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It’s in the Hips, Part 4

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mark_bixby_croppedIn this fourth and final installment dedicated to better utilization of the hips, I show some crawling progressions to emphasize that we can sometimes skip mobility drills and just move instead.  But before we jump into part four, let’s briefly review the previous three pieces.  First, we looked at some basic stretches done in a variety of positions to loosen up tight areas around the hips.  In part two, we covered a very basic dynamic hip and hamstring mobility sequence to prepare field/court athletes or fighters for their active flexibility needs in competition.  In the third piece, I differentiated “linkage” from “leakage” using the Hanging Leg Raise Sequence, and I went on to show how plyometric-style HLR’s can help with patterning powerful hip flexion/extension for the sprints.

I reviewed the previous segments to set this piece up as continuing in the line of “linkage” discussed in part three.  In the HLR sequence, we used linkage to generate explosive power and dynamic control.  Today’s segment departs from the power focus and instead incorporates “linkage” to produce controlled efficiency of movement.  My aim today is to demonstrate quiet rather than explosive movement.

While your average guy on the street isn’t yet acquainted with the notion of mobility, it’s been a trendy word in the fitness industry for several years.  The few people who actually do mobility drills tend to stand in one place and make a series of circular motions through the joints from the neck down to the ankles.  While this is an excellent thing to get fluid moving into the joints and surrounding tissues, it’s debatable whether these isolated drills actually produce better mobility.  Today’s video, then, attempts to show how putting mobility in motion yields better results than isolating each joint while also being more fun.

There are six movements on the video.  All of them both require and improve mobility in the hips.  The first two are low crawls, one on the belly and one on the back.  The next two moves are creeping squats, the first done from a traditional squat and the other from a Cossack squat position.  The final two moves combine elements of the first four and add rolls.  The goal on each of the six movements is to move quietly.  If you can do them without producing thuds during the transitions, you aren’t leaking; instead, you’re moving efficiently.

In an attempt to elaborate on my notion of how linkage can create quiet as well as explosive movement, I’ll provide an exercise x-ray of the fifth move in the video: the creeping squat/roll combination.  I set up the move in a Cossack squat position.  From there, the flat foot shifts towards the ball of foot as the ankle extends to drop the knee to the floor.  The knee drop carries my momentum forward.  If I don’t rotate through my thoracic spine while flexing and rotating my neck, I’ll do a face plant.  So, I opt for rotation.  The previous movement clears the neck and spine so I can roll over the shoulder.  An internal rotation of the rolling shoulder (imagine the Egyptian shoulder mobility drill that screws the shoulders into internal and external rotation) allows me to take the impact of the floor on the backside of the shoulder (thus avoiding jamming into the A/C joint).  I roll across (not straight down) the spine to the opposite hip and back into the Cossack position.  I do a creeping squat Cossack switch to get the other knee up and repeat the sequence to roll over the opposite shoulder.  Basically, I have linked mobility drills sequentially from the feet up through the neck to produce movement.

In the RKC School of Strength, we emphasize the Turkish Get Up because it demands multi-planar movement through multiple joints while navigating the stability challenge of maintaining weight overhead.  It is one of those few, coveted “desert island” exercises because of its strength, mobility and stability demands.  If we hope to achieve the same great benefits from bodyweight exercises, we need to remember the mantra of “multiple planes, multiple directions and multiple joints.”  While focusing on the hips is a great place to start in this endeavor, we must remember that dynamic movement is produced by systemic integration.  Hopefully, the video that accompanies this piece can give you some ideas in making your movement more effective, integrated and enjoyable.

***

Mark Bixby is a Dragon Door RKC Team Leader, PCC Instructor and MovNat Instructor.  He discovered kettlebells in 2002 and found that they are the quickest, most effective way to train.  A combination of past injuries and persistent low physical self-image had caused Mark to have severe posture issues and chronic back pain. Kettlebells taught Mark how to use his hips so that he didn’t tuck his pelvis and slump with his posture. He grew taller, stronger and more confident. More than six years later, Mark has accomplished huge gains in strength, flexibility and stability and he finds that kettlebells still present significant physical and technical challenges. Because the skill set can always be refined, kettlebells continue to push Mark towards higher levels of body awareness and fitness. Mark can be reached through: http://www.dkbfitness.com/.

