Grip work is something that is talked about quite a lot no matter what circle of athletes you surround yourself with – basketball players need it for ball handling, baseball players for everything they do on the field from swinging to throwing, football players for constantly using their hands, and hockey/field hockey/lacrosse players for the obvious reason that they use their hands to hold onto their sticks to play their respective games.
So whenever an athlete comes into the gym, it is often understood right away that our modus operandi (M.O.) is to grip the crap out of whatever we are using in order to develop more musculature, and to not drop the weight in deadlifts, farmer walks, DB lunges, etc – and the list goes on.
In fact, grip work is so important that one of our past interns at Cressey Sports Performance inspired several of the staff through his grip work and forearm routine after every lift, that we bought extra equipment in order to identify the best methods possible for improving our grip. It was a lot of fun for a few months.
However, when it comes time to do some accessory work and use the cable machines, what should the approach be? Is there an optimal amount of tension necessary when working with cable machines with all the various attachments and handles?
One thing I find with any client is that they are often unsure of the technique to use with any cable machine – sometimes they grip way too tight, and not enough motion occurs, or they don’t grip at all, and they leave weight that they could have rowed, chopped, and lifted on the machine because they lacked the intensity to get the point across.
Enter the Goldilocks Principle…
When Dealing With Cable Machines:
It’s gripped too hard – so compensatory motions will occur, or simply the arms take over for a job the core should be tasked for
It’s gripped too light – so there is not enough tension in the body to get the job done.
It’s just right – just enough tension, but not so much the purpose of the exercise is all in the arms, and not so light that it can’t be completed.
With this in mind, I’ve made a video describing these items in a little more detail.
The cool thing about this “trick” is that it can be applied to any cable exercise in a multitude of positions:
The long story short of why this happens involves understanding the concept of compensatory movement of the distal appendages sans proximal activation…
Or, you are too tense through your hands and feet, instead of your hips and/or abdominals.
Essentially, if your body is being tasked with the movement of performing a chopping or lifting motion (also D1 and D2 flexion/extension patterns) then your torso will need to stay “still” while your arms and appendages that are further away from the middle of your body will need to move about the axis of rotation.
Half Kneeling MB Scoop Toss – a great display of D2 extension into D1 flexion.
Now, take what happens if you were to do a half kneeling med ball scoop toss, for example.
What happens if your arms are so stiff, but your torso is so gumby and unable to apply the correct timing and sequencing of the desired movement?
Well some movement may occur – it might not be the correct one your coach (or yourself) desires.
On the other hand, what occurs if you have super relaxed and whippy arms, and a stiff torso that doesn’t rotate?
I’ll let you know that the bolded and italicized words are a hint that this is also not desirable from a movement perspective.
You need both stiff and relaxed qualities – in fact you just need to own the timing mechanisms of how certain athletic movements occur, which is not as easy as it sounds!
This “one weird trick” of squeezing the rope or handle on a cable machine will allow you to regulate and understand what is too much tension or what is not enough tension for the desired movement. For the purposes of owning that a cable chop or a cable lift in the gym, this will create a better feedback loop for you to recognize what it feels like to “feel your abdominals” without having someone tell you to “engage your core.”
Now if you are moving with a bit more speed and athleticism, then as always, the answer to the question of what is right (for this movement) is … it depends!
Side Note: I love using this cue of “squeezing” the handle, and then relaxing, as a way to “subconsciously” get someone to use their abdominals.
For what it is worth, whenever I see the crowd do one thing, I will often opt to go and do the opposite. Barring running towards danger, this is often how I operate, just reverse engineering things.
Do you reflect on your thoughts? Because they become actions eventually.
Yes, there is no time like the present, and perfect is the enemy of great.
I understand that intellectually, but what happens when you need to refine your thought process in order to further improve your practice?
Phones off, spend time with loved ones, then aggressively work when doing whatever it is you need to do.
Thus my long time away from publishing anything of significance.
With that said, here are several points on several topics that keep on re-entering my head over and over again. Perhaps I will make these individual blog posts and more fleshed out if necessary.
Selling Your Thoughts
Pitching sales to parents over and over is one of the most interesting things that will probably continue to interest me for quite some time. I can always see their justification, and when I ask what is it they want from training for their son/daughter, they respond with an answer that they derived from another source. This source is of course never really their own thoughts, because well, it is impossible for them to identify these things unless they too are well versed in exercise physiology and anatomy.
