Chronicles from the Intern Experience
At SAPT we've been pretty fortunate to have some wonderful interns since we began taking them only a couple years ago. One who completed his time with us in the spring, Tadashi, has now had a fairly complete look at athletic performance training from three separate sources. Here are his thoughts: I can now proclaim I have been an intern at three different strength and conditioning sites. While this accomplishment is a great addition to slap on my resume, I actually learned a thing or two in the process and gained a lot of experience. What’s special about my cumulative experience in particular is that I have had the chance to work in three distinctly different environments: A D1 school in a mid-major conference, a D1 school in a major conference, and SAPT (a privately owned training facility). Although these are all programs with similar goals of making people big, strong, fast, and athletic, I found that there are some pretty significant differences between the sites.
At the college level, both major and mid-major, time is always a critical factor. A common mantra in the collegiate field of strength and conditioning is “get in, get out.” There are typically multiple lifting groups per day so scheduling and timeliness are crucial. Also, the athletes have class, practice, meetings, homework, and oftentimes jobs, and they simply cannot afford to spend hours in the weight room every day. This means training sessions need to be quick and efficient. In a collegiate team setting there simply is not enough time to go from athlete to athlete and break down exercise technique in intricate detail. Instead, it becomes necessary to choose your battles and address faults that seem to occur across the board. It would be awesome to pull an athlete aside during squats and go over belly-breathing techniques because he/she isn’t bracing correctly, but in a collegiate setting the team might be on their next set and the athlete falls behind.
This was especially true at the major level because the absolute number of athletes was higher, resulting in a disadvantageous coach:athlete ratio per session. We are always maintaining supervision across the weight room floor and keeping a close eye on those we might feel are at a higher risk, such as those coming back from injury, but we can’t catch everything. For example, as I make sure an athlete with shoulder issues is performing dumbbell rows correctly, out of the corner of my eye I might see an athlete on the other side of the room pulling cleans from the floor with a rounded back (and I die a little inside…).
What I found with my experience in the private sector is that quality control and attention to detail become the priority over most other factors. With a better coach to client ratio and much higher standards in terms of execution of movement, very seldom do technique flaws go unnoticed and uncorrected. Well respected strength coaches like Mike Boyle have advised having only one “coaching intensive” movement (think squats/deadlifts/Olympic lifts) per training session, but at a facility like SAPT even a push-up position plank becomes coaching intensive.
I believe a lot of the differences boils down to the fact that in a collegiate setting we are training teams, whereas in the private sector we are training individuals. I feel that there is a level of responsibility for a collegiate athlete to keep up with the program laid out for the team, while in the private sector clients are paying for an individualized program fit for their personal needs. You’re a D1 athlete and your shoulder feels funky? Well, the team is bench pressing tomorrow so let’s hope you’re ready. You train at SAPT and your shoulder feels funky? Time to take a look at your program and see if we need to make some modifications.
There were many other differences I could talk about such as style of programming, exercise selection, testing methods, warm-ups, conditioning work, and so on, but these differences were more a result of the individual coaches’ preferences and not inherently due to the nature of the program (i.e. D1 major conference vs private sector). My experience with these three internships reinforced the fact that this field really isn’t black and white. When I have a question I turn to the experts, but what happens when the experts disagree? Olympic lifts? Linear periodization? Westside? Kettlebells? Barefoot training? Foam rolling? The beauty of having experience in multiple environments was that I could actually see these methods applied firsthand, and come to my own conclusion of what I thought was effective.
For those of you interested in strength and conditioning I highly recommend going out there and gaining some experience with many areas of the field. Whether your interest currently lies in working with elite level athletes, collegiate athletics, children and young athletes, strength sports, endurance sports, etc., jump on every opportunity to work with anyone. You will learn something from every experience, and you might even find your interests shift as you are exposed to different population groups and programs. Even an experience in what you feel might be a “bad” program will teach you what not to do, and will help mold you into a better professional.
