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| I've certainly been called a lot worse!
Check out this recent phone interview I did with Kaiser Serajuddin.
I'm off to speak at the Perform Better Summit in Rhode Island. Have a great weekend! |
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| Q: I recently ordered Maximum Strength and am really enjoying it and looking forward to building strength with the program. I did, however, have a question for you. Because of convenience to my house the location I work out at has no power rack (sad, I know). For now I need to stay training here just because of location but need some help with the Maximum Strength Program.
What alternatives could I use for the time being for the following exercises?
-RACK PULLS FROM KNEES
-DEADLIFT BAR ELEVATED
-SPEED PIN PRESS
-ANDERSON FRONT SQUATS FROM PINS
-CLOSE GRIP FLOOR PRESS
-SPEED PIN PRESS
A: Piece of cake:
-RACK PULLS FROM KNEES - elevate bar on aerobic steps
-DEADLIFT BAR ELEVATED - same (or plates)
-SPEED PIN PRESS - just a board press
-ANDERSON FRONT SQUATS FROM PINS - box squat
-CLOSE GRIP FLOOR PRESS - board press
-SPEED PIN PRESS – regular bench press (to a board, if desired)
Get Your Strongest Body in 16 Weeks with the Ultimate Weight-Training Program |
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| Q: I purchased your new book Maximum Strength, and am really enjoying it – and looking forward to the programs. One question, though: are there any general recommendations you would make if someone, due to schedule restrictions, needed to modify the lifting portion program (i.e. not the recommended energy system work) to fit into a 3x/week rather than 4x/week schedule? While I can change up the days of the week, including weekends, I find that my job and family responsibilities limit me to 3x/week at the gym. I realize that going to 3x/week means I'm no longer really on the program, but I would like to keep to its other parameters as much as possible.
A: As a general rule of thumb, I'd simply drop some assistance work from each day and then blend them as well as possible. For 3x/week, I prefer:
Monday: Heavy lower body movement (including a dynamic single-leg movement), assistance upper body
Wednesday: Heavy upper body movements, static unsupported single-leg movement (generally a one-leg squat to bench or one-leg Romanian deadlift).
Friday: Lower body speed or volume emphasis (such as speed deadlifts or front squats for 4x6), assistance upper body.
You should be able to pick and choose from each phase to get to where you want to be.
Eric Cressey
Get Your Strongest Body in 16 Weeks with the Ultimate Weight-Training Program |
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Q: I recently purchased your new book, Maximum Strength, and I've enjoyed reading it. My question is about pullups/chinups. If somebody is not capable of performing one, what do you recommend? Assisted pullups, negatives, pulldowns, or something like that? For that matter, if the reader can't do a chinup, are they ready for the program and might they be better off with a beginner's program until they're capable of doing chinups/pullups?
A: They could still be a good position to do the program; they just might be a bit heavy. If a guy is 250 and can squat 400, bench 300, and deadlift 400 - but not do a chin-up, it's tough to call him weak!
If this is the case, I would substitute either eccentric-only chin-ups or band-assisted chin-ups. For the former, you'd want to lower to a count of 4 or 5 on each rep. The latter of the two is pictured below. If you can't do it with a 1-inch band or thinner, definitely start with the eccentric-only version.
All that said, above all else, if you have a training partner, him helping you is the best option - as it most closely accommodates your strength level.
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| Q: You don't like back squats for overhead throwers, is this because of anterior instability or some other reason?
A: In a word, yes; anterior stability is so crucial for a pitcher that I’m not tempted to push it. Then again, that’s the short version – and it also assumes that the lifter is using a closer-grip, which mandates more external rotation.
So, to the casual observer, the solution to this would be to simply bring the hands out and squat with a wider grip, which requires less external rotation. Unfortunately, this logic is flawed, too, as you have to abduct (elevate) your humerus another 15-20 degrees to get to that position. In the process, you bring it further into the “classic” impingement zone. This not only compromises the rotator cuff, but perhaps more significantly, the long head of the biceps, which is an extremely common nuisance in both powerlifters and overhead throwing athletes.
All that said, while I’d never do it with a pitcher, you can probably get away with it with position players because they have better upward rotation. I wouldn’t go near it if thoracic spine range of motion is subpar – or the athlete had a history of shoulder or elbow issues.
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| Actually, this post should have been entitled, “Why 5x5 Workouts Works for Some People, but Not for Others.” That title would have been long and not “black and white” enough to get your attention, though.
