained or utilized in the weight room and/or in everyday life. There’s a bevy of benefits that result from it. Unfortunately, for a vast majority of people, due to any number of factors ranging from lack of lumbo-pelvic control, tight/overactive lats, scapular dyskinesis (stemming from soft tissue or structural/capsular issues), and Upper Cross (computer guy) Syndrome, it becomes problematic…and “bad things” end up happening.
NOTE: for those who want to geek out more on this topic and read more of thoughts on upper extremity assessment, overhead mobility, etc, you can go HERE and HERE and HERE.
I prefer not to dwell too much on what people can’t do, and more so on strategies that 1) may be a better fit at that point in time 2) are more “joint friendly” and 3) help to still increase one’s overall level of badassery.
Tall Kneeling Overhead Press – off Bench
Who Did I Steal It From: strength coach Joel Seedman.
What Does It Do: It still trains the overhead press, albeit in a fashion that’s a little more joint friendly. By performing this exercise tall kneeling (and on a bench….where there’s only two points of contact rather than four) a few things happen:
1) It makes it much harder to compensate through the lumbar spine. If that happens, you fall off the bench.
2) It forces the lifter to use a lighter load. I believe Joel has mentioned in the past that with this variation you can expect to use 80-90% of what you’d normally be able to do with a strict overhead press.
3) There’s an immense amount of core engagement.
Key Coaching Cues: Don’t be a hero: go light. Once in the tall kneeling position, be sure to turn on glutes and to brace the abs. As you press overhead the idea is to keep the rib cage locked down throughout duration of the set.
Another fantastic guest post today from Shane McLean. This time he tackles the importance of unilateral strength training and offers some neat ideas as to the best accessory movements to compliment the “big 3.”
Don’t you love “that” guy who always stands between you and the dumbbells while doing single arm curls and making faces only his mother could love? What if I told you that he’s actually on to something, minus the faces and grunting?
Bilateral exercises (not biceps curls) should form the foundation of your strength program because this is where you’ll get most of your gains. However, unilateral training often gets neglected in the quest to get bigger and stronger because it’s just not as sexy (or cool) as a big squat, deadlift or overhead press.
However, unilateral training will help you get stronger, improve the big lifts (by shoring up weakness) and provide the following benefits.
Reduce Muscle Imbalances
Due to activities of daily living almost everybody has a dominant and non-dominant side. For instance, carrying more groceries on one side over the other over time may get one arm stronger.
During bilateral exercises such as a press or squat variation, your dominant side can pick up the slack for the weaker side.
Have you ever seen a lifter struggle to lock out one side over the other during a barbell bench press? I rest my case. Improving your “weaker” side will reduce your injury risk and help increase overall lifting numbers.
Improved Muscle Recruitment
Unilateral training makes you work harder and recruit more muscle fibers to perform the exact same movement, such as a split squat.
Taking one leg out of the equation forces your abductors and core to stabilize your pelvis while the working leg performs a split squat. Working more muscle with less weight will help correct strength imbalances between sides, also.
Core Work Without Crunches
When training unilaterally, you automatically throw your body off balance, forcing your core muscles to engage in order to keep yourself upright.
Trust me when I say that’s a good thing.
And we can double-down on the core training ante by utilizing offset loading:
Programming Guidelines
Unilateral exercises are best performed as an accessory movement after your big lift for the day.
Choose one or two single limb movements per session and perform three to four sets on both sides. The repetitions performed will depend on your goal.
For example:
Strength: 4 – 6 reps
Hypertrophy/Fat Loss: 8 – 15 reps
If you have a strength or muscle size imbalance always start with the weaker/smaller side first and let the weaker side determine the weight/reps you do on the stronger side.
Without further ado, here are my top two accessory exercises you should be doing to improve your squat, dead lift and press numbers. Sorry, this is a biceps curl free zone.
1) Deadlift
Suitcase Carries
Not only will carries change your life in three weeks, according to Dan ‘the man’ John, they can strengthen grip imbalances between hands which can be a limiting factor when pulling heavy from the floor or opening the pickle jar.
When you’re doing carries (you do, right?), pair them with a movement that doesn’t demand a lot of grip strength, so you can get more out of it. For example:
1A. Goblet squat/press variation.
1B. Suitcase carry- (25-50% of your bodyweight) 30 steps one hand then 30 steps with the opposite hand.
Form considerations – cues “shoulders down and back” or “chest up” work well here. Checking your form in a mirror will help if you having trouble knowing if you’re overcompensating or not.
