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Lessons From Mike Boyle

I remember when I first met Mike Boyle back in the fall of 2005.  Eric Cressey and I drove to New Haven, CT to meet up with Alwyn Cosgrove who was in town speaking at some conference that weekend. Having been following Alwyn for a few years up to that point, I was pretty excited to finally meet him in person, shake his hand, and introduce myself.

Funnily enough, I had just started getting my name out there with a few articles I had written (I think I had like three or four making their way around the internet.  Don’t look for them.  They suck.), and as it happened, during that time I was OBSESSED with the show Alias, and subsequently it’s star, Jennifer Garner.

One of my “trademarks” with every article I wrote back then was to somehow incorporate a picture of Jennifer\ Garner in all of her Jennifer Garnerness.

Yeah, I was cool like that.

Keep that in your back pocket.  It will all make sense in a minute.

Anyways, Eric and I walk into the pub (I know weird:  Alwyn Cosgrove in a pub of all places) to meet up with the man himself. Now, mind you, I had never met Alwyn in person and he was kind of a big deal, even back then. I was just a teeny, tiny bit nervous.

We walk in and Alwyn was standing there with two other people.  One a strikingly attractive blonde woman, and the other, some bald dude with glasses.

I shook Alwyn’s hand and introduced myself as Tony Gentilcore.

Alwyn looked at me inquisitively, like he recognized my name, tilted his head and said, “aren’t you the guy who’s like obsessed with Jennifer Garner?”

My first thought was, “holy shit, Alwyn Cosgrove has read some of my articles!!!!!”

He then pointed to the blonde woman and said, “this is Valerie Waters, Jennifer’s trainer.”  My jaw dropped.

Alwyn then turned to me, right in front of Valerie, and said: “just an FYI:, you’ll never, ever, ever, never, ever have a shot in hell with Jennifer Garner.”

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

And that’s how I met Alwyn Cosgrove.

Oh, and about that other guy who was standing there. The bald guy with glasses?  That was Mike Boyle.

I’m embarrassed to say that at the time, I had no idea who he was.  Epic fail on my part, I know.  What can I say?  I was wet underneath the ears, and didn’t know any better.

On the way home, Eric quickly pointed out that Mike was also kind of a big deal. Suffice it to say, later on, I looked him up, ordered his book Functional Training for Sport…………..and the rest, as they say, is history.

In the years since, like many other fitness professionals out there, Mike has been a huge influence on me as a coach (and as a person). I’ve read just about everything he’s ever written, watched every DVD he’s produced, and I’ve listened to him speak countless times.  And no matter what:  I ALWAYS learn something that makes me better.

That said, with the release of Functional Strength Coach 4.0, I thought I’d pay homage to someone who’s undoubtedly been a huge mentor to me. Of course, trying to narrow this list down to a select few nuggets of awesome is like trying to narrow down all the reasons why I love Star Wars, boxed cereal, or even the smell of gasoline (don’t judge).

Regardless, I’m going to give it a go anyways.

No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care

Coach Boyle is the king of one-liner knowledge bombs, and this one pretty much takes the cake.

When I first started out this industry, I made it my mission to demonstrate to potential clients how smart I was.  To do so, my objective was to prove to each and every one of them why what they were doing was completely wrong, and why I was right.

Me, me, me, and me.  You’re wrong, I’m right.  End of story.

I’d go into detail on why scapulohumeral rhythm was effecting their shoulder; why preventing shear load on the spine was important; and maybe even go as far as to say how lack of pinky-toe dorsiflexion was effecting their gait.

Wanna know what happened?  I lost clients.  They didn’t give a rats ass how much I knew, because I didn’t make a concerted effort to LISTEN TO THEM and to show them that I actually cared about them as a human being.

Ask your clients how their day was. Ask then how their kids are doing in their respective sports.  Send them articles you read that you feel applies to them and their specific needs (this is huge!), send them a “Happy B-day” message on Facebook, send them an email to touch base when they haven’t been in to train in a while.

Once you demonstrate that you actually care, you’ll have clients for life.

That Joint by Joint “Thing”

I’d argue that no one concept as infiltrated the industry – and revolutionized it –  more so in the past 5-10 years than the Joint-by-Joint Approach to Training popularized by both Coach Boyle and Gray Cook.

Stated simply: some joints generally need to be trained with stability in mind (knee, lumbar spine, etc), while conversely some joints generally need to be trained with mobility in mind (ankle, hips, t-spine, etc).

While straightforward in nature – that the body is just a stack of joints – it’s important because it feeds very well into many of the imbalances and dysfunctions that we see in our athletes and clients and how we’ll go about addressing (and correcting) those issues.

As Boyle notes himself:  “I think the injuries we see and technical problems we encounter with many lifters relate closely to proper joint function or more appropriately to joint dysfunction.”

Take the knee for example.  Almost always, whenever someone walks in with a history of chronic knee pain, I will undoubtedly look at both the ankle and hip region first.  When we lack ankle dorsiflexion, and likewise, have hips that require a crowbar to un-glue – both joints that require mobility – the knee(s) are going to be like “WTF.” Definitely not an ideal scenario for a joint that wants to be stable.

In short:  when we lack gross mobility in one particular area, the body is going to seek it elsewhere – oftentimes resulting in an ouchie.

Moreover, it forces people to think of the body as more of a kinetic component, rather than JUST individual “muscles.”

