Compliments of Cressey Performance coach Greg Robins, here is this week's list of quick and easy ways to feel and move better.
1. Get on the same page with other coaches in your facility.
In the past six years, I have split the vast majority of my coaching among three different facilities. Therefore, I can speak with certainty on the how important it is to have universal coaching cues. Every coach has a unique coaching style that gives clients and athletes a new perspective; this style should be nurtured and not destroyed. However, putting universal coaching cues in place doesn't have to come at the expense of their "style." If you are the owner of a facility, make sure to outline some general cues for the staff to use. It will also help to get coaches working together on "tougher" cases where the first set of cues may not elicit the desired response. This extra collaboration will help you teach more efficiently, and you'll have fewer confused athletes and clients: both good things!
2. Stop blaming the program.
I see it all the time, and apparently it's human nature? Instead of looking at the reasons one might be letting oneself down, it's easier to instantly look to find errors in their "program." The truth is that nobody has any business scrutinizing anything but themselves until they are doing these things CONSISTENTLY: showing up, sleeping enough, eating appropriately, and putting in sufficient effort. If you do all four of those day in and day out, then we're off to a good start. However, it's still not the program's fault. As examples, here are two other common reasons you aren't allowing your strength and conditioning program to work for you. One, you miss reps and get too impatient choosing weights. If you continue to miss lifts, you'll continue to make no progress. Two, you take too long to train. Don't blame the workouts for not helping you lose body fat. They hardly become workouts when you take two hours to mosey through them.
Make the little things a habit, check your ego, train with a purpose, and good things will happen. It's not the program's fault!
3. Consider skipping breakfast...seriously!
Breakfast has been revered for years as the most important meal of the day. After all, in order to get the day started off right, you need to get breakfast, right? However, what if getting breakfast "right" meant not eating breakfast at all?
If we look to some of today's most popular nutrition schemes, we can find a few similarities. For example, intermittent fasting (IF) and carb back loading disciples both pass on the morning chow. Furthermore, the idea of consuming carbohydrates in the morning is slowly becoming a thing of the past. The research is pretty interesting, and so are the results and conclusions of these nutritional gurus.
The basic premise is that upon waking our hormone levels are raised in such a manner that we are in a near ideal state to use fat for energy. Consuming food, and especially the typical morning carbohydrate varieties, will actually alter the hormone levels and put us in a far less ideal scenario to promote fat loss, and muscle building throughout the day.
After reviewing the work of John Kiefer and the various sources on IF, I began waiting on breakfast until a few hours after waking. Even then, I limit my calories substantially until mid afternoon, with the bulk of them coming in the evening. It may seem backwards from the typical beliefs, but I have seen great improvements in energy, body composition, and strength gains. What are your thoughts? I'd love to hear them!
4. Match your set-up to your body for bigger lifts.
Here is one you can apply right away. In the past I would choose my stance and hand-widths based on what I saw other successful people doing. A lot of the big squatters were wide, so I would put my feet nice and wide.
Then, I started to video more of my training. I looked at how my body reacted to the loads, especially lifts up over 90%. What I realized was that certain reactions from my body weren't so much a result of the weight being too heavy, or a lack of cueing, but the way I set up.
I decided to work with how I was built. My back was wide, so I moved my hands out on the bench press, and my feet to match; the bench numbers took off. My hips are pretty narrow, so I moved my squat stance in; it helped me to stay in better control, and I began to handle heavier weights much more confidently. Luckily for me, my deadlift stance was already narrow, but that would explain why for years it was the only respectable lift I had.
When you set up, take how you're built into account, rather than relying on just what you have seen work for others. As a coach, do the same with your athletes and clients. Look at how they are put together and choose stances, and even exercise choices, that make sense for their body. Several years ago, Eric and Mike Robertson had a multi-part series that touched on this: Overcoming Lousy Leverages Part 1and Part 2. I'd encourage you to check them out.
5. Stop using weighted bats and donuts to warm up.
To touch upon something more baseball specific, a recent study performed in Kanoya, Japan at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports, found that performing a warm up with a weighted bat had adverse effects acutely on timing for hitters. This is something that has shown to be true a few times, and it makes perfect sense.
