Contrast Training: How it Works, and How to Use It for Impressive Gains

I'm gonna let you in on a little training secret: it's called contrast training. It's used by elite athletes to improve power output, and the results are pretty impressive. Contrast training, also known as PAP (post activation potentiation), is the pairing of heavy strength exercises and explosive or plyometric exercises. If you want to get the most out of your training, PAP is the way to go.

Try contrast training, and you'll learn to levitate like this dude.

PAP is especially useful for athletes looking to enhance power output. Jumpers, weightlifters, sprinters, and shot putters are a few such athletes who can reap big benefits from this type of training. The benefits are not just limited to elite athletes, however, and can be used safely for intermediate lifters (with 2+ years of training experience).

In essence, contrast training is exciting the nervous system, and improving motor unit recruitment acutely. The more fibers activated on any given movement, the greater the benefit. To quote Roxanne Horwath and Len Kravitz (and no, not the "Fly Away" Lenny Kravitz), "The greater the muscle activation, the greater the duration of calcium ions in the muscle cell environment (referred to as sarcoplasm) and the greater the phosphorylation of the myosin light chain protein (Rixon, Lamont, Bemden, 2007). As a result, faster contraction rates and faster rates of tension develop."

One study done by Chatzopoulos Et. Al. found that heavy resistance training helped acutely improve 10 and 30 meter sprinting times. The sprints were performed after a 5 minute window of resistance training. The participants (young male athletes between the ages of 18-23) performed 10 single repetitions at 90% of their 1 repetition maximum back squat. After only 3 minutes of rest, however, the sprinting times did not increase. It is important to mention that adequate rest seems to be a very important factor here.

Here's a great list of the benefits of PAP, in the words of Bret Contreras:

1. Short-term enhancement – May increased neuromuscular performance in an actual competitive event through PAP
2. Chronic adaptation – May increase training effect using PAP in training which would result in increased Rate of Force Development (RFD)
3. Increased workout density – Combined training allows for more activity with less actual resting time which is critical if total workout time is limited
4. Increased dynamic transfer – By combining biomechanically similar activities athletes may groove more efficient neural patterns by learning to perform the lift in a manner more specific to the athletic activity
5. Increased work capacity – By increasing workout density athletes will increase their work capacity which is characterized by high levels of average power output over an interval (which I call power endurance)

Now that you get the gist for how it works, you may be wondering how you can use it and reap the benefits. Like I said, we want to pair heavy lifting with fast, explosive movements. You want to wait about 30 seconds after the strength movement to execute the explosive, plyometric movement. Rest for about 3 minutes or longer in between sets. The following list provides some pairing options for strength and power movements.

• Bench presses: Standing chest passes, supine chest passes, clapping push-ups, and push-ups to plates
• Strict/weighted pull-ups: Ball slams, clapping pull-ups (advanced), and overhead medicine ball passes
• Deadlifts: Broad jumps, 10-50 m sprints, explosive cable pull-throughs, banded kettlebell swings, and power kettlebell swings
• Squats: Jumping squats, depth jumps, hurdle jumps, jumping lunges

One thing to remember is that you want to keep total volume (reps per session) low. We're not trying to accumulate 100 reps, or anything crazy. This is about intensity, not volume. I'd suggest doing no more than 5 reps of each movement, and 5-6 sets should be enough!

If you're looking for a new way to spice up your strength training routine, contrast training may be just what you need!



Works Cited:

1. Chatzopoulos, Dimitris E., Charalambos J. Michailidis, Athanasios K. Giannakos, Kostas C. Alexiou, Dimitrios A. Patikas, Christos B. Antonopoulos, and Christos M. Kotzamanidis. "Postactivation Potentiation Effects After Heavy Resistance Exercise on Running Speed." J Strength Cond Res The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 21.4 (2007): 1278. Web.
2. Contreras, Bret. "Post-Activation Potentiation: Theory and Application." Bret Contreras. N.p., 05 Apr. 2010. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.
3. Kilduff, Liam P., Huw R. Bevan, Mike I.c. Kingsley, Nick J. Owen, Mark A. Bennett, Paul J. Bunce, Andrew M. Hore, Jonathan R. Maw, and Dan J. Cunningham. "Postactivation Potentiation in Professional Rugby Players: Optimal Recovery." J Strength Cond Res The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 21.4 (2007): 1134. Web.
4. Kravitz, Len, and Roxanne Horwath. "Postactivation Potentiation: A Brief Review." University of New Mexico. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2016.

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Getting Rid of the "Butt Wink"

The "butt wink" is a term that has puzzled personal trainers and other movement practitioners. Some people attribute it to tight hamstrings, others have mentioned ankle mobility, some say it's hip flexor strength, or even hip/femur anatomy. My two cents? Motor control. Everyone I've met who had a "butt wink" was able to eliminate it with some proper cuing and movement sequencing.

If you're not sure what a butt wink is, and if you have one, let me enlighten you: this is a term used to describe lumbar flexion in the bottom of a squat (pictured below).

Oof.

Now, let's first touch upon some other theories contributing to this fault...

Dr. Quinn Henoch mentions that the hamstrings cannot be responsible for the butt wink: "The hamstrings are a two joint muscle.  When you descend into a squat, the hamstrings are being lengthened at the pelvis, but shortened at the knee. So it would seem to me that the net length change is negligible." The hamstrings are not a likely culprit.

Hip anatomy makes the most sense out of all theories. Some individuals are just going to be better at squatting, out of sheer, genetic fortune. If you have the right anthropometry (limb length), you're gonna be a better squatter, plain and simple. 

Anatomical factors aside, though, it is possible to eliminate the dreaded butt wink with a little bit of practice and tweaking.

I'm not going to get too much into the hip and femur anatomy here, because I think Dr. Ryan DeBell covers that nicely. If you want to read his article on it, check out the works cited below. What I will say, though is that factors like your acetabulum (hip socket) alignment, femur length, and tibia/fibula length will all influence your squat stance. Some people have to squat wider than others, so playing around with your stance will greatly help your bottom position.

You want to work through a range of motion where you can maximize the integrity of the movement. If, initially, that means that you're squatting just to parallel, then so be it. Over time, the goal is to get progressively lower.

I usually start out my clients with a quadruped rocking drill. This will teach them how to hinge at the hips without load and minimize any lumbar flexion. If you find yourself reverting to the butt wink on this drill, move slower and focus on keeping the core engaged.

Once they grasp this concept, I would then progress them to the assisted squat drill. The goal here is the same as that of the previous drill, but now we're upright and preparing for a load-bearing squat.

Congratulations! Now you're ready to try an air squat without assistance! A couple of things to keep in mind: if my core isn't engaged, and I shift into an anterior pelvic tilt (hyperextension), then it's impossible for me to avoid lumbar flexion. If, however, I maintain a nicely braced position and descend straight down, I should be just fine. You want to imagine "pulling through your hip flexors" as you lower yourself.  If you're squatting high bar or front squatting, you will descend straight down, and if you're squatting low bar, then the hips need to come back more.

With a little bit of reverse engineering, even the most troubled squats can minimize the "butt wink." Sometimes you need to regress in order to progress. When you lay a solid foundation for quality movement, you can get a squat PR without looking like Quasimodo.

Works Cited:

1. DeBell, Ryan. "The Best Kept Secret: Why People HAVE to Squat Differently." Why People HAVE to Squat Differently. N.p., 08 Jan. 2014. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
2. Henoch, Quinn. "The Bottom Position of Your Squat: A Defining Characteristic of Your Human Existence." Juggernaut. N.p., 05 Feb. 2014. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
3. Somerset, Dean. "Butt Wink Is Not About the Hamstrings" DeanSomerset.com. N.p., 07 July 2014. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.

