by Redefining Strength | FHP 016: Critical Bench's Head Strength Coach Chris Wilson
CRITICAL BENCH
Chris Wilson
www.criticalbench.com
ABOUT:
Chris Wilson has worked in the fitness industry for over 15 years. He has seen and done it all from working the front desk at health clubs to personal training to managing entire fitness facilities. Chris became a Certified Personal Trainer in 1999 with NASM and has trained over 15,000 hours with clients from 10 to over 90 years old. Chris is RKC certified and a Specialist in Sports Nutrition with the ISSA. He specializes in a variety of strength modalities such as functional exercise designed to restore balance and improve body movement patterns as well as Bodybuilding, Powerlifting, Olympic lifting, Strongman and even Kettlebell training. He is not only the Head Strength Coach for CriticalBench.com but a published author and product creator for the company.
3 KEY POINTS:
1. Provide people with what they need and don’t be afraid to pivot and shift with the times and what your audience needs.
2. Don’t hold yourself back by being too much of a perfectionist! Put something together and get it out there!
3. Don’t hesitate to reach out and connect with others in the industry! Sometimes all it takes is a 15-minute conversation with someone who’s been doing this longer than you and they can give you one tip that can transform your business.
MORE ABOUT THIS EPISODE:
In this episode we talk with Chris Wilson of Critical Bench. Critical Bench has been a strength and fitness resource since 1999 and over the years has pivoted and shifted to constantly meet the needs of it’s clients. Chris discusses the importance of listening to your audience and getting feedback so that you can provide them with the solutions and programs they need to get results.
He stresses the importance of creating products that respond to your clients’ needs and even looking at problems from different angles until you find a unique solution. Sometimes this even means educating people about their problems and how to fix them before you provide them with the solution.
We’ve all know that we sit too much during the day and that sitting may be killing us.
And while moving more is important, your movement needs to REVERSE the effects of sitting.
You’ve got to make sure that you loosen tight muscles and get those muscles that become weak and inactive from sitting activated and working correctly again.
This is why I constant harp on improving hip mobility AND working on glute activation!
If you sit a lot during the day, your hips are tight from being in constant flexion (aka bent!). This tightness causes your glutes to often shut off, which means all of that squatting and lunging and deadlifting may not actually be working those butt cheeks!
It may mean you’re actually potentially risking pain and injury because other muscles are engaging and working so that you can squat and deadlift and lunge. Muscles that SHOULDN’T and CAN’T really handle the load!
Wonder why your low back so often hurts? Or why you only feel your quads during some of these compound moves?
It may be because your glutes aren’t actually working and engaging because they aren’t activated! And why aren’t they activated?
Because your hips are locked up!
To unlock your hips and activate your glutes, I like to do these 3 moves basically DAILY!
(And if you are looking for a complete program to unlock those hips and activate those glutes check out this AMAZING one – Unlock Your Hip Flexors!)
Half-Kneeling Hip (and Quad!) Stretch – I do this stretch as often as possible. It is the perfect way to reverse the effects of sitting and even start to activate your glutes. You can do a few different variations and hit your hips from a couple of different angles and even really stretch out your quad as well.
One HUGE key though to getting this stretch to actually work though is ENGAGING YOUR GLUTE! Too often people do this and don’t ACTUAL extend their hip because they lean forward or simply arch their low back.
If you don’t engage your glute and actually focus on extending your hip, guess what?! You don’t actually unlock your hips and you don’t really reverse all of the effects of sitting!
So no matter which version you pick, make sure to truly engage your glute and extend your hip and not simply your low back. If you are starting out, the version below is a great place to start! From there you can add in the quad stretch by grabbing your back foot or placing it up on a bench.
To do the Basic Half-Kneeling Hip Stretch, start half kneeling on the ground. Flex your back foot and squeeze your glute as you drive your back hip forward. Reach your hand up overhead so that you feel a nice stretch down the hip of the back leg. You can reach both hands up or simply the hand on the side that is back.
Squeeze the glute of your back leg so that you are actually fully extending your back hip and not simply arching your back. If you just hyperextend your low back, you will just be perpetuating the problem. Make sure you are truly extending your hip.
