CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Deep Squat Press

Today’s “Exercise You Should Be Doing” has a unique flavor compared to exercises in the past.

1. It’s as miserable as it sounds.

2. The word “deep” is going to be contingent on individual anatomy, overall mobility (ankle dorsiflexion, hip flexion, t-spine extension), and one’s ability level to actually squat. Basically, unlike the internet, I’m not an a-hole and expect everyone to squat ass-to-grass.

Likewise, as I’ve stated 717 (+/- 203) times on this site, not everyone can/should press overhead. You have to earn the right to press overhead. Limitations in shoulder flexion have to be taken into heavy consideration here.

That said this exercise is pretty baller, albeit a fairly advanced variation.1

3. It’s two exercises in one! Two is always better than one. Two ninjas are better than one, two pairs of clean underwear are better than one, hell, two sandwiches are better than one.

I mean, when isn’t it?

About the only time two isn’t better than one is Michael Bay movies.

So lets jump into it.

Deep Squat Press

 

Who Did I Steal It From: Can’t say I recall. But for shits and gigs I’ll say Ben Affleck.

What Does It Do: Works as a nice progression with regards to squat patterning. The asymmetrical or “offset” load provides a fantastic rotary stability component to the exercise. And, of course, the pressing component incorporates the upper body making this a full-body exercise to be reckoned with.

Key Coaching Cues: First and foremost I’d make sure to audit your clients and ensure they can perform a standard Goblet Squat before tossing this into the mix.

Some key points to consider:

  • Differentiating between Active vs. Passive Foot.
  • Can they maintain proper alignment – in that there’s no excessive rib flair throughout the duration of the set. The anterior load of the KB or DB should help offset this.
  • Chest Up.
  • Push knees out (heels stay glued to the floor), squat DOWN not necessarily BACK.
  • Maintain abs, and think about “pulling” into the deep squat position.
  • End result should be elbows inside knees, chest up, natural arch in lower back.

If they hit all the checkmarks above, your client(s) are probably good to go with this variation.

HOWEVER: screening them for ample shoulder flexion is crucial. If they lack sufficient overhead mobility the “press” component of this exercise may be contraindicated.

HOWEVER (PART II): Squat depth will be highly individualized. Some people lack the requisite mobility to squat below parallel. Others, however, lack stability in the form of protective tension, which more or less tells the CNS to put on the emergency breaks. So, what may seem like a mobility restriction is just lack of stability.

It’s important to screen for this and note the difference.

[^^^ There’s more to this screen that I’ve added since writing the post above (I should update it), but this should provide ample insight].

Do you or your client pass the above caveats? Good, you’re good to go.

Grab a kettlebell and start in the racked position. With your free hand make a fist and squeeze like a mofo. This will help create more bodily tension.

Squat down to your “usable” ROM and once there, maintain tension (don’t relax), pause for a 1s count, own the position, and then press the KB up towards the ceiling making sure to follow with your eyes.

Now that I think about it: this is also a great t-spine rotation exercise!

Perform 5-8 repetitions, and repeat the same process on the other side. Alternatively, you could perform this exercise as squat, press, stand back up, squat, press, stand back up, etc.

You get to pick your poison here. Give it a try and let me know what you think

Categoriescoaching Exercise Technique

Turkish Get-Up Tip: Vertical Knee

The Turkish Get-Up.

Some people love them.

I mean, really love them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_98w0cwqFQ

 

And others are indifferent maybe even skeptical.

I know some strength coaches who view them as a valued asset to their programs, providing insight on their athlete’s movement quality as well as highlighting any “weak links” that may exist.

And I know some strength coaches who could make a list of other things more valuable or worth their time:

  • Deadlifts
  • Squats
  • Arguing with a vegan
  • Running a 5K
  • A basket of dicks

I, for one, do find value in them.  Of course, whether or not I transplant them into someone’s program depends on several factors; namely, their goal(s).

Sorry, but if someone’s goal is hypertrophy I can think of roughly 412 other exercises more prudent to get the job done than the Turkish get-up.

I’m not saying it’s a waste of time to include them in a program designed to get someone jacked – maybe include them as part of an extended warm-up to get the joints primed for larger, compound movements, or, say, if someone has the movement quality of a pregnant pig (they’re a nice addition to GPP days) – however, I’d raise an eyebrow (or two) to any coach who places heavy precedence on including them in such a program.