Front Racked Kettlebell Bulgarian Split Squat
These were first introduced to me by Anthony Dexmier to improve my pulling ability from the floor. Let’s just say after doing them, we weren’t the best of friends.
Hardcore dead lifters knows that hip mobility, upper back strength and leg drive are essential elements for pulling heavy, and this exercise covers all those bases, if somewhat brutally.
Pairing this exercise with a single arm row variation is a real upper back whammy that you’re sure to enjoy. For example
1A. Front racked kettle bell elevated split squat – 12 reps on each leg
1B. 3 point dumbbell row – 12 reps on each arm
Form considerations – Perform a bodyweight elevated split squat and notice where your big toe is, and then place weight plate in front of it. This will give you a reference point and shorten your set up time between sets. This is courtesy of the one and only Jordan Syatt.
Keep a nice tall chest and your wrists in neutral during this entire movement and smile through the pain.
2) Bench Press
Landmine Press
The single arm landmine press is a mix between a vertical and horizontal movement which makes this great for individuals who lack the shoulder mobility for overhead pressing and for those looking to improve their press numbers.
Note From TG (to Shane): How could you not include a link to THIS article I wrote discussing how to assess overhead mobility and drills to help improve it?
Why Shane…….WHY?!?!?
The beginning of this exercise (initial push of the shoulders) is the hardest part of the movement. This will assist you with pushing the bar off your chest during the bench press or pushing the barbell overhead from a dead stop. The extra core work doesn’t go astray either.
This press can be done from a variety of positions. For example, it can be done standing, tall kneeling and this half kneeling variation courtesy of Eric Cressey:
Pairing this landmine variation with a hip flexor stretch works well and provides an active rest between sides and sets. For example
Form considerations- Make sure the barbell is close to the front of your shoulder and actively squeeze the barbell. This provides Irradiation, allowing you to produce more force and lift more weight. This also turns on the rotator cuff, which helps with shoulder stability.
Single Arm Dumbbell Floor Press
The reduced range of motion of the floor press makes this a great triceps builder (when the elbows are close to your side) and will assist you in getting stronger with the lockout part of any press variation.
The single arm variation will turn on your core and shoulder stabilizers due to the offset load that can get neglected during bench/overhead pressing. It’s a shoulder saver because it eliminates the lower half of the press where the shoulder is externally rotated and nasty things like shoulder impingements can happen.
Pairing this with a side plank or a suitcase carry gives your shoulders and core the extra work they deserve. For example
1A. Floor press
1B. Side plank variation 30 sec/ Suitcase carry – (25-50% of your bodyweight) 30 steps one hand then 30 steps in the opposite hand.
Form considerations- Grip the dumbbell tight or strangle the handle and keep the elbow close to your side but not touching. Touch the entire upper arm to the ground at the start of each rep.
3) Squat
Single Leg Negative Calf Raise
It’s a common issue to lack ankle mobility as we wear shoes that inhibit the movement of the ankles, like wearing high heels, for example. The ability to dorsiflex the ankle (how far the knees can go over the toes without raising the heel) can get compromised and this can show up in the squat.
As the squat movement has to come from somewhere, lacking dorsiflexion can negatively affect the joints further up the kinetic chain especially the knee, and who hasn’t had sore knees (and everything else) at the end of an intense squat session?
If hammering away at ankle mobility isn’t working for you, try this single leg negative calf raise drill from Dr. Ryan DeBell before your squat session. This will help with ankle dorsiflexion under load.
Form considerations- Having something solid to hold on to is a must. If you have pain bending the knee during this drill, please use a pain free range of motion. Do 5-10 reps on each leg before you squat. Your knees will thank you.
Barbell Reverse Lunge- Front Squat Grip
Most lunge variations are interchangeable because they work on knee stability (knees that go out instead of in) and core (reduced base of support) hip mobility (active stretch of the hip flexors) and help build your quad strength and size. Sounds like everything a good squat needs, right?
This variation does this and more. The front squat grip works on your anterior core upper back strength and thoracic mobility which are also needed for a strong squat.
Pairing this with an upper back or anterior core exercise in a superset works well. For example
1A. Barbell Reverse Lunge – Front Squat Grip – 8-12 reps on both legs
1B. Chin up
Or
1A. Barbell reverse lunge- Front squat grip 8-12 reps on both legs
Form considerations- Start on the light side until you nail the technique and feel confident that you’re not going to bite the floor. Keep the ears away from the shoulders and maintain an upright torso during this exercise.
