I had the fortunate opportunity to meet and learn from Charlie Weingroff this past week. He did an in-service with the staff at IFAST, and it was awesome to hear his thoughts on things. Needless to say, Charlie is a super smart guy, and I learned a lot from him. If you are not already reading his blog, you should definitely check it out at http://charlieweingroff.com/category/blog/.
Today, I want to discuss an excellent cue/tip I picked up from Charlie while watching his DVD series Training = Rehab, Rehab = Training. In it, he talks about the importance of neck position. He refers to the optimal neck position as one in which you pack your head back and chin down (if you do this correctly you should have a double chin). This position gives you much more stability and will keep your spine neutral.
This guy knows the double chin!
I know a lot of coaches will tell you to keep your head up when performing many lifts, but I do not agree with this. At IFAST, we always teach people to keep their chin down to give them added stability and a neutral spine.
When you extend your neck (i.e. keep your head up) during lifts, you will have the tendency to extend your low back as well - your lumbar spine (low back) follows the position of your cervical spine (neck region) and vice-versa. As I wrote in my last post, this is bad because an excessively lordotic lumbar spine robs us of stability.
It can be hard for clients to get used to this neck position and to understand why they should lift this way. Therefore, try out the tip below (stolen from Charlie) to help them with this.
A good way to get your clients to think about keeping their chin down is to have them imagine a string with a hook on the end hanging from their chin. You then want to think about hooking that onto a bar below you. How would you lift the bar up? You would pack your neck back, put your chin down, and extend at the hips to pick it up. This is exactly the same position your neck should be in during all exercises. It will take some time getting used to, but it will pay off in terms of health and big numbers in the weight room.
I am sure many of you have faced this situation in the gym:
Client is performing an exercise (let’s say a RDL) and his or her chest is rounded over.
You: “Try to get your chest up!”
Client: Arches low back to get chest out.
You: “No, don’t arch your lower back, just get chest out.”
Client: Has no idea what to do, gets frustrated, and throws a few choice words your way (okay, so maybe no cuss words... at least I hope not :).
This is a common mistake I see with a lot of new clients at IFAST- the tendency to arch their low back into hyperextension when performing many exercises (deadlift variations, squat variations, anything overhead, birddogs, etc.).
This is a problem because when someone is in this position they are less effective at stabilizing their “core”. Imagine your core as a canister with your diaphragm forming the top and your pelvic floor the bottom.
If you arch your low back too much, then instead of the diaphragm and pelvic floor facing one another, they will be facing more anteriorly (it kind of looks like a clam shell opening up). Because of this, when you take a big breath in to fill that canister it is not able to pressurize and stabilize you as well. This is why I am not a fan of articles that tell people to arch their low back hard during big compound movements - they lose their stability.
Sometimes, this is just how the person stabilizes his or her self (with erectors), while other times people just do not have good body awareness and cannot find that neutral spine position.
When I first started training people, this was hard for me to correct. I would always just tell them not to arch, but that was usually unsuccessful. Bill Hartman recently showed me a good way to cue people out of this.
First, stand behind the person and place your hands around him or her and onto the bottom of his or her ribs (make sure the people you try this on are okay with it, of course :) ). Next, pull their ribs down toward their pelvis. This will help them return to a normal, slight lordotic curve in their low back.
At first, you may have to keep your hands on their ribs throughout the exercise, but after a while try to allow them to find a neutral spine position. If they begin to arch their low back too much give them the cue "ribs down" instead of placing your hands on them. At this point, they will know what this means and hopefully, they will have the body awareness to correct it.
Hope everyone had a great weekend! Unfortunately, I was sick all week so I was not able to put together a lot of stuff for you guys for today.
Therefore, I am going to post some quick random thoughts, updates, and a little circuit I wrote for my girlfriend a while back.
1.I have decided to attend a USA weightlifiting course March 12-13 to get certified as a level 1 coach. I have heard that they put on a great course, and I need to improve my coaching skills on some of these lifts. We are getting more athletes at IFAST that are working on some variation of the Olympic lifts.
2.Since I am going to be attending the USAW course, I have been thinking a lot about how I can perform the clean with only one arm. I have been playing around with it a little this past week since I was sick and could not stick to my normal lifting routine. Here is a video below of my first day trying it out. Not too bad, but I definitely need to work on it.
3.A few posts ago I listed some of my professional and fitness goals. After a little
over a month, I feel like I am on a good track to accomplish all of them.
- Squat and deadlift are both up.
-The Saturday before I got sick I was 169.8 (up 4.8 pounds), but after my week of illness, I am back down to 165.6. I will get it back up! :)
-I have attended one seminar.
-I read Block Periodization and watched Charlie Weingroff’s DVD and Mike Robertson’s DVD that will be coming out soon (I know I am forgetting one other thing, but that is over my goal of two for the month).
-I have taken on some new clients at IFAST.
4.It was over 50 degrees here on Sunday and is supposed to stay warm for a while!! That is awesome! I enjoy snow for a while so I can go snowboarding a couple of times (I used to go like everyday in high school), but after that, I am done with it. This winter has been a little much. I am definitely ready for some warmth. I am ready to pull the sled and push the prowler... I am sure that desire will end really quickly! :)
5.Below is a circuit that I originally wrote for my girlfriend to do as energy systems work either after her strength training workout or on her off days. She does not like doing similar things over and over - she gets bored very easily - so this circuit is nice in that it uses multiple exercises and can easily be modified by switching exercises in and out. I hope you all enjoy it as much as she does! ;) Believe me, this one gets your heart pumping!
