A few weeks ago my good friend, Luke Worthington, and I were texting back and forth on why I hate him so much because I’m not him (6-4, 230 lbs, ripped, smart, British, pfffft whatever Luke) programming and coaching.
Specifically, we both commented on the facade that some (not all) fitness professionals seemingly lean into on social media
Even more specifically, we attempted to excavate the difference between what I would refer to as “putting on a show” and actually coaching people.
Our conversation took root when we brought up something we had both observed on another colleague’s Instagram account and the abject silliness it projected.
Now, I’m not going to name names; it’s not my nature to do so. And, to be honest: I try to always keep an open mind whenever I see something eyebrow raising from other coaches.
I mean, who am I to say what’s a legitimate exercise/drill for their client?
I don’t know their client’s injury history.
I don’t know their client’s goals.
I don’t know their client’s ability level.
I don’t know the purpose of that day’s session.
Maybe there’s a perfectly fine rationale for that particular exercise (even though running over their right arm with a Prius for AMRAP would have been a better use of their time).
I keed, I keed.
Nevertheless, Luke is based in London and works with a number of high-profile people ranging from Hollywood actors/actresses, models, magazine editors, and various professional soccer players.
During our chat he mentioned he had started working with a well-known actor who’s currently prepping for a rather significant action role.
Nope, not Jason Bourne.
Alas, not James Bond.
In the name of discretion, I can’t reveal the actor’s name. It would be uncouth for me to do so, and I certainly wouldn’t want to divulge anything that Luke himself hasn’t divulged.
Negative, not him either. But OMG, I wish.
I haven’t come close to working with the same volume of “high-end” clientele that Luke has worked with in his career. That being said, I’ve worked with many professional baseball players throughout the years (especially during my time at Cressey Sports Performance), and did happen to rub elbows with Hollywood recently.
And I have to say…
…it’s hard not to put on the facade.
To quote Luke:
“When you were working with Rosamund (Pike) did you find it hard not to put on a show? Did you feel you had to impress her with new and innovative exercises? That you had to provide more of wow factor? I find it exhausting sometimes working with people in the entertainment industry.”
At first, yes.
Rosamund joining the 100 lb deadlift club working with me at CORE.
But then I realized that she was just a person like everyone else and needed the same shit as everyone else.
Moreover, once I understood that all she was looking for was a solid training session where she could have an hour to herself to be away from the movie set and away from the chaos, it became much less daunting to me.
I kept things simple.
She deadlifted.
She squatted.
She carried stuff.
She hoisted stuff.
She threw stuff.
She listened to sick techno beats.
All I did was to ensure the exercises were coached well and that they matched her ability level.
I didn’t feel the need to put on a show.
And she and I had a lovely time together.
Back to Luke, though.
In addition to texting back and forth about the pressure to perform and avoid reneging on our mutual intuition to just keep things simple, we also went back and forth a bit on his client’s programming.
Luke noted that his client’s role will require a number of shirtless scenes and that the expectation is that he must look the part; broad shoulders, pecy pecs, cut arms, etc.
The caveat, however, is that this client also has a number of shoulder issues that limits his ability to perform certain exercises pain free.
Luke’s a more than capable coach to devise a suitable trainable menu for his client. That said, he and I were going back and forth on some ideas when he noted that during a prior session he had his client perform a double landmine press.
For most coaches this exercise is quite standard or even inane. It’s nothing extraordinary or flashy (especially by social media standards).
However, Luke’s client loooooooooved it.
It targeted parts of his body he needed to bring up for the role AND he was able to perform it pain free. Luke could have easily made the exercise more sexy by setting the barbells on fire, or, I don’t know, having his client press with one arm while juggling a chainsaw on the other.
Instead, what Luke did was be a coach.
And, frankly, that’s what most people need whether they’re Thor or Tina.
What could I possibly have to say when it comes to the delicate intricacies of postpartum anything?
Well, as it happens, I’ve worked with many women during and after their pregnancies throughout the years, and have had pretty good success with mansplaining the inner workings of a uterus helping them understand that, whether they’ve given birth seven months ago or seven years ago, strength training can help with myriad of postpartum issues.1
…when I say “lift shit” this DOES NOT insinuate anything close to maximal effort.
For starters: I’m not an asshole.
Secondly: All strength training is not powerlifting. It’s still feasible to have someone lift appreciable loads – even postpartum – and not assume I’m attempting to turn them into Stefi Cohen.
But more to the point: I’m not an asshole.
I understand, to the best of my Y chromosome having abilities, the intricacies and delicateness that coincide with the months postpartum.
It’s not a time to rush back into things and to race oneself back to pre-pregnancy gym numbers.
The first few months are all about rebuilding the base (specifically to address the pelvic floor and diaphragm, to get the “core” connected again, and to progress from there).
After that, a person’s capabilities and foundation matter more than whatever time frame it takes to get them deadlifting appreciable weight again.
As far as the BIG no-no’s to avoid immediately postpartum:
Plyometrics – burpees (please, stop), jumping, stairs, and running.
Anything coming close to max-effort loading.
Front abdominal exercises (planks, sit-ups, push-ups, leg lifts, or anything that makes the abdominals bulge anteriorly or uses the core to support a lot of bodyweight).
FWIW: Any sort of Fight Club is out of the question during this time as well.
For many women their postpartum approach = kegels (and that’s it).
Alternatively, a more germane (and, not coincidentally, successful) approach to postpartum training is:
Kegels
Teaching a GOOD breath – focusing on the canister position.
Cementing all of the above with “strength.”