In a similar fashion to other sport specific overloaded exercises, it can be detrimental to add weight to a movement too specific to the actual sport movement. For example, overloading sprint mechanics too heavily (via sleds, or resistance bands) has been shown to negatively affect the sprint mechanics of athletes.
Instead, consider using your time in the on deck circle more intelligently. Study the pitcher's mechanics to help time your approach. Additionally, try and locate his release point so that you can get eyes on the ball earlier come your at bat. For strength coaches, let this be another example of how overloading the mechanics of an actual sport skill can ruin the mechanics at game speed.
All this said, there may be merit to adjusting bat load in terms of chronic adaptations; just don't do it right before you step up to the plate.
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I've been very outspoken in the past about how I am completely against the inclusion of Olympic lifts in baseball strength and conditioning programs because of injury risk and the fact that I don't believe the carryover in power development is as good as many folks think. I've taken a lot of heat for it, too, as it's essentially blasphemy for a strength and conditioning coach to not think the Olympic lifts are a "Holy Grail" of performance enhancement.
Truth be told, I think there is merit to the Olympic lifts for a lot of athletes and general fitness folks. However, baseball players aren't like most athletes or general fitness folks. They have far more joint laxity, and it's a key trait that helps to make them successful in their sport. While I hate to ever bring additional attention to an extremely unfortunately event, a weightlifting injury that occurs in this year's Olympics reminded me of just one reason why I don't include the Olympic lifts with our throwers. Please keep in mind that while this isn't the most "gruesome" lifting injury video you'll see, some folks might find it disturbing (if you want to see the more gruesome "after" photo, read this article). If you're one of those folks, don't push play (Cliff's notes: he dislocates his elbow).
Now, without knowing for sure what the official diagnosis is, an elbow dislocation could mean two things. First, it could have been elbow hyperextension; I doubt that's the case, as the elbow appears to be slightly flexed when it "buckles." Second - and more likely - we're talking about a valgus stress injury; not the joint angle below, which is approximately 20-30 degrees of elbow flexion:
You know what's remarkably coincidental about that elbow flexion angle? It's where you do a valgus stress test to assess the integrity of the ulnar collateral ligament.
I don't know for sure if Sa Jae-hyouk is going to have a Tommy John surgery, but I can't say that I would be surprised if it does occur. And, he certainly wouldn't be the first Olympic lifter to have one.
Now, I want to bring up a few important items.
1. I think this essentially kills the "they're safe for baseball players if it's in good form" argument that some folks throw out there. For those who might not know, this was a gold medalist in Beijing in 2008, and he was expected to medal at this year's Olympics, too. I suspect he knows a few things about proper Olympic lifting technique.
2. According to research from Bigliani et al, 61% of pitchers and 47% of position players at the professional levels had sulcus signs (measure of instability) in their throwing shoulders. And, 89% of the pitchers and 100% of the position players ALSO had it in their non-throwing shoulders, meaning that this is the way that they were born, not just something they acquired from throwing. I've never met an accomplished male Olympic lifter with a sulcus sign, though, which tells me that laxity is virtually non-existent in this athletic population, particularly in comparison with baseball players. We need to fit the exercises to the athlete, not the athlete to the exercises.
3. The obvious next question for most folks is "what about cleans and high pulls?" With cleans, the wrist and elbow stresses are even more problematic than with snatches, and there is also the issue of direct trauma to the acromioclavicular joint on the catch phase. Plus, when folks hang clean, the distraction forces on the lowering component of the lift (assuming no drop) can be a big issue in "loose" shoulders and elbows. High pulls are a bit better, but all of the aggressive shrugging under load with minimal scapular upward rotation can really interfere with the improvements to scapular stability that we're trying to make with our overhead throwing athletes.
This is one case where the injury prevention battle isn't just about adding the right exercises; it's about taking some away, too.
With all that said, I hope you'll join me in keeping Sa Jae-hyouk in your thoughts and send him good vibes for a speedy recovery and quick return to competition.
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Here's this week's list of recommended strength and conditioning reading:
Four Must-Try Mobility Drills - In case you haven't already seen this, it's a article I had published at Arnold Schwartzenegger's website yesterday, including a lengthy video.
