12 FITNESS LESSONS by Greg Robins

The truth is, I haven’t always been a strength and conditioning coach. Furthermore, I am still not solely responsible for training athletes to this day. I run 15 adult group classes a week, in addition to programming and coaching for athlete’s for 20-25+ hours a week. I have spent time helping people in a ritzy commercial gym setting, running camps on local high school football fields, coaching in one of the premier gyms in the country, to now coaching in one of the premier strength and conditioning facilities in the country. I kind of feel like the Matt Stairs of fitness……

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So in short: Striving to do the following thing has improved my life, and I think it will do the same for you.

Stop talking shit about people when they aren’t there.

This is one you hear all the time. It’s as if we all know the importance of it, but continually do it anyway. Imagine that for every time you took part in a conversation about someone who wasn’t present, a conversation about you took place as well. Not a great thought if you ask me. Furthermore, how much more efficient would your communication be if you had the spine to just tell people to their face what you are willing to say about them behind their back? Additionally, how much more fruitful would your relationships with friends, co-workers, etc., be if every time you saw them you knew – that they knew – exactly what you thought about them? 

I am guilty of doing this. I continually catch myself doing it to this day. The difference is that I have cut the time I spend in these conversations down by 80%. More times than not I either stop a minute  into it, or I just serve as a set of ears (which doesn’t make it right). When I do serve as a set of ears though, I try my best to politely steer the person talking to me in the direction of approaching the subject of their rant.

Starting today, be more aware of this. Make an effort to stop, and an effort to help others do the same.

First, over the course of the past year of training I have made a lot of gains utilizing sub-maximal training. Consistent improvements on my work between 65 and 90% led to PR’s at 100% in all 3 lifts. That being said, there was a bit of a breakdown between what my rep maxes were telling me and what my 1RM efforts were. This was less of the case when I was weaker, and more of the case as I got stronger. This did not apply to my deadlift at all. In fact, my rep maxes would have led to believe I was weaker than what I was able to pull in a 1RM effort.

There is probably a fancy explanation for this, but I’ll just explain it you as I see it. First and foremost, I view this as a mental weakness more than anything. That being said, there are many differences between squatting and benching in comparison to deadlifting. The one I want to stress is the lack of an eccentric, or lowering phase in a deadlift. More specifically to my point, you don’t feel the weight before a deadlift. In a squat you get a taste of 500lbs on your back before you drop with it. In a bench you get to feel 300lbs in your hand before you attempt to press it. With the pull your body has no idea if your about to put a max effort of force into 135 or 600lbs until your intent meets the end of the bars slack or tension (which won’t fully occur until the plates break the ground, if you have enough in you to make it that far).

In a sub maximal approach you may be setting yourself up to lift a weight 50-100+lbs heavier then anything you had moved in training. Many lifters are not affected by this jump. They are able to mentally apply what they know under a load they have never attempted, or even worked within 10% of. At this point I am not that lifter. I agree with their approach, and know that over time I want to make myself better at this.

Therefore, and talk about a lengthy introduction to my tip, one great help for me is learning how to feel weight while training sub maximally.

I had to find a way where I could get the best of both worlds. I needed to feel heavy weight on my back or in my hands, but at the same time train sub maximally  and build strength way more often than I tested it.

So my strategy has gone like this:

In a 4 week block, have one to two weeks where you work to a single (ONE single) at a percentage about 10% higher than your working weights. For example, if you are working multiple sets of 3 – 5 reps  at 75% work to a single at 85% before you get that going. It’s not something that needs to be done every week, and I have had success with just one in four weeks taking this approach.

Another thing that I have had success with is playing with traditional “deload”. Often when I am working sub maximally, the volumes are very high. So instead of dropping volume and staying at a low intensity in my deload, I will drop volume WAY down and bring the intensity way up. For example here is how I recently set up my deadlift 4 week block:

wk1 : sets of 5 at 60%

wk2: sets of 5 at 67.5%

wk3: top set of 75%

wk4: work to a single at 85% and shut it down.

