Today's guest blog comes from Jedd Johnson of DieselCrew.com. Here are seven tips for successful and safe farmer's walk training:Farmers Walk Tips1. Equipment Set-up: When you add plates, make sure they are tight. Loose plates shift around and can throw your technique off. Tighten them with collars, Pony Clamps, Wrist Wraps, or something else that will keep them tight.
2. Stance: Make sure you take not of how you set up your feet. Have the handles right by the legs and place the feet equidistant from the handles. Stand near the center of the handle, or maybe even slightly forward of center, whichever feels best for you.
3. Grip Position: Depending on how you pull and how strong your grip is, you will either want to grip the handles right in the center or shifted slightly back. It is better to have the handles leaning down in front than down in back. Slightly down in front shifts the emphasis to the first two fingers. Down in back shifts it to the last two (and weakest two) fingers.
4. Chalk: Chalk up well. Chalk the inside of your palm and fingers as well as the thumb and the back of the fingers.
5. Thumb: Wrap your thumb up over your index finger, middle finger, or both, depending on what is comfortable. This contact will secure your grip and it is also why you want to chalk on the back of your fingers. If they are wet, your thumb will slip and that is no good.
6. Heels and Glutes: Push the heels into the ground when you pull the handles up, just like you would a narrow stance deadlift. When you near lockout, fire the glutes instead of the lower back. You'll last longer this way and be able to do more sets.
7. Short Choppy Steps: Take short, choppy steps when walking, especially the first few. This allows you to conserve energy and stay balanced during your stride. Once you pick up momentum, you can take longer strides, but it is almost always easier to maintain control with short choppy steps.
Farmer's Walks are great for building Grip Strength, and that is something that is important for all sports, as well as many other lifts in the gym.
Interested in learning more about Jedd's unique grip training ideas? Check out his new e-book, Ultimate Forearm Training for Baseball.
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Today, we've got a great guest blog post from Jim Smith. Jim is the author of Combat Core, a resource about which I've raved on numerous occasions. This guest blog is yet another example of how innovative Jim is.
I utilize scapular wall slides (SWS) with my athletes because the conventional movement has a lot of benefits. The movement should be done not only by forcibly pulling the elbows downward, but by actively forcing the elbows and back of the hands back into the wall.
Benefits:
1. activation of lower traps, rhomboids, infraspinatus and teres minor
2. dynamic stretch of the pectorals
3. great warm-up for upper back
4. improved posture
5. improved shoulder health
But let's be honest, it is definitely a remedial movement. Once it has been mastered and repeated with proficiency we must progress. Of course we can progress to prone "Y" on the floor or on an incline bench with dumbbells, but I believe we have the opportunity to improve the benefits of the SWS.
In a previous article I discussed the fact that activation is the summation of muscle contraction and neurological excitement. To truly activate a muscle group there has to be a powerful contraction or increase the rate and frequency of motor unit recruitment. Now with conventional SWS, the movement is slow and the activation is primarily isometric in nature.
We must implement agitation to the system to truly activate the muscle. I liken this to vibrational training, albeit at much lower frequency.
Here is the modification:
Have the athlete perform the SWS while holding elastic bands. The coach will hold the band and step backward creating tension on the movement according to the athlete's current strength levels. The coach then, as the athlete performs the movement, imparts agitation to the movement by vibrating the band in a wave pattern.
The muscular activation will be exponential to the conventional movement, thereby improving and magnifying the benefits.
Jim Smith, CSCSJim Smith, CSCS is a highly sought after lecturer, author, consultant and renowned strength coach. Jim is an expert for Men's Fitness and a member of the Elite Fitness Q/A staff. Jim's new product on how to build muscle, lose fat - all with only three short workouts a week will be out soon. Grab their RSS feed. Check it out!
With a Diesel interview, you'll not only learn from the leaders in the industry about current trends and their strategies about performance enhancement, you'll also learn something about them on a personal level.
Eric Cressey, a top 100 Powerlifting USA athlete, has hit the ground running in 2006. Unveiling Magnificent Mobility (with Mike Robertson) and his latest solo venture, The Ultimate Off Season Manual to the masses, this prominent strength coach has already made a huge impact and there is no limit in sight.
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