CategoriesProgram Design Rehab/Prehab

I Jacked My Low Back, Now What? Workout

Back tweaks are an inevitability.

They happen to people who lifts weights regularly, and those who just look at weights. They happen when doing something as inane as bending over to tie your shoes, as well as when you’re doing some less inane, like, fighting crime at night.

They happen on a Wednesday.

There’s no way to predict when they’ll happen, they just will. Especially if you’re someone who’s had the unfortunate misfortune of it happening once or twice (or many times) in the past.

What can you do when this happens?

Copyright: remains

I Jacked My Low Back, Now What(?) Workout

This happened to me several months ago.

The culprit wasn’t anything “cool” like a 1-rep max, or, I don’t know, wrestling a lumberjack.

Nope. Not even close.

This time it came about doing nothing more than bending over to perform my last set of Landmine Rows. As soon as I grabbed the handle I felt that slight zappy “zzzzzzzzzzz” feeling in my lower back and it seized up.

I was hoping to persevere and follow suite with my normal coaching schedule with clients, but it became apparent I was going to be uncomfortable the rest of the day. I went home a little early, stayed horizontal with a heating pad, caught up on all the episodes of Atlanta I hadn’t watched yet (season 3 has been spectacular if you ask me), and woke up the following morning feeling marginally better.

I skipped my scheduled training session that day, but didn’t skip it altogether. Instead I elected to follow my own advice and went into #findyourtrainablemenu mode.

I.e., focusing on what I COULD do rather that what I COULDN’T.

I came up with a brief, albeit BALLER circuit that made my back feel infinitely better. And, in the months since, whenever someone reached out to me asking for advice (or if a client happened to tweak their back1) I’d often revert back to the circuit I laid out for myself and encourage them to follow it as well.

I had been meaning to share the circuit before now, but life has had an uncanny ability of late to get in the way of me doing any writing.

And by that I mean “I’ve been binge watching waaaay too much tv.”

It just so happens, however, that my wife had a bit of a low-back niggle during her training session the other day and I ended up forwarding her my “super secret” workout to tide her over for a few days

She loved it.

In fact, she sent me a text saying something to the effect of…

…”OMG, babe, this back circuit is the best. I am so grateful. In fact, I am so grateful that you never have to empty the dishwasher ever again. And we can watch WWII documentaries whenever you want. Also, let’s make out.”

(just a slight exaggeration there).2

Long story, short…below is the workout. There’s a degree of predictability and a host of exercises that won’t surprise anyone.

But who cares?!?

What works, works.

That said, there’s also a few that should be relatively new.

Shut Up Tony and Show Us the Workout For the LOVE OF GOD

Deadbug

 

This falls into the “no big surprise” category, but it’s a drill that, when perfected, is an outstanding anterior core exercise (as well as one that helps to dissociate hip movement from LUMBAR movement).

Perform 8-10 repetition per side

90/90 Hip Switches w/ End Range IR

 

This drill works both hip internal and external rotation simultaneously. Be sure to maintain a braced core throughout the set and really focus on moving through the hips and ramping up tension on the IR hold with each repetition.

Perform 4-5 repetitions per side (one rep = 3-5s IR hold)

Side Mermaid

 

This is a drill I borrowed from my guy Vernon Griffith. I don’t know how else to explain it other than it feels AWESOME once you’re done.

I mean, it sucks while you’re doing (but feels great afterward).

Here I’m focusing on pressing my bottom knee into the ground (not foot) while also keeping my (bottom) hip off the ground. Also, try to keep your top leg straight throughout the set pushing your heel through the wall. This will really get that glute firing on all cylinders.

1 rep = 5-10s hold.

Perform 3-4 repetitions per side

Glute ISO Hold

 

Another doozy I got from Vernon and does a superb job of isolating the glutes and learning to “own” spinal position and full-body tension.

Make a fist with one hand out to your side and then lift your OPPOSITE foot (also off to the side) off the ground making sure to maintain a braced core and to NOT move through the lower back. Hold for a 5-10s count each rep.

You should feel this in your glutes, abs, soul, eyeballs, everywhere.

Perform 3-4 repetitions per leg.

Barrel Roll

 

Nothing fancy, but the idea here is to think about locking your ribcage to your pelvis and rotating the entire body side-to-side as one unit. This can be regressed to performing from the knees if performing them from a full plank is too challenging.

Perform 8-10 repetitions per side.

Tall Kneel to Stand

 

Press your hands together to engage your core and to increase full-body tension. This will help to posteriorly tilt the pelvis encouraging more of a “canister” position where the pelvis is stacked underneath the ribcage.

Focus on maintaining a neutral spine and moving through your HIPS as you transition from the tall kneeling position to standing (and vice versa).

Do not rush this drill; perform it with intent.

Perform 4-5 repetitions per leg.

Birddog Band Press

 

Regular Birddogs will work wonders here. Just make sure you’re doing them correctly.

But lets up the ante.

The idea here is to lock in a neutral spine and move through your extremities only. There should be very limited motion through the lower back (I like to tell people there’s a glass of water on the lower back and they don’t want it to spill).

Perform 8-10 repetitions per side.

In-Place Chaos March

 

I like to think of of these as a “side plank that doesn’t make you want to toss your face into a brick wall.” I think we can all agree the side plank is boring, right?

I mean, it’s a fantastic exercise when done correctly and I’d highly encourage most people to start there. However, we’re on some Liam Neeson “I have a particular set of skills, I will find you, and I will kill you” type of shit right here.

via GIPHY

Think about locking your ribcage to your pelvis and keeping your pelvis steady throughout the set; you want to limit any “teeter-tottering.”

Another way to think about it is to pretend as if your hips are on train tracks. They should remain level the entire time.

You also want to keep the “kettlebell quiet.” It shouldn’t be bouncing around while marching in place. Slow and controlled. No rushing!

Perform 8-10 steps/per leg/side

And That’s It

And that’s it.

I typically recommend performing all the exercises above in circuit fashion resting as needed between each one. All told I’d also recommend performing the entire circuit 2-4 times 1-2x per day for several days (or until symptoms subside and you feel you’re able to begin sprinkling in your normal routine again).

Categoriescoaching personal training Program Design

The Importance of Feedback

I am currently galavanting around in my favorite place in the world…

…London.

I spent the weekend with my good friend Luke Worthington putting on our Strategic Strength Workshop and now I am in Day one of a three day introvert extravaganza. My plan is to do nothing but walk around the city, talk to as little people as possible, and eat carrot cake.

I am hoping to get a little writing in while here, but until inspiration strikes I have a lovely post today from another colleague of mine, Ottawa based personal trainer, Elsbeth Vaino.

Enjoy!

Copyright: niroworld

The Importance of Feedback

“That was awesome!”

“Good job!”

“You are on fire today!”

Everyone likes to hear they’re doing well, and the feedback you give clients can take their workout up a level or two. If their form isn’t the best, feedback can help them get the more out of that exercise. But that’s actually not the kind of feedback I want to talk about.

I want to talk about the feedback you ask for from your clients.

No, not about how well you’re doing, although it is nice to hear clients tell you how much of an impact you are having on their life.

The best feedback is the stuff your clients tell you about the exercises they’re doing. I’ll be honest that I only clued into this gem a few years ago, which means I spent way too long training clients without all the facts. I don’t even remember why I started asking “where do you feel that?” and “how does that exercise feel?”, but I do remember how high my eyebrows shot up at some of the answers.

via GIPHY

Me: “How’s that plank treating you?”

Client: “I love it. It’s a great back exercise!”

Me:

 

Me: “Where do you feel that most?” (asking about a glute bridge)

Client: “Here.” (pointing to her quads)

Client: “Here.” (pointing to the low back on his up-leg side)

Client: “Here.” (pointing to his hamstrings)

Me:

 

Me: “How easy or hard is that?” (asking before their second set of split squats)

Client: “It’s really hard on the left leg and pretty easy on the right.”

