workout
Internal Program Review: Strength Programming For a CrossFit Athlete with Patellar Tendonitis – Day 1
Since our Internal Program Review Series has been getting consistently positive feedback, I’m going to continue today with a look at a Day 1 from one of our comprehensive programming athletes. This particular client is a CrossFit enthusiast and upland hunter who has been regularly supplementing his training with Ruthless Performance programs for some time.
Though this is more of a general look at the Day 1 of his strength programming, we’ll be addressing some modifications we’ve made along the way with regards to the patellar tendonitis.
From the perspective of the training lay-out, we’ve cut back his strength programming to 3 days (which has been as high as 4-5 days in the past). We’ve also supplemented with some training that’s been inspired by our in-house Posture Restoration & Injury Prevention Training protocols. The athlete can choose to perform those and forego his traditional strength programming in the case of a day in which there’s a high prevalence of knee pain.
Those supplemental workouts consist largely of stretches, mobility drills, and activation drills of varying intensities designed to enhance kinesthetic awareness and proprioception while minimizing the impact and input required of the affected joints.
Furthermore, the Day 2 workout consists of a lower body dominant day, with exercise designed to keep knee strain to a minimum, while encouraging blood flow for a more expedient recovery. Day 3 is a full body day designed around the primary goals of maintaining size and enhancing strength even under the reduced workload of this phase. The athlete is still undergoing 3-4 CrossFit workouts / week with various exercise modifications designed with his knees in mind; namely substitutions for the olympic lifts, plyometrics, and burpees.
But now onto the subject of today’s Internal Program Review, Day 1…
1. Stimulation through Antagonistic Training
We’ve all seen programs before with two antagonist exercises paired together (i.e. push & pull, bi’s & tri’s, etc…), this is a time-tested way to get more work into a shorter period of time, while building some muscle. To take this a step further, we’ve manipulated the rep range of the Floor Press in such a manner that we’ll see a quick adaptation and supercompensation to the exercise. This will make for enhancements in strength while still stimulating growth.
What we’ve also done here with the A2 is add a contralateral stance. So not only is our athlete getting some good lat work in, but he’s also stabilizing and strengthening the musculature of the foot on the support side.
As opposed to a regular unilateral band row, a contra-lateral band row implies that the athlete is standing with his weight resting on the non-working side. This further enhances trunk activation, glute development, and more. Adding a contralateral position to various exercises where feasible (much like adding the half-kneeling position for hip mobility) can serve to achieve these secondary goals.
2. Make Glutes not Low Back Pain
The Tall Kneeling position is something we don’t use all that much at Ruthless Performance. In fact, Tall Kneeling Overhead Press is one of the select few exercises we advocate in this position. The tall kneeling, when added to the overhead press helps engage the glutes, as the skeletal system can’t so passively stabilize as it may otherwise be able to do from standing.
As far as the reps are concerned on the Tall Kneeling Overhead Press, we are keeping the volume rather high. The reps here are the primary variable that we are manipulating. This does a few things that we find rather advantageous to performance and longevity: the extended time under tension further enhances gluteal stimulation, contributes a greater degree to resting posture (as the shoulders and traps tend to respond better to higher reps), and also takes some strain off of the shoulder when compared to higher loads and lower reps.
Load on this may remain consistent for the entirety of a 4-week cycle. This will more than likely be the case here as this comes with a particularly steep influx of repetitions throughout the cycle (going from 2×10 to 4×20 in a matter of 4 weeks)…
Since we are so concerned with the athletes on-going knee issues, we’ve directed most of our lower body strength work to be hinge-dominant. With this in mind, we’ve gone out of our way here to design this ‘B’ set to lessen the requirements of the low-back. Though the B1 (Tall Kneeling Overhead Press) will require some low-back involvement, we’ve moved the B2 into a split stance position; this is a rather universal modification to help lessen the requirements of the low back in most exercises.
The Face Pulls are a constant in most of our training programs. The high volume of work on these is nothing special, as we’re constantly trying to stimulate that mid-back and undo some of the damages of daily sitting during commutes, work, and even downtime.
3. A 3×8 Protocol is Rarely Ideal on Supplemental and Single-Joint Exercises
Corrective exercise is frequently thought of as unfamiliar and even bizarre body contortions meant to pull and stretch soft tissue from the bone… Very frequently, particularly in the CrossFit world, some very common exercises can be highly corrective. Humeral abduction in the frontal plane can stimulate the rotator cuff in some ways that are rarely replicated in a traditional CrossFit WOD.
