CategoriesProgram Design

Why Introducing New Exercises Can Derail Progress and What To Do About It

Anyone who’s read this site for any length time knows I’m not a big fan of exercise variety.

For most people, most of the time, adding in novelty for the sake of novelty often mounts to nothing more than a one-way ticket to Averageville.

My good friend and strength coach, Chris Merritt (founder and owner of BSP NoVa), has an excellent guest post for you today discussing why exercise variety can be detrimental and how, despite popular belief, you can still keep your clients engaged with the same exercises.

His FREE e-book detailing how you can add variety to basic exercises can be downloaded HERE.

Copyright: spotpoint74 / 123RF Stock Photo

Why Introducing New Exercises Can Derail Progress

“No, get your back flatter … yeah, there you go, but drop your hips … okay, great job, but now get your back flat again … [hm, what the heck is going on?] … maybe set your feet wider?”

Whether you’re the coach or client, everyone is frustrated in a scenario like this, and yet, we’ve probably all been here at some point.

If you’re the client, I’m sorry, it’s not your fault.

If you’re the coach—you guessed it—this falls on you.

When it comes to selecting exercises for our clients, we actually shouldn’t have to coach form all that much. Sure, there’s some base level of teaching that needs to happen on the front end, and occasional cues along the way, but, contrary to what all too often happens across gyms far and wide, people don’t need the newest fancy exercise progression every time they get a new program.

In fact, continually introducing new movements will significantly slow down progress or, worse yet, derail it altogether.

Think about it…

The more time spent on coaching, teaching—whatever you want to call it—the less time the client spends training with appropriate focus and duration to accomplish their goals. Do you think the recipient of the coaching above was able to train with enough intensity (i.e., weight used) and volume (i.e., the total number of sets and reps) to even remotely elicit desired results?

 

… and we can argue about whether it was an exercise selection or coaching problem some other time.

[the correct answer is both]

Now let’s pretend that four to six weeks later they’re finally getting it, and then BAM!, their coach decides to switch things up to the latest squat variation they copped from Instagram.

… here we go again.

A Better System

At our gym, Beyond Strength Performance NOVA, we use a system of strength standards to determine when it’s potentially time to move on, and a subsequent progression of exercises that layer competency gained from the movement prior.

Let’s unpack what that actually means, using the deadlift as an example…

All our members start their training journey with a personal orientation session, typically done a day or two after their 1-on-1 assessment and goal-setting session, and we accomplish multiple things within the hour:

  • Teach the warm-ups, providing context for basic concepts (position, breathing, tension, patterning) that carry right over into their everyday training…
  • Teach them how to deadlift, squat, push, and pull, along with determining what variations and loads are best suited for them from day one…
  • Teach the language we use to coach and cue across all our staff
  • Have the new member work with multiple coaches in the session to introduce them to the concept of semi-private personal training
  • Take them through a short training session with the four movements they just learned, allowing them to train that day and us to see how they took to the information they just learned…
  • Set expectations for what’s to come…
  • Make notes about their personality, learning style, and anything else that will help us to coach and connect with them…

Specific to the deadlift, we start the teaching process in our warm-ups by using the cat-cow drill to learn what it feels like to move through our spine and experience two undesirable positions that we refer to as “macho man”—extension, or belly dropped towards the floor—and “sad dog”—flexion, or a big arch like a scared cat.

We then introduce the position of “tall and tight”—ribs down and belt buckle to sternum—using the push-up position plank.

It’s also at this time that we’ll discuss “tall and tight” being our desirable position for all squats, deadlifts, rows, —essentially everything we do in the gym, with one of the only exceptions being the bench press, where we’ll use an arch, or “macho man.”

Finally, we use quadruped rocking to further provide the perception of what it feels like to move with our hips while staying “tall and tight.”

 

After the warm-ups we teach the deadlift, using a progression of handcuff hinge to barbell deadlift, stopping when we find the ideal starting point for their first program. Rather than write out the whole description of this process, let’s check out a video we filmed in May of last year for a law enforcement group we’re consulting with:

 

NOTE: The only thing we do differently since this video was filmed is introduce the barbell RDL before progressing to the rack pull, as we have found that folks learn to keep the bar tight to their thighs and groove the pattern with a top-down approach more easily than bending over to find the right position before beginning the movement—much like handcuff hinge before the kettlebell deadlift…

Further, we use a strength standard of EIGHT quality deadlifts with a 60kg kettlebell (132# for those of you searching for a calculator), performed for multiple quality sets, before progressing to the barbell RDL. The new member may clear this and move on during their personal orientation session, or they could require multiple phases of training to build the capacity.

