Inch Dumbbell Overhead (Photo by Joe Mugovero)

One of my main body strength goals for 2012 was improving my Overhead Pressing ability, so I really began to look at all the contributing factors to a big press. Things like a strong core, lockout strength and speed off the shoulders were some of the things I looked at most heavily, because when I was doing strongman training, those were the things I focused on most often for building the press.

However, one of the things I did not take a real close look at, at first, was my flexibility and mobility in my shoulders and torso. To my surprise, working stretching into the routine has proven to be the absolute biggest factor in my increase in pressing strength recently.

It’s kind of ironic that including the simple practice of stretching would have such a big effect. I remember watching Lee Haney videos on ESPN when I was a teenager, so it’s not like this is the first time I ever heard of the concept.

My absolute neglect for stretching and any kind of range of motion or mobility maintenance came when I started studying NSCA materials. The literature stated that if you performed exercises with a full range of motion, then there would be no worry for loss of it.

More recently, several proponents of Biofeedback/Gym Movement have even spoken of their lack of use of stretching and mobility work in their routines.

Well, here is the problem with all those organizations and belief systems, from Lee Haney, to the NSCA, to GM: they are only referring to lifting and NOT what is going on the other 22 hours in the day.

For me, and maybe some of you reading this, the most important factor for my flexibility and range of motion status (aside from sheer genetics), I feel, is my positioning during those 22 hours.

The amount of time I am in a seated position, whether it is working, driving, or just lounging around is staggering. Sometimes, it seems as though if I am not walking to or from my car, or if I am not training, then I am sitting on my ass, and getting more and more locked up.

In relationship to my pressing numbers, I posted a few weeks back how I was able to make incredible jumps in pressing strength with some stretching and soft tissue work prior to and during my pressing workout. That post is here: What’s Working Now – Improving Overhead Press.

Now, although the improvements I saw in that workout were impressive as far as the actual weight jumps from one workout to the next, the numbers were still not where I would want them because in the past I have been capable of much more.

So, I began going back through some old video clips of myself pressing, and one thing I noticed was that several years ago I looked much more fluid. These days in my videos, I walk like Frankenstein, as if my spine is fused and when I press, I have almost zero lean in the thoracic region of my back at all. In the past, my thoracic mobility was far greater and a real strength of mine, so I knew I had to do something to get back there. Once I began incorporating drills right into my workout, I began instantly seeing some good results, thus the post I mentioned above.

And once I started seeing progress, I began trying out even more movements to see what would work the best. I’ve come up with three movements that I have gotten continued good results from and I want to share them with you so you can try them.

Pipe Roll Thoracic Arch

Squat Cage Doorway Stretch

Squat Cage Shoulder Point

These three movements have proven to have the biggest benefit for me in my training, of the dozens I have tried. If you think you are lacking in the mobility department for your thoracic spine, or if you think your shoulders are inhibited in some other way, then you should give these a try.

If these drills don’t seem to do anything for you, then I encourage you to do some experimenting. We are all different and have different limitations, so in turn we will all need to do different things in order to address those limitations.

Results From 8 Weeks of Concentrated Mid Workout Stretching

Barbell Military Press – Recent PR

In recent memory, in the Barbell Press out of a cage, my best has been 215. I have gotten that number so many times I have lost count. That really irritates me, because it is about 40 lbs under my best strict press on a barbell.

Without stretching or soft tissue work, I was topping out at 215 whether I did overhead press first or if I did Bench Press first. And that little factoid irritates me because you would think that after benching the triceps would be too tired to match my best PR, but it has seemed to have no effect whatsoever.

So, here is a recent video of some new high water marks for the Barbell Press out of the cage.

Barbell Military Press – Old Working Set

I am not sure if you can tell in the video clips, but I am able to get a bit more extension in my thoracic spine in the new PR video (I could certainly feel the difference that day). In the working sets video from a few months back, I don’t get anything at all. The benefit to getting this fluidity in the thoracic portion of the spine is that each repetition feels better, and feel less like I have two baseball bats running from my shoulders to my glutes, restricting me. Being able to bend ever so slightly back near the shoulder area lets me press much easier.

