CategoriesCorrective Exercise Program Design

Unconventional Core Training

“You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means.“

The Princess Bride is one of my all-time favorite movies. It’s a classic, and many fellow movie buffs and connoisseurs will recognize the quote from above.

It’s one of roughly 816 (give or take) memorable lines from the movie, and it’s uttered by Inigo Montoya. Throughout the movie, Sicilian boss Vizzini repeatedly describes the unfolding events as “inconceivable.”

In one scene of the movie, as Vizzini tries to cut a rope that the Dread Pirate Roberts is climbing up, he blurts out in an exasperated tone it was inconceivable that he did not fall.

At this point, Inigo responds with the now famous quote:

 

So what does this have to do with anything fitness related?

Well, replace the character Inigo with myself, replace the word inconceivable with the word “core,” and you’ll have the exact same scene playing before your eyes. Except, you know, I’d have less chest hair, be a tad more beefy, and in lieu of the swordplay…I’d be rockin some killer nunchuck skills.

What Do You Mean “Core?”

Ask five different people what the core is and how you train it, and you’ll inevitably get five different answers.

Most abundant, though, would be any number of iterations referring to a Men’s Health Magazine cover:

Or maybe Dr. Spencer Nadolsky (that’s right: a doctor who lifts!) because he’s hunky as balls:

Trust me: there’s a six-pack underneath there.

Make no mistake: when most people think core, they think six-pack abs – or, rectus abdominis, if we wanted to be uppity anatomy nerds – that you can cut diamonds on. Too, they think about all the various exercises in the infinite training toolbox which can be used to carve our said six-pack abs.

Crunches, sit-ups, planks, RKC planks, side planks, planks on one-leg, planks with one arm behind your back, planks with alternate reach, planks on a stability ball, planks blindfolded, planks while fighting zombies, and more planks. Because people like planks.

And they wouldn’t be wrong. The “abs” are certainly part of the core and all the exercises listed above have their time and place. Relax, no need to shit a copy of Ultimate Back Health and Performance because I mentioned crunches and sit-ups. I too am a huge fan of Dr. McGill’s work and understand the pitfalls of repeated spinal flexion.

Occasional unloaded (spinal) flexion, for the right population, also has a time and place. But that’s a conversation for another time.

All of it, however, is a teeny tiny fraction of the entire picture. It’s akin to only being able to see the top right-hand corner of Van Gogh’s Starry Night. And that’s it.

How lame is that?

The core is so much more than what we can see on a magazine cover. There’s the pelvic floor on the bottom, the diaphragm at the top, the rectus abdominis in the front, the obliques (internal & external) on the sides, and the erectors as well as all the “ancillary” support musculature: paraspinals, multifidi, longissimus, iliocostalis (lumborum & thoracis), etc, in the back.

It’s more or less a canister.

In fact, the “core” consists of everything from the neck line down to the hips: pecs, lats, glutes, the sexy”v-taper” leading down to you know where, everything. Or, to be overly simplistic: everything not including the legs, arms, and head.

And its main job, contrary to popular belief, is not to crunch or perform countless sit-ups. Rather, the core’s main function is to counteract rotary movement so that force can be more easily (and efficiently) transferred from the lower body to the upper body, and vice versa.

I mean, if you really look at the way the muscles are oriented (especially in the front) you can see they take on a more inter-connected, inter-laced, weblike presentation…designed to resist hoop stress.

This is why I prefer exercises like various chops and lifts, Pallof presses, rollouts, and Farmer carries…as they all train the core in a more “functional” manner.

Chops and lifts help train rotary stability; rollouts tend to train anti-extension; and Farmer carries are superb in resisting lateral flexion.

Pallof presses, depending on how they’re set up, can train every plane of motion and resist flexion, rotation, and extension. And they’re gluten free!

 

 

 

However, we can’t neglect the fact the core is a much more intricate chain of events.

Coming full circle back to the rectus abdominis (RA):

1. Yes, one of its main functions is spinal flexion. But I generally don’t go out of my way to program more spinal flexion, via sit-ups and crunches with most of my clients (especially “computer guy” who sits in front of a computer all day in flexion).

The catch-22 is that many of these same clients are rocking significant anterior pelvic tilt in addition to a flared rib cage (via lower ribs sticking out) which doesn’t bode well for ideal alignment and leads to a cascade effect of faulty diaphragm mechanics, breathing patterns, as well as a metric shit-storm of PRI (Postural Restoration Institute) stink eyes.

In this context training the RA to control rib position (ribs down) is very important. We need to train them (along with the external obliques) to contract isometrically to resist extension of the thoraco-lumbar region.

In other words, as Mike Robertson notes: “We need to teach our upper abs to control our rib position so that we can maintain optimal alignment of the rib cage during exercise and daily life.”

Walking around in a “flared” rib position in concert with an excessive anterior pelvic tilt is a one-way ticket to Mybackhatesmeville, USA.

Case in point, here’s an example of what I mean:

In the first picture my ribcage is flared out and the (imaginary) line between my nipples and belly button is long (excessive lumbar hyperextension). Conversely, in the bottom picture my abs are braced – essentially creating a flexion moment (not movement) –  and the line between my nipples and belly button is shorter (less extension). This is the position I’d ideally like to stay in for most of the day, especially while exercising.

Now, I’m am NOT insinuating you need to walk around all day “checking” yourself, making sure your abs and glutes are engaged, but I am saying it’s something that should enter the equation. And we can help address it by training the RA.

Read: Deadbugs, motherfucker.

 

2. An often forgotten “role” of the rectus abdominis is posterior pelvic tilt. Making the RA stronger/stiffer is another fantastic way to help “offset” excessive anterior pelvic tilt.

Remember: flexion from extension to neutral is different than flexion to more flexion from neutral.

Two exercises or drills that fit the bill are:

Reverse Crunches

 

Cuing Posterior Pelvic Tilt With Squats and Deadlifts

 

See what I mean?

We can’t be so “concrete” in our thought processes when it comes to core training. I could sit here and wax poetic on how I feel the lats are an often under-appreciated core muscle (learning to engage them to a higher degree while lifting heavy things works wonders with regards to spinal stability and performance).

Or that building bigger, stronger glutes would make for a better use of training time than any of those silly 30-minute ab blaster classes people take…but I’ve talked long enough.

If I may, let me introduce you to something….

Advanced Core Training

My good friend, Dean Somerset, just released is latest resource, Advanced Core Training, and it’s something that covers traditional core training as well as a bunch of voodoo theory stuff that will make your face melt.

In it you’ll find:

  • Detailed outline of core and hip function plus what the results of the assessment mean
  • Simplified walkthrough of the approach to core training that can be used for everyone. from rehab to elite performance.
  • Simple changes to variables like breathing and speed that can help change an exercise from a mobility drill to a speed and reaction drill and even to a max strength drill.
  • Tons of practical takeaways and coaching cues to help viewers implement the exercises and techniques immediately.

Those of you who were fans of his Ruthless Mobility series will find the material here a nice adjunct/sequel.

And if that’s not enticing enough: it’s on SALE at 40% off regular price this week, and you can earn continuing education credits too.

Baller.

Check it out HERE. You won’t be disappointed. Dean’s wicked smaht.

CategoriesProduct Review

Altitude Training Masks: Helpful or Hyperbole?

Lisa and I decided we were due for a little getaway. We’re back in my stomping grounds in central New York (specifically the Finger Lakes Region) to visit family and to partake in some long-anticipated vineyard exploring/wine tasting shenanigans.

Otherwise known as Tony drives Lisa to a shit-ton of wineries.

We’re having an amazing time with my family and couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful weekend

Knowing I was going to be away for a few days I planned ahead and scheduled an AMAZING guest post today by strength coaches Dan Hechler and James Darley. Today they’re going to discuss those silly altitude training masks that are all the rage nowadays that 1) people think actually work and/or 2) people use to pretend they’re Bane.

Like me.

Because I’m an asshat.

Nevertheless. It’s long. But well worth the read. Besides, if you can make it through a Bret Contreras post, you can make it through this. Trust me….;o)

Enjoy

Altitude Masks: Is There Science to Back Them Up?

