For starters I’ll officially be open for business and taking on new clients at my new spot in Boston. I’ve spent the past few weeks getting my ducks in a row purchasing equipment and getting some semblance of “systems” set in place to help organize things.
A photo posted by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore) on
It’s like my very own Transformer!
I’ll be updating the website soon to better highlight what services I’ll be offering in Boston, but for now if you’re reading this and wondering to yourself, “huh, I wonder what it would be like to have Tony train me1” you can shoot me an email at: [email protected] (or use the Contact function on the homepage).
UPDATE: actually, you can go HERE for more information.
Also, I’ll be making a cameo appearance at Legacy Strength in Floral Park, NY on Sunday (10/25) to do a 1-day workshop on shoulder shenanigans for a group of personal trainers and coaches. It’ll actually be my first time driving to NYC (and not taking public transportation), so FML.
I am, however, really looking forward to Sunday.
And lastly, speaking of speaking engagements, I’d like to run something past all of you.
Lisa, my wife, is an accomplished psychologist (with a doctorate in Sports Psychology) and she and I have been toying with the idea of offering a 1-day workshop tentatively titled “Kick It Up a Notch.”
[NOTE (slight brag fest): she actually jumped in when I was down in Australia this past March and spoke to the group of trainers/coaches on mindset and how to better communicate with clients. They ate it up. She’s also speaking alongside Artemis Scantalides in a few weeks at the I Am Not Afraid To Lift (Boston) Workshop. There are a handful of spots still available. Hint, hint].
Helping athletes/clients on the physical component is one thing – most trainers and coaches are well prepared for that. However, it’s a whole different ball of wax when mindset and the mental component is thrown into the mix.
What the two of us have been thinking is combining a workshop where I speak to how to progress our clients in the weight room (discussing exercise progressions/regressions, performance on key lifts) and Lisa speaks to how to help our clients with mindset, inner dialogue, and the mental component.
Do you feel there would be ANY interest in something like this?
I do. But I’d like to see if I’m right or if it’s just wishful thinking on my part.
Without further ado, lets get to this week’s list.
Keeping with the “lifting heavy stuff” theme, in this article Greg discusses five common coaching cues with the Big 3 that are often misunderstood or confused.
Lindsay is Dean’s wife, and an accomplished endurance athlete. In this very important post she describes why strength training has been a crucial component to her success as a competitive athlete.
Some Bonus Stuff
1. I’m really excited about the upcoming release of Strength Expert Secrets.featuring the likes of Dan John, Tim Henriques, Matt Kroc, Jordan Syatt, Dean Somerset, Josh Bryant, Bud Jefferies, and me.
As part of the pre-launch you can sign up to receive 8 FREE preview videos of the product. All you need to do is provide your name and email address HERE.
5. Helping to reverse the toxic trend predicated by the mainstream media that women shouldn’t (or worse, can’t) strength train and/or lift appreciable weight.
I’ve tried my best to do my due diligence to fight the good fight and to take on the role as an ambassador who advocates for women to lift heavy things, and to shed light on the absurdity that they should refrain from it.
Posts like THIS (where I pwn Vogue Magazine), THIS (where I speak to the main stream media’s message towards women), THIS (where I highlight a few of my favorite “go to” women’s sources), and THIS (which is hands down the most popular post ever in this history of this site) help to elucidate my thoughts on the topic.
Of course, I’d be remiss not to mention the overall “tone” conveyed by the media in recent years has relented and has gotten a bit less vomit in my mouthish – in no small part to the popularity of CrossFit and sites like Girls Gone Strong.
To speak to that point, recently I let it be known that I left Cressey Sports Performance to pursue other opportunities and that I’m now training people at a small studio space in Boston.
NOTE: I will be updating my services page soon, but if you’re interested in getting more information – where the studio is located, the basic format, what the cost is, as well as the secret handshake involved to get in – shoot me an email (via the contact page).
As such, I’ve had numerous people reach out to discuss working with me, some of which have been those from out of town with future travel plans to Boston.
Today I wanted to share an interaction I’ve had with a woman who lives near the NYC area.
