As a trainer, I certainly appreciate this. I know that there are certain people who I can help achieve their goals and those who I’m probably not really the best fit for.

Just like any other business, a trainer must know where they fit in the market, effectively reach and communicate with the customers most appropriate to the product they offer and (hopefully) what will follow is a meaningful exchange whereby the client gets the results they seek and the trainer gets paid for doing a good job.

Myself as an example, I want to get people strong, powerful and athletic. I’m about giving people measurable fitness goals and achieving them. When I talk to new prospective clients if I find that they are only interested in a bodybuilding (body part) approach and believe that leg curls and tricep extensions are the only way to get bigger, I’m happy to point them in the direction of a handful of trainers who could provide that service better than me since I’m not really a bicep curls kinda guy.

However, should I find someone who wants to be strong, powerful and able-bodied who would rather emulate an athlete, powerlifter, Olympic lifter or gymnast then I know I’m more able to deliver results.

So with the New Year here, if you’re thinking of looking for a trainer, here are a handful of tips to help you when you are looking for one to suit you:

1. Find someone who will listen to you. Imagine going to the Doctor with a problem and all he does is talk AT you. Never really asks what is wrong, why you’re here and what outcome you want. It’s unlikely that he will provide you with the best service. The same goes with a trainer. Are they listening to what you want to achieve? If not they are unlikely to help you achieve your goals and they probably have a one-size fits all approach.

2. Find a trainer who takes their profession seriously. How do they train themselves? Do they seek out other trainers who can improve them or do they believe they know it all already? How do they educate themselves? Sports and Nutritional Science is constantly revealing new things previously unknown and changing the way we do things. As part of best practice a trainer should ensure they are aware of what is going on in their industry.

3. Find a trainer who takes YOU seriously. A trainer should not be on their phone when you’re paying them for an hour session. They should be on time for you. And they really shouldn’t be checking out their abs in the mirror. This one is commonsense, surely?

4. Speak to their clients. You are more than in your rights to ask to talk to their existing clients. Any good trainer will be happy for you to do this since they know they will get a glowing recommendation. See if their current clients are similar to you, have similar goals, ask the trainer’s clients about their progress.

5. Personality. Do you actually like them? They may be a brilliant trainer but sometimes personalities don’t quite mesh. You should work out it you think you can work with this person, take instruction from them and respond well to the way they coach before signing on the dotted line.

6. Don’t judge a book by its cover. Whilst I believe a trainer should be a good role model and lead by example don’t be fooled by appearances. A personal trainer can not give you the body they have. You are governed by your own genetic potential. They might be as big as a house but maybe they’re just luckier than you! You can achieve great things, the body is very elastic and some great fitness can be attained with the right attitude and approach but you must also be realistic and don’t be seduced by magazines or how other people look otherwise you are likely to get disappointed fast and give up. Make your fitness goals personal to yourself, set realistic goals and put it all into perspective with balance so that it fits with all the other things in your life away from the gym.

7. Are they talking shit? It’s easy to string together a long line of impressive sound bites that you assume is all gospel. Check out what they say. Again ask where their information comes from. Read up on it yourself. It could be that the information they are giving you is out-dated and new research contradicts their practice. Do they always (claim to) have the answer? I certainly don’t always know or sometimes I do know but I might not be 100%. I can offer an intelligent suggestion or what seems common sense but I reckon it’s important to accept if you’re not sure, it’s then up to the trainer to go away, research it, and report back – and if they are incorrect you should be confident that they’ll admit it, you’d respect them more right?

8. Finally, make sure that you know what success with your trainer will look like. Work with your trainer to identify specific goals to aim towards, these should be quantitative. At the moment I have one Strength Training London client aiming to hit 80kg for five reps on the squat, another we are working towards achieving a thirty second headstand. Once we hit these milestones, I’ll have shown that their investment in me has been worthwhile and I’m improving their fitness. Results need to be measurable.

