Lessons from the USA

To summarise, 9 weeks, 6 seminars, 9 gyms, 17 beds, 3 sofas, 8 states, 4 ghettos, 9 coaches, 6 planes and a serious amount of walking:

Freakin’ awesome – one of the best decisions I could have ever made.

Now that I’m settled back comfortably home, tearing things up at Strength London and the London Broncos, I’ve decided to write a final blog post concluding this series (although I will continue to write a blog once I have a website up and running in the very near future).

It has been enjoyable to write, and always nice to hear when people told me they’d been following, especially when a stranger I was sitting next to at the seminar in Connecticut told me he’d read it.

I now know what it’s like to be famous.

I’ve learnt more in those 9 weeks than I have done in the past 2 years and to take the opportunity to see some of the industry leaders talk and visit their facilities is one I will recommend to anyone.

Since I’ve been back, a couple of people have asked me about anything key that I’ve learnt. 4 things that immediately stand out are: 

1) No longer using the foam roller as part of the warm up (unless it will decrease pain in an exercise) -instead, I’ll use it at the end of the session or as a separate session all together.

Apparently, it’s better to use the foam roller when you’ve been thoroughly warmed up as the fascia is more responsive. Furthermore, nothing kills enthusiasm for a huge deadlift/squat session more than relaxing on a foam roller trying to remove a trigger point.

So far so good.

2) Ditching barefoot training and investing in a pair of weightlifting shoes. I thought Mark Rippetoe was going to have a coronary when I asked him if it was ok to deadlift barefoot. He kindly explained to me that if I want to destroy the arches of my feet, then I should continue to train barefoot, otherwise get some decent shoes.

At the PICP 2, Andre Benoit further added that he didn’t believe in barefoot training either. Since both of these guys have performed impressive feats of strength and coached others to do so, I’ll take their word for it. Plus weightlifting shoes make you look like you know what you’re doing.

3) Keep warm ups briefer. Get the client warm, address any key areas and then move on. I’m not a physical therapist, so no need to waste time with mountains of corrective exercise prior to training.

       Any additional corrective exercise can be integrated into the rest periods, which will be better because they’ll get more exposure to that exercise than just performing one set in the warm-up.  

4) Using tempo. I never liked using tempo with clients until I used it myself. Firstly, if a client can’t stick to a tempo, then it is likely that A) the weight is too heavy and/or B) the exercise may be too advanced. It also means you get the desired training effect.

Just last week, I timed an over ambitious client performing the seated row for 15 reps. I can’t remember the exact prescribed tempo, but it definitely included a pause at the end of the concentric and a 2 second eccentric, therefore, assuming it was a 2011, at 4 seconds a rep, it should have been a 60 second set. Well, the client smashed it in 18 seconds – not even approaching the hypertrophy threshold (the training goal).

By using tempo, you can ensure that every set looks the same and if you work in a facility where trainers share clients then there will be no difference between sessions. You’ll also train for the goal of the programme.

Writing this particular blog post has also given me the opportunity to go over a load of notes I’d taken, think about conversations I’d had and to have a look back over the blog and see if there was anything that really stood out.

So, on doing that, I’ve listed a load of key lessons that I learnt from the USA, with reference to who said it (some of which have been slightly paraphrased from their original context):

Tried, tested and fairly challenging nutritional methods for gaining mass:

1 gallon of milk a day (Mark Rippetoe) and 28 potatoes a week (Tyler Simmons)

Whilst a great tool, you need to adapt the FMS to the client (Nick Tumminello & Ed Williams) and it is also beneficial to add length-tension/joint ROM tests to it (Brendon Rearick)

Touching your toes is a fundamental human movement pattern and if you’ve lost your ability to do it, get it back (Eric Cressey)

The physios that blame the gluteus medius for the knee caving in are barking up the wrong tree as it is more likely to be a weak VMO causing the femur to re-position itself in order to get the correct line of pull from the vastus lateralis during single leg work (Andre Benoit)

In this industry, the idea of a 4 hour work weeks is bullshit. Don’t even think about trying it (Mike Boyle)

Phosphatidylserine is one of the very few supplements to have a 'qualified health claim' from the FDA (actually it has 2) in preventing cognitive decline, which essentially means it’s the balls (Mark Schauss)

Never ever become complacent with your methods; constantly strive to improve yourself as a coach (Chris West)

There’s a lot of information out there and much of it is conflicting. You absolutely must develop a filter system to separate what you truly believe is good from bad (Ed Williams)

You need to do finger extension work to balance yourself if you do a lot of crushing work (Derek Woodske)

Regularly test your clients’ endurance capabilities for the low back as that it what correlates with back pain and not maximal strength (Ryan Faehnle quoting Stuart McGill)

The power clean may be the best exercise for bridging the gap between weight room strength and on the field explosiveness (Mark Rippetoe)

Sleep is ridiculously under rated – make it a priority (Martin Rooney)

Although deadlifts and squats do strengthen the core, it’s no good for a client with a history of back pain. Get them healthy first (or refer them) and then start working on the big lifts. (Mike Robertson)

The endorphin response from long distance running is a natural tranquiliser to prepare for an inevitable death, because in caveman times, you would never run for that long unless you were running from something that was about to kill you (Alwyn Cosgrove)

Sprinting increases leptin. Keeping leptin high helps to keep the body using fat for fuel (Alwyn Cosgrove)

If mobility is given, it must be enforced with stability (Gray Cook).

Using a skipping rope is self-limiting – most people can’t skip long enough to get shin splits. It’s easy to get shin splints, however, when you go jogging (Gray Cook).

