CategoriesProgram Design Strength Training

How to Program Farmer Carries

I know Dan John has relentlessly sung their praises. And, after listening to him speak last weekend, I know Gray Cook is a big fan of them too.

What am I referring to? CrossFit? ShakeWeights? One Direction? Bacon wrapped figs?

None of the above.

Besides, everyone knows that Dan is an N’Sync‘er for life. And urban legend suggests the inspiration behind Gray Cook developing the FMS is from him watching Backstreet Boys videos and being in awe of their movement quality.

Clearly none of that is close to being true.

And now that I’ve opened myself up to a libel civil case, lets push all that under the rug and get to what I’m actually referring to (not that the title didn’t give it away or anything).

Farmer Carries

Dan John loves carries. Just last weekend Gray Cook named them his #1 most functional exercise. And while I’m not close to being at the same level as those two – I’m still eating at the proverbial “little kids table” with regards to my place on the fitness authority totem pole – I too am a huge fan, and feel they’re one of the most underrated and least utilized exercises out there.

I’m a huge advocate of carries as I feel they offer a gulf of benefits.  Everything from grip strength to improved hip stability to increased core strength to helping to build a yoked up upper back.

Breaking things down further:

– When performed unilaterally, they’re a fantastic way to train core stability – specifically anti-lateral flexion.  But even when performed bilaterally, they’re still an awesome “core” exercise.

– As noted above, they obviously help improve grip strength.  Taking it a step further, though, they do an amazing job of “activating” the rotator cuff through a process called irradiation.

In non-geek speak, all this means is that when you squeeze something with a death grip, the rotator cuff turns on, and as a result the shoulder “packs” itself.  In a sense, carry variations are a great exercise for those with chronic shoulder issues.

The only caveat would be for those with a depressed shoulder girdle or who present with downwardly rotated scapulae (or, more specifically, those who are symptomatic and have shoulder pain along with the aforementioned criteria). In this scenario, loaded carries may not be a good fit.

– Farmer carries do an amazing job at challenging hip stability – especially when performed unilaterally (one arm at a time).

– They condition the shit out of you. The next time someone asks you whether or not weight training has any cardiovascular benefit, have him or her do a few rounds of carries for 50-75 yds.  And then laugh at them.

– And lets just state the obvious:  they do a superb job of increasing one’s overall sense of badassessey.

How to Program Carries

I received an email from a reader the other day asking how I go about programming carries into people’s programs and figured it was something that could benefit more people if I answered it here.

1. How should one program loaded carries into training? I.e., should it be in an upper body day or lower body? I tend to do farmers walk on lower body days while I do goblet or racked carries on upper body days.

As always, the answer is…….it depends.

Carries can be used for so many different things.  I’ve used them with people suffering from low-back pain; I’ve used them as a conditioning tool; I’ve used them as part of a strength pairing (one of my favs is pairing heavy bench press with carries); I’ve used them as a stand alone “thing” on off-days.

Much of it depends on someone’s goals.  If they’re a Strongman competitor for example, carries could very well be a “main movement” on a given day and will be prioritized accordingly.

Conversely, for the more mortal of us, I like to use carries towards the tail-end of a training session as either a C1-C2 circuit (think: carries paired with Goblet Reverse Lunges. It’s important to think about grip being a limiting factor when pairing exercises with carries. Goblet variations don’t require as much grip), or maybe as a finisher where I want to, you know, “finish” someone.

Try this:

A1.  1-Arm KB Carry – Right Side (30 yds)
A2. KB Swing x 15
B1.  1-Arm KB Carry – Left Side (30 yds)
B2. KB Goblet Squat x 10

*** Perform in circuit fashion and rest for 60-90s at the end.  Perform 3-5 rounds depending on how much you want to hate life that day.

I think the approach you laid out above is spot on.  If I had to choose, I’d place loaded (heavy) carries on lower body days, and maybe some low-level/low-intensity racked or Goblet carries on upper body days as part of an extended warm-up or towards the end of the training session.

Another option to consider, and something that some of us coaches at CSP do on occasion, is to have a dedicated “carry day.” We’ll pick a day of the week after work and just work up to a set TOTAL DISTANCE we want to hit.

Week 1: 160 lbs (per side) x 20 yds per trip.  Work up to 80 yds

Week 2: 160 lbs (per side) x 20 yds per trip. Work up to 100 yds

Week 3: 200 lbs (per side) x 20 yds per trip. Work up to 80 yds

Week 4: 220 lbs (per side) x 20 yds per trip. Work up to 100 yds

NOTE:  I wouldn’t do something this aggressive the day before a significant lower body session.

The weight selection can obviously be tweaked to fit one’s ability, and in between sets we can add in fillers like wall hip flexor mobilizations, band pull-aparts, reverse crunches, deadbugs, or any other low-grade activation/mobility drill that 1) won’t impede performance on the subsequent sets of carries and more importantly 2) helps address and fix shit.

2. Is there a specific weight/timing/distance on how long to walk for different objectives?  If I want to be strong, what kind of weight should I be looking to use and what distance or timing should I be looking at?

And if I want muscle gainzzz, I suppose that would require more TUT and so, what should I be looking for again?

In terms of weight, I feel most people, most of the time tend to be overzealous with their weight selection.

This isn’t to say that every set has to look pristine – heavy carries are heavy, and it won’t look fantastic 100% of the time.  However, I do feel there’s a cost/benefit of going too heavy, which I address in THIS post.

Technique does matter here.

If someone is performing carries with an excessive forward head posture and/or excessively leaning to one side or the other (or rounding their back), are they really gaining any benefit other than bragging rights and a few high fives?

