SAPT at Rock the Pink Festival!

We'll be out at The Side-Out Foundation's Rock the Pink Festival this weekend at Occoquan Regional Park in Lorton, VA.

If you head down there, be sure to drop by our booth. We'll be offering an a la carte menu of performance screens and will be giving out special promotional codes for discounts on training packages!

Once the rain clears later today, we'll be in for a beautiful weekend of volleyball!

Squatting: It's Not Just For Muscle Building (another poop post)

As regular readers of both SGW and SAPTstrength, you all know I love talking about poop. Not only is a never-ending source of entertaining jokes, it's also a splendid indicator of your overall health. I think just about every athlete at SAPT has heard the cue, when learning how to squat, "push your butt back as if you're about to poop in the woods," (this nearly always garners a smile and often a chuckle out of the trainee). Well, we're going to explore, literally, squatting as if you're pooping in the woods (except the "woods" is actually your bathroom).

 Why in the world would one want to squat instead of sit while relieving oneself? Well, first off, humans have been doing it for thousands of years to great success. The phrase "cop a squat," didn't just appear for no reason! There's a few exceptions in history, some snooty Pharaohs and upper-crust Romans, but we'll ignore that for the moment because up unti the 19th century, nearly everyone squatted when they released their bowels. Really, it's mainly a Western thing to sit while pooping, and, currently, roughly 1.2 billion people squat instead of sit to do their business.

Confession: I'm one of those 1.2 billion. And I highly recommend it!

Ok, Kelsey, thanks for that sharing of information but is there any real benefit to squatting? Glad you asked!

1. It reduces "straining" because it opens up the recto-anal angle (how's that for a phrase?!)- Sitting constrains that passageway and requires more straining to push the fecal matter through. This could be a solution for those who, after adjusting their diets (ahem!), still struggle with constipation. In fact, Israeli Dr. Berko Sikirov, ran an experiment (several in fact) showed that squatting relieved constipation:

"Primary (simple) constipation is a consequence of habitual bowel elimination on common toilet seats. A considerable proportion of the population with normal bowel movement frequency has difficulty emptying their bowels, the principal cause of which is the obstructive nature of the recto-anal angle and its association with the sitting posture normally used in defecation. The only natural defecation posture for a human being is squatting. The alignment of the recto-anal angle associated with squatting permits smooth bowel elimination. This prevents excessive straining with the potential for resultant damage to the recto-anal region and, possibly, to the colon and other organs. There is no evidence that habitual bowel elimination at a given time each day contributes considerably to the final act of rectal emptying. The natural behavior to empty the bowels in response to a strong defecation reflex alleviates bowel emptying by means of the recto anal inhibitory reflex."

2. The same good Dr. Sikirov also demonstrated, albiet with a smallish sample size, squatting relieved hemorrhoid symptoms in a group of pained sufferers. Here's a table indicating the changes. According to the Mayo Clinic, half of Americans by the age of 50 have experienced hemorrhoid symptoms. Here's a lovely article from Slate about such things.

3. It takes less time to poop. Once again, our pooping hero Dr. Sikirov examined the benefits of squatting with a group of willing volunteers. He split them into three pooping groups: one used a 16-inch toilet, a 12-inch toilet, and the last squatted over a plastic container (don't want to know how that clean up went). Unsurprisingly, the squatting group reported an average of 51 seconds poop time compared to the average 130 seconds of the two sitting groups (I imagine this was the time it took from pants down to finish, not including wiping). He also asked the participants to record the ease of passing; the squatting group reported using the least amount of effort.

So, how does one squat to poo if there is no squatty potty available?

- You can squat over your toilet with your feet on the seat, perch if you will. I don't really recommend this as it can be precarious if you're a) taller than 5 feet or b) have terrible hip mobility.

- You can purchase an actual Squatty Potty, which is a little step stool you can put underneath your feet to get you into a squatted position.

