Movement Mistakes - Volume 1 - The Pull Up

As a "movement specialist" I take pride in my ability to spot a faulty movement pattern.  When I see a particular individual commit one many possible movement faux pas, I do my best to deliver the correct coaching cues to get them in the right position.

One of legendary coach John Wooden's methods involves showing the individual how to do something right, then showing them what it looks like to do it wrong, and finishing up with showing how to do it right again. Sometimes in order to master movement, we need to know how it feels to do it wrong in order to do it right. As such, I thought it would be a good idea to begin an ongoing series covering some of the movement mistakes I see on a regular basis.

A strong back is essential to any fitness related goal, which is where the pull up comes in. Whether your goal is fat loss, muscle gain, or picking up heavy things, the pull up is an essential tool that can help accomplish it. When performed correctly, pull ups will improve your posture, make you stronger, and help you look better naked. So why do so many people struggle with this fantastic exercise? Here are a few reasons why:

• Overweight
• Weakness
• Poor posture
• They are just plain doing it wrong!

A pull up seems pretty straight forward right? Grab the bar, pull yourself up, repeat. While this is true, many people manage to screw it up. As with any exercise, in order to get the full benefit it offers you must do it correctly.

Now here are three examples of mistakes that make my eyes bleed.

#1 - Poking the Head Forward

This one is probably the most common. The phrase "chin up" is a bit of a misnomer because it encourages one to pull the chin over the bar in the manner indicated in the photo above. When the head pokes forward, it causes the shoulder blades to tilt anteriorly(forward), as well as anterior migration of the humeral head. This places excessive stress on the neck and shoulders. As you can see in the photo above, it also throws his whole kinetic chain out of whack. Not pretty.

The Fix

• Stay Tall - This facilitates a more neutral alignment, which I have discussed extensively before. I didn't say these were Quasimodo pull ups.
• Pull the Chest to the Bar - Simply changing the focus can make a world of difference. Forget about the chin and focus on pulling your chest up. This will help maintain T-spine extension and keep the neck in a more neutral position, allowing the shoulder blades to travel down and back around the ribcage.

#2 - Pulling With the Arms

I don't know how many times I've had someone hop down from the bar and say "that kills my arms!". I believe this mistake comes from a lack of understanding of the movement. Many don't understand that the prime movers involved in the pull up are the muscles of the upper back, NOT the arms. The biceps are a "synergist"; meaning that they assist the upper back muscles in executing the movement.

The Fix

• Picture Your Hands as Hooks - Again, all we are doing here is changing the focus. If you think of your arms as hooks hanging from the bar, you eliminate the focus on the arms and will magically use more back.
• Pull Through the Elbows - The lats are the prime mover in any pull up/chin up variation. The chief function of these muscles is to pull the humerus (upper arm bone) down toward the ribcage. Focusing on pulling through the elbows facilitates this exact motion.

#3 - Kipping

Kipping occurs when one uses hip drive and momentum to complete the rep. This usually occurs near failure and can be observed as one violently kicking and thrashing to get over the bar.

Just to clarify, I'm not discussing "kipping pull ups" which are typically seen in your Crossfit gyms or gymnastics facilities. If kipping pull ups are your goal, then by all means go ahead. However, I recommend mastering the basic pull up before progressing to the kipping version.

The Fix

• STOP KIPPING! - When you reach the point where you need to kip to get over the bar, just stop. If you need to kip to do a single pull up, use a resistance band for assistance.

The cues above should go a long way toward helping you clean up those ugly excuses for pull ups/chin ups. If you are going to do something, you might as well do it right. One should rarely sacrifice quality for quantity.

Don't Forget to Have Fun

Why do you train? Some train because they just want to stay healthy and feel good about themselves. Others train because they have a specific goal. Often times chasing a specific goal is what makes us feel good about ourselves. The daily pursuit of getting better is what makes us feel alive.

Maybe you want to set a better example for your kids. After all, you owe it to them to be the best version of yourself right? Maybe you just want to impress the opposite sex so you can make hanky panky with the lights on.

