Archive for exercise instruction, exercise programs, workout tips
Understanding Muscle Activation: Part 1
Today we have another great piece from Chris Kelly on muscle activation. Many think we’ve let the pendulum swing too far when it comes to “turning on” our muscles before we work out, while others swear by better results with muscle activation techniques.
I think Chris hits the nail on the head with his efficient method of “waking up” sleepy areas without wasting too much time. Check it out:
Side Plank Principles: Part II
Today we have Part II of Chris Kelly’s “Side Plank Principles” series.
If you missed Part I, be sure to check it out first here.
Step #4: Compress to impress:
In addition to trouble with positioning, the other main issue we often encounter with both front and side plank exercises is the inability to maintain an abdominal brace. Because recognition of the brace must compete with positioning of the shoulder in the side plank, many clients often have trouble “feeling” the core during this exercise.
The solution to this problem is to create additional force to assist in bracing the abdominals – a technique known as “compression.”
3 Tips For Success In…Well, Anything
This post on the Precision Nutrition blog recently gave me an “AHA moment.” It’s not that I wasn’t aware on some level of the “common threads” of success in virtually all facets of life (I think we all are on some level), it’s just that sometimes hearing (or reading) something you “know” from someone else has a way of hitting you between the eyes.
EFFECTIVE EXERCISES: Goblet Squat
Despite the controversy, the squat is still the most common lower body exercise seen in the gym. Proper technique, however, is hardly ever observed. Argue if you will about stance width, foot position and whether or not you should even be squatting at all, but you can’t deny that there are some fundamental requirements that need to be met to qualify a squat as “correct.”
Your lower back shouldn’t round and your shoulders shouldn’t roll forward. Your knees shouldn’t cave in and your heels shouldn’t come up. Your torso should not reach parallel with the floor – that’s called a “good morning.” And the guy at New York Sports Club should not be allowed to use the rack for biceps curls just because he’s wearing straps!
5 Tips For Training on Super Bowl Monday
Today we have a guest post from Angela Corcoran of Corcoran Fitness. Be sure to read it BEFORE you watch the Steelers vs. Packers in the Super Bowl!
With the Super Bowl this weekend, Monday February 7th will bring droves to steam rooms across America in a valiant effort to undo the prior night’s libation. But a steam room and exercise may not be the best cures for a hangover… In fact, they may actually be dangerous.
Program Design 101: 3 Tips To Make Your Life Easier
One of the biggest mistakes trainers and trainees alike often make is not understanding the difference between training and “working out.” Most people you see in the gym never take the time to plan and just wind up spinning their wheels.
What’s worse is that a lot of trainers take the same approach with paying clients. The sad truth is, few places in the industry actually teach the principles of program design.
EFFECTIVE EXERCISES: Things That Look Like Crunches But Are Actually Good For You
Since Stuart McGill showed repeated cycles of lumbar flexion cause disc herniations and attribute to low back pain, many trainers have taken the scelestious crunch and other abdominal flexion exercises out of their programs – at least in theory. Unfortunately, this isn’t an ideal world and there will always be a few who fight to the death in defense of doing crunches…
Fitness professionals are faced with a unique challenge: We have a responsibility to never do harm, yet we also have to give people what they want. And when the education we provide isn’t enough to sway the pendulum, we have to get a little creative with our approach.
Below are a few exercises that can sometimes substitute for crunches, but actually help the low back as opposed to hurting it.
#1. Thoracic mobility crunch:
Your Belly Full Of Jelly Can Affect Your Training
Over Christmas break I attended a baby shower for one of my friends. She’s in her sixth month and pretty big now, and she happened to mention that she was starting to have low back pain when training. Perhaps I should have mentioned that she’s a former three-sport athlete and thinks she’s Arnold Schwarzenegger…
How’s that for the perfect picture?!
Except she’ll probably stop by the gym on her way to the delivery room if she thinks she has time to spare. Needless to say, she hasn’t let up much on the lifting – even with her increased bodyweight.
In any case, because of the extra load she now has in front (and decreased anterior core strength as a result of being pregnant), her pelvis has clearly tilted anteriorly and left her with an increased lordosis in her lumbar spine. Now, I’m hoping the majority of people reading haven’t put on 30+ lbs. of holiday weight; but the fact remains that if you’ve gained a significant percentage of weight in your stomach, the same biomechanical alterations can still occur.
What does this mean for your training?
Well, like my friend, you could start experiencing back pain with some exercises, particularly if you took a holiday hiatus from the gym. Of course, it all depends on what your previous structure and mechanics looked like. If you tend to display a posterior pelvic tilt and rounded lumbar spine, you may actually find your back feels better because it’s now closer to neutral. But if you were already a bit lordotic, you may now notice that spinal extension (e.g., deadlifts) and compressive loading (e.g., squats) now irritate your low back.
The best way to fix this is to first address the mobility issues that may have resulted from the change in your lumbo-pelvic position (e.g., foam roll, stretch and mobilize the crap out of your hip flexors). Once you get your pelvis and lumbar spine back in their appropriate positions, hammer away at your core stability work. Plank variations, roll-outs and 1/2 kneeling Pallof presses are all good options, provided you can do them without moving your spine. Use unilateral lower body moves for a few weeks (the additional weight on one leg will make them tough enough!), and work your way back to the more traditional squat and deadlift variations.
Oh, and cleaning up your diet to drop the extra weight won’t hurt either…
Core Pendulum Theory: Why We Still Need Spinal Mobility
Going off last week’s post on what I expect core stability training to look like in the New Year, anyone who caught Charlie Weingroff’s webinar on the Core Pendulum Theory last Wednesday will probably agree that we’ll also start seeing more focus on restoring mobility…FIRST. (If you missed Charlie’s presentation, you can still watch it HERE.)
That’s right: Mobility before stability, even for the core.
Why?
Well, in short, we need to have full range of motion in a joint movement before we can effectively stabilize against it. (Notice I said movement, not exercise.) This is one of the takehome points in Charlie’s newly-released DVD set, Training = Rehab, Rehab= Training.
Q&A: If Shape-Ups Suck, What Shoes Should I Buy?
After I dissed Shape-Ups the other day, a few people inquired about better recommendations for fitness shoes and further info on the matter.
Like most other training-related recommendations, I’m going to say first that it really depends – both on what you’re doing and your structure. Generally speaking, if you’re training in the gym or walking around a lot, you should wear a comfortable shoe that promotes good posture, sound biomechanics and proper muscle firing patterns. This typically means minimal support: No Danner boots or Uggs that restrict ankle movement and definitely no elevated heels that shift your weight forward. Personally, I’ve been wearing Nike Frees for the last year and I think they’re great.
If you’re running the Las Vegas Marathon, however, things get a bit more complicated…
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