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Changing up Your Rep Scheme

If you seek out nearly any fitness-related website for information regarding rep schemes, you'll see something like this:

• For size, do 3-4 sets of 8-12 repetitions
• For strength, do multiple sets of 5 of fewer repetitions at a heavy weight
• For muscular endurance, do sets of 20 or more repetitions

While this is, generally satisfactory advice, I want to delve a little bit more into this topic.

First of all, genetics play a big factor in hypertrophy (muscle growth). Everyone responds differently to certain types of training. Every person has a different distribution of type I (slow twitch) and type IIa/b (fast twitch) fibers. Renowned strength coach Charles Poliquin notes, for example:

"It should be noted that the triceps are more universally fast-twitch dominant, while there is more variation in fiber-type composition in the biceps. This example demonstrates why training programs should take each individual’s personal characteristics into consideration. This is true in terms of both exercise selection and especially the volume and intensity of the workload, since individuals and specific muscles that are either fast-twitch or slow-twitch dominant will respond differently to a given level of volume and intensity. Understanding what you are dealing with will make your training programs significantly more effective."

Put simply, if someone has more fast twitch fibers in a given muscle, then he may need to train a bit differently than an individual with a higher percentage of slow twitch fibers in that muscle. Muscles with a greater percentage of fast twitch fibers benefit from fewer repetitions per set, whereas muscles that are predominantly slow twitch will grow easier with the use of high volume. This also means that there's a great deal of variance in the ideal amount of repetition volume depending on what body part you're training.

While 8-12 repetitions will help build mass, it's certainly not the only method. In fact, it's ideal to change up your split if you've hit a plateau.

If you're gonna bench press to failure, just please, don't follow his example.

One method I like to use on certain movements is to go to failure. There is no prescribed number of repetitions, necessarily, but you want to keep repeating the exercise until your muscles give out and can no longer move the weight. This is a great way to induce strength gains. Nóbrega and Libardi note that "when it comes to trained individuals, evidence shows greater increases in muscle strength after [high intensity resistance training] performed to muscle failure compared to no failure." Some people avoid missing lifts, but the evidence shows that these repetitions recruit more muscle activation, and, thus, lead to greater adaptation. To apply this, you can put something like 85% of your best back squat on the bar and do one AMRAP set (as many reps as possible) to failure. Make sure you have a spotter nearby or you know how to properly miss a squat. It should also be noted that you do not need to do this frequently (perhaps only once or twice per mesocycle), as this type of training is quite stressful for the central nervous system.

You can also utilize this concept for muscular hypertrophy. "Recent studies have pointed muscular failure to be an important factor in order to maximize adaptations when RT is done at low intensities (LI-RT), " continued Nóbrega and Libardi. Try to use really light weights on your next set of biceps curls and go until you can no lift the dumbbells.

Additionally, while many "fitness gurus" have deemed high repetition sets as inefficient for muscle growth, research has shown that extremely high repetition training is, indeed effective for muscle growth. The conventional understanding is that sets of 20 repetitions or more are to be used for endurance of the muscle. Schoenfeld et. al. showed us, in his 2015 study, that 25-35 rep sets can work just as well as the traditional 8-12 rep sets we all know and love.

Schoenfeld drafted 24 experienced male trainees for his research. "Training was performed 3 times per week on nonconsecutive days, for a total of 8 weeks. Both [high load] and [low load] conditions produced significant increases in thickness of the elbow flexors (biceps), elbow extensors (triceps), and quadriceps femoris (9.3 vs. 9.5%, respectively), with no significant differences noted between groups." While this study defies the industry standard, it demonstrates that you can utilize many different intensities and volumes to elicit the same training effect.

Finally, I want to talk about sets. Most programs seem to cling to the magical 3-4 range. Every once in a while, you can try 5 or more sets. Why stop there? Sometimes I'll even do 10 sets of 10 (100 total reps) of a given movement. This is a great way to increase total workout volume and stimulate hypertrophy. You don't necessarily need to do 10 sets of every single accessory exercise, because you'd spend a full day in the gym, but it's a great way to finish off an intense session.

Works Cited:

1. Nóbrega, Sanmy R., and Cleiton A. Libardi. "Is Resistance Training to Muscular Failure Necessary?" Frontiers in Physiology Front. Physiol. 7 (2016): n. pag. Web.
2. Poliquin, Charles. "The Best Training Methods for Big, Strong Arms." Strength Sensei. N.p., 19 Feb. 2015. Web. 
3. Schoenfeld, Brad J., Mark D. Peterson, Dan Ogborn, Bret Contreras, and Gul T. Sonmez. "Effects of Low- vs. High-Load Resistance Training on Muscle Strength and Hypertrophy in Well-Trained Men." Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 29.10 (2015): 2954-963. Web.

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Channel Your Inner Athlete with Agility Training

Whether you're an athlete, or just someone who wants to get in shape, fitness is, to me, about adaptability. Our workouts should help us become more resilient to the world around us. A potentially injurious situation can be avoided when you have the adequate strength and stability. Agility is one such trait that prepares us better for multiplanar movement.

This little guy is quite the athlete...

By definition, the word "agility" connotes changing directions with ease. An athlete who is particularly agile can more easily bob and weave around his opponents on the field. For others, someone who is more agile can avoid injuries like knee and ankle sprains, or broken bones. Adding more agility work into your training can improve overall athletic skills and minimize traumatic injuries.

Sports require that an athlete can cut corners, accelerate and decelerate quickly. Football, soccer, and tennis are just a few sports where agility is exceptionally helpful. Successful athletes need to move well in all three planes of motion (as depicted in the photo on the left). Developing movement in the transverse plane is especially important in sport.

One study on male college students found that agility training increased muscular power. "To enhance explosive muscle power and dynamic athletic performance, complex agility training can be used. Therefore, in addition to the well known training methods such as resistance training and plyometric training, strength and conditioning professionals may efficiently incorporate agility training into an overall conditioning programme of athletes striving to achieve a high level of explosive leg power and dynamic athletic performance." In order to excel in any sport, developing your agility is a must!

Injury prevention routines ensure that athletes don't miss out on weeks or months of training. Agility protocols are effective in avoiding contact injuries like ACL or MCL tears, which could potentially keep you benched for an entire season. "Multifaceted intervention studies that have included balance training along with jumping, landing and agility exercises have resulted in a significant decrease in ankle or knee injuries in team handball, volleyball and recreational athletes."

The benefits of agility training are not limited to the athletic population. For example, Liu-Ambrose et. al. performed a study on "98 women aged 75–85 years with low bone mass." The goal of the study was to improve balance, and hopefully reduce the incidence of falling, in geriatric women who suffer from osteopenia (which precedes osteoporosis). The ladies were either assigned to do resistance training, stretching, or agility training. "Both resistance training and agility training significantly improved balance confidence by 6% from baseline after 13 weeks ... This change in balance confidence was significantly correlated with change in general physical function." Once these women developed the requisite strength and agility, they were able to improve proprioception (limb awareness), and, thus, find a new sense of confidence in balancing-related tasks.

If you're looking for some exercise ideas to help you become more agile, here are a few of my favorites:

1. Diagonal sprints
2. High knee carioca (ideal for warm-ups)
3. SAQ ladder drills
4. T-drill or 4 cone drill
5. Speed skaters
6. Hurdle drills
7. Rebound jumps
8. Pro agility drill

Overall, shuffling, back pedaling, twisting, and cutting movements are great tools to improve your agility level.

Becoming more agile can minimize your risk of falling, while simultaneously maximizing your athletic performance.