From her first email:
“I’m in desperate need of a trainer. Since July I have tried two different local trainers (Nyack, NY) and I am really not happy – lots of light weights, no emphasis on compound movements (and when I insist we squat, deadlift or bench they never even discuss form/technique with me and just let me do whatever I want).
They tell me things like a body part – even glutes – can only be trained once a week, I should be eating only tilapia, broccoli, and six almonds, and I want to just run screaming out of the gym.”
I wrote back saying how sorry I was she had been having such bad experiences working other trainers and that I hoped I could try to break the trend.
After a few more emails back and forth she sent this gem:
“I still have several sessions with my current trainer which is driving me nuts because he says things like “people – and especially women – can’t build muscle after the age of 40” and I’m 50, building muscle, and really don’t like to hear I can’t do something especially when he has no evidence to back this up.”
I wrote back:
“What’s up with this guy? He’s pretty outdated in his train of thought. Is he living in 1919? Does he expect you to make him a sandwich? No, wait, he still thinks women can’t vote, right?”
Alas, sadly, this is the type of information (and message) that’s being relayed to women from fitness professionals – not all of them – who should know better.
The exchange got me thinking on where many (again, not all) fitness and health professionals go wrong when it comes to women and fitness.
1. Catering the Toxicity In the First Place
You see the messages all the time on magazine covers when you walk through a checkout line at a grocery store, and can’t help but feel saturated by WTF’ness of it all:
“Lose 1o lbs Fast. Without Dieting!”
“Get a Lean and Sexy Figure With These 4 Moves.”
“How To Get Toned for Summer.”
“The New Low-Carb, Guilt Free Diet Food: Sawdust!”
I understand marketing and know full-well that words like “strength, squats, muscle,” and “it’s going to take more than a month of dedicated, consistent, hard work to get the results you want” won’t sell women’s fitness magazines.
But come on: as a fitness professional you should know better than to pander to the BS.
And it’s not only fitness professionals – personal trainers and strength coaches – who are to blame. I’ve heard stories of FEMALE high-school athletic directors and coaches dismissing strength training for their FEMALE athletes because, to quote one of them:
“There isn’t any female-friendly equipment for them to use anyways.”
What the what??????
Mind you this was in reference to a very well equipped high-school weight room that had 6-8 full power racks and platforms.
The “female friendly” equipment she was referring to were treadmills, ellipticals, and pink colored frisbees for all I know.
That’s a hell of a crappy message to be conveying to an entire demographic of impressionable teenagers. The guys can use the squat racks; you ladies should be over there on the cardio equipment.
Chop, chop…off you go!
I for one like to educate my young female athletes and adult woman clients on why strength training is a good thing, and how it can empower them to accomplish many things outside of sports.
Although, admittedly, I prefer to get every woman I train to “buy” into more performance based goals rather than focusing on losing 10 lbs or trying to emulate an unrealistic, photoshopped societal expectation on the cover of a magazine.
It’s amazing how much of a confidence boost and overall sense of accomplishment that arises when a woman I work with finally hits a bodyweight deadlift (for reps), destroys her previous best on push-ups, or can do something as baller as this:
Rather than continuing to pick the scab and telling a female athlete or client what they can’t or shouldn’t be doing based off archaic, out-dated, and overall damaging information regurgitated by a complacent media, why not instead help them to explore the amazing opportunities, autonomy, and empowerment strength training provides?
I dare you.
2. Thinking Women Need To Train Differently In the First Place
Men have boy down there parts.
Women have girl down there parts.
It’s a big difference, but it doesn’t mean that because you have one instead of the other you need to train differently.
Actually, scratch that.
I don’t mean that entirely.
Need and should are two different things.
I don’t feel women need to train differently than men. I mean, the human body is the human body. The female body reacts to progressive overload in much the same way the male body does. And, quite frankly, as a fitness professional, I don’t want to set the expectation that women should train “x” way while men should train in stark contrast to that.
I very much treat the women I train like the guys, and I think most – whether they realize I do this or not – appreciate it.
However, I do feel women should train differently.
What the what???
To put it another way: women should train differently compared to men, at times.
As an example, hormones do play a major role here. When a woman his having her period I can’t hold her to the same (performance) standard compared to other times outside that window. She’s going to feel like garbage (<– for lack of a better term) during this time, and I’ll almost always reduce her training volume to coincide.
