Categoriescoaching Exercise Technique

Trainer Critique Live 2: The Deadlift

I had an amazing time in NYC this past weekend.

I was invited back by the crew at Mark Fisher Fitness to participate in round #2 of their Motivation and Movement Lab. I, along with Mark Fisher, Michael Keeler, Harold Gibbons, Michael Littig, Steven Ledbetter, Pete Dupuis, and Artemis Scantalides spoke over the course of two days to a group of 80+ trainers, coaches, therapists, and gym owners from around the country on a variety of fitness-related topics ranging from business and behavioral change to program design and assessment.

What’s more…there were roughly 17,459 f-bombs dropped, 245 references to unicorns/dildos, and this Pulitzer Prize worthy picture.

It’s hard not to appreciate the sharp contrast and symmetry between the lighting, Jackie Chan’s facial expression, and my biceps.

Much like last year, I left the event feeling energized and thankful for being included in such an amazing event. I’m a better human being after having been immersed in the infectious MFF culture. Their passion and proclivity at helping every person pursue and amplify the best version of him or herself possible is unparalleled.

It’s quite an honor to see and be a part of it.

On that note: I got back into Boston somewhat late last night, and am in the throes of email purgatory. However, I do have something cool for you to check out.

Trainer Critique 2: The Deadlift

Last year, both Bret Contreras and Nick Tumminello were part of a video series hosted by ProShapeFitness.com called Trainer Critique “Live” I felt was pretty neat.

The premise was simple: the two of them watched a video of someone performing a lift (in this case, the squat) and they would each provide real-time, “live” feedback on what they saw.

HERE’s the link to the video.

For the second go-round, I was asked – alongside Jordan Syatt – to critique two different deadlifts. Here’s what transpired. Enjoy!

Jump to each critique section:
– Jordan Syatt critique 1: 0:56
– Jordan Syatt critique 2: 3:59
– Tony Gentilcore critique 1: 7:12
– Tony Gentilcore critique 2: 14:07

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff To Read While You’re Pretending To Work: 2/19/16

I’m heading to NYC this weekend to hang out with my boy Mark Fisher and his clan of unicorn loving ninjas.

For those of you who live in New York it’s a wonderful place. Their tagline “Ridiculous Humans. Serious Fitness” is so on point.

I mean, where else can you find people squatting, deadlifting, and performing immaculate kettlebell swing and Turkish get-ups, all while wearing speedos and capes and participating in spontaneous ABBA sing-a-longs?

Not to mention this happened the last time I visited….erotic bicep curls paired with squats.

 

I’ll be in town for the second iteration of the Motivation and Movement LAB.  I was honored to be invited to speak at the inaugural event last year, and was elated to witness how well-received it turned out to be.

It sold out on it’s first go. Pretty sweet.

It’s a bit of a different flavor compared to most fitness events:

  • Swearing is highly encouraged.
  • Sexual innuendos are also highly encouraged.
  • Each presenter gives a 25 minute TED-like presentation, followed by a 45 minute hands-on portion.
  • Dance-offs optional.

I had blast attending last year and was very happy I was invited back for the second go around in 2016. This time it’s a 2-Day event, eight presenters in all. I’m actually car-pooling with two them from Boston – Pete Dupuis and Artemis Scantalides.

I’m driving. And I already warned them that I preset ALL my XM channels to Electric Area.1

See you Monday.

Can Eating Too Little Actually Damage Your Metabolism? – Brian St. Pierre

One of the most thorough articles I have ever read on the very controversial topic of metabolism. Don’t be intimidated, though. Brian does a fantastic job of making things accessible and not too sciency.

Sit down, maybe grab some caffeine, you’ll be here for awhile.

Fixing Hip Shift In the Squat – Dr. Quinn Henoch

Fantastic video by Dr. Henoch and the team over at Juggernaut Training on how to fix a very common “thing” that happens when many people squat.

Building Up the Squat – Miguel Aragoncillo

And since we’re on the topic of squats, this was a great piece by Cressey Sports Performance coach, Miguel Aragoncillo, on the efficacy of the overhead squat.

CategoriesAssessment Corrective Exercise Exercise Technique

Common Mistakes With Shoulder Assessment

Assessment in the health and fitness setting can be tricky, and rife with numerous (common) mistakes some fitness professionals make.

This is especially true when we start talking shoulders.

Mistake #1: the shoulder isn’t just the shoulder. 

As in: it’s not just one “thing.” We’re actually referring to a shoulder “complex” that’s, well, complex.

The “shoulder” is comprised of four separate articulations (glenohumeral joint, sternoclavicular joint, acromioclavicular joint, as well as the scapulothoracic joint), all playing nicey-nice together in order to perform a wide array of movement(s).

All deserve their time under the assessment microscope.

Mistake #2: However, while all areas are important, I do find that assessing and addressing scapular function/positioning is often the key to unlocking answers. Unfortunately, it’s often the area that’s least looked at with regards to shoulder pain/dysfunction.

