Categoriescoaching Corrective Exercise mobility

It’s a Warmup, Not a Social Hour

I arrived back to Boston late last night from London and I’d like to say I woke up today well-rested and ready to wow everyone with some witty fitness prose.

I’d like to say that.

Not gonna happen today. I’ve got a ton of emails and programs to catch up on, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have any content prepared for you today. Andrew Millett, good friend and Boston based physical therapist/strength coach was kind enough to send along this baller post today.

You’ll love it.

Copyright: undrey / 123RF Stock Photo

 

It’s a Warmup, Not a Social Hour

I got the idea for this post after recently attending the Advanced Warm-Up and Recovery Workshop put on by Matt Ibrahim and Dr. John Rusin.  I didn’t know what new things I may learn at the workshop, but after taking pages of notes and getting new ideas for my clients and patients, it was definitely worth it.

You walk into any gym or fitness facility and you will see people warming-up on the bike, treadmill, elliptical, or maybe even rolling around on the foam roller.  It is great to see people putting in the time and effort to consciously warm-up their musculoskeletal, nervous, and circulatory systems prior to engaging in their exercise routine.

The key word in that last statement is:

Consciously

Too many times, people warm-up without any direct goals or agenda in mind.  They hop on one of the aforementioned cardio machines and watch TV or read a magazine and aimlessly pedal or step until they think they are ready to exercise.  If they are on the foam roller, they probably roll around on it like they are rolling out pizza dough or look like a boy scout trying to start a fire with 2 sticks.

When you are working with a client or are performing a warm-up in your own gym routine, there needs to be a specific goal in mind while warming-up prior to your exercise session.

First off, we need to assess our clients to see what areas they may be lagging in.  Here are a few quick and easy tests to see if there are any areas that need to be targeted for some type of self-myofascial release.

Ankle

In the sagittal plane, the ankle needs to be mobile.  It needs to be able to plantar-flex and dorsiflex for the demands of life as well as demands in the gym.

In order to perform a squat without compensations, the ankle must be able to dorsiflex and allow the tibia to translate anteriorly as the person descends down in the bottom position.  To determine if someone has adequate ankle dorsiflexion, try the Knee to Wall Test.

Knee to Wall Test

 

 

You instruct the client to place their foot on the tape strip.  On the tape strip, there are 4 lines, each 1-4 inches away from the wall.

Start with the client’s foot on the “4” line.  Four inches is required for adequate dorsiflexion in order to perform the squat.

Tell the client to try and touch their knee to the wall without letting their heel come up.  Also, make sure they are going into valgus or varus movements at the knee to potentially compensate for lack of dorsiflexion.

If someone cannot reach from the “4” line, then have them move up and determine where they can reach from.  Then test the opposite side.

If they cannot reach, ask them where they “feel it.”  If they feel they can’t go any farther due to tightness in the back of their ankle, then we know that some of the soft tissue structures on the posterior aspect of their lower leg could be to blame.

For that, some type of self-myofascial release (SMR) to the soleus, posterior tibialis, flexor hallucis longus/flexor digitorum groups could help to improve range of motion at the ankle.

 

If they feel a pinch on the anterior aspect of the ankle, that could potentially be a joint mobility dysfunction.

Try a Banded Ankle Mobilization.

Start by placing a thick superband around a post or squat rack; something that can’t move.  Then place the band at the ankle joint, just inferior to the medial and lateral malleoli.  Place a good amount of tension on the band.  While maintaining this tension, recreate the same movement as if you were performing the knee to wall test.  Go as far as you can comfortably go.  Hold for 2-3 seconds when you can’t go any farther.  Return to the starting point and repeat for 6-10 reps.

Then retest the Knee to Wall Test.

If it improves, then we know the Banded Ankle Mobilization worked.  Whether it improved or not, it might be wise to refer out to a licensed healthcare practitioner to further assess the ankle to determine what may be limiting that motion.

