….It’s the (Even More) Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint.
A bunch of wordsmiths we are.
With this iteration, though, we’ll be going a bit deeper into the coaching and programming side of things:
How to program around common injuries.
How to “connect” the appropriate exercises to the client/athlete.
How to squat and deadlift like a boss.
Ljubljana, Slovenia – October 20-21st.
Los Angeles, CA – November 17-18th. (<— EARLY BIRD rate still in affect)
All registrants to this course (as well as future dates in 2019 in Detroit, Philadelphia, Edmonton, Minas Tirith) will receive a free download of CSHB 1.0 so that you’re up-to-speed on the content Dean and I will be covering.1
The line-up is spectacular and I’m honored to be included amongst such esteemed company – Pat Rigsby, Mark Fisher, Molly Galbraith, Kellie Hart, Craig Ballantyne, and Scott Rawcliffe, to name a few.
I’ll be speaking about shoulder assessment AND how to make killer cat memes.
This shindig is taking place NEXT WEEK, and there are still a few spots available.
If you’re a fitness professional looking to take his or her’s career to the next level this is an event you won’t want to miss.
I’ll be back in the city that never sleeps this Fall to put on my popular Coaching Competency workshop.
Albeit this will be condensed version (five hours instead of seven); a fitness amuse bouche if you will.
Full details (itinerary, location, and cost) can be found HERE.
SOCIAL MEDIA SHENANIGANS
Twitter
One of the most valuable traits a coach can possess is staying quiet (sometimes). Allowing a client/athlete to marinate in doing a movement wrong, realizing it, and then self-correcting is invaluable.
Soon I’ll be a dad. And soon my kid will be yelling at me “you’re ruining my life!”
*slams door*
I’m going to laugh so hard.
Stuff to Check Out Before You Read Stuff
1. 2 Workshops Coming Up
Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint – Vancouver, April 1-2nd.
Dean Somerset and I will be in Vancouver that weekend to talk shoulders and hips and to start a tickle fight.
For more information and to sign up you can go HERE.
SUNY Cortland Health & Wellness Conference – Cortland, NY, April 8th
I’ll be at my alma mater the weekend of April 8th speaking at what I believe is the 4th or 5th annual SUNY Cortland Conference. Other guest speakers include my wife, Dr. Lisa Lewis, Mark Fisher, Brian St. Pierre, and Dr. David Just.
Check out THIS article I helped contribute to on MensHealth.com titled 6 Reasons You’ve Stopped Losing Weight.
HINT: it has nothing to do with starting a detox diet of Unicorn tears with a squeeze of lemon.
3. Oh, and this happened
In case you missed the title of the next Star Wars film was revealed the other day along with the poster.
Commence 11-month long nerd boner………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….now.
I received an advance copy of this program last week, and I love it. I love everything about it. Who says women can’t (or shouldn’t) train for size? Kourtney and Jen (pictured above) have done a really nice job coming up with a program targeted towards women (but men can do it to!) that’s well designed and complete with everything you’d need to be successful.
All I know is that my wife is sooooo excited to give this program a go once she gets the clear from her doctor. It’s on sale through this Friday night (1/27) so you don’t have much time left to save.
I think the pic says it all, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give this article a read.
“When you’re at the gym, or maybe the beach or even people watching at a fancy dinner event, what’s one of the first things you notice on a fit, in-shape woman?
Her legs? Maybe.
Her butt? Probably.
More often than not, her shoulders. Why? They grab your attention. They are eye level and a fit woman’s shoulders pop.”
I was pumped to be asked to contribute to this article, featuring knowledge bombs from other stellar coaches like John himself, Joel Seedman, Eric Bach, Dr. Ryan DeBell, Tim DiFrancesco, and Luka Hocevar.
The only movement not listed? Sparta kicking global warming in the face.
Social Media Highlights
Twitter
Here’s the thing: box jumps are more about proper landing mechanics and ability to absorb force than posting shitty max height attempts
Peruse pretty much any fitness magazine targeted to women and you’ll inevitably see words like, “lose, fat-loss, tight, drop a size, tiny, hot, and lean” plastered all over its pages. This is unfortunate.
Women are programmed, often at an early age, to be less, that in order to be attractive and have self-worth, the smaller you are the better.
I say: Bull to the shit.
It’s no secret I’m a firm advocate for women to strength train. Time and time and time again I witness women transform their bodies (and mindsets) when they choose to nix the endless elliptical sessions in lieu of picking up some barbells.1
There is nothing wrong with choosing to be more.
I am pumped to help promote The Bigness Project from Kourtney Thomas and Jen Sinkler. It’s everything I’m a fan of when it comes to directing women to the right kind of information.
Please enjoy the guest post Kourtney was kind enough to write below.
Maybe Less Isn’t More
I used to be one of those women who made a point to talk about how little space I took up. I’d brag about taking the first middle seat I came to on a Southwest flight because, “I’m just a little girl!” On top of that, I made a point of keeping everything about my already small body as tiny as possible. Because, after all, being less is more when it comes to women’s bodies, right?
More like “Yeah right!”
Over the years, I eventually began to see that there was another way to go. And while, yes, I do walk around in a petite frame, I’ve come to see that what I do with it and how I carry myself can convey a whole different message.