Controlled Energy
With the NFL preseason underway and the MLB playoffs right around the corner it’s a great time to examine energy and how it impacts performance.
Energy levels can fluctuate depending on environment and situation, but the ability to control energy is essential for peak performance under pressure. Increased energy can especially help with tasks like tackling or legging out an infield hit. But that increased energy can also lead to tightening of muscles and cause tasks such as field goal kicking, throwing, and hitting seem much harder. Home court advantage, momentum, and crowd noise are playoff buzzwords that are seemingly beneficial for player performance, but an increased energy does not always lead to increased performance. The need to be calm and relaxed is evident in the three examples below.
A field goal kicker needs to be calm and collected so that they can kick in high-pressure situations. If they are not relaxed, even the simplest of tasks may seem difficult. Last year Baltimore Ravens Kicker Billy Cundiff missed a kick that would have helped his team go to Overtime and play for a chance to go to the Super Bowl.
The ability to control energy in pressure situations can often be the difference between making and missing a field goal.
Baseball pitchers normally strive to stay calm when they’re on the mound. When they are too energized, they have a tendency to lose focus and be unable to recover from missed pitches. On the mound, a pitcher needs to be able to stay relaxed and allow their arm to just “throw”. If they get too jacked up it may cause them to lose control over the strike zone and become overly aggressive. However, an increase in energy can also lead to throwing harder, so an increased energy certainly can be beneficial. Like field goal kicking and pitching, hitting a baseball often requires a lowering of energy and a relaxed state. Notice how a hitter tries to calm down before entering the batters box.
While raucous crowds, pregame speeches, and pressure situations can certainly dictate energy--none of those factors are actually in the athlete’s control. An athlete’s ability to control their energy and realize when to get pumped up and when to calm down is a huge key to performance.
The Yerkes and Dodson Inverted U theory suggests there is an optimal level of arousal an athlete needs for performance. It suggests that not enough energy leads to poor performance, but too much energy also leads to poor performance. It points out that energy is tied to finding optimal performance.
So how can you apply this information to your sport? Below are three ways to control energy.
Self-talk
Don’t take your own words for granted. You have the ability to get yourself energized or calm yourself down by simply using words. Before the game starts you should plan for when to be pumped up and when to be calm. Have key words ready to use at your disposal.
Music
By now you’ve seen an elite athlete tied to their headphones before they perform. Music has been synonymous with performance for a long time, but the choice of music is more important than actually using it. Once you figure out what type of energy you need, make sure to align your music with it.
Breathing Exercises
Breathing is your number one ally for controlling energy in the moment. Develop breathing patterns to use when you find yourself getting over energized and need to calm down. Watch an NBA player at the free throw line, a pitcher on the mound, and a hockey goalie during timeouts, and you’ll see them often controlling their breathing.
Simplicity vs. Complication
The health and fitness industry is notorious for making things more complicated than they need to be. I am guilty of it, you are guilty of it, and everyone you know is guilty of it, or at least has been at some point in time. I think it must be inherent in our nature as humans to find the most complicated solution possible.
Hence the logician, William of Ockham, creating the often-cited principle Occam's Razor in the 14th century, in order to help guide scientists in the development of theoretical models (the razor essentially states that "when you have two competing theories that make exactly the same predictions, the simpler one is the better"). But that's a story, and perhaps a long discussion, for another day.
The more I journey down the path of my own training, and help an increasing number of people journey down their own respective paths of physical training and preparation, the more I acutely understand the truth of Da Vinci's statement from the image at the top of this post.
Whether your goal is to get stronger, run faster, or lose bodyfat, the simplest solution is usually going to be the most effective. In the age of the internet, where you can pick from any multitude of websites and YouTube videos showcasing the latest and greatest plyometric drills, exercise gimmicks, and fancy schmancy exercises, it's tough to remember that simple is better.
Here are a few quick examples, giving first the problem (and a person's typical proposed solution) along with the simple solution that will be much more effective:
Problem: I want to put on more muscle on my legs. I'm going to do leg extensions, leg curls, walking lunges, static lunges, side lunges, stepback lunges, and then do supersets of each and make sure I do different leg exercises every time I do "leg day." Solution: Put a bar on your back. Now squat it.
