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9 Tips For Faster MUSCLE GROWTH

9 Tips For Faster MUSCLE GROWTH

by | Aug 7, 2022 | Blog, Diet, Exercises, muscle-featured

Gaining muscle, especially without gaining fat is not an easy process. Especially if we’ve usually just focused on weight loss, it can require a very different focus for our training and fueling.

That’s why I wanted to share 9 tips to help you dial in your workout routine and diet to see the best muscle gains without doing a dirty bulk, causing you to ultimately gain a ton of fat you just have to lose later!

#1: Use All Three Drivers Of Muscle Growth

There are 3 drivers of muscle growth – muscle tissue damage, mechanical tension and metabolic stress. So often we try to rely just on muscle tissue damage, lifting heavy and seeking to be sore.

We even skip those silly looking pumper exercises with mini bands that have small ranges of motion and really burn.

But when we don’t use these different moves with different ranges of motion, different points where the muscle is under the most tension, we miss out on using all three drivers of muscle growth.

We have to remember that soreness not a great indicator of how hard we’ve worked, we also may constantly be beating ourselves down, instead of using all 3 drivers to allow for the best results as quickly as possible.

Don’t only just focus on those heavy compound lifts and heavy weights.

You don’t just want to use big range of motion movements that load the muscle most when stretched like squats and deadlifts. Also use moves like hip thrusters, where the muscle has the most resistance applied where it is strongest (mechanical tension). And even use moves that create that pump and burn to benefits from the hypertrophy created by metabolic stress. Think mini band moves and smaller ranges of motion where the muscle is constantly under tension!

#2: Don’t Fear Protein and BCAAs

Protein is the building block of muscle. We need to make sure that we’re giving our muscles what they need to repair and rebuild.

And especially as we get older, we become less able to utilize protein efficiently.

It’s why timing even more protein, and specifically amino acids, right around our workouts can be key to create that anabolic environment.

This is extra essential for any women in menopause. It’s why you may find it essential to supplement with BCAAs prior to, or during your workout, while following up your workout with a quick protein shake or lean protein meal.

With hard training sessions, and our changing hormone levels, we are actually at risk for catabolizing muscle mass if we don’t get sufficient fuel to support growth even while focusing on lifting.

So using this timing around workouts, and optimizing everything with a BCAA supplement can help us get better results faster by making sure you get your muscles the fuel they need to repair when they are primed to do so.

#3: Stop Cutting Down Your Rest Times

Too often we try to make our workouts harder by cutting out rest between moves. But the more we reduce rest, the less we recover which means we may be able to lift less each and every round.

When driving toward muscle growth, we want to avoid just turning our workouts into cardio by eliminating rest. We want to focus on making each round through moves or supersets or trisets as hard as possible through how much we lift and maximizing each rep so we NEED the rest to recover for the next round to keep maintaining, or even increasing the weight.

The heavier you lift, the more you should want and use that rest to recover between rounds.

So as you change from even weight loss as your focus to gaining muscle, consider increasing rest and upping those weights!

#4: Focus On A QUALITY Calorie Surplus

I know we see these bulks where people chow down on all sorts of crazy delicious foods, but these extreme calorie surpluses don’t lead to better results faster. And often they just lead to a ton of unwanted fat gain we have to deal with later.

Instead focusing on a moderate surplus of even 100-400 calories is enough. Starting smaller and increasing based on your results can even be a good way to go if you’ve been more focused on weight loss previously and haven’t maintained your current level of leanness for long.

It can also be key to keep the calorie surplus smaller, or even a very small deficit of just 100 calories, if you aren’t as lean as you’d like to optimize fat loss while gaining muscle. Just make sure that you’re focused on increasing that protein.

And of course, the more quality our fuel, the better our body will function. So while it’s super tempting to eat a ton more…well…not so whole, natural foods, remember to stick with your 80/20 balance.

We want to enjoy the foods we love, but also still make sure our body gets not only the macros, but micronutrients we need.

