The bird dog is an excellent exercise for increasing both stability and strength in your core and lower back muscles. By strength, I don’t mean how heavy can you lift—instead I’m talking about the endurance and stability of your muscles against micro-movements. This type of stability is absolutely essential for the big lifts if you want to avoid injury.

Whether you have lower back pain or not, better spinal stability should be a goal to strive for. This is particularly true for people who have pain from joint instability due to overload or overuse.

The muscles that surround our spine are considered the “core” of our body and are composed of abdominal muscles on your front and sides, the erector muscles on the back, and the larger muscles that span multiple joints such the latissimus dorsi, the glutes, and the psoas. Each and every one of these muscles must work together in order to enhance the stability of the spine.

The Role of the Bird Dog

The bird dog is one of Stuart McGill’s “big three” exercises which creates a stiffness in the spine and enhances stability in a spine-sparing way. This is an excellent exercise to promote a stable core while movement occurs at surrounding joints.

Combining movements occurring at the hips and shoulders while the low back remains stable allows this exercise to have excellent carryover to movements you perform throughout your day and in the weight room.

This is not just a short lived benefit either. It’s been shown to create stiffness and stability that lasts after each session.

I will cover the other two exercises from the big three soon, but why not get started with the bird dog. Make sure you let me know how you get on!

The Bird Dog: Step 1

Start by taking a breath in and push yourself back to engage the lats. Try to imagine that you are pushing the earth away from you. Then, as you raise your hand, start breathing out slowly.

The Bird Dog: Step 2

Start with the same position as you would for step 1. This time, slowly push out and lift one leg at a time as you breathe out.

The Bird Dog: Step 3

Combine the previous two movements. Make sure you make this about control and not speed. Breathe in as you brace and push your back up. Breathe out slowly as you move your arm and leg with control.

Bird Dog: Common Mistakes

1. Make sure you don’t arch (hyperextend) your back. Keep natural curves.
2. Another common mistake I see is that people try to progress into the next level before they’re ready. If you don’t have the stability yet, it’s easy to twist and tilt your body. Make sure you keep your back level like a tabletop.
3. Make sure you work in diagonals—opposite arm and opposite leg.
4. Go slow—it’s not a race. The slower you go, it is the better it is.

The post Bird Dogs: Use Them to Build Stability and Strength appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Of all of the myths that abound when it comes to nutrition, the assumptions that surround protein consumption and kidney damage seem to be the one everyone talks about most often. How did it start? From the research, I did this particular myth started from research on patients with kidney disease. And why is that?

People with kidney disease have difficulty of filtrating protein, and that’s why in some cases they are on a low-protein diet. So, the conclusion was made that because patients with kidney disease could not filtrate protein, then it must be that too much protein must be hard on the kidneys. Awesome right?

In reality, studies have been done on higher protein intakes, and the result is that higher protein intake is completely safe. In the short-term, the body adapts to the higher protein intakes which changes some markers of kidney function.

This is part of the adaptation process to the additional protein. However, long-term consumption of higher amounts of protein do not have a negative impact on kidney function.^1,2,3,4,5

When I talk about Dr. Jose Antonio’s latest study,² even with the amount of protein consumed, the author states: “There were no changes in any of the variables regarding blood lipids and a comprehensive metabolic panel.

We examined the two individuals with the highest recorded protein intakes (4.66 and 6.59 g/kg/day) and found no deleterious effects on renal function in either individual.”

We know from previous studies that high in protein diets cause hyperfiltration and we should expect an initial increase in glomerular filtration (GFR). Glomerular what? The glomerular rate is the best test to measure your level of kidney function and determine your stage of kidney disease.

But as a study⁵ concludes, “A healthy diet rich in protein increased eGFR (Estimated glomerular filtration is a test that is used to assess how well your kidneys are working. The test estimates the volume of blood that is filtered by your kidneys over a given period of time.

The test is called ‘estimated’ because the glomeruli are the tiny filters in the kidneys. If these filters do not do their job properly then the kidney is said to have reduced or impaired kidney function). Whether long-term consumption of a high-protein diet leads to kidney disease is uncertain.”

