Two Exercises to Boost Your Heart Rate, Spare Your Joints, and Have Fun while doing them, too.
One of the reasons SAPT clients love coming in to train at our facility is they get to do things they normally wouldn't in a commercial gym. I mean, how many times do you walk in your local gym and see sleds being pushed/pulled, medicine balls flying around, and people crawling around on the floor as they imitate various creatures from the animal kingdom?
Not to mention, the training they receive provides a nice "break" from the monotonous routines many people find themselves in day after day. After someone has been sitting at a desk for 8-10 hours straight, the LAST thing we're going to do is have them sit on a bunch of machines and ask them to mindlessly perform 3 sets of 10 on the chest press, leg extension, ab machine**, etc.
While it's clearly important to learn how to execute a proper squat, lunge, or hinge pattern, we also enjoy tossing in quite a few exercises that provide someone with a desired training effect (cardiovascular system development, increased strength, fat loss, etc.), and are just plain fun!
While I could discuss a host of various exercises we use to accomplish this, I'd like to share two for the time being:
- Sledge Swings
- Med Ball "Cyclone" Slams
In the first video, you'll see Doug giving the tire a piece of his mind with the sledgehammer:
And now we have Kieran performing the Cyclone Slam:
I'm a fan of both these exercises in particular for a few reasons:
1. They're a "low impact" method of improving your cardiovascular system.
Running, jumping rope, and many other common forms of "cardio" can be extremely taxing to the joints, especially when performed at high volumes. While you may be able to get away with it initially (or while you're young), you'll quickly begin to pay the price of including liberal amounts of high impact cardiovascular work.
Sledge swings and cyclone slams (or most med ball work in general) provide a fantastic outlet through which you can quickly elevate your heart rate, while at the same time sparing your joints and connective tissues. This can come in handy as a cross-training tool for endurance athletes, or for someone whose joints need a break.
2. They develop core power and strength.
Who doesn't want a stronger core? Whether your a combat athlete, a baseball player, or someone who only cares about looking better, these drills provide a solid training effect for the core. Including some more "power" oriented movements such as swings and med ball slams will provide a different stimulus to your torso than traditional core training will. Specifically, your trunk will have to undergo extension (eccentrically), and transmit force in all three planes of motion (frontal, sagittal, and transverse).
3. The sledge swings will enhance grip, forearm, and wrist strength.
Assuming your hitting a giant tire with the sledgehammer, you'll improve your wrist stability (due to the rebounding nature of the tire), on top of developing muscles all throughout your hands and forearms.
4. They're a sneaky way of incorporating some thoracic mobility into a program.
When performed correctly, your thoracic spine will undergo both extension and rotation (this is a good thing) during each repetition of these drills. Considering many of us have lost significant t-spine mobility (from slouching too much, perhaps like you're doing now as you read this), it's important to incorporate exercises that promote mobilization of the thoracic spine.
5. Everyone needs to take out a little aggression from time to time, don't they?
No need to elaborate here.
Anyway, I encourage you to remember that training should ALWAYS be fun (at least in some sense of the word), and I hope these exercises presented allow you to think a bit more outside the box when it comes to exercise. Training doesn't have to entail hopping on the treadmill for 45 minutes and mindlessly pounding away, step after step, all while watching the T.V. in order to make the minutes pass by more quickly.
**Please, for the love, don't ever subject yourself to one of these machines. You'd be better served jumping into a lion's den.
An Attempt at Poetry: Achieving the Bodyweight Pullup
One of the best parts of our job is helping our clientele reach a new milestone (be it a particular weight lifted, weight loss/gain goal, etc.). An achievement that definitely ranks toward the top of the list is doing a full-range, bodyweight pullup for the first time. I was perusing the archives of the old SAPT website and I stumbled across a poem Chris had written a couple years ago. He became inspired by one of the SAPT girls hitting her first pullup that he busted out a poem that day. It was too good not to share. Little did you all know you trained under the watchful eye of a modern-day Robert Frost...
