Guest Forum: Pick EC's Brain

[quote]dylan5150 wrote:
Didn’t the Redsox just get swept by the greatest franchise in the history of pro sports, your New York Yankees? Bill Buckner was just a function of history, like Bucky, Aaron, and most recently the captain and his 4 row dive.[/quote]

Who’s winning the season series, anyway? And, who got swept in New York earlier this season?

Pitching wins playoff series. I wouldn’t feel confident going into a playoff series with a starting rotation that consisted of an old man with a bad back (Brown), an up and down youngster with no playoff experience (Vasquez), a guy coming off so many injuries and surgeries that he ought to just take up chess (Lieber, who, incidentally, has gotten absolutely shelled all season), an 11 year-old rookie (Halsey), and a Cuban who may very well be 55 years old(Contreras). I can’t knock Mussina because I like the guy and he’s a helluva pitcher. Nonethless, he’s going to have to pick it up; you can’t count on Tanyon Sturtze and Felix Heredia to win more games than your starters.

Quit pissing on my campfire, will ya?

[quote]kbattis wrote:
EC,

Can you give me your take on the transferability of power development from Olympic Lifting exercises to sporting movements for different classes of athletes?

I was recently given an article by a colleague in which the author states that for advanced atheltes the Olympic Lifts do not transfer well to specific sporting movements and that other means must be used to improve power production in these sporting skills.

You can read the article here:

http://strengthcats.com/Powercleans.
PDF

What’s your take on that?

Thanks for your input.

Kyle[/quote]

There’s been a considerable amount of research that’s proven Olympic lifting improves various measures of athletic performance, so I’m not sure ineffective is the best word to use. That said, I do think that the O-lifts tend to be overutilized by a lot of coaches with weak athletes. If you don’t have relative strength, you’ll never have speed.

While I think that the O-lifts certainly deserve a place in athletes’ programs, I think it’s a big mistake to include them at the expense of speed squats (ideally on the box) and speed pulls, especially when you have access to accomodating resistances (bands, chains) with the latter options in order to keep the athletes from getting lazy in the point of the strength curve where they’re strongest. Moreover, these options provide for more significant loading, so that’s certainly a big benefit. Nonetheless, it’s difficult to teach the transfer of power from the lower to upper body with squats and deadlifts alone, so there’s where I see the O-lifts fitting in.

In terms of improving power in athletics, the best way to do so is to participate in the sport itself. Build strength in the weight room, and use your sport-specific sessions to incorporate that strength into refined movement patterns that require optimal power. In other words, learning to move efficiently is just as important as improving one’s power capabilities. Do you really think that Andy Roddick got a 153 mph serve by just doing olympic lifts (if he does them at all)?

I wasn’t able to access the URL you posted; it may be the computer I’m on, so I’ll check it again elsewhere. Thanks for the questions.

[quote]shotput ted wrote:
Eric-
I have been working for “bodybuilding” purposes for the past 18 months or so with maximal weights only being employed sparingly. I usually work in the 6-10 rep range with about 12 working sets per workout. I have recently become more interested in athletic performance so I am focusing on my overall conditioning and strength more. Would it be effective for me to stay on my current split of each bodypart getting directly worked once a week but instead of 8-10 reps, use 3-5 reps for the first few sets of each workout where I am fresh and using compound lifts(bench, squat, deadlifts, rows) and then increasing the reps per set as the movments become more isolated? Do you have any techniques for increasing my functional strength while maintaining much of the mass I have put on?
Thanks,
Ted[/quote]

I’ve already mentioned it a few times in this thread, but I’ll bring it up again: don’t train bodyparts! If you want to be athletic, train movements. In other words, the fewer single joint movements you do (unless it’s to bring up a specific weakness), the better!

If I was you, I’d eliminate as much isolation work as possible, and devote that volume to explosive lifting and sport-specific practice. Your body has a limited recovery capacity, so you need to get the most bang for your buck with each exercise.

I favor a conjugated approach, although an undulating approach would give you decent results as well. How much volume is devoted to the different rep ranges depends on the nature of the sport for which you’re preparing, as does exercise selection due to biomechanical specificity. CT’s block training might be a good choice, given the limited information provided.

You have my promise that if you get stronger and keep your calories up, you will NOT get smaller. In fact, you’ll probably grow in ways you didn’t think were possible.

[quote]Nico wrote:
EC,

What’s your preference for dead style as far as powerlifting goes, sumo, or conven? Which style are you stronger in?

I pull conventional, mostly because of my build (longer arms and legs, short torso). “Square” lifters tend to do better with sumo deads because of the shorter range of motion. Additionally, sumo-style powerlifters can generally get a spring effect from their squat briefs in competition, whereas conventional guys like me don’t get anything from their equipment (read: singlet and belt) in competition. Sumo-style is also more helpful for larger lifters, as their bellies don’t get in the way as much:)
[/quote]

I agree. Conventional does have a better carryover in most cases, although you’ll see certain instances where adductor work is more important (e.g. hockey players to cancel out abductor dominance, equestrian, breaststrokers).

Only if you don’t alternate your pronated/supinated hands in training. Pay attention to giving both equal volume, and you should be fine.

As a little aside, my stronger mixed grip position has reversed in the past six months. Weird, eh?

[quote]ScottL wrote:
Hi Eric,

Thanks for taking the time to do this.

Shoulder rehab question:

PROBLEM: When I started lifting about 4 years ago, I couldn?t bench without shoulder discomfort. My shoulders were forward, and the palms were facing partway backwards.

IMPROVED AFTER: deep tissue work, one ART session and a lot more back work then chest work. I can bench without pain, and palms only face a little bit backwards.

STILL HAVE PROBLEM WITH: rear delt raises. Even a small weight produces mild left shoulder discomfort around the inferior scapula although it is difficult to pinpoint. Seated rows, even to the neck, are fine and this seems only to be an issue while bent over.

FYI: there is this clicking sensation/sound during rear delt raises, during the cuban rotation even with zero weights (when rotating my forearms back to the prone position), and just moving my arm through 360 degrees (when the left arm goes from overhead and moves backwards) there is this…catch or sticking position).

I’m 44, 6’, 190 about 17% BF and am just getting back to lifting after arthroscopic knee surgery. I?ve never injured my shoulder.

I do iyengar yoga and would rather avoid more ART unless you feel it is necessary.

Thanks again for your time.

Scott[/quote]

Chances are that you just have a little bit of adhesion build-up in your mid/lower traps and/or rhomboids. It probably just gets irritated with the bent-over position where it’s difficult to maintain a minimally kyphotic position. I think that ART would be a great idea, although you can probably get some good results from self myofascial release on the foam roller. Thoracic extension work is the key with SMR for you. Keep an eye out for an article from Mike and I this week on this very topic.

The clicking may actually just be normal functioning for you. There’s considerably evidence to suggest that subacromial impingement is a natural phenomenon in the shoulder, and only when it reaches a certain threshold (above clicking in most cases, thankfully!) does it elicit pain.

If bent-over rear delt raises give you discomfort, don’t do them! There are plenty of other way to train the posterior delts. Nonetheless, you still ought to take care of that problem, as it could be causing you to compensate elsewhere.

[quote]RIT Jared wrote:

  1. I am a rugger. I play hooker, and I would like to build a superbly strong/thick/injury proof neck. I have tried some of the exercises CT reccommended for the racecar driver, but I currently do not have access to a neck harness. I can do several no-handed neck push ups, and many neck bridges. I also “made up” my own exercise in which I place a plate on my forehead and extend the neck from a lying position, training the sternocleidomastoids (sp?). Any more advanced exercises would be great.[/quote]

Honestly, my best recommendation would be to either buy or make a neck harness. I paid $9 for mine, and although I only train neck every 4-5 lower body sessions, it’s definitely helped me to get the neck extended during the lockout portion of my deadlift (see pic). Also, since you’re going to be hammering the neck extensors hard, you’ll also want to do some work for the neck flexors in order to prevent imbalances in advance. You can do chin tucks (as outlined in NNM Part 4) or rig the chain on your neck harness up to a high pulley and go to town.

[quote]2) Also, any advice on rugby training in general-- injury prevention or otherwise:

a) in-season
.1) team exercises
.2) individual gym exercises
b) out of season
c) nutrition (MSM, Gluco, etc)[/quote]

Again, somewhat of a loaded question. You can’t go wrong with loads of posterior chain work. In terms of quad work, I would make a point of incorporating plenty of deep knee squats/lunges/step-ups, especially in the early off-season. You won’t get much of this on the field, so there’s a tendency for the IT band to tighten up and the vastus lateralis to become dominant. When this happens, you get lateral shifting of the patella and knee pain.

Don’t waste your time with wussy core training; stick with heavy basics incorporating loading rotation and lateral flexion.

Strongman implements would definitely be beneficial both from biomechanical, metabolic, and team motivation standpoints. Have competitions with tire flipping, farmer’s walk, etc.

Toss in some scapular stability stuff, static stretching post-match, and dynamic movement prep warmups, and you should be golden.

In terms of supplementation, stick with creatine, protein powders, during and after training drinks, fish oil, and antioxidants as your mainstays. The other stuff doesn’t warrant consideration until you’ve got the basics down. Stick with JB’s stuff for nutrition, and you’ll be a cut above the rest before you even step on the field.

Any other questions, just ask:)

[quote]kligor wrote:
Endocrinology student, eh? Well, I have a question. I asked CT about training lower body, because mine is out of proportion to my upper body (upper body is well defined and muscular, but lower body is fat, and has cellulite), and his diagnosis had me upset for a few days: he said I had high estrogen levels. The problem is, I’m a guy! So based on what I’ve told you, would you confirm CT’s diagnosis? He suggested yohimbe to target the lower body more, so I was wondering if you can suggest other ways (if, at all they exist) to lower my estrogen levels, and get rid of the cellulite. I’m only a teenager (17 years old), so this might be just a fleeting puberty thing (that’s what I’m hoping), or maybe, it’s here to stay.
I hope to benefit from your expertise.
Thanks a lot![/quote]

I would definitely confirm CT’s diagnosis. On the bright side, you can be thankful that you have high T levels, as there usually won’t be considerable conversion to estradiol unless T is pretty high in the first place. There are quite a few supplements available to combat estrogen; feedback has been pretty mixed, in my dealings with others.

From a training standpoint, some have recommended a very high volume of leg training with compound exercises, although I’m not sure that I buy into that. Others have reported excellent results with HIIT on the bike (spinning or normal stationary cycle is okay); keep in mind that the resistance has to be super-high and the rest intervals relatively short.

Try doing two bouts of intervals per week on the cycle with a 1:3 work:rest ratio (15 seconds work, 45 seconds rest) for a total of 15 minutes (excluding warm-up) and see how it goes. You might consider giving some of the supplements that are available a shot as well.

Sorry I couldn’t give you better news:(

[quote]FCFighter wrote:
I don’t know if you can diagnose my problem without seeing it, but I’ll try to describe it as detailed as possible. Basically whenever I do a front double bicep pose my rear delt/rotator cuff area(sorry for being ignorant of technical names)of my left arm cramps badly. It keeps wanting to rotate me externally until I pull it back foward again. Also my left arm is smaller by about 1/2". It’s my non-dominant arm, but somehow I think it’s related to my problem. Thanks if you can give any insight.[/quote]

That’s a tough one to diagnose over the internet, but you very well could have some nerve entrapment at the brachial plexus (C5-T1). This plexus gives rise to all the nerves of the upper body, so if there’s impingement, muscles may not fire appropriately, or they may fire excessively and cause cramping. Likewise, if it’s a biomechanical factor that’s causing the impingement, there may be postural compensations that are causing you to lock up. I’d suggest getting to an ART provider or at least a chiropractor to get checked out/adjusted. It could even be adhesion build-up on that side, too.

[quote]silles wrote:
Eric,

Could you give any advice for the practical application of science? Pardon the cliche, but, you obviously, “walk the walk.” Most athletes at my university, despite being big, and strong, wouldn’t know the difference between Perestroika and Periodisation, yet they always seem to show more results than the more educated crowd. Westside Barbell Club seems to be able to converge the Science, alongside of the Practice of strength training quite well, yet it is something that I, and I think many others fail to do on a regular basis.

-Sean Illes [/quote]

Good point, Sean. It’s the sad truth, but many high caliber athletes - and those weekend warriors that just look genuinely good - usually make progress in spite of what they do, not because of what they do. When things come easy for you, there’s no incentive to push the bar and learn. Give a guy high testosterone levels and good insulin sensitivity, and he’ll get big and strong, but not necessarily smarter. That’s why I have the utmost respect for those who are obviously genetically gifted, yet still seek to attain knowledge in the areas in which they excel. It hasn’t been the case for me, so I’ve tried to make up the difference with proper diet and training, and plenty of education. Coach Poliquin once wrote that to be an expert on something, one needs to read an hour a day for three years. Everyone can free up an hour a day; what they do with that hour is up to them.

On the other hand, there’s something to be said with respect to attitude. All the knowledge in the world won’t mean a thing unless you’re an animal under the bar and are genuinely passionate about what you’re doing. When you get athletes training together, they automatically train at a higher level in most cases because they’re pushing each other. This is one of the reasons that some people can’t make optimal progress without a training partner or coach.

All in all, it comes down to keeping the faith and staying the course. It’s a journey, not a destination. Rome wasn’t built in a day, but as long as you’re having fun, working hard, and getting smarter, the chips will fall into place eventually.

[quote]Eric Cressey wrote:
it’s definitely helped me to get the neck extended during the lockout portion of my deadlift (see pic). [/quote]

It would probably have helped if I had attached the pic, huh?

EC Question:
I had an injury aobut a year and a half ago and when I ran yesterday I could feel like osme pain in the same area, I"m pretty much stuck on believing that its scar tissue from the last injury. I’m just wondering if you think its a good idea for me to keep doing waht I"M doing to get the scar tissue to break up? Or do somethin different?

I’ll follow the trend of offering up a daily blurb with this lesson of the day:

An extra set of eyes never hurts!

Lately, I’ve been struggling with my box squatting form and haven’t been able to really pinpoint what’s going on. So, today I got a lift in with Sully and Brad, and got some feedback on what was going wrong. We agreed on some measures I can take to correct the problem, and I have plenty of direction for my training in the weeks to come.

The point here is that I could have discovered that flaw in any squatter I watched, but I couldn’t watch myself. Moreover, the hardest program to design is the one for yourself, as there’s a natural tendency to select exercises where you excel even if other exercises are what you need.

The take-home message is that no matter how intelligent and experienced you are, it always helps to have intelligent and experienced friends and colleagues to give you unbiased feedback on what you’re doing and how you do it. I recall Dave Tate saying that if he was struggling with his squat, he’d be asking everyone in the gym for tips and recommendations. If one of the most renowned strength coaches and successful powerlifters doesn’t hesitate to seek out advice from others, you shouldn’t either. I’d rather put my pride on the back burner and get stronger than keep to myself and deal with a stubborn plateau!

[quote]KingsRevenge wrote:
EC Question:
I had an injury aobut a year and a half ago and when I ran yesterday I could feel like osme pain in the same area, I"m pretty much stuck on believing that its scar tissue from the last injury. I’m just wondering if you think its a good idea for me to keep doing waht I"M doing to get the scar tissue to break up? Or do somethin different?[/quote]

It’s tough to say without knowing the nature of the initial injury. However, if you’re convinced that it’s scar tissue, ART and self myofascial release on the foam roller would be good bets to break it down.

Hey Eric:

Anything for correcting foot supination yet?

Thanks,

Loony

Hello Eric,
I have developed a mild case of Ulnar Nerve entrapment, and was wondering if you could give me any exercises or stretches to help with the pain/discomfort. Could you recomend any supplements to help as well? Surgery and ART are not an option for me. Thank you in advance for your time and answer.

Joe_

Eric,

Two additional questions:

  1. My main motivation for getting into lifting is that I have osteoporosis. Since bone remodels in response to loading, I want to prioritize my lifting to maximize bone remodeling (I?m a radiologist and am exercising appropriate caution). I?ve been prioritizing the posterior chain i.e. hamstrings, gluts, erector spinae, and traps with step back lunges, good mornings, hyperextensions, seated rows, pull ups, squats and DLs (while not ignoring the front of my body). Can you think of any other exercises, approaches, etc that might be useful especially for the hip or spine (including thoracic and cervical)? e.g. don?t know if this one makes any sense to do, but I read about an exercise which I think targeted the multifidus where you bent over to 45 degrees holding a plate to your chest and then alternated turning left and right.

  2. ?If bent-over rear delt raises give you discomfort, don’t do them! There are plenty of other way to train the posterior delts.?

Any other good exercises for posterior delts I could do at home? Or should I buy some jump stretch bands?

Thanks again. You and the rest of the t-nation staff are amazing donating your time like this.

Scott

Unfortunately, not a thing. Basically, if you’re dealing with a case of supination that’s caused by a structural abnormality, orthotics are the only option to my knowledge.

However, if the supination is compensatory for tightness and weakness in different portions of the kinetic chain, you need to address those areas first. Often, the subtalar dysfunction will go away when you address those areas.

[quote]Joe_Bob wrote:
Hello Eric,
I have developed a mild case of Ulnar Nerve entrapment, and was wondering if you could give me any exercises or stretches to help with the pain/discomfort. Could you recomend any supplements to help as well? Surgery and ART are not an option for me. Thank you in advance for your time and answer.

Joe_[/quote]

Ulnar nerve entrapment is just one of five “phases” in the chain of valgus-extension injuries to the elbow. First and foremost, you need to realize what’s going to irritate the ulnar nerve so that you can avoid it in the short term. Basically, crossing/significantly bending your arm and resting the elbow on something for extended periods are big time no-nos. In serious cases, temporary straight arm immobilization may be necessary as a last resort before surgery. I would recommend that you towel-splint the arm in extension at night while you’re sleeping. It isn’t inconvenient, and keeps you away from painful, aggravating movement for one-third of the day. Corticosteroid injections are an option, although I’m not a big fan of them. For now, icing will do, but be careful to not leave the ice on for too long (8-10 minutes is good; the elbow is a smaller joint).

That said, once the nerve irritation has died down. Get started on a rehab program that emphasizes strengthening the biceps and extensors and supinators of the wrist. Don’t neglect the triceps or wrist flexors and pronators, though - especially in stretching.

How did this injury arise? If you’re an overhead throwing athlete, the problem may also be related to weak external rotators of the shoulder, scapular retractors, core, or contralateral leg musculature.

I know you said it isn’t an option, but a good ART guy would fix this in two visits. Guaranteed. All they need to do is open up the cubital tunnel, and you’d be on your way. If you think about the time, pain, and aggravation it would save, the cost and effort to get there are definitely justified.

[quote]ScottL wrote:
Eric,

Two additional questions:

  1. My main motivation for getting into lifting is that I have osteoporosis. Since bone remodels in response to loading, I want to prioritize my lifting to maximize bone remodeling (I’m a radiologist and am exercising appropriate caution). I’ve been prioritizing the posterior chain i.e. hamstrings, glutes, erector spinae, and traps with step back lunges, good mornings, hyperextensions, seated rows, pull ups, squats and DLs (while not ignoring the front of my body). Can you think of any other exercises, approaches, etc that might be useful especially for the hip or spine (including thoracic and cervical)? e.g. don’t know if this one makes any sense to do, but I read about an exercise which I think targeted the multifidus where you bent over to 45 degrees holding a plate to your chest and then alternated turning left and right.[/quote]

Honestly, I think you’re doing fantastic, Scott! Axial loading is the key, and you certainly have that incorporated to a great extent. One thing I would recommend is avoiding traditional crunch variations in core training. Instead, opt for exercises like windmills, saxon side bends, overhead DB matrixes, and supine leg lowering; they’re a lot safer for osteoporotic patients from a biomechanical standpoint. If your posture is suffering, definitely take care of that, as kyphosis is a big risk factor for thoracic vertebral fractures. Don’t worry about doing specific work for the TVA or multifidus unless you have an existing dysfunction; they fire automatically in normal human movement, and training them in isolation can actually lead to dysfunction (according to McGill, who I respect tremendously).

[quote]2. If bent-over rear delt raises give you discomfort, don’t do them! There are plenty of other way to train the posterior delts.

Any other good exercises for posterior delts I could do at home? Or should I buy some jump stretch bands?[/quote]

The jump stretch bands would be a great thing to have around anyway (I just ordered some more myself!). Seated rope rows to the neck are okay, although you might not want to use them if your upper traps are already tight. Face pulls are excellent, and don’t forget that the posterior delts are getting hit quite hard with all external rotation movements, as they assist the infraspinatus and teres minor in external rotation of the humerus. Honestly, I rarely include direct posterior delt work in my programs unless there is a specific postural issue to be addressed, or I want to incorporate some sort of shoulder complex (e.g. Westside-influenced). Often, posterior delt work will just be my prehabilitation exercise of choice for a given program. As long as you understand functional anatomy, you can pick and choose which exercises you use quite easily.

[quote]Thanks again. You and the rest of the t-nation staff are amazing donating your time like this.

Scott
[/quote]

My pleasure; you guys have some great questions!

EC,
I really do not know how I have developed UNE. I cannot afford to go to the Doctor, so I haven’t been diagnosed with UNE. I am experiencing a mild pain in my elbow, and numbness in my little and ring finger, so I kind of just diagnosed myself. I think it might be from years of sleeping on my left side with my left arm bent under me. I first noticed it a few weeks ago when I woke up, but my hand stayed asleep. I also notice the numbness when I rest my hand on my desk or a chair for a long period of time. For the last four weeks I have been doing ABBH and before that I was in school, and only training two days a week with the “money exercises.” It does not interfere with my training yet, so should I continue to train? Or should I just Squat three days a week until it does not bother me anymore? I slept with my arm straight all last night, and I have no problems yet today. I will make a towel splint to use tonight, but I can’t sleep unless I am on my left side and it is my left arm that bothers me. Thank you for all of your help and all you have contributed to T-Nation.

Joe_