With this DB Lateral Raise as a stand-alone exercise, we’re targeting the deltoids for hypertrophy in a manner that happens to be conducive to not only rotator cuff function, but posture as well. This makes for a very efficient exercise choice when we’re trying to help an individual move better while adding some strength and size.
We’ve told the athlete to start with a weight in which he could complete the totality of the reps in approximately 3 sets. The goal here is to progressively do more reps in the same amount of sets as the weeks go on. Ideally this is with the weight remaining consistent from week 1. As many coaches that advocate these high rep ranges for shoulder exercises will point out, athletes that most commonly have large shoulders are those who train the shoulder with a very high frequency and to fatigue like in swimming or gymnastics.
CrossFit is a Sport, Treat it as Such
Many coaches and athletes from the strength sports are quick to assume that since strength is implicit in their sport that they do not need outside strength and conditioning (in this case more specifically outside technique correction and individualized programming). CrossFit participants looking to attain a high level must realize that the highest levels of performance in CrossFit come from highly individualized programming, with CrossFit WODs being a sport-specific skill rather than a fitness challenge (take Fran for example, this should be viewed as an event, not a series of exercises). By customizing training to the needs of the athlete and matching that with the demands of CrossFit as a sport, we can enhance athletic performance far beyond what we can expect with the existing standalone CrossFit model.
Holiday Season Nutrition
As we settle in the holiday season, it seems like sweets tend to surround us with chocolate temptation and sugary savory cookies. Many folks tend to give in and engulf pounds of desserts over the course of the holiday season. The problem isn’t the sweets themselves, but self-control. Now, I’m not saying to stay away from all desserts or make claims that sugar is evil. If you want some sweets, go ahead! It comes down to self-control and serving sizes. To tell you all to not consume any sweets during Christmas is absurd and can surely ruin the night. It’s also completely understandable to want to stray from desserts because “you don’t want lose your gainz! Or all of your hard work will be a waste”. I can assure you, there is a way to enjoy the holiday season, maintain your gains, and still achieve your goals.
Reach for the Christmas cookies and have a handful. Do not feel guilty about this. Just don’t overdo it like a plate or two stacked with brownies, cookies, candy canes, etc. Now if you exercised that day, you have a little more leniency but still not much, keep it minimal. Here are some tips that may work for you:
- Hungry? Go for a protein snack (Greek yogurt, beef jerky, hard-boiled eggs, protein smoothies, protein bars/cookies). Not the tastiest but better for body composition. How is it better? Protein is more satiating (feel full longer) and has a higher TEF (thermic effect of food), essentially burning more calories during metabolism.
- Drink water! Sometimes hunger may be mistaken for thirst, so if you’re feeling hungry and want a snack, drink some water first then decide if you want to go for that snack. It may also help if you drink water before dinner. This may give you a “full” feeling thus, potentially leading to less food intake.
- Same like the first tip, add more protein than anything on your dinner plate, i.e. chicken breast, turkey, beans, steak, roast beef, etc. Eat your protein first, then go for the mashed potatoes, etc.
- Add fiber to your dish. Fiber also adds satiety. Examples include, broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, celery.
- Use smaller plates. People tend to eat less with smaller plates. Try it out and see if it works. It may not but this is about experimenting.
- Make substitutions. Choose a fruit cup with cottage cheese over a gingerbread cookies and hot chocolate. Choose wine over beer. Simple substitutions like this can help.
- Most importantly, if you lose all self-control and go on a 3-week sweets binge, don’t worry, you will be okay. Enjoy the holiday season!
If looking to make healthier desserts, click here (no affiliation, just cool ideas).
If you’re interested to find out an individualized nutrition plan just for you, contact info@ruthlessperformance.com for our nutrition services.
Does Caffeine Have Any Effect On Resistance Exercise?
Many gym-goers are looking for ways to get more work in during their training sessions. Some turn to pre-workout supplements while others may turn to steroid-related drugs. Although pre-workout supplements contain caffeine, it’s also filled with unnecessary and potentially dangerous substances.
Caffeine on resistance training has been long looked at with supportive research data on its effect. Caffeine’s major effect for training is that it reduces pain perception, potentially delaying fatigue during exercise. Additionally, caffeine may also reduce RPE (rate of perceived exertion) which may extend duration and/or intensity of workouts.