Mistake #3: shoulder assessment can – and should be – attacked from a few different perspectives.

Far too often, I find, fitness professionals take a static view of what’s going on and that’s it. They’ll have an individual stand there in the middle of a room, utter a few “mmm’s and ahhh’s,” write a few fancy schmancy words like “internally rotated,” “kyphotic,” or “I have my work cut out for me,” and that’s that.

Assessment complete.

Lets go squat!

When in fact, shoulder assessment should be broken down into a few disparate – but not altogether separate – components: Static Assessment, Integrative Assessment, and Dynamic Assessment.

Not to mention one’s ability to fill in a smedium t-shirt. Very important.

All three provide pertinent information that will help better ascertain the appropriate plan of attack when it comes to movement dysfunction, pain, and/or improved performance within the shoulder complex.

I Got 99 (Shoulder) Problems and….

…..My scapulae are the reason for all of them.

Sorry, I’m no Jay-Z. And I know I just butchered one of his classic hits.

But it was the only way I could think of to best articulate my point.

The scapulae (shoulder blades) are kind of a big deal when we begin to discuss shoulder health. It’s an arbitrary number I’m throwing out there with no research to back it up – so please, don’t quote me2  – but 90-95% of the “shoulder” issues I’ve helped address in the past when I was a coach at Cressey Sports Performance as well as the present (now that I am on my own), can be correlated back to scapular positioning and function.

Static Assessment

  • The scapulae should be in slight upward rotation. As you can see in the picture above, this individual is in slight downward rotation statically (both inferior medial borders (the two bottom x’s) of the scapulae are inside the superior medial borders.
  • Both scapulae should rest between T2-T7. The top middle “x” is T2 and you can see this person is below that point and in slight shoulder depression.
  • The medial borders themselves should rest between 1-3 inches from the spine.

If we only used static assessment it would be easy to assume this person is f****d. Many fitness pros would see this, hyperventilate into a brown paper bag, and immediately go into corrective mode.

But as Mike Reinold has poignantly noted time and time again:

“Statically, everyone’s shoulder blades start in a different position (elevated vs. depressed, internally rotated vs. externally rotated, abducted vs. adducted, anteriorly titled vs. posteriorly tilted, Autobots vs. Decepticons), and it’s moot to take static posture at face value.”

Besides, the above picture is of me, and when this was filmed/taken I presented with zero shoulder pain. This isn’t to imply I don’t have anything to work on, but it does showcase that static posture alone isn’t going to tell you all you need to know.

Integrative Assessment

Once we start adding movement – looking at scapulohumeral rhythm (the interplay between humerus and shoulder blade) or one’s ability to elevate arms above their head – sometimes, people self-correct really well.

What presents as “bad, “faulty,” or “shitty (<— depending on your rating system) statically, may very well be passable or very good once you add movement.

When looking at shoulder elevation/flexion, for example, does the scapula posteriorly tilt, upwardly rotate sufficiently (generally looking at 55-60 degrees of upward rotation), and does the inferior angle wrap around the thorax to the midline of the body?

This is something that can’t be determined if you’re only looking at static posture.

Dynamic Assessment

This is basically the part of the assessment where I ask the person to do stuff. Rather than boring someone to tears poking and prodding for an hour and making him or her feel like a patient, I prefer to get them moving and have them demonstrate certain exercises.

The push-up tells me a lot. Not only does it give me insight on their ability to move their scapulae (many times they’re “stuck” in adduction), but it also provides details on their lumbo-pelvic-hip control.

Because, something like this makes my corneas want to jump into a pool of acid:

 

Note: I understand the point of the video above was to purposely showcase a bad push-up. Mission accomplished.

More importantly, if someone comes to me with pain present, having them demonstrate how they perform certain exercises provides unparalleled understanding of what needs to be fixed.

A common theme I see amongst many trainees is allowing their shoulders to roll forward during execution of given exercises.

A Brief Review: when we elevate our arms above our heads the shoulder blades posteriorly tilt (hug the rib cage) and upwardly rotate. Reversing the action calls for scapular anterior tilt and downward rotation.

Many people “feed” into excessive downward rotation/anterior tilt by allowing the shoulders roll forward during common exercises like rows, push-ups, curls, and tricep press downs.

Stop It

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9ytqrIf-dc

 

I Said, Stop It!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47xXBhD7SuI

 

The “fix” here is easy:

Me to Client: “Okay, show me how you’d perform a standing cable row and tricep press down.”

Client: “Um, okay.”

[Then proceeds to emulate technique from the videos above.]

“Yeah, that hurts.”

Me to Client: “Stop doing them that way.”

[Puts client in a better position…shoulders rolled back with posterior tilt.]

Client to Me: “Wow, that feels so much better. You’re so smart and attractive.”

That’s Not All

What’s described above is in no way an exhaustive approach to shoulder assessment, but I hope it at least opened your eyes to the notion that it’s more multi-faceted than many give it credit for.

