Categoriesmobility Program Design

5 Mobility Exercises You’ve Probably Never Done, But Should

Today’s guest post comes courtesy of Dean Somerset, who’s excellent new resource, High Tensile Strength, is set to be unleashed today to the masses. It’s a 6-month, semi-custom based training program based on how you move, where you need to work the most, and what your specific goals may be. 

Even if you’re trying to be Jason Bourne. It’s that good.

Enjoy!

5 Mobility Exercises You’ve Probably Never Done, But Should

Mobility is a simple word with big implications.

In many circles, it determines whether you can progress from a basic exercise to a more advanced exercise. For instance, if you don’t have the ability to actively bring your arms over your head, the chances of doing a solid overhead squat or even overhead press without having some negative compensation through the spine become limited.

There’s also those who say mobility to a specific benchmark is needed to maintain health.

Things like squatting to the floor sound awesome and are a great way to show off for those who have the innate ability to do it, whereas those who might not have the anatomy to get there will be frustrated with their lot in life.

I’ve always viewed mobility a little differently and with a much less extreme “yes/no” kind of ideal:

“How much do you have versus how much do you use?”

Let’s say you can grab your knee and hug it to your chest, but when you have to do a squat you wind up looking like you’re more of a marionette puppet whose strings aren’t quite long enough.

Note From TG: or you can perform and nail this simple “deep squat” assessment from the floor (seen below). But, like Dean said, when you stand up and try to squat without assistance from the floor, you resemble a baby giraffe learning to walk.

 

This disconnect between where you could get to by hugging your knee to your chest and where you managed to get to when asked to squat means you may have to get some more control over your motion, and maybe not as much time spent doing static stretch or “muscle lengthening” exercises.

This doesn’t mean there’s no use for them, but that the use is not as well spent as others.

So in this vein, I wanted to showcase a few mobility drills that teach how to use a range of motion effectively, while also trying to use as much of it as possible. Some people will have anatomical structures that will allow massive excursions during these movements and some won’t. There isn’t a standard I would want anyone to work to in order to say they’re a sufficient exerciser or good person, but just use as much as you have, and work hard at using it.

Here’s a simple hint to make each of these exercises even more diabolically intense:

Whenever you get to the end of the range of motion, try to contract the muscles pulling it in that direction as hard as possible to try to coax a little more room out of each position. If you find a sticking point in the range, this would be a good point to try those max isometric tension developments.

#1: Rolling Cossacks

 

This movement works on getting some adductor stretch while also imparting some controlled rotation through internal and external rotation. Considering how overlooked adductors are to general health and function of the hips and knees, they can definitely stand having some direct work once in a while.

#2: Half Kneeling Elastic Thoracic Rotations

 

This is an active and vertical movement similar to the side lying thoracic rotation.

With most mobility drills, there should be a progression to coming off the floor into a more vertical position so that the usability of that mobility can be more applicable. This movement relies on core control to develop hip and thoracic spine rotation, plus some extension of the spine to accommodate the arm movement.

Try to reach the arm as high as possible and get the biceps as close to the ear as possible.

#3: Standing Hip Circles

 

These look deceptively simple, but can be massively challenging.

The key here is to make the movement come entirely from the hip socket doing the work. This means keeping the knees locked out and trying to not have any twisting from the hips, side leaning, or any deviation from neutral at all.

#4: 2-Step Kneeling Hip Stretch

 

This stretch focuses on developing tension into the hip flexors and glutes in reciprocal manner.

When in the half kneeling position, try to get the glute of the down leg to flex hard and drive into the hip flexor without letting the low back extend. When in the pigeon pose on top of the knee, try to drive the knee into the floor to get the glutes to respond to the stretch reflex more effectively. Don’t forget to breathe either.

#5: Shin Box

 

This is a solid way to start up a workout and work on improving hip internal and external rotation simultaneously.

It’s a simple movement with some excellent carry over into many of the activities you would want to include in your workout, and can be scaled down by simply putting your hands on the ground behind you, and scaled up by doing something like this:

 

You could even work into something like this if you’re feeling up for it:

 

High Tensile Strength

To see these exercises, as well as over 200 others in action, pick up Dean’s brand new product, High Tensile Strength.

High Tensile Strength

As noted above, it’s a 6-month training program that’s customizable based off a handful as self-assessments and it focuses on building strength, improving usable mobility, and making everyone feel like a million bucks.

Moreover, the workouts can be taken from the gym to the living room to the hotel room seamlessly, making it one of the most user-friendly and portable programs available.

In addition, and this is something I hope people can (and will) appreciate, Dean took 18 months to brainstorm, build, and hone this program before releasing it.

This isn’t some “quick money grab” project he wrote in 20 days. He put in a lot of work to make it right, and I think it’s his best to date. What’s more, the program is designed for both men AND women and it’s undoubtedly going to help a lot of people and provide a ton of direction in their training.

High Tensile Strength is on sale all this week at 50% off the regular price, and for a 6-month program is a steal!

For more information go HERE.

CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Band Resisted 1-Legged Hip Thrust

Guess where I’m going this morning?

No, it’s not the gym (that’s later). No, it’s not the grocery store (again, later). And no, it’s not Tom Brady’s house (only in my dreams).

I have to head to the RMV this morning to get my driver’s license renewed.

