The Biggest Loser - Missing the Finer Points of Your Program

So here we are folks - New Year is here, hope everyone had a good holiday period... Me personally? I'm glad its over!

Today's topic was certainly unintentional at best.  It kinda came as an epiphany when I was working out on friday night.  Coming out of my competition season with rowing, and triathlons, I began a lifting cycle programmed for over winter cycle.  For those who know me, I train athletes, and I program with Laser guided precision. Have a goal, I can give you the path to get there.  So naturally I spend a bunch of time programming my athletes, and I gave myself an equally as challenging program.

It was based with Multi-Joint olympic lifts, your traditional compound lifts,  and isolated lifts. 4x a week schedule, typically 60-100 minutes in length. Week 9 in the program, shit is starting to get really really heavy, Im doing the work load, balanced in with heavy travel. Last week I was on an extended bout of travel, and when I came back, I sat down with Kim to watch the Biggest Loser, and my lumbar spine was bothering me. I was like hmm, whats up with that? Figured it must have been an anomaly and left it as that.

Then come friday night, I began with the standard fare Clean Pulls x 8,  Power Clean 4 Sets of 6 @195, (no eccentric) Bench Press - 135 x 6,  245x5, 250x5, 265x5, 270x5 , Then comes squat.. Squat is something I take my grand old time working up to, with my previous knee operation its something I have to do with 105% good form.   So I start 135x6, 225x4, 305x5 305x5, and then my final set of 305x5, on the 4th rep, I started to come up, I stalled midway through the rep, and my upper body began to lean forward,  from there I basically good morning'ed it back into the rack.  

I got really pissed off, and my lumbar pain kicked in again... I was like jesus I am going to have to start wearing a belt, which I don't advocate, when I figured i'd sit down and look at my programming like I would do with any athlete experiencing the same episode..

30 minutes into looking at the program, low and behold. No Core Exercises........ Anywhere, for 9 weeks.  Somehow I had tricked myself into believing I would use core power with all my primary lifts, which is true, as I stay engaged through the body during my lifts, but apparently it wasn't enough to supplement my increase in loads, especially on the squat.

To put it through the test, I decided to take today, and workout doing nothing but conditioning, and core exercises, both of which i've ignored for the last 9 weeks.

The results were astonishing... I could barely complete the core routine of 6 mixed exercises at about 200 reps total for Core... and my conditioning was wayyyyy off. The above HR monitor chart shows my HR levels for something that I typically would program as a regeneration activity.... All the Middle spikes there are me doing core exercises, way too high for an isolated muscle group activity.


Lesson learned today: Program Core assistance work in all your lift routines, because while in-season I was a core transfer powerhouse,  as soon as I ditched them from my lifting program, They quickly became "The Biggest Loser".

Sometimes you have to look back at what you are doing, and seek room for improvement.. It goes to show that even at the Top of your Game, you are always susceptible to mistakes.

That's all for now.. Hopefully my traveling lets up a bit soon so I can put out some of my overdue articles.

-T

Sweatin To The Oldies - Lies, Misconceptions, & Other Things that are Wrong with your Training Regimen

Hello out there!  Tis' the season, the season of over-indulging on food, treats, and the like.  With that comes the inevitable new years resolution.  My goal this year, is to get the jump on de-mystifying fitness, rather than answering the litany of questions that come in after the New Year.


So here you have it... Lets talk fitness, strength, and conditioning.. What you are doing right, wrong, or not doing at all!


1. No Plan, No War:    All too often I see people at the gym, absolutely wasting their time. Mimicking a workout that another person does, or some cool exercise they saw someone doing online.  So let me not take anything away from the fact that they have taken the first step by actually going to the gym. Now lets not waste that workout, by doing some random exercises, without any understanding of why they are doing them.  Take some time (you have a solid month of planning before the new year), read up on general strength training programs, theres a TON of material out there, ill provide some guidelines below. Feel free to reach out and ask a question about what would be right for you.  The bottom line is you want a plan that will carry you through at LEAST 6 months of the year.

2.  Anatomical Adaptation - Your Key To Success:   So now we have a plan! Thats a great start. First thing typically wrong with a training plan, is the fact that there is no time allowed for anatomical adaptation.  Let me explain anatomical adaptation.  This is for people NEW to training.  Everyone wants to be able to push weight, and be a hero day one.  Pushing heavier and heavier weight shows progress, similar to losing weight, and who doesn't want instant gratification? So here's the short of it.  Anatomical Adaptation is going to prepare the connective tissue, tendons, muscles, joints, proprioceptors and structures to accept load.  The goal for this (and it seems counter productive) is to not subject yourself to a fatigued state.   Here's why.  So here you are, the office jockey,  the stay at home mom, the sedentary human being, you have a bunch of muscle fibres that are also sedentary (de-activated), If you dont use them, they get no CNS signals to activate, therefore they go to sleep (de-activate) similar to your laptop or tablet when you step away from it for a certain period of time..  Here's a link showing the design of a muscle, and detailing the fibres I am referencing.  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Skeletal_muscle.jpg

So what we want to do is begin to send signals to those fibres to get with the program, turn on , and begin firing (contributing to lifting a load)

Here are the parameters for Anatomical Adaptation -  Circuit Style Lifting  (1 exercise of 1 type, followed by another exercise of a different type - E.g.  Leg Press, Bench, Back, Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps, etc.  Typically the Load is 30-40% of your 1 rep max (for non-trained folks, this will be a weight you can move for 15-20 reps), for 3 sets in a circuit style fashion (circle back around to the exercise after completing the other exercises).. Your rest in between sets is 2-3 minutes (allow for full recovery).  You will want to do this for 8-10 weeks (3 days a week lifting),  from there you will increase the load from 40-60% (12-15rep weight) for 3-5 Weeks. This will fully prepare your body to be able to push more load efficiently.   This seems completely counter-productive to "getting your ass kicked", but trust me if you go from 0-60% in 5 weeks, will do nothing but get you injured.

