CategoriesExercise Technique Exercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: 1-Legged Glute Bridge Floor Press

Happy Valentine’s Day everybody. This is mine and Lisa’s first V-day as parents (two weeks in). Her Mom is in town this week helping out with our little guy, and this is the sort of dichotomy is going down.

I went to BU to get a quick lift in, and Lisa headed down to Newbury St (downtown Boston) to hit up a fancy hair salon. HA – who says romance is dead?1 Thanks Grandma for babysitting.

Copyright: romastudio / 123RF Stock Photo

No wordsmith foreplay today, lets get right into things….

1-Legged Glute Bridge Floor Press

 

Who Did I Steal It From: My man, Ben Bruno. He mentioned these a few years ago in a few blog posts of his and I immediately thought to myself 1) was a brilliant idea and 2) I’m an idiot for never thinking of something like this myself.

What Does It Do: I refer to this as a “hybrid” exercise in that it combines two exercises into one and trains several key functions:

  • The Floor Press component is a great fit for those with cranky shoulders or where pressing with a full ROM may be problematic. The floor prevents the shoulders from “rolling” forward (from too much glenohumeral extension) and is a nice way to provide some kinesthetic feedback so trainees know when to stay out of the “danger zone.”
  • The Floor Press also serves as a nice tricep accessory movement.
  • The Glute Bridge component obviously serves as a prime way to train the glutes. Holding the isometric hold increases time under tension.
  • Additionally it helps improve hip stability (the idea is to keep the hips “level” throughout. I like to cue people to pretend their hips are headlights and that they shouldn’t dip or move).
  • Maybe most important of all…the exercise just looks bad-ass.

Key Coaching Cues: I gave one away above (keep the hips level). By and large I believe this is a pretty self-explanatory exercise. Start with the DBs on your lap and then bump/scooch them up as you lower yourself towards the floor. Even though you’re on the floor, you still want to practice proper scapular positioning (down and together). Bridge up with BOTH legs (then decide which one you want to elevate).

From there press away. I like to force people to come to a complete stop when their upper arms touch the floor. Another thing to considers is to try to keep the elbows at a 45 degree angle in relation to the body. You don’t want to have the elbows too close to the torso (crowding) as that will increase the chances of the shoulders rolling forward, and you also don’t want the elbows flared out too much as that will often place the shoulder in a vulnerable position in terms of overall stability.

Elbows at 45 degrees tends to be the Goldilocks position. Just right.

Shoot for 5-8 reps per leg.

CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Push-Up Plank Hold w/ DB Row

I need to go crush some front squats in a few, so this one is going to be short and sweet today. Meaning, no long-winded introduction that no one reads or cute cat references.2

Copyright: gekaskr / 123RF Stock Photo

 

I’d like to preface today’s post with a well-timed quote from strength coach, Dr. Joel Seedman:

“When a strength coach says an exercise is “deceptive,” he really means “looks sort of easy but will make you cry.”

I can’t think of any better way to introduce today’s Exercise You Should Be Doing.

Push-Up Plank Hold w/ DB Row

 

Who Did I Steal It From: Dean Somerset had me doing these a few years ago when he was helping me work through some lower back shenanigans. He was an asshole.

What Does It Do: At first glance it looks like a nice little row variation, and it is. However, the real nuts and bolts of this exercise is the insane core stability that’s involved. There aren’t many exercises that light up my mid-section (RA, obliques, etc) than this one. Too, I feel it in other places: glutes, upper back, eyebrows, you name it.

But for real: this is an excellent core exercise and a lot more challenging than it looks.

Key Coaching Cues: Don’t be a hero. The objective here isn’t to sling around 80-90 lb DBs to try impress the other bros standing around. Trust me, they won’t care. The name of the game her is OWNING body position. Holding a strict 3-point plank will be challenging enough for some people. When you add an oscillatory element with the row, however, it makes the exercise even more challenging as the body has to resist movement during each repetition.