Breathe as you hold and reach your hands backward overhead or turn this into a dynamic stretch by releasing and then repeating the stretch.
You can also reach your arms to the side over your front leg if you want to hit your hip from a different angle and stretch your TFL and even the muscles of your back that help you bend to the side.
Leg Swings – If you ask any of my in-person clients, they’ll tell you I make them do this one basically daily along with the Half-Kneeling Hip Stretch. I LOVE this one because it not only works on balance and activates the muscles that stabilize your feet and lower legs, but it also wakes up your core, activates your glutes AND opens up your hips.
And it does all of these things in different planes of motion, which means you’ll be mobilizing your hips so you can move well in every direction!
There are three main variations of the Leg Swing I use; however, you can really swing in any direction. Just make sure to really engage the glute of the standing leg to help you balance and even use the glute of the other legs to swing, especially on the rotational one!
To do the 3-Way Leg Swings, start standing on one foot. Feel your foot gripping the ground and engage the glute of the standing leg to help you balance. Brace your abs and stand up nice and tall.
Keeping both legs fairly straight, but not locked out, begin to swing the other leg forward and backward. Swing from the hip, don’t just bend your knee and kick your lower leg. The bigger your swings are, the more your standing leg will have to work to balance.
Do not hold on to anything as you do this move. If you need to at the beginning, just perform smaller swings and tap your foot down as needed to reset and stabilize. You can hold onto a wall if you want to remove the balance element and instead just focus on mobilizing the hip, but remember that you are then taking out balance work and even building some extra core stability.
Complete all reps of the forward/backward swing then, still balancing on the same leg, switch to lateral swings. For the lateral swings, swing the leg up to the right and then to the left in front of your standing leg. You may even feel the outside of that glute working to raise the leg up as you swing it. The bigger your swing, the more you will open up your hip and force your standing leg to work hard to balance.
After performing the lateral swings, bend the knee of the leg you’ve been swinging to 90 degrees and perform rotational swing.
To do rotational swings, bring the bent knee in front of you and then open it out to the side. Bring the knee back forward, keeping the leg bent the entire time. Really focus on opening from the hip with this move. You should really feel the glute of the standing leg working as you rotate. The more your rotate, the harder the move will be, but also the more you will open your hips and get your glutes activated.
Once you complete all three swings, switch to the other side and do all three swings.
If you do this move correctly, you will feel your foot, calf and even your shin muscles working to balance. You will also feel your glute and core engaging as you swing your leg to open your hip.
Again start with a more basic balancing pose if you can’t maintain balance or perform smaller swings. The whole point of this move is to improve your mind-body connection and get things activated so you can balance.
Bridging – I don’t care if you do a Camel Bridge, Tabletop Bridge, Basic Glute Bridge or any other variation of the Bridge…If you aren’t doing some sort of bridge almost daily, you are missing out on a great chance to not only improve your hip extension but also activate your glutes!
Unlocking your hip flexors and keeping them unlocked isn’t only about stretching. Because if you stretch and then go right back and sit, you’ll simply tighten everything back up.
BUT if you actually get the muscles activated and working and STRENGTHEN through the range of motion you’ve established, you can actually improve your mobility, unlock your hip flexors and prevent and alleviate low back and hip pain (as well as even knee pain among other things!).
No matter how advanced an exerciser you are, you should always include a Basic BODYWEIGHT Glute Bridge in your routine…I know I do.
A. Because it is important to always return to basics and establish/maintain your mind-body connection.
B. Because with bodyweight exercises we are often actually able to contract our glutes harder AKA really make sure they are activated and working correctly!
Just a refresher on that Basic Bodyweight Glute Bridge…
To do the Basic Glute Bridge, lie on your back and bend your knees and put your feet flat on the ground. Your feet should be about hip-width apart. You may need to adjust your exact foot positioning based on how tight or mobile your hips are. You can move your feet slightly away or slightly closer to your butt, but just make sure you don’t move them so far away that you feel your hamstrings taking over.
