Home Posts tagged "Weight Lifting"

Repetition and The Art of the Deload

Last week, my girlfriend had a big decision to make.  As she finishes med school (optometry) this year, she had two offers on her plate: one for a job in a private practice, and one for a one-year residency.  If she took the job, it meant we'd move out of the city.  Instead, she took the residency - which means that we can stay in our current apartment for another year once our current lease is up on August 15. Now, this might seem mundane to a lot of you, but not for me.  I'm a guy who has moved eight times in the past ten years - including three separate states.  I was 100% supportive of any avenue that she opted to choose, but I had made it clear that if we went anywhere, we were getting a moving company to do it.  After ten years of moving, I was sick of putting my life on hold for 3-4 days at a time to relocate.  It made me think of a quote I read over at T-Nation a few years back: "Stagnancy is often confused with stability." In the strength and conditioning world, status quo is largely understood to be unacceptable.  We always have to be looking to get better.  Maybe a basketball player is looking to push work capacity by perpetually increasing training volume on the court.  Powerlifters rotate max effort exercises each week.  And, bodybuilders may constantly changing programs in hopes of keeping muscles "confused" and growing. However, in the world of "Eric Cressey hates moving more than he hates drunk Yankees fans in center field at Fenway Park," stagnancy is a beautiful thing. This stagnancy in living arrangements gives me stability with my schedule and productivity - so I guess the quote from above isn't always accurate.  And, it makes me think about a few examples from the world of exercise where stagnancy can be a good thing: 1. Activation Drills: I often get asked how to make a scap push-up, scapular wall slide, or other mobility/activation drill harder.  The truth is that you really shouldn't be trying to make them much harder; they're just low-intensity drills designed to be done with perfect technique to get certain muscles "turned on" before you get to the more complex stuff.  So, if you want to make these movements harder, do a bench press or loaded push-up after the scap push-up, or a chin-up after the scapular wall slide (just a few examples). 2. Learning New Movement Patterns: It actually takes a lot more repetitions to ingrain something in your "movement memory" than you might think.  In fact, research has shown that elite athletes have practiced their specific skills over 100,000 times to make them "subconsciously" learned. Let's be clear: I'm not saying that you have to do 100,000 body weight lunges before you can start to load the movement and derive benefit from that training in other tasks.  However, for untrained folks and those returning from injuries, motor (re-)education takes repetition and time.  You can't expect a 16-year old girl to have an ACL reconstruction, then do a session of body weight lunges and be ready to go out and play soccer or basketball safely the next day.  In fact, in this example, "stagnancy" - or consistency in training and gradual progressions - truly does enhance stability in more ways than one. 3. The Biggest Loser - When this TV show is on, it is best for you to leave your remote stagnant on the coffee table and your TV turned off.  This will ensure that ratings go down for NBC and this mind-numbing crap will eventually get yanked off the air. 4. In-Season Athletes - As I wrote in Four Ways to Stay on Track, you have to be very careful with modifying things too aggressively with athletes who are in the middle of their competitive season.  New exercises can bring about delayed onset muscle soreness, which may interfere with performance.  And, increasing training volume and/or loads in-season can inhibit recovery between practice sessions and competition, or lead to overuse injury. 5. Deload Phases - I devoted an entire e-book, The Art of the Deload, to this topic, in fact.  Make no mistake about it: the overwhelming majority of your time in the gym should be focused on getting better.  However, there should always be deloading periods in your training where it's okay to intentionally be "stagnant," as these periods give rise to adaptation that make you better in the long-term.

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These five examples are really just the tip of the iceberg.  Feel free to post your thoughts in the comments section below to add to the discussion for everyone's benefit. New Articles The Seven Habits of Highly Defective Benchers was published at T-Nation last week. A Day in the Life of Eric Cressey was published at Precision Nutrition two weeks ago. Blog Updates Random Friday Thoughts Peak Power or Vertical Jump? The Most Detailed Maximum Strength Feedback To-Date Stuff You Should Read Have a great week! EC
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The Seven Habits of Highly Defective Benchers

In my line of work, I get to see a lot of pitching instructors and hitting coaches. Some have the unbelievable ability to really get through to kids and make them great. On the other hand, there are some that flat-out suck. As I've seen these two ends of the spectrum, I've come to realize that the best guy to teach you a curveball is rarely the one who has had a dirty 12-to-6 breaking ball since he was in seventh grade. Rather, the guy that can teach you the most is the one who struggled with his curveball for years and tried everything to even turn it into a mediocre pitch. Continue Reading...
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Shoulder Mobility for Squatting

Q:  Recently, I've noticed that I've lost a lot of mobility/flexibility that means I can't squat with my hands close in and with a high bar like I used to, I now have to go low bar and hands almost at the collars. What stretches/mobility work would you recommend to remedy this problem?  I don't think this situation's very good for my shoulder health. A: It's a common problem, and while the solution is pretty simple, it takes a dedicated effort to regular flexibility and soft tissue work.  And, you're right that it isn't very good for shoulder health; that low-bar position can really wreak havoc on the long head of the biceps.