3. Train Movements, Not Muscles :  If your goal is to develop a puffed out chest, huge arms, and 6 pack abs, stop reading here.  If your goal is to become a stronger, faster, and better individual, there is one important step to take here.  You need to train your body to activate muscles to move a load in a specific direction, using a specific amount of power, and endurance.. Unless you are a kinesiology major, strength coach, or athletic trainer, the easiest way to do this is by doing movement based training. It takes the "thinking" out of planning your workouts.  By nature, I have always been a prime mover type of strength coach. I plan out with laser precision what muscles I have to train to get someone to run faster, strike a faster slap shot,  stop a goal,  make cuts, jump higher, etc.al   As a part of strength coaching, I am always looking to learn new things, and after taking a con-ed class at Athletes' Performance in Arizona, I began to research movement based training.  I ran across someone who basically has written the book on movement based training.. His name is Randy "Fit Fury" V'Estres. He runs a youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/FitFury?feature=chclk and also runs Vbody Power Fitness a site for personal training http://www.vbodypowerfitness.com
He is also available on facebook. Search him out (Fit Fury), and ill let him go into more detail on this with you,  I always defer to the experts, and he is one that has provided a treasure trove of information on this topic, and I am sure he will be a great help to you. 

4. Workout Timing:  This is one of those "different strokes for different folks" type of statements. Ill give you some basic guidelines, of things that have worked for me.  I typically find that the best time to workout is in the early morning. This is for a few reasons.  Primarily, if I start a workout past 7pm, I find myself having a hard time sleeping at night, because my central nervous system is so stimulated.  Getting up early enough to get a full workout in is hard, its a discipline thing, however once you get moving, things will come together, and for me, I find its when I can workout the hardest.  Experiment with it, the most important thing is make it a consistent schedule, and don't "fit it in" ,treat it as something thats important in your life, and make sufficient time for it on a regular basis.

5. You Need Kindling To Start The Fire:  Eating, its extremely important to get something into your system before you start a workout.. My typical recommendation for athletes is to get something with a decent carbohydrate load about 30 minutes before they begin a session. This gets the system pre-loaded with glycogen, and allows the metabolic processes to kick off.  My personal routine is a banana and a packet of tuna, while im driving into the gym.  Experiment with it, everyone responds differently to different things.

6.  Fueling to Recover:  So you've been lifting now, getting stronger,  and the next question that everyone asks is "what can I take post-workout to recover?" Well there are a few things.. I am going to provide a link for a study based on Leucine (a Branch Chain Amino Acid - BCAA) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12501002
On the BCAA Front, I recommend Musclepharm Recon http://www.musclepharm.com/products/recon 

Beyond that, you should ideally get a 2:1 Ratio of Carbohydrates / Protein.  For this I recommend EAS Recovery Protein http://eas.com/recoveryprotein 

The link above will better explain the benefits of this combination of Carbs and Protein.  Feel free to ask me any further questions on this, and keep in mind there is a TON of conjecture and information on supplementation out there, I ONLY give advice on supplements that are on the NSF List.  These supplements are certified for sport, and protect my athletes from getting Lance Armstrong'd  http://www.nsf.org/business/athletic_banned_substances/index.asp?program=AthleticBanSub  

7. The Dynamic Warmup:  In any part of a workout, this is the most critical portion of it.. People avoid this like the plague, because it makes them look silly.. I say fuck that, it makes you look and act like an athlete.  If you ever watch a pro athlete warm up, you will see them do exactly this..  Basically, it allows the fascia, muscles, tendons and connective tissue to "warmup to operating temperature" before beginning a lifting phase. Without a terrible amount of explanation, heres a video that Todd Durkin (a star trainer) posted on the dynamic warmup. Follow this, experiment with it, add and subtract as time allows.. Typically I program 15 minutes of dynamic warmup in any program. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S1q6abG4AI

 8. Advanced Lifting Theory:  So this section is to primarily address some common misconceptions out there on strength, force, and power.  With the advent of crossfit, there have been some "coaches" out there giving advice on lifting theory, that have no scientific value. Now I am now broad stroking all crossfit coaches, there are many out there with kinesiology degrees, and coaching certifications exterior to crossfit, that provide sound theory... However there are coaches ive seen that have nothing other than a crossfit level 1 / or even with a tier 2 ACE certification, that have no business talking strength.   So here is a version of the Vertical Integration Model (published by Dr. Loren Chiu) simplified for general consumption


A. High intensity or high CNS stress training (95-100% intensity).  Intensity is defined as degree of effort when compared to maximum capacity. This is referred to alactic power and capacity work. It enables the athlete to rehearse the sporting activity at high intense efforts. It is anti- circulatory and sympathetic dominant.  It increases neural demand and speed reserve and requires 48-72 hours of recovery between sessions.  It produces a feeling of fatigue hours after completion, especially with power development.

B. Medium CNS stress training (76-94%). This is lactic power and capacity. This IS NOT the energy demand of American Football.  It is not lactic based, so quit telling your athletes they lift weights after game day to clear lactic acid from their system! The problem with this intensity zone is the superimposed glycolitic and aerobic training effects that cause a profound impact on adaptation. It confuses the body. It’s too slow for alactic power/ capacity and too fast for recovery. Thus, as preparedness increases it must be accounted for as high intense CNS training.  Plus according to Viru 1995/Volkov 1986, this type of training inhibits aerobic enzyme and mitochondria production.

C. Low CNS stress training (<75%) aerobic power and capacity. This is pro-circulatory and resets PNS (parasympathetic nervous system) tone. It increases capillary density slowing blood flow down. This enables blood to stay in contact with tissue longer increasing nutrient transfer and waste product removal. It also keeps motor neurons hot lowering electrical resistance and increasing MU activation. Low stimulus requires 12-24 hours of recovery between sessions. The athlete is also able to maintain muscular heat from the general warm up. Two of its most important properties is it secures the adaptation of the high CNS stressor all the while teaching relaxation as the athlete maintains sprint posture. It is this property that is overlooked and never mentioned.

9. Constantly Varied:  Without going into a terrible amount of detail,  you should be changing workouts or load patterns every 6-10 weeks. This is referred to in american strength theory as linear periodization.  Ill provide more information on this topic in upcoming posts,  changing workouts will prevent you from plateauing.

