It's How You Do It!

Ed Coan

Several weeks ago, I had a great group of girls come up to IFAST for assessments and programming.  The goal was simple:  To get them moving and feeling better, and eventually taking their athletic endeavors to the next level.

Now let me begin by saying this wasn't your average group of girls.  They were a strong, athletic bunch, and I'd put them up against almost any "bro" at the local fitness facility.

What I'm getting at here is this - these girls were seasoned veterans, and had a pretty darn good idea of what they were doing in the weight room.

They presented with a lot of the same issues, however, so we took some time at the end of their session to do some coaching on basic lifting and stretching techniques. They definitely knew what they were doing, but with a little coaching I knew they could really unlock the potential of their bodies. I wanted to make sure that when they went home, they were performing the exercises in the correct manner.

And that's what today's lesson is all about.  Is a program that's geared towards your needs and goals important?  Absolutely.

But we tend to overlook what may be even more important - how you do things!  A split-squat or lunge sounds pretty easy, until you consider all of the following factors:

-       Your propulsion point on the front leg

-       The position of your back leg

-       Your torso angle

-       Where your knee is in relation to your hip and foot

Obviously there's even more to it than that, but hopefully you can see that even a seemingly "simple" exercise like a split-squat or lunge can actually be quite complex when you really dig in and analyze it.

Next time you head to the gym, don't just mindlessly blow through your program.  Really try to feel what's going on, and work not just to throw more weight on the bar, but also to better understand how you move.

When you start to realize it's not just what you do, but how you do it, you start to really understand what your body is truly capable of.

Have a great week of training!

Stay strong

MR

Comments (0)

Random Friday 2-5-10

Dwight Freeney

I've been swamped this week, so today is going to be short and sweet.  Enjoy!

* Smitty from Diesel Crew is doing a fundraiser to help support the victims of the Haiti Earthquake.  You can find out more about it HERE.

* I recently wrote a guest blog over at Nate Green's website on things I wish I would've known when I was younger.  If you're a younger guy or gal, I think you'll enjoy the piece!

*  Have you checked out the Podcast lately?  I've had some really great material out there recently, so if you haven't checked in for a while, be sure to do so.

*  I'm sending good vibes to Dwight Freeney for this weekend - get healthy my man!!!

Have a great weekend everyone and Go Colts!

All the best

MR

Comments (4)

A Better Way to Stretch

Lat EQI

I get a lot of interest in eccentric quasi-isometrics (EQI's) from both my online clients and people who read my blog, so I figured I'd write something up to help explain what they are and how I use them.

EQI's are an active stretch - without getting into the nitty-gritty science behind them, our goal is to try and actively hold an isometric position (such as the midpoint of a dumbbell fly or split-squat) for an allotted period of time.  We generally start with 30 seconds, and work our way up to a 2 minute hold.  If they can get to 2 minutes, we start adding weight.

However, holding the midpoint position is impossible.  This is the "active" portion of the stretch - we're trying our best not to move, but we slowly lower over time as fatigue sets in.

One of the keys with EQI's is to stabilize our body appropriately.  If you're sinking into a split-squat or Bulgarian Split-squat and you're not stabilizing with your glutes and external obliques, you're going to reinforce poor stabilization patterns (such as an anterior pelvic tilt and increased lumbar lordosis). 

If you're doing an EQI for the lats (as pictured above), you have to think about maintaining a neutral lumbar spine, versus allowing your lower back to arch excessively.

I often use EQI's at the end of a workout.  Not only does it help restore a better resting length to specific muscles, but it also develops strength and stability in the end range of motion.

If you have a client that consistently tests stiff or short, consider placing an EQI at the end of their training sessions.  Do these for a few weeks, and then re-test.  If they are doing them appropriately, you should see a nice change.

Stay strong

MR

Comments (7)

Bootylicious

Destiny's Child

I got an e-mail the other day that started like this...

"I have a big butt, so I know I don't have any glute issues..."

WRONG.

How do you know? 

Have you been tested by a knowledable trainer, PT, ortho, chiro, etc.?

Just because you have "big" glutes DOES NOT mean that they are working optimally.  In fact, I often find that many people who have "big butts" often have major issues with regard to their function!

Let me explain a bit further.

Many people often assume if their glutes stick out a bit that their glutes are well-developed.  A lot of it is smoke and mirrors - instead of having development, it simply looks more developed because of the increased arch/lumbar curve in their lower back. 

It sticks out, so people confuse this with development or function.

The next question is on performance, which is a whole 'nother can of worms.  Just because your glutes are "big" doesn't mean they're functioning optimally within the kinetic chain.

They could fire late or not at all, as you would see in a prone hip extension test.

Along those same lines they may also be weak.  You could see this in manual muscle testing on a table, or by observing how they complete their deadlifts, pull-throughs, kettlebell swings, etc.

Again, if you're in an anterior pelvic tilt, your hamstrings and adductor magnus are constantly in a position of stretch.  As such, you're much more likely to strain these muscles.  And we won't even get into the ill-effects it could have on your lower back.

The goal in training is to walk the fine line between optimal performance and staying injury-free. Just because your glutes "look big," doesn't mean their functioning optimally.  We can get into trouble when we assume looks and performance are 100% related.

Stay strong
MR

Comments (2)