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Mastering the Deadlift: Part II

You'd be hard-pressed to find a single weight-training movement that's more "complete" than the deadlift. It's not just an upper or lower back exercise, or a grip exercise, or a posterior chain exercise, or a core exercise; it's an everything exercise. To that end, it's a must-have in any lifter, athlete, or weekend warrior's training arsenal. Unfortunately, as with any compound lift, the deadlift can get pretty technical. If you're going to be using big weights in hopes of getting big results, you need to make sure that you're lifting with proper technique. With that in mind, I'm first going to show the entire (conventional-style) movement in still frames, and then I'll show it to you in video form at regular speed. Finally, I'll come back and list the common errors that people make when deadlifting. Continue Reading... Sign up for our FREE Newsletter today and and receive this deadlift technique video!
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Indispensable Lifts

Any lifts you would say are indispensable, no matter what type of sport one is involved in?


Well, we know people need to squat, deadlift, bench, row, and do chin-ups, but for whatever reason, the big ones I see people overlooking are single-leg movements – and I’m not just talking about lunges. You need to look at three different categories:

1. Static Unsupported – 1-leg squats (Pistols), 1-leg RDLs
2. Static Supported – Bulgarian Split Squats
3. Dynamic – Lunges, Step-ups

From there, you can also divide single-leg movements into decelerative (forward lunging) and accelerative (slideboard work, reverse lunges). I’ve found that accelerative movements are most effective early progressions after lower extremity injuries (less stress on the knee joint). I think that it’s ideal for everyone to aim to get at least one of each of the three options in each week. If one needed to be sacrificed, it would be static supported. Because static unsupported aren’t generally loaded as heavily and don’t cause as much delayed onset muscle soreness, they can often be thrown in on upper body days.

Of course, I’m the corrective exercise guy, so people obviously need to be doing their mobility and activation drills along with plenty of scapular stability and rotator cuff work.

Eric Cressey
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Combining Resources: The Proper Warm-Up

I was trying to put together a couple warm ups from The Ultimate Off-Season Training Manual as well as the Magnificent Mobility and Inside-Out DVD. It looks like The Ultimate Off-Season Training Manual has a lot of exercises from Magnificent Mobility, although it also has foam rolling.

I'm thinking of adding a little foam rolling before the mobility/activition drills, but also was wondering about the upper body days. I know there is a lot of difference in the Inside-Out recommnedations and what is in The Ultimate Off-Season Training Manual. Should I lean more towards what is the Inside-Out DVD, or try to make a combination of what is in The Ultimate Off-Season Training Manual and the Inside-Out DVD?

Go with a combination. Here's a taster of what I'm using with one of my athletes this month, as an example.

Lower Body Days
Foam Rolling:
-IT Band/Tensor Fasciae Latae
-Quads
-Hip Flexors
-Adductors
-Thoracic Extension
-Piriformis (tennis ball)
-Calves (tennis ball)
-Lats
-Infraspinatus (tennis ball)
Seated 90/90 Static Stretch 15s/side
Warrior Lunge Static Stretch 15s/side
Birddog 8/side
Wall Ankle Mobilizations 8/side
Hip Corrections 8/side
Pull-Back Butt Kick 5/side
Cradle Walk 5/side
Walking Spidermans 5/side
Bowler Squats 8/side
Overhead Lunge Walks 5/side
Quadruped Extension-Rotation 8/side
Split-Stance Broomstick Pec Mobilizations 8/side

Upper Body Days
Foam Rolling:
-IT Band/Tensor Fasciae Latae
-Quads
-Hip Flexors
-Adductors
-Thoracic Extension
-Piriformis (tennis ball)
-Calves (tennis ball)
-Pecs
-Infraspinatus (tennis ball)
Seated 90/90 Static Stretch 15s/side
Warrior Lunge Static Stretch 15s/side
Supine Bridge 1x12
X-band Walk 12/side
Windmills 10/side
Multiplanar Hamstrings Mobilizations 5/5/side
Reverse Lunge with Posterolateral Reach 5/side
Squat-to-Stand w/Diagonal Reach 5/side
Levator Scapulae/Upper Trap Stretch 15s/side
Side-Lying Internal-External Rotations 8/side
Scap Pushup 1x15
Scapular Wall Slides 1x12

All Warm-Ups Barefooted

Eric Cressey

Why Magnificent Mobility:

The principle problem with pure flexibility is that it does not imply stability nor readiness for dynamic tasks. We need to have mobile-stability at all our joints; there’s really no use in being able to attain a given range of motion if you can’t stabilize yourself in that position. Excessive passive flexibility without mobility (or dynamic flexibility, as it’s been called) will actually increase the risk of injury! Amazingly, it’s not uncommon at all to see individuals with circus-like passive flexibility fail miserably on dynamic tasks. Don't fall behind.
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Cricket: Training for Speed-Strength

Q: Cricket is essentially a “speed-strength” based game - hitting, throwing and running. However, it requires players to play for long periods - anything between 2-6 hours a day. How can players include these opposing factors in their training?