The claim that protein intake leads to kidney stones or kidney failure is not supported by the facts.

References:

1. Antonio, J., Ellerbroek, A., Silver, T., Orris, S., Scheiner, M., Gonzalez, A. and Peacock, C. A., 2015. A high protein diet (3.4 g/kg/d) combined with a heavy resistance training program improves body composition in healthy trained men and women – a follow-up investigation. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 12 (1).

2. Antonio, J., Ellerbroek, A., Silver, T., Vargas, L. and Peacock, C., 2016. The effects of a high protein diet on indices of health and body composition – a crossover trial in resistance-trained men. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 13 (1).

3. Li, Z., Treyzon, L., Chen, S., Yan, E., Thames, G. and Carpenter, C. L., 2010. Protein-enriched meal replacements do not adversely affect liver, kidney or bone density: An outpatient randomized controlled trial. Nutrition Journal, 9 (1), 72.

4. Friedman, A. N., Ogden, L. G., Foster, G. D., Klein, S., Stein, R., Miller, B., Hill, J. O., Brill, C., Bailer, B., Rosenbaum, D. R. and Wyatt, H. R., 2012. Comparative effects of low-carbohydrate high-protein versus low-fat diets on the kidney. Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 7 (7), 1103–1111.

5. Juraschek, S. P., Appel, L. J., Anderson, C. A. M. and Miller, E. R., 2013. Effect of a high-protein diet on kidney function in healthy adults: Results from the OmniHeart trial. American Journal of Kidney Diseases, 61 (4), 547–554.

The post Is Excess Protein Bad For Your Kidneys? appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

To learn more about Roger, read our feature interview:

Part 1 – Gymnastics for Adults

Part 2 – Gymnastics for Kids

Notes:

Warm up activities are to be performed at a level that is appropriate for you. No warm up movements should be strenuous. Be sure to scale appropriately. 5-15 minutes of stretching following each session is expected.

For a guide to stretching visit Drill and Skills: Stretching.

Workout

5X3 Press handstand/headstand (perform 3 repetitions of the most difficult press you can manage for 3 reps)

5X10 L-pull up

5X10 High box jump

No time constraint. Execution quality and movement difficult supersede pace.

Allow 40 minutes.

The post Strength & Conditioning – Roger Harrell: Week 3, Day 4 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

To learn more about Roger, read our feature interview:

Part 1 – Gymnastics for Adults

Part 2 – Gymnastics for Kids

Notes:

Warm up activities are to be performed at a level that is appropriate for you. No warm up movements should be strenuous. Be sure to scale appropriately. 5-15 minutes of stretching following each session is expected.

For a guide to stretching visit Drill and Skills: Stretching.

Workout Strength Couplet

3X3 Hang to Handstand (muscle up-press handstand) (if unable to get to handstand on rings do muscle up->3 ring dips for each rep)

3X15 Leg lift

No time constraint. Execution quality and movement difficult supersede pace.

The post Strength & Conditioning – Roger Harrell: Week 3, Day 3 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

To learn more about Roger, read our feature interview:

Part 1 – Gymnastics for Adults

Part 2 – Gymnastics for Kids

Notes:

Warm up activities are to be performed at a level that is appropriate for you. No warm up movements should be strenuous. Be sure to scale appropriately. 5-15 minutes of stretching following each session is expected.

For a guide to stretching visit Drill and Skills: Stretching.

Workout

Complete for time:

Run 200m-200m-200m

21-15-9 Push-up on rings

21-15-9 V-ups

Allow 10 minutes.

The post Strength & Conditioning – Roger Harrell: Week 3, Day 2 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

To learn more about Roger, read our feature interview:

Part 1 – Gymnastics for Adults

Part 2 – Gymnastics for Kids

Notes:

Warm up activities are to be performed at a level that is appropriate for you. No warm up movements should be strenuous. Be sure to scale appropriately. 5-15 minutes of stretching following each session is expected.

For a guide to stretching visit Drill and Skills: Stretching.

