Friday Musings 10/14/11
So, no beating around the bush, I'm pretty mentally beat from this week. Between finishing up the last week of wedding prep, visiting various labs for bloodwork, moving to a new home, getting ahead of things for when I'm on my honeymoon, and staying on top of my daily responsibilities at SAPT, I'm definitely going to crash hard tonight when I finally get to sleep. Not to mention a lot of things have happened over the past month (my car rolling across a parking lot being one of them) in my life that can be summed up by this poster:
I'm kidding (kinda), given that I really do have a lot, and I mean a lot, to be thankful for. However, currently all I desire is a lollipop for my brain, so I thought that some of you may want a lollipop, too, as it's the end of the week.
This being said, this post is going to be completely random. It may not even have much to do with training, but hey, sometimes people want a healthy dose of entertainment, right? Let's get to it.
1. This is why we teach strict, dead-hang pullups performed with good form at SAPT....
...as opposed to kipping pullups, as shown in the video below. Keep your form locked in, kids:
2. Under Armour underwear is the greatest thing I've discovered since learning that the arrow next to the gas symbol tells you which side of the car the gas tank is on.
Anyway, last month I felt compelled to order the outrageously priced underwear from Under Armour, and let me tell you, it is FANTASTIC.
I mean, talk about feeling tranquil and luxurious, all day long. I'm tempted to make a quick change to our wedding registry and replace everything with under armour underwear...it's just that good. They really hit the nail on the head with that product line. Yes, they're expensive, but worth every penny.
3. I finally began training like I would train one of the athletes under our roof at SAPT.
What? What do I mean by this? Well, as counterintuitive as it may seem, even strength coaches struggle when it comes to their own programming. After all, the toughest person to program for is yourself (as I've written in the past, this is one reason why it's wise to have someone else write your program). As some of you know, I've had some pretty persistent shoulder pain, and over the last five weeks I FINALLY manned-up and trained using a similar approach that I would give one of our athletes should they be exhibiting similar symptoms.
Namely, I've taken out a LOT of the pressing volume and added in a LOT of horizontal pulling. For example, this is what my upper body session looked like this past Tuesday:
A1) Bent-Over DB Row, 5x8/side A2) Neutral-Grip DB Press, 3x6
B1) Seated Cable Row, Pronated Grip, 4x10 B2) Tempo Pushup, 3x10
C1) Cable Face Pull w/External Rotation, 2x12 C2) Anti-Rotation Press and Hold, 2x3x :10 per side
*Notice that the total "pulling" volume was 104 reps, compared to the "pressing" volume which was 48 total reps.
And what do you know? My shoulder is feeling WAY better, and I've added some much needed strength to my upper back. Funny, as things didn't get better until I stopped training like a doofus and did what I knew I should deep down all along.
4. No matter if you're a cat person or not, you have to admit this is the cutest thing you've seen all week: Yeah, I realize the some of the gents in the crowd may be screaming for me to have my man-card revoked, but I wanted to give something to the ladies in the crowd...what can I say.
5. This is what it looks like to not care, whatsoever, about what other people think of you.
This is pretty funny; thank you Ben Bruno for finding this. Maybe I'll add this exercise in for people as a warm-up before their isolation lifts:
That will do it for today. Hope this helped pass the time in your respective work place and have a great weekend!
Physical Presence Speaks Volumes
Basketball season is upon me once again. As I walked into the Patriot Center last Sunday at 5pm (read that again… SUNDAY at 5PM) for our first team practice, I sighed to myself as I noted this is where I will be spending enormous chunks of my days for the next seven months. Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy working with this team and staff… but, it does mean I will often end up working 7 days per week for weeks and weeks at a time. Right about now, it may have dawned on you that I’m not a basketball coach, so what do I do at these practices that result in 7 day workweeks, you may be wondering. My role during practice is to conduct the team warm-up (which I previously wrote about here), monitor practice volume and intensity (this is a topic I will post on next week as it is critically important for strength coaches to write effective and complimentary programs), watch practice to see where our team has room for improvement (speed, strength in certain planes of movement, conditioning, etc.), and simply to show support for the team which results in a tight bond between myself and the players and coaching staff.
