Understanding Competing Demands, Part Deux: A Sample Workout
On Wednesday, I touched on competing demands and how these will affect the quantity, and quality, of the training stressors appropriately applied to athletes and general fitness enthusiasts alike. I used myself as an example of making a major mistake in attempting to obliterate a great athlete while not understanding everything he was facing outside the gym walls of SAPT. You can read it here in case you missed it. Getting right to it, below is a sample lower body workout I may use with an athlete who is performing sprints and change-of-direction training with his or her sports team, throwing/hitting two days per week, and maybe getting in a lift or two under the watch of his high school coach. There are obviously countless scenarios that would affect the individualized programming of the specific athlete, but the one below should at least give you an idea.
A) Trap Bar Deadlift
*
1x3, then 1x3@90% weight used in set 1
B1) DB Split Squat ISO Hold B2) ½ Kneeling SA Cable or Band Row
**
2-3x5/side hold :5
3x8/side
C1) DL Hip Thrust, Back+Feet Elevated
***
C2) Sandbag Walkover C3) Side-Lying Wallslide with Slider
2x8 hold :5 2x6 2x8/side
D) Sledge Swings or EASY Prowler Push
2-3x10/side or 3 Trips
*Work up to one "heavy" set of three, and then do one more set of three at 90% of the last weight used. **Even though this session would be considered "lower body," I added this because I really feel people can't get enough horizontal pulling. Especially with the unilateral version you receive a bit of added core stability and thoracic mobility to boot. ***Your butt cheeks should feel like they're about to fall off the bone if you do these correctly.
B1) Split Squat ISO
B2) 1/2 Kneeling SA Band Row
C1) DL Hip Thrust, Back+Feet Elevated
C3) Side-Lying Wallslide with Slider
D) Sledge Swings
The above program will provide plenty training stimulus to elicit positive strength adaptations, while at the same time not fatiguing the athlete to the point of sending him or her backwards. Also, while I didn't list them, there would also be plenty of mobilization drills to help "undue" the crappy positioning and imbalances that the athlete accrues throughout the week.
With the trap bar deadlift, you'll receive a solid dose of work for the entire posterior chain while still giving the quads plenty stimuli (as the trap bar deadlift engages the quads a bit more than conventional deads), along with some healthy compressive stress (which the spine tends to handle better than shear stress).
The accessory work will hit most of the things that athletes fail to receive from their other spheres of training, namely:
- Glute strength and endurance (which, unless you're first name is Don, and last name Juan, there's about a 110% chance you lack these)
- Scapular retraction and depression
- Serratus anterior work
- The lateral subsystem (QL, adductor complex, and glute medius)
- Light conditioning (with the sledge or prowler) that should "wake-up" the athlete more than anything as opposed to some insane glycolytic session
In all honesty, I tried to come up with a clever way to end this post but...I got nothin'.
Keep’um tucked…
Question:Do you have any research that says that elbows out pushups can cause injury or are less beneficial than elbows in?
Is it ever OK to do an elbows out pushup?
Jack
Answer:
Hi Jack:
Thanks for the question! Yes, there’s a bunch of research out there that supports the importance of keeping the elbows tucked during the pushup, most of which is found in health-science related journals that you have to pay for…but why pay when we can give it to you for free; Steve does a great job diagnosing the pushup, HERE!
My quick concise answer to your questions regarding the injury implications of performing pushups incorrectly is, yes, you’re putting yourself in a compromised position by letting the elbows flare. Not only are you creating all sorts of torque around the GH joint, but your scapular stability is compromised as well. It may not happen immediately, but over time, you’ll likely develop an injury from the repetitive stress. Not to mention the countless other imbalances being created by absorbing and producing force incorrectly.
Additionally, from a performance standpoint, it’s certainly not advantageous to the press with flare. Case and point, the picture below of some Detroit Lions linemen jamming the tackling sled…no elbow flare there…
But celebrate with flare…absolutely…
Finally, do I ever think it’s okay to perform an elbow flared pushup…not really. The only circumstance that I’d turn my head is during a testing scenario. Well, let me qualify that, a testing scenario that I’m not conducting. This may be applicable to military personnel. If they are going to let you flare, and you’re more accustomed to this style, I’d probably roll the dice. Conversely, if I’m testing athletes or the general pop at SAPT, less is more in my opinion; I’d rather see 5 perfect reps than 30 crappy ones.
