CategoriesAssessment Corrective Exercise Program Design

Is Corrective Exercise Overrated?

We got a doctor in the house!

Today’s guest post comes courtesy of Dr. Evan Osar, a Chicago based chiropractic physician and coach, and someone I’ve been a huge fan of since reading his first two books Form and Function and Corrective Exercise Approach to Common Hip and Shoulder Dysfunction.

His latest resource (a course, really), The Integrative Corrective Exercise Approach, is available starting today and is something I believe will add a ton of value to any fitness professional looking to take his or her’s assessment and programming skills to a higher, dare I say, Jedi’esque level.1

Is Corrective Exercise Overrated?

These days it’s hard to read an article or view a video about exercise without the mention of corrective exercise. Like many things in our industry, corrective exercise has its fair share of proponents as well as detractors. And there are plenty of facts and fictions about how to define corrective exercise and actually what it is.

FYI: Despite what Google says, this isn’t corrective exercise

In this article I am going to explain our concept of corrective exercise and dispel one of the biggest myths surrounding it.

I will also share with you how to integrate corrective exercise to improve the success you are already having with your general population clients. Because when you understand what corrective exercise is – as well as what it isn’t – you can create dramatic changes in your client results by implementing some very simple principles and key concepts into your programs.

Lets Do This

The first thing we need to discuss prior to covering the most common myth is to define the term corrective exercise. While it may seem like an issue of semantics, similar to other industry terms like ‘functional training’ and ‘core training’, corrective exercise takes on a variety of different meanings depending upon whom you speak with.

It’s important to recognize that our clients have developed their own unique and individual strategy for posture and movement. This strategy has been influenced and driven by many factors including but not limited to:

  • Things they have learned throughout their life such as adopting posture and exercise cues from their parents, therapists, and/or fitness professionals.
  • Compensations they have developed as a result of previous injuries, traumas, and surgeries.
  • Their lifestyle – sitting at a desk, the types of exercises they do and/or have done, how active they are or aren’t.
  • How they have been taught to exercise (for example many individuals have been taught to over-brace or grip as their primary stabilization strategy).
  • Their emotions or how they generally feel about themselves or their situation in life

These factors directly contribute to your client’s habits, which then dictate their current postural and movement strategy.

These habits are how your clients will perform most things in their life.

They will generally use this habitual postural and movement strategy when they sit, stand, walk, do their job, and exercise. It is these habits – actually their non-optimal habits – that lead so many individuals to develop chronic tightness, muscle imbalances that inhibit optimal performance in many of their activities, and which eventually lead to pain syndromes.

Because they become so engrained into their nervous system, most individuals are not even aware of these habits. This is why it is becomes so challenging to alter chronic posture and movement habits – they have been imprinted into their nervous system.

This is where we believe corrective exercise can play a vital role as part of an overall training system.

In our paradigm, we view corrective exercise as a strategy that consists of a thorough assessment so that you can:

  1. Identify the key factors contributing to an individual’s current postural and movement strategy.
  2. Utilize specific release and/or activation techniques to address the individual’s primary issues that are driving their chronic problems or loss of performance.
  3. Incorporate the principles of the Integrative Movement System™ – alignment, breathing, and control – into the fundamental movement patterns of squatting, lunging, bending, rotating, pushing, pulling, and gait so the individual can accomplish their health and fitness goals.

In other words, we view corrective exercise as a strategy – rather than a series of exercises – to help individuals develop and maintain a more optimal postural and movement strategy so that they can accomplish their health and fitness goal whether they be to exercise at a more intense level, develop a strategy for dealing with their chronic muscle tightness, or simply to live life with greater ease and less discomfort.

With an understanding of what corrective exercise is, it is also important to understand what corrective exercise is not.

Corrective Exercise Is Not:

  • A ‘fix’ for your client’s postural dysfunction, muscle imbalances, and/or pain.

  • A method for making individuals do their exercises in a ‘perfect’ way.

  • A group of remedial exercises that a client performs to undo the effects of performing inappropriate exercise (allowing clients to perform exercises in which they can’t maintain their alignment, breathing, and control).

  • A diagnosis or substitute for a thorough evaluation by a qualified health care professional.

  • A substitute for a well-designed integrative strength training program.

Note From TG: I really like that last point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTY8bE6C1bs

 

Now that I have defined what it is and what it is not, here is the most common myth I hear surrounding the concept of corrective exercise:

Corrective Exercise ‘Fixes’ Postural Dysfunction and Muscle Imbalances

This is by far the biggest myth surrounding corrective exercise and the statement that its detractors most often bring up. This myth commonly stems from within the health and fitness industry because we like to make BOLD claims and then promise equally BOLD results.

We often claim things like:

1. ‘Everyone has a tight, short psoas’ from sitting too much so do this stretch and strengthening exercise (insert the novel stretch and strengthening exercise here) and you’ll fix everyone’s back pain.

2. ‘Everyone has forward shoulders from working on the computer so have your clients stretch out their pecs and strengthen their rhomboids and lower trapezius with some Y’s, T’s, and W’s and you’ll solve all your client’s shoulder problems’.

3. ‘Here’s the ‘best’ movement screen so you’ll know exactly what’s causing your client’s problems’ and here’s the corrective exercises to ‘fix’ those problems.

Making BOLD statements and promising BOLD results gets people to open the most recent blog or video post.

Making BOLD statements and promising BOLD results gets people excited that they have discovered ‘the answer’ to their clients issues.

However making BOLD statements and promising BOLD results also makes people lazy about performing their own assessments and determining the best exercises for the individual that they are working with.

Because the Truth Is:

  • Yes, some people have a tight psoas and weak glutes… and many do not. And for those individuals in the latter group, stretching their psoas and strengthening their glutes actually perpetuates the very problem causing their low back pain.
  • And yes, many individuals have forward shoulders and inhibited rhomboids and lower trapezius…and many do not. Doing Y’s, T’s, and W’s for example however do not even address the most common cause of the forward shoulder so again, these exercises will perpetuate and/or create an entirely new issue in your clients.

 

  • Finally, there is no magic screen or assessment that will tell you all you need to know about your client. You need to perform a series of assessments, combine them with your client’s intake and functional goals, and then determine where you would start with them. Then you must find the exercises that work best for your clients that help them address their biggest issues and how to incorporate these components into a well-designed program.

Conclusion

Corrective exercise is not a series of exercises designed to diagnose or identify the ‘fix’ for your client’s issues.

It is a strategy for implementing a thorough assessment, implementing the appropriate releases and/or activation sequences so that your client can achieve optimal alignment, breathing, and control, and then integrate these principles into the fundamental movement patterns and/or your client’s functional goals.

Used judiciously, corrective exercise is a part of an overall training strategy designed to look at your client as an individual and provide them with a viable option for successfully addressing their issues while working towards their functional goals.

Corrective exercise should enhance and not deter from developing greater strength, mobility, endurance, or other objective outcome. When you understand and integrate a successful corrective exercise strategy, you will help so many clients who have been struggling with chronic issues, safely and effectively accomplish their individual health and fitness goals.

About the Author

Audiences around the world have seen Dr. Evan Osar’s dynamic and original presentations.  His passion for improving human movement and helping fitness professionals think bigger about their role can be witnessed in his writing and experienced in every course he teaches.

His 20-year background in the fitness industry and experience as a chiropractic physician provide a unique perspective on corrective exercise and fundamental training principles for the health and fitness professional that works with the pre and post-rehabilitation, pre and post-natal, baby boomer and senior populations.

