Another RTS Success Story

Eureka Tower - Melbourne

Aussie Edition!

In lieu of the New Year coming up, I thought I'd share a success story from one of my online training clients.

I met Ben at my Australian Seminar in Melbourne back in 2008, and I was impressed with his knowledge and insightful questions.  He seemed like a very sharp guy who was interested in taking his craft to the next level.

This past year, I had the pleasure of working with him online, and he did great!  Obviously his numbers all went up (especially his bench and deadlift), but the fact that we got him stronger and more resilientin a matter of months was huge.

Here's Ben's write-up of our time together:

My name is Ben van Leeuwen and I own and run my own Personal Training Studio in Melbourne, Australia.

I decided to undertake the online program design with Mike back in June 09’ to achieve some strength goals I had set for myself this year. I knew that I needed to tidy up some imbalances and weak spots I had accumulated from years of training and in the process, learn from someone with a huge amount of knowledge and hands on experience.

After seeing Mike present in his previous two Australian tours I knew he was the man to get me there!

Month 1-

First up we built or base (or armor if you will) for the first four weeks. I thought I was thorough with my warm up’s but I realised that if you want to fix imbalances, a bit of work on the foam roller and a quick dynamic warm up isn’t going to cut it. This took some discipline to follow the warm up but I started to see some improvements in my lagging left glute straight away.

Month 2 –

Reps started to drop a bit lower and was hitting P.B’s quite easily due to corrective work done in the first 4 weeks.
I could also feel the benefit of de-loading, as you would push really hard for two weeks before dropping back. This kept me constantly getting stronger and felling fresh without burning out my CNS, an area I had struggled to program properly in the past.

Month 3 –

Here comes the heavy artillery! With all the corrective work, technique adjustment and higher reps to build my base I was gagging to move some heavy stuff. That’s what this month was all about. I was performing weighted chins and touching my sternum on bar for EVERY rep.  Getting nice and low with my squats and pulling a decent amount on my sumo dead lift. Overall hitting personal best’s across the board, feeling niggle free and putting on some muscle size to boot!

Month 4 –

Building up to retest my 1RM’s. It was a good test to see how much I had improved against my previous 1-3RM’s. Feeling really strong and confident all indicators show that I should see some good improvements.

Final Results as follows –

Deadlifts – increase of 27.5lbs

Bench Press – increase of 27.5lbs

Squat – 3RM improvement of 12lbs (with increased depth)

Chin Ups – pretty fried by this stage but from previous workouts was hitting similar weights but now touching sternum on bar a reaching full range of motion at the bottom, so I took this as an improvement.

The main points I have taken away from working with Mike have been –

•    Being disciplined with your warm-up even if you’re running late. You need to cut your work out short if low on time, it’s that important

•    Learning how to de-load properly, without over or under training for continued improvements

•    Building an initial base will set you up for the weeks of training/ torture you are about to undertake

•    Manipulating the exercises slightly over time, to change the stress on the muscles but not enough that you lose the intensity of the workout

All in all, on top of Mike’s excellent and punctual email support, I would highly recommend the online training service for anyone out there experienced or not, to guarantee that they take their game to the next level.

Thanks again Mike,

Look forward to another round next year,

Ben Van Leeuwen

Let me mention one more thing: BEN should be the one congratulated here.  I could write the best program ever, but if a client doesn't put in the requisite time and effort to get the job done, it's worthless.  Without great clients and athletes, a coach is nothing.  Fantastic work Ben!

If you are interested in our online training services, be sure to check out the page linked below.  You too could make next year your best year ever!

Program Design Services

Stay strong

MR

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The Truth About Pec Strains

Pectoralis major

Aussie Edition!

Justin Ware and I were talking about pec strains the other day, so I figured this would be an opportune time to discuss how pec strains come about in the gym.

Now, keep in mind (as many are more than willing to note) I'm not a therapist, so I'm not going to discuss treatment strategies.  Rather, let's discuss how pec strains come about in the first place, as well as how to avoid them.

The pec strains that I've seen over the years can typically be traced back to one of two issues:

1 - Poor programming which leads to overuse, and/or

2 - Scapular instability

Let's discuss each a little bit more in depth.

