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.
I was perusing Instagram a few months ago when I came across my friend’s, Andrew Coates, feed. He had just posted a video of himself performing an impressive set of Supported Bulgarian Split Squats.
Or, Hatfield Squats for the meatheads in the house.
It was something like 365 lb for 5 repetitions.
As I said, at first I was like “huh.”
Then I was like, “damn, that’s strong.”
And then I was like, “pffft, whatever, I want in on this parade.”
At that point I was roughly 5-6 weeks post Achilles repair surgery and was training pretty aggressively in the gym. That said I was still looking for ways to expand or improve upon my Trainable Menu.
I.e., Focusing on stuff I could train rather than stuff I couldn’t.
A day or two later I posted a video of myself performing a set of close to 300 lb for 6-8 reps on my NON-affected leg. I tagged Andrew who then tagged a few other colleagues who were also inspired by his escapades; one of whom was Luka Hocevar, owner of Vigor Ground Fitness in Renton, WA.
Some good ol’ fashioned friendly competition ensued.
Each week we continued to post our progress and I enjoyed it, which was weird because, despite what coaches on the internet like to pretend, I fucking hate performing single leg work.
1. Nazi’s
2. Kipping pull-ups
3. People who wax poetic about keto.
.
.
.
44. Single leg work.
45. Talking about feelings.
Anyway, as it happens, myself, Andrew, and Luka teamed up to write an article for T-Nation.com that just went live today. In it we break down anything and everything as it relates to the Supported Bulgarian Split Squat and why you should consider adding it to YOUR training arsenal.
Hi, my name is Tony and I ruptured my Achilles tendon earlier this year.
It was the first significant injury of my life and one that, as it happens, happens often (and without warning). Since my injury six months ago I’ve met numerous people who have gone through the same dumpster fire of an experience.2.And as a result I’ve documented my rehab and post-surgery training via my IG account using the hashtags #findyourtrainablemenu and #achillesgate2020.
However, I figured something more in depth and robust with regards to explaining the mechanism of Achilles rupture (as well discussing prevention) could be of benefit to the masses. To that end, my fellow coaches and colleagues – Dr. Bo Bobenko and Shane McLean – offered to write something for the site to cover exactly that.
For what it’s worth: I peppered in a few comments myself along the way.
Measures to Strengthen & Prevent Achilles Injuries
When admiring yourself, flexing away, do you ever give thought to the unsung hero of muscle? You know, the things that attach the muscles to your bones: the tendons. You probably don’t give much thought, until it’s too late.
Unless you’ve had your head in the sand, you know our resident funny man and light saber fighter extraordinaire, Tony Gentilcore tore his Achilles tendon while hanging out with the in-laws in Florida six months ago
NOTE FROM TG: It’s important to remember that correlation doesn’t equal causation here. My in-laws didn’t cause my Achilles rupture…;o)3
Tony, a big strong guy with no history of serious injury performs a drill he has done before and boom, suddenly it’s not his day, week, month or even his year….
NOTE FROM TG: For those interested, HERE is a great depiction of the exercise (and mechanism) that served as the impetus to my injury.
The “Jump Back” Start
This video almost exactly showcases what happened. The only difference is that I didn’t preload my sprint with a three-hop thingamajig (just one), and in my case, once my back leg planted, I fell immediately to the ground.
Plus I may or not have been wearing a cape.
A Little Background On The Achilles Tendon
The tendon is named after the ancient Greek mythological figure Achilles (and not Brad Pitt) as it was the only part of his body that was still vulnerable after his mother had dipped him into the River Styx. Plus, we all know where he got shot with an arrow, at least in the movie.
The Achilles tendon is the thickest and strongest tendon in the human body. It’s the tendinous extension of the three-headed calf muscle soleus and the two-headed gastrocnemius and it inserts on the calcaneus (heel).
The contraction of the calf muscles transfers a force through the Achilles tendon, which enables plantar flexion of the foot and allows for actions such as walking, running, jumping, bounding, sprinting, and skipping.
During these movements, the Achilles tendon is subject to the highest loads in the body, with tensile loads up to 10 times the body’s weight.
