CategoriesInterview Program Design

Talking Shop With ‘Coach Dos’

I have a special cameo appearance today from one of the best collegiate strength and conditioning coaches on the planet, Coach Robert dos Remedios (or, ‘Coach Dos’).

Coach Dos is someone whom I respect a ton, and someone I feel has forgotten more than many of will ever know. 27 years “in the trenches” coaching, a lot, will do that.

He’s achieved the status of Master Strength & Conditioning Coach by the CSCCa (one of only 100 in the world), is a Nike Elite Performance Coach and was also the 2006 NSCA Strength Coach of the Year.

I once scored 18 points in a JV basketball game. No big deal.

He’s the creator of Complete Program Design, his latest resource which just became available, and was kind enough to take time to answer a few questions for me.

Enjoy.

Tony Gentilcore (TG):I live in Boston. We had THE worst winter in history last year. We had a 30 day stretch where we had 6-7 feet of snow fall. It made the national and world news. You live in California with 80 degree weather year round. Can you please explain to me why I continue to put myself

Coach Dos (CD): HAHA! Well as a Californian who puts on the beanie when it drops below 60 I completely understand where you are coming from. That being said, the beer and Pub game in Boston is second to none….that alone can get me scrape some ice off my car to grab a proper pint :o)

TG:Speaking of misery, as a reputable strength coach yourself, I know you don’t buy into the “I must destroy myself with every training session” mentality: can you give some insight – or at least an umbrella themed review – on your approach to program design?

Maybe some “big rock” methodologies or words of wisdom?

CD: I think I am pretty simplistic when it comes to program design….but it’s important to not associate ‘simple’ with ineffective. If you take an approach where you address all essential movement categories (explosive, push, pull, hinge, squat/step/lunge, and core (pillar and rotational) it’s hard to go wrong.

You won’t have any holes and you will avoid over/under training any movements.

As far as crushing folks every session, it’s a common theme we see these days but the first indicator that the coach/trainer doesn’t have experience in the real-world.

I need my athletes to be able to perform and I can’t afford for them to not be ready to DO WORK in their next session with me. If folks are paying you to train them and you continually crush them each session, you will most likely not be a very successful private sector coach/trainer.

TG:No diggidy, no doubt. What are some of your biggest pet peeves with regards to program design that some fitness professionals make?

CD: The ‘whiteboard workouts’ –  these are the workouts that are generally created on the spot and have little rhyme or reason to the intensity, volume or actual exercises. It’s that random-randomness of these workouts that make them ineffective for most long term goals. Sure it can result in lots of sweat and anguish, but what role does this session play in your big picture?

The other kind of workout that bugs me? The fictional kind.

These are the ones that lots of internet gurus come up with on their computers and have never actually been tested on humans. They are generally characterized by unrealistic volumes, rest periods, or simple things like tri-setting deadlifts, DB walking lunges and chinups (Hint: aint gonna work haha!).

TG:Wait, what? Why?….;o)

With regards to assessment, what are some of the big hitting things you look at with your athletes and clients? Can you give insight on what “markers” you look for and want to improve on with your programs?

CD: We may use the FMS or we may just take athletes through simple movement prep drills and actual exercises to expose some red flags. We obviously want them all to move well and some do immediately while others are a work in progress.

Over the past 5-6 years we have really made mobility a priority with everyone (which is why we incorporate mobility drills within all of our lifting sessions) and we have seen great benefits. Some of the things we strive for are great squatters, hingers, and athletes with great unilateral strength and stability.

TG:Overtraining? Discuss.

CD: I’m a big ‘work capacity’ guy, it has always been the bedrock of my training philosophy.

Because of this we try to push the envelope when we train. I feel like the system we have used allows us to get after it hard, recover, and bounce back to attack the next training session. Our history of building better athletes and resisting injury has been pretty outstanding over the past 17 years at the college.

So in a nutshell can you overtrain? Sure, but if you have proper systems in place and keep the big picture in mind you can easily avoid it.

TG:For general fitness clients with little or no experience with the OLY lifts: what are some of your “go to” drills to help kick-start the process?

CD: The Olympic lifts (and all their variations) are favorites of mine but I am in it for one reason – Quadruple extension (yes I said quadruple, not triple haha!).

Think ankles, knees, hips, and low back powerfully extending. This can be easily accomplished via jumps, Med ball Scoops etc. band resisted jumps of all kinds are big go-to exercises for all populations as they add load and really force this ‘quadruple extension’.

TG:In terms of conditioning, any pet peeves or insights you can offer? How much is too much?

CD: I think people having a lack of understanding of energy systems especially when it comes to specific sport-demands.

I hate it when I see coaches make twitchy-explosive athletes do long, slow, aerobic activity. I call it ‘making joggers out of jumpers’.

If you truly believe that even your explosive athletes with virtually no aerobic demands in their sport need some sort of aerobic work at least accomplish this via fartleks or other aerobic-interval work. Makes me cringe seeing power athletes plodding along a cross country trail or track.

TG:Thanks so much for your time Coach! All useful information and just the tip of the iceberg in terms of your knowledge and how you go about making your athletes (and general fitness clients) savages.

I’m a movie geek, and I like to expose to people that not all us coaches are Terminators (<– See, what I just did there?) and that we have life outside of strength and conditioning. So I have to ask: top 5 favorite films of all-time?

CD: Tough Question so I’ll give you an eclectic mix….Happy Gilmore, Super Troopers, Old School, Vanilla Sky, and Silence of the Lambs.

This should give a little insight into my psyche haha!

Complete Program Design

Is a culmination of 27 years of coaching. 27 years of trial and error, successes, modifications, additions and most important of all…results.

You get a 100+ page manual breaking things down into several 2-3 and 4x per week programs. You also get an extensive exercise database of 130+ exercises and movements. Coach Dos coaches YOU.

It’s impressive to say the least, and something I know will help me step up my own coaching game. It’s an excellent resource for any coach – newbie or experienced – and it’s on SALE this week at a hefty discount.

For more information go HERE.

CategoriesExercise Technique Program Design speed training

3 Exercises To Help You Squat Deeper. Without a Single Mobility Drill

Today’s guest post comes courtesy of fellow Cressey Sports Performance coach, Tony Bonvechio (AKA: the other Tony). He’s got some excellent pointers on squat technique and how you can go about improving squat depth without mention of a single mobility exercise.

Enjoy!

I didn’t like hip-hop music until I met Tony Gentilcore. I’m more of a heavy metal guy, but when TG handles DJ duties during staff lift, I can’t help but get amped up to the sounds of the 90’s Hip Hop or Dirty South Pandora stations.

Note From TG: Tribe Called Quest Radio. You’re welcome.

So when Ludacris poses the esoteric question, “How low can you go?” during a heavy squat workout, it gets me thinking how I can get my clients to safely improve their squat depth.

TG is right when he says not everyone should (or needs to) squat as low as possible. But outside of our baseball players at CSP, I deal primarily with powerlifters who need to squat below parallel in competition. If they can’t get low enough, their squats won’t count, so we prioritize hitting depth in training.

When we combine deep squats with heavy loads and we know not everyone can hit depth (defined as the hip joint passing below the top of the knee joint) easily, how do we get there in the best position possible.

Well, you could stretch, foam roll and mobilize every joint head to toe. Or you could just learn how to squat.