Kegels are a fantastic (and proven) tool to use to help with pelvic floor dysfunction. Teaching them the right way (and when appropriate) helps to connect and educate the pelvic floor. As it stands, women who did dedicated pelvic floor training = 17% less likely to report incontinence.
However, when OVER used kegels can lead to an overactive pelvic floor. Compound that with the all too common scenario of very little attention being made toward the efficacy of positional breathing drills – I.e., emphasizing the canister position (pelvis stacked underneath the ribcage; or reduced rib flare) – and you have a recipe for disaster.
Photo Credit: Inspired Physiotherapy
Left Image = Canister Position (diaphragm stacked on top of pelvic floor)
Right Image = not that.
Positional breathing begins with teaching a GOOD inhale. This entails 3D (360 degree) expansion of the ribcage. With a good inhale the diaphragm contracts down and it able to “let go” and relax. Moreover, as Sarah notes in her course, every (good) inhale can push down on the pelvic floor which is okay.
Bearing down is one thing. This is not ideal.
However, with a proper inhale, the idea is to push the “ground floor of the house to the basement.” In other words: the inhale EXPANDS pelvic floor. Then, a full, accentuated exhale brings everything back to the ground floor.
For the visual learners out there this may help (graph taken from Sarah’s course):
Again to reiterate:
“Inhale = pushes down onto pelvic floor (get it to the basement)….exhale = RELAXES.”
Taking the time to really build context and to hammer home the importance of the canister position will be a home run for many (if not most) postpartum women.
A simple example would be something like a deadbug, performed with a full 360 degree inhale followed by a drawn out, full exhale (without aggressive bearing down of the abdominals):
Tony, Did You Forget About Lifting Things?
Puh.
Not at all.
Strength training is the part where we “cement” all of the above into place. It’s crucial to build pelvic floor awareness (kegels) as well as function (positional breathing drills). If someone is unable to do this right, I am NOT going to load them.
However, assuming the work has been done I see no reason not to.
First we start with TIMING of the breath with the bodyweight squat. Inhale on the way down (pelvic floor expands and relaxes).
Exhale on the way down (pelvic floor comes back up and contracts).
Once that is mastered, then we can begin to THIS IS SPARTA. BACK SQUAT MAX EFFORT, BABY.
Just kidding.
I just use common sense and progress accordingly with something like Goblet Squats and always remain cognizant that I DO NOT want any aggressive bearing down of the abdominals and to keep IAP in check. The pelvic floor is just like any other muscle and needs progressive overload too.
Being postpartum is not a disease and I find it increasingly frustrating that many women are programmed into thinking that the only approach is with kegels and kegels only.
It’s a far more multi-faceted approach that requires attention to detail and dare I say…
In recent years whenever I am asked by other health/fitness professionals what course I’d recommend they look into my immediate answer is Dr. Sarah Duvall’s PCES course.
It’s without hesitation the most valuable continuing education resource I’ve come across in recent memory, and it’s also had the most impact on my own coaching.
Every pregnancy is different.
Every woman who is postpartum is different.
There are a LOT of women out there and you WILL undoubtedly need to know this information and know how to apply it.
As it happens, Sarah just opened up access to the entire PCES 2.0 course:
34 hours of content loaded with a tsunami of lectures, videos, and case studies.
CEUs available
Save $250 off the regular price through May 21st. Access to the course shuts down on 5/25.
FYI: Payment plans available.
This course will teach and show you the appropriate assessments/screens to use as well as the corrective strategies to implement to address everything from pelvic floor dysfunction to incontinence to rectus diastasis. In addition, and this is what I dig the most about Sarah’s approach, is that strength training can and should be a part of the process.
Remember: You only have till midnight on 5/21 to SAVE $250 and access to the course ends on 5/25.
NOTE TO READER: This is a re-post of a blog post I wrote back in 2017. It’s still the shit. You should read it.
There aren’t many topics harder to write about than program design.
I mean, I guess we can make a case for Biomolecular Feedback Systems or the intricacies of Mass Spectrometry,2 but in my neck of the woods – health/fitness & increasing people’s general level of badassery – program design can be (and often is) an arduous topic to break down.
It’s often a rabbit hole full of platitudes and people majoring in the minors.
I don’t know how many sets your client should perform. Or reps. And I don’t know if back squats would be a better fit than front squats.
The answer to any programming question will always be “it depends.”3
Did Tony Just Say Program Design is Dumb and Useless?
Um, no.
What kind of coach would I be if I said that?
Of course it’s important. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t say it’s imperative for any personal trainer or coach to be competent in that area and have skills.
A particular set of skills.
Skills that make you a nightmare for excess subcutaneous fat and sub-par deadlift technique.
Sets, reps, which exercise to do, and in what order?…it all falls under the umbrella of “I think this will work.”
“I’m pretty sure this person should trap bar deadlift instead of using a straight bar.”
“11 reps, Definitely 11.
“Shit, did I leave the oven on?”
I mean, hopefully your guesses aren’t coming from left field and made with some modicum of education catered to the goals, needs, and experience level of each client/athlete you work with.
There are a multitude of factors to consider when writing a program. There’s no such thing as a one-size fits all approach.
It’s something entire books take 500+ pages to explain and people get fancy degrees in and stuff.
One of my all-time favs: Christian Thibaudeau’s Black Book of Training Secrets
I am not going to get into the nitty-gritty of program design in this little ol’ post. I’ll peel back that onion at a later date. But there are several tenets of program design that are widely accepted across the board.
Including but not limited to:
Periodization
The organization of the training process. More to the point: It’s the planned variation in training volume and intensity over the course of a training program
This can be accomplished using Micro, Meso, or Macro Cycles:
Micro – Usually one-week in length
Meso – Usually 2-8 weeks in length, and often the most utilized.