If strength is the goal is you need to make sure you’re progressing in some fashion, whether it’s actively increasing the weight used each week, the distance travelled, or both. See circuit I described above.

I think a bit of variety comes into play here.  I LOVE offset (1-arm) carries. I also like Crossbody carries (assuming one has ample shoulder flexion to do so safely).

And if you REALLY wan to get crazy and inventive, you can do something like this:

So yeah, staying cognizant of factors such as how much weight you’re using, distance travelled, Time Under Tension (TUT)……aim for a total amount of time under tension (say, 3-5 minutes), and even adding in a little variety all enter the conversation.

There’s no right or wrong approach.

3. I always wanted to ask: why 40 yards? I realise unlike normal exercises with sets/reps panned out, loaded carries are more unconventional and I can’t seem to find more info on how to program them to meet specific objectives. I’m hoping you could help me address this issue.

I think we tend to gravitate towards 40 yds as our marker at the facility because we have 40 yds worth of turf we can utilize. Understandably, not everyone has access to that much space in their gym.  Using smaller increments is fine.

Some distance coaching clients of mine have super limited space – I’m talking 10-15 ft, or the equivalent of their living room – and I’ll have them perform toe-to-toe carries where they literally walk toe-to-toe across the floor.  It’s harder than it sounds.

Nevertheless, I hope I was able to shed some light on how I go about programming loaded carries into the mix.  There are a million and one different ways to go about it. What I described above are just a handful of my “go to” strategies.

Cause I want it thaaaaaaaat way……..

CategoriesExercise Technique Program Design

Cueing Posterior Pelvic Tilt When Squatting and Deadlifting? Have I Gone Mad?

One of the more popular cues trainers and coaches use when teaching the squat and deadlift is to arch the lower back….hard.

There’s a legitimate reason why, too. Squatting and deadlifting under load (consistently) into lumbar flexion is a major no-no, and usually results in any number of lower back dysfunctions and injuries. All someone has to do is open up either one of Dr. Stuart McGill’s seminal books on the topic – Low Back Disorders or Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance – to be slapped in the face 10x over with research study after research study proving this point.

Cueing someone to avoid (loaded) flexion and to arch their back while squatting and deadlifting engages the muscles of the back – erectors, iliocostalis, longissimus, multifidi – which not only helps to both stabilize and strengthen the spine, but also aids in offsetting and drastically reducing shear force.

It’s a hard to debate this point and has long been accepted as the “correct” way to cue proper form and technique.

However, the fitness industry runs on a perpetual pendulum of extremes – the middle ground is for pansies – and if doing “x” amount of something is good then doing even M.O.R.E of “x” must be really good. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Arching the back is fine.  Excessively arching the back, long-term, not so much. Just like we would shit an EMG study over excessive spinal flexion, excessive spinal extension is just as deleterious and detrimental to the spine.

In extreme cases:

Repetitive, excessive spinal flexion = disc herniations

Repetitive, excessive spinal extension = end plate, pars fractures.

It’s no coincidence we’ve seen the rise of things like Spondylosis, Spondylolisthesis, and other extension-based dysfunctions in the fitness and athletic realms – in both young and old(er) populations.

In younger populations a large portion of the blame can be pointed to more and more kids being less active, ill-prepared, and/or specializing in one sport too soon (pattern overload).

In older populations the blame can be directed towards some of the same culprits, albeit I’d also argue a major monkey-wrench is how we as coaches and trainers have been cueing our athletes and clients for the better part of a decade (if not longer) into OVER-arching during their squats and deadlifts.

It’s great for lifting a metric shit-load (a shade more than a metric boat-load) of weight, but not so great for long-term back health.

In the video below I break down why cueing more posterior pelvic tilt (in addition to owning your rib position) during squats and deadlifts may be more advantageous in the long run. Remember: All we’re trying to do is encourage people back to “neutral,” from an excessive extension pattern, and to own that position during their lift(s). So, instead of thinking of it as “arch and sit back,” it should be “find neutral, set/own ribs,bace, and sit down.”  I think this not only has merit with regards to back health, but performance as well. Give it a looksy.

Side Note:  Eric Cressey discusses the same concept (in more detail) in Functional Stability Training for the Lower Body if you want to dive more into the topic.

Cueing Posterior Pelvic Tilt During the Squat and Deadlift

CategoriesExercise Technique Program Design Strength Training

Q&A: Does Age and Heavy Training Take a Toll on the Spine?

As you can imagine I get a lot of emails on a daily basis.  I get emails from friends, colleagues, clients, Nigerian Princes wanting to give me all their money, and I also get a fair number of emails from people I don’t know asking me any number of health and fitness questions.

Below is a question I received the other day which I had never received before and something I felt I could elucidate on here in more detail (while at the same time helping others who may have the same question).

Q: Can people squat and deadlift because they have strong backs, or do they have strong backs because they squat and deadlift?

After squatting and deadlifting for the first time in 8 years, I found that my back (lower and thoracic) is by far the weakest it has ever been – it holds my numbers back substantially and if I push just a little too hard, my back feels like its about to go.

Not only that but my back stays incredibly tight the following days.

Prior to this hiatus, I was almost bullet-proof and could do nearly everything without pain. I’ve since had chronic tightness in literally every muscle, but switching to unilateral lower body movements resulted in a dramatic training difference with no after pain or tightness.

I may have my biases, but is this why I see so little older individuals continuing to squat and deadlift the numbers they used to? Or to reiterate, do those rare older individuals who squat and deadlift heavy already have strong lower backs to begin with, or did they build up this strength by squatting and deadlifting heavy?

Lastly, is unilateral lower body movements substitutes for squats when long-term joint health is concerned? Thanks!

