Develop a big league rotator cuff…

Check-out the videos below of a couple of our minor league baseball guys finishing up their training session with some grip and rotator cuff work.

Any deadlift/farmers walk variation will be improve rotator cuff strength through irradiation.  Cook and Jones popularized this term, and many others have trumpeted it, so I’m not passing it off as my own.  As the guys are “squeezing the snot” out of the trap bar all the nerves get jacked-up along that chain forcing the cuff muscle to pack and support the shoulder into a properly retracted position.  The offset component makes it a “two –for” as we throw a little core stability at them simultaneously.   

The medball on the wall drill, where they’re tracing the alphabet, is a predictable rhythmic stabilization drill where again, they’re packing the shoulder blades, and using the cuff muscles to stabilize the humeral head.  You can increase the difficult of these drills by incorporating gentle perturbations, making them less predictable.

The sledge leveraging drills for are for forearm strength, and conditioning of the wrist and elbows.

A lot more than just sleeper stretches and full cans,

Chris

This is a call to arms against New Year’s resolutions!

Ready to freak-out…New Year’s resolutions are right around the corner!!!  Did you just break-out in a cold sweat?  Did you just un-tuck your shirt to more seamlessly blend the muffin top into your lower extremities?  Are you slowly moving towards your snack drawer to dispose of the various half-eaten processed delicacies stroon about…ya, I’m on to you.  Folks, this is a call to arms against preventing what you really want for yourself; to once again have a waistline; finally beat your friend “Svelte Jerry” in your weekend tennis match, and not worry about your knee exploding in the process; to not live in fear of your annual check-up.

My friends, climb aboard the SAPT rowboat, and like GW crossing the Delaware, we’re gonna sneak-up and ambush our opposition...failed New Year Resolutions, no more.  Don’t wait for the bleating attempts by surrounding commercial gyms to wrangle you into some membership you’ll never use, because at that point it’ll be too late (I’m a poet and didn’t even know it). 

HEALTHY HABITS MUST BEGIN NOW.  Trust me, it’s the only way you’ll be able to curb, and defeat, your unhealthy infatuation with snickerdoodles, the little cookies with Hershey kisses on top, and the latest “housewives” series?   You know why, because GOING COLD TURKEY ON JANURARY 1^ST DOESN’T WORK!

What you need is plan, something to guide you through the season of endless fruit cakes.  Perhaps something like an SAPT individualized training program?  You need some motivation, and a sense of accountability.  Perhaps the knowledgeable SAPT staff and encouraging-positive room dynamic created by our semi-private training model would do the trick?  What you need is a reason to have only a small slice of cheesecake instead of the entire pan?  Perhaps knowing that the SAPT Prowler (our weight sled) is in your metabolic finisher tomorrow and you’d rather not taint our pristine turf with bits of graham crack crust and heavy cream (too far (?)…probably)?  Perhaps viewing the incredible physical transformation of SAPT’ee lifer, Ron Reed, in the video below will stoke your fire:

Ladies, and gents, the solution is simple, set yourself up for success by enrolling in one of our adult training structures.  We understand that change is difficult, but as it’s been proven to us time and time again, with a little help and guidance, SAPT’ees can accomplish some pretty amazing things.  Let us help you.   

Cue “Rocky” soundtrack,

Chris

Would you have considered this?

I was asked today by the GA at the university I work at why I haven’t backed squatted the baseball or softball teams since they’ve been under my watch.  My feelings are as follows: When you do the cost to benefit ratio of the movement (back squat), as any strength coach should do when programming, in my opinion there just isn’t enough benefit to outweigh the potential risk or cost I could potentially incur by selecting it.  Understand that properly positioning the hands during a back squat requires a significant amount of shoulder external rotation (especially with close grips), and abduction of the humerus (especially with wide grips).  Because either positioning pose a unique risk to the shoulder, the first anterior instability and the latter cranky rotator cuffs and biceps, I’m not about to roll the dice.  Also consider that most overhead athletes possess some degree of labral damage, are at a higher risk for impingement, and possess less than stellar scapular upward rotation and thoracic mobility, and you’d have to be feeling pretty sassy to program the back squat.  Note that I am working diligently to improve their structural shortcomings because I do intend for them to back squat at some point in their yearly preparation as, in my opinion, the back squat is king when trying to develop strong, powerful badunka-dunks and pork chords. 

I think it’s important for those reading this post, whether you’re a young strength coach, or parent shopping around for the best training facility to send you’re little leaguer, to take note that there really is no such thing as an “insignificant detail” when attempting to develop the safest, most effective training program possible.

That's a picture of me hitting the pill a long way...or maybe I swang through it...at least I looked good...

Chris

A good way to improve your deadlift lockout…tear your calluses…and old skool video footage to prove it!!!

Today, from the vault I share with you deadlifting against bands.  Staring myself, and two of my old training partners, with musical contributions by the great Earl Simmons aka DMX, the most prominent members of all the Ruff Ryders.

