It’s actually been a busy week and I’ve been better about blogging. Here are a few posts you may have missed.

Shoulder-Friendly Core Exercise

My Current Training

Great Injury Resource

I also want to remind you that today is the last day to pick up Dean Somerset’s Post Rehab Essentials 2.0 while it’s still on sale. This is a great injury resource (see above post) so definitely check it out before the prices spikes. Read more HERE.

On the video front, I uploaded five new videos this week, including this one of a 3 position split squat iso hold. Good times 

You can find the other videos on my You Tube page if you’re interested.

Now for the best of the rest. Enjoy!

Training With a Bum Hip by Sean Hyson

Evidence Based Practice in Strength and Conditioning by Jim Kielbaso

It Is Time We Ban the Phrase Healthy Fats by Dr. Mike Roussell

Pelvic Arch Design and Load Carrying Capacity by Dean Somerset

5 Strength Training Techniques for Busting Through Plateaus by Nia Shanks

Shooting Down the Nighttime Carb Myth by Nate Miyaki

3 Tips to Help You Stay Fit While Traveling by John Romaniello

Standing External Rotation to Wall by Eric Cressey

Fake It Til You Make It: It’s Not All It’s Cracked Up to Be by Tony Gentilcore

Ways to Squat and Deadlift Around Injuries by Dan Blewett

Grow Ectomorph, Grow by Kasey Esser

Glute Genetics by Bret Contreras

Do You Need Corrective Exercise? by Dean Somerset

The World’s Best Vegetarian Protein Sources by Chris and Kara Mohr

So Much More by Ross Enamait

My Back Hurts by Todd Bumgardner

Sadistic Strength Methods: Sadiv Sets by Eric Bach

Musings of a Strength Coach by Joe Giandonato

Off Season Hockey Training Programs by Kevin Neeld

The Effect of Reactive Neuromuscular Training on Pitchers by Sam Sturgis

The Painter’s House Is Always the Last One to Be Painted by Tony Gentilcore

That’s all for this week. I hope you enjoyed it.

Let’s connect on Twitter and Facebook. Have a great weekend!

This isn’t a new exercise by any means, but it’s one that I’ve never really done because I’ve usually gravitated towards rollout and/or bodysaw variations.

The normal suspension strap fallout progression is to start with the straps around waist height and extend until your arms are straight overhead. As you improve, you lengthen the straps and extend out further, progressing until the straps almost touch the floor—which resembles the starting position of a standing ab wheel rollout (only the suspension strap version is easier).

There’s certainly nothing wrong with that progression, but one of my clients has a strong core, but he was finding that rollout variations were bugging his shoulder as he extended his arms out way overhead.

To work around that problem, I started having him walk back at the starting position so he begun several feet behind the anchor point of the straps. This makes it makes harder and makes it such that you don’t have to extend your arms out nearly as far to get the same challenge for your core.

Can I get a “Yeah Buddy!” on that?

After watching him do them for a few months and hear him talk about how they were lighting up his abs, I decided to do them that way too. With my own training, I don’t get shoulder pain from rollout variations, but I do find that they can be taxing on the shoulders, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it can be tricky sometimes because I normally do my core work on upper body days so I find that they interfere with my heavy upper body strength work.

Doing them this way takes a ton of stress off the shoulders while actually making it significantly harder for the core. Considering I do fallouts mainly for core and not for shoulders, I now like this way better, and it works better in my training split since I can do them on upper body days without having it mess up my other lifts.

Another plus is that it keeps constant tension on the core. With normal fallouts and rollouts, the core is stressed at extension, but not at the starting point. Here, because you’re starting behind the anchor point, the starting point is still hard. I like to pause on both sides of the rep and hold for a moment.

Here is what it looks like in action. I filmed myself getting into position too so you can see how to set up.

As you can see, there isn’t a whole lot of range of motion at the arms, but trust me, they’ll light your core like crazy if you’re doing them correctly. The further you walk back, that harder it’ll be and the less you’ll need to extend out with your arms. That being said, only walk back to the point where you can still control the movement—meaning you aren’t arching your lower back excessively. If you start to feel them in your lower back, you’re doing it incorrectly. Although it might not look like it, I’m actually doing a pretty advanced version in the video, which is to say a little bit goes a long way.