"My performance coach said to me as I entered SAPT;
“Miss, can you do a pull-up;”
“HAHA, ya rite, NO,” says me.
He asks me “why;”
I tell him that;
“Pull-ups are impossible; why even try.”
That’s gonna’ change he says with a smirk;
You will do pull-up;
Are you afraid of hard-work?
When “hell freezes over I say in my head;”
It’s been 7 years of gym class and still no luck;
Each test I fail; I should just put this one to bed.
“HAHA,” he laughs “The funny thing about pull-ups,
You’ve got to work at’um for weeks;
Pull for every inch until your head erupts.
He says, “I’ll help you map the way;
Are you onboard?”
Aye Captain; I’ll have my day!
Weeks went by, and work we did;
We ran the gambit;
Partials; ISO’s, Ecc’s; Assisted.
Most of time I just wanted to cry;
“Press he on,” he said; “A quitting attitude won’t cut it;
It simply won’t fly.”
So I fought tooth and nail, through the arm numbing burn;
Pull-ups I will own you;
This I will earn.
Finally, the day came, it was time to test;
“I’m nervous,” I said;
“Don’t be,” he said, “just try your best.”
So I chalked-up my hands, and pulled with all my might;
My chin….CLEARED THE BAR;
OH, WHAT A FIGHT!”
I triumphantly dropped from the bar;
Pull-ups, I defeated;
Coach said, “You should be proud, you’ve come so far.”
It wasn’t the pull-up that meant so much;
It was what I had learned;
All the planning, fighting, and such.
This I will remember for the rest of my time;
Nothing is owed to me; plan, fight, execute, then fight some more;
Extract from for this rhyme.
Failing to do the above only will mar;
Anything worth doing in life;
Lift your chin above the bar.
-Coach Romo"
It's all about appreciating the little things....
Have a great weekend!
College signees and spring sport accolades…
Signees and spring sport accolades… College Signees:
Joseph Vanderplas (Baseball, Tennessee…okay this was kind-of old news, but whatever)
Red Dowdell (Baseball, VMI)
Ryan Dickt (Baseball, Randolph-Macon)
James Overbeek (Baseball, Randolph-Macon)
High-School Accolades:
Taylor Heasley (Softball; 1St Team All-Conference; 2nd Team All-State)
Kent Blackstone (Baseball; 1st Team All-District)
Joseph Vanderplas (Baseball; 1st Team All-District; 2nd Team All-Region; All-Met Honorable Mention)
Ryan Dickt (Baseball; Player of the Year National District; 2nd Team All-Region)
Shaun Wood (Baseball; 1st Team All-District; 2nd Team All-Region; All-Met Honorable Mention)
Red Dowdell (Baseball; 1st Team All-District; 2nd Team All-Region)
John Yoest (Baseball; 1st Team All-District)
Justin Snow (Baseball; 2nd Team All-District)
James Overbeek (Baseball; 1st Team All-District)
If you’re looking to for the most comprehensive, results driven, freakin’ awesome performance training…you can begin your journey by clicking HERE…
Big ups…
Chris
3 Training Myths Exposed, Vol. 2
(Note: the link at the bottom takes you to my most recent OneResult article) In the first volume of this series we discussed three training mistakes happening at gyms across the country. I’d, however, be flat out lying to you if I said those are the only three I see on a daily basis.
Thus, in an effort to set the record straight here are three more myths that need to be exposed. We’re all, at one time or another, guilty of doing one or more of these, so please read on, help spread the word, and let’s set the record straight once and for all.
Mistake #4: Copious Volumes of Long Distance Running
It seems when an athlete (or even your general fitness enthusiast) seeks advice for conditioning, he or she usually hears something like:
“Let’s see, ummm….just go on a long run 2-3x/week….yeah, that should do it!”
Here are three things more productive than performing copious amounts of long distance running:
Continue Reading....
