Categoriespsychology

Be Like Water: The Importance of Being Flexible Without Losing Sight of Your Goal or Your Identity

I had every intention of starting off the new year with some witty, yet informative prose. One my goals for 2019 is to get back on track with more consistent writing.

Lets do this….

As it happens, my kid got Hand, Foot, & Mouth last week and of course, promptly passed it on to me. I got hammered with a fever over the weekend, and currently my feet feel like I’m walking over hot coals and my hands look like they had sex with a cucumber.

I mean, they’re not green or anything (that would be weird), but they do have bumps all over them which is super attractive.

Nonetheless, sick kid + sick Dad = not in the mood to write about undulated periodization, scapular humeral rhythm, or, I don’t know, favorite crayon colors.

Huge thanks to TG.com regular contributor, Dr. Nicholas Licameli, for pinch writing for me today.

Copyright: somchaij / 123RF Stock Photo

Be Like Water

I admire water.

It’s truly an amazing substance for many reasons. It can heal, it can hurt. It can clean, it can contaminate. It can cause frostbite, it can cause a burn. It can flood your basement or it can fill the family swimming pool. It can bring life and it can take life…

What I admire most about water is its ability to change without losing or compromising its true identity. Water can change shape, size, temperature, and even alter its own state of matter, depending on the environment it finds itself in at a particular time.

It is able to change without compromising what it is at its core: water.

“Don’t get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle; You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.” – Bruce Lee

One may say that water is “flexible.”

The famous Bruce Lee quote above speaks to the importance of being like water and having the ability to conform to whatever container we find ourselves in at a particular moment in time. I’m no martial arts expert by any stretch of the imagination, but this is how Bruce Lee went about his training, fighting, and life.

He was fluid, shapeless, adaptable…he was like water.

It is important to understand that this does not mean we should change who we are depending on the external environment or the group of people we happen to be with.

NEVER BE SOMEONE YOU’RE NOT, JUST TO “FIT IN!”

Stay true to who you are at your core, but be flexible and adaptable. If water is poured into a Gatorade bottle, it does not change itself into Gatorade and try to be something that it’s not. No, not water. Water manages to conform to the unique curves of the bottle, while staying true to itself and remaining, well, water!

Fitness and nutrition often times involve overcoming adversity in order to stick to a plan or routine.

Those plans are often challenged by things like unexpected overtime coverage at work, a sudden leak in the basement, a family illness, a surprise snowstorm that hits and requires shoveling, holidays, the gym opens four hours late because the 17 year old juice bar barista is hungover and overslept…the list goes on.

Are these things going to cause you stress? Or, do you find a way to be fluid and work around them? It is at these times that we need to be like water.

via GIPHY

Here’s an example.

You go to the gym with the following plan in your mind: Start with the barbell bench press (must be Monday, Bro), followed by the barbell squat, then some cable curls, and finish up with abs and cardio.

You enter the gym, Eye of The Tiger and Linkin Park blasting through your headphones, ready to raise some hell when all of a sudden…the bench is taken by a group of high school kids taking selfies, someone is curling in the squat rack, and the cable station is taken by that old guy who walks around the locker room completely naked (my eyes can’t unsee some things…).

Now what?

The whole plan is ruined!

Is this going to derail you, kill your momentum and enthusiasm, and throw your whole workout for a loop? Or, do you conform to the container you happened to be poured into? As previously mentioned, do not change the core. Keep the goal the goal and keep the plan the plan, just adapt it.

An example of excessive flexibility and changing at the core would be completely changing the body parts trained or bailing on the entire workout. Properly adapting and being like water could involve substituting the barbell bench press for a dumbbell bench press or Smith machine squats for barbell squats, or dumbbell curls for cable curls.

via GIPHY

If you always have an apple at breakfast, but your wife ate the last one without you knowing, is your whole day going to be thrown off kilter? Or will you be able to conform to the current container you find yourself in and have something with similar macronutrients such as an orange, a pear, or some oatmeal instead?

Note From TG: Means for a divorce if you ask me.

Life isn’t perfect.

Life isn’t consistent.

Since the beginning of life on this planet, adaptability has been an evolutionary staple.

Adapt or die, as the saying goes.