Works Cited:

1. Griffin, Letha Y. Etty. "Neuromuscular Training and Injury Prevention in Sports." Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research 409 (2003): 53-60. Web.
2. Hrysomallis, Con. "Relationship Between Balance Ability, Training and Sports Injury Risk." Sports Medicine 37.6 (2007): 547-56. Web.
3. Jukić, Igor, Luka Milanović, Javier Sampedro Molinuevo, Darija Omrčen, and Goran Sporiš. "THE EFFECT OF AGILITY TRAINING ON ATHLETIC POWER PERFORMANCE." (2010): n. pag. Print.
4. Liu-Ambrose, T., K.m. Khan, J.j. Eng, S.r. Lord, and H.a. Mckay. "Balance Confidence Improves with Resistance or Agility Training." Gerontology 50.6 (2004): 373-82. Web.
5. Wojtys, E. M., L. J. Huston, P. D. Taylor, and S. D. Bastian. "Neuromuscular Adaptations in Isokinetic, Isotonic, and Agility Training Programs." The American Journal of Sports Medicine 24.2 (1996): 187-92. Web.

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How Often Should You PR?

Adding more weight to your lifts is always exciting. Getting a personal record is tangible evidence that all of your hours of hard work have been effective. One thing that I've noticed, though, is that getting PRs can be addictive. By this, I mean that many lifters (especially beginners) get so caught up with testing their 1 repetition maximum, that they make it a regular ritual, constantly seeking to add extra plates on the barbell. While it can be tempting to constantly push your lifts to your physical limitations, it's not realistic to get a PR all of the time.

If you've ever followed a general or customized program, you've noticed that the majority of your training sessions included percentage work: some days were a bit easier, and other days were exceptionally grueling and torturous. Generally, the recommendation to increase your strength is to work at around 80% or higher several sets of 5 repetitions or fewer. Lighter days will allow you to practice movement repetition, while the heavy days are going to help you gradually build strength. Following a program allows you to lay down the foundation of strength, which will eventually increase your 1 repetition maximum.

Easy there, big guy.

Now, let's get into the basis of programming. A program is divided up into microcycles (usually 1-2 weeks), mesocycles (around 1-6 months), and macrocycles (which can be a year or longer). Ideally, the microcycles are planned with the bigger picture (mesocycle) in mind. For a competitive athlete, the amount of repetitions and intensity (weight used) per week and month is closely monitored to prepare for competition and hit target numbers.

There is no such thing as a "perfect" program. Rather, there are a million and one different modes of progression that will be equally effective for increasing strength levels. Two basic principles of programming are the linear and the daily undulating periodization methods:

• Linear Periodization basically uses the same repetition scheme. For example you might do 4 sets of 5 repetitions for several weeks, then 6 sets of 4 repetitions for a few weeks.
• Daily Undulating Periodization utilizes a different amount of sets and repetitions in each workout. An example would be to do 4 sets of 5 repetitions one workout, then the next workout you could do 2 sets of 8 repetitions at the same weight. The idea here is that you're constantly changing the rep scheme and the amount of weight used.

Both types of periodization provide results (although many studies have found that DUP is more effective).

Now, if you're following a specific program, you would most likely max out at the end of a mesocycle, once you've accumulated a decent amount of heavy training sessions. Allowing for several weeks in between 1 rep max attempts will ensure that you see the most amount of improvement.

In the meantime, you can get "rep PRs." This means that you will use a specific weight and you'll be able to perform more reps with it than you previously have. Let's say, for instance, that your best deadlift is 210 pounds. During a training cycle, you may be asked to use that weight for 3 repetitions. Now, the weight that you could only lift for 1 repetition is an easy triple. These "PRs" will still give you the same satisfaction, but can help you continue to make progress.

Ultimately, whether you're competing in a sport or not, planning your workouts is essential. If you want to continue to evade a potential plateau in strength, then you can't just walk into the gym and "wing it." Just going for PRs all of the time isn't going to get you stronger, and you mind end up disappointed.

There are a ton of free strength programs available on the internet, if you can't afford to pay a coach. For optimal progress, find a steady program to follow, rather than just making up your workouts on a whim. Be patient with adding weight onto the bar, and the numbers will come, in time.

Works Cited:

1. Baechle, Thomas R., and Roger W. Earle. Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2008. Print.
2. Prestes, Jonato, Anelena B. Frollini, Cristiane De Lima, Felipe F. Donatto, Denis Foschini, Rita De Cássia Marqueti, Aylton Figueira, and Steven J. Fleck. "Comparison Between Linear and Daily Undulating Periodized Resistance Training to Increase Strength." Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 23.9 (2009): 2437-442. Web.
3. Rhea, Matthew R., Stephen D. Ball, Wayne T. Phillips, and Lee N. Burkett. "A Comparison of Linear and Daily Undulating Periodized Programs with Equated Volume and Intensity for Strength." J Strength Cond Res The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 16.2 (2002): 250. Web.

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Fixing 5 Flaws in Your Running Form

If you're like me, just hearing the word "run" makes your skin crawl. Some people claim to find peace of mind on their daily jog. Are these people crazy, or have they just found some sacred running nirvana-type state? Well, if you work on your running technique, you will undoubtedly find that you will improve all of your times, and the whole process just might be a little bit less arduous!

Like a power clean or a deadlift, there a lot of technical nuances involved when sprinting or distance running. The fastest and most efficient runners are experts in perfecting their stride length, stride frequency, heart rate, and breathing patterns. All of these things work together to help you channel your inner Tyson Gay. Here are five of, what I deem to be, the most common technical errors in gait:

1. You're striking with your heels first. Try something for me: jump up in the air, and then deliberately land on your heels first, rather than on your toes. How did that feel? Presumably, pretty awful. In one of my previous posts, I touched upon jumping mechanics. The author of Running Science, Owen Anderson notes, "...motion analysis of Olympic Games competitors has suggested that ... medalists are more likely to employ MFS (midfoot strike). In addition, video analysis of world-champion and world-record holding runners ... has indicated that such competitors employ MFS, and occasionally FFS (forefoot strike), but not RFS (rearfoot strike) while training and competing." It has been theorized that a RFS can place more stress on the knee joint and simultaneously increase breaking forces, which may decrease running economy. There appears to be a correlation between race times and MFS/FFS.
2. You're leaning too far forward. As with standing posture, you're trying to maintain a nice vertical torso, and make yourself "tall." This means you shouldn't be hunched over like Quasimodo and looking at the pavement. While that may be ever-so-tempting once you get fatigued, you'll be more efficient staying upright. Worldrunning.com mentions that "[if] you have bad posture then your body will have to use up energy to keep you upright, which wastes energy you should be using to run faster and further."
3. You're not moving your arms enough. Now, let me start by saying that you don't want to go overboard with arm movement, either. Ideally, it should be a relatively passive motion. Pumping your arms like crazy isn't necessarily going to make you a speed demon. On the other hand, I've seen some people who leave their arms to flop limp at their sides, which is equally as inefficient. The arms should be moving in sync with the legs (the left leg and right arm together, and the right leg and left arm together), allowing for a little bit of rotation in the hips. "The main function of your arms is not to drive the body forward but to provide balance and equilibrium as gravity pulls you forward," notes Dr. Nicholas Romanov, the founder of the Pose Method of running.
4. Your knees are collapsing as you run. Running is a forward, linear movement, performed predominantly in the sagittal plane. Any forces that counteract that are going to result in unnecessary energy expenditure. Knees caving inward (valgus knees) are usually coupled with external rotation of the feet. Take a look at the the photo below of the sprinters. The two sprinters on the left are maintaining forward momentum, while the gentleman on the right has some internal rotation of the hip, as his foot externally rotates. With a little bit of hip strengthening, he could shave some seconds off of his split and lower his risk for injury.
5. You're breathing incorrectly. Breathing in any activity is, to me, the most important determining factor of success. In an aerobic activity like a longer distance run, breathing should be a first priority. As you fatigue, you may have noticed that your breath becomes shorter and more rapid. Maybe you start wheezing like an asthmatic, and you're doing anything you can just to finish your run. Experienced runners, however, have mastered the rhythm of their breathing. While different coaches have numerous methods for the proper cadence of the breath, there are some aspects that are universal: you should aim to expand the ribcage and the belly as you breathe, rather than just the chest, and, your breath should remain relaxed rather than laborious. Both of these things can help you manage your heart rate and keep you running faster for a longer period of time!

