Rant of the Day - Gimmicks Vs Coaching Tools

I regularly am pissed off by things I see in the fitness industry (I use that as a global term to cover all things gym related) so this is as much for my benefit as it is yours.

Here is my thought for today....

I have seen a lot of trainers recently who, the second they come back off a course, (teaching them how to use items like TRX suspension straps or the Power Plate for example) they forget all other training they used to do with clients and solely focus on their newly found 'passion' for one specific type of training.  It is my personal belief that you should not trust a trainer who marries him or herself to a specific training system and tells people that their (very blinkered and equipment specific) training system is all you could possibly need. 

For example, Kettlebells and suspension training systems like TRX, are just examples of tools you can use  with your clients as part of a well rounded approach. Do not trust someone who tries to offer sessions almost exclusively on one piece of equipment. There is nothing wrong with being versatile and using equipment for multiple purposes but you need perspective and to understand that no one thing is the answer. Too many trainers fall in love with one style of training and subsequently push their clients to do this exclusively. 

A good coach should just view these things as tools, not the be all and end all. Gimmicks are ok but 9 times out of 10 they are just reinventing the wheel and are often poor substitutes for barbell compound movements and bodyweight exercises. They can have their place but do not be fooled by someone who attempts to convince you that you can dismiss all your other training and just train with their system and you'll cover all your bases.  

Largely trainers like this are trying to simply maximise their earning potential having paid out for the cost of the course. I cannot blame them for this, but I believe that any new information, coaching skills, or equipment usage should be introduced and used when appropriate and not simply dominate that trainers repertoire suddenly.  It shows a fickle nature to the trainers approach, and I believe that whilst developing new skills and acquiring new knowledge a coach should have some consistency and rather than jumping from one fad to the next, they should build some knowledge and ability to coach what should be the fundamentals.

In my opinion these fundamentals include (but are not limited to) the following...

Squats, Deadlifts, Bench, Overhead Press, Vertical Row, Horizontal Row and Power Cleans (for more advanced individuals). 

Yes there are thousands of variations of these movements and as a coach you should be able to pick the appropriate variation for your client to match whatever stage they are at with their training.  With this in mind I will reiterate that doing a course on using TRX straps and then subsequently all your training sessions, with all clients, becoming largely focussed around TRX shows that you are trying to apply the same training style and method to everyone and not treating each clients individual needs. 

Bottom line, to the coaches and trainers, try to recognise the things which are simply gimmicks, or rather realise that whilst some of these things can be implemented in small doses as part of a full training programme, they are not the be all and end all.  A coach needs multiple tools in his arsenal but should have a good understanding of basic movements which all weight training programmes should be based upon.

To the individuals considering using coaches or trainers to assist them, beware of coaches who sell one specific gimmicky training method to you.  A coaches job is to filter and apply a multitude of information and use it appropriately.   Don't believe everything one coach says automatically either.  There are too many 'gurus' in this business and people with aggressive social media tactics who try to make themselves infallible with the backing of their almost fundamentalist true believer fans who will shoot anyone down who challenges their guru's 'wisdom'.  

Thats all for now. 

Phil

Alternative ways of progressing other than increasing weight and reps

There are more ways of progressing than simply increasing the weight or the number of reps...

Try an appropriate selection of these methods to see better progress...

1. Rest less between sets
2. Use greater range of motion
3. Introduce short pauses at or near sticking points
4. Use better technique (knee tracking, neutral spine, increase depth on exercise like squat)
5. Use less ‘psyche up’ on heavy lifts
6. Use less supportive gear (belts, wraps, suits etc)
7. Train alone or with no music
8. Use fewer warm up sets than normal (take bigger weight jumps)
9. Perform more reps during warm up sets. Pre-exhaustion.
10. Perform the exercise further down the workout order.

Phil

'BRB Method 1' - Beginner / Intermediate Basic Strength Programme

This is a simple system which I have used to great effect with several clients now and so I thought I would detail it here so that you can try it out for yourself.

Programme Split
3 days per week
Monday/Day 1 - Chest + back
Wednesday/Day 2 - Legs
Friday/Day 3 - Shoulders and Arms

Exercise / Order
Day 1 - 
Use basic set and rep scheme for all exercises on this day. See below for rep scheme.
A1 - Bench Press
A2 - Neutral Grip Chin Up
B1 - 30º Incline Bench Press
B2 - Bent Over Supinated Grip EZ Bar Row


Day 2 - 
Use basic set and rep scheme for Squats and Deadlifts, and 4 sets of 10-12 on C + D.
A - Squat
B - Deadlift
C - Dumbbell Split Squat
D - Choose one Ab exercise from Ab wheel roll outs, Hanging Knee Raises, Standing Cable Crunches, Dumbbell Side Bends, Weighted Decline Sit Ups.