Spencer

A: Thanks for the question, Spencer. There are a few angles I’d like to take to answer this.

1.  I kinda-sorta hit on the topic earlier this year when I wrote THIS blog post on Programming Strategies for the Old(ish) Meathead.

I’m 37 now, and while I don’t consider myself old by any stretch of the imagination – although Lisa and I love early bird dinners before 5:30 PM on the weekends, and I’m usually in bed before 9 PM – I understand that what I used to do in the gym when I was 25, and what my body was able to handle back then, no longer holds weight (<—- HA! Pun totally intended).

This isn’t to say I don’t still get after it, but I’d be lying if I said that I haven’t accumulated a few aches and pains throughout the years and that I haven’t had to “tone down” my training to a small degree.

The article linked to above taps into some of my thought process(es) with regards to programming strategies for guys who don’t feel like Batman or Superman anymore.

2. A believe a little dose of expectation management needs to be addressed here.  You mentioned that it’s been eight years since you last squatted or deadlifted with any frequency. Don’t you feel that that plays a bit of a role in the grand scheme of things?

Are the squats and deadlifts themselves to blame for your soreness and tightness? Maybe. Or should we point the finger at the eight year absence from any significant loading?

I remember back in the summer of 2008 I decided to play in an over-30 adult baseball league. I had obviously thrown a baseball here and there up to that point, but I hadn’t played competitive baseball or thrown any significant innings since the summer of 1999 and 2000. An eight year hiatus itself.

Me, circa 1999, my senior year at Mercyhurst University. I had hair back then. The good ol’ days.

On the batshit scale on which WTF “why is my arm killing me?” was measured, what was to blame more: the actual act of throwing a baseball, or the fact I took an eight year break from throwing a baseball?

I went from zero innings pitched over the span of eight years to over 70 innings pitched in one summer.

To be fair (to myself), I did hold my own that summer. I went 8-1 with an ERA under 1.00 and had over 100 Ks in those 70 innings.

Funny story:  my best game that summer was the first game after my then girlfriend broke up with me out of nowhere. I showed up to the game and struck out 20 batters in nine innings. Granted, I was probably crying on the mound during the entire game…..but my fastball was un-hittable that day!

I even tossed a no-hitter that summer. I didn’t suck or embarrass myself during the season. But by the end, my arm was hanging on a thread.

The only person to blame was myself because I didn’t do much to properly prepare myself.

It’s analogous to what you’re going through, Spencer, and what I’m sure a lot of people in the same situation are going through.

3. Barring any current injury, the body will adapt to whatever stress you place upon it.

Consider 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/squatting = 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.

Neither of the two just happen. So no, I don’t believe people “just automatically have strong backs,” therefore they can squat and deadlift to their hearts content with little ramification(s).

I do believe heavy training (which I understand is all relative) does take a toll on the spine. However, I also believe that if someone takes the time to learn and hone technique, implement appropriate progressions based off their needs and ability level, and refrain from taking eight year breaks, that they’d best set themselves up for long-term success….;o)

Lastly, as far as unilateral lower body training is concerned and whether or not that’s a more “joint friendly” substitute for squats……..it depends.

There’s no denying that performing unilateral movements will lead to less axial loading on the spine. But we could also make the case that how people squat – even when it’s not with heavy loads – can place more stress on the joints, particularly the spine and knees.

– Are you squatting with an overly rounded back? How about the exact opposite end of the spectrum: are you overarching?  Both can be detrimental.

– Are you ensuring upper back stiffness when you set up to squat?

– Are you performing more of a “quad dominant” squat or a “hip dominant” squat? With the latter, you’ll need to sit back with the hips more, push the knees out, and use more of your hips and posterior chain to perform the movement.  This can make a profound difference on not only how the squat feels, but performance as well.

It is possible to make squats more knee friendly.

All of this is not to say everyone has to squat and deadlift.

Especially the older we get.

Sometimes it just doesn’t feel good no matter how on-point someone is with their technique and programming. If either of the two movements aren’t a good fit, they’re not a good fit. It’s not the end of the world.

But I do know plenty of people older than myself who are still deadlifting and squatting with abandon and do quite well.

That being said: I feel the above suggestions are an excellent way to audit yourself and to troubleshoot a few things.  Hope that helps!

CategoriesProgram Design Strength Training

Introducing My Deadlift Specialization Program: Pick Things Up and Put Them Down

Name a celebrity – any celebrity – and it’s not hard to list off a handful or a few dozen adjectives or associations often tethered to them like white on rice or a ball to a chain.

Jennifer Lopez: fashion icon, badonkadonk, the impetus behind the media’s fascination with coming up with corny nicknames whenever two famous people start dating:  Bennifer (back in the day when she and Ben Affleck dated).

Matt Damon: Jason Bourne, Boston, my best friend (he just doesn’t know it).

Miley Cyrus: shock value, famous dad, and of course, twerking.

Matthew McConaughey: cowboy, free spirit, and his incessant use of the phrase, “well, alright, alright, alright.”

Everyone can be described in the same vein. We all have words, phrases, and associations that people automatically identify or link our name to. Take me for example. While I’d love to sit here and pretend that whenever the name Tony Gentilcore is uttered people gravitate towards words like intelligent, witty, charming, and People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive…I know that that’s wishful thinking.

Instead, a more accurate portrayal is something like this: “Tony Gentilcore? Hahahaha. Isn’t that the fitness dude with a funny last name, who’s bald, drives an Elantra, and talks about his cat a lot?”

Ding, ding, ding, ding. Nailed it!!!!

