Building Strength and Setting Personal Records with Gym Movement Biofeedback: An Interview with Chris Smith

Let’s get right to the point, you just recently did a powerlifting event and broke 2 state records, tell us about that.  You were even on the USAPL Powerlifting Watch.

First off Mike I want to thank you for contacting me for the interview!

I recently competed in the Orange County Powerlifting Championships in Pine Bush, NY. It was a USAPL meet and was my first powerlifting event. Everyone there was great and extremely helpful and I want to take this chance to say thanks one more time to everyone who took time to help me out. I competed in the Men’s Raw 148lb division and set two NY State Records: the squat with 303lbs and one in the bench press with 198lbs. Those were done at a weight of 137.4lbs. It was an amazing experience and I highly suggest that anyone thinking about competing give it a try. There is something truly awesome about going for a max lift and hearing people who you’ve never met before that day yelling for you.

Here is Smith’s 303 pound NY State Record Squat at 148

Here is Smith’s 198 pound NY State Record Bench Press

Here is Smith’s 402 pound deadlift

Awesome!  Are you doing another meet soon?

Yes and I can’t wait. I will almost certainly be doing another USAPL meet at the end of July, but nothing is 100% just yet. I’m training with that as a goal in mind.

What is your background and how did you get into powerlifting?

I’ve been working in health and fitness for about 5 years now, but I started working out and weight training when I was a freshman in high school. I was always the small kid and actually started training heavy right the start. I wanted to be as strong as possible and and that has always been my primary goal. Recently, I also started performing some feats of strength like nail bending and card and book tearing. I’m also a certified personal trainer with the American College of Sports Medicine and started Train Better Fitness in 2009.

With respect to powerlifting, I honestly just sort of landed on it. Like I said I have always trained heavy with strength and power as my primary objective, but never really with any competitive goal. It’s funny because I remember a while back a few people at my gym had suggested that I consider competing in powerlifting. At the time I didn’t even really consider it an option. Eventually it just ended up being something I decided I wanted to try.

I heard you were using some crazy biofeedback training as talked about in the Grip n Rip DVD, tell us about that.

I first heard about biofeedback training from Adam Glass when he posted his series of videos about it. I’ll be honest, I was really skeptical about it at first. But I trust Adam and believe that he would never promote something that didn’t work or that he didn’t firmly believe in. At first I just started playing around with testing ROM of different exercises, just to see if there really was a difference. I noticed other people I know say they were using the protocol and seeing some pretty good results so I figured I’d give it a try. I contacted a couple of people who I knew were following the protocol (such as yourself) for a little bit of help and started using it in different ways in my own training.

I’ve definitely noticed a correlation between exercises testing well with ROM and how well they feel while doing the movement. Recently I have been using my own intuition more and testing with ROM less. I remember hearing someone say that testing is a supplement to your intuition, not a replacement and I’ve found that to be true.

My favorite principles from the biofeedback protocol are the markers for terminating a movement. Stopping when you get excessive tension, posture shift, change in breathing pattern or when a rep becomes significantly more difficult than the one before it. I also watch for quality of movement and any speed changes. Those are great rules to follow, especially when looking to get stronger.

Nice!  Have you used biofeedback trainig on your clients?  What have been their results?

I have applied a lot of the biofeedback principles with my clients. When they first try the ROM testing most of them are really amazed at how different exercises can have such different results with respect to ROM. They’re even more amazed when I can tell them before they test whether the exercise will increase of decrease ROM. More than anything, just like with myself, I apply the markers for termination of a movement. They have been getting great results using it too. One of my female clients has recently gotten strong enough to do a few bodyweight pullups with no assistance at all. That’s something that a lot of guys in my gym even have a hard time with!

Thanks again for taking the time to chat with us today, how can the readers get ahold of you (shameless plug time, so plug away man).

No, thank you for having me here on the blog. If anyone wants to reach me they can check out my site at http://www.trainbetterfitness.com There is a contact form on the site that they can use to get in touch with me. While they’re there they can also sign up for my free newsletter. They can also follow me on Twitter@TrainBetterFit

Much appreciate your time Chris!

Comments!

Do you like these interviews?  What do you want to see here?  Let me know by placing a comment!

Rock on,
Mike T Nelson

PS

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7 Simple Steps to Add More Weight To the Bar: USPAL Meet Twin Ports Open for Mike T Nelson Part 2

While the examples below are from my training for the last powerlifting meet.

See part 1 here: USAL Meet Twin Ports Open for Mike T Nelson Part 1 Results if you missed it.

The principles can be applied to any event or just those who want to set persona records (PRs) in the fastest time possible.

Approximate reading time is 5-10 minutes.

This is NOT your typical program design featuring lots of complicated terms and a best guess at what works for you.  I will share with you some tips and tricks that I wish I knew years ago.   I also need to thank Frankie Faires and Adam T Glass for all their input on this too.

Eustress vs Distress

I like to define things so that we are on the same page.  So allow me just 2 new definitions that are important.

I can’t believe I am going to do this, but from Wikipedia (insert groan)…..

“Eustress is a term coined by endocrinologist Hans Selye which is defined in the model of Richard Lazarus (1974) as stress that is healthy, or gives one a feeling of fulfillment or other positive feelings. Eustress is a process of exploring potential gains.”