If you are someone who struggles to handle heavier weights without touching them first, these are some ways for you to work around it.

I started moving weights with a purpose, all the time.

So point number two will be entitled:

2. Bring intensity, at any intensity!

Admittedly I my squat has never been explosive. Not even close. Check out this video of a 465lb single from a few months ago.

Another confession would be that I always preached moving weights fast. The truth was when I started to evaluate my training, and more specifically my squat, I realized I was not approaching sets in the 60 – 80% range with the aggression I should be. I was complacent with being smooth, and that was no longer cutting it.

After all, the great Mel Siff made the saying famous that “strength training, is really force training.”

The equation for force is simple –> Force = mass x acceleration

With that in mind (and I know there is more to this), you need to be working to elevate both variables on the right side of that equation. If you are looking to create maximal amounts of force then you need to accelerate lighter weights to the best of your ability.

A.K.A. Bring some purpose with you to train.

Since my meet in October, I have put a premium on this and was able to hit 495lb squat, 20lbs higher than my best meet squat, about 8 weeks after competition.

If you feel as though you are spinning your wheels working sub maximally, I would scrutinize how effectively you are embodying this principal.

Furthermore, if you are one of those people who isn’t that strong and using a sub maximal approach such as 5/3/1, stop whining about how you never handle any weight. Your 90% isn’t that much weight anyways. If you stopped talking and started training with the intensity I describe above you would be making great progress.

Lastly, this applies to both to both the eccentric (lowering) and concentric (lifting) portion of the movement. It should be applied to the bench and squat primarily. In terms of the deadlift, you want to rip into every bar like it’s a max attempt. Your body doesn’t know if you are about to meet up with 315lbs or 600lbs until you meet the end of the slack, so train it to be explosive – always. With supplemental lifts and accessory work there isn’t anything wrong with moving things quickly but depending on the outcome you wish to obtain from the work you would want to vary how you approach it.

1. Take more straight weight!

People are quick to jump at flashy exercises and programming schemes. I am / was guilty of this too. The truth is you will make much better, and much quicker progress if you do more work with straight weight. What do I mean by straight weight?

Straight weight is just plates on the bar.

In other words, stop using chains and bands. Ditch other accessories like boards, and boxes too. Instead put weight back on the bar! Additionally, do more variations that have you moving more similarly to the main lifts.

In previous programs I was quick to utilize chain weight, reverse bands, board presses, boxes, etc.

As a rule of thumb:

Squat: Pause more, squat from pins more, use a safety squat bar more often, do speed work sans the chains and bands and at higher percentages than those normally used with schemes relying on accommodating resistance (55-70%).

Bench: Pause more, do rep work off the chest more, floor press more, use different grips.

Deadlift: Fully settle and reset rep work in the 3 – 5 range more often, look to pull from a deficit way more often than you look to pull off boxes, utilize snatch grip deadlifts, build up your conventional DL if you pull sumo, and stop doing rack pulls.

1. A Furniture Slider

Furniture sliders are a great option for gym goers who want to do movements that they see being performed on a sideboard but might not have the $500 bucks to dish out on a board themselves. With one of these bad boys you can easily perform lunge, plank, and push up variations, like the few in these videos:

2. A Towel

A simple gym towel is a great addition to your training arsenal. It can be used for various curl, pull up, and rowing exercises to add more stress to the grip of the lift. In turn, using the towel will help build grip strength.

3. Ab Wheel

The ab wheel is one of the best pieces of gym equipment you can buy for the money. Rollouts have always been a staple in my programs, and will be for the foreseeable future. For 9 bucks you can grab a wheel and have it for the rest of your life.

Get one here.

