CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Deadbug With Extension + Reach

It should come as no surprise to anyone who’s read this site for any length of time that I love me some LOLCats, beef jerky, pantless anything (insert things like writing, cooking, reading, crime fighting here) Deadbugs.

I feel they’re one of the most underused and underutilized exercises out there, due in no small part to how innocuous they look. This is unfortunate because they offer a ton of benefits and have applicability to pretty much every person, athlete or non-athlete, injury-free or not.

Not only are they a superb core training exercise, but their versatility in that they can be tweaked and progressed or regressed (depending on a person’s ability level) is what also lends them to MVP (or, MVE – Most Valuable Exercise) status in my book.

Plain ol’ vanilla deadbugs – when done right (controlled cadence, movement comes from hips and shoulders and not lumbar spine, with a full exhale – are more than challenging for 90% of the population. I’ve had professional athletes and very strong individuals humbled by this “wimpy” looking exercise.

To that point, I am never too quick to jump on the “lets make this exercise harder for the sake of making it harder” wagon. Because, frankly, more often than not…it’s not necessary.

43488580 - a black bumpy foam massage roller. foam rolling is a self-myofascial release technique that is used by athletes and physical therapists to inhibit overactive muscles.

Copyright: stocksnapper / 123RF Stock Photo

SIDE NOTE: this is why I’m amused at people who feel the need to up the ante on things like foam rolling. We now have people using foam rollers with spikes and bumps (some even vibrate) on them or even PVC and lead pipes, thinking they’re more effective. 

I’m half expecting rolling on a live grenade to be the next progression.

It has to hurt in order to work.

However, this isn’t to imply that the deadbug exercise can never be progressed or made more challenging. Truth be told: I’m always intrigued whenever I come across new variations. Like this one. which I came across yesterday:

Deadbug With Extension + Reach

 

Who Did I Steal It From: Luka Hocevar of Vigor Ground Fitness and Performance.

What Does It Do: Well, it’s a deadbug, so it’s already a killer anterior core exercise, and serves as a great way to teach someone to dissociate lumbar movement from hip movement. I.e., the idea is to maintain a neutral spine position and not allow the lower back to “fall” into extension as you move the extremities.

With this variation, however, there’s a bit more in play:

1. First, it’s important to “vet” individuals for this exercise. If they lack ample shoulder flexion to bring their arms overhead, it won’t be a good fit.

2. Holding the KB above makes it easier to engage anterior core (which will help to posteriorly tilt the pelvis, which is important for those people stuck in excessive APT).

3. Lowering the KB (under control) cues the individual to create a flexion moment in the abdominals while simultaneously promoting an extension moment in the thoracic spine (where we want extension to occur).

4. Too, adding the “reach” at the end (where you keep the rib cage locked to the pelvis) is another fantastic way to increase more core demand and strength (and allow flexion, albeit with a teeny-tiny bit of load. Don’t worry, you’re spine will live).

Key Coaching Cues: To reiterate above, go SLOW when lowering the KB. Own the movement, keep the ribs down. When it comes to the reach: try not to get movement from flexing the neck. Instead, “lead with your chest,” as if the chest were pushing the KB towards the ceiling. Hold for a 2-3s count, lower, switch legs, and repeat.

3-6 reps per side should be more than enough to respect the movement.

CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing rant

Porcelain Post: Results is a Battle of Repetition

NOTE: the term “Porcelain Post” was invented by Brian Patrick Murphy and Pete Dupuis. Without getting into the specifics, it describes a post that can be read in the same time it takes you to go #2.

Huh, I guess that was more specific than I thought.

Enjoy.

Results is a Battle of Repetition

You didn’t think I was going to use the word “battle” in a blog post and not figure out someway to finagle a lightsaber reference in there did you?

It’s me we’re talking about here.

So I was listening to THIS interview with Adam Bornstein on The Fitcast the other day and something Adam said resonated with me:

Part II of his commentary was him explaining how his most successful clients (both in person and distance based) – the ones whom he’d use as a walking advertisement for his services – were the ones who stuck with him for a minimum of 1-3 years.

