Given that it IS a holiday – and the unofficial start of summer – I actually had every intention of NOT posting a blog today, and instead, do nothing but get my lift on and then follow that by eating copious amounts of dead animal flesh and high-fiving any serviceman (or woman) that I happen to cross paths with.
While I’m still going to do those things, it just so happens that my latest article on T-Nation went live, so I actually have some content to share today afterall. Holla!
It’s about shoulders and how to go about taking better care of them. Trust me: if you’re someone who takes the iron game seriously, and subsequently tends to have shoulders that routinely feel like they’ve been put through a meat grinder, this article is for you.
Today’s guest post comes from fellow strength coach, Conor Nordengren. Conor interned with us at Cressey Performance coming up on two years ago now, and since has gone on to establish himself as a reputable coach in the New England area.
His post today comes in a timely fashion since I, too, have recently been discussing the merits of “out sourcing” my own training regimen. Sometimes, we ALL suffer from analysis by paralysis and Conor helps shed some light on the topic.
Enjoy the post, and more importantly, enjoy the weekend!
“So…WTF should I do now?”
It was the week after my first-ever powerlifting meet this past December and this question was stewing in my brain. I had decided to take the week off from training to let my body and mind recover from months of heavy lifting in preparation for my meet.
My first meet had gone pretty well; I competed in all three lifts, only missing one PR attempt on the bench press, and walking away with PRs on the squat and deadlift. I was definitely happy and had a great experience, and it’d be fair to say that I caught the powerlifting “bug.”
I had my sights set on competing again this June and was determined to get stronger and improve upon my numbers. The primary goal of my training for my next meet would be very specific: I wanted to get my bench press to 300 lbs. or more. The bench press has never been a great lift for me and I knew I needed a smart, focused plan of attack to increase my max. While I had some ideas of my own on how to go about this, I felt it would be to my benefit to get some individualized programming from an experienced professional.
Yeah, this guy:
Up until this point in my training career, I’ve never had a program truly written and individualized for me.
I’ve followed some excellent programs, such as Eric Cressey’s Maximum Strength and Show & Go, Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1, and Dan John’s Mass Made Simple, and gotten wonderful results. Since I’d already done these programs and since I had a very specific goal in mind, I knew I needed a particularly targeted program.
The idea of sitting down and writing a program for myself didn’t last long; I immediately caught myself over thinking things and trying to write the perfect program, worrying about extremely minute details that probably didn’t matter too much at all. And I’d do this every four weeks? Yeah, I don’t think so.
Long story short, I enlisted Tony’s services and he has been programming for me for almost six months now in preparation for my meet in June. This has been a new experience for me and a great one at that.
As my meet draws near, I’ve been thinking about why it is beneficial for people to have someone else program for them. Here’s what I’ve come up with:
1. Accountability – Having someone else write your programs instills a sense of accountability in you. Many times, you are paying a coach to program for you, and you are much more likely to stick to your program and get all your workouts in if it’s something you’ve invested your hard-earned money in.
The person doing your programming has also put a degree of time, effort, and thought into your program. With this in mind, you’ll be letting your coach down if you skip a workout or don’t give every training session your all.
As an example, on one of the days when I train, I have to open the gym where I work at 4:45 a.m. When I get out of work, it’s sometimes tempting to take a long nap or postpone my workout to the next day so I can just “chill,” but I know that if I do this, I’ll be letting Tony down. That’s the last thing I want to happen, and if he ever were to find out, he’d probably Chuck Norris me in the face.
Note from TG: Actually, no, Conor, that’s NOT what I’d do. I’d probably just slash your tires.
2. Identification of Weaknesses – Tony has mentioned this on his blog numerous times before and it always rings true: we like to do what we’re good at.
By nature, we don’t always gravitate towards areas where we’re particularly sucky, and this goes for our training and for life in general. Sometimes it takes another coach’s objective eye to identify your areas of weakness and their programming to improve in these areas to ensure that you make progress. I’m certain that had I not asked Tony to program for me, I would not be fully addressing my areas for improvement, which would be limiting my progress towards my goal.
3. Motivation – Every four weeks, I receive a new program from Tony and it always gets me fired up to train. It’s almost like Christmas morning; I wake up, run downstairs and log in to my email account, and there it is: my new program!
“Hammer curls! Sweeeeet!!! Thanks, Tony!!! It’s just what I wanted! And…and…Prowler pushes? Oh…four of them? Gee, uh…thanks.”
Kidding aside, I’m always excited to train when I get a new program and am determined to crush whatever is thrown my way. Having someone program for you will keep you fresh and on your toes.
Going back to #1, knowing that someone has spent time writing a program for you will keep you motivated to get to the gym and get after it. Consistency is key to progress and getting your programs written for you will help to keep you honest.
4. Time-saver – This is a benefit of having a coach that I just recently realized. By “outsourcing” your programming, you will have more time to devote to other important things.
