Tactical Frog Mobilization
Here's a quick video on an excellent hip mobility drill I like to use to open up the hips before training.
Have a frogtastic weekend everyone.
Press Around the Pain
If a bigger bench press is your goal there is a chance that at some point you will experience some type of elbow pain. This is usually brought on by the intensity, volume, or frequency at which you are bench pressing and most likely the combination of the three. What results is inflammation of the tendon near the olecranon. If left untreated the situation could become worse and result in tendinosis. When this problem comes about you have three options: You can take time off and let it recover, you can work through the pain, or you can find ways to work around the pain. Even though the smartest thing to do is take some time off, most people aren’t going to do this. Taking time off will reduce the stimulus to the area which will allow inflammation to subside and the area to heal.
Most people, including myself, are stubborn so if you refuse to take time off your next best option is working around the pain. This is what I did and I’m still making gains in my bench press while also reducing my elbow pain. The following are some of the ways I did that and I encourage you to implement them as well if you don't want to take the time off necessary to recover.
1. Take Out Elbow Dominant Accessory Work
Usually, what you’ll find, is that most elbow pain does not flare up during pressing exercises. Rather, the pain occurs during accessory movements that make the elbow the main point of action. Accessory movements such as triceps pushdowns, skull crushers, supine triceps extensions, and seated overhead triceps extensions should be avoided. These types of isolation exercises cause the elbows to take the brunt of the work and cause pain in already irritated elbows. Try substituting partial range of motion pressing movements, close grip pressing movements, or a combination of the two for your accessory movements. Things like a 4 board close grip bench press is a great one. As well as partial pushups to sandbags or to a 4-5 board works great as well. You’ll find that these movements will cause less elbow pain because the work is no longer completely centered on the elbow but spread out to the chest and shoulders.
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2. Hammer Your SMR and Mobility Work
When engaging in a high volume/high intensity press focused program, it is likely some serious adhesions will build up in your triceps. And if you’re not staying up on your shoulder and t-spine mobility, the problem in your elbows may get even worse. I learned these two lessons the hard way. Since making them a priority my elbows have gotten better, I still have a long way to go. Spend 5 minutes on your days off and after hard sessions rolling your triceps and anywhere around the problem area. I’ve found using the cardboard cylinder from the plastic wrap that athletic trainers use to wrap ice bags with to be an awesome tool to use for SMR. It’s small which allows for a little more concentrated roll and much more handy and easier to manipulate than an actual foam roller.
As I stated before it’s important to hammer your shoulder and t-spine mobility as well. Just like knee problems arise from poor hip mobility the same goes for elbow problems and lack of shoulder mobility. Poor shoulder mobility basically impedes the ability of the triceps to aid in shoulder extension and when coupled with excessive elbow dominant exercises the end result is inflammation and pain. Take time to work in some static stretching drills for your pecs, lats and rotator cuff. I found that working this in after your SMR sessions yields the best results. Be sure to also incorporate some t-spine extensions either on the wall or on a foam roller throughout your sessions as well in order to get that upper back a little more mobile. Try to accumulate around 5 minutes of total work for your shoulders and t-spine.
3. Use a Thorough Warm-up/Prehab work
In order to help work around your elbow pain, it’s imperative that the area have a good amount of blood flow before you slam it with heavy doubles or high volume accessory work. The same goes for your warm up and prehab work as it does for your accessory work; lay off the movements that isolate your elbow. Use full range pushups, band pullaparts, facepulls, rotator cuff circuits, etc. to warm up before pressing. These will not only get your elbows ready but also your upper back, shoulders and chest as well. One exercise I just recently started using that is a variation of an exercise I learned from Mark Bell is what I nicknamed the Elbow TKE. I’ve been using this almost every day for the past couple of weeks to warm up my elbows for not only pressing movements but for squatting, deadlifting, and just general blood flow work as well. This is an awesome exercise to isolate your triceps without putting direct pressure on the elbow.
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Keep on pressing my friends.
To Overhead Press or Not to Overhead Press
I received this question from a friend of mine who is currently in physical therapy school and thought I'd share my response here. Q. Had a question. I know that at [X clinic he worked at] some of the therapists told me that overhead press was bad to do due to some impingement of the supraspinatus. This is also something we've learned in school but im not sure if this is specifically for those who just aren't strong enough or those recovering from injuries and such. Do you do overhead shoulder press w/ dumbells or BB and what is your take on the subject?