Moreover, a lot of research (and anecdotal experience) backs up the notion that women don’t get sore as easily, are less quick to fatigue, can handle more training volume compared to men (maybe due to less overall muscle mass?), and that they can train closer to their 1RM more periodically comparatively speaking as well.
As we like to say in Boston, “how you like dem apples?“3
NOTE: for more information and insight you can check out THIS webinar I recorded last year on the topic.
3. Trying To “Win”
“But I don’t want to get big-and-bulky.”
Whenever I heard a woman say this to me in the past whenever I broached the words squat or deadlift I used to always try to “win” the argument.
Well, first I’d roll my eyes and then jump into a live volcano. And then I’d try to win the argument by countering with something like this:
Mind you, I still LOVE the above commentary, but I have since rescinded this approach to a large degree.
Why?
In large part because it doesn’t work and does nothing to build a meaningful, initial rapport with a prospective (female) client.
Don’t get me wrong: I still play devil’s advocate at times and relay to some that, contrary to popular belief, you won’t grow an Adam’s Apple overnight because you happen to lift something heavier than 50 lbs.
Likewise, I let it be known that saying you’re going to get big and bulky from strength training is like me saying I’m going to win the gold medal in the Olympics because I went out and did some sprints yesterday.
But I digress.
Instead of going on and on about women’s limited testosterone levels and how they’ll never attain the results of elite female bodybuilders, yada yada yada…I steal a page from local Boston-based trainer Lauren Perrault, dig deeper, and ask more questions.
“Why do you feel strength training will make you big and bulky?”
“Is this something that happened in the past?
“What exercise(s) in particular do you feel cause this?”
Maybe their train of thought projects that of a trainer they worked with previously. Maybe they never took the time to learn nor where they shown proper technique. Or, I don’t know, maybe they have a hard time letting go of certain myths and think the Abominable Snowman exists.
Either way…
Sometimes it’s more helpful to take some time to peel back the onion and to ascertain someone’s root cause for thinking they way they do, rather than chastise them out of the gate for the sole purpose of proving them wrong.
Today’s guest post comes courtesy of Thomas Campitelli, a Starting Strength Coach and one of Mark Rippetoe’s lead lecturers for his Starting Strength Seminars.
A Brief Backstory: A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away Back in early September, Cressey Sports Performance coach, Tony Bonvechio, wrote THIS article for my site explaining some of CSP’s general philosophies with regards to squatting (and in particular some useful drills to help people squat deeper).
A disagreement followed. An internet scuffle if you will.
(You can read the article then peruse the comments section if you’re curious.)
It seemed some people took issue with Tony’s view on torso angle during a squat. It was interpreted – falsely – that Tony was against a forward lean (which he is not). He, I, and the rest of the CSP staff just prefer that people not fall forward – and “fight” to try to maintain more of an upright torso – when coming out of the hole.
NOTE: much of the fault was my own. I had used a picture – without permission – from a Starting Strength seminar showcasing what I believed to be proper depth for a squat (Tom, the author of the article below took the pic). Given some of the messages in Tony’s article, however, and the fact that Starting Strength takes a slightly different approach (maybe 5-10% different) to the squat, some people were irate. And that’s their prerogative. Upon request I took the picture down, but it did open up the floodgates for a few commenters on what I felt, was a non-issue.
For his part, Thomas chimed in and he and I were able to keep things civil without ad hominem attacks or making fun of each other’s moms.
He offered to write a guest post to elucidate more on his side of the “debate.” I was down with the idea because 1) I’m awesome and 2) I feel it’s important as a fitness professional to stay cognizant of insights or opinions that may not necessarily jive with mine. Too, I feel it’s important to relay good information – whether I agree with it 100% or not – so that people reading can make up their own mind(s).
This is an excellent read.
The Low Bar Squat
The barbell squat is a foundational lift for the acquisition of total body strength. Although the squat can be described as “sitting down and standing up again,” its performance with a heavy weight is both physically and technically challenging.
There are three main variants of the barbell squat: the front squat, the high bar back squat, and the low bar back squat. Leaning over during the low bar squat helps to make the movement more effective. Further, for most purposes and trainees, the low bar squat should be your movement of choice.