Running doesn't have to be a miserable experience (although it'll never be a pastime I particularly enjoy...). If you correct your technique, you will minimize the amount of energy you waste with each stride, and maybe, just maybe, you'll find that elusive "runner's high" I've heard people mention in fables.

Works Cited:

1. "10 Ways to Perfect Your Running Technique." 10 Ways to Perfect Your Running Technique. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.
2. Anderson, Owen. Running Science. N.p.: n.p., 2013. 52-55. Print.
3. Born to Run. Marty Stouffer Productions, 1983.
4. Kasmer, Mark E., Jeremy J. Wren, and Martin D. Hoffman. "Foot Strike Pattern and Gait Changes During a 161-km Ultramarathon." Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 28.5 (2014): 1343-350. Web.
5. Weijers, René E., Alphons G.h. Kessels, and Gerrit J. Kemerink. "The Damping Properties of the Venous Plexus of the Heel Region of the Foot during Simulated Heelstrike." Journal of Biomechanics 38.12 (2005): 2423-430. Web.

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3 Reasons Why Your Poor Mobility is Holding You Back

So many lifters are willing to complain ad nauseam about their lack of mobility, but very few of those people are willing to get up and fix it. Most individuals would prefer to deadlift heavy and get their heart rates up than spend about 10-15 minutes addressing their muscular imbalances and chronically tight areas.

What those people might not realize, is that their lack of mobility is actually sabotaging their progress. Instead, they'd rather just cut to the chase and dive face first into their workouts. They see the value in heavy lifting and pushing hard, but they neglect the accessory mobility work. It's easy to ignore, because the immediate pay-off might be minimal. They release a tight muscle once or twice, and don't make any lasting changes. Like strength training, though, consistency is the key. Doing a handful of stretches, some self-massage, and corrective exercises every few days will go a long way. Not only will you feel more loosey-goosey, but you may even PR your lifts just from adding some more range of motion to your joints!

If your overhead squat looks like that of the guy on the right, this article is about you.

Hopefully, this post will help knock some common sense into you and remind you to pay more attention to the corrective exercises. Here are three major reasons why your limited range of motion is holding you back from getting stronger:

1. You can't get into the right positions. Movements like the front squat require a considerable range of motion. If your latissimus dorsi and pectoralis minors are tight, you won't be able to achieve an ideal position in the lift. No matter how many times a coach may say "elbows up," you just can't get them any higher. Your mobility is going to hinder your progress, because if you cannot keep your torso upright, then you won't be able to support a significant amount of weight in that position. I have met plenty of people who have ample strength, but stagnate on the clean, because their chest drops every time they catch the barbell. Their legs can support the weight without a problem, but their shoulders aren't having it. If these people did some work on the areas in question (pecs and lats), they would, undoubtedly, get an immediate PR on their cleans.
2. Your potential for force production is limited. A muscle has to lengthen before a contraction. A length-tension of a relationship of a muscle explains that a muscle can produce an optimal amount of force at a certain length. For example, if you were to pick up a heavy book, you wouldn't do so with a fully extended elbow. Instead, you would probably bend your elbows a bit. Now, this continuum of ideal length is a balance. If someone is too flexible, force production will be limited, and the opposite is also true. If you are inflexible, the muscles are constantly partially contracted. Take a look at the diagram below of a muscle cross-section. The top model (a) cannot produce enough force because there is too much of an overlap, whereas option (c) can't produce optimal force because there's no overlap at all. Option (b) is just right: a little bit of overlap so that the muscles are at their ideal length for force production. So, if your hamstrings are "tight" you won't be able to produce true power on a sprint or a vertical jump, for example.
   
3. Muscles are not firing in the proper sequence. If you're tight, you're more than likely compensating in ways you don't even realize. For example, if your ankle mobility needs some help, chances are, you're using the muscles on the medial portion of your leg (hip adductors) way too much, while the lateral muscles (abductors, gluteus medius, tensor fascia latae) aren't working enough. Every time you squat, lunge, or sprint, your mechanics are altered. Because your muscles are not in symbioses, this could mean a slower 400 meter time or a weaker back squat. Once the kinetic chain works as it is supposed to, your mechanics are more efficient and you might find that previously challenging movements are a bit easier!

Bodyworker Thomas Myers notes, "organismic movement and stretching – yoga‬, pilates, training‬, manual therapy – can help cells to their proper tension environment by relieving pressure or strain, and this results in better functioning all over." It's great to work hard and get stronger, but it's also important to give your muscles some love and alleviate tension in the body.

Ultimately, if you find that your performance has plateaued, perhaps it is time to finally work on improving your tin man status of mobility and join the supple side.

Works Cited:

1. Baechle, Thomas R., and Roger W. Earle. Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2008. Print.
2. Clark, Ross A., Brendan Humphries, Erik Hohmann, and Adam L. Bryant. "The Influence of Variable Range of Motion Training on Neuromuscular Performance and Control of External Loads." Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 25.3 (2011): 704-11. Web.
3. Myers, Thomas. "Biomechanical Auto-Regulation." Anatomy Trains. N.p., 17 Nov. 2015. Web. 01 Dec. 2015.

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Stress Less to Lift More

You wake-up abruptly to the sound of your alarm clock. You press snooze, and then jolt up about 5 minutes later. Then, you scramble to find clothes to wear, brush your hair, brush your teeth and race out of the house to the car. While you're driving to work, you are constantly checking the time, getting exasperated by every stop light, ever car that's going too slow on the highway, and all of the detours that send you off route. When you finally make it to your job, just on time, you gasp a sigh of relief. Now you can begin to attack your "to-do list," which seems to be never-ending. Overwhelmed, you sit at your desk and take a big sip of coffee and get to work.

Does your day closely mirror the scenario I've described above?

No, I'm not a psychic, and I haven't been watching you on a hidden camera. So many of us, regrettably, spend our days on auto-pilot. Our heart rates rise along with our blood pressure, and we constantly complain that there aren't enough hours in the day.

Impending deadlines, hectic work schedules, familial responsibilities, and other stressors, can make it hard to allow yourself to relax and just let go of all of the craziness for a bit. With a little bit of meditation, however, you'll find that your workouts will improve, you will recover faster, and your daily life might just be a bit more manageable.

To understand recovery and stress, you need a little bit of background about the central nervous system. The chart above illuminates the hierarchy of the nervous system, but for the scope of this article, I'm going to talk about the divisions of the autonomic nervous system: the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

The parasympathetic nervous system allows us to "rest and digest." When you are relaxing or meditating, your heart rate decreases. The PNS promotes recovery from stress and healing. At the other end of the spectrum, you have the sympathetic nervous system. The SNS is known for the "fight or flight" state. If you trip on the stairs, you're going to enter the sympathetic nervous system. Your heart rate elevates, your blood pressure increases, and your breath may become shallow and infrequent.

Many of us are quite familiar with the sympathetic nervous system, as we spend our days in frequent bouts of stress and anxiety.

Now what does all of this have to do with exercise? Well, as you know, exercise will do quite a number on your body. Your connective tissues take a beating, and they need time to repair so that you can attack your subsequent workouts. If we stay in the SNS, then, you're just not going recover optimally, if at all. In fact, you may even enter a state of catabolism (breakdown of muscle proteins). There's no sense in busting your butt in the gym if you're ultimately gonna stress away all your hard work, is there?

