CategoriesProgram Design

The Forgotten Component of Progressing in the Weight Room

It’s popular nowadays for people to brag about how hard their workouts are.

And I don’t mean “hard” as in “man, I’d rather jump into a shark’s mouth than do that squat session again” hard.

No, for whatever reason, it’s become more important to one-up each other, to champion shenanigans over actual progress in the gym:

Person #1: “I could barely walk to my car after my workout today.”

Person #2: “Pfftt, whatever. I threw up today during my workout. It was awesome.”

Person #3: “Oh yeah, well, after my workout I couldn’t feel the right side of my face.”

Progress, it seems, has more to do with how close to a medical emergency someone can get than it is actually seeing tangible improvements in their lifts.

Copyright: fxquadro / 123RF Stock Photo

The Forgotten Component of Progress

To be fair…

My hoity toity introduction wasn’t meant to imply I’m against trainees pushing the envelop in their training. I’ve often said, somewhat facetiously, that lifting weights isn’t supposed to tickle.

I love when people work hard in the gym.

But there’s a stark contrast between someone working hard during a workout and them going out of their way to routinely surpass their ability to recover from said workout.

In a very much watered down explanation, “progress” can be applied, measured, or attributed to the following factors:

  • Doing more sets/reps of a particular exercise.
  • Adding more load to a particular exercise.
  • Manipulating rest periods and/or tempo of a particular exercise.
  • Changing “mode” of an exercise (I.e., switching from Trap Bar Deadlift to Conventional)
  • Adding physics into the equation (I.e, moving center of mass further up and away from base of support. I.e., switching from Dumbbell Reverse Lunges to Barbell Reverse Lunges).
  • Can your pecs cut diamonds?1

In Short: Are you making a concerted effort to “do more work?” What’s more, are you able to do so over the course of weeks, months, years?

Your ability to progress long-term is directly correlated with how well you’re able to recover from your workouts (via purposeful fluctuations in training volume, as well as ensuring ample sleep, calories, and hydration). It has nothing to do with one’s prowess at regurgitating their Quinoa & Kale power salad from a few hours ago.

But I’ll get off my high-horse and get to the point.

“Feel” Matters

Last year I started working with another local coach here in Boston. She’s co-owner of a KB-centric gym and  Strong First certified, but she wanted to hire me to help her get more proficient with the barbell lifts (specifically the deadlift) as well as help her prepare for the Strong First barbell course.

Jessica was already pretty freakin strong when she started.

When we tested her deadlift she hit 300 lbs; a number many guys would love to hit.

However, it didn’t “feel” or look easy.

She had a few technical glitches I wanted to iron out.

We had ten weeks. During that time my only goal was to clean up her technique in an effort to make 300 lbs feel easier.

I knew that if we worked on cementing her technique, making each repetition look (and feel) pristine, and getting her into better positions to be able to express her (true) strength…we’d likely see an improvement when she re-tested her 1 rep-max at the conclusion of the certification course.

Conventional wisdom would dictate that in order to get her to lift more weight we’d have to focus on progressive overload – more sets, more reps, heavier load, did she destroy the back of her pants, etc.

That’s not the route I took.

Over the course of ten weeks we never touched a weight above 265 lbs.

35 lbs under her best lift.

Instead, like I said, we focused on improving position(s) and making sure we trained with loads that allowed her to marinate in impeccable and FAF reps.2.

Fast Forward Ten Weeks

Before she left for her certification weekend we re-tested 300 lbs.

Few things have made me cry – saying my vows to my wife during our wedding, holding my son for the first time, watching Rose let go of Jack at the end of Titanic, flipping my omelet and not breaking it.

Okay, I cry all the time.

Jessica’s deadlift brought a tear to my eye it looked so good.

What was originally a 19 on the Rate of Perceived Exertion scale, looked (and felt) like a 7/8 by the time ten weeks were over.

What’s more, she ended up hitting a PR of 35o lbs that weekend.

*drops the mic.

Progress = Feel, Too

Far too often trainees are quick to add more weight to the bar, or use the concept of more (more sets, reps, load, etc) as the sole metric to gauge progress.

All are important of course, and everyone should remain cognizant of them.

However, don’t be so quick to underestimate the value of staying put and getting more acquainted with a specific weight. If five reps of a certain weight is challenging, even if you can complete five reps, stay there.

Stay there until it feels less effortful. Many people are too quick to add weight at the expense of actually owning it. More to the point, I much prefer someone leave a session feeling refreshed and that they could do more rather than shit their spleen and miss reps on a routine basis.

What good is that going to do?

Easy training is good training.

That’s progression too.

CategoriesMotivational

Limit Your Mistakes

Learning from our mistakes is what we do as humans.

Like that one time I was a teenager taking my driver’s exam and I forgot to put the car back into “drive” after the “reverse” part of my 3-point turn attempt.

Oops.3

Or that other time I wanted to warm up my previous night’s dinner and forgot to take off the aluminum foil before placing it in the microwave.

My bad.

Failing, as a standard practice, is what makes us better in the long run. We fail, we learn, we (hopefully) don’t make the same mistake again.

Today’s guest post by Shane McLean delves into this concept as it relates to health/fitness. He’s made some mistakes so you don’t have to.

Copyright: oskanov / 123RF Stock Photo

Limit Your Mistakes

Starting your fitness journey when everything is shiny, and the gains are coming thick and fast is exciting. You feel like you can’t do anything wrong because every weight you touch turns to muscle.

OR

You’ve been in this game a while and you still enjoy working out, but the gains have slowed, and you’re frustrated by your lack of progress.

Any errors made at the start are covered up by newbie gains and these slip ups become more magnified the longer you’re in the lifting game.

How do I know this?

I’ve been there.

After training clients for 10 years and training in gyms for longer than I care to remember, I’ve witnessed or experienced these blunders myself that can hold back progress.

And while making mistakes is all part of the learning process, minimizing them while you’re under the bar will help keep you safe, keep you making gains and keep the doctor away.

Think of this as all gain and no pain.

1) Program Hopping

It’s natural to think the grass is always greener on the other side. After all, you’re saturated with new exercise fads and their results look incredible and besides, your program isn’t doing squat.

Change is not a bad thing.

Change is required when you plateau and or when your routine has become stale. However, too much change doesn’t give your body a chance to adapt to your current program because not everything in the weight room happens straight away.

It’s a fine line.

My general rule of thumb is finishing the program first and then evaluating whether it worked or not.

For example, loss of body fat, smaller waist or bigger muscles.

Or if you see no changes after six weeks, then it’s okay to try something new. Which brings me to the next point.