That said, I find the get-up to be one of those universal movements I use with my athletes and general fitness clients alike. For athletes it’s a great way to control fatigue and reduce axial loading. Not to mention we’re accomplishing a lot with regards to scapular stability, hip mobility, glute activation, as well as working on primitive patterns such as rolling, half kneeling, to standing.

I pepper them into programs for general fitness clients because, well, it’s good for them (and I like to LOL when they call me an a-hole for making them do it).

There are a lot of moving parts to the get-up. Not surprisingly, this makes the learning curve a bit tricky for some with regards to honing technique

Much like how I prefer to layer the KB Swing, I think it’s wise to also break down the get-up to more bite-size portions.

Today I’d like share a tip I learned from StrongFirst Team Leader, Artemis Scantalides, on a subtle “technique trap” many seem to fall prey to.

Maintaining a vertical knee (which helps to keep the glute engaged during the initial roll to press).

Vertical Knee

Categoriescoaching Exercise Technique

Layering the Kettlebell Swing

The kettlebell swing offers many benefits and can be utilized in many ways.

It’s a fantastic modality to train explosiveness and power (especially as a more “user friendly” alternative to Olympic lifting), it’s a back saver in that 1) when it’s performed correctly it helps to dissociate hip movement from lumbar movement (it’s all about the hinge baby) and 2) even Dr. Stuart McGill agrees that the KB swing is the bombdiggidy2, it serves as an excellent conditioning tool, and it’s one of those things that doesn’t take up too much gym space or equipment.

All you need is a body and a kettlebell.3

The thing is, the kettlebell swing isn’t as intuitive as it looks.

Frankly, more often than not, whenever I watch someone try it (or even coach it), it ends up looking like whateverthefuck dance Drake’s doing in his Hotline Bling video.

 

There’s a lot going on with a (good) swing, and it’s understandable why many mess it up on their first go. And second, and 7, 912th.

A lot of “things” need to happen and be in working order from a patterning standpoint to perform one competently. And it’s compounded further when we start to factor in load, not to mention the ballistic nature of the movement itself.

Whenever I begin to coach someone up who’s new to the movement (or even if I’m working with someone with a little more experience and have to iron out some technique kinks), I prefer to break things down into more manageable, bite-size chunks and attempt to “layer” the swing.

Layering the KB Swing

Technically, the first “layer” is slowing things down and allowing people to appreciate what the finished – standing tall – position should feel like.

Here is where abs should be engaged, knees are locked out (quads/knee caps flexed), spine is an anatomical neutral position, and one should be firing their glutes so hard that their butt cheeks could crush a Volvo.

I’m not kidding.

Here, too, is where I try to get someone to understand what it means to HINGE and not SQUAT the swing.

The KB should never dip below knee level – again, it’s a hip hinge not a squat – and there are a litany of cues I default towards to get this message across:

  • One I like a lot is one I stole from Dan John: “attack your zipper.”
  • Another one I like is to tell people to “play chicken with your (you know what).”

 

Essentially I need to get people to appreciate that they’re going to stay upright for as long as possible – till the very last split second – before they “break” and get out of the way.

From there I find time best spent working on the set-up.

A big mistake people make is to pick up the KB and then try to start the swing from a standing position. It’s awkward and vaguely resembles dry humping a tree. See? Awkward.

Teaching the HIKE POSITION is crucial, as it gets people in a more efficient starting position and helps to set the tone for the subsequent hip snap.

 

This in fact may be someone’s wheelhouse for a week, maybe longer. I’ll generally keep things in the 8-10 rep range and perform multiple sets as either part of an extended warm-up or as a stand alone exercise.

The key, though, is to ensure an aggressive hike and that the hips don’t pop up too far.

Once we have that nailed down, it’s time for the next layer….

The Hike +1

Here is where we take the hike and start to incorporate an actual hip snap (swing)…albeit only ONE repetition.

The goal is to ensure quality reps.

 

I also want to ensure people learn to use their HIPS (and not “muscle” things with their arms). The hips more or less serve as a launching pad to “thrust/push” the arms out front.

Note: and since we built a little context beforehand and started everyone in the end position (standing tall) they should kinda-sorta know what it feels like, or what to expect. Basically, it’s not a foreign “thing” to them like a good episode of The Kardashians or, I don’t know, a leprechaun.