If there has been an improvement in ankle mobility, we want to be able to control that “new found” mobility.

Try the Heel Raises with Single Leg Eccentric.  I first saw this from Dr. Ryan DeBell of The Movement Fix.

 

Key Points:

– Perform the movement slow and controlled.

-When your foot is are parallel to the ground, slightly flex the knee and go slow and controlled towards the ground.

-Imagine like you are slowly pulling your heel to the ground.

Hip

At the hip, we need to determine a few different areas of mobility.  Starting in the sagittal plane, we need to determine if the client has adequate hip extension.  If the client doesn’t have adequate hip extension mobility, they will have a more difficult type using their gluteal musculature to perform some of the movements we ask them to.

In addition to not being able to effectively activate and use certain muscles, lack of hip extension mobility can place increased stress on the lumbar spine and the knees, as well as some other more distal joints.  By ensuring the client has adequate hip extension mobility, then we know some of the other joints of the body will be able to function properly.

To determine if someone has adequate hip extension mobility, we have two different options.  First off, you can perform the ½ Kneeling Hip Extension Test.

VID ½ KNEELING HIP EXT TEST

Have the client place one knee down on a padded surface and the other knee up.  Instruct them to contract their gluteus maximus on the down leg side, brace their abs, and slowly bring the hips forward.

We ideally would like to see 30 degrees of hip extension on the trail leg.  You can use the Inclinometer App on the Iphone to measure the angle.

You can also perform a Thomas Test.  This is a test that is typically taught in physical therapy schools to determine hip extension mobility.

*Disclaimer*:  First off, you need to ask your client if they are okay with you placing your hands on them to assess their hip mobility.

Thomas Test

 

Self Thomas Test (and Sick Beats)

 

You are going to have the client lie supine on the side of a table or bench.  Have them hold their knee at 90 degrees of hip flexion, or at hip height.  Place your thumb on their Anterior Superior Iliac Spine (ASIS).

Using your other hand, slowly lower the leg the client is not holding with their hands.

If you can lower their leg to the level of the table and their ASIS does not translate anteriorly, then we know they have adequate hip extension mobility.

If you lower the client’s leg and their ASIS DOES translate anteriorly prior to the leg reaching the level of the table, then we know there is some muscle group limiting hip extension.

To determine, which muscle group, then we need to change the position of the lower leg.

If we extend the knee and perform the same test, this will place tension on the Psoas and Iliacus muscle groups.  If you lower the leg with the knee extended and the ASIS translates anteriorly, then we can determine Psoas and Iliacus are to blame for decreased hip extension mobility.
If we lower the leg and the ASIS doesn’t translate anteriorly, then the only other muscular group to blame would be Tensor Fascia Latae (TFL).

To test for this, we slightly abduct the hip and perform the same test.  If the ASIS translates anteriorly, then we know TFL is to blame.

If we run through all of these tests and each test with the knee extended doesn’t cause anterior translation of the ASIS, but when the knee is flexed it does, then we can determine that Rectus Femoris is to blame.

To improve hip extension mobility, try SMR to whichever area you determine to be problematic.

SMR w/ Lax Ball to Iliacus/Psoas & TFL

 

SMR to Rectus Femoris

 

SMR to Vastus Lateralis & TFL

Then re-test to see if any of these SMR variations improved the client’s hip extension mobility.

Once someone’s hip mobility has improved or is normal, we want to make sure they can stabilize in that mobility.

The Cook Hip Lift is a great movement for accessing and stabilizing hip extension mobility.

 

Key Points:

-Place a ball in your hip crease.

-Use non-stance leg to keep ball in hip crease.

-Lift hips up off ground.  Do not let ball fall out

-Perform for 8 repetitions per side.

Thoracic Spine

The thoracic spine is another area of the body that needs adequate mobility.  If it doesn’t present with adequate mobility, areas of the lumbar and cervical spines and the shoulder can be affected.  It is one of the most influential areas of the body because of the impact it can have on so many different areas.

