Best Exercises You're not doing - the Turkish Get Up

Aside from helping you cut a steely core, the TGU increases stability and upper body control – powering you to a stronger overhead press.

Why muscle up the motivation to train if your workout doesn’t benefit your body outside the gym? Trust us, there’s little worth in size without strength. This month master the Turkish Get-Up: it’s the best multi-tasking exercise you’re not doing.

As one of the best functional movements – exercises that emulate real life tasks like lugging luggage or shifting heavy furniture – the TGU hits all the major muscle groups. In one rep you test hip and shoulder mobility, core strength, rotational control and scapular stability. Get it wrong and you risk coming face to face with heavy metal and an awkward conversation with your boss, explaining away a black eye.

However, don’t be put off by this or retro images of strongmen doing the move with 100lbs or more. This exercise is as much for the beginner as it is for those with brawn.

You can use the getup to get ahead in your training one of two ways. The first, in warmups. Add light load TGUs as a prequel to overhead lifting. They’re a nice way to build base strength and experience load in the overhead position. That’s because, rather than press the load up, you sneak the body underneath the weight – a little like building a pyramid underneath the kettlebell.

Alternatively, stop being a planker and reach for a heavy kettlebell to hammer your core at the end of the workout.

Like the deadlift, there’s few people that won’t get bang for their butt from this move. So what are you waiting for?

You need:

A kettlebell, barbell, sandbag or dumbbell all work. Training at home? Practice with bodyweight or a 2ltr water bottle.

Master the move:

1. Lying on the floor, safely move your weight of choice into a locked out position inline with your right shoulder. Slide your right foot in towards your bum until it’s next to your left knee.
2. Drive up onto the elbow of the left arm by firing the abs and pushing off the opposite leg – think of punching the weight to the ceiling or ‘crunch and punch’.
3. Drive your hips to the ceiling while engaging the glutes and abs to create enough space to slide your leg beneath you into a half kneel position.
4. Step up from half kneel to standing keeping the weight above your head and core tight. Breathe.
5. You’re not done yet. Reverse steps 1 to 4 to get back to the floor.

Exhale......

Pro athletes around the globe have been paying a lot of attention to a muscle they can't see or touch: the diaphragm.  Having studied under the US based Postural Restoration Institute, I set about trying to understand why....

We are pre programmed to survive.  Our brains will do everything they can to make sure we don't die today.  Ensuring our hearts pump blood around our bodies and that we breathe air in and out.  Although we don't consciously control our hearts, we can control our breathing - and thats why positional breathing techniques can be so powerful and effective.

Our diaphragm is a respiratory muscle - it is 'designed' to draw air into our chest, however,  much the same way as changing the angle of a bench can make a chest press more or less difficult, changing the position of our hips, ribcage, or indeed any other part of our bodies can put the diaphragm in a position of weakness.  If and when this happens, our brains have to figure out how to get air in and out another way...

Not breathing is not an option, so with the diaphragm out of play we will have to breathe from the top of our lungs which involves trying to 'shrug up' the shoulders to create space.  This shrugging up, or over extension,  can cause tension and trigger points on the shoulder and neck, tension in the jaw, headaches, and even debilitating migraines.  Working down the chain there will be a tendency to hyperextend the lower back - causing a cascade of compensatory patterns in the hips, knees and even feet!

Our bodies are not designed to live the way we do.  We spend far too much time in one position, whether sat at desks, or exercising always in the same way.  Essentially we are forcing our bodies to live a 2D symmetrical life when we should be living in a more asymmetric, or 3D kind of way.

If you were to draw a line down the middle of your body, we would not be the same on both sides.  And yet if you think bout the activities we partake in to move our bodies - especially in gym settings - we are expected to do everything symmetrically:  run in a straight line on a treadmill, sit on a spin bike, perform a squat or a deadlift in a neat parallel stance....  These activities all fit into a world we have created around us, but it is not how we are meant to be.  We need and thrive on reciprocal rotation in order for our bodies to work correctly.

