Monday Guest Post

Stevo is still pretty under the weather. So, in his place on this fine Monday, Ryan Wood will make his blog post debut! Enjoy: I was recently talking to a friend of mine who is a former collegiate basketball player about strength and conditioning for basketball. Our conversation was centered on getting faster in the change of direction aspect of defensive slides. He asked me what he should do and I began thinking about what I used to do or what coaches would make me do in order to get better at this same exact thing. Endless amounts of wall sits, shuttles, and defensive slide drills flooded back into the forefront of my mind as well as stomach acid in my esophagus. After the thoughts and stomach acid dissipated I began thinking as a professional strength coach and not as a high school basketball player. Because of my troubles playing defense when I was younger I wanted to give him good sound advice.

I was always told when my man got by me that I had to be faster changing direction. Well 10 years later after no one was able to tell me exactly how to do that, I found out for myself. When a ball-handler decides to cross over with the basketball it is up to the defender to suddenly stop a full speed slide, plant, push off their outside foot to switch directions, and continue into another full speed slide. Sounds like a lot right? Now you can see why defenders get beat so much off the dribble and why things like help defense exist.

In the scenario I described what you see is the product of the defenders ability to start and stop. This may seem easy but it’s really quite hard, especially when you are not genetically gifted. In order for a defender to stop they have to be able to absorb the force of their own body against the floor while almost instantaneously using the same side of the body to produce force into the floor to start their movement again. Now if this still seems easy let me throw another wrench into the equation. Not only do you have to absorb and produce force in order to change directions you have to be able to do it fast (high velocity). If there lacks an ability to perform this change of direction quickly, then you just got beat by your man.

Can anyone pick out the two key words that are extremely important to this whole defense thing? If you guessed “wrench” or “easy” then take another guess. The two key words are force and velocity. And what do we get when we multiply force times velocity? POWER! Power is the key to being an excellent defender. Now I’m sure you’re asking how you can increase your power output in order to become a better defender. I could write something lengthy on this subject but I’ll just give you a couple key exercises to use. These exercises will help you produce more power and provide specificity to the change of direction aspect of defensive slides.

First, dynamic effort squats to depth. This type of squat is performed at maximal speeds with submaximal weight (50-65% of a 1RM). This type squat will allow you to switch from the eccentric to the concentric phase at high speeds not unlike the change of direction that occurs during a defensive slide. This exercise will call on the same main musculature that is required when playing defense (knee and hip extensors).

Second, lateral bounds and stick. This exercise is extremely important for players looking to better their man-to-man defense. The reason being is that it improves power output by working on your ability to absorb and produce force unilaterally (one side of the body). I would argue that during the change of direction phase of defense that it is predominantly a unilateral movement rather than bilateral. However, that whole argument is a different topic for a different day. This exercise will also help in ACL injury prevention by improving the musculature and connective tissue of the knee.

Third, banded monster walks. This exercise provides some great activation and strengthening of the glutes. Considering most people are very quad dominant, especially basketball players, the ability to properly activate your glutes is vital to being able to produce force at high velocities. Defense is as easy as Power = Force X Velocity. It’s a bad joke; but you’ll remember it.

A shoulder saver, and some training footage...

What’s up folks! Today I bring you yet another awesome “shoulder saver” exercise. I’ve been programming these suckers with reckless abandon over the past month. Ladies and Gents, I give you the “Standing W”. This footage was taken from our comprehensive online database of exercises used to coach our distance coaching clientele.

Why is this a great exercise? Not only does it smoke the external rotators, but it forces the individual into scapular retraction as well. Also, if performed correctly, this movement will recruit lower trap with minimal upper trap activation.

From a coaching standpoint, I find the movement to be “Dumby-Proof,” meaning it’s extremely easy to learn (and coach) as it puts the individual in an advantageous position to move and execute correctly. The ol’ “pinch my finger” cue comes in handy if the individual isn’t retracting and depressing appropriately. Anyone can benefit from a “Standing W,” especially overhead athletes (baseball, softball, etc.).

I’ve also been getting some inquiries regarding our Buttkamp classes. You know, our bootcamp styled classes that are scientifically designed to kick your butt? Well here’s some footage from last week. These ladies are getting strong!

Chris (Romo) Romanow

Depletion Pushup Eccentrics

It’s really great how some exercise variations come about. Every once in a while an athlete I work with will misinterpret an exercise in such a creative way that the misinterpretation becomes a new variation in its own right. Here’s an example: for Mason Women’s Basketball I programmed Diminishing Pushups for the team’s very last movement of the week. I wrote about these here a few weeks ago.

