REMINDER: Strong Body-Strong Mind Workshop – Austin, TX (Saturday, June 18th)
Hey fitness pros/fitness enthusiasts in the AUSTIN, TX area. I’ll be down there next weekend (Saturday, June 18th) – along with my wife, Dr. Lisa Lewis – for our inaugural Strong Body-Strong Mind Workshop.
Topics covered include:
1. The Art of Coaching & Behavior Change – not only learn the ins and outs of coaching your clients on the gym floor, but also learn some cool Jedi mind-tricks on mindset and avoiding negative self-talk to boot.
2. The difference between external and internal cueing (and why one is better than the other).
3. Introversion vs. Extroversion – and as it relates to be an effective coach.
4. Breaking down squat and deadlift technique.
5. Why squatting ass-to-grass isn’t for everyone.
6. Why our cat is the cutest cat ever.
And much, much more. CEUs via the NSCA are available.
For more information (location, payment, etc) you can go HERE.
In the Spring of ’96 I made my first collegiate start as a pitcher. I was playing for Onondaga Community College out of Syracuse, NY, and we were down in Florida for our annual Spring Training trip.
Can you find me?
Not only was it the first time I saw green grass in several months (winters in Central NY are long and brutal), but it was my first trip to Florida, which meant it was also my first time seeing palm trees.1
We arrived in West Palm Beach to play West Palm Beach Community College. On the bus ride from our hotel to the field I was fidgeting, listening to my Discman – remember those? – probably Wu-Tang Clan or Tribe Called Quest, and trying everything I could to take my mind off of destroying the back of my pants.
It was my first collegiate game, my first start, so of course I was nervous.
And if that wasn’t enough, I heard inklings from some of the players and coaches that 8 of the 9 players in the line-up for WPBCC were drafted out of high-school in the previous year’s MLB draft.
Okay, now I was really nervous.
I took a few deep breaths, said a few words of encouragement to myself2, and proceeded to do my normal pre-game ritual of stretches, long-toss, and warm-up.
And then it was game time.
1st Batter: ground ball out.
“Whatever, this is easy.”
2nd Batter: strike out.
“MLB prospect my ass.”
3rd Batter: walk
“Okay, you can’t win them all.”
4th Batter: 0-2 count, I threw a hanging curveball, and I think the ball is due to pass Neptune’s orbit any day now.
If my memory serves me, I lasted four innings, and we ended up losing that game 12-4. Or 72-4. I don’t remember all the details.
Whatever the score ended up being it stands to reason I didn’t do well.
That said, it was a learning experience:
1) Don’t throw hanging curveballs on an 0-2 count to arguably the team’s best hitter.
2) Even though I was nervous heading into that game, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a tad bit smug. I mean, I was an All-League selection in high-school, twice! I got this.
Um, no.
My first college game served as a wake-up call for me, and provided the slap in the face I needed to respect that anything can be a lesson you can learn from. And it’s how you observe, reflect, digest, and use those lessons moving forward that will make all the difference in the world. It’s how you prevent history from repeating itself.
While I didn’t realize it at the time I was using a form of DISFLUENCY to my advantage.
“The people who are the most successful at learning – those who are able to digest the data surrounding them, who absorb insights embedded in their experiences and take advantage of information flowing past – are the ones who know how to use disfluency to their advantage. They transform what life throws at them, rather than just taking it as it comes. They know the best lessons are those that force us to do something and to manipulate something.”
In other words: people who are actively “disfluent” take data and transform it into experiments whenever they can.
Taking an example from the book, Duhigg references a study performed in 2014 at UCLA which examined the relationship between learning and disfluency by looking at the difference between students who took notes with their laptop and those students who took notes the old fashioned way.
By putting pen or pencil to paper.
As Duhigg states:
“Recording a speaker’s comments via longhand is both harder and less efficient than typing on a keyboard. Fingers cramp. Writing is slower than typing, and so you can’t record as many words.”
In not so many words, students who use laptops put forth less effort and can “collect” twice as many notes as their pen holding counterparts.3
“Writing is more disfluent than typing, because it requires more labor and captures fewer verbatim phrases.”
Common sense would make us assume that the students who took notes with their laptops – and thus, collected twice as many words – would score better on tests and be able to recite more of what the lecturer said.
Of course, you would be 100% incorrect in assuming this.
Don’t worry, if it’s any consolation, when I first heard Eminem I thought to myself “no way this guy lasts.”
There was also a time I thought Mariah Carey and I were soul mates.
Shows how much I know.
What the researches found was that, time and time again, those students who wrote their notes down out-performed laptop users on test scores of the lecturer’s content.
What Does This Have To Do With Your Health and Fitness Goals?
When we bump uglies with new information, and want to learn from it, we should force ourselves to do something with the data.
NOTE:it’s not physically possible to “bump uglies” with information. It’s just a metaphor. Don’t be weird. Unless, you know, you’re part of The Matrix or something and you actually can do it.
If so, we need to hang out.
To quote Duhigg one more time:
“It’s not enough for your bathroom scale to send you daily updates to an app on your phone. If you want to lose weight, force yourself to plot those measurements on graph paper and you’ll be more likely to choose a salad over a hamburger for lunch.”
Likewise, those people who take the time to track their training sessions – recording exercises done, sets, reps, and total weight lifted – tend to stay more consistent and make better progress than those who don’t
Too, when it comes to honing technique on any given exercise, reading other coach’s insights and perspectives on it is great. You may learn a new cue or subtle tweak that resonates.
