CategoriesProgram Design Rehab/Prehab

All About Recovery

I always like to say the progress you make in the gym are the direct result of how well you allow yourself to recover.

As counterintuitive as it sounds you break muscle down in the gym, and it’s the time away from deadlifts, squats, and daily WODs that your body recovers and bounces back stronger than before.

Today’s guest post from TG.com regular, Dr. Nicholas Licameli, expounds on some of the best (and simplest) ways you can get a little more recovery in your life.

It’s not as easy as telling someone to “go to bed.”

Enjoy.

Copyright: lzflzf / 123RF Stock Photo

My Top Recovery Tips

As soon as a training session ends, the goal should be to start the recovery process.

In order for us to consistently make improvements in our bodies and our training, we need exercise that overloads our current tolerance AND adequate recovery. In other words, we need to challenge, break down, and fatigue our muscles as well as recover from that challenge, break down, and fatigue.

There are many ways to look at fatigue. One common breakdown is peripheral fatigue and central fatigue. Peripheral fatigue is simply the physical stress, break down, and depletion of glycogen that muscles experience during training. This decreases strength, power, and performance and causes muscle soreness.

Central fatigue is a bit different.

Without going too in depth (that’s for another article), I introduce the autonomic nervous system, made up of the sympathetic (SNS) and parasympathetic (PNS) nervous systems. The SNS controls our stress response, or “fight or flight.”

SNS controls our bodies when we come face to face with a grizzly bear. We’re going to sweat and our heart rate, blood pressure, and respiratory rate will increase. During this state, we are essentially mentally and physically breaking down our bodies.   The PNS controls the recovery response, or “rest, digest, and recover.” During this state, our blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rates all decrease.

It is in this state that we mentally and physically rebuild and recover.

Interestingly enough, the brain’s mechanism for learning works similarly to the mechanism by which muscles grow and become stronger.

Muscles do not grow in the gym.

Training causes muscles to be broken down. It is during recovery and sleep that muscles make adaptive changes.

Similarly, we do not learn while we attend a lecture.

via GIPHY

The lecture is like a training session because we do not make adaptive and lasting breakthroughs while in class. Our brains make new connections and truly absorb new knowledge during the rest, digest, and recover phase, which occurs after the lecture and usually during sleep.

I Sleep Every Night, Isn’t That Enough?

Not quite.

Imagine this sample day:

Alarm goes off (for the 5th time…thanks a lot snooze button) and you jump out of bed feeling like you’re running late. You go into the bathroom, get washed, get dressed, sprint down the stairs, grab some coffee and a quick to-go bite to eat, and you get into your car.

Some traffic, nasty drivers, and frantic lane changes later, you make it to the office a few minutes late. With no time to prepare, you dive right into your daily work duties.

After a stressful day at work (and getting yelled at by your boss for being late) and four cups of coffee, you rush to get home to pick up the kids from school. The commute home is no better than the morning, but you manage to get there on time. You make it home, give the kids a snack[/efn_note]As if I know anything about childcare. Sorry parents, this article is written by a young man without children…yet.1 and head out to the gym.

After taking a pre workout with enough caffeine to give heart palpitations to a Clydesdale horse, you manage to get psyched up for your workout. After a great workout, you jump in the car newly energized and ready to make dinner for the family and help the kids with homework. After collapsing on your bed and staring blankly at your Instagram feed until you can’t keep your eyes open, you manage to somehow fall asleep.

What’s the point of this example?

This is an entire day spent in a sympathetic state!

Remember, the sympathetic system is the fight, flight, and physical breakdown system. There is no time allotted to the parasympathetic system: rest, digest, and recover.

Things like stress, caffeine, and training are all highly sympathetic.

Here’s the good news!

A day like this can be easily changed for the good. All it takes is a few minutes of actively disconnecting from the grind. My favorite (and in my opinion, the simplest) way to accomplish this is simply breathing.

That’s right. Good ol’ breathing.

Inhale deeply and exhaling slowly. Let your shoulders drop down on the exhale. Redirect your mind away from the day-to-day and focus on your breathing (more on this below).

via GIPHY

In my office, we set an egg timer for one hour. When the timer goes off, everyone stops and takes a deep breath. It takes maybe 6 seconds and has had a significant impact on staff and patients alike. No egg timer? Every time you slip away for a bathroom break, try making it a point to take a deep breath. It may even be a good idea to bring along loved ones. What could be a better way to end the day than a couples breathing session in bed?

Actually, don’t answer that.

Note From TG: BOM, CHICKA BOM BOM

It seems logical that a proper recovery plan would target both types of fatigue. The following is a list of some recovery techniques that research has shown may be effective.

The techniques will target both types of fatigue and keep you on your way to achieving and surpassing your goals. Before we go on, it is important to note that no recovery technique, including the ones below, will be effective without proper sleep and nutrition. Getting your Z’s and eating properly to fuel and refuel our bodies are most important.

That being said, let’s get to it!

In an already packed schedule, it is not feasible to think you will be able to set aside time to do each technique, so I’ve numbered them from 1 (most important) to 4 (least important), in my opinion of course.

My opinion is based on the current research, effectiveness, convenience, and anecdotal experience both personally and professionally. It should be noted that although there is some research supporting the use of these techniques, many of the mechanisms and overall effectiveness still warrant further study.

For more information about specific parameters and references (and if you want to feel really insignificant about yourself and the quality of your own content), be sure to check out Chris Beardsley’s work at strengthandconditioningresearch.com right here.

1. Deep Breathing and Meditation

What Is It?

Using deep, controlled breathing and meditation to induce a state of physical and mental relaxation.

What Does It Do?

Deep breathing and meditation increases parasympathetic nervous system activity (rest, digest, recover) and decreases sympathetic nervous system activity (fight or flight).

How to Do It?

Choose a relaxing environment (an empty room, out in nature, etc.) and position yourself in a comfortable position (I prefer lying on my back with a pillow under my head and a pillow under my knees). Breathe in deeply through your nose and imagine the breath filling up and expanding your abdomen and lower back.

Hold for a few seconds and then exhale through your mouth in a controlled manner (don’t just blow the air out). With each exhale, imagine your body melting into the floor. Keep your mind focused on your breathing. “Is this an ‘in’ breath or an ‘out’ breath?” is the only thinking that should be happening.

If you hear a car horn and your attention goes to the car, redirect your mind back to your breathing. If your mind drifts to that report you have to write at work today, redirect your mind to your breathing. Some types of meditation actually involve allowing those intrusive thoughts in, and accepting their presence. If they are of significance, take moment to write them down.

If they are insignificant (be honest with yourself), push them away and redirect your mind to your breathing. Meditation takes practice, but as you train your brain to control intrusive thoughts and focus on the moment, you’ll see drastic changes in your recovery as well as your life.

2. Active Recovery

What Is It?

Active Recovery involves performing light resistance training or cardio either immediately following a workout or between workouts.

What Does It Do?

May reduce muscle soreness, limit strength losses, and even improve mood.

How to Do It?

Perform active recovery by using a light load (30% of 1 rep max) for about 20-50 reps for less than 60 minutes or using an active cool down such as a stationary bike for roughly 15 minutes.

Note From TG: Check out my Bloop, Bloop, Bloop Workout HERE which touches on the same idea a Nicholas describes and gives you some ideas on what to do.