2) Not Tracking Progress

How do you know if a program working when you’re not tracking progress? That’s a rhetorical question.

Look that up, if you don’t know what it means.

If you’re not recording your sets, reps, weight lifted or taking measurements of your waist, hips, arms and legs before, during and after your program, you’re guessing and not assessing.

Because going by what you see in the mirror and the scale shouldn’t be your only measurement of progress. And occasionally testing yourself to see if you can lift more weight than before, never goes astray either.

3) Not Working on Strength

No matter what your goals are in the weight room, whether it’s muscle building or fat loss, all goals are easier by being stronger in the core lifts.

Which are:

By getting stronger, you’ll have more gas in the tank, and the ability to more work without constantly burning yourself out. And while there’s a whole bunch of strength standards in cyberspace, concentrating on adding more weight to the bar or performing more reps with the same weight is all you need to worry about.

 

Working in the 2-6 rep range in the core lifts for cycles of 4-6 weeks will get you where you want to go sooner.

4) Not Asking for Help

There’s no such thing as perfect form in the weight room because we’re all put together differently.

You can take a deep dive into cyberspace and find out how to do certain lifts, but nothing beats a trained professional (like me) to pick up on any major technique issues

For instance, I deadlifted incorrectly for years and ended up herniating three discs. If I’d asked for help sooner, I would have saved myself a lot of pain and money. So please, if you’re unsure about a lift, please ask for help.

I wish I did.

5) Ignoring Pain

Common complaints heard in gyms around the world.

“ My shoulder hurts.”

Then he goes straight to the bench press without a warm up.

“Squats hurt my knees.”

Goes back to the point #4.

“My back hurts.”

Then they go straight into their crunch routine.

There are times when stuff hurts, and you feel the need to push through it because you feel you’ll be left behind, or you need to work off the hamburger you ate last night. However, ignoring pain and exercising through it over a long period never leads to anything good.

Please remember the adage ‘if it hurts, don’t do it’.

It will save you from a ton of pain and your wallet from despair.

6) Groundhog Day

Have you seen this movie?

If you haven’t, check out the clip below:

 

Doing the same routine over and over, for weeks on end when you’re starting out is okay if you’re still making progress.

However, if you’re experience, doing the same program repeatedly and not making gains, then you need your head read.

This goes back to point 1 and 2. Finish the program and track your progress. If what you’re doing isn’t doing it for you, it’s time for a change.

Finishing Up

Yes, mistakes happen along the way but learning from them and limiting them will help you progress in the safest possible manner. Because lying on a Physical Therapist table wrapped in resistance bands is not the definition of a good time.

Author’s Bio

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

CategoriesExercise Technique

Squat Down, Not Back

What follows is what works for ME and MY clients. This shouldn’t be taken as a personal attack against YOU, your favorite coach, or any methodology that’s seemingly at odds with my point of view.

By all accounts you’re still a decent human being, even if you happen to disagree with what I’m about to say.4

Here goes.

I prefer people to squat down rather than back.

I want the squat to look like a squat.

Copyright: leaf / 123RF Stock Photo

I Can Hear the Cacophony of Moans Now

But, “moment arms!”

And, “hip extension torque!”

“Biomechanics, Tony. WHAT ABOUT THE FUCKING BIOMECHANICS!?!U?!!!AHHHHH!??!JUMPSOFFCLIFF”

via GIPHY

Relax: In no way, shape, or fashion am I discounting any those things, nor turning a blind eye to science or evidence-based approaches and modalities.

I’m on your side my fellow anthropometrical nerds.

What I AM discounting, however – but not necessarily turning a blind eye towards (maybe tossing some shade?) – is the fact that, while all those things mentioned above – moment arm lengths, hip extension torque, biomechanics – can be used to make a solid case for squatting the most amount of weight possible, as coaches we often forget two things:

1) Many people could give two shits about squatting the most amount of weight possible.

2) Most people aren’t powerlifters.

Don’t get me wrong: I am all for people training with intent, striving to get strong(er), and pushing some appreciable iron. The tagline for this site is “Because Heavy Things Won’t Lift Themselves” for crying out loud.

That said, I’m also very much interested in the long-game. I want to keep my clients/athletes healthy and set them up for the most long-term training success possible.

One such way I accomplish this is how I prefer to coach the squat. Again, what follows is what works for me and what I feel fits the needs/goals of the bulk of MY clients and athletes.

If you disagree you’re wrong hopefully we can hug it out if we ever meet in person.

Squat Down, Not Back

 

The video above demonstrates me initiating the squat by pushing my hips back, but specifically getting a lot of motion via the lumbar spine.5

This won’t bode well for most lifters.

Is it wrong?

Well, no.

Plenty of lifters do this and move a lot of weight. However, what often works for powerlifters, wearing squat suits, won’t be the best fit for “natural” non-powerlifters, not wearing squat suits.

Plus I’m pretty sure a a piece of my soul dies every time I see it.

Instead, I prefer this approach:

 

Take in your air at the top, create a flexion moment (clamp down abs to prevent excessive lumbar movement), and squat DOWN by breaking with knees and hips simultaneously.

For most lifters, most of the time, this will be the better long-time fit in terms of being able to 1) not only squat a decent amount of weight, but also 2) make it less likely your lower back will hate you.6

CategoriesAssessment Program Design

The Inundation of Corrective Exercise In Strength and Conditioning Makes Me Want to Throw My Face Into a Brick Wall

Just to help calm the waters: I am not anti “corrective exercise.”

And I am not really going to throw my face into a brick wall.

I respect and can appreciate that, sometimes, our jobs as fitness professionals require us to pump the brakes and to venture down the corrective exercise rabbit hole.

Some people require a bit more TLC with regards to improved movement, motor control, and/or, and I’m paraphrasing here…”just learning to turn shit on.”

Some people will require a laundry list of additional mobility work, stretching, or positional breathing drills to point them in the right direction and to help them feel better.

What I am against, though, and what drives me bonkers, is when coaches and personal trainers go out of their way to:

1) Overstep their scope of practice and end up performing really shitty physical therapy with their clients and athletes.7

OR

2) Highlight every minor “dysfunction” with a client/athlete – excessive anterior pelvic tilt, kyphotic posture, left eye is lower than the right (you freak) – making him or her feel as if they’re walking ball of fail.

Copyright: alexytrener / 123RF Stock Photo

Training Is Corrective

Here’s another gleaming example of how TRAINING is corrective and how, if we do our jobs as coaches, we can often accomplish a lot sans the brick wall.

