CategoriesExercise Technique Program Design

New Warm-Up: Keiser Flow

Today’s guest post is brought to you by Boston University Assistant Strength and Conditioning coach, Jill Zeller.

I started training and making cameo appearances at BU two or so years ago when one my good friends, Dave Rak, was a GA there. He left (now a S&C coach at University of Washington), and the staff at BU were nice enough to let me continue to stop by. I’m sort of like that character Milton from the movie Office Space who just continues to show up to work despite technically no longer being an employee.

Without the stapler fetish of course.

Nonetheless, it’s a beautiful facility and the staff is fantastic.

As it happens, Jill and I were discussing “flow” warm-ups recently and she had a nice idea on how to incorporate a Keiser system into the mix. I asked her if she’d be interested in writing about it, and this is what she came up with.

Enjoy!

PS: if you don’t have access to a Keiser system, no worries! You can just as easily use a standard pulley system.

In the last few years many coaches have been discussing developmental patterns that challenge people to breathe and crawl to increase their movement quality. The term Flow has been used by many strength coaches to describe a series of drills that effortlessly seem to blend together while constantly challenging the athlete to stabilize and mobilize.

Note from TG: Fun, random Tony fact (and my apologies to Jill for highjacking her article). When Lisa and I first started dating she had mentioned that one of her favorite books was Flow, written by renowned psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. 

In it he describes the “optimal experience,” and that what makes an experience genuinely satisfying is the state of consciousness called…….flow.

During this state, Dr. Csikrerweufushjahkswqoiojfsyi describes people as typically experiencing deep enjoyment, creativity, and a total involvement with life.

Examples include people who enjoy cooking, gardening, tinkering with their car, or for the more geeky of us, engaging in a full blown Magic the Gathering marathon. Whatever the case may be, we’re in it…with laser like focus.

The day after our first date, I bought the book as a way to prove to Lisa “see? I was listening!! I like you so much that I bought your favorite book from Dr. Whateverhisnameis. We should totally make out!”

Um, yeah, that book is still sitting on my bookshelf unopened. Someday I’ll crack it open and give it a go.

This FLOW warm-up follows the ground up approach incorporating an upper body push, pull, core and lower body squat and hinge pattern.

The Ground-Up Approach

Starts with some form of diaphragmatic breathing because this is the number one pillar you need to master before any other movement. Once you can exhale longer than you inhale, push your rib cage down towards your hips and engage your pelvic floor, you can begin.

Photo Credit: Supremedalekdunn

The first movement is a dead bug, which we all know Tony is obsessed with. It’s actually kind of creepy.

This is a supine core exercise. We start supine because if you cannot master your lumbo pelvic position supine you have no business moving into quadruped, half kneel or any other positions against gravity that offer a lesser base of support. Do 10 reps each side.

Note from TG: this ground-up approach highlights the SFMA’s 4×4 Matrix and serves as an excellent framework for customizing corrective exercise as well as programming considerations in general.

For example a 1-1 would be a supine glute bridge with a band wrapped around the knees (for proprioceptive feedback). A 4-4 would be something like a traditional squat or deadlift.

While rules are always meant to be broken, when you’re dealing with clients or athletes who exhibit stability/motor control dysfunction, the 4×4 Matrix acts as a foundation for addressing things through progressive postures, loads, and reflex activation.

NOTE: full video demonstration ALL the moves below.

From supine we have a smooth transition into the next core drill….Side Plank Row.

This is anti-lateral flexion exercise compounded with a one-arm horizontal pull. This is stability, mobility and strength in one exercise. The whole kinetic chain is working as you stabilize your core and row with your top hand using your rotator cuff muscles and rhomboids. Repeat 10 each side.

We progress into the quadruped position for Bird Dogs.

Bird dogs are a level harder than a dead bug because they challenge the base of support through your anti-rotary muscles and lumbar stabilizers. Repeat 10 on each side with a one second pause at end range without any lumbar movement. (Ladies: Make sure you’re far enough from the keiser that your pony tail doesn’t get caught in it..Just saying).

In the tall kneel position we transition to doing a One-Arm T with a Press. The tall kneeling position challenges our lumbo-pelvic position. The T forces us to have proper scapula stability and abduction. After abduction we add another horizontal press for an extra anti-rotary component.

