Are You Using Progressions Properly?

So your off-season has started and you took a couple weeks off. The weather is getting a little bit nicer and you're going to start heading to the park every day after school to work on your game and play some pick-up ball. You know you need to strength train as well, so you get to the school's weight room before or after school. It's your first time strength training so you jump on board with the football team, doing bench press, reverse grip tricep pushdowns, single leg bosu ball barbell squats and all the plyometrics you read about on an info-website.

Is this using progressions properly? You know the answer to that question.

It's very interesting to me how we use progressions in all aspects of learning and education, but when it comes to strength training, everybody (including myself) think that we are ready for the most complex exercises the first day we step into a weightroom.

Think about this example of progression using basketball - how many of you started playing the game with a full size basketball, on a full size hoop? I'm sure some did, especially if you didn't start playing until later in life, but how many of you had a nerf ball and hoop and played in the hallway of your home? This is a simple example of progression. The same type of example can be given through school. Nobody started out doing calculus.

So when you first start out in the weightroom, use progressions to get stronger and better at performing movements that will help you become a better athlete on the court.

Before bench pressing, progress to doing 15 push ups with your feet on a weight bench with at least 25 pounds on your back.
Before you back squat, goblet squat 1/3 of your weight for 10 reps.
Once you can back squat, progress to doing 1.5x your bodyweight before starting an intense plyometric program.
Before performing the Olympic lifts, learn to hip hinge and perform the deadlift and high pull.
Before performing walking lunges, perform pump lunges.

There are many progressions that can prepare you for more complex exercises. Use these progressions thoughtfully and you will see strength and performance gains for a long time to come.

I am currently looking to speak to basketball or any athletic teams about off-season strength training. If you or anybody you know has a group of athletes that may be interested, please let me know and we can set something up.

Any questions or comments? Leave a post on the Bobby Fisk Strength and Conditioning facebook page!

The Truth About Calf Raises

While growing up I was constantly in search of ways to make myself a better basketball player. One of my main sources of information was magazines like Sports Illustrated for Kids and as I got older, Slam Magazine. I still remember one article I read from SI for Kids that interviewed Grant Hill. The question asked was how he become a high-flyer. For those of you too young to remember, Grant Hill was an amazing athlete while at Duke and during his early years in the league.

Hill's response, paraphrased, of course: "I used to do calf raises every night when I was young."

That statement was probably the worst and best thing I could have ever read.

With this great information on how to turn myself into a dunk machine, I hit calf raises hard and often. From approximately 7th grade until I got to college, I spent very little time standing around. I did calf raises everywhere - in the shower, during halftime of Siena Saints basketball games, while brushing my teeth, in class while sitting down, when walking up stairs, and even in church (when my mom wasn't looking). If I was standing in place I was doing calf raises.

So I turned into a dunk machine, right? Wrong. Turns out, your calves are only responsible for about 15% of your jump height. The more important muscles are the hamstrings, glutes and quads. So I spent all that time doing calf raises with no rewards. Not exactly...

What I didn't realize at the time, is that just about everything I was doing was building rock solid ankles. Not only was I doing tons of calf raises, but I also only tied my sneakers when playing basketball. I simply slipped my sneakers on and off and wore them loose, which also helped create my strong ankles.

Anybody that has played basketball seriously for any amount of time has dealt with ankle sprains. Except for myself. Throughout my entire high school and college basketball career and into my adult playing career (Y men's league) I have suffered only one ankle sprain, which occurred my sophomore year of high school. This is not luck, as I have stepped on other players shoes and rolled my ankle plenty of times, to the point where teammates cringe and ask if I'm ok. But nothing ever happens. No sprain, no soreness, no weakness.

Now this post isn't meant to make me sound like an ankle hero and I won't be signing up for a strongman competition because of my rock solid ankles. This post is to give you some things you can start doing immediately to keep your ankles healthy, strong and keep you worry free when you jump into a crowd for a rebound.

Here are the take away pointers:
- start doing calf raises - there is no limit, just do them as much as you can
- loosen your sneakers - whatever kicks you wear during the day, tie and knot them loose so you can slip them on and off. The great idea that high tops were for basketball playing was the worst idea for general day to day movement. When you lace your shoes up tight, your sneakers are giving you support. When you keep them loose, your feet learn to give support.
- stretch your calves - push against a wall and keep your back leg straight to stretch your calf muscles, and push against a wall and bend at the knee of the front leg to stretch your achilles
- perform ankle mobility drills - - I still do these a couple times a day when I feel like my ankles are tight. These will also help in your squat technique if your ankles are a limiting factor. Here is a video of me demonstrating http://www.youtube.com/user/BobbyFiskSandC?feature=mhum#p/a/u/1/9tin_iwGVT8

- foam/pvc/tennis ball/lax ball roll your calves - this will help break up the tiny knots that develop from running, jumping, sliding, backpedaling and everything else you do when playing basketball. It may hurt at first, but it will increase the tissue quality of your calves and will eventually feel very good. Here is a video of me demonstrating
http://www.youtube.com/user/BobbyFiskSandC?feature=mhum#p/a/u/0/0kkbzY31U9g

The calf raise may not be the vertical booster I thought it was, but it sure did help me build strong ankles. Start building yours today!