#5: Focus On Compound Lifts First

When lifting to gain muscle, you want to think about working in multiple rep ranges to not only create muscle hypertrophy or growth but also build strength. Let’s face it, the more you can lift, the better your muscle gains will be.

So when you’re freshest, start with your biggest, heaviest lifts. Focus on big compound moves for slightly lower reps with longer rest periods at the start of your workout.

You can even separate these lifts out to be done on their own before any supersets, trisets or circuits.

Think even about working in that maximal strength rep range of 1-5 reps for 3-5 sets. Consider rest periods of even 3-5 minutes.

If you aren’t as advanced a lifter or really don’t enjoy getting near those max attempts even 5-8 reps can really be a great way to go!

But use those heavy lifts to help you gain strength to then be able to lift more as you do other more accessory compound moves in the 6-12 rep range for 3-4 sets, with more like 1-3 minutes of rest.

Lifting heavy will NOT make you bulky but will cause your muscles to have to repair and grow!

#6: Cut Back On Cardio

If you’re an endurance athlete, I’m not asking you to stop your passion. BUT you do want to recognize that steady state endurance cardio can be catabolic to muscle tissue and make it harder to gain muscle.

So if you can reduce your mileage for a time, it may be key to making better muscle gains more quickly.

We also don’t simply want to turn our lifting sessions into cardio workouts. If you want to optimize your muscle growth, now is not the time for more metabolic strength workouts. It’s not the time for tons of high intensity interval training.

Now is the time for focused lifting and longer rest periods!

#7: Strategically Finish With Isolation Moves

After you’ve focused first on those heavy lifts, you can strategically use isolation moves to capitalize on all 3 drivers of muscle growth and really target those stubborn muscles to fully fatigue them.

If you’re short on time, compound moves should be your focus, but if you have a lagging muscle group or an especially stubborn area, isolation exercises that hone in and target this area are super key for better results faster.

When you include these moves, use them at the end to fully fatigue the muscle so you don’t compensate in earlier moves. Consider higher reps even for many of these movements (12-20) and just a couple of rounds 1-3 at the end. This will encourage more muscle fiber recruitment for better results.

And ladies, working to fatigue for muscles may actually be even more key for you to see the hypertrophy results you want!

#8: Don’t Fear Carbs

Especially when trying to lose weight, many will cut out carbs. But when we train hard, and our focus especially shifts to gaining muscle, we need those carbs to create that anabolic environment and serve as immediate fuel for our sessions.

While it can be hard if you’ve recently lost weight to see the scale slightly increase as you increase carbs, it is truly key to embrace the process.

To start even, you may not increase carb intake overall for the day, but simply time them more around your training sessions as you transition into a gaining muscle phase.

Some complex carbs prior to your training to make sure you have full glycogen stores followed by some simple carbs post workout to replenish depleted stores can really help you make sure you’re fueling growth!

But do not fear those carbs! They truly are key to optimize hormone levels and fuel that lean muscle growth which will increase our resting metabolic rate and even help us look leaner while being functional stronger!

#9: Increase Your Training Frequency

We see so many bodybuilding programs with body part splits, training areas even just once a week. But you may actually get better results by increasing your training frequency, especially for stubborn areas.

Consider designing your workouts progressions to work areas even 2-3 times a week. While this may mean not doing as much per session, this increase in training frequency can really pay off.

Hemisphere splits or upper/lower splits and even full body training sessions may be helpful, especially if you don’t have as many days to train.

But if you’ve got a lagging area, don’t fear working it multiple times a week as long as you’re working it in different ways and still giving the muscle time off to repair and rebuild!

Bonus reminder:

While it can be tempting to try to train more to get results faster, there will be a point of diminishing returns. A point at which we are beating ourselves down and NOT rebuilding. We do NOT want to waste effort and hard work doing more than is needed, especially if it actually holds us back!