Day 3 - 
Use basic set and rep scheme for all exercises on this day. See below for rep scheme.
A1 - Standing Barbell Shoulder Press
A2 - Single Arm 'lean away' Dumbbell Shrugs
B1 - Tricep Dips
B2 - Standing Barbell Curls


The basic set and rep system is as follows
Either test 1 RMs in all main lifts prior to starting programme or estimate 1RM if you think you can do this accurately. I would urge you to choose a weight which you can hit on any given day, whether you are feeling good or bad. Do not choose something which is only obtainable when you are at your very peak as this will lead to a quick stall in the programme.

Preceed all of the given sets and reps with an appropriate warm up as follows
Dynamic Warm up, then 3 sets of 3 reps @ 30-40%, 2-4 ramping sets of 2-3 reps to enable you to get to your working weight.
I have given % ranges below, (eg. 70-75%).  I have used this programme with both the lower percentages and the higher percentages both with equal success.  It does depend on the person, but if in doubt, then only use the lower %'s and you will be able to increase the weights more significantly for the following 4 week cycle.
In other words, either choose 70,75,80 and 85% as your programmes percentages, or choose 75, 80, 85, 90%.  In my experience, the higher percentages are normally more suited to people with a slightly longer training history with a bit more experience.

Working Sets are as follows...
Week 1 - 6 sets of 6 reps @ 70-75%
Week 2 - 7 sets of 5 reps @ 75-80%
Week 3 - 8 sets of 4 reps @ 80-85%
Week 4 - 10 sets of 3 reps @ 85-90%

Following end of 4 week cycle, add 2.5 - 5kg (approx) to all weights and repeat.
Every 2-3 cycles, use a week to test your 1RM's on all lifts again.

Notes

1. Missing Reps - If you miss any reps during a session then this is not the end of the world, however if you begin to miss reps prior to half way through then you may have selected a working weight which is too heavy.  In my experience you should not really be missing more than 2-4 reps per exercise (total over all the sets).  So if on week 1 you got 6, 6, 6, 6, 5, 4, then that is acceptable as you have only dropped 3 reps out of 36.  However if you only managed 6, 6, 5, 4, 5, 4 then you have dropped 6 reps in total out of 36 which is really an indication perhaps you have overestimated your max or perhaps increased the weights too much between cycles. In this instance I would drop the weight slightly and recalculate all your %'s.

2. Choosing to use either the higher %'s of the lower %'s - For some people achieving 10 sets of 3 at 90% of their max would be near impossible (initially anyhow), whereas some people have the ability to produce quite high reps all the way up very close to their max.  You should decide which percentages to use based on whether you think you are the sort of person who is better at performing high intensity (load) singles but fall to pieces if someone asks you to do some reps and repeat this effort multiple times, OR if you are someone who can knock out lots of sets at a reasonable weight but the second someone asks you to max out, your form breaks down and you aren't able to maximise your potential.  If you are the former, then using lower percentages would be better, but if you are the latter and are better at performing reps, then you can choose the higher %'s.  You must also consider how long you have been training.  Very often the stronger you get the harder it can become to perform higher reps at a high percentage of your max.  This is because the % increases start representing much bigger increases in weight, so going from 85 to 90% is a bigger jump for someone lifting 200kg than it is for someone lifting 100kg. (stating the obvious I know, but all this must be considered when choosing your weights).

3. If in the programme you will be performing the deadlift, for example, having already squatted, then do not use a 1RM, for the deadlift, which you have achieved when fresh having not done anything prior to it.  The same goes for all other exercises in the programme. Remember that you will undoubtedly be able to lift more weight if you perform an exercise when fresh, but these numbers will not reflect what you can achieve whilst running the programme. I would recommend when testing your maxes, to run the programme in the same exercise order, but simple perform singles up to a max.

4. If you will be sometimes training alone, without a spot, then use the weights you are comfortable attempting on your own for the programme and not the weights which you tried once when you had the luxury of a programme. Again this is something that will skew your numbers. Whatever your regular training circumstances will be, run with those for the whole programme. If you then get the luxury of a lift out from a spotter, then great, but do not count on this if you know it will not always be available.

5. Pause at least 1 rep of each set on the bench press.  My preference is pausing the last rep on the chest for at least 1-2 seconds.  This will build starting strength in the lift, and perhaps also keep your ego in check. 

6. Do not sacrifice form for the sake of increasing weight. The typical one here is sacrificing squat depth for the sake of adding weight.  Keep form to a standard on all exercises.  If you train alone then film EVERY SINGLE SET YOU DO, if you have training partners then get them to give you an honest appraisal.  Do ensure they know what to look for in terms of quality though as a training partner who tells you you are doing great when every lift really looks awful is not your friend and is wasting your time and simply massaging your ego.

