Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Pay the toll.

Is there a skill that you want to be better at? Most of you who read this are CrossFit athletes.  Along with getting in better shape, one of the goals of CrossFit is to improve your coordination (one of the ten recognized fitness domains). This is why CrossFit incorporates many high skill movements into the programmed workouts. Some examples of high skill movements include double-unders, hand stand push ups, and finally my favorites, the snatch and the clean and jerk.

Thats a lot of weight for a high skill movement.

When you learn new skills, your coordination improves, and in turn your overall fitness improves because you are better than when you started.  The problem with these high skill movements is that they are hard to do.  If you have a skill that you are not good at I am going to let you in on a secret that not many people know.  

You have to pay the toll.  

This means two different things.  One is a training philosophy that I will talk about later.  The other simply means you haven't put in the time yet to be capable of that skill you seek.  This part of the equation is easy. You need to practice more. You also need to seek the advice of your coaches at the gym, and even seek online tips and tricks from experts.  It isn't hard.  Here, I will get you started.  Try first going to www.google.com and see where that gets you.  You're welcome.

Next, let's talk about the training philosophy called "paying the toll".  I just told you that you need to practice more.  But how do you fit in practice on top of your busy life schedule. You are now going to "pay the toll".  

I want you to pick whatever skill is troubling you.  Let's start with pull-ups.  Every time you walk into the gym, you owe yourself 5 pull ups.  Or 1 pull up, or however many you need to do to "grease the groove".  Then every time you walk out of the gym, you owe yourself another 5 (or however many you decide).  You have to pay the toll to get into or out of the gym.  Guess what is going to happen after only two weeks at the gym.  You are going to be better at pull ups.  It works for any skill you are trying to improve.  Most beginner strength  gains are simply the central nervous system adapting to new skills and movements. If you don't believe me, get on th rings and try to hold a support position. 

This is a support position.  How do you plan on mastering something if you don't know the lingo.

 The first time you do this, you will shake like you wouldn't believe. You probably possess the strength to hold your body weight, but your CNS hasn't adapted to this new and fun activity.  After paying the toll a few days in a row, you will be rock solid in this support position, and you will be one step closer to being a master gymnast.  

So finally let's wrap this up with weight lifting.  Your homework is to pay the toll with squats.  Every time you go to the gym this week I want you to warm up with an empty bar on your back and do the same thing before you leave the gym.  Your goal is to be a squat master at the end of two weeks.  If flexibility is holding you back then how a bout instead of spending 4 hours a day online looking at kittens riding unicorns farting rainbows, you spend 3.75 hours a day looking at crap and that extra 15 minutes you spend actually trying to improve mobility.  And remember to pay the squat toll every time you go to the gym.

I love google.

Finally I will leave you with this.  It isn't enough to want to do it, you have to actually do something about it.  

Monday, December 17, 2012

Weightlifting Belts and More





Let talk about the belt and its role in your journey to get strong.  I am a pretty active member in several online communities that deal with weightlifting and power lifting and Crossfit and what not.  Many times I hear people claim "I don't want to use a belt because I want to be as strong as possible".  This is a silly notion and lets explain why.

We talked last week about pushing the abs out in order to maintain a good strong squat position.  We start with the Valsalva Maneuver (taking in a deep breath and pushing out on the abs with that breath).  When we put on a weight belt, we are giving the abs something to press against.  If the volume of air we take in stays the same, but the size of the container gets smaller (via the belt), we will have a larger air pressure in our abdomen.  Larger air pressure means more support, which in turn means we can lift more weight.  

So yes, the belt can add a few pounds immediately to your squat when used properly.  However, when using a belt, your abs are now pushing against something in order to increase the pressure.  The abs are now doing more work than when you were squatting without a belt.  Go ahead, give it a try.  I bet your abs are sore the next day after your first full session with a belt.  So this means that the belt will also have a cumulative effect of strengthening the abs over time. WHAT? So if I wear a belt, then I will actually get a stronger core faster than without a belt?  That is crazy, but it is true.  

Does this mean you have to wear a belt while doing kipping pull ups, or when you are doing your 75# snatches 75 times for time? No.  Lets face it your form is probably terrible while trying to do 75 snatches in 5 minutes.  Belts aren't gonna help you there.  But when trying to go heavy, a belt is your friend every time.  

But Jason, How should I go about using this belt?

Well for lifting, you should warm up and stretch without a belt.  Try to reinforce good form into habit with out the belt for your first few sets.  I say 2 - 3 warm up sets with out the belt.  When you get to about half way to your working sets, you should belt up and continue to warm up from there.  Wear the belt all the way through your working sets.  

If you still disagree with me and think you won't be strong while using a belt, you are welcome to not use it, it is no skin off my back.  Next time you run into Ilya Ilyin tell him about how he is missing out on core strength because he wears a belt.  


Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Today I would like to talk about the squat and the role of the abdominal muscles whilst performing said squat.  Almost every time I here someone coaching the squat to a new athlete, I here them say they need to keep a tight core.  If I told you to stand up from your computer and tighten your core, what would happen.  You would contract the abdominal muscles creating a "hollow body" position.


Notice in the above picture Carl (of Gymnasticswod.com) definitely has tight abs, but it has created a rounded back in this hollow position.  If you stand him up and place a loaded barbell onto him, he will never be able to keep both tight abs and a spine in extension (neutral spine).  The abs are fighting the spinal erectors for body position.  The abs are much larger and stronger than the erectors and the abs will win every time.  

Now I want you to stand up, take a deep breath in, and use that deep breath to push the abs out as far as you can possibly push them.  In other words, create a pregnant belly.  Push out as hard as you can with your abs and breath.  Now you will notice that your spine is in a neutral position and the abdominals are no longer fighting the spinal erectors for position of the spine. You are now bracing the spine with your abs, spinal erectors, and the pneumatic brace you have created with your breath.  If you are having trouble picturing this, put on one of the weightlifting belts that are hanging next to the jump ropes in the gym, tighten it down pretty tight, then take in a deep breath and push against the belt with the abdominals.  It will provide much more feed back for the correct position.  Most importantly this pushing out of the abs will help the bottom position of your squat and will help prevent "butt wink", or round the lumbar at the bottom of the squat.  

Here is a video of Clint Darden (strongman competitor and runs elitefts.com) explaining exactly what I am talking about.  Never mind his super-wide power-lifting stance.  


Your homework for the week is to do a set of squats using both a belt and this technique and see how much stronger you are in your positions while lifting heavy.  Next time I will talk about why you should be using the belts that are hanging so lonely on the wall at the gym  

JT

Friday, November 16, 2012

Welcome to the Barbell Club.  I wanted a site to relay any information that will help you in your endeavors to conquer the barbell and any weight that might be on it.

Feel free to comment or email me content that you would like to see.

Topics here will include anything related to weightlifting (the snatch and C&J), powerlifting (Squat, Bench, Deadlift), or anything related topics (belts, wraps, equipment, etc).

So look back here often, and go out and pick up some weight.