The keys here are to identify how to best serve their son/daughter with what they truly need physiologically, along with meeting the demands of what the parents want.
The things you want for little Johnny will be a little different in practice than what you have seen on YouTube or even Instagram now.
A video posted by Newell Strength (@nancy_newell) on
This is good stuff on Instagram.
Assessing for Function and Performance
When performing an assessment with the context of identifying key biomechanical positions, it is imperative to understand how an individual arrived at said results of the assessment. Do they have any gaps or missing key performance indicators (KPIs)? If yes, is it due to of chronic activity? Overuse symptoms? Or was it from a contact sport or injury? If no, what is the road they need to take to improve fitness qualities as fast as possible?
One day I asked Mike Cantrell during a lunch break at a Postural Restoration Institute (PRI) course, “What is the origin of dysfunction? How can we tell what is really happening?” Considering the amount of time we’ve spent together talking about anatomy and being immersed somewhat in-depth on these topics, he gave me an answer in true Jedi like fashion, “That is the question we are all trying to answer.”
What I’m likening this question to is “What caused you (the individual, the movement) to present in such a fashion?”
Was it contact with an external force?
Were your connective tissues not strong enough to hold the forces and torques you put your body through internally?
Was it degradation of tissue quality, and then eventually a scenario where the “straw that broke the camel’s back” occurred?
What is your equipment selection like?
What shoes are you constantly wearing when doing said activity?
Do you sleep well?
What is your psyche when performing said activity?
Are you trying to copy someone or are you trying to find your own way? (I’ve gotten some interesting answers from this one, especially with respect to the several postural and gait methods available online.)
Are you sick, or were you sick recently (general inflammation of joints can cause false positives in a movement screen)?
Is there anything else not related to the main reason you are here (to develop fitness qualities, to transition from rehab to fitness, to improve aesthetics, etc.) that would stop you from exercising that you feel I should know about?
Are you presenting the way you present because of a medical reason?
These are all variations of questions I’ve asked, or thoughts in my head, that have allowed me to see deeper into the results of just a black or white movement assessment.
After hopefully determining the root cause, you can begin to fill in the gaps.
Further, the results of the assessments are not all they’re cracked up to be.
After the assessment, you need to actually do something about it. Do you begin peeling back the layers of the onion? Do you just begin with their strengths and forget their weaknesses in the moment? Each question has their own set of pros and cons – it is up to you to decide, kind of like those old Goosebump novels.
Fitness Qualities in Youth Athletes
When looking to improve general fitness qualities of a youth athlete, barring joint issues or contact injuries, it is really quite simple from a movement perspective. I usually follow a Dan John-esque movement library of:
Push
Pull
Squat
Hinge
Single Leg Stuff
Core and Resisting Motion at the Core
Locomotion
Locomoting at its finest
Anything outside the scope of these may translate into more of a special exercise, ie looking to hit benchmarks in ranges of motion, improving eccentric strength of the rotator cuff, and/or guiding the youth athlete along the continuum of safe specific adaptations to an imposed demand on not only fitness qualities, but also with respect to Wolff’s Law.
If your child is going to be a Chinese gymnast or Olympic weightlifter, don’t worry – you can still practice those special movements, while still getting brutally strong by following these simple movements with the appropriate weight selections.
When they get bored of these movements do these things, depending on the age:
Challenge them. What child does not like to be gently encouraged to give a 1% more effort?
Make it a game. I’ve played Red Light, Green Light with single leg hops and squats, all after performing these big movements over and over, and after performing med ball circuits. It isn’t that these kids are getting bored, it is you the coach that is boring.
Entice them. There are certainly good kids and bad kids, and curbing bad behavior is difficult especially when there are 10+ kids in a group. But tell them you will attempt to do a dance move (insert the robot, the worm, or if you can really dance, then do so) if they pay attention and do a good job for the next 10-15 minutes. Then, follow through. Word is bond. Again, it isn’t that the kids are getting bored, you are boring.
Motor learning can occur in a much more emotionally driven environment, much more than some random trainer monotonously counting repetitions while your kid is struggling with the concept of a lunge or push-up. Just go and play a game while having certain constraints, and you will achieve both fitness qualities plus laughter.
