An Overuse of the "Arch Your Back" Cue, and How to Create Better Positioning During Your Lifts
"Pull your chest through.""Stick your chest out." "Put your shoulder blades in your back pocket." "Arch your back....I said, ARCH!"
If you've ever set foot in the weight room, I bet you've heard at least one of the above verbal cues spat out hundreds of times by a coach or trainer in the middle of teaching someone to lift weights.
And for good reason, considering that this is what I usually see when I watch the average gym-goer set up to perform a deadlift or row:
Not pretty, right? And something that should make you want to throw your face into an axe.
We know that lifting with a round back (flexion), at least in the lumbar region, is exceedingly dangerous, large thanks due to Dr. Stuart McGill and his research showing that repeated lumbar flexion, especially under load, is the exact mechanism for disc herniation.
So, what did we do as an industry? We took the stance that if lumbar flexion is bad, then we should keep people as far away from that as possible. If extending (arching) your back is good, then the more the better, right? This thought process lead to us ensuring that everyone "arched their back," or "pulled their chest through" as much as humanly possible anytime they set up to perform a deadlift, row, squat, you name it.
Guess what? Excessive extension is bad, just as excessive flexion is bad.
Overextension in the lumbar region can be just as evil as flexion. What shows up on your doorstep when you do it for too long? Hellooo to low back pathology, to spondy and her cousins. Hello to facet irritation. Hello to an even greater anterior pelvic tilt. Hello to crazy stiff lats and a weak anterior core. Hello to literally cranking on the passive restraints of your back (not a good thing). Goodbye to stronger lifts.
Below is a bevy of comparisons I've put together, showcasing what is commonly seen as good form (sticking your chest out, or overarching your back), alongside a picture of what your back should look like. The pictures on the left show broken, ugly positioning while the pictures on the right display stable and sound positioning.
Instead of performing our lifts with a hyperextended spine, we want a neutral spine. A neutral spine is a happy spine.
TRX Row
Seated Row
Chest-Supported Row
Bent-Over Row
Anti-Rotation Press
Bent-Over Barbell Row
Goblet Squat (Top)
Banded W
Deadlift (Middle)
It may surprise some of you to see what you may have initially thought of as good form, to actually be broken. And knowing how to cue neutral spine is of even greater importance when you're working with someone with extension-based back pain, or even an athlete who lives and breathes in an extended posture.
And it's no wonder why you see so many ugly internet videos of people performing high rep snatches, with the top of each one looking something like this:
When we have crazy stiff lats and a weak anterior core from performing everything in extension, it's no wonder why so many of us look like utter poo poo when we go overhead.
Closing Thoughts
- Telling someone to arch their back or stick their chest out isn't always a bad thing, you just have to use discernment as to when to use it. Some people - i.e. desk jockeys or those with very kyphotic postures - may actually need to extend their back as much as they possibly can, just to get to neutral! These are the folks you may find yourself cueing "chest out," "arch your back" over and over again to help them get out of flexed (rounded) posture into neutral, and, depending on the population you work with, you may in fact find this scenario way more common than the reverse (those who shoot way past neutral into hyperextension).
- For those with flexion-intolerant back pain, it can be O.K. to cue a minor bit of extension during core stability exercises, lunge variations etc. just to drive a bit of intended extension and help them get out of the flexed posture they sit/stand in.
- It's kind of ironic that fitness professionals always freak out about anterior pelvic tilt, and yet the way we we've been cueing exercises have only exacerbated the issue! We bang ourselves against the wall when we stretch our hip flexors into oblivion and then go right into a deadlift or glute bridge with a hyperextended spine.
- The captions "broken" and "fully operational" in the pictures above are references, of course, to the different statuses of the death star ray gun in The Return of the Jedi.
Common Exercise Corrections: Pain in The Knee During Lunging
Installment numero three-o in the common exercise fix series. To recap: 99% of the time it's not the exercise, it's the execution that's causing issues.
So, let's say you're doing a split squat, step back lunge, forward/walking lunge or some other lunging variation that I forgot to mention and, oh bugger, your knee hurts.
If you have pain in the front knee...
- Check your shin angle. If it's not perpendicular to the floor... then you probably are experiencing pain in the front of your knee.
Look at that shin!
- Check your variation. Some folks just can't do forward-moving lunges. Switch to a reverse lunge (above) or split squat variation, thus minimizing the sheer force on the knee (also, of course, maintaining that vertical shin).
- Still having problems? Check how you're applying force through your foot. (Sorry, that was an awkward sentence) Are you pushing through the ball of your foot to stand up or your heel? Pushing through your heel will put the stress of standing up on your glute (instead of the quad) and your glutes are a LOT better at producing hip extension than your quads. Matter of fact, think about pulling yourself upright through your heel as you stand up. (This applies to step-ups too.)