Everything You Need to Know about the Hip Thrust - This is a thorough blog post from Bret Contreras on "everything hip thrust." Bret's devoted his career to glutes and pioneered this exercise, so you could say that he's an authority on the matter.
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A lot of people know me as the guy whose products and articles have helped strength training enthusiasts prevent and correct movement inefficiencies that ultimately lead to injuries.
Others know me because we train about four dozen professional baseball players each winter.
The truth, though, is that the majority of our clientele at Cressey Performance is high school athletes. Each year, we have dozens of athletes go on to play college sports, as well as kids who are selected in the Major League Baseball draft.
For every kid who gets drafted into professional baseball or commits to play a college sport, we have 2-3 young athletes who train with us simply to build confidence, stay healthy while they play their sports, and foster fitness habits that will hopefully carry over to the rest of their lives. I take that job extremely seriously not only because I genuinely care about each teenage and enjoy my job, but because it is a huge deal for parents to trust me with part of their kids’ physical and mental well-being during a crucial developmental time in an adolescent’s life.
Strength Training Technique, Functionality and Programming
Speed and Agility Mechanics or Sport Specificity
Mobility: Isolate and Integrate
Coaching the High School Athlete
Administration for the High School Strength Coach
Sample Programming for football, baseball, and basketball
And, I'm happy to announce that the certification is on sale for $100 off from now through this Sunday, August 5, at midnight EST. Be sure to check out this comprehensive resource at a great price HERE.
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It's been white some time since I typed up a “Random Thoughts” post, so I thought I'd bring it back for today. I've usually got a few dozen things rattling around my brain at all times, so if I can dump one of them here, hopefully I'll replace it with something noteworthy. Today’s question is somewhat “Andy Rooney-esque.”
Have you ever noticed that doctors are less likely to prescribe physical therapy for foot and ankle issues than any other problem? I might be skewed by my perspective in this part of the country, but I doubt it, as Boston has a great medical reputation. “Just walk on it” is the advice I often hear folks say they've gotten. Would you do that for a hip or knee replacement? As I discuss in my e-book, The Truth About Unstable Surface Training, following inversion ankle sprains, a lot of folks wind up with functional ankle instability due to a proprioceptive deficit of the peroneals; this muscle group just doesn’t turn on quickly enough to prevent “re-sprains” from occurring.
Additionally, some individuals present with some considerable “anterior jamming” that can’t be addressed by classic ankle mobilizations, and these individuals can benefit greatly from good manual therapy and joint manipulation by a qualified professional. Lastly, breaking a big toe can be a big deal; it's dangerous to assume that it'll just magically heal perfectly if someone walks on it for months - and it can be problematic to brace a foot in an immobile position for an extended period of time and wind up with stiffness or compensation patterns.
Along those lines, though, maybe they just aren't prescribing physical therapy for these issues because there aren't specialized physical therapists. I know of a lot of wrist/hand physical therapists, but no true foot/ankle specialists on the PT side of things. Sure, there are PTs who do foot/ankle as part of their normal practice (and some who do it very well), but you'd think that the weight-bearing joints that connect us to the ground would receive even more specific attention than wrist/hand issues. Perhaps this lack of specialization has emerged because the foot and ankle are so complex and misunderstood; it could be a good "niche" for some of you up-and-coming physical therapists to pursue.
Again, these are just some Monday musings off the top of my head. To the general fitness folks out there, push hard to get physical therapy after a foot/ankle issue. To the rehabilitation specialists and strength and conditioning professions out there, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section.
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A few years ago, I read What the Dog Saw, a collection of short stories from popular author Malcolm Gladwell.
In one particular short story, Gladwell introduces the concept of "risk homeostasis." Essentially, risk homeostasis refers to the fact that modifications that are designed to make things safer often eventually have a break-even effect on safety because of adaptations to those modifications. In other words, something that should protect us doesn't because new compensatory factors make things more dangerous.
As an example, Gladwell observers that taxi drivers who are given anti-lock brakes actually wind up with higher incidences of traffic violations and accidents. Presumably, this occurs because the drivers feel they can drive faster and more aggressively because of this added "protection."