Sometimes you have this plan, this perfect step-by-step plan, but the present circumstances do not allow it to be carried out as planned. In these instances, you must be like water, adapt, and work around what the world gives you. Again, that does not mean you should change the entire plan or change who you are depending on the external environment. Always keep the goal the goal, the plan the plan, and stay true to who you are. You can’t control everything so if you find yourself being poured from a perfectly symmetrical drinking glass into an abnormally shaped bottle, stay focused, roll with the punches, be fluid, be flexible, and be like water.

About the Author

Nicholas M. Licameli, PT, DPT

Doctor of Physical Therapy / Pro Natural Bodybuilder

Nick believes in giving himself to others in an attempt to make the world a happier, healthier, and more loving place. He wants to give people the power to change their lives. Bodybuilding and physical therapy just act as mediums for carrying out that cause. Love. Passion. Respect. Humility.   Never an expert. Always a student. Love your journey.

Youtube: HERE

Instagram: HERE

Facebook: HERE

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Best Articles of 2018: Exercises You Should Be Doing

This is the last post of 2018.

2018 was splendid year, and I thank everyone for their continued support.

2019 is looking to be a busy year from a professional standpoint with several projects in the works in addition to my travel schedule.1 One of my main goals in 2019, however, is to get back on my writing (and reading) horse. I know the last two years have been a bit dearth (comparatively speaking) with the total number of posts and articles I’ve published. Who knew having a kid was so time consuming?

Nevertheless, my hope is that the upcoming year will be a fruitful one in terms of my writing prowess.

Stay tuned…..

Copyright: sirichai_123rf / 123RF Stock Photo

Best Articles of 2018: Exercises You Should Be Doing

Anchored KB Row

Transverse Landmine Snatch

Bench Assisted ValSlide RDL w/ Reach

Band Resisted KB Deadlift

T-Spine Rotation w/ Lift Off

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Best Articles of 2018: Guest Posts

I’m very fortunate that number of quality coaches reach out and offer to submit articles for this site. Granted they have to promise to name their first born after me AND send me a bowl of yellow only M&Ms, but that’s a small price to pay for internet fame.

Thanks to everyone who pinch-wrote for me in 2018 and gave my fingers a brief reprieve.

I’m looking forward to seeing what’s sent my way in 2019….

Copyright: sirichai_123rf / 123RF Stock Photo

Best Articles of 2018: Guest Posts

My Top Shoulder Training Tips – Dr. Nicholas Licameli

This was a two-part article that Nicholas wrote back in January and it’s excellent.

Part I – HERE

Part II – HERE

5 Exercises to Help You Perform More Pull-Ups Without Doing Pull-Ups – Meghan Callaway

There aren’t many coaches I trust more to discuss anything pull-up related than Meghan.

8 Plank Variations That Don’t Suck – Michael Anderson

FYI: The plank pictured above sucks.

Tuning Tension: Getting the Most From Your Muscle – Noah Harrison

I listened to Noah speak in person on this topic and was transfixed by what he had to say. A conversation we had after the fact led to him writing this post for my site.

Ladies: Here’s Why You’re Not Getting Stronger – Lana Sova

LOVED this line from Lana: Less cardio and more Cardi B….;o)

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Best Articles of 2018: My Picks

Yesterday I highlighted the best articles from 2018 according to what resonated with YOU. They were the articles that received the most traffic according to Google analytics.

You can check them out HERE.

Today, however, it’s my turn.

It’s all about me, me, me, and ME.  These were the articles I felt were Pulitzer worthy and yet didn’t receive the love I had hoped for.2

Copyright: sirichai_123rf / 123RF Stock Photo

Best Articles of 2018: My Picks

The Forgotten Component of Progressing in the Weight Room

This was the most recently written of the bunch – last week, actually – but one I believe sends a powerful message.

The Words We Use Matter

Stop telling clients they’re broken. Instead set them up for unrelenting success.

5 Things You Can Do Today to Retain Clients

Suggestions may or may not include an after hours fight club.

The Underrated Value of Mediocrity 

The best piece of gym advice is to show up, do the work, repeat. Average or mediocre workouts are what makes or breaks progress.

My Take on the Keto Craze

I rarely venture into the world of nutrition, but I was compelled to write this article after an interaction with an GNC employee.

Keto = not magic.

Lessons In Lifting From a Dad: Year One

I take what I said above back.

After re-reading the article, THIS is my favorite one from this past year.

How The Matrix Can Make You a Better Coach

There is no spoon.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Best Articles of 2018: Reader’s Picks

2018 was yet another successful year in many aspects, and I can’t express enough how thankful I am for such a loyal readership.

