Eric,
On your recommendation I started doing “Get Your Butt in Gear” Part I. However, when doing scorpions, my left erector takes over the motion when I cross with my left leg.
Do you think I should do static piriformis and erector stretches prior to scorpions? Also, which erector stretches do you suggest because I have yet to find one that is very effective.
Once again, my horribly atrophied legs thank you.
Hi Eric,
I was doing squats yesterday and my left elbow was hurting from the position (I think it’s bicipital tendonitis that comes and goes occasionally) so I switched to a safety squat bar (no handles to hold onto, was doing them like a free squat) to relieve the pressure.
I videotape my workouts and noticed that my upper back was rounding as I descended and remained rounded until I completed the ascent. I just could not maintain upper back tightness or an arch there. I have also noticed this when using a straight bar but only when approaching maximal weights and I figured with the straight bar and heavy weights this was normal as form will break down with heavier weights.
I then read the neanderthal no more series and realized that my upper back is somewhat rounded normally.
Lately, I had been ‘aware’ of my posture because at my job, I frequently have to lift objects and move them around and will notice that as the shift goes by, my posture get worse. When I realize that, I try consciously maintain good posture by holding my shoulders back and my head up so I am looking straight ahead.
Today, after squatting, I am quite sore between in the area just below my shoulder blades and up between them so I realize this is an area of weakness for me.
Do you think extra workouts for the upper back (various rows, facepulls, shrugs, external rotations, etc) and consciously trying to maintain good posture is the correct method to fix this?
I have a lot of quad strength, I can leg press a lot on a sled. When I do squats though, I have major problems getting out of the bottom half and my max squat is miniscule. Are there any specific exercises I can do to target the weak areas (other than more squatting)? Thanks.
Just a question regarding some shoulder issues I have been having, Going too hard/too low on dips for a while has resulted in some shoulder pain in both shoulders. I stopped doing them and the left shoulder has more or less resolved but the right one continues to ache at different times of the day. I’ve canned benching/chest work accept for long eccentric pushups and bar only bench press. The pain is in the front of the shoulder it seems over the AC joint most of the time but sometimes I feel it under the actual pec near the top?
I have been following basic shoulder and trap flexibility along with chest stretching. The discomfort mostly goes away with warmup.I notice when I retract my shoulder blades back and do a pushup I get pain over the AC joint near full extension but not if I just do them like I used to with the shoulder blades a bit more protacted. Am I on the right track?
I had been doing too much pushing to pulling and have since corrected that, if the horizontal row is a good counter for the bench what is a appropriate counter for chins/pullups? Military press/incline bench?
Are Facepulls an effective rear delt movement or should you do rear flyes or rear delt machine work?
Should I ever do dips again?
[quote]blam wrote:
Hey, do you americans get a long weekend too? :-)[/quote]
Eh, something like that. I’m always working.
[quote]Few questions:
Most likely, yes.
I really like reverse lunges of all sorts.
[quote]I also saw someone doing ‘walking’ lunges up flights of stairs(each time skipping 1 or 2 steps). Kind of like a cross between a lunge and a step-up I guess. Have you ever seen these before?[quote]
Lunging step-ups are great, too! 
[quote]3) I dont understand how people say DE doesnt stimulate hypertrophy. If I am really focusing on lifting as fast as possible I feel a good amount muscle fatigue after a DE session. Even though the load isnt that great the rate you are lifting at will make up for this, will it not? Care to share your opinion on this?
Obviously it wont be as effective as say the repetition method at inducing hypertrophy but fatigue + adpatation = growth as far as I understand it. [/quote]
You can grow from anything provided that adequate nutrition is present. Some choices are just faster means to the ends.
I think that’s a pretty good idea, although I’d rather see you do some dumbbell work. Taking the reps a little bit higher on occasion wouldn’t hurt, either.
To be honest, I don’t do any DE bench. I’m one of those who gets a lot more out of a separate day for lockouts than from speed benching.
[quote]bigTR wrote:
EC,
I was corresponding with MR and he suggested that I drop my DE bench work because at my level (215 max) it would not do much good. He said getting stronger would make me faster. I posted again on the same thread but he must have missed it. My question is what should I do on that day as my first exercise instead of DE work. I thought maybe a close grip bench 4x6-8 or something of this nature, but I am not sure. For reference I am following Jim Wendler’s suggestions for benching raw. Thanks a lot,
TR[/quote]
All sessions…forever.
[quote]bigTR wrote:
EC,
I was also just reviewing your “Get Your Butt in Gear” series. Do you suggest using the dynamic warm up, motor pattern work and static stretching for all lower body workouts or just until your hips have adaquete flexibility and your glutes are in order. [/quote]
It depends on the population. In athletes, I recommend 4-6 hours. If I’m working with a regular ol’ weekend warrior (who I know will probably not do it on his own), I’ll have them stretch at the end of a session.
I also integrate static stretching into training sessions; I’m just very selective on which ones and when I do them.
[quote]Also do you recommend performing the static stretches immediately following lifting sessions, because Defranco said (I am interested because I have been following this) he doesnt have his athletes stretch immediately following workouts because their muscles are too fired up or something to that effect. Thanks again,
TR [/quote]
Slow the movement down. The first motion - however subtle - is hip extension…NOT LUMBAR EXTENSION. Do supine bridges beforehand to get the glutes firing and stretch out the hip flexors.
For the erectors, I prefer the lying crossover stretches, although I’m not opposed to classic toe-touches (unweighted lumbar flexion).
[quote]edgecrusher wrote:
Eric,
On your recommendation I started doing “Get Your Butt in Gear” Part I. However, when doing scorpions, my left erector takes over the motion when I cross with my left leg.
Do you think I should do static piriformis and erector stretches prior to scorpions? Also, which erector stretches do you suggest because I have yet to find one that is very effective.
Once again, my horribly atrophied legs thank you.[/quote]
[quote]blake b wrote:
Hi Eric,
I was doing squats yesterday and my left elbow was hurting from the position (I think it’s bicipital tendonitis that comes and goes occasionally) so I switched to a safety squat bar (no handles to hold onto, was doing them like a free squat) to relieve the pressure.
I videotape my workouts and noticed that my upper back was rounding as I descended and remained rounded until I completed the ascent. I just could not maintain upper back tightness or an arch there. I have also noticed this when using a straight bar but only when approaching maximal weights and I figured with the straight bar and heavy weights this was normal as form will break down with heavier weights.
I then read the neanderthal no more series and realized that my upper back is somewhat rounded normally.
Lately, I had been ‘aware’ of my posture because at my job, I frequently have to lift objects and move them around and will notice that as the shift goes by, my posture get worse. When I realize that, I try consciously maintain good posture by holding my shoulders back and my head up so I am looking straight ahead.
Today, after squatting, I am quite sore between in the area just below my shoulder blades and up between them so I realize this is an area of weakness for me.
Do you think extra workouts for the upper back (various rows, facepulls, shrugs, external rotations, etc) and consciously trying to maintain good posture is the correct method to fix this?[/quote]
Yes, but don’t include the shrugs (unless they’re prone shrugs). Make sure that you’re constantly stretching out your pecs, lats, anterior delts, upper traps, and levator scapulae, too.
You need to train through a full range of motion…period. The problem is that leg presses don’t even get you to the point at which your thighs are parallel to the floor, meaning that you’re always working in a position of mechanical advantage. Hell, even my grandmother has “strong quads” on a leg press. You’ll always get full range strength carryover from full ROM training, but you’ll never get full ROM strength carryover from partials.
You can get some of the benefits from deep single-leg work, but specificity takes precedence. Get to squatting.
[quote]FamilyJewels wrote:
I have a lot of quad strength, I can leg press a lot on a sled. When I do squats though, I have major problems getting out of the bottom half and my max squat is miniscule. Are there any specific exercises I can do to target the weak areas (other than more squatting)? Thanks.[/quote]
[quote]champs wrote:
I have been following basic shoulder and trap flexibility along with chest stretching. The discomfort mostly goes away with warmup.I notice when I retract my shoulder blades back and do a pushup I get pain over the AC joint near full extension but not if I just do them like I used to with the shoulder blades a bit more protacted. Am I on the right track?
[/quote]
Definitely a good start. Make sure you’re icing, too.
Don’t even worry about correcting them. Normally, I classify anything that leads to scapular elevation (e.g. shrugs, overhead pressing) as antagonist to vertical pulling. Neither vertical pulling or pressing is in your best interest right now.
They’re good, although I like them more for scapular retraction and depression.
I can’t really answer that question. If it’s osteolysis of the distal clavicle, I wouldn’t. Then again, I’m not one to go to extremes with absolutes. Play it by ear and see how things turn out.
Thanks, so with face pulls should I protracting my shoulder blades fully and then retracting as I pull towards the bridge of my nose?
Currently I am doing a set of 10 bodyweight slow negative pushups (5-6 sec down) then using my hips to raise me back up for the next rep. I’ll do this every couple of days
Weights wise its
5x5 heavy chest supported rows
3x12 dumbell rows or face pulls
1 x 20 scapular retraction with straight arms on horizontal row machine.
2 x 8 rear delt machine flyes
2 x 8 bicep curls
2 x 8-10 arm at 90 degree dumbell external rotation
2 x 8-10 arm flush against body cable external rotation
At what point will I know I can start to use more serious loading push wise? I am pretty much going to keep my ratio of 70:30 pulling to pressing wise from now on, there doesn’t seem to be any problems like this with having superior posterior strength compared with anterior strength.
When I had it checked out by a sport physician he wasn’t sure what was wrong, he thought it was a strain but as I said it has come on gradually over a few weeks tho I do remember a incident where it was quite painful after a dipping session but lessened but never really got better. If it is osteolysis, training wise how should I approach it? Are exercises like barbell bench and dumbell presses ok if dips are no longer?
[quote]Eric Cressey wrote:
There’s more than one way to skin a cat. I’ve seen people make progress pulling 3x/week and some who have made progress without pulling at all.
In terms of programming, it would depend a lot on where your sticking point is. See my “Deadlift Diagnosis” article for more details. Also, as Mike and I noted in our recent series, assistance exercises can be largely influenced by body types. If you have a longer torso, a healthy dose of good mornings could be just what you need. If you have longer limbs and a short torso, we’d focus more on your glutes and hammies with pulls against accomodating resistance, single-leg exercises, arched-back pull-throughs, and kneeling squats. If your core was weak, we’d hammer on that (actually we’d hammer on that anyway!).
All in all, you’ll notice that I don’t write many programs for the masses. The simple explanation for this is that I don’t have it in me to hand out cookie-cutter programming. It’ll always be completely inappropriate for some people.
If you want to bounce some programming ideas off me, feel free to shoot me an email.
mdragon wrote:
EC
Could you give an example or an overview of longterm training for DL? What would it look like? I love the DL but have only DL’d 485lbs. Want to bring it up. I’ve always been told to only DL 2 time a month max and to stick with low reps. What is your take on that advice?
[/quote]
Thank you EC, I will do that. I know my sticking point with squats is half way up. I think I’m quad weak!
[quote]champs wrote:
Thanks, so with face pulls should I protracting my shoulder blades fully and then retracting as I pull towards the bridge of my nose?[/quote]
I usually tell people to pull to the chin while pulling the shoulder blades down and back, but you’re on the right track.
Good enough. Try some iso holds, if you can handle them pain-free.
[quote]Weights wise its
5x5 heavy chest supported rows
3x12 dumbell rows or face pulls
1 x 20 scapular retraction with straight arms on horizontal row machine.
2 x 8 rear delt machine flyes
2 x 8 bicep curls
2 x 8-10 arm at 90 degree dumbell external rotation
2 x 8-10 arm flush against body cable external rotation[/quote]
Looks fine.
That’s a very subjective question. Basically, you should be pain-free throughout your return to pressing. I’ve outlined a good progression to use when the time comes.
Down the road, benching probably won’t be much of a problem with osteolysis. I’m not going to diagnose you, though. Dips would definitely be contraindicated, if that were the case. Just remember that if it hurts, you shouldn’t be doing it.
Thanks a million, alot to consider
Thanks again, I can’t seem to find this kind of information anywhere else I look.
With regards to deadlifting form I’ve heard that shruging backwards rather than straight up and down causes strain on the AC joint and can lead to degenerative changes.
With deadlifting and locking out, should one just leave their shoulder forward at lockout rather than trying to retract the scapular and pull them back?
Are deadlifts contraindicated with conditions like osteolysis?
[quote]champs wrote:
Thanks again, I can’t seem to find this kind of information anywhere else I look.
With regards to deadlifting form I’ve heard that shruging backwards rather than straight up and down causes strain on the AC joint and can lead to degenerative changes.
With deadlifting and locking out, should one just leave their shoulder forward at lockout rather than trying to retract the scapular and pull them back?[/quote]
You aren’t exactly shrugging the weight when you pull. It’s more of an isometric action that occurs any time there is downward traction on the humerus; you have to maintain the position of the scapula. Retracting is what you need to do.
Not in my experience. I’m realizing that I have a mild case of osteolysis and pulls never irritate it.
hm heavy pulls seem to irratate the shoulder along with pressing, perhaps it’s not the ac joint but something else, I get a fair bit of clicking in both shoulders always have really. If I forcefully draw scapula and elbow back as if rowing with right arm I get a grinding/clicking noise in the shoulder/scapula area but not on the left side. This in itself is not painful
I’ve been continuing posterior chain work, and implementing daily eccentric work for the quads.
I have a question about range of motion. Should stick to a ROM that does not cause pain on the concentric (i.e., parallel or higher) and do a regular, unnasisted concentric; or should I go through a full ROM and use my arms to assist on the concentric to avoid pain on the way up? Or (a third option) should I go to the depth at which I just begin to feel discomfort? Or some combination of the above?
I have seen articles recommending the full ROM approach ( http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459823 ), but conventional wisdom seems to be “If it hurts, don’t do it.” What do you recommend?
So far I have been doing full squats with an assisted concentric or parallel-depth squats with a normal concentric for 3x15 daily. I alternate days with bodyweight-only squats and bar-weight-only front squats, both with long, slow eccentrics. I think I’m seeing some improvement, but it seems like it will be a long process.
Thanks for your advice.
[quote]Eric Cressey wrote:
Strengthen the muscles working at the hips; they’ll help to take some of the load off the quads.
FYI, I’m not a fan of the anti-inflammatory approach. I’ll leave it at that.
When working back into things, try 3x15 long eccentric body weight only squats throughout the day everyday. Once you get back into the gym, start with light weight and long eccentrics. GRADUALLY add volume and resistance.
twoolf wrote:
I’m currently trying to recover from quadriceps tendonitis in both knees. It’s developed over the last six months. I used to do very little squatting, and about a year ago started doing a lot of low-rep deep squatting and Olympic lifts. Six months later I started feeling pain above my knees on deep squats. Stupidly, I trained though it, and it got worse. Now I’ve laid off squatting completely (though I’m still doing deadlift variations and some power cleans and power snatches, which don’t cause pain because they don’t involve as much knee flexion).
My orthopedist put me on prescription anti-inflammatories, and I’m getting ART. If I can get the pain to clear up, what do you recommend to prevent the tendonitis from recurring? I’m particularly interested in the types of exercises and set/rep schemes that will help strengthen the tendons without re-injuring them.
Thanks!
[/quote]
If it hurts, don’t do it. Wait a week or two to initiate the eccentric exercise; during this time, make sure that you’re still getting ART and following your therapist’s recommendations for exercise. He/She will be better able to assess your situation.
[quote]twoolf wrote:
I’ve been continuing posterior chain work, and implementing daily eccentric work for the quads.
I have a question about range of motion. Should stick to a ROM that does not cause pain on the concentric (i.e., parallel or higher) and do a regular, unnasisted concentric; or should I go through a full ROM and use my arms to assist on the concentric to avoid pain on the way up? Or (a third option) should I go to the depth at which I just begin to feel discomfort? Or some combination of the above?
I have seen articles recommending the full ROM approach ( http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459823 ), but conventional wisdom seems to be “If it hurts, don’t do it.” What do you recommend?
So far I have been doing full squats with an assisted concentric or parallel-depth squats with a normal concentric for 3x15 daily. I alternate days with bodyweight-only squats and bar-weight-only front squats, both with long, slow eccentrics. I think I’m seeing some improvement, but it seems like it will be a long process.
Thanks for your advice.
Eric Cressey wrote:
Strengthen the muscles working at the hips; they’ll help to take some of the load off the quads.
FYI, I’m not a fan of the anti-inflammatory approach. I’ll leave it at that.
When working back into things, try 3x15 long eccentric body weight only squats throughout the day everyday. Once you get back into the gym, start with light weight and long eccentrics. GRADUALLY add volume and resistance.
twoolf wrote:
I’m currently trying to recover from quadriceps tendonitis in both knees. It’s developed over the last six months. I used to do very little squatting, and about a year ago started doing a lot of low-rep deep squatting and Olympic lifts. Six months later I started feeling pain above my knees on deep squats. Stupidly, I trained though it, and it got worse. Now I’ve laid off squatting completely (though I’m still doing deadlift variations and some power cleans and power snatches, which don’t cause pain because they don’t involve as much knee flexion).
My orthopedist put me on prescription anti-inflammatories, and I’m getting ART. If I can get the pain to clear up, what do you recommend to prevent the tendonitis from recurring? I’m particularly interested in the types of exercises and set/rep schemes that will help strengthen the tendons without re-injuring them.
Thanks!
[/quote]