Do 10 each side.

From a tall kneeling position we narrow the base of support to come into a ½ kneel position or an in-line position. To reiterate, it’s important to be cognizant of where our diaphragm and pelvis are in this position. Are we locked in?

Here we perform an anti-rotational press, the Pallof Press. Do 10/side.

We are finally approaching a standing position.

Hold the keiser handle at belly button height and have the athlete squat. By holding the keiser distal from your body you’re slightly pulling your thoracic position into flexion so you have to use your core stabilizers to maintain proper spinal alignment through a squat pattern.

Do 10 Core Engaged Keiser Squats.

The last exercise is a Single Leg Deadlift to Row. This teaches the hip hinge in a unilateral fashion. It’s a great regression when teaching an SLDL because the tension on the keiser allows you so sit back into the hip on the ground while extend and slightly internally rotate the hip moving through the sagittal plane. At the top we row to exaggerate hip extension upper body pulling.

The objective of this warm up is to go through many movement progressions within one seamless action. I.e., flow.

Athletes can appreciate the difficulty of each movement tier but still see the final outcome. (A standing position).

Lets See the Whole Thing in Action!

Repeat this twice and you have completed numerous core exercises, two upper body pulls, two upper body presses, one unilateral, one bilateral, a squat pattern, and a one leg hip hinge pattern in about 5-10 minutes.

You’ll definitely break a sweat and be more prepared for your subsequent training session. Plus, it serves as a nice change of pace and breaks up the monotony of most warm-ups. Give it a try today and let me know what you think in the comments section!

About the Author

Jill Zeller is an Assistant Strength and Conditioning coach at Boston University as well as one of the Head Strength and Conditioning coaches at Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning.

She loves to deadlift. And give high-fives.

You can check out Jill’s Facebook page HERE, and follow her on Twitter HERE.

CategoriesCorrective Exercise Rehab/Prehab

Add Some “Flow” to Your Warm-Up

I could easily pull a fast one and just tell everyone to start playing some Tribe Called Quest or Nas during their warm-ups and call it day.

Done, you just added some flow.

But I feel that would do nothing but yield a bunch of weird looks and not really give me much “cred” as far as training advice is concerned.

My musical taste would be on point though.

Can I kick it?

Yes You Can!

After perusing a few videos from the likes of Dean Somerset, Max Shank, and Louie Guarino – and there are a litany of others – lately I’ve been toying around with more “flow” based warm-ups prior to my training sessions.

So, rather than performing the standard A (glute bridge) t0 B (ankle mobility drill) to C (T-spine mobiity) to D (forearm wall slide) to E (lunge pattern) to F (smashing my face into a cinder block from boredom) warm-up, I’ve been “flowing.”

Like This

And yes people, that is ERIC freakin CRESSEY (and Tank) doing what they do best…..videobombing me walking around in the background. Kudos to Eric for the commentary in the background too…..haha.

We like to keep things professional at the facility….;o)

This is a drill that really opens up the hips and is A LOT harder to do than it looks.  Starting off, I’ll do 2-4 passes of rocking side to side working on hip internal-external rotation.

From there I’ll come up onto my knees working into terminal hip extension.  I’ll also perform 2-4 passes on each side here as well.

Of Note:  be careful not to hyperextend through the lower back here.  Those with limited hip extension will tend to compensate with lumbar extension.

Then I’ll transition up onto my feet and work in a squat pattern, performing 2-4 passes on each side again.

I really like the seamless transition and positioning of the body and feel there’s a lot more carryover to everyday movement.

Don’t get me wrong:  for most people performing a more traditional warm-up that targets problematic areas is ideal.  But for those looking to step up their game, following more “flow” based warm-ups might be a nice change of pace.

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

CategoriesProgram Design Rehab/Prehab

Steps You Can’t Afford to Skip: The Warm-Up

Yes, this is an article on warming up (both the pre-lift ritual as well as how to warm-up for your main lift of the day).

Yes, most people are going to read the title and subconsciously yawn.