In another case, a study showed that adding childproof lids to medicine bottles actually increased the likelihood that children would die from accidental overdose of consuming drugs not meant for them. The added “safety” leads to adults being less cautious with where they hide bottles of pills.
While watching an absolutely atrocious YouTube video with some of the worst box squat technique in history the other day, my thoughts flashed back to this concept of risk homeostasis from when I read Gladwell's work. There are actually some remarkable parallels in the world of strength and conditioning.
1. Wearing a belt.
When a lifter throws on a belt, he assumes that it will make an exercise safer for him. While the research isn't really in agreement with this assertion, we'll roll with this assumption.
In real life, most lifters throw on a belt because it helps them handle additional weights - and at these weights, their form usually deteriorates rapidly, and does so under additional compressive loading.
2. Popping anti-inflammatories and getting cortisone shots.
When a doctor gives you a cortisone shot or recommends oral anti-inflammatories, it's because he believes you have some level of inflammation, whether it's a bursitis, tenosynovitis, or other issue. This short course of anti-inflammatories will reduce that inflammation.
You rarely see these issues in isolation, though; they're usually accompanied by degenerative changes (e.g., tendinosis) or structural changes (e.g., bone spurs) that could also be causing your symptoms. Unfortunately, your anti-inflammatories don't know that; they just know they're supposed to kill off all your pain. They make you asymptomatic, but not necessarily "healthy."
Many individuals get a cortisone shot or take a few days of NSAIDs and assume they can just go right back to training hard with no restrictions because their pain is gone. A few weeks or months later (when the cortisone shot wears off), they're back in pain (and usually it's worse than before) because they've done nothing to address the underlying causes of the problem in the first place. They shut off the inflammation and pain, but kept the degeneration, structural changes, and stupid.
The anti-inflammatory intervention is supposed to be part of a treatment plan to make folks healthier, but actually gives them a false sense of security, which in turn makes an injury or condition worse.
3. Lifting alongside an "experienced" coach who has done stupid s**t for decades, but has never been hurt.
It's not uncommon to feel a sense of security when you train with a coach with tons of time "under the bar" himself. His training background - and reportedly clean injury history - gives you peace of mind and you buy into his system. And, you continue lifting heavier and heavier in poor form because he's proof that it works, right?
Unfortunately, he's a sample size of one.
His experience should make training safer, but instead, it just leads you to take more poorly calculated risks with your training.
As an example, I did this while goofing around a few years back, but I'd never let one of my athletes try it. There are enough ugly box jump videos out there on YouTube to appreciate that a lot of coaches don't have the same kind of self-restraint.
4. Wearing elbow sleeves and knee wraps.
Elbow sleeves and knee wraps are incredibly common in the world of strength sports, and with good reason: they can really help with getting or keeping a joint warmed-up.
The only problem is that most lifters use them just so that they can power through the exact exercises that caused the joint aches in the first place.
As an example, a lot of lifters lack the upper back and shoulder mobility to use a narrow grip position on the barbell when back squatting, and the medial (inside of the) elbow takes a beating as a result. Rather than doing some shoulder mobility drills, they just throw on a band-aid in the form of an elbow sleeve.
5. Picking "joint-friendly" strength exercises.
There are lots of ways to deload a bit in the context of strength exercise selection. Maybe you do some single-leg work instead of squatting. Or, maybe you do some barbell supine bridges in place of deadlifting. These substitutions usually make a strength training program safer.
That is, of course, unless you do them with horrendous technique. Sadly, this isn't uncommon. You see people who meticulously prepare for squatting and deadlifting and heavily scrutinize their technique with video analysis, yet they'll blow through other exercises with terrible form. They expect exercise selection alone to make their strength training program safer, but compensate for this added safety by butchering technique.
Of course, these are only five examples of how risk homeostasis applies to strength and conditioning programs, and there are certainly thousands more. Where do you see good intentions go astray in your training? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below.
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Here is this week's list of recommended strength and conditioning reading:
Light Lifting, Big Muscles? - I was interviewed for this Chicago Tribune feature by James Fell. It was particularly cool for me to be featured alongside one of my mentors, Dr. William Kraemer. Dr. Kraemer was actually on my master's thesis committee for my graduate degree at the University of Connecticut.
