Prone Bent Knee Hip Extensions After I put out this one about back pain I got some, "What's the deal with the exercise where you put your face into the ground and lift your leg" Well, here's the deal. I've been using it a lot lately and while I can't "prove" it. That sh@t has been straight magic. PBKHE are Like Gandalf. And not, nice, grandfatherly Gandalf. Like, You Shall Not Pass, Gandalf. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlaiBeLrntQ The First Step in the Scientific Method is Observation In the absence of accumulated evidence we need to work in observation and hypothesis. Why isn't personal observation alone good enough? High, high, risk of … [Read more...]
Injuries, Scab Picking and Capacity Building
July 3, 2020 by
Injuries, Fundamentally injuries occur when the stress applied to the the tissue exceeds the tissues capabilities (tolerance). Adapted from The Biomechanics of Low Back injury: Implications on Current Practice in Industry and the Clinic Injuries fall into two categories: Chronic: the type that are persistent, either flaring up frequently and resolving only to soon flare up again, or they just kind of linger always there at some level of pain and/ or discomfort. Acute: these injuries occur and resolve. While they may occur again, it's usually separate, distinct, events. In truth these types of injuries are often interconnected. Acute Injuries Often … [Read more...]
Winter is Coming: Get Ready to Ski.
September 19, 2019 by
I Have NEVER Skied. Fun Fact: I train a whole bunch of skiers. More Fun(er) Fact: They don't need "Ski Specific" training to improve. People that sell you "sport specific" are often charlatans who don't actually know what sports specific means. And NO sport specific DOES NOT mean the movement kinda sorta LOOKS like the sporting movement. Sport Specific: For an exercise to be classified as "sport specific" it MUST, in the same motor regime, accurately replicate similar joint angle velocities as the sporting movement its self. Most Fun Fact: In my experience, the "training" most skiers (and weekend warriors as a whole) do, isn't training at all. It's … [Read more...]
“Hold HoLD, HOLD,” or Quit Rushing The Rep or Settle Down
August 15, 2019 by
The #1, post Beginner phase, Mistake Lifters (still) Make? Rushing The Rep They don't set up with intention, unrack the weight "tight", allow the weight to settle, compress the joints and "feel" the weight before performing the movement. Weights get a little heavy, the set gets a little hard and we start to think, "If I go fast, i'll get in and out, and don't have to hold the weight any longer than is absolutely necessary" This probably happens for a few reasons: Figured out the Stretch Reflex. Sooner or later you've discovered the "bounce" or "rebound" you can get out the the bottom of a squat or bench. Not in a, crash the bar into your chest and … [Read more...]
UMBC Sports Performance Seminar: A Review
June 7, 2019 by
Most "fitness" seminars and continuing ed events are thinly veiled revenue streams junk. But the one day "Sports Performance Seminars" that colligate strength coaches put on are almost universally always good. WHY? Because the speakers at these events actually DO what they're talking about. Unlike "fitness" events, the strength coaches product is PERFORMANCE. Not a certification or gadget. Strength coaches, sports scientists and physical therapists are on the floor or in the clinic or in the lab, with athletes under the bar or on the table, 9-12 hours a day most days of the week. You're learning from people who have REAL WORLD … [Read more...]
B Stance isn’t B.S..
May 22, 2019 by
A few years ago I saw The Glute Guy, Bret Contreras, using the B-Stance with some lower body lifts like RDL's, Squats and Deadlifts. Truth be told, I thought it was dumb as all hell. It literally made NO SENSE to me. But, half a decade later, I was stuck in a hotel gym and needed to do a hip hinge hamstring movement. I was armed to the teeth with a pair of 50lbs dumbbells. So I committed blasphemy and tried B-Stance RDL's And they didn't suck. In fact, I really liked them. I was able to handle less weight and still get a good training effect on the hamstrings. Why I Thought the B-Stance was Bullshit My number one reason was, Why not just do … [Read more...]
HIIT Pt 2: The Good, Bad and Ugly
February 28, 2019 by
So we're going to assume you're a masochist and you actually perform your HIIT intervals at 80%+ of your max. HIIT can be a really time efficient to achieve fairly substantial health and fitness gains. Or it can kill the gains you've made and make you weaker and smaller. It just depends. HIIT: The Good When compared to MOD (moderate intensity continuous exercise) High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) appears to be the bees knees. It's been shown time and again to Time Commitment? You can get a lot of fitness done in not a lot of time, "As little as 3 HIIT sessions per week, involving≤10 min of intense exercise within a time commitment of ≤30 min per … [Read more...]
Is HIIT Really King? PT 1: Are Your Intervals Actually High Intensity?
February 21, 2019 by
Welp, They Did it Again. The talking heads spoke and now we've "discovered" that HIIT, High Intensity Interval Training is better than moderate intensity steady state training for fat loss. Interval Training More Effective than Jogging and Cycling For Weight Loss Study Finds - the Independent Short Bursts of Intense Exercise Better for Weight Loss- BBC But, What is HIIT Anyway? What Most People Think it is: "High intensity interval training (HIIT) is when you alternate between high and low intensity exercise(s) or between high intensity exercise and a short period of rest." - Precision Nutrition and it is, but for it really to be HIIT we need to … [Read more...]
