CategoriesConditioning Fat Loss Program Design

Finishers That Do More Than Finish You

Whether you refer to it as a circuit, death circuit, METCON, or my preference…a finisher, the goal is one in the same: you spend 10-15 minutes at the end of your training session kicking the living crap out of yourself pushing things, lifting things, throwing things, pulling things, flipping things, or any combination of “things” that will make you hate life.

Simply put: a finisher finishes you. Except in this instance Sub Zero isn’t ripping your spine from your body Mortal Kombat style.

No fatalities here.

 

For most people, most of the time, a finisher is designed to not tickle and basically serve as a way to post something badass on their Instagram feed.

On one hand, I get it. There’s a sense of accomplishment and bravado that comes with completing a challenging finisher. It’s not for the faint of heart, and I for one will never begrudge someone who goes out of his or her way to work hard and get after it in the gym.

On the flip side, however, I find there’s a rate of diminishing return when the goal of a finisher is to solely make you feel tired or exhausted at the end of a workout.

When you think about it that’s not that hard to do.

As a strength coach and as someone who’s interested in not only improving performance, but also helping people possibly address injuries, postural imbalances, and/or movement deficiencies it behooves me not to be more meticulous in how I design my finishers.

Put another way, I’d rather a finisher do more than just finish you.

In my latest article on BodyBuilding.com I discuss my favorite mode of finisher and offer up THREE different variations for you to tinker with.

Check it out HERE.

CategoriesExercise Technique Program Design

Get the Most Out of Your Farmer Carries

This won’t come as a newsflash to those who read my blog on a regular basis, but I heart beef jerky, Gandalf, lightsabers, snuggling, butterfly kisses, farmer carries[footnote] and Kurt Vonnegut, Jason Bourne, any form of red meat, carbs (yes, including gluten), re-runs of Lost, taking showers every other day, whatever – don’t judge me, my cat, and boobs. Among other things.[/footnote]

As far as exercises which have a lot of carry-over to performance as well as every day life events and doing their part in, pardon my french, “fixing shit,” [footnote] this can be anything from addressing lower back and shoulder pain to correcting posture and something I like to call “weaklingitis.” Unfortunately farmer carries can’t fix your fashion sense. Come on dude, black shoes and a brown belt? I can’t take you anywhere!![/footnote] farmer carries are the bees knees.

In my latest article on MensHealth.com I discuss why farmer carries are worthy of “bees knees” status, in addition to offering up a handful of ways to implement them into a program

Get the Most Out of Your Farmer Carries

Also, I submitted the article before filming the video below. It shows me performing one round of a killer Kettlebell Get-Up, Carry, and Swing finisher that 1) is featured in the article and 2) I think you’ll enjoy. Depending on what your definition of “enjoy” is.

If it means something along the lines of eating a bowl of cookies-n-cream ice cream or getting a foot massage think the opposite of that.

CategoriesProgram Design Strength Training

How to Program Farmer Carries

I know Dan John has relentlessly sung their praises. And, after listening to him speak last weekend, I know Gray Cook is a big fan of them too.

What am I referring to? CrossFit? ShakeWeights? One Direction? Bacon wrapped figs?

None of the above.

Besides, everyone knows that Dan is an N’Sync‘er for life. And urban legend suggests the inspiration behind Gray Cook developing the FMS is from him watching Backstreet Boys videos and being in awe of their movement quality.

Clearly none of that is close to being true.

And now that I’ve opened myself up to a libel civil case, lets push all that under the rug and get to what I’m actually referring to (not that the title didn’t give it away or anything).

Farmer Carries

Dan John loves carries. Just last weekend Gray Cook named them his #1 most functional exercise. And while I’m not close to being at the same level as those two – I’m still eating at the proverbial “little kids table” with regards to my place on the fitness authority totem pole – I too am a huge fan, and feel they’re one of the most underrated and least utilized exercises out there.

I’m a huge advocate of carries as I feel they offer a gulf of benefits.  Everything from grip strength to improved hip stability to increased core strength to helping to build a yoked up upper back.

Breaking things down further:

– 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.

– As noted above, they obviously help improve grip strength.  Taking it a step further, though, 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 rotator cuff 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.

The only caveat would be for those with a depressed shoulder girdle or who present with downwardly rotated scapulae (or, more specifically, those who are symptomatic and have shoulder pain along with the aforementioned criteria). In this scenario, loaded carries may not be a good fit.

– 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.  And then laugh at them.

– And lets just state the obvious:  they do a superb job of increasing one’s overall sense of badassessey.

How to Program Carries

I received an email from a reader the other day asking how I go about programming carries into people’s programs and figured it was something that could benefit more people if I answered it here.