The founder and godfather of PRI - physical therapist Ron Hruska - discovered that common problems such as shoulder or back pain are caused by improper posture and therefore improper breathing.  By fixing the posture and optimising breathing patterns we can cause the most extraordinary changes to almost every aspect of human performance.  All we do is train your brain to breathe efficiently in a more optimal position.  A little like pressing the reset button on a mobile phone!

Core Training

I was recently asked by Mens Health magazine to put together some information for an article about core training. As is often the case with these kind of requests they are a little unsure what shape the article will take - as such I cobbled together my current (because they do change!) thoughts on the core – what it does – and how to train it. The Mens Health piece ended up being shorter than planned and more of a sample workout – you can see the article here.

However, I thought it would be worthwhile publishing the information I had put together for them.

The core - depending on who you listen to – can include everything from your ‘6 pack’ mucle (rectus abdominus) through to your gluteals (butt) and even your diaphragm. Training it effectively will require understanding that its more than doing crunches.



 

Muscles in the body can be broadly catergorised into ‘tonic’ or ‘phasic’ muscles.

Tonic muscles have a job of maintaining tone and are also known as postural muscles or stabilisers.

Phasic muscles - as the name suggests - provide movement.

[caption id="attachment_101" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Avoid dysfunction, imbalance and injury by not mixing up your Dachshunds with your Huskies. Or just get your stabilisers to stabilise.[/caption]

 

Maintaining optimal functionality requires us to use the right muscles,  at the right time, for the right job.  When we have large global (phasic) muscles doing the job of smaller, local (tonic) muscles, the big boys become overly 'tonic' (tight) and the little guys become weak and inactive. Classic example of this is the chronically tight hamstring doing the job of stabilising a pelvis  in a person with a weak core - you can see my post on the relation between hamstrings and core strength here.

The musculature of the ‘core’ falls into the tonic category .  Tonic, or postural muscles have a role of resisting movement rather than providing it. Their job is quite simply to keep you upright, or more specifically keep your ribcage on top of your pelvis.

 

[caption id="attachment_97" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Core stability - natures version of Jenga[/caption]

Understanding the role of the core then makes training it very simple. All we do is understand how many ways our upright, neutral posture can be compromised, and train to provide strength resisting those forces.

What directions can affect or challenge our 'neutrality'?

Flexion (forward bending)

Extension (backward bending, or arching)

Lateral flexion (side bending)

Rotation

Now to effectively train the core we need exercises to provide strength and stability resisting ALL of those directional forces. The most important to consider are the flexion and extension resistant exercises – as they are the most common forces we have to deal with – which of those we bias will depend on the starting posture of the individual.

Good ‘bang for your buck’ exercises for each plane:

Anti-flexion: ‘bird dogs’, prone ‘superman’, glute bridges

Anti extension: dead bugs, roll outs, plank variations.

Anti lateral flexion: Side planks, suitcase carries

Anti-rotation: chopping variations (as a guide - start with half kneeling and progress through tall kneeling, to standing)

 

Most important point to get across with core training, or indeed training any other tonic muscle (rotator cuff etc) is that you do not train them to failure – ever!

[caption id="attachment_98" align="aligncenter" width="105"] Little, often, and always with correct form is the key to core stability[/caption]

 

Crushing a bicep / tricep workout till you can fry an egg on your arm is all well and good – but ever tried doing that and then performing a fine control task with that same arm the next day?

Muscles that we need to maintain posture and prevent injury we do not teach to fail and shut down– think of it as driving without your seatbelt on….

PRI Postural respiration - Cliff notes

PRI stands for Postural Restoration Insitute - a group of very clever folks led by Ron Hruska, working out of the Hruska Clinic in Lincoln Nebraska.  Anyone scanning the internet for training / rehab information will have undoubtably come across writing either by them, quoting them, or at least heavily influenced by them.

I was introduced to the PRI school of thought whilst spending some time at Cressey Performance in December 2013.  I was, quite frankly, pretty taken aback at the dramatic impact some simple breathing drills could have on my hip and shoulder range of motion, and that some niggly SI joint pain I'd had for years had 'magically' vanished. Needless to say - after getting back to the UK I was very keen to get into a bit more detail as to the hows and whys of PRI methodology and signed up for their certification program.