Since it’s the end of the year I wanted to take the next few days to highlight some articles you may have missed (or maybe want to read again). Today’s list highlights those articles which received the most web traffic.3

Put another way: these are the articles YOU felt were the best.

Copyright: delcreations / 123RF Stock Photo

Best Articles of 2018: Reader’s Picks

What’s Better for Weight Loss: Cardio or Lifting Weights?

It’s a debate that won’t go away anytime soon, but I attempt to offer my train of thought in this article.

I.e, I win….;o)

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Renegade Push-Up

In a surprise (to me)…this iteration of my popular series, Exercises You Should Be Doing, made the list. I guess everyone likes cool push-up variations.

And car memes.

(shrugs)

NOTE: the push-up pictured above IS NOT a representation of the proper execution of the Renegade Push-Up, or any push-up for that matter.

5 Quick Tips to Increase Strength

1. Pick

2. Up

3. Heavy

4. Things

5. Repeatedly

In all seriousness, I do go into detail on five quickie tips you can follow to help increase your strength. This article also contains what’s likely the most awkward video on the internet of 2018.4

Getting Strong(er) Is Corrective

This would probably be MY pick for favorite article I wrote this year.

Stack the Rings for Better Squat Performance

You didn’t think I’d mention a ring and NOT include a LoTR reference did you?

Pfffft, whatever.

But for real: if you want your squats to feel better, read this article.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 12/21/18

Copyright: wamsler / 123RF Stock Photo

BUT FIRST…CHECK THIS STUFF OUT

1. (Even More) Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint – 2019 Dates

This workshop will piggyback on the material Dean Somerset and I covered in the original Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint.

With this iteration, though, we’ll be going a bit deeper into the coaching and programming side of things:

  • How to program around common injuries.
  • How to “connect” the appropriate exercises to the client/athlete.
  • How to squat and deadlift like a boss.

Check em out HERE.

2. Coaching Competency Workshop – Raleigh, NC

JUST ANNOUNCED.

I’ll be making my first appearance – ever (<— how’s that possible?)( – in the wonderful state of North Carolina this coming March to put on my popular Coaching Competency Workshop.

Full details (date, location, itinerary, how to register) can be found HERE.

EARLY BIRD rate ($50 off) is in full swing at the moment and won’t last forever.

SOCIAL MEDIA SHENANIGANS

Twitter

Instagram

STUFF TO READ WHILE YOU’RE PRETENDING TO WORK

The Best of the PTDC 2018 – A Bunch of Badass MOFOs

An article I wrote for the Personal Trainer Development Center earlier this year – 3 Ways to Write Better Training Programs – made their list of top articles written for their site in 2018, in tandem with many other phenomenal articles.

It’s always a great honor to be recognized for your work. It’s even cooler when it’s alongside so many other esteemed colleagues.

From Wheelchair to Wheels – Lee Boyce

This is a BALLER story.

Next time a hangnail curtails your training, stop, punch yourself in the face, and also give this a read.

Strategies For Better Food Tracking – Jason Leenaarts

If nothing else this article drives home the point that the details – even the small, seemingly inane ones – matter.

CategoriesCorrective Exercise Program Design

Adding CARs to Your Warm Up

My almost two-year old is obsessed with cars.

The vroom vroom kind.

We live on a busy street here in Boston so it’s more of less toddler catnip for him. It’s impossible to go for a walk and he not be transfixed with every Hyundai and Honda that whizzes by. Likewise, every book we read together he points out every car,

Car, daddy. Car, car, car, car.5

I’m obsessed CARs too. By contrast, though, I’m referring to Controlled Articular Rotations.

And they’re something I’ve been including into more and more of my warm-ups of late.

Copyright: lzflzf / 123RF Stock Photo

Adding CARs to Your Warm-Up

The concept of Controlled Articular Rotations is nothing new to the industry. Coaches like Pavel Tsatsouline have been singing their praises for decades.

However, there’s been a bit of a renaissance and cacophony of interest within the industry of late due in no small part to Andreo Spina and his Functional Range Conditioning (FRC) courses.

Full Disclosure: I have not taken any of the courses myself, and my only immersion with the concepts are through various colleagues of mine – Dean Somerset, Frank Duffy, Matt Crush, to name a few –  who have taken the courses or who have been certified.

FRC is a system of joint health and mobility, and CARs are just one branch underneath the FRC umbrella. Or maybe I should use tree in this analogy?