Wrapping Up
Don’t forget about unilateral training when it comes to getting bigger, stronger and more awesome. Including these exercises into your routine will improve your lifting numbers and overall balance and will help keep you off the lifting DL.
You can throw in some single arm curls (for the girls) to keep Ron happy, if you must. J
Author’s Bio
Shane “The Balance Guy” McLean, is an A.C.E Certified Personal Trainer working deep in the heart of Dallas, Texas.
No, Shane doesn’t wear a cowboy hat or boots. After being told that his posture blows by Eric Cressey, he has made it his mission to rid the world of desk jockeys and have fun while doing so.
After all exercise is fun and never a “work” out.
You can follow Shane on Twitter HERE, and Facebook HERE.
Admittedly, today’s “Exercise You Should Be Doing” doesn’t highlight anything visually badass like, say, deadlifts vs. chains, recoiled sled high pulls(<– seriously, check that out), or, I don’t know, juggling chainsaws while balancing on a BOSU ball.5
Nope, today’s exercise recommendation is very plain looking and is about as vanilla as they come. It’s not flashy and it (probably) won’t win anyone any additional Instagram followers. But oh is it a doozy and one I feel is going to raise some eyebrows and surprise people at how challenging it really is.
Supine Straight Leg Hip Extension with Alternate Hip Flexion
What Does It Do: Not only is this great for glute activation, but because of the alternating nature of this drill (bringing one leg towards you chest at a time) it also serves as a fantastic core exercise as you must resist the hips from rotating to any one side. In fancy schmancy technical terms: you’re working on rotary pelvic control, or rotary stability.
Many people are incapable of controlling their lumbo-pelvic region and it’s no surprise we see a high incidence of SI joint issues, chronic low-back pain, and many other dysfunctions up and down the kinetic chain within this population.
Drills such as deadbugs, birddogs, Pallof presses, and planks are all exercises that tackle this head on. However, I hope this quick post will encourage people to add this exercise to their repertoire as well.
Key Coaching Cues: Place your feet (heels) on an elevated platform (no higher than 12″) and extend (elevate) your hips off the floor. From there place your fingers on the front of your pelvis (ASIS) and slowly flex on hip, bringing your knee towards your chest. The idea is to use the kinesthetic feedback of fingers on the ASIS to keep your pelvis level throughout the duration of the exercise.
For added badassery, you can progress things by place a light band around your toes.
I often joke I’m the worst handyman in history. Something breaks in our apartment? I’m the first one calling the landlord. A picture needs hanging? My wife is the go to aficionado in that realm.
A task calls for a Phillips screwdriver? Well, I’ll hand you a Phillips screwdriver. I’m not that much of a moron.
Suffice it to say: I am not great at fixing things. As a matter of fact – and at the expense of losing a few points off my man card – the risk of me setting a fire increases exponentially with the arduousness of the task being asked of me.
Replace a knob on a cupboard = relatively safe. The cat may end up with her fur singed, but the building is still standing.
Change oil in the car = Obama may as well hand me the nuclear codes.
Outside of the weight-room I’m a HAZMAT accident waiting to happen. Put me within four walls, however, surrounded by squat racks, deadlift platforms, barbells, kettlebells, selectorized machines, and maybe a movie quality Chewbacca mask for good measure, allow me the opportunity to watch people exercise and gauge movement quality, and I miraculously turn into Gandalf.
Well, I like to think I have a good eye and can catch wonky movement and fix it.
That’s Assuming Something Needs Fixing
I had a very interesting interaction last weekend at CORE. I was contacted by a dude here in Boston who reached out asking if he could stop by the studio to have me look over his squat and to discuss a few ideas that had been reverberating in his head about bar path, acceleration, and power development.
Specifically he noted he was a high-level powerlifter (600+ lb squat at 181) and that he had been tinkering with his technique of late and wanted another set of eyes on him to see if there was something he was missing.
My first thought was “holy fucking shitballs, that’s a sick squat,” and more importantly I felt compelled to tell him “um, just so you know…I’m not a competitive powerlifter and maybe you’d be better off contacting my boys at The Strength House for more detailed badassery?”
“Nah, I respect the way you’re able to analyze movement and feel you take a balanced approach.”
High praise.
What transpired was pretty cool. It was every bit an educational/learning experience for me as it was for him (I think. He left happy).