Just keep’um tucked…
Chris
Squat vs. Box Squat (+ Personal Update)
I just stumbled upon a study published in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research in December 2010 titled: “Comparison of kinetic variables and muscle activity during a squat vs. a box squat.” Basically, what the study found is that box squatting was measured to produce both more force and more power than a traditional squat at certain working percentages!
I’m sure many people assume the box’s only value is to ensure depth, but those of us who are familiar with old articles from Westside Barbell or EliteFTS know better:
- A pause on the box – with or without relaxation – takes away the stretch-shortening cycle and forces the athlete to generate all that speed and power from the bottom position. No relying on stored energy, this pays huge dividends when you finally get the opportunity to use a “bounce” out of the hole.
- The same pause that removes the stretch-shortening cycle is also the responsible factor for why box squatting or dynamic effort box squatting can be considered valuable supplemental deadlift work, too. Why? In the deadlift you start from the bottom with virtually no stored energy.
- A bigger squat and a bigger deadlift?!? Sign me up!
Below I’ve put in a repost of mine from last May. Maybe the big gains were due to the BOX? Eh, it was still the dynamic effort work, I’m certain. But, I've now found real science backing up that decision to use a box:
Dynamic Effort Training to Fuel Huge Strength Gains (from May 2011)
I had something wonderful happen last week: the George Mason Throwers – who just came off the season – retested in the squat and everyone PR’d. I’m not talking 5lb PR’s, we had HUGE PR’s of 55lb and even 60lb (that’s a 365lb squat moving up to 425lb and a 455lb squat moving up to 510lb)! The lowest PR was 20lb. This progress occurred over about 16-weeks. By the way, I called the depth on each attempt myself, anyone who knows me personally knows I’m a stickler for proper squat depth.
I will be (and that day I was) the first to admit how shocked I was at our new numbers. You see, we were retesting so everyone could be sure they are working off the correct percentages for their summer training program. Coming off the season, I figured everyone would be down around their old max (if we’re lucky) or even below… that’s how it works, right? Maybe not…In hindsight, my approach to this team (much like the sprinters and jumpers I wrote about last week) has been extremely conservative. So what was the catalyst for all these great PR’s? Dynamic Effort Squats (or Speed Squats as they’re sometimes called) are the key to their success.
What are they? Dynamic Effort squatting is a squat that is performed using relatively low percentages and performed as fast as possible through the concentric portion.
Why did we use them?The Throws’ coach communicated to me at some point in December or January that the group, generally speaking, needed to learn to accelerate through to the “block” portion of the throw. I suggested Speed Squats.
How do you use them? Don’t mess with success: There is a pretty tried and true method to speed squat success and you can work off of these parameters for YEARS. If you are new to speed squatting try this wave over a three-week period: Week 1 10x2@50% - Week 2 10x2@55% - Week 3 8x2@60% - stay strict with a maximum of 60 seconds rest between sets.
Can Olympic lifts take the place of Dynamic Effort Squats? Theoretically, yes. In practice, absolutely not! The problem with the Olympic lifts and their variations is the complexity of the movement – it is, after all, its own sport. You are better off taking a simple movement that an athlete is familiar with and squeezing out every drop of progress (which will last through 4-5 years of a college career, I promise).
It blows my mind how relatively unknown Dynamic Effort lifting remains to many coaches. But, then again, the only reason I know the ins and outs of the method is via my colleagues over the years. Okay, I NEVER do this, so since you’re probably already sitting down – stay there! I don’t want anyone injured… Below are a full 4 waves of lower body lifting I wrote for the throwers this past semester. You’ll see that we did a lot of speed squatting and very little heavy accessory work. Really take a close look at the last few weeks. Oh, and a note about Wave 3, the team’s CNS was trashed so I took the DE squats out to let the team recoup. Finally, in addition to this mandatory team session lower body training day, we had an additional Saturday lift that was to be completed on their own. It consisted of very basic movements to “clean up” what we couldn’t get to during the two days they see me.