Dr. Osar has become known for taking challenging information and putting it into useable information the health and fitness professional can apply immediately with their clientele. He is the creator of over a dozen resources including the highly acclaimed Corrective Exercise Approach to Common Hip and Shoulder Dysfunction and the Integrative Corrective Exercise Approach™.

CategoriesConditioning Fat Loss Program Design

Finishers That Do More Than Finish You

Whether you refer to it as a circuit, death circuit, METCON, or my preference…a finisher, the goal is one in the same: you spend 10-15 minutes at the end of your training session kicking the living crap out of yourself pushing things, lifting things, throwing things, pulling things, flipping things, or any combination of “things” that will make you hate life.

Simply put: a finisher finishes you. Except in this instance Sub Zero isn’t ripping your spine from your body Mortal Kombat style.

No fatalities here.

 

For most people, most of the time, a finisher is designed to not tickle and basically serve as a way to post something badass on their Instagram feed.

On one hand, I get it. There’s a sense of accomplishment and bravado that comes with completing a challenging finisher. It’s not for the faint of heart, and I for one will never begrudge someone who goes out of his or her way to work hard and get after it in the gym.

On the flip side, however, I find there’s a rate of diminishing return when the goal of a finisher is to solely make you feel tired or exhausted at the end of a workout.

When you think about it that’s not that hard to do.

As a strength coach and as someone who’s interested in not only improving performance, but also helping people possibly address injuries, postural imbalances, and/or movement deficiencies it behooves me not to be more meticulous in how I design my finishers.

Put another way, I’d rather a finisher do more than just finish you.

In my latest article on BodyBuilding.com I discuss my favorite mode of finisher and offer up THREE different variations for you to tinker with.

Check it out HERE.

CategoriesConditioning Program Design

Do Cardio, Keep Your Gains

Throughout my life there are a handful of things I never thought I’d do. I never thought I’d live in a big city such as Boston. I never thought I’d use the word “delish” to describe something I ate.

Speaking which: that’s a habit I need to stop immediately.

I never thought I’d read a Twilight book. It was just one, scout’s honor. I had to figure out what all the fuss was about

And never, in my wildest dreams, did I ever think I’d own a cat and that I’d love her to pieces.

Oh, my wife ranks up there, too…;o)

Furthermore, something else happened recently I’d never thought I’d do. I wrote an article on the benefits of doing “cardio.”

Yes that cardio.

I’ve had a change of heart of late, and feel the advantages far outweigh the perceived disadvantages. Especially in the weight room.

It’s my latest article on T-Nation and you can read it HERE.

CategoriesCorrective Exercise Program Design

Unconventional Core Training

“You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means.“

The Princess Bride is one of my all-time favorite movies. It’s a classic, and many fellow movie buffs and connoisseurs will recognize the quote from above.

It’s one of roughly 816 (give or take) memorable lines from the movie, and it’s uttered by Inigo Montoya. Throughout the movie, Sicilian boss Vizzini repeatedly describes the unfolding events as “inconceivable.”

In one scene of the movie, as Vizzini tries to cut a rope that the Dread Pirate Roberts is climbing up, he blurts out in an exasperated tone it was inconceivable that he did not fall.

At this point, Inigo responds with the now famous quote:

 

So what does this have to do with anything fitness related?

Well, replace the character Inigo with myself, replace the word inconceivable with the word “core,” and you’ll have the exact same scene playing before your eyes. Except, you know, I’d have less chest hair, be a tad more beefy, and in lieu of the swordplay…I’d be rockin some killer nunchuck skills.

What Do You Mean “Core?”

Ask five different people what the core is and how you train it, and you’ll inevitably get five different answers.

Most abundant, though, would be any number of iterations referring to a Men’s Health Magazine cover:

Or maybe Dr. Spencer Nadolsky (that’s right: a doctor who lifts!) because he’s hunky as balls:

Trust me: there’s a six-pack underneath there.

Make no mistake: when most people think core, they think six-pack abs – or, rectus abdominis, if we wanted to be uppity anatomy nerds – that you can cut diamonds on. Too, they think about all the various exercises in the infinite training toolbox which can be used to carve our said six-pack abs.

Crunches, sit-ups, planks, RKC planks, side planks, planks on one-leg, planks with one arm behind your back, planks with alternate reach, planks on a stability ball, planks blindfolded, planks while fighting zombies, and more planks. Because people like planks.

And they wouldn’t be wrong. The “abs” are certainly part of the core and all the exercises listed above have their time and place. Relax, no need to shit a copy of Ultimate Back Health and Performance because I mentioned crunches and sit-ups. I too am a huge fan of Dr. McGill’s work and understand the pitfalls of repeated spinal flexion.

Occasional unloaded (spinal) flexion, for the right population, also has a time and place. But that’s a conversation for another time.

All of it, however, is a teeny tiny fraction of the entire picture. It’s akin to only being able to see the top right-hand corner of Van Gogh’s Starry Night. And that’s it.

How lame is that?

The core is so much more than what we can see on a magazine cover. There’s the pelvic floor on the bottom, the diaphragm at the top, the rectus abdominis in the front, the obliques (internal & external) on the sides, and the erectors as well as all the “ancillary” support musculature: paraspinals, multifidi, longissimus, iliocostalis (lumborum & thoracis), etc, in the back.

It’s more or less a canister.

In fact, the “core” consists of everything from the neck line down to the hips: pecs, lats, glutes, the sexy”v-taper” leading down to you know where, everything. Or, to be overly simplistic: everything not including the legs, arms, and head.

And its main job, contrary to popular belief, is not to crunch or perform countless sit-ups. Rather, the core’s main function is to counteract rotary movement so that force can be more easily (and efficiently) transferred from the lower body to the upper body, and vice versa.

I mean, if you really look at the way the muscles are oriented (especially in the front) you can see they take on a more inter-connected, inter-laced, weblike presentation…designed to resist hoop stress.

This is why I prefer exercises like various chops and lifts, Pallof presses, rollouts, and Farmer carries…as they all train the core in a more “functional” manner.

Chops and lifts help train rotary stability; rollouts tend to train anti-extension; and Farmer carries are superb in resisting lateral flexion.

Pallof presses, depending on how they’re set up, can train every plane of motion and resist flexion, rotation, and extension. And they’re gluten free!

 

 

 

However, we can’t neglect the fact the core is a much more intricate chain of events.

Coming full circle back to the rectus abdominis (RA):

1. Yes, one of its main functions is spinal flexion. But I generally don’t go out of my way to program more spinal flexion, via sit-ups and crunches with most of my clients (especially “computer guy” who sits in front of a computer all day in flexion).

The catch-22 is that many of these same clients are rocking significant anterior pelvic tilt in addition to a flared rib cage (via lower ribs sticking out) which doesn’t bode well for ideal alignment and leads to a cascade effect of faulty diaphragm mechanics, breathing patterns, as well as a metric shit-storm of PRI (Postural Restoration Institute) stink eyes.

In this context training the RA to control rib position (ribs down) is very important. We need to train them (along with the external obliques) to contract isometrically to resist extension of the thoraco-lumbar region.

In other words, as Mike Robertson notes: “We need to teach our upper abs to control our rib position so that we can maintain optimal alignment of the rib cage during exercise and daily life.”

Walking around in a “flared” rib position in concert with an excessive anterior pelvic tilt is a one-way ticket to Mybackhatesmeville, USA.