Further, if these children are going to be in your program for (x) amount of years, begin grooming them on weight room etiquette, and begin to describe what it is like in the higher levels, so they can begin to form an idea in their brains on what they need to do to continue improving, or if they even want to be there in the first place.
Being Authentic
Copying what others do is not wrong. There isn’t really a right. But when you find out what makes you tick, and how you view the world, that is how you can genuinely walk and influence others more easily in a positive light. There is authenticity in your thoughts, words, and it reflects in actions that can’t be copied anywhere else.
But first you need to find out how you view the world and what makes you tick. After you do this, communicate this with those you are serving so that expectations are met.
Gaining Trust
Gaining trust is something that will always be challenged. If you lose someone’s trust, the hoops you have to jump through in order to re-gain their trust are several and sometimes, complex. See above paragraph on how to walk with authenticity, and perhaps, also with integrity.
Listen more.
This is my “mantra” or my theme for this year. 2 ears, 1 mouth and all. Or just be an active listener. Help people to be more detailed with their thoughts, so ask better questions.
Pieces to the Puzzle
I find it so so interesting that some body parts in this industry to be emphasized more than others, when in fact one body part should not be any more important than another.
One analogy I use to explain this very simply is, “ The knee bone connects to the – thigh bone. The thigh bone connects to the – hip bone.” This is a common nursery rhyme that hopefully many have been exposed to, but despite its excessive simplicity, I use it to drive a point home.
If your body cannot absorb force authentically from the ground up, what occurs at the great toe and pinky toe, to the lateral and medial arches, to the ankle joint, to the tib-fib joint, to the patella, to the femur, all the way to the acetabulum will be affected.
Assuming these are the joint’s end range of motion
If you don’t think your hip explosiveness out of the bottom position of a 2 point sprint will be affected by your abilities to achieve great toe extension, go and kick a dumbbell on the ground as hard as you can with your great toe leading the way, and tell me how your hip is still not affected.
As such, all of these items must at the very least be considered when identifying “energy leaks” as I believe Dr. Stu McGill called it.
With this in mind, I find it more and more interesting how the thoracic diaphragm is taking up so much press, but the pelvic floor (which can be referred to also as the pelvic diaphragm) is not identified as an issue unless you are a woman.
Are we all not humans? Do we all not have pelvises (a left and a right one, at that)?
Urinary incontinence, while certainly outside the scope of the fitness industry, does not have to affect only women – it can also affect men. And yes, there are things you can do to help improve or reduce these situations from becoming problematic.
I certainly remember peeing my pants in the 2nd grade, but I don’t recall anyone calmly coming over and telling me I need to improve my pelvic floor muscles in order to avoid embarrassment again. I was just shamed for a lack of control.
And while you’re at it – reducing pelvic floor issues can theoretically improve rate of force production. Say what? Yes – because if there are any energy leaks (and hopefully not literal leaks), then there will be a loss of kinetic energy and inability to absorb force as well (which is important for deceleration).
What Courses Should I Take?
When any young trainer/coach asks me what course should they take, I tell them I can’t answer that for you because I don’t know you.
Would I recommend taking a Calculus I course if you weren’t even introduced to basic Algebra?
Another analogy I use is what occurred in college and swimming classes for me.
In college, I took an Introduction to Swimming class. It was easy, and the instructor made learning the different swimming strokes very fun. So much so, that I decided to take a Swimming II class the very next semester, completely bypassing Swimming I. Probably the worst move to make, because we barely covered the requisite endurance that is necessary found in Swimming I, along with having a whole winter break to not practice this newly acquired skillset that I had. All of these items made Swimming II extremely difficult for me – walking into a class with all former swimmers just looking to take an easy class for the A to boost their GPA, I was the only non-swimmer to take Swimming II. We covered a full 1.5miles first day into class, and more mileage as each class continued.
I got an A, but still, it was taxing physically, and to use a contemporary phrase, the cost of doing business was my exhaustion in the beginning of that semester.
So with all that said, what courses you take should be dictated by your own weaknesses, strengths, and personal desires as well. It’s your money, you can do whatever you want with it (barring hurting people, and you don’t get to say that because Miguel said to do whatever you want, that you did hurt someone).
Knowledge Gains? Or Just Being Old?
