Exercise of the Week – Barbell Rollouts… Plus Some Thoughts On Training the “Abs”
December 12, 2012 by danny · 2 Comments
First of all, sorry that I haven’t posted in awhile. We’ve been of the process of packing up boxes and moving into a new house. As you know, moving is not easy! I’ve moved too many times in my life, and I’m hoping this will be my last house ever!
We’re very excited to call this place home… beautiful house, and a great location! It’s only a couple blocks from where I work; only a couple blocks away from a bunch of restaurants/bars; and only a couple blocks away from the Rockton pool… the same pool my brothers, sister, and our friends used to hang out at as kids. So I’m very happy to be raising my babies here!!!
Our New House!
Moving on to the exercise of the week…
Barbell Rollouts
Barbell rollouts can be classified as an “anti-extension” exercise. When performed properly, they do a great job of working the “anterior core,” (rectus abdominis). One of the keys with this exercise (as is the case with any exercise), is knowing the progressions and regressions. In the video below, you’ll see me performing a barbell rollout with a weighted vest, to make it extra challenging. This is a tough progression and I would never start a new client off with this variation. Exercises like planks need to be mastered before moving up to this variation…
Once a trainee is able to get in proper plank position, the first variation of rollouts that I’ll teach is usually the kneeling stability ball rollout as Eric Cressey talks about in this video…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Gg4o745td04
I don’t know why I can’t embed this video!?! Computers – 2,766 vs Me – ZERO… they’re undefeated against me. Anyway, just click on the above link to check out stability ball rollouts and their tougher variation, ab wheel rollouts.
Below, you’ll see another anti-extension variation, TRX Fallouts…
To make this one more difficult, just walk your feet lower and extend your arms further out.
Now, if you’ve never tried any of these rollout/fallout variations, be prepared for some extreme ab soreness the next day or two. I recommend staying away from funny people for at least 48 hours following a rollout/fallout session, as laughing will kill your abs! 
“Abs Are Made In The Kitchen”
That is a common quote you’ll hear when people talk about how to get better looking abs. While I think it’s mostly true, I don’t think it’s completely true. Mostly true in this sense: it doesn’t matter how strong you get your core, or how often you work your core, if you have a big layer of fat covering it, it will not look any better no matter how many crunches, rollouts, planks, knee raises, etc that you do. So nutrition IS a key component to getting sexy abs.
NOT completely true in this sense: IF you are lean enough, working your core with some of the previously mentioned exercises will help develop a better looking “six-pack.” But again, ONLY if you are lean enough.
Bottom Line: Core work can help strengthen the core and help build a “bullet proof” back (if done properly), which is great! But will not do much, if anything, from an appearance perspective if you don’t use NUTRITION, weight training, and cardio to drop body fat.
How often do you “directly” work your core? If you have performed rollout/fallout variations, which is your favorite?
My Leg & Ab Training Session from Yesterday…
May 19, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
I thought I’d share with you my leg and ab workout from yesterday. If you read my blogpost from last week, you’ll recall that I am generally not a big fan of random workouts. But due to the fact that our babies are due any day now, and I never thought we’d make it this far (today is exactly 37 weeks, which means full term!), I didn’t get into a new training block as I figured it would get cut off 1/2 way in. I thought I’d be in the hospital for daysssss by now. So, here yesterday’s “random” leg/ab workout…
A) Hip Thrusts – 3 X 8-10
B) Walking Lunges – 3 X 10-12/leg
C1) 1-Leg RDLs – 3 X 10/leg
C2) Foam Roller Supine Torso Holds – 2 X 30 seconds & Dragon Flys – 1 X 10
D) Jump Circuit consisting of 10 Jump Lunges (total – 5/leg), 10 Jump Squats, 10 Reverse Lunges (total), and 30 squats … quads were ON FIRE!
Overall, the volume is pretty low. I have kept it this way because of the increased chances of extreme soreness when you do random workouts (again, a big reason I’m not a fan of random workouts). For the last 5-6 lower body (or full body) workouts I have done a squat (usually back squats) and/or a deadlift variation (usually trap bar deadlifts). So I thought I’d take a little break from those on this day. I captured one of each of the above exercises on film (except for the dragon fly), so here you go…
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… and today my ass and hamstrings are killing me! Damn it! 
My Current Training Program
June 22, 2010 by danny · Leave a Comment
I thought I’d share my current training program with you today. First of all, here are my goals and a little bit about me;
That’s me from last year’s 4th of July parade. Ok, moving along to more about me…
-It’s summer time so my #1 goal is to look lean and muscular while at the pool.
-With that said, I certainly do not want to become weaker and lose my muscle mass.
-My training (in the weight room) doesn’t change a whole lot (definitely some) while in a “cutting phase.” The main difference for me is to simply add a little more cardio, and to decrease my cals a bit.
-I don’t think it is real smart to do a “specialization” program (like trying to bring up your delts) when calories aren’t as high. I’ll save that for fall and the rest of the non-summer months.