Abs and glutes should be engaged, quads flexed, and foot placement will depend on how bad-ass you are (wider = easier, narrow = Wolverine). With the row component, chest should be up and I prefer to cue people to think of the motion as an “arc” rather than straight up and down. To that end think about “rowing” your elbow towards your hip.

8-10 reps per side and you should hate life.

CategoriesCorrective Exercise Exercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Prone Hip Flexion-Extension

Admittedly today’s Exercise You Should Be Doing won’t win a “sexiness” award like, say, pretty much any deadlift variation would, or maybe a pistol squat3, or pillow-fighting. Truth be told it’s a relatively unexciting, mundane looking exercise, but whoa Nelly! does it humble even the meatiest of meatheads.

But first pillow fighting.

Copyright: dgm / 123RF Stock Photo

 

Don’t knock it: pillow fighting is an excellent way to address core stability, primitive patterns, appropriate scapular upward rotation, basic combat skills, (and every teenage boy’s fantasy).

Okay, in all seriousness…lets get to today’s exercise

Prone (Val Slide) Hip Flexion-Extension

 

Who Did I Steal It From: this exercise has its roots in many arenas, but the person I need to give the most credit to is strength coach Dan Hechler. I saw him use this exercise with a client of his a few weeks ago and really liked it.

UPDATE: Dan actually refers to this exercise as a glorified Mt. Climber. I need to figure out a catchy name for this one other than the one I gave it. I’m so lame.

Sliding Mt. Climber?

Mt. Climber McSuckington?

I don’t know, I’m lame.

What Does It Do: It’s challenging to pin-point what, exactly, I like most about this exercise. Of course most long-time readers know I’m a huge fan of push-ups. Yeah, yeah there’s that whole broken record diatribe on improving lumbo-pelvic-hip control and how I feel that’s one of the main advantages.

It still is.

However, what I also love about push-ups is their ability to allow people to reach. Meaning, pushing into the ground (reaching) to promote 1) better scapular movement and 2) more of a canister position so that the diaphragm and pelvic floor are more in line with one another. Promoting a position of alignment/stability is almost always going to allow people to express better movement and strength.

As you can see, we’re not performing a standard push-up with this exercise. Instead, there are a few other components at work.

1. We’re adding hip flexion-extension. The idea here is to work both hip flexion and extension simultaneously so that we can learn to dissociate hip movement from lumbar movement.

2. We’re adding in a full EXHALE. As a bring one leg into hip flexion I’m pushing/reaching into the floor as best I can while also performing a full exhale (which will help to maintain the canister position mentioned above).

Key Coaching Cues: Some cues I gave away above. Assume a strict push-up position with both feet on a pair of Val Slides or standard furniture gliders or even a slideboard. There should be no excessive forward head posture or lumbar extension (hips sagging). Inhale and as you bring one knee towards your chest, push into the ground with your hands and slowly exhale. The idea is to maintain a strict torso position and to limit any lumbar movement. Return back to starting position, again, controlled, and repeat.

I like to perform 3-4 reps per side.

This would be a fantastic progression for those clients with chronic low-back issues once they have conquered the plank. But I also like to use it with my “healthy” clients too as a way to make them hate life for a few seconds.

CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing Uncategorized

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Chaos Push-Up

Well, that was interesting.

I’m not going to mince words today: I stayed up late, you know why, and I’m exhausted. I don’t have any energy for witty banter or mental gymnastics today…so here’s a cool push-up variation you should try.

Copyright: luisrsphoto / 123RF Stock Photo

I’ve long been a champion of push-ups. However, I feel they’re the Clive Owen of the fitness and strength & conditioning world.

You know, Clive Owen.

This guy:

He’s an actor in such movies as Closer, Sin City, Inside Man, and one my favs of all-time Children of Men.4 He’s recognized as an excellent actor too. He’s been nominated for, and won, a few awards including the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor (Closer). If you’re a movie snob like me you know Clive and his work.