Macro – Usually one-year in length (typically reserved for competitive athletes and/or SuperHeroes.
Mesocycles (2-8 week blocks) are the most common and can often be broken down into specific categories:
1. Doing Stuff. Or, What Uppity Strength Coaches Call General Physical Preparedness (GPP)
This is a phase where most people will start and it entails improving things like ROM of a particular muscle, flexibility, strengthening of weak muscle groups, addressing movement quality deficits, and using it as an opportunity to teach proper technique on certain exercises and drills.
2. Specific Physical Preparation (SPP)
My good friend, Joe Dowdell, often says this is where the bulk of the general population – particularly those who work with personal trainers – will stay.
This phase can have one of two focuses:
Accumulation – where the main stressor is volume (strength endurance, hypertrophy, etc)
Intensification – where the main stressor is intensity (Max Strength, Relative Strength, Speed Strength, Strength-Speed, etc)
3. Specific Training Phase
This is most often reserved for athletes and honing in on the specific demands of their sport of choice. Everything from exercise selection, speed of movement, energy-system work is specific to the sport.
4. Competitive Phase
In short, this covers IN-SEASON training. When I was at Cressey Sports Performance how we programmed for a baseball player during his IN-season training drastically differed from his OFF-season, mostly in terms of training frequency and intensity.
Types of Periodization
Giving credit where it’s due, the bulk of these descriptions are taken from Joe Dowdell’s Program Design Manual.
[NOTE: Sorry, good luck finding it. You’ll have better odds at finding The Invisible Book of Invisibility.]
1. Sequential Method (Linear)
This method uses specific intervals of time in order to develop a singular goal or strength quality.
This is where many beginner clients will start (as well as those who are injured).
Long Linear Method – Beginners live here. As weeks pass, volume decreases as intensity increases. The concept of “do more work each week” is hammered home here.
Short Linear Method – Uses 1-3 weeks and tries to fix the shortcomings of long-linear approach. Is a way to prevent de-training of strength qualities.
You can also think of this method as NSCA Essentials 101:
Preparation —> Hypertrophy —> Strength —> Power —> Competition —> Active Rest
The pitfall, unfortunately, is that this approach isn’t optimal for more advanced lifters/athletes as it’s tough to train multiple qualities at once.
2. Undulation Method
This is a very popular method and one I use often with my own clients. This is where you perform several different workouts in a repeating cycle, focusing on a different rep-range, exercises, or both.
A classic example is something like this:
Day #1 = “Heavy” Day; where all exercises are performed with low(er) repetitions (3-5) using heavier loads.
Day #2 = “Medium” Day; where all exercises are performed with more traditional “hypertrophy” styled rep-ranges (8-12)
Day #3 = “Light” Day; where all exercises are performed with high(er) reps (15+), tickles optional.
The above approach can be a considered “Daily Undulation.” You can also implement a weekly undulated approach, where the training stress fluctuates weekly.
All in all it’s a nice way to keep training fresh and allows trainees some variety.
3. Concurrent Method
This method allows for training multiple qualities at the same time in a given time period. The most common examples of this method is Westside Barbell and CrossFit.
CrossFit = Wall Balls, Kipping Pull-Ups, Double Overs, and Running Over Your Left Arm with a Prius for AMRAP. Dope.
4. Conjugate Method
This is a variant of Concurrent programming. Here, you’re still training multiple qualities but with an emphasis on ONE goal while maintaining all others with a minimal volume.
5. Block Periodization
This is described as a linear series of blocks that focus on several abilities at once. For high-level athletes and competitors this seems to be the preferred approach.
With this method there’s one dominant quality being emphasized (maximal strength for example) with a secondary focus on a different quality (muscle hypertrophy, bringing sexy back), all using a sequence of meso-cycles:
Accumulation (4 weeks) – develop basic abilities such as general aerobic endurance, muscle strength, movement quality, etc.
Transformation/Intensification (4 weeks ) – develop specific abilities like anaerobic endurance, specialized muscular endurance, and event specific technique.
Realization (2 weeks) – pre-competition, which typically emphasizes maximum speed and recovery prior to event. Otherwise known as “you’re now ready to go rip shit up.”
The Training Hour Pie
Mike Boyle speaks to this often. If you have a finite amount of time with a client or athlete – say 60-90 minutes – it’s important to structure each training session to fit the goals and needs of the person and prioritize a certain percentage of the pie accordingly.
That’s the meat-and-potatoes of (good) program design.
Most programs, day-to-day, breakdown as follows:
Soft Tissue Work – 5-10 minutes
Mobility Work/Dynamic Warm -Up – 5-10 minutes
CNS, Reactive, or Speed Work – 10-15 minutes (jumps, skipping, agility, plyometric, OLY Lifts)
Strength Training – 30-40 minutes
Energy System Work – 10 minutes
Recovery & Regeneration – 5-10 minutes.
Netflix & Chill – optional (but not really)
There will be fluctuations in how much time you allot to what component person-to-person. Some may need to spend more dedicated time on tissue quality, while others may need to up their conditioning.
However, it’s well accepted that most training sessions should follow this “flow,” and it’s your job as the coach to figure out the details.
All of This to Say
When I’m asked to speak to undergrads or young fitness professionals I often balk at the idea of discussing program design. I refrain from writing about it, too. They all want the answer, the big idea, the overarching thesis.
It’s impossible to do.
It’s all talk.
Stop talking.
Don’t get me wrong, the talking is important. It behooves any aspiring fitness professional to have a base understanding of anatomy, physiology, exercise science, and biomechanics and to talk things out.
