We’re now set with part four of Dan’s IronOnline workshop — or at least we will be Friday or Monday — the final DVD of the series, in which he shows us his sample warm-ups, a few workout varieties, and his famous barbell complexes. Trust me, these aren’t your regular Bomber bodypart splits, although over the decades Dave’s done his share of barbell rows, presses and dumbbell farmer walks, and he’s probably also done our share.

One of Dan’s key phrases here was, “The warm-up is the workout,”  and as he puts our crew through the paces, you’ll see how he can make that claim! He also uses members of the audience to demonstrate new movements, or to show his corrections when we went astray.

Here he uses Elke to show, as he tells the story and gives guidance on Koji squats, which I’m assuming you haven’t seen before.

Dan shows his daily favorites:
Gait Warm-up
Goblet Squat & Bootstrapper Squat
Hip Flexor Stretch & RDL Stretch
Plank Series
Horizontal Shrugs
Maxercist and Parked Rows
Crocodile Pushups
Heartbeat Squat
Kalos Sthenos Getup
Ab Circuit
Star Plank
Barbell Complexes
A full warm-up series
Sample workouts, insights and more

Includes pdf handouts of the sample workouts, warmups and barbell complexes

And in this clip, Dan’s pal Josh Vert performs the deadbug series, again with Dan at the controls.

Here’s where to get your copy of Dan’s 90-minute workout samples dvd, $29.95. Or if you’d like to save $20 now that the entire series is complete, here’s the link for the 4-DVD set.

What a great idea for Christmas — now you know what to ask for next week when you get the what do you want for Christmas inquiry!

So I get there to take a look and oops, what do you know… hasn’t been touched in about five years. Ouch! No new book updates, no new technology. It just looked b a d. You can probably guess what I did the next couple of days, and you know I’m going to send you over there to take a look. In fact, maybe I’ll even ask a favor: Would you let me know if you find any problems? Typos, browser issues, like that? Your review comments on the various book and dvd pages are most certainly welcome, too, because I know the authors appreciate hearing your thoughts.

Buried in the author pages you’ll find bits of history, perhaps how the books came to be published, or how I came to know the authors. I’ll continue to update the Forthcoming page as new projects hit the planning stage, but meanwhile perhaps you’ll want to know what’s up for now.

In the print department, Dave’s just begun work on his new, as yet unnamed book, which sounds like it will be part memoir, part motivational, part pictorial. The selection of photos is underway, which means he’s dreaming up memories to tell the stories behind the images. His memory articles are often the readers’ favorites, and just the idea of this new material is enough to lift my spirits.

I’m working on another book project in partnership with Byron Chandler, this one directed toward the maturing trainee who, perhaps through chronic pain, has discovered the training routine he or she has been using since 1980 is no longer doing the trick. I hope we’ll see both of these new books in early 2010.

May 1st we’ll be filming a workshop in San Jose, California, featuring Mark Reifkind and Dave Whitley for publication on DVD. This will be a paid day-long workshop; registration and seminar details will be online in January, and the DVDs hit production during May, available early summer.

And the weekend of September 25, 2010, will mark our 10th annual IronOnline bash to be held in Kansas City, where Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore will be on hand to present a workshop weekend, also planned for DVD publication. Details on that event will be posted in the IronOnline forum as they become available.

The new website is OnTargetPublications.net. If you find any problems, please give me a yell: ldraper@davedraper.com.

As I did last time for the kettlebell dvd and the time prior for the strength lecture, I pulled a couple of clips from the dvd to give you a taste of what went on during our time with Dan. First, let’s look at his take on pulling through the heels.

In this 80-minute DVD, Dan taught:

• Olympic lifting overview
• Snatch positions
• Push jerk
• Split jerk
• The Jerk
• Overhead squat
• Goblet squat
• Shoulder mobility
• Putting weights overhead
• Hamstring lengthening
• Romanian deadlift stretch
• Wrist flexibility

Now here’s one of value to everyone, even those without interest specifically in Olympic lifting: How to get wrist flexibility.

Having been at the event and as an adult with absolutely no Olympic lifting experience, I can tell you I left feeling fairly confident in my ability to snatch and jerk… a short piece of PVC pipe.

Seriously, it left me and the rest of the attendees with plenty of enthusiasm for learning the O lifts, and enough technique tips to give us a start on our own at home. Here’s where to get your copy of Dan’s Olympic Lifting for Beginners DVD, $29.95.

]]> http://davedraper.com/blog/2009/11/04/dan-john-on-olympic-lifting-technique/feed/ http://davedraper.com/blog/2009/10/28/training-when-your-knees-hurt/ http://davedraper.com/blog/2009/10/28/training-when-your-knees-hurt/#comments Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:30:44 +0000 Nick Weight Training Rehab and Recovery http://davedraper.com/blog/2009/10/28/training-when-your-knees-hurt/ A guest blog post by Nick Tumminello, the guy who
produced those self-myofascial release and self-mobilization dvds I liked so much.
Thanks, Nick, you’ve got great timing because my knees hurt! Laree

Injuries are an unavoidable part of life and athletics. Talk to just about any athlete or exercise enthusiast over the age of 25 and he or she is almost guaranteed to have some sort of pain, injury or limitation. One of the more common areas of trouble are the knees.