The reasons for this are twofold: First, the Achilles consists of type II fast-twitch fibers, and this elasticity allows for rapid forward and backwards movement. Secondly, the tendon type I fibers of collagen and elastin which are lined up parallel from calf to heel, are responsible for the Achilles tendon strength. (1)
The Achilles due to its strength and its ability to handle high loads makes it a resilient tendon, which is good and bad. Good because it can handle lots of load and bad because it’s not always going to send pain signals to the brain every time something goes wrong.
This is one reason why Achilles tears can happen without warning.
Types Of Achilles Injuries
When your achilles hurts or you feel pain you’ll often be told ‘You got tendonitis bro’ But there are few different types of Achilles injuries besides tendonitis.
1. Achilles Tendon Tears
This is the mack daddy of all tendon injuries and like with Tony, it often happens without warning. If you hear a pop and a pain that radiates up your lower leg, there’s no second guessing what you’ve done.
NOTE FROM TG: The best way I can explain the sensation is that it feels like someone taking a sledgehammer right to your ankle. It doesn’t tickle.
2. Achilles Tendinopathy
Tendinopathy is a degeneration of the collagen protein fibers that form the Achilles. Its symptoms include increasing pain at the heel, stiffness, swelling at the back of your ankle, and a grating noise or creaking feeling when moving your ankle.
3. Achilles Tendonitis
Tendonitis is acute inflammation of the tendon and its symptoms include pain and stiffness in the morning, pain that worsens with activity, extreme pain the day after exercise.
There are two types of Achilles tendonitis: insertional and noninsertional.
Insertional Achilles tendonitis affects the lower portion of your tendon where it attaches to your heel bone often caused by bone spurs.
Noninsertional Achilles tendonitis involves fibers in the middle portion of the tendon.
4. Achilles Tendinosis
Tendinosis is the non-inflammatory degeneration of the collagen fibers of the tendon. This includes changes to the structure or composition of the tendon that results from repetitive strains without proper healing.
Achilles and calf tightness are common causes of Achilles tendinosis. Plus insertional Achilles tendinosis is often associated with heel spurs as it rubs against the achilles causing small tears.
Activities That Cause Achilles Tears
Achilles tendon tears happen to people who do things where they quickly speed up, slow down, or pivot, such as:
Running
Gymnastics
Dance
Football
Baseball
Softball
Basketball
Tennis
Fighting Zombies, Salsa Dancing, Talking About Feelings (<— things added by Tony)
Achilles tears tend to happen when you start moving suddenly as you push off and lift rather than land. Sometimes these abrupt actions can be too much for the tendon to handle.
Here is the statistical lowdown on how tears happen.
90% of injuries occur with an acceleration/deceleration movements mentioned above
Only 15-20% of men reported any sort of heel pain/tendinosis before the injury
50% of men who have an Achilles Rupture had tissue degeneration before the injury
Typically occurs 30 minutes after moving around
Research has shown Achilles tears include clear degenerative changes before the rupture but many of the Achilles tendon ruptures occur suddenly without any preceding signs or symptoms. (2)
For instance, Tony’s tear was caused by aggressive eccentric load (jump back start) combined with poor load management and then “jumping” right back into sprinting.
NOTE FROM TG: Exactly. Part of the problem was sheer bad luck. But too, up until that point – eight or so weeks into pandemic quarantine – I hadn’t been doing much (if any) plyometric activity.
In his mind it was all systems go. The main point here is there’s not one definitive “cause.” of Achillies tears. It’s equal parts shit-happens and bad luck.
Big Picture With Tendon Pain Modulation
1. CNS Response
The CNS is incredible at responding to and adapting to pain modulation. This is a good thing to keep going and for our survival but makes understanding our tendon health much trickier because damage can exist without pain.
2. Load Management and Exposure
This is probably the single most important component to tendon health that we should seek to understand and pay attention to. It can be intimidating to truly track your loads/exposure, but the better we get at it, the more we increase our chance of avoiding injury.
All of the research continues to bear out controlling the load on tendons is the best way to make any kind of change. The analogy I often use when explaining this to patients is the comparison to a wall that continues to take damage or have a crack and we need to keep adding spackle to it every 48 hours to reinforce it and strengthen the overall structure.
How To Prevent Achilles Tears
The experts and research are a bit mixed on this therefore the safest approach in my mind is to increase the variety of loads you place on the tendons.
