Yet, you might’ve seen this scene happen in person or in a viral video: a powerlifter marches toward a bench press station, folds themselves like a Cirque du Soleil acrobat, and proceeds to lift a seemingly impossible weight using the shortest possible range of motion. On the other side, you see big lifters moving big weights while lying on the bench as flat as a flounder.

So, who’s right or wrong? Is one of these lifters even “wrong?” Here’s a review of the benefits and risks of performing the bench press with an arch, as well as how and when to use this modified technique to reach your goals.

The Importance of a Bench Press Arch

• Benefits of Using an Arch
• Risks of Using an Arch
• How to Arch
• How to Improve Your Arch

Benefits of Using an Arch

The bench press arch refers to the deliberate extension and curvature of your spine when lying on the flat bench. A little arch is natural with most people, as it simply follows the natural curve of the spine, which isn’t flat.

You can easily spot an arch, as the lower back of the lifter is not touching the bench. If someone has an exaggerated spine curvature — for instance, a lordosis — they are forced to arch. Some lifters, especially powerlifters in competition, try to amplify this curvature and have as big an arch as possible. Why? It has several benefits, especially if you want to get stronger.

More Weight Lifted

With a bigger arch, the lower portion of your chest is in a higher position. This means that the point of contact with the barbell will be higher and, as such, the range of motion will be shorter. For the same amount of force produced, you can lift more weight. If you want to increase your bench press, then learning how to arch is an excellent way of improving the efficiency of your lift.

This method became so effective that some powerlifters would seem to barely make the barbell move more than a few inches and, as result, would set incredible records. Many would even say it’s cheating, ridiculous, and defeats the purpose of the sport.

As such, some powerlifting federations, like the International Powerlifting Federation — the biggest tested powerlifting federation in the world — updated their competition rules to limit arching. The goal was to ensure that performance is primarily based on a lifter’s strength, and not their mobility. 

Safer on the Shoulders

Your shoulders are some of the most mobile and most fragile joints in your body. They are put under a lot of stress with the bench press. Arching your back allows you to better squeeze your shoulders blades together and down, and maintain them in place during execution of the exercise.

Because the range of motion is shorter with an arched bench press, your elbows travel a shorter distance into the bottom position and will not go as far beneath your shoulder joint. This prevents excessive stretching in your shoulders and chest muscles, while avoiding a relatively weaker position that might result in injuries or joint strain. This is especially important if you have longer arms, as these effects are amplified.

More Overall Stability

Arching your back makes your upper body more “compact” and creates more full-body tension by strongly activating your upper back, lat, hips, and core muscles, compared to lying flat on the bench.

This way, you can properly distribute the energy from your legs through your torso to your shoulders and into the barbell. If your whole body is tensed, you will provide a more stable surface from which to press.

It’s the same principle that makes squatting with your feet on the floor easier than standing on a stability ball — you can generate more force without having to balance your body. If your torso wiggles on the bench with each repetition, you’re bound to leak strength and decrease your rate of technical adaptation.

More Muscle Growth

This is perhaps the most surprising benefit, as most gym veterans swear that the arched bench press should only be used by powerlifters focused on strength, and that a flatter version is better for muscle mass. But studies have shown more back and triceps activation during the arched bench press. (1) That’s logical, as the lats help arch the back, and a shorter range of motion will put more stress on your arms.

But what about building your chest? People have claimed that the arched bench turns the lift into some sort of decline bench press and that’s somewhat true, as lower chest activation is slightly greater. But upper chest activation remained the same, so muscle recruitment is still net-positive, likely because you can use more weight. So overall, you activate more muscle mass and stimulate more growth. 

Risks of Using an Arch

With all these perks, arching seems too good to be true. There might be some risks, though, especially if you exaggerate it too much. You can have too much of a good thing.

Lower Back Strain

Your spine is naturally extended because of its curvature, but extreme extension will put the disks and nerves at a greater risk of injury. Sure, there’s no axial loading or shear forces, but the technique will still put some stress on your lower back, especially if you then use leg drive to generate full-body tension. The probabilities of injuries may be relatively low, but you should keep them in mind, especially if you have pre-existing back issues.

A hernia could even potentially happen, even though it usually occurs during spinal flexion (bending forward at the waist). If you already have lower back troubles or injuries, arching might prove very painful and counterproductive. If you’re such a lifter, you should refrain from using a powerlifting arch and stick to maintaining your natural arch or pressing with a flatter back, depending on which is least painful. 

Less Muscle Mass

But, didn’t we just say that an arched back recruits more muscle mass? Indeed, but there’s arching and there’s arching. If you cut the range of motion too much, some muscles will be less stimulated. The more a muscle is stretched, the more it responds to training. (2) And if there’s almost no stretch due to an extremely limited range of motion, the stimulus will be much lower. 

Using some partial movements here and there is not a problem, but they shouldn’t make up the bulk of your training. If your training is minimalist — using a limited variety of exercises or very low volume — you should probably abstain from using a big arch. Or, if you do bench with an arch, make sure you’re also including full-range exercises like the incline bench press and overhead press to really complete your training and fill out your physique.

How to Arch

Most people already have a natural arch, this is just how they’re built. If you want to stick to a natural arch when performing a bench press, simply squeeze your shoulders blades together and down, and puff your chest up and high. But if you want to maximize your arch (either because you naturally don’t have one or you want to lift as heavy as possible), follow these steps.

Step 1 — Setup on the Bench

Lay down on the bench, grab the barbell, and grip the bar outside of shoulder-width. Your eyes or eyebrows should be directly in line with the bar. Squeeze your shoulders blades together and down (toward your glutes) as far as possible. Try to feel your traps dig into the bench. Focus on arching your upper back as much as possible, not necessarily your lower back.

If you want to take things to the max and really optimize your position, you can even put your feet on the bench while setting up your initial position. This will put as much weight as possible on your traps and will help to leverage your body into position.

Step 2 — Set Your Stance

If they were up on the bench, put your feet on the floor while keeping your arch. Position your feet as close to your shoulders as possible. Start “digging” your heels backward as far as you comfortably can.

Push your toes into the ground “down and away” from your body. This lower body pushing motion will help you prevent your glutes from rising off the bench.

Step 3 — Unrack the Bar, Lower, and Press

Maintain pressure through your feet. Unrack the barbell, with the help of a spotter if possible. Once the bar is set at the midway point, just above your chest, pause very briefly to confirm proper positioning.

Keep applying full-body tension from your traps to your toes. Lower the barbell until it gently touches your chest. Feel tension in your upper body at all times and hold your chest high. Move the weight deliberately and cautiously because the range of motion will be less than what you may be used to. As you feel the bar make contact, press powerfully to lockout.

How to Improve Your Arch

The bench press is an unnatural movement in itself — lying on a short platform while repeatedly moving a long, heavy bar above your rib cage and several vital organs. Intentionally arching your upper body during the exercise can feel even more unnatural.

Your first attempts to use an arch will likely feel awkward and certainly won’t be perfect. Also, unfortunately for the stiffer lifters out there, there’s a dose of mobility involved. Some will never develop a really big arch, but you can still improve it following these suggestions.

Dynamic Foam Rolling

Before you lift, after a general warm-up, grab a foam roller and start hammering your mid-back for a minute. This upper body drill is key for thoracic mobility.

Loosening your spinal erectors, running the full length of your back, will also help tremendously with improving your arch position. Don’t forget to also, carefully, roll your lower back. This will help hold your position when your lower body is set and creating tension.

Knee Raises or Leg Raises

Why should you do a few sets of an ab exercise before benching? Well, these movements also greatly stimulate your hips flexors. If you perform ab work with a full, smooth range of motion, those hip flexors will loosen. Tight hips flexors will prevent you from pulling your feet into position on the floor, which will prevent you from getting into a deep arch position.

Face Pulls and Postural Exercises

Because of the generally sedentary modern lifestyle, most people are more prone to a kyphotic (rounded shoulder), caveman-style posture. This can increase the risk of bench press injuries, but also prevent you from adopting a great arch. You simply won’t be able to open your chest as much.

A great warm-up before benching would be to grab a light resistance band and perform face pulls, pull-aparts, and the over-and-back (sometimes intimidatingly called “shoulder dislocates”). These exercises will strengthen your rotator cuff and, more importantly, improve your posture which carries over to your arch.

Bench Thoracic Spine Stretch

Stretching after your session is never a bad idea, but you could even do some static stretching before your bench. This can be especially useful in the most extreme cases of bad posture or mobility restrictions. There are several options available, but here’s one of the most effective.

Kneel down in front of a flat bench or a box. Place your elbows on the bench and bend your elbows to aim hands up in the air. Slowly lean your body down until your head passes between, and under, your upper arms. Move as far as comfortably possible.

To accentuate the stretch, bring your hands towards your traps or the back of your neck (without pressing down). Hold the stretch for 45 to 60 seconds.

Big Arch for a Big Bench

Prejudice, misinformation, and a few bad apples have given the bench press arch a bad rep, but there are actually many benefits. If you can ignore the comments you might get from other lifters about “the right way” to bench, give it a try and watch your performance improve, your muscles grow, and your shoulder pain diminish.