A self-limiting exercise is one you can’t fuck up (Alwyn Cosgrove)

The most important exercise is the one you’re doing now (Martin Rooney)

You HAVE to be comfortable being uncomfortable (Martin Rooney)

If you use undulating periodization, ideally the weekly sessions would be power, strength and hypertrophy and should be performed in that order (Nick Winkleman)

Dehydration = stress (Robert Yang)

A lot of people don’t know this and will argue against it but pain during Olympic lifting is more often than not an ibuprofen deficiency (Charles Staley)

If you don’t eat breakfast, then you’ll have poor glucose control after lunch (Robert Yang)

Unless you’re dealing with a very skinny person, you won’t see the desired arch in the lower back during a squat or deadlift. That’s fine as long as the back is straight. The arch in the lumbar spine is there, but the space around in is filled in with muscle, which ‘hides’ the arch (Mark Rippetoe)

You’re still a beginner until you can squat 405 (Mark Rippetoe)

Having a coach to train you is more powerful than a training programme alone (Rachel Cosgrove)

The lima bean is a great source of potassium (Mark Schauss)

The more stress you’re under, the more protein you need to eat (Mark Schauss)

Test the squat first, if the client can’t even squat properly, there’s no way they’ll be able to overhead squat (Nick Tumminello & Ed Williams).

Hayley Atwell is the currently the hottest British actress and I should be ashamed of myself for not knowing who she was (Tony Gentilcore)

It’s been a pleasure folks.

Big love

x

PICP 2 practical assessment

My final learning experience in the states, and the second time visiting the Poliquin Strength Institute, was to complete the practical component of the Poliquin International Certification Programme Level 2.

My first visit to the PSI was completely classroom based, whereas on this occasion it was mostly oriented around being in the gym.

Course outline

The practical component of the PICP 2 focuses the assessment and training of the lower body. The assessment for the lower body, termed ‘structural balance’, differs from that of the upper body, which is detailed in level 1.

For the upper body, the structural balance assessment involved testing the strength around the shoulder and the elbows, looking for ideal strength ratios (e.g. the Scott curl should be 46% of close grip bench press). Whilst the level 2 does briefly mention lower body strength ratios (for example the front squat should be 85% of the back squat,) it is more concerned with optimal mechanics of the ankle, knee and hip joints first.

The lower body structural balance includes 4 tests (Klatt test, rocker board squat, wobble board split squat and sit-fit split squat). The idea is that when performing these movements under stress, significant imbalances reveal themselves, which can then be verified with length-tension tests. 

The results of the structural balance then dictate the training, stretching and where necessary, soft tissue therapy for the athlete.

During the course, several attendees performed the structural balance tests in front of the class and the instructors. Whilst the instructors made it look easy to be able to interpret the tests, it became apparent from doing them by ourselves that it is an acquired skill that will take time to develop.

Single leg training was a big component of the seminar and was shown to be a useful tool for ironing out imbalances and preparing athletes for bilateral exercises. However, the technique for performing the single leg exercises was different from how the majority of coaches use the exercises, in that greater knee flexion in the front leg is demanded.

Furthermore, the exercises aren’t just thrown into the programme willy nilly – a continuum of exercises exists and the athlete can only move onto the succeeding exercise once mastering the current exercise. 

For example, the walking lunge is more advanced than most people give it credit for and should only be given to an athlete who has a good level of strength at the ankles, knees and hips.

Prior to being in the gym, we had a lecture on the area that was to be trained. The training covered step-ups, split squats, lunges, squats, deadlifts, posterior chain, hamstrings (as knee flexors), abdominals and calves.

For each group of exercises, we were taught how to progress the exercise, variations of the exercise and different methods that can be used to perform the exercise.

For example, take the leg curl. There are 4 different machine (lying, kneeling, standing and sitting) and 3 different variations (toes out, toes in, toes neutral), which equals 12 variations. Furthermore, you have the option of doing 2 legs up and 1 leg down, ¼ rep + 1 full rep, double barrell, feet plantarflexed, feet dorsiflexed and the list goes on…

The point here is that the more variety you have as a coach, the easier it is to make small changes to the programme whilst ensuring progression. It also teaches you to have a more options when equipment is limited and also when athletes display different requirements.

A great new addition to the course was Stuart McGill’s work on maintaining lower back health. Essentially, the key is to have endurance in the low back and not just huge strength, thus if you can’t hold a back extension for 2 minutes, you need to work on it!

The workouts

The part that made the course most enjoyable and brought everyone together was lunch time.

The second most enjoyable part of the course that brought everyone together was the training. At the end of each day, we were all given workouts, designed by one of the instructors that had to be completed in groups of 4.

Day 1 was high-volume structural balance. Straight forward stuff but we were all criticised for not looking lively.

Day 2 was high intensity and all the groups had 10 sets of deadlifts. One group had sets of 1 with a 10 second eccentric (one guy did 200kg at a body weight of ~77kg), others had to put 8 second pauses in the eccentric/concentric and our group had 3-5 reps with a snatch grip. At around set 6 I lost a big chunk of skin and made a small mess.

Day 3 had been built up over the past couple of days as being nasty and we were not let down. All the groups had a different death circuit to complete. Our circuit was 4 sets of the following:

A1) Rear foot elevated split squat 8-10 reps 3010 60 seconds rest

A2) Seated row supinated grip 12-15 reps 3012 60 seconds rest

A3) Leg press 15-20 reps 2010 60 seconds rest

A4) Incline press 8-10 reps 3010 2 minutes rest

The rest periods and tempos had to be strictly adhered to and the instructors were on the prowl to make sure everyone complied.  If you completed all the reps, the weight HAD to go up on the next set.

After finishing set 2, a small part of my soul died.

All you could hear during the session was effort. No talking and no time wasting. Exactly how training should be. At the end of set 4 no one was standing. Everyone was trying to remain as still as possible so as not to be the first one to trigger an explosive vomcano.

Full credit to Andre, Derek and Ryan – they pushed everyone to their limit and it was great to be subjected to their years of coaching experience.

5 things I learnt 

1) Training the hamstrings in knee flexion will increase stability at the knee. Training the hamstrings exclusively in hip extension won’t do this. 

2) When the rear leg becomes sore during a split squat, then it’s most likely because the muscles are too tight and contracting as a result of being unable to tolerate the stretch. 