However, I’d argue it’s those people who take a more laborous approach, take the time to record their lifts with a camera, and analyze their lifts that end up hitting their goals quicker and with more efficiency and precision.
What’s more impressive or baller than a muscular, strong-looking backside?4
Any Joe Schmo can walk around with decent sized biceps or a six-pack that would make Tyler Durden jealous. Walk into any commercial gym and you’ll see both.
However, it’s a bit of a rarer occurrence to see someone with an impressive upper back. Not JD Salinger making a public appearance rare or even unicorn rare; but rare nonetheless.
It’s a shame, too, because having a strong upper back provides many advantages.
1) It Makes You Look Yoked
Remember that opening scene from the movie Troy when Achilles (<— I know, second Brad Pitt reference in less than ten seconds. Last one I promise) “fights” Boagrius?
To help jog your memory, this is Boagrius:
You can’t technically see his upper back, but do really need to in order recognize he’s a ginormous human being?
Yeah, sure, the fight between him and Achilles was over in a blink of an eye, but we’re still talking about those traps.
And speaking of traps, who can forget Tom Hardy in the movie Warrior.
For starters, it’s a fantastic movie about brothers, fathers, and some of the best MMA fight scenes ever filmed – even my wife liked it.
Secondly, between his role as Tommy in Warrior (as well as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises), Hardy pretty much sealed the title for “Best Traps in Hollywood” and subsequently spawned a tsunami of “Get Traps Like Tom Hardy” workouts.
Traps, indeed, are the new abs.
2) Increased Overall Strength (DUH)
Having a bigger “anything” generally assumes increased strength. Trying really hard not to include a penis joke here.
A larger muscle can generate more force. More force equates to increased strength. Increased strength is never a bad thing.
To be more specific, though, having a bigger/stronger upper back can have huge carryover to improved performance in many lifts – especially as it relates to the “big 3.”
Squat
Having a bigger/stronger backside can translate very well to a better squat.
A bigger upper back makes it easier to allow the bar to rest on the “shelf.”
The back musculature must fire isometrically during a set to prevent falling forward and to prevent any excessive rounding.
Anyone who thinks the lats aren’t involved with squat performance is kidding themselves. The lats have attachment points in the intertubicular groove of the humerus, scapulae, portions of the vertebrae (T7-T12), the thoraco-lumbar fascia, as well as the iliac crest.
Activating the lats during squats provides significant more spinal stability and allowance of force transfer between the lower/upper halves of the body. This is partly the reason why people can back squat more than they can front squat.
Bench Press
Ask any powerlifter what’s more important for a big bench press – chest or upper back – and most will likely say “both!,” however default to the upper back (and technique) as being more of a limiting factor.
Chad Wesley-Smith of Juggernaut Training likes to use the analogy of the upper back serving as a “base of support” during the bench press. A thicker/wider upper back will:
Get you closer to the barbell (less distance the bar as to travel).
Assuming technique is on point, will act as a “springboard” to propel the barbell off the chest.
Deadlift
Similar to what was noted above with squats, a bigger/stronger backside will almost always equate to a better, less vomit-in-my-mouth looking deadlift.
Everything – traps, rhomboids, lats, erectors – work in concert, isometrically, to counteract both compressive and shear forces playing tug-of-war with your spine.
The stronger your back, the stronger your deadlift.
3) Illusion of a Bigger Chest
I work with a lot of men who’s #1 goal is to have more sex have a bigger chest. Common sense tells us that in order to have larger chest muscles (pecs) we need to train them.
And I agree.
Unfortunately, guys tend to be so enamored with training their chest that “chest day” becomes “chest week.”
52 weeks a year.
As a result, many are left with an overly kyphotic posture (rounded upper back and shoulders) because they’ve developed a muscular imbalance between their front and backside, which ends up “hiding” their chest development.
So what ends up happening?
More chest exercises.
Which only feeds into the problem.
Many are left flummoxed when I suggest the answer is to perform more BACK exercises. Often, the answer is to strengthen and focus more on their backside, which will then “open” things up and give the illusion of a larger chest.
It’s like being Gandalf. Except, you know, not.
Back Strategery
Which leads us to the obvious question: Tony, will you just STFU and tell me WTF do I do?
This is a blog post, not a dissertation on anything & everything back training…but I’d be remiss (and an a-hole) if I didn’t provide at least some actionable advice.
1) Horizontal Pulls vs. Vertical Pulls
It’s generally accepted that back training can (and should) be divided into two camps: horizontal pulls and vertical pulls.
According to lore – and every bodybuilder in the history of ever – horizontal pulling tends to target upper back thickness, while vertical pulling tends to target width.
Bodybuilders are jacked and know a thing or two about putting on muscle, so who are we to disagree?
Horizontal Pulls = deadlifts, bent over rows, Seal Row, Yates row, DB rows, chest supported rows, Batwing rows, inverted rows (which are more of a hybrid, but certainly fall into this category), etc.
Vertical Pulls = chin-ups, pull-ups, lat pulldowns.
This is not an exhaustive list, but hopefully gets the point across.
If you’re someone who follows more of an Upper/Lower split during the week (4x per week), it may help to divide your upper body pulling days into horizontal vs. vertical.
If you’re someone who follows more of a full-body split (say, 3x per week) you could approach your back training in an A/B fashion.
A = horizontal pulls.