Me: “Where do you feel that most?”

Client: points to the left quad. (while doing the exercise with the right foot forward)

Client: points to the left quad. (while doing the exercise with the left foot forward)

Me:

via GIPHY

I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest I’m not the only trainer whose clients feel some exercises in unexpected ways. I’m not saying there’s anything inherently wrong with the responses above, but I am saying that if you put a glute bridge in someone’s program, you’re probably doing it with the goal of strengthening their glutes, not their quads or hip flexors.

Sometimes form issues in an exercise are easy to spot, with obvious ones being round-back deadlifts, or deadlifts where the person clearly pulls up from their back vs drives from their legs and hips. But the truth is, sometimes an exercise looks good, but still isn’t accomplishing what we think it is.

In addition to clients telling me they feel muscles in a way I don’t expect, sometimes they also give visual clues. If you or your client is stretching or rubbing the low back right after an exercise, ask why. The answer is almost always one of two things:

  • It’s just a habit
  • The back feels tight.

If the back feels tight after doing an exercise that isn’t intended to work the low back, something unexpected is probably going on.

If you’re on board with the concept that maybe you (or your clients) aren’t getting what is expected out of some exercises, the next question should probably be: “what can you do about it?” Thankfully it’s not super hard.

Here are the steps I suggest:

Step 1: Make Sure You Understand What the Exercises You’re Doing Are Supposed to Be Working

Some are simple: glute bridges should primarily work the glutes, side planks work the sides (aka obliques), planks work the abs, split squats and lunges work the legs, primarily the front of the front one. Most rows work primarily the upper back, while bench press is primarily about the chest.

No idea what this works

Some are less simple as they work more muscles. Deadlifts work basically everything, but really, the low back is just stabilizing while the legs and upper back do the heavy lifting. Given that, if you ask your client how they feel after deadlifts and they mention their back is sore or tight, odds are something is off. Similarly, squats work almost everything but it’s mostly a lower body exercise.

If you’re not sure, find out, because this is important. How? If you have a trainer, ask them. If not, check in with a book or articles from one of the trainers on the internet whose stuff you think is good.

Step 2: Find Out What’s Actually Happening By Watching and Asking

“Where do you feel that most?” “How does that feel?” Ask yourself/your client upon arrival “how are you?” or “how did you feel after the last workout?”

Does the answer match the goal? If yes, great! Carry on. If not, now what?

Step 3: Coach, Adapt, or Replace

Pretty much every exercise issue can be solved by one of these three things, and in my opinion, they should be tried in that order.

Try to re-coach it first (or review the form if you’re doing your own thing). As trainers, we can be quick to assume that if an exercise isn’t performed properly, we need to bring in approaches to correct it but maybe the person just didn’t fully understand the movement. Before assuming you need to adapt the movement, coach it again – with different words if you need to.

Young woman and personal trainer rest in the gym after workout

If that doesn’t get the desired result, then try to adapt. There are lots of options:

  • Add a riser to limit the range of motion (maybe temporarily)
  • Add a band to help the person feel the intent of the exercise (e.g. band around the knees in a squat)
  • Move the arms from the floor to a bench for the plank or side plank (if you or your clients have ever felt planks or side planks in your back more than abs or obliques, or in your shoulder and neck this is a game-changer)

Did that work?

If so, great! If not, try another adaptation if you know one.

If that still doesn’t work, replace it with something else.

Contrary to what the internet wants you to believe, there is no exercise that you have to do. (ducks to avoid the lightning). And most of the time there are other exercises that will actually achieve the desired outcome for you or your client.

Here is how I have addressed a few of the examples noted above:

The plank that works the low back:

Planks

Coach it: “Think about shortening the distance between the bottom of your ribs and the top of your pelvis, and I want you to stop if you start to feel it in your back.” In this case, if they make it to twenty seconds before it goes into the back, we keep the plank as is, with the goal of twenty becoming twenty-five and then thirty… If after a few workouts, it’s still at twenty, we move to adapt it.

Adapt it: “I want you to do the same thing, but this time with your forearms on a bench.” I’m not sure who decided that planks from the floor is where everyone should start, but in my experience, there are a lot of people who should be starting with an incline plank. This adaptation is often a game-changer. Once the person can get to a minute at an incline, we try moving to the floor, while coaching them to stop if they start to feel it more in the back than the abs.

Replace it: In this case, we rarely have to replace it, but if need be, dead bugs can be a good option, although they might need coaching to ensure the back doesn’t arch.

Single-leg glute bridges felt mostly in the hamstrings:

Female doing single leg glute bridge

Coach it: ”Push your hips up as you press your foot into the ground and also think about pressing your toes through the front of your shoes”.

Adapt it: Provide some extra support by switching to a 1.5 leg glute bridge where you have both feet on the floor, but only put as much pressure on the second foot as you need to feel the glute working.

 

Replace it: Try a cable hip extension or two leg hip thrust.

 

Split squat for the side where it is felt more in the back leg:

Coach it: “Lean forward at the hip and when you get to the bottom, really drive the front foot into the floor to push yourself up.”

Adapt it: Put a band around the front knee and pull it forward as they do the movement.

Replace it: Switch to a lateral stepup (or a reverse lunge.

About the Author

Elsbeth Vaino is a personal trainer and gym owner at Custom Strength in Ottawa, Canada, where she and her team primarily train regular people who don’t love the gym but do like what going to the gym allows them to do. Before becoming a trainer, she worked as an electronic warfare engineer (you know, same old story). Check her out on Instagram (HERE) for exercise videos or head to her blog (HERE) for those who prefer words.

Categoriescoaching fitness business Program Design psychology

6 Ways to Instill Success In Your Clients’ Training Programs

The answer is easy: Tell them to add more weight to the barbell.

LOLOLOLOL.

I’m kidding (sort of).

Facetiousness aside3, I wanted to spend some time discussing a few strategies you can (hopefully) implement today that will make the training programs you write for your athletes and clients more successful.

Businessman target for success

6 Ways to Instill Success In Your Clients’ Training Programs

“Successful” in this context means 1) your clients continue to show up (bills need to be paid, yo!), 2) your clients don’t hate you (most of the time) and 3) as a corollary to your Jedi-like coaching skills, you turn all your clients into deadlifting Terminators.

I.e., they get results.

We often bog ourselves down harping over details like optimal exercise selection, exercise order, set/rep schemes, rest intervals, or even which type of muscle fibers are firing during which exercise.

Of course, this is not to insinuate all of the above aren’t important, they are. Except maybe the last one. If you’re going into that much detail with your coaching on something that won’t matter of 99.2% of the population, it’s safe to say you might be over-thinking things.

However, as fellow fitness pro Jonathan Pietrunti noted on my Facebook wall recently:

“If we don’t focus on bolstering the client’s intrinsic motivation and fostering self-efficacy, they aren’t going to show up for long, regardless of how awesome are programming is on the movement/physiological side of the house.”

You can design something worthy of a Program Design Pulitzer, but if your client would rather wash his or her’s face with broken glass than perform another front squat or set of bench pressing with tempo contrast, you’re failing.

You’re failing, hard.

1. Understand People Are Different (and That They’re Not You)

  • Powerlifters like to train people like powerlifters.
  • Bodybuilders like to train people like bodybuilders.
  • Kettlebell aficionados like to train people with kettlebells.
  • CrossFitters like to do #whateverthefuck.

Any well-thought out training program should fit the needs and goals of the client.

That goes without saying.

A mistake I find many fitness professionals make is that they write programs catered to what they like or how they prefer to train.

I don’t feel this is wrong per se; it’s only natural to default to your strengths and/or personal beliefs and methodologies. Where it becomes a problem is when we gravitate towards a specific modality at the expense of, well, everything.

