Technique and Ego: One goes Down, The Latter Goes Up. Don't Let it Happen

If you want to lift big and add longevity to your lifting experience then good technique is key. Technique can be the difference between getting close to your goal and actually achieving it. Technique can be the difference between plateauing and continuing to make progress. The key is to stay on top of it, while leaving your ego at the door the second you walk in the gym.

I will give you a real life example. Back at the beginning of the new year I was fresh off my internship with Indianapolis Fitness and Sports Training (I-FAST). Mike Robertson had helped me really groove my squat pattern and got me stronger than I had ever been on my squat. My squat was feeling better than it ever had and my confidence with it began to grow more and more. However so did my ego. My ego grew and my technique went to shit. I started to drop into a posterior pelvic tilt at about the last 1/4 of my squat and a lateral shift to my right to compensate for weakness in my in my left hip, but continued to add weight. I knew this, but I didn't care. I was adding weight every week and that is all that mattered. This eventually led to an insane amount of pain in my posterior left hip and made it so I had to quit squatting entirely. All that training and "progress" I made didn't mean a damn thing anymore. I broke it down, analyzed what I needed to fix and how to go about doing so. It's just unfortunate that it took an injury for me to realize what I should have been doing. And the sad thing is I knew better the whole time. I have fixed my hip and am able to squat again, but I probably would be at a lot better point in my training if I wouldn't have been a total broski and let my ego grow to the size of a Sequoia tree. Don't let it happen to you.


B-Scabs does NOT approve of your sub-par technique. Neither should you.

If your technique is as sloppy as your best friend at a MSU tailgate (if you don't understand this reference then I recommend attending the next home Michigan State football game), then eventually you will be back on the sidelines trying to figure out what you did wrong and how to fix it, all the while missing out on quality time of working toward your goal. You will have to regress in order to progress (more on this in a future post).

Even though I'm ranting and raving about proper technique, don't think that proper means perfect. There are times when you aren't going to use what would be considered "proper" technique. Proper form on a max deadlift? Fat chance. Proper form with Sally who has been sedentary for the past 5 years? Not gonna happen right away. You have to take into consideration the population you are working with, motor skills or lack thereof, and intensity of the exercise/lift. Be idealistic, not a perfectionist. It's just not possible in most cases.

I will finish this post with a couple more reasons on why proper technique is so vital.

1. Loading the appropriate musculature. If technique is neglected, then you risk loading muscles, ligaments, and tendons that aren't equipped to live up to the demands placed upon them and your chances of injury increase.

2. It will lead to faulty movement patterns that can have a negative carry over into your other lifts/exercises, daily activities, and any recreational sports that you play. Again increasing your chances of injury.

3. Ultimately it will hold you back from being as efficient in whatever your training target is. Whether it is maximum strength, muscular hypertrophy, explosive strength, etc. your performance and results will suffer.

Mmmmmm Giant Frosty Donut: Quick Fat Loss Tips

We all, at one time or another, let our inner Homer Simpson get the best of us. We succumb to the goodies of life...beer, pizza, burgers, more pizza. I'm guilty of it at times myself. A little lapse here and there is no big deal, but we must be consistent. Here are some quick tips to help avoid the traps of your quest for fat loss.

1. Calories in vs. Calories out.

This one is simple enough. If you are not losing weight the simple answer would be to decrease calorie intake. Now adding some weight training into the mix will produce even better results, but to keep it simple we will just stick with caloric intake. I'm not sure what a "good" formula to use is, or if any formula that "they" use is even worth a shit. Just cut back on the calories. Avoid drastic decreases right off the get-go. This can mess with energy levels, metabolism, mood, training sessions, and losing muscle as opposed to fat (aka losing scale weight, but no visual change). As far as what foods you should consume you should stick with fruits(sparingly), veggies, lean cuts of ground beef (preferably grass-fed), chicken (preferably free-range), fish, and nuts (avoid one's that have added oils).

2. Stop the long slow duration "cardio."

Stop and look at the people on the treadmills, elipticals, and bikes next time you are at the gym (unless your gym doesn't have these, which in that case give yourself a high five) notice that most of the people that constantly slave themselves away on these contraptions aren't exactly what you would call "fit." Why spend countless hours a week on a stationary equipment getting no results when you could be kicking ass in the next room performing a session of heavy lifting and actually getting results? There a number of reasons that lifting and "conditioning" will contribute to greater fat and weight loss more than LSD which include the type of hormones secreted and how much, muscle fiber recruitment (type and number), effects on metabolism, EPOC levels, and muscle fiber damage (this leads to muscle fiber re-generation which will be covered next).