B = vertical pulls.
Week 1 = A, B, A
Week 2 = B, A, B
So on and so forth.
2) Train Your Back More Often
I honestly feel back training is something most people could get away with doing every training session. This doesn’t mean, of course, you need to go heavy or balls-to-the-wall every time.
On days you squat or deadlift or both if you’re a badass (or Wolverine), your back is getting plenty of work, and it probably wouldn’t bode well to follow suit with some heavy Bent-Over Rows or Pendlay Rows.
You can, however, toss in some moderate to high(er) rep (not to failure) accessory work afterwards in the form of DB rows or maybe some Band Face Pulls.
In any given week I like to include at least ONE heavy (3-5 reps) horizontal pulling variation, in addition to a moderate (8-12) and high-rep (12+) variation.
The same goes for vertical pulling – although, options are a little more limited here.
It’s undulated periodization 101.
It may look something like this:
Day 1
A. Deadlift: 3×4-6
B1. Speed Squat: 6×2
B2. Speed Chin-up/Pull-Up: 6×3
C1. Flat Bench DB Press: 3×10
C2. 1-Legged Hip Thrust: 3×8-10/leg
D. Band Face Pulls 3×15-20
Day 2
A1. Front Squats: 3×4-6
A2. 1-Arm DB Row: 3×8-12/arm
B. Speed Bench Press 6×3 OR DB Bench Press 4×6-8
C1. 1-Arm Landmine Press 3×10/arm
C2. Hinge Row: 3×10
D1. DB Goblet Squat: 3×8
D2. Pallof Press 3×8/side
Day 3
A1. Bench Press: 4×5
A2. Weighted Chin-Up: 4×3-4
B. Speed Deadlift: 6×1
C1. Cable Pull-Through 3×10-12
C2. Ab Rollout 3×10-12
D1. Seated Cable Row: 2×10
D2. High Rep Band Tricep Pressdowns: 2×20
And then you can tinker with varying set/reps each week.
3) Sneak It In
You can also “sneak” more back exercises into the mix and increase volume.
Pair a light row exercise with all warm-up sets on bench press.
Every time you walk past a chin-up/pull-up bar during a workout, perform 1-3 reps. Or, perform 1-3 reps every time you go to get a drink of water.
One option I like is to combine a unilateral row exercise with any additional speed (or technique) work I have a client perform. So, if I have someone doing 8 sets of “technique” work on squats, I’ll pair that with 8 sets of 1-Arm DB Rows (albeit only 4 sets per side)
Set of Squats paired with 1-Arm DB Row – Right Arm Only
Set of Squats paired with 1-Arm DB Row – Left Arm Only
NOTE: the term “Porcelain Post” was invented by Brian Patrick Murphy and Pete Dupuis. Without getting into the specifics, it describes a post that can be read in the same time it takes you to go #2.
Huh, I guess that was more specific than I thought.
Enjoy.
Know what I say about exercise variety?
“Exercise variety, shmeshmercise flafliriety.”
As in, “Exercise variety? Meh.”
As in, “You don’t need as much of as you think you need.”
Or, to put it another way: “fuck it, it’s overrated.”
I’ve reached a tipping point of tolerance, hovering in the vicinity of going bat-shit crazy as it relates to watching people wasting repetitions (and their time) performing superfluous exercises in the name of Likes and Instagram bragging rights.
Don’t get me wrong: I understand that for some of you reading, this comes across as nothing more than me playing the role of ornery, cantankerous strength-coach…hellbent on reminding everyone that, “when I was your age, I worked out without Tweeting about it, barbells were pretty much it, and I didn’t even CrossFit.”
Now, please excuse me while I go yell at the kids to get off my lawn (and then peel out of my driveway in my Gran Torino).
Exercise variety has its place. I want to make that clear. For some people it’s the “variety” that keeps them sane and motivated to show up day in and day out.
Sometimes, it is about having fun, and there’s a degree of excitement and anticipation when we head to the gym to try something new.
I’m all for it.
In addition, exercise variety can also be a valuable asset to help address technique flaws or weaknesses with any one particular lift. It’s that subtle jolt in doing something different – while attacking something specific – that can make all the difference in the world.
Conversely, it’s the vanilla nature of doing the same exercises, in the same order, for the same sets/reps for weeks, months, and years on end that oftentimes derails progress.
So, in many ways, exercise variety is a crucial component in long-term, consistent, and systemic (improved) performance in the weight room.
On the flip side….
Exercise Variety Can Stagnate Mastery
Far too often I find trainees grow infatuated with the “newness” of new. They turn into Dug, the dog from the movie Up:
SQUIRREL!!!
Before they’re able to demonstrate any semblance of understanding and “mastery” of an exercise – in this case lets default to the “big 3 (squat, bench press, deadlift) – they’re distracted by the squirrel, or the shiny, gimmicky, whateverthef*** exercise that that guy is doing over there in the corner of the gym.
Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
I am right there with you: the hip hinge looks boring, and it is boring.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZufiCSUTjc
It’s not a sexy exercise, and it most certainly will not win you any social media followers; but I gotta tell ya, as a coach, nothing is more valuable to me than the hip hinge.
Once someone masters that, their exercise toolbox grows exponentially.
I can more or less do whatever I want with him or her.
Deadlift? Check.
Squat? Check.
KB Swing? Check.
Fight Jason Bourne? Check.
It behooves me to drill the “big 3,” to the point of boredom and nausea, over and over and over and over again.