As a strength and conditioning coach myself, this means that I can focus my free time on continuing education, programming for clients, my training, and any number of other things, whether they have to do with my job or not. This is huge for me, because as I alluded to earlier, it would probably take me hours to write myself a program. That’d be about as cool as a shart when you’re wearing white pants and it is time that I could spend doing other things of importance.
5. Learning Experience – My time having Tony program for me has been a great learning experience. This isn’t exclusive to me just because I’m a strength and conditioning coach, but it goes for all fitness enthusiasts or anyone simply interested in strength training, too.
Having a coach will expose you to new exercises and methods that will increase your knowledge and, if you are a coach yourself, give you ideas that you may be able to implement with some of your clients.
When I look through my program, I always try to identify the purpose of any given exercise. For example, right now I’m doing reverse crunches twice-a-week and I have two left-hip internal rotation drills in my dynamic warm-up. Why? After thinking about it, the twice-a-week reverse crunches are to help keep me out of anterior pelvic tilt. The two left-hip internal rotation drills are to improve upon my left-hip internal rotation, which isn’t great, and is typically lacking in most men compared to right-hip internal rotation for that matter. We can all learn something from someone and getting your programs written for you is a “sly” way to do so.
The End
I’ve really enjoyed having Tony program for me and have seen the benefits of having someone else write your programs for you. Are there any other benefits to having a coach that I left out? If so, I’d love to hear them in the comments section!
Author Bio
Conor Nordengren is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) accredited by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). He is a graduate of Stonehill College, where he majored in Health Sciences with a minor in Business Administration. At Stonehill, Conor was a two-year member of the men’s basketball team. He completed internships in physical therapy and also worked as a physical therapist aide. Upon graduation, Conor interned at Cressey Performance in Hudson, Massachusetts, under widely recognized strength coaches Eric Cressey and Tony Gentilcore. During his time at Cressey Performance, he had the opportunity to work with a variety of clients including athletes at the professional, college, high school, and junior high school levels. Conor is now a strength and conditioning coach at Dynamic Strength and Conditioning in Nashua, New Hampshire where he is dedicated to helping people of all ages and ability levels achieve their fitness goals. You can read his blog at www.conornordengren.com and contact him at [email protected].
Today’s guest post comes from Jeff Barnett, and it’s on the importance of deload weeks which is something I feel is relevant to EVERY person reading this post who trains on a consistent basis.
For more info on Jeff, check out his sites HERE and HERE.
Recently at my facility, I’ve been getting a lot of questions from my athletes regarding deload weeks. Specifically, what is a deload week and how they can incorporate it into their training?
A deload week is simply a week spent recovering from exercise. Rest is not just a break from going to the gym. It’s an absolutely essential part of training! We are all familiar with rest days. Why not extend the concept further to a rest week? After all, your body has no respect for how long you think it should take to recover.
Only reality matters: how long does your body actually need for recovery? Consistent training eventually builds a deficit that cannot be repaid in a single rest day. A deload week is a chance for your body to recover from that deficit. The deload week allows your body to catch up – to repair connective tissue and restore testosterone/cortisol ratios. Muscle can recover more quickly than connective tissue. A deload week keeps tendons and ligaments healthy. If you chronically develop tendonitis, then scheduled deload weeks are definitely part of the solution.
Here’s the disconnect: You don’t get stronger by exercising!
You get stronger by recovering from exercise. This simple concept forms the basis of exercise physiology. Hans Selye first described it in 1936. Countless professionals like Zatsiorsky, Rippetoe, and Kilgore have expanded it further. The basic theory goes like this:
1. Provide a stimulus to an organism (exercise)
2. Remove the stimulus (rest)
3. The organism adapts to better handle the stimulus (Next time you can deadlift 375 lbs instead of 370 lbs). This is called supercompensation.
We all recognize the importance of Step #1. We all recognize the fun of Step #3. But Step #2 often goes neglected, even though it’s equally critical.
What happens when you neglect Step #2 and you never remove the stimulus (you continue to exercise constantly)? Seyle actually studied that too. The organism dies. Now everyone will stop exercising before they die, but the point is that a never-ending stimulus (unceasing exercise) doesn’t make you better. It makes you worse. It digs your body into a hole that keeps getting deeper. This is overtraining.
I first read about deload weeks from Jim Wendler in his short and violent book, 5/3/1. His program advocates training at precise percentages in four-week cycles. The first three weeks of each cycle are heavy and the last week is a deload week.
Note from TG:We use a similar approach at Cressey Performance as well, albeit we modify training stress a bit differently.
Week 1 – High Volume Week 2 – Medium Volume Week 3 – VERY High Volume Week 4 – Deload/eat lots of dead animal flesh
The deload week uses three sets of five reps for each exercise at 40-60% of 1RM – very few reps and very light loads. The intent is to preserve the neuromuscular pathways of lifting without actually breaking down muscle (the usual intent of strength training).
Top CrossFit competitor Blair Morrison also uses deload weeks. Morrison trains 1-on/1-off for 3 weeks and then takes a week of recovery. His training days include up to three workouts. Morrison says, “I can go really hard in all those workouts because I know I have the next day as a rest day.”