Unless training for a specific sport or activity, then we should focus on preserving the natural capacity of what the tendon is meant to do, which is to absorb and transfer forces effectively in the simplest of terms.
Pogo Jumps
Heel Taps
A Daily Routine to Incorporate Into Your Movement Prep
You need tendon loading with multiple angles and a plan for tempo for the long term. My go to is often for heavy slow resistance, four seconds eccentric, three seconds concentric, carefully plotted over 12 weeks. There is strong research to support this concept.
A quote I really like about this:
“We start dying when we stop jumping.”
Assessment can be vital, but there is no Gold standard. Personally, I use my hands to assess pain tolerance to pressure at the tendon as one way to track progress of tendon health, but this is not well supported by research and requires me to have physical access to you which can be limiting indeed.
If you haven’t loaded the tendon recently, some easy options are
Calf raises with full range of motion, faster up slower down, aiming for 20 reps per leg as a baseline for tendon health. This allows us to look for asymmetries as well as an overall deficit based on training age.
In terms of a plan to increase your activity tolerance:
Firstly, I like to think of the principle of 10% per session as a safe progression. Meaning, in terms of a weekly volume a nice progression is to add 10% to the previous week.
Secondly, the quote that drives me here is:
“We tend to overestimate what we can accomplish in a month and underestimate what we can accomplish in a year.”
Therefore, a long term strategy for tendon health should be implemented.
Exercise Is Important But So Is Diet
It goes without saying reducing stress, sleeping soundly, and eating nutritious foods not only helps you…
…but your tendons specifically.
But I said it anyway.
However, there are a few supplements on top of eating and sleeping well, reducing stress and moving better which help heal and keep tendons resilient. Notice the word supplement. These should NOT be your priority to help your tendons stay healthy or heal after an injury.
Primary should always be eating real high quality foods.
The first and most obvious supplement is Vitamin C.
Vitamin C is absolutely essential for synthesis of collagen which makes the tendons type 1 slow twitch fibers strong. Pre clinical studies have shown vitamin C has the potential to accelerate bone healing after a fracture, increase type I collagen synthesis, and reduce oxidative stress after a tendon injury. (3)
Supplementing with Vitamin A helps the process of forming new tissue (collagen) and your immune system. A stronger immune system can prevent microorganisms from further damaging your tendons.
Vitamin E has anti-inflammatory properties which helps reduce tendon inflammation, and helps the healing of damaged tendons which can lead to a reduction of tendon pain. (4)
The science and research is limited on diet and tendon health and there are probably other things out there that can help. It is an ever expanding field so stay tuned.
NOTE FROM TG: At the moment, I like the Collagen Peptides from Momentous because they use Vitamin C, and FORTIGEL® , which is a formula designed and tested to promote collagen synthesis in tendons and ligaments.
(👆👆👆 Discount:GENTILCORE25 gets you 25% off your first order when you sign up for a subscription 👆👆👆)
Most collagen out there is basically like buying a pack of J-E-L-L-O, focusing on hair, skin and nails, but this stuff is solid and provides a bit more heft.
Here’s the daily “Wolverine Cocktail” I’ve taken every day since my surgery on June 1, 2020:
Tendon tears often happen without warning and it doesn’t discriminate on whether you’re fit or not. One moment you’re about to move quick and the next you’re on the ground.
The best things you can do before engaging in risky tendon activities:
Warm up properly
Load the tendon appropriately
Reduce stress, eat and sleep better.
But as you’ve seen by Tony’s experience, there are no guarantees. Please do your best so you don’t hear the pop from hell.
Authors’ Bios
Shane “Balance Guy” McLean, is an A.C.E Certified Personal Trainer working deep in the heart of Louisiana with the gators.
Dr. Bo Babenko is the owner of FitCare Physio focusing on virtual health coaching and helping people attack the 5 pillars of health: movement, nutrition, recovery, mindset, connection.
References
Michael Wong; Achraf H. Jardaly; John Kiel.Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb, Achilles Tendon.