Regardless of why you train, the constant pursuit of getting better can be quite an exhausting endeavor. I have been chasing maximal strength goals for about 4 years now and there are definitely days where I just don't feel like it. It can be pretty mentally challenging when you have already put in a 40 hour workweek by Thursday, then have to psych yourself up to squat above 90% after work. Physique transformation can be even more challenging. You have to be focused on training, food prep, portion size and macronutrient content from morning to night if you want to be successful. There are always some days you will dread going into the gym or prepping another week's worth of food.

Part of accomplishing any goal is about personal sacrifice. I always say: "Incredible results take incredible effort". Sure, I'd love to skip putting a shitload of weight on my back today, lay on my couch and watch reruns of Dexter while eating myself into a diabetic coma, but will that effort get me any closer to my goals? This constant sacrifice in the name of a higher cause can eventually wear you out. All of a sudden you find yourself wondering; "What happened? Training is supposed to be fun!"

I think along the way we need to remember that we only get one go around at this life, so we had better make the most of it. Sometimes it is necessary to take a step away from the grind and have some fun with our training. Here are a few of my favorite ways to inject some fun into your workouts.

1. Get Outside

Its stinking hot in the Carolinas right now, but fall is coming. That means mild weather and gives one the perfect opportunity to get outside and do work. Playing outside takes me back to the days of my youth. Its just plain fun.

It doesn't really matter what you do here. Vitamin D is good for you! Take your dog for a walk. Do some strongman training. Throw your kettlebell in the car, head to the park and swing that thing around, run some sprints, and do some calisthenics. Hell, recruit some of your buddies and make a day out of it. Challenge each other and have some fun. Everybody brings food and drinks and have a cookout afterward.

2. Challenges

Challenges give you the opportunity to break up the usual monotony of training and put all that hard work you have been doing to the test. Here are a few of my favorites.
*I use the term "fun" loosely here, but if you are a little masochistic like me, you will enjoy these.

• Bodyweight (half your bodyweight in each hand) farmer's walk for distance.
• Cliffhanger pull ups or dips - as many pull ups or dips as you can do until you can't hang on to the bar anymore.
• 10x10. Pick any compound lift, estimate 60% of your 1 rep max, and complete 10 sets of 10 reps resting only 1 minute between each set.
• 5x500 meter row. Row 500 meters, take a one minute break and repeat.
• Alternating arm Turkish Get Ups done for the duration of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird". If you thought it was long before, wait until you try this.
• The Mantathalon
• 100 Kettlebell swings with approximately 1/3 your bodyweight.

There are plenty more out there on the interwebz. Feel free to get creative and make up some of your own!

3. Experiment

The gym is your movement laboratory. Take the opportunity to try a new experiment. If you have never tried Turkish Get Ups, or a different squat or deadlift variation before, give it a shot.
Sometimes placing expectations on hold for a day feels good.

Just to be clear, if you feel the sudden urge to stand on an unstable surface, feel free to uppercut yourself in the face. If I had a transporter, I would beam around the world and pop every BOSU ball in existence.

Regardless of what your end game is, I think we need to remember that training should be fun. If you find yourself dreading going to the gym every day, maybe its time to take a step back and implement some of the strategies above. It might breathe some life back into your training.

Stuff You Should Read Because I Said So - 8/5/13

Its hard to believe it already August! This year seems to be flying by. It has been a pretty busy summer between work and personal stuff, so I haven't had a ton of free time to blog the last couple weeks. With that being said, I hope to have some quality knowledge nuggets for you all very soon. Enjoy!


Success = Strength

Are Training the Olympic Lifts Necessary for YOU?

The Hollow Body Position and PPT Straight Leg Bridge

Does Your Program Match Your Goal? Part 1

Does Your Program Match Your Goal? Part 2

How to Attain a Slender Look

Interval Training on the Rowing Ergometer

Do You Need to Squat Deeply?

5 Lessons to Teach Young Athletes

Rest and Recovery 101

Recovery is an important aspect of training that often gets overlooked. I think rest gets pushed to the side because everyone seems to be obsessed with doing more.

More weight!
More reps!
More sets!
More sweat!
Bigger!
Faster!
Stronger!
Farther!