To determine if your client has adequate thoracic spine mobility, it is best assessed in quadruped using the Quadruped Thoracic Rotation Test.

Normal thoracic rotation in the general population should be 50 degrees.  To measure this, use the Inclinometer app and place it ½ way between both shoulders on the thoracic spine.

When you are passively bringing them through the movement, make sure there is no lumbar movement such as sidebending occurring as this will skew your measurements.  Also, gently rotate the client.  Don’t try to force rotation on someone that may not have it.

If the client does not have 50 degrees of thoracic rotation, there are various thoracic spine mobility drills that can be performed such as:

A-Frame T-Spine Mobilization

 

Side Lying Thoracic Rotation

 

Side Lying Rib Roll

If the client has 50 degrees or more of passive rotation, but less than 50 degrees of active rotation, a thoracic spine motor control drill can be performed.

Drills such as:

Quadruped Assisted Thoracic Rotation

 

Key Points:

-Perform slow and controlled.

-Make sure not to side-bend through your spine.  Make sure to rotate through mid-back.

Seated Assisted Thoracic Extension

 

Key Points:

-Squeeze ball between your knees.

-Slightly turn away from where band is attached.

-Slow and controlled, allow band to rotate body.

Shoulder

The last pertinent area of the body to address in a warm-up is the shoulder.  Limited shoulder mobility in shoulder flexion, abduction, or internal/external rotation can affect function at the shoulder, cervical spine, thoracic spine, and even the lumbar spine.

To assess the shoulder, movements such as:

Supine Shoulder Flexion Test

Supine Shoulder ER Test

If there are limitations in mobility, performing self-myofascia release as shown below can help:

Once mobility has been improved, now we want to make sure we can use that mobility.  Performing movements such as:

Back to Wall Shoulder Flexion

 

Key Points:

-Maintain low back flat to the wall.

-Raise arms up and when the reach shoulder height, gently reach 1 inch in front of your finger tips.

-Continue this gentle reaching as you continue to raise your arms overhead.

Forearm Wall Slides

 

Key Points:

-Slide arms up the wall.

-When your elbows get to shoulder height, gently press into the wall/push your trunk away from the wall.

-Maintain the pressure on the pinkie side of your hand as you slide up the wall.

Quadruped Assisted Reach Roll and Lift

 

Key Points:

-Perform slow and controlled.

-Slowly reach out.  Rotate palm up to the sky.  Slowly raise arm up.<

Yoga Push-Ups Sans Pushups

 

Key Points:

-Think of pushing the ground away from you with your hands.

-Should be felt in your upper back and out and around your rib cage.

If you have no mobility limitations in any of the aforementioned areas, feel free to use the motor control or stability drills to help primer your nervous system to prep you for your lift.

There you have it!  Create a plan for your warm-up, do said plan, and then go and get after your training!

About the Author

Andrew Millett is a Metro-West (Boston) based physical therapist

Facebook: From The Ground Up

Twitter: @andrewmillettpt

Instagram: andrewmillettpt
CategoriesCorrective Exercise Rehab/Prehab

Add Some “Flow” to Your Warm-Up

I could easily pull a fast one and just tell everyone to start playing some Tribe Called Quest or Nas during their warm-ups and call it day.

Done, you just added some flow.

But I feel that would do nothing but yield a bunch of weird looks and not really give me much “cred” as far as training advice is concerned.

My musical taste would be on point though.

Can I kick it?

Yes You Can!

After perusing a few videos from the likes of Dean Somerset, Max Shank, and Louie Guarino – and there are a litany of others – lately I’ve been toying around with more “flow” based warm-ups prior to my training sessions.

So, rather than performing the standard A (glute bridge) t0 B (ankle mobility drill) to C (T-spine mobiity) to D (forearm wall slide) to E (lunge pattern) to F (smashing my face into a cinder block from boredom) warm-up, I’ve been “flowing.”

