Skipping and Athletic Performance- Can't Have One Without The Other

We’ve talked about rolling and crawling and how both can improve your athleticism (you should read those posts if you haven’t already). Next up, how skipping can improve athleticism. Yes, skipping. 

Rolling, crawling, and skipping are on the continuum of locomotion, starting with rolling and ending with running. Sounds fancy, I know, and in the process of developing global movement patterns, locomotion (moving forward, backward, or sideways) is one of the categories. Running- this includes everything from a jog to a sprint- is also part of this continuum and is obviously crucial in athletics.

However, what if you run like a newborn giraffe? How do we fix that?

Why by working on skipping! Skipping is the link between crawling and running. It’s like the peanut butter that holds the sandwich together. I stumbled across a great blog post by Allan Phillips from Pike Athletics and I think this quote sums it up quite tidily:

"If we can’t skip properly, running will require us to cheat in some way.  Cheating mechanisms are often unnoticeable by watching someone run but we know the brain must fill in the gaps for running if the basics of crawling and skipping aren’t present."

Think about it: the movement of skipping is very similar to that of running. Both are one-legged hops over distance, the opposite sides have to coordinate together (right leg + left arm and vice versa), the midsection must stay stiff in order to transfer the force applied to the ground to produce that distance-hop, and even the joints go through a similar range of motion- hips, knees, and shoulders all flex/extend in a fluid manner.

Skipping is a fantastic diagnostic tool for a coach. It quickly tells me if an athlete can a) disassociate upper and lower body (remember that from the rolling post?) and b) coordinate left and right sides of the brain/body. If they can’t do these, know where we need to go?

Back to rolling.

Back to crawling. 

We go back to the beginning of the continuum to help lay the foundation for the more advanced movements. Once we’ve established and re-developed (or maybe developing for the first time) those basic motor patterns, we can return to the skip (which is really just crawling while standing up).

I have yet to see an athlete who runs well who can’t skip. All of my goofy-looking runners (affectionately called that) can’t skip or at least can’t skip well. I am no expert on running form but by teaching athletes to skip, I can typically improve their running form with little to no extra-fancy knowledge. (Granted, if I have an athlete who needs to run very well- say a cross country runner or triathlete- I will send him/her to a running coach.)

And when we're talking about improving movement patterns for sports, strength training- which includes skipping- for young kids is imperative to combat the mentality of early sport specialization. (And I’m not the only one tooting this horn.)

Plus, skipping makes you smile. Seriously, try skipping and NOT smiling. It’s hard.

All this said, skipping is a foundational movement that, if skipped over (see what I did there) running and arguably other athletic movements will suffer. Therefore, teaching skipping.

How To Graduate To A Barbell

When it comes to utilizing barbells for strength training, many folks tend to fall into one of three camps:

Camp A: "Barbells are King. I've even heard they can cure cancer. If I'm not going to use them, then why even show up to train?"

Camp B: "Barbells are either dangerous, unnecessary, or they'll make you too bulky."

Camp C: "I can see the merit in utilizing barbells, but I've never used them before and I'm worried I may injure myself if I try."

Camps A and B are of course extreme ends of the thought spectrum, and neither mindset is helpful. Camp C is understandable, especially for someone who is new to training.

Are barbells helpful? Absolutely. Good luck finding a more practical, versatile, and economical piece of training equipment (outside of your own body, perhaps).

Can barbells cause injury? You bet. Many useful things should be handled with care - knives and electrical outlets, for instance.

It's also worth mentioning that many people (primarily males over the age of 12) tend to think they're ready for barbell training, when the reality is they're still on the "crawl" end of the crawl-->walk-->run-->gladiator-->Jedi end of the movement spectrum.

I can't tell you how many guys have insisted that I move them to a barbell as soon as they begin training at SAPT, but when I give them the benefit of the doubt (which I usually don't), and have them demonstrate a few reps of a barbell squat, it resembles something more along the lines of a newborn giraffe learning to walk than it does a proper squat pattern.

So yes, barbell lifts are more complex than many people give them credit for. However, most individuals can learn to do them with proper coaching and diligent practice.

Today, we'll cover the barbell squat. Over the next couple weeks, we'll tackle the deadlift and bench press as well.

Note: This article is by no means exhaustive, in fact it's only the tip of the iceberg; however, if you take these steps, you'll be well on your way, whether you're a lifter or a coach or works with lifters. It also assumes you're a healthy individual with no prior injury history.

The Squat
 

1. Quad Rocking

The number one rule of happy squatting is doing so with a neutral spine. (Neutral spine = your spine maintains it's natural curve throughout the lift.)

If your back looks like the photo on the right during your squat, then that is not a neutral spine, and you shouldn't be barbell squatting yet.