To Repeat: this guy squats over 600+ at a competing bodyweight of 181 lbs. An advanced lifter indeed. His approach is unconventional to say the least.
Take this little tidbit of our conversation as an example (not taken verbatim, but it’s close):
“So we see guys all the time squatting 225 lbs in the squat rack, often with poor technique, but then are able to walk over to the leg press and perform 800+ lbs for reps. What gives? How is that possible? I thought to myself “there has to be something there.” I train alone in my home gym which allows me all the time in the world to play mad scientist and to tinker with my technique.
Then it dawned on me: why not leg press my squat?”
Of course, in my mind I’m thinking “well the leg press provides a ton more external stability to the body so there’s your answer.” What’s more there’s typically less ROM involved too.
I was intrigued to see this in action nonetheless, anticipating some sort of leg press to squat Transformer to appear.
I ended up witnessing a meticulous set-up, as well as a masterful demonstration of someone who knows what his body is doing at all times. Unconventional without question. But it worked. A few highlights:
His “low bar” position was lower than low bar position. I’m talking mid-arm.
A flexed spine. In deep hip flexion, he’d go into lumbar flexion.8
He used a staggered stance (left side was a bit behind the right).
For all intents and purposes, many coaches would look at squat like that and start hyperventilating into a paper bag and immediately go into “I gotta fix this” mode.
Guess what I didn’t fix?
My point: everyone is different. No one has to squat the same way. And he’s an a-hole for being a freak…..;o)
Besides, he squats 600+ freaking lbs. He’s obviously trained himself enough to be able to get into (and out of) precarious situations; and he’s never been hurt or in pain.
It was the last point, though, the staggered stance, that he had never noticed or considered.
I don’t fall into the camp that says everyone must squat with a symmetrical stance. This defeats the purpose of individuality and respecting each person’s anatomy. When you factor in varying hip anatomy (varying degrees of APT/PPT, how this affects the ability to both flex and extend the hip, anteverted/retroverted acetabulums, anteverted/retroverted femurs, and varying femoral neck lengths), not to mention that you have two of them, not to mention other anthropometrical factors too, like torso length, femur length…it doesn’t take a genius to understand there’s no one right way to squat.
If a certain squat stance, width, depth, (whatever) feels better and more stable, why not run with it?
NOTE: I’d be doing a disservice by not linking to THIS article by Dean Somerset on the topic. He does a much better job at explaining things.
Back to the staggered stance.
600 lb squatter guy was trying to figure out why it seemed he couldn’t keep the barbell over mid-foot on his descent. I noted the staggered stance and he was like, “huh, I never thought of that.”
He then noted how he had always filmed his squats from the RIGHT side. I filmed from the left and his bar path looked to be on point. So maybe he was being a bit overcritical? Maybe the staggered stance evened things out? I’m sure there’s a biomechanical rabbit hole to be explored here (calling Greg Nuckols?).
When To “Fix” Someone’s Squat
I get it: Many of you reading aren’t elite level squatters, and much of the dialogue above has little merit in your training. The bigger picture, though, I think, is to avoid confirmation bias and sticking solely within camps that always agree with you. Everyone is a different, and there’s always more than one way to do something.
Last weekend, for me, was proof of that.
But I’d be remiss not to point out my standard or “comfort zone” is vastly different between an elite lifter and beginner/intermediate lifter.
Elite level lifters get much more leeway to mess up. More to the point: they’ve messed up enough to know what to do to not to mess up. Yeah, that makes sense. When I am coaching a beginner/novice, though, they’re rope for messing up is much, much shorter.
I still feel it’s important to avoid over-coaching and to allow an opportunity for newbies to figure things out.
As a coach, it’s okay to allow clients a window to perform a bad rep. Don’t be quick to correct. Let them figure it out & learn themselves
But when it comes to squats I tend to have a few “No-No’s” initially.
1) You Round Your Back, a Part of My Soul Dies
Loaded spinal (end-range) flexion doesn’t do anyone any favors. Pick up a McGill book and join the party. I’d prefer to avoid it as much as possible in the beginning. If I see someone flexing their spine during a squat, it’s my job to figure out why?
From there I’m going to try my best to implement the modality or variation that’s going to best set them up for success.
Much of the time it’s getting someone to appreciate how to adopt a better bracing strategy and stabilize.
Brace your abs. <— Get “big air” and act as if someone’s going to punch you in the stomach.
Learning Active vs. Passive Foot, or spreading the floor with your feet (better yet, a cue I stole from Tony Bonvechio is “find the outside of your heels.”