- Forgoing purchasing anything (this is the option I chose), you can just scoot back with your upper back against the tank of the toilet and pull your heels up to the front of the seat. This is actually fairly comfortable (as long as your hips are ok).

There we go. Ladies and gentlemen, I challenge you to try squatting for a week and see if you have any improvement in your business time.

It's nice to take care of your butt.

Rate of Force Development Part 2: Training to Increase RFD

Last post, I went over some of the terms and definitions of rate of force development (RFD). I also mentioned motor units (MU) and if, at this point, you have no clue what I'm talking about, go back and read it. It's right here. Why should you care about increasing your rate of force development? Because power sports (which is every sport to some degree) is dependent upon the ability to produce high levels of force at any given moment, like running away from a T-Rex.

Good motivation for increasing rate of force development.

There are two main ways research and experience backs up to train RFD: explosive strength training (Newton et al. Med. Sciences Sports Exer. 1999) and maximal load training, i.e. picking up heavy stuff. (McBride et al, J. Strength and Conditioning Research 2002). It should be noted that most of the research has been done with isolated muscles/movements (it's a lot easier to test the quadriceps muscle in a leg extension machine than the various muscle groups in a deadlift) and so it can be a little tricky to apply to real life. However, where science has holes, the experience of coaches fills the gap!

First: force = mass x acceleration Keep this in mind...

Explosive training (speed work) is taking a sub-max load (say, 50% of your one rep max) and moving it as fast as possible, with good form obviously, for 1-3 reps per set. That's key- as fast as possible. Those high threshold motor units, the ones that produce the most force, are recruited to move that weight fast by contracting quickly. Even though the load is light, the acceleration is high. By challenging your system to move loads quickly, we increase the force production by increasing the acceleration part of the equation. This is one way to increase RFD. Typically at SAPT, we program 1-3 reps for 6-8 sets with a strict :45-:60 rest period. Why the rest parameters? We want to keep the nervous system "primed" and if the rest period is too long, we lose a bit of that ability to send rapid signals to the muscles.

Maximal load training, aka picking up some freakin' heavy weight, will typically be above 90% of your one rep max, also we keep the rep range between 1 and 3 (mainly because form can turn to utter poo very quickly under heavy loads if the volume is too high). This untilizes the other part of the force equation, mass. If the acceleration is low, the mass has to be high in order to have high force production. Once again, neural drive is increased and those high threshold MU's get activated. The threat of being crushed beneath a heavy bar can do that.

Recruit! Recruit! Recruit!

Bottom line: As the RFD increases --> the recruitment threshold of the more powerful motor units decreases --> more force is produced sooner in the movement --> heavier weights can be moved/athlete becomes more explosive in sport movements.

Think back on poor lifter B from last post who had a really low RFD during his 400lb deadlift attempt. Being the determined young man that he is, he trained intelligently to increase if RFD through practicing speed deadlifts (to get the bar off the floor faster) and maximal training, (to challenge the high threshold units to fire). Pretty soon, instead of taking 3 seconds to even get the bar off the floor, it only takes 1 second of effort and instead fo straining for 5 seconds just to get the bar to his knees, he's able to accelerate through the pull and get it to lock out in just under 4 seconds. Success!

Conquered.

For sake of the blog post, we could assume he always had the capability of producing enough force to pull 400lbs, but could produce it fast enough before his body pooped out. Now, with his new and improved RFD, 400lbs flies up like it's nothin.'

Another thing to keep in mind is the torque-angle relationship during the movement. Right... what?

All that means is the torque on the joints will change depending on their angles throughout the movement, thus affecting the amount of force the muscles surrounding those joints have to produce. For example, typically* the initial pull off the floor in a deadlift will be harder than the last 1-2 inches before locking out due to the angle of the hip and knees (at the bottom, the glutes are in a stretched position which makes contracting a little tougher than at the top when they're closer to their resting length.) Same concept applies to the bench press, typically** the first 1-2 inches off the chest are more difficult than the last 1-2 inches at lockout. The implication of all this being  the muscles will have different force-production demands throughout the exercise.

