I had to take a break from The Fitness Summit last year for two reasons:
1. Whenever I go I always eat way too many cookies.[Props to Dave & Nick Bromberg’s mom.[/efn_note]
2. But mostly because I succeeded in making a baby and my wife would have tossed me so much shade if I was all like “Hey Babe, going to KC for three days. Toodles.”
Well this year I’m back and excited to take part in a Fitness Summit first. Dean Somerset and I will be putting on a Pre-Conference day where we’ll spend a few hours test driving some new material as a follow-up to our Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint.
Tentatively titled The More Completer Hip & Shoulder Blueprint.
We’ll be taking deep dive into squat and deadlift technique: discussing ankle, foot, hip and upper extremity considerations in conjunction with regressions/progressions and programming. Whether you’re a coach or just someone who likes to lift heavy things you’ll undoubtedly learn something.
And if not, cool, you still get to hang out with us for a few hours.
Registration is now open for returning and new attendees.
I’m excited to announce that both myself and my wife, Dr. Lisa Lewis, will be presenting at the inaugural Spurling Spring Seminar at Spurling Fitness in Kennebunk, ME in a few months.
If you live in New England and you’re a fitness professional you won’t want to miss it. Early bird special is currently in effect.
Whenever Dean and I present together one of the major messages we try to smack people across the face with is the idea of symmetry and how we need to stop obsessing over it.
This was really neat to watch John Rusin take Dave Tate through a movement screen. The video spliced in at the 13:00 mark made me laugh hysterically.
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I find some of my clients are hard on themselves when they have an “off” day in the gym. I remind them it’s normal and nothing to worry about. Get your reps in, even if it’s with less weight, and come back tomorrow. Being consistent is more important.
NOTE:This post is a bit of a face-lift from a similar post I wrote last year.
I’ve noticed a growing trend in recent months in the fitness community and it’s something that’s been grinding my gears.1
It seems it’s become trendy or a “thing” for some (not all) people to bash certain exercises – specifically, from a more general standpoint, lifting appreciable weight – due to the stress it can cause. I’ve been noticing this trend a lot in the comments section of this site and in the comment sections of other training forums I frequent. It’s certainly not at pandemic levels or anything, but it’s happening enough where I felt compelled to get a little ranty today.
“Don’t do this exercise because it’ll stress your knees.”
“It’s probably best to avoid lifting heavy weights because it’ll stress your joints and back.”
“You shouldn’t do “x” or “y” because it’ll cause too much stress.”
Blah, blah. blabbidy, blah, blah.
Now, let me preface everything by saying I understand it’s not everyone’s goal to get strong(er), hoist barbells and dumbbells every which way, and/or, I don’t know, make people clench their sphincters when they watch you bench press.
It’s not everyone’s bag, and that’s cool.
Likewise, any conversation of this magnitude should come with the assumption that whatever exercise or modality we’re referring to – squats, overhead pressing, juggling chainsaws – is, in fact, an appropriate fit for someone based off their goals, ability level, taking into account their current/past injury history, and individual anthropometry.
Moreover, we can make the case for any exercise having an inherent risk, if not tinkering on the edge of dangerous, if it over-steps someone’s ability level, is performed incorrectly, and/or is done with too much volume.
A newbie performing conventional deadlifts on Day #1 probably won’t be a good fit.
A heavy back squat performed with an excessively rounded back = stop blaming the exercise and fix your technique, Sherlock.
Even if someone has immaculate dynamic control of their rotator cuff, spends time addressing soft-tissue quality, and also stays on top of their ability to upwardly rotate their scapulae, even if they do all of that (which is saying a lot), the acromion space will always narrow when you overhead press. Doing too much of it (volume) can still cause shoulder issues.2
That said, it’s not lost on me there’s a heavy bias on my end given I’m a strength coach. I like getting people strong. It’s what I do and it’s what I’m about.
Well, that, and crushing ice-cream.
And still trying to figure out why Carrie broke up with Aidan in Season 4 of Sex and the City.3
I have rarely found anything negative that results from getting someone stronger; whether we’re referring to helping an athlete perform better in his or her’s respective sport, helping a grandmother be able to carry her own groceries, or helping anyone be less fragile.
Everyday life is filled with trials, tribulations, tripping over Legos on the carpet, and general levels of shitstormery. What harm can come from getting stronger and to be better equipped and prepared for it?
Yet, time and time again I witness people’s backlash towards strength training – or any sense of straining – by using the excuse “it’s too much risk at stressing the body.”
Ummmmmm.
The point of exercise, and more specifically, lifting weights, is to stress the body.
Strain, effort, and yes, even some level of discomfort is warranted, nay, needed, in order to make the body more resilient and ready for sport AND life.
