An Outside Eye
This past weekend, my wife and I had the privilege of giving a presentation to a weight loss group at a local church in Fairfax. The group is made up of adults primarily in their 40s and 50s, and the majority of them haven't undergone a consistent resistance training plan in years (if ever). Needless to say, it was a rewarding experience to answer their questions and help guide them along, on top of the fact that it was a good chance for Kelsey and I to practice communicating some of the intricacies of exercise science in a SIMPLE manner. Anyway, one of the points we harped on was the power of having someone assess you and to guide you through exercise technique. This is true whether you're a grandmother or an elite athlete (or both?), by the way.
I say this because we've had professional athletes walk into the doors of SAPT that couldn't do a pushup or squat correctly. And if you are reading this, chances are high you are NOT a professional athlete, so yes: this especially applies to you, big guy.
I can't tell you how many times I coach someone - athletes and Joes/Janes alike - through a squat, seated row, pushup, plank, you name it, for the first time, and their immediate response is along the lines of:
"Ohhhh! THAT'S where I'm supposed to feel it?"
or
"Woah, I didn't realize how HARD this exercise is when I do it correctly."
I can't stress enough how important it is to do this. For the adults we were addressing at the church on Sunday, we suggested they do this in order to reduce the likelihood of injury during their exercise programs. For example, say we told the group they should immediately start doing planks every day in order to help alleviate/reduce their risk of back pain.
Because planks are good, right? Well....theoretically, yes. But what if you do them like this?
In fact, this is why it can be so hard for me when someone (who has never had someone assess them before) tells me to just "tell them what to go do on their own in the gym."
We don't think twice before having someone show us how to scuba dive, shoot skeet, or ride a motorcycle, so why is weight training any different??
I think it's because the majority of people have been doing pushups and bicep curls in their bedrooms since age ten so we feel it'd be silly to ask for someone to show us how. I mean, how hard can it be to do a good squat, deadlift, and lunge?
I don't care if you're a bodybuilder, athlete, runner, weekend warrior, or are aging and simply trying to stave off diabetes and osteoporosis. Get assessed and have someone look at your form!!
Strength coaches aren't excluded from this, by the way. I can't tell you how many times I'll ask one of the SAPT coaches to step out of the office while I'm training to check out something I'm doing to ensure I'm remaining honest with myself. Heck, Kelsey and I drove up to Boston in October to have the staff at Cressey Performance assess us and coach us through all the major lifts.
You won't regret it.
Friday Musings 3/16/12: Training Athletes, Females Fear of Bulking Up, and Do Something Important Every day
A couple things floating around my head....
1. Perhaps the easiest way to improve performance in any sport (outside of of sport-specific practice, of course), is to get stronger.
However, throughout the cycle of get stronger --> practice sport --> improve in sport --> get stronger --> practice sport --> improve even more at sport --> get stronger --> etc. etc. etc., you reach a point where diminishing returns begin to take place. It is at this pinnacle where it can be a waste of time, and even unsafe to continue adding weight to the bar. It is at this same moment where the athlete must begin to develop/work on other qualities to get where (s)he wants to be.
The key is to know when to make this shift.
2. Somewhat dovetailing off point #1....There is a difference between adding weight to the bar and actually getting stronger.
3. Everything in the strength & conditioning industry isn"t always black and white. Do you need to deadlift to improve in sport? Yes. Conversely, do you need to deadlift to improve in sport? No.
4. If you use a powerlifting-centric style of training athletes, careful of falling into the trap of treating the athletes like actual powerlifters. This can be tricky because, well, after all, the primary role of the strength coach is to get the athlete stronger, right? And the powerlifts (squat, bench, deadlift) are arguably the three best lifts from an efficiency standpoint: You can pack on large amounts of muscle and strength while keeping your quiver of exercises relatively small.
Nevertheless (and I may get hate mail for this), not all athletes necessarily need to do the powerlifts to get stronger. Guess what, they also are not powerlifters! So while certain techniques and methodologies can certainly be derived and extrapolated from one sport to another (ex. powerlifting --> baseball), remember that the athlete"s primary sport is not weight lifting.
In the baseball example, both the player and the strength coach must continue to draw the line between a baseball player that lifts and a lifter that happens to play baseball. This distinction will affect both the mindset and the overall outcome of the player in the weightroom and on the playing field.
Same goes for the O-lifts. Are the O-lifts great for developing power and improving rate of force development? Absolutely. But not all athletes need to olymipic lift to get faster or more explosive.
