Call me old-fashioned, but shouldn’t someone promising results of some kind put his money where his mouth is? Why don’t personal trainers guaranty money-back results? Why don’t gyms guaranty money-back results? Oh, because it’s your fault? Riiiight…
In case you missed me…a brand new season of Workout from Within with Jeff Halevy was announced today. The season premiere is on January 5th at 8am (so flip over there for half an hour, then you can go back to The Today Show). On the season premiere, “Heart Rate Reboot,” I’ll be talking all about heart health with guests celebrity trainer Lacey Stone and healthy-eating advocate Alexandra Jamieson.
I recently threw a quick compilation of some very basic t-spine (thoracic spine) and hip mobility drills, that I had actually shot for a client with chronic back pain, up on Instagram. In my opinion, the basics should be the base of any program. Fancy, exotic stuff is fun…but like that fancy, exotic one-nighter you had in Thailand…what can be fun for a moment can burn for you a lifetime. But I digress… Based on the IG response, I figured I’d post a quick overview of how to perform these (and hopefully get you or your client out of pain, and moving better!):
If you’re any good at math, there are four drills covered here (I counted five, but I live my life in single, triple, and five-land…powerlifting problems).
1. Leg-lock Glute Bridge, (upper left corner above). It doesn’t get more basic than this. For many beginners or those who have recently recovered from an injury, flat on the ground is a great position to begin movement. This move gets the glute going (hip extension) while stretching it’s antagonist, the psoas (hip flexion). As almost everyone reading this probably knows, the psoas is one of those both commonly and chronically shortened muscles in both athletes and desk jockeys alike. To perform this exercise, lay on the ground with knees bent. Then pick up one knee and hug it tightly to your midsection. Brace your midsection and press through the foot on the floor to raise yourself up. Pause, then lower yourself. I suggest repeating this for 5-8 reps on each side 2-3 times around.
2. Half-kneeling Hip Stretch, (upper right corner above). This move is very similar to the first. And in fact is great when done sequentially following the Leg-lock Glute Bridge. To perform this one, start in a half-kneeling position (like a lunge), with both knees angled at 90deg or so. Get “tall” and take a deep abdominal breath. While pressing into the top of the lead knee, causing the abs to brace, glide forward while remaining tall (e.g. not bending forward, and keeping the hips and knees moving together simultaneously). Pause for a moment, return, reset and repeat. Same advice here on number of sets and reps per side.
3. Prone Thoracic Extension, (lower left corner above). The thoracic spine is another area that desk jockeys and athletes could both give some more love. Much like the “Sphinx Pose” in yoga, this exercise will target mobility in your upper back — an oft-neglected area that can quickly lead to both shoulder and lower back injuries, particularly if a poorly moving t-spine is paired with overhead pressing movements. To perform the Prone Thoracic Extension, lay on your belly and place your elbows just slightly above/ahead of your shoulders. Pack your chin (i.e. give yourself a “double-chin” — hey, better from this than from your Bacon of the Month Club subscription), take a deep breath in, then begin pulling the ground towards you with your elbows as you arch up, while keeping your belly on the floor (which, if you do have a Bacon of the Month Club subscription, should be fairly easy). Pause for a moment, reset and repeat. Be sure not to look up and alter your neck position. Same ideas as above here; 5-8 slow, controlled reps for two sets should do the trick.
4. Segmental Thoracic Extension on Foam Roller, (lower right corner above). This one may look like the easiest of these four exercise, but oh, how the eyes deceive! (Ya know, kind of like they did when you were having that fancy, exotic one-nighter in Thailand, but I digress…again.) The key here is keep the ribs down and not extending the neck so that only your thoracic spine is extending. I know this sounds easy, but I assure you it is not — especially the keeping your ribs down part. To perform this exercise, start with a foam roller placed perpendicularly under your mid-back. Brace your head in your hands, pack your chin, and fold your elbows in. Take a deep breath in, and while releasing it (or after you have released it), extend backwards with only the upper back moving. One of the best ways to check your form on this one is to take a video of yourself doing it. If you see your lower back arching and/or your ribs poking out into the air, it means that the extension is coming from your lumbar spine, not your thoracic spine. And if you see your neck extending, well that just means you didn’t read what I wrote. On this exercise, try to move the foam roller up about an inch after each rep until you reach your upper back, just a few inches shy of where your neck begins. I would perform this drill twice around as well.