When I first got into fitness, though, it was pretty much cardio only for me. I loved group cycling and endurance running. I enjoyed sweating all over the floor teaching a high-energy cycling class, and I loved running out to the middle of nowhere and melting into nature and myself.
At the time, I didn’t yet grasp that my participation in each of these sports tended to reinforce that same, constant message for me: that less is more. Endurance runners have to be rail-thin so they can be fast. Group cycling classes will claim to burn a gazillion or so calories. The rest, if not explicitly stated, is often implied in skewed marketing messages: stay little.
In time, I experimented and found my way to some weight training. But I started with methods I thought wouldn’t make me too big or bulky. And obviously, to burn more calories, because I still believed that less was more. Along the way, I began to see glimpses of a different way though. Who is this Jen Sinkler person, and what is this Lift Weights Faster stuff I see? Oh my goodness, Girls Gone Strong?
Strong? What a novel concept!
And women were using…what was that called again? A barbell? I was clueless and petrified to touch the thing for the first time, but I eventually gave myself a dose of my own tough love, sucked it up, and walked into the weight room one day. As it turned out, it wasn’t so bad, and I felt capable of being there! (I also realized not everyone knew what they were doing in there.)
And, so, I started with strong, and I believe in that wholeheartedly. I completely agree with Tony when he says that training for performance in lifting is a great place to start. I not only saw my strength come up substantially, but as Tony has also mentioned many times before, I began to see significant physical changes in my body shape and composition.
I was getting bigger. Bigger! Everywhere. And I liked it.
I liked it so much, in fact, that it became my primary goal. I’ll never forget writing my initial email to my first coach and my No. 1 goal as “Gain some size. As much hypertrophy as possible.” Oh, how different that was from the last 30 or so years of my life — that a woman should actively say to herself, I don’t want to shrink. I want to grow! I don’t want to lose weight. I want to gain! And then deliberately work toward getting bigger?
It took a little time to get behind fully, I’ll admit. Just like so many other women, I’ve been conditioned by the mainstream messaging to know nothing other than slender, slim, and thin-is-in. Not to mention, quiet, polite, and ladylike. Flipping the script on all of that doesn’t happen overnight. But changing my training focus to hypertrophy not only helped me to discover the most fun kind of training ever (seriously!), but it helped me to embrace my own body, more than I ever thought possible.
I used to hate my “linebacker shoulders” and big arms. Now? Are you kidding me? Let’s beef ’em up so I can bust out of my sleeves! I used to cringe at my outer thighs and cover them up with my hands so they’d look like the ones I saw in the magazines. Now? I cannot stop leg pressing because I want to see my muscles through my pants.
Letting go of less is more was freeing. It was empowering. It was a gift, an open door to start exploring what other mainstream misconceptions might be out there. I’ve always been one to go a bit against the grain and question the norm, and while it took me a little while longer to do it when it came to what I wanted for my body, when I got there? Everything changed.
Loving my big arms (and doing 10,000 biceps curls) enriched my life exponentially and boosted my confidence about everything through the stratosphere. Who would have thought that working deliberately to bulk up would have that effect? Oh, and it also happened to have the effect of creating a physique that I, personally, consider totally rockin’.
More muscles has meant more everything for me. More quality relationships, more fun, more business, more love. All of it — seriously — because I made a choice to defy that less is more rhetoric and train specifically to be bigger.
Because, sometimes? More is more.
Are You Ready for the Bigtime?
The Bigness Project is a brand-new hypertrophy-training program built to get you built. Written by Kourtney Thomas, a strength and conditioning coach who has spent the last few years focused on the small details that will get you big, this program—or “brogram,” as she refers to it in the most gender-neutral of ways—delivers on the promise of bigger arms and a bigger life.
Consisting of tried-and-true muscle-building techniques, The Bigness Project will guide you through 14 weeks of training that will support your overall strength, develop a stronger mind-muscle connection, and give you a look that leaves no doubt that you lift weights.
A comprehensive User Manual that explains the philosophy behind the program and walks you step-by-step through every aspect of Bigness training and lifestyle.
14-week hypertrophy training program.
A complete exercise glossary including 95 written and photo demonstrations of every movement in the program.
A video library containing 20 in-depth explanations of the most detailed movements and components of the program.
Now available—all aboard the gainz train! To celebrate the kickoff of the Bigness Project, the program is on sale now. Get your copy HERE and join us in the gym this week!
About Kourtney Thomas
Kourtney Thomas is a personal trainer and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with a passion for empowerment and hypertrophy training for women, which she coaches virtually with Kourtney Thomas Fitness. When she’s not at the gym doing some variation of biceps curls, Kourtney loves to ride her Harley-Davidson Softail Deluxe anytime the weather is above 50 degrees, travel to national parks, stay up too late reading copious amounts of science fiction and fantasy, and bake elaborate cakes and cookies—because something has to fuel those gains. Drawing on the above, her personal motto is “Big Arms, Big Life,” and she lives by that daily.