Wave 1: Weeks 1-3
A1 High Pull
6x3@65%
5x2@75%
4x1@85%+
A2 Rocking Ankle Mob
2x10
2x10
2x10
Banded DE Box Squat
10x2@40-50%
9x2@45-55%
8x2@50-60%
B1 Band Pistol Sq
2x5
3x5
3x6
B2 Pallof Press
2x6
2x7
2x8
C1 DB Swing
2x12
3x10
3x12
C2 Plate Pinch
2x:15
2x:20
3x:15
Wave 2: Weeks 4-6
DE Box Squat
10x2@50%
9x2@55%
8x2@60%
A1 Oblique Deadlift
6x3
6x2
4x1
A2 Body Saw
3x10
3x10
3x10
B1 Bulgarian Split Sq
2x5
3x5
3x6
B2 St. Arm Walkout
2x6
2x7
2x8
C1 OH Plate Squat
3x6
3x8
4x6
C2 Plate Pinch Driver
2x10
3x8
3x10
Week 7: Deload Week – light DB and bodyweight work… step away from the barbell!Wave 3: Weeks 8-10 – Taper Begins
“Low” Bar Squat (1/4 Squat depth)
4x3@75%
3x2@80%
3x1@85%+
A1 Oblique Deadlift
4x3
3x2
skip
A2 Partner Plank
4x:15
3x:20
2x:10
B1 SL DB RDL
3x6
2x8
2x5
B2 MB Side Throw
3x6
3x7
2x5
C1 OH Plate Squat
2x10
3x8
3x6
C2 Hex Hold
2xFAIL!
2xFAIL!
2xFAIL!
Wave 4: Weeks 11-13 – Taper Continues to Conference
DE Box Squat
5x2@50%
4x2@55%
n/a
“Low” Bar Squat
3x1
3x1
n/a
A1 SL ¼ Squat
2x5
2x5
2x5
A2 MB OH Throw
2x5
2x5
2x5
DB OH Squat
2x6
2x5
3x6
Lastly, here's a personal update from the weekend: Arabella "successfully completed" her first 1K race - I believe it was with a blazing fast time of 17:25. She made it on her own for a little less than half the race and I carried her the rest of the way.
In all honestly, the "Fun" Run was anything but fun. 1. It was super cold outside which wouldn't have been so much of a problem if they had started the race on time, not made everyone stand there for an extra 25 minutes. 2. Number 1 led to a fairly uncomfortable and cranky Arabella (finely tuned athletes can not be kept waiting!). 3. There was ice all over the place! Arabella slipped several times as she pushed for a PR.
The Goblin Gallop was well run, as always, and they certainly didn't have control over the weather. Regardless, I think this will be a wonderful memory for my family in the future!
Guest Post: Anterior Humeral Glide
Ryan Wood has been given the green light to go hog-wild on a post for this week. Below is what he came up with... be warned, it's good - real good. Ryan may just find himself a regular weekly contributor soon: I’ve noticed a growing trend amongst gym goers that is possibly more annoying to look at than guys wearing skinny jeans. That trend is what’s called Anterior Humeral Glide (AHG). AHG, for simplicity’s sake, is the excessive forward glide of the humeral head during a wide variety of exercises but especially during vertical and horizontal pulls. You can see the problem clearly on exercises like a double or single arm horizontal row. Below is a video of a double arm band row performed incorrectly with AHG present.
Incorrect Row with AHG. Notice the head of the humerus moving anteriorly. This is due to an inability to properly retract the scapulae.
There are a number of problems as to why AHG during an exercise is not a good thing, but the two biggest ones are: 1. You’re flat out going to tear up your shoulder over time; welcome to impingement city. 2. You are in no way, shape, or form getting any benefit out of the exercise. The whole point in doing a row variation is to strengthen the upper back, most notably the scapular retractors (rhomboids and mid/lower trapezius) which you totally miss when you fail to properly perform the exercise.
So how do we address the problem in order to help out the athlete/client? First, check out the video below to see what a correct row looks like without AHG present. Correct Row with Proper Form. Notice in the performance of the row that the head of my humerus does not glide forward. The retraction of the scapulae causes the humerus to align correctly.
Believe it or not some individuals just might not be ready for an actual row; they need a progression. If you find yourself faced with an athlete in this situation, it would be wise to fill their program with exercises that focus solely on the scapular retractors. This will force them to be aware of how to use them effectively. You can saturate their program with this work early on in the session or hammer the movements in their warm-ups… either way, just keep in mind that for someone who has difficulty with scapular retraction, this is hard work! So, let them be fresh and able to concentrate while they work on the form (just like you would make sure an advanced athlete performs the compound lifts at the beginning of a session). Three exercises that can be used to teach scapular retraction:Banded Scapular Retraction
Prone I’s
Band Pullaparts
Coaching cues are a must when a row (or any exercise, really) is involved. If the athlete is not coached in the right way they can not be expected to perform the movement correctly. Here a few coaching cues to ensure retraction.