References

1. Alan C. Cudlip, Jacquelyn M. Maciukiewicz, Brendan L. Pinto & Clark R Dickerson (2022) Upper extremity muscle activity and joint loading changes between the standard and powerlifting bench press techniques, Journal of Sports Sciences, 40:9, 1055-1063, DOI: 10.1080/02640414.2022.2046937
2. Alan C. Cudlip, Jacquelyn M. Maciukiewicz, Brendan L. Pinto & Clark R Dickerson (2022) Upper extremity muscle activity and joint loading changes between the standard and powerlifting bench press techniques, Journal of Sports Sciences, 40:9, 1055-1063, DOI: 10.1080/02640414.2022.2046937

Featured Image: UfaBizPhoto / Shutterstock

The post The Importance of a Bench Press Arch appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

The Turkish get-up, or TGU, can be an effective tool for a variety of goals. This total-body exercise requires, and builds, a serious measure of athleticism. It requires very little loading or setup — if you have a single weight and floor space, you’re ready to rock. While the movement does require some degree of athletic capability, the risk:reward ratio is very favorable since the weight being lifted is light. 

However, the Turkish get-up can take some time to learn. It’s not as simple as some other exercises, like curling a dumbbell or lifting a barbell off the ground. It’s time to learn all the steps of the Turkish get-up so you can take advantage of all the benefits it has to offer, from head to toe.

Turkish Get-Up

• How to Do the Turkish Get-Up
• Turkish Get-Up Mistakes to Avoid
• How to Progress the Turkish Get-Up
• Benefits of the Turkish Get-Up
• Muscles Worked by the Turkish Get-Up
• How to Program the Turkish Get-Up
• Turkish Get-Up Variations
• Frequently Asked Questions

Step-by-Step Turkish Get-Up Demonstration

Take a look at Coach Traver Boehm performing this comprehensive exercise in action, see all of the details involved, and then finish learning the guidelines and tips.

The Turkish get-up truly is a total-body exercise. It requires coordination and concentration to safely deliver results.

How To Do the Turkish Get-Up

Because the Turkish get-up uses so many muscle groups in a variety of movement patterns, the best way to approach the exercise is to compartmentalize each phase of this big lift for eventual mastery.

The exercise is most commonly performed with a kettlebell, but a dumbbell can be used instead. The kettlebell will slightly increase shoulder recruitment due to its offset center of gravity, compared to a more well-balanced dumbbell.

Step 1 — Start on the Ground

Lie on the floor with the weight placed near one shoulder. Roll your body toward the weight and grab the handle with the same-side hand. Support the weight with your opposite hand as you roll your back flat on the ground, using your body to help leverage the weight up to an extended-arm lockout position. Your arm, with the weight, should be aimed straight at the ceiling. 

Bend your leg on the same side as your working arm. Keep your other leg straight, aimed slightly at an angle.

Form Tip: Making yourself “take up more space” in the beginning of the movement will come in handy in later phases of the lift. Your non-working arm and leg should be angled out to create a wide and stable base for the rest of the movement.

Step 2 — Roll to Your Elbow

As you lie there with the loaded arm pointed up, keep your eyes on the weight. Stare at the weight in your hand throughout the exercise. Keep your working arm ramrod straight and vertical. Drive into the floor with your planted foot (on the bent leg) to create tension while using the hand, forearm, and elbow of your opposite arm to lift your torso off the ground. Use the floor to your advantage as a leverage point. Continue letting the raised arm “lead the way” to help you upward. Don’t look away from the weight overhead.

Form Tip: It’s crucial that the knuckles of your working arm face the ceiling at all times. That means keeping your arm pointed straight upward, perpendicular to the floor. Nothing can compromise this position, no matter how your body moves underneath it.  That also means it’s imperative your elbow doesn’t bend. It may ask a lot of your shoulder mobility, but it will also deliver strength and stability.

Step 3 — Drive Up to Your Hand

At this stage, your torso should be off the ground, supported on your forearm, and your butt should still be planted. Get “tall” by pressing your forearm hard into the ground and raise onto just your hand, instead of that entire forearm. Both arms should be straight — one supporting the weight overhead and the other placed palm-down on the floor. If the hand on the floor feels unstable or too far from your body, adjust and bring it in a bit closer to your hips to help your stability. 

Form Tip: Because the Turkish get-up involves multiple steps, it can help to briefly pause after each separate phase to assess your body position. Gradually, as you get more experienced, the individual segments can flow together more smoothly. For example, some lifters are more comfortable “combining” the roll to their elbow (step two) with the hand-supported position (step three), which brings them from lying flat on the floor right up to a straight-arm support, before continuing the movement.

Step 4 — Hips Up, Leg Through

Press your hand and the foot of your bent leg into the floor hard enough to lift your hips off the ground. This must be done carefully and precisely — remember, you still have to control a weight over your head in a locked out position.

Raise your hips as high as your flexibility and strength will allow. The higher you can get them, the easier the next step will be. It helps to squeeze the glute of your bent leg to help with full hip extension. Allow your body to slightly turn toward the hand on the ground, away from the weighted hand.

Briefly pause before carefully bringing your straight leg back through the space you’ve just created by bridging your hips up. Gently pick up your straight leg, tuck your knee, and think about bringing your knee “behind” your body, not just under it. Plant that knee firmly on the ground. You should now have one hand, one knee, and one foot on the ground. And you should still be looking at the weight. 

Form Tip: It’s okay if your knees point in different directions. It’ll actually make for more stability if you plant your second knee at an angle rather than straight on.

Step 5 — Kneel Tall, Then Stand

Use core strength to straighten your torso as you take the planted hand off the ground and settle in a half-kneeling position. Keep your eyes on the prize while you think of your obliques firing hard to bring your body vertically under the weight. Remember, the weight shouldn’t really move much — rather, your body should move to be positioned under the weight.

From the half-kneeling position, perform a basic lunge to stand up — drive through your front foot and bring your feet together in a standing position. You should finish this phase of the exercise fully upright with the weight still locked out overhead.

Form Tip: Some lifters add an additional step after the half-kneeling position, bringing their leg up into the bottom of a squat (instead of a lunge), before standing up. That is a relatively advanced option which requires more hip and shoulder mobility. Stick with the standard lunge position, which has the added benefit of increased core recruitment due to the single-leg movement.

Step 6 — Get Back Down

Standing up is only half the battle. One full repetition requires lying back down, too. The ground won’t go anywhere, so keep your eyes on the weight and learn to reverse your actions by feel, and not by looking down. If you break your focus, the weight will fall.  You’ve done everything necessary to get to the top, so shift it in reverse to get to the bottom.

Step back with the same knee that just came forward (opposite your working arm) and lunge backwards to lower your shin and knee to the ground under control. Plant your non-working hand on the ground in line with your hips, at the side of your body and not behind it. This hand position is important for preventing you from sitting down on your back heel. It will also give your body enough space to create a bridge and pick up your planted knee, so your leg can travel through to its original straight-leg position. Slowly bring your leg forward. Plant your glutes on the ground under control.

Finally, keep your palm down as you slide your arm away from your body until your elbow contacts the ground. Slowly roll your upper body down until your shoulders and back are on the ground. You should be lying down again by this point, with the weight aimed at the ceiling, which means it’s time to put the weight down beside you. Lower the weight until your elbow gently touches the ground. Use your free hand to lower the weight completely to the floor.

Form Tip: Because the exercise can seem complicated and involved, some lifters may be more comfortable initially performing it either with no weight in their hand or while holding an empty cup in the palm of their hand. The lack of resistance can make it more difficult to feel your arm remaining vertical, but it will allow you to focus on the step-by-step instructions.

Turkish Get-Up Mistakes to Avoid 

The step-by-step instruction should cover many troubleshooting issues, but there are some specific technique errors worth highlighting or reinforcing.

Looking Away from the Weight

“Where your eyes go, your body follows.” This saying applies to athletics, dance, and even weight training. Shifting your visual focus can influence your body’s posture and movement. (1)(2) This is why, with the Turkish get-up, it’s crucial to fix your eyes on the weight overhead instead of looking at the ground as you move your hands and feet.

If your eyes drift down to the floor, your arm holding the weight overhead is much more likely to drift off a vertical plane, which increases strain on your shoulder joint and puts your arm in a potentially dangerous angle.

Avoid it: This may sound overly simple, but remember to keep looking at the weight overhead. The basic cue of looking at the weight in your hand can be worth its weight in gold when it comes to keeping a stable and balanced overhead position. Using a mirror doesn’t count because you’re eyes are looking forward (at the mirror), not overhead.

Letting Your Elbow Bend

Unlocking your straight arm on the working side is an instant way to leak strength and have an unsuccessful repetition. Keeping your arm locked out overhead engages your triceps, shoulders, and upper back, which gives you more control over the weight.

Bending your elbow also puts the weight in an inefficient position overhead, so you’re forced to realign your arm and torso to keep the load over your center of gravity. These adjustments trickle downhill and require changing your technique in each step of the exercise to stay in a powerful and stable position.

Avoid it: Keep your elbow locked out by thinking you’re also doing a shoulder press. It should feel like you’re constantly fighting to complete a press through each phase of the get-up. Doing so can be the difference between a successful rep or an unsuccessful rep that comes crashing down – possibly taking your rotator cuff along for the ride.