Bend your elbows to 90 degrees so that only your upper arms are on the ground. This will help you really be able to drive down with your elbows, upper arms and back to help you bridge straight up instead of pushing yourself backward.
Then bridge up, driving through your heels and upper back and arms to lift your glutes up off the ground. Drive your hips up as high as possible, squeezing your glutes hard as you brace your abs. Keep your belly button drawn in so you don’t hyperextend your back. Focus and consciously squeeze your glutes at the top.
When you bridge, do not push backward off your heels. Make sure you are driving straight up and that your knees aren’t caving in. Even think about driving your knees forward over your toes to help extend your hips and prevent you from pushing yourself backward.
Squeeze your glutes for second or two at the top and lower all the way back down to the ground before repeating. Do not rush through the move.
OH and I also want to mention…Glute Activation and unlocking your hip flexors not only means reversing the effects of sitting so you prevent and alleviate injury and can lift more and run faster…
But it can also help with that LOWER BELLY POOCH!
Did you know that tight hip flexors can actually contribute to that hard to get rid of lower belly pooch!?! Well they can!
All the more reason to unlock those hips and get those booty cheeks working correctly.
For some essential flows and movements you NEED to be including in your workout routine, check out this program – Unlock Your Hip Flexors!
by Redefining Strength | FHP 015: From Facebook Like To Sale - Selling Fitness Products on Facebook
REDEFINING STRENGTH
Cori Lefkowith and Ryan Heenan
redefiningstrength.com
3 KEY POINTS:
1. Retarget, retarget, retarget!
2. Lead with value to build a relationship.
3. Know your avatar and speak to their needs.
MORE ABOUT THIS EPISODE:
In this episode, we will provide you with action steps to take that Facebook “Like” or lead and turn them into a sale.
Steps:
1. Get “likes” by running campaigns or through organic traffic.
2. Retarget with a blog post and FREE content.
3. Retarget the blog viewers with an opt in page where people enter their email to get a free product.
4. Take that lead through an email series to build a relationship and even lead them to purchase a product.
5. Retarget any leads that don’t buy with an ad to a sales page.
RESOURCES
MENTIONED:
Click funnels – Website, sales pages, automated email series all in one!
(For help with setting up a site and using Click Funnels, you can email me at [email protected] and we can even help you set it up if you get it)
by Redefining Strength | FHP 014: Alyse Mason Brill of Fit Approach and Sweat Guru
FIT APPROACH
Alyse Mason Brill
fitapproach.com
ABOUT:
Alyse Mason is the founder of the Fit Approach brand and communities. She brings together more than ten years of experience in product development and marketing, as well as a lifelong commitment to active living, to develop and grow the brand, community, and its products. Alyse leads product development and operations to empower Fit Approach to connect more and more people around the world through fitness and active living. She stays active and connects with the Fit Approach community through her love of yoga, dance, and stroller fitness with her baby girl, Mackenzie.
3 KEY POINTS:
1. Building a business is sometimes like throwing spaghetti against a wall…Just just have to see what sticks!
2. Become a part of the community you want to help. Comment on blogs. Go to events. Integrate in as much as you can!
3. Learn to do more with less!
MORE ABOUT THIS EPISODE:
In this episode we talk with Alyse Mason Brill of Fit Approach and Sweat Guru about the importance of community. Alyse started Fit Approach with business partner Jamie King to help connect others in the fitness community, no matter where they are in their fitness journey.
She tells us about how they create business plans and had dreams about what Fit Approach would become and even a vision of how they would get there, but that, in the end, what you build doesn’t actually look like what you dreamed up – that, in fact, it is so much better!
ALYSE’S FAST FIVE FITNESS FACTS
Q: What’s your favorite exercise?
Sweaty, Fast-Moving Yoga Class
Q: What exercise do you hate…but love at the same time?
Whether you have a desk job, a long commute, work on your laptop on the couch, text on your phone as you walk, watch TV…you’re spending probably way too much time in flexion.
You’re hunched over, your head is forward, your hips, knees, elbows and even wrists are bent….
And then you start to suffer from aches and pains…Your neck, shoulder, back, hips, knees….