4. 4 Feet Of Straight Link Coil Chain and One “Climbing Link”

A lot of gyms lack a belt and chain for weighted dips and chin ups. You can head over to a hardware store and grab 4 feet of chain and a climbing link for 10 bucks and you’re all set. It might get a little uncomfortable for anything over 150lbs but it’s really not that bad. Furthermore it’s a hell of a lot cheaper than buying a dip belt.

5. 2/4 Planks Of Wood

If you want to incorporate board work to your bench press training it doesn’t have to break the bank. Additionally, it’s unlikely your gym will have them to use. For well under 10 bucks you can grab a few and cut them to size and use duct tape to put them together to make 2, 3 and 4 boards.

Today I’ll hit you with the first 5, and expect five more tomorrow. 

1. Chalk

If you don’t use it, you don’t need it. If you don’t need it, you need to train harder. 

2. 24″ PVC Pipe

Head into any big hardware / home improvement store and pick this up for $5 and change. It will last forever, and help your body do the same. It’s never let me down, no need to spend 50 bucks on some fancy roller with bumps and divots and who knows what else. 

3. Lacrosse Ball

Another cheap little thing to help with your soft tissue work. As much as I love the PVC pipe, the ball helps you get to some more hard to reach places. A baseball, or any other hard ball should do. I prefer the lax ball because it’s grippy and doesn’t slide all over.

4. Creatine Monohydrate

Honestly the best supplement I can think of for the price. Also one of the only supplements I recommend to just about everyone.

For more on this check out this post here

Check this out for a deal under 10 bucks.

5. Training Journal

What gets measured, gets managed. Start writing down your numbers, and monitor your progress. Some of the most accomplished lifters I have met have numerous journals filled up. Other great lifters I have met don’t have any. It doesn’t hurt though, and if you aren’t the latter already I bet the journal and a commitment to focusing on progress will do you well.

I am excited to have an excellent contribution today from my friend Conor Nordengren. Conor, is a former CP intern and current strength coach at Dynamic Strength and Conditioning in Nashua, NH. Additionally, he is one strong dude, and my summer hill sprint buddy. I hope you can take a little time and read what he has written as it will surely help you as a coach and trainer!

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If you know anything about Greg, you know that he loves horizontal pulling exercises. He’s put in the time and built a massive back by doing his fair share of rowing movements. Greg’s back development has a great deal of utility in his participation in powerlifting, as it has bolstered his squat, bench press, and deadlift numbers. Placing a priority on pulling (how’s that for alliteration?) goes well beyond the confines of powerlifting, though. Pulling is a fundamental human movement and also an essential movement in many sports. The major muscles involved in pulling are important to posture and the development of these muscles (think traps, rhomboids, lats) is a good indicator of strength.

When it comes to young athletes, it’s important that we teach and continually reinforce proper pulling mechanics. As coaches, we have the responsibility to set a solid foundation for our youth athletes in the weight room and set them up for long-term success. When approaching pulling exercises, it’s appropriate to start young athletes pulling horizontally and gradually progress them to vertical pulling variations. As the saying goes, “there’s more than one way to skin a cat,” so there’s not merely one correct way to progress an athlete in terms of exercise selection.

Where you choose to start an athlete will depend on factors like the athlete’s ability level, any prior experience with legitimate strength training, and whether or not they’ve had exposure to some solid coaching. There’s also no precise timetable for progressing an athlete through a series of exercises. This, again, is dependent on the athlete and how proficient they become at a given movement. It’s better to be patient and give the athlete time to achieve a certain level of mastery of an exercise than it is to move them along too quickly.

Let’s briefly touch on a few components of good horizontal pulling technique that you should cement within your youth athletes. As you coach them on how to pull correctly, be sure to look for and reinforce:

• Chin tucked

• Scapulae down and back (chest “out”)

• Very little (if any) shoulder extension

• No anterior humeral glide (keep the “ball” centrated in the “socket”)

• Roughly 30 degrees of arm space between the side of the body and arm

• Neutral spine (no lumbar hyperextension)

Now let’s say you have an untrained athlete with no prior strength training experience walk into your facility. What would be a good horizontal pulling progression for this athlete?