The prefix derives from the Greek eu meaning either “well” or “good”. When attached to the word “stress”, it literally means “good stress”.

Eustress is simply “resolved stress”

Distress

“Distress is an aversive state in which an animal is unable to adapt completely to stressors and their resulting stress and shows maladaptive behaviors.’

Source http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=1542&page=4

Distress is simply “Unresolved stress”

Thanks to Frankie Faires for the simplfied definitions.  Keep these in mind as they will come again soon and then again later on.

Quiz Time!

My students hate those 2 words.  This one is easy though,.  If you had to pick what type of stress most people training (not anyone here though, you know what is going on) does; Eustress or Disstress?

Have the answer?

Are you sure?

Did you pick one even?

Yep, distress training

Major Distress Training

Jillian Michaels is the King of Distress Training

Distress Training and the Stupid!

Distress and Epic FAIL

A for Effort, F for Execution (Effort Does Not Count)

You don’t get bonus points for how hard you make it look.
You do get points for executiion.
If you were to train this way, how much better would you get?

Let’s see

More weight on the bar –  check

Form any better –nope
Hmmm, looks the same

Can you improve with distress training?

Yes.  Adaptation can NOT be stopped, but as Adam said recently “we can really slow it way the F down”

The question is “Do you want to get better at that horrible looking form?”
My bet is no (plus it would never qualify in a meet, which is my goal)

7 Simple Steps To More Weight on the Bar!

1) Pick a Goal

Notice I said “a” goal, not 15.  This does not mean you cannot get better at other things, but trying to simultaneously improve 12 goals at once is a recipe for dissaster.

I recommend 1-2 MAIN goals, tops for a set period of time.  I find 4-12 weeks works well.

My main goal was to do the USPAL Raw Meet on May 15.  At the meet I want to set PRs in all 3 events (bench, squat, deadlift). This was my stretch goal.  It would be a stretch, but can be done.

Primary Goal
Bring up my bench press and destroy my old PR.

Secondary Goal
Improve my deadlift

What If I Have Pain on the Bench Press?

You need to read this 3 part series below

Bench Pressing and Shoulder Pain Solutions Part 3

And stay away from the standard corrective exercises and test your movements!

2) Be Specific

HOW much did I want to improve?
I wanted to bench 237 lbs with a goal to bench 240 by the end of the year.
Stretch goal was 242.5 at the meet.
Will be done at a meet, under meet condiitions, so audible commands and a full pause at the chest

Deadlift
Deadlift 437 lbs in competition

3) Where Are You at Currently?

I don’t care about what you did 3 years ago or even last year.  What can you CURRENTLY do.  You need to define your starting point.

When I set my goals for the Spring meet, I based them off my last meet the previous Fall.  If possible, you want your goal to be done in the same manner.

Since my goal was to get PRs in competition, the best starting point would be my current records in competition (Meet PR)

Fall 2009 at USPAL Meet: My starting point
Weight 206.5
Squat 243
Bench 220 lbs (missed 231)
Deadlift 413 (first double BW deadlift)

As coach Dan John says “The goal is to keep the goal, the goal”

4) Be Realistic

We can never reach our goals fast enough.  Find me one person who got to their goals fast enough.

You also need to account for outside stress.  I knew during this time I would be working part time at a med tech company and on call full time with them, running my own company Extreme Human Performance, training myself, getting married and planning a wedding (or making more money to help pay for the wedding), spending time with my fiancee (now wonderful wife Jodie), finishing up work on my PhD, and I was also teaching a class for some time on Strength Training at a near by University.

Other than that I sat around all day drinking beer scratching myself—ha!

I am no exception and everyone is busy, so take this into account.  We don’t live at the Olympic training center and get to train, sleep, eat, get a nice massage, train again etc every day.

5) Hit Your Openers Under ALL Conditions

This is huge and rarely rarely done.

I did not do this one even close to right until recently and I still can get better.

Remember Eustress and Distress from above?  We want most of our training under eustress conditions.  For a detailed version of what this involves, pick up a copy of the Grip n Rip DVD for the testing information.

In short, do only lifts that test well (via range of motion/biofeedback testing).
If a lift does not test well, do something to get it to test well.

What If My Lift Does Not Test Well on Competition Day?

Well, you have a judgement call to make.   You can decide to not do the lift or do it. Nobody is putting a gun to your head and forcing you to do it.
Most will of course, go with do it.

Since that is the case, you can work on things to get it to test well.
If that still does not work, you will be doing a distress (less than optimal) lift and that is fine. If you are going to do this, you would need to practice for it.

While a whole post on distress training can be done, in short, perform your lift under many different distress circumstances

In training, I did my opening lift under the following conditions

• Fasted
• Caffiene
• No caffeine
• Food of various types
• Lots of sleep
• Little sleep
• Long and short warm up times
• Music and no music
• Pauses of various lengths (to learn to listen for the audible commands)
• With and without pain (no, I don’t recommend creating pain to mimic that conidition, but it happens)
• With huge pauses inbetween, just sitting around (like a real meet with long flights)

Every time I nailed my opener.

I knew, no matter what, I was going to destroy my opener in the meet.   In the future I will be amping up the distress training even more in terms of intensity.