Dean Somerset and I will be in Minneapolis, MN the weekend of October 15-16th putting on our Complete Shoulder & Hip Workshop. Not only will this be our last event together in 2016, but it’s likely to be our last LIVE CSHW event for the foreseeable future.
It’s kind of on par when N’SYNC performed for the last time. Except it isn’t.
So don’t miss out, go HERE and hopefully we’ll see you there.
Pay no mind to the asshat demonstrating the really shitty S.L.R.D.L above. It’s just for show…;o) Sean St. Onge of 212 Health & Performance breaks down some tried and true ways to clean up your single-leg RDL. Awesome stuff!
1. Acumobility products. I was fortunate enough to bump into Brad (Cox) and Julian (Cardoos) at the Perform Better Summit in Providence a few weekends ago where they handed me a few of their products to try out. All I have to say is RAVE reviews from myself and my clients.
2. Chris Duffin himself. The man is a beast (and super smart). Nuff said.
3. Also, shoulder shenanigans. That’s three things, but what can I say: I’m a shoulder nerd.
The saying “if you don’t use it, you lose it” can be applied to many facets of life. Vacation time for some people applies here. Within some companies here in the U.S, if you don’t use your vacation time, you lose it.
Which is BS.
And, of course, I could easily toss in an obligatory dick joke here.
But I won’t.
Because I’m mature.
Athleticism is another one of those “things” we tend to lose when we don’t use it. In fact, I’d garner a guess that athleticism is one of the first attributes that diminishes once many of us enter into adulthood.2
But for the sake of brevity, and legally speaking, lets just say adulthood is when someone hits the age of 18.
At this age, unless you’re a high-level athlete and offered/recruited to play a sport at the next level (college), you typically either:
1. Go to college, stop playing sports, and discover beer.
2. Not go to college, stop playing sports, and get a boring desk job. Or, live in your parent’s basement and play World of Warcraft.
OR
3. If you’re me: go to college, play sports, watch way too much 90210, not hang out with chicks, stay active (even after college), still not hang out with chicks (at this point watch way too much Alias), eventually get a job in the fitness industry, get jacked, playing “sports” gets diluted to slow-pitch softball leagues, start working with high-level athletes, still stay jacked though, finally find a chick that will hang out with me, and eventually realize that, while certainly not un-athletic, I’m not close to where I once was.
That sound like you too?
Now, I’m not insinuating athleticism in this case means you’re ready to enter the NFL Combine or that you could win American Ninja Warrior.
Understandably, athleticism can mean different things to different people. But again, for the sake of brevity, lets just say athleticism can equate to the ability to do several things such as sprint, jump, hop, skip, punch a zombie in the throat, change direction, shuffle, accelerate, decelerate, and just move without looking like a drunk pirate.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Many people confuse athleticism with conditioning
And that’s not what I am referring to.
Yes, athletic drills can be a form of conditioning…however, that’s not their main objective. There’s a lot of technical proficiency and skill involved with developing specific athletic skills and athleticism in general.
Too, athleticism favors those who started at an early age. We’re motor learning sponges when we’re young. Not so much as adults when motor patterns and CNS pathways have been engrained for far too long.
Elite athletes and people who stay active their entire lives can do stuff without even thinking about it.
They can change direction on a dime or catch a frisbee with pulling a hamstring.
They can react.
They have to work at it, of course, and they’ve accumulated hours upon hours of “purposeful practice,” (in the form of actual practice and casual recreational activity) but they make athleticism look easy and seamless.
You don’t become more athletic by incessantly accumulating more and more fatigue. Mind you: the most successful athletes in the world are able to perform at a high-level – repeatedly – in the presence of fatigue. They do need to develop conditioning and endurance amongst many other abilities.
However, I feel many people operate under the assumption that conditioning (or getting tired) is equivalent to athleticism.
And it’s not.
Hitting up your local CrossFit joint is cool. I think that’s amazing. There are many amazing athletes involved with it.
But don’t assume that just because you’re completing some crazy WOD 3x per week, gasping for air by the end, and are thiiiiis close to shitting a spleen, that you’re somehow improving your athleticism.
Getting My Athleticism Back
Make no mistake: I can still move well. I haven’t turned into the Tin Man or anything (although, lets be honest: dude could dance).
I still participate in athletic endeavors and sometimes look athletic when I demonstrate exercises and drills. However, as a former athlete (and as someone who trains athletes) I’d be lying if I said I was happy with my current situation.
Slight abject disdain would seem more fitting
Which is why I was so happy to see Jen Sinkler type these words the other day:
“I missed feeling athletic in almost any situation. I missed it lot.
So, I told my friends Angie Brambley Moyer and Tim Moyer, both world-class strength-and-sport coaches, that I wanted to get it back. That I wanted to get it allllll back.
I ALSO told them that I wanted to invite others who were in the same boat — former athletes, not-yet athletes, or current athletes who wanted to level up their game — to join me in my quest.
I was positive there were others who, like me, wanted to become lean, mean, athletic machines. Again, or for the very first time.
I was right.”
I’m Not Alone!!
I think many fitness professionals feel the same way I do. We’re in an industry where we often put other’s health, well-being, and goals before our own.