(Cue sarcastic “yay” here)

I can think of a bazillion things I’d rather do than spend a few hours at the RMV:

  1. Take a piano lesson.
  2. Eat sawdust.
  3. Jump into a shark’s mouth.
  4. Listen to a John Tesh cd.
  5. Talk about my feelings.

Alas, it has to be done. I haven’t had an updated picture on my license since 2006 when I first moved to Boston (and when I still had some hair). So, in the unlikely event that you don’t hear back from me due to my life being sucked dry of every ounce of enjoyment and reason to live, remember I love you all.

I need to hit up the RMV early this morning, so today’s post is going to be quick and to the point. Here’s a cool, new hip thrust variation I’ve been using myself and with my own clients.

Band Resisted 1-Legged Hip Thrust

 

Who Did I Steal It From: You’d assume Bret Contreras, and you’d be wrong. I actually “stole” this idea from my boy, Dean Somerset.

What Does It Do: Outside of making badonkadonks bootylicious, I like this variation because it allows for some semblance of loading hip extension

Admittedly, the band doesn’t add a ton of resistance. But it’s juuuuust enough to make it worthwhile, especially for high(er) rep sets. This is a great way to kick your hip thrusts up a notch – especially for those who don’t have access to a hip thruster or who find setting up band resistance with a bunch of DBs on the floor too cumbersome.

Key Coaching Cues: For starters, slow the frick down. The biggest mistake I see most people make with hip thrusts in general is that they go too fast. The movement ends up being all in the lower back and not in the hip/glute.

I like to cue the shoulders to be externally rotated as I feel it helps to “open” people up. I also cue “head should follow the hinge.” As in: don’t just let your head/neck crank back the entire time. As you hinge and your torso moves, your head should follow.

Take a resistance band (I’m only using a 1″ jump-stretch band in the video), double loop it, and wrap it around the bottom of your foot and your thigh.

Foot stays flat on the floor and be sure to push THROUGH THE HEEL. Keep a controlled tempo and “feel” the glute fire at the top. Pause for a 1-2s count and repeat.

As noted I like to perform these for high(er) reps – 12-15/20. The resistance of the band isn’t going to feel like much to start, but once you get up there in reps you’ll learn to appreciate it.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff To Read While You’re Pretending To Work: 11/20/15

I just spent the past two days hanging out with my friend, and savage, Todd Bumgardner.

[NOTE: if you’re not already reading his stuff and/or stalking following him on social media, you should.]

He was in town for a workshop he was putting on at one of the Equinox locations here in Boston where he spoke to a group of 20+ trainers on “The Art of Coaching” as well as breaking down some common barbell regressions, progressions, and lateralizations.

In exchange for letting him crash at my place he let me “wedding crash” his workshop. He’s a really, really, really good coach, and I learned a lot from his presentation – stuff I’ll be writing more on in later posts1– but the real treat was being able to hang out with an awesome human being for a few days. I love being around people who are passionate about what they do and are equally as eager to share knowledge as they are in attaining it.

We talked lifting heavy stuff, ate dead animal flesh, and also bro-fisted roughly 308 times (+/- 2):

A still shot from a 10-minute video Todd filmed for his Strength Faction group; a community of coaches and personal trainers who get coached themselves on program design, exercise technique, and, of course, the art of bro-fisting.

Needless to say, Todd’s good people and you should check his stuff out.

ALSO

Quick reminder: I’ll be doing a 1-day workshop on “Assessment to Badass” at Full Throttle Athletics in Frisco, TX on Sunday, December 27th.

Me + Shoulders + black lights & smoke machines = best 1-day workshop EVER.

For more details (location, price, itinerary) you can go HERE.

This Brutally Honest Guide To Losing Weight Has Gone Viral  – Not Really Sure

This story has gone viral, and with good reason. Read it.

5 Ways You’re Screwing Up Your Squat – Paul Carter

Really liked this article, and mirrors many of the same cues and concepts I use with my own athletes and clients.

That Fit Person Who’s ‘Got it all Together’….Doesn’t – Krista Scott-Dixon

Nice commentary by Krista providing some “real” prospective on those people we admire. You aren’t them and they aren’t you.

Categoriespersonal training

Why Training In a Group Gives You Leverage

Today’s guest post comes with impeccable timing.

Since I left Cressey Sports Performance a few weeks ago and started arm wrestling tanks working with people out of a small studio space in Boston (Run Strong Studio), I’ve switched gears a bit professionally reverting back to my roots focusing on semi-private training.

CSP has used the semi-private model from its inception back in 2007, and I’m very familiar with it, but it’s been a while since I’ve attempted to utilize it in a solo fashion.

There are several large commercial gyms in the area where I live (and now work) and none – to my knowledge – offer semi-private training to a high degree. Well, a few offer some low brow “conditioning classes” which, lets be honest, is code speak for “lets see how many burpees we can do in 30 minutes before your spine tells you to go fuck yourself.”

1-2 gyms offer semi-private strength training – one trainer, several clients, glitter paint, shit gets crazy – but because people in this area have been conditioned to think one-on-one training is the only way to do things (and that it’s safer2), it’s a novelty that hasn’t gained much traction.

Which is unfortunate because – while a bit biased – I feel it’s one of the best ways to introduce people into fitness, serving as a metaphorical festoon to improved health and overall sense of badassery.

Why?