And on that note, I’d be remiss not to point people in the direction of guys like Eric Cressey, Mike Reinold, and Dr. Evan Osar.

Functional Stability Training – Upper Body is an excellent resource for more insight on shoulder assessment and corrective exercise.

Likewise, Dr. Osar’s Integrative Corrective Exercise Approach is an excellent resource.

And, pimping myself up a little bit, I cover the above and many other shoulder related topics in mine and Dean Somerset’s Complete Hip & Shoulder Workshop coming to the Toronto area in a few weeks (1 week left to take advantage of the Early Bird Special), Seattle, and two stops in Europe in May.

Go HERE for dates and to register.

Categoriescoaching Exercise Technique

3 Exercises You Won’t Believe Work As Well As They Do

If you’ve ever picked up a VHS off the shelf at Blockbuster—you still do that too, right?—you know that movies often aren’t what they appear to be at first glance.

  • The Deer Hunter isn’t about hunting deer.
  • The Neverending Story actually, you know, ends. There’s even a sequel.
  • 50 Shades of Grey is not a coloring book.

Strength training is the same way. Plenty of movements look like a whole lot of weirdness—or a whole lot of nothing—when you see them in a 10-second YouTube clip without context. But with a little more context, they turn out to be just the thing you needed all along to build an epic overhead press or nail that first pull-up.

These three movements are all worthy of being performed without a shred of self-consciousness. Still, it’s a good idea to be prepared for the inevitable question: “What is that working?”

Continue Reading on BodyBuilding.com….

SPOILER ALERT: exercises discussed in the article are HBT (Hanging Band Training) Overhead Press, Lying Hollow Position, and the Spoto Press (pictured above).3.

CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Barbell Seal Row

It’s a national holiday here in the States – President’s Day – which means my wife has the day off from work. Whenever that happens we like to go get a workout in together since it’s rare we have the opportunity to do so.

Contrary to what many reading may thing, getting a lift in at a commercial gym is actually something I look forward to, because it allows a little change of pace and environment for me. Plus it gives me access to pieces of equipment I normally don’t have access to.

Pec deck for days baby!!!

Another side benefit is the observations into human behavior it highlights. Commercial gyms are a petri dish of odd and comical behavior.

Today called for squats. I walk into the main weight area and noticed that both squat racks were in use by, weirdly enough, two guys squatting. Awesome. I’ll wait.

The “wait” turned into ten minutes as one guy, in his mid-20s, was taking F.O.R.E.V.E.R in between his sets. When he’d complete a set he’d stand there looking straight into the mirror, gazing into his own eyes for a few minutes catching his breath, and then walk over to his what I have to assume girlfriend to chat it up.

After the 3rd round of this, I casually walk up to him and ask, “hey man, how many more sets do you have?”

“A few sets.”

“Mind if I jump in and start warming up?”

[Cue incredulous look, as if I just asked him if I could fart in his eye.]

“Um, yeah, sure.”

As I start my warm-up I notice, through the corner of my eye, him acting all “huffy” with his girlfriend.

It ended up being fine. I made sure to re-rack the bar to the weight he was using and by the time I was half-way through my warm-up sets he had finished. But man, the experience just reminded me that people are way too serious sometimes.

End rant.

Lets get to the gist of today’s post.

Barbell Seal Row

 

Who Did I Steal It From: The guy who writes my programs, Greg Robins, put these into one of my days last week and I loved them.

When I posted this video up on my Instagram account, Greg noted he “stole” the exercise from a guy named Mike Shea via Josh Bryant. Who, I can only guess, got it from some obscure Russian weight training coach or The Rock. Doesn’t matter. It’s a baller exercise.

What Does It Do: This is an excellent exercise that hammers the upper back, specifically the (lower) lats. The exercise lends itself to taking away “body english” and forces the lifter to place a premium on technique and really “feeling” the lats fire.

Key Coaching Cues: 

  • Be sure you use a set-up that allows you to fully extend (straighten out) your arms. The should be enough room for the shoulder blades to move around the thorax/rib cage.
  • Squeeze glutes, brace abs. This will help prevent any hyper-extension of the lumbar spine.
  • Try to keep the neck packed (make a double chin).
  • Think about pulling your elbows towards the hips. The barbell will more or less be in line with that cute, little, belly button of yours.
  • Pull barbell all the way up until barbell touches the bench. I you find that that position places you in too much glenohumeral extension (shoulders roll forward), you can add a fat pad to the barbell to help lessen the ROM.
  • Progression would be to eventually lift the legs off the bench, via the glutes (hip extension).
  • Try not to wear too tight of a shirt, cause you’re jacked, and you’re shirt will rip….;o)

Perform for sets of 8-10 repetitions.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff To Read While You’re Pretending To Work: 2/12/16

Gentle reminder fellas: I Love You, Even Though Sometimes I Think About Drop Kicking You In the Face. Here Are Some Flowers and Lets Go Eat An Expensive Steak Dinner Day Valentine’s Day is this weekend.