Likewise, there are many people reading who, despite being former athletes themselves, don’t have as much pep in their step as they used to. Or, maybe there are some reading who have never played a sport in their life, but would like to be able to perform a pro-agility without breaking their hip?
I’m taking some initiative and putting myself through the Lighting & Thunder program. I’m even setting my ego aside and starting with the beginner program.
Here’s what I did today:
5 Yd Starts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TklqD8uN_Ds
Objective here is to drop down into a proper starting “athletic” position (weight forward, CoG low).
Think long backside (toss back arm back as aggressively as possible)
Push away as fast as you can (aggressive first step).
5 Yd Jog to 10 Yd Sprint (With Stop Within 10 Yds)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM-BPJKTslg
Objective here is more or less the same as above (except without the athletic start position).
When you transition into sprint, you should get low and have an aggressive lean with positive shin angle.
You still want an aggressive backside.
Also, you want to “stutter step” to a stop within 10 yds, which works on deceleration and better emulates athletic activities.
5 Yd Jog to 10 Yd Sprint (To Coast)
I didn’t take a video of this.
Just imagine the same video as above, except me without a shirt on or something. Or pants.
Also, no need for aggressive deceleration…just a “coast” to finish.
Up 2, Down 1 Drill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSFDp1QSA2w
My sock game is ON-POINT!!!
This drill helps to hammer home the start/stop/start/stop nature of athletic activities and sport.
Performing this drill with hands touching the floor helps to cue weight forward and low (you’d obviously not do this in a REAL sport).
Important to note that if you stop with right foot forward, you’d want to tap floor with left hand (and vice versa).
Rest is 1:3 ratio. Rest for 3x as long as it takes to to complete the drill. This ensures ample recovery for top performance with each set.
It’s nothing fancy, but it doesn’t need to be.
I’ll be doing this program 1-2x per week all summer. If day 1 is any indication, I’m going to be Carl Lewis by September.
On top of being a top-rate speed/agility program, what’s great about it is that it can easily compliment any strength program.
It comes with a strength program in fact.
However, for those who purchase Lighting & Thunder via the links provided by the end of June 3rd, I’m going to offer you a FREE month of my Group Training Membership on Exercise.com.
NOTE: I’m only going to email the discount codes out to the exact same email address you use to purchase L&T.
You get two killer programs for one!
So, to review:
1. It was bullshit when Kelly chose Brandon over Dylan on 90210. I mean, it’s freakin Dylan McKay. How do you say no to someone like that?
2. The Lighting & Thunder program is pretty baller.
3. I’m doing the entire thing myself, even starting with the beginner program cause I’m cool like that.
4. You should totally do it with me.
5. As incentive…go HERE, and then I’ll send you a code for a FREE month in my Group Training Membership.
Today’s guest post comes courtesy of one of my most favorite people in the world, Jen Sinkler. She, along with strength & conditioning coaches Angie Brambley-Moyer and Tim Moyer are releasing their new strength, speed, & agility training product Lightning & Thunder.
I’ve just started playing with the program myself (my wife and I went to BU on Sunday to move around a a bit, photo evidence HERE), and I gotta say…I really, really like it.
It’s elegant in its simplicity, and will compliment pretty much anyone’s training whether they’re an athlete or not.
Check out Jen’s gleaning example below…
When Going Backwards Is a Good Thing
When it comes to training for speed and agility — a worthy endeavor whether you’re an athlete or not, in terms of power and movement efficiency — you may think about zig-zagging from side to side explosively and working on your go-forward locomotion, but just as important is the ability to quickly transition from forward to backward and vice versa.
“Forward-to-backward movement is what athletes do poorly at first. It’s the most likely skill to be untrained and un-coached,” says Angie Brambley-Moyer, MS, MSCC, assistant director of strength and conditioning for Princeton University.
This is a critical error.
In many sports, the ability to switch from offense to defense and back again is paramount, adds Angie’s husband, Tim Moyer, MS, CPT, head volleyball coach of Philadelphia University and longtime strength and conditioning coach.
“Agility is the ability to perform a series of explosive power movements in opposing directions in rapid succession, and unless you’re training these key movement patterns by focusing on movement quality over speed at first, breaking down skills into smaller parts, and getting feedback (from a coach, a video, or motor recognition) from rep to rep, your mechanics will remain slow and sloppy,” Moyer says.
“Form equals function. The better your form the better you will function.” That means patterning proper mechanics from the get-go.
“From an injury prevention standpoint, you are only going to be as fast as you can stop and change direction,” says Brambley-Moyer. “In many sports, you have to change direction every three to five steps, and the ‘Up Two Back One’ drill closely mimics that. It’s important to master these short direction changes before increasing the distance (which increases intensity).”
This is one of Brambley-Moyer’s favorite drills for working on forward-to-backward-to-forward agility. Incorporate it at the very beginning of any conditioning work you do, performing three total sets and using a 1:3 work-to-rest ratio. Start slowly and focus on really nailing the mechanics of footwork and body position, picking up speed only as your form improves.
Moyer refers to one of the special forces’ mottos, saying, “Remember: Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.”