You might ask yourself, "Why aren't I making more progress?" Usually the first thing that comes to mind is "I need to do more!" Makes sense right? If you are only training 1-2 times per week this is probably the case, but for those of us that are more motivated it might be the exact opposite. We definitely need to be pushing ourselves in order to get better, but doing it all the time can lead to a point of diminishing returns. It all boils down to stress.

Stress can throw a serious wrench in any training plan. Everyone's body responds to stressors differently. Some can handle insane amounts of volume, run on low sleep, work 50+ hour work weeks, and never miss a beat. Others break down much more easily. The body can handle a finite amount of stress before it begins to break down. Here are a few examples of common stressors:

• Training
• Work
• Low sleep
• Excessive stimulant consumption
• Poor breathing patterns
• Poor nutrition
• Family

All of the above increase sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) activity and decrease parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest) activity. The more time one spends in a sympathetic state, the harder it is to get the rest that is needed to make progress.

So how much is too much? As I mentioned before, it depends on the individual. Too little training stress will not be enough to elicit the adaptation needed to make gains. Too much and the body begins to break down. The best way to determine you need more rest is to listen to your body. If you are regularly experiencing an excess of one, or a combination of any of the following, it might be time to re-evaluate your habits.

• Lack of sleep
• Training plateaus
• Illness
• Injuries

The first and most obvious way to avoid these symptoms is with a proper lifestyle and smart training habits.

• Practice proper nutrition
• Get enough sleep
• Move your body
• Stretch and massage
• If it hurts, stop
• Don't drink a pot of coffee every day

The next is to use planned periods of rest into your training program.

Enter the Deload

Planned periods of rest and recovery are referred to as deloading. A deload is when you reduce overall training stress with a reduction in volume, intensity, or frequency. Using these periods of rest allows supercompensation to occur, in which case the body should come back stronger when one resumes regular training. Usually a deload lasts one week, but they can be built into training several different ways.

When to Deload

Auto-regulation
There are a couple approaches to deloading I would recommend. The first is when your body tells you to. The technical term for this is auto-regulation. If you are feeling tired, stressed, and beat up, it might be time to back off on the volume that day or take a deload week. If you want a more scientific and measurable method, check out BioForce HRV. This product is geared more toward the serious fitness enthusiasts and athletes, but anyone can benefit. It uses heart rate variability to measure how well your body is recovering. If you are serious about your training, I highly recommend it.

Planned Deloads
I prefer the planned deload. I believe it makes more sense to plan deloading periods because it allows one to program more structure into training. For example, if I know I am going to take a deload next week, I might push a little harder this week. It also makes sense from a longevity standpoint. If I take a deload week every 4-6 weeks for the rest of my life, my mind and body will be more well rested and less susceptible to injury in the long run.

In order to justify a deload, you have to be training hard enough. If you only work out twice per week, you probably don't need it. Beginners won't need to deload as often because they aren't putting enough stress on their body. An intermediate trainee might need to deload every 6-8 weeks or so, and advanced trainees might need to deload as often as every 2 weeks.

For example, with a max deadlift of 535 pounds, I pull in the 450-500 pound range on a weekly basis, so I usually take a deload every 4 weeks. A beginner with a max of 200 pounds won't need to deload very often because they aren't putting nearly as much stress on their body.

How to Deload

A deload is NOT an excuse to take a week off and be a total slug. You still need to train in order to avoid a de-training effect. Coming back to our definition of deloading, a reduction in volume, intensity, or frequency is the first way one might approach it. Its really not all that complicated.

• Reduce volume - less sets, reps, or distance. Instead of 5x10, do 2x10. Instead of 5 miles, do 3.
• Reduce intensity - less weight or effort
• Reduce frequency - training less often

And some other methods you can use:

• Steady state cardio - Stay in the 120-150 BPM range for heart rate.
• Yoga
• Foam rolling and stretching
• Try something new - get outside and train, take a new class, etc.