This is not to suggest that those people who only decided to stick around for a month or two (or nine) didn’t receive any benefit or reach their goals in working with Adam. I’m sure many did, because he’s a rock-star coach.

Rather, his message was to demonstrate a hard truth for many to swallow.

It’s the long-game, and consistency with doing the same shit over, and over, and over, and over again that will usually pan out in your favor.

Those people (or clients) who stick to their guns, hold themselves accountable, and make the time to prioritize their health/fitness over the course of many, many weeks/months/better yet, years, are the ones who do very well.

And, honestly, as much as I feel exercise variety is overrated, it’s not even about always doing the monotonous stuff consistently. I do feel learning the basics are important, and taking the time to master them is never a bad thing. The basics should, more often than not, serve as the foundation of any program.

Having said that: I also understand there comes a point and time when some people would rather swallow live bees than perform another Goblet squat.

However, and this is a big however, the more cogent word to focus on in this particular discussion is “stuff.”

Doing “stuff” consistently – whether it’s CrossFit, powerlifting, taking group exercise classes, or pantless Zumba pillow-fighting (<— make it happen Equinox) – and doing it for a very long time, is almost always going to result in some pretty phenomenal things happening.

The key, though, is to START. Stop making excuses, stop reading articles, stop sending emails to fitness pros asking what you should do. Just start. And then, don’t stop. You’ll win the battle.

CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Barbell Rolling Squat

Hope everyone had a lovely July 4th weekend this past weekend. We sure did.

Lisa and I were up in Maine – Pemaquid Point to be exact – for a wedding, and it was a stark reminder that it’s the perfect anecdote to the hustle and bustle of Boston.

Having a few day’s reprieve from honking horns, sirens, and people in general was amazing. Plus, the air in Maine is so much more crisp and clean. I highly recommend going if you ever get the chance.

We got back into Boston early yesterday so that we could partake in our annual July 4th Epic Walk of Epicness.

Nothing out of the ordinary since we walk around the city all the time. However, going for a “long-ass walk” on the 4th is something Lisa and I started doing a few years ago and we’ve continued on with the tradition.

Plus, there aren’t many cities that do July 4th better than Boston.

We left our apartment around noon and when it was all said and done we covered nine miles and had our fair share of cookie and pizza pit-stops.

That’s how we roll.

Anyways, as thrilling as it is reading about my walking prowess, I’m sure you’d rather me get to the meat and potatoes of today’s post.

Barbell Rolling Squat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YsTS1Nq4tU

 

This can also be considered a poor man’s version of the hack squat. Except, you know, without the $1000+ piece of equipment involved that can only be used for one thing.

So, a more apropos way of putting things is that this is the “savvy business man’s” version of the hack squat.

Who Did I Steal It From: Greg Nuckols during one of his and Omar Isuf’s Lifting Lyceum presentations.

NOTE: If you have a chance to hop in on their next go-round, you’d be stupid not to. It’s a wonderfully detailed resource that goes into the nitty gritty on squat, deadlift and bench press technique as well as program design.

Go HERE for more information.

NOTE II: I receive no monetary value or kick-back in telling you to check it out. Unless you count a video of Greg lip-syncing Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself” as a form of compensation. Which it should.

NOTE III: Lets make it happen Greg….;o)

What Does It Do: The rolling squat serves as a nice accessory movement to better target the quadriceps.

As Greg noted during his squat presentation, and I agree with him if that means anything1, many lifters have been programmed into thinking the squat is ALL posterior-chain, to the point where having weak quads may become a limiting factor.

When the goal is to lift as much weight as humanly possible, there’s definitely merit to utilizing the posterior chain to a higher degree. However, this doesn’t imply the quadriceps should be ignored.

As far as the quads being a limiting factor is concerned, this is most apparent when you witness someone come out of the hole on their squat and their hips shoot up way too fast, to the point where they run the risk of falling too far forward onto their toes.

Having stronger quads (or the ability to engage them to a higher degree) will help people better put force INTO the ground and maintain a more upright torso.