Keeping Your Feet Too Close Together

Using a bunched-up stance with your feet awkwardly close can prevent a proper base of stability. In addition, after bridging your hips up, there won’t be enough space for your free leg to travel through without catching your other (planted) foot along the way. Essentially, you end up tripping over your own two feet.

Avoid it: Make a conscious effort to spread your feet apart both when you’re lying down and as you begin to stand. It’ll set the tone for the rest of the lift. Keep your feet no closer than shoulder-width to allow a smooth flow to the standing position.

How to Progress the Turkish Get-Up

Technically, the Turkish get-up itself is an advanced progression because it’s the culmination of so many different steps. Breaking the movement down and drilling individual phases of the exercise is one smart way to work toward a full get-up.

Turkish Sit-Up

Practicing the first “half” of the Turkish get-up, rising from flat on your back up to your elbow or hand, is an effective way to practice the initial position while strengthening your core, shoulders, and back.

To do these, it’s simply a matter of performing the initial technique cues, based on what’s comfortable for you to achieve, position-wise. As you grow more accustomed to the movement, reaching an elbow-supported position, a hand-supported position, or a low bridge position can make the full Turkish get-up feel as smooth as butter. 

Benefits of the Turkish Get-Up

The Turkish get-up is one of the most “full-body exercises” of all the full-body exercises. There’s not a muscle from head to toe that isn’t involved in moving or supporting the weight through the full range of motion. As such, it offers some unique benefits compared to many other movements.

Mobility

First and foremost, the TGU is a mobility mammoth. The get-up focuses on mobility of your hips, knees, ankles, thoracic spine, and shoulders, on both the working (weight-supporting) side and the planted side nearest the ground. (3)

If you’re immobile in any of these areas, your body will let you know your weak points in a real hurry. Fortunately, working on appropriate progressions with appropriately light loading is a very effective way to address and improve those weak points.

Conditioning

Simply getting up and down from the floor can sometimes be enough to get someone’s heart rate up and keep it elevated. Adding a load and a ton of mental focus to the mix can make this even more muscularly demanding, in addition to the cardio demands already imposed. If you’re looking for better lungs and a bit of fat loss, you’ve stopped on the right movement.

Muscles Worked by the Turkish Get-Up

Simply put, the Turkish get-up works everything. It’s as “compound” a movement as you can get because it involves nearly every joint in your body, from ankles to elbows and everything in between.

While the emphasis may be on the shoulder complex, nearly every major muscle group including the abs, back, quads, glutes, and hamstrings plays a role in performing a successful rep.

Shoulders

All three heads of your shoulders (the front, rear, and side) are worked during the Turkish get-up. The shoulders of the weight-supporting arm are worked to stabilize the weight overhead as you move throughout space. Because the weight is constantly shifting, your shoulder is actively firing and micro-adjusting throughout the exercise. At the same time, the shoulder of your support arm is worked during the lower portion of the exercise to support your body as you rise off the floor.

Back

While most back exercises involve pulling or rowing motions, your entire back is worked during the TGU. Your lower back, as part of your overall core, works to maintain a safe and stable spine as you rotate, bend, and pivot from a lying to standing position. Your upper back assists shoulder stability and shoulder blade control to keep your arm secured overhead.

Abdominals

Your abs are worked in multiple directions, controlling your upper body position. They’re also worked statically to support many transition phases between steps, as well as dynamically as you bend sideways to maintain a vertical arm position. It’s not uncommon to feel soreness in your obliques (on the sides of your abs) due to the significant range of motion and time under tension.

Legs

While many see the Turkish get-up as an “upper body” exercise, your entire lower body also receives a significant stimulus. Your quads, glutes, and hamstrings are strengthened, particularly during the lunge phase to stand up, while your hips and hamstrings are put through a major mobility session as they go through kneeling and standing positions.

How to Program the Turkish Get-Up

While the Turkish get-up may seem like an advanced movement for athletic lifters, it can also work as a great drill in spatial awareness and neuromuscular coordination for beginning lifters. (4) Moreover, whether your goal is conditioning, strength, or hypertrophy, the TGU can find a place in a program either as a main part of the workout or as a post-workout finisher to get the last juice out of muscles that have been worked hard. 

Light to Moderate Weight, Very Low Repetition

One reliable method to incorporate the Turkish get-up is to do sets of three to six sets of one to two reps per arm, alternating arms between each repetition. This is a great way to throw them into a workout, either on their own or as part of a superset, because the low reps allow you to further emphasize picture-perfect technique.

Reps For Total Time

Using the TGU as a “finisher” can be highly effective when performed for a fixed amount of time rather than aiming for a couple of individual repetitions. Making this change will take the emphasis off of the weight being lifted and shift focus more toward the cardio benefits.

One effective method here is to choose a comfortable weight based around your abilities (err on the side of going “too light”), and set a timer for anywhere between three and six minutes, and perform continuous reps (alternating arms). Try not to stop moving until the time has elapsed. It’s crucial that you don’t rush through the movements just to rack up more reps within the time limit — maintain your technique at all times.

After the very first minute, you’ll notice your entire body working hard, with your shoulders burning and your heart rate going through the roof.  

Turkish Get-Up Variations

When and if you’ve mastered the Turkish get-up, you can actually move on to some simple, effective variations for an even greater challenge.

Barbell Get-Up

Performing a Turkish get-up with a barbell instead of a dumbbell or kettlebell is, arguably, one of the most eye-catching and attention-grabbing exercises you can see done in a gym. It also happens to be a highly challenging way to test your total-body strength and shoulder stability.

The length of the barbell means drastically increased instability. The bar will attempt to tip forward and backward, as well as rotate, as you move through the exercise. Exerting 100% control over the barbell and keeping it level requires high-level muscular control and coordination.

Turkish Get-Down

The Turkish get-down, sometimes called a reverse Turkish get-up, appears to be a simple reversal of the basic TGU. Instead of beginning in a lying position and working to stand up, you begin standing with the weight locked overhead, move to a lying position, and stand up again.

This is sometimes seen as a “regression” or easier variation of the basic TGU because many people are simply more comfortable in a standing start position. It can also be more accommodating for lifters who lack the necessary core strength to initially perform the sit-up portion of the basic TGU.

FAQs

The Get-Up Wrap-Up

The dynamic quality of this unique exercise can be the exact game changer that a lifter of any skill level needs take their gains to the next level. The problem with most gym training that it encourages some lifters to only focus on the specific task at hand – namely, performing a good-looking rep of whatever movement is being trained. The real challenge is finding movements that translate to real-life or athletics, like the TGU. Especially when it means you can nab some extra hip and shoulder mobility while building serious core strength. These types of movements are win-win.

References

1. Imai, T., Moore, S. T., Raphan, T., & Cohen, B. (2001). Interaction of the body, head, and eyes during walking and turning. Experimental brain research, 136(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s002210000533
2. Richard P. Di Fabio, Saurav Paul, Alongkot Emasithi, John F. Greany, Evaluating Eye–Body Coordination During Unrestrained Functional Activity in Older Persons, The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, Volume 56, Issue 9, 1 September 2001, Pages M571–M574, https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/56.9.M571
3. St-Onge, E., Robb, A., Beach, T. A. C., & Howarth, S. J. (2019). A descriptive analysis of shoulder muscle activities during individual stages of the Turkish Get-Up exercise. Journal of bodywork and movement therapies, 23(1), 23–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2018.01.013
4. Ayash, Adam & Jones, Margaret. (2012). Kettlebell Turkish Get-Up: Training Tool for Injury Prevention and Performance Enhancement. International Journal of Athletic Therapy & Training. 17. 8. 10.1123/ijatt.17.4.8.

Featured Image: Paul Aiken / Shutterstock

The post How to Do the Turkish Get-Up for Total-Body Strength and Conditioning appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Thankfully, the intentions behind this industry chatter are typically genuine. Coaches want to help clients achieve results, and the general public is simply looking to feel better. However, amidst the confusion is a growing need for the fitness industry to develop a common language that both professionals and consumers can understand. And that common language should focus on helping society move better and more often for the long haul.

Promote Movement Quality

Changing the language of the industry may feel like an impossible task, but two principles are undeniable:

• Put movement quality first.
• Help people move more.

Regardless of your goals (muscle hypertrophy, strength, performance, etc.), these two factors are critical for the industry to head in the right direction. A movement-based approach to training has the potential for magic, and it needs to start in gym class for kids. The lack of a proprioceptive-enriched movement lifestyle for children is a major concern for society.

However, it is never too late to restore what Gray Cook calls “movement competency.” Here is Gray’s definition of how to find movement competency:

This we test with movement screening. If screening reveals pain or dysfunction in the form of limitation or asymmetry, there is a movement competency problem. Alternatively, there is a basic movement-aptitude problem—pick your term, but make the point. Adequate competency suggests acceptable fundamental-movement quality.

Achieving movement competency will be hard if we focus our fitness programs purely on looking better. I am a bodybuilder at heart and have worked on building bigger muscles and looking better since I was 15. Fast-forward almost 20-years and I have realized that my chase for aesthetics has left me with faulty movement patterns. I am now forced to work on improving my movement competency instead of working on looking good.

