Exercise of the Week: TRX Plank Rollout

Same idea as the Swiss Ball Plank Rollout, just a bit harder.    Loop your arms through the foot handles of the TRX and then move your feet forward or backward to adjust the difficulty of the exercise.  Once you are in your plank position you are just going to extend your forearms out in front while trying to resist extension through the lumbar spine.  That's it.

Exercise of the Week: Bottoms Up Kettlebell Press to Stand

Technically this is the Half Kneeling Bottoms Up Kettlebell Press to Stand, but  that sounds like a mouthful....not that Bottoms Up Kettlebell Press to Stand doesn't.

You have a whole lot of stability going on here: shoulder stability, core stability and hip stability.  Before performing this exercise you should already be able to perform a Half Kneeling Bottoms Up Kettlebell Press. Remember, progressions are there for a reason.



 

Exercise of the Week: Straight Leg Sit Up w/Sledgehammer

One way to train core stability is through off set loading whether it be suitcase carries, lunge variations, squat variations or pressing variations.  You can also create an off set load while performing the straight leg sit up by placing a dumbbell in one arm or by using that trusty old sledgehammer that might not be getting a lot of use.

 

Perform half the set with the head of the sledgehammer on one side and then just switch the sledgehammer around for the second half of the set.  And then when you're done go find something to smash to pieces for some extra work.

Random Thoughts....

....while I am sitting here in a state of giddiness waiting for the Patriots to start another run towards the Super Bowl.

• One of the biggest trends nutritionally over the past year or so has been Intermittent Fasting (IF).  For those who are not familiar with IF it's just what it sounds like: going through a fasting period that can last anywhere from 12-24 hours depending upon which version of intermittent fasting you are following.  Some versions are made up of daily fasts while others, usually the longer fasts, are done a couple times over the course of the week.   For those who are doing it the results are really noticeable, but sorry I just can not get myself to do it.  I enjoy eating breakfast too much.  It's tough passing up on eggs and bacon.  Plus I am just not mentally tough enough to push my first meal off to noon time.  If anyone who's reading this post has tried it, shoot me an email and give me your thoughts on it.  
• The good thing about intermittent fasting is that it makes your realize that there is a difference between psychological hunger and physiological hunger.
• Your push up position should resemble your plank position....that is if you are doing a plank properly.  What is proper position?  If you were to take a dowel and run it along the length of your spine it should have three points of contact: the glutes, the thoracic spine and the head.    Your head head should not be up and your head should not be dropping to the floor.
• Speaking of push ups, I can not believe how many guys can not do a legit set of 10 push ups. TEN FREAKIN' PUSH  UPS!!  I used to be amazed at how many guys could not do a chin up.  Yes, a chin up.  As in one. Now I just take guys not being able to do chin ups for granted.  But 10 push ups?  Come on fellas!!
• When someone says they can not squat I usually take that to mean they do not want to squat or they do not know how to squat.  I can not help you with not wanting to squat.  That comes from you wanting to put the work in.  But I can help with not knowing how to squat.  If I was to perform a squat the way most people squat I would not be able to squat either.  Work on fixing your squat pattern before you just throw squats out the window.
• Sometimes random thoughts are not so random especially when I am sitting here thinking of random thoughts.  
• Just a heard a commercial for Olive Garden's never ending pasta bowl.  Does that really sound appetizing to anyone?  Does that come after the never ending bread basket?  
• Some things such as being able to eat carbs or being able to back squat must be earned.  You have earned your carbs if you got in a workout that day or are walking around at about 12% body fat or lower.  You have earned the ability to back squat after you have worked on goblet squats and front squats with good technique and are able to maintain good spinal alignment while executing the.  One more thing that must be earned.  If you are sixteen years old your arms have to be larger than six inches in diameter in order for you to wear a tank top or talk about protein drinks.
• Looking back on my high school training for football in the good old day I always wonder where the hell that training came from.  Our strength training revolved around the bench press.  Our set/rep scheme for each exercise was the same: 10 reps, 8 reps, 6 reps, 4 reps.  We did change up the set rep scheme for crunches and sit ups doing sets of 50 reps at a time.  One of our conditioning tests was the mile run.  But despite the horrible programming we had a team that was in pretty good shape and had some pretty strong guys on the team.  Everyone was busting their ass in that small, sweaty, radio less weight room or out on the track.  It goes to show you that a great effort on a poorly designed program will always trump a poor effort on a well designed program.  Would be nice to know what would have happened if we combined our training knowledge from today with that effort we put in back in the day.  
• With lower body exercises there are so many ways you can change the loading pattern without having to reinvent the exercise.  Let's take the Val Slide reverse lunge for example,  one of my favorite lower body exercises that can be used with just about any training population.  You can use a Goblet hold.  You can use a contra lateral load by placing a dumbbell or kettlebell on the side of the leg going back.  You can load up the exercise further by holding a weight in each arm.  You can place a weight over head on the contra lateral side or you can place a weight in both arms overhead.  You can perform a pressing action on the contra lateral side. You can use a sandbag with a Zercher hold.  You options are almost limitless.  
• Sleep is essential for fat loss.  Sleep is essential for muscle gain.  Sleep is essential for proper recovery.  Sleep is a must in order to reduce stress.  So why the hell are people staying up until midnight watching bad TV or creeping on Facebook...or reading this fascinating blog.  Get to bed!

Exercise of the Week: Glute Activation Mini Band Circuit

This quick three exercise circuit is a good series of exercises to use as part of a warm up, particularly to get the glutes going a bit or for those who might be dealing with patella tracking issues.  The three exercises are going to engage the glutes through three different movement patterns: hip external rotation, hip extension and hip abduction.