The altitude-training mask — we’ve all seen them popping up across the country, from high-end performance facilities, to standard commercial gyms, and, of course, to our Instagram feeds. Athletes, weekend warriors, and bros are all donning this mask to achieve similar goals: increase their performance while simultaneously doing their best “Bane impression.” Bane jokes aside, the question is, do altitude-training masks actually increase performance, or do they slowly add to dysfunction?

Understanding the physiology behind the altitude-training mask is the first step to determining whether this tool is really worth implementing in our training.

While it may FEEL like it is making our workout harder, increased exertion alone does not necessarily mean it is actually OPTIMIZING our workout. By examining recent research on the mask, we can begin to gain a fuller understanding of its potential effectiveness.

Thus far, there has been little consideration of the body’s overuse of the accessory breathing muscles while wearing the mask. While the nitty gritty details of our body’s functioning may not be as captivating as this new altitude-training mask looks, it is well worth the discussion.

Hypoxic Training

To understand the creation and use of the altitude-training mask, it is beneficial to know the history and research behind hypoxic training.

Hypoxic training simply put is the practice of exercising, living in, or otherwise limiting relative oxygen availability to enhance athletic performance or acclimatize to altitude prior to an athletic event taking place at high-altitude (elevation above 5,000 feet above sea level).

In a high altitude environment, barometric pressure is decreased compared to sea level.  While the percentage of oxygen in the molecules remain the same at around 20.9%, the decreased pressure causes less total molecules to be available as volume and pressure have an inverse relationship per Boyle’s Law.

In response, the human body over time adapts by the kidneys increasing erythropoietin (EPO) production, which stimulates red blood cell production in the red bone marrow, thus increasing RBC levels (Hematocrit).  This allows for better muscle oxygenation.

History and Early Research

Before the 1968 Summer Olympic games in Mexico City (hosted at 7,350 feet above sea level!) the effects of altitude on elite athletes were understudied.  This changed, since the Olympics saw the majority of elite endurance athletes underperform.  Clearly, something was affecting their performance.

In an effort to prevent future negative surprises, scientists and researchers started to study the physiological changes that occurred in elite athletes when training and performing at high-altitudes.

Early studies conducted in the 1970s showed that training while living at altitude improved aerobic capacity (VO2 max) and improved performance at sea level.  The issue with many of the early studies is that they failed to have a control group, which trained under the same conditions at sea level.  And as we know, no control group = FAIL

Of course, this didn’t matter to strength coaches and elite level athletes.  It was the height of the Cold War and national pride was at stake.  When a tenth of a second can be the difference between placing and not placing, any advantage matters.  So began the idea of hypoxic training and the creation of the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado.

The Altitude-Training Mask & Research

Since the 1970s, our understanding of hypoxic training has advanced.

The most common form of hypoxic training is the live low-train high (LLTH) approach.  This is when an elite athlete lives at sea level, but prior to an event, trains at altitude for a period of time determined by their coach.

This is the type of training that the altitude-training mask tries to mimic.

The altitude-training mask was created as a way to bring hypoxic training to the recreational athlete looking to improve their performance.  After all, elite athletes do it to become better and gain a competitive edge, so why shouldn’t you?  And best of all, at the super affordable price of $100 or less!

If you ask the altitude-training mask fanboys, they will tell you that the benefits are undeniable.  You will experience increased lung capacity, oxygen efficiency, energy production, and physical stamina.  Is there anything that it doesn’t do for you?

Now, does the research back up these bold claims?

The truth is that very few studies have been conducted on altitude-training masks.  The one that is constantly used by companies that sell masks is a 2014 study by NAIT University.

In this study, 14 participants (8 male and 6 female) performed periodized high intensity interval training in a 5 week period while measuring V02 max utilizing the Rudolph valve maximal test and power output.  One group used an altitude-training mask while the other used self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) used by firefighters.  There was no group performing the HIIT training without an altitude-training mask or SCBA.  The study concluded that the altitude-training mask was equally effective as the SCBA.  Since both power output and V02 max improved in both groups.

In essence, all the study proved is that HIIT improves your V02 max (earth shattering!) and that altitude-masks might be an item that can be used by fire departments to mimic wearing a SCBA.  

It would be interesting to see, if using an altitude-training mask would be an effective and efficient way to train firefighters by strength coaches to simulate working fire conditions?  I don’t have enough expertise with that population to comment, but would love to hear feedback!

Yet, what this study clearly does not do is support any of the bold claims made by the companies and altitude-mask advocates.

So, lets take a look at LLTH studies done without the use of a hypoxic training mask.

Several studies have looked at the LLTH approach utilizing normobaric hypoxia chambers with inconclusive determinations.

  • A 2005 study by Morton et al looked at short-term intermittent hypoxic training (4 weeks) in 16 trained athletes separated into two groups of 8.  Both groups performed the same type of training program except one trained at sea level while the other trained at simulated altitude of 9,000 feet in a normobaric hypoxia chamber.  The results showed that there were no advantages to training at altitude compared to sea level when looking at aerobic and anaerobic performance markers in such a short time frame.
  • A 2010 review by Vogt et al examined previous functional and muscular research done on LLTH training.  They concluded that the performance data from previous research studies did not conclusively prove that hypoxic training lead to increased performance at sea level.  Instead the evidence suggested that training at altitude made you better when performing at altitude.  Imagine that!  As a caveat, Vogt el al acknowledged that VO2 max markers and maximal power output data might not be sensitive enough to pick up slight performance enhancements in elite athletes.
  • A recent 2014 study by Richardson et al showed that simulated hypoxia sprint interval training conducted in a normobaric hypoxia chamber by 27 young participants did not improve V02 peak markers compared to sprint interval training done at sea level.  Although both groups saw an improvement of V02 peak markers from sprint interval training.

The key conclusion is that LLTH training whether using a normobaric hypoxia chamber or altitude-training mask is most likely not going to improve the athletic performance in elite athletes.

In fact, using an altitude-training mask might actually be detrimental to athletic performance when you factor in breathing patterns and their importance to athletic endeavors.

Oh, and if you are a recreational athlete, don’t waste your money.  You will avoid looking like a douche(tte) *we are equal opportunity here* and not to burst your bubble, but you don’t need an altitude-mask to help with your bicep curls and lat pulldown gainz.

PRI

To understand how certain breathing patterns affect performance and overall health, we first must review the inhalation process, and the Zone of Apposition, or the ZOA (oh yeah we’re going there).

NOTE FROM TG: HERE’s a post I wrote related on the topic of PRI and how, oftentimes, trainers tend to go too far down the rabbit hole when it’s not necessary.

During inhalation, the top of the diaphragm (dome) descends in a piston action, creating a negative pressure gradient in the thorax which drives air into the lungs.

During this process, the ribs rotate outward, the front of the spine pulls upward, and the bottom portion of the diaphragm helps pull the dome downward. To create more room for the dome to pull downward, the abdominal muscles relax, allowing the organs to move slightly. During vigorous activity, this abdominal activity is even more pronounced. With exhalation, the process is reversed.

 

When the ZOA is optimized, this process functions at a high efficiency rate.

Yet when the ZOA is suboptimal, and the dome cannot descend efficiently, the body may employ compensatory strategies. In one such strategy, the body relaxes abdominal musculature at a higher degree than normal to allow for proper thoraco-expansion.

However, overuse of this strategy can lead to decreased abdominal use during breathing and increased upper chest breathing, which will eventually shorten the diaphragm and hyperinflate the lungs.

You may be wondering, why the hell should I care about my ZOA and chest breathing? Well, having suboptimal ZOA and being a dominant chest breather will force you to heavily rely on the accessory breathing muscles, such as the scalenes, sternocleidomastoid, upper trapezius, pectoralis minor, and paraspinals.

During vigorous activity, inhalation is dramatically increased, becoming even more necessary than usual. We all know what it’s like to suck wind during conditioning or after a hard play. Now when we add a device to our training that makes it harder to breathe, what do you think our response will be: focusing on inhaling (the challenge due to the mask) or exhaling out that hard-fought air? Damn right, we’re inhaling longer than exhaling!

Now, let’s add that mask for 60 minutes of training, and we will begin to see the issues that start to pile up.

Our need to tap into the accessory inhalation muscles is heightened, and the associated dysfunctions come into play. When looking at these muscles’ individual functions, we begin to see the big picture unfold.