On that note, there are tons of different entry points into knowledge. Knowledge just has the notion of being this “thing” that is there. It does not poke out like a bright shiny piece of metal on the ground, nor is it like fireworks that are representative of what people in the industry call the “A-Ha! Moments” or “knowledge gains” that everyone is a fan of saying and using. What is useful to some is merely in one ear and out the other for others – there needs to be an appropriate setting, messenger, and obviously tailored message itself in order to properly learn whatever it is you are trying to learn.
To quote my friend Joe Gonzalez, who he also quoted I believe from a martial arts instructor,
“Knowledge is like dust – you stick around long enough and it simply accumulates.”
In reality, my interpretation of acquiring knowledge is you not only have to stick around, which implies the constant endurance necessary for said accumulation of knowledge, but you also have to have the mindset ready for acquisition of knowledge.
If you go to a course wanting to impress anyone and everyone with your knowledge, chances are you won’t be able to absorb any useful information because you are too busy excreting what is in your brain, that you can’t absorb anything. To paraphrase the story of the Zen master to his future pupil, you have to empty your cup before you can fill it back up.
Even more interestingly, after emptying your cup is the actual act of seeing small messages within what is often nonchalantly said, and seemingly not important information. Within these weekend courses, many instructors often have to provide a standard set forth by their respective organization, but are asked questions outside of the scope of the itinerary of the day. This is when they may interject their own clinical opinions, or in the trenches information. This is where the gold lies, as this is a combination of their own experiences plus how they view the very system they are teaching you. Personalized stories allow others to connect more easily, and as such, will create better stickiness for these pieces of knowledge to be kept and understood.
So, to answer your question on, “What do I think of that course?” My answer is, “Yes.”
This is a guest post that originally published on Tony Bonvechio’s site BonvecStrength.com. For the original article, go here.
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I have the fortune of sharing barbells, weights, chalk, and sometimes strange smells with the likes of Tony Gentilcore, Greg Robins, Tony Bonvechio, and Eric Cressey, (and now Nancy Newell) along with the various interns that lift heavy stuff. Having these individuals as training partners really sparks a fire under your ass, as the large philosophy here involves getting better everyday.
When you step into Cressey Sports Performance, people have various expectations:
An intelligent approach to the human body, found in our approach to movement assessments.
An environment similar to a collegiate weight room.
Respect for the requirements for your requisite task (or sport/life/goals).
The environment at CSP pervades beyond just business hours – it can be traced from the intensity, efficiency, and accountability that all of the staff at Cressey Sports Performance creates on an almost daily basis.
The environment is one that I haven’t found in many other places: it begins with ritualistic-like warm-ups, efficiency akin to a production line, followed up with some heavy lifting, ranging anywhere for a top set for max repetitions, or the occasional one rep max. After all of this, any accessory work is completed.
All of this is done well within 60 to 90 minutes. This is largely because that we all have to work shortly thereafter, or even perhaps go home to a life outside of the gym (if lifting after business hours).
I wanted to outline the background of who I share a weight room with and our approach to lifting for three reasons:
Our perceived intensity when we are lifting.
Our shared accountability for each other.
Efficiency for getting things done.
There is a thought process called “kaizen”, taken from Japanese and Chinese philosophies, referring to continuous improvement. When you have training partners, instead of practicing a martial arts, you are constantly training with barbells, dumbbells, bands, and chains.
You see, co-worker and friend Greg Robins has a phrase he has used that both Tony and I both subscribe to and it is, “Lead from the front.”
If I am going to ask you to clean something up, know that I have held that same broom and mop, and I have done that task before countless times.
Drawing a parallel to the weight room, if I am going to ask you, as a youth, collegiate, or higher athlete, to pick up the pace and effort, just know that I too have gone through those same valleys and peaks of efforts, sweat, and work.
Continuously improving is an idea that should be familiar to those with hopes of achieving a seat on the roster of a professional sports team, let alone bringing the intensity and accountability to a singular day of lifting.
If you decide to throw yourself amongst the lifting “chambers” of those at CSP, will you be detracting from, or adding to this environment?
Perceived Intensity
There is a phrase that I keep on my desk at work, and it comes from Ryan Holiday’s The Obstacle is The Way.
“How you do one thing, is how you do everything.” ~Ryan Holiday
If you mosey along about your lifts, eventually working up to whatever percentages or rep maxes you are aimed at utilizing, perhaps there can be parallels drawn from how you approach your training program, how you live your life, or maybe even how you talk with family and friends.