READ: This IS NOT to imply a forward lean is frowned upon or wrong. It isn’t. Just, you know, falling forward onto your face will tend to stagnate things.

Key Coaching Cues: You won’t need a lot of weight with this. For most guys, 95-135 lbs will be more than enough. For women, 45-85 lbs will suffice.

Also, use BUMPER plates.

In addition, it helps to have a very forgiving training facility to perform these. A brick or cement wall is best. Doing this exercise against a drywall won’t end well.

Hoist the barbell overhead and set up as you would for a normal squat. Lean back towards the wall until the plates are resting, adjust feet to shoulder width apart, scoot a few feet forward, and then squat down as low as you can.

These are best done for high(er) reps, in the 10-20 range.

PS: I’ve gotten a few comments from people on why this exercise is any different than “regular” squat, even with the suggestion of moving my feet forward a bit away from the wall?

Answer: Because I’m LEANING INTO THE WALL. Hence the name “barbell ROLLING squat.” Apologies for not making that more clear on my end….;O)

CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Deep Squat Press

Today’s “Exercise You Should Be Doing” has a unique flavor compared to exercises in the past.

1. It’s as miserable as it sounds.

2. The word “deep” is going to be contingent on individual anatomy, overall mobility (ankle dorsiflexion, hip flexion, t-spine extension), and one’s ability level to actually squat. Basically, unlike the internet, I’m not an a-hole and expect everyone to squat ass-to-grass.

Likewise, as I’ve stated 717 (+/- 203) times on this site, not everyone can/should press overhead. You have to earn the right to press overhead. Limitations in shoulder flexion have to be taken into heavy consideration here.

That said this exercise is pretty baller, albeit a fairly advanced variation.2

3. It’s two exercises in one! Two is always better than one. Two ninjas are better than one, two pairs of clean underwear are better than one, hell, two sandwiches are better than one.

I mean, when isn’t it?

About the only time two isn’t better than one is Michael Bay movies.

So lets jump into it.

Deep Squat Press

 

Who Did I Steal It From: Can’t say I recall. But for shits and gigs I’ll say Ben Affleck.

What Does It Do: Works as a nice progression with regards to squat patterning. The asymmetrical or “offset” load provides a fantastic rotary stability component to the exercise. And, of course, the pressing component incorporates the upper body making this a full-body exercise to be reckoned with.

Key Coaching Cues: First and foremost I’d make sure to audit your clients and ensure they can perform a standard Goblet Squat before tossing this into the mix.

Some key points to consider:

  • Differentiating between Active vs. Passive Foot.
  • Can they maintain proper alignment – in that there’s no excessive rib flair throughout the duration of the set. The anterior load of the KB or DB should help offset this.
  • Chest Up.
  • Push knees out (heels stay glued to the floor), squat DOWN not necessarily BACK.
  • Maintain abs, and think about “pulling” into the deep squat position.
  • End result should be elbows inside knees, chest up, natural arch in lower back.

If they hit all the checkmarks above, your client(s) are probably good to go with this variation.

HOWEVER: screening them for ample shoulder flexion is crucial. If they lack sufficient overhead mobility the “press” component of this exercise may be contraindicated.

HOWEVER (PART II): Squat depth will be highly individualized. Some people lack the requisite mobility to squat below parallel. Others, however, lack stability in the form of protective tension, which more or less tells the CNS to put on the emergency breaks. So, what may seem like a mobility restriction is just lack of stability.

It’s important to screen for this and note the difference.

[^^^ There’s more to this screen that I’ve added since writing the post above (I should update it), but this should provide ample insight].

Do you or your client pass the above caveats? Good, you’re good to go.

Grab a kettlebell and start in the racked position. With your free hand make a fist and squeeze like a mofo. This will help create more bodily tension.

Squat down to your “usable” ROM and once there, maintain tension (don’t relax), pause for a 1s count, own the position, and then press the KB up towards the ceiling making sure to follow with your eyes.

Now that I think about it: this is also a great t-spine rotation exercise!