3. Foam Rolling

(For an in depth look at foam rolling, be sure to check out my previous article here and my podcast here, which are much more comprehensive than what is described in this article.)

What Is It?

Foam rolling involves lying on a roller and using gravity to apply pressure to a muscle. The roller is pressed into the muscle belly and the user rolls up and down the length of the target muscle.

 

What Does It Do?

Like deep breathing and meditation, foam rolling can tap into the parasympathetic nervous system (rest, digest, recover) and reduce sympathetic nervous system activity (fight or flight) by inducing a global short-term decrease in muscle tone.

Muscle tone is the continuous passive contraction of a muscle controlled subconsciously by the brain. In other words, it’s a muscle’s resistance to passive stretch.

Tone is created by a constant subconscious message from the brain telling a muscle to contract. Many times the sensation of muscle “tightness” has more to do with tone and less to do with actual muscle length.

How to Do It?

1. View video above.

2. Or, if you learn better by reading:

Start off with a slow, steady roll covering the entire muscle group, scanning the area for tender spots. Think of scanning the area as a blind person would scan a new environment. Once you find a tender spot, pause and hold on that spot until a release is felt and the tenderness lessens. Add some deep breathing while holding on the tender spot to further assist in the release. Follow this up with another slow, steady roll over the entire muscle, just like how you started. It is true that foam rolling should be a bit painful, but too much pain will cause an increase in muscle tone, which, as previously mentioned, is exactly the opposite of what we want to do. More pain is not better.

Better quality is better.

4. Water Immersion

What Is It?

Water immersion is the use of ice baths or hot tubs.

What Does It Do?

May reduce muscle soreness and limit losses in performance.

How to Do It?

Use cold-water immersion (8-15°C/46°F-59°F) for 5-15 minutes or alternate 1-4 minute bouts of cold and hot water (38°C-42°C/100°F-108°F). Be sure to be submerged to shoulder height.

Where to Start?

A great place to start is with (1) deep breathing and meditation.

Start small.

Try devoting a few minutes each day to disconnecting and breathing. Work up to longer durations as you start to get the hang of it.

This will help in all aspects of life.

Once you’ve successfully made it a habit to disconnect and breathe for a few minutes each day, try adding in some (2) active recovery days.

After you have a solid daily breathing and meditation routine and you’ve managed to add in some active recovery to your week, consider using a foam roller combined with deep breathing for a few minutes after training and maybe even before bed. Once you have all these in place, feel free to give (4) water immersion a shot if you have the time and resources.

Use these techniques, along with proper sleep and nutrition, and you will soon reap the physical and mental benefits of proper recovery!

About the Author

Nicholas M. Licameli

Doctor of Physical Therapy / Pro Natural Bodybuilder

Youtube: HERE

Instagram: HERE

Facebook: HERE

Every single thing he does, Nick believes in giving himself to others in an attempt to make the world a happier, healthier, and more loving place. He wants to give people the power to change their lives. Bodybuilding and physical therapy serve as ways to carry out that cause. Nick graduated summa cum laude from Ramapo College of New Jersey with his bachelor’s degree in biology, furthered his education by completing his doctoral degree in physical therapy from Rutgers School of Biomedical and Health Sciences (previously the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey) at the age of 24, and has earned professional status in natural bodybuilding. His knowledge of sport and exercise biomechanics, movement quality, and the practical application of research combined with personal experience in bodybuilding and nutrition allows him to help people in truly unique ways. Love. Passion. Respect. Humility.   Never an expert. Always a student. Love your journey.

Categoriespersonal training Program Design Strength Training

Lets Play Favorites

Ever wonder what some of the best coaches/trainers say their favorite mobility drills are? Squat regressions? Favorite exercise in general? No? Well, too bad.

Shane McLean asked some well-known coaches (John Rusin, Meghan Callaway, Meg Julian, Eric Bach, and myself) what some of their favorites are. Go learn something.

Copyright: ozimician / 123RF Stock Photo

 

Lets Play Favorites….

My favorite color is blue.

My favorite food is potatoes. I’ve never met a potato I didn’t like yet.

My favorite movie line is “I feel the need, the need for speed.” I’m pumped that Hollywood is making a sequel to Top Gun. I’m already counting down the days to its release next July.

I wonder if they’re going bring back Goose from the dead?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O1ZhHts8MI

 

Bring the subject back to exercise, my favorite move is deadlifts. If left to my own devices, I’d deadlift, do some curls, slam down some coffee and then go home. However, my coach makes me do a bunch of stuff I hate but really need.

That’s what great coaches do.

Great coaches also have their go to exercises that end up in most of the programs they write. Usually, you need to attend a seminar or deep dive the internet to find out what the smartest minds in the fitness industry are doing.

However, let me save you the trouble. I’ve asked some of the industry biggest names about their go to moves and exercises they never go without. Who knows, you might learn something.

Tony Gentilcore. <– That’s Me

1) Number One Foam Roll Drill. And Why?

My #1 foam rolling drill comes in the form of a brief rant. Now, mind you, understand I am a fan of foam rolling and do encourage my clients to partake prior to each training session. Or after, I don’t care.

This is my ” go to” series.

 

That being said I do feel many people place too much credence/emphasis on foam rolling. I can’t tell you how many people have come to me seeking advice on why this hurts and that hurts and why they can never stay healthy. Whenever this happens I’ll inevitably ask them to show me their warm-up.

Fast forward 30 minutes.

Yeah, that’s right….it’s not uncommon for some people to spend upwards of 30 minutes (sometimes more) foam rolling. Foam rolling. After that long even Sting, a proponent of something like 7-hour tantric sex sessions, would be like, “come on already, let’s get it over with.”

When this happens, I’ll come straight out and say it: “THAT’s why you’re always hurt.”

People need to get out of this delicate flower, corrective exercise bubble mentality. Sure, foam rolling helps…but not for the reasons most people think. Do it if it makes you feel better. But get the eff off and go TRAIN.

2) Number One Mobility/Flexibility Move. And Why?

My favorite move is the Yoga Push-Up Complex.

 

I like it because it’s ONE move that hits a lot of trouble areas for most people:

  • T-Spine Extension & Rotation
  • Hip Flexor Length
  • Glute Activation
  • Hamstring & Adductor Length
  • Scapular Protraction & Upward Rotation

About the only thing it doesn’t address is small biceps….;o)

3) Your Number One Squat Regression. And Why? 

Slowing people down.

Lets discuss this under the guise of butt wink and squatting. It’s a thing.

Basically, it’s a less nerdy way of informing someone “dude(tte), you’re running out of hip flexion so you’re compensating with excessive lumbar motion.”2

Many think the culprit is tight hamstrings. Nope.

The hamstrings are bi-articular muscle crossing both the knee and hip joints. When we squat (go into deep(er) hip flexion) the hamstrings shorten at the knee and lengthen at the hip; there’s very little net increase in length.

When butt wink occurs it’s almost always a lack of tension issue. Meaning, often, there’s lack of pelvic control either due to one of two scenarios:

  • Lack of strength/stability.
  • Lack of motor control.

If your trainer tells you it’s because of tight hamstring he’s a dickwad.

In either case one of the best ways to address it is to slow down. You need to control slow before you can control fast. Coaching people up to adopt a better bracing strategy (core on, spread the floor with feet, PULL down into the squat in a controlled manner) will make a significant improvement for most.

On an aside: what may present as a mobility issue (unable to squat deep) may just be a stability issue. Adding a slight anterior load (plate or Goblet Squat) can fix things quickly.