The diagram on the left talks a bit about Hans Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome. There are three stages: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion. Without adequate rest after repeated bouts of stress, one may reach the exhaustion stage, in which their performance regresses and they experience frequent injury. The body needs adequate rest in order to continue to train hard.

Here's an interesting study on high school swimmers: Jiang and colleagues had the athletes use meditation for recovery from intense training sessions. "Mood states, anxiety, and heart rate measures served as the dependent variables." They found that "meditation training as a mental warm down combined with a physical warm down are more effective to facilitate acute and long-term heart rate recovery, lower mood disturbance scores, decrease cognitive anxiety compared to just taking a rest after vigorous training and during the recovery period." Furthermore, "the experimental group demonstrated significantly lower scores than the control group in fatigue, depression, and anger." The meditating students had a more regulated mood, and they were recovering better from practices!

Another study, with Stults-Kolehmainen et. al. found that "in all analyses, higher stress was associated with worse recovery. Stress, whether assessed as life event stress or perceived stress, moderated the recovery trajectories of muscular function and somatic sensations in a 96-hour period after strenuous resistance exercise."

When considering the stresses felt by our body in exercise, we must also remember all of the other factors at play. If you're regularly working 70+ hour work weeks, or leading a lifestyle of stress, that will undoubtedly affect your workout recovery time. Every stressor accumulates a greater demand for recovery on the central nervous system, and dictates more time to return back to your baseline.

In my experience, meditation is a wonderful practice that can help you wind down after a tough day. Even 10-15 minutes a day will help you maintain your equilibrium and channel your inner Dalai Lama. Different types of meditation work for different people, but I prefer to just lay on my back, taking big, diaphragmatic breaths, and thinking positive thoughts. I let all of the negativity escape my mind, and remind myself not to let trivial things consume me.

Find a way to allow your brain to unwind after a tough day or tough week, and you may find yourself to be more at peace, less injured, and performing at an all time high. Allow your body to recover from all of the demands you have placed on it, so that you can get back to working out in half the amount of time!

As my father always says "don't write checks that your body can't cash!"


Works Cited:

1. Jiang, Zhenying. "The Effects of Meditation Training on Post workout Anxiety, Mood State, and Heart Rate Recovery of Us High School Swimmers." SPORTS SCIENCE 20.6 (2000): 66-74.
2. Solberg, E. E., K. A. Berglund, O. Engen, O. Ekeberg, and M. Loeb. "The Effect of Meditation on Shooting Performance." British Journal of Sports Medicine 30.4 (1996): 342-46. Web.
3. Stults-Kolehmainen, Matthew A., John B. Bartholomew, and Rajita Sinha. "Chronic Psychological Stress Impairs Recovery of Muscular Function and Somatic Sensations Over a 96-Hour Period." Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 28.7 (2014): 2007-017. Web.

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Up, Up, and Away (Exercises to Improve Your Vertical Jump)

I don't know if there's something strange in the air lately, but for whatever reason, I've gotten a lot of questions about how to improve a vertical jump. Some individuals are naturally gifted with hops, but for the rest of us who need to work hard to become more powerful, we have to add more explosive movements into our routines. If you want to sky like Jordan, you want to make sure you're using the correct exercises.

This could be you! (Don't quote me on that, though...)

So what determines how high you can jump? There are a couple of factors, but I'll name the most pertinent:

• Muscle fiber distribution. Okay, so, in a nutshell, you have two different types of muscle fibers: type I and type II. Type I fibers (also known as slow twitch), do not fatigue easily. An endurance athlete will have well-developed type I fibers. Think: marathon runner. Type II fibers (also known as fast twitch) are split up into type IIa and IIb, and type IIb is the most easily fatigued. Someone with a higher percentage of type IIb fibers would be a 100 meter sprinter or a javelin thrower. Movements that are really short in nature require more speed and power. The fiber makeup of a muscle is determined by your genetics, but your training can help express and further develop either fast twitch or slow twitch fibers. If you train in an explosive, high-intensity manner, you are going to develop your fast twitch fibers to the best of your genetic ability.
• Rate of force development. This builds on the first bullet point. Let's say you tried to do a power clean for the first time. Initially, while you're learning the movement, you will probably pretty slow moving under the barbell. Two years later, your bar speed will be significantly faster. Granted, you've also become more competent and confident with the movement, and you are stronger, but your rate of force development (RFD) has improved significantly. How quickly you can express force is incredibly important in working your ups.

Now that the bulk of the science-y stuff is out of the way, we can get to the meat of the article: here some exercises that will help you leap tall buildings in a single bound. (Actually, maybe don't try to jump buildings just yet...)

1. Back squats (I have faith I don't need to post a video for this one...)
2. Power cleans
3. Power snatches
4. Push jerks
5. Depth jumps
6. Jumping lunges
7. Bulgarian split squat jumps
8. Low hurdle hops
9. Barbell jumping squats (no need to go heavy, here. Maybe 20-30% of your best squat.)
10. Barbell pogo jumps (similar as the previous exercise, but not as much hip/knee bend)

Ideally, we want to train strength in conjunction with plyometrics. For example, a six week study by Adams and his colleagues found that individuals who performed strength and plyometric exercises, saw a greater increase in vertical jump than the strength group and the plyometrics group alone: 

"Examination of the mean scores shows that the [strength] group increased 3.30 centimeters in vertical jump, the [plyometrics] group increased 3.81 centimeters and the [strength/plyometrics] group increased 10.67 centimeters. The results indicate that both [strength] and [plyometric] training are necessary for improving hip and thigh power production as measured by vertical jumping ability."

 A 10.67 centimeter increase in vertical jump in only 6 weeks is pretty solid! Basically, just jumping a lot will increase your jumping height, but if you perform strength training on top of that, your results will be significantly better.

If you want to get the most bang for your buck, Olympic weightlifting (snatch, clean, and jerk) movements are superior. "Olympic [weightlifting] exercises seemed to produce broader performance improvements than [vertical jump] exercises in physically active subjects," found Tricoli et. al. They continue to say, "groups using the [weightlifting] program increased [10 meter sprinting speed] more than those using the [vertical jump] program." So, not only did these movements effect the jumping height of the test subjects, but it also made them sprint faster!

In short, if you're looking to improve your jumps, try the exercises in the above list. Both strength training and plyometric training can be combined so that you can slam dunk like the pros in no time.

Works Cited:

1. Adams, Kent, John P. O'shea, Katie L. O'shea, and Mike Climstein. "The Effect of Six Weeks of Squat, Plyometric and Squat-Plyometric Training on Power Production." J Strength Cond Res The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 6.1 (1992): 36. Web.
2. Chelly, Mohamed Souhaiel, Mourad Fathloun, Najet Cherif, Mohamed Ben Amar, Zouhair Tabka, and Emmanuel Van Praagh. "Effects of a Back Squat Training Program on Leg Power, Jump, and Sprint Performances in Junior Soccer Players." Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 23.8 (2009): 2241-249. Web.
3. Makaruk, Hubert, and Tomasz Sacewicz. "Effects of Plyometric Training on Maximal Power Output and Jumping Ability." Human Movement 11.1 (2010): n. pag. Web.
4. Tricoli, Valmor, Leonardo Lamas, Roberto Carnevale, and Carlos Ugrinowitsch. "Short-Term Effects on Lower-Body Functional Power Development: Weightlifting vs. Vertical Jump Training Programs." J Strength Cond Res The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 19.2 (2005): 433. Web.

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Sleep: The Missing Part of A Workout Routine

Training and adequate nutrition are two integral ingredients in the recipe for health and wellness. In our culture that thrives around going at all hours of the day, we can easily forget the most important element of the list: sleep!