Nicholas N DePhillipo et al. Efficacy of Vitamin C Supplementation on Collagen Synthesis and Oxidative Stress After Musculoskeletal Injuries: A Systematic Review. Orthop J Sports Med 2018 Oct 25;6(10)
Christopher Tack,Faye ShorthouseLindsy Kass. The Physiological Mechanisms of Effect of Vitamins and Amino Acids on Tendon and Muscle Healing: A Systematic Review. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab 2018 May 1;28(3):294-311.
1. Writing Periodized Programs for Gen Pop Clients
I know this may ruffle a few feathers out there, but I really struggle with the idea of writing periodized (meaning, several weeks or months in advance) training programs for the general population.
When working with a competitive athlete who has their year broken up between an “off-season” and “in-season” as it relates to their respective sport…
…yes, it makes sense to write a more detailed, thorough, and robust plan to prepare them for those rigors
Being more meticulous with managing stress, ascertaining precise volumes & loads, managing rest periods, and possibly even going so far as to measuring things like bar speed are all appropriate when preparing an athlete for a competitive season.
Tom, who’s 49 and works in Human Resources, has two kids at home, a cranky left shoulder, and is just looking to lose a little fat and maybe match his squatting numbers from college isn’t Bo Jackson.
He doesn’t need to prepare for Sunday or hit a 400 ft home runs.4
This is NOT to insinuate I don’t feel general pop clients don’t require planning or structure within their programming. I just don’t feel having them follow a Block Periodized program so that their bench press peaks to coincide with their kids clarinet recital in the Spring is really the panacea for progress.
What’s more, “life” just has a knack for getting in the way:
Kids get sick
Work piles up
Vacations get planned
Fucking global pandemics happen
Certainly, I’m not suggesting to take a haphazard (or “winging it”) approach, but writing training programs several weeks – or more aggressively: months – in advance, while well-intentioned, is rarely going to “stick” with most gen pop clients.
The more cogent approach will almost always be to write 2-4 week micro-cycle programs, but under the assumption that on any given day “Tom” is going to show up for a session and need some tweaking done.
2. Speaking of Athletes Though
My friend Mike Perry, owner of Skill of Strength here in Massachusetts, posted this hilarious (albeit 100% appropriate) meme on his feed today:
I see this happen often: Someone will go on and wax poetic about how “so and so” does “such and such” in the weight room so why can’t I?
To steal a few examples from Mike:
1️⃣ A loaded valgus knee is not dangerous, just look at Chinese weightlifters!
2️⃣ GSP does a ton of gymnastics, that’s what I should be doing!!
3️⃣ Tom Brady only uses bands and look at his success.
4️⃣ Lebron has amazing balance from standing and kneeling on stability balls
There’s one thing that all high-level athletes have that you don’t.
And it’s untrainable.
Natural selection.
Nature picked for them their parents and not yours.
They have superior genetics and would be elite at their sport despite some of the questionable things they do in the weight room.
One athlete may post something on social media where they’re performing some circus-trick exercise and another may post something about how they avoid foods that are colored red.
Don’t do it.
Stop it.
STOP.
You’re not them.
So I guess what I’m struggling with here is resisting the urge to jump into a shark’s mouth every time I see someone – whether a coach or just some rando – attempting to make this borderline moronic argument.5
3. Spelling Calander Calendar Correctly the First Time
Dammit!
Every…single…time.
4. Convincing Fit Pros That Rotator Cuff Training Is So Much More Than Band Exercises
I know some will see this and read the following:
“Tony Gentilcore hates band work for rotator cuff exercises. He also hates bacon, oxygen, and kitty cuddles.”
To set the record straight: I have nothing against band work for the rotator cuff.
They’re splendid (when performed correctly, of course).
In terms of EMG activation, band work (as well as Side Lying External Rotations) have been shown to be top dog.
That said, there’s so much more to rotator cuff training and shoulder health in general than just standing (or lying) in-place performing endless repetitions of external rotations.
The shoulder is a dynamic joint and if we wanted to be nit-picky it’s main job is to maintain joint centration where the humeral head stays “centered” within the glenoid fossa.
I’ve long championed the efficacy of implementing rhythmic stabilizations as part of a rotator cuff training strategy.
Note to Self: This video is a decade old for crying out loud; update it.
However, taking things to the next level, my friends at Back Bay Health – Laura & Tim Latham – posted this fantastic idea on their IG today:
Whenever someone rounds their back on a deadlift two things happen:
A baby seal dies.