Applications for, and what I like about, pulling against bands:

-Great for improving lockout, or “crushing the walnut” as we say at SAPT.  In retrospect, I’d program these in more of a speed, or dynamic, fashion as opposed to max effort (as seen in the video).  I feel training the speed in which the hip extension occurs will ultimately have a greater carryover.

-You can really overload lockout without having to perform the movement in a shortened ROM (i.e. rack pull).  Additionally, the overload at the top absolutely slams your grip, and promotes the adaptations necessary to handle your 9^th max effort attempt of the day (in the case of a powerlifting competition which we were training for at the time).

-They are a great way to rip the calluses right-off your hand!  You’ll notice at the 1:12 mark I do a dainty little skip at the end of my set; ya, that’s where I partially tear the callus, and then at the 1:45 mark is where I finish it off.  Great, thanks for sharing, Chris.

***Note, a great way to keep your calluses at bay is while in the shower gently shave over them with your standard razor.  This removes most of the dead skin while not removing the callus all together.  Thanks, Todd Hamer!***

 What I don’t like about pulling against bands:

 -Kind-of a pain to set-up.

 -They put the bar in a fixed plane which may be detrimental for some trying to find their groove.

-From a programming standpoint I feel that they are more of an advanced progression and therefore aren't appliciable to most.

 -They’ll rip the calluses right-off your hand!

Yes, it should be noted that the lifting form exhibited in the video, by one individual in particular (crappy, fragmented footage used to protect the innocent), should not be used as reference for a “how to” deadlift manual.  Might I suggest you focus on the swarthy young-man in the green t-shirt…

Good times…hard to believe it’s been three years…

Chris AKA Romo

Black Bean Poop…it’s delicious…

Not only is my wife drop-dead gorgeous (points), but she’s a terrific cook (double points…take notes boys).  One of her specialties, and a meal my taste buds and colon love dearly, is her version of “Black Bean Soup,” which I prefer to call Black Bean Poop…I’m sure you can deduce why.  It’s both nutritious and delicious…I mean it’s so good it almost tastes bad for you…plus it’s an extremely versatile meal, and it’ll last you a long time. The recipe: (serves a bunch, you’ll have leftovers which is awesome)

Food prep:

 -Open 3-4 cans of black beans; a standard can, not the Costco barrels

-A generous couple handfuls of chopped carrots

-1/2 of a white onion, chopped into fairly fine bits

 The cooking:

 In a deep soup pan, begin by sautéing your carrots and onions in olive oil (enough to coat the bottom of pan) until soft.  Once soft, add minced garlic (garlic lovers can be generous), and saute for a bit longer; careful not to burn the garlic.

Next, add 1 tbsp of cumin, a few generous shakes of cayenne (good cooks don’t measure, duh, and I like mine spicy), 3/4 tsp coriander, 32 oz. beef broth and the 3-4 cans of black beans (juice included).  Stir it all up and let simmer for 15-20min.

Stroll to television and witness the Sox continuing to choke away the wildcard…make a u-turn back into the kitchen.

We like to serve our black bean poop on a bed of quinoa.  See quinoa label for cooking instructions. 

After the soup has simmered for about 15-20min, take your hand blender and gently blend until you’ve reached your desired soupy consistency; I like mine chunky.  After blending, add ½ cup of dry sherry, and stir it up.

 Take your quinoa off the stove, mix the two together, and enjoy!

 What’s great is that later in the week your leftovers can be used to make bean burritos; add some fresh slices of avocado and a sprinkling of cheese…and now you’re eatin’ gooood.

The cure for the common case of constipation,

 Sous Chef Chris

What you’re not getting from your three easy payments of 19.99…

My main qualm with most “at-home-on-your-own” training protocols is that there really is no “quality control” component.  As you’ve heard us reference countless times on this site, the intended benefit of an exercise is only realized when execution is correct.  Improper execution of a movement will yield less than optimal results, and the potential for injury.  Check-out the two video clips below of one of our distance clients, Frank. 

You’ll notice in the first video he’s significantly more disjointed and off-balanced in comparison to the second (watch again).  Well there’s a reason.  After receiving the following feedback from me he was able to lock-in the form much better: 

“Watch your video closely and you’ll notice that every time your back knee touches the ground heavy, your lead leg (the knee) shifts inward slightly, meaning the glute med didn’t quite fire on time to absorb the force.  The reps that are beautiful, you’ll notice there wasn’t the slightest deviation of the knee. Think 'front-knee-out' every repetition.”

Watch the videos again, did you catch it?

Frank’s, reply:

Wow! I never would have seen that!  It seems so clear now!  I never understood why some reps seemed so hard…excellent feedback!

This is something that would have gone unnoticed by most, and certainly in a scenario where the only coaching feedback you receive is your dog incessantly barking at you while your knee slips into valgus…and the tape just keeps on rolling…

Start receiving the attention to detail you deserve by clicking HERE…

Chris