CategoriesExercise Technique Program Design

The Deadlift: Beginner Basics

I came across this comment yesterday on Twitter from a friend of mine who’s an accomplished trainer and someone I respect a lot:

How many articles can be written about the deadlift? And when writing, does the author ever say to self, “maybe I should wait on this one.”

I can’t say I disagree with his tone. I mean, I get it. There are metric shit-ton1 of deadlift articles out there, and I’ve helped contribute my fair share.

Sorry!

The way I see it: Michael Bay keeps making those god-awful Transformers movies due to popular demand. Deadlifts are popular. So, yeah, there’s the correlation.

Just run with it.

I’ll admit that there’s really nothing new to say about deadlifts (except that they’re not god-awful), and I can understand the degree of eye-rolling by some coaches when the internet is hijacked for a few days with a flood of articles and blog posts on the topic; not coincidentally all of which happen to coincide with the revamped re-release of a stellar resource like David Dellanave’s Off the Floor: A Manual for Deadlift Domination.

For what it’s worth: there are a lot of people who stink at deadlifting and are eager to learn how to perform them right and learn how to implement them into a well-structured, properly progressed program.

I like to think of myself – and this website – as a resource that helps point people in the direction of quality information. Information from friends/coaches I trust (and more often than not have a personal relationship with) and information I know will help many people.

I can do it in a way that’s non-douchy and provide unique, useful content – because I know what I’m talking about – as an adjunct to the material (like I will do below).

Or I can do one of two things:

1. Be annoying internet marketing guy

“HEY EVERYBODY BUY THIS MANUAL/DVD BECAUSE I SAID SO, AND BECAUSE I LIKE DEADLIFTS (even though I don’t train anyone in real life). AND BECAUSE I HAVE A TRIBAL TATTOO ON  MY ARM! “

2. Stay silent and rely on videos like this to educate people

 

I choose neither.

And on that note here’s some words I put together for you to read.

The Deadlift: Beginner Basics

The deadlift is a “simple” movement, and I’d argue the least technical of the “big 3” (squat, bench press, deadlift). Which isn’t to say it’s easy to perform nor doesn’t require some attention to detail. But for all intents and purposes we can describe the deadlift as follows (courtesy of renowned strength coach, Mark Rippetoe):

“Bar is on the ground. One bends over to pull the bar, with straight arms, off the floor and up the legs until the knees, hips, and shoulders are locked out.

And then you piss excellence all over the place.”

That last part was added by me.

Another perspective is that of Dan John:

Squat = maximal knee bend and maximal hip bend. In other words, the squat is a squat.

Deadlift = minimal knee bend and maximal hip bend. In other words, the deadlift is a hip hinge.

[NOTE: for some ideas on how to groove a solid hip hinge before adding an external load, check out THIS article on How to Hip Hinge Like a Boss.]

 

Benefits of the Deadlift

  1. It Gets You Stronger

Deadlifts have been around since the beginning of time. And while I can’t back that up with any scientific evidence, it’s true.

Of Note: I can’t tell you how many times I’ve trained at a gym other than my own and after a set of deadlifts someone will approach me and comment: “hey, that thing you’re doing. Is that, like, CrossFit?”

I’ve grown out of my hatin on CrossFit phase – I recognize the good it’s done with getting the masses excited to exercise, and better yet, lifting weights – so I generally just chuckle it off and inform the commentee that, “No, I’m not CrossFitting,” and that “No, CrossFit didn’t invent lifting weights.”

Anyways, deadlifts have been around for a while and there’s a reason why they’re a staple in every single successful strength-training program ever written, ever. (citation needed).

They work.

If strength is the goal, you need to incorporate movements that allow you to lift a bulldozer boatload of weight. Deadlifts fit that bill.

  1. It Builds Muscle

A funny thing happens when someone starts deadlifting consistently. They add muscle to their frame. More specifically they add muscle to the areas which can’t be scene by the mirror and are often most neglected – the posterior chain (glutes, hamstring, erectors).

Which serves as an appropriate segue to the next benefit…

  1. It Improves Performance

What kind of performance? I don’t know…any kind of performance.

Hitting a baseball or golf ball further, dunking a basketball, improving running efficiency (the more force you can develop and put into the ground, the more efficient you are at propelling yourself towards the finish line), the ability to walk down a flight of stairs and not break your hips in half, making yourself harder to kill, the bedroom (BOM CHICKA BOM BOM), it’s all fair game and part of the conversation.

One of the best explanations I’ve ever heard comes, again, from strength coach, Dan John. He was asked one time by an athlete of his “what muscle does (insert name of any exercise you want here) does this exercise work anyways?”

I don’t recall he was being asked about the deadlift, but his answer is fitting nonetheless:

“You know that muscle that allows you to jump really high, over the defending cornerback, to catch the football for the game winning touchdown? That muscle.”

Fuckin A.

In reality, however, we don’t have to correlate the deadlift to just athletic performance.

It carries many other “real life” benefits with it outside of the football field, baseball diamond, soccer pitch, or basketball court (to name a few).

Anything that requires a basic hip hinge pattern – while maintaining a neutral spine – can be labeled a deadlift.

Grandma bending over to pick up a potted plant? That’s a deadlift.

The random woman picking up her child at the local playground? A deadlift.

Franco Columbo moving his father’s car out of a cramped parking space in the documentary Pumping Iron? You guessed it, deadlift.

  1. It Makes You Bulletproof

Now just to be clear, that’s a metaphor. Deadlifts won’t actually make you bulletproof. Don’t be stupid. Bullets hurt. And will kill you.

Bulletproof in this context is just a more nerdy way of saying “prevent injuries.”

From an athlete’s perspective: Deadlifts will (hopefully, nothing is guaranteed) help prevent injuries like ACL tears as well as nagging injuries to the knees – like tendinitis (acute inflammation) and tendinosis (chronic inflammation or actual degeneration of soft tissue) – due to the fact the posterior chain is so heavily activated and strengthened.

From a non-athlete’s perspective: Deadlifts will help to “offset” many of the postural imbalances and dysfunctions that tend to manifest when forced to sit at a desk all day in front of a computer.

Think of what’s required in order to perform a deadlift: ample ankle dorsiflexion, hip extension, thoracic spine extension, and pelvic control, amongst other things…all of which tend to diminish when seated for long periods of time.

Plus, deadlifts help to address any pent up aggression that may spill over from work. I.e., they’re a much better alternative to stabbing your boss or annoying co-worker in the neck. Unless they deserve it.

In that case, stab away.

Note: video below doesn’t include any stabbing, but it’s hilarious nonetheless.

 

One last thing to consider is Wolff’s Law and Davis’s Law.

You can’t discount physics.

The former states that bone in a healthy person or animal will adapt to the loads it is placed under. The latter states the same thing, except with regards to soft tissue.

Deadlifting = strong bones + soft tissue. You need a minimal essential strain (MES) in order for tissue to adapt. Likewise, in order to strengthen tissue, you need to load it. Sorry, but your cute little leg extensions and leg curls all in the name of “being more spine friendly” aren’t going to get the job done.

Key Coaching Cues and The Importance of Getting (and Maintaining) Tension

David actually nailed all the key cues to use with regards to cleaning up deadlift technique in yesterday’s post.

To repeat:

These probably aren’t going to be groundbreaking, but time tends to prove out what works best, and these have been around for a while.

  • Chest up – let me read the writing on your shirt.
  • Pull the bar into your shins, you’re going to keep contact with your body through the entire pull.
  • Take the slack out of the bar by making it “clink”.
  • Pull your shoulder blades down into your back pockets.
  • Push the floor away, and stand up tall.
  • Optionally, if someone over-extends or arches, I like to explain that you want to try to cinch your ribs down to your pelvis. I don’t like “ribs down” as this never seems to make sense to people.

That’s it. I found that those five or six cues fix 99% of the issues I see.

Another component to consider – and one I feel is crucial – is the idea of getting and maintaining tension throughout a set. Many people lack the wherewithal to engage their lats from the start, and hence lack upper back stiffness. One of two things inevitably happens: they round their upper back or the hips shoot up first.

 

To counteract this I like to cue people to pretend as if they’re trying to squeeze an orange in their armpits. Research backs up the efficacy of using more external cueing when coaching clients, and this cue works like magic much of the time.