The Pareto Principle almost always applies here: 80% of your results are going to come from 20% of the work. If someone wants to get strong, more athletic, or even shredded…the basic, boring, “stuff” is going to get the job done.
I mean, if you want to get better at back squatting…back squat!
I know, I’m full of good ideas.
Besides, you can add plenty of “variety” playing with bar position, foot position, stance width, in addition to fluctuating sets/reps, tempo, and rest intervals.
Granted it’s an “old school” approach, but what good does it do to spend a week or even a month on a given exercise only to move on before any level of competence or motor learning has transpired?
What good does it do to add variety for the sake of adding variety?
We are providing a service, and we must take into consideration our client’s goals and preferences. There is a degree of compromise.
However
Mastering the basics, using less variety, at least in the beginning, for most people, most of the time, is going to supersede exercise flamboyance.
A year ago today, we were in the Bahamas celebrating our honeymoon. Facebook reminded me by reposting the following picture on my Wall via my Facebook Memories this morning.
And who knows: I’m sure if I were to dig a little deeper into my subconscious I could come up with some other examples.
Five years ago today my wife and I were preparing to move in with one another.
Five years ago tomorrow we were ready to strangle each other and second guessing that decision.
It’s surreal to think back at all the cool places I’ve been and experiences I’ve experienced. Part of reminiscing is to think back on things fondly. But too, understandably, reminiscing can be about perseverance, heart ache, tragedy, and death.
I don’t know what my point is. Honestly, I started typing and these thoughts were the first thing that entered my head; so I apologize for the discombobulated intro to today’s stuff to read.
Maybe the idea is to encourage people to reminisce over a positive thought or memory. In light of today’s political/religious/racial/financial/world climate – where everything is doom and gloom (and abhorrent rhetoric) – try to think of one positive thing (past/present) that puts a smile on your face.
If nothing else, go listen and bob your head to Pete Rock and CL Smooth’s jam.
REMINDER: Strong Body-Strong Mind Workshop – Austin, TX
Speaking of my wife and I, we’ll both be in Austin, TX on Saturday June 18th for our inaugural Strong Body-Strong Mind Workshop.
There are plenty of workshops, seminars, and conferences that speak to how to make the body strong, but not many that incorporate mindset and behavior change. This is something we both feel is an underserved “niche” within the fitness industry.
I can speak to turning people into deadlifting terminators.
Lisa – who has a doctorate in Sports Psychology and specializes in Exercise/Behavioral Psychology – can speak to what goes on in people’s noggins.
For more information you can go HERE. Or sign up via the link below:
The saying “if you don’t use it, you lose it” can be applied to many facets of life. Vacation time for some people applies here. Within some companies here in the U.S, if you don’t use your vacation time, you lose it.
Which is BS.
And, of course, I could easily toss in an obligatory dick joke here.
But I won’t.
Because I’m mature.
Athleticism is another one of those “things” we tend to lose when we don’t use it. In fact, I’d garner a guess that athleticism is one of the first attributes that diminishes once many of us enter into adulthood.6
But for the sake of brevity, and legally speaking, lets just say adulthood is when someone hits the age of 18.
At this age, unless you’re a high-level athlete and offered/recruited to play a sport at the next level (college), you typically either:
1. Go to college, stop playing sports, and discover beer.
2. Not go to college, stop playing sports, and get a boring desk job. Or, live in your parent’s basement and play World of Warcraft.
OR
3. If you’re me: go to college, play sports, watch way too much 90210, not hang out with chicks, stay active (even after college), still not hang out with chicks (at this point watch way too much Alias), eventually get a job in the fitness industry, get jacked, playing “sports” gets diluted to slow-pitch softball leagues, start working with high-level athletes, still stay jacked though, finally find a chick that will hang out with me, and eventually realize that, while certainly not un-athletic, I’m not close to where I once was.
That sound like you too?
Now, I’m not insinuating athleticism in this case means you’re ready to enter the NFL Combine or that you could win American Ninja Warrior.
Understandably, athleticism can mean different things to different people. But again, for the sake of brevity, lets just say athleticism can equate to the ability to do several things such as sprint, jump, hop, skip, punch a zombie in the throat, change direction, shuffle, accelerate, decelerate, and just move without looking like a drunk pirate.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Many people confuse athleticism with conditioning
And that’s not what I am referring to.
Yes, athletic drills can be a form of conditioning…however, that’s not their main objective. There’s a lot of technical proficiency and skill involved with developing specific athletic skills and athleticism in general.
Too, athleticism favors those who started at an early age. We’re motor learning sponges when we’re young. Not so much as adults when motor patterns and CNS pathways have been engrained for far too long.
Elite athletes and people who stay active their entire lives can do stuff without even thinking about it.
They can change direction on a dime or catch a frisbee with pulling a hamstring.
They can react.
They have to work at it, of course, and they’ve accumulated hours upon hours of “purposeful practice,” (in the form of actual practice and casual recreational activity) but they make athleticism look easy and seamless.
You don’t become more athletic by incessantly accumulating more and more fatigue. Mind you: the most successful athletes in the world are able to perform at a high-level – repeatedly – in the presence of fatigue. They do need to develop conditioning and endurance amongst many other abilities.
However, I feel many people operate under the assumption that conditioning (or getting tired) is equivalent to athleticism.
And it’s not.
Hitting up your local CrossFit joint is cool. I think that’s amazing. There are many amazing athletes involved with it.
