The deadlift from a deficit is a strength exercise that has gained some popularity in recent years, and it's popping up in more resistance training programs.  Unfortunately, it's an exercise that sounds a lot better on the internet than it plays out in the real world.  I have a lot of one-time consultations at Cressey Sports Performance with people who have a history of lower back pain after deadlifts, and not surprisingly, a lot of them have attempted the deficit deadlift when they have no business performing it, as the risk-reward ratio is far too high.

To that end, in our Functional Stability Training of the Lower Body resource, I devoted a segment of my deadlift presentation to the topic.  Here's a free preview:

To view the rest of the presentation (and eight others), be sure to check out Functional Stability Training of the Lower Body.

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Here's this week's list of recommended strength and conditioning reading:

Elite Training Mentorship - In our August update, I have an in-service called "7 Ways to Progress a Push-up," as well as two new exercise demonstrations and an article.  Add in great content from Mike Robertson, Vaughn Bethell, Tyler English, Dave Schmitz, and the Smarter Group Training guys, and you've got loads of new valuable training information waiting for you.

Lessons in Coaching - This article from Mike Robertson should be "must-read" material for all new strength and conditioning coaches and personal trainers.

7 Squat Dilemmas Solved - This squat article from Bret Contreras is a great complement to the excellent piece Dean Somerset wrote for T-Nation a few weeks ago.

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In this installment of "Exercise of the Week," I've got a great drill you can use to improve upper extremity mobility.  I originally learned this from Sue Falsone of the LA Dodgers a few years ago. 

We've found this to be super helpful not only with folks who have poor thoracic spine mobility, but also those who have limited shoulder flexion and scapular upward rotation.  There's a bit of research and anecdotal evidence out there to support the idea that improving thoracic mobility in turn improves scapular upward rotation and glenohumeral (ball and socket) range of motion.  Basically, by reducing bad stiffness in one area, it makes it easier to establish good stiffness elsewhere - and that provides for better overall mobility.  So, reduced thoracic stiffness = better scapular upward rotation = better ball-and-socket congruency = better arm range of motion.

Internal rotation, in particular, seems to improve the quickest - and that's one reason why we'll always work proximal - positioning breathing, thoracic mobility, scapular control, and soft tissue work - before we ever stretch a throwing shoulder.  The glenohumeral joint is somewhat of a delicate one, so you never want to crank on it - especially if you haven't exhausted more conservative options.  This fits that bill.

Additionally, some folks with a more adducted scapula positioning will benefit quite a bit from this drill, as it essentially works out to self myofascial release on overactive rhomboids.  Get them to relax, and the shoulder blade will move better on the rib cage.

All you need is a doubled tennis ball and some masking or duct tape.  Tape two balls together, and then go follow the instructions below.

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I’m psyched to announce that on Sunday, September 22, we’ll be hosting our second annual fall seminar at Cressey Performance.  As was the case with our extremely popular fall event last year, this event will showcase both the great staff we're fortunate to have as part of our team.  Also like last year, we want to make this an affordable event for everyone and create a great forum for industry professionals and fitness enthusiasts alike to interact, exchange ideas, and learn.

Here are the presentation topics:

Cracking the Crossfit Code - Presented by Eric Cressey

Let's face it: Crossfit is here to stay.  With that in mind, it's time for someone to take an unbiased look at how we can make coaches and fitness enthusiasts successful within the scope of this training system.  In this presentation, Eric will look past the emotions people have with respect to this approach, and discuss rationale ways to accentuate the positives while offering solutions for the shortcomings. In short, the goal is to bring people together, not drive two sides further apart.

Training Joe vs. Jane:  Do Women Need to Train Differently Than Men? – Presented by Tony Gentilcore

Should women avoid lifting appreciable weight?  What are the most effective strategies for training women through pregnancy? Is there such a thing as an ACL-Prevention Program?

In this presentation, I will discuss many of the common misconceptions and "myths" relating to training female athletes.  I intend to provide extensive responses and feedback to some of the most frequently asked questions I have encountered relating to the art of strength training for women.