• Place your finger between the scapulae and tell them to pinch your finger
• Have them imagine pinching a pencil in between the shoulder blade as they retract
• A favorite of Coach Romo’s is to ask them how they would walk on the beach, and then proceed to tell them to stick their chest out!
• The best one of all in my opinion is for you to physical direct their humerus back as they are doing a retraction exercise or a row. Over time they will become aware of what it feels like to retract their scapulae
An exercise is only useful if performed correctly. Retract away my friends!
It's All About the Glutes
When Bret Contreras first wrote this article, I thought he was nuts - along with just about every other strength coach across America. After all, who spends over 10 years (that isn't a paid researcher) reading almost every study, article, or book ever written on the glutes, and hooks up electrodes to his own butt to measure which exercises elicit the greatest glute involvement?! Not to mention, very rarely had people ever trained the glutes the way that Bret suggested we should, and I am always skeptical when so called "new and improved" exercises hit the public. The basics have worked for centuries, and this isn't going to change anytime soon.
The point is that this series of experiments revolutionized the way that strength coaches train people's glutes today. Basically, we've had it all wrong for quite a while now. As Bret mentions in the article:
"Despite the fact that the gluteus maximus muscles are without a doubt the most important muscles in sports and the fact that strength coaches helped popularized "glute activation," none of them have a good understanding of glute training..."
"..And second, athletes' glutes are pathetically weak and underpotentialized. Even people who think they have strong glutes almost always have very weak glutes in comparison to how strong they can get through proper training."
The cool thing, too, is that there were real-world improvements in athlete's performance when coaches began to train the glutes the way Bret teaches in the article (I make a point of this because there are many things that occur in the "scientists labs" that don't actually pan out in real life scenarios).
It makes sense, too, as (noted in the article) the gluteus maximus muscles are heavily involved in some of the most important movements in sport: sprinting, leaping, cutting from side to side, and twisting (the "geeky" way to describe this is that the glutes function to produce hip extension, hip hyperextension, hip transverse abduction, hip abduction, and hip external rotation).
So, after reading (and scoffing at, initially) about the way we "should" be training the glutes, I gave it a shot. After all, if Bret was right, this would mean enormous advancements in improving people's athletic performance, low back health, physique enhancement, and quite a few other bonuses.
After spending about a year training my glutes with more focus than I ever had in the past, I was shocked with the results. Below are two staple exercises (after progressing appropriately) one can perform for stronger glutes: the Barbell Glute Bridge and the Barbell Hip Thrust.
Here's a 555lb Glute Bridge:
You can then increase the range of motion the glutes have to work through (thus having to lower the weight). Here's a 435lb Hip Thrust:
Now, it is imperative that one knows how to properly use his or her glutes to do these exercises. Otherwise, the low back will take over the force production, which is a recipe for injury. I often joke on bodybuilders for their touting of the "mind-muscle" connection in lifting, but I actually have to say that this is of extreme importance in glute training. Weighted glute movements are phenomenal tools, but you need to know how to actually use your glutes (trust me, you're probably worse than you think) before attempting these.
It's all about cracking walnuts The cue I give myself (and anyone I coach) during any bridge variation is to "Crack a Walnut" between the butt cheeks. I wish I could remember where I got this coaching cue from, because it is brilliant. For some reason, people don't know how to bridge correctly when I say "use your glutes," but as soon as I say "crack a walnut between your butt cheeks" they know exactly what to do! As funny as it is, it's actually key to do this to ensure you're not just hyperextending your low back to achieve the range of motion desired.
Progressions Below is a BRIEF listing of some of the bodyweight progressions you can use (for more exercises, as well as suggested sets and reps, go back and read the article linked above):
How do YOU benefit (regardless of your occupation)? So why should anyone really care about this stuff? Whether or not you're an athlete, effective glute training provides incredible benefits. Rather than reinvent the wheel, I'll quote "the Glute Guy" himself:
"Athletic performance • Strong glutes will help you jump higher and farther • Strong glutes will help you run faster and with more efficiency • Strong glutes will help you cut faster from side to side • Strong glutes will help you rotate faster, which means throwing faster and farther, swinging faster, and striking faster • Strong glutes will help you lift heavier loads in the gym
Physique enhancement • Possessing a nice butt separates you from the pack. It’s actually quite rare to find someone with an amazing butt, and both sexes will agree that when they’re in the presence of such a booty, it’s hard to look away! Our primal urges kick in and our hormones go into overdrive. • If you want to look “athletic,” then you need glutes. The Men’s Health and Women’s Health look is all the rage these days for the general public, and you can’t achieve this look by just jogging and doing push ups and sit ups. • Figure competitors typically lose their glutes when they diet down. They need extra glute mass to counteract this phenomenon.