1. How should one program loaded carries into training? I.e., should it be in an upper body day or lower body? I tend to do farmers walk on lower body days while I do goblet or racked carries on upper body days.

As always, the answer is…….it depends.

Carries can be used for so many different things.  I’ve used them with people suffering from low-back pain; I’ve used them as a conditioning tool; I’ve used them as part of a strength pairing (one of my favs is pairing heavy bench press with carries); I’ve used them as a stand alone “thing” on off-days.

Much of it depends on someone’s goals.  If they’re a Strongman competitor for example, carries could very well be a “main movement” on a given day and will be prioritized accordingly.

Conversely, for the more mortal of us, I like to use carries towards the tail-end of a training session as either a C1-C2 circuit (think: carries paired with Goblet Reverse Lunges. It’s important to think about grip being a limiting factor when pairing exercises with carries. Goblet variations don’t require as much grip), or maybe as a finisher where I want to, you know, “finish” someone.

Try this:

A1.  1-Arm KB Carry – Right Side (30 yds)
A2. KB Swing x 15
B1.  1-Arm KB Carry – Left Side (30 yds)
B2. KB Goblet Squat x 10

*** Perform in circuit fashion and rest for 60-90s at the end.  Perform 3-5 rounds depending on how much you want to hate life that day.

I think the approach you laid out above is spot on.  If I had to choose, I’d place loaded (heavy) carries on lower body days, and maybe some low-level/low-intensity racked or Goblet carries on upper body days as part of an extended warm-up or towards the end of the training session.

Another option to consider, and something that some of us coaches at CSP do on occasion, is to have a dedicated “carry day.” We’ll pick a day of the week after work and just work up to a set TOTAL DISTANCE we want to hit.

Week 1: 160 lbs (per side) x 20 yds per trip.  Work up to 80 yds

Week 2: 160 lbs (per side) x 20 yds per trip. Work up to 100 yds

Week 3: 200 lbs (per side) x 20 yds per trip. Work up to 80 yds

Week 4: 220 lbs (per side) x 20 yds per trip. Work up to 100 yds

NOTE:  I wouldn’t do something this aggressive the day before a significant lower body session.

The weight selection can obviously be tweaked to fit one’s ability, and in between sets we can add in fillers like wall hip flexor mobilizations, band pull-aparts, reverse crunches, deadbugs, or any other low-grade activation/mobility drill that 1) won’t impede performance on the subsequent sets of carries and more importantly 2) helps address and fix shit.

2. Is there a specific weight/timing/distance on how long to walk for different objectives?  If I want to be strong, what kind of weight should I be looking to use and what distance or timing should I be looking at?

And if I want muscle gainzzz, I suppose that would require more TUT and so, what should I be looking for again?

In terms of weight, I feel most people, most of the time tend to be overzealous with their weight selection.

This isn’t to say that every set has to look pristine – heavy carries are heavy, and it won’t look fantastic 100% of the time.  However, I do feel there’s a cost/benefit of going too heavy, which I address in THIS post.

Technique does matter here.

If someone is performing carries with an excessive forward head posture and/or excessively leaning to one side or the other (or rounding their back), are they really gaining any benefit other than bragging rights and a few high fives?

If strength is the goal is you need to make sure you’re progressing in some fashion, whether it’s actively increasing the weight used each week, the distance travelled, or both. See circuit I described above.

I think a bit of variety comes into play here.  I LOVE offset (1-arm) carries. I also like Crossbody carries (assuming one has ample shoulder flexion to do so safely).

And if you REALLY wan to get crazy and inventive, you can do something like this:

So yeah, staying cognizant of factors such as how much weight you’re using, distance travelled, Time Under Tension (TUT)……aim for a total amount of time under tension (say, 3-5 minutes), and even adding in a little variety all enter the conversation.

There’s no right or wrong approach.

3. I always wanted to ask: why 40 yards? I realise unlike normal exercises with sets/reps panned out, loaded carries are more unconventional and I can’t seem to find more info on how to program them to meet specific objectives. I’m hoping you could help me address this issue.

I think we tend to gravitate towards 40 yds as our marker at the facility because we have 40 yds worth of turf we can utilize. Understandably, not everyone has access to that much space in their gym.  Using smaller increments is fine.

Some distance coaching clients of mine have super limited space – I’m talking 10-15 ft, or the equivalent of their living room – and I’ll have them perform toe-to-toe carries where they literally walk toe-to-toe across the floor.  It’s harder than it sounds.

Nevertheless, I hope I was able to shed some light on how I go about programming loaded carries into the mix.  There are a million and one different ways to go about it. What I described above are just a handful of my “go to” strategies.

Cause I want it thaaaaaaaat way……..