Case in point, here’s an example of what I mean:

In the first picture my ribcage is flared out and the (imaginary) line between my nipples and belly button is long (excessive lumbar hyperextension). Conversely, in the bottom picture my abs are braced – essentially creating a flexion moment (not movement) –  and the line between my nipples and belly button is shorter (less extension). This is the position I’d ideally like to stay in for most of the day, especially while exercising.

Now, I’m am NOT insinuating you need to walk around all day “checking” yourself, making sure your abs and glutes are engaged, but I am saying it’s something that should enter the equation. And we can help address it by training the RA.

Read: Deadbugs, motherfucker.

 

2. An often forgotten “role” of the rectus abdominis is posterior pelvic tilt. Making the RA stronger/stiffer is another fantastic way to help “offset” excessive anterior pelvic tilt.

Remember: flexion from extension to neutral is different than flexion to more flexion from neutral.

Two exercises or drills that fit the bill are:

Reverse Crunches

 

Cuing Posterior Pelvic Tilt With Squats and Deadlifts

 

See what I mean?

We can’t be so “concrete” in our thought processes when it comes to core training. I could sit here and wax poetic on how I feel the lats are an often under-appreciated core muscle (learning to engage them to a higher degree while lifting heavy things works wonders with regards to spinal stability and performance).

Or that building bigger, stronger glutes would make for a better use of training time than any of those silly 30-minute ab blaster classes people take…but I’ve talked long enough.

If I may, let me introduce you to something….

Advanced Core Training

My good friend, Dean Somerset, just released is latest resource, Advanced Core Training, and it’s something that covers traditional core training as well as a bunch of voodoo theory stuff that will make your face melt.

In it you’ll find:

  • Detailed outline of core and hip function plus what the results of the assessment mean
  • Simplified walkthrough of the approach to core training that can be used for everyone. from rehab to elite performance.
  • Simple changes to variables like breathing and speed that can help change an exercise from a mobility drill to a speed and reaction drill and even to a max strength drill.
  • Tons of practical takeaways and coaching cues to help viewers implement the exercises and techniques immediately.

Those of you who were fans of his Ruthless Mobility series will find the material here a nice adjunct/sequel.

And if that’s not enticing enough: it’s on SALE at 40% off regular price this week, and you can earn continuing education credits too.

Baller.

Check it out HERE. You won’t be disappointed. Dean’s wicked smaht.

CategoriesProgram Design speed training Strength Training

How Lifters Can Unleash Athletic Power

Today’s guest post comes courtesy of strength coach and writer Eric Bach. Eric’s a coach I respect a lot and someone who’s consistently pumping out quality content.

His new resource, The Four Week Power Primer, is on sale starting TODAY.

How Lifters Can Unleash Athletic Power

What You’ll Learn

– Raw Strength isn’t enough.


- You need to generate fast strength via power.

– Lift heavy and lift fast to maximize muscle unit recruitment

– Incorporate bodyweight and explosive, submaximal work. 
       

– You’ll bridge the gap between strength and speed to become a beast!

Here’s the deal:

Most lifters mistakenly think their goal should be getting as strong as humanly possible. Not so. They should focus instead on improving power. This article explains why.

Sure, maximum strength is important. It builds a foundation to train other physical qualities. But there is an added dimension that separates the okay form the elite:

Power: or the ability to generate force rapidly.

Athletes in sports other than powerlifting run into time constraints when applying as much force as possible. This results in strength plateaus and poor carryover into sport-specific tasks.

Neglecting power leaves huge performance gaps. It results in athletes who are unable to translate their strength into success on the field.

This Power Primer will show you how to:

* Unlock a nervous system that fires faster


* Create greater levels of useful strength


* Create greater levels of strength


* Improve your ability to generate force


* Rapidly improve your athleticism

Understanding the Force-Velocity Curve (and Pie)

When looking at the force velocity curve I think of pie (Mmm…pie!)

Maximal strength provides the essential crust. It’s the foundation for a great pie. But you also need finger lickin’ filling, toppings and spices. Think of the fillings, toppings and spices as the ingredients that make the pie unique.

Without the foundational crust a delectable pie isn’t possible. It’s purely mush, much like training for speed and power without a base of strength.

Without careful attention to the other ingredients, there is nothing special about the pie. This is akin to having a base of strength, yet never refining the basic product for maximum performance.

Which brings us to the force velocity curve.

It provides a continuum of training for performances and actions that require different speeds against a variety of loads. These could include:

  • propelling your body though space
  • 
throwing an opponent to the ground
  • engaging in a free for all light-saber battle over that piece of pie

There’s an inverse relationship between load and velocity. The heavier the weight, the slower it moves and the lighter the resistance the faster the speed.

These qualities make up opposite sides of the spectrum, with speed-strength, strength-speed, and power making up the middle of the curve.

Building Explosive Power

Training with a combination of loads improves all-around explosive power, assuming there is a foundational crust of maximal strength.

Unfortunately, most lifters and coaches love hammering huge weights (nuttin’ wrong with that) to the detriment of higher speed movement (something wrong with that.).

This adds adding cheap, canned fillings, toppings, and spices to the pie to an awesome pie crust. Worse still is adding nothing at all. You just end up with the crust.

Stop chasing absolute strength. Most athletes and lifters would derive immediate benefits from lighter, more explosive training that bridges the gap between strength and speed.

Train the factors along the force velocity curve you’ve been neglecting. 
You will become a more powerful athlete.

That said, you must have a base of maximal strength to develop power.

To maximize power, focus on maximum bar speed with various loads. You will develop strength and speed along the force velocity curve. You will improve your power and your rate of force development. Use heavy weights with fast bursts, such as 3×3 at 90% 1-RM two times per with maximal muscular (2).

Improve Intramuscular and Intermuscular Coordination

Intramuscular coordination is the secret sauce that separates smooth, explosive athletes from rigid, uncoordinated ones. Intramuscular coordination is the coordinated firing of motor units within a single movement.

There are three main components when looking at when looking at improved intramuscular coordination:

  • Rate Coding: The capacity to increase firing rate (motor unit discharge rate) in order to express more strength.
  • Recruitment: Recruiting more motor units simultaneously when performing a muscular action.
  • Synchronization: The ability of muscle units to contract nearly simultaneously, with very minimal delay.

Through using multiple loads across the force velocity curve we’re able to improve intramuscular coordination. In time, this teaches the nervous system to recruit fewer motor units for the same relative intensity.

More motor units are available for activation for higher intensity exercise. That could translate into more weight on the bar or a faster sprinting speed.

How to Generate Maximum Force When Lifting

Few things, except coming home with the pie you’ve been eyeballing all night, are as fun as lifting maximal weights.

That said, too much pie (and maximal weights) isn’t good either.

Except for the rare genetic elite, your nervous system, joints, and tissues will scream at you before too long. Luckily, there are two ways to maximize force when lifting:

  1. Lift heavier weights
  2. Lift lighter weights (or your body) faster

Lift compound movements like squats and deadlifts as fast as possible, while still controlling each rep during the eccentric. By moving weights as fast and as hard as possible, you’ll recruit a greater number of muscle fibers for more muscle growth. You’ll also maximize nervous system recruitment for greater performance.

Submaximal Weight Training

Speed-Strength exercises, like sub-maximal lifting, result in high power outputs.

They produce super-high power outputs compared to longer duration, lower velocity max strength exercises.

Compare a tractor-trailer and a Ferrari. It’s great to have a ton of horsepower, but for high-performance it’s best to generate horsepower rapidly.