This doesn’t mean that I will never be able to work out for aesthetics, but I do need to earn the right to make that the sole focus of my training. Building muscle is increasingly important as you age, but you can still have a high-level of movement competency at any fitness level. Building muscle and getting stronger should be your main goal, once you start moving well.

A Catalyst for Change

This was my catalyst for developing a movement-based approach to hypertrophy training. In the past, bodybuilders would maybe perform light static stretching, five minutes on a cardio machine, and a few warm-up sets before jumping into a 25-set workout of chest and triceps. Young lifters without a lot of miles on their body can get away with this method for a while, but this approach may eventually leave you with asymmetries, injuries, pain, and frustratingly slow progress.

You don’t have to be in your fifties to have an old training age. As Dan John says, “It’s not the years, it’s the miles.” I have been training hard for almost 20-years with a week off here and there, but not often. The miles are deep in this young body.

If you want to last in the lifting game for the long run, endless sets of eight to 15 reps per body part may not be what your body needs. So, what should a person chasing a bodybuilding-type physique do instead of the typical splits? Revisit and master fundamental human movements and do them with realistic sets, reps, and loads. If you focus on moving better first, you will be surprised how fast your body will be able to get back to lifting heavy objects, often.

A Collaborative Design

Like any other trainer or strength coach, my philosophy has evolved over the years. These days, I follow philosophies of various tried-and-true methods.

Functional Movement Systems (FMS) is a useful approach to understand movement baselines and exercise modifications. Most people would benefit from an FMS screening. Along with a detailed health history at intake, FMS provides a solid foundation when designing programs. For the beginner or veteran, the fundamentals are where you start and finish.

Every strength and muscle hypertrophy program should include some variation of the following movements depending on the goal of the individual. This list is largely inspired by the legendary Dan John:

• Push: push-ups, bench press, overhead press
• Pull: dumbbell row, inverted row, chin-ups, pull-ups
• Squat: goblet squat, front squat, back squat, single-leg squat
• Hinge: deadlift, kettlebell swing, single-leg deadlifts, Olympic lifts
• Loaded Carry: farmer’s carry, suitcase carry, overhead carry, sandbag carry
• Groundwork: rocking, rolling, creeping, crawling, Turkish get-ups
• Core/Rotation/Anti-rotation: ab wheel rollouts, cable press outs, chops, lifts

The New Age Bodybuilding Template

Below is a foundational hypertrophy template that consists of lifting 3 days per week for 6 weeks. Dividing your strength and conditioning into four to six week phases will keep your body fresh, resilient, and improve general physical preparedness. This length of time seems to be the sweet spot, since most people have what I call “Exercise ADD.”

Program Components:

1. Correctives
2. Movement Preparation
3. Lift Weights
4. Finisher

Correctives

Correctives are based off of FMS and health history. For example, a perfect score for an Active Straight Leg is 3/3, 0 for pain. Your goal should be to achieve symmetry (a score of 2/2 or 3/3). If your score is 2/1, the following corrective exercises will use core and motor control to improve alternating hip flexion and extension.

• Alligator Breathing: Lay down in a comfortable position for 2-3 minutes. I prefer on the stomach to feel the abdominal wall. Breathe in and out through your nose. Focus on pulling air deep into your belly. It may help to imagine pulling air down into your feet.
• Assisted Leg Lowering: 10 reps each leg
• Cook Hip Lift: 5 x 10-second holds each side

Movement Preparation

Before you begin your workout spend 5-10 minutes on the following movement preparations:

• Kettlebell arm bars: 5 each side
• Half-kneeling kettlebell halos: 10 reps
• Goblet squat w/prying knees: 5 reps
• Lunge Matrix: 6 reps
• Plank to Down Dog: 10 reps (not in video)
• Inch Worm: 10 reps (not in video)
• Jump Rope: 2-5 minutes (not in video)

Lift Weights

Below are the rep rotations for the three lifting days. Organize your week so that you don’t lift two days in a row.

• Monday (or Tuesday): 5 x 5
• Wednesday (or Thursday): 8 x 3
• Friday (or Saturday): 3 x 8-12

The following exercise options are based on the fundamental movement patterns:

• Push: One-arm kettlebell press, single-arm bench press, push-ups
• Pull: Inverted row, chin-ups
• Squat: Goblet Squat, single-leg squat, front squats
• Hinge: Deadlift, single-leg deadlift, kettlebell swing
• Loaded Carry: farmer’s walk, suitcase carry
• Ground Work: Turkish get-ups, crawling and rolling
• Core (rotation/anti-rotation): McGill Big 3, rollouts, anti-rotation press outs

Finisher

Pick one conditioning finisher per training session:

• Air Bike Sprints: 6-8 rounds of 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off
• Concept2 Rower: 1,000 meters
• Ski Erg Sprints: 3 rounds of 1-minute on, rest 2 minutes in between sprints
• Sled Push/Pull: 5 x 50 yards
• Battling Ropes: 8 x 20 reps for 2 arm slams. Rest 30 seconds between sets.

Cool-Down

Proper recovery will provide your body with a better base to keep building muscle for the long haul. Before you skip out of the gym after your workout, run through this cool-down routine:

• Alligator breathing: 2 minutes
• Head nods: 10 reps up and down and 10 reps side to side
• Bird dogs: 10 reps/side
• Rock backs: 20 reps
• Egg rolls: 20 reps
• Get up and down off of the ground: 5-10 reps
• Baby crawling, Spiderman crawling: 30-40 yards each

Change Is Here

I will always be a meathead at heart. I love bodybuilding and I am amazed at the amount of weight powerlifters can move. But the “pedal to the metal” workouts eventually take their toll.

If we continue to direct the general public towards endless sets of body-part split workouts, force Olympic lifting on people who are not ready and may never be ready to perform, and max out on the squat, deadlift, and bench press, the long haul may never come. Let’s focus on keeping people moving instead.

The post Move Well First: A New Path for Coaching Fitness appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Chances are you probably have a scar somewhere on your body. Anyone can get a scar from just about anything. Perhaps you were goofing around as a child and fell off your bike or maybe you recently took a fall down the stairs and banged yourself up pretty well. Maybe you are an athlete who had a mishap on the field that resulted in an injury that required surgery.

Both new and old scars can affect your movement and mobility in everyday life, during sports, or workouts. Essentially, any form of movement, especially if your scar is located near a joint, can put a strain on your mobility. If you are someone who works out a lot, if you are an athlete, or if you have a job that requires a significant amount of movement, this can become a serious sore point in your life.

In this article, I will discuss how scars can affect mobility, what complications may arise if left untreated, and what the best treatments are if an old scar is causing you pain and improper mobility.

The most important thing to remember is you never have to live through pain or reduced mobility. If you can no longer ride a bike, play soccer, or even reach the top shelf in your kitchen, you can fix it and you can heal.

How Scars Affect Mobility

The human body is a complex structure. Every cell in your body plays a specific role and communicates with other areas of the body, even if they seem unrelated. This means that if you have a scar on your elbow from an old injury, other areas of your body can feel the effects.

You may have neck pain, back pain, and difficulty walking because the other side of your body is compensating for the pain or lack of mobility associated with your elbow. When this happens, movement becomes difficult and your quality of life begins to suffer.

But why is your scar from ten years ago affecting your mobility and movement now? You may have unexplained pain, or you might find your range of motion is off. The answer is both simple and complex in either case.

The most common type of scar that will affect your mobility is keloids. Keloids are raised above your normal healthy skin and spread farther than your injury alone. This means your scar may be bigger than the injury itself was. Keloids most commonly affect your mobility. These scars form due to certain types of cells overproducing during the healing process.

The scar and mobility connection stems from collagen as well. Scar tissue is created when a part of your body gets injured, which affects the normal collagen cells. Scar tissue can form from a knife cut, a surgery incision, or anything else that opens and damages the skin.

Collagen is located everywhere in your body—from tendons to muscles to ligaments. You will also find collagen in your bones and your skin. This is why supplementing with powdered collagen has become all the rage lately. Better skin, stronger bones, and shiner hair draw many people to collagen supplementation.

When your cut or other injury begins to heal, your body will send tons of new collagen cells and other cells to the affected area to form healthy tissue to close up the wound. But the issue lies in the fact the body cannot arrange these new healthy cells perfectly.

Instead of getting perfectly smooth healed skin, you are left with new cells that have bunched and clumped together, hence a scar. These cells lose their flexibility and their structure is altered.

You also have to consider that any form of injury, both inside and outside the body, that results in a scar will affect the way your body functions in that area. Your skin, your muscles, and your fascia go through a physically taxing process and any significant change to the body affects the ways it works and moves.

As the scar tissue builds in the injured area, adhesions form, which are tiny bits of scar tissue that bind to healthy soft tissues. When this happens, the area can become stiff, less strong, and your range of motion is affected.

The scar tissue in the affected location is much less flexible than normal healthy tissue and receives less circulation. Eventually, your muscles in the area shorten, weaken, and you are left with less range of motion.

