You Probably Shouldn't be Overhead Pressing... Super Strong...but serious Lumbar Compensation here. I allow only about 10% of my clients to overhead press, and even then it's limited. That means 90% are foreboden from ever putting a weight over their head. Jim Wendler and Mark Rippetoe be damned. Fact is the vast, vast, vast majority of people I've trained should NOT overhead press for one or many of a variety of reasons: Lack of subacromial space. Poor humeral/ scapular rhythm (scapular depression). Poor Thoracic extension. In my experience most people (Not ALL, jackass) just can't overhead press correctly without grinding tissues down and creating … [Read more...]
Ribs Down! How Not to Hang Off the Low Back
June 20, 2013 by
"Ribs Down!" Back pain: Virtually Everyone has it in Some Form at Some Time Everyone. My upper back around the base of my neck hurts if I sit here and work on this blog for too long. My Lower back hurts if I stand for too long or sit (especially in my car) for a few consecutive hours. I know what you're thinking, "Holy Sh@t, Yoda hurts Too?" Yes, we ALL have default patterns and compensation patterns that have formed from them. One of mine is I "hang off the low back" sometimes, and when I do it for long enough, I get pain. Look, when you're training people, you're standing....A LOT, and it's easy to get into an "Extension" position and really crank on that … [Read more...]
Book Review: The Healthy Bodybuilder & Powerlifter
June 17, 2013 by
Dying to Win? Common misconception "normal people" have about bodybuilding and powerlifting: These activities are "good" for your health. Common misconception "normal people" have about bodybuilders and (some) powerlifters: They're the picture of perfect health. Basically it goes something like this: "Those guys are in such great shape, they workout all the time how could they have any health issues?" Here's how: "Bodybuilding is an extreme sport; it involves pushing human capacity to its absolute limit. As an extreme sport bodybuilding carries with it a certain amount of risk." - The Healthy Bodybuilder Both are extreme sports. One … [Read more...]
Ohh Sh@t, Vacation is Here…..Workout and Free E-Book.
June 11, 2013 by
This time of year I get LOTS of emails (and clients) that go like this, "I'm going away soon and I need to look better, what do I do?" First you need to get your diet in line, if it's not you're screwed. But I'm gonna assume that you're good already training hard, eating really well and you just need to "tighten up" some. Personally, I think these "This workout is great for this or that" posts blow. But, F-it...this is pretty much <----programs should be individualized, even if they're similar----> what I do with a female in this situation as a template. Keep in mind: This ain't gonna take you from worst to first, sorry, nothing is...it's just a … [Read more...]
Favorite TRX Exercises
May 30, 2013 by
My Favorite TRX Exercises Since I wrote a 1200 word commercial for the TRX last time I figured I should go over some of the exercises that I actually use it for. *If you look around the interwebzzzzz (Youtube, TRXtraining.com) you'll find about a million other exercises and some of those are awesome, but too hard for most of my clients, or they just plain suck, serve no real purpose and should be sent to the land of misfit exercises. He's Dear Leader of the Island.. So here goes. TRX Stuff That Don't Suck: TRX Biceps Curls: http://youtu.be/XPTYb8uQDi0 Obviously, I do tons of curls. You could probably tell by my 15 inch pythons. But, If I'm at home … [Read more...]
The TRX: Why it’s Awesome…
May 28, 2013 by
I really, no REALLY, like the TRX I didn't buy one for years because I thought they were totally overrated and overpriced. I was kinda right, but mostly wrong. Yes, there are more affordable options but for all around awesomeness, I think it wins. If you travel for work, you should have one. If you travel for fun, you should have one. If you have a home gym, you should have one. If you just want to be cool and hang out with the cool kids and sit at the cool table, this has nothing to do with that, but you should still get one and use it....it couldn't hurt. These are NOT the cool kids... Here's the deal with the TRX... IT'S NOT FOR … [Read more...]
Stretches Worth Doing Everyday
May 21, 2013 by
Stretching used to be the cure-all for every communicable diseases physical ailment. However, stretching has become a ten four letter word the last decade or so, and that's a good and bad thing. People swore stretching would: alleviate soreness keep soreness away improve muscle length improve "tightness" heal injuries prevent injuries improve performance Well, now we know that some of those are true some of the time. Like most things in life it comes down to CONTEXT. The how, what, why and when. Case in point; stretching does help to improve muscle length, if you have a statically tight muscle. But Stretching in the short-term decreases … [Read more...]
Is It a Keeper or Throw em’ Back?
May 14, 2013 by
There are NO new exercises. It's just new to you. TRX? Olympic rings have been around for....over a thousand years. Kettlebells? Only.....about 200 or so. Because of this exercises come and go in popularity and I've been around long enough to have been through an entire cycle of this. Case in point: The Olympic lifts from owresource.com When I first started training people the Olympic lifts were THE way to develop power and you saw the Clean and the Snatch included in popular fitness magazines and at conferences people had entire lectures about them. Then the pendulum swung the other way and NO ONE used the Olympic lifts anymore, they … [Read more...]
