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  • Why I Rarely Use Barbells

    Chains. Metal.
    Photo by John Salvino on Unsplash

    The gym-less self-isolation training hasn’t been a challenge for most of my clients. Not because any of them have proper gym set ups at home. But because when we train at the gym it’s mostly with kettlebells, dumbbells, resistance bands and bodyweight. Stuff that’s easy enough to set up at home.

    Sure, there are some aspects we are now missing. Cable pulley system-machine-whatever-you-want-to-call-it, the power work with medicine balls, trapbar deadlifts and the access to landmine exercises. The last being just about the only thing we use barbells for.

    I’ve gradually used less and less of barbells over the years. And it’s probably been three or four years since I’ve cut them out almost completely for new clients*.

    Barbells emphasise a one dimensional view on progression

    Go heavier. That’s really it. You get better by increasing your numbers. Sure, you can add pauses and all the other stuff to get stronger. But focusing on barbell lifting emphasises increasing the weight on the bar. That’s a fact in people wired in barbell lifting.

    Great for powerlifters competing in lifting the biggest possible weights, but not so much for people who just want to be and look fitter and healthier. Let’s face it, how much does a healthy adult really need to lift anyway?

    Using barbells makes people more prone to injury

    All the barbell lifts are way too easy to load excessively heavy. Because it’s possible to pile on the weights with the bar already elevated in the rack, you don’t have to bypass the body’s self-limiting brilliance: the need to build a base of strength to get the bar into the starting position.

    Making barbell squat into a self-limiting exercise.
    Imagine if before even trying squatting the weight you’d have to clean it into the rack position. But no. With a squat rack all the trainee has to do is to walk under the bar, create tension against it and walk it away from the rack.

    And that’s why I like goblet, and front squats with kettlebells.
    There is no way most people can lift as heavy when the weight is held in front of the body. The pull forward is just too great. And there’s the grip strength which adds another element of difficulty to the lift.

    Smells like goblet squat spirit.

    Besides, for this to even work, you have to lift the weights to the starting position first. Another safety check to pass before earning the right to squat with them.

    What about barbell loaded hip thrust?
    I love the hip thrust. But not with a heavy barbell. A heavy weight sitting on my hips? Trusting that my back and pelvis can handle it? No, thank you.

    Besides, there is something off-putting about loading things so heavy that you have to use a cushion to reduce the pressure of it on the body.

    The case against barbell loaded bench and overhead press.
    I refuse to help someone get heavy dumbbells in the starting position of a dumbbell bench press. If you can’t get them there yourself, you haven’t earned the right to press with them.

    Compare this to barbell bench press where people can just load the bar and un-rack it. Regardless of it being too heavy or not.

    Benching with a barbell also forces the hands and therefore the shoulders to follow a specific pattern. Where as when benching with dumbbells or kettlebells (one arm floor press) the hands can rotate freely. It just feels nicer for most people. Same goes for overhead press variations.

    Deadlifts make an occasional exception to the rule.
    Most people feel better using a trapbar instead of barbell when deadlifting. Compared to barbell the trapbar allows the weight to travel closer to the mid-line of the body, which just feels nicer on most backs.

    There is the occasional client who still works on barbell deadlifts, just because it feels better for them. But these clients are few and far between. Even still, we often elevate the weight off the ground for them.

    But what about when your arms get tired before your legs?

    Most people’s argument against using goblet or kettlebell front squat is that it’s usually the arms that get tired before the legs. That it’s impossible to go as heavy with kettlebell front squat compared to barbell back or front squat. True.

    And on that note, here’s a snippet from Charlie Weingroff’s The Concept of Lowest System Load:

    “Effort does not equal results.  We know this.  And Newton’s 2nd law says force is force is proportional to the mass of an object along with the acceleration of motion.  In theory, there has to be more mass of the kettlebell to increase more force.  But there can also be more acceleration.

