Oh wait, I meant, “Ask the SAPT Coach.” Sorry, we were having a Zelda discussion with our interns the other day…

“Is there a benefit to doing your strength workout under time? If you get your cardio somewhere else do you really need to rush?” – Supa Fly Runner

Ok, that’s not really the name of the questioner, but she’s a really fabulous runner so that’s her assigned pseudonym.

Great question yeah? As in all fitness-related question the answer invariably is: It depends. *insert head scratching here*

However, for simplicity sake, I’ll make the answer as straightforward as possible. I’m going to assume that there are two camps of people: 1- Team Runner. These folks run on a regular basis, either long distance or short. If they don’t run, they find their aerobic work somewhere else: biking, swimming, swinging (that would be me), or some other modality specifically for cardiovascular/anaerobic training (sprints, hills, monster fighting, stuff like that.)

2- Team Not-Runner. These folks do absolutely NOTHING (intentionally) to train their cardiovascular system (aka aerobic training). These could include general fitness folks who lift weights (either seriously or not… I’m looking at you Mr. On-The-Phone-While-Doing-Curls-Man), powerlifters who DON’T training beyond lifting (yes, I know weight lifting can be considered a form of aerobic training, but let’s be honest, many powerlifters completely ignore their aerobic system. To that I say. “stop it.” Oooo… future post! Sorry, I got distracted. Back to this one.) or anyone who just sits eating beans like this guy.

Answer for Team Runner:

Assuming that you are strength training for the purpose of getting stronger (which, I would hope is the reason), then no, you do not need to rush the workout. The purpose of training under load is to prod the body to adapt to the stress by getting stronger muscles. It’s a bit more involved than that physiologically, but that’s the basic idea of lifting weights. So, if one is rushing about with little rest between sets, the body won’t be able to produce as much force (due to fatigue) thus one will be relegated to lighter weights. And light weights don’t cut it when it comes to building strength. Solution? Rest as needed between sets to allow for near to full recovery so that the most force can be produced each rep (translation: heavier weights can be used). This has the added benefit of improving rate of force development of your muscles. If you don’t want to read this lovely article by Kevin Neeld, then the bottom line is the faster muscles can produce the needed level of force (to say, run), then the faster you’ll propel yourself across the earth. It’s like the Bunny Hood in Legend of Zelda:

Focus on the purpose: increasing strength and don’t worry about trying to make it a cardio session (if you’re lifting heavy enough weights, you’ll be winded anyway. )

Answer for Team Not-Runner:

Even elite strength athletes need some sort of aerobic training. (as I alluded to, this will be a future post.) While the main movement of the day, be it a squat, deadlift, or press variation, should be completed with the needed rest periods in between, the accessory work can be sped up a bit. For those trainees who don’t want to do any outside aerobic work other than their weight room sessions, which is totally fine, hustling a bit during the accessory movements or throwing in a weight cirucit every so often would provide a suitable aerobic training effect. Having an efficient aerobic system, namely the body’s ability to use oxygen to produce ATP (the form of energy muscles need to function), is important both for recovery during training sessions and sustaining life. It would be unwise to ignore such things. This would be your heart status:

Adding a little hustle to the accessory exercises will provide a decent aerobic training effect while still maintaining the goal of building strength during a training session. Training said system will help foster quicker recovery both during training and afterwards.

All that being said, again, it depends on what your training goals are but hopefully this post helps clear up the question of how to execute your strength training sessions.

Pretty soon you'll be rescuing princesses too!

Most of us in the pursuit of getting stronger and harder to kill often need guidance from those who have walked the walk and taken themselves to new levels of awesome. I think it’s important to see what they do and observe the common trends among those who consistently make progress and how they go about getting stronger. Before you come at me with an argument like “Herschel Walker simply did a ton of pushups and situps and benched over a trillion his first time in the weight room,” notice I said common trends. Herschel Walker is not common.

Lift Heavy, But Use a Full ROM

I’m sure you saw this coming. Lift heavy to get strong, duh. I hate to be Captain Obvious but it’s definitely worth emphasizing. You need to give your body a reason to adapt. Doing a light set of leg extensions would result in your body responding with a yawn, while a stimulus like a heavy 5 rep deadlift would receive a physiological response that’s more like “whoa, I gotta do something about this,” followed by anabolism.

With that said, lifting heavy is important, but not at the expense of cutting your range of motion down. Please don’t convince yourself that the benefits of a 405 quarter-squat outweighs those of a 225 squat to depth, because it doesn’t. Before we get into another “quarter-squat bashing” rant, know that this applies for any lift. Whether it be a pull-up, bench press, step-back lunge, or glute-ham raise, the goal should be to become strong through the entire range of motion (especially the hardest portion).