The Joint-by-Joint approach – while not absolute – has definitely help pave the way for how we as professionals approach program design, as well as address many postural issues and asymmetries.

I know it’s helped me tremendously.

Integrity

I had the opportunity to hear Martin Rooney speak a few years ago. He talked briefly about integrity, and how many of us in the fitness industry have no clue what that entails.

To prove his point, he told a quick story involving a wise man, a little boy, and his mother. (Stick with me here, I promise this isn’t some cheesy joke.)

“I can’t get my little boy to stop eating sugar,” the mother said to the wise man. “Please help me.”

“Come back and see me in two weeks,” the wise man said.

With a quizzical look on her face, the mother reluctantly walked away. Two weeks later, she brought her son to see the wise man.

“Stop eating sugar,” he said to the little boy.

“Why did we have to wait two weeks for that?”

“Because,” the wise man said, “I myself had to stop eating sugar.”

That’s integrity. You can’t ask your clients to follow your advice if you don’t follow it yourself.

A few years ago Mike made a splash in the industry when he noted that he no longer includes (bilateral) squats in his programming.

I was there, in the flesh, while he was filming Functional Strength Coach 3.0, when he said that he was contemplating omitting squats, entirely, from his programs.  All I could think about when he said that was……..Oh no he didn’t!?!?!

The seemingly apocalyptic tenor that followed, from strength coaches, personal trainers, and various other fitness professionals alike was almost deafening.

How could Mike state something so ludicrous!  So insane!  No squats? Like, ever?  What’s next…….kicking a baby seal in the face?

The thing is:  he backed it up with a clear, concise, and rationale explanation as to why he was doing it.  What’s more, his athletes still got bigger, faster, and stronger……with minimal games missed due to injury.

You can’t really argue with that.

Did I agree about the whole not squatting thing?  Not necessarily.  But I have to respect his integrity and the fact that he stuck to his guns and proved many naysayers wrong.

I know a lot of professionals who write e-books, yet don’t even follow their own advice. Heck, I know some trainers who train people but don’t even workout themselves! Some don’t even have any clients!

I can’t fault anyone for wanting to make money, but when one’s integrity is compromised, is it really worth it?

While I could sit here and come up with 101 more ways why Mike Boyle has been such an influence on me, I think those are three that stand out the most.

If you’ve never read or watched anything from Mike – or even if you have – I’d highly recommend checking out Functional Strength Coach 4.0, which is Mike’s latest installment in his on-going FSC series.  It’s over TEN hours of his most recent thoughts and opinions on programming, facility design, and professional development, to name a few.

In all, it’s an inside look at what he’s doing – TODAY – with his own athletes and clients.  If you’re a personal trainer or strength coach, or just someone who likes to lift heavy things, this would be an excellent addition to your S&C library.

NOTE:  Coach Boyle has offered to host a live online ‘no holds barred’ Q&A for *everyone*
who purchases FSC4 by Friday April 27. If you’re the kind of coach who is always learning then you probably don’t need the extra motivation, but it’s still a nice addition to an excellent program!

—-> Functional Strength Coach 4.0 <—-

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Mark Your Calander: PTDC Hybrid Training Seminar!!

June is looking to be an epic month.  For starters, as mentioned a few weeks ago, I’m going to be heading to Edmonton, Canada on the weekend of June 2nd to join the rest of the Muscle Imbalances Revealed – Upper Body crew for the Spinal Health and Core Training Seminar.

We’re looking to keep this to more of an “intimate” setting – I’m bringing the wine and Best of Sade cd – in an effort to give all the attendees first-hand access to all the coaches speaking…so spots are VERY limited. Even still, we’re going to be offering a gulf of information with regards to anything and everything dealing with core training and spinal health: a topic that pretty much appeals to any fitness professional out there.

For more information, click HERE (<— that tickles!). And, just to throw it out there, May 1st is the last deadline to save yourself $100 off the initial registration fee.

Secondly, Prometheus – Ridley Scott’s return to the genre he essentially revolutionized (Alien, Blade Runner, etc) – opens on June 8th.

Seriously, I just peed myself a little bit watching that again.

Finally, and something that only came to fruition within the last few days, I’m proud to announce:

The PTDC Hybrid Training Seminar, June 16-17th!!!

I’ll be making another trip up to Canada, this time to Toronto, to participate in what’s shaping up to be a really cool weekend.

Both Nick Tumminello and I will be hosting a PRE-SEMINAR event on June 16th titled The Ultimate Coressessment.

When Jon Goodman approached us to see if we’d be interested, both Nick and I came to the (no-brainer) conclusion that there are essentially two topics that are like catnip for trainers and coaches: core and assessment.

Hence, this day-long workshop will cover assessment (both upper and lower extremity), as well as many of the core training concepts and exercises we use with our own athletes and clients.

The following day, however, is the main event:  The Hybrid Training Seminar.

Featuring FIVE presenters (one-hour talk each, followed by a roundtable discussion):  Jon Goodman, Nick Tumminello, Mark Young, Dan Trink, Geoff Girvitz, and some schmuck named Gentilcore.

This should prove to be one of the more anticipated “fitness” events in Canada all year, so don’t miss out.

For more information pertaining to topics and registration costs, go HERE.