I’m not making this stuff up either.
There are laws (meaning, proven, undeniable facts backed by science) to back me up:
BOOM
Wolff’s Law – States that bone in a healthy person or animal will adapt to the loads under which it is placed.
As a corollary to Wolff’s Law there’s also the term known as Minimal Essential Strain (MES) which also states there’s a threshold (strain) that must be reached and repeated often enough to signal to the osteoblasts to travel to the area of strain and lay down collagen to increase the strength of the bone.
Davis’s Law – Describes how soft tissue models along imposed demands.
I-Just-Threw-My-Face-Into-a-Brick-Wall-Because-I-Became-Dumber-For-Having-Listened-To-What-You-Just-Said Law – Describes the spontaneous reaction that results when someone says something stupid.4
We can’t always live in a bubble or “safe space” filled with non-threatening exercise, pink dumbbells, and Adele radio playing on Pandora.
It behooves us to teeter with end-ranges of motion and to sometimes tinker with someone’s ability to just do more.
Lets take the squat.
A common argument against it – again, for some, not everyone – is that it should be avoided because it stresses the knees.
Well, when done incorrectly I’d agree.
There’s much that can go awry with the squat.
However, some trainers/coaches take it to delicate flower levels that I can’t begin to comprehend. To the point where, if there’s any deviation from perfect, they’ll start hyperventilating into a paper bag and shut the set down faster than you can say “When’s Season 3 of Stranger Things coming out?”
Sometimes you have to let people figure things out for themselves and stop over-coaching.
The knees caving in isn’t always bad.
“Caving” to neutral is a lot different than actually falling into knee valgus.
Don’t be so quick to pump the brakes on people.
Hell, the point of someone going to physical therapy is to do something physical. Those therapists who tend to get the best and most efficient results tend to be those that include strength & conditioning to compliment the clinical side of the equation.
If you’ve done your job as a coach and properly progressed your clients/athletes it’s okay to allow them to deviate from perfect. It’ll help them in the long run.
I’d make the case it’s beneficial to allow people to experience compromising positions anyways. That way they’ll know how to get out of them if or when they happen again (and they will).
It’s imperative to make the body do more work in order to adapt and make progress. To steal a quote from Nick Tumminello:
“It’s all about creating STRESS (to stimulate adaption) W/O DISTRESS (that exceeds one’s tolerance and causes injury).”
In today’s day and age being a personal trainer runs somewhere in the spectrum of one of the most rewarding careers out there and a dumpster fire.
The latter comes into play often, especially when you work in a large commercial gym where you’re one of dozens of trainers vying for everyone’s attention (and wallets). It’s seemingly become harder to separate yourself from the masses, and when you compound that with the long hours and the massive trepidation from many trainers to understand the business side of the equation, it’s no wonder the burnout rate is so high.
In today’s excellent guest post Michael Anderson he explains why keeping the clients you do have may be the “x” factor.
This is sort of a weird post to write for me because I’m specifically speaking to the coaches and trainers that read Tony’s blog rather than the average Joe or Jane who just likes training and wants to be awesome.
It’s also weird because I don’t often talk about the business side of this industry…mainly because I’m a WAY better trainer than businessman.
Today’s lesson is one I learned probably 7-8 years ago and it should help anyone who heeds this advice make more money: retain your clients.
I don’t mean tie them up and keep them in the yoga studio, I mean make sure that once you get a client you’re keeping them for the long haul.
Many moons ago I was a personal trainer at a fairly upscale privately owned globo gym in Boston. Per the usual for a commercial gym like that they constantly pushed the trainers to sign new trainees up for sessions. The owners and manager went to great lengths to keep increasing new sign-ups. We offered two free sessions when you signed up for a year membership, several times a year we offered a special deal where you could buy three sessions for $99 and they started to give bonus incentives to trainers who signed up new clients for X amount of sessions.
The only problem was that this ultimately didn’t make anyone any money; neither the trainers nor the gym itself.
The two free sessions would work well if you had a really polished approach, but it took a long time to get comfortable with it. The sessions that we put on sale were a waste of time and effort; the “sales hunters” would wait until these were available and then buy a few of them with no intention of training beyond the length of those packages.
They’d do a few sessions and get some new ideas and then work out on their own until the sale became available again. As the trainer conducting these sessions, you were doomed to fail.
These people almost never wanted to continue as a regular client.
Providing a financial bonus to the trainers when you signed up a new client created a system where people were more interested in selling packages to get the extra money short-term than they were in building a solid long-term client base.
The result of this was that there were a lot of gym members who did a few sessions with trainers who were just trying to get paid vs enjoying quality sessions. Ultimately these people would now be harder to convince to use our training services again.
