S B Coaches College - 10 Things I Used to Think Were True




		10 Things I Used to Think Were True *Michael Boyle, MA, ATC* Share \|

I am certain of only one thing. I will never be certain about anything again. I’m known for being opinionated. What I am doing at the time is always what I think is best for my athletes or clients. With that said, I am often criticized for changing as the research or information available changes. Sounds like I have multiple personality disorder or some other personality defect. Not sure if I do but, ADD is a strong possibility. With that in mind I want to go over ten things I used to think were true.

I used to think that deadlifts were for powerlifters ( remember when you write your criticism that I am former powerlifter). This is a huge victory for Eric Cressey as Eric thinks deadlifts might cure a number of infectious diseases. On a serious note, I have come to appreciate deadlifts again and believe if they are performed correctly they may potentially have greater value than squats due to the increased upper back demand and greater posterior chain contribution. With that said, I hate poorly performed deadlifts. Think technical failure, a term coined by Charles Poliquin. When the back is no longer flat, the set is over. Period, end of story. I prefer the Trap Bar or Hex Bar as it really makes the lift simple. And, for the record yes I am aware that the writers of Starting Strength don’t like Trap Bars. My next article will deal with only deadlifts.

I used to think that everyone needed to squat. Now I think everyone needs to bend their knees. I actually think many of the single leg variations are better for beginners. We have actually adopted the practice of working on single leg strength and squat mobility simultaneously in our programs. Many of our beginner athletes are limited more by squat technique than by lower body strength. We have not found it uncommon to have an athlete who can use the same weight for single leg squat variations ( split position) as front squats.

I used to think chin-ups ( vertical pulls) were more important than rows ( horizontal pulls). Education is a wonderful thing. I now think most people are way too upper trap dominant and need to row more. We actually are getting back to teaching the One arm Dumbbell Row, which has become a little bit of a lost art.

I used to think that kettlebells were just another gimmick that would come and go. I still think kettlebell-only training is not perfect but, the tool is here to stay. Kettlebells have a few weaknesses ( 8.8 lb jumps is one) but, they really improve certain exercises like one leg straight leg deadlifts.

I used to think the burning in your legs after a high rep set or an interval session was caused by lactic acid. Now my exercise physiologist friends tell me they don’t know what it is. The exercise physiology field is now in a state of confusion on the whole “lactate/ lactic acid” thing.

I also used to think that the point at which you started to breath really heavy during interval training was the lactate threshold or the anaerobic threshold. Now its called the ventilatory threshold because they think it has nothing to do with lactate or lactic acid. More confusion. Isn’t it great that we now know that intense exercise makes you breath heavy. Thank god for science.

I used to think that all knee problems were caused by a weak glute medius. Now I think that both the glute medius and adductors are at fault. Check an athlete with knee pain. Chances are you’ll find trigger points all along the iliac crest rim as well in the adductors. The funny thing is they will complain of knee pain. What I’ve also realized is that muscle pain tends to show up in the tendons first. It’s not until you palpate that you realize the “trigger” is in the muscle. We use what I call the “band around the neck” analogy. Take a band and place it around a friends neck ( sort of like a necktie). Now pull gently. Note that where you feel the pull ( back of the head) and where the pull is coming from ( in front of you) are opposite. Just remember, where you feel and it and what is causing the feeling can be a few feet apart.

I used to think ab wheels were a really stupid piece of exercise equipment and could cause injuries. Now I think they are the key to core training. (Anterior Core Training)

I used to think that everyone should be doing situps or crunches. Now I’m not sure if anyone should be doing crunches. Stuart McGill’s work is pretty compelling. Want to make a disk explode, just keep flexing the spine.

I used to think lunges were a waste of time exercise or worse, an exercise that only women did. Now I think that they are an advanced exercise that you should never do with beginners. Beginners should always start with split squats ( what we call a static supported exercise) and progress to the dynamic version, the lunge. The key is to establish the pattern (the mobility) before having to create a dynamic switch from eccentric to concentric.

My friend Alwyn Cosgrove is fond of saying that research is sports history. Researchers study what is currently being done to find out why it works. We need to keep looking at research but, we can’t get too caught up in truths. Remember that we once believed the world was flat and that Nautilus machines were the future of strength training.

Michael Boyle is one of the worlds foremost experts in strength and conditioning and the editor of strengthcoach.com, a website exclusively devoted to performance enhancement.