However, in the event that that doesn’t jive, a simple drill I’ll use is to attach a band to the barbell itself and the trainee/athlete must learn to pull the bar close to the body AND KEEP IT THERE the entire time.

 

The band will want to pull you forward, and the objective here is not to allow that. That thing you feel? Those are your lats.

Get More Juicy Information

That is no where near everything I’d like to cover with regards to the deadlift for beginners (the part where I explained the benefits is section of a treatise I’m writing for the Personal Trainer Development Center that I hope will serve as “go to” source on anything/everything deadlifts,” but hopefully it gives you some insight and “ammo” as to why it’s an excellent exercise to include in your training and that of others.

I’d encourage you to check out Off the Floor: A Manual for Deadlift Domination for more similar content in addition to a full manual, programs, a video library, and a bevy of other goodies.

It’s on SALE this week only and you can go HERE for more information.

CategoriesProgram Design Strength Training

Two Dudes Talking Deadlifts

My good friend and fellow colleague, David Dellanave2, was kind enough to sit down and talk deadlifts with me today.

Deadlifts? SQUIRREL!!!

He’s just released a revision of his amazing resource, Off the Floor: A Manual for Deadlift Domination today with all sorts of add-ons and bonuses that will, well, help anyone dominate their deadlift.

Specifically, though, his goal was to write a manual that could be handed to a beginner, and it would help them get started with a deadlifting-based strength program.

He succeeded.

Tony Gentilcore (TG): We’re both bald strength coaches who love to deadlift. We also both married up (for those who don’t know, David is married to Jen Sinkler making them one of the industry’s strongest – and most lovable – fitness couples). I think there’s a correlation there.

David Dellanave (DD):  Basically what people can learn from this is that the quickest route to a smart, hot wife is by shaving your head and deadlifting a lot.

TG: I think what I respect the most about you is that you don’t fluff anything and aren’t afraid to call BS when you see or hear it. What are some of the things happening currently in the industry that grinds your gears? Or, if we’re going the non PG-13 route, drives you bat fucking shit crazy?

DD: Oh. Dear. I wrote about this recently but I think one of the most fundamental issues, that goes beyond the specific things that it’s applied to, is that people can’t seem to think of things in anything but black and white terms. I called it the false dilemma problem.

Note from TG: Ooooo, I like that. I’m totally stealing that.

Either you’re full-on Paleo and you’re convinced that it’s the end all be all of human nutrition, or you’re IIFYM and it’s pop tarts for every meal.

Can we please just acknowledge that everything between and including the two extremes of any topic are probably going to be exactly right for someone?

A couple years ago errybody was all like “all the fish oil all the time!” A paper came out last month that discovered that the Inuit have specific genetic adaptations in fatty acid metabolism which could explain the benefits of fish oil IN THOSE PEOPLE. One of the study authors literally said, “The same diet may have different effects on different people.”

Turns out fish oil might not be so good for people with other genetic phenotypes.

Could it also be that for some people a high fat diet is going to work better, and for others a high carb diet is going to be more suitable? That’s a rhetorical question. Every time we investigate these things we end up finding out that the answer is “both” (and/or all of the above) more often than not.

I think the point is we get deep in the weeds on stupid mechanistic explanations and arguments while forgetting the big picture that it all varies from person to person and THAT is a fact.

TG: Men’s Health ran a story not too long ago titled “Normal-Sized Guys Who Are Freakishly Strong Tell You How They Did It,” which featured you. 1. Were you pissed they called you “normal sized? And 2. It is pretty impressive how strong you are (deadlifting 3x bodyweight in three different deadlift variations)…has relative strength always been a priority for you?

DD: I hung up the phone with Michael (<– MH author who wrote the article) and immediately considered going to Sam’s Club to buy food and steroids in bulk, but turns out they don’t sell steroids.

The truth is I just don’t have the nutritional stamina or discipline to eat big like you need to really grow. There’s a part of of me, like any meathead, that always wants to be just a little bit bigger, but it seems like when it really comes down to it, it’s not a big enough priority to actually pursue it. That’s something I talk about with clients often.

Is losing that last little bit of body fat really worth not having a couple drinks a week or enjoying a macaroni and cheese pizza? (The latter is something I would actually never condone because I’m Italian and I think words like pizza mean something.)

That being said, yes, relative strength has also been important to me. To me both the physique and capability of the lightweight strongman (say 180-200lbs) is the sweet spot of form and function and is one of the most versatile and useful tools you can carry with you every single day.

TG: Lets talk beginner deadlift basics. Do you have any criteria as a coach that people need to meet before they can start deadlifting? What about deadlift order or progressions? Do you prefer to start everyone off the same way (trap bar vs. sumo vs. conventional) or do you have a specific system you like to stick to?

DD: This is one area where I take a bit of a different approach than many. As far as I’m concerned, with only rare exceptions, everyone can deadlift from day ones – it’s just going to vary what kind of deadlift they do.

TG: Nope, I agree 100%!

So for some people that may look like a single kettlebell suitcase deadlift, with yoga blocks raising the handle up above knee height to raise the pick height. For others it might be a classic two-handed kettlebell deadlift from the floor, between the feet.

And others yet might even start with the barbell right away depending on how they move.

One of my favorite movements for people who might not move very well and have had some prior back issues is to use a high pick with two kettlebells, but offset the weights. If you give someone a single 8kg bell in a suitcase position, there’s a 8kg asymmetrical load, which isn’t insignificant, but it’s not a lot of load in general. So you give them a 16kg in one hand, and 8kg in the other hand.

The offset is still 8kg, but now you’ve got a total of 24kg. It’s almost certainly not more load than they deal with in daily life, but it’s creating more total overload and demand on the tissue, plus you get more of an “anchor” effect from the higher load. This is one of those cases where less weight is not always better, and in my experience this is a neat trick for better results.

That being said, the single biggest thing I’m looking for (besides being pain free) is the ability to maintain back position from top to bottom of the movement.

Lots of people can’t pull from the floor because if you watch their back position as they go down to meet the implement it changes. Likewise if it changes on the way up, but the problem starts at the bottom. If you can maintain that, we can progress. If not, we have to figure out how you can do that first before moving on.

TG: I always love listening to other coaches explain or articulate their approaches to coaching the deadlift. I know it’s a topic that entire books have been dedicated towards – you’ve written one (hint, hint, nudge, nudge) – but what are 2-3 of your “BIG ROCK” cues you feel carryover to most individuals?

DD: These probably aren’t going to be groundbreaking, but time tends to prove out what works best, and these have been around for a while.

  • Chest up – let me read the writing on your shirt.
  • Pull the bar into your shins, you’re going to keep contact with your body through the entire pull.
  • Take the slack out of the bar by making it “clink”.
  • Pull your shoulder blades down into your back pockets.
  • Push the floor away, and stand up tall.
  • Optionally, if someone over-extends or arches, I like to explain that you want to try to cinch your ribs down to your pelvis. I don’t like “ribs down” as this never seems to make sense to people.

That’s it. I found that those five or six cues fix 99% of the issues I see.

TG: For me, the best way to get better at the deadlift is to deadlift. A lot. That being said, we’d be remiss as coaches not to appreciate that accessory work plays a huge role in addressing/improving technique flaws in various portions of the lift. Can you elaborate?

DD: Agreed. Practice, practice, practice. Both for technique and volume overload.

But I’m also a big believer in upper back exercises to improve the ability to keep the spine stable so it moves at the fulcrum of the hips. Zerchers, front squats, and even specific upper back exercises like Bret wrote about in THIS great article.

One of the biggest reasons I think people fail at the upper end of deadlifts is because the back starts to flex or round and driving the hips forward harder just makes that problem worse right up until the moment you fail.

A more specific simple drill I really like for the common issue of letting the bar drift out away from the body is to setup bands on rack to pull the bar forward slightly. In that way you can practice generating a little more shoulder extension and tension with your lats to keep the bar in tight.

TG: Awesome stuff, I love using that drill too. What do you feel are the biggest faults in trainees who have issues off the floor, mid-range, at lockout?

DD: Off The Floor – Either you lack the mobility to be pulling off the floor in the first place (you can usually find out if this is the case by using biofeedback testing) or you’re just weak in that range. Personally I don’t think you can do better than deficit deadlifts to improve strength off the floor, but you ONLY need an inch and a half or two of deficit. A standard iron 25lb plate is the perfect thickness.

