I never thought I’d have to tell people to keep their head on the bench during the bench press. That is, until it became a thing. Now every powerlifting meet I go to (besides USAPL and IPF where head lifting isn’t allowed), I see lots of lifters pulling their head off the bench to watch the …
Technique Tuesday: Head Position During the Bench Press Read More »
We use the Heiden with most of our athletes at Cressey Sports Performance because everyone needs to be explosive in the frontal plane (i.e. side-to-side). But what’s most important is being able to decelerate laterally to cut and change directions effectively. An athlete who can’t decelerate is like a car with no brakes; it doesn’t …
Kettlebell swings are the best. They’ve got a place in nearly any program for any goal. I’ve talked about them before (here and here), but figured I’d dedicate this Technique Tuesday to fixing the “squat swing”. Sometimes you see lifters do their kettlebell swings with too much knee motion in relation to their hips. Check out …
Technique Tuesday: 2 More Tips for Better Kettlebell Swings Read More »
Chances are if you’ve trained hard for any period of time, you’ve done a push-up and experienced pain or discomfort in your wrists, elbows or shoulders. That’s not surprising since you’re asking some relatively small joints to support a lot of weight. Luckily, we’ve got a few variations to help ease the pain. Check out this …
Technique Tuesday: Push-Up Variations for Cranky Wrists, Elbows and Shoulders Read More »
We train mostly baseball players at Cressey Sports Performance, so I’m designing a lot of in-season training programs lately. Our primary goal for in-season athletes is to optimize recovery while still maintaining a training effect (i.e. don’t make them tired but don’t let them get weaker), which takes careful exercise selection. This week’s Technique Tuesday talks …
Technique Tuesday: Exercise Selection for In-Season Training Read More »
The rotational med ball scoop toss is a staple exercise for our CSP athletes because it develops power in the transverse plane to help our guys and gals throw harder and hit bombs at the plate. And while many of these athletes succeed because of superb hand-eye coordination, they need to learn to use their …
Technique Tuesday: Coaching Hip Rotation During the Med Ball Scoop Toss Read More »
Scapular position during pressing exercises is crucial for strength and shoulder health. Should your scaps stay locked in one position? Should they move around? Some of both? The answer depends on what pressing exercise you’re doing. There are some crucial differences between barbell/dumbbell presses and push-ups, landmine presses, etc. This week’s Technique Tuesday explains. …
Technique Tuesday: Scapular Position During Pressing Exercises Read More »
Lightning Deadlifts are one of my favorite drills to build explosive bar speed off the floor. It combines accommodating resistance (i.e. the weight gets heavier toward lockout) and post-activation potentiation (i.e. the second rep is lighter so you can lift faster), so it utilizes two excellent means of improving bar speed. If you’ve got chains and some …
Technique Tuesday: Lightning Deadlifts for Explosive Bar Speed Read More »
The glutes play a vital role in a proper squat. They’re involved in extension, external rotation and internal rotation of the hip, all of which happen at some point during the squat. They also posteriorly tilt the pelvis, which is what happens when you “squeeze” your glutes. I used to cue this for lifters all …
Technique Tuesday: How to Use Your Glutes During the Squat Setup Read More »
We use the wall ankle mobilization drill all the time to help athletes improve ankle dorsiflexion. You need solid ankle mobility for pretty much any athletic endeavor, so this exercise is a mainstay in many of our warm-up routines. You’ll see one crucial mistake made over and over to “cheat” the wall ankle mobilization, and this …
Technique Tuesday: Troubleshooting the Wall Ankle Mobilization Read More »