With regards to programming, it's like anything else - a lot of issues arise when you increase volume, intensity, or both, too quickly. Runners are notorious for this.

You see it time and again - little Johnny reads about the "blow up your pectacles" or "increase your bench 50 pounds in 2 months" and goes from 15 sets of bench in a workout to 30.  It's amazing what the body can adapt to, but every body has its threshold.  All those stupid things you do over the course of months and/or years will come back to haunt you. 

If you're reading this blog, I'm assuming you already know that structural balance is important.  As well, you also realize that you have to be judicious when raising volume and intensity, so let's look at #2 instead.

Scapular instability is another huge cause of pec strains.  You'll see this quite often in bench pressing - you should be able to keep your scapulae retracted and depressed throughout the set.  If you are unable to do this, you've reached what many would call technical failure. This is a critical component of training that many overlook.

Your prime movers might be able to crank out more reps, but you lack the appropriate stability to do so safely and effectively.  Going beyond technical failure is where many pec strains occur - you exceed your body's ability to appropriately stabilize your scapulae, and the pec gets overloaded.

This is why getting a hand-off is so important; you want to set up nice and tight through the upper back.  Not getting a hand-off often results in "pushing" the bar out of the supports, versus "pulling" it out.  This is a very subtle distinction (and one I stole from Dave Tate), but it makes a huge difference in your stability throughout the set. If you "push" the weight out, you often lose your scapular position and stability.  "Pulling" the weight out, along with a hand-off, keeps you in the appropriate scapular position throughout.

Injuries are a part of the iron-game; if you push things hard enough (and long enough), chances are an injury will crop up at some point in time.  However, smart training and adherence to basic principles will go a long way to keeping you healthier and stronger for a lifetime.

Stay strong

MR

(If you'd like more info on the bench press, check out the following articles: Defending the Bench Press and Yo, How Much Ya Bench?)

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My Training Stories #1

MR Squat

Aussie Edition!

I clearly remember my first powerlifitng-related workout.  Needless to say, it was humbling on numerous levels.

I had just finished up a semester-long internship with the Ball State University athletic teams, and I realized that if I wanted to go anywhere in the industry, I needed to get stronger.

A lot stronger.

After being surrounded by behemoths for the past four months, I was serious about getting stronger and refining my craft.  My first day of powerlifting practice, I had a whopping 185 pounds on the bar, and I was doing sets of ten.

My knees caved, my back rounded, and the lactic acid pooled in my thighs – and this was only the first set!  It was single-handedly one of the worst training experiences of my life.  Then, it got a lot worse.

“Damn, look at Squat-o-saurus” bellowed AJ, a 300+ giant who had aspirations of playing in the NFL.  Needless to say, it was hard to come back with a rebuttal, as he had just maxed out at over 600 pounds the week before.

Unwilling to let someone like AJ get in my way, I finished my second and third sets.  My legs were absolutely smoked; and I knew the workout had only begun.

As I started to regain my bearings, I heard plates rattling in the rack next to me.  I was glad to know someone else was going through the same pain that I was.

Then, the humility really settled in.

In the rack next to me, 123 pound Michelle “Hamstring” Amsden was squatting 225 pounds for some of the cleanest ass-to-calves squats you could imagine.  Now granted, this girl was a freak and went on to squat 369 pounds and a bodyweight of 123, but it definitely didn’t boost my male ego.

By the way, 369 at 123 is 3x body weight for all you math majors out there.

I think I was literally sore for a week after this workout, but I kept coming back for more.  Almost 10 years later, I still love the feeling of a great squat workout, and I firmly believe that one workout started laying my training foundation for years to come.

What about you all?  Any classic “cut-your-teeth” training stories for the group?

Next up, I’ll discuss the most sore I’ve ever been after a training weekend.  Two words will help build the suspense: Westside Barbell.

Stay strong
MR

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Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays

Aussie Edition!

Just wanted to wish all my readers, family and friends a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.  I appreciate all your support, and wish you all the best.

See you next week!

Best

MR

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