Monday Musings: Captain America, Exercise Pairings, etc.
1. Lyme's. So I forgot to mention that - when I went on a backpacking trip a couple weeks ago to catch some breathtaking views of the Shenandoah Valley - I also went to, apparently, catch a nice dose of Lyme's disease. This bear is brutal (crazy how large a punch that little tick packs), and I don't wish it upon anyone. It completely wipes you out, and is extremely tough to diagnose (all my blood tests came back negative). When I was in the ER, they even shoved a needle into my spine to withdraw spinal fluid in order to search for an infection in the nervous system. (Doctors, I know you meant well, but I'd kinda like my spinal fluid back whenever you get a chance). Anyway, I'm extremely blessed to have access to medical aid, a family/fiancee that took incredible care of me, and awesome co-workers that were able to pick up the slack while I was out. Those 10 days were pretty grueling (lost about ten pounds, too), but I'm on the mend and fortunately they were able to catch it before it evolved into something much worse. And, yes, I realize you spell the fruit in the picture l-i-m-e, but give me a break! Just trying to keep some pictures in here for you all.
2. Captain America. I have to admit, I was very disappointed with this one (you let me down, RottenTomatoes!). As the worse of the Lyme's symptoms were dying down over the weekend, I decided the natural course of action for my first low-key outing would be to go see the latest Marvel character on the big screen. Even though I cringe when spending the outrageous fee that theaters are charging, I generally enjoy Super Hero movies (Batman, X-men, the first Spider Man, etc.), so I decided to take my chances with Captain America. Anyway, they pretty much blew it with this one. The plot was sub-par, and even the action just seemed a bit forced. Not to mention, whenever the bad guys would salute their leader, they'd throw up both arms and yell 'Hail, Hydra!'
Hail Hydra?! Really??? Is that the best you can do?
The only thing they did correctly with this movie was show Chris Evans with his shirt off intersperse a fair amount of humor throughout the film, which was actually pretty funny.
3. Quick Thoughts on a Common Exercise Pairing. Is a Chinup and Bench Press a *true* antagonistic pairing? Most lifters who’ve investigated training understand how important it is to balance one’s program. For example, you should “pull” just as much (if not more) as you “push” in order to promote structural integrity and keep shoulder health in check. In other words, if you perform 3 sets of a bench press, you should also be performing 3 sets of a row variation. Or, if you perform 4 sets of a military press, then you should perform 4 sets of a lat pulldown or pullup. Often these are performed as supersets, or “alternating sets” to save time and increase work density. One premise of this, in the context of shoulder health, is to include as much external rotation of the humerus (upper arm bone) as internal rotation.
HOWEVER, while it's a great place to start, it's not always just about 'pulling' and 'pushing.' Using just one example: It's very common to see a chinup and bench press pairing. What many don’t realize is that as you execute a chinup, you actually drive internal rotation of the shoulder joint. Guess what you’re also driving when you bench press? Internal rotation.
So, a chinup and bench press pairing, while it may look good on paper, isn’t a true antagonistic pairing. I’m not saying it’s a bad pairing and should never be used, but just trying to elucidate the point that it’s not always just about pushing and pulling, It’s important to understand what is occurring, mechanically, at each joint, if we’re seeking true balance in our programming.
4. The Bull Shark is the only shark that can live in both salt and freshwater. Just sayin.'
5. My Current Program. Well, more accurately, the program I'll be following once the Lyme's is out of me. Long story short, I'm pretty beat up. As I noted in a post a couple weeks back, my left shoulder is pretty angry, so not only is bench pressing going to be nixed for a lonnngg time, but unfortunately I need to cease back squatting, too (holding the bar in back squat places the shoulder joint in a position of pretty extreme horizontal abduction and external rotation, which can be pretty risky (depending), and I've experienced plenty of pain from it so it's out for now).
Also, I did something pretty stupid a couple months back (for the sake of brevity) and injured my left leg. I haven't figured out exactly what it is yet, but I do know that I experience a significant piercing sensation in my quad when I'm under load and undergo hip flexion greater than roughly 110 degrees. As such, unfortunately, I need to omit any exercises that exacerbate the symptoms (which, through experimentation, include most quad-dominant exercises such as front squats, forward lunges, and also pretty much any plyo drill involving significant deceleration).
As such, here's what the jist of my program is going to entail:
- Loads of horizontal pulling (can't really do enough of this)
- Pushup Variations (weighted, suspended, etc.)
- Hip-Dominant lower body exercises (namely, deadlifts and their variations)
- Sled work
- Lots of Pullups. I'm going to use this time to see what I can get up to in the pullup realm.
I'll be sure to keep everyone posted, and, hopefully, garner some solid results from the program in spite of the injuries.
That's it for today. Hopefully it was random enough for you all and that you learned some things (you'll thank me later for the Bull Shark trivia).
The Best Mobility Series You're Not (Yet) Doing
This series is from Grey Cook and I absolutely LOVE it. It's a staple mobility movement for all my teams at Mason, especially while they're in-season. The very first and very last portion that gets cut off is simply an overhead stretch (lift your chest and straighten out your arms).