Take note, I am not talking about bending the lumbar spine like a 1950′s Olympic Press, as shown above. That is something that you should try to avoid. I played Russian Roulette with that too often back in the day and have no desire to go back to it. What I am looking to improve is my thoracic spine, the mid to upper torso (shown below)

Dumbbell Military Press PR

My numbers in this had been so bad, that I was pretty much stuck at 50′s. Then with time working on my ROM and soft tissue, I was gradually able to work up to 70′s and now 85′s is becoming my new standard. Below, I hit a set of 6 with 85′s, a set which felt so easy up until the last set, it is hard to put it into words.

In the video above, I think it is a bit easier to see the extension I am getting in the thoracic spine. This video was shot two pressing workouts after the Barbell Press workout where I pressed 235.

To sum things up, although my upper back/torso issues are not so bad that I walk around with like Quasimodo or have scapular winging, I still have issues with tightness in the shoulders and lack of thoracic mobility. Like an addict with a gambling problem, it took my a long time to admit to having these issues, but now that I have owned up to them and begun addressing them, as well as seeing the results, I feel I will be able to continue to improve.

Look for more updates coming down the pike on this. Until then all the best in your training.

Jedd

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I want to share with you some of the most popular videos I put up last year.

I looked at all of my videos on YouTube that I uploaded last year and grabbed the top 10 most popular ones and pasted them below.

As you will see, I have three main focuses in my training.

First and foremost is Grip Strength. I work to develop as strong of a Grip as possible for the Grip Contests I compete in and because I have seen the benefits of a strong grip in my other training. Also because I love Grip Training and Grip Sport so much, I love talking about it here on the site, sharing my experiences and helping others succeed.

Next, I love Strongman Training, both Strongman like the competitions involving Atlas Stones, Log Lifting, and Odd Objects, and Strongman style training involving Feats of Strength such as Bending Nails and Tearing Cards.

Finally, I do a great deal of training with the objective of building muscle and strength. While I am not the biggest, most muscular, or strongest, I am very well rounded and understand the proper technique of lifts and want to make sure readers do lifts correctly and safely so that they can enjoy their training and see benefit.

It’s really all about helping others succeed in their goals. Much of what I post is based on questions I get from readers who are shooting for goals and want to know how to get there. Helping you attain your goals is awesome for me, so keep me posted on your journey.

So, again, make sure to subscribe to my newsletter and make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, so that you are always up to date on what is going on here at DieselCrew.com.

Now let’s check out 2011′s top videos – Enjoy!

#10 – How Often Should You Train with Grippers

Grippers are easily the most popular form of Grip Training and one of the biggest events at Grip Competitions. Unfortunately, there is not nearly as much good information about Gripper Training as there are people trying to sell them, so I put out this and many other Gripper Training videos last year.

Check out the post here on Diesel: Gripper Training Questions

#9 – Slim Lever – Grip Strength Challenge for Slim the Hammer Man

Of all of the Grip Strength Challenges I ran last year, this one was perhaps the most special, because it was devoted to Slim “the Hammer Man” Farman, who was recognized by being inducted into the York Barbell Hall of Fame Last Year. The Slim Lever is a very intense sledge hammer lift, and if you can do it by the rules described in the video below with a 16-lb hammer or heavier, then you are the freakin’ man!

Check out the post here on Diesel: Slim the Hammer Man Farman

#8 – Full Body Tension Movement – Camel Clutch (posterior chain)

For this one, I wanted to figure out a way to replicate some of the effects of the Glute Ham Raise, if you don’t have one. This variation is something that someone can do to blast the posterior chain until you save up your loose change to get the real thing.

Check out the post here on Diesel: Innovative Posterior Chain Training

#7 – Backwards Blob Lifting

See more Blob Lifting Videos

#6 – Build Muscle Mass and Strength – How to Do Rows the Right Way

I hate when I see exercises being done incorrectly on the web. It’s one thing to do them incorrectly if you have been training for many, many years. However, when new trainees see long-time veterans doing movements on-line incorrectly and they try to replicate that form, the new trainees can get hurt pretty badly. Since Rows are such a beneficial movement, I wanted to put this one out there and people seemed to get a lot of value out of it.