It's quite typical, now, to brag about how little sleep we get. "Oh man, I got home from work at 10:00, and then I had to wake up at 5:30 AM to get back to the office!" That is just one of many such comments I've heard from friends of mine. Somehow, sleep, or the lack thereof, is supposed to be a trophy of our busy lives. Sleep is this ever-elusive wonderland that we rarely get to enjoy.

If you're living an active lifestyle, your poor sleep schedule could be depriving you of your hard-earned efforts! Evidence repeatedly suggests that minimal sleep can negatively impact performance, while, on the other hand, ample sleep can act as a natural performance enhancing drug!

If only we could all snooze like this little guy...

Skein et. al. performed a study on young men. The control group was instructed to sleep adequately, while the experimental group did not sleep for 30 hours leading to the sprinting test. They found that "sleep loss and associated reductions in muscle glycogen and perceptual stress reduced sprint performance and slowed pacing strategies during intermittent-sprint exercise for male team-sport athletes."

While that study measured sprinting performance, another study with Reilly et. al. tested the biceps curl, deadlift, leg press, and bench press. No noticeable change occurred in the biceps curl, but the participants saw a huge drop in the bigger compound movements. "...A significant effect was noted on maximal bench press, leg press, and deadlift. Trend analysis indicated decreased performance in submaximal lifts for all the 4 tasks: the deterioration was significant after the second night of sleep loss."

The last three movements have a bigger effect on the central nervous system, because they require bigger muscle groups. Therefore, it makes sense that there was no significant change in the biceps curl, but the other three exercises changed dramatically.

The lack of glycogen is going to have a detrimental impact on performance in multiple different activities. The muscles will not be able to produce the same amount of power as they would with adequate sleep. Similarly, low glycogen can effect cognition and focus, which are essential for all sports. If an athlete cannot focus, then he will not be able to optimally execute what is asked of him. For a sport like pole vaulting, which requires absolute precision, insufficient focus could be dangerous.

Satisfactory sleep, on the other hand, can have some pretty ridiculous benefits. During sleep, the pituitary gland produces Human Growth Hormone (HGH). HGH allows for improvements in body composition and aids in the repair of damaged muscle tissue. If we lose out on a full sleep cycle, then our recovery, and therefore, subsequent performance, will be subpar.

Cheri Mah, M.S., performed a series of studies on athletes at Stanford University.  "Over three seasons, from 2005 to 2008, the scientists looked at 11 Stanford basketball players. For two to four weeks, the Cardinal kept to their normal schedules. Then for five to seven weeks, they watched what they drank, took daytime naps and tried to sleep for 10 hours every night. After increasing their daily rest, the players sprinted faster and said they felt better in practices and games. Their aim got better too: Their three-point shooting jumped 9.2 percentage points, and their free throw percentage increased by nine points." These high level athletes all reaped the benefits of extra z's every night.

It can be hard to find the time to get extra sleep every night, but the benefits of doing so are tremendous. Even if you have a busy schedule, try to set a time to go to sleep each night that will allow for a minimum of 8 hours. You'll notice improvements in your mood, focus, and your performance in the gym!

Works Cited:

1. Mah, Cheri D., Kenneth E. Mah, Eric J. Kezirian, and William C. Dement. "The Effects of Sleep Extension on the Athletic Performance of Collegiate Basketball Players." Sleep 34.07 (2011): 943-50. Web.
2. Reilly, Thomas, and Mark Piercy. "The Effect of Partial Sleep Deprivation on Weight-lifting Performance." Ergonomics 37.1 (1994): 107-15. Web.
3. Skein, Melissa, Rob Duffield, Johann Edge, Michael J. Short, and Toby Mündel. "Intermittent-Sprint Performance and Muscle Glycogen after 30 H of Sleep Deprivation." Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 43.7 (2011): 1301-311. Web.

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Sturdy Shoulders (How to Spare Your Shoulders from Injury)

I'd say nearly every person I've trained has, during an assessment, mentioned a previous shoulder injury. Even I have suffered from the plague that is shoulder pain in the past.

The shoulder (glenohumeral) joint is the most mobile joint in the body. The ball and socket architecture allows it to move through all different planes. The downside to this excessive range of motion, however, is that, if the musculature surrounding the joint is not strong enough, injury is surely impending.

As a coach, I see two ends of the spectrum: the hypermobile (like myself), who have an abundant range of motion but lack the appropriate control overhead, and the stiff, tin men who can barely extend their elbows all of the way. Generally, men tend to fall on the latter end, while women are usually guilty of the former. Of course, there are plenty of ladies with tight shoulders, and mobile men, but this is the typical trend that I have noticed.

The ideal situation would be the middle (wo)man: someone who can achieve the positions necessary for his or her sport, but has sufficient strength as well.

Keep in mind that not all shoulder injuries are created equal. Depending where on the list of mobility you fall, your exercise prescription may need to change to cater towards your individual weaknesses. Someone who has really tight lats is not definitely going to be doing the same "prehab" as someone with weak lats.

Below, I will explain each scenario a bit more in depth, and give you some corresponding exercises to remedy those imbalances. Beware, as there are 7,000,000 clickable links coming your way for the exercise demonstrations.

Case 1: Hypermobility

The hypermobile individuals need more stability. I often find that these people  These people need to strengthen the shoulder girdle and the back (latissimus dorsi, serratus anterior, etc.)

Although these guys can seamlessly execute an overhead squat, core strength tends to be minimal in this group. Usually, this will go hand-in-hand with poor rib position during overhead movements. Therefore, we need to address the lack of midline stability first, and strengthen the rotator cuff second.

Here are some exercises that will go a long way for this population:

1. Arm bars (progress into the Turkish Get-up)
2. Barbell overhead carries (or single arm with a dumbbell)
3. Barbell roll-outs
4. Supine barbell rows
5. Scap push-ups (or banded protraction)
6. Deadbugs
7. Face pulls
8. Dumbbell serratus pull-overs (or with a barbell)
9. Upside-down kettlebell press (or use a PVC)

Case 2: Poor Mobility

If you fit into the "incredibly tight shoulders" group, then movements like an overhead squat are completely out of the question; the rack position on a clean or a front squat is nonexistent. Most likely, these people will have limited mobility in the thoracic spine (rib cage area). The pectoralis muscles and the latissimus dorsi are excessively tight, and then the lower/middle trapezius, rhomboids, infraspinatus, teres minor will be weak.

Click to enlarge.

First, you'll want to release tight muscles like the pecs and the lats. You can also try this stretch on the foam roller or this stretch on a bench to open up those overused muscles. The next step is going to be to strengthen those weak areas I listed previously. Some of the best ways to reach achieve that are the following exercises:

1. Y's, T's, and W's (or fall-outs on the rings)
2. Farmer carries
3. Cable external rotation (or with a band)
4. Kettlebell overhead press
5. Band tears
6. Cable reverse flys
7. Wall slides
8. Forearm wall-slides
9. Hangs from the bar (or single arm)

As you can see, the type of corrective exercises I would issue for each group is pretty drastically different from one another. Case 1 is working to stabilize the shoulder joint, whereas case 2 has a bit too much stability and needs to improve flexibility. While each exercise may add value to any workout routine, it's important to prioritize the most valuable movements, rather than trying to add 75 different correctives. Honestly, I could've added a gazillion more exercise ideas in here, but I figured it was best not to overwhelm you with even more links than I've already included!

As always, breathing will also influence the strength and stability of the shoulders, so make sure to reinforce proper breathing when you're doing these exercises, and even when you're just going about your day-to-day activities. Make some of these exercises a part of your regular routine, and you'll be well on your way to having solid shoulders resilient for any sport.

