Chints,
Here’s the link to EC and I’s Neanderthal No More Training program.
Exercises to check out include the pronated row, face pulls, rear delt fly, low pulley external rotation, dip shrugs, chest-supported row, db external rotation, etc.
I would also VERY HIGHLY recommend you read EC’s rotator cuff article located here:
Between the two of those, you should have enough exercises to keep you going for months to come!
Stay strong
Mike
Luigi,
Sumo deads are great for the glutes! Conventional tends to put more stress on the lower back. Not sure how you hurt your hip, but I would have someone watch your technique and make sure it’s dead-on (no pun intended!)
Yes, a lot of single-leg movements put stress on the glutes, but it’s tough not to get a lot of quadricep involvement. Exercises like lunges, step-ups, Bulgarians, etc. all hit the glutes hard, but also the quads as well.
Yes, cleans hit the upper traps. Check the link above to the NNM series for exercises that hit the lower traps.
Stay strong
Mike
[quote]LuigiM wrote:
Mike,
thanks for your response, can’t wait for the article, what do you think of sumo deadlift, I have tried it in the past but hurt my hip, I guess it was my stance, anyways do you think this variations is better then regular deads in this case? and what about single leg movements, do they put more tension on the glutes? I was thinking of doing 2 compound and one single leg movement per session, what do you think?
also in a post above you posted this:
-Scapular elevation movements - Upper traps
5) Scapular depression - Lower traps, etc.
this may seem a dumb question but scapular elevation will be cleans,rigth?, but what will be scapular depression?
thanks again[/quote]
Hey Mike!
How would you go about getting up the maximum number of reps in a calisthenic exercise, like pushups, crunches, etc.? Unfortunately, I’ve used up all my newbie gains, and after not training to maintain the gains, I’m back to square one.
I went from 32 pushups to 65 by doing a set to failure every hour, every day. That was before I started reading T-mag (over 1.5 years ago). So, considering that I don’t have as much free time as I did back then, what would your approach be?
Thanks for your advice, and congratulations on the wedding!
Mike,
First off, congrats on the wedding!
I also wanted to thank you for helping me out with ideas on youth sports conditioning some time ago. My camps went well and the athletes had a great time.
On to my question. What are your opinions on the Joint Mobility exercises recommended by Scott Sonnon and other coaches?
Can you describe the benefits to this type of training?
Thanks for your insights.
Thanks once again Mike,
I think my problem with the sumo deadlift is that I was using to wide of a stance, I got a pain in the front between my groin and hip and it will get worse after doing bentover rows, the same thing happened when I try sumo squats and box squats,I always have trouble finding the right stance, could you give a tip on how wide the stance should be?, when I do regular squats the distance between toes is around 17-18 inches, when a try the sumo was about 37-38 inches and if I move them closer it felt that my quads were getting more involve, but Im not sure if that was ok.
Thanks for all your help.
Mike -
Here is an off the wall question for you. Can you describe how you properly set-up one of you athletes on the Glute-Ham Raise? What you do in terms of frequency, sets, reps, and progression scheme?
Thanks-
Craig
Kligor,
Again, a GTG program would work great for calisthenic style exercises. Every time you get a chance, knock out like 10 crunches, push-ups, whatever. Just remember not to tax yourself; you should be just as refreshed AFTER doing this as you did before.
Another option is to periodize this like anything else. Maybe some days are lighter (e.g. fewer reps) whereas some are heavier where you put a 45# plate on your back. Mix things up and be sure to alternate your volume and intensity.
Stay strong
Mike
[quote]kligor wrote:
Hey Mike!
How would you go about getting up the maximum number of reps in a calisthenic exercise, like pushups, crunches, etc.? Unfortunately, I’ve used up all my newbie gains, and after not training to maintain the gains, I’m back to square one.
I went from 32 pushups to 65 by doing a set to failure every hour, every day. That was before I started reading T-mag (over 1.5 years ago). So, considering that I don’t have as much free time as I did back then, what would your approach be?
Thanks for your advice, and congratulations on the wedding![/quote]
Kyle,
Glad to hear your camps went well. It’s always a rewarding experience working with young kids who have a desire to learn.
As far as the exercises you commented on, I don’t think I could give you a fair assessment because I don’t have much experience working with or reading about them. Perhaps someone else reading this has more experience with them? Sorry I couldn’t be of more help; if you give me a link I’d be more than happy to check it our for you!
Stay strong
Mike
[quote]kbattis wrote:
Mike,
First off, congrats on the wedding!
I also wanted to thank you for helping me out with ideas on youth sports conditioning some time ago. My camps went well and the athletes had a great time.
On to my question. What are your opinions on the Joint Mobility exercises recommended by Scott Sonnon and other coaches?
Can you describe the benefits to this type of training?
Thanks for your insights.
[/quote]
Luigi,
Check out this article I wrote a while back on deadlift technique:
http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?article=295prec2
The best advice I can give is to find a stance that’s COMFORTABLE. I’ve seen people play the biomechanics game w/the super wide stance, but it doesn’t always work. Find a comfortable stance, get your heels in as close as possible to the bar (or underneath it), and make sure you force the chest up to place the weight on the heels. If you do all this, you won’t have to worry about the quads anymore! If it helps, I generally have the middle of my lower leg in line with the power ring.
Hope this helps!
Stay strong
Mike
[quote]LuigiM wrote:
Thanks once again Mike,
I think my problem with the sumo deadlift is that I was using to wide of a stance, I got a pain in the front between my groin and hip and it will get worse after doing bentover rows, the same thing happened when I try sumo squats and box squats,I always have trouble finding the right stance, could you give a tip on how wide the stance should be?, when I do regular squats the distance between toes is around 17-18 inches, when a try the sumo was about 37-38 inches and if I move them closer it felt that my quads were getting more involve, but Im not sure if that was ok.
Thanks for all your help.
[/quote]
Thanks again Mike,
Great article, I will put all the recommendations into practice, I have a better idea of what I was doing wrong.
Another more general question (sorry it seems that Im taking most of your time) , Im interested in strength training for sports performance, especially for individual sports like sprint swimming (it will be great to have an article about this, ooops!! I guess I should have put this in the other thread) and Im wondering what type of strength periodization do you use for your athletes and how do you incorporate your strength periodization with the actual sport periodization, it seem from the info that I have gather, that sports follow a more traditional approach of GPP,SPP etc… in order to peak for a certain competition, do you follow a similar approach? Also do you prefer to have the strength session the same day as the sport session or on a different day? And if you use similar methods of strength training as the sports session, I mean maximal strength with sprints/skill work, strength- endurance in the weight room with endurance in the field, etc…
As always thanks again for all you help.
Craig,
Great question!
With beginning athletes, I set the toe-plate at a level where they can get 6-8 repetitions to begin with. Practice the techinque and activation of the exercise, and then worry about adding weight, reps, etc.
Once they start to get stronger, I start adding either weights or bands. Once this is easy, start progressively moving the toe-plate closer to the pad and then repeat the process.
Many athletes are weak at this exercise, so a 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps scheme works well in the beginning. As you progress, I like to perform them 2x/week. One day the toe plate is further away and you add weight/bands, and the second day with the toe plate closer and using just bodyweight. This progression has worked extremely well with all of my athletes.
Stay strong
Mike
[quote]craigrasm wrote:
Mike -
Here is an off the wall question for you. Can you describe how you properly set-up one of you athletes on the Glute-Ham Raise? What you do in terms of frequency, sets, reps, and progression scheme?
Thanks-
Craig[/quote]
Luigi,
Wow, that’s a loaded question. To be quite honest being in a private facility, I don’t have the kind of control to plan both sport and weight training for my athletes. What I have to do is be on the same page as the sport coach in knowing what the goals of the athlete are, dates for important competitions, injury history, etc. Then I can plan a training template accordingly.
Hope this helps!
Stay strong
Mike
[quote]LuigiM wrote:
Thanks again Mike,
Great article, I will put all the recommendations into practice, I have a better idea of what I was doing wrong.
Another more general question (sorry it seems that Im taking most of your time) , Im interested in strength training for sports performance, especially for individual sports like sprint swimming (it will be great to have an article about this, ooops!! I guess I should have put this in the other thread) and Im wondering what type of strength periodization do you use for your athletes and how do you incorporate your strength periodization with the actual sport periodization, it seem from the info that I have gather, that sports follow a more traditional approach of GPP,SPP etc? in order to peak for a certain competition, do you follow a similar approach? Also do you prefer to have the strength session the same day as the sport session or on a different day? And if you use similar methods of strength training as the sports session, I mean maximal strength with sprints/skill work, strength- endurance in the weight room with endurance in the field, etc…
As always thanks again for all you help.[/quote]
Jared,
Sorry I missed this post!
What you are doing is great! I love the idea of GPP/general exercise like you describe. As far as weighted GPP goes, you could also try sled dragging, tire flips, sledgehammer, wheelbarrow, kettlebells, etc.
As far as general rugby training goes, I would make sure to do some higher rep training in the off-season to build up your connective tissue, specifically the tendons and ligaments. I’m sure you know you are going to get beat up, so you might as well stay as healthy as possible while beating other people up!
Stay strong
Mike
[quote]RIT Jared wrote:
Mike:
For fun/preparation for rugby season I have been pulling my van with a harness, pushing it for max speed/acceleration. I also picked up various weights of tires 20-50lbs and have been throwing them backwards for height and distance. Does that sound like a plan? What other stuff could I incorporate.
More importantly do you have any suggestions and/or input for rugby specific (on or off field) training?
Thanks.
RIT Jared[/quote]
Ok, that’s about it for this mini-guest forum. I hope you all have learned a thing or two!
If you have more questions, feel free to shoot me a PM, but don’t be mad if I don’t get to it for a while!
Stay strong
Mike