Get Moving - Everything You Need to Know About Sticking to A Fitness Program

You’ve spent years telling yourself you’ll commit to changing your lifestyle.

Maybe shed some weight and tone up.

You’ve tried a variety of diets and workout classes, but it never sticks. 

You start motivated, it's mach 10 for a few weeks, and then you end up frustrated. 

Because you have a life, you have a full-time job, there are bills to pay, and kids to get to soccer practice. Who has time to commit to the amount of training it would take to be beach ready in the next eight weeks? It doesn't feel like there’s enough time to commit to a transformational workout program.

Let’s reframe this conversation. You’re choosing action. This is a good thing. You haven’t failed because you’re still looking to solve the problem. Where do you go from here? Consider the topics below for getting started (or restarted) with a fitness program.

Does This Thing Work?

You may feel like your body is “too far gone” to workout, but people of all ages and fitness levels go to the gym every day. I have trained people with joint replacements, parkinsons, and cases of advanced aging. There is always a way to adapt training to the individual. A trainer can help (more on this later).

All exercises have alternatives. Alternatives work the same muscles in a similar way. Use the variation as a start point to progress to others. The fun stuff will come later.

Go easy if you’re a beginner. One hard workout won’t change everything, but 100 moderate workouts will. Use this as a chance to care for your body, not punish it.

Get Real About Your Schedule

Starting a workout routine can be overwhelming and exciting. Most people start by over-committing their time. You don’t need to train like you’re in the military to improve your health. 

My personal experience and the research shows that as little as 90 minutes each week can have a profound impact. This can be broken up into two hour long sessions, three 30 minute sessions, or six 15 minute sessions a week. Whatever you choose, make it sustainable. 

Can you go before work? Can you do it during lunch? When do you have more wiggle room? Can you do some workouts at home?

One of the most important lessons is consistency rules. If you can create a plan and be consistent, results are inevitable. 

Hit The Gym Or Construct Your Own

A gym membership provides a place to focus on you and not stressors of work or home. Gyms have a lot of cool equipment and often have saunas and sometimes hot tubs!

As we get older we realize it is harder to have a social circle. The gym can bring people together. I Have been a part of several gym communities and I've met some of the greatest people I know there.

Group classes often come standard with a gym membership. Take advantage of this if it appeals to you. 

While there is a lot of equipment, a potential drawback is waiting for it during peak hours. Find out when these times are so you know what to expect. Memberships can range from $10 a month to hundreds of dollars per month.

How far are you willing to drive? Is there traffic? All of this needs to be examined to know what your time commitment will be. 

If the gym doesn’t make sense for you, purchasing equipment online is easy. The price can be about the same as a membership depending on how much you want to invest. 

Some recommended options: 

• Adjustable dumbbells like Powerblocks

• Kettlebells

• Squat rack with bar and weight plates

• Resistance bands

Do you have space to store your equipment? Is there a spare room, basement or garage to convert to a gym? 

There can be distractions at home. Home projects, kids, or messes to clean up. Brainstorm strategies to limit these interruptions.

The convenience of having a gym at home is a plus. No traffic to wait in. If you have kids, they will see you working to stay healthy, a positive example for them.

Find Your Mr. Miyagi

“A good coach lights a fire under someone. A great coach lights a fire inside of someone.” -Martin Rooney.

The value of a great coach can not be overstated. A coach will guide you. They have experience with helping people like you achieve their goals. Like a mechanic can fix your car more efficiently, a coach has the tools to get you where you want to go.

Here are a few things to consider when looking for a coach:

• Do they have experience working with someone like you?

• Some coaches work with a specific population. If your goal is a distinct one such as running a marathon or losing 100+ pounds, consider a coach with your niche. 

• If you’re seeking general health and to lose a little weight, a jack-of-all-trades trainer works.

• Do they have a certification and/or health & fitness related degree? 

• A good coach does not need to have a degree and a laundry list of certifications. Having a few letters after their name is a good sign, however. It shows they take their job seriously and educate themselves. 

• Is their coaching style right for you?

• If you’re a member of a gym that has trainers, watch and listen to how they interact with their clients. 

• How do they motivate their clients? 

• Are they friendly and encouraging? 

• What type of people do you see them working with?

This is someone you’re trusting your health and well-being with, make sure you’re a good fit before committing.

Set A Course

Like a ship shouldn’t leave port without a destination, goals will tell you where you’re going.

There are two types of goals: outcome based, and behavioral based. Outcome based goals are how we traditionally set goals. Figure out the result you want, and work towards it. For example: you set a goal to lose 20lbs and a deadline to complete it. You may not be able to control if you achieve this goal in that timeframe.

Behavioral based goals focus on what you can control. They’re smaller habits that you do every day. For weight loss, some habits may look like this:

• Exercise 2-3 times per week for at least 30 minutes

• Eat protein at each meal

• Take 8-10,000 steps per day

The end result may feel unattainable if you can’t see the steps to get there. Habit based goals will bring your attention to the actions to take.

Brick By Brick

A workout routine that works for years starts slow and progresses over time.

The body can adapt to a variety of stressors. Like how your skin adapts to a minor sunburn by tanning and becoming more resilient. The issue arises when it is pushed into too much stress before it’s ready (like getting a sunburn).

In fitness we call this progressive overload. This is the process of gradually making your workouts more challenging. If you do the same workout for months, you’ll stop making progress. Depending on your goals, you can progress your workouts by adding weight, sets, reps, or manipulating the rest periods. 

When you’re a beginner it’s important to understand where you're starting. If you work a sedentary job and take less than 3,000 steps per day, you’re going to start in a different place than someone who works an active job and goes hiking every weekend. 

If you fall under the former category, here are some helpful guidelines:

1. Build exercise technique first

1. Keep workouts shorter (30-45 minutes)

1. Rest between workouts (24-48 hours)

1. Pace yourself, keep weights and cardio light to moderate

1. Do basic movements like goblet squats, chest presses, or lat pulldowns. Save the Instagram worthy stuff for another time (or never)

1. Start with 2-3 sets at a time, moderate rep ranges of 8-12, with weight that will make you work for the last couple of reps. Rest periods should be 1-2 minutes (no shorter).

Second important lesson: increasing the difficulty gradually will motivate you as you see the progress you make. You will make progress for years. 

But What Do I Wear?!