5. Pounding someone with information doesn"t seem to be the most effective method of inducing a lifestyle change in someone. For example, take a typical female who wants to lose some fat and improve body composition, yet is very concerned with getting "too casino bulky," or getting "huge like a man," should she undergo a weight lifting regimen.
The instinct of many trainers/men is to get frustrated, sigh, and barrage them with information such as "that won"t happen....you don"t understand the human endocrine (hormonal) system....you don"t get how IGF-1 and testosterone work, here are some scientific studies so I can prove my point, etc. etc. etc."
Guess what? That"s not what she is asking. She doesn"t care about studies or the science of training.
A great tip I picked up from Alwyn and Rachel Cosgrove is that the woman asking for advice/expressing concern wants to be heard. She wants to know her concerns were actually listened to and given a fair shot. So, you"re response could go something like this:
Step 1: Shut up and listen. Hear her out. You have two ears, two eyes, and one mouth. Use them in that order.
Step 2: Repeat back what she said (so she knows she was heard).
Step 3: Ask further questions (i.e. "What is too big?" "Define bulky to me. What does that look like?").
Step 4: Tell her you understand her concern and that you"re going to give her some advice/design an individualized plan (assuming you know how to do this) to get the specific results she wants.
The reality is she just wants to be assured you"re doing your best to give her the results she"s seeking after.
6. Here is a really cool broad jump. Perhaps SAPT should set up a similar setting in order to facilitate greater effort put forth by the athletes, no?
7. Over the past few weeks I have been goblet squatting, jumping, stirring-the-pot, and deadlifting every day of the week. As a result, honestly I can"t remember when I"ve felt this good in training. Must be some truth to the ol" adage of "If it"s important, do it every day" huh?
8. Speaking of which, the "if it"s important, do it every day" quote is typically applied to the training sphere. Do your mobility work. Do your stretching. Do your hill sprints. Train the glutes. Do your squatting. Every day.
However, I"ve found that it"s equally - if not more - important to apply it to your life outside the walls of the gym. Here are a few things on my list that, when I do them every day, only result in a more positive outlook and attitude on life:
- Praying
- Reading my Bible
- Telling my wife I love her
- Listing a few things I am thankful for
- Eating breakfast
- Enjoying a fresh cup of coffee
- Encouraging one of my athletes (ok, I guess that"s inside the gym, but you get the point)
- Spending some time in a room devoid of all electronics
When I make these things happen every day, the end result is going to be nothing BUT feeling life to its fullest. Corny maybe, but true.
9. This post was all over the place and I apologize. Just a reflection of my brain at the moment......
Have a great weekend everyone.
3 Tips to Improve Your Bench Press
I'll get straight to the point with this one. Everyone loves to bench press including myself but very few do it right. Why do something unless you're going to do it correctly? Try these simple tips to improve your bench. 1. If you don’t set up correctly your bench will suffer…
I’ll walk you through my set up; keep in mind you don’t have to do it exactly like this but I have had success with it and I feel I get tighter on the bench than most people. Start with your chest under the bar and set your feet, this becomes your first base of support (I choose to leave my heels on the ground). Leave your feet in that position as you slide your body through; while sliding through start to arch your thoracic spine and pull your shoulder blades back and down (retract and depress). Once you are in this position push your upper back and head into the bench while keeping your butt on the bench; these become your other base of support. Congratulations you now have a good set up and if you are doing it correctly you should feel extremely uncomfortable; almost cramping in your upper back it’s so tight. Do this even in your warm-ups, I don’t care if its 115lbs or 315lbs each set up should be the same.
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2. Always have the intent to move the bar FAST!
I feel like this is a no brainer but I guess not. You need to go fast and if you’re not fast then at least try and go fast (that would be me). Having this intent to move fast during the CONCENTRIC portion (upward portion) is going to recruit higher threshold motor units allowing you to accelerate with more force thus getting you stronger. So your press should be nice and controlled on the way down, quick pause on the chest and BOOM! Lastly, if you are grinding out reps then you aren’t moving fast so you should oh I don’t know, DROP THE WEIGHT! I just wanna go fast!
3. Do upper back work….. All the time
I don’t care if it’s an upper body day or a lower body day, you should be doing some kind of upper back work every day. A strong back will help your bench press. It’s going to allow you to get tighter on the bench, control the eccentric better, and utilize your lats more. Right now my upper body days consist of two horizontal pulls (any type of row variation) ranging from 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps and my lower body days consist of a vertical pull (lat pull down, pull-ups, neutral grip pull-ups) and scapular retraction work (banded W’s or band pull-a-parts) usually in the 30-50 rep range and I break it up however I want depending on how I’m feeling that day.