Often, past or present knee issues limit or totally prevent folks from performing many of the traditional lower body exercises. Movements like squats, lunges and steps place significant force through the knee and demand the knee joint move through a large range of motion, exactly what individuals suffering from knee issues need to avoid. People with knee pain are left confused and frustrated in their desire to train and successfully make gains in the gym.

That is, until now…

This article will provide you with a concept that I call Joint Friendly Training or more specifically, Knee Friendly Training. Knee-friendly training exercises are exercises that maximize results in strength and muscle, but place minimal stress on the knee joint. In other words, these exercises will help you get bigger stronger legs without creating more pain or discomfort. I know these exercises work because I use them every day with my injured athletes. Every exercise protocol provided has been battle-tested and proven effective in my gym time and time again.

This is NOT Corrective Exercise!

Before I provide the specific exercise protocols. I want to make a very important point: The exercises below are designed to work around your pain, injury or limitations. They are NOT designed to be rehabilitation exercises or corrective training. That training is best left to a qualified physical therapist.

There are two very basic and very common sense rules when using the knee-friendly training exercises below.

Rule #1 – If it hurts, don’t do it!

If one of these exercises creates pain during or after training, skip it and move on to another variation.

Rule #2 – Change is okay!

Don’t be afraid to modify a movement to better accommodate your specific limitations. For instance, use a lighter weight, a shorter ROM, or a slower tempo.

The Exercises

After I provide the specific exercises, I will describe a sample program showing how to apply them in your program.

Knee Friendly Exercise #1 - The Single Leg ½ Squat, ½ Deadlift
This exercise is one of my favorite lower body exercises for both injured and uninjured athletes because it’s a very efficient way to train the entire lower body. It combines the benefits of unilateral training, and leverages the timing and rhythm of both the quads and hips working together.

People with bad knees usually have trouble bending their knees past a certain point. The half-squat, half-deadlift limits the knee bend and allows the posterior chain — glutes and hamstrings — to bear some of the load and therefore to de-load the knee joint a bit.

Watch the video below to learn the ½ Squat ½ Deadlift.

½ Squat ½ Deadlift - Program Design Tips

• This exercise can also be done bilaterally – on two legs — using a barbell or dumbbells.
• Add load to the 1 Leg ½ Sq/DL by wearing a weighted vest, holding dumbbells, a medicine ball or a barbell.
• Isometric holds for 3-5 seconds at the bottom position are also an effective training option.

Knee Friendly Exercise #2 – Anterior Lunges
Anterior lunges are based on the same principle as the ½ Squat/DL. This lunge variation is knee-friendly because it emphasizes more glute recruitment. By increasing glute recruitment, we automatically bring in more muscular help to the knee.

This exercise also makes a killer glute and athletic performance drill for uninjured athletes. I warn you, though, anterior lunges will make your butt very sore if you’ve never tried them before! Like any other new exercise, once your body adapts, that intense soreness goes away.

Here’s how to perform the anterior lunge.

Anterior Lunge - Program Design Tips

• Only go as heavy as you are able while still maintaining optimal spinal alignment, a proper lordodic curve.
• Alternate legs or do all reps on the same side, then switch.
• Shorten your stride or amount of lean relative to pain tolerance levels.

Knee Friendly Exercise #3 – Romanian Deadlifts
RDLs are a very commonly used exercise. Therefore, I don’t think it necessary to cover them in in depth. That said, RDLs are a very knee-friendly way to lift big weights and build more muscle and strength.

Knee Friendly Exercise #4 – Monster Walks
Monster walks are one of the most popular exercises I teach to my clients during training and when I present to fitness professionals at national conferences. This exercise is fun, easy to learn, and most importantly, it works!
As in the theme of this article, monster walks require little to no bending of the knee and therefore are very easy on the knee joint. Even my clients with very severe knee issues can use monster walks to strengthen the lower body without pain or irritation. All you need to perform monster walks is a heavy resistance band like the ones used in band-resisted bench presses and squats.

Monster Walk – Program Design and Coaching Tips

• Prevent the pelvis from rotating more than a few degrees.
• Walk while emphasizing movement from your hips via the glutes.
• Stay tall.
• Monster walks are best performed for time frames of 30-60 seconds.
• To increase load demand, use a heavier band or walk farther out.

Knee Friendly Exercise #5a & 5b – Single Leg Bench Hip Bridge
This is another one of those exercises that is simple to learn, works with anyone, and builds big-time muscular strength and size. It’s also a personal favorite of my lovely girlfriend, Alli McKee,  an experienced strength coach and competitive figure athlete. You can get all of Alli’s workouts here on her blog.