Anyway, whatever, you get the idea.

CARs are active, rotational movements that explore the outer limits of articular (joint) motion. To steal a frame of thought from Long Island based strength coach Chris Cooper:

“Stretching and other mobility drills are great, but if you can’t control your body in that new range, then what’s the point.

Explore how your body moves, and then push its limits.”

Too, another component of CARs that’s important to respect is the idea of irradiation, which is just a fancy schmancy way of saying “tension.”

When CARs are done well they incorporate an immense amount of tension in  the body so nothing else moves (spine, pelvis, etc) so you can capture as much range of motion possible in that one particular joint.

To borrow another scientific word, they fucking suck donkey balls when done correctly.

Here two of my current “go to’s” when it comes to how I’ve implemented CARs into my programs:

Scapular CAR

 

This is a fantastic option on upper body days before any heavy bench pressing. Moreover, in terms of overall shoulder health these are stellar. Many trainees have gotten into the unfortunate habit of “locking” their shoulder blades in place (most germane to the conversation: scapular downward rotation syndrome) and this drill is a great way to “unglue” everything.

Key Points to Consider

  • This is NOT a passive position. Glutes on, abs on, make a fist with non-working side.
  • Place side you’re working in scapular plane
  • Pretend as if there’s a glass of water on your arm you don’t want to spill.
  • Protract, shrug (elevate), retract, depress shoulder blade in a deliberate manner.
  • My cat is such a diva.

Seated 90/90 Hip Switches

I like this drill a lot because it trains both hip internal and external rotation simultaneously.

NOTE: After I posted this my boy Frank Duffy chimed in to say this:

“From a hardo FRC standpoint 90/90 transitions aren’t CARs because they’re focusing just on the IR/ER component of the hips in flexion whereas CARs address all the joint motions. What’s demonstrated is technically considered an Isometric Movement Path (IsoMP).”

Note to Frank: Don’t ever embarrass me on my blog again.6

This is also a good choice to get the hips nice a juicy before a squat or deadlift session. I prefer to start people ground-based (sitting) with hip CARs before I implement quadruped and then standing variations.

 

Key Points to Consider

  • My bad for the blatant crotch shot.
  • Make a fist with both hands – squeeze coal into diamonds.
  • Both feet must stay in contact with the floor at all times.
  • Try your best to stay as upright as possible.
  • If you need to regress, place hands on floor behind you.

The Warm-Up Blueprint For Lifting

Looking for some more ideas to spruce up your warm-up?

Listen, we all go through the motions when it comes to warming-up. I find most people fall into two camps:

  1. Team “nope, I’d rather walk over broken glass.”
  2. Team “the workout is the warm-up.”

You’re either someone who doesn’t do a warm-up (and likely always has achy joints and sub-par lifts), or someone who does warm-up, but then takes 45 minutes to go through a laundry list of “correctives” (and likely has achy joints and sub-par lifts).

I was recently given a copy Jack Hanrahan’s The Warm-Up Blueprint For Lifting and found it very useful.

It shows you how to design your own customized warm-up using the concepts I discussed above and then some. It takes you through soft tissue release, dynamic stretching, CARs, and targeted muscle activation techniques to better prepare you for squatting, deadlifting, bench pressing, and overhead pressing.

What’s more it’s all done with a British accent.

Jack could read The Silmarillion or, I don’t know, the Wikipedia page for the Kreb’s Cycle and I’d pay to listen to it.

The best part is that this is a home study course. So you can go at your own pace.

Be sure to check it out HERE.

Categoriesyouth/sports training

Why Kids Should Cheat the Deadlift

Today’s guest post come courtesy of Dan Edelman of The Brand X Method, which is a wonderful institution dedicated to improving youth sport(s) and fitness through professional youth coach education.

I love what they stand for and what the strive to instill in their coaches and athletes.

There’s no ONE set way to train anyone – youth athletes included – and oftentimes the larger, more pertinent approach is adopting methodologies for LONG-TERM health and fitness.

Not for ego.

Enjoy the read (and be sure to download the FREE guide “How to Reduce the Risk of Injury in Youth Athletes” below).

Copyright: spotpoint74 / 123RF Stock Photo

Why Kids Should “Cheat” the Deadlift

Sumo is cheating.

We hear that a lot. Mostly from a certain uppity corner of the powerlifting community and mostly owing to its shortened range of motion compared to the conventional deadlift.

Well, we love it. The Brand X Method™ loves the sumo deadlift.