That last part is the one I want to focus on for this post: one’s physical presence demonstrates support for both the team and coaching staff that will eventually manifest itself into an excellent working relationship between all parties. Clearly this can be applied well beyond college athletics and is the backbone to why you show up for your child’s recitals and various events. Taking it a step further this is a great example of how you can show support for a spouse of coworker. Simply by being present.
Over the last three seasons I have been able to keep a constant pulse on the team and the long-term result is that this year I have put the strongest, fastest, and most well conditioned team on the court (up to this season, at least). This has come from small, but critical, insights to the game I’ve garnered ONLY from hanging around.
What can you learn today by “zipping your lip” and simply listening and watching?
Forward Thinking
As many of you know, Steve Jobs (CEO and co-founder of Apple) passed away earlier this week. While I'm not going to pretend that I closely followed his career or that I know more about him than any of the local magazines or newspapers can tell you, I will say it's obvious he was a brilliant inventor, played a major role in expediting our plunge into the digital age, revolutionized the music industry, and was overall Head Ninja in the technology sector. And, although I've never been too "big" on most graduation speeches (I honestly don't remember a thing from mine) Jobs's commencement speech to the Stanford graduates of 2005 was pretty incredible. I think anyone, college-aged or not, can learn something from it and apply it to their life:
Here are a few other Jobs quotes I stumbled across through a quick Google search:
“You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.”
“It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.”
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.” (taken from the speech in the video)
It's clear that, judging from his products and quotes, Jobs was a very forward-thinking person. Regardless of your views on Apple products or on Jobs as a person, there's no denying that he accomplished what he set out to do by always thinking multiple steps ahead. He was light years ahead of society when it came to technology, and a possessed a creative force that most of us would only dream of. And, as a result, put a ding in the digital universe, just as he said he wanted to do.
Anyway, this got me thinking: those with forward thinking mindsets in the training realm are always the most successful.
Always train for what you want to happen one year, five years, and even ten years from now, but not necessarily for what you want to happen immediately. In the future, when you're older, do you want to be strong, healthy, and be able to play a Thanksgiving game of flag football with your kids without pulling a groin? Or able to go on a hike with your church group without becoming winded? OR, do you want to be injured, overweight, and hardly able to walk the stairs to your office without gasping for air?
You might be able to get away with it now, but sooner or later bad training and eating habits are going to catch up with you.
Some of the athletes at SAPT get very frustrated when I don't let them move up in weight because their form simply wasn't good enough. Given that they're paying me to improve their performance in a sport, my first and foremost goal is to do my absolute best to keep them injury free. And, if their form isn't as close to perfect as they can get, then sorry, but you may not be the Don Juan you think you are. Stay put right there until you can move it WELL. Can I prevent them from walking in front of a bus or getting scissor kicked to the face by Jack Bauer if they step in his way of killing terrorists? No, but I can at least do my part with what I'm given.
Some of the guys have become very impatient when I don't let them back squat. Well, you have to earn the right to back squat and say, using one of many examples, you have anterior shoulder instability, it's highly unlikely that I'll give you that exercise! Even if you can get away with it now and push through some slight discomfort, I want to play no role whatsoever in contributing to the chronic shoulder pain you may experience down the road.
Along a somewhat-similar line, it blows me a way when some of the baseball guys or volleyball girls in our area show up at SAPT 6-weeks out from the season and say, "Uh, yeah, I really want to make varsity this year so you gotta get my sprint time down and/or vertical improved."
What?! Lol. Umm, hate to break it to you but you should have gotten started, oh, I don't know, maybe last year when your previous season ended? (Don't mistake me, I'm not talking about early sport specialization here....more just the mindset of doing SOMETHING year round, even if it's going snowboard in the winter and remaining in a solid strength and conditioning program year round to keep you moving well).
Anyway, forward thinking. That's the point of all this. Think of where you want to be five years from now and then trace back the steps that are required to get you there, starting with today. Is what you're doing right NOW going to put you one step further?
How Low Should You Squat?
I was hanging out with some good friends of mine over the weekend, and one of them asked me about a hip issue he was experiencing while squatting. Apparently, there was a "clicking/rubbing sensation" in his inner groin while at the bottom of his squat. I asked him to show me when this occurred (i.e. at what point in his squat), and he demoed by showing me that it was when he reached a couple inches below parallel. Now, I did give him some thoughts/suggestions re: the rubbing sensation, but that isn"t the point of this post. However, the entire conversation got me thinking about the whole debate of whether or not one should squat below parallel (for the record, "parallel," in this case means that the top of your thigh at the HIP crease is below parallel) and that"s what I"d like to briefly touch on.