Problem: I want to get stronger. I'll follow a conjugated periodization scheme for twelve weeks, and then enter undulated periodization for another month or two, cycling bands and chains in and out of my training. I'll also change up my exercises every week so my body never knows what's coming. Muscle confusion, baby. Solution: Pick a lift. Now put a little more weight on the bar each session.
Problem: I can't seem to lose any weight. Maybe I should try intermittent fasting, carb-cycling, do high intensity intervals every day, and switch up my workout one every other week. Solution: Eat more whole, unprocessed foods, and consume less garbage.
Problem: I missed the bench press max attempt I wanted. Was I failing to set my shoulder blades, use leg drive, breathe correctly, or set the bar path in the right direction? I must need to do it again focusing on one of those things, or is it something else I'm not doing? Solution: The weight's too heavy.
Problem: I want to improve my 1-mile time, become an elite-level Olympic lifter, do a powerlifting meet, and get absolutely shredded. Solution: How about pick just one. Then we'll get started.
Problem: I've hit a plateau in my training, I always feel so tired and can't seem to improve the weight I'm using on the bar, even though my partner is helping me do forced reps. Do I need a different periodization scheme, or should I order some specialty bars? Solution: Stop lifting to failure.
Problem: I've heard sandbag training is the secret for preparing for mixed martial arts. The ever-shifting sand challenges the core, consistently attacks different muscle groups from all angles as the bag moves around, and is really sport-specific. Solution:Uh, no.
Problem: I want to improve my squat, it just doesn't seem very good. I'll switch it up between speed-strength work, squats vs. bands, squats vs. chains, box squats, anderson squats from pins, and cycle the volume and intensity each week. Solution: Go into the gym. Squat. Do it again.
Problem: I'm a skinny guy and I can never seem to put on any weight. I really want to put on mass. Maybe I'm not following the right bodybuilding routine, or maybe I'm not doing enough exercises and total volume. Do I need to lift six days a week instead of five? Am I missing the magic chest exercise? Doing the wrong "split" routine? Solution: Pick a few barbells lifts and get better at them. Then go home and eat. Eat again. No seriously, eat more; you're not eating enough.*
Problem: I'm depressed. I need to see a psychiatrist, delve into my social and emotional past, look for triggers, shift my attention-focus, and perhaps read a few books on the matter and attend some support groups. Solution:Eat more bacon.
I'm certainly not implying that simple solutions are analogous to easy. No matter who you are, there comes a point where it's admittedly difficult to train with purpose day in and day out, to continue to push back at the iron on the days it doesn't seem to want to give anything to you, and to eat real foods when you're stressed, tired, and hungry.
But regardless of the situation, making things more complicated than they really are only going to suspend progress. Once you learn to keep things simple, and continue to keep your head up even when crap goes down, then you'll see success like you never have. You might be surprised. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
*HINT: You're not eating enough.
Videos to Make Your Day Better
This week has been crazy busy both business and personally so I thought I would post some videos and showcase some of our clients and our student-athletes latest triumphs. We've got a 9 year old pushing a prowler, adults smoking a 300lbs deadlift, a female walking around with 150lbs in her hands like its her job, and finally an 810lbs prowler push! Enjoy my friends, I know I did. First here is our youngest athlete at SAPT, Sydney. This little girl is on a mission to be anything but little. She loves moving weight! Check our her Prowler Push.
Second is the infamous Lisa S. You may know her from her previous million pound PR's. Well this was her last max out attempt for a while so she went all out and got 300lbs! Another 25lbs PR!
Third is our resident female badass, Nancy. Nancy is going to be a freshman in college going in with a ROTC scholarship. It's safe to say she will be one of the strongest people there! Here is her 150lbs farmer walk!