If regular rollouts and fallouts give you shoulder pain, or if you’re looking for a new way to work the core through anti-extension without fatiguing your upper body, give these a try.

For more videos, remember you can always check out my You Tube page, which I’ve been updating a lot recently.

In line with the joint-friendly idea, remember that Dean Somerset’s Post Rehab Essentials 2.0 is only on sale for a few more days, so definitely check it out while the price is right (check out my write-up here).

And if you missed my post yesterday about My Current Training, check that out as well. Interestingly, it was actually my most viewed post in almost a year in just one day.

So here’s my template for now.

Day 1

Sliding leg curl progression (either sliding leg curls or bodycurls)
Low handle trap bar deadlift
Split squat iso hold finisher (weighted)

I really like doing a sliding leg curl variation prior to deadlifting for a few reasons. I find it’s a good warm-up for deadlifts, and for reasons I can’t explain, my deadlifts just always feel way better after doing sliding leg curls, and my knees also feel better. When I first started using this strategy I’d keep the sliding leg curls very easy, but I’ve started pushing them and doing more advanced progressions and have found that my deadlift numbers don’t suffer at all, which is interesting. I also like doing the sliding leg curls first because after deadlifts I’m smoked and don’t feel like doing much else. I’ll just do an iso hold as a finisher (these are brutal, too) and call it good.

Day 2

Overhead Press
Rows
Landmine Lateral Raises

Face Pulls (sometimes)
Core

Right now I’m trying to improve my overhead press, which is why I’m putting it early in the week. In my previous phase I had it in the second upper body day with the bench press being early in the week.

Day 3

RDL (either split stance, bilateral, or single leg)
Single leg hip thrusts
Rows and/or chin-ups
Heavy reverse sled drags

Day 4

Low incline bench press
Chin-ups
Landmine Lateral Raises
Core
Split Squat Iso Holds (bodyweight). I’ll do these between sets of upper body

Day 5

This is a free day. I’ll either skip this workout or do whatever I feel like doing that day.

This is the basic gist of what I’m doing for now. Sometimes I’ll add or subtract something depending on how I’m feeling (for example, I may add sleds at the end of some workouts or skip an exercise if I’m feeling particularly smoked), but for those of you that have expressed interest in how I train, this gives a pretty good idea. I don’t like to do a lot of different exercises in one workout and find I do much better picking 2-4 and getting after it. It doesn’t look like much on paper, but I can assure you it ain’t easy.

If you have questions just fire below and I’ll see what I can do.

You can find more exercise demos on my You Tube channel.

Also, don’t forget that Dean Somerset’s Post Rehab Essentials 2.0 is on a big sale through the end of this week, so if you’re interested, now is the time to take a look. It’s been getting a lot of great feedback so far.

You can read more about it in my blog post from yesterday.

That’s one of my biggest passions, and something I spend a lot of my time with.

So when Dean Somerset sent me his new Post Rehab Essentials 2.0 product, I was very interested because that’s the stuff I love learning about.

Dean did not disappoint. Post Rehab Essentials 2.0 is very good. Like the title suggests, it covers how to come back from injuries in a way that makes you feel better and gets you back to performing at a high level.

That’s the real selling point in my mind. A lot of rehab programs are honestly pretty wussy. They’re fine for sedentary folks that don’t demand much from their bodies, but for those of us that still want to perform at a high level, they’re sorely (pun intended) lacking. Dean’s rehab protocols are fine for those folks, but they’re also geared towards the athlete and/or exercise enthusiast, which I like.

This is a follow-up to a prior product (hence the 2.0 in the title) and while I liked the first product, I think this one is significantly better, both in terms of the information presented, and the actual video quality (this is HD). It’s very comprehensive and covers all the major injuries you’ll deal with, plus a lot more.

I get sent a lot of programs to review and rarely do because I’m not very easily impressed, but I definitely recommend you check this out. I think it’s best for personal trainers and strength coaches that work with folks that are banged up, or for more advanced exercise enthusiasts looking for ideas as to how to deal with their bumps and bruises. I probably wouldn’t recommend for complete exercise novices.

You can read more about the product HERE and see exactly which topics it covers to see if it’s something you’re interested in. It’s on sale this week for under 100 bucks, so it’s a great time to check it out.

Have a good week. I hope to be back tomorrow or the next day with a new blog post but it’s been crazy busy at the gym so please bear with me!