7 Ways to Help Your Golf Swing
Recently, I was speaking with a colleague about the elusive "magic bullet" golfers are always trying to find. This behavior pattern is similar to the overweight person who refuses to buckle down and do actual work to lose the extra inches and pounds. They would rather spend money on ineffective supplements and As-Seen-on-TV merchandise that promises a quick fix to 5 years of poor eating and exercise habits. Somehow it never quite works out the way the box says it will. Golfers tend to have a similar disorder driven by products on the Golf Channel that point them towards virtually everything except the only proven method to improving golf specific performance: integrated weight lifting and flexibility training. There’s nothing new or sexy about the following notes, but if you are dedicated to seeing your accuracy and distance improve, then give these tips a try:
- A thorough dynamic warm-up will dramatically improve static and dynamic flexibility. Spend about 15-25 minutes to get a sufficient warm-up prior to weight training. Standard dynamic movements for the SAPT golfer include: prisoner squats, over speed good mornings, knee hugs, Frankenstein kicks, walking lunge with twist, lying reach-backs, hip bridge, bent knee twist, active “t” stretch, plus many, many more.
- Prehab everyday to keep the pain away. Prehabilitation exercises are special movements designed to help prevent injury in specific high-risk muscles or joints. Terminal knee extensions, rotator cuff movements, and grip strength/mobility movements are great places to start.
- Golf, like most power sports, relies heavily on the strength of the posterior chain. Your posterior is comprised of all the muscles on your backside, so get these areas as strong as possible. You will see improvement in drive length and golf posture.
- Instead of traditional supersets, take an integrated approach to flexibility training by coupling a strength exercise with a dynamic flexibility exercise. For example, couple a squat with a movement geared towards improving T-spine mobility (like lying reachbacks). This approach increases workout efficiency, allows for rest between sets, and places a greater priority on active flexibility training.
- Stance is best trained through traditional strength movements: squat variations, good mornings, rows, hang clean, etc. Powerful hip rotation is driven by a strong posterior.
- Backswing, downswing, and follow-through are best trained through a series of special exercises and flexibility movements. If you are a right-handed player, part of the goal here is to help achieve greater stance specific strength in left arm abduction and right arm adduction (if you swing left-handed the goal is left arm adduction and right arm abduction strength).
- Be smart and train all aspects of muscular contraction: concentric, isometric, and eccentric. Examine all parts of the swing and stance to determine what types of strength are needed throughout. For example, a great deal of isometric strength is needed in the adductors and lower back to maintain proper golf posture.
Make It Effective
Understand that there is a right and wrong way to do everything and everyone will have a different starting point. Because serious golfers have a heightened ability to perceive changes in their body, they are extremely sensitive to any new demands imposed on their bodies. Be conservative in your approach to starting a strength training program – remember we’re after long-term consistency. To improve new program effectiveness, several factors need to be taken into consideration:
- Training age
- Chronological age (this is important as golf is one of the few sports where it is possible for a 57 year old to consistently beat a 20 year old)
- Stance
- Backswing
- Downswing
- Follow-through
- Flexibility through all stages of swing and standard flexibility
Look at each of these variables independently to identify strengths and weaknesses. Then take a step back and look at the whole picture to determine training priority. For example, if you have a difficult time maintaining a flexed and stable posture during the downswing, then there may be a problem with calf flexibility – notes like this will help inform exercise priority.
A carefully planned and consistent program that includes weight training and flexibility will provide huge returns and lower scores.
Hello Sensei, Please Improve my Running Technique
I've written in the past how roughly 60-70% of runners will suffer a serious injury in a given year. This is primarily due to two critical variables: poor general movement quality, and less-than-optimal running specific technique. The terrible movement quality that most runners possess is a byproduct of musculoskeletal weakness, mobility restrictions (in key areas), and lack of stability (in key locations). When you take all of those deficiencies and utilize them to perform roughly 1,500 plyometric repetitions per mile, it’s no surprise that most runners end up injured in one form or another. When it comes down to running technique, most people don’t think twice about hiring a coach to help them. They just hop on the road and get after it. Let me ask you:
- If you had never been shown how to swim, would you jump in the deep end for a casual dive?