CategoriesExercise Technique

Cleaning Up Carry Technique

One quick housekeeping item to get out of the way first.

1.  Just a reminder from Monday’s post:  This is an open invitation for anybody located in or around the Boston area to attend Lisa’s spin class tomorrow (Saturday).

You can check out the spin studio HERE.

And you can sign up for Lisa’s class at 9AM HERE.

Everyone who attends, if they choose, can introduce themselves to Lisa after the class – I promise she won’t bite – and then give her their email address.  From there I’ll send you a coupon code for one FREE month of my Premium Workout Group over on WeightTraining.com.

Even if you’d prefer not to take part in my group, and you just want to head in and get your ass kicked for 45 minutes, Lisa is pretty much the best spin instructor in the city as detailed by this glowing review below:

“Lisa is pretty much the best spin instructor in the city” 

– random Boston-based strength coach.

I write a couple of paragraphs on Lululemon yesterday, and all of sudden I’m getting called out for being soft (as noted by a commenter).

Well, shit – that is a fair point.  I don’t really have a come back for that one.  Oh well, I guess I’ll just move on with my life.

Nevertheless, to make up it I figured I’d 1) type this entire post shirtless (<—- not kidding) while watching GoodFellas (<—- Again, not kidding) in a Blackhawk helicopter (<—- okay, kidding) and post a quick video tutorial on how to clean up one’s carry technique.

I’m a huge advocate of carries as I feel that offer a gulf of benefits.  Everything from grip strength to improved hip stability to increased core strength to helping to build a yoked up upper back.

Thing is:  most trainees butcher them and often fail to reap all their benefits.  Here are some thoughts on common mistakes and how to address them:

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

Random Training Thoughts (Yes, I Stole This Blog Title from Mike Robertson)

Normally I save these type of posts for Miscellaneous Miscellany Mondays, but I’ve got a few things rocking around in my brain at the moment that I needed to just throw out there.

Deadlifts are King

Everyone knows that I have an affinity for two things:  Alicia Keys and deadlifts.  But that goes without saying.

The more I think about it, though, the more I realize that deadlifts truly are the most versatile exercise in existence.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: what makes the deadlift so unique is the fact that you can fit (or tweak) the movement to the lifter and not vice versa.  Meaning, if someone walks into my facility on day one and has the hip mobility of a crow bar (read:  they’re tight), I’m certainly not going to have him or her attempt to pull straight from the floor.  That’s just a disaster waiting to happen.

Instead, I may opt to use an elevated trap bar setting; or maybe even have them perform rack pulls. Who knows?  Either way, they’re STILL receiving all the benefits of deadlifting – engraining the proper hip hinge pattern, strengthening the posterior chain, increasing core stability, etc – without all the drawbacks that would otherwise arise if had them pull directly from the floor.

Of course, as they become more proficient, we can start to experiment with other variations – but ONLY after they have proven they’re capable of doing so!  It may take one session, one week, or one month, it’s hard to tell.  But as I noted previously, having the ability to progress AND regress our clients is a skill that’s often overlooked.

So, in short, I don’t have to “mold” the lifter to the exercise. Rather, I can “mold” the exercise to the lifter depending on their postural deficits, current mobility restrictions, injury history, so on and so forth.   And, while we can say the same for just about any exercise, I feel the deadlift is easily the most adaptable of the bunch.

Programming Logic

And, speaking of deadlifts – here’s a quick programming tip.  Whether you’re following a 3x-per-week, full body split, or a 4x-per-week, upper/lower split, on the days you deadlift, make sure your single leg movement for that day is more quad-dominant in nature.

As an example, if your main movement for that day is SUMO deadlifts (more hip dominant in nature), a good single leg movement to implement would be something like a dumbbell split squat, or maybe some Bulgarian split squats – both of which are more quad-dominant.

Conversely, on the days that you squat (which are more quad dominant, excluding box squats, obviously), it would be a good idea to include single leg work that’s more hip (hamstring/glute) dominant – like dumbbell (or barbell) reverse lunges, or 1-legged RDLs.

This isn’t something that’s necessarily set in stone, but one “rule” that I have found works pretty well when discussing program design with younger or less experienced trainers and coaches.

Really?  No, Seriously, Really?

I’m definitely going to expound on this in more of a rant style post sometime next week, but suffice it to say I saw an article on Yahoo’s homepage the other day titled “Top FOUR Exercises to Tone Up Your Arms,” written by some celebrity trainer (not who you think) who used all the cute, warm, and fuzzy buzz words you would expect to see in such an article.  The same words used time and time again that play into women’s fears of lifting “real” weight.

Words like tone, sleek, shape, and anything similar that is just as likely to make me want to set my face on fire.