    For instance, in performing a proper hard style KB swing with 20-30% of the individual’s bodyweight, force plates register almost 4x bodyweight.  A 200 lb man can swing a 24 and create 800 pounds of force into the ground.  I am guessing there are many more 200 lb individuals swinging 20s, 24s, and 32s than pulling 8 and 9 wheels.

    So the example here suggests that we MAY be able to accomplish ONE of the same things using an implement of 15% the load.”
    – Charlie Weingroff

    As I mentioned earlier, something happens when the weight in your hands is held further away from your body’s base of support. Because your centre of gravity shifts forward you need more strength relatively to the weight you are holding, which creates an experience of a harder lift.

    The exercise will be harder to complete, but it is likely easier for your joints and nervous system. By driving the weight up fast, you should be able to get similar benefits with lighter weights. Making the return of investment much higher. If this matches your training goals, you win.

    And if you get to a point when the grip really becomes the limiting factor, switch to single leg variations. One leg requires less loading compared to two.

    Safer alternatives for barbell lifting

    Squat alternatives

    • Kettlebell/dumbbell goblet hold or kettelbell rack variations for squats.
    • Split squats, lunges, rear foot elevated split squat to reduce the load on the back (load one leg, one back vs two legs, one back) and the grip.
    • Single leg squat variations.

    Deadlift alternatives

    • Trapbar, kettlebell and double kettlebell deadlifts.
    • Single leg deadlifts.
    • Skater squats.

    Hip thrust alternative

    • Single leg hip thrusts.

    Bench press alternatives

    • Dumbbell bench variations.
    • 1-arm kettlebell floor press.
    • Push up variations.

    Overhead press alternatives

    • Landmine press variations.
    • 1-arm kettlebell press variations.

    My clients are not powerlifters

    Hence we do whatever works so we can get to them to their goals in the safest, most efficient way possible. And for most, barbell doesn’t fit into that equation.

    *Unless the barbell lifts are something that the client want to do and get good at. Then we work on them like any other.

  • Stopping The Afternoon Snack

    Pay close attention to what happens before you reach for that snack. What is it that acts as a trigger? If you’ve eaten a proper lunch it’s probably not so much about hunger. But a deeply ingrained habit.

    Is it pouring (or ordering, for you high rollers) a cup of coffee? You mustered all your willpower to have just the coffee, but the action of filling your cup with steaming black magic sets off a cascade of habits to follow.

    You can’t fight the urge to dip into the cookie jar. Or that hot cross bun box in the cupboard. Or, if you do fight it, you’ll sap your willpower for the rest of the day.

    The best solution is the path of least resistance. Keep the actions the same. But instead of a hot cross bun, choose a healthier alternative. Still have your coffee, still have a snack.

    Start by asking yourself “how would this look if it’d be easy?” Any action in the right direction is better than no action.

    Or, if you are yet to have a hot cross bun this Easter, just eat the damn thing.

  • The Problem of Outsourcing Our Health

    Take my money. Make me healthy.
    Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

    Let’s say we’ve always outsourced cooking. How much in a shit would we be if all the restaurants and food delivery services would have to go into a full lock down? Not just “we still do takeaway”, but “closed for business”.

    Or what if our partner who always does the cooking would get sick and couldn’t dish up our favourite potato bake?

    Would we have to resort to eating cold pea soup concentrate out of a can? To bite into a raw potato hoping that the holy spirit would cook it with our saliva?

    What if we’d never bothered to learn about nutrition because someone else dictated what’s good for us? Sure, their intentions of helping were great. But we got ripped off. We got the service, but not the knowledge.

    Let’s say we have never tried to discover our intrinsic motivation for exercise. Instead we’ve always hired trainers to keep us accountable. We never paid attention to what the training program was about because we didn’t have to. We turned up to train and then forgot all about it by the time of our next session.

    What would happen if we couldn’t get a trainer? Would we be content at doing it on our own? Would we still show up when no one is holding us accountable and telling us what to do?