                                                                Photo credit: Eric Bach

A fantastic way to learn to "groove" the squat pattern while maintaining a neutral spine is through quadruped rocking:

You'll notice, as Kelsey described in this article, the quadruped rockback is the squat pattern, albeit rotated 90 degrees. [See Kelsey's article to understand the multifarious benefits of quad rocking.]

Practice rocking your butt back to your heels, without allowing this to happen on the way back.

One of our former coaches, Jarrett Brumett, helped me realize this is probably the best exercise for teaching the squat pattern, bar none. It looks seemingly-useless at first glance, but it's brutally effective.

I also use them myself during my warm-ups and off-day circuits, as they do wonders for maintaining range of motion in the knees and hips, along with providing a number of neuromuscular benefits.

Once you learn to do a proper quadruped rockback, you can add band resistance like in the video below. This variation helps you learn to "pull" yourself into hip and knee flexion (since the band is trying to push you into hip extension), just like you'd want to do during a squat, and it also causes a reflexive firing of the deep core muscles to boot.

2. Goblet Squats

Learn to goblet squat. If you can't goblet squat, then you won't be able to barbell squat.

Next to quad rockbacks, goblet squats are the best way to groove the squat pattern: the placement of the kettlebell/dumbbell forces the core to engage (to keep the torso from falling forward), and the load placement also helps the athlete to remain in an upright/stable position.

Another reason they're so utilitarian is that they can be used with both amateur athletes and seasoned trainees, simply by scaling the load, tempo, and rep scheme. Beginners can learn to goblet squat with a 15lb kettlebell or dumbbell and be golden, and I've seen professional athletes get smoked by 100lb goblet squats.

See the video below for a quick snapshot of form, and see this article for how to use goblet squats with dumbbells, and ideas for sample progressions.

3. Spinal bracing

Once you can keep a neutral spine, and perform a goblet squat with sound technique, you're almost ready to move to barbell squatting.

The next step is learning to brace the spine.

While there are a myriad other "checkpoints" to hit on the way to barbell squatting, bracing the spine is arguably the most important to nail down.

If you don't protect the spine via intra-abdominal pressure, then it doesn't really matter how many other little things you do correctly.

Why? To put it scientifically: if the spine goes, then you're pretty screwed regardless.

Also, by bracing the spine, many of the other things - neutral spine, force production, solid joint mechanics - will clean up purely by cause and effect.

See this article by Tony Gentilcore on a sound primer for bracing during the squat.

Also, see the 0:17 mark of this video to see the WRONG way to breathe in before you squat, along with some visuals on how to take in your air correctly before squatting.

4. how low should you go?

Even if you can squat to parallel without experiencing pain, that doesn't mean you should squat that low.

Here's the rule of thumb: go as low as you can without losing neutral spine, and/or without allowing the knees to collapse inward.

For some people, this may mean stopping the descent before hitting parallel (parallel = top of thigh parallel to the ground). For others, it may mean they can go down beyond parallel.

Have somebody film you from the side and front, to keep yourself honest. Often you may think you're keeping a neutral spine all the way down, but the reality is otherwise.

5. Which variation should you use?

At SAPT, we often start people off with barbell front squats before moving to back squats, because, similar to goblet squatting, it's easier to maintain a neutral spine all the way down, and it's easier for athletes to keep from falling forward.

However, there is no one-size-fits-all for squatting, and you need to experiment with what feels best for you: how wide your foot stance is, bar position, etc.

In general, I recommend a "moderate" foot stance position of feet just outside shoulder-width, as too narrow tends to make people fall into a very knee-dominant squat, and too wide will often shred the hips (not in a good way) over the long run, depending on the individual's anatomy.

You can see this article by Bret Contreras to reference a number of different squat variations, along with some good cues to remember for good technique.

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Always remember to fit the individual to the lift, rather than the other way around.

Squats are awesome, and the world would be a better place if more people did them. But not everyone needs to (nor should), squat with a barbell on their back, nor does everyone need to squat all the way to parallel. 

Taking care of your physical health and performance is a marathon, not a sprint. Work with what you have, and as long as you're progressing in some form or fashion - improved movement quality, more load lifted, higher number of reps completed, increased training density, etc. - you can rest assured knowing you're on the right track.

Guest Post: Cycling Outside vs. Inside

Today's post comes to you today from Calah Schlabach, professional triathlete and cross country coach at Marymount University in Arlington, VA. 

I hate cold weather. Absolutely. Distain. It. So, ever since our wonderful drawn-out autumn was drastically ruined by wintry temperatures last weekend, I have struggled all week to get out the door.

Of the three triathlon disciplines, the worst by far to perform in cold weather is cycling, at least for me. First there’s the extra half hour it takes to apply all the layers of clothing, then there’s the fact that you never warm up, then there’s the fact that, even though you never get warm, you actually seem to get colder as the ride goes on.