My client, Emily, who’s a trainer herself, has been dealing with some left shoulder issues. I had her come in the other night to see if I could offer some insights and to listen to some sick EDM beats.

The latter has nothing to do with anything, but whatever….give THIS a listen.

Emily showed up and I took the picture below. It shows something clearly awry and that some sort of shoulder clusterfuckey was at play; namely lack of shoulder flexion on the left side.

What was the culprit?


It could have been a few things:

  • Capsular issue
  • Lack of scapular rotation (namely upward rotation).
  • Soft tissue restriction.
  • Lack of lumbo-pelvic control.
  • It was a Wednesday.
  • I don’t know.

What I do know is that I had to respect my lane and understand it wasn’t my job as a strength & conditioning coach to diagnose anything.

I could, however, assess her general movement capacity, use my knowledge of anatomy, and perform a little trial and error to see if I could improve things.

What follows is more or less a brain dump and an attempt to explain my thought process as I worked with Emily for the next hour.

I’m not gonna say that what ended up happening was on par with some Matrix level shit, but I will say I basically know Kung-Fu.

via GIPHY

I Know Kung-Fu

To start I thought to myself:

“What actions have to happen at the scapulae in order to get the arms overhead?”

– Upward rotation
– Protraction
– Posterior tilt

Emily wasn’t getting much upward rotation on that left side. When I asked her to bring her arms overhead it was as if her left arm hit a massive speed bump and came to an abrupt stop. She could push through it, but not without pain.

So I had to think about what muscles help with that action (upward rotation)?

– Upper and lower traps
– Serratus

 

Too, I noticed she also had a more depressed shoulder girdle as a whole; her clavicular angle was more horizontal rather than having a slight upward grade.

HERE‘s Eric Cressey discussing this in a little more detail.

I surmised her UPPER traps needed some attention.

The upper traps often get a bad rap and are avoided like a Coldplay concert. In certain populations (think: desk workers) and instances, the upper traps are OVERactive and can play a role in increased shoulder elevation as well as superior migration of the humeral head, and hence an increased risk for shoulder impingement.

In this scenario, it behooves us to not go out of our way to increase upper trap activation.

However, we often forget the upper traps are a major player in UPWARD ROTATION, not to mention help with scapular elevation…both of which, in my eyes, Emily could have used some more of.I didn’t get over corrective with Emily and start having her perform some voodoo like tapping her pinky finger three times while flossing her teeth with a strain of hair from a Hippogriff.

I didn’t have her perform a laundry list of “correctives” that, for all intents and purposes, would have likely made her feel like a patient and bore her to tears.

Nope, I had her TRAIN and just modified a few things.

We did:

1. Landmine Presses with a Shrug/Reach

 

2. Face Pulls in an upwardly rotated position (so the upper traps were more engaged)

 

3. And, instead of performing movements that would pull her into more shoulder depression and downward rotation (deadlifts, farmer carries, etc) we opted for Landmine Squats, Zercher RDLs, and Hip Thrusts.

 

In short: We turned shit on (upper traps) and trained movements that (likely) wouldn’t feed into the root causes of her symptoms.

Here’s the picture I took at the end of her session:

I’m Gandalf.

CategoriesProgram Design

3 Quickie Programming Notes On the Pullup

Today I wanted to share some quickie thoughts with regards to pull-up/chin-up programming. I firmly believe possessing the ability to perform a pull-up, if not multiple pull-ups, is one of the most rewarding and worthwhile achievements to accomplish in the weight-room.8

  • Pull-ups are a fantastic way to measure and gauge relative strength; I.e., your strength relative to your bodyweight.
  • Pull-ups are great for overall shoulder health; I.e., help to offset muscular imbalances and/or strength asymmetries from pressing too much.
  • Pull-ups make you look yoked.
  • Pull-ups don’t require expensive equipment to perform.
  • There are an infinite number of variations you can play around with.
  • Uh, if you ever find yourself climbing a mountain, pull-ups help you from falling off it.
  • Let’s see.
  • They’re just good for you, alright. Trust me.
Copyright: vertolet / 123RF Stock Photo

 

When it comes to programming the pull-up/chin-up here are some things to consider.

1. All Rows Count

I think where a lot of trainees (and even coaches) go wrong is falling into the trap that in order for someone to perform their first pull-up/chin-up that they have to do pull-ups/chin-ups.

My friend Meghan Callaway did a great job of extolling why this is not necessarily the case in THIS post.

That said, I think all rowing movements count and should be utilized in this scenario.

Yes, specificity matters and takes precedent.

However, building pulling strength in general – incorporating row variations from varying angles with varying implements with varying set/rep schemes – is going to have a profound carryover for pretty much everyone.

 

What’s more, and as my other good friend, Bryan Krahn, has noted on several occasions…building a muscular physique can take years (if not decades).

As such, “its best to use joint friendly exercises as your training “cake” with other effective yet potentially problematic moves serving as “icing.”

When it comes to back training:

Cake: Rows (ALL FORMS <— seriously, use them all)

Icing: Pull-ups

Pull-ups can (not always) beat up people’s elbows – particularly when volume is cranked up and someone’s not prepared for it.

To that end, be intelligent and don’t downplay your rows.

2. Do More

Now, forget what I just said about volume.

I think one of the biggest mistakes I see most people make with their pull-up/chin-up programming is that they simply don’t train the pattern enough.

Most people will train their pull-up once, maybe twice per week.

This isn’t enough.

Strong First coach and pull-up badass, Artemis Scantalides, will often advocate a frequency of 4-5x per week.

To mirror what I mentioned above, though, when Artemis says 4-5x per week that includes a hodge-podge of ground based drills like push-ups and hollow holds, pull-up assistance drills such as band-assisted pull-ups, eccentric pull-ups, and flexed-arm hangs, in addition to TRX row variations or even hybrid drills like a Rack Pull-Up.

 

So, not just pull-ups/chin-ups.

Starting to catch a theme here?

One day may include nothing but Hollow Hold drills; the next Flexed Arm Hangs for time; and the next Band Assisted Pull-Ups.

Later in the week you toss in some high-rep TRX Rows.

All told that’s four separate “exposures” during one training week that either hit the pattern itself or have a favorable carryover. You can bet this will be a far superior and time efficient manner to finally conquer that pull-up/chin-up conundrum.

3. Easy Training Is Good Training

I’ve championed this saying before, but it bears repeating. I’d rather my clients leave the gym feeling refreshed and wanting more than feeling like the lost an arm-wrestling match to a tank.

That doesn’t even make any sense, which is precisely my point.

Neither does it make sense to train to failure every…single…set…of…every…single…day.