Mid-Range – I think this is where the glutes really come into play, and Bret’s favorite hip thrusts and glute bridges can help a lot. The caveat is always that if the back isn’t strong enough to keep the lever acting as a lever, it doesn’t matter how strong your glutes are.

Lockout – This is where you really see the back strength issue become the point of failure. When the back starts to round, you only have a certain range of motion before you get too close to end range and the body just shuts down power output. Driving the hips forward harder here just causes failure more quickly as you push the spine to end range. So this is where the upper back extensions and upper back rack pulls can help you both overload and learn to maintain back position through the finish of the pull.

TG: What would your cousin, Dellanavich, say to anyone who states the deadlift is bad or dangerous for their spine?

DD: In Russia, deadlift is not bad for back, back is for deadlift.

 

I’m so over beating the dead horse on this topic. The back pain statistics in the U.S. are absolutely outrageous, and the vast majority of these people certainly aren’t doing any deadlifts.

The point you’ve correctly made before is that doing crappy deadlifts is bad for your back. Using your body as it was intended to move and doing it against progressive resistance is exactly what keeps you healthy, not hurts you.

TG: I know you’re a big advocate of using biofeedback to compliment programming strategies. Do you have any new thoughts on this topic? How can people use this to better improve their deadlift performance?

DD: Biofeedback has been such an integral part of training for me and the people in my gym it’s hard to even know where to begin. Last year Jen basically won a powerlifting meet because she used biofeedback to decide how to change her stance during the meet.

Here’s my suggestion: use biofeedback to test a couple variations every time you deadlift. Go with the one that tests the best for 4 weeks, and see what happens. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.

For people who have pain or functional issues, biofeedback can be even more useful because it really allows you to see what you can and can’t do.

Go back to the mobility example earlier in this post. I find tons of people for whom deadlifting from the floor doesn’t test well, but raise the bar 2-3” and suddenly it tests great for them. Lo and behold, they usually have back pain now and then before, and after a few sessions of doing what tests best they have no problems at all.

TG: Okay, outside the box, but I have to ask: favorite movies you’ve seen this year?

DD: I should be asking you, so I’d know what to go see. I legit think I’ve only seen one movie in the theater this year and it was that crappy Amy Schumer one. Was Lone Survivor this year? That was pretty good.

TG: No, David. No it did not come out this year.

Off the Floor

For less than what it would cost you to hire a sub-par trainer for an hour here’s what you get with the revised version of Off the Floor:

All the goodies from before (Off the Floor manual, programs, video library, Biofeedback Training Guide, etc)

PLUS

– A new section in the beginning that sets the tone and an understanding for newer lifters.

– Entirely new section for beginners, to coach them through their first deadlifts and get them to feel confident pulling.

– Two guest articles from Dean Somerset and Tony G (<– THAT’s ME!) on deadlifting with disc hernations, and how deadlifts are horrible for you (not) respectively.

– Almost completely redone layout and formatting of the book to make it easier to print.

– Printed version available via Amazon.

ALL of that – and more – for a heavily discounted price (over half off) for this week only. If you’re not doing cartwheels down the sidewalk from sheer excitement I don’t know what to tell you.

Click HERE for more details.

CategoriesProgram Design Strength Training

Exercise Variety Is Making You Weak

The term “muscle confusion” is, well, confusing to me. I understand in the most general of context it refers to muscle building and growth. Cool. Getting strong is part of building muscle as well, and I feel too much exercise variety is hurting everyone’s gains.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m not adamantly against the idea of switching things up and implementing new exercises for the sake of variety. I mean, not everyone wants to eat vanilla ice-cream every day, right?3 It’s not a bad thing to spice things up and try new things. Oftentimes it helps keep people motivated to workout.

However, where it becomes problematic is when people start adding variety for the sake of adding variety – with no plan or intent to work on or improve something.

Like I said, exercise variety can be a good thing. But I find that many (not all) trainees view adding variety (or the idea of muscle confusion) as necessary for getting results in the gym. I’d argue the opposite to be true.

Less variety – and “owning” your exercises, is a major factor in long-term success. It’s not a idea cemented in stone, but just a conversation to consider.

In my latest article on T-Nation I explain my rationale.

Continue Reading….

CategoriesProgram Design speed training

Strength Expert Secrets Video Series

Earlier this year4 I was given an opportunity to sit down with Norwegian strength coach, Eirik Sandvik, and discuss some of my personal philosophies on program design, corrective exercise, and how to coach up some common lower body exercises as part of a larger project to be released down the road.

That project now has a name: Strength Expert Secrets.

Here’s the trailer. It’s less than a minute long, but will require 7 seconds before you start salivating.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-xpruYNqBo

 

To be honest it’s quite surreal to see my name affiliated alongside so many other outstanding coaches, many of whom I’ve looked up to throughout my career.

I mean come on!

Dan John, Tim Henriques, Josh Bryant, Matt Kroczaleski, Bud Jefferies…can someone please pinch me? It’s a dream right?

And yes, I’m fully aware of irony in that I’m the smallest guy in the line-up. Wait, scratch that. Jordan Syatt is technically smaller…but he’s also like the world’s strongest Hobbit with a 4x bodyweight deadlift.

NOTE: I contacted Jordan a head of time to see if he’d be cool with the Hobbit joke. He LOL’d.

Nevertheless, I know how to get people stronger, moving well, and performing at a higher level and that’s exactly what I cover in my section. Here’s the cover to my DVD.

And my section is only 1/8 of the total package.

Josh Bryant – talks about making serious gains in the bench press.

Dan John – talks about hip movement.

Jordan Syatt – talks about what else, the deadlift.

Matt Kroc – talks about upper body training.

Tim Henriques – breaks down the squat.

Bud Jefferies – discusses unconventional training methods.

Dean Somerset – talks about core training.

And then there’s me. La de freakin da.

Pre-Launch Video Series

This resource isn’t available yet (and it won’t be until January 2016), but in the meantime you can get a sneak peek of ALL the videos (8-10 minutes) FOR FREE.

Everyone likes free stuff.

All you have to do is click the link provided and enter your email address, and you’ll get all eight videos sent to you periodically. The first one is Tim Henriques discussing the squat, and it’s baller.

Go HERE. Increase your level of awesome.

CategoriesInterview Program Design

Talking Shop With ‘Coach Dos’

I have a special cameo appearance today from one of the best collegiate strength and conditioning coaches on the planet, Coach Robert dos Remedios (or, ‘Coach Dos’).

Coach Dos is someone whom I respect a ton, and someone I feel has forgotten more than many of will ever know. 27 years “in the trenches” coaching, a lot, will do that.

He’s achieved the status of Master Strength & Conditioning Coach by the CSCCa (one of only 100 in the world), is a Nike Elite Performance Coach and was also the 2006 NSCA Strength Coach of the Year.

I once scored 18 points in a JV basketball game. No big deal.

He’s the creator of Complete Program Design, his latest resource which just became available, and was kind enough to take time to answer a few questions for me.

Enjoy.

Tony Gentilcore (TG):I live in Boston. We had THE worst winter in history last year. We had a 30 day stretch where we had 6-7 feet of snow fall. It made the national and world news. You live in California with 80 degree weather year round. Can you please explain to me why I continue to put myself

Coach Dos (CD): HAHA! Well as a Californian who puts on the beanie when it drops below 60 I completely understand where you are coming from. That being said, the beer and Pub game in Boston is second to none….that alone can get me scrape some ice off my car to grab a proper pint :o)

TG:Speaking of misery, as a reputable strength coach yourself, I know you don’t buy into the “I must destroy myself with every training session” mentality: can you give some insight – or at least an umbrella themed review – on your approach to program design?

Maybe some “big rock” methodologies or words of wisdom?

CD: I think I am pretty simplistic when it comes to program design….but it’s important to not associate ‘simple’ with ineffective. If you take an approach where you address all essential movement categories (explosive, push, pull, hinge, squat/step/lunge, and core (pillar and rotational) it’s hard to go wrong.

You won’t have any holes and you will avoid over/under training any movements.

As far as crushing folks every session, it’s a common theme we see these days but the first indicator that the coach/trainer doesn’t have experience in the real-world.

I need my athletes to be able to perform and I can’t afford for them to not be ready to DO WORK in their next session with me. If folks are paying you to train them and you continually crush them each session, you will most likely not be a very successful private sector coach/trainer.