How can you incorporate a deload week into your training? Simple. Every few weeks of training, take a week off. I have adopted the 3/1 ratio that Wendler and Morrison prescribe, and I recommend it. You still take your normal rest days during your training weeks, but when your training weeks are over, take a full week of dedicated recovery.
Schedule your deload week in advance, and stick to it. And when it arrives, remember that allowing your body to recover is more important than the fun of jumping into another workout. You are not wussing out—you are making yourself stronger!
Now, some caveats.
First, I don’t suggest complete rest for the whole week. I suggest a couple active recovery workouts, a couple thorough mobility sessions, and yes, some straight-up rest. Active recovery means you are working, but not at an intensity that is breaking down muscle or challenging you metabolically. One of my favorite recovery WODs is rowing 2000 meters on the Concept 2.
Rowing is low impact and involves almost your entire body. I can also precisely monitor my pace to ensure I keep the intensity low. Jim Wendler’s prescription is also excellent. Three sets of five reps of back squat and shoulder press at 50% 1RM with 2-3 minutes rest between sets is also a great recovery workout.
You could also use Yoga (at low intensity), lacrosse ball and foam roller work, joint mobility work, and deep tissue massage as recovery tools during your deload week. Of a seven day week, you want 3-4 complete rest days and 3-4 recovery and mobility sessions. Have a plan for your deload week, but listen to your body. That’s what the deload week is all about.
Note from TG: HERE is a post I did a while back on active recovery that may provide some ideas of what to do.
Next, a deload week is not an excuse to derail your nutrition. On the contrary, sticking to your nutrition plan is even more important during your deload week. Keeping your normal gym schedule while just performing recovery and mobility workouts can help keep your routine intact. Routine helps most athletes stick to their nutrition plan. Your body is repairing itself. You need to provide it all the quality fuel it needs to complete the repairs, along with plenty of sleep every night. Recovery is not just the absence of training; it is a critical part of the training process!
Why should you consider working deload weeks into your training schedule? You will become stronger, faster. You’ll suffer fewer chronic injuries. You’ll be less prone to burning out. You’ll be an overall better athlete. Try it.
I’m lucky that I live in a strength and conditioning bubble that allows me the ability (and luxury) to control pretty much everything around me. With the exception of the music – which is a never ending battle of techno vs. rap vs. country vs. metal vs. Katy Perry my ears are bleeding – as a coach and part-owner of my own facility I have a large say in the everyday shenanigans (for lack of a better term) that goes down.
Between myself, the other two coaches (Eric Cressey and Chris Howard), and our interns, every warm-up drill, every sprint drill, every exercise, every set and rep, EVERY PROGRAM is supervised – meticulously. While I don’t want to sound like I’m blowing sunshine up our own ass – although that’s exactly what I’m doing – seemingly, we’re doing something right, and I like to think we’re doing our part in cementing proper exercise habits and techniques along the way.
One of the best compliments we can receive as a staff is when other fitness professionals stop by to observe and they go out of their way to commend us on how well coached our athletes and clients are.
It happens all the time. And I’m proud of that fact.
People squat to proper depth; their deadlifts don’t make my spine start hyperventilating; they know how to perform a push-up correctly; they know that a chin-up really means sternum-up; there’s absolutely no cell phones allowed on the gym floor; and there’s certainly no curling in the squat rack. Unless your last name rhymes with Smeshshmentilore. In that case, it’s totally pimp.
Like I said, I live in a pretty sweet bubble where I can control things, and people, more often than not, do things right….and get strong and swole to boot.
And then, I go to a commercial gym, and I’m immediately reminded how much I want to throw an ax into my face.
Now, before I continue, let me just say that I’ve been trying to make more of a concerted effort to stop drinking the haterade.
Busting on commercial gyms is easy, and in a lot of ways played out. It serves no purpose than to feed the fire and make me come across as kind of douchey. Besides, not all commercial gyms are created equal, and I know of plenty who do it right (ahem, Dean Somerset), actually take some pride in their craft, and go out of their way to actually help their members and demonstrate that they care for their well-being. In my experience, however, those are few and far between.
Because I live in the city, I have easy access to numerous commercial gyms. As such, on the off chance that I don’t go into CP on any given day – like this past Tuesday for instance – it makes it convenient to still get a lift in.
It’s inevitable that I’m going to see stupid stuff while I’m there. I’m prepared for that. There’s the woman who hangs upside down off the bars and then proceeds to perform some sort of core training/circus act. There’s the guy performing 1-legged DB lateral raises – off a BOSU ball. And there’s the two meat-heads performing 57 variations of chest presses.
As a coach I can’t help myself but observe. It’s ingrained in me. Still, I realize that (most) people don’t know any better, and in any event, at least they’re doing something. I just shrug it off, turn up my iPod, and move on with my life.
It’s when I watch some of the trainers in action that I get furious. Half the time, I feel as if the client would be better off taking their money and flushing it down the toilet.