Should you squat below parallel? The answer is: It depends. (Surprising, huh?)
The cliff notes version is that yes in a perfect world everyone would be back squatting "to depth," but the fact of the matter is that not everyone is ready to safely do this yet. I feel that stopping the squat an inch or two shy of depth can be the difference between becoming stronger and becoming injured.
To perform a correct back squat, you need to have a lot of "stuff" working correctly. Just scratching the surface, you need adequate mobility at the glenohumeral joint, thoracic spine, hips, and ankles, along with possessing good glute function and a fair amount of stability throughout the entire trunk. Not to mention spending plenty of time grooving technique and ensuring you appropriately sequence the movement.
Many times, you"ll see someone make it almost to depth perfectly fine, but when they shove their butt down just two inches further you"ll notice their lumbar spine flex (round out), and/or their hips tuck under, otherwise known as the Hyena Butt which Chris recently discussed.
If you can"t squat quite to depth without something looking like crap, I honestly wouldn"t fret it. Take your squat to exactly parallel, or maybe even slightly above, and you can potentially save yourself a crippling injury down the road. It amazes me how a difference of mere inches can pose a much greater threat to the integrity of one"s hips or lumbar spine. The risk to reward ratio is simply not worth it.
The cool thing is, you can still utilize plenty of single-leg work to train your legs (and muscles neglected from stopping a squat shy of depth) through a full ROM with a much decreased risk of injury. In the meantime, hammer your mobility, technique, and low back strength to eventually get below parallel if this is a goal of yours.
Not to mention, many people can front squat to depth safely because the change in bar placement automatically forces you to engage your entire trunk region and stabilize the body. You also don"t casino online have to worry about glenohumeral ROM which sometimes alone is enough to prevent someone from back squatting free of pain.
Also, please keep in mind that when I suggest you stop your squats shy of depth I"m not referring to performing some sort of max effort knee-break ankle mob and then gloating that you can squat 405. I implore you to avoid looking like this guy and actually calling it a squat:
(Side note: It"s funny as that kind of squat may actually pose a greater threat to the knee joint than a full range squat....there are numerous studies in current research showing that patellofemoral joint reaction force and stress may be INCREASED by stopping your squats at 1/4 or 1/2 of depth)
It should also be noted that my thoughts are primary directed at the athletes and general lifters in the crowd. If you are a powerlifter competing in a graded event, then you obviously need to train to below parallel as this is how you will be judged. It is your sport of choice and thus find it worth it to take the necessary risks of competition.
There"s no denying that the squat is a fundamental movement pattern and will help ANYONE in their goals, whether it is to lose body fat, rehab during physical therapy, become a better athlete, or increase one"s general ninja-like status.
Unfortunately, due to the current nature of our society (sitting for 8 hours a day and a more sedentary life style in general), not many people can safely back squat. At least not initially. If I were to go back in time 500 years I guarantee that I could have any given person back squatting safely in much less time that it takes the average person today.
7 Days of Insanity
Over the past 7 days I’ve had multiple experiences every day that I think most Strength & Conditioning Coaches would kill to experience with NCAA Division 1 athletes. Last week was one of those special weeks when I’ve got a couple of my teams in-season, a couple teams in pre-season, and several teams just getting started for the semester with testing. The last week was extremely rich with everything from recovery sessions for soccer, 1RM squat testing, conditioning for two teams, and working out the details of a new research project. I even saw an ACL completely tear and another one we thought tore, but – thankfully – did not. My point in this post is to give you a weeklong peek into the life of a college strength coach… and let me tell you, it is WAY different than the private sector.
Tuesday, September 6:
- 8:30a – women’s soccer in weight room for a light total body lift, capped on either end of the session with active & static stretching and SMR (foam rolling).
- 10:30a – women’s basketball in weight room for an upper body lift. We then go over to the Patriot Center to begin conditioning by 11:15a. Post players ran routes on the court and guards ran stairs.
- 2:00p – on the field with women’s soccer to run their warm-up and conditioning routes.