I remember having a conversation with one of my young athletes recently who’s a rather big dude for his age. He mentioned in passing (and I am paraphrasing here) that his football coach wanted everyone to squat the same way:

  • Same foot width.
  • Same stance.
  • Same bar position.
  • Like a bunch of robots

Man performing a crossfit back squat exercise

He then demonstrated the exact stance his coach told him to use and maybe hit 70 degrees of hip flexion.

Let’s just say that if what he showed me was seen at an FMS workshop, people would become visibly sick to their stomachs.

I simply asked him him to widen his stance significantly and to externally rotate his feet a bit so his toes pointed outward.

He was able to hit a beautiful depth. Thus saving himself from the wrath of internet warriors everywhere.

(NOTE: I am not a depth Nazi. To me squat depth is arbitrary and all I am really concerned with is someone finding whatever depth they’re able to “own” & control. If it’s past 90 degrees, cool. If not, that’s cool too.4Either way we’re going to train the hell out of it.

The point being: If he had followed his coach’s poor squatting advice, assuming everyone is supposed to squat the same way, he may have never realized his full potential.

Everyone is different, and it’s important to respect unique leverages and anthropometry as it relates to not only squatting, but any lift.

Programming based around your client’s goals is paramount. But it’s also important to tweak any lift to fit the needs (and abilities) 0f the trainee, not vice versa.

2. Ensure Success in Every Session

This seems a bit redundant, I know.

“You write a post on how to instill success in a training program and you’re telling me in order to do so I need to….ensure success? Wow, Tony, that’s revolutionary. What’s next: telling me that in order to improve my vertical jump I should jump higher?”

The best analogy I can offer is the whole concept behind “girl push-ups.”

No, I’m not referring to a woman performing push-ups, which would make sense. Instead, I’m referring to the lame premise of women performing push-ups from their knees. I.e., “girl push-ups.”

I hate the connotation and message this sends.

Oh, you can’t do an actual push-up? That’s okay, lets pander to societal norms on engenderment, plant the idea in your head at an early age that women must train differently from men (flexed arm hang test vs. chin-up test), and do “girl push-ups” rather than take the time to coach and progress you accordingly.

If I’m working with a female client and she can’t perform a push-up (from the floor) – usually due to a core weakness or lack of lumbo-pelvic-hip control – I find it more productive to OMIT the “you’re a girl so lets do this instead” mantra, and instead demonstrate to her that she can do the exercise.

Either by having her perform elevated push-ups in a ROM where’s she successful, or possibly having her perform a band-assisted push-up, like so:

 

In both scenarios I’m addressing the actual weak-link (a weak core, or the basic novelty of the exercise) and not just tossing my hands in the air and relinquishing programming control to the fact she has a vagina.

I’m coaching.

And not only that I’m going out of my way to ensure a sense of accomplishment/success in each session.

This, my friends, is the key.

That and…..

3. Building Autonomy

Autonomy is the love-child of good coaching (and giving a shit).

Despite what some fitness pros may think, people aren’t paying you to count reps, they’re paying you to COACH.

On numerous occasions I’ve had new clients be taken aback when they realize I’m not counting their repetitions.

I’m too busy watching and coaching to count their reps.

Furthermore, I’ll tell all new clients that my goal is for them to “fire” me at some point. Not because I did something creepy like forget to wear pants, or, I don’t know, play Coldplay during heavy deadlifts.

No, I want them to (eventually) no longer need my services.

I want to make them their own best asset and advocate.

I want them to go on vacation or walk into a random gym and be able to “MacGyver” a workout in any scenario…whether we’re talking a fully-equipped training mecca or a rinky dink hotel gym that has nothing but a treadmill, dumbbells up to 35 lbs, and a roll of duct tape.

A Roll of Duct Tape

Dan John often speaks to program design being stripped down to nothing more than the squat, hip hinge, push, pull, single-leg variation, and carry.

Teach your clients that.

Force them to marinate in learning each category and what exercises belong where. In doing so they’ll eventually be able to jimmy-rig a workout without batting an eye.

They’ll become autonomous.

And a funny thing will happen: they’ll end up staying with you anyway because they understand the value you bring being a coach that actually coaches.

4. Provide Choice

I wrote about the power of choice in THIS article.

As it relates to providing fitness and program design services this can be a double-edged sword because:

  • If people knew what they were doing they wouldn’t hire us to make choices for them.
  • It’s often in their best interests to be told what they need to do and not what they want to do.

Taking away choice behooves them.

On the flip side, it can behoove us, the fitness professional, to offer some choice.

This can mean giving them the choice to pick their main lift of the day – Squat? Deadlift? Maximal frisbee toss?

Or maybe giving them the choice to pick the mode of the exercise. Say, a KB deadlift or a trap bar deadlift?

 

In the same vein, I’ve compromised with clients and “rewarded” them with a 5-10 minute window of doing whatever the they want – judgement free.

  • For many of my guys it’s all about the gun show – bis and tris baby!
  • For my ladies they’ll often congregate at the Hip Thruster

Whatever the case may be, offering your clients some choice is a splendid way to keep them motivated and engaged in their training.

5. Celebrate the Small Victories (Regardless of How Small They Seem)

I like to call this the Todd Bumgardner rule; although he has a much better way of stating it:

“Demonstrate unconditional positive regard.”

When I travel and workout at various commercial gyms I can’t help but observe other trainers in action.

Some are amazing. They’re engaged, actively coaching, and paying attention to their client, offering feedback and encouragement whenever it’s needed.

Others are, well, pretty shitty.

There’s zero effort in providing feedback. And if there is, it’s generally nothing more than a casual “nice job” or “way to go.”

via GIPHY

Celebrate the small victories!

You don’t need to do back flips or Parkour of the power racks when a client keeps their chest up during a squat.

But would a little enthusiasm hurt?

6. Simplicity For the Win

Consider this final point the Mise en place of the entire article.

I had a client admit that she was “frustrated” by the simplicity of the program I wrote for her. I took no offense, because it happens often.

Fast forward a few weeks, “Tony, I feel stronger and my lifts are going up!”

Strength coach nods approvingly.

I’m not the first to state this, but people tend to fall into the trap of adding stuff into their programs for the novelty, almost always at the expense of failing to take something OUT.

You can’t just keep adding more and more to a program and expect to make progress. Get rid of the superfluous BS that serves no purpose.

Moreover, fancy or elaborate looking exercises don’t equate to better. They great at receiving likes and vast applause on social media, but rarely do such exercises elicit actual results.[/efn_note]And I guaran-fuckin-tee that the person who posted the video doesn’t perform or utilize the exercise themselves in their own training.[/efn_note]

Caucasian male weightlifter bench-pressing in fitness centerCategoriesProgram Design Strength Training

How to Spot a Dumbbell Press: I Can’t Believe I Have to Say This

Anyone who has been reading my blog for any length of time knows that I don’t take myself too seriously, and that much of what makes my blog so popular is that I’m able to combine great fitness and health information with a pinch (or two) of an entertainment value.

I mean, where else can you learn about program design, exercise technique, corrective exercise, femoral acetabular impingement, and gluconeogenesis5, all while being peppered with Lord of the Rings references, self deprecating humor, and cute cat pics?

Cute cat face

Anyhoo, today’s post is going to be a shining example of finding that balance between educating people (hopefully) and me being a facetious asshat.

It’s going to be short and sweet, though.

Okay, ready?

If you’re like me, whenever you train at a commercial gym you try not to vomit all over yourself from all the asinine things you see.  Now, don’t get me wrong:  there’s PLENTY of trainers and facilities out there who do a fantastic job and are great at what they do.

And, more to the point, I don’t want to come across as combining everyone into one massive bowl of fail.