Insulin: The Hormone, The Myth, The Legend – Presented by Brian St. Pierre

Carbs spike insulin and insulin causes fat gain. So, cut the carbs and you'll end up lean and healthy. End of story. Or is it?

While the Paleo and low carb camps loudly proclaim that carbs and insulin are the enemy, the latest science suggests otherwise. In fact, we're starting to learn that high insulin is an effect of being overweight, not a cause. In this session, Brian will explore the real relationship between carbs and insulin, discussing some of the common myths about insulin, and sharing some practical eating strategies you can put into action immediately.

Integrating Corrective Exercise for Performance Enhancement – Presented by Mike Reinold

Often times, muscle imbalances, alignment issues, and movement impairments can lead to injury and decreased performance.  However, corrective exercises are often unsuccessful for various reasons.  By focusing on several key principles, you can maximize your ability to apply corrective exercises to optimize movement and enhance performance.

Getting To Know Your Athlete: Understanding Learning Styles to Be a More Effective Coach – Presented by Chris Howard

In this presentation, I will discuss the different learning styles and how knowledge of this information is helpful in becoming a more effective coach.  I will also delve into the differences between introverted and extroverted clients and how it is necessary to coach and assess them differently.

Excellence In Group Training – Presented by Greg Robins

Group training, small group training, and bootcamps are here to stay. Let me help you understand how I manage the variables associated with group training to optimize a less than ideal scenario. The information presented will be sure to help everyone from the strength and conditioning specialist to commercial fitness professional alike.

The Role of Physical Therapy in a Strength and Conditioning Facility – Presented by Eric Schoenberg

Physical Therapy earns little respect in strength and conditioning circles due to the inability of traditional PTs to properly progress a patient from injury to high-level activity.  This lack of versatility has contributed to an increased role of the strength and conditioning professional in the care of the injured athlete.  But, is there a role for Physical Therapy in the training world?  Physical therapist Eric Schoenberg will share his thoughts on why partnering with the right physical therapist can add great value to your business and improve results for your clients.

Location:

Cressey Performance,
577 Main St.
Suite 310
Hudson, MA 01749

Cost:

Regular – $149.99
Student (must present current student ID at door) – $129.99

Date/Time:

Sunday, September 22, 2013
Registration 8:30AM
Seminar 9AM-5:30PM

Continuing Education:

0.7 NSCA CEUs (seven contact hours)

Click Here to Sign-up (Regular)

or

Click Here to Sign-up (Students)

We’re really excited about this event, and would love to have you join us! However, space is limited and each seminar we’ve hosted in the past has sold out quickly, so don’t delay on signing up!

If you have additional questions, please direct them to cresseyperformance@gmail.com. Looking forward to seeing you there!

It's time for round 2 of my series on things you might overlook when assessing a new client or athlete.  Here are three news things to which you should pay attention:

1. Nervous Tick/Anxiety

When I see someone who is constantly "on" - foot tapping, cracking knuckles, fidgeting while standing/sitting, or any of a number of other displays of nervous energy - I'm obviously wondering if this is someone who is so wired that stress outside of training could be a serious problem.  These folks often have poor sleep quality and don't recover well. 

However, it may extend beyond that.  If you check out Clinical Applications of Neuromuscular Techniques, Lean Chaitow and Judith DeLany reflect on how congenital laxity (loose joints) is correlated with anxiety disorders and panic attacks.  So, even in my first dealings with people, if they're really on edge, I'm wondering we're going to need to do a lot more stabilization work, as opposed to actually created new range of motion.

2. How They Carry Their Bags

A lot of people really don't understand how their daily habits impact their long-term movement quality or the presence or absence of pain.  Along these lines, it always surprises me to see people with low right shoulders who always carry their backpacks or purses over the right shoulder, just feeding into this excessive asymmetry with constant scapular depression.  An initial evaluation is the perfect time to pick up on these things and counsel clients and athletes on how to prevent activities of daily living from interfering with fitness progress.

