Strong Is The New Skinny...#2

In part one of this article I gave you all a solid dose of truth as to why lifting weights is fucking awesome to the max.  This part is going to lay down some of the hows of living the awesome life.  Some of you think you know, but you have no idea.

Many gym goers, male and female alike, have common misconceptions about certain exercise and their ability to cause you to enter a world of pain in a bad way.  I'd be willing to wager that more than 99% of all weightlifting injuries occur due to incorrect technique and overuse.  Lifting weights is like heroin in this regard.  Do too much or cook it up bad and you're up shit creek without a paddle.  Without further ado here are some common technique mistakes that are made while performing the more awesome/dangerous lifts.

You're entering a world of pain.  The good kind though.

The Lifts

Before we jump clam deep I want to preface this section.  The movements I'm going to outline are the top of the pops when it comes to getting strong.  But, they are not for everyone...right away.  Sometimes there are mobility and/or pathology issues that need to be worked around or taken care of before you dive in.  If you have any issues feel free to contact me or get them checked out by someone who knows what they are doing.  On with the show!

Squat:  I will admit that the squat is my favorite of all exercises.  Nothing challenges you more than having a heavy weight on your back trying with all its might to powder your vertebrae.  But don't let that scare you.  When performed reasonably they are safe, effective, and awesome inducing.

When placing the bar on your back the upper back musculature must be tight.  To do this squeeze your shoulder blades together as hard as possible and keep them there.  The bar can be placed either along the traps or across the middle of the shoulder blades.  This is more a matter of preference and tolerability.

Low bar placement.

High bar placement.

When lifting the bar from the rack the feet should be parallel to each other.  Never with a split stance.  Take a minimum amount of steps back into the cage area of the rack.  The placement of the feet is going to be determined by leg length, mobility, and strength.  Most will probably find their comfort groove a few inches outside of the hips.

Before you lower the weight be sure to tighten your abdomen by pushing your belly out and arching your back.  Think of arching like trying to touch your shoulders to your ass.  I've heard of trainers telling trainees to pull their belly in when squatting.  Bad news bears.  Pushing the belly out keeps the abdomen tight which in turn keeps your back tight which in turn keeps you away from injury.  When beginning the descent the first motion has to be the hips moving back.  If the knees are allowed to bend first then all of your weight plus the weight of the bar will go right through them and the balls of the feet.  This is how do you say, "Not so good."  When the hips are moved back and the weight is kept toward the heel of the foot and the load is placed on the glutes and hamstrings.  Bingo.

The bar is a little crooked, but otherwise I like it.

As you smoothly lower the weight keep pushing your hips back to keep the load on the heels and your knees behind your toes.  When your thighs are parallel to the ground begin the ascent by pushing through the heels and standing up.  Duh.

Deadlift: The deadlift is the most basic exercise there is.  A bar is laying on the ground, you pick it up, you put it down.  There are a few nuances to the lift that must be adhered to otherwise it can lead to not so good things.  First and foremost keep the bar close to you the entire way up.  This means starting it touching your shins.  If you have plans of being a shin model sometime soon then maybe this isn't for you.  Your shins may get beat up.  It just means you are doing it correctly.  This will also put the stress of the lift through your heels, glutes and hamstrings.  Right where you want it.

Secondly, your back needs to start out straight.  It may round a bit during the lift but that's ok.  Starting with it straight will help keep your abdominals tight and prevent as much rounding as possible.

Thirdly, your entire body needs to move as one.  You want your shoulders to be the first thing to rise when performing the deadlift.  This ensures a nice consistent bar path, a nice consistent high-five from me, and an excited, "YEEAAHH!" from Matt Gifford.

Press: The overhead press is the cat's pajamas when it comes to upper body utility.  If you can't put something over your head you're going to have a hard time putting away dishes, hanging mirrors on a wall, and putting infants in the overhead stowaway compartments on airplanes.