Cressey Performance In-Service: Get-up/Swing - Tony Gentilcore (with help from Greg Robins) gave this week's staff in-service at CP, and Tony videoed it and put it up on YouTube. If you listen carefully, you can hear me playing catch in the background with one of our baseball guys. Sorry about that!
The Who-What-When-Where-Why-How of Barefoot Training - I got a question the other day about my thoughts on barefoot training, and I referred the individual in question to this post. I thought I'd reincarnate it from the archives for you, too.
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Today's guest blog comes from current Cressey Performance intern, Landon Wahl.
By its very nature, the life of a pitcher avails itself to many hours of pondering the game. Fresh out of my senior year of pitching at the collegiate level and having time to reflect upon my experience, overall I can say it was the best time of my life. However, there were many times during practice where I felt like I should have stayed home because nothing was accomplished. I would often stand in the outfield gaps behind the position players wondering: “how is this making me a better pitcher?”
After 2-3 hours of batting practice, our coach would have us bring it in and that was the end of practice. Summary: a 3-hour practice that consisted of a 10-minute warm-up, 5-10 minutes of throwing, and 2 hours and 40 minutes of standing around listening to my teammate tell me how sure he was that all of his teachers were trying to fail him (go to class, buddy). Some practices involved the pitchers more than others, but for the most part, practice time could have been used much more efficiently. Below are some ways practice time can be used to make pitchers more involved at practice as well as some things to avoid!
1. Set aside time in practice to have a proper warm up.
Too often, players come to practice and will disregard the warm-up or perhaps not warm up at all! Players grab a ball and start throwing with no physical or mental preparation. Every program is different in regard to warm ups. As a coach, make sure that regardless of what style warm-up you prefer, that you stick to it! At Cressey Performance, all athletes go through a foam rolling series as well as a dynamic warm-up before even touching a baseball, medicine ball, or weight. If you are a coach looking for inspiration, watch the video below and have your guys do it for a warm up. It almost goes without saying that it will help your guys feel and move better as well as prevent future injuries.
2. Make sure throwing - especially the long toss component - isn’t rushed.
Some programs are pretty good about this, but others aren’t. It is understandable that as a coach you have a lot to cram into a 2-3 hour practice and you want your guys to get as many swings in as possible, too. Think of long toss as a pitcher’s BP. It is important to let your pitchers get their arm speed up to help improve performance and stay healthy throughout the season. Try not to rush through the throwing to get to batting practice; it will help everyone be more prepared for your big weekend conference series.
3. Stop making pitchers stand around during batting practice.
First of all, I understand that sometimes pitchers are needed to help shag fly balls and make sure that the hitters get their work in, but this doesn’t have to be ALL the time! Sure, it’s nice to talk with fellow teammates and occasionally track down a fly ball, but overall there is little to no value to preparing your pitchers. Instead of having the pitchers stand around during the early parts of the week at batting practice, send them to the weight room for resistance training, athletic training room for manual therapy or stretching, or elsewhere on the field to do movement training or plyos.
4. Set aside time in practice to work on pick-offs, 1st/3rd defensive plays, PFP, live situations, and bunt defenses.
Too often, basic pitching defense gets brushed aside on the daily practice schedule. All of these essential parts of the game could take a full week just to cover, not master. For incoming freshman, these situations may not have been covered very thoroughly or even at all in high school! Have the coaching staff split up and cover these situations often; they may arise at any time during your important conference series! For your players to have confidence in the plays and skills that they will develop in practice is crucial, and will directly relate to confidence on the mound during in-game situations. This is also a good time to break away from the monotony of an extended batting practice session and get the pitchers involved.
5. Don’t enforce “punishment” running.
As a coach, it is understandable that players can upset you in many ways: poor play, off-field offenses, or on-field offenses. Nothing as a player is worse than hearing, “on the line,” not just because the punishment is usually miserable to complete, but also because nothing productive is being accomplished!