So, it seemed like a good moment to discuss the pros and cons of riding inside vs. outside. In a nutshell, I think a mix of both is good, because both have benefits and drawbacks.

One hardly has to scour the internet to find a plethora of articles that not only condone, but actually strongly encourage triathletes to ride trainers nearly exclusively. I am certainly not opposing the advice of all these writers, coaches, and professionals who are much more experienced than I am. Rather, I believe that riding outside--even in the winter--has certain advantages, and that some of it should always be maintained in one’s training plan.

First among these advantages is bike handling. Triathletes are stereotypically bad bike handlers, and I don’t feel like adding to that stereotype--or risking my own and others’ injury during a race.

Secondly, while a lot can be done on the trainer as well as (or better, some might argue) than on the road, one thing that is left out when riding the trainer is cycling-specific core development. The act of stabilizing yourself and your bike on the road works your core in a way that riding the trainer just does not. Riding rollers, rather than a trainer, is a great way to keep the core development and bike handling elements while riding indoors.

I don’t know why you choose to ride inside rather than out, but for me, my decision is either based on convenience, the specificity of the workout, or…me being a weenie. While the first two reasons may be acceptable some days, the latter never should be. As long as it is not actually dangerous to ride outside, I should not ride the trainer simply because I’m too lazy to get dressed and too wimpy to brave the cold. You can’t tell me that riding in 35-degree weather doesn’t build some mental fortitude--which brings me to my last point:

Realness. We race outside, so we should train outside--at least sometimes. Even though our sport takes place mostly in the summer months, we all get caught in cold races sometimes. In addition, it is vital to gain experience riding varied terrain in all kinds of conditions.

That all being said, I will certainly ride the trainer plenty this winter, not just because it is sometimes more efficient and realistic in my schedule, but also because it is helpful for training.

Some very specific workouts are easier and better performed on the trainer, where you can control all the variables. This is certainly true for testing your heart rate and the like. For some stages of very low heart rate training, I have no choice but to ride the trainer because even the slightest hill immediately throws my heart rate out of the proper zone. This being said, I would argue that even some specific interval workouts should be done outside on unpredictable terrain. Getting back to the “realness” point--we can’t control all the variables on race day!

Finally, I cannot cite mental toughness as a pro for riding outside without doing the same for riding the trainer. I have found that riding the trainer feels exponentially harder than riding outside--if I am doing it properly, that is. You may be able to do a quality workout while watching a comedy or your favorite TV show; I, however, seem to lack that level of multi-tasking ability.

So what am I saying? Get outside when you can this winter--it will make you a better cyclist. And when you ride the trainer, make it count--that will make you better, too!

See you out on the roads (when I’m not on my trainer, of course)!

Crawling Improves Athletic Performance... No Really, It Does!

“Baby crawls?”

“Yep, hands and knees, and crawl forward.”

“Like a baby?”

“Yes, just like a baby”

Athlete gives me side-long skeptical look…

This is a conversation I’ve had dozens of times with my athletes. Baby crawls are usually the first step in the crawling progression that all of our athletes experience. From there we progress to forward and backward baby, bear, leopard, and spider crawls/ We’ll also throw in an occasional tiger and lateral bear crawl .

Why Crawl?

I discussed hard core and soft core (or reactive core) in the primal roll post, so if you haven’t read that, I suggest you take a brief hiatus from this post to skim through that. Crawling taps into the reactive/soft core and is the next step in training the core muscle activation sequence. Recall that the inner core muscles (diaphragm, transverse abdominis, and spinal multifidi) must engage before the outer core (abdominals, obliques, and erectors) to avoid compensation patterns. Rolling, as we learned, teaches that sequence in a fairly controlled environment (aka, lying on the ground) and the crawls add the next level of challenge- moving against gravity. Think of crawls as the “level up” from rolls.

Reason #1: crawls help reinforce the core muscle firing sequence to avoid compensations down the road.

Crawling is a cross-body movement. What to I mean by that? Cross-body (also called cross-lateral) movements are those that require the left and right side to coordinate with each other to produce movement and, in some way, cross the midline of the body. Walking, running, and pretty much any feat performed in athletics are also cross-body movements. Cross-lateral movements make strong connections between the left and right side of the brain and their respective innervation patterns. You can read more HERE or HERE if you want the lite version. By practicing and training cross-body movements your brain becomes more efficient at organizing your body and how it moves. Therefore, when an athlete is on the field/court/pool his/her movements will be faster because the brain can get the message out more quickly.

I can personally attest that crawling improved both my sprint form and my endurance for running overall. I suspect it’s because a) my brain was more efficient at sending those signals and b) my inner core was stronger and coordinated with my outer core.

Reason #2: crawls strengthen and reinforces global organization for all movements.

