Second Nature Fitness

New blog at wisconsinbjj.com: The Squat, Part 2 - The Set Up

   Earlier this week I addressed some of the myths and fears about the squat. Today we’re going to talk about how to squat weight safely and effectively. For simplicity’s sake, a squat will be a barbell back squat. There are many varieties of squats, all with their own benefits and drawbacks. For the barbell alone there is the front squat (where the bar is placed on the front of the body, across the chest and shoulders), the overhead squat (where the bar is held overhead with arms extended and elbows locked), the Zercher squat (bar held in the crook of the elbows), the Jefferson squat (I won’t even begin to explain this one), et al. The squat is a movement that can be infinitely varied for just about any purpose (some more valuable than others). Its adaptability and central nervous system (CNS) demand make it an essential movement, and one of the most valuable for gaining strength and mobility.

   There are three key points you must remember when squatting: hips, back and heels. Today we’ll talk about the back:

   Spinal integrity is the most important component of the squat. There are some coaches who claim that the squat is a movement to be avoided due to the spine as a limiting factor - meaning that for some people (usually elite athletes), the legs can actually move more weight that the spine can support. This is in rare and extreme cases, and powerlifters are living proof of the potential strength of the spine/back. Many elite lifters can squat upwards of 1000lbs! Yes, many wear weight belts, but the lift still demands incredible strength of the spinal support muscles (aka “the core”). So for your average (or more than average) lifter, the back stands to gain strength and stability through squats.

  Crucial to a good squat is correct positioning: set up under the bar, grabbing with hands just outside shoulder-width (a bit wider if you have tight shoulders). Place the bar on the shelf created by your rear delts (shoulders) and traps - too high and it will sit on your last cervical vertebrae and place undue pressure on your spine. Too low and you’ll have to support it with your arms, which will be uncomfortable and put too much strain on your shoulders and wrists. There is a bit of debate amongst lifters as to which is the more valuable bar positioning: Olympic weightlifters utilize the high bar position which shifts the center of gravity slightly forward making it a more quad-centric movement, while powerlifters prefer a low bar position which places the bar much lower on the back, allowing the lifter to sit back much further, putting the emphasis of the lift onto the hamstrings. Both have their benefits, and I recommend playing around with each to see which fits your body type and goals.

   Once you’ve established your bar position, you must now establish your arch. It used to be that I heard gasps of fear when I said the word “arch” - to say it was taboo, and the safe word to use was “straight back.” We live in a world of rounded backs and complete thoracic immobility, though, so to get most people to create any semblance of a “straight” back, or at least one with a natural curve, I must emphasize the arch. The goal is not to create a super arch (think pin-up girl), as some people are naturally hyper-flexible and can put too much strain on their lower backs by arching further, but instead to drive the shoulder blades back and down as if trying to touch them to the hips, push the ribs forward and lock the hips into position. It is in this position that we are able to most safely recruit all of our spinal support muscles (transversus abdominis, multifidus, internal and external obliques, rectus abdominis, and the erector spinae, mostly). This is critical in safely establishing the squat position, and it’s probably one of the best “core” strengthening movements you can do. 

   The lats and glutes are critical in establishing your arch, as they’re important stabilizing muscles that are rarely referenced and even more rarely used in a support capacity. The lats help hold the shoulder blades in position and  stabilize the spine, while the glutes are principal in keeping the trunk upright. Pulling the elbows back while the bar is on the back will help activate the lats, but it’s not as easy to keep the glutes turned on throughout the squat. Here’s where we bring out the awkward cue: squeeze your sphincter. If you keep tight “down there” you’ll keep all of your deep core muscles active and maintain that spinal integrity.

   Once your back is set, then you’re ready to move. Next time we’ll get into the rest of the squat, going from set up to squatting.

Reflections on the Arnold’s 2011 (Subtitled What Inspires You?)

   Now comfortably seated one week past the 2011 Arnold’s Sports Festival, I bring you my thoughts and recollections of this preeminent fitness clusterfuck.