Full-body TENSION (trying to touch your elbows and pulling down on the bar helps here too) is the name of the game. The sooner a trainee learns this, the sooner he or she will clean up a lot of snafus in their squat technique.
Another easy fix is to implement an anterior load.
This is part of the reason why Goblet Squats or Plate Loaded Squats are so user-friendly and help to maintain a better torso position. The load is in FRONT which then forces the trainee to shift their weight and recruit/engage more of their anterior core, which then helps them remain more upright.
2) Knees Caving In (Past Neutral), Heels Coming Off Ground
The knees caving in aren’t always a deal breaker. Many trainees when they first put a barbell on their back and begin to squat for the first time resemble Bambi taking his first steps.
I don’t mind a little knee movement. Much of the time it’s just a matter of getting some reps in and whammo-bammo, the issue resolves itself.
It’s when it hits the point where they go past neutral and/or the heels come off the ground that it can become problematic.
Some things that have worked for me with knees caving:
Hey, don’t do that.
Think of your knee caps tracking with your pinky toe.
Place a band around the knees to provide some kinesthetic awareness. The band wants to push the knees in, they have to push the band out.
I want a squat to look like a squat. It requires ample ankle dorsiflexion, hip flexion, hip internal/external rotation, t-spine extension, among other things.
Grooving the hip hinge and using props such as a box (box squats) to get someone to learn to “sit back” and use more of their posterior chain is a nice option. This will help keep the heels cemented to the floor.
NOTE: once they master that, the idea is to then perform an equal parts “knees forward, hips back” motion, learning to sit down into the squat (not so much back, back, back). Again, the squat should look like a squat
And That’s Really It
I’m not TRYING to find something wrong with everyone’s squat.
If the 2-3 things above are met from the get go we’re in a pretty darn good spot.
Things like bar position, foot stance/width, hand position, and everything else in between, while significant considerations for some people and staples for entertaining internet arguments, are all going to depend on several other factors (goals, anatomy, experience, ability level, injury history), and in the grand scheme of things are minute comparatively speaking.
The ads would typically feature a celebrity facing the camera and speaking in an earnest tone espousing the dangers of drugs, smoking, and not going to school.
All sound things to be earnest about, no doubt.
Sadly, a PSA was never made championing the idea that wearing a jean jacket with jeans wasn’t the key to gaining the attention of the opposite sex. Also, impressing girls with Star Wars quotes never worked either.11
But the “real” PSAs were always clear, concise, and cutting….scratching the surface of deeds that were for the greater good.
We should bring those PSAs back, albeit this time targeting the fitness crowd.
PSA #1: How to Hand-Off on the Bench Press
It sounds pointless and borderline trivial…but learning how to hand-off on the bench press is an acquired skill, and something that will drastically affect someone’s performance with the exercise.
Raise your hand if this has ever happened:
It’s bench day and as you work up towards your heavier sets it’s becoming a little harder to maintain appropriate upper back tightness as you un-rack the weight. Reluctantly, you decide to scour the gym floor to ask someone for a hand-off.
Finding someone who knows the intricacies of a “good” hand-off is on par with finding a ship other than the Millennium Falcon that can do the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.
Note: I was a virgin till I was 21. Weird, I know.
What usually ends up happening is that after you spend time getting your shoulder blades in the right position (retracted and depressed/posteriorly tilted), driving your upper back into the bench, turning your lats on, and getting your foot position correct….it’s instantly negated when the guy/girl handing off haphazardly performs an explosive upright row with you attached to the bar.
They lift the bar up, rather than helping to “guide” the barbell into position.
Fail.
You have to get tight. Especially in the upper back. Without getting into the extreme details, I like to coach guys to place their feet on the bench (relax, it’s only for a few seconds), grab the bar, raise their hips, and drive their upper back into the bench. Simultaneously, I’ll tell them to consciously think to themselves, “together and DOWN” with the shoulder blades.
I then tell them to bring their feet to the ground – heels up/heels down is predicated on personal preference – and then “scoot” themselves up the bench to get even tighter.
A video posted by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore) on
Why go through all that trouble to get tight, compact, and ready to hoist a barbell off your chest, only to NOT get a proper hand-off and/or lose all of it when you un-rack the bar?
Think about what happens when you un-rack a bar on your own, or you receive a piss-poor hand-off: the shoulders protract. As a result, the scapulae abduct and (most likely) anteriorly tilt as well, and stability is compromised.
