Box Squatting 07/29/2009
 
In my opinion, box squatting is one of the most effective ways to train the squat.  Squatting to a box allows one to sit back farther than they can with a regular squat.  This loads the hips, glutes, hamstrings, and low back very effectively, taking stress off of the knee joint. Pausing on the box breaks up the eccentric-concentric chain and if performed correctly, this exercise will develop starting, explosive, and absolute strength greatly since you go from static to dynamic when coming back up. This carries over well to many other movements such as jumping and deadlifts. 

One of the most brilliant strength coaches and lifters around, Louie Simmons, has taught many in the industry how to effectively incorporate this great exercise into training.   Another great benefit of this exercise is the fact that it teaches people how to squat correctly.  Many people have a hard time learning the proper movement pattern of a regular squat.  Having someone sit back to a box and then stand back up teaches them how to squat with correct technique much faster. 

To perform a box squat with a barbell:  Stand with the feet slightly wider than shoulder width, get your chest up high, tuck your elbows down and squeeze your lats; sit back to the box while pushing your knees out to the sides and spreading the floor with your feet; keeping everything else tight, relax your hips for an instant and then contract them to come back up while keeping the same position in your chest and back.  For beginners and different populations, these can be done with a dumbbell, plate, or bodyweight and work great to ensure proper squatting technique.  Whether you are training for max strength, explosive strength, or even fat loss, box squats are a great exercise to throw in a program from time to time.  To read more about them go here or here.  
 
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A good way to open up the hip flexors and turn on the glutes is to perform a stretch for the hip flexors followed by an activation exercise for the glutes prior to the main workout.  An example would be holding a stretch for 30 seconds and immediately performing 10 glute bridges after the stretch.  With the hip flexors opened up, the glutes can do their job more effectively.  This sets you on the right path for the rest of the workout. 

Special exercises would then be done to strengthen the glutes and ensure that they continue to fire, such as pull throughs, double and single leg glute bridges, band hip extensions, reverse hypers, and focusing on squeezing the glute muscles when performing big bang exercises like squats and deadlifts. 

If its the tensor fascia latae (a hip muscle located near your front pocket) that is primarily stiff, a special tfl stretch can be performed, followed by a special exercise such as a band hip abduction to train the glute medius, which is usually the muscle that is weak with an overactive tfl. 

For those who sit a lot throughout the day, getting up and moving around at regular intervals is a great way to help posture and keep the body working efficiently.  Throwing in some stretches for those hip flexors that have been shortening during all of the long sitting is also great to do.  Obviously, other muscles can become stiff and inactive also, this is just one example.  So if you think you might have a problem similar to this, give me a call and lets check it out. 

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In America today, more and more people are inactive and sit for long periods of time.  Many jobs require people to sit all day.  When you are sitting, your hip flexors are shortening and stiffening and your glutes become dormant.  When you have overly stiff hip flexors (in this case usually psoas, rectus femoris, tensor fascia latae or a combination) and glutes that are weak, don't fire, and are virtually non-existent, your low back, knees, and/or hamstrings tend to pick up a lot of the slack. 

People with back pain often have very weak glutes that don't turn on when they are needed.  With no support from these hip muscles, the back absorbs much of the force that is created with various movements, which in time is bound to lead to back problems. 

If hip flexors are too stiff and you can't get your hip into full extension with the glute muscles, anterior hip pain can also occur since the hamstring will try to perform the extension instead of the glutes, and cause the femur to rub against the joint capsule.  

If you are talking about athletes, those with no glutes often perform movements in a strictly quad dominant fashion.  With no assistance from the glutes, the knee joints end up taking extra stress and pain and injuries can result. 

Glutes are one of the biggest, strongest, and most powerful muscles in the body (at least they should be) and athletes that don't use them to their full potential are not only asking for pain and injuries, but also are hindering themselves from their ultimate performance potential. 

So what needs to be done to fix this problem?  The hip flexors (and any other stiff areas) need to lengthened and mobilized, and the glutes need to be activated and strengthened.  I will give some examples of how to accomplish this in my next post.  Stay tuned!

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So you say that you don't have enough time to workout? I doubt it.  One of my favorite ways to get a great workout in with a shorter amount of time is with complexes.  With a complex, you combine multiple exercises into one larger movement.  An example would be a squat and overhead press.  Here is an example of a great workout that shouldn't take you more than 20 to 30 minutes to complete. 

Front Squat and Overhead press  3-5 sets x 8-12 reps  45sec rest between sets

Romanian Deadlift and Row  3-5 sets x 8-12 reps 45 sec rest between sets

Stability Ball or ab wheel rollouts 2-3 sets x 10 reps   30 sec rest between sets

A barbell or dumbbell can be used for the complexes.  Combining multi joint movements like this allows you to stimulate a maximal amount of muscles throughout your entire body in a shorter amount of time, and also proves to be a very fatiguing and effective workout.   If you think that you don't have time to get an effective workout in, think again.   You don't have to spend hours training to get a good workout in. 

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Motivation 07/03/2009
 

One of my clients who I recently started working with said some words the other day that got me excited and could serve as motivation for many people out there.  "I was thinking about it today and I don't wanna just get better, I wanna go beyond that and I want people to see what I did and be like wow that is crazy!"  This is the best kind of attitude to have if you really want to change your life and get into great shape.  She is already well on her way there and has been working very hard to start the path towards her goals.  Keep up the hard work Steph!

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