PERSONAL TRAINERS: Correcting the Front Rack

PERSONAL TRAINERS: Do you know how to get your client from photo A to photo B? Would you just keep saying ‘elbows up’ or would you prescribe a series of mobility exercises and coaching cues to help correct the positioning?

 The front squat is a critical movement to your client’s mobility, stability and gross motor control; if you can’t get a client in to a front squat then how can you prescribe any other myriad of movements that require a structural organization of the hips, spine and shoulders? Such examples include: polymeric movements like jumps or sprints and Olympic lifts such as the clean and jerk or snatch.

In this case; the client already has a considerable volume of training behind her, she had demonstrated her ability to back and overhead squat so from an ankle, hip, lumber point of view there was nothing to worry about. However, clearly there are issues with shoulder and thoracic mobility that need to be corrected before she can move on to heavy front squats or cleans.

We went through a basic 3 stage process: 

• 1: Passive stretches, where we overloaded the bar and let her get in to position and stretch the shoulder 

• 2: myofascial release of the Triceps and Lat insertion to allow the humerus bone a greater ROM. 

• 3: PNF stretch in the front rack position.

You can see here; working from the least aggressive, to the most aggressive modality of muscular release and checking the position after each stage resulted in a considerable improvement to the front rack position.

PERSONAL TRAINERS: Jack-of-all-Trades, Master-of-None Mentality.

PERSONAL TRAINERS: There is this vibe at the moment that PT’s MUST have a massive encyclopaedia of exercises and movements for their clients, the motivation for this is pretty obvious; to create an interesting and fun environment for your clients. However, the down side to this is the industry has developed a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none mentality. 

Ask yourself this: If you have a client that cannot perform a correct body weight squat, do you attempt to identify and correct the movement dysfunctions or do you ‘train around the problem’ by prescribing quarter squats or leg press? Are you mind-numbingly placing your client on a treadmill in the hope of ‘results’ or are you assessing their gait mechanics and looking at improving their running efficacy?

Ask yourself another question: Have you ever REALLY maxed out your squats and cleans? And by ‘really’, I don’t mean walking in to the gym one day and going full retard ‘till you miss, I mean taking 8 weeks to develop your own progression and thus develop your own knowledge of the basics.

Consider this: do you feel you have a solid foundation of knowledge of core motor patterns? If a client walks up to you and can’t squat, do you feel you have the knowledge and tools to correct this? What if they are massively heel striking while running, do you think you can get them back on to the forefoot? 

If not, start doing some research; look to guys like DeFranco, Starrett or Cook. 

 

We as an industry have copped enough crap already; the movements you prescribe need to represent a piece in the puzzle – the puzzle of posture and movement. Every time you prescribe a quarter squat, Push-Up on the knees, or bizarre chicken dance on a Bosu you further drive a nail in to the coffin of credibility. It’s time for change!

Applied Post Activation Potentiation (PAP) for Improved Agility and Strength

The basic principle is to incorporate PAP and decision making in to a strength and agility drill.  This will be of benefit to game or match play athletes such as; tennis, football, basketball or martial arts.

Required equipment:

• -          Squat rack

• -          Box or bench approximately 30cm in height 

• -          Training partner or coach

Protocol

• -          Squat 1 rep at 90% of your 1 rep max  

• -          Immediately stand on a box, step off and land on both feet

• -          Training partner is to move to one side

• -          Athlete must make a decision and accelerate to the opposing side  (simulating a play in basketball or football etc)

• -          Repeat 5-8 times with a minimum 2 minute interval 

Please feel free to share this with your friends. However; the normal legal flaptrap applies: this is a GENERIC PROGRAM do not attempted this without first consulting your doctor and cease all activity if you feel pain or any form of medical unrest.

You get the picture

Go train.

Ben

 PDF Download link HERE