Almost always, technique is just AWFUL! I don’t care who you are, or how many letters you have next to your name, if your client is deadlifting with a rounded back, and you don’t correct it, you lose all credibility in my eyes.
I watched one trainer actually demonstrate with a rounded back, and then proceed to allow his client to do the same. Encouraging him along the way.
Moreover, I watched a female trainer take her female client through an entire session using nothing heavier than a ten lb dumbbell. Jesus, I’m willing ot bet the woman’s purse is heavier than ten lbs!
Really? 10 lbs?
I don’t know, maybe they were training for the National Paper Weight Carrying championship. Specificity, right?
Or what about this exchange I overhead from a female TRAINER getting trained from her male counterpart.
Dude Trainer (putting her on the Smith Machine to perform RDLs): Okay, so now we’re going to target the medial hamstring.
***I have no idea how performing RDLs in the Smith Machine somehow targets the medial hamstring. Whatever.
Female Trainer: okay, so what are we going to do after this?
Dude Trainer: Walking lunges
Female Trainer: You mean, with weight?
Unbelievable. I wanted nothing more than to turn around and scream…….”YES, with weight!!”
But I didn’t, of course. It wasn’t my place to do so.
When I got home that afternoon, I posted a ‘status’ update on my Facebook Wall describing the above exchange, and someone responded with:
How do you feel about critiquing people? Especially because of your expertise in the field?
To which I replied:
I don’t offer ANY unsolicited advice when I train at commercial gyms. I get asked questions all the time, and when that happens, I’m all for giving my opinion. Of course, as a coach, I can’t help but observe (and shake my head sometimes), but I’d NEVER go out of my way to openly chastise someone. Especially another trainer.
This isn’t to say I’ve never helped someone out. On numerous occasions I’ve been approached by other patrons, and was more than willing to offer some insight or words of encouragement. Several times, I’ve actually coached people through their deadlifts or squats. But then again, they asked. It’s not like I walked up to them with an “holier than thou” attitude and started drilling them.
Sure, there’s ways to be subtle, especially if it looks like someone is going to break their back in half……
But it brings up an interesting conversation: what’s crossing the line?
When is it acceptable to step in and offer unsolicited advice? For me, it’s a VERY grey area, and something that’s more or less a case-by-case scenario.
What are you thoughts? I’d be interested in hearing them.
In keeping with the same theme as yesterday, today I’m going to share the remaining top posts/articles from 2011 on TonyGentilcore.com that, for one reason or another, were the most popular.
This was a post that struck a chord with me because, well, people need to understand that they’re not as advanced as they think they are. Don’t get me wrong: I want people to train with some intensity and purpose. But at the same time people need to take a step back into reality and understand they’re not on the same level as an Olympic athlete.
With the New Year right around the corner, there’s no doubt we’re going to be inundated with infomercials, advertisements, and god knows what telling us how “x” fad diet or “y” exercise gizmo is the key to unlocking your body’s potential. The truth of the matter is, though, stepping away from the cookie jar and actually following the advice in this post will probably be more effective in the long run. Not to mention save you three easy payments of $99.
This was the most recent post of the bunch, but the amount of people who responded and the feedback I received easily made this one of the most popular of 2011.
Taking a risk and going a little out of my comfort zone, this was my first attempt at vlogging (video blogging). Sure, there were times where it seemed like I was fumbling around like a teenager trying to unclasp his first bra, but all told, I wasn’t too shabby – especially considering I did it in one take!
I never quite understand why it is people are so obsessed with their “cardio.” Of course, there are a million and one health benefits, and I’d never dissuade anyone from getting in exercise – regardless of their chosen mode.
But, come on peeps: who says you HAVE to be on a treadmill or elliptical trainer in order to hit your “cardio” quota for the day?
I think the opening paragraph to this post says it all:
As trainers and coaches, I think we often get too carried away with our programming to the point where we’re more concerned with impressing our clients with bells and whistles than actually getting them healthier.
I can say – unabashedly – that I’m not perfect and neither are the programs that I write. Sometimes I hit the nail on the head, and I come across like a program writing ninja. At other times, not so much.
That notwithstanding, having the ability to REGRESS an exercise is an act in progression. Confused? Just click the link for the love of god!!!!!
Given we train a lot of valuable arms at Cressey Performance, it only makes sense that I’d write a post here and there on some of the exercises we incorporate to improve or maintain shoulder health.
And this post isn’t just limited to athletes either. We use a lot of these same exercises with our general population clientele as well.
I know, I know: it’s a boring topic and watching grass grow would probably be more exciting, but I promise it’s short and sweet, and will undoubtedly help a few people out there reading.
And that about wraps it up! Again, thanks to all of you who supported the site in the past year, and here’s hoping that 2012 will be just as informative (and entertaining) as 2011.
Q: I’ve noticed in my own training that rest seems to smash PB’s (Personal Bests) for me more than being in the weights room every other day, or that is how it seems.
Let me give you an example.