It’s in the Hips: Part 3

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Part three of this series on the hips continues the focus on dynamic hip action demonstrated in the second installment by implementing explosive hip drive into the Hanging Leg Raise sequence.  After reading this and watching the companion video, you’ll have more control in your HLR while also running faster and jumping higher.

One of the great aspects of the PCC was the camaraderie developed over the three days.  As we were sharing pull-up and flag stations, as well as spotting each other on handstands and bridging, we got to constantly coach and encourage each other.  This was most evident during the Century Test, where the 55 attendees rotated through four testing stations.  This meant that each of us had a cheering audience to encourage us through the Century.

Beth Andrews, Senior RKC and Iron Maiden (a title gained by doing a press, a pull-up and pistol with a 24 Kg. kettlebell) was the first person to pass the Century and gain her PCC certification. While the three guys next to her blew through their squats and pushups, Beth methodically did her own.   The guys got to the bars to start their 20 hanging leg raises before Beth, but she ended up finishing first.  While the Century isn’t a race, Beth’s hanging leg raises perfectly demonstrated the contrast between “linkage” and “leakage.”   Beth’s leg raises could have been done with walls right in front and behind her, and she wouldn’t have touched them.  She pulled her knees straight up, and pushed them straight down, deftly “linking” her movements into a total-body move.  Meanwhile, the guys started noticeably swinging a bit in the HLR and had to stop their reps and kill their momentum so they didn’t get no-counted.  They were “leaking.”  Determined to mimic Beth’s HLR during my Century, I stepped up to the bar, started the sequence and began rocking a bit by my 5th rep.  I “leaked.”  The question was where.

As I quickly discovered at the GAIN Conference (discussed in part two of this series), I was leaking from the ankles up through the hips.  Gary Winckler, Head Coach of the University of Illinois Women’s Track Team, led practical sessions at GAIN to demonstrate the importance of hip drive and ankle tension in the sprints.  Over the course of his illustrious career at Florida State and Illinois, Mr. Winckler has coached over 300 All-Americans and 13 Olympians in the sprints and hurdles.  He told us that the common coaching cues in the sprints—“stride it out” and “kick your butt”—had transformed sprint mechanics from being powerfully hip-driven to being weakly knee-driven.  Striding as far as possible, we extend our knees, driving our posture forward.  Then, to look pretty, we weakly flex our knees to kick our butts.  As Coach Winckler demonstrated, the point is to create power by pushing through the ground with powerful hip extension on one leg, while spring-loading the other leg in hip flexion and prepping it to drive down.  The up/down motion generated by the hips allows the runner to maintain the upright posture most effective for generating force into the ground.

While I made improvements on my stride working on the track, the lesson of hip drive didn’t really hit home until the next day’s session in the weight-room with Coach Jim Radcliffe of the University of Oregon (See part two of this series for more on Coach Radcliffe.).  As a powerful hip hinge is a huge part of running faster and jumping higher, Coach Radcliffe tries to teach it in as many contexts as he can.  He uses the hanging leg raise sequence to demonstrate how linking the hips/ankles into the movement can produce a more explosive leg raise without compromising posture.  For me, Coach Winckler’s advice on the track hit home on the bar.  A dynamic combination of hip flexion/extension and active ankles in the hanging leg raise cured me of my swaying motion.  He was right: I had been weakly flopping through the knees and not driving up and down through the hips.  After doing these dynamic hanging leg raises, I went back to the track, found the hip and ankle link, and produced the most powerful sprints I’ve ever run.

Please watch the accompanying video to learn this “plyometric” HLR progression.  You’ll better understand linkage in your HLR sequence and benefit in your sprints and jumps.