 

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Functional Stability Training for the Core

When I imagine some of the more popular pairings in our pop culture, those pairings that, when I think of one I automatically think of the other, a few instantly come to mind:

 

 

 

Peanut butter and jelly

Scorsese and DeNiro

Ross and Rachel

DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince

Jersey Shore and vomiting in my mouth

Of course, that’s just a short list and by no means exhaustive…..but you get the idea.

In much the same way, with regards to the fitness industry, we can come up with a few similar pairings: Westside Barbell and powerlifting; Pavel and kettlebells; Mondays and bench press; and lastly, Satan and Tracy Anderson.

All kidding aside, when I think of one of the more “dynamic” duos in the industry – not to mention two guys who put out a TON of quality content – it’s hard not to think of Eric Cressey and Mike Reinold.

Coincidentally enough, earlier this week the two of them released their latest product together, Functional Stability Training for the Core, which is the first module in an on-going “system” that I feel is really going to change the game and raise the bar in the industry.

Now, I know what some of you may be thinking:  the industry needs another core product like we need another Kardashian spin-off.  To that I say….touche!

But today, rather than just say “hey buy this!”(which you totally should), I’d like to shed a little more light on why I feel this product is worth a look.  I was there when it was filmed, and I’d like to showcase some major take away points I walked away with.

What separates this product from the masses?  Read on, and find out.

1.  I guess the most obvious starting point would be to define what the term Functional Stability Training actually is.  Are we talking about BOSU ball hell here?  Um, no.  Not even close.  In fact, you’re getting a 10-minute time out for even thinking that would be case!

In simplest terms (using Mike’s own words) Functional Stability Training is the integration of physical therapy and performance enhancement training, the integration of exercises and manual techniques, and the integration between mobility, strengthening, and dynamic stabilization.

In short: it’s an attempt to bridge the gap between the manual therapy side of things and the strength and conditioning side of things.  Both are separate entities, of course. But it’s important to note they DO work synergistically to (hopefully) reach the same goal, and it behooves many fitness professionals not to recognize that.  We’re all on the same team here, people!

2. Low back injuries suck (no surprise there), and contrary to popular belief, we typically can’t link one specific incident (lifting a box), but rather a history of excessive loading as a culprit. The lumbar spine will buckle at 20 pounds with no muscular contribution.  Hence, to prevent this, it’s crucial to increase spinal stiffness – 360 degrees – through muscular contraction.

As Reinold puts it:

  • De-emphasize lumbar mobility
  • Increase muscular stiffness to protect the spine
  • EMPHASIZE NEUTRAL SPINE
  • Emphasize endurance, and not strength

3. Think you’re doing your birddogs and deadbugs correctly?

Chances are, you’re not. You’re actually butchering them. No, really.  Stop it.  Just stop.

Mike made it abundantly clear that one of the best ways to “progress” people is through addition by subtraction.

In case you weren’t picking up what I was putting down above, it’s imperative to TRAIN NEUTRAL SPINE.  Like, all the time.

Learn to train abdominal bracing, and to teach the proper muscle firing patterns when coaching the birddog, deadbug, etc. As an example, many trainees will compensate lumbar extension for hip extension, and it’s important to stop any aberrant motor patterns before they start.

Mike goes through a plethora of  cool progressions with the birddog, deadbug, front plank, chop and lift, as well as many others.

In addition, he also dives into lateral chain progressions (side plank, anti-sidebending holds), as well as rotary chain progressions.

4.  Eric made an awesome analogy and referred to spondylolysis as the new ACL epidemic. For those wondering what the hell “spondy” is – it’s essentially a fracture in the pars interarticularis. A spinal “ouchie” using the non-technical term.

I can tell you first hand that we’re seeing more and more younger athletes walk into our facility (Cressey Performance) with “spondy”, and it’s rather disconcerting to say the least.  As Eric noted (citing a study from Soler and Colderon 2000):

  • high prevalence in extension rotation sports:  baseball, track and field throws, etc.
  • L5 is most common (84%) followed by L4 (12%)
  • Bilteral 78% of the time.
  • Only 50-60% of those diagnosed actually reported low back pain

Like whoa! Think about that for a second. Flipping the numbers, that means 40-50% of those with spondy report NO pain and are asymptomatic!  Just because a new client walks in with no discernible “issues,” and says they’re pain free, doesn’t mean squat!

In a way, it stands to reason that you kinda have to assume that everyone you work with is walking in with some sort of back shenanigans going on. Chances are, you’re already working with plenty of clients around disc injuries in the first place.

Well, maybe that’s a little drastic – but you DO need to be aware of the statistics and how they may play into how you go about initiating your clients into strength training. Just sayin….

That said, when you KNOW you’re dealing with a case of spondy, are you prepared? Do you know what red flags to look for during an assessment?  How will you go about structuring a training program?  More specifically, now that back bracing is standard procedure, how would you go about developing a program with an athlete or client who has to wear for weeks (even months) on end?

HINT:  you’ll want to avoid pronounced axial loading (trap bar is an excellent choice here), there should be no rotational training for the duration of the bracing; all plyos and med ball work should be linear, you’ll stress anti-rotation training.

5.  The question, then, becomes:  if “x” number of people are walking around with backs that look like they’ve been through a meat grinder, how do we prevent disc issues from becoming symptomatic in the first place?

For the short course, Eric notes:

  • Avoid lumbar flexion, especially with rotation and compression by increasing ankle mobility, increasing thoracic mobility, increasing hip mobility.