I wouldn’t train the *majority* of my clients this way, (and there would definitely be some modifications if I were training one of my athletes – whose main goal is obviously sports performance) but since I am one of the “lucky” ones, my training doesn’t need to change much in order to lose fat. I put lucky in quotations because I really don’t consider it too lucky that it is fairly easy for me to get a 6-pack. Yes, that part is cool. But believe me, it is not fun to have to eat 42,000 cals by noon every day just to maintain weight. I have to eat 42,000 cals plus eat a camel just to see the scale go up an ounce. All that chewing (and drinking shakes) gets real old, real fast. Alright, with the news and notes out of the way, let’s get to it.
Training Program
Day 1 (this happens to fall on a Monday in this current training block)
A1) Incline DB Press, BB Incline Press - 4 X 8-10 and 1 set of AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible) with 135 lbs for the barbell press ***
A2) DB Hammer Curls, Upper 1/2 Chins - 3 X 8-10 and then 1 set of AMRAP of upper 1/2 chins (hang from the bar @ 90 degrees and pull myself up to the bar – keep that range of motion (ROM) the entire time. ***
B1) Lateral Raise, Standing DB Shoulder Press – 3 X 12 and on the last set go right into standing shoulder presses for a set of 10 (this is known as the pre-fatigue method).
B2) X-Pulls (a back exercise) 3 X 10
B3) Quadruped Hip Extension (seen below) for 1 X 15-20/leg and 1-Leg Hip Thrust for 1 X 10-15/leg
Notes *** On weeks 2 and 3 I add a set of Incline DB Presses (so 5 X 8-10) and a set of DB Hammer Curls (so 4 X 8-10). Week 4, go back to the same volume as in week 1. This is mainly an upper body day, but I incorporate some glute work in there because it is always good to remind those glutes how to fire efficiently which will help reduce the chance of hamstring and low back problems (as well as help performance in sports). Even know tomorrow is a leg day, I don’t think a couple body weight lower body exercises will impede tomorrow’s workout. Today was higher volume, and as you’ll see, Thursday’s upper body day will be heavier, lower rep training.
Day 2 (falls on a Tuesday)
A1) Trap Bar Deadlift (seen below) – pick a weight that is a 4-6 rep max (RM) and do as many sets as it takes until I hit 15 reps (yes, this is Chad Waterbury-esque) ***
A2) Fillers – anything that is a low level activation drill and/or some extra mobility work (basically to stay productive instead of just sitting there on my butt waiting for the next set to begin)
B1) BB Bulgarian Split Squat (seen below) (lower 1/3 for 3 “mini-reps” then all the way up = 1 rep) – 3 X 5 ***
B2) Swiss Ball Leg Curl – 3 X 10/Leg
B3) RKC Plank – 1 X 30 seconds, Hanging Knee Raises – 1 X 10 to 15
Notes*** On week’s 2 & 3 I go until I hit 20 reps on the deads, and I perform 4 sets on the bulgarian split squats. Week 4 is back to the same volume as week 1. This is my lower rep leg day and day 4 will be be my higher rep leg day.
Alright, I’ll stop here before this thing gets too long. Be sure to check back in later this week to see what days 3 & 4 look like. I know it’s going to be hard to wait, but please, try not to lose any sleep over it.
Exercise of the Week
April 12, 2010 by danny · Leave a Comment
The exercise of the week is the chin-up. The chin-up is a great compound movement that works many muscles simultaneously. The latissimus dorsi is the prime mover. But other muscles of the back also come into play – the rhomboids, teres major, lower traps, etc. The biceps get a good amount of work with chins as well. Also, whenever I go a couple training blocks without doing chin-ups, my first day back at them, my abs get very sore the next day – especially when adding a lot of weight and going with lower reps. This happens because our abdominals fire like crazy to help stabilize us. As you can see, chin-ups (and pull-ups, which are done with the palms facing away from the body) are a BIG bang for-your-buck movement!
Proper Form
Start each rep from the full hang position. To initiate the movement activate the lats and picture pulling with your elbows (this helps you to pull with the proper muscles). Keep your chest high, and shoulder blades down and back. I tell me clients to, “go get the bar with your chest.” In other words, if the chest leads the way up, it will help you keep your shoulder blades down and back. As soon as you lose range of motion (you can’t get your chin above the bar), or you start shrugging your traps, stop the set. Make sure you do NOT look up and hyper-extend your neck up over the bar. You cheater you! Keep your head/neck neutral throughout (look straight forward).
The first video is a video of me doing chins with weight added. You’ll notice I pause between each rep because I am performing “classic clusters.” If interested in what a classic cluster is, you can read more about it here.
Modifications
Strength-wise, if you aren’t ready for chin-ups on your own, you can always have a partner push up on your feet on the way up, and you do all the work on the way down. Or, what we usually do is use bands for assistance. The thicker the band, the easier it is. We use bands from performbetter.com. You can see the link up and to the right of your screen. Just search for “superbands.”