Like This

And yes people, that is ERIC freakin CRESSEY (and Tank) doing what they do best…..videobombing me walking around in the background. Kudos to Eric for the commentary in the background too…..haha.

We like to keep things professional at the facility….;o)

This is a drill that really opens up the hips and is A LOT harder to do than it looks.  Starting off, I’ll do 2-4 passes of rocking side to side working on hip internal-external rotation.

From there I’ll come up onto my knees working into terminal hip extension.  I’ll also perform 2-4 passes on each side here as well.

Of Note:  be careful not to hyperextend through the lower back here.  Those with limited hip extension will tend to compensate with lumbar extension.

Then I’ll transition up onto my feet and work in a squat pattern, performing 2-4 passes on each side again.

I really like the seamless transition and positioning of the body and feel there’s a lot more carryover to everyday movement.

Don’t get me wrong:  for most people performing a more traditional warm-up that targets problematic areas is ideal.  But for those looking to step up their game, following more “flow” based warm-ups might be a nice change of pace.

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Rocked Back Adductor Stretch w/ Extension-Rotation

So I have to assume that for many people reading my site today one of two things is happening:

1.  You’re recovering from the chocolate and/or peanut butter fudge* induced insulin coma you put yourself into yesterday. Was that 11th piece of fudge really necessary?

Yes, yes it was….;o)

Or

2.  You’re covertly folding the hideous homemade “whatever it is” you received as a present – along with a few pair of the 47 pairs of socks you received – and placing them into the “donate” pile for the Salvation Army.

Don’t worry, I won’t judge.

In any case it’s my hope that everyone reading had a joyous and wonderful few days spending time with their families and loved ones.

I for one had an amazing few days off.  On Christmas Eve Lisa and I headed to the local gym near our apartment and killllled it in preparation for our meal later that night at Fogo de Chao.  Here’s a picture Lisa took of me kneeling on the front steps of the restaurant before we walked in.  I’m classy like that.

I won’t go into all the details of Christmas Day, but suffice it to say Lisa and I were like two giddy kids on Christmas morning. At a little past 6 AM (which, technically, is the time we get up anyways on a normal day) the conversation went like this:

Lisa: Pssst, are you awake?

Me: Yeah.

Lisa: OMG, I want to open my stocking.

Me:  NINTENDO 64!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, Lisa and I are both in our mid to late 30s, and yes, we were both excited to get up at the crack of dawn and see what Santa brought us.

And not for nothing, the coolest (and funniest) present I got was a Wampa Claw ice-scraper!

For those not geeky enough to know what a Wampa is:  1) I feel sorry for you. and 2) I suggest you watch The Empire Strikes Back. Gosh!!!!

As is the case every year……..it goes by way too fast.  It’s back to reality today.

I figured I’d ease my way back into my normal routine today and introduce a new exercise that you may or may not be doing.

Rocked Back Adductor Stretch w/ Extension-Rotation

Who Did I Steal It From:  Eric Cressey, actually.  He came into the facility a few days ago and mentioned to all of us how he was “toying around” with a few things the day prior – this is what Eric does in his free time – and he came up with this doozy.

What Does It Do: It kills a few birds with one stone.  For starters it bears a close resemblance to the regular ol’ quadruped extension-rotation, but with this variation we’re able to work on adductor length.

Of note, in the rocked back position, we take the lower back out of the equation so-to-speak, which makes it less likely someone can compensate through that area.

And, of course, this is also an excellent drill that works on thoracic mobility.

Key Coaching Cues:  I think this one is pretty self explanatory – it’s not like we’re trying to cure cancer or solve an advanced algorithm or anything.

Simply kneel down, brace your abs, try not to place yourself in too much extension and then rotate on one side following your hand with your eyes.

I will say, though, that for those who do tend to live in a little more extension it may be more beneficial to kneel down onto the forearms to help flatten out the back a bit more (I actually demonstrate this in the video).

