It’s that time of year where I spend the next few days highlighting the best content of the past 365 days on this website.
SPOILER ALERT: This year suuuuuuuuuuucked (in case the picture of the dumpster fire didn’t give it away).
Everyone’s life was affected in one way or another because of the pandemic. Speaking personally, my business was shut down for three months (and is still running at limited capacity as I type these words), I had to renege on plans for a larger gym space in 2020, I was forced to cancel 10+ speaking engagements around the US and Europe, I ruptured my Achilles, and, to add a cherry on top of the shit sundae, I got so bored that my wife finally convinced me to start watching The Crown (THE CROWN!).1
(Not that the pandemic itself had anything to do with the latter two).
As a result, I was in no mood to write in 2020. Like most everyone, I was in a foul mood from early March onward and it no doubt affected me and my ability to remain productive.
This year saw the least amount of content I’ve ever written my entire career. However, I still managed to finagle some content; more than most I suppose, but still rather dearth comparatively speaking.
I’ll stop with the pity party though. Today I want to highlight those articles which resonated best with YOU, my loyal readers (based off web traffic).
I hope to bounce back in 2021. And, as always, I appreciate everyone’s continued support and attention.
In the early days/weeks of quarantine there was a seemingly endless barrage of bourgeoisie’esqe posts and Tweets from a people insinuating that if you didn’t pick up a new hobby or skill during that time – guitar, latin, cheese sculpting – you were lazy.
Coincidentally enough I choose the picture for today’s guest post before actually reading it.
Oops, a minor editorial mistake.
You see, as you’ll learn below, placing a barbell on your back during single leg exercises – while not a wrong strategy to partake – does have a distinct disadvantage.
HINT: More load isn’t always the “x-factor” with regards to making exercises more challenging.
Suffice to say, lesson learned (but I’m too lazy to go back and find a different picture).
I hope you enjoy this excellent piece by two colleagues of mine – Dr. Michelle Boland (a phenomenal local coach here in Boston) and Tim Richardt (a former coach at CORE who’s now located in the Denver area) – that gave me a few Ah-HA moments.
Quarantine have your legs and butt looking skinnier than Gollum’s?
An excellent example of commitment to a singular goal, but not of muscular development.
Get your quads, glutes, and hamstrings looking more bountiful than a post-Mordor-crumbling Shire feast with these single leg exercises!
We’re done with the Lord of the Rings references now, we promise.
We’ll explore loading options, body positioning, front versus rear foot elevation, and direction of center-of-mass (COM) movement to help you taste those sweet, sweet single-leg gains.
Let’s get right to it…
#1 Front Foot Elevated Zercher Split Squat
Load Position Advantage
Holding the weight in the crook of your elbows allows for more relaxation of muscles on the backside of your trunk, enabling increased depth WHILE circumventing grip strength as a potential rate-limiter for loading.
A barbell placed in the traditional “back rack” may rob you of comfortable hip range-of-motion (ROM) due to compression of muscles on the backside of your trunk.
Loading in the Zercher position lets you maintain more VERTICAL displacement throughout the movement, and more pure-up-and-down displacement means more stimulation of muscles that DO vertical displacement (i.e. glutes and quads), leading to more gains and more eventual jealousy from your high school ex after they see your jacked wheels on Facebook.
No barbell? We can accomplish a similar effect with 2 DBs.
Vertical displacement whilst keeping a STACKED position during a split squat, vital to loading muscle tissue (yay!) and minimizing joint strain (boo!), is reviewed, HERE.
Why Front Foot Elevation?
Elevating the front foot shifts your COM backwards, meaning the muscles of the front leg can relax to a greater degree to allow for more depth during the lowering (eccentric) portion of the movement. Additionally, raising the front foot shifts the trained range of motion into deeper degrees of hip flexion, leading to greater mechanical stress placed on the musculature that extends the hip (dat booty).
Bonus; Heel Up?
Try elevating your front heelto enable increased loading of the knee and hip whilst maintaining the “vertical stack” during this drill.
Be sure to maintain heel contact and allow your knee to drift forward over the mid-foot to allow for more hip and knee flexion.
#2 Staggered Stance Retro RDL
Why Backwards is Better…
The Staggered Stance Retro RDL allows you to use the front leg to push your COM backwards towards the leg that’ll be doing all the work. This exercise HAMMERS glutes and hammies, and is a great stepping stone towards an eventual unassisted SLRDL.