1. Affordability – not many people can routinely afford paying a personal trainer for one-on-one services. Of course this is contingent on where someone lives. What you pay a trainer in NYC (a metric shit load) is much less to what you pay a trainer in Des Moines, Iowa (less than a metric shit load). I forget where I saw the statistic, but something only like 6-8% of the population can afford paying for personal training. With semi-private training – where rates are often reduced as high as 25% (some more, some less) – that statistic increases by a large margin.

2. Accountability – this comes into play with one-on-one training too. It’s amazing what the threat of losing out on $70-$100 by not showing up will do to someone’s motivation to get their butt to the gym. Moreover, I’ve found that people who gravitate towards semi-private training hold themselves more accountable to their peers whom they train alongside with.

3. Culture – something amazing happens once someone is finally around other like-minded individuals who want to train hard (yet intelligently). It’s as if a switch is flipped and their inner-Wolverine (or Xena) comes out.

Moreover, speaking as a coach, I find the semi-private (group) format has it’s advantages. For starters it allows me to be more efficient and provides better leverage to monetize my time.

It’s simple math3.

Second, and I’d argue most important, it keeps me fresh.

I find I’m more energized and alert as a coach when I’m managing several clients at once compared to working with someone one-on-one. While they’re few and far between, I’ve had some clients in the past where I’d rather wash my face with broken glass than listen to another minute of them whining about doing another set of Goblet squats or how their life sucks because their Lexus is in the garage again.

With the semi-private format I can just feign a little compassion then just turn up the music and coach someone else up. No two days, let alone hours are the same and I love it.

Annnnnnd, I’m getting a bit long winded. Stevan Freeborn – who wrote THIS excellent article on diet vs. habit based nutrition tactics on the site not too long ago – returns with this gem below discussing more advantages the semi-private or group training protocol.

Enjoy!

Why Training In a Group Gives You Leverage

Change is sucks!”

 -Anyone who has ever given up ice cream

Anyone who has tried to change a behavior can probably agree with the quote above. Trying to change a long standing habit that has become part of your daily routine takes a lot of discipline, concentration, and preparation.

As a trainer I see my job not about counting reps and screaming a lot (okay sometimes it is about screaming, but just a little bit), but rather my job is to help my clients in any way shape or form so that their transition to a healthier way of life is as manageable and sustainable as possible.

Sometimes this means I spend a little extra time after class talking about meal planning and food preparation. Sometimes it means I make a short video of me performing a bodyweight circuit that they can do at home. Either way the purpose is to take a bit of the work off of them.

Like this “quickie” by Neghar Fonooni from Lift Weights Faster.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfG8nXTBHU4

 

Over the last couple years I have come to believe that a group of people working towards similar goals can use each other in a similar capacity. The nature of the group allows each group member to share their difficulties and challenges with the group.

This is why I think people will always have more success working in a small group atmosphere when it comes to training and trying to eat better.

I believe this is largely due to three main effects that small groups have.

I want to talk about each one a bit today in hopes of persuading you to find a gym that will allow you to create a small group of training partners.

1. Power of “Peer Pressure”

The term “peer pressure” is something we have all heard before typically in the context of a don’t-do-drugs lecture from our parents or in a public service announcement involving the shaving of a young boy’s head to demonstrate how others can push you into doing drugs.

Both scenarios provide a context where the idea of “peer pressure” is one where there’s a negative connotation; as something that should be avoided or fought at any cost.

But I think this is a flawed understanding of “peer pressure.”

I prefer to term this phenomenon social reinforcement because I think it better identifies the actually process a bit more accurately.

Simply put social reinforcement is the positive or negative regard you receive from others by performing or not performing a particular behavior or taking on a specific set of beliefs and values.

In the context discussed earlier regarding drugs this would be the sudden coolness and likability you gain in the eyes of those who do drugs when you yourself start doing drugs.

But you see social reinforcement or “peer pressure” is nothing more than that…it is reinforcement either positive or negative in relation to a behavior or cognitive process.

This means that it is not “peer pressure” or the social reinforcement that is a bad thing…it is the behavior that it is reinforcing that is negative in the context of doing drugs.

Which logically means that if we can use social reinforcement to get people to engage in rather destructive and negative behaviors we can use this same powerful force to engage people in healthy and productive behaviors.

This is one of the benefits of training in a small group of people whom you know and trust.

If this small group is all about exercise chances are you will feel the need to exercise as well in order to receive that positive regard that we humans crave so much.

Social reinforcement gives you leverage over yourself.

It means that instead of going to the gym or being trained by yourself – which is typically the same environment you find yourself quitting time and time again – you will be in a group of people who believe exercise is important and necessary, and thus more than likely you will feel the need to take on this point of view as well.

This allows the change from being sedentary to being active much easier and sustainable.

2. The Gift of Social Support

Having a small group who you train with means that this small group cannot only play the role of training partners, but also the role of support group.

These people in your group are going through or have been through the same challenges and hardships you are facing or will face.

This means they make the perfect people to share your journey with.

 They can provide you reassurance in times of doubt, motivation when feelings of despair creep up, and advice when trying to solve a problem.

This is an extremely important part of making change long lasting.

Some people get this support system from their family and friends which is great, but I have seen many clients who constantly struggle through their change process because everyone else in their life does not see their healthy lifestyle change as a priority and because of social reinforcement (which we talked about earlier) this means my client often compromise their own priorities for others around them.

But by training in a small group you ensure that this role is fulfilled and that you are going to be more likely to be successful. Plus if you get social support from both people in the gym and outside of it I will bet changing your habits feels that much easier.

People need other people.

It is that simple.

Training in a small group gives you those people who you can lean on and who can lean on you.

Having a group that both plays the role of training partners and support group gives you leverage over your elephant which would much rather drag your rider to the local ice cream pallor.

3. Being Part of an “In-Group”

If you have ever taken a class in psychology or sociology then the term “in-group” is probably familiar to you.

But for those of you wondering: an in-group refers to a group that an individual psychologically identifies with.

The idea was popularized by Henri Tajfel while developing his Theory of Social Identity.

The idea here is that by having a group of people who share the same interest and priorities as you do, allows you to find a sense of identity in training and eating well.

It in essence becomes a part of you. You join and help create a culture specific to your group that will help hold you to your change process without even thinking about it.

You will find eating well and exercising regularly less demanding and chore-like. Rather you will begin seeing it as part of your daily routine and life.

I am not trying to promote the formation of a cult or anything here (; D), but I am encouraging you to get involved with a gym that has a culture to which you can assimilate with because it will make being consistent with training and eating well so much easier.

An added benefit you’ll also find is that your training will take off when you find a great group of people to train with because their habits will rub off on you.

If they use perfect technique, lots of intensity, and smile a lot while working out then you will soon be doing the same both because you identify yourself as part of the group and also because you want the positive regard of the people around you.

The Final Say

As you can see small group training offers a great number of benefits, but most importantly it gives you better leverage over any change your are trying to make. It allows you to save energy for other things in life than trying to force yourself to get to the gym or not purchase that carton of cookies you get every week at the grocery store.

Plus there is nothing more exciting and enjoyable than sharing in the victory of others and having people excited for you when you yourself succeed!

I hope this persuades you to seek out a group of people to train alongside!

About the Author

Stevan Freeborn B.Sc. ACSM-CPT is a trainer from Joplin, MO. He trains clients both in person and online. When he isn’t, he enjoys picking up heavy things, crushing trail mix, and being a coffee snob. He would love it if you would connect with him onInstagram, Facebook, or Twitter and spend a few minutes getting inside his head at Freeborn Training Systems.

CategoriesExercise Technique Female Training personal training Program Design Strength Training

How To Improve Chin-Ups and Pull-Ups From the Ground

Excuse my language: but fuck what the scale says.

I hate that the scale is often deemed the end-all, be-all measure of progress; the litmus test innumerable people gravitate towards to gauge their success when it comes to their health and well-being (or worse, self worth).

I’ve written on this topic before – Should You Use Scale Weight As a Measure of Success? – so I won’t go too off tangent here. Besides, if I do I’ll get all worked up, emotional, and inevitably end up having to resist the urge to Sparta kick a random wall in my apartment.

But in case you’re too cool for school to read the article it can be summed up as follows:

  1. See that scale in your bathroom?
  2. Toss it out the window.
  3. But be sure no one is standing underneath it.
  4. Because, you know, you run the risk of someone wanting to fight you. Or, you’ll kill them. Which would suck.
  5. Just read the article will ya?

Why Performance Based Goals Matter

Whenever I start working with a client (male or female) I almost always “nudge” them towards a performance based goal, rather than something arbitrary like:

“I want to lose 10 lbs.”

Or

“I’d like to look like Hugh Jackman when he’s Wolverine.”

Or

“I want to lose fat here (<— points to body part).”

Or

“I want to mud wrestle Rhonda Rousey.”

Save for the last one, which is creepy as hell4, none of these “goals” speak to anything concrete or quantifiable.

It amazes me how often the magic number is “10 lbs” whenever someone refers to losing weight, as if that number really means anything. Likewise, will looking like Hugh Jackman as Wolverine make you a better human being?

Yep, probably

This isn’t to belittle these goals or begrudge the people who make them. Honestly, if either of them are what helps keep people motivated to train and to stay consistent with their training I’m all for it.

I just feel these types of goals pale in comparison to setting concrete, measurable, performance-based goals. Goals like deadlifting 1x, 1x5x, or 2x bodyweight, or bench pressing bodyweight for reps, or being able to bang out a clean, full ROM, bodyweight chin-up/pull-up.

THESE are the markers of true progress IMO.

Here’s a video of Lisa hitting 5-reps during one of the 17,9425 snow storms we had last winter in Boston.

I feel it’s these types of goals which give people more intent and purpose in their training. Moreover, from my own experience as a coach, it’s these types of goals which (almost always) result in people attaining their aesthetic goals as well.

And, as an added benefit: more often than not, the whole notion that “scale weight” means anything is tossed to the curb (especially as it relates to the toxic mindset and environment that many women impose on themselves).

I dig that.

The sooner I can get them to say “sayonara” to the scale, the better.

So, Speaking of Chin-Ups/Pull-Ups

I work with a lot of women as a coach, and it’s not uncommon for many to express how they’d love to eventually be able to perform a chin-up/pull-up.

Unfortunately, for some, the negative self-talk takes over.

Whether because they’ve been programmed to think otherwise from magazines which tell them that lifting 3-5 lb dumbbells is what they’re supposed to be doing, or from ill-informed and ill-intentioned trainers in the past who bought into the bullshit and “vomited” said bullshit in their direction …many are left thinking themselves:

“I’ll never be able to do that!”

With that mindset: you’re 100% correct.

However, with the right information, support, and plan…it is possible.

[The video below highlights a 6-Week Chin-Up Challenge I wrote for Women’s Health back in 2013, where a number of the participants succeeded].

I’ve had a slight change in strategy of late, though. My initial “step” to training the chin-up/pull-up with the bulk of my female clients6 starts from the floor and not from the chin-up/pull-up bar.

Say Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?

Much of the credit goes to Artemis Scantalides. It’s been the information I’ve gleaned from her that’s been the main influence on my revamped approach.

The biggest “take home” point is allowing people to understand and respect the importance of getting and maintaining full-body tension, and then taking that tension and applying it to the bar.

Many are unable to grasp this concept and frankly, until they do, aren’t ready to hang from a bar.

This can be done in several ways, and it doesn’t require anything elaborate or fancy.

1. Push-Ups

Yep, plain ol’ vanilla-flavored push-ups.

Improve someone’s ability to perform a push-up, and inevitably you’ll see improvements in the sexier lifts like deadlifts, squats, and chin-ups/pull-ups.

Why?

Better lumbo-pelvic-hip control and a better understanding of core tension (specifically: Anterior core control).

The sooner one learns to “own” the push-up, the sooner he or she will own the weight room. And I don’t mean “girl push-ups” either. You know, the ones that girls are supposed to perform with their knees on the ground.

I think those a stupid and set a dangerous precedent.

Girls can (and will) do push-ups. We just may need to augment them to better set them up for success.

Elevated Push-Up

 

Band Assisted Push-Up

 

One variation a really like that better emulates carry-over to the chin-up/pull-up is:

Push-Up Walkout to Plank

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2DzjiJsllc

 

2. Rollout Variations

Along the same lines as the push-up, I also find a ton of validity in rollout variations. Many of the same benefits apply: cuing of bodily tension (brace abs, squeeze glutes), better anterior core activation, and improved lumbo-pelvic-hip control.

What’s more: the rollout – from the extended position back to an upright position – very much “copies” the pulling motion akin to the chin-up/pull-up.

 

Both exercises are crucial in introducing tension and bodily awareness and help to build context in a more “user friendly” manner. It’s not uncommon for me to program one or the other – choosing from a wide array of variations – every training session for some trainees.

Another teaching tool I’ve been using a lot of late (thanks to Artemis and other coaches like Karen Smith) is something called the Hollow Position.

The Hollow Position (w/ Stick)

 

This move has been a game changer for me as a coach, and something I’ve been incorporating into many of the programs of my new clients in Boston, like Alex in the video above.

The Key Points to Remember

  1. They must press both the ankles and hands together. This will create TENSION.
  2. The legs and upper torso must move simultaneously (the spine needs to stay in a anatomically neutral position).
  3. The objective, to start, is to build-up time under tension. For many, 5 seconds will be challenging. It may be best to perform 3-5 repetitions of 5s holds (with 5-10s rest in between), and build up from there. With Alex I’m working up to one, strict 30s hold. She loves it/hates my guts.
  4. Adding the stick helps to build context even more, which will translate nicely once someone “graduates” to the bar.
  5. Once they do progress to hanging from a bar, the hollow position is still paramount. From there we can train both the bottom and top of the chin-up/pull-up with hanging leg raise variations and flexed-arm hang variations (ensuring maintenance of hollow position and “sucking” the shoulder blades into the sockets).

And Most Important Of All….

Once I clicked “publish” on this article: there are 30 Days, 8 Hours, and 43 Minutes until Star Wars Episode VII premiers.

Not that I’m keeping track or anything…..

Categoriespersonal training

Become a Superhero Trainer

SURPRISE. Bonus weekend edition post today from San Antonio based personal trainer, Jonathan Acosta. Jonathan has written a handful of posts on this site, most notably his popular Carbohydrate Rotation Revamped article.

Today he discusses what “superpower” is most beneficial for every trainer to be successful.7

Enjoy!

Like any other guy I’m a bit of a comic buff. I don’t know if its just the whole concept of superheroes or my addiction to trying to be superhuman. But since I was a kid Ive always been fascinated by superheres

I would put a plastic grocery bag on my back like a backpack and jump off the roof in attempts to fly or at least float down.

I learned about physics and gravity that day, so I had to look for another method. Towels tied to your neck to make a cape didn’t cut it either.

Bear with me, I’m getting close to my point.

Out of all the superheroes Deadpool is my favorite. Followed by Superman.

I know I’m gonna get a lot of heat with this but I’m not much of a Batman fan. Mostly because one of my BFF’s secretly thinks hes Batman. Batdad is pretty cool though.

 

Superman is one of my favorites not because of his superhuman capabilities but because of what he represents. which is his true super power. The invincibility and flying is cool, but it’s not his best super power.

The cool thing about this super power is that as a trainer, we have that super power too…………….

Ok let me rephrase that.

Great trainers have this super power.

If you saw the movie Superman with a jacked Henry Canvil, you’d see what the S on his chest really means. In krypton it means hope. That’s Superman’s greatest super power.

His ability to give people hope.

As a GREAT trainer, this too is your greatest super power. The ability to give people hope. The ability to give them hope and provide them with a solution. You see, what seperates a good trainer and a great trainer is just that.

Hope.

That’s cool that you can name every piece of the human anatomy. That’s cool that you know the best and most effective strength training or fat loss methods. But none of that will do you “Justice” (see what I did there?) like the ability to give your client hope.