A. As usual, this is a question of contraindicated exercises versus contraindicated people. To make a blanket statement such as "no one should overhead press" would be both remiss and short-sighted. For example, if this is the case, should I avoid taking down and putting up my 5lb container of protein powder on top of my kitchen cabinet each morning? But I digress.
Getting to your the center of your question: Is the overhead press a fantastic exercise? Absolutely! Can the majority of the population perform it safely? Eh, not so much. In fact, this is a very similar subject matter to the back squat. The squat is arguably the greatest exercise to add lean body mass and increase athletic prowess, but may not be the wisest exercise selection depending on the person/situation. Chris actually addressed this very question in THIS post as to why he doesn't back squat the Division 1 baseball players he works with over at George Mason.
First things first: Look, I LOVE the overhead press. In fact, nothing makes me feel more viking-like than pressing something heavy overhead.In my personal opinion, the barbell military press is one of the BEST exercises to develop the deltoids, traps, serratus, and triceps, along with (if performing it correctly) the abdominals, glutes, low back, and upper thighs. HOWEVER, a lot of "stuff" needs to be working correctly in order to safely overhead press:
- Soft Tissue Quality
- Thoracic Mobility (specifically in extension)
- A Strong (and Stable) Rotator Cuff
- Upward Rotation of the Shoulder Blades
- General Ninja-like Status
Improved thoracic extension will positively alter your shoulder kinematics as you press overhead, a strong and stable cuff will help keep the humeral head centered in the glenoid (the shoulder socket) in order to free up that subacromial space (decreasing risk of impingement) , upward rotators will keep the scapulae in proper positioning, and I don't think I need explain how obtaining ninja status will help you overhead press like a champ.
If you can get all the things above up to snuff (via specific drills/exercises), then you're in pretty darn good shape. In reality, this comes down to ensuring you lay down a sound foundation of movement before loading up that very pattern. If the movement patterns and necessary kinematics are there, then chances are you get the green light to overhead press.
However, it doesn't stop there. A few other things need to be taken in to consideration:
1. Training Economy. If you only have X number of hours in the gym and Y capacity to recover, then you need to choose the Z exercises that will give you the most bang for your buck without exceeding your (or your athlete's) capacity to recover. Considering that the "shoulders" already receive tons of work from horizontal pressing movements (on top of horizontal and vertical pulling exercises), I really don't feel that most trainees - especially those that are contraindicated - need to overhead press if the primary goal is to further hypertrophy the deltoids and/or elicit some sort of athletic performance improvement.
2. Injury History. Partial thickness cuff tear? Labral fraying? Congenital factors? All these (and more) will come into play with deciding if overhead pressing will set you up for longevity in the realm of shoulder health.
3. Population. Are you dealing with overhead athletes? They're at much greater risk for the traumas listed in #2, and, not to mention, they already spend a large majority of their day with their arms overhead so you need to consider how mechanically stable (or unstable) their shoulder is, along any symptomatic AND asymptomatic conditions they may possess. Conversely, if you're dealing with a competitive olympic lifter, or an average joe who moves marvelously, then the overhead press may be a fantastic (or even necessary) choice to elicit a desired outcome.
4. Type of Injury. Ex. Those with AC joint issues may actually be able to overhead press pain free due to the lack of humeral extension involved (whereas the extreme humeral extension you'd find in dips or even bench pressing could easily exacerbate AC joint symptoms). Using myself as example, I can actually military press pain free, whereas bench pressing quickly irritates my bum shoulder. I don't have an AC joint issue (as far as I know...), but I've still found that my pain flares up when my humerus goes into deep extension (past neutral) in any press such as a pushup, barbell press, dumbbell press, etc. so the military press actually feels pretty good for me PERSONALLY. With regards to pushups and dumbbell pressing, I can usually do it fine as long as I'm cognizant to avoid anterior humeral glide.
As for pressing overhead with dumbbells vs. barbells, I find that, frequently, it's best to start someone with dumbbell pressing with a NEUTRAL grip (palms facing each other) as this will give your shoulder more room to "breathe" by externally rotating the humerus and lowering risk of subacromial impingement. From there, you can progress to the barbell as long as the items listed in the beginning are in check.
In the end, this comes down to how well you move, your posture, and your individual situation. With technology currently PWNING our society's movement patterns via increased time in cars, sitting in front of our computers, gaming, and overall sedentary lifestyle, we have to fight much harder than our ancestors to turn that "red light" to a "green light" in the sphere of overhead pressing.