 

4) One Exercise You Cannot Do Without. And Why?

I know most people who read my stuff think I’m going to say deadlifts here. But I’m not. I think the one exercise I do the most – and incorporate into my client’s programs the most – are carry variations.

What’s not to like about them? They work on core stability, hip stability, posture, grip, and take little to no coaching to perform them. And, they can be done with dumbbells, kettlebells, various barbells, people, you name it.

Just don’t make these common mistakes:

 

Trainer Meg J (I Guess It’s Like a Self-Titled Album)

Instagram HERE.

1) Number One Foam Roll Drill. And Why?

Touch Down, or a wall slide, on a foam roller. Not an actual rolling drill, but a great chest opener and client favorite. Much of the general population (and even athletes), battle “Upper Crossed Syndrome“.

Due to how much time we spend behind computers, looking down at phones, or sitting behind a wheel or TV, our necks and shoulders begin to round down and in. This can be a factor in neck, back, and shoulder pain, as well as impact breathing. This drill allows gravity to help naturally open the tight chest area.

2) Number One Mobility/Flexibility Move. And Why?

Wall slides. Like the Touch Down on the foam roller drill, wall slides help opens the chest, engage the back muscles, and bring more blood flow to those areas.

 

3) Your Number One Squat Regression. And Why?

Goblet squat with raised heels. Goblet squats are excellent for building anterior core (abs) strength and maintaining balance while learning the movement pattern. If someone has tight calves, or several other potential lower body issues, adding plates under their heels allows them to move more smoothly.

4) One Exercise You Cannot Do Without. And Why?

While I’m tempted to pick the phenomenal, almost as good as bacon, exercise of the Deadlift, my final answer will the ASLR (Assisted Straight Leg Raise) with band. This exercise is incredible for building core strength, teaching tension, and getting the hips and abs to work in unison.

 

Meghan Callaway, Strength Coach

1) Number One Foam Roll Drill. And Why?

Truthfully, I don’t do much with the foam roller. In most cases, I find that when you prioritize stability, the need for foam rolling is much less. While rolling out your quads might feel good, I don’t think it will make or break your performance or overall health.

Many people expend too much of their time energy aimlessly using the foam roller, when their time would be better served focusing on improving other areas of their overall health and fitness.

Note From Tony:

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

 

2) Number One Mobility/Flexibility Move. And Why?

I will occasionally use the foam roller to perform thoracic mobility drills, particularly flexion and extension. Of course, whether I use this drill will depend on the individual, and their unique needs.

I like to use the roller to perform band resisted hamstring curls, a single arm push-up/roll-out combo, or ab roll-outs, but obviously these are not flexibility/mobility drills.

 

3) Your Number One Squat Regression. And Why?

The goblet squat is one of my go-to squat regressions. This exercise helps people master the squatting movement and acquire the requisite levels of technique, strength, and controlled mobility so they can progress to performing more advanced squatting variations.

I also like the landmine squat for the same reasons. (Are Meghan and John Rusin related?)

Negative Goblet Squat

 

Negative 1.5 Rep Goblet Squat

4) One Exercise You Cannot Do Without. And Why?

I can’t pick one exercise, so I’ll choose two. I cannot go without trap bar deadlifts, and pull-ups, particularly some of my crazier ”play” variations.

Trap Bar PR, Baby

 

Climbing Pull-Up w/ Towels

 

Dr. John S. Rusin, PT, DPT, CSCS, ART, FMS1-2, SFMA, FDN

1) Number One Foam Roll Drill. And Why?

3-Way T-Spine.

It’s important to understand that just because you are utilizing the foam roller as a tool doesn’t necessarily mean that you are addressing soft-tissues. The foam roller can be a powerful manipulator of position in the spine, pelvis and extremities due to the acute force angle it has the ability to create.

So, do I view the thoracic spine foam rolling technique as a self-myofascial release technique? No. I view it as a corrective exercise that addresses the mobilization of the thoracic spine. Like this for example.

 

2) Number One Mobility/Flexibility Move. And Why?

Single Leg Adductor Rock Back with T-Spine Rotation

Most people have lost the ability to stabilize their pelvis and lumbar spine. This is a problem since the lower portion of the spine is anatomically designed to be stable; it functions best under low amounts of relative movement.

Creating super-stiffness at the pillar is nonnegotiable if you’re a lifter. It starts with positioning the pelvis and lumbar spine together synergistically. But achieving a position is vastly different than maintaining a position, especially when there’s a heavy barbell on your back.

That’s where this movement comes in. It’ll help you brace your core by creating tension in a controlled environment. You’ll relearn what stability should actually feel like.

 

3) Your Number One Squat Regression. And Why?

Landmine Goblet Squat

This variation provides the full body stability benefits of placing a load into the anteriorly loaded goblet position, but also aids in the balance and coordination requirements of the squat pattern by increasing the ground contact between the barbell and your hands.

Instead of just having your feet in contact with the ground, the barbell is in contact as well.

The unilateral position of the barbell also alters the strength curve, pushing you back into your hips further and further as you ascend deeper into the squat pattern. This characteristic is what makes this variation of the goblet squat the logical starting point for rebuilding the movement pattern from the ground up.

 

4) One Exercise You Cannot Do Without. And Why?

 Trap Bar Farmers Carry.

For long-term orthopedic and functional success, you should be able to pick up a heavy object, stabilize, then walk with it. The inability to do so is a sign your grip is fragile and that you’re susceptible to chronic issues in places like the lower back, shoulders, and elbows.

Not many gyms have dumbbells that go up into the 200’s, so don’t think carries are limited to dumbbells. If you want to train grip with continuous progressive overload, the trap bar or farmers-carry handles, which can be loaded with weight plates, are your best bet.

 

Eric Bach, BS, CSCS

1) Number One Foam Roll Drill. And Why?

Side Lying Windmill

Why: Chances are you’re spending hours each day in a crouched, internally rotated position which leaves you with poor posture and terrible thoracic mobility. And chances are you like to hoist heavy bench presses every Monday despite your shoulders screaming at you.

While I’m not going to tell you not to bench press, I will tell you to combat poor posture and battle back against achy shoulders with the side lying windmill on a daily basis. Posture takes time to improve. This simple drill attacks one of your biggest weak points to long-term, pain-free training.

 

2) Number One Mobility/Flexibility Move. And Why?

Groiner with T-Spine Rotation

Why: The groiner with the t-spine rotation attacks two common weak points: hip and thoracic mobility.

By killing two birds with one stone you’ll open up pain-free ranges of motion to improve both upper body and lower body training during a warm-up.

 

3) Your Number One Squat Regression. And Why?

To improve the squat patterns, I’ll move clients from a typical back squat all the way back to a bodyweight squat to a box.

Why such a regression?

It’s much easier to rebuild a movement from the beginning than taking a stab in the dark with other regression models. By doing a body weight squat to a box you’ll reinforce basic mechanics from holding an active foot position to properly shifting the hips back, pushing the knees out, and bracing the abdominals without weight.

Often, this simple regression will progress quickly through the following process: bodyweight squat to box>bodyweight squat>goblet squat to box>goblet squat> goblet squat with 5 second eccentric> barbell squat of your choice.

 

4) One Exercise You Cannot Do Without. And Why?

Front Squats.