Power= Work/Time

In this case, explosive exercises are best using loads between 20%-85% for multiple low-rep sets is best (1). If I were a betting man, I’d wager you’re already using a sub-maximal squat day plus multiple warm-up sets between 50-80% 1-rm.

If you’re warming up like a good lad, you’re already getting some volume within the strength-speed realm.

Here’s the Kicker:

The missing piece is lighter, more explosive work.

Speed-strength movements will address this with high-velocity movements movement against a small external load. Exercises like the jump squat, back toss, and overhead slam train an explosive transition from eccentric-to concentric against a light load.

For the athlete or lifter, this requires practicing a specific movement (intermuscular coordination) patterns for optimal transfer.

For example:

Athlete Movement: Triple Extension in sprinting

Training Movements: Resisted sprinting, clean, squat jump

 Or…

 Athlete movement: Powerlifting Squat

Training movement: Barbell jump squat

To maximize the benefits of intramuscular coordination, exercises of mechanical demands should be practiced with various loads to improve the efficiency of the nervous system.

In time, this teaches the nervous system to recruit fewer motor units for the same relative intensity.

How to Immediately Improve Your Power

Provided you already have your foundation of strength, you can rapidly improve your power with a few tweaks to your training.

First, you need to continue training with heavy, multi-joint exercises and explosive intent on reach rep. This maximizes motor unit recruitment, improving RFD.

Second, when warming up accelerate every rep to the best of your ability. This trains in the strength-speed and speed-strength portion of the force velocity curve, specifically with loads between 20-80%.

Third, incorporate light speed, and speed-strength training methods with low-movement load (0-20%) and high-speeds. This comes in the form of jumps, sprints, throws, and other upper/lower body plyometrics.

Fourth, match the explosive movement patterns used to the movements you’re looking to improve using post-activation potentiation (PAP).

PAP, although an advanced method, uses the biomechanically similar exercises to groove explosive movement patterns after a heavy strength exercise.

For Geeks Only: How Does it Work? (Pie-Loving Regular People Can Feel Free To Skip this Section)

According to Hamada et. el (2000), there is an increased phosphorylation of myosin regulatory light chains during a maximum voluntary contraction (MVC). This allows the actin and myosin binding (for muscle contraction) to react to the increased calcium release. This reaction triggers a cascade of events leading to enhanced force muscle production at the structural level of muscle (Horwath & Kravitz ).

Thus, increased muscle activation yields a greater duration of calcium ions in the muscle cell environment, yielding a greater phosphorylation of the myosin light chain protein (Rixon et al. 2007).

The second theory is based on the H-reflex, an excitation of a spinal reflex elicited by afferent muscle nerves. It is theorized that the PAP intervention enhances the H-reflex, thus increasing the efficiency and rate of the nerve impulses to the muscle (Hodgson, Docherty, Robbins, 2005). Your nervous system get’s jacked up full-go.

When a jump is performed, your body is prepared to fire on all cylinders. So when only your body weight is used, the over-stimulated nervous system and muscles will be primed to the max for a higher jump.

Here are some Common Pairings:

Main Exercise: Explosive Movement:

Bench Press                               Clap Push Up, bench plyo push up

Shoulder Press                          Overhead medicine ball slam/ throw

Squat                                           Jump squat, vertical jump, box jump

Deadlift                                       Broad jump, kettlebell swing

What to do:
 Pick an explosive exercise that matches the movement pattern of your main lift and perform 3-5 reps immediately after your pure strength movement. Rest 2-3 minutes between sets to achieve a PAP effect

Wrap Up

Most lifters plateau in the gym and stay mediocre because they continue doing what they’ve always done in the past. They lift only heavy and focus only on the weight or muscle. They neglect rep quality and explosiveness. 


This mistaken approach is not performance training.

A solid strength foundation remains essential. 

Build on that foundation to focus on:

* quality explosive reps to improve neuromuscular performance

* rep speed


* movement quality over quantity

Now, It’s Time to Put the Plan to Action:

If you’re looking for a short-term plan of attack to improve your strength and athletic performance, then check my resource the Four Week Power Primer. It’s a four-week plan to increase your power for bigger numbers in the gym, and better performance on the playing field.

If you’re a coach, you should absolutely own this to understand the science of power, as it’s loaded with the science behind improving performance.

If you’re a meathead just looking to add some strength to the bar, then great: This could be the missing component holding you back from smashing a new PR.

Seriously, don’t wait, because the chance won’t be available for long.

Grab the Power Primer during the limited time sale, and leave Eric any questions you have below.

—> Power Primer <—

Resources and Stuff

Horwath, R., & Kravitz , L. (n.d.). postactivation potentiation: A brief review. Informally published manuscript, Exercise Science , Retrieved from http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article folder/postactivationUNM.html

Rixon KP, Lamont HS, Bemben M. Influence of type of muscle contraction, gender, and lifting experience on postactivation potentiation performance. J Strength Cond Res. 2007; 21: 500–505.

Robbins, D.W. Postactivation potentiation and its practical applicability: a brief review. J Strength Cond Res. 2005, 19(2): 453-458.

CategoriesAssessment Program Design

When To Progress an Exercise: Muscle Confusion is Wack

“How do you know when to progress an exercise whether it be increasing load or implementing a different exercise altogether?”

This is a question I receive a lot from other trainers and coaches, as well as many of the athletes and clients I work with on a daily basis.

And to be honest there’s no one clear-cut answer. As is the case with any question asked the appropriate response is…it depends.

What do you want for dinner tonight? It depends.

Who are you going to vote for in 2016? It depends.

Where should we go on vacation? It depends.

What do you want to watch tonight on tv? It depends. But if it’s Downton Abbey I’d rather swallow live bees.

The above examples aside, when it comes to anything related to fitness, and especially with regards to exercise and weight selection, the default answer is always…it depends.

There’s a cacophony of factors that need to be considered, including but not limited to one’s training history, experience, injury history, training schedule, equipment availability, work ethic, not to mention any number of specific goals and needs that need to be taken into consideration.

All factor in and play an important role in designing a training program.

Speaking from a generic vantage point I do feel there’s an easy answer to the question.

1. How To Progress Load

Lets use an example I think everyone reading can relate to. Have you ever been working with a certain weight on any exercise and crushed it, only to increase the load 5, 10, maybe 15 lbs. and it seems as if gravity increased tenfold? The weight doesn’t budge. Or if it does it’s infinitely more challenging?

What gives?

Simple.

You haven’t “earned” the right to increase load yet. You haven’t performed enough repetitions at “x” to increase to “y”.

I get it: Progressive overload is KING.  It behooves all of us to make a concerted effort to try to increase load (increase sets or reps or both, or decrease rest intervals) – to do more work – each and every week. I think this is a fantastic approach and something many trainees often overlook in lieu of the more sexy or unconventional answer.

It’s not the lack of chains, or bands, or some lost Eastern Bloc Undulated Block Periodization set/rep scheme written in Elvish that’s the reason you’re not getting stronger or making progress.

For whatever reason many people resort to long division or Common Core for the answer when all they needed to do was add 2+2.

Or, in this case…add more weight to the bar.

But even that simple approach will only go so far. And this is what occurs when we add 5-10 lbs. to the bar and it’s as if a giant magnet is underneath the floor.

Stick with the lower weight. Stay there. Own it.

You’re not any less of a human being or the spawn of Satan if you perform an exercise with the same weight for multiple weeks in a row. Life will go on.

