Tonight, I want to talk very briefly on the idea of "debating".
I have had some controversial topics come up in my profession, and it inevitably leads to an "argument". The issue I have with a situation like that is this: I do not condone arguments, I believe in discussions. Some people may see these two concepts as interchangeable, but I would say those individuals are more likely the ones that want to argue. In my opinion (key word here, OPINION), arguments arise when two people have conflicting BELIEFS about a topic, and want to convince the other that their belief is more knowledgeable, inspiring, or just downright correct. Where does this become a problem? Beliefs are deep. Beliefs are what your religion is based on. Your intrinsic ethical code is foundationally grounded in beliefs. Because of this, it is extremely difficult, indeed borderline impossible, to change someone's beliefs in a matter of a 15 minute conversation with them. What is more likely to happen? You piss them off, and they discontinue further communication with you.
Instead, I would implore each individual to have a strong set of opinions. Opinions are malleable. They are firm in that you back them with the knowledge that you currently have, but are pliable with new information that may come along. We all can agree that fitness and wellness have come a long way in 20 years. Why would you dig your heels in so deeply on a subject (like fitness in my case) that you know can change in a matter of years? This can be said of all professions, times change, and ideas change with it.
My suggestion? Have 2-3 strong, invincible beliefs. Truths of life that you know are inalienable and timeless. The rest of your thoughts, be strongly opinionated in. And know that there may come a time when you have a DISCUSSION with someone that brings up strong evidence to the contrary of your opinion. You will find that it is much easier you to adapt and absorb this information, when you are working with an opinion.
And remember, when you are discussing a topic with someone, and you have to raise your voice, it is more than likely because you are failing to bring clarity or content to the conversation. Instead, bring an open mind, and a valid opinion.
My beliefs?
1) We are responsible for our own health and well-being, and we must give a conscious effort to our movements and our choices to keep our health in good standing.
2) Acting positively and searching for the most positive outlook for every situation will result in a more positive outlook on life.
3) Life is short. Do what makes you happy, and never regret a moment.
Good day today. Little early morning workout, a lot of business building at the Club, a great group session with some awesome athletes, and finished with a team meeting with the greatest personal training team in Lafayette! What did you do for your personal physical, occupational, or social development today?
Today, we are talking about your support system, your bones. Many people move their exercises with a muscle mentality. They believe that by being "strong" with their muscles, that they can power through any movement well. However, consider this. Our muscles are only as strong and supportive as the structures for which they are attached, or can create torque upon. Think about squatting on a solid rubber floor. It is easy to create torque in the feet, externally rotate the femur, and create massive force. Now consider doing it on ice. Much less force can be created. Now on top of water (yes, I know, you can't stand on water, point made!). The final point is that our muscles are really great levers, but they must have something on which they can act: your bones.
Your skeletal system is the support system of your body. The sole purpose of your muscles is to generate force on your bones to change the angles of your joints. This is why it is called the musculoskeletal system. These two systems work together to move your body. Without your skeletal system, you would be very mushy.
So what does this mean for exercise? You can only be proficient in a movement with muscular strength alone for so long before your posture and form cause faults and failures. Imagine a back squat (check out The Back Squat - Learn to Lift Well, I added a new video!) where you become very soft in your core, allowing your spine to be loose and flex or extend with no resistance. Very quickly you will fail to be able to lift the load. Now imagine that you are in a "somewhat proper" position, but still not quite perfect, but are trying to lift a maximal load. Again, being in a slightly compromised position can lead to failure. This is why it is imperative to learn how to use proper mechanics and posture throughout each of your movements to ensure not only that you can support maximum loads, but so that your body wears more slowly, due to it being in the ideal position to go through every day motions hundreds of thousands of times in the right way.
So don't just learn how to move hard, or move strong, learn to how to move WELL and in the right position. Check out the short video below to help demonstrate my point. And always,
Greetings Fitters,
Crazy Holidays! Lots of family, lots of food, lots of fun. And now, back to it. I hope you were able to work on your fitness throughout the craziness, I know I did!
Today I have to talk about some key points on the back squat. A lot of people avoid the back squat for a lot of reasons:
1) They saw the big guy get red faced, screaming as he tries to stand up with 500 lbs, and figured it is too much work or too intimidating. 2) It takes a lot of technique, and isn't worth the time. 3) They haven't had any instruction to do it well.
4) They have been injured from the movement before.