Three weeks ago I hit a PB on deadlift of 160kg (352lbs, ish) for 1 rep, then I went away on holiday to my dad’s place on a small island off the coast of Wales, then took part in a combine in London nine days after departing. I was away for 13 days total, and the only real training I did was the combine tests and a set of hill sprints. Nothing resistance based aside from the bench press.
Upon returning home, I decided to hit deadlifts as my first session and I was feeling quite energised so I thought I’d try and beat my PB. I managed to get up to 172.5kg (380lbs)! A 50lbs gain to me is phenomenal in a time which I thought I would have potentially dematerialized.
Do you know why this comes about, and how? I’ve noticed it with Bench Press and Squats as well, but on the flip side, I’ve noticed if i do too much of either of those, the numbers go substantially down.
If you could shed any light on this it would be awesome!
A: First off, congrats on the new personal best, and I hope for many more in the future for you. Secondly, if your Dad is ever looking to invite some random person he doesn’t know – say, a certain strength coach who’s blog you’re reading – to come and use his place for a week, I may have someone in mind. Just throwing it out there.
Thirdly, to answer your question: much of what you described can be explained by discussing the Fitness Fatigue Model.
Vladimir Zatsiorsky summarized the fitness-fatigue theory (or two factor theory) by stating, “The immediate effect after a workout is considered a combination of (a) fitness gain prompted by the workout and (b) fatigue. The summation of positive and negative changes determines the final outcome.”
Fatigue will always mask your “true” fitness level. Many trainees (myself included) make the mistake of constantly pounding away each and every week, adding more and more volume. Or, in some cases, just never taking a break. Inevitably, you feel like you’ve gotten run over by a mack truck, performance drops, and whole lot of frustration follows.
The best analogy I’ve heard describing this phenomenon is something Eric Cressey has used on several occasions. Lets say we figure out your 1RM deadlift. After a few high fives, I then tell you to go out and run ten miles. Have fun with that.
Upon returning, I have to retest your deadlift. what are the odds you’ll even sniff that original number? Chances are, if you tried, you’d only break something, and we’d have to spend valuable time fixing it. Your ego or back. Pick one.
In general, just learning how to fluctuate your training volume on a weekly basis will go a long way to help prevent fatigue from deterring your progress in the future. While there are definitely exceptions to rule, we tend to use the following format when writing monthly programs for our clients at Cressey Performance:
Week 1: High Volume Week 2: Medium Volume Week 3: Very High Volume (you basically hate life) Week 4: Low Volume (deload)
There are a multitude of factors that can be tweaked that will dictate training volume – total sets/reps, time under tension, rest periods, or even what exercise is performed – but the important thing to note is that fluctuating training stress is kind of a big deal, and an often overlooked component of program design.
You can’t expect to set personal records each and every week, and if you’re one of the many who feel that in order to make progress you need to 1) regurgitate your pancreas every training session, 2) constantly add more and more volume each and every week, or 3) never take a day off……you’re really shooting yourself in the foot.
Again, fatigue will always mask fitness. The fact that you took a good 1-2 weeks and just allowed your body to recover, chill, and at the expense of using big words and sounding like a complete nerd – supercompensate – undoubtedly helps explain why you were able to crush your deadlift PB upon returning, even without doing much (if any) “real” training.
Anyone familiar with popular show Extreme Home Makeover knows the premise: a family, fallen on hard times and down on their luck, is sent on vacation for two weeks while Ty Pennington and his team of contractors, designers, carpenters, not to mention an entire town of volunteers, build them a brand spankin new house – hopefully with an indoor bowling alley attached.
If you’re like me, ten minutes into the show, you’re already half way through a box of Kleenex, and when you’re girlfriend happens to show up expectantly – like a ninja – you quickly fumble for the remote and change it to Spike TV or something.
Oh, hey babe. How was your day? Huh, what was that? Why are my eyes all red?
Yeah, well, uh……I just got a little something stuck in my eye, that’s all. I’m gonna go make a sandwich – want one?
Anyways, it’s a great show, and after receiving an email from a distance coaching client of mine (for the sake of anonymity, lets calls him Matt Damon) asking me to critique is deadlift technique, it got me thinking: Why not take the same concept and apply it towards fixing or cleaning up someone’s deadlift?
But first, a little backstory
“Matt Damon” started working with me about a month ago. Like many guys in his situation, he had done several programs on his own, and to no avail, never really saw the progress he was hoping to attain. Frustrated, he decided to contact me inquiring about distance coaching.
Now, before I continue, I’ll be the first to admit: distance coaching definitely has its disadvantages (see exhibit A below), but at the same time – and not to blow sunshine up my own ass – I feel my experience and abilities as a coach trumps any program some local boxed gym, pencil necked personal trainer could come up with.
Not to get into the particulars, but in order to become a client, I have people fill out a few lengthy questionnaires detailing, among others things, stuff like training history, injury history, goals, equipment availability, and other pertinent information like their ideal training split or whether or not they have any weird eating habits (penguin anyone?).