My high school football coach used to say “look good, feel good, play good.” Before every game we would wear our jerseys to school, tucked in of course. 

Choose comfortable clothing that allows you to move freely. Look for flexible fabrics like polyester, cotton, and elastane. Leggings, track pants, compression shirts, and athletic shorts are some examples. Sports bras are a great idea (though not my area of expertise). 

For footwear, whatever you wear must be appropriate for your activity. Running shoes are great for running, they are not good for lifting. The softness of the soles that provide cushion to limit impact creates an unstable surface for lifting. Something with a flat, stable sole that provides stability for your foot is more suitable for lifting. 

Brands such as Reebok, TYR, and Adidas have good options. Lifting shoes range in price, but last years if taken care of. Other brands, such as No Bull, are stable but also flexible enough for running.

Baby Steps To Big Dreams

Patience is your best friend. This goes back to setting habit based goals. Take it one day at a time and focus on what you can control. 

People say they need to get motivated to start, but the truth is taking action creates motivation. The feeling of accomplishing a good workout, noticing your clothes fit differently, or setting a new personal best all fan the flames of motivation. 

Execute your habits, get small victories, and motivation is created. Those who learn to enjoy the process are the ones who succeed. Slowly make this a part of your life.

What’s Next?

If you need to start with the most basic exercises possible, read my two part series “The Most Accessible Exercises For Beginners.” Read part 1 here and part 2 here. 

Enjoy the process.

Get strong live long!

-Coach Ren

The Most Accessible Exercises for Beginners Part 2

In part one I introduced a handful of exercises that I have used to help beginners get started if they had little to no experience in physical training.

We covered several squat variations and pushing exercises such as the assisted push-up and the landmine press.

If you missed this article, go back to the blog page and read it. Whether you’re looking for a place to begin yourself or you’re a coach trying to find more tools to help beginners you train, there is a lot of value in part one.

Now we turn to two more classifications of movement: hinges and pulling exercises.

Most Accessible Hip Hinge Exercises

We use a variety of positions to lift objects. The squat is one such movement pattern. Another is the hip hinge.

What exactly is a hip hinge?

Imagine you have a string attached to your tailbone. Someone is holding the other end of the string and pulls on it.

What happens?

Your hips shoot backward and your torso falls forward. You “fold into yourself.”

This is the hip hinge. Drive your hips back towards the wall behind you while bending your knees as little as possible (without keeping them straight).

The spine is held in a neutral position as this happens.

The hips appear to work the same way as a hinge in a doorway, hence the name “hip hinge.”

Classic hinge exercises include the deadlift and romanian deadlift.

1. Barbell & Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift (RDL)

Both of these variations are great alternatives to the conventional deadlift, which starts with a bar on the floor.

For many, it is much easier to set the back in neutral from a standing position, which is where the RDL starts. The bar is loaded and removed from a power rack.

Focus on setting and maintaining a neutral spine throughout the movement first.

Once this is mastered, work to improve your hinge technique.

2. DB hip thrust

The hip thrust provides more support for the body due to the upper back being supported by the floor or a bench.

Like how you can balance much easier on two legs than one (and lift a lot more) this also allows for more weight to be used than other hinge movements.

A dumbbell can easily be loaded on the hips or a band can be used for resistance.

This variation has a much shorter range of motion than the RDL, but still works the same muscle groups of the back of the legs.

The barbell version of this can be tricky to set up and perform without a proper hip thrust bench or machine. This is why it doesn’t make the list.

If you’re struggling to learn the hip hinge, this alternative takes all of the guesswork out of the equation.

3. Wall Supported Single Leg RDL

This can be used as a precursor to the standard single leg RDL.

The wall support aids with balance. A lack of balance will limit you from getting strength gains and other benefits from the exercise.

The wall is like a helpful workout partner “I got you buddy!”

All of your focus is going towards not falling on your face instead of squeezing the target muscles and performing a proper hinge.

The added support will allow you to place a greater emphasis on the primary movers (glutes & hamstrings), and will keep you from turning the movement into a squat (a common mistake with the RDL).

To get the most muscle activation out of each rep, keep as much weight as you can on the supporting leg.

Most Accessible Pull Exercises

Pulling exercises consist of rows, lat pulldowns, chin-ups, and pull-ups.

Many lifters often neglect the back of the body because they can’t see those muscles in the mirror. This is not good for both health and aesthetic reasons.

Including pulling exercises in your workouts will keep muscle imbalances from developing and thus pain or injury. If there are weak links in the chain, that link will eventually break.

A stronger back helps with the majority of all other exercises in the gym and lifting awkward objects at home.

Keep your upper body balanced by using these with the pushing options from part 1.

1. Suspension Trainer Inverted Row

If you have access to a suspension trainer, this alternative is great. By simply changing the angle of your body, you can adjust how difficult or easy it is.

I have found the inverted row to be a great drill when it comes to teaching proper row mechanics and posture. Many rowing drills require you to be in the bent over position, this one does not.

This aspect of the inverted row removes one more distraction from learning how to perform the upper body mechanics of the movement. Like a math teacher who carefully breaks down an equation bit by bit.

Starting off at a more upright position will allow you to feel the proper muscle activation of the upper back as well as how to keep their chest upright and drive your shoulders back.

Less attention will be paid to simply getting the body from point A to B with poor technique.

2. Dumbbell Single Arm Row

This version of the row takes pressure off the lower back. This is due to the fact that the bench supports your body.

It keeps your back strength symmetrical by working one side at a time.

Aim to focus on driving your shoulder back as you row.

3. Seated row

Another row variation that takes pressure off the lower back.

Posture and technique are still vital, and being seated gives you a chance to focus on your posture.

Like the inverted row, more attention can be paid to performing the row without being in a bent over position.

Most commercial gyms have this machine.

4. Chest supported rows

I used these with a client who was recovering from pelvic floor surgery. She was unable to do much that engaged her core. We used these to take the pressure off.

With the support of the bench, the need to focus on posture is all but eliminated. More focus can be placed on exclusively feeling the upper back muscles work.

There is less wiggle room for the body to compensate. Choose lighter weights that can be done with strict form.

5. Lying lat pulldowns

I have a hard time fitting vertical pulling exercises in for clients that workout from home. Without a lat pulldown machine or the ability to do chin-ups this presents a unique challenge.