  With three years of attendance under my belt, I feel confident in my utter confusion regarding the event. One part inspiring and two parts horribly depressing, The Arnold’s are best described as, I suppose, a mixed bag. A gaggle (more of a swarming mass, really) of spray-tanned douche bags hopped up on NOXplode roam the expo floor, ogling barely-dressed booth babes, buying loads of incredibly sketchy supplements and posturing to each other.

   Yet the main stage of the expo hall is, for the most part, given over to the strongmen. The Arnold Classic, an esteemed, world-class strongman event attended by the sport’s top athletes occupies a large portion of the stage time and commands the attention of thousands of attendees. Even better, during breaks between strongman events, the stage is overtaken by amateur strongmen/grip strength competitors engaging in the aptly titled “Mighty Mitts” grip competition.

  Less popular events are relegated to less visible conference rooms off to the side of the expo hall, with more space given to up and coming forms of physical culture/fitness such as Crossfit (who’s event schedule mirrored the chaotic nature of their training). Olympic weightlifting remained the stalwart resident of the ‘C’ conference rooms, while powerlifting, usurped by Crossfit, slide down to the ‘E’ rooms.

  The entire even, in scale and execution, is without question awe-inspiring, I witnessed, both in close proximity and on stage, some of the most famous implements of strength-testing - the Thomas Inch dumbbell, Apollen’s Wheel, the Circus Dumbbell - all tested the mettle of all strongman comers.I was lucky to sit in the presence of such physical culture luminaries as David Webster, John Fair and Jan & Terry Todd, in addition to some standout (both in performance and person) strongmen like Derek Poundstone, Nick Best and Andrew Durniat.

  Despite the seemingly inescapable tide of bullshit, it is both reassuring and inspiring to know there are giants of physical culture (both in stature and knowledge) past, present and future, there to illuminate the path.

Get Sick

I’ve been at the bottom of a hole 10 miles deep. Swimming in sand and walking in a haze. Feeling as feeble as a newborn and as decrepit as a 90 year old man.

I hate being sick.

Yet I pulled through, as I always do. It’s amazing how insignificant sickness feels once you’re through it. For sure, it’s the pits when you’re in the throes, but out the other side? Meh, it was just a lil cough. But now I feel reborn, possessed with a vibrant energy that has replaced the cloudy stupor that laid over my countenance for the last 48 hours…48 hours? Really? Is that all it was? I could’ve sworn it was more like three weeks…

I’ll be honest with you: I’m a huge baby about being sick. I hate it. The only thing I hate more is being injured. Being “unable” is my most dreaded state. It makes me cranky, irritable, whiny and generally unpleasant. What it does do, though, is offer perspective (remember our talk about setbacks?). It allows me to appreciate my body’s full capacity. Sometimes seeing how bad things could be allows us to appreciate how good things are, and can be.

It is a well-worn existential quandary: how are we to know joy without misery? Or in the words of Mike Judge’s muse Beavis: “But, like, how are we supposed to know stuff rules without stuff that sucks? If we don’t know stuff sucks, how do we know stuff rules?” Call it karmic balance, call it good and evil, call it sucky or rule…y? But sometimes a reminder of our limitations offer us insight into our potential. Isn’t that a core tenant of physical culture? To push and expand the limits of the body, to explore, define and re-define ourselves through our physical self.

So yeah, being sick sucks. But being better rules.

Setbacks

There is often talk of how we move forward, whether it be in fitness, career or simply life. What falls by the wayside is how we address our failures and deal with obstacles. It is all fine and good to discuss methods to progress and methods overcome simple obstacles, but how do we deal with those things that we cannot immediately defeat? More importantly, how do we handle those things we simply cannot conquer?