For further reading on progressive overload check out my article on BodyBuilding.com on the topic HERE.

2. When to Progress An Exercise?

The answer to this is a little trickier and a bit more murky. Without getting too far into the weeds I find that most trainees (and even worse trainers/coaches) suffer from exercise ADD.

The market is saturated. Walk into any commercial gym and you’re likely to see anywhere from 10-20 head shots of personal trainers near the front desk all highlighting their certifications, education, and how long they’ve been eating Paleo.

Who to choose?

Far be it from me to tell you. While I attempt to answer that question HERE, it’s hard to say with any certainty what you’re getting when you hire a personal trainer. There are plenty who look amazing on paper who end up making people do shit like this:

 

And this is what I mean when I refer to exercise ADD. Because the market is so saturated many trainers resort to gimmicks and smoke & mirrors (and use buzz words like “functional training” and “core” and “balance”) to separate themselves from the masses.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

The more “gimmicky” and against the grain a trainer appears, sadly, the more attention they get. Goblet squats just aren’t as sexy as whateverthef*ck is being demonstrated above is.

Personal training has become more about entertainment and one-upmanship than getting people results and helping them become more autonomous.

READ: the goal of any trainer should be to educate and make it so their client DOESN’T need their services.

I mean, look at a program like High Performance Handbook (which is representative of many of the programs we write at Cressey Sports Performance). There’s not a ton of variety involved. Yet, people get results.

Of course there are outliers and trainers/coaches who don’t fit into this mold. But those are few and far between. In this day in age “success” is defined by Facebook likes and Twitter followers than it is by experience and being able to actually coach someone through a deadlift.

To that end, to answer the question:

1. Read THIS article by CSP coach, Tony Bonvechio, which gives some insight on how to choose the best accessory exercises.

2. I’d argue most people don’t need as much variety as they think they do. The whole notion of muscle confusion and that you have to switch up exercises every few weeks irritates me. For most people this makes no sense because rarely do they allow themselves enough time to learn and “own” the exercise to be able to perform it efficiently.

Alas, they make very little progress.

I’ve used this analogy before, but with program design (especially when the goal is to get stronger) I think of things as a diamond.

At the bottom are your beginners, and at the top are your advanced and high-level competitive clients/athletes. Neither need a ton of variety in their training.

Beginners need to learn and master the basics – squat, hinge, lunge, push, pull, carry, skip, swing, side-shuffle, etc.

Advanced trainees/athletes need to be concerned with their competitive lifts and/or because they’re so strong, don’t require a ton of variety (or stimulus) to maintain that strength.

In the middle, however, are the intermediates. Not coincidentally this is where most of us (even myself) reside.

It’s here where we can be a little more Willy Wonka(ish) and immerse ourselves in the crazy, zany world of variety.

So in many ways how you “progress” an exercise will be dictated by where someone resides in the diamond.

NOTE: I’ll be covering this very topic in more detail at the Elite Training Workshop here in Boston on Saturday, August 1st.

CategoriesProgram Design Strength Training

A Day With Alex Viada: And How To Feel Like the Weakest, Slowest, and Smallest Human Being Ever

We had the pleasure of hosting Alex Viada, owner and President of Complete Human Performance and author of The Hybrid Athlete – this past weekend at Cressey Sports Performance.

You’ve seen his name pop up here and there on this site – most notably in an article I wrote recently titled You Down With GPP? – and you may be familiar with some of his work on other sites as well.

Alex is a beast (not to mention one of the nicest, most humble, and generous coaches I’ve met in recent years). To give some perspective on how much of a beast he is, Alex is an elite level powerlifter with PRs of 705 (squat), 465 (bench press) and 700 (DL) raw w/ wraps in the 220 class, but also competes in triathlons and ULTRA marathons (100+ miles). He’s also posted a best mile time of 4:32.

So much for the notion that endurance activities steal gainz.

Oh, and he also dabbles in bodybuilding. And arm wrestles grizzly bears. In fact, he’s the guy The Avengers call when they need help.

Adding to his legend, Alex has also, literally, I’m being 100% serious here, squatted so much weight he made his face bleed. I’m not referring to getting a bloody nose or popping a blood vessel in one of his eyes. I mean, who hasn’t done that?

He literally bled through the pores on his face.2

I’d like to see Chuck Norris or Jack Bauer do that!

He’s an impressive human being and someone who challenges people to push their bodies to levels and places they never thought possible. He works with many different clientele – powerlifters, ultramarathoners, triathletes, Strongman competitors, CrossFit, in addition to many different divisions of the military.

He specializes in what he refers to as “Hybrid Training,” or:

“The concurrent training of different athletic disciplines that do not explicitly support one another, and whose disparate components are not essential to success at any one sport.”

In short: someone may want to train for two goals – competing in a marathon as well as improving their deadlift numbers – that don’t necessarily support one another.

Listening to Alex speak was engrossing, and it was hard for me to put my pen down for more than ten seconds during his entire lecture. Below are a few highlights I wanted to share from the day.

An Introduction to Applied Hybrid Training Methodology

*** Or, if I were in charge of giving a title, “How To Run a 50K and Deadlift a Bulldozer, Like a Boss”

1. People fail to realize that the “system” Alex has developed is the result of years of trial and error (he’d argue mostly error). The key behind everything is to learn to be lazy. Or a better way to put things would be to say “learn to minimize stress/overuse while maximizing progress.” It’s important to understand that, when dealing with such extremes and goals that are at opposite ends of the endurance-strength spectrum, everything is a precious commodity and it’s crucial to learn how to condense training stressors.

To summarize:

“What is critically important to do the LEAST AMOUNT OF VOLUME to improve performance.”

2. For the hybrid athlete, he or she needs to recognize where the overlap is in their training and OMIT the superfluous modalities that waste time and energy.

For example:

Does one really need to include a bevy of “speed & power” work on the track if he or she is including speed & power training in the weight room? In some cases, maybe. But more often than not, the additional running volume becomes redundant.

Also, as Alex noted: what’s generally the purpose of long runs? To learn to train and perform through fatigue.

If someone is lifting through fatigue in the weight room, then, again, many of the endless miles on the road become redundant.

3. Much of the challenge when working with strength athletes is teaching them to SLOW DOWN. Zone 2 work (loosely defined as 65-70% of max heart rate, generally 120-140 BPM) is where the magic happens.

Alex mentioned that the key for many strength-based athletes is to teach them to be slow before they become fast.

When told to train in Zone 2, many will be weirded out about just how slow that really is. For some it won’t take much to get there. A brisk walk may do it. But as a frame of reference that’s akin to telling an elite marathoner (who averages 4:42 miles for 26 miles, which, I couldn’t sustain with a freakin moped) to sustain an eight minute mile pace.

It feels, well, slow!

But it’s “the slow” that’s so CRUCIAL for the hybrid athlete. Many will want to “power” through their Zone 2 work and speed things up, which will only impede things down the road.

The strength athlete needs to get married to the idea that training at 100% effort all the time IS NOT going to help them succeed.

Managing fatigue and optimizing recovery is key.

4. The other advantage of Zone 2 work is the added benefit of increased capillary density and venous return.

Think of it this way: the more muscle or cross-sectional area someone has (or adds), the more potential there is for waste product. If an athlete doesn’t take the time to build the appropriate “support network” to transport/filter said waste product (via capillary density, improved venous return, etc), there won’t be any improvement(s) in performance.