I know it can be hard to take a day off, but you’ll only see the results of your hard work in the gym if you give your body time to repair! Dialing in our recovery, from our fueling to making sure we get enough sleep, is so key if we want results as fast as possible.

Remember to design your workout progression so areas get rest over the week and you’re not constantly beating down your body!

SUMMARY:

Use these 9 tips to improve your muscle gains and see better results faster without the unwanted fat gain often associated with traditional bulks!

And if you’re looking for help and guidance to get the best results as fast as possible, check out my 1:1 Online Coaching!

–> Apply To Coaching

FHP 431 – Where Is Your Comfort Zone?

FHP 431 – Where Is Your Comfort Zone?

by | Aug 2, 2022 | podcast

I was one of these people…

So I always sympathize with this comment, “I’ll workout all day. It’s just so hard to change my diet.”

Or…

“I can train hard. I just can’t change my diet. I love food too much.”

The thing is…

We CAN change our diet.

And yes, we all know we just aren’t “willing” to or we don’t “want” to….

But what we don’t realize is that training is NOT easy.

We’ve just become comfortable being uncomfortable in that way.

Realizing that was oddly eye opening for me.

Because A. It made me truly recognize that many people do NOT like training. I’ve just developed a comfort zone that includes it.

And B. Even with training there are still things I’m not comfortable doing…often new skills I’m not good at. And when you start to assess moves or tools or such you won’t include and often scoff at even, you’ll start to see where your comfort zone ENDS.

Basically what we’ve got to recognize is that dietary adjustments are possible…they’re just outside our comfort zone.

So how do we learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable with dietary adjustments?

And I think that it starts with how we approach changes…

First…Realize that when you push too much, you rebel more. Assess the mindsets that make you resistant.

So often when we make a ton of changes and mentally can’t handle them, we then start to associate those habits with that negativity. They become one in the same.

Like tracking.

When we only track to seriously restrict, when we feel super hungry and miserable tracking, we believe tracking is restrictive.

Realizing we will associate the habit with our mindset and that can 100% color things, A. We want to assess why we don’t like habits. But B. We want to break those mindsets around them and find new ways to implement them.

Like tracking.

Start tracking without making changes.

It will be eye opening and you’ll see you can actually make sustainable changes. You’ll start to learn. You won’t just be cutting out or restricting.

You can even learn to ADD IN foods you love more.

But the key is making small changes and assessing the mindsets behind the changes when we are resistant.

Second…Start by making changes that are closer to your current comfort zone.

Usually super different things, things that seem to threaten our lifestyle will be further from our comfort zone.

And we will be more likely to come up with excuses to resist making those changes.

So start with things closer to your comfort zone. Start with changes that seem easier.

Associate those changes with creating MORE of the lifestyle you enjoy.

Like maybe you know you need to boost your protein, but the idea of figuring out changes to your meals is overwhelming. But you’re also really into fueling your workouts and so much want to see gains from them.

Just add in a post workout protein shake!

It may be a small change but it can easily be linked to habits you enjoy and the lifestyle you’re living.

And as you see results from the small changes and feel better, you’ll start to want to make more.

Too often we make these massive changes that pull us outside our comfort zone only for us to run back into it.

Instead we almost need to keep expanding our comfort zone so little at a time we don’t almost even fully realize it’s moving. And as we get comfortable even challenging ourselves in these new ways, we’ll find it easier to do more!

Third…Own the awkward.

Sometimes I think we try to downplay how uncomfortable change is. But instead we need to really recognize it and own it.

When we can admit something is going to be hard, there will be challenges, it’s going to suck, it’s almost easier to embrace the hard.

Instead often we try to downplay things and say it will be easy, it’s no big deal…but then when it doesn’t feel that way, it almost leads to us rebelling more.

I like to remind myself to own the awkward.

Embrace the learning process.

Realize I’m going to suck at things before I get better.

Even the master was once the beginner.

Recognize the challenges you will face. Recognize that the journey will NOT feel good at points.