This drill is more or less something I’d include as part of a warm-up, but it can just as easily be included as a filler in between sets of deadlifts or squats or nunchuck training.  I tend to stick to sets of 5-6 repetitions per side.

Give it a try today and let me know what you think!

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work Uncategorized

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: Zombies!, Pull-Ups, and the best Warm-Up Article EVER

Wait a second – my alarm went off this morning.  I don’t think I’m dreaming.

*looks out window*

Volcanoes aren’t erupting, the streets aren’t flooded with molten lava, and from what I can tell, everything seems business as usual.

The Mayanpocalypsearmeggedonacaust didn’t happen.  We’re all still here!!!!!!

High Five!

But be weary my friends – we’re still not out of the woods yet.  The day is still young, and you never know when s*** is going to hit the fan.

If things do get real, and you’re forced to fight for your life, whether it be killing a grizzly bear with your nunchucks for your next meal, protecting your family from evil doers, or I don’t know, something less “doom and gloom” like clicking “next” whenever your Pandora station plays a Coldplay song……are you prepared?

Are you in enough ass-kicking shape to do what you need to do to get s*** done? Can you – WILL YOU – survive if you had to go all Snake Plissken on people’s asses?

Well just in case, earlier this week my boy, John Romaniello, released his latest training program:

Zombie Apocalypse Survival Workout

I know some reading are going to dismiss this product due to the “less than serious” premise. To that I say:

1.  Relax!  Don’t take yourself so seriously.

AND

2.  There’s actually a legitimate rationale behind it.

John, along with every other well-known fitness professional I know, routinely gets questions asking his opinion on CrossFit (myself included).

It’s a touchy topic to say the least, and something that has caused a rift between strength coaches, personal trainers, and fitness enthusiasts alike.

On one end of the spectrum you have those who swear by it, and literally eat, drink, breath, and LIVE by CrossFit.

On the other, you have those who loathe it, think it’s a fad, and that it’s hopefully going away.  Like, soon.

Well, it’s not going away.  And while I’ll be the first to admit that I too have my qualms with CrossFit, I also understand that it’s getting people excited to exercise, and there’s a lot to be said for that. How can I possibly poo-poo on that?

Like John I feel the idea of CrossFit is sound – it’s just that its execution is flawed.

To his credit John has been attending at least one CrossFit class a week for the past few months to try to get a better understanding and feel for what the culture is like.

And, not surprisingly, he’s mentioned several times that there are great coaches and absolutely terrible coaches.

The great coaches – and by extension, the most successful CF boxes – understand that it comes down to sound programming.  They take the time to properly coach their clients and use appropriate exercise progressions (and more importantly, regressions) to “guide” them through.

By contrast, the terrible coaches – and unfortunately this seems to be the rule rather than the exception – focus solely on the workouts. How can we completely obliterate our athletes/clients and make them hate life?  How can we – fingers crossed! – make them cough up their spleen?

The latter is what I 100% disagree with, and what I feel gives CrossFit its bad rap.

So what did Roman do?  He started taking CrossFit classes to see if he could fix it.

To quote the man himself:

“I thought to myself, “what if you took the idea of CrossFit–the idea of non-
specification,the idea of having a high level of general proficiency across the
board, and applied intelligent programming–with a classic Roman twist–to
that idea…what would you get?”

It’s a good question, and one worth exploring. So that’s what I did.

What I wound up with was the Zombie Apocalypse Survival Workout. 

Because really, when you strip away the fun and silliness, that’s what ZAW 
really is: my take on CrossFit. It’s CrossFit, Roman style, with all of the issues 
with programming fixed.”

Fittingly, today is the last day of the sale, so if you’re interested you better hurry.  The walking dead could be right around the corner……;o)

6 Coaches Weigh in on Pull-Ups – 6 Coaches, Duh!

Along with Bret Contreras, Ben Bruno, Dean Somerset, Tim Henriques, and Dan Trink, I was asked to contribute to this awesome pull-up article that was put up on T-Nation yesterday.