Missing reps routinely does you no favors. Straining, fighting, and clawing for every rep does you no favors.

By contrast, hitting your reps helps you. Ensuring the bulk of them are clean, “fast,” and performed with pristine technique helps you.

With regards to increasing the total number of pull-ups you can perform this is key. It’s called greasing the groove, and it works.

Lets say you can currently perform four pull-ups and you want to be able to do more. Stop TESTING the total number you can do and actually BUILD it.

Every few hours, perform HALF that number; in this case two.

This will ensure each rep is textbook. Jesus himself will weep because these reps will be so immaculate.

  • If you do this 4-5x per day that’s 8-10 immaculate pull-ups.
  • Over the course of a week that 56-70 immaculate pull-ups.
  • Over the course of a month that’s 216-280 wet dream inducing pull-ups.

You will be able to perform more than four pull-ups after all that.

And you won’t feel like a bag of dicks either.

The Ultimate Pull-Up Program

If you’d like more similar insights on the topic I’d encourage you to pick up Meghan Callaway’s fantastic resource.

It’s impressive, thorough, and something she put a ton of work into. I can’t say enough good things about it.

Whether you’re a male, female, beginner, or elite lifter…this manual will have something to offer you. It’s currently on SALE for half-off the original price and the sale ends TONIGHT (10/27) at midnight.

Soooo, you need to act fast.

Go HERE.

CategoriesExercise Technique Program Design Strength Training

Are Compound Movements Actually Making You Stronger?

NOTE FROM TG: I’ll be traveling in Europe for the next ten days and figured this would be a nice opportunity to repurpose some old content that may have been missed the first time around.

1) If you didn’t read this the first time I posted it all I have to say is “pfffffft, whatever.”

2) If you did, you’re cool. And, share it……;o)

Photo Credit: Elitefts

Understandably, the title of this post suggests some nefarious agenda where my goal is to spend the next few minutes explaining why we’ve had it all wrong the entire time.

“You mean to tell us, Tony, there’s a chance compound movements don’t make people stronger?”

“What’s next: telling us water isn’t wet, the Earth isn’t round, the zombie apocalypse won’t happen?”

Relax. Deep breaths.

Just so people don’t think I’ve lost my marbles or are already tapping away on their keyboard drafting their hate mail before actually reading what I have to say below….the short answer to the title of this post is:

“Yes, I do feel compound (multi-joint) movements – think: deadlift, squat, bench press, rows, overhead midget pressing – make people into beasts, and should lay the foundation for any well-rounded strength training program.”

However, I fear many trainees (and coaches) often fall into the same trap where we’re programmed into thinking compound movements, and only compound movements, should be utilized 100% of the time…no exceptions.

A thousand years of no gainz and incessant internet trolling to the person caught using the leg curl machine or, the horror, performs a few sets of tricep kickbacks.

Shut Up

No, really…shut up.

Of COURSE compound movements make you strong(er). If you want to get strong, it only makes sense to perform those movements which will allow you to use the most weight and force the body into a state of adaptation to get strong.

Granted a lot of other things need to fall into place in order for “strong” to happen. Just because you place a barbell on your back and meander up and down doesn’t mean you’re the second coming of Ed Coan.

Technique, frequency of training, addressing weaknesses, technique, and technique consistent progressive overload all need to be taken into consideration.

What’s more, if strength is the goal – particularly with the big 3 – compound/multi-joint movements performed in low(er) rep ranges (1-5) is kind of important.

Why?

Cliff Notes Version:  Lifting maximal weight has a number of effects:

1. Maximal number of motor units are recruited.

2. Fastest MU’s are activated (high-threshold motor units).

3. The discharge frequency (rate coding) is increased.

4. Activity is synchronous – both inter and intra-muscularly.

5. Potential for future hypertrophy gains (especially when you revert back to a “hypertrophy” specific training phase).

6.  While some argue whether or not the research is efficacious – it goes both ways – lifting heavy things helps to increase serum Testosterone levels.

7.  Girls will want to hang out with you (<=== it’s science).

But It’s Not All PRs and Butterfly Kisses

While all the above is true, focusing solely on compound movements (and lifting maximal weight all the time) does have its pitfalls.

1). There’s an inherent likelihood of increased wear and tear on the joints over time (Yes, even with “good” technique).

2). Compound movements = produce/accumulate more fatigue (particularly neural fatigue). And if it’s not managed appropriately, one may see a decrease in strength/performance over time.

And finally, something not many people consider:

3). We’re Really Good at Compensating.

You may have noticed that I drilled the idea of “technique” earlier. It’s that important.

As a coach I find many people are unable to express their true fitness/strength level due to faulty joint positions (misalignment, such as excessive lumbar extension/APT), and, honestly, not “earning the right” to increase load.

I.e., they haven’t performed enough reps at “x” weight in order to go up.

To that end, drilling technique – and respecting each individual’s anthropometry – is always going to be of paramount importance.

 

Due to our ability to compensate well, the likelihood you’re leaving poundages in the tank are very high.

As well, when we start talking accessory movements, I’m always in the camp which takes the approach they should generally be used to address some form of technique flaw or weakness with the main lift in question.

For Example

If someone is struggling with their deadlifts off the floor – meaning, they’re super slow – some viable accessory movements to address this would be:

1). Limiting tap-n-go reps (bouncing off the floor).

2). Deficit pulls (2-3″ elevated) to generate more quadricep recruitment.

3). More squat variations such as Safety Squat Bar squats and front squats (again, to generate more quadricep recruitment).

4). Anderson Squat – performed from a deadstart, emulating one’s deadlift stance.

 

Note: Notice my hip placement above. When I was pulling conventional style (the video is four years old) this variation of Anderson squat very much mirrored my deadlift stance, which carried over well.

Back To My Point

Oh yeah, my point.

Listen, it’s okay to perform isolation work or more bodybuilding-specific exercises. A more “hybrid” approach – strength and hypertrophy – is going to bode well for most people anyways.

Case in point: my bench press sucks. There are days where I’d rather wash my face with broken glass than bench press.

One of the things my coach – Greg Robins – has been implementing into my programs of late is more isolation work to address muscular issues.

Think about it: expressing strength is (mostly) about generating force. Hoisting big weights helps in this regard. However, a bigger muscle – almost always – is going to produce more force than a smaller one.

Indeed, I’ve been hammering away at my bench press technique – even implementing accessory movements like paused bench presses and Spoto Presses to address my weaknesses.

 

But guess what? Lately – for the past two blocks of training – I’ve been performing a TON of dumbbell chest flyes. You know, those “wimpy” things guys use to train their chest cleavage.