This can help you lower your defenses and get more comfortable being uncomfortable.

SUMMARY:

Remember changes are hard. And especially diet changes that we’ve never really tried to make that “threaten” our current lifestyle balance.

Remember we’ve created the comfort zone we are in and at any time we can expand it BUT it takes a conscious effort!

10 DUMBBELL CORE Exercises You’re Not Doing

10 DUMBBELL CORE Exercises You’re Not Doing

by | Jul 31, 2022 | Blog, Core, Exercises

Looking to spice up your core training routine? Then these dumbbell core moves will help! Whether you want to target your abs, obliques or glutes, there is a move here to help. And these exercises will help you improve both your rotational and anti-rotational core strength. Plus they can be done from a variety of different postures, whether you want to do something standing or get down on the ground.

Pick a few of these moves to start implementing into your programming based on your needs and goals!

1: Turkish Hinge:

This core move is based off of one step in the full Turkish Get Up and is a great way to improve your hip and shoulder stability. It is an amazing way to target those obliques and especially that glute medius.

When you do this exercise, you want to focus on that lateral hinge, really pushing your butt to the side. This allows you to load and use that glute to hinge and come back up to half kneeling. It also helps you keep your weight centered so you could technically hinge over without having to put any weight on that hand on the ground until you’re ready.

If you simply just lean over, you’ll lose your balance and really struggle with stabilizing that raised shoulder. So focus on loading that glute as you hinge over then using that glute and your oblique to pull you back up!

Make sure as you set your hand down to the side as well that you aren’t reaching out wide but setting it closer to your body.

If you can’t kneel on the ground, you can do a similar move called the Windmill standing. Just make sure to start with a light weight for both to focus on stabilizing that raised weight!

2: Plank Pull Throughs:

This anti-rotational core move is a must-do plank variation. It is a great way to really work everything from your shoulders to your knees down not only your frontside but also your backside!

As you do this move, you want to focus on keeping your core still and your hips level. You want to pull the weight fully across without rotating. Don’t rotate just to pull it further. And make sure to brace those abs and glutes to fight that rotation! It’s key you also make sure your hands are under your shoulders as you set up. This will help you avoid overloading your neck and shoulders to better engage your back to support your shoulders and fight that rotation as well.

Move slowly. While it is tempting to rush if you feel unbalanced, DON’T!

To modify this move, you can start with a reach over pulling a weight. You can also place your hands on an incline and pull the weight on the bench or stair.

–> VIDEO OF ALL 10 MOVES BELOW <–

3: Glute Bridge with Cross Body Chops:

Our lats and glutes must work together efficiently if we want a proper transfer of force and power through our core. This keeps not only our shoulders and hips healthy but also promotes better pelvic stability.

That’s why this move is an amazing one to include in your routine!

Holding the dumbbell in both hands you want to reach overhead to one side then chop the dumbbell across your body down outside your other hip. And you want to maintain that solid bridge hold as you perform the chop. Make sure as you hold the bridge, your glutes are powering the hold. Use that posterior pelvic tilt to avoid overloading your lower back. And focus on driving your knees toward your toes so you aren’t just pushing yourself backward as you hold, which can lead to your hamstrings taking over for your glutes.

As you do the chop, across to your hip, really feel your lat pulling the weight down from overhead. Move slowly with this move!

To progress this exercise, you could even do an 80/20 or single leg variation!

4: Rotational Lunge:

Don’t want to get down on the ground to work your core? Want an amazing rotational move you can do to target those abs, obliques and glutes? Then try the Rotational Lunge

This move is a great way to work on that rotational core strength and learn to not only accelerate and power rotation, but decelerate and control that rotation.

When you do this move, you want to treat the lunge as more of a hip hinge than focusing on sinking that back knee toward the ground. You really want to load that front glute so you can drive off that foot to power the rotation and come back up to standing before lunging back on the other side.