Perform 5-8 repetitions, and repeat the same process on the other side. Alternatively, you could perform this exercise as squat, press, stand back up, squat, press, stand back up, etc.

You get to pick your poison here. Give it a try and let me know what you think

CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: 1-Arm Landmine Reverse Lunge

It’s Patriot’s Day today in Boston.

What’s Patriot’s Day you ask?

Multiple choice:

1) A civic holiday commemorating the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first battles of the American Revolutionary War on April 19, 1775?

2) Tom Brady’s birthday?

HINT: It’s the former.

Patriot’s Day is also the day the Boston Marathon is held, and the city more or less shuts down to cheer on the thousands upon thousands of participants. As a matter of fact, my apartment is located around mile 24 of the course and the elite runners will be passing by shortly.

I need to make this post quick so I can go watch.

1-Arm Landmine Reverse Lunge

**Technically this exercise could be labeled “1-Arm Landmine Reverse Lunge – Perpendicular Grip” since you’re not facing the barbell itself. But that’s too long of a name. So, whatever.

 

Who Did I Steal It From: Megatron.3

But for real, I can’t recall who I stole this one from. Clifton Harski perhaps? I saw him perform a more advanced variation of this exercise with the barbell itself resting in the “crook” of his elbow – Zercher Landmine Reverse Lunge.

What Does It Do: Reverse lunges in general are a more “joint friendly” single-leg option since the tibia can stay more vertical, and because there’s less deceleration involved (as opposed to a forward lunge where one has to “decelerate” their entire bodyweight).

They’re an excellent choice for people struggling with chronic knee discomfort or pain.

Too, the landmine reverse lunge provides an added core challenge due to the “offset loading” involved. There’s a massive rotary stability component, which makes it a nice fit for those looking to get a little more bang for their training buck.

Key Coaching Cues: I always err on the side of being conservative when it comes to single leg training. Far too often I find trainees playing “hero” on their single leg work, going too heavy, and missing out on all the benefits (hip stability/strength, knee stability, foot strength, grip strength, training multiple planes w/o compensating (knee valgus), core strength, hamstring/quad strength, overall level of sexiness, to name a few).

QUALITY of movement is important here.

Load barbell up with plates (those with longer arms may need to use smaller plates; not bumper plates as shown in the video), “cup” the barbell with your hand, and step back making sure to gently tap the knee to the floor.

Be sure to finish each repetition at the top by squeezing the glute of the working leg (the one that’s not moving).

Fist pumps optional.4

ADDENDUM

From Mr. Landmine himself, Ben Bruno:

“I LOVE this exercise a lot with the women I train and get them to go heavy.”

This makes a ton of sense…especially for those who may feel a bit intimidated at first at the notion of deadlifts and squats.

CategoriesExercise Technique Exercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Rock the Boat

With apologies to any 90s hip-hop and R&B fans, today’s exercise has nothing to do with Aaliyah’s hit “Rock the Boat.”

OMG – such a classic song.

I listen to this song – as well as other songs from all her albums (Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number, One in a Million, Aaliyah) – and can’t help but wonder “what might have been?” if she hadn’t died so tragically back in 2001 in an airplane crash.5

Alrighty then, lets move away from the somber tone shall we?

I’ve got a quick-n-dirty exercise for you to try this week.

Rock the Boat

 

Who Did I Steal it From: Surprisingly, not Ben Bruno (the landmine Jedi that he is).

Last week, before heading to NY, I stopped by Mike Reinold’s place, Champion Physical Therapy & Performance (in Waltham, MA), to film a few podcasts and to get a quick lift. Strength coach Rob Sutton showed me this bad boy, and I really liked it.

What Does It Do: It humbles you for sure.6

Outside of that, it’s an excellent drill that trains the abdominals (core) in a more “functional” manner. I.e., anti-extension, not to mention there’s a high degree of resisting rotation (loop stress) as you, you know, “rock the boat” moving the barbell from side-to-side.

Key Coaching Cues: This is a self-limiting exercise in that the ROM used by each individual is going to be determined by his or her’s ability level. The idea, however, is to “lock” things down and place a premium on lumbo-pelvic-hip control (no excessive lumbar flexion or extension).

Foot width will vary (closer together = harder).

Shoot for 5-8 repetitions per side. But you could also make this a timed event, say, 15-20s, working up to 30-40s.

Have fun!

CategoriesExercise Technique Exercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: 1-Arm Bottoms-Up Anything

Drake said it best:

“Started from the bottom now we’re here.”

Based off last week’s article on Building the Squat From the Bottom and today’s apropos titled post, you may think I’m obsessed with bottoms.

Kim Kardashian and J-Lo jokes aside, you’re 100% correct.

When I was coaching at Cressey Sports Performance and working with numerous overhead athletes, utilizing bottoms-up exercises was a daily occurrence…many times serving as a starting point for guys traveling to Massachusetts to train after a tenuously long baseball season or maybe recovering from an injury.

Get it?

Started From the Bottom?

Bottoms-up? Starting point?7

In case you’re not picking up what I’m putting down: I like bottoms-up (kettlebell) exercises.

Like THIS one. And THIS one.

There are many reasons why, too.

1) Better Shoulder Health and Rotator Cuff Activation

With regards to shoulder health and rotator cuff activation, there aren’t many things more effective than holding a kettlebell upside down. Because grip becomes more of a “thing” here, a phenomenon called irradiation comes into play. Simply put: grip strength helps the shoulder to “pack” itself, providing more stability to the area.

Don’t believe me?

Hold your arm out in front of you making a fist. But don’t do anything, just hold it there.

Now, MAKE A FIST (as if you were going to thunder-punch a T-Rex). Notice how your shoulder kinda tensed up and “packed” itself. That’s irradiation.

Moreover, when we start talking about the rotator cuff muscles and what the anatomy books tells us their function is we get this:

  • Internal/external rotation of the humerus.
  • Abduction of the humerus
  • Humeral depression (counteract pull of delts)

All of this is correct. And, I defy anyone to put this bit of trivia in their Match.com profile and not be beating people off with a stick.

However, the RC’s true “function” is to keep the humeral head centered in the glenoid fossa.8Bottoms-up KB carries are an excellent choice to train the rotator cuff in this fashion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnpS41ag5ME

 

2) De-loading

I am a firm believer in lifting heavy things. The slogan of this site is “Because Heavy Things Won’t Lift Themselves” for crying out loud.

That said, it’s important to pump the brakes from time to time and understand (and respect) that lifting “heavy,” all the time, isn’t necessary to build a strong, durable, aesthetically pleasing body.

It’s the backbone, of course. But the “go heavy, or go home” mentality can be just as deleterious and stagnating as going too light.

What I also love about bottoms-up exercises is that they serve as a built-in “de-load” mechanism for many trainees, not to mention a tricky way to place a spotlight on any glaring side-to-side strength/muscular imbalances.

Have someone perform a 1-arm Bottoms-Up Bench Press or Overhead Press and watch as it becomes abundantly clear which arm is stronger than the other.

 

What’s more, because so many trainees like to “muscle” their exercises9, many of the smaller, stabilizing musculature gets the shaft. And thus, nagging injuries may occur.

Relax: I’m not going all Tracy Anderson and saying something asinine like “it’s important to use lighter weights so we can target our deep, less angry, stabilizing muscles. Also, dipping your left hand into a bucket of unicorn tears detoxes the body of sadness.”

What I am saying, however, is that it’s okay to use an exercise such as this as an accessory movement to help address a gross imbalance or weakness, or to even help build some muscle. The Bottoms-Up KB Overhead Press is actually one of my favorite shoulder exercises to build mass because it forces people to be strict with their technique.

  • Squeeze glutes, quads, and abs.
  • Lock rib cage down.
  • Press

3) Core Stability

I don’t feel I need to spend a lot of time on this one. Performing any unilateral movement (upper or lower body) has obvious core training benefits.

Here, not only are we getting all the benefits described above, but we’re also getting the benefit of challenging our core musculature to prevent any un-wanted motion (in this case: lateral flexion, rotation, extension, etc).