Scalenes

This muscle elevates the first and second rib cage, unilaterally flexing the head to the same side, while also bilaterally flexing forward (cervical flexion). Working at computers, cell phones, and desks puts us in a high degree of cervical flexion leading to a modern-day posture known as the “turtlehead.” Overuse of the Scalenes from excessive inhalation will only increase the neurological tone, continuously feeding this postural nightmare.

Sternocleidomastoid

This muscle also elevates the first and second rib (see a pattern?), flexing and laterally rotating the head. Similar to the scalene, when used bilaterally, it causes cervical flexion. Overuse of the SCM can cause numerous health problems, most notably head or neck pain.

Upper Traps

This muscle assists in elevating the scapula and, in tandem with the serratus anterior and lower trapezius, contributes to upward rotation of the scapula. If overuse makes the upper trapezius too dominate, the ability to effectively execute overhead movements is greatly diminished.  

 

Pectoralis Minor

This muscle stabilizes the scapula by pulling it forward, against the thoracic wall. In most (bad) programs, overuse results from excessive pushing movements and insufficient pulling. When the Pec Minor gets too tight from excessive pushing or computer use, it can cause rounded shoulders, leading to External Impingement. Combining overuse of the Pec Minor during mismanaged training programs with overreliance on it for inhalation during activity results in a recipe for disaster, and the oh-so-sexy Mr. Burns posture.

Erector Spinae

This muscle helps prevent flexion of the spine, keeping the body upright. Excessive use and neurological tone of the erector spinae adds to the dysfunction of excessive lumbar lordosis. The body has a natural curve (lordosis), but when the anterior core becomes over-lengthened (weak), lower back pain is often the result. One component of suboptimal ZOA is relaxed (weak) abdominals.

When we are putting in work during our training sessions, our ability to control and utilize our respiratory system as efficiently as possible is paramount. This control is one of the greatest advantages an athlete can possess. Adding a device that purposefully disrupts this ability during training teaches athletes different breathing compensatory patterns. As we just demonstrated, this compensatory strategy can lead to suboptimal ZOA, decreased anterior core function, increased muscle tone, and lower back pain. All these are recipes for injuries, and no one has ever won a game while on the bench.

Conclusion

Any respectable strength coach utilizes a risk versus reward criteria when programming for an athlete.  If not, then you simply aren’t doing your job as a coach.  When it comes to the altitude-mask, the overwhelming evidence shows that at best the device is ineffective and at worse, it might actually hinder your overall performance!  I don’t know about you, but in this case, I think it is safe to say that the possible reward does not outweigh the risks of decreased performance and possible spike in injury occurrence due to increased breathing dysfunction.

About the Authors

Dan Hechler is the founder of Allostatic Athletics and a Strength and Conditioning Coach in Boston. He works predominantly with youth athletes as well as the general population. His ultimate goal is to help every client and athlete get strong, hone their technique, and appreciate the gift of movement. He is a former Northeastern University S&C intern and currently interns at Train Boston and AMP Fitness Boston. He is finishing up his B.S. in Exercise Science at UMass Boston and will be pursuing a Master’s Degree next fall.

 Website

http://www.allostatic-athletics.com

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/allostaticathletics

Instagram

https://instagram.com/allostaticathletics

Twitter

https://twitter.com/allostaticathl

Darley Head shot

James Darley is the founder of Historic Performance based in New York City, and specializes in making busy finance and marketing professionals strong, jacked, and athletic.  He is a former LIU-Brooklyn S&C intern and a regular guest contributor at Change Collective.  Outside of fitness, James enjoys reading history books and generally being an athletic nerd.  Check out his Twitter and Facebook to get daily goodies!

 

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 7/31/15

Before we dive into this week’s list I wanted to say “thank you” to everyone who chimed in with their kind words and internet high-fives over my Vogue Magazine story the other day.

It was nice to know I wasn’t too off-base with my thinking and that many of you felt the same level of disbelief and WTFness that something absurd would make it to print in a mainstream magazine.

I (and Lisa) felt much better after writing it. Please continue to spread the word! It’s a message that needs to be heard.

Complete Shoulder & Hip Workshop

 

As a reminder: Dean Somerset and I are excited to announce our latest gig: The Complete Shoulder & Hip Training Workshop.

It’s like a travel Cirque du Soleil show, except with no tents, flashy acrobatics, animals, or ripped half- naked dudes contorting themselves into pretzels. Unless, of course, Dean decides to take people through one of his epic warm-up routines.

He’s a surprisingly supple bastard.

We teamed up last year for a handful of workshops that were really successful – London, DC, LA –  and didn’t want to kill each other, so we figured we’d do it again this year

This time we’re going to place a ton of emphasis on the hips and shoulders. We’ll talk anatomy, assessment, corrective exercise, programming, and we’ll also be doing a fair amount of coaching/hands-on demonstrations. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll bring along a slide show of all my wedding pictures.

Lisa and I finally received a bulk of them the other day. Here’s a sneak peek of one of our favs…

Nom, nom, nom, nom

CEU’s will be available for all workshops.

EDMONTON (only three weeks away!).

ST. LOUIS (in September, the EARLY BIRD rate is still active, but will end soon.)

CHICAGO (I’ve never been, and can’t wait to explore.)

(Just Added) LOS ANGELES (in November, I’ll finally be able to tour all the bars from the movie Swingers).

To Crunch or Not to Crunch: An Evidence-Based Examination of Spinal Flexion Exercises, Their Potential Risks, and Their Applicability to Program Design – Bret Contreras and Brad Schoenfeld

This is the full study printed in the Strength and Conditioning Journal and NOT an article. It’s long, it’s boring. Caffeine is recommended.

It’s older (four years), and for some reason I’m just now reading it. I suck.

I’m definitely someone who’s based most (if not all ) of his approach to core training and lower back “management” on Dr. Stuart McGill’s research. He’s the godfather of spinal research and biomechanics (and has an epic mustache) so who am I to disagree?

That said, I also like to consider myself open-minded and am more than willing to absorb new information and research that may be contrary to my former beliefs.

Three Daily Rituals That Stop Spouses from Taking Each Other for Granted – Peter McFadden

Holla – another wedding pic! And, guess who did her chin-ups leading up to the big day?…;o)

Relationships are work. Nothing comes easy. And Lisa and I always try our best to be open and cognizant of our relationship and the epic journey we’ve had and will continue to have.

We have date night every Saturday night. We pick a restaurant in the city (Boston) and we go enjoy a lovely night of cheese, meat, libations, and carbs. It’s important to us and something we always look forward doing. It keeps things fresh. Like we’re still dating.

Sometimes when we’re out I can’t help but observe other couples who sit across from one another in a seemingly blank void of “thereness.” They’re both there, but not there. Or worse, both on their smart phones.

Anyways I came across this article and liked it. I actually sent it to Lisa who immediately knew the researchers named in the article (she’s a psychologist), and was elated I took the time to read it.

Even if you’re not married, and in a committed relationship, I’d encourage you to read it.

An Open Letter to CrossFit HQ – Dr. Adam Schulte

Like a moth to a flame I found myself watching a few minutes of the CrossFit Games last weekend. To not be impressed by the strength & endurance exhibited by the participants would be a lie.

I was impressed. I know I couldn’t do it.

But I wouldn’t want to.

To say the entire event was brutal would be an understatement. I “get” that that’s the point (to a degree), but to me, as a casual observer, it seemed more like a circus aiming to give the audience a shiny bright object to divert their attention every few minutes.

And, to be honest, after reading this article, the guys running the show come across as pretty nonchalant about things. Unfortunate.

Also

Eric Cressey and Mike Reinold’s Functional Stability Training (all THREE modules) is on SALE at 20% off through the end of this week.

I was on-hand during the filming of all three (I even make a cameo, Spoiler Alert: shirtless, in the upper body module) and can say I still feel it’s one of the best resources out there on assessment and gaining a better understanding of “functional” anatomy.

If you’re a trainer, coach, or someone who likes to nerd out on scapulohumeral rhythm this will be right up your alley. And, I want to hang out with you.

Functional Stability Training

CategoriesFemale Training rant

Hey Vogue Magazine, Thanks For Setting Women’s Fitness Back A Few Decades

My wife is angry at you Vogue. And so am I.