If you have pain in the back knee...
- Check your back leg's placement. Are you in line or is the back leg at a goofy angle? You want to stand about hip-width apart and make sure that your knee is going straight down (instead of in or out at an angle). How does one create such a delightfully descending back knee? Squeeze your butt. It should straighten out any wild knees.
- Check your variation. Maybe switch to a lunge exercise that doesn't require the back leg to work as hard, a Bulgarian split squat, might work as you're not supposed to use the back leg as much.
Note* this has an ISO hold at the beginning of the set.
- Still hurting the back knee? Perhaps try a different single leg exercise such as a bowler squat, a single leg squat progression or single leg RDL. Those will help train the posterior chain (which might be the source of your knee pain, weak glutes or hamstrings) as well as your hip stabilizers (adductors, glute medii, quadratus lumborum) as it might be an instability in your hips that are causing the knee pain.
If, after trying all these fixers, your knees still hurt, well, don't do lunges (you're in the percentage of folks that just need to stay away from them). There are plenty of other single-leg exercises out there that are just as awesome!
Common Exercise Corrections: Lower Back Pain in Deadlifting and Squatting
I hope everyone fared hurricane Sandy safely! We"re so thankful that worst of it bypassed the DC area!! Thoughts and prayers go out to those in NY and NJ which seemed to have brunt of Sandy"s fury poured out upon them!
Secondly, a GINORMOUS congratulations to the following SAPT ladies who made the all-district volleyball teams:
1st team- Caitlyn, Eliza and Hannah
2nd team - Kenzie
Honorable mention- Clare, Maggie and Carina
Congratulations ladies!! All your hard work in here paid off!
Anyway, onward and upward. As stated in my previous corrections post, it"s usually not the exercise that"s causing pain, it"s the execution.
Today"s topic: Lower back pain/irritation during a squat or deadlift.
From the outside eye, everything looks great: Lower back is tight and has a slight arch, the upper back is stiff, the hips are moving back like they should... but there"s a niggling pain in the lower back. What gives?
This is a perfect example. Kerry looks pretty good for the most part, but she had a little bit of a pain in her lower back as she pulled. (thankfully she told me. Lesson to trainees: coaches, though we are Jedis, we can"t always tell if you"re having a pain. Speak up!) As was the case with Kerry, more often that not, the athlete isn"t bracing the abs or is not using the glutes as much as (s)he needed.
Solution:
- "Brace your abs like Now we’re back to college student credit cards based systems, pretty much the world over. you"re about to get punched" is a standard cue I tell athletes. We incorporate bracing drills, to learn proper bracing technique, but this cue will work in a pinch if the athlete hasn"t mastered bracing yet.
- "Start squeezing your glutes/cracking the walnut BEFORE you pull off the ground." (alternately, in a squat, I tell the athlete to "spread the floor with their feet" on the way down and the way up) This cue usually makes the athlete more aware of their glutes and helps them think about using them more. By activating the glutes BEFORE the pull, it acts like a primer button for a lawn mower, it gets the engine ready to work! When they glutes are doing their job well then there"s much less strain on the lower back musculature.
Again, there isn"t much visually that changed between the first and the second video, but Kerry didn"t have pain and the pull looked much more solid and confident.
So, if you have a nagging pain, brace and crack the walnut! 9 times out of 10 that will clear it all up!
How to Build a Monster Grip
Athletes involved in grappling sports are a special breed. I'm talking about the wrestlers, judo players, jiu jitsu players, MMA fighters, etc. To compete at a high level these athletes need a special blend of strength, endurance, mobility, balance, and a just touch of insanity. Additionally, an impressive trait that almost all good grapplers tend to have is ridiculous grip strength. I competed in the Copa Nova Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Fall Championships over the weekend, and after my matches my forearms were on FIRE! A big part of the game is getting a good grip on your opponent while keeping their grips off of you, so it's important to have some hands that you can rely on.
However the benefits of a stronger grip isn't limited to the grapplers. Working on grip strength can improve shoulder health, increase performance in other sports, and make activities of daily living easier. And we all know big forearms are cool.
So how do you build the vice-like grip of a grappling champion? The solution is simple, go wrestle somebody everyday.
I'm just kidding (for most of us). But here are some tips to really challenge your grip within your lifting program.
Towels
Using towels for many of your pulling exercises will make you grip harder than normal. If you relax your grip even for a moment it could slip out of your fingers. Towels can be used for pull-ups, chin-ups, cable/band rows, inverted rows, face pulls, and shrugs.