The KEY distinction between the conventional RDL (or Heels on Wall Variation) and the staggered stance retro RDL is the direction of your COM travels. In the rear foot single leg deadlift, your COM translates forward, whereas in the staggered stance retro RDL, your COM migrates backwards.
Going front foot supported allows for more of a sit “back” scenario encouraging a more advantageous orienting of the hips to access ROM (remember: more ROM, more loading, more gainz) as well as reducing the challenge of NOT falling forward onto your (pretty) face.
Why Single Arm Loading?
We love a single KB held in the opposite hand (in reference to the back leg), as this encourages rotation of the ribcage TOWARDS that rear leg. Rotation towards the side we’re loading means we’re able to load muscles of that hip to a greater degree, and the combination of an opposite hand reach AND a front foot support ensure we’re loading the back leg’s hamstrings and glutes as much as we possibly can.
Technique
Some pointers with the Front Foot Supported Single Leg Deadlift:
Position the non-working leg in front of the working leg and use the front (non-working) leg to push the back (working) leg backwards. This results in a hip “shift” TOWARDS that back leg.
The arm opposite the working leg holds the KB and maintains a path over the big toe of the back foot. That reach further supports the shift you obtained in step 1.
Sit your hips back in space, feeling loading on the heel, base of the big toe, and base of the little toe. Reverse this motion by pushing through this “tripod foot” back to the starting position.
#3 Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat
Jack Up That Back Foot
The Rear Foot Elevated (RFE) Split Squat is a variation that places greater emphasis on the front leg. This exercise is also a good progression towards a strict single leg activity, such as a single leg squat.
While performing a boring ‘ol split squat, the load is fairly evenly distributed between the front and back legs. However, elevating the rear foot shifts your center of mass forward, dramatically increasing the loading of the front leg. Train this sucker and that leg’s getting more yoked than a Marriott Courtyard omelette bar.
The RFESS is #3 on this list because it trains a little like a cross of exercises #1 and #2.
It’s a vertical movement (like our FFESS), but the forward lean created by the elevation of the rear foot enables some degree of forward/backwards COM displacement (like our deadlift variation). The result is an unholy cross of glute and leg destruction.
Placement of Load
To optimize loading with this drill, we recommend dumbbells in each hand- like THIS. As we mentioned previously, a barbell placed in the traditional “back rack” position tends to compress muscles on the backside of the body, robbing the body of hip flexion availability and trainable range of motion.
The distance between your front and back legs- your “stride length” during a split squat- also matters.
A short stride length (front foot closer to back foot) will bias hip musculature (glutes). If you elongate the stride length you’ll shift the loading to more quads, leading to more yoked legs with which to better fill out those new early-Christmas jeggings.
Bonus Yoked-Worthy Exercise: Walking Toe Touch Lunges
Muscle Recruitment
Walking Lunges with an opposite arm reach facilitate more high hamstring recruitment by biasing a posterior tilt of the pelvis. High hamstrings fix the position of the pelvis, enabling greater loading of the hip extensors (butt), making this drill an excellent choice for a “finisher” after your main exercises. To quote our good friend, the wise and powerful Tony, after performing a set of these, “I FELT it in my soul”!
DISCLAIMER; Michelle and Tim are NOT responsible for any Soul-Delayed-Onset-Muscule-Soreness (SDOMS) experienced after performing this drill.
Technique
Big pointers with the Walking Toe Touch Lunges
Maintain up/down motion by keeping your head stacked over your chest and stacked over your hips… put simply “mostly elevator, a little escalator”
Reach your opposite arm to your front big toe keeping your breastbone pointed straight ahead and letting your shoulder blade reach around your ribcage
“A little” hinge at the hips is necessary to stay moving FORWARDS, but “a little” is all you get
Be nice to your back knee, a soft surface is ideal with this drill
Focus on turning into your abs on the same side as the front leg
Stand up by pushing the ground away with the front foot (that same tripod foot as we discussed previously)
You get no bonus points for lunging LONG- keep your stride length short and controlled
Summary
Choosing single leg exercises that will allow you to achieve the greatest ROM while moving heavy loads are key to targeting more muscle mass. Gettin’ more yoked than a 12th century plow animal is all about moving load over ROM.