As mentioned before, crawls train the core, and who doesn’t want a stronger core? They are also fantastic ways to finish out a workout. A surprisingly tough finisher: bear crawl 10 yards + deadbugs x 6/side; perform for 10 minutes. Waaaaay more challenging than it appears at first glance. You can also pair them with other exercise, such as pushups, if you really want to destroy, I mean, challenge yourself.

Reason #3: crawls increase overall core strength and are deceptively difficult finishers.

This post is just a brief primer on the types of crawls and why we utilize crawls at SAPT. There are plenty of other variations and more in-depth information about the benefits of crawls, but I wanted to keep it short and sweet.

And for your viewing pleasure, Steve Reed circa 2011...

Pre-Workouts: Are They A Good Idea?

Pre-workout supplements are very popular, especially amongst the 18-29 year old male population. I regularly am asked about supplements and which ones to take. Oddly, no one asks which ones to avoid. There are a lot more in that category than in the first one. case in point: I found a great article on Mike Reinold's site written by Rob Sutton, a strength coach at Champion PT and Performance (Reinold's facility)

I've never been a fan of pre-workouts. There's just too many unpronouncable and questionable ingredients for my liking. It seems to me that most of them are just caffeine dressed up in a pretty package. I, personally, think eating well (90% of the time), sleeping enough (get off freakin' social media and go to bed!), and not acting like a fool are enough to 

If you are curious about pre-workout options or currently take one, then I recommend you read this article. Read it HERE and NOW. 

If you missed our guest posts from Michael Hull on supplements, you can read those HERE and HERE. 

And, just for fun, if you want some desserts to make this holiday season, check out my post from last year. 

Quadruped Rockbacks: Improving Strength and Athletic Performance One Rock at a Time

Method behind the Madness- installment 2, the quadruped rockback. You can find Installment 1: primal rolls HERE.

Quadruped rockbacks are one of the ubiquitous exercises found on SAPT programs and usually every athlete performs some version of the quadruped rock during the training session. 

So why do these magical rockbacks hold a prominent spot in SAPT coaches’ hearts? Do they really make you stronger and more athletic? (Short answer: yes.)

How?

Three simple explanations:

1. Quadruped rocks help groove the neuromuscular (brain + muscles) pattern for both squats and hip hinge. (It carries over a bit more to the squat than the hip hinge (such as a deadlift) but the basic principle is the same.) Take a gander at the movement and pay close attention to the joint angles: neutral spine + deep hip and knee flexion.

Does that look familiar? Rotate the movement 90 degrees and you have a deep squat.

For kids- and adults- who have a difficult time maintaining a neutral spine while moving through hip/knee flexion, this drill is perfect for teaching the brain how to organize the muscular activation pattern in a very controlled setting (i.e. on hands and knees with no weight). We’ve seen smashing success in quickly teaching athletes how to squat properly.

2. Rocks provide feedback for the end-range of a person’s hip mobility, particularly in a squat. Segueing from the above point, the rock also provides the coaches visually and the athlete physically his/her end-range for a squat. The point just before where the lower back rounds and tucks under is where we want to stop. If we load a rounded lower back… bad things happen. Therefore, we want to know exactly where that stopping point is for that individual.The majority of trainees will round around the 90 degree angle (at the hip) however, some people can go further and some stop before 90 degrees.

Occasionally, it’s lack of muscular control (core, hip flexors, spinal stabilizers) in those who stop short of 90 degrees- which the quadruped rock improves over time; the rest are limited by their anatomy. Here is an informative explanatory piece from the PTDC that succinctly speaks about pelvic anatomy. It’s important to know where your limits are: not everyone can or should squat deeper than 90 degrees!

3. Last point: quadruped rocks encourage joint centration. Joint centration- a fancy term describing the optimal joint position in which there is an ideal balance of muscle tension acting on that joint- is what we strive for during movements. In the case of a squat, we want the femur (thigh bone) sitting in the center of the hip socket instead of gliding around and getting all crazy; this allows for the glute, for example, to contract optimally at the bottom in order to return to standing.

Aside from teaching the squat pattern, I personally love doing them in my warm-ups. They loosen up my hips and lower back and get the blood flowing. Even as an experienced lifter, the rockback is still beneficial in etching my squat pattern in my neuromuscular system, and anything that grooves my squat pattern is a winner in my book.  

They’re also a good “check in” movement: if my quadruped rocks are feeling achy, that’s a good indicator that I need to spend more time warming up and/or adjust my training for the day if needed.   

Rockbacks improve performance overall by contributing to stronger, more efficient squats and deadlifts both of which increases your athletic prowess by 1000% because being stronger will do that sort of thing.

Pretty fantastic for a humble rock back right?

Note that there are several other variations that we use here at SAPT so today’s explanation is merely the basics. If you don’t train with us, throw in some rockbacks and reap the benefits!