Recap

Health and fitness is a long term endeavor. When mapping out a training plan, consider your longevity. Using proper rest and recovery modalities will keep you in the game for longer and help you get stronger. Practice sound lifestyle habits, listen to your body, and use deloading to minimize stress and maximize results.

Just Get Stronger

 

Today I'm pretty excited to discuss something that is very near and dear to my heart. Strength. Most people that know me can testify to the fact that I love four simple things:

1. My family
2. Food
3. Lifting heavy things
4. A cold beer

If the world ended tomorrow, I would want to be surrounded by these four things. One of these four things (can you guess which?) also forms the cornerstone of my training philosophy. When life seems to get really complex, I simplify and put what is most important in perspective. In which case, I am left with these four things. This can be a useful exercise for all of us.

List 3-5 of the most important things in your life in order. When feeling overwhelmed, reflect on your list and remember what really matters.

However, my analytic nature sometimes gets the better of me and I find myself losing sight of what is most important. I'll give you an example.

Last month I began training a Division 1 Lacrosse player. She has a history of knee problems and was forced to redshirt her freshman year due to an injury. I performed the usual intake, taking pictures of static posture and performing a Functional Movement Screen. I found a few asymmetries and determined what we needed to work on from here on out. When writing her program I began thinking of what correctives she needed, corrective programming etc, when my inner meathead conscience spoke to me:

Matt, what the hell are you doing? This girl just needs to get stronger!

Now there is definitely a caveat to all of this. To quote Gray Cook: "Don't put strength on top of dysfunction". This is why assessment is so important. We needed to do a few correctives and red light a couple of movements in order to keep her injury free and improve her movement patterns, but the core of her program needed to revolve around strength development. There was no need to re-invent the wheel.

Ask any good strength coach and they will tell you the same thing. If you increase the athlete's ability to produce force (ie make him or her stronger), you give them a better chance of success. The same can be said for anybody. Your goal could be fat loss or running your first marathon. The stronger you are, the more successful you will be. We can talk all day about HIIT training, tempo training, time under tension etc, but if you aren't getting stronger, you aren't making progress. Plain and simple.

Consider the following analogy:

Absolute strength is like your bank account. The bigger the balance, the more cool stuff you can do with it. 

A guy that can deadlift 400 pounds is much more capable than a guy that can deadlift 200 pounds. This is why strength development is the cornerstone of my training philosophy. You want to run a faster 5K? Get stronger. You want to lose 30 pounds? Get stronger. You want to beat Sylvester Stallone in an arm wrestling match? GET STRONGER.

(Hint: Drinking motor oil WILL NOT make you stronger.)

Every program I write begins with developing a strength base. After we establish that, we can begin to build the rest of the program around the specific goals/needs of the individual.

So how does one go about building strength?

There are several types of resistance one can use to develop a solid strength base. Dumbbells, Kettlebells, and bodyweight resistance all work great, but these implements have their limitations. To develop true strength, the barbell is king. The reason the previous three are limited is a simple physics lesson. The more force you can generate, the stronger you are. Since force (F) = mass (M) x acceleration (a), the more mass (weights) you are able to move, the greater your force output. Due to the increased stability demands of dumbbells for example, you will never be able to handle as much weight with dumbbells as you can with the barbell.

I can take this one step further and make this a question of work (W) performed. Work (W) = force (F) x distance (d). Take the typical fat loss client for example. The goal of any fat loss program is to increase energy expenditure so one is operating at a caloric deficit. In order to accomplish this, one has to do a lot of work (W). A fat loss client can greatly benefit from getting stronger especially while using the barbell because the barbell allows one to do more work (in less time I might add) than dumbbells or bodyweight. So to recap:

W = F x d

F = Ma

W = (Ma)d

 

Confused yet? It's ok, I'm a geek so I like this sort of thing. Putting it into layman's terms:

 

More Strength = Ability to do more Work = You are more awesome

 

How can you not love this?



If you are interested in learning more about barbell training, I recommend Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe, and 5/3/1 by JimWendler. Anything written by Dan John is pure gold as well. They are right at the top of my all time favorite strength development books. I've read them all several times.