Bottoms Up KBs
I haven't tried any bottoms up kettlebell work until recently, and it was definitely more challenging than I thought. Even with what I thought was moderate weight it was difficult to control. The bottoms up position can be used for pressing variations but also for weighted carries. Try some weighted carries with a KB in a bottoms-up rack or overhead position. If you've never tried it before your forearms might be in for a surprise.
Heavy Farmer's Walks
Load up the implements and talk a stroll. With these don't worry about using a towel or finding another way to make it specifically harder for your grip. The weight alone should do the trick. Chalk up your hands if you need to, but don't use straps (duh).
Deadlifts
Picking up heavy things is one of the best ways to build up your grip. When using a barbell, try to go double overhand as long as you can when working up in weight.
Use these tips to feel better, open the tightest of pickle jars, and build a crushing handshake you can be proud of!
Lessons the Shirt Taught Me
Things got real weird on Friday night training with Ryan. What was scheduled to be a regular heavy bench session turned into my first time putting on a bench shirt. I have helped Ryan with his powerlifting gear many times before, but I've never really experienced first-hand how it feels to be in a squat suit or a bench shirt. Lesson #1: It's Not Comfortable
I learned very quickly that it doesn't feel too awesome being in the shirt. Getting it on was a pain, but I knew that was coming. I was used to being the guy on the other side of the shirt trying to force the shirt onto another human being, so I expected some discomfort. Luckily however, it was Ryan's old single-ply shirt and his enormous gunzzz stretched out the sleeves pretty nicely, making it a relatively smooth process to put it on. By the time we got the shirt on and got the sleeves and seams exactly where we wanted them I already wanted to take it off. It's super tight and forces you into a weird mummy-like position with your arms dangling out in front of you. You can't really do much about this situation until the shirt comes off.
I found myself rushing the rest periods between sets because I was more focused on getting the final set over with so I could take the evil thing off.
Lesson #2 I Couldn't Keep My Arch
The arched back seen in bench pressing is often demonized as being a flaw in technique or disadvantageous when trying to target the pecs. Whatever. I use an arch when benching because it helps to keep me tight on the bench, allows for better leg drive and provides better leverage overall to perform the lift. When benching "raw", I feel pretty confident about my arch, and I can keep it tight during the entirety of the lift. When benching in the shirt, however, I found myself losing my arch midway through the descending portion of the lift. This leads me to lesson #3...
Lesson #3 My Upper Back Is WEAK!
The shirt exposed my deep dark secret that my upper back is not up to par. When bench pressing in gear, the bar will not come down to your chest without a fight. You literally have to PULL the bar down while forcing yourself to maintain a proper arch. This takes some serious upper and mid back strength that I just didn't have. I could feel my arch collapsing and my once tightly packed shoulders becoming... not so tightly packed. Even when benching raw I always remember the cues to "row the bar down with the lats" and "keep the upper back tight," and I felt that I understood. The shirt let me know that what I originally thought was "tight enough" was an epic fail waiting to happen.
Although the shirt made me feel like a total n00b I walked away from the session with a lot to think about and a lot learned about my bench technique. I probably got some pretty good "overload" stimulation from the heavier weights that the shirt enabled me to use as well. Until next time, I'll just keep hammering away at heavy rows and pull-ups.
For your entertainment, here are a couple videos from the Friday night bench party.
Attitude vs. Environment
Great teams create an environment and culture that allow players to unlock their potential. Outside of sport, where we grow up, who we socialize with, and what our family structure is often shapes our personality. There’s no doubt that a strong and positive environment can be a major factor in determining success, however environment isn’t everything.
As a coach, or organization, it is your job to try to create the best possible environment for your players. The signs in the locker room, the practice facilities, and the marketing of the team, can all have a great impact on the performance of an athlete. Don’t take for granted the ability to shape environment and give athletes the best opportunity for success.
As a player you often have little control over your environment. You don’t pick your team, your teammates, the coaches, where you play, etc. In fact, we may be forced into certain environments that we have little control over. It’s often in those situations where excuses manifest and frustration takes over. Examples like, “my team doesn’t care about winning”, or this team “isn’t any good”, or “nobody takes this seriously”, are real examples of environment dictating attitude.
As a player figure out how you can have the best possible attitude even in the worst possible environment. Let your attitude be a driving force in changing the environment for the better. Often when our environment is poor, we fall into the trap of allowing ourselves to blend into that poor environment.
If your environment is a 2 out of 10 and your attitude is a 4 out of 10 then you may be contributing to the poor environment. However, if you take that 2 environment and improve your attitude to a 7 then maybe you can improve your environment. It’s a simple change that can often be the difference between winning and losing. Make the change and improve your attitude and environment today.
As the great Gandhi said, “be the change you want to see in the world.”