A: One of the things you always have to concede with any sport is that you're always going to be riding a few horses with one saddle. Ironman competitors will never squat 500 with their aerobic training stimuli, and powerlifters won't compete in Ironman events because training to do so would interfere with their strength gains. All other sports fall somewhere in the middle between these extremes.??From a general standpoint, you train to become more efficient as an athlete. First, you have to do so biomechanically by ironing out muscle imbalances. You need to be a better athlete before you can be a better cricket player. So, mobility and activation work, soft-tissue quality initiatives, and appropriate resistance training is key to success on this front.??Next, you have to be efficient in the context of your sporting movements - and that's where tactical work comes in.??What you're referring to with this question is one-third of the efficiency equation: metabolic efficiency. The more aerobic a sport, the sooner you'll need to prioritize intensive metabolic conditioning in the off-season period. So, a soccer player would require it sooner than a football player. I go into great detail on this in The Ultimate Off-Season Training Manual.??Cricket is a bit of middle-ground, though. From a duration standpoint, it's clearly a long event at times. However, it isn't necessarily continuous; it's more along the lines of what you see in baseball - which is basically a completely anaerobic sport. You sprint, stand around for an extended period, and sprint again - possibly even 30-60 minutes later! Just because the matches/games last 4-5 hours doesn't mean that they're aerobic - or that you need to train for them with repeated bouts of high-intensity exercise with INCOMPLETE rest.??My suggestion is to do what it takes to be fast and powerful - and let the duration of the matches just fall into place. Attend to nutrition/hydration and recovery protocols well, and the physical qualities you've built will sustain themselves in spite of the duration of the match. And, if you're crazy athletic, chances are that you'll win those matches a lot sooner.

Eric Cressey

Get your Questions Answered.

Don't Make The Same Mistakes as your Competition. Utilize Your Off-Season.
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A Single Off-Season

The hits on this particular night pinged loudly off the bats, traveled far, and were seemingly endless. With contributions from up and down the lineup, the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional baseball squad had piled up 13 runs by the end of the second inning.


The Boston Globe on Eric's High School Baseball Players
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“Puny and Weak” ISO “Size and Strength”

I was considering purchasing The Ultimate Off-Season Training Manual. I just wanted to ask if it is useful for the average joe to use. I'm an 18 year old guy who's a senior in high school. I don't partake any sports per se. So, I don't have a season. Maybe I'll play a game of football or soccer or throw some hoops around with the guys.

But, right now I'm a puny, skinny, 130 lbs. 5'8 teenager. I was wondering if this manual can help increase my muscle size, increase my strength, speed, and explosiveness? Also, I just stopped smoking a couple of days ago. So, my cardiovascular capacity pretty much...sucks! Is there any information on how to improve my cardiovascular endurance?

I was also thinking of getting Magnificent Mobility to increase flexibility. Also, in regards to nutrition I own Berardi's Precision Nutrition, so I got that area covered.

Thanks for bearing with this long post. I hope to hear from you soon.


Good question - and I've actually received the same inquiry from a few people now. Here's my (admittedly-biased) take on things:

If you've read stuff from Mike Robertson, Alwyn Cosgrove, Mike Boyle, Kelly Baggett, and me (among a few others), I hope one message you've taken away from the articles is that the ordinary weekend warrior would be a lot better off if he'd train more like an athlete. The strength work athletes do helps you move bigger weights and build more muscle while burning more calories to stay lean. The movement training keeps you functional and helps you with energy system work to keep your body composition in check. The mobility work keeps you healthy and functional so that you can stand up to all the challenges in your training programs without getting injured.

This manual shows you how all those pieces fit together at different times of year, and it also provides a lot of "stuff you just ought to know" if you train. Another cool thing is that you'll actually start to watch sports on TV in a different light; you'll begin to pick up on the little things that make each athlete unique.

And, if all that isn't enough, you've got 30 weeks of sample programming to keep things interesting. :)

Again, great question!

Eric Cressey

Get Your Questions Answered.