The other night as I plopped down on the couch after a long day at the gym to say hello to Lisa and to catch up on her day, she chuckled and said, “oh boy, do I have something to show you.”

She had ripped a page out of this month’s issue of Vogue Magazine (August 2015, pg. 128) and handed it to me.

Knowing it was Vogue I wasn’t sure what to expect. All I knew was that Lisa had handed me the piece of paper with some conviction.

Was it fashion tips for me?1 Outlandish outfits? Offensive accessories? Was neon green named this year’s color of Fall? Shit, no, maybe it was something far, far worse…skinny jeans for men are here to stay!?!?!

Thankfully it had nothing to do with any of those things.

Rather the article she handed me was on, of all things….foam rolling?

At first my wife was like “oh, wow, cool…..I can’t believe there’s an article on the benefits of foam rolling in a mainstream magazine like Vogue!”But then she read it, and noticed the all-too familiar feeling she gets whenever she ends up reading mainstream fitness fiction: Disappointment and the uncontrollable urge to punch a wall.

I couldn’t find a link online, so I opted to take a picture instead. Here you go.

I take no responsibility if a small piece of your soul dies:

Behold: A parfait of fitness fact and fiction, topped with a fluffy yet crisp meringue of bullshit. Toning, lengthening, leaning, bullshit.

Some Highlights:

1. The subtitle:

“Amid the current craze for foam props, Courtney Rubin asks, can they really make you LONG AND LEAN – or is that a bit of a stretch?”

– Is the craze really that current? I started using foam rollers with my clients over a decade ago. I’ll give a pass here because Vogue is a fashion magazine, not a fitness magazine, and staying on top of the latest fitness trends isn’t their strong suit. Plus, Lisa did defend this subtitle, reminding me that foam rollers can now be spotted in gyms, commercial and otherwise, as well as stores like Marshall’s and other chains with popular fitness equipment.

However, after reading on, I wished Vogue decided not to stray from their wheel house.

– Because lo and behold, there they were, those terrible words, rearing their ugly heads again….the dreaded “long and lean” buzz words that mainstream magazines love to use to prey on women and promote unrealistic expectations.

2. From the first paragraph of the article:

“These days, those of us who dream of long and lean (<—ahhh, my eyes) physiques are turning to – or rather, rocking over – foam rollers.”

– LOLLOLOLLOL. I see what you just did there Vogue. Very witty. But come on, can we stop with the LONG AND LEAN nonsense?

Let’s first review a clear and permanent fact you can’t lengthen a muscle without lengthening bone. Muscles have what we refer to as an origin and insertion. This is something you cannot change without some rather extensive (and painful) bone lengthening surgery or a magic spell from Professor Dumbledore.

And lean means fat loss. People become more lean by losing fat. By alluding that foam rolling will lead to lean physiques is somewhat comical and borderline shameful. But hey, catchy titles that use buzzwords sells magazines right?

A defender of the article might argue that a muscle could technically be “longer” (or lie flatter?) after scar tissue, adhesions, or “the kinks” as they refer to them, has been rolled out. Do you think your reader is thinking technically, Vogue? Of course you don’t. You know that when the average reader is reading “longer and leaner muscles” she is not envisioning excellent tissue quality, like this:You know that she’s envisioning this:

So, was this statement made out of ignorance of human anatomy, or a deliberate twisting, or “spinning” of a fact in order to promote magical thinking? Either way, it is offensive to those who know better, and a major disservice to those who don’t, but would very much like to!

Many (not all) women who read this article are going to equate foam rolling with trimming their waist and getting skinnier, which is absurd.

This is why people (women and men) do stupid shit, often waste their time spinning their wheels at the gym, and why many have unrealistic expectations and rarely (if ever) attain the results they’re after.

Foam rolling DOES have a place and there’s a ton of validity to it. Just not in the way it’s being portrayed in this article.

Continuing On

3. From there it’s more blah, blah, blabiddy, blah and then we get into some legit, credible information:

“Rolling key areas of the body such as the hamstrings or hips back and forth for as little as a minute releases fascia – the connective tissue that webs through our muscles and contracts to produce stiffness and pain. Lose the kinks, the thinking goes, and you will improve body function and lengthen muscles, too.”

– Love it! The article did give a loose “background” of the history of foam rolling and how it’s been traced back to the rehab/physical therapy realm, that it targets fascia, and that rolling helps “break up” connective tissue which can (not always) lead to stiffness and pain. Bravo

It’s quick and a bit reductive in it’s explanation, but whatever. It’s not inherently wrong. And I’d imagine there was a word count to be cognizant of.

Unfortunately, this brief little blurb takes another wrong turn – right back to fiction. This is why everyone gets duped. Articles like this toss out a fact as bait, switch to fitness fiction, brimming with magical cures and fairy princesses (or Gwyneth Paltrow. But same difference), and then start to mind fuck the reader.

Cue Revolutionary Magic Pill

4. And right on cue we get introduced to some revolutionary answer/quick fix.

“So and so’s (I’m not going to share the name, you can read it for yourself) foam rolling method is designed to redistribute bulk – her clients, who include Devon Aoki (no idea who that is) Gwyneth Paltrow2 say the elongating effects of six months of biweekly $495 sessions can help trim their waists.”

– What does “redistribute bulk” mean?

Push around problem areas?

What is “bulk”? Is it fat? Muscle? Vital organs? Whatever it is, it’s negative, and when you prompt the average American woman to consider the presence of “bulk” on her body, the resulting thoughts and feelings are not good.

They’re negative, judgmental, and completely fictional. What’s worse, is that the average American woman now believes she has discovered a method of “redistributing” her unwanted “bulk” (again – love handles? Juicy quads? Kidneys?)

So anyone reading this is going to think to herself, “Hmm, I have big thighs and big hips,”(undoubtedly leading to a negative inner monologue about her body) and THEN she’s thinking a foam roller is going redistribute her bulk from her hips and thighs to maybe other areas of her body.3

FML.

– Also, can we do the math? Six month’s worth of twice-a-week foam rolling instruction is costing someone roughly $12,000???? Must be tricky! It must be too complicated/sophisticated/dangerous for someone to perform on her own. For free.

 

Even more ironic is that I googled some videos put up by said foam rolling expert and most of them don’t even show her using the foam roller for its intended use (in the away the Vogue article suggests). I mean, she uses the foam roller (as a prop) to perform various glute bridges, push-ups, rollouts, etc…but not in the way suggested by the article.

Sure, the article says “props” but then discusses rocking/rolling and addressing fascia/kinks/etc. Not the same thing.

To her credit, though, the woman does have several videos demonstrating more traditional uses geared towards self-myofascial release and addressing (soft) tissue quality, which I am 100% on board with.

But still: $12,000? To bridge and perform push-ups? Yowsa/mad respect.

– Next:

CAN HELP TRIM THEIR WAISTS???!!!! My wife was yelling when we got to this part. Vogue has just notified all readers that they can trim their waists by foam rolling. Just let that sink in.

A Trimmer Waist.

By F*&%#@^ FOAM ROLLING!

But the best case scenario is that women read this article and feel indignant and insulted. Buzzwords like elongating, lean, lengthen, etc should instantly put up a red flag. The worst scenario? That women are going to read this article and think foam rolling will trim their waist and get them leaner. (Just for the record. One more time. Fat loss gets folks leaner).

NOTE: It would help if Vogue took the time to differentiate between actual foam rolling and using the word prop correctly. I know, I’m being nit-picky.

5. In the middle we get some more quality nuggets of information, this time factual (again the parfait effect):

Rolling is also beloved for its performance-enhancing properties. “I recommend foam rolling prior to physical activity,” says Nina Figeroa, owner of Base Physical Therapy, where the majority of clients are assigned foam-rolling homework.

Awesome. I’m on board with that. I feel bad for Nina, though. She’s most likely someone who’s well-versed and understands the science, yet quoted in an article selling foam-rolling as a body slimming method.

6. And the coup de grace, end-all-be-all shititude of a comment from the article:

“Makeup artist Gucci Westman has two rollers at home, one long, one short, to help her break up lactic acid before and after workouts.”

Amazing!!!!!

Too bad lactic acid is “buffered” by the body fairly quickly and converted back to glucose to be used as energy substrate during exercise.

Lactic acid doesn’t “build up.”

Lactic acid can’t be broken up by a foam roller.