And last but not least is Red, perhaps one of most tenured athletes at SAPT. Red is getting ready to head off to his freshman year at VMI to play baseball. But before he left I allowed him to put on as much weight on the Prowler as he wanted. He put 9 plates on EACH side, that's 810lbs!! It only took him 6 minutes to do.
As a side note I just want to say thank you to all of our athletes that are heading off to school. You all worked so hard and showed tremendous drive and heart every time you came in. I am truly blown away by your dedication and drive to be better than average. You guys are the reason I love my job and I am thankful to know you all. SAPT has become a second family to me and the appreciation you all have shown to all the coaches has been humbling. To steal a line from Robert Griffin III... SAPT we are, and SAPT we'll always be...
Deadlifts: Is It One Size Fits All?
The other day I found myself in discussion with a buddy of mine (he trains at a gym/training chain that shall remain unnamed), and the topic naturally steered toward moving heavy objects around. His tone of voice became quickly disgruntled as he told me:
"Yeah, I hate deadlifting. I love squatting though! But I utterly DESPISE deadlifts."
This obviously perked my interest, so I asked him to elaborate.
Friend: "Well, I just can't get down there and grab in a good position. It doesn't feel comfortable and my back always hurts when I do the lift. The instructors are yelling at me 'Hey, do this, do that, get your back flat' and I'm thinking to myself 'I know, I know!' but I physically can't do it since I'm so tall." (he's well over six feet tall)
Me: Ah, yeah, I know what you mean. I'm guessing you're pulling conventional style, with your feet roughly shoulder-width apart?"
Friend: "Yep."
Me: "Well, did the instructor ever have you try using a SUMO stance for your deadlifts?"
Friend: "......What's that?"
Me: "Where you put your feet out pretty wide, and then grip the bar with your hands inside your legs, as opposed to outside your legs. I find it's a bit easier for people with your type of build to get into a good deadlift position that way"
Friend: "Oh, no, they won't allow us to use any stance other than conventional. We're all forced to use the same stance."
Me: "Excuse me? I thought I just heard you say that they force you to pull conventional, and then they murder innocent little kittens."
Friend: "Yeah, that's 'cuz that is what I said."
Me: "So you have no other option? What about elevating the bar a bit to help you get into a more neutral spine position?"
Friend: "No. They don't let me do that. I have to pull from the floor. Conventional. And it hurts my back like crazy, especially when I have to perform 10 freaking reps for multiple rounds in a row."
I think it goes without saying that hearing this made me completely incensed. What's next, are we going to take young, beginner lifters and throw them under a 400lb barbell, telling them to 'just squat it'? Or do something else as equally useful as handing out free tickets to an all-you-can-eat poop buffet?
And this is why you continue to hear people spouting off that deadlifts are bad for your back. Of course deadlifts are bad for your back. If you're an idiot with them.
The very beauty of deadlifts is you can fit them to the individual, no matter the person!
Here's just the tip of the iceberg with options we have at our disposal, starting with the variation that initiated this entire discussion:
Conventional Deadlift
While conventional pulling arguably looksthe coolest, these require the most ankle mobility, thoracic (upper back) mobility, and hip flexion range of motion (ability to bend at the hips without compensating at the low back)in order to get into position safely. Conventional pulling should typically be reserved for those who've had fairly extensive practice with how to achieve and maintain a neutral spine under load, as this variation places the most sheer stress on the spine (bar is positioned furthest away from the body's center of gravity, compared to other deadlift variations).
SUMO Deadlift
Taller individuals (such as our friend from the conversation above), and those with longer torsos are going to find this variation easier to utilize, as less mobility is required to execute the pull with a neutral spine. In addition, the total range of motion of the lift is decreased, meaning the distance the bar has to travel from start to finish is shortened.
SUMO pulling is the most common variation we will progress our athletes to after they have learned to deadlift with the trap bar.
(Note: The only caveat I'll note with SUMO pulling is that it can really beat up your hips if you use a super wide stance, and if you fail to intermittently cycle them in and out of your training.)