Injury, fear and failure: in these three we may be addressing the same thing, or at least several faces of a multi-headed beast. When we are faced with setbacks, failures, injuries or defeats, the future may seem bleak. Cliches abound, but truly, how we may we find our way back? Will things ever return to how they were “before?” Do we have the potential to return to full strength or will we be forever compromised?

Some find solace in hopeful words. Others are fueled by bitterness.

Despite our best efforts sometimes we are faced with unsurmountable challenges - problems that defy even our most valiant attempts. Dare we persist and risk that old Sisyphean folly? Or is it better to walk away and risk the beast of What If (a favorite comic of mine as a kid, far and away better than the similarly named farce - What The…?!)

Since I’ve already outed my inner nerd, I might as well continue the comparison: just as Uatu (the Watcher) observed from afar, glimpsing into the alternate realities of what might have been, we too can gain perspective by stepping away from the immediacies of our problems and assessing the situation from a distance. Herein lies the value of community, or at least one benefit: support. Communication. Reassurance. Other voices who understand the language of the problem, and can provide the knowledge and the means to address it.

The duty of a coach is not simply to provide the tools to succeed, but also to reassure in times of doubt. Experience begets confidence, or at least the ability to differentiate between those things that are conquerable, and those which are best left to rest - the beasts which present impossible challenges.

A Question of Goals

(WCS Repost from 2009)

Recently we’ve been talking a lot about WHAT to do and HOW to do it. I thought that this week we’d take a bit of a break and dig a little bit deeper, instead discussing WHY we train and what drives us to succeed, or causes us to fail. Central to this discussion is the question of goals: what are they, how can we use them and why do we need them? It seems much simpler to walk into the gym, perform our movements of choice and leave, foregoing larger structure and pursuing the moment. Many of us train in this fashion – day in and day out, chasing some vaguely defined notion of what we want to achieve, working more on the struggle of getting into the gym, without really even considering what “there” might be.  No matter what your poison (BJJ, kickboxing, strength training, running, etcetera), goals are an essential part of training. It is, of course, why they call it training. I cannot over-emphasizing the importance of goal-setting. Without a greater target, we have no motivation to succeed. If you do not have a reason, you will inevitably stray from your course of action.

Perhaps your definition of success does not lie in competition – this does not preclude you from considering goals, though  – whether the opponent is internal or external, we must face what opposes us and prepare accordingly. Goals provide us with intentions, direction and obstacles. You cannot defeat an enemy which you cannot define. In his Five Principles of Enduring Human Happiness, Dr. Paul Hatherly outlines five actions for achieving happiness: Understanding, Caring, Mastery, Creativity and Contribution. According to Dr.Hatherly, we must first discover and define certain truths about ourselves and our wants versus needs before we may truly begin our path to happiness. In terms of goal-setting, understanding is essential for identifying our strengths, weaknesses and needs, as well as building our base of knowledge, providing us with the necessary tools for us to progress towards our goal.

Caring is a bit of a no-brainer: understanding helps us to define our goals, but Caring is what drives us to succeed. Caring is motivation. If you are not motivated to a goal, then either you do not yet fully understand it, or it falls outside of your personal realm of concern. If it is health-related (such as doctor-prescribed weight loss, or rehabilitation), then a lack of understanding may lead you to marginalize the import of the goal, but say you are pursuing a course of action to become a runner, but you simply cannot motivate yourself, as you hate running, hate training for it and have no real desire, well, perhaps running is not the correct pursuit for you.

Mastery is the meat of the matter, for certain. We cannot expect to decide on a course of action, sit back and expect results. Constant striving, reflection, adaptation and commitment are vital to progress, and also integrate fairly seamlessly to Dr. Hatherly’s fourth principle, Creativity: on our path to the mastery of our goals, we must continuous mold and re-mold our aims, intentions and tools. To reach our fullest potential, we must re-interpret we what perceive to be our goals, then apply the knowledge we have gained along the path. This, of course, is interchangeable on many levels with Contribution. Dr. Hatherly discusses Contribution in terms of the propagation of knowledge, happiness and contribution, but we can still consider it in our context in terms of utilization – what good is a skill hard-earned unused? When we further ourselves, we create a responsibility to share that success with others. What good is a belt if the skills that came from years of study go unutilized? That is not to say that all goals must be martial in aim, but it provides an apt analogy. If your goal is fitness-related, it is all but assumed that the goal in question will lead to some manner of life improvement, whether it be sports performance or simple quality of life.