Avocado in a bowl

I.e., NOT a bowl of fail. Rather a bowl of deliciousness

But I think we can all agree that those examples are few and far between, and that for the most part, a small piece of our soul dies every time we walk through the doors of a commercial gym and Celine Dion is blaring over the stereo system and/or some asshole is performing their WOD taking up half the gym equipment.

Then again, who the hell am I to judge, right?  Sure I can roll my eyes at the two dudes who have a combined weight of one hamster performing their 47th set of bicep curls. And yes, it’s hard not get a bit eye rolley at the woman over there performing her 317th glute exercise of the day.

But you know what:  THEY’RE ALL EXERCISING

And that’s pretty freakin awesome.

At the end of the day, it’s far better than the alternative which is sitting on their butts watching America’s Got Talent.

Even still, I’ll give most everyone a free pass because most people don’t know any better.  Most people could care less that their elbows are flaring out on their push-up, or that leg extensions place a lot more shearing force on the knees (and that doing them shirtless is borderline weird).

Whatever the case may be, they’ll read something online or watch something on tv that’s interesting to them, and then they’ll try it out at the gym.  That’s usually how it goes – and everyone has to start somewhere.  They’re exercising and that’s all that matters anyways.

One of my biggest pet peeves, though, is when I watch a trainer do something dumb.  That’s when my blood starts to boil.

Presumably these are people who are supposed to know what they’re doing, and it dumbfounds me at some of the stuff I see going down at some commercial gyms.

Take for example something I witnessed not too long ago as I watched a trainer spot his client through something as simple as a set of dumbbell bench presses.

Caucasian male weightlifter bench-pressing in fitness center

Everything was fine and dandy until the client started to struggle and the trainer grabbed her elbows to help her out.

I thought maybe this was a one-time, fluke thing.  But then I saw him do it again, and at this point I was just waiting for something bad to happen.

Luckily it didn’t.

I got home later that day and posted a casual status along the lines of “watched an inept trainer spot his client during DB presses by grabbing the elbows instead of the wrists.”

To me it’s common sense, and I didn’t think much of it and thought it would get some funny responses.

And it did.

But to my surprise I actually received two private message from personal trainers asking me why spotting through the elbows was wrong.

So, to review:

The Right Way to Spot Someone

If someone starts to struggle, you just guide their wrists to offer help.  And try to refrain from being that guy who yells “all you, all you, all you.”

And the “Holy- S***-My-Client-Is-About-To-Crush-Their-Skull-And-Get-Face-Planted-By-That-Dumbbell” Way

Obviously this is said in a slightly tongue in cheek kind of way, but at the same time I feel this is something that should be obvious and that most trainers, coaches, and general fitness enthusiasts should understand.

Don’t spot DB presses through the elbows.

It’s not smart.

Categoriespersonal training Program Design

Building Your Sessions Around Effort

One of the more challenging concepts for new(er) clients to grasp is the idea of training effort. Sure, there are a select few who are psychopaths and think a training session only counts if you come close to shitting your spleen.

The vast majority, however, tend to UNDER-estimate what it takes to put forth appreciable effort during a training session.

Effort that will lead to consistent results.

I don’t know about you, but I find the missing link for most trainees (and why they never seem to make progress) is they lack a thorough understanding of what effort is and the types of effort that can be utilized.

Today’s guest post via Boston based strength & conditioning coach, Dr. Michelle Boland, helps to shed light on this topic.

Making effort.

Building Your Sessions Around Effort

Are you constantly having to hold your clients back from giving TOO MUCH effort?

…yeah didn’t think so!

Effort is one of the most important variables for client and athlete success, while also being one of the hardest things to extract from the people that you coach. 

So, how often are you accounting for it, teaching it, and programming for it? 

As coaches, we want to make sure our clients are matching their effort with our goals for them. 

If we want Karen to improve strength, there needs to be a difference between the weights she grabs for a 5 rep set and a 15 rep set. Those two repetition schemes require two different efforts. 

We need to teach Karen how to choose the appropriate amount of weight, what different types of effort feel like, AND why they matter. Progress in the weight room can be dictated by four specific types of EFFORT. 

  1. Substantial Effort
  2. Sustainable Effort
  3. Sprint Effort
  4. Reset Effort 

When working with general population clients, prescribing a set amount of repetitions ISN’T always the best STRATEGY to get results. INSTEAD, cue different efforts and select exercise variations that will allow them to adequately express that effort. 

For example, if you want Karen to row for 10 minutes at a steady rate, Karen can’t start sprinting and crying 30 seconds into the row. 

Sportsmen doing exercises with rowing machine together

She needs to learn how to maintain her pace for the duration of the time and not be too gassed at the end. Hard work and effort have variations and aren’t always just maximum exertion. 

The more Karen understands this, the better she can perform the exercises you select with the appropriate amount of weights and with the appropriate amount of exertion. Thus, she will be able to express the appropriate outputs and get the BEST RESULTS. 

Now, let’s dive into the four different types of effort and how you can cue exercises and choose variations based on them… 

1. Substantial Effort

Think about the effort you would put into lifting a car off your child. 

Seems morbid, but I bet you wouldn’t hold back or look at your WHOOP band for advice.

A substantial effort should be challenging and be deliberate. You may have to tell your client to prepare and be ready to put in work. 

A strategy for teaching a substantial effort is to program separate repetitions. This DOESN’T mean max weight. It means allowing your clients to prepare for a considerable exertion without the momentum of bouncing the weight on the ground using a rebound effect. 

For a deadlift exercise example, cue your client to keep their hands on the barbell while letting the barbell rest on the ground after each repetition. Separate repetitions will teach the first pull from a dead stop, which requires the most substantial effort. 

 

For an exercise that is performed on one side of the body then repeated on the other, make sure you take a break between sides. For example, perform a heavy split squat for 5 repetitions with the right leg forward, then set the weights down to regroup mentally, then complete the split squat with the left leg forward. 

 

Keep the repetitions low (2-5ish), the speed will most likely be slow, and the weight should be RELATIVELY high. This again, doesn’t mean maximum. Submax loading is advised by TONY and works. Substantial efforts will be associated with the adaptive fitness quality of Max Strength.

2. Sustainable Effort

Think about speed walking.

It’s harder than regular walking but you can probably do it for a long duration of time. 

Nordic walking race, motion blur

Sustainable efforts should feel like they can be maintained over a long duration and continuous in their repetition. A coaching strategy for sustained efforts can be cueing the client to tap-and-go without resting the barbell on the ground. 

 

For an exercise that is performed on one side of the body then repeated on the other, DON”T take a break between sides. For example, perform the split squat for 8 repetitions with the right leg forward, switch legs, then perform 8 repetitions with the left leg forward, making the effort continuous between sides. 

 

Keep the repetitions moderate to high in the 6-30ish range.

This range may seem large, but most general population clients need a wide range to build an aerobic foundation, volume tolerance, and to learn associated weight ranges. Sustainable efforts will be associated with the adaptive fitness qualities of Strength Endurance and Hypertrophy.

The speed of the repetitions will be moderate: too slow and you may fall asleep, too fast and you won’t last…dang that rhymed! …Hence the word SUSTAINABLE.

3. Sprint Effort

Think about running for your life Karen. 

via GIPHY

Sprint efforts should feel powerful and quick. To program sprint efforts, find ways to help your clients be quick, such as…

  • Create some race challenges such as the Cone Stack Drill

 

  • If you have fancy velocity tracking equipment, use it
  • Find ways to unload them using bands

 

A coaching strategy to teach sprint efforts can be cueing the client to push the ground away and get tall to the ceiling during a deadlift. During the deadlift, the full rep doesn’t need to fast, focus on the pull from the floor (typically applied to the concentric portion of lifts) and they can lower the barbell down at a self-selected pace. 