7. Alternative exercises can be substituted for the main exercises if preferred but these main lifts should give you strong foundation so think carefully before changing them and always examine the reasons behind the switch.  

If you decide to try using this Method, then I would love to hear how you get on so any feedback is appreciated. Email info@bridgeroadbarbell.co.uk with your thoughts / questions / progress.

Happy Lifting

Phil

Symmetry for the Strength Athlete - Thoughts on Training the Traps and Rhomboids

First Point.  If you aren't deadlifting heavy once a week or more (or at the very least maximal once every fortnight and deadlifting for speed or reps on the weeks in between) then you should address that first, locate your balls (in the proverbial sense) and incorporate the most effective posterior chain exercise available into your programme.

Whether you deadlift conventional stance, sumo stance, from blocks, in a rack off the pins, with a clean grip, with a mixed grip, with a snatch grip, with a hex/trap bar, from a deficit or any other variation, you will get the most bang for your buck in terms of trap/upperback development by performing any variation of this lift. 

I am not however going to go into deadlift variations in this article, but instead focus on what other exercises and how else to train your traps to maximise the development of strength and size of this 'show piece' muscle group.  Virtually everyone lifting weights both for strength and for size wants an impressive set of traps.  Aside from simply the aesthetics, a strong and large set of traps/rhomboids will improve posture, reduce risk of injury and improve all your lifts (squats, deadlifts, bench press and especially overhead pressing).

Too often I have heard people say, "oh if you want big traps then just deadlift heavy".  Whilst I agree wholeheartedly that not deadlifting would be a case of neglecting the best exercise available to you, I do have a problem with hearing this advice being given out.  Specifically the words "JUST deadlift heavy".  The problem I have with this is the following…..

If we all were the same size and shape, and had zero muscular imbalances, all had the exact same technique, and full ability in the neuromuscular sense to achieve maximal muscular contraction, for every rep performed,  in all muscles involved in any given movement, then one could argue that the 'big lifts' or compound exercises would be all we need.  We could survive and train muscles to equal proportions using the squat, bench press, overhead press, deadlift and perhaps bent over row.

The unfortunate fact however is that we do not live in this fantasy world.  We are all different, in shape, size, build, strength, flexibility (not an exhaustive list).  We all have different thought processes in terms of how we approach lifts.  We do not all relate to the same coaching cues, and do not all have the ability to be able to 'feel' every muscle working when we so wish.  We do not all possess 'textbook' lifting technique (whatever 'textbook' means, as text book is individual and more often than not based on whatever enables the greatest efficiency for a particular lifter).  The main point is that we need to also incorporate other exercises to bring up lagging muscle groups.  Now this is by no means a new concept in the slightest.  This has been known as 'weak point training' or 'assistance exercises' or 'special exercises'. 

What I want to speak about in this article refers to looking at addressing weak points in the upper back in particular the traps and rhomboids.  

The reason for this article is because I have recently changed the way I train this muscle group, having managed to finally break the cycle of picking up multiple nagging minor injuries which albeit weren't stopping me from train but we at the very least slowing my progress.  You would think that I fell into the stereotypical meathead category and was training all the pressing muscles with no regard to the postural muscles but this was not the case.  For a long time I have been aware of a muscular imbalance, and I took all the advice from multiple sources that i could.  I performed hundreds of face pull exercises and more band-pull-aparts than anyone else in the gym because these were regarded by many as to be the 'go-to' exercises for developing these muscles to assist in the bench press.  

However, despite performing a large amount of work using these exercises I still kept getting injuries in my neck and upper back.  

Finally I started thinking for myself,  and instead of banging my head against the wall convincing myself that if  **enter any well known T-Nation article author here** said that it was face pulls and band pull-a-parts I needed, then i'd keep doing them until the problem went away.  Eventually, I reviewed my exercise choice and concluded that in actual fact despite the fact that indeed these exercises on paper should be ideal for my corrective exercise programme, they weren't doing the job.  The problem, largely, was because I could not make a significant 'mind-muscle' or neuromuscular connection or link.  I could not 'feel' these exercises working in the way I should.   I revisited some of the older training methods that I used to use when training for muscle gain was my main priority (notice I do not say bodybuilding, because I never had any intention of getting on stage, I just wanted to be bigger).  Years of strength training had caused me to lose sight of some of the training wisdom which comes from the bodybuilding side of the training world.  

Symmetry, muscle tension, being able to feel a muscle working and being able to consciously contract a muscle or muscle group on demand when required were all principles which I had always been aware of but perhaps had pushed to the back of my mind because my training was now solely focussed on powerlifting and subsequently I cared more about movements rather than muscles. Bodybuilders tend to aim to hit a muscle from multiple angles, using different limb and joint positions, different use of levers, different movements  , different training tools and equipment, and a huge variety of exercise variations to 'attack' a muscle in so many different ways in the attempt to achieve well-rounded muscular development.