Any questions? Post on fb or email me. Also, sign up to follow my youtube channel as I will be posting more videos on a regular basis and also please "like" and share my facebook page since all of the blogs and videos will also be updated there. Your support is greatly appreciated!!

Now What?

So your season is over and the question that comes up is, "what do I do now?"

The immediate answer is NOTHING! A basketball season is long and grueling and your body needs time to rest. You don't have to rest completely, as in not get off the couch other than to go to the fridge and school, but ease off of the basketball for two weeks. Ever notice how after you take a couple weeks off from everyday practice and games and you go back to the gym and you can jump a little higher? Your body is fully recovered when you or others are surprised at how athletic you've become from resting.

So now that your rest is out of the way, you gotta jump right back on it. The off-season is a time for making yourself into a player. Adding elements to your game, becoming a better shooter from a certain distance, working on your weak hand and becoming a stronger all-around player is the goal of the off-season.

Another important aspect is strength training. One thing I hear a lot of younger athletes say is that they found a workout on a website that (insert NBA All-Star here) did during his off-season and thats what they are going to use. This may seem like a good idea, but its not. Pro athletes are a special breed of human being. You need a plan for YOU, that can make YOU a stronger athlete, that can make YOU a better basketball player.

Some quick tips to get you started:
- focus on quality of movement - make sure you don't have anything hindering your movement patterns before you start lifting weights. If you do, you can create or make any imbalances worse and also begin creating microtrauma, the last thing you want during the off-season.
- move your bodyweight - if you don't have a lot of experience in a weight room, work on moving your body first. Pushups, pullups, squats, lunges, dips and all of their variations are a great start. Be great at these before using external loads.
- play basketball - I can't stress this enough and it may sound silly but its the truth. During the off-season you have to play a ton of basketball to make yourself a better player. Strength training can help you on the court, but it will not help you if you aren't also playing basketball every day. You need to use your newly created strength against other players who are better than you constantly. Not once in a while, not once a week, DAILY!

I was just reminded of how people become succesful at a career or a task while I listened to the radio a couple hours ago. The host mentioned the 10,000 hour rule. It takes 10,000 hours to become great at what you do. Do you want to become a great basketball player? Start logging those hours.

Any questions or comments, be sure to post on the new fb page!

Are You Moving Without Restriction?

The other day I decided to jump back into a book I had started before, but never completely finished because of school, "Athletic Body in Balance," by Gray Cook. It's definitely one of those books where you learn something everytime you read it no matter how many times you do. And even if you don't learn something, there is a quote or an idea that puts things back in perspective and helps get your training back on track.

This book is a must read for athletes and for those who train athletes. It's simple to understand and constantly has you nodding your head in agreement.

Now, back to the title of this post. To start, what does it mean to be moving without restriction? It means that you are able to perform basic, fundamental movements efficiently. For example, can you squat to below parallel without your heels coming off of the ground? If you can, great. If not, you have some sort of restriction, which could be coming from your ankles, hips or a lack of stability.

The better question is this: who cares if you can't get into a full squat if I am the best and strongest player on my team?

As small a problem as it is right now, it can lead to issues down the road. If you don't move correctly now, it is likely going to cause other parts of your body to overcompensate for this restriction. Once again, this may not be a problem now, but after years of overcompensation, problems are going to come up.

An example given in the book (paraphrased) describes a runner who has a tight ankle joint. The runner doesn't know it, but now the knee is overcompensating for this lack of movement in the joint below it. Now the knee is doing more work then it is supposed to and begins to hurt. The runner takes anti-inflammatory medication and ices the knee as he continues to run. The knee doesn't get any better and the runner goes to the doctor who checks out the knee and prescribes more medication. What eventually happens is a major issue, possibly needing surgery to repair a knee that never had problems within its own joint. Because of a restrictive issue elsewhere, though, overcompensation for years has caused chronic knee problems that never needed to take place.

Another reason why you want to find restrictions is because they could be causing you to move inefficiently, expending more energy than you need to in order to perform the movements of your sport. The less energy you use, the less fatigued you will be at the end of the game or match, the better you are at finishing off your opponents. Simple stuff. You want to move efficiently.

So if you are an athlete or train athletes, the message is this: screen yourself or your athletes to look for restrictions. If you are not qualified, find somebody who is at www.functionalmovement.com. Another alternative is to purchase the book yourself and go through the self-test of the movement screen.

If you have any questions or comments, be sure to leave them on facebook or below.

Back To My Roots

Yesterday I was lucky enough to have an hour long phone conversation with one of my running mates growing up. I say running mates because for about two years, while we were both in high school together, we probably saw eachother every single day. Not because we were in the same classes or because we were next door neighbors, but because we played basketball every single day. At the park, after school in the gym, in the hallway with a tennis ball. No matter what we played ball and we loved it. It consumed our lives. And all we wanted to do was get better at playing the sport we loved.


Since then, a lot has changed. Now we are both trying to help others become better players and athletes. My friend is running an AAU basketball program just outside of Atlanta, GA (www.gounited.org). I'm just starting a strength training business that is looking to help student-athletes become stronger and more durable so that if they choose to follow our path of playing college basketball, or any sport, they will be better suited to do so. We want to give kids the same help that we got from our mentor.

So what does this mean for the blog? Not a whole lot will change, other than the fact that I will be posting more often, starting in the next couple of weeks, and that I will be posting on basketball related topics along with general strength and fitness topics.

With this in mind, if there is anything that you would like me to discuss, leave a comment below, post a comment on facebook or shoot me an email. My goal is to serve you the best way that I can.

Stick to the Basics

Last post I blasted body-part training and talked about the superiority of hitting the big, compound exercises regularly. Today, I'm going to talk about the specific exercises you should be doing multiple times per week.

If you just started training, congratulations, you're likely in for the biggest and best gains you will ever make in your life, especially if your 16-22 years old. A lot of these gains will be due to your neuromuscular system getting more efficient at doing the exercises. Also, the amount of testosterone that males are producing are at a high point for your life, so take advantage of it! Females, no reason to worry, your test levels do not increase at all during this time.

Even if your an intermediate level lifter, you can see great progress by sticking to the big exercises. If you lift three days a week, you should be doing full-body routines. If you lift four days, split body is the way to go, but there can be a little carryover, like doing the Olympic lifts on an upper body day (if you have not learned these from a good coach, check out Dan John here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l9mlcbmrAE&feature=related).

So, the exercises you need to focus all your attention to should be: squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, pull up, row and any Olympic lift.

These exercises are not only great for building strength and muscle, they are also recommended for increasing bone mass, tendon and ligament strength and can be used in an endurance routine. So no matter what your goal, these exercises should be used as the foundation of any resistance training program.

But right now, I'm talking strength. Do these exercises until you can squat 1.5x your bodyweight and you will not be disappointed in your results. It's likely that you will want to keep going. That's right, no overhead, single arm, reverse, cable tricep extensions. You'll thank me later.

It is recommended to perform multiple sets in the 4-6 rep range.

If you're an athlete, I know I am leaving out a very big part of traditional training: single-leg exercises. Well I have found a way to get around training the traditional way for one-leg strength and power that can be trained on the same day or off-days and doesn't leave you unable to get out of the seated position for 3 days like doing sets of heavy lunges.

For more details about what my current programming looks like or how to implement the big lifts to reach your goals, leave a comment here or on the NHaFC Facebook page, email me at bobby.fisk@yahoo.com, or come by NHaFC to get a first hand look.

Chest, Shoulders, Biceps, Repeat

Chest, Shoulders, Biceps, Repeat. Have you ever seen a training plan like this? It's far too common that these three body areas are the basis of a training routine. Scary, isn't it?

This routine's basis is around the "mirror muscles", so the thought process is by working the crap out of the muscles that one can regularly check out in the mirror, it will get you to swole city faster than if you worked all the muscles in the body.

It should make sense, except there are a few factors that work against this logic.
First, working only these muscles will cause crazy imbalances. It will cause your shoulders to round forward, which is the last thing anybody needs from their training since we already sit at a computer and on the couch for hours on end, which also makes the rounded shoulder problem worse.

Next, and most importantly, where is the lower body training? Specifically, squats and deadlifts. These two exercises should be the basis of any strength program. Why? These exercises will allow you to use more weight than any other, using a lot of muscles. More weight = more muscle. And, these movements are engrained in our genetic makeup. Ask a 3 year old to squat. It's perfect. Ask the same 3 year old to pick up a heavy (for them) object and they deadlift it. Need I say more?

It's also fairly easy to improve on these exercises once you learn how to do them properly. 5 pound a week increases can be attained because of all the muscles used. These increases won't continue for years on end, but can certainly remain constant for the first year or two if diet, recovery and training consistency are all in place.

Lastly, what's more badass than loading up a bar and putting it on your back or picking it up off the ground. Nothing!

Personally, I just flat out dislike bodypart training, as you can probably tell. The majority of it comes from bodybuilders jacked through the roof on illegal substances. I prefer training movements and areas of the body. If you strength train three days or less a week, train full body. If you strength train four days a week, train two upper body and two lower body.

In a similar fashion, if you do an upper body press exercise, do an upper body pull. If you do a lower body push (quad based exercise), do a lower body pull (hamstring based exercise). I also recommend, 2x as many hamstring exercises for athletes because the majority of them are "quad dominant" or more appropriately "hamstring weak" which is the cause for many knee injuries.

Regardless of how many days a week you train, the fundamental movements still need to be in place: Deadlifting, squatting, pressing and pulling. If you focus on these movements you will be far better off than blasting your bi's for an hour with 13 different exercises in front of the mirror. Who do you think has bigger biceps; the guy doing curls for an hour or the guy doing pullups with 90lbs strapped to his waist?

So focus on the big movements, leave your biceps alone for a few weeks and watch your strength and body progress!