Why Long Term Is Better
As a personal trainer it is going to benefit you dramatically in the long term to have clients that come back to you month after month, year after year.
During my five year stint training at that gym, I had 8-10 clients who would train with me multiple times per week and that core group lasted for 2-5 years.
Most of these clients would purchase our largest package of sessions (52) which was sold as the “annual package” and resulted in the cheapest per session cost; my clients were going through 2-3 of them a year!
Out of about 35 available training hours per week, my schedule typically contained about 20-25 hours of long-term clients. The rest of my schedule was usually filled in with new members who were using their two free sessions. My conversion rate with these was pretty good, so my goal was to get them interested in training regularly and then I would pass them off to other trainers who had more availability or were just starting out.
I hate suggesting this, but its important thing to remember from time to time: your clients are your business and each one represents money to you.
In the grand scheme of things you will make more money having 3-5 people train 2-3 times a week each for multiple years than chasing new clients every month so you can get the bonus.
I’ve heard a general rule when it comes to business marketing that it takes 5-10 times as much money to obtain a new customer as it does to retain an old one. In the personal trainer world this means it takes you more time talking to people on the gym floor, more time emailing and cold calling and more time doing intro sessions that I’ve always found to be much more draining and intensive than someone you’ve been working with for a while.
If you’ve ever had a day where you do 3-4 first time sessions with someone then you know what I’m talking about. Now, I’m not suggesting you should be opposed to doing all of those office-work things, but I feel like many of you would agree with me that it’s more fun to be in the gym coaching than it is to be sitting at a computer send out the same annoying email over and over.
The other benefit is that when you work with someone for a long time and they really trust and appreciate you they will do the marketing for you.
These clients will tell other gym members and friends about how much they enjoy working with you. If you read Pete Dupuis’ blog (and you should) then you’d know that word of mouth advertising is the One Ring of fitness business advertising….it rules them all.
These referrals almost always produce a stronger client relationship than someone who just walks into the gym and says “yea I guess I’ll try a session with you”. If a person you’ve been working with for 18 months can produce one or two more people who will work with you for 18 months each, you’re doing really well.
But, How?
Unfortunately this is where I tell you that there is no secret formula to creating and retaining a good client base.
I think Tony’s blog in general is filled with great advice that will help you succeed in this regard; I know that it helped me tremendously back in the day when I was figuring this shit out (and still today). Other than that you just have to work hard and refine your technique.
It also really helps if people like you. No one likes working with a dick.
Make sure you take care of your current clients first.
Much like exercise, make sure you master the basics of good customer service first: be on time, don’t smell like hot ass, don’t let them see you pick a booger at the front desk, don’t complain about your personal problems during a session, don’t allow their time slot to get compromised because you’re a shitty scheduler, and ensure that you’re doing your part to help them meet their goals.
Personal training is both a soft science and an art form. You have to do what you know is right to help them achieve a goal, but you also have to relent a little on some stuff. If a client hates push-ups and you keep forcing push-ups on them, they will just say “F it” and not come back.
You’ve got to develop a broad enough range of methods and approaches that you can meet any client where they are and create an enjoyable training experience.
As a current small business owner, I’ve seen this scenario play out even more substantially than it did when I worked at a globo gym.
I don’t have the capital to spend on any advertising and showing up at high school sporting events to hand out business cards isn’t a great use of my time. It has become even more important that I focus on keeping the clients I have and slowly adding to my roster through word of mouth referrals.
While getting new clients in the door is important, I’d be a fool to not first take the best care of the people currently coming to train with me. Do right by those you train now and build on that slowly.
If you have any questions please feel free to reach out!
About the Author
Mike is a personal trainer and strength coach living in Cleveland with his fiance and adorable pit bull. He is the owner of Anderson Strength and Fitness, the strength coach for Healthy Green Athlete and is an all around badass dude. You can follow him on Instagram @AndersonStrengthFitness or shoot him an email at [email protected].
I had to take a break from The Fitness Summit last year for two reasons:
1. Eating way too many cookies.
2. But mostly because I succeeded in making a baby and my wife would have tossed me so much shade if I was all like “Hey Babe, going to KC for three days. Toodles.”
Well this year I’m back and excited to take part in a Fitness Summit first. Dean Somerset and I will be putting on a Pre-Conference day where we’ll spend a few hours test driving some new material as a follow-up to our Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint.
Tentatively titled The More Completer Hip & Shoulder Blueprint.
We’ll be taking deep dive into squat and deadlift technique: discussing ankle, foot, hip and upper extremity considerations in conjunction with regressions/progressions and programming. Whether you’re a coach or just someone who likes to lift heavy things you’ll undoubtedly learn something. And if not, cool, you still get to hang out with us for a few hours.