There are actually two ways to perform the single-leg hip lift. You can use a bent leg, as shown in the pictures of Alli below:

Single Leg Hip Bridge — finish position

Single Leg Hip Bridge with Straight Leg - finish position

When performing this exercise with a straight leg, be sure to keep your toes pointed straight toward the sky.

Here’s an example of the wrong foot position:

Single Leg Hip Bridge - wrong foot position

Here is the correct foot position:

Single Leg Hip Bridge - correct foot position

Single Leg Hip Bridge – Program Design and Coaching Tips

• Place the flat part of the weight plate on your shin. The plate should not be uncomfortable to hold.
• Lift hips as high as possible and pause for 1-2 seconds at the top.
• To create more balanced muscular development and add variety to your training, alternate bent leg and straight leg hip bridge variations every other workout.
• Use a larger plate or multiple stacked plates to increase the load.

Knee-Friendly Exercise #6a, 6b, and 6c - Sled Training
With sled training, you get a knee-friendly way to both improve your strength and improve your level of conditioning. In this section, I’m going to cover my three most effective knee-friendly training drills using a sled.

Sled Pushes

• Sled pushes, when done correctly, will crush even the fittest and strongest of athletes.
• Keep your back fairly straight, with your hips and shoulders close to level with one another.

Check out these two hard-working master figure competitors performing heavy sled pushes:

Sled Push – Coaching and Program Design Tips

• For strength and muscular gains, go as heavy as possible for 25-40 yards.
• For improvements in conditioning or for fat loss, use lighter loads for 50-100 yards.

Forward Sled Drag
This drill is a personal favorite of mine for building the legs, burning fat and developing long-lasting conditioning levels. Since this type of training has become more popular, there are multiple equipment options available depending on finances. On the high end, you can buy a Prowler. A cheaper option is to buy a weighted sled. Although I have both pieces of equipment, I still prefer the last option…a used oversized tire. The best part about getting a tire is the price…FREE from the junkyard!

Here, at Performance U in Baltimore, we perform our forward sled drag using a big tire.

Forward Sled Drag – Coaching and Program Design Tips

• Stronger athletes need a larger, heavier tire…DUH!!!
• Lean forward with a straight back.
• Take big strides.
• For improvements in strength, go 20-40 yards.
• For improvements in conditioning or fat loss, go 40-100 yards.
• For dynamic effort training, cover 15-25 yards as fast as possible.

Reverse Sled Drag
The reverse sled drag is a great knee-friendly way to create terminal knee extension and develop your quads. This exercise is no slouch in the fat loss and conditioning department either.

This exercise can also be performed with the Prowler, a weighted sled, or a giant tire. I like the tire because I can get outside and work on my tan while getting stronger.

Reverse Sled Drag – Coaching and Program Design Tips

• You can stand tall or drop into a partial squat while performing this exercise.
• Alternate each position every workout to create balance and add variety.
• For strength gains, go as heavy as possible for 20-40 yards.
• For fat loss or improved conditioning, go lighter for 40-80 yards.

Putting it All Together
Now that I’ve provided you with the specific exercises, here’s a sample-training program. This program demonstrates a sample two-day knee-friendly leg training split.

Sample Two-Day Knee Friendly Strength & Conditioning Program

Day 1
•    Romanian Deadlifts: 4 x 5-8
•    1 Leg Hip Bridge (Bent Leg): 3 x 8-12 paired with Reverse Sled Drag (low stance): 3 x 30-40 yds
•    Calves: 2 x 20-25
•    Forward Sled Drag (for conditioning): 100 yds x 2
Day 2
•    1 Leg ½ Squat 1/s DL: 4 x 10-15
•    1 Leg Hip Bridge (Straight Leg): 3 x 8-12 paired with Reverse Sled Drag (tall stance): 3 x 30-40 yds
•    Calves: 2 x 20-25
•    Sled Push (for conditioning): 50 yds x 4

Note: When pairing exercises, you should perform exercise a, followed by exercise b, and then repeat for the subscribed number of sets. For example in Day 1, the leg hip bridge paired with reverse sled drag should be performed as:

•    Leg Hip Bridge: 1 x 8-12
•    Reverse Sled Drag: 1 x 30-40 yds
•    Leg Hip Bridge: 1 x 8-12
•    Reverse Sled Drag: 1 x 30-40 yds
•    Leg Hip Bridge: 1 x 8-12
•    Reverse Sled Drag: 1 x 30-40 yds

Knee Friendly Cardio

All of the sled variations I provided above are excellent ways of improving cardiovascular endurance and metabolic conditioning. However, those exercises will gas you out fairly quickly. If you are looking for a knee friendly cardio option you can perform for extended periods of time, watch the video below:

Conclusion

So there you have it! I’ve given the specific exercises, shown you how to perform them safely and correctly, and provided a comprehensive training program. You now no longer have the option of using the “I have bad knees” excuse to not train, build muscle, and get stronger or lose fat. You have all the tools, so…get to the gym and get after it!

by Colin Sheard
Health and Strength, The Official NABBA Journal, January 1971
From the William Moore Collection

John Steinbeck should be writing this. I know of no other pen capable of doing justice to the essential Dave Draper. Between the two men is a fundamental affinity, a depth of feeling that even kinship couldn’t deepen. Here is a man after Steinbeck’s own heart; a subject worthy of his pen.