Impressive bench press go bye-bye.
It’s my hope this video will help:
NOTE: I had every intention of filming a new video today, but then realized I had this one on my YouTube channel already. No sense reinventing the wheel.
A few points to consider that I didn’t cover in the video:
1. To reiterate: The “spotter” or hander-offer guy isn’t lifting the bar off the j-hooks, but rather “guiding” the bar to the starting position.
2. Moreover, the lifter shouldn’t think of it as pressing the bar up and into the starting position, but instead “pulling” into position. Kind of like a bastardized straight-arm press down (albeit on your back).
3. Getting down the cadence of 1….2….breath….lift off is the key here. It’s going to take some practice, which is why I highly advocate finding a training partner you trust.
3. If at any point the guy providing the hand off starts chirping, “all you, all you, all you” when he’s clearly got his hands on the bar, immediately rack the bar and scissor kick him in the face.
Today’s guest post comes courtesy of Dallas based personal trainer, Shane McLean. If you forced me to make a short list of things I love, that list would include things like ice-cream (all of it), GoodFellas quotes, anything my cat does, old-school Transformers cartoons, and an empty laundry mat.12
And, you know, my wife would make the list too. Oh, and deadbugs. The exercise…not, literally, dead bugs. Gross.
Read below to watch some (hopefully) new-to-you variations.
Ever witnessed a “watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat” moment?
Mine was around three years ago at a fitness mastermind in Frisco, Texas which had the one and only Eric Cressey in attendance.
During his demonstration he got hold of a minor league baseball player who presented with limited shoulder flexion. After some positional breathing exercises and a few deadbug reps, the player then stood up and demonstrated his improved shoulder flexion range.
It was just like magic.
Ever since then, the deadbug has been a staple programs for myself and my clients. You could almost say it was love at first sight, if you believe in that kind of stuff.
Tony has written extensively on this subject, so I will not harp on, but the benefits of deadbugs are numerous, including
Reinforces contra lateral limb movement
Improves lumbo- pelvic stability
Reinforces correct breathing patterns
Being on the floor provides you with more stability and kinesthetic feedback
Prevents misalignment and encourages good posture
It’s definitely an exercise that provides a lot of ah-ha moments when done correctly. It may look easy to the meatheads who have never done it before, but once I drag them away from the mirror, they know it’s the real deal.
But when they ask me why it is called the deadbug, the best explanation I can give is this.
If you need to be reminded of what the dead bug is, watch Tony perform this with impeccable form.
Notice how serious he is:
Correct deadbug form consists of:
Low back in neutral (encouraging posterior pelvic tilt)
Breathing in through the nose before the rep starts and fully breathing all the air out through your mouth during the rep
Slow and controlled limb movement
No rib flaring and arching of the low back
The standard deadbug is a great warm up exercise and can be used for recovery/mobility purposes between sets of lifting heavy. This is the version you should be doing the majority of the time.
However, like a lot of things that we do over and over again, we get bored and need a little spice. When you’ve nailed the standard version and want to upgrade, take a few of these variations out for a test drive.
You’ll be the coolest person in the gym. Trust me, I’m a trainer.
1) Pullover Deadbug
Kettlebells and the deadbug is a match made in heaven, like peanut butter and jelly or bicep curls and mirrors.
The instability and the resistance of the kettlebell combined with the standard deadbug movement put extra demand on your core stability, shoulders and lats.
Did I mention it also works the chest? Now I have your attention.
Pairing this exercise with a movement that demands core stability and a neutral spine works best. For example
1A. Squat/Deadlift Variation
1B. Pullover Deadbug 6- 8 reps per leg
Or seeing you’re already down on the floor, pair it with a single arm floor press for a great upper body/core workout.
1A. Pullover Deadbug 6-8 reps on each leg
1B. Single Arm KB Floor Press
2) Weighted Deadbug
Adding light weight plates in each hand (2.5-5 pounds) slightly increases the intensity, but the real benefit is that the resistance helps slow down the movement as the weight plate descends towards the floor.
You get to enjoy the deadbug even more.
Typically, I use this movement as part of a warm up, but if you’re feeling extra ambitious, pairing this with a plank variation will give your core a double whammy.
For instance:
1A. Weighted deadbug 6-8 reps each leg
1B. Plank with plate switch (Thanks Tony)
3) Stability Ball Deadbug
The virgin deadbuger can run into trouble with contra lateral limb movement and often extend the same arm and leg. They get frustrated and can feel uncoordinated.