If we were a boy band, we’d totally be the most diesel boy band ever.

I’d be the shy one.

Warm-Up – Mike Robertson

The title says it all.

I wrote a blog post a while back titled The Perfect Warm-Up?  It was nothing revolutionary, but it cemented my thoughts on what I felt the purpose of a proper warm-up is, and then I offered a different spin on it.

Well, in THIS article – which should be titled The FOR REAL Perfect Warm-Up – Mike breaks everything down from what the warm-up should accomplish for each segment of the body to providing videos of all of his favorite drills.  This is a MUST read.

 

CategoriesUncategorized

The Perfect Warm-Up?

When most people think of what a well-rounded, bullet proof program encompasses, many will undoubtedly think of optimal set/rep schemes, rest intervals, what exercises to include (and in what order), and, of course, how many days per week they should train given their goals.

Admittedly, all of the above components are important things to consider, and rightfully deserve their time under the program design microscope.  It’s interesting, though, that the last – and arguably the most important – thing to enter the discussion, is the first thing that most trainees tend to dismiss altogether:  the warm-up.

Yeah yeah yeah – I get it. You’re busy, and warming is up is about as exciting as watching NASCAR. Truth be told, we all know we should warm-up, but for most of us (namely, you), the warm-up is usually nothing more than an afterthought; or, something we half heartedly do because our 8th grade gym teacher told us we had to.

Even if you are one of the rare few who actually performs a warm-up, chances are it entails a few arm circles here, a couple of hamstring stretches there, a couple of minutes on the treadmill, maybe a fist pump, and you’re off to the bench press.  Sound familiar?

Yeah I Thought So

Much like you wouldn’t walk out to your car in the middle of winter and take it from 0-60 MPH on the highway and expect it to run optimally, the same can be said about your body.

Moreover, when’s the last time you actually felt good?  I mean reeeeally good?  Can you remember the last time your lower back didn’t feel stiff, or your knees didn’t ache every time you attempted a squat?

Better yet, when was the last time you consistently made appreciable progress in the gym?

The question, then, is what should a warm-up do, and more importantly, what should it look like?

While not an exhaustive list, a good warm-up will (or should) provide the following:

– Increased body temperature.

– Improve joint lubrication.

– Engage the nervous system to a greater degree.

– Improve extensibility/flexibility of muscles.

– Groove movement patterns.

– And, better prepare you for a back alley fight against a pack of ninjas.  You know, just in case.

More specifically, given that many of us spend an inordinate amount of time hunched over in front of a computer on a daily basis, the warm-up should target the areas of the body which tend to be most problematic:  namely, the glutes, hips, thoracic spine, shoulders, and core, to name a few.

Standing in one place, holding a stretch for 30 seconds does nothing in terms of preparing you for the more dynamic nature of what you’ll be doing in the weight room.

We need to take the warm up more seriously and view it not as a necessary evil, but something that will undoubtedly help you not only feel better, but lead to unparalleled performance in the gym.

Carry Your Ass Off

Giving full disclosure, I didn’t come up with this idea on my own. Dan John was the first to really bring carry variations into the limelight, and more to the point, utilizing them as part of an extended warm-up.

As far as bang-for-your-training-buck exercises are concerned, you’d be hard pressed to trump carries.

For those looking for proof, it’s in the pudding:

  • When performed unilaterally, they’re a fantastic way to train core stability – specifically anti-lateral flexion.  But even when performed bilaterally, they’re still an awesome “core” exercise.
  • They obviously help improve grip strength.  Taking it a step further, however, they do an amazing job of “activating” the rotator cuff through a process called irradiation.  In non-geek speak, all this means is that when you squeeze something with a death grip, the RC turns on, and as a result the shoulder “packs” itself.  In a sense, carry variations are a great exercise for those with chronic shoulder issues.
  • Farmer carries do an amazing job at challenging hip stability – especially when performed unilaterally (one arm at a time).
  • They condition the shit out of you. The next time someone asks you whether or not weight training has any cardiovascular benefit, have him or her do a few rounds of carries for 50-75 yds.
  • Without question, carries are also a great way to get a “yolked up” back.  For those dudes looking to build some traps, farmer carries can help.
  • And lets just state the obvious:  they do a superb job of increasing one’s overall sense of badassessey.