Any professional whose services you pay for should be considered carefully. I hope that the recommendations above will help you should you be looking for fitness guidance in 2012.

If you got this far, please take a moment to share this article so it reaches others who may find it interesting too. Thanks.

CH

If you were to ask yourself which athlete has the most ideal and aesthetically pleasing body I would hazard a guess that gymnasts would be somewhere around the top of the list. Yet very few people train like one. A great way to shake up your routine is to throw in some basic gymnastic or bodyweight strength movements. Not only will you improve overall body strength, the ability to better stabilise your mid-line (the core) and general coordination but you’ll also give yourself an interesting challenge should you be bored of the same old same old.

Gymnastics rings can be bought for upwards of £30 or you may be lucky enough to have a gym that has a pair. They are great as a portable training tool and something that I use regularly. Strength Training London clients are all too familiar with basic gymnastic movements.

Here are three ring training exercises to shake up your workout:

Beginner: The Static Hold

It may look easy but for many just supporting yourself on the rings can be a huge challenge. The good news is that the body quickly adapts and learns how to stablise making this an excellent starting point.

Once you have the rings set up you then need to try and stabilise for the first time. Be warned, often the outcome is you looking like a little bird unable to control your wings but your body soon learns how to steady the rings. Practice required.

Intermediate: The Ring Dip

How to improve on the regular dip? Throw in some additional stabilisation to make things twice as difficult.

If you can, aim to get the elbow below the shoulder to work full range of motion. If not then make this your short term goal – keep working the range of motion until you’re there. Focus on keeping the rings close to the body at all times. As you descend you need to scrape them up towards the armpits.

Advanced: Ring L-Sit

This one is difficult enough on normal dip/parallel bars, so that’s often a good place to start.

Once you’re ready to take your dip to the rings you need to get in to the support position (static hold, as above) and then bring your legs up in front of you. Squeeze your quads hard to keep the knees locked and your legs straight. You’ll work really hard to stabilise your body and engage your whole midsection. So much cooler than doing crunches!

I can’t really do a gymnastics ring post without mentioning the Muscle Up. Once you’ve mastered all those above this would be a great target for you next.

For those that don’t know it’s effectively taking a pull up into a dip on the rings. In the grand scheme of things it isn’t deemed a difficult gymnastics move but for most people it presents a very tricky challenge just to get the strength and technique to pull one off.

Now go train like a gymnast and set yourself some new interesting and fun fitness goals.

So here’s my update on what I’m up to myself.

I’m resting the back squat at the moment – my three core movements are front squat, deadlift and weighted dips. I’m incorporating some mini cycles inspired by an article I read by Walter Sword, a strength coach and former powerlifter. They involve working up to a target 1RM using sub-max weight percentages and 5s, 3s and 1s with much shorter cycles than conventional programmes. Goals are to hit 1RMs as follows:

Front Squat 110kg – this should be quite achievable, in fact, I’ve never really tested my 1RM properly on front squats so could possibly do this already but since I’ve been struggling a bit to consistently get 105kg on 5′s I figured this would be a realistic goal for now.

Deadlift 190kg. I’ve hit this before but I was heavier, so be interesting to see how this goes.

Weighted dip 50kg. Again I think this is quite realistic I often dip for 5′s and 3′s in the 40s.

In addition to the above I’m trying to get my snatch form improved. Before my strength routine, I’m warming up with lots of progressions on the snatch and then once a week I’m aiming to do up to 10 attempts at a full snatch. Bumped into Andrew at CrossFit London last week who watched me and gave me some great pointers (as usual, mostly using lots of analogies to his ex-wife), and also stripped my weight off and had me work technique (my ego isn’t too big so I didn’t really mind). The short-term goal here is to comfortably snatch 40kg with great technique, no muscling it/trying to control the weight up, “throw and catch” as Mr Stemler wisely told me. Feel that this goal is quite little league, but as I say my ego can take it.