Well, all of that is true. But self deprecating humor aside and given the theme of this website is “because heavy things won’t lift themselves,” I think you’d also be hard pressed to see my name mentioned somewhere and not notice one word in particular following suit:

Deadlifts

I love deadlifts. I love deadlifts almost as much as I love ice-cream.

I think what I love most about the deadlift is that in the most primal way, and as cheesy and cliche as it sounds, it’s literally you vs. the bar.

You can’t cheat the deadlift. Either you lift the bar off the floor and lock it out, or you don’t. It’s without question one of the best movements to build muscle, overall strength, and athleticism, in addition to helping “fix stuff.”  And by that what I mean is the deadlift is an excellent corrective exercise.

Correct movement is corrective.

I always laugh whenever someone chimes in with a comment like “deadlifts are going to make your spine explode” or something equally as idiotic.

These are the same people who believe squats ruin people’s knees, bench pressing destroys everyone’s shoulders, pilates builds “long & lean muscles,” and that I rode into work this morning on a unicorn.

For all intents and purposes, we might as well never load anyone and just make people lay in bed all day in zero gravity so that they won’t exert their body in any way.

What’s more, what I also love about the deadlift is its versatility. I can tweak, regress, and progress the movement based off one’s current goals, needs, injury history, and experience level.

And it’s on that note I want to introduce something I feel is going to help a lot of people:

My Deadlift Specialization Program: Pick Things Up and Put Them Down

Many like to deadlift, and that’s great. It makes me happy. Unfortunately, when it comes to getting better at it – and subsequently lifting more weight – many don’t understand how to design a well-rounded, specific, properly progressed, and safe program to get the job done.

Well, I do.

I’ve partnered with my friends at WeightTraining.com to offer a new FOUR-month Deadlift Specialization Program.

How does this program differ from many of the other one’s you can follow?

1. I wrote it. So there’s that.

2. Unlike a lot (not all) of the programs you can find on the internet, I not only practice what I preach (HERE’s a video of me pulling 3x bodyweight), but I actually train people. Like, in real life. I don’t just write about it.

Much of this program is based off protocols and concepts I use with many of the athletes and clients I train on a daily basis.

3. In partnering with WeightTraining.com on my Deadlift Specialization Program, the platform itself is its own unique experience:

  • 24/7/365 Access: Once purchased, you will always have access to the program.
  • Schedule & Receive Workout Reminders: You will be able to schedule the workout program on your calendar and will automatically receive workout reminders every day you have a scheduled workout.
  • Easy Logging with Scheduled Workouts: Your scheduled workouts will automatically come up within your workout logger making it very easy for you to see your workout for the day and log your progress.

  • Available on the web, iOS, & Android devices: The workout program will be available on all of the WeightTraining.com apps allowing you to take your workout into the gym with you on your phone for easy viewing and logging.**NOTE:  the app for the Android will be available starting later this week!
  • Printable Workouts: If you still like taking a piece of paper into the gym, you will have access to the printable version of the entire workout program and individual workouts.
  • Automatically Track Progress, Records, and Totals: You will receive your own personal profile where your logged workouts will automatically track your progress, records, and overall totals.
  • Video Exercise Demonstrations: If you do not know how to do an exercise, don’t worry. You will have an exercise video demonstration for every exercise within the workout program.
Here’s a quick video explaining all the advantages:

I know what some of you may be thinking: $49 for one month of programming ($196 if you decide to follow all four months)!?! What the heck Gentilcore!

Consider I charge $279 (and up) for one month of individualized distance coaching. Here you’re getting FOUR MONTHS for less than it would cost for ONE if you were a personal distance coaching client of mine, and you get the ease of using the WT.com platform.

To help sweeten the pot I’ve decided to offer a limited time discount code for 30% off the first month.

To take advantage of this offer all you need to do is type IncreaseDeadlift30 within the Coupon Code area upon checkout. It’s that easy.

This offer is only going to be available for 48 hours (through this Wednesday, September 10th), so I’d act quick if I were you. Are you ready to dealift!?!?

—> Pick Things Up and Put Them Down Program <—

CategoriesExercise Technique Program Design

Why the Box Squat is Overrated

There are a lot of things I don’t do anymore that I used to.

1. Unlike when I first moved here eight years ago, I no longer refer to Boston as Beantown. That’s a big no-no amongst locals.  Doing so is as sacrilegious as wearing a Laker hat or a Derek Jeter jersey down Boylston!

2. I don’t watch Saturday morning cartoons. That much.

3. I don’t start hyperventilating into a brown paper bag anymore if a baseball player walks in on day one and lacks internal range of motion in his dominant throwing shoulder. As Mike Reinold brilliantly states HERE, glenohumeral internal rotation deficit (GIRD for short. Who wants to write all that out?) is a normal adaptation to the throwing shoulder.

4. I no longer feel Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is the weakest chapter in the Star Wars saga.  That title goes to Episode II: Attack of the Clones.

5.  And, I don’t pick my nose in public.*

Wanna know what else I don’t do?

I Don’t Place Box Squats Into Any of My Programs

Yes, yes I did.

Well, I do place box squats in my progams and I don’t.  Let me explain myself a bit further.

So that I can stave off the barrage of hate mail and people reaching for their pitchforks at the notion of me saying something so batshit crazy….

……..I like box squats.

While the box squat is considered a fairly advanced movement (and it is), it might come as a surprise to know that we use them quite often with beginners at CSP – particularly with regards to teaching proper squatting technique.

Lets be real, most people don’t come remotely close to squatting to acceptable depth (for the record, this equates to the point where the anterior surface of the thigh is BELOW the knee joint), let alone performing anything that you’d actually, you know, call a squat.

Most guys kinda bend their knees a little bit and call it squatting, like this guy. 

