Q&A: Strength training vs. conditioning

During the season, I have 2 days scheduled in the weight room.  For the time in the wrestling room, should I not have them do any sandbag work?  Should it all be "conditioning"?  What's the difference between strength training and conditioning??

I'll start by answering the last question and then work my way backwards - What's the difference between strength training and conditioning?

The simple answer is that pretty much everything can be considered conditioning (even strength training). It all depends on how you are combining the movements and planning the work to rest ratios.

Specifically for wrestling (and all of the combat sports) I would absolutely suggest utilizing the sandbags along with body weight resistance. After all, the conditioning required for wrestling deals completely with one wrestler being able to manipulate another wrestler's body weight during a specific time frame. So, focusing 1 or 2 days a week (of the three set aside for conditioning) on weighted conditioning series/circuits would be completely appropriate.

Here is a sample 3-min circuit:

1. Sandbag Zercher Squat x :25 (:05 given as rest/exercise transition time)

2. Up/Down to Broad Jump x :25 (:05 rest)

3. Sandbag Overhead Carry x :55 (:05 rest)

4. Jump Pullups x :25 (:05 rest)

5. Tiger Crawl x :30

Repeat 2-5 times.

Another tip I can offer when planning your team's conditioning: look specifically to the nature of the sport FIRST and then design specific training around the work to rest ratios that naturally occur in the sport. As an example, when I've trained fighters in the past, I have used isometric holds (like the bottom of a pushup) as "rest." But, it's important to note that you have to lead your athletes to this level first! Rest can occur as literally rest OR it can occur with other movements that are easier than the main movements and thus allow the athlete to recover before the next intense bout.

Hope this helps a little bit!

Guest Post: Anterior Humeral Glide

Ryan Wood has been given the green light to go hog-wild on a post for this week. Below is what he came up with... be warned, it's good - real good. Ryan may just find himself a regular weekly contributor soon: I’ve noticed a growing trend amongst gym goers that is possibly more annoying to look at than guys wearing skinny jeans. That trend is what’s called Anterior Humeral Glide (AHG).  AHG, for simplicity’s sake, is the excessive forward glide of the humeral head during a wide variety of exercises but especially during vertical and horizontal pulls.  You can see the problem clearly on exercises like a double or single arm horizontal row. Below is a video of a double arm band row performed incorrectly with AHG present.

Incorrect Row with AHG.  Notice the head of the humerus moving anteriorly.  This is due to an inability to properly retract the scapulae.

There are a number of problems as to why AHG during an exercise is not a good thing, but the two biggest ones are: 1. You’re flat out going to tear up your shoulder over time; welcome to impingement city.  2. You are in no way, shape, or form getting any benefit out of the exercise.  The whole point in doing a row variation is to strengthen the upper back, most notably the scapular retractors (rhomboids and mid/lower trapezius) which you totally miss when you fail to properly perform the exercise.

So how do we address the problem in order to help out the athlete/client?  First, check out the video below to see what a correct row looks like without AHG present.   Correct Row with Proper Form.  Notice in the performance of the row that the head of my humerus does not glide forward.  The retraction of the scapulae causes the humerus to align correctly.

  Believe it or not some individuals just might not be ready for an actual row; they need a progression.  If you find yourself faced with an athlete in this situation, it would be wise to fill their program with exercises that focus solely on the scapular retractors. This will force them to be aware of how to use them effectively.  You can saturate their program with this work early on in the session or hammer the movements in their warm-ups… either way, just keep in mind that for someone who has difficulty with scapular retraction, this is hard work! So, let them be fresh and able to concentrate while they work on the form (just like you would make sure an advanced athlete performs the compound lifts at the beginning of a session).   Three exercises that can be used to teach scapular retraction:Banded Scapular Retraction

Prone I’s

Band Pullaparts

  Coaching cues are a must when a row (or any exercise, really) is involved.  If the athlete is not coached in the right way they can not be expected to perform the movement correctly.  Here a few coaching cues to ensure retraction.

        • Place your finger between the scapulae and tell them to pinch your finger

        • Have them imagine pinching a pencil in between the shoulder blade as they retract

       • A favorite of Coach Romo’s is to ask them how they would walk on the beach, and then proceed to tell them to stick their chest out!