And we’re often asked about this great love affair.

So yeah, why sumo?

  • When was the last time you set up in a conventional stance to pick up a cinder block, sack of dog food, a child? Never. The sumo stance is how we pick up stuff in the real world.
  • Over the course of 15 years, we have found that kids can learn a safe sumo setup more quickly and maintain a neutral spine throughout the movement more consistently. Could it be because our bodies are designed to pick up heavy stuff in this position?
  • The conventional stance requires more work from the spinal erectors (see, e.g., here). Should the erectors fatigue or fail under load—or be left holding the bag so to speak by primary mover fatigue or poor technique—the spine is at risk of injury. We train kids, which by definition means we’re training mostly beginner and intermediate lifters. The responsible approach is to minimize that risk.
  • Powerlifting guru Louie Simmons has said that training wide supports narrow applications but not the opposite. At Brand X – The Lab, we’ve seen people improve their conventional deadlift after training exclusively sumo—but, yeah, you guessed it—not the opposite.

To say the sumo stance is functional is to lose its significance in all the buzz around that overused label.

But it is functional.

Profoundly so.

The sumo stance is everywhere in the everyday world, from the backyard to the ball field, from the garage to the library.

When we train sumo, we enhance physical literacy, we improve our ability to engage with the environment. The more we are able to interact with the world and others around us in positive and rewarding ways, the healthier and happier we—and everyone around us—can be.

Imagine a world like that.

We do.

Never Say Never

So am I saying that we never train conventional?

Of course not.

We program conventional deadlift variations all of the time for our experienced lifters:

Single-leg dumbbell, deficits, rack pulls, RDLs… Conventional deadlifts make for great accessory and supplemental work.

Some of our experienced kids are committed competitive powerlifters. Our sports-specific programming includes conventional deadlifts because it makes sense to identify which position the kid best pulls from.

Is this a contradiction?

No.

We’re talking sport.

We’re talking kids who want to lift the most weight possible. That doesn’t mean we simply let the kid pull conventional. A TBXM™ program for a kid who can stand up with more weight in the conventional stance than in the sumo position also includes exercises that support the conventional stance to ensure that safety and efficiency are maximized during training and competition.

The conventional stance deadlift transfers to the power clean, a staple power-building exercise for The Brand X Method™.

Let’s optimize.

Occasionally anthropometry such as long femurs, long torso, and comparatively short arms call for us to explore a conventional stance for plateau-busting insights.

Individualizing our program is essential to our mission.

Frankly, variation is a fairly conventional strength training principle. And therein lies one of the great things about The Brand X Method™—our principles are sound; they are long-established, evidence-based, and proven. With that kind of foundation, we can forever explore and evolve best practices for teaching kids how to move more safely and efficiently for fitness, sport, and life.

If You Ain’t Cheating You Ain’t Trying

The Brand X Method™ wrangles with the constant tension between the goals of youth sport and the goals of our program.

The former wants high performance at all times (e.g., lifting the most weight, throwing the hardest, running the fastest) while we want to see the discovery, participation, and enjoyment of sport and other physical activities for all time.Thing is, the tension seems to come from the sports side and is almost entirely driven by an over-reliance on sports-specific training and a lack of knowledge about how our program should be viewed as essential to sports-specific training rather than some kind of extraneous “activity.”

We know that high performance and lifelong physical activity based on consistently good movement don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

Our proof is in the USA Powerlifting—California state record book where our kids and teens (and even some adults) hold more than 100 records.

Imagine that—prioritizing safety and efficiency in the form of consistently excellent (and natural) movement yields record holders, champions, and national qualifiers, most of whom stepped onto the platform just for kicks.

High performance is a by-product of The Brand X Method™.

Sumo. What they call cheating, we call common sense.

What they snicker at, we find advantageous.

Efficient.

Safe.

Long-term.

We want our kids able to lift when they’re 40 50, 60, beyond.

A youth fitness program that is not thinking about lifetime fitness is not thinking period.

We’ll continue to train the most efficient, safest movement built on naturally intended, functional motor patterns and positions. We’ll continue to encourage kids to try different sports and then provide them the best strength and conditioning we can to keep them strong, fast, and durable. We’ll continue to imagine a better future for our kids. And we’ll continue to gather the medals, trophies, and records that come with it.

They say cheating. We say scoreboard, baby.

