The Rotater: Review

Shoulder injuries are common in any sport. Whether it's powerlifting, baseball, football... you name it.

Enter: The Rotater

The Rotater's creator is Scott Kay. After several motorcycle racing accidents and three shoulder surgeries, Scott came up with this.

This device can be used for stretching (both internally and externally) and even strengthening. By attaching the strong arm kit, you can also perform internal and external strengthening exercises.

I've been using it for the past week and I love the strengthening part of it. I use it as a warm-up on my upper body days. Personally, I've never had tight shoulders, but I can definitely see how this can stretch and alleviate some of those tight spots.

This is a great tool to be used in conjunction with your physical therapy program. It allows you, the patient, to stretch at home and strengthen when you need to. Check out the Rotater's blog for more info on shoulder rehab and performance. You can also follow him on Twitter @TheRotater.

Be Strong,

Julia

The Tao of B - A Short Book review

I will start by saying you should have this book in your library. Glen " Power B" Buechlein is a great story teller and enjoys his fair share of hard work. I would generally consider Power B a bench press specialist but he offers much more than that. His wit and humor makes this a very easy read and also provides a number of different ways to torture your body into submission.

Here are a few things he covers.

* Bench Press technique

* Max Effort Training

* Repetition work (some really different ideas on this one!)

* Triceps/Lockout work (Triceps Death, Beekers, Triceps Death variations, etc.)

* 10 week training program for the bench press

* Insane training for the back

* Strongman training

* Conditioning work that you have never thought of or seen

* Odd lift training

* Bench Press challenges

* Kettlebell challenges


My training partners and I have put into practice a few ideas from this book and they will be staples in our program for a long time to come. If you enjoy pushing yourself physically and mentally through workouts, or need some different ideas for training, it's a great book. This is for sale at Elitefts.com in e-book version or hardcopy.

If you are not sold yet here are a few other articles by Power B to get you started. Some of the articles are also in the book so you will get an idea of what you are getting.


The Voyeur

Keepers and Thowbacks

The Glass is Half Full

Just Do It

Digit Ratios and a Predisposition to Strength

Pop goes the Weasel

Beserker Workouts

Wanted


If you do pick up the book or have read it before, leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Julia's Bench Meet

Julia competed in a bench meet this past weekend.

Opened with 215.
Took 240 on a second- missed.
Took 240 again on a third and got it.

Update

We were gone on vacation for a bit, hence, the lack of posting.

Julia has a bench meet coming up August 1st. Her first meet since April of '08. 6 months post-pregnancy too!

Matt is training for a full meet in October. Training is going well for him and he's been experimenting with some different things.

Interview with Julia at The Training Talk

Julia recently did an interview with Rick Hochfeld over at The Training Talk. Take a moment to head over there and check it out.

Coaching Cues: Squeeze the Bar

Some of the things I see in the weight room amaze me. Especially this one - when bench pressing, the athlete's fingers will actually begin to open up as they press the bar. What? Yeah, I don't get it either, but it happens. Little do they realize that by actually squeezing the bar harder it will help them lift more.

Make sure the athlete has a good grip on the bar. By that, I mean that the bar should be set in the palm of the hand, closer to the wrist, not up by the knuckles or fingers. If the bar is up by the knuckles, then it bends the wrist back. Also, try instructing the athlete to use a closed grip, not a thumb-less grip. Some of us more advanced lifters can get away with using a thumb-less grip. Heck sometimes I switch back and forth. But for my athletes, I make it a point to have them keep their thumbs around the bar. This forces them to squeeze the bar. As the weight gets heavier and you can see that they are starting to struggle, instruct them to squeeze the bar. Hearing that cue mid-lift will help them to realize that they might be loosening their grip.

So, SQUEEZE THE BAR. Try this cue and let me know how it works for you or your athletes.

Mobility Madness

Prior to having 2 kids, I was very diligent with my mobility work, doing it before every workout and having minimal problems. Since having kids, my mobility work has been pushed to the side. My workouts are sporadic and sometimes cut short, so I find myself skipping the mobility part. Bad on my end.

A good friend of mine, Mike Roberston, has a series of awesome products that feature mobility and how the lack of mobility is a serious problem to athletes, powerlifters and recreational lifters alike.

I've just recently made it a point to get back into the swing of doing it on a regular basis and I can honestly already start to feel a difference. I'm nowhere near where I was before, but it's getting better. My routine includes many of the exercises featured here in Mike and Eric Cressey's DVD Magnificent Mobility.

If you haven't seen it before, I highly suggest you check it out. If you aren't sure what kind of warm-ups you should be doing prior to or post workout, then, yes, you need to check it out. If you are sitting there saying, Ehh, I don't need that, then yes, you too, need to check it out. You won't regret it. Mobility, especially for athletes, is such an overlooked part of training, but it's so important and can really reduce the amount of injuries they have. It really is important. Do not leave this portion of your athletes' training out!