To speculate, pontificate, question, maybe proselytize.
It’s also important to, you know, read books. I’d never say otherwise.
But it’s also important to consider that reading, talking and pontificating – while part of the “Turning Pro” process – doesn’t in any way, shape, or form suggest mastery.
Action does.
I’d argue the best way to write effective programs is through experience and letting yourself marinate in trial-and-error.
Honestly, when it comes to writing effective training programs, trial-and-error via experience will teach you more than most textbooks.
It’s not necessarily about how many books you read, seminars on the topic you go to, or how many “Masterminds” you attend. That’s all well and good and does matter. But having the guts to finally break the inertia of inaction, to finally stop talking, and to finally put things into action (often failing miserably)…that’s when things get interesting.
Uttering the phrase “looks like someone has a case of the Mondays.”
Cocaine
Partaking in social media drama, buffoonery, and general hijinks.
For me there’s a cost/benefit to all of the above. Take my cat, Dagny, for example. I love her to pieces. But I still get the feeling, whenever she looks at me for more than three seconds, she’d murder me in a nanosecond with a machete if only she had opposable thumbs.
I have my reasons for the other stuff too.
With regards to the latter, however, I was recently lured in like a moth to a flame when I saw a Tweet from a well regarded and highly respected fitness professional commenting on “lifting heavy” and playing sports…
…and how people should avoid the former if participating in the latter.
I have to say, before I dive into my own thoughts on Dan’s thoughts, reading the subsequent comments was quite entertaining.
They ranged from people agreeing to the statement5 to what can only be described as a few peacocks spreading their feathers.
I.e., Triggered!
A few coaches read the comment and reacted as if someone informed them creatine was the same as steroids or, I don’t know, one of their athletes didn’t squat to depth.
I could just smell the inflated lat syndrome emanating from my screen.
Admittedly, I too rolled my eyes a bit.
That said, I felt the initial statement was a bit too ambiguous. To me, it was more about garnering eyeballs & drawing attention to his funnel link than providing anything of real substance.6
What sports are we referring to? MMA? Lacrosse? Backyard wiffleball?
What level of sports are we referring to?
What’s the ability level & experience level of the athletes in question as it relates to the weight-room?
What’s considered “heavy.”
Is there no such thing as in-season and off-season training modifications in this mysterious world where athletes shouldn’t lift heavy things?
To Dan’s credit, he did elaborate further:
“The reason is because both are taxing to the nervous system. Mind you when I talk “sport” I mean one played at a high intensity (ie. basketball, soccer, surfing). Trying to play your best while chasing PR’s will likely cause injury.”
I didn’t quite understand where he was going with his sport examples. I’d make the argument that any athlete of any sport – particularly if it’s being performed at a high level – needs to be prepared for that sport. I don’t care if we’re talking about soccer or bowling.
Okay, maybe bowling is a stretch…;o)
Much of that preparedness comes from a well-rounded, properly progressed IN-SEASON and OFF-SEASON strength & conditioning program.
Off-Season Training = Initially focuses on recovery to combat a long competitive season as well as to address any deficits/weaknesses that accumulated along the way. That then transitions to a more traditional strength & conditioning program catered to helping the athlete improve strength, speed, movement capacity, ROM, ability to run through a brick wall, etc.
In-Season Training = Reducing training frequency/volume – depending on playing time (starter vs. 10th-11th man off the bench in basketball), position (everyday player vs. pitcher in baseball), game schedule (football vs. softball) – albeit under the guise that the objective is to LIMIT as much drop off as possible of the gains made in strength, speed, etc during the off-season.
Not to mention, in-season strength training is a splendid way to help reduce the incidence of injury as a season progresses and fatigue and wear-n-tear on the body accumulates.
KEY POINT: Reduction in frequency (volume), not intensity.
It’s my experience – and that of many other coaches – that intensity (as a percentage of one’s 1-rep max) is far less taxing on the CNS than volume (sets x reps x frequency). In fact, it behooves most athletes to keep intensity somewhat high during SOME of their in-season training.
As Vladimir Zatsiorsky states in his seminal book, Science and Practice of Strength Training:
“Training with weights ~90% of one’s 1-rep max (I.e., heavy, but no anywhere near PR heavy):
Recruits the maximum number of motor units.
Ensures the fastest MU’s are activated.
Discharge frequency (rate coding) is increased.
Activity is synchronous.
Improves coordination between synergistic muscles.
Increases potential for future hypertrophy gains.”
Moreover, Zatsiorsky notes that from a velocity standpoint, it’s been shown that power output increases as the weight lifted decreases from 100% of 1RM to 90% of 1RM. In fact, for the back squat and deadlift, power output for a load at 90% 1RM may be twice as high as the 1RM load due to the large decrease in the time required to complete the exercise with the lighter load.
In other words: Lifting light(er) loads faster = best of both worlds?
Additionally, strength “lingers.”
You don’t have to do a lot of it in order to maintain it.
In his book, Block Periodization, Dr. Issurin notes that maximal strength has a “residual duration” of 30 +/- 5 days.
In non-Klingon all this means is that, in order to maintain strength, you only really need to remind the body every 2-3 weeks (or so) of what it takes to keep it. This is splendid news for in-season athletes.
This means that 2-3 heavy(ish) sets of 2-5 reps (in the 85-95% range) every few weeks is enough to maintain most of their strength levels.
Australian strength coach, Nathan Kiely, sums things up nicely:
“Maintaining neuromuscular strength in-season is critical. And a load that wouldn’t have developed it in the first place, won’t do enough to retain it either.”