Consuming alcohol at the collegiate level is what unfortunately gets lots of guys into trouble. Having to participate in “punishment runs” was an absolute nightmare, usually because I was always running for someone else's screw-up. And, it didn’t matter how many times we were punished; guys would still go out to the bars later that night, not having learned a thing. It brings team moral down and creates problems between teammates. Believe me, there were some guys with whom I was not happy.
Some of the most successful teams win games because they're close-knit groups, not because they have the most talent! A prime example was my high school baseball team during my senior year of 2008. One could debate whether we were the most talented team in comparison to teams in the past, but we made it all the way to the state championship game. This was due to the fact that we did absolutely everything together as a team, and never had situations that compromised our positive team dynamic.
Punishment runs not only wreck your players physically, but also destroy them mentally. Sometimes discipline is in order, but try and find another way to do it! There is only one thing you need. Bench the player until behavior improves. Negative reinforcement such as running only deals with issues temporarily. Benching a player might cause some player-coach tension, but that’s part of being a coach. Make the best decision for the whole team and ensure that every player represents your college or university in a proper manner.
6. Don’t make pitchers catch bullpens.
This is just my personal opinion. I understand that some programs do this and others don’t. Hopefully, I can provide insight for just one coach, at any level. Coming from a previous program who endorsed this, I saw firsthand how it can really end up injuring a pitcher. I’ll relate a personal account...
One afternoon during freshman year at practice, I walked up to the field and my coach informed me that I would be catching every single pitcher, and then I would get to throw my bullpen. Unfortunately, I had never caught an inning in my entire life. Still, I suited up. The first few fastballs went well. The first curveball, however, didn't. It bounce in front of me by about two feet and you can probably guess what happened next.
The whole team thought it was funny (and in hindsight, it was), but at the time, it was not. In the months after that experience, I was afraid of the ball, shying away whenever it got close to the mitt. This not only was physically taxing on me, but the pitchers couldn’t get in a rhythm and their bullpens suffered as a result. There is something to be said for having a catcher who sticks your pitches, moves back and forth across the plate, gives feedback on your pitches, and encourages you because they are confident; this was not happening with me. After I caught all of the bullpens, I began to throw mine. You can also be sure that another fellow freshman caught me; the practice was a total waste, for everyone.
7. Talk to each player one-on-one.
Every coach could do this more often. I know that after a game in which I performed well (or not so well), it was nice to have my coach tell me things I could improve upon while highlighted things I executed correctly. This is also important for players who are not regular starters, or kids who have never played an inning. It is essential to provide hope for these players; at any time they can be a cornerstone in the lineup! Too often, good baseball players don’t receive the proper mental reinforcement. It sounds cliché and simple, but even telling a player “good job” can carry them a long way. It is also important to have meetings with players outside of practice and listen to their thoughts and concerns, both academically and athletically.
8. Have fun.
Having fun is what the game is all about. Winning is fun. Having fun at practice is fun, too! Create competitions between the players. Let pitchers take batting practice. Create incentive for your players to be excited and ready to go when practice time rolls around! Most of all, be supportive of every player. Playing college ball and going to class is quite a workload. There is nothing better in the world that blowing off some steam and forgetting about school responsibilities by playing some baseball.
Questions or comments? Please post them below. Also, Landon Wahl can be reached at landonwahl@yahoo.com.
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Here are some random tips from CP coach Greg Robins to help you improve health, get strong, lose fat, gain muscle, and move better.
1. Consider mixing protein powder with something other than water or milk.
I hardly ever recommend protein powder as the best choice for a quality protein source. However, a quality product (with minimal garbage thrown in the mix) is an easy way to get more protein into someone's diet. For some, a scoop with water or milk is fine; they even enjoy the taste. For others, myself included, the novelty of protein shakes has diminished greatly. Enter other viable options to mix in a scoop or two of your favorite protein supplement.
Option 1: Ice Coffee
This is a game changer. Adding a scoop of vanilla or chocolate protein powder to black coffee is a delicious alternative to milk, cream, and sugar. It not only tastes great, but also fuels your body and gives you a little boost. Furthermore, I find it to be a fantastic option for people looking to shed some weight. The protein powder will satiate you, while the caffeine can work to curb your appetite and stimulate your metabolism.