3) If a muscle on one side appears tight (for example, hip rotators), it might actually be the muscle on the other side that’s tight and is causing the problems. 

4) If the client/athlete can’t stick to the tempo you’ve prescribed them then the weight is probably too heavy. Furthermore, if they can’t stick to the tempo as you need to keep addressing technique, then the exercise is too advanced. 

   

   5) There are currently no videos on youtube of anyone performing the Peterson step-up correctly - get taught by someone who knows how to do it properly.

The PICP 2 was a great way to finish the trip as it was highly enjoyable, run by great instructors who were passionate and loved what they do and full of great, highly motivated attendees.

Additionally, I think that for further insight into exercise technique (in particular the squat and deadlift), Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength Seminar complements this qualification perfectly. 

Peak Performance, UCONN and the Elite Training Workshop

Between the Starting Strength Seminar and the PICP 2 I found myself with a 10 day gap of ‘free time’.

Since I was already in New York and had the fortune to meet Joe Dowdell, owner of Peak Performance (ranked #3 best gym in the USA by Mens’ Health and conveniently located in Manhattan) a month before at the FMS seminar in Boston, I managed to schedule a little visit for a couple of hours to see how they do things there.

Peak performance is an elite training facility right in the heart of Manhattan, where you can find lawyers and bankers training alongside NFL players and MMA guys.

It’s a large, very well equipped and extremely impressive facility that occupies the entire floor of a building – approximately 10,000 square feet. There didn’t seem to be anything that couldn’t done in the gym and it was easy to see why it was ranked so highly by Mens’ Health.

Whilst I was just sitting back at the protein bar watching the training that was going on, one of the head trainers, Ed Williams, came over and we had a chat about assessments, training and biosignature. 

What was probably meant to be a quick ‘Hello’ escalated into a very in-depth discussion that lasted the best part of 45 minutes and also had input from the other head trainer, Dan Trink and Joe Dowdell himself.

Despite the fact that I was only in the gym very briefly, I managed to get the answers to some questions that have been playing on my mind for a long time as well as pick up a couple of new exercises.

Not bad for a mornings work.

UCONN

In the USA, it seems that there is some type of decent training seminar on every weekend (I think in the UK you’ll be lucky to find 4 good ones a year).

I was fortunate to see an advert for the ‘Elite Training Workshop’ that was being held in Connecticut (a couple of hours from New York) and was on only weekend where I didn’t have any plans, so I signed up right away.

I still had plenty of time to kill, so on recommendation from Eric Cressey to go visit one of the colleges, I contacted the University of Connecticut (UCONN) and was told I could go visit them for a few days.

What I hadn’t realised, was that UCONN is a Division-1 University, which means that (according to Wikipedia) it is a "major collegiate athletic power, with a larger budget, more elaborate facilities and more athletic scholarships than Divisions II and III".

So, if I was going to see a University, this was obviously a great choice.

Associate strength and conditioning coach, Chris West (who turned out to be Cressey's mentor back in the day) took me under his wing and was one of the nicest people I met in the states. He went well out of his way to get me to the University and then gave me a full tour of the facilities, bought me lunch and allowed me to sit in during his sessions.

Chris, or "Coach West" as all the athletes called him, is in charge of strength and conditioning for men’s and women’s football (real football aka soccer) and men’s basketball. The basketball team are current NCAA champions and the men’s football team are ranked #1 in the country. I think it would be fair to say that this makes Chris a big deal.

The facilities for the basketball and American football teams are easily better than some of the premiership football clubs in the UK and the athletes are all treated to the highest professional standards. I can imagine that sometimes, it would be easy for them to forget that at some point they actually have to study

The strength and conditioning facilities were also of an extremely high standard and every single strength training device could be found there. I pointed out that it seemed there was nothing they didn’t have, and Chris said that if there was something they didn’t have – they’d go and buy it immediately.

Whilst the basketball facilities were extremely impressive, the football (American) training facilities were something else. They had the biggest gym I’ve ever seen – 18,000 square feet, comprising of 28 squat racks (the standard measure as to how good a gym is - usually 3 will do), a 70 yard sprint track and an indoor football field (actual size) in the next room that could be used for warm-ups, speed work, sled work etc.

Just the tip of the iceberg

Indoor football field

Indoor sprint track

As the football (actual football) team were in-season, they don’t do a great deal of S&C. However, Chris is responsible for their warm-ups prior to training and playing.

Here he is in action:

Chris is the guy in the middle, apparently enjoying a bit of "Simon says" with  the footballers. 

That night they played Yale (a much weaker team) and won 1-0. Since it went all the way until the final minute of extra time before a goal was scored, this game did nothing to make me like football any more than I did (which is not a lot). There wasn’t even one single headbutt. Gutted.

The basketball team are currently off-season, so they were training 4 times a week. In addition to their basketball training and studying, these guys were busy full-time.  

Chris’s sessions involved a key lift for either the upper or lower body that had to be improved each workout. Prior to this, the athletes performed a warm-up, core training and explosive work. Following the main lift, the athletes had some higher volume accessory work.

Each session is then subject to a thorough analysis between himself and the interns (and me, because I was there) and they discuss the merits of certain exercises, what they think worked well, what didn’t work well, how they can make improvements, which of the athletes looked good, which athletes struggled etc.

I’ve never seen this done before, but I think it’s a great way to develop yourself as a coach. It showed that Chris was constantly trying to better himself and he regularly would talk about how he’d changed his mind about various protocols over the years.

Elite Training Workshop

This workshop was actually a 2 day event, but since the first day was all about business and how to make your business successful, I’ll leave that all out and focus on the second day, which was all about training.

Day 2 started at 9am. At 8.05am I was just casually checking e-mails and deciding what to have for breakfast in the front porch of my hostel, when I see an e-mail from the night before saying that the lectures today would being at 8am. Nips.