Bottoms-Up Split Squat

 

Bottoms-Up Bulgarian Split Squat

 

Bottoms-Up Reverse Lunge

 

With all these drills the objective is to stabilize the kettlebell so that it stays upright throughout, while at the same time maintaining a good thoraco-pelvic canister (minimizing rib flair and excessive anterior pelvic tilt).

[A good way to visualize this is to think about an invisible line being drawn from your nipple line to your belly button. You want to “connect” your rib cage to your pelvis and LOCK IT DOWN. The invisible line should stay the same throughout the duration of a set and not get longer].

You’ll notice on all the examples above I make a fist with my free hand to help increase bodily tension. This is important to help maintain that canister

4) And Lastly, Because I Said So

How’s that for a legit reason to give these exercises a try?

CategoriesCorrective Exercise Exercise Technique Exercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Modified Side Lying Hip Abduction with Leg Slide

When most people – at least within fitness circles – think of “glutes,” they envision bikini models/figure competitors up on stage or people with 400+ lb hip thrust with the ability to crack a walnut/crush a Volvo between their cheeks, in what’s known as the 21st century’s version of “coolest bar trick ever.”

And well, I can’t disagree with either of those examples.

I mean…..GLUTES!

A more poignant and mature fitness professional, however, will note that, the glutes – or gluteal complex (glute maximus, medius, and minimus) – are a major player in a multitude of strength & conditioning (in addition to general health & well-being) facets.

Having strong glutes allows athletes to lift more weight, jump higher, and run faster. While not always the case and a true indicator of athletic prowess, using the eyeball test and comparing athlete A (who has a big ass) and athlete B (who looks as if (s)he has a 2×4 stuck to their rear-end), I’m going to put my money on athlete A.

The glutes also serve a major role in helping to “bullet proof” the body. Athlete or not, many people complain of chronic lower back pain due to “glute amnesia.”

Get those bad-boys strong(er) and firing more efficiently, reduce the likelihood of faulty compensations, and good things tend to always happen.

Exhibit A: Kellie Davis, co-author of Strong Curves, rocking some solid hip thrusts.

Exhibit B: this sexy firefighter rescuing a helpless kitten from a tree.

That said, we can’t always “muscle” our way to strong, efficient glutes. Sometimes we need to implement lower-level, “corrective” type movements in order to appropriately “access” them.

Note to Self: lets tone it down on the quotations marks, mmm-kay.

Modified Side-Lying Hip Abduction With Leg Slide

 

Who Did I Steal it From?: Chicago based chiropractic physician and strength coach, Dr. Evan Osar.

What Does it Do?: The objective here is to not to say we’re strengthening the glute medius. We’re not, really.

Most people don’t have a weak glute medius. And frankly, doing an endless array of hip abduction or side lying clam variations isn’t going to be the answer. Sure, some people may need to regress things to include a healthy dose of motor control exercises, but at the end of the day, if you want to “strengthen” a muscle, you need to, you know, do traditional strength-building exercises.

That being said, the intent here is to help people access their glute medius as part of the gluteal complex, to increase the brain’s and nervous system’s awareness of that muscle, and to recruit it once we get people into the upright/standing position and lifting heavy things.

Key Coaching Cues: 

We get hip extension, abduction, and lengthening of the anterior hip complex.

  • Entire backside is flush against the wall.
  • Shoulders/hips are stacked on top of one another.
  • Elbow at 90 degrees, knees at 45 degrees. Also, it’s a good idea to place a yoga block or towel between knees to encourage a more neutral pelvic position.
  • Start by pushing the bottom knee gently into the floor.
  • Elevate top foot and then push your heel into the wall, engaging glute max.
  • Slowly straighten leg until fully extended, making sure to keep heel in contact with wall the entire time. Toes will point forward/come off wall when leg is straight.
  • Return back to starting position, and repeat 6-8 repetitions/side for 2-3 sets.
  • THAT’S what it feels like to turn your entire gluteal complex on.
  • Now go train.
CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Barbell Seal Row

It’s a national holiday here in the States – President’s Day – which means my wife has the day off from work. Whenever that happens we like to go get a workout in together since it’s rare we have the opportunity to do so.