About the Author

Dan Edelman is a Brand X Youth Coach and has been a member of The Brand X Method staff for nearly a decade, principally as staff writer and editor. He is the current Director of Marketing & Communications and is co-owner of R Town Strength & Wellness – A Brand X Method Training Center in San Diego County, California.

About the The Brand X Method

Since 2004, we have been driven by a relentless pursuit of best practices in youth training. Our focus on motor pattern training and physical literacy enhancement optimizes kids’ fitness and elevates their athleticism. We help protect kids and teens against sports injury, boost their sports performance, and push back against the forces behind obesity.

The mastery, confidence, and motivation that kids develop in our gyms are the ingredients of freedom and fearlessness. The Brand X Method™ instills the essence of adventure, passion, and joy in kids and teens when playing their favorite sports, trying new things, and tackling life’s challenges so they can step out of our gyms knowing they can do whatever they set out to do.

Free Download: Brand X Youth Coaches Guide & Assessment

Contact Email: [email protected]

CategoriesProgram Design

The Forgotten Component of Progressing in the Weight Room

It’s popular nowadays for people to brag about how hard their workouts are.

And I don’t mean “hard” as in “man, I’d rather jump into a shark’s mouth than do that squat session again” hard.

No, for whatever reason, it’s become more important to one-up each other, to champion shenanigans over actual progress in the gym:

Person #1: “I could barely walk to my car after my workout today.”

Person #2: “Pfftt, whatever. I threw up today during my workout. It was awesome.”

Person #3: “Oh yeah, well, after my workout I couldn’t feel the right side of my face.”

Progress, it seems, has more to do with how close to a medical emergency someone can get to rather than actually seeing tangible improvements in their lifts.

[email protected]

The Forgotten Component of Progress

To be fair…

My hoity toity introduction wasn’t meant to imply I’m against trainees pushing the envelop in their training. I’ve often said, somewhat facetiously, that lifting weights isn’t supposed to tickle.

I love when people work hard in the gym.

But there’s a stark contrast between someone working hard during a workout and them going out of their way to routinely surpass their ability to recover from said workout.

In a very much watered down explanation, “progress” can be applied, measured, or attributed to the following factors:

  • Doing more sets/reps of a particular exercise.
  • Adding more load to a particular exercise.
  • Manipulating rest periods and/or tempo of a particular exercise.
  • Changing “mode” of an exercise (I.e., switching from Trap Bar Deadlift to Conventional)
  • Adding physics into the equation (I.e, moving center of mass further up and away from base of support. I.e., switching from Dumbbell Reverse Lunges to Barbell Reverse Lunges).
  • Can your pecs cut diamonds?7

In Short: Are you making a concerted effort to “do more work?” What’s more, are you able to do so over the course of weeks, months, years?

Your ability to progress long-term is directly correlated with how well you’re able to recover from your workouts (via purposeful fluctuations in training volume, as well as ensuring ample sleep, calories, and hydration). It has nothing to do with one’s prowess at regurgitating their Quinoa & Kale power salad from a few hours ago.

But I’ll get off my high-horse and get to the point.

“Feel” Matters

Last year I started working with another local coach here in Boston. She’s co-owner of a KB-centric gym and  Strong First certified, but she wanted to hire me to help her get more proficient with the barbell lifts (specifically the deadlift) as well as help her prepare for the Strong First barbell course.

Jessica was already pretty freakin strong when she started.

When we tested her deadlift she hit 300 lbs; a number many guys would love to hit.

However, it didn’t “feel” or look easy.

She had a few technical glitches I wanted to iron out.

We had ten weeks. During that time my only goal was to clean up her technique in an effort to make 300 lbs feel easier.

I knew that if we worked on cementing her technique, making each repetition look (and feel) pristine, and getting her into better positions to be able to express her (true) strength…we’d likely see an improvement when she re-tested her 1 rep-max at the conclusion of the certification course.

Conventional wisdom would dictate that in order to get her to lift more weight we’d have to focus on progressive overload – more sets, more reps, heavier load, did she destroy the back of her pants, etc.

That’s not the route I took.

Over the course of ten weeks we never touched a weight above 265 lbs.

35 lbs under her best lift.

Instead, like I said, we focused on improving position(s) and making sure we trained with loads that allowed her to marinate in impeccable and FAF reps.8.

Fast Forward Ten Weeks

Before she left for her certification weekend we re-tested 300 lbs.