Registration is now open for returning and new attendees. Come experience one of the best fitness events of the year.
I’m excited to announce that both myself and my wife, Dr. Lisa Lewis, will be presenting at the inaugural Spurling Spring Seminar at Spurling Fitness in Kennebunk, ME in a few months.
If you live in New England and you’re a fitness professional you won’t want to miss it. Early bird special is currently in effect.
Having the ability to differentiate between what you think should be happening and what actually is happening is often what separates the good coaches from the excellent ones.
As a self-described Diet Coke fan I approve this message.
Thanks TC!
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General Rule: For optimal performance you want to “pin” shoulder blades together and down (think: bench press). For optimal health you want the shoulder blades to MOVE (think: push-ups). Protraction/reaching is kind of a big deal.
Many people spend an inordinate amount of their time in a ball of flexion that having “access” to requisite amounts of t-spine extension is a commodity it today’s day and age.
What’s more, many of the drills and exercises prescribed to people in order to gain that extension is so poorly executed or altogether the wrong fit that it’s not uncommon for some people to spend years chasing their tail.
Take for example the plain ol’ vanilla t-spine extension off the foam roller.
It’s a great exercise, and a simple one, when done right.
Thing is: many people do it wrong, which I explain in THIS article from last year.
In the same light, I want to highlight a similar drill I came across recently that I really like and have been implementing with my own clients.
What Does It Do? – Allows to “lock” people in position to get movement from the area we actually wan to get movement from.
The T-spine isn’t really supposed to extend that much; to the point where it emulates the picture shown above. In that scenario said person is allowing the rectus to lengthen too much – resulting in excessive rib flair – and gleaning motion from the lumbar spine.
The Anchored T-Spine Extension tries to eliminate all of that.
Key Coaching Cues – First, it’s important to “clear” people for adequate shoulder flexion. If they’re unable to extend their arms overhead without compensating through RA, lumbar spine, or even via excessive elbow flexion, then this won’t be a good fit for them.
Second, I like to tell people to picture an imaginary line from their belly-button to nipple line, and that as they lower their hips that that line shouldn’t lengthen too much.
In effect, much like the regular t-spine extension drill off a foam roller most are accustomed to, when done right, most will be very surprised at how little motion there actually is with this drill.
But that’s the thing: This is not a ROM drill per se. It’s a getting motion from the right area(s) drill.
I like to use this drill as a catch-all warm-up drill. It’s relevant for any upper body work that requires scapular retraction, depression, or even upward rotation, as well as any lower body work that requires someone to maintain an upright/extended torso.
It can also be used as a filler exercise during rest sets.
Straight sets, pyramid sets, drop sets, cluster sets…
…it can all be rather confusing to the newbie lifter, or even seasoned veteran. How many sets should you do? What exercises are the best fit? What about rest? Is it normal to not feel the right side of your face?
All are pertinent questions and with today’s guest post Dallas based personal trainer, Shane McLean, helps to clear the air.
When I first started lifting, I had no idea about all the different types of sets.
When I went to the gym, I would saunter over to the dumbbell rack and bust open my biceps with some curls.
And when I did curls, I did them it front of the mirror and the whole gym knew about it.
However, my biceps remained small and so did I.
That’s until I started learning about all the set schemes that exist in the iron universe. Like most boys when they started out lifting weights, I did the workouts from muscle magazines hoping that it would make me look like the guys on the cover.
That didn’t work out at all but, it was the first time I heard about pairing sets together, known as supersets. You mean you could pair exercises together, increase training efficiency and build muscle all at the same time?
My mind was blown.
This led me further down the rabbit hole of all the different set methods which in turn led me to be armed with a coffee cup, a clip board, a stopwatch and telling people what to do with a dumbbell while wearing comfortable pants.
Yes, that’s right I’m a Personal Trainer.
Now you can benefit from my 25 years in the iron game, with eight of those years writing programs for people that get results.
Read on and learn things.
NOTE: These are guidelines and there will be exceptions to the information presented here.
1) Straight Sets
What Are They? – Doing just the one exercise for one or multiple sets with rest in between sets
The Best Use For Straight Sets? – They’re often used for barbell exercises like deadlifts, squats, presses and rows. All your energy is focused on getting stronger with that one move.
Types of Exercises That Straight Sets Work Best For? – Compound barbell/dumbbell like those discussed above.
How Many of Sets Should You Do?– It depends on how many reps in each set. More reps mean less sets and less reps mean more sets. Another factor is load. The closer you are to your one rep max, you’ll do less reps more sets and vise versa.
For example- 3 sets – 3 reps 90% 1 rep max. Or 4 sets of 5 reps 83% 1 rep max.
How Much Rest Between Sets?– usually 2-3 minutes rest between sets.