Strength is your ability to exert force against an external resistance. It is the most general and fundamental of any human physical or athletic characteristics. Everything you do with your body requires force production at some level and without adequate strength a given physical task cannot be accomplished.
If you wish you train for strength, the movements you choose should embody the following criteria:
Utilization of the most muscle mass possible
Employment of that musculature over the longest effective range of motion
Usage of the heaviest weight you can handle with good form
By combining these elements together, you can become stronger in a way that is unrivaled in its effectiveness.
The low bar squat fully meets these criteria.
Let’s begin the discussion of how to do it.
Where you place the barbell determines a number of things about how you squat, specifically how much you will lean over during the movement. Forward lean in the squat is a misunderstood concept and one that is often equated with poor outcomes–injury, inflexibility, lack of athleticism, and hurt feelings– none of which need actually occur.
Every squat variant utilizes some inclination of the torso with respect to the ground. In the low bar squat, leaning over is fundamental to the movement. It is not a form fault. Instead, it is desirable–an expression of good technique that allows you to meet the criteria above.
To squat a weighted barbell safely, you must be in balance. The center of mass of the barbell and your body’s center of mass must be directly in line with your balance point–the middle of the foot.
If you move the bar down the back so that it sits in the shelf formed between the contracted posterior deltoids and spines of the scapulae, this will affect what you do to stay in balance. To keep the bar over the middle of the foot, you will need to lean over as you descend.
How much you lean over depends upon the relative lengths of your torso, thigh, and lower leg to one another. These relationships, called anthropometry, and how much forward lean is required will vary from lifter to lifter.
If you move the bar about two inches up the back so that it sits on top of the trapezius, as is done with the high bar squat, the amount you need to lean over is less than before. Further, if you move the bar in front of the neck so that it rests on the anterior deltoids, as is done in the front squat, the torso angle is more vertical yet. You cannot lean over very far in a heavy front squat, or you will dump the bar on the ground.
These differences in torso angle affect joint angles and how the muscles must act to produce motion around those joints.
Placing the barbell lower on the back requires an active contraction of the musculature of the upper back and torso to hold it in place. Leaning over on the way down also elongates the adductors, or the groin muscles, and hamstrings in ways the other squat variants do not. Muscles only produce motion around the joints through contraction, or shortening.
If groups of muscles are already shortened, they cannot be as effectively used to extend the hip during the ascent of the squat. Leaning over produces more leverage against hips as the torso acts like a wrench against the hip joint.
In order to maintain the normal anatomical relationships between the vertebrae and avoid flexion, the erector spinae are called into hard isometric contraction. By keeping the pelvis locked in place with respect to the spine and driving the knees out, the forward lean elongates the adductors while preventing the hamstrings from shortening during the descent of the squat. The inclination of the torso required by the low bar squat forces the lifter to utilize the most muscle mass possible.
The bottom of the low bar squat occurs when the adductors become fully elongated. For just about all people, this happens when the crease of the hip descends below the top of the knee cap by approximately one to three inches.
Full depth in a properly done low bar squat is determined not by powerlifting judges, but by anatomy.
Going deeper, such as continuing to descend until the hamstrings touch the calves, will force some of the musculature to relax when performing a low bar squat. The knees will travel further forward, shortening the adductors and hamstrings, or the spine will flex as the pelvis rotates downward.
Perhaps some of both will occur.
In either of those cases, you lose control of your back position and probably your back angle, too. Muscles shorten without moving the weight up and tightness is lost. This violates the first criterion mentioned above. Going too deep in the low bar squat requires some relaxation and therefore prevents the full utilization of the musculature.
Safety and efficiency align perfectly here.
When the muscles do not manipulate the skeletal levers effectively, poor positioning results. Spinal flexion and relaxation under a load are the frequent results. Good technique not only allows you to lift more weight through the recruitment of the most muscle mass, it also keeps you safe.
This is why the second criterion above uses the qualifier “effective” when describing the longest range of motion. You do not want to sacrifice muscular involvement in the squat for a slightly longer range of motion. You need to go below parallel.
Every time.
However, you do not need to touch your hamstrings to your calves if doing so necessitates relaxation and poor positioning.