For starters, front squats require hard work, which most gym goers avoided like the bubonic plague, opting to post every gym P.R. and dozens half-naked selfies on Instagram. Further, few exercises match the high-performance benefits of the front squat.

  • Anterior bar placement keeps the torso vertical, preventing the hips from going into an excessive anterior pelvic tilt, and requiring incredible core strength to prevent flexing forward.
  • Anterior bar placement forces lifters to attain an upright posture, decreasing shear stress on the spine, a bonus for minimizing back pain.
  • Front squats require scapula and clavicle elevation and upward rotation to keep the elbows up and the bar in proper position. This requires the traps, serratus anterior, levator scapulae, rhomboids, and lats to work in conjunction to hold position and prevent you from dumping the bar forward.

This gets you yoked and prevents you from developing smeagol like posture.

 

Wrapping Up

I hope you take this new-found knowledge and apply it to your own or client programs. These exercises will have you and your clients moving and feeling better and crushing life.

And it didn’t cost you a dime.

About the Author

Shane “The Balance Guy” McLean, is an A.C.E Certified Personal Trainer working deep in the heart of Texas. Shane believes in balancing exercise with life while putting the fun back into both.

CategoriesAssessment Corrective Exercise

Foam Rolling: This Is How We Roll

Foam rolling was never a “thing,” at least in mainstream fitness circles, until the early 2000’s. Since then it seems you can’t lift a weight or make a tuna salad without first taking yourself through a myriad of foam rolling drills to ensure “safety.”

Do I have my clients foam roll? Yes. Do I feel it’s imperative? It depends. In today’s guest post by Dr. Nicholas Licameli, he sets the record straight on what foam rolling is and what it isn’t

Copyright: tammykayphoto / 123RF Stock Photo

 

Foam Rolling: This Is How We Roll

In the fitness world, foam rolling has become just about as popular as yoga pants, bright stretchy shirts with motivational and quirky quotes, and transformation pictures on Instagram. That being said, a foam roller can be an effective tool, if used correctly.

Some buzz terms you may have heard when it comes to foam rolling are muscle lengthening, breaking down scar tissue, freeing up adhesions, remodeling of collagen, curing cancer, etc., however recent research does not support these claims as the mechanism by which foam rolling works.

In reality, we as humans cannot produce the amount of force necessary to remodel our tissues. Our tissues are much more resilient than that. It actually takes thousands of pounds of force to accomplish this, which is probably a good thing because we don’t want our tissues breaking up or remodeling when we’re carrying groceries, sitting on a park bench, squatting with 500lbs on our backs, or anytime we put weight into them.4,5,8

Last time I checked, no one is foam rolling with that much force!

But…We Feel Better and “Looser” After We Foam Roll. Why????

The mechanism by which foam rolling works seems to be neurophysiological rather than physical.

Neurophysio what? Neurophysiological.

This means that foam rolling induces a global decrease in muscle tone. Muscle tone is the continuous passive contraction of a muscle controlled subconsciously by the brain. In other words, it’s a muscle’s resistance to passive stretch. Tone is created by a constant subconscious message from the brain telling a muscle to contract. Many times the sensation of muscle “tightness” has more to do with tone and less to do with actual muscle length.

This is similar to how pain is perceived. Pain is a sensory input. Foam rolling adds a sensory input (the pressure) to override another sensory input (tightness or pain) to disrupt that subconscious message between the brain and the muscle to contract or perceive pain.1,6,8 This is why we feel better, looser, and less pain after foam rolling.

A Word (Or two. Or three.) On the Iliotibial Band (IT-Band)

By understanding the neurophysiological mechanism by which foam rolling works, it is now clear why you should NEVER FOAM ROLL THE IT-BAND.

The IT-band is a long tendon that has connections to the hip musculature, lateral quads, and lateral hamstrings…but it is only a tendon, not a muscle.

It is not made up of contractile tissue and therefore cannot have tone. The IT-band becomes tight as a result of increased muscle tone of its muscular attachments.

Think of it like this…imagine attaching the rear bumpers of two tractor-trailers with a chain. Both drivers hit the gas and the trucks try to move away from each other, increasing tension on the chain. In order to lessen the tension on the chain, it’s obvious that you would have the drivers ease off the gas. The chain itself does not cause the tension. The force of the trucks causes the tension.

The same goes for the IT-band. To improve IT-band tightness with a foam roller, focus on the hip musculature, lateral quads, and lateral hamstrings. By rolling directly over the IT-band, you are only causing yourself pain, which is most likely causing a global increase in muscle tone throughout the body.

Great Let’s Get Rolling! I’m Going to Foam Roll Every Muscle of My Body 3x/day For the Rest of My Life!

Not so fast.

The above-mentioned benefits of foam rolling seem to be very short lived. If you spend 10, 20, or 30 minutes foam rolling different muscle groups, by the time you’re done, you’ve likely lost the benefits of the first 5-10 min.

Although the research has not shown an optimal dosage for foam rolling, it has been shown that short bouts of 10-60 seconds is effective.7,8,9 That being said, do not focus on time. Focus on “feel.” Feel that muscle release!

Don’t just roll and roll and roll.

Note From TG: ^^^ Sorry, I couldn’t resist. And, you’re welcome.

Start off with a slow, steady roll covering the entire muscle group scanning the area for tender spots. Think of scanning the area as a blind person would scan a new environment.

Once you find a tender spot, pause and hold on that spot until a release is felt and the tenderness lessens. Follow this up with another slow, steady roll over the entire muscle just like you started. It is true that foam rolling should be a bit painful, but too much pain will cause an increase in muscle tone, which, as previously mentioned, is exactly the opposite of what we want to do.

More pain is not better. Better quality is better.

Foam rolling should be done with a specific purpose targeting specific muscles (see a qualified healthcare practitioner to pinpoint target areas specific to you). Stop mindlessly flailing around on the dirty gym floor rolling every muscle of your body. Foam rolling should address a specific movement that is limited.

ALWAYS TEST/RETEST.

Test/retest means you test a movement (like a squat) before and after performing soft tissue work to determine if there was any significant change. A useful way to do this is between warm up sets.

So I Understand That the Benefits of Foam Rolling Are Relatively Short Lived, but Can Foam Rolling Help Achieve Long-Term Improvements in Tissue and Movement Quality?

Yes!

That is where loaded movements come in. During the window following foam rolling, it is important to load the movement that you are trying to improve. This is why I recommend performing soft tissue work between your warm up sets.

It will allow you to test/retest as well as gradually load the movement, given you are gradually increasing load with each warm up set.

Take a squat for example.

You feel tightness and restriction in your hips halfway into the descent of your squat. You test and retest your squat and notice you are able to squat deeper and with less tightness. As you load the squat and work up to your working/heavier sets, this newly achieved movement pattern will be trained.

Training this movement with loads will, over time, lead to long term improvements in tissue and movement quality.2,8   Foam rolling can also be a great way to kick-start the recovery process by tapping into the parasympathetic nervous system, but that’s for a different article.

So do not fall victim to the latest trend or claims from gurus. I hope this helps shed some light on what foam rolling is, what it isn’t, how it works, and how to implement it into your training routine.

Let’s roll!