Trust me, they’re a pretty punishing way to finish a hard training week, but what one of the girls came up with as her interpretation is a sick and twisted variation. So, sick and twisted that I will likely cycle these into their program in the future.

Diminishing Pushup Eccentrics

***To be done at the end of a training week***

3xAMAP :03-:06 eccentrics in 90 seconds (rest :90 between sets)

John was kind enough to finish off his training this morning with this insanity. John did a great job making these look smooth as butter and just as easy! But you should know John just finished his D1 wrestling career and is generally in outstanding condition at any moment in time. He benches close to 300lb and I’d be can rep out well over 100 pushups in a row. But you can see even with the seemingly innocent 25lbs on his back he’s having a rough time at the end of his first set.

Consider giving them a try without using the concentric (the push back up), so just lower yourself slowly to the ground over and over for time.

Good Luck!

A Little Deadlift Troubleshooting

Something I find myself frequently discussing with the athletes and adults at SAPT (as well as with Sarah, Chris, and Ryan) is that there is ALWAYS room for improvement in the lifting and performance realm. More specifically, there is always room for improvement with regards to form. One can always make his or her form just a little better, even if he or she has been training for years on end. Case in point: I recently stumbled across an old video on my computer that Kelsey (my lovely fiancee) had filmed for me when I was around the 15-month mark of learning the deadlift. During this particular deadlift session, I was pulling 285lbs for as many reps as I could without technical breakdown (i.e. rounding of the back, hips shooting up ahead of the shoulders, etc.). Given that I'd severely injured my low back due to improper deadlift form in high school, I wanted to be sure my form was spot-on, so that I could continue to progress accordingly.

A couple years ago, when I initially watched the video, I gave myself a small pat on the back. Not because I was lifting a lot of weight (I wasn't, and I readily admit my deadlift is far from world-class), but because, at the time, I thought my form looked pretty good. At least, it appeared angelic compared to the form you see in people like THIS deadlifting across America (Warning: don't watch the video unless you want to crawl into the fetal position under your desk).

HOWEVER, as I re-watched my deadlift video the other day, I chuckled a bit because I realized that my form was far from perfect, although I didn't realize it at the time. Were there a lot of good things going on? Sure. But, there are also a few tweaks that "2011 Stevo" would make if he were coaching this.

Here are three coaching cues I would give to correct some of the errors in the video:

1. "Pack the Neck"
2. Reset the bar between each rep (i.e. don't bounce it off the floor)
3. Finish "tall" at the top

Let's quickly go over each one....

1. Pack the Neck

In the video, I'm looking straight ahead, thus hyperextending my neck/cervical spine at the start. This can put significant undue pressure along the cervical spine, negatively affect mechanics further down your back (at the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae), and actually compromise your breathing patterns, too.

So, I would cue to "pack the neck," or, make a "double chin" by looking down and pulling the chin in.

This may be very difficult for those of you who have been deadlifting for a long time with eyes looking straight ahead, and I won't deny that there are many elite deadlifters that lift this way. However, I do think it would be wise to at least begin practicing neck packing during your warm-ups, and gradually work towards keeping sound spinal mechanics up through max attempts. Also, I CERTAINLY recommend teaching it to beginners so that they can develop good habits right from the start.

2. Reset the Bar Between Each Repetition

As you can see, I transition, quite quickly, from the lowering to the lifting phase of the movement. I'm not "bouncing" it, per se, but I'm certainly not letting the bar settle completely, either.

The reason I recommend pulling every rep from a dead stop is this takes out the stretch reflex. Deadlifting seventeen reps without pausing (as in the video) is much easier than pulling seventeen reps with a pause between each rep. This is of special importance for those that are training for a max deadlift attempt, as well as those working on their starting strength. When you go for a max deadlift, you don't get to set the bar down and utilize the stretch reflex. Instead. you have to pull it from a dead stop. Be warned, lest Newton's first law (inertia) reign victorious over you.

Now, for those of you seeking a little bit more volume, I could see an argument for a "controlled bounce" betwixt each rep, but that is a different story. In general, I recommend that most trainees reset the bar in order to ensure safety and form are in check.

3. Finish the Pull "Tall"

If you look carefully, there are a number of reps where I don't stand completely vertical at the top. I'm slightly hinging forward from the trunk up. It's important to finish the rep by standing TALL, completely pulling the shoulder blades "down and back." This will ensure you're getting the hips all the way through (using your glutes and hamstrings and minimizing anterior pelvic tilt), strengthening the thoracic erectors, and pulling the scapulae into full retraction and depression.