       • The best one of all in my opinion is for you to physical direct their humerus back as they are doing a retraction exercise or a row.  Over time they will become aware of what it feels like to retract their scapulae

An exercise is only useful if performed correctly.  Retract away my friends!

Avoid Fatigue, Improve Your Sleep, & Manage Body Weight

By being aware of two things – 1. That your body has a pH, and, 2. That you should be striving to achieve pH balance – will help your body to avoid and manage stress more effectively while helping you to stay full of energy, have restful nights sleep, and manage your weight.When an acidic environment is sustained in the body (via diet and external stressors), health is affected as deep as the cellular level. Once this becomes the “norm” for your body, daily fatigue will exist. And because an acidic environment is a stressor in and of itself, cortisol levels will then rise and that will impair sleep patterns… so, now you’re fatigued from a poor diet and can’t even get a good night’s sleep. And if all this weren’t enough reasons to make a change, here’s the long-term bad news: acidic diets/bodily environments play a huge roll in America’s obesity problem AND will basically open the door and usher in disease into your body!

What should you do to improve your body’s pH profile? Take a look at this chart and start eating lots of foods from the alkaline-forming columns while making an effort to minimize/reduce/balance-out the acid-forming columns.

Highly Alkaline-Forming

Alkaline-Forming

Neutral

Slightly Acid-Forming

Highly Acid-Forming

Asparagus

Squash

Flax seed

Adzuki beans

Commercial breakfast cereal

Beets

Sweet potatoes

Hemp seed

Black beans

Pasta

Bell peppers

Amaranth

White chia seed

Black-eyed peas

Refined wheat flour

Broccoli

Buckwheat

Coconut oil

Chickpeas

White rice

Carrots

Millet

Macadamia nuts

Lentils

Beef

Cauliflower

Quinoa

Walnuts

Pumpkin seeds

Pork

Celery

Wild rice

Buckwheat flour

Sunflower seeds

Poultry

Chicory

Sesame

Agave Nectar

Brown rice

Shellfish

Cucumbers

Apples

Dried Herbs

Oats

Butter

Dill

Avocados

Miso paste

Spelt

Cheese (all types)

Dulse

Bananas

Spices

Chickpea flour

Cream

Green beans

Berries

Hemp flour

Milk, pasteurized

Leeks

Cantaloupe

Cold-water fish

Artificial sweeteners

Mixed Greens

Cherries

Venison

White sugar

Onion

Dates, Figs

Wild game

Candy

Parsley

Grapes

Milk, raw, unprocessed

Coffee

Peas

Nectarines

Synthetic multivitamins

Margarine

Sea Vegetables

Oranges

Peanuts (roasted)

Zucchini

Peaches

Prescription drugs

Stevia

Pears

Soft drinks

Gingerroot

Persimmons

Soy protein isolate

Green tea

Pineapple

Whey protein isolate

Fresh herbs

Pomegranates

Rooibos

Flax Oil

Yerba mate

Hemp Oil

Pumpkin Seeds

Almonds

Coconut

Peaches

I’ll leave you with a bit of – as a professor of mine always said – “Cocktail Trivia” - Did you know that it is impossible for cancer to form in an alkaline environment? Think about it.

Friday Distractions

I found some great reads this week about everything from how training changes your genetics to why you shouldn't make your kids finish their meals. I've also made an effort to keep your interest by adding in some "Friday" related images from a Google search (and, believe it or not, these were actually the best ones...): With all the current discussion about minimalist/barefoot running style shoes, Runblogger points out that the best approach to finding the right fit for your feet is an individualized one: On Human Variability, Running Shoes, and Running Form: The Importance of an Individualized Approach.

Sweat Science brings amazing quality - as always - here are several fascinating posts I encourage you to check out: Training Changes Your Genetics (or rather, epigenetics), Is Leisure Time Physical Activity Irrelevant?, and Good Diet Trumps Risk of Heart Disease.