First off, here’s a blog you may have missed.

Two Great Training Resources on the Cheap

Remember also that today is the last day to get Eric Cressey’s Show and Go program at half price, so if you’re interested in that I’d jump on it quickly before the price goes back up.

Also, in that blog post I mentioned that I’m taking suggestions for blog post ideas. Some people left ideas in the comments, and I will be addressing them in future blogs, but if you have ideas, let me know.

Same goes for videos. I’m been consistently uploading new videos to my You Tube page (please subscribe!), but if there’s something special you’d like to see, let me know and I’ll see what I can do.

Now for the rest of the list. Enjoy!

Renegade Rule #1 for Building Muscle by Jason Ferruggia. I love this post and it goes right in line with my motto: Can’t go wrong with strong!

Power Clean 2.0 by Wil Fleming

The Secret by Mike Boyle

A 3 Step Approach to Improving Stride Length by Kevin Neeld

Simple Squat Correction by Bret Contreras

The World’s Best Protein Sources by Chris and Kara Mohr

Food Freakshow by Brian St. Pierre

Shooting Down the Nighttime Carb Myth by Nate Miyaki

Don’t Let That Injury Derail You by Shannan Maciejewski

Quick and Easy Ways to Feel and Move Better by Greg Robins

Roman’s Road Rules for Fitness by John Romaniello

Adding Corrective Exercise to Your Large Group Personal Training Program by Steve Long

8 Weeks Out TV with Joel Jamieson

7 Best Foods You’re Not Eating by Chris and Kara Mohr

Interview with Nick Winkelman

The Novelty Workout by Charles Staley

Should Force, Power, and RFD Outputs Be Primary Considerations for Exercise Selection? by Bret Contreras

Hands On Training by Dan John

The Key to Your Education by Mike Boyle

Should You Use Scale Weight As a Measure of Success? by Tony Gentilcore

Caveat Emptor by Rob Panariello

Make the Most of Your Circumstances by Ross Enamait

4 Maxims for Squatting Excellence by Dan Blewett

The Magic of Cluster Sets by Todd Bumgardner

7 Movements for Mass by Jesse Irizarry

Effective Group Training for Women by Kurt Hessenbruch

Charles Staley shares his training log

Jump With a Purpose by Jesse Irizarry

4 Tips for Managing Your Stress Effectively by Molly Galbraith

How I Transitioned to Fitness Full Time by Molly Galbraith

How I Transitioned to Fitness Full Time Part 2 by Molly Galbraith

How I Transitioned to Fitness Full Time Part 3 by Molly Galbraith

That’ll do it for today. Hope you liked the list.

Let’s connect on Facebook and Twitter before you peace out.

And with that, peace out!

Things are going well though. I’m ok with busy, as long it’s “good” busy.

Last week I was also a little under the weather and actually took a week off from training, which I hate doing, but I know that sometimes it’s necessary. It’s funny, I always seem to come back from a week off stronger, but I still resist taking weeks off.

As usual, I came back stronger, and this has been a great week of training so far. I’m going to be making some minor changes to my program, so if there’s interest I may share those here.

Anyway, the point of today’s post is to alert you to a couple of great resources that I think you’ll like.

Between my own consistent content and my weekly Good Reads, I’ve made it a point to have my blog be a place of learning. Most of this stuff is free, but every once in a while there are paid products that I think are worth bringing to your attention.

1. Eric Cressey’s Show and Go program

I’m often asked for program recommendations and asked when I’m going to write my own training program/book. I would definitely love to do that at some point, but until I have my own program, Show and Go is one of the few that I recommend.

Here is a short interview I did with Eric when it first came out to give you some background about the program.

It’s normally a bit pricey at $147 (though I think it’s well worth the money for what you’re getting), but when I saw that it’s basically half off (77 bucks) this week, I figured I’d mention it here because that’s a total steal.

If you’re looking for a very comprehensive training program, I’d definitely give it a look while the gettin’s good. You can find more about it HERE.

2. StrengthCoach.com

I had a coach come visit me at the gym the other day and somehow the conversation turned to StrengthCoach.com. I’m actually the assistant editor for the site and have been for a few years, but I realize that I rarely mention it here on my blog so not a lot of people know that.

In my (obviously biased) opinion, I think it’s a fantastic resource for coaches and personal trainers, and I try to make a point to mention it here every year or so for my new readers that may not know about it.