Works Cited:

1. Beasley, Lauren. "Getting Control of Overhead Movement: 5 Basic Drills to Prepare the Body." Breaking Muscle. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2015.
2. Beasley, Lauren. "The Scapula: How It Can Make or Break You." Breaking Muscle. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2015.
3. Cressey, Eric. "Shoulder Hurts? Start Here." Eric Cressey. N.p., 16 May 2011. Web. 18 Sept. 2015.
4. Cressey, Eric. "Shoulder Impingement." Eric Cressey | High Performance Training, Personal Training. N.p., 18 Jan. 2014. Web. 18 Sept. 2015.

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Training for Symmetry: Using Bodybuilding Exercises to Improve your Lifts

Biceps curls, lateral shoulder raises, and shrugs, oh my. These are just a few staple exercises of the bodybuilding community. Although individuals who belong to the more "functional" end of the spectrum can write these exercises off as being useless and purely vain, isolation exercises for the sheer purpose of hypertrophy (muscle growth) certainly have their place in a well-constructed strength training routine.

Bodybuilders aim to achieve symmetry and balance. They use open chain exercises (isolations) to attack specific muscle groups.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, you have the strength athletes (in sports like weightlifting or powerlifting). While movements like squats, presses and pulls are excellent for building power and brute strength, the big lifts can sometimes fail to target certain groups of muscles.

Let's use a powerlifter, for example. A squat, bench press and deadlift will, yes, activate nearly every muscle in the body. In each of these lifts, however, big prime movers will be responsible for generating the majority of the force required to move the weight. The smaller muscles may not get the attention they require or deserve.

There are three major reasons why I believe bodybuilding exercises can help take your strength to the next level.

1. They target lagging muscles. Now, as I alluded to above, while movements like a deadlift do require nearly every muscle in the body to work in unison, the synergistic (assistant) muscles may not fire to a very high degree. It is quite common that powerlifters need to add some assistance work to focus on weaker areas. Barbell hip thrusters could help you improve glute activation and take some stress off of your lower back. Cable triceps extensions could be just the exercise you need to strengthen your triceps. Now, your triceps can work in conjunction with the latissimus dorsi, pectoralis major and minor muscles, and deltoids to create a stronger drive in your bench press. Depending on your technique, you may not be strengthening all of the necessary muscles from the big lifts alone.
2. They improve muscular balance. When there is a lack of balance between the right and left sides of the body, or even between the anterior chain and the posterior chain, problems can arise. If your left side is significantly stronger than your right (as you might find in a pitcher or a tennis player), it is extremely important to give your weaker side some extra love. Similarly, issues like knee pain can arise when a lifter is quadriceps dominant with comparatively weak hamstrings. Similarly, if I hear someone complain of shoulder pain, I look for a lack of balance in the upper body. I will have them strengthen the posterior deltoids, the middle and lower trapezius, and the external rotators. An ideal physique in bodybuilding is one in which all areas of the body are equally developed. "[A] symmetrical body is also less prone to injury. A particular muscle group will be less likely to compensate for a weaker muscle group, thus overburdening that muscle group while further weakening, and potentially injuring, the under-developed muscle group, if the weaker muscle group is balanced with the stronger grouping," says David Robinson, CPT. Some isolation work will go a long way to build a more symmetrical physique.
3. Bigger muscles are stronger muscles. Pretty straight forward. Greg Nuckols, a powerlifting coach, said it well, "Think of muscle mass as potential strength. If you gain mass, you may not necessarily be stronger right away (i.e. if you trained with lower weights and lost a bit of technical efficiency with max weights), but you have the potential to be stronger. If you stay the same size, you have a cap on how strong you can possibly get. When comparing two individuals, the one with more muscle may not necessarily be the stronger one (for all the factors listed above – muscle attachments, segment lengths, technique, etc.), though he probably will be. However, when comparing small you to jacked you, all other things being equal, jacked you will be stronger." Basically, the bigger your muscles are, the more force they can produce! Weightlifters fixate on training for strength, but sometimes they forget to include hypertrophy work into their accessory sessions. This small change can have a big influence on your performance.

Doing "curls for the girls" is fantastic, but isolation movements can also provide a multitude of other benefits. In fact, building bigger muscles overall can potentially improve your main lifts and simultaneously make your body more resilient to injury! Improve aesthetics and get stronger. Channel your inner Ahhhhnold and add some more bodybuilding exercises into your workout routine.

Works Cited:

1. Nuckols, Greg. "Powerlifters Should Train More Like Bodybuilders • Strengtheory." Strengtheory. N.p., 07 Feb. 2015. Web. 10 Sept. 2015.
2. Robinson, David. "Symmetry: Why It Is Important, & How To Achieve It! - Bodybuilding.com." Bodybuilding.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2015.

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Why I Only Train My Core Isometrically, and Why You Should Too

My friend Michael was nice enough to write a guest post for me this week! Michael is a competitive weightlifter who has been performing the olympic lifts for a little over 2.5 years. He recently obtained his Honors Bachelors of Science in Kinesiology and plans to go on to complete a degree in Physiotherapy. He has gathered a lot of hands on experience working in a physiotherapy clinic for the last five years and is passionate about human strength and performance. In his spare time, he enjoys long walks on the beach and romantic comedies.

I only train my core isometrically. Without movement. No sit-ups, no side bends, no toes-to-bars, no Russian twists, none of that. I do this for two reasons: safety and functionality.

Safety

Firstly let’s look at the spine. It is made up of a series of bony vertebrae with vertebral disks in between them. Vertebral disks are made of two parts, the outer, solid layer called the Annulus Fibrosis, and the inner, viscous layer called the Nucleus pulposus. A herniation occurs when the inner layer pushes its way out through the outer layer, often (very painfully) impinging a nerve coming off the spinal cord. I don’t need to tell you that as an athlete, you don’t want this. No one does. If you do herniate a disk and it hits a nerve root, you’re looking at a lot of pain, rehab, and potentially months off of your sport.

Core exercises that involve movement of the spine increase your chances of suffering a disk herniation. Research shows that repeated spinal flexion (bending forward) is needed to cause disk herniations [1][2]. If a researcher wants to herniate a spine specimen, they will put it through thousands of cycles of flexion and extension with moderate compression. That is exactly what you are putting your spine through every time you do a sit-up or a poorly executed back extension on a GHD (compression in this case is caused by your own core muscles, think of each vertebrae as a book stacked on top of another, your muscles squeeze down on the stack of books to keep them from falling over). Why would you put your spine through that? There are several safer, more effective alternatives to train these muscles.
Research also shows that repeated twisting also makes you more vulnerable to a herniation by slowly wearing away at layers of the annulus fibrosis, making it easier for the nucleus pulposus to herniate [3]. Sure, Russian twists are working your obliques, but at what cost?

The human spine is very good at absorbing compressive forces, the vertebrae--disks and vertebral curves all allow for this. The spine is not, however, nearly as good at handling forces like shear. For example NIOSH, a health and safety board recommends a spinal compression force of no higher than 3400N during work tasks, while the limit for shear forces is only 1000N [4]. The exact numbers are not important, but safety experts agree that our spines are about 3.5 times better at handling compression than they are shear. Excessive shear becomes a problem when the spine is fully flexed forward[5] (think sit-ups, toes-to-bars, etc). These exercises definitely do a good job of working your rectus abdominus, but not without introducing potentially dangerous and unnecessary shear forces on your lumbar spine. Exercises that keep the spine in neutral or near neutral are safer because they put the spine in a position to handle forces compressively instead of introducing shear forces.

At this point is when someone would usually say something along the lines of “Well I do exercises X and my back is fine! This can’t be true.” Your back may be fine if you’re doing these exercises now, but it may not be in the future. You may be fine in the future too even if you continue to do these exercises, but you are definitely increasing your risk by continuing to do so. To succeed in any sport, you need to stay healthy. There is no reason to put your spine through potentially dangerous exercises when safer alternatives exist (more on these alternatives later). Also, you should keep in mind that the absence of pain does not mean the absence of injury. Only the outer layers of the annulus fibrosis contain sensory nerve fibers [6], so during the early stages of a herniation, pain would not be an issue.