Finally, I’ve decided to have another crack at mastering the butterfly kip. I did have a go a couple years ago but never pursued it. This is a pull up variation that divides many people. Well, actually most people seem to not like it very much since it can be brutal on the shoulder joint. I’ve always had pretty strong shoulders and pull ups plus as a coach it’s good to know these things. I practised this morning and it’s already taking shape.

Finally, I’m also working on bar muscle ups. I posted a video on the Facebook page sometime ago of me doing one straight after the Carl Paoli seminar. It seemed so easy back then. Another one to be practised.

Maybe somewhere in there I’ll also make time for some conditioning. God damn it.

Feedback always welcome. Keep an eye out for future updates on progress.

It often feels like the fitness industry is paved with misconceptions and falsehoods. What’s gospel one day, is ridiculed and rubbished the next. It can leave us not knowing who to listen to and what to actually do when we get down the gym.

The squat is a classic example. It’s called the king of lifts and for anyone training for strength it is typically the cornerstone of their programme. It’s a movement that works the whole body when performed correctly. Yet, the majority of gym goers are not getting the most of this exercise.

In fact, if you were to ask most people what their thoughts were on the squat the usual responses would be: it will ruin your back. It’s bad for the knees. You shouldn’t bend your knees past 90 degrees. It’s a dangerous movement and most people shouldn’t do it. It’s just for legs.

When you ask most people to demonstrate a squat for you they will probably place their feet underneath their hips, feet facing forward and push their knees forward and descend to a very shallow depth. Ask them to go deeper and they might drop the chest or shift on to the toes just to allow them to sink a few extra inches.

Performed this way, squats will load the knees and lower back rather than the hip. It does not allow for good body mechanics and it’s a world away from being full range-of-motion.

This is pretty much how it would be found in the majority of gyms across the world. So it is no wonder people shy away from squatting and it is blamed for so many back, hip and knee injuries. Like any exercise – if it’s done poorly it can be dangerous.

When done correctly the squat has so many benefits. All it takes is knowing how to perform it with proper technique and not only is it safe but it will help you achieve your goals (whatever they may be) and improve your quality of life, now and in to the future. I guarantee it.

The squat should place emphasis on the glutes and hamstrings. Heard of the term posterior chain? These muscles are top dog when it comes to extending your hip, not the anterior quad group. Make the muscles on the back strong and it will translate into greater athleticism not to mention a great bum!

It’s important to remember that the squat involves the whole body and not just legs so it gives much greater bang for your buck. There is a huge isometric contraction required from the lats, upper back and midsection to hold the body rigid whilst the muscles of the hip and thigh act as prime movers. If you’re after abs, first make sure your nutrition is spot on and then squats are an excellent route to building a strong midsection.

If your goal is to build muscle we need to elicit the release of testosterone in the body. Compound movements like the squat are proven to be the most effective way. Whether you’re looking to be bigger or more athletic, growth and repair from testosterone is a must.

In response to some of the perceived dangers of squatting, there is a body of evidence to suggest that it strengthens the knee joint despite what some would have you believe including many doctors. A study by Chandler, et al. (1989) showed that individuals that squat deep often had no problems with knee stability but rather demonstrated much stronger, tighter ligaments around the knee over other groups tested. It goes to show that if you want to make a joint strong you should not avoid using it. Seems obvious really.

The deeper the squat (providing you can do so with good form) then you are taking your muscles to their end of range. This is important for staying flexible. It isn’t just Yoga that will do this. As long as your routine promotes full range-of-motion then you’re less likely to have short and tight muscles.

So, some top tips for a solid squat:

1. Drive your hips back. Think about keeping the knees where they are (as much as possible) and rather initiate the movement by pushing your hips back.
2. Keep the chest up throughout. Whilst the torso will need to angle a little as the hips move back, think ‘proud chest’. This will keep your back in a strong neutral position too.
3. Ensure you get deep. Play with your foot stance. Most often people go shoulder width and point their toes out. This will open up the hips more and allow for greater depth.
4. Push the knees out. As you drive up out of the squat many people let their knees buckle.
5. Stand tall at the top. Squeeze the bum and finish the movement off, remember we want full range of motion.