Intelligent holding positions, such as DBs at sides and zercher, beget more motion availability.
The positioning or elevation of your feet relative to one another is VITALLY important in ensuring we’re loading the target tissue through as large of an available range as we can muster.
Now go get those legs so HUGE that grandma’s gonna have to buy you new Christmas stockings.
I’m excited to announce that I’ll be one of 40+ industry leaders taking part in Kabuki Education Week that’ll be taking place February 1-7, 2021.
Kabuki Education Week – Hosted by Kabuki Strength – is a unique opportunity to attend 40+ live hour-long lectures (with Q&A) presented by the most respected and well established educators, coaches, clinicians, and athletes in the strength & fitness industry. This event brings together a wealth of knowledge across multiple domains; all condensed into week-long virtual format that allows you to attend as many courses as you choose with the added opportunity to purchase recordings.
You can register for my presentation (and save 50% through the end of the year) – The Hip: From Assessment to Badass – HERE.
Alternatively you can register for the ENTIRE event at the Early Bird rate – HERE.
This will undoubtedly be an event you won’t want to miss as the line-up, speaking as a fan boy myself, is one of the most impressive I have ever seen.
You can now purchase CORE @ Home for whatever you want to pay.
During the first quarantine I started a platform where I’d deliver 20-40 minute workouts that could be performed in everyone’s living room using minimal equipment.
In all I filmed 36 workouts using nothing but bodyweight, bands, and kettlebells and/or dumbbells. With many people still reticent to head back to their regular gyms (not to mention the scarcity of gym equipment out there to purchase) I figured this would be a nice opportunity to help.
Now that many parts of the US (and world) have started to implement a second wave of shut-downs, this resource is timely.
Whether you want to spend $1 or $99 (FYI: the latter enters you to win a 5×7 shirtless pic of me), the workouts are ready and available to start.
One of my favorite exercises is the 1-Arm DB Row. One way I’ll make it more challenging is to add an RNT effect with a band. This helps reinforce the forward-back arc (rather than straight up & down)…placing more emphasis on the lats.
Outside of the three workshops I got to teach earlier this year in Europe before 2020 turned into a HAZMAT commercial, the PPSC was the first time I had the opportunity to sit in a (socially distanced) room with “my people” and marinate in topics such as squat assessment, scapular kinematics, and protein powder.
More importantly, it served as an opportunity to network and see friends/colleagues I hadn’t seen in a while.
During the lunch break on Day #2, David asked myself and AMP Fitness owner, Steve Bergeron, to sit down and have a chat for his soon-t0-be-released Pain-Free Performance Podcast
I was perusing Instagram a few months ago when I came across my friend’s, Andrew Coates, feed. He had just posted a video of himself performing an impressive set of Supported Bulgarian Split Squats.
Or, Hatfield Squats for the meatheads in the house.
It was something like 365 lb for 5 repetitions.
As I said, at first I was like “huh.”
Then I was like, “damn, that’s strong.”
And then I was like, “pffft, whatever, I want in on this parade.”
At that point I was roughly 5-6 weeks post Achilles repair surgery and was training pretty aggressively in the gym. That said I was still looking for ways to expand or improve upon my Trainable Menu.
I.e., Focusing on stuff I could train rather than stuff I couldn’t.
A day or two later I posted a video of myself performing a set of close to 300 lb for 6-8 reps on my NON-affected leg. I tagged Andrew who then tagged a few other colleagues who were also inspired by his escapades; one of whom was Luka Hocevar, owner of Vigor Ground Fitness in Renton, WA.
Some good ol’ fashioned friendly competition ensued.
Each week we continued to post our progress and I enjoyed it, which was weird because, despite what coaches on the internet like to pretend, I fucking hate performing single leg work.
1. Nazi’s
2. Kipping pull-ups
3. People who wax poetic about keto.
.
.
.
44. Single leg work.
45. Talking about feelings.
Anyway, as it happens, myself, Andrew, and Luka teamed up to write an article for T-Nation.com that just went live today. In it we break down anything and everything as it relates to the Supported Bulgarian Split Squat and why you should consider adding it to YOUR training arsenal.
Most people – but especially fitness professionals – are boneheads (or dare I say: dumbbells) when it comes to financial savviness and literacy.
It’s just a topic we’re never taught.
Ever.