I feel so dirty admitting it.9

Funnily enough my bench press has seen it’s best jump in a while since incorporating more isolation type work for the pecs and triceps.

Too, my DL has gone up since tossing in some leg extensions; and I have to assume the chest flyes play a role too…;o)

Read: It’s not only about compound movements. Don’t be so dogmatic.

True, they serve as the staple for any strength-based program…but try not to neglect the importance of choosing the correct accessory work – even if it’s isolation exercises – to compliment your goals.

The internet will forgive you.

CategoriesProgram Design

Why Introducing New Exercises Can Derail Progress and What To Do About It

Anyone who’s read this site for any length time knows I’m not a big fan of exercise variety.

For most people, most of the time, adding in novelty for the sake of novelty often mounts to nothing more than a one-way ticket to Averageville.

My good friend and strength coach, Chris Merritt (founder and owner of BSP NoVa), has an excellent guest post for you today discussing why exercise variety can be detrimental and how, despite popular belief, you can still keep your clients engaged with the same exercises.

His FREE e-book detailing how you can add variety to basic exercises can be downloaded HERE.

Copyright: spotpoint74 / 123RF Stock Photo

Why Introducing New Exercises Can Derail Progress

“No, get your back flatter … yeah, there you go, but drop your hips … okay, great job, but now get your back flat again … [hm, what the heck is going on?] … maybe set your feet wider?”

Whether you’re the coach or client, everyone is frustrated in a scenario like this, and yet, we’ve probably all been here at some point.

If you’re the client, I’m sorry, it’s not your fault.

If you’re the coach—you guessed it—this falls on you.

When it comes to selecting exercises for our clients, we actually shouldn’t have to coach form all that much. Sure, there’s some base level of teaching that needs to happen on the front end, and occasional cues along the way, but, contrary to what all too often happens across gyms far and wide, people don’t need the newest fancy exercise progression every time they get a new program.

In fact, continually introducing new movements will significantly slow down progress or, worse yet, derail it altogether.

Think about it…

The more time spent on coaching, teaching—whatever you want to call it—the less time the client spends training with appropriate focus and duration to accomplish their goals. Do you think the recipient of the coaching above was able to train with enough intensity (i.e., weight used) and volume (i.e., the total number of sets and reps) to even remotely elicit desired results?

 

… and we can argue about whether it was an exercise selection or coaching problem some other time.

[the correct answer is both]

Now let’s pretend that four to six weeks later they’re finally getting it, and then BAM!, their coach decides to switch things up to the latest squat variation they copped from Instagram.

… here we go again.

A Better System

At our gym, Beyond Strength Performance NOVA, we use a system of strength standards to determine when it’s potentially time to move on, and a subsequent progression of exercises that layer competency gained from the movement prior.

Let’s unpack what that actually means, using the deadlift as an example…

All our members start their training journey with a personal orientation session, typically done a day or two after their 1-on-1 assessment and goal-setting session, and we accomplish multiple things within the hour:

  • Teach the warm-ups, providing context for basic concepts (position, breathing, tension, patterning) that carry right over into their everyday training…
  • Teach them how to deadlift, squat, push, and pull, along with determining what variations and loads are best suited for them from day one…
  • Teach the language we use to coach and cue across all our staff
  • Have the new member work with multiple coaches in the session to introduce them to the concept of semi-private personal training
  • Take them through a short training session with the four movements they just learned, allowing them to train that day and us to see how they took to the information they just learned…
  • Set expectations for what’s to come…
  • Make notes about their personality, learning style, and anything else that will help us to coach and connect with them…

Specific to the deadlift, we start the teaching process in our warm-ups by using the cat-cow drill to learn what it feels like to move through our spine and experience two undesirable positions that we refer to as “macho man”—extension, or belly dropped towards the floor—and “sad dog”—flexion, or a big arch like a scared cat.

We then introduce the position of “tall and tight”—ribs down and belt buckle to sternum—using the push-up position plank.

It’s also at this time that we’ll discuss “tall and tight” being our desirable position for all squats, deadlifts, rows, —essentially everything we do in the gym, with one of the only exceptions being the bench press, where we’ll use an arch, or “macho man.”

Finally, we use quadruped rocking to further provide the perception of what it feels like to move with our hips while staying “tall and tight.”

 

After the warm-ups we teach the deadlift, using a progression of handcuff hinge to barbell deadlift, stopping when we find the ideal starting point for their first program. Rather than write out the whole description of this process, let’s check out a video we filmed in May of last year for a law enforcement group we’re consulting with:

 

NOTE: The only thing we do differently since this video was filmed is introduce the barbell RDL before progressing to the rack pull, as we have found that folks learn to keep the bar tight to their thighs and groove the pattern with a top-down approach more easily than bending over to find the right position before beginning the movement—much like handcuff hinge before the kettlebell deadlift…

Further, we use a strength standard of EIGHT quality deadlifts with a 60kg kettlebell (132# for those of you searching for a calculator), performed for multiple quality sets, before progressing to the barbell RDL. The new member may clear this and move on during their personal orientation session, or they could require multiple phases of training to build the capacity.

So yes, you read that correctly—if they’re four months into training with us and they haven’t passed the kettlebell deadlift standard, that kettlebell deadlift is staying on every one of their programs until they do so. Then they’ll need to demonstrate proficiency with the barbell RDL before they go to the rack pull, and the proper form and mobility with descending rack pulls before maybe progressing to the floor.

Sounds boring, you say?

 

Feeling successful is never boring, and the basics allow for our folks to train with appropriate intensity, volume, and positions to crush their goals. But that doesn’t mean you can’t keep things interesting in your application of the basics.

How Many Ways Could You Program the Kettlebell Deadlift?

If you just thought of things like traditional sets and reps, partial reps, varied tempos, clusters, etc., you’re onto what we refer to as loading types.