Author’s Bio

Dr. Nicholas M. Licameli, PT, DPT

Nick’s passion lies between his love for the journey of bodybuilding, education, spreading happiness, and helping others. He views bodybuilding through the eyes of a physical therapist and physical therapy through the eyes of a bodybuilder. Nick is a doctor of physical therapy and professional natural bodybuilder. He graduated summa cum laude from Ramapo College of New Jersey with his bachelor’s degree in biology, then furthered his education by completing his doctoral degree in physical therapy from Rutgers School of Biomedical and Health Sciences (previously the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey) at the age of 24. His knowledge of sport and exercise biomechanics, movement quality, and the practical application of research combined with personal experience in bodybuilding and nutrition allows him to help people in truly unique ways. Passion. Respect. Humility.

References

  1. Andersen, L. L., Jay, K., Andersen, C. H., Jakobsen, M. D., Sundstrup, E., Topp, R., & Behm, D. G. (2013). Acute effects of massage or active exercise in relieving muscle soreness: Randomized controlled trial. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 27(12), 3352-3359.[PubMed]
  2. “Andrew Vigotsky: Foam Rolling”. Iraki Nutrition Podcast. N.p., 2016. Web. 22 May 2016.
  1. Beardsley, Chris, and Andrew Vigotsky. “Foam rolling and self-myofascial release. “www.strengthandconditioningresearch.com. N.p., n.d. Web 19 Sept. 2016. https://www.strengthandconditioningresearch.com/foam-rolling-self-myofascial-release/
  2. Chaudhry, H., Schleip, R., Ji, Z., Bukiet, B., Maney, M., & Findley, T. (2008). Three-dimensional mathematical model for deformation of human fasciae in manual therapy. JAOA: Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, 108(8), 379-390.[PubMed]
  3. Chaudhry, H., Bukiet, B., Ji, Z., Stecco, A., & Findley, T. W. (2014). Deformations experienced in the human skin, adipose tissue, and fascia in osteopathic manipulative medicine. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, 114(10), 780-787.[PubMed]
  4. Goats, G. C. (1994). Massage–the scientific basis of an ancient art: Part 2. Physiological and therapeutic effects. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 28(3), 153-156.[PubMed]
  5. MacDonald G., Penney M., Mullaley M., Cuconato A., Drake C., Behm D.G., Button D.C. An acute bout of self myofascial release increases range of motion without a subsequent decrease in neuromuscular performance. J of Strength Cond Res. 2012. (published ahead of print).
  1. “Mobility Myths With Dr. Quinn Henoch- Foam Rolling”. JTSstrength.com. N.p., 2016. Web Sept. 2016.
  1. Sullivan, K. M., Silvey, D. B., Button, D. C., & Behm, D. G. (2013). Roller-massager application to the hamstrings increases sit-and-reach range of motion within five to ten seconds without performance impairments.International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 8(3), 228.[PubMed]
Categoriescoaching Corrective Exercise mobility

To Roll and Stretch or Not To Roll and Stretch

Here’s the deal: Whether or not someone should stretch and/or utilize the foam roller is up to them. There’s research and anecdotal evidence to back up both sides of the argument

I find value in both as a coach. Considering we’re talking about a 5-10 minute “investment,” and the abyss of benefits involved – improved tissue quality, increased tissue extensibility, decreased likelihood of injury, a more primed CNS, 1007% increase in general level of sexiness – I feel implementing both is a no-brainer.

Copyright: wavebreakmediamicro / 123RF Stock Photo

There’s a degree of expectation management involved, however:

1. Foam Rolling – harder doesn’t mean better. People seem to be under the impression that the more you grimace and induce “pain,” the more benefit you’re getting.

Here’s the progression most people take:

“Soft” Foam Roller —> “Hard” Foam Roller —> Rumble Roller (the one with those spikey thingamabobbers) —> PVC Pipe —> Barbell or Straight Up Lead Pipe —> Live Grenade.

Some people take foam rolling to the next level, as if the goal is to earn a Badge of Hardcoreness. BTW: that badge needs to happen. I do not agree with this approach and find it defeats the purpose.

I also understand there are camps out there who feel foam rolling is a complete waste of time. I tend to call in like with THIS response from Kevin Neeld.

2. Stretching – Lets be honest: this is the first thing that gets “tossed” when there’s a time crunch with training. I hate doing it, you hate doing it, the Easter bunny hates doing, everyone hates doing it. However, it’s hard to discount the mountain of research and anecdotal evidence that it works and does help people feel better.

And I know most people reading along agree with my train of thought: “I should do more of it.”

A funny thing: people tend to stretch what “feels good” or what they’re good at. Or, more commonly, they stretch, but they’re not stretching what they think they’re stretching.

I.e., not a good hip flexor stretch

Nonetheless, while I could keep going on and on and on I want to defer to my colleague, Shane McLean, who offers up some of his insights and “go to” rolling and stretching strategies he uses with his clients.

Enjoy.

To Roll and Stretch Or Not To Roll and Stretch (That is the Question)

Foam Rolling

Don’t you love that person who grabs the foam roller, plonks himself in the middle of the gym and proceeds to twist, grunt and grimace like a game of Twister?

Yeah, that person definitely needs a talking too.

Foam rolling is either better than sliced bread or a complete waste of time depending on whose camp you’re in. However, there is plenty of middle earth ground.3

You should think of foam rolling as a poor man’s massage. Having hands on you with the massage therapist inflicting pain is definitely more effective than the roller. However, foam rolling is cheaper and more accessible.

Just don’t go overboard.

Mike Boyle explains his rationale for foam rolling in The New Functional Training for Sports 2nd edition. He thinks foam rolling can help combat muscle creep.

Muscle creep is the extensibility of soft tissues which are those loaded under low pressure for an extended period of time.

A stretched muscle will attempt to go back to its resting length but will give up and in an attempt to bridge the gap will lay down more fibers. If the stretch is applied slowly enough the muscle will change its length and retain that change (Myers 2009, 36).

Doesn’t that sound creepy?

One study by back guru Dr. Stuart McGill concluded that “sitting with the back slouched for as little as 20 min can result in increased laxity in the posterior spinal ligaments” (McGill and Brown 1992).

Now if that doesn’t strike any fear into you to sit up straight this instant I don’t know what will. Prolonged spinal flexion can reduce back muscle protection of the underlying spine due to increased laxity. (1)

The muscles in the back already take a beating and going straight from the office to the squat rack would be as pointless as poking yourself repeatedly in the eye, for fun.

However, showing your muscles a little love with foam rolling to decrease muscular tension before crushing your squats and deadlifts sounds like a much better idea.

Foam rolling before warming up sets the table for a better warm up. A better warm up means a better training session and less chance of you ending up on the DL. Doesn’t that sound like a good idea? Thought you would see things my way.

Here are my five preferred must do rolls to help combat the creep and to feel and move well:

1) Foot Massage With Ball

 

2) Hamstring Roll

 

3) Piriformis Roll

 

4) Lower Back Roll

 

5) Thoracic Spine Roll

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgNWSQx08Hw

 

Stretching

Stretching is one of those topics that fitness professionals will never sit on the fence about. It’s either the devil incarnate or it’s the cure all. Both sides will argue till their blue in the face.

When coaches get into a pissing match, it’s never pretty. There is plenty of name calling, hair pulling and chests puffed out. However, like with most polar opposite points of view, the truth lies somewhere in between.

Let Mike Boyle be the voice of reason here.