Knowing this, we can train through the "easier" angles and still impose a decent stimulus to keep those higher threshold motor units firing the whole time. How?

With chains and bands! Yay!

Aside from looking totally awesome, chains provided added resistance during the "easier" portions of the exercise to encourage (read: compel) muscles to maintain a high force output throughout the movement. Watch Conrad, The Boss, deadlift with chains:

At the bottom, when the torque-angle relationship is less favorable, the weight is the lightest and as he pulls up, the weight increases as glutes must maintain a high  level of force output to complete the deadlift. No lazy glutes up in hea'! Bands produce a similar effect. Check out the smashingly informative reverse band bench post Steve wrote here.

There are other ways, but quite frankly this blog post is reaching saga-like proportions so I'm going to cut it here. And remember kids:

*unless your name is Kelsey Reed and you have a torso 6 inches long... but can't lock the pull out.

** unless your arms a crazy long.

SAPT Q and A: Question from a Runner and Help From Link

Oh wait, I meant, "Ask the SAPT Coach." Sorry, we were having a Zelda discussion with our interns the other day...

"Is there a benefit to doing your strength workout under time? If you get your cardio somewhere else do you really need to rush?" - Supa Fly Runner

Ok, that's not really the name of the questioner, but she's a really fabulous runner so that's her assigned pseudonym.

Great question yeah? As in all fitness-related question the answer invariably is: It depends. *insert head scratching here*

Huh?

However, for simplicity sake, I'll make the answer as straightforward as possible. I'm going to assume that there are two camps of people: 1- Team Runner. These folks run on a regular basis, either long distance or short. If they don't run, they find their aerobic work somewhere else: biking, swimming, swinging (that would be me), or some other modality specifically for cardiovascular/anaerobic training (sprints, hills, monster fighting, stuff like that.)

Morpha, the water temple boss, keeps Link running for his life. Great cardio!

2- Team Not-Runner. These folks do absolutely NOTHING (intentionally) to train their cardiovascular system (aka aerobic training). These could include general fitness folks who lift weights (either seriously or not... I'm looking at you Mr. On-The-Phone-While-Doing-Curls-Man), powerlifters who DON'T training beyond lifting (yes, I know weight lifting can be considered a form of aerobic training, but let's be honest, many powerlifters completely ignore their aerobic system. To that I say. "stop it." Oooo... future post! Sorry, I got distracted. Back to this one.) or anyone who just sits eating beans like this guy.

nom nom nom...

Answer for Team Runner:

Assuming that you are strength training for the purpose of getting stronger (which, I would hope is the reason), then no, you do not need to rush the workout. The purpose of training under load is to prod the body to adapt to the stress by getting stronger muscles. It's a bit more involved than that physiologically, but that's the basic idea of lifting weights. So, if one is rushing about with little rest between sets, the body won't be able to produce as much force (due to fatigue) thus one will be relegated to lighter weights. And light weights don't cut it when it comes to building strength. Solution? Rest as needed between sets to allow for near to full recovery so that the most force can be produced each rep (translation: heavier weights can be used). This has the added benefit of improving rate of force development of your muscles. If you don't want to read this lovely article by Kevin Neeld, then the bottom line is the faster muscles can produce the needed level of force (to say, run), then the faster you'll propel yourself across the earth. It's like the Bunny Hood in Legend of Zelda:

Yes! Link's rate of force development is increased ten-fold!