Trap Bar Deadlift
This variation is usually the easiest to for all people to "sit into" while keeping a safe and sound position. The high handle setting makes it so you don't have to dip down so low to grab the bar (thus less mobility is required), and the fact that you're positioned INSIDE the bar typically makes the lift easier to execute, given that the weights are lined up with your center of gravity.
This is usually the first barbell deadlift variation we use to teach our athletes and clientele at SAPT. After they have developed proficiency with the trap bar, we'll move on to the appropriate straight bar variation, depending on their body type and other morphological concerns.
Conventional Deadlift with Barbell Elevated
The beauty of this set-up is that you can adjust the height the barbell is elevated - using mats, bumper plates, or whatever - so that the lifter can utilize the straight bar but at a height that is appropriate for them as an individual.
Oftentimes, I find that someone may know what they're supposed to be doing (such as our friend above), and kinesthetically aware of where their body is in space, but they just can't physically get into a solid position when the barbell is on the ground. No worries! Elevate the bar just as high as necessary to get them into a neutral spine position (and no compensations elsewhere), and, as their mobility and stability improves, they can lower the height of the bar over time.
Kettlebell Deadlift: Conventional and SUMO
With our younger athletes, and sometimes with our adult clientele, we'll have them initiate the process of learning the deadlift by using kettlebells, as they may not ready to use a 45lb barbell, even with the luxury of 10lb bumper plates in order to get the bar at a proper height yet keeping the weight down.
These can be done either conventional or SUMO style, and the weight of the kettlebell will obviously be chosen depending on the person.
Stop Trying to Force Square Pegs Into Round Holes
As you can see, we virtually have an endless supply of deadlift variations to fit the lift to the individual, not the other way around. If someone can't pull conventional from the floor, why force it??? They can simply use another variation (or elevate the bar a bit) until their necessary qualities improve in order for them to pull from the ground safely.
Conventional deadlifting from the ground looks awesome and is "hard core," I get that. But I also don't see what's hard core about forcing someone into a position that perhaps they're just not ready for yet.
All deadlift variations are going to hammer the glutes, hamstrings, upper back; "pull" people into better posture, improve the structural integrity of their bone and soft tissue (Wolff's Law and Davis' Law), all the while teaching them to resist sheer forces and elevating their superhero status. Try not to get so caught up in what "all the cool kids do" and instead focus on the larger, and more important, picture at hand.
Thoughts on the Fitness Industry
You probably don't know this, but at 31 years old, I have already been in the fitness industry for 17 years. Yep, I got my start in the summer of 1995 at age 14. I was helping to clean and answer general questions (like, "where's the bathroom?") at my stepfather's gym in Bedford, VA. I continued helping during summers and breaks throughout high school. At this point I, sadly, thought weight training was limited to bodybuilders. I'm pretty sure my program back then was as strict dose of DB chest press, lat pulldown (yes, the behind the neck version was cycled in regularly), leg extensions, leg curls, biceps curls (the Preacher curl was my favorite, thank you very much!), and triceps pushdowns.
At Virginia Tech, I worked as a personal trainer in the Rec Sports Department. At this point, I had very proudly gained my first certification... it was ACE, of course! At Tech I got to work a few hours here and there helping fellow students move towards their goals. This was hands-down the best paying on-campus job, I was pretty proud of that, too, because it meant I only needed to work half the time to make the money I needed. Thankfully, my eyes were beginning to open to a variety of modes and methods of training, but just barely. I still felt like training/coaching was a very two-dimensional, black and white, type of job. Fortunately, I was getting a sinking feeling that programming might be waaaaay more detailed than I first thought.
After graduation, I worked at the 19th Street Gym in New York City. This place was pretty cool. After all, I was the ONLY female trainer there and ALL the male trainers were fitness models. Not a bad part-time gig. I was paid cash for my sessions. Even though my full-time job was a fancy office job in a prestigious design firm, it fell a bit short in the earnings department. I couldn't afford a gym membership, so I figured I'd fall back on my certification and kill the proverbial "two-birds with one stone" by earning extra income and a free gym membership. This was around the time when I read, of all things, Arnold Schwarzenegger's The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding. I'm rolling my eyes at myself as I type this... Anyway, this book helped me embrace the importance of nutrition in the pursuit of performance and body composition changes.