This does raise the question of intention, though: what good are goals that are based on external motivations? The fitness industry (outside the realm of sports/martial arts performance) is based almost entirely on the aesthetic. Every program, tool or video touts its ability to improve a certain aspect of the human body. Things have spiraled so far out of control that the body parts in question are not even involved in functional movement, but instead areas of natural body fat deposit. That’s not to say that Americans don’t have body fat to spare (unfortunately they do, in spades), but the point is moot. Misdirection is the primary tool of modern fitness, and it leads the public down a hole chasing rabbits. Establishing real goals that actually impact your life and fitness will undoubtedly create progress, unlike short term immediate gratification-type goals, which may create the illusion of progress hidden under the veil of popular science, new theories and muscle “burn,” but inevitably lead to plateau, burn-out and frustration. Discover what you truly want to achieve, undertake a well-thought-out plan that considers both the short term and the long, enact said plan, commit to it, continue to learn, re-evaluate and adapt along the path, and achieve. Don’t forget to enjoy yourself along the way, for that is, truth be told, where the thrill lies. Lose yourself in the movement, but always keep in mind your objective.

WCS Repost - The Mental Game

An older post from over at wicombatsports.com. Some pretty good insights (if I do say so myself). Reminders of the necessity of mindfulness and reflection in movement are always welcome and ever-important.

Fitness is sorely lacking in a cerebral component. For some reason the physical has become disconnected from the mental – except, perhaps, in the most banal and superficial ways possible (“it’s all in your head” or other such painful clichés). Mass-market fitness focuses entirely on appealing to the visceral, foregoing any pretense of intellectualism and reducing its opinion of the public to a horde of slobbering idiots. Truth be told, you don’t have to be a scholar of any discipline to be fit, but it doesn’t hurt. At times it seems an impossibility to rectify strength and conditioning with intellectual pursuits, but this week we’ll talk about how it might be possible to be both the brains and the brawn.

A friend of mine referred me to an obscure academic citation attributed to a theologian named Macarius Aegypticus that, I think, sums up my personal training philosophy quite aptly, and also presents an interesting talking point on the subject of how we view fitness: is it inappropriate to bring academia to the gym? Some of the best coaches in the world have devised their training methodologies from a fusion of exercise science and cultural philosophies, but, on the other hand, is it uncouth to bring our physical training into our ideological discussions? The marginalization of fitness and strength training has reduced the opinion of physical culture (the culmination of the aforementioned physical pursuits) in the minds of academic scholars, artists and other such “brains” to the point of distaste. There are exceptions, of course, but all too often such intelligentsia view engagement in physical activity as a base necessity – a health-related necessity that is wholly separate and a distraction from that which is truly necessary, or important. Seneca (a Roman Stoic), warned against too much time spent in exercise, claiming that students “…waste their life-force and render it less fit to bear a strain or the [more severe] studies.” There is truth in abbreviated training, both scientifically and mentally, but is it so hard to combine the pursuits of the flesh and the mind? Christian Ascetes, according to Foucault, devoted themselves so fully to the pursuit of theological thought that they entirely ignored their physical being.

And let us not forget those who revel in the physical: athletes, competitors, lifters, runners and grapplers – the ones who find joy and fulfillment in movement. There is an indefinable ecstasy in physical activity (which could, of course, be traced back to raised serotonin, endorphins and the like – but that’s not today’s point) that brings them back, day after day, yet they hesitate to reconcile this communion with movement against their philosophies, ideologies and beliefs. The realm of the book holds little for them beyond reference, and they scoff at discussions of the metaphysical, for there is time for the body, and separately, the mind.