The second option is my favorite. In my experience, nine times out of 10, a person’s inability to squat to depth is NOT a mobility issue but rather a squat strategy issue. Simply picking the right squat accessory exercises to hammer home an optimal squat pattern will almost always improve depth and strength. Here are my three favorite squat exercises to help you drop it low and crush heavy weights.

Squatting: Upright vs. Hip Hinge

First, here’s a harsh reality: an upright squat will always be the most mechanically efficient squat. If you’re pointing your nipples at the floor to use “hip drive,” you’ll never maximize the contribution of your legs and abs. There’s a reason every 1,000-pound squatter (raw or geared) stays almost perfectly vertical through their torso instead of leaning forward.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSs6_THxn5A

 

Are YOU gonna tell Malanichev to lean forward with 1,036 pounds on his back? Didn’t think so.

Here’s what happens far too often when people try to squat: they puff their chest up (thoracic extension), which pulls the ribcage up. They take a big breath, which is entirely ineffective because you can’t get good intra-abdominal pressure with a poor rib cage position. Then, they push their butt back as they squat down (lumbar extension, anterior pelvic tilt and hip flexion simultaneously).

Like a seesaw, as one side drops (the chest), the other side must go up to maintain balance (the hips). Not surprisingly, you can’t hip depth if your hips are shooting up and back to keep you from falling forward.

This scenario also effectively minimizes the space the head of the femur has to glide in the hip socket while limiting the contribution from your anterior core to keep your torso upright. What happens? Your hips get stuck so you fall forward to try to get lower. All bad news if you want to squat low and heavy safely.

That said, the optimal squat pattern is going to have an upright torso, knees out and slightly forward of the toes and the hips between the knees. This is much preferred to leaning forward with a vertical shin and over-arched lower back if greater depth is desired.

Here’s how to dial in that optimal pattern:

1. Front Squats

Front squats can cure your depth woes by teaching you to sit straight down between your knees instead of sitting behind your knees. You simply can’t sit back and dump your pelvis forward or you’ll dump the bar, so you internalize proper positioning. Carry this same strategy over to your back squat and you’ll be in business.

 

That’s why we use so many front squat variations at CSP. It immediately dials in a solid ribcage position and forces you to stabilize with your anterior core instead of your lumbar extensors.

I’ve lost count of the number of athletes who get stuck above parallel with a back squat or body weight squat but can magically sit their butt to their heels with a front squat. Kind of throws the mobility excuse out the window, huh?

By learning to keep the ribs down, chest up and knees out, you create proper alignment for nailing a deep squat. If you struggle with depth, try front squatting for a few weeks before returning to the back squat and I’m confident your depth will improve.

2. High-Bar Pause Squats

Also called Olympic squats because of their popularity with weightlifters, high-bar squats bridge the gap between front squats and a powerlifting-style back squat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6fQ6UPES24

 

A low-bar position (i.e. holding the bar across the rear deltoids instead of the traps) has ruined many a squatter’s depth. You might be able to handle more weight because it keeps the bar closer to your hips, but it doesn’t matter one bit if you can’t hip depth because it pitches you forward too much.

Switching to a slightly higher bar position has helped many of my lifters get lower. Similar to the front squat, it lets you stay more upright so you can lock the ribcage down and stabilize with your abs instead of your lower back.

Adding a brief pause at the bottom position builds confidence in the hole, which eliminates much of the fear associated with squatting low. This also forces the lifter to initiate the reversal by staying tall and driving the knees out.

Try high-bar pause squats as your second exercise on a squat day. Pause anywhere from 1 to 5 seconds and do sets of 3-8 reps. You can pause at the lowest position, right below parallel, or even on the way back up to target specific sticking points.

Note From TG: These suck donkey balls. You’ll hate life, but they work. Get it done.

3. Squat to Pins

Not to be confused with an Anderson squat where the bar starts on the pins, squatting to the pins hammers home the same technique points as a front squat but is even more sinister and unforgiving.

 

By lowering the bar to the pins and pausing, you’ll have virtually no room for error in torso position. If you sit back and lean forward, you’ll immediately get stuck as you try to squat back up. Only by staying tall, driving the knees out and keeping the bar over the mid-foot will you be able to stand up.

Few exercises build control and confidence like squatting to the pins. These not only cured my falling-forward problem, but also eliminated my knee cave issues by forcing me to spread the floor and keep tension in my hips.

Cues to Cure Your Squat Woes

Remember these useful cues as you practice these squat variations:

  • “Belt buckle toward your chin” – This prevents unlocking the pelvis as you sit down.
  • “Take all the air out of the room” – This stabilizes your spine by filling your belly and lower back with air.
  • “Bend the bar around your traps” – This locks in the lats to help you tay upright.
  • “Spread the floor apart” – This tenses up your hips and glutes to keep your knees out.

Notice there’s not a single instance of “chest up” or “sit back” on that list. Ditch these antiquated strategies for the ones above and you’ll be hitting depth more consistently while getting stronger.

Optimizing the “Big 3.”

Want to learn these strategies in person? Come see me and Greg Robins at our Optimizing the Big 3 seminar at Warhorse Barbell in Philadelphia on September 19.

There are only a few spots left, so sign up today.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff To Read While You’re Pretending To Work: 9/4/15

A few housekeeping things to touch on before I dive into this week’s list.

1. A reminder that next Sunday (9/13) is our 4th annual Cressey Sports Performance Fall Seminar. It’s become sort of a “thing” in the industry. And if you haven’t been to one yet, you’re missing out on not only a bunch of great information from a very knowledgable staff, but pictures of  my cat too.

She’s the cutest!1

2. Dean Somerset and I are hitting up various spots in North America this Fall for our Complete Shoulder & Hip Workshop.

We gave our new material a test-run two weekends ago up in Edmonton, Canada and the feedback we got was awesome. Here’s personal trainer, Erica, of SVPT Fitness & Athletics (which hosted the event) with a brief testimonial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b78JdzzvARg

 

Next stops on the tour:

ST. LOUIS (Blue Ocean Fitness): September 26-17th.

CHICAGO (Rebell Strength & Conditioning): October 17-18th

LA/ANAHEIM (CrossFit 714): November 14-15th

Also:

3.  I’ll also be doing a super special SOLO (1-Day) workshop in NYC at Legacy Strength located in Floral Park, NY. The workshop is titled Shoulder Assessment 101: Deconstructing Everything From Computer Guy to the Elite Athlete.

Date: Sunday, October 25th

Location: Legacy Strength, Floral Park, NY.

Spots are limited. And I’m not just saying that to give off some false sense of urgency either. It’s being capped at 10-12 people; unless your name is Matt Damon. In that case, there is no cap.

For more information contact: Joey Olivo at: [email protected]

How To Build a Successful and Rewarding Career in Fitness – Nate Green

Here’s an excellent article from Precision Nutrition’s site (written by Nate Green) on what it takes to become a “successful” fitness professional.

A lot of useful tips and insights here. If you’re a young fitness pro this is required reading.

10 Reasons You Should Be Doing Turkish Get-Ups – Monika Volkmar

Very through article on the get-up, from the perspective of a dancer.

Breaking Down Fitness Buzzwords – Part 2: Corrective Exercise – Josh Landis

Ask ten different coaches/trainers their definition of “corrective exercise,” and you’re bound to get ten different explanations.

It’s a buzzword that’s tossed out frequently – and it does mean something – however in this article Josh attempts to help us through the weeds.