From NYC, I became a full-time personal trainer at Life Time Fitness in Fairfax, VA. The pressure was on there. All us trainers were 100% commission. I quickly learned that I can survive virtually any situation and thrived under the sales-heavy position. Being the quick-study that I am, I managed to move to management (and a more secure paycheck) within about a year. My very first day of work here fell on a staff meeting, and I will never forget the massive disappointment I felt when the meeting finished and all we talked about were sales numbers. No discussion of training methods, client success stories, or anything related to our actual craft.
Around the time I secured a management position, I was offered the part-time strength and conditioning coach position at George Mason University. I jumped on the opportunity and fell in love with the work.
This newfound professional passion was unlike anything I had experienced since entering "the real world" and I made the decision to commute to Richmond daily to work as a GA in VCU's S&C department while working on my master's in Sports Administration.
Thankfully, my eyes were finally opened to the methods, ideas, and principles that we use today at SAPT.
So, it took me around 10-years in the fitness industry (3 full-time years) to finally find the guidance and mentorship that a young professional in the industry needs to really become good at their craft.
This makes me think there is something fundamentally wrong with the fitness industry. Why in the world did it take me so long to find this guidance?
Well, at this point and station in my career, I know the answer(s) and they don't paint a very good picture of the ever growing health/fitness industry:
1. Too much focus on sales in the private sector. Sadly, if you accidentally walk into a commercial gym, you'll probably be accosted by the money hungry trainers. Please forgive them though, it's management's fault. This focus on sales means that experienced trainers have little, if any, time or interest available to help mentor those just entering the workforce. Plus, even the experienced trainers have probably stunted their continuing education efforts and defaulted to refining the sales pitch. Now, don't get me wrong... you can't have a business without clients. So, SOMEONE has to do sales at some point, but respect should be given to the fact that strength coaches and trainers didn't spend tens of thousands of dollars on their education to feel like used car salesmen.
2. Poor pay in the public sector. I've seen job postings that state "master's degree required" for a position that pays just over $30,000. Are you kidding me? With low-pay like this, why would one be motivated to go the extra mile in personal/professional growth to continue to learn and share their expertise with a know-nothing coach or lowly intern?
3. Low barrier to entry. You - that's right, Y-O-U - could take a test online and earn a personal trainer certification practically overnight.
4. Poor skill training for bachelor's degree students. The only interns I've ever had that know how to teach the basic movements (squat, pushup, deadlift, pushup, plank, etc.) are all self-taught in terms of techique and coaching skill. For the most part, my 4th year interns still can't coach their way out of a wet paper bag when they arrive on day 1. Why is this a problem? Well, it perpetuates that lack of direction, skill, and technique of the vast majority of strength coaches and trainers. In many cases, it's the blind leading the blind in an internship situation. I used to coach with someone who taught the hang clean from a "break at the knees first" position, it made me want to bang my head against a wall. How could he not know how wrong that is? And yet he is now a Head Strength & Conditioning Coach at a D1 university.
5. Bizarre competitiveness between professionals. I assume this stems from a lack of confidence, but it truly is weird. The result is everyone thinks their method is so special that they don't want to share it with anyone. Again, a complete stoppage in the guidance needed for young coaches and trainers.
All of these points feed into a general poor perception by the public of fitness professionals.
To improve the public's perception of the health/fitness industry, those of us practicing must bite the bullet and strive to make progress in the areas of: reduced sales focus, improved pay and benefits, implementing a state licesening process, making year-long intensive internships mandatory for college students, and finally, we all need to get off our high-horses to work together not against eachother.
I know we have a fair number of readers who are strength coaches and trainers, so I hope you find this some worthwhile food for thought. If you have anything to add to the discussion, please consider posting in the comments!
