I was emailing back and forth the other day with best selling author of The Men’s Health Big Book of Exercises (he’s also the author of the women’s version), Adam Campbell.  Since, the Big Book is now a very big book on the best seller list, I thought our conversation would be of interest (yeah, I know I mentioned the book yesterday, but this is good stuff).
 
The topic of the conversation was using little cues or tweaks to maximize the benefit of common exercises and to assure that a guy is using proper technique.
 
Here’s some of the cues we came up with that you may find beneficial:
 
When performing the plank exercise for the abdominals and general trunk stability, push your elbows into the floor to improve serratus anterior activation and improve shoulder girdle stability.
 
Everyone says to brace your core and squeeze glutes as you do a hip extension like a glute bridge.  Instead, cue yourself to lift the trunk and hips as a single unit with a single hinge at the hip joint.
 
When performing a barbell, dumbbell, or cable row, initiate the movement by pulling the scapula (shoulder blade) back and then follow through the pull with the arm.  Let the scapula lead the arm.
 
When performing kneeling exercises like cable chops, lifts, pushes, or pulls, co-contract the stabilizing muscles of the hip by “sucking” the hip joint in tight.  You’ll instantly feel all the muscles surrounding the hip activate making the exercise more effective.
 
Get your copy of the Men’s Health Big Book of Exercises or the Women’s Health Big Book of Exercises.

Bill

P.S.  If you’d like to read more coaching points to improve exercise performance, just let me know.

We had a very special guest this week at Indianapolis Fitness and Sports Training.

Grant “Rufus” Gardis came by for visit. Yes, THAT “Rufus”. The one from the “Rufus” Complex in Inside-Out:  The Ultimate Upper Body Warm-up.

Rufus is an outstanding Olympic weightlifting coach in the Indianapolis area who works primarily with middle school athletes from all sports. I hope these kids appreciate and take advantage of his vast knowledge of weightlifting and athletic development as you’ll not find a better coach.

While it was initially a social call, conversation quickly turned to talking training. Rufus even ended up working with our intern and a couple clients on their power clean technique. It was truly remarkable to see how quickly their technique changed for the better.

As a friend of IFAST, Rufus has an open invitation to visit the gym any time, so if you see him, make sure to introduce yourself(he doesn’t bite).

Indianapolis Fitness and Sports Training (IFAST) is Top 10 Gym

Pick up a copy of the September 2009 issue of Men’s Health Magazine to check out their list of Top 10 gyms in the country. You’ll see that IFAST is on that list. Not bad for our first year in business. We just celebrated our first anniversary and we’re making some serious impact in the fitness and sports training industries. We’ve had clients from Chicago, Michigan, Florida, California, New York, Missouri, Bulgaria, and even two from Japan. Throw in some of the most serious fitness enthusiasts and top athletes in the area and you’ve got the best gym in Indianapolis and one of the Top 10 in the country.

Bill

Lyle McDonald has a really good analysis of the original Tabata study.

Here’s the link:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/effects-of-moderate-intensity-endurance-and-high-intensity-intermittent-training-on-anaerobic-capacity-and-vo2-max.html

Bill

I got an email from Pete Monchek today.

Pete’s a distance client as is his daughter Maia.

He wanted to tell me that Maia was just named to the First Team All-State Softball Team in California.

Just to let you know how good she really is…on the season, Maia lead the team offesively in almost every statistical category with a .550 batting average, 55 hits, including 13 doubles, 5 triples, and 3 homers. She drove in 45 runs and scored 42 herself.

She’s going to be attending my alma mater, Purdue University, on a softball scholarship proving that she’s also a smart one (she has a 3.9 GPA as well).

Pete sent me the email at 11 PM California time. He sent it because Maia was busy. She was finishing her workout.

What are you willing to do to succeed?

It’s interesting how some athletes are put down for relying on their obvious talent. Those who are critical of others successes never see the hours of work that many athletes put in just to make it look easy.

Maybe the criticism gives people an excuse. The excuse not to do the hard work necessary to succeed.

You too can be successful. Just quit making excuses. Stop comparing yourself to others. Take responsibility for where you are now and do the work to get you to where you want to be.

Bill

Yesterday’s training:

60 min of The Dark Knight at 131 bpm average
Hip mobility

My friend Alwyn Cosgrove is a stage IV cancer survivor….twice.

He is alive today because of donations made by people like you and me long before he was ever diagnosed.

Because of the research made possible by donations to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, treatments have been developed that save lives that not too long ago would have never had a fighting chance.

I’d like you to make a donation today.

I realize that there are many causes out there deserving of assistance.  I also realize that money is tight these days.  So I’ll make it worth your while.

In return for your donation today, You’ll receive the entire Lift Strong collection on CD.  That’s 800 pages from the top minds in the fitness, rehab, and strength and conditioning fields.

If you ask me, it’s a win-win.  You save lives AND you get information you can’t get anywhere else that will impact your life.

Go to www.liftstrong.com now and donate.

Thanks

Bill