Here’s a sample progression (each exercise is performed for 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps):

1. Seated Cable Row – neutral grip

I like to begin with the seated cable row. By taking the athlete’s legs completely out of the picture, it allows them to solely concentrate on their upper body where the movement is taking place. This variation really lets the athlete focus on and get a feel for proper positioning and is a good place to start.

2. Half-kneeling One-arm Cable Row

Once the athlete has become proficient in the seated cable row, the half-kneeling one-arm cable row is a great next step. This exercise will increase the stability challenge on the athlete and force them to activate their core and glutes. It also prevents them from going into lumbar hyperextension.

3. Standing One-arm Cable Row (with excellent commentary from Eric Cressey)

The next logical progression is to get the athlete off the floor and into a standing position. The athlete must now display adequate control in the upright position while still demonstrating proper rowing technique.

4. TRX Inverted Row

The TRX inverted row is going to provide a greater demand on the athlete to keep their core and glutes engaged. I love the TRX because the athlete can easily adjust the resistance; the more horizontal their body is to the ground, the tougher it will be. I like to tell our athletes to think of their body as a 2×4 and stay rigid from head to toe.

5. Batwings

At this point I think it’s appropriate to begin including some chest-supported rowing variations. I like to start with batwings because it allows the athlete to get more accustomed to the challenge of gravity within a shorter range of motion. I make them hold the top position for a one count and reset at the bottom to make sure they’re maintaining proper form.

6. Chest-supported Row – neutral grip

Once the athlete has gotten good at batwings, it’s time to increase the range of motion of the exercise. If you don’t have access to a chest-supported row apparatus, these can also be done on an incline bench with dumbbells.

After an athlete has gone through this progression, you can begin programming things like one-arm dumbbell rows, split-stance low cable rows, and landmine rows. Remember to let the athlete dictate the timetable for their progression. They may need more than a month to nail down a certain exercise and that’s fine. It will serve them better if you give them the time to master an exercise and progress them when they show you they’re ready instead of rushing them along. It’s all about laying that foundation and setting them up for success.

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Bio: Conor Nordengren is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) accredited by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). He is a graduate of Stonehill College, where he majored in Health Sciences with a minor in Business Administration. At Stonehill, Conor was a two-year member of the men’s basketball team. He completed internships in physical therapy and also worked as a physical therapist aide. Upon graduation, Conor interned at Cressey Performance in Hudson, Massachusetts, under widely recognized strength coaches Eric Cressey and Tony Gentilcore. During his time at Cressey Performance, he had the opportunity to work with a variety of clients including athletes at the professional, college, high school, and junior high school levels. Conor is now a strength and conditioning coach at Dynamic Strength and Conditioning in Nashua, New Hampshire where he is dedicated to helping people of all ages and ability levels achieve their fitness goals. You can read Conor’s blog at www.conornordengren.com and contact him at cnordengren@gmail.com.

Not All Squats Are Created Equal: 3 Thoughts On Becoming a Better Raw Squatter:

If you want to be a good raw back squatter then you need to embrace the nuances of that lift. It isn’t the same as geared squatting, box squatting, front squatting, or any other kind of squat you might choose to utilize.

1. Stop box squatting

I don’t like the box squat for those looking to excel at raw squatting. Why? Mainly it’s too far removed from a technique and demand standpoint from the raw squat. Box squatting, done correctly, is a different lift all together. Most will assume a wider stance, utilize the hips to a point that isn’t possible in a raw squat, and become reliant on the controlled descent….

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Increasing volume means more time spent practicing good technique, more reps to groove the pattern, and more time for the CNS to develop the coordination needed to perform the lift.

Instead of seeking out new ways to improve your big lifts, just do them more often. Obviously this calls for an intelligent management of intensities and volume, but it will work.