TG:No diggidy, no doubt. What are some of your biggest pet peeves with regards to program design that some fitness professionals make?

CD: The ‘whiteboard workouts’ –  these are the workouts that are generally created on the spot and have little rhyme or reason to the intensity, volume or actual exercises. It’s that random-randomness of these workouts that make them ineffective for most long term goals. Sure it can result in lots of sweat and anguish, but what role does this session play in your big picture?

The other kind of workout that bugs me? The fictional kind.

These are the ones that lots of internet gurus come up with on their computers and have never actually been tested on humans. They are generally characterized by unrealistic volumes, rest periods, or simple things like tri-setting deadlifts, DB walking lunges and chinups (Hint: aint gonna work haha!).

TG:Wait, what? Why?….;o)

With regards to assessment, what are some of the big hitting things you look at with your athletes and clients? Can you give insight on what “markers” you look for and want to improve on with your programs?

CD: We may use the FMS or we may just take athletes through simple movement prep drills and actual exercises to expose some red flags. We obviously want them all to move well and some do immediately while others are a work in progress.

Over the past 5-6 years we have really made mobility a priority with everyone (which is why we incorporate mobility drills within all of our lifting sessions) and we have seen great benefits. Some of the things we strive for are great squatters, hingers, and athletes with great unilateral strength and stability.

TG:Overtraining? Discuss.

CD: I’m a big ‘work capacity’ guy, it has always been the bedrock of my training philosophy.

Because of this we try to push the envelope when we train. I feel like the system we have used allows us to get after it hard, recover, and bounce back to attack the next training session. Our history of building better athletes and resisting injury has been pretty outstanding over the past 17 years at the college.

So in a nutshell can you overtrain? Sure, but if you have proper systems in place and keep the big picture in mind you can easily avoid it.

TG:For general fitness clients with little or no experience with the OLY lifts: what are some of your “go to” drills to help kick-start the process?

CD: The Olympic lifts (and all their variations) are favorites of mine but I am in it for one reason – Quadruple extension (yes I said quadruple, not triple haha!).

Think ankles, knees, hips, and low back powerfully extending. This can be easily accomplished via jumps, Med ball Scoops etc. band resisted jumps of all kinds are big go-to exercises for all populations as they add load and really force this ‘quadruple extension’.

TG:In terms of conditioning, any pet peeves or insights you can offer? How much is too much?

CD: I think people having a lack of understanding of energy systems especially when it comes to specific sport-demands.

I hate it when I see coaches make twitchy-explosive athletes do long, slow, aerobic activity. I call it ‘making joggers out of jumpers’.

If you truly believe that even your explosive athletes with virtually no aerobic demands in their sport need some sort of aerobic work at least accomplish this via fartleks or other aerobic-interval work. Makes me cringe seeing power athletes plodding along a cross country trail or track.

TG:Thanks so much for your time Coach! All useful information and just the tip of the iceberg in terms of your knowledge and how you go about making your athletes (and general fitness clients) savages.

I’m a movie geek, and I like to expose to people that not all us coaches are Terminators (<– See, what I just did there?) and that we have life outside of strength and conditioning. So I have to ask: top 5 favorite films of all-time?

CD: Tough Question so I’ll give you an eclectic mix….Happy Gilmore, Super Troopers, Old School, Vanilla Sky, and Silence of the Lambs.

This should give a little insight into my psyche haha!

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CategoriesExercise Technique Program Design speed training

3 Exercises To Help You Squat Deeper. Without a Single Mobility Drill

Today’s guest post comes courtesy of fellow Cressey Sports Performance coach, Tony Bonvechio (AKA: the other Tony). He’s got some excellent pointers on squat technique and how you can go about improving squat depth without mention of a single mobility exercise.

Enjoy!

I didn’t like hip-hop music until I met Tony Gentilcore. I’m more of a heavy metal guy, but when TG handles DJ duties during staff lift, I can’t help but get amped up to the sounds of the 90’s Hip Hop or Dirty South Pandora stations.

Note From TG: Tribe Called Quest Radio. You’re welcome.

So when Ludacris poses the esoteric question, “How low can you go?” during a heavy squat workout, it gets me thinking how I can get my clients to safely improve their squat depth.

TG is right when he says not everyone should (or needs to) squat as low as possible. But outside of our baseball players at CSP, I deal primarily with powerlifters who need to squat below parallel in competition. If they can’t get low enough, their squats won’t count, so we prioritize hitting depth in training.

When we combine deep squats with heavy loads and we know not everyone can hit depth (defined as the hip joint passing below the top of the knee joint) easily, how do we get there in the best position possible.

Well, you could stretch, foam roll and mobilize every joint head to toe. Or you could just learn how to squat.

The second option is my favorite. In my experience, nine times out of 10, a person’s inability to squat to depth is NOT a mobility issue but rather a squat strategy issue. Simply picking the right squat accessory exercises to hammer home an optimal squat pattern will almost always improve depth and strength. Here are my three favorite squat exercises to help you drop it low and crush heavy weights.

Squatting: Upright vs. Hip Hinge

First, here’s a harsh reality: an upright squat will always be the most mechanically efficient squat. If you’re pointing your nipples at the floor to use “hip drive,” you’ll never maximize the contribution of your legs and abs. There’s a reason every 1,000-pound squatter (raw or geared) stays almost perfectly vertical through their torso instead of leaning forward.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSs6_THxn5A

 

Are YOU gonna tell Malanichev to lean forward with 1,036 pounds on his back? Didn’t think so.

Here’s what happens far too often when people try to squat: they puff their chest up (thoracic extension), which pulls the ribcage up. They take a big breath, which is entirely ineffective because you can’t get good intra-abdominal pressure with a poor rib cage position. Then, they push their butt back as they squat down (lumbar extension, anterior pelvic tilt and hip flexion simultaneously).

Like a seesaw, as one side drops (the chest), the other side must go up to maintain balance (the hips). Not surprisingly, you can’t hip depth if your hips are shooting up and back to keep you from falling forward.

This scenario also effectively minimizes the space the head of the femur has to glide in the hip socket while limiting the contribution from your anterior core to keep your torso upright. What happens? Your hips get stuck so you fall forward to try to get lower. All bad news if you want to squat low and heavy safely.

That said, the optimal squat pattern is going to have an upright torso, knees out and slightly forward of the toes and the hips between the knees. This is much preferred to leaning forward with a vertical shin and over-arched lower back if greater depth is desired.

Here’s how to dial in that optimal pattern:

1. Front Squats

Front squats can cure your depth woes by teaching you to sit straight down between your knees instead of sitting behind your knees. You simply can’t sit back and dump your pelvis forward or you’ll dump the bar, so you internalize proper positioning. Carry this same strategy over to your back squat and you’ll be in business.

 

That’s why we use so many front squat variations at CSP. It immediately dials in a solid ribcage position and forces you to stabilize with your anterior core instead of your lumbar extensors.

I’ve lost count of the number of athletes who get stuck above parallel with a back squat or body weight squat but can magically sit their butt to their heels with a front squat. Kind of throws the mobility excuse out the window, huh?

By learning to keep the ribs down, chest up and knees out, you create proper alignment for nailing a deep squat. If you struggle with depth, try front squatting for a few weeks before returning to the back squat and I’m confident your depth will improve.

2. High-Bar Pause Squats

Also called Olympic squats because of their popularity with weightlifters, high-bar squats bridge the gap between front squats and a powerlifting-style back squat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6fQ6UPES24

 

A low-bar position (i.e. holding the bar across the rear deltoids instead of the traps) has ruined many a squatter’s depth. You might be able to handle more weight because it keeps the bar closer to your hips, but it doesn’t matter one bit if you can’t hip depth because it pitches you forward too much.

Switching to a slightly higher bar position has helped many of my lifters get lower. Similar to the front squat, it lets you stay more upright so you can lock the ribcage down and stabilize with your abs instead of your lower back.

Adding a brief pause at the bottom position builds confidence in the hole, which eliminates much of the fear associated with squatting low. This also forces the lifter to initiate the reversal by staying tall and driving the knees out.

Try high-bar pause squats as your second exercise on a squat day. Pause anywhere from 1 to 5 seconds and do sets of 3-8 reps. You can pause at the lowest position, right below parallel, or even on the way back up to target specific sticking points.

Note From TG: These suck donkey balls. You’ll hate life, but they work. Get it done.