This alternative, while not ideal, will provide you with some benefit.

You can safely attach a band to your door with a door anchor and lay on a flat bench or at a slight incline.

Vertical pulling exercises help to strengthen the back and keep the upper body symmetrical from a strength standpoint.

The use of super bands (see part 1) tied to a pull-up bar or support beam is also an option if available.

As in part 1, avoid building a lot of fatigue. Quality reps are the priority. With the hinge and pulling exercises, we will focus on higher reps.

Week 1-2: 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps

Weeks 3-4: 3 sets of 8-12 reps

Weeks 5-6: 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps

***Repeat with more weight

The Most Accessible Exercises For Beginners Part 1

Lets face it, exercise can be overwhelming especially if you haven't done it since high school. Add in an aging body, sore joints, a few more injuries on your medical record, and stepping foot in a gym may seem like jumping out of an airplane. 

Over the years I have worked with people with an array of different challenges such as:

• Joint replacements

• Obesity

• Fibromyalgia

• Parkinsons

• Mental trauma

• Long time inactive individuals 

Most of these individuals have been well over 40 and a handful in their 70’s. 

All of them were able to decrease their daily aches and pains, increase their energy levels, and improve their strength.

After nearly 15 years of working in the field, I can say with confidence that there are exercises for every entry point in fitness.

No matter your injury history or current physical condition, there is a way to both start and progress your way forward. 

The exercises below are variations of other popular movements commonly seen in the gym or on social media. These are some of the first stepping stones to rebuilding your body to get your life back.

Most Accessible Squat Variations

From picking up your children/grandchildren to standing up off the toilet, we squat everyday. 

If you have issues such as a lack of mobility, injuries to your lower body or back, and insufficient strength this can lead to the inability to do a safe, effective squat. 

If you’re unable to squat low it will place great limitations on your daily function. Maintaining this level of independence is essential for a better quality of life.

Below are some simple, but valuable starting points for anyone who has difficulty squatting their bodyweight.

1. Sit To Stand

One of the most difficult parts of the squat for many beginners is getting low and/or maintaining balance. The sit to stand is like your favorite rest stop on the interstate. A break at the midpoint of your trip.

Midway through the squat (AKA the bottom) you may find it demanding on the body to not collapse to the floor. The sit to stand breaks up the movement so that the lifter may regroup. 

Use a bench, chair, or best of all an aerobic stepper.

The beauty of the aerobic stepper is that it can be adjusted to a higher or lower setting. This will progressively get you to lower depths until you’re able to get your hips past your knees. 

The aerobic stepper is your cheerleader, encouraging you to try new challenges as you go!

1. Band Assisted Squats

Resistance bands can provide resistance in place of a dumbbell or barbell. They can also provide assistance with exercises like squats. 

The band effectively makes the lifter lighter. If strength is an issue, the assistance from the band will enable the lifter to squat lower. Strength is then built in a deeper range of motion. 

Super bands or Grey Cook Tubes are ideal choices for this exercise. The super bands (essentially giant rubber bands) can be tied to a support beam in your house or a chin-up bar. The thicker the band, the more assistance it provides. 

Be sure to purchase multiple (2-3) bands at varying tensions. This will give you room to progress to a bodyweight squat in the future. 

Recommended measurements of the bands: roughly 40 inches in length X 2 inches (heavy assistance), 1.5 inches (medium assistance), and 1 inch (light assistance) in width. 

1. Leg press

If you’re not able to squat at all for some reason, the leg press can strengthen the legs in a similar fashion.

The leg press will enable the knees and hips to work together in a way that will have more carryover to squatting than a leg extension machine. 

Make it your goal to progress to a standing squat after six to eight weeks. Once you reach the point where you can push around 75% or more of your bodyweight for multiple reps, try progressing to one of the squat exercises above.

Most Accessible Pushing Exercises

Pressing movements can be difficult if you lack the equipment, shoulder stability, or mobility. 

In the case of shoulder restrictions, overhead pressing exercises can be especially challenging. 

Push-ups can also be hard as many people lack the upper body strength to perform them. 

Here are some alternatives to these movements that can build strength to progress towards more advanced options.

1. Landmine press

This is a great variation if someone lacks the shoulder or upper back mobility to straighten their elbow and reach their arm completely overhead. 

If trying to get your arms to straighten over your head seems like trying to force a locked door open, take the time to work on your mobility while strengthening your upper body with this substitute. 

Shoulder restrictions are very common if you’re over 40. 

The landmine press is similar to an overhead press in that it focuses more on building the shoulders and triceps. 

This press variant also allows you to be standing, which more closely simulates the overhead press. Standing will teach you to brace the rest of your body to create a stable foundation for a more efficient press.

1. Assisted push-ups

I have had a lot of success using band assistance to get many people their first push-up. Superbands are great for this. There are also other devices specifically designed for assisted push-ups that you can find on the internet. 

Similarly to the assisted squats, purchase two or three different levels of band tension in order to have options to slowly progress over time. 

Recommended bands dimensions:

Approximately 40 inches in length X 1.5 inches heavy assistance, 1 inch medium assistance, 0.5 light assistance.

1. Incline push-up

Push-ups provide more stability for the shoulders because they require you to push against something that's not going to move. That is why there is more than one version I recommend in this article. 

This is another variation of the push-up that can be done anywhere! If you don't have bands or anything to tie them to for assistance, this one's for you! . 

The higher the incline, the easier the push-ups. Some of the best options for places to do these are a kitchen counter, a table, or some kind of chair or bench. 

Be sure that the surface you choose to perform these is sturdy. 

1. Dumbbell Bench Press

With some individuals, the barbell bench press can be hard on the shoulders. This could be a technique issue, weakness/pain of the rotator cuff, or lack of mobility. 

One of the best alternatives is the use of dumbbells. With dumbbells your shoulders are allowed to find a more comfortable position. Since each hand is holding a separate weight, the shoulders can easily be rotated to a 45 degree angle or even to a neutral position (weights parallel to the torso). 

Another benefit of the dumbbells is they work each arm independently, building the weaker side up if there is a large difference between the two.

1. Bonus! Arm work

When push-up or bench press variations are not possible, direct arm work for the triceps and biceps are usually still an option. 

Tricep pushdowns, tricep kickbacks, lying tricep extensions, and any type of bicep curl will build strength while taking stress off the shoulders. 