Note from TG: If you haven’t checked it out yet, Dr. Evan Osar’s Integrative Corrective Exercise Approach is a fantastic resource (curriculum) for any fitness professional looking to up their game on assessment and program design around many common injuries and dysfunctions.

The difference is that Dr. Osar understands that strength can be corrective. And I dig that.

CategoriesAssessment

Assessment Protocols: There’s No One Right Way

We had a new crop of interns start up this week at the facility, and last night I had the opportunity to spend a little time with them to go over some “big rock” coaching cues and assessment protocols on the squat.

I only had 30 minutes with them and there’s obviously a lot to discuss with regards to the squat. I mean, people pay good money to spend entire weekends geeking out over squat mechanics, lever arms, and arguing over whether it’s better to squat with a low-bar position or high-bar.

So I did my best with the time given. I huddled them up in the corner of the facility, in front of a squat rack, and told them to KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!

 

Okay, that didn’t happen. But it may very well in the future…;o)

However, the whole 30-minute squat tutorial did happen, and one of the very first things that came out of my mouth was:

“There’s no such thing as one right way to squat.”

Some people do better with a high(er) bar placement on their back, some people will squat with a wider stance compared to others, and yes, contrary to what some blowhard coaches on the internet subscribe to…some people, due to their anatomy/hip structure, will not be able to squat past 90 degrees of hip flexion (or ass-to-grass in brospeak).

To hold everyone to such a standard is unrealistic at best, entirely ignorant at worst. That’s like me saying, “everyone should deadlift Sumo style” or “everyone should bench press with their heels down” or I don’t know, “everyone should be right handed.”

It’s dumb.

The conversation got me thinking about the topic of assessment and how, oftentimes, some coaches and trainers will marry themselves to one protocol or “one way” to assess their athletes and clients.

Now, don’t get me wrong: I wholeheartedly understand (and appreciate) that some demographics require specific assessment strategies to best ascertain what they’re unique needs are as it relates to the demands of their sport or profession.

I work with a lot of overhead athletes (baseball players) so it makes sense that, within the realm of their assessment and what’s important for them to be successful in their sport, I place a lot more scrutiny on their ability to upwardly rotate their shoulder blades, how much shoulder flexion they have, and whether or not they have ample segmental rotation.

However, how you go about assessing and what you look for in a gymnast will differ (in some regards) with how you assess a football player. And how you assess your everyday office worker/computer guy will most likely, in some ways, differ with how you assess a bomb sniffing dolphin trainer. It’s science.

In addition, there’s more of an onion to peel back and factors to consider once we start talking injury history (flexion based back pain vs. extension based back pain), training history, and goals.

In all, we could make the argument that no one assessment is the same given the plethora of sports, activities, hobbies, injuries, aberrant movement patterns, and training goals which exist amongst different populations.

Head, Shoulders, Knees Over Toes

I for one use and implement several assessment methodologies. You can plug in just about anything – FMS, PRI, SFMA, NASM – and I’ve likely used snidbits of each with the over thousands of assessments I’ve done throughout my career.

I think all are important, and all have their advantages and disadvantages. And, honestly, one of the advantages of working in the private sector is that I’m able to implement more of a smorgasbord approach to assessment if I so choose.

My assessments are more of a two-part show anyways:

1. The Poking and Prodding Part (which, not coincidentally, and unfortunately, is where many fitness professionals stop).

This is more or less the non-exercise static & dynamic assessment – testing things like shoulder flexion, scapulohumeral rhythm, hip IR/ER, glenohumeral ROM, toe touch, push-up, bodyweight squat, and, if need be, given a unique injury, performing more provocative tests to see what exacerbates their pain/symptoms.

The poking and prodding part (don’t be creepy about it) is an important part. It provides a lot of valuable information. I can implement screens that test passive ROM which essentially gives me feedback on their total ROM; but then it’s equally as important to include screens which test one’s active ROM which gives feedback on their available/usable ROM.

Lack of ROM isn’t always a mobility issue.

 

And while it’s not the case for everyone, many fitness professionals stop their assessment there – at the poking and prodding part.

Giving credit where it’s due: it’s amazing if they actually do this part. Many don’t even bother. It’s unfortunate, though, that this is the point where some stop. It makes me sad.

It’s only half the equation. It’s important to include the second part, too.

2. The “Lets Go Move Around and Lift Stuff” Part.

At CSP we’ll do the poking and prodding part and then go out on the gym floor and see what shakes free. I’ll often stay a fly in the wall and just see what people do without giving them much coaching. I want to see what their default movement patterns are when I say “deadlift that weight,” or “go pick that up.” It’s often uncanny how, what was perceived as wonky movement on the table, clears right up once someone is under load.

Too, the “pick stuff up” part serves as a way to give someone a little flavor for what to expect moving forward and get them excited to train.

How excited would you be walking into a new facility where, on day #1, all you did was stand there while a complete stranger “hmmm and ahhhh’d” for 60 minutes over your Thomas Test, told you how your left big toe doesn’t dorsiflex enough, your Zone of Apposition is all off, and that you’re going to perform a bunch of breathing drills?

Spending all that time telling someone how much of a walking ball of fail they are isn’t going to impress.

So yeah, get them moving!

Assuming they’re in the clear why not take a look at their deadlift (ability to hip hinge)? Or maybe take a look at their squat pattern with a barbell? You don’t need to go heavy, of course. But it stands to reason loading people up will offer a bevy of additional information.

Or maybe take a page out of Dan John’s latest book, Can You Go?, and implement some subtle performance based assessments/markers:

1. Plank – can they perform it (correctly) for two minutes? If not, well, they’ve got some work to do.

2. To the Floor and Back Up (I like this one a lot).

It’s just as it sounds. Tell someone to get down on the floor and back up. What do they do?

From Dan’s book:

Claudio Gil Araujo, who performed a study at the Clinimex Exercise Medicine Clinic in Rio de Janeiro, said being ablt to stand up from a seated position on the ground was “remarkably predictive” of physical strength, flexibility and coordination at a range of ages.

Araujo said, “If a middle-aged or older man or woman can sit and rise from the floor using one hand – or even better without the help of a hand – they are not only in the higher quartile of musculo-skeletal fitness, but their survival prognosis is probably better than that of those unable to do so.”

 

3. Farmer Carry

Have someone perform a loaded farmer carry for max time. Mark it down. When you re-assess a few weeks (or months) down the road and they’re able to carry a further distance, you know what you’re doing is working.

Dan’s Standards (from his Mass Made Simple book)

Bodyweight on left, load on the right:

– Under 135 pounds: 135 pounds.

– 136-185 pounds: 185 pounds.

– 186-205 pounds: 205 pounds

– Over 206 pounds: 225 pounds

For your “non-athlete” general fitness population clients the above suggestions are fantastic markers to get (and improve upon), and they probably won’t even realize you’re “assessing” them in the first place. Plus it adds more variety and fun to the overall process.

So in the end, there’s no ONE right way to assess. In addition there’s more to an assessment than having someone lie on a table and telling them how much their posture sucks.

Get people moving, people.

Want More?

Dean Somerset and I have already kick-started our Complete Shoulder & Hip Workshop tour in Edmonton two weekends ago. The feedback we received was amazing, and we’re excited to be hitting up various spots on North America soon:
ST. LOUIS: September 26-27th.
CHICAGO: October 17th-18th.
LOS ANGELES: November 14th-15th
I’ll also be doing a super special SOLO (1-Day) workshop in NYC at Legacy Strength located in Floral Park, NY. The workshop is titled Shoulder Assessment 101: Deconstructing Everything From Computer Guy to the Elite Athlete.
Date: Sunday, October 25th
Location: Legacy Strength, Floral Park, NY.
For more information contact Joey Olivo at: [email protected]
CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: 1-Arm Low Cable Row

Point to someone with a monster bench press, deadlift, or squat and I’ll point to someone who has monster lats.

