Great Exercises With Your Adjustable Bench

Many of us out there have purchased an adjustable bench and use it only for bench press or worse, collecting dust in your garage. Adjustable benches have a multitude of uses, which is why I recommend when building out your home gym to get one of these instead of a flat bench that’s not adjustable. You can use them for incline presses and pulls, ab work, decline pressing, and so much more.

Here is a video of my favorite total body workout using the adjustable bench.

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This Common Ab Exercise Is Making Your Lower Back Pain Worse...

It has been ingrained in us since grade school (see the Presidential Fitness Test) that the sit-up is the most important ab exercise you can do. If you have lower back pain however, I would avoid the sit-up like the plague.

"Blasphemy!" my gym rats bro-science experts will say. "You need a strong core!" First off, what do you consider your "core." Secondly, relax, this is just an article written by a guy who thinks the movie Borat is my generation's Citizen Kane. I digress. When you say core, I are assuming that you are talking about the muscle that support all ranges of motion of the trunk/pelvic AND your ability to respire (breath in and out). The sit-up, that targets the rectus abdominis, does a pour job at both these objectives. The rectus abdominis's primary motor function is controlling spinal flexion in the sagittal plane (back to front bending), and it actually has an insertion point that is anchored to the sternum, preventing the sternum from elevating during inhalation when active (that's bad). It's like watching Chris Farley wearing a jacket that's too small.

Your sternum gets pinned down by your rectus and without the expansion things get ugly really quick. You are soon compensating by extending the lower spine, further exacerbating stress on the lower vertebrae and muscles.

If you have lower back pain, and the sit-up is your primary core strengthening exercise, do yourself a favor and give the sit-up the ol' 86!

In future posts, I will be writing about my favorite ab exercises for alleviating lower back pain. You don't want to miss out, so make sure you click the link below to join our mailing list.

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Aching Wrists? Try This Mobility Routine!

One of the common complaints that I receive  from group fitness athletes a.k.a. Crossfitters, is hand and wrist pain from barbell front rack movements. Most of the time, these issues stem from lack of shoulder mobility and rib cage mechanics however, there are some instances where it is appropriate to work directly on the hands and wrists themselves. This is either when an individual has had a wrist or hand injury or they suffer from an acute immobility in the hand and wrist. The following routine (inspired by Scott Hagnas and Gymnastic Bodies) is a simple risk series that can be completed before or after your workouts. My advice to you is work just outside your current pain-free range of motion and never go until to the point of significant pain. Slight discomfort is OK, but you should never have pain during these movements. Perform 10 reps of each movement. You can choose to either rest or do these movements consecutively. As you get stronger, increase range of motion. You can increase the intensity by placing more of your body weight over your hands and wrists. I recommend building the number of sets before increasing the intensity.

Are you dealing with specific mobility issues that prevent you from front racking the bar front? Do Burpee‘s cause your wrists to burn? I want to help! Click the link below to set up a free assessment and let’s work together To unlock your performance And working pain-free today!

The Best Deadlift for Athletes With Lower Back Pain

If you have trained with me, you know the deadlift I am talking about: The Trap Bar Deadlift. There are many deadlifts, but when I am working with beginners, or athletes who have had a history of lower back issues, I DO NOT SHY AWAY FROM DEADLIFTING. Sorry, I had to shout that, but it’s true. I want to train you to hinge properly. I want to take away the fear of bending over and picking something up off the ground, something you are bound to do on an everyday basis. So what makes the trap bar deadlift different? Let’s break it down:

1. You have no bar blocking your shins, which is a saving grace for longer-legged lifters, lifters with back problems, or lifters with mobility restrictions. This allows athletes to “feel the floor” better and drive the ground away rather than pulling the bar up.

2. You're using a neutral grip. That means no mixed grip (which has a high risk of biceps tears) and a posture that more easily engages your upper back and keeps you closer to anatomical position. Since the handles are down by the sides, the weight is more toward the center off mass taking stress off the lower back. That's huge.

3. You get to pull from a slightly higher point (at least when you go high-handle). This decreases the demand for hip mobility and ribcage mechanics. You get to deadlift from a higher point.

If you have been avoiding deadlifts because you throw your back out every time you do it, you should give the trap bar a try. They are probably collecting dust at your local gym, or can be purchased on Amazon for around $100 (they are well worth the investment).

If you are dealing with lower back issues and are afraid to deadlift, I am here to help. Click the link below to book a free assessment today and let’s get you moving toward the best version of you!