We’ve lined up some great content for the summer, which includes programs from a bunch of great strength coaches from a myriad of different sports sharing exactly what they do with their athletes/teams. To me, that’s the real of the site, along with the forum. It’s real coaches talking about what they do, not just some theory.

Strengthcoach.com has a introductory trial that’s dirt cheap (a few bucks) so it’s risk-free. Definitely give it a look. You can check it out HERE.

As a 27 year old coach, I realize that money doesn’t grow on trees, so I’m big on value and bang for your buck. Both of these resources provide that in spades, so I feel good standing behind them.

Hope you’re having a good week, and again, I apologize for my blogging bummery. If you have any questions/topics you’d like me to cover, respond below or shoot me a message and I’ll see if I can do some Q+A style blogs.

Peace out!

I have an awesome day planned with my mom and grandma and it should be fun.

I’m on my way out the door so I won’t blabber on much more.

Here’s a blog post I wrote that you may’ve missed.

Hamstring Bodycurls

And here’s a nice new article I had published on T-Nation

Improve Your Pull Instantly

Now for the best of the rest. Enjoy!

Strength Coach Podcast Episode 123

The Scary Truth About Probiotics by TC Luoma

Sleep: What the Research Actually Says by Sol Orwell and Kurtis Frank

6 Fat Loss Training Mistakes by Craig Rasmussen

7 Reasons to Squat Like a Man by Bret Contreras

Why Shoulder Injury Prevention Programs Are Failing by Tony Gentilcore

My Path Down the Iron Trail by Kyle Matthews

Interview with Kelly Starrett

Gaining Fat to Build Muscle by Brad Pilon

Joint Mechanics: The Shoulder by Joel Jamieson

Rogers Athletic Factory Tour by Jim Kielbaso

15 Lessons from Deadlifting 500 Pounds by Dr. Mike Roussell

Deadlift Cueing and Fixes by Tony Gentilcore

5 Factors for Success by Mike Robertson

Hands On Training by Dan John

Cardio That Doesn’t Kick Your Ass by Sean Hyson

Secrets to Mastering the Squat: Part 2 by Molly Galbraith

6 Best Exercises for Strength by Mike Robertson

1 Arm Bottoms Up Kettlebell Military Press by Eric Cressey

5 Reasons to Join a CSA

Fat Loss for Dudes and Bros by Alwyn Cosgrove

How Not to Teach Someone a New Skill by Dean Somerset

Abs Like a Fighter by Smitty Diesel

Turn Your World Upside Down by Alli McKee

5 Mobility Issues Preventing a Consistent Release Point by Mike Reinold

Core Stability and Pain: Is it time to stop using the word stability to explain pain? by Greg Lehman

Improve Your Squat and Deadlift With This Simple Cue by Jordan Syatt

Stress and Damage Caused by Dieting by Elizabeth Walling

Dreamers by Marshall Johnson

Simple Banana Bread by Colin Richmond

The Truth Behind In-Season Baseball and Softball Training by Dan Blewett

Adding Up to Lower Back Pain by Joe Giandonato

Volleyball In-Season Workout by Mike Guadango

Does the World Need Another Post on Deadlifts? by Jeremy Duvall

That’s it for today. Before you go, please remember to sign up for my free newsletter in the upper right, and let’s on connect on Twitter, Facebook, and You Tube.

Enjoy the rest of the day! I’m off to breakfast.

Today I want to share a progression of the sliding leg curl: the hamstring bodycurl.

With a sliding leg curl you have your shoulders on the floor with your feet on sliders, whereas with the bodycurl, it’s in reverse; you’re feet are on the floor with your shoulders on a sliding surface. This is harder since you have to pull more of your bodyweight.

I didn’t come up with this idea. I got it from Mike Boyle, who I believe got it from Karen Wood, though don’t hold me to that. In any case, it’s a great exercise.

You can do it a number of ways. The easiest is with your shoulders on a slideboard, or a similar slippery surface, with a towel between you and the surface.

If you’re on turf though, you can also put Valslides underneath a plate and create a makeshift slideboard of sorts.

Here’s a video of how it’s done.

Notice that I have some weight vests slung over my hips. That’s to increase the challenge for the glutes (you could also use chains, and I’m progressing towards using a barbell). Done as a bodyweight exercise—which is also great and very challenging in its own right—it stresses more hamstring than glute, but loading the hips increases the challenge for the glutes quite a bit.

To progress bodycurls even further, you can go to doing them one leg at a time. This took me a while to work up to, so be patient. They look pretty innocuous, but I’m telling you right now, they’re brutal.

If you’re looking for ways to progress sliding leg curls and step up your hamstring game, this might be something to try. Have fun!

For more exercise demos you can also subscribe to my You Tube page, which I update frequently.

But first, I want to remind those of you who don’t already subscribe to my free newsletter (sign up to the right) to please do so. I’ve been a little better about sending out regular updates, so that’s a good way to stay in the loop.

Moving on.

Here’s a blog you may have missed from Thursday. Definitely watch this video.

Awesome Pushup Display

I also uploaded so new training videos of my own on my You Tube page, so check those out and subscribe to my channel.

In book news, Man 2.0 Engineering the Alpha: A Real World Guide to an Unreal Life by John Romaniello and Adam Bornstein debuted on the New York Times Bestseller list, so that’s pretty freakin’ sweet. Check it out if you haven’t done so already.

Now for the best of the rest. Enjoy!

Static Stretching Is Not Evil by Greg Lehman

Cardio That DOESN’T Kick Your Ass by Sean Hyson

Interview with Will Hitzelberger

The Sway Back Equation by Tony Gentilcore

5 Quick and Easy Ways to Improve Your Posture by Eric Cressey

Intermittent Fasting FAQ from John Romaniello

10 Valuable Things I’ve Learned from the Strength and Conditioning Industry by Derrick Blanton

How to Do Sumo Deadlifts by Bret Contreras

You Should Be Doing Face Pulls by Bryan Krahn

5 Ways to Avoid Boredom in Your Program by Eric Cressey

Kids Just Need Play by Mike Boyle

In-Season vs. Off-Season Considerations and Programming For Rugby by Ashley Jones

The Research Meathead by Jonathan Mike

Staying Motivated by Joellyn Mcatee

Make Deliberate Choices by Ross Enamait

Smart Training vs. Hard Training: Snatch Complex by Wil Fleming

5 Life Stressors That Are Affecting Your Training by Mike Robertson

Charles Staley shares his training log

Fitcast Interview with Nia Shanks

Fitcast Interview with Molly Galbraith

6 Truths About Squats by Lee Boyce

A Simple Way to Grow Legs by Tony Gentilcore

Westside for Fat Bastards by John Gaglione

Stop Doing Corrective Exercises by Dean Somerset

Exercise You Should Be Doing by Tony Gentilcore

Interview with Ali Porter

Do You Really Want That Cheat Day? by Neghar Fonooni

The Truth About a Healthy Spine Part 1 by Dr. Michael Stare

The Truth About a Healthy Spine Part 2

Breathing Pattern Disorders by Mike Reinold

Foam Rolling and Increased ROM by Patrick Ward

Easy Ways to Completely Avoid Making Progress by Todd Bumgardner

Better Powerlifting by Bodybuilding by Brandon Lilly

Reclaiming Real Strength by Brandon Lilly

Century Sets by John Romaniello

Paleo Frittata Recipe by Ashley Fleming

The Power of Words by Adam Kuehl

How to Fight Aging by Adam Bornstein

20 Surprising Strength Training Benefits by Molly Galbraith

5 Reasons You Should Take Interns by Mike Robertson

Why I Don’t Count Calories, But You Probably Should by Brad Pilon

Is Faster Always Better? by Chad Waterbury

Are You Exercising, Working Out, or Training? by Alwyn Cosgrove

Oh Those Hammies! by Kelsey Reed

That’ll do it. Have a great weekend!

But before you click away, let’s connect on Twitter and Facebook if we don’t already.

This morning my awesome client Julie—45 year-old supermom of three—crushed 25 feet-elevated pushups with great form.

Go Julie!

Pretty darn impressive if you ask me. Julie is such a nice a woman and has been working very hard to get stronger, and it definitely shows. Hard work and consistency really goes a long way.

This really motivates me to step up my pushup game, and I hope it does for you too.

If you know of any women that think they’ll never be able to do good pushups or make excuses to avoid trying to learn them, please share this with them to give them that little extra push they might need.