Try out all of these options to figure out where you should start. All of them work at the right time and can be used as a starting point to progress your strength and overall health. In the beginning, stick to lower rep ranges to build strength and technique while limiting fatigue. 

Avoid getting overly tired as this will force you to do bad reps. Save the higher intensity work for when you’re able to do bodyweight squats or push-ups. Keep the reps low and the quality high!

Try out this simple progression:

Weeks 1-2: 3 sets of 3-5 reps

Weeks 3-4: 3 sets of 5 reps

Weeks 5-6: 4-5 sets of 5 reps

***Then repeat from the beginning with less assistance or more weight.

Be on the lookout for part two where we will cover more accessible options for other common exercises like deadlifts and rows!

Mobility Training...So, Yoga??

When you hear the word ‘mobility’, what is your initial thought? Stretching? Yoga? Flexibility? While mobility training can and does consist of stretching and flexibility, it is quite different from yoga and here’s why.

I’d like to preface this article by first saying that this is in no way me bashing yoga. Yoga can be a fantastic way to move and whatever workouts keep you moving consistently and having fun are alright in my book. However, with that being said, if you are looking to achieve specific results when it comes to improving how your body and joints move, yoga is not your best option.

Yoga focuses on fitting people into different poses or positions, rather than fitting the position or pose to the specific individual. And what I mean by this is scientifically, there is no data showing that a specific warrior 2 pose done just so is garnering any specific improvement when it comes to your joint and body control. What it can help is for you to be able to do that very specific, very localized, warrior 2 super well. If every single person in the class looks the exact same in a pose, I can almost guarantee you that not every single person is feeling the “right” stuff that they “should” be feeling in that pose. What Sally may feel in a position, could be very different than what Jim is feeling in the exact same position. Wouldn’t it make more sense to adjust the position to the specific individual so they can actually feel what needs to be felt?

Because yoga focuses on poses and movement patterns, that is what you are going to get really good at. By you moving from warrior I to downward dog to chaturanga to upward dog, you are going to get really good at moving through these positions and hopefully getting better form each time. However, improving your form in an upward dog is not going to help you with that nagging shoulder impingement. Improving your crescent lunge is not going to improve the rotation of your hips in every direction. And improving your chaturanga could be putting a lot of undue load into your shoulders and neck that your body has not yet been prepared to accept.

Yoga does not have a high enough percentage of maximum voluntary contraction to make lasting changes in the joint capsule or tissues. What does this mean? It means that when it comes to strength training for your muscles, tissues or joints, you need to be contracting anywhere from 70%+ to achieve true strength development, with yoga being on the lower end of 15-20%.

Yoga focuses on improving your passive range of motion, or rather your flexibility, which is only a small piece of the puzzle in developing one’s mobility. Because here’s the thing, client 1 may already be incredibly flexible, but what they are lacking is strength in their end ranges. Client 2 may be stiff as a board and could massively improve from not only strengthening their end ranges but developing more flexibility to create more room to even have varying end ranges. Picture a dancer. Flexible right? Yes, but how strong do

they have to be to get in and out of those high kicks and splits. Now, picture a linebacker in football. Probably a bit stiffer, yeah? Both athletes can benefit from mobility training, but they will no doubt be training it in slightly different ways. Yoga is far too generalized to improve the specific demands of sports, life and injury rehab/prehab.

Isometrics, one of the training methods utilized when working to improve one’s mobility, is one of the best tools to get your brain talking directly to your joint capsule. Compared to eccentric and concentric movements (think of a squat, the down part of the squat is the eccentric portion, the coming up part is the concentric portion and an isometric would be if you held the squat at the bottom), isometrics do not inflame the tissue or the joint. It’s the safest, most effective way to create more usable workspace in your joint capsule while still challenging your body enough to make lasting changes.

Now, to tie everything up in a neat little bow, if you are looking to make long-term changes and improvements to your joint health, you need a specific training protocol. Mobility training can help to improve your yoga practice, the vice versa cannot be said. My recommendation to you would be to give one mobility class a try and see for yourself how you feel afterward. You’ll also see just how incredibly different it is from yoga.

Happy moving friends!

Why I Added The Kettlebell To My Toolbox

The kettlebell is an ancient weapon used to fight against weakness. Throughout my career I have dabbled in my use of this tool, but never took it seriously until just over two years ago. After watching Pavel Tsatouline speak for about two hours on The Joe Rogan Experience about kettlebell training, I knew I had to learn more. Three books, multiple podcasts and youtube videos, and a Strongfirst kettlebell certification later, you could say I am convinced of its value as a training tool. This article is a description of the major reasons I find the kettlebell (known as a girya in Russian) to be essential to a well rounded strength plan. 

It's Simplicity 

The kettlebell is nothing flashy. It has been around for hundreds of years and has a long history of making people strong and resilient. In his book "Enter the Kettlebell", Strongfirst founder and CEO Pavel Tsatsouline states “The girya first appeared in the Russian dictionary in 1704. Yes it’s a fad. I expect it to go away in the next 300 years”. 

Einstein once said “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler”. The kettlebell is an iron cannon ball with a handle attached to it. You can’t get much simpler than that. If you have been following me on social media for even just a few years you will know I am a big fan of utilizing the most simple, but effective tools to make people strong and more capable to do the things they both want to do and need to do. 

All Lifts that can be done with a barbell or dumbbell can be done with a kettlebell, but not the other way around. Sure you could swing a dumbbell between your legs but as we will discuss later, the loading of the body changes with the offset center of mass of the kettlebell. And as Strongfirst Director of education Brett Jones states “You can’t swing a barbell between your legs more than once. You’ll realize quickly that it was a bad idea”. 

From presses, to front squats, get-ups and swings, the kettlebell checks all the boxes for simple, no nonsense training. An entire gym can be replaced with three kettlebells of varying weights. You can keep your shake weights and booty blasters, I’ll stick with my iron.

The "What The Hell Effect"

An aspect of the kettlebell that really caught my attention when I started deep diving into what it was all about was the “what the hell effect”. This refers to the unexpected benefits of training with the kettlebell. Individuals commonly find that after a period of training with the kettlebell, they suddenly can set new personal records with other movements they may have not even been training at the time such as chin-ups, barbell lifts etc. There have also been instances where distance runners have seen improved running times and championship level powerlifters see improvements in their lifting totals. 