“A lack of flexibility seems to be a causative factor in many of the gradual onset injury conditions that plague today’s athletes. Overuse problems like patella-femoral syndrome, low back pain, and shoulder pain seem to relate strongly to long term tissue changes that don’t respond to dynamic stretching.” (2)

If static stretching good enough for Mike, it should be good enough for the rest of us. Besides, if you stretch for a few minutes it will feel good and the universe will not blow up.

Combining foam rolling for the back of your body with a few stretches for the front may help improve your range of motion and help the stretch tolerance of the foam rolled muscle.

Here my preferred “go to” stretches:

1) Hip Flexor

 

2) Half Kneeling Quad

 

 

3) Biceps

 

 

4) Chest

 

5) Anterior Deltoid

 

References

1. Is Activation of the Back Muscles Impaired by Creep or Muscle Fatigue? Daniel Sánchez-Zuriaga – Michael Adams – Patricia Dolan – Spine – 2010

2. The Effect of Static Stretch and Warm-up Exercise on Hamstring Length Over the Course of 24 Hours. Volkert Weijer – Gerard Gorniak – Eric Shamus – J Orthop Sports Phys Ther Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy – 2003

About the Author

Shane “The Balance Guy” McLean, is an A.C.E Certified Personal Trainer working deep in the heart of Dallas, Texas.

No, Shane doesn’t wear a cowboy hat or boots.  After being told that his posture blows by Eric Cressey, he has made it his mission to rid the world of desk jockeys and have fun while doing so.

After all exercise is fun and never a “work” out.

You can follow Shane on Twitter HERE, and Facebook HERE.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff To Read While You’re Pretending To Work: 2/12/16

Gentle reminder fellas: I Love You, Even Though Sometimes I Think About Drop Kicking You In the Face. Here Are Some Flowers and Lets Go Eat An Expensive Steak Dinner Day Valentine’s Day is this weekend.

It’ll be mine and Lisa’s first V-Day as a married couple.

Since this year the actual day falls on Sunday, Saturday night is unofficially the real Valentine’s Day. Lisa is going wine tasting with a friend, and I’m going to go see Deadpool at IMAX with Kevin Larrabee.

Who says romance is dead when you put a ring on it?…..;o)

No worries: I’ll figure something out. A box of chocolates4, a foot massage, maybe a little Netflix and chill.  BOM CHICKA BOM BOM.

Quick-n-Dirty Updates

1) Be sure to peruse my upcoming speaking schedule. Dean Somerset and I will be kicking off our Complete Shoulder & Hip Workshop (2016 Edition) near Toronto in a few weeks, and then it’s off to Seattle, WA.

And then EUROPE (Prague and Oslo, respectively).

I also have several solo gigs in the works in NY, PA, and MA as well. For more info and to register go HERE.

2) Eric Cressey’s $30 OFF sale on The High Performance Handbook ends this weekend. Oh snap, did I mention Valentine’s Day is this weekend? (Hint, hint, nudge, nudge).

What better present than 16 weeks of one of the world’s best strength and conditioning coaches showing your loved one the ropes?

Or you could buy it for yourself and tell your loved one their present is deadlift PRs, better hip mobility, and pecs/glutes for days (retroactive in 16 weeks).

Don’t miss you, go HERE.

3) Check out one of my new favorite back exercises…the Seal Row.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Should You Foam Roll Your IT Band? – Kevin Neeld

The topic of foam rolling – and foam rolling the ITB – has always been dichotomous in fitness/health circles. Some coaches love it and see great results, others hate it and deem it pointless.

There was an article that came out a week or so ago by Andrew Franklyn-Miller on why you SHOULD NOT use a foam roller on the IT band.

As you might suspect, the internet shit itself.

Kevin wrote a perfect response above. Read it.

37 Fitness Experts Share Their Biggest Workout Mistakes – compiled by Gareth Jones

This one is a doozy, but it’s full of awesome tidbits and insights from many of the top trainers and coaches around.

The Curious Case of Why People Fear Protein – Adam Bornstein

Does eating too much protein cause cancer?

Will eating too much protein cause your kidneys to malfunction?

If you eat a burger, does a baby seal die?

Adam has some insights and facts to share.

CategoriesFemale Training rant

Hey Vogue Magazine, Thanks For Setting Women’s Fitness Back A Few Decades

My wife is angry at you Vogue. And so am I.

The other night as I plopped down on the couch after a long day at the gym to say hello to Lisa and to catch up on her day, she chuckled and said, “oh boy, do I have something to show you.”

She had ripped a page out of this month’s issue of Vogue Magazine (August 2015, pg. 128) and handed it to me.

Knowing it was Vogue I wasn’t sure what to expect. All I knew was that Lisa had handed me the piece of paper with some conviction.

Was it fashion tips for me?5 Outlandish outfits? Offensive accessories? Was neon green named this year’s color of Fall? Shit, no, maybe it was something far, far worse…skinny jeans for men are here to stay!?!?!

Thankfully it had nothing to do with any of those things.

Rather the article she handed me was on, of all things….foam rolling?

At first my wife was like “oh, wow, cool…..I can’t believe there’s an article on the benefits of foam rolling in a mainstream magazine like Vogue!”But then she read it, and noticed the all-too familiar feeling she gets whenever she ends up reading mainstream fitness fiction: Disappointment and the uncontrollable urge to punch a wall.

I couldn’t find a link online, so I opted to take a picture instead. Here you go.

I take no responsibility if a small piece of your soul dies:

Behold: A parfait of fitness fact and fiction, topped with a fluffy yet crisp meringue of bullshit. Toning, lengthening, leaning, bullshit.

Some Highlights:

1. The subtitle:

“Amid the current craze for foam props, Courtney Rubin asks, can they really make you LONG AND LEAN – or is that a bit of a stretch?”

– Is the craze really that current? I started using foam rollers with my clients over a decade ago. I’ll give a pass here because Vogue is a fashion magazine, not a fitness magazine, and staying on top of the latest fitness trends isn’t their strong suit. Plus, Lisa did defend this subtitle, reminding me that foam rollers can now be spotted in gyms, commercial and otherwise, as well as stores like Marshall’s and other chains with popular fitness equipment.

However, after reading on, I wished Vogue decided not to stray from their wheel house.

– Because lo and behold, there they were, those terrible words, rearing their ugly heads again….the dreaded “long and lean” buzz words that mainstream magazines love to use to prey on women and promote unrealistic expectations.

2. From the first paragraph of the article:

“These days, those of us who dream of long and lean (<—ahhh, my eyes) physiques are turning to – or rather, rocking over – foam rollers.”

– LOLLOLOLLOL. I see what you just did there Vogue. Very witty. But come on, can we stop with the LONG AND LEAN nonsense?

Let’s first review a clear and permanent fact you can’t lengthen a muscle without lengthening bone. Muscles have what we refer to as an origin and insertion. This is something you cannot change without some rather extensive (and painful) bone lengthening surgery or a magic spell from Professor Dumbledore.

And lean means fat loss. People become more lean by losing fat. By alluding that foam rolling will lead to lean physiques is somewhat comical and borderline shameful. But hey, catchy titles that use buzzwords sells magazines right?

A defender of the article might argue that a muscle could technically be “longer” (or lie flatter?) after scar tissue, adhesions, or “the kinks” as they refer to them, has been rolled out. Do you think your reader is thinking technically, Vogue? Of course you don’t. You know that when the average reader is reading “longer and leaner muscles” she is not envisioning excellent tissue quality, like this:You know that she’s envisioning this:

So, was this statement made out of ignorance of human anatomy, or a deliberate twisting, or “spinning” of a fact in order to promote magical thinking? Either way, it is offensive to those who know better, and a major disservice to those who don’t, but would very much like to!