Nevertheless, the box squat is a superb way to keep people honest with depth and “groove” the proper pattern we’re looking for: to break their descent with their hips, push their knees out, and learn to sit back a tad more. Doing so targets the posterior chain to a higher degree and increases the lever/moment arm of the hips to take on a larger brunt of the load (rather than the knees).

I understand there’s a bit more to it than that and that this is a pretty extensive topic which people write books about. Cut me some slack, I’m trying to simplify things here.

Besides, considering most people have ADD as it is and won’t read past the first two paragraphs anyways, I figured something short and to the point would, oh look, a shiny!

Where was I again?

Right, box squats.

In short, box squats serve a purpose and I do utilize them quite often with beginners and some intermediate lifters to help groove technique and coach appropriate depth.

Outside of the learning curve, and once someone exits the beginner stage, for RAW lifters I don’t feel box squats serve a purpose or have a place in a training program.

Note:  for those wondering what the hell I mean when I say “raw lifter,” all I’m referring to is someone who is not a competitive powerlifter and doesn’t use gear to lift.  I.e., a squat suit.

When someone wears a squat suit it changes the dynamic of the lift. You HAVE to sit back more aggressively compared to not wearing one.

Powerlifters utilize the box squat because it’s specific to their sport. They have to sit back because if they don’t they’ll be a crumpled up ball of fail on the platform.

Past a point, for raw lifters, the box squat creates too many bad habits.

1.  Teaches people to sit back more than they could/should.

2.  Teaches people to “relax” on the box and to rock their weight back up. This works for geared powerlifters because A) they’re strong enough to stay out of those last 2-3 degrees of end range flexion of the spine and B) the suit is there to help provide more stability.

Stealing an awesome quote from the guys over at Juggernaut:

“Do not focus on excessively sitting back onto your heels if you are a raw lifter, this is not advantageous because you don’t have a suit to sit back into. There will be some forward movement on the knees in the lift and that is fine. A short movement of the hips backwards and then squat down from there. “Back, back, back” isn’t for you, it is more “down, down, down”.

– 10 Steps to a Great Squatting Technique

And there you have it. That’s my current line of thinking regarding box squats. If you’d still like to grab pitchfork, go for it.  But hopefully I did a good enough job making my case.

EDIT:  to say that I also find box squats are a great fit for those who are unable to squat (deep) due to knee issues, Femoral acetabular impingement, other musculoskeletal issues, or simply their own anatomy.

Here are a couple of articles I wrote on the topic:

How Deep Should I Squat?

Does Everyone Need to Squat Deep?

 

* = actually, that’s a lie. I totally do.

CategoriesExercise Technique Program Design Strength Training

3 Ways to Improve Your Squat

Among the many gems that I gleaned this past weekend during Greg Robin’s Optimizing the “Big 3” workshop was the notion that, contrary to popular thought, the purpose of supplemental work (or exercise) isn’t so much to make an exercise harder, but rather to address a some form of “kink” in one’s technique.

One such example would be deficit deadlifts. These are a very popular supplemental lift for those who are slow off the floor with their pull.  The i

dea being that by elevating yourself on some form of platform or elevated surface you increase the ROM the bar must travel, and thus make the lift harder (and build explosiveness off the floor).

Is that really what’s happening?

Think about it:  you’re decreasing the weight of the bar. If progressive overload is the rule to live by, how can taking weight off the bar help?

For the more visual learners in the crowd here’s a video of me pulling 505 lbs from a deficit to help.

Now, I’m not suggesting that performing deficit pulls – with lighter loads – doesn’t help with building explosiveness off the floor.  Rather, all I’m suggesting is a slight paradigm shift and change of view.

Performing deficit pulls forces me to address my TECHNIQUE!!  Honing my technique and addressing kinks in THAT is what’s going to help me pull more weight in the long run.

I naturally pull with my hips a bit higher than most people – it’s how my body is built.  I’m also very slow off the floor.  So is the increased ROM helping me be more explosive off the floor or is it the fact I’m forcing myself to dip a tad lower and engage my quads a bit more?

Note:  I admit this would be even more applicable if I were puling conventional.

Now lets direct the discussion towards squats and what supplemental (squat) movements help with improving our technique in that realm.

Paused Squats

Anderson (Deadstart) Squats

1-1/2 Squats

In my latest article on BodyBuilding.com I discuss all three variations and why they’re a good choice to help with your squatting performance.

Continue Reading………..

CategoriesMotivational Program Design Strength Training

How to Get Stronger

There are two types of people in the world: those who love Chipotle and those who hate it those who overanalyze E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G and those who don’t.

Photo Credit: Thomas Hawk

Take the philosophical question “what’s the meaning of life?” for example. Not to insinuate that this is a question that doesn’t deserve to be overanalyzed – admittedly it’s loaded and a question that’s pretty freakin deep – but it’s surprising how much of a dichotomy there is from person to person as to how it’s analyzed and thus answered.

Of course, the more introspective of us will dive into the existential components and gravitate towards a discourse of philosophy, religion, theology, science, the universe, as well as sub-components pertaining to one’s happiness (what makes someone “happy?”), spirituality (which may or may not include a God), social ties, morality, value, purpose, and a host of other equally important factors. Like kitten kisses and a Lord of the Rings marathon on TNT.

For the more critical and analytical in the crowd the meaning of life parallels that of Socrates where one should live a life of virtue and that which agrees with nature.

For someone else the meaning of life may revolve around the notion of “oneness” and developing a well-rounded relationship with oneself and with one’s surroundings (family, friends, environment, community, etc).

For the less analytical and for those people who tend to go with the flow, the meaning of life may be to make babies, have a lot of money, or, I don’t know, 2 for 1 pizza night at Papa Johns.