The 5x5 workout (or 4x6, for that matter) approach works relatively well for taking people from beginner to intermediate. When all you’ve been doing is 3x10-12 (because the bodybuilding magazines said that was the way to do things), lifting heavier weights for continued progress makes perfect sense.
I feel strongly that not working below five reps on the main strength movements in your program is a huge mistake for lifters who are intermediates (or more advanced) – whether the goal is size or strength.
You see, in an untrained individual, you get strength gains on as little as 40% of 1-rep max (1RM). As someone gets more trained, that number goes up to 70%. However, you need at least 85-90% of 1RM in intermediate and advanced lifters to elicit strength gains.
For the average intermediate, 85% of 1RM corresponds to about a 5-rep max. In other words, only your heaviest set of five would be sufficient to stimulate a strength improvement. Now, what happens if you do a 5x5 workout? You’ve done 25 reps – and maybe five of them (the first set) were actually performed at a high-enough intensity to elicit strength gains.
As I show in my new book, Show and Go: High Performance Training to Look, Feel, and Move Better, if you want to get stronger faster, you need to spend time below five reps – and above 85% of 1RM (and preferably 90%). This isn’t just physiological; it’s also psychological. You’ll get more comfortable handling heavier weights.
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| Q: How long do you typically allow your athletes between sets?
A: Rest periods are subject to so many factors that - believe it or not - I never make recommendations. Big guys need longer than little guys, and metabolic conditioning factors play into it as well. In a broad sense, I recommend the following: on strength work (<6 reps), rest as long as you feel you need, and then add 30 seconds (trust me on that one; your CNS takes longer than the muscles to recovery). On higher rep stuff, rest as long as you feel you need or just knock 15 seconds off that figure.
Truthfully, a lot of what we "believe" about optimal (and strict) rest periods is based on the acute growth hormone response to exercise. In the grand scheme of things, though, a few extra seconds between sets isn't going to impact the acute growth hormone response so much that it markedly changes the efficacy of a program. In fact, in many cases, the extra bit of rest will allow for more loading, which in turns provides for a better chronic adaptation in terms of strength and hypertrophy.
So, if you're worrying about whether 63 seconds between sets is inferior to 60 seconds, you're probably studying for the wrong test. |
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| Q: Using much of the advice from your T-Nation articles, I am successfully fixing all my kinetic chain problems and my shoulders feel better than ever. I had a minor tear in teres minor. I know that overhead pressing might not be a good thing for someone with my problem; however, when my doctor x-rayed my shoulder, he told me that I have plenty space in the joint. Would you recommend that I still follow the advice given in the Shoulder Savers series? Would you recommend that I do dips? Any advice is greatly appreciated.
A: Let pain be your guide. Your pain could be related to an AC joint problem that you don’t even know about; that would be made much worse by dips – but you likely wouldn’t have any pain with overhead pressing. Conversely, if your teres minor tear is the problem, the overhead pressing would probably cause more problems than dips (although neither would be particularly good for the shoulder).
Just so you know, a good subacromial space on x-rays doesn't necessarily mean that you'll have a good space during dynamic activities. Keep that in mind as you move forward cautiously...
Also, a lot of people have good spaces, but poor scapular stability, thoracic spine mobility, etc. A lot of things affect whether or not you can perform a particular exercise pain-free.
Eric Cressey |
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| Q: What’s your take on reverse hypers? I’ve heard some people who adore them and others who completely dismiss them.
A: Put it this way: there are already some pretty noteworthy lawsuits taking place against chiropractors who have injured patients with flexion-distraction techniques.
Our spines aren’t designed to buttress shear that comes from the lower body moving on the upper body with flexion (the bottom part of the movement). We can handle the “hyper” part of the hyperextensions without worrying as much about injuries to the disc, but over time, repeated hyperextension patterns can lead to such problems as spondylolysis (vertebral fracture), spondylolisthesis (vertebral slippage), and the diffuse lower back tightness that so many people have.
As with almost any exercise, though, the devil is in the details. If you don’t allow your legs to swing under you in the bottom position (i.e., stay in neutral spine), and also fire the glutes to stop-short and avoid hyperextension at the top, you can avoid the aforementioned problems. The problem for most lifters here is ego; if you are going to use these modifications strictly, you’ll have to take your load down by a LOT.
So, there are contraindicated people and contraindicated techniques – but not necessarily a contraindicated exercise.
For more information, I highly recommend Dr. Stuart McGill’s Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance. |
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