10. Multi-Joint Lifts before Single Joint Lifts:  This is another big area of lifting theory.  Beginning your workout with multi joint or large prime mover lifts...   For Introductory athletes, this should be clean components (Clean Pulls - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a1kkKyKg8Y ) (Jump Shrugs - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRj9Uy8oChQ)

For advanced Lifters  - Power Cleans, Hang Cleans, Clean and Jerks are always first up on deck.. Typically following that (depending on what lifting cycle), you deal with large muscle groups (squat, bench, RDL, etc)... You do this for Motor Unit and Muscle Fibre Recruitment purposes.  This will allow you to perform single joint lifts easier, because you have activated the CNS and Muscles with the larger group exercises.



Author Note: My Thoughts On Training Children -  As explained with Item 8. With the increasing popularity of Crossfit, and the volume of coaches being pumped out of the system with a lack of other training, Ive been seeing an alarming amount of Sub 14 year old Children being taught the Dead Lift, cleans, clean and jerk, and snatch exercises with loads up to double their body weight.   This is an extremely sensitive subject with me, one that I have poured a bunch of time into research, however I am unable to explain it directly to these offending "coaches" as they only see things one way (force production and intensity).... So here's the bottom line.    First here's the scientific evidence backing my theory,  http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/Health_Center/adolhealth/content/a1.html , 
and now heres the down to earth explanation...  So the easiest way to explain it is in children that havent experienced PHV (Peak Height Velocity), their bones are supple, think of a young tree.  They need these supple bones in order to be able to grow!  Weight lifting with excessive loads, takes calcium out of the diet (food) and uses it to increase bone density.  So you have essentially taken this supple, growing bone, and have subjected it to hardening forces, which in turn will affect their growth patterns / capability..  Lets not even figure in what happens when that bone breaks. You will experience asymmetrical growth..  So while your kid has deadlifted double his body weight... You are thinking extremely short term and are doing things detrimental to their future as an athlete.


 In Closing:  Thanks for taking the time to read through this.. I am available for any questions and help with your journey into fitness, both via the blog, and via Facebook (shoot me a message or an add),  also make sure to check out fit fury for movement based programming!  Good Luck On Your Fitness Journey!

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Go Ruck Selection - Practical Programming to Survive The Cut

Go Ruck Selection - For the UN-initiated, here's a link
https://www.goruckchallenge.com/Events/Selection

Looking from the outside in, its like hell on earth. Where the "Tier 1" of GRT's (People who made it through a Go Ruck Challenge), see if they are really tough.

So I finish up an easy day event with Go Ruck on Saturday night, and I get involved in a conversation at the bar with one of the Special Forces Cadre that run the events, and he says to me, You really should do selection, you're a fit dude, you can do selection.

 Honestly, I wasn't sure what to say about that, I mean I'm 31 years old , I've put in my reps... I don't really care about being a Tier 1 type of individual, I abhor GRT's that puff their chest out and think they are invincible... Yes folks - on the Internet, bullets can bounce off of your persona, however its a different story in real life... You don't figure that out in 12 hours of team movement... Not even sure you do after selection either, but I can guarantee ill be closer than those hosers talking up a storm.

So why would I want to do this?  I guess its because the request came from a really good dude that I respect, (not place on a pedestal, as Rachel likes to say). So while I don't believe that bullets bounce off of my GRT Patch, I am still a competitive individual, and you know what I need some reason to do all this training for, and I do like a challenge... So challenge accepted.  Now here comes the easiest part of it... Planning out training..


First thing, before I dig into the basics of periodization.  When planning a lifting cycle, you ALWAYS have to work from the END, and move towards the FRONT..   In periodization you should be planning your conversion or transfer phases, which basically set you up for what you are doing.

First, here's a primer on periodization -

What is Periodization

If you do a rudimentary internet search of the term periodization you will find all sorts of lovely text book sounding definitions. However in plain English it is the act of planning your training out into distinct phases each with a separate short term goal (fat loss, strength, power, speed, etc). These individual phases are designed to build on the prior one to culminate in you reaching peak condition for what is commonly known as the competition phase.How you split out the phases (duration, focus, exercise selection, intensity, training volume etc) will depend on a number of things including the physical requirements of your sport, the needs of the individual athlete, and the frequency and duration of the competition season.
For example Olympic lifters might cycle their training to peak once every four years (an Olympic cycle) whilst a pro basketballer has to focus on getting ready for a new season every year.
An Olympic weight lifter also has to focus on training for an event that essentially requires them to lift once in a matter of seconds. A NBA basketballer on the other hand needs to be able to compete over 48 minutes using a combination of speed, power, strength and endurance.
It is stating the very obvious to note that different sports have different training requirements and as such a periodized approach must be tailored to address those specific needs.

Why Does Periodization Work

Periodization works because it ensures you are always taking steps forwards towards an ultimate goal. In our case, we want to jump higher. So do we build our strength with heavy weights, or maybe we should we drop body fat to make ourselves light? Maybe we should concentrate on plyos to get quick and explosive? Each of those three traits are important in developing a huge vertical jump, but each requires different sorts of training. The key is to identify which one you need to focus on first, then train for that. Once you have reached a certain level of proficiency, then you start training for the next requirement and so on.
Training this way is much better than a hotch-potched approach of weights one week, plyos another, maybe a bit of both in there somewhere.
By focusing your training on the attainment of one short term goal you will reach it much quicker. To illustrate you see people in gyms who say they want to lose fat and build muscle. Whilst this isn't impossible, they are essentially two mutually exclusive goals. Burning fat and getting lean requires calories restriction, and cardio on top of weights. Building muscle on the other hand requires calorie surplus, little to no cardio, and plenty of heavy lifting. It is easy to see why aiming for these two things at the one time is doomed to fail.
If you just focus on building muscle you will get there much quicker by just lifting heavy and eating more. Once you have the muscle you can progress to the next goal of fat loss (the extra muscle will help with that too). In the long run, you will make more consistent, more rapid and much greater gains.