Up Two, Back One: Forward Sprint to Backpedal Instructions:
The Up Two, Back One drill is performed like it sounds: You will first run forward to the second cone, come to a stop, backpedal one cone and then repeat by running up two more cones before backpedaling again. You will sprint and backpedal a total of three times before transitioning to your last sprint and coasting to a stop.
For the set up, place five cones three yards apart in line with one another. Completing the drill as outlined above counts as one set. To ensure you’re performing each set with the proper intensity and technique, take three times the rest as it takes you to run the drill, in a 1:3 work-to-rest ratio.
Coaching Points:
To start, use a staggered stance (with one foot slightly in front of the other) as your starting position for the drill. Direct your head and shoulders toward your target by leaning forward, and then take off into a sprint.
Decelerating at each cone starts by lowering your center of gravity toward your base of support (your feet). You will also increase the length of your ground contact time by taking a number of smaller, choppier steps until you come to a complete stop next to each cone.
This drill’s focus is accelerating quickly, decelerating quickly, and then transitioning into the backpedal before moving forward into another sprint. To ensure you’re staying low and using proper acceleration and deceleration mechanics, touch the ground at each cone when performing this drill.
Ideally, you will touch the ground with the opposite hand as the foot that’s in front. Meaning, if your left foot is the front foot at the transition point (sprint to backpedal or backpedal to sprint), your right hand should touch the ground.
After your last backpedal, focus on proper arm- and leg-drive mechanics through the final cone and coast to a stop.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…you don’t have to be an athlete in order to train like one.
Athleticism is one of those things where the saying “if you don’t use it, you lose it” becomes inevitable. As adults we often become more enamored with adult-like things. Things like balancing checkbooks, going to bed early, and binge watching Netflix.
Too, in the context of training, as adults we sometimes (not always) tend to “pump the brakes,” and training goes from this:
To this:
And the most athletic thing many people do on a day-to-day basis is chase down the 66 Bus after work.
That being said: athleticism is important yet it is something that intimidates a lot of people; especially for those who participate in more fantasy sports than actual sports.
However, you don’t need any fancy equipment or complicated periodization schemes in order to train athleticism.
Lightning & Thunder is a brand new strength, speed, and agility program written by Tim Moyer, MS, CPT, and Angie Brambley-Moyer, MS, MSCC, with Jen Sinkler, personal trainer, fitness writer, and former U.S. national team rugby player.
Moyer, Brambley-Moyer, and Sinkler have teamed up to get you stronger, faster, and more agile. You don’t have to have any experience playing sports, and you don’t have to play any in the future, either, if you don’t have the inclination. You only need to be interested in training like an athlete, in moving like one and looking like one.
Make no mistake, though: this program is perfect for athletes too.
In it, you’ll get:
A comprehensive training manual that lays the groundwork for this philosophy of training for both the strength and the speed and agility (SAQ) programs.
Both beginner and intermediate 12-week SAQ programs.
Both beginner and intermediate 12-week strength programs, with an explanation and calendar on how to combine the strength work with the speed work.
A complete exercise glossary with written coaching cues and images for every single strength and SAQ movement. This detailed description of 180 moves is a resource in and of itself!
A streamable video library of more than 25 speed and agility demonstration videos. In the videos, Tim and Angie coach the athlete through the fundamentals of their SAQ patterns and drills, allowing them to know what they need work on whether they are watching from home or watching it as they hit the gym.
Here’s the best part. To celebrate its release, Lightning & Thunder is on sale for HALF OFF now through midnight Friday, June 3rd. For more information click HERE.
About Jen Sinkler
Jen Sinkler is a longtime fitness writer and personal trainer who talks about all things strength related at her website, UnapologeticallyStrong.com. The former editorial director of fitness for Experience Life magazine, she writes regularly for a variety of national health magazines. She’s a certified RKC 2 kettlebell instructor, and a powerlifting coach through USA Powerlifting. She also holds coaching certs through Ground Force Method, Progressive Calisthenics, Onnit Academy, and DVRT (Ultimate Sandbag).
A lifelong competitive athlete, Jen played rugby for 13 years, many of those on the U.S. women’s national 7s and 15s teams. She co-owns The Movement Minneapolis with her husband, David Dellanave.
You don’t have to be playing in front of thousands of people or sign a seven-figure contract in order to train like an athlete.
Although, lets be honest: both would be nice.
I’m often asked how I go about writing programs for my athletes as opposed to by everyday regular Joes and Janes; how much do they differ?
Well, not as much as you think!
Rest assured there’s a lot of attention to detail when training anyone – regardless of athletic background. It’s important to take into consideration one’s injury history, anthropometry (anatomical differences), training experience, goals, and a host of other variables.
However, with regards to athletes, I’d be lying if I said we didn’t have to be even more meticulous with their programming at times. When you’re dealing with a million dollar arm – literally – for example, the last thing you want to do as a strength & conditioning coach is place the athlete in peril, performing exercises with high-risk/low-reward value.
(For the record, peril in this case doesn’t mean life threatening or anything. Just, you know, you don’t want to do stupid shit with them, like juggling chainsaws on a BOSU ball, or using a BOSU ball in general).3
Not to mention you have to respect the ebbs and flows of off-season vs. in-season program design, and the unique stress each sport places on the body.