 

For an exercise that is performed on one side of the body then repeated on the other, make sure you take a break between sides.

 

Keep the repetitions low to moderate (2-8ish) and low weight (better to have lower weight than to be slow). Cue your clients to move fast, “push the ground away”, and to get off the ground quicker by YELLING “the ground is LAVA, KAREN”.  Sprint efforts will be associated with the adaptive fitness qualities of Speed and Power.

Get YOUR CLIENTS to MOVE FAST.

4. Reset Effort

Think about being a light switch, have ‘on’ and ‘off’ modes. 

Closeup of switch on brick wall

A reset effort is being able to duplicate substantial efforts.

Why is this separate from substantial efforts? 

Substantial efforts are focused on a single attempt. Reset efforts are focused on your client’s ability to repeat high level effort.

Can they use the rest period to regroup and recover?

A coaching strategy to teach reset efforts is to program cluster sets. A cluster set can look like this: perform 3 substantial effort repetitions, then let go of the barbell, rest for 20-30 seconds, then perform 3 substantial effort repetitions, then let go of the barbell, rest for 20-30 seconds, then perform 3 substantial effort repetitions.

Rest should NOT include another exercise, it is a full rest period. 

 

For an exercise that is performed on one side of the body then repeated on the other, make sure you perform ALL repetitions within the cluster set on one side of the body before moving to the other side of the body. AND definitely take a break between sides. 

 

For a Split Squat example, perform 3 substantial effort repetitions with the right leg forward, then let go of the dumbbells, rest for 20-30 seconds, then perform 3 substantial effort repetitions with the right leg forward, then let go of the dumbbells, rest for 20-30 seconds, then perform 3 substantial effort repetitions with the right leg forward.

Put the dumbbells down, take a longer rest, then repeat that with your left foot forward. 

Summary

Teaching and cueing effort will allow you to get the best from your clients. You will be better able to match your exercise selection with their output and goals. Make different types of effort known to your clients and when you want them to express them. 

If you have any comments or questions please feel free to email me at [email protected]. 

If you enjoyed the exercise videos in this article, check out the MBT Exercise Database for 1,200 more videos to use, embed within your programming, and up your exercise selection game. 

About the Author

Dr. Michelle Boland

Categoriespersonal training Program Design

4 Keys to Staying Athletic As You Get Older

Today’s guest post comes courtesy of Boston-based personal trainer and S&C coach, Matthew Ibrahim, who’s latest (online) resource, Forever Athlete, is available for purchase.

Matt’s a phenomenal coach and I always gravitate toward his content because it’s so accessible and realistic. If you’re at all interested in “holding on” to your athleticism give this article a read and definitely considering checking out Forever Athlete program.

4 Keys to Staying Athletic As You Get Older

What’s one common theme with every single person below?

  • Female high school volleyball player with a 20” vertical jump
  • Adult male being able to perform hurdle hops with pristine technique
  • Middle-aged mom performing a heavy set of goblet squats
  • NFL running back with a 118” broad jump

Although this sample list above demonstrates people within varying populations, they all represent examples of athleticism.

The point? All humans are athletes, regardless of age or ability level.

Not only can we remain athletic as we age, we should do everything in our power to push the athletic envelope as the years pass. Ultimately, age should never be something that holds you back from feeling and being athletic.

Everyone is an athlete and everyone has the right to train like one, too.

Let’s break down 4 keys to focus on for the purpose of staying athletic as you get older:

  1. Jumping and landing for power development
  2. Lifting heavy weights to improve strength and reduce the risk of injury
  3. Building muscle to feel good and look good
  4. Conditioning for heart health gains (even though you hate it)
  5. Beating a pack of ninjas in a street fight (BONUS added by Tony. Sorry, couldn’t resist)

You do these 4 things on a weekly basis and I promise that your path toward long-term athleticism will be that much easier for you.

Jumping & Landing for Power Development

I just turned 33 last month – and let me tell you – I’m no spring chicken anymore.

Does this mean I should give in, create a lifelong indentation on my couch, bury my head under the pillow and binge as many Netflix series as possible until the rest of season 4 from Ozark officially drops?

Of course not.

Although, Ozark is awesome. (Tell me Ruth isn’t THE most bad-ass character ever!)

Anyways, my focus should be on continuing to do the things that I love while being strategic in the process.

Part of that includes playing pick-up basketball, feeling athletic in the gym and sprinting (when the weather permits). Jumping and landing become super important for me in this area if my goal is to continue hooping, sprinting and feeling athletic.

Jumping comes in a variety of forms, positions, angles and planes of motion. The simplest way to understand jumping is to break it down into extensive plyometrics and intensive plyometrics.

Here’s an example of an extensive plyometric exercise:

 

You see how there’s fluidity and rhythm involved? That’s because extensive plyometrics helps you focus on coordination at lower intensities so that you can get the hang of it. Think of extensive plyometrics as keeping the training wheels on.

In the opposite light, you can think of intensive plyometrics as removing the training wheels and letting it rip at higher intensities. The goal here is to be as explosive and powerful as possible.

Here’s an example of an intensive plyometric exercise:

 

The exercise examples above aren’t as important as the intent behind them. Use extensive plyometrics in the beginning stages as you’re learning and getting the hang of jumping. Then, start incorporating intensive (explosive) plyometrics once you’re ready to take on more force.

Just remember, the more force you produce in jumping, the more force that you’ll need to control when getting back down to the ground. This takes me to my next point: landing.

Controlling your body is pivotal for staying athletic. A simple way to do this is to build the ability to land with body control and organization. Basically, you want to look like Michael Jordan (OK, maybe one-tenth of that) every time he would land after throwing down a monster dunk.

Body control? Check. Smooth and fluid? Check. Organized? Check.

Power development is also important for people as they age due to the positive impacts it has on the nervous system, coordination and overall function when it comes to physical activity.

Planning to join your local adult club soccer team? Interested in being able to play pick-up basketball in summer rec league on a weekly basis? Or, maybe you just want to be able to play tennis with your friends soon since the warm weather is around the corner?

Either way, developing and harnessing power through jumping and landing is a pivotal step toward staying powerful, explosive and athletic.

Lifting Heavy Weights for Strength Gains & Injury Risk Management

I think this is the easiest “sell” on this list.

Honestly, unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past 20 years or living somewhere underwater as you begin the evolutionary process of turning into a mermaid, it’s become quite clear both in practice and evidence that lifting heavy weights (safely) is a no-brainer for building strength.

Of course, we always need to mention the importance of using good form and technique especially when it comes to lifting heavy weights. That should also be a no-brainer.

The other important part of lifting heavy weights, in addition to getting yolked (strong), is that you’re helping to reduce the risk of injury to your body.

How, you ask?

Well, every time you lift heavy weights, your entire body gets stronger. No, this doesn’t happen instantaneously like heating up a hot pocket in a microwave. It takes quality time to develop strength. On the shorter end of things, strength gains likely take a month or two to truly start seeing and feeling the gains. For more noticeable strength gains, it takes a year or two of hard work and consistency to really see things pay off strength wise.

When it comes to gaining strength, not only are your muscles becoming stronger, the rest of your body is as well. Muscular strength is important for the purpose of being able to produce more force, and in some cases, at faster speeds. Think about what we talked about in the previous section as it relates to power development. Pretty cool that strength and power go hand in hand, right? Science can be cool, sometimes.

More importantly, think about the importance of bone mineral density as we age. Think about having strong support structures in our body like joint strength, ligament strength and tendon strength. Remember: bones, ligaments and tendons all have an interplay (to some extent) with the muscles in our body.

Suffice to say that, when all is said and done, managing the risk of injuries becomes a heck of a lot easier when you’re stronger. Lifting heavy weights, relatively speaking, is also never a bad idea if your plan is to stay as athletic as possible as you age.