But don’t assume that just because you’re completing some crazy WOD 3x per week, gasping for air by the end, and are thiiiiis close to shitting a spleen, that you’re somehow improving your athleticism.
Getting My Athleticism Back
Make no mistake: I can still move well. I haven’t turned into the Tin Man or anything (although, lets be honest: dude could dance).
I still participate in athletic endeavors and sometimes look athletic when I demonstrate exercises and drills. However, as a former athlete (and as someone who trains athletes) I’d be lying if I said I was happy with my current situation.
Slight abject disdain would seem more fitting
Which is why I was so happy to see Jen Sinkler type these words the other day:
“I missed feeling athletic in almost any situation. I missed it lot.
So, I told my friends Angie Brambley Moyer and Tim Moyer, both world-class strength-and-sport coaches, that I wanted to get it back. That I wanted to get it allllll back.
I ALSO told them that I wanted to invite others who were in the same boat — former athletes, not-yet athletes, or current athletes who wanted to level up their game — to join me in my quest.
I was positive there were others who, like me, wanted to become lean, mean, athletic machines. Again, or for the very first time.
I was right.”
I’m Not Alone!!
I think many fitness professionals feel the same way I do. We’re in an industry where we often put other’s health, well-being, and goals before our own.
Likewise, there are many people reading who, despite being former athletes themselves, don’t have as much pep in their step as they used to. Or, maybe there are some reading who have never played a sport in their life, but would like to be able to perform a pro-agility without breaking their hip?
I’m taking some initiative and putting myself through the Lighting & Thunder program. I’m even setting my ego aside and starting with the beginner program.
Here’s what I did today:
5 Yd Starts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TklqD8uN_Ds
Objective here is to drop down into a proper starting “athletic” position (weight forward, CoG low).
Think long backside (toss back arm back as aggressively as possible)
Push away as fast as you can (aggressive first step).
5 Yd Jog to 10 Yd Sprint (With Stop Within 10 Yds)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM-BPJKTslg
Objective here is more or less the same as above (except without the athletic start position).
When you transition into sprint, you should get low and have an aggressive lean with positive shin angle.
You still want an aggressive backside.
Also, you want to “stutter step” to a stop within 10 yds, which works on deceleration and better emulates athletic activities.
5 Yd Jog to 10 Yd Sprint (To Coast)
I didn’t take a video of this.
Just imagine the same video as above, except me without a shirt on or something. Or pants.
Also, no need for aggressive deceleration…just a “coast” to finish.
Up 2, Down 1 Drill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSFDp1QSA2w
My sock game is ON-POINT!!!
This drill helps to hammer home the start/stop/start/stop nature of athletic activities and sport.
Performing this drill with hands touching the floor helps to cue weight forward and low (you’d obviously not do this in a REAL sport).
Important to note that if you stop with right foot forward, you’d want to tap floor with left hand (and vice versa).
Rest is 1:3 ratio. Rest for 3x as long as it takes to to complete the drill. This ensures ample recovery for top performance with each set.
It’s nothing fancy, but it doesn’t need to be.
I’ll be doing this program 1-2x per week all summer. If day 1 is any indication, I’m going to be Carl Lewis by September.
On top of being a top-rate speed/agility program, what’s great about it is that it can easily compliment any strength program.
It comes with a strength program in fact.
However, for those who purchase Lighting & Thunder via the links provided by the end of June 3rd, I’m going to offer you a FREE month of my Group Training Membership on Exercise.com.
NOTE: I’m only going to email the discount codes out to the exact same email address you use to purchase L&T.
You get two killer programs for one!
So, to review:
1. It was bullshit when Kelly chose Brandon over Dylan on 90210. I mean, it’s freakin Dylan McKay. How do you say no to someone like that?
2. The Lighting & Thunder program is pretty baller.
3. I’m doing the entire thing myself, even starting with the beginner program cause I’m cool like that.
4. You should totally do it with me.
5. As incentive…go HERE, and then I’ll send you a code for a FREE month in my Group Training Membership.
Today’s guest post comes courtesy of one of my most favorite people in the world, Jen Sinkler. She, along with strength & conditioning coaches Angie Brambley-Moyer and Tim Moyer are releasing their new strength, speed, & agility training product Lightning & Thunder.
I’ve just started playing with the program myself (my wife and I went to BU on Sunday to move around a a bit, photo evidence HERE), and I gotta say…I really, really like it.
It’s elegant in its simplicity, and will compliment pretty much anyone’s training whether they’re an athlete or not.
Check out Jen’s gleaning example below…
When Going Backwards Is a Good Thing
When it comes to training for speed and agility — a worthy endeavor whether you’re an athlete or not, in terms of power and movement efficiency — you may think about zig-zagging from side to side explosively and working on your go-forward locomotion, but just as important is the ability to quickly transition from forward to backward and vice versa.
“Forward-to-backward movement is what athletes do poorly at first. It’s the most likely skill to be untrained and un-coached,” says Angie Brambley-Moyer, MS, MSCC, assistant director of strength and conditioning for Princeton University.
This is a critical error.
In many sports, the ability to switch from offense to defense and back again is paramount, adds Angie’s husband, Tim Moyer, MS, CPT, head volleyball coach of Philadelphia University and longtime strength and conditioning coach.