In Steinbeck’s book “Travels With Charley,” is a passage in which he describes the giant redwood trees. Moving, evocative, awe-inspiring, his love for the redwoods is consummately expressed. It communicates.

It is significant that Dave spoke to me of those trees. That his dearest wish is to go and live in the rugged beauty of their surroundings. He seeks peace and quiet, clean air to breathe and the space expressive of mental and physical freedom.

Says Steinbeck: “The vainest, most slap-happy and irreverent of men, in the presence of the redwoods, goes under a spell of wonder and respect. Respect — that’s the word.”

And that’s what I felt for Dave as I listened to him, as I sensed his claustrophobic need to stretch his spirit in such an environment.

So with apologies to them both, and feeling about as tall as I did when reading about the redwoods — I was on tiptoe peering over the grass — here’s what I learned about Dave.

His father was physically inclined. Football and basketball provided the outlets. Dave’s two brothers were mostly intellectually involved. His own need for physical expression came at the age of 12, and for four years, in and out of school, it was expressed mostly in gymnastics. From then on he devoted more time to developing his physique, not with any aspirations to physique titles, but as a means of self-fulfillment. He always trained alone. “I have no love for ball games or team events. I’m a lone man.”

He likes to use heavy weights and move fast. But his training is spontaneous.

“The regimented counting of sets and reps interferes with instinct. I like to tinker about for a while. Until something takes place, an involvement and rhythm, a flowing thing. It doesn’t always happen that way, but when it does I’m in rapport with the weights. The physical exultation lifts me out of myself.”

The outcome in terms of development?

“Hard quality. Balance of the smaller muscles; intercostals, serratus, rear deltoid. Larger muscles are often fully developed but lacking in finer points. Details come through care.”

This love of physical involvement is Dave’s sole reason for training. “Contests came because it seemed the thing to do, and because it seemed favorable to enter for financial reasons.”

There hasn’t been many. The first one came at 19, when he won the Mr. New Jersey title: “Not a strong contest,” commented Dave.

In 1965, he became Mr. America and in 1966, he won the IFBB Mr. Universe. But…”I have no lust for contests. When committed to one, I have a premise which distracts me. I have a tendency to doubt, to rely less on instinct. I am depressed, exultant, at odds with myself and everything. I feel out of step, make mistakes which I know are my own fault and I feel a sense of shame.”

The favorableness of the financial reasons was realized when his successes brought offers from films and TV.

“Don’t Make Waves,” starring Tony Curtis, brought Dave a role which he described as “sympathetic to the bodybuilder.” He also took part in a hillbilly series on TV. But there were offers to which he wasn’t attracted, roles in which he was to appear intimidating, or subjected to ridicule.

“Rather that prostitute the feeling I have for physical culture, I wouldn’t film.”

His financial resources come mainly from a half share in Gide’s Health Company, Long Beach. Named Food of Life, this company distributes supplement products throughout America. Exhibitions and demonstrations are arranged in which biochemists give talks on health and ecology. Dave handles exercise and demonstrates its vial importance in achieving health and all-round fitness.

But he is never happier than when working with his hands, and his creative skill augments his income in the making of distressed furniture… furniture skillfully beaten with a chain, and judiciously burned to achieve the effect of centuries of use, simulating furniture used in the castles of 200-300 years ago.

“I had an itch to make something. So I made a table. It turned out poor and I broke it up. But I’d found my medium; I love working in wood, and sometimes iron. I made more things and they turned out pretty good. A friend asked me to make something for him, then another, and another.”

Word got around, carried by the quality of his craftsmanship. Restaurant owners sought his skill to enhance their interior decorating. He now has a shop in his house, and his work goes far and wide.

Was he taught woodwork at school, or did he receive tuition elsewhere?

“I taught myself; if you’re school trained or trained at all, it’s not instinctive, not creative. They’re not your own ideas.”

His own ideas! Instinctive! Creative! Dave said he is a lone man. He is also his won man; seeking expression in the things he does best, in his own way, without help. Self reliant, confident in his own strength and ability.

As he talked, I watched the hands with which he loves to work. He used them occasionally to express a point. The tools of a craftsman; large, able, skillful, descending from forearms bulging with a strength that can be tempered to a delicacy of touch that transforms wood — and iron — into shapes and patterns of his own creative instinct.

In 1969 Dave went to South Africa, where he did about a dozen shows for Reg Park. It was a turning point. A widening of horizons in more sense than one. The itch to travel, to widen his interests, was upon him.