2) Supersets
What Are They?– Is one set of an exercise is performed directly after a set of a different exercise with minimal rest in between them.
The Best Use For Supersets?– They’re ideal for building muscle, fat loss and for those who have a limited amount of time to train.
Types of Exercises Supersets Work Best For?– Really anything goes here. Barbell, dumbbells, kettlebell, bodyweight, resistance bands and machine exercises all work. You can use compound (exercising multiple muscles groups) or isolation (single muscle) exercises.
Different Types of Supersets
1. Compound supersets, when both exercises work a similar body part.
For example:
1A. Squat
1B. Lunge
2. Non-competing supersets, pairing a lower body exercise with an upper body exercise.
For example:
1A. Squat
1B. Dumbbell bench press
3. Isolation/compound supersets which you pair a single joint exercise with a compound movement or vise versa.
For example:
1A. Triceps extension variation
1B. Barbell bench press
How Many of Sets Should You Do? – Anywhere from 2- 5 sets (depending on how much time you have to train) and repetitions can range from anywhere between 6- 15 reps per set.
How Much Rest Between Supersets? – Limited rest between the exercises themselves and anywhere between 60-120 sec rest between supersets.
3) Tri-Sets
What Are They? – Doing 3 different exercises back to back to back.
The Best Use For Tri-Sets?– They are ideal for fat loss, muscle building and for people who want maximum training efficiency.
Types of Exercises Tri-Sets Work Best For?– Really anything goes here also. Barbell, dumbbells, kettlebell, bodyweight, resistance bands and machine exercises all work. Furthermore, having all the equipment close to you will cut down on transition time between exercises.
Different Types of Tri-Sets
You can use them to bring up a lagging body part.
For example, shoulders:
1A. Single arm shoulder press
1B. Lateral shoulder raises
1C. Reverse fly
Or mobility tri sets to help improve your movement.
For example, hip mobility exercise for the squat:
1A. Goblet squat
1B. Push up
1C. Half kneeling hip flexor stretch
Or when pushed for time you can combine strength and cardio exercises to get the best of both worlds.
For example:
1A. Leg exercise
1B. Upper body exercise
1C. Cardiovascular exercise 30- 60 seconds
How Many of Sets Should You Do? – Usually 3- 4 sets and anywhere between 6- 15 reps per exercise.
How Much Rest? – Limited rest between the exercises and 90-120 seconds rest after each tri-set.
4) Timed Sets
What Are They?– Doing an exercise for certain amount of time or completing the programmed reps in a certain amount of time.
The Best Use For Timed Sets?– They can be used for building muscle but they’re excellent for incinerating body fat.
Types of Exercises Timed Sets Work Best For?– Any piece of equipment that allows for an easy transition between exercises is a winner. For example, barbell, dumbbell, bodyweight, kettlebell and resistance bands.
Different Types of Timed Sets
Every minute on the minute sets where you complete a certain amount of reps and then rest the reminder of the minute before moving on to the next exercise.
For example:
1A. Goblet squat- 8 reps
1B. Row- 8 reps
1C. Goblet reverse lunge- 8 reps on each leg
1D. Chest press- 8 reps
1E. Biceps curls – 8 reps
Or you can scrape the reps and it’s just you versus the stopwatch where you try to do as many reps as possible in a pre-determined timeframe. For example, a full body circuit using bodyweight, barbells and dumbbells.
1B. Push variation- Incline push up, Push up or Dumbbell bench press.
1C. Single leg exercise- Reverse lunge, Forward lunge or Side lunge
1D. Pull variation- Rack pull, Dumbbell bent over row or Standing cable row.
1E. Core- Alternating side plank, Mountain climbers or Front plank.
How Many of Rounds Should You Do? – It depends how long you’ve got to train. Using the above examples, these circuits takes 5 min to complete so 3- 5 rounds would suffice.
How Much Rest?– You rest when you’re done.
5) Ladder Sets
What Are They? – One big superset when you compete the reps of both exercises in an ascending or descending order. For example, 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 or 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10.
Best Use For Ladder Sets – They’re great way to finish your training and to add volume to a body part that needs working on. Furthermore, they can be used for a stand-alone training when pushed for time.
Types of Exercises Ladder Sets Work Best For?– Bodyweight, kettlebells, medicine balls, battle ropes and dumbbells work great.
For example, the kettlebell swings/medicine ball slam combo:
Instructions:Do 20 reps each of the swings and the slams and go down by 2 each time you perform a round until you reach two reps for each exercise (for example 20-18-16-14….2). If you don’t have access to medicine balls, substitute in battle rope slams.
Battle Rope Slams
Med Ball Rotational Slam
https://youtube.com/watch?v=YHgXAFY4H1Q
How Many Rounds Should You Do?– Just one will do, if you’re doing it right.