To that end, NO COMPETENT COACH is chasing PR’s in-season. I just wish Dan would have said THAT initially instead of the blanket statement of “if you play sports you shouldn’t lift heavy.”
Because, I agree – it makes zero sense to max out or chase PR’s during a competitive season.
As one commenter commented:
“Chasing PRs and 1 RM in season are pointless. But if you program correctly and tailor workouts to your athletes sport intensity, schedule and allow recovery time. PRs are just going to happen organically.”
The statement reminded me of something I heard renowned strength & conditioning coach, Buddy Morris, say during a presentation years ago:
“Tony, can we be BFFs? Whenever an athlete of mine hits a PR – especially in-season – I shut em down for the day.”
Word.
In Short: When dosed intelligently you can do both.
Truth be told: It’s a rare occurrence that I start working with someone and (s)he can perform it well. It’s a staple exercise with myriad benefits in both rehab and traditional strength training to target the core musculature – particularly the obliques.
Too, it’s also no coincidence, thanks to Dr. Stuart McGill, it’s considered one of the “Big 3” with regards to spinal health and working around and managing low-back pain.
When done correctly, the side plank can be a very challenging and worthwhile exercise to include in most programs.
Check out THIS article for particulars on common mistakes and how to progress the side plank.
Check out THIS article for other plank variations you should consider.
I find the side plank to be the exercise of choice for lazy trainers. It’s the sort of exercise a shitty trainer will prescribe for their client when there’s 5-10 minutes left in a session and the trainer just wants to run out the clock.
“Okay Hank, we’re going to finish with Side Planks today. Three minute holds per side. Blindfolded. While reciting the Elvish alphabet backwards. Go!”
And then, of course, Hank loses all the perceived benefits of the exercise because his technique has been compromised after 15 seconds.
“Come on Hank, 2 more minutes, keep reciting, Ampa, Anto, Hwesta…”
To be clear: I think everyone should take the time to master the side plank. It’s an important drill. It’s just that after a certain point there’s a rate of diminishing returns.
Personally, if someone can perform it perfectly for a minute per side I’d rather go a head and make the exercise more challenging than force someone to go for longer periods of time.
More to the point, can I just go a head and say it?
The Side Plank is just a boring exercise.
I’d rather spend the same amount of time scooping up my cat’s fur vomit.
To that end, here are two exercises that mirror all the benefits of the Side Plank but don’t make you want to commit seppuku when you actually do them.
1. Chaos March
Take a kettebell and wrap a band around one end. Grab onto the other end and hold it to your side as if you were holding a suitcase.
While maintaining a completely upright posture (no leaning!) march in place and try to keep the kettlebell “quiet.”
Also: In case it wasn’t obvious by lurking at my bookcase in the background: My kid loves puzzles.
I could sit here and wax poetic that what separates a “true” fitness professional from someone who’s pretending to be one is that the former actually practices what they preach.
Meaning: They 1) actually workout and/or 2) actually DO the workouts and exercises that they espouse on their respective websites and social media feeds.
Or they don’t.
I mean, I could make the case that a “true” fitness professional is less likely to post asinine videos of circus-act like exercises (that they’d never do themselves) in the name of accolades and attention.
You can spot the fake trainers from a mile away. They write the most ridiculous looking routines.
A1. Trap Bar Deadlift Contrast Tempo Set vs. Chains (From a Deficit): 5×10 A2. 1-Arm Landmine Press w/ Contralateral Ossillatory Facilitation: 5×10/side
B1. Barefoot Walking Lunges Over Broken Glass: 2×400 m B2. Or Until Your Pancreas Fails (whichever comes first) C1. Pull-Ups: 10×10 C2. Ice Bath: 10x30s
I’m obviously going out of my way to be facetious here, but therein lies my point.
As my friend and colleague, Nick Tumminello, has so succinctly stated in the past:
“A master trainer (I.e., someone who’s a “pro”) can also be referred to as an Exercise Prescription Specialist.”
He or she has a high level of expertise doing the following:
Exercise Individualization
Exercise Application
Exercise Prioritization
1. Exercise Individualization
This can simply be boiled down to figuring out the correct stance for someone on their squats. For example, despite what most textbooks would insinuate, not everyone is going to have the luxury of having the “correct” anatomy to squat with a narrow stance and their toes pointing straight a head.
NEWSFLASH: People don’t live in textbooks.
Hip anatomy tends to have the most variance given a broad swath of the population. Things that come into play are:
Hip socket depth
Hip socket orientation – retroverted (outward facing) or anteverted (forward facing).
Femoral neck orientation (retroverted vs. anteverted)
Femore neck angle
Femur length
Amongst other things
There are a bevy of variables to consider and to expect every person to fall into one set pattern or way of executing a lift is a bit of a stretch.
In fact, there’s a number of permutations that manifest when you allow for individualization of squat stance.
Exercise individualization can also come down to figuring out the correct grip for someone to use during their bench press. Someone with sub-acromial pain syndrome (SAPS) will often have pain in the front of their shoulder. Conventional wisdom would suggest that such an individual should adopt a narrow(er) grip during the bench press to “protect” the shoulder.
However, a narrow grip will require more glenohumeral extension, which for these individuals can be problematic. Instead, a wider grip may be more germane to reduce the amount of GH extension required and to place more stress on the pec muscles.
A “pro” leans into and pays more attention to these sort of things.
2. Exercise Application
Should everyone squat to the same depth?
Short Answer: No. Tha fuck outta here.
A Less Short Answer: As I noted above, hip anatomy varies person to person and it shouldn’t be your expectation that everyone, all the time, with no exceptions, should squat to the exact same depth.