    Money is nice when we can buy all the help we need. But what if money wouldn’t cut it anymore? If we could no longer by our way out of problems.

    As a society, we are so used to outsourcing that we’ve lost some basic skills. Because as long as we can buy them, what’s the point in learning…

    Let’s change that. We can still buy a service. And we should trust the experts to guide us. But how much better off would we be if we’d learn in the process? With the goal of eventually becoming self-sufficient.

    Anyways. On that cheery note. I am off to learn how to grow vegetables. And to make boots. And to figure out how our 2007 Corolla could go on lukewarm dish water.

    Has anyone seen my can of pea soup?

  • Objectivity for Contentment and Improvement

    Judgemental attitude is unproductive. Whether it’s judging ourselves and our actions, doing the same for other people, or for things and life circumstances in general. Judging our way forward doesn’t take us anywhere worth going.

    If anything, judging puts a negative spin on our day-to-day life. It can stop us from taking action. It’s almost like judgemental attitude gives us a ticket to bask in helplessness. To be the victim.

    The more productive alternative, not surprisingly, is much harder.

    Your diet is not good or bad. It just is. What do you notice about your eating habits? One of my favourites is, “I ate so much shit yesterday.” (Judging). To which I usually go, “Really, there wasn’t anything else available?” That’s an attempt at humour.

    A pizza is not bad and a carrot is not good. One might take you closer or further from your goal. But they are still just thoughtless food items without any larger scale political or sociological agendas.

    Your body is not good or bad. It just is. What do you see and feel? Not, “I feel like shit.” That’s you judging again. But, when observing your body what do you notice?

    Today’s training session wasn’t good or bad. It just was. What did you notice while doing it? And based on that, do you think there’s something you could do differently next time?

    Weather is not good or bad. It’s your observations that makes it. What can you appreciate about the torrential rain and thunderstorm?

    And last, the most challenging scenario. She didn’t behave badly towards you. You just feel like she did. Why do you think that is?

    Next time you find yourself in these situations, I challenge you to observe them without judging.

  • Sport Specific Strength Training Is Probably Not What You Think It Is

    Most athletes think that their sport requires a unique approach to strength training. And fancy marketing tailored for a specific sport often reinforces this.

    But once you peel off the layers of fluff you’ll see what is (or should be) in the core of any quality strength training program. Regardless of your sport, the basics of strength training and building overall athleticism apply.

    Strength training for all sports is made up of 90-100% of the same stuff. In the gym, train the qualities of being a more athletic, stronger human by training the six movement patters:

    • Push
    • Pull
    • Squat
    • Hinge
    • Locomotion
    • Rotation

    Then take the qualities built in the gym and transfer those into your sport in the sport specific skill practice outside of the gym.

    If you do kayaking, go paddle. If you run, go run. If you swim, go swimming. If you participate in mosquito killing world championships (happens in Finland every summer), or wife carrying world championships (also happens in Finland*) go practice those.

    Often that 10% difference (at most) between different sports is more about undoing what gets overdone in the sport practice:

    • Runners run in a straight line. Balance it out with lateral and rotational strength work.
    • Swimmers do a lot of overhead work in their sport practice. Balance it out by limiting overhead in strength training.
    • And anyone working in an office already leans forward and rounds their back. Limit ab work that rounds the back and do more pulling vs pushing exercises.

    Or, the 10% difference can be finding an exercise that feels better for a particular athlete. You might feel better doing a dumbbell bench. Some prefer almost-horizontal landmine press. They both accomplish the same thing: upper body push.

    When you become stronger, faster and more resilient you will become a better athlete. Regardless of your sport.

    *I guess when you spend 8-9 months of the year in the dark frothing for summer you’ll come up with all kinds of activities to enjoy those long summer days and nights.

  • Training During a Pandemic

    Don’t be a dick. Stay at home.
    Photo by Alec Favale on Unsplash

    Exercise improves the immune system and can help you fight off illnesses. That’s science. But there’s no information yet (as far as I know) whether this is the case with COVID-19.