Yes, these are the same people (athletes included) who tend to get hurt more easily, have more nagging injuries that never seem to resolve, and quite frankly – although not always – are shooting themselves in the foot from a performance standpoint for not taking the ten minutes (tops) it takes to warm-up.

Seriously, we’re talking ten minutes here!

Yes, this is something I feel is important and that most trainees haphazardly gloss over.

And yes, this article includes a Twilight burn. So at least there’s that.

Don’t you roll your eyes at me!  I’ll give you something to roll your eyes about!

Warm-Up Fundamentals (<— Seriously, Don’t Skip It!!!)

CategoriesMotivational Program Design

5 (Simple) Ways To Make Your Workouts More Effective

So we’re what, three weeks into the New Year? As I suspect, most reading this site have made your New Year’s resolutions three weeks ago, and whether it was to try to read more, watch less television, eat less cheese, smile more, put 10% of your paycheck into a savings account, drink more water, eat out less often, introduce a little culture into your life and watch more foreign film (or listen to jazz, or buy Grey Poupon), travel more, floss more, or simply accept the fact that a shirt is required attire when grocery shopping (which is utter BS!), I’m sure many are crushing it and still going strong.

But lets be honest, when it comes to New Year’s resolutions, 90% of them revolve around finally (like, I mean it this time) making a concerted effort to head to the gym on a regular basis and getting into shape.

While many have undoubtedly taken the plunge and dedicated some time and energy to fitness goals, the real coup de gras is sticking to these New Year’s resolutions for more than a month!  Understandably there are many reasons why people don’t stick to their workouts and fitness New Year’s Resolutions.

Some of them are just facts of life, such as time commitments, financial concerns, and lofty expectations, as my friend Mike Reinold noted in a recent post of his. Some of them are just lame as lame can get , such as “oh, American Idol starts tonight!” or ” Dammit, I forgot my gym shoes!” or “I have a hang nail.”

While I’m being a bit facetious in tone, it’s certainly not outside the scope of reality that there are some people out there who are pros at sabotaging their own efforts.

But then again, there are far, far more people who make a resolution to get healthy, purchase their gym membership, iPod, and new white kicks, and stay about as consistent as humanly possibly.

Yet, for some reason, fail to garner the results they’re after.

Many may head to the gym 3-5x per week, for weeks on end, yet fail to see the fruits of their labor.  Before long frustration sets in (why the heck do I ever bother!), and soon they become nothing more than a New Year’s resolution statistic.

While it’s almost impossible to nail down (exactly) what, why, and how someone fails to achieve optimal results in the gym, below are some ideas/thoughts/insights I’d like to throw into the mix for everyone’s consideration:

Supersets (Are You Using Them?)

Simply put, supersets are arguably (but I don’t really see what there’s to argue about) the most efficient way to set up your programming.

For those scratching their heads, all a superset implies is that you pair two exercises – preferably ones that work opposing muscle groups or an upper/lower tandem – together that are performed back-to-back.

So, rather than performing a set of bench presses and then walking around for two minutes twiddling your thumbs, annoying the hot personal trainer you have no shot with, or watching highlights on SportsCenter, you’d pair another exercise like a row variation, lunge variation, or mobility/activation drill. You increase training density, and can use the pairings to bring up weak areas.

Many people waste too much time in the gym by performing straight sets, where they’ll perform a set of an exercise, rest for an allotted amount of time, and repeat.

While there’s definitely a time and place for straight sets, instead try to pair exercises in an A1-A2, B1-B2 format.  By doing so, you’ll get more work done in a shorter amount of time, and burn infinitely more calories in the process.

If you’re still kind of lost on the idea, and need some ideas for exercise pairings, check out THIS post by Eric Cressey, which should turn on a few light bulbs.

Implement Fillers

Pigging back on the point above, adding “fillers” to your program is an awesome way to address imbalances and weaknesses.

Another common mistake I see many trainees make (along with trainers for that matter) is taking too long to warm-up or getting too caught up in “corrective exercise” mode.

Yes, it’s important to active “stuff.”  In fact, I’m often flummoxed that some people still don’t understand the importance of taking themselves through a proper warm-up.  Getting the body and nervous system primed for physical activity is kind of a big deal, and I won’t belabor the point here.  You should be doing it.