3. Clavicular Angle

The clavicle is like the bastard child of the upper body; it never gets any love.  In fact, there are a lot of people who don't even know what a clavicle is unless you call it by its common name, the collarbone.  It's actually a tremendously important bone, as it is the link between two very important joints of the shoulder girdle: the acromioclavicular (scapula with clavicle) and sternoclavicular (sterum with clavicle) joints.

A normal resting posture of the clavicle is about a 6-20° upslope (medial to lateral).  What you'll often see with folks with faulty upper extremity posture is a horizontal or even downsloped collarbone.  Check out this right-handed pitcher (left side is more normal, right is really "stuck down"):

Just like a scapula needs to upwardly rotate for optimal function in overhead activies, a clavicle needs to upwardly rotate, too. From 0-90° abduction, you only need 5-10° of clavicular upward rotation.  From 90-180° of abduction, you need 20-25° of clavicular upward rotation.  This clavicular movement can be affected by the muscles that attach directly to it (pectoralis major) or by those that indirectly impact it (muscles attaching to the scapula and/or humerus), as well as the positioning of the thoracic spine.

Keep in mind that where most people with acromioclavicular joint pain wind up with symptoms during abduction: the final 30° of overhead reaching.  Any surprise that the symptoms occur at the point where the most amount of clavicular upward rotation is needed?  Nope!

If that clavicle starts as too horizontal (downwardly rotated), it's like starting a race from a few yards behind the starting line.  Getting resting posture where it needs to be helps to ensure that the subsequent movements that take place will be free, easy, and pain-free.

I'll be back soon with more commonly overlooked assessments.  In the meantime, if you're looking for an additional resource on this front, I'd encourage you to check out Assess and Correct: Breaking Barriers to Unlock Performance.

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Here's this week's list of recommended strength and conditioning reading:

Common Medications that Could be Blocking Your - or Your Clients' - Fitness Progress - In a recent post on overlooked assessments, I talked about how often trainers miss the importance of medications on entrance health histories.  The good folks at Precision Nutrition took it a step further and offered this outstandingly thorough article on some of the medications that most commonly negatively impact fitness progress.

Understanding Lars Anderson: A Study in Baseball Makeup - This was an outstanding write-up by former big leaguer and minor league manager Gabe Kapler.  It gives great insights into the mental side of baseball and how it can often overpower even the most physically gifted athletes.

Podcast: Maximum Strength with Eric Cressey - This was an interview I did for Scott Iardella's website.  We touched on a number of different subjects, so if you're looking for some variety, it'll be a good bet.

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As the final piece of "Beginner Week" here at EricCressey.com, Greg Robins touches on four common technique mistakes we see in beginners and outlines how to correct them.  These will all be video cues.

1. Get the hips back and knees out with your squat technique.

2. Don't be to either extreme with your elbow positioning on rows and presses.

3. Keep the shoulders closer to the knees on single-leg exercises.

4. Keep the hips closer to the bar on deadlifts.

5. Be consistent!

And, as a quick wrap-up, today is the last day to get the introductory discount on Mike Robertson's new Bulletproof Athlete product.  This is the premier strength and conditioning resource for beginners, so if you're just getting started with training or work with those who are, don't miss this great opportunity to pick up an awesome resource at an awesome price.

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After he read my blog post from earlier this week, Mike Robertson reached out to me with this great guest post, which highlights in more detail how to be "smart from the start" with your training career.  Mike's new resource, Bulletproof Athlete, has set the new gold standard for safe and effective training for beginner lifters.

As EC discussed earlier this week, a lot of things can go right for beginners, but a lot of things can go wrong for them, too - even if these mistakes aren't perceived.  These problems aren't as simple as dropping a weight on one's foot or misloading a barbell and having it come crashing down.  Rather, they're usually acts of omission - meaning you skipped something (either intentionally or unintentionally) that needed to get done to ensure optimal long-term progression.  Here are four steps a lot of people skip along the way:

Step #1: Developing Quality Mobility and Stability

This is probably the most notorious offender on the list, and yet I think this is the point to which people are the most unwilling to listen.