I’ll keep reps a little lower here, usually around FIVE, and utilize the same approach as above with the hike.

Moving Forward

Once those two things are dialed in, we can then experiment with an actual repetitive swing. However, I find many people will benefit more by not being too aggressive from the get go and veering too far away from the Hike and Hike + 1.

Some may pick things up quickly and be able to perform a swing within 10-30 minutes – Dean Somerset and I do it all the time at our workshops: TORONTO (3/19), SEATTLE (4/9) – and for others it may take a few sessions, if not a few weeks.

The important point to consider is to break the swing down into more manageable parts for people, and to not perform or coach an American Swing.…;o)

CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: 1-Arm Kettlebell Front Squat

I had the opportunity of being invited to a local CrossFit affiliate here in Boston yesterday to spend an hour or so taking their staff – as well as a handful of other trainers from local commercial gyms – through an informal staff in-service on assessment.

I say “informal” because I wore jeans and a t-shirt and swore like a sailor. And I chewed gum the entire time.  I basically broke every rule there is when it comes to public speaking.  It was awesome.

While the main “theme” of the talk was shoulders, shoulder assessment, and how we can make things in CrossFit a bit more “shoulder friendly,” on more than one occasion I made the following point:

An assessment (or screen, which is a more appropriate term I feel) should serve a few functions:

1. To gather information and find out where a person’s Point A is.

2. Give them an opportunity to prove to YOU (the coach) that they can do “stuff.”

I’m a strength guy, and in my eyes everyone I work with is going to squat to some capacity, deadlift to some capacity, bench press to some capacity, and inevitably end up listening to Tiesto to some capacity.

Sorry, if you train under my roof, it’s my rules…..;o)

Where the assessment/screen comes in is to serve as a litmus test to tell me which VARIATION of the squat or deadlift or bench press or whatever the client will start with.

Not everyone can walk in on day one and conventional deadlift from the floor. Likewise, depending on one’s past or current injury history, training experience, goals, and postural imbalances (to name a few), maybe something as innocuous as a standard bench press will be too advanced for them.

With that in mind, today’s exercise you should be doing falls underneath this people-are-going-to-do-stuff-just-not-the-advanced-stuff-they-think-they-should-be-doing umbrella.

1-Arm Kettlebell Front Squat

Who Did I Steal It From:  I have no idea, so I’ll just say Professor Snape.

What Does It Do: This is a fantastic squat variation which, after mastering the Goblet Squat, still allows the trainee to groove their hip hinge pattern, engage the anterior core, but with an additional component:  ROTARY STABILITY.

By holding one KB to one side of the body, it forces the body to further stabilize itself and to resist the rotational forces placed on it.

Furthermore, this also serves as a nice variation which is a bit more shoulder friendly in its own right.  Back squats for example may be problematic for some due to the “at risk” position the shoulder joint is placed in (maximal abduction + external rotation) during its execution.

The easy fix would be to use specialty bars such as the Giant Cambered bar or Safety Squat bar – or to just front squat – but not many people have access to them.

Hence, why this is yet another viable option.

Key Coaching Cues: It sounds borderline trivial, but picking up the kettlebell correctly matters.  I see a lot of people just kind of haphazardly bend over and pick up the KB with a rounded back and this is something you don’t want to make a habit of doing.  For starters, a kitten dies every time it happens. Secondly, your spine will thank you in the long run.

I like to tell people to “straddle” the KB standing roughly an arms length away. Reach down with a neutral spine, and “set” the lats and then pretend as if you’re trying to “hike” the kettlebell through your legs.  Essentially you’re starting off the whole shebang by performing a 1-arm KB swing.

Clean the KB to one side of the body.  The KB itself should rest in the nook of your pec muscle and shoulder.

From there place your free hand out in front of the body to act as a counterbalance and make a fist.  Squeeze hard.  This will elicit much more tension in the body.

Now….squat.  All the same rules apply.  Initiate by pushing the hips back, pushing the knees out (I like to tell people keep the knee cap in line with their middle toe), and keeping the chest up.

I’ll typically shoot for 6-8 reps per side and then switch sides.  Give it a try today and let me know what you think.