Sources could come as either coffee or caffeine powder/pills. The most important information to know is that 3-6mg/kg may be the optimal range to see effects or a dose of approximately 200mg 1 hour before exercise. 2-3 cups of coffee may be the optimal dose; however, caffeine content depends on the type of coffee and if any espresso shots are added. Experiment with doses and types and find the right amount to see individualized results.
Anne, M. (2018, May 16). How Many Milligrams of Caffeine Are in a Cup of Coffee? Retrieved from https://www.livestrong.com/article/260763-how-many-milligrams-of-caffeine-are-in-a-cup-of-coffee/
Diego B. Souza, Michael Duncan, and Marcos D. Polito. Acute Caffeine Intake Improves Lower Body Resistance Exercise Performance with Blood Flow Restriction. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance 0 0:0, 1-22
Michael J. Duncan, Michelle Stanley, Natalie Parkhouse, Kathryn Cook, Mike Smith. Acute caffeine ingestion enhances strength performance and reduces perceived exertion and muscle pain perception during resistance exercise. Eur J Sport Sci. 2013; 13(4): 392–399. Published online 2011 Dec 5. doi: 10.1080/17461391.2011.635811
Wolde, Tsedeke. (2014). Effects of caffeine on health and nutrition: A Review. 30.
By Jesse Rodriguez, RD, CSCS
Ruthless Performance Guide to Mineral Supplementation
Previously, we talked about the importance and effect of vitamins in performance. We now move on to minerals. Fundamentally, minerals are broken into different categories based on their function; Major, Trace and Ultra-trace minerals. Despite the fact that minerals only contribute only about ~4% of total body weight, their functions are vital for cellular activity, energy metabolism, osmotic properties of body fluids and contribution to teeth and bones.
The major minerals include calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sodium and chloride. Major minerals are found in greater amounts in the body requiring ~100mg/day by adults. Moreover, sodium, chloride, and potassium are the minerals that regulate electrolyte balance.
Trace minerals are called trace because they needed by small amounts in the body, less than 100mg/day. In addition, if amounts required are less than 1mg/day, they are called Ultra-trace minerals. Trace minerals include Iron, Zinc, Copper, Fluoride, and Manganese while Ultra-trace minerals include Selenium, Iodine, Molybdenum and Chromium.
*Note other Trace and Ultra-trace minerals will not be discussed because not much is known about the need for them by the body.
Discussed will be the most common minerals utilized in athletic performance. Minerals in the body act as cofactors which are need during metabolism and for other bodily functions such transport of molecules. Some minerals are useful during performance while the rest are needed for overall health, but make no mistake, their role in the body is crucial for all of us. The chart below outlines common minerals used for performance, and its major function, role, etc.
In summary, chromium and zinc are the two most important minerals in glucose metabolism therefore making these minerals essential in our diets, especially in athletes. Magnesium is of importance because of its function in protein and fatty acid synthesis and 300 other enzymatic reactions. However, too much intake of magnesium will decrease absorption of phosphorus, an essential mineral. The electrolytes are obviously crucial in athletic performance so adequate amounts must be consumed pre, during, and post-workouts. If you’re eating a well-balanced diet, then mineral supplementation may not be necessary but a waste of money. For example, like mentioned above, if you supplement with magnesium in large doses (>600mg) then absorption of phosphorus declines about 50%. Furthermore, your body may not absorb all the mineral content so it’s just gets urinated along with your money. Another example would be too much Zinc causing a deficiency in copper or iron, both important for our health. Eat a well-balanced diet and keep training hard.
Gropper S. Sareen, Smith L. Jack, Carr P. Timothy. Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism. 7th Edition. 2016
By Jesse Rodriguez
Jesse’s focus and emphasis is on Sports Nutrition. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Nutritional Science with the addition of a CSCS certification from the NSCA. Jesse swam for the El Salvador National Team and competed at the international level. Jesse has worked at USC with the Strength and Conditioning program and UCLA as the lead intern for Sports Nutrition. He is currently a dietetic intern to complete requirements for the Registered Dietitian exam and obtain his professional license. During his free time, Jesse continues to strength train, Olympic lift, and stay up-to-date on the latest nutrition trends. Lastly, Jesse is a member of the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics, National Strength and Conditioning Association, and Collegiate & Professional Sports Dietitians Association.