Enter the dragon stability ball.
Using the stability ball as a reference point helps teach the movement because using the same arm/leg will cause the stability ball to drop to one side and the client will feel the tension required for correct form as well.
Actively pressing your opposite arm/leg into the ball combined with diaphragmatic breathing will light a candle under your core that you’re sure to enjoy.
I program this variation into the warm up but this can be included in a core tri-set. For example.
1A. Stability Ball Deadbug 6-8 reps on each side
1B. Stability Ball Hip Ext./Hamstring Curl 12 reps
1C. Stability Ball Rollout 8-12 reps
A young Eric. Those were the days.
5) Bosu Ball Deadbug
Yes, the Bosu ball is good for something.
Bosu balls’ instability is excellent for upper body/core work and can take your deadbug to the next level. You’ll have to work to find your balance point but if you fall off, at least it’s not very far.
Please make sure no one’s filming, for your sake.
Pairing this with any Bosu ball exercise works as long as it’s not squats. For example
1A. Bosu Ball Deadbug 6-8 reps on each side
1B. Bosu Ball Side Plank 30 seconds on each side
https://youtube.com/watch?v=tjzuv9O6Q1E
Bonus – Click HERE for another great variation of the deadbug Tony highlighted a few weeks ago on this blog: Deadbug with Extension + Reach.
Wrapping Up
The deadbug, and its variations, deserves a prime time position in your routine because of all the benefits it provides. Don’t worry, you’ll will not look weird because all the cool kids are doing it.
About the Author
Shane “The Balance Guy” McLean, is an A.C.E Certified Personal Trainer working deep in the heart of Dallas, Texas.
As I’ve gotten older I’ve learned to be more succinct in many facets of my life.
– When I was 25 I’d consider it a travesty if I didn’t spend at least two hours in the gym. Now? A few “top sets” of my main movement, followed by an accessory movement to compliment that movement, and 45 minutes later I’m good.
– I’ve learned to trim my prose over the years, too. One of the best pieces of advice I ever learned on the topic came from my good friend (and my former editor at T-Nation.com), Bryan Krahn.
“Write your first draft, and then cut 20% of it, no matter what. Get rid of the fillers, fluff, and extraneous jargon13 that doesn’t do anything to support your message.”
– When I first met my wife and was wooing her I was all about impressing her with my collection of vintage Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles t-shirts culinary skills. I remember a time or two14 attempting to drum up a four-course meal without burning down my apartment.
Now? “Babe, how about some tacos?”
The same can be said about my coaching career.
In a presentation I did last weekend at Iron Village Strength & Conditioning in Beverly, MA titled The Art of Coaching I discussed how, early in my career, I made the mistake of trying too hard to win-over my clients with big words like reciprocal inhibition, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, post activation potentiation, and plethora (<— because, you know, that word is a boss).
Moreover, I made another huge mistake: Peppering my clients with too many coaching cues.
A set of squats would sound like this:
“Okay, squeeze the bar.”
“Push your knees out.”
“Don’t forget to spread the floor with your feet.”
“Big air!”
“Chest up.”
“Drive out of the hole.”
“Finish with your hips.”
“Stay tight, stay tight, I said STAY TIGHT!”
It was a juxtaposition on how not to coach clients. More often than not, they would end up feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, and thiiiiiiis close to wanting to drop kick me in the kidneys.
So today I’d like to share some succinct, BIG ROCK cues I feel work for pretty much everyone. At the expense of sounding like a fitness cliche, less coaching is more.
The Deadlift: Place Shoulder Blades in Your Back Pocket/Squeeze the Orange in the Armpit
Anything we can do to ensure (and maintain) upper back tightness throughout a set is going to be money. I could wax poetic and quote Dr. Stuart McGill here and all the work he’s done over the past 10-15 years to demonstrate how counteracting sheer force is kind of important for spinal stability and reducing the likelihood of back injury.
“Place shoulder blades in your back pocket” or “squeeze the orange in your armpit” do an amazing job at engaging the lats, which are a big player in spinal stability.
The Squat: Sit Down, Not Back
Like many young, impressionable coaches at the time, back in 2002-2005 I read many, many articles written by Dave Tate and the crew over at Westside Barbell.
And why wouldn’t I? If you were (and still are) remotely interested in getting yourself or your clients strong, you’d be hard pressed to find better information. More to the point, if you were/are a powerlifter or training powerlifters those were the guys to read.