I have some clients who squat ass to grass.
I have others who squat to parallel.
And, indeed, I have others who squat above parallel.
Come at me, bro.
They all still count as a squat.
Depth is more or less arbitrary and is contingent on one’s goal(s), unique injury history, ability level, and, in case you haven’t picked up on the theme, individual anatomy.
No one should get demerit points because they don’t fit some fictional standard.
Moreover, what about when the conversation switches to sets and reps?
What’s the determining factor between prescribing 3×10 for any particular exercise or 5×5?
What about 8×3? 6×4?
4×6?
Are you using a dartboard to ascertain a client’s set/rep scheme or intelligent program design catered to the needs/goals of the athlete/client?
A “pro” knows the difference.
3. Exercise Prioritization
Which exercises should be done first in a workout?8
The eloquent answer is past the scope of this blog post. However, a fitness professional can easily provide a “why” for each example.
In Short
What really separates a true fitness professional from the IG PhD is that the former knows how to DESELECT things. What makes a great chef isn’t the fact they have every ingredient in the bowl. They’re great because they know what ingredients to (de)select, they understand what order they need to be applied, and they know how much of each to use.
Speaking of entry points: I sat down with my four-year old this past weekend to watch Jurassic Park. Now, most coherent parents would start with something a little less scary.
You know, say, Dino Dana or, I don’t know, Care Bears.
Nope, I went with the ginormous, scary T-Rex.
In hindsight, it probably wasn’t the best “entry point” for someone who has no idea dinosaurs aren’t real. Again, maybe Toy Story or, hell, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers would have been a more germane choice?
I gotta say, though…
…Julian handled the T-Rex like a champ.
He didn’t blink once. He giggled when the guy sitting on the porto-potty met his demise.
I didn’t know whether to be proud or scared shitless.
Kid’s the next John Wick in the making.
Okay, Cute Story Tony. But WTF Are We Talking About Here?
Yeah, yeah, yeah…
Lifting heavy things.
Entry Points.
I’ve recently been making my way through Dr. Michael Mash’s excellent resource, Barbell Rehab, and giving credit where it’s due…he’s spends quite a bit if time throughout the course discussing the idea of entry points and how to use the concept to guide anyone’s return back to a specific lift after injury.
Let’s use the bench press as an example.
If someone has pain when he or she bench presses with a straight bar, finding their entry point is nothing more than altering the lift the minimal amount possible in order to gain the minimum desired training effect.
For the visual learners out there it may look something like this:
Adapted from Barbell Rehab
TO BE CLEAR: If pain exists in the shoulder the idea is NOT to automatically regress all the way back to a push-up.
I know some people who’d rather swallow a live grenade than do that.
Instead, the goal is to be as specific as possible in order to elicit a (relatively pain-free) training effect.
If someone has pain with a straight bar FLAT bench press, however it alleviates significantly when you switch them to a decline bench press.
Sha-ZAM.
You just found their entry point.
Maybe it’s DB Floor Presses for one person, and yes, maybe it’s a push-up (albeit loaded) for another. The idea is to TRAIN.
Moreover, it also could just come down to tweaking their grip slightly or adjusting some component of their technique.
Rehab doesn’t always have to result in sending someone to corrective exercise purgatory.
Likewise, using the squat as an example, sometimes the entry point is using a different bar (Duffalo or Safety-Squat Bar) if the shoulder is the issue, or maybe it’s having someone squat ABOVE parallel if it’s their knee(s) or hip(s) bothering them.
Sometimes, and hear me out, we may have to combine the two: Not a straight bar AND above parallel.
Today’s guest post comes courtesy of TG.com regular contributor, Shane McLean and touches on a topic that may resonate with many reading…
…Top 10 keto recipes that don’t taste like sawdust.
LOL – just kidding.
How to finally conquer that hurdle of starting an exercise program.
It’s not quite as daunting as you think it may be…;o)
SIDE NOTE: Be sure to check out Shane’s latest resource, his six-week ‘Back in the Saddle‘ program; perfect for beginners or anyone who’s stuck in a rut and needs some direction.
No one wants to look like a fool, especially when you’re starting an exercise program with the will and determination to finally get in shape.
You want to know what you’re doing or at least fake it until you make it. And If you’re NOT confident, you’re less likely to start and finish. Then you’ll (maybe) chalk it up to another failure which you’ll add to your ever-increasing list.
Am I the only one who keeps track?
How Do I Know This?
Because I tried and failed several times when I started exercising and now I’ve been a trainer for 13 years and have seen people start, stop, and fail with the greatest of intentions.
I’ve trained clients who have made great progress to only then see them fall off the wagon when their accountability disappears, or life gets in the way.
Plus, I’ve watched the gym flood with new year’s resolution goers who are eager to put all their failures behind them to finally lose the flab.
But slowly and surely, they drop by the wayside when their motivation wave crashes.
Your health and fitness requires time and an emotional commitment, not a six-week shred. Instead of crashing and burning in your fitness quest, use my advice below to avoid adding another failure to the list.
1. Starting Easy
There’s a plethora of health and fitness info on the worldwide web. Enough to have your brain spinning around and around. You should try to avoid this analysis by paralysis by
Just starting
Picking something doable
If you don’t understand the article or program with the big fancy words then move on to something else. Because when you’re starting something, complicated things don’t work because this leads to confusion. Then this confusion may lead to throwing in the towel.
You know what does work? Starting easy.
2. Start With The Basics
There are fundamental human movements which were installed in your brain before you were born. These are squats, pushing, pulling, locomotion (walking, running, carrying), hip hinging and groundwork (rocking, rolling, crawling and everything else).