Most fit pros have more knowledge in how to transcribe their latest Reels video into Klingon than understanding the difference between a SEP and Roth IRA.
More to the point, when it comes to debt (specifically: how to get and stay out of it), many people prefer to treat it like a toddler having a temper tantrum.
(puts fingers into ears)
La-la-la-la-la-la…I can’t hear you.
It’s intimidating, scary, and sometimes can be a real asshole (to put it lightly)
Today, in PART TWO of fitness financial expert Billy Hofacker‘s THREE part series, he provides some helpful insight on debt and how to approach it responsibly and within reason.
Coach & Grow: Part 2: A Simple Plan For Debt Destruction
Part 1of Coach and Grow Rich was all about developing a money mindset. This post will deal with a topic that may be uncomfortable for some, debt.
It’s an area that I know all too well as my wife and I scraped our way out of a massive amount (more than 100K) of debt 10 years ago. I’ve since helped hundreds of Fit Pros get on a plan to destroy their own debt. I’m not going to lie to you and tell you it’s easy but neither is losing weight, getting stronger, or building a business.
It takes time.
It takes hard work.
Mostly, it takes being consistent with a simple plan.
You’ll hear financial “experts” talk about good debt vs. bad debt. An example of “good debt” would be a business loan because you can potentially earn more as a result. “Bad debt” would be something that goes down in value, like a car.
My opinion is that all debt carries a risk and for that reason I consider myself a “no debt” guy.
If there is anything the pandemic has made clear to us, it’s the importance of having our financial house in order. Does the debt you have (personal or business) make you feel as though you are stuck in the middle of the sea with no life preserver?
That’s exactly how I felt.
Then I started learning more about finances.
What’s worse than being in debt is working exceptionally hard to get out of it only to fall back into it. It’s like someone gaining and losing the same 50 pounds repeatedly.
One of the ways to avoid staying in debt is to understand why it happened in the first place. Of course, we can agree that it’s the result of poor money management. That’s the first step – taking personal responsibility.
However, it goes deeper.
Like I described in Part 1, we all have root beliefs about money that stem from our upbringing and experiences. Here are some examples of beliefs that will keep us stuck.
“Debt is normal. How else would I buy things?”
“I don’t even know how much debt I have so I guess a little more won’t hurt.”
“This is just the way it is for me. Getting out of debt isn’t a reality for me so I might as well embrace it.”
“I have so much debt already so an extra $100 wouldn’t really matter, would it?
These distorted beliefs are similar to the ones our clients have about their fitness. We need to uncover them and label them for what they are, false!
If you have debt, there is no reason to be ashamed.
The average person carries a credit card balance of $6200.
If you’re like me, you’ve looked at people with big problems and wondered how they got there. The solutions seem so obvious: “Stop eating gallons of ice cream at a time” or “Get out of that unhealthy relationship.” When it comes to our own problems, the solution doesn’t seem so clear. That was the case with me. It all started with one bad decision, putting a household item on a credit card and not paying the bill.
From there it snowballed into a massive problem.
With that said, people who are financially successful know that one of the keys to building wealth is to get and stay out of debt. The good news is that there is a way out regardless of your current situation.
Hopefully, you already understand the value of moving towards financial freedom by becoming debt free. Just in case you’re not convinced, let me ask you a few questions:
❓ If you didn’t have to make any debt payments, how much money could you save every month?
❓ If you weren’t strapped with debt, how much better could you live with the same income?
❓ How quickly could you become wealthy?
❓ How much would you be able to impact others?
The Top 2 Methods
There are generally two schools of thought when it comes to paying down debt.
The first is known as the higher interest or avalanche method.
The second is known as the debt snowball.
With the avalanche method, or the higher interest method, the debts would be paid down in order from highest to lowest interest.
With the debt snowball, the debts would be paid in order from lowest to highest balance.
So which is better?
At some level, comparing debt elimination plans is like comparing nutrition plans. The one that works best is the one you follow.
With that said, the debt snowball allows you to rack up wins quickly, which helps create positive momentum. This is a huge advantage for someone who may already feel a little discouraged by their financial predicament.
Here are the steps to applying the debt snowball.
1️⃣ Stop Borrowing Money
If you continue to borrow money while trying to eliminate your debt, you’ll be fighting an uphill battle.
