Think you know strength training? Put your knowledge to the test.
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
5 Things You Should NEVER Do in the Gym (Backed by Science)
Certain exercises and training practices will break your body down over time,
pretty much regardless of how well executed they are. Here’s a list of 5 Things
You Should NEVER Do in the Gym, with references to the scientific literature to
back each one up. Be sure to read to the bottom so you don’t miss anything.
Which of these 5 things do you do/recommend?
1. Deep squats
Due to the excessive anterior translation of the knees past the toes
and the resulting high compressive and shear forces at the knee joint, deep
squatting greatly increases the risk of injury to the menisci and ACL
(Escamilla 2001), as well as development of arthritis (Hefzy et al. 1998). In
addition, squatting below parallel does not increase muscle activation
(Escamilla 2001). Finally, the deep squat position is rarely required
in the majority of sports, so its functional
benefits are minimal (Schoenfeld and Williams 2012). For these reasons,
deep squats should be avoided.
Monday, September 21, 2015
T Nation: Strength Training Tricks: What Works?
There’s no shortage of cues that supposedly increase
strength in the squat, bench press, and deadlift. Some of them are true strength hacks, but plenty of them are
hoaxes.
In order to get to the bottom of what works and what doesn't, I asked six experts for their takes. Here's the SparkNotes version:
- For the squat, engage your lats, use the Valsalva maneuver, and descend quickly while maintaining control.
- On bench press, squeeze the bar hard and “pull it apart.” Warm up thoroughly beforehand, but avoid excessive static stretching.
- Before you pull your deadlift, “bend the bar” to create tension. Also experiment with touching your tongue to the roof of your mouth and locking your knees out as soon as the bar passes them.
And here's the link to the full-blown write-up:
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Strengtheory.com: How to Prevent Muscle Strains
I'm a big fan of killing two birds with one stone.
Well, let me qualify that. I mean, I don't really love to kill birds. But when it only takes ONE stone to kill TWO, that just kind of gets me going.
Anyway, last semester, I did just that. I was tasked with writing a literature review of an injury for my athletic training class.
Rather than rehash ACL's or some other boring injury like everyone else, I took it as an opportunity to write about something a lot of people actually care about and could benefit from learning more about.
The topic I chose was muscle strain injuries. Anecdotally, just about everyone has suffered one, however serious. In fact, just this fall, I had one myself of my pec. It wasn't anything serious, like the guy below's, but still, it lingered annoyingly for months.
How did I injure my pec? According to the research, just like every other idiot male age 20-40: bench pressing (without warming up).
After submitting the paper to my professor, I decided to refine and send it over to my friend Greg Nuckols, who was gracious enough to host it on Strengtheory.
In this version, my goal was to delve deeply into the science of muscle strains -- both the mechanism (cause) and the prevention -- but in simple enough terms for anyone to understand.
Without further ado, here is the link:
http://www.strengtheory.com/how-to-prevent-muscle-strains/
If you've ever had a strain or wish to prevent them in the future, be sure to give this a read!
Well, let me qualify that. I mean, I don't really love to kill birds. But when it only takes ONE stone to kill TWO, that just kind of gets me going.
Anyway, last semester, I did just that. I was tasked with writing a literature review of an injury for my athletic training class.
Rather than rehash ACL's or some other boring injury like everyone else, I took it as an opportunity to write about something a lot of people actually care about and could benefit from learning more about.
The topic I chose was muscle strain injuries. Anecdotally, just about everyone has suffered one, however serious. In fact, just this fall, I had one myself of my pec. It wasn't anything serious, like the guy below's, but still, it lingered annoyingly for months.
 |
| Powerlifter Scot Mendelson sporting a complete pec tear |
How did I injure my pec? According to the research, just like every other idiot male age 20-40: bench pressing (without warming up).
After submitting the paper to my professor, I decided to refine and send it over to my friend Greg Nuckols, who was gracious enough to host it on Strengtheory.
In this version, my goal was to delve deeply into the science of muscle strains -- both the mechanism (cause) and the prevention -- but in simple enough terms for anyone to understand.
Without further ado, here is the link:
http://www.strengtheory.com/how-to-prevent-muscle-strains/
If you've ever had a strain or wish to prevent them in the future, be sure to give this a read!
Monday, September 7, 2015
Creative Solutions for Creating Balance from Asymmetry
Guest Post By Daragh Crowley
What the heck was Daragh having me do here? Read to the bottom to find out!
Try standing on one leg and doing
a squat without shifting your pelvis or rotating. Tricky, right?
Now stand on both legs, activate
your pelvic floor, squeeze your glutes on both sides, and tighten your lower
abdominals. Then lift one foot, and try the squat again. Better?
On the first go-round, maybe, maybe
not. But with practice, an optimally aligned single-leg squat is certainly
within most of our grasps.
The thing is, if you're an amputee like Travis, you don't have the luxury of standing on both legs while engaging your pelvic floor, glutes, and abs. You see, Travis was born without a
femur in his left leg. Although he ambulates well with the aid of an above-knee
prosthesis, he doesn’t have the benefit of feedback from two feet touching the
ground.
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