In addition, to help me better ascertain what it is they’re looking to accomplish, I also have them send me some full-body postural pictures (interestingly, some guys will send me a picture of their rear double bicep pose. I have no clue why), and I also ask them to send me a video of their squat and deadlift technique. You know, just to see what’s going on.
Well, fast forward to last week when I received the following email from “Matt Damon:”
Hi Tony–
I just started Week Three, and I realized I never sent you these squat and deadlift videos from my first week. So here they are.
The squats are from my first day when I forgot my gym shoes, so I’m in my street shoes. I also sometimes forgot to pause at the bottom. And the video’s from kind of a funny angle.
I thought my gym had a trap bar, but it turns out they don’t. So I’ve been doing regular deadlifts instead of trap bar deadlifts.
Let me know what you think!
As I noted above, distance coaching has its disadvantages – the most obvious being that I’m unable to be there in person to offer coaching cues and to otherwise keep people from hurting themselves.
That being said, here’s what I wrote back:
STOP……..DOING……THAT…….NOW.
Okay, that’s not really what I wrote, but you can imagine the look on my face when I watched that video for the first time. Truth be told, I don’t think it’s possible for someone’s jaw to drop any further than what mine did.
Nevertheless, “Matt” is a trooper and he’s agreed to allow me to exploit him for your own education. I asked if he’d be cool with me sharing this on my blog, and he was more than willing to participate. So without further ado, here’s the actual email I sent him once I retrieved my laptop after throwing it out the window.
You need to elevate the bar more. If you load it to 135 lbs (45 lb plates on each side), the bar will be at regulation height. That will help. If that’s too much weight – I’d suggest placing the bar on top of steppers or plates so that you can get it to the right height. From there, a few key points to note
You’re essentially squatting the bar down. A big no no. Deadlifting should be more of a hip hinge pattern, not squat. So, to that end, try to SIT BACK. Basically you want to focus on pushing your hips back until you feel a pretty significant stretch in the hammies. When you can’t go any further, THEN you’ll bend the knees to get down to the floor.
The bar should slide down your thigh, but again, you need to SIT BACK!!!! I attached a video to demonstrate what it should actually look like. If you see how I descend, you’ll notice how I don’t have to lower the bar AROUND my knees like you do. See what I’m talking about?
Moreoever, a great cue I like to use with people is to pretend there’s someone standing behind you with a rope tied around your waist. As you descend, they’re pulling your hips back. See if that helps at all.
Frankly, there’s a lot more we need to work on, but lets focus on those few things for now and see what kind of progress we can make.
A few days later, “Matt” sent me this (practice) video:
While not perfect by any means (he’s not getting his hips through at the top, his upper back is still just a teeny tiny bit kyphotic, and he NEEDS TO USE MORE WEIGHT. If you can curl it, you certainly shouldn’t be deadliftng it.), it shows a marked improvement from the original video he sent.
if anything, what I hope this demonstrates, is that 1). I’m awesome and 2). More importantly, by just using a few simple cues, you can make huge strides in terms of cleaning up someone’s technique. I think a major mistake that many personal trainers and coaches out there make is trying to OVER coach things and using waaaaaay too many cues that do nothing more than complicate things and frustrate the client.
All I told “Matt” to do was sit back, and feel a stretch in the hammies before bending the knees, and look how many other things just sorta “fell into place” as far as his technique is concerned.
And to think, I did all of this without ever having met him in person. O’Doyle rules!!!!!
Note: the post below links to my latest article on livestrong.com.
Whether your goal is to lose a few extra pounds, increase your bench press, train for a marathon, or just look and feel better, the gym — and more specifically, the part that holds all the dumbbells, barbells and other cool, shiny stuff — is a great place to start.
Countless people already hit the weights on a daily basis, though some may be doing more harm than good. There’s no such thing as a contraindicated exercise, just contraindicated exercisers. Put another way, and using a common example, not everyone can or should walk into the gym on day one, put a bar on the floor and deadlift it. Too many factors — training history, injury history, mobility and postural deficits — come into play that can affect the safety of the move, let alone its effectiveness.
Also, on a quick aside: Eric Cressey turns 30 years old today – which means I’m no longer the only staff member who can remember how cool it was, back in the day, to show up on the first day of school dressed up like Don Johnson from Miami Vice. So money.
From NOW until this Sunday (May 22nd) at midnight, you can purchase Show and Go for $50 off the regular price. And, since the world is apparently ending tomorrow, if you want to get jacked and hella strong, do it quickly.
Every night I come home from work where I usually sit down, make a protein shake of some sort, defrag my brain for 20-30 minutes (ie: put some light jazz or classical music on the radio), and chillax. Afterwards, I’ll pop open my laptop, procrastinate, read some miscellaneous stuff, and then start sifting through emails and respond to queries from distance coaching clients and such.
After that, I’ll play catch up on any other “project(s)” I have in the works: articles, programs, or future blog ideas. Yes, my life is that exciting.