2️⃣ List Your Debts From Lowest to Highest Balance
Pay special attention to this step. Don’t leave any debts out and let them slip between the cracks. Arrange your debts in ascending order with the smallest remaining balance first and the largest last.
You would ignore the interest rate.
3️⃣ Pay All of the Minimum Payments on Each Debt Listed
4️⃣ Throw Any Extra Money Above Toward the Minimum Payments at the Next Lowest Balance
Ideally you would have a timeline for when each debt will be paid off. Accelerate you debt elimination plan by looking for any extra money to pay towards your focus debt (i.e. the one with the lowest balance). If you can’t find extra money, think of ways to increase your income.
5️⃣ Set Your Debt Elimination Date
Write down the date you will be debt free (other than a possible mortgage).
Visualize it.
Keep moving towards your goal no matter what.
Many people who use this method get excited as a result of the early wins and end up finding additional ways to put more money towards their snowball. The key is using the minimum payment you had for an eliminated debt and adding it to the next one, thus creating your debt snowball.
Regardless of the method you choose, the first step is to get clear about your reality. It’s astonishing how many people have no idea how much debt they have.
If you want to throw up, visit bankrate.com/brm/calc/minpayment.asp and see how much of your minimum credit card payment actually goes toward the balance and how long it will take to pay off.
What’s cool is you can adjust the numbers and see what a difference lower APRs (interest %) and higher monthly payments can make.
In some cases you can save years of payments and thousands in interest.
Business Considerations
Many people who agree that personal debt is destructive believe that business debt is different. The truth is, business debt can be just as harmful and the same rules should apply.
Don’t fall into the lie that you need to carry a credit card balance or borrow money to grow your business. Having a debt free business allows you to designate some of your cash for future growth, take advantage of opportunities that present themselves, and be more generous.
You may think that it’s better to prioritize paying down your business debt if you have both business and personal debt.
Actually, one of the best things you can do for your business is to improve your personal finances. Many businesses suffer or even go out of business because an owner’s personal financial house was not in order.
The bottom line is that you need a plan to eradicate both personal and business debt.
One consideration with business debt is you’ll want to make sure you pay attention to your cash flow. Covid-19 has reminded us of the importance of having “cash on hand.”
I would recommend saving at least one month of business reserves before aggressively paying down business debt. Once you have your one month of reserves, you can allocate a percentage of extra income (after paying yourself) to debt elimination and the rest toward building the reserves further.
You’ll need a lot; think 3-6 months.
Wrapping Up
While it may sound unsophisticated or outdated, personal finance and business are much simpler than people make them out to be. If you do the basics with focus and consistency, over time you’ll be amazed by what you can achieve.
*A helpful tool – One of the keys to achieving financial success is tying your debt destruction plan to your entire Financial Freedom Plan. Whether or not you have debt, the Power Spending Plan makes the whole process less stressful.
About the Author
Many fitness professionals get stuck in the day to day and have little to show for their hard work. Billy Hofacker helps them get on a plan to achieve financial freedom. You can learn more by listening to the Your Fitness Money Coach podcast or visiting www.yourfitnessmoneycoach.com.
1. You can now purchase CORE @ Home for whatever it is you want to pay.
During the first quarantine I started a platform where I’d deliver 20-40 minute workouts that could be performed in everyone’s living room using minimal equipment.
In all I curated 36 workouts using nothing but bodyweight, bands, and kettlebells and/or dumbbells. With many people still reticent to head back to their regular gyms (not to mention the scarcity of gym equipment out there to purchase) I figured this would be a nice opportunity to help.
Too, now that many parts of the US (and world) have started to implement a second wave of shut-downs, this resource is timely.
Whether you want to spend $1 or $100 (if the latter, we’ll be BFFs forever), the workouts are ready and available to start.
I don’t know who’s more annoying: People who brag about how early they get up (#grind) or people who email you two hours later asking if you saw their original email yet?
Wrong.
It’s any CrossFitter currently 1-2 weeks into the Whole 30 challenge…😉😂
What’s unique about the deadlift – as opposed to the squat or bench press – is that it begins with a concentric, or overcoming, movement.
For a variety of reasons like leverages, mobility restrictions, it’s Tuesday, etc., starting from the floor can be problematic for some people. One simple way to build context, especially as it relates to the starting position from the floor, is to start at the end (or top) with an eccentric, or yielding/negative, movement.
You’ll essentially be performing an eccentric deadlift (RDL) until the barbell reaches the ground. When I have my athletes do this drill I’ll stop them once they hit the floor and say, “Feel that position you’re in right now? That’s what I want to see and for you to feel when you begin from the floor.”
Hi, my name is Tony and I ruptured my Achilles tendon earlier this year.
It was the first significant injury of my life and one that, as it happens, happens often (and without warning). Since my injury six months ago I’ve met numerous people who have gone through the same dumpster fire of an experience.3.And as a result I’ve documented my rehab and post-surgery training via my IG account using the hashtags #findyourtrainablemenu and #achillesgate2020.
However, I figured something more in depth and robust with regards to explaining the mechanism of Achilles rupture (as well discussing prevention) could be of benefit to the masses. To that end, my fellow coaches and colleagues – Dr. Bo Bobenko and Shane McLean – offered to write something for the site to cover exactly that.
For what it’s worth: I peppered in a few comments myself along the way.
Measures to Strengthen & Prevent Achilles Injuries
When admiring yourself, flexing away, do you ever give thought to the unsung hero of muscle? You know, the things that attach the muscles to your bones: the tendons. You probably don’t give much thought, until it’s too late.
Unless you’ve had your head in the sand, you know our resident funny man and light saber fighter extraordinaire, Tony Gentilcore tore his Achilles tendon while hanging out with the in-laws in Florida six months ago
NOTE FROM TG: It’s important to remember that correlation doesn’t equal causation here. My in-laws didn’t cause my Achilles rupture…;o)4
Tony, a big strong guy with no history of serious injury performs a drill he has done before and boom, suddenly it’s not his day, week, month or even his year….
NOTE FROM TG: For those interested, HERE is a great depiction of the exercise (and mechanism) that served as the impetus to my injury.
The “Jump Back” Start
This video almost exactly showcases what happened. The only difference is that I didn’t preload my sprint with a three-hop thingamajig (just one), and in my case, once my back leg planted, I fell immediately to the ground.
Plus I may or not have been wearing a cape.
A Little Background On The Achilles Tendon
The tendon is named after the ancient Greek mythological figure Achilles (and not Brad Pitt) as it was the only part of his body that was still vulnerable after his mother had dipped him into the River Styx. Plus, we all know where he got shot with an arrow, at least in the movie.
The Achilles tendon is the thickest and strongest tendon in the human body. It’s the tendinous extension of the three-headed calf muscle soleus and the two-headed gastrocnemius and it inserts on the calcaneus (heel).
The contraction of the calf muscles transfers a force through the Achilles tendon, which enables plantar flexion of the foot and allows for actions such as walking, running, jumping, bounding, sprinting, and skipping.
During these movements, the Achilles tendon is subject to the highest loads in the body, with tensile loads up to 10 times the body’s weight.
The reasons for this are twofold: First, the Achilles consists of type II fast-twitch fibers, and this elasticity allows for rapid forward and backwards movement. Secondly, the tendon type I fibers of collagen and elastin which are lined up parallel from calf to heel, are responsible for the Achilles tendon strength. (1)
The Achilles due to its strength and its ability to handle high loads makes it a resilient tendon, which is good and bad. Good because it can handle lots of load and bad because it’s not always going to send pain signals to the brain every time something goes wrong.
This is one reason why Achilles tears can happen without warning.
Types Of Achilles Injuries
When your achilles hurts or you feel pain you’ll often be told ‘You got tendonitis bro’ But there are few different types of Achilles injuries besides tendonitis.
1. Achilles Tendon Tears
This is the mack daddy of all tendon injuries and like with Tony, it often happens without warning. If you hear a pop and a pain that radiates up your lower leg, there’s no second guessing what you’ve done.
NOTE FROM TG: The best way I can explain the sensation is that it feels like someone taking a sledgehammer right to your ankle. It doesn’t tickle.
2. Achilles Tendinopathy
Tendinopathy is a degeneration of the collagen protein fibers that form the Achilles. Its symptoms include increasing pain at the heel, stiffness, swelling at the back of your ankle, and a grating noise or creaking feeling when moving your ankle.
3. Achilles Tendonitis
Tendonitis is acute inflammation of the tendon and its symptoms include pain and stiffness in the morning, pain that worsens with activity, extreme pain the day after exercise.