Building Muscle to Feel Good & Look Good

Arm farm is soon to be a national holiday. I swear, it’ll be on all calendars at some point soon.

Until then, why can’t we give in and just be more open about wanting to build muscle to feel good and look good?

Oh, so you’re not trying to build a sweet pair of biceps to flash at the beach this summer? So, what you’re saying is that, even though you just ripped off 50 reps of tricep extensions, that arm training isn’t important to you?

Sure, keep telling yourself that.

Or, let’s just all be cool about it. Look, I like building muscle, feeling good about how I look and chasing a pump just as much as anyone else. Admittedly, my calf muscles are often the target for when I’m trying to chase a pump, but that’s neither here nor there.

The point is that building muscle is actually a great thing if your goal is to stay athletic as you get older. Think of muscle as your body armor. This ultimately coincides with what we just talked about in the previous section.

(Side note: have you noticed a trend so far with how each section piggy-backs off of the previous one? Go figure.)

Lean body mass (LBM), otherwise known as muscle tissue, is a great thing to develop in the human body. Not only does having more muscle help you from a body composition standpoint, it also enables you with the ability to develop power and strength with more ease.

Building muscle and being athletic can both exist together in your weekly training. Looking good, feeling good about how you look and performing well are all achievable qualities with the right approach.

Conditioning for Heart Health Gains (Even Though You Hate It)

OK, OK. I get it. Nobody likes doing cardio or conditioning.

But, everyone wants to jump right into playing rec league sports, pick-up basketball games and flag football, right?

Stop for a moment and think about that.

(Crickets.)

Yup, exactly what I thought.

Doing the first thing makes doing the second thing much easier.

I’m not saying that you need to spend countless hours on the treadmill trying to morph into a hamster wheel. Nope, not at all. Instead, incorporate anaerobic (high intensity) conditioning intervals and aerobic (low intensity) conditioning intervals on a weekly basis.

Let’s simplify even more by having you consider adding in the following each week:

  • Anaerobic example = 1-2 days each week of sprints: keep the distance (15-20 yards) and volume (6-8 reps) short while the intensity (85-90% effort) and rest periods (60-90 seconds) are high.
  • Aerobic example = 1-2 days each week of tempo running: now, focus on longer distances (1 lap around the track) at lower intensities (70-75% effort) with a recovery walking lap in between and a higher total volume of work (1.5-2 miles).

These are simply a couple of examples you could use, but quite frankly, the options are endless. You could easily do sprint intervals on the bike instead for your anaerobic conditioning and 30-minute weight vest walking for your aerobic conditioning.

The primary goal is to hit some high intensity and some low intensity conditioning on a weekly basis. Think of high intensity conditioning as building your ability to be powerful for short periods of time and low intensity conditioning as building your ability to last for a long duration of time with more of a sustained output.

When performed together consistently, this type of weekly conditioning routine gets you fit enough to play all the pick-up games and rec league sports you want without ever batting an eye or stopping to consider whether or not you feel conditioned enough to play. Cardiovascular endurance and stamina are real game-changers and they’re super important in the process of maintaining your athleticism as you get older.

The best part is that being well-conditioned also positively impacts your ability to build strength, power and muscle. Overall, athleticism leans heavily on these 4 physical qualities.

Closing

Let’s face it: we all want to stay athletic and powerful as we get older. We all want to stay strong, durable and muscular, too. And, even if we hate to admit it, we know that conditioning is key for staying fit and healthy. Unlock your true athletic potential by focusing on these 4 key areas for staying athletic as you get older.

My online training program – Forever Athlete – places a strong emphasis on these 4 areas so that you can remove the guesswork and become the most athletic version of yourself.

About the Author

Matthew Ibrahim has been a Strength & Conditioning Coach since 2007 while working with athletes looking to build strength, improve performance and maintain healthy lifestyles. He is also a College Professor of Exercise Science and a Ph.D. student in Human & Sport Performance.

As a public speaker, Matthew has presented at EXOS inside Google Headquarters, Sports Academy (formerly Mamba Sports Academy), Perform Better, Equinox, Stanford University and for the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA) on several occasions. His work has been featured in Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, T-Nation, Science for Sport, StrengthCoach.com, Exxentric, TrueCoach and TrainHeroic.

Connect with him on Instagram – HERE

 

New year resolutionsCategoriespersonal training Program Design psychology

Reframing the Way You Make Your New Year’s Fitness Resolutions

I can sense the eye rolls already.

“Really, Tony? A post on New Year’s resolutions? How profound and unimaginably unique!”

Touche.

I can appreciate that there’s no shortage of similar posts you’ve undoubtedly come across in recent days. You’re likely thiiiiiiis close to introducing your forehead to the keyboard in front of you.  What could I possibly have to say that’s any different or inspirational or less vomit-in-your-mouth(ish) that hasn’t been regurgitated ad nauseam already?

Read on…

New year resolutions

I Promise This Will Be Different

To follow the lead of my coach (I.e., I’m just going to cut and paste), Sarah Moorman, who had some sage words to share herself on the topic:

Almost 40% of the population makes New Year’s Resolutions. From that number, a vast majority of resolutions are within the gravitational pull of health/fitness:

  • Eating habits
  • Exercise habits
  • Building a pair of pecs that can cut diamonds
  • You know, stuff like that

However, much like Sarah, I’m more of a fan of, actually…I’ll just let her say it:

“I’m largely in the camp of setting goals about consistency to help set new habits. For example, instead of a weight loss goal of a specific number of pounds, I advise you to hit your calorie or macro goals 6 days a week.”

“Why?

If someone is more consistent with hitting their calorie goals, their focus is on their eating habits as opposed to the weight on the scale.”

To parallel this viewpoint, the other day T-Nation.com memed me, which is always an honor.

I’ve long championed the 3×52 mentality.

Do something (anything) 3x per week, 52 weeks out of the year (preferably with an emphasis on lifting heavy things6), and something stellar is bound to happen.

Why THREE days and not:

  • 4?
  • 5?
  • 6?
  • 7?

Well, because for most people 3x per week is a number they can wrap their head around; it’s not intimidating.

It’s doable.

It emphasizes REALISTIC consistency.

Like I said, T-Nation made the meme and then posted it up on their IG account the very same day. I had to chuckle at a number of the initial comments:

  • “6×52 is better.”
  • “No days off!”

So on and so forth.

I have a hunch that if I made a Venn diagram and the circles consisted of:

1️⃣ I have zero kids.
2️⃣ I have no family responsibilities.
3️⃣ I am not a coach and/or I read a book on fitness, once.
4️⃣ I like to brag about my 225 max deadlift and/or my entire identity is tethered to how many followers I have on IG.

That that would pretty much represent the type of person who would end up right smack dab in the middle of the diagram and who would make such asinine remarks.

Listen, you’re not a Spartan warrior or a Navy SEAL.

Relax.

Being hardcore (or pretending to be online) doesn’t get results long term. It’ll work, for a bit. Maybe. And then you realize you’re NOT Rambo or Valentina Shevchenko.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia Commons

Being a bit more realistic with the degree of consistency needed and more importantly, expectations one places on one’s self, is key.

It’s human nature to dive right in and to go from zero to 60 without really thinking things through:

  • Says here this detox tea is legit. After 47 days my body will be cleansed of all these pesky “toxins” and I’ll be able to see sounds! Fuck my liver and pancreas. They don’t know what they’re doing anyway.
  • I haven’t exercised since before the pandemic, so I may as well start with some German Volume Training.

We all think we’re more advanced then we are and that we can skip all the seemingly unnecessary & annoyingly rudimentary steps to go from Point A (where we currently are) to Point B (where we want to be) in the fastest way possible.

Can people attain their health/fitness goals in such a haphazard way?

Sure.

But it rarely sticks, because they fail to hone in on the necessary habits to make things click long-term.