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For starters, it's important to address thoracic spine mobility.  If you're rounded over at the upper back, it'll be impossible to get the bar in the right "rack" position - regardless of what's going on with the shoulder itself.  The first thing I do with folks in these situations is check to make sure that they aren't doing any sit-ups or crunches, which shorten the rectus abdominus and depress the rib cage, causing a more "hunchback" posture. After you've eliminated these exercises from their programming, you can get to work on their thoracic spine mobility with drills from Optimal Shoulder Performance; one example would be thoracic extensions on the foam roller.

As you work to regain that mobility, it's valuable to build stability within that newly acquired range-of-motion (ROM) with loads of horizontal pulling (rows) and deadlift variations. With respect to the shoulder itself, it's important to regain lost external rotation ROM and scapular posterior tilt.  As I recently wrote in "The Right Way to Stretch the Pecs," I prefer the 1-arm doorway pec stretch and supine pec minor stretches.  You can find videos of both HERE - and you can expedite the process with regular foam rolling on the pecs. In the interim, substitute front squats, overhead squats, single-leg exercises, and deadlift variations to maintain a training effect.

As you progress back to squatting, you can ease the stress on your shoulders by going with a pinky-less grip in the short-term.

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That said, for many individuals, the back squat set-up may not be appropriate.  These include overhead throwing athletes, those with flexion-based back pain (e.g., disc herniations), and individuals with posterior labral tears. I'd estimate that only about 25% of Cressey Performance clients do a true back squat, but that's influenced considerably by the fact that we deal with a ton of baseball players, and I get a lot of shoulder corrective exercise cases.  Instead, we do a lot of work with the giant cambered bar and safety squat bar, in addition to front squatting.

Hopefully, these recommendations get you headed in the right direction and back to squatting as soon as possible! What the experts are saying about The Truth About Unstable Surface Training... "Unstable surface training is many times misunderstood and misinterpeted in both the physical therapy and athletic performance fields. The Truth About Unstable Surface Training e-book greatly clarifies where unstable surface training strategically fits into an overall program of injury prevention, warm-up/activation, and increasing whole body strength. If you are a physical therapist, athletic trainer, or strength training professional, The Truth About Unstable Surface Training gives you a massive amount of evidence-based ammunition for your treatment stockpile." Shon Grosse PT, ATC, CSCS Comprehensive Physical Therapy Colmar, PA Click here for more information on The Truth About Unstable Surface Training.

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16×16 Sled Madness

In place of Random Friday Thoughts this week, we've got Random Late Thursday Afternoon Madness.  Here's how it works: 1. Sled (on the floor, not turf) with four plates on it 2. Four guys (in this case, Tony, Pete, and I and one of our high school seniors) 3. 16 trips of 16 yards as fast as possible 4. Ideally, each guy does four full trips, but when one guy can't get it done, somebody has to step up and finish his trip. 5. Extreme nausea is normal, and projectile vomiting is considered a form of artistic mastery. Enjoy:

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Big Bench to Bigger Bench: Maximum Strength Feedback – 2/24/09

I just received an email from another satisfied Maximum Strength customer.  Steve made great progress overall, but to take an already-great bench and add 15 pounds to it in four months with no change in body weight after 10 years of lifting is really impressive. "Coach Cressey, "I loved the Maximum Strength program!!  I just finished it and the results were amazing.  I currently have two friends on the program and they are also doing quite well. "I've trained pretty consistently for about the last 10 years.  My goals have changed throughout the years.  I used to weigh approximately 189 lbs, but have been focusing on strength and athleticism more recently as that is more applicable to my profession than being big.  Here are the results: Packing Day: Body weight: 172 Broad jump: 106 inches. Box Squat: 365 lbs. Bench Press: 315 lbs. Deadlift: 405 lbs. 3 Rep Chin-up: 232 lbs. Moving Day: Body weight: 171 Broad jump: 111 inches. Box Squat: 405 lbs. Bench Press: 330 lbs, with an almost at 345. Deadlift: 455 3 rep Chin-lup: 271 pounds Steve Estvold"