I have to fight off the urge to throw my face into a fire.
Caveats exist, however.
Everyone at some point will round their back.
Elite lifters will do it – sometimes on purpose – to lock out a max effort lift.
Newbie and intermediate lifters will do it – almost always not on purpose – to lock out any lift…🤪
The difference is that elite lifters are strong (and knowledgable) enough to know how to self-correct when teetering with a precarious position (end-range spinal flexion), and mostly everyone else is not an elite lifter.
As I’ve noted repeatedly, if your goal is to become a deadlifting Terminator then the bulk of your accessory work should address either a weakness or technique flaw.
The SLOW START deadlift is a superb choice for those lifters who have trouble with their hips coming up too early and/or have a difficult time with maintaining upper back tension. I’ve been using this with a my clients and it’s been magical to see the progress they’ve made with their technique.
Performing 3-5 sets of 3-5 reps using 50-70% of 1-rep max should do the trick.
Some people will read the title of this post and see what they want to see…
“…Tony G has lost his mind. He’s telling people that doing eccentric only pull-ups to help build their actual pull-up is wrong. He also hates kittens.”
Others will know better and actually continue reading.
The Missing Ingredient to Conquering Your First Pull-Up
I’d be remiss not to note that most competent programs designed to help people become pull-up badasses either emphasize or incorporate eccentric only variations.
Hell, one of the most baller programs out there (and one I reference often myself) – Meghan Callaway’s Ultimate Pull-Up Program (ahem, it’s its 3-year anniversary this week and it’s on sale for 50% OFF the regular price hint, hint, nudge, nudge) – incorporates a bevy of eccentric only pull-ups…
…among many, many other things.
I mean, it’s well established that the eccentric (or lowering) portion of any exercise is generally where a trainee is strongest, can handle the most load, and, potentially, leads to the most muscle growth.
All the above being the case, when it comes to BUILDING the pull-up, I still feel too many trainees (women AND men, mind you) miss the forest for the trees.
Despite it being an excellent choice, performing 5 to 10 lackluster eccentric only pull-ups week in and week out does not a pull-up make.
It’s akin to me posting a shirtless pic on my Match.com profile – and only a shirtless pic – and then underneath that pic typing…
First of all: I’m a happily married man and don’t have a Match.com profile. It’s just a metaphor. But, coincidentally enough, I did meet my wife there…;o)
Second: I’d like to think my superior writing skills and uncanny wit was what won her over and led to us meeting for our first date four days after crossing paths digitally.
Third: In the age of Tinder, Bumble, and the litany of other dating apps at society’s disposal, do people even use Match.com anymore?
Where was I?
Right, what else to focus on other than eccentric only pull-ups.
Do More
I think one of the biggest mistakes I see most people make with their pull-up/chin-up programming is that they simply don’t train the pattern enough.
Most people will train their pull-up once, maybe twice per week.
This isn’t enough.
Pull-up badass, Artemis Scantalides, will often advocate a frequency of 4-5x per week.
However, this approach only works well for those who can already perform 3-5 pull-ups and are looking to level up that number.
If you can’t even perform one this would be a daunting prospect to say the least.
That said, I think staying cognizant of total VOLUME is an often overlooked component of pull-up progress.
As in: A metric fuck ton (which is just a tad below a metric boat load) of pulling volume is undoubtedly going to result in some cool things happening.
I like to incorporate the following (hybrid) vertical pulling progressions when working with an individual working toward their first pull-up
This is hands down one of my favorite accessory “pull-up builder” exercises (and upper back exercises in general).
I LOVE the lat stretch in the bottom position.
If someone is looking to conquer their first pull-up I’d be more inclined to include one of these exercises as part of EVERY training session aiming for 2-4 sets of 5-15 repetitions
The “easier” drills are assigned more sets and reps.
The “harder” drills are assigned less sets and reps.
Sick beats optional.
Ultimate Pull-Up Program & Ultimate Push-Up Program
All this week you can purchase Meghan Callaway’s Ultimate Pull-Up Program at 50% off the regular price. Meghan is one of the best coaches I know and this program is without hesitation THE “go-t0” program if you’re looking to take your pull-up game to the next level.