Crush the Competition.



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Mastering The Deadlift: Part I

Everyone knows how valuable the deadlift can be, but not everyone does it regularly. Yeah, a few people are just plain lazy, but many are simply afraid. They've never been taught to do it safely and are concerned that they'll get hurt if they push the weights without assurance that their form is on-point. With that in mind, this series was born. Here I'll give you a full-on analysis of a good deadlift, examples of every single deadlift debacle you'll see in the gym, and provide you with plenty of deadlift variations you can incorporate into your training for longstanding success with this fantastic movement. First, though, we need to cover eight prerequisite issues to set the stage. Continue Reading...
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The Underrated Exercises

What are the three most underrated and underused exercises? Does it differ across gender?


Well, I'm not sure that the basics - squats, deadlifts, various presses, pull-ups, and rows - can ever be considered overrated or overappreciated in both a male and female population.

Still, I think that single-leg exercises are tremendously beneficial, but are ignored by far too many trainers and lifters. Variations of lunges, step-ups, split squats, and single-leg RDLs play key roles in injury prevention and development of a great lower body.

Specific to females, we know that we need a ton of posterior chain work and correctly performed single-leg work to counteract several biomechanical and physiological differences. Namely, we're talking about quad dominance/posterior chain weakness and an increased Q-angle. Increasing glute and hamstrings strength and optimizing frontal plane stability is crucial for resisting knock-knee tendencies and preventing ACL tears. If more women could do glute-ham raises, the world would be a much better place!

Eric Cressey
www.EricCressey.com
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Take Home Messages for Parents

Many coaches, while well intentioned, haven’t been educated in how children develop, and that is part of the reason kids are pushed so far in sports. Until that changes, it is very important that parents take an active role in their child’s exercise and sports programs to allow for adequate variety, rest, and most importantly, fun. Here are some points to consider for your young athlete:

1. Encourage variety! While some sports may require earlier specialization, it’s best for most athletes to avoid concentrating on only one sport until they’ve at least reached 11th grade.

2. Regardless of your child’s chosen sports, emphasize the importance of resistance training and flexibility drills. These general approaches should take place year-round – even in multi-sport athletes – to reduce the risk of injury, assist in motor development, build confidence, and enhance performance. Without resistance training and flexibility work, young athletes are competing on fumes, not conditioning.

3. Ask your son or daughter candidly if he/she still enjoys his/her sport(s). If the answer is no, look for alternative ways for your child to have fun while exercising. Remember, kids need to play, not compete. When pressure takes the place of fun, it’s time to take a break and put the fun back in exercise.

4. Overuse and traumatic injuries are a sign that the physical challenges imposed on your child have exceeded his/her ability to stand up to them. If these injuries are occurring, your young athlete needs a break in order to get healthy with some corrective exercise programming.

Eric Cressey
www.EricCressey.com

Working with Young Athletes? Turn a Good Program into a Great Program.
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Maximal Strength Yields Maximal Vert

With the tests, etc, what would you need to look for in a powerlifting exclusive athlete. Obviously they would focus on strength, but is the speed and rate of force development exercises (reactive training) beneficial as well?

I'm thinking making the SSC more efficient would be beneficial as long as strength is maintained and focused on as well.


Definitely - you're on the right track. There are quite a few lifters who use box jumps and the like in their training. The main interfering factor for a lot of guys is body weight; they just get too heavy for the pounding. If you're 242 or below, though, I think there is a lot of merit to using them. I've subbed in box jumps and broad jumps for DE squat days when I needed to deload or just get the bar off my back for a week.

Interesting little aside...

My buddy Greg Panora was in town back in December for the Christmas holiday, so we got a lift in together. For those who don't know Greg, he's the world record holder at 242 (broke Steve Goggins' old record a few months ago - 1000+ squat, 700 bench, and 800+ deadlift). He lifts at Westside.

Greg is box squatting 495 + greens and blues for speed, and he glances over and sees the Just Jump platform and asks what it is. I tell him we use it to check vertical jump, so he wants to try it. He gets on in beat-up old briefs, Chuck Taylors, and a belt - at a weight of 250 - and jumps 35". Probably could have gone 38" with a deload and proper attire.

Anyone who says maximal strength doesn't matter for jumping and athletic ability is absolutely full of crap. :)

Eric Cressey
www.UltimateOffSeason.com

Lift Heavier. Jump Higher.

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LEARN HOW TO DEADLIFT
  • Avoid the most common deadlifting mistakes
  • 9 - minute instructional video
  • 3 part follow up series