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A Few Candid Thoughts on Women and Training

Below is a portion of an interview I did for another blog on the topic of women and training.  I thought I’d share some of it here, since I know a fair portion of my audience are women (as well as those who train women).

On a scale 1-10, with 1 being the equivalent of an episode of Grey’s Anatomy and 10 being Rocky IV, this interview is a 10.  Easy.

Enjoy.

On how the media portrays training to women.  Is there any way to change what is being marketed as “exercise” to women?….

TG:  Completely true, and it’s something that I do see changing – albeit at a snail’s pace. Walk down any aisle at your local grocery store, and you’re bound to see numerous “women’s” magazines with a teeny-tiny (airbrushed) actress or model on the cover holding a pink dumbbell underneath some innocuous title like “10 Tips for a Bikini Body” or “Tank Top Triceps!” or something equally as vomit-in-my-mouthish.

In reality, it’s not even the title that’s the most nauseating – it’s the remedial, almost offensive workouts that are attached. I mean, come on:  recommending a workout based solely around a can of soup (which I saw one national magazine publish) – how to curl with it, squat with it, lunge with it, throw it at the editor’s face who decided this was viable fitness information – is a bit of waste of everyone’s time don’t cha think?

But, this is the type of stuff that’s marketed towards women all…….the…….freakin…….time.  As you noted, can you blame women when they curl up in the fetal position whenever you ask them to lift something heavier than their Prada bag?

Note: not every women does this, of course. Many are more than willing to listen. But, it’s pretty comical when you think about it. Many are lugging around bags (and kids!) that are pretty heavy and they don’t bat an eye.

Hand them a 50 lb dumbbell, however, and label it as “exercise,” and all of sudden they’re worried about adding on too much muscle.

Most of what they know about fitness is what the likes of Tracy Anderson regurgitates to them: “no woman should EVER lift a weight heavier than three pounds.”

More to the point, as far as the mainstream media is concerned, I don’t think their formula is going to change anytime soon.  While it’s changing somewhat for the better – they do still have to sell magazines, and what sells magazines are articles with Kim Kardashian on the cover telling the world that performing body weight exercises with high heels on is the key to badonkadonkness.

Thankfully, we have women out there like Nia Shanks, Molly Galbraith, Jen Comas Keck, Neghar Fonooni, and the rest of the Girls Gone Strong crew fighting the good fight and trying to empower women to step away from the elliptical and treadmill.  Likewise, I too try my best to provide information to women that goes against the norm of what they’ve been spoon fed for decades.

I try to debunk as many myths as I can – lifting heavy things WILL NOT make you a She-Man, endless hours of cardio IS NOT the key to fat loss, Yoga WILL NOT make your muscles long and lean, Tracy Anderson IS NOT a credible source of fitness and health information and is about as intelligent as a ham sandwich.  There’s still a very long battle a head, but I do see the tides turning, and it’s a beautiful thing.

On how to convince a woman who is scared to “bulk up” and feels she needs endless amounts of cardio to drop body fat…..

TG:  The best thing I can do as a coach is listen.  I try to ask as many questions as possible and do a little digging.

  • How often do they train?
  •  What has their training looked like?
  •   Are they happy with their results?
  •   If not, how come?
  •  What is their ideal body type?
  •  Why?
  •  What do they feel is holding them back?
  • Team Jacob or team Edward?

So on and so forth.  Once I’m done listening, I then go into a little (not a lot) of what I feel would be the best approach to take given their goals. Almost inevitably, once I start throwing out words like squats, deadlifts, chin-ups, Prowlers, strength training, “we’re going to dominate the world”…….I’ll start to get a little push-back, and many of the same myths and fallacies I described above – things many of these women have been falling prey to for YEARS, with limited (if any) results mind you – rear their ugly heads.

Once that happens, I have one more question for them:  “how’s that working for you?”

Clearly, if their way is the superior way, and it’s the approach they’ve been using for the past 5-10 years…….it MUST be working, right?

Not so much.

To that end, all I ask is that they give me two months.

Give it their all for 60 days and see what happens.  Almost always, after three weeks……..they’re hooked.

Once they start to see (and feel) the confidence they gain, it’s always a done deal. Once they realize that putting an extra ten pounds on the bar won’t turn them into The Rock (and they can fit into their “skinny” jeans), and they start noticing small, incremental changes to their body, the sky’s the limit.

On setting goals

TG: With any client – whether I’m working with a male or female – it’s usually my job to tell them what they need to do, and not what they want to do.  Big difference.

With any client, it’s about getting them outside their comfort zone.  Generally speaking, with women, their Kryptonite is the free-weight area.

Can you blame them?  Who wants to train around a bunch of dudes who smell like they fell into a pool of Axe body spray, stare at themselves in the mirror incessantly, and do stupid stuff like this:

Hell, I don’t want to be around that.

That notwithstanding, having clear and defined (not to mention realistic and attainable) goals is an important component many trainees fail to grasp.  As a trainer or coach, I think it’s crucial to sit down with your client and come up with a goal or set of goals – whether it’s to perform an unassisted, body weight chin-up, shoot for “x” number of lbs on the deadlift, or to lose ten lbs of fat by the end of the month.  Having something to work for gives people a sense of purpose and holds them more accountable in the end.

With the women that I train, they’re going to get coached on all the basic movements – squats, deadlifts, push-ups, etc. Much like you, it’s not uncommon for many of the women I train to boast that someone complimented them on their deadlift form, and I totally dig that!

Even cooler is when they come back with stories about how they were waiting to “jump in” on a certain exercise at the commercial gym, and they warmed-up with the weight that the guy finishing up used on his last set.

In the end, though, it’s about coaching the basics.  There’s no need to make things more complicated than they have to be. Nor is it doing them any favors to “baby” them.  I never quite understood this whole mentality that women can’t train like the boys, and lift some appreciable weight.  Anyone else agree?