But I do feel – at times – people baby themselves.

I’m sorry but if you’re someone who takes 30 minutes to active your left glute, you’re missing the bigger picture here.

To save time I LOVE implementing fillers into my programs.  The idea is to address common “problem areas” by tossing in some low-grade activation/mobility drills during one’s rest intervals.

The key point here is LOW-GRADE.  Performing a set of 400M sprints or Tabata anything IS NOT a filler, and defeats the point. We’re trying to turn stuff on, not train for a cage match.

Instead, if I’m working with someone with poor T-spine mobility I may have them do a set of side lying rib rolls after their bench presses:

If they have poor glute function, I may throw in some glute bridges in between sets of squats:

Or if they’re just one massive knot in general, I may have them perform a Yoga Push-Up complex to work on everything:

Again, the idea here is to keep it simple, address common weaknesses, and not to shit an appendix.

There’s no need to go overboard here.

Don’t Perform Anything Sitting

It’s insane how much people sit during the day.  I’m a fairly active person, and yet I still sit upwards of 4-5 hours a day writing in the morning and driving to and from work.

But that’s peanuts compared to most people.

Many have a rough commute to work, and then have to spend 8-10 hours sitting in front of a computer all day, only to head to the gym and sit even more on the recumbent bike or through various exercises like seated DB press or seated leg extensions or seated whateverthefuck.

Performing the bulk of your exercise standing will not only be more challenging, but it will also force you to engage more muscle groups, which in turn will help you burn more calories, which will probably increase your chances of seeing someone of the opposite sex with their clothes off.  Maybe even with the lights on.

It’s a win-win.

Start With a “Money” Movement (The rest is just details.  Kinda).

When I write my own programs I don’t necessarily take the mindset that Monday is a “leg day” or a “lower body day.”

It’s deadlift day!

Likewise, Tuesday isn’t “chest day,” it’s bench day.

Are you picking up what I’m putting down?  Well good – you should.

Each workout – or to be more appropriate, each training session – should have a main exercise (or focus) of the day.  That’s the what I mean when I refer to a “money movement.”

And for the record, you should put all your heart and soul into that money movement.  When I know it’s a deadlift day, I don’t pussyfoot around.  I’ll get myself mentally prepared by planning out my session, visualizing hitting all my lifts, cueing up some mid-90s hip hop, and either sparta kicking a wall or punching a dolphin in the face.

Whatever gets me amped.

It’s me vs. the bar and that’s really all that matters.

And if I did everything right, and didn’t leave anything in the tank, I’m absolutely trashed afterwards.

Of course I’ll have a list of accessory exercises I’ll perform after the fact, but those are just details and serve just to “compliment” my money movement and to help me bring up my weaknesses.

I truly feel if people placed more of a premium on that money movement, got a little angrier, put every ounce of energy into it, and did more than just putter around on the Cybex circuit, they’d see marked improvements in their progress.

Include More Movement/GPP/Or Whatever You Want To Call Them Days

Know what I can’t stand (other than Ryan Seacrest)?  Are “off days” where people head to the gym only to walk on the treadmill for half an hour.

Listen, I get it:  getting your cardio in and improving your heart health is important. And if it’s something you want to do, than do it.

But if it were me, I’d nice the warm and cuddly cardio sessions and perform more movement based or GPP days into the mix.

Instead of hopping on the elliptical and dying a slow death of boredom, why not get your heart rate up in other ways and actually work on things you need to improve?

If you have access to a Prowler, farmer carry attachements, kettlebells, TRX, and the like, you’re golden.  You can set up some killer circuits and absolutely torch yourself.

Understandably, most of you won’t have access to those things, but that doesn’t mean you’re relegated to treadmill hell.

You can simply set up a circuit like this:

A1. LIGHT Goblet Squats: x10

A2.  3-Point Extension-Rotation: x10/side (thank you Conor Nordengren for the video)

A3. Side Plank w/ Row: x10/arm

A4. Bodyweight Reverse Lunge: x10/leg

A5.  Hand Switches w/ Push-Up: x5/side)

 A6. High FIve Someone

Perform in circuit fashion with as little rest as possible between each exercise.  At the end, rest 30-60s, and repeat for a total of 3-5 rounds.