Case and point: think about how your lifting career started. I can tell you how mine did. Here goes…

The summer before my junior year, we got a bunch of strength training machines at our school. We also got a bunch of hand-me-down barbells and dumbbells from Ball State University. With this mish-mash of equipment, my lifting career started.

Our upper body days were grueling – 5-10 sets of various bench presses, no upper back training, and biceps and triceps work until the cows came home.

And legs? Pffft – well, our leg training left a thing or two to be desired. We didn’t squat – ever – because we didn’t have a rack. And, because they were obviously bad for our knees. My leg training consisted of leg presses, leg extensions and leg curls. Do you see what I’m getting at here?

For most of us, our basic movement foundation is so screwed up, it’s no wonder we’ve either plateaued or ended up injured.

The Fix

Go back to home base. Rebuild your movement foundation via smart mobility and stability training. Teach yourself to squat, push-up, lunge, etc., with good technique and quality movement.

Don’t worry about things like load for now; just get yourself moving better. When you go back to lifting heavy things, not only will you be far more efficient, but you’ll be stronger as well.

Step #2 - Integrating the Core

Let’s quickly return to my first years in lifting.

We had tons of machines, which were great at isolating specific body parts. But we also know they’re virtually useless if you want to coordinate movement like you would in sports, powerlifting, Olympic lifting, or any ol’ activities of daily living.

In my “main” lower body lift (a leg press, at the time) you have a built-in core. No wonder you can throw so much weight around when you’re totally supported and just allow your legs to do the work!

And my main upper body lift (like any young, American male) was the bench press. Again, great for developing the upper body, but not so good at integrating or “tying together” the upper and lower body.

What we’ve ended up doing is training either the upper OR the lower body, but not focusing on exercises that integrate the two.

The Fix

You’re probably already smarter than me early on, so keep doing those compound lower body exercises instead of isolated garbage.

On the upper body training sessions, put an emphasis on upper body exercises that unite the upper and lower body. Push-up variations are awesome here, as are inverted rowing exercises.

Step #3 – Jumping Right Into Deadlifts

I don’t know two guys who love deadlifts more than Eric Cressey and me. Well, maybe Konstantin and Andy Bolton, but we’ve got to be pretty darn close!

Here’s the thing: if you watch enough people move, you realize that most aren’t ready to do a conventional deadlift on Day 1.

First off, most people these days have zero body awareness. ZERO. You ask them to hinge at the hips and all they really do is extend their back into oblivion.

Then, to make matters worse, they talk about how deadlifts (and hip hinging) “hurts their back.”

The Fix

I like to ease my clients into the hip hinge pattern. If they’re really dysfunctional, we may start with something like a hip thrust to teach them how to extend their hips first.

From there, I want to get them on their feet so they can start to put the pieces together. Whether you choose a Romanian deadlift (RDL), pull-through, or rack pull is irrelevant.

The goal is to get them hinging with a neutral spine, often with a reduced load and through a shorter range of motion than they would a traditional deadlift. Let them groove this pattern and get confident for a few weeks (or months, depending on the client) and then slowly progress them back into full range of motion pulling.

I love deadlifting as much as the next guy, but they may not be appropriate right off the bat.

And along those same lines, here’s one more thing to think about…

Step #4 - Back Squats

I’m pretty sure if I haven’t already gotten my powerlifting man-card revoked, it’s definitely gone after I say this.

Not everyone is prepared to back squat on Day 1.

I know I’m not alone in this sentiment, either. Gray Cook has gone on record as saying, “train the deadlift, maintain the squat.”

I know EC is a big fan of the front squat as well – not just for himself, but for his baseball guys as well.

The bottom line is, the back squat isn’t an easy exercise to master. Does that mean we just forget about it? Absolutely not – I love squatting, and it’s actually become my favorite lift over the years.

But again, that doesn’t mean we should jump right into back squatting Day 1.

The Fix

First and foremost, get that movement foundation first.

