Exercise of the Week: Inverted Rows

February 12, 2010 by danny · Leave a Comment

This week’s exercise of the week is the inverted row. As you’ll see in the video below, the inverted row can be done in a smith machine that you’ll find @ most commercial gyms. It’s a little weird for me recommending an exercise involving the smith machine, but in this case, it gets my thumbs-up. As long as you use the smith machine for only 2.4% percent of your lifts or less, I’m ok with it. Next, what I want you to do is to take out your calculator and add up every exercise you’ve done up to this point in 2010, and make sure that the number of smith machine exercises is less than 2.5%. If so, you’re golden, and have earned the right to view the 1st video…

The next variation of the inverted row is done with TRX straps. This is a way cooler way to do them. It has been said that using TRX straps will make women want you, and men want to be you. I’m pretty sure these were a staple in Austin Power’s training program. I use them with my clients at our gym all the time. I’m assuming most of you do not have access to TRX straps at your gym. If that is the case, you can purchase them at performbetter.com. (I’ve provided the link to the right of your computer screen) I know some people that use them in their home gym, or take them to the park on nice days to use as part of their strength training and/or metabolic training (cardio) for the day.

So there you go. Adding inverted rows to your program will help improve your posture, keep your shoulders healthy, and give you a super sculpted, ripped back! (read that last part in the voice from the guy that does those P90X advertisements)

And by the way, I was kidding about busting the calculator out. You knew that, right?!?

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NBA Dunk Contest

February 10, 2010 by danny · Leave a Comment

The NBA dunk contest is only a couple of days away. What will these athletes come up with to amaze us this year? Who knows? One thing I do know, is that over the last number of years the winners have been some strong dudes. Dwight Howard and Nate Robinson have definitely spent their fair share of time hitting the iron. And I’m sure the most impressive dunks this year will once again come from some players with muscles popping out of their bodies.

I’ve talked about this (either in writing or conversation) about 300 times now, and I’m going to bring it up again. In Eric Cressey’s book, “The Optimal Off-Season Training Manual,” he brings up a rather incredible stat; in the 2003 NFL combine there were 12 quarterbacks that jumped over 35 inches in the vertical jump test. In the 2003 NBA combine, only 1 of 76 prospects had a vertical over 35 inches, and the average was actually less than 30 inches! This just reiterates the fact that strength training plays a huge role in improving vertical jumping ability. I guarantee the football players preparing for the NFL put in some serious time in the weight room. And the majority of these NBA prospects played basketball, basketball, and more basketball. Don’t get me wrong, working on your game has to be done. But can you imagine what combining strength training with basketball skill training can do?!? How does increased jumping ability, decreased chance of injury, and a heck of a lot more And-1s, sound?

In college, when the season ended we’d go play some pick up ball and the players from the football team would often come in the gym to take us on. Now, we’d usually beat them, but let me tell you, their athleticism was crazy! Very fast, very strong, and very explosive. We’d win because we had better skill, and we knew how to play the game better. But again, mixing some of the athleticism that they displayed with the skill that we had, and we could have been a scary team. BUT, only a couple of us basketball players actually took weight training seriously. What a shame, because we got pushed around pretty good on the court during the season. And I’m sure that translated to a few extra Ls.

Anyway, back to the dunk contest. Have you ever seen a dunk contest from the old contest days? Ever notice that the majority of the competitors jumped off one foot when dunking? Nowadays the majority of dunkers are taking off on two feet. This is the influence of strength training. One-foot jumpers usually are more “springy,” meaning that they rely on the stored energy in the tendons to spring off the ground. When you see a player jumping off of two legs, that means he is “muscleing” his leap from the ground. And again, the best dunkers for awhile now have been two-feet jumpers. Weight room! This doesn’t mean a two-feet jumper cant throw down an impressive dunk when leaping off of one foot. But you’ll see the majority of his dunks coming from two feet.

Basketball players, embrace the power of weights. And everyone, enjoy the dunk contest. It makes it more interesting to watch when you take into account whether the player is jumping off of one foot or two. It will give you an idea of how the weight room may or may not have influenced the athlete at this point in his career.

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Basketball is King

February 9, 2010 by danny · Leave a Comment

Of all the professional sports played in our country, the NFL is no doubt, the most popular. It was fun seeing the Saints get their first Superbowl championship in franchise history. And how gutsy was the onside kick by Sean Payton!?! When it was happening I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. But with another NFL season in the books, it’s time to move on. Time to shift our sole focus to basketball. (my apologies to hockey fans)

We’ve got the NBA All-Star game coming up, high school post-season play is right around the corner, and before you know it, my favorite time of the year will be here…March Madness! I wish you a great off-season, football, I’ll miss you. But we have a ton of hoop talk ahead of us. So stay tuned.

For now, I’ll leave you with this video, with a lot more video to come. Especially once I find my video camera charger. Doh!