 

Now PRI courses are very anatomy heavy - and very technical in their descriptions of internal kinematics.  Bit my attempt at a cliff note summary is below:

 

Human beings are hard wired to not die.  When we talk about primal patterning - nothing is more 'functional' than staying alive.  This is a key concept of how PRI methodologies work.

[caption id="attachment_90" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Staying alive is important.
And JT opening up his right chest wall helps him do this.[/caption]

The PRI thought process is that we as humans will adopt some postural changes as a result of both internal and external influences.  Internal being the internal anatomical asymmetry we are all born with - larger chest cavity on the right side, thicker diaphragm leaflet on the right, heart and vena cava on the left - making it easier for us to collapse the right chest cavity than the left.  Throw on top of that the right sided world we have created around us - where even the southpaws will generally have to reach for most things with their right hand and you can see why what PRI term the Left AIC Right BC pattern is so frequently adopted

 

[caption id="attachment_91" align="aligncenter" width="194"] Left AIC Pattern.
Credit: Postural Restoration Institute.[/caption]

So if we have settled into a posture like the one above - we have closed down the right mediastinum and created a less than optimal mechanism for respiration.  However - respiration is a pre requisite for life - and we are hard wired to ensure that we can continue to exchange gas no matter what.

Now there lies the rub - a less than optimal respiratory mechanism will require greater assistance from the accessory respiratory muscles (lats, upper traps, legator ecap, scaliness, SCM) and start to create all kinds of associated problems relating to over activity or hyper tonicity in these areas - this list is seemingly endless and ranges from upper trap trigger points through to thoracic outlet syndrome, migraines and anxiety.  But... as we need to breathe...we will use whatever means necessary to do so - and if that means recruiting all these other muscles to do it then so be it - it may screw us up - but at least we're not dead....  However, thats not the while story - now that we have figured out a new way to breathe, our in built survival mechanism will not actually permit movements that it sees as a threat to this new pattern.  So if you are using your neck to breathe - your neck is 'on'  - and don't expect it to be 'off' until you have fixed the pattern - all the stretching in the world won't solve that problem as the neural tension created is (as far as your nervous system is concerned) what is keeping you alive.

Now we know what the problem is then how do we fix it?

PRI non manual techniques are essentially taking the subject to the opposite posture of the one s/he is in (so typically externally rotating the right shoulder and ribcage and internally rotating the left hip) and carrying out controlled, forceful, diaphragmatic breathing in that new posture.  The purpose of this is to 'trick' your nervous system into allowing inhibition of the overactive accessory muscles.  In simple terms convincing yourself that coming out of the adopted posture is no longer a threat....

The list of PRI positional breathing drills is immense and way too long to go into here - but they are all built on that underlying principle of reversing the acquired posture - and learning to breathe there.  Only when you can breathe there can you 'own' the new pattern you are trying to create.

So there it is  - 20+ hours of lectures down to a few paragraphs and a John Travolta picture.  Hope this summary is useful - and I highly recommend checking out the full PRI resources.

 

 

Womens Health

Those of you who know me, and my training philosophy, will know that the whole '10 week challenge' body transformation thing is about as far removed from what I practise as it is possible to be.

I don't claim to be a 'diet guy' or to be the one to turn to when prepping for photo shoots. I train my clients and athletes to get stronger, perform better, move more efficiently, avoid and recover from injury.

However, this time last year I took on a project for Womens Health Magazine that was exactly that.  Take a 20 something journalist still slightly living the student lifestyle, and see what we can do with her in a 10 week training cycle.   We didn't do anything mind blowing - we worked on her alignment and mobility, then once her movements were cleaned up she trained to get stronger in some basic lifts whilst cutting out the junk from her diet.   She trained hard,  lifting 4 days per week with an active recovery low intensity 'fuel burning' session thrown in.  The diet was sensible, 90% 'clean' leaving room for a few treats and cheats.

