Dear Strength Coach and Personal Trainer,

Today’s blog features Part II of our three part series “Break The # 1 Barrier to Success With Olympic Weightlifting.”

The flexibility needed to properly train with the Olympic Lifts is very similar to the levels of flexibility needed to properly squat, deadlift and overhead press. So even if you don’t plan to have your athletes or clients practice Olympic lifts, these exercises are highly relevant.

And they are not for clients and athletes only. If WE can’t do these exercises, how can we instruct the lifts?

About 7 years ago, I could only go into the correct start position for deadlifts when I was warmed up. I found this to be inconvenient and I upped my stretching. The pelvic rock with tilt is one of the exercises that I do EVERY night just before going to bed and at 43 I have NEVER been more flexible.

Pelvic Rock with Tilt – I consider this the #1 exercise to develop hip flexibility for squats and deadlifts.

Dedicated to Our Success,

Karsten Jensen,MSc.
Strength Coach, CPTN-CPTN.M
Author, Lecturer, Founder of Yes To Strength

Yes To Strength publishes the FREE No Gimmicks Ezine - dedicated to the education of Strength Coaches and Personal Trainers (Available at www.yestostrength.com)

PS: The pelvic Rock wiht Tilt is a preview from our “Olympic Weightlifting For The Fitness Client” program (scheduled release, summer 2012). Introductory offer to No Gimmicks Ezine Subscribers only. www.yestostrength.com

Dear Strength Coach and Personal Trainer,

It is often said Olympic weightlifting is a sport that requires full body coordination and high levels of strength-speed and power.

Based on the above, we could be led to think that if an athlete or lifter does not possess these two attributes, he or she will not be successful in Olympic weightlifting.

However, there is an even more fundamental bio-motor ability needed to even BEGIN practicing Olympic weightlifting.

Flexibility.

Flexibility to assume the various positions during the lifts.

Today begins PART I of our “Break The # 1 Barrier to Success With Olympic Weightlifting” – series.

I have chosen to run this series for 4 Reasons:

1. To emphasize the need for flexibility to assume the different positions of the lifts.
2. The stretches in this series have great application to other compound lifts.
3. I see a lot of athletes or clients getting overuse injuries from squats, deadlifts and presses, because of lack of flexibility.
4. I want to give you and your athletes and clients a chance to get your flexibility “up to speed” so you can – if you want to – start using the Olympic weightlifting exercises RIGHT AWAY, when our “Olympic Weightlifting For The Fitness Client” program is launched.

We begin in the way that Yes To Strength teaches the lifts – from the ground up.

Crouched Soleus Stretch

Notice that I use active isolated stretching, PNF and static stretches depending on the stretch (and on the training age of the athlete or client).

Dedicated To Our Success,

Karsten Jensen, MSc.
Strength Coach, CPTN-CPTN.M
Author, Lecturer, Founder of Yes To Strength

Yes To Strength publishes the FREE No Gimmicks Ezine - dedicated to the education of Strength Coaches and Personal Trainers (Available at www.yestostrength.com).

PS: The Crouched Soleus Stretch is a preview from our “Olympic Weightlifting for the Fitness Client” program (scheduled release summer 2012). Introductory offer to No Gimmicks Ezine Subscribers only.  www.yestostrength.com

Dear Strength Coach and Personal Trainer,

Are you tired of hearing about ways to apply progressive overload? Would you like to hear about something more EXCITING? A new piece of equipment? Or a new APP that counts the reps for your clients or athletes?
I LOVE progressive overload. I LOVE studying it and finding as many ways to apply this NECESSARY principle as absolutely possible. I LOVE knowing as many ways to apply progressive overload for one specific reason.
Knowing as many ways as possible to apply progressive overload gives me FREEDOM and POWER, to systematically train my athletes and clients with ANY exercise in ANY environment.

Here is a third – maybe the most challenging way – to apply progressive overload.

Increase the voluntary intensity of the contraction.

Here is the description of the lower trapezius exercise that I wrote about the in PART III of this series: Lower Trapezius – with the arms in full shoulder flexion, create a fist and press the side of the thumbs hard into the ground to unload the ribcage.

You can create VARIATION with the exercise by, alternating the degree of abduction in the shoulder, so that the arms may either be a direct extension of the body (full shoulder flexion) or form a Y with the body.

Progressive overload can be applied by increasing the volume per set (in this case, mainly time) OR by increasing how hard the fists are pressed into the ground.

Voluntary contraction can be quantified on a 1-5 scale:

1. = The arms are just resting on the floor.
2. = Low press into the floor.
3. = Medium press into the floor.
4. = Strong press into the floor.
5. = Maximal press into the floor.

The lower trapezius is a tonic stabilizer of the scapula and when trained isometrically, a protocol of 10 second contraction alternated with 10 seconds of relaxation, 4-8 minutes total, works well.

Any athlete or client, who needs to improve posture or wants to improve shoulder stability for throwing, punching, striking or batting, can benefit from this simple exercise.

You HAVE to try these exercise yourself, to understand how challenging they truly are and if you have tried these exercise, you will need no more convincing that simple body weight exercises, when done correctly, are TOUGH.

Applying progressive overload by increasing the intensity of the voluntary isometric contraction is a key strategy of our Ground Based Abs Program – the HARDEST, SIMPLEST, “on- the- floor-no equipment”- program you will find in today’s marketplace.

With a simple yet powerful technique, the secret ingredient in the Ground Based Abs Program, the intensity of the contraction, particularly in the abdominal exercises, is MAXIMIZED.

If you or your athletes or clients want to feel MAXIMAL tension on the abdominal muscles, then you need this program. Click here.

Dedicated To Our Success,

Karsten Jensen,
MSc, Strength Coach, CPTN-CPT.M
Author, Lecturer, Founder of Yes To Strength