So, with 2022 upon us I encourage you to consider reframing the way you go about making your resolutions. Instead of saying “I want to deadlift a bulldozer” say something like “I want to follow a strength training program 3x per week for the next 52 weeks.”

The latter will undoubtedly be more palatable and realistic.

Categoriespersonal training Program Design Strength Training

The Art of the Indicator Set

The 21st century has graced us with a bevy of technological advances:

  • High-speed internet.
  • Telescopes that now treat us to images of Black Holes
  • Nanotechnology to help improve manufacturing, healthcare, climate change, and agriculture.
  • Pizza crust made out of cauliflower.

The health/fitness sector has also benefitted. Trainers have the ability to work with clients from all over the world in real-time.

Seriously, cauliflower is now used to make pizza crust! Even more miraculous is that it doesn’t taste like sawdust.

We also have the capability to measure things like bar speed and heart rate variability via applications on our phone; all of which provide data to help us gauge our “readiness” to train on any given day.

Technology surely is great.

However, when it comes to ascertaining one’s readiness to train I tend to lean more toward the anti-app route, and instead rely on what I call “INDICTOR SETS.”

Copyright: jegas

What the Heck Is An Indicator Set?

The easiest way to explain is via some anecdotal observances.

I was walking to my studio to train the other day where the plan was to show up, warm-up, crank a little Mobb Deep over the stereo, get angry enough to want to fight a tornado, and work up to a heavy(ish) triple on my deadlift (535 lb).

On paper it looked like a done deal.

But once I started warming up, things didn’t go quite as planned:

135 x 5

225 x 5

315 x 3

405 x 1 (didn’t feel horrible, but didn’t feel great)

455 x 1 (INDICATOR SET)

An indicator set basically lets me know whether or not I have “it” that day.

For instance, in the previous two weeks, 455 lbs (which is ~80% of my 1RM) literally flew up. Based on “feel” of my bar speed, and how effortless the set felt, I knew I could make a run for a high 500’s pull.

Put another way, I gave myself the green light to go for it, and I did.

Conversely, 455 felt like absolute garbage the other day.

It felt slow off the ground. And it felt even slower at lockout, which I normally never have any issues with.  The indication was: “Tony, if you attempt to go any higher you’ll run the risk of shitting your spine.”

So, I did the smart thing and called it.

I re-racked the plates, turned the page, and did my accessory work:  DB reverse lunges, a little pouting in the corner, and some pull-throughs.

Listen, it’s not a perfect system, nor is it anything remotely scientific. To be as transparent as possible: I am not anti-technology. But I am anti-technology to the point that many (not all) people tend to miss the forest for the trees when it comes to their readiness to workout.

If their Apple watch indicates a modicum of fatigue they’ll shut that shit down faster than you can say, well, apple.

Just because your watch says you should avoid training on any given day doesn’t necessarily mean you have to. Besides, I’m not entirely sold on the reliability of those apps anyway. I’ve had clients walk into a session feeling like a million bucks only to have their watch tell them danger, danger, DANGER, and to not even look at a barbell.

On the flip side, I’ve also had clients show up feeling like they made out with a petri dish, only to warm-up, move around a little, and then feel like Leonidas leading the Spartans to battle.

Indicator sets help you learn to FEEL whether or not you’ve got the juice on any given day. In short: It’s a form of auto-regulation that helps you to not have to rely on some algorithm.

Plus, it’ll save you a few hundred dollars…😙

At least in this scenario you’ll have some tangible, performance-based evidence to help you gauge things. Muscle fatigue is one thing and tends to be easier for many people to use as a metric.

If you’re overly sore you can feel that and tweak your programming accordingly. CNS (or nervous system) fatigue is a bit more nebulous and harder to pinpoint, or even feel for that matter.

Indicator sets help you with the latter.

To that end, I encourage you to start utilizing indicator sets as part of your warm-up on the days you know you’re going to be pushing the envelop. 

Pick a weight during your warm-up that you can use to “gauge” where you’re at that particular day. This number should be heavy enough to be challenging, but one you KNOW you can perform fast and with immaculate technique.

(this will likely be around 80% of your 1 rep-max)

Trust me.  The whole mindset of lift heavy or go home – while admirable – isn’t always the best approach.

Categoriespersonal training Program Design Rehab/Prehab Uncategorized

Should You Train Through Pain?

We live in a world surrounded by inevitabilities:

  • Summers in Florida will be hot.
  • Winters in New England will be cold..
  • People will perform stupid antics on social media (the latest being the Milk Crate Challenge)

Additionally, if you’re an active person, particularly if you lift weights, unless you’re name is Wolverine, it’s inevitable you’ll (probably) experience pain during exercise.

Maybe your knees will feel a little cranky after a serious squat session or your shoulders will be mad after prioritizing the bench press for several weeks.

What’s more, many people after a hiatus due to injury have to navigate the rehab process, which can be a painful experience and about as fun as sitting on a cactus.

Pain is never desirable.

Then question, then, is…

…should you train through pain if it’s present?

Should You Train Through Pain?

[email protected]

Well, it depends.

If you have a knife lodged in your thigh, no.

You should go to the ER.

However, if we’re discussing any of the aforementioned scenarios highlighted in the introduction my response is an emphatic “YES!”

Albeit, with some caveats.

If you want to elicit change, you need to move. When we move, we induce something called mechanotransduction, which is just nerd speak for “tissue begins to heal.”

Pain, when DOSED ACCORDINGLY, can be beneficial during exercise. When we push into a little pain there’s generally better short-term results than if not.

Whenever I’m working with a client/athlete experiencing pain during exercise (especially in a rehab setting) I like to use a “pain threshold” scale.

On a scale of 1-10 (1 = no biggie, I got this and a 10 = holy shit, a panther just latched onto my carotid), exercise should hover in the 2-3 realm.

Elaborating further, my friend and colleague, Tim Latham of Back Bay Health in Boston, uses a stoplight analogy when it comes to pain during exercise:

  • 0-3 on the pain scale = green light. GO.
  • 4-5 = yellow light. Proceed with caution and modify ROM, technique, sets/reps, etc
  • 6-10 = red light – stop and revisit at a later time.

Let’s Put This Into Action

Let’s say I have a client who had ACL surgery a few months ago and has been cleared by their doctor and physical therapist to begin more aggressive strength training.

My expectation isn’t that (s)he is going to walk in on Day #1 and feel like a million bucks; there’s going to be some degree of discomfort. However, I am not going to shy away from it and attempt to avoid it at all costs.

Remember: A little pain is okay, if not preferred. It’s imperative to challenge the body. I’d make the argument that a lot of what inhibits or slows down the rehabbing process for many is the threat of UNDERloading.

I.e., doing so little that the body is never forced to adapt to anything.

Tendons, muscles, and bones NEED (appropriate) load in order to heal and come back stronger.

Taking my ACL client through the process I may have them start with a deadlift. So long as their pain stays within the 0-3 range, it’s all systems a go.

If that number jumps to a 4-5 it doesn’t mean we have to omit the exercise altogether. Instead we do the following:

  • Modify ROM – Elevate the barbell off the ground (less knee flexion)
  • Modify Tempo – When in doubt, slow down. It’s actually quite profound how effective this simple tweak can be.
  • Adjust Technique – Play around with foot position or stance to see if something feels more comfortable.
  • Adjust Volume – Sometimes we’re too overzealous with volume and need to ramp up more slowly.

If the pain threshold at any point falls in the 6-10 range then we know we’ve overstepped our coverage and we need to stop that exercise immediately and regress.

It’s not a perfect system and there’s no doubt an aspect of subjectivity to things, but I hope this helps encourage people to not be deterred if pain is present during exercise.