Featured Fitness Content: Volume 47
View the last edition of ‘Featured Fitness Content’ here.
Personal Training, Coaching, and Strength & Conditioning
Use Olympic Weightlifting To Transform Strength Into Speed By Antonio Squillante via Breaking Muscle
Softball: 3 Things You Didn’t Know That Will Upgrade Your Warm-Ups By Nancy Newell
Weight Loss, Nutrition, and General Health
10 Proven Benefits of Green Tea By Kris Gunnars via H
Brian St. Pierre on the Fundamentals of High-Performance Nutrition With Brian St. Pierre via Mike Robertson
Reversing the Low-Testosterone Lifestyle with Training & Nutrition By Mike Gorski via John Rusin
Strength Training, Powerlifting, and Bodybuilding
Bench Press Mobility By Zach Long
How To Weight The Foot During Deadlifts By Harold Gibbons
Motivation, Business, and Success
How to Define Your Company’s Values and Make Them Stick By Michael Keeler
5 Reasons Why You Should Man Up and Start Taking Cold Showers By Ollie Coombes via Addicted 2 Success
Physical Therapy, Alignment, and Injury Prevention
Swimming Recovery: Why Aren’t You Foam Rolling? By G John Mullen via Swimming Science
Research
Histamine Intolerance: Everything You Need To Know Explained in Plain English By Joe Leech
Ruthless Performance Coaches’ Content
Adaptogens and Mushroom Supplementation for Wellness and Immune System Function By Jesse Rodriguez
Recipe: Mushroom Risotto By Jesse Rodriguez
Featured Fitness Content: Volume 45
View the last edition of ‘Featured Fitness Content’ here.
Personal Training, Coaching, and Strength & Conditioning
GGS Spotlight: Kim Lloyd via Girls Gone Strong
Often Overlooked Elements to Success in Personal Training By Dean Somerset
What Assessments Work Best? By Dean Somerset via Mike Robertson
Weight Loss, Nutrition, and General Health
If Your Gym Membership Costs More Than Your Mortgage, You Don’t Care About Your Health, and Neither Do They By Lee Boyce
Top 10 Evidence-Based Health Benefits of Coconut Oil via Healthline
Glutamine: Benefits, Uses and Side Effects By Grant Tinsley via Healthline
Aging Is B.S. – The Myth Of Missed Opportunities By Amanda Allen via Breaking Muscle
Strength Training, Powerlifting, and Bodybuilding
WHY You MUST Be Able To Figure Things Out On Your OWN By Zach Even Esh
Mass That Works – Build Some Functional Hypertrophy By Charles Poliquin
Push Press Technique – Insights Into Athletic Ability By Zach Long
Motivation, Business, and Success
The four elements of entrepreneurship By Seth Godin
Physical Therapy, Alignment, and Injury Prevention
Movement Variability versus Joint Centration By Charlie Weingroff
3 Things Causing Your Swimming Shoulder Pain By Erin Cameron via COR
How to Stop “Text Neck” from Killing You By Bo Babenko via Halevy Life
Ruthless Performance Coaches’ Content
Flexion vs. Extension Intolerant Back Pain By John Matulevich
Featured Fitness Content: Volume 44
View the last edition of ‘Featured Fitness Content’ here.
Personal Training, Coaching, and Strength & Conditioning
Performance Programming Principles: Installment 2 By Eric Cressey
The 3 Main Goals of an Assessment By Dean Somerset
Step-by-Step Glute Training By Mike Robertson
Weight Loss, Nutrition, and General Health
Why You Might Not Need to Learn More About Nutrition By Mike Roussell
Carbohydrates – My Take on Carbs By Charles Poliquin
The Greatest Public Health Mistake of the 20th Century By Joseph Mercola
Honey Lemon Water: An Effective Remedy or Urban Myth? By Jillian Kubala via Health Line
7 Science-Based Health Benefits of Selenium By Jillian Kubala via Health Line
Strength Training, Powerlifting, and Bodybuilding
Are You Making These Strength Training Mistakes By G John Mullen via COR
Complete Core Questions By Michael Boyle
Get Tough: A Beginner’s Guide To Impact Training By Walter Dorey via Breaking Muscle
Motivation, Business, and Success
The Power of Accepting Personal Responsibility By Jen Comas via Girls Gone Strong
Truth: Half of What We Call ‘Fitness’ Isn’t Fitness at All By Lee Boyce
Before you design a chart or infographic By Seth Godin
Don’t create new content. Repurpose content. By Sol Orwell
Physical Therapy, Alignment, and Injury Prevention
[VIDEO] Recent Training and Evaluation Insights By Charlie Weingroff
Research
Science Is Self-Correcting – The Case Of The Hip Thrust And Its Effects On Speed By Bret Contreras
Featured Fitness Content: Volume 43
View the ‘Top Featured Fitness Content of 2017’ here.