    Common sense would assume so, but we have to be careful on drawing conclusions. Let’s remember that this is a completely new illness with no built-in immunity in the community.

    Regardless, staying active can help you fight off other illnesses which might make you more prone to COVID-19.

    Perhaps the worst cocktail party I can think of.
    Having the seasonal flu would reduce your immune system significantly. Which would then get your body to bring out the marching band welcoming committee for COVID-19 to join the party.

    And having those two illnesses simultaneously does not sound like a party I want to participate in. Besides, as an introvert I find most parties a drag, anyway.

    Exercise is also a powerful stress-killer and anxiety-reducer. Both are something that a lot of folks are dealing with now. I mean, being stuck inside with limited social interactions is not ideal for a human. Even for an introvert.

    But now is probably not the time to train like Meatloaf.

    A large increase in exercise duration and intensity can have an adverse effect on your immune system. Especially if you’re somewhat new to exercise. So I wouldn’t focus your training efforts into doing intense Crossfit Fran (or any other female name workouts where you do 20 snatches with switched on flamethrowers?) sessions or marathon endurance sessions.

    Instead, train, move and exercise daily, but keep the intensity at low to moderate. Just to be safe.

    Focus on improving your weaknesses.

    If you feel like certain parts of your body need some extra love (come on now, we all have issues), get improving them during this pandemic.

    Now is a great time to work on your technique. Whether it’s in running, squatting, darts or river-dancing leg switch. Often we are too focused on getting a workout while letting the movement quality to go down the shitter.

    Get those ankles moving nicely. Improve the hips. Work on your core strength if you have a habit of neglecting it. That old shoulder needing some long overdue attention? Get into it.

    You’ll come back feeling stronger and more resilient once you’re able to return to normal patterns of being.

    And since being outdoors helps fight stress, anxiety and overall “meh”-ness, get outside as much as possible while adhering to social distancing rules.* During our yesterday’s virtual small group session one client logged his equipment to his back yard. We heard the birds.

    In case you start to feel sick, especially with respiratory symptoms, rest. Otherwise you might prolong the illness, or make it worse. From what we’ve seen COVID-19 can start off mild and gradually get worse within the first two weeks.

    *Seriously, don’t be a dick.

    Additional resources:
    – How Exercise May Affect Your Immunity (The New York Times)
    – Exercise, Immunity and the COVID-19 Pandemic

  • Relieve Neck Pain From Sitting (Or, Better, Don’t Get It In The First Place)

    In the end of this I’ll give you movements to loosen up stiff neck, but let’s start at the root level. Have a proper set up for working from home so you’ll get minimal neck pain in the first place.

    By now you likely know what an ergonomic desk set up looks like for us, the greatest of them all hominids (and, I say, the only ones needing to adhere to an ergonomic desk set up), humans.

    Here’s how to sit:

    Be like this guy.
    • Straight spine all the way from your hips to the back of your skull.
    • Upper arms vertical.
    • Elbows at 90 degrees.
    • Hands resting on the keyboard.
    • Head and eyes looking straight ahead.
    • If you use a laptop, either prop the screen to eye level and get a separate keyboard. Or, keep the laptop for keyboard use and get a separate monitor (this is what I do).

    And here are few things to remember as you’re pounding away the keyboard, stressed out of your mind for the impending deadline:

    • Don’t make the chicken neck inching your forehead ever closer to the screen.
    • I suggest sticking a post-it note on the side of your screen saying “don’t be a chicken”.

    As in, don’t be this guy:

    Loser chicken bound for neck-pain train.

    And we should talk briefly about breathing

    It’s common to breath like an un-human when neck deep in focus mode. And guess what. Breathing like an un-human is not that good for you when your goal is to be as much human as possible.