Times do seem to be changing with the squat. A quick ‘how to squat’ search on the Internet shows that this movement is now being understood properly but unfortunately this is very slowly being reflected in gyms.

Take time to learn this movement and if you’re serious about improving your strength then make it a big player in your gym regime. It’s called the king of lifts for good reason.

References: http://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/, www.t-nation.com, www.lookgreatnaked.com

Occlusion Training. Heard of it? I hadn’t until yesterday.

I was having a look through the latest articles from the Journal of Strength and Conditioning and saw this title:

“Occlusion Training Increases Muscular Strength in Division IA Football Players”

So obviously I did a quick Google search on the term and it seems to be an approach that is gaining some momentum. And it all reads like one of those infomercials that you know better than to listen to.

However, it’s backed up by scientific evidence. AND it turns out it’s not even that new, it’s been getting exposure for a good few years now with studies as early as 2000. I clearly need to keep my big ears to the ground a little more.

So what does it involve? Layne Norton, writing for Iron Man Magazine, says that “occulding blood to the muscle during low-intensity physical activity can produce an anabolic response equal to, or perhaps greater than, moderate-intensity  exercise”.

Through increasing blood pressure and stunting blood flow, protein synthesis increases, strength improves, muscle size goes up and muscles become more vascular. All this is from performing low intensity exercise (typically 50% and lower of your 1 rep max).

Check out this video to see it in action:

Why does this work? When we want increases in strength (or size) we need to target the fast twitch fibres of our muscles. These are the ones that have the greatest potential for growth. However, we need to go heavy for this to happen otherwise you’re inviting the not-so-great growers (slow twitch fibres) to take up the task at hand. Occlusion training (we assume) works by restricting the blood flow to the slow twitchers since they are the ones that primarily rely on oxygen to work. Shut down their power supply and you force the big guns to get involved. They get stimulated. You get stronger and bigger. Wowser.

In addition to this, a study by Takarada et al (2000) demonstrated that occlusion training increased blood growth hormone by as much as 290%. This has been credited to the increase in lactate within the muscle as oxygen is starved from the area. This in turn decreases the pH balance which has been shown to promote secretion of growth hormone.

There’s other reasons too and rather than go into too much detail, here’s a summary also from Norton:

“blood-occulusion training can increase motor unit recruitment, raise anabolic hormones and suppress local negative regulators of muscle growth.  It’s also free from many of the negative side effects of training, such as increased muscle damage and unfavourable catabolic hormone increases”

If all that wasn’t enough, it would also seem that the results are not just limited to young, healthy males. Research has also been conducted on healthy elderly females with positive results.

But before I let you get too excited there are some things you should know.

Firstly the pressure required should be around 200mm Hg. Remember the last time you had your blood pressure tested? Well the cuff is how tight we’re talking. So to achieve the results seen in clinical test you’ll need to replicate those conditions. In the studies listed they have tended to use the Kaatsu training cuffs but these are not easy to come by as the makers are very protective of their patent. You could try a whole host of medical wraps etc. to achieve the required tension but you would be guessing that the tightness was correct.

As you may imagine there are also downsides to occlusion training. It ain’t comfortable to train in, in fact it can be painful. There is also the risk of destroying living tissue through starvation of blood supply or blocking a vessel with prolonged use. Recommendations are that no longer than ten minutes at a time are attempted. And as far as strength training goes, it is suggested that movements such as squats or anything that would require balancing a resistance should be avoided.

It’s all quite impractical to be honest. Imagine wrapping up your legs with tape before going to exercise, then ten minutes later having to take the damn things off and redo the whole thing again should you want another bash.