Many (not all) women who read this article are going to equate foam rolling with trimming their waist and getting skinnier, which is absurd.

This is why people (women and men) do stupid shit, often waste their time spinning their wheels at the gym, and why many have unrealistic expectations and rarely (if ever) attain the results they’re after.

Foam rolling DOES have a place and there’s a ton of validity to it. Just not in the way it’s being portrayed in this article.

Continuing On

3. From there it’s more blah, blah, blabiddy, blah and then we get into some legit, credible information:

“Rolling key areas of the body such as the hamstrings or hips back and forth for as little as a minute releases fascia – the connective tissue that webs through our muscles and contracts to produce stiffness and pain. Lose the kinks, the thinking goes, and you will improve body function and lengthen muscles, too.”

– Love it! The article did give a loose “background” of the history of foam rolling and how it’s been traced back to the rehab/physical therapy realm, that it targets fascia, and that rolling helps “break up” connective tissue which can (not always) lead to stiffness and pain. Bravo

It’s quick and a bit reductive in it’s explanation, but whatever. It’s not inherently wrong. And I’d imagine there was a word count to be cognizant of.

Unfortunately, this brief little blurb takes another wrong turn – right back to fiction. This is why everyone gets duped. Articles like this toss out a fact as bait, switch to fitness fiction, brimming with magical cures and fairy princesses (or Gwyneth Paltrow. But same difference), and then start to mind fuck the reader.

Cue Revolutionary Magic Pill

4. And right on cue we get introduced to some revolutionary answer/quick fix.

“So and so’s (I’m not going to share the name, you can read it for yourself) foam rolling method is designed to redistribute bulk – her clients, who include Devon Aoki (no idea who that is) Gwyneth Paltrow6 say the elongating effects of six months of biweekly $495 sessions can help trim their waists.”

– What does “redistribute bulk” mean?

Push around problem areas?

What is “bulk”? Is it fat? Muscle? Vital organs? Whatever it is, it’s negative, and when you prompt the average American woman to consider the presence of “bulk” on her body, the resulting thoughts and feelings are not good.

They’re negative, judgmental, and completely fictional. What’s worse, is that the average American woman now believes she has discovered a method of “redistributing” her unwanted “bulk” (again – love handles? Juicy quads? Kidneys?)

So anyone reading this is going to think to herself, “Hmm, I have big thighs and big hips,”(undoubtedly leading to a negative inner monologue about her body) and THEN she’s thinking a foam roller is going redistribute her bulk from her hips and thighs to maybe other areas of her body.7

FML.

– Also, can we do the math? Six month’s worth of twice-a-week foam rolling instruction is costing someone roughly $12,000???? Must be tricky! It must be too complicated/sophisticated/dangerous for someone to perform on her own. For free.

 

Even more ironic is that I googled some videos put up by said foam rolling expert and most of them don’t even show her using the foam roller for its intended use (in the away the Vogue article suggests). I mean, she uses the foam roller (as a prop) to perform various glute bridges, push-ups, rollouts, etc…but not in the way suggested by the article.

Sure, the article says “props” but then discusses rocking/rolling and addressing fascia/kinks/etc. Not the same thing.

To her credit, though, the woman does have several videos demonstrating more traditional uses geared towards self-myofascial release and addressing (soft) tissue quality, which I am 100% on board with.

But still: $12,000? To bridge and perform push-ups? Yowsa/mad respect.

– Next:

CAN HELP TRIM THEIR WAISTS???!!!! My wife was yelling when we got to this part. Vogue has just notified all readers that they can trim their waists by foam rolling. Just let that sink in.

A Trimmer Waist.

By F*&%#@^ FOAM ROLLING!

But the best case scenario is that women read this article and feel indignant and insulted. Buzzwords like elongating, lean, lengthen, etc should instantly put up a red flag. The worst scenario? That women are going to read this article and think foam rolling will trim their waist and get them leaner. (Just for the record. One more time. Fat loss gets folks leaner).

NOTE: It would help if Vogue took the time to differentiate between actual foam rolling and using the word prop correctly. I know, I’m being nit-picky.

5. In the middle we get some more quality nuggets of information, this time factual (again the parfait effect):

Rolling is also beloved for its performance-enhancing properties. “I recommend foam rolling prior to physical activity,” says Nina Figeroa, owner of Base Physical Therapy, where the majority of clients are assigned foam-rolling homework.

Awesome. I’m on board with that. I feel bad for Nina, though. She’s most likely someone who’s well-versed and understands the science, yet quoted in an article selling foam-rolling as a body slimming method.

6. And the coup de grace, end-all-be-all shititude of a comment from the article:

“Makeup artist Gucci Westman has two rollers at home, one long, one short, to help her break up lactic acid before and after workouts.”

Amazing!!!!!

Too bad lactic acid is “buffered” by the body fairly quickly and converted back to glucose to be used as energy substrate during exercise.

Lactic acid doesn’t “build up.”

Lactic acid can’t be broken up by a foam roller.

Do you even science Vogue Magazine? And why are you soliciting fitness advice from make-up artists?

Come On Vogue!

You just wrote an article that set women’s fitness back decades, and told them that foam rolling will slim their waist and worse, redistribute bulk. Why not just roll out some stock footage from the 1920’s of women using those vibrating belts to battle belly fat?

It’s just as useful as this article.

Worse, you continue to use fictional buzz words and questionable commentary that does nothing other than confuse the reader and make the weeds thicker. You can do better than that.

For the record: This isn’t advice coming from a meanie head strength coach either. This is coming from my wife, a reader of your magazine. A fan of your magazine. And a woman who’s offended on behalf of women who want to learn and understand how to be fit and gorgeous.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff To Read While You’re Pretending To Work: Intervention, Foam Rolling, and a Return to Kipping Pull-Ups

I’m pretty excited today (and not because my birthday is in two days, hint hint hint). In actuality I have to head to the facility early this morning because one of the people from the Postural Restoration Institute (PRI) who lives in or near the Boston area is stopping by to do a short two and half hour staff in-service for us and it’s going to be awesomesauce.

Eric has been to a few of the modalities and Greg (Robins) recently attended one a few weeks ago, and within the past year or two we’ve implemented a fair amount of the PRI philosophy into the programming of our athletes and clients.

For those not in the know:  much of the dialogue revolves around breathing patterns and helping to engage the diaphragm more effectively.  Admittedly it’s much more involved than that, but at the expense of oversimplifying things, I’ll leave it at that.

Lets just say that there’s a huge likelihood that I’ll only be able to understand and compute 37% of what’s said.  God I hope they bring coloring books!

Note:  I’m not kidding.  If you were to go to one of their actual seminars, because there’s a heavy emphasis on anatomy, they have people use coloring books to help with the learning process.

Just to throw it out there, if they really wanted to take it to the next level they’d somehow incorporate glitter paint and a smoke machine.

Anyways, I’m excited and looking forward to making my brain feel like mush.

In the meantime, here’s some stuff to read to keep you occupied.

Intervention – Dan John

I don’t feel I have to go out of my way to state how much of a fan I am of Dan John.    He’s undoubtedly been a huge influence on my career, and I’ve highlighted pretty much everything he’s ever written on this site.

