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RKC School of Strength

Official blog of the RKC

injuries

How Eric Added 75lbs to His Deadlift PR in 6 Weeks—Despite The Limitations of a Shoulder Injury

July 31, 2013 By Corey Howard 1 Comment

Corey_Howard article pic

Life happens. Injuries happen. We don’t live our lives, packaged in bubble wrap.

Last year Eric told me his shoulder pain was worse. It was interfering with his sleep and daily life. He has been a client of mine for over three years and accomplished many things he never thought were possible. Originally we thought the shoulder pain was just some light inflammation and things would gradually improve. We were wrong. After a visit to the local orthopedic doctor he was advised no more pressing or overhead movements. Physical therapy and an MRI were scheduled.

So now what do we do?

Everyone has the same fear: they don’t want to take a step backwards, or start over again. Rather than dwelling on the frustration of the shoulder issue, Eric and I took a look at what he could do—deadlift. At 175lbs, his previous best pull was 275lbs for 5 reps… we set a goal of 345lbs for a double (roughly 2x his bodyweight).

We had many things to consider when planning his program. First, it had been roughly eight months since Eric had deadlifted heavy. He was used to a steady diet of kettlebell swings. Second, was his shoulder limitation. Generally, when a client has shoulder issues and they can’t press, they can still pull. Thankfully, this was the case for Eric. Third, we needed some heavy pulling, assistance work, and explosive work. Essentially, we had to prepare his body for a heavy load, while still allowing his shoulder to heal. By relying heavily on my own powerlifting background, I was able to write up a 6-week program that put us on track for our lofty goal.

Day 1 (Max Effort)

A1) Barbell Deadlift 5×5

A2) Heavy Chin-ups 5×5

B1) Moderate Barbell Squat

B2) Heavy Abs

 

Day 2 (Speed work or Dynamic Effort)

A1) Power Swings

A2) Farmer Walk

B1) Single leg opposite arm KB deadlift

B2) DB Row

C1) Single Side KB squat

C2) Sloshpipe walk with it in the rack position.

 

I designed the program like this for a reason. On day one he’d be taking his time and resting before each set so four total movements were enough. Plus, pairing heavy deads and 10-12 rep squats on the same day is taxing. The deadlift progession was set up for six weeks, starting at 225 and working up to 305 on week 5, with week 6 being a deload week, and testing on day 1 of week 7. Pull-ups were set up the same way; we started with bodyweight and finished with two 20lb chains added to his body. Eric seems to respond well to 10-12 rep squats so we paired that with hanging ab work to build lower body size, strength and stability. Day two was all about speed and bringing up weak points. We started with 10 rep power swings with a 24k, and finished with a 32k at the end of week 6. This allowed him to build speed through his pull. The farmer walks, single leg deads, rows, and single side, loaded squats allowed us to build strength in the upper back, legs and stabilizers.

So what happened? Eric pulled 345 for a double! A 70lb increase over his last PR! It needs to be stated that every single movement we did was first tested to see if it elicited pain. We trained within his capabilities, used a sensible approach, and stayed the course. What did we learn from this? First, swings absolutely rock! For a 175lb guy that hadn’t pulled heavy in over 8 months to start this program with a comfortable 225 and keep chewing through 20lb jumps each week tells me the explosive hip hinge movement will increase strength, without question! Second, we need to stop focusing on limitations and turn our sights toward what’s possible. Someone told me once, “First do what’s necessary, then do what’s possible, and pretty soon you’re doing the impossible.”

 ***

Corey Howard, RKC: As the owner and founder of Results PT, Corey started the company in 2004 out of his house, with the goal of creating an energizing atmosphere that’s geared toward the client’s success.  Since 2004 his vision has grown along with the list of clients, and in 2008 he opened Sioux Falls’s first private personal training studio.  Corey has trained and helped many people lose a lot of weight, including a few people that have lost over 100lbs.  He also has experience training fitness figure competitors and pageant girls.  His clients have been featured in local and national magazine articles, appeared on television, and competed nationally.  He originally became a certified personal trainer while living in Minneapolis in 2002 and over the years has created a successful strategy and program that reaps success.  He also has experience in competitive powerlifting and loves total body kettlebell workouts that promote athleticism.  He can be reached at www.resultsptonline.com or www.coreyhoward.com

Filed Under: Uncategorized, Workout of the Week Tagged With: Corey, deadlift, Eric, Howard, injuries, injury, kettlebells, limitations, limits, RKC

Check Your Neck (Before You Wreck It)

May 3, 2013 By Max Shank 1 Comment

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I’m imagining this is you, exercising.