Go to the 3:56 mark and you’ll see my favorite pass in the video, from Joe Dumars. Nevermind that it was against the Bulls. I’m assuming it was an exhibition game, because those Bulls would never allow that to happen in a real game. Anyway, check out the pass, and I look forward to more basketball talk with you real soon…

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Tools in your Training Toolbox

February 5, 2010 by danny · Leave a Comment

What’s the best piece of equipment for fat loss? Is it kettlebells? Maybe dumbbells? Neither, body weight exercises are the best choice, right? But if your goal is to get HYOOGE, then you better go with barbells. No doubt about it! Actually, this line of thinking is just plain dumb! Why limit yourself to only one of the above?

It really annoys me when someone says that they don’t use dumbbells because kettlebells are better. Or I may hear, I don’t lift weights, because I LOVE TRX training. “It’s way better than traditional weight training,” they may say. I once heard trainer extraordinaire, Alwyn Cosgrove say; (I’m paraphrasing) “I’m not a swiss ball guy. I’m not a dumbbell guy. I’m not a kettlebell guy. I’m an everything guy.” I couldn’t agree more. When it comes down to it, different pieces of equipment are just tools for you to use, to help you get to your goals. So why become a, “TRX guy” (or girl:) and limit yourself? I prefer to have a much bigger toolbox to choose from.

Most of us don’t close our minds this much in other aspects of our life. At least I hope not. You’ll never hear me say that I’m a “He-Man Guy,” therefore I can’t watch Transformers. I want need to get my Grimlock fix just as much as I need my Ram-Man fix. Call me selfish, see if I care.

It doesn’t matter if I’m training my clients for fat loss, hypertrophy, or increased power. One time or another they’ll be getting a taste of kettlebells, barbells, dumbbells, TRX straps, swiss balls… and the list goes on. I simply work these tools into their program where I see appropriate. I hope you all are doing the same thing, and NOT limiting your options en route to your goals.

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Exercise of the Week

February 3, 2010 by danny · Leave a Comment

I’ll try to do my best to bring you a new exercise as much as possible. Each exercise will be one that I’m a big fan of, for one reason or another. Don’t worry I won’t leave you hanging. I’ll give you the reason(s) why I like the particular exercise. Maybe the exercise that I go over is not new to YOU. Maybe you’ve been dominating this exercise since the last time the Cubs won the World Series. (man that would make you REALLY old) I don’t mean to burst your bubble, but even if this exercise is not new to you, there are some people out there that I’m sure will get something out of this… you selfish son of a beehive! The first exercise in this series is, “McLarty Rollouts.”

I’m so important that people are naming exercises after me. No, no, I know I’m not really that special. (although, try telling my mom that, I dare you) One day a few years back I was foam rolling my shins. In the process I felt my abs working like crazy. So I thought hey, maybe I’ll just make this into a core exercise. I had my clients try it and pretty much each one of them came back to our next session will some very sore abs. One lady told me that I need to name them after myself since I “invented” this exercise. I’m sure some of the guys from the ancient Mayan culture were doing these with a log below their shins way back in the day to impress the ladies. But to my knowledge, I haven’t seen these pop up on internet or in any gyms I’ve visited. So I’m claiming them. And, my client told me I should, so there!

I know a function of the abdominals is to perform trunk flexion. But performing countless reps of crunches/sit-ups will just feed into the imbalances that we create with a little something called, life. You know, we sit in flexion (rounded shoulders) all day; in front of our computers, driving to and from work, watching tv…you get the point. There are many coaches/trainers out there that believe the main role of the abs is to resist trunk extension, and resist rotation. In other words, much of your abdominal training should be done with the purpose of improving stability. And McLarty Rollouts fits the bill nicely here. They are very similar to ab-wheel rollouts, and will provide you a little extra variety in your core training. I have many of my beginner clients starting with simple (maybe not simple for some) planks, and then progressing up to more challenging movements like McLarty Rollouts.

When doing these, make sure to keep your glutes and abs tight. Brace your core as if you are getting ready to take a punch to the stomach. Start with the roller down by your ankles and roll it up towards your knees. As the roller gets closer to your knees, the movement gets significantly harder. I either perform these for reps. Usually 10-12. Or for time. When doing them for time, I tell my clients, “make these as difficult as possible, without overloading your back, for 30 seconds. If you can get 31 seconds then you didn’t make them difficult enough. (i.e. you spent too much of your 30 seconds with the roller near your ankles, and not enough time with the roller higher up, near your knees)

So, work within your level, and give McLarty Rollouts a try. You may be extremely sore for the next day or two, but it will be well worth it! One more note; the baby-making music you hear in the video, has been shown to make this exercise 12.87% less effective. So be sure to pick a more hardcore song to train to!

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Behaviors and Goals

February 1, 2010 by danny · Leave a Comment

A few years back I attended a great seminar. One of the presenters was Dan John. His talked centered around making sure your behaviors match your goals. This really stuck with me. After my clients set their goals, I always wait a week and ask them; “are your behaviors matching your goals?” If the answer is no, then it’s time to make a change. We have two options here. They can either change their behaviors, or change their goals. In the end, they must match. In other words, lets say I have a client that tells me she wants to lose 12 lbs. in the next two months. But she isn’t willing to give up Friday night pizza night, is going to continue to have two nights every week that she goes out drinking alcohol with her girlfriends, and is only going to perform 1 day of cardio per week. As you can see, her behaviors and goals do not match. I’d then have this conversation with her; “if those are going to be your behaviors, what can we expect to see in terms of results?” Lets say that we come to the conclusion that with her current training program, and clean eating most of the week, (except for pizza night and the drinking nights), and only one day

Very Strict Behaviors!

of cardio per week, she can achieve 2 lbs. of weight loss per month. Even know the end result is not as impressive, we now have behaviors and goals that match.