Most do the oppsite, all of their training is distress and they move poorly.    To start, focus on eustress trainig (stopping at first signs of tension and altered breathing) for many weeks.  Once you are about 6 weeks or so out (depends), start working on more distress training, but make sure you have a reason WHY you are doing it!

6) Example Time

I normally lift at the Extreme Human Performance Center with Dave “Athlete Creator” for bench nights on Tuesday nights.

Extreme Human Performance Center

I will test bench and vary the finger position.  For most of my training up to the meet, having my middle finger on the ring marker on the bar tested the best.  If not, I would vary it about a finger width, so palce my index on the marker.

If bench would not test well (or once it stopped testing well), we would try some common/accessory work with favorites being neutral bar press, reverse band press or 2b board pressing. The goal is to get them to positively transfer to the full bench press.

How To Use Bofeedback for a Big Bench Press

If no go or once we were done, contra specific work (opposite) such as inverted rows with either a bar or rings/TRX trainer was up next.

Progression

1. Specific
2. Common
3. Contra Specific
4. Novel (next exercise)

Pushups Can Be Common to Bench Press

Pullups Can Be Either Novel or Contra Specific

If you want to know how to use biofeedback for pull ups check this one out
3 Steps To Adding Muscle And Strength To Your Back With Pull-ups And Bio-feedback

Here is a snap shot from my training journal

4/28/10  Bench night w Dave
Time in 6:37
Predicated time out 9:01
Actual time out 9:25pm

1 cup coffee at 4:45pm, 2 cups green tea and 3 HGH Up at 6pm
Only water during training, last meal at 5pm

I) Bench (flat)
95 x 10, 95 x8 (different finger position), 135 x 5, 165 x 3, 185 x 4, 205 x 2 warm ups
225 x 1 good speed, tested great
220 x 1 paused rep w audible commands, smoked it
230 x 1, still good speed
235 x 1, good speed
240 x 1, good speed, but felt it would slow down if I went any heavier.  This will be my working weight.
All touch and go singles
240 x 1 for 6 singles, all good speed, but the last one was slow at the top
Total time for 6 singles was 35:00
PR for vol work at that intensity (% 1 RM)

II) 4 board touch and go
250 x 1
265 x 1, slow but looked fine, tested ok

III) Reverse Bench (bands around the top of the rack to deload it a bit at the bottom; works lock out)
185 x 6, easy, tested great
225 x 11, beat old PR by 1 rep, tested ok (a bit too far on that one)
Forgot to record time, oops

IV) Neutral Grip Ring Rows (w Feet up on a bench, arms at sides)
BW x 9
BW + 20lb Xvest X 5
BW x 8
BW + 20 lb Xvest x 5
BW x 6 (done)
Total time 17:34
PR for BW + X vest reps

Done

7) It’s Go Time!

Once the meet rolls around, you will be set!

Keep in mind that this template works for anyone that wants to get stronger or meet any of their goals.
The goal is better.  I did not give a  hairy rat’s butt where I placed overall in the meet.   I was not under any delusions that I was going to walk in and mop the floor.  Heck, their were women their squatting more than I was!

I did want to get my PRs though.  Oddly enough the main one I trained for I did the best on.  I knew with the crazy schedule I was doing I needed an end point to focus my energy.  Plus, paying money and performing in front of a whole bunch of people is one way to get better.   I also wanted more experience of competition to figure this out.  Do first, then get better.

Summary

Get a goal with a set time line
Focus on eustress training for 90-90% of your training with proper testing (shown in the Grip n Rip DVDs
Add distress training as needed
Rince and repeat

Comments

Let me know what you think of this.  If your training is currently stuck, steal this model and use it and let me know how it goes for you.  I can gaurantee you will be pleased with the results.

Thoughts?

Rock on
Mike T Nelson

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USPAL Meet Twin Ports Open for Mike T Nelson: Part 1-Results

Mike T Nelson, USAPL Raw Meet Deadlift 413 lbs

As you know I am a firm believer in testing yourself on occasion. If you want to get stronger in the bench, squat and deadlift, testing yourself in a local meet is a great way to do it.

Confession

I have a confession to make. I currently don’t get super excited to do meets. If I was left to myself, I would skip the whole process all together and save myself some time and money.

Why do I do it?

I work with athletes of all types and many of them compete. There is a whole mindset to competing. How am I ever going to understand that if I don’t compete myself?
If you want to learn how to run, at some point you must run.
You don’t have to be a World Record holder, but you have to TRY.

Advanced Notice

This time I planned out my meet more than the last time I did one where I signed up on a Tues night and did the meet that Sat.
I did learn something very interesting though at that meet. I was not nervous hardly at all where as the 2 previous ones (USAPL meets, not the Tactical Strength Challenge) I was about ready to crap my pants about 2 weeks out on a moment’s notice.

My last meet in Fall, was by far my best meet too. I did not taper much at all and basically broke about every “rule” you can break. Hmmm.

So I took the same approach to this meet. I will have all the full details in part 2 coming soon, but my mental outlook was completely different.

Duluth in May and Rollins

When I planned to do the meet in early Jan I figured it would be great for Jodie and I to spend a nice long wekeend in Duluth. Then it got moved to the College of St. Scholastica and since I did my undergrad there, I had to sign up.