I.e, how you write a program for a football player will differ quite a bit from a baseball player…based off the demands of the sport.
All that said, the principles I follow whether I’m training an athlete or general pop client don’t differ much.
My male and female clients still squat, deadlift, row, press, perform farmer carries, toss med balls, push the sled, and otherwise vomit (not literally) strength and conditioning all over the place.
Likewise, while I may not clock their 40 yd times, I still have them skip, shuffle, jump, and move around like athletes.
Life = The Ultimate Game
Am I right, or am I right?
Training like an athlete provides many benefits: (generally speaking) improved muscle mass, strength, body composition, bone health, CNS inter/intra coordination, better balance, and an overall sense of athleticism.
It also makes you a better dancer. #truestoriesitellmyself
Lets face it: after a long day at work and using all your will power not to stab your boss in the throat with a stapler, what sounds more enticing….heading to the gym to perform a few sets of this and a few reps of that with no rhyme or reason or lifting something heavy with some purpose and tossing/dragging stuff around?
On a related note: wanna know what my litmus test is for athleticism in my “non-athletic” clients?
It’s not 1RM testing on anything, and it’s not testing their vertical jump.
It’s a simple drill that everyone has done at one point or another in their lives………….
Skipping
And I’m not talking about “Dorothy skipping down the yellow brick road” skipping. I mean, athletic skipping.
The saying is true: “if you don’t use it, you lose it.” (<– trying really hard to refrain from a penis joke here).
Athleticism is one of the first things to fade as we grow into adulthood. We trade in fields and courts for filing cabinets and coffee mugs that says “World’s Best Boss.”
One of the first drills I use with my general fitness clients to help build up their athleticism is plain ol’ vanilla skipping.
Along with shuffling, medicine ball drills, jumping, kettlebell swings, and uphill sprints (less wear and tear on joints).
Many people are programmed to think that training has to be analogous to calculus: “x”reps for “y” sets, done with the same machines, in the same order, time and time and time again. Boring.
It’s amazing to see my clients become invigorated and enjoy their training sessions again by having them perform more un-traditional exercises/drills. They think they’re training like athletes….
…..because they are.
Why You Should Train Like an Athlete
My good friend, Jen Sinkler, is involved with a new project coming out soon called Lighting & Thunder.
Below is a link to a short video you can watch explaining some of the benefits of training like like an athlete, even if you’re not.
NOTE: no spam involved here. Jen hates spam as much as she hates not wearing lip gloss.
Today’s guest post comes courtesy of Jennifer Vogelgesang Blake – or JVB as she’s affectionately called – a coach at The Movement Minneapolis, competitive powerlifter, and author (along with Jen Sinkler) of Unapologetically Powerful, a new resource designed as a go-to source for learning the “big 3” lifts, and removes the intimidation often attached at their hip.
Or weight clamps in this case.
Anyone can (and will) benefit from this resource – especially beginner and intermediate lifters who are even the slightest bit interested in competing and/or honing their technique.
And, I’d be remiss not to mention I feel this is a home run for any woman who may be on the fence about this whole “lifting heavy things” thing.
Without further ado, I’ll let JVB take it from here. Enjoy!
3 Squat Variations You Haven’t Tried Yet, But Need To
I’m going to be bracingly honest with you. If I were forced to choose, with my feet to the fire, I would have to own up to liking to squat more than I like to deadlift.
(I can picture Tony Gentilcore’s eyes firing up like Darth Sidius in The Empire Strikes Back and pledging an oath to never host a guest blog from me on his site ever again. This is what they call “going out on a limb.”)
I don’t think it’s unusual for lifters to hold a slight allegiance to one or the other. Both big lifts remind me of a bricklayer laying bricks: strengthening the quads, hams, back, and core are going to construct a house no one is going to be able to knock down. Even so, to me, there’s something really thrilling about loading a bar onto your back and refusing to let it plaster your face into the ground.
Squats open up the lifting in a powerlifting meet.
Of the three main lifts (back squat, bench press, and deadlift), squats come first. I’ve come to regard this lift as the party starter—it sets the tone for the rest of the day.
Starting the meet off strong gets your mind in a good place and a great result there infuses confidence into the following two lifts. Feeling strong also improves your mental game.
On that note, make all versions of your squat the same sort of tone-setter.
There are so many riffs on the movement: bilateral variations, such as kettlebell goblet squats and barbell front squats, are excellent for targeting anterior core strength, and unilateral variations such as Bulgarian split squats, skater squats, and pistol squats are key for giving both legs the chance to work, and to even out strength imbalances.
These variations are like the sprinkles on a cupcake, though: while I like to sprinkle that ish liberally, I know that these sprinkles alone do not a great, big, fluffy cupcake make.
I acknowledge that I need to work on my similes, but you don’t have to be a powerlifter to embrace cupcakes and the following three lifts, you only have to be interested in improving your strength everywhere—but especially in your core and in the bottom position of a squat. If you are, chances are good that you could give your current back squat PR a nice bump if you incorporate them regularly.
Barbell Squat-To-Box
First things first: what’s the point of having a big squat if it’s not a big, full-range-of-motion squat? Quarter squats don’t count when you’re going for bragging rights.