Contrary to what many reading may thing, getting a lift in at a commercial gym is actually something I look forward to, because it allows a little change of pace and environment for me. Plus it gives me access to pieces of equipment I normally don’t have access to.

Pec deck for days baby!!!

Another side benefit is the observations into human behavior it highlights. Commercial gyms are a petri dish of odd and comical behavior.

Today called for squats. I walk into the main weight area and noticed that both squat racks were in use by, weirdly enough, two guys squatting. Awesome. I’ll wait.

The “wait” turned into ten minutes as one guy, in his mid-20s, was taking F.O.R.E.V.E.R in between his sets. When he’d complete a set he’d stand there looking straight into the mirror, gazing into his own eyes for a few minutes catching his breath, and then walk over to his what I have to assume girlfriend to chat it up.

After the 3rd round of this, I casually walk up to him and ask, “hey man, how many more sets do you have?”

“A few sets.”

“Mind if I jump in and start warming up?”

[Cue incredulous look, as if I just asked him if I could fart in his eye.]

“Um, yeah, sure.”

As I start my warm-up I notice, through the corner of my eye, him acting all “huffy” with his girlfriend.

It ended up being fine. I made sure to re-rack the bar to the weight he was using and by the time I was half-way through my warm-up sets he had finished. But man, the experience just reminded me that people are way too serious sometimes.

End rant.

Lets get to the gist of today’s post.

Barbell Seal Row

 

Who Did I Steal It From: The guy who writes my programs, Greg Robins, put these into one of my days last week and I loved them.

When I posted this video up on my Instagram account, Greg noted he “stole” the exercise from a guy named Mike Shea via Josh Bryant. Who, I can only guess, got it from some obscure Russian weight training coach or The Rock. Doesn’t matter. It’s a baller exercise.

What Does It Do: This is an excellent exercise that hammers the upper back, specifically the (lower) lats. The exercise lends itself to taking away “body english” and forces the lifter to place a premium on technique and really “feeling” the lats fire.

Key Coaching Cues: 

  • Be sure you use a set-up that allows you to fully extend (straighten out) your arms. The should be enough room for the shoulder blades to move around the thorax/rib cage.
  • Squeeze glutes, brace abs. This will help prevent any hyper-extension of the lumbar spine.
  • Try to keep the neck packed (make a double chin).
  • Think about pulling your elbows towards the hips. The barbell will more or less be in line with that cute, little, belly button of yours.
  • Pull barbell all the way up until barbell touches the bench. I you find that that position places you in too much glenohumeral extension (shoulders roll forward), you can add a fat pad to the barbell to help lessen the ROM.
  • Progression would be to eventually lift the legs off the bench, via the glutes (hip extension).
  • Try not to wear too tight of a shirt, cause you’re jacked, and you’re shirt will rip….;o)

Perform for sets of 8-10 repetitions.

CategoriesExercise Technique Exercises You Should Be Doing Rehab/Prehab

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Stationary Bear Crawl

Hope everyone enjoyed the game last night.

Congrats to Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos on the win.

But screw the game. Did everyone see that new Jason Bourne teaser trailer?????

 

It took all the will power I could muster not to start dry humping the television screen. I knew a Bourne movie has been in the works for a while now – because I’m a nerd and read Entertainment Weekly and hang out on IMDB – and had been anticipating something epic in the coming months now that both (Matt) Damon and (Paul) Greengrass are back on board with the franchise.

But I was NOT expecting to see a sneak peak teaser last night. I caught me completely off-guard.

The only thing more manly would have been if it showed Bourne bare knuckle fighting a grizzly bear.

On an aside – and serving as the worst segue in history – I recently recorded a video “chat” with Ryan Ketchum for the Elite Training Mentorship titled Behind the Scenes: Tony Gentilcore on Program Design Made Simple.

