If you want to add some size, strength and a bit of conditioning too in little time, I have a “treat” for you.
This will also activate your “core” like crazy, requires little technique and it pretty straight forward.
As shown in the video above, you will do a farmers walk (walk while holding weight), but you will hold it in the crook of your elbows, also known as a “Zercher.”
You may have heard of the Zercher Squat which was credited to strongman Ed Zercher (1902 – 1995).
This is simply walking with weight in the zercher position.
Sounds easy right? ha!
Seriously, you have to try this out to really get it.
Let me know what you think by placing a comment below.
When you are doing them you will probably not like me and curse Ed Zercher, but the gains will be worth it as it will work virtually every muscle in your body at once.
Rock on Mike T Nelson
PS
If you missed the video, be sure to check out the progressions I provide for you also.
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Motivation Monday: Derek Poundstone Huge Squats and Deadlifts for Reps
Some more crazy stuff from Derek!
I love watching this video below as it is in a commercial looking gym again.
The people on the stairmasters must think he is completely insane!
Keep in mind that Derek is a strongman competitor, so the form used in his training will be a bit different and is specialized to HIS body and HIS structure. This is built up over YEARS of training, so don’t think you can go to the gym and do this on day 1.
If you have ever even tried to deadlift with an axle, which is 2 inches in diameter vs a standard 1 inch diameter; you are in for a rude awakening with both palms down (double overhand). I found out recently at the Grip Competition at the Movement Minneapolis.
If you missed Adam’s Grip series, check it out below
So I am running a bit behind here and it is 5:09 am and I am still working on my dissertation and have been since about 7:30pm again and that is just today. Oh the good times. I have less than 2 hours left to before the due time, so here is a delayed Motivational video for you.
If you want something, go for it. Don’t point fingers and believe others have it so easy. It is up to you to take action and I love all the action takers that read this blog–awesome!!!
Back to it I go.
Off to see Seth Godin in a few hours, perhaps finally sleep for a couple hours and then off off to see Dr. Lorimer Moseley present on the neurology of pain tonight.
When does something change from an activation exercise to a strength exercise?
Why do we do activation work with bodyweight only?
If we add a 10 lb plate is that strength work then?
What is the point of an activation exercise?
If it is to activate more tissue (muscle), we know the Henneman Size Principle (1) dictates that the heavier the load, the more muscle is activated.
Higher recruitment = stronger muscle contraction
Before the pubmed ninjas go crazy on me, I agree that rate coding can and an effect too, but will table that one for now.
So
More weight = more recruitment
If we agree on that, then why would you not add more weight to the exercise?
Progressive Overload
If you are always doing endless reps of a bodyweight glute bridge (a common activation exericse), what stimulus is there for your body to get stronger?
Um, there is none unless you are adding more body fat to your midsection. You are getting worse at that point.
You can increase overload primarily by
1) Volume: the amount of work done (sets x reps)
2) Density: the amount of work done in a set period of time (volume / time)
3) Weight or % 1 rep max: how much weight you are using
As my buddy Frankie says
“Adaptation has no off switch”
The stimulus provided by an exercise is very very key! Work to increase volume, density and weight to trigger positive adaptation
Movement
If an exercise makes you move better (better gait, increased range of motion before tension, etc), then it is good for your body and highly “corrective” at the same time. You can stop doing all that crazy “corrective exercise” too
If hip thrusts (as shown in the video above) improve your movement and you can use them with more load, I would argue they are superior for your goals (better looking butt, more hip power, bigger deadlift,etc)
4 Steps to End All Activation Work
1) Measure active range of motion (as shown in the Grip and Rip DVD)
2) Perform an exercise to target the area you want to work
3) Measure active range of motion again. If better, continue to add load until you reach your rep range
4) Stop sets at the first sign of altered breathing or increased tension
If you are looking for more glute activation, hip thrusts and perhaps kettlebell swings may be a good place to start
If you are looking for more upper back work to fix up your posture, test some inverted rows or pull ups.
Frequency
Here is a trick. If you are looking to bring up your glutes, I say blast them every day. I would test a hip thrust every day and if it tests well, go for it. Maybe you add this as a finisher to your training sessions even 3-4 times a week. If you want to make a faster change, you need to test it more often for greater frequency. I think you will be amazing how often you can do an exercise. I’ve done some exercises for many days in a row and still made progress. Others have done much more than I have as I tend to follow a bit more of a windy path. I think Adam at one point tested good for the kettlebell clean and jerk for months at a time.