“Agility is the ability to perform a series of explosive power movements in opposing directions in rapid succession, and unless you’re training these key movement patterns by focusing on movement quality over speed at first, breaking down skills into smaller parts, and getting feedback (from a coach, a video, or motor recognition) from rep to rep, your mechanics will remain slow and sloppy,” Moyer says.
“Form equals function. The better your form the better you will function.” That means patterning proper mechanics from the get-go.
“From an injury prevention standpoint, you are only going to be as fast as you can stop and change direction,” says Brambley-Moyer. “In many sports, you have to change direction every three to five steps, and the ‘Up Two Back One’ drill closely mimics that. It’s important to master these short direction changes before increasing the distance (which increases intensity).”
This is one of Brambley-Moyer’s favorite drills for working on forward-to-backward-to-forward agility. Incorporate it at the very beginning of any conditioning work you do, performing three total sets and using a 1:3 work-to-rest ratio. Start slowly and focus on really nailing the mechanics of footwork and body position, picking up speed only as your form improves.
Moyer refers to one of the special forces’ mottos, saying, “Remember: Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.”
Up Two, Back One: Forward Sprint to Backpedal Instructions:
The Up Two, Back One drill is performed like it sounds: You will first run forward to the second cone, come to a stop, backpedal one cone and then repeat by running up two more cones before backpedaling again. You will sprint and backpedal a total of three times before transitioning to your last sprint and coasting to a stop.
For the set up, place five cones three yards apart in line with one another. Completing the drill as outlined above counts as one set. To ensure you’re performing each set with the proper intensity and technique, take three times the rest as it takes you to run the drill, in a 1:3 work-to-rest ratio.
Coaching Points:
To start, use a staggered stance (with one foot slightly in front of the other) as your starting position for the drill. Direct your head and shoulders toward your target by leaning forward, and then take off into a sprint.
Decelerating at each cone starts by lowering your center of gravity toward your base of support (your feet). You will also increase the length of your ground contact time by taking a number of smaller, choppier steps until you come to a complete stop next to each cone.
This drill’s focus is accelerating quickly, decelerating quickly, and then transitioning into the backpedal before moving forward into another sprint. To ensure you’re staying low and using proper acceleration and deceleration mechanics, touch the ground at each cone when performing this drill.
Ideally, you will touch the ground with the opposite hand as the foot that’s in front. Meaning, if your left foot is the front foot at the transition point (sprint to backpedal or backpedal to sprint), your right hand should touch the ground.
After your last backpedal, focus on proper arm- and leg-drive mechanics through the final cone and coast to a stop.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…you don’t have to be an athlete in order to train like one.
Athleticism is one of those things where the saying “if you don’t use it, you lose it” becomes inevitable. As adults we often become more enamored with adult-like things. Things like balancing checkbooks, going to bed early, and binge watching Netflix.
Too, in the context of training, as adults we sometimes (not always) tend to “pump the brakes,” and training goes from this:
To this:
And the most athletic thing many people do on a day-to-day basis is chase down the 66 Bus after work.
That being said: athleticism is important yet it is something that intimidates a lot of people; especially for those who participate in more fantasy sports than actual sports.
However, you don’t need any fancy equipment or complicated periodization schemes in order to train athleticism.
Lightning & Thunder is a brand new strength, speed, and agility program written by Tim Moyer, MS, CPT, and Angie Brambley-Moyer, MS, MSCC, with Jen Sinkler, personal trainer, fitness writer, and former U.S. national team rugby player.
Moyer, Brambley-Moyer, and Sinkler have teamed up to get you stronger, faster, and more agile. You don’t have to have any experience playing sports, and you don’t have to play any in the future, either, if you don’t have the inclination. You only need to be interested in training like an athlete, in moving like one and looking like one.
Make no mistake, though: this program is perfect for athletes too.
In it, you’ll get:
A comprehensive training manual that lays the groundwork for this philosophy of training for both the strength and the speed and agility (SAQ) programs.
Both beginner and intermediate 12-week SAQ programs.
Both beginner and intermediate 12-week strength programs, with an explanation and calendar on how to combine the strength work with the speed work.
A complete exercise glossary with written coaching cues and images for every single strength and SAQ movement. This detailed description of 180 moves is a resource in and of itself!
A streamable video library of more than 25 speed and agility demonstration videos. In the videos, Tim and Angie coach the athlete through the fundamentals of their SAQ patterns and drills, allowing them to know what they need work on whether they are watching from home or watching it as they hit the gym.
Here’s the best part. To celebrate its release, Lightning & Thunder is on sale for HALF OFF now through midnight Friday, June 3rd. For more information click HERE.
About Jen Sinkler
Jen Sinkler is a longtime fitness writer and personal trainer who talks about all things strength related at her website, UnapologeticallyStrong.com. The former editorial director of fitness for Experience Life magazine, she writes regularly for a variety of national health magazines. She’s a certified RKC 2 kettlebell instructor, and a powerlifting coach through USA Powerlifting. She also holds coaching certs through Ground Force Method, Progressive Calisthenics, Onnit Academy, and DVRT (Ultimate Sandbag).
A lifelong competitive athlete, Jen played rugby for 13 years, many of those on the U.S. women’s national 7s and 15s teams. She co-owns The Movement Minneapolis with her husband, David Dellanave.
The title of this post might be construed as a tad exaggerative in tone.7
For the sake of brevity: anything labeled “life altering” should be reserved for stuff like winning the lottery, beating cancer, or, I don’t know, a really, really, really good steak.
Or having your own lightsaber.