Rather than just continually throw the kettlebell deadlift at you in the same fashion, month in and month out, we could do something like this:

  • Elevated kettlebell deadlifts for the first month while we work on hip mobility. Further, we can prescribe more time under tension with the eccentric portion (descent) to really groove the pattern. We refer to this as straight sets with an eccentric focus…
    • Elevated Kettlebell Deadlift (31X2)     2-3 x 8
    • (31X2) = each rep performed with a 3 second descent, 1 second pause on the floor, up fast, and 2 second pause at the top. Do these 8 times and you’ve completed one set—one to two more sets to go depending on how you’re holding up with this new training stimulus.
  • In month two we’re ready to ditch the elevation, however, we haven’t cleared the strength standard, so we’ll program clusters to build our capacity.
    • Kettlebell Deadlift Clusters     3 x (2, 2, 1)
    • (2, 2, 1) = 2 reps, rest 10 to 30 seconds, 2 reps, rest another 10 to 30 seconds, and finally 1 rep—all with the same weight. That’s one set, and you’ve got two more to go.
  • For month three, let’s put weight ladders to use.
    • Kettlebell Deadlift Descending Weight Ladders     3 x (3 heavy, 2 medium-heavy, 1 medium-light)
    • Perform 3 heavy kettlebell deadlifts, right into 2 medium-heavy kettlebell deadlifts, followed by 1 medium-light kettlebell deadlift. That’s one set down, two to go.
  • In month four we bring it back to straight sets, only this time with no elevation…
    • Kettlebell Deadlift     4 x 4
    • … and for example, let’s say you want to test out in week 4. We’ll simply switch your 4 x 4 to 2 x 8. Crush it, and on to the barbell RDL we go…

All For One and One For All

We have strength standards for our core four movements—squat, deadlift, push-up, and pull-up—and progressions/regressions for every exercise we use.

When we put these systems to use in our program design process—appropriately selecting individual exercises and combining them in a manner to work towards the clients’ said goals—coaches don’t need to overwhelm the clients with constant corrections, clients get to see a pathway to success and train their asses off in the process, and decision making with regards to writing one program to the next becomes a simple task.

It’s just plain better for everyone involved.

Want More?

You can learn all about 20+ loading types, providing YEARS of near infinite variety on the basics by picking up my free e-book, “You Can’t Get Bored: Adding Variety to the Basics of Program Design,” by simply providing your email here.

And if you’d like to come learn this stuff in person—and so much more—join us on Sunday September 9th in Queens, NY at Iron Lion Performance for the Program Design One-Day Deep Dive Seminar.  Check out the agenda and get registered here.

Beyond that, feel free to email me anytime! [email protected].

CategoriesProgram Design Strength Training

5 Quick Tips to Increase Strength

There are no “hacks” to getting strong. I’m a firm believer you get out of it what you put in.

It’s hard, and it takes a lot of hard work; oftentimes over the course of several years.

That said, below are a few “quick” tips that can help expedite the process. Admittedly there’s nothing profound or elaborate included, but I felt it important to suggest things that are easily accessible to the bulk of people who read this site.

Hope they resonate and help.5 Quick Tips to Increase Strength

1. WARNING: Captain Obvious suggestion of the day: Creatine

It still dumbfounds me to think there are people out there who train on a consistent basis, yet are still not taking creatine (and yes, this includes you as well ladies). It’s the most researched supplement in human history and it’s efficacy has been proven time and time again.

*It’s safe

*It works

*It’s NOT steroids

Just take five grams of creatine monohydrate (no need to buy the expensive brands that are laced with rocket fuel) per day and that’s that.

ADDENDUM: This is a suggestion. Not mandatory. The first step to addressing lack of progress is to audit your program and nutrition. If those two factors aren’t getting the job done, no one supplement is going to be the panacea.

That said, you still need to go train like a savage. Taking creatine alone isn’t going to mount to much.

2. Deadlift Barefoot

Everyone who trains with me here in Boston is told to take their shoes off when (s)he deadlifts.

To quote a new client I started with the other night

“Why?”

BECAUSE I SAID SO. HOW DARE YOU QUESTION ME. KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!!

Just kidding.

Well for starters, by taking your shoes off you’re now 1-2 inches closer to the ground, which is 1-2 inches less distance the bar has to travel.

Secondly, and more germane to the point, by taking your shoes off you’re now able to push through your heels. As a result, you’ll recruit more of your glutes and hamstrings to help out.

It’s not uncommon for some people to see a significant increase in how much weight they can pull off the ground from a little more posterior chain recruitment.

Thirdly, people will automatically think you’re badass cause you’re training with no shoes on. Of course, this is contingent on whether or not your feet smell like you’ve been walking through a sewer all day.

In that case, it’s your call.

3. Glute Activation

If your glutes aren’t able to fire full throttle, the hamstrings and lower back have to do more work than they’re accustomed to doing.

So from that standpoint paying more attention to glute activation can have positive repercussions for those suffering through chronic low-back pain.

However, people often forget the badonkadonks are not only the body’s dominant hip extensor which play a key role in athletics and strength, but are also a fairly large muscle that’s aesthetically pleasing to look at (cue obligatory fitness Insta-celebrity pic here).

Don’t worry, I got you too ladies:

By “turning on” the glutes with some simple activation techniques beforehand, you will undoubtedly be able to handle more weight when you squat and/or deadlift.

To that end, while I don’t have any PubMed research articles to back this up, more weight=more strength=more people want to see you naked.

Here are some of my favorites:

Up 2, Down 1

 

I like this variation because it allows for more eccentric overload on the lowering leg. Obviously one will need to master the two-legged variation first, but this is a nice progression to consider.

Band Resisted 1-Legged Hip Thrust

 

This is an ingenious variation I stole from Dean Somerset. If you’re looking to progress you’re 1-Legged Hip Thrust and having a hard time figuring out a way to do so, give this a try.

Creepy McCreepypants Frog Pumps

 

Popularized by none other than Bret Contreras, Frog Pumps are another fantastic exercise that aid in getting the glutes nice and juicy.

Thing is, they’re awkward as fuck to perform in public.

So, there’s only one way, and one way only, to perform them….

…..by copying Bret and Dr. John Rusin’s lead and making direct, intense eye contact with someone and making things creepy AF.10.

Reps can range anywhere from 15 to infinity.

4. Stop Testing Strength and Build It

I’m not the first to say this.

Many other coaches stronger than I – Chad Wesley Smith, Greg Robins, Julia Ladewski, Pavel, to name a few – have reverberated this quote on repeat throughout the years.

Far too often trainees head to the gym week in and week out and “test” their lifts rather than actually build them.

Now, mind you, lifting heavy things (90% + of 1 rep-max) is a non-negotiable factor to getting strong. However, as I noted in THIS blog post sub-maximal training (I.e., predominately using loads in the 65-85% range) is much UNDER-valued component to strength training.

In other words: loads in those ranges help one to BUILD strength.

Moreover, utilizing more sub-maximal training – while having an obvious muscle building effect (bigger muscles often equate to more force output) – also allows trainees to hone their technique and to get into (and maintain) proper positions to exhibit their strength more effectively.

5. Use Novelty Sparingly

Unlike coaches Dan John or Mike Boyle, I don’t find myself to be a very quotable person.