Check out the post here on Diesel: How to Perform Dumbbell Rows

Those are 10 through 6 for the year’s most popular videos. Check back later in the week for the rest of the 2011 Top 10 Most popular Videos.

Make sure you are up-to-date. Sign up for updates in the box below.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

Programming Your Movements for Muscle Gains

In Part I of this Build Muscle The Right Way Article Series, I spoke about the three most important keys I use for building muscle and gaining strength at the same time: Multi-joint Movements, Training for Power and Speed, and Working for Muscular Balance. You can read Part I here: Keys to Muscle Building.

Sample Upper Body Training Split

In Part I, I put a lot of emphasis on maintaining antagonistic balance so that you do not develop muscular imbalances that will cause you trouble later on down the road. Also as I stated Part I, if you perform your complementary Push and Pull movements on the same day, it can be easier to keep everything balanced. However, because I spend so much time training for Grip Strength, I run out of time in order to accomplish everything I like to do, so I split the two days up. Lately, my split has looked like this:

• Week 1 – Day 1: Push, Week 1 – Day 2: Pull, Week 1 – Day 3: Lower, Week 1 – Day 4: Grip Specific
• Week 2 – Day 1: Pull, Week 2 – Day 2: Push, Week 2 – Day 3: Lower, Week 2 – Day 4: Grip Specific

In other words, I go Push, Pull, Lower, Grip for the first week and then flip flop the Push and Pull so it goes Pull, Push, Lower, Grip the second week.

Sample Upper Body Push Workout

Here is a recent workout I did for Upper Body Push. This workout took place on a Monday. It was followed by an Upper Body Pull Day on Tuesday and then a Lower Body Day on Thursday. One week later, I followed the schedule and did my Upper Body Pull Day first and the Upper Body push day second, etc.

Optimally, the order of this day would go like this:

1. Overhead Power Movement: Requires the most skill and energy, so it should take place first

2. Bench / Incline Bench: Because the body is supported on the bench, even after doing a big movement like the Overhead Variations, I still feel strong on the bench going second.

3. Auxiliary Bench Movement: Examples could be Speed Bench Against Bands, Incline Bench, Dips – All these are awesome, especially if your shoulders are feeling good.

4. Isolation Movement: If isolation movements are your thing, you can include them here or you can do another auxiliary movement, work on the rotator cuffs, or bring up a weakness in your upper body (triceps, etc)

Bench Press

On this day, I started off with Bench Press, although often I will actually start off with Overhead Press, especially if I am using the Log. I was able to work up to an unassisted single of 365 on the Bench Press, for the first time in about a year. My all time best is 405 with a spotter.

Speed Bench Against Bands

In order to perform this one correctly and get the most out of it, you should be moving the bar much quicker than this. I should have either used lighter bands or lightened the bar weight, but I did not.

Military Press

My back was feeling a bit seized up after the heavy benching, because I was actually arching pretty hard for me. That is about all the angle I get. If I worked on my thoracic mobility more, I think I could get a better arch. Anyway, because my back was tight, I stuck with Military Press instead of a more powerful movement. Like I said, I like to do a Push Jerk, Push Press or a straight out Jerk movement first, but it didn’t work out that way this week.

Gironda Lateral Raise Complex

This is a combination I never even knew about until I reviewed the book, Vince Gironda, Legend and Myth. In that book he has what he calls the 8 Sets of 8 Keep-You-Honest Workout and the finisher for Upper Body Day is Side Laterals followed immediately by what he calls the Dumbbell Swing, but I have affectionately called it the Pirate Ship. Regardless of what you call it, it mimics the movement of the Pirate Ship ride at the amusement park in the way the arms swing rhythmically back and forth.