So please forgive the sensationalism. What follows next will, in fact, not alter your life in any way, shape, or form.
Except for increased strength, muscle mass, and overall increased levels of badassery.
The Deets: 1-1/2 Reps
The idea of utilizing 1-1/2 repetitions (reps for short) isn’t anything new. My good friend, Ben Bruno, has been a huge fan of them for years.
Basically you take an exercise and “extend” the set by incorporating a “1/2 rep” in between full-ROM reps.
The idea serves a few purposes/benefits:
Increased Time Under Tension.
Can be used to address a technique flaw/weakness (which should be the main objective of accessory work anyways).
Awesome alternative to use as a finisher at the end of a workout. They also serve as a nice way to increase total work done in any given session.
Improved mental toughness. Or, put in other words: they fucking make you hate life.
Here’s Ben performing some chin-ups (with a 100 lb weight-vest no less) using the 1-1/2 method:
And here he is performing 1-1/2 reps with Front Squats:
I like to use the 1-1/2 method with the bench press, as I feel it helps trainees to:
Better appreciate what it means to keep the lats on, the upper back tight throughout, and to learn to “meet” the bar with the chest.
To help trainees imbue a better sense of time under tension. I.e., it’s a killer way to elicit a chest pump and overall chest hypertrophy. And, at the end of the day, a bigger chest is going to (probably) produce more force.
Some Things To Consider/Pontificate
1) Your bench set-up is going to be crucial.
There’s a sense of poignancy that festers inside me whenever trainees take a haphazard approach with their bench set-up. It’s like a Greek tragedy.
If I had to choose a few big-hitting, big-rock cues that tend to have a universal carryover, they’d include:
Learn to drive the upper back INTO the bench.
Shoulder blades should be “pinned” together and down (retracted and depressed) to provide more stability.
GET A HAND-OFF
Let be bar “settle” before you begin.
Think about wrapping your hand AROUND the bar (I.e., lat activation).
You don’t have to have a super aggressive arch in lower back – there’s a degree of mastery and personal comfort insinuated here – however, an arch (even a slight one) is advantageous.
Pull the bar down to your chest.
Chest meets the bar, rather than bar meets chest.
Leg Drive, leg drive, leg drive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj9RnZJqpOE
2) I prefer to use the 1-1/2 rep method as an accessory exercise to the bench press, rather than as the”main gig.”
It implies a bit more of an “accessory movement” vibe.
I feel it works wonders with helping trainees to learn to keep their chest UP throughout the duration of a set. Many make the mistake of allowing the chest to collapse or “cave in,” which manifests into a domino effect of losing upper back stiffness, scapulae position, elbow position, and a muffled leg drive.
Here’s what it looks like in action:
During the 1/2 rep portion (where I press the barbell half-way up) I have to cue myself to maintain lat activation, upper back stiffness, chest UP (to meet the bar), and to make sure my chest doesn’t deflate at any point during the set.
It’s harder than it looks.
Generally, it’s best to use sub-maximal loads on these – in the 60-75% range. You can strive for “x” number of reps, say 6-8 for 2-4 sets. Or, another way to implement these is with AMRAP sets.
NOTE: AMRAP = As Many Reps As Possible
My coach, Greg Robins, has been using this approach in my training.
After my main bench movement of the day I’ll follow that with something like this:
ONE set at 75% of 1RM for AMRAP.
Rest 60-90s
ONE set at 70% of 1RM for AMRAP.
It’s killer, but man, the pump is awesome.
And please, feel free to experiment with these. You can use this method with bench pressing, squats, chin-ups, row variations, single-leg variations, bicep curls, and deadlifts (just be careful).
There were a number of young and drunk people yelling and chanting early 2000’s hip hop outside of our hotel window.
Tony didn’t hear it because:
He is the best sleeper on earth
He wears earplugs, which worked out to be smart in this situation.
Anywho, once we were up Tony thought we should just go for it and get the breakfast in the hotel. It was cold cuts and yogurt and toast and the worst coffee in America… oops… sorry… the worst coffee in Denmark.
So I had muesli with hot water and shitty coffee, but we did what we needed to do and got up out of there to enjoy the day!
We rented some bikes (with a handy GPS attached!)
And made our way over to one of the castles.
Afterward, we were wandering around and stumbled upon a fabulous market!
Called Torvehallerne, this public space was filled with beautiful produce, funky and fabulous food and drinks, skincare, and all kinds of fun! Here’s a pic:
And HERE’s the website (in case of you randomly being in Copenhagen).
We decided to come back at lunchtime.
But first, to the Round Tower! Built in the 17th century to be used as an astronomical observatory, our tour also included the attached chapel and library hall.
Here’s the beautiful chapel:
And here’s the super cool winding hall up to the top of the tower! (Please notice Tony being silly/creepy over there in the corner).
Atop the tower was the observatory, with a great view of the city:
Then it was time for lunch! Tony hit up an “egg wrap”, which is basically super thin yet large omelet that functions as a wrap for veggies and other goodness. I had a salad from this place called “Paleo”. Check it!
Tony wanted a bit of dessert afterward, and he stumbled upon the bakery Nazi – AKA Café Rosa.
Rosa was not playing any games, and made it clear that we were interrupting her baking by asking for Tony’s carrot cake – but it was worth it!
Once we were all finished with the market, we hopped back on some bikes, and cycled our way over to the Royal Palace. I risked my life while riding to show you how awesome and bike friendly Copenhagen really is! There’s Tony up ahead:
And here we are once we arrived at the Palace:
By this point, we were both feeling Copenhagen.