So yes, you read that correctly—if they’re four months into training with us and they haven’t passed the kettlebell deadlift standard, that kettlebell deadlift is staying on every one of their programs until they do so. Then they’ll need to demonstrate proficiency with the barbell RDL before they go to the rack pull, and the proper form and mobility with descending rack pulls before maybe progressing to the floor.

Sounds boring, you say?

 

Feeling successful is never boring, and the basics allow for our folks to train with appropriate intensity, volume, and positions to crush their goals. But that doesn’t mean you can’t keep things interesting in your application of the basics.

How Many Ways Could You Program the Kettlebell Deadlift?

If you just thought of things like traditional sets and reps, partial reps, varied tempos, clusters, etc., you’re onto what we refer to as loading types.

Rather than just continually throw the kettlebell deadlift at you in the same fashion, month in and month out, we could do something like this:

  • Elevated kettlebell deadlifts for the first month while we work on hip mobility. Further, we can prescribe more time under tension with the eccentric portion (descent) to really groove the pattern. We refer to this as straight sets with an eccentric focus…
    • Elevated Kettlebell Deadlift (31X2)     2-3 x 8
    • (31X2) = each rep performed with a 3 second descent, 1 second pause on the floor, up fast, and 2 second pause at the top. Do these 8 times and you’ve completed one set—one to two more sets to go depending on how you’re holding up with this new training stimulus.
  • In month two we’re ready to ditch the elevation, however, we haven’t cleared the strength standard, so we’ll program clusters to build our capacity.
    • Kettlebell Deadlift Clusters     3 x (2, 2, 1)
    • (2, 2, 1) = 2 reps, rest 10 to 30 seconds, 2 reps, rest another 10 to 30 seconds, and finally 1 rep—all with the same weight. That’s one set, and you’ve got two more to go.
  • For month three, let’s put weight ladders to use.
    • Kettlebell Deadlift Descending Weight Ladders     3 x (3 heavy, 2 medium-heavy, 1 medium-light)
    • Perform 3 heavy kettlebell deadlifts, right into 2 medium-heavy kettlebell deadlifts, followed by 1 medium-light kettlebell deadlift. That’s one set down, two to go.
  • In month four we bring it back to straight sets, only this time with no elevation…
    • Kettlebell Deadlift     4 x 4
    • … and for example, let’s say you want to test out in week 4. We’ll simply switch your 4 x 4 to 2 x 8. Crush it, and on to the barbell RDL we go…

All For One and One For All

We have strength standards for our core four movements—squat, deadlift, push-up, and pull-up—and progressions/regressions for every exercise we use.

When we put these systems to use in our program design process—appropriately selecting individual exercises and combining them in a manner to work towards the clients’ said goals—coaches don’t need to overwhelm the clients with constant corrections, clients get to see a pathway to success and train their asses off in the process, and decision making with regards to writing one program to the next becomes a simple task.

It’s just plain better for everyone involved.

Want More?

You can learn all about 20+ loading types, providing YEARS of near infinite variety on the basics by picking up my free e-book, “You Can’t Get Bored: Adding Variety to the Basics of Program Design,” by simply providing your email here.

And if you’d like to come learn this stuff in person—and so much more—join us on Sunday September 9th in Queens, NY at Iron Lion Performance for the Program Design One-Day Deep Dive Seminar.  Check out the agenda and get registered here.

Beyond that, feel free to email me anytime! [email protected].

CategoriesProgram Design Strength Training

5 Quick Tips to Increase Strength

There are no “hacks” to getting strong. I’m a firm believer you get out of it what you put in.

It’s hard, and it takes a lot of hard work; oftentimes over the course of several years.

That said, below are a few “quick” tips that can help expedite the process. Admittedly there’s nothing profound or elaborate included, but I felt it important to suggest things that are easily accessible to the bulk of people who read this site.

