IOL Strength and Conditioning

If you’ve followed the other “squat-challenged” posts (here, then here, and finally, here), you’re familiar with the many and varied approaches I’ve taken over the years to find a reasonable substitute for the squat.  Free squats, Zane styled squats, dumbbell squats, hip  belt squats, leverage machine squats, shrug bar squats and the lengthy “let’s forget about it altogether” squat…they all found their way into my workouts from time to time.  All had their time and place, their advantages and disadvantages…but none completely satisfied.  None filled that nagging little “squat sized” hole in my psyche.  None.

This past Tuesday night saw a victory of sorts take place in the WWGG.  (The Wicked Willie Garage Gym for the uninitiated.)  I actually did squats.  No tricks, no assistance, no machines – “just put the barbell on my back and squat” squats.

Granted, the weight was embarassingly light.  (Somewhere, a ten year old girl has just warmed up with a heavier weight.)  Granted, it was only to just parallel and not the most upright of squats.  Granted, I didn’t always push through my heels and my lower back may have lost its arch a time or two…BUT THEY WERE SQUATS!  Without falling and without losing balance, standing on my own two feet with my heels flat on the floor, I squatted.  Felt good, it did.

How and why did this happen?  I have a theory.

All of the various movements I used over the years helped to build quad strength but lacked in the balance department.  Looking back, I can see an unconscious progression from movements that addressed the balance issue by eliminating it, to movements that assumed increasingly greater amounts of free movement.  I went from movements that utilized various means of assisting balance (hip belt squats holding a tether, Zane “Leg Blaster” styled squats in the same manner) to movements where I stood on my feet without the benefit of assistance – i.e. shrug bar “lifts,” dumbbell squats  and free squats.  Albeit slowly and without conscious thought, I was progressively developing the strength in the ancillary muscles and the neural pathways that would allow me to make the necessary corrections to squat without losing balance.  Call it serendipity or pure dumb luck…the end result was the same.  I squatted.

Tempering my joy is the knowledge that I have a long way to go to reach a matured form.  Flexibilities will have to be developed and movement patterns will have to be addressed, isolated and fixed.  All of that seems a little less onerous and a little more possible now.

I sincerely doubt that I’ll squat three wheels.  Two wheels may be a lofty goal.  In truth, ONE wheel on each side may be enough to satisfy me for a long time.  It doesn’t really matter…the journey has begun.  Am I still “squat-challenged?”  Yes.  Does it matter?

No…not now.

Functional Movement Systems, presenters Gray Cook and Lee Burton
2nd Edition, 2009, 2 DVDs, 1 CD

On the CD

The set includes a CD with an 84-page screening manual pdf, plus a 53-minute recorded video lecture in which Gray explains the background of the screening system.

DVD Disk One

Disk One is 46 minutes of new video covering Gray’s introduction, followed by Lee teaching the screening action and scoring of the following tests—

• Deep Squat (symmetrical stance)
• Hurdle Step (single-leg, asymmetrical stance)
• Inline Lunge (split stance)
• Shoulder Mobility
  + Shoulder Impingement Test
• Active Straight-Leg Raise
• Trunk Stability Pushup
  + Torso Extension Pressup Test
• Rotary Stability

Each of these screen discussions are about five minutes and include Lee’s verbal description, followed by a demonstration of a top-quality test and the lower levels of each. Lee then guides the viewer through the slight differences between each scoring level, telling us exactly what to look for during screening.

The final few minutes of Disk One is a discussion of scoring, using the score sheet in the included manual pdf, and a brief time where Lee and Gray come back together to conclude the specific movement screening coverage.

An attentive person could watch the DVD  a couple of times, practice the screen on a few friends, watch the DVD again to pick up the forgotten nuances, practice again and become accomplished at movement screening. However, most likely anyone who becomes involved in screening is going to want to make the trek to a Functional Movement Screening workshop where the guys take two days to expand on this material.

DVD Disk Two

Disk Two is the corrections DVD, just over an hour of video of a young Gray Cook teaching through the Reebok University. Even though Gray’s aged in the few years since this material was prepared and I was initially hesitant, as it turns out, it was terrific. I was anything but disappointed—in fact, many of the corrective ideas were new to me. Excellent tricks throughout.

Lecture—This is an nine-minute lecture in which Gray talks about the reflexive core and use of the Reebok Core Board. He also talks about proprioception and reactive neuromuscular training, again using the core board, but the ideas are the same regardless of the tool used, or if no tools are used. However, the exercise progression section that follows does require a core board.

Warm-up and shoulder mobility progression—The subtleties in Gray’s teaching through this eight-minute warm-up segment are slid in sentence after sentence. Don’t let yourself get distracted by some misguided idea of multi-tasking. Give him your full attention and you’ll be rewarded.

Exercise Progressions—Here we have core board progressions for all of the screens. Each section is a few minutes long and is demonstrated by a guy who moves well. There’s an un-named narrator giving instructions, and neither Lee or Gray appear in this section nor the following.

Movement Pattern Sequences—16 minutes of movement patterning, again using the core board and the athlete to demonstrate with the narrator giving verbal instructions. This reminds me of why the core board was so popular, and I’m struck by how it’s lost favor. Regardless, they sure make great use of the device in this video, and I’m pulling mine back out of the dust pile for some experimentation tomorrow.

Movement-based core training with a med ball—Split into five parts (five minutes of lecture, and twelve minutes of squat variations, hurdle step variations,  lunge variations and field testing), here we see Gray introducing core training with a medicine ball. He’s speeding up the action of core training, moving from slow strength and control with the core board to the explosive use of med ball throwing.

Final Thoughts

This DVD set, after a few weeks of practice, will lift a personal trainer or coach into position as a qualified movement screener. Certainly more practice will clear up fuzzy thinking and hesitation. Still, my guess is most people will want to follow this DVD with a weekend FMS workshop, not because the DVD doesn’t offer enough, but because once you’ve started down this path, you’ll probably want more as soon as you’ve mastered the initial training.

You can order this from Perform Better at this link. The cover image is different — I think it’s the first edition cover still in use, but the product will be as described above.

Gray Cook is a chatterbox on the phone, assuming you can catch up with him when the phone rings. Once you get a hello, it’s usually clear sailing for a good conversation. After we finished our Movement book project, our conversations got a little less focused, and I began getting some exceptional advice from a guy who can tell at a glance what’s going on physically, and what I should be doing about it.

A couple of months ago, we realized some of these conversations might be valuable to others, so we started recording them. These are weekly eight- or ten-minute discussions in which I ask him a question and just sit back and let the tape roll. If I’m on the ball, you may get a follow-up question, and heck, once in a while the follow-ups might even be related.

We’ve got ten episodes online now ranging from breathing to body proportions, core firing to stability versus motor control, self-limiting exercise to increasing weight in the getup. Oh heck, here’s the list…

Episode Ten:
In this episode, Gray begins to develop the topic of breathing

Episode Nine:
What to expect from a Functional Movement Screen Workshop

Episode Eight:
Does Gray have a Daily Desk Jockey movement prescription?

Episode Seven:
What’s on Gray’s bookshelf as we move into spring?

Episode Six:
How do body proportions factor into movement screening?

Episode Five:
Planks, pushups, core firing and more

Episode Four:
Here Gray explains the difference between stability and motor control

Episode Three:
Dan John asks: Tell us more about the concept of self-limiting exercise

Episode Two:
Why does Gray suggest the heels-in, toes-out stance in club swinging?

Episode One:
In episode one, Gray describes how to move to a higher weight in the Kalos Stenos GetUp

And here’s the link to the Gray Cook Radio page.

Well, anyway, once in a great while I have something to offer him in return, usually involving some kind of technology. Or words.

Anthony Carey
Filmed at IDEA, 2008, 1 hour and 43 minutes

Anthony Carey, of Function First, is a terrific resource for our corrective exercise learning; I’m a big fan. This is a live seminar dvd in which you’ll learn how the muscles and fascia are connected, how they work together and how the slings influence movement and pain. There are seven chapter sections as follows.

Chapter 1: Function Anatomy: Myofascial Slings
In this section, Anthony provides an overview of how anatomy works functionally as opposed to what we learn in Gray’s Anatomy. He’ll show you how each part of the muscle/fascial system fits together , including how fascia changes with age.

Chapter 2: Characteristics of a Muscle Sling
Here you’ll learn the difference of how we address fascial slings through exercise as opposed to how massage therapists work with the fascial layers with their hands. Anthony spends this section covering the purpose of the fascia and fascial slings, and how they work in movement. Here you’ll see how each element affects the next, including a clear image of how a triggerpoint jams up length in a sling.

Chapter 3: Tensegrity = Tension Integrity
Anthony gives us a short overview of Buckminster Fuller’s concept of tensegrity, and demonstrates how one side of a structure influences the other.

Chapter 4: Examples of Major Myofascial Slings
This section is where we learn how to put Tom Myers’ Anatomy Trains material into action. Where are the slings? How do they work together?

Chapter 5: Examples of Myofascial Lines
And here Anthony explains the Myers concept of mysfascial lines, preparing for the next section of exercise examples to follow.

Chapter 6: Exercise Examples of Slings and Lines
Now we get into action. This is the longest section of the DVD in which Anthony uses at least three points of contact to demonstrate the slings. He’s tweaked some yoga moves to help each person feel or stretch the sling connections. He’s also careful to explain the common errors most people make in joint rotation when trying to feel the work the fascial slings. Many of these are common stretches, some with minor adjustments from stretches you’re familiar with, and others are quite unusual. In the strengthening section, he uses rubber tubing and a medicine ball.

Chapter 7: Summary
This short section is a simple overview of the workshop material.

If you’re not familiar with how to stretch or strengthen along the myofascial slings, this DVD will be extremely useful in your education. Here’s a link to the product on the IDEA site: Anthony Carey Functional Anatomy, Myofascial Slings. Even the yoga experts in the participating audience struggled with a few of his twists—these are not your normal moves.

I spent some time with Anthony at IDEA, which I wrote about here. You can learn more about the myofascial sling action from Chuck Wolf and Tom Myers.

The often-referenced goblet squats were invented by Dan John a to teach his student athletes how to squat well, his favorite overhead squats specifically. The thinking was the goblet groove would help the athlete learn to squat between the legs, rather than with the upper body stiff at the hips. I suspect it also works very, very well for teaching women how to squat.

You see, we have a hip thing going on. In case you didn’t know.We are, for the most part, more suited for front squats over the more common back squats, too, so you guys trying to teach your spouses to squat should take note of Coach John’s handy teaching tool.

My lagging blogger partner Byron Chandler notes:

The goblet squat is excellent for teaching you to spread your stance and “squat between your heels.” The reason you squat upright with a goblet squat is because it’s basically a front squat. You won’t be able to duplicate that upright position with a back squat. Incidentally, if you are long legged, you might be better off focusing on the front squat rather than the back squat.

Many of us took to them immediately. In fact, I use them regularly with a medicine ball as a pre-workout warm-up, working the toes to the shoulders… scratch that, higher. Gets my head in the game, too.

I usually proceed to a medicine ball clean/goblet/thruster effort as the warm-up proceeds.

Well into the warm-up, I like to get and stay down at the bottom position, hold and stretch a little. Dave doesn’t agree with this and says it looks like a warm-up to a knee problem instead. So shake a little salt into the sweetness.

As an aside: A lot of us have a noisy knee thing going on. Fred Hatfield (you know him as Dr. Squat) discusses squats and knee issues here, and for an opposing viewpoint may I quote Coach Bill Starr about noisy knees:

“If they don’t hurt, I wouldn’t be concerned. I’ve trained with quite a few lifters who experienced noise in their knees when they squatted, but it never caused them any real trouble. Naturally, if they do start hurting, it would be wise to see a doctor.”

Your foot position — the width between your feet — is, I think, suggested by individual physiology, although I believe one can adjust from the natural position and strengthen the supportive muscles in the process. For example, my natural position involves a fairly wide stance, yet I see a value in a narrow stance to strengthen the muscles around the knees. I wouldn’t suggest much experimentation until you’re fairly proficient, completely warmed up but not tired, or before your body awareness is well developed, because you’re more likely to train yourself right into bad form, straining your knees or low back if you’re not careful.

The natural stance of the goblet squat will ensure a more upright body during the downward motion. If you’re attentive to a straight-back position, a narrow-stance, butt-back goblet squat is perfectly save and very effective as an exercise you might keep in the arsenal for years to come.

Back to my warm-ups, the medicine ball goblets move agreeable to a clean from the floor/goblet squat/thruster effort that really gets my heart pumping and the full body working. Then I’m ready to move to goblets with a kettlebell by the horns — or a barbell or dumbbell, depending on where I’m training that day. Once things get heavier, I keep the reps at six or below because it’s an easy exercise to learn, but as one gets tired, things get sloppy and danger sets in.

Keep the goblet object close to your chest. Coach John points out that your elbows should be between your knees at the bottom, not on top or to the side of your knees (unlike the photo above, however that’s the only goblet squat photo currently floating around these parts).

When doing goblets with kettlebells, I like to follow them (or just as often, superset them) with swings. If using a dumbbell, I go for pullovers after… or between sets. These return the backside to an extended, upright position.

Want to really blast it? Superset your goblets with swings or pullovers and follow the whole package with elevated lunges. You won’t be forgiving me for a while. Ouch!

Here’s another thing: Because the weight used is so light, I do these goodies most every workout.

Nice!

Taskmaster Dan suggests this:

While doing your goblet squats, drop down to rock bottom, rise back up to just parallel, then drop down again and repeat many times. Then, without rest and still maintaining good form, do step-ups while holding your dumbbell or kettlebell in the goblet squat position. Yow!

While developed as a teaching exercise, many of us — especially the women — may like to keep this exercise around for the duration. Meanwhile, here are a couple of…

• Step-by-step how to squat instructions
• Squat description and squatting tips
  
• Krista on learning to squat, written for women — for whom goblet squats shine — but suitable for men, too

You can spend an afternoon over at Dan’s site for more unique training philosophy and techniques, here: Dan John’s website..