Downsides to Periodization

The type of periodization we discuss here is known as Western or linear periodization. The two most common criticisms of this type of approach are that in focusing on only one athletic trait at a time the others tend to deteriorate, and also, not all athletes have the available time to spend working through all the phases.These are both valid arguments against a linear periodization approach. With regard to the loss of one athletic trait as you change phases, modern interpretations of periodization recognize the importance of certain traits and accordingly programs are designed to minimize any losses of these abilities by incorporating continued maintenance work during the other phases.
For example, an athlete trying to improve their vertical jump having high levels of strength is important as it is the base for their muscular power. Consequently even in the later phases of the program they are advised to continue some heavy lifting in order to maintain the gains they made earlier.
The criticism of time constraints is also valid. To a certain extent this can also be mitigated by shortening the duration of the less directly beneficial phases to allow for more prioritizing of the important ones. For example, if you are already an experienced lifter with decent muscular size and aren't carrying any serious injuries or imbalances, you probably do not need to spend too much time in either the adaptation or hypertrophy phases.

Who Should Use Periodization

This type of planned out training methodology isn't necessarily for everyone but there are two groups of athletes we feel can benefit greatly from this kind of approach. These are people who are new to weight training, or who have the luxury of longer periods of time can benefit the most from taking a linear periodized approach.For our money the main benefits that it provides are in the way it progresses from phase to phase.
This foundation will not only help you minimize injuries, but also helps you to learn the correct techniques of the various lifts, helps you set baselines from which you can improve, and also helps you progressively adapt to the ever increasing demands of the training.
For more advanced athletes, or those with time constraints there is another popular periodization technique known as the conjugate method. This system is preferred by the world class powerlifters at Westside Barbell and many Eastern European countries. This involves mixing and matching exercises, loads, rest, tempo etc in order to train more than one strength trait at a time whilst also avoiding burnout.
It is also a great way to organize your training, but like everything, is too complex to discuss in a paragraph or two. As such we will discuss the conjugate method in much more detail in a future article.

Phase 1: Anatomical Adaptation

The goal of this first phase of periodization is to prepare the athlete for the future demands of their more focused training. During this phase you would work on your flexibility and co-ordination, rectifying any muscle and strength imbalance concerns between agonist and antagonist muscle groups, aerobic and anaerobic work capacity, strengthening ligaments and tendons, and also in the treatment and recovery of any injuries the athlete currently has. The idea is to expose the athlete to a wide variety of exercises in order to have them functioning efficiently. This often takes the form of circuit training or a series of full body workouts.
The length of this phase will depend on a variety of factors including how long you have to devote to your total program, your level of experience in strength training, the level of importance of strength in your sport or activity, and your starting levels of general fitness.

Phase 2: Hypertrophy

The Hypertrophy phase of periodization is as the names suggests designed to increase muscle size and strength. In theory bigger muscles are stronger muscles. The reality is that bigger muscles have the potential to be stronger muscles. This is what we are aiming for here. To build muscle so that you have greater potential to gain strength in the next phase. The training in this phase consists of weights with loads of approximately 65-85% of your 1RM for 6-15 reps per set. Rest periods are generally shorter at around 60 - 90 seconds between sets.
Once again the duration of this phase will depend on the experience of the athlete and the importance of strength for the activity.

Phase 3; Maximum Strength

The goal of this phase of a periodized program is once again self explanatory - build maximum strength. This is obviously very important as power is a product of both your maximum strength and the speed at which you can apply it.Strength is built by working with higher percentages of your 1RM (85-100%) for lower rep numbers (1-5), with several minutes rest between sets. Usually maximum strength training involves less number of exercises, instead focusing on the key maximum load capable lifts such as squats, deadlifts etc. The duration of this phase, as with them all will depend on the athlete and the demands of their sport.

Phase 4: Conversion

Now we are starting to get to the good stuff. This is where you start turning some of that brute strength you have developed into explosive power. You will however need to try and maintain your strength levels during this phase or your total power output may decline. That's the bad news. The good news is that it is significantly easier to maintain your strength than it is to improve it. For an athlete trying to convert strength to power such as a vertical jumper, this phase will generally last 4-5 weeks. It will be made up of plyometrics and ballistic weighted exercises such as jump squats (which don't necessarily have to be weighted but for stronger athletes it is advised), medicine ball throws, kettlebell swings, etc. For the speed component of this phase loads will be much lighter, if any, with the focus more on improving rate of force development and contraction times.

Phase 5: Competition and Transition

The competition phase of periodization is more commonly known as being in-season. The goal here is to try and maintain your strength throughout the season so as to minimize de-training. Often the sport itself provides enough stimulus to maintain the speed element of your power levels. For example a volleyballer in season will be doing plenty of jumping as they play their games. Any extra plyometric work for example could possibly over-tax the CNS and the bodies ability to recover. The transition element of this phase occurs right after the season finishes. This period is used to just recover physically and mentally from the competition. Here you treat any injuries and just take a total break to refresh your body and mind. The longer the competitive season the longer you would require to recover. That said, an athlete doesn't want to rest totally for too long or they again risk de-training.


Now programming back to front... The most important part is Phase 4 - Conversion... This is what im programming for... Now from Tudor Bompa's, Mike Barwis's, and Mike Boyles' perspective, there are 5-6 different types of conversion. Each type of conversion is sport specific... Basically planning on the demands of the sport.

Here's what I believe the "demands of the sport" for GR Selection are:


Out of a 100% conversion rate

Power - 20% (being able to stabilize and move loads quickly at the onset (PST))

Power Endurance - 50% (being able to take a sustained load for a long period of time with quick bursts of power)

Muscular Endurance - 30% (being able to move in general for several days, without sleep)

There you have it... The End result, as I see it.... Planning backwards, this works for muscular development ONLY.   Bio energetic Systems  & Nutrition Planning are a whole other issue of planning. That I will get into in a follow up post.

Stay tuned, due to unfavorable weather conditions, I should be able to start posting my workout plan's both from a strength and bio energetic area. Some of these workouts will be planned with help from military athlete, tactical athlete, SOF Wods, Seal Grinder PT.

The planned workload will be 3 days/week Prime Mover lift, 4 days/week Crossfit Style energy systems workouts, with one or two of them being at Iron Cross Athletics in phoenixville...

Completing the Bioenergetic Chain - Flushing the system

Hey Folks - Sorry for the lack of updates lately, quite a few things going on. - I'm heading out to Athletes' Performance in Arizona over the week of 3/18 to 3/23 for a truly exciting session. I will basically have a battery of training information fired at me during the day, and spend the evening and night training with pro athletes (NFL/MLS).