 



The reason I am re visiting this subject now is that I have been updating a training program this morning for a colleague of this 20 something journalist.  Some 12 months on from the original project.  The program is again focussing on movement quality over quantity, and improving athleticism and performance.   It is not about quick fixes, fad diets and 'transformations'.

Training for improved performance gives specific, measurable results and sustainable benefits to quality of life.  There is a reason why 12 months on we're still going.....

Read the full article here

 

Make Yourself Smarter

I love a quote from the Boston based rehab specialist Mike Reinold,

"If you aren't learning you aren't trying"

This , in my opinion, couldn't be more true.  If  - as fitness professionals, health professionals, rehab specialists or whatever we want to call ourselves  - we aren't doing the best for our clients then what are we really doing?

Shouting and counting?

I know I'd be wanting a little more than that for £1 per minute.

I have always thought that in any field the best way to learn and better yourself is to find someone who is better at it than you (time to put the egos away here, there is always someone!), and find out how they do things.

With this in mind I made a recent trip to Cressey Performance in Massachusetts, USA to observe two of the very best in the business of performance training - Eric Cressey and Tony Gentilcore -  two people who's work I follow closely and have immense respect for.

I knew I was going to see assessment and coaching of the highest order.  However, I was completely blown away at how hands on and accessible these guys are.  Not only are the clients of CP lucky to have two of Americas finest coaches under the same roof-  but they genuinely do get hands on coaching from these guys on each and every training session..

My last training session at CP saw Major League and Collegiate baseball players and a former US international rugby player - working out alongside a 50 year old local amateur golfer and a 13 year old softball hopeful.  Now there may not be anything too unusual in that - but - what was very special is that the main men of Cressey Performance gave just as much time and attention to these guys as they did their star athletes.  And perhaps more importantly the star athletes were very happy to wait their turn...

This for me was like a return to my days of team sports training sessions, Cressey Performance is run not like a club - but like a team  - and everyone is made to feel part of it.   Eric, Tony and Pete have put together something very special over in Hudson MA.  They have a huge CPFAMILY emblazoned on the wall by the warm up area, but far from being one of the many generic slogans you see on gym walls around the world this is a very accurate description.

Far from this being a love poem about the facility in Hudson - the take home point is that if you want to get better then surround yourself by people better than yourself.  I hear all the time about how courses, seminars, textbooks are prohibitively expensive - get out there and see how other coaches do things, and how other training facilities are run.  Try it - and you'll be amazed at what you can accomplish.

 

 

How to design a warm up

A warm up is not about getting warm. Looking around you when you come in to train you will notice that a typical gym bunny ‘warm up’ consists of a couple of light weight sets of the exercise they are about to do, then pile on the weight and go for glory.

If you’re lucky you may see someone do a few minutes on a cross trainer or a rower then one or two static stretches or swings of their limbs. They may be warm – yes, but are they prepared for the movements they are about to undertake – absolutely not.

The purpose of this article is to change the emphasis of a ‘warm up’ from simply getting warm on a frosty morning, to being adequately prepared for a training session. By following some of these pointers you should see a marked improvement in how you move and feel, your performance in the gym, and most importantly reducing your risk of injury. From a typical gym session of 1 hour, you should spend at least 15 minutes of that on your warm ups.

The most important consideration when designing your warm up is that strength training cements movement patterns. Therefore if you have a faulty or dysfunctional movement – then performing it under load for sets and reps will make it very hard to ‘un learn’. Your warm up, therefore, should be about getting into the most optimal position available to you at that time and then beginning to work under load.

I like to break a warm up into four distinct sections:

Release: Foam rolling or other myofascial work to reduce sympathetic tone and improve tissue quality.

Reset: The most simple way to look at this is ‘reverse posture’. Have you just been sat hunched over a keyboard for 8 hours? In which case consider thoracic extensions. Have you just run to the gym or been on your feet all day? In which case think of core activation work and specific hip mobility.

This is about getting you as close to a ‘neutral’ posture as you can get on that particular day. Your re-set drills will be specific to you and are things you should see progressions with from session to session.

Readiness: What movements are you about to perform in the gym?

Overhead pressing – then think of scapular stabilisation and shoulder mobility. quatting – then consider ankle mobility, glute activation and hip flexor mobility.