I don’t want to say that this movement pairing or even that just doing the Pirate Ship movement “fixed” whatever was aching in my shoulder the last few weeks, but after doing it every week for roughly 6 weeks straight as my finisher for my Upper Body push day, my shoulders have felt outstanding! I was able to perform dips pain free, getting my rib cage to touch the cross-bar on my dip station for the first time I can remember in years, and I was able to Bench 365 touch-and-go style for the first time in ages. I encourage you to try this out. At the very least the combination pumps your shoulders with a very nice burn.

This is how I set up the strength training muscle building workouts. Because I work a variety of percentages of 1RM, a variety of speeds, and train volume as well, I have been fairly successful at building muscle and strength at the same time as long as I am eating enough calories, staying injury free, and getting enough sleep.

I have had several months in a row now where I have been free of lower back injuries so I have not missed many workouts and recently my strength levels and size have increased.

Now that the latest Grip Contest, Gripmas Carol 2011, is out of the way, I plan on adding conditioning work back into my weekly routine separate of my workouts and cleaning up my diet as well in an effort to trim down a bit and get just plain ripped to shreds in 2012.

If you want to watch some of the stuff that I do for conditioning and fat loss, I can certainly film it, but only if you are interested. I don’t know if this is something you want to see or not on my site, so please leave me a comment an let me know.

Thanks and all the best in your training.

Jedd

For further information on building muscle, check out Smitty’s AMD Program by clicking the image below. This is one of the best Muscle Building Programs on the market, shares many of the same principles I am sharing here, and includes many other ways to keep you healthy and balanced in order to build muscle the right eway.

Hello DIESELS! Today I have an interview for you with Chris Miller from Maximum Fitness. Chris and I met through Nick Tumminello, and as I found out more about him, I realized he was doing a lot of similar training in his gym that I do in mine, especially Strongman Training, only he has been doing it with athletes and personal training clients, turning them into brutally strong, DIESEL-powered monsters. So I wanted to get some thoughts from him to see how he has been able to work Strongman Training into the routines with his clientele. I hope you enjoy it and if you have any questions, please a comment below.

Jedd: Please tell us a little about yourself – your athletic and training background and how you got involved with training athletes.

Chris: My name is Chris Miller, and I’ve been a certified Personal Trainer, and Strength/Conditioning coach for over 10 years in Columbia, Maryland. My company is called Maximum Fitness; which is located in Columbia, Maryland. My athletic background consists of playing Pop Warner football as a child, High school football, as well as college football. My training background consists of clients that are; little league football players, high school football players, basketball, lacrosse players, college football and soccer players, as well as MMA fighters, and boxers. I also do personal training and boot camps for the novice clientele to experienced clients.

I became involved with training athletes from the passion I had for sports growing up, and as an adult currently. I looked back on how I trained and viewed the workouts I used in order for me to prepare myself for football; and realized it was a totally different way of life training in the 1980’s. After I graduated from college, I started coaching little league football and high school football. I would see how uneducated these athletes were, and how wrong their workouts were in the weight room. This encouraged me to branch out, and develop ways in which I thought would be more effective in training these athletes. The fitness industry is ever changing; so I researched different training methods and products and created my own system in working with athletes; as well as used pieces of other systems I would see during my research.

Jedd: Many members of the Diesel Universe either compete in strongman training or do strongman training on a regular basis. Do you have any experience with Strongman Training?

Chris: Yes, I have trained with various strongman techniques; but have never competed. I’ve always wanted to compete, but never took the plunge to pursue it. Working at a landscaping company throughout college; me and a few other guys use to perform lifts of logs, trees, cement bags, and rocks all the time. We thought we were the famous guys that competed on ESPN. LOL…

Jedd: Have you included Strongman Training or Odd Object Training into your athletic training protocols?

Chris: Yes indeed! Strongman training is a great way to turn any athlete into a powerful force. I’ve used everything from Keg throws and lifts, heavy cement bags and tires, as well as tractor-trailer rims; before all the common day objects became available to purchase.

Jedd: Since incorporating Strongman Training into your routines, what benefits have you seen?