   Let me return to my original point: Aegypticus asserts that as there are five senses of body, there are similarly five senses of the soul: knowledge, understanding, discernment, endurance and mercy. There are similes that jump quickly to the mind, and I shall leave you to determine these in terms of your own exercise program. Instead, let us examine these five senses as they relate to the foundational philosophies of Second Nature Fitness: Aegypticus mentions no particular order to his senses of the soul, but I would suggest that knowledge begets understanding, and understanding, discernment. Discernment provides us with endurance in the form of patience, and patience allows us mercy. Once we are informed (knowledge) we are able to become aware (understanding) and that allows us to take a critical eye (discernment). Endurance is the easiest sense to translate into the physical, but consider it more on the level of persistence and patience: with the ability to be an educated and discerning student, whether it be of the physical or academic, we must process that much more information before reaching truth. We view mercy not so much as compassion (though it could be suggested that denying our bodies mercy in the gym teaches us to be merciful to others), but instead an expression of strength: through the cultivation of power and will, we learn the truest meaning of strength.

What the hell is all of this supposed to mean, you may ask? A mentor of mine by the name of Chip Conrad  wrote a book entitled Lift With Your Head wherein he explores the philosophy of weight training and the importance of critical thinking, both in the gym and out. All too often we become complacent in life, and the gym is no exception: days and nights overfilled with information and white noise leave us seeking quietude and direction. Unfortunately, too many fall prey to the siren call of muscle magazines and infomercials, losing themselves to treadmills, fluorescent lights and chrome EZ curl bars. Conrad suggests that we instead need to seek knowledge, informing ourselves in the why, not just the what. That aforementioned tsunami of information can be daunting, though, and intimidating in its manufactured aggression, but now that we’re all enlightened physical culturists, we have the tools to absorb, process and implement anything the world throws at us.

Fitness Rebellion.

I wrote this after I re-watched the documentary American Hardcore and thought (as I often do) about the correlation of underground music and physical sub-culture. Enjoy (or don’t).

  Time is oppressively cyclical. The mistakes of our forebearers inevitabley become ours. They may take on a different face, but the same strife, the same confusion, misdirection and ignorance are all but unavoidable. The same voices seem to shout from the ages, shrieking ideas and messages that we once took for our own brand new creations, but they continue to go unheard by the vast majority of people. How can we break the cycle?

  In the same way that American was in a musical/moral/fashionable state of facism in the late 1970s and early 80s, we are again caught in the vortex of white man’s rule, corporate vacuousness and manufactured cool. Except now music and fashion have become benign, and youthful rebellion has be relegated to a tool of clothing manufacturers, cell phone companies and social networking websites. Our counterculture image has been co-opted by pornography, and our self-expression through hair, clothes and nihilistic attitude are rendered similarly ineffectual by the marketing juggernaut.

 Fitness is no better: just as we were promised success, happiness and the American Dream in the 80s, we are now promised ripped abs, endless life and physical perfection if we buy into the newest scam. It’s not school, work or polo shirts now, but instead crunches, diet drinks and Under Armor. Just as disco and arena rock recycled, exploited and twisted valid music and culture, fitness now promises new results from old ideas re-packaged.

  We are at an impasse and rebellion is the only escape. Fitness has commodified revolution, removed its teeth and erased its own history. We need to jump down the rabbit hole, take the red pill, step through the looking glass. It is time to turn away from the self-destructive funhouse mirror of mainstream fitness, escape the mundanity of the manufactured life and embrace the truth that’s been there all along.

Ability

I deal in ability. It is my specialty. Whatever you want to be able to do, we can make happen, with time and effort. You want a custom motorcycle? You go to an expert builder. Hand-crafted furniture? Master carpenter. My expertise lay in the body. I provide you with the knowledge and resources to become able. It is your duty as the trainee to put these tools to use.