He’s not quite “A-list” though, or as well-known or revered as George Clooney, Denzel Washington, Tom Hanks, Will Smith, or Leonardo DiCaprio.

Which is BS. Clive’s the man.5

Which begs the question: “what in the name of two flying f’s does Clive Owen have to do with push-ups?”

Fair enough.

Clooney, et. al, are analogous to the sexier things we gravitate towards in the weight room, the movements that get more play or more of the spotlight: I.e., bench press.

Clive = push-ups.

via GIPHY

People rarely get excited for push-ups, which is unfortunate because I feel they’re one of the most underrated exercises that provide a ton-for-our-training-buck.

This isn’t to the discount efficacy of the bench press. It’s a tool and a valuable one at that. It’s just that the push-up offers more than (many) people think:

1) I’m sure I can speak for many other coaches out there in saying that it’s rare when someone – average Joe to professional athlete – can walk in on Day #1 and perform a push-up, let alone several in succession, well.

It’s an easily butchered movement pattern and when used as an initial screen will highlight some significant dysfunctions – namely lack of lumbo-pelvic-hip control.

Photo credit: Greatist.com

2) The push-up helps keep shoulders healthy. How? Well, it’s a closed-chain movement (hands don’t move, but the scapulae can). When you only bench press – an open chain movement – you never allow the opportunity for the shoulder blades to move which can (not always) lead to shoulder discomfort or pain.

Part of what makes the push-up such a shoulder friendly exercise is that it allows the scapulae room to breath and move around the rib cage.

3) Push-ups can be hard. For starters: doing them right will help. Beyond that there are a bounty of ways to make them harder or more challenging to fit the needs/goals of the individual, which is another reason why I’m such a fan: they’re versatility.

Like this variation.

Chaos Push-Up

 

Who Did I Steal it From: Honestly, I forgot. I did not invent this exercise, but have seen them performed from other coaches such as Jim “Smitty” Smith and Todd Bumgardner. So, there.

UPDATE: yes, it was Smitty. He wrote about the chaos pushup in his Chaos Manual back in 2005.

What Does it Do: The instability or chaos of the band works wonders for additional rotator cuff recruitment, which in turn makes it an equally more challenging exercise with regards to core stability and control. I love to use this exercise with my overhead athletes in addition to my “regular” clients who just want not fall on their face…;o)

Key Coaching Cues: I’d suggest first and foremost to experiment with different bands and what height you start from. In the video above I have two Monster Bands attached. To make the exercise more challenging I’d either take away a band or lower the starting point. Or do this:

 

To make it easier you’d add bands or decrease ROM.

All the same cues I’d use for a “regular” push-up apply here. Abs on, glutes on, and keep head behind the chest as you lower (don’t poke head forward). The idea is to limit the “dip” of the bands and to keep them quiet. To do so it helps to think about pulling them apart. This will help with increasing body tension (and control).

As far as where to implement these in a program you have two choices:

1. At the start before a bench press session. These could serve as nice “primer” or warm-up to benching as the distraction of the movement will help activate the rotator cuff muscles. If this is the case I’d keep them to low(er) reps. The idea here wouldn’t be to fatigue the RC muscles as that would lead to superior migration of the humeral head into the glenoid fossa and increase the likelihood of impingement.

2. As an accessory movement after benching, or whenever.

Have fun.

CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Band Resisted Landmine Thrust

First:

It’s coming.

Except in this case, what’s “coming” isn’t something nefarious like Wildlings from north of the Wall or White Walkers.

Hell, to say “it’s coming” doesn’t always have to imply something dark or foreboding does it?6

I mean, maybe what’s coming is a 2 for 1 burrito bowl sale at Chipotle, or, I don’t know, a light breeze?

Both would be lovely, but neither are it.

What is coming – finally, to purchase – is The Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint.

 

Dean Somerset and I are set to release this sucker to the masses next week (November 1st). It’s an 11+ hour digital product that we’re both really proud of and feel will help a lot of fitness professionals out there looking to improve their assessment and program design skills.