But who knows what the future holds. People love easy solutions to building muscle and if someone can come up with a solution for us to not have to lift heavy weights and still get the same result then I’m sure (for those that don’t want the hard work) it could become popular providing you can avoid any of the dangers (imagine some fool doing it for an hour and then taking out a nice big lawsuit after cutting the blood supply off from his thighs and keeling over).

Finally, supporters of this training method point out that you can’t train heavy all the time, we need times of deload to give our muscles, joints and nervous system a rest. If we could utilise that time to continue to get stronger with lighter weights then we don’t have to put strength gains on hold. Food for thought.

NB. I should point out that compression sports apparel (such as SKINS range) does not fit into occlusion training. This product works by improving blood circulation to aid performance and recovery. Though maybe if you bought two sizes too small! (I’m joking, don’t do that please).

Found this interesting? Please share on Facebook/Twitter.

References: http://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/ , www.ironmanmagazine.com/, www.abcbodybuilding.com, www.springer.com/biomed/human+physiology/journal/421, www.skins.net, www.menshealth.co.uk

As hormones go, testosterone is pretty important and one that everyone has heard of. But how much do we actually know about testosterone?

We have all heard of testosterone as the manly hormone that makes us macho, well for some of us more than others! Testosterone is the hormone that makes us big and strong, it makes our muscles bigger, it puts hair on our chests, it makes our bones harder and it influences our sexual desire (and performance). If any or all of the above are important to you then listen up to how you can increase testosterone production in your body, and how not to get in its way.

Lift big. High-intensity resistance training has shown to result in elevated testosterone concentrations (Volek, et al. 1996). Squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press, weighted chins and dips (all the ones regularly seen in a Strength Training London routine!) are all a great way to go – recruiting as much muscle as possible by using challenging movement patterns will lead to a larger metabolic stress and your body responds by pumping out more testosterone.

Rest and boost. Keep track of your rest times. A recent study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research showed that a rest of around 90 seconds boosted testosterone production the most. So if you usually wait one minute between your sets, add on another 30 seconds.

Sprint. Running can actually boost testosterone, but we’re talking sprints and not long slow duration runs like jogging. Whilst slower running will deplete your body’s resources quickly and make muscle growth incredibly difficult, short bursts of running has been shown by Derbré, et al (2010) to increase testosterone concentrations in young men. A good suggestion would be to mark out an approximate distance of 100 metres, sprint it, take two minutes rest and repeat six times. Time how long it takes you to complete each sprint and try to beat it with future attempts.

Don’t avoid fat, seriously. Testosterone is created using cholesterol from our food and recent research suggests that there is no connection between dietary cholesterol and that found in our blood. Studies by Vislocky, et al (2008) and Vander, et al (2008) both demonstrated that high consumption of eggs had no effect on blood cholesterol. In fact, all the cells in the body require cholesterol for growth and repair. If you want to keep your testosterone levels healthy then consider increasing foods high in cholesterol like eggs, red meat, butter and other dairy products.

Ditch the soy. It seems it could be beneficial to cut out soy products from your diet, though there is still a great deal of conflicting information on this subject. Some studies suggest that soy does not reduce testosterone levels in the body, whilst others suggest the opposite. The main concern is the presence of phytoestrogens; Dr Kaayla T. Daniel author of The Whole Soy Story states that phytoestrogens have been shown to reduce testosterone levels in rats, monkeys and other animals, as well as humans. For men this typically results in decreased libido and lowered sperm count. Should you not want to exclude soy from your diet, ensure that you are eating fermented types of soy such as miso, tempeh and natto.

No stress. Do what you can to avoid stress and elevated cortisol levels – if testosterone was to have a hormonal archenemy, it would be cortisol. Whilst important for survival and maintaining homeostasis, cortisol also impedes the production of testosterone and will break down muscle tissue. Exercise can be a great way to relieve stress, however when excessive it can result in overtraining and a cortisol surge. Make sure you treat rest and recovery as importantly as you do your training. It is also advisable to avoid regular prolonged cardio sessions, prioritise good quality sleep and ensure you take time during the week to relax and wind down.