All too often the job of a trainer or coach becomes nothing more than a glorified cheerleader- pats on the back become crutches, and we demand reassurance/ vindication/postive reinforcement for everything we do, regardless of whether or
not it is correct. We lose the ability to take constructive criticism and seek out only those things at which we already excel. We shun the new and different, while simultaneously continuing our avoidance of those things with which we have
unsuccessful histories - a pattern of behavior that only compounds our weaknesses and eventually decays our strengths.

If we do not take that path of resistance, if we cannot face our fears and insecurities head-on, we will be forever unable to conquer them. If we are to succeed, we must seek out that which scares us, that which holds us back. We must be unafraid of failure. Embrace it. Seek out those who fill us with the knowledge and the motivation to succeed. Do not be tricked by false praise, it does nothing but build paper tigers.

Knowledge is the key to progress. Knowledge empowers us, fills us with confidence in our actions - true confidence which keeps us afloat when we inevitably fail. It provides us with the resources to persist, to reassess and to know why we have fallen and how we may stand back up.

Do not mistake my frankness for disrespect. Do not mistake my economy of words for apathy. Coaching is about breeding success, not perpetuating insecurities and false pride. Every suggestion I give is not to break you down, but to rebuild you. I have a vested interest in your progress. I want you to succeed just as bad as you do- probably more. I will never bullshit you, never lie about your performance. I will give you all of the tools to make you succeed. I will give you everything I have. All I ask is you do the same.

WCS Blog Vol 4: Programming Part 3

OK, so let’s say you’ve followed my advice and developed a solid base – that is, you’re inury-free, have decent alignment, motor co-ordination and balance – all the components of a good fitness foundation. You’ve prepared the body through GPP (General Prepared-ness), addressed muscular weaknesses and imbalances, and are for all intents and purposes, physiologically sound. For some, this set of circumstances is a given, due to a history of athletics, structured fitness programming or plain old genetic luck. It’s possible that you may fall into this category, but even more likely that you have over-estimated your foundation and are in need of some corrections (a common mistake of the ego that we’ve addressed in previous columns). I urge all trainees seeking strength and conditioning improvement to meet with a competent, knowledgeable coach in order to have their abilities assessed with a skillful, critical eye.

To return to the point at hand: any gross issues with motor co-ordination, posture or strength weaknesses can usually be corrected within a matter of a few short weeks. Those with a long history of repeat injury or inactivity may take longer, but the general length of the corrective or rudimentary introductory period is four to six weeks of focused training. Again, the length of this phase varies widely from person to person, and depends wholly on the trainee, their availability and commitment. Once a solid foundation achieved comes the true introduction to the weight training world.

I have no doubt that the majority of this audience is familiar with weight training in some capacity – images of hulking, muscle-bound men adorn the covers of all manner of magazines, star in all of our favorite movies and now even run some of our biggest states. The truth is, weight training is widely known, but rarely understood. I am regularly pulled into conversations that begin one of two ways:

1.“Have you heard of the _______ (insert magazine/celebrity/infomercial name here) program? It gets you huge AND shredded so fast!”
2.“Yeah, my football coach put us on this program and we all got so huge and shredded SO FAST!”

Most trainees discover weight training either in pursuit of aesthetic benefits (weight loss/gain) or improved sports performance. Both are valid goals, but undertaken in vastly different ways, and all too often, we want the best of both worlds.

We are lulled into complacency by the never-ending white noise of culture. There are constantly voices screaming into our faces the easiest, fastest ways to what we want (which is, big surprise, what they tell us we want). This creates a lot of background noise to any truth that may be out there, which is, incredibly, much more simple than they would have you believe. I’m going to (very quickly) bust a few myths: one – you need to eat REAL FOOD (this means vegetables, too) and no supplement can replace that; two – you don’t have to do six bicep exercises, even if you only do them once a week; three – the only way you are going to get bigger is by eating more and getting stronger.