1A) KB Swings x 12, rest for rest of min.
1B) Burpees (video below)** x10, rest for rest of min.
repeat 3x for a total of 4 rounds then proceed to next superset
2A) KB Deadlift or Goblet Squat x10, rest for rest of min
2B) Mountain Climbers x50 , rest for rest of min.
repeat 3x for a total of 4 rounds, then proceed to next triset
3A) 2 DB Unsupported Row x10, no rest
3B) 2 DB Uppercuts (video below) x10/arm, no rest
3C) 3-Point Plank(video below)* x15s/position, no rest
repeat 3x for a total of 4 rounds
To make the rest periods easy to monitor, start the first exercise at the top of the minute. If you have an interval timer, just set it for one-minute rounds.
The whole circuit takes roughly 20 minutes to complete.
*Start in a normal plank position and then roll into a side plank by pivoting your feet and rotating your hips and shoulders at the same time.
**I have my girlfriend perform a slightly modified burpee - it is easier on the back and knees. I have included a video below of her demonstrating it. Also, you’ll notice she does not jump at the end. This is only because she has had knee pain in the past so if the jumping does not bother you then go for it.
This is the first of an installment titled "Exercise Breakdown" that I hope to put up fairly often. In these posts, I will cover an exercise and explain how to perform it, common mistakes and compensations, and why I like to use it with clients.
Today, I will go over the half kneeling cable push. This is a great exercise that we use for many of our beginner clients at IFAST. However, I think it is a great exercise not only for beginners but for advanced trainees as well.
First, I am going to explain the set-up and proper position for the half kneeling position because it is the foundation of the cable push, and I am sure I will post other exercises that will use it as well.
Set-Up for Half Kneeling Position:
Begin by kneeling on one knee with the thigh of your down knee vertical and the shin of your other leg vertical. Your down knee and the foot of your other leg should be parallel.
Now, be as tall as possible (to turn on “core”) and contract the glute (to get hip extended and stretch hip flexors) on the leg of your down knee. Next, square your hips and shoulders so they are facing straight ahead of you.
If the person is in a good position, his or her pelvis will be neutral (waistline should be roughly a straight line if viewing from the side). The hip of the down knee will also be neutral (it is common to see an adducted and externally rotated hip - see video below). Lastly, look for a neutral spine position (many people with poor hip extension will try to get “tall” by extending their low back).
I have put up a video for detailed instructions.
Now that you know how to get into the half kneeling position let's look at how to perform the cable push.
Half-Kneeling Cable Push
Set-Up:
Face away from a cable machine in the half kneeling position. Next, grab the D-handle (set at chest height) and perform a cable push focusing on full protraction at the end. The only movement should come from the shoulder and arm - the hips and core should be still!
Common Mistakes and Fixes:
(If some of the vocab below is not familiar to you, do not worry just try and watch the videos I have posted to put you in the right position.)
1) Person glides forward so that the hip of the down knee is hyperextended. This is often due to poor hip stabilization - it is easier for them to rely on their passive restraints (ligaments, capsule, bony block, etc.) than their hip stabilizers.
The second pic is a poor set-up because her hip is hyperextended. The first is a much better position - she is now relying on her hip stabilizers. ****
2) Hip of the down knee is adducted. Again, this is usually due to abductor weakness. Try cueing them out of it, and if that does not work, then possibly try some RNT.
3) Pelvis is not neutral when viewing from behind. If this is the case, try giving them another pad to put under their knee until it is close to level.
4) Pelvis is in an anterior tilt. This person most likely has very stiff quads and is unable to lean their pelvis back into the stretch. Cue this person to get tall and squeeze the glute. If this does not work, give them an additional pad so their knee is not flexed as much.
5) Scapular winging on the eccentric portion of the lift. This could be serratus weakness, but I have found it is often due to poor scapular coordination instead. If this is the case, repetitions and cueing will be important for this person. It can also be helpful to guide the scapula with your hand during the eccentric portion of the lift.
6) Anterior humeral glide as the person returns to the starting position with elbow at side. Begin by putting this person’s shoulder where it should be - teach them how to retract and depress their scapula. If they are still unable to get into the proper position, then they may have stiff pecs. If so, have them begin foam rolling and stretching that area. Lastly, check their breathing. If they are not breathing properly, then the rib cage may not be positioned correctly, which will affect the position of the humerus.
Benefits:
I know a lot of people will look at this exercise and think they are too advanced for it, but if done correctly, it hammers hip and core stability, helps loosen up hip flexors, and also gets some glute activation. It is also great to improve scapulo-thoracic coordination.
DO NOT make this exercise a chest exercise! Keep the load light and perform it correctly to reap the benefits.
Have someone watch you, or film yourself if on your own, because you might feel like you are in the right position but really you probably aren’t. :)
Try it out and let me know what you think!
**** PLEASE DO NOT PERFORM A HIP FLEXOR STRETCH LIKE THIS EITHER! This drives me crazy! Yes, you are stretching your hip flexor when you hyperextend your hip, but you are also stretching out some of your passive restraints - if you have ligamentous laxity in the front of your hip (like me) then this is not a good thing!