I then put a piece of advice into action that I learnt many years ago:

“If you’re going to be late, be late. Don’t rush around and panic yourself so you can turn up 5 minutes late. Relax and take the time to enjoy your breakfast.”

This is exactly what I did J.

(As it turns out, hardly anyone got the e-mail and people were turning up late all over the place).

The first presenter was the ‘band man' on 'Resistance bands: More than just a training tool'.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t totally buy into what he was talking about, which was essentially using bands as a sole training device – for every client (fat loss to elite athletes). He stated that when pressed for space and time, you could use bands to train large groups of people and then explained how they were great from a business point of view. I do totally agree, but from a results point of view, I think you may struggle after a few sessions.

The practical he did was actually not too bad and quite enjoyable, although I would have preferred to have been lifting some iron rather than struggling against a thick rubber band. 

From a business point of view, his lecture was good as you could easily make good money from running classes that only use the bands. These classes would probably be enjoyable as well for the client, however, I believe that they would become very old, very quick and people would get bored.

Other than being pressed for equipment and stretching, I can’t really see many applications as a sole training device for bands. 

The second presenter was Mike Robertson, on 'Complete Core Training'.

About 2 minutes in, Mike’s computer crashed and he was forced to borrow someone’s hand-out in order to finish. I didn’t notice him flinch, but he claims that it was an extremely stressful 2 minutes until he was able to calm down.

What I enjoyed about Mike’s lecture was that he illustrated a continuum of core training, and it’s important to locate your clients (and yourself) on exactly the right point at the beginning of your training programme.

Do squats and deadlifts increase core strength? Yes.

Does Doris the 86 year old daisy gatherer with a history of back pain need to focus on getting her squat and deadlift numbers up? Errrrm….No, because that might break her in two. 

Does Jim the gymnast with many national titles need to concentrate on improving the side plank? No – because gymnasts are typically beasts who can already handle the fundamentals with great ease. 

Assuming you have to put someone at the bottom end of the continuum (like our beloved Doris), then Mike presented a series of levels you need to complete in order to take them to the point where you can largely concentrate on improving core strength with squats, deadlifts etc. But, be warned – it does take a while, especially if they have a current episode of low back pain.

Mike's practical taught us a series of exercises that he uses with his clients in order to strengthen the core. 

Mike Robertson teaching the waiter's carry

Next up was BJ Gaddour presenting ‘Crash Course in Metabolic Training’.

His presentation was good and contained a lot of information about metabolism and how to use training, nutrition and supplements to keep it elevated and make your body into a 'fat burning machine'.

His practical consisted of 4 circuits, using different styles of training - very handy for training large groups.

Unfortunately, BJ totally blew it for me (no pun intended) during the last circuit, which consisted of 1 minute of slow tempo press-ups, then a rest, then 1 minute of slow temp squats, then a rest and then 1 set of slow tempo overhead presses – all to a track repeatedly going ‘1, 2 up, 1, 2, down’. For some, this type of monotonus training may actually be highly enjoyable, but for me it was a right pain in the arse and I stopped when I realised I couldn’t tell my ups from my downs, so I relaxed and watched everyone else struggle.

BJ then went on to say how this type of training targets the mitochondria. I believe this is because this type of training is more aerobic in nature and aerobic training has been shown to increase mitochondrial volume.

I'm not 100% convinced that this is the most appropriate training modality for getting people into shape quickly and I would also worry that it's not that enjoyable for the client.

This is not to take anything away from BJ, as his energy and passion for training people was evident, and his lecture was well delivered. There is also the fact that he has achieved considerably much more success than I have.

I just didn't buy into all of his methods (some of his other methods described in his presentation did make a lot more sense).

But who knows? Maybe next year I'll have changed my mind. 

Finally, Eric Cressey delivered a presentation on 'Medicine Ball Training for Performance and Health'. This was the best presentation of the day. As I’d been to Cressey’s facility a month before and witnessed a whole ton of medicine ball drills, it was great to actually learn names for them and find out when they are best applicable.

Cressey has a unique ability to say around 500 words every 10 seconds, detailing the most comprehensive facts in functional anatomy, whilst making it easy enough for a toddler to understand.

The practical wasn’t medicine ball related (we might have killed each other apparently), so instead Eric showed us how he evaluates shoulder function – something else I saw a lot of at CP, but didn’t know what it all meant.

He demonstrated how utilising correct breathing techniques can instantly give the individual extra ROM  and how the combined total ROM of internal rotation and external rotation should equal at both shoulders, despite asymmetrical differences in internal and external rotation (something which he had alluded to here).

Furthermore, he pulled one guy out of the crowd and presented a test for measuring thoracic spine rotation. Apparently, this is a genuine test, however, when you see the following photo of the set-up, you may think a little differently.....

There are way too many inappropriate comments to be made about this photo....

Joking aside, this was a great test. From this position, the client has rotate to the left and right sides - all from the thoracic spine. All cheating from the lumbar spine is eliminated in the set-up, so if you don’t have mobility in your thoracic spine then you absolutely will not be moving well in this test. 

So that concluded my fun and games in Connecticut.

Final stop – Rhode Island.

Five things I learnt 

1)  Constantly analyse and evaluate your training sessions. What worked? What didn’t? What needs to be changed ASAP? What does the client need more of? How can a particular exercise be progressed/regressed? 

2) Bands can be used as a very effective stretching tool for the hamstrings and hip external rotators. 

3) Never ever settle for quarter squats. They are a disgusting exercise. In fact, they’re not even an exercise. Either, A) you’re not coaching properly, B) the weight is too heavy or C) the squat is too advanced – regress as needed. Unfortunately, in one instance (I won’t say where), all 3 applied and I made a promise to myself to never allow anyone under my guidance to even consider a quarter squat. 

4) People with a huge amount of ROM at the shoulders need a ton of strength and stability training. A lack of strength in the scapula stabilisers will actually inhibit ROM at the glenohumeral joint and give the appearance of tightness. 

5) For executive clients, you can pretty much guarantee their digestion is shot to bits. HCL works wonders in these cases. 