It’ll be mine and Lisa’s first V-Day as a married couple.

Since this year the actual day falls on Sunday, Saturday night is unofficially the real Valentine’s Day. Lisa is going wine tasting with a friend, and I’m going to go see Deadpool at IMAX with Kevin Larrabee.

Who says romance is dead when you put a ring on it?…..;o)

No worries: I’ll figure something out. A box of chocolates4, a foot massage, maybe a little Netflix and chill.  BOM CHICKA BOM BOM.

Quick-n-Dirty Updates

1) Be sure to peruse my upcoming speaking schedule. Dean Somerset and I will be kicking off our Complete Shoulder & Hip Workshop (2016 Edition) near Toronto in a few weeks, and then it’s off to Seattle, WA.

And then EUROPE (Prague and Oslo, respectively).

I also have several solo gigs in the works in NY, PA, and MA as well. For more info and to register go HERE.

2) Eric Cressey’s $30 OFF sale on The High Performance Handbook ends this weekend. Oh snap, did I mention Valentine’s Day is this weekend? (Hint, hint, nudge, nudge).

What better present than 16 weeks of one of the world’s best strength and conditioning coaches showing your loved one the ropes?

Or you could buy it for yourself and tell your loved one their present is deadlift PRs, better hip mobility, and pecs/glutes for days (retroactive in 16 weeks).

Don’t miss you, go HERE.

3) Check out one of my new favorite back exercises…the Seal Row.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Should You Foam Roll Your IT Band? – Kevin Neeld

The topic of foam rolling – and foam rolling the ITB – has always been dichotomous in fitness/health circles. Some coaches love it and see great results, others hate it and deem it pointless.

There was an article that came out a week or so ago by Andrew Franklyn-Miller on why you SHOULD NOT use a foam roller on the IT band.

As you might suspect, the internet shit itself.

Kevin wrote a perfect response above. Read it.

37 Fitness Experts Share Their Biggest Workout Mistakes – compiled by Gareth Jones

This one is a doozy, but it’s full of awesome tidbits and insights from many of the top trainers and coaches around.

The Curious Case of Why People Fear Protein – Adam Bornstein

Does eating too much protein cause cancer?

Will eating too much protein cause your kidneys to malfunction?

If you eat a burger, does a baby seal die?

Adam has some insights and facts to share.

CategoriesProduct Review Program Design

The Single Biggest Mistake Most People Make With Their Training Programs

Full Disclosure: Today is a repurposed post written last year and coincides with Eric Cressey placing his resource, High Performance Handbook, on sale this week for $30 off the regular price.

Sale notwithstanding, it’s still a good post. You should read it.

The Single Biggest Mistake People Make With Their Training Programs

I want to tell you about a friend of mine. Lets call him Matt Damon.

For the record, no, Matt Damon isn’t his real name. In fact this friend I’m referring to doesn’t even exist (or star in any Jason Bourne movies).

Rather, he serves as a metaphor for many of you reading this post.

You see Matt is like many of you who, unknowingly or not, repeats the same mistake time and time again when it comes to his (or her!) training.

To his credit, “Matt” makes it a point to ensure the bulk of his training revolves around the compound lifts.

Instead of an “arms and shoulders day, “ he performs a chin-up day; instead of a “hamstring and anterior tibialis day,” he performs a deadlift day; and well, you get the idea.

Likewise, while he generally prefers to lift weights 3-4 times per week, he’s not immune to stepping outside that bubble, understands that variety is the spice of life, and enjoys doing other things. Every now and then he’ll attend the Bikram yoga class or spin class or hell, he’s even been known to spend an afternoon hiking or playing Ultimate Frisbee.

At the end of the day, though, his heart and passion lies in the gym and tossing around some iron.

But here’s the thing: he loves to lift weights. That’s what he eats, drinks and breaths. He spends a lot of his free time reading fitness websites like T-Nation.com, Men’s Health, or various blogs (even this one!)5, and he’s been doing it for a few years now.

Yet, he’s never been really happy with his results.

Matt hasn’t sniffed a PR in months (if not longer), he always seems to have some kind of nagging injury – a tweaked shoulder here, a dinged up knee there – and he can’t remember the last time he looked in the mirror and thought to himself, “are those my pecs or a steel plate I have on my chest?”

He’s more or less spinning his wheels.

Does this sound vaguely familiar? Can you relate?  What the hell is he/you doing wrong?

It’s certainly not lack of effort or desire.

I’ll Tell You What’s Wrong

You know that popular saying, “The best program is the one you’re not doing?”

Well, I think a more cogent saying should be,

“The best program is the one you’re not doing, and the one you’ll actually follow for more than a week at a time.”

In other words: Far too many people tend to fall in the trap of program hopping.

One week Matt wants to focus on fat loss, only to do a complete 180 after reading an article the following week talking about a kick-ass Smolov squat cycle.

