Tire Patch Training Part 1: Dumbbells

After training in a garage most of my life, I didn't have access to the best equipment. I had to make things up as I went in order to get stronger. At times I was at the limit for barbell and dumbbell weight and would have to utilize anything I had access to in order to make strength gains. I would hang left over cinder blocks onto my barbell, even loading up a book bag full of bricks as a cheap alternative to a weighted vest (I think I saw that one in an old 80's horror movie which I can not take credit for!). I guess you can call what I'm about to tell you as a "Quick Fix" and not necessarily a solution. Think of this advise almost like a "Tire Patch". It's doesn't take the place of a new tire, but this patch will temporarily get you to where you need to go. Tire Patch Training is going to be part of an ongoing series for your training dilemmas. This may very well help with your current situation.


Training in a weight room with missing dumbbells? OK, you just spotted a 65lb. dumbbell in the far left corner of the gym floor (as if it were left for dead like road kill on a deserted highway), but you need the other 65 pounder in order to perform your dumbbell chest presses.

(I don't even think there is a 65lb. dumbbell on that floor.)

Here's a better scenario for you. After busting your "Kahonnas" for the last six months in your training (at the local gym), you are finally ready to increase your one arm dumbbell rows. As complete excitement pumps through your veins, you suddenly realize you are at the gym's 100lb. dumbbell limit. The excitement is quickly replaced with hostility and most likely profanity knowing your personal record will have to wait another day.

(Your Local Gym)

Keep in mind: If you are training at a gym that has dumbbells which only go up to 100lbs., the gym is saying two things to you. One, you will only be as strong as those 100's. Two, no one stronger then those 100's trains here!

(Have you seen this guy at your gym? Maybe he was auditioning for Terminator 4.?.)

You might be asking yourself "What the hell can I do?" For starters, try practicing your acceleration mechanics by sprinting to the front desk and cancelling your gym membership. Finding a gym that offers more weight and stronger members is always an option. Unfortunately this may not be practical for your current situation. A kid in high school may only have access to their schools weight room or like most gym memberships, you are locked in a contract and unless you pay your way out, you ain't going nowhere! Here's what to do:

(Every good business starts with a great name!)

Go to your local sporting good store as in Sports Authority, Modell's, Dick's, ect. and pick yourself up a pair of adjustable 20lb ankle weights. You will probably spend $50.00 bucks at most. The adjustable ankle weights are usually slotted with 1/2 pound increments of weight with a secure velcro strap. These ankle weights will give you the ability to utilize half pound increments all the way up to 20lbs. Do you know how many options this gives you for increases with dumbbell weight that you currently do not have? Note: (It's like having adjustable dumbbells from a half pound all the way up to 20lbs. in half pound increments). Better yet, your current gym may have them laying around in the designated "Functional Equipment Area" and this, my friends, is free!

(Notice the slotted 1/2 lb. increments.)

For your first training dilemma, in order to make up for the missing weight, get the next weight you have available to you. Hopefully it is a 60lb. dumbbell and all you will have to do is strap five pounds of ankle weights around your wrist to make up for the missing 65lb. dumbbell you do not have.

"The Patch"

Your second training dilemma is much easier. Strap on the desired weight around your wrist to increase the load of the movement. For your one arm dumbbell row, throw on anywheres from 2-10 lbs. of weight to "break through the chains of repression" that your gym's 100lb. capacity is holding you at! This video will give you an idea on another way the ankle weights can come into use. Notice that they are on both wrist:

Remember "Tire Patch". This is a "Quick Fix" and does not take the place of dumbbells. I gave examples of why and how this can be used. I would hate to see a gym full of guys using ankle weights around their wrists as if it were the way to go. Always choose dumbbells over this method. Only use this if you do not have access to the real thing. Happy New Year! Good luck and get strong.



A side note:

Although the ankle weights are in fact extra weight which can be added in the absence of dumbbells, it does not fully carry over to grip and wrist strength. If it did, then the extra weight would have to be held in the hand instead of around the wrist. In the end, nothing is better then the real thing.



Another side note:

Always place the ankle weight around your stronger arm. You want to attack your weaker links in the gym so your weaker side should always use the working dumbbell weight. This way grip and wrist strength will not be compromised on your weaker side.

YESS Training on YouTube

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YESS Training is now on You Tube! Our newly added You Tube page can be accessed at the bottom right of this blog site under our Links section or just click here to check it out: http//www.youtube.com/YESSTraining. We will be adding videos as we go of fighters and weekend warrior's training sessions. Look for the orange subscribe button next to our videos or just click on the Subscribe to YESS Training's videos on the main page. It's fast, Free, and will keep you up to date with our newly posted videos!

A side Note:

If you are visiting this site for the very first time then I would like to welcome you to the YESS Training Blog. YESS Training prides itself on helping fighters and weekend warriors prepare for their sport and athletic endeavours. Through our proven methods of strength and conditioning training, we have and continue to be successful training fighters at the amateur, high school, college, and professional level. Sign up and check back with us as we continue to spread the good word of strength and condition training.

Another Side Note:

YESS Training stands for "YES to Strength Training". It's not training unless you are using weights! Hope this clears things up.

Joe Rossi

Pressing For Another Day

This picture is not that far from the truth when it comes to Bench Pressing. A lot of guys these days are also dressing this way to train. Man up guys!!! In all seriousness, clowning around under the bar leads to pain. A lack of know how does too. No wonder why fighters can not press on their own. I say fighters can Bench Press. Read On...

The most prized possession of a fighter or weekend warrior’s upper body is their Shoulder Girdle. The shoulder girdle is made up of the Glenohumeral Joint (where the Humerus, Scapula and Clavicle are joined by a bunch of muscles including the “Rotator Cuff”, tendons, and ligaments).