Starting Strength Seminar Day 3

Power Clean

Day 3 began immediately with the power clean. Rippetoe likes the addition of the power clean to a strength training programme because it teaches you to be able to make use of your strength and it enables athletes to become more powerful, jump higher, run faster etc.

Like the best coaches, we were taught from the top down. Starting from the hang, then below the knee, then the mid shin and finally off the floor.

To the best of my knowledge, not a lot of the seminar attendee had Olympic lifting experience, however, during the work sets, I was impressed that the majority of people were able to perform something that resembled a power clean and not a ‘jumping reverse curl’. This clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of the coaching provided to us.

All you have to do is deadlift the bar up to your mid-thigh, then jump, pull the bar up in the air and catch it on your shoulders. Obviously there are a few more technical details (back stays same angle during 1st pull, double-knee bend etc.) but if you can do that, and do it well, you're well on your way to a nice power clean. 

Since I’ve been familiar with the Olympic lifts for roughly 3 years, I took to the power clean very nicely and no fault could be found with my technique. Rippetoe even gave me a complement during the practices saying that it was ‘perfect and exactly how a power clean should look like’. Even whilst wearing trainers.

Flawless, baby

Bench Press

Finally, the bench press – technically, the easiest of all lifts.

This was also the only lift that we were not only assessed on form, but also on spotting technique. We had to safely give a good hand-off to the lifter and then assist in racking the bar on their termination of the final rep. At no point whatsoever we were allowed to touch the bar until it had come to a full lockout after the final rep – and then we had to be quick to grab it and re-rack it.

The only time we were permitted to touching the bar before the end of the last rep was if the bar moves ‘any direction other than up’. If the bar is touched beforehand, the rep doesn’t count and the lifter is allowed to cuff the spotter in the ear as hard as he (or she - could be a woman) likes.

Also the spotter needs to be completely out of eyesight whilst the lifter is doing the exercise. 

In order to assist with the vertical path of the bar, the forearms must be kept vertical, and therefore a fairly wide grip is permitted – much wider than I’m used to. This wider grip actually makes you stronger, but as I’m so unfamiliar with it, I felt quite unstable on the bench – but it’s nice to know I will easily be able to ramp the weight up when I get back to training it again.

I had the pleasant fortune of spotting 'Dwayne' - a large guy who has competed as a powerlifter and has some decent numbers . We were also using the most unstable rack in the gym, which could have easily fallen over at any point. So during Dwayne's easy 140kg for 5 reps, I had to be the guy to save him if all went badly (luckily he was awesome and there was no panic). 

Programming

This is very simple. Firstly, the coach needs to be aware of how far along the progression curve the lifter is. If they're a novice (most people are), then they need to do the 5 lifts regularly and add weight each time. If they're an intermediate (which you'll know because they won't be able to increase the weight each workout), they'll need a volume day (5x5), a recovery day (2x5) and an intensity day (5 x 1). Or something along those lines.

Regarding exercises, coach Rip only likes about 15 exercise. In addition to the key 5, he listed chin-ups, power snatch, front squats, Romanian deadlifts and then went on to say that it got tricky to add anything else. He was completely against single-leg training and stated that if you train properly, you'll be in good balance anyway. Don't think I completely agree with him, but he made an interesting point.

Q & A

For the final part of the seminar, we were asked to think of a question to ask him, which he would then answer in front of the group. I asked him if deadlifting barefoot was a bad idea (since it had been banned the day before) and he went off on one saying that training barefoot is completely moronic and that it will destroy the arches in your foot. He then told me to go and buy a pair of weightlifting shoes and said that his best ever deadlift was in weightlifting shoes as the raised heel allowed him to recruit a bit more of the quadriceps.  Fair enough - I'll add them to my list.

Quotes

I think Mark Rippetoe is one of the most quoted strength coaches as some of the stuff he comes up with is pure genius. Things like, "you can only wear gloves when you train if they match your purse" and  "women who claim to be afraid to train hard because they always "bulk up too much" are often already pretty bulky or "skinny fat" (thin but weak and deconditioned" and have found another excuse to continue life sitting on their butts."

I therefore decided to take note of anything mildly humourous to repeat it here:

  

Attendee: “So what do you think of Triathlons?”

Rip: “I don’t deal with that. That’s.... a mental illness”

“We don’t use PVC pipes in exercises because we’re weightlifters, not plumbers”

“I can squat 600lbs but can’t even do 1 single leg squat. What does that tell you? It’s a circus trick.”

“OK, let’s take a 5 minute piss break”

Rip: “I take the bar out of the rack and do a warm-up set…”

Atendee: “Do you do just 1 warm-up set with only the bar”

Rip: “Haha. Nah!....Six”

(On discussing the possibility of doing ‘Breathing Squats' more than once a week)

Rip: “Yea you could train like that if you wanted, but you’d need to be taking something really special to get you through the workouts”

Attendee: “What you mean like a double dose of caffeine?”

Rip: “No, I mean like cocaine”

Attendee: “So the goal is to squat 3 inches below parallel”

Rip: “No the goal is to squat 405”

(A slim guy is asking about conditioning)

Attendee: “So all you need to do for conditioning is just the prowler?”

Rip: “No. YOU don’t need to do ANY conditioning. YOU need to find one of those all-you-can-eat places...... and then stay there for a while.”

“Doing an ironman is one step away from being dropped off a building – the stress on the body is that intense.”

Rip was the first person to ever renounce their CSCS credentials and wrote to the NSCA saying that they were no longer allowed to say that he had anything to do with them. He said it was an embarrassment to be associated with them because of the absolute rubbish research they were coming up with. He then pulled out a paper in which the researchers had found that a 1RM bench press does not differ whether you perform it on a stable or an unstable surface...

Attendee: "Who would even think to do a study like that anyway?" 

Rip: “That is a key question and I’ll tell you the kind of guy that comes up with a stupid-ass study such as this one. 