It’s roughly 10-15 minutes of work (depending on how long you rest and how many rounds you complete), but it will definitely get your heart rate up (and be of more benefit because you’re addressing common weaknesses like poor glute function, core stability, etc), and it’s a heckuva lot more exciting than rotting away in the “cardio” section.

And I’m Done

While I could throw in a few wildcards like getting more (quality) sleep, drinking more water, hiring a reputable coach, or making an effort to train with people who will push you (even if it’s only once per week), I think I stated my case.

Nothing I mentioned above is revolutionary, but I think the above suggestions will go a long ways in helping people take their programs to the next level.  We often think that making things more complicated than they have to be is the way to go, and that couldn’t be further from the truth.

In reality just making an effort to simplify things, or to be more aware of common mistakes we’re making can make all the difference in the world.

CategoriesUncategorized

2012: The Mayans Were Wrong and the “Best Of” In Blog Posts

2012 is about thiiiis close to coming to a close, and since we’re all still here (HA!….take that Mayans!) I thought I’d use the last day and highlight the ten most popular posts of the past year based off of the total number of visits/hits each received.

It was the best year yet for TonyGentilcore.com, and I can’t thank everyone enough for their continued readership, and more importantly, support.

If I could give every single one of a hug I would.  But not only would that be weird, it’s pretty much impossible.  Nevertheless, please know that I am repeatedly grateful to all of you and here’s hoping that 2013 bring us all happiness, love, and PRs!

 

Fixing the “Tuck Under” When Squatting Parts ONE and TWO

Almost resoundingly, by a few thousand visits, this was a very popular two-part post I wrote on how to fix the tuck under or “butt wink” at the bottom of the squat. I guess people like reading about squats!

All the Hype Behind Kipping Pull-Ups

I don’t know which is more controversial: CrossFit, the so-called “fiscal cliff” we’re about to nose dive off of, Hitler, or the three weeks worth of facial hair that’s currently on my grill (which is a record for me).

In any case, whenever you mention CrossFit, you can bet that the sirens are blasted, and people are going to come out in droves to express their opinion.

Here I take a firm (albeit fair) take as to why I’m not a fan of kipping pull-ups.

Glutes Are the New Biceps

Badonkadonks are where it’s at.  Nuff said.

Box Squats vs. Squat TO Box (Yes, There’s a Difference)

This was a topic of a staff in-service that I did where I discussed some of the (several) intricacies that exist between the box squat and the squat TO box.

As the title suggests, yes, there is a difference.

A Discussion: Weight Loss vs. Fat Loss

The impetus behind this post was an email exchange I had with one of my female clients and a discussion we had on the differences between weight loss and fat loss. It’s a topic I feel many people can glue themselves to because we’ve all been there.

The information and logic provides are sound, but if anything else, what’s most impressive of all is my use of the word  flummoxed.  Seriously, gold star for that one!

5 Coaching Cues:  Deadlift 

I heart deadlifts. So it should come as no surprise that one of the 317 articles (slight exaggeration) I wrote on it should pop up in the top ten. Here I breakdown some common (and uncommon) coaching cues that I often use with my athletes and clients to help improve their technique.

The Perfect Warm-Up?

It’s a rhetorical question, because in the grand scheme of things any warm-up is better than no warm-up at all. Although, if I’m going to be a little biased I think this one is pretty money.

4 Things Your Girlfriend Should Know (Revisted)

I got in a little hot water after posting this article earlier in the year.  You would think, after reading some of the comments I received, that I made a case for why women shouldn’t be allowed to vote!

99% of the people “got” the message:  how the fitness industry panders to women is a complete joke, and there’s a massive double standard: men should lift weight, women should take yoga class.

1% actually hate my guts.  Whatever.

A Girlfriend’s Response 

And wouldn’t you know it, my own girlfriend, Lisa,  came to my rescue like a knight in shining armor.

19 Tips for the Deadlift

I told you really, really like the deadlift.

See you next year!

 

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work Uncategorized

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: Zombies!, Pull-Ups, and the best Warm-Up Article EVER

Wait a second – my alarm went off this morning.  I don’t think I’m dreaming.