They’re a massive muscle with an expansive cross-sectional area spanning the entire (upper) backside. Don’t take my word for it, just peruse any anatomy book and notice all the attachment points: vertebral attachments (T6 to the sacrum), ribs, pelvis, scapula (<– not everyone), and humerus.

Aesthetically there’s no question having a big set of lats will win you a few bodybuilding shows and more than a few glances from onlookers.

However there’s very little talk on how having big lats – or, more to the point, having the ability to activate the lats to increase tension and stabilize the spine – can help improve performance in many of the big lifts.

One drill we’ve been using at Cressey Sports Performance recently to help in this regard is the 1-Arm Low Cable Row.

1-Arm Low Cable Row

 

Who Did I Steal It From: giving credit where it’s due, CSP coaches Greg Robins and Tony Bonvechio were the ones who started tinkering with the standard Standing Cable Row we use often at the facility and lowered the positioning of the (cable) arm to better increase activation of the lat.

What Does It Do: I just told you! It activates the lats to a higher degree. GOSH. It’s like you don’t even listen to me anymore.

You know what, stop. Don’t “babe, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it” me. You know what you did. You know I don’t like it. And…wait, what’s that? You found a kick-ass, fan made, fake Boba Fett movie trailer?

What were we talking about again? Right, the low cable row.

Key Coaching Cues: Set up as you would a normal standing cable row, albeit in this case you’ll set the “arm” at a lower angle in relation to the body.

From there all the same rules apply: athletic stance, feet shoulder width apart, chest up, don’t allow shoulder to “roll” forward, etc. Think about rowing/pulling your elbow to your hip (elbow still shouldn’t go past the midline) and pause for a 1-3s count. You should definitely feel a difference with the lat turning on to a higher degree.

If you don’t, you’re weird….;o)

NOTE: I also like to cue people to start with a pronated (overhand) grip and as they “row,” rotate the handle to a neutral position.

Return back to starting position, but be sure to allow the scapulae to protract forward around the ribcage. You don’t want to “glue” it down the entire time.

While I wouldn’t go out of my way to use this drill with overhead athletes (who are generally stuck in extension and overly lat dominate, which affects their ability to upwardly rotate the scapulae), this is an awesome drill to use to help people learn to “engage” their lats to a higher degree, which in turn translates very well to better performance with the “Big 3.”

It’s a subtle tweak, but something worth giving a try.

CategoriesProgram Design Strength Training

Stimulate or Annihilate Muscle: Which Is Better?

In the realm of fitness and strength & conditioning we’ve all heard the phrase:

“You need to stimulate the muscle to grow, not annihilate it.”

I can’t say I disagree with the sentiment, albeit I do feel it’s a bit reductionist taken at face value. I mean, assuming someone isn’t injured or has a history of injury, most people can train a whole lot harder than they give themselves credit for.

I’ve said it in the past and it bears repeating here:

“Lifting weights isn’t supposed to tickle.”

Furthermore, if you pick the brains of coaches like Alex Viada or Chad Wesley Smith they’d be the first to champion the notion that you should annihilate muscle. Or, to be more fair: do more work. Or to be even more fair: follow a carefully structured, periodized, undulated, (possibly) concurrent plan that fluctuates training stress.

Photo snaked from Greg Nuckols courtesy of Andy Morgan’s site RippedBody.jp.

Those are big words to some people. In non-geek speak all it means is: do more work, but not all the time…smartly.

To quote Pat Davidson:

“I’m a strength coach which means I am a stress manager more than anything else. The only difference between me and your shrink is that I want to dump as much stress on you as I possibly can to see what you can survive. If it doesn’t kill you, it will likely make you stronger.”

That’s about as succinct of a way to describe things as can be put. Any strength coach worth his or her weight in barbells knows most programs written (geared towards strength and performance) should consist of alternating patterns of high stress (whether it be accumulation, intensity or both) with low stress.

You can’t just take the word “annihilate” and implement that mantra 100% of the time and expect to make continued progress. We’re not Terminators. Fatigue will always masks one’s true fitness.

Not into graphs? Me either. They make my head hurt.

Think of it this way: lets say you test your 1RM in the deadlift. 315! Not too shabby you sexy beast. Now, go run a 5K. Don’t ask questions, just do it.

When you finish we’ll immediately re-test your 1RM deadlift.

Do you think you’ll sniff close to 315 lbs again?

Not a chance.

Overtraining?

Fatigue doesn’t mean overtraining. The internet loves to toss out the word overtraining, as if it’s an easy thing to attain. Trust me: you’re not overtrained. Just because you squatted two days in a row or, I don’t know, took a CrossFit class, doesn’t mean you’re overtrained.

You have to go really, really (REALLY!) out of your way to come remotely close to overtraining. To put things into perspective: The Iron Cowboy, James Lawrence, completed 50 triathlons in 50 days (in 50 States) and he wasn’t overtrained. I’m sure he felt like shit, but he wasn’t overtrained.2

Which is why I respect guys like Alex and Chad who prefer to provoke/nudge people to work harder (but smartly) and not be too analytical about everything. That’s the only way to assure adaptation and continued progress (and PRs).

What Does “Smartly” Even Mean, Tony?

Good question.

It can mean a lot of things, but here are some quick, random, bullet-point ideas/points to consider:

1. You’re Not an Elite Athlete (Sorry, I’m not Sorry)

Using James Lawrence as an example or THIS article about how to max out squats everyday, lets take an objective look at things.

I have no issues with squatting everyday, or people who decide to actually do it. In fact, I thought the article was brilliant and had a lot of great and innovative things to say.  But, as I remember it a few years ago, within 24-48 hours of the article going live on T-Nation, I received a swarm of emails from random dudes asking me if they thought it would be a good idea if “they too?” should train everyday?

I had to try really hard to resist the urge to throw an ax into my face.

NEWSFLASH:  you’re not an elite athlete!!!!!!!

Unless you have 4-6 hours per day to train, and that’s literally all you do, it’s probably not going to be a good fit.

Lets be real: For many people (not all), you read an awesome article, and right then and there, decided it’s “exactly what you needed.”

In theory, it sounds amazing.  But here’s the thing – you make the Tin Man look hypermobile. The last time you lifted anything remotely explosively was back when Patrick Swayze was rocking stone washed jeans. And, the last time I checked, you sit in front of a computer for 8-9 hours per day, and actually work for a living.

You have the time for this when?

Listen, I get it, you like to exercise. What’s more, who am I to say that people shouldn’t be enthusiastic to train more often and actually move around a bit more?  I encourage that, wholeheartedly!

But come on people – lets not put the cart before the horse.

Actually, scratch that. I’m not opposed to people training (hard) everyday.  I mean, there’s definitely a way to do it right and I think that’s what many people should strive for. They just shouldn’t train balls to wall (ovaries to wall?) every single day.

What I don’t agree with, and think is borderline dangerous is when people read an article about ELITE athletes whose sole job is to train – and who have been doing this type of training FOR YEARS –  and then run out to their local globo gym, try to be a hero, and hurt themselves the third day in.