The latter, however, is what got me last night. Sometimes I’ll think of a good blog idea from a conversation I had at the facility, or I’ll read something in an article or book and want to elucidate my own thoughts on the matter. Or, much like last night, I’ll draw a blank, start hyperventilating into a brown bag, and ask for help on Facebook. Before I hit the hay last night, here’s what I left as my status update
Quick, give me an idea for a blog post!
I woke up this morning still not really sure what I wanted to write about, but thankfully, a few “friends” came to my rescue.
One idea in particular which a handful of people suggested – and it’s actually something I’ve been meaning to write about, but just never got to it – is the whole concept of how to go about training obese clients. Given the popularity of shows like The Biggest Loser (and the inevitable face palm I give myself everytime I watch an episode), I thought it would cool to jot down a few ideas.
The Anti-Biggest Loser Approach
Since this is a pretty heavy (ha, no pun intended, sorry) subject, and one that could easily turn into a full-length article, I’m going to instead write this post in list format and use more of a bullet-point approach. Basically, all I want to do here is
The most important thing you need to remember when training an obese client is that you can throw the rules out the window. I remember an article that Mike Boyle wrote on the topic not too long ago where he stated that, much to my surprise, there are a few things that he WON’T do with an obese client, namely: foam roll, static stretch, core work, and single training.
What the What???
I know it sounds like blasphemy to say the above should be omitted, especially given that they’re pretty much the staples of any well-rounded program, but here’s some rationale.
Foam Roll: for many, this will be a workout on it’s own, and will undoubtedly affect the rest of the training session moving forward. Getting up, down, then back up again is going to be cumbersome for the obese client. Moreover, and this is something I didn’t think of until Mike pointed it out, it could very well be embarrassing for the client – and that’s something you want to avoid at all costs.
Static Stretching: much like above, stretching can be problematic. And, to be honest, as much as I feel that tissue quality and health IS important – when you’re dealing with someone who’s upwards of 100+ lbs overweight, there are more pressing issues to be dealt with and prioritized. You know, stuff like not having a heart attack.
Core Work: here is where I kinda disagree with Mike (to a degree). I think much of the “core” work that obese clients will receive will come from the training in general, so there’s no inherent need to include a lot of isolated core work. That said, I do feel that exercises such as standing band pallof presses (and the like) are a valuable addition, and provide a lot of bang for their buck with regards to training obese clientele. Planks, on the other hand, not worth it.
Single Leg Work: under normal circumstances, I’d place single leg work as arguably one the most important components of a well-rounded program. But here, not so much. Think about it, if you’re working with an individual who’s 300+ lbs, that’s A LOT of weight to place on the knee joint, and it’s something that’s going to be far too challenging for them to do – maybe even dangerous.
Again, and I can’t reiterate this enough, it’s about showing them SUCCESS and not making them feel like a walking ball of fail! The last thing you want to do is have him or her perform exercises that are too hard or just plain impossible to do, because the likelihood they’ll come back is slim to none.
On that note, please, for the love of god, stop with this whole “functional training” mumbo-jumbo. Having a client juggle oranges while standing with one leg on a BOSU is NOT functional. It’s dumb, and a complete waste of time.
In its place, I’d focus more on basic movement patterns. You know, things that they’ll actually use in every day life: squat pattern, hip hinge, upper body push, upper body pull, etc. Too, it probably wouldn’t hurt to include some basic dynamic movement drills into the mix as well.
So, using a few examples, it may look something like this:
Squat Pattern: Bench of Box Squat using bodyweight only to start. In addition, don’t be too concerned with attaining proper squat depth here. Surprisingly, some obese clients will demonstrate great hip mobility with the squat; but for those who have a problem, just use a ROM that they’re able to achieve and work off of that.
***Of note: I’ve found that the TRX is a FANTASTIC tool to use when teaching an obese client to squat. By un-loading their bodyweight, you can easily “groove” an almost picture perfect squat pattern with the TRX.
Upper Body Push: Preferably, I like to use a push-up pattern here where we elevate the client on the pins of a power rack; or by using the wall. Whatever works
Hip Hinge Pattern: Depending on how kinesthetically aware they are, you can use an elevated trap bar, or, go straight up dowel rod against their back to groove the proper deadlift pattern.
If the former, again, use an elevated setting with the trap bar. If the latter, simply place a dowel rod against their backside, and make sure that they maintain all three point of contact (band of their head, middle of shoulder blades, and sacrum) as they practice the hip hinge pattern.
Alternatively, exercises such as pull-throughs and maybe even kettlebell swings – done correctly – would be an ideal option here.
Upper Body Pull: Again, this is where the TRX becomes a valuable piece of equipment as it uses their own bodyweight as resistance and can easily be adjusted to fit their current strength levels. And, of course, we could also implement exercises like standing 1-arm cable rows or band rows here as well.
Dynamic Movement: Here, we can possibly incorporate simple movement drills like high knee walks, or maybe even something like a modified yoga plex.
Also, you can include things that are more metabolic in nature like med ball circuits, or even the airdyne bike depending how much you want them to hate life (and you).