If you’ve ever really sat down with a client and heard them out completely (which you should), you’d hear their pain and their struggle with whatever problem they bring forward to you.

It might be health reasons or performance. I know pain is subjective, but pain is still pain. And nothing alleviates pain like hope and action. Hope knowing that you are being provided with a proven path and are being guided by a “superhero”.

Followed by a plan of action to get to that superhuman version of you.

If men are from mars and women are from venus, then great trainers are from Krypton and CrossFit trainers are from Uranus.

I JOKE! I JOKE!

There are some great CrossFit coaches out there. I just like busting your chops 😉

If this article teaches you anything it’d be to hone your super power.

Trust me, you’ll see some amazing things happen when a client is ignited with hope and with your guidance they will become their own version of superhuman.

“Ignite the Fire”, so to speak.

 

So now that you know that you’re from Krypton and possess a superpower that can benefit all mankind…………

……………….What will you do with it?

About the Author

Jonathan Acosta is the founder of Underground Performance Center and head trainer at Get Sexy San Antonio and is a certified personal trainer though both ISSA and the NCEP, as well as Precision Nutrition Level I certified.

He likes lifting heavy things, reading books with big words in them, his steaks rare, funny stuff, writing stuff, hanging out with friends, and laughing.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff To Read While You’re Pretending To Work: 11/13/15

I’m en route to LA as this goes live, via Virgin America Airlines.

Look at me all fancy pants.

It’s like a spaceship. Except not in space.

Anyways, I have nothing of importance to say so lets get right to this week’s list shall we?

Shifting In and Out of Patterns: A Discussion on Extension, Neutrality, and Performance – Dr. Pat Davidson

Pat is a savage (and author of one of the best training manuals in recent memory, MASS. The title alone should tell you all you need to know).

I really appreciated this article as it speaks to some of the reasons why PRI – breathing patterns – is so valuable in a strength & conditioning setting.

5 Thoughts On Off-Season Baseball Training – Mike Robertson

My name is Tony Gentilcore, I’m known for training baseball players, and I approve this message. Mike hit a home run with this article. He threw it right down the pipe. You could say this article is “a can of corn” in terms of how applicable and easy the information is.

Too many baseball puns? My bad.

Suffice it to say his break down of the importance of the serratus anterior is worth the read alone.

2x Bodyweight Deadlift: Unreasonable Standard or Realistic Goal – Artemis Scantalides

Artemis asked a bunch of strength coaches their opinion on the 2x bodyweight deadlift marker. Is there merit to the goal? Or is it a bunch of nonsense?

s3 Method: A Programming Framework For Improving Speed, Size, and Strength

TODAY (11/13) is your last chance to purchase Nick Tumminello’s latest resource at a heavily discounted price. I love Nick’s work and he’s someone I always learn something from.

This is a very thorough resource covering THREE modules that will not only give you a deep look into Nick’s approach to program design, but give you tons of tools to make you more rounded fitness professional.

CategoriesMedia podcast Product Review

I’m Taking Over the Internet. But Not Really

I’ll be heading out to sunny LA this weekend to meet up with Dean Somerset for our last go at the Complete Shoulder & Hip Workshop of 2015.

We’ve been on a tear lately with stops in Edmonton, St. Louis, and Chicago earlier this fall, and I hope people aren’t starting to get Dean and Tony fatigue…

…because we also have BIG plans for 2016 as well.

A trip to Europe (Prague and Oslo in the Spring), as well as various cities around North America (Toronto, Austin, TX, etc).

NOTE: speaking of Texas, I’ll be in Frisco, TX on Dec. 27th for a 1-day workshop at Full Throttle Athletics. For more info you can go HERE.

And, who knows, we may very well go intergalactic and hit up Naboo. We like to live life dangerously.

Anyways I need to pack and get things organized before I leave tomorrow morning, so today I wanted to take a few moments to point you in the direction of various appearances I’ve made around the internet.

Recent Podcast Appearances

After linking to his awesome article, Is Diet Coke Bad For You?,8Scott Baptie reached out and asked if I’d come onto his Food For Fitness Podcast.

You can listen HERE.

I was also invited by Nada Nasserdeen to make a cameo on her Rise Up For You podcast. It’s a quickie (less than 10 seconds 25 minutes), but we discussed some of my grievances with the mainstream media’s approach to women’s fitness, in addition to delving into my general approach to working with and training women.

You can listen HERE.

Men’s Health & BuzzFeed Article

My latest article on MensHealth.com dives into how to instantly clean up technique on several basic exercises using EXTERNAL cuing rather than INTERNAL cuing.

You can check that out HERE.

Also, I made a cameo on BuzzFeed recently contributing to an article written by Sally Tamarkin on tips to Actually Start Lifting Weights.

Cool New Apparel

Two things to note in the video below.

1. My DL technique is on point, son! After working through some back issues at the start of this year, I’m starting to amp my deadlift numbers back up and feel like I’m making some good progress. Here’s my first set (of 3) of 435 for an easy 4 reps.[/efn_note]The video was cut off at 3 reps. Trust me, I got the 4th.[/efn_note]

2. The sleek apparel I’m wearing.

Was sent some free swag and apparel from @wpnwear and figured I’d break things in with some deadlifts, naturally. #teamwpn

A video posted by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore) on

I was contacted by a new Australian company, WPN Active Wear, and they were kind enough to send me some free swag – shorts, compression shorts/shirt – to try out and use during some recent training sessions.