These exercises can be done as a circuit or individually. They also can be performed between sets of your strength training…though they are best done before you get started.
Hit me up on Twitter with any questions or comments!
And I thought I was easy to find…
After hearing feedback from a bunch of you, here is a definitive list:
Chances are you are doing yoga all wrong. The Big Mac-ification of yoga has left us “going beyond our flexibility” (the Bikram set will get it), dehydrating ourselves worse than my wrestling weight cuts (yoga is hot in India…because it’s hot in India, ahem), and being forced to listen to someone play an accordion while we chant meaningless words (if that’s what you’re into, no offense; God bless you).
So…what’s the “right” way to do yoga? The purpose of yoga itself is to connect breath and body. Period. It is nearly impossible to do so in many of the above formats. It is also nearly impossible to do so when you are “flowing” at light speed. Yoga really wasn’t intended as a workout; it was intended to be a “work-in.” But leave it to the West to make to make it bigger, better, and more intense (today’s WOD: Warrior II, AMRAP for time).
The way yoga was originally intended to be done was slower. It was meant to connect breath with movement. It was meant to give us body awareness; to teach us alignment and control. It was meant to build us up, not break us down.
There are those out there who teach “yoga for athletes” that is meant to match the intensity of an athlete’s training sessions or sport. That is absurd. What athletes really need from yoga is the opposite: the opportunity to take their feet off the “accelerator.” To slow down. To balance. To feed the parasympathetic nervous system (opposite of “fight or flight”), which allows us to recover…and come back stronger. And when done right, this yoga allows us not only to recover better and become stronger, from training sessions (and LIFE), but to also come back moving better.
That being said, I proudly announce the addition of Vital Yoga™ to Halevy Life’s offerings.
Vital Yoga™ is the yoga everyone should be doing, particularly athletes and those who may have left-right asymmetries, flexibility/mobility restrictions or current/past injuries. Vital Yoga™ is a slower and gentler yoga form of yoga, with a focus on form, alignment and breathing, that helps rebalance, rejuvenate and restore the body.
We’re kicking off with two weekly classes at Halevy Life at 6:00pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting 11/18. To claim your spot, click here now for a package OR here for a single session.
Oh the lovely sights and smells of a morning commute on public transportation! But who would’ve thought that bus ride might actually shrink your belly? Well, science says so. Read more about it in my latest article for US News and World Report.
Check out this video I did for Self.com for a quick, fun, total-body workout using only the treadmill!
Here’s a fantastic guest post from Halevy Life Staff Coach Jake Roswell:
Alright guys, let’s get one thing straight. It is absolutely asinine (no pun intended) to think that everybody should squat to depth with the same stance. Some have been genetically blessed with squatting hips where they can stand with their feet shoulder width apart, touch their ass to their calves and stand back up, and then there are those of us (yes that means me too), who aren’t that lucky and want to beat the shit out of the aforementioned.
When first told that I was doing a “butt wink” in my squat, I wondered, “What is this butt wink B.S.? Who would come up with such a term?” The only wink I know is the one our business affairs guy gives to the good looking lady at the water fountain. So how is it possible to wink with my butt? Actually, I just asked, I didn’t really want to consider the options for what the creepy bald stranger behind me was saying.
I eventually learned that Butt wink is a term used for excessive posterior pelvic tilt at the bottom of a squat. Think of your pelvis as a bowl full of water. You’re holding the bowl evenly (standing vertical) resulting in no spillage. The instant you tilt the bowl backwards, water is spilling out of the back and the bottom of the bowl is facing forward, also known as posterior pelvic tilt. You may hear terms such as “ass to grass” or “in the hole”, but from experience, if you cannot do this without excessive lumbar flexion (typically caused by posterior pelvic tilt) then STOP! Butt winking puts added tension onto the backside of the intervertebral discs, which can result in potential disc herniation. Addressing factors contributing as well as prescribing corrective strategies to minimize the occurrence of butt wink is crucial to the prevention of injury and the education of novice lifters.
Butt-wink, stage right!