How Much Rest? –Again, you’ll rest when you’re done.
6) Cluster Sets
What Are They?– Sets with a predetermined rest period between reps within the same set.
For example:
Load the barbell to 85-90% of your maximum, a weight you could normally lift 3 times.
Do one rep and rack the bar.
Rest 10 seconds.
Do another rep and rack the bar.
Rest for 10 seconds.
Do this 4-6 times total
Best Use For Cluster Sets– They’re best used for building strength but be warned, when using heavier weights with shorter rest periods while increasing volume can lead to fatigue.
For example, (4×2) x5 sets – is 5 total clusters of 4 mini sets of 2 reps with 10 seconds rest in between. That’s 40 reps at 85-90% of your 1 rep max.
Types of Exercises Cluster Sets Work Best For?– Barbell exercises like squats, presses and rows but can be used for chin-ups also.
How Many Sets Should You Do?– Anywhere from 3- 6 clusters.
How Much Rest Between Clusters? – 3 minutes or more between clusters because of their demanding nature.
7) Drop Sets
What Are Drop Sets? – Is a method where you perform an exercise and then reduce the weight (usually 15- 30% drop) and continue for more reps until you reach failure.
Best Use For Drop Sets– Ideally, it’s your last set of the day. This method is used to add muscle and volume to a body part. However, it’s not for the faint of heart because you will feel the burn.
Types of Exercises Drop Sets Work Best For – Barbell, dumbbell and machine exercises.
A Different Type of Drop Set
Rather than dropping the weight and lifting till failure, you can perform mechanical drop sets where you use the same weight the entire time. You start an exercise in a mechanically weaker position to one in which you’re in stronger position.
For example, the dumbbell bench press mechanical drop set:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=KfYNhAGAm0w
This is a truly sadistic method for building muscle, but it works. If you want more ideas, read this excellent article by John Romaniello.
How Many Drop Sets Should You Do? – Once per training and probably no more than twice per week.
How Much Rest? – If you’re doing it right, you’ll need a nap.
Wrapping Up
Wow, you got to the end and you’re probably hungry. Please go get some protein.
Now, you’re armed with the knowledge to take your training to the next level and to hulk smash your way through any plateaus. Happy lifting.
About the Author
Shane “The Balance Guy” McLean, is an A.C.E Certified Personal Trainer working deep in the heart of Texas. Shane believes in balancing exercise with life while putting the fun back into both.
I had to take a break from The Fitness Summit last year for two reasons:
1. Eating way too many cookies.
2. But mostly because I succeeded in making a baby and my wife would have tossed me so much shade if I was all like “Hey Babe, going to KC for three days. Toodles.”
Well this year I’m back and excited to take part in a Fitness Summit first. Dean Somerset and I will be putting on a Pre-Conference day where we’ll spend a few hours test driving some new material as a follow-up to our Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint.
Tentatively titled The More Completer Hip & Shoulder Blueprint.
We’ll be taking deep dive into squat and deadlift technique: discussing ankle, foot, hip and upper extremity considerations in conjunction with regressions/progressions and programming. Whether you’re a coach or just someone who likes to lift heavy things you’ll undoubtedly learn something. And if not, cool, you still get to hang out with us for a few hours.
Registration is now open for returning and new attendees. Come experience one of the best fitness events of the year.
I’m excited to announce that both myself and my wife, Dr. Lisa Lewis, will be presenting at the inaugural Spurling Spring Seminar at Spurling Fitness in Kennebunk, ME in a few months.
If you live in New England and you’re a fitness professional you won’t want to miss it. Early bird special is currently in effect.6
This FREE multi-day course by John Berardi will help give coaches the knowledge and resources necessary to help their clients decide what the best diet is for them…
…whether Paleo, ketogenic, low-carb, high-carb, intermittent fasting, or the all cold cereal diet (<—not a thing, but it should be)
And even if you’re not a coach it’ll help make the waters less murky on the topic of diet and nutrition and what may be the best fit for YOU and YOUR goals.
All you have to do is offer your email and you’ll get instant access. Don’t worry, John won’t spam you. Because, he’s not a dick.
Here’s an effective drill to help improve t-spine extension. A common mistake many people make is getting too much motion from lumbar spine. This helps eliminate that: pic.twitter.com/xltqoNRdeM
I like to think of myself as a middle of the road kinda guy. I try not to veer too far to the left or right on any given topic.
Except for Attack of the Clones.
That was and always will be a dumpster fire of a movie.
On pretty much anything else however, especially as it relates to strength & conditioning, I tend to default to the more temperate “it depends” defense.
Back squat vs. front squat? It depends.
Concurrent vs. undulated periodization? It depends.