Do you even science Vogue Magazine? And why are you soliciting fitness advice from make-up artists?

Come On Vogue!

You just wrote an article that set women’s fitness back decades, and told them that foam rolling will slim their waist and worse, redistribute bulk. Why not just roll out some stock footage from the 1920’s of women using those vibrating belts to battle belly fat?

It’s just as useful as this article.

Worse, you continue to use fictional buzz words and questionable commentary that does nothing other than confuse the reader and make the weeds thicker. You can do better than that.

For the record: This isn’t advice coming from a meanie head strength coach either. This is coming from my wife, a reader of your magazine. A fan of your magazine. And a woman who’s offended on behalf of women who want to learn and understand how to be fit and gorgeous.

CategoriesProgram Design speed training Strength Training

How Lifters Can Unleash Athletic Power

Today’s guest post comes courtesy of strength coach and writer Eric Bach. Eric’s a coach I respect a lot and someone who’s consistently pumping out quality content.

His new resource, The Four Week Power Primer, is on sale starting TODAY.

How Lifters Can Unleash Athletic Power

What You’ll Learn

– Raw Strength isn’t enough.


- You need to generate fast strength via power.

– Lift heavy and lift fast to maximize muscle unit recruitment

– Incorporate bodyweight and explosive, submaximal work. 
       

– You’ll bridge the gap between strength and speed to become a beast!

Here’s the deal:

Most lifters mistakenly think their goal should be getting as strong as humanly possible. Not so. They should focus instead on improving power. This article explains why.

Sure, maximum strength is important. It builds a foundation to train other physical qualities. But there is an added dimension that separates the okay form the elite:

Power: or the ability to generate force rapidly.

Athletes in sports other than powerlifting run into time constraints when applying as much force as possible. This results in strength plateaus and poor carryover into sport-specific tasks.

Neglecting power leaves huge performance gaps. It results in athletes who are unable to translate their strength into success on the field.

This Power Primer will show you how to:

* Unlock a nervous system that fires faster


* Create greater levels of useful strength


* Create greater levels of strength


* Improve your ability to generate force


* Rapidly improve your athleticism

Understanding the Force-Velocity Curve (and Pie)

When looking at the force velocity curve I think of pie (Mmm…pie!)

Maximal strength provides the essential crust. It’s the foundation for a great pie. But you also need finger lickin’ filling, toppings and spices. Think of the fillings, toppings and spices as the ingredients that make the pie unique.

Without the foundational crust a delectable pie isn’t possible. It’s purely mush, much like training for speed and power without a base of strength.

Without careful attention to the other ingredients, there is nothing special about the pie. This is akin to having a base of strength, yet never refining the basic product for maximum performance.

Which brings us to the force velocity curve.

It provides a continuum of training for performances and actions that require different speeds against a variety of loads. These could include:

  • propelling your body though space
  • 
throwing an opponent to the ground
  • engaging in a free for all light-saber battle over that piece of pie

There’s an inverse relationship between load and velocity. The heavier the weight, the slower it moves and the lighter the resistance the faster the speed.

These qualities make up opposite sides of the spectrum, with speed-strength, strength-speed, and power making up the middle of the curve.

Building Explosive Power

Training with a combination of loads improves all-around explosive power, assuming there is a foundational crust of maximal strength.

Unfortunately, most lifters and coaches love hammering huge weights (nuttin’ wrong with that) to the detriment of higher speed movement (something wrong with that.).

This adds adding cheap, canned fillings, toppings, and spices to the pie to an awesome pie crust. Worse still is adding nothing at all. You just end up with the crust.

Stop chasing absolute strength. Most athletes and lifters would derive immediate benefits from lighter, more explosive training that bridges the gap between strength and speed.

Train the factors along the force velocity curve you’ve been neglecting. 
You will become a more powerful athlete.

That said, you must have a base of maximal strength to develop power.

To maximize power, focus on maximum bar speed with various loads. You will develop strength and speed along the force velocity curve. You will improve your power and your rate of force development. Use heavy weights with fast bursts, such as 3×3 at 90% 1-RM two times per with maximal muscular (2).

Improve Intramuscular and Intermuscular Coordination

Intramuscular coordination is the secret sauce that separates smooth, explosive athletes from rigid, uncoordinated ones. Intramuscular coordination is the coordinated firing of motor units within a single movement.

There are three main components when looking at when looking at improved intramuscular coordination:

  • Rate Coding: The capacity to increase firing rate (motor unit discharge rate) in order to express more strength.
  • Recruitment: Recruiting more motor units simultaneously when performing a muscular action.
  • Synchronization: The ability of muscle units to contract nearly simultaneously, with very minimal delay.

Through using multiple loads across the force velocity curve we’re able to improve intramuscular coordination. In time, this teaches the nervous system to recruit fewer motor units for the same relative intensity.

More motor units are available for activation for higher intensity exercise. That could translate into more weight on the bar or a faster sprinting speed.

How to Generate Maximum Force When Lifting

Few things, except coming home with the pie you’ve been eyeballing all night, are as fun as lifting maximal weights.

That said, too much pie (and maximal weights) isn’t good either.

Except for the rare genetic elite, your nervous system, joints, and tissues will scream at you before too long. Luckily, there are two ways to maximize force when lifting:

  1. Lift heavier weights
  2. Lift lighter weights (or your body) faster

Lift compound movements like squats and deadlifts as fast as possible, while still controlling each rep during the eccentric. By moving weights as fast and as hard as possible, you’ll recruit a greater number of muscle fibers for more muscle growth. You’ll also maximize nervous system recruitment for greater performance.

Submaximal Weight Training

Speed-Strength exercises, like sub-maximal lifting, result in high power outputs.

They produce super-high power outputs compared to longer duration, lower velocity max strength exercises.

Compare a tractor-trailer and a Ferrari. It’s great to have a ton of horsepower, but for high-performance it’s best to generate horsepower rapidly.

Power= Work/Time

In this case, explosive exercises are best using loads between 20%-85% for multiple low-rep sets is best (1). If I were a betting man, I’d wager you’re already using a sub-maximal squat day plus multiple warm-up sets between 50-80% 1-rm.

If you’re warming up like a good lad, you’re already getting some volume within the strength-speed realm.

Here’s the Kicker:

The missing piece is lighter, more explosive work.

Speed-strength movements will address this with high-velocity movements movement against a small external load. Exercises like the jump squat, back toss, and overhead slam train an explosive transition from eccentric-to concentric against a light load.

For the athlete or lifter, this requires practicing a specific movement (intermuscular coordination) patterns for optimal transfer.

For example:

Athlete Movement: Triple Extension in sprinting

Training Movements: Resisted sprinting, clean, squat jump

 Or…

 Athlete movement: Powerlifting Squat

Training movement: Barbell jump squat

To maximize the benefits of intramuscular coordination, exercises of mechanical demands should be practiced with various loads to improve the efficiency of the nervous system.

In time, this teaches the nervous system to recruit fewer motor units for the same relative intensity.

How to Immediately Improve Your Power

Provided you already have your foundation of strength, you can rapidly improve your power with a few tweaks to your training.

First, you need to continue training with heavy, multi-joint exercises and explosive intent on reach rep. This maximizes motor unit recruitment, improving RFD.

Second, when warming up accelerate every rep to the best of your ability. This trains in the strength-speed and speed-strength portion of the force velocity curve, specifically with loads between 20-80%.

Third, incorporate light speed, and speed-strength training methods with low-movement load (0-20%) and high-speeds. This comes in the form of jumps, sprints, throws, and other upper/lower body plyometrics.

Fourth, match the explosive movement patterns used to the movements you’re looking to improve using post-activation potentiation (PAP).

PAP, although an advanced method, uses the biomechanically similar exercises to groove explosive movement patterns after a heavy strength exercise.

For Geeks Only: How Does it Work? (Pie-Loving Regular People Can Feel Free To Skip this Section)

According to Hamada et. el (2000), there is an increased phosphorylation of myosin regulatory light chains during a maximum voluntary contraction (MVC). This allows the actin and myosin binding (for muscle contraction) to react to the increased calcium release. This reaction triggers a cascade of events leading to enhanced force muscle production at the structural level of muscle (Horwath & Kravitz ).