Once you’ve got that foundation, then start to re-build your squat technique. I love goblet squats (ala Dan John) and front squats early on in a program. Not only do they lock your spine into an upright position, but they maximize and reinforce good mobility through the hips, knees and ankles.

Plus, if you’re building a rocking posterior chain with your hip hinging exercises, it’s okay to blast those quads a little bit with a really quad dominant squatting variation!

Summary

We’ve all skipped steps along the way. Unfortunately, it’s just not that easy to find an amazing performance coach when you’re young and start working with them!

However, that doesn’t mean you can ignore the facts.

If you skipped any of the steps above, now is the time to rebuild your foundation, once and for all.

And if you want someone to outline all this for you, pick up a copy of my Bulletproof Athlete program. It’s on sale this week ONLY, and I guarantee you’ll be leaner, stronger and more athletic after you finish the program.

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A lot has been made of how easily one can make progress in the first year of strength training programs.  It’s possible for beginner lifters to drop body fat and gain muscle mass at rates faster than these individuals will ever experience again during their training careers.

However, very little attention is paid to how much can also go wrong during this initial period.

Beginner lifters can pick up on bad technique that leads them down bad “movement paths” that lead to injuries down the road.  As Gray Cook has noted, you never want to lay fitness on top of dysfunction.

Additionally, these beginner strength training participants can gain a false sense of what effective programming really is.  If the basic muscle magazine garbage plan worked, then why allow your training program to evolve from there? You got strong on sets of 8-15 reps and used the Smith machine a ton, so why would you ever want to lower the number of reps per set or head over to the free weight area?

The point is that we’ve measured progress too much in terms of how people look and too little in terms of how people feel and move.  The truth is that it’s possible for beginner lifters to improve in all three areas with quality programming from the get-go.  With that in mind, I thought I’d outline five mistakes beginners commonly make in their quest to make serious fitness gains.  The timing of the post is actually quite fitting, as Mike Robertson introduced his awesome new Bulletproof Athlete resource.  I think this program has instantly set the new standard for an ideal beginner template.

Anyway, without further ado, here are those five mistakes:

1. Overlooking the Value of Quality Nutrition

Let’s face it: there are a lot of frat boys out there who start lifting in college, and make ridiculous progress in spite of the fact that they crush beer, nachos, and chicken wings for about 75% of their total caloric intake.  That doesn’t mean optimal nutrition can’t expedite process and – just as importantly – set the stage for a better internal environment for long-term progress.  Just remember that even if you just want to “bulk like crazy” to start up, those fat cells are with you for life once you’ve made them.

2. Not Building Work Capacity

Most beginners will build work capacity just by continuing to show up for training sessions and “surviving” the workouts.  That doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re adapting optimally to set the stage for long-term progress.

That said, in light of the “interval training is awesome and steady-state cardio is useless” propaganda of the past few years, there are a lot of people who completely omit steady-state cardio form their training programs – opting either for no supplemental conditioning or for high-intensity interval training (HIIT) only.  While some HIIT is certainly appropriate and acceptable, it’s not a good idea to completely overlook the value of building an aerobic base.

This aerobic component early on helps to optimize during- and between-session recovery – which, in turn, enables a trainee to get in more quality work over the long-term.  In fact, some of my best gains came during my “intermediate” lifting career when I was doing low-intensity cardio twice a week for 20-30 minutes.  As I wrote all the way back in 2005 in Cardio Confusion, as long as the intensity is low enough, it won’t interfere with strength or muscle mass gains.

3. Not Appreciating Soft Tissue and Mobility Work

When you’re a gung-ho beginner, nothing can stop you.  You feel great for every training session and just want to keep working harder and harder when the mirror gives you great feedback.  The problem, however, is that it’s hard to see the forest through the trees.  In this case, your abs or biceps are the trees, and the forest is how you’ll feel in ten years if you don’t go down a path that includes foam rolling and mobility work.  Rolling around on the floor on a stupid cylinder isn’t sexy, and doing side-lying windmills really isn’t anyone’s idea of fun, but trust me when I say that it makes a difference over the long haul.  And, the people who have the most continuity in their training career are the ones who make the best long-term process. 