Focus on the purpose: increasing strength and don't worry about trying to make it a cardio session (if you're lifting heavy enough weights, you'll be winded anyway. ;) )

Answer for Team Not-Runner:

Even elite strength athletes need some sort of aerobic training. (as I alluded to, this will be a future post.) While the main movement of the day, be it a squat, deadlift, or press variation, should be completed with the needed rest periods in between, the accessory work can be sped up a bit. For those trainees who don't want to do any outside aerobic work other than their weight room sessions, which is totally fine, hustling a bit during the accessory movements or throwing in a weight cirucit every so often would provide a suitable aerobic training effect. Having an efficient aerobic system, namely the body's ability to use oxygen to produce ATP (the form of energy muscles need to function), is important both for recovery during training sessions and sustaining life. It would be unwise to ignore such things. This would be your heart status:

Not. Good.

Adding a little hustle to the accessory exercises will provide a decent aerobic training effect while still maintaining the goal of building strength during a training session. Training said system will help foster quicker recovery both during training and afterwards.

All that being said, again, it depends on what your training goals are but hopefully this post helps clear up the question of how to execute your strength training sessions.

Do What Strong People Do

Most of us in the pursuit of getting stronger and harder to kill often need guidance from those who have walked the walk and taken themselves to new levels of awesome. I think it’s important to see what they do and observe the common trends among those who consistently make progress and how they go about getting stronger. Before you come at me with an argument like “Herschel Walker simply did a ton of pushups and situps and benched over a trillion his first time in the weight room,” notice I said common trends. Herschel Walker is not common.

Lift Heavy, But Use a Full ROM

I’m sure you saw this coming. Lift heavy to get strong, duh. I hate to be Captain Obvious but it’s definitely worth emphasizing. You need to give your body a reason to adapt. Doing a light set of leg extensions would result in your body responding with a yawn, while a stimulus like a heavy 5 rep deadlift would receive a physiological response that’s more like “whoa, I gotta do something about this,” followed by anabolism.

With that said, lifting heavy is important, but not at the expense of cutting your range of motion down. Please don’t convince yourself that the benefits of a 405 quarter-squat outweighs those of a 225 squat to depth, because it doesn’t. Before we get into another “quarter-squat bashing” rant, know that this applies for any lift. Whether it be a pull-up, bench press, step-back lunge, or glute-ham raise, the goal should be to become strong through the entire range of motion (especially the hardest portion).

Practice Technique

Being able to demonstrate controlled basic movements properly with your bodyweight demonstrates strength, and being able to demonstrate that same movement under load demonstrates more strength. Yes, there are those that put up huge numbers with atrocious form, but I’m convinced that this raw brute strength approach can only get you so far. Without a dedicated focus on improving technique, you leave a ton of poundage to be desired on the bar. If you watch some of the strongest athletes at the top of their game, you’ll notice that their technique is impeccable. Watch the best Olympic weightlifters, powerlifters, sprinters, jumpers, and even strongman competitors. Have you ever seen the top guys in a keg toss event? Impressively fluid hip hinging technique.

Keep the Mission in Mind When You Lift

This was a big eye opener for me. When you get to the gym, your main focus should be set on accomplishing one or maybe two primary lifts. If you look down at your workout log and see that you’re scheduled for a heavy 3 rep deadlift plus some assistance work, don’t start worrying about the specific weight you’re going to be using for your DB Bulgarian split squats or the optimal set and rep scheme you should use for your hamstring curls. The heavy deadlift should be your primary focus, and you should put everything you have into hitting that main movement hard and clean. After hitting the main movement get some extra work in, but don’t overstress the assistance work.  I've been guilty way too many times of overthinking the small stuff to the point where my big lifts suffered.

Milk a Ton of Volume Out of Your Warm-ups

Don’t rush your warm-ups! Warm-up sets leading into your work sets are a great place to increase the volume on your lifts. Did you know many elite level powerlifters still do their first warm-up set with the bar? Next time that you throw 135 on the bar for your first warm-up, really think about what makes you overqualified to use an empty barbell...

Anyways let’s go back to the volume thing. Here we’ll compare two lifters working up to a work set of 250x3:

Lifter A 135x5 185x5 225x1 250x3 Total Load Volume: 2,575lbs

Lifter B Bar x10 95x5 135x5 185x3 205x3 225x1 250x3 Total Load Volume: 3,745lbs (Win)

The extra volume will result in increased total work accomplished by Lifter B, but will also give the lifter the opportunity to practice the technique for more than double the reps as Lifter A.