The point is: some people are deep thinkers (for better or worse), and some aren’t (for better or worse).

I’m not sure if the introduction above served as an appropriate segue (if you’re still reading I guess it did. I win!!!!), but when it comes to the topic of getting stronger I do feel many people fall into the trap of overanalyzing and making things more complicated than they need to be.

There are a million and one articles and blog post out there delving into the nuts and bolts of what it takes to get stronger – and 90% of them say the same thing.  What do they say?

Lift heavy shit, a lot.  Repeat.

Note:  yes, there’s a typo.  But who cares!  This is hilarious.

The fact of the matter is this:  if you want to get stronger it’s standard procedure to focus on “the big 3” – squat, bench press, deadlift – and to make those lifts THE HEART of your training approach and philosophy.

These movements generally allow you to use the most weight and there’s a reason why they’re the staples of most – if not all – successful training programs geared towards making people into animals:

5/3/1 – Jim Wendler

The Cube Method – Brandon Lilly

Building the Big 3 – Greg Robins & Eric Cressey

2×4 – Bret Contreras

The Texas Method – Justin Lascek

All of the above programs (or to put it more accurately, SYSTEMS) stress barbell training and progressive overload. No fluff and no fillers.

The knock against them is that they’re boring. To which I respond, “suck it up buttercup. Boring is what works.”

There’s something to be said about building a relationship with the barbell and spending time underneath it, pushing it, pulling it, and hoisting it over your head.

I’d argue that if more people just performed TWO barbell movements per training session and worked on perfecting their technique, and poured their heart and soul into those two movements that day, they’d see tremendous results.

It’s not a sexy approach, but it works.

So to recap:  the universal prerequisites to getting stronger are to focus on compound, multi-joint movements (preferably the big 3) and to try to lift move more weight in those lifts on a weekly, monthly, yearly basis.

We’re all on the same page, right?  Mmmmkay.  Moving on.

95.65% of me would like to end this post now. I’m definitely in the latter camp from above and prefer not to over-think things.

Which reminds me of a funny story.  Forgive me for going off-topic for a second.

One day I was spotting a buddy of mine on the bench press.  He was gearing up to travel abroad to play some professional football (American football) and was training pretty hard. He had something like 335 lbs on the bench press – give or take 10 lbs – and missed the lift.

He racked the weight, turned around and looked at me, and asked “dude, was my bar path off? Did my elbows flare out? Leg drive?  What?” He wanted a complicated answer.  All I said was “nah, it was just too heavy.”

Hahahahahahahahaha.

Trust me it was funny.  You had to be there.

We probably could have made an argument for all the things he brought up, but the simple answer was that, like it or not, gravity won.

And it’s on that note I wanted to offer a bit more insight other than the cliched “just lift something heavy” mantra that’s regurgitated time and time again on the internet.

1. Aim for Small Gains

Every Thanksgiving I go home and inevitably I’ll pile on more food than I can handle onto my plate. It’s the epitome of having my eyes be larger than my stomach.

In that same vein, far too often I notice people making overly ambitious training goals.

Don’t get me wrong it’s great to have goals, and I wish more people would take the time to write them down. Doing so gives people purpose in their training!  However, saying that you’d like to squat 600 lbs by the end of the year when you can barely perform a squat now without looking like a newborn baby giraffe is a bit of a stretch.

It’s like some guy saying “I WANT TO MAKE OUT WITH SCARLET JOHANNSON,” when all he’s ever done is practice on his pillow.

Calm down big guy and lets be a bit more realistic.

Squatting 600 lbs is cool and all, but why not just make a goal of perfecting your technique first? Then we can graduate to loftier things like a 2x bodyweight squat and then some!

Think about it this way: If you break a max by 5 pounds a month, that’s 60 pounds a year. If you keep doing that, you’re going to make some fantastic progress.

As the godfather of badassery and getting strong, Louie Simmons, states: “Stay focused, stay strong, stay patient. You’ll get there.”

2. Restoration and Recovery Matter

It sounds borderline counterintuitive – but you DO NOT make gains in the weight room. Lifting weights breaks down muscle tissue – that’s the point! – and serves as the stimulus for the body to repair itself and come back stronger.

If you’re not getting ample sleep, hitting up the foam roller here the there and working on maintaining adequate tissue quality, and/or taking precautions to RECOVER from your training (like including scheduled deload weeks)….then it’s all for not.

As the saying goes, fatigue will mask your true fitness.. You can’t consistently beat your body to a pulp and expect to make continued, long-term gains/progress.

Try this:  take an off day.  And by “off day,” I don’t mean perform a strongman circuit or head to the track and perform a bunch of 400m tempo runs.  I mean exactly what it implies.

Relax. Chill out.  Stay at home, fire up Netflix, and watch some 24 re-runs.

If you’re one of those people who shits a stability ball if you’re not in the gym on any given day, maybe try an ACTIVE RECOVERY day – this THIS one – where the objective is to move around a little, get the blood pumping, and to break a small sweat.

You don’t need to be running on all cylinders 100% of the time to make progress.

3.  Make Your Foundation Wider In Order to Gain Higher Peaks

This is a profound point that fellow Cressey Sports Performance coach, Greg Robins, hit on yesterday during his “Optimizing the Big 3” workshop.

The idea is this:  in order to hit higher peaks in strength, you HAVE to develop a wider base.

For beginner and intermediate trainees it makes little sense to spend time performing lifts in the 90% + range (of one’s one-rep max) and testing PRs when their PR isn’t that impressive in the first place.

Think of things in terms of a triangle:

To the right is someone who hasn’t spent a lot of time accumulating VOLUME in their training. Their base is fairly narrow, and hence their peak (I.e., strength) isn’t anything to brag about.