There are volumes more to say about squatting and low bar squatting in particular. However, this is merely an introduction. Leaning over in the low bar squat is both essential and beneficial.
It allows for the most muscle mass to be used over the longest effective range of motion. This enables the lifter to handle heavier weights and to increase their physical strength both efficiently and safely. Next time you perform a low bar squat, lean over while keeping the bar in balance over the middle of the foot.
You will be doing it right.
About the Author
Thomas Campitelli is a Starting Strength Coach and photographer who lives in Oakland, CA. He is a lecturer and platform coach for Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength Seminars and travels throughout the North America and Europe teaching others to lift. When not on the road, he maintains a barbell training practice at CrossFit Oakland where leaning over during the squat is encouraged.
I’m heading to Chicago this weekend to meet up with Dean Somerset for our Complete Shoulder & Hip Workshop.
NOTE: We’ll be in LA the weekend of November 14th (go HERE for more info).
It’s my first time visiting Chicago, and my wife, Lisa, is tagging along. We’re making an extended stay out of it (through early next week) and she’s been busy drumming up an itinerary of places to visit, places to eat, and things to do.
We can’t wait.
Speaking of Chicago, the venue Dean and I are speaking at – Rebell Strength & Conditioning – is located near Wrigley Field, and the Cubs are in the playoffs (score!). Although they’re playing the Mets in NYC this weekend (bummer).
The Red Sox ended their World Series drought back in 2004. I moved to Boston in 2006 and have been fortunate enough to witness the Sox win two more.
The Cubs haven’t won a World Series since 1908 and now, after defeating the St. Louis Cardinals, Vegas has them as the odds on favorite to take home the title in 2015.
I mean Back to the Future II predicted it:
But This is Even Cooler
A good friend of mine, Matt, who was a former professional baseball player that trained and eventually interned at CSP, and who is now living in Chicago while attending medical school posted this the other day.
“I’ve been very lucky to see my fair share of St. Louis Championships (Rams in 2000, Cardinals in 2006,2011) but I’m starting to notice a trend – every city I live in wins or beats a St. Louis team to break their championship/playoff droughts (and generally dominates in all sports)…which means, it’s looking good for the Cubs!
1987- 1 year old Matt watches Minnesota Twins Beat Cardinals for first ever World Series
2000- St. Louis Rams Win Super Bowl
2002- Watch Patriots beat Rams in Super Bowl
2004- (year I move to Boston)- Boston Red Sox Beat Cardinals, break 87 year curse
2004- New England Patriots win Super Bowl
2006- New England Patriots win Super Bowl
2008- Boston Celtics win NBA Championship (first in 22 years)
2011- Boston Bruins win Stanley Cup (first in 39 years)
2013 (move to Chicago) – Chicago Blackhawks win Stanley Cup (beating the St. Louis Blues on their way AND Bruins in Finals)
2015- Chicago Blackhawks win Stanley Cup
2015- Chicago Cubs Beat Cardinals en route to first World Series in 107 years?!?
I’ll be taking moving offers to other championship-less cities if the offer is right!”
He and I see eye to eye on many things training related, and this article is no different. I’m particularly fond of his take on the 1-Arm DB Row.
Also, on an aside: Lee and I are both considering teaming up to produce a podcast in 2016. It’ll mostly be dealing with fitness and training, but he and I are both movie aficionados as well so I’m sure we’ll go a little off tangent in that regard too.
Earlier this year4 I was given an opportunity to sit down with Norwegian strength coach, Eirik Sandvik, and discuss some of my personal philosophies on program design, corrective exercise, and how to coach up some common lower body exercises as part of a larger project to be released down the road.
Here’s the trailer. It’s less than a minute long, but will require 7 seconds before you start salivating.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-xpruYNqBo
To be honest it’s quite surreal to see my name affiliated alongside so many other outstanding coaches, many of whom I’ve looked up to throughout my career.
I mean come on!
Dan John, Tim Henriques, Josh Bryant, Matt Kroczaleski, Bud Jefferies…can someone please pinch me? It’s a dream right?
And yes, I’m fully aware of irony in that I’m the smallest guy in the line-up. Wait, scratch that. Jordan Syatt is technically smaller…but he’s also like the world’s strongest Hobbit with a 4x bodyweight deadlift.