Battle Your Scars

Unfortunately, you can never completely get rid of a scar or its effects, but there are things you can do to mitigate the effects of the scar. One of the best and easiest ways to improve mobility and scar tissue is to massage your scar.

Although it may sound a little funny, massage techniques on the affected area have a lot of benefits. Massaging the scar and tissue in the area helps with the remodeling process of the skin and tissue. Your wound should be fully healed before this process begins.

The sooner you can safely begin massaging the area with the clearance of a professional, the better for the appearance of the scar and the physical effects as well.

Cross Friction Massage

This massage technique for scars is generally performed by a physical therapist and then also may be performed at home. You will use your fingers to massage in the direction that is perpendicular to your scar.

This type of massage allows the new collagen fibers to align properly so the appearance of the scar looks better. This process will also help loosen up the area and make the scar tissue more flexible, which can lead to better movement and mobility in the location of the scar.

Myofascial Release

This form of massage is used to help with scar tissue and adhesions. Your doctor, physical therapist, or other healthcare professional will use their hands to massage the skin, scar, and tissue under the skin. Massage is typically slow, controlled, and only uses light and comfortable pressure.

This type of scar massage is the most common and perhaps the most helpful for mobility. A professional can feel any tightness and restrictions in the skin and tissue by the scar and work to improve the movement and circulation in the affected area.

Stretching for Scars

Believe it or not, stretching can also help heal scars and scar tissue and help increase mobility. Various stretching and flexibility exercises help to lengthen and stretch the impacted tissue near the scar. If your tissue is elongated and not as tight and rigid, you will have better mobility and less restriction.

The type of stretching your healthcare professional will do depends on the severity of your scar and where it is located on your body. They will likely do a few different types of stretches in the affected area to ensure the tissue stretches and releases well.

It is also probable that your doctor or physical therapist will use a combination of both massage and stretching techniques. The combination of the two is ideal for helping the visual appearance of the scar and making sure the tissue in the area is flexible, has no restrictions, and heals well.

Moving Forward

After an injury or surgery, part of the healing process involves your wounds, cuts, scrapes, and incisions developing scars and scar tissue. It is something that you cannot get around or avoid. This is your body’s way of making sure you get back to normal as quickly as possible and with the least amount of side effects as possible.

With that being said, your body is not perfect and more often than not, a major scar can create issues in the long-run, most notably mobility issues and potentially pain down the road. If you fear this may happen to you in a few years, or if you have found yourself in this position currently, you do have a few options for better recovery.

Scar massage and stretching are two common and effective ways of helping scar tissue release tension and improve flexibility. When the tissue and collagen cells are functioning more like regular skin and tissue, the less pain you will have and the more mobile you will be.

Speaking with a healthcare professional about your specific situation, concerns, and needs will help make sure you are getting the treatment you deserve. If you want to talk to me directly, you can always reach me at Better Health Chiropractic & Physical Rehab in Wasilla, Alaska.

The post The Relationship Between Scars and Mobility appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Efficiency is something Kevin C. Moore, founder of the Reembody Method, has thought a lot about. He believes efficient movement is available to all of us if we take the time to consider our natural tendencies.

Moore grew up studying Chinese martial arts, but always believed he would be a scientist. It wasn’t until he began working in a laboratory that he realized it might not be the best fit. “I wanted to move more, I wanted to be more social. The idea that movement could influence my career didn’t occur to me until after I got fed up with sciences.” After being introduced to a personal trainer that was both a powerlifting coach and a Pilates teacher, he realized movement could be an actual study that was approached in a systematic, thoughtful way.

After studying and teaching Pilates for several years, Moore began managing a well respected Pilates studio in Hong Kong. Throughout his Pilates career, he frequently found himself thinking outside of the traditional Pilates system, developing techniques to improve the way his clients moved through quality and efficiency. He found the techniques he was developing and the skill set he was utilizing outside of the traditional fitness methodology wasn’t received in a welcoming manner by his colleagues because “the kind of dogmatic approach to fitness kept getting in the way.”

Letting go of being a “good” Pilates instructor allowed Moore to begin noticing movement pattern relationships at a much faster rate. He began keeping records of things that he noticed, particularly how clients used the left and right side of the body. Then he used the techniques he developed on his clients, observing how they responded. When people performed things differently on each side based on their particular side dominance, did it yield different results? As he honed the application of movement based on the idea that we are not symmetrical beings, the idea of Reembody was born.

While Reembody was founded on the principles of side dominance, or laterality, the underlying principles are rooted in physical properties. “The immutable laws of physics act on all of my living tissue exactly the same as it acts on everything else,” Moore says. “And if a practical intervention can’t be made to make mechanical or physical sense then it probably doesn’t make sense biologically either.”

The Role of Side-Dominance

When was the last time you thought about how the two sides of your body moved, either together or separately? Unless you’ve been injured, I suspect you ignore the fact that one side of your body performs certain movements or skills a little bit better than the other side of your body. Interestingly, just because you are right handed, it doesn’t mean that your right side will be good at every single thing—the left hand side of your body will excel at different things than the right side. And that’s the point. The two sides of our bodies compliment each other and enable us to move forward, lift heavy things, and contort ourselves in unique positions, just not in exactly the same way on each side.

Instead of viewing the two sides as completely separate entities, it’s more likely they are partners, working together to cooperate and negotiate whatever movement skill you want to accomplish.

To clarify the idea of how laterality can be thought of in the fitness world, Moore says, “It’s really on the forefront of emerging research that the way the brain talks to the dominant side of the body and the non-dominant side of the body is radically different. In fact, in many cases, it’s opposite. We waste a lot of time in the health and wellness industry doing assessments that I don’t think we need to be doing. We can make predictions rather than assessments and speed the process along for the client and take a lot of pressure off of the practitioner.”

If you have ever been to a trainer, you may very well have spent your first session going through a series of movements, with the trainer fervently making notes about your movement quality, and then giving you a set of corrective exercises to fix whatever inefficiencies he noted. The problem with this (well-intentioned) approach, is it takes away from what the vast majority of the population needs, which is to move. By moving in various ways, the things you need to work on will become pretty clear, and whether the issue is you just don’t know how to do that specific thing or you can’t do that thing because you aren’t strong enough/flexible enough/mobile enough becomes evident fairly quickly.

Another aspect that many athletes and trainers struggle with is where to begin. What magic part of the body will unlock the key to movement happiness? Does training the core fix the back? Or maybe improving neck position will improve stability. Or perhaps the answer to everything starts at the feet.

Moore takes a more pragmatic view. “I don’t buy into the idea that there is one part of the body where everything begins. In fact, I know that for a long time, especially coming out of the functional fitness craze this idea of ‘ah, yes, this part is the one part that means everything.’ It used to be the core, then it was the feet, then it was the cranium. The truth is they’re all correct. Every part is as important as every other part. What Reembody methodology is very interested in is how they are all related.”

Researchers have been trying to tease out the best exercise modality for non specific low back pain for years. What they are finding is that one exercise type doesn’t appear to be better than another for long term pain relief.¹ In fact, the most effective exercise for non-specific low back pain appears to be a general exercise program. Why? Perhaps it’s because, as Moore says, one part isn’t more influential on the body’s position and the nervous system’s perception of movement than any other. However, how they interact with each other can dramatically improve overall movement quality. “The brain is constantly trying to build these internal maps of how all of our parts are related and then again, how those parts are related to our environment. The more robust that map is, the more likely we are to make smart choices, unconscious choices, to maintain mechanical advantage within our environment.”

This doesn’t mean there is a perfect alignment, or one way to perform a specific movement. What it means is that if the body has a clear, internal image of all of its parts and how they work, when the time comes where you have to decide how you are going to scale the very large downed tree that is clearly standing in the way between you and the trail you want to access, you will have a mechanically efficient way to get over the tree. If you practice things like climbing over oddly shaped objects, you will be even more efficient because you have a frame of reference for how to do a version of this particular movement.

The Role of Your Breath

Perhaps the most important aspect to human movement (or life, for that matter), is the ability to breathe. Oxygen nourishes every cell in our body. It enables us to function. Without it, we perish, faster than we do without food or water. As Moore says, “Oxygen is the most essential resource. Every single structure we have, from as far back as we can see, has been based around the idea of I need to make sure I can get enough oxygen. Period. Everything else plays second fiddle to that first need.”

Yet, our ability to breathe in an efficient manner is often ignored. The breath is influenced by a number of factors, including our emotional and psychological state, as well as our physiological state.² How we breathe affects how we hold ourselves, our ability to move freely in the ribs, and our ability to efficiently adapt to the external environment. Have you ever tried rock hopping while holding your breath? Were you successful? What happens if you take a long exhale before you begin? Is it easier?

“When we find that breath is optimized, we should also find that everything else is optimized,” Moore states. “So if we buy into that initial premise, if I am breathing in a way that is optimized, it means I should be stronger, I should be faster, my digestion should work better, my stress levels should be lower. Everything can and should be improved by the way that I breathe.”

Breathing can feel tedious. It’s a little bit like performing corrective exercise drills; a little bit goes a long away. If you start with the basic idea that your exhale should occasionally be longer than your inhale, you will begin to notice you are holding yourself differently. You will feel more freedom in your movement and less over-effort, creating a more balanced movement approach.