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Deloading in Maximum Strength

Q: I am just finishing up Phase 1 of Maximum Strength, and I have a few questions about the loading. 1. When we have deload weeks, like in week 4, do we decrease the load or  is the decreased volume you prescribed the actual deload? I find myself increasing the load on weeks 2 and 4 to compensate for the decreased volume, but I have a feeling I am defeating the whole purpose of the deload. 2. When we are doing our sets, should we try to keep the same load for each set, or do we work up to a RM on our last set? A:  With respect to your first question, you are definitely doing the right thing. The best answer I can give is to get stronger! And, you will! So, if the reps go down, the weights should go up. And, if the reps stay the same, the weights should still (hopefully) go up. There are exceptions to this rule, of course - particularly as you get more and more advanced or have a previous history of injury. It'd be worth picking up a copy of my Art of the Deload e-book for details for only $12.99:

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As for your second question, I'd keep working up and only count the stuff that's at or above 90% of your best working weight for the day.  So, let's say you're doing three sets of three reps on front squats, and your progression goes something like this:

45x5, 95x3, 135x3, 165x3, 185x3, 200x3 (heaviest you can go, you discover)

So, you work backward from that 200 pounds to find that 90% of it is 180 pounds.  So, the only two sets that have "counted" thus far are 185 and 200 - so you need to do one more set between 180 and 200 pounds to finish up the 3x3.

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What Really Constitutes Functional Balance Training?

Just a few days ago, a friend of mine passed along the link for a Reuters article reporting on a study that found that a 12-week Tai Chi intervention did not reduce the risk of falls in the elderly.

This might be surprising to some, as one would think that any sort of physical activity would benefit untrained elderly individuals.  However, I wasn't surprised at the results at all, given all the research I'd done to prepare for The Truth About Unstable Surface Training.  And, I wasn't surprised at all when I realized that this had significant parallels to how we train balancing proficiency in athletes.

It's important to understand first and foremost that balance and proprioception (and, therefore, stability at a certain point in time) are skill-specific.  In particular, one must appreciate that static balance - which is typical of Tai Chi - is markedly difference from dynamic balance, which we encounter all the time in everyday life and in the world of athletics.

For proof, one mustn't look any further than when Drowatzky and Zuccato (1966) found little carryover from static to dynamic balance (1).  Tsigilis et al. confirmed this finding 35 years later (2). And, it's one reason why I feel so strongly that we have to qualify our unstable surface training (UST) recommendations.  UST necessitates a significant amount of static balance that may not transfer to sporting movements, which typically are more dependent on dynamic balancing proficiency.

From my e-book on the subject, "Previous research has demonstrated that scores on static balance tests are not useful information when attempting to predict inversion ankle injuries in soccer players (3). This lack of correlation implies that methods to improve static balance may not be effective training approaches to prevent injuries in dynamic sporting contexts - especially when dealing with athletes with no recent history of lower extremity injury."

Now, we know that we can't train complete specificity 100% of the time.  Otherwise, in the elderly, we'd be trying to simulate every kind of fall that is possible.  And, in a football player, for instance, we'd be trying to simulate every kind of tackle a running back could possibly encounter.  So, what do we do?  Once again, we look to the research!

In a study by Bruhn et al., a high-intensity strength training group actually outperformed the unstable surface training (static balance training) group on measures of static balance (4).  In other words, one group trained static balance, and the other didn't - and the one who didn't train static balance directly actually improved the most overall.  Maybe muscle cross-sectional area played into it?  Maybe it occurred because of increased stabilization via enhanced intra- and intermuscular coordination that would allow for more rapid and effective force production (strength and rate of force development)?  Maybe true specificity isn't as important as we thought?

Click here to purchase The Truth About Unstable Surface Training.


References

1. DROWATZKY, J.N., AND F.C. ZUCCATO. Interrelationships between selected measures of static and dynamic balance. Res. Q. 38:(3) 509-510. 1966.

2. TSIGILIS, N., E. ZACHOPOULOU, T. MAVRIDIS. Evaluation of the specificity of selected dynamic balance tests. Percept Mot Skills. 92(3 Pt 1):827-33. 2001.

3. KONRADSEN, L. Factors Contributing to Chronic Ankle Instability: Kinesthesia and Joint Position Sense. J Athl Train. 37(4):381-385. 2002.

4. BRUHN, S., N. KULLMANN, AND A. GOLLHOFER. The effects of a sensorimotor training and a strength training on postural stabilisation, maximum isometric contraction and jump performance. Int J Sports Med. 25(1):56-60. 2004.