Personal Training, Coaching, and Strength & Conditioning
If fitness is your identity, I offer my condolences By Lee Boyce
Squats don’t cure cancer By Martin Bingisser via HMMR Media
10 Keys to Growing as a Performance Coach By Joel Smith via Just Fly Sports
Weight Loss, Nutrition, and General Health
How to Read Junk Food Nutrition Labels By Elsbeth Vaino
Losing Bodyfat or Gaining Muscle Mass: Which is More Important? By Mark Rippetoe via Starting Strength
Reality Check: Is Your Workout Plan Designed to Actually Burn Fat? By Harold Gibbons via Mark Fisher Fitness
Detoxing, ReToxing, or Always-Toxing By Keoni Teta via Metabolic Effect
Strength Training, Powerlifting, and Bodybuilding
Tip: The Rack Pull By Eric Bach via T-Nation
Can High Rep Lifting Replace Cardio For Lifters? By Greg Nuckols via Stronger by Science
Fitness Is So Simple It’s Complicated By Zach Even Esh
Motivation, Business, and Success
The Fight By Jim Smith
Market Toward One Audience and You’ll Enjoy the Perks of Many By Pete Dupuis
Gym Owner Musings – Installment #8 – Internship Edition By Pete Dupuis
Physical Therapy, Alignment, and Injury Prevention
Thoughts on Kettlebell Swings By Charlie Weingroff
Ruthless Performance Coaches’ Content
Flexion vs. Extension Intolerant Back Pain By John Matulevich via Ruthless Performance
Flexion vs. Extension Intolerant Back Pain
Of the individuals that participate in either the Ruthless Performance Ex Phys Interventions or our Posture Restoration & Injury Prevention Training, there is no across-the-board origin of pain or movement dysfunction at the hip or low back; in fact, client training histories run the gamut in activity level, training history, limb length, and so on.
So what is the common denominator among individuals with low back pain?
In short, there isn’t one singular origin, but rather there are two.
The more frequent of which is extension intolerance. This is common among what we in the Strength & Conditioning world refer to as ‘desk jockeys’, or any individual who is regularly in a resting position of spinal flexion. This includes desk workers, individuals with extended work commutes, TV watchers, and so on… Given our societal predisposition to these patterns, it should be relatively straightforward as to why this is so common.
In opposition to this is flexion intolerance. This is common among highly active individuals such as weightlifters, american football players, backpackers, manual laborers, and so on.
Assessing which category you fall in can usually be done simply with the above information, however there are some easy to perform physical tests as well. A hip extension machine is a great tool for diagnosing the more common extension intolerant back pain. Simply perform a standard hip extension, from here take notice to your range of motion and comfort levels. To assess flexion-intolerant back pain, perform several repetitions of the traditional sit-up or crunch. From here, reevaluate pain, comfort, and ROM. If a hip extension machine is unavailable, any exercise in which spinal extension occurs (or spinal flexion for the flexion intolerant assessment) can be used.
These tests in congruity can determine a great deal about the cause and symptoms of any dysfunctions or abnormalities in the spine. Oddly enough the solution for both of these issues starts with the same series of correctives…
To gain more mobility in the requisite spinal segments (for extension and flexion), start with rotational spinal mobility to help ensure that as these capacities develop, the movement is coming from the correct areas of the spine (primarily thoracic rather than lumbar). Some exercises and drills which may assist here are quadruped t-spines, cross-over stretch, russian med ball twists, and so on.
From here you can progress into more specific drills to focus on your specific type of intolerance (i.e. focusing more on adding range to spinal extension drills or vice versa).
Spinal health can be simplified into a system of mathematical averages; to regain extension, flexion, or even to maintain a more neutral spine, adequate steps need to be taken to pull the posture in that direction.
For more information on our Posture Restoration & Injury Prevention Training or the Ruthless Performance Ex Phys Interventions, send us a message at RuthlessPerformance.com/contact.