You get massages and maybe even see a chiropractor. Yet the aches and pains just continue to come back and maybe even start getting worse.
Your workouts suffer and you either feel limited in what you can do or you start to notice things aren’t working correctly and you’re getting injured.
Guess what?
This all has to do with your posture!
You know what makes all of this even worse? People then think they simply can no longer do the things they love. They think they’ll just end up injured again if the run or lift or cycle.
And while that is partly true, it isn’t because you can’t get back to doing the things you love. You don’t need to give those things up!
Instead of giving up the activities you love, you need to first do things to improve your posture. If you solve the real problem, you can get back to being active.
But if you never solve the actual problem, you’re just going to have to keep avoiding activities and exercises. And avoidance solves nothing. It may seemingly prevent injury, but not for long.
At some point there will be a “straw that breaks the camel’s back” and your poor posture and imbalances and compensations will lead to injury. And you’ll still suffer from aches and pains.
So stop avoiding the problem and solve it. Allow those massages and adjustments to stick by working to loosen, activate and strengthen the correct muscles and improve your posture so you move and feel better!
This posture workout is focused on strengthening your core and on mobilizing and activating everything between your shoulders and your knees. It should take 10 minutes and can be done as a warm up or as something separate from your workout (which is ideal).
Tools Needed: Ball or Roller, Towel
Set a timer for 30 seconds for each move (or per side) for the first two circuits. Then complete the reps/time as listed for the third circuit.
CIRCUIT #1 – 1 round
Chest Foam Rolling
Bicep Foam Rolling
Quad Foam Rolling
CIRCUIT #2 – 1 round Lying Chest Stretch with Scorpion
Rotational Half Kneeling Hip and Quad Stretch
CIRCUIT #3 – 2 rounds 5 reps per side Sit Thru to Thoracic Bridge
10 reps per side Side Plank Clams
30 seconds Forearm Front Plank Hold
Chest Foam Rolling – To roll out your chest in a doorway, it is best to use a smaller, harder ball. Stand facing the wall besides the doorway and place the ball between your chest and the wall. You want to be right on the edge of the wall so that you can extend your arm forward through the doorway. Start with the ball in your chest besides your shoulder and below your collarbone. Press into the ball and raise the arm on the side you are digging into up toward the ceiling and back down. Because you are in a doorway, you can raise the arm straight out in front of you as you swing the arm very slowly up toward the ceiling and down toward the ground. Hold on any tight spots as you move your arm. You can also roll the ball along the muscles below your collarbone and even down around your shoulder toward your armpit. Hold on any tight spots you find and even lift and lower your arm. Then switch and do the other side.
Bicep Foam Rolling – To roll out your biceps, you will place a ball or roller up on a table or desk like you did to roll out your triceps. You will then rotate your chest toward the ground and place your bicep down on the roller or ball right above the inside of your elbow. Rock slightly side to side to dig out your bicep. Hold if you find an especially tight spot and even flex and relax your bicep by flexing and extending your elbow if your desk or table allows. Then move the roller higher up your bicep toward your shoulder. Again rock side to side and hold on any tight spots. If you don’t have a table or desk you can use, you can also do this against a wall although you may not be able to flex and extend your arm then.
Quad Foam Rolling – To roll out your Quads, take the foam roller and lay over it as if you are about to do a plank. Start with the roller right above your knees. Rock side to side and then move it up a little higher on the front of your legs. As you rock and move the roller higher, make sure to pause and hold on any extra tight spots until the pain lessens a bit. Work your way all the way up to your hips. If you find any tight spots, while you hold on them, flex and relax your quad to help the tight spots loosen. To apply more pressure, place only one leg down on the roller and rock side to side, holding on any extra tight spots.
Lying Chest Stretch with Scorpion – To do the Lying Chest Stretch with Scorpion, lie on your belly with your arms out straight at shoulder height. Bend the elbow of one arm to 90 degrees so that your upper arm is in line with your shoulder. Then lift the opposite leg from the bent arm up and bend your knee to kick your foot over and behind you to try to touch the toe down to the ground behind you. As you rotate your leg over, press your chest open with your straight arm. Feel a stretch through the chest and shoulder on the side you are kicking toward. You will also feel a stretch through your low back. Make sure that as you rotate open and kick the leg back over your body that you relax your head down onto the ground. Hold for a second or two then bend the other arm and kick the other leg back and over. Alternate sides, holding for a second or two each way.