Needless to say, a week out, it’s the chaos before the storm. We’re both gearing up for a hectic week and attempting to generate a ton of quality content for launch week next week.

Can you dig it?

 

Don’t be too bummed out that I may be less prolific for the next 10-14 days with my own content on this site. I’m still gonna try my best stay on top of things.

However, posts may be a bit more brief than usual. Like today….;o)

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Band Resisted Landmine Thrust

 

Who Did I Steal It From: Coaches such as Ben Bruno, Bret Contreras, and Chad Rodgers.

What Does It Do: For those who struggle with overhead pressing – yet still want to train the pattern – this is a nice alternative. Landmine variations in general are a good fit for those who lack overhead mobility because they tend to keep trainees out of the “danger zone” with regards to “usable” ROM with shoulder flexion.

What does adding the band do?

1)  I feel it helps engage anterior core more, which will help prevent any excessive overarching from the lumbar spine.

2) It helps “slow down” the bar at the top of the movement, which can make it a little more joint friendly for those with cranky shoulders.

3) You’re forced to control the eccentric (lowering) portion to a higher degree in an effort to resist the pull of the band.

And

4) It’s just looks badass.

Key Coaching Cues: It’s hard to see in the video due to the lighting, but one end of the Monster Mini-Band is wrapped around the barbell and the other end is underneath my feet (I’m standing on top of it).

Be cognizant of not allowing the shoulders to roll forward too much, cue yourself to keep your chest up. From there “thrust” the barbell up in an explosive manner making sure to keep abdominals braced and glutes active throughout. Lower controlled, again being aware not to allow the shoulders to roll forward.

Give this one a try and let me know what you think.

 

CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Barbell Shovel Hold

Up here in New England we’re very familiar with shovels.

51302774 - snow removal. orange shovel in snow, ready for snow removal, outdoors.

Copyright: bubutu / 123RF Stock Photo

Particularly during our long, cold, New England winters.7

The shovel I’m referring to in today’s post, however, has nothing to do with that kind of shovel. Unlike traditional shoveling which sucks – and ranks somewhere between getting a colonoscopy and listening to Donald Trump speak as things I’m not rushing to do – the “shovel” variation I’m highlighting today is (hopefully) more palatable and something you’ll find use for in the weight-room.

HINT: you totally will.

Barbell Shovel Hold

 

Who Did I Steal It From: Kinda, sorta myself. I wrote about a similar exercise a few years ago – the shovel lift – but came across a quick write-up by Boston-based coach, Matthew Ibrahim, describing this variation…which I felt was brilliant.8

What Does It Do: First and foremost this is a great exercise to help train rotary stability. The asymmetrical – or offset – nature of this exercise makes it a perfect fit for those struggling with chronic back pain. One must “fight” to maintain a neutral and upright torso position. Not only will this target the more superficial or global musculature – glutes (you need to actively fire these bad boys), erectors, abdominals, traps, rhomboids, obliques – but also the deep, stabilizing musculature as well. Think: the “deeper” muscles like TvA, multifidi, etc.

Note: if you perform this exercise while simultaneously performing positional breathing (inhale with FULL exhale, dialing in on rib position) you’ll hammer those deep, stabilizing muscles).

Because the drill is performed in a more or less isometric fashion, it lends itself as a very user-friendly option that pretty much anyone can do.

As a corollary, even with quote-on-quote “healthy” individuals/athletes, it serves as a welcome way to train core stability and possibly as a way to increase full-body time under tension. To that end, it could serve as a nice way for some trainees to add muscle mass to their frame.

Can you dig it?

 

See what I did there?

Key Coaching Cues: I feel the thrilling (<— kidding) video above makes things self-explanatory. You load a barbell with anywhere from 10-45 lbs. (start conservative, it’s harder than it looks), un-rack, and hold.