There are two types of Achilles tendonitis: insertional and noninsertional.
Insertional Achilles tendonitis affects the lower portion of your tendon where it attaches to your heel bone often caused by bone spurs.
Noninsertional Achilles tendonitis involves fibers in the middle portion of the tendon.
4. Achilles Tendinosis
Tendinosis is the non-inflammatory degeneration of the collagen fibers of the tendon. This includes changes to the structure or composition of the tendon that results from repetitive strains without proper healing.
Achilles and calf tightness are common causes of Achilles tendinosis. Plus insertional Achilles tendinosis is often associated with heel spurs as it rubs against the achilles causing small tears.
Activities That Cause Achilles Tears
Achilles tendon tears happen to people who do things where they quickly speed up, slow down, or pivot, such as:
Running
Gymnastics
Dance
Football
Baseball
Softball
Basketball
Tennis
Fighting Zombies, Salsa Dancing, Talking About Feelings (<— things added by Tony)
Achilles tears tend to happen when you start moving suddenly as you push off and lift rather than land. Sometimes these abrupt actions can be too much for the tendon to handle.
Here is the statistical lowdown on how tears happen.
90% of injuries occur with an acceleration/deceleration movements mentioned above
Only 15-20% of men reported any sort of heel pain/tendinosis before the injury
50% of men who have an Achilles Rupture had tissue degeneration before the injury
Typically occurs 30 minutes after moving around
Research has shown Achilles tears include clear degenerative changes before the rupture but many of the Achilles tendon ruptures occur suddenly without any preceding signs or symptoms. (2)
For instance, Tony’s tear was caused by aggressive eccentric load (jump back start) combined with poor load management and then “jumping” right back into sprinting.
NOTE FROM TG: Exactly. Part of the problem was sheer bad luck. But too, up until that point – eight or so weeks into pandemic quarantine – I hadn’t been doing much (if any) plyometric activity.
In his mind it was all systems go. The main point here is there’s not one definitive “cause.” of Achillies tears. It’s equal parts shit-happens and bad luck.
Big Picture With Tendon Pain Modulation
1. CNS Response
The CNS is incredible at responding to and adapting to pain modulation. This is a good thing to keep going and for our survival but makes understanding our tendon health much trickier because damage can exist without pain.
2. Load Management and Exposure
This is probably the single most important component to tendon health that we should seek to understand and pay attention to. It can be intimidating to truly track your loads/exposure, but the better we get at it, the more we increase our chance of avoiding injury.
All of the research continues to bear out controlling the load on tendons is the best way to make any kind of change. The analogy I often use when explaining this to patients is the comparison to a wall that continues to take damage or have a crack and we need to keep adding spackle to it every 48 hours to reinforce it and strengthen the overall structure.
How To Prevent Achilles Tears
The experts and research are a bit mixed on this therefore the safest approach in my mind is to increase the variety of loads you place on the tendons.
Unless training for a specific sport or activity, then we should focus on preserving the natural capacity of what the tendon is meant to do, which is to absorb and transfer forces effectively in the simplest of terms.
Pogo Jumps
Heel Taps
A Daily Routine to Incorporate Into Your Movement Prep
You need tendon loading with multiple angles and a plan for tempo for the long term. My go to is often for heavy slow resistance, four seconds eccentric, three seconds concentric, carefully plotted over 12 weeks. There is strong research to support this concept.
A quote I really like about this:
“We start dying when we stop jumping.”
Assessment can be vital, but there is no Gold standard. Personally, I use my hands to assess pain tolerance to pressure at the tendon as one way to track progress of tendon health, but this is not well supported by research and requires me to have physical access to you which can be limiting indeed.
If you haven’t loaded the tendon recently, some easy options are
Calf raises with full range of motion, faster up slower down, aiming for 20 reps per leg as a baseline for tendon health. This allows us to look for asymmetries as well as an overall deficit based on training age.
In terms of a plan to increase your activity tolerance:
Firstly, I like to think of the principle of 10% per session as a safe progression. Meaning, in terms of a weekly volume a nice progression is to add 10% to the previous week.
Secondly, the quote that drives me here is:
“We tend to overestimate what we can accomplish in a month and underestimate what we can accomplish in a year.”
Therefore, a long term strategy for tendon health should be implemented.