Any kind of goal (be it size, strength, athleticism or endurance) requires protein synthesis to make muscles bigger, stronger or faster. Testosterone is a key player in this and for anyone serious about achieving their goals then a healthy supply is needed. Strength Training London highly recommends you go heavy, run fast, eat intelligently and prioritise recovery for improved health and performance.

References: www.t-nation.com, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, www.nature.com, www.thieme-connect.com, http://jap.physiology.org

So I resorted to a headline grabbing post title just to get you reading. But it actually might be true – I just might have a fitness tip that could improve your performance in the gym… instantly.

I’ve been experimenting with a concept called ‘reflective lifting’ this week. I tried it on my CrossFit London class and I also experimented with a personal training client too.

It comes from Z-Health Performance and it involves using your natural reflexes to tell your body to switch agonist muscles on whilst turning their antagonists off. Since some research suggests that most of our strength comes from the nervous system, there are certain cues we can give ourselves to improve performance.

They suggest that the eyes can pre empt our actions. Looking down tells the body that you are about to curl up or go into flexion, whilst looking up does the opposite – it tells the body extension is about to occur.

Therefore when you do a pull up you should look down to cue the shoulder and elbow to flex (note: the eyes look down, the head should stay in neutral), when you deadlift you should look forward and up to cue the muscles of the hip to extend, similarly when you ascend from the squat you should look up and so on.

Is there anything in it? According to the results from my CrossFit class it would seem probably not. Though the one person who did think looking down made a difference said that she glided up on the last set and was adamant it worked.

As for my personal training client. Well it has been a goal of ours to get him up to 10 strict chins in a row. Previously the most he has managed was 8. And what happened when I asked him to look down? 10 chins in a row. Go Andrew!

Food for thought. I’d be very interested to hear your experiences after trying this. I have given this a go with weighted chins and it did feel like it made a difference but then this could just be a psychological thing, but even then that’s no bad thing.

Did you find this article interesting? Think others might too? Please repost on Facebook or Twitter if you did. Thanks.

For those of you that don’t know who Andy Bolton is. He is very well known powerlifter. He was the first man to deadlift over 1000lbs (454kg) and his current squat record is 550.5kg.

This man CAN lift.

In a recent article he wrote about form on the deadlift. In his own training he relaxes the upper back and in the training of clients he gets them to do the same:

arch their lower back and relax their shoulders and upper back

The reason? To reduce the range of motion. He also argues that when the weight gets heavy your shoulders will get pulled over anyway.

So I get that by relaxing the shoulders forward the distance is shortened allowing for bigger loads. And if the sole purpose of your training is to lift the heaviest possible weight you can regardless, then fine. Go for your life.

But as I’ve said before with my head crank post – what happens further up the spine will be encouraged further down. If you’re relaxing the thoracic spine then I struggle to appreciate how you can successfully maintain the lumbar in extension too.

Try it – it just feels weird to me to be trying to tighten one region of the spine whilst relaxing another.

I’m also interested in promoting good posture both for myself and my athletes. Throughout any movement (that’s under load) the spine should be held in it’s most natural position as this is the safest. Not to mention the real life carry-over (let’s combat all that desk slouching we do at the office eh?).

With regards to the argument that the upper back and shoulders will be pulled forward anyway. I accept this is true but I try my hardest to resist this. The isometric contraction of the spine during the lift builds awesome strength throughout – I wouldn’t want any part of my back to be missing out.

And I’ll continue to advocate the same to those I coach.

I was recently speaking to a water polo player about a shoulder injury that was resulting in much discomfort during play. As I know a few players I asked other members of the team a little more about what training they do. It became apparent that most believe incorporating a fair amount of bench press will have carry-over to success in the pool.