Even focus on that exhale as you drive out of the lunge to help you brace those abs and protect your back. Make sure to focus on loading that glute so you don’t twist too far and load your lower back. Make sure too that you’re not caving or rounding over to try to reach back further, but really only hinging at the hips.

To modify, you can adjust the amount of knee flexion you include, especially if you have knee issues. Do not step or lunge back as far to start!

Speed up the movement too as you feel ready over moving at a slower pace to start.

5: Seated Ab Presses:

This move is deceptively hard and a great way to work your abs and shoulders. You will also feel your hips working as well as you hinge but do not solely rely on your hip flexors. Focus on that c-sit curve as you lean back, rounding through your spine.

This rounding helps you brace and use those abs over just making this a hinge at the hips, which can lead to you only feeling your hip flexors.

Press the weight out as you hinge back to work your shoulders and even counterbalance the movement.

To modify this move, or if you can’t get down on the ground, you can do this move off a bench.

You can also vary this movement by performing a unilateral press over holding the weight in both hands!

6: Two-Way Raises:

This is another great anti-rotational plank variation to really improve your shoulder health and core stability. Because this is really targeting that shoulder, start with light weights.

While holding the plank position, you will raise one weight straight out overhead. Lower down, then fly the arm out to the side. Keep your elbow soft but your arm straight. And really fight the urge to rotate as you perform the two raises on one side.

You can then make the move harder by alternating sides where you have to fight rotation as you stabilize to raise the other arm out both ways. Or you can modify slightly to start by sticking with all reps on one side.

You can modify the plank position further if you find your hips sagging or butt going up in the air by performing this move off a bench or incline. You can also start with a raise without the weight.

Just make sure you don’t rush or shrug your shoulders as you do this move. Make sure to really engage your back to support the shoulder of the hand that is down to keep that shoulder unshrugged.

And if you feel unstable or uncomfortable on the weights while holding the plank, place your hand down on the ground instead while performing all reps on one side.

7: Pull Over Crunches:

This is a killer crunch variation that will work your abs, quads, lats, triceps, chest and serratus anterior. But it is also deceptively hard because of the weighted extension overhead. Make sure your lower back down not arch and ultimately become overloaded. Focus on that posterior pelvic tilt to brace your abs as you do this move.

When you perform the reach overhead, your elbows will be slightly bent but do not turn this into just flexion and extension at your elbows. You want the movement to come from your shoulders, reaching overhead to then pull the weight down over your body and in front of your knees.

Focus on feeling your lats and the muscles around your ribs really working over the course of the reach overhead and pull down.

As you extend your legs out, you can kick out higher to modify. Just make sure you engage your abs and even your glutes as you fully kick out.

To modify this move further, you can perform a bent knee tuck instead of a straight leg kick out. Or you can even keep your feet on the ground to start.

8: Extended ROM Lying Lateral Raise:

Changing the range of motion on an exercise is a great way to progress a movement.

In this case, the extended range of motion allows you to put the glute medius under more stretch during the exercise while also adding load with the dumbbell to advance it.

With this move, you want to make sure you’re really focusing on that glute medius and not letting the TFL compensate. If you struggle with feeling that TFL, which is also a hip flexor, taking over for your glutes, turn your toe down toward the ground as you perform the lateral raise. You can also slightly kick back as well. And then don’t rotate open to try to increase the range of motion and lift up higher.

Also, make sure to fully lower your leg down to get that extra stretch on the muscle at the bottom.

If you don’t have a bench, you can do this movement from the side plank position as well to still get that bigger range of motion and even the oblique work bonus.

9: Standing Dumbbell Chop:

This standing unilateral, or one sided, exercise is a great way to work on your rotational core strength and glute power. If you’re a tennis player, baseball player, golfer or any athlete wanting a powerful rotational swing, you want to include this move in your strength work!

It’s key with this move, you work on that powerful drive from your glute to power the swing up and across. And you want to make sure to brace your abs to prevent rotating too far as you swing the weight up and over your shoulder.