Hope they resonate and help.5 Quick Tips to Increase Strength

1. WARNING: Captain Obvious suggestion of the day: Creatine

It still dumbfounds me to think there are people out there who train on a consistent basis, yet are still not taking creatine (and yes, this includes you as well ladies). It’s the most researched supplement in human history and it’s efficacy has been proven time and time again.

*It’s safe

*It works

*It’s NOT steroids

Just take five grams of creatine monohydrate (no need to buy the expensive brands that are laced with rocket fuel) per day and that’s that.

ADDENDUM: This is a suggestion. Not mandatory. The first step to addressing lack of progress is to audit your program and nutrition. If those two factors aren’t getting the job done, no one supplement is going to be the panacea.

That said, you still need to go train like a savage. Taking creatine alone isn’t going to mount to much.

2. Deadlift Barefoot

Everyone who trains with me here in Boston is told to take their shoes off when (s)he deadlifts.

To quote a new client I started with the other night

“Why?”

BECAUSE I SAID SO. HOW DARE YOU QUESTION ME. KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!!

Just kidding.

Well for starters, by taking your shoes off you’re now 1-2 inches closer to the ground, which is 1-2 inches less distance the bar has to travel.

Secondly, and more germane to the point, by taking your shoes off you’re now able to push through your heels. As a result, you’ll recruit more of your glutes and hamstrings to help out.

It’s not uncommon for some people to see a significant increase in how much weight they can pull off the ground from a little more posterior chain recruitment.

Thirdly, people will automatically think you’re badass cause you’re training with no shoes on. Of course, this is contingent on whether or not your feet smell like you’ve been walking through a sewer all day.

In that case, it’s your call.

3. Glute Activation

If your glutes aren’t able to fire full throttle, the hamstrings and lower back have to do more work than they’re accustomed to doing.

So from that standpoint paying more attention to glute activation can have positive repercussions for those suffering through chronic low-back pain.

However, people often forget the badonkadonks are not only the body’s dominant hip extensor which play a key role in athletics and strength, but are also a fairly large muscle that’s aesthetically pleasing to look at (cue obligatory fitness Insta-celebrity pic here).

Don’t worry, I got you too ladies:

By “turning on” the glutes with some simple activation techniques beforehand, you will undoubtedly be able to handle more weight when you squat and/or deadlift.

To that end, while I don’t have any PubMed research articles to back this up, more weight=more strength=more people want to see you naked.

Here are some of my favorites:

Up 2, Down 1

 

I like this variation because it allows for more eccentric overload on the lowering leg. Obviously one will need to master the two-legged variation first, but this is a nice progression to consider.

Band Resisted 1-Legged Hip Thrust

 

This is an ingenious variation I stole from Dean Somerset. If you’re looking to progress you’re 1-Legged Hip Thrust and having a hard time figuring out a way to do so, give this a try.

Creepy McCreepypants Frog Pumps

 

Popularized by none other than Bret Contreras, Frog Pumps are another fantastic exercise that aid in getting the glutes nice and juicy.

Thing is, they’re awkward as fuck to perform in public.

So, there’s only one way, and one way only, to perform them….

…..by copying Bret and Dr. John Rusin’s lead and making direct, intense eye contact with someone and making things creepy AF.1.

Reps can range anywhere from 15 to infinity.

4. Stop Testing Strength and Build It

I’m not the first to say this.

Many other coaches stronger than I – Chad Wesley Smith, Greg Robins, Julia Ladewski, Pavel, to name a few – have reverberated this quote on repeat throughout the years.

Far too often trainees head to the gym week in and week out and “test” their lifts rather than actually build them.

Now, mind you, lifting heavy things (90% + of 1 rep-max) is a non-negotiable factor to getting strong. However, as I noted in THIS blog post sub-maximal training (I.e., predominately using loads in the 65-85% range) is much UNDER-valued component to strength training.

In other words: loads in those ranges help one to BUILD strength.

Moreover, utilizing more sub-maximal training – while having an obvious muscle building effect (bigger muscles often equate to more force output) – also allows trainees to hone their technique and to get into (and maintain) proper positions to exhibit their strength more effectively.

5. Use Novelty Sparingly

Unlike coaches Dan John or Mike Boyle, I don’t find myself to be a very quotable person.

However, I am proud of this one:

“Look, I’m not bashing exercise variety. Variety has a time and place. However, the greatest gap in most people’s training isn’t lack of novelty, but rather lack of mastery.”