Thus, increased muscle activation yields a greater duration of calcium ions in the muscle cell environment, yielding a greater phosphorylation of the myosin light chain protein (Rixon et al. 2007).

The second theory is based on the H-reflex, an excitation of a spinal reflex elicited by afferent muscle nerves. It is theorized that the PAP intervention enhances the H-reflex, thus increasing the efficiency and rate of the nerve impulses to the muscle (Hodgson, Docherty, Robbins, 2005). Your nervous system get’s jacked up full-go.

When a jump is performed, your body is prepared to fire on all cylinders. So when only your body weight is used, the over-stimulated nervous system and muscles will be primed to the max for a higher jump.

Here are some Common Pairings:

Main Exercise: Explosive Movement:

Bench Press                               Clap Push Up, bench plyo push up

Shoulder Press                          Overhead medicine ball slam/ throw

Squat                                           Jump squat, vertical jump, box jump

Deadlift                                       Broad jump, kettlebell swing

What to do:
 Pick an explosive exercise that matches the movement pattern of your main lift and perform 3-5 reps immediately after your pure strength movement. Rest 2-3 minutes between sets to achieve a PAP effect

Wrap Up

Most lifters plateau in the gym and stay mediocre because they continue doing what they’ve always done in the past. They lift only heavy and focus only on the weight or muscle. They neglect rep quality and explosiveness. 


This mistaken approach is not performance training.

A solid strength foundation remains essential. 

Build on that foundation to focus on:

* quality explosive reps to improve neuromuscular performance

* rep speed


* movement quality over quantity

Now, It’s Time to Put the Plan to Action:

If you’re looking for a short-term plan of attack to improve your strength and athletic performance, then check my resource the Four Week Power Primer. It’s a four-week plan to increase your power for bigger numbers in the gym, and better performance on the playing field.

If you’re a coach, you should absolutely own this to understand the science of power, as it’s loaded with the science behind improving performance.

If you’re a meathead just looking to add some strength to the bar, then great: This could be the missing component holding you back from smashing a new PR.

Seriously, don’t wait, because the chance won’t be available for long.

Grab the Power Primer during the limited time sale, and leave Eric any questions you have below.

—> Power Primer <—

Resources and Stuff

Horwath, R., & Kravitz , L. (n.d.). postactivation potentiation: A brief review. Informally published manuscript, Exercise Science , Retrieved from http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article folder/postactivationUNM.html

Rixon KP, Lamont HS, Bemben M. Influence of type of muscle contraction, gender, and lifting experience on postactivation potentiation performance. J Strength Cond Res. 2007; 21: 500–505.

Robbins, D.W. Postactivation potentiation and its practical applicability: a brief review. J Strength Cond Res. 2005, 19(2): 453-458.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 7/24/15

Only ONE week left until the Elite Training Workshop – Boston is held on Saturday, August 1st, featuring myself, Mike Reinold, Artemis Scantalides, and Ryan Ketchum.

I’m really excited for this event and think it’s going to be a awesome experience for those who attend. The line-up is pretty rad and the flow of the day is set up in a way where each presenter does there schtick and then immediately follows that up with a hands-on portion.

So it’s less blah-blah-blabidy-blah and more “holys*** did you see Artemis Turkish get-up Tony? That’s badass.”

If you’re looking for some practical information that you’ll be able to use for yourself or with your clients, and earn CEUs to boot then this will be a great opportunity.

Click HERE for more information.

Complete Shoulder & Hip Workshop

 

Dean Somerset and I are excited to announce our latest traveling show: The Complete Shoulder & Hip Training Workshop.

It’s like a travel Cirque du Soleil show, except with no tents, flashy acrobatics, animals, or ripped half naked dudes contorting themselves into pretzels. Unless, of course, Dean decides to take people through one of his epic warm-up routines.

He’s a supple bastard. It’s deceiving.

We teamed up last year for a handful of workshops – London, DC, LA –  and didn’t want to kill each other, so we figured we’d do it again this year

This time we’re going to place a ton of emphasis on the hips and shoulders. We’ll talk anatomy, assessment, corrective exercise, programming, and we’ll also be doing a fair amount of coaching/hands-on demonstrations. And maybe, just maybe, in honor of Dean’s Canadian heritage, honor Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill in some fashion. I mean, it was 20 years ago this month that that album was released.

Yep, I feel old.

CEU’s will be available for all workshops.

EDMONTON (in August, so it won’t be cold as balls).

ST. LOUIS (in September, the EARLY BIRD rate is still active, but will end soon!)

CHICAGO (I’ve never been, and can’t wait to explore.)

(Just Added) LOS ANGELES (in November, Tony finally does his tour of bars from the movie Swingers).

Why the Fitness World Needs Tracy Anderson – Lee Boyce

Funny story on this. An ex-athlete of mine sent me a message the other day on Facebook linking to this article with a note “Really? Is this guy serious?”

I wrote back, “Lee’s my boy. It’s total tongue in cheek. He’s one of the good ones.”

It’s an older article – I can’t believe I missed it the first time around – but it’s a good one!

Squat Depth: The Final Answer – Dr. John Rusin

This was a great article by Dr. John (<– hope it’s okay I call him that), and it falls in line with many of my own thoughts on the topic.

Basic rule to follow: different squatters squat differently. Don’t be an a-hole and think there’s only ONE best way to squat.

How to Teach the Clean for Maximizing Athletic Power – Eric Bach and Loren Landow

Coaching the OLY lifts is definitely a weak spot for me as a coach, which is why I often refer out whenever an athlete or client wants to learn them.

But after reading this article and watching the videos I’m pretty sure I’m ready for 2016. See you in Rio de Janeiro everyone!

BONUS STUFF (Because, Why Not?)

HERE’s an article I wrote on Active.com on muscle soreness and whether or not you should be sore after every workout.

HERE’s an article I wrote for Stack.com that re-ran on Men’s Health on why I feel benching with your feet in the air is moronic for most guys most of the time. There’s a time and place for it, but then again there’s a time and place for sticking your finger in an electrical socket. I guess.

The trailer for Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s (21 Grams, Babel, Birdman) next movie, The Revenant, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy, looks siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick.

I’m predicting winner for Best Cinematography right now.

CategoriesUncategorized

Registration Now Open for the 4th Annual Cressey Sports Performance Fall Seminar

It’s that time of year.

Sorry, but it’s a little early for Christmas.

And no, it’s not that time of year where I put on full movie quality Chewbacca costume and perform an entire deadlift session like a boss.4

It’s time to sign up for the annual Cressey Sports Performance Fall Seminar.

We’re very excited to announce that on Sunday, September 13, we’ll be hosting our fourth annual fall seminar at Cressey Sports Performance. As was the case with our extremely popular fall event over the past three years, this event will showcase the great staff we’re fortunate to have as part of our team. Also like last year, we want to make this an affordable event for everyone and create a great forum for industry professionals and fitness enthusiasts alike to interact, exchange ideas, and learn.

Here are the topics:

Pete Dupuis — Empowering Your Fitness Team

This presentation will serve as an introduction to the Cressey Sports Performance method for leveraging each coach’s unique skill-set in an effort to create a superior training experience. In this presentation, Pete will discuss the importance of cultivating distinctive assessment skills, personal brand development, and the importance of employing a broad spectrum of personality types on your fitness team.

Greg Robins — What Matters Most

One of the characteristics that makes the fitness industry special is the variety of approaches. However, it can also be a bit noisy. Constant access to new ideas and the plethora of free information may leave trainers, coaches and clients a bit confused. In this presentation, Greg will reflect on what he has found to matter most, both in getting you and your clients where you want to be.

Chris Howard — Referred Pain: What is it and what does it tell us?

Practically every fitness professional has encountered an athlete or client dealing with referred pain whether they knew it or not. In this presentation, Chris will discuss what referred pain is, what it tells us about our clients, and training modifications to alleviate our client’s pain. Whether you are a strength coach, personal trainer, physical therapist or athletic trainer, this presentation will provide a new perspective on your client’s pain.

Tony Bonvechio — Creating Context for More Efficient Coaching

Coaches put endless focus into what they say, but this presentation will illustrate the importance of how they say it. Creating context with your clients goes beyond internal and external cueing, and the ability to create “sticky” teaching moments will get your athletes moving better and more efficiently. Tony will discuss different cueing approaches, how they resonate with different learning styles, and how to say more with less to help your clients learn new movements with ease.