Few things have made me cry – saying my vows to my wife during our wedding, holding my son for the first time, watching Rose let go of Jack at the end of Titanic, flipping my omelet and not breaking it.

Okay, I cry all the time.

Jessica’s deadlift brought a tear to my eye it looked so good.

What was originally a 19 on the Rate of Perceived Exertion scale, looked (and felt) like a 7/8 by the time ten weeks were over.

What’s more, she ended up hitting a PR of 35o lbs that weekend.

*drops the mic.

Progress = Feel, Too

Far too often trainees are quick to add more weight to the bar, or use the concept of more (more sets, reps, load, etc) as the sole metric to gauge progress.

All are important of course, and everyone should remain cognizant of them.

However, don’t be so quick to underestimate the value of staying put and getting more acquainted with a specific weight. If five reps of a certain weight is challenging, even if you can complete five reps, stay there.

Stay there until it feels less effortful. Many people are too quick to add weight at the expense of actually owning it. More to the point, I much prefer someone leave a session feeling refreshed and that they could do more rather than shit their spleen and miss reps on a routine basis.

What good is that going to do?

Easy training is good training.

That’s progression too.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 12/14/18

Holy moley what a shit show.

We’ve had a sick toddler on our hands the past few days (hence the lack of content this week) and our apartment is basically a Petri dish of whateverthef*** at the moment.

He’s feeling better – and back at daycare – but, yeah, that wasn’t fun.

Anyhoo, lets get to this week’s list of stuff to read.

Copyright: wamsler / 123RF Stock Photo

BUT FIRST…CHECK THIS STUFF OUT

1. (Even More) Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint – 2019 Dates

This workshop will piggyback on the material Dean Somerset and I covered in the original Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint.

With this iteration, though, we’ll be going a bit deeper into the coaching and programming side of things:

  • How to program around common injuries.
  • How to “connect” the appropriate exercises to the client/athlete.
  • How to squat and deadlift like a boss.

Check em out HERE.

2. Watch Me In Action

Ever wonder what it would look like to have me take you through an assessment?

No?

Well, I DIDN’T WANT YOU TO KNOW ANYWAY!

[slams door]

Fast forward five hours….

A few months ago Adam Rees of GRIT Gym and his girlfriend, Rachel, stopped by CORE to hang out and to so that I could take a look at Rachel.

She had been having some hip issues and wanted me to take a look at her deadlift and squat.

A technique audit if you will.

They ended up making this video to document their experience.9

3. Appearance on The Strength Running Podcast

I was invited back onto the Strength Running Podcast hosted by Jason Fitzgerald.

It’s a on-going battle, but I do feel the tides are turning and that many runners are starting to understand the importance of strength training (and how it should serve to compliment their running).

Jason and I discuss a bevy of things in this episode, but we dial in on the deadlift and why it’s such an integral movement to learn.

Give it a listen HERE.

SOCIAL MEDIA SHENANIGANS

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In today’s edition of “shit I saw on the internet and am now going to steal it,” this is a deadbug variation that loosely mimics one I saw @vernongriffith4 perform using a @stickmobility . . The difference: . 1. I don’t have access to a @stickmobility , but instead am using a “bendier” PVC stick. . 2. I had @lilew13 (my wife) face the opposite direction because the stick was shorter. . This is a great way to really lock in the concept of the deadbug: stabilized spine while moving through the extremities. . Simply press the stick INTO the wall to engage the anterior core more. For those who struggle with this idea, the stick works like a charm. . And yes, before anyone asks, a band works well here too. However this is a nice option if you don’t have access to a band. . And, honestly, because you have to press into the wall (or the stick falls), I find this variation works better to get the abs to turn on. . ALSO: massive kudos to Lisa for making things awkward AF at the end.

A post shared by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore) on

STUFF TO READ WHILE YOU’RE PRETENDING TO WORK

Gym Owner Musings – Installment #12 – Pete Dupuis

Pete’s stuff is always insightful, relatable, and not full of foo-foo BS.

If you’re a gym owner (or aspire to be), Pete is required reading.

10 Online Training Challenges No One Warns You About – Leigh Peele

With more and more fitness professionals opting to go the online route, it’s important to understand that there are some HARD truths to the lifestyle.

Read this post by Leigh.

And then read it again.

Nutrition Myths For Fat Loss Explained – Steve Bergeron

This is an excellent 3-part (but short read) series written by friend Steve Bergeron of AMP Fitness here in Boston. Plenty of practical and sane advice here.

Give it a read.