    Here’s how to breath like a human:

    • Focus on inhaling into your ribs, hips and even low back. Not into your neck and shoulders. If your shoulders raise with each inhale you’re on a train bound for neck and shoulder stiffness.
    • Inhale and exhale through your nose only. Gag your mouth shut if necessary. You can’t get the diaphragm to do it’s work with mouth breathing.
    • On that earlier post-it note add “breath like a human.”

    Adventurous anti-sitting options for the enthusiastic worker

    Try half kneeling and kneeling positions. I often alternate between these two to stop my hip flexors, low back and consequently neck, feel like I’ve been cursed by some evil, hip stiffness shaman from Brazil.

    Chairless working for the alternatively minded.

    Already being an ergonomic being, but still needing some neck love?

    Here are few simple movements you can do at the comfort of your home. This combination will help to reduce the neck tension and strengthen your upper back.

    Neck, upper back and shoulder rotations (first three in this video)
    x 2-3 rotation in each direction.

    Bonus points if you can mimic my somewhat creepy-zen like facial expressions.

    Swimmers in tall kneeling
    x 2-5 in each direction.

    Avoid any position if it aggravates your neck. Keep upper back (and the rest of the body) tight throughout the movement. It should feel like the tension moves from the neck to the muscles of your upper back. In other words, this movement should feel dope. And definitely not awful.

    Naked batwings (on the floor or against a wall)
    x 1 max hold x 2-3

    Tense up the whole body like doing a high-tension plank. Then try to lift yourself off the floor by driving elbows into the ground. Because you’re like Scrooge McDuck (super-tight) it’s impossible to move anywhere. Upper back is working like crazy though.

    Did I just make you feel better?

  • Are We Being Forced Into a Healthier Future?

    We’ve had to alter the way we live. And it hasn’t happened on this scale since bombers were terrorising cities during World War II. A potentially defining moment in history.

    Yet, there could be a silver lining.

    We are forced to rethink how we live and work. We are required to innovate new ways to replace our old habits. Some that only exists for no better reason than, “we’ve always done it this way so shut up, Mark”.

    Once this is all over, maybe more people could stick to working remotely. To commute less. To have the work come to you. Before 2020 we were stuck in a model that was mostly created for factories needing the workers to turn up and switch on the machines.

    In a world where you can video call from Sydney to Helsinki with a click of a button using a device no bigger than a third of a deck of cards, the factory model is painfully dated.

    What about the negative effects of our chronic financial stress. If we’d commute less we could live further from the cities. And not cram the trendy inner city suburbs with mortgages bleeding us dry.

    The services we now access in our cities would be available to us closer to home. Near where we live and work. But they would be better, more community orientated.

    Now it’s mostly bigger chains and corporations* who can afford to pay the city rents and take risks. They can afford to try. But in the future of our spread out suburbs there’d be more customer focused small businesses.

    Because the rents would be lower, these services, shops, gyms, cafes and restaurants would better. Warm and personalised, with people who care about the customer, you. That’s because the small business could focus on better service instead of just worrying about the overheads. Or worse, pleasing the shareholders and boardroom.

    Because of the reduced commute there would be less pollution. We could take deeper inhales of fresh air instead of stale exhaust pipe fumes. How much better would all of us feel, both physically and mentally?

    Less time in the floodlighted office building, and more time at home closer to nature. We could switch our weekly commuting hours for walks and time outdoors. All with the family and friends we care about. Not just a random foul-smelling, bad mannered co-worker with the personality of a diced cucumber, we’re forced share a workplace with.

    In the long term, what would be the positive effects on us, and the society as a whole? Not only to our healthcare bills, but to the future of our heating planet.

    In the middle of a hardship, it’s possible to see a healthier future we thought impossible.

    *I am not in the camp which thinks big businesses are all evil. They employ a lot of people. Some of them do real good for the society. Besides, how good are the chippies (fries) at McDonald’s?