Warming Up: A Lesson from the Commercial Gym
As I was writing my Monday post on how to do a pre-lifting warm-up series, it got me thinking of something that happened to me that deserves sharing on SAPTstrength. First, let me preface the story by saying that, like many of you, I've seen a LOT of shenanigans in commercial gyms. I'm used to observing people bicep curling in the squat rack, trainers taking overweight clients through circuits on BOSU balls, bros doing "chest/shoulders/triceps" on the same day, boys deadlifting with rounded backs, and (loaded) leg press platforms slamming down on an athlete because his trainer didn't show him how to properly place his feet (not kidding).
Essentially, a myriad circus acts that make me want to pour nuclear waste down my throat in order to end my misery.
The majority of you readers have already taken the Red Pill and are now "enlightened" in the realm of strength (or, as Morpheus would put it, you've stayed in Wonderland to see how deep the rabbit-hole goes), and most of the aforementioned ridiculousness has been derided on the internet before, so I'm not standing here to continue ranting about this stuff.
However, something recently happened to me that I felt deserved some attention. A little something related to that whole, warm-up "thing." I realize the concept I'm about to address may be old news to you, but for those of you who hearing this for the first time: Listen up.
So, I'm in the gym the other day (the only one in there actually...this particular commercial facility is quite small), minding my own business and doing some foam rolling. As usual, I stick my headphones in my ears, put my horse blinders on, and keep to myself. As I continue through the foam roll series, a young man, probably in his late-twenties, walks in the door, and heads straight over to the bench press.
No big deal. I've seen this a thousand times, and I'm done with making fun of people heading straight to the bench on a Monday without warming up because they're "ignorant," "non-functional" (whatever that means anymore), or whatever views I once held as an elitist snob upon first entering the fitness industry. **If they're in the gym, getting after it, then who cares, right?
As he circles the bench like a famished lion eying fresh meat, he is bobbing up and down a bit, saying something about how excited he is to test his bench max since he hasn't pressed in a while.
All is well and good, until I perform one more pass over my IT band, and look over to see this man has loaded 295lbs on the barbell! Without doing a single warm-up rep.
I have to blink twice to make sure I'm not imagining anything.
Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but if the world's best bench pressers can do some warm-up reps with the bar only, and then do more warm-up reps with 135lbs, then this man (who I am POSITIVE is not a world-class bencher) can do some freaking warm-up reps, am I right?! I mean, it's one thing to avoid "correcting" someone outside SAPT because their training methodology is different than mine, but it's another to watch someone puncture their esophagus without doing anything to help.
I make my way over to him, and the conversation goes like this (I'm not fabricating this at all, mind you):
Me: Hey there, umm, I couldn't help but notice, but did you just load the bar to 295lbs right after walking in here?
Guy: Yeah man! I'm stoked to test my max today. It's been a while.
Me: Sure...yeah I bet. Well, have you thought about warming up at all? It should help you in your max attempt. (I figured that lecturing him on the inner workings of the central nervous system wasn't going to go over too well).
Guy: Nah. I don't want to waste all my muscle on any sets before the max. Gotta have it all for the max, you know!!
Me: Well, yes, but...
Guy (interrupting me, eyes widening and and finger pointing and waving at me): You know what?! You're just like that other trainer guy I saw in here! He tried to tell me the same thing a while back. Well y'all are wrong, ya know.
Me: Yeah, maybe we are.....Well, how about I at least stand here to give you a handoff?
Guy: No way man!! In the ring, it's just you to fight for and defend yourself, you know? No one is gonna step in there to help you when you're down. When I'm at home, I bench in my basement all the time without a spotter to teach me to fend for myself.
(As I come to find out, he is a competitive boxer).
Me: Okay, well, call it the strength coach in me, but there is no one else in here and you have put on the bar what I am pretty sure may give you some trouble. Why don't we compromise and you at least do a couple reps with 225lbs first, and work up from there? Just trust me on this one.
Guy (slightly miffed): Whatever, sure. That's fine. *Takes the weight down to 225lbs and griiiinnnds outs 4 reps. Then proceeds to put 275lbs on the bar*
(I give the guy a handoff for the 275lbs attempt, and he doesn't come close to making the lift. Gets stapled.)
Guy (getting up off the bench, looking flustered): Man, I used to bench 350lbs for reps all the time, I don't know what happened.
Me: Yeah, you probably did used to do that....bad day, I guess?
*End of Story
My point in all this is....
Do Your Warm-Ups, For the Love!!!!!!