*Begins shaking paper furiously* 

"A guy that isn’t very strong.... and doesn’t know ANYTHING about getting strong…..and this is in the journal of STRENGTH and conditioning research!!”

“What causes a stroke? All kinds of shit but not weightlifting.”

 Rip: “I don’t have any credentials after my name. Sometimes, I put M.T. if absolutely need to, like if I'm arguing with a doctor or something”

10 mins later

Atendee: “So..uh... what does M.T stand for?

Rip: “Master Turdsman. Well come on, you gotta have something!”

6 things I learnt:

1) If you take a guy's squat from 200lbs - 500lbs - do you think their core will have gotten stronger? Yes - therefore, provided that the beginner is healthy, in a lot of cases, you can get away without direct core training and just concentrate on the big lifts (although a lot of people will disagree with that).

2) If you are suffering from tennis elbow - do as many chin-ups as possible, rest and then do some more. It may be more painful for a while, but that should flush out the inflammation and you'll be pain free in no time.

3) Don't even mention the double-knee bend to athletes when teaching the Olympic-lifts. If you do the first pull slow enough, the athlete will find that the best position for the beginning of triple extension (the second pull) is if they re-bend their knees. Let them find it out for themselves.

4) In the bottom position of the front squat, there is a much more closed angle at the knees than in the low bar squat. With the knees flexed that much, the hamstrings are contracted and therefore cannot contribute to hip extension during the concentric phase. With the low bar, the knee is not closed as much and the hamstrings are stretched, therefore allowing them to contract in the concentric phase. This stretch will also help to balance forces at the knee joint and keep it healthy. Quarter squats are retarded and for idiots. 

5) The hamstrings anchor the lower back. If the hips shoot up first in the squat, deadlift or clean, the hamstrings are too weak to hold the hips down. Try cueing the lifter to squeeze the hamstrings - that may do the trick first.

6) Active hip 2.0 - the hips MUST be abducted and externally rotated in the squat. By doing so, you free up the hip joint and prevent an impingement from occurring. This allows you to squat deeper. Although the concept of Active hip is more complicated than this - that is the basic premise of it. Don't do anything to correct squat depth until the lifter has pushed their knees out in line with their toes and make sure their hips are externally rotated - that alone will help to gain squat depth in nearly all cases. 

Following the seminar, we received an exam that covered all topics from the past few days. There were 10 questions (one of them was on coaching points - that I happened to miss on day 1. Whoops) that had to be answered in pretty extensive detail. I actually think it was tougher than some of the stuff I had to do in my Masters, which means that becoming a 'Starting Strength Coach' is a credential to be proud of (I'm waiting for my results).

One interesting thing was that the majority of people who turned up for the seminar, were there to improve their lifting technique and hardly any were coaches or trainers. Being a coach or a trainer gives you a huge advantage for understanding  a lot of the technical words and biomechanics and a lot can be learnt that you can immediately use. 

From what I heard, this seminar doesn't leave the USA, so if you ever find yourself with an opportunity to do this seminar - go for it. 

Starting Strength Seminar Days 1 & 2

I added this seminar to my list about a week before flying out as I only found it last minute. Whilst not cheapest of seminars, the coaching points alone have made it a worthy experience and I highly recommend it to anyone who's contemplating it.

The seminar spans 3 days. Day 1 was a Friday night and was 5-9pm (so as not to disturb anyone’s work schedule) in South Brooklyn, NY. Keeping up with my regular 'late arrival style', I arrived an hour late - I had immense difficulty finding the gym, but apparently didn’t miss too much. Day 1 consisted of lecture only, concerning coaching points, why and how we need to get stronger, basic biomechanics and how the biomechanics can then be put into performing a technically perfect squat. 

Day 2 began with the coaching and learning of the squat, followed by the deadlift and then the press.

Day 3 followed with the power clean, bench press, programming and Q&A with Coach Rip. 

Day 1 – Introduction

3 crucially important points for training to get get stronger:

1) Recruit as much muscle mass as possible

2) Use the largest range of movement with the greatest efficiency

3) Use the heaviest weights possible. 

We learnt all the basic biomechanics to gain a full understanding of the above points, including the use of words such as 'force', 'acceleration', 'moment arm', 'sarcomere' and a load of other words I don't think I've used since I was revising in Uni.

However, what made this better than my previous biomechanics lectures was A) this was directly applied to the squat and how the squat could be set up and performed in a way that was the most efficient for the lifter, which is always nice to know, and B) the guy giving the lecture was actually funny and fun to listen to

I won’t go into the complete details (considering Rippetoe wrote a book on the subject, I wouldn't even nearly be able to do it justice), but I’ll mention one thing that is relevant to all the lifts: The bar should move in a vertical path (or as close to vertical as possible) in all lifts. If the bar deters from a vertical path, it creates a new lever arm that causes the lifter to waste energy and no longer be lifting in the most efficient manner. 

We learnt the difference between the high-bar and low-bar positions and the biomechanical differences between the front squat and the back squat. 

Finally, we learnt the importance of being strong. In sports, it is the basis of all attributes to performance. In life, it makes you a better person. 

Day 2

Squat

We began with a quick recap of the previous day followed by the exact technique that was expected of us. The squat is arguably the most important of all lifts, so it was taught first and had the most amount of time dedicated to it.

Rippetoe spent a considerable amount of time discussing the Valsalva manoeuvre and then pulled 3 research papers out of his folder (that he claims to carry with him everywhere he goes, because....well, why wouldn't you?) that completely smash the notion that the Valsalva manoeuvre is harmful. 

In fact, according to the research (Haykowsky et al., 2003), it actually has protective properties that prevent cerebralvascular damage from being done. Rippetoe’s argument against the Valsalva manoeuvre causing strokes or aneurysms was that, if it did, then the carparks of powerlifting meets would be littered with the corpses of powerlifters, which they’re not. 

He made a good point.