WARNING: don't try this with hot coffee. The protein powder will not mix well and tends to curdle at the top.
Option 2: Oatmeal
After you cook up a cup or two of raw oats, throw in a scoop or two of your favorite flavor. Make sure the protein goes in after the oatmeal is cooked, and before it cools down and solidifies.
Option 3: Plain Greek Yogurt
Greek yogurt is delicious on its own, but sometimes it needs some variety. I would much rather get some flavor from a scoop of protein than the sugar filled "fruit" you find at the bottom of most other varieties. One of my favorite concoctions looks like this: 1 cup of plain greek yogurt, 1 scoop of chocolate whey, 4tbsp of oat bran, 4tbsp of shredded coconut flakes. Mix it all together, place it in the fridge over night, and you’ve got a delicious breakfast or snack for the next day.
2. Keep things fresh to keep people motivated.
Last week, I touched upon the importance of sticking to exercise selections long enough for them to have value/transfer in a strength training program. That said, I have spent some quality time inside the walls of commercial gyms, and run a number of different boot camps. You have to keep it fresh, I GET IT! So, how does a coach or trainer get the best of both worlds? First and foremost, educate your clients. You don't need a fancy explanation; just give them a little insight. Show them the "why" that backs up the "how" that gets them the "what."
Look to your assistance exercises as the first place to add variety. Monitoring the progress in (most) assistance work is not as important as just doing it. With that in mind, this is the first place where exercises can be altered more often. There is no point in choosing variations without a purpose. Luckily there are a lot of different exercises that accomplish similar, or the same thing. Resources, such as this blog, are full of different ideas.
Likewise, coaches such as Ben BrunoandNick Tumminello have made it a point to offer up tons of innovative exercise variations, so check them out!
Lastly, "finishers" (circuit/medley training) at the end of a strength session is a logical place to add in something creative and fun. Keep the intensity high, the duration short, and mix it up. I know many people utilize these, so if you have a “go-to” option, please drop a comment below.
3. If you can’t do full push-ups, stop doing them on your knees.
The push up is a fantastic exercise. It will forever remain a staple for building the pecs, shoulders and triceps. However, let's not forget to appreciate its most redeeming quality: The push up is an ultimate test in torso stability, and the ability to coordinate movement around a stable midsection. While this function of the push up makes it such a great choice for gym goers, it also provides us the reason that push-ups from a kneeling stance will have little transfer to performing them on your feet. Instead, elevate the hands as necessary, and train the push up in the position you ultimately desire to do them from in the future. Doing so will not only help you to train the muscles responsible for pushing, but also those responsible for keeping the spine in a neutral position.
4. Get outside!
5. Remind parents and team coaches that gaining good weight is still a good thing!
Without fail, I will hear at least one young athlete each week ask one of our CP coaches if putting on weight will make them slower. We all know "speed" is what separates the good from the great, as the faster we can move, react, throw, etc., the better we’ll perform. We need to appreciate that speed is dependent on force, and stronger people have more force potential.
In a recent study, published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, investigators looked at the off-ice fitness profiles of elite female ice hockey players relative to team success. The study found that, "Athletes from countries with the best international records weighed more, yet had less body fat, had greater lower body muscular power and upper body strength, and higher aerobic capacity compared to their less successful counterparts."
To those of us in the field, this is obvious. As with many topics, we as strength coaches or trainers tend to forget the popular opinions of those less involved with what we do. Many parents and coaches still argue that "lighter" means faster, and muscle is "bulky”. Gaining 25lbs of muscle over the course of year will make a 16 year-old athlete who weighs 165lb. into a 190-lb., faster, bigger, stronger athlete. Moreover, 25lbs dispersed evenly over the frame of a 6' athlete will not transform him into the next Lou Ferrigno. Be mindful of this, and again, educate your clients, athletes, and parents!
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The chin-up is one of the most sacred inclusions in strength and conditioning programs, but unfortunately, it's common performed with incorrect technique. Check out the video below to learn how to avoid the most common chin-up exercise technique mistakes.
If you're looking for more detail on the "gross extension" pattern I discuss in this video, I'd encourage you to check out Functional Stability Training of the Core.
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