The downside was that Henry Rollins was doing a spoken word tour and as luck would have it, he was playing in the Twin Cites the night before the meet!

Crap. Screw it. I am going to do both. So Jodie and I met up with my sister who was in town and some friends for the Rollins show on May 14 and it was awesome!

“Knowledge without mileage equals BS.”
— Henry Rollins

“I believe that when the body is strong, the mind thinks strong thoughts.  Time spent away from the Iron makes my mind degenerate”

-Henry Rollins taken from Iron and the Soul

So at almost midnight, Jodie and I headed up 2+hours to Duluth, MN

Click here to view this video on your iPhone or to download to your computer.

So time to sleep for a few hours before the meet

On the way to the meet!

Click here to view this video on your iPhone or to download to your computer.

I got all checked in and they inspected my shoes, socks, wrestling singlet, shirt and even my underwear to make sure I was all in spec. I left my Vibram Five Fingers at home since they are illegal by USAPL standards. Crazy I know!

I predicted I would weigh in at 212.0 and I weighed in at 211.2 so very close. I did not cut any weight per say, just a small meal late Friday evening, and then nothing to eat or drink until I weighed in on Sat AM. Before the weigh in at home I was around 215 lbs in the AM before breakfast. This is up 6 lbs from the last meet I did in Sept under the same conditions.

Time for Squats

Click here to view this video on your iPhone or to download to your computer.

I was overall relatively happy with my squats considering I did not really train them much since this past Fall to be honest.   I found that if I pick more than 1-2 goals at a time, I shoot myself in the foot.   I can focus on deadlifts or squats, but trying to bring up both at the same time does not work.

Last Fall for squats I was at

185 x open, 220 x 1, 242 x 1

This past meet

226 x 1, 253 x 1 (meet PR) and 270 x 0

I picked up a few pounds on my squat, but I literally did not squat for about 6 weeks before the meet; more on that in part 2.

My new goal is to bring my squat up and hit 275 x 1 by July 20 and 315 x 1 by the end of the year.  Onward and upward.

Time for Bench Press!

For those new to meet standards, you have 3 commands

• start
• press
• rack

Once you get the hand off, you have to hold the bar at lock out until you hear “start.”
You lower the bar to your chest where you pause until you hear the “press” command.
Then at lock out, you hold it there until you hear “rack.”

Violation of any one of these commands is a bad lift.
Been there, done that in the past.

Bench Press Attempts Videos

Click here to view this video on your iPhone or to download to your computer.

I was very happy with my bench since that was my number training priority.
At the USAPL meet in Fall I did
185 x 1 open
220 x 1
237 x miss

This May I did
220 x 1 easy
237 x 1 made it
242.5 x 1 easier than 237

So by meet standards I added over 22 lbs to my bench; so I am happy with that.

My all time record is 231 at an earlier meet, so I still beat that.

Deadlifts

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Deadlift was my second highest priority.
At the Fall meet I did
365 x 1 opener
390 x 1
413 x 1 –double body weight deadlift (weighed in at 206.5 lbs)

This last meet I did
385 x 1 opener
413 x 1 good speed
437 x miss

I was pissed that I missed 437. I mis-gripped on my right hand as the bar was on my fingers instead of in my hand. I had recently changed my set up, so I did not practice the top start as much as I should have in hindsight.

I also noticed that my knees came in a bit too, and I think I was standing wider there than in practice; so I will need to keep a close eye on that. No pain or any knee issues at all with it though (although I do train my knees in a wide variety of angles–more on that in part 2).

Meet Wrap Up Thoughts

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A HUGE Thanks!

A HUGE thanks to my wonderful wife Jodie for going with and being so supportive the entire time and during training. I try very hard not to have training rule my life, but there are no short cuts you have to put the time in lifting.

A HUGE shout out to everyone that I met there! All the competitors were awesome and extremely helpful and very very supportive.

Big thanks to Joe Warpeha, the College of St Scholastica, the spotters (Brett and others) and everyone that helped out with the meet.  It went great.  The facility was top notch and there was even enough room to warm up, which can be cramped and rushed at times.  Everyone was very friendly and went out of there way to help.  Heck, Joe even personalty got me some hot water for my oatmeal!   Excellent work all!

You can find a great write up on the whole meet complete with results HERE.

Many think that their currents lifts are not good enough for a meet.  I say BS to that!

How are you going to get better and learn more?   Sign up and do one!

Everyone at every meet I have been to has been nothing more than extremely supportive. No matter what you are lifting, it takes some cajones to commit to lifting 9 lifts on a set day, at a set time, by someones rules on their schedule in front of a crowd. You will learn a ton.

Comments

Let me hear what you think.

I hope I inspired you a bit to do more than you thought you could before.

I personally don’t give two rat’s behinds where I place, as long as I got my personal records (PRs).

When are you going to compete? How are you going to be better? I want to hear about it in the comments!

Rock on
Mike T Nelson

PS

Here is the full report of what I learned at the meet this past Fall

USAPL Twin Cities Open September 2009 Results and 6 Lessons Learned

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Bench Pressing and Shoulder Pain Solutions Part 3

If you just joined in the conversation here, be sure to read the posts from the start of this series below

Shoulder Pain While Doing a Bench Press Gone Part 1

Bench Pressing and Shoulder Pain Solutions Part 2

The Solution So Far

In part 1 we discused Dave coming into the Extreme Human Performance Center here in Minnesota with pain while doing a bench press without any weight on the bar (so 45 lbs) and awhile later in the same session working up to 270 lbs without any pain!