Chris: I’ve noticed an increase in power, strength, range of motion; as well as muscular endurance.

Jedd: Which athletes do you incorporate Strongman Training with? Football Players? Baseball? Etc.

Chris: I incorporate Strongman Training with all of my athletes; from high school age, college as well as my MMA/Boxing clients.

Jedd: What lifts do you find to have the best carry-over to athletic performance?

Chris: Tire flips, Sled pulls, Sled push, heavy med ball throws, sledgehammer slams on tires.

Jedd: How do you include Strongman Lifts into the routines? Primary movements? Explosive Movements?

Chris: With my offensive/defensive line clients, I like to use explosive movements, since the average play in football is 3-4 seconds; I like to work on explosive movements that simulate coming off the ball in a violent, but controlled manner. The MMA fighters I train explosive and some primary movements; due to the nature of simulating the actual combative movements during competition. I’d say I combine the two on occasion, but mostly using the explosive method for stimulating the fast twitch muscles which are used very much in these sports.

Jedd: How do you go about monitoring your athletes’ performance when using Strongman lifts? Do you ever “dial back” the intensity of the strongman lifts?

Chris: I monitor my athletes by measuring his/her threshold and tracking results through reps and time. Measuring how effective their body reacts pre- and post-lift is key for me. I try to “Dial back”, the intensity a few days before games or matches, because I don’t want to over work a particular muscle group; causing fatigue and muscle tear-down before they compete. I try to keep the intensity at 70-80% 2 days before games, and 60-70% a week before my MMA clients compete.

Jedd: What is the number one Strongman Lift you suggest other strength coaches put into their programs, out of all of the possible choices?

Chris: I’m glad you asked this question, because I personally say, don’t prescribe an exercise to a client, that you wouldn’t do yourself. I suggest all strength coaches incorporate the Deadlift into their programs. Every athlete needs a strong back and core in order to compete week in and week out. There are many variations of the Deadlift; therefore you can reap benefits from many variations, as long as safety and form is monitored.

Jedd: Have you had athletes push back on you when you introduced Strongman Training?

Chris: I train a college Division I Lacrosse player and Division III football player currently; and I’ve been training these kids since I coached them in high school. When I introduced the heavy chains and sled pulls 3 years ago; they looked at me and thought I was crazy. They refused at first, because their college strength coaches were stuck on the basic barbells and dumbbells exercises. After a few days of training, and 3 years later; they can’t get enough of the Strongman exercises.

Jedd: What is one piece of advice you would give to other Strength Coaches about instituting Strongman Training into their routines?

Chris: Great question! I first would advise the coaches to research the routines and experiment amongst the staff, then introduce the routine to their athletes. I would also remind them of the safety issues concerning these routines.

Jedd: Thanks so much for your interview. Please feel free to tell us where we can learn more about your training.

Chris: Thank you sir; it was a pleasure having the privilege to participate in this awesome interview! The Diesel Crew is doing big things, and I appreciate the education, and information that is being delivered daily by you all!

My company is called Maximum Fitness, and we are located in Columbia, Maryland. Website and contact information is below.

Maximum Fitness
Email: maxxfit@comcast.net

Chris thanks so much for the interview. DIESELS, Strongman Training is an excellent way to take your athletic training to the next level of Strength and Power. If you want to include this type of training in your programs in order to start reaping the benefits that Chris Miller is seeing with his athletes, pick up our Intro to Strongman DVD, so you can see how to perform the lifts properly and keep your athletes injury free while also becoming brutally strong!

All the best in your training,

Jedd

When I first began delving into Strength and Conditioning literature after I got out of college, I was given a copy of a strength training documentary about Werner Gunthor called, L’heritage d’une carriere, by my friend Dan Cenidoza

At the time, I was reading a lot of the materials from the NSCA, and even though they were much more geared toward strength training than the bodybuilding magazines I read in college, even the NSCA manuals did not prepare me for the type of training I would see in this video.

To my dismay, I somehow lost my copy of the tape and had not watched it in years, but I was able to find it recently, in its entirety on YouTube.
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