Raspberry ketones vs. purified unicorn tears filtered through a Leprechaun’s beard ? Kale.
What about deadlifts?
Well, you guessed it…….
……..it depends.
Despite the title of the post I’m not in favor of one variation over the other. In fact, if I had to choose a variation I feel is the best fit for most trainees most of the time I’d pick the trap bar deadlift.
If I had to place a number on it, I’d say 90-95% of the clients I have historically worked with – this includes eight years at Cressey Sports Performance – started with the trap bar deadlift and progressed from there.
75-80% have kept the trap bar as their “home-base” deadlift variation throughout their training career.
However, when it comes to choosing between the sumo deadlift (wider stance, hands inside the knees) and conventional deadlift (narrower stance, hands outside the knees) the key determining factor(s) are:
What’s the person’s goals?
Which variation puts them in the best position to be successful and not shit a facet?
So in the spirit of “this is just information, relax, I still have my clients/athletes conventional deadlift” here are a handful of reason’s why I’d gravitate towards sumo.
1) Anatomical Considerations
Taller people or those with long femurs/torsos are likely going to have a hard time pulling conventional.
Anyone who has worked with basketball players can appreciate this. Long spines require attention to detail.
The trap bar is a great choice with this population, but so too are sumo deadlifts or block pulls (where the barbell is elevated to a height that allows them to get into a maintain good position).
Another point to consider are those who picked the wrong parents. For example, people with shorter arms will have a challenging time with conventional deadlifts.8
We also have to consider general movement quality. We live in a day and age where people don’t move a lot, and as a result have the movement quality of a pregnant rhinoceros.
If someone doesn’t posses the requisite ankle dorsiflexion, hip flexion, and/or t-spine extension to get close(r) to the floor without “falling” into lumbar flexion, why are we trying to force conventional deadlifts on them?
2) Previous Experience and Injury History
The conventional deadlift requires more forward lean compared to its sumo counterpart.
This places much more shear loading on the spinal erectors.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Conventional deadlifts are a fantastic option for those who deem their back a weak link and may be looking to strengthen their spinal erectors.
However, sometimes we need to pump the brakes.
Anyone with a history of back issues/injuries may find the conventional deadlift too aggressive. To that point, some may prefer the sumo deadlift and find it more suitable since they’re able to keep a more upright torso.
3) Speaking of Weak Links
The sumo deadlift, as counterintuitive as it may sound, is more quadricep dominant than people give it credit for. Strength coach Kevin Cann of Total Sports Performance (located in Medford, MA) puts it more eloquently than I:
“The sumo deadlift is basically a high squat. The greatest quad demands in the squat are coming up out of the hole. Since the sumo deadlift begins higher than the sticking point for the squat, the demands on the quads will be less than the squat, but greater than the conventional deadlift.“
I’ve found for those trainees who need to work on their quad strength the sumo deadlift is often a great accessory movement to consider.
4) Because, Fuck Purists
I dislike absolutism.
I lose respect for those coaches who act like children and allow their egos to dictate how they interact with others.
The “my way is the only way to train people” diatribes gets old.
I’ve had more than a fair share of coaches get defensive with me because I like the sumo deadlift and because I tend to use the trap bar with many of my clients/athletes.
I remember a case in particular where a coach chastised me on social media for having the gaul of utilizing the sumo deadlift over conventional with a new client (even though, as I had explained, she had repeated occasions of the latter hurting her back).
In both her passive and active assessment she was unable to prevent her spine from going into excessive lumbar flexion in conventional stance (from the floor, and to a lesser extent elevated). This was likely due to anatomical barriers. I wasn’t certain, because I don’t have X-ray vision, but it was my best guess.
We reverted to sumo stance and sha-ZAM: she was able to maintain a pristine position with her spin AND it didn’t hurt her back.
Anyhoo, despite my attempt at marinating in a moral victory, this particular coach went on to wax poetic that “well, I’ve never had anyone walk into my gym and not be able to conventional deadlift….so you SUCK Tony.”
I was like….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAryFIuRxmQ
I could be projecting and I honestly have no idea why some coaches are so steadfast with their infatuation with the conventional deadlift. If I had to guess it’s because there’s this notion that sumo deadlifts are cheating.
Last I heard there’s no gold star given out to people who only conventional deadlift.
If we wanted to get all sciency and stuff, the hip extension demands are THE SAME for both variations. Unless you’re Gandalf (if so, can we hang out?) and can lengthen someone’s femur, the moment arm (the distance between the joint’s axis and line of force acting on it) doesn’t change.
Furthermore, to steal another gem from Kevin Cann, the distance you lose in sagittal plane when adopting a conventional stance, you tend to pick up in the frontal plane when you switch to sumo.