Staff at the front desk of our hotel told us that more than 50% of the city’s population rides a bike, but that seemed like an underestimate to us. There were HUGE bike lanes everywhere, special traffic signals, specifically for bikes, and very patient easy-going drivers, who seemed used to bikers being everywhere.
Bikers in mini skirts.
Bikers drinking a coffee (or beer) while riding with one hand.
Bikers chatting, listening to music, and so on and so forth. It was very fantastic!
For example, here is one of many bike parking lots, sitting just outside a little café where I grabbed a coffee:
We returned our bikes (there are little stations to return the bikes all over the city) and wandered around in the city for a bit. When we came upon Nyhavn:
It was high time for another dessert, and Tony wanted a repeat of the amazing Belgian waffle a la mode that Travis’ wife Amanda introduced him to the day before! Here it is:
Then, upon another of Travis and Amanda’s recommendations, we jumped on a boat tour of Copenhagen. It was fabulous! Here are some highlights:
We even got to see the famed Little Mermaid statue:
It was a fabulous way to see the city and hear little facts about different buildings and neighborhoods:
Once off the boat, we decided to walk around to the “other” side of Copenhagen, and check out “Christiania” – the hippie town with a reputation for an amazing street food extravaganza:
It was a long walk, but completely gorgeous. Walking from one side of the city to the other from 5:00pm to about 6:30pm meant that we were accompanied by hundreds of city-dwellers afoot and on bikes, leaving work and heading over for some amazing street food (and drinks).
Let me just tell you, the walk was worth it!
After we did a lap and made a thorough assessment of our options, I grabbed a local beer from a microbrewery, and Tony grabbed some pizza:
For our second course, we hit up a Brazilian place and got the “mixed grill”, which involves our favorite: meat and veggies:
To wrap it all up, we decided to have an open-faced little sandwich with tenderloin, onions, and a bit of pickle:
That was our favorite, and came from this little gem, called Handmade:
We were full, and weary, after an amazing day! We decided to bike home, since we needed to get clear across the city. Here’s Tony heading over to our bikes for the Trek home:
It was a beautiful, and an epic way to end the perfect day. Awesome sunset, easy biking, and happy people everywhere, getting their weekend started:
We were so sad the day was over!
It may have been our best.
We quickly washed up and passed out! Tomorrow, we start the long journey home… talk to you then!
Note From Lisa:Sorry this is a day late! Tony and I had such an amazing last day in Copenhagen that once we got back to our hotel it was time for bed. More to come soon.
Day 14: Stockholm to Copenhagen
God Morgon!
Tony and I were up, packed, and ready to head to the train bright an early. We made our way back to Central Station, and looked around for some breakfast.
Usually I try to be a sport, but I could not bring myself to eat another creamy sandwich. I probably drove Tony crazy, walking into and back out of a dozen little cafes – but each time I tried to accept the present moment and just grab a sandwich, I couldn’t do it!
I left Tony with his turkey sandwich, protein bars, and sugar-free monster on the platform, and went in search of a “real” breakfast (sorry if that sounds obnoxious and American!).
I found a grocery store with non-dairy milk! I literally almost jumped up and down. Grabbing the coconut milk, I made my way back to a café where I got myself a coffee.
Once on board, our train left promptly at 8:20 am, and I enjoyed my coffee while Tony had his Monster. Afterward, I used my cup as a bowl, grabbed a spoon from the “bistro” on the train, and fished the oats and awesome Czech granola out of our luggage!!! Here’s my do-it-yourself American breakfast:
The train was much more crowded today – and much faster. In retrospect, I see that Oslo is a quieter, smaller, slower city than Stockholm. The Swedish capital is more metropolitan… cosmopolitan.
So the passengers reflected that. And the views were beautiful:
Today is an exciting day; not just because we’re going to Copenhagen, but because we’re meeting up with one of Tony’s oldest friends!
Travis and Tony became friends after their senior year in high school, and played on a summer baseball team together. Travis now lives with his wife Amanda in Sweden, a bit outside of Copenhagen, and they made the trip into the city to hang out with us! Here’s the reunion:
We made the trek from the station to our hotel, which is… interesting.
Called the Cabinn Scandanavia, the rooms are like Cabins… on a cruise ship. So our room looked like a 3-level cruise ship Cabin, and I hated it. Take a look:
The toilet is in the shower. There are three levels of beds. So we dropped our shit off, and got up out of there!
Travis, Amanda, Tony and I ran around in Copenhagen for the afternoon. We stopped for a drink in the harbor (Nyhavn) and watched the characters enjoy their ice cream and beers and whatever else they wanted:
Amanda also introduced us to a Belgian waffle with ice cream on top. Tony’s favorite so far! Check it:
Did you know that you can drink anywhere you want in Copenhagen?
Plenty of cafes have “To-Go” beers and cocktails. Travis surprised us with some fruity cider from 7 Eleven, to enjoy while we roamed… here’s Tony (who is this guy?!) enjoying his blueberry cider while taking in the sites:
After lots of walking and shopping, we went to Sushi n’ Sticks for dinner! Here we are at the bar:
And here’s our awesome food:
After dinner we walked Travis and Amanda halfway back to the train station. Then, realizing we didn’t have a map or GPS capability, we hugged goodbye and walked back to our cruise ship Cabin.
