Monday, October 26, 2009
Long Live the Back Squat
These days, the internet is buzzing over a highly respected strength coach’s video in which he talks about his elimination of the back squat from his athletic programming. Now, before I even delve into this matter, I would like to start by saying that I have a lot of respect for this person, and think he is an awesome strength coach. Just because I don’t agree with everything that he says, doesn’t mean that I can’t still learn from him, and believe me, I still do learn quite a bit from this individual.
The strength coach’s reasoning is simple. He feels as though single leg variations (i.e. the Bulgarian Split Squat or Pistol Squats) overload the lower body, and provide for more effective strength gains due to the fact that in the back squat, the lower back gives out before the legs do. I can see his point, and I agree with him, HOWEVER, I am a strong believer in not ignoring a muscular weakness. This is why they invented the leg press machine. It completely overloads the lower body, while taking the lower back out of the lift. Does this mean that the leg press machine is more effective than squatting? Hell no! Any strength coach worth his salt will tell you that is not the case.
Now, in his video he discusses that the core musculature (abdominals, obliques, lower back) is responsible for allowing us to back squat effectively by providing the transfer of power and strength needed to conduct the lift. I know that at times, the lower back does give out, but if we can get that lower back strong, don’t you think that will help us athletically in a myriad of ways?
The King of the Jungle: The Back Squat
While I can see his point, I don’t see how one could OBJECTIVELY perform a Bulgarian Split Squat for Max Effort Work. EVERYTIME I perform this movement, the leg that is up is being pre-fatigued in the stretched position, particularly in the hip flexor and quadriceps. When you finish the set on one leg, even if you rest between legs, the other leg is simply not as fresh as the first. This is the main reason why I do not think I would ever perform this lift as an indicator exercise.
I love Bulgarian Split Squats for accessory work, and happen to think they are a great exercise, but just not an exercise where I am going to worry tremendously about the numbers. I happen to value this exercise as an excellent hip mobilizer/stretch, and find that when the weight goes up, the depth goes up without constant reinforcement. I also have to question the safety of performing Max Effort work in this position, with a heavy load.
In closing, here are some random thoughts:
-Back squatting is FUN, Bulgarian Split Squats are NOT FUN, and in the private setting, your athletes had better be having a little bit of fun in the gym.
-The Bulgarian Split Squat does not provide an objective measurement of lower body strength.
-Back Squatting is a GREAT way to help develop a strong core, which will transfer to an increased level of performance on the athletic field.
-The Back Squat STILL works the lower body quite well. Perform a widow maker set of 20 reps and then try and tell me that it doesn’t.
-“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The Back Squat has been king for many years for a REASON. It works.
-Should EVERYONE Back Squat? No, if you are tall with long femurs, or have any lower back issues, than perhaps it is best to deload the bar and perform either single leg variations or leg presses.For all of you 6’6” guys that love to squat, If you are able to tolerate back squats, then go ahead! However, for all of you 5’11” guys out there, just shut up and squat!
Monday, October 19, 2009
On Sunday morning, I woke up to find, like many of you, that 20 year old UConn Football CB Jasper Howard had died after an on campus stabbing. My mouth was literally open as I saw the ESPN highlights of him playing the game of his life against Louisville only HOURS before, recording 11 tackles and recovering a key fumble. How could this happen? While I do not know the circumstances of his untimely passing, nor does it particularly matter, I was deeply saddened that a young, expectant father had died so soon, with so much life to live. Perhaps Jasper can serve a greater purpose to us all in life.
How many stupid, trivial things do we get stressed out over?'
How many of us do not take a chance, out of fear of failure?
How many of us are NOT living the life we want to live, and are just going through the motions day by day?
How many of us can look in the mirror and say that, at the end of the day, we have worked as hard as we could have, or that we have tried our hardest to reach a certain goal in life?
Obviously I am sad Jasper had to leave us. I did not know him, but perhaps Jasper can touch the lives of many people he did not know, by causing people to re-evaluate their own lives. ALL of us can stand to make improvements in the way we live our lives, and although he paid the ultimate price, Jasper's passing will undoubtedly save the lives of many. Life is too short, so live yours to the fullest.
R.I.P., Jasper, we are truly sad to see you go.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
1.) “Running cross country is the best way to prepare for wrestling season.”
For me, this is kind of like bringing a knife into a gunfight. Will you have a weapon? Yes, you will have one, but I can assure you it is not the one you want! Wrestling works all 3 energy systems (ATP-PC, Alactic, and Oxidative), so our physical preparation needs to reflect the development of ALL of these energy systems, not just the oxidative energy system (the system used on long, slow runs)At our gym, our wrestlers perform a combination of heavy strength training (chins, bench, squat, deadlifts), explosive movements (box jumps, broad jumps), accessory movements to bring up muscular weaknesses/prevent injury, and of course, conditioning. We condition using sleds, prowlers, complexes, and strongman circuits that test not only your physical capacity but your mental resolve. We call this type of conditioning Metabolic Conditioning, and is by far and away the most superior method of conditioning if you are a wrestler. It is oxidative, it is alactic, it requires explosive strength…and it kicks your butt!
2.) “Strength training will make me gain weight, and I won’t be able to wrestle in my weight class.”
