Just like strength, relaxation is a skill. It’s a vital skill that is vastly overlooked in the strength and conditioning world. Tension and relaxation are the yin and the yang of training. To achieve balance you must have both. If tension is the yin and relaxation is the yang, I would argue that we could all benefit from less yin and more yang.

A little story for ya…

Source

If you haven’t heard of Bud Winter, here is a little background. Bud is regarded as one of the greatest sprint coaches to ever live. He was a great track and field coach, but his ability to teach his athletes to relax was game-changing.

Around the time of early World War II, Bud was hired as Chairman of a research program in relaxation at Del Monte Pre-Flight School for the Navy. Many of the aviators at that time were cracking under pressure at the school and this was even before real bullets were flying.

Later, in their first combat, some of them “froze” mentally, physically or both. They lost a man and a plane . Hence a mandatory program was created that would teach all cadets how to relax under pressure. Once they got going they found that in all sports and highly specialized skills, such as aviation, the greatest enemy to peak performance was hyper-tension (not blood pressure related).

How does this apply to athletic performance?

If you have ever competed in any sport you probably remember those days when it all clicked. You couldn’t miss, every decision was perfect and making a mistake wasn’t in the cards. Everything seemed to slow down and you had sniper-like focus. I have been there and it’s an amazing feeling. Looking back to when I competed, I realized the days I was at my best were when I was relaxed, maybe even distracted until game time. I wasn’t overly focused on the game, just ready to play. I didn’t know it at the time, but I had the perfect balance of tension and relaxation.

Application:
How to Relax Before Training

I use this sequence when I practice the 5 minute snatch test and it works incredibly well. Give it a try before snatching or any workout.

Diaphragmatic Breathing

2-4 minutes of diaphragmatic breathing, focusing on staying incredibly relaxed. Keep this breathing throughout your prep.

Fast and Loose

“Shake the meat off the bone.” Let your muscles flop around. Be the opposite of tense. Let your calves, quads, arms be relaxed. Shake your hands out as if you are trying to get water off them. Shake your feet as if you just stepped in dog poop and you want to get it off.

Practice 2-3 minutes of fast and loose.

Reach and Fall

Reach as high as you can to the sky stretching your whole body out, inhale as you reach. Exhale all of your air and and collapse your body. Don’t actually fall over but finish in a goblet squat like position.

Do 5 of these.

Heel Drops

These are something I came up with (or at least I think I did). Inhale, drive up on your tip toes. Exhale and perform 4-6 heel drops. Let the heel drop push the air out of you. stay relaxed and let each strike of the ground push the air out.

Do 3-5 sets.

Relax the Jaw

Source

Recent research has suggested a link between clenching of the teeth and the release of cortisol (the stress hormone). The current thinking is that as the teeth are clenched there is compression of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). This compression signals the hypothalamus which then triggers the excess production and release of a cascade of hormones including cortisol. Cortisol is the hormone released in the “fight or flight” re- sponse. If one can prevent the teeth from clenching together by dropping the jaw down and forward (putting a measured space between the teeth), it will relieve pressure on the TMJ and change the signal to the hypothalamus, preventing the excessive production of hormones (including cortisol), thereby preventing any performance-diminishing effects.

Open your mouth, keep your jaw loose and slightly forward. Move your jaw around through a comfortable ROM. Don’t force anything and just relax. You can even open your mouth and shake your head side to side lightly and let the jaw float.

Practice for 1 minute.

This stuff works, but, like anything, relaxation is a skill that needs to be practiced.

Try this out and let me know what you think!

You leave the session confused and wondering how the heck you are going to help this person. In the past I would hit the books, ask mentors, other coaches, consult physical therapists etc. They normally had some good advice but I still felt as if something was missing.

In my training career I have goofed up a lot, but I have learned something new every single time. As I matured as a coach I noticed a reoccurring theme when I had clients that were “tough” to work with.

I had the most success when we started on the floor.  I wasn’t sure why, but it just worked.

Several years later….

HE CAN BE TAUGHT!!

I am grateful for all of the classes and courses I have taken but nothing turned me on to understanding the nervous system quite like Z-health. While I don’t practice much of the Z-health system, their information regarding the CNS is top notch. I learned that are wired for survival and our CNS dictates if something is a threat or not a threat. If we put our body in a threatening situation a whole onsalught on crazy things can happen. Muscles will tighten, heart rate increases, breathing patterns will alter, and last but not least, we will find ourselves in pain.