3. Squat to Pins

Not to be confused with an Anderson squat where the bar starts on the pins, squatting to the pins hammers home the same technique points as a front squat but is even more sinister and unforgiving.

 

By lowering the bar to the pins and pausing, you’ll have virtually no room for error in torso position. If you sit back and lean forward, you’ll immediately get stuck as you try to squat back up. Only by staying tall, driving the knees out and keeping the bar over the mid-foot will you be able to stand up.

Few exercises build control and confidence like squatting to the pins. These not only cured my falling-forward problem, but also eliminated my knee cave issues by forcing me to spread the floor and keep tension in my hips.

Cues to Cure Your Squat Woes

Remember these useful cues as you practice these squat variations:

  • “Belt buckle toward your chin” – This prevents unlocking the pelvis as you sit down.
  • “Take all the air out of the room” – This stabilizes your spine by filling your belly and lower back with air.
  • “Bend the bar around your traps” – This locks in the lats to help you tay upright.
  • “Spread the floor apart” – This tenses up your hips and glutes to keep your knees out.

Notice there’s not a single instance of “chest up” or “sit back” on that list. Ditch these antiquated strategies for the ones above and you’ll be hitting depth more consistently while getting stronger.

Optimizing the “Big 3.”

Want to learn these strategies in person? Come see me and Greg Robins at our Optimizing the Big 3 seminar at Warhorse Barbell in Philadelphia on September 19.

There are only a few spots left, so sign up today.

CategoriesProgram Design Strength Training

Stimulate or Annihilate Muscle: Which Is Better?

In the realm of fitness and strength & conditioning we’ve all heard the phrase:

“You need to stimulate the muscle to grow, not annihilate it.”

I can’t say I disagree with the sentiment, albeit I do feel it’s a bit reductionist taken at face value. I mean, assuming someone isn’t injured or has a history of injury, most people can train a whole lot harder than they give themselves credit for.

I’ve said it in the past and it bears repeating here:

“Lifting weights isn’t supposed to tickle.”

Furthermore, if you pick the brains of coaches like Alex Viada or Chad Wesley Smith they’d be the first to champion the notion that you should annihilate muscle. Or, to be more fair: do more work. Or to be even more fair: follow a carefully structured, periodized, undulated, (possibly) concurrent plan that fluctuates training stress.

Photo snaked from Greg Nuckols courtesy of Andy Morgan’s site RippedBody.jp.

Those are big words to some people. In non-geek speak all it means is: do more work, but not all the time…smartly.

To quote Pat Davidson:

“I’m a strength coach which means I am a stress manager more than anything else. The only difference between me and your shrink is that I want to dump as much stress on you as I possibly can to see what you can survive. If it doesn’t kill you, it will likely make you stronger.”

That’s about as succinct of a way to describe things as can be put. Any strength coach worth his or her weight in barbells knows most programs written (geared towards strength and performance) should consist of alternating patterns of high stress (whether it be accumulation, intensity or both) with low stress.

You can’t just take the word “annihilate” and implement that mantra 100% of the time and expect to make continued progress. We’re not Terminators. Fatigue will always masks one’s true fitness.

Not into graphs? Me either. They make my head hurt.

Think of it this way: lets say you test your 1RM in the deadlift. 315! Not too shabby you sexy beast. Now, go run a 5K. Don’t ask questions, just do it.

When you finish we’ll immediately re-test your 1RM deadlift.

Do you think you’ll sniff close to 315 lbs again?

Not a chance.

Overtraining?

Fatigue doesn’t mean overtraining. The internet loves to toss out the word overtraining, as if it’s an easy thing to attain. Trust me: you’re not overtrained. Just because you squatted two days in a row or, I don’t know, took a CrossFit class, doesn’t mean you’re overtrained.

You have to go really, really (REALLY!) out of your way to come remotely close to overtraining. To put things into perspective: The Iron Cowboy, James Lawrence, completed 50 triathlons in 50 days (in 50 States) and he wasn’t overtrained. I’m sure he felt like shit, but he wasn’t overtrained.5

Which is why I respect guys like Alex and Chad who prefer to provoke/nudge people to work harder (but smartly) and not be too analytical about everything. That’s the only way to assure adaptation and continued progress (and PRs).

What Does “Smartly” Even Mean, Tony?

Good question.

It can mean a lot of things, but here are some quick, random, bullet-point ideas/points to consider:

1. You’re Not an Elite Athlete (Sorry, I’m not Sorry)

Using James Lawrence as an example or THIS article about how to max out squats everyday, lets take an objective look at things.

I have no issues with squatting everyday, or people who decide to actually do it. In fact, I thought the article was brilliant and had a lot of great and innovative things to say.  But, as I remember it a few years ago, within 24-48 hours of the article going live on T-Nation, I received a swarm of emails from random dudes asking me if they thought it would be a good idea if “they too?” should train everyday?

I had to try really hard to resist the urge to throw an ax into my face.

NEWSFLASH:  you’re not an elite athlete!!!!!!!

Unless you have 4-6 hours per day to train, and that’s literally all you do, it’s probably not going to be a good fit.

Lets be real: For many people (not all), you read an awesome article, and right then and there, decided it’s “exactly what you needed.”

In theory, it sounds amazing.  But here’s the thing – you make the Tin Man look hypermobile. The last time you lifted anything remotely explosively was back when Patrick Swayze was rocking stone washed jeans. And, the last time I checked, you sit in front of a computer for 8-9 hours per day, and actually work for a living.

You have the time for this when?

Listen, I get it, you like to exercise. What’s more, who am I to say that people shouldn’t be enthusiastic to train more often and actually move around a bit more?  I encourage that, wholeheartedly!

But come on people – lets not put the cart before the horse.

Actually, scratch that. I’m not opposed to people training (hard) everyday.  I mean, there’s definitely a way to do it right and I think that’s what many people should strive for. They just shouldn’t train balls to wall (ovaries to wall?) every single day.

What I don’t agree with, and think is borderline dangerous is when people read an article about ELITE athletes whose sole job is to train – and who have been doing this type of training FOR YEARS –  and then run out to their local globo gym, try to be a hero, and hurt themselves the third day in.

Trust me –  it will happen.

I swear, I’m going to do a social experiment someday, write an article detailing how running over your right arm with a car repeatedly will somehow increase testosterone levels by 317%, and see how many people email me asking for more info.

NOTE: I like what Bret Contreras had to say on the topic. HERE’s a old(er) blog post he wrote on how to incorporate daily training into the mix.

2. Deadlift Less

Yep, you read that correctly. I just told my reading audience to deadlift less.

What’s next? Me telling everyone to perform more kipping pull-ups? Eat tofu? Admitting I had it all wrong and that Tracy Anderson was right all along: women should avoid lifting anything above 3 lbs. LOLz.

Relax. Deep breaths. Give me a second to explain.

Once you reach a certain level of strength (lets say 2x bodyweight) there’s a point of diminishing returns with regards to deadlifting more than once a week. I’d argue the deadlift is the most “draining” – both physiologically and neurologically – on the body compared to squatting, bench pressing, etc.

Maybe it’s more anecdotal on my end, but I’ve found – through a lot of trial and error – that whenever I deadlift (heavy) more than once per week my body hates me.

Too, I find this to be pretty accurate for most other people.

I’ll often limit “max effort” work (85% + of 1RM) to once every 2-3 weeks for most people. Rarely will I ever have someone hit that level every week.

I will, however, include more speed/technical work into the mix and typically have no qualms implementing this more than once per week. It may look something like this:

Day 1 – Deadlift Cluster

Week 1: 4×4 (70%), one-rep every 15s.
Week 2: 3×4 (75%), one rep every 15s.
Week 3: 5×2 (80%), one rep every 15s.
Week 4: 3×3 (65%), one rep every 15s

Day 2 – Speed/Technique Work

Week 1: 8×1 (60%), rest 30-45s.
Week 2: 10×1 (60%), rest 30-45s.
Week 3: 12×1 (60%), rest 45-60s.
Week 4: 6×1 (70%), rest 30-45s.

3. Include Less Mechanical Loading

I feel many trainees miss the boat in using their own bodyweight as load. Fellow Cressey Sports Performance coach, Greg Robins, is a big fan of including less “mechanical loading” into some programs (including my own) to help stave off “annihilation” and still gain a lot of benefit.