To load your glutes to power the rotation, you will sit back slightly and to the side the weight is on. It’s a very small hip hinge. As you drive forward to propel the weight up and across, pivot that foot. Don’t simply just come up on your toes, really rotate as if squashing a bug under the ball of your foot to better power the swing and use your glute.

Focus on that exhale as you rotate to brace your abs and avoid twisting too far!

Your elbows will bend more as you twist the weight over your shoulder.

10: Side Plank Row:

Target your obliques, abs, glutes, back and biceps with this great side plank variation.

By adding in the row, you not only work your back and bicep but also really force your core to work hard to stabilize as you hold that plank position.

Make sure that as you lower the weight toward the ground in front of you that you keep your back engaged to support the standing hand. You will rotate slightly toward the ground to protract that shoulder blade, bringing it away from your spine, before you row the weight up and retract your shoulder blade, or bring it back toward your spine.

You want to focus on the row not just coming from your arm, but instead focus on that scapular movement to really use your back.

Do not let your hips drop toward the ground as you row in that side plank position.

To modify, you can do this move with your hand up on a bench to start, even off of your forearm if you do have wrist issues!

SUMMARY:

Use these moves based on your needs and goals. You can combine a few into a quick finisher to a workout or even just select one to include in your circuits or trisets based on what you’re trying to target!

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FHP 430 – Fast vs. Sustainable

FHP 430 – Fast vs. Sustainable

by | Jul 26, 2022 | podcast

I think something we too often like to gloss over is the sacrifices and challenges involved in achieving results.

Getting a new and better result, making a change is NOT easy.

Even something that eventually feels sustainable can be hard to start because it isn’t instinctual. It isn’t what we’ve always done.

So when I work with a client I like to discuss the options in how we move forward.

While I don’t believe in fad diets or quick fixes, I do believe we have a choice in the speed of our results…

And how fast we choose to move forward toward a goal is dependent on how much we are willing to go all in, embrace change and make sacrifices.

While everything in our program needs to be focused on the basics of macros and a clear workout progression IF we want to create sustainable habits we can adjust as we transition to maintaining our results, how we dial in our programming off of these foundational things at any given time can shift based on how quickly we want to make progress vs how much we want to really just create something that’s a lifestyle.

So basically what I’m telling you is…

If you want something that really feels like a lifestyle right from the start, you’ve got to be prepared for results to take longer to build.

However, if you are willing to go to the faster side of this sustainable continuum, you can see results faster…you just have to be ready to make more sacrifices. You have to be ready to be more “perfect” and precise for awhile.

You almost have to be ready to overcorrect to then slowly come back to more of a lifestyle as you reach your goals or even need a break.

And then you have to recognize you may adjust over time. You may be more motivated at points to push harder. Or you may need to back off because other things in your life take priority.

And this isn’t a bad thing.

But it’s key we constantly assess what we need to realize that WE control how fast we go or how much we focus on just that lifestyle balance.

We also have to recognize that we can’t necessarily have both all of the time!

That’s why I wanted to share some things I discuss with clients so we can determine what they need or truly want in terms of results vs. the habits they are willing to commit to.

And again…just remember, once you understand this balance, you can choose to change at any time. You may have an event you’re willing to do more to feel and look a certain way for.

Or you may have too much going on right now and need to back off. No right or wrong but we want to know the “cost” of any decision we make.

1: Know thyself!

The biggest thing to first consider is who you are and what has derailed you in the past.

Do you tend to get too gung-ho to start and ultimately derail yourself with too much restriction?

If this is the case, maybe ease in. Start with more of a lifestyle balance and, as you adjust, maybe then consider periods to kickstart things.

Don’t overwhelm yourself with strict macro ratios or 6 days a week of training. Start with something more manageable. Maybe even just tracking. But allow yourself to make the transition in easier by breaking things down so the changes become innate before you build further.

