Technique Breakdown: Inverted Rows

Learning the inverted row is the first step to performing a chin up/pull up. It teaches you how to properly engage the lats, pack the shoulders and allows you to adjust on the fly. 

The EASIEST way to teach this movement is from the finishing position first, then moving out.

1. Pull the handles back with your elbows slightly past your body with your shoulder blades pack and your lats engaged. Making sure that your shoulders don't roll forward.
2. From there walk yourself forward until you find a position that you're able to hold onto but is only a slight challenge to maintain. That's where you should stand to begin. 
3. Keeping the core tight, ribs down, extending the arms and then pull yourself back up. 

As you progress, you can slowly work your way towards having the starting point underneath the anchor point of the TRX or suspension trainer. Eventually the final bodyweight progression is to elevate the feet, at that point you should be able to start performing chin ups!

Technique Breakdown: Most Important Part of a RDL/Hip Hinge

The hip hinge which is demonstrated above during a Romanian Deadlift (RDL) is a core movement in the gym. Hip hinging lays the groundwork for olympic lifting, squats, deadlifts, and kettlebell swings. 

The hardest part of learning this is independently moving the hips through flexion and extension while limiting the movement of your spine, namely thoracic over-extension. The main issue I have with coaching up this movement is that most individuals spend their days slouched over in posterior pelvic tilt (think the opposite of arching your low back for a buttfie).

One of the main go-to drills for building spine stability where you aren't moving into flexion or extension during movement is the dead bug. 

Two main points of a dead bug!
1. Neutral Spine while moving.
2. Exhale fully to ensure proper positioning of your ribcage which is keeping neutral spine while extending your limbs.

If you would like a progressive breakdown of how I coach clients from start to the barbell, please leave me a comment and share this with a friend who looks like a question mark anytime they deadlift!

Exercise You Need to Do: Constant Tension Hip Thrust

This tip today mostly goes out to the ladies but like I've written in the past; guys, lets not neglect glute work because chicks dig glutes too.

This version of the hip thrust is as effective as it is inappropriate looking. Rest assured that if you've been hip thrusting with any regularity and are not satisfied by your results the constant tension hip thrust will give you a kick in the behind. (See what I did there, one moment while I lol here at my own pun)

A few key points:

• You have to be confident with your hip thrusting technique, adding speed to any lift is based on the knowledge that your technique is sound. Otherwise you'll be speeding your way to an injury. 
• I like to give the cue it's like a piston on a car engine, you need to come down just as fast as you explode up into full hip extension. 
• For greater glute tension, try to move the hips into posterior pelvic tilt.
• Make Diamonds! That's how hard you want to squeeze your glutes at the top of every finish.

4 Tips For Ladies to Feel More Comfortable in the Free Weights Section

It's been close to 7 years since I last stepped foot in a commercial gym to train. I worked in one of the busiest facilities in all of southern California, and the one thing that remains the same is the crazy ratio of men-to-women in the free weights section. 

In that time I've had the pleasure to work with many women who have said to me they were very intimidated by the free weights area of the gym. Even after finishing their time with me and being more knowledgeable than their male friends "who lift", they still feel uncomfortable around the barbells and dumbbells at their local gym. 

Because of this many ladies stick to cardio classes, aerobics, or machine based strength training; all of which are good but inferior as it pertains to really making positive physique changes. 

Here are four tips to help ladies to feel more at ease in the weight room. 

1. Put your headphones on and wear something that makes you feel confident. 

AH! The universal sign to GET LOST AND LEAVE ME ALONE, earphones in (sadly some guys will ignore this).

Feel free to turn it up and rock out to whatever it is you're listening to and just zone out for that 40-60 minutes you're in there. You'll drown out the grunting, weights banging and annoying guy asking if you need help to refill your water because you know, you're a woman and you're a delicate flower who shouldn't lift more than 5 lbs!

What you wear will of course depend on what makes you feel like a badass. MOST guys will not bother you, but of course there's always one or two bad apples that stare and gawk in the most obvious way possible. No wonder many ladies feel weird lifting weights. So there's a creepy guy nearby and I need to perform RDL's. Yeah I'd rather hop onto the elliptical.

To this I would tell management about it if you don't feel like slapping this idiot upside the head yourself. I would routinely have to walk up to these guys and let them know we had received some complaints about uncomfortable levels of starring and if they didn't stop we'd have to ask them to leave. 

Get it together guys! Quit being assholes. We all pay the same amount for the gym you're attending, be cool!

2. Have a plan once you're in there.

If you have to wander around trying to figure out what to do, it will only lead to you feeling more uncomfortable and unsure about what you're even doing in there. 

There are many starter programs out there that would be beneficial for ladies such as Strong Curves by Bret Contreras and Kellie Davis and Lift Weights Faster by Jen Sinkler. When you have a direction, it allows you to go in there and handle business. 

3. Find a good gym. 

Finding the right gym is important to really excelling. If you aren't comfortable in your gym how will you be able to let loose and have at it!?

Independent gyms seem to be a better option but tend to be inconvenient with most only having one location. Certain commercial facilities are better than others and within each company there are better locations (equipment, parking, amenities, etc). 

I was a member of 24 hr fitness, and would rather drive 10 minutes to another location simply because I felt most comfortable there over one down the block from me. If it allows for better results, it's worth the commute. 

4. Hire a Trainer

Cough Cough...Hello there! Haha. 

I'm on the fence when it comes to this as I've seen my share of TERRRRRRRRRIBLE trainers at commercial gyms. 

I mean turrible. Thanks Chuck!

But what they can do is help show you the layout of the facility and some basic movement patterns. Beyond that it's a bit of a crapshoot what type of trainer you'll end up with. Some are better than others, ask around and you'll tend to find which trainer at the facility fits your personality and goals the best.  

Unless you hire me.
You're golden with me! ;-)

If any of this information here was helpful, insightful or even just a little funny and you know someone who might benefit from it...please do share!

Bear Crawls

Why Perform Bear Crawls

• Great for serrate anterior recruitment 
• Scapular upward rotation
• Improved anterior core function
• Great tri-planr stability

How To Perform Bear Crawls

1. Being by setting up on all fours.
2. Raise the hips up a little higher than the shoulders, moving into slight protraction of the shoulder blades. 
3. Maintain a neutral spine and begin by moving opposite leg to foot i.e- left leg-right arm, right leg-left arm. 
4. Take a big breathe before moving and exhale as you move. This forces you to slow down and with each big exhale you get the rib cage to drop down as well. 
5. As you move you want very little side to side movement. you'll get a little but you want to exhibit great rotary stability.
6. Remember deep breathe before moving and exhale are before moving. 

And for the Love of God, please knock it off with the boot camp style dynamic bear crawls. (How NOT to perform bear crawls)