General health and injury prevention • Strong glutes encourage good lifting mechanics and less low-back rounding, which spares the spine and decreases low back pain and injury • Strong glutes prevent knee caving (Valgus collapse) which decreases the likelihood of knee (patellofemoral) pain and knee injury such as ACL tears. Strong glutes also spare the knee joint by encouraging proper lifting form and having the hips share the load when lifting rather than having the knee joint take on the brunt of the load • Strong glutes are one of the keys to overall structural health, as they set the stage for proper mechanics. Failing to use the glutes results in postural distortions (Lower-cross syndrome) which goes hand in hand with upper cross syndrome and can lead to groin strains, shoulder issues, spinal issues, Sciatica, and hip pain (anterior femoral glide syndrome) • Sound lifting mechanics involves using the glutes, which is a large, active muscle group, and good form is actually more costly from a metabolic perspective in comparison to lifting in ways that don’t involve the glutes, so strong glutes burn more calories during everyday movement which will help get you leaner"
I would also like to add myself that glute strength aids in injury risk reduction of the hamstrings. How many of you know someone that has been through a hamstring pull/strain/tear? My guess is the great majority. One of the leading contributing factors to hamstring injuries is poor glute function!
Both the hamstrings and glutes function extend the hip in sprinting. However, when the glutes aren't doing their full job, the hamstrings will try to "take over" the movement and bear the brunt of the force production. The physiological term for this is "synergistic dominance." This usually results in some sort of hamstring injury and one point or another.
I'd say this is plenty reason to begin glute training! If you walk into SAPT, you're likely to see many athletes - as well as adults - performing some variation of glute bridging. Many of our high school guys are Barbell Bridging 300lbs+, and we've had quite a few females hit the 135lb mark.
Now (and I'll end with this), glute variations are no substitute for proper squatting, deadlift variations, and single-leg work when it comes to effective strength training. However, when combined with the staple lifts, this creates an outstanding synergistic effect in enhancing athletic performance.
Now go start training those glutes.
Outdoor Training
For the record, I love Fall. It's hands-down my favorite season. Crisp and refreshing weather (but not too cold), pumpkin spiced ales are a-brewing (or pumpkin spiced lattes, depending on who you are), Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and some may even argue that football season makes things more enjoyable.
Fall is also a perfect season to train outside. There's just something about breathing fresh air and having the sun shine on your body that makes training outdoors far more vivifying than remaining indoors.
This past weekend, a couple friends and I went to a local field to get in a training session, and it was awesome. We primarily used a 100lb sandbag and the prowler to get some work done, and just did whatever we felt like doing that morning. For those that have never trained with a (shifting) sandbag, it makes any movement you do ten times harder than using a fixed weight such as a dumbbell or barbell. Take a look at the video below:
Here's a quick recap of what we did:
Round 1: Repeat AMAP in ten minutes A1) Zercher Squat to Stepback Lunge (2 of each movement) A2) PUPP until it's your turn again
Round 2: Repeat the circuit three times B1) Suspended Row and Hold 4x :5 B2) SB Walkover w/two pushups each side (3 passes) B3) SL Slider Hamstring Eccentric 5x :6ecc/side
Round 3: Repeat until you're done (you'll know when you're done...) C1) Prowler Push to Reverse Drag C2) Sandbag Over-Shoulder Carry, 50yds/side C3) Sandbag Bear Hug Carry, 100yds **We then finished up with some alligator crawls just for kicks.
This workout hit the entire body and was challenging, yet didn't leave us exhausted at the end nor did it affect anything we wanted to do later that day (or negatively affect our training sessions once Monday came around). And, more importantly, it was FUN. After all, that's what training should be, right?
For those that have never trained outside, or, at the very least, completed hill sprints, I highly encourage it. You won't regret it.