The sequence is very time efficient and takes care of mobilizing everything you need to prior to a squat session like these NAAAASTY speed squats I did a couple years ago: ...I used to be able to move some weight.
This mobility series also works great at home should you find yourself monitoring a small child's breakfast and not actually eating yourself: Okay, I know that was a reach, but I really wanted to post an Arabella video - it's Friday, after all!!
Give the Squat Mobility Series a go - your entire posterior chain and your hips will thank you!
Monday Guest Post
Stevo is still pretty under the weather. So, in his place on this fine Monday, Ryan Wood will make his blog post debut! Enjoy: I was recently talking to a friend of mine who is a former collegiate basketball player about strength and conditioning for basketball. Our conversation was centered on getting faster in the change of direction aspect of defensive slides. He asked me what he should do and I began thinking about what I used to do or what coaches would make me do in order to get better at this same exact thing. Endless amounts of wall sits, shuttles, and defensive slide drills flooded back into the forefront of my mind as well as stomach acid in my esophagus. After the thoughts and stomach acid dissipated I began thinking as a professional strength coach and not as a high school basketball player. Because of my troubles playing defense when I was younger I wanted to give him good sound advice.
I was always told when my man got by me that I had to be faster changing direction. Well 10 years later after no one was able to tell me exactly how to do that, I found out for myself. When a ball-handler decides to cross over with the basketball it is up to the defender to suddenly stop a full speed slide, plant, push off their outside foot to switch directions, and continue into another full speed slide. Sounds like a lot right? Now you can see why defenders get beat so much off the dribble and why things like help defense exist.
In the scenario I described what you see is the product of the defenders ability to start and stop. This may seem easy but it’s really quite hard, especially when you are not genetically gifted. In order for a defender to stop they have to be able to absorb the force of their own body against the floor while almost instantaneously using the same side of the body to produce force into the floor to start their movement again. Now if this still seems easy let me throw another wrench into the equation. Not only do you have to absorb and produce force in order to change directions you have to be able to do it fast (high velocity). If there lacks an ability to perform this change of direction quickly, then you just got beat by your man.
Can anyone pick out the two key words that are extremely important to this whole defense thing? If you guessed “wrench” or “easy” then take another guess. The two key words are force and velocity. And what do we get when we multiply force times velocity? POWER! Power is the key to being an excellent defender. Now I’m sure you’re asking how you can increase your power output in order to become a better defender. I could write something lengthy on this subject but I’ll just give you a couple key exercises to use. These exercises will help you produce more power and provide specificity to the change of direction aspect of defensive slides.
First, dynamic effort squats to depth. This type of squat is performed at maximal speeds with submaximal weight (50-65% of a 1RM). This type squat will allow you to switch from the eccentric to the concentric phase at high speeds not unlike the change of direction that occurs during a defensive slide. This exercise will call on the same main musculature that is required when playing defense (knee and hip extensors).
Second, lateral bounds and stick. This exercise is extremely important for players looking to better their man-to-man defense. The reason being is that it improves power output by working on your ability to absorb and produce force unilaterally (one side of the body). I would argue that during the change of direction phase of defense that it is predominantly a unilateral movement rather than bilateral. However, that whole argument is a different topic for a different day. This exercise will also help in ACL injury prevention by improving the musculature and connective tissue of the knee.
Third, banded monster walks. This exercise provides some great activation and strengthening of the glutes. Considering most people are very quad dominant, especially basketball players, the ability to properly activate your glutes is vital to being able to produce force at high velocities. Defense is as easy as Power = Force X Velocity. It’s a bad joke; but you’ll remember it.
A shoulder saver, and some training footage...
What’s up folks! Today I bring you yet another awesome “shoulder saver” exercise. I’ve been programming these suckers with reckless abandon over the past month. Ladies and Gents, I give you the “Standing W”. This footage was taken from our comprehensive online database of exercises used to coach our distance coaching clientele.
Why is this a great exercise? Not only does it smoke the external rotators, but it forces the individual into scapular retraction as well. Also, if performed correctly, this movement will recruit lower trap with minimal upper trap activation.
From a coaching standpoint, I find the movement to be “Dumby-Proof,” meaning it’s extremely easy to learn (and coach) as it puts the individual in an advantageous position to move and execute correctly. The ol’ “pinch my finger” cue comes in handy if the individual isn’t retracting and depressing appropriately. Anyone can benefit from a “Standing W,” especially overhead athletes (baseball, softball, etc.).
I’ve also been getting some inquiries regarding our Buttkamp classes. You know, our bootcamp styled classes that are scientifically designed to kick your butt? Well here’s some footage from last week. These ladies are getting strong!
Chris (Romo) Romanow
Depletion Pushup Eccentrics
It’s really great how some exercise variations come about. Every once in a while an athlete I work with will misinterpret an exercise in such a creative way that the misinterpretation becomes a new variation in its own right. Here’s an example: for Mason Women’s Basketball I programmed Diminishing Pushups for the team’s very last movement of the week. I wrote about these here a few weeks ago.
