When I became a father this year I realized the value of being able to train from home, so I started learning how to train with kettlebells. By wild coincidence, I just so happen to have run into the man who brought kettlebells to America and started a training renaissance- the one and only Pavel, just a few weeks after I made the switch. Of course, I introduced myself and let him know what a big influence his writing was during my high school years.

Since then, I’ve been taking training more seriously and started Pavel’s program, Rite of Passage found in Enter the Kettlebell. The goal of the program is to be able to press a 32k bell overhead, which he jokingly refers to as the Rite of Passage from boyhood to manhood. The program is comprised of four fundamental kettlebell exercises: the clean, press, pull-up and swing.

I set a goal to be able to press a 36k bell (because I don’t have a 32k) and perform 15 strict pull-ups on my birthday which is 2 weeks away. I don’t think it’s going to happen because although I made great progress on the program, as soon as I graduated from a 24k training bell to a 28k kettlebell, (6 weeks into the program) I ran into some problems. I injured my lower rectus abdominis/right hip so I will have to postpone that deadline by about 8 weeks but I’m not mad about it. I’m still going to get there. In the meantime, I’ve set a goal that will help me get there without causing further harm to my body.

My goal is to be able to Z-Press the 20k kettlebell for a set of 5 on each side and do 12 strict pull-ups in 4 weeks. By that time my injury will have healed and I can jump back on a strength cycle to tackle my original goal.

Lately I’ve been doing the Z-Press because it requires me to create a lot of tension and use perfect technique in order to be able to lock out my elbows, and it relieves the stiffness in my adductors, both of which will help me progress in building strength and recover from the muscle strain.

I’ve modified pull-ups and decreased the weight significantly because I progressed this movement too fast my last training cycle and it’s probably the main cause of the injury. Proper pull-ups require excellent core stability and the moment you start to compensate by trying to kip up with your hips you know you’ve progressed too soon. This little energy leak overworks the rectus abdominis, adductors and hip flexors which leads to muscular imbalance and too much load on the front of the hip, groin and lower abdomen. To address this common problem and take load off the injured area I have been performing my pull-ups in a unilateral, split position that makes it easier to maintain a hollowbody position.

To be honest, the injury was also caused from excessive training. At about week 4 into the program I started doing swings on my off days and that was definitely too much too soon. So, this time around I will be more cognizant this time around about what I do on my off days.

Lastly, instead of doing kettlebell swings which require massive adductor contractions, I am doing Farmers Carry which places more stress on the abductors. This movement really strengthens the upper body which I think is going to carry over to the pull-up and press which makes me far less concerned about going backwards in my strength training.

Tomorrow’s training session looks like this:

5 rounds of Z-Press with 16k and bodyweight pull-up in a split position:

Reps: 1,2,3

Do one press on each side, rest, pull-up, rest, two presses on each side, two pull-ups, all the way until 3 and then you start back at 1. Repeat for 5 rounds.

Farmers Carry

Roll a pair of dice and go 100% effort for time.

Why is it important to be able to squat below parallel? There are a few reasons. The one that sticks out in my mind as the most important, is that the ability to squat low, displays control over the stabilizers of the pelvis which include: transverse abdominis, internal and external obliques, pelvic floor, diaphragm, glutes, hamstrings and adductors. Allow me to elaborate on the importance of these muscle groups.

Transverse abdominis, internal and external obliques

These are the muscles surrounding the side of your core and they are generally, woefully, underdeveloped and so the rectus abdominis and lower back tend to overcompensate for their weakness which results in an anterior pelvic tilt. This anterior tilt of the pelvis, gives the midsection a distended look, which is also an inefficient way to stabilize your spine. The loss of muscle tone on the side of the core presents as love handles even in people who are relatively lean.

So, not only does the loss of stability affect performance (the squat) but it also leads to a less than optimal looking midsection and posture.

Try this exercise to get them activated!

Lay supine with your head about an inch away from a wall. Place both hands on the wall, the angle of your elbows and shoulders should be about 90 degrees. Lift both legs so that hips and knees are also 90 degree angles. Press into the wall without sliding and gently tap one heel to the ground without losing the 90 degree angle at the knee. Alternate legs for the desired reps.

Pelvic floor and diaphragm

I can write a whole article on this one but I will differ to an explanation by Pavel:

“Think of the area from your sternum down to the bottom of your pelvis as a box. The rectus abdominis or the “six-pack” is the front of the box, various back muscles are the back, the obliques are the sides. The top of the box is the diaphragm, a muscle that works like the plunger of a syringe… The diaphragm also bears down to up your intra-abdominal pressure when you are lifting heavy weights. The bottom of the “box” is the pelvic diaphragm (pelvic floor), which prevents the works from falling out and buys you time when you are looking for a bathroom.”