However, I am proud of this one:

“Look, I’m not bashing exercise variety. Variety has a time and place. However, the greatest gap in most people’s training isn’t lack of novelty, but rather lack of mastery.”

Many trainees have what I like to call “Squirrel Syndrome” when it comes to working out.

They start doing an exercise (or in most cases start an exercise program) and before they’ve put down the dumbbell on their first set they’re distracted by a new “squirrel.”

 

In this case the squirrel is an entirely new exercise program or a bright, shiny, new exercise.

– “Jumping Jack BOSU Bicep Curls?”

– “Sweet Christmas, I need that in my life.”

Want to get stronger?

Stop hopping exercise to exercise or program to program. It’s almost impossible to see steady progress if you’re heavy-handed on the novelty.

I like Jim Wendler’s approach to programming for strength:

“The boring shit works.”

Observe anyone who’s strong or has a physique you admire and almost always they’re doing very vanilla things in the weight room.

Contrarily, watch most other asshats who cry afoul about hitting their genetic ceiling11(or something equally as lame):

Jumping Jack BOSU Bicep Curls.

CategoriesProgram Design

Earn Your Curls

I have a few silly rules at CORE:

  • Always greet my clients with a smile and their first name when they walk through the door.
  • When someone is attempting a deadlift PR (or if they’re deadlifting in general), they get to pick the music.12
  • Everyone has to wear pants on Wednesdays.
  • Clients have to “earn” their bicep curls.
Copyright: estradaanton / 123RF Stock Photo

 

Last week I posted something up on my Instagram account highlighting the latter point – earning your curls – that sparked some good conversation.

I posted a video of one of my female clients performing a set of bicep curls and in the description I wrote:

“I have a silly rule when it comes to working with female clients. I don’t include any direct arm work (mostly referring to bicep curls here) until they’re able to perform a strict bodyweight chin-up. @blondepaleo has earned her curls.”

Actually, what am I doing?

Why don’t I just post the video and subsequent commentary here?

DUH.

Many who chimed in simply asked “why?” and asked if I’d explain my rationale and train of thought.

Others brought up some very valid points, even disagreeing with me, which also served as an additional impetus to write this post and expound further.

So, here we go.

Earn Your Curls

First and foremost let’s not get cra-cra.

There’s a lot of things I take an “anti” stance on – anti-vaccers, Dr. Oz, mushrooms, poodles – but bicep curls isn’t one of them.

I’m not some elitist, Acai shake drinking, gluten free eating, bourgeoisie douchehole running around the far reaches of the internet trolling people telling them “bicep curls aren’t a functional exercise.”

Because, well, they are.

There are many things we do and accomplish in everyday life that require us to flex our elbows and/or to hold something isometrically in our arms.

Secondly, just so we’re clear, I’m also not a Sith Lord.

I don’t deal in absolutes.

There’s always going to be a “what if” or “it depends” caveat to any comment or claim.

As someone astutely pointed out in my original IG post:

“What if you’re working with someone who’s overweight and would otherwise have a long journey to their first chin-up/pull-up?”

1. On one hand, as a coach, I’m going to work to the best of my ability to set all my clients up for as much success as possible. My goal is to respect their goal(s) and to elicit a training effect.

If bicep curls are part of that equation, so be it.

2. However, assuming an overweight client’s goal is to lose weight, I can think of many things more deserving of our time within an hour session than performing bicep curls.

Anyhoo…..

As far as WHY I have my “no bicep curl until you can chin-up” rule I can wrap it up into a few bullet points:

1. Standards Simplify Programming

By implementing a few standards or “markers” into the mix, I find it helps to make programming more seamless and transparent.

As an example I have my own rule that no one graduates to the Trap Bar Deadlift until he or she can deadlift the “Beast” (48 kg kettlebell).

I have no smarty aleck explanation as to why, it’s just something I adopted after reading something from strength coach Mike Perry which resonated with me.

There’s no time line on this.

I have some clients who nail it within a session or two. Some take a few weeks. Others take a few months.

Either way it provides some semblance of guidance and direction with programming.

Do this then you can do that.

2. Performance Based Goals Work

Lets be real: most people start working out because they want to look good naked.

There’s no denying the aesthetic bias that drive many of us to the iron.

Whether I’m working with a female or male client for the first time, many will divulge they’d like to “tone up” this area or “tighten up” that area.

Having a pair of muscular arms to show off – especially now that we’re in the summer months here in Boston – is almost always high on someone’s list.

In my 15+ years as a personal trainer and strength coach, though, the limiting factor which prevents most people from attaining a nice pair arms isn’t their lack of bicep curls.

It’s their lack of being strong.

 

If I can nudge trainees towards a performance based goal – which will provide purpose and intent in their training – almost always, the aesthetic changes many covet just kinda sorta happen.13

3. People Are Gonna Perform Curls

Listen, I’m not going to sit here and say programming bicep curls is stupid, because it’s not. I often toss in a bonus “Gun Show” for many of my clients at the end of their session.

That being said, I wasn’t born yesterday.

Why program curls if you know people are going to sneak them in on their own no matter what anyways?….;o)

The Chin-Up Hierarchy

My friend and colleague, Max Shank, brought up a valid point in the conversation:

“Dude I have a rare opportunity to politely disagree with you on something!

Shall we? 

Curls are a functional exercise. They also can help one achieve a faster, better pull up if applied properly. “Endless” would be totally up to application. 

You are silly in a good way, my friend—and your rule is silly in a doesn’t really make sense to me yet kinda way. Maybe this is just the pendulum swinging back from too many curls and kickbacks and no compound moves?”

I can’t disagree with any of that.

“It depends” is always the right answer to any question.14  And, to be candid, I have programmed bicep curls into some client’s programs in an effort to expedite their chin-up prowess.

Oftentimes for the the exact reasons Max outlined above.

But also because bicep curls can help with the “end range” of the chin-up….especially those last 1-2 inches. Moreover, in terms of helping to improve anterior shoulder stability (bicep tendon attaches to the corocoid process), bicep curls can be valuable.

To that end, when it comes to one’s ability to perform their first chin-up (male or female) there’s a hierarchy of sorts I like to follow.

Training chin-ups/pull-ups more frequently will be paramount. This is a point I stole from Artemis Scantalides who’s a HUGE fan of training the chin-up 4-5x PER WEEK.

Mind you, not the “chin-up” chin-up 4-5x per week, but rather all the “stuff” that make up its parts 4-5x per week.

1. Learn the Hollow Position

This is a great way to teach context. Trainees need to learn to appreciate the Hollow Position from the floor before they have any hope in emulating the same position hanging from a chin-up/pull-up bar.