Depth issues sometimes come down to a lack of awareness in how low you are actually getting.
Heads up: Don’t confuse the Barbell Squat-To-Box with Barbell Box Squats, a variation in which you actually sit on the box. This is a touch-and-go movement and will help you learn what it actually feels like to squat to proper depth.
Zercher Squat
When David Dellanave, owner of The Movement Minneapolis, originally showed me how to do the Zercher squat, I was like, “Really? Why would I want to hold the bar like that?” His answer, “It’s going to get you really f#cking strong, that’s why.”
Zercher squats hammer your quads like crazy, and you’ve never experienced an ab workout quite as intense as a set of heavy Zercher squats. Getting your body strong in weird positions will make lifting in more conventional position that much more lovely.
Zercher squats require that you hold the weight in the crook of your elbows while you complete the movement. The Zercher isn’t just limited to the squat, either: you can also Zercher hold, carry, and deadlift. Because of the position of the weight on your body, this variation is killer for strengthening the upper back.
Hot Tip: Wrap the bar in padding or even a yoga mat for greater comfort.
Pause-in-the-Hole Squat
Many lifters rely on the stretch reflex, that rubber-band-like contraction that happens when the muscles stretch at the bottom of the squat, to bounce out of the hole. There’s nothing inherently wrong with taking advantage of this phenomenon, which is particularly handy when attempting to move the most weight your body can handle.
But, there’s something to be said for eliminating the bounce and building strength from a dead stop in the bottom position.
It means you’ll be less likely to stay stuck in the hole.
Pause-in-the-Hole Squats are a favorite for addressing this issue because your position must inherently stay tight from the top position and hold tight throughout the bottom pause (lest you topple) before driving out of the hole. The extra time under tension will fully hammer home the need to keep the upper back tight and entire core braced, as well as build static strength in the lower back, hips, and abs.
Pausing at the bottom is undeniably challenging, even when your form is shipshape, so lessen the weight accordingly.
About JVB
Jennifer Vogelgesang Blake’s leggings might be pink but her weights aren’t. A personal trainer at The Movement Minneapolis, she is a powerlifting coach and competitor with a passion for helping her clients discover and grow their strength, inside and out. She’s here to spread the good word that strong is empowering and because of that, really, really fun.
Unapologetically Powerful is here!
Are you ready to become Unapologetically Powerful? If you’re even just a little bit interested in improving your back squat, bench press, and deadlift, and building lean, beautiful muscle, you’re going to love digging into this program.
Unapologetically Powerful is your go-to resource to learning all about the “big three” lifts, and removes any intimidation from training for and competing, should you decide to, in the sport of powerlifting.
Trainers Jen Sinkler and JVB have teamed up to provide you the answers to all of your powerlifting questions—and get you radically and unapologetically strong. Here’s what’s in the program:
A comprehensive training manual that includes Beginner and Early Intermediate 12-week powerlifting programs with a detailed introduction to biofeedback training.
An extensive guide on how to compete for first-time powerlifters who want to step onto the platform.
A complete exercise glossary with clear-cut written coaching cues and images.
A MASSIVE video library of more than 140 exercise demonstration videos. Every movement in the program is in the video library, with detailed coaching cues to walk you through each exercise step by step.
A revamped version of Lift Weights Faster geared specifically toward powerlifters.
Unapologetically Powerful is on sale for HALF OFF now through midnight Friday, December 11. For more info, click HERE.
A few housekeeping things to hit on before we dive into this week’s list.
1) A quick reminder that I will be in Frisco, TX on Sunday, December 27th doing a 1-day workshop on “The Athletic Shoulder” at Full Throttle Athletics. I’ll discuss things like upper extremity assessment (static and dynamic), why the term “shoulder impingement” is garbage, how to write effective programs around certain shoulder pathologies, coach up a few exercises, and probably talk about Star Wars. Because, Star Wars.
2) Eric and Chris Martinez – AKA: the Dynamic Duo – who have written for this site several times, just released a FREE 2-week mini course directed towards newbies (or those who are inundated with too much information) breaking down everything from training and nutrition mistakes to how build better adherence.
3) Lastly, I made a recent appearance on The Fitcast where Kevin and I spoke about my recent transition from Cressey Sports Performance to doing my own thing in Boston. And Fast 7.
Mike is known as one of the more analytical lifters out there. The guy is super meticulous when it comes to mapping out his training and he’s famous for saying smart things like “what gets measured gets managed.”
In this article he discusses the “grind.” Good? Bad? What does it mean?
Kale. Freaking KALE is bad for you? It’s absurd to think, right? Well, apparently some journalist wrote an article on why it’s bad. Or, rather, what we put on kale is bad. But the damage is still done.
Adam thinks it’s a shame (and I concur) that someone would write this, and here’s why.
In anticipation of the release of Unapologetically Strong next week, “the Jens” have been sharing a ton of excellent information this week detailing the ins and outs of the “big 3” and getting women fired up to powerlift!
I love it.
NOTE: you’ll need to provide your email in order to watch the video above. But 1) I promise it’s worth it and 2) “the Jens” aren’t a-holes. They won’t spam you.