5. ANOTHER advantage of Zone 2 work are the improved adaptations one gets on their GENERAL work capacity.

General Work Capacity = ability to produce more work over time.

A nice example Alex gave was with a powerlifter he’s currently working with who wants to get his deadlift up to 400 kg’s (<– a lot more in pounds) while improving his general conditioning for health reasons.

[Being able to see your kids graduate high-school is a nice benefit of improved cardiovascular conditioning].

In the beginning the lifter noted he was only able to get three work sets (with wraps) in before he’d be absolutely wiped out.

After only a few months of dedicated GENERAL Zone 2 work (non-specific: bike, elliptical, brisk walk, etc), the same lifter was now able to get SIX work sets in.

He essentially was able to DOUBLE his volume (and thus, work capacity). Not too shabby.

6. Attachment points matter. No matter how much muscle you add, it’s hard to overcome attachments points of the muscle. This is why you’ll (probably) never see a world-class Kenyan squatter.

Basically it’s important to “vet” predetermined ranges of a lot of things – attachments points, one’s natural propensity to increase cross-sectional area, etc) to see where an athlete will be most successful.

7. Want to sell the importance of strength training to an endurance athlete? Have him or her place a barbell on their back for the first time and see what happens.

No disrespect, because you could say the same thing for anyone who places a barbell on their back for the first time, but you’ll often see something that resembles a giraffe walking for the first time.

It can’t be stressed enough how much strength training improves balance and proprioception. Reiterate to an endurance athlete how it can improve body awareness and stability – and they’ll be putty in your hands.

8. Specific Work Capacity = athlete’s ability to perform specific movements at a given frequency/repetition (without unacceptable performance decrease).

If you want to get better at cycling you need to cycle. If you want to get better at bench pressing you need to bench press.

Remember: General work capacity is the foundation for Specific work capacity.

Need to be selective on what you choose, too.

Many would deem Prowler work as applicable “specific work capacity” for a powerlifter. But is it?

Look at foot placement (on the toes). How much knee bend is there? Very little. So, how does this help a powerlifter with their squat?

Prowler work for a sprinter, now we’re talking.

9. No one should listen to ANYONE – coach, writer, Jedi Master – who says everyone should run a certain way. This disrespects the notion that everyone has different attachments points, leverages, and anthropometry.

We wouldn’t tell everyone to squat the same way, so why does this notion that everyone needs to run the same way apply to running?

By that token, everyone should wear skinny jeans!3

Remember a few years ago when the book Born to Run came out? I read it, and loved it. It was entertaining and a well-written book.

However, this book basically bred the movement of minimalist or barefoot running in no small part to it highlighting the running prowess of the Tarahumara Tribe.

The Tarahumara run with minimalist footwear and they run on their forefoot. And they never get hurt. Soooooo, that means everyone should do the same, right?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ytCEuuW2_A

 

Some people perform better and their running technique cleans up significantly when they heel strike first. Telling them to put on a pair of Vibrams and run on their toes is going to be the worst thing for them.

There are a lot of physical therapists out there who are now driving Maseratis4 due to that book. You’re welcome.

Categoriespersonal training Program Design

Bootcamps: Not Just For Crushing People (and doing “stuff”)

Today’s guest post comes courtesy of Cressey Sports Performance’s group fitness coordinator, George Kalantzis.

Enjoy!

Group training is becoming a staple in the fitness industry and people are trying all sorts of group classes to get their exercise fix in.

People want and love group training, and when you can combine a great atmosphere with properly coached exercise that not only produce a training effect, but also address individual limitations/ability level/postural deficiencies/weaknesses/and strengths; it’s a win-win for everyone.

At Cressey Sports Performance (CSP), our strength camps run 3x’s a week, with four classes a day.

Exercise selection is based upon how easily it can be regressed (or progressed). Essentially we don’t dig too deep into our exercise tool box for the sole purpose of “doing stuff,” but rather choose exercises and drills which can easily be “ramped” to one’s individual needs and ability level. For us, it’s all about whether the exercise is coachable, and which can help the client move better as we go along.

Changing too much and making exercises “exciting” for the sake of exciting is a way to keep people from mastering the basics.

Basics are boring, but they work.

And the sooner someone can get a handle on the basics, the sooner their exercise rolodex (which don’t even exist anymore) can be expanded.

Below are some “big rock” themes to how we run our strength camps at CSP.

Density Training Days

Monday is density day. We tend to keep things relatively simple. Meaning, the circuit designed is based upon the time frame allotted. After warm-ups and explanation, we tend to have around 40 minutes to get some work done.

Typically, circuits will range from 10-20 minutes, which allows for a decent amount of work to be done. For the smaller time frame we might use 2-3 exercises in a block, and for the larger time frame we will have anywhere from4-6 exercises in a circuit.

The order of exercise chosen should depict the flow of your gym and the number of clients in a class. Anything from 2-6 exercises with 8-12 reps works best for density training along .

Example Density Day with TWO larger circuits and Finisher:

Circuit #1

A1: Barbell Reverse Lunge 10/leg
A2: Barbell Push Press x10
A3: KB Swing x 10
A4: Pushup x 10
A5: Medicine Ball Stomps to Floor x 10

 

Circuit #2

B1: Dumbbell Front Squat x 8
B2: Renegade Rows 4/side
B3: Prowler Push 40 yards
B4: 1 Arm Farmers Walks 20 yards/side
B5: KB Clean x 8

Finisher:

KB Clean and Squat Ladder

1 Clean, 1 Squat, 2 cleans, 2 squats, 3 cleans, 3 squats. 4 cleans, 4 squats 5 cleans, 5 squats and back down.

Metabolic Conditioning Day

This day is the most popular among clients and runs on Wednesdays. It tends to attract the largest groups and gets the best feedback.

I think clients like the idea that they never know what they are going to get that day. It could be a ten exercise circuit, or four mini circuits of 3-4 exercises. It all depends on the cycle of the program that week.

Here is an example of FOUR mini circuits, with rounds of 35s/15s, 25s/10s, and 20s/10s

Round 1 = 35s work, 15s rest, Round 2 = 25s work, 10s rest, Round 3 = 20s work, 10s rest, Round 4 = death stares from clients

Circuit #1

A1: Donkey Kong Slam Battle Ropes A2: Kneeling to standing Battle Ropes

A3: Sitting Battle Ropes                       A4: Plank Battle Ropes

Circuit #2

B1: Single Leg Hip Thrust Off Bench – Right       B2: Single Leg Hip Thrust Off Bench –  Left

B3: Standing Pallof Press – Right                          B4: Standing Pallof Press – Left

Circuit #3

C1: TRX Rows           C2: TRX Pushups

C3: KB Squats           C4: KB Cleans

Circuit #4

D1: Prowler Push    D2: Sledge Hammer to Tire

D3: Sprints               D4: Airdyne Bike

Check out footage from a METCON day

 

Strength Day

These are designed much like density days, except we tend to keep the reps lower and allow clients to lift a bit heavier.

It’s not uncommon to see women deadlift twice their body weight on a Friday morning session.

It is very important to note not everyone will trap bar deadlift.

We have a solid structure in place that allows us to individualize all workouts. There are examples of clients in their late 60’s that require modifications of all sorts and clients who are in top shape that require more advance workouts. What’s great about strength days is that it allows us a better opportunity to customize the flow of the day for anyone who needs it, which gives a sense of “velvet rope customer service.”

People feel they’re being taken care of (which they are).

Here is an example of strength day.