Trust me –  it will happen.

I swear, I’m going to do a social experiment someday, write an article detailing how running over your right arm with a car repeatedly will somehow increase testosterone levels by 317%, and see how many people email me asking for more info.

NOTE: I like what Bret Contreras had to say on the topic. HERE’s a old(er) blog post he wrote on how to incorporate daily training into the mix.

2. Deadlift Less

Yep, you read that correctly. I just told my reading audience to deadlift less.

What’s next? Me telling everyone to perform more kipping pull-ups? Eat tofu? Admitting I had it all wrong and that Tracy Anderson was right all along: women should avoid lifting anything above 3 lbs. LOLz.

Relax. Deep breaths. Give me a second to explain.

Once you reach a certain level of strength (lets say 2x bodyweight) there’s a point of diminishing returns with regards to deadlifting more than once a week. I’d argue the deadlift is the most “draining” – both physiologically and neurologically – on the body compared to squatting, bench pressing, etc.

Maybe it’s more anecdotal on my end, but I’ve found – through a lot of trial and error – that whenever I deadlift (heavy) more than once per week my body hates me.

Too, I find this to be pretty accurate for most other people.

I’ll often limit “max effort” work (85% + of 1RM) to once every 2-3 weeks for most people. Rarely will I ever have someone hit that level every week.

I will, however, include more speed/technical work into the mix and typically have no qualms implementing this more than once per week. It may look something like this:

Day 1 – Deadlift Cluster

Week 1: 4×4 (70%), one-rep every 15s.
Week 2: 3×4 (75%), one rep every 15s.
Week 3: 5×2 (80%), one rep every 15s.
Week 4: 3×3 (65%), one rep every 15s

Day 2 – Speed/Technique Work

Week 1: 8×1 (60%), rest 30-45s.
Week 2: 10×1 (60%), rest 30-45s.
Week 3: 12×1 (60%), rest 45-60s.
Week 4: 6×1 (70%), rest 30-45s.

3. Include Less Mechanical Loading

I feel many trainees miss the boat in using their own bodyweight as load. Fellow Cressey Sports Performance coach, Greg Robins, is a big fan of including less “mechanical loading” into some programs (including my own) to help stave off “annihilation” and still gain a lot of benefit.

I hit the big lifts pretty hard, and I don’t necessarily need to make myself hate life any further with my accessory work.

Try this:

Bodyweight Bulgarian Split Squats For Time

Week 1: 3 sets of 30s/leg (FML)
Week 2: 3 sets of 40s/leg (Seriously, FML).
Week 3: 4 sets of 40s/leg (Hahahaha).
Week 4: 3 sets of 60s/leg (Kelly Clarkson! Watch the clip below for the reference.)

 

If you really want to up the ante do the above, but a controlled tempo up and down (2s down, 2s up; 3s down, 3s up).

4. Go For Walk

Totally not kidding.

Casual walks work wonders in terms of recovery. And you don’t need to make this some sort of heavy backpack walking or sled dragging uphill for AMRAP hybrid. Tone it down, killer.

Just walk. Enjoy it.

5. Deload (Volume)

At CSP, we generally “save” week 4 of each program for a deload week. For starters it fits our training model well because each athlete/client gets a new program every month anyways (billing cycle is every four weeks).

While I don’t go out of my way to introduce too many new exercises with beginners – they don’t need a ton of variety – those who have been working with us for a while will usually get a slew of “new stuff” and their ass handed to them in week #1. The deload week prior serves as a way to better “prepare” them for the onslaught inevitably coming.

Generally speaking, on a deload week we deload overall volume, and keep intensity (as a percentage of one’s 1RM) at high level.

NOTE: not to jump into the weeds too far, but going back to the topic of overtraining, if someone does enter that territory, they tend to do so as a result of too much volume and not so much with intensity.

As such we’ll either decrease volume with the MAIN LIFT of the day, but keep intensity up:

Squat

Week 1: 5×5
Week 2: 4×5
Week 3: (5) 3×3, 2×6
Week 4: 3×3

Or we may decrease overall volume (tonnage) via reduced accessory work.

And yes, sometimes, we’ll tweak both volume AND intensity. It just depends (typically this is reserved for those in a competitive season. Think: powerlifter).

There are numerous ways to “deload” – OMIT all axial loading for a week, maybe perform a bodypart only split, maybe reduce training days from 4-6x per week, to 3x per week, nothing above 70%, play kickball, I don’t care, you know your clients better than I do – but as whole, I find reducing volume (yet keeping intensity up) bodes well for most people.

Your Turn

The above is in no way an exhaustive list. I could keep going, but I doubt many have made it this far anyways. If you have, 10 points to Gryffindor!

Do you have any thoughts on the topic? Any ways you like to “not annihilate” your body? Share them below.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff To Read While You’re Pretending To Work: 8/28/15

I can’t believe we’re only a handful of days away until it’s September. SEPTEMBER! The good news is that Fall is my favorite time of year here in Boston…the leaves changing color, the crisp air, it officially becoming “I can wear sweat pants anywhere at any time (even at the dinner table) and no one cares” season.

It’s glorious.

The downside is that many of us here in New England (especially Boston) still have last winter fresh in our minds and we’re still cowering in the corner in the fetal position. Over six-feet of snow in a 30 day span (110+ inches overall) will give anyone nightmares.

We still have several more weeks of amazing weather, though. No point in playing Johnny Raincloud too soon.

Lets get to this week’s list:

MASS – Dr. Pat Davidson

Anyone who knows Pat or is familiar with his work knows how much of a “psycho” he is. And I mean that as a compliment.

Pat’s a former assistant professor at Springfield College and is currently the Director of Training Methodology and Continuing Education at Peak Performance in NYC. He’s also one of the smartest guys I’ve ever met, and if there’s anyone who literally eats, drinks, and sleeps strength and conditioning it’s him. He’s read everything, and tried it. Twice.

Pat’s a savage (<– again, a compliment) and someone who’s only interested in bringing out the “savage” in everyone he trains and works with.

MASS speaks for itself. The name alone should give you an indication on what it’s designed to do. But in case you’re not picking up the vibe it’s a 16-week muscle building treatise, and it’s brutal.

Admittedly I haven’t taken myself through it personally (yet), but I know of several coaches who have and no one has finished. They all got bigger and put on significant size, but all tapped out after 8-12 weeks.

Like I said, Pat’s a savage. Are you willing to give it a go?

Butter In Your Coffee and Other Cons: Stories From a Fitness Insider – Dick Talens

This was an excellent article by Dick on some of the more “shady” areas and personas in the fitness industry. Well worth the read.

Cardio Revisited – Tanner Baze (via Roman Fitness Systems)

In some ways the health & fitness industry mirrors that of the fashion industry: trends come and go. Although, lets be honest: who the heck knows where skinny jeans came from and why they’re so popular?

Not long ago, if you were a meathead, doing any form of “cardio” was taboo. Even if you thought about putting on a pair of jogging shoes you’d lose your gainz.

As of late, however, it’s making a bit of a comeback. This article helps explain why it can help (and actually improve) your gainz.

CategoriesAssessment Corrective Exercise Program Design

32 Random Thoughts On Training

A few days ago my good buddy, Mike Robertson, posted an article up on his blog titled 31 Random Training Thoughts. It was fantastic and you should take the time to read it. I liked the idea so figured I’d take some time today to toss my hat into the ring and showcase some of my own random thoughts as well. 32 of them. Because, you know bacon.