Moreover, you also have the option of purchasing both the Ultimate Pull-Up Program & the Ultimate Push-Up Program at a heavily discounted price.
Nevertheless, given many people have lost access to their regular gyms due to COVID-19 and have been regulated to training mostly at home these two programs couldn’t come at a better time.
I’m a firm believer in many things: The Earth is round. The Bourne Ultimatum is the best Bourne movie. And most accessory work should address a weakness or technique flaw with one of your main lifts.
Enter paused deadlifts.
There’s no sugar coating here: these can be absolutely brutal, but they accomplish a few important things:
They help synchronize the shoulders and hips (namely the latter) from coming up too fast.
They help improve upper back (lat) tension.
They get people stronger in ranges of motion where they’re weakest.
For programming purposes, aim for sets of 3-5 reps using 50-65% of 1-rep max, pausing 2-3 inches off the floor (or at mid-shin level depending on the individual and where the bar tends to stall) for a 2-3 second count each rep.
If you want to up the ante even further, perform a full pause in the same spot on the way up AND the way down.
My good friend – and currently #7 on my list of Top 10 man crushes – David Otey was in town to teach the course.
It was lovely to spend time with my friend whom I hadn’t seen in several months. But too, after an equal gap in absence, it was downright biblical to finally be amongst a group of fitness professionals in a learning environment. I didn’t realize how much I missed in-person continuing education until I was marinating in it for a few hours.
I took home a bounty of insights and ideas in the few hours I was there, however there was one analogy in particular David used that really resonated with me
Do Not Cross Doesn’t Really Mean You Can’t Cross: Fitness in a Nutshell
Anyone who lives in a large city is familiar with the throng of “Do Not Cross” signs peppering the sidewalks and streets.
Pedestrian life is controlled by their never-ending playlist counting down when it’s safe to cross a street and when it’s not.
They’re there for a reason; for our safety and the public good.
Not surprisingly, most people ignore them and cross the street anyway.7
And 99.9999% of the time…it’s fine. We survive. Not a scratch.
…but your head better be on swivel.
The same theme applies to lifting weights. As David noted during his talk on squat assessment and squat technique, people can back squat with a straight bar (often considered at the top of the pyramid in terms of most advanced squat variations), but it only takes that one time using too much load or being too overzealous where something goes awry.
Likewise, think about the conventional deadlift.
I’d argue the conventional deadlift – particularly when performed from the floor – is the most advanced variation of deadlift one can perform:
Axis of rotation is further away from the barbell.
More shear load on the spine.
More likely your soul will leave your body.
It requires a fair amount of mobility (access to requisite hip flexion, thoracic extension, ankle dorsiflexion) as well as picking the right parents (short torso, long arms) to be able to get into and maintain the proper spine position to perform safely.
NOTE: I believe Dr. Stuart McGill has noted in his research that something like 93% of the people he’s assessed during his career could not perform a conventional deadlift from the floor without compensating through their lumbar spine in some fashion (I.e., loaded spinal flexion).
NOTE II: Maybe it’s 91%. No, wait, 87%. Either way, it’s a lot…;o)
All of this to say: Yes, back squatting is fine. As are conventional deadlifts. But they’re both examples where the bulk of trainees are crossing the street when the “do not cross” sign is flashing.
Most can do them.
And most will probably be fine.
However, this is why it’s imperative to assess your clients/athletes and be more cognizant of “fitting” any program to THEM – and their injury history, their goals, their ability level, and yes, their anthropometry – rather than the other way around.
We can vastly reduce the risk of injury with most trainees by utilizing safer alternatives that tend to be a better fit across the board anyway – like the Trap Bar Deadlift, Front Squat, or even a SSB Bar Squat.
It’s still squatting and deadlifting…
…you’re just, you know, less likely to be taken out by a moped.
You’ve heard these before: Chest up. Extend your T-spine. Create torque in your hips.
Those are cues which work well for some, but can sound like Elvish to many trainees, particularly when they’re new to deadlifting. Instead, get more acquainted with external cues which, contrast to their internal counterparts (which speak to what the body is doing in space), imply intent or direction.
These can be game changers when it comes to helping people better understand what you’re asking them to do as a coach.