What does threat have to do with exercising? Everything! Let’s take the “squat like a toddler” situation for example. We all agree that toddlers squat with perfect form and it would be great if we could all do the same thing, but guess what? We can’t. In fact, a squat might be a high level and threatening exercise for a specific client. If you take a client that hasn’t moved in 10 years and ask them to squat like a toddler, it will likely pose a serious threat to their CNS.  If they experience what I mentioned above, no amount of foam rolling, band assisted stretching and ankle glides will fix the situation. This is a situation when the floor is your new best friend.

For some, the floor is the least threatening place to start re-learning how to move. For a large portion of my clients, starting on the floor seems to take the neurological brakes off. It’s a very safe position for them which in turn allows for better movement. It’s really quite simple, if your CNS isn’t scared or sensing a threat, you move more freely with less limitations.

What does this look like? A great start would be to buy Becoming Bulletproof by Tim Anderson. This book will give you some deeper insight as to why we should start on the floor.

Here is one of my favorite progressions I use with clients:

Quadruped rocking 10-15 total- * I will also change foot positions while rocking. You can add in a plantar flexed or dorsiflexed ankle while rocking. You can also use the 3 position toe pulls from Z-health.

Neck nods- basic cervical flexion/extension

Quadruped hip extension

Quadruped hip hydrants

Quadruped hip circles

More Quadruped rocking 

Bird dogs- focus on a midline touch underneath. If the can not reach with their elbow, have them use their forearm or hand.

Cat/Camel

Quadruped T-spine rotation 

Egg Rolls- I got these from Becoming Bulletproof. You basically tuck your knees up to around 90 degrees and support your knees with your hands. Roll side to side and let your neck lead the movement.

Table plank- I use this as a precursor to the plank. Begin in the quadruped position with your knees directly under your hips and your hands a bit more narrow than shoulder width. Your ankles will be dorsiflexed and you will load the ball of your foot. Lift the knees off the ground 1 inch and hold. It’s a great way to work on spinal stability without all of the compensations that are usually brought on when using a traditional plank.

So there you have it, a nice little recipe on how to start your clients safely and effectively on the floor. Try it out and see how it goes!!

I love kettlebells. I love everything about them. The touch, the smell, the shape, the awesomeness. Ok, thats a bit much, but you get the point.

I have been training with kettlebell’s since 2007. There have been some good swings, some great swings and some pretty ugly swings along the way. As I prepped for my RKC, my only resource was Enter the Kettlebell. It was a ton of help, but the absence of a coach wasn’t the ideal situation. The RKC weekend was brutal. I passed, but man was I sore. I knew that I was “on my way” or so to speak, but I also had (and still do have) a lot to learn.

Fast forward a few years. In the kettlebell community we have tried every trick in the book to help teach the basic mechanics of the swing. We use bands, towels, dowels and even have slow motion video readily available on our smart phones. We pattern the hip hinge to death, we pattern the plank to death and still some people can’t swing the darn bell. Why?

Short answer: their timing is completely off!

In my opinion, the timing of the swing, snatch and clean is the most under-coached aspect of kettlebell training. It also may be a vital missing component in your technique.

Approximately 40% of the population is made up of visual learners. Understanding this might play a role in how you teach. When a client asks ” Can you show me a few reps of that?” they are basically saying that a visual cue will give them a quicker and greater understanding of the exercise.

In comes Newtons cradle, a great example of newtons 3rd law and an excellent cue on how to teach the timing of a kettlebell swing.

Lets start with the device at a standstill, nothing has happened therefore no action has occurred. Potential energy can be created when one or several of the balls are pulled to one side. It’s only potential energy until a ball is released then its converts to kinetic energy.

If you understand the basics of newtons cradle then you already understand the basics of the kettlebell swing. Let’s dig a bit deeper shall we?

The hike pass is the first part of the kb swing and it’s eerily similar in how we start newtons cradle. In the cradle, we pull a ball back (potential energy) and release it, sending it crashing into the other balls. The energy cannot transfer until the point of impact and only then will the ball on the opposing side move.

What does this have to do with a KB swing? Everything!

If an athletes technique is correct, it should look similar to newtons cradle. As we hike the bell into a deep hinge, we load up the posterior chain and prepare for a powerful hip snap to propel the bell forward into the swing. The elbows should stay connected to the ribcage until the hips finish then the bell can float to the desired position (roughly shoulder height). On the way back down, we should go back into our hinge when our elbows re-connect with our ribcage. The timing of the perfect swing should replicate how the cradle works.

Here is a breakdown:

Newtons cradle                          Kettlebell swing

Pull a ball back                               Hike pass

Moment of impact                         Hips finish, bell floats

Opposing ball floats                       Torso is vertical with hips finished

Second impact                                 Elbow re-connect with ribs into the hinge

Rinse and repeat!

Here is where I see it get goofy all the time. The bell is shoulder height (in the finish position), but the hips finish second. It pretty much looks like someone is chasing the bell. Again, their timing is way off!! It would be like someone releasing one ball on one side of the cradle only to have the opposing side move before the moment if impact. Not gonna happen. Get my point?

Another way to think about this is linkage vs. leakage. If you are all linked up with proper timing, the swing will look like newtons cradle. The hips snap, elbows come off the ribs, bell floats, elbows re-connect to the ribs and then back into the hinge. This is a beautiful and efficient swing.

The ugly style swing is an example of leakage. Power production is very low so heavy swings seem impossible. The hips finish second, when the bell is already in front of the body. The down swing starts with a pre-mature hinge causing the bell to be late which puts un-needed torque on the lumbar spine. You will know it when you see it, it looks like someone is reacting to the bell rather than directing the bell.

Remember that timing is everything and linkage is better than leakage when it comes to the kettlebell lifts!

One thing I can do is write random lists that don’t necessarily tie together to share brilliant information. Consider this the first post in the 5 Things you should do series.

1. Sleep More

Yup, its that simple. Try to get 8 hours of sleep each night. In fact try to go to bed and get up at the same time every morning. Here are a couple fun facts that won’t make you sleepy.

• Growth hormone is released by the pituitary gland when you sleep. Growth hormone stimulates growth and reproduction of your cells. When your body produces the proper amount of GH you enjoy the benefits of strong bones and muscles. GH can also decrease the amount of adipose tissue you have. Long story short, you burn fat and gain muscle…there’s a reason why this stuff is handed out like M&M’s at every “rejuvenation” clinic in Florida. GH really is the fountain of youth.
• Proper sleep decreases inflammation! Who ‘da thunk it? Research indicates that people who get less sleep—six or fewer hours a night—have higher blood levels of inflammatory proteins than those who get more. Pretty sweet huh!

2.  Take Epsom Salt Baths

I have used Epsom salt baths for years. The jury is out on how the baths truly benefit the body. Some people swear by them (me) and others say they don’t work. I am not here to debate the scientifics, but to share my experience. If you need scientific facts, use some google magic and get what you need.

I primarily use epsom salt baths when I am suffering from DOMS. Here are the benefits I have noticed:

• decreased muscle soreness
• better sleep
• decreased joint stiffness
• more productive workouts the following day

So go ahead and give them a try, I will even give you the recipe:

AMAZING EPSOM SALT BATHS!

Block off 30 minutes

Light some scented candles and throw on some John Mayer on the ipod…(that’s optional)

Fill your tub up 2/3 of the way with hot water (not too hot!) and add 2-3 cups of epsom salt. Don’t fill the tub all the way up! If you are not familiar with water displacement, this picture of a T-Rex submerged in water might help.

Enjoy the bath for 10-15 minutes, stop sweating,  cool down a bit and go to bed!

3. Rocking!

Ok, not that type of rocking but I couldn’t resist using a picture from one of my favorite movies.

Rocking is a fundamental movement pattern we learn around 8-12 months old. This  movement strengthens the whole body while concurrently stimulating the vestibular system. This drill is very non-threatening to the CNS and reinforces healthy movement patterns we learned as baby.

This drill seems to “take the brakes off” of a lot of my clients and vastly improves their movement quality. Rocking closely resembles the squat pattern and does wonders for hip, knee and spinal health. Try rocking on your off days and see how you feel!

4. Proper Breathing

Every night before I go to sleep I go into my son Connor’s room and watch him for a minute or so. It’s quite peaceful watching him sleep. His belly rises and falls with a perfect cadence. This is is how we are meant to breathe, with our diaphragms. Unfortunately, as we get older we forget how to breathe.

Sitting all day and a leading a stressful life is not a good combination. It’s like brushing your teeth and drinking orange juice immediately after.

Yup gross….

Ok, back to breathing.

The diaphragm is your primary breathing muscle. It separates the rib cage from the abdomen. As you inhale, the diaphragm contracts and your belly should stick out. When you exhale, the diaphragm relaxes and your belly goes back to normal. WAIT!!! Are you saying that my belly should stick out when I breathe? But how can I keep my six pack contracted when running shirtless in 50 degree weather? Yup, we all know that guy

So yes, proper breathing occurs via the diaphragm. But as I mentioned, most of us have it all wrong. The majority of people are using their “emergency” or secondary breathing muscles most of the time. The scalenes, sternocleidomastoid, pecs, and serratus are all secondary breathing muscles. If these muscles do all the work, you can look forward to:

• neck and upper back pain
• thoracic outlet syndrome
• decreased ROM in the shoulders and neck
• chronic headaches
• rozen shoulder

I am not saying this will happen to you. All I am saying is that you should learn how to breathe properly. If ya don’t, good luck.