Intervention is his latest ebook, and helps to breakdown movement and provides step-by-step instructions in the Olympic lifts, powerlifting, mobility, flexibility, kettlebell training & tumbling.

In a sense, it’s an invaluable guide to anyone who coaches people or who’s interested in not sucking in the gym.

 

Foam Rolling Research (so far) – Jon-Erik Kawamoto

This was an excellent article which, surprisingly (I really didn’t know this), shows how there’s been very little research done with regards to the efficacy of foam rolling.  Much of what we know (and recommend) is based solely off anecdotal evidence (which isn’t a bad thing).

Basically at the end of the day, while there should be more research done on the topic (no one really knows how long, how often, and when to do it), I also feel that the “real world” evidence is clear.  I’ve seen with my own eyes people reap the benefits of foam rolling and feel it’s an invaluable tool in the tool box.

Still, I really liked this article in that it took an unbiased viewpoint and laid out what (little) research these is thus far.

Do Not Kip Your Pull-Ups Before Reading This – Dave Hedges

A few weeks ago I wrote a popular post (in the context of it making its rounds around Facebook) titled All the Hype Behind Kipping Pull-Ups, where I expressed my opinion on this controversial exercise.

I’m not going to get into it here (you can click on the link above), but needless to say I’m not a fan.

The impetus for the post was to note that I don’t feel that they’re a good fit for the vast majority of people who perform CrossFit.  It’s one thing if you’re already strong, have a solid training foundation, or have a fair amount of training experience.   There’s a reason why the top CF athletes don’t (generally) hurt themselves (as much).

It’s a walking train wreck otherwise.

As it happens, I’m not the only one who feels the same way.  Strength coach Dave Hedges offers his opinion on why kipping pull-ups probably aren’t the best choice for most (not all) people.

Also note the informative link he provides discussing the overwhelming amount of SLAP tears in the CrossFit community which can be directly linked to the kipping pull-up.

And remember, it my b-day on Friday!  I wear large t-shirts, 10.5 shoes, and I’m pretty sure Alicia Keys just came out with a new album.  Sooooo, yeah,  just sayin…….

CategoriesUncategorized

The (Not So) Obvious Causes of Low Back Pain

Back pain is a bitch.  There’s really no other way to describe it. It’s been said that 80% of Americans will experience it at one point or another, which, when you run the numbers, is like four out of five people.  Yep, that’s what I like to call math.

Needless to say, back pain bites the big one and it’s easily the #1 cause for things like days missed from work, training days lost, not to mention the burden it places on health care costs.

The mechanisms for back pain are many, but can really be categorized into two camps:

1.  One, massive, blunt force trauma:  car accident, falling off a ladder, getting Terry Tated in your office for not refilling the coffee pot.

2. Repeated, low-grade, aberrant motor patterns which inevitably lead to something bad happening.  Sitting at a desk all day comes to mind. In addition, we all know of someone who either bent over to tie his or her shoe or simply to pick up a pencil who ended up blowing out their back. The body is going to use the path of least resistance to get the job done, and unfortunately, because most people have the movement quality of a ham sandwich (poor hip mobility, poor t-spine mobility, etc), the lumbar spine, literally, gets eaten up.

While it’s a bit overkill, our spines can be thought of as a credit card.  Bend it back and forth enough times, and eventually, it will break.

As a coach who works with elite athletes as well as people in the general population, I’ve seen my fair share of back issues, and I wholeheartedly feel that a structured strength training regimen geared towards improving movement quality, addressing any postural imbalances/dysfunctions, as well as “cementing” proper motor patterns is one of the best defenses in preventing low back pain in the first place.

Coaching someone how to achieve and maintain a neutral spine (something I wrote about HERE and HERE) would be high on the priority list.

Coaching someone how to properly perform a hip hinge or helping them clean up their squat pattern – utilizing the appropriate progressions (and regressions) – would also be kind of important.

And, of course, we can’t neglect staples like encouraging spinal endurance (planks), as well as placing a premium on proper lumbo-pelvic-hip control (core stability exercises like chops/lifts, Pallof Presses, and the like).

All of these things are great, and certainly will set people up for success, but there are many (MANY) less obvious components that often get over-looked.

Stealing an analogy from the great Dr. McGill – it’s the hammer and thumb paradox.  Lightly tap your thumb with a hammer and not much will happen.  No big deal, right?  After a few thousand taps, however, you’ll be singing a different story.

Keeping this theme in mind, lets take the birddog exercise.  Simple exercise, that many fitness professionals use with their clients to help improve dissociation of the lumber spine from the hips, and to teach co-contraction of the anterior core and erectors with little to no spinal loading.

Simple exercise, for sure, but not quite so simple in it’s execution.  If you glance at the picture to the left, you’ll notice the concave shape of the back and see that she’s just hanging on her lumbar spine.  Not exactly ideal execution.

If this were someone suffering from low back pain, would this alleviate their symptoms or make them worse?  My guess would be the latter.

Taking it a step further, have you ever watched people foam roll?  There’s no questioning it’s efficacy towards helping to improve tissue quality, and we have every one of our clients do it prior to their training session.

The thing to consider, though, is that when you’re dealing with someone with a history of low back pain – whether they’re currently symptomatic or not – you need to stay on top of them so that they’re not making the same mistake as above and hanging on their lumbar spine; essentially living in a constant state of extension.

Rather, what should happen is that they “brace” their core and maintain more of a neutral spinal position as they roll around (reference the fine looking gentleman to the right).

It’s borderline OCD, I know……..but I can’t stress enough how important it is to make the small things matter.

Take away the hammer.

Using an example that’s a bit more exciting, lets take the overhead press and break that down.  Now, I have nothing against the overhead press – far from it.  But when you actually watch a vast majority of people perform it, don’t be surprised if your eyes start bleeding.  With a keen eye, what you’ll almost always witness is someone substituting excessive lumbar extension for shoulder flexion. But damn, it can look gooooooooooood at times.

When this happens, it’s usually beneficial to regress the exercise a bit and take some of the joints out of the equation, ALA the Gray Cook approach.

In the half kneeling position, I’m essentially taking my lower half out of the equation where I can now focus on pressing the weight over my head WITHOUT compensating with the lumber spine.  The key here is to “dig” the rear toes into the ground and to squeeze the glute of the trailing leg, hard!  As I press, I’m thinking “elbow to ear.”

Moving to a standing position, strength coach Dave Rak (he’s single, ladies) demonstrates a variation he showed me with one hip flexed:

Here, we’re still able to “lock” the lumbar spine in place and alleviate as much body english as possible.  What’s more, there’s an awesome glute activation component in the trailing leg.  Yes, I understand you won’t be able to use as much weight, but that’s not the point (yet). Once we can perfect the movement pattern, and take some of the burden off the lumbar spine, then we can load it and satiate our inner meathead.

Belly Breathing – The Right Way

One last point to consider, and this is something that I never even thought of until Bill Hartman pulled a Bill Hartman and made me realize how stupid I am, is the idea of belly breathing into the belt.

I’ve stated my opinion on weight belts in the past, and have always been told to PUSH OUT in order to increase intra-abdominal pressure (and thus, spinal stability).

As Bill demonstrates in this video, that’s not necessarily correct:

And there you have it:  just a few more things to consider when discussing the topic of low back pain.  Sometimes it’s not the quite so obvious things that are causing the issue(s).

Have your own ideas to share?  I’d love to hear them below.