Tony Gentilcore — Wearing a Pink Dress Shirt Spinal Flexion: A Time and Place

Spinal flexion is a polarizing topic in the fitness world. Spine experts have illuminated the risks associated with loaded spinal flexion, leading to crunches and sit-ups getting labeled as taboo. In this presentation, Tony will discuss when encouraging spinal flexion – specifically on the gym floor – can address pain and dysfunction in our athletes and clients while also improving performance.

Miguel Aragoncillo – Cardio Confusion: A Deeper Look at Current Trends

Designing the cardiovascular aspect of a comprehensive exercise program often leaves us with more questions than answers: Is it helpful for body composition or performance? Should you run or should you sprint? Are there other ways to improve cardiovascular fitness? In this presentation, Miguel will discuss the trends and evaluate existing research of various conditioning methods. Finally, he’ll offer practical strategies for immediate application with your Monday morning clients.

Eric Cressey – Bogus Biomechanics and Asinine Anatomy

The strength and conditioning and rehabilitation fields are riddled with movement myths that just never seem to die. Drawing heavily on case studies, scholarly journals, and what functional anatomy tells us, Eric will “bust” some of the common fallacies you’ll encounter in the strength and conditioning field today. Most importantly, he’ll offer drills and strategies that can be utilized immediately with clients and athletes in place of these antiquated approaches.

**Bonus 2:30PM Saturday Session**

George Kalantzis and Andrew Zomberg– The Method Behind CSP Strength Camp Madness

Group training is rapidly overtaking one-on-one training as the most profitable fitness service. However, an effective group fitness system is often difficult to create and sustain. In this session, George and Andrew will take participants through an actual CSP strength camp. The training session will be accompanied by a brief presentation and handouts that dive into the components of programming, coaching and marketing strategies to drive new business and client retention within a group training model.

Location:

Cressey Sports Performance
577 Main St.
Suite 310
Hudson, MA 01749

Cost:

Regular Rate – Early Bird $129.99, Regular $149.99
Student Rate – Early Bird $99.99, Regular $129.99

The early bird registration deadline is August 13.

Date/Time:

Sunday, September 13, 2014
Registration 8:30AM
Seminar 9AM-5PM

**Bonus session Saturday, September 12 at 2:30pm.

Continuing Education:

0.8 National Strength and Conditioning Association CEUs pending (eight contact hours)

Click Here to Sign-up (Regular)

or

Click Here to Sign-up (Students)

We’re really excited about this event, and would love to have you join us! However, space is limited and each seminar we’ve hosted in the past has sold out quickly, so don’t delay on signing up!

If you have additional questions, please direct them to [email protected]. Looking forward to seeing you there!

PS – If you’re looking for hotel information, The Extended Stay America in Marlborough, MA offers our clients a heavily discounted nightly rate of just under $63.00. Just mention “Cressey” during the booking process in order to secure the discount. Their booking phone number is 508-490-9911.

CategoriesMotivational

Why Gym Culture Is So Important

You’ve heard me mention it before, but it bears repeating: what I feel separates a good gym from a great gym is the notion of CULTURE.

There are a thousand and one gyms out there who hire the best trainers/coaches, have access to every piece of training equipment you could ever ask for, offer competitive rates, and spice things up with various amenities such as juice bars, WiFi, cafe, group exercise classes, yoga, pool, massage therapy, and maybe even access to steam rooms.

Although, if I were you, I’d steer clear of them. Trust me.

Yet, many often fail or have a less than stellar retention rate because they lack any semblance or culture or community.

Places like Cressey Sports Performance, Mark Fisher Fitness (in NYC), IFAST (in Indianapolis), Tuff Girl Fitness (in New Haven, CT), Movement Minneapolis (in Minneapolis), Results Fitness (in Newhall, CA), and yes I’ll even toss CrossFit into the mix here, are a speck of dust in comparison to some of the monstrosities that take up a city block.

None offer fancy amenities, may or may not even offer a place to shower, and are often set at a much higher price point compared to their big-box gym counterparts.

Yet, they thrive and have the most loyal members you could ask for. As Simon Sinek noted in his outstanding book Start With Why:

“There’s a big difference between repeat business and loyalty. Repeat business is when people do business with you multiple times. Loyalty is when people are willing to turn down a better product or a better price to continue doing business with you.”

Why the Loyalty?

Because every single gym above, in their own unique way, has placed a premium on building a culture where people want to train, want to spend their time, and more importantly feel empowered and encouraged by the staff and other members.

Training around like-minded people has a palpable effect on not only performance but overall experience too.

Take what happened last Saturday at CSP.

To give a little backstory: I’ve long championed the mentality that women should focus more on performance based goals in the weight room rather than things like scale weight or emulating a celebrity look or listening to anything the mainstream media has to say on the topic of women and fitness.

Most of it is unrealistic, toxic, and sets back women’s fitness 20 years.

I 100% feel strength training is the key to pretty much anything, even for more aesthetic based goals.

What’s more, using the popular analogy, strength training is a glass. Most people’s glass (men included) is far too small and they have little room to “express” any other qualities such as sprinting, jumping, hitting a golf ball 250 yds, deadlifting a tank, farmer carrying bags of groceries from the store to your apartment, fighting crime, or doing anything remotely athletic.

Strength training makes your glass bigger so that you can put more “stuff” into it. It allows you the freedom to not pull a hamstring just thinking about chasing after a taxi.

It allows for stuff like this to happen:

 

This is a video I took this past Saturday of four random women who train at CSP (admittedly, the first one, Nancy, is a current intern), the youngest of which is 15.

For the hell of it I challenged one of them to see if she could do a one-arm chin-up, and before I knew it several was lining up to try.

How baller is that?

None of them walked in on day one and said, “you know what Tony? I’d like to be able to perform a one-arm chin-up.”

But because we’ve built a culture where people (men AND women) love to lift heavy things and get after it, and because all four embraced the importance of hard work and bought into our way of doing things, it has allowed them to do stuff like this.

Because, why not?

CategoriesAssessment Program Design

When To Progress an Exercise: Muscle Confusion is Wack

“How do you know when to progress an exercise whether it be increasing load or implementing a different exercise altogether?”

This is a question I receive a lot from other trainers and coaches, as well as many of the athletes and clients I work with on a daily basis.

And to be honest there’s no one clear-cut answer. As is the case with any question asked the appropriate response is…it depends.

What do you want for dinner tonight? It depends.

Who are you going to vote for in 2016? It depends.

Where should we go on vacation? It depends.

What do you want to watch tonight on tv? It depends. But if it’s Downton Abbey I’d rather swallow live bees.

The above examples aside, when it comes to anything related to fitness, and especially with regards to exercise and weight selection, the default answer is always…it depends.

There’s a cacophony of factors that need to be considered, including but not limited to one’s training history, experience, injury history, training schedule, equipment availability, work ethic, not to mention any number of specific goals and needs that need to be taken into consideration.

All factor in and play an important role in designing a training program.

Speaking from a generic vantage point I do feel there’s an easy answer to the question.

1. How To Progress Load

Lets use an example I think everyone reading can relate to. Have you ever been working with a certain weight on any exercise and crushed it, only to increase the load 5, 10, maybe 15 lbs. and it seems as if gravity increased tenfold? The weight doesn’t budge. Or if it does it’s infinitely more challenging?

What gives?

Simple.

You haven’t “earned” the right to increase load yet. You haven’t performed enough repetitions at “x” to increase to “y”.

I get it: Progressive overload is KING.  It behooves all of us to make a concerted effort to try to increase load (increase sets or reps or both, or decrease rest intervals) – to do more work – each and every week. I think this is a fantastic approach and something many trainees often overlook in lieu of the more sexy or unconventional answer.

It’s not the lack of chains, or bands, or some lost Eastern Bloc Undulated Block Periodization set/rep scheme written in Elvish that’s the reason you’re not getting stronger or making progress.

For whatever reason many people resort to long division or Common Core for the answer when all they needed to do was add 2+2.

Or, in this case…add more weight to the bar.

But even that simple approach will only go so far. And this is what occurs when we add 5-10 lbs. to the bar and it’s as if a giant magnet is underneath the floor.

Stick with the lower weight. Stay there. Own it.