 So I've had some required reading to do (Neuroscience 3rd Edition), along with on boarding some new athletes on my roster, several new football / basketball and track athletes have signed on board with me doing multi-day sessions (my training volume conversations with the parents have finally gotten through).

 So now I have managed to fill up 5 nights a week, along with working full time, and my marathon sunday training sessions. So bear with me as I jam in these updates as I have time.

Onto the core of the subject... My favorite Cat Lady (just kidding), posted a link to an article on social media yesterday from mobilitywod (im a huge fan of Kelly Starrett).   Instead of re-engineering the article, (as he does a great job of simplifying it), im going to post the link http://www.mobilitywod.com/2012/03/adaptation-error-no-cool-down.html    and provide some basic commentary with it.

This gets overlooked very often in both the general population realms & athletic development.  When you are doing any high intensity work, specifically working the aerobic & anaerobic systems, you absolutely need to "cool down" or as I call it "flush" the system.

The modern day passive/aggressive exerciser is under a time crunch, this I know, but you have to make time for what your body needs..  If you feel run down, or "beat" after a workout, odds are you didn't flush the system, and its your body's way of fighting back (with inflammation).

Flushing the bio energetic system is very simple, and requires about 10 minutes of your time.  My own practice I use the indoor track at my trainer refugee facility, or the Precor Adaptive Motion Trainer. Regardless of the device, its usually 10 minutes in duration, and extremely low intensity.

I know its mundane, and seems unnecessary, however in the long haul your body will thank you with less of an inflammatory response to training stimulus.. Toss your ipod on and cruise through a few songs, before you know it, its all over.

Performance Vs Poser : Where does your trainer rate??

Hi there folks! I wanted to take a moment and touch on a subject that comes across from time to time, regardless of personal or athletic training.  Is your trainer a Performance Trainer or a Poser?

Side Note: This opinion article does not apply to group exercise training classes, or pre-programmed workout solutions.

I see it all the time, in gym's I visit, amongst my own ranks,  and in the places where I workout on my own,  people posing as trainers.  The AFAA, or some other 3rd tier certifying organization gives a weekend long seminar on training (aka how not to kill or mame a client), then cuts them loose, and leaves them up to their own devices.

The general public out there unfortunately does not know how to properly identify a trainer, and they ultimately are the ones who lose in the end.  Ill give you some quick pointers on what to look for when selecting a trainer (and remember YOU have a choice).


1. What Does My Trainer Look Like?:  Before even starting a workout with a trainer (either male or female), make sure you shop around for trainers..  Look around the facility, watch them for a few days..  Do not be passive about selecting a trainer,  and look for the key things -   Are they fit? (no muffin top) - Are they Strong? (no wings flapping), - Are they what I want to look like? - The person who is providing you guidance should have "been there, done that", and know what to look for when directing a person to either a fitness or a strength based solution. (e.g: a 20 something skinny dude, most likely wont know how to address someone in their 30's and 40's from a strength and conditioning perspective)


2. Is my trainer certified?:  When interviewing a trainer, ask them, what are your certifications?  Write them down and go home and investigate them. I can tell you there are several major certifying organizations worth their salt (Their certifying tests are extremely difficult)..   NSCA (National Strength & Conditioning Association),  ACE (American Council on Exercise),  NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine),  are the top tier certification authorities for trainers out there, You can guarantee their base certification stack has at least a 4 year allied health program, followed by a year of studying.. Each of the above mentioned certification authorities have sub specialty certifications, Like Corrective Exercise Specialist, Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist, Performance Enhancement Specialist,  so on and so forth... Check your trainer's credentials, and make sure they line up with what your goals are.

3. What is my plan?:  After interviewing your trainer, and hopefully going through some sort of assessment,  challenge your trainer,  ask them. What is my plan????  My number 1 rule.  No Plan, No War.  Regardless of taking a strength or fitness route to your goal, there has to be a plan, and one that stretches out further than the next workout.  All too often, you will find Poser trainers, ad-lib-ing a workout.. You show up ready to train,  OK that machine is open, lets go do 12-15 reps there,  and then lets do some jumping jacks, then lets do TRX Chest Press, because I saw that in an article on muscle and fitness magazine,, how many reps? ummm 30 seconds worth.

There needs to be a clear & concise plan of attack.  I mean think of it in terms of a teacher. A teacher doesn't Ad-lib their curriculum, neither should your trainer..  From my perspective to address a single athlete's 8 week x 2 day a week programming, I spend close to 3 hours designing the workout(s) and having a documented, tangible plan of attack, more often I give them their workout sheets, as what I do is not a trade secret.   One other key way to make sure you are getting a well defined plan, is hang around after your session, and pedal on the bike or do something menial, watch your trainer with his/her next client... If you find them doing the same movements, reps, etc, you have a poser on your hands.

4. How does my trainer interact?:  Now you have your trainer picked out, and hopefully have a plan of attack figured out, now when you are working out, does your trainer spend more time socializing with you, then putting you through the workout? Do you find them leaning against equipment, sitting on a piece of equipment, or texting on their phone?  Your trainer should be engaged with you the entire time. I find when I train people, I don't have enough time to discuss how their previous week was, let alone anything else..  As a performance trainer, who's primary demographic is HS and Collegiate athletes, at the end of the day, im f'ing exhausted, why? because I was engaged with them the entire time... Im the first guy down the ladder, demonstrating the moves, correcting the moves, and ensuring they get the most of their experience! Your trainer should be actively engaging you, challenging you, and correcting your movements. 

In closing, finding a trainer is as complex of a process as buying a house. If you don't treat it as such, your results and overall satisfaction will suffer.  My hope is that you do find that right trainer for you, and with that the sky will be the limit, but always remember, in a gym there are more posers, than not.


Tom

Plyometrics will make you, jump , jump - why, how much, and dangers involved

Happy Sunday everybody!  Today's discussion is going to be all about plyometrics .

This is one of the larger topics I get asked questions about, and hear the most amount of casual uninformed discussion on.  Plyometrics have been around longer than the Olympic flame has been lit, however P90x (1 and 2) along with enterprising personal trainers looking to re-invent the wheel, have made it as popular as aerobics was in the 80's, and have taken it to levels that are detrimental to the long term health of the individual doing them.