Conversely, to the left, is someone who’s spent a lot of time under the bar and has amassed more volume and frequency in their training.  As a result, their base is wider and peak is much higher.

Put another way:  how you get strong is by moving what you could originally do for 3 reps and perform it for 5.

What was originally your 92.5% 3RM is now 87.5%.

You can only do this by accumulating volume and by putting in the work. It’s not just going to happen.

4.  The Best Supplement?

What would a post on strength be without some sort of commentary on supplements!?

I had a high-school athlete walk up to me the other day asking me what I felt was the best supplement to take to get strong and to add on weight.

All I said was……….

CALORIES.

Calories is the best supplement.

He looked at me all perplexed. He was expecting me to go on some diatribe on creatine or protein powder or some Mass Gainer Hypertrophic Matrix 2000 Unicorn Antler Advanced Formula.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again:  supplements are progress ENHANCERS not progress STARTERS.

If your current diet and training plan isn’t getting the job done, then the “x-factor” isn’t what supplements you’re not taking.

Your training is suspect or you’re not ingesting enough calories. Most likely it’s both!

See!  It doesn’t have to be so complicated.

CategoriesExercise Technique Program Design Strength Training

How to Train For Power

First off: Like, WHOA!

It’s been bonkers on the site the past few days. Tuesday’s post, An Open Letter to Everyone Who Has Told a Women “Don’t Get Too Muscular,” pretty much won the internet for a 48 hour stretch and has been getting a ton of positive feedback and commentary.

It’s by far been the most successful post in the history of this site – to the tune of 13,000 (and counting) “Likes” – and has been making the rounds via various social media outlets. People are sharing it left and right, and I couldn’t be more ecstatic. I don’t think if I posted a video of me arm wrestling Tracy Anderson (in space!) that it would go more viral than this article has.

I guess the lesson to be learned is that, when an outspoken, articulate, and strong woman such as Sophia goes out of her way to relay such a profound & powerful (and slightly controversial) message, people will undoubtedly listen.

Thanks again to Sophia for her contribution. And thanks to everyone who went out of their way to help spread the message.

And now that I’ve increased me female readership by 1017%…..

….it only makes sense that I switch gears, possibly decrease my female readership by 1013%, and discuss the topic of POWER!!  More specifically how to train for power.

Mind you, this doesn’t imply that women aren’t interested. They can benefit just as much as guys when it comes to training for and hence improving power output. It’s just that, you know, is there any more of a “manly” topic than the topic of power?

Think about it. Guys are seemingly obsessed with power.

How many guys go out of their way to buy a Prius? Most lean towards the sports car.  Unless you’re me and you opt for an Elantra. With spoilers!  But I digress.

Likewise, when it comes to movies, there’s a reason why most dudes opt for testosterone infused eye candy like the Fast & Furious franchise or Transformers in lieu of anything starring Julia Roberts or adapted from a Nicholas Sparks novel.

We want tanks, explosions, the occasional zombie apocalypse, and more explosions.

Not sappy dialogue and clichéd boy-meets-girl-lets-make-out-in-the-rain storybook endings.

Although to be fair: The Gossinator (Ryan Gosling) is the man.

Hell, as far as guys are concerned, whether we’re referring to power tools or drugs that give us more powerful erections, power is all around us, seemingly marinating our every waking moment.

Not coincidentally this mindset has many of its own parallels in the strength and conditioning realm.

In my latest article on T-Nation, I discuss what power training is (and isn’t) and how one can go about training it more effectively using protocols and movements that can be applied TODAY!

CONTINUE READING………..

CategoriesCorrective Exercise Program Design

Critical Eye for Program Design

Every Wednesday we hold a staff in-service at Cressey Sports Performance where the coaching staff along with the interns get together and talk about “stuff.”

One week Eric may break down thoracic outlet syndrome and how to go about programming around it.  Another week Greg may discuss some new sprinting drills and how we can better cue our athletes with their movement training.

Chris may take a week and touch on some elbow or shoulder anatomy.  I’ll take the reigns one week and speak to the differences between external vs. internal cueing (or just reenact a full blown assessment using nothing but shadow puppets).

And Andrew will jump in on some weeks and discuss youth training or how it is he’s able to maintain salon-quality hair at all times.

It’s fascinating.

As you can see, we hit on any number of topics and nothing is ever off the table. We even had one of our current interns discuss the merits of blood-restriction training recently and how if may have some merit with regards to training injured athletes.  The idea being that the increased hypoxia will help engage or stimulate type II muscle fibers in the absence of appreciable load.

I’m a bit skeptical, but he made some interesting points!

Nevertheless the idea behind the in-services is to promote an open platform for learning and for open dialogue and discourse.

Yesterday happened to be what we like to call the Intern Programming Challenge. The idea is simple:  We give the interns several specific scenarios with regards to injury history and musculoskeletal dysfunction of an athlete/client, and they’re expected to write a 2-day/week program for each one.

An example might be:

1. Severely sprained right ankle with secondary external impingement in left shoulder.

OR

2. Extension based back pain.

OR

3.  Grade II hamstring strain with no left eye due to a pirating accident and an explosive case of diarrhea.

We all gather together and dissect each person’s program(s). Admittedly it can be an intimidating environment because no one ever likes seeing their work held under a microscope for public scrutiny. But as Eric noted yesterday, sometimes the best way to get better is to have your stuff ripped apart.

Not that we’re purposely ripping programs apart to make our interns feel bad. Rather, we’re using this as an opportunity to refine their programming skills and to think more objectively and “outside the box.”

Take secondary external impingement for example.  The word impingement is a garbage term as it is, because it speaks nothing to what’s actually causing the impingement (or pain) in the first place.