Dr. Michael Hartle MSFG, stated at my weekend cert, that doing the kettlebell swing helped him improve the lockout of his deadlift during his time as a powerlifter. Donny Thompson, the first powerlifter to total 3,000lbs., uses the double kettlebell snatch as an accessory lift to help with his squats and deadlifts, citing the emphasis the movement has in connecting the body as whole. This is key in powerlifting and in everyday activity as our muscles work together when we move, not in isolation. This extremely wide array of benefits has massive implications for anyone, athlete or not. 

Unique Loading Opportunities

In one of my recent episodes of the Fortitude Training Podcast, I had the pleasure of speaking with the previously mentioned Brett Jones. He cited the kettlebell's offset center of mass and thicker handle as being the primary differences from training with dumbbells and barbells. 

The kettlebell is more “alive” in your hand, as you adjust to it pulling you in multiple directions. Where the dumbbell or bar is more convenient to lift due to the weight being balanced on both ends, the kettlebell has the majority of its mass on one end. This can result in the center of mass of the bell being six to eight inches away from your hand depending on the size of the bell. When holding the bell in the rack position (as in the top of a clean), not only is it pushing directly down towards the floor, but also outward to the side. This multi-directional pull causes your body to contract more muscles to stabilize and maintain your balance in a way that is far more challenging than holding a dumbbell. 

Get-ups are another great example of how the offset center of mass causes a different type of stress. Holding the bell with a locked out elbow forces the muscles of the shoulder and rotator cuff to work overtime, building much more stability within the joint. As one progresses to heavier bells in the get-up, the angle of the arm will even change from vertical to angled forward due to more mass being out away from the shoulder.

The thicker handle you find on the majority of kettlebells is another aspect to consider. This may not sound like it has much value until you actually use it in practice. Think about how much you can bench press or deadlift. Now try doing the same weight, but with a handle that is twice the circumference. I guarantee you will not be able to lift that same weight (unless you have been holding back on your training a great deal). 

The thicker handle makes it much harder to manipulate the weight, this has tremendous value for your grip strength. Your ability to grip weight is invaluable when it comes to lifting weights in the gym and generally interacting with your environment. Overstressing your grip with something like a kettlebell will enable you to lift bigger weights with less form breakdown. I have seen people’s deadlift form go completely down the tubes (major back rounding etc.) all because their grip was slipping from the beginning of the lift. Train your grip with some kettlebell swings, snatches or carries and avoid injury and missed lifts. 

If we’re going to talk grip and shoulder stability then taking things to the next level by using the bottoms up position (holding the bell upside down) is also a unique aspect to kettlebells that doesn't get much attention. Cleans, get-ups, and presses are just a few examples of movements that can be done with a bottoms up kettlebell. Lighter weights will need to be used, but the benefits can be big! 

Ballistics

The kettlebell swing, the center of the kettlebell universe and the most recognized movement in kettlebell training. When I was younger I worked at a sports retail store and of course I worked in the fitness section. At some point during my time there we received a shipment of kettlebells and not a day went by after that did I not see at least one person walk into the department, pick up a bell, and swing it. 

The swing looks like a movement that is easy to pick up, until you try with the watchful eye of an experienced coach. If you take the time to learn to do it properly, the benefits are plentiful. The swing allows you to work power and explosiveness without high volumes of impact on your joints. It is essentially jumping without leaving the ground. The swing also works the posterior chain (back of the body), muscles such as the glutes and hamstrings, that tend to suffer from our modern lifestyles mostly spent sitting. 

Kettlebell ballistics, such as the swing, single arm swing, clean and snatch, are also fantastic ways to develop force absorption and redirection. This physical skill is sport and life. In the majority of sports one must be able to absorb force and redirect it, as in rapidly changing direction while running a route in football or a sudden turn in hockey. When doing such movements, the body must absorb not only the weight of your body, but also all of the momentum that has been generated up until that point. This force can end up being many times the bodyweight of the individual. A more specific example: sprinters at max speeds can have upwards of eight to ten times their body weight being generated through their joints. Each stride must be absorbed by the body, and in the case of other activities that require rapid changes of direction, redirected to continue movement. 

Now you may be thinking “But Ren, I’m not an athlete! I just want to get around easier, play with my kids, and live my life!”. Absorbing and redirecting force is just as important if not more so in day to day life than it is for sport. You want to talk about force absorption, how about catching your kid or grandchild when they leap lovingly into your arms. How about fall prevention? Slipping on ice requires you to catch yourself (absorb) and regain your center of gravity (redirect). Not only is this important for non-athletes, it’s essential for health and safety. 

Slow Grinds

Contrast to the ballistic, slow grinds are just that, slow and deliberate. The Turkish get-up is one of the main slow grind movements that has a tremendous global effect on the body. Once again referencing the fact that kettlebells by nature work the body’s muscles synergistically, mimicking more closely the movements we go through day to day. As the highly regarded Strength Coach Dan John says “The body is one piece”. 

Slow grinds such as the get-up and kettlebell overhead press, teach us to use muscular tension to create a solid foundation for lifting and moving big weights. The get-up and overhead press both require maximal muscular contraction in not only the primary movers but also the stabilizers of the shoulder, midsection and lower extremities. 

A bonus to this aspect of kettlebell training is the amount of time under tension that the muscles get. Bodybuilders and powerlifters alike, both manipulate time under tension (i.e. intentionally slowing the lift down or speeding it up) to challenge their body in a different way or fix a weak area of their lift. A typical get-up can last as long as 20-30 seconds with little to no relief until the bell is on the floor again. This may not sound like much, but most lifts have a “resting point”, such as the top of a bench press or back squat, that allows the lifter to regroup. The get-up has a limited resting point, and thus it provides longer time under tension by default. 

If you’re looking to increase muscle tone or even bulk up, I strongly encourage you to incorporate kettlebell slow grinds to your routine. 

Conclusion

The kettlebell has been around for hundreds of years, making people stronger and forging mental fortitude. With its simple design and wide array of benefits, it can literally reshape you inside and out. If you want to build strength, cardiovascular conditioning, a better physique, or develop explosive power, the kettlebell can do it all. This swiss army knife of strength tools should be a part of everyone’s toolbox. With the right coaching and consistent training, it will help you build a body that is both unbreakable and ready to take on all of life’s challenges.