Don’t believe me? Ever seen a baby drop into a deep squat without a coach yelling in their ear?
And when you’re starting out, these need to be your focus and not walking on a treadmill or watching yourself do curls.
Although there is nothing wrong with either because something beats nothing every time, training the fundamentals will reestablish neglected movement patterns and get you where you want to go faster.
3. Don’t Program Hop
And once you’ve chosen a program, it’s natural to think the grass is greener on the other side. After all, you’re saturated with new exercise fads and their results look incredible. Besides, your program sucks and you’re not making any progress anyway.
However, change is not always a bad thing.
Change may be needed if you’re plateauing or when your routine (or you) is stale. But too much change doesn’t give your body a chance to adapt to your current program because not everything happens right away.
There is plenty of room in the middle of these two extremes.
My general rule of thumb is finishing the program first and then evaluating whether it worked or not. For example, loss of body fat, smaller waist, or bigger muscles. If you have not seen any positive changes after 6 weeks, then it’s okay to try something new.
4. Schedule Your Training Time
During the COVID-19 pandemic a lot of us have more time on their hands than usual. And finding time to exercise is not a problem but it’s not always going to be this way.
Regardless of how much time you have scheduled, treat your exercise like you would any important appointment. Setting aside time for training will help get you in the right mindset and not another thing you can blow off on your to-do-list.
For example, I train Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the same time and is scheduled in my Google Calendar which reminds me 30 minutes before go time. It’s now a habit I follow through on even when ‘I don’t feel like it.’
Which leads me to my next point.
5. Showing Up And Being Consistent
Nothing gets done without being present, so ‘show up’ even when you don’t feel like it. 99 % of anything you do (based on scientific fact 😊) needs you showing up and being present.
Without it, it’s pointless.
It doesn’t matter if you exercise 2, 3 or 4 days a week, pick a day, schedule a time, show up and get it done. Then do this over and over for the foreseeable future. Yes, life is going to get in the way and when exercise is the furthest thing from your mind.
However, finding a way to stay active, even when the odds are stacked against you does wonders for your health and sanity. Being consistent is not about being perfect, it’s about showing up.
Wrapping Up
These five suggestions will hold you in good standing when starting and continuing any exercise program. Because exercise isn’t just for a six-week burst to lose the fab, it’s for life and your health.
If you’re looking for an exercise program to start after a layoff or if you’ve never resistance trained before, I have a 6-week program called ‘Get Back In the Saddle’ that will give you a fantastic exercise foundation to build on.
I’ve always been painfully slow off the floor when I deadlift.
Like, you could be watching the movie Titanic and I’d juuuuust be getting the barbell off the floor by the time you got to the part where Rose lets go of Jack.
If this sounds like you, you may need some more squats in your life.
A few years ago I made a concerted effort to prioritize my front squats (and upping my squatting volume in general) and was finally able to conquer a 600 lb pull.
The additional squatting undoubtedly helped improve my quad strength and ability to push away from the floor when I initiated my pull.
Heed my warning, though. If your deadlift volume is up it’ll behoove you to opt for more front squats or high-bar back squats since both will allow you to maintain a more upright torso (less shearing on spine). If your deadlift volume is on the low end, feel free to implement more low-bar back squatting.
👇👇👇 Check out a sample training split below (after the video) 👇👇👇
Here’s a quick example of how I’d structure the deadlift to squat ratio based off deadlift frequency:
Deadlift 1x Per Week (2 Lower Body Sessions)
Day 1:
A. Back Squat: 5×2 @ 60%, 60s rest
B. Deadlift: 2×2 @ 85%
C1. Deadlift – For Gainz: 4×4 @ 70-75%
C2. Deadbug Variation 4×5/side
C3. Stab Someone in the Face 4×3
Coincidentally enough I choose the picture for today’s guest post before actually reading it.
Oops, a minor editorial mistake.
You see, as you’ll learn below, placing a barbell on your back during single leg exercises – while not a wrong strategy to partake – does have a distinct disadvantage.
HINT: More load isn’t always the “x-factor” with regards to making exercises more challenging.
Suffice to say, lesson learned (but I’m too lazy to go back and find a different picture).
I hope you enjoy this excellent piece by two colleagues of mine – Dr. Michelle Boland (a phenomenal local coach here in Boston) and Tim Richardt (a former coach at CORE who’s now located in the Denver area) – that gave me a few Ah-HA moments.
Quarantine have your legs and butt looking skinnier than Gollum’s?
An excellent example of commitment to a singular goal, but not of muscular development.
Get your quads, glutes, and hamstrings looking more bountiful than a post-Mordor-crumbling Shire feast with these single leg exercises!
We’re done with the Lord of the Rings references now, we promise.
We’ll explore loading options, body positioning, front versus rear foot elevation, and direction of center-of-mass (COM) movement to help you taste those sweet, sweet single-leg gains.
Let’s get right to it…
#1 Front Foot Elevated Zercher Split Squat
Load Position Advantage
Holding the weight in the crook of your elbows allows for more relaxation of muscles on the backside of your trunk, enabling increased depth WHILE circumventing grip strength as a potential rate-limiter for loading.
A barbell placed in the traditional “back rack” may rob you of comfortable hip range-of-motion (ROM) due to compression of muscles on the backside of your trunk.
Loading in the Zercher position lets you maintain more VERTICAL displacement throughout the movement, and more pure-up-and-down displacement means more stimulation of muscles that DO vertical displacement (i.e. glutes and quads), leading to more gains and more eventual jealousy from your high school ex after they see your jacked wheels on Facebook.