Today I have a guest post from the one and only (and lovely), Jen Sinkler. It’s a timely post because 1) I’m in Australia and Lisa would kill me if I spent all my free time working and 2) Jen’s just released her updated Lifts Weights Faster 2.0.
I loved the first version when it came out last year; and to be speak candidly, outside of the athletes I train who need more specificity with their conditioning, when it comes to writing conditioning based programming (whether for myself or for my general fitness clientele) I tend to flip through LWF 1.0, find something the fits (10-30 minute workout), and sucktitude follows. But in a good way.
LWF 2.0 is 10x better and Jen has gone out of her way to provide an epic product that I feel is one of the best of its kind.
But that doesn’t come without a brief caution: OVER-conditioning. It’s a topic that Jen discusses below.
Lets Talk (Over) Conditioning
If you’re feeling pressure to make all your workouts the hardest, biggest, and most intense ever or else you’ll end up like this guy, you’re not alone. The go-hard-or-go-home mentality is pervasive, making many people fret worry that if they don’t do a body-crushing session every time they work out, they’ve failed.
In reality, the truth is nearly exactly the opposite. You can still make progress without destroying yourself. In fact, you can make bigger strides, more consistently and for the long term, when you don’t leave it all on the gym floor.
That doesn’t mean take it easy — it just means don’t run your body (and along with it your mind and spirit) into the ground by forcibly pushing past your limits every workout (maybe even any workout). You’ll find that this bod-friendly approach will net you even more positive results in the long run.
CHILL, HONEY BUNNY!
As a culture, we are obsessed with extremes. And maybe we don’t need to be. One of my fellow trainers at The Movement Minneapolis, “Cardigan Mark” Schneider, puts fitness on a spectrum — from ill to athlete.
From a marketing standpoint, the “athlete” end of the spectrum is sexy, but it can come at a high cost, in the form of overuse or acute injuries, chronic wear-and-tear on the body, and amount of time invested.
So let’s flip the script: What can you gain by easing off the gas slightly? Fewer injuries, less stress on the body, and a more sustainable fitness regimen — which is clutch, considering consistency is one of the keys to long-term success. Consider it a huge deposit in the bank for your future self; the you 10 years from now will be eternally grateful that you didn’t empty your account and push your body to the point of injury today.
Not always turning the dial up to 11 will also net you more time, money, and energy. If every workout has a cost, overdrawing our accounts means our bodies simply won’t function well — not ideal if your fitness goals include feeling better, moving better, and living better. A consistent, positive balance will better support your fitness goals.
KEEP IT SHORT AND SWEET
When we talk about conditioning, short, intense-enough sessions are the answer to keeping your account in the black and your fitness on track
A well-structured conditioning circuit will often move you out of the sagittal plane that many of the big movements (such as squats and deadlifts) in by asking you to rotate (or resist rotation), perform more unilateral movements, and crawl, roll, or jump.
You’ll involve different energy systems when you incorporate different levels of intensity by performing a variety of different movements with a spectrum of different tools and weight used. All of it adds up to more adaptation (i.e., progress), and more adaptation equals a stronger, fitter you.
CHECK YOURSELF BEFORE YOU WRECK YOURSELF
So…how do you keep your intensity in check? Easy — monitor how you’re feeling during the circuit.
When a conditioning circuit calls for five rounds, you don’t want to flame out after round three. Don’t push to failure on the repetitions and, if need be, take a longer rest than what is assigned in the workout. In the end, you’ll likely up the number of quality reps performed — and reap the gains from your hard (hard-enough) work — without having to deplete your account to do so.
One last thing! When deciding how hard to workout, consider the sum total of your stress.
Your body can’t differentiate between workout stress and other stress. So if you’re experiencing a lot of heart-rate-raising, cortisol-spiking events in your daily life, take the opportunity to chill and scale back your workouts for a while.
When life quiets down, your workouts can ramp up again. You do the math on who makes more progress: The person who goes hard for 52 minutes or the person who works within their limits for 52 weeks?
READY FOR BETTER RESULTS…FASTER?
If you’re looking to amp up your conditioning in creative and productive ways, I’ve put together a mammoth 181-workout pick-and-choose library called Lift Weights Faster 2.
Complete with a full exercise glossary that includes written descriptions and photographic demonstrations of nearly 270 exercises (from classic moves to more unusual ones — the Jefferson deadlift, anyone?), a video library that includes coaching on 30 of the more technical lifts, 10 challenge-workout videos, plus a dynamic warm-up routine, I’ve combined my training and athletic experience with my long background in magazine publishing to create a clear-cut, easy-to-use resource that you’ll want to turn to all the time.
Every workout is organized by the equipment you have available and how much time you’ve got, with options that last anywhere from five up to 30 minutes.
Lastly, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention I teamed up with my husband, David Dellanave, to create a strength program companion resource called Get Stronger Faster 2 to help you take your strength level to the next level. This completes the total workout package and helps you get results, faster.
Jen Sinkler is a longtime fitness writer for national magazines such as Women’s Health and Men’s Health. A former member of the U.S. national women’s rugby team, she currently trains clients at The Movement Minneapolis. Jen talks fitness, food, happy life and general health topics at her website, www.jensinkler.com.
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