Practice Technique

Being able to demonstrate controlled basic movements properly with your bodyweight demonstrates strength, and being able to demonstrate that same movement under load demonstrates more strength. Yes, there are those that put up huge numbers with atrocious form, but I’m convinced that this raw brute strength approach can only get you so far. Without a dedicated focus on improving technique, you leave a ton of poundage to be desired on the bar. If you watch some of the strongest athletes at the top of their game, you’ll notice that their technique is impeccable. Watch the best Olympic weightlifters, powerlifters, sprinters, jumpers, and even strongman competitors. Have you ever seen the top guys in a keg toss event? Impressively fluid hip hinging technique.

Keep the Mission in Mind When You Lift

This was a big eye opener for me. When you get to the gym, your main focus should be set on accomplishing one or maybe two primary lifts. If you look down at your workout log and see that you’re scheduled for a heavy 3 rep deadlift plus some assistance work, don’t start worrying about the specific weight you’re going to be using for your DB Bulgarian split squats or the optimal set and rep scheme you should use for your hamstring curls. The heavy deadlift should be your primary focus, and you should put everything you have into hitting that main movement hard and clean. After hitting the main movement get some extra work in, but don’t overstress the assistance work.  I’ve been guilty way too many times of overthinking the small stuff to the point where my big lifts suffered.

Milk a Ton of Volume Out of Your Warm-ups

Don’t rush your warm-ups! Warm-up sets leading into your work sets are a great place to increase the volume on your lifts. Did you know many elite level powerlifters still do their first warm-up set with the bar? Next time that you throw 135 on the bar for your first warm-up, really think about what makes you overqualified to use an empty barbell…

Anyways let’s go back to the volume thing. Here we’ll compare two lifters working up to a work set of 250×3:

Lifter A
135×5
185×5
225×1
250×3
Total Load Volume: 2,575lbs

Lifter B
Bar x10
95×5
135×5
185×3
205×3
225×1
250×3
Total Load Volume: 3,745lbs (Win)

The extra volume will result in increased total work accomplished by Lifter B, but will also give the lifter the opportunity to practice the technique for more than double the reps as Lifter A.

Don’t Fail

You wouldn’t want to fail an exam would you? When you’re lifting to increase your strength, it is not to your benefit to miss a weight. You’ll probably just make a lot of noise (especially if you bail on a squat), increase your chance of getting injured, and crush your confidence. Sure there are times when strength should be tested (1% of your time spent in the weight room), but when you’re working on building strength (99% of your time spent in the weight room), you’d be better off using weights you know you can handle and using compensatory acceleration to move it FAST. That way you know you’re getting the most out of the load on the bar even if you underestimated it. If you overestimated it, however, getting stapled by a barbell isn’t going to make you any stronger or better-looking.

Recover

Those super strong athletes aren’t super strong because they train, but because they recover from their training. Eat a ton of good food, drink plenty of water, get as much sleep as you can and make sure your program is well thought-out so you’re significantly stronger next year than you are now.

Greatness is a word engrained in every athlete’s vocabulary. The one’s who achieve it are applauded and revered. However, what often gets lost in greatness is the power of balance. Balance gives perspective, creates freedom in choices, and allows for the right decision at the right time. It may not be as glamorous as greatness, but it may be harder to achieve, and create more long-term value.

So while continued directed attention to greatness is important, sometimes a little balance goes a long way.

There’s several recipes out there for it, but I made up a protein and fiber-rich version for the nerdy-lifter that I am. *Disclaimer* I’m still tweaking the amounts, so this may not be perfect but it’ll at least be a platform in which to launch your own version of lembas.

I used coconut flour as my base. Say wha? Yep, coconut flour is merely dried coconut meat ground up into a flour-like consistency. What’s so good about coconut flour? I’m so glad you asked!

Benefits of coconut flour:

1. Very high in fiber, about 9 grams for 2 tablespoons, which is fantastic for, well, the whole poop thing. Compare that to the fiber content of wheat flour, which is a dismal 1-2 grams… ick. Perfect for keeping you regular while traipsing through Middle Earth.

2. It’s gluten free which is helpful for those who have a gluten intolerance or allergy and still want to eat lembas. Or, even if you don’t it’s nice to give your system a break from the gluten of bread and other gluten filled treats. (it’s everywhere…).

3. Contains the healthy fats of the glorious coconut. However, I’m not sure how much of it is actually retained in the flour version since it goes through a defatting process. Some of that fat is better than none though. This helps fuel those long treks across Mordor. How else do you think Sam and Frodo made it? Not on fat-free Snackwell’s cookies!

4. Does not have the power to raise glucose levels like other flours (wheat, oat, etc) so those watching their blood sugar… rejoice! Steady blood sugar bodes well for sustained battles with orcs.

He doesn't care if your blood sugar is low...