Starting with this amazing picture…

1. Agility ladders and foot speed drills work wonders on making people better at doing agility ladders and foot speed drills. They DO NOT (at least rarely) translate to better performance on the court/field/diamond/pitch. It’s crucial to actually coach athletes (young and old) to learn to develop force. These drills, along with anything involving cones (the more elaborate the geometric shape the better), which make parents oooh and ahhh, should not be prioritized. Especially for younger athletes.

2. And since we’re on the topic of developing force…it’s just as crucial to coach our athletes how to ABSORB force or decelerate their bodyweight. What good does it do anyone to have all this horsepower and not have the ability to put on the brakes?

3. Also, force development is vector specific. This is why we utilize ‘Heidens’ in many of our programs for baseball players, particularly pitchers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOI1exR6pSk

 

4. The whole notion of “muscle confusion” is lame. Most people don’t need as much variety as they think. If you’re not squatting or deadlifting 2x your bodyweight (for reps) I doubt the limiting factor is your lack of use of chains or bands.

5. More than ever I am convinced that the reason many people miss a lift is due to a poor initial set-up.

6. To that point, the lats play a HUGE role in stability and upper back stiffness (which in turn equates to less energy leaks during a set). It’s difficult to be efficient at any of the “Big 3” without:

– Big lats.

– Learning how to better engage them.

 

7. Still having a hard time getting a “feel” for what it’s like to fire the lats during a deadlift? This drill may help:

 

8. One-arm dumbbell rows aren’t a great exercise to strengthen your scapular retractors. They are, however, the bomb when it comes to developing the lats. Just sayin….

9. Cuing someone to arch hard on a squat and to sit back is inefficient, especially for natural/un-geared lifters. Think: “belt buckle to chin” (posteriorly tilt pelvis), pull elbows together and forward (pull down on bar), push knees out, sit down (not back).

10. For the record: the above cue to posteriorly tilt the pelvis brings people from a state of excessive extension TO neutral. That’s a major difference compared to taking someone from neutral to more flexion.

11. Warm-ups should start ground based to standing to adding movement (linear or lateral).

12. By that same token they should start proximally (positional breathing, diaphragm) to distally.

13. Is this not the most baller groomsmen photograph ever taken?

14. People hate doing pause squats, but dammit if they don’t make everyone’s squat numbers go up.

15. A common mistake that people make when bench pressing: not letting the bar settle. Meaning, after receiving a handoff don’t immediately descend the bar towards the chest. Rather, let the bar settle by placing your shoulder blades in your back pocket (posteriorly tilt, lats engage) and gather your bearings before you lower.

16. I’ve repeated this quote several times but I love it so much I’m going to repeat it again.

“When you start throwing a baseball with only your arm, then we’ll worry about doing only arm care exercises.”

Eric Schoenberg, PT, owner of Momentum Physical Therapy in Milford, MA

17. Despite popular belief, you can perform a Turkish get-up with a dumbbell.

18. Speaking of get-ups I like to include them as an extended warm-up. Do this:

– 10 KB Goblet Squats

– 10 KB Swings

– 1-2 KB Get-ups/side

Three rounds. Now go em Tiger!

19. Also, if I were you I’d err on the side of QUALITY for your get-ups rather than how hard you can make them. Progression on these isn’t necessarily about how heavy you can go, but how “effortlessly” you can perform them. Dr. Mark Cheng can perform 48 kg Get-ups; he chooses to stick with 24 kg for the bulk of his training.

20. When assessing shoulders don’t only look at anterior/posterior imbalances (traditional upper cross syndrome), it’s equally as important to look at superior/inferior imbalances (scapular upward/downward rotation).

21. Scapular stability is more or less a misnomer. There aren’t any significant bony structures to warrant a ton of stability. Instead, as Sue Falsone notes, a more appropriate term would be controlled scapular mobility.

Here’s a good drill for that: Band Wall Walks

 

22. Alignment matters. Always.

23. If you stretch in mis-alignment (think: hip flexor stretch when someone stays in excessive APT) you create more instability. If you strengthen in mis-alignment you create more muscular imbalances.

24. Women: if you want to get better at chin-ups/pull-ups you need to train them more than once per week. Follow the lead of Artemis Scantalides of IronBody Studios: train them 4-6x per week.

Monday: Flexed Arm Hangs/Hanging Leg Raises
Tuesday: Chin-ups or Eccentric Chin-Ups (Rule of 10): 3×3, 5×2, 2×5, etc
Wednesday: Band Assisted Chin-Ups
Thursday: Flexed Arm Hangs/Hanging Leg Raises
Friday: Chin-ups or Eccentric Chin-Ups (Rule of 10): 3×3, 5×2, 2×5, etc
Saturday: Band Assisted Chin-Ups

25. Guys, you suck at chin-ups too. I’d listen to Artemis as well if I were you.

26. Don’t be afraid to include some more athletic movements into your training. Jumping, skipping, sprinting will improve your general day-to-day activities. Even if the most athletic thing you do is gardening….;o)

27. To that end, you don’t need to go 100% with your sprints. I like 60-70% effort “tempo repeats” (40-60 yds) for most general fitness clients. Also, if you cranky knees, sprint uphill. You’ll thank me.

28. Instead of embarking on a “fat loss” plan, focus your efforts towards a performance based goal. I find diverting efforts towards something more quantifiable leads to better long-term success. The amount of work and effort it takes to achieve said goal, assuming it’s realistic and attainable3, more often than not results in the aesthetic markers many people covet.

29. Push-ups are a very UNDERrated exercise. Some cues I always use:

– Squeeze glutes, brace abs (both help to posteriorly tilt pelvis which prevents excessive lower back arch).

– Spread fingers as wide apart as possible and think about “cork screwing” the floor apart. This will create more external rotation torque in the shoulders and provide more stability.

– Chest should hit floor first.

30. Not everyone is meant to squat ass-to-grass. We need to respect anatomy. Hip structure is different person to person, and you’re an a-hole if you hold everyone to the same standard. Some people are built to squat deep (and generally will have limited hip extension), while others are meant to deadlift a bulldozer (and might not be able to squat past 90 degrees). Some people can dominate both and we all hate them.

31. Passive Tests = provides information on one’s available/total ROM. Active Tests = provides information on one’s ROM they can use. If someone tests great passively yet as limited active ROM it’s most likely a stability issue. Don’t always assume it’s lack of mobility.

32. Stop doing kipping pull-ups. Seriously, stop.

CategoriesMotivational Program Design rant

Evidence Based vs. Anecdotal Experience vs. Transformers: Who’s Right and Who’s Wrong?

In one corner we have the evidence based coach who won’t let his or her client/athlete perform anything without a PubMed reference in hand. And at the other corner we have the coach who relies on anecdotal experience and feels just because it worked for his or her’s clients/athletes that it must apply to everyone else.

It’s a never ending battle of back and forth shenanigans, name calling, and vitriol similar to the exploits of the Jedi vs. the Sith or the Autobots vs. the Decepticons.

Who’s right vs. who’s wrong? Who’s good vs. who’s bad?

I for one feel the best approach is one that adopts both sides. I see value in both…each having it’s own unique set of advantages and disadvantages.

Put another way: in terms of figuring out the “best” approach to anything (as it relates to getting people bigger, faster, stronger, and harder to kill) my thoughts mirror that of the Godfather of behavioral economics, Richard Thaler:

“I try out lots of ideas, get quick feedback, and learn in the best possible way: theory-driven intuition tested by trial and error.”