The fitness world is largely unregulated. The process to get a supplement approved by the FDA is extensive, difficult and prohibitively expensive. You know what’s a whole lot easier? Putting a tiny disclaimer at the bottom of your product/infomercial that says, “Product not evaluated by the FDA.” So put that to rest right now – your supplements are garbage, throw them out. I don’t care how “jacked up” you felt on NO-Xplode. Furthermore, there are too many fitness tools out there. The problem is, we all want the shortcut. I know you’ve heard it a million times before, but it’s painfully true. As I mentioned in Programming Part 1, I see frustratingly high amounts of clients and trainees that want huge results within a few weeks. I rarely get a chance to work with an athlete for more than two weeks before an event. Fighters, take note: professional MMA fighters have training camps of AT LEAST six weeks. These are world-class athletes who are already in top condition and only need to hone their skills. You MUST put in extensive training to establish a base. For any significant strength, speed or power improvements I have to see a client for no less than six weeks. Sure, gains can be seen with four weeks, but for optimal performance, a trainee must allow proper preparation. All I can do in two weeks is marginally improve endurance and increase mental toughness (in regards to fatigue).

Back to the point at hand. People want to take the easiest route, and refuse to face the most obvious fact of all: you must work hard to make gains. I don’t care if your definition of “gain” is weight loss, lean muscle mass gain, reduced body fat, increased power or strength, or just “general health improvement.” What is needed is not more tools, but more effective ways to utilize the tools at hand.

A Brief History of Weightlifting in Time

There was a time where strength was strength, and fitness was a given due to the prevalence of manual labor jobs. Children ran and played, adults moved on a daily basis, and exercise was mostly unnecessary due to active lifestyles. Displays of strength, agility and dexterity were still highly respected, and such champions of strength as Eugene Sandow, Arthur Saxon, and George Hackenschmidt were world renowned for their feats. Sandow in particular popularized the aesthetic beauty of the powerful body, creating a demand for training that built muscles. Until this point, looking strong had been inherently linked to BEING strong. Of course, as with all things in the popular eye, people now wanted the benefits without the work. Enter the bodybuilding era. Methods focusing on building muscles, creating the impression of strength became the goal of trainees. Feats of strength became an underground phenomenon, a passé interest of nostalgics. Complex routines, muscle building exercises and impressive physiques took center stage and still hold the eye of the public. Of course, the cartoonish nature of contemporary bodybuilding is off-putting to the general public, but still influences the desire for large arms and a small waist. This creates an interesting paradox – I could not count the times people say to me, “I want to be big – but not TOO big!” An entire generation of young men walks the Earth in fear of losing their “six pack,” remaining weak and malnourished in its defense.

The point is this: to be big you must be strong. To have muscles that stand out, you must work said muscles. If you want bigger arms, you must be a bigger person. Another common mistake by novice (or untrained) trainees is the utilization of bodybuilding-style movements in hopes of increasing the size of certain muscles (the aforementioned arms, chest and back, usually) without attention to individual needs, sports-specificity or overall strength. If you want to be big (or huge and shredded), eat more, train hard and sleep more. It’s that easy. The body needs challenging, multi-joint movements to stimulate growth and disrupt homeostasis (remember? It still works here). The central nervous system (CNS) must be taxed in order to induce strength and size gains. This is a primary pitfall of bodybuilding training, especially in its diluted form (as used by most trainees). The core lifts (squat/press/deadlift/power clean) are eliminated because of their “danger” (read: difficulty) and replaced with more curls and leg presses. These kinds of activities are not challenging enough to stimulate the aforementioned CNS taxation. Any successful athlete, strongman or even bodybuilder regularly uses these exercises. It is critically important that any trainee seeking improved sports performance, body composition or better health learn how to correctly perform these exercises.