You’re not any less of a human being or the spawn of Satan if you perform an exercise with the same weight for multiple weeks in a row. Life will go on.

For further reading on progressive overload check out my article on BodyBuilding.com on the topic HERE.

2. When to Progress An Exercise?

The answer to this is a little trickier and a bit more murky. Without getting too far into the weeds I find that most trainees (and even worse trainers/coaches) suffer from exercise ADD.

The market is saturated. Walk into any commercial gym and you’re likely to see anywhere from 10-20 head shots of personal trainers near the front desk all highlighting their certifications, education, and how long they’ve been eating Paleo.

Who to choose?

Far be it from me to tell you. While I attempt to answer that question HERE, it’s hard to say with any certainty what you’re getting when you hire a personal trainer. There are plenty who look amazing on paper who end up making people do shit like this:

 

And this is what I mean when I refer to exercise ADD. Because the market is so saturated many trainers resort to gimmicks and smoke & mirrors (and use buzz words like “functional training” and “core” and “balance”) to separate themselves from the masses.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

The more “gimmicky” and against the grain a trainer appears, sadly, the more attention they get. Goblet squats just aren’t as sexy as whateverthef*ck is being demonstrated above is.

Personal training has become more about entertainment and one-upmanship than getting people results and helping them become more autonomous.

READ: the goal of any trainer should be to educate and make it so their client DOESN’T need their services.

I mean, look at a program like High Performance Handbook (which is representative of many of the programs we write at Cressey Sports Performance). There’s not a ton of variety involved. Yet, people get results.

Of course there are outliers and trainers/coaches who don’t fit into this mold. But those are few and far between. In this day in age “success” is defined by Facebook likes and Twitter followers than it is by experience and being able to actually coach someone through a deadlift.

To that end, to answer the question:

1. Read THIS article by CSP coach, Tony Bonvechio, which gives some insight on how to choose the best accessory exercises.

2. I’d argue most people don’t need as much variety as they think they do. The whole notion of muscle confusion and that you have to switch up exercises every few weeks irritates me. For most people this makes no sense because rarely do they allow themselves enough time to learn and “own” the exercise to be able to perform it efficiently.

Alas, they make very little progress.

I’ve used this analogy before, but with program design (especially when the goal is to get stronger) I think of things as a diamond.

At the bottom are your beginners, and at the top are your advanced and high-level competitive clients/athletes. Neither need a ton of variety in their training.

Beginners need to learn and master the basics – squat, hinge, lunge, push, pull, carry, skip, swing, side-shuffle, etc.

Advanced trainees/athletes need to be concerned with their competitive lifts and/or because they’re so strong, don’t require a ton of variety (or stimulus) to maintain that strength.

In the middle, however, are the intermediates. Not coincidentally this is where most of us (even myself) reside.

It’s here where we can be a little more Willy Wonka(ish) and immerse ourselves in the crazy, zany world of variety.

So in many ways how you “progress” an exercise will be dictated by where someone resides in the diamond.

NOTE: I’ll be covering this very topic in more detail at the Elite Training Workshop here in Boston on Saturday, August 1st.

CategoriesMiscellaneous Miscellany

Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday: Perform Better, Strength Pyramids, and Voltron

It’s been a few months since I’ve done one of these so lets jump right to it.

1. If you’re a fitness professional (or someone who likes to geek out and rub elbows with some of the industry’s biggest names and/or stalk Dan John) why haven’t you attended a Perform Better event yet?

This past weekend Perform Better was in Providence, RI hosting their second (of three) weekend Summits.

Note: Chicago and Providence have passed, but there’s still a chance to attend Long Beach on August 7-9th.

I’ve been fortunate enough to attend the Summit almost every year since I’ve lived in Boston (9 years), in addition to a handful of PB’s One-Day Learn By Doing seminars. And it never gets old. I always walk away with numerous new ideas and takeaways. And free samples. What what!!

This year I was only able to make it for one day – the last day, Sunday. As it happened my wife, Lisa, had made plans for us to head out to Brimfield, MA for what’s known as Mordor the largest flea market in North America.

She made the plans a few weeks ago, and being the newly minted husband I am I feigned excitement and agreed to go.

“OMG, are you kidding babe? I’d LOVE to go walk around for an entire day looking at antiques, jewelry, and blankets with flower patterns on them! While we’re at it can we go jump into a live volcano too!?!!”

Giving her credit, Lisa was more than accommodating and compromised with me. In exchange for her being able to take the car for the entire day and spend as much time as she wanted at the flea market, she dropped me off in Providence at 8 AM so I could attend the last day of the Summit.

I dropped in and listened to talks by Michael Mullin, Artemis Scantalides, Brian St. Pierre, Dr. Evan Osar, and Robb Rogers, and also had the chance to catch up with several colleagues and friends.

Special shout-out to Artemis who ROCKED her first speaking appearance for Perform Better. She easily had the best title for her presentation: Toning Is For Printers: I Lift.

One of the highlights from her talk was how empowering it is to help women grasp the concept of STRENGTH TRAINING and how that alone can help them attain their aesthetic goals (something I preach ad nauseam on this site). In particular she spoke to pull-ups and how she goes about progressing and programming them for women. While I wasn’t able to film her talk, many of her same points can be seen in the video below by Karen Smith:

 

I also felt like a pseudo celebrity as numerous people walked up to me to say hello and introduce themselves, and on numerous occasions, in a surreal sort of way, I held open a door for a complete stranger and they’d say “thanks Tony!”

Even more baller was the fact that in a few presentations I sat in on the presenter gave me an unsolicited shoutout. I have to say it’s pretty cool feeling and an honor that I’m recognized by my colleagues.

Nonetheless it was a fantastic day and special thanks to Perform Better for their continued dominance for putting on the best and most professional fitness show on the planet.

2. I originally watched these over on Bret Contreras’ site and figured I’d re-post them here because I really, really5 liked them.

Strength coach and competitive powerlifter and bodybuilder, Eric Helms, did a superb job with this video series and I’d HIGHLY encourage you to watch these if or when you have the time.

I’m only going to link to the first THREE, but there are SIX levels in all.

Muscle and Strength Training Pyramid Level 1: Intro

 

Muscle and Strength Training Pyramid Level 2: Volume, Intensity, Frequency

 

Muscle and Strength Training Pyramid Level 3: Progression

 

3. With the success of this website I often get contacted by various supplement, apparel, and fitness companies asking if I’d be interested in trying their product(s). Some are garbage (especially those that are obviously a canned, arbitrary, altogether impersonal outreach); others just aren’t a good fit for my audience (Hey Tony, ever hear of Blindfolded Yogalates Kick-Boxing?); and others, especially supplements, while I do give them an honest “go,” just end up tasting like sawdust dipped in old people fart.

Not good.

But then again, there are times where I am pleasantly surprised and have no issues spreading the word. One such example is a company called ViewSport.

They use what’s called “sweat activated technology” where an inspirational message appears on your shirt the harder you work. Kind of like how when the ring in Lord of the Rings is put into the fire and a magical message appears, except in this case there’s no ring, no fire, and 100% no magic. Shit.

But it’s still pretty cool.

Both Lisa and I have been wearing our shirts to the gym the past few weeks and love them. They’re super comfy and, while I know better than to think that sweating is an indicator of the effectiveness of a workout, it is pretty satisfying when I get the message to appear.

Check them out. And no, I receive no kick-backs.

4. If you’re not reading Bryan Krahn’s site you should be. His latest article, 10 Reasons It’s Better To Be Lean, Bro is equal parts brotastic and spot on.

5. Based off the recommendation of a friend I just completed reading the novel Ready Player One, written by Ernest Cline.

Anyone who grew up in the 1980’s and 90s will appreciate this book. It’s chock full of pop culture references – Voltron, War Games, Atari, Joust, Adventure, Monty Python, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Godzilla, cue nerd boner here – from that era as you follow the protagonist, Wade (Parzival), as he navigates through a virtual video game of life and death.

Word on the street is that this book is being adapted by Steven Spielberg as his next film project.

I can’t even begin to tell you how many childhood memories were jolted free from the recesses of my consciousness as I read this book. Sooooo many references that I had completely forgotten about. It actually inspired me to do some YouTube searching and I came across this gem.

Anyone remember these 80’s cartoons?