  • Stabilize the lumbar spine within a ROM it already has.  Meaning, don’t be an a-hole trainer and think that EVERYONE has to squat “ass to grass.”  Some people just don’t have the mobility (yet) to get there, so if that means utilizing box squats, so be it.  The important thing to remember is to squat in ROM where they’re successful and work from there.
  • Deload the spine.
  • HAMMER NEUTRAL SPINE!!!!!!!!!
  • Be careful with early morning training.

And that’s really just the tip of the iceberg to be honest.  Mike and Eric leave no stone unturned with this product – other topics covered include:

– how to handle and deal with sports hernias

– the dealo behind “anterior knee pain”

– how to handle EXTENSION in athletes

– how to assess core movement quality (in this section, Mike offers a TON of progressions)

This would be a SOLID addition to any fitness professional’s library.

Functional Stability Training for the Core is on sale for the introductory price of $77 from now (4/19) until this Sunday (4/22). After that, the price increases to the regular price of $97.  Even then, considering the over SIX hours of content you’re getting, it’s still a steal.

====> Functional Stability Training <====

 

 

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Exercises You Should Be Doing: Half Kneeling Cable Batwing/Pulldown

Every so often (read: all….the….time) I come across an exercise or exercise variation that someone else made up or invented and the first thing that crosses my mind is how brilliant that person is for thinking up something so spectaculous.*

Not surprisingly, soon thereafter the second thought that hits me like a ton of bricks is how much of an numbskull I am for never having thought of it myself.

One such moment came about a year ago when I read something from Dan John about “batwing” rows (see picture just above). For those unfamiliar, basically you perform a standard chest supported row and then HOLD the retracted position for a certain amount of time.  The idea is to increase time under tension and to strengthen the scapular retractors – something most trainees can never get enough of anyways.

It was a fantastic concept, and something I implemented with a few of my own clients almost immediately.

Fast forward to within the last few weeks where Ben Bruno has taken the same concept and added his own spin to it, which, of course, made me feel like an idiot (seriously, why can’t I ever think of something so cool?).

…..but unlike times past, Ben’s thinking outside of the box prowess, gave me an idea:

Half Kneeling Cable Batwing/Pulldown

Who Did I Steal It From:  I’d like to take full credit for this one, but again, I have to give props to Ben for giving me the idea for the exercise.  Too, giving added credit where it’s due:  Mike Boyle wrote a fantastic article last week on t-nation where he expanded on a few similar variations, which served as a precursor to this blog post.

What Does It Do:  This is an excellent exercise which trains the middle and lower traps, as well as the rhomboids and lats (of course).  As a nice corollary, by doing this in a half-kneeling position, you also get the side benefit of performing a active stretch on hip flexors of the trailing leg.  In short, while it may look like a simple exercise – and it is – you get a lot of bang for your training buck.

Key Coaching Cues:  As far as the “batwing” portion is concerned, whichever leg is UP is the side you’ll pull to and hold.  Here, you want to focus on pushing your chest forward and holding that scapulae in a retracted position.

With the opposite arm, you’ll perform the allotted repetitions focusing on keeping the shoulder blade depressed the entire time – do not go into scapular anterior tilt!  In addition, you’ll also want to “dig” the toes of the trailing leg into the ground and squeeze the same side glute – HARD – to get more of a co-contraction in the hip flexor.

Perform 8-10 repetitions, then switch sides and repeat the same process on the opposite side.

* = HA!  I just made up a word.  Take that people who are smarter than me!

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I Love Internet Warriors

Two weekends ago, on Easter, while eating steak with Lisa at fancy schmancy restaurant, an idea suddenly popped into my head for a blog post. A blog idea can manifest itself at any given moment – during my commute to work, as I’m watching a movie, etc – but on that particular day, as I bit down on my succulent piece of dead animal flesh, two things came to mind:  1) that my steak was freaking delicious, and 2) why not write a post on the deadlift and describe some of the more common cues I use when coaching it?

Now I expect you are wondering…

“How in the heck did you come up with an idea like that while eating steak?

Don’t ask me how I know you wondering this.** I JUST KNOW!11!!1!

** (Hint:  I am inside your house.)

But though I appreciate your skepticism, truth be told, it was as good of a time as any to come up with a brilliant idea, so I ran with it. Once we got home, after a pit-stop for dessert no less, I jotted down a few notes on a couple of index cards, and a few days later, I wrote 5 Coaching Cues: Deadlift.

On a personal note I felt it was one of the better blog post I had written as of late, and moving forward I have every intention of expanding on the concept and delving into the other big lifts as well – like squats and the bench press.

All told, the post was received well.  There was quite a bit of traffic to the site, and I had a lot of people leave comments saying that they enjoyed it and that it really helped shed some light on a complex topic.

And, as is the case some of the time, there were a few haters, which is all fine and dandy.  I’m used to it, and have long come to the conclusion that you can’t please everyone.  What’s more, I don’t expect everyone to always agree with me, and I actually welcome people to chime in and offer their own perspective on things.  I mean, I’m not that much of a pompous ass to think I’m never wrong.

Cutting the suspense short, I had one reader leave the following knowledge bomb in the comments section in response to my suggestion to “stiffen the upper back” when pulling:

Good luck pulling a deadlift with any sort of real weight without rounding your upper back. Also, pulling back your shoulders? What’s that about?