Before I get too carried away, I'm going to end here. Among the sea of information present in society, its easy to get overwhelmed and lose sight of what training is at its core. How do you think the Egyptians build the pyramids? How did the Incans and Mayans build their ancient cities? They lifted a bunch of heavy shit and put it together! People get so wrapped up in corrective exercise, interval training protocols, endurance training, sets and reps. As a fitness professional, I believe when we strip away all the fads it all boils down to accomplishing one simple thing. Getting stronger.

Enjoy the weekend!

A Quick Rant On Nutrition

An unexpected death in the family had us taking a last minute trip up to PA last week. Needless to say, it has been a pretty tough week. Between all the emotional stress and cramming a bunch of training sessions into a 3 day work week, I'm totally exhausted. I wasn't going to post anything this week, but I met with a client today about nutrition and the wheels started turning.

I prefer not to post much on nutrition. This blog is geared toward training, and my reflections on life. There are plenty of healthy food blogs out there in addition to a cornucopia of nutritional advice, diet plans etc. If you have a hunger for the latest, cutting edge recipes and specific advice you are best served looking elsewhere.

Now I understand that nutrition plays a huge part in the success and failure of any individual. Don't mistake my lack of interest in nutrition for not giving a shit about what you put in your body. If you are stuffing your face with McDonalds and Bud Light every day, you aren't going to be very successful.

I believe that the best approach to nutrition (or anything) is one that fosters the most adherence. I could lay out the most badass nutrition plan in the world, but if my client doesn't follow it, none of that matters. Take Weight Watchers for example. It certainly is not the best approach out there, but many have had success with it because it is easy to follow. At the end of the day, the best program is one you can stick to. Any plan is better than no plan at all.

I don't understand why people try to overcomplicate things. Everyone is looking for a complex solution to a relatively simple problem. Maybe its because there is sooo much information out there that people don't know where to begin. Its so easy to become overwhelmed.

How many calories should I consume?

How much protein do I need?

Is fat good or bad for you?

How many times per day should I eat?

How long between meals?

Why am I hungry all the time?

What is you name?

What is your quest?

What is your favorite color?

These are just a few of the questions I get on a weekly basis. The answer is always the same.

It depends.

For this reason, I believe in a minimalist approach. Its not sexy and nobody is going to write a book about it any time soon, but it works. Ready to have your mind blown?

1. Cut out processed food
2. Eat more protein - Every meal - Take whatever you eat now and double it.
3. Eat more vegetables - Every meal - Double whatever you eat now.
4, Eat more healthy fats - Eat dead animal flesh and grab a handful of nuts or something.
5. Limit alcohol intake

Seriously. In 90% of cases it really is that simple. If more people followed this approach we all would be a lot better off. I find myself getting frustrated because I tell people the same thing all the time and they look at me like I'm stupid. They want something profound and ultra scientific.

Do we really need to go that far?

If you can't follow the above guidelines, why the hell would I give you anything more complicated?

Take an honest look at what you are putting in your body every day. If you can't meet these simple requirements 90% of the time, you don't need anything more complex. Sure its a little boring, but if it works who cares?

If you really do need something more complex, I recommend the Paleo approach, Zone Diet, or intermittent fasting.

Don't agree? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section!

Stuff You Should Read Because I Said So - 7/1/13

Can you believe its July already? This year seems to be flying by. Less than 4 months until yours truly hits the big 3-0 (yikes!). I can honestly say I am doing my very best to get better personally and professionally each and every day. Can you say that about yourself? Have you made an effort to get better this year? If you are having trouble in that area, you can start right now.

This month's stuff you should read includes an EPIC post from Mike Robertson about long duration, low intensity cardio as well as some other great nuggets. Enjoy!


You NEED Long Duration, Low Intensity Cardio

Two Things to Improve Your Health Instantly

Training Tails E-Book - If you love dogs, this one is great and goes toward a good cause!

The Truth About Overhead Pressing

4 Ways to Build Mental Toughness

Just Getting It In

Embrace the Suck

The Busy Man's Guide to Getting in Shape

Its Hard Out Here for a Fit Chick

Its Hard Out Here for a Fit Chick Part 2

Thats It!