By Coach Ren SFG, CPT, B.S. Health Science

Knees Over Toes??!! Oh My!!

I have heard my patients question me about letting their knees go over their toes in the past but I seem to be hearing this question a lot lately. It seems that a lot of people have been taught to never let their knees go over their toes when doing squats, lunges or anything really. Not only is it OK to allow your knee to flex over your toes but this is very normal in natural human movement. Try walking down a hill or a flight of stairs without your knee going over your toes. This is impossible unless you turn and descend sideways.

Where did this idea come from? I assume it came from the fact that a lot of people experience pain in their knees when flexing the knee to a certain angle when doing squats, lunges or descending a flight of stairs and so trainers and doctors advised these people to avoid this pain at all costs including never letting the knee go over the toes. But avoiding a problem is not a very effective way to solve a problem.

But first things first. Let’s take a look at a full or deep squat.

Image credit to Phyeasyque.com

In the above image you can see that not allowing the knee to go over the toes results in a greater forward lean at the spine resulting in increased stress at the low back. The image claims an increased load on the low back of 1070%. I am not sure of the accuracy of that number but it is clear that there is more load on the muscles of the low back due to the forward position. You can also see that the hip is not at or below the height of the knee. If the hip were to drop to or below hip level the low back would be forced to flex or “round” (also known as butt wink) which creates increased pressure on the anterior aspect of the discs of the low back and can result in a disc herniation. But what about knee pain and the pressure on the knee? The debate over whether flexing the knees over the toes is good for you or not tends to center around the compression force of the patellofemoral joint (pressure of the knee cap into the femur) at greater angles of knee flexion. It has been found that the greatest pressure of the patellofemoral joint occurs at 90 degrees of knee flexion. But studies have also shown that there is a greater surface area contact between the patella and femur at greater angles of knee flexion. Greater surface area contact reduces the compressive effect on the patellofemoral joint at deeper angles therefore making a deep squat no more compressive at the patellofemoral joint then at lesser angles. A review of the literature can be found here https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23821469/.

If you do experience pain in your knees when your knee goes over your toes then the problem is most likely at the knee itself. There are several factors that can contribute to pain in the knee when flexing over the toes. It could be reduced knee mobility due to tightness of the quadriceps and or tendons of the quadriceps or weakness of the quadriceps. The goal should be to resolve the issues of the knee to allow for a knees over toes movement and then training this pattern to fortify it. How can you tell if the problem is with mobility or strength? A simple mobility test for the knee is to see how far you can flex the knee by pulling your heel to your butt. If you cannot touch your heel to your butt or come within a few inches of it then you may experience pain when the knee flexes that far under a load. To evaluate strength, compare how the knee feels when squatting or lunging with less weight or just your own body weight. If the pain lessons or resolves then it may be strength.

Another thing to consider is that you can flex the knee excessively over the toes which may cause pain due to an increased compressive force at the patellofemoral joint. If you lack mobility at the hips and or ankles you may be flexing the knee excessively to compensate for the lack of mobility at the ankle and or hips. In this case resolving mobility issues at the ankle and or hips would be the solution.

Lastly check your form. If your knee, ankle and hip mobility are normal and your strength seems reasonable for the demand you may just need to work on your form. A deep squat should be done with a neutral spinal position, your hips, knees and ankles should be flexed to allow the tiba (shin) to be parallel with your torso at the bottom of your squat. The lunge is a little trickier since it can depend the style of lunge being done. I prefer a reverse lunge where you step back into the lunge position and keep more weight on the front leg. The torso should be slightly forward with a neutral spine. The heel of the front leg should stay on the floor with the hip knee and ankle flexed so that the knee is slightly over the toes and shin parallel to the spine.

You Never Graduate From Mobility Work

You’ll never go into a strength training program and say okay, when I can deadlift 300 lbs, that’s it, I’ll never need to deadlift again. Or if your goal is to run a sub-9-minute mile, you don’t hit 8:45 once and say, alright, back to my 9-minute miles again. No. You hit 8:45 and then say wellll, I bet next time I can do better, and so the cycle continues.

Same thing goes for mobility. Although before we get into it, let’s discuss first what mobility is and isn’t. It isn’t how flexible you are, and it isn’t just passively stretching trying to touch your toes. Flexibility refers to “the ability of a muscle or muscle groups to lengthen passively through a range of motion”, whereas mobility refers to “the ability of a joint to move actively through a range of motion”. To break it down even further, I want you to picture lying on your back while extending one leg into the air. Seeing how far you can pull that leg to your chest is your passive range, if you place your leg back on the ground and lift it up toward your chest, how far you can lift it sans hands is your active. Ideally, we’d like for your passive and active ranges to be the same or at least pretty darn close. It’s when the two aren't even close or you’re incredibly lacking in your passive, that you may start noticing some issues start to creep in.
 
Okay, now that you know what mobility is and isn’t, let me convince you as to why mobility is something that should forever be a part of your fitness routine. Unless you’re Gumby, which I bet even he could stand to have a little more control, you’re never going to win at mobility. Just like you’re never going to win at working out. There will always be more weight to lift, a new goal to achieve, and a new skill to acquire. Same goes for mobility. There will always be new ranges to work your joints in, new positions to get your body accustomed to and new ways to help mitigate and rehab injuries.

I can’t tell you exactly how much mobility you need for you to be mobile enough, just like I can’t tell you exactly how much strength you need for you to be strong enough. What I can tell you is that your strength, mobility and cardio training should all hold a place in your overall fitness equation. I promise you don’t want to wait until you’re already in pain to start incorporating mobility work. Think of it more as the brushing your teeth of joint care. Keep doing it and you’ll keep all your teeth, I mean, all your joints healthy.
 
And there you have it, why you aren’t allowed to graduate from mobility training. But really, it’s not all that bad being a forever student as we're all on this continuous journey together, improving how we are moving and showing up in this world. Being able to move well enough to keep doing all of the things that make you happy is a pretty cool goal. Keep working on that and you’ll be gold.

By Kate Kuzminski

A Guide to Treating Tendonitis

Tendonitis is when the tendon of a muscle is injured or damaged and becomes inflamed. Tendons have less vascularization (blood flow) than muscles and therefore take longer to heal once they have been injured or damaged. Tendons take much longer to adapt to increased levels of exercise or activity than muscles because of the difference in vascularization as well. This makes for a frustrating injury and it is the reason why a tendonitis injury can take so long to recover from.