1) You may hear coaches’ state that the reason you suffer from posterior pelvic tilt is due to tight hamstrings. This may in fact be the case, however, I believe it is a lazy prescription to correcting such a complex movement. No I’m not trying to harass you trainers out there, I’m just saying that research has concluded that when squatting, your hamstrings do not stretch as much as you think. Dean Somerset’s article “Butt Wink is Not About the Hamstrings” addresses Lombard’s Paradox, which states, “During a balanced flexion of the knee and hip, no real length change occurs in the hamstrings as well as the rectus femoris”. If there is noticeable lumber flexion early in the squat, it could very well be hamstring tightness. Try stretching, but if there is still no difference in performance then there are different structural limitations other than tight hamstrings.
2) Everyone is different. The anatomical structure of your joints (especially the acetabulum in this case) may limit full range of motion. Some can have deep hip sockets which is the cause of limited range of motion. Do NOT try and force yourself in to the hole. This will result in pelvic tilt and subsequent lower back pain as well as discomfort at the hip. There are however ways to work around it. The first can be the beloved kettlebell or dumbbell goblet squat. This will allow you to get low into a squat by maintaining correct lumbar position while hitting depth without any complications as opposed to a back squat. Secondly, try a wider stance in your squat with your feet pointed out more than 45 degrees. When pointing your toes out it allows your femoral head to rotate properly within the acetabulum. Posterior movement of your hips in this position puts your spine into a more neutral position, limiting pelvic tilt. A narrower stance requires a greater range of motion to parallel. To hit depth, for some, the tucking of the lumbar spine is required to get “ass to grass”. Hip mobility becomes more of a factor in this type of squat. The wide movement exhibits greater hip flexion and less plantar flexion which trains the hips on all three planes of motion. To increase hip mobility, try the tactical frog stretch.
3) As stated before, excessive posterior pelvic tilt is a huge detriment to the lower back resulting in possible disc herniation. Another way to control that is to brace the core and activating the glutes. To brace the core breathe into your stomach then your chest, this stabilizes the core anteriorly and posteriorly (front and back). Think of breathing in through the bottom and getting a “fat stomach”. Also, motor control is imperative. You must activate the glutes throughout your squat. Spread and grab the floor with your feet. When activating your glutes during your lift, you are allowing space for a deep squat by relieving pressure off your hip flexors. Both of these concepts control hip rotation and when relaxing in one or both of these areas may result in butt wink.
Yes, I can admit that I have fallen victim to butt wink, consequently resulting in injury. Excessive posterior tilt had me out of the squatting game for 2 weeks. I was able to correct this however, through corrective exercises such as the dumbbell goblet squat explained above. If you have high hopes for the squat then you better check your ego at the door.
Being a better squatter is more efficient than being a bigger squatter. Work the movement pattern, increase your range of motion incrementally, and set yourself up for some serious gains. Hit me up with questions/comments on Twitter: @jroswell3
“Suck. It. In.”
The perfect message to those espousing the benefits of somehow “training” your waist to be slimmer. Waist training would be better labeled “waste training” — since all your so-called “training” is an utter waste of time and money (kind of like crunches, Tracy Anderson-anything, you know…).
Check out this article for more on this God-awful trend: KIM KARDSHIAN WORKOUT IS NOW WAIST TRAINING
I cannot believe my last post wasn’t since May!
Welp, been crazy busy locking in Halevy Life’s brand new 6,000 square foot location at 212 East 57th Street…just 100 feet away from Whole Foods. The place is sick: it’s a bi-level ground floor space with 17 foot ceilings, marble floors…absolutely beautiful. So there’s that. And I’ve also been focused on driving my deadlift up to the 600lb mark. I just pulled 545 today, and had it been a competition, probably could’ve eked out 555.
So what has been my trick to ramping that number up from around 515 in May? Three things: heavy sub-maximal work at least once/week; deficits (from 2″); rack pulls; and back squatting three times per week. Did I just say squatting three times a week!? Yes. And relatively heavy — talking 3-5rep range for 1-3 sets. Not exactly Smolov, but Smolov inspired.
My first 6-week training block had some pretty heavy rack pulls after pulling from the floor (starting at the deadlift work weight for that day), followed by a single work set of 3-5 reps on the squat. Three days later I added a set of the same reps at the same weight, and the day after (YES, THE DAY AFTER), I added either one more work set OR took the weight up and/or reps up (same weight) or down (heavier weight).
The frequent squatting continued into my second 6-week period, but rack pulls were replaced by deficits after pulls from the floor.
I’ve got a USAPL meet in October, right around our Halevy Life’s new location opening, so the next six-week block will be key. (And I’ll try not to disappear for so long again!)
Here are some recent pulls:
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