Note: to conclude, feel free to watch the video below by Martin Rooney. Hopefully, you can read the central message portrayed:
The Fine Art of Team Warm-ups
Designing a warm-up for a large team looks easy if you're watching passively from the sidelines. Unfortunately, this ease is quite deceptive. There are actually several critical aspects that need to be taken into account if you want you're warm-up to go from adequate to Fine Art status:1. Time: how much do you have? I usually try to end a minute or two before I told the coach I would be done (think under-promise and over-deliver, coaches LOVVVVVE that!). 2. Efficiency: you never have much of #1 and you may have as many as 30+ players. So, how do you keep them all moving, engaged, and organized? You gotta be efficient! 3. Effectiveness: Numbers 1 & 2 are components of this, but effectiveness speaks to the QUALITY of what you’re doing. Are you getting the most “bang for your buck” per movement? If not, go back to the drawing board. Be sure to take into account the 3 planes of motion, what the team’s first drill of practice will be, and general fatigue level (where are they within the season and within the training week?).
Beginning this past Saturday, I’ve been standing on a soccer field for about 5 hours a day working hard on the start of, what is certain to be, a legendary sock/farmer’s tan combo. Regardless, that’s just a fantastic by-product of my point: We just started the preseason training time period for women’s soccer and I’ve put together several warm-ups I think are pretty darn good. I’m going to share the two I used on Monday, August 8th and point out a couple important things about the two of them:
AM Session (the 5th practice within 48 hours):
Team Jogs 1 Field Lap in two lines
Upon return have two lines split apart on the 18
(one line on end-line other line on 18, lines face)
65% Builder Sprint to Back Pedal (long reach)
• Walking Spiderman to Overhead Reach
• Yoga Pushup x5
• Skip backwards with Heel Lift
70% Builder Sprint to Gate Openers
• Knee Hugs
• Cross-behind Overhead Reverse Lunge x5/side
• Frankenstein Kicks
75% Builder Sprint to Walking Opposites
• Walking Quads
• Bowler Squat x5/leg
• Skip for Distance
80% Builder Sprint to Alternating Side Shuffle
• Walking Toe Touch
• Split-Stance Kneeling Adductor Rockbacks x5/side
• Cradle Walk
Lateral Broad Jump x3 to Turn & Sprint (both directions)
Stretch on Own
Notes:
• This practice was the tipping point for the team. At the time it started, it was the 5th practice they would be attending within 48 hours – that’s a lot of soccer in a short window!
• The previous two days had a portion of testing (think non-contact) that was significant enough that I knew they would still be feeling pretty good for this session.
• My warm-up “template” typically consists of 3 levels of warm-ups. One is fairly intense and is for pre-match or other situations when the group is fresh, the second is a mid-level warm-up that respects the training volume the team is currently enduring (or the point in the season), and the third is a very low-level warm-up that is appropriate for recovery and respects the teams general level of fatigue but still preps them for the drills to follow.
• The AM Session warm-up was a Level 2.
PM Session (the 6th practice within 54 hours):
Team Jogs 1 Field Lap in two lines
Upon return everyone grabs ball and circles up
Soccer Ball SMR :20-:30/location:
Calves
Hamstrings
Quads
Adductors
IT Band
Glutes
Squat Mobility Series x1
Team Lines up on Sideline:
2 Tuck Jumps to 65% Builder Sprint to Gateopeners
2 Tuck Jumps to 70% Builder Sprint to Frankensteins
2 Tuck Jumps to 75% Builder Sprint to Skip for Height
2 Tuck Jumps to 80% Builder Sprint to Alternating Side Shuffle
Stretch on Own
Notes:
• After a morning training session that lasted a full two-hours and was jam-packed with intense sprinting and full contact, I knew the team would be starting to get very sore and tired.
• I gave them as much time as I could (in this case only 8-minutes) to do some self-massage with the soccer ball and a mobility circuit before we started moving around to get the heart pumping.
• The PM Session warm-up was a Level 3.
Orchastrating an excellent warm-up day after day is certainly one of the less "sexy" aspects to the job of Strength & Conditioning Coach, but it is nonetheless extremely important. Keep in mind a solid dynamic warm-up on a regular basis is the opportunity to improve general fitness and work on power, strength, speed, change of direction, mobility, flexibility, and injury prevention... I think anyone would agree that's a great opportunity to have on a daily basis, so don't waste it by not planning properly!