***

Mark Bixby is a Dragon Door RKC Team Leader, PCC Instructor and MovNat Instructor.  He discovered kettlebells in 2002 and found that they are the quickest, most effective way to train.  A combination of past injuries and persistent low physical self-image had caused Mark to have severe posture issues and chronic back pain. Kettlebells taught Mark how to use his hips so that he didn’t tuck his pelvis and slump with his posture. He grew taller, stronger and more confident. More than six years later, Mark has accomplished huge gains in strength, flexibility and stability and he finds that kettlebells still present significant physical and technical challenges. Because the skill set can always be refined, kettlebells continue to push Mark towards higher levels of body awareness and fitness. Mark can be reached through: http://www.dkbfitness.com/.

It’s in the Hips, Part 2

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In part one of this four-part series, I talked about how hip stiffness is usually part of a larger complex of stiff tissues and joints throughout the body.  I then offered a very basic mobilization sequence starting with a knee sit and progressing to a standing hip extension/flexion drill.  In this second part of the series, I will discuss more dynamic strategies for opening the hips and hamstrings to produce the active and resilient flexibility needed for sport.

After finishing the initial PCC with Al, Danny, Steven and Adrienne, I had the opportunity to attend the GAIN Conference hosted by Vern Gambetta at Rice University in Houston.  This five day event, which started each day at 6:30AM on the Rice track and concluded at 9:30PM at the Valhalla Pub, included lectures and practical sessions hosted by luminaries in Olympic, collegiate and professional athletics.

One of the most inspiring presenters was Jim Radcliffe, Head of Strength and Conditioning at the University of Oregon for the past 28 years.  It was immediately obvious that Jimmy was first and foremost a “movement” guy, who happened to be applying his principles in one of the most successful and well-funded athletic departments in the world.  He spoke of growing up in northern California where he climbed trees and ran through the woods acquiring strength, mobility and coordination in a natural environment.  He then discussed how his strength and conditioning program for Oregon football was based upon the natural movements he grew up with.  Jimmy said that probably only 25% of his team’s work is done with weights.  And much of the weight work, such as his Good Morning sequence, adds movement into the progressions.

Jimmy’s training template is as follows (in this order): dynamic mobility, “pillars of strength” (reflexive core stability drills), two stations of hip hinging drills, two weight-based stations (usually Olympic-style lifts), and agility work.  The athletes do much of this work barefoot, and the agility work is often done in Oregon’s 40-Meter sandpit.  Most importantly, Jimmy uses what he calls a “Jet Tempo” in his workouts to mimic the pace that Oregon football has become famous for.  He emphasizes that he does no additional “conditioning” work to supplement his workouts.  As he wants every rep to be explosive, he has no interest in training kids to do cardio at less than game pace because he doesn’t want to create “slow” neural adaptations.

The video that follows is an adaptation of the dynamic mobility drills Jimmy had us do in one of our practical sessions at GAIN.  He said the athletes spend 3-5 minutes max doing this before going on to their reflexive core work.  As Pavel demonstrated in Super Joints, Beyond Stretching and Relax into Stretch, athletes need to be flexible in athletic positions.  They need mobility/stability under the incredible amount of tension produced by making high-speed cuts and other athletic moves.  This sequence is a great way to loosen up the hips and hamstrings to prepare your body for whatever intense workout you may have in store for it.

***

Mark Bixby is a Dragon Door RKC Team Leader, PCC Instructor and MovNat Instructor.  He discovered kettlebells in 2002 and found that they are the quickest, most effective way to train.  A combination of past injuries and persistent low physical self-image had caused Mark to have severe posture issues and chronic back pain. Kettlebells taught Mark how to use his hips so that he didn’t tuck his pelvis and slump with his posture. He grew taller, stronger and more confident. More than six years later, Mark has accomplished huge gains in strength, flexibility and stability and he finds that kettlebells still present significant physical and technical challenges. Because the skill set can always be refined, kettlebells continue to push Mark towards higher levels of body awareness and fitness. Mark can be reached through: http://www.dkbfitness.com/.

4 Secrets to Engaging and Retaining Clients

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bwrightSo many of us as trainers, coaches, and fitness business owners get caught up in studying our craft…sometimes to a fault.
We work on programs for clients, we study manuals, we read blogs, and we attend countless workshops.