Below I will go through the Science / Physiology stuff, the larger mistakes, and how to actually program plyometrics as a part of your workout cycle.



Physiology of a Plyometric Exercise

Plyometrics refers to exercise that enables a muscle to reach maximum force in the shortest possible time. The muscle is loaded with an eccentric (lengthening) action, followed immediately by a concentric (shortening) action.

How Plyometric Exercises Work
A muscle that is stretched before a concentric contraction, will contract more forcefully and more rapidly. A classic example is a dip" just prior to a vertical jump. By lowering the center of gravity quickly, the muscles involved in the jump are momentarily stretched producing a more powerful movement. But why does this occur? Two models have been proposed to explain this phenomenon. The first is the
Mechanical Model
In this model, elastic energy is created in the muscles and tendons and stored as a result of a rapid stretch. This stored energy is then released when the stretch is followed immediately by a concentric muscle action. According to Hill the effect is like that of stretching a spring, which wants to return to its natural length. The spring is this case a component of the muscles and tendons called the series elastic component. The second model is the
Neurophysical Model
When a quick stretch is detected in the muscles, an involuntary, protective response occurs to prevent overstretching and injury. This response is known as the stretch reflex. The stretch reflex increases the activity in the muscles undergoing the stretch or eccentric muscle action, allowing it to act much more forcefully. The result is a powerful braking effect and the potential for a powerful concentric muscle action.
If the concentric muscle action does not occur immediately after the pre-stretch, the potential energy produced by the stretch reflex response is lost. (i.e. if there is a delay between dipping down and then jumping up, the effect of the counter-dip is lost).
It is thought that both the mechanical model (series elastic component) and the neurophysical model (stretch reflex) increase the rate of force production during plyometrics exercises.

The Stretch-Shortening Cycle
All plyometric movements involve three phases. The first phase is the pre-stretch or eccentric muscle action. Here, elastic energy is generated and stored.
The second phase is the time between the end of the pre-stretch and the start of the concentric muscle action. This brief transition period from stretching to contracting is known as the amortization phase. The shorter this phase is, the more powerful the subsequent muscle contraction will be.
The third and final phase is the actual muscle contraction. In practice, this is the movement the athlete desires the powerful jump or throw.
This sequence of three phases is called the stretch-shortening cycle. In fact, plyometrics could also be called stretch-shortening cycle exercises.

Un-informed Exerciser / Trainer Problem Number 1:  Skipping the prerequisites

Plyometric training shouldn’t be done in isolation, but as part of a complete training program that includes strength training.  You don’t need to be able to squat a certain amount, but you do need to have a basic level of strength.     Athletes will be better prepared by focusing on functional single leg strength rather than overemphasizing their maximum squat strength.

Also, before doing medium and high intensity plyometrics, the athlete must have proper landing mechanics.  If the knees cave inward when landing, more strength is needed.

Any athlete can begin with low intensity plyometric exercises but medium and high intensity plyos should not be done until the prereqs are satisfied.


Un-informed Exerciser / Trainer Problem Number 2:  Too much volume

The volume of plyometric exercises that should be done first depends on the intensity of the exercise.  Low intensity plyos such as jumping rope, and warm up type plyos (like butt kicks and high knees) can be done in high volume.  The volume of moderate and high intensity plyometrics, however, must be monitored carefully to avoid too much stress on the joints and ligaments.

The general way to measure volume in a plyometric program is by ground contacts (how many times you land).  Even elite athletes do not exceed 140 ground contacts of medium / high intensity plyos per session.  1 Ground Contact = each time the foot takes off the ground, and lands.. So a box jump per "repetition" equals 2 Ground Contacts (1 on the box, 1 back on the ground)
The exact volume of ground contacts will depend on your training age (how often, how much, and how recently you’ve done plyometric work in the past) and the intensity of the plyometric exercises.


Un-informed Exerciser / Trainer Problem Number 3:  Improper progression

Doing high intensity plyometrics before adapting to low and medium level plyometrics increases your risk of injury. Though a program may prescribe doing certain exercises for a certain number of weeks, the athlete should not progress to more complicated or intense exercises until the basics have been mastered.   Any other strategy is asking for injury. Athletes should be able to perform every exercises and reps with maximum intensity, good form, and body control.

So How do I add plyometrics into my workout cycle?
First and foremost, they should be at the front end of your workout, typically one of the first items right out of the gate, after you are warmed up.. If you are training for performance, you want the energy systems to be able to handle the workload... If you are training just to burn calories, then insert it anywhere in your traditional strength / trx  workouts.   Below are the tenets to follow and some examples of good plyometric exercises.


Guidelines for Progression:

Adapt to landing before doing multiple response jumping drills
Double leg landings are less intense than single leg landings
Single response drills (one jump and one landing) are less intense than multiple response (several jumps with minimal ground contact time) drills


Examples of low intensity plyos
jumping rope
common warm up exercises (high knees, butt kicks, etc)
some that may be new:  prancing (looks funny but works on “popping” the hips), galloping

Examples of medium intensity plyos
double leg:  squat jumps, box jumps, broad jump
single leg:   lateral jump and stick, scissor jumps

Examples of high intensity plyos
double leg:  depth jumps, double scissor, mutiple squat jumps
single leg:  bounding, multiple single leg hops

Final Thoughts

Many athletes don’t do any plyometrics for fear of injury. However, because sports ultimately involve jumping, plyometric training is an important part of a training program to decrease injury risk by allowing your body to adapt to the jumping and landing demands the sport entails before the season begins.

The idea here is not to say don't do plyometrics,  but rather to do them correctly! If you are hesitant to add plyometrics to your training, start by adding low intensity plyometrics to your warm up routine.    Progress to a low volume of a few medium intensity plyometric exercises.

As always comment questions you may have!

Thanks as always & as my friend Randy says, Stay Fit my Friends!

Feels Like The First Time! - Programming for Bioenergetic Conditioning

Good Afternoon Folks! - The title of today's post happens to be from one of my favorite bands. "Journey". It best expresses the content I am planning to deliver today, simply because when you actually get your workout timed correctly down to the second, in specific energy systems, with appropriate rest periods, it will feel like the first time.... you've ever worked out.