Then, inevitably, he’ll join his local CrossFit box and do that for a few weeks. That is, of course, until he’s done so many kipping pull-ups and burpees that he hates life or can’t feel the right side of his face.

Which ever comes first.

And then he’ll come across yet another program that promises to add four inches to his biceps, 50 lbs to his bench press, and help him speak fluent Mandarin in a month.

Oh, but wait – two weeks into that program he forgets he promised his girlfriend he’d train for a 5K with her scheduled later next month.

Shit. Goodbye gainz.

You get the point. And I have a fair assumption that, while the above example(s) are a bit exaggerated, many of you reading are sitting their with your tail between your legs.

Many begin an exercise program (whichever it may be), only to follow it for a week, or worse, days, and don’t get immediate results…then blame everything on the program.

Guilty as charged, right?

Program hopping can have a number of detrimental effects:

1.  You never give the body the chance to truly adapt to anything. While it’s a good thing to NOT perform the same things over and over again for months on end (which a lot of trainees make a mistake of doing); the same can be said for switching things up too often.

More to the point: There’s a distinct lack of skill development. You never get “good” or develop proficient at doing anything.

It’s a pendulum that’s swung either too far to the left (not changing anything) or too for to the right (program hopping), and what most people need is to swing it back to the middle.

2.  Moreover, with program hopping, it makes it much more of a challenge to gauge actual progress.

As noted above, if one week you’re performing a deadlift specialization program only to switch gears three weeks later to follow a bench press specialization program, how the heck do you expect to measure progress?

I don’t know if there’s such a thing as program hopping Adderall, but I will say that for most people, most of the time, what will help them most is a program that will give them structure.

Something that will lock them in and keep their focus for more than a week at a time.

A program that will give them purpose, a goal. Results!

Boom, Goes the Dynamite

A few years ago my good friend, business partner, and long-time training partner, Eric Cressey, released his flagship resource Show and Go.

To say it was a popular program and a huge success would be an understatement. It helped countless people nail personal records they never thought possible, take their physiques to another stratosphere, not to mention helped thousands to learn to move better and feel like a million bucks.

As much as the programming was top-notch, I think the biggest benefit was that it held people accountable and kept them on track for an extended period of time.

It gave them focus!

And like magic, people finally attained results.

A few years later Eric released his second digital training program, The High Performance Handbook.

It’s everything Show and Go was/is, but 10x better.

For movie buffs out there reading, it’s like this: The Godfather was the shiz. But the Godfather II? Well, that mofo slapped you in the face and called you it’s daddy.

High Performance Handbook is The Godfather Part II (<– Eric, you have my permission to use that as a blurb).

It’s been a very popular program, one of the best selling programs on the internet since its initial release, and it’s currently on SALE at $30 off the regular price.

NOTE: I recognize everyone who’s anyone in the industry is highlighting the sale today (and all this week for that matter6.) on their respective blogs and websites.

And rightfully so…it’s an awesome program.

But unlike everyone else, I’ve actually seen the program performed in the flesh and KNOW how well it works.

1. First off, The High Performance Handbook allows anyone who purchases it to customize the program to fit their body-type. There’s a self-assessment component that no other training program has implemented before.

Rather than provide a cookie-cutter program – which, lets be honest, is how things have to be done over the internet when you have limited (if any) actual face time with people – Eric made it a priority that people would be able to modify the program based off their body type, exercise frequency, as well as equipment availability. So, in many ways, this is as NON-cookie cutter of an internet program as you can get.

2. This is about as close as anyone is going to get to training at Cressey Sports Performance without actually stepping foot in Cressey Sports Performance.  The templates used and the exercises provided have been tested (and proven to work) time and time again, and are the EXACT same protocols we use to turn people into tanks on a daily basis.

3. Speaking of exercises:  Eric filmed over 200+ videos for this product, including all the coaching cues and bullet points we use with our athletes and clients at the facility.  That’s over three hours of content on its own.

4. Lastly, there are some pretty sweet bonuses involved from fellow Cressey Sports Performance coaches Miguel Aragoncillo and Andrew Zomberg

In all,  you’ll have the option of purchasing the Gold Package (which includes the Nutrition Guide) for $30 off the regular price, or the Silver Package (no Nutrition Guide) for $30 off the regular price as well.

I tried convincing Eric into tossing in a 5×7 picture of me flexing to help sweeten the pot, but he didn’t bite. Pfffft, whatever.

Both options are a steal considering you’re getting 16 weeks of programming with Eric coaching you every step of the way.

The sale’s almost over. Act now. You won’t be sorry.

—-> The High Performance Handbook<—-

CategoriesMotivational psychology

Ready. Mindset. Lift: Mindfulness For Optimal Workouts

Today’s post comes courtesy of reader’s favorite, and my wife, Dr. Lisa Lewis. Both Lisa and Artemis Scantalides will be presenting their I Am Not Afraid To Lift (the Power of Mindset Edition) at Dauntless Fitness & Health in Severna Park, Maryland on April 2, 2016.