No barbell? We can accomplish a similar effect with 2 DBs.
Vertical displacement whilst keeping a STACKED position during a split squat, vital to loading muscle tissue (yay!) and minimizing joint strain (boo!), is reviewed, HERE.
Why Front Foot Elevation?
Elevating the front foot shifts your COM backwards, meaning the muscles of the front leg can relax to a greater degree to allow for more depth during the lowering (eccentric) portion of the movement. Additionally, raising the front foot shifts the trained range of motion into deeper degrees of hip flexion, leading to greater mechanical stress placed on the musculature that extends the hip (dat booty).
Bonus; Heel Up?
Try elevating your front heelto enable increased loading of the knee and hip whilst maintaining the “vertical stack” during this drill.
Be sure to maintain heel contact and allow your knee to drift forward over the mid-foot to allow for more hip and knee flexion.
#2 Staggered Stance Retro RDL
Why Backwards is Better…
The Staggered Stance Retro RDL allows you to use the front leg to push your COM backwards towards the leg that’ll be doing all the work. This exercise HAMMERS glutes and hammies, and is a great stepping stone towards an eventual unassisted SLRDL.
The KEY distinction between the conventional RDL (or Heels on Wall Variation) and the staggered stance retro RDL is the direction of your COM travels. In the rear foot single leg deadlift, your COM translates forward, whereas in the staggered stance retro RDL, your COM migrates backwards.
Going front foot supported allows for more of a sit “back” scenario encouraging a more advantageous orienting of the hips to access ROM (remember: more ROM, more loading, more gainz) as well as reducing the challenge of NOT falling forward onto your (pretty) face.
Why Single Arm Loading?
We love a single KB held in the opposite hand (in reference to the back leg), as this encourages rotation of the ribcage TOWARDS that rear leg. Rotation towards the side we’re loading means we’re able to load muscles of that hip to a greater degree, and the combination of an opposite hand reach AND a front foot support ensure we’re loading the back leg’s hamstrings and glutes as much as we possibly can.
Technique
Some pointers with the Front Foot Supported Single Leg Deadlift:
Position the non-working leg in front of the working leg and use the front (non-working) leg to push the back (working) leg backwards. This results in a hip “shift” TOWARDS that back leg.
The arm opposite the working leg holds the KB and maintains a path over the big toe of the back foot. That reach further supports the shift you obtained in step 1.
Sit your hips back in space, feeling loading on the heel, base of the big toe, and base of the little toe. Reverse this motion by pushing through this “tripod foot” back to the starting position.
#3 Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat
Jack Up That Back Foot
The Rear Foot Elevated (RFE) Split Squat is a variation that places greater emphasis on the front leg. This exercise is also a good progression towards a strict single leg activity, such as a single leg squat.
While performing a boring ‘ol split squat, the load is fairly evenly distributed between the front and back legs. However, elevating the rear foot shifts your center of mass forward, dramatically increasing the loading of the front leg. Train this sucker and that leg’s getting more yoked than a Marriott Courtyard omelette bar.
The RFESS is #3 on this list because it trains a little like a cross of exercises #1 and #2.
It’s a vertical movement (like our FFESS), but the forward lean created by the elevation of the rear foot enables some degree of forward/backwards COM displacement (like our deadlift variation). The result is an unholy cross of glute and leg destruction.
Placement of Load
To optimize loading with this drill, we recommend dumbbells in each hand- like THIS. As we mentioned previously, a barbell placed in the traditional “back rack” position tends to compress muscles on the backside of the body, robbing the body of hip flexion availability and trainable range of motion.
The distance between your front and back legs- your “stride length” during a split squat- also matters.
A short stride length (front foot closer to back foot) will bias hip musculature (glutes). If you elongate the stride length you’ll shift the loading to more quads, leading to more yoked legs with which to better fill out those new early-Christmas jeggings.
Bonus Yoked-Worthy Exercise: Walking Toe Touch Lunges
Muscle Recruitment
Walking Lunges with an opposite arm reach facilitate more high hamstring recruitment by biasing a posterior tilt of the pelvis. High hamstrings fix the position of the pelvis, enabling greater loading of the hip extensors (butt), making this drill an excellent choice for a “finisher” after your main exercises. To quote our good friend, the wise and powerful Tony, after performing a set of these, “I FELT it in my soul”!
DISCLAIMER; Michelle and Tim are NOT responsible for any Soul-Delayed-Onset-Muscule-Soreness (SDOMS) experienced after performing this drill.
Technique
Big pointers with the Walking Toe Touch Lunges
Maintain up/down motion by keeping your head stacked over your chest and stacked over your hips… put simply “mostly elevator, a little escalator”
Reach your opposite arm to your front big toe keeping your breastbone pointed straight ahead and letting your shoulder blade reach around your ribcage
“A little” hinge at the hips is necessary to stay moving FORWARDS, but “a little” is all you get
Be nice to your back knee, a soft surface is ideal with this drill
Focus on turning into your abs on the same side as the front leg
Stand up by pushing the ground away with the front foot (that same tripod foot as we discussed previously)
You get no bonus points for lunging LONG- keep your stride length short and controlled
Summary
Choosing single leg exercises that will allow you to achieve the greatest ROM while moving heavy loads are key to targeting more muscle mass. Gettin’ more yoked than a 12th century plow animal is all about moving load over ROM.
Intelligent holding positions, such as DBs at sides and zercher, beget more motion availability.
The positioning or elevation of your feet relative to one another is VITALLY important in ensuring we’re loading the target tissue through as large of an available range as we can muster.
Now go get those legs so HUGE that grandma’s gonna have to buy you new Christmas stockings.