With all the lifts, a subject was pulled up in front of everyone and Rippetoe coached them through it, using his set of coaching points, which was available to all of us on a large whiteboard on the wall. 

Following this, we were then put into groups of 5 and assigned a mentor, with each of us taking it in turns to coach one another. When it came to my turn to squat, I was in big trouble. Firstly, I was the only person in the room wearing trainers, which compromised my ability to squat with good mechanics. Secondly, we were using the low bar position, which I have never used before and I found it almost impossible (at first) to refrain from trying to maintain a vertical spine. Thirdly, as I had never used this position and apparently lack sufficient external rotation, my shoulders were nastily contorted in a way they never had been in before. As the weights increased, so did the discomfort

By the time I got to the working sets, the pain my shoulders were in was unbearable and it felt like they were going to dislocate. Because of this pain, I A) couldn’t concentrate on any of the other coaching points and B) couldn’t go as heavy as I’d have liked. In fact, the weight on the bar was downright embarrassing and I'm fortunate I didn't get any photos.

Following all of our warm-up sets, we had to perform a working set with a heavy(ish) weight in front of everyone in order for Rippetoe to critique our form. All I wanted to do was get the set done quickly for the benefit of my shoulders, so I don’t remember exactly what his comments were other than my shoes were inappropriate. According to my mentor, I had managed to self-correct my technique as well, which was a touch, because he thought I was heading for a big public disaster.

A couple of guys failed to squat deep for all of their reps. As they had done for the first couple, it showed they were more than capable of doing so. Rip then asked everyone what that meant. When no one responded he made a pretty crude gesture with his hands to symbolise that the man was in fact, a girl.

Key lesson - squat deep. Always.

During the second warm-up set - I ripped my pants. This scared everyone and they immediately stopped talking and telling me how terrible my form was as they thought I’d torn my hamstrings in half.  

At least I was able to finish my set in peace.

Deadlift

This is where I began to shine. There were 5 steps to the deadlift. Approach the bar, hold the bar, bend your knees, raise chest but keep hips still and then lift. Simples.

Without meaning to blow my own trumpet, I found coaching the deadlift pretty easy (probably because my guy had good form) and was able execute it myself with great form.

My biggest issue for the deadlift was my trainers – the spongy heel prevented me from really driving my heels into the ground and as a result, my weight shifted forwards. However, my pulling technique was described as ‘perfect’ and considering some of the trainwrecks that were supposed to resemble deadlifts were by guys in weightlifting shoes, I didn't really care. 

One of the word's authorities saying what a superb job I'm doing (except for the choice of footwear)

An important point for the deadlift is to do ALL the warm-up sets with a pronated grip as this build grip strength, which is important for athletes. Since only 1 working set is generally required, that can be used with a mixed grip, or if tolerable, a hook grip, which is actually more preferable as it prevents the bar from rotating in the transverse plane, which can (and did for one unfortunate guy) happen with the mixed grip.

Press

Surprisingly, this was the most technical of all lifts, and the only one I really struggled with.

Since bar must move in a vertical path from the shoulders to above the head, it is necessary for the lifter to move their head out of the way until the bar has passed their forehead, then bring the head forward and underneath the bar.

This is where it got tricky. To begin the lift, you need to press the bar up as if you’re trying to hit yourself in the nose, then you need to lean back at the hips and quickly snap the whole body forward again once the bar is clear of the head. On the lowering phase, you need to lower quickly, and once again, aim to hit yourself in the nose. Right before the bar collides with your face, you need to lean back again. But, once the bar has been lowered, you need to immediately press it again and do the required movements of the body around the bar.

My issue was that I kept lowering the bar too slowly and then not staying in a leaning back position at the end of the movement, therefore I was wasting a lot of energy. I need to get back into the gym again sharpish and tidy this lift up....

On the plus side, my mentor 'Julie' found out I was soon heading to Connecticut and recommended a pizza place that got the thumbs up of all the other mentors. 

To be continued.....

Review of Biosignature CE: Lab Analysis

Biosignature modulation is a non-invasive way of measuring why we store body fat in certain areas.  The creator, strength coach Charles Poliquin, noted that where the body stores fat is indicative of various hormonal mishaps, for example, high triceps fat = low testosterone, high hamstring/quad fat = high estrogen and high upper-back/love handles = poor insulin management.

Following the Biosignature seminar, practitioners are able to attend the Biosignature Continuing Education series, which focus on one particular topic that has only briefly been covered in the level 1 seminar, in this case 'Lab Analysis'.

This seminar was conducted by Dr. Mark Schauss, an expert on the effects of environmental toxicity on human health and the use of laboratory testing (www.toxicworldbook.com). His seminar was held at the Poliquin Strength Institute and was a real eye-opener into the world of functional medicine and optimising health.

In his book, he describes the tale of how he was able to save his daughter’s life from reoccurring epileptic seizures of the most severe kind, by running extensive lab tests and correcting deficiencies, enhancing detoxification and eliminating food sensitivities. A true hero. 

The use of lab testing for the personal trainer/strength and conditioning coach can be to optimise their clients’ health and/or performance. The data from lab tests can also be indicative of any fat loss/muscle building obstacles that can then be overcome with correct supplementation protocols/lifestyle changes.

Right at the beginning of day 1, Charles Poliquin introduced us to Pat Mendes – a superheavyweight Olympic weightlifter – the USA’s best chance of a gold medal next year and who is also similar in size to a small house (completely irrelevant to the rest of this blog but still thought I’d mention it).

Following this introduction, we began with lectures on the different blood tests available; Comprehensive Blood Chemistry, Urine Organic Acids and Plasma Amino Acids. Within each test, we learnt what may be occurring in the body with high and low readings, optimal scores that you should be achieving and strategies for correcting abnormal scores.

On day 2, Mark presented us with case studies of his patients with their conditions described so that we were able to learn how different complaints are manifested in test results. Furthermore, we were introduced to data from Mediator Release Testing (MRT – the gold standard measure of testing food sensitivities) and finally, we were presented with test results, from which we had to work out the condition.

 Day 3 was only a half day, we had one lecture on hormone testing, which was then followed by a test on everything we’d learnt so far, which had questions like:

An individual has an Alkaline Phosphatase of 27. What should you do? 

a. Check his or her zinc level  

b. Send them to their primary care practitioner immediately 

c. Recommend that they stop drinking any form of alcohol

d.Retest to make sure the result is correct

Simple eh? (That was actually one of the easier questions) Fortunately, Mark was very relaxed about the test and provided it on day 1, which allowed me to try and learn it inside out. Swish.

The answer is ‘a’ by the way – having an alkaline phosphatase level that low is indicative of a zinc deficiency.

This was followed by one final lecture on ‘how to prevent cognitive decline’, during which, Schauss presented a number of different nutrients that have had extensive research backing them to support brain health during aging and prevent nasties such as Alzheimer’s and dementia. Some of these nutrients can also be used pre-workout to provide an extremely energising boost and give you a great ‘Whoa!’ feeling (as one attendee described it) and increase strength levels.

Like all other doctors in the know, Schauss completely smashed the notion that cholesterol causes heart disease and told us that by having a total cholesterol of <160, your risk of having cancer, an accident of any kind or a stroke, significantly increases. He told us stories of doctors trying to lower peoples’ cholesterol to dangerously low levels, despite the fact that their low cholesterol was causing them to feel ill and see their doctor in the first place. Since there’s massive money to be made in the statin (cholesterol lowering drugs) industry, it may be a very long time before the association between cholesterol and heart health is ignored.

For an amusing (and somewhat sad) story about a doctor versus a 'red-meat eating alpha-male strength coach', read my friend Tyler’s blog post here.

Mark was hugely against vegetarianism, stating that they ALWAYS have horrific blood chemistries (always deficient in carnitine, glycine and vitamin B12 – very very bad). This can lead to a host of health problems and make losing body fat/increasing muscle mass a real uphill struggle. Schuass said the only time he ever came across a vegetarian with healthy blood was a bodybuilder who spent 8-10 hours a DAY on food preparation. Assuming that any vegetarian who does not have this time luxury and but is conscious of their health – just eat the damn steak.

As an expert in the area of toxicity, he taught us that this is one of the biggest threats to mankind that it may also be a major contributor to obesity. To illustrate this point, I have drawn a highly sophisticated diagram using Microsoft paint:

If the individual is sedentary, over time this can lead to a large amount of fat accumulation as fewer calories are burnt at rest. Furthermore, toxins are stored in fat cells, so when body fat is lost toxins are released into the body. If the individual’s detoxification pathways are not up to scratch, they may feel ill as a result and quickly give up on the fat loss programme, thinking that fat loss is a bad idea (no, getting fat was a bad idea).

How do you know if you’re toxic? Well, if you’re breathing then you can safely assume you are toxic – toxins are everywhere.

Reducing your toxic burden (for example, reducing your use of plastics) and making some attempt to enhance detoxification (eating more protein and fibre and taking a liver support supplement will help) could have a significant impact on what may otherwise be a real uphill struggle. 

One real health scare is the addition of ‘phthalates’ to many cosmetic products. Phthalates are nasty compounds that have been shown to cause a myriad of health problems. They’re so bad in fact, that they have been banned in the E.U. (phew), but not in the U.S. We were told a story of a couple who both had recurring cancer and had gone to see Mark Schauss. Their blood work showed that their phthalate levels exceeded 15,000% of what they should be (i.e. zero), which was highly likely to be the cause of why their cancer had returned. The couple were both confused as they ate organically, drank filtered water and otherwise lived very healthy lives. It turned out that the woman had an obsession with 'glade plug-ins' -  known for their high levels of phthalates - and had 2 in every room in the house.

By the end of the seminar, I was familiar with many new long science words that would have impressed my old biology teacher. In addition to this, I also believe I have a clearer understanding in how to interpret blood data. How long it will be before I begin to use this with clients? Probably quite a while as it's an extremely complex area that I would need to learn more about, but it would be nice to have some practice with myself first and see if I can fix a few things.

10 things I learnt: 

1) If you (or someone you know) are pregnant, your cholesterol levels are supposed to be high. Should your doctor make any attempt to lower them – he is an idiot and a danger to you and your unborn child’s health - go and find another doctor. 

2) In order to get enough nutrients from food, you would need to eat approximately 5500-6000kcal a day (this was obviously not the case when soil quality was good), therefore nowadays, supplementation is essential for optimal health. 

3) Margarine and motor oil are almost identical on a molecular level. Apparently, it is possible to run a car off margarine. Eat real butter instead. 

4) Washing your hands regularly is the only consistent way to increase albumin levels. Why is this important? Elevated albumin levels are associated with increased longevity. 

5) Reducing sodium levels too much will increase your risk of a heart attack. 

6) If 500 men take cholesterol lowering drugs, only one of them will saved from having a heart attack. The remaining 499 will have muscle pains and overall poor health as statins come with health risks. 

7) By itself, water is no good for staying hydrated -you must have added electrolytes (doesn't include lucazde etc). This is an extremely important fact for when training/competing. 

8) The more stress you are under, the more protein you need to consume. 

9)  If you test sensitive to beef, the chances are that it was ‘grain-fed’ – you will probably be OK to eat ‘grass-fed’ beef as a natural diet changes the protein structure of the meat. 

10)  It appears that if you stay on top of your blood chemistries, you stay on top of your health. It would also appear that you can prevent almost any disease by regularly having blood work, as many diseases, if not all, present themselves long in advance by means of deficiencies in nutrients and excesses of toxins. By being aware of this, you can prevent the deterioration of health that is generally associated with ageing.

Now I’m in New York, 5 hours away from the ‘Starting Strength Seminar’ with Mark Rippetoe. 

Apparently, ‘he swears a lot and will call you a pussy’ (Charles Staley).

Sounds like a great guy!