However…”The world makes it difficult to determine any kind of future. I don’t think much in terms of what’s ahead. The increased temp and acceleration, the pollution, industrial and political disputes… the whole scheme of things, including self, is difficult to resolve. The development of society is so dynamic, no subject is free. Life is momentary. Security! Insecurity! I hope the food supplement company does well enough to allow me freedom to travel. I’d like to come back to Europe for about a year. To move freely, in a camper, make direct contact and feeling with people.” Readers of “Travels With Charley” will catch a glimpse in that last statement of the affinity I mentioned, between its author and Dave.

“Then the redwood country. It’s freedom I want, not material things.”

What of the bodybuilding scene in America?

“There is an increase in attention to bodybuilding and fitness. In the years 1967-69, it was dying out. The attitude was negative. People were not physically inclined. I had, in fact, questioned it myself. But incentive has been rekindled. There is a big movement, new feeling, more positive attitude in current thinking and life style. Don Howorth has had much to do with its revival.”

It would be heresy for any bodybuilder to admit he hadn’t seen a magazine picture of Dave Draper. But what conclusions are drawn? How does the “man” come through in any physique shot?

“People are impressed by pictures. Training shots are all right, but candid shots impress more. They reveal more, set an intimacy. In this way, those who look toward the physique man for something, get to know him better.”

The truth of that statement is best shown in the paradox of the physique shot, in itself; in the varying misinterpretations it evokes from those who, so often, look for the wrong things. Dave’s feeling that the candid shot reveals more is well founded.

But no shot of Dave, and I’ve seen many, is capable of revealing his real character. There is a clean, wholesome quality about the man. His wants are simple. His longing to achieve them stated with engaging frankness. In a word, “candid” describes him. That’s why he prefers the camera, within its limitations, to show him as he is. But it would need a wide screen to project him. He is a truly big man, in every sense of the word.

I was told I’d get little out of him; that he wouldn’t say much. How little are they who told me that.

He is one of the most articulate men I’ve ever met. And he was in spate. As he spoke of certain things, he lit up. The planes of his face shaded off into softer lines, toned to varying depths of emotional response.

He is renowned for his physique. Ranked among the world’s best. His coming was eagerly anticipated, has been for several years. How then, does he measure up? How tall, what weight, what chest and biceps measurements? It never occurred to me to ask. I wasn’t interested anyhow. When gold is pouring into your lap, you don’t stand up and risk it falling away. I was caught up in the current of his words, carried along most willingly to whereever he wanted to take me.

We went back to his childhood, his youth, brief candles that soon threw out lengthening shadows of responsibility. Whatever he may have lost in the early years, Dave has found much that eludes the majority of men. And his deeper sense of values is most seen in the simplicity of his requirements.

Dave deviated from his rule of training alone and joined Frank Zane and Arnold Schwarzenegger in their training for the Universe.

“It was good. Exciting! I found a new surge of energy.”

Coming when he did, Dave entered NABBA’s Pro Contest at its most fiercely contested. If he took back little to show for his effort, he left much behind of what he brought, of himself. This “candid picture” will, I hope, bring a little of his greatness to those denied the chance of meeting him.

I hope he makes the redwood country. It’s where he belongs. Like the redwood themselves, he engenders respect. And not a little awe!

At this year’s IDEA conference a presenter, Sue Hitzmann, did a long session on fascia, the connective tissue that gives our bodies form. She’s a massage therapist who studied the new science of neurofascial anatomy, and in teaching her practice to others, developed a self-treatment method she calls MELT. I’ll prepare an overview of her presentation later, but for now I want to focus on her foot treatment.

Her technique for the feet takes our simple tennis or golf ball foot rolling a step further, using a game plan rather than the all-purpose, all-direction roll we did before. She uses a ball nearer the size of a golf ball, and begins with a softer ball to introduce the action to the fascial system, and later moving to the harder round after the fascia begins to loosen.

Rather than rolling, Hitzmann suggests position point pressing, moving the ball around the foot in a systematic way — mid-arch, along each of the metatarsal knuckles, back to the insole, out to the outside of the foot and down to the base of the heel — each time pressing down, holding but not rolling.

Next, she instructs what she calls shearing, in which the ball is used as a prop to hold the foot at an angle, waiting as the fascia begins its release.

Finally, the ball is rolled underfoot, side to side under the knuckles and up and down the length of the foot, only instead of rolling with pressure as we’ve been doing, this technique is called “rinse and friction” and is done faster and with less pressure.

You’ll find this fascinating as you play with it, especially using the smaller ball and applying directed pressure under the metatarsal knuckles, where you’re likely hear or feel the joints shifting.

One day on my pass by the triggerpoint ball, I stumbled upon a fascial release magic trick, a combination of techniques that sort of cuts the corner between joint mobility and soft tissue work.

In addition to rolling a ball underfoot, ankle mobility is my second daily must-do. Well, this day, I was in a hurry and sort of jumbled the two together. (I wonder if this is how most new training ideas are unearthed; we think these are brilliant folks figuring out how to accomplish specific tasks, but instead they’re just busy folks in a hurry.)