With the wealth of information out there, I'm consistently shocked to find gym members loading up the bar, only to get stapled by a weight they could have lifted like a champ if they warmed up correctly. Using the example above, this is how the guy should have warmed up (assuming his body actually was prepared to lift 295lbs). It doesn't have to look exactly like I'm about to lay out below, but I hope you get the idea:
Bar x 5-10. Whatever, just groove technique. (not kidding here...many of the world's best lifters start with just the bar) 135x5 185x3 225x2 255x1 275x1 295xEpic Win
Note that a lot of autoregulation goes into play here. For example, say he went for the 275x1 lift but it went up slowwww. It would probably be best to call it a day and come back when he was feeling more fresh. Conversely, say that 275x1 flew up super fast....maybe he could even have gone for a 300lb attempt if he felt "on."
Some days you're going to have it, and other days you won't. Sorry, but that is life. The good news is, a proper warm-up will help you determine what kind of day it is.
**Still fun to talk about sometimes, though.
Get a Massage: Research Backs it Up!
My amazing spouse surprised me with a short getaway this past weekend. He coordinated everything: Arabella’s weekend care, room at the Gaylord in the National Harbor, meals, and – what I want to focus on – a massage. It’s been a while since I had a really good massage. My last one was also a pregnancy massage, which I thought was a bit too light – I mean, just cause I’m pregnant, doesn’t mean I’m not training. So, I was pleasantly surprised when this therapist really started digging into the muscle adhesions.
She effectively addressed my trouble areas: upper back, lower back, and calves. Plus, found an unexpected problem area in my lateral deltoids.
Ryan’s therapist attacked the root of his elbow tendonitis by working on his forearms and, hopefully, reiterated (in his mind) the importance of soft-tissue care for this type of ailment.
This experience got me thinking about all the benefits that have been proven to be associated with massage:
Are you an athlete with athsma? If so, read this… a little massage will likely improve your pulmonary function (and, bonus alert, feel amazing):
Pulmonary Functions of Children with Asthma Improve Following Massage Therapy. Objectives: This study aimed at evaluating the effect of massage therapy on the pulmonary functions of stable Egyptian children with asthma. Design: This study was an open, randomized, controlled trial. Settings/location: The study was conducted in pediatric allergy and chest unit of the New Children's Hospital of Cairo University, Egypt. Subjects and interventions: Sixty (60) children with asthma were divided randomly into two equal groups: massage therapy group and control group. Subjects in the massage therapy group received a 20-minute massage therapy by their parents at home before bedtime every night for 5 weeks in addition to the standard asthma treatment. The control group received the standard asthma treatment alone for 5 weeks. Outcome measures: Spirometry was performed for all children on the first and last days of the study. Forced expiratory flow in first second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1/FVC and peak expiratory flow (PEF) were recorded. Results: At the end of the study, mean FEV1 of the massage therapy group was significantly higher than controls (2.3±0.8 L versus 1.9±0.9 L, p=0.04). There was no significant difference in FVC (2.5±0.8 L versus 2.7±0.7 L, p=0.43). However, FEV1/FVC ratio showed a significant improvement in the massage therapy group (92.3±21.5 versus 69.5±17, p<0.01). PEF difference was not significant (263.5±39.6 L/minute versus 245.9±32 L/minute, p=0.06). Conclusions: A beneficial role for massage therapy in pediatric asthma is suggested. It improved the key pulmonary functions of the children, namely, FEV1 and FEV1/FVC ratio. However, further research on a larger scale is warranted.
