Gymless Training Blog

When asked to name a skill people will often mention dribbling a football, skiing, shooting a free throw in basketball etc. Rarely will people mention developing strength, but a skill it is. How do you get better at a skill? With regular practice, and strength training is no different. It has to be learned and practised for significant improvements to be made.

What many people don't realise is that you don't need to grow bigger muscles to get stronger. In fact you can increase your strength by a huge % by just fine tuning your nervous system so that your brain is able to activate a greater portion of your muscles fibres at any one time, not only that but it can activate the muscle fibres in a more co-oridnated manner which is conducive to producing greater force. This is not much different to fine tuning your nervous system to successfully perform complex movement patterns that result in the completion of a skill.

To fine tune your motor system and tap into your great resevoirs of potential strength you must practice lifitng weights on a very frequent basis. How frequent? Tune in next week to discover more about this incredibly powerful method of developing super strength.

Last week I mentioned how you can fine tune your nervous system to give you super gains in strength, this week I will describe a strength training method that allows you to take advantage of this phenomenon.

I first read about this Strength Training method when reading the 'Naked Warrior' by Pavel Tsatsouline. In this book Pavel terms this strength tranining method 'Greasing the Groove'.

The quote below sums up well how to approach this strength training method.

"Strength is a skill, Training must be approached as a practice, not a workout. You will practice every day, throughout the day, you will focus on  max tension and you will totally avoid muscle fatigue and failure" Pavel Tsatsouline, Naked Warrior.

To put this into a practical context; say you were looking to improve your strength at pull ups. You would need to 'practice the skill' of doing pull ups on a frequent basis throughtout each day. This means doing multiple sets of pull ups over the course of a day, with the key being never training to failure. For example, if you can do 10 pull ups easiliy then aim to do 5 sets or more  of 5 reps over the course of a whole day. How do you do this, well if you have a chin up bar at home every time you walk past it stop and do a set of 5 reps. This constant practice of a movement pattern reinforces strong neural links between the brain and the muscle. As a result you become super efficeint at performing the movement, your brain is able to activate a larger portion of the neceassary muscle fibres in a more coordinated manner which leads to massive increases in force production. Bear in mind that many untrained individuals are only able to tap into about 20% of their max strength potential. There is really massive scope for improvement in most people, and this has nothing to do with growing big bodybuilder esque muscles either.

I can vouch for the effectiveness of this training method as I saw my pull up numbers sky rocket to 25 consectuve pull ups after using this method at a gym where I worked a while back. Every time I walked past the chin up bar I would do a quick set of 8-12reps and then move on. It worked wonders. Obviously pull ups are not the only move this can apply to, other ones that work well are;

• Deadlifts - if you have a loaded bar in your garage, head out to lift it every hour or two.
• One Arm Push Ups - You can do this anywhere anytime
• Kettlebell Military Presses
• Any other move........

I realise that this is not the most practical method for people stuck in an office all day or for those who don't have any fitness equipment at home, however if you don't fall into these catergories give this strength method a shot and you will be amazed at the results.

If you have any question/comments regarding this post it would be great to hear from you. Please get in touch using the "comments" link below and I shall aim to get back to you ASAP

Alistair Ramsay
BSc Applied Sports Science
Personal Trainer London

Whilst not an exact science, the ability to overhead squat effectively is a very strong indicator of overall mobility as it simultaneously places both the legs and arms in a maximum range of motion away from their anatomical resting positions.

Check out the video demo on how to perform the assessment/movement correctly;

Overhead Squat Video

The point of this article is to highlight weak and/or tight muscles that might be causing restrictions when you perform the movement. By discovering these tight/weak areas you can get a good idea of the areas you need to work on to enhance your overall mobility. Enhanced mobility is very important as not only will it drastically reduce your likelihood of picking up an injury but it will also allow you to make more impressive strength and performance gains.

The following table describes probable faulty movement patterns that might occur when you perform the overhead squatting movement along with potential causes of this fault.

Watch the video above then work through the overhead squat yourself making a note of what happens at each of your joints. Once completed check the faults you came up with against the table below and you can get a good idea of what muscles you need to work on (either lengthening or strengthening) in order to correct that fault and thus improve your mobility.

• Disrupted respiration of cells, which eventually leads to degenerative disease
• Produces an excessive acidic environment in the body which contributes to weakened bones and teeth
• Expanded liver due to excess glycogen storage
• Excess glycogen (once liver is maxed out) is then converted to fat and stored around the body (think belly, bum, thighs)
• Excess glycogen converted to fat is also distributed amongst our organs reducing their ability to function correctly
• High Blood Pressure
• Negatively effects your sleep patterns
• Quick increases in blood sugar lead to a rapid release of insulin, which reduces blood sugar but to such an extent that you get a blood sugar crash (no energy). The body responds by releasing cortisol (stress hormone) which helps release stored glycogen from the liver once gain drastically increasing blood sugar. What happens next? The high blood sugar stimulates the release of more insulin and the whole cycle starts again!!. This hormonal roller coaster is very unhealthy and will cause you to put on weight and over time become insulin resistant. This is the first stage towards becoming a diabetic.  

• Processed foods
• Junk Food
• Fizzy drinks and fruit juice
• Sweets
• Chocolate Bars
  
• Sugary deserts
• Muffins and Pastries
• Sugary Breakfast Cereals
  
• Those spoons of sugar you take with your coffee or tea

• Raises body temperature leading to increased to flexibility and performance Increases heart and breathing rates and therefore the levels of oxygen available in the body
• Fires up the nervous system so that coordination and exercise technique are improved
• Provides lubrication of the joints to decrease wear & tear Improves mobility and posture
• Enhances resilience to injuries

• Ankle Rolls
• Ankle Wall Drill
• Heel Flicks
• High Knees
• Forward Backward Leg Swings
• Side to Side Leg Swings
• Fire Hydrants
• Glute Bridges
• Lizard
• Dynamic Hip Flexor Stretch

• Trunk Rotations
• Side Bends
• Spine Mobilising
• Mckenzie Press Ups
• Floor/Wall Angels
• Shoulder Circles
• Scap Push Ups
• Shoulder Dislocates
• Egyptians
• Forward/Reverse Claps

• 10 x Bodyweight Squats
• 10 x Waitors Bow
• 10 x Overhead Lunge
• 10 x Twist Press Ups
• 10 x SOTS Press
• 10 x Cossack Squats
• 10 x Press Ups

• Keep your heart rate elevated so that waste products produced by the muscles during your training can be flushed out the system effectively
• Restore optimum length to your muscles – strength training will tend to tighten and shorten muscles so it is important to restore them to optimum length or you will eventually suffer from posture related issues. Look at the rounded shoulders of many bench press junkies if you want some evidence
• Help increase blood flow back to the heart. Muscle contractions act as a pump aiding the return of blood to the heart. Without it the heart has to work extra hard to pump the required amount of blood around the body (remember after intense exercise your body will be in oxygen debt and your heart will have to continue to work hard in order to return the body to its resting levels). This is a strain it could do without after a hard training session so help it out by following a good cool down.
• Reduce recovery time between training sessions

Mobility refers to your body’s ability to move freely and without restrictions through full ranges of motion. It is commonly confused with flexibility, however there are some important differences.

Flexibility refers to the ability of a muscle or muscle group to extend. Mobility refers to the range of motion achievable over a joint or multiple joints. Whilst having a great level of flexibility will almost always help create an environment for excellent mobility it is not the only element in the equation.

Stability is another important factor, if your stabilising muscles cannot support you as you move through a movement you will not be able to achieve a full range of motion - this means reduced mobility.

If you have poor mobility you will find simple primal movements like squatting, lunging, overhead pressing a struggle. You will also be far more susceptible to chronic injuries through likely muscle imbalances and compensations.

So we now know mobility is the product of flexibility and stability and describes the range of motion you are able to achieve across one or multiple joints. Lets move on to discuss some effective strategies you can use to enhance your overall mobility.

Dynamic Stretching

Dynamic stretching consists of controlled movements that take you to the limits of your range of motion but not beyond. An example would be anterior/posterior leg swings or walking lunges to stretch the hip flexors.

Static Stretching

Static stretching can be broken down into various sub categories (passive stretching, PNF stretching etc) but all categories are composed of various techniques that gradually lengthen a muscle to an elongated position where the muscle is held for a set period of time (normally around 10-60seconds).

The Sports Science world is full of critics of static stretching. Some say it is actually detrimental to human performance. Many others will argue the exact opposite. From my personal experience I have found static stretching to be a huge help in my mobility training. It is also very relaxing and calming.

Soft Tissue Quality

Removing triggers points, adhesions and scar tissue in your muscles allows your muscle to function optimally. A good analogy is to imagine an elastic band with a knot in it. When the band is stretched, greater tension occurs either side of the knot and the band will not stretch to its optimal length. The same thing happens in your muscles when you are riddled with knots, trigger points and scar tissue. To eradicate these problems you can see an ART Practioner or other Deep Tissue Massage Therapist. Whilst very effective this can get quite expensive. The more economical route to go down is performing some self myofascial release techniques on yourself with a foam roller or other related equipment.

Enhancing your stability

Enhanced Stability is created by a) strengthening your stabilising muscles and b) improving muscular co-ordination. This latter point is important, without the supporting muscles firing in the right order and continuing to adjust as you move through a movement such as a squat you will struggle to provide adequate stability no matter how strong the individual supporting muscles are. Practicing movements is the best way to improve your muscular co-ordination.

Hope these ideas have got you thinking about the various methods you can use to help enhance your mobility. The ability to move freely and fluidly is something we all take for granted as youngsters but is one of the first things to vanish as we age. In my eyes mobility training is one of the most important elements you can put into your training program. It will help create a life of pain free, unrestricted movement, few things are more precious than that!

• A big decrease in your susceptibility to various forms of cancer (particularly colon cancer)
• Reduces acne and produces healthier skin
• Helps fight fatigue
• Helps prevents birth defects such as spina bifida

• High volume (many reps)
• High intensity (heavy weight)