These are legitimate excuses to have caution when dealing with the back squat, but no reason at all to avoid it completely! The back squat can be very technical, but recall that so is running, but we spend a lot less of a proportion of technique training to actual running. Injury can occur from back squatting easily, but so can getting out of bed incorrectly, or bending over to pick up a grandchild. Moving well and learning proper technique can save you in any movement, including this one. And I'll admit the guy screaming over a quarter ton on his back is slightly intimidating, but there's no reason whatsoever for you to try that, so why worry?
Here is a short list of reasons why back squatting will assist you in the every day routine: 1) Learn how to move up and down with a load on your back (i.e. moving safely while carrying a child) 2) Create strength synergistically in your leg muscles, through full range of motion, that can transfer to almost all other movements (running, jumping, lunging, etc.) 3) Back squats allows the biggest capacity to move the most weight while dealing with any restrictions in mobility (i.e. you can move a large load in a back squat that may be impossible in an overhead squat. NOTE: this does not mean do not work to create mobility for the front squat or overhead squat. I simply mean you can continue to gain strength through the back squat WHILE working on mobility for these other squats)
So now that we have a basic idea for the reasoning behind back squatting, let's learn a little bit about how to back squat well. Here are some major points of performance.
These first three are more for back squats specifically, in that they deal with having a barbell on your back.
1) Keep the upper back tight - Start by externally rotating the shoulders by "breaking" the bar apart with your hands. Also pinch the shoulder blades together, and keep this tightness in the shoulders as you move through the squat. 2) Find a good position on the shoulders- This is a mixture of comfort and shoulder mobility. Find a place where you can keep the bar on you shoulders, can keep your shoulders externally rotated, and pinched back. (for me, this is about a thumb's length wider than my shoulders. 3) Unrack and step back with as good of technique as the actual squat - This is often neglected, but many injuries in weight lifting occur in transitional periods (i.e. racking the barbell, lifting a dumbbell off the rack, trying to sit up with weight in the hands). Get your heels directly under the barbell, and with an upright torso, stand the bar up. Then step back very diliberately with each foot. Use the same sequence each time (starting with left or right, then following with the opposite). you may try the step out process with an empty bar, just to ingrain the neuromuscular pattern in your head so it becomes second nature. Try not to spend too much time fidgeting, as this can be tiring under heavy loads. These next steps are the same for every type of squat, including air squats, front squats, and overhead squats.
4) Keep the midline braced- See my post "Core, Do Core, Use the Core.....What is Core Again?" With the squat, this means keeping a slight lumbar arch (lower back arch), as the first fault seen in the spine is a rounding of the whole back.
5) Initiate the squat with hips/hamstrings - This means don't start squatting by letting your knees fall forward, but by sending your hips (or hamstrings) back. Think sitting back in a chair. It may help to think about keeping your weight in your heels, although it is important to keep the whole foot down.
6) Squat below parallel - This means your hip crease is below your knees (femur is below parallel to ground). Don't go crazy, but strive for depth. Why? GREAT question! Because life doesn't stop at a parallel squat, why should we? Train for life.
7) PUSH YOUR KNEES OUT! - See pictures below. Your knees need to at the least be tracking in line with your toes (which should be pointing straight). If they are a little wider, no biggie. It is much better for them to be a little wide then valgus, or caving in (a slew of knee problems arise from this). Make sure you are actively pushing out both coming down and going up.
How can you focus on this? A couple of cues seem to help a lot of people:
Screw your feet in the ground - this creates external rotation in the upper leg, allowing the knees to move outward
Split the ground - this assists with the torque created in the legs, and furthers the "pushing knees out" process
Knees out! - have someone press against the outside of your knee (unloaded) and actively push against their hand. You can also wrap a band around your knees (again, with an unloaded squat) and push against the tension.
One of my heroes, Kelly Starrett, demonstrating valgus "knees in" squat, vs. knees out.
So keep these tips in mind. Get out there and start practicing these points of performance. NOTE: If you are having trouble performing the tips I gave for all types of squats (#4-7), work on these FIRST, and then add the weight later. Then, when you have found some problems/restrictions/issues with your squat, I want to hear about them! Tell me what is going on in the comments section, and I will be more than happy to help you start perfecting your squat. I can PROMISE you there are thousands of people with the same issues, you just may be the first with the courage to admit it, and do something about it! Be willing to work on yourself. It can only help you do one thing.
Instead, I would implore each individual to have a strong set of opinions. Opinions are malleable. They are firm in that you back them with the knowledge that you currently have, but are pliable with new information that may come along. We all can agree that fitness and wellness have come a long way in 20 years. Why would you dig your heels in so deeply on a subject (like fitness in my case) that you know can change in a matter of years? This can be said of all professions, times change, and ideas change with it.