As a side note, if you train with us in Fairfax, you may soon get to experience warm-ups similar to the AM session - did you hear we got TURF last week?!? If you don't already train with us and wish to experience the excellence that is SAPT, please contact us here for information on in-house performance coaching, distance coaching, Buttkamp, or any combination of the three!
A Little Bit About Knee Injuries
Why Do Knee Injuries Occur?1. Poor biomechanical alignment 2. Suboptimal muscle function and strength 3. Poor mobility at adjacent joints 4. Poor strength in surrounding musculature 5. Excessive tension in surrounding muscle and fascia 6. Overuse Types of Knee Injuries 1. Acute knee injuries are those that occur in a moment – as in "if you blink at the wrong moment you’ll miss it" kind of thing. Acute knee injuries result in ligament tears, meniscal tears, etc. By taking a small mental step forward, acute knee traumas can further be classified into two separate categories: contact and non-contact injury.
Anytime I find out an athlete I work with has sustained the ever popular ACL tear the first thing I want to know is if it was a contact situation or not. Why? Because in the situation of a contact injury, there is really nothing that can be done to avoid sustaining that ACL tear (or insert your own injury of choice). In fact, the knee in question can often be functioning perfectly without any strength imbalances or deficiencies whatsoever. And that means that there was an outside force that initiated the injury sequence. A good example is that of a soccer player who is slide tackled. If the foot is planted as the impact occurs, say goodbye to continued knee health and hello to months of therapy. Even the most “perfect” knee will usually not make it out of that situation unscathed.
On the other hand, a non-contact injury typically occurs because the athlete is not strong enough to decelerate his or her own body mass safely. For example, if a basketball player goes to plant and cut and the knee simply “goes-out.” In this instance there was no contact to blame, instead the cause is simply lack of strength (with probable issues of joint restriction about certain joints, too). Chronic Myofascial Injury This is another extremely popular knee injury amongst young athletes. This one is very general and more of the “my knee hurts” kind of pain in which there are no signs of traumatic injury of any kind. In reality, this isn’t so much a knee injury, as a problem with the muscle tissue. My caution here is if you are a coach be sure you don’t write off these types of complaints as unfounded because this is a real problem that should be addressed by improving movement techniques and taking a look at the volume of work (so, think improve strength and address overuse). Chronic Joint Injury These are the old injuries that really settle in as we age and usually affect people that have had serious knee pain or have been dealing with a traumatic injury for and extended period of time. “Current literature indicates that a one-time trauma (such as an ACL tear) significantly increases the probability of knee osteoarthritis, pain, and functional limitations later in life.” – Bulletproof Knees In the case of chronic joint injury, performance improvements are no longer important. At this point the emphasis must be placed on improving the comfort of daily living, longevity of the joint, and avoiding major surgery.
10 Things You Must Do for Healthy Knees 1. Get your glutes firing!!! 2. Strengthen the posterior chain 3. Lots-O-Single-leg work 4. Strengthen the quads 5. Work frequently to improve hip mobility (like it’s going out of style) 6. Address ankle mobility 7. Maintain and improve tissue length 8. Maintain and improve tissue quality 9. LEARN TO ABSORB FORCE CORRECTLY!!! (This one is crucial, but you must have already gone through a focused period working on numbers 1-8 before attacking force absorption whole-heartedly) 10. Improve diet and supplementation (when appropriate)
So, where/how should you get started? The obvious answer is to click here and start training with us in-person or via our distance program. Buuuuuuut, if you're really eager, here is a great starter exercise that will knock out at least 5 or the 10 listed above: Stepback Slider Lunges
Many thanks to Mike Robertson's excellent source on all things knee related in Bulletproof Knees - I've referenced it many times over the last two years and leaned on it heavily for this post, too.
The Best Mobility Series You're Not (Yet) Doing
This series is from Grey Cook and I absolutely LOVE it. It's a staple mobility movement for all my teams at Mason, especially while they're in-season. The very first and very last portion that gets cut off is simply an overhead stretch (lift your chest and straighten out your arms).
The sequence is very time efficient and takes care of mobilizing everything you need to prior to a squat session like these NAAAASTY speed squats I did a couple years ago: ...I used to be able to move some weight.
This mobility series also works great at home should you find yourself monitoring a small child's breakfast and not actually eating yourself: Okay, I know that was a reach, but I really wanted to post an Arabella video - it's Friday, after all!!
Give the Squat Mobility Series a go - your entire posterior chain and your hips will thank you!