There’s no question there’s validity in using the cue “sit back” when coaching the squat. We can break down the biomechanics and draw lever arms…but at the end of the day, if the goal is to lift as much weight as humanly possible it makes sense to target the hips and posterior chain more by sitting back.
However, as the years passed and as I coached the squat more, I started to see a trend where people’s lower backs started flipping them the middle finger. They didn’t feel good.
This is when I started putting two and two together and understanding that the cues that work very well for powerlifters – specifically, geared powerlifters, where squat suits help with providing more stability – don’t necessarily jive well with un-geared lifters.
The cue “sit back” (and subsequently: arch!) places a lot of people in a compromising position where they fall into excessive anterior pelvic tilt, which can promote a more unstable position…to the point where they’re relying more on their “passive restraints” (ligaments) and bone(s) to stabilize their spine and not their “active restraints” (muscles).
“Sit Down, Not Back” (bracing abs, moving through the hips (not initiating with lower back), and pushing knees forward/out) works very well here. The squat is equal parts knees coming forward and hips going back
You know, a squat.
NOTE: Yes, there is still a forward lean in the torso. Relax. Deep breaths, internet.
Individual differences need to be taken into consideration, of course, in terms of injury history15 mobility restrictions, anthropometry, stance width, depth, etc, but I’d encourage you to give this cue a try and see if it feels better.
The Bench Press: Wrapping the Barbell
The bench press is a much more nuanced lift than some people give it credit for. As far as technique is concerned, I find it’s a black hole for many lifters – myself included.
There are many things to consider here.
For starters: is it Monday?
Secondly, cues like “meet the bar with the chest,” “shoulder blades together and down” and “put force into the ground with your feet” (leg drive) all have merit.
However, one cue that has resonated with me (and that of my clients) is the idea of wrapping the barbell. It’s a great way of ensuring lat activation/upper back stiffness without having to cue someone to “turn your lats on” when they have no idea what the fuck that even means.
Cressey Sports Performance coach, Miguel Aragoncillo, explains it better than I:
My objective here was not to insinuate these are the best cues for everyone. Only “pretty much everyone.” (<— It’s a fact. A true, fact).
Rather, the idea was to demonstrate various cues that have worked for me and my athletes/clients throughout my time as a coach. They may not be a good fit for you and your clients, and that’s cool. I’d be honored if you’d consider them nonetheless.
Thoracic (mid-back) extension is kind of a big deal.
Without turning this into an anatomy lesson, t-spine extension is important for a variety of reasons. In no particular order:
It’s what the mid-back (T1-T12) is designed to do. However, due to the long hours many of us tend to accumulate at work and at home in excessive flexion (hunched over, rounded upper back), we lose the ability to get into and maintain extension.
In short: “good” posture can become compromised.
T-spine extension allows us to get into proper positions to lift things – it’s crucial for overhead activities (or elevating the arms overhead in general), deadlifting, squatting, and helping to offset “sheer forces” on the spine.
Lack of t-spine extension means you can never be Batman.17
Our scapulae (shoulder blades) are more or mess at the mercy of thorax position. For those who present with a more kyphotic/computer guy posture, the “resting” position of our scapulae can be affected (abducted, anteriorly tilted) which can (not always) lead to shoulder ouchies in addition to scapular dyskinesis.
There are numerous ways to address lack of thoracic extension, the most common being foam rolling the mid-back followed by corrective modalities such as:
Bench T-Spine Mobilizations
Rocked Back Extension-Rotations
Side Lying Windmill
We’d then follow all of that with strength-based exercises – cued well – to help “cement” things. Front squats, for example, would be a great fit here. The anterior placement of the barbell forces the upper back musculature to counteract the forward pull to keep the torso upright; in effect nudging trainees into more t-spine extension.
Another popular approach is to use the foam roller in a different way and pepper in some additional t-spine extension patterning.
You all know the drill: take a foam roller, lie on it, and lean back, waaaaaaay back.
Like this:
While intentions are good in this scenario and there is some mid-back extension happening, it arrives at the expense of movement coming from elsewhere…the lumbar spine (often times with the hips coming off the ground) in conjunction with a massive rib flair.
Thoracic movement is much more subtle than people think. I fear this is one of those cases where many people – fitness industry pros included – have grown infatuated with the notion more ROM (Range of Motion) is better ROM.
Not the case.
What T-Spine Extension on Foam Roller Really Looks Like