Boxers, Kick Boxers, and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighters know exactly what I’m talking about when using the term “Trashed” shoulders (Trashed: a slang term used to describe an area of the body that has become “Banged Up” which can no longer function properly in movements such as Punching and “Benching”).

Overuse symptoms such as pain, inflammation, scar tissue, and a decreased range of motion is mostly due to weak or overused muscles along the shoulder girdle compensating and eventually breaking down leaving you with the "Trashed" effect. It doesn’t stop there. Depending upon your shoulder type, impingement of the Humerus (upper arm bone), grinding against the Acromion and Coracoid Process of the Scapula (your shoulder

blade) could leave you sidelined from training and fighting indefinitely.

So how can a fighter who is experiencing such problems still incorporate pressing movements into their training? Simple. If it hurts, don't do it. Sometimes you just have to step away from a certain movement for a while as you rest, heal, and recover to Bench Another Day. Of course we are going to dig a little deeper on ways to possibly bench press without pain and still gain personal records with pressing movements, but you may need to completely shut down benching in and itself so scar tissue can be broken up through massage, active release technique (ART), and other forms of healing therapy.

You can work around the overused area with other movements that can counter act a lot of the impingement that is happening with your benching such as horizontal dumbbell, barbell, and various cable rowing. Stay with horizontal rowing as in bent over dumbbell rows, bench supported dumbbell rows, seated cable low rows with various grips that position the hand in a neutral position (palms facing each other) or palms facing up toward the ceiling (same grip you would use while performing a chin up when palms are facing you). This must be worked into your routine not only because it positions your humerus and scapulas in a less compromising way, but this type of rowing trains the exact opposite motion of the bench press. Horizontal rowing strengthens a fighter's ability to pull the shoulder blades together under tension-which is a vital component when performing any bench press variation. Keeping your shoulders healthy too.

Palms Facing Each Other

Extra movements can be incorporated into your training besides horizontal rowing like knee supported external rotation which strengthens your external rotator muscles (muscles of the Rotator Cuff as in the Supraspinatus, Infraspinatus, Teres Minor and the Subscapularis). Check it out:

Step 1

Step 2

Say that you laid off pressing for a while and the shoulders feel pretty good. You incorporated more horizontal rowing and added in some external rotation movements that brought life back into your shoulders. Great, now you are left with the dilemma of a weak ass bench press and crummy pressing strength. You are asking yourself where do you go from here. Now I have to tell you that books have been written solely on the topic of bench pressing and how it's practically and art form, but I am going to give you my top five "Advises" (Arnold Schwarzenegger joke) that might rock your socks off and give you the ability to bench again. Here's what to do:

The Austrian Oak Benching

1) Pinch the Shoulder Blades: The scapulas, other wise referred to as the shoulder blades, should be set up even before you unrack the bar. I'm not into making a subject hard to follow, so here it is as simple as I can make it. Once you’re lying on the bench press and the bar is unracked, your shoulder blades should be pinching together as if they are trying to touch each other and focus on pulling them down as if you are trying to direct them toward you butt. Together and Down is the mental cue. Why should I keep my shoulders blades tight by pulling them together and down while benching you ask? Good question. If every part of your body was moving during the bench press, you would look like a person who is having a convulsion or seizure (Huge Portion Of The Average Gym Population). Now if you were able to take as much movement out of the bench press as possible by keeping every area of your body as tight as possible, while still descending the weight toward your chest and pressing it away toward a lockout, this type of bench press would not only look good, but feel solid as a rock. Practice this in your warm-up sets until you can execute this in your working sets.

Now, by pulling the shoulder blades together and down while benching with either dumbbells or a barbell, you stabilize the shoulder girdle and decrease unwanted movement therefore incorporating lower trap, mid back, and shoulder muscles to a greater degree that will take tension off of other muscles in the shoulder complex that are prone to getting "trashed" during this movement. Less unwanted movement in the bench press equals a stable shoulder joint; more muscles actively involved to a greater degree, less pain, greater strength!

The first shoulder position in the illustration above shows a "Pinched" shoulder blade while the other, a less stable pressing position. Anytime you are working maximally or performing high rep work, form can go to shit and you end up losing your shoulders. All I'm saying is try not to do this all the time. Help yourself. Keep 'em tight.

2) Tuck the Elbows: Muscle recruitment can solely be affected by joint position. The further away your limbs are from your body, the greater stress put on joints of the surrounding areas. Most pressing that I have encountered with someone with no experience have the traditional body building style of the elbows flared out and the barbell descending down toward the throat. This can lead to vocal problems due to the bar hitting the Adams Apple (If you like to speak, don't do this). Along with that good old shoulder blade pinch we just talked about, give the elbows a slight tuck in toward the body. If your elbows were against the side of your body, flare them out about 45 degrees placed a couple of notches lower than the traditional body building style. This involves the lats to a greater degree ( A muscle that you definitely want full involvement during benching). Focus on lowering the bar along the nipple line or just below or a little bit above. Yes I said “Nipple Line” and yes, you must attempt this new way of benching with no weight on the bar. I said nipple line as a reference an slightly above or below as you are going to have to play around with this. Where the bar is placed will be dependent upon how you are built. At least you are thinking in the right direction and aiming the bar somewhere now. It should feel better too. Not great, but better. Learn it first and become comfortable with it, then add some weight.

3) Switch to Dumbbells- There is only so many adjustments you can make with a fixed piece of equipment as in the barbell. Switching to dumbbells gives you the opportunity to make more adjustments with arm positioning so you can press. The barbell is great, but if you can't do it, dumbbells is a great alternative. Dumbbells also involve greater stability out of each arm which means you may take a hit with the amount of weight you can use, but you will be able to dictate the position of most comfort while pressing-and you still will become beastly strong. The fighters I train predominately