Using these core lifts (squat/press/deadlift/power clean) depend on your ability, needs and limitations. There are infinite variations, programming modalities and tools. The key is to use them. The body does not use each muscle individually, and the trainee must thereby use movements that reflect the intricacies and demands of their sport or daily life – not what they see others do in the gym. In future columns we will address the details of these lifts, but in the meanwhile, there are a number of informative resources available that describe them in depth, and I urge you to explore them and learn how to correctly perform and integrate them into your programming.

WCS Blog Vol 4: Programming Part 2 - GPP

Dr. Mel Siff wrote a fantastic book entitled Supertraining, in which he discusses the theory of General Physical Preparedness and its sister concept, Specific Physical Preparedness (also known as Sports-Specific Preparedness). There are innumerable names for these models, and infinite varieties breaking down the intricacies therein, but we will use GPP and SPP for our purposes, breaking down SPP into two commonly referenced components, strength and power. Of course there is overlap, and there are no absolutes, but this allows us a general structure from where we may develop training programs.

General Physical Preparedness (or GPP) has experienced a massive rise in popularity over the past five years, due in no small part to the popularization of Crossfit – an organization that combines gymnastics, Olympic weightlifting, traditional strength training and a huge dose of intensity. Opinions on the organization vary wildly but boil down to this: GPP has been around for years and used by coaches and trainers. It’s a concept, and part of an effective training program – not a magical workout program that will grant all your wildest dreams. Again, trainee short-sightedness causes people to latch onto a concept and view it as the absolute truth and the only thing needed to achieve success, but it is important to realize that any program, any exercise, any piece of equipment is nothing more than a tool. Just as an able craftsman is necessary to wield a tool effectively, a knowledgeable coach is necessary to develop a safe and effective program.

GPP is still crucial, though – it creates a stable foundation from where a trainee may build (or re-build) his or her physical career. It is the all-important time where trainee weaknesses are flushed out and addressed, structural stability is created and skill training takes hold. A good introductory program (Level 1, GPP, stability, foundational, novice or beginner – whatever you want to call it) utilizes simple, multi-joint movements that stimulate high threshold motor unit recruitment, promotes stability, develops range of motion and flexibility, and lays the foundation in skill training for future training. It is your body’s probationary period. Anything you might ignore or forgo will come out in stark relief when you progress to the next level.

All too often trainees skip the first level (GPP), perhaps because it might seem tedious, frustrating, or they feel like they’ve already got a sound base. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – you can’t put on your jacket before you’ve put on your shirt. Develop a solid foundation, ensure your body is prepared and you will skyrocket through your initial stages. That’s not to say that once you have a good base in GPP you won’t ever have to use it again, it’s still an essential part of a good training program. Use it wisely, and regularly.

Any good GPP program that we use at Second Nature Fitness includes bodyweight training for structural strength and stability development (as well as range of motion/flexibility), skill training in a maximal strength/force development movement and some element of intensity in order to elicit positive metabolic responses (a.k.a. cardiovascular work). Here’s an example we’ve been exploring lately: 5 sets of 5 reps doing kettlebell-Turkish get-ups to start. Begin with a proper warm-up (of course), then proceed to work up to the heaviest weight you can lift without compromising your form. Do both sides consecutively, then rest for 60 seconds and repeat. This is Part One. Once you’ve completed your 5 sets, rest for as long as needed, then enjoy Part Two: 30 seconds work, and 30 seconds of rest for 3-5 rounds, alternating between the following exercises – 1. burpees 2. overhead squats 3. pull-ups 4. alternating lunges 5. kettlebell swings. Count your reps and match or beat them each time. Again, this is just an example, and GPP work-outs can consist of anything from traditional strength training done in circuit format, to sled-pulling, to kettlebell complexes and more. It’s really only limited by your imagination. Just begin with the basics and work from there.

All too often we limit our programming by assuming we must adhere to a specific formula - which is partially true - there is a method and progression is essential to achieving results. There is freedom in choosing your program and the movements therein. Next time we’ll discuss dogmatic-ism in programming and it’s negative implications on training.