Exercise Is Important But So Is Diet
It goes without saying reducing stress, sleeping soundly, and eating nutritious foods not only helps you…
…but your tendons specifically.
But I said it anyway.
However, there are a few supplements on top of eating and sleeping well, reducing stress and moving better which help heal and keep tendons resilient. Notice the word supplement. These should NOT be your priority to help your tendons stay healthy or heal after an injury.
Primary should always be eating real high quality foods.
The first and most obvious supplement is Vitamin C.
Vitamin C is absolutely essential for synthesis of collagen which makes the tendons type 1 slow twitch fibers strong. Pre clinical studies have shown vitamin C has the potential to accelerate bone healing after a fracture, increase type I collagen synthesis, and reduce oxidative stress after a tendon injury. (3)
Supplementing with Vitamin A helps the process of forming new tissue (collagen) and your immune system. A stronger immune system can prevent microorganisms from further damaging your tendons.
Vitamin E has anti-inflammatory properties which helps reduce tendon inflammation, and helps the healing of damaged tendons which can lead to a reduction of tendon pain. (4)
The science and research is limited on diet and tendon health and there are probably other things out there that can help. It is an ever expanding field so stay tuned.
NOTE FROM TG: At the moment, I like the Collagen Peptides from Momentous because they use Vitamin C, and FORTIGEL® , which is a formula designed and tested to promote collagen synthesis in tendons and ligaments.
(👆👆👆 Discount:GENTILCORE25 gets you 25% off your first order when you sign up for a subscription 👆👆👆)
Most collagen out there is basically like buying a pack of J-E-L-L-O, focusing on hair, skin and nails, but this stuff is solid and provides a bit more heft.
Here’s the daily “Wolverine Cocktail” I’ve taken every day since my surgery on June 1, 2020:
Tendon tears often happen without warning and it doesn’t discriminate on whether you’re fit or not. One moment you’re about to move quick and the next you’re on the ground.
The best things you can do before engaging in risky tendon activities:
Warm up properly
Load the tendon appropriately
Reduce stress, eat and sleep better.
But as you’ve seen by Tony’s experience, there are no guarantees. Please do your best so you don’t hear the pop from hell.
Authors’ Bios
Shane “Balance Guy” McLean, is an A.C.E Certified Personal Trainer working deep in the heart of Louisiana with the gators.
Dr. Bo Babenko is the owner of FitCare Physio focusing on virtual health coaching and helping people attack the 5 pillars of health: movement, nutrition, recovery, mindset, connection.
References
Michael Wong; Achraf H. Jardaly; John Kiel.Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb, Achilles Tendon.
Nicholas N DePhillipo et al. Efficacy of Vitamin C Supplementation on Collagen Synthesis and Oxidative Stress After Musculoskeletal Injuries: A Systematic Review. Orthop J Sports Med 2018 Oct 25;6(10)
Christopher Tack,Faye ShorthouseLindsy Kass. The Physiological Mechanisms of Effect of Vitamins and Amino Acids on Tendon and Muscle Healing: A Systematic Review. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab 2018 May 1;28(3):294-311.
1. You can now purchase CORE @ Home for whatever it is you want to pay.
During the first quarantine I started a platform where I’d deliver 20-40 minute workouts that could be performed in everyone’s living room using minimal equipment.
In all I curated 36 workouts using nothing but bodyweight, bands, and kettlebells and/or dumbbells. With many people still reticent to head back to their regular gyms (not to mention the scarcity of gym equipment out there to purchase) I figured this would be a nice opportunity to help.
Too, now that many parts of the US (and world) have started to implement a second wave of shut-downs, this resource is timely.
Whether you want to spend $1 or $100 (if the latter, we’ll be BFFs forever), the workouts are ready and available to start.
This resource is designed for serious gym rats (or for those who’s livelihood is to breed competent gym rats) on how to use the barbell – and not an endless parade of corrective exercises – to prevent/reduce pain & to improve performance.
Dr. Mash goes out of his way to cover everything, from assessment to troubleshooting the most popular lifts, with pristine precision. It’s undoubtedly a wonderful resource for anyone interested in lifting heavy things.
He’s offering my readers a $50 discount off the regular price this week only.
And the offer ends TOMORROW (11/21).
Go HERE and enter the coupon code TONYG50 when prompted.