In part 2 we discussed a solution that you can try yourself and what I did to get Dave back to benching pain free in a short amount of time.

The key in part 2 was the nervous system and looking at some opposite joints.  Dave’s LEFT shoulder was the issue, so we did some very specific mobility work for his RIGHT hip.

Now in Part 3, we will discuss the other key factor to keep you moving in the right direction, setting personal records (PRs) and increasing your athletic performance both on the field and in the gym!

Biomechanics

Most of you are probably surprised that I am now discussing more biomechanics.  When I first started learning more about exercise, I was convinced that the biomechanical path had all of the answers   Heck, I even did a MS in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Tech (say what up to the Yooopers) with a concentration in Biomechanics.  I spent years looking at the stuff and read even more for fun.  I will save you the discussion about the mathematical theory of plasticity and other fun stuff; so stick with me.

When I started doing Z-Health about 3.5 years ago, I fully realized the power of the nervous system since it was actually controlling the muscles and of course your movements. WOW!  Seems so obvious I know.
If your nervous system is out of whack, your performance is not ideal!

Most of my blog posts here are about how to deal with the nervous system and get the most out of it, primarily because

1) it works

2) almost nobody is talking about it

3) it works really fast

It will probably be a surprise to some of you that I am now talking about biomechanics again!  The reality is that optimal lifting technique is always important and almost everyone agrees on that.

Integration

The key is how to integrate the nervous system into the biomechanical model.  Many fitness experts are way too focus on biomechanics ONLY.  Do we truly know if your right glute is not working and that is your issue? Maybe, maybe not.  Is it ONLY your psoas?  What about all of the other muscles around that area?  Whatever your answer, we need to stay focused on the END RESULT.  That is what matters.

Are you lifting more weight while having less pain and becoming a better athlete?

“The Answer”

The approach that I use now is simply addressing 1) the nervous system and 2) the mechanical system (soft tissue, muscle, etc).

The nervous system answer was in part 1.

The mechanical answer is that we need to change the function of the tissue to work better.

In Dave’s case, we found that he had a very hard time with right hip internal rotation with his knee straight.  After doing that, the pain dropped dramatically.

I suspect that there is some tissue in his right hip that needs better function.   How do we get better function and then a tissue change to that area?  Exercise!  Load ‘em up.

Corrective Exercise

Truth be told, I have not done any standard “corrective exercise” work for about 3 years now.  I used to do a crap ton of it and while it worked to some degree, but I was never happy with the results.

The solution In Dave’s case he ended up doing a forward lunge to 45 degrees on the right leg with internal rotation at the hip.

How?

“Test the parts then test the whole” -Frankie Faires

We tested a forward lunge – good
Next tested a forward lunge to 45 degree – better
Then a forward lunge to 45 degree with internal hip rotation – best!

The testing was a range of motion test as discussed in the Gym Movements DVD and in the new upcoming Grip n Rip DVD (which has tons of amazing info on it, coming soon, so stay tuned here).

Car Talk

Ever listen to the Car Talk guys Click and Clack?  I have only listened to them a few times and I loved that they were so excited about cars.  I get the same way about exercise and human performance – how to get you to bust even more PRs!

If your car pulls to the right going down the road, what do you do?  You turn the steering wheel a bit to the left to get the car to go straight.

Think of this steering as changing the effects on the nervous system.  Each time you do a mobility drill targeted at the nervous system, you are turning the wheel a bit to the left.    The downside is that the car now go straight (increased performance, less pain), but you need to keep providing input by turning it a bit left.

You bring the car in and find that you had a bent tie rod (or some mechanical issue) that was causing the car to pull to the right all the time.   They drop a new one in (for way more money than you expected) and hours later your car now goes in a straight line, without you having to steer it left a bit.  Nice!

Your Body As a Car

Tissue is constantly changing, and by doing this particular lunge, it is like replacing the tie rod in your car; over time the tissue will adapt to a new and better function!  The results is more performance and less pain PERMANENTLY.    The shorter the issue, the shorter this process.

Summary

For long term change to have you hitting PRs like a crazy person in less pain, you need to
1) Address the nervous system via joint mobility work (some times eye movements too, but that is another topic)
2) Address the mechanics of the tissue via “corrective” exercise

Without addressing both of these, your results may be more short term.

I know this was something that I did NOT do for quite some time.  Athletes would come in, I would address the nervous system and get them out of pain and moving better; but long term they would have other issues or the same one would crop up again.   I knew they still had some “movement issues” but once they were out of pain it was hard to get them to come back again.

Now I incorporate some type of loading into their “homework” to get them moving in the right direction in case I don’t see them again.    I also emphasize that they need to have their lifting form evaluated to make sure it is correct and good for their body!   A perfect squat may NOT be the best exercise for them.

Don’t repeat my mistakes and be sure to address both the nervous system and the mechanical system with a customized approach.

Comments?

What do you think?  Let me know below!  I look forward to your comments as always.