The first thing to remember is that rest goes a long way with a tendonitis injury. Reducing stress to the injured tendon will allow your body to start mending the damaged tissue. The healing process can be helped along theoretically by promoting more blood flow to the tissue. Things that can promote blood flow are heat (wet or moist heat works best), massage, dry needling and other similar modalities used by physical therapists. But none of these promote blood flow nearly as well as actively using the injured tendon and the muscle it is connected to. But there is a fine line when it comes to using an injured tendon to promote healing or blood flow and using the injured tendon too much which can interrupt healing or even cause more damage.

The trick to treating tendonitis is to know where to draw the line between rest and activity. How do you know where to draw this line? Listen to your body. If a certain level of activity reduces pain and the tendonitis feels better after the activity then it is likely helping. If a certain level of activity seems to make it feel worse or it is not improving then you need to reduce the activity. One thing to keep in mind is that tendonitis will generally feel better during activity so make sure you also evaluate your response after the activity is finished. Keep tabs on how it feels later that day and the following morning. If it feels worse afterward then you have most likely crossed that fine line. Exercise or activity levels should be measured by three variables. The variables of activity or exercise levels are intensity, duration and frequency. Adjusting these variables can help you figure out where to draw that line when treating tendinitis. For example light easy exercise done for a short duration may seem to have a positive effect but that same level of activity done daily may irritate the tendonitis.

As a tendon heals from injury the pain will reduce as the inflammation reduces. But keep in mind that once the tendon has healed it has likely lost some strength and endurance and possibly some flexibility of the muscle that it attaches to. To prevent a re injury to the tendon it is important to remember that you need to slowly increase the three variables of exercise or activity. Remember that tendons have less vascularization than muscles so they need a little longer to adapt to increased levels of activity or exercise. Studies have shown that it can take between three to six weeks for a tendon to adapt to a new level of exercise so keep that in mind as you return to your previous level of activity or exercise.

Lastly, and this is the most important take away about treating tendonitis, is to remember that tendonitis is rarely the problem in and of itself. Tendonitis is a symptom of a problem. If you treat the symptom but do not fix the underlying problem that led to tendonitis then the tendonitis is likely to come back again and again. Tendonitis is classified as an overuse injury. This can simply mean that your tendon is not getting the rest and recovery it needs from activity or exercise. In this case the problem is the method of training. The variables of exercise need to be adjusted so that the tendon can make physiological adaptations necessary to tolerate the desired level of exercise. Too much intensity, too much duration, too much frequency or a combination of these can result in injury to a tendon. Overuse can also occur because of faulty mechanics. Faulty mechanics of how you move or how you perform an activity or exercise can increase the strain on a muscle and tendon because it is compensating for poor mechanics. In this case the faulty mechanics is the problem. If you fix the mechanics you will reduce the strain on the affected tendon which will allow you to resume the activity or exercise while at the same time reducing the stress to the tendon. If you do not fix the faulty mechanics then there is a significantly greater chance of reinjury to the tendon.

Enough With "Core Workouts" already

I need to get something straight. Your abdominal muscles are not your “core”. Your abdominal muscles are only part of your core.

Just about every article on core exercises and just about every workout that claims to focus on the core really is only focused on the abdominal muscles, and usually targets the rectus abdominis muscle, and has little to do with the overall function of the core.

So what is the core? The core is the torso. It is all of the muscles that control the spine. The core has many functions but it’s primary function is to control and guide movement. It includes muscles of the thoracic spine (upper back), lumbar spine (lower back), abdominal muscles, pelvic floor muscles and the diaphragm.

Technically, every exercise is a core exercise because the core is active with any and all movement. Having proper control of your core is the foundation of proper movement or form as we like to say in the gym. If someone lacks good form it is typically because of poor control of the core. Improving core control can rarely be achieved through strengthening exercises and certainly cannot be improved by training the rectus abdominal muscles. To take it one step further, poor control of the core typically occurs because of poor mobility or flexibility. An individual who has reduced mobility typically is forced to compensate with movement patterns that disrupt proper control of the core. In these cases strengthening exercises only make the situation worse because it usually leads to reinforcing the poor movement patterns that already exist.

So how should we be training the core? First of all we need to resolve any mobility issues that may be present. Then the focus should be on neuromuscular control exercises. These are exercises that train the nervous system how to control the core. They are exercises that train the muscles of the core to work together to align the spine in a neutral spinal posture and resist spinal flexion, rotation and extension during certain movements as well as how to flex, rotate and extend the spine when needed. The neuromuscular system can be challenged with increasingly complex exercises such as plyometrics, balance exercises and exercises that require coordination.

What about the abs?? Of course it is ok to train the abdominal muscles. Having strong abdominal muscles can be complementary to good core control and strong abdominal muscles look great on the beach. But remember to train all of the abdominal muscles and not just the rectus abdominal muscles. Learn how to use the oblique muscles and the transverse abdominal muscles. These muscles are critical in stabilizing a neutral spine and in controlling movement of the spine and extremities. You should learn to use the transverse abdominal muscles and oblique muscles when doing traditional abdominal exercises such as planks, bicycles, scissors and crunches and side planks.

The 5 Best Exercises For...

I hate this headline. I see it all the time. The 5 best exercises for runners, for swimmers, for a flatter stomach...There are no exercises that are the best for everyone or for a category of athlete or person. We all have different needs. We move differently, we have different levels of flexibility, different strengths and weaknesses, and different levels of coordination or motor control. How can 5 exercises be good for every runner or every cyclist?

We Are All Different Even if We are The Same

Just because two people run marathons does not make them the same. Sure, runners often times have tight hamstrings but hamstring tightness can be the result of many things. Hamstring tightness can be the result of poor postural control creating an increased demand on the hamstring to compensate. Tight hamstrings can be the result of weak glutes or weak hips and tight hamstrings can be the result of good old fashioned overuse. Each of these causes needs to be addressed differently. To simply perform exercises to stretch the hamstrings or strengthen the glutes may help the one runner who’s hamstrings are tight because of weak glutes, but those exercises will not help the runner whose hamstrings are tight due to something else.