If she determines that 2 lbs. per month is not going to make her happy, then it’s time to revisit the behaviors. I may tell her; “in order to reach your goal of 12 lbs. lost in 2 months, you’ll need to get in 3 weight training sessions per week, 3 -4 cardio sessions per week, and you are only allowed 1 cheat meal all week long.” If she commits to these behaviors, then the 12 lb. weight loss in 2 months is possible. Once again, her behaviors and goals match.

So when you set your goals, make sure your behaviors match. If you are not willing to commit to strict behaviors, make sure your goals are less aggressive. If you are completely committed to greatly improving your health and physique, then go ahead and set your goals high. Only you can determine what you really want, and what you are willing to give up.

Speaking of goals, I’m sure many of you recently made your new year’s resolution. If you did not write them down and put them in a place that you see everyday, make sure you do so. My wife and I printed out ours and taped them on the bathroom mirror in our bedroom. But just writing down your goals isn’t enough. Make sure you write down 3-4 behaviors that will get you to your goals.

Get those behaviors and goals to match, and go achieve the physique of your dreams!

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Overrated and Underrated Exercises

January 28, 2010 by danny · Leave a Comment

There are an unlimited amount of exercises that we can do. But not all exercises are created equal. For the most part I’m a believer that there are no bad exercises. Rather, there are bad applications of an exercise. The exercise should be performed with correct form. In other words, if a person lets the weight of his/her feet shift to the toes when squatting, rather than

Rack Pulls

keeping the weight back on the heels, then that is the lifters fault when his knees start to hurt. Not the fault of the squat. Another example would be a person doing a deadlift from the floor when they lack sufficient hip mobility to get in proper position to execute the lift properly. In this case, a rack pull (a deadlift from the pins in a squat rack, where the pins are set at about knee height) would be the appropiate choice. Since I don’t have the opportunity to properly assess each and everyone of you reading this, when I go over this brief list of exercises, I’ll assume you are healthy enough to perform the lift properly.

When I say, “Overrated/Underrated,” here is what I am talking about; this is my opinion based on what I see the typical trainee doing in the gym; what they prioritize; what they omit from their training sessions; etc. Just because I give one of the following exercises a grade of, “underrated,” it doesn’t mean that I don’t like or use the exercise for myself or with my clients. I think Michael Jordan is the greatest basketaball player of all time. BUT, if the general public was to make this statement; “You give me Michael Jordan with 4 guys off the street and I’d take Jordan’s team in 6 games over the 1986 Celtics.” Well, IF that was the thinking of the majority of people, then I’d have to say that Michael Jordan is overrated!

Ok, with that said, lets get to some of the exercises.

Biceps Curl

This is an exercise that most guys just can’t get enough of. Curls for the girls baby, yeah! Well excuse me Mr. Curl Guy, do you know what a chin up is? How about the deadlift? Ever heard of bulgarian split squats? Don’t get me wrong, I like curls. And I definitely think that when it comes to fully developing your biceps, you need to directly work them. But when I see guys doing set after set after set of curls, instead of some of the aformentioned lifts, it makes me wanna puke. (back in March of ‘08 I saw a guy perform 23 sets of biceps curls in one workout and it actually made me blow chunks all over the shoes of the guy right next to me that was performing tricep kickbacks while talking on his cell phone***)

Conclusion: Curls get a BIG fat OVERRATED!

Rows

I don’t care whether we are talking about cable rows, dumbbell rows, or TRX rows. Your call. Ok, lets talk about the boring row. Not quite as fun as bench pressing. Plus, you can’t even see your back muscles in the mirror when you performing the row. Double-boring! Definitely heading towards the side of overrated, right? Not so fast. In today’s society we sit WAY too much. We sit at work. We sit in our cars everyday. We sit at home when watching South Park. And you, yeah you, you’re sitting right now as you read this. All of these hours of sitting day-in-day-out, leads to poor posture – shoulders slumped forward which quite often leads to shoulder pain/injuries. Plus, all of that chest work that you are doing doesn’t look as good when slumped forward. To help this do more rows, way more rows. Believe me, in the long run you’ll have healthier shoulders, and an improved looking physique as better posture will make your chest look better as well.

Conclusion: No doubt about it, rows are UNDERRATED!

Alright, there you have it for this addition of overrated/underrated. Hopefully if your nickname is Mr. Curl, you’ll see the light and reduce the volume just a bit on all those curls. I’d rather call you Row Guy anyway. Afterall, chicks just can’t get enough of guys that perform rows.

***Now that I think of it, did I puke because of seeing that guy spend 37 minutes doing nothing but curls? Or was it the combo of tricep kickbacks and the cell phone? Can’t remember.

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