Rotational Half Kneeling Hip and Quad Stretch – To do the Rotational Half-Kneeling Hip and Quad Stretch, set up in a half kneeling position with your right leg forward. Then place your left hand on the ground and lean forward. Reach back with your right hand and grab your left foot. Pull your foot in toward your butt as you drive your hip forward. Feel a stretch down your hip and quad. As you press your hip forward, rotate your chest open toward your front leg. You may also feel a stretch through your spine and down the outside of that front leg. Hold here and breathe as you relax deeper into the stretch. You can also open your knee outward to stretch into your adductor or rotate your knee inward to hit your TFL. Beginners may need a towel or stretch strap to help them do this stretch as it requires more flexibility to reach around and grab the leg with the rotation.
Sit Thru to Thoracic Bridge – To do the Sit Thru to Thoracic Bridge, start on your hands and knees with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Flex your feet and lift up onto your hands and the balls of your feet. Then lift your right hand up and bring your left leg under your body and through and place your left foot flat on the ground. Rotate your hips up toward the ceiling, squeezing your glutes to lift them up as high as you can. Really try to open your hips up toward the ceiling and squeeze your glutes to fully extend your hips. With your hips lifted, reach your right hand down toward the ground, rotating your chest toward the floor. Really reach your hand toward the ground as the rest of your body opens toward the ceiling to feel a nice stretch as you rotate. Feel your glutes working to keep BOTH hips up, while you reach your hand down. Don’t let your hips drop as you rotate. You should feel a nice rotation and stretch through your spine. You are twisting almost like someone wringing out a towel. Make sure though that you aren’t hyperextending your low back to bridge up but are instead squeezing your glutes. Then drop your hips and step your foot back through while placing your hand back down on the ground. Rotate to the other side, bridging your hips up as high as you can. (Click here for a video – shown at 1:39)
Side Plank Clams – To do the Side Plank Clam, lie on your side propped up on your forearm with your elbow underneath your shoulder. Bend your knees so that your feet and lower legs are behind you. You can place your top hand on your hip or reach it up toward the ceiling, but don’t touch it down to the ground. With your legs stacked, lift your hip up off the ground, driving through your knee and forearm. As you lift your hips up, lift your top leg up and toward the ceiling, keeping the knee bent. Open up as high as you can then lower the leg back down. As you lower the leg back down, lower your hip back down to the ground. Repeat, lifting up and, as you do, raise your top leg up toward the ceiling. Complete all reps on one side before switching. Make sure you are lifting straight up and not rotating toward the ground or open toward the ceiling. Also keep your elbow under your shoulder and do not get too spread out. When you lift the top leg, don’t rotate open as you do. Really focus on lifting with your glute.
Forearm Front Plank Hold – To do the Basic Forearm Front Plank, lie on your stomach and bend your elbows so that you’re propped up on your forearms. Your legs should be straight out behind you with your feet together. Flex your feet and lift up onto your forearms and toes. Your elbows should be stacked under your shoulders and your feet should be together. On your forearms and toes, create a nice straight line with your body from your head to your heels. Make sure that in this position you are concentrating on tucking your pelvic to engage your abs as you squeeze your glutes and quads to keep your legs straight. Make sure that you are also squeezing your legs together as you hold and driving back through your heels. Do not push forward onto your toes. Also, do not let your chest sag toward the ground or your upper back round. You want a nice flat upper back. Feel your lats engage to pull your elbows down under your shoulders and toward your hips to protect your shoulders. While holding, don’t just go through the motions. Assess whether the right muscles are engaged and even consciously activate them. If you begin to shake, you know you are engaging the muscles. Hold in this position for a set amount of time or until your form starts to break down. If you feel this in your low back, assess whether or not you are performing a proper Pelvic Tilt. Beginners will want to start with a Plank from their knees.