Rock on
Mike T Nelson

PS
For more information on how to set up your own training program to have you hitting PRs in the gym all with less pain, you will need to pick up the new Grip n Rip DVD once it is out.   As soon as it is released, I will have the info here.  Not sure what the final price will be as Adam Glass,  Brad Nelson and friends are handling it; but I know it will not be cheap.   If you are good, you are not cheap.

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Trainer Mike T Nelson Testimonial: Shoulder Pain While Doing A Bench Press Gone!

The Night I “Couldn’t” Bench Press By Dave “The Athlete Creator” Sandel

Just like every other Tuesday, it was bench press night with Mike. However, this Tuesday was different. I sent him an email earlier in the day stating:

“Tonight might be prehab/rehab for me. I was feeling just a touch of shoulder pain in my left shoulder after last week, and it was worse after training last night. This is, unless, your voodoo works again.”

So, I showed up at the usual time, did my usual Z-health CNS warm-up, and did some push-ups to test my shoulder. Push-ups tested fine and without pain. I thought, “Hmm, maybe everything will be alright tonight.”

Then it was my turn to warm-up with the empty bar. After a few slow, pain-free, concentrated reps I decided to try exploding a rep off my chest. That nearly caused my left arm to collapse because of the shooting pain in my left shoulder, just as I had felt before.

After a brief description of the previous night’s workout, Mike put his head down and started mumbling something to himself. Something about external rotation, abduction, sagittal planes, and some other stuff I didn’t quite recognize (eventhough I’m studying for my CSCS certification).

After a minute or so he finally had his answer. We started with some z-health mobility work directly on the shoulder, and then tested it out on the bench. It was better, but still not pain-free.

This is where it got a little weird…

He had me lie on my back, internally rotate my right leg (remember, my left shoulder is what was hurting), and perform cross-body leg circles. After a few tests doing band pull-aparts, we decided to try it out on the bench.

Lo and behold, I was virtually pain-free!

He explained what the drill was doing and why it works. I understood all of that, and it made perfect sense.

Now, I know there is a direct connection between opposite-side joints, but I still can’t wrap my head around why a “trauma” to my right hip is causing pain in my left shoulder. Oh well, I’ll leave that for another visit.

In the end, you’re probably wondering how my bench press session went.

Well, as I stated in the beginning, I walked in thinking I was going to be doing some mobility and prehab/rehab work all night. As it turns out, I actually ended up bench pressing 5 more pounds in a max effort lift than the previous week!

Not only that, but I added more volume on my accessory lifts as well! All in all, I’d say it was a pretty good night.

Thanks, Mike!

Dave Sandel
www.athletecreator.com

Bench 45 lbs with Pain To Bench 270 lbs Without Pain In One Session?

How?

I know this seems insane that someone could literally go from barely being able to press the bar without pain to benching around 260 lbs without pain, so that is the reason I had him write it up in his own words above.

If you are interested in how the heck this can work and look into the methods behind the madness, drop a comment below and if I get 10 comments by 1pm tomorrow (Thurs March 11, CST) I will have a post about how it works.

If you are in pain, you are limiting your performance!

This also saved Dave about 4-8 weeks of “standard” rehab type exercise work, during which he would be told not to bench (and for good reason since benching was painful).

Add to that time period 4 weeks at least to get back to where he was before and we probably saved him about 3 months in one session!

How much would you pay to get 3 months of training time back?

I know I would pay a lot for that.

Now It Is Your Turn!

A Huge thanks to Dustin for taking the time to write that up and taking action to look for an answer to his pain and movement issues.

• If you are interested in a phone consult, for a limited time they are only $90 per session (normal rate is $110) and are 100% guaranteed.  If you are not happy for ANY reason, there is NO charge, email me by clicking HERE
• If you are in the St. Paul, MN area, you can see me in person for $110 per session (normal is $125) and it is 100% guaranteed also, email me by clicking HERE

Drop me an email by clicking HERE to move better with less pain today!

Rock on

Mike T Nelson

PS

If you are still not sure, see all the other testimonials below

Mike T Nelson and Extreme Human Performance Testimonials

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PPS

10 comments below by 1pm tomorrow Thurs March 11 for the secret to how this is done!  Post a comment below now.

Biofeedback Training Via Gym Movements and Spiked Kettlebell Swings

Thanks for all the great orders of the Gym Movements DVD.  Much appreciate it from everyone!    The comments have been great too and it is amazing to hear from people in Kangaroo Land (Australia), Kiwis (New Zealand), Canada, the UK, Serbia and many other places including the good ole USA too.   I love it.

Biofeedback Testing

Dave “the Athlete Creator” and I had a great bench session last night via biofeedback (as explained in the Gym Movements DVD) and ended up training for over 2 hours!   We did some Z-Health joint mobility to warm up and then did some bench,  board work, and inverted rows.  We even threw in some random kettlebell work last night including double kettlebell clean and 1 arm cleans with Sparky (aka the Bulldog, the 40 kg KB).

Video of Spiked Kettlebell Swings!

If you want to really add some stress to the glutes and hamstrings (posterior chain for you geeks), have a partner add a push (eccentric load) on the kettlebell swing.  Start out with a lighter push and then crank it up from there.  Keep your kettlebell swing form the same though.    Don’t call and complain if your glutes and hamstrings are so sore it makes sitting down the next day difficult.  Good times!