Another tip. Start VERY light.
When I started doing the Contreras Hip Thrusts, I just used bodyweight. Then the next session I used a bar, then 95 lbs, then 135, etc. Remember progressive overload? This was a brand new exercise for me, so why try to blast my body into oblivion on rep 1? In a perfect world, we would provide just enough stimulus to trigger adaptation and then no more. While science has not shown exactly how much is needed yet, from my own experience and talking to others, it appears to only be about 5-10% MORE.
Constant, consistent progress is key. As above–a bit more volume, a bit more density, a bit more weight. Most ONLY focus on weight and that is a mistake. They will plateau very fast.
Summary
More load = more muscle recruitment
More frequency = more stimulus for adaptation
Test your movement to ensure you are getting better
If you move better after the exercise, why not do that more often with more weight as compared to endless amount of bodyweight “activation” drills?
Plus, this is waaaaay more fun. Screw the pink dumbbells.
Comments
What do you think? I want to hear your thoughts on this one for sure!
PS
The Crazy Professors Birthday Webinar Sale end tonight, Tuesday Aug 24, 2010 at midnight CST! They go back into the vault then until who know when, so check out all the details below now!
The Professor Does A Grip Competition: World’s Strongest Hands, The Movement Minneapolis Minnesota August
The Professor: Euro Pinch Test, August 2010
Adam T Glass convinved me to compete in the latest grip contest.
I have not done much grip stuff to be honest, so I figured it would be a great baseline and something fun to try. I have never done a single rep of the 3 grip events that were in the contest until that day.
I could have sat at home and talked about getting better, but that is too easy. Time to sign up and see how it goes.
Adam added a few other fun events too like 2 inch vertical bar, 2 inch diameter axle deadlift (double overhand, so both palms down) and rolling thunder.
Check out the video below and see if you can spot the Professor
The Tactical Strength Challenge (TSC) is coming up on Sept 25, so that will be a great one. Max deadlift, pullups and kettlebell snatch.
The second part of the Grip Contest will be at the Movement Minnesota on Sept 11 and if you missed the first one, there are still 2 more chances after the Sept 11 one, so come on out.
Drop a comment on who is going to compete.
The goal is not to win, the goal is to be better first. Winning will come once you are better and better and better.
No excuses, sign the line now! If you want someone to guide you through your first meet or TSC, hit me up at the “services” tab above and I will help you out.
Rock on Mike T Nelson
PS
HUGE thanks to Adam for doing the contest and David Horne for the idea. You can see Adam’s blog post at
“A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be.”
“Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction.”
“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”
“Everyone should be respected as an individual, but no one idolized.”
“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”
“Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted.”
“Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.” –Albert Einstein
My wonderful wife Jodie sent these quotes to me and I thought they were awesome so I wanted to share with you today.
You will recognize all of them from Albert Einstein.
Be Your Own Scientist: Things from my own training
The Professor in His Lab
What is a scientist?
A scientist is simply someone who tests things.
Do you need an advanced degree to do this? Nope. I would not recommend that people spend 16+ years in college to the tune of over $250,000 like I did just to test things. Let me save a ton of money and time.
Don’t get me wrong. Education is great, but if you want to talk about overkill, that is pretty much it if your goal is to test exercises on yourself.
Testing 101
You should find a way to test everything.
Do you want to build bigger muscles and increase strength?
Find a way to test it.
I have been using the testing as shown in the Grip n Rip DVDs for about 3.5 years now. The system was not as refined when I started, so you have a huge head start. Frankie was the first one to test it and then I was right after him. Now you can go to www.twitter.com and type in “#PReveryday” and see hundreds of people using it.
If your goal is more muscle and less fat, then you progressive overload. What is that? Do more volume, density (volume/time) and intensity (weight on the bar). Do a bit more in one of these 3 areas each time you enter the gym and score a PR (personal record). Rinse and repeat. I can be that simple. Really.
What Have I Learned?
I recently went back through my training journal to look at the first year of training that I did using biofeedback. This was starting about 2 years ago and I looked for about a 1 year time span.
Here is what I found
Deadlift- Volume work
I responded much better to more volume. I did volume work at a lower percentage of my max and still made progress. Even doing high rep work on the trap bar deadlift helped.
Bench Press – Intensity Work
For bench I responded better to more higher intensity work. My best gains were made when I was at a heavier body weight and working at about 90%+ percentage. For a 9 month period I was routinely doing 5-10 sets of singles at 90-98% of my 1 rep max once a week.