CategoriesExercise Technique Strength Training

Tony Takes a Kettlebell Class

In keeping with the running theme of past segments like Tony Takes a Yoga Class (Part One and Part Two) and Tony Takes a Pilates Class, yesterday I added another adventure to my on-going exercise bucket list:

Unfortunately, it wasn’t Tony Performs a Cannonball Into the Playboy Mansion Pool.

Tony Takes a CrossFit Class will have to wait for another day (<— But this one is coming soon!).

And sorry, it wasn’t Tony Fights Rambo with a Flamethrower, either.

Instead, myself, Lisa, and our friend Diana headed over into Needham, MA (a few miles outside of Boston) to visit Iron Body Studios – co-owned by Artemis Scantalides and Eric Gahan – to take part in one of their introductory kettlebell classes which are offered every Sunday morning.

Some of you may recognize Artemis’ name because I’ve included a handful of her articles several times in my Stuff You Should Read While You’re Pretending to Work series, and to speak candidly, her and I have been internet pen pals for a while now.

When her and Eric opened their brand spankin new, and utterly gorgeous facility a few months ago they gave me an open invitation to come take a class whenever I wanted, but it was only within the last few weeks that my schedule was free to do so.

Of course kettlebells aren’t some foreign entity to me.  We have them at Cressey Performance, and not only use them in our own training, but  incorporate them into the programs we write for our athletes and clients.

In addition I’ve written a fair share of articles and posts on the topic:

There’s a Time and Place for Everything – Kettlebells Included (which points the finger at KB elitist who think KBs are the end all, be all of exercise).

Cleaning Up Kettlebell Swing Technique

Tony Gentilcore on Kettlebells – via TribeSports.com

Admittedly, and thus serving as the main impetus for visiting Iron Body Studios in the first place, my knowledge base and expertise on kettlebell training – while I think is up to snuff – is limited to reading and watching videos from the likes of Dan John, Gray Cook, Brett Jones, Neghar Fonooni (now Romaniello), as well as Artemis and Eric, to name a few.

If anything I wanted to visit them to see if my technique (swing and get-up in particular) was on point, and more importantly to see whether or not the coaching cues I use with my own athletes mirrored theirs.

Too, it served as a nice way for Lisa and I to start the day (we rarely ever get the chance to train together), get the blood flowing, and just feel like a million bucks.

Artemis was a champ and took all three of us through an introductory “history” on the differences between the Russian hard style she advocates and teaches (she’s both a Level II RKC Instructor as well as Level II StrongFirst Instructor:  AKA: a badass) and the American style which, lets be honest, sucks (my words, not hers).

From there we went through an extensive warm-up, which felt amazing, and then Artemis coached us through how to pattern a proper hip hinge, which is the backbone for the entire hard style philosophy, and not surprisingly the swing itself.

After that Artemis broke down the swing and I definitely took some mental notes on how I could better cue my own athletes.  Of note I’ve always wondered what the deal was with all that aggressive “hissing” noise that many KB enthusiasts practice, and Artemis explained how it’s a simple way to teach tension and to get the diaphragm to better stabilize the spine – which, upon thinking about it, made TOTAL sense.

Then it was game time.  Artemis watched us in action and critiqued our swings. I felt a little nervous, and after the first set I looked up and was half expecting this:

But thankfully, I passed with flying colors.

From there we went through the basics of a Get-Up (to the hands), which is an art in of itself.  And then Artemis took us through the ringer and had us perform three circuits of get-ups, RKC planks, glute bridges, KB deadlifts, and then KB swings.

I haven’t done that much “cardio” in a while and it was readily apparent that I need to do more. I guess doing heavy triples of deadlifts ain’t cutting it……;o)

All in all, it was an AWESOME experience and I think Lisa and I spent a good hour after the fact discussing how much we’d enjoy doing that a few Sundays every month.  In my case I can see unlimited benefits in terms of helping me address some imbalances and weaknesses I have, and I can only assume that learning how to better use “tension” to my advantage will help my deadlift and squat numbers skyrocket.

Nevertheless, you can bet that Lisa and I (and hopefully Diana…….if you’re reading this Diana, you’re doing this!!!!) will be heading back to Iron Body Studios sooner rather than later.

To that end I asked both Artemis and Eric if they’d be willing to do a quick video on swing technique and they were more than happy to oblige.

WATCH THIS – trust me: