Tackle poor posture, spine mobilty and improved overhead positioning with exercises such as shoulder presses with my favourite spinal mobilty drill...
What you need
Two massage balls in a sock or 2 lacrosse balls duct taped together will work just fine.
How to do it
Elevate your feet with your knees bent at 90 degrees and keep your spine in a neutral position. Hug your arms round your body to move the scapular out of the way. Place the 2 balls on the thoracic spine (around chest level). Slowly extend over the balls, but keep your core engaged to prevent any hyperextension of the spine.The great thing about working with the two balls is you can localise the target area and work on 2 segments of the spine at a time. Feel free to move the balls up or down to work on another 2 segments of the T spine. Spend at least 120 seconds on the mobilisation to see and feel some change.
For the last year, a client and friend of mine regularly lectured me on how he found the protein shaker bottles with the metal ball in had the ability to make a better shake than the style with the grid at the top. Eventually I gave in and tired one, and guess what. He was right! They really do make a creamier, smoother shake.
I suppose you're thinking "why is this relevant?!". Well my theory is, if you can make a more enjoyable tasting shake with ease, it becomes something you look forward to having. You'll be less likely to skip it, meaning your nutritional intake is optimal for your goals. And believe me there's nothing worse than having vile tasting, watery, lumpy shake to consume day in day out.
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Using a compression band for increased joint mobility is nothing new. If you struggle with stiff, tight painful knees, or if you have difficulty driving the knees out during a squat/achieving decent range of motion then this technique might be for you! I've been using it for the last few months and my knees feel stronger, looser and I my knee mechanics are much better during squats.
What you'll need...
A voodoo compression band or a bicycle inner tube cut in half will work just fine.
How does it work...
Wrapping the band around a joint (knee, elbow, ankle etc.) a few inches above and below the joint and keeping the band nice and tight will create compression forces. This helps restore sliding surface function to the underlying banded tissues as well as create a flexion-gaping force at the joint. This can help restore normal range of motion in the joint. Once the band is removed the tissues surrounding the joint will flood with fresh blood bringing nutrients to the muscles and joint for improved recovery. One of the biggest advantages of using the banded mobilisation technique is you can closely mobilise the movement you want to improve. Just like below, I want better knee mechanics during squatting so I'm squatting!
How to do it...
Wrap the knee joint fairly tight a few inches below and above the joint. Start from the bottom and work your way up.
Start by performing some basics squats. Then sit in the the bottom position allowing the knee to come into deep flexion. You can also drive your knee out with your elbow. The whole drill should last for 2-3 minutes. Then unwrap the knee and perform on the other side.
Ok so let me start this post by just defining the strength curve. The strength curve is a graphical representation of how the body generates force through a specific range of motion. Different exercises will train the muscles through different parts of the strength curve (low, mid, upper). Now, to thoroughly hit all fibres and really get the best from an exercise you need to overload the strength curve. By tweaking an exercise that let's say normally trains the muscle through the low range of the strength curve, you can work the same muscle through the mid-upper range. Let me further demonstrate this with an example aimed at working the biceps thoroughly...
1A: ez bar preacher curl holding onto straps
6-8 reps
2121 tempo
Strength curve target: mid-upper range
1B: ez bar preacher curl
12 reps
2010 tempo
Strength curve target: low range
By holding onto straps and moving the weight of the ez bar outside the centre of gravity you'll work the biceps through a different range of the strength curve. Now that's how you really push 1 exercise to its limit!
I'm sure you're all aware of the tortoise and the hare story. The slow tortoise smokes the hare that gets to tired before the finish. As a trainer I know full well how this story can transfer over into a clients success. The hare client tries to implement every healthy nutritional, lifestyle and exercise habit under the sun in week 1. This enthusiasm is great, but it normally leads to failure. The tortoise client develops small habits, working on getting each one nailed down before moving onto the next. This creates long term, sustainable success. Take a look at one of my clients bodyfat caliper test readings over the course of about 10 months. We worked on changing small habits week after week and progresive resistance exercise. Simple, but this dropped his bodyfat by 10%, decreased his fat mass by 10.3kg's and increased his lean body mass. Now there's a few blips here and there (that's life), but the best part is he's now at a weight and shape he's happy with and he's just ticking over. Everything we've changed has developed into a habit that's set for life.
So are you a tortoise or a hare? Just remember....
Slow and steady progress trumps the 2 week success story every time!
I'm a big believer in regularly changing your exercises to see continued progress. Using the same exercises for months in and out (even if you are changing other variables such as reps/weight/tempo etc.) will soon see you plateau. I know this because I was once that guy! Try these different arms exercises to inject some variety and results into your routine...
Seated low pulley cable concentration curl
A fantastic finisher to your biceps work, you'll get a massive burn! With the elbows in front of the body the short head of the biceps are recruited thoroughly. Make sure you make the most of every rep and squeeze the biceps hard at the top.
Lying ez bar skull crusher with pulley cable attached
The problem with the lying skull crusher on a flat bench is it mainly works the triceps through the bottom part of the strength curve. Attach a pulley cable to the bar and the triceps will be under constant tension through the whole of the strength curve. For even more fun, have your training partner remove the cable from the bar when you've finished your reps, so you're free to bust out some more (like a drop set).
Ez bar preacher curl holding onto straps
Like with the previous exercise, the ez bar preacher curl only works the biceps through the lower end of the strength curve. In other words as you curl the bar up towards your shoulders the tension tends to minimise in that top position. However if you place the weight outside the centre of gravity (like a kettlebell) and hold onto 2 straps, tension will be on the biceps through the whole range of the strength curve. This exercise tends to work best with a slower tempo like 3031.
Thick grip reverse barbell curl
Thick grips will recruit more motor units than a standard bar. You'll work the forearms harder and improve your grip strength. Flip your grip and your biceps no longer get an effective line of pull. Therefore the brachialis come into play (the golf ball shaped muscle on the side of
the arm between the bicep and tricep) a muscle of the arms that is often undertrained.
Ah the pull-up, the king of upper body exercises! Often performed incorrectly. With any exercise the smallest of tweaks can have a dramatic impact on your overall performance during the set. And remember if you can perform an exercise better (more reps, more weight etc.) it will have a greater training effect.
Wrong.....
Legs crossed and knees bent behind you. This causes an overextension fault of the lumbar spine. From this position it makes it impossible to engage the glutes, create a neutral spine and therefor create stability in the shoulder joint. The shoulder joint will rise up towards the ears to try and create a stable environment and in turn the lats switch off (the muscle group you're probably trying to hit with this one)
Right.....
Legs together, toes pointed just out in front of you. Glutes engaged and core pulled in tight. From this position the spine remains in neutral and there is greater stability within the shoulder joint. Don't be surprised if you can perform more reps from this position!
What you need to remember is with any compound exercise a small fault can cause you to dump torque and leak power, which will take away from the exercise. Think of it like this, your body is an electrical circuit. If the circuit is broken (in this example there is overextension of the lumbar spine) you'll lose power.