With this in mind, I revisited my corrective exercise regime to address my Traps and Rhomboids and decided to play around with a few alternatives to what I had been using in an attempt to find more suitable exercises for myself which I could genuinely feel the the muscles working and could make a connection and learn to more powerfully contract the traps and maintain a retracted shoulder position.

My goals were that in addition to improving my bench press by addressing my muscle imbalance, I wanted to develop the muscles significantly for two reasons.  Firstly because I believe it will reduce my chance of injury in this area, and neck and trap strain has really been a problem in the past. Secondly big traps are impressive and building a big 'yoke' is always a good thing.

So after playing around with multiple exercises I discovered that despite the fact I felt it was more my lower traps and rhomboid thats were weak.  If I combined exercises which are traditionally thought of to develop the upper traps with the exercises specifically targeting the rhomboids and lower traps, it was much easier for me to make the mind muscle connection and 'feel' a better contraction throughout the full muscle group.

I will list below the best combinations of trap and rhomboid exercises I have found which work for me, but if you take nothing else from this article, take this point.  These exercises are the ones which worked FOR ME, I advise you to play around with multiple exercise variations until you find the ones which enable you to genuinely feel the muscles working.  During a set you should be able to consciously feel the muscle contracting and in corrective exercise, just as in bodybuilding, this should be prioritised over volume, intensity or any other parameter.  Bottom line, if you can't feel it working, it probably isn't.

Power-Rack Single Arm Lean-Away Kettlebell or Dumbbell Shrugs.  Notes.  Keep head upright,  externally rotate shoulder, draw shoulder up and back, focus on squeezing trap up towards the ear. Keep rep range between 8 and 12. PLus 1 set for higher reps 30-50.

Rope-Grip Kettlebell  Upright rows.  Notes. Place a length of rope through a kettle bell handle. Tilt body forward slightly as this gave me the ability to feel my mid and lower traps working more. The rope grip took stress off my wrists and elbows.  I had a problem with barbell upright rows where I felt pain in the front of my shoulder and this worked much better for me.

Banded Face-pull into External Rotation into Overhead Press (taken from Joe Defranco) Hold in each position for 3 seconds to give time to feel contraction.

Keep reps between 12 and 20.

Sled Rear Delt Crucifix Walks (L shape, Y shape and T shape) + YTWLs with DB Prone on Incline Bench.

Neck harness Sled Walks + Regular Neck Harness Neck extensions (seated)

Trap Bar Bent Over Shrugs (head supported on bench)

Supinated Rope Grip Face Pulls

Also do not neglect stretching the muscles of the neck, traps, levator scapulae etc.

Phil

Estimated Maxes Vs Actual Maxes

When beginning a programme and establishing your working weights do not estimate 1 rep maxes. Do not take a stab in the dark and say 'I reckon i could squat......kg'. Chances are you are over estimating ability due to ego, or in rarer cases under estimating your ability and selling yourself short. Instead use factual information to set your max weights. Either test your 1 rep maxes under the same conditions as you will be performing reps in the programme. For example If you will be close stance squatting below parallel with a pause at the bottom of the rep, then do not use a previous record for a wider stance squat above parallel with no pause. The difference in weight will be significant as it is a totally different movement. My advice is to take a week prior to starting a programme to test all primary movements in the programme to a technical max. This could be a 1 rep max, 5 rep max or whatever, depending on the type of training you are doing and what info you need before starting your programme. Note that I said a technical max. This is a weight you can lift with a bare minimum of breakdown in form. In training you want to spend most of your time performing reps which are technically as perfect as possible. If you base your workouts off a max which your form completely broke down and looked horrendous then chances are you will stall out in your programme very quickly due to the fact you have over shot the runway a little and need to be working slightly lighter to ensure progress. The key is to recognise the difference between training and competition. Granted training is supposed to challenge you but it is not where you take risk in injuring yourself. During competition you are at risk enough as this will be an all out maximal attempt where some breakdown in form is probably acceptable / normal. You will make better progress in training if you are honest with yourself about your current level. Too often I see people come in and say, well Ive deadlifted 220kg (for example) before, so I am going to base my programme off that. Omitting the facts that firstly the last time they performed this lift at this weight was months / weeks ago, and they have no idea if they can actually hit that today, and also that the previous time was performed under different circumstances, different bar, different gym, different stance, different shoes, perhaps using straps. All in all it would be ridiculous to base a max by anything other than what you know for 100% certainty that you can get on any given day of the week whether you are feeling good or bad. If in doubt estimate a few kg's too low, you will more likely make progress for longer this way. In summary, control your ego and lift what you CAN lift, not what you think you probably could lift on a good day.