  • Ankles Are The Window To Your Butt. Why and How To Injury-Proof Ankles for Running, Hiking… and Stuff

    There! Can you see it?!
    Photo by Tom Barrett on Unsplash

    If the glutes are the powerhouse of your body, the engine room of your youth, then the ankles are the window to your butt. When the ankles lack mobility, especially in dorsiflexion (the shin moving forward towards the top of the foot), your butt won’t get the signal that more hip extension (the movement that the glutes are meant to do) is needed.

    Instead, all of that work that the glutes are meant to do is taken over by your quads and calves. This can lead to issues up the chain in the knee, hip, low back, even shoulder or neck.

    As a side note, calf-butts are a tragedy.

    It’s not uncommon to see people with huge calves and tiny butts. Not because of some trendy, but doomed, anti-Kardashian Instagram movement. But because the calves in those bodies are doing all the work that should be given to glutes. In simple terms, it means that their butts now live in their calves.

    But(t) would make a great side-plot in anything by Matt Stone and Trey Parker.

    And even if there is no pain anywhere, you could be wasting time doing all the hip bridges, glute strength and deadlifts in in the world. It wouldn’t help you to run, hike or play sports any better because the hip extension strength is not accessible without an ankle that works.

    How much ankle mobility you need depends on the activities you do

    Here’s a simple ankle screen you can do right now. We are measuring the ankle of your rear leg.

    As a general rule, you want to be able to get your rear knee inline with the ankle of your front leg.

    Based on your results in the above ankle screen, we can decide what to do next:

    If you lack mobility and feel pinching pain

    For a pinching pain in the front of your rear ankle, or even directly in the achilles, see a manual therapist to have the ankle evaluated. Their hands can do things you and I can’t. Instead of foam rolling and whatnot for months on end, a professional can probably clear the ankle within a session. Or at least show you how to proceed to get there quickly.

    If you have enough mobility and feel pinch in front of the ankle

    This often means that you have the mobility, but lack the strength to control it, resulting in a pinch. Here’s an exercise you can try to strengthen the ankle itself.

    For ankles that already have the adequate mobility, but lack the strength, stop short of where you feel the pinch and omit the two and one minute holds. On the next round see if you can move a bit deeper into the dorsi flexion without feeling the pain.
    Also, I repeat, do not go where you feel the pain.

    If you don’t have enough mobility and feel tension in calf

    Follow the principles in the above Ankle Mobility PAILS/RAILS video. Include the long two and one minute holds between bouts of isometric contractions. Do it daily.

    And combine it with the steps below. Except #4, which you ideally wouldn’t do until your ankle moves like a champion. But, I know there’s the perfect scenario and the real world.

    If you have enough mobility and no pain

    1. So much of your ankle strength comes from the hip. Follow this single leg hip progression to build a stronger butt and therefore a stronger ankle.
    2. Because COVID, use the principles (even the exercises) of Minimalist Strength Training for The Housebound.
    3. Add some calf raises with a slow heel drop. You know this one, but here’s a video.
    4. Include power/plyometric work once you’ve built a base level of strength. Obviously there’s no gym access right now for nobody, so perhaps jump on some steps at an appropriate level. Or I don’t know, that sounds kind of dangerous. Either way, use something sturdy that allows for a proper landing.

    Start with box jumps
    x5-6 reps x 1-3 sets

    Land like Kanye or Ninja: silently. It’s not just how high you jump, but how gracefully you land. Step down instead of jumping.

    Progress to 1-leg box jumps
    x5-6 reps x 1-3 sets

    And eventually, lateral/medial box jumps
    x5-6 reps x 1-3 sets

    Now, go do it. And then come back. And eat some muesli while admiring your newly discovered brilliance of ankles. How good are they?

  • It isn’t selfish

    Yes, you’re doing it for your own health.

    But your physical and mental health has an impact on others too.

    And by being active and prioritising your wellbeing, you’ll set an example that’ll serve you and your kids for the rest of their lives.

    -J