I have a long list of letters after my name, so clearly I am not saying that I am above any of that, or even non-supportive of it! In fact, I believe that we as a fitness professional community need MORE quality education. It is through that knowledge base that the RKC, CK-FMS, Primal Move Cert, PCC, and other personal training certifications helps us to change our clients’ lives for the better!

I am suggesting that perhaps we focus too much on the specifics of delivering program instead of the overall feelings those programs are supposed to create.

Let’s ask ourselves what people want…

  • They want to feel successful
  • They want recognition
  • They want a sense of belonging
  • They want to have fun

No matter how great of a program coach you are (and there have been some of the best in the business to have called themselves RKC’s), your clients will not stick with you unless their needs and wants are being met immediately. No matter how great of a marketer you are, you will not be able to hold onto those that the message reaches unless they have feelings of complete satisfaction relatively early into your program.

How do we create these feelings as business owners?

We might need to become better instructors! The answers are not in more education in this case.  They are also not in attending another workshop to learn corrections, form and technique, or even which direct mail campaign to write. The answer is that we need to create a tribe feeling that people flock to in droves.

People want to feel successful. On the first day of training – either in a group or individually, people need to feel like they can do it right away. I believe as good instructors, we can find certain exercises that they can complete while being challenged. These exercises need to have benefit and they need to be within your program framework. That way you will maintain your fluid message, illustrate your passion appropriately, and be able to build on your education model.

For example, if a client goes through the RKC plank, the deadlift motion, some FMS style corrections, and maybe completes a few static stomp deadlifts or even some “sloppy” low swings within the first hour they meet you, they may not feel the same sense of accomplishment you do as their instructor. They have no real patience for the end product. You may have had this client sign up for a full 12 weeks, (as I hope you do in your training agreements) but without some immediate successes, they will be hard pressed to be engaged.

As a business owner – when is the best time to get a referral? Within the first 2 weeks of a new client signing up! Because they are excited! They want to tell people about the program they just signed up for; they want to share their successes! GIVE THEM SOME right away.

Focusing my attention on getting my clients success fast, I use the TRX. The program has a quick learning curve with good strength circuits. I bring in the Kettlebell early as well, as it often times is a major reason why people have sought me out.  I teach them the RKC plank and explain to them that a 10 second plank is a great tension practice (most people can find decent tension for 10 seconds). I teach them the deadlift and the beginnings of the swing, but for many their success is in TRX inverted rows, TRX counter balance squats (even while holding a racked Kettlebell if they have the strength), and in feeling a good plank. They feel like they get their expectations met right away (I’m working hard from day 1) as well as moving closer to better understanding tension and the proper neural patterns I want to teach. It’s a win/win scenario!

Here’s the key – no matter what they do, I make it a big deal!!!!! That’s their success – that you are VERY proud of them, happy for their effort, their accomplishment, and their decision to begin a workable program! As their sessions click on, they start swinging, doing presses, pushups, a flexed arm hang or assisted pull-up – these are GREAT accomplishments! They get written down, they form the beginnings of their 6 week goals, and they feel like they are doing well right from day 1.

They want recognition. Clients feel successful because you are recognizing them. Blast them out on Facebook, put them in your newsletter, but best of all – just send them a text or phone call. People see that a FB blast or newsletter mostly helps YOU out – to promote your business. (It’s still important, but it’s second to the personal relationship building that a one on one contact can forge). If you are managing trainers, then not only coach them to do this for their individual clients, but as the business owner – do this as well!!! Remember, the clients write their checks to your business and your program philosophy – not to their individual trainer. It is ultimately your responsibility to keep those clients happy – that comes with their feelings of success and getting the personal recognition they deserve.

They want a sense of belonging. You know what line people remember from the TV show Cheers? It’s the line about everyone knowing your name. You know why CrossFit is so successful (a multi-million dollar business)?  It’s because of their community they have created! As business owners of outdoor/in-home training businesses, training studios, or just a handful of neighborhood clients, it is our responsibility to create a tribe! Our clients are the members and we’re the chiefs. Who sets the tone? We do! Who does the work? They do! All you have to do is create the model. Here are some suggestions:

Motivational music THEY like is a must.