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Stuff You Should Read: 1/29/09

In this week's installment, we've got a bit of rehabilitation flavor and lifting heavy stuff: Newsletter 114: Spondylolysis and the Young Athlete Who Needs Percentages? Also, Nick Tumminello wrote a good article over at T-Nation last week; check it out: Joint-Friendly Training.
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Bigger, Leaner, Stronger, Healthier: 1/29/09 Maximum Strength Feedback

I just received this email yesterday from a happy Maximum Strength customer: "Eric, "I just finished up with your Maximum Strength program and wanted to write you to let you know of the results.  Before I get to the good stuff, I wanted to thank you for writing such a comprehensive strength training program.  Not only was it challenging but it was also laid out in a format where it is easy to understand and follow.  I have not stopped talking about this program for 16 weeks and now that I have the results, I have people getting ready to jump on the Maximum Strength bandwagon. "Not only did I see an increase across the board in lifts and movements, but the soft tissue and mobility work opened up my hips and all but eliminated any IT band issues I was having previous to this.  I started this program with the idea that the conclusion would come just in time for me to start going back to my endurance training for this summer's triathlon circuit.  Now that I am done, I am at the strongest I have been in 12 years, I set a PR in deadlifts and I am in a frame of mind for my next race where I know I will be one of the strongest competitors in the field. "Here are the results from the program: Moving Day                                 Packing Day                                  Difference Weight - 201                                        212 lbs                                        + 11 lbs Broad Jump - 88"                                 115"                                            + 17" Squat - 385 lbs                                     445 lbs                                        + 60 lbs Bench - 300 lbs                                    325 lbs                                        + 25 lbs Deadlift - 385                                        455                                             + 70 lbs 3 Rep Chin - BW +30                         BW + 60                                     30 lbs + 11 of BW "To say I am excited about these results is an understatement.  I was a little bummed on the weight until I got my new circumference measurements done.  While I did add 11 pounds, I lost .5 inches off my waist and added 6, yes I said 6 inches to my chest/back/shoulders measurement.  The compliments I have gotten from friends and family are even more indicative of a successful program.  Not only did I set a new PR in dealift but I am most proud of the 3 rep chin max, where not only did I add muscle and body weight, I was also able to increase my strength and added additional external weight as well. "Thanks again.  I plan on recommending this program to friends, family and soon-to-be clients!" -Chris Bartl

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Maximum Strength Feedback: 1/20/09

I was just checking in on how Maximum Strength is doing over at Amazon, and came across the following five-star customer review.  As the reviewer notes, sometimes you need to get outside your comfort zone - both in training and in life - to get to where you want to be. "This book is a must-read. I heard a lot of hype about this book before purchasing, and I'm glad I finally bought it. I did the entire 4 month routine and honestly, my body feels better than it ever has in the past. "I was used to the traditional bodybuilding bodypart split of chest on Monday, legs on Tuesday, Arms on Wednesday, etc etc. For years, I just accepted that this was the way to train your body. I just dealt with back pain and shoulder pain as part of the "price of working out." Doing 5 exercises for your back in one day, and 5 exercises for your shoulders in one day is the absolute wrong way to train your body, unless you are an actual bodybuilder, but for the average fitness enthusiast, that just doesn't apply. "Eric's book outlines splitting your routines into upper body days and lower body days. The routines are easy to follow. Full detailed pictures, and explanations. One of the most important things he advocates is varying the rep range each week within the 4 week routine. You probably never have done any exercise of 8 sets of 2 reps or 10 sets of 3 reps. You have to keep in mind Eric is a Strength & Conditioning Coach with the goal of getting you stronger. I was hesitant, but you have to open your mind and try it. "My body feels stronger, and more balanced. There are a few non-traditional exercises that you probably have never heard of, or are hesitant to try out. My advice would be to do everything in the book to a T. It works. You may be reluctant to do so much deadlifting and squatting. You may have never hear of scapular push ups, walls slides, face pulls, or behind the neck band pull aparts. Open your mind. Follow the routines exactly and you will be glad you did. I know I am. Your body will feel so much stronger, more balanced, and your posture improves. I hope this doesn't sound like a 3 a.m info-mercial testimonial for the latest fitness product, because it's not. I'm a Certified Personal Trainer and a Certified Gym Rat who has been lifting for 11 years. Open your mind, try the routines, follow to a T. Your body will thank you." Click Here to Purchase Maximum Strength.

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