If you add 2-3 minutes of supine breathing in at the end of your workout, where you inhale for a count of four and exhale for a count of eight, observing the effects your breath has on your body, you may even find a general sense of relaxation as you leave the gym, rather than feeling mildly fatigued and slightly beat up.

The Role of Balanced Intensity

Moore’s message is not only one of efficiency, but one of balance. When it comes to movement and general fitness, Moore says, “We excel at low stress level, low to mid intensity level, repetitive tasks—walking around, bending down, reaching up, fine motor tasks that are deeply repetitive and you can let your mind wander while you are doing it. Human beings get enormous benefits out of moving in those ways.

We are also really good with our fight or flight or freeze responses, responding to extremely stressful situations with a high degree of power. We can suddenly take off in any direction in a very high run. We can fight fiercely and ferociously whenever we need to. We have it within us to work under high stress. We can be trained to work very well under high stress. One of the biggest ways in which the modern, current movement environment differs from, say, a hunter gather movement environment is that movement of the first type, that repetitive, low level, daydream-y type, is almost gone. We do very, very little of that anymore. And, the only time we engage in exercise is typically exercise that falls much more into the second category, exercise that we think of as being intense and stressful. Even most yoga classes, I would argue, are physically stressful. They are physically challenging.

Now, we invite that stress in because it does feel good to use the body in a stressful way. We do get chemical feedback and neurological feedback that says, ‘Hey, good job. You’ve accomplished something.’ We get the endorphin rush, we get the sense of accomplishment. There’s nothing wrong with any of that stuff. That system is designed that way for a reason. What I want to see for a well-balanced, fitness lifestyle that is aimed at well-adjusted social behavior and longevity, we need what I’ll call an 80/20 rule. Eighty percent of the movement that they do should be low to middle level, repetitive, unstressful, daydreaming. It’s long walks in the park, it’s playing with your kid in the pool, it’s stuff like that. And then 20 percent should be, okay, now it’s time to pick that weight up, whatever the cost.”

Like all things in life, the ability to move well and respond well to a variety of situations is predicated on a degree of balance. What Moore is referring to is the elusive idea of using movement and exercise as a way to recover and prepare for high intensity work. When I talk to amazing movers who seem to rarely be injured, their dirty little secret is that they don’t spend large amounts of time in the red zone. Instead, they hang out in doing more moderate level work, sprinkling the high intensity work in periodically. As a result, they recover well and move more.

Employ Balanced Movement and Exercise

Many people allocate exercise into two categories: beast mode and everything else. Everything else is considered an afterthought, a waste of time because it doesn’t improve 1RM deadlifts or 5K times—except it does. And here is the conundrum. A well-balanced outlook to exercise and movement supports all intensity levels. If your concept of exercise is that you have to always go hard to get any benefit, I encourage you to reconsider, not just for your performance, but for your longevity.

References:

1. Wang, X-Q., Zheng, J-J., Yu, Z-W., Bi, X., Lou, S-J., Liu, J., Cai, B., Hua, Y-H., Wu, M., Wei, M-L., Shen, H-M., Chen, Y., Pan, Y-J., Xu, G-H., Chen, P-J., (2012). A meta-analysis of core stability exercise versus general exercise for chronic low back pain. PLoS One, 7(12).

2. Paulus, M.P., (2013). The breathing conundrum-interoceptive sensitivity and anxiety. Depression & Anxiety, 30(4), 315-320.

The post Balance and Efficiency: A Method to Stabilize Your Body appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Are you feeling sore, achy, or tight after a run? Over time, running without proper mobility and stretching can lead to imbalances in the body resulting in sprains, pains, and injuries. Yoga is a wonderful tool to help mobilize and stretch tough spots where runners need more mobility.

Benefits of a Consistent Yoga Practice For Runners Can Include:

• Improved Performance
• Reduced Risk of Injury
• Faster Recovery
• Improved Balance and Agility
• Improved Focus and Concentration for Competition
• Increased Strength and Flexibility
• Prevention of Sports Related Injuries
• Greater Range of Motion
• Improved Circulation

5 Essential Yoga Poses for Runners

Use this sequence to open the calves, quadriceps, hamstrings, iliotibial band, and hip flexors. Practice these poses after your workout or run. Your body should be slightly warm before you go deep in a yoga pose. Stay in each pose for 10-15 breaths.

1. Downward-Facing Dog

Bring the hands shoulder-width apart and feet hip with apart. Press your hands and feet down into the floor. Lengthen through your spine and release the shoulders down the back. Stretch your heels down into the floor. Press the bases of the index fingers actively into the floor.

2. Seated Pigeon Pose

In a seated position cross the right left over the left, placing your left foot down on the floor flat. Your hands should be behind your body and pressing gently through the floor. Open your chest and extending up through the the spine. Repeat on the opposite side.

3. Crescent Lunge

Step your right leg through into a low lunge pose. Place your hands on floor finding a deep lunge as you release your back knee down into the floor. Extend the arms upward to take the stretch in the upper body. Repeat on the opposite side.

4. Standing Forward Bend

Start in a standing position the right leg should be at the top of your mat and the left leg behind you. Keeping your feet about hip distance apart and ground all four corners of the feet to the mat for balance and stability. Fold down over the front leg in a forward bend. Keep your neck relaxed by looking down towards the floor as you go deeper into the forward bend. Repeat on the opposite side.

5. Pigeon Pose

Begin to heel toe the right foot over in the front of your mat. Your back left leg should extend straight out from the hip behind you and rotate slightly inward. Gently drape your body over the right leg. You can also try reaching the arms upward to stretch through the chest and spine. Repeat on the opposite side.

Yogi’s Tip

Take your time and be patient when starting a new yoga practice. Build your yoga practice slowly over time. At first many athletes especially runners, will find many of the poses challenging due to tight musculature. Try to find a local yoga class or yoga teacher, look at your form and give you any modifications.

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The word mobility has flooded the fitness culture these last few years. With the rise of gymnastics and martial arts inspired “movement” training from numerous different “gurus,” mobility has finally earned a seat at the head table with the likes of strength, power, and aesthetics.

We’ve become a fitness culture obsessed more with beautiful movements, positions, and flows rather than with inflated biceps. Gone are the days when our heroes oiled up to pose for audiences and magazine covers. We now idolize those who post short videos of parkour, gymnastics skills, and ground flows.

I love that as a fitness culture our collective values are shifting toward moving in a smooth and holistic way, but I fear that how we think of mobility still fails to capture its true essence.

We’ve compartmentalized mobility into another aspect of fitness when it actually is an expression of your total fitness into the rest of your life.

Breaking Down Mobility

Mobility is defined as the ability to move or be moved freely and easily. The definition actually tells us all we need to know.

The “to be moved” aspect applies to passive flexibility, when we stretch to our limits with help from gravity, equipment, or partners. The other aspect is “to move” and means far more for your fitness and life.

This is your active flexibility and strength but also your agility, coordination, balance, and power. It means to not only possess beautiful freedom of movement through many extended ranges of motion, but full strength and control throughout.

The latter half of the definition, moving both “free and easily” is where so many people commonly miss the mark. We work to achieve deep positions or coordinated flows “easily.”

Our mobility though, is not the positions we can achieve after a warm up or many repetitions. If you can easily touch your toes only after warming your body into it, that particular movement is anything but “free.”

Freely and easily describes not only how well you can move and be moved but also when and how you have access to that quality of movement.

Many coaches and teachers have said this before me. Martial arts masters teach that we must be able to kick cold, as conflicts arise quickly and assailants will never allow you a warm up.

Kelly Starrett’s famous Becoming a Supple Leopard analogy has us seek to be ready to chase tonight’s meal at full speed at a moment’s notice. Leopards do not warm up; they must sprint at full anytime or go hungry.

Understand Your Movement Patterns

Movement and mobility are not pieces of your fitness regimen to only be worked on in reps and sets.

Yes, including ample “mobility” and “movement” flows into your training will make you a more able and embodied mover. However, far more important than any of this training is how you understand your movement patterns, mobility, and every other aspect of health and fitness outside of your gym time.

The point of all of this mobility training is to move better all of the time and in every aspect of your life. Only thinking about how you move in the gym misses the very essence of what it means to be mobile.

The best way to improve your mobility then is not in the focused flexibility work that you do, but in paying attention to how you move your body every second of the day.

Yes, the gym work is when you can incite big changes. But, your time outside the gym is when these changes become integrated into your life and when your awareness informs the actions that you will take in your next training session.

The post Rethink What It Means to Be Mobile appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Renegade rows are deceptive. They kind of look like a plank with a simple weight pull. Simple in so far as it doesn’t seem technically challenging. And you’re probably right, you don’t need a lot of technical expertise to perform renegades effectively. However, they expose shortcomings in strength and stability and they’re extremely challenging.

Benefits of Renegade Rows

• Training anti-extension – avoiding overextension in power movements such as bending your core in a heavy a lift
• Training anti-rotation – preventing your core from rotating which, ironically, is important in developing rotational power like swinging a bat
• Stabilizing through strength – works the complete core, the trunk musculature so, it’s core stabilization but in a total sense
• Scapular stability

Let’s concentrate on that last point here because once you try this exercise you’re not going to have a problem feeling the impact on your lats, sensing the tension in the musculature of your trunk and realizing the stabilization forces that come into play.