The PR Train Rolls On

Despite getting an all time PR last week on the bench, I added another PR by adding 3 reps to my reverse band bench work even after doing 9 sets of singles around 90% 1 RM (all done with a pause and audio commands).    My plan now is to keep working more pause work at the chest to get that up to my touch and go PR and one step closer to my 2010 goal of bench pressing 240 x 1 in competition at the Twin Ports Open in June of this year.

Notice that I did not PR again in the exact same lift (although that can happen), but it was a similar lift.  You can almost always PR in some direction EVERY session!

Small, consistent steps forward day in and day out = huge gains over time!

More stimulation of the muscle = bigger muscles!

Deadlift Dave

Even though Dave had not done any deadlift or really any lower body work for almost 4 months, he ended up pulling 7 singles over 90% of his 1 rep max on his first lower body day back.    Needless to say, he was sore for days afer it.

Summary

Constant progress can be made, but it may not always be

on the exact same lift at the exact same parameters.   The key is to make sure you are always going in the right direction.   Make sure your ladder is against the correct wall before scaling it!

Rock on
Mike T Nelson

PS

If you missed the last post on the special limited time offer on the Gym Movements DVD on how to use biofeedback, check it out below as it expires tomorrow (Thurs Feb 4) at midnight (central standard time).

Gym Movements Biofeedback DVD is available now!

USAPL Update and 6 Important Lessons I Learned

Life is going great here and just crazy busy (silly dissertation and business stuff) so I am behind on updates.  Many had asked about the powerlifting meet updates, so here you go along with some valuable lessons I learned.   One of them is to never write blog posts online since they don’t save as you go along until you hit “save key” and if something happens to your computer you can loose 45 minutes of work.  Not that I know anything about that (as I type this as a draft in Outlook now).

Hudson Open

The USAPL Hudson Meet is going down tomorrow, so if you are looking for something to do, stop on out there and cheer everyone on.  I am hoping to make it out, but depends on how much dissertation work I can crank out.   My buddy Steve Reishus (follow his blog at  Steve Reishus’s Blog ) and Tommy Miller of My Meathead Experiences are competing, so go watch them shatter some PRs!!

Video Evidence

Excuses Excuses

Tuesday Sept 15 of this year I decided to do my first full powerlifting meet.  For those of you on my newsletter list you know that I had planned to do it in June of this year and backed out due to that crazy PhD study on Energy Drinks I was working on and opted to do it in Sept.

Well, Sept was well upon me and honestly did not want the stress of doing a meet to be adding to everything else I had going on.  I convinced Dave (aka Athlete Creator, be sure to check out his blog Athlete Creator)  who was lifting with me for crazy bench night on Tuesdays at the Extreme Human Performance Center to do the meet, but I was opting out.   Sure I could cite all sorts of reasons, but what was I telling athletes that I worked with al lthe time?

“Pick a goal, sign up to do it NOW”  I don’t really care too much if it is a bodybuilding show, Fitness show, Tactical Strength Challenge (TSC), Powerlifting Meet, RKC, pick something, tell everyone, and do it.”

Crap.  I was not taking my own advice.   Uh oh.

Burn the Ships!

When Spanish Conquistador Hernando Cortez landed in Mexico, one of his first orders to his men was to burn the ships. Cortez was committed to his mission and did not want to allow himself or his men the option of going back to Spain. By removing this option, Cortez and his men were forced to focus on how they could make the mission successful.  Time to put up and shut up.  I called the organizer and weaseled in (plus a late fee).  Never mind that I just did a max deadlift the day before (Monday) of that week and most advocate a deload from deadlifts of atleast 18 days.  Ooops.  I checked my past records and my typical deload was 7- 10 days; so 5 days is close, right?

Add to this that I had never done a full meet (did 2 push pull meet, so I never did squats in competition), so it would be interesting.  Truth be told I had avoid squats up until this year.  I did them every now and again, but squatting deep had been painful for a long time so that was my excuse.

D-Day

I chilled out Friday, had a great Chipolte chicken burrito and headed off to bed early after a hot Epsom salt bath Friday night.   Saturday I was up at 6:30 am to get there by 7:15am and sign in.  I skipped breakfast and fluids in the AM to save a couple pounds, but I was not too concerned about weight.  Weighed in at 206.5 lbs and realized that Vibrams Five Fingers are illegal by USAPL standards.  This confirms my thoughts that Vibrams are indeed ergogenic and enhance performance, thus must be promptly be banned!! I guess they had a formal meeting and everything about it.  Good thing I brought my flat Asics Tiger shoes, but forgot my deadlift socks as you have to wear knee high socks for the deadlift.  Bugger.  Back in my car to run home and luckily I only lived 20 minutes away.    Note to everyone, be sure to sign up early and read all the rules and yes, the rules can change.  (I wonder how many people I have told that to in the past)

Back at the meet it was almost time for squats and made some oatmeal and protein that brought in along with a banana.  Dave was there and all ready to go.  Warm up time!

It’s Go Time

I was paranoid about missing my opener since I had never done a full meet before (only 2 push pulls, so bench and deadlifts); and I opened at 185 lbs.   Heck, I did reps to about 2 feet below parrallel warming up at that weight.   Just wanted to get an easy opener in and go from there.

