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Exercises You Should Be Doing: Deadstop DB Row

Without blinking an eye, I’ll be the first to admit that my favorite body-part to train is the upper back.  For me at least, when I see someone with a thick or defined upper back, I know (s)he has put her work in at the gym.  Comparatively speaking, there are a lot more people walking around with six packs than there are those with an impressive upper back.

I mean, what looks more impressive, this (AKA: the walking bag of douche who will inevitably make this his Facebook profile picture)

Or this (Oleksandr Kutcher’s upper back)

 

Not even close if you ask me.

To no fault of their own, though, most trainees like to train what they can see, and the back often gets the shaft in favor of things like the pecs, abs, and biceps; or, the mirror muscles.

That said, while things like deadlifts, barbell rows, and chin-up variations are undoubtedly the “go to” movements for sculpting a powerful upper back, one of the more underrated, or less utilized exercises out there is the dumbbell row.

As a matter of fact, I’d argue that the dumbbell row is one of the more underrated upper back exercise, since not only does it help build a thick upper back, but it’s also a great movement for the lats as well.

Unlike the aforementioned exercises listed above, dumbbell rows are a single limb movement, which carries its own advantages in the sense that it’s easier to ascertain whether or not there’s a strength imbalance or weakness between the left and right side.  Too, due to the lack of equipment needed (all you need is a single DB), anyone can do them at any time.

First things first, however, as simple as the dumbbell row might appear, it’s surprising how much this movement is actually butchered.  Simply put, what most trainees feel is a dumbbell row is anything but, and is often nothing more than a test to see how long before my eyes starting hurting.

Before we get to the actual exercise, here are some common technique flaws that I tend to come across.

Explosive Arm Curl Guy:

Here, there’s really no emphasis what-so-ever on the upper back itself.  Instead, the movement resembles some sort of explosive arm curl with momentum taking over.  Worse still are those guys who do this and grunt as if they’re giving birth to a bowling ball on every rep.  LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME!!!

Rotating Upper Torso Guy:

This one is quite common, where you’ll see someone performing a “row,” only to completely rotate their upper torso because they’re using too much weight to do it correctly.  Ideally, the torso should stay completely stationary, with the chest/nipple line pointing towards the bench the entire time. 

The I’m Completely Using the Worst Form Ever Guy:

This one should look familiar to anyone who trains at a commercial gym – rounded back, head protruding forward, absolutely no scapular retraction (adduction) taking place.  I cringe everytime I see this.

Which takes us to today’s exercise of the day

Deadstop DB Row

Who Did I Steal It From:  strength coach, and fellow t-nation.com contributor Tim Henriques

What Does It Do:  As noted above, this is a fantastic exercise to build a thick upper back (big biceps, too, since they’re in the direct line of pull), but also targets the lats as well in addition to providing a nice stretch in that area to boot.

Key Coaching Cues:  While maintaining a neutral spine position throughout (the body should make a straight line from the head to lumbar spine), start with the dumbbell resting on the floor.  Grab the handle and crush it – gripping it as hard as you can.  Doing so will single the rotator cuff to fire and to pack the shoulder back through a process called irradiation.

From there, I like to tell people to pretend they’re starting a lawn mower – rowing the dumbbell by bring their elbow towards the hip (not just going straight up and down).  Effectively, you’ll be “pulling through the elbow,” finishing at the top by retracting (technicaly, adducting) your shoulder blade towards the midline of the body.  In other words, squeeze your shoulder blade like a mofo at the top.

To finish, you’ll return the dumbbell back to the floor, coming to a complete STOP.  Pause for a second or two, and repeat for desired number or repetitions.

Of Note:  for those with shorter arms, you may want to grab a stepper or a few mats to place on the floor to decrease the range of motion.

And there you have it.  Try it out today and let me know what you think!  Also, just a friendly reminder, if you found this post useful, be sure to click the “Like ” button located at the bottom.  I’ll be your best friend forever if you do.

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Exercises You Should Be Doing: Lateral Sled Drags

Going to keep this one brief today, because………..

I’m going on vacation. 

Well, that, and my girlfriend is going to kill me when she calls me in a few minutes to check in and realizes I have yet to pack even though our plane leaves in like four hours.  But, really, all I need to do is throw some shorts, sandles, and sunscreen into my bag and I’m good to go.  I travel light.

And, while I won’t actually be on a boat; where I’m going (Florida), I’ll definitely see one – so this video is dedicated to everyone who won’t be going with me.

Okay, so, today’s exercise is one that I feel gives trainees a lot for their training buck.  In addition, assuming you train at a gyn that doesn’t suck (Read:  has a sled) you should be able to implement this one into your programming right away.  If you pay $10 per month to workout at Planet Fitness, sorry – you’re out of luck. 