I hit the big lifts pretty hard, and I don’t necessarily need to make myself hate life any further with my accessory work.

Try this:

Bodyweight Bulgarian Split Squats For Time

Week 1: 3 sets of 30s/leg (FML)
Week 2: 3 sets of 40s/leg (Seriously, FML).
Week 3: 4 sets of 40s/leg (Hahahaha).
Week 4: 3 sets of 60s/leg (Kelly Clarkson! Watch the clip below for the reference.)

 

If you really want to up the ante do the above, but a controlled tempo up and down (2s down, 2s up; 3s down, 3s up).

4. Go For Walk

Totally not kidding.

Casual walks work wonders in terms of recovery. And you don’t need to make this some sort of heavy backpack walking or sled dragging uphill for AMRAP hybrid. Tone it down, killer.

Just walk. Enjoy it.

5. Deload (Volume)

At CSP, we generally “save” week 4 of each program for a deload week. For starters it fits our training model well because each athlete/client gets a new program every month anyways (billing cycle is every four weeks).

While I don’t go out of my way to introduce too many new exercises with beginners – they don’t need a ton of variety – those who have been working with us for a while will usually get a slew of “new stuff” and their ass handed to them in week #1. The deload week prior serves as a way to better “prepare” them for the onslaught inevitably coming.

Generally speaking, on a deload week we deload overall volume, and keep intensity (as a percentage of one’s 1RM) at high level.

NOTE: not to jump into the weeds too far, but going back to the topic of overtraining, if someone does enter that territory, they tend to do so as a result of too much volume and not so much with intensity.

As such we’ll either decrease volume with the MAIN LIFT of the day, but keep intensity up:

Squat

Week 1: 5×5
Week 2: 4×5
Week 3: (5) 3×3, 2×6
Week 4: 3×3

Or we may decrease overall volume (tonnage) via reduced accessory work.

And yes, sometimes, we’ll tweak both volume AND intensity. It just depends (typically this is reserved for those in a competitive season. Think: powerlifter).

There are numerous ways to “deload” – OMIT all axial loading for a week, maybe perform a bodypart only split, maybe reduce training days from 4-6x per week, to 3x per week, nothing above 70%, play kickball, I don’t care, you know your clients better than I do – but as whole, I find reducing volume (yet keeping intensity up) bodes well for most people.

Your Turn

The above is in no way an exhaustive list. I could keep going, but I doubt many have made it this far anyways. If you have, 10 points to Gryffindor!

Do you have any thoughts on the topic? Any ways you like to “not annihilate” your body? Share them below.

CategoriesAssessment Corrective Exercise Program Design

32 Random Thoughts On Training

A few days ago my good buddy, Mike Robertson, posted an article up on his blog titled 31 Random Training Thoughts. It was fantastic and you should take the time to read it. I liked the idea so figured I’d take some time today to toss my hat into the ring and showcase some of my own random thoughts as well. 32 of them. Because, you know bacon.

Starting with this amazing picture…

1. Agility ladders and foot speed drills work wonders on making people better at doing agility ladders and foot speed drills. They DO NOT (at least rarely) translate to better performance on the court/field/diamond/pitch. It’s crucial to actually coach athletes (young and old) to learn to develop force. These drills, along with anything involving cones (the more elaborate the geometric shape the better), which make parents oooh and ahhh, should not be prioritized. Especially for younger athletes.

2. And since we’re on the topic of developing force…it’s just as crucial to coach our athletes how to ABSORB force or decelerate their bodyweight. What good does it do anyone to have all this horsepower and not have the ability to put on the brakes?

3. Also, force development is vector specific. This is why we utilize ‘Heidens’ in many of our programs for baseball players, particularly pitchers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOI1exR6pSk

 

4. The whole notion of “muscle confusion” is lame. Most people don’t need as much variety as they think. If you’re not squatting or deadlifting 2x your bodyweight (for reps) I doubt the limiting factor is your lack of use of chains or bands.

5. More than ever I am convinced that the reason many people miss a lift is due to a poor initial set-up.

6. To that point, the lats play a HUGE role in stability and upper back stiffness (which in turn equates to less energy leaks during a set). It’s difficult to be efficient at any of the “Big 3” without:

– Big lats.

– Learning how to better engage them.

 

7. Still having a hard time getting a “feel” for what it’s like to fire the lats during a deadlift? This drill may help:

 

8. One-arm dumbbell rows aren’t a great exercise to strengthen your scapular retractors. They are, however, the bomb when it comes to developing the lats. Just sayin….

9. Cuing someone to arch hard on a squat and to sit back is inefficient, especially for natural/un-geared lifters. Think: “belt buckle to chin” (posteriorly tilt pelvis), pull elbows together and forward (pull down on bar), push knees out, sit down (not back).

10. For the record: the above cue to posteriorly tilt the pelvis brings people from a state of excessive extension TO neutral. That’s a major difference compared to taking someone from neutral to more flexion.

11. Warm-ups should start ground based to standing to adding movement (linear or lateral).

12. By that same token they should start proximally (positional breathing, diaphragm) to distally.

13. Is this not the most baller groomsmen photograph ever taken?

14. People hate doing pause squats, but dammit if they don’t make everyone’s squat numbers go up.

15. A common mistake that people make when bench pressing: not letting the bar settle. Meaning, after receiving a handoff don’t immediately descend the bar towards the chest. Rather, let the bar settle by placing your shoulder blades in your back pocket (posteriorly tilt, lats engage) and gather your bearings before you lower.

16. I’ve repeated this quote several times but I love it so much I’m going to repeat it again.

“When you start throwing a baseball with only your arm, then we’ll worry about doing only arm care exercises.”

Eric Schoenberg, PT, owner of Momentum Physical Therapy in Milford, MA

17. Despite popular belief, you can perform a Turkish get-up with a dumbbell.

18. Speaking of get-ups I like to include them as an extended warm-up. Do this:

– 10 KB Goblet Squats

– 10 KB Swings

– 1-2 KB Get-ups/side

Three rounds. Now go em Tiger!

19. Also, if I were you I’d err on the side of QUALITY for your get-ups rather than how hard you can make them. Progression on these isn’t necessarily about how heavy you can go, but how “effortlessly” you can perform them. Dr. Mark Cheng can perform 48 kg Get-ups; he chooses to stick with 24 kg for the bulk of his training.

20. When assessing shoulders don’t only look at anterior/posterior imbalances (traditional upper cross syndrome), it’s equally as important to look at superior/inferior imbalances (scapular upward/downward rotation).

21. Scapular stability is more or less a misnomer. There aren’t any significant bony structures to warrant a ton of stability. Instead, as Sue Falsone notes, a more appropriate term would be controlled scapular mobility.

Here’s a good drill for that: Band Wall Walks

 

22. Alignment matters. Always.

23. If you stretch in mis-alignment (think: hip flexor stretch when someone stays in excessive APT) you create more instability. If you strengthen in mis-alignment you create more muscular imbalances.

24. Women: if you want to get better at chin-ups/pull-ups you need to train them more than once per week. Follow the lead of Artemis Scantalides of IronBody Studios: train them 4-6x per week.

Monday: Flexed Arm Hangs/Hanging Leg Raises
Tuesday: Chin-ups or Eccentric Chin-Ups (Rule of 10): 3×3, 5×2, 2×5, etc
Wednesday: Band Assisted Chin-Ups
Thursday: Flexed Arm Hangs/Hanging Leg Raises
Friday: Chin-ups or Eccentric Chin-Ups (Rule of 10): 3×3, 5×2, 2×5, etc
Saturday: Band Assisted Chin-Ups

25. Guys, you suck at chin-ups too. I’d listen to Artemis as well if I were you.

26. Don’t be afraid to include some more athletic movements into your training. Jumping, skipping, sprinting will improve your general day-to-day activities. Even if the most athletic thing you do is gardening….;o)

27. To that end, you don’t need to go 100% with your sprints. I like 60-70% effort “tempo repeats” (40-60 yds) for most general fitness clients. Also, if you cranky knees, sprint uphill. You’ll thank me.

28. Instead of embarking on a “fat loss” plan, focus your efforts towards a performance based goal. I find diverting efforts towards something more quantifiable leads to better long-term success. The amount of work and effort it takes to achieve said goal, assuming it’s realistic and attainable6, more often than not results in the aesthetic markers many people covet.