Normally I just pass off said comments as someone being “kind of douchy,” and I continue on with my life.  But this (callous) comment by some dude who, presumably has never trained a person in his life (since he never offered any explanation or has ever commented on my website prior), rubbed me the wrong way, and really got me fired up.  I just couldn’t ignore it.

First, lets clear the air on the whole “pulling back the shoulders” comment:

Here’s an excerpt from my Much Ado About Deadlifting article from t-nation.com:

“On several occasions I’ve noted that one should retract (pull together) their shoulder blades when setting up for the pull. This stiffens the mid-back, engages the lats (which in turn provides more spinal stability), and activates the thoraco-lumbar fascia, which helps to better transfer force from the lower body to the upper body.

Based on feedback in the LiveSpill as well as various emails I’ve received, this whole “retraction” thing has confused more people than Chaz Bono in a men’s room.

As such, while I still feel that stiffening the upper back and activating the lats is integral for improving the deadlift, I’ve modified my approach. Slightly.

Trying to actively pinch the shoulder blades together while deadlifting just feels awkward. But when I use the phrase, “lock your shoulder blades into place and think about putting them in your back pocket,” it’s like magic, and people get it.

As a result, many of the benefits that I described above come into play. You shorten the lever arm length from the shoulder to the lumbar spine, and you also engage the lats to help protect the lumbar spine and the SI joint. But as a general observation, the pull just “feels” stronger.

Try it out on your next deadlifting day. I can almost guarantee you’ll notice an improvement.”

To summarize the whole shebang:  by “setting” the shoulders and “stiffening” the upper back, one will activate the lats and thoraco-lumbar fascia, which in turn will provide A LOT more stability and help to resist shearing load on the spine.

This isn’t to say, of course, that the upper back won’t round AT ALL during ME lifts – that’s just looney talk.

I’ve said it once, and I’ve said it numerous times – lifting heavy ain’t always going to look pretty. But I sure as hell ain’t gonna coach someone to (purposely) round their back when coaching them through the lift – especially beginner and intermediate lifters.

Advanced lifters get a little more leeway as they’ve trained themselves to stay out of those last 2-3 degrees of end-range motion when lifting with maximal (and sub-maximal) weight.

BUT, for brevity’s sake, lets show that it IS possible.

Here’s CP athlete and Stanford University pitcher, Sahil Bloom, pulling 405 for 10 reps:

David Stanton, another CP athlete and collegiate baseball player, pulling 515×5:

Yet another CP athlete, AJ Wnukowski, repping out 465 lbs plus four chains (which adds an additional 60 lbs at the top):

Here’s female athlete, Becca R (15 when this video was taken), pulling 255 for an easy single:

And while we can sit here and nit pick each of these lifts on a few minor technical aspects like bouncing the weight, not getting the hip through enough, or whatever, not one of them rounded their upper back.

Putting a nail in the coffin (and demonstrating that I practice what I preach), here’s me pulling a PR of 570 lbs:

But the jokes on me, I guess.  You can’t pull “any real weight” without rounding your upper back, right?

I WIN!!!

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Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 4/13/12

I’ve got a pretty cool day lined up.  I’m going to spend the rest of the morning catching up on some work:  I’ve got a few programs to write, and then I’m submitting an article titled 5 Reasons Why You’re Not Getting Stronger to Greatist.com. Then, I’m heading over to Boston University to get my dieselfication on with my boy Dave Rak.  I believe the agenda calls for squatting until we can’t feel the right side of our face followed by “curling everything.”  Awesome.

And then…….I’m heading over to Fenway Park for the Red Sox season opener!  Granted, they’re playing like complete dog dunk right now, but I’ve never been to opening day before, so it should be a pretty badass.

Warning:  Do This & You Will Get Fat – Jason Ferruggia

Jason has a reputation for not blowing sunshine up anyone’s ass, and this post fits that bill to a “t.”  There are a lot of guys out there who want to build muscle and gain weight, yet tend to follow AWFUL advice.

Moreover, many have unrealistic expectations of what’s actually possible thinking that they’re going to transform themselves into The Rock in a matter of four months.

The final line says it all:  “It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. Just remain consistent, stay lean and healthy, train hard and enjoy the journey my friends.”

I wish more would heed that advice.

Is Sugar Toxic?!?! – Mark Young

A non-bullshitter himself, in this post Mark sheds some light on the notion that sugar is the sum total of everything that’s evil this world – from global warming to circus clowns.

I appreciate pieces like this because, while sugar is by no means something we should go out of our way to include more of in our diets, a little bit isn’t going to put you in a diabetic coma tomorrow.

Thanks Mark for bringing the pendulum back to the middle!  Someone deserves a slow clap!

9 Things I Have Changed My Mind About: Part 4 – Molly Galbraith

Leave it to Molly to start with one installment only to inevitably make it into a 47 part PBS special.  You know what, though…I dig it.  It’s refreshing to see someone take an objective look at past mistakes and demonstrate how they’ve grown as a coach and individual. I particularly love Molly’s insight on controlling training stress, and how important it is to NOT think that more is better.

 

 

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Q and A: Training the Adductors

Question #1: What are your thoughts on training the adductors with cables and ankle straps?

A:  It’s not a completely dumb idea (you can make an argument that everything has a time and place), it’s just a mostly dumb idea.

Question #2: Another trainer at my gym seems to do this here and there with his athletes lying on their back, legs spread eagle in the air with cables attached to the ankles and they open and close their legs.