That’s about as fair and charitable of a statement as I can muster on the topic.

Which brings me to an email I received this past weekend from a young, up-and-coming fitness professional:

“I recently started an S&C internship at a D1 school (won’t give the name). I want to go into college S&C so I figured this was a great opportunity to learn from the “best.”

However I have been following you, Cressey, Boyle, and Somerset for a couple of years now and I love how you are pushing the field forward.

I mentioned to the strength coaches I follow you guys and they rolled their eyes at me and said “why would you follow random dudes and not read publications and research.”

I bit my tongue and stayed quiet because I’m an intern, but what I really wanted to do was punch a wall. I believe you all stay ahead of the game and you have inspired me and taught me so much. I would love your thoughts on college S&C and the mindset of the coaches I’m learning under now.”

My initial reaction.

I find this unfortunate to say the least. Not that I have to sit here and defend my honor (and that of my colleagues) – I believe our collective body of work speaks for itself – but I’m going to do just that. Only for a minute. Promise.

In terms of myself and Eric Cressey (and Pete Dupuis): we’ve grown a business that started in 2007 in a 2200 square foot space we rented inside an indoor batting facility training mostly local high-school athletes, to a now 15,000 square foot space training professional baseball players from every level from every affiliated MLB team, not to mention athletes and general fitness clients from all over the US and world.

I’d like to think that we’ve done so via an equal parts evidence based approach and anecdotal. And bicep curls.

Do I really need to defend Mike Boyle? Come on!

And as far as (Dean) Somerset is concerned: the guy is one of the smartest guys I know who can regurgitate studies by memory and who’s built one of the best reputations in the industry for being able to “dumb down” research into more bite sized information bons-bons that guys like myself can understand. That, and he has build a very successful fitness business training thousands of people in the past few years.

In short: even though guys like myself, Eric, Dean, Boyle, and a vast array of others are writing for various websites and our own blogs (how dare we!), we do in fact, actually coach people. In real life.

So, in many ways, we’re doing “research” on a daily basis, finding out what works and what doesn’t, and learning to assimilate the information we come across as it best applies to our athletes/clients.

Ol’ Boys Club

Giving credit where it’s due: I applaud the young coach who sent the email for keeping his mouth shut. The last thing he or she wants to happen is to yap away at their superiors and come across as some know-it-all entitled hipster after having coached for all of eleven seconds.

If you’re in someone’s “house” as a guest, you respect their rules and their way of doing things.

I don’t know what Division I program he’s referring to, but we have to understand that some (not all) strength and conditioning coaches at that level have one hand tied behind their back as far as how much “freedom” they have outside of the program itself.

As my colleague, Jim Laird, pointed out:

“I think much of that attitude stems from jealousy. Many college coaches just do not have time to do stuff online or not allowed to. They see private sector coaches doing stuff online getting recognition and it steals their thunder and authority.”

While I agree, I do feel it’s a minority mindset. A shitty mindset, mind you…but a minority one. As an example, I’m good friends with the entire staff at Boston University Strength & Conditioning and they couldn’t be a more open-minded staff willing to try new things and listen to what others have to say.

They use research all the time. I’ve seen their programs and I’ve seen the books and journals on their desks. But I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked in – I train there 1-2x per week – and one of the coaches will pull me aside to ask my opinion on something or ask me what blogs I’m reading lately. It’s refreshing to say the least.

They don’t (always) need a double blind study to do the thinking for them. There’s a zero ol’ boys vibe.

As strength coach, Henry Lau, notes:

“As a S&C coach, it’s not one’s job to “read” research, though more likely to assimilate methodologies to make better athletes. Why some coaches think it’s great to read journals and make up their own ideas from a limited view is intellectual dishonesty.”

And We’re Doing A lot of Assuming

I for one HATE reading research. This isn’t to say I discount it or that I don’t understand (and respect) its role in furthering our knowledge in the field. But am I wrong to state that research is designed to ask more questions, not to necessarily answer all of them?

What’s more, what many fail to realize – and guys like Brad Schoenfeld, Bret Contreras, Nick Tumminello, amongst others can attest to – is that research studies and books are often 2,3, sometimes 4 years behind the curve with regards to the information it’s relaying. By the time a study or book is released – years after the fact – the information is already outdated (or has been expounded on).

Nowadays blogs and websites are what people read to stay “up-to-date” and relevant.

Besides that, we’re assuming that most people can actually read the research, and more importantly…understand it. It’s not as easy as one may think. Reading research is every bit as much of a learned skill as riding a bike or writing computer code or pretending to listen to your wife when she’s updating you on her day when what you’re actually doing is repeating the lyrics from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air in your head.

 

Take for example the following random study I found on PubMed using the keyword “muscle hypertrophy:”

Identification of a Novel Four and a Half LIM Domain 1 Mutation in a Chinese Male Presented with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and Mild Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy.

Translated into Tony speak that reads:

“Bloop, bleep, blop, bloopidy, blop, bleep, science.”

I admire anyone who can read something like that and be all like “yep, makes total sense, got it.” For me though: I’d make it through the first paragraph and probably black out and not remember a thing I just read.

I’ll read it, pick up a few things (maybe), but it’s really hard for me to digest most of it.

Plus, and this can’t be discounted: Research is great, but it’s practical application can be limited because things are controlled quite strictly for the research to be valid and effective. We don’t necessarily live in this “research bubble” where everything is hunky-dorey.

That, and many (not all) fitness-based studies involve untrained, fasted individuals, or worse, mice. Not exactly the most relevant and useful ball of information to correlate to a trained, presumably high-level population.

And at the end of the day what do most people use research for anyways? To answer questions, yes….but to also validate their own set of beliefs and biases. I mean, technically, you can find research to back anything up. We used to have research that stated smoking was good for us.

To Summarize

BOTH sides of the argument (it’s a stupid argument to have IMO) are important and have their role. By reading journals, articles, and research one will expand their own knowledge and hopefully develop critical analysis of research, methodology, and conclusions.

However it comes down to more than only book smarts. As strength coach, Kevin Shattock so astutely states:

“It’s only after the above is reached where one can understand HOW and IF the findings can be applied to their particular settings and environment. This is what the likes of Cressey, et al do well.

But by simply “following ” these guys on social media, you may gain (& often do) gain great insights, thoughts, ideas etc the intern, young S&C is missing a crucial part of the coaching journey, the WHY you do something, the understanding on a fundamental level.

Research is NOT everything, but it can be a great starting point to develop YOUR OWN ideas, thoughts, perspective and methods, just as careful observation of great practitioners can be.”


In the end: To be a great coach you cannot discount either approach. I’d argue that in order to truly grow as a fitness professional (and by extension to possibly innovate) you should use practice both.

CategoriesCorrective Exercise Program Design

Training With Laxity: Tips and Advice From Someone Who’s Been There, Done That

I’m traveling back to Boston today after spending the weekend up in Edmonton with Dean Somerset teaching our Complete Shoulder & Hip Workshop.

FYI: Future Dates: ST. LOUIS (September 26th-27th), CHICAGO (October 17th-18th), and LOS ANGELES (November 14-15th).

It was an awesome two days and we were ecstatic to have the opportunity to share our new material with a bunch of personal trainers and coaches eager to geek out over everything shoulders and hips (and my lame cat jokes).