For more information and to register go HERE.

Ready. Mindset. Lift

Your day is chock full of tasks, distractions, and to-do’s. Between family and friends, your work, and your workouts, all those texts, emails, television, and other technology-based diversions force you to focus on one thing while doing another.

Multi-tasking is currently the norm in our busy western lifestyles, and although many of us feel that we’re highly skilled at attending to multiple chores and responsibilities at one time, research has demonstrated were actually not very good at it (Medina, 2014).

While attention deficits are higher and multi-talking is standard, the most popular intervention in psychology today is mindfulness.

Applied to many medical and mental health concerns, Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBI’s) have been used to treat anxiety, depression, insomnia, disordered eating, stress management, (Dimidjian & Segal, 2015) and problems with attention (Zylowska, 2012).

Universally, it seems that regardless of how we struggle, one of the current ways to help ourselves is to get mindful.

But what does being mindful even mean? Good question:

“Mindfulness is about being fully aware of whatever is happening in the present moment… mindfulness consists of cultivating awareness of the mind and body and living in the here and now… while mindfulness as a practice is historically rooted in ancient Buddhist meditative disciplines, it’s also a universal practice that anyone can benefit from… some of the greatest benefits of mindfulness come from examining your mental processes in this way, observing them dispassionately, as a scientist would (Stahl & Goldstein, 2010).”

Now, keeping the idea of mindfulness in mind, let’s take a look at your workouts.

Consider the time just before, during, and immediately after your training sessions.

1) What are you doing on the way to your workout? Singing in the car to the 90’s on 9 XM radio (my personal favorite)? Making a to-do list of things to handle tomorrow at work that you forgot about today? Listening to voicemails or catching up on texts? Worrying? Resenting? Inhaling your lunch?

2) When you arrive at the gym, what your the pre-workout routine? Makeup off, hair up, workout clothes on? Is there a special playlist? Magic lifting shoes? A sexy Zoolander look and pec flex all by yourself in the locker room mirrors?

3) And how about during your warm up? Are you focused on the present, noticing how your body responds to stretches, mobility drills, and foam rolling? Are you using positive self-talk to get excited about your deadlifts, or are you still in your inbox, mentally reviewing tasks and to-do’s?

Are you visualizing a perfect RDL, or the content of your refrigerator back at home?

4) Most importantly, how do you feel while all this is going on?

If you are half-awake, hungry, frustrated, or just downright not-feelin’-it, the quality of your workout suffers. More importantly, you miss the opportunity to be ready and present for a highly valued part of your life!

If you’re reading this article and making it to the gym to train regularly, you care. You’re into it. The point is, your values and goals should be on your mind and WITH YOU before, during, and just after your training sessions.

Mentally prepare yourself for your workouts by getting mindful, and practice staying that way before, during, and after your time at the gym.

Let’s review these four phases of your training, and how mindfulness can apply:

Mental Preparation

On your drive, walk, or subway ride to wherever you workout, begin to think about what you’ll be doing, and what you want out of that time and effort. As one of my private clients once taught me, create a space for the workout, with your thoughts.

If you love music, select a song or playlist that will boost your motivation and energy level. Tailor your playlist to your preferred energy level or “vibe” for the best workout for you (this may include Rage against the Machine or Nora Jones).

Remember your fitness or training goals, and connect with whatever affect you have about that (pumped, fired-up, ambitious, and so on). While you drive, change clothes, and otherwise get ready to being training, tune in to the content of your thoughts and feelings. “Weed out” anything unrelated to training, if you can. Make a conscious decision to be present during your workout, and focused on the processes and sensations of your time in the gym, as opposed to people, places, and things outside of the present moment.

Mental Rehearsal During Your Warm-up

Whatever your warm-up routine includes, consider adding a warm-up for your mind. Mental rehearsal, or visualization, enhances performance (Wilson, Peper & Schmid, 2006).

Used by professional athletes and Zen masters alike, rehearsing in your mind can be just as useful as in-the-flesh deliberate practice.

While your mobilizing and foam rolling, create an image in your mind of your “big movement” for the day. Recall an optimal experience you’ve had with this lift, or mentally rehearse all of the technical components of that lift. In my private practice, I routinely create a “script” with my clients so that they have a written narrative for these rehearsals.

Maintain Mindfulness – Be Ready and Present During Your Workout

As you move through your reps and sets, what’s going on up in that noodle of yours?

If you drift away from your pull-ups and into your upcoming work presentation for the finance team, just notice it, recognize that your PowerPoint slides about the TPS report have nothing to contribute to your goal, and return to the present moment.

If this feels difficult, mentally rehearse the exercise, and use self-talk to consciously think your way through the movement.

For example, you could use one of my favorite coaching cues from Arteims, “Get tight to Get light!, and focus on those words during the execution of your pull up. Remember that mindfulness is a practice – not a perfect state at which to arrive and never leave.