I don’t do these exercises, and I covered one of his guys and he even said “I know you don’t usually train the groin/adductors, but have client A do this”.

To me it looks a bit silly, but then again I have my clients do cable pullthrough’s and every trainer starts cracking jokes about it. Wouldn’t single legged exercises automatically train the adductors to some extent? Is this enough?

A: First an anatomy lesson.  The adductors are actually more of a “complex” consisting of the adductor magnus, adductor longus, adductor brevis, pectineus, and gracilis. Sure their main role is, well, adduction, but some muscles also play a role in (breaking) hip flexion (pectineus and adductor brevis), as well as hip extension (adductor magnus…which is also called the 3rd hamstring), respectively.

In addition, and something that’s usually ignored altogether, are that the adductors (and by the same token, the abductors) are just as important in terms of frontal plane stability than they are in actually initiating movement.

In other words, particularly in single legged stance, the two – along with the quadratus lumborum –  form what’s called the lateral sub-system and are key stabilizers of the femur and pelvis in the frontal plane (controlling whether or not the hip hikes or the knee caves in).

Secondly, while I “guess” what you described above is a slight step above one of those archaic seated adductor/abductor machines (or, what I like to call the naughty/nice machines), why anyone would think that plopping someone down spread eagle style on the floor to solely train the adductors is beyond me.  Seems like a complete waste of time, actually.

Might as well grab a shake weight while we’re at at!

Also, training adduction (or abduction) alone ignores several key roles of muscles. Very few of them have only one function, so it’s borderline laughable to force them into a single plane of motion.  As alluded to above, when you move in the sagittal plane with free weights (in a single leg stance), you’re stabilizing in the frontal plane, but this isn’t present when you’re on the floor showcasing your unmentionables for the entire world to see.

I’d much rather see someone perform more “bang for your exercise buck exercises” like slideboard lateral lunges or a 1-legged RDL and actually train the adductors in a more “functional” manner.

Some other random thoughts:

1.  Utilizing machines (which force trainees into a fixed plane of motion) – as well as that spread eagle whatchamacalit described above – completely neglects the glutes, which is a mistake if you ask me.  Most people have woefully weak glutes, and going out of one’s way to ignore them is a disservice.

Now, of course, I have no idea what else he is doing with his clientele, and I have to assume he’s incorporating things like deadlifts, squats, hip thrusts, etc into the mix to target the glutes.  If so, great…..he’s a little less douchy in my eyes.

Even so, I just feel that there are so many other options at his disposal than what you described above.  Then again, it’s not the end of the world.  I’ve seen (and heard) worse.

2.  The adductor complex is a really grimy, nasty, dense area of muscle. In particular, with regards to athletes such as hockey and soccer players, there’s an increased risk of “sports hernia,” which generally manifests due to poor tissue quality in around the vicinity.  Adding even more stress and load to an area that’s already stiff/short/all sorts of FUBAR’d is just not a smart idea.

This is speculation, obviously, and definitely not set in stone as there are a lot of other factors involved….but an important point to consider.

3.  If he’s targeting the adductors, he better sure as shit be training the abductors, too.  The two groups co-contract in order to maintain frontal plane stability.  When one is dominating the other – in this case, the adductors PWNING the abductors (along with some other weaknesses), the positioning of the femur will be compromised, and as a result, the knee will cave in.

When working with athletes – particularly female athletes – this is important to note as significant adduction is one of the mechanisms behind ACL injuries (the other two being internal rotation and flexion).

All I’m saying is to be cognizant.  Training adduction isn’t wrong per se, I just don’t like the idea of going out of my way to train adduction all by its lonesome self.

I mean, some people think Nicholas Cage is an A-list actor. I think my toaster can out act him any day of the week.  To each his own I suppose.

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Basics: Get Some

As you might surmise, as a strength and conditioning coach (and personal trainer), I’m a huge fan of teaching people the basics.  Really, though, when you think about it, the basics are a great place to start when learning just about anything.

A common theme is that you need to learn how to walk before you can run. This makes perfect sense and it’s something that everyone can vouch for because, well, we’ve all done it. Likewise, when learning to ride a bike, the general progression is to slap on a pair of training wheels, and once you’re comfortable with that, you take them off, fall a few hundred times, and before long you’re jumping puddles like a champ.

I could sit here and come up with a dozen scenarios: learning a new language, how to hit a baseball 400 feet, how to make a meatloaf that doesn’t taste like death, building an atomic bomb, or even learning how to unclasp your first bra (which, as a dude, is arguably the hardest thing ever…..DAMMIT, it won’t come off!!!  Ahhhhhhhh!!!)

The point is: whether it’s something as trivial as learning your multiplication tables or something as complex as figuring out which fork you’re supposed to use to eat your salad at a fancy restaurant, you have to start somewhere.  You have to learn the basics first.  You have to learn to walk before you can run.

The thing is, when it comes to our health and well-being, most people don’t want to learn how to walk.  They want to sprint on day one.

Take for example a recent email I received from a new distance coaching client of mine asking me about intermittent fasting (IF).

Back tracking a little bit: this is a client who’s admittedly told me that he eats like sh*t, and that he’s tried just about every diet out there with little to no results to show for it. H

Given the high popularity of IF at the moment, he was curious. Now, I have nothing against intermittent fasting – it’s something I’ve experimented with myself and there’s obviously a lot of sound science and research backing its efficacy.