Exercise is Medicine

Exercise is indeed the best medicine. But like medicine you need a prescription. You do not just walk into a pharmacy and pick and choose medication based on a commercial you saw on TV or because your friend takes something. You consult your doctor first to evaluate your symptoms and come up with a plan for how to address your individual needs. Exercise works the same way. If you do not understand your body’s unique needs then you may be doing good exercises for the wrong reason or doing the wrong exercises for your individual needs.

Your 5 Best Exercises? Get an Assessment

The best way to determine which exercises are best for you is to start with a functional movement assessment. This is a quick series of tests that assesses the way your body moves to determine what exercises you should focus on. An example of a test would be to perform a standing toe touch. Start with your feet together and knees locked straight. Bend forward and see if you can touch your toes. If you cannot touch your toes then the next step is to determine what is preventing you from bending forward that far. It is not always hamstring tightness. It could be tightness in your low back or what we call poor motor control in your hips or core. Further testing would reveal the true reason you cannot touch your toes and then we can prescribe exercises to improve the issue.

Does CBD Oil Work?

CBD seems to be in just about everything with claims that it can reduce pain, help you relax, help you sleep and even cure seizures. But does it really work?

What Does the Research Say?

So far there have not been many studies done on CBD. The limited research that has been done shows the most promise for CBD as a treatment for childhood epilepsy syndromes. The research that has been done on the effectiveness for treating pain have been limited but do suggest that it may reduce inflammation and help with chronic pain conditions but so far nothing has been proven to work with humans.

Even if it Does Work Pain is Not The Problem

Here’s the thing...even if CBD does reduce pain and inflammation, pain and inflammation are not the problem. Pain and inflammation are symptoms of a problem. Pain acts as an alarm or warning system. It acts to alert us when something is wrong or that something may be a threat to us. Touch a hot stove and pain will alert you that touching that stove will burn you. Inflammation is the body’s response to damage or injury. Inflammation is the first line of defense when we are fighting infection or a virus and is the first stage of the healing process when tissue is injured or damaged.

If there is a fire in your home, your smoke detector will screech to alert you that there is a fire. How would you react to the smoke detector going off? Would you remove the batteries of the smoke detector to stop that annoying noise? Obviously the screeching smoke detector is not the problem, the problem is the fire that is about to consume your home. Turning off the smoke detector does not put out the fire.

When you are experiencing pain, especially pain of a chronic nature, you must determine what the root cause of the pain is. If you treat pain as the problem your relief will be temporary at best.

What is the Problem?

The problem is the injury or damage to the tissue that is inflamed or painful. There are obviously all kinds of things that can result in an injury but what about chronic pain that never seems to get better or that seemingly came on without a traumatic event or mechanism of injury? Often times chronic pain can be the result of the way we move. When the body moves the way nature intended then the strain of moving is shared across the proper joints and muscles in an efficient way, minimizing the chance of an injury. If our body is not moving correctly then the strain of movement is shifted to an area that must compensate for the faulty movement pattern and this can cause an injury to the tissue or joint that is compensating. CBD oil cannot change the way we move and no one has made any claims that CBD can heal damaged or injured tissue.

Should I Try CBD?

So far it seems that CBD is fairly harmless. However, there still needs to be more research to determine if there are any harmful effects and to see if it really works at all. That said it seems that there is no harm in trying it. Often times pain can affect the way you move and can make the process of resolving an injury more difficult. So if it does seem to reduce your pain and it allows you to address the underlying problem then why not? Just keep in mind that even if CBD does reduce your pain you still have not addressed the underlying problem that caused the pain. But do not stop at using CBD. See a physical therapist who can evaluate your body to see if there is a movement dysfunction that may be causing the pain in the first place and work to restore proper movement patterns. Remember that to be well you must move well and move often.

The Thoracic Spine: The Key to Neck Pain, Upper Back Pain and Shoulder Pain

The thoracic spine is the part of the spine where the ribs attach and makes up one half of our entire spine. It is often overlooked when it comes to treating neck pain, shoulder pain and upper back pain. The thoracic spine is also an important key to proper posture and spinal alignment.

When the spine is in a neutral alignment or proper posture the neck, shoulders and upper back function correctly reducing the risk of injury and reducing stress to the neck, shoulders and upper back.

Proper posture or a neutral spinal alignment is classified by a slight lordotic (inward) curve in the lumbar spine (low back), a slight kyphotic (outward) curve in the thoracic (upper back) and a slight lordotic curve in the cervical spine (neck).

Often times injuries of the shoulder, upper back and neck are treated by trying to stretch, strengthen, massage, poke, needle and electrically stimulate the muscles of the neck, upper back and shoulders. But if the thoracic spine is not in the proper neutral alignment and if the proper alignment cannot be controlled and held stable during movement then it is likely that the neck or shoulder pain will not be resolved.

Improving Thoracic Posture

The first step to improving thoracic posture is to determine if the muscles and joints of the thoracic spine have the proper mobility to achieve the correct postural position. Tight muscles or restrictions of the joints of the thoracic spine may prevent the spine from moving into the proper position. Modalities such as massage, needling, joint mobilizations and stretching/mobility exercises may be used to restore the mobility of the muscles and/or joints so that the spine can be properly aligned.

Next, motor control must be established. Motor control is not the same as strength. You cannot strengthen your way out of bad posture. Motor control starts with the ability to actively get into a proper spinal posture. It is developing an awareness of what proper posture looks and feels like. Motor control is enhanced by the ability to maintain proper posture while moving. Start with less complex movements with little to no resistance and progress to more complex patterns of movement and eventually against greater resistance.

Resolving Shoulder Pain and Neck Pain

Once proper thoracic posture and motor control of the thoracic spine has been achieved then the symptoms of pain in the neck and shoulder can be addressed. Proper thoracic posture will bring the shoulder and neck into proper position which will reduce strain on the joints and soft tissues. By reducing the strain on the joints and soft tissues modalities such as massage, electric stimulation, needling and joint mobilization will be more effective at reducing pain and promoting healing. Proper posture and control of the thoracic spine will also place the muscles of the scapula (shoulder blade), rotator cuff and neck at the correct length to perform movement and exercise more effectively and will respond to exercises more effectively. This proper positioning reduces the mechanical stress to the joints and soft tissue of the shoulder, upper back and neck which resolves pain and improves function and performance.