No, asthma? Just a regular ol’ person? This study indicates all kinds of great biologic effects:
A Preliminary Study of the Effects of a Single Session of Swedish Massage on Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal and Immune Function in Normal Individuals. Objectives: Massage therapy is a multi-billion dollar industry in the United States with 8.7% of adults receiving at least one massage within the last year; yet, little is known about the physiologic effects of a single session of massage in healthy individuals. The purpose of this study was to determine effects of a single session of Swedish massage on neuroendocrine and immune function. It was hypothesized that Swedish Massage Therapy would increase oxytocin (OT) levels, which would lead to a decrease in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activity and enhanced immune function. Design: The study design was a head-to-head, single-session comparison of Swedish Massage Therapy with a light touch control condition. Serial measurements were performed to determine OT, arginine-vasopressin (AVP), adrenal corticotropin hormone (ACTH), cortisol (CORT), circulating phenotypic lymphocytes markers, and mitogen-stimulated cytokine production. Setting: This research was conducted in an outpatient research unit in an academic medical center. Subjects: Medically and psychiatrically healthy adults, 18-45 years old, participated in this study. Intervention: The intervention tested was 45 minutes of Swedish Massage Therapy versus a light touch control condition, using highly specified and identical protocols. Outcome measures: The standardized mean difference was calculated between Swedish Massage Therapy versus light touch on pre- to postintervention change in levels of OT, AVP, ACTH, CORT, lymphocyte markers, and cytokine levels. Results: Compared to light touch, Swedish Massage Therapy caused a large effect size decrease in AVP, and a small effect size decrease in CORT, but these findings were not mediated by OT. Massage increased the number of circulating lymphocytes, CD 25+ lymphocytes, CD 56+ lymphocytes, CD4 + lymphocytes, and CD8+ lymphocytes (effect sizes from 0.14 to 0.43). Mitogen-stimulated levels of interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, IL-13, and IFN-? decreased for subjects receiving Swedish Massage Therapy versus light touch (effect sizes from ?0.22 to ?0.63). Swedish Massage Therapy decreased IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, and IL-13 levels relative to baseline measures. Conclusions: Preliminary data suggest that a single session of Swedish Massage Therapy produces measurable biologic effects. If replicated, these findings may have implications for managing inflammatory and autoimmune conditions.
Thinking about getting a pre-event massage before your next competition? BE CAREFUL with your decision and KNOW yourself!
Psychophysiological effects of preperformance massage before isokinetic exercise. Sports massage provided before an activity is called pre-event massage. The hypothesized effects of pre-event massage include injury prevention, increased performance, and the promotion of a mental state conducive to performance. However, evidence with regard to the effects of pre-event massage is limited and equivocal. The exact manner in which massage produces its hypothesized effects also remains a topic of debate and investigation. This randomized single-blind placebo-controlled crossover design compared the immediate effects of pre-event massage to a sham intervention of detuned ultrasound. Outcome measures included isokinetic peak torque assessments of knee extension and flexion; salivary flow rate, cortisol concentration, and [alpha]-amylase activity; mechanical detection thresholds (MDTs) using Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments and mood state using the Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaire. This study showed that massage before activity negatively affected subsequent muscle performance in the sense of decreased isokinetic peak torque at higher speed (p < 0.05). Although the study yielded no significant changes in salivary cortisol concentration and [alpha]-amylase activity, it found a significant increase in salivary flow rate (p = 0.03). With the massage intervention, there was a significant increase in the MDT at both locations tested (p < 0.01). This study also noted a significant decrease in the tension subscale of the POMS for massage as compared to placebo (p = 0.01). Pre-event massage was found to negatively affect muscle performance possibly because of increased parasympathetic nervous system activity and decreased afferent input with resultant decreased motor-unit activation. However, psychological effects may indicate a role for pre-event massage in some sports, specifically in sportspeople prone to excessive pre-event tension.
Outside of these few studies, there are loads of studies supporting massage for everything from improving brain development in preterm babies to care for cancer patients to treating chronic constipation.
Pretty interesting stuff and perhaps something to add to your self-care to-do list.
SAPT Exercise of the Week: Sample Warm-Up Series
Here's a quick warm-up that won't take more than 5-10 minutes to complete, but will hit practically every joint in the body and prep you to effectively smash some weight around. These are a few of my favorite moves that I've found to personally be some of the best "bang for your buck" drills.
Note: When you perform the prone plank portion, try doing it "RKC style" as demonstrated in the video below. It really does make a big difference in terms of how much benefit you receive from the seemingly simple exercise.
While, yes, warming up can be an annoyance for some people, I find three reasons that simply won't allow me to skip it before my own training sessions:
1) It gives me a "feel" for how my body and nervous system and faring during a particular day. As I run through the various movement patterns, I have a chance to sense what areas may be sore/testy, and also if I'm feeling "on" or not. This can then help me further autoregulate my training session and decide how hard I'll push it based off what my body is telling me.
This takes some experience and practice, yes. But the rewards can't be overstated.
2) Warming up is going to help you run faster, move more weight, and reduce the likelihood of injury during your training session. 'Nuff said there.
3) It gives me a chance to "bridge the gap" between the workday and my training session. During the warmup I have a chance to clear my mind and leave any troubles/worries at the front door, so to speak. Then, by the time I've moved on to the main lifts for the day, I have all my focus in check.
While some of the drills in the video above may be old news to many of you, I'm still shocked to find how many people tend to spin their wheels when it comes to preparing for their training session. Hopefully some of you can glean a few things from the video and add them into your own repertoire.