29. Push-ups are a very UNDERrated exercise. Some cues I always use:

– Squeeze glutes, brace abs (both help to posteriorly tilt pelvis which prevents excessive lower back arch).

– Spread fingers as wide apart as possible and think about “cork screwing” the floor apart. This will create more external rotation torque in the shoulders and provide more stability.

– Chest should hit floor first.

30. Not everyone is meant to squat ass-to-grass. We need to respect anatomy. Hip structure is different person to person, and you’re an a-hole if you hold everyone to the same standard. Some people are built to squat deep (and generally will have limited hip extension), while others are meant to deadlift a bulldozer (and might not be able to squat past 90 degrees). Some people can dominate both and we all hate them.

31. Passive Tests = provides information on one’s available/total ROM. Active Tests = provides information on one’s ROM they can use. If someone tests great passively yet as limited active ROM it’s most likely a stability issue. Don’t always assume it’s lack of mobility.

32. Stop doing kipping pull-ups. Seriously, stop.

CategoriesMotivational Program Design rant

Evidence Based vs. Anecdotal Experience vs. Transformers: Who’s Right and Who’s Wrong?

In one corner we have the evidence based coach who won’t let his or her client/athlete perform anything without a PubMed reference in hand. And at the other corner we have the coach who relies on anecdotal experience and feels just because it worked for his or her’s clients/athletes that it must apply to everyone else.

It’s a never ending battle of back and forth shenanigans, name calling, and vitriol similar to the exploits of the Jedi vs. the Sith or the Autobots vs. the Decepticons.

Who’s right vs. who’s wrong? Who’s good vs. who’s bad?

I for one feel the best approach is one that adopts both sides. I see value in both…each having it’s own unique set of advantages and disadvantages.

Put another way: in terms of figuring out the “best” approach to anything (as it relates to getting people bigger, faster, stronger, and harder to kill) my thoughts mirror that of the Godfather of behavioral economics, Richard Thaler:

“I try out lots of ideas, get quick feedback, and learn in the best possible way: theory-driven intuition tested by trial and error.”

That’s about as fair and charitable of a statement as I can muster on the topic.

Which brings me to an email I received this past weekend from a young, up-and-coming fitness professional:

“I recently started an S&C internship at a D1 school (won’t give the name). I want to go into college S&C so I figured this was a great opportunity to learn from the “best.”

However I have been following you, Cressey, Boyle, and Somerset for a couple of years now and I love how you are pushing the field forward.

I mentioned to the strength coaches I follow you guys and they rolled their eyes at me and said “why would you follow random dudes and not read publications and research.”

I bit my tongue and stayed quiet because I’m an intern, but what I really wanted to do was punch a wall. I believe you all stay ahead of the game and you have inspired me and taught me so much. I would love your thoughts on college S&C and the mindset of the coaches I’m learning under now.”

My initial reaction.

I find this unfortunate to say the least. Not that I have to sit here and defend my honor (and that of my colleagues) – I believe our collective body of work speaks for itself – but I’m going to do just that. Only for a minute. Promise.

In terms of myself and Eric Cressey (and Pete Dupuis): we’ve grown a business that started in 2007 in a 2200 square foot space we rented inside an indoor batting facility training mostly local high-school athletes, to a now 15,000 square foot space training professional baseball players from every level from every affiliated MLB team, not to mention athletes and general fitness clients from all over the US and world.

I’d like to think that we’ve done so via an equal parts evidence based approach and anecdotal. And bicep curls.

Do I really need to defend Mike Boyle? Come on!

And as far as (Dean) Somerset is concerned: the guy is one of the smartest guys I know who can regurgitate studies by memory and who’s built one of the best reputations in the industry for being able to “dumb down” research into more bite sized information bons-bons that guys like myself can understand. That, and he has build a very successful fitness business training thousands of people in the past few years.

In short: even though guys like myself, Eric, Dean, Boyle, and a vast array of others are writing for various websites and our own blogs (how dare we!), we do in fact, actually coach people. In real life.

So, in many ways, we’re doing “research” on a daily basis, finding out what works and what doesn’t, and learning to assimilate the information we come across as it best applies to our athletes/clients.

Ol’ Boys Club

Giving credit where it’s due: I applaud the young coach who sent the email for keeping his mouth shut. The last thing he or she wants to happen is to yap away at their superiors and come across as some know-it-all entitled hipster after having coached for all of eleven seconds.

If you’re in someone’s “house” as a guest, you respect their rules and their way of doing things.

I don’t know what Division I program he’s referring to, but we have to understand that some (not all) strength and conditioning coaches at that level have one hand tied behind their back as far as how much “freedom” they have outside of the program itself.

As my colleague, Jim Laird, pointed out:

“I think much of that attitude stems from jealousy. Many college coaches just do not have time to do stuff online or not allowed to. They see private sector coaches doing stuff online getting recognition and it steals their thunder and authority.”

While I agree, I do feel it’s a minority mindset. A shitty mindset, mind you…but a minority one. As an example, I’m good friends with the entire staff at Boston University Strength & Conditioning and they couldn’t be a more open-minded staff willing to try new things and listen to what others have to say.

They use research all the time. I’ve seen their programs and I’ve seen the books and journals on their desks. But I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked in – I train there 1-2x per week – and one of the coaches will pull me aside to ask my opinion on something or ask me what blogs I’m reading lately. It’s refreshing to say the least.

They don’t (always) need a double blind study to do the thinking for them. There’s a zero ol’ boys vibe.

As strength coach, Henry Lau, notes:

“As a S&C coach, it’s not one’s job to “read” research, though more likely to assimilate methodologies to make better athletes. Why some coaches think it’s great to read journals and make up their own ideas from a limited view is intellectual dishonesty.”

And We’re Doing A lot of Assuming

I for one HATE reading research. This isn’t to say I discount it or that I don’t understand (and respect) its role in furthering our knowledge in the field. But am I wrong to state that research is designed to ask more questions, not to necessarily answer all of them?

What’s more, what many fail to realize – and guys like Brad Schoenfeld, Bret Contreras, Nick Tumminello, amongst others can attest to – is that research studies and books are often 2,3, sometimes 4 years behind the curve with regards to the information it’s relaying. By the time a study or book is released – years after the fact – the information is already outdated (or has been expounded on).

Nowadays blogs and websites are what people read to stay “up-to-date” and relevant.

Besides that, we’re assuming that most people can actually read the research, and more importantly…understand it. It’s not as easy as one may think. Reading research is every bit as much of a learned skill as riding a bike or writing computer code or pretending to listen to your wife when she’s updating you on her day when what you’re actually doing is repeating the lyrics from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air in your head.

 

Take for example the following random study I found on PubMed using the keyword “muscle hypertrophy:”

Identification of a Novel Four and a Half LIM Domain 1 Mutation in a Chinese Male Presented with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and Mild Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy.

Translated into Tony speak that reads:

“Bloop, bleep, blop, bloopidy, blop, bleep, science.”

I admire anyone who can read something like that and be all like “yep, makes total sense, got it.” For me though: I’d make it through the first paragraph and probably black out and not remember a thing I just read.

I’ll read it, pick up a few things (maybe), but it’s really hard for me to digest most of it.

Plus, and this can’t be discounted: Research is great, but it’s practical application can be limited because things are controlled quite strictly for the research to be valid and effective. We don’t necessarily live in this “research bubble” where everything is hunky-dorey.

That, and many (not all) fitness-based studies involve untrained, fasted individuals, or worse, mice. Not exactly the most relevant and useful ball of information to correlate to a trained, presumably high-level population.

And at the end of the day what do most people use research for anyways? To answer questions, yes….but to also validate their own set of beliefs and biases. I mean, technically, you can find research to back anything up. We used to have research that stated smoking was good for us.

To Summarize

BOTH sides of the argument (it’s a stupid argument to have IMO) are important and have their role. By reading journals, articles, and research one will expand their own knowledge and hopefully develop critical analysis of research, methodology, and conclusions.

However it comes down to more than only book smarts. As strength coach, Kevin Shattock so astutely states:

“It’s only after the above is reached where one can understand HOW and IF the findings can be applied to their particular settings and environment. This is what the likes of Cressey, et al do well.

But by simply “following ” these guys on social media, you may gain (& often do) gain great insights, thoughts, ideas etc the intern, young S&C is missing a crucial part of the coaching journey, the WHY you do something, the understanding on a fundamental level.