Generally speaking, in terms of which is “harder:”
Sumo Deadlift = more difficult off the ground, easier at lockout.
Conventional Deadlift = easier off the ground, more difficult at lockout.
In the end, it has nothing to do with cheating. It’s about recognizing that the two variations are just… different.9
And that some people are just insufferable fuck-faces.
Talking much less writing about the 1-Legged RDL isn’t the most exciting thing in the world. Here’s where it ranks on my “Stuff That Gets Me Really Excited About” List:
1: Ice cream. 2-717: Reading Wikipedia pages for every Wu-Tang Clan member. 718: Cleaning up my cats weekly furball vomit. 719: Valentine’s Day. 720: 1-Legged RDL’s. 721: Poodles/Ebola.
While many may echo the same sentiment above, it’s hard to downplay the importance of the 1-Legged RDL.
Being able to access the hip hinge (and being able to perform it on one leg) is crucial for a variety of reasons: Ranging from improved joint health (specifically dissociating hip movement from lumbar movement) and improved movement quality to improved hip/rotary core stability and enhanced athletic performance.
BONUS: And, for what it’s worth, I’m pretty sure “good hip hinge” is one of the top criteria people search for when puttering around on Tinder.
Even if that’s not the case I’m willing to bet if you put something like “Hip Hinging Is Hot” as your profile heading and followed suite with some candid pictures of you deadlifing a variety of things like a barbell, a bag of groceries, a litter of bunnies, you’d get more matches.
Getting back on task, today I wanted to highlight some of my favorite exercises and drills to help groove and progress the 1-Legged RDL.
I find a lot of trainers/coaches are quick to add these into a client’s program, when the fact of the matter is…they’re a rather advanced movement.
Taking the time to properly progress someone based on their current ability level (and needs) will go a long ways with breeding success and rapport with your clients.
Lets dive in.
But First: Some Universal Coaching Cues
Two common technique flaws I see with most people are:
1. Helicopter Hips
2. Letting go or “losing” their shoulders.
Helicopter Hips
This is where you’ll see someone’s hips kinda rotate upwards towards one side as they hinge back into their leg.
No, no, no, no, no, no, NO.
Don’t Lose Your Shoulders
This is probably the most common snafu with the 1-Legged RDL. Simply put this is where someone will round their shoulders/upper back as they hinge back.
I said, NO.
Progressing the 1-Legged RDL
For most people I think it’s smart to start from the ground, work to standing variations, and then add movement/load after that.
NOTE: What follows isn’t an exhaustive list, but will get the job done for the bulk of people.11
Handcuff Hinge
I feel it only makes sense to start with BOTH hips. We have to master the bilateral hip hinge before we have any shot at mastering single leg variations.
I think Dan John was the first to popularize this drill. There’s just something about this variation that provides the requisite feedback to “feed” the hinge.
NOTE: I also think your standard variety Glute Bridges and Hip Thrusts work well here too.
Split Stance RDL
I also like to call this one a “Fake 1-Legged RDL.”
While still technically bilateral, this variation allows the trainee to front load the front leg while simultaneously using the opposite leg as a balance point as they hinge back.
Skater Hinge RDL
A fantastic progression from the above exercise.
This one really begins to set the table for increasing range of motion as well as grooving the hinge itself in addition to hip separation.
I like to tell people to think about driving or pushing the KB through their chest and to “protect their rib cage with their arms” to help create more full-body tension.
Wall Assisted 1-Legged RDL
Once they mastered the “hinge” component, now it’s time to take away a point of contact. However if balance is still an issue an easy fix is to use the wall to assist.
Start with bodyweight and then add external load once they get comfortable with that (and can extend the leg fully).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EazaXmRPA3A
Assisted 1-Legged RDL w/ Reach
Another option would be this gem I stole from the crew over a War Horse Barbell in Philadelphia, PA.
Don’t Worry: Even though the Pats lost the Superbowl to the Eagles this past weekend, we’re still friends. I guess.
1-Legged RDL ISO Hold
Many will scoff at this drill as easy.
Many will suck at it.
It’s okay to LOL at them.
1-Legged RDL ISO Hold w/ KB Swap
And if you really want to LOL at your clients, give them this drill.
They’ll feel stuff firing they never knew existed.
Deadstart 1-Legged RDL
One trick I keep in my back pocket to help people really get a feel for this exercise is to start in the bottom position.
I’m sure there’s some hoity toity term I could be using here to explain things, but all I’ve got for you is that there’s something about starting in the “end” position that helps people contextualize the pattern.
Try it.
I think you’ll agree.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkfUrsGCXGE
I’m Done
There’s more I could add but 1) no one made it this far, did they? and 2) I’m hungry.