 

What’s more, there are a number of exercises you can perform in the Hollow Position – 1-Arm Presses, DB Flye, for example – that will reinforce full-body tension and transfer very well to the chin-up/pull-up

2. Learn to Use the Scapulae and Lats

 

The biceps ARE in the line-of-pull when it comes to chin-ups/pull-ups, so it’s not uncommon for people to feel them working.

However, it becomes a problem when the biceps the only thing people feel working.

The upper back, scapulae (shoulder blades) in particular, should be where the movement initiates, as well as the lats.

Scapular pull-ups, as demonstrated by strength coach Meghan Callaway above are a fantastic learning tool. That and cueing people to drive their elbows towards the floor when pulling.

3. Confirming, that, in fact, Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthin to Fuck Wit

Because, they’re not.

4. Actual Chin-Up Variations (Hanging From a Chin-Up/Pull-Up Bar)

  • Chin-ups with accommodating assistance (band assisted)
  • Eccentric Chin-Ups (emphasizing the lowering portion)
  • Flexed-Arm Hangs
  • Straight Arm Hangs
  • Straight Leg or Bent Knee Raises

5. Accessory Movements

Movements/exercises that very closely resemble chin-ups/pull-ups and/or target the same muscle groups:

  • Rack Pull-Ups

 

  • TRX Progressions

Starting with regular ol’ Inverted Row variations to something more along the lines as this:

 

  • Seated Lat Pulldowns – various grips
  • Any rowing variation – Seated Rows, Chest Supported Rows, DB Rows, literally, anything.
  • Rollout variations – Stability Ball, Ab Wheel, etc

6. Bicep Curls

Get some.

Wrapping Up

I am not anti-bicep curl.

I am not anti-bicep curl as part of a program to help someone achieve their first chin-up (or to perform more chin-ups).

I’m just anti-bicep curl when I know I have a limited amount of time with someone.

CategoriesCorrective Exercise Program Design

2 Drills For Easy Access to Shoulder Health

Anyone who’s spent any significant time in the weight room knows how vulnerable the shoulders are to injury.

This isn’t to downplay other areas of the body prone to nefariousness like the lower back or knees. Let’s be clear: those deserve some shade thrown their way too.

Rather, it’s just to point out that, for lack of a better term, trying to train around or even fix a pissed off shoulder sucks donkey balls.

It can be tricky and there are a lot of factors to consider: Exercise selection, exercise technique, posture, access to appropriate scapular motion (upward vs. downward rotation), soft tissue considerations, and breathing patterns to name a few.

Copyright: staras / 123RF Stock Photo

Taking all of the above into consideration is a good thing, and I applaud those coaches and trainers who go out of their way to peel back the onion as much as their expertise and experience allows in order to get at the crux of the issue.

I do find, though, that sometimes, not always, we get a little too cute or rabbitholey with our approach to shoulder health.

  • Coach A will tell one individual that their shoulder hurts because their left big toe lacks dorsiflexion.
  • Coach B tells them it’s because their Posterior Mediastinum is shutting off their diaphragm.
  • Coach C says “nope, your shoulder hurts because you’re not back squatting enough.”
  • And Coach D, well, he’ll say something really asinine like, “I think it’s because you’re wearing purple. This makes your shoulder sad.”

And yes, while I am being a tad facetious here, I don’t feel I’m coming entirely out of left field. I’ve heard some doozies from past and current clients about what they were told was the impetus behind their shoulder woes.

Moreover, as a result, many clients and trainers alike tend to fall under the same trap….

….OverCorrectiveExerciseitis

This falls under two camps:

Camp 1: Trainer gives or person is handed a laundry list of “corrective exercises” that take 327 days to complete.

Camp 2: Trainer prescribes or person is told to perform redundant, borderline stupid exercises.

Stop OverCorrectiveExerciseitis

All of this isn’t to say I’m anti “corrective exercise” or that it should be avoided altogether. There’s a time and place for just about everything15, and sometimes people do need a little bit more TLC to improve motor control, activation, and/or positioning.

PSA: Doing stuff correctly can be corrective. Avoiding excessive anterior humeral glide during push-ups or rows can be a game changer for shoulder health.

However, Dr. Quinn Henoch brought up a valid point when I listened to him speak a few months ago with respects to corrective exercise.

Maybe the real fix for most trainees is something as simple as adjusting their training volume.

Maybe they’re doing too much of one thing or too little of another?

via GIPHY

Which brings me back to shoulder ouchies.

Generally speaking, when someone’s shoulder hurts I find most need less bench pressing and more posterior cuff and upper back strength in addition to a healthy dose of scapular stability.

Instead of boring them to tears with warm-up drills they’re likely not going to do on their own anyways, I prefer to include the bulk of the “correctivy” stuff IN THEIR ACTUAL PROGRAM.

That way they just think it’s business as usual and I come across as a straight up boss for helping them cure their shoulder woes.

On Bench Pressing:

There’s lots more to say here, and this will likely make for a good blog post in the future,  but in the interim the Tweet below sums things up succinctly:

On “Correctivey” Stuff

Below are two drills I like to use as fillers that can be performed after sets of squats, deadlifts, and even bench presses. It’s a foolproof way to add more volume to something they’re probably not doing enough of anyways.

It’ll look something like this:

A1. Deadlift/Squat/Bench Pressing/Not Kipping Pull-Ups
A2. Filler (<— correctivy stuff that people just think is part of their program so they actually do it. Hahahahahahahaha. Jokes on them).

1. Band Reverse Flye Walkout

 

This is a drill I picked up from Jim “Smitty” Smith of Diesel Strength & Conditioning.

As you walk back you need to resist the pull of the band, which torches the rhomboids, muscles of posterior cuff, and scap stabilizers. Be careful you don’t “shrug” throughout, you want to keep shoulder blades depressed and together.

NOTE: 118% more effective if you yell “this….is….Sparta” as you perform your set.

I like to have my clients perform anywhere from 5-10 reps per set.

2. Racked ISO Shoulder Holds

This is another drill I stole from someone smarter than myself, this time a Doctor: Dr. Ryan DeBell of The Movement Fix.

 

I’ll usually start with 10 second holds at each position per set and ramp up to 20-30s holds per set for my clients (depending on how sadistic I feel).

I’ve seen some very big individuals succumb to this drill. It’s very humbling.

That’s It

Pepper these two drills into your workouts or that of your clients/athletes more sporadically. I’m certain everyone’s shoulders will start feeling better.

Do it.

DO IT.