I have been ridiculously busy lately with training, writing, working
and family stuff, so I’ve been kind of absent on the Q&A. I do, however, really
appreciate everyone’s emails and have been trying to keep up with those.
Training is going well and we are moving into Sectionals with my
wrestlers. We have a bunch of seniors on the team and everyone has been
training their asses off. I’ve had them hitting a bunch of thick rope,
kettlebell, sandbag and Prowler work. The team has some injuries right now, but
we’re working through those and trying to keep them as healthy as possible.
I’ll have a few big things coming out in Men’s Fitness in the
next couple of months. This has been keeping me busy at night. I’ve also just
submitted some other articles to another print publication, and can talk about
that pretty soon, too.
My new product, Combat Core, is also coming out soon, so keep an
eye out for that. Initial response has all been really positive and I am very
grateful. It is a 173-page e-book that will come with a ton of huge bonuses.
The basis of the e-book is the importance of “real world torso strength” and
means to develop this proficiency. Core strength is not only about developing
strength in isolated movement patterns, but also developing the bracing and
stiffness required to transfer forces and engage in compound movements. Also,
linear, patterned movements should be complimented with chaotic or random
movements to provide a more comprehensive strength profile.
Dave has told me that the Elite Stone Trainer has had a positive
response and that is awesome. Elite always puts out solid products and this one
is no exception. I’m not sure how much it weighs, but it is heavy and well
constructed.
Dave has given me the opportunity to provide content to this individual
Q/A every 6-8 weeks, so look for upcoming reports.
Q&A
Shin Splint Rehab Protocol
Progression to more intense, high impact training sessions should be deliberate
and periodized, with attention spent to strengthening dorsi-flexion. The
formation of shin splints, or condition called Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS)
– general shin soreness, trauma or overload to musculature and connective
structures - typically occurs when progression and volume is too rapid.
Here are some tools and strategies to help alleviate and overcome shin splints.
Barefoot Warm-ups / Light Worksets
Take off your shoes for your dynamic warm-up and keep them off during your first
few light worksets
Soft Tissue Work
Tennis Balls / Foam Roller
Plantar Fascia / Peroneals / Gastroc / Soleus
Ice Massage
Homemade Cryocup
Some other considerations:
- Warm-up should be thorough ensuring CNS excitement and core temperature
increase
- Don’t forget to improve soft-tissue quality all along entire kinetic chain
- Work on improving hip mobility in addition to ankle mobility
- Engage in ground-based, multi-directional, compound and unilateral, bodyweight
and resisted movements
- Cold water submersion followed by soft-tissue modalities can be substituted
for cryocup
- Band tensions can be increased as strength and proficiency of movement
improves
- All movements should engage a full range of motion to ensure optimal muscle
fiber recruitment and strength in greater articulations – i.e. strength mobility
I am a 46-year-old woman who has chronic plantar fasciitis. I cannot
do anything on my feet. I cannot stand and lift weights, I cannot do yoga, and I
cannot do cardio workouts on my feet without pain. I have osteopenia and am
frightened of how the aging process will affect me without working out/aerobic
exercise. To further complicate things, I live in rural Washington and do not
have access to a year-round swimming pool. I currently do free weight upper body
workouts daily in my home gym. I lift and lower the weights to a count of eight,
and rest one minute between sets. I do three sets of progressively heavier
weights. My son suggested I contact you to find out what I can do to exercise my
legs and get cardio benefits from my workout.
I too have had a heel issue. I had a severe case of plantar fasciitis
for many months due to a couple of heavy Conan’s Wheel training sessions on
not-so-flat terrain. Here are some things that helped me.
Equipment
Get proper footwear. It should be rigid to twist, and when compressing the shoes
between your hands, they should flex where the ball of the foot would be.
Arch support - Get an arch support for the shoes – it will provide stabilization
in the arch of your foot and provide some immediate relief.
Arch compression – compression of the arch with a neoprene sleeve or athletic
tape will also provide immediate relief
Soft tissue therapy
Rolling your foot on a tennis ball and/or golf ball while you’re sitting or
standing. You can also use a foam roller or soup can.
Put
The Stick to work on your calves, ant tib and peroneals.
Cold therapy
I would also recommend freezing a water bottle (as cylindrical as possible) and
rolling that on the bottom of your foot – this will feel great
Strengthening
Toe Grabs – lay a towel on the floor and pull in toward you with just your toes
while keeping your heel on the ground
Marble Load – put a cup and some marbles on the ground, load the marbles into
the cup with just your toes, while keeping your heel on the ground.
Barefoot Calf raises off a set of steps; benefits are twofold – providing a
great stretch and strengthening the plantar fascia.
I’ve also had success performing some inversion/eversion work with elastic
bands, but wrapping the band diagonally across the bottom of my foot to provide
for a slightly greater ROM.
Have you ever used the Safety Squat Bar to do Zercher squats? Also,
when I do kettlebell Turkish Get-ups, my shoulder flexibility limits what I can
do. Have you ever done these with the kettlebell in the clean position? If so,
what do you think of doing TGU’s this way?
1. We don't have access to a SSB – we hopefully
will soon - so I haven't used one for Zerchers. But, many do use the SSB for
Zerchers and it works really well. If you don't have one, some things to try:
- towel wrapped around bar
- elbow sleeves
- 4" PVC pipe slide over the bar - this is a very difficult variation (similar
to a Conan’s Wheel) as it will decrease the degree of elbow flexion and increase
the bicep demand, your weights will drop significantly.
- some cryocup on the area that hurts might help
- some stretching of the bicep pre / post exercise might also help
2. Yes, although KB TGU's are a great stabilizer of the shoulder and
great conditioning means, the efficiency of performing them is limited by the
amount of thoracic and shoulder flexibility you have.
To improve your efficiency you can:
- increase your amount of foam rolling in the targeted area, including the
opposite hips from the engaged arm
- increase duration and variability of dynamic warm-up
- implement shoulder band stretching in all articulations
- work KB armbars to improve ROM AND strength in this new ROM
- changing to a neutral grip position at lockout might help initially to execute
the movement with your current restrictions
Normally, I can do lateral raises with a 50 pound dumbbell for sets
of 8. I recently tried to do these with at 35 pound kettlebell, and couldn’t
even do one. What’s the explanation for this?
As you can see by this diagram, side laterals are a 3rd class lever.
The effort (muscle tension) required to move the load is dependent upon:
1. The level of MU excitement and required number of MU's are recruited
2. The length of the moment arm (body type)
3. The load (gravity's effect on the mass)
4. The integrity of engaged kinetic segments
and in the instance of the kettlebell replacing the dumbbell...
5. The distance from the moment arm to the COG of the mass.
The COG of the dumbbell is centralized and in close proximity to
the line of the moment arm. The kettlebell's COG is "X" distance
from the moment arm increasing the effort required to complete
the movement because the athlete is now in a non-advantageous
mechanical advantage