When preforming the press you want your hands to start just outside your shoulders.  As the bar travels aways from your shoulders tilt your chin slightly up to so the bar doesn't hit it.  As the bar travels further upward push your head between your arms.  At the top of the movement your biceps should be in line with your ears.  This will ensure a most vertical bar path.  If the bar is allowed to travel forward you run the risk of it falling forward, crashing onto the safety pins or the ground, and getting a bunch of looks from scared gym goers. 

Head through the window.

Chins: Not everyone is going to be able to do chin up or pull ups right away.  My freshman year of high school I couldn't pull my candy ass up to the bar if you had put a gun to my head.  A lot of that was because I was carrying extra weight.  A lot of it was because I was just plain weak through my lats and upper back.  In either case to do a chin up you place your hands on the chin bar with your palms facing you, start at arms length and pull your chin past the bar.  You can vary your grip from palms facing you, palms facing away, mixed grip, or neutral grip.  Doesn't really matter.  Simple.  Not easy.  If these are a no-go a good alternative is rack chins or inverted rows.  This is where you put a barbell on the safety pins which are set at about waist height.  Grab the bar and lay back so that you are parallel with the floor.  Now pull your elbows down as your chest raises to the bar.  Get good at these then come back to the regular chins.

The Diet

Now to touch on diet.  I'm not going to lay out a plan where if you eat X food you'll achieve Y result.  If you want that you need to hire a dietitian.  Instead I can offer you a few guidelines that anyone who trains with weights should take into consideration.

1. Eat enough protein
When you train with weights you put your body into a stressful situation and knock it out of homeostasis (balance).  When you're done training your body wants to return to homeostasis.  This requires protein, specifically amino acids, to build new muscle, make hormones, and provide energy (although not that much).  Plus,

2. Eat enough carbohydrates
I've been just as guilty as the next person for demonizing carbs.  While I still don't feel they are essential for survival they are essential for optimal health and performance.  The main fuel source for your body is and always will be carbs.  On top of that carbohydrates stimulate insulin release.  Insulin is the most anabolic (building) and anti-catabolic (breaking down) hormone in the entire human system.  When released at the right times your optimize the time spent in the gym and grow and get stronger.

3. Fat in the mouth doesn't equal fat on the hips
In the 90's low fat diets were as popular as acid wash jeans and heroin.  Oh how the times have changed.  Discoveries are coming out everyday about how certain fats are the shit when it comes to health, performance, and even decreasing excess body fat.  The most solid plan of attack when it comes to fats is to make sure your omega-3's and omega-6's are in balance.  Omega-3 fatty acids are in things like cold water fish, almonds, grass-fed beef, and flax seeds.  You can find omega-6's in most everything else that contains unsaturated fat.  Other fats like CLA and ALA may be beneficial to you as well.

4. Stay away from trans-fat and high fructose corn syrup
I'm not going to get all sciency on you but staying away from those two things will go a long way in helping you achieve your goals.  Among other things trans-fats and HFCS are associated with an increase in insulin resistance and abdominal obesity.  Those two should be enough to keep you away.

5. Calories in, calories out
This is the most basic equation when it comes to weight management.  If you want to lose weight you need to consistantly put yourself in a caloric defecit.  If you want to gain muscular body weight you need to eat more than you spend.  Again, simple.  Not always easy.

Dieting is a lot like weight training.  No two people will respond the same way to the same thing.  It can take a bit of trial and error to find what works and what doesn't.  But, like hiring a personal trainer, hiring an experienced dietitian can sometimes make the journey a little smoother.

The Awesome Females

This section is just going to be a bunch of pictures and youtube videos.  I think they will speak for themselves.

IFBB Figure Pro Erin Stern






Canadian Olympic Weightlifter Marilou Dozios-Prevost


Spanish Weightlifter Lidia Valentin (no joke, she could out lift me any day of the week)


Figure athlete Jamie Eason

Any of the women at http://wildgorillaman.blogspot.com/

There you have it ladies.  Remember, the enjoyment is in the journey, not necessarily the destination.  Always work to be better than yesterday.  Now, go kick some ass.