5. Avoid Gluten

Over the last 6 weeks I have purposefully tried to avoid gluten in my diet. This was a mini-experiment to see how I felt. I have read the literature about the issues gluten can present but I wasn’t ready to give up pizza and guinness on the weekends. I have drastically cut back gluten in my diet and I feel 100 times better. I have less stomach aches, my workouts are more productive, I am leaner and my wife doesn’t make me sleep on the couch as much. I don’t claim to be the conductor on the gluten free train but I am willing to bet that if more people avoided gluten in their diet, they would lose weight and feel better.

For more info on this topic visit www.wheatbellyblog.com.

Which one of these areas needs some work in your life?

Here are 5 tips to keep in mind when you’re working with young athletes:

1. Coach, don’t just drill

Kids are pretty smart. They will pick up on things quickly. Try to pick 3-5 teaching points for each lift and always use the same points when teaching. There is a huge difference between coaching and just running kids through lifts.

For example, here are some basic cues I use for the squat:

• Feet hip width, toes pointed slightly out
• Drive your knees out wide as you descend into the squat, keep your knees over toes. Heels down!
• Keep your posture tall and maintain a flat spine through out the lift

Yup! that’s it…for now. I will hammer home the finer points once I see the athlete move, but I think it’s important to use the KISS method. Keep it simple stupid.

2. Practice the basics

If you look at my training programs for these athletes, they are very simple. For lower body lifts I teach split stance, single leg and bilateral lifts. If I can get my athletes to nail a basic deadlift, split squat and single leg squat, I am a very happy coach.

I practice these every day and focus on the basics because I would rather have my athlete be proficient at 8-10 lifts than stink at 20. Don’t worry about thinking that the program is boring. If your athletes are getting stronger and you have the numbers to prove it, they won’t be bored at all.

3. Decelerate

We all love jump training, but what about the landing? What about when our athletes change direction?

In my opinion, deceleration training is vital to performance and injury prevention. Non-contact injuries are increasing at an alarming rate these days. Teach your young athletes how to change direction and land safely and effectively and it will do wonders for them.

So you don’t think that landing and deceleration is important? How’s this look?

These exercises are not as sexy as improving your vertical jump by 10 inches, but they’ll keep your athletes healthy.

4. Sports specific training is not the answer

I have an idea. Let’s do ladder drills with a hockey stick in our hands. We can even shoot free-throws with a med ball. Sounds a bit silly to me and oh ya…it doesn’t work.

The training we provide for young athletes (or heck, athletes of all ages) should enhance the sport that they play,  not take place of it. Strong is strong in any sport. Fast is fast in any sport. Being durable and injury-free is an amazing gift we can give to our athletes. Please don’t forget that.

Get your athletes mobile, strong, explosive, fast and durable. Then have them practice the sport they love and watch them get better every year.

5. Record your numbers

We all love to see results. Kids are the same way. If they see that they started with only being able to complete 2 pull ups and after the program they could do 10, they will be psyched!

Progress is a trainer’s best friend.  Record all of your athlete’s workouts and watch the numbers steadily go up. Don’t be lazy, take the time to write it all down!

Thats me, no really

I have been lifting weights since I was 14. I have been a strength coach for almost 10 years. In those years I have learned many valuable lessons from mentors, friends, coaches and coworkers. One lesson still holds true to this very day…Nobody likes an a$$. We all know this person and some of us (including myself) have been this person. We cut people short, we “big time” them, create conflict when unnecessary, and act like our poop doesn’t stink. I am not sure why egos are prevalent in the strength and conditioning world but they are and I don’t ever see that changing. But why?

Everyone has learned something from someone else. Whether through reading books or blogs, having a conversation or simply watching from afar, this learning process will continue as you mature as a coach. We rip each other off (which is great ) and base opinions off of experience. I believe this helps to shape us as coaches and as people. However, there is a down side to this. If you surround yourself with negative people who constantly think that their way is the only way or they have all the answers, you are clearly living in a box. You will eventually become an a$$.

I have met some of the best coaches in the world. I am talking about the biggest names in then Strength and Conditioning mega-universe. When these people speak, we all listen. The information is usually great. These professionals have the ability to make a huge impact on younger trainers in the industry. People like Dan John,  Brett Jones, Pavel and David Jack are top notch professionals. They are always friendly, willing to help and genuinely care about sharing and guiding others. These guys are damn good at what they do but have no ego, no reason to “big time” anyone and aren’t a$$holes. Could they be? Yup, they are the best (in my opinion). They have been in the trenches and come out as the guru’s in our field. I believe that each of them have made a conscious decision to do the right thing.

And then there are the turds. The cocky know-it-alls who are clearly above anyone else. You ask a simple question and get a snippy or sarcastic remark. It would be way too easy to give a clear, helpful and honest answer but you are too busy acting assholier than thou (just made that phrase up, sweet huh). YES, WE KNOW YOU ARE SMART, BUT DON’T BE AN A$$!!! You just had a chance to make a positive impact on someone, but you are much more important than the rest of us I know that you don’t time for the minions.

…and thats how we feel

Kidding aside, we should all try to make a positive impact with everyone we meet. Share knowledge, find a mentor and be a mentor. Remember your time in the trenches. Learn from the massive failures and come out stronger each time. Find something you love and be great at it. Every time you speak, teach or train, you have two choices. Make the right one.

Now, just because someone has an opinion doesn’t mean that they formed their opinion based off of their own personal experience. Here is my issue with this. Often people’s opinions are formed based on the experiences of friends, colleagues, blogs they read and articles, they perused through. Anyone can read an article, regurgitate some brief points and act like they have actually experienced it.

I have been guilty of this in the past, even just 2 weeks ago. I thought I knew more than I actually did and I would comment on things and form opinions based off on the little information and experience I had on the subject. As I mature, I am learning that knowledge is good, but knowledge paired with application is even better. As I coach, my goal is to speak from actual experience, nothing more or less. This is one way I can provide the best experience for all of my clients.

You can’t triple stamp a double stamp.

The strength and conditioning world is full of egos, opinions and insanely strong beliefs. It’s even gotten to the point that people get VERY upset when someone challenges his/her opinion. We argue about some pretty ridiculous points and go off on crazy tangents to try to convince other coaches that we are right. It’s actually pretty dumb. The squat debate has gotten some major press in the last few years, but guess what it boils down to? If someone can squat safely and they are getting stronger, cool, squats are good. If it hurts them and their form is terrible, they shouldn’t squat.

I honestly don’t care what exercises, mobility and strength programs you prefer. If it works and your clients are healthy, happy, moving well and working towards their goals then you are doing something right. The goal is to keep the goal the goal. If you are doing something right, I can learn from you and that’s cooler than Danny Zuko. If your clients are constantly injured then I might think twice about listening to you.

If you want to be a fat loss expert then help people lose weight.

If your goal is to be the best speed coach ever, I want to see some fast athletes you have trained.

If your goal is to be a strength coach then you might want to see if you are able get some clients strong.

Dive in and be the best coach you can be. Make changes in your clients before you call yourself a guru.

It’s been awhile since I have posted. Things have been very crazy but I can assure you that good things are happening at Skill of Strength. While I was on my little hiatus I have had lots of time to think about success and what it means to me. So here goes, these are my secrets to success!!

1. Listen more, talk less
2. Look someone in the eyes when speaking to them
3. Drink more water
4. Eat more vegetables
5. Listen to music that moves you
6. Learn everyday
7. Pay attention, 1+1 doesn’t always equal 2
8. Forgive quickly
9. Don’t hold grudges
10. Try to make the best decision every opportunity you have
11. Teach as much as possible
12. Find a mentor
13. Move every day
14. Learn from your mistakes
15. Learn how to breath properly
16. Assess then re-assess
17. Be patient
18. Even if you don’t want to go somewhere, just show up
19. Don’t idolize money
20. Treat the ones you love with respect
21. Shut off your phone
22. Fast for one day
23. Open doors for strangers
24. Pray more
25. Have the faith of a child

Double 24k bells

5 ladders of 2,4,6 rep scheme

19:18

I beat my last session by a minute!!

Stay tuned for a 1 month update!!

Day 5

5 ladders of 2, 4, 6 rep scheme with double 24k bells

24 min flat

Day 6

5 ladders of 2, 4, 6 rep scheme with double 24k bells

22:46

Day 7

5 ladders of 2,4, 6 rep scheme with double 24k bells

20:20

Each time is faster, I am hoping to complete 5 ladders under 19 min then progress to the next step from the program in Return of the Kettlebell!!

Here is a quick video from Day 6!!

Enjoy and please ask if you have any questions!!