3. Consume more protein.

In order for a muscle to grow it must be broken down first. It is broken down during training (not just going through the motions, but actual training), and the best time to re-synthesize the damaged muscle fibers is after your workout. So there's one reason to consume more protein.

Here's another. Protein has the highest thermal effect on the body. This means that it requires the most energy to breakdown out of the macronutrients (carbs,fat,protein), which results in more calories burned. It also results in more lean muscle mass which in turn increases the basal metabolic rate, or energy expended at rest. You hear reports of take x amount of protein per lb of body weight or take this amount. I say that its all horseshit. Just get more of it.



4. Be active on your "off" days.

A mistake that many make is doing nothing on their "off" days or days when they don't have a planned training session. Some active recovery work (foam rolling, mobility drills, activation drills, playing basketball, etc.) can go a long way for you and your quest for fat loss. Not only will it lead to more calories burned (the foam rolling, mobility, and activation won't acquire too much), but it can add to the longevity of your training. If you have muscle stiffness, imbalances, faulty movement patterns, faulty stabilization patterns, inhibited muscles, etc. you definitely should work on these not only on training days, but off days as well.

5. Choose exercises that recruit the most muscle groups.

The more muscles that are recruited, especially those with the largest cross-sectional areas, will lead to greater fat loss. I have used this as a template for my fat loss clients. Program the big bang exercises early and for fillers use corrective and core work. It has worked pretty well. Just take a look at Jake and Ned, two clients of mine who have went through the system.

Ned Resch Results from Training with Coval Training and Performance

I'm not going to say too much about Ned. I think our time together is very well summed up in his testimonial. I do want to say though that people like Ned make my job more enjoyable than it already is. You get what you put into your training and diet, and dedication, determination, and enthusiasm are what Ned put into his training and diet. In return he transformed his body. In the two months before I left for my new job, Ned and I met only once or twice. He had a situation that took him out of state for a few weeks, and then him and his wife welcomed a baby girl soon thereafter so meeting up was difficult. It never stopped him from training though, or quitting on his diet, or making excuses. He continued to train on his own with my guidance and did an awesome job. Awesome job Ned! I'm proud of you man!>

I began working out with Mike in mid-February 2010. I had just moved to Ann Arbor and had recently finished graduate school. I gained roughly 30lbs in grad school to go along with an enormous amount of weight gained from marriage! I weighed 293lbs.

I constantly felt uncomfortable, tired, winded, and depressed. I wanted to be active again; I wanted to go up a flight of stairs and not breathe hard! I met Mike at a local gym and began training with him. From our first meeting Mike demonstrated his professionalism, in depth knowledge of strength and conditioning, and concern for my physical well-being and health. He included me in the planning of my program and designed a routine that worked best for me. I told him I hated to run – and he designed a program without running!

The best thing about Mike and his programs was every day I knew exactly what to do. Mike always had it planned out for me. I was never discouraged or overwhelmed about going to the gym because it was all right there in the program. And both on the weeks when we trained together and those weeks we did not, Mike was always there to answer questions or concerns. He was very prompt in response to my phone calls and emails. If I was unsure of an exercise or routine – he would video record the exercise and send it to me or post it on the web.

This resource and professionalism carried over into the non-physical side of training: nutrition. Mike was very helpful in directing me towards better eating habits and providing me with information about eating right to lose weight and build muscle. Mike didn’t profess to be a nutritionist – if he didn’t have an answer about food questions, he found the info for me or helped me find it.

As of Sep 2010 I am at 248lbs and have lost 45lbs. The weight lost has made me extremely happy – but what I am really excited about is my increased stamina, flexibility, mobilization, and especially strength. I have not only lost a lot of weight, but am stronger than I ever have been.

Throughout my training experience with Mike he has been professional, encouraging, supportive and NEVER demeaning. It is hard to be overweight. And it is REALLY hard to exercise when you are overweight and wanting to lose those pounds. Mike was great at always being positive and motivating.

Lastly, this was not always a fun experience. The first month was HELL. Many times I didn’t want to go. Mike didn’t go easy on me and sometimes I wanted to tell him where to go. But, this has been the most rewarding physical challenge of my life and I am excited to continue it. I have 25lbs to go!!Thanks to Mike for helping me get motivated and training me into the ground!!!