3 Things I’m Liking Right Now – Fat Gripz, Hip Thrusts, Basketball Season is Here
October 30, 2012 by danny · Leave a Comment
These past two weeks have been pretty crazy for me as my phone has been ringing off the hook… basketball tryouts are next week (and for some schools, tryouts are this week). Players and parents are looking to get in those last couple lessons in, in order to either knock off the rust (for the football players that just finished their season), or to make sure their game is feeling “tight” going into b-ball season. Anyway, I bring this up because this is the reason that I haven’t made a blog post for a couple weeks. Well, I’m back today, so let’s get to it…
3 Things I’m Liking Right Now
Fat Gripz - Fat gripz are a great tool to include in your lifting program. They help develop hand and forearm strength. And here is another benefit of Fat Gripz (directly from their website…); “When you first use Fat Gripz, you may notice that there’s less pressure on joints like your wrists, elbows and shoulders. By using a wider grip on the bar, you’re actually spreading the weight more evenly across your joints.” I picked up my Fat Gripz directly from their website. Look down and to the right of your computer screen and click on the banner for more info…
As much as I love Fat Gripz, for some exercises, the grip can REALLY becomes the limiting factor when using them (i.e. you have to lighten the load too much). When this is the case, we have two options:
1) Just use the bar/dumbbell like usual.
2) Use Lynx Grips to get the bar/dumbbell a little more thick, without “overdoing” it. You can find them HERE.
Hip Thrusts - I don’t want to spend too much time on this one, as Bret Contreras is the “Glute Guy” and has done a great job of educating the masses. But briefly, man does this exercise work… when you REALLY learn how to use and activate the glutes. Last year was the year that I spent time “playing around” with the hip thrust. I was just getting used to it, and having some clients incorporating them into their programs. But no that I’ve gotten good at these, my glutes have have NEVER felt anything like it!
Hip Thrusts
When I finish a high(er) rep set of hip thrusts, I want to cry becomes my glutes are burning so much! If you still haven’t tried these yet, or are just getting used to them, make them a staple in your program. Be patient with your progressions, and stay with it. Eventually you will get your glutes firing on all cylinders, and start to REALLY reap the benefits of hip thrusts.
Bret contributed to an article I did awhile back and in it, he talks about the importance of learning how to activate the glutes. Check it out HERE.
Basketball Season Is Here - As I mentioned above, I’ve been very busy giving basketball lessons. And I’m happy with the progress of many of these players this off-season. I’ve seen great improvements in their dribbling and shooting skills. For example, check out Jacob at one of our recent lessons taking it to the rack with a nice move in the open court and finishing with his left-hand!
Last year at this time I had only been back in Illinois for a few months, so I was only working with a few players. But now, it’s a different story! I think I worked with about 30 youngsters this off-season, and I can’t wait to hit the road and watch as many of them in action as possible. It’s going to be fun!
Not bad for a 3rd Grader!
Everyone have a safe and healthy week. I’ll talk to you soon…