Now, onto the recipe. Sorry I don’t have pictures. I didn’t think to take any during the process.

- 1-1 1/2 cups coconut flour (depending on how big of a batch you want to make)

- 1-2 scoops protein powder-o-choice

- 1 somewhat-heaped tablespoon of coconut oil, melted

- Roughly 1 cup of almond milk (or regular milk). The amount will vary depending on the consistency of the batter you desire.

- 1 egg or 1 heaping tablespoon of nut butter. Coconut flour can be very dry, so the addition of either one will help cut that down a bit. Just know that the peanut butter will take away from the lembas-y taste. I don’t think lembas had peanut butter in it.

- 1-2 tablespoons of agave or honey

- 1 teaspoon of vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 275 and grease a cookie sheet.

2. Combine the dry ingredients, flour and protein powder, and break up any lumps with a spoon.

3. Add the coconut oil, egg (or PB), vanilla, and agave/honey and combine well.

4. Slowly add the milk until the consistency no longer resembles wet sand. It should be more clay-like or maybe slightly watery clay.

5. Spread evenly in pan and bake from 15-25 minutes or until lightly brown on top.

6. Allow it to cool before either gobbling it up or wrapping it in nice big leaves.

There we have it. A LOTR-inspired protein bar for the athlete or hobbit on the go!

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The second annual George Mason University Powerlifting Meet was held this past weekend, and a few of us stepped up to represent Team SAPT! Current intern Brian, my girlfriend Jennifer, and yours truly put our game faces on to throw some weight around on the platform.

The meet was run by none other than the man himself, Steven, whom some of you remember during his internship with us in the summer. The meet was well organized and flowed very smoothly. Even more impressive was that Steven competed in the meet as he was directing it! Multitasking at its finest!

The event had a great turnout of competitors and supporters, along with some great performances. Great job to all those who competed and thanks to all those who came out to support!

Enjoy the video below that Brian put together!

Huge thanks to Heather Kampf – professional runner for Asics and Team USA Minnesota – for doing this interview! 

Have you tweaked/pulled your hamstring (due to your tightness maybe?)? Today, we’ll go over some of the reasons why the hamstrings might be tight and in part 2 we’ll go over some of the prevention/rehabilitation techniques to deal with hamstring tweaks. You may be surprised to find that your tight hamstrings are not actually tight… That sounds like something Professor Dumbledore might say.

Ok, so here’s some of the causes of “tight” hamstrings. (You’ll see why I put “tight” in quotation marks at the end.)

1. Protective tension.

This is when the brain is telling the hamstrings to remain “on,” for one reason or another, and it creates a sensation of tightness when the hamstrings are stretched. Why does this happen? I’m actually a good example of this. I have congenital laxity (meaning my joints are loose and I’m fairly flexible) but for a period of about 3 years, my hamstrings were constantly tight and I could feel them being tugged on every time I would put them in a stretched position, and because of my laxity (and a lifetime of NEVER feeling tight) this was as odd as Hagrid’s love for horribly frightening beasts.

Here’s what was happening: my pelvis tilted, wildly I might add, anteriorly (forward).

Hamstrings pull the pelvis posteriorly or down and backwards.

The hamstrings attach to the (posterior) bottom of the pelvis (your “sit” bones) and my brain sensed the pelvic tilt I was constantly in and was desperately trying to prevent me tilting forward anymore by causing my hamstrings to fire constantly to pull me back into a neutral position. Thus, this unceasing firing of my hamstring was causing a sense of “tightness” in my hamstrings despite the fact that the actual muscles were not tight. Once my pelvic tilt (through lots of KB swings and anterior core work) was in a more neutral position… voila  The tightness was gone. So, if your hamstrings feel tight, check our your pelvic alignment.  Stretching the hamstrings will NOT improve your flexibility in this case.

2. Neural tension.

I know this sounds similar to the above reason, but this tension generally results from an injury. The most likely answer is an injury to a lower back disc. (since the nerve for the hamstrings runs through that region.) If there’s damage to a disc in the L1-S1 region, there’s probably compression on the nerve for the hamstrings which could be causing mishaps in the neural messages causing hamstring tightness. Usually this type of tension is accompanied by other symptoms such as tingling, shooting pain, electric pain or numbness. Two common tests to check for spinal issues are the slump test and the heel drop test (which consists of standing on your toes then dropping to you heels. If pain occurs, congratulations! You might have a compression issue.)

3 and 4. Nasty fibrotic tissue or tendonosis in the hamstring.

Sometimes muscle fibers get junky and gunky, either from poor movements, overuse, or prior injury, which changes the length and function of the muscle. Instead of the muscle fibers running parallel and working harmoniously, they’re twisted up like spaghetti noodles (and work as well together and a plate of spaghetti). Soft tissue work such as SMR or possibly work by a professional is in order to help restore the tissue quality.