But, again, it’s analogous to sprinting. My man is CRUSHING Pop-Tarts every afternoon as a snack. Looking at this from my perspective, he’s not even walking yet….he’s still learning how to crawl. Why the hell are we even talking about intermittent fasting?

I understand that we live in a “I want it NOW” society, and that we’re obsessed with quick fixes…but why is it so hard for people to step away from the stupid?

In light of this, and despite the groaning, I’m taking a “learn the basics” approach with him. I’m demonstrating to him that drinking more water is kind of important, and that it’s okay to eat the yolk of an egg. In addition, he’s learning to make protein shakes with fruit as an afternoon snack (in place of the Pop-Tarts), and that kale is the shiznit.

Equally as important, with his training, we’ve had to take a step (or two) back.  We’ve had to overhaul his squatting pattern, teach him how to perform a push-up correctly, and we’ve also introduced him to the wonderful world of foam rolling.  He hates it, of course, but whatever….he needs to learn the basics.

It’s not sexy by any means, and it’s certainly not exciting. But, stroking my ego a little bit, I can almost guarantee that he’s going to see marked progress in the upcoming weeks and months.

Start with the basics.  Master them.  And good things will happen.

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5 Coaching Cues: Deadlift

It’s no secret that I love deadlifts.  They rank right up there with Star Wars, my mom, oatmeal, and old GI Joe re-runs  And while I feel the deadlift is one of the more beneficial movements out there in terms of improving performance, muscle growth, and even posture….it’s still something that a lot of trainees have a hard time perfecting.

I give people all the credit in the world for doing them………

….it’s just many don’t do them properly.

Moreover, it can be a very intricate and complex movement to master, and as much as I try, attempting to cover every nook and cranny into one 1200 word blog post is about as easy as quantum physics.

That said, below are some of the more common coaching cues I gravitate towards when attempting to teach it to others. While it’s not an all encompassing list by any means, I do feel the ones highlighted serve as a solid foundation and work wonders in terms of “cleaning up ” technique.

Maybe even yours!

Push the Hips Back

Developing a proper hip hinge pattern can be a cumbersome endeavor for a lot of trainees, as many want to “squat” everything.  The conundrum, it seems, is that there are a lot of trainees and personal trainers (sadly), that feel deadlifts are the same thing as squats.

Einhorn is Finkle and Finkle is Einhorn!!!!!!

While I could sit here and write a five-page dissertation on why this is the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard, lets just agree on a few things:

1.  Squats are generally considered more “quad dominant,” while deadlifts on the other hand, are considered more “hip dominant.”  I’m not a huge fan of this distinction because you can easily make a squat more hip dominant in nature (think box squats), but for the sake of brevity, it’s a relevant talking point.

2. Squats generally start with an eccentric loading phase, while deadifts are almost purely concentric.

3.  And, most important of all, regarding trunk, hip, and knee angles, significant differences between the lifts are readily apparent.  In a nice summary titled Differences in the Squat and Deadlift in the Journal of Pure Power (V.5, Number 2, April 2010), the scientists noted that squats produced a more linear relationship between the hip and knee angles, “illustrating a more synergistic and simultaneous movement.”

The deadlift, however, showed three distinct phases defined by dominant joint action at the knees during lift off, the hips with the barbell at knee height, and both knees and hips during lockout.

So, in summary:  a deadlift IS NOT A SQUAT!!!!!!!

Capiche?  Good!

Back to the topic at hand:  the hip hinge.  This cue comes into play throughout the entire movement, from the set-up to the descent.

In terms of the set-up, I like to tell people to stand up right against the bar and to then push their hips back (as if there were a rope around their waist and someone was standing behind them pulling the rope back).  Essentially, one would be performing a romanian deadlift – feeling significant tension in the hamstrings – until their hands are able to grab the bar.

Many trainees make the mistake of breaking with their knees and “squatting” down to the bar. This is wrong.  Instead, think about pushing the hips back.

“Pull” the Chest Tall

Pulling the chest tall encourages the trainee to get into t-spine extension, which in turn demonstrates that he or she can resist shear loading of the spine.

Once someone’s hands get to the bar, I usually like to say “use the bar to pull your chest tall.”  Meaning, they’ll literally use the bar to set themselves into proper position.

Taking it a step further, if I’m standing directly in front of them and their shirt happens to have a logo of some sort – a team logo, a New Balance emblem, a picture of the Jonas Brothers (don’t worry, I won’t judge) – I want to see that logo when they set up.

The chest shouldn’t be parallel to the floor, but rather more upright.  An adjunct to this would be to think “chest tall, hips down.”  So, as one pulls their chest tall, the hips will come down simultaneously. From there, they’ll be in a solid position to pull.

“Stiffen” the Upper Back

This could arguably be the most crucial of the bunch.  As I noted above, resisting shear load is kind of important when deadlifting.

Pulling a bar off the ground with a rounded upper back is a recipe for disaster, but unfortunately, it’s par for the course whenever you walk into a commercial gym.

Using the cue “pull the chest tall” is often helpful, but sometimes trainees don’t have the kinesthetic awareness to “feel” what their back is doing.  You can tell someone to arch their back, and they’ll think they’re doing it, but it will still look similar to the picture to the right.