I’m normally not someone who wears compression gear when training, but I may change my ways. I found I was able to get warm quicker (and stay warm) and I did sense the compression shorts (underneath the shorts in the video) gave me a bit more of a stable feeling with my back. Huge bonus.

Plus, you know, I look jacked.

I know I have a fair number of Australian readers, so if you’re looking for a some cool, comfortable, reasonably priced fitness apparel give WPN a look.

SIDE NOTE: I like the idea of this being a small company of passionate guys who want to introduce a high-quality product, and aren’t some faceless conglomerate. I receive ZERO kick-back in pointing you towards their KickStarter campaign – HERE – if that’s something you’re interested in supporting/backing.

You should do it. For the kangaroos.

Categoriescoaching Conditioning Program Design

The 3 S’s of Hybrid Training: How to Increase Speed, Size, and Strength

There aren’t many coaches out there who are as “diverse” as Nick Tumminello. He’s equal parts meathead and evidence based, which basically means he can sit at any table he wants to in the proverbial high-school cafeteria.

It doesn’t matter if it’s with the cool-kids, football players, hipsters, Honor Society, or theater nerds…Nick’s “in” with them all, just like in the fitness community.

  • Bodybuilders, powerlifters, CrossFitters, Olympic lifters, barbell lifter uppers, you name it, he’s always invited to the party.

I respect Nick a ton. He’s someone I’m always learning from and someone who always keeps things in perspective. What’s more, he’s never dogmatic in his approach to training people. If something works – and can be backed up with a rationale explanation (whether anecdotal or backed by evidence/research) – it works.

There’s a reason his Twitter profile says the following:

“I train the trainers.”

His latest resource, S3 Training Method: A Programming Framework for Improving Speed, Size, and Strength, is a doozy (<– it will rock your world it’s so thorough, and is an excellent addition for any trainer or coach looking to add a little “kick” to their programming for the new generation of clients looking to have it all), and is available starting today at a heavily discounted price.

He was kind enough to contribute a stellar guest post today.

Enjoy!

The 3 S’s of Hybrid Training: How to Increase Speed, Size and Strength

Is it possible to get stronger, enhance your performance and get bigger all at the same time?

I’d say yes…

Training through a spectrum of movement speeds and loads will enhance your explosiveness, improve your strength, and increase your muscle will leave.   Gone are the days where you must focus on one specific goal and ignore the others.

The Three S’s

Let’s explore the three S’s—speed, strength, and size—to help you understand exactly what each quality is.

Movement-Speed Training

In the context of this article, movement-speed training focuses on improving your rate of force development—that is, how quickly you can use your strength.

Remember: power = strength × speed. Therefore, exercises used to improve your movement speed are total-body power exercises. The heavier the load you’re working against, the slower your movement becomes. For this reason, the principle of specificity dictates that, in order to do all you can to improve your explosive power, you don’t just do exercises that involve moving against high loads (i.e., strength exercises). You also do exercises that require you to move at high speeds.

Adaptations to training are specific to the demands that the training puts on the body. Therefore, regularly performing exercises that require you to move fast in certain directions makes your body more capable of moving fast in those or similar directions.

With this principle in mind, you should include exercises for each of the three pillars of power—vertical (or diagonal), horizontal, and rotational—in order to improve your functional capacity by enhancing your capability to move fast in multiple directions.

Since the goal is to move fast, the exercises improving total-body power (i.e., movement speed) use loads that are not heavy (relative to the loads used to improve strength). In fact, they should incorporate very light loads (sometimes just body weight), but demand that you move at high speed – as fast as you possible can.

In addition to training movement speed, we also need to better adapt to and potentially refine the tri-phasic muscle-activation pattern used only during fast, ballistic athletic movements.

One of the best workout methods to achieve both of these goals is to perform medicine-ball throwing exercises.

 

When throwing the ball, unlike when lifting weights, you don’t have to slow down at the end of the range of motion; you can just let the ball fly. Therefore, simply throwing the ball in different directions (power is direction specific) trains your body to generate explosive power without putting on any brakes.

Also, whereas Olympic weightlifting can be difficult to learn and trains only in the vertical or diagonal power pillar, explosive medicine-ball throwing exercises are easy to learn and require you to move fast and explosively in all three pillars of power.

To do so use a variety of medicine-ball throwing exercises—throwing either against a wall or into open space (e.g., field or parking lot)—to help you become more explosive and therefore more powerful and athletic.

Movement-Strength Training

Training for improved strength means improving one’s capability to produce force in various movements. Put simply, the more force you can produce in a given movement, the stronger you are in that movement.

Like power, strength is task specific; therefore, the further an exercise gets away from the specific force-generation and neuromuscular coordination patterns of a given movement, the less directly it carries over to that movement. This fact in no way makes the exercise bad, and it certainly doesn’t make it nonfunctional. It simply means that the less specific an exercise is, the more general it is.

You should incorporate a wide variety of cross-body and compound exercises to help you improve your functional capacity by developing strength in various movement patterns, directions, and body positions.

Remember, if you can perform a broader range of specific tasks, you possess a higher functional capacity. This relationship is crucial because you don’t want your body to be merely more adapted to a limited number of gym-based exercise movements (only Olympic lifters and powerlifters need to specialize in specific exercise movements).