5. The hamstring muscles are truly short.

Yep, you’re one of those people who either because of your genes (not your jeans. Ha!) or a surgery where the hamstring was immobilized in a shortened position (though this is not common), your hamstrings are actually shorter than they should be. This can happen in folks who sit down a lot during the day because the pelvis is tilted posteriorly (tucking your butt under) which does shorten the hamstrings a bit. However, this probably isn’t the main source of tightness since they are only short at the very end range of motion.

So what have we learned? If your hamstring is tight, it’s not necessarily it’s fault nor will endless hamstring stretches change anything (even if you’re drew the genetic short stick. Stretching won’t do that much. Sorry.).  Soft tissue work in the hamstrings, adductors, and glutes as well as some dedicated anterior core work and glute training (*cough* swings *cough*) can help to solve some tight hamstring issues.

Check back in tomorrow for some hamstring injury causes and care.

For years I’ve been interested in restorative and rehabilitative techniques. Whether it be something in the “do it yourself” category such as foam rolling, or something a bit more invasive like dry needling (a technique used by doctors of physical therapy to release tight muscles in spasm), I’m always interested in finding out what seems to “work” and what seems to be an expensive waste of time.

One of the rehab techniques that really sparked my curiousity was ART, or Active Release Technique. Was it a fancy style of massage? Was it chiropractic manipulation? I came to find that it was a style of treatment that involved locating scar tissue in the body that is suspected of causing soft tissue restriction or dysfunction, and using a combination of manual pressure and the patient’s own movement to break up the gunk in the body and restore the tissue to proper function.

As I read more about it and talked to several patients that have had ART before, the general consensus was overwhelmingly positive. I couldn’t resist anymore and got myself an appointment with Grove Spine & Sports Care.

The Assessment/Evaluation

I came in with no urgent concerns or problems, but I knew that I had some movement dysfunction of my own. My hips are fairly tight and I will get some lower back soreness from a long day of sitting, and my left hip will bother me if I over-do it with squatting movements. I was very curious to see what kind of condition the soft tissue in my lower back and hips were in.

Just as I suspected, there was something up with my left hip. My hip flexors are both super tight, but even more so on the left side. I’ve always felt that this is pulling my spine into a less-than-optimal hyperlordodic position.

My hip external rotators on my right side were also locked up, causing me to turn my right foot out more when I stand or sit relaxed.

But the fun didn’t end there. There was junky tissue in my adductors, spinal erectors, QL, and some scarred up ligamentous tissue in my lower back.

So I proceeded to have much of this knotted up nonsense “released” by the good Doctor. The “releasing” consisted of having deep pressure applied to the restricted area, and then moving my own body in a way that would stretch the tissue against the pressure. For example, for my hip flexors, I started in a side-lying position and deep manual pressure was applied to my psoas right next to my belly button. While the pressure was maintained I had to extend my hips by throwing my top leg back and reaching up toward my head with my top hand.

I was warned that it may cause some deep burning and even a painful sensation, but I thought it just felt awesome.  I was still smiling throughout the session, so I guess that puts me at a 0-1 according to this fullproof scale.

After getting my left hip flexor, right external rotator, and left adductor magnus released I got up off the table to walk around and feel out my freshly ironed out hips. I must say I was very impressed. I did a few bodyweight squats and could definitely feel the increased ease at which I dropped down to depth.

The initial evaluation and first ART session was enough to convince me that there is something magical happening here. Of course it would be naïve to assume that my experience will be the same as others, but for those of you who have some nagging soft tissue aches and pains I definitely recommend you try it out! Stay tuned for further experiences with my future ART sessions.

As Levine spoke I found that her approach and mentality was very similar to the messages I talk about with clients.  With that in mind, below are some of the notes that I took from her speech.

Levine spoke about how it’s easier for someone to say no, then to answer questions.  She spoke about the importance of asking questions to gain information and to push people for specific information.  This is an important message for athletes seeking information regarding role clarity, playing time, and team motivation.

Levine talked about Junko Taibei, the first Woman to climb Mt. Everest, and how she said, “Technique and ability alone do not get you to the top—it is willpower that is the most important.  The willpower you cannot buy with money or be given by others—it rises from your heart.”

In addition to willpower Levine spoke about the importance of fear by saying, “fear is ok, but complacency will kill you.”  Levine talked about fear in regard to the hazardous mountain weather by saying, “storms are temporary and they don’t last forever.”

As Levine continued to talk about her experience it was clear that she valued preparation, moment-to-moment thinking, and the importance of relishing the journey over the end result.  Levine’s ability to conquer some of the largest mountains in the world is a reminder that in order to conquer the most difficult challenges, we need to make sure our mind is in as good of shape as our body.