In my previous post about Bio-energetic conditioning, I discussed the main systems (aerobic and anaerobic), along with a 10000 foot view of the subsystems...  Today, I am going to dive into each subsystem.. Apply a little science, and then tell you how to actually address each system.


As I had mentioned previously, we have 3 overhead energy systems.  

1. Phosphagen
2. Glycolytic
3. Oxidative

ALL energy systems are active at anytime, regardless of being under workload, or at rest. There is no OFF switch for an energy system, your body elects which energy system to use dependant on the duration of the workload.


Phosphagen System:  
         The primary function of the phosphagen system is to provide ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) high intensity activities usually lasting in duration from 0-6 seconds, but can remain for as long as 20 seconds.

It is active at the start of all exercise, regardless of intensity.


Glycolytic System:
          The primary function of the Glycolytic System is carbohydrate (CHO) breakdown to produce ATP in the cytoplasm (sarcoplasm of a muscle cell)

Provides energy primarily for moderate to high intensity activities: for 30 seconds up to 2-3 minutes of activity in a hypoxic (low oxygen) cellular environment.

Through a series of reactions, creates an energy pyruvate (glycolysis) which may proceed in 1 of 2 directions.

A: Fast glycolysis (anaerobic glycolysis): pyruvate is reduced to lactic acid, providing ATP at a fast rate
B: Slow glycolysis (aerobic glycolysis): pyruvate is transported to the mitochondria (to the Krebs Cycle) for use in the oxidative system


Oxidative System:
          The primary function of the oxidative system is to provide ATP for activities ranging longer than 3 minutes.

Think of it as the garbage disposal in your sink. It does not discriminate on where its energy sources come from. It consumes carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.

For individuals with larger fat stores, the oxidative system prefers to utilize fat(s) in its reaction phase, rather than protein(s) stored within the muscle.. For leaner athletes the oxidative system will consume protein from within the muscle.


Energy Production & Training:
          There is an inverse relationship between the rate and the capacity of the phosphagen, glycolytic, and oxidative systems to supply ATP.

The extent to which the energy systems contribute to the energy being produced is primarily determined by the intensity and secondarily by the duration of the exercise.

In order to become better conditioned, we need to stress each of these systems, several times a week. This will make the systems become stronger, and more readily available to adapt and change to your needs.

Below are a few tables I put together, detailing the Time / Intensity relationship with each energy system, and the guidelines for time under work,  work/rest ratio and intensity to train each energy system.

Conclusion:  We've taken a deep dive into energy production.  From an exercise perspective, there is no silver bullet for this when programming..  You can program any type of exercise within the duration of the work cycles recommended above..   Using the Work : Rest Ratios, make sure you build upon each energy system by increasing the number of work cycles within a specific area every time you program this into your workouts.

In a follow up post, I will give you a multi-week conditioning cycle that I use when training athletes.. This will give you guidance on how to build or taper your conditioning.

Hope this was helpful, and feel free to ask any questions in the comments tab!

T

Traps Ahoy!

Hello there.  Today's post title has been burned in my head since the time this actually had occurred last night. The actual statement is courtesy of s*** that people say when exercising...

Last night, 1/2 way to 3/4 of the way complete my Friday night lift (because what else do people do on a Friday night?). My gaze wanders over to the shoulder press rack, where I find a pair of people (1 male, 1 Female), working out.  Instinctively, my training form radar has a blip on it..  I'm watching two out of shape people, perform the shoulder press, with an range of motion that you can measure on a ruler. That's right, 12" or less, which for something(s) can be appreciated, however range of motion in an exercise is not one of them.   So watching the show, consumes all my attention, and I find some time in there to perform a correctly executed lift myself.

A few minutes later, our dynamic duo, transitions from the shoulder press rack, to a bench. where the same exercise, range of motion and all, is executed with dumbbells.  Then, to top it off,  somewhere in between listening to me doing a dumbbell set, and making noises that would probably set off the effort, lunk alarm at planet fitness, (intensity has a price), I hear the before mentioned duo discussing about how the only muscle that they actually feel getting stronger (IE. Sore) is their traps.

Come on..... your traps?  Well lets take a look at the mechanics of it. If you lift a bar off at full overhead extension, then lower it 12" or less, do you think that any other muscle would actually get used?..  At this point in time, I'm internalizing both a scowl, and a laugh.  My only comment to the root of the issue is, when there's smoke (pain) there is fire (damage).  Every injury is a mistake in your training program, every time you come in and say my traps are sore! You have to take accountability that you did something wrong.. Is what I am doing appropriate for me?

I could get so much further into this, but ill leave it at surface level for the moment.  Just remember folks..

Do NO harm, and be as aggressive as possible while doing no harm.

Exercise Telemetry - Your Results Speedometer

In a previous post - I discuss energy systems, give them definition, and meaning. Soon ill begin to talk about how to actually increase each energy system, however I need to discuss one thing prior to doing so.

Exercise Telemetry -  Ever try driving a car without a working speedometer?  Try covering it up sometime. You will find that your sensory experience increases.. You will try to "feel the road" , "listen to the engine rpms", "visualize your rate of travel in comparison to other cars", so on and so forth.   This will work, it will get you from Point A to Point B, but not in the safest, or most time efficient manner.

The same goes for exercising without any telemetry. Doing your lunges, box jumps, squats, bench press.  You will see, hear and feel things. You will get results, but are you doing them in the safest and most time efficient manner?
A few years ago, I used to road race motorcycles in the CCS & WERA leagues, and telemetry was everything. It would make, or break you..  Below are a few images from the cockpit of my A Series Race Bike.

In the first photo you can see that I have black duct tape over allot of the gauges. This is extremely important when racing.  Ideally if you have TOO MUCH telemetry in front of you, you become over-whelmed with data, and don't make effective decisions. As you can see what I needed in front of me at the time was my RPM's from 9500 to 17500 (where all my power is generated from), and I needed data from the tower,  Lap Times, Track Temperature (that was one HOT may day), and not displayed was my engine temperature in the display on the upper right hand side. This gave me all the data I need to make an accurate decision on either hitting the throttle, or slowing it down.

Lets bring this back to the exercise world..  When you are on your elliptical or treadmill, and you see all that data, Mets, HR, Incline, Pace, Watts, etc.   How much does that all mean to you? Do you change your workout as a result of it?