This is a complete lie, and it saddens me that so many high school wrestlers don’t strength train for this reason! Think about ALL of the people in this country that lose weight by strength training…there are quite a few! By strength training you increase your metabolic rate by increasing the amount of lean muscle tissue you have on your body (which requires more calories to upkeep at rest). If you are eating a clean, balanced diet that is not focused on an excess of calories (please make sure you are eating enough and not depriving yourself), you will not gain weight because our bodies require a caloric excess to build an appreciable amount of muscle. Even if you do put on muscle, you will be leaner in the long run, and “bigger” in your weight class. I have strictly discussed body composition here, do I even have to get into the performance gains you will see by getting stronger?
3.) “Once I get in shape for the season, I don’t need to strength train in season.”
Say you have a Chemistry test in 5 weeks. You spend the first week studying your butt off, but then things start to “get in the way,” and by the 3rd, 4th, and 5th weeks you aren’t studying at all. Do you think you will perform well on that test? No! Strength training is the same way. We want to be at our STRONGEST in season, so it makes no sense to just stop during the season. Even 1-2 quality sessions a week can make a tremendous difference. In a sport that can come down to minor details and “wouldas, couldas, shouldas,” why leave it to chance? Stay STRONG in season! If you study for the Chem test right up to the test, you will perform far better than you would have otherwise.
4.) “I don’t have a gym so I guess I won’t strength train.”
Who says you need a gym? Sure, we do use barbells and dumbbells in our facility, but we also use homemade sandbags, gravel filled kegs, and PLENTY of bodyweight movements. Ever see Rocky IV? Sure, it is just a movie, but the point is, resistance is just resistance, whether it is coming from manual resistance or a $20,000 machine. Be creative, innovative, and don’t make excuses!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Silly “Rules” of the Iron Game
1.) Incomplete range of motion on dumbbell pressing. It seems that for many individuals, it is acceptable that Dumbbell Bench Presses do not need a full range of motion, while Bench Presses MUST touch your chest. This is truly stupid. When you are Dumbbell Pressing, you should draw an imaginary line across the dumbbell handles to envision how deep you are working the range of motion. Work the full range of motion in ALL of your lifts, unless joint pain prevents you from doing so. In this case, you probably shouldn’t be doing the lift at all. Sorry if I just crushed your excitement from pressing the 110’s.
2.) Assigning rep ranges without being aware of tempo. Do you think your brain has a little “rep ticker” in it, or even a “contraction ticker” that is programmed to make you stronger when you add reps to your lifts? Sadly, it does not. Your body DOES respond and adapt to increased time under tension with intense resistance training. With that being said, am I advocating ultra slow negatives on every lift? No, I am not, but I do believe that if you are allowing resistance to plummet to the ground like a meteor just so you can get another “rep,” you are limiting your gains. In exercises where tension is never absent (bodyweight exercises, banded movements), rep speed doesn’t matter as much, but at least CONTROL the negative. MY 12 reps could be very different than YOUR 12 reps if our tempos are very different.
3.) Assigning a “4-2” tempo. Honestly WHO uses a 4 second negative. I think your average lifter is probably lucky to get one FULL second on the negative of each lift. And why even assign a positive tempo? To get stronger, it is well documented that you need to INTEND to move the weight as quickly as possible on every concentric, whether or not that takes you .5 second or 2 seconds.
4.) Training “Movements not Muscles. I really hate this, but it seems like 95% of NCAA strength coaches adhere to this. Basically, what this rule says is that “I, Joe Strength Coach for Jones University, am NOT a bodybuilder. In no way shape or form, do I use bodybuilding in my programs. Those rep ranges of 8-12? Oh well, we are just performing movements in those exercises, so, um, we are NOT bodybuilding…we are working strength by focusing on the movements, not bodybuilding.”
It all comes down to muscular contraction initiating movement. These coaches can refute the fact that their program is not a “bodybuilding” program, but in a sense, it is all bodybuilding. The major difference is that the goal is not vanity, but rather injury prevention and improved athletic performance. Many factors come into play when determining the completion of a lift. Lever length, gravity, and momentum/torque just to name a few. If we were to focus SOLELY on the movement and not the muscle, then I think we are in for a rude awakening when we step into an athletic competition. Not ONE of the “movements” we train will be present in competition, but guess what? All of our musculature will be firing on all cylinders! And what about the mighty CNS? If we need to focus on the movement, move each resistance with as much intent as possible, and you will maximize the CNS efficiency that your genetic potential allows.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Then don't try this. Or if, you are crazy like me and actually like doing this to yourself, then have at it. This is a GREAT lower body workout.
1.) Trap Bar Deadlift: Warmup to 1 Max Effort set of 6-10
2.) Squats- Light X 5, 2 Working sets of 8-12
-IMMEDIATELY after the 2nd set go into a 1:00 Wall Sit
3.) Glute Ham Raise, Rest Pause, Aim for 12-15 on the 1st set, use extra loading if needed.
If you don't know what Rest Pause is...go to failure (with good form), take 15 deep breaths, failure, 15 deep breaths, failure.
4.) Barbell Calf Raise of 45 lb Plates, Rest Pause, Aim for 20-25 on the 1st set
Use a slow tempo, and allow your calves to stretch at the bottom.
5.) STRICT Reverse Curls, 2 Working Sets of 12-15.
6.) Behind the Back Wrist Curls, 2 Working Sets of 15-20.
7.) 5:00 of Abs/Core/Whatever you want to call it.
The stairs are mighty painful today.