When it comes to scapular stability we have to think about how we perceive the shoulder and it’s relationship to the scapula. Looking at the diagram below, you’ll notice that the muscles around the scapulae are much larger than those around the rotator cuff. The stability of your shoulder comes from these muscles so, you don’t want weakness and immobility here.

Train for Balance

Here’s how to fit the get up, and it’s its counter the renegade row, into your training:

Men’s Weights:

• Beginner: 10% of your bodyweight for 5 reps per arm
• Intermediate: 20% of your bodyweight for 5 reps per arm
• Advanced: 30% of your bodyweight for 5 reps per arm
• Beast: 40% of your bodyweight for 5 reps per arm

Women’s Weights:

• Beginner: 5% of your bodyweight for 5 reps per arm
• Intermediate: 10% of your bodyweight for 5 reps per arm
• Advanced: 15% of your bodyweight for 5 reps per arm
• Amazonian Goddess: 25% of your bodyweight for 5 reps per arm

Your body should feel stronger and more stable after adding renegade rows to your daily routine. You can include it as part of your warm-up or as an integral routine in your strength and conditioning program. The effect on your trunk musculature and scapular region should be noticeable over a short space of time. The carryover into more functional movements should help create greater opportunities for you to evolve in your practice. We have highlighted the dumbbell variation here, but you can also check out kettlebell renegade rows here. For a full set of dumbbell workouts try 12-Week Moster DB plan.

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It’s not unusual for clients to walk in with questions regarding research or media reports on fitness topics. I am always happy to oblige with my thoughts if it’s an area I know anything about, as long as we get to moving around eventually.

I listened as he described the analysis of the golf swing. “There is a section on soleus mobility and its affect on the club swing.”

“If the soleus is tight, you will get out of your backswing early.”

He looked at me curiously. “That’s what the author concluded. How did you know that?”

The Role of Heel Anatomy

The ability of the heel to stay in contact with the ground depends on strength in the front of the shin and mobility in the back of the ankle. The gastrocnemius, or what most people think of when they refer to the calf muscle, points the foot when the knee is straight and flexes the knee. The soleus points the foot when the knee is bent; both muscles work together during physical activity to ensure efficient movement while walking, for instance.

In the front of the shin there is a muscle called the tibialis anterior that extends the foot up, otherwise known as dorsiflexing the foot. If you lack strength in the front of the shin and end range strength in the back of the ankle, your heel will leave the ground early during various activities, such as the golf swing; it may also make you more prone to tripping since your foot won’t work through a full range of motion when you are walking.

The tibilias anterior also inverts the foot at the ankle. This means it moves the sole of the foot away from the floor. There are muscles on the outside of the leg called the peroneals that move the sole of the foot towards the floor. All of these motions happen at the ankle and are different than the movements that occur when your foot flattens or arches.

Most ankle sprains that occur while playing sports are inversion sprains, meaning the outside of the foot rolls in while the foot is pointed.² Creating balance in the strength and mobility of the ankle joint in several positions is an important component to rehabbing an ankle sprain; strengthening and mobilizing a healthy ankle can make the ankle feel less vulnerable when you do things like trail run, participate in a pick-up basketball game, or decide to play make believe games with your nephews that involve jumping on uneven surfaces to get away from imaginary crocodiles.

These movements become important when we walk and run. They are part of the process involved in propelling us forward, with the soleus and gastrocnemius acting as the main sources of propulsion, and the tibilialis anterior, hamstrings, and hip flexors functioning to accelerate the body right before the foot leaves the ground.³ The muscles that invert and evert the foot work together to prevent too much side to side motion in the ankle.

In an ideal world, everything works together, the foot can lift evenly, and you can consciously control the muscles that point, extend the foot, invert, and evert the foot in a balanced way.

The world of movement, unfortunately, is rarely ideal. Often, people lack conscious control over the ankle, are unable to move the foot evenly, or find that no matter what they do, the calf muscles remain stubbornly tight, limiting motion at the ankle.

Let’s look at a few ways to assess motion at the joint and begin exploring ways to increase range of motion and strength.

Assess Your Ankle Range of Motion

One of the most frequently used tests to check ankle range of motion in a coordinated task is the deep squat. If the ankles come off of the floor as you approach the end range of motion, you may be limited in ankle dorsiflexion. This was the test used in the paper my client brought in to determine whether the soleus could potentially be a limiting factor in the golf swing.

Here is the things with the deep squat: if you have really flexible hips, you can “cheat” the test.  The ability to keep the feet on the floor isn’t just dependent on ankle dorsiflexion (though that’s certainly a contributing factor). It also depends on pelvis position, hip flexibility, and spine flexibility. I have worked with a surprising number of people who can drop into a deep squat just fine, but when asked to do other movements, struggle to maintain heel contact with the floor. If your heels come off the ground during a squat, yes, you definitely need to address your ankle range of motion, assuming a deep squat is something you want to do. If your heels stay down in the deep squat, that’s great, but assess yourself in other positions. Does your front heel want to come off of the ground when you come into a ½ kneeling position and lunge forward a little bit? What happens in your down dog position? Or if you are facing a step with one leg on top, what happens to the back heel? Or in a pistol squat, or a shrimp squat? You get the idea.

Assessing the ability of the ankle to dorsiflex extends beyond just looking at whether the heel comes off the ground. As I mentioned earlier, the ankle can move the foot in and out as well. Being able to feel the ankle doing this movement and having a little bit of strength and mobility during inversion and eversion becomes important for athletic endeavors and ankle. If you have ever sprained an ankle, working on ankle inversion and eversion can improve the loss of proprioception that often occurs during sprains.⁴

Proprioception is your body’s sense of where it is located in space. Your ankle joint is filled with mechanoreceptors that tell your brain where the foot is in relation to the ground, which in turn allows your brain to process the best way to land/maneuver over a rock/make it down the sandy trail without slipping. Being able to feel the center of the heel against the floor is a great way to provide an overall sense of stability to the entire neuromuscular system.

Brief note about the heel and the squat:

If you watch a room full of people deep squatting, some of them, as they approach the bottom of the motion, will unconsciously spin their heels in or collapse to the inside (or outside) of their heel. Why?

People spin their heels towards each other because it creates space in the pelvis to accommodate a deeper motion by moving the femur into external rotation. Don’t believe me? Try it.

• Stand up and arrange your feet so the tips of your toes are touching two yoga blocks placed side by side, a wall, or something else that doesn’t move. Your feet should be a little bit wider than hip distance apart. Keep your toes oriented against the blocks as you squat down and your heels against the floor. How far could you comfortably go?
• Now, allow your toes to turn out, so the heels come slightly towards each other and your heels come away from each other. Now squat down. How far can you comfortably go in this position?

Most people will be able to go further in the second scenario. There are a number of reasons for this which I will leave for the people that love biomechanics to explain, but if your toes turn out when you squat, know that it doesn’t guarantee the squatting gods are going to come down and ban you from the gates of squatting heaven. In fact, sometimes the sides are asymmetrical and one turns out more than the other.

If there is something going on in the hip, for instance, to avoid discomfort, the foot will naturally rotate outward. If you were to squat with the feet parallel, you may feel pinching or irritation in the side where the foot wants to turn out a little more. If this applies to you, thank your body for its intelligence and continue turning your foot out; however, see if you can set yourself up in the position you know you are going to end up in before you squat down, and see if you can keep the heel contact with the floor centered. Do you end up on the inside of the heel when you do this?

If so, chances are pretty good you will experience a similar shift when you balance on one foot, What I mean is the weight will shift to the inside of the heel, or the outside. It may even do one thing for the left side and another for the right side.

Think of it this way. If your version of using the center of the heel is actually the inside of the heel, your perception of where your leg is will be slightly off kilter. In addition, to maintain balance on the inside of the heel, everything that follows from the knee up will be in a slightly off balanced position. This isn’t a big deal if you don’t plan on doing any single leg balance work, but if you have goals for your lower leg program, truly being able to feel where center is can significantly impact your lower limb coordination for the better.

Hip Hinging

Let’s look at how the heel position can alter the experience of a simple pattern like hip hinging. When you set up for your deadlifting patterns, how do your feet interact with the floor? Specifically, what happens in the heel? Does the weight shift or does it stay centered?

• Start standing, with your feet about hip distance apart or maybe a little bit wider.
• Let your hips move back, coming into a hip hinge.
• Your knees can either bend or stay straight, your choice.
• Return to the starting position.
• Perform this movement three or four times, observing how it feels.

Where do you feel the weight shift? How are your feet interacting with the floor? Does the movement elicit a sensation of stretching, work, or maybe a combination of both?

Imagine the inside of the foot and the outside of the are growing long. Pay attention to how the line from the inside of your heels feel to your big toes and how the line from the outside of your heels feels to your pinkie toes.

Keep pretending like your heels are reaching away from each other. Don’t let the front of your foot pull up while your heels are reaching. What do you feel? Can you keep all of the work in your feet while you come into a hip hinge? Can you keep the work in your feet as you return to the starting position? Perform this movement three or four times.