It can be an important cog in the healing process.

kuroi@123rf.comCategoriesProgram Design Strength Training

3 Reasons Why You’re Not Getting Better At Lifting Heavy Things

“I haven’t come across anything yet that can’t be cured by getting stronger.”

I heard this quote several years ago. I can’t recall who said it, but whomever it was was assuredly someone who’d make my top 10 list of people I’d want to hang out with.7

It stuck with me, and save for male pattern baldness I agree with it 100%.

3 Reasons Why You’re Not Getting Better at Lifting Heavy Things

Outside of the minor nuisance of being the default person your friends & family rely on when furniture needs to be moved, there’s very little that can go wrong with getting stronger.

Athletes will typically jump higher, run faster, be able to change direction on a dime, and otherwise dominate the competition in their respective sport.

And they’re not the only ones who reap its benefits.

Getting stronger works wonders for regular gym folk (both male and female) as well. While many have a goal to perform better in their recreational basketball, flag football, softball, or Laser Tag league…

…building a solid foundation of strength bodes well for the more aesthetically minded individual too.

BTW: If you’re actually in a Laser Tag league, congratulations. You’re awesome.

For the most part strength = muscle.

Guys who can deadlift 2.5x bodyweight aren’t small.

To steal a train of thought from the great Dan John, women who can perform 5+ chin-ups (I’d even make the case for ONE chin-up) typically don’t need to fret over eating an extra slice of carrot cake.

And to that point, even if someone’s goal is fat loss, the more muscle they have the less “aggressive” they’ll have to be on the dietary side of the equation. This isn’t to imply the process is any easier and that you’re less likely to want to stab someone in the throat whenever you’re hangry. But, for all intents and purposes, those who have more muscle (and therefore probably a solid base of strength) generally don’t need to go into “I hate my life mode” when it comes to dieting.

Stronger people tend to be more resilient and don’t get hurt as much either. The saying “getting strong(er) is corrective“ can’t be stated enough.

Above all, those who are stronger are generally harder to kill once the zombies eventually take over.

So what are some factors that prevent or deter people from getting stronger?

Omitting the obvious culprits like not using progressive overload, listening to one syllable that comes out of Tracy Anderson’s mouth, or, you know, dying, below are a few less common talked about factors.

1. Recovery

I put this first because:

1. It’s that important.

2. Admittedly, it’s the most boring and most likely to be glossed over.

HINT: DON’T SKIP THIS.

 “You’re only as strong as how well you allow yourself to recover.”

Physiologically speaking you don’t get stronger (or bigger) during a workout. You break down muscle tissue and accumulate fatigue.

Both are necessary and it’s what causes the body to adapt, grow, and become stronger and stuff.

However, it’s how well you allow yourself to recover in between bouts of training which dictates consistent and long-term progress.

This can mean any number of things.

It’s hydration, it’s ensuring ample total calories in a 24 hour period (peri and post-workout nutrition isn’t nearly as life-and-death as we’ve made it out to be in the past), it’s keeping up with soft tissue quality (foam rolling, occasional massages), and most importantly it’s making sure you go the fuck to bed.

via GIPHY

Nothing kills all the hard work you put in the gym then not getting ample sleep at night.

I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had with high-school, collegiate, and professional athletes throughout the years where they’re scratching their heads as to why they’re not getting stronger and why they always feel as if a mack truck ran them over:

  • Are they not doing enough sets/reps?
  • Maybe it’s because they’re not taking “x” supplement?

Only to find out they’re up until 2-3AM every night playing Halo or flipping left/right on Tinder.

It’s a drastic example, and most reading right now aren’t quite as oblivious.

But this does speak to those of you who stare at a television, computer screen, or iPad for hours leading up to bedtime (or what I like to call nighty nights sleepy time) which then results in less quality rest.

I’m a huge proponent of setting a ritual for bed.

My wife and I bought room darkening curtains to block out as much outside light as possible, and I always sleep with a fan on at night to serve as “white noise.”

In addition I’ll always read in bed.

It’s more or less a signal to my body to “shut up.” And, to be honest, it’s rare that I can get through five pages before I’m nodding off.

So, long story short: GO TO BED.

Also, to the CrossFitters reading: it’s okay to take a day off occasionally. It works wonders for recovery. And no, going into your box on “free days” to perform a front squat Tabata or, I don’t know, ‘Alejandro’8 doesn’t count.

If you want to do something go for a walk.

2. You’re Lifting Heavy Things Too Much

I know many of you reading are thinking I’m off my rocker with this one, but hear me out.

There’s a popular line many strength coaches have used throughout the years:

“Far too many people are concerned with constantly testing their strength (1RM) rather than building it.”

I couldn’t agree more.

For the fun of it, audit yourself.

When was the last time you tested your 1RM in something?

If you’re like most people it was yesterday. And prior to that it was last week. And prior to that it was the week before that.

Don’t get me wrong: Training in the 85-95% 1RM range IS important from a strength development standpoint. Here we see many positive adaptations, like:

1. Maximal number of motor units are recruited.

2. Fastest MU’s are activated (high-threshold motor units).

3. The discharge frequency (rate coding) is increased.

4. Activity – inter and intra muscular coordination – is synchronous.

5. Potential for future hypertrophy gains (especially when you revert back to a “hypertrophy” specific training phase).

6.  At least 37 IQ points (<=== it’s science).

Photo Credit: Elitefts.com

However, it’s important to understand that most of the popular strength-based programs out there – 5/3/1, Cube Method, Juggernaut, etc – the bulk of the volume hovers in the 60-80% (1RM) range.

That’s in stark contrast to what many people perceive as the right approach when strength is the goal.

To reiterate: It’s still very important to train heavier than that – and the above programs do include work in the 90% + range – but it doesn’t have to be as frequent as one might think.

Training heavy all the time is going to wear you down. Not only will your joints take a beating, but it’s neurally taxing as well.

In the end, for most people most of the timer, it’s SUB-MAXIMAL work that needs to be prioritized more frequently.

Not only does it ensure immaculate technique – which allows people to “express” their strength more effectively – but it helps in building a much larger base so you can attain a higher peak (in strength).

3. Making Stuff Harder For the Sake of Making It Harder

Some people just want to be crushed in the gym, and that’s cool. I appreciate and respect whenever someone likes to work hard and get after it.

Here is where I have a TON of respect for CrossFit.

But making an exercise “hard” for the sake of making it hard (or to make yourself feel tired) won’t necessarily equate to better results.

When I write a program I need to be able to back up my rationale for every exercise I have someone perform. It’s easy to make someone tired.

Push a Prowler for 30 minutes.

It’s a whole nother ball game to enhance someone’s performance; to get them better. I need to be very particular with what movements and exercises I include given someone’s goals, injury history, and current ability level.

You know the saying “you’re only as strong as your weakest link?” Well, if getting stronger is someone’s goal that’s pretty important.

When most people think “get strong” they look to the big 3: squat, bench press, and deadlift.

In terms of any accessory movements I include in a program, 95% of them are going to be aimed at addressing some form of weakness or technique flaw in the aforementioned big 3 lifts.

The other 5% is dedicated to bicep curls.

Because, biceps.

A Few Examples

  • Someone is falling forward or having a hard time out of the hole in the squat – An easy fix would be to have them spend more time within the ROM they’re having the most trouble in. Pause squats for 2-5s (with 50-70% of 1RM) is an excellent choice. Another option here is to perform more Safety Squat Bar squats
  • Someone is weak off their chest in the bench press –  Again, more time spent where they’re weakest would be ideal. Pause bench press or maybe high(er) rep sets with the Spoto Press.
  • Someone is weak at lockout with the deadlift – Dedicated speed/technique work with a lower % load would work, as would adding chains to the lift, or maybe some RDLs.

The theme to hammer home is to use your accessory work to address something useful, rather than making exercise hard for the sake of making it hard.