Brace your abs, squeeze your glutes, flex your quads, and think about squeezing oranges in your armpits to add even more body tension. Hold for a 5-10s count, rack the barbell, rest for 5-10s, and repeat for a total of 3-5 “reps.” Then repeat the same process with the load on the other side.

Shoot for a total of 3-5 “rounds.”

I’ve been using this as a quick “finisher” with some of my clients/athletes and they love it.

CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Barbell Rolling Squat

Hope everyone had a lovely July 4th weekend this past weekend. We sure did.

Lisa and I were up in Maine – Pemaquid Point to be exact – for a wedding, and it was a stark reminder that it’s the perfect anecdote to the hustle and bustle of Boston.

Having a few day’s reprieve from honking horns, sirens, and people in general was amazing. Plus, the air in Maine is so much more crisp and clean. I highly recommend going if you ever get the chance.

We got back into Boston early yesterday so that we could partake in our annual July 4th Epic Walk of Epicness.

Nothing out of the ordinary since we walk around the city all the time. However, going for a “long-ass walk” on the 4th is something Lisa and I started doing a few years ago and we’ve continued on with the tradition.

Plus, there aren’t many cities that do July 4th better than Boston.

We left our apartment around noon and when it was all said and done we covered nine miles and had our fair share of cookie and pizza pit-stops.

That’s how we roll.

Anyways, as thrilling as it is reading about my walking prowess, I’m sure you’d rather me get to the meat and potatoes of today’s post.

Barbell Rolling Squat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YsTS1Nq4tU

 

This can also be considered a poor man’s version of the hack squat. Except, you know, without the $1000+ piece of equipment involved that can only be used for one thing.

So, a more apropos way of putting things is that this is the “savvy business man’s” version of the hack squat.

Who Did I Steal It From: Greg Nuckols during one of his and Omar Isuf’s Lifting Lyceum presentations.

NOTE: If you have a chance to hop in on their next go-round, you’d be stupid not to. It’s a wonderfully detailed resource that goes into the nitty gritty on squat, deadlift and bench press technique as well as program design.

Go HERE for more information.

NOTE II: I receive no monetary value or kick-back in telling you to check it out. Unless you count a video of Greg lip-syncing Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself” as a form of compensation. Which it should.

NOTE III: Lets make it happen Greg….;o)

What Does It Do: The rolling squat serves as a nice accessory movement to better target the quadriceps.

As Greg noted during his squat presentation, and I agree with him if that means anything9, many lifters have been programmed into thinking the squat is ALL posterior-chain, to the point where having weak quads may become a limiting factor.

When the goal is to lift as much weight as humanly possible, there’s definitely merit to utilizing the posterior chain to a higher degree. However, this doesn’t imply the quadriceps should be ignored.

As far as the quads being a limiting factor is concerned, this is most apparent when you witness someone come out of the hole on their squat and their hips shoot up way too fast, to the point where they run the risk of falling too far forward onto their toes.

Having stronger quads (or the ability to engage them to a higher degree) will help people better put force INTO the ground and maintain a more upright torso.

READ: This IS NOT to imply a forward lean is frowned upon or wrong. It isn’t. Just, you know, falling forward onto your face will tend to stagnate things.

Key Coaching Cues: You won’t need a lot of weight with this. For most guys, 95-135 lbs will be more than enough. For women, 45-85 lbs will suffice.

Also, use BUMPER plates.

In addition, it helps to have a very forgiving training facility to perform these. A brick or cement wall is best. Doing this exercise against a drywall won’t end well.

Hoist the barbell overhead and set up as you would for a normal squat. Lean back towards the wall until the plates are resting, adjust feet to shoulder width apart, scoot a few feet forward, and then squat down as low as you can.

These are best done for high(er) reps, in the 10-20 range.

PS: I’ve gotten a few comments from people on why this exercise is any different than “regular” squat, even with the suggestion of moving my feet forward a bit away from the wall?