- 3:30p – female sprinters and jumpers in weight room for power clean 1RM testing.
- 3:45p – throwers testing 3 vertical jump variations: counter-movement, static start, depth jump (from low box).
- 4:30p – male sprinters and jumpers in weight room for power clean 1RM testing.
Wednesday, September 7:
- 8:45a – women’s volleyball in weight room to lift. The start and finish of the lift involved active & static stretching and SMR.
- 2:00p – on the field to warm-up women’s soccer.
- 2:30p – women’s lacrosse testing on single leg broad jump, vertical jump, and 3RM front squat to BELOW parallel depth (we had a freshmen hit 170 x 3 – yikes!)
- 3:30p – female sprinters and jumpers in weight room to test 1RM bench press.
- 4:30p – male sprinters and jumpers in weight room to test 1RM bench press (one guy pressed 305lbs)
Thursday, September 8:
- 10:30a – women’s basketball in weight room for a lower body lift. We then go over to the Patriot Center to begin conditioning by 11:15a. Guards ran routes on the court and posts ran a low impact total body conditioning circuit.
- 2:00p – lead an on-field body weight only training session for women’s soccer (technically it wasn’t “on-field” due to the monsoon outside… we were in the Field House).
- 3:00p – rowing team in weight room for first day of training – big team with 15 new athletes means lots of instruction.
- 3:30p – female sprinters and jumpers in weight room to test ½ Squat 1RM
- 3:45p – throwers in weight room to test bench press 1RM and review lifts for following week.
- 4:30p – male sprinters and jumpers in weight room to test ½ Squat 1RM.
Friday, September 9:
- 10:30a - women’s basketball in weight room for an upper body lift. We then go over to the Patriot Center to begin conditioning by 11:15a. Post players ran routes on the court and guards ran stair sprints with full recovery.
- 2:30p – women’s lacrosse testing for seated MB Toss, Perfect Pushup Assessment for 1 set of 10, Yo-Yo Intermittent Beep test.
- 3:45p – throwers in weight room for 1RM back squat test with introduction of following week’s lower body lifts.
Saturday, September 10:
- 10:00a – on-field with women’s soccer for practice.
Sunday, September 11:
- 1:00p – women’s soccer game. Witnessed a member of the opposing team destroy her ACL during a contact situation. I’ve seen this before and I’ll see it again, many times I’m sure. It’s always terrible to see this type of season ending injury that, because of my background and experience, I know will affect her for the rest of her life.
Monday, September 12:
- 8:45a – women’s volleyball in the weight room for lifting. The start and finish of the lift involved active & static stretching and SMR.
- 10:30a - women’s basketball in weight room for a lower body lift. We then go over to the Patriot Center to begin conditioning by 11:15a. Guards ran routes on the court and Posts ran stairs for speed work with full recovery.
- 1:30p – Single lacrosse player in to lift.
- 2:30p – women’s lacrosse in for first lifting session. Lots of teaching.
- 3:45p – throwers in for first lifting session. We did some serious volume with some serious low rest periods. No one threw-up, amazing! They must have been ready for it!
- 4:30p – female sprinters and jumpers in for first lifting session.
- 5:30p – male sprinters in for first lifting session.
Congratulations, you made it to the end of my 7 days!!! I don’t have the time or the patience to convey the details that were left out of this recap, but trust me when I tell you I think I garnered an additional year’s worth of experience in just 7 days.
As I’ve seen many very talented strength coaches completely leave the field over my 7-years of experience, I have learned that being a college strength coach is not everyone’s cup of tea. But for some sick reason it seems to be mine. I thrive on the stress and intensity. If you’re thinking of stepping into the college environment, reread my week above one more time and factor in having a life (and in my case a business, too) on top of all that – can you handle it?
3 Habits of Successful Gym Goers
Why is it that some people seem to never make progress in the gym, while others experience amazing transformations? Some people "exercise" for years, and yet really have no tangible measure of improvement when all is said and done at the end of the day. Five years later, they still move and look the same as they did when they first began exercising.
So, what is it that sets the results-oriented people apart from the non-successful gym goers? This may be with regards to movement quality, physical appearance, or variables related to biological health (cardiovascular efficiency, bone/tissue quality, blood profile, etc.)