In watered down terms all “secondary impingement” means is that we know it’s not caused from a bony growth or deformation like a bone spur (this would be referred to as primary impingement, where the boney growth affects the acromion space and makes it narrower).

Instead we can chalk secondary impingement towards things like poor t-spine mobility, anteriorly tilted scapulae (poor scapular stability), poor tissue quality in the pec, pec minor, and/or lats, downwardly rotated scapulae or “depressed” shoulders, so on and so forth.

Conventional wisdom may dictate that the prone plank is an innocuous enough of an exercise where it would be a nice fit for most people, even in this example.

Mmmmm, maybe.  Maybe not. It depends.

The plank position will cause a lot more approximation in the shoulder joint (jamming the humeral head into the shoulder socket itself) which may be problematic for someone with external impingement.

It’s this kind of critical thinking – and the type of feedback we give back to our interns – which helps them become better and programming.

Lets dive into another common scenario……

Extension Based Back Pain

While flexion tends to get all the attention and love, extension-based back pain is something that’s grown in prevalence in recent years – especially in more athletic populations which involve a lot of extension and rotation.  Think:  baseball, golf, etc.

Too, extension-based back pain is very common in the more “meatheaded” population in addition to the personal training and coaching fields (where we tend to stand on our feet all day).

I’m not going to re-invent the wheel and elaborate on the specifics since I already wrote on this topic extensively HERE.

Needless to say, since we’re on the topic of programming I wanted to highlight some ways and ideas we could work around the issue when working with a client or athlete who exhibits this condition.

 

Seriously, read my post HERE if you’re curious how to assess for extension-based back pain as well as some thoughts on how to address it (rib cage position, how to cue certain lifts differently, and how to address proper breathing mechanics).

Do it!!!!!!

The most severe cases will typically manifest as Spondylolysis.  “Spondy” refers to a fracture of the pars interarticularis portion of a vertebra (95% of the time, it’s L5). The pars essentially connects the vertebral body in front with the vertebral joints behind.

Presence of spondylolysis runs the gauntlet in terms of who it effects, but its highest prevalence is among weightlifters. That said we’ve seen a huge influx amongst young athletes as well, especially those who participate (and specialize too early) in sports that require excessive extension and rotation (ie:  baseball).

I wrote a post on Spondy HERE if you’re interested.

1.  First and foremost the name of the game when dealing with ANY injury is to ensure you’re eliciting a training effect.

No one wants to feel like a patient when they’re training.  I mean, what fun is it to head to the gym only to perform a litany of ankle mobility and breathing drills?

Booooooorrrrrrrrriiiiiiinnnnnnggggggg.

This isn’t to say that those things won’t need to be addressed, but it’s important to understand that your job as a trainer or coach is to garner a training effect for your clients.

2. Whenever we have an client or athlete with a legit case of Spondy start at the facility our general rule of thumb is no back squatting for TWO YEARS – and that’s even if they’ve gone through an entire “treatment” with a back brace.

Placing a bar on the back means you’re moving it further away from the axis of rotation which increases shear forces on the spine ten-fold.

In this case things like Goblet Squats may be a better fit.  But even then, you may need to hold off for a few months before you implement them into a program.

3.  Single-leg work will almost always enter the equation, but you need to be very cognizant of back positioning.

If someone lives in extension and has extension-based back pain, they’re going to want to go into extension.  I  know, it’s confusing.

It’s important to engrain proper rib positioning, core bracing, and pelvic positioning when doing any single leg work.

4.  To that end, variations like slideboard reverse lunges are an awesome fit because they inherently make people use less weight, which in turn will result in less axial loading on the spine.

But even if we’re not dealing with a severe case like Spondy, it’s crucial to stress “neutral spine” throughout.

Start with dumbbells and progress to barbell variations.

5.  Glute bridging is fantastic provided the back stays in a posteriorly tilted (flatter) position throughout the entire set.

6.  Anything which promotes posterior pelvic tilt with someone with extension-based back pain is going to be money.

To that end, ensuring they’re squeezing their glutes during things like chops and lifts will be paramount.

I’ve often incorporated Posterior Pelvic Tilt Hip Thrusts (via Bret Contreras) into the mix:

I’ll be your BFF for life if you do these in a public park or something. I dare you to perform them in the waiting area at your doctor’s office!!!!

That’s just some food for thought. It’s important to embrace a more critical mindset when writing programs – especially when writing them for people with specific issues or dysfunction(s).

Hope that helps.

Now excuse me as I go practice my shadow puppets…..;o)

CategoriesProgram Design Strength Training

The Weakling’s Guide to Working Out

As you’ll undoubtedly see if you decide to read the entire article (and why wouldn’t you?), some trainees place the cart before the horse and make things more complicated than they have to be. Rocket science is hard. Long division is hard. Figuring out why women love Hugh Grant movies is hard. Lifting weights should not be hard.

I was asked by Stack Magazine to write an article aimed towards guys (but the message applies to women too!) who tend to have a hard time making progress with their exercise routine – namely their resistance training routine.

Or what I affectionally refer to as “lifting heavy stuff.”

To be candid, the message is nothing revolutionary and it’s probably one you’ve read or have been told time and time again. But it’s something that bears repeating, and frankly, despite how often it’s trumpeted, people somehow fail to allow the message to stick

Akin to how people continue to text while behind the wheel of a car or are constantly being told to put the toilet seat back down.

Yeah, kinda like that.

The Weakling’s Guide to Workout Out

NOTE:  as a small favor, if you liked the article on Stack, PLEASE share it through your social media outlets. If you didn’t like it, pffft, whatever….;o)