EC Prime TIme: 9/12 and 9/15

I’ll be on tonight and Thursday. In spite of the fact that Ahman Green, Shaun Alexander, and Jamal Lewis are all on my fantasy football s*** list, everyone here at T-Nation is still cool, so go ahead and ask all the questions you’ve got.

Eric,

I decided against using Charles Staley’s 21-Day Itch program since my workout partners are not quite ready for that yet.

However, we will be using the weight workouts from Westside for Skinny Bastards 2 per Joe DeFranco. I just wanted to get your feedback on this program and what suggestions/tips you have for me.

Thanks!

The only way to find out if it works for YOU is to try it out. It’s a template with a lot of wiggle room, but on the whole is good stuff; give it a go.

[quote]Nate Dogg wrote:
Eric,

I decided against using Charles Staley’s 21-Day Itch program since my workout partners are not quite ready for that yet.

However, we will be using the weight workouts from Westside for Skinny Bastards 2 per Joe DeFranco. I just wanted to get your feedback on this program and what suggestions/tips you have for me.

Thanks![/quote]

What is a best way to go about training to be able jump from substantial heights (i.e., 1 story or higher) without injuring oneself?

I understand that this is an inherently risky activity, but I am curious to go about doing it in the most intelligent manner possible. Right now I’m just going off slightly lower heights (only occasionally, certainly not for repetitions in succession) and practicing going off very comfortable heights (2-6 feet) and landing properly. I ask you because I it seems to me that this at least as much a matter of strengthening support structures (tendons, ligaments, etcetera) as it is a matter of strengthening muscles, and I know nothing to speak of about the former.

Thank you for your time,

Ross Hunt

Shugs’ videos got you motivated, huh? :slight_smile:

It’s going to be a “collaborative” effort of several entities. Believe it or not, the muscles are probably the most important factor once you’ve already become a trained individual with health of the ligaments and tendons. The muscles are those force absorbers/stabilizers; it’s the tendons that store more of the elastic energy that would help with subsequent force production via the stretch-shortening cycle. Obviously, the tendons have to be strong in order to transfer this burden to the muscle bellies in the first place, but it’s the muscles that are going to be the true work.

With that said, “strength” is a tricky term in this instance. You’ll need to be proficient at decelerating high velocity movements rather than your ordinary “down and up” back squat, etc. While classic resistance training would get you to a point where you could safely start higher level force absorption training, it won’t do much to improve your abilities once you’re already there.

So, depending on what your experience is with shock training, I’d get you going on a progression that would move to depth landings with a gradually increasing height. I’d be careful to incorporate back-off phases and landings on more “forgiving” surfaces frequently in this regard.

[quote]Ross Hunt wrote:
What is a best way to go about training to be able jump from substantial heights (i.e., 1 story or higher) without injuring oneself?

I understand that this is an inherently risky activity, but I am curious to go about doing it in the most intelligent manner possible. Right now I’m just going off slightly lower heights (only occasionally, certainly not for repetitions in succession) and practicing going off very comfortable heights (2-6 feet) and landing properly. I ask you because I it seems to me that this at least as much a matter of strengthening support structures (tendons, ligaments, etcetera) as it is a matter of strengthening muscles, and I know nothing to speak of about the former.

Thank you for your time,

Ross Hunt[/quote]

EC a few question bench pressing is an approixmation exercise(pushing the humeral head into the acromin process) and pulldown/pull-ups are a traction exercise(pulling it away) what are some other examples of approixmation/traction exercises

  1. You recommend Basic of Biomechanics by Susan Hall to me as a good beginners Biomechanic book what about for antaomy or kineslogy or physical therapy?

Gary Grey has a few books? thumbs up or down?

What about the SWIS Encyclopedia of Weight Training Injuries? Looks pretty in-depth thoughts?

  1. We ever going to get an article realting to your theiss and how about one for improving vertical leaping. even though it’s pretty basic, improving posterior chain, I know you have a few tips that the general public doesn’t know?

  2. aside from the sites your on and writing articles are you actually doing any day-day job training people or working in a facility?

yeah another note EC, I’m pretty pissed you weren’t intived to the Ryan Lee boot camp sept 24th in stamford. Alwyn Cosgrove is going to be there but other then that it’s a bunch of functional stuff, i live in stamford and I’m not going

[quote]Eric Cressey wrote:
… so go ahead and ask all the questions you’ve got.[/quote]

I have one or two questions I’d like to pose for you, if I may?

I injured my right hamstring back in June doing 100m sprints. It recovered (or so I thought), but came back again, even when I reduced intensity to 400m dashes.

When it “recovers” again (as I hope it will), I would still like to “sprint” if possible, but I obviously don’t want to bring back the pain in the arse (literally!).

I’m thinking of starting up real slow (1-2 mile plods), and build up to, say, sets of 800m runs. Once I hit an 800m pace, I would just do multiple sets at the pace for a while and re-evaluate.

However, I was also wondering if incline / uphill running at a lower pace would be better or worse for me. I know it’s “harder” overall (that’s what I find so attractive), but is it harder on all muscles, or is it actually “easier” on the posterior chain?

I’m off to see a specialist about my clicking right knee / hamstring, so I’m not doing any “explosive” leg movements now, with the exception of 400m interval rowing (which doesn’t aggravate my hamstring issue, and gives me some “lactate training”).

Right now, I do various stretching (and foam rolling), with extra focus on posterior chain for strentgh training, too (I have no problems doing deadlifts and good-mornings, etc.).

Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

WiZ

[quote]bigpump23 wrote:
EC a few question bench pressing is an approixmation exercise(pushing the humeral head into the acromin process) and pulldown/pull-ups are a traction exercise(pulling it away) what are some other examples of approixmation/traction exercises[/quote]

Approximation: overhead pressing, bench presses, pushups

Traction: rows, face pulls, deadlifts, shrugs

One good one that comes to mind is Kinetic Anatomy by Behnke.

Others on my shelf that are pretty good:

Sports Injury Management by Anderson et al.

Brunnstrom’s Clinical Kinesiology by Smith et al. (reads like stereo instructions, but if you can understand it, you can understand almost anything)

Manual of Structural Kinesiology by Thompson and Floyd (more for beginners)

Fundamentals of Orthopedics by Saunders (this was a textbook for a Musculoskeletal Dysfunction course I took last spring - good PT read)

Essential Clinical Anatomy (2nd Ed.) by Moore and Agur (as the name implies, it’s more clinical)

Sport Mechanics for Coaches by Carr (this is more movement based)

ULTIMATE BACK FITNESS AND PERFORMANCE by McGill (I think everyone should own this)

There are just the ones that comes to mind when I review the list of what’s on my bookshelves.

Very smart guy when it comes to rehab. I was fortunate to work with Dr. David Tiberio, who works closely with Gray.

Haven’t read it, although I’d imagine that it would be good.

Someone asked me the exact same question the other day. My response:

I’m in the process of preparing my thesis defense, which will likely be in late October. I also need to submit an abridged version of the thesis to the Journal of S&C Research for publication, and this process may take up to 11 months (six weeks for reviewers to get back to me, and 6-9 months for actual publication, as the journal is quarterly). I’m not sure about the policy on writing for lay publications prior to the official publication of the results, though. Could be a while.

Kelly Baggett and I submitted an article to TC recently that’ll give you some good ideas.

Yes, I’m typically training athletes/clients 35-38 hours per week and staying somewhat involved in programming at UCONN. I’m also learning a ton under the bar lifting at South Side via experimentation and just talking with experienced lifters.

Such is life…maybe next year. To be honest, I’m not sure that I’d have time to put anything together for the seminar anyway; things have been pretty crazy lately.

A few friends and I will be meeting up with Alwyn, Zach Even-Esh, Sean Hyson et al. on Saturday night to catch up, though.

[quote]bigpump23 wrote:
yeah another note EC, I’m pretty pissed you weren’t intived to the Ryan Lee boot camp sept 24th in stamford. Alwyn Cosgrove is going to be there but other then that it’s a bunch of functional stuff, i live in stamford and I’m not going[/quote]

[quote]WiZlon wrote:
I injured my right hamstring back in June doing 100m sprints. It recovered (or so I thought), but came back again, even when I reduced intensity to 400m dashes.

When it “recovers” again (as I hope it will), I would still like to “sprint” if possible, but I obviously don’t want to bring back the pain in the arse (literally!).

I’m thinking of starting up real slow (1-2 mile plods), and build up to, say, sets of 800m runs. Once I hit an 800m pace, I would just do multiple sets at the pace for a while and re-evaluate.

However, I was also wondering if incline / uphill running at a lower pace would be better or worse for me. I know it’s “harder” overall (that’s what I find so attractive), but is it harder on all muscles, or is it actually “easier” on the posterior chain?[/quote]

It’s still going to be pretty taxing on the posterior chain. I’d be looking to improve flexibility at the hip and knees more than I would be looking to find ways to work around the hamstring. Chances are that your glutes aren’t doing their share of the work, so the hammy is working overtime. Also, just remember that the biggest risk factor for a hammy strain is a previous strain; the new connective tissue just doesn’t get the job done, unfortunately. All you can do is build up gradually and make sure that several muscles are sharing the burden.

[quote]I’m off to see a specialist about my clicking right knee / hamstring, so I’m not doing any “explosive” leg movements now, with the exception of 400m interval rowing (which doesn’t aggravate my hamstring issue, and gives me some “lactate training”).

Right now, I do various stretching (and foam rolling), with extra focus on posterior chain for strentgh training, too (I have no problems doing deadlifts and good-mornings, etc.).

Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

WiZ[/quote]

I think you’re on the right track, now that I read that. Just stay the course; this stuff didn’t develop overnight, so it won’t resolve right away either.

Good luck!

[quote]Eric Cressey wrote:
Shugs’ videos got you motivated, huh? :slight_smile:
[/quote]

A righteous kick in the pants. :slight_smile:

So I take it that it would be a good idea to do as much of the training as possible on surfaces such as gymnastics floors and crash mats as opposed to concrete, with a back-off week without hard-surface or high-volume training, say, every three to four weeks.

Thanks for your help.

I am currently participating in Cross Fit. Cross Fit produces free workouts in a three days on, one day off split. The philosophy is to develop a well-rounded individual capable of being successful at many tasks, but not specializing in any one area of fitness. It combines aspects of novice level gymnastics, middle distance running, and weight lifting (Olympic and power) in pretty random workouts. One day we might max on dead lifts, a couple of workouts later we do high rep super sets of handstand push-ups and pull-ups. Most workouts are based on how quickly they can be completed and will generally last about 20 minutes not counting the warm up (there?s a specific warm up) and cool down or extra exercises.

What do you think of this? I have 13 years of hard weight training experience, is it possible to grow and get strong from this workout? I am 6’5" and 210, I am happy with my build, but deffinitely do not want to lose any muscle mass. Will this workout lead to a loss in mass? I’m concerned with the running and bodyweight and light weight/high rep lifting. One or two times per month we will max on either squat, dead lift, clean, push press, or jerks. Most reps will be up in the 15 to 20 range at a light weight or body weight only. At Cross Fit they say that the short high intensity workouts (very intense) produces a neuroendocrine response which leads to muscle gains.

Sample workouts:

50-40-30-20 and10 rep rounds of:
Double-unders (jumping rope, the rope passes twice under the feet on one jump)
Sit-ups

Back squat, bodyweight, 21 reps
Run 200 meters
Front squat, 2/3 bodyweight, 21 reps
Run 400 meters
Overhead squat, ? bodyweight, 21 reps
Run 800 meters

Three rounds for time of:
55 pound Dumbbell (Kettlebell) Snatch, 20 reps, alternating arms
20 Pull-ups
Run 400 meters

21-15-9 reps of:
Clean 135 pounds
Ring dips

Run 5K

Overhead squat 1-1-1-1-1 reps
Front squat 1-1-1-1-1 reps
Back squat 1-1-1-1-1 reps

Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
5 Pull-ups
10 Push-ups
15 Squats (no weight)

Initially, yes, I’d do more along those lines. At the same time, I’d be gradually increasing the height of the jumps.

I typically back off on high-impact plyos altogether every fourth week.

[quote]Ross Hunt wrote:
So I take it that it would be a good idea to do as much of the training as possible on surfaces such as gymnastics floors and crash mats as opposed to concrete, with a back-off week without hard-surface or high-volume training, say, every three to four weeks.

Thanks for your help.[/quote]

[quote]bojo wrote:
I am currently participating in Cross Fit. Cross Fit produces free workouts in a three days on, one day off split. The philosophy is to develop a well-rounded individual capable of being successful at many tasks, but not specializing in any one area of fitness. It combines aspects of novice level gymnastics, middle distance running, and weight lifting (Olympic and power) in pretty random workouts. One day we might max on dead lifts, a couple of workouts later we do high rep super sets of handstand push-ups and pull-ups. Most workouts are based on how quickly they can be completed and will generally last about 20 minutes not counting the warm up (there?s a specific warm up) and cool down or extra exercises.[/quote]

So, basically, you’re riding several horses with one ass! :slight_smile:

[quote]What do you think of this? I have 13 years of hard weight training experience, is it possible to grow and get strong from this workout? I am 6’5" and 210, I am happy with my build, but deffinitely do not want to lose any muscle mass. Will this workout lead to a loss in mass? I’m concerned with the running and bodyweight and light weight/high rep lifting. One or two times per month we will max on either squat, dead lift, clean, push press, or jerks. Most reps will be up in the 15 to 20 range at a light weight or body weight only. At Cross Fit they say that the short high intensity workouts (very intense) produces a neuroendocrine response which leads to muscle gains.

Sample workouts:

50-40-30-20 and10 rep rounds of:
Double-unders (jumping rope, the rope passes twice under the feet on one jump)
Sit-ups

Back squat, bodyweight, 21 reps
Run 200 meters
Front squat, 2/3 bodyweight, 21 reps
Run 400 meters
Overhead squat, ? bodyweight, 21 reps
Run 800 meters

Three rounds for time of:
55 pound Dumbbell (Kettlebell) Snatch, 20 reps, alternating arms
20 Pull-ups
Run 400 meters

21-15-9 reps of:
Clean 135 pounds
Ring dips

Run 5K

Overhead squat 1-1-1-1-1 reps
Front squat 1-1-1-1-1 reps
Back squat 1-1-1-1-1 reps

Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
5 Pull-ups
10 Push-ups
15 Squats (no weight)
[/quote]

“Strong” is a broad term; I assume that you’re referring to maximal strength. If so, it’s going to be very difficult to get stronger at your stage of development on this sort of program; I think you’ll probably find that you get weaker in this context.

However, you might improve in other strength qualities such as strength-endurance and maybe even speed-strength, especially if you haven’t trained them in the past.

So, basically, you’re riding several horses with one ass! :slight_smile:

exactly!

I like the “total coverage” that one gets from this workout, a broad spectrum of fitness. Is there a neuroendocrine respnse happening here, like the Cross Fit people say? Is this response building muscle? Would this workout cause muscle loss due to high volume and running?

Eric,

On the subject of Crossfit, what do you think of it for someone wanting to improve endurance/conditioning and get into better overall shape? Those are my current goals and I’m not really into getting hyuuuuge and benching a car…yet. I mainly want to improve pullups, pushups, running, ect. Thanks for your time, and send us some more articles when you’re not so busy!

if it’s saturday night im stamford i’ll be out

[quote]Eric Cressey wrote:
Such is life…maybe next year. To be honest, I’m not sure that I’d have time to put anything together for the seminar anyway; things have been pretty crazy lately.

A few friends and I will be meeting up with Alwyn, Zach Even-Esh, Sean Hyson et al. on Saturday night to catch up, though.

bigpump23 wrote:
yeah another note EC, I’m pretty pissed you weren’t intived to the Ryan Lee boot camp sept 24th in stamford. Alwyn Cosgrove is going to be there but other then that it’s a bunch of functional stuff, i live in stamford and I’m not going[/quote]

[quote]peck191 wrote:
Eric,

On the subject of Crossfit, what do you think of it for someone wanting to improve endurance/conditioning and get into better overall shape? Those are my current goals and I’m not really into getting hyuuuuge and benching a car…yet. I mainly want to improve pullups, pushups, running, ect. Thanks for your time, and send us some more articles when you’re not so busy![/quote]

If I may try to answer this. Yes, to all questions. Push ups, pull ups, sit ups, running, endurance, all improve.

Eric, I go to get ART from time to time, and my doc said my supinator muscle is tight but didn’t suggest any ideas for stretching it. Any thoughts on what I could do for it and also what I should lay off or at least go easy on until it loosens up?