Many trainees have what I like to call “Squirrel Syndrome” when it comes to working out.

They start doing an exercise (or in most cases start an exercise program) and before they’ve put down the dumbbell on their first set they’re distracted by a new “squirrel.”

 

In this case the squirrel is an entirely new exercise program or a bright, shiny, new exercise.

– “Jumping Jack BOSU Bicep Curls?”

– “Sweet Christmas, I need that in my life.”

Want to get stronger?

Stop hopping exercise to exercise or program to program. It’s almost impossible to see steady progress if you’re heavy-handed on the novelty.

I like Jim Wendler’s approach to programming for strength:

“The boring shit works.”

Observe anyone who’s strong or has a physique you admire and almost always they’re doing very vanilla things in the weight room.

Contrarily, watch most other asshats who cry afoul about hitting their genetic ceiling2(or something equally as lame):

Jumping Jack BOSU Bicep Curls.

CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing rant

Porcelain Post: Results is a Battle of Repetition

NOTE: the term “Porcelain Post” was invented by Brian Patrick Murphy and Pete Dupuis. Without getting into the specifics, it describes a post that can be read in the same time it takes you to go #2.

Huh, I guess that was more specific than I thought.

Enjoy.

Results is a Battle of Repetition

You didn’t think I was going to use the word “battle” in a blog post and not figure out someway to finagle a lightsaber reference in there did you?

It’s me we’re talking about here.

So I was listening to THIS interview with Adam Bornstein on The Fitcast the other day and something Adam said resonated with me:

Part II of his commentary was him explaining how his most successful clients (both in person and distance based) – the ones whom he’d use as a walking advertisement for his services – were the ones who stuck with him for a minimum of 1-3 years.

This is not to suggest that those people who only decided to stick around for a month or two (or nine) didn’t receive any benefit or reach their goals in working with Adam. I’m sure many did, because he’s a rock-star coach.

Rather, his message was to demonstrate a hard truth for many to swallow.

It’s the long-game, and consistency with doing the same shit over, and over, and over, and over again that will usually pan out in your favor.

Those people (or clients) who stick to their guns, hold themselves accountable, and make the time to prioritize their health/fitness over the course of many, many weeks/months/better yet, years, are the ones who do very well.

And, honestly, as much as I feel exercise variety is overrated, it’s not even about always doing the monotonous stuff consistently. I do feel learning the basics are important, and taking the time to master them is never a bad thing. The basics should, more often than not, serve as the foundation of any program.

Having said that: I also understand there comes a point and time when some people would rather swallow live bees than perform another Goblet squat.

However, and this is a big however, the more cogent word to focus on in this particular discussion is “stuff.”

Doing “stuff” consistently – whether it’s CrossFit, powerlifting, taking group exercise classes, or pantless Zumba pillow-fighting (<— make it happen Equinox) – and doing it for a very long time, is almost always going to result in some pretty phenomenal things happening.

The key, though, is to START. Stop making excuses, stop reading articles, stop sending emails to fitness pros asking what you should do. Just start. And then, don’t stop. You’ll win the battle.

CategoriesProgram Design rant

Porcelain Post: Exercise Variety

NOTE: the term “Porcelain Post” was invented by Brian Patrick Murphy and Pete Dupuis. Without getting into the specifics, it describes a post that can be read in the same time it takes you to go #2.

Huh, I guess that was more specific than I thought.

Enjoy.

Know what I say about exercise variety?

“Exercise variety, shmeshmercise flafliriety.”

As in, “Exercise variety? Meh.”

As in, “You don’t need as much of as you think you need.”

Or, to put it another way: “fuck it, it’s overrated.”

I’ve reached a tipping point of tolerance, hovering in the vicinity of going bat-shit crazy as it relates to watching people wasting repetitions (and their time) performing superfluous exercises in the name of Likes and Instagram bragging rights.

Don’t get me wrong: I understand that for some of you reading, this comes across as nothing more than me playing the role of ornery, cantankerous strength-coach…hellbent on reminding everyone that, “when I was your age, I worked out without Tweeting about it, barbells were pretty much it, and I didn’t even CrossFit.”

Now, please excuse me while I go yell at the kids to get off my lawn (and then peel out of my driveway in my Gran Torino).

Exercise variety has its place. I want to make that clear. For some people it’s the “variety” that keeps them sane and motivated to show up day in and day out.