Science Daily has a post on a study that links the number of Facebook friends one has with the number of real world friends and the size of a certain region of the brain. I wonder what it means if you don't have a Facebook account?... I'm pretty skeptical about this one, but it's a fun read: Number of Facebook Friends Linked to Size of Brain Regions, study suggests

Lastly, an excellent post by Maryann Tomovich Jacbosen for Fooducate: The Annoying Kids' Eating Habit Parents Should Adopt. In this post, Maryann points out how children are naturally excellent at regulating their own caloric intake and that skill is lost over time as parents often encourage their children to ignore feelings of satiety and "finish everything on your plate."

Fall sport athletes, consider this!

If you’re in the midst of grinding through the back third of a fall sport season, the following provides some quick ideas about how you can hasten and improve your rate/quality of recovery between competitions…and generally just stay healthy! -Don’t forget to eat

You must make eating a priority.  I remember teammates losing 10-15lbs throughout a competitive season.  Coincidence that these same guys were the one’s always nursing something in the training room?   They blamed travel, lack of quality food on the road, etc. for their dramatic weight loss.  Yes, while these variables did make finding the time for frequent-quality feedings more difficult, it’s certainly possible if you make eating a priority.

I used to pack “road coolers.”  I’d stuff that sucker full of fruit, veggies, trail mixes and sandwich accoutrement.  Safe to say my processed and fast food consumption was significantly less, meal frequency much more regular, and weight fluctuation less drastic, as compared to my peers.     

-Sleep

Becoming regimented with your sleep is also extremely important.  It’s important that you try to hit the sack at the same time every night, while shooting for 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep.  This too was challenging as Madden wars or Poker hands (not for money of course…settle down) sometimes impeded on my desired hour of retirement.  For me, melatonin, sleep mask, and a quality set of ear plugs always did the trick.   

High-school guys and gals, you have no excuse for this one.

-Soft tissue work

Whether it’s self-inflicted (foam rolling), or delivered manual by a therapist (you can’t beat this), you got to find time to address tissue quality.  Restrictions within the musculature will severely impede proper blood flow (and subsequent delivery of nutrients), and also prohibit proper movement patterns.  A little bit of preventative maintenance in this area will go a long way, trust me.

-Low intensity cardio/mobility/activation drills

All of these can be accomplished in the same 20 minute session.  Blending these components will not only aid in flushing toxins and delivering new nutrient rich blood, but will also help ward off mechanical asymmetries that can crop-up from overuse and the repetitive nature of sport. 

It’s important not to overreach during these sessions, as the intent is to aid in recovery, not cause greater disruption.  A perfect session might include various sled pulls, crawling variations, hip flexor and thoracic mobility drills, and some glute activation. 

Hope this helps…

Chris

Personal Update: I'm Getting Hitched

So, as a number of you know, I'm currently engaged to the love of my life, Kelsey. And, this Saturday, we are officially tying the knot! We'll be heading up to Boston for our honeymoon to enjoy the city, on top of training/talking shop at Cressey Performance (the co-owner, Tony Gentilcore, actually played a major role in my proposal to Kelsey last March). I'm pretty stoked to say the least, as I haven't taken a vacation in over two years now. Not to mention, we'll have a chance to have someone else coach us and write our programs for a change, train alongside many other like-minded individuals, and enjoy one of America's coolest cities during my favorite time of year (Fall). All this on top of the fact that I get to share it with my best friend.

And I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty darn proud that my bride-to-be can team up with her man to pick up heavy things off the ground without breaking a sweat. See the team deadlift photo below:

(thank you Ryan for coming to the rescue with the photo)

The best part about it was, upon setting the weight down, Kelsey turns to me, shrugs, and goes: "Meh, I say we definitely have 500 in us next time."

And yes (boys I'm talking to you), my lovely soon-to-be-wife is stronger than you. Not to rub it in or anything.

Anyway, all this to say I'm unfortunately going to need to take a hiatus from writing for the next week. I am, admittedly, a borderline workaholic and I've made a covenant between me, myself and I to refrain from anything work-related while I'm gone (not that I really consider writing to our loyal readership "work" per se, but it will be nice to relax away from the computer screen for a change). Not to fear, though! You will still get to read awesome content from Sarah and Chris as you usually do each week, AND coach Ryan may even make a celebrity appearance, so be sure to stay tuned.

I really can't thank everyone enough (primarily my family, friends, and the SAPT family) for all your support through this process. Looking forward to seeing you all shortly!