What’s more, the exercises shown – shadow punches, tricep extension, rear delt flies, and bicep curls – all done for 15-20 reps no less, are about as likely to get your arms “toned” as brushing your hair.

It’s bullshit when you think about it.  Oh man, I’m getting fired up just thinking about it.

1-Arm Farmer Carries

Are definitely growing on my list of exercise that everyone needs to be doing.  Think about it:

  • You have to brace the contralateral side as not to tip over – great for overall core stability.
  • Depending on which side you’re holding the DB, kettlebell, barbell, whatever, there’s a pretty significant hip external rotation component as well.  So, if you’re holding a DB in your right hand, the right posterior hip musculature must fire in order to prevent internal rotation, which in turn stabilizes the hip.
  • They’re fantastic for improving grip strength, as well as overall conditioning
  • And, this goes without saying, they’re just badass

On that note, for those who celebrate it, have an awesome Easter weekend.  For those that don’t, you can still eat lots of dead animal flesh for the hell of it.

Oh, By the Way

Mark Young’s How to Read Fitness Research is still on sale until MIDNIGHT tonight (4/22) for the low price of $37.  After that, it jumps up to $77, so make sure to take advantage of the discount while you can.  As an added aside, Mark has informed me that there’s NO RISK.  You can try the product for eight weeks and if you don’t like it, you can get every penny back with no questions asked.

 

 

CategoriesUncategorized

Carry, Carry, and More Carries

One of my favorite authors, Robert Ludlum (author of the Bourne Identity trilogy, most notably), always had an uncanny ability to paint a scene, in almost vivid detail.  Known for his meticulous research, Ludlum would take his protagonist (and the reader) across the globe, describing car chases in Prague, double agent debauchery in Moscow, breaking people’s faces in Paris, and anything and everything in between in terms of spy and espionage thrillers.

He did this all while keeping the reader engaged with pristine imagery from what the buildings looked like to how narrow the streets were.

I say all this, because nothing can describe the look on Chris Howard’s face when I turned around early Saturday morning and saw him standing there in the middle of the office with a WTFAIDH? (WTF Am I Doing Here?) look on his face.

To give a little background, we generally train before clients show up to CP during the week.  So, while we open our doors at 12 PM for business, we arrive around 10-10:30 to train beforehand.  Except for Saturdays.

On Saturdays, because we open earlier (9 AM), we typically wait till later in the afternoon to lift heavy objects off the floor.  The thing is, though, waiting until 3 PM to train (which means I don’t get back home till 5, sometimes 6 PM) on a Saturday kinda puts a damper on the whole “spending time with the girlfriend, lets make dinner reservations, so I GUESS THIS MEANS WE’RE NOT GOING TO IKEA TODAY!!!!! ” scenario.

In short, she’s not a fan  – neither am I.

So, long story short, I made an executive decision last week that I was going to try a little experiment to train earlier on Saturday.  For a little incentive, I recruited both Chris and Pete (Dupuis) to come in as well so I’d held accountable to them.

Accountability.  I really wish more people would take that word to heart.  We’re always so quick to push blame on someone (or something) else, when the truth of matter is – it’s the person looking back at us in the mirror that’s the real problem.

YOU – no one else is the culprit.

To that end, I certainly didn’t want to be “that guy” who decided not to show up when everyone else got their ass out of bed – talk about the ultimate case of douchebaggery.

So, there I was, sitting in the office at 7:45 in the morning when I heard the front door open and Chris was standing there with a “FU Tony look.”  It was priceless.  Fifteen minutes later, after foam rolling, going through our dynamic warm-up, and firing up fratmusic.com “Broin Out” station, and it was go time.

Taking a page from Dan John, we’ve been dedicating Saturday’s as “Carry” day.  Basically, all we do is carry heavy things back and forth – pretty simple.  It kind of looked like this:

A1.  Kettlebell Crossbody Carries (Suitcase and Racked position) 3×2 trips
A2.  Kettlebell Swing 3×10

B1.  HAS (Heavy As Shit) Farmer Carries 3×1 trip (1 trip = 40 yds)
B2.  Hate Life

***Here, on our final set, we worked up to 210 lbs in each hand for a total of a 420 lb carry.

C.  Farmer Carry + Sled Drag

All told, I had 240 lbs of weight + a Matt Cooney (another 220 lbs) on the Prowler while carrying 110 lbs in each hand.  I’m not saying it’s the most manly thing I’ve ever done at 8:30 in the morning, but I’m going to somehow incorporate a live grenade in the mix next week.

Finishing up, I think the main point I’m trying to make is this:

1.  Holding yourself accountable to other people (training partners) goes a loooooooong way to keeping you on task.

2.  Farmer Carries are the shiznit

3.  My biceps are huge.

CategoriesUncategorized

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.