Complete as many rounds in 08:00 as you can of:

10 Push up, pseudo-planche

3 Pull over

7 Block Jumps 36/30in

20 V-ups

The post Strength & Conditioning – Roger Harrell: Week 3, Day 1 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

To learn more about Roger, read our feature interview:

Part 1 – Gymnastics for Adults

Part 2 – Gymnastics for Kids

Notes:

Warm up activities are to be performed at a level that is appropriate for you. No warm up movements should be strenuous. Be sure to scale appropriately. 5-15 minutes of stretching following each session is expected.

For a guide to stretching visit Drill and Skills: Stretching.

Week 2 – Day 4

7X30s L-sit

7X3 Handstand push ups

Allow 40 minutes. No time constraint. Execution quality and movement difficult supersede pace.

The post Strength & Conditioning – Roger Harrell: Week 2, Day 4 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

To learn more about Roger, read our feature interview:

Part 1 – Gymnastics for Adults

Part 2 – Gymnastics for Kids

Notes:

Warm up activities are to be performed at a level that is appropriate for you. No warm up movements should be strenuous. Be sure to scale appropriately. 5-15 minutes of stretching following each session is expected.

For a guide to stretching visit Drill and Skills: Stretching.

Workout Strength Couplet

5X5 Leg lift (goal to be from dead hang, straight legs toes to bar with no swing)

5X3 Ring dip

Allow 35 minutes. No time constraint. Execution quality and movement difficult supersede pace.

The post Strength & Conditioning – Roger Harrell: Week 2, Day 3 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

To learn more about Roger, read our feature interview:

Part 1 – Gymnastics for Adults

Part 2 – Gymnastics for Kids

Notes:

Warm up activities are to be performed at a level that is appropriate for you. No warm up movements should be strenuous. Be sure to scale appropriately. 5-15 minutes of stretching following each session is expected.

For a guide to stretching visit Drill and Skills: Stretching.

Workout

Complete maximum reps by doing 45 seconds of work, 15 seconds of rest for 3 rounds.

Loop through rounds, eg, exercise 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3.:

Toe raisers

Ball planche for 00:00:01 (1s is equal to 1 rep, try to hold for as many of the 45s as possible)

P-bar body rows, horizontal

V-ups

The post Strength & Conditioning – Roger Harrell: Week 2, Day 2 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

To learn more about Roger, read our feature interview:

Part 1 – Gymnastics for Adults

Part 2 – Gymnastics for Kids

Notes:

Warm up activities are to be performed at a level that is appropriate for you. No warm up movements should be strenuous. Be sure to scale appropriately. 5-15 minutes of stretching following each session is expected.

For a guide to stretching visit Drill and Skills: Stretching.

Workout Strength Couplet

5X3 L-pull up (additional load is to be placed on lap close to torso)

5X20 Reverse hyper circles, perform 10 in each direction

Allow 35 minutes. No time constraint. Execution quality and movement difficult supersede pace.

The post Strength & Conditioning – Roger Harrell: Week 2, Day 1 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

To learn more about Roger, read our feature interview:

Part 1 – Gymnastics for Adults

Part 2 – Gymnastics for Kids

Notes:

Warm up activities are to be performed at a level that is appropriate for you. No warm up movements should be strenuous. Be sure to scale appropriately. 5-15 minutes of stretching following each session is expected.

For a guide to stretching visit Drill and Skills: Stretching.

Workout

“Gymnastics Cindy”

Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

5 Pull up

10 Push up

15 V-ups

The post Strength & Conditioning – Roger Harrell: Week 1, Day 4 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

To learn more about Roger, read our feature interview:

Part 1 – Gymnastics for Adults

Part 2 – Gymnastics for Kids

Notes:

Warm up activities are to be performed at a level that is appropriate for you. No warm up movements should be strenuous. Be sure to scale appropriately. 5-15 minutes of stretching following each session is expected.

For a guide to stretching visit Drill and Skills: Stretching.

Workout

5X5s Back lever/Front lever

The focus here is to find the most difficult scaling for the movements that you can successfully hold for a solid 5 seconds. Perform a back lever for 5 seconds, then immediately roll over into a front lever. After coming out of the front lever perform 20 jumping squats. Then rest for the next round. Allow 30 minutes.

The post Strength & Conditioning – Roger Harrell: Week 1, Day 3 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.