Station # 1 : 15 Minutes

A1: Deadlift Variation x5
A2: Hollow Body 5 Reps
A3: Pull-up Variation 5 Reps
A4: Reverse Sled Drag x 5

 

Station # 2 : 15 Minutes

B1: Dumbbell RDL x 8
B2: Dumbbell Bent Over Row x 8
B3: Dumbbell Single Leg Deadlift x 8/leg
B4: Pushups x 8
B5: KB Swings x 8

Finisher: Break Into TWO Groups

Group #1

Complete every rep/movement on the minute for FIVE minutes

A1. KB Squats
A2. Med Ball Floor Stomps x 5

Group #2

½ the group does prowler sprints for 30 seconds, the other half holds a front plank for 30 seconds Total of 10 rounds for 5 minutes

This is not a see-all be- all approach to group training, but it does produce results and clients keep coming back for more.

I hope this can help you think outside the box when it comes to group training.

Note From TG: a few resources that may help on the topic and that I’d encourage you to check out are Bootcamp in a Box and Group Training Playbook

About the Author

George began his time at Cressey Sports Performance as an intern in the fall of 2013, and returned in 2014 as CSP’s Group Fitness Coordinator, overseeing all Strength Camp coaching and programming responsibilities.

George is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and was awarded an honorary discharge after eight years of service. He possesses an MBA from Southern New Hampshire University and is currently attending massage school to become a licensed massage therapist.

Outside of CSP, George maintains a fitness-related blog that can be found at www.sgtkfitness.com.

He and his wife Shawna reside in Manchester, NH, with their fur-baby Lola the dog.

CategoriesProgram Design

You Down With GPP?

Everyone together: “Yeah you know me!”

For those of you who picked up on the 90s hip-hop reference with today’s blog post, congrats…you’re cool. For those of you who have no idea, well, I encourage you to open up Pandora, Spotify, Slacker, or whatever your music streaming service of choice and look up Naughty by Nature.

Replace GPP with OPP and set on repeat.

You’re welcome.

Not that I wouldn’t want to take a trip down nostalgia lane and partake in any candid discussion around 90s hip-hop and some of my favorite songs and artists/groups from back in the day5, but we’d be sitting here for awhile if we did and I know you have things to do.

So I’ll get right to the point. The catchy title 1) was a sneaky way to lure you in (gotcha) because, as it happens, 2) I’m going to be talking about steady state cardio today.

“Are you down with steady state cardio?” didn’t have quite the same vibe and pizzaz as the OPP reference. And besides, if I had started with that as my title most of you would have told me to GFY and clicked away.

I promise no more three-letter abbreviations from here on out.

All of this to say……

I’ve Been Re-Thinking My Stance on Steady State Cardio.

As in: I’m starting to include more of it into my own training (and I’m liking it).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1Y73sPHKxw

 

I’m sorry, but Dramatic Chipmunk never gets old.

Okay, “liking it” is a bit of a stretch. I like pizza. I like deadlifts. And hell, on occasion, I like getting a pedicure6 I don’t necessarily “like” doing steady state cardio, and often times would rather throw my face into a brick wall out of sheer boredom.

But I like what it’s been doing to my training as of late – especially in the weight room.

Funnily enough there was a time in my life where I averaged upwards of 15-20 miles PER WEEK of running. Not knowing any better I did it as a way to “build my legs” for baseball. All through high-school and college it wasn’t uncommon for me to go for 5-7 mile runs a handful of times per week to “flush the lactic acid out of my muscles”7 or to punish myself for a bad outing.

Baseball and performance aside, not surprisingly, I was always a skinny kid/athlete. I started lifting weights at a young age to help build my body. However that often played second fiddle to the amount of running I did. I even ran Cross Country one year in high school. I don’t like to talk about it. It was a dark time in my life.

Once I was done playing (competitive) baseball and my career in the fitness industry started to manifest, my goal(s) then switched to getting my bodyweight up to 200 lbs (from 170-175, 180 tops). It was around 2002 when I first started reading the likes of T-Nation and other various websites.

I started nixing the isolation, body-part splits, I started deadlifting and squatting more, I ate whole eggs, and I cut-down the amount of steady state cardio I performed.

Low and behold I gained 30 lbs in less than a year and hit the 200 lb mark.

The internet told me that if I wanted to get jacked I shouldn’t perform any steady state cardio. All I had to do was toss in some sprints here and there, maybe do a few Tabata’s (which weren’t really Tabata’s, mind you), and I’d get all the aerobic conditioning I’d ever need. And besides: who needs aerobic conditioning when all you want to do is lift some heavy ass weights!

It not so many words: you’d lose all your gainz if you even thought about going for a light jog. And you’d lose your dignity if you were caught wearing jogger shorts. It’s science.

It’s a trend we see often in the fitness industry. The pendulum on any given topic – whether it’s debating the efficacy and usefulness of steady state cardio, high-fat vs. low-fat diets, carbohydrates, CrossFit, high-bar vs. low-bar squatting, Paleo, gluten, full-body vs. body-part splits, or whether or not Tracy Anderson is more intelligent than a ham sandwich (<– she isn’t) – swings either too far to the left or too far to the right.

There never seems to be a lack of extremism. You’re either in or you’re out, there’s no middle ground.

Sadly, I’m not immune to falling into the same trap.

It’s been well over a decade since I’ve included any semblance of long(er) duration, steady-state cardio (which can be characterized as a form of GPP – General Physical Preparedness) into the mix. Partly due to personal preferences, and partly due to my own naivete (but really I can chalk it up to 100% stubbornness. I’ve always known better).

So by now you may be asking yourself “Seriously Tony, pedicures? Why the change of heart, Tony?”

The impetus came from two sources.

1. Alex Viada (and by extension his phenomenal book, The Hybrid Athlete).

2. The guy who writes my programs, Greg Robins, told me I have to do it.

To put it lightly, Alex Viada is a freak of nature. The man can deadlift AND squat over 700 lbs, AND he runs a sub five-minute mile, AND he competes in Ironman and Ultra Marathons.

I once parked in the furthest spot possible in a Trader Joe’s parking lot and thought I was the man.

Alex has spent years via trial and error (and even he’d admit it’s been mostly error) in honing the most ideal formula to be able to maintain (and even gain) strength while concurrently improving endurance capacity. Being a “Hybrid Athlete” is all about working hard, but being lazy.

“In other words, do as little as possible to attain the necessary result. Lift less often than a powerlifter, run less than a runner, bike less than a cyclist, swim less than a swimmer… the body has limited recovery, and will quickly become overwhelmed.

Isolate what is truly important in each type of training, focus on those areas, and do them well. Cut out the junk miles, cut out the gym pissing contests, be draconian in how you approach routines – take those articles with the “ten exercises you should be doing” and toss them in the trash. The more you want to do, the less you should be doing.”

To be fair: not everyone wants to do both. For most – myself included – I have NO desire to run a marathon or even a 5K for that matter.

But in recent months I have changed my tune with regards to how incorporating more steady state cardio can help in the weight room and improve my recovery and performance.

To quote Alex:

“Endurance exercise improves energy substrate utilization – being able to more efficiently mobilize and burn fat and glucose will of course improve performance over time (due to more economical usage of glucose and a greater amount of essentially unlimited fat stores to burn). In addition, improved perfusion not only aids in getting oxygen to the cells, but also improves the body’s ability to both buffer acid buildup from lactate metabolism.”