My opener at 185 went easy and I buried it, plenty deep (but no video).   The second one I went up to 220 lbs and made it with plenty of depth (see video at the end).  Last attempt I did 242 for a 2 lb PR and for today I was happy with that.  More on my squat goals later.

Injury Strikes

Unfortunately Dave had a freaky quad tear on his last squat attempt and was out for the day.  Major bummer, but  I know Dave will be back very soon (note he is already doing well and back to benching the same weight as before the injury).  So I hit up Aaron Friday for a lift off on the bench felt like I needed to hit some PRs for Dave.   Opened at 185 lbs which I had done in training for multiple reps and even up to a 5 second pause at my chest on my worst day.  Went fine and hit up 220 lb which went well also.  Thrid attempt I went for 236 which would be a PR of 5 lbs, but stalled out about 1/2 to 1/3 off my chest after the pause.  Bugger.  My left arm started to move away from my chest at the side and caused the weight to stop.

Deadlift Time!

If I had to pick only one lift, it would be the deadlift.  I feel it is the best indicator or overall strength since you just have to pick up a heavy bar off the floor. While it is more complicated than that in practice, it appears rather simple.

I opened at 365 lbs and that was fine.  Went up to 390 lb which I just hit in training that past Monday and it came up with great speed–nice.  My last attempt I went for 413 which would be a meet PR of 8 lbs (last DL was at the Tactical Strength Challenge at 405 lbs).   I walked up, set my feet, thought tall spine, bent done and it came up pretty easy for 3 white lights.   Whoo ha!

I realized that during the lift that this was actually FUN!  I think I missed that on my 2 previous push pull (bench/deadlift) meets!  In the past I was scared out of my mind for days out since the first time I had no idea what to expect, how it was run, did not have anyone else there, etc.   The second meet was not much better as I was so nervous that I wanted to hit my PRs.  This time I signed up at the last minute and did not have any huge expectations, so I was very calm and relaxed the whole time; except for when I had to step up and lift.

I knew what to expect this time and knew that being nervous all the time was wasting precious energy.  Plus, I was doing this for fun and to just do better than last time.  I was not under any illusions that I would win, or even place and I was totally fine with that.  In the past I would say that I would not compete because my numbers were not “good enough”.  I soon realized that they will never be “good enough” as I always feel I can do more and strength wise I am so far from my potential it is not even funny.  The downside is by never testing anything, you have no idea where you are at and it allows your goals to start sliding.  I remember my buddy Frankie telling me that “the best data is collected on test day.”  Powerlifting is very objective.   You either made the lift within the confines of the rules or not.

So as I  sat down after my last lift and realized I finally made my 2 x body weight DL as I weighed in at 206.5 in the AM!  Sweet!

Another Level – Video Inspiration!

Some monster deadlifts were being hoisted up at this meet, here are just 2 of them!  Nice work Steve and Marshal!!

Goals

My 2 X body weight DL goal was one I set about 3 years ago.  I remember seeing Dr. Cobb (of Z Health) and he asked my performance goal and I said “Deadlift 2Xs my body weight”  Keep in mind that at this time I had a twisted spine from hell, low back pain, I could barely touch past my mid shins on a forward bend, almost non working left hamstring, and my head was at about a 30 to 45 degree angle.  I was a biomechanical nightmare to say the least. I remember him looking at me and thinking back I can envisioned him thinking “What the heck do you think your doing trying to even lift a bar out in front of your body without possibly blowing a disk out your lumbar spine as it flys across the wall”  But he kindly said “Maybe you should think about some light trap bar deadlifts for some time”  ha!

At this time I was deadlifting 325 lbs on a good day and figured that 425 was just around the corner.  Ha!  Granted the 325 lbs was an improvement from the 95 lbs I started at during my last year of college (ok, college the first go round when I graduated after almost 8 years in 1999).

Summary (6 Lessons I Learned)

It has been said that there are only 2 things that keep you from your goals
1) Knowledge
2) Action
Combined those two and you are golden.

Here are 6 things I learned

1. Pick a goal, tell everyone, burn your ships and don’t look back.

2. The reality is we live in a “here and now” society and every

   one (myself included) wants a result NOW.

3. Most goals worth achieving take a long time.  Years in fact.  Nobody wants to hear that.  Ironically I am always looking to provide my athletes (and myself) the fastest, safest, solutions; but the reality is that there are some quick things that make a HUGE difference; but it will always take reps that you put in.

4. No one really cares how long it takes you to reach your goal.

5. Heck, nobody really cares how much you lift except you really.  I remember sending out a video of myself doing a 400 lb tire flip here at the Extreme Human Performance Center and people were like “WOW, that is crazy!”   Now for those of you that have done it, a 400 lb tire flip is WAY WAY easier than a 405 lb deadlift.  But very few can relate to a deadlift, but they can relate to a 400 lb tire.  Point is, most who don’t lift can’t fathonm what you are doing, irregardless of the weight.

6. Keep striving for knowledge and action, and you will be set.

I want at least 5 people to put their goals in the comment section here!  The time is now!  Only about 2 months of 2009 left.  Get to it.
Rock on
Mike T Nelson