As a whole, the Elite Training Mentorship gives you access to monthly “inner circle” content from the likes of Eric Cressey (and the entire coaching staff of Cressey Sports Performance), Mike Robertson (and the entire coaching staff of IFAST), in addition to Tyler English, Dave “the Band Man” Schmitz, and Steve Long and Jared Woolever of Smart Group Training.

For a very fair price ($29.95/month, $299.95/year) you gain access – past and current content – to the entire library.

HOWEVER, because this is my first solo addition to the service, you go HERE you can take advantage of a special trail rate of $4.95 for the first 30 days.

That’s pretty sick if you ask me.

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Stationary Bear Crawl

 

Who Did I Steal It From: I got this bad boy from Dr. Mark Cheng when I watched his excellent DVD, Prehab=Rehab 101. In particular the exercise stems from when he covered the topic of ground based training, transitioning from primitive patterns – rolling, sphinx pose, etc – to crawling patterns.

What Does It Do: crawling (and bear crawls especially) have grown in popularity in recent years…mostly in group training environments such as boot camps and/or CrossFit classes.

However I don’t think most people understand what advantages or uses the exercise provides other than “making people tired” and provoking a cacophony of groans whenever they’re placed into a WOD.

The “making people tired” approach makes me cringe because, well, that’s when bad shit starts to happen.

The real reason(s) bear crawls carry weight in a program are as follows:

1) When performed correctly – hips level with shoulders (no excessive arching or rounding of the spine) – they’re an excellent way to train lumbo-pelvic stability/control. More importantly, they help the trainee dissociate hip movement from lumbar movement.

I like to tell people to pretend as if a glass of water or wine is lying their back upright and the objective is to not allow one drop to spill.

2) There’s extensive motor learning (or motor remembering) involved here. I’ll purposely go out of my way to not coach someone on these at the start.

I’ll demonstrate and then point to the floor and say, “your turn.” I feel like a big a-hole in saying it, but I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a smidgeon of entertainment and comedic relief when watching some people try to perform a bear crawl.

It’s as if some are cemented to the floor. They don’t move.

But after awhile it’s just a matter of them figuring things out and reacquainting themselves with some simple motor patterning.

If you really want to be mean have people reverse the action, or go sideways.

2) Bear crawls are also an excellent anterior core exercise (due to the aforementioned focus on lumbo-pelvic control). I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a client contact me the day after saying something to the effect of “WTF, Tony, my abs are on fire today.”

Weird how when you perform something right it becomes more challenging and “stuff” is engaged to a higher degree or turned on.

3) There’s also a fair amount of serratus activity involved, which is a great fit for those with excessively adducted and/or downwardly rotated scapulae. Another BIG mistake many people make with their bear crawls is “hanging” on their shoulder blades and allowing them to touch the entire time. This causes a lot of ramifications with glenohumeral issues. The scaps should more or less move around the rib cage.

4) And, too, I can’t deny the conditioning component to the exercise. There are innumerable ways to make people hate life here. Performing them for time, for distance, dragging a bulldozer behind, it’s endless.

All that being said, oftentimes people don’t have the luxury of having turf or open space to perform traditional bear crawls.

So why not do them in place?

Key Coaching Cues: Hands under shoulders, knees under hips. Depending on one’s ability and comfort level, how wide someone has to go – base of support – will vary.

Brace abs, chin tucked. From there I’ll say “lift opposite limbs a few inches off the ground, but prevent any teeter-tottering of the torso/hips.”

Of Note: the water/wine analogy from above works well here.

Another crucial cue is to make sure the trainee pushes him or herself AWAY from the floor. Basically, make sure those bad boys are moving AROUND the rib cage.

I’ll have someone perform these for “x” number of repetitions (usually 5-8/side) or for time (15-30s).

This is a great exercise for many populations. I’ve used it with clients/athletes with chronic low back issues, as well as with clients/athletes who need to be humbled….;O)

You can always regress the exercise and have someone focus on ONE limb at a time too. Also, I’ve had people perform this in clockwise/counter-clockwise fashion, lifting/lowering each limb in both directions.

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