What are the habits of those that receive the "Wow, what have YOU been doing?!" questions from friends who haven't seen them in a while?
I've found that - nearly without fail - the following habits are found within all results-oriented exercisers:
1. They make it a lifelong pursuit. Obtaining, and subsequently maintaining, a healthy body is a life-long war, not a one-week battle. (Note that there's a critical difference between obtaining and maintaining).
Unfortunately, there's a pervasive notion that one only needs to exercise in "bursts" in order to achieve results. It seems that people only tend to crack down on their exercise and nutrition habits during the period leading up to their wedding, or a beach vacation, or a high school reunion.
Don't get me wrong: I think it's perfectly acceptable to set "deadlines" to push yourself to achieve a particular benchmark. However, this should be executed within the context of a long-term plan, not a one-time event.
To set yourself up for success: you MUST realize that achieving the goals you've been looking for in the physical realm is a lifelong pursuit. There is no way around this. The obvious but often overlooked truth is that our bodies will degrade quickly in both function and appearance when we cease to exercise.
I can't tell you how many times I've been approached by someone asking for a "get ripped in twenty days" plan, or an "OMGI'mdressingupasKingLeonidasforHalloweeninfourweekssoIneedtoputon15lbsofmuscle" workout. Unfortunately, this mindset demonstrates that you simply don't "get it."
Look at some of the most successful business men/women. Do they ever just, stop? No! In fact, those who are most successful in the business realm are also the most driven (some may even say insane) when it comes down to continued education, personal development, and professional advancement.
As I noted in the Things I've Learned: Life Edition post, if you're not consistently moving forward with something, you're going to quickly slide backwards rather than maintaining status quo.
2. They push through setbacks.
Injuries and undesired life events outside our control are going to happen. It's not about how many times you fall down, it's about how quickly you stand back up. When crap hits the fan, I encourage you to get in the gym and train, instead of sulking in a corner complaining about how life isn't going your way. I'm not denying that many of you have experienced some extremely difficult scenarios. But stand back up as quickly as you can.
We have numerous clientele at SAPT who still show up to train even in spite of injury. We've worked with many people who are on crutches, and/or just coming out of surgery.
Below is a video of Conrad - a 61-Year Old with a torn rotator cuff - performing a Chinup (on a thick bar no less) with 110lbs added weight. That's basically a middle-school child hanging from his waist. Sarah recently showed this video, but I think it bears repeating:
Conrad currently rehabbing from a knee-replacement surgery, and has been sure to email us on numerous occasions that he's going to be back in SAPT soon, if only perform some inverted rows and some low-intensity lower body exercises. The point is that he's ready to get right back after it, even though he's only a couple weeks out from a pretty invasive surgery!
Similarly, try looking Zach Moore (shown in the video below) in the face and tell him that you can't train today because you're tired, or because you're upset at something your boyfriend/girlfriend did earlier today. I don't think there's any denying Zach has persevered through some pretty serious situations in order to get where he is in the weight room:
Now, at the same time, I'm not saying to be stupid. If an exercise hurts (this includes running), don't do it. Fix the problem first, or find a substitute. For example, if you have chronic back pain, it's probably best to avoid bilateral lifts such as squatting and deadlifting and perform more single-leg work instead. Or - at least - keep the load light and only go through a pain-free range of motion.
3. They Train, not "workout." If you're going to take the time to exercise, then at least make sure it's worthwhile. Two people doing the exact same program for an hour will have two completely different results from that training session based on how it is executed.
Train with purpose. Train with intensity. Train with focus. These will be the difference makers in your routine.
Ditch your cell phone, too. Don't worry, those people anxiously awaiting your text message response will still be there when you're finished your training session.
It amazes me how many people have their cell phones out at the gym. And they wonder why they move and look no differently a year later after "exercising" consistently. Seriously, for that hour you're in the gym: lose the distractions, forget about the world outside you, and "leave it all at the front door." Life's baggage will be waiting for you when you're done training.
We are a society plagued with ADD. We can't seem to leave our cell phones or computers for an instant without the world ending (even as I type this I'm sitting at my computer...how ironic).
When you train, give it everything you have, every time. You'll be amazed at what happens when you do this consistently.
This means ignoring what others around you are thinking, and ignoring the world outside of you.
Train as if you're life depends upon it. Because many times, it actually does.