Don’t Fail

You wouldn’t want to fail an exam would you? When you’re lifting to increase your strength, it is not to your benefit to miss a weight. You’ll probably just make a lot of noise (especially if you bail on a squat), increase your chance of getting injured, and crush your confidence. Sure there are times when strength should be tested (1% of your time spent in the weight room), but when you're working on building strength (99% of your time spent in the weight room), you’d be better off using weights you know you can handle and using compensatory acceleration to move it FAST. That way you know you’re getting the most out of the load on the bar even if you underestimated it. If you overestimated it, however, getting stapled by a barbell isn’t going to make you any stronger or better-looking.

Recover

Those super strong athletes aren't super strong because they train, but because they recover from their training. Eat a ton of good food, drink plenty of water, get as much sleep as you can and make sure your program is well thought-out so you're significantly stronger next year than you are now.

Whimsical Wednesday: SAPT's Version of Lembas Bread

Admit it, when you either read or saw lembas bread in Lord of the Rings, you really wanted some.

Yes!

There's several recipes out there for it, but I made up a protein and fiber-rich version for the nerdy-lifter that I am. *Disclaimer* I'm still tweaking the amounts, so this may not be perfect but it'll at least be a platform in which to launch your own version of lembas.

I used coconut flour as my base. Say wha? Yep, coconut flour is merely dried coconut meat ground up into a flour-like consistency. What's so good about coconut flour? I'm so glad you asked!

Tell me about coconut flour.

Benefits of coconut flour:

1. Very high in fiber, about 9 grams for 2 tablespoons, which is fantastic for, well, the whole poop thing. Compare that to the fiber content of wheat flour, which is a dismal 1-2 grams... ick. Perfect for keeping you regular while traipsing through Middle Earth.

2. It's gluten free which is helpful for those who have a gluten intolerance or allergy and still want to eat lembas. Or, even if you don't it's nice to give your system a break from the gluten of bread and other gluten filled treats. (it's everywhere...).

3. Contains the healthy fats of the glorious coconut. However, I'm not sure how much of it is actually retained in the flour version since it goes through a defatting process. Some of that fat is better than none though. This helps fuel those long treks across Mordor. How else do you think Sam and Frodo made it? Not on fat-free Snackwell's cookies!

4. Does not have the power to raise glucose levels like other flours (wheat, oat, etc) so those watching their blood sugar... rejoice! Steady blood sugar bodes well for sustained battles with orcs.

Now, onto the recipe. Sorry I don't have pictures. I didn't think to take any during the process.

- 1-1 1/2 cups coconut flour (depending on how big of a batch you want to make)

- 1-2 scoops protein powder-o-choice

- 1 somewhat-heaped tablespoon of coconut oil, melted

- Roughly 1 cup of almond milk (or regular milk). The amount will vary depending on the consistency of the batter you desire.

- 1 egg or 1 heaping tablespoon of nut butter. Coconut flour can be very dry, so the addition of either one will help cut that down a bit. Just know that the peanut butter will take away from the lembas-y taste. I don't think lembas had peanut butter in it.

- 1-2 tablespoons of agave or honey

- 1 teaspoon of vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 275 and grease a cookie sheet.

2. Combine the dry ingredients, flour and protein powder, and break up any lumps with a spoon.

3. Add the coconut oil, egg (or PB), vanilla, and agave/honey and combine well.

4. Slowly add the milk until the consistency no longer resembles wet sand. It should be more clay-like or maybe slightly watery clay.

5. Spread evenly in pan and bake from 15-25 minutes or until lightly brown on top.

6. Allow it to cool before either gobbling it up or wrapping it in nice big leaves.

There we have it. A LOTR-inspired protein bar for the athlete or hobbit on the go!