A less charitable explanation of things would be to say “stronger heart = better endurance = better blood flow = more efficient muscles = better utilization of fat and glucose for fuel.”

Also – and this can be considered the Coup de gras of the entire article – steady state cardio (GPP) can help improve recovery!

The key here is to NOT overdo it in terms of volume and to NOT be an asshat and turn something that’s supposed to be low-intensity endeavor into loaded Prowler sprints for AMRAP (or something equally as asshatedness).

If the goal is to improve work capacity (ability to do more work in a given time) it’s crucial to employ modalities that aid and promote general recovery which, as Alex notes, also create positive adaptations in “durability, energy stores, cardiac output and cardiac perfusion, and other general components of overall endurance that essentially provide the foundation for an athlete to train and compete for longer while recovering better.”

Long story short: going for an easy (heart rate of 120-140 BPM) 20-30 minute jog 1-3x per week isn’t going to negate your gainz. I’d make the argument it may help!

And this isn’t relegated to just jogging (something of which I’ve been doing lately). As an example Lisa and I went to Harvard Stadium yesterday to walk up and down the stairs. Nice and easy, nothing hardcore, and just enough to elevate my heart rate into “Zone 2.”

I got a good workout, and I know it’s not going to have any detrimental affects on my squat and deadlift session today.

Elliptical machine, rowing machine, Prowler, bike, a pool, it’s all fair game. Just don’t overdo it.

I implore you to not be so “shallow” in your thinking to OMIT an entire way of training – and something that could very well have a positive net effect on your overall performance in the weightroom and physique – just because some brocentric article told you that running is for pussies.

It took me a while to turn off the noise on my end, but I’m glad I finally did. In the long run (<– LOL, pun intended) it’s going to be for the best.

As an FYI

Alex Viada will be speaking at Cressey Sports Performance on Sunday, June 28th for a one-day workshop. Spots are still available and you can find out more information HERE.

CategoriesProgram Design

3 Program Design Failures Young Coaches Make

As you’re reading this I’m either lying out on the beach reading a book, crushing the all-you-can-eat ice cream bar, or not swimming in the ocean.

I hate getting wet. I know, I’m weird.

In any case, I’m in beautiful Nassau, Bahamas, enjoying my honeymoon.

Which is to say: Naaah, nah, nah, nah, naaaaaaaaah.

However, I prepared a head of time (you didn’t think I was going to go a week straight without posting anything did you?) and today I have guest post from my good friend and superhero strength coach, Mike Robertson. His latest DVD set, Physical Preparation 101, was released today (at an unreal discount), and he was kind enough to help fill in for me this week and offer some insight on the concept of program design.

More specifically, some common mistakes many young coaches tend to make.

To give a quick plug: the 12-DVD set is baller, and goes into great detail on Mike’s overall approach to program design. One day covers program design. And another day covers coaching. No shadow puppets.

It’s an amazing resource and something that would be an excellent addition to any coach or trainer looking to take their program design/coaching skills to ninja, nay, Jedi level status.

Enjoy Mikes wisdom!

Writing your first program may be one of the most challenging things you ever do.

The first program I ever wrote was for myself. I’d been training for powerlifting for about a year, and I figured that if I was going to be a great coach (someday!) that I needed to start writing my own programs.

Needless to say, it was quite the experience.

In 17 years of playing organized sports leading up to this point, I had never thrown up in a practice or conditioning practice.

But when you’re banging out four sets of ten squats with a minute rest, and then moving immediately to Bulgarian split-squats right after that, well, things get real – fast!

Over the years, I’ve learned a ton about programming. And while I’ve been fortunate to learn a ton from books, seminars and DVD’s, one of the best things you can do once you have that programming knowledge is to go out and actually fail.

That’s right – you need to make mistakes to get better.

With that being said, here are three common fails I see when coaches first start writing programs.

Programming Fail #1 – Trying to be too “cute”

When you first start writing programs, it’s easy fall into the trap of being “cute.”

You’re throwing in all these random exercises that no one has ever seen before, but hey, it’s on the Internetz so it must be legit!

Instead of being cute, focus on the 80/20 principle, and realize that 80 percent of your training results come from 20 percent of your actual programming.

Dan John uses the analogy of being in prison. If you only had 15-20 minutes to work out each day and wanted to get bigger and stronger, would you spend that time curling your arms into oblivion, or doing something big and basic like bench presses or chin-ups?

So being cute and pulling random exercises and set/rep schemes is obviously a problem. But there’s an even bigger problem that I see now, which leads me to my next point…

Programming Fail #2 – Being too complex with your programming

One of the arts of program design is finding the appropriate program for the person in front of you.

Appropriate is the key word here – when someone is just getting started, you can do just about anything and help him or her get stronger.

Simple programs like 5×5 or 5-3-1 have done this for years. By waving volume and intensity, throwing in deload weeks, and promoting high quality technique, beginning lifters can see gains on programs like these for years.

The goal is to match the program to the lifter. A beginning lifter should follow a beginners program.

An intermediate lifter should follow a more intermediate program.

And an elite lifter needs to bring out the big guns to continue to see success.

I hate to break it to you, but unless your male clients are squatting and deadlifting 2.5x bodyweight, or bench pressing 1.5x their body weight, they’re not advanced.

Part of the problem is that deep down, everyone wants to think they’re advanced.

But really – they’re not.

So why on Earth should they following a triple block, Russian super squat specialization program to take them from 180 to 200?

Go back to basics here. Find the least advanced program you can have them follow, which still creates a positive adaptation.

Doing this not only ensures that they see success now, but for years to come as well.

Programming Fail #3 – Making every program a Mona Lisa

There’s definitely an art and science when it comes to program design.

You need to know the science to write a program that will give the desired training effect, but at the same time, there’s an art in figuring out how to shape and mold the program to the client or athlete standing in front of you.

If you’ve been writing programs for a few years, after a while all your programs start to look very similar.

Maybe there are subtle differences between variables (sets, reps, exercise selection, etc.), but there is a lot of similarity in the bulk of your programs.

Why do you think that is?

Hint: Because a lot of our clients move similarly, and have the same underlying issues!

Furthermore, if you’re writing programs that are rooted in the basics, then you don’t need a ton of variability in a program (especially early-on) to see success.

The analogy that I always use is this: New trainers and coaches want every program to be a Mona Lisa.

They agonize over it, labor over it, and ultimately, what should be a very simple program quickly becomes far too advanced or complex.

Instead, remember that the goal isn’t to spend oodles of time writing a program – but rather, to simply ensure that the program elicits the desired adaptation.

In other words, don’t make a basic fat loss program a Mona Lisa, when it should really be paint-by-numbers!

I think there’s wisdom in making something as simple as possible, but no simpler.

Do what you need to do to get your clients and athletes the results they want, while helping them move and feel better along the way.

At its root, what we do really is that simple.

Summary

As a young or new coach, I made more mistakes in my programming then I care to remember.

However, with trial and error, plus a ton of learning along the way, I’d like to think that what was once a weakness is now one of my ultimate strengths.

If you take nothing else away from this post, do your best to simply make your programs as simple and easy to use as possible.

By doing so, chances are you’ll strip away a lot of the fluff, and end up with a program that’s razor sharp in the results it delivers.

All the best.

Again, Mike’s newest product, Physical Preparation 101, is on SALE ($100 off the regular price) starting TODAY (6/2) and will run through Friday. He’s a coach that even I still learn from and someone I respect a ton, and if you found yourself nodding your head in agreement from reading above, this may be something worth investing in.