The triggerpoint therapy ball I use is about the size of a tennis ball, slightly larger, a little more dense, with density that shifts during use. With the ball stable under my forefoot, I started a little ankle rocking, a joint mobility drill to drive movement into the ankle joint. The action looks a lot like this Mike Boyle ankle mobility drill, only instead of having the toes propped on the edge of the platform, the foot is on top of a tennis ball.

As I began to experiment with various ways of applying pressure, I noticed the subtleties: Rolling, friction and steady pressure are all different than rocking, and rocking with a semi-stiff knee versus a bent knee is quite dissimilar, too.

When you think of the fascial lines, remember to consider length. The long stretches of connective tissue are how a knot in one place can cause pain a distance away. If you’re attentive as you rock your ankle with a ball under the metatarsal knuckles with a straight knee, you feel the pressure moving up the back of your leg and behind the glute, and you may even catch a hint of it higher up your back.

Play around with this tomorrow and I think you’ll be convinced it’s one for the daily to-do list.

Another quick tip in closing: It involves the tennis ball peanut gizmo we got from Mike Boyle (who, I’m told, originally got it from Sue Falsone — Mike’s big on crediting sources, and now that I know where he got it, I have to go back and make some fixes on this one).  Turns out the taped-up peanut works really, really well on the lats, up the side of the underarm and down the top of the triceps. A regular ball rolls out from under, whereas the ball peanut stays steady. I think you’re going to like this one. Well, both actually.

One of the highlights were his thoughts on why we lose joint range of motion. This is a primary problem as we get a little older, and we need to know what’s causing this decline in joint mobility so we can fend it off. Sure, sitting at this desk is a factor, but there are others reasons, and one I’ll bet you never thought of.

Evan Osar, IDEA World Conference, Anaheim, August 2009

The second big reason we lose range of motion is injury. These can be caused by a traumatic impact event, but at least as often a new injury is caused by a previous one. An injury often shuts down movement near the affected joint, causing less motion in that extremity than in the non-injured side. With asymmetries in range of motion, the larger the difference between the two sides, the greater the potential for injury.

We also have a problem with learned behaviors like lousy walking habits, standing in a hip strut or faulty cardio exercise style — think Stairmaster, hands on the rails, shoulders jammed up toward the ears, hips shifting side to side instead of long, forward-moving walking strides, all of which contribute to a stuck thorax with a lumbar area moving way too much.

When we talk about hip mobility, we’re concerned with movement — range of easy motion. The second and equally important aspect of joint action is stability: Is the surrounding musculature able to hold the joint in the center of the socket. This is called joint centration, the optimal access of rotation of the joint. Bad centration equals bad rotation, and vice versa.

Habitually holding a position causes the body to lose the ability to center the joint, sometimes due to tightness or weakness, and sometimes due to poor neuromuscular control, the brain sending faulty signals.

When we boil it all down, it comes to this: We need to create better centration of our joints. If the pelvis is stuck in anterior or posterior tilt (Osar, in opposition to many writers in this industry, believes most people are in posterior tilt), the hips are unable to center in the sockets.

One of his examples is overactivation of the glutes, a sort of always-on squeezing at the back of the hip socket. To quote Evan:

“This over-activation drives the head of the femur forward in the socket and generally leads to increased activation of the external hip rotators. In turn, this leads to decreases in internal rotation requiring compensatory changes in the knee, spine, and/or ankle. Focusing on releasing the posterior hip through fundamental patterns will often improve ROM without doing any other release techniques.”

In another example, as we lose internal rotation at the glenohumeral joint, the shoulder moves out of centration. You can see how this works if you stop reading, close your eyes and picture the joint pulled off-center in the socket.

Without joint centration, range of motion begins to decrease. Limited range of motion and weakness go together. Joints lock down to provide stability when the brain senses weakness.

We get pain because of too much uncontrolled motion; we’ve got to be strong enough, and maintain enough neurological control over the muscles surrounding the joints to provide stability of joint on top of joint.

This uncontrolled motion — this instability — is also why we lose balance.

I’ll decipher my notes on his baby-boomer balance improvement session another time. As I expected, it was also an exceptional talk in which he developed the ideas of stability and, surprising to me, spent a great deal of time on breathing patterns. I’ll flesh out my memories and post his bullet points later this month; in the meantime, go over to Evan’s website and sign up for his newsletter for a glimpse at his monthly insight into learning how your physical body truly functions.

As I think about the new Dan John kettlebell dvd, part two of his four-part weekend seminar series DVD we’re expecting from the replicator late in a few days, I again realize how much information he packed into the weekend. When you’re in the thick of things, it’s hard to comprehend the quantity of new information, or the value we get when guys like he and Dave simplify things to the core. That’s what happened during our weekend in June, bullet by bullet Dan hit the target for our group of IronOnline attendees.

And as you know, we got it all on film.

Here’s a look at Dan using professional snowboarder Josh Vert to demonstrate the bottom of the Kalos Stenos Turkish getup.