Answer: Because I’m LEANING INTO THE WALL. Hence the name “barbell ROLLING squat.” Apologies for not making that more clear on my end….;O)

CategoriesExercise Technique

Exercises You Should Be Doing: DB Fly Away

Pareto’s Principle states that 80% of the effects will result from 20% of the causes.

This “rule” can be applied to everything from farming to business (and everything in between).

  • 80% of the profit comes from 20% of the yield.
  • 80% of your sales comes from 20% of your clients.
  • 80% of why I never got laid in college came from 20% of watching Lord of the Rings on a Friday night rather than go out drinking.

See! It works for everything.

I’m a “strength” guy through and through.

For most trainees, most of the time, placing a priority and premium on the “big rocks” (I.e., 20%) – multi-joint, compound movements like squats, deadlifts, bench press, chin-up/pull-ups, rows, and carries10 – will lead to 80% of the results.

More strength, more fat-loss, glutes that would make Bret Contreras shit an EMG study,”peckier” pecs, I don’t know, a lot of cool things happen when people focus on the basics.

The less fluff the better, if you ask me.

That said, as I’ve gotten older and the more experience I’ve accumulated as a coach (14+ years), the less militant I’ve gotten in my ways.

Don’t get me wrong: I still have my core values and beliefs as a fitness professional (deadlifts solve everything, people who don’t eat meat make me sad), and am set in my ways to some degree. However, I can’t neglect the fact that as a fitness professional I am in the service industry, and at the end of the day, again, to some degree, I am at the mercy of what the client wants.

Moreover, speaking from personal experience, I’ve found that as I’ve inched closer and closer to 40, my body is responding quite well – dare I say, eloquently – to more healthy-doses of isolation/bodybuilder-centric type movements.

I’m still focusing on the “big rocks.”  However, if anything, it’s been fun to toss in some isolation work for my shoulders, arms, legs, hair follicles, whateverthefuck.

N=1 doesn’t mean much, but I’ve seen a nice increase in my strength since I’ve indulged myself more brotastic training modalities.

NOTE: Check out Bryan Krahn’s fantastic post, Over 40 Training is a Scam for a nice synopsis of my thoughts on the topic. He said things way better than I ever could.

Cutting to the chase I wanted to share a new (to me) exercise that fits the bill on this discussion.

DB Fly Away

 

Who Did I Steal It From: the bro-master himself, John Romaniello.

What Does It Do:  It increases the likelihood that your pecs will cut diamonds. Truthfully, as much as I think the bench press should be a staple in any well-designed strength training program, for hypertrophy (muscle-growth) purposes it’s kind of a dud.

Yes, you can build a monster chest with the bench press. Relax.

I much prefer dumbbell variations, however, which allow for more humeral adduction (which happens to be one of the prime actions of the pectoral muscles).

Key Coaching Cues: Um, yeah, sorry for the crotch shot in the video above.

This is a hybrid, 2 for 1, exercise…combining both a press and fly.

All you’re going to do here is press the DBs as you would for a normal pressing exercise, but on the way down you’ll perform a “fly” motion moving the DBs away from the midline of the body.

Bring them back together and repeat.

You’re so sexy.

CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Dumbbell Squeeze Press

A little over a week ago I posted an article titled My Pecs Could Win a Fight Vs. a Tank Are Compound Movements Actually Making You Stronger?

In it I made the case that:

1) Compound movements (deadlift, squat, bench press, rows, chin-ups, etc) should encompass the base for most weight training programs regardless of goal(s).

2) We’re very good at compensating. I.e., not doing shit correctly.

3) Bionic Six was the most underrated Saturday morning cartoon of the 80s.11

4) As such, sometimes, it requires that ISOLATION exercises need to be given more priority because the “targeted” muscles may not be getting the stimulation required to grow (and hence, get stronger).

Nevertheless I went into some detail that, ever since I started including more isolation movements for my pectoral muscles like DB chest flyes, I’ve seen a nice jump in not only my bench press performance, but the “feel” of the movement too.