Instead, you want your body to be more adaptable so that you can successfully take on a variety of physical demands.

 

Although training for strength gains and training for size gains (i.e., hypertrophy) are certainly not mutually exclusive, the size–strength continuum is characterized by some important differences between the two.

Although both involve creating mechanical tension on the muscles, strength training is geared toward increasing force production. Size training, on the other hand, is geared toward getting a muscle pump and creating microscopic damage in the muscle, which causes the muscle to repair itself and grow larger.

If you think of your body as a computer, then strength training is geared more to upgrading your software (your central nervous system, or CNS) than to upgrading your hardware (your muscles). In contrast, training for size is geared more to upgrading your body’s hardware—bones, connective tissues, and, of course, muscles.

Muscle-Size Training

The rule of thumb in training for size calls for using more reps and lower loads than when training for strength. In practical terms, this approach means using a weight load that allows you to perform about 9 to 15 reps per set; performing 6 to 8 reps per set serves as a nice middle ground between the general strength.

Although all types of training can provide neurological benefits—especially early on—the goal of training for size is more physiological than neurological.

In fact, contrary to popular belief, increasing muscle size depends not on the specific exercises you do but on the specific physiological stimulus you create. To build muscle, you need to create a training stimulus that elicits the three mechanisms for muscle growth (i.e., hypertrophy): mechanical tension, metabolic stress, and muscle damage (Schoenfeld 2010).

In short, there are two ways to get stronger and build a great-looking body that can get things done: neurologically and physiologically. Both approaches are addressed by the S3 Method: A Programming Framework for Improving Speed, Strength & Size, which helps you reprogram your body’s software and improve its hardware for more muscle and better performance capability.

References

Adam, A., and C.J. De Luca. 2003. Recruitment order of motor units in human vastus lateralis muscle is maintained during fatiguing contractions. Journal of Neurophysiology 90: 2919–27.

Baechle, T.R., and R.W. Earle. 2008. Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning. 3rd ed. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Cheung, K., P. Hume, and L. Maxwell. 2003. Delayed onset muscle soreness: Treatment strategies and performance factors. Sports Medicine 33 (2):145–64.

Grant, A.C., I.F. Gow, V.A. Zammit, and D.B. Shennan. 2000. Regulation of protein synthesis in lactating rat mammary tissue by cell volume. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 1475 (1): 39–46

Millar, I. D., M.C. Barber, M.A. Lomax, M.T. Travers, and D.B. Shennan. 1997. Mammary protein synthesis is acutely regulated by the cellular hydration state. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 230 (2): 351–55.

Miranda, F., et al. 2011. Effects of linear vs. daily undulatory periodized resistance training on maximal and submaximal strength gains. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 25 (7): 1824-30.

Mitchell, C.J., et al. 2012. Resistance exercise load does not determine training-mediated hypertrophic gains in young men. Journal of Applied Physiology 113: 71–77.

Prestes, J., et al. 2009. Comparison between linear and daily undulating periodized resistance training to increase strength. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 23 (9): 2437–42.

Rhea, M.R., et al. 2002. A comparison of linear and daily undulating periodized programs with equated volume and intensity for strength. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 16 (2): 250–55.

Santana, J.C., F.J. Vera-Garcia, and S.M. McGill. 2007. A kinetic and electromyographic comparison of the standing cable press and bench press. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 21 (4): 1271–77.

Schoenfeld, B.J. 2010. The mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy and their application to resistance training. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 24 (10): 2857–72.

Simão, R., et al. 2012. Comparison between nonlinear and linear periodized resistance training: Hypertrophic and strength effects. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 26 (5): 1389–95.

Stoll, B. 1992. Liver cell volume and protein synthesis. Biochemical Journal 287 (Pt. 1): 217–22.

Werner, S.L., et al. 2008. Relationships between ball velocity and throwing mechanics in collegiate baseball pitchers. Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery 17 (6): 905–8.

CategoriesUncategorized

The Athletic Shoulder Workshop in Frisco, TX

I’ve been fortunate enough in recent years to have the opportunity to do more traveling for both business and pleasure…oftentimes combining the two.

Upon being told by my wife that we’ll be making the trek down to Dallas, TX to visit family for Christmas, I asked if she’d be cool if I put out a few “feelers” to see if there’d be any interest from local facilities in me doing a 1-day workshop in the area.

Frisco, TX won9.

When I say “Frisco won” lets implement a bit of expectation management here.

Unfortunately this isn’t one of those surreal Oprah moments where I walk down the street and scream, “You get a car, you get a car, and YOU get a car10.”

Nope. Instead you get an entire day of me talking about shoulder assessment, program design, and at least 1,078 references to Star Wars.

NOTE: the workshop will take place three days after having watched Star Wars: The Force Awakens, so don’t be surprised if I show up dressed as an Ewok, a Storm Trooper, or Han Solo. I haven’t decided yet.

The Deets

Date: Sunday, December 27th.

Where: Full Throttle Athletics, located in Frisco, TX.

Time: 9-5 (with an hour for lunch and mechanical bull riding. Clothing optional).

Cost: $99 Early Bird rate until December 1st, and $129 thereafter.

It was important to make this event something that would be affordable given the time of year, and considering you’re going to be able to hang out with me for eight hours it’s pretty much a win-win.

Sign-Up: All you have to do is go HERE and you’re all set.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iumZQ4taAU8&feature=youtu.be

 

Hope to see you there.