What Is It:  Lateral Sled Drags

What Does It Do:  The obvious advantage to this exercise is the fact that it trains lateral movement.  Generally speaking, we’re a very linear society, so this exercise provides a nice change of pace and allows us to train single leg strength – albeit in a more lateral fashion, which changes things dramatically.

What’s more, there’s also a huge hip internal/external rotation component, as well as grip strength, conditionng, and overall badassnesses.  Seriosuly, this is a waaaaaay cooler than puttering around on an elliptical machine.

Key Coaching Cues:  Frist off, you want to make sure you grip the handle has hard as you can, which in turn (through a process called irradiation) will force the rotator cuff to fire and pack the shoulder back (providing more stability to the joint.  If you’re not careful, you can really crank on your shoulder and piss it off – so grip tha handle HARD!

Too, you want to think about staying low and stepping across the midline of your body, “pushing” yourself away from the floor.  Effectively, you want to drive yourself away from the floor, not just “side shuffle” across like Goldilocks.

You can either go for a set distance or a certain # of repeitions per leg.  Just make sure that you face the same direction in both directions so you train both legs equally.

Okay, I’m out.  I’ll be updating the blog while I’m away, but probably won’t be participating too much.  Toodles!

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Exercises You Should Be Doing: Alligator Walk

Lets play a simple game today.  Lets pretend you’re me, and someone came up to you and asked the following question:

Tony, why don’t you like crunches?

 

WWTS (What Would Tony Say)?

  • I want to roll my eyes right now, but my doctor said that if I keep doing it my ocular muscles may spasm and eject my eyeballs.

OR

  • I can’t think of anything more I want to do right now than suplex you onto the pavement.

While conventional wisdom could make a case for either one (they’re both phenomenal answers), the professional in me would have to go with the third option:

Well, if you look at the anatomy of the “core,” you’ll see that it represents more of a cross-hatched web, which would indicate that it’s main role, or job, is as a stabilizer.

If it were meant just for flexion (the action of a crunch) then it would be a hamstring – and that’s jus looney talk.

What’s more, since we’re on the topic of flexion – Dr. Stuart McGill has shown convincingly in his research that repeated spinal flexion is the exact mechanism for disc herniation.  Quite literally, you only have so many crunches in your spine before something bad happens.   Think of a credit card and what happens to it when you bend it back and forth.  Eventually, it breaks.

And, lastly, each crunch (or sit-up) places roughly 760 lbs of compressive load on the vertebral discs in the lumbar spine – does that sound remotely healthy?

Double smoke bomb, flash, flash, and I’m out!

I’ve gone out of my way to convince people that there are far superior options than boring ol’ crunches to train your abdominals – type in Pallof Press, Half Kneeling Lift/Chop, or Bodysaw in the search function and you’ll see what I mean.

Today, however, I want to share another great core exercise that gets the TG seal of approval.

What Is It:  Alligator Walk

What Does It Do:  Outside of doing a superb job at training the anterior core (preventing extension), this is also a great exercise for serratus anterior activation (shoulder health), as well as helps to synchronize stabilization in the entire lumbo-pelvic-hip area.  In essence, this is a huge bang-for-your-training-buck exercise!

Key Coaching Cues:  First and foremost, it’s important to brace the abdominals and squeeze the glutes throughout – doing so will help keep the body in more of a neutral posture.  Secondly, for those who have access to a slideboard, that will make things easier.  Simply place both feet on top of the “boot,” and walk back and forth with your hands.  For those that don’t have a slideboard, though, the variaton shown in the video is spot on.  All you’ll need to do is grab a towel, or paper plate, or Val Slide and perform the same movement as shown in the video.

There are a couple of options here:

1.  You can walk back and forth – performing a set number of “strikes” per hand. Say, five strikes per hand forward, then five strikes per hand backwards which would equte to one repetition (shoot for 5-8 total).

2.  Go for a pre-determined distance – 25 yards, for instance.

3.  Also, for those of you who are little more G6, place a 25 lb plate underneath your feet and drag it that way.   It’s masochistic!

I have no real preference, both are equally effective.  Try it out today and let me know what you think!

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Exercises You Should Be Doing: Kettlebell Suitcase Carry with Rope

Alright I’m not gonna beat around the bush today, I feel like poo…..again.  My first clue was when my alarm woke me up this morning.  I always wake up before my alarm –  it’s like some hidden Jedi talent of mine.   If, on the off chance my alarm does wake me up (like today), then I know I’m in for a doozy of a day.   It just rarely happens.

My second red flag hit me when I had absolutely no appetite for breakfast.  Normally, I’m ravenous in the morning, but today, no dice.  I still ate, but I definitely had to force feed myself.

