Serratus Steering Wheel Press

This pic of LeBron has zero relevance to this post. He's the

man though, and the Cavs are going to win the title so it's only

fitting that he gets some love.

This is an exercise that you have absolutely no excuse for doing. We all commute every single day. You can do it while sitting at the light, cruisin' down the freeway, or you find yourself flipping through the radio stations and you find the Ke$ha song about the party not starting til she walks in and for some strange reason you can't change it (yes, sadly this happens and yes I'm slightly embarrassed that I know she spells her name with a dollar sign). Here's a run down of what exactly the serratus anterior is, why you should do this exercise, and how to do it.

What is the serratus anterior?: The serratus anterior is a muscle group that originates on the first 8 ribs and inserts on the medial border of the scapula. The serratus anterior is responsible for upward rotation of the scapula, scapular protraction, and keeping the scapula flush against the the thoracic wall of the rib cage.

The Serratus Anterior

Why you should do this exercise?: What happens if the serratus anterior is weak/inhibited is that scapular "winging" will result (aka you have an unstable scapula which can hurt those bench numbers). The S.A. can become this way due to poor posture (kyphotic posture, internally rotated humerus), muscle stiffness/shortness(pecs, anterior deltoid), synergists dominance (upper traps), or just negligence. The properly functioning S.A. will help improve overall health of the shoulder girdle. In order to improve the function of the S.A. you will also want to address the issues mentioned above with mobilization drills, strength training, foam rolling, and the use of the helpful eye of a coach (if you don't have a trainer/coach, use a camcorder).

Scapular Winging

How to do it?:

Check out the video HERE at my YouTube page (I apologize for it not being loaded on my blog page, it wouldn't load up for some reason). Some key points to properly executing this exercise...

1. Sit with your seat slightly reclined and in a tall upright posture.
2. Hands should be placed toward the top of the steering wheel.
3. Push into the steering wheel while keeping the elbows locked out. Simultaneously think about "spreading" the wheel apart with your hands. You should feel your GH external rotators turn on.
4. Hold for 2-3 seconds and repeat for 8-12 reps.


That about wraps up this post. I will try to keep posting exercises, stretching, activation, etc. that you can perform on the go. Let me know what you think.

Let's Get it Right

The purest form of jackassery

Before I even start discuss this post let me start off by saying that I am by no means an expert...at anything (except spitting weak game at hot chicks and biting my fingernails). I have a long way to go in that regard. But, I do take pride in the fact that I continue to educate myself in when it comes to training and do everything I can to make sure my clients get every pennies worth of my services.

Ever since I started in this industry I was told to make my clients feel like they need me. I totally agree, but not in the way that I was being told (this was not by all trainers, but a good number of them). I was given advice on every gimmick possible. Everything from substituting free weights for manual resistance (which has its time and place, but when you are doing leg press which 9 times out of 10 you shouldn't be doing anyway, and instead of loading up the sled the trainer uses his body weight to push against the sled), to destroying a potential client during an initial workout to make them incoherent in the hopes of increasing the likelihood of them signing up for some sessions (yup, I was really told that). I have a crazy idea to substitute those previous examples with. How about instead of using these shady gimmicks you replace them with knowledge and real experience (crowd awe's in amazement).



To further expand on the previous paragraph, my girlfriend (yeah I feel sorry for her too) has a few sessions with a trainer to use up at a commercial gym (her trainer left that gym before their sessions were used up), and she was telling me how she doesn't want to work with the trainer she would be set up with. I don't blame her. I happen to know this trainer, how they train their clients, and witness what training means they use with their clients. Now in fairness to that trainer, I don't know what their clients goals are, what their rationale is for using the exercises/lifts they use with their clients, or what the plan is for helping their clients achieve their goals. But here's the thing, I know enough about this person that I know that they don't know any of the answers to those questions either. It's a joke. But without a doubt the thing that pisses me off the most is that this same trainer carries conversations with their clients during their sets. As a trainer/coach you are to COACH during sets, not talk about who you think is going to win American Idol (I just lost 7 man points with that American Idol reference).


Maybe I should mind my own damn business. Maybe I don't have the right to be upset about any of those subjects, because I'm not involved. But as a professional, I can't even count the amount of times I've witnessed "trainers" be everything but professional. I am by no means perfect, but I have my principles and providing services to the best of my abilities without any of the bullshit is one of them. Maybe these "trainers" are doing the best to their abilities, but in my opinion its shear laziness and lack of passion. As "trainers" we need to step up and be a true go-to source for our clients. Now despite all the nonsense that is associated with personal trainers, there are those who are top-notch and real class acts. Individuals who have had a huge influence on me and thousands of others include Mike Robertson, Bill Hartman, and Eric Cressey. These guys walk the walk and talk the talk and are living legends in our industry. Thanks to all of them! With that said I only have one more thing left to say... Coval Out! (and my man points are further deducted by 23 points).

TRAINING RESIDUALS


A training residual can be defined as retention of a targeted training effect after cessation of training toward that targeted training effect. And here is my example and inspiration for writing this post.

My first training block of 2010 was targeted toward developing maximum strength and aerobic capacity. To develop my aerobic capacity I did tempo lifts twice a week, once for my upper body and once for my lower. I play basketball every Sunday night, so I gauged how well my training target of increasing my aerobic capacity was working based off of how tired I became. Because once I became tired and started to get that “burning” feeling, I knew I was tapping into my anaerobic glycolytic energy system. I noticed results within the first week and by the fourth week I could ball for two hours and not be stuck in anaerobic glycolysis for very long. And if I did tap into it, my recovery was much faster than it was previously (sorry if that rant was boring as hell to you, I was just trying to paint a picture). Anyway, this past week when playing I realized that’s been too long since I’ve addressed the aerobic capacity component of my training. I should have had a mini-block planned within my training so I could retain this training target, but you live and learn.

As JWill ages in both his actual age and training age, specific training targets and training residuals become more and more important

If you are looking to get ready for your upcoming basketball season (everything is in reference to basketball because I am biased and basketball is awesome), know what training targets you need to address, how long you need to develop each one, and how long the training residual is for each training target before you need to address the target again in order to maintain it. Below is a chart ( a very bad one because I don't know how to make one on this thing) from Vladimir Issurin’s book Block Periodization: Breakthrough in Sport Training that shows the training residuals of different motor abilities:

Motor Ability Residual Duration, days
Aerobic Endurance 25-35 days

Maximum Strength 25-35 days

Anaerobic glycolytic endurance 2 weeks - 22 days

Strength endurance 10-20 days

Maximum Speed (lactic) 2-8 days

*Taken from Issurin: Block Periodization: Breakthrough in Sport Training….I am not that intelligent to come up with all that information! But I do have a basic understanding of it.

This information was a bit geeky but hope it was enjoyable for all. Enjoy your weekend!