Trust me, they’re a pretty punishing way to finish a hard training week, but what one of the girls came up with as her interpretation is a sick and twisted variation. So, sick and twisted that I will likely cycle these into their program in the future.
Diminishing Pushup Eccentrics
***To be done at the end of a training week***
3xAMAP :03-:06 eccentrics in 90 seconds (rest :90 between sets)
John was kind enough to finish off his training this morning with this insanity. John did a great job making these look smooth as butter and just as easy! But you should know John just finished his D1 wrestling career and is generally in outstanding condition at any moment in time. He benches close to 300lb and I’d be can rep out well over 100 pushups in a row. But you can see even with the seemingly innocent 25lbs on his back he’s having a rough time at the end of his first set.
Consider giving them a try without using the concentric (the push back up), so just lower yourself slowly to the ground over and over for time.
Good Luck!
A Little Deadlift Troubleshooting
Something I find myself frequently discussing with the athletes and adults at SAPT (as well as with Sarah, Chris, and Ryan) is that there is ALWAYS room for improvement in the lifting and performance realm. More specifically, there is always room for improvement with regards to form. One can always make his or her form just a little better, even if he or she has been training for years on end. Case in point: I recently stumbled across an old video on my computer that Kelsey (my lovely fiancee) had filmed for me when I was around the 15-month mark of learning the deadlift. During this particular deadlift session, I was pulling 285lbs for as many reps as I could without technical breakdown (i.e. rounding of the back, hips shooting up ahead of the shoulders, etc.). Given that I'd severely injured my low back due to improper deadlift form in high school, I wanted to be sure my form was spot-on, so that I could continue to progress accordingly.
A couple years ago, when I initially watched the video, I gave myself a small pat on the back. Not because I was lifting a lot of weight (I wasn't, and I readily admit my deadlift is far from world-class), but because, at the time, I thought my form looked pretty good. At least, it appeared angelic compared to the form you see in people like THIS deadlifting across America (Warning: don't watch the video unless you want to crawl into the fetal position under your desk).
HOWEVER, as I re-watched my deadlift video the other day, I chuckled a bit because I realized that my form was far from perfect, although I didn't realize it at the time. Were there a lot of good things going on? Sure. But, there are also a few tweaks that "2011 Stevo" would make if he were coaching this.
Here are three coaching cues I would give to correct some of the errors in the video:
- "Pack the Neck"
- Reset the bar between each rep (i.e. don't bounce it off the floor)
- Finish "tall" at the top
Let's quickly go over each one....
1. Pack the Neck
In the video, I'm looking straight ahead, thus hyperextending my neck/cervical spine at the start. This can put significant undue pressure along the cervical spine, negatively affect mechanics further down your back (at the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae), and actually compromise your breathing patterns, too.
So, I would cue to "pack the neck," or, make a "double chin" by looking down and pulling the chin in.
This may be very difficult for those of you who have been deadlifting for a long time with eyes looking straight ahead, and I won't deny that there are many elite deadlifters that lift this way. However, I do think it would be wise to at least begin practicing neck packing during your warm-ups, and gradually work towards keeping sound spinal mechanics up through max attempts. Also, I CERTAINLY recommend teaching it to beginners so that they can develop good habits right from the start.
2. Reset the Bar Between Each Repetition
As you can see, I transition, quite quickly, from the lowering to the lifting phase of the movement. I'm not "bouncing" it, per se, but I'm certainly not letting the bar settle completely, either.
The reason I recommend pulling every rep from a dead stop is this takes out the stretch reflex. Deadlifting seventeen reps without pausing (as in the video) is much easier than pulling seventeen reps with a pause between each rep. This is of special importance for those that are training for a max deadlift attempt, as well as those working on their starting strength. When you go for a max deadlift, you don't get to set the bar down and utilize the stretch reflex. Instead. you have to pull it from a dead stop. Be warned, lest Newton's first law (inertia) reign victorious over you.
Now, for those of you seeking a little bit more volume, I could see an argument for a "controlled bounce" betwixt each rep, but that is a different story. In general, I recommend that most trainees reset the bar in order to ensure safety and form are in check.
3. Finish the Pull "Tall"
If you look carefully, there are a number of reps where I don't stand completely vertical at the top. I'm slightly hinging forward from the trunk up. It's important to finish the rep by standing TALL, completely pulling the shoulder blades "down and back." This will ensure you're getting the hips all the way through (using your glutes and hamstrings and minimizing anterior pelvic tilt), strengthening the thoracic erectors, and pulling the scapulae into full retraction and depression.
So, essentially, as I'm coming up to the top, 2011 Stevo would tell pre-B.C. Stevo to:
- Hump the bar
- Stand tall with the chest out, as if you're strutting your stuff at the beach.
So, what does it all look like? Here's a demo:
Granted, there is still room for improvement (as I said in the beginning, there ALWAYS is...), but there are many more good things happening here than in the first video.