So, essentially, as I'm coming up to the top, 2011 Stevo would tell pre-B.C. Stevo to:

1. Hump the bar
2. Stand tall with the chest out, as if you're strutting your stuff at the beach.

So, what does it all look like? Here's a demo:

Granted, there is still room for improvement (as I said in the beginning, there ALWAYS is...), but there are many more good things happening here than in the first video.

Pushups and Backpacks

About six weeks ago, I made a decision that would be a nightmare for almost any male between the age of twelve and eighty: I nixed bench pressing from my training program. "Why" you ask? There are multiple reasons, but the primary reason being that I've had a pissed off shoulder for quite some time now, and benching (even correctly) certainly isn't going to help my situation. As such, here are just a couple of the things I've ensured to include in my programming:

• LOTS of horizontal pulling, on top of other various exercises to make sure I'm hammering the external rotators, horizontal abductors, scapular depressors and scapular retractors. My guess is that, over time, via awful lifting technique throughout high school+college, benching too much, and not giving my shoulder enough tender love and care, my glenohumeral joint (where the upper arm bone connects to the shoulder joint) has shifted superiorly into the subacromial space. Basically, this = pain.

• Made the Pushup my primary "horizontal push" exercise.

For any of you who have read my writing before, you know that I (and the entire SAPT staff) LOVE pushups. However, as the pushup is now my PRIMARY pressing movement, and no longer my accessory lift, I've had to become more creative on how to load it enough in order to achieve the strength stimulus I'm looking for. I don't have a weight vest, and I don't always have a training partner with me who can pile weights on my back.

That's where the backpack comes in. I realized that, conveniently, I have quite a large backpack I use for hiking trips. However, why settle for it being a unitasker? I've already used it for HICT, so why not fill it with some sandbags for some loaded pushups?

In the video below, I'm putting two sandbags (one is 60lbs, and the other is 45lbs) in the pack for a total of 105lbs added resistance. This is the first time I've tried the backpack, so I didn't want to risk falling on my face or having the bag slider over my head.

It ended up working way better than I thought, and I'm really excited to continue to experiment with loading it. Adding band resistance is certainly a viable way to load your pushups (as shown in the pushup article linked above) but I don't like to use it too often due to the eccentric stress it places on my elbows. Also, with the backpack, you have consistent loading throughout the entire movement (whereas the band resistance changes throughout the course of the exercise).

Anyway, for those of you who don't have a weight vest, this may be an option for loading your pushups. The sandbags I'm using in the video were purchased at home depot for just a few bucks, so they're way cheaper than weight plates for those of you who work out at home.

-Stevo

Tips on Training for a Hike

Irony of all ironies, I had planned on writing a post about hiking for today (I’ve been getting requests) and what did Steve do yesterday?!? A hiking post… unbelievable! Maybe this week will be SAPT's unofficial training for a hike week or something. So, I'm sticking with my post for today and felt is was appropriate to post a picture of one of the hikes I went on last week - this one is in Red Rock State Park. Tips on Training for a Hike

1. Single Leg Strength Work is Essential! A large percentage of training should be dedicated to Step-up and Step-down variations. This is pretty much what a hike is after all. The step-up will help you get up to the peak, but what about when you’re on your return trip and your legs are fried? That’s when the step-downs will become crucial. Having exceptional eccentric strength in a fatigued state will not only allow you to return safely, but more quickly, too! I’m afraid I may sound like I’m hopping on Mike Boyle’s anti-bilateral movement crusade with this, but I think ditching the squats and deads may be a great move for a focused time leading up to an important hike.
2. Bracing Variations. As Steve pointed out in his post yesterday, hikers will usually be loaded up with all kinds of gear (think added weight) and they need to be able to easily brace and stabilize to carry the loads without undue fatigue. How can you train this in the gym? Give BB Squat Hold Variations, Mis-Loaded BB Hold Variations, Plank Hold Variations, and Band Swing Hold Variations a try.  Notice the theme word for these exercises is “hold” a.k.a. isometric – a hiker needs to have an extremely strong “core” (gasp, I can’t believe I just used that word) to ensure the muscle groups that should be doing the bracing do their jobs.
3. Mobility Work. This will be critical for the entire body. Especially considering that hikers often stay in a fairly upright position, so when they need to call on some extreme hip mobility to traverse certain terrain you want that mobility to be present. Otherwise, injuries will pop up.
4. Lastly, if I seriously wanted to show my hiking prowess off, I would implement Steve’s HICT training. Add this in twice a week plus a long hike on the weekend.

***I'm going to get some videos up this evening, so please check back if you want to see some of the variations I mentioned!

Don't forget, if you're out of the DC/NoVA area, we can still get you prepared to destroy your next competition, event, or just life. Find out more by requesting information on our distance coaching program!