To that end, here’s the actual warm-up I’ve been following for the past few weeks.  After a thorough foam rolling session, I’ll head over to the turf and alternate between a carry variation paired with a specific dynamic drill.

A few things to note:

1. When performing ANY carry variation, it’s important to think to yourself, “spine tall, shoulders back.”  In addition, there should be as little deviation as possible in terms of leaning to one side or the other.  The objective is to stay in as much of a straight line as possible – if you compensate in any way, you’re using too heavy of a load.  Also, since this is part of a WARM-UP, you shouldn’t be too aggressive with the loading anyways.  Just focus on perfect technique.

2.  In case you’re wondering, yes, I’m wearing a t-shirt of a lumberjack punching a grizzly bear in the face in all of the carry videos.  I’m not going to go so far as to say that it’s the most awesome t-shirt in the history of the world. But, it pretty much is.

A1. Suitcase Carry (35-40 yds/per arm)

A2.  Wall Hip Flexor Mobilization (x8/leg)

B1. Racked Carry (35-40 yds/per arm)

B2. Half Kneeling Adductor Dips (x8/leg)

C1. Waiter Carry (35-40 yds/per arm)

Note:  be sure to maintain a neutral wrist position on this one, and to “set” the scapulae (you shouldn’t be shrugging the weight).

C2. Rocking SUMO Squat Mobilization (x10)

D1.  Crossbody Carry (35-40 yds/per side)

Note:  Hold the heavier KB (or DB) like a suitcase, and the lighter weight above your head.  Like the waiter walk above, be sure to maintain a neutral wrist position.

D2. Scapular Wall Slides (x10)

E1.  Goblet Carry (35-40 yds)

Note:  having the load anterior to the body really helps to activate the anterior core musculature which has both an anti-flexion, and anti-extension component.

Anti-extension in the sense that it’s really hard to OVER arch the lumbar spine with the anterior load.

E2.  Supine Bridge with Reach (x8/side)

Note:  be sure to maintain hip extension throughout, and yes, that’s Eric Cressey riding a foam roll horse across the screen.  HEE-HAW.

F1. Heartbeat Carry (35-40 yds)

F2. Yoga Push-Up Complex (x5/side)

And there you have it.  Is it really the perfect warm-up*?  Tough to say, but it’s a far step above what most people are doing. As I mentioned above, this is pretty much the exact warm-up I’ve been doing for the past couple of weeks and I’m loving it. Try it out yourself and let me know your thoughts!

* = yes**

** = because I said so.

CategoriesUncategorized

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Inchworm Complex

Last Friday I wrote a little sumthin sumthin about my visit to the Diesel Strength facility, and how I essentially felt like a kid in a candy store training alongside my boy Jim “Smitty” Smith.

Traveling to other facilities to see what various coaches are doing with their clients and athletes, as well as using that time to simply sit back, observe, and really absorb the knowledge that others have to offer is an invaluable use of time that far too many fitness professionals don’t exploit nearly enough.

As is the case from last week, I spoke about the warm-up – albeit briefly – that Smitty took Lisa and I through that really opened up my eyes as to how “archaic” my approach to warming up has been for the past few years.

Now, not to throw myself under the bus entirely, the warm-ups that we use at Cressey Performance do serve a purpose, and are without question a step above what most trainees encounter at their local globo-gym where doing a few hamstring stretches coupled with some arm circles is considered a “warm-up.”

That’s just lame, and woefully inefficient.