Now, I’m of the belief that none of us as co-workers have to ask each other to pick up the intensity about our lifting session prior to being hired. We’ve all individually brought our own energies into the mix, and if anything we have added to the fire, instead of detracting from said environment.
Takeaways on Intensity
Whether you’re an athlete or a strength coach hoping to lead from the front, understand that all of our training here at Cressey Sports Performance is done with a purpose.
Many people come from near and far to train at CSP – some for a few days, some for years. What they take away most is almost always the environment (along with the exercise program and approach obviously). So hopefully you begin to understand that it often isn’t an individual’s intensity that sparks this fire. Rather, it is the shared intensity and bond that we all have for the affinity for training, sports, and achievement of goals that cannot be replicated anywhere else.
Questions to ask yourself, whether you are training alone or with others:
Am I bringing the intensity to my lifting endeavors?
Am I bringing others down?
Am I adding positive energy to the group?
If the answers to these questions don’t sit well with you, perhaps it is time to change and improve the intensity with which you approach your lifting endeavors.
If the answers to these questions appease you, see what you can do about improving those around you. The maxim of “A rising tide lifts all boats,” holds true in this case, so if your colleagues are slacking, see what you can change (from a non-aggressive manner).
Shared Accountability
I’ve had the fortune of coaching teams of men and women in various sports, and it is always encouraging to see one or two leaders poke their heads through when obstacles present themselves in the form of training factors. No one likes it when an aerobic output day calls for Prowler Pushes for 2 sets of 10 minutes of steady state pushing, or when walking lunges are accounted for for about 10 minutes with a specific tempo.
However, if a co-worker, colleague, or a teammate, is approaching a specific number that they have never hit before, there are a few items that come to mind that I would do:
Provide one to two coaching cues that will keep them honest.
I WON’T provide too many things to think about, because that may take them out of the flow state of mind that they need.
Perhaps the easiest idea of accountability to digest comes in the form of providing feedback during the big lifts. Even the strength coaches at Cressey Sports Performance need feedback from time to time – if the numbers call for 90% or higher, or a challenging set calls for high reps, we will all help each other understand what we did during that one set, so we can get better the next time through.
Essentially, accountability is making sure the aforementioned intensity of the day remains throughout the session.
Takeaways on Accountability
How can you improve your accountability for yourself and others?
On an individual level, if you don’t have anyone to hold yourself accountable, do you choose exercises that keep integrity of the movement (like squatting to a low box during box squats)?
Do you film yourself and critique yourself honestly?
If a lift does not go as planned…
…how will you approach the accessory work?
…Will you pout because you didn’t hit the planned numbers for the day?
…Or will you move on to the next one and plan to hit that another day?
Your reactions that occur reflect your reflexive thought processes that occur on a moment to moment basis.
Efficiency
When I’m lifting a specific movement pattern such as a squat or deadlift, chances are my colleagues are likewise doing the same movements as well. If we are all doing the same movements (even if they are at different percentages), chances are that everyone will contribute to the mechanical aspects involved with lifting – changing out plates, loading up bars, and generally moving things around.
This provides for a very efficient and well-oiled machine with respects to lifting. This also just proves to generally being useful around the gym.
Takeaways
If you’re efficient when you’re lifting by yourself, chances are you’ll be efficient when you’re with others as well.
If you aren’t, perhaps you need to move with a sense of urgency that does not present itself unless you hire someone such as a personal trainer or coach.
Chances are that you can get done a lift in a much faster time if you don’t talk to anyone, have only as much rest as humanly necessary, and seek to move weights (heavy or not) fast.
Oh, and stop checking your phone during lifts.
Maintaining an Environment
This post may seem like I have an agenda with respects to the lack of intensity.
If you’re offended by this, I apologize. It was not meant to offend, but rather bring to light the lack of intensity that I see more and more on a daily basis from the youth athletes that I coach.
There are always exceptions to the rule, and with many who come into CSP, they are great workers who come in with smiles despite the sweaty and hot conditions that we find ourselves in (it is currently summertime).
However, if you find yourself lacking a certain drive about your day in any aspect – life, family, eating, lifting, work – perhaps you can ask yourself rhetorically, “Is there anything else I can do to change the situation I am currently in?”
At the very least, my main purpose is to practice “kaizen” every day, which will inherently require at the very least a 1% change in the correct direction. If I can inject this purpose into others through my actions, or through my words here, I have done my job.
