Friday Musings: SAPT Heavy Planks, Matrix-Reloaded Med Ball Throws, Time-Out Apps, and More

1. As Ryan noted in an excellent post recently, we love weighted planks here at SAPT. Once you know to properly plank (here's a hint: if you're not shaking from creating total body tension, you're probably not doing it right), it's time to make them more challenging. One way to do this is adding external load, holding for :20 or so to improve maximal isometric strength of the trunk region. Here is Carson nailing a 265lb weighted plank in preparation for an upcoming powerlifting meet. I'm not positive, but think I saw his spleen shoot across the room halfway through the set.

2. Kieran has been doing Recoiled MB Overhead Throws as part of his most recent program. However, he took the "deliberately move through the thoracic rotation portion" coaching cue a bit too literally, to the point where he looks like Neo from the Matrix dodging bullets.

I then challenged him to see if he could "rainbow" the ball up straight into the throw. Needless to say, he pulled it off with style:

3. Recently I've been working to improve my jump roping skills. Unfortunately, I never really did too much jump roping growing up, so I decided to hone in on it as of late. I also wanted to see how well my HD camera would pick up fast-moving objects, so I filmed a recent jump rope session of mine.

Check it out below, as it turned out pretty well. I realize I may appear slightly akin to Ross (of RossTraining), but I think that's just the lighting messing with things.

Okay, maybe I was slightly fabricating the story. I actually did jump rope growing up.

Alright, seriously this time....how sick is Ross? I'm continually amazed by his ability to master multiple physical qualities.

4. Another thing we love at SAPT are challenging pullup variations. Recently, Ryan Walls (the handy man of SAPT) put together a set of "Smitty Ball" pullup implements. Needless to say, they are simultaneously awesome and brutal. These will slowly be making their way into the programs for those I want to make hate life help improve both grip strength and, well, pullup strength. I also love the way they feel on the elbows as your wrists are allowed to rotate freely throughout the movement.

5. Working at a computer while sitting in chair is arguably the worst thing you can do for your body. Well, it's a toss-up between that and watching Jersey Shore, but you get my point.

Anyway, I recently downloaded an phenomenal app - via recommendation of Mike Robertson - called Time Out. This this is awesome! You set it to pop up at a specified interval (every 15 minutes, 50 minutes, etc.) to essentially remind yourself to stop killing yourself. Every time it pops up I reset my posture (pull my shoulders back, get out of forward head posture, etc.), get on the ground to do a few spidermans, or anything else that will help me to "open up." Here is a screen shot I just took of my computer:

I'm done. Have a great weekend everyone.

A Tip on Programming

If you truly want to become stronger it’s very important that you take careful consideration when planning your training program.  One of the biggest factors that comes into play when doing this is understanding your strengths and weaknesses.  Unfortunately when this task is undertaken solo the former rather than the latter becomes the focus of the program. Usually what happens when you write your own training program is that unbeknownst to you, you have programmed everything your good at and absolutely nothing you’re bad at.  Congratulations, you’re going to spend the next 12 weeks not getting any stronger!  So the question becomes, how do we avoid wasting 12 weeks of our life?  Simple, DON’T do your own programming. The best thing to do is to sit down with someone who is qualified and experienced when it comes to programming (do not ask your training partner, chances are they probably have the same problems you have and are just as biased).  Talk to them about your goals, strengths, and problem areas. Based on the information you give them and the programming knowledge they have, they will write you a program that you will absolutely hate!  Why will you hate it?  Because, it’s going to be filled with a bunch of stuff you’re not good at and honestly who wants to work 4-5 days a week on things they are terrible at?  Nobody! But, I promise that you WILL come out 12 weeks later a STRONGER person than when you went in.  Trust me I’m just as guilty of this as anyone else;I would much rather feel like Wolverine in the weight room instead of Howard the Duck.

Don’t believe me?  I’ll show you.  Below you will find two training days from two different programs.  The first was written for me by current strength coach, powerlifter, and friend Gabe Naspinski.  The basis of which can be found by reading Gabe’s article for EliteFTS.  The second is a day that I wrote for myself a while ago.

Gabe’s			Mine
A1)	Conventional DL from Deficit	9X2/60%	A1)	DE Sumo DL with Chains	8X3 50%+50lbs of Chains
B1)	SSB Low Box Squat w/ pause	4X6	B1)	Low Box Squat	4X8
B2)	Pullups throughout session	40 total	C1)	Barbell Rollouts	3XAMAP
C1)	Band Pull Throughs	3x15	C2)	Reverse Hyper	4X10
C2)	Static/Dynamic Ab Movement of my choice

I know they don’t seem completely different but let me explain why the day Gabe planned is better for me than the one that I programmed.  First let me give you a little background on myself.  I have been pulling sumo for the last two years because I’m better at it and that’s how I compete.  I am terrible off the floor when deadlifting but pretty good when it comes to locking out at the top.  I am also weak out of the hole of  my squat but again, pretty good at locking them out.  Lastly, I have weak glutes, hamstrings and upper back.  Just with that little bit of information it’s easy to see why Gabe’s training day is superior to the one I programmed.

Let’s look at A1; he has me pulling conventional AND from a deficit (this guy has it out for me).  This allows me to work on almost all of my weaknesses.  Pulling  conventional and from a deficit will allow me to get better out of the bottom due to the increased range of motion and it will work on my hamstring and glute weakness as well as my upper back.  Now is what I programmed bad?  No, but it’s not exposing nor is it helping me work on my weaknesses nearly as much as what Gabe gave me.

We’ll end with talking about the B series.  With this series we have two squat variations, again nothing to different.  The main difference is the type of barbell used and the utilization of the pause.  He has me using a SSB (safety squat bar) which positions the bar higher on my back causing a greater emphasis on back strength as opposed to a straight bar, thus allowing me to work on my upper back weakness.  Again, I’m weak out of the bottom of my squat and my glute strength is sorely lacking so naturally we are going to incorporate a low box, which Gabe and I both did.  There is one glaring difference though between his and mine….the dreaded PAUSE in the bottom.  Now the pause I’m using is only a second long but that one second pause is a dagger (I’m not joking, go try it).  This pause is going to allow me to get stronger out of the bottom while also putting much more emphasis on my glutes.  Lastly in the B series, you’ll notice the 40 pullups throughout session that are in Gabe’s program and not in mine.  Remember that whole weak upper back thing? Interestingly enough Gabe decided to give me upper back work EVERYDAY of my program (I told you this guy has it out for me).  But again, my back weakness has been my downfall and he’s making me face it every day forcing me to get stronger.

As I said at the beginning, it’s important for everyone to know their strengths and weaknesses (especially their weaknesses).  One weakness that we all share when it comes to training is thinking that we are unbiased when it comes to writing our own program.  You might work on SOME of your problem areas if you write your own program but I guarantee it’s not going to be the same as someone else writing it.  Don’t spend weeks on end not getting any better, it’s a waste.

Remember, friends don’t let friends write their own programs.

SAPT Exercise of the Week: Zelda Plate Carry

I realize that many of our readers don't have access to special equipment such as prowlers, ropes, farmer walk implements, etc. so I've been doing my best to be cognizant this fact during these little "Exercise of the Week" bits. For example, while an alligator crawl with a prowler attached to you is certainly challenging, looks awesome, and will make your abdominals rip into two pieces....

it's most likely NOT the most practical option the majority of you due to equipment limitations.

This being the case, I hope you find many of the ones I do feature on here requiring minimal equipment (things like turtle rolls, bodysaw pushups, stir the pot alphabets, goblet squat to stepback lunges, etc.) useful for your individual scenarios.

Anyway, on to this week's featured movement:

Zelda Plate Carry

Why is it called the Zelda Plate Carry: If you don't know the answer to this, shame on you. Whenever Link (hero in the The Legend of Zelda series) picks something up, he holds it over his head and walks with it in a similar manner to the demonstration video. I suppose, technically speaking, this should be called the "Link Plate Carry," but more people are familiar with the name Zelda so I went with that one.

Giving full disclosure, this entire blog post may or may not be an excuse for me to somehow include my love for all things Zelda into a strength and conditioning website. I mean, come on, if you had played through Ocarina of Time six times in your youth, and eventually beat the game in under 24-hours in one sitting, wouldn't you want to find a way to incorporate it into your lifting routines?

Not that I did that, or anything, but just hypothetically speaking.

........

Okay, I might have totally done that. I'm not judging you though, okay?

Why I like it: See above. It resembles how Link carries heavy stuff around. Okay, just kidding (but not really). I like it because:

1. You can do it in virtually any gym. Heck, even if you live in the middle of nowhere you can perform it. Just pick up something heavy (a rock, backpack, whatever) and go with it. 2. It hammers scapular stability and shoulder mobility, along with providing a slight "cardiovascular" training effect. 3. You're practically forced to hold the plate in a neutral grip, which tends to be more "shoulder friendly" as it opens up the subacromial space within the glenoid.

How to do it: "Pack" the shoulder down and back, and don't allow your arms to drift forward or backward (think "keep them next to your ears) and keep the elbows locked. I also like to use this cue from Kelsey for overhead carries: "Think about shoving your shoulder down while simultaneously pressing your hand up through the weight. Like you’re trying to lengthen your arm." Brace your entire midsection, making a cognizant effort not to hyperextend ("over arch") your low back as you hold the plate overhead.

I would go for time ( beginning with :60-:90), or for a total number of steps (ex. 100 steps), and toss this in at the end of a workout for 3-4 rounds. You can increase the difficulty by adding the amount of time or steps you need to complete before setting the weight down. It's a great variation to toss in alongside other farmer walk exercises (dumbbells held at the side, in the goblet position, etc.), or in the middle of a conditioning circuit. You're only limited by your imagination in its application.

Breaking in a New Bench Shirt

This post is definitely a departure from SAPTstrength's usual fare (and essentially the antithesis to Stevo's Monday post). Not only are we diving headfirst into powerlifting preparation, but I'm talking about GEARED powerlifting! For the uninitiated, geared powerlifting involves using very snug fitting "shirts" and "suits" (think the tightest compression shorts or shirts you can possibly imagine and multiply that by 100) to aide in the power lifts: squat, bench, and deadlift.

So, what's the point of these aides? You can move more weight. Plain and simple. There is a huge cool-factor involved (read: ego-factor).

Up until this past summer, I had ONLY competed in geared events and I freaking loved it!

It is worth noting - and this cannot be UNDERstated - the training for geared powerlifting varies significantly from raw powerlifting. As you'll see in Sean's videos below, he has to work to simply get the bar down to his chest. He is literally having to PULL the bar down - hence why back work becomes so critical for the geared bencher. This can be very tough to imagine for someone who has never experienced a shirted bench.

Anyhow, my point here is not to convince you to be pro-gear. What I'd like to do is simply show an excellent progression to help learn the "groove" in a new bench shirt:

Sean starts his first set by touching a 3-board, the next set is to a 2-board, and the third set he is just able to touch his chest. This is a very intelligent way to learn to handle a new shirt. Some people get in them and simply pile on more and more weight until it finally touches their chest. Unfortunately, during this process they may never learn solid, safe, and effective form.

It is worth noting how well Sean is able to stay under control - you see very little, if any, breakdown in form: elbows stays tucked, chest stays up, and he is clearly actively pulling the bar down.

By the way, if you want to go to the true experts in powerlifting, you need to make your way over to EliteFTS.com and check out their training logs, the Q&A, and articles.

Ahhhh - Technical Trouble!

Sorry everyone, I'm having some technical trouble right now and can't get my video uploaded. Hang tight and I'll get it up later.

"Sort of Maxes": The Key to Dominating Competition and Longevity in Training

Just last week I posted a video of SAPT client, Lisa, nailing a 240lb deadlift on her "Test Day." Within a mere twenty-four hours of posting the video on my YouTube channel, someone commented the following: "good bar speed. i know your not powerlifiting but theres a few more pounds on the table so to speak. great strength and keep up the good work."

For those of you who haven't seen the video and don't know what he is talking about, here is the deadlift below:

As you can see, the YouTube commentator is exactly right! There are a few more pounds on the table. In fact, I'm willing to bet that Lisa could have pulled 260-265lbs (and perhaps a bit more) had she decided to "grind out" another max attempt. The 240lbs she pulled in the video was certainly not her true max, even though this was a freaking TESTING DAY for her.

And that is precisely the point.

I heard some advice from Dan John that couldn't have put into words a better description for what we do with our athletes and clients on a daily basis at SAPT, in order to facilitate continued strength and power development and reduce their risk of injury. In fact, it is something that everyone should do if they desire any hope of continuing to set PRs in the weight room and dominate the playing field:

"Go for a PR, single or rep, when you are feeling exceptionally strong, but stop short of an all-out max. Set a "sort of max."

This is the type of max you need to drive up. The "sort of max." Not your actual max. This is the key to safeguarding your body to remain fresh, injury free, and efficiently managing its stressors to continue to do what most of you reading are after: moving onward and upward, both in the gym and on the playing field.

And yet, this is something that many seem to miss once we get all riled up in the weight room.

It's as if we lose all sense and wisdom once we get under that bar, in an effort to satisfy our ego more than the health of our spine.

In fact, this relates closely to what I personally believe sets the wise apart from the fool in this world: The degree of one's capacity to defer immediate satisfaction for the sake of a greater future reward.

This applies to all spheres of life, but, keeping within the context of strength training, the immediate satisfaction would be an extra 5-15lbs on a squat, bench, deadlift, or snatch attempt (the consequence often being stalling your progress, burning out, becoming injured, or feeling exhausted on game day). The greater future reward (in resisting urge the throw more weight on the bar) would be a healthy body, high performance levels, and continued PRs in the weight room.

It is telling that the great sprint coach, Charlie Francis, said the following as he was preparing Olympic sprinter Ben Johnson:

If there is any degradation in training, stop. If there is any doubt about one more rep or run, don't do it. If you are trying to learn with reps, you won't get it later if you haven't already. Leave it and come back to it.

This is ESPECIALLY true when it comes to training athletes. It makes me sick to my stomach when I (frequently) hear of high school and college strength and conditioning coaches pushing the limits of their kids during each and every training session! It continues to blow my mind how many coaches don't have the most basic understanding of physiology and demands of the sport at hand in order to coach their athletes properly.

I conclude with two of Rif's famous corollaries:

1. The next step off a peak is always down.
2. One should step down rather than fall off.

Continue to push up your "sort of max" in the weight room. It's the best way to ensure continued growth and longevity in training. You'll thank me (and Dan John) later.