I mean, the whole purpose of a warm-up is to:

1.  Help increase core temperature.

2. Help stimulate the central nervous system (CNS), and in turn better prepare you for the more dynamic nature of the training demands placed upon the body during your training session.

3.  Improve tissue quality and target those areas of the body that tend to be “problematic.”  For most reading this would entail:  weak glutes, poor ankle dorsiflexion, hips that are stiffer than a steel beam, poor thoracic mobility, atrocious pec length, overactive upper traps, and a very weak anterior core, to name a few.

4.  Improve tissue length/extensibility.

5.  Provide ample opportunity to scope out the hot chicks. Obviously.

Too, and this is something that’s been on my mind lately:  the warm-up should be fun.  I mean, when you think about it, the warm-up sets the tone for the rest of the session.  Training, for 90% of the people reading, 90% of the time, should be fun (and practical). It should be specific to your goals, of course, but it should also get you excited to the point where come 2 o’clock, all you can think about is how you’re going to make people destroy the back of their pants when you crush your deadlifts later on in the day at the gym.

There’s a time a place to put your game face on, and get after it (1RM attempts come to mind), but for all intents and purposes, if training is fun and is something you look forward to, you’re more prone to stick with it.

Raise your hand if actually look forward to warming up.

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

In much the same way, the warm-up should follow the same parameters as your training.  It needs to serve a purpose, and there should be some semblance of individualization involved, but concurrently, it should also be fun.

As I noted above, this is where I feel I could step up my game a bit, as I feel many of the warm-ups I program are very “robotic” in nature.

Quadruped Extensions-Rotations

High Knee Walks

Reverse Lunge with Posterolateral Reach

Scapular Wall Slides

Put your left foot in, take your left foot out, do the Hokie Pokie, and turn yourself around………blahblidy blah blah. Boooooooooooooooring.

Sure it gets the job done, but the example above can be very uninspiring and feel more like a chore – kind of like doing the laundry – than anything else.

Which is why I LOVED the warm-up that Smitty had us do a few weeks ago, which had more of a “fluid” flow to it.  Rather than do one drill for “x” number of reps, and then moving to the other, Smitty prefers to COMBINE exercises and provide a little more value for your warm-up buck.

Not only does his approach still address many of the weaknesses and imbalances that most people possess, but it also takes a bit of the monotony out of the equation.

For example, lets take a look at the Inchworm Complex:

What Is It:  I just told you what it was – the Inchworm Complex.  GOSH!

What Does It Do:  holey moley where do I begin?  This badboy works a lot of stuff:

  • Serratus activation
  • Anterior core activation
  • Hamstring length
  • Ankle dorsiflexion
  • T-Spine mobility (specifically, extension)
  • Scapular mobility
  • Chin tuckification (meaning, one should tuck their chin, and therefore maintain more of a neutral spinal position throughout).
  • And I’m sure I neglecting to name a few more benefits

As you can see, this one drill combines several exercises which helps to target a lot of stuff at once, but is also shortens the warm-up time (perfect for those in a rush).

Key Coaching Cues:  try to have as little movement as possible in the torso.  If you have to, use a wide(er) stance to maintain more of a neutral spinal position (although, a teeny tiny bit of spinal flexion isn’t the end of the world……relax!).  Also of note, I’d be reticent to use this exercise first thing in the morning when the spinal column is fully “hydrated.” Doing so many compromise the spine and cause an ouchie.

Taking it a step further, we can add another element into the mix and perform the Inchworm Complex Plus.

Here we take all the benefits from above and add in some hip flexor/adductor length, in addition to some more thoracic spine mobility.

The possibilities are endless, really.

Try them out today, and let me know what you think.

I do want to stress that it’s still important to master the basics first, and that drills like the ones above aren’t what I would advocate for people who have the movement quality of a snail.   Having said that, I really feel taking more of a “progressive” approach to warming-up is exactly the kick in the ass most people need to make it a little more palatable to do.

Try it out and let me know what you think!