Functionality

Almost every sport I can think of requires a core that is neutral or near neutral (don’t think of neutral as a perfect position, think of it as a certain small range of motion around that position), and a core that is braced isometrically. The only example I can think of where this isn’t true is gymnastics (but gymnasts are freaks of nature, so let’s ignore them) and maybe swimming or rowing. I’m sure there are more, but that doesn’t really matter. Most sports require a neutral, isometrically braced spine.

This is especially true of strength sports. The squat, Snatch, and Clean & Jerk all require a neutral spine that is braced isometrically. Those who bench with an arch won’t have a neutral spine and some deadilfters prefer pulling with their spine in a little bit of flexion, but both of these exercises definitely require the spine to be braced isometrically. If strength athletes always need isometric core strength, the majority of their core training should be isometric as well. Since the spine is capable of moving in three different planes, the core should be trained isometrically resisting motion in all three of these planes. You should select exercises that resist flexion and extension (bending forward and backwards), lateral flexion (bending to either side) and rotation (twisting). Below is a list of exercises that I have had good success with implementing in my training, that challenge the core in all three planes of motion. Assuming you have the basic stability needed to do them, these exercises are a solid foundation.

Here are some of my favorites!

1. Planks (resisting extension)
2. Reverse Planks (resisting flexion)
3. Side Planks (resisting lateral flexion)
4. Hollow holds (resisting lumbar extension)
5. Side hollow hold (resisting rotation)
6. Back extension holds (resisting flexion)
7. Kneeling 1 arm press (resisting rotation)
8. OH barbell spins (this is a bit all of them, but mostly resisting rotation)
1. No video for this one, but you basically hold a barbell over your head, keep your core tight and move turn your feet until you do a full 360
9. Farmer’s walks or single arm dumbell carry (resisting lateral flexion)
10. Ab Wheel (resisting at the bottom)

This list if by no means exhaustive. Get creative and find what works for you.

At the end of the day, you can train your core muscles in whatever way you want to train them. Just be aware of the risks and rewards that come with your choice of exercises and take this information into consideration before your next core workout; it’s probably not worth it. Stay safe!


Works Cited:

1. ADAMS, M A, and W C HUTTON. 'Prolapsed Interverfebral Disc'. Spine 7.3 (1982): 184-191. Web.
2. Amrani, Jacob. 'Disc Tear (Annular Tear) | Spine Doctor'. Spine Doctor. N.p., 2015. Web. 21 Aug. 2015.
3. Arjmand, Navid et al. 'Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation May Generate Spine Loads Exceeding Recommended Limits'. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 47 (2015): 1-8. Web.
4. Callaghan, Jack P, and Stuart M McGill. 'Intervertebral Disc Herniation: Studies On A Porcine Model Exposed To Highly Repetitive Flexion/Extension Motion With Compressive Force'. Clinical Biomechanics 16.1 (2001): 28-37. Web.
5. Drake, Janessa D.M. et al. 'The Influence Of Static Axial Torque In Combined Loading On Intervertebral Joint Failure Mechanics Using A Porcine Model'. Clinical Biomechanics 20.10 (2005): 1038-1045. Web.
6. McGill, Stuart et al. 'Shear Happens! Suggested Guidelines For Ergonomists To Reduce The Risk Of Low Back Injury From Shear Loading'. 1998. Presentation.

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Your Butt is Affecting your Shoulder Stability

If your shoulder hurts, you've probably assumed something with your shoulder is inherently dysfunctional. While that may not be false, you also have to consider what's going on around your shoulder. Ida Rolf, a famous Structural Integration practitioner said it perfectly, "Where you think it is, it ain't."

Sometimes, the area in question is not necessarily the root of the problem, and you need to look at the bigger picture. As I've said before, it's impossible to break the body up into parts. Everything in the body affects everything else. Dysfunction in one area will indubitably cause further dysfunction elsewhere. In fact, the source of the discomfort may be where you'd least expect it to be.

Believe it or not, your butt has a tremendous influence on your overhead strength.

Thomas Myers's explanation of the term "tensegrity" is a wonderful example of this: he discusses how a pull in one part of the fascia (a sheath of connective tissue that surrounds the muscles) will absolutely create a ripple effect in the rest of the surrounding structures. Muscles that share a similar sequence or action will interact with one another.

Think of the body as a giant "X." Intuitively, the opposing halves of the body move together to create balance. You'll notice that your right arm comes forward with your left leg when you walk or run. Here, we are subconsciously using the functional line (as Thomas Myers refers to it).

Check out the booty on
this model...

You'll notice in the photo from Anatomy Trains that the latissimus dorsi (shoulder extensors) are intricately connected to the contralateral (opposite side) gluteus and hamstrings complex. Walking requires one side of your lattisumus dorsi to contract and pull the arm behind the body as your opposite leg reaches forward and the hamstrings lengthen. The internal and external obliques are rotating your torso, bringing your left shoulder to your right hip and vice versa.

Now, imagine that your glutes aren't firing properly. How do you think this lack of glute activation might affect your mechanics, not just during a sprint, but also during a deadlift or, even, a pull-up?

A study on this idea by Carvalhais et. al. notes:

"there are extensive connections between the latissimus dorsi and gluteus maximus muscles and the thoracolumbar fascia, which suggests a possible pathway for myofascial force transmission ... The results demonstrated that manipulation of the LD tension modified the passive hip variables, providing evidence of myofascial force transmission in vivo."

In summary, participants who contracted their latissimus dorsi, either actively or passively, all saw a notable amount of response in the gluteus maximus.

Although the glutes are a part of the "lower body" and the lats are considered to be in the "upper body," the pairing of these two muscle groups is important. We always have to understand muscular synergists and antagonists. In other words, we have to understand which muscles work together to produce a given movement, and, likewise, consider the muscles that have the opposite actions.

The best way to fix a lack of synergy between the latissimus dorsi and opposing gluteus maximus is to add some more cross crawling patterns into your routine. Train you brain to sequence the proper muscular activation by utilizing exercises like bear crawls, marches, and bird dogs, as prescribed in the link.

My job, as a trainer, is to analyze movement. I look for flaws in a sequence. When someone complains of pain in a given area, I don't want them to point to where it hurts. I will learn more by watching them move. Someone's gait or squat pattern can tell me a lot.

Take notice of global movement patterns, and, maybe then, you'll learn the whole story. Think outside of the box.




Works Cited:

1. Carvalhais, Viviane Otoni Do Carmo, Juliana De Melo Ocarino, Vanessa Lara Araújo, Thales Rezende Souza, Paula Lanna Pereira Silva, and Sérgio Teixeira Fonseca. "Myofascial Force Transmission between the Latissimus Dorsi and Gluteus Maximus Muscles: An in Vivo Experiment." Journal of Biomechanics 46.5 (2013): 1003-007. Web.
2. Dooley, Kathy. "Anatomy Angel: Dorsal Sling." Dooley Noted. Kathy Dooley, 4 Mar. 2015. Web. 18 Aug. 2015.
3. Myers, Thomas W. Anatomy Trains: Myofascial Meridians for Manual and Movement Therapists. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone, 2001. Print.
4. Shin, Seung-Je, Tae-Young Kim, and Won-Gyu Yoo. "Effects of Various Gait Speeds on the Latissimus Dorsi and Gluteus Maximus Muscles Associated with the Posterior Oblique Sling System." J Phys Ther Sci Journal of Physical Therapy Science 25.11 (2013): 1391-392. Web.

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