I suppose the rationale is this: you want to be able to throw the ball powerfully. Therefore you need a movement that works extension of the arm – and the bench press is the obvious choice. Especially with the guys, it also satisfies our appetite for the vanity muscles because we all want a big ol’ chest!

Though often is the case that athletes who give the bench press too much emphasis tend to have more shoulder problems than those who follow a more, shall we say, balanced approach.

Clearly this is leading somewhere and here it is: if you play a sport that relies so much on a strong, healthy, powerful shoulder joint, then you need to make the whole structure strong.

The bench press emphasises the anterior side of the shoulder. Water polo players need a strong anterior shoulder for throwing the ball. But they also need the posterior to be strong since it includes the all important rotator cuff muscles.

The rotator cuff is responsible for decelerating the rotation during throwing movements. They are the stabilisers of the shoulder AND they are the most likely to get injured if your strength programme favours anterior work.

If the muscles that internally rotate the arm (pectorals and anterior deltoids) are greatly stronger than the external rotators (rotator cuff) then deceleration of the throw becomes difficult and injury becomes highly probable.

In addition to deceleration, the rotators are also responsible for depressing the humeral head and positioning it appropriately in the glenoid fossa. In other words keeping your arm secure in the socket. So these little muscles are incredibly important and need some consideration.

If players are looking to improve their performance in the pool, minimise injury and generally improve their game all-round then incorporating frequent overhead work into their strength routine would be a wise move.

Of course this is not just restricted to water polo. Any sport that requires a forceful throw or even a swing is subject to the same requirement for a strong shoulder, front to back.

When we talk about strengthening the rotator cuff, bands and cables often spring to mind. Though you would find very few people doing these unless they were in rehabilitation and it was under order from their physiotherapist. For the regular gym-goer who is looking to make a big difference to their overall strength AND wants to look after the little muscles then the overhead press is a smart choice.

Though to be effective the overhead press must be performed correctly, and it often is not.

Here are a few pointers to ensure correct form:

1. The bar starts in a rack position, resting on the top of the shoulders (see right). The shoulders should take the weight of the bar at set-up rather than the bar being held only in the hands.

    

2. Stand up!I’m going to guess that you spend enough of your day sitting down as it is. Do the movement standing as this will make it into a full body movement where you are engaging everything from your legs upwards. Lock out your knees throughout by squeezing your quads, also squeeze your bum and abs to make your body rigid. We need a strong foundation if we’re going to put some big weights overhead.

    

3. The weight does not finish in front of the head. It should be held above the crown of the head and the shoulder blades (see below). If someone was to exert pressure on to the bar in the lockout position at the top it needs to be in the strongest position for you to resist – this is not out front where you have minimal support.

Reference:

Rippetoe, M, 2008. Starting Strength. 2nd ed. Wichita Falls: The Aasgaard Company

Mike Robertson (2011), Long Live the Overhead Press. Available at: <http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/long_live_the_overhead_press>

Through every movement we adhere to mid-line stabilisation i.e. stabilisation of the spine. When the head is held, in the position shown above, we lose this to a degree.

We want the spine in a neutral position since this is where it is strongest and safest. When we hyperextend at the cervical region of the spine (cranking the neck) we run the risk of straining this area and setting ourselves up for possible disc problems later on. In addition, what happens further up the spine will be reflected further down – so this position also encourages hyperextension at the lower back (lumbar) too.

So bring the head in line with the spine:

After reading a recent article by strength and conditioning coach Tony Gentilcore, I like his concept of packing the neck: giving yourself a bit of double chin before you lift to lock the neck into position. Try it as it does feels like a much stronger position.

Finally, if all else fails then one method I recently used was a bit of tape since some of my athletes just don’t seem to realise when they’re cranking, so I tape them into place (as demonstrated below by Chris). Happy lifting.

]]> http://strengthtraininglondon.wordpress.com/2011/08/11/deadlift-series-the-head-crank/feed/ 1 strength training london Alex Rita Chris head down Chris