To “stiffen” the upper back, I may just tell them to place their shoulder blades in their back pocket and to “set” their shoulders in place.  Truth be told, this cue often works in unison with pulling the chest tall.

As a pair, those two cues should place an individual in a solid starting position to pull (see pic above in the previous section).

Tuck the Chin

Too, as much as we’re concerned with keeping the entire backside in a neutral (arched) position, we also need to be cognizant of neck position.

If you watch a vast majority of people set up to deadlift, you’ll invariably see them end up looking up or straight ahead, cranking their neck into hyper-extension, kinda like this:

Please, stop doing this.

I like to tell people to find a spot that’s roughly 10-15 feet in front of them, and to keep their eyes fixated on that point throughout the entire set.

Another cue I like to use in this instance is “your head should follow the hinge.”  In other words, during the set-up, your entire back side – from head to sacrum – should make a straight line.  Oftentimes, during the lockout, people will still think I want them to look straight down, which isn’t the case at all.

During lockout your head should be upright and your entire backside should still make a straight line (you’re looking 10-15 feet a head of you).  Then, on the descent, your head will follow the hinge.  As you push your hips back, your head/neck will still stay in line with the actual hinge.

I think that makes sense. If it doesn’t, too bad……;o)

Hump the Bar (Hips Through)

Another common mistake that many trainees make is not “finishing” the movement.  At lockout, you’ll often see one of two scenarios:

1.  No hip extension what-so-ever, and they don’t squeeze their glutes at the top.

2.  HYPER extension – because they’re not using their glutes, they substitute lumbar extension for hip extension……….and their spine cries.

It’s a double edged sword in both scenarios, because in each instance the glutes don’t come into play at all.

Luckily there’s an easy fix. As one comes to lockout, simply tell them to squeeze their glutes and “hump the bar.”

For those in the former (no hip extension), this will serve as a vital cue to use.  Squeezing the glutes at the top will provide more posterior pelvic tilt and help to finish in a more optimal position.

For those in the latter, however (hyper extension), because their glutes don’t fire properly and they’re compensating with excessive lumbar extension, you may need to take a more of hands-on approach and show them where to stop.

Either way, in both cases, squeezing the glutes (humping the bar) will bode in their favor.

And Now You’re (Hopefully) Less Sucky

There are numerous cues I like to use when teaching the deadlift, but these five tend to be the ones that stick out the most.  Sure, we can talk about taking slack out of the bar, foot placement, not destroying the back of your pants, and other more pertinent cues…..but like I noted above, the five above serve as a fantastic foundation and will set a lot trainees up for success.

Have your own cues you find useful?  Share them below in the comments section!

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Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 4/6/12

Two things before we get to the stuff you should be reading:

1.  I’m not going to lie, I kinda want to go see Titanic 3D this weekend. There, I said it. Let the ball busting begin.

I remember when the movie first came out in theaters (SPOILER ALERT:  the ship sinks) – back when I was in college – and being absolutely blown away.  Sure, it had the sappy love story and all that, but the special effects were on point, and well, it did show boob – albeit PG-13 boob.  But boob nonetheless!

Okay, dammit…..you got me.  Yes, I got a little teary eyed when Rose told Jack she’d “never let go.” The first time I saw it (yes, I went twice**), I balled like a little school girl.  The second time, I was on a date, so I was able to hold it together. Sorta.

Whatever.  Don’t play it off like you didn’t get a little emotional during that part, too.

Anyways, I just remember Titanic being one of the more memorable movie experiences – right up there with Grindhouse (easily, the most fun I’ve ever had at the movies), and Avatar (which goes without saying), and I think seeing it in 3D would be kinda cool.  Thing is, I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On without fighting off the urge to jump off a cliff.

If you don’t see a blog here on Monday, you’ll know the answer.

2.  My boy Dean Somerset is holding a sweet sale on his best-selling product Post Rehab Essentials all Easter weekend. I have a lot of respect for Dean, I consider him a good friend, and I think he’s one of the brightest minds in the industry when it comes to assessment and program design, which is why I feel this is a MUST HAVE product for any fitness professional to have at their disposal.

To sweeten the pot, Dean’s added two additional incentives on top of the already stellar content:

  • “Developing Medical Referrals for Fitness Professionals” – 40 minute webinar

For this weekend only, the entire package is on sale for only $99, down from the regular $209.  With the money you save, you could watch Titanic like ten times!

15 Commandments for the 3 Big Lifts – Todd Bumgardner

This article drew me in like a moth to a flame.  With a title as simple, basic, and badass as this, how could it not?  The only way I would have clicked on the link quicker is if the article were titled, “Hey, Tony Gentilcore, Click Here to See Naked Pics of Alicia Keys!”

All kidding aside, this is an excellent piece by Todd which provides some solid tips/cues/advice on how to improve your performance with the big 3 – squats, deadlifts, and bench press.

Love it.

5 Questions with a Girl Gone STRONG: Jen Comas Keck – Trey Potter

Trey continues with his on-going series with the Girls Gone Strong crew, and I think this may be the best of the bunch thus far (no offense to the other ladies

 Choose the Best Breakfast Foods – Men’s Health

I thought this was a pretty neat (yes I just used the word neat) idea by Men’s Health to test the breakfast IQ of its readers.  What’s yours?

Well, don’t just stare at the screen…….take the test and find out!

 

** Okay, I actually went three times.  DON’T JUDGE ME!!!!!!!!!!