What we have here is an exercise world filled with either too little, or too much telemetry, and as a result, you the exerciser suffers.    Well there is a solution.

Stick with the one metric that you know best.. Your heart rate..  When I sit down with someone and discuss their track forward in fitness, one of the first things I mention is purchasing a heart rate monitor, and with most things in life, the more you spend on it, the better of an item you get..

Personally I own a Polar FT80 monitor. It gives me both real time views on my watch, and also lets me download my data and analyze it later via Polar Personal Trainer (Free Web Service for Polar Monitor owners that have the flow link device)

I have a friend who owns the Polar RCX5 monitor .  Yet another solid monitor with both real time, and down loadable data functions.  

There are many different models out there, with lots of gadgets and gizmo's to attach (Cadence Sensors, GPS Pods, and alike), but just remember the one metric you REALLY need to get results (heart rate).

In the image below, I'm going to give you the telemetry data from a workout I had last night... It was an assistance lift workout, so it wasn't terribly intense, however it will give you a good idea what to look at when examining heart rate guidance.

The above image is my heart rate over time, as you can see I know exactly when I am "Warmed Up" and ready to begin lift (0min-6:30min). My Heart rate climbs over time in a curve, then I let it come down and normalize, for when I begin my lift.

Looking at the data over time, each "spike" represents a specific activity I am doing. Understanding how high that spike goes lets me know how much effort I am exerting into a particular movement..  From there I can tweak reps, weight, or even form, to bring it to the desired intensity level.

Taking a look at the 45 minute mark.. You will notice a HUGE extended spike.  This particular spike was attributed to a movement called "The Shoulder - Complex".. The Shoulder - Complex is a 40 rep No rest lift that contains 8 High Pulls, 8 Clean & Jerks, 8 Jerks, 8 Clean & Jerks, 8 Bent Over Rows, all without putting the bar on the ground.. 

The spike and length of duration lets me know that hey my weight is set correctly on this, and I need to spend a few more attempts at this before I bring the weight even higher.

This graph also lets me know that some of the movements I do lack overall intensity.  I need to analyze the moves, and determine what it will take to get the desired intensity spikes.

In future posts, once I get into developing the energy systems, the heart rate guidance will come into play more frequently.

As of right now, regardless if you are a gym rookie, or warrior, get yourself a HR monitor, and let it provide you guidance to get you to your end result.

One last thing, remember folks, your ego is as accurate of a speedometer, as sticking a wet finger into the wind to determine how fast its blowing. :)

Thanks for reading :)

-T

Bioenergetic Conditioning - The Missing Link to Your Strength & Conditioning Program

I want to switch gears a moment, and discuss a topic amongst many that I feel doesn't get enough air time.

Bio energetic Conditioning:  I have friends in various sectors of the "sport" of fitness..  Some Military, Some Crossfit Metcon Monsters, Some Sport Specific, Some "Mud Run Junkies", Go Ruck Challenge mongers, so on and so forth.   All of these different angles of fitness have one thing in common.. "Bio energetic Conditioning", yet its often the most overlooked piece of the puzzle.

For Example: When you think of Cardio. you think its x amount of time at X intensity.  Or Weight Lifting is x amount of weight for X amount of reps.

There is so much more to it than that..  Of Which I will explain below.


Bio energetic Conditioning -   When a trainer develops a conditioning program there are many factors he or she must consider. Each sport and every position within that sport (including mud runs, cross fit, go ruck, co ed soccer, etc) operates primarily out of a specific bio energetic system: Oxidative, Slow Glycosis, Fast Glycosis, and the Phosphagen system.  The goal of a conditioning program must be to train an athlete to meet the specific bio energetic needs of their sport.  The trainer when developing a program, must realize that at any given point of conditioning all systems are working to create energy and oxygen.. One system MAY dominate percentage-wise but all systems are supplying oxygen at one time.  When designing a training protocol it is important to encompass all bio energetic systems that correlate to each other.

Aerobic Conditioning -   The aerobic systems (Oxidative, Slow Glycosis)  are important to train because it increases the ability of the working muscle to utilize oxygen for energy production during activities of low to medium intensity for a long period of time. Aerobic training also increases VO2 max, which allows more oxygen to be distributed to the muscles.  This is a critical component to develop because it allows the body to recover quicker in between sets of maximal exercise.  In other words it allows an athlete's speed to be able to last longer on the playing field. Training the aerobic systems sets a base for future demands of intense training, as well as increasing overall conditioning.  Some of the physiological training effects from this type of conditioning include: increased cardiac output, decreased resting heart rate, increased stroke volume (heart), increased hemoglobin saturation, increased ejection fraction, increased venous return, decreased sympathetic nervous stimulation, and the size of mitochondria.

Anaerobic Conditioning - The anaerobic systems (Fast Glycosis, Phosphagen) are important to train because it allows an athlete to maintain repeated bouts of high-intensity exercise with minimal fatigue. Training at or around the anaerobic threshold allows the body to buffer lactic acid at a quicker pace this, letting the body continue to work at a high intensity without experiencing the "burn" of activity. Once the heart rate reaches 80% of the maximum heart rate, the activity has turned anaerobic in nature. Some of the benefits of training the anaerobic systems include: increased levels of phospho-creatine,  increased levels of glyolytic enzymes, increased glycogen levels, and increased capability to withstand the buildup of lactic acid.

Program Design Considerations for HS Athletes:  These are my typical grade of client, so I'm going to speak around program design for this populous, but the reality is it works the same with "any" type of athlete.

When trying to decide how to design a training cycle to improve conditioning levels for the general population of athletes, it is important to always start out with the aerobic conditioning first. During the off-season aerobic conditioning can dominate throughout the cycle because there is no competition the athlete must peak for. Developing an aerobic base first prepares the body for the higher intensity sprints that will occur later in the training phase. The shift to anaerobic training will usually occur when the athlete is a month and a half away from competition. by the time the season begins the athlete should possess the physical qualities of the types of energy systems they will experience during their games.


In a follow up post, I will detail some specific conditioning drills you an incorporate into your workout programs, specifically addressing each bio energetic system, with defined work/rest periods, which are critical to get the intended effect as my friends on Saturday know all too well!

Thanks for reading!

Tom