However, if you know you’re a person who will give up if results don’t happen fast enough to start, maybe you consider jumping in with more of a cut ratio or more dramatic change to ease up a bit after you’ve built that momentum.

Maybe you do habits that you know aren’t fully sustainable with a game plan to transition progressions or ratios as you settle in and see progress happening.

The key is assessing you and knowing what will help you settle into changes and stick with things.

2: Know you’re going to adjust.

Creating a lifestyle doesn’t mean doing one thing the rest of your life. You can have periods you’re more intense and times you’re less intense. And if you feel motivated, use it.

If you don’t feel motivated, also don’t be afraid to give yourself that strategic break or transition to minimums.

We have to remember that part of what leads to lasting results is sometimes embracing the ebbs and flows and even accepting minimums.

The more you allow yourself breaks at points, often the more we can capitalize on those times we are motivated because we are fully charged to go.

But this is also why it is key we embrace the learning process. When we understand macros, we can adjust ratios to be more dialed in or even more maintenance. We can know how we’re truly fueling to adjust.

Same goes for workouts. We can know what is or isn’t working and even tweak our schedule to work for different realistic schedules based on what our lifestyle is at that point. But when you think through how you’re programming, you can truly adjust for the time you have so you keep moving forward.

The key is not ignoring our mindset so we can even plan ahead and adjust accordingly so we don’t just fall off!

3: Remind yourself of your decision.

We always want results faster. But I think reminding ourselves of the sacrifices involved in going faster can be key if we’ve chosen NOT to implement all of the habits that are needed.

I think at times we need to remind ourselves we COULD go faster, but we’ve chosen something more based on a lifestyle.

I think it’s key to remind ourselves it is our CHOICE because it also allows us to reassess if we want to get results faster. We can CHANGE our decision.

Too often with lifestyle changes, with trying to reach a goal, we act like things are done to us. This takes away our control and makes us feel like we’re suffering more.

Realizing that we are “inflicting” these things on ourselves can often be helpful. Because then we can change things if we need!

Just remember you can change at any point. Remind yourself of why you’ve chosen the habits you have and why they relate to the speed of progress you’re going to make!

4: Plan end dates and cycles.

Honestly, it may even be best to plan in set cuts. To plan in set times you’re going to do a diet break or even just maintain. It can make things easier when you know you have an end date.

It can be helpful to allow you to know you won’t have to “suffer” with more sacrifices forever.

It can even allow you to embrace different times in your life where you may have more or less time to commit. It can also help you capitalize on motivation when it strikes to use bigger events to drive forward and make more sacrifices while also allowing you to embrace those times you can’t do as much because you can see them as the breaks you need.

But don’t be afraid to even look at your overall year and plan in times you know you can bring that intensity while also recognizing times you may have to strategically back off. I think knowing there will be times you get a break can motivate us to do more during the more ideal times we have!

We don’t do well with suffering indefinitely and driving forward faster does mean more sacrifice!

SUMMARY:

Remember we have some choice in how fast we get results. And while we shouldn’t turn to crash diets and need to focus on those fundamentals, we can choose to make more sacrifices or focus more on the lifestyle balance based on how quickly we want results.

And we can change our focus over time…but it’s key we’re constantly assessing to adjust based on what we need and what is possible at that time!

Want A Strong Back? (Do This Back Exercise!)

Want A Strong Back? (Do This Back Exercise!)

by | Jul 24, 2022 | Blog, Exercises, Functional Fitness, Pain Relief

Too often we waste exercises by not actually working the muscles intended.

And then we wonder why we aren’t seeing the results we want.

But we have to remember that if we don’t feel the correct muscles working, those muscles aren’t reaping the benefits.

For example, if you feel your lower back during ab work, your lower back is what is being worked, not your abs. So all of that ab work isn’t going to pay off the way you’d like.

And it may even result in injury as your lower back becomes overworked and overloaded. This can even lead to your lower back engaging when it shouldn’t in other compound moves and lifts.

So not only is the muscle group we want benefiting NOT benefiting, but we may be creating recruitment patterns that can lead to other issues and injury.

The same thing goes for those back exercises you’re including in your workouts.

Tend to feel your neck or shoulders or even your biceps working instead of your upper back during rows or pull ups?

Struggling to feel like all of that back strengthening work is leading to the results you want, like improving your pull ups so you can do that first full one?

Then you need to make sure your back is actually what is powering your pulling moves.

And if it isn’t, you need to potentially modify so your arms can’t compensate.

You need to start by addressing your scapular mobility and stability to actually get your back powering the pull!

That’s why I love this amazing move – The Back Shrug.

While we need to include mobility work and that full prehab process of foam rolling, stretching and activation in our warm up routine, we can’t out mobility work improper movement and recruitment patterns when we lift.

It’s why we need to be intentional with moves and see every exercise as a a chance to assess.

And it’s why, when the correct muscles aren’t working, we sometimes need to modify moves and even try other variations to improve that mind-body connection.

It’s why if you struggle with with using your back during rowing, you may want to switch to the Back Shrug to start focusing on that scapular retraction to engage your back and power the pull.

How Do You Do The Back Shrug:

This move boils the row down to just that initial scapular movement to learn to control that back engagement.

When you row, the movement should start because you’re you’re drawing your shoulder blade toward your spine to use your back to pull.

This movement isolates just this component of the row, removing any elbow flexion that may lead to us compensating and using our bicep instead.

Too often with rows, we end up performing a bicep curl, curling our wrist in toward our chest over driving the elbow down and back as our shoulder blade moves toward our spine.

That’s why focusing on just that scapular movement to start can be key.

To do the Back Shrug, hold a dumbbell in each hand and hinge over standing with your feet about hip-width apart.

Let your arms hang down and unshrug your shoulders while keeping a neutral spine. Make sure you’ve hinged over to load your glutes while keeping your knees soft.

From this bent over position, you are going to try to pinch your shoulder blades together while letting your arms hang down.

Draw your shoulder blades toward your spine. Don’t just shrug your shoulders. Focus on that scapular movement.

Do not bend your elbows or start to row.

Just pinch the shoulder blades together, pausing, then relaxing the weights back toward the ground. Do not shrug your shoulders up toward your ears as you retract!

You will be able to add weight as you can fully control and feel the movement on both sides.

This is a small movement. Don’t try to make it bigger by standing up or bending your arms. Make sure to keep your neck long. Your only focus is on drawing the shoulder blades toward your spine then relaxing them away. Even pause as you do the pinch over rushing.

Variations:

There are so many ways you can then vary this move based on the types of rows you general include in your training and even the other muscles you want to target and tools you have available.

You could do this with a band instead of dumbbells. Or even off a suspension trainer. All of these are great to include to prep your body to row using these different tools and postures.

Because we can struggle with that scapular retraction in different positions, it can be key to include a diversity to make sure we’re initiating those rows with our back.

And if you find you struggle even with proper mobility and strength on one side, you can even make this movement a unilateral exercise, working only one side at a time or even doing rounds or reps on only one side.

If you don’t have any equipment, you can even do a unilateral variation called the Single Arm Scapular Push Up. This is great as an activation move in your warm up before any strength work even.

But as you really work to translate that activation to the full row with weight, consider the these variations to prep the body to initial that pull with that proper scapular movement.

SUMMARY:

Moves are only as good as their implementation. And if we want to get the full benefit of an exercise, we need to make sure we’re actually engaging the correct muscles to power the movement.

If you’ve struggled with feeling your back during rowing exercises, try this scapular retraction focused back exercise to really isolate and work on that initial back engagement.

It can easily be included as part of your accessory work for a few rounds of 10-15 reps! Focus on that scapular movement over just going heavy, but don’t be afraid to progress the movement by adding loads as you can truly control that retraction!

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