Review the Data

Upon finishing your workout, you may quickly move on to the next task, begin to think about a pressing errand, or free fall into worries and stressors outside of the gym.

As you grab your bag, jump in your car or on the train, and move on with your day, try to take at least 60 seconds to evaluate what just happened.

How did it go? Just like a scientist reviewing the data, you have a fresh set of experiences to observe.

Anything ouchie or awesome today?

Did you increase your weight or reps on an exercise?

If it was a tougher workout than usual, or just no fun, what could have been contributing factors?

These observations can help to acknowledge elements that help and harm your workout quality, and to identify new goals for future performances.

Many of us go elsewhere during our day.

Focusing on the future and worrying about what may happen brings anxiety; reciprocally, thoughts stuck in the past bring us regret, disappointment, and feelings of depression. The present moment is where it’s at!

When you are at work – be at work. When you are with your loved ones – be in the room and tuned into the conversation. When you are at the gym, keep your mind in your body, on your weights, and aligned with your goals and the process of achieving them.

You may be reading this and thinking, “easier said than done!!”

Remember that we are what we practice doing, and so your mind is currently automated to go and do wherever it is going, and whatever it is doing; to change that pattern requires deliberate practice and conscious effort on your part – just like changing a hip hinge pattern.

If you decide to practice mindfulness before, during and/or after your workouts, remember that you are developing your mental muscles. It will take time.

On stressful days, or days when you are hungry, angry, lonely, or tired (HALT), you may return to your automated thoughts and foci. Try not to judge that. It’s just data. You can notice it, let it go, and come back to your present moment and the task-at-hand.

Remember that your workout belongs to you – not your boss, your significant other, your kids, or the other important relationships that often hijack our thoughts. Compartmentalize your thoughts so that you can think about your body, your health, and your fitness while you are actively working on that part of your life. And always, always, remember to enjoy!

Dimidjian, S. & Segal, Z (2015). Prospects for a clinical science of mindfulness-based intervention. American Psychologist, 70, 7, 593-620.

Medina, J. (2014). Brain Rules. Pear Press, Seattle.

Stahl, B. & Goldstein, E. (2010). A mindfulness-based stress reduction workbook. New Harbinger Publications, Inc. Oakland, CA.

Wilson, V., Peper, E., & Schmid, A. (2006). Strategies for training concentration. Book Chapter from Applied Sport Psychology, Williams, J. ED. McGraw-Hill, NY.

Zylowska, L. (2012). The mindfulness prescription for adult ADHD: an 8-step program for strengthening attention, managing emotions, and achieving your goals. Trumpeter Books, Boston.

CategoriesExercise Technique Exercises You Should Be Doing Rehab/Prehab

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Stationary Bear Crawl

Hope everyone enjoyed the game last night.

Congrats to Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos on the win.

But screw the game. Did everyone see that new Jason Bourne teaser trailer?????

 

It took all the will power I could muster not to start dry humping the television screen. I knew a Bourne movie has been in the works for a while now – because I’m a nerd and read Entertainment Weekly and hang out on IMDB – and had been anticipating something epic in the coming months now that both (Matt) Damon and (Paul) Greengrass are back on board with the franchise.

But I was NOT expecting to see a sneak peak teaser last night. I caught me completely off-guard.

The only thing more manly would have been if it showed Bourne bare knuckle fighting a grizzly bear.

On an aside – and serving as the worst segue in history – I recently recorded a video “chat” with Ryan Ketchum for the Elite Training Mentorship titled Behind the Scenes: Tony Gentilcore on Program Design Made Simple.

As a whole, the Elite Training Mentorship gives you access to monthly “inner circle” content from the likes of Eric Cressey (and the entire coaching staff of Cressey Sports Performance), Mike Robertson (and the entire coaching staff of IFAST), in addition to Tyler English, Dave “the Band Man” Schmitz, and Steve Long and Jared Woolever of Smart Group Training.

For a very fair price ($29.95/month, $299.95/year) you gain access – past and current content – to the entire library.

HOWEVER, because this is my first solo addition to the service, you go HERE you can take advantage of a special trail rate of $4.95 for the first 30 days.

That’s pretty sick if you ask me.

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Stationary Bear Crawl

 

Who Did I Steal It From: I got this bad boy from Dr. Mark Cheng when I watched his excellent DVD, Prehab=Rehab 101. In particular the exercise stems from when he covered the topic of ground based training, transitioning from primitive patterns – rolling, sphinx pose, etc – to crawling patterns.

What Does It Do: crawling (and bear crawls especially) have grown in popularity in recent years…mostly in group training environments such as boot camps and/or CrossFit classes.

However I don’t think most people understand what advantages or uses the exercise provides other than “making people tired” and provoking a cacophony of groans whenever they’re placed into a WOD.

The “making people tired” approach makes me cringe because, well, that’s when bad shit starts to happen.