*looks out window*

Volcanoes aren’t erupting, the streets aren’t flooded with molten lava, and from what I can tell, everything seems business as usual.

The Mayanpocalypsearmeggedonacaust didn’t happen.  We’re all still here!!!!!!

High Five!

But be weary my friends – we’re still not out of the woods yet.  The day is still young, and you never know when s*** is going to hit the fan.

If things do get real, and you’re forced to fight for your life, whether it be killing a grizzly bear with your nunchucks for your next meal, protecting your family from evil doers, or I don’t know, something less “doom and gloom” like clicking “next” whenever your Pandora station plays a Coldplay song……are you prepared?

Are you in enough ass-kicking shape to do what you need to do to get s*** done? Can you – WILL YOU – survive if you had to go all Snake Plissken on people’s asses?

Well just in case, earlier this week my boy, John Romaniello, released his latest training program:

Zombie Apocalypse Survival Workout

I know some reading are going to dismiss this product due to the “less than serious” premise. To that I say:

1.  Relax!  Don’t take yourself so seriously.

AND

2.  There’s actually a legitimate rationale behind it.

John, along with every other well-known fitness professional I know, routinely gets questions asking his opinion on CrossFit (myself included).

It’s a touchy topic to say the least, and something that has caused a rift between strength coaches, personal trainers, and fitness enthusiasts alike.

On one end of the spectrum you have those who swear by it, and literally eat, drink, breath, and LIVE by CrossFit.

On the other, you have those who loathe it, think it’s a fad, and that it’s hopefully going away.  Like, soon.

Well, it’s not going away.  And while I’ll be the first to admit that I too have my qualms with CrossFit, I also understand that it’s getting people excited to exercise, and there’s a lot to be said for that. How can I possibly poo-poo on that?

Like John I feel the idea of CrossFit is sound – it’s just that its execution is flawed.

To his credit John has been attending at least one CrossFit class a week for the past few months to try to get a better understanding and feel for what the culture is like.

And, not surprisingly, he’s mentioned several times that there are great coaches and absolutely terrible coaches.

The great coaches – and by extension, the most successful CF boxes – understand that it comes down to sound programming.  They take the time to properly coach their clients and use appropriate exercise progressions (and more importantly, regressions) to “guide” them through.

By contrast, the terrible coaches – and unfortunately this seems to be the rule rather than the exception – focus solely on the workouts. How can we completely obliterate our athletes/clients and make them hate life?  How can we – fingers crossed! – make them cough up their spleen?

The latter is what I 100% disagree with, and what I feel gives CrossFit its bad rap.

So what did Roman do?  He started taking CrossFit classes to see if he could fix it.

To quote the man himself:

“I thought to myself, “what if you took the idea of CrossFit–the idea of non-
specification,the idea of having a high level of general proficiency across the
board, and applied intelligent programming–with a classic Roman twist–to
that idea…what would you get?”

It’s a good question, and one worth exploring. So that’s what I did.

What I wound up with was the Zombie Apocalypse Survival Workout. 

Because really, when you strip away the fun and silliness, that’s what ZAW 
really is: my take on CrossFit. It’s CrossFit, Roman style, with all of the issues 
with programming fixed.”

Fittingly, today is the last day of the sale, so if you’re interested you better hurry.  The walking dead could be right around the corner……;o)

6 Coaches Weigh in on Pull-Ups – 6 Coaches, Duh!

Along with Bret Contreras, Ben Bruno, Dean Somerset, Tim Henriques, and Dan Trink, I was asked to contribute to this awesome pull-up article that was put up on T-Nation yesterday.

If we were a boy band, we’d totally be the most diesel boy band ever.

I’d be the shy one.

Warm-Up – Mike Robertson

The title says it all.

I wrote a blog post a while back titled The Perfect Warm-Up?  It was nothing revolutionary, but it cemented my thoughts on what I felt the purpose of a proper warm-up is, and then I offered a different spin on it.

Well, in THIS article – which should be titled The FOR REAL Perfect Warm-Up – Mike breaks everything down from what the warm-up should accomplish for each segment of the body to providing videos of all of his favorite drills.  This is a MUST read.