Thirdly, and probably the biggest factor of all, I just finished with the ladies group about fifteen minutes ago and about half way through their session, The Time by The Black Eyed Peas came over the stereo and that pretty much set me over the edge.

Jesus, what a shitty, make my ears bleed, nausea inducing, worthless piece of crap song that is.  Seriously, I’d rather listen to a whale pass a kidney stone.

Anyways, as of late we’ve been experimenting with more carry variations at the facility.  As a frame reference, this past Saturday, thanks to a little inspiration from Dan John, we toyed around with 110 lb farmer carries while dragging the Prowler behind us.  It was awesome.  Essentially, the only way it could have any manlier was if we replaced the Prowler with a tank and then had Katy Perry on top of it singing the National Anthem.

Anyhoo, back in reality, since many reading don’t have access to the same type of equipment that we have at CP, another carry variation that I’ve been toying around with as well is the kettlebell suitcase carry with a rope.

Who Did I Steal It From:  To a large degree, as noted above, I owe my infatuation with carries to Dan John, but with regards to this particular exercise I have to give props to strength coach, Martin Rooney, who trains a ton of MMA fighters and is the author of Training for Warriors.

What Does It Do:  I really like offset versions because it forces the contralateral side (external/internal obliques, quadratus lumborum) to fire and force the body to brace itself.  Adding the rope, however, adds an additional grip component that I feel is benefical for many trainees.  And, obviously, it looks cool.  Nuff said.

Key Coaching Cues:   Simply grab a rope that you would normally use for tricep rope pressdowns and loop it through a kettlebell.  From there, grab the rope with one hand, and you’re off. There should be absolutely no deviation with regards to posture on these – chest should be tall, shoulder blades back, and there should be no lean to either side.  Also, if you happen to have Matt Blake make a cameo appearance in your video acting like a jag-off, feel free to swift kick him into the abyss.  Zing.

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Exercises You Should Be Doing: Band Resisted Broad Jump

It’s days like this where I can’t help but wonder why in the heck I live in the Northeast.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m originally from Central NY – the lake effect snow capital of the world – so I’m used to a lot of snow.  But this is just getting borderline redunkulous.

As it stands now, we’ve gotten 50-60 inches of snow in the past 30 days, with anywhere from 12-16 apparently on its way in the next 48 hours.  Ahhhhhhhh.

To that end, with the impending weather on the way, I’m heading to the facility a little earlier than usual – so today is going to be short and sweet, unfortunately.

It’s been a while since I’ve showcased an exercise you should be doing, so I figured what better day than today.

What Is It:  Band Resisted Broad Jump

What Does It Do:  Much like the vertical jump, the broad jump starts from a standing position and essentially tests how far an individual can jump.  Tangentially, it’s arguably the best standardized test for pure power, and it’s relatively idiot proof to perform.

That said, if you’re like me and have knees that hate you, the broad jump can be unrelenting.  As such, adding the band – while not something I would do with pure beginners – helps to decelerate the body, which tends to be much more joint friendly in the long run.

Key Coaching Cues:  Take a regular light or average band and wrap it around a peg or pole that’s waist height.  Placing the band around your waist, assume an athletic position (chest out, knees slightly bent, feet hips width apart), throw your hands down as quickly as you can and leap forward.  Be careful when you land, however, because the band will immediately pull back  – STICK the landing!

Equally as important, you should still land in an athletic position as well.  What I like to tell people is that “you should land how you start.”  So, if you start with chest high, knees slightly bent, shoulders back, etc.  You should land with your chest high, knees bent, shoulders back, shirt off, etc.  Capiche?

And that’s about it.   Try it out today, and let me know what you think..

CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: The Rainbow Deadlift

Short and sweet today. Here’s one of my new favorite exercises. Not the most manly sounding exercise, I know. Unfortunately Kitten Tears Deadlift and Puppy Dog Kisses Deadlift were already taken.

What Is It: The Rainbow Deadlift

Who Did I Steal It From: Nick Tumminello (who coincidentally just released a really great dvd two weeks ago which I will be reviewing here in the near future). Trust me, you’ll love it.

What Does It Do: It kicks your ass, that’s what it does!

Key Coaching Cues: For those who don’t have access to a landmine (as shown in the video), you can certainly just set up a standard barbell in the corner somewhere. Or better yet, just set up shop in a powerrack or squat rack. Any reason to kick the douchehole’s doing their arm curls out of the way is cool with me.

  • As always, keep that chin tucked while maintaining a “tall” chest.
  • Shoulder blades should be retracted, and you should keep proper spinal alignment throughout (ie: no rounding).
  • You can do this exercise one of two ways. 1). For time, which if that’s the case, sets of 30 seconds will be more than enough. Or 2). my preferred method, sets/reps. I like to shoot for 3-4 sets of 5-6 reps per side.