The real reason(s) bear crawls carry weight in a program are as follows:

1) When performed correctly – hips level with shoulders (no excessive arching or rounding of the spine) – they’re an excellent way to train lumbo-pelvic stability/control. More importantly, they help the trainee dissociate hip movement from lumbar movement.

I like to tell people to pretend as if a glass of water or wine is lying their back upright and the objective is to not allow one drop to spill.

2) There’s extensive motor learning (or motor remembering) involved here. I’ll purposely go out of my way to not coach someone on these at the start.

I’ll demonstrate and then point to the floor and say, “your turn.” I feel like a big a-hole in saying it, but I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a smidgeon of entertainment and comedic relief when watching some people try to perform a bear crawl.

It’s as if some are cemented to the floor. They don’t move.

But after awhile it’s just a matter of them figuring things out and reacquainting themselves with some simple motor patterning.

If you really want to be mean have people reverse the action, or go sideways.

2) Bear crawls are also an excellent anterior core exercise (due to the aforementioned focus on lumbo-pelvic control). I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a client contact me the day after saying something to the effect of “WTF, Tony, my abs are on fire today.”

Weird how when you perform something right it becomes more challenging and “stuff” is engaged to a higher degree or turned on.

3) There’s also a fair amount of serratus activity involved, which is a great fit for those with excessively adducted and/or downwardly rotated scapulae. Another BIG mistake many people make with their bear crawls is “hanging” on their shoulder blades and allowing them to touch the entire time. This causes a lot of ramifications with glenohumeral issues. The scaps should more or less move around the rib cage.

4) And, too, I can’t deny the conditioning component to the exercise. There are innumerable ways to make people hate life here. Performing them for time, for distance, dragging a bulldozer behind, it’s endless.

All that being said, oftentimes people don’t have the luxury of having turf or open space to perform traditional bear crawls.

So why not do them in place?

Key Coaching Cues: Hands under shoulders, knees under hips. Depending on one’s ability and comfort level, how wide someone has to go – base of support – will vary.

Brace abs, chin tucked. From there I’ll say “lift opposite limbs a few inches off the ground, but prevent any teeter-tottering of the torso/hips.”

Of Note: the water/wine analogy from above works well here.

Another crucial cue is to make sure the trainee pushes him or herself AWAY from the floor. Basically, make sure those bad boys are moving AROUND the rib cage.

I’ll have someone perform these for “x” number of repetitions (usually 5-8/side) or for time (15-30s).

This is a great exercise for many populations. I’ve used it with clients/athletes with chronic low back issues, as well as with clients/athletes who need to be humbled….;O)

You can always regress the exercise and have someone focus on ONE limb at a time too. Also, I’ve had people perform this in clockwise/counter-clockwise fashion, lifting/lowering each limb in both directions.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff To Read While You’re Pretending To Work: 2/5/16

Going to keep this quick today because I am the master of procrastination and have a boatload7 of catching up to do on programs, writing, probably watching Netflix (who am I kidding?).

But as my good friend, Ben Bruno, always states:

“If you wait till the last minute, it only takes a minute.”

I swear, I should just write programs that go like this:

A1. Squat.
A2. For an hour.
A3. You’re welcome.

That’ll save me so much time.

Oh, before I get into this week’s list, two things:

1) Be sure to check my upcoming speaking/workshop schedule HERE. Things start to ramp up in a few weeks highlighted by the Mark Fisher Fitness Motivation & Movement Lab in NYC at the end of the month and then Dean Somerset and I begin the 2016 tour of our Complete Shoulder & Hip Workshop in Toronto in March, Seattle in April, and two stops in Europe in May.

2) I’m excited to announce I’ve partnered with the company that makes my favorite supplement in the whole wide world (seriously, I can’t live without it), Athletic Greens. Click on THIS link to receive 50% off and an all-expenses paid trip to a hug, from me

You’re Not a “Hardgainer.” You Just Don’t Like To Listen – Lee Boyce

Lee hits the nail on the head with this one.

Listen, “hardgainers” do exist. Like unicorns. But more often than not it comes down to taking a little bit of accountability and admitting 1) you’re (probably) not training/eating enough and/or 2) no, really, you’re (probably) not training/eating enough.

NOTE: the hardgainer-unicorn comment was a joke, Relax.

Exercise Spotlight: Kettlebell Windmill – Karen Smith

I see this exercise being butchered ALL. THE. TIME….interpreted – falsely – as something where you just “bend over and reach towards the floor. Weeeeeeeeeeeee.”

When I see the kettlebell windmill performed in this manner – especially by personal trainers or coaches –  it makes me want to take the kettlebell they’re holding in their hand and punch them in the face with it.

Excellent, excellent article from Karen Smith on the topic.

3 Ways to Get Out of Shoulder Pain – Andrew Millett

Andrew has been a long-time client at Cressey Sports Performance, and he’s also a well-respected physical therapist within the Boston area.

It’s amazing to see that he’s now doing more writing and putting out some awesome content.