Squat – Nothing
This one did not test well at all, most likely to my spine issues. I could lunge and do deadlifts, but a standard barbell squat did not test well. Once I got my spine fixed up a bit, it started to test well again. More on that below.
Variety – Great!
The more new exericses I did, the better I felt and could increase relatively fast. I found that this helped other things I did the most. I was much better kiteboarding, playing broomball and volleyball. I could kiteboard for 3 hours at a shot, just cranking it for most of the time with very little body fatigue. AWESOME! Nothing worse than going to some place new and finding out your body hates you and you are limited. Boo.
Wow, 2 of the best kiteboarding days I have ever had in Minnesota!
Vision+Scar Work
I have a scar of over a foot long on the middle of my torso from open heart surgery when I was about 4.5 years old. I was born with a cogenital issue called an “atrial septal defect” see the video below
What is an ASD?
My heart was enlarge and I went into heart failure at a very young age. Without surgery, I would be lucky to live to about age 18 due to the increased strain on my heart. They went in, took a bone saw and cut my sterum (chest), cut through the right atrium and repaired the hole. Even on x-ray now I still have the “twist ties” in my chest that they used to put me back together.
Scars are nothing more than areas of limited mobility, but in the skin/fascial layer.
I did some specific work taping my scar into a position with kinesiotape before my lifting sessions. I taped it in the direction that resulted in the greatest increase in my active range of motion.
I worked on specific exercises that would stress that area and cause it to remodel. During this time many lifts that I wanted to do did not test well. My performance on my “standard” lifts dropped.
This went on for about 6-9 months and then I needed to tape it less and less. Since then I have not had to do any taping at all and my structure is much better.
Keep in mind that loading (weight training) is a powerful stimulus to cause changes to
bone
skin
fascia
muscle
tendons/ligaments
It is probably the best way we know to change our structure
Vision
I am currently stereoblind – I don’t see in 3D. I suppress the image from my right eye. You have 2 eyes that your brain uses to construct a 3D view of the world since each eye is off just a bit from the other one, so it sees things just a bit differently. Your brain uses this to allow you to see in 3D. I can “see” from both eyes, but when I am giving specific tests to analyze 3D vision I fail them out right. My right eye is set out and up a bit since I had a “lazy eye” as a kid.
Through help from Dr, Cobb of Z-Health, at the time, I found that my scar seemed to be linked to my ability to turn on and off (unsupress) my right eye by using a simple Brock string device. As my movement got better, I did less scar taping as described above, my vision started to get better. Currently I find that kettlebell juggling is a huge help. My next step is that once I get a few things off my plate and bit more money I will start some more intensive visual therapy as my structure seems to have stabilized.
A Must Read For Anyone with Vision Issues
Sleep
I found that I need about 9-9.5 hours of quality sleep a night.
At first I was pissed about this and spent months and months trying many things to get by on less. I could operate on less, but my strength gains and the amount of volume and intensity I could do in the gym dropped off pretty fast. I learned to be a master of the nap and would drive around with a pillow in my car. I was known to slip out of the lab between sessions and catch a short nap in the back of my Jetta. If you do it right, a 6′3″ guy can find the back with the seat down. I used caffeine power naps too.
I have also been using an Earth Pulse Unit for a few years now. I have not noticed as much strength gains as others have reported, nor could I cut back on sleep duration; but I noticed I don’t have to do much of any cardiovascular (conditioning) as I had to in the past to keep it at a decent level. I don’t use it for a few days and CRF (cardiorespiratory fitness) drops quite fast. It should be pointed out that I have never really had any issue with quality sleep, so others with sleep issues may respond differently.
Stress Sucks
Stress would kill my gains in the gym pretty fast. While you may not be able to change what you are doing (maybe you can), if not, you need to change how you PERCEIVE it. This is a bit beyond this post, but keep in mind that you are in control and that you make the decisions. Are you getting better or worse?
No PRs = No Progress
Seems so obvious I know, but I did not get it at that time. I did not think it was possible to make a PR every time you go to the gym. It is possible and for the fastest progress you need to do it!
Summary
So I would encourage you to take a look at your training journal and see what trends you find. Figure out a way to test it. If you don’t have a training journal, get one now! Just a standard notebook works great for me. Probably the only thing I did correct when I started about 18 years ago was keeping a training journal. I still have ever one of them too. Study the past to help predict the future and test it.
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