Meaning, the quality of my reps have improved and I feel more confident with a given weight which I may have been struggling with only weeks prior.

 

Suffice to say, the assiduous journey to becoming more “pecy” – and including more isolation type work into my training programs (thanks to my coach, Greg Robins) – has paid off. Today I wanted to highlight another exercise I’ve been using more often of late (and, admittedly, it’s always been a favorite of mine).

Dumbbell Squeeze Press

 

Who Did I Steal It From: I can’t remember. I’ll say Chuck Norris just because.

What Does It Do: I’ve long championed the notion that the bench press isn’t a fantastic exercise for pectoral development. Yes, the pecs play a role in completing the movement – and by all means, they do get stimulated – however, the bench press is more of a FULL-body movement that many people give it credit for.

A lot of other “stuff” comes into play – technique, technique, upper back, not to mention leg drive. The pecs, when all is said and done, aren’t going to get hit optimally during a standard bench press.

If you factor in basic anatomy of the pectoral (major) muscle, you’ll notice it has attachment points on the clavicle (clavicular head) as well as the sternum (sternal head).

Again, during a bench press the pectoral muscle will be engaged, but I’d make the case not nearly to the degree as compared to dumbbell variations (where more humeral ADDuction comes into play).

Whenever I work with someone who has more aesthetic minded goals, of course I’m still having him or her bench press (I still want to use exercises which allow me to better overload the “system” or body as whole), but I’ll go out of my way to include more DUMBBELL work into their programming.

1) We generally see more ROM during dumbbell variations.

2) They’re more “shoulder friendly” in that we’re not locked into humeral internal rotation as what happens when using a barbell (pronated grip). DB variations allow more wiggle room for external rotation.

3) More humeral adduction is present (which hammers the sternal head).

4) We can also, if need be, address any imbalances that may be present between one side or the other.

I really like the squeeze press, though, because it hits 2/3 points above, but also increases time under tension of the pectoral muscles while also hitting the delts (anterior, middle) pretty hard too.

Key Coaching Cues: It’s pretty self-explanatory. Grab two dumbbells, assume a normal position on a flat or incline bench, then squeeze those bad boys together, and press.

Keep them pressed together throughout the duration of your set. Your pecs will be on fire.

Also, some people have a tendency to “fall” into anterior humeral glide on these so it’s important to cue “chest up” or “chest meets the DBs” during the set.

NOTE: performing these with hex-shaped DBs would be ideal as they’re easier (safer?) to squeeze together. However, you could use round shaped DBs too, or PowerBlocks (as I did in the video)…it just may feel a little more wonky.

I like these as an accessory movement – after a main bench movement – for high(er) repetitions (10-15 range).

CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Prone Sphinx

If you were talking to twelve year old Tony, the Prone Sphinx sounds like some sweet WWF Wrestling move that Hulk Hogan or Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka would perform on one of their opponents during WrestleMania.

Alas, I’m not twelve, and don’t watch WrestleMania on Mondays anymore, so in this context it refers to the mythical creature that has the head of a human and the body of a lion. You know, real life.=

Kidding aside, the Prone Sphinx is the name of an exercise I feel has a lot of merit and usefulness.

Who Did I Steal It From: Dr. Mark Cheng in his Prehab=Rehab 101 DVD.

What Does It Do: It’s an awesome drill that helps to improve scapular stability in addition to core stability, and with certain progressions works on t-spine mobility and pectoral length.

Key Coaching Cues: Due to the position of the exercise you’d have to clear someone of extension-based back pain before implementing it, but assuming there’s no issues some things to consider:

1. It’s important to reset the scapulae prior to each rep. This ensures that no shrugging occurs and that the shoulders are packed.

2. The non-moving side must remain packed throughout!

3. Don’t rush through the progressions. This drill is a lot harder than it looks.

4. Probably best used as part of an extended warm-up or as a filler exercise for most people. But I could see this exercise being used as a “main movement” for some.

Prone Sphinx