I attribute a lot of my success in the weight room to the fact that I rarely get sick, and haven’t had any significant injuries over the year. In fact, at one point, I went eight years without missing a planned training session.  It took a storm with 38” of snow to get me to push a lift back a day!  I’m not saying you have to be this neurotic, but at the very least, set aside 8-10 minutes before you train to take care of your body.

4. Training Through or Around Injuries Instead of Fixing Them

Everyone has rolled an ankle at some point of another.  And, most people have had a cranky shoulder after a few hours of painting or playing catch.  There are obviously a lot of other examples of old “wear and tear” we might discount as normal and non-problematic.

There’s a problem, though: adding external load often brings these issues to threshold. A bum shoulder might not bother you grabbing a glass on the top shelf, but it’ll start to bark when you’re military pressing a significant amount of weight.  Don’t ignore these issues!

You see, we’re all resilient when we’re in our teens and early 20s, but things get a lot tougher as we get older for two main reasons.  First, we acquire structural abnormalities – bone spurs, rotator cuff tears, disc hernations, even fractures – that we never perceive until it’s too late.  Second, as we get older, degenerative changes kick in much faster, as tissues just can’t handle the same loading they once did. 

The more proactive you can be with addressing old aches and pains at the start of a training career, the more likely you are to avoid missing significant training time for one of those issues down the road.

5. Getting Away from Compound Exercises Too Quickly

There’s nothing wrong with direct arm work if you want big arms.  However, early on in a training program, chin-ups and bench presses are going to give you a more impressive gun show than you’d get from curls and pressdowns.  Down the road, these isolation exercises may serve a valuable role, but build a solid foundation before you cross that road.  And, make sure the compound exercises remain the central focus all along.

These five mistakes are just a small sample of some of the flawed approaches a lot of beginners take; I'd love to hear your thoughts on the many more you've witnessed - or made yourself!  In the meantime, I'd highly recommend checking out Robertson's Bulletproof Athlete program if you're a beginning lifter or you work with those just getting into the "iron game."  It's a professionally organized, well written presentation of the right way to start people up with a comprehensive fitness program, from strength training, to mobility work, to energy systems development, to recovery/regeneration and nutrition. You can check it out HERE.

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You know how everyone has that one friend who is just absurdly smart?  You know, the kind of person who could hear something once, instantly remember it, and then instantly apply it in a productive manner?

Unfortunately, not all these people are all that motivated, so they may take their impressive ability to learn and leverage it to the max by studying everything they can get their hands on.  However, when you do find one of them who is ultra motivated, you wind up with game changers.  In our industry, guys like Bill Hartman and Charlie Weingroff are two that come to mind: quick learners who love to learn and apply.

That said, you can imagine my surprise and excitement when I realized that I had one of these in the making as an intern at Cressey Performance in the summer of 2011.  You may have even heard of him by now: Eric Oetter.  And, as this somewhat recent photo demonstrates, he's only 13 years old.

Okay, the age was a joke, but the brain power isn't. In addition to interning at CP, he's also spent a lot of quality time at Mike Robertson and Bill Hartman's facility in Indianapolis, and undertaken a bunch of continuing education coursework (PRI, DNS, and several other schools of thought).

That said, to make a very long story short, Eric's making a name for himself in the industry - and as a little example of it, I'd strongly encourage you to check out this free video on Energy Systems Development he did as part of the pre-launch for Robertson's Bulletproof Athlete resource.  You'll need to opt in to view it, but I guarantee you'll find it to be well worth it. 

In this presentation, Eric discusses a lot of the myths surrounding aerobic exercise and energy systems development.  Most importantly, though, he provides practical recommendations to help you put this knowledge into action to improve your training programs, regardless of whether your goal (or your athletes' goals).  I learned some good stuff, and I'm sure you will, too.  Here is the link to check it out.

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