NOTE: I contacted Jordan a head of time to see if he’d be cool with the Hobbit joke. He LOL’d.
Nevertheless, I know how to get people stronger, moving well, and performing at a higher level and that’s exactly what I cover in my section. Here’s the cover to my DVD.
And my section is only 1/8 of the total package.
Josh Bryant – talks about making serious gains in the bench press.
Dan John – talks about hip movement.
Jordan Syatt – talks about what else, the deadlift.
Matt Kroc – talks about upper body training.
Tim Henriques – breaks down the squat.
Bud Jefferies – discusses unconventional training methods.
Dean Somerset – talks about core training.
And then there’s me. La de freakin da.
Pre-Launch Video Series
This resource isn’t available yet (and it won’t be until January 2016), but in the meantime you can get a sneak peek of ALL the videos (8-10 minutes) FOR FREE.
Everyone likes free stuff.
All you have to do is click the link provided and enter your email address, and you’ll get all eight videos sent to you periodically. The first one is Tim Henriques discussing the squat, and it’s baller.
Screw the conventional, formulaic approach to writing movie reviews.
You know those snazzy, buzzword filled headlines a lot of studios use from various magazine or newspaper reviewers to help promote their movie?
Examples include:
“4 Stars”
“Damon shines!”
“Best space drama since Apollo 13.”
Those are all fine and dandy, if not woefully lame. Here’s what mine would say:
“The Martian is one hour and 44 minutes of Celias for your penis. I had a nerd boner the entire time. And, Damon shines.
Okay, okay…a bit crass. But I defy you to tell me you’re not 100% interested in going to see this movie now. And you should go see it. Because it very much is the best space drama (don’t worry, there still a bunch of action) since Apollo 13.
Based off the book written by author Andy Weir, it’s a miracle this book was ever published much less made into the latest Hollywood blockbuster starring Matt Damon and directed by Ridley mothereffing Scott.
The Martian was first published on Andy Weir’s blog…for free. Egged on by friends and fans of the story he then made the book available on Amazon which could then be downloaded for $1.
And it BLEW up from there.
The story follows astronaut, botanist, engineer, and seminal jokester, Mark Watney (Damon)5, as he attempts to “science the shit out of this planet” after a freak accident results in the rest of his crew leaving him behind thinking he was dead.
Oops.
And so the story unfolds as we follow Mark as he tries to solve a congested number of life threatening issues including but not limited to lack of food, water, any semblance of communication with NASA, and an infinite amount of disco music at his disposal.
Much of the fun is watching him solve each thing with a fervorous “huh, so that’s how you’d grow potatoes on planet with no soil, water, and an average temperature of -81 degrees Fahrenheit” enthusiasm; cool!
Equally as thrilling is watching the higher ups at NASA – Jeff Daniels, Sean Bean (SPOILER ALERT: who’s character doesn’t die for once), Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mackenzie Davis, Kristen Wiig, et. al – debate on how to get him home.
Can they get him home?
And least we forget the crew back on the Hermes – Chastain, Kate Mara, Michael Pena, Aksel Hennie, and the Winter Soldier himself, Sebastian Stan – who, to no fault of their own, left Watney behind. What the hell is going on through their heads?
It’s smart. It’s set in space. It’s directed, masterfully, by Ridley Scott.
What the WHAT!?! I know what some of you may be thinking:
“Did Tony just recommend an overhead exercise?”
For all intents and purposes, I’m 100% against overhead pressing right? What the hell has happened? Has the world flipped on itself?
This is analogous to Donald Trump showcasing an ounce of humility, or Kanye West not being an asstard, or, I don’t know, the Jedi and Sith hugging it out.
There’s part truth to the statement above. I’ve said it before, and it bears repeating here:
“People need to earn the right to overhead press.”
Most (not all) people have the movement quality of a rusty crowbar. I’m not even sure that’s makes a ton of sense, but I’m rolling with it nonetheless.
Okay wait, people move like shit. That’s better.
Due to a litany of reasons – poor t-spine mobility, poor lumbo-pelvic-hip control (weak core), overly kyphotic posture (computer guy) or excessive extension (most athletes and meatheads), both of which affect our ability to upwardly rotate our scapulae, global warming – many of us have lost the capacity to move our arms over our heads (pressing or otherwise) without serious compensation patterns and increased risk of injury.