Sometimes, it is about having fun, and there’s a degree of excitement and anticipation when we head to the gym to try something new.

I’m all for it.

In addition, exercise variety can also be a valuable asset to help address technique flaws or weaknesses with any one particular lift. It’s that subtle jolt in doing something different – while attacking something specific – that can make all the difference in the world.

Conversely, it’s the vanilla nature of doing the same exercises, in the same order, for the same sets/reps for weeks, months, and years on end that oftentimes derails progress.

So, in many ways, exercise variety is a crucial component in long-term, consistent, and systemic (improved) performance in the weight room.

On the flip side….

Exercise Variety Can Stagnate Mastery

Far too often I find trainees grow infatuated with the “newness” of new. They turn into Dug, the dog from the movie Up:

SQUIRREL!!!

 

Before they’re able to demonstrate any semblance of understanding and “mastery” of an exercise – in this case lets default to the “big 3 (squat, bench press, deadlift) – they’re distracted by the squirrel, or the shiny, gimmicky, whateverthef*** exercise that that guy is doing over there in the corner of the gym.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

I am right there with you: the hip hinge looks boring, and it is boring.

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

 

It’s not a sexy exercise, and it most certainly will not win you any social media followers; but I gotta tell ya, as a coach, nothing is more valuable to me than the hip hinge.

Once someone masters that, their exercise toolbox grows exponentially.

I can more or less do whatever I want with him or her.

Deadlift? Check.

Squat? Check.

KB Swing? Check.

Fight Jason Bourne? Check.

It behooves me to drill the “big 3,” to the point of boredom and nausea, over and over and over and over again.

The Pareto Principle almost always applies here: 80% of your results are going to come from 20% of the work. If someone wants to get strong, more athletic, or even shredded…the basic, boring, “stuff” is going to get the job done.

I mean, if you want to get better at back squatting…back squat!

I know, I’m full of good ideas.

Besides, you can add plenty of “variety” playing with bar position, foot position, stance width, in addition to fluctuating sets/reps, tempo, and rest intervals.

Granted it’s an “old school” approach, but what good does it do to spend a week or even a month on a given exercise only to move on before any level of competence or motor learning has transpired?

What good does it do to add variety for the sake of adding variety?

We are providing a service, and we must take into consideration our client’s goals and preferences. There is a degree of compromise.

However

Mastering the basics, using less variety, at least in the beginning, for most people, most of the time, is going to supersede exercise flamboyance.

CategoriesExercise Technique

4 Easy Ways to Improve Classic Lifts

I’ve been on a “less is better” stick to the basics kick lately with my writing3.

Last week I wrote an article on T-Nation on why I feel “muscle confusion” is wack, and this week I have a new article on BodyBuilding.com with a similar vibe…

…extolling people to make the “classic” moves (squats, deadlifts, rows, presses, etc) a priority, but to also do versions of those lifts to help improve technique.

This image came up when I did a search for “classic exercises” in Google. I thought it was hilarious, and ran with it.

It’s a good article with some solid advice (if I do say so myself4). But I understand if your eyes glaze over. I get it: an article telling you to focus on the basics is about as exciting as watching NASCAR. Or this video:

However, I do offer some neat5 exercises you may find interesting and worth giving a try.

SHA-ZAM (<— You should read this)

CategoriesProgram Design Strength Training

Exercise Variety Is Making You Weak

The term “muscle confusion” is, well, confusing to me. I understand in the most general of context it refers to muscle building and growth. Cool. Getting strong is part of building muscle as well, and I feel too much exercise variety is hurting everyone’s gains.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m not adamantly against the idea of switching things up and implementing new exercises for the sake of variety. I mean, not everyone wants to eat vanilla ice-cream every day, right?6 It’s not a bad thing to spice things up and try new things. Oftentimes it helps keep people motivated to workout.

However, where it becomes problematic is when people start adding variety for the sake of adding variety – with no plan or intent to work on or improve something.

Like I said, exercise variety can be a good thing. But I find that many (not all) trainees view adding variety (or the idea of muscle confusion) as necessary for getting results in the gym. I’d argue the opposite to be true.

Less variety – and “owning” your exercises, is a major factor in long-term success. It’s not a idea cemented in stone, but just a conversation to consider.

In my latest article on T-Nation I explain my rationale.

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