 

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Exercises You Should Be Doing: Zercher Goodmornings

Normally with this segment I gravitate towards exercises that fall under one of the three categories:

1.  Those exercises I see most people perform poorly (seated rows, push-up variations, single leg variations, etc).

2.  Those that are new to me, and thus, new to the reader, but can be performed by most everyone without running the risk of poking their eye out (band overhead shrugs, innovative pallof press variations, etc).

3. Those that, you know, activate or mobilize “stuff.”  As an example, HERE.

Today, however, we’re going to kick it up a notch or two (or ten thousand) and enter beast mode territory.  Because, well, why not?

I heart goodmornings.  But I also understand that they’re a fairly advanced exercise (okay, uber advanced exercise) that I feel only those with a solid 1-2 years of “real” strength training should utilize.

With that said, here’s some criteria before moving on:

  • As noted above:  it’s preferred that one has at least 1-2 years of solid training experience under his or her belt before attempting this exercise.
  • This isn’t an exercise that I’m just going to haphazardly throw into the mix unless I feel completely confident that someone knows what they’re doing.
  • You must have a SOLID foundation of squatting and deadlifting technique.  If at any point someone makes the this face (——>) while you’re performing either of the two, you definitely should not be performing goodmornings.
  • Why?  It’s pretty well known that the spine can handle compressive loading like a G6, and as such, we can sometimes get away with less than stellar technique. When it comes to shear loading, though, the water gets a little murkier and having a client perform goodmornings (which is shear loading central) when they’re not prepared for it, is a recipe for disaster.

Still, I do find that goodmornings are an excellent strength training exercise that, when performed correctly, has it’s advantages.

For starters, it’s an awesome movement that hammers the posterior chain and serves as a key accessory movement to the deadlift (which is probably why I like them so much).

Secondly, and pigging back on the point above, due to the anterior bar placement and subsequent control of shear loading, it forces people to get into more t-spine extension.

Note: This is, of course, assuming that they’re able to do it in the first place. If one has questionable t-spine mobility (particularly in extension), I’d probably pass on this exercise and opt for safer, more manageable alternatives.

And lastly, speaking from a personal perspective, goodmornings serve as an  “indicator movement,” which helps me better gauge my progress with the deadlift (and squat for that matter).  Because the goodmorning so closely strengthens the same muscle groups, whenever I see improvements in its performance, I can almost guarantee my deadlift and squat numbers improve as well.

There is a caveat.  Outside of someone’s preparedness to do them, goodmornings can be problematic for those with a history of cranky shoulders.  Due to the bar placement, which places the shoulders in the “at risk” position for impingement (abduction and external rotation), unless one has access to specialty bars such as a Giant Cambered Bar or Safety Squat Bar, traditional goodmornings probably are not the best option.

…which is where Zerchers come in.

Key Coaching Cues:  set the bar at or around chest height so that it’s easier to place it in the crook of your elbows.  It’s going to take some experimentation, and yes it’s about as comfortable as washing your face with broken glass, but deal with it.  Worse case, if you find it’s excruciating, you CAN place a towel between the bar and your elbows.  Don’t worry, I won’t judge.

“Hug” the bar close to your chest and keep the chin tucked throughout the set. Un-rack the weight, take two steps back and get your air.  I like to tell people to make themselves look fat and fill their belly with air – doing so increases intra-abdominal pressure and improves spinal stability.

Too, you need to make sure to arch like a bastard – particularly when pushing your hips back.  When doing so, you feel a significant “stretch” in the hamstrings.

If you can visualize it:  the bottom position of the goodmorning (in terms of feet/hip/back placement) should be about the same as your starting position for the deadlift.  The back should not be rounded in any way.

From there, you’ll reverse the direction making sure to finish “tall.”  Both your hips and knees should lock out and you should squeeze your glutes hard at the top.

I prefer not to go crazy with the reps here, and tend to keep these in the 4-6 rep range. Since it’s such a technique heavy movement, and requires Jedi-like precision, using high(er) rep schemes which induce more fatigue isn’t wise.

Like I said, this is a little bit of a break from the norm in terms of exercises I normally cover in this series, but if you’re looking to kick it up a notch and add a certain level of badassesery to your training, these may fit the bill.

Let me know what you think!

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Miscelleneous Miscellany Monday: My Writing Process, People Are Awesome, How Real Men Bake

1. I wanted to start things off this week with a pretty cool email I received a while back:

Tony – You are a busy guy and I respect that, but I decided to shoot you at least one e-mail ’cause you inspire me as a trainer, writer, and a person in general.

I wanted to ask you: How do you write? This is such a difficult and broad question for you, but could you tell me a bit about your writing process. What I’m inspired by is that a) you have a lot of material, b) you have lots of funny stuff in your articles. How could I improve my articles in those areas? More fun and more material.

First off, THANK YOU for such kind words.  I’ve stated it before, and I bears repeating….it’s somewhat surreal for me at times that my writing reaches so many people and that there are a handful out there who don’t think I suck. I sincerely appreciate the support, and it’s my hope that I only get better.

With all the sappy stuff out of the way:  This is a topic I’ve elaborated on in the past, but as far my own writing process is concerned here are some basic truths:

  • I don’t really consider myself a “writer” in every sense of the word. Sure, I spend a large portion of my free time writing and I do get paid to write, but it’s still something I have yet to accept.  Vonnegut was a writer. Hemingway was a writer.  Me? Not so much.  I’m just some dude who lifts heavy things, tells other people to lift heavy things, and has an uncanny ability to throw two coherent sentences together in a somewhat amusing, entertaining, and intelligent fashion.  Poop!
  • It’s definitely NOT easy for me. While I’ve gotten a lot better over the years, and have seen a definite growth in my writing style, it’s no cake walk for me.  For some, writing is a seamless activity – like writing a check or clipping their finger nails – and the prose they write comes across as easy and fluid.  For me, however, writing is about as easy as giving an elephant a bath. I fuss over every word and sentence, and sometimes it takes me hours just to write one page.  That is, of course, assuming I can think of anything to write in the first place.
  • I just try to be myself.  Being myself completely changes the dynamic of the writing process for me.  Being myself allows me to write in a way that comes across as if I were sitting across the table from someone just shooting the breeze.  Because of this, I think my writing resonates with a lot people and I’m able to get my message across more effectively.  I think where a lot of “writers” fail is that they try too hard to be someone (or something) they’re not, and their writing comes across as such – stiff and robotic.
  • Invest in yourself. It wasn’t until maybe two years ago that I came to the realization that writing was a viable source of income for me, and something that I really enjoyed doing.  To that end, I signed up for a Creative Non-Fiction writing class this past winter which allowed me to explore the writing process with other writers.  And can I just say how relieved I was to know that there were others out there who struggled just as much as me.
  • As well, I began to purchase books on writing.  On Writing Well is a book that helped me a lot, as did It Was the Best of Sentences, It Was the Worst of Sentences. But the grand-daddy of them all, the book that really knocked my socks off, kicked me in the mouth, and really opened up my eyes was  Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott.  Get it, and thank me later.
  • In the end, you just need to write. The only way you’re going to get better at writing is by, well, writing.  Poop jokes optional.

2.  Just wanted to give a shout-out (WHOOT WHOOT) to two of my online distance coaching clients, Conor and Brandon.

Conor: Joined the 300 bench press club this past weekend.  Crushed it in fact.

Brandon:  set a new squat PR (375 lbs) this past weekend in his powerlifting meet.

To both gentlemen, I offer you a WHOOT WHOOT and a “This is Sparta kick……….”

3. A sign that people are awesome:   I came home Friday to a frantic girlfriend. I walk in the door and she immediately says, “something bad happened.” At first I thought maybe she heard they were making another Sex in the City movie. They’re not…..WHEW.

Anyways, she explained that she somehow lost the rent check and had no idea where it went. Between the time she left the apartment to run some errands and when she reached in her pocket to deliver the check, it disappeared.

We thought maybe she dropped it on the sidewalk or accidentally put it in the mailbox along with the other mail. Either way, on my way out to walk to the bank to cancel the check, I see an envelop with my name (and address) on the cover in the entrance way to our building. In it was the rent check with a note that said “found this on the sidewalk on Beacon St. Be well – Sue”

Whoever Sue is……THANK YOU!!!

 

4.  For those looking for something to pass the time during your long commutes to and from work (or you just need to quench your nerd fix for the day), check out On Target’s Movement Lectures, which a partnership between Gray Cook, Lee Burton (the founders of the Functional Movement Screen), and Laree Draper.

As of right now, they’re offering 44 audio lectures (with typeset transcripts) from some of the brightest minds in the industry, and the list is going to be growing monthly. I’ve already listened to a handful, and have had my mind thoroughly blown.

5.  Look for a new t-nation.com article from me shortly.  I just submitted one late last week, and while I can’t say I’ll be Ben Bruno’esque with my writing frequency (the guy is a freakin machine), I will say that with the facility a bit quieter for the next few months, I should have the opportunity to get a lot more writing done in the foreseeable future.

6.  It’s no secret I’m a heavy advocate for eating whole, REAL, foods.  The less processed the better if you ask me.  Still, there are numerous people (and nutritionist for that matter) who, despite knowing better, like to push off things like 100 calorie snack packs as viable “healthy” options.

Taking it a step further, when it comes to Western medicine, while not always the case, you’re more apt to find doctors pushing the latest pills rather than educating their patients.

For those still not convinced that food can be a powerful healer, check out THIS latest post over on Mike Reinold’s blog titled Food as Medicine.  Awesome stuff.

7.  And lastly, this was a picture my brother-in-law sent me that made me split out my omelet this morning.

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Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 3/30/12

The World’s Greatest Exercise? – some schmuck named Gentilcore

Here’s an article I wrote for Livestrong.com that went up last week.

SPOILER ALERT:  Not to break the suspense or anything – as if the picture didn’t give it away – but it’s about squats.

This was actually one of THREE articles I sent in on the topic, and goes into detail on a few of the many benefits that squats have to offer. Omitted due to word constraints was the fact that squats increase your general level of badassery by 37%. 40% if you do them on Mondays (instead of benching).

In the near future, you can look for installments that expound on some common squatting mistakes (and how to fix them), as well as a few variations that I feel most people can do safely.

For now, though, if you could do me favor and read the article that would be great.  And, if you like it, maybe you can click the “Like” button on the actual Livestrong page?

If you don’t like it, no worries, I won’t cry……

……that much.

But if you do, clicking the “Like’ button would be greatly appreciated as it demonstrates to the Livestrong brass that I’m kind of awesome.

Approaching the Bar – Greg Robins

This was a fantastic series (there are links to the other parts in the article I provide) by Greg about what goes through his mind when he’s approaching the bar – namely, how to set up properly for the big lifts – and how to mentally prepare yourself to, in my own words, wreck some shit.

 

Crisis – by Chef Seth MacKenzie

This was actually sent to me from another reader of this blog who felt I’d appreciate Chef MacKenzie’s message and writing style – and I did/do!

When was the last time you cooked?  And no, toast doesn’t count!  Seriously, when was the time you went to the store, bought some fresh ingredients, and you and your significant other (or just a family member) stayed home and cooked a nutritious, homemade meal?  Not only that, you then actually sat down at a table and conversed?

In an age where texting takes precedence over normal conversation, ordering a pizza is considered “cooking,” and we have no idea what “real” food actually is, I felt this was a resounding wake-up call posed to us from the good Chef.

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Push-Upalooza

Push-ups are like the Rodney Dangerfield of the fitness community – they get no respect.

Often deemed a waste of time, or worse, “too easy,” push-ups are generally an after-thought with regards to exercise selection. I mean, who has time to do push-ups after four sets of bench presses, seven sets of incline presses, and 14 sets of decline presses? Dude, everyone knows you have to hit all the angles!

What’s more, if you really want to blast the pecs, you can’t forget dumbbell flies, cable flies, and the pec dec!!11!1

Sarcasm aside, it’s readily apparent that push-ups aren’t quite as “sexy” as their bench press counterparts, and aren’t considered a high priority for most trainees when it comes to getting their pecification on.