A slow clap build up before the start of a PR attempt or a difficult circuit/work set

Inclusion of team work drills like team carries and races against time, I go/you go drills, friendly competition (if it fits into your community – it mostly does not fit into mine). Borrow ideas from team sports blogs and books. Coaches are great resources for how to bring a team together. This mostly applies to the group training model – but it doesn’t have to be! Who’s the teammate for a one-on-one training session? You are! Get in there and do the carry with them!

Lastly, people want to have fun. Most people don’t really want an exercise regimen or physical therapy program. But they see it as necessary to their health; they see value, and they probably don’t hate it once they start. That’s not good enough! Even though it’s sometimes painful, we can create an environment that people love! Play games, make them laugh (while they are working!), come up with themed sessions. As trainers, we have the best jobs in the world. We are teachers of recess! I always tell my students –this should be the most fun you have all day! The 3 hours I see them each week should be fun, exciting, and fulfilling on all levels!

All of these four points do not negate a progressive, safe, and workable program approach. You still can teach all the fantastic things we learn in the workshops and certifications we attend. We can help people improve their ankle dorsi flexion with FMS corrections, we can improve their squat pattern, and we can get them strong and conditioned swing/goblet ladders. We can do all this while we are playing music, making jokes about tough love to check core tension, joining in on their goblet squats – being a teammate in their pain – keeping energy high over the loud “eye of the tiger” music we blast and congratulating them on their effort.

Using the 4 key elements for engaging and retaining clients, here’s a sample group session (can be modified for an individual session very easily):

2-3 mins foam rolling and general prep (as people trickle in – it’s the “how you doing” time)

2 -3 mins of meditation – I turn off the lights, I tell people to forget about their days, and think about the tasks at hand – basically a mental awareness time with drills on “really feeling” their bodies. (I play some hokey meditative music at this point – something I can joke about later on) – but I believe there is still real value in this for my program

5-10 mins of primal move, dynamic warm-up, general corrections (naked getups or drills with pauses for dorsi flexion focus, T-spine rotation repetitions, bridge variations depending skill levels (there’s a progression for all)

5-8 mins of loaded prep – deadlifts, carries/holds, plank drills, more corrections that feel harder maybe (face the wall squats for example) goblet pry stretches, or stick overhead squats, maybe a few swings (no more than 50 – 5×10 at most)

Note: (We are 20 mins into the session and so far have not done any WORK, but we have laid foundations, prep, addressed progressive corrections and of course furthered the culture of the tribe – that we are here for your total health with high emphasis on your mental state, your mobility, and your feelings of fun)

The Program  sometimes has a theme – today is Aug 6th – so we will do the devil’s workout – 6 -6 -6
6 double KB Deadlifts
6 pushup variation – 1 arm progressions for advanced, just good quality range of motion for others
6 double clean and squat

NEXT Series
6 TRX Rows – pretty aggressive in the angle
6 double clean and press
6 kneeling windmills (3 each)

NEXT Series
6 overhead lunges
6 double swings or heavy 2 hand swings
6 getups to the hand (floor press, elbow, hand ) 3 each hand
That’s 6-6-6

10 mins conditioning games

Then we do trivia questions about the other members in class – I have asked each person to write down 2 little known facts about themselves (what country were they in when their first son was born? What position did they play in high school football?) and other things people can guess at. The class then will buzz in and attempt to answer. A right answer means they get to choose from one of 6 low skill conditioning exercises, a wrong one means I get to choose.

Exercise list

  • Burpees
  • Carries
  • Stair sprints
  • Hollow rocks for time
  • Crawls
  • Sand bag drag

5 mins recovery – static stretching, rolling or other low grade correctional drill.

That’s the hour – I’ll point out successes, bring the entire “team” together in shared pain, joy and camaraderie.  Come renewal time – we’ll rely on this “tribe” experience to drive not only the business success – but their success in that they are sticking to a program for years!

***

About Brian Wright MS, CSCS, RKCII, NSCA-CPT: Brian is the Owner of BW-PT and Director of Sport and Spine Athletics, with 13 Studios in the DC metro area with over 520 average sessions per month. There’s a renewal rate of 83% on our personal training packages and group training packages.