Can you feel how the sitting bones feel like they are moving away from each other instead of towards each other? What do you feel in the front of the torso? Is your experience different than your experience a moment ago, when you weren’t paying attention to your feet?

Your ability to keep the heels in contact with the floor during closed chain activities and your perception of how they connect with the floor during movements like hip hinging can dramatically alter your experience of the exercise. If you struggle with feeling work in your hips, focusing on the feet and ensuring the ankles have adequate mobility and strength can improve the coordination of the movement you are trying to accomplish.

Final Note About Ankle Mobility

In order to be able to balance on trails without fear of spraining an ankle, jump with any sort of power, or move in a coordinated way low to the ground, ankle mobility matters. Learning how to move the foot in a variety of ways will allow you to generate more power in the hips.

Let’s think about the original inspiration for this post, the golfer with the tight soleus. What happens when he improves the mobility in his ankle?

He will have the ability to move around the foot, allowing the club to generate more speed during its downward trajectory. If he has good hip mobility to go along with his ankle mobility, there will be more power at impact when he makes contact with the ball.

Establishing good range of motion and control around the ankle joint is more than working the foot in center. If you want to be strong in the ankle for athletic endeavors other than lifting weight, challenge the joint in different positions. Give yourself access to more options during your athletic endeavors so you can so you can move powerfully and with a sense of freedom. Remember, start with understanding the basics: what does center feel like? Can I point the foot fully? I can I flex the foot fully? If you are unable to do the basics, work on those for a little while. The videos below will give you a few ideas.

Once you understand forward, back, and center, play with moving the foot different ways and understand how the inside and the outside of the heel differ from the inside and the outside of the front of the foot. Begin moving around the foot in different positions, challenging more end range strength and developing mobility at a variety of angles.

Your ankles are a source of stability and power. Treat them with the same attention you give the rest of your joints. You might be surprised what happens.

References:

1. Finn, C., (2013). Rehabilitation of low back pain in golfers. Sports Health, 5(4), 313-319.

2. Strom, M., Thorborg, K., Bandholm, T., Tang, L., Zebis, M., Nielsen, K., & Benke, J., (2016). Ankle joint control during single-legged balance using common balance training devices- implications for rehabilitation strategies. International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 11(3), 388-399.

3. Hamner, S.R., Seth, A., & Delp. S.L., (2011). Muscle contributions to propulsion and support during running. Journal of Biomechanics. 43(14), 2709-2716.

4. Yong, M-S., & Lee, Y-S., (2017). Effect of ankle proprioceptive exercises on standard and dynamic balance in normal adults. Journal of Physical Therapy Science, 29(2), 242-244.

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Wearing the Tights

Fortunately, the size medium Flexi Lexi yoga tights stayed put while I arm balanced, twisted, and contorted myself into a variety of positions for thirty minute sessions several times over the course of two weeks. Not only that, but they were white, a color that can be hard to wear because of its propensity to let light shine through in places you would rather it didn’t. Incredibly, they weren’t see-through, and the three toed sloth pattern was far more fun than I expected.

The tights are a little warm, so if you have a tendency to run hot or you are practicing in a really warm climate, these might serve you better when the winter months roll around. They were perfect for the temperate, 65 degree weather on the central coast of California, but anything much warmer would have been a little bit uncomfortable. This might be due to their composition; they are 27% Spandex, 73% polyester, materials that aren’t exactly known for their breathability.

Size medium fit me well. I am 5’1” and 125 pounds; I generally wear a size 6. They were comfortably snug without being too tight. The waistband is mid-rise and they were ankle length on me, but I suspect on the average person, they would hit more above the ankle.

Flexi Lexi Hits the Mark

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised and I would recommend the brand. They are high quality and offer freedom to move without causing the practitioner any reason to be self-conscious; in fact, catching a glimpse of the three-toed sloths made me smile, and when your clothes make you smile, your workout is just a little bit easier.

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Here are the movements we’ll be working with:

Do the following routine as a circuit, 1-3 times through:

• Side plank – 20s/side
• Quadruped knee circles – 5 forward and 5 backward, each leg
• Rocking hip flexor mobilization – 10e ach side
• Y-W-Handcuff – x12
• Shoe Squeeze Glute Bridge – x10
• World’s greatest lunge – 5 each side
• Knee distractions – x5
• Thoracic rotations – x5
• Triangle – x5
• Counterbalance squat – x10

That should leave your body warm and feeling better. If you feel a surge of motivation and want to add something more, these three stretches have a huge bang for the buck. Some light foam rolling goes well before these stretches.

• Twisted monkey – 10 breaths per side (modification is couch stretch)
• Pigeon – 10 breaths per side
• GMB shoulder chest stretch- 10 breaths

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I’m going to walk you through two scenarios:

1. Where you may feel like your hamstrings are tight, but they really aren’t.
2. When your hamstrings are actually tight.

Neurological Tightness Versus Mechanical Tightness

Before we break down these two scenarios, let me first explain the difference between mechanical and neurological tightness:

• Mechanical tightness occurs when a muscle is actually shortened, which is most often caused by poor posture or movement.
• Neurological tightness, on the other hand, occurs when the muscle is consistently lengthened.

What happens in the case of neurological tightness is that because the muscles are lengthened they receive additional neural input, thought to be a protective response. Essentially, the body is trying to prevent the muscle from being stretched too far, so you experience the sense that the muscle is tight.

“What happens in the case of neurological tightness is that because the muscles are lengthened they receive additional neural input, thought to be a protective response.“

The best way I can explain this is by thinking of a rubber band. Stretch it as far as you can and the band itself becomes taut. This is exactly what happens to the muscles in our body.

Scenario One: Neurological Tightness

In this situation, trying to stretch your hamstrings isn’t going to help the problem. Instead, it will simply further lengthen the tissue. You may experience some relief from stretching (similar to when you stretch your lumbar spine), but you aren’t reaching the actual problem and why you feel tight. The relief will only be temporary. Once it passes, you will feel like you need to stretch the hamstrings again, and again.

RELATED: Hamstring Mechanics During Sprinting: Insight Into Injury

To get to the root of the problem, you need to be assessed by a movement specialist. The problem could be due to a number of different factors, but the most common is a mechanical tightness of the hip flexors. If your hip flexors are tight, the pelvis can become tilted forward. Because our hamstrings are attached to the back of the pelvis, this tilting will cause the hamstrings to be maintained in a lengthened position.

This means that instead of stretching the hamstrings, you should actually be working on strengthening them so they can counteract the anterior pelvic tilt position, while also working to mobilize the anterior hip.

“If your hip flexors are tight, the pelvis can become tilted forward….This tilting will cause the hamstrings to be maintained in a lengthened position.”

Another common problem with “tight hamstrings” is that you are simply not moving properly or using proper motor sequencing. In this situation, muscles aren’t activating and firing at the appropriate time, causing your hamstring to do much of the work other muscles are supposed to do.

For example, when extending the hip, your glutes should fire first, followed by the secondary hamstrings. For many people, the glutes don’t fire properly (in some cases barely at all) and the hamstrings take over the main job of extending the hip. But the hamstrings weren’t designed to be the primary mover here, and they will therefore have to be contracted for longer – giving you the feeling of tightness.

How to Fix Neurological Tightness

One of my favorite exercises in this situation is what’s called the active isolated hamstring stretch. And yes, it does stretch the hamstrings to some degree, but more than anything this exercise is fantastic at training proper sequencing and muscle patterns. In fact, I don’t love the name of the exercise because I find it to be anything but isolated.

Active isolated hamstring stretch

To do this exercise, you lie on the ground with a rope over one foot. Then, you should squeeze your glutes, followed by your quads, and then actively lift up your leg as high as it can go.

When the leg won’t go any further, you can give a gentle pull with the rope, and hold for only about one second. Repeat this for about 8-10 reps.

“[Y]our brain learns what muscles should fire and when, allowing proper and efficient movement.”

You usually gain some significant range of motion – not necessarily because you are stretching the muscle (remember, you’re only holding about one second), but because you are training proper muscle programming. In other words, your brain learns what muscles should fire and when, allowing proper and efficient movement.

Scenario Two: Mechanical Tightness

Let’s move on to the second potential situation, where your hamstrings are actually shortened, and they are tight. If this is the case – go ahead and stretch your hamstrings. But remember, until you rectify the root cause for them being tight, you are going to be chasing a never-ending problem.

Find out why your hamstrings are short. Is it because you’re weak in the front of your hips and your pelvis is posteriorly rotated? Is it because of the position you sit in all day? Until you figure out the why, you’re not going to resolve the issue.

Left: Good sitting position; Right: Bad sitting position

The Take Home

Before you spend hours per week stretching your hamstrings, get a quick assessment and find out if in fact you should be stretching – or if you need to be working on something entirely different, like strengthening or motor programming. A movement specialist can easily assess and let you know if your muscle is physically shortened or lengthened or if you simply need to move differently. It will save you a lot of time, and prevent you from injuring yourself in the future.

The post Stretching Your Hamstrings Isn’t Always Best appeared first on Breaking Muscle.