I’ve written on the topic in the past – HERE – and I’d be remiss not to mention that, because I’ve worked with overhead athletes almost extensively for the past eight years, I play the conservative card a bit more that other coaches with regards to total frequency I allow my athletes/clients overhead press.
It comes down to risk-reward.
I’m not against overhead pressing. I understand and respect it’s a fantastic way to build total body strength – particularly upper body strength. And, if we’re going to hop onto the “functional training” caravan I’d much rather see people get brutally strong with overhead pressing compared to bench pressing.6
That said it’s rare when someone walks in on day #1 and passes THIS screen which helps me ascertain whether or not overhead pressing is a good fit.
Even if it’s not, I can still include a variety overhead pressing variations that are more “shoulder friendly.”
But lets say all systems are a go for overhead pressing. There isn’t a lengthy history of shoulder issues and the person standing in front of me demonstrates ample movement quality with limited restriction(s).
Lets overhead press our faces off.
HBT Overhead Press
Who Did I Steal It From: Dr. Joel Seedman from THIS article printed on T-Nation not too long ago.
What Does It Do: HBT = Hanging Band Training.
It’s exactly what is sounds like. You take some bands, hang some stuff off them, and do stuff. Because, science.
While at first glance it comes across as a bit gimmicky, HBT training does have a fair amount of efficacy. As Dr. Seedman explains in the article linked to above, the oscillatory characteristics of this brand of training provides a unique training stimulus that challenges stabilization, increases core demand, helps “excite” the CNS, and also has a bit of carryover to muscle gain due to the increase in time under tension.
Key Coaching Cues: Don’t be a hero. You won’t need a lot of weight with this exercise to make it challenging. In the video above I looped two 1″ resistance bands and hung a 12 kg kettlebell from each side. That was plenty.
The idea here is to keep the bar quiet.
You want to go slow. If you go too fast, the KBs start flying all over the place and you’ll inevitably collapse to the floor like a game of Jenga.
Take a deep breath in before you un-rack the bar and then exhale all your air until you feel your ribcage depress. Owning that position take another deep breath in and focus on getting 360 degrees of expansion.
Un-rack bar.
Maintain abdominal brace, squeeze glutes, and press – under control – keeping the bar quiet. Don’t be surprised if you end up using a tempo akin to 2-3s up and 2-3s down.
I actually like the idea of being forced to use less weight on the bar as it forces the trainee to focus on technique. But the increased time under tension will more than make up for it.
You don’t have to limit yourself to one band per side, but I also feel it’s a bit over-kill to use more. You also don’t have to use KBs. Plates work fine too.7
I consider this more of an accessory movement, so high(er) reps is the way to go. Think: 8-10.
Give it a try today and let me know what you think.
It’s Columbus Day here in the States. It’s a national holiday. Which means Lisa has the day off. Which means I’m going to get sucked into a day of husbandly domestication hell.
[cue Jaws theme music here]
Yep, all the guys reading know what I’m alluding to: Target.
On the bright side I’m supposedly receiving a huge shipment of equipment today…namely, my power rack from Rogue Fitness.
Holla!
So it all evens out in the end.
Lisa and I are actually up early this AM and about to hit up the gym, and then we’re off to the races. I PROMISE I’ll be writing some more content later this week. Scouts honor.
In the meantime, as of late, I’ve been invited onto a bunch of podcasts and I wanted to share another one with you today.
And I don’t mean sick as in bad. I mean sick as in “holy shit balls this movie is fucking amazing.”
For those who need a minor brush up on their Spanish, the word ‘sicario’ can be translated to mean “hit man,” which I knew because 1) I remember all of like four words from taking Spanish in high school (biblioteca, dos, pollo, sicario. Oh, and Feliz Navidad), and 2) my wife and I just finished binge watching the first season of Narcos on Netflix.
Highly recommend it by the way.
Sicario begins by introducing us to Emily Blunt’s character, Kate, an FBI agent who’s tough as nails and as by the book as they come (as we learn later, and proves to be to her detriment).