Research is NOT everything, but it can be a great starting point to develop YOUR OWN ideas, thoughts, perspective and methods, just as careful observation of great practitioners can be.”


In the end: To be a great coach you cannot discount either approach. I’d argue that in order to truly grow as a fitness professional (and by extension to possibly innovate) you should use practice both.

CategoriesCorrective Exercise Program Design

Training With Laxity: Tips and Advice From Someone Who’s Been There, Done That

I’m traveling back to Boston today after spending the weekend up in Edmonton with Dean Somerset teaching our Complete Shoulder & Hip Workshop.

FYI: Future Dates: ST. LOUIS (September 26th-27th), CHICAGO (October 17th-18th), and LOS ANGELES (November 14-15th).

It was an awesome two days and we were ecstatic to have the opportunity to share our new material with a bunch of personal trainers and coaches eager to geek out over everything shoulders and hips (and my lame cat jokes).

The highlight, though, had to be me admitting to the audience (full of Canadiens, mind you) I’ve never been to a hockey game. Like, ever. You could factor that and then imagine any number of other awkward scenarios – farting in an elevator, being on a first date and realizing you forgot your wallet, that part in Star Wars when Luke and Leia kiss (and then, fast forward to Return of the Jedi, and you realize that they realize they’re brother and sister) – and none of that can top the awkward concert of crickets chirping which occurred.

Okay, it wasn’t that awkward. But I did get a few “what chu talkin’ bout Willis” looks.

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Nevertheless I’m out of the loop today, but have an awesome guest post by DC-based strength coach, Kelsey Reed, on the topic of joint laxity and hypermobility.

Enjoy!

Training With Laxity

Cue a bunch of crickets chirping and then

Want to see a strength coach party trick?

 

I have a fair amount of joint laxity and amongst coaches and trainers this stunt usually produces a few raised eyebrows and surprised looks. Amongst normal people, they just stare blankly at me and wonder why would anyone bother to do a squat facing the wall.

Joint hypermobility or joint laxity (the terms are used interchangeably) is the ability of a joint to move beyond the usual range of motion. Typically this is because the ligaments are looser than “normal” the due to either genetics or injury.

For the most part, joint laxity isn’t debilitating nor is it usually a worrisome problem, particularly if you’re a gymnast, dancer, baseball pitcher, or a Cirque du Soleil performer.

However, if you are a lax athlete/trainee there are some training considerations to keep in mind. It’s easy to inadvertently injure yourself or cause chronic aches and pains.

Before we dive into some recommendations, are you someone with joint laxity?

The most common test for generalized joint hypermobility is the Beighton Scale.

If you can do at least 2 or 3 (sources differ), then it’s an indicator that you may have general joint hypermobility. Don’t freak out; like I said hypermobility is very common, particularly among children and adolescents (though many grow out of it later), females, Asian, and Afro-Carribbean races. Laxity can manifest in a variety of ways with differing levels of severity. It also isn’t necessarily systemic; it can affect some joints and not others.

If it’s so common, why do we need to worry about it?

According to Dr. Hakim over at Hypermobility.org:

“However some hypermobile people can injure their joints, ligaments, tendons and other ‘soft tissues’ around joints. This is because the joints twist or over extend easily, may partially dislocate (or ‘sublux’), or in a few cases may actually dislocate. These injuries may cause immediate ‘acute’ pain and sometimes also lead to longer-term ‘chronic’ pain.”

I would also add that being hypermobile or lax will also increase the chance that joints will be unstable and therefore exercises that focus on stability will be key to maintaining healthy joints. Additionally, the end-range of motion of joints will be the soft tissue instead of the bones; you could easily stress and irritate the ligaments and tendons during lock-outs. (More on that below)

Since there is a slightly higher risk for injury for us lax people, here are some of my thoughts when it comes to training.

Be Mindful of Joint Position During Exercise

Just because your joints can go through a full range of motion, doesn’t mean that it’s necessary. For example, look at my elbows at the top of a push up:

I catch a lot of my females doing this and I coach them to leave a little slack in the lock-out. Their arms are still straight, just not pushed to the very end of their range.

Here’s another common position lax people can fall into:

In this position, I’m not really “owning” it but instead I’m relying on all my passive restraints (the ligaments) to keep my body stable. Notice the excessive arch in my lower back, my shoulder blade sticking up like Mt. Doom, and my elbow popping forward beyond my wrist.

I would argue that this position offers a false sense of stability and, as the weight increases, it’s going to become harder and harder to stabilize and eventually something will start hurting.

Here’s where they should be:

Here, I’m actively stabilizing by using the surrounding muscles- my core, upper back, and the triceps/biceps of my support arm- it’s safer and more effective in the long run.

Placing the ligaments and tendons under load while pushing through to the end range of their movement is a recipe for achy joints. Be aware of how you/your clients are performing various exercises and own the range of motion- you should be stable and strong, not loose and wobbly.

Balance Distraction and Approximation Exercises

Simply, distraction exercises pull the joints apart, as in a pull-up, and approximation exercises push the joints together, as in a push up. People with hypermobility are going to be more sensitive to the external forces placed on their joints.

For example, I experienced some wicked elbow pain last year.

I was mystified – I wasn’t benching too much or doing hundreds of skull crushers and curls, all the no-nos when it comes to cranky elbows. I took a gander at my weekly training routine at the time, and in an effort to increase my deadlift, I was deadlifting, pull-upping, kettlebell swinging, and rowing nearly every day; I did push ups a few times a week, but aside from that, I didn’t include any pressing.

The former exercises are all fantastic in themselves yet they’re all distraction. I had triple (if not more) the volume of distraction as I did approximation exercises. I subbed out a few of the pull-ups and rows for pressing and, surprise! My elbows felt much better.

When performing exercises that are distraction, pull-ups, row variations, and even deadlifts to an extent, it’s best to avoid the “dead hang” position (when you’re fighting gravity by hanging on your passive restraints instead of actively holding the bar/weight). If the stress is placed on the joints without the accompanying muscle activation, all that tension goes straight into the tendons and ligaments (when I hang from a bar, I can literally feel my forearm bones separating from my upper arm). By creating muscular tension when holding onto the weight or bar, it will prevent excessive stress for your poor ligaments.

Stop, for the Love of Iron, Stretching!

We humans like to do what we’re good at and if you’re hypermobile, you’re good at stretching. Hypermobile people need stretching as much as Darth Vader needs a haircut.

If you feel tight, it’s probably because that muscle(s) is fighting to hold your joints together because your tendons are loose. At best, stretching is only going to feed into the dysfunction (if there is one). We need to stabilize! Which rolls nicely into the last point…

Note From TG: HERE’s an article I wrote on why “stretching” isn’t always the answer.

Stabilize

It’s not cool or sexy but it’s darn useful! If you’re hypermobile, there’s a chance that the ligaments in your spine are too. No good, my friend. Planks, deadbugs, bird dogs, are examples of stabilization exercises that focus on the smaller, lower threshold muscles that are necessary for happy spines and joints.

Seeing as the shoulder is one of the more unstable joints, shoulder stability training  is imperative for hypermobile trainees.

 

Adding isometric holds to exercises is another way to increase time-under-tension to bolster tendon and ligament strength. Crawl variations are low-threshold core stabilization exercises that teach you how to stabilize dynamically (during movement). They also are approximation exercises to add to your training. If you want to get fancy, you can add a few chains:

 

Take care of your tendons!

If you have joint laxity and have/want to avoid joint pain, pay attention to your joint position, balance distraction and approximation exercises, stop stretching so much, and work on your overall stabilization. Own the range of motion you have- don’t push to the full ROM if you don’t need to and risk injury due to instability.

Hypermobility isn’t a curse, it’s actually a pretty cool trait; it just takes a little extra thinking when it comes to training.

Thanks again to Tony for allowing my musings to appear on his blog once again!

About the Author

Kelsey Reed is head strength coach at SAPT Strength & Performance located in Fairfax, VA. Bitten by the iron bug at 16, Kelsey has been lifting ever since. Her love for picking up heavy things spurred her to pursue a degree in the Science of Exercise and Nutrition at Virginia Tech.

Now she spends her days teaching and coaching others in the iron game. In her down time, she lives life on the wild side by not following recipes when she cooks, fighting battles through characters fantasy fiction novels, and attempting to make her cats love her.