And in this clip, Dan explains Mark Cheng’s theory of the four knots of the shoulders and hips, and expands on it to include his thinking about the chain-link core.

One thing that will surprise most viewers is the true explosiveness of the ketttlebell swing. It’s much more violent than what most will expect, and as it turns out… Dan was right, and it’s a good thing. I liked my trusty, lazy old form of swings, and had no back pain experience to cause me to search for a new technique. Less than a half-hour into the workshop, I was convinced.

If you need some convincing yourself, you can order the new Dan John kettlebell dvd today, and we’ll ship it the day it arrives in inventory.

This is a guest blog post from Boris Bachmann, the creator of the terrific Squat RX video series.

As the Squat RX guy, I get a lot of questions from people struggling to bring their squat up to the level of their deadlifts. Many of them are pretty strong guys frustrated at their relatively paltry squat numbers. Understandably, they have a tough time stomaching the idea that squatting half of their deadlift is a herculean effort.

I have no secret technique or protocol that will magically transform your squat numbers, but I do have some observations that may put you on the path to some degree of parity for your squat and deadlift. If you are a “deadlift stud, squatting dud,” perhaps one of the following tips help you.
#1) You may be built to deadlift

Have long arms and a relatively short torso? You’re probably built to deadlift. Your deadlift is always going to run ahead of your squat. This is not something to get upset about, however — when you come from behind to destroy the competition in a powerlifting event with your stellar deadlift, you’ll be glad you have the build you have.

Nature just doesn’t deal us what we want sometimes. Tall and lanky might not be ideal for squatting, but take it from someone who’s short and stocky: Long arms are nice when you are lifting big and heavy things off the floor.

Okay. Great. That’s constructive… your build is great for deadlifting, so are you stuck with a bad squat? No, of course not, but there’s no sense in losing sleep over something that can be looked at as a positive.

#2) You haven’t given the squat enough time to develop

Beginners typically have much better deadlift numbers compared to their squat.

The extreme hip angle the squat puts you in is a position most people aren’t used to loading. As a result, it’s not uncommon for a beginner’s squat to lag behind his deadlift by one or two hundred pounds. With time, the numbers tend to even themselves out. If you haven’t been training consistently for a couple of years,  give your squat time and effort to catch up. And, if you are a powerlifter and use supportive equipment such as wraps and a squat suit, which assist the lifter in those extreme positions, it is very likely your squat numbers will soon far exceed your deadlift.

#3) You need to prioritize your squat

Almost every time someone asks me how to bring up his squat, he’s surprised when I suggest he isn’t squatting often enough. If squatting is a skill that has not been developed, practice is what is needed. Every training session does not have to be a high-intensity, high-volume Smolov hell, but more frequent sessions with greater focus on technique and tension can’t hurt.

For most beginner and intermediate lifters, it is a truism that squat training will help their deadlift numbers. The converse of this is not true, however; most people will NOT experience a commensurate rise in their squat numbers as their deadlift improves. I’m not saying anyone should slack in their deadlift training, but you have to work your weaknesses harder than your strengths if you want your weaknesses to become strengths.

If you are doing both the squat and deadlift in the same session, do your squats first. If you are doing both squat and deadlift work during the week, make sure squats come early in the week and before deadlifts. Prioritize your squat by doing squats and assistance exercises and drills early in the week. I call this ‘front-loading’ your work week; by putting your ‘money sets’ in early and getting them over with, you avoid the tendency to slack off as the week marches on.

#4) You may need to work on your set-up

Except for lining up too far away from the bar, most people know how to set up for a deadlift. “Grip and Rip” seems to be almost instinctual. Setting up for a heavy squat requires more direct instruction for many, and if there was one secret to squatting that seems to be lost on most lifters, it is that without a superb set-up, you are leaving a lot of potential pounds in the squat rack. A good set-up means setting the starting bar height in the racks appropriately, taking as few steps as possible out of the rack, and being as tight as possible before initiating the descent.

Proper bar positioning is essential to a strong squat. If the bar is not securely anchored to your back, injury to yourself and others is a very real possibility. As you position yourself under the bar, drive the head backward and stick the chest out — be proud. The Bigger, Faster, Stronger program uses the cue spread the chest, and it’s a good one — a sunken chest will quickly put you into a compromised position.

At the RKC (Russian Kettlebell Challenge) instructor certification, there was a short discussion about neural potentiators; key areas that, when active, serve to rev up the central nervous system. The grip is one of these neural potentiators.

My father was always fond of talking about research showing high correlation between an Olympic weightlifter’s grip strength shown on a dynometer and his success or failure on the platform a short time later. When the grip is weak or inactive, performance can suffer.

With deadlifts, the grip is active… squatting, not so much. So, what can a squatter do to maximize this? Grip the bar tightly. Even though it is not directly applying force to the bar in a way that seems meaningful, it is priming the central nervous system for heavy lifting and activating synergists to stabilize and assist the prime movers.