I can’t tell you how many people walk into my gym with neck and/or shoulder pain. Okay I can, it’s a lot—probably half. There are a couple of factors that cause this:

  • Forward head posture
  • Poor Breathing
  • Lack of disassociation between neck and shoulders during exercise

Let’s break down the problem that’s causing your forward head posture.

  1. Lack of thoracic spine mobility
  2. Shoulders rounded forward (tight pecs)
  3. Cervical immobility

maxshankblog_pic2

Fortunately you’ve been given tools on how to deal with thoracic immobility (Joint by Joint approach). This could include foam rolling, lying rib pulls, or one of many other thoracic mobilizations.

Tight pecs can be simply addressed by some SMR (Self Myofascial Release) via a lacrosse ball against the wall:

and followed up by some wall slides:

Cervical spine immobility can be caused by a number of factors. For the sake of simplicity, the scope of this article will cover fascial tightness and lack of joint awareness or motion. Fix it by rolling out the levator scapula (between your shoulder blades and your spine) and your traps with the lacrosse ball. Next step is to take care of your awareness of good neck position.

Do this by gliding your face forward and backward (think funky chicken), trying to maintain length through your spine. Do 5 reps nice and slow. You’ll be amazed at how uncoordinated it is at first.

(Editors note: I doubt this will do anything for your gobbler). Finish with some good rotations left and right, through a full range of motion—think about lifting through your crown.

Next step is breathing.

We all start knowing what to do here and somewhere along the line it gets pretty messed up. Most folks breathe through their mouths (not ideal) and the shoulders elevate with every breath. Also not good when you consider we take an average of 20,000 breaths per day. You can imagine how 20,000 dysfunctional breathing shrugs might have an impact on your neck health.

  • Quick fix #1: Start breathing through your nose. Seriously that’s it. We’re designed to inhale and exhale through the nose, start doing it. All the time.
  • Quick fix #2: Breathing exercise: Lay face down with your forehead on your hands so you’re comfortable. Place an ankle weight (book, medicine ball, small child, etc) on your low back around your sacrum. Breathe for 5:00 (through your nose) trying to lift the weight with each inhale. The weight gives you instant feedback and gives you something to push into, making it much easier.

Combining these 2 things will not only increase orthopedic health, but also increase performance by improving your kinetic efficiency. However, it’s a total waste if you keep breaking yourself in the gym:

Disassociation between neck and shoulders during exercise is imperative if you want to maintain optimal strength and athleticism. Bench, check your neck. Rows, check your neck. Weight overhead? Check your neck.

The point is that you should be able to rotate your neck left and right freely during exercise. This is most easily experimented with during pushups or one arm presses.

Pushup:

  • Assume pushup position
  • Rotate neck left and right (if your ROM feels strained, try to lengthen your neck)
  • Drop into a pushup
  • Rotate left and right (“check your neck”)
  • Pushup back up

Overhead Press:

  • Bring dumbbell or kettlebell to the shoulder
  • “check your neck”
  • Press dumbbell or kettlebell overhead
  • “check your neck”

You should be able to move freely during almost any exercise or stretch you’re doing. Not only will it save you a lot of trouble dealing with neck and shoulder pain, but it will also elevate your performance by improving your upper body coordination, making you stronger.

-Max Shank

***

About Max Shank, Master RKC: Max Shank is not only an extremely gifted teacher, but one of the most well-rounded and capable athletes in the world. From excelling in Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu to performing impressive feats of strength in weightlifting and gymnastics, Max has… Read more here.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: before, check, exercises, health, injuries, kettlebells, max, neck, shank, you wreck, your

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Dragon Door Publications / The author(s) and publisher of this material are not responsible in any manner whatsoever for any injury that may occur through following the instructions or opinions contained in this material. The activities, physical and otherwise, described herein for informational purposes only, may be too strenuous or dangerous for some people, and the reader(s) should consult a physician before engaging in them.