- If you had never been taught how to spar, would you enter a cage for a mixed martial arts fight?
- If you had never been instructed on how to drive, would you just hop in the car and speed off on the highway? Well, maybe some of you would, but I digress.
Yet most of us, when we want to run, just go out and do it. Interesting, huh?
I’ve previously discussed how hiring a coach is extremely important if you’re serious about reaching a particular goal. This may be a business coach, a martial arts coach, or a strength coach (wink wink). It’s a no brainer that if we genuinely want to reach our goals as efficiently and effectively as possible, then we should hire an expert to guide us to a desired outcome.
Well, this past weekend was an opportunity for me to put my money where my mouth is. As I’m increasingly falling in love with obstacle course races, and would like to pursue this endeavor for quite a long time (and thus need to keep myself free of chronic injury), I decided to meet with a running instructor (and fellow strength colleague) John, to help me “fix my stuff.” In fact, Kelsey (my fiancée, and also a CSCS) joined in, too, so it created something fun/relaxing to do as a couple in the midst of wedding preparation.
It was an incredible learning experience for both Kelsey and I, and also a fantastic reminder for what it’s like to be on the other side of a coaching session. Given that both of us spend the majority of our week helping others with movement-related exercises/improvements, it was definitely cool to be the ones receiving the coaching cues for a change. It was also a great reminder to experience what it feels like to try something new, and go through the step-by-step process of learning a new skill.
Here is a video that John took of me running before any instruction. He just told me to run as if I was going on a nice Summer jaunt. I slowed down the video so you can see what’s actually happening.
You can see that I reach WAY out in front of me, landing on my heel and keeping my center of mass well behind my foot strike. There’s a host of other problems (that John pointed out to me), but I’ll keep it simple for now.
After John filmed Kelsey and me running in our “natural” form, he took us inside for about 75-minutes of instruction and practice. We performed drills on a wall, partner-assisted exercises, and various progressions to help us learn proper running technique. It was pretty cool and John did an excellent job of teaching us to “crawl” before we run. It reminded me of how, at SAPT, we teach someone to goblet squat well before placing them under a barbell.
Now, look at my running form after John worked with us. Obviously it is still far from perfect (you can only perfect so much in 75-minutes), but I was still amazed at the improvement in such short a time span:
You can see that I now land on the ball of the foot, keeping my center of mass over my foot strike (thus significantly reducing the impact force on my body). Again, there were MANY other improvements that John helped us with (slightly leaning forward to take advantage of gravity’s assistance, “pulling” with the rear leg, maintaining a neutral pelvic tilt, landing softly, etc.), but I’ll spare the detail for now.
I still have a LOT to work on, and the greatest challenge for me will be to resist the urge on performing 800-meter repeats (or even 200 meters) with a different running form than I'm used to. Just like we SAPT coaches won't put someone under a barbell until they've proved they're ready for it, I need to "cook myself slow" in order to set myself up for success in long haul. Rome wasn't built in a day, ya know?
Anyway, I guess the point of this post was to:
A) Give a gentle reminder that, no matter who you are, you're never above receiving instruction from someone else. It would have done me no good to stubbornly insist that I don't need help with something exercise-related because I'm a performance coach. We can ALWAYS improve on something, even if it's within the same general sphere as our "expertise."
B) Bring home the point that we need to be PROactive in our modalities for treating dysfunction, not REactive. Most runners (and lifters) tend to treat their problems only after they arrive (surgery, ice, NSAIDs, etc.) instead of taking measures to prevent an issue before it even arrives. In this case, for me, it was learning how run more efficiently (reduce ground impact forces upon landing, expend as little energy as possible on each step, etc.), in hope that I can enjoy something I love for a longer period of time with minimal interruptions.
C) There is no C, but I wanted three points, so there we go.