The highlight, though, had to be me admitting to the audience (full of Canadiens, mind you) I’ve never been to a hockey game. Like, ever. You could factor that and then imagine any number of other awkward scenarios – farting in an elevator, being on a first date and realizing you forgot your wallet, that part in Star Wars when Luke and Leia kiss (and then, fast forward to Return of the Jedi, and you realize that they realize they’re brother and sister) – and none of that can top the awkward concert of crickets chirping which occurred.

Okay, it wasn’t that awkward. But I did get a few “what chu talkin’ bout Willis” looks.

.

Nevertheless I’m out of the loop today, but have an awesome guest post by DC-based strength coach, Kelsey Reed, on the topic of joint laxity and hypermobility.

Enjoy!

Training With Laxity

Cue a bunch of crickets chirping and then

Want to see a strength coach party trick?

 

I have a fair amount of joint laxity and amongst coaches and trainers this stunt usually produces a few raised eyebrows and surprised looks. Amongst normal people, they just stare blankly at me and wonder why would anyone bother to do a squat facing the wall.

Joint hypermobility or joint laxity (the terms are used interchangeably) is the ability of a joint to move beyond the usual range of motion. Typically this is because the ligaments are looser than “normal” the due to either genetics or injury.

For the most part, joint laxity isn’t debilitating nor is it usually a worrisome problem, particularly if you’re a gymnast, dancer, baseball pitcher, or a Cirque du Soleil performer.

However, if you are a lax athlete/trainee there are some training considerations to keep in mind. It’s easy to inadvertently injure yourself or cause chronic aches and pains.

Before we dive into some recommendations, are you someone with joint laxity?

The most common test for generalized joint hypermobility is the Beighton Scale.

If you can do at least 2 or 3 (sources differ), then it’s an indicator that you may have general joint hypermobility. Don’t freak out; like I said hypermobility is very common, particularly among children and adolescents (though many grow out of it later), females, Asian, and Afro-Carribbean races. Laxity can manifest in a variety of ways with differing levels of severity. It also isn’t necessarily systemic; it can affect some joints and not others.

If it’s so common, why do we need to worry about it?

According to Dr. Hakim over at Hypermobility.org:

“However some hypermobile people can injure their joints, ligaments, tendons and other ‘soft tissues’ around joints. This is because the joints twist or over extend easily, may partially dislocate (or ‘sublux’), or in a few cases may actually dislocate. These injuries may cause immediate ‘acute’ pain and sometimes also lead to longer-term ‘chronic’ pain.”

I would also add that being hypermobile or lax will also increase the chance that joints will be unstable and therefore exercises that focus on stability will be key to maintaining healthy joints. Additionally, the end-range of motion of joints will be the soft tissue instead of the bones; you could easily stress and irritate the ligaments and tendons during lock-outs. (More on that below)

Since there is a slightly higher risk for injury for us lax people, here are some of my thoughts when it comes to training.

Be Mindful of Joint Position During Exercise

Just because your joints can go through a full range of motion, doesn’t mean that it’s necessary. For example, look at my elbows at the top of a push up:

I catch a lot of my females doing this and I coach them to leave a little slack in the lock-out. Their arms are still straight, just not pushed to the very end of their range.

Here’s another common position lax people can fall into:

In this position, I’m not really “owning” it but instead I’m relying on all my passive restraints (the ligaments) to keep my body stable. Notice the excessive arch in my lower back, my shoulder blade sticking up like Mt. Doom, and my elbow popping forward beyond my wrist.

I would argue that this position offers a false sense of stability and, as the weight increases, it’s going to become harder and harder to stabilize and eventually something will start hurting.

Here’s where they should be:

Here, I’m actively stabilizing by using the surrounding muscles- my core, upper back, and the triceps/biceps of my support arm- it’s safer and more effective in the long run.

Placing the ligaments and tendons under load while pushing through to the end range of their movement is a recipe for achy joints. Be aware of how you/your clients are performing various exercises and own the range of motion- you should be stable and strong, not loose and wobbly.

Balance Distraction and Approximation Exercises

Simply, distraction exercises pull the joints apart, as in a pull-up, and approximation exercises push the joints together, as in a push up. People with hypermobility are going to be more sensitive to the external forces placed on their joints.

For example, I experienced some wicked elbow pain last year.

I was mystified – I wasn’t benching too much or doing hundreds of skull crushers and curls, all the no-nos when it comes to cranky elbows. I took a gander at my weekly training routine at the time, and in an effort to increase my deadlift, I was deadlifting, pull-upping, kettlebell swinging, and rowing nearly every day; I did push ups a few times a week, but aside from that, I didn’t include any pressing.

The former exercises are all fantastic in themselves yet they’re all distraction. I had triple (if not more) the volume of distraction as I did approximation exercises. I subbed out a few of the pull-ups and rows for pressing and, surprise! My elbows felt much better.

When performing exercises that are distraction, pull-ups, row variations, and even deadlifts to an extent, it’s best to avoid the “dead hang” position (when you’re fighting gravity by hanging on your passive restraints instead of actively holding the bar/weight). If the stress is placed on the joints without the accompanying muscle activation, all that tension goes straight into the tendons and ligaments (when I hang from a bar, I can literally feel my forearm bones separating from my upper arm). By creating muscular tension when holding onto the weight or bar, it will prevent excessive stress for your poor ligaments.

Stop, for the Love of Iron, Stretching!

We humans like to do what we’re good at and if you’re hypermobile, you’re good at stretching. Hypermobile people need stretching as much as Darth Vader needs a haircut.

If you feel tight, it’s probably because that muscle(s) is fighting to hold your joints together because your tendons are loose. At best, stretching is only going to feed into the dysfunction (if there is one). We need to stabilize! Which rolls nicely into the last point…

Note From TG: HERE’s an article I wrote on why “stretching” isn’t always the answer.

Stabilize

It’s not cool or sexy but it’s darn useful! If you’re hypermobile, there’s a chance that the ligaments in your spine are too. No good, my friend. Planks, deadbugs, bird dogs, are examples of stabilization exercises that focus on the smaller, lower threshold muscles that are necessary for happy spines and joints.

Seeing as the shoulder is one of the more unstable joints, shoulder stability training  is imperative for hypermobile trainees.

 

Adding isometric holds to exercises is another way to increase time-under-tension to bolster tendon and ligament strength. Crawl variations are low-threshold core stabilization exercises that teach you how to stabilize dynamically (during movement). They also are approximation exercises to add to your training. If you want to get fancy, you can add a few chains:

 

Take care of your tendons!

If you have joint laxity and have/want to avoid joint pain, pay attention to your joint position, balance distraction and approximation exercises, stop stretching so much, and work on your overall stabilization. Own the range of motion you have- don’t push to the full ROM if you don’t need to and risk injury due to instability.

Hypermobility isn’t a curse, it’s actually a pretty cool trait; it just takes a little extra thinking when it comes to training.

Thanks again to Tony for allowing my musings to appear on his blog once again!

About the Author

Kelsey Reed is head strength coach at SAPT Strength & Performance located in Fairfax, VA. Bitten by the iron bug at 16, Kelsey has been lifting ever since. Her love for picking up heavy things spurred her to pursue a degree in the Science of Exercise and Nutrition at Virginia Tech.

Now she spends her days teaching and coaching others in the iron game. In her down time, she lives life on the wild side by not following recipes when she cooks, fighting battles through characters fantasy fiction novels, and attempting to make her cats love her.