Heck, they’re not even in the same stratosphere as the bench press.  I mean, when was the last time you walked into your gym and saw someone rocking some legit push-ups?  Let alone perform them correctly, or with any external load?

Yeah, I thought so.  You’re more apt to see a Real Housewife win a Pulitzer.

Nevertheless, if I were to make a top five list of exercises that give you the most bang-for-your-training-buck, push-ups would easily make an appearance. For starters, most people can’t do them correctly, let alone do them for reps, so that alone means something.

Ironically, people have a tendency to do what’s easy and what they’re good at.  Push-ups, for all intents and purposes, are considered “easy” by most standards…

….but not a lot of people are good at them.

Most of the time you see the following: for the visual learners in the crowd, refer to the picture to the right.

1.  Head juts down
2. Excessive lumbar curve
3. No scapular retraction (or protraction)
4. Abs “sag” (rectus abdomimus picks up the slack for woefully weak external obliques)
5. Limited range of motion (it looks more like an epileptic seizure than a push-up)

While I’m not going to break it down joint by joint and cue by cue, here are some standard things to focus on when trying to perform a proper push-up:

  • Keep chin tucked  – don’t poke it towards the ground
  • Abs should stay tight or braced (sometimes I’ll gently tap the stomach to help the trainee engage their core)
  • Squeeze the glutes (provides more posterior pelvic tilt and keeps people out of lumbar extension)
  • Hands/elbows should be directly underneath the shoulders.
  • Likewise, hands should be around shoulder width apart
  • Knees should be locked and legs in a straight line.
  • The backside should make a straight line.  Here, I LOVE using a PVC pipe to place on people’s backs so as to teach them what a neutral spine should feel like. There should be three points of contact – the back of the head, in between the shoulder blades, and the sacrum*** Photo courtesy of elitefitblog.

 

  • Elbows should NOT flare out during the set.  Instead, they should stay tight to the body, or at a 45 degree angle.
  • Chest touches floor on every rep

NOTE:  For those interested, you can check out THIS post where I discuss some push-up variations for women (and men) who can’t yet perform a standard push-up from the floor.

Moving on (because I don’t want to make this a “how to” post), compared to the bench press, push-ups are a closed chain exercise, which offers a gulf of advantages, particularly with regards to scapular kinematics and overall shoulder health.

In short, when you’re lying on your back performing a bench press, your shoulder blades aren’t able to move – they’re stuck in place.

Conversely, with a push-up, the scapulae are now able to move more freely, which has huge dividends towards overall shoulder health.

It’s not uncommon for someone to walk into the facility complaining of debilitating shoulder pain (in no small part to the amount of benching they do), only to realize that they can perform push-ups pain free.

Thirdly, push-ups offer a lot of variety. Whether I’m working with an elite athlete, a newbie, or with someone who has a bum shoulder, push-ups offer me a lot of leeway, and I can make them as easy (or challenging) as I want. Literally, the options are endless.

Lastly, and arguably most important of all, from a anterior-posterior perspective, push-ups are a fantastic way to train the core in a more functional manner, as you have to learn to “engage” all the stabilizers in the lumbo-pelvic-hip area to achieve better pelvic alignment.

With this established, the prime movers now appear stronger because the stabilizers are doing their job and force is more easily transferred.

Suffice it to say, I really feel that push-ups should be a staple in everyone’s programming, and it’s unfortunate that they’re often dismissed altogether.

That said, while the first step is to make sure that everyone can perform a push-up correctly (see points above), lets be honest, they can be about as exciting as watching paint dry. Sometimes we need to kick it up a notch, and with that in mind…..it’s not uncommon for us to make them more challenging by adding things like bands, chains, etc.

When those aren’t an option, here are some other variations I like:

T-Push-Ups (with DBs)

The first point to consider is that DBs aren’t necessarily mandatory here.  For some, just using body weight alone will be challenging enough.

Even so, the key thing here is to make sure that the body is locked into place.  A HYYYYYOOOOOGE mistake I see is when trainees tend to rotate with their lumbar spine first and then with their upper torso.

Instead, what should happen is that the rib cage should be locked into place with the lower back so that the entire body moves in unison.

From there, I generally shoot for anywhere from 4-5 reps/PER SIDE.

1-Arm Bodysaw Push-Up

This is definitely one of the more advanced push-up variations we implement at Cressey Performance, but one that’s definitely popular amongst our athletes and clients.

Obviously, having access to a slideboard is useful, but not mandatory:  purchasing a ValSlide or even a pair of those furniture glider thingamajigs would be advantageous (not to mention cheaper).

Here, all of the same rules apply with regards to push-up technique, but with the addition of the slideboard, there’s a definite increased challenge on core stability (especially with the increased range of motion).  Additionally, there’s a bit of a unilateral component which is unique and something I feel is important to consider.

Again, much like the t-push variation above, I like to implement sets of 5-6 reps per side.

Push-Up Kickthrough

Admittedly this is a variation that I’ll only typically use as part of a metabolic circuit, but it’s still kind of badass (despite the Katy Perry playing in the background).

The premise is pretty standard – perform a push-up, and then bring the contra-lateral knee towards the opposite elbow – maintaining a neutral spine as best you can, of course.

I prefer to do this version for time (20-30s) as part of a circuit, but you can certainly shoot for a standard # of reps per side, too.

And that’s it.  While I could easily sit here and plow through 20 more variations, those are just a few (hopefully) new push-up variations you can start to incorporate today.  Just so we’re clear, though, I still feel it’s imperative that people learn to do REGULAR push-ups correctly.  Once that’s in the bag, the options are endless.

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Tony Goes on a Fieldtrip (and other updates)

I’ve had my plate full the past few days, and hence, explains the lack of blogging prowess recently. As it happens, Tuesday is generally my “off” day where I spend the bulk of it catching up on things that I don’t have time to do otherwise – brainstorming articles, writing programs, answering emails, crushing protein shakes.  You know, the important stuff.

Yesterday was a bit of a break from the norm because, for the second week in a row, I made the trek down to Boston University Strength and Conditioning (only like a 20 minute walk from my apartment) to train with former CP intern (and current BU Grad. Assistant Strength Coach), Dave Rak.

Outside of being an absolutely beautiful facility, the staff is equally as impressive, and I can’t thank them enough for allowing me the opportunity to come in, get my diesel on, and then watch them in action.

For those curious, Anthony Renna produced an entire episode on Strength Coach TV highlighting the facility.  Check it out below:

For the record:  he also profiled Cressey Performance, too.

Nevertheless, Dave and I got an epic training session in which consisted of the following:

A1. Trap Bar Power Shrug 4×4
A2. 1-Legged Double Tap Skips 4×20 yds
A3. TRX Ys 3×8

*** Sadly, I don’t include nearly enough “explosive” work into my programming, so it was nice to follow someone else’s lead, and step outside my comfort zone.  The trap bar power cleans were the shiznit, and something I’m definitely go to implement more often.

B1.  Bench Press 5×5
B2. Trap Bar Deadlifts 4×5

*** Yeah, it was meathead central yesterday.  I actually performed speed pulls from a deficit the day prior, and questioned myself whether or not it was a good idea to pull “heavyish” two days in a row.  Who needs a spine anyways?

Like an idiot, I threw caution to the wind, and deadlifted anyways.

Still, I ended up pulling 495 for an easy 5. I think I need to finally stop being an asshat and shoot for that 600 lb (c0nventional) pull I’ve been talking about for the past two years.  It’s on like donkey kong baby!!!!

We finished things off with a quick upper-body finisher:

C1.  Fat Bar Overhead Press 3×8
C2. Standing Landmine Press 3×8/arm
C3.  TRX Inverted Rows 3×8

High five, chest bump, smoke bomb, smoke bomb, mission accomplished!

Great session, Dave.  Thanks!

Yesterday was also a bit of conundrum because I’ve literally been glued to Kevin Smith’s new book, Tough Sh*t: Life Advice from a Fat, Lazy Slob Who Did Good.

I actually went to a Q & A last week where he was scheduled to speak for 90 minutes, but ended up throwing down comedic bombs for almost three hours!

It was nerd central for sure, but it was awesome listening to him speak about his film career, why he’s retiring from directing, addressing all of his critics, that whole incident on Southwest Airlines (the one where he was kicked off for being a flight risk for being too fat), and, of course, lots and lots of dick jokes.

As an added bonus, everyone who attended received a signed copy of his book.  And, like I said, I’ve been flying through it – I only have like two chapters to go.  Anyone who’s a film nerd, or just wants to laugh (or likes a lot of dick jokes), should definitely check it out.

In case you’re wondering, I was still semi-productive yesterday. I’m putting the finishing touches on a new t-nation.com article tentatively titled Strong Eye for the Weak Guy.

I’m approaching it as more of a “passion” piece where I explain why, as a coach, I lean more towards the camp of telling people to stop training in front of the mirror and just focus on getting strong. Put another way:  if you train to actually get strong, you may actually LOOK strong, too.  It’s weird how that works.

Keep your eyes peeled for that one soon.  Likewise, with things dying down a bit at the facility due to the baseball season right around the corner, I should have a fairly good run of writing up my sleeve, and plan on having some good content up on t-nation for the next 3-4 months – which may or may not include a collaboration with Ben Bruno.

Hint:  It totally does include a collaboration with Ben Bruno.

Moreover, I’ve been asked to speak at a still super secret event that will be taking place in Toronto in mid- June (I’ll also be speaking in Edmonton the weekend of June 3rd).  It’s going to be targeted towards personal trainers and should be an outstanding event once everything is set in place.  Stay tuned for more info on that as well.

Basically, what I’m trying to say is……I’m pretty much going to be taking over the world. Canada will be mine.  Oh yes, it will be mine!

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Q & A: Fixing the “Tuck Under” When Squatting – Part II

For those who missed it, last week I opened a discussion on how to go about addressing/fixing the “tuck under” when squatting.  For the record, the tuck under (or butt wink as it’s more commonly known) is not some new move that all the youngsters are raging on the dance floor nowadays – similar to the Dougie or the Stanky Leg.  Rather it’s a condition that’s infinitely less sexy and hip and basically refers to one losing proper spinal positioning when squatting to a certain depth.

See?  Not nearly as cool.

Literally, due to any number of reasons (discussed in the link above and more thoroughly below), the butt “tucks” underneath the pelvis when attempting to go into deep(er) hip flexion.  As a result, it causes a boatload of compressive load on the lumbar spine, and to a lesser degree, which I can’t prove with any science, makes my cat cry.

Because, if there are two things in this world she hates:  it’s going to the Vet and people who tuck under when they squat.

You don’t want to make my cat sad, do you?

I didn’t think so.

Before we continue on with the show, let me be clear:  I WANT people to squat to proper depth. It’s just that, given many people move about as well as a one-legged pirate, it’s not necessarily mandatory one squats to depth (or ass-to-grass if we’re speaking in Bro-science terms) on day one.

I was reading through the comments from last week and noticed that some people were saying how squatting deep is something they’re reluctant to have their clients perform.  Just so we’re all on the same page, my “end game” is to work with what I have and to (hopefully) get every single one of my athletes or clients to squat to depth.

It’s just that, sometimes, it’s not always a good idea to “force” someone to squat deep when they just don’t have the ability to do so safely. Hammering a square peg into a round hole isn’t going to accomplish anything, and it’s certainly not going to help the client. As coaches and trainers, it’s crucial that we recognize one’s limitations and try to work with what we have.  And, with a little work, maybe….just maybe, we can improve their squatting technique.

With that said, a good starting point – and something I should have touched on in part I, but only thought of after the fact – is how to go about figuring out where proper depth is in the first place for certain individuals?

While it’s something I only use occasionally, one screen I like is the kneeling rock back assessment.  Here, I’ll have someone start in the quadruped position with a neutral spine.  Slowly, I have him or her sit back towards their heels to see if or when their spine hinges.

Here’s one that doesn’t suck:

As you’ll notice, as I sit back, my spine stays relatively neutral the entire time. As such, it’s safe to assume that squatting “deep” probably won’t be an issue.

Conversely, lets look at this train wreck:

Oh boy.  Not good.  You almost immediately notice a lumbar hinge, and unfortunately, if this were some random person, I’d probably refrain from having them squat past their point of no return. I mean, if it’s this bad with no spinal loading, can you imagine how much of a walking ball of fail they’d be if I placed a barbell on their back?

Either way, the quadruped rock back assessment will undoubtedly help you better ascertain whether or not it’s safe for someone to go into deep hip flexion without their spine hating them.

Taking it a step further, though, I still like to watch someone in a more dynamic environment, and will ask that they perform a standard body weight squat. Doing so can help me distinguish whether it’s a hamstring issue or a lack of core stability issue.

While I covered the hamstrings in part I – and that’s definitely not a bad place to spend your time – it’s my experience that the larger culprit is lack of anterior core engagement and stability.

Remember what I noted previously – because the anterior core can’t counteract the pull of the hamstrings (and adductor magnus for that matter), the force couple on the pelvis is compromised and squatting may become problematic.

How can you tell if it’s an anterior core issue?  If I’m working with someone and I see a tuck under when they perform a body weight squat, I’ll simply hand them a 10 lb plate and have them hold out in front of them with their arms fully extended and perform the squat again. More often than not, the tuck goes away – like magic.

It’s like I’m Gandalf or something!

Okay, not really, but there IS a logical explanation for why this happens.

Think about what happens when you hold a plate out in front of you – what happens?  Your anterior core HAS to engage/fire so as to prevent you from tipping forward.  In short, you’re MORE STABLE, and better able to control the pelvis.

So, if someone performs a squat and I see the tuck under, and it corrects itself when I force them to engage their core, I can generally surmise that it’s probably a core stability issue. Not always, of course…..but it’s a start.

How To Fix It

While it’s easy to assume that fixing the issue is complicated, it really isn’t.  Long division is complicated. Keeping track of all the characters in Game of Thrones is complicated.  This?  Not so much.

While everyone is different and I don’t like making gross recommendations, I’ve found that the following seems to bode well for most trainees:

1. Of course foam rolling is going to be part of the mix here. I’m not going to belabor the point:  just do it!

As well, addressing any deficits in the thoracic spine is going to be kind of a big deal as well: read THIS and THIS for ideas on how to address getting and maintaining a neutral spine.

2. One of my favorite drills to help groove squat technique and help “open up” the hips is the Rocking SUMO Squat Stretch:

While I like the mobilization option (as shown), it’s also efficacious to use this as a standard stretch and just hold the bottom position for a desired time – say several holds throughout the day for 30-60 seconds.

3.  As far as grooving proper depth is concerned, again, if someone is tucking under it’s because they don’t have the stability/stiffness in the right areas to pull off a deep squat safely.  Overriding this would be the logical recommendation of squatting to a box which will prevent the tucking under in the first place.

Have them squat to a depth where they’re successful and work from there.  Below is a video a shot a few weeks ago on the difference between box squats and squatting TO a box.

Whatever ROM elicits proper spinal alignment is what I’m going to use.  If I have to resort to squatting at or above parallel, than so be it.  Focus on the ROM they DO have, and work down from there. If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen.  No big deal. Sometimes we have to set our egos to the side.

4.  Finally, and more pertinent to today’s post, add in more core engagement/stability work (NOT CRUNCHES…..as a lot of direct rectus abdominus work will only pull you into MORE posterior pelvic tilt).

Like I said, almost always, if you notice someone tucking under when they squat it’s probably a relative stiffness issue, and it stands to reason that their core is weak or unable to stabilize the pelvis. To that end, I’d make a concerted effort to hammer Pallof presses, various planks, stability ball rollouts, as well as half kneeling/tall kneeling chop and lift variations.

And that’s about it, really. Like I said, addressing the issue doesn’t take anything too fancy. Assuming we’ve ruled out more elaborate root causes (FAI, for example), I’d garner a guess that everything covered in both posts will cover most everyone’s bases when addressing the butt wink…..;o)

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Q & A: Fixing the “Tuck Under” When Squatting – Part I

NOTE (from August, 2014):  I wrote this article back in March 2012. When I was an idiot. I still hope you read what I have to say below, because most of what I say still applies.

However, I’ve changed my thought process significantly since I originally posted this article. For a more up-to-date, um, update…check out the following article I wrote on T-Nation titled How Deep Should I Squat?

I.e., the hamstrings have little to do with the tuck under or “butt wink.”

Q:  Hey Tony,

Just read this old article over at T Nation – Squat Like You Mean It:  Tips for a Deeper Squat.

I’ve been trying to improve my mobility for a deeper squat and eventually got there ( I can sit in a squat position all the way down with heels still on the floor) but my problem lays in lumbar flexion at the bottom.

Obviously I’d need an assessment in front of you to pinpoint the issue but is there anything you can recommend for neutral spine. It’s driving me nuts that I cant keep a neutral spine. I’ve been retracting my shoulder blades, squeezing my lats and activating my core but still no cigar. Any common issues you see in this area?

A: Notably, it is completely bat shit crazy to say that everyone should squat to the same depth. Some people picked the right parents, have awesome levers, and are able to squat ass-to-grass with no issues at all.

PS:  I hate you.

Conversely, there are others out there who try to squat deep and, well, bad things happen.  Not everyone is the same, and it’s important – especially as a coach – to understand this.  While admirable, the end goal for every single trainee shouldn’t necessarily be to go ass to grass from the get go –  just because some meat head on a random forum who doesn’t know any better told you so.

Instead, the goal should be to teach proper squat mechanics and groove proper technique in a safe range of motion that won’t be overly deleterious to the spine.

As my good friend, Kevin Neeld, has mentioned prior:

Someone with limited hip flexion that attempts to squat deeper than their anatomy allows inevitably tucks their hips under at the bottom.  Invariably this leads to lumbar flexion under a significant load.

The question then becomes:  how can we remedy this issue?  Can we ease our way to a respectable depth without the ol’ butt tuck?

Of course we can!

Since it is a fairly common occurrence in the general training population, to start, we should discuss  what causes the tucking in the first place? While there are several things that need to be ruled out which are outside the scope of this particular post (nasty adductors – specifically with regards to sports hernia, and femoral acetabular impingement), one of the major points I want to hit on is that a vast majority of people (not everyone) are sitting in posterior tilt all day, and as a result the hamstrings tend to get stiff(er) relative to the anterior core.

It’s no secret that we spend a lot of time sitting.

In an ideal sitting posture, the pelvis is level or has a slight anterior pelvic tilt. With a posterior pelvic tilt, the PSIS are lower than the ASIS.  A posterior pelvic tilt is accompanied by an increased kyphosis. In addition, the ischials travel forward and new pressure points are created at the sacrum and the spine.

For those who are a bit glassy eyed from reading that, try to visualize how you sit in your car, or on the bus, or even at your desk…..right now…..as you read this.

Chances are, it looks very similar to the picture to the right.

Not surprisingly, and as noted above, the hamstrings become short or stiff relative to the anterior core.  Because the anterior core can’t counteract the pull of the hamstrings (and adductor magnus for that matter), the force couple on the pelvis is compromised and squatting may become problematic.

With that, I’m going to stop with the technical talk now because it’s making my brain hurt. Besides I’m sure many of you would rather swallow a live grenade than listen to me go on and on and on about PSIS and ASIS shenanigans.

Of course, the issue could be more far more reaching than just looking into the hamstrings/weak anterior core – but for simplicity sake, we’re going to focus our attention there.  And, just a heads up, in Part II, I’ll discuss training modifications that can be implemented…..so be sure to check back then.

In the meantime…..

Here’s What I’d Do If I Were You

Incorporate more multi-planar hamstring mobilizations.  I MUCH prefer these drills over just telling someone to haphazardly “go stretch.” Moreover, I find that these drills have much more of an effect since they address the hamstrings from multiple angles and not just “what’s easy.”

Note:  this last one will be a doozy for most.  The key point to consider is to make sure that you rotate through the hip and NOT the lumbar spine.

Other Stuff to Consider:

1.  Notice how I don’t flex my lumbar spine when doing these drills? You should do the same.

2.  Another thing that can’t be appreciated because of the camera angle is that the toes of my standing foot are pointing straight a head as I perform all the drills

I like to incorporate all of these as part of an (extended) dynamic warm-up, or they’re something that could easily be performed throughout the day in your office or home – all you need is a counter top or desk and you’re all set.

Bonus points if you bust them out during a business meeting!

And that’s it for today.  Tomorrow (UPDATE:  actually, it’s going to be on Monday.  Had too many things to catch up on in the meantime) I’m going to discuss how you would differentiate between whether it’s a hamstring issue or weak anterior core (Hint:  it’s usually the latter more than the former), as well as discuss some simple training modifications that can be done to help alleviate the “tuck,” and (hopefully) groove a more conducive squatting pattern.

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Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: Red Meat Scare x2, Fitness Writing, and Food Principles

The Red Meat Scare: What Do We Make of It? – Dr. Jonny Bowden

I’ll admit to two man-crushes:  Matt Damon and Jonny Bowden.  After this post, however, the good doctor might have just taken the  man-crush thing to a whole new level.

In short, there’s this “study” (HEAVY emphasis on the quotations) that came our recently out of Harvard which stated that those who eat red meat will spend eternity in fiery pits of hell…..forced to watch repeat episodes of Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

 

Okay,that was a slight exaggeration. But needless to say, this so-called study did not have many nice things to say about red meat.  And, true to form, much of the mainstream media ran with it citing headlines like:  RED MEAT IS GOING TO KILL YOU!!!!!

Inevitably, as a health c0nscious individual yourself – and presumably a meat eater (no offense to any vegetarians or vegans reading) – you’re going to hear some backlash from friends, family, and colleagues chastising you for having the audacity to eat red meat.2

Save your breath, and have them read this article from Dr. Bowden.

And, while you’re at it:  have them read THIS article from Adam Bornstein, too.

The Ten Commandments of Strength and Conditioning Writing Practices – Bret Contreras

I was completely floored (and humbled) to be included in such an insightful, honest, and thought provoking post from Bret. Much like Bret, I continue to grow and learn as a fitness professional, but it’s still nice to know that there are plenty of people out there who appreciate my work and don’t think I’m an asshole…..;o)

Thanks Bret

 

Gremlins, Pareto, & Food Principles – Oh My – Steve Troutman

My “Stuff You Should Read” posts are definitely one of the more popular (running) series that I offer here on this site.  And, as such, I do get my fair share of people contacting me to see whether or not I’d be interested in “showcasing” one of their own posts. I’m not going to lie:  much of what’s sent to me is poop.

It isn’t so much that their work is sub par – generally speaking most of the content is on point.  It’s just HOW people contact me that rubs me the wrong way at times.  It’s usually like this:

“Hey….would you be interested in posting one of my articles on your site?  I’ll be your BFF if you do!”

There’s no, “hey Tony, I really like your stuff, been a fan for a while now…..”

or

“You’re the smartest, most attractive man I have ever laid eyes on.  Here’s an article on fish oil……”

None of that. Oftentimes, it’s just someone writing me out of the blue assuming that I’ll be more than happy to send traffic their way.

Now, I’m not suggesting that they need to kiss my ass (okay, maybe a little), but it certainly wouldn’t hurt to demonstrate that you’ve read some of my stuff and know what I’m all about. Articles on the benefits of crunches – which is something someone sent me – won’t fly.

Anyways, Steve contacted me a while ago and came across like a really cool dude. Not only that, it’s obvious (after perusing a lot of his work) that he knows his stuff and is passionate about what he does.  More to the point, the article he sent me – on some common food principles he advocates to his clients – was EXCELLENT!!!!  I hope you enjoy as much as I did.

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The Power of Touch: Where Some Trainers Miss the Boat

When we were down in Florida a few weeks ago on vacation, even though a bulk of our time was spent vegging by the pool eating honey wheat pretzels (me) and drinking martinis (Lisa), we still made it a priority to find a gym to train at so that we could 1) burn off said transgressions mentioned above, and more importantly 2) get our diesel on.

I know what some of you may be thinking:  dude, it’s vacation…….chill out! It’s okay not to train for a few days!

I couldn’t agree more, and if it’s any consolation we did have a “day of beauty” (her words, not mine) at the spa where we enjoyed massages and other “stuff” that I won’t mention here for fear of  having my man card revoked.

Truth be told both Lisa and I LOVE training and it just wouldn’t sit right with us if we didn’t move around a little bit and lift some heavy things.

After a day or two of not working out, we’d definitely have some withdrawals!

So every morning we’d wake up and head to the gym.

Now, knowing that we were going to be training at a commercial gym for four days, I had to mentally prepare myself for the incessant bleeding of the corneas I was going to experience.  And, as predicted, I wasn’t disappointed.  I saw a lot – nay, a shit-ton – of things that made me shake my head is disbelief.

  • Some guy placed a stability ball in between his legs while setting up to bench press.  He’d un-rack the bar, and then proceeded to press and swing his legs simultaneously.  That was interesting.
  • Another gentleman stood on an inverted BOSU ball and performed standing cable bicep curls.  Even worse, he was demonstrating to a young, impressionable teenage boy how to do the same.  I wanted so badly to walk over, grab the kid by the elbow, place him in front of a bar on the floor, and introduce him to deadlifts.

When all is said and done, I can’t fault random patrons for doing whatever it is that they do. People don’t know any better, and at the end of the day at least they’re doing something.

Where I really get angry, though, is when I watch inept personal trainers completely waste people’s time (and money).  Now, I don’t want to make this entire post some diatribe on all the epic fails I witnessed and why a vast majority of trainers have no business being trainers.

That’s been done time and time again and really serves no purpose on making the industry any better.

Although I did watch a male trainer take his female client through some of the worst 1/4 squats I have ever seen in the smith machine, only to load the bar with waaaay too much weight, and then watch as she conveniently crashed to the floor when she made the mistake of going too low on one particular rep.

Clearly embarrassed, he then took her over to the leg press – loaded with FOUR plates per side – and did 1/4 ROM leg presses.  Brilliant!

I could easily write 4000 words on all the nonsensical things I saw trainers do while I was down there.

But who am I to judge?

I mean, maybe there was a legit reason why a middle-aged woman who was 30 lbs overweight (and could barely walk without limping) needed to work on her “bicep peak” – which is something I overheard a trainer commenting on as he was showing a client how to twist her wrist a certain way during a rope bicep curl.

I doubt it, but hey, you never know.

While I’m sure you can sense the small tone of cynicism I’m throwing down, again, at least they’re doing something.

What really disturbed me – amongst everything else – was the lack of coaching being done.  More specifically, the lack of touching.

Not the Creepy McCreepypants kind of touching.

Rather the kind of touching which demonstrates that some coaching is being done.

As an example, I watched one trainer time a client through a set of prone planks.  Easy enough right?  It’s a simple exercise that, when done correctly, demonstrates that a client has ample lumbo-pelvic-hip control, in addition to demonstrating that they can resist extension.  Normally, it looks like this:

The anterior core is braced, the glutes are squeezed and the entire posterior is in a straight line.  If a dowel rod was placed on his or her back, as pictured above, there should be three points of contact:  the back of the head, the middle of the shoulder blades, as well as the sacrum. If at any point form falters – whether it be the lumbar spine dipping or the upper back rounding – proper feedback should be given to correct it, and if the client can’t sustain it, the set ends.

In the case above with the trainer, what I saw was anything but.

The client was looking straight a head rather than down, and was literally hanging on his lumbar spine in extension. It was painful to watch. Meanwhile all the trainer was doing was looking at his wrist watch completely disinterested, counting down the seconds blurting out things like “good, only a few more seconds.  Keep it up!”

There was no effort whatsoever to correct form.  He gave no kinesthetic feedback with his hands nor looked like he could care less that the client was completely butchering the exercise.

Sad.

Compare that to what I would have done, and what I advocate ALL trainers do:  GET YOUR HANDS ON THEM!!!!!!!!  Or, to be less creepy……use more tactile cuing.

  • Gently tap the stomach to get them to engage their anterior core.
  • Gently tap the glutes to get them to fire and to promote more posterior pelvic tilt.
  • Gently push down on the mid-back to get them into more of a neutral spinal position.
  • Tell them to tuck their chin.  If they don’t understand, use your hands to put them in the position you want them in.
  • In the end, be PROACTIVE.  COACH YOUR CLIENTS!!!!!!

Of course, and this goes without saying, it takes practice and experience to learn how to coach people.  Even more time to get comfortable enough to put your hands on them and build a rapport with them to get to that point.

Not too long ago, I had a distance coaching client come to Cressey Performance for an in-house assessment, and one of the things he complimented me most on was the fact that I was very hands on with him.  Here’s an email he sent to me a few days afterwards:

One of my pet peeves as a physician is when I see a patient who has been “examined” by another doctor and the patient tells me that previously their doc sat behind his desk for the entire exam and never touched the patient. Unbelievable but it happens all the time to patients I see.

Kudos to you because you were very hands on (appropriately) in our training session. I think touch by the trainer (and ART and massage count here too) is as important for trainers to do as it is for physicians.

Just some positive feedback on one aspect of our session that you nailed.

I think a lot of trainers are unaware or afraid to touch their clients – and there are a minority of them who don’t like/want to be touched – but the majority of us are ‘tactophiles.’ Meaning, a large part of how we learn is through touch.

To help elucidate more on the topic, I leave you with a TED talk that my client sent me by Abraham Verghese which I found hit the nail on the head.