I have slight issue with Emily Blunt being characterized as “tough as nails” because she’s all of 110 lbs (and has a cute British access in real life). But she pretty much is in this movie, plus she kicked some ass in Edge of Tomorrow so whatever, I’ll roll with it. It’s Hollywood.
She’s involved in a pretty intense raid/drug bust in the opening sequence which results in a rather disturbing and grotesque revelation that I won’t divulge here. Needless to say: it speaks to a higher, more nefarious plot point.
A plot point that results in her be “recruited” by what can only be described as an equally nefarious secret government task force – hello Josh Brolin and the almost always excellent Benicio del Toro – hell bent on not really telling what she’s being recruited for.
“Just shut up and learn,” she’s repeatedly told.
And so the plot unfolds.
In one of the most intense, dark, and beautifully shot (huge props to cinematographer, Roger Deakins) films I’ve seen in recent memory
I love dark movies.
While I understand that many people use the movies as a way to escape the doom and gloom that surrounds us – Ebola, war, terrorism, Justin Bieber – and look forward to the same story line where the guy gets the girl in the end, Lassie makes it home, or to be immersed in a cornucopia of CGI eye candy where The Rock arm wrestles a T-Rex9, I for one appreciate when a movie is less butterfly kisses and rainbows (and CGI) and more of a punch in the throat that reminds us “yeah, this is real life, some shit out there is fucked up sometimes.”
I have to give a tip of the hat to director Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Enemy) who’s quickly climbing the ladder as one of “new” great directors, and someone who doesn’t flinch when it comes to telling a dark story…much in the same vein as David Fincher.
Everything from the storyline itself to the ominous score to the really, really cool scenes involving a gun battle at the U.S./Mexican border and night vision goggles in a tunnel (WARNING: if you’re claustrophobic you may want to skip this part) is brilliantly handled.
And least we forget the acting performances themselves. Blunt and Brolin are fine in their roles, but it’s del Toro who shines.
Every scene he’s in makes you crave for more. There’s one scene involving him and a family eating together at dinner that more or less serves as the crescendo of the film. Sooooooo good.
Look for a Best Supporting Actor nod, and don’t be surprised if he wins for the second time (his first being Traffic).
Sicario, so far, is my favorite movie this year. Go see it.
Before we dive into this week’s stuff to read I’d like to first send a HUGE internet fist bump to the people at Rogue Fitness.
I ordered a bunch of equipment from them this past Tuesday – including a power rack and a handful of accessory items – and I received noticed yesterday that everything will be arriving in Boston TODAY (Friday).
That is an amazing turn around.
What’s more, I had a representative reach out to me immediately because he noticed a discrepancy in my original order after reviewing it. One of the accessory items wasn’t going to be the right “fit” for the power rack and he quickly informed me of the correct version and refunded me the difference.
Now that’s efficient customer service.
I’m half expecting them to come over and make me breakfast in bed too.
I also had a special delivery from the UPS guy yesterday; a new trap bar for the studio. As you can see from the video below, everyone in the Gentilcore household loves it. Even Dagny:
I know, I know. It’s pretty shameless (and borderline creepy cat lady status) that I posted a video of my cat on the internet. I get it.
BUT SHE’S A BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL PRINCESS.
Oh, and one last thing.
There are still a handful of spots available for mine and Dean Somerset’s Complete Shoulder & Hip Workshop at Rebell Strength & Conditioning in Chicago next weekend (Oct. 17-18th). Click HERE for more information.
We’ll also be in Los Angeles, at CrossFit 714 (in Anaheim), the weekend of November 14-15th. Click HERE for more information.
I wrote a post a few years ago on the efficacy of weight belts and why (and when) it’s a good idea to use one. Tony B sheds some light on why using one can often be a crutch and speaks to how not using one can improve performance.
Listen: these are two of the best strength coaches out there giving you the inside scoop on how they approach assessment, periodization, conditioning, coaching progressions/regressions, and everything in between.
If you’re looking to get better as a coach or personal trainer (or just looking for quality information cause you’re a fitness nerd) this shouldn’t be a hard sell.
Invest in yourself. And you might as well do it while you can still save yourself 100 bones. SALE ends tonight (Friday) at midnight.
I wrote back:
