Jan 9, 2012

Today I learned something new, a new way of using the pvc pipe to improve your technique. I usually use the pvc pipe to warmup with some basic mobility drills, and I have seen people start their warmup set with the pvc pipe if the barbell constitutes a moderate load. But I had not heard of using a pvc pipe to help teach a proper back position until I read this article from EliteFTS. This article does a great job of describing how to cue a tight, properly positioned, back by placing the pipe (or broomstick) against the back of someone who needs help finding the right position.

It’s a pretty simple technique that works by helping the trainee to feel what a good back position is. The ability to know where you body is and what it is doing during sport is a crucial skill for all athletes. Knowledge of body position is also a skill that many non athletes lack. The more athletic experience someone has, the more likely they are to understand what their body is doing. Sports like gymnastics done at an early age tend to produce athletes that are the most aware of body position. These types of athletes will learn new movements faster than others. This pvc pipe teaching method is great for those trainees who don’t have a large athletic background and therefore need a little help to find the right back position.

How are you feeling today? I’ll feeling pretty slow and weak. Why? Because I just had a week of max effort training. All of that intensity work has left me tired and tight. There are quite a few ways to recover from a week of intensity both in and out of the gym. I know you’re thinking that it shouldn’t be possible to recover in the gym, but not only is it possible I would say it is crucial to learn how to recover in the gym.

In order to counteract the tightness and soreness that results from a period of hard training, light barbell complexes are your best friend. I find that my shoulders take the biggest beating after heavy snatch and jerk training. I’ll use a complex of 5 Sotts press from the back in a snatch grip followed by 5 Sotts press from the front in a jerk grip. I usually use just the barbell and I go for a few sets of that until I feel my shoulders have loosened up. Overhead squats are another another good option because they are a great flexibility movement that loosen up the legs and shoulders.

I will add in these light complexes before and after workouts when I’m feeling very fatigued because they help me stretch and increase blood flow to fatigued areas, helping recovery. Experimentation is your best friend with these complexes. I’m still looking for the best way to help me recover in the gym and the only way to improve is to try different movements. Try it out for yourself and see how in the gym recovery changes your performance.

Mobilization is a systematic approach at improving a multitude of movement disfunction in athletes. It can improve your range of motion and as a result help you lift heavier and move faster. The changes that you can make are astonishing and even comical. It doesn’t matter what kind of athlete you are or even if you’re not an athlete it can improve the way you move.

If you aren’t familiar with Kelly Starrett’s Mobility WOD, I highly recommend checking it out. First time viewers should start at the first post because it can get a bit involved.

Check it out and try it for yourself.

A common squatting fault, both in the front and back squats, is not finding the correct balance and weight distribution on your feet. In order to teach the proper technique, coaches will often use the cue “heels” to remind you that you should distribute your weight evenly across your feet. The ideal balance in a squat is to have the center of mass of you and the barbell over the middle of your foot. Why is the cue not “middle” or “balance”? There are several reasons, the first of which is that both of those are incredibly lame.

They also don’t help to correct the main problem, which is that you are attempting to balance yourself and added weight over the ball of your foot. In order to correct this, the best cue encourages you to over-correct and shift the weight to your heels. Hopefully you will try, and more importantly succeed in making a change that places the weight over the middle of your foot.

It may be hard for beginners to squat to full depth due to flexibility or strength imbalance. If flexibility is an issue, cueing may not improve squat technique. Instead it is more important to get into a good stretching routine that will loosen up hips/quads/hamstrings so that you will be able to reach the bottom of a squat easily.

If strength imbalance is the limiting factor, cueing may be a good way to solve the problem. usually people who squat on their toes are attempting to use their stronger quadriceps (the front part of the leg) to move the weight instead of engaging the hamstrings. Over time, and with constant reminders, cueing to place weight on the heels will strengthen the back of the leg enough so that the balance comes naturally. Other assistance exercises can be used to achieve this balance; however the squat, when properly executed, will usually the be most effective training tool for a begginer.