Putting it all together, a workout may look something like this:
Warm-Up: walk on treadmill for 5-10 minutes
Pre Work: X-Band Walks 2×10/leg, Band Pull-Aparts 2×10
A1. Bench Squats x 8
A2. Push-Up – elevated on pins x 8
A3. Pull-Through x 10
A4. TRX STEEP Inverted Row x 10
A5. Band Pallof Press – alphabet (see video above) x 1/side
A6. Overhead Med Ball Stomps to Floor x 10
Perform above circuit for 4-5 rounds (taking as much time between exercises as needed), with 90-120 seconds of rest between each round.
Follow this with either a circuit of Kettlebell (of DB) Farmer Carries, Prowler, or airdyne work for 5-10 minutes.
I could easily keep going, but this is already getting long enough. And all of this isn’t taking into consideration the diet side of things. That’s a whole nother ball of wax.
In a nutshell, though, it pretty much gives you a basic idea of how I would go about designing a program for an obese or overweight client. It’s pretty much the polar opposite of what The Biggest Loser portrays – but I’d be willing to bet that my way will yield better long-term success without pounding people into the ground.
Have any of your own nuggets to share? Feel free to comment below!
Q: What are the best resources for getting awesome at writing programs? Besides CPT textbooks?
I remember watching a movie a few years ago (okay, a lot of years ago) – I think it was either Finding Forrester or Dead Poets Society (or something that was equally as likely to lower my sperm count) – where one of the main characters, a writer no less, asked his mentor a simple question: “How do I get better at writing?”
“Simple,” the man replied, “you write.”
In much the same way, the best way to get better at writing programs is to……wait for it……….wait for it………………..WRITE PROGRAMS!
Sorry if you were waiting for something profound, but really, it’s as simple as that.
Lets be real for a quick minute. There are plenty of internet gurus out there, living in their mother’s basement, with over 10,000 posts on 17 different forums who can quote the likes of Mel Siff, Yuri Verkoshansky, Vladmir Zatisiorsky, Tudor Bompa – or anyone else who’s a lot smarter than any of us will ever be – like it’s their job. Guess how many people these gurus train? I’m willing to bet, zip, zero, nada.
Taking it a step further, and maybe throwing a little tough love your way, you can have all the book smarts in the world, and could very well be a walking encyclopedia of knowledge bombs, but if you’re unable to actually apply that knowledge to an actual real-live person, then what’s the point?
Reading about program design is a helluva lot different than actually siting down and writing a well-thought out, and structured program. You know, much like reading about driving a car is much different than actually sitting behind the steering wheel for the first time; or how reading about asking a girl out is a walk in the park compared to the real thing.
*enters time machine, and travels back to 1997*
Me: Hey
Girl: Hi
Me: Okay, good talking to you.
In all three scenarios, until you actually do it……a lot, it won’t get any easier. And, if you ask me (and you did), that’s the quintessence of program design – just doing it.
Which isn’t to say, that there aren’t any valuable resources out there that can help. There are plenty. Some that quickly come to mind would be things like Mike Boyle’s Functional Strength Coach series vol I, II, and more recently III, Mark Rippetoe’s Practical Programming, Charlie Weingroff’s Training=Rehab, Rehab=Training dvd set, or even Assess and Correct will undoubtedly lay down a solid foundation – a blueprint if you will – for designing programs.
Even still, none of the above, alone, are going to end up being the panacea of program writing ninja awesomeness – because writing (good) programs doesn’t come down to ONE book you read, or ONE dvd you watched. It comes down to experience.
If you had access to my laptop right now, you’d easily find 500+ programs I’ve written over the years – some good, some bad, but mostly good (at least I think so).
I look at programs I wrote when I first started in this industry, and I can’t help but wonder: what the hell was I thinking????? I feel like I should go to an AA meeting for bad program writing.
Hello, my name is Tony Gentilcore, and yes, there was a time where I used to write leg extensions into my programs.
At the time, I’m sure I thought I was the mack daddy, but in reality, I just didn’t have much experience. Since then, I’ve worked with everyone from professional athletes to 85 year-old grandmothers (and everything in between, including teenage girls, soccer moms, and weekend warriors).
I’ve worked with fat-loss clients, powerlifters, people with chronic back pain, obese clients, and have even trained several women through their pregnancies. All of which had different goals, needs, injuries, weaknesses, strengths, imbalances, you name it. Either way you slice it, that’s a lot of programming, and I feel fairly confident that I could write a program for a one-armed Centaur coming off an ACL injury if I had to.
So, in closing, here’s what I’d do if I were you. Sure, you could buy any one of the resources I mentioned above, you could read blogs, articles, books, whatever. All of those will definitely help. Please, read to your hearts content.
But the real dealski is this: just practice writing programs. Ideally, you’d be writing programs for actual clients, but you could just make up crazy scenarios and see how you would program for each one. We do this all the time with our interns, and they love it.
Case in point: Twenty-four year old male, former college football player, just diagnosed with a disc bulge at L4, AND has a sports hernia. What would you do?