#5) You may need to learn how to build tension as you descend into the hole

When I was much younger, I believed that a full range of motion was advantageous, even when it came at the expense of muscle tension. I relaxed at extreme positions, placing loads squarely on the joints and connective tissues. It’s a wonder I didn’t suffer greater injuries than I did, but as you might expect, I suffered from more than a few lumbar and shoulder issues from my squat and bench press training.

A common cause of injuries and unnecessary aches and pains associated with squatting is failure to maintain proper tension as you descend into and rise out of the hole. I see kids all the time squatting who go loosey-goosey at the bottom of their squat to get another inch or two of depth. This is probably because they were told squatting ass-to-grass was the only way to squat, or some such nonsense.

In this photo, notice how the entire structure is leaking power through the lumbar, knees, and ankles.

The bottom line (pun intended) is if you are sacrificing tension for depth, you are asking for trouble.

Conduct the following experiment: With no weight, relax into as deep a bodyweight squat as you can manage; use a dowel or pvc to mimic a barbell back squat. While in the bottom position, shift gravity to your heels, tighten up your upper back and abs, externally rotate the legs at the hip by shoving the knees outward and engage the glutes and hamstrings. If you do this properly, you should involuntarily rise out of your deepest position by an inch or two. This is the depth you should strive for with your squats, and no deeper.

Notice how tension has spread the load, shifting stress away from the lumbar, knees, and ankles to the musculature of the hips, hamstrings, and the entire posterior chain and synergists.

There should be no loss of tension as a competent squatter descends into the hole. In fact, tension should be building throughout the torso and posterior chain. Dan John uses the bow analogy and I think it is very appropriate for squatters. Visualize your body as a bow with the string being pulled back to fire an arrow as you descend into the bottom of your squat. When you reach depth, release the string and fire booster rockets to escape gravity’s pull and don’t let up until the bar is securely back in the racks.

Excessive thoracic kyphosis – too much bend in the upper spine – goes hand in hand with forward head posture. Regaining thoracic mobility greatly contributes to fixing that, and subsequently eliminating neck pain.

For tips on how to do this, let’s go back to Anthony Carey, the guy who designed the Core-Tex reviewed a couple of weeks ago. Anthony presented his session, Advanced Strategies for Correcting Kyphosis, at this year’s IDEA conference, and guess what… I took notes.

A huge percentage of adults have excessive bowing in the upper back; in some, it’s a congenital structural issue and in others, usually the elderly, it’s a result of increasing osteoporosis and weakening bones unable to support the torso. But in most of us (you can guess what’s coming next), it’s postural… plain old bad habits.

Take a look at this image:

When the upper spine bends into kyphosis, it creates an excessive stress above in the cervical spine. Over time, that’s going to hurt. It’s also going to begin to move less, as will the thoracic spine; there will be less rotation and it will be harder to turn the head and shoulders. That’s probably the top reason older drivers back into things: They can’t rotate very well.

With the upper spine bent in that position and decreasing in mobility, it’s going to put more stress on the shoulder joint. Most people with shoulder issues have a t-spine mobility problem, and since a lot of us have both, what’s next?

One point Anthony made in his presentation and one I’ve heard whispered occasionally is about excessive foam rolling. When we start rolling over dense foam, most of us really respond to rolling the t-spine region, and because we like it so much, we go back to it often, perhaps too often. If we continually move the same spot by rolling, we may be creating hyperextension of certain areas over time. Segments above and below may be less mobile, and he suggests we not use foam rolling as our sole corrective strategy.

My favorite t-spine mobility exercise – the one I started with and regularly return to – is segmental mobility gained by working over a pair of taped tennis balls. I picked this one up from Mike Boyle a couple years ago; two used tennis balls and a roll of athletic tape and you’re making progress in about ten minutes.

Here’s what it looks like in action:

As you begin to loosen the upper spine, regaining youthful mobility, you’ll want to bring in a bit of rotation. Watch Mike working on thoracic rotation.

Here’s another example of t-spine rotation, this time in quadraped position from strength coach, Dewey Nielsen. Notice how his athlete is sitting deep in the hips; this is to keep the lower back from taking the rotation.

Anthony’s corrective exercises are a step above those basics, are a little harder to explain and aren’t available online as far as I’ve seen. So I again (yes, again… I think this must be the tenth time) refer you to his book, The Pain-Free Program, where you’ll find these unusual exercises described, with photos, plus a revolutionary way for laymen at home to sort out their personal postural issues. Can’t recommend it highly enough.

If you’ve worked your way through the neck pain ideas from last week and this week’s upper back suggestions, but your real concern is low back pain, click on over to Function First for Anthony’s tips, 25 Things You Must Know About Lower Back Pain.

If you work on those two or three moves five minutes a day for the next two weeks, I guarantee your back and neck will feel better. Not much time for a huge payoff! Add some aggressive pec stretching and you’ll be truly amazed at how much younger your upper body will feel.

I keep harping on this stuff because for me it’s made the difference between able and… well… unable. There’s no way I’d still be publishing books or dvds had I not taken the time to address mobility. No possible way.