This portion of your warm up will be specific to your work out. If you are unsure then I recommend working ‘toe to head’ through your body segments – each adjacent segment should be either mobile or stable i.e.:

 

Feet – stable

 

Ankle – Mobile

 

Knee – Stable

 

Hip – Mobile

 

Lumbar spine – Stable

 

Thoracic spine – Mobile

 

Scapular – stable

 

Shoulder – Mobile

Reactive: This is really your transition from your warm up to the workout. Reactive work is prepping your central nervous system (CNS) and getting it fired up to do some work. Examples of reactive work for the lower body are skipping, hopping and bounding drills. For the upper body - medicine ball throws, slams and stomps. For the supermen (and women) out there this is where your box jumps and clap push ups should fit in to your session.

Give this a try, and let me know how you get on, and remember - a warm is not about getting warm – it is about getting your body in the optimal position to cope with the demands you are about to place on it.

Don't forget the little guys

One of the most common training mistakes we see people making is letting the mirror or their ego be their guide – as opposed to a logical, thought out and planned training session.

Training only what you can see in the mirror, or falling into the trap of needing a testosterone fuelled answer to ‘how much do you bench?’ can lead to an unbalanced program. Unbalanced programming leads to an unbalanced body. An unbalanced body can, and in the majority of cases, will, lead to injury or pain – not cool.

In this day and age of limited time, anything that seems like a quick fix or giving instant results will have its appeal. However, taking a few minutes at the start of every workout on some of the vastly overlook smaller stabilising muscles will pay off tenfold when it comes to training the bigger muscle groups.

One of the smaller areas that almost everyone can benefit from paying some attention to is the stabilising musculature of the scapular. The scapular, or shoulder blade, has two quite different but interdependent functions in upper limb mechanics. It both provides stability, and assists with movement at our most mobile joint – the shoulder.

FACT – Did you know that the humorous, or upper arm, can only abduct (raise outwards) by 30 degrees? The rest of the movement is provided by the scapular.

We all know that people interested in weight training, whether its for sports performance, health, or simple aesthetics all get a kick out of lifting heavy things.

However, how many times do you stop and think about what must happen within the body to provide that force? A bench press, overhead press, or the humble push-up all require an expression of force during shoulder flexion (driving the upper arm away from the body). If the upper arm can only abduct by 30 degrees without needing assistance from the shoulder blade then we can start to see how important healthy and functional scapulae are during international bench press hour (that’s Monday at 6pm to the uninitiated).

So what does this all mean? Well – did you ever hear the expression ‘you can’t shoot a canon from a canoe’? Most often quoted when talking about core training – but equally important in shoulder function.

There is no way that 100kg bench press is going anywhere in a hurry without being propelled from a stable base – and that stability comes from the shoulder blade. If there is no stability in the scapular then the body will find it some place else. All that shrugging and wriggling around that you see during a bench press or a push up is not so much people trying to hoist up a weight – but more the body looking for a stable platform from which to exert a force. The body will find stability somewhere – it doesn’t want a 100kg barbell crashing down on it any more than it wants to go face first into the matt during a push up. Another way to look at this is trying to exert a force with your arms without stable scapulae is a bit like trying to sprint on sand – its possible, but it isn’t half hard work!

How do we achieve this?

You can ‘set’ your scapulae by going through some very simple activation drills for the surrounding musculature. Try running through the following before performing any kind of upper body push (or pull) and you should be able to feel the effect of having a stable platform.

*Prone ‘scaptions’ or flying Ys

*Scapular push ups (also known as serratus punch)

*Hanging scapular retractions (hand from a chin up bar, and simply try to pinch your shoulder blades together)

*Scapular wall slides

Each of these movements will help you to be aware of where your shoulder blades are sitting, but also to innervate the smaller muscles that hold the scapulae in place. The shoulder blades should feel as though they are sucked down and back and are flat against the back of the rib cage.

It may go against your instincts in a time pressured lunchtime training session, but if you want to train the big muscle groups effectively then invest 10 mins at the start of every workout on some of the small ones.