In summary, the diaphragm creates pressure and the pelvic floor prevents the works from falling out. The pelvic floor is stretched out when you are in a squatted position which is why the squat is the natural relief position. Proper strengthening will prevent hemorrhoids and other problems like prolapse.

To strengthen the pelvic floor, simply squeeze the muscles of the genitals and anus while performing all strength training exercises.

Glutes, hamstrings and adductors

These muscles are the powerhouse of the body, they produce the most force and they look sexy when properly developed.

Of course, since the majority of people spend most of their time in a seated position, these muscles become weak and deconditioned. This is mostly due to the fact that these muscles extend the hip and the hips are stuck in flexion while in a seated position. Too much flexion, not enough extension will restrict the proper muscles from firing on a day to day basis.

Try this exercise to get them activated!

This exercise improves hip extension by strengthening your glutes and hamstrings. The stability ball provides a unique challenge and its purpose is to force your core to work harder which will improve quality of the movement.

Lay on your back with feet on the ball. Bridge your hips in the air and hold them there as you bring the ball towards your hips using your hamstrings and then slowly return to starting position. Do not allow your hips to raise or lower during the movement.

I have clients that can barely squat to parallel using their body weight. To help them get into this position more easily, I have them elevate their heels slightly. This allows them to shift weight onto their toes, which makes it easier to squat lower.  This is a great, short term way to train the squat pattern while she gains the mobility needed for a deep squat.

You can do it

We were all able to squat at one point so there are no excuses for neglecting this movement pattern. I’ve seen fully restored deep squats in people who have no ACL in either knee. If you struggle to achieve a squatted position, have patience, it could take awhile but by doing these exercises consistently you will most likely get there.

Caroline said her physical therapist had noted that she had winged scapulae (shoulder blades) but since she had problems with her hips they decided to focus on that instead. We focused on integrating the upper and lower body to create optimal positioning throughout the whole body not just one area.

By listening to Caroline, I was able to gather that she struggles to maintain proper posture because of her winged scapulae and she’s concerned that this has a negative effect on her appearance and performance and that any attempt to correct her posture is ineffective. Caroline is aware that her lordosis (lower back extension) is too pronounced and she’s also concerned that it negatively affects her performance.

When I asked Caroline to correct her posture, this is what she did.

As you can see, by trying to correct the position of her shoulder blades she is pulling herself onto more lower back extension. No wonder she feels like any attempt to correct her posture is futile, an attempt in one area negatively affects the other!

So, we began our session by grooving core control to stabilize her lower back so her shoulders can move over a stable base. By showing her a basic plank and slightly exaggerating her lower back position in the opposite direction (flexion), we were able to get her in tune with her core.

Next, we start having her move her shoulder blades independently of her spine by doing a simple scapular retraction and protraction. As you can she she struggles with this because she has been compensating for so long. Her shoulder blades have very little movement whereas her spine has too much. Towards the end of the set she has figured it out and is ready for the next step which is the push-up.

The push-up is an excellent choice for grooving proper scapular movement because it requires core stability, so the shoulders can move around the rib cage. As you can see from her first attempt, if you lose core stability, the exercises falls apart because the scapulae have no support.

In order to nail it, Caroline has to set her spine in the proper position and hold it there by using her core. So, I show her the tricks to creating more stability in the push-up position:

1. Weight on the ball of the foot, not the toes
2. Elbows locked
3. Shoulders screwed into the socket
4. Tension between the legs
5. Tension in the glutes
6. Core braced, ready for impact

As you can see, she figured it out. Her spine isn’t moving and her shoulder blades and arms are doing all he work. 

Doing an upper body exercise with a stabile core is important but doing a lower body exercise with a stable core and scapulae is equally important. Now that she knows how to move her shoulder blades she can support a weight with her scapulae in the correct position.

To teach Caroline how to use her core during the squat, I have her setup in a squat position and point out the weak links to have her dynamically stabilize.

These are the exercises Caroline will practice until the next time we meet, when we will progress them further. By training this way, every rep she does will engrain proper mechanics so she won’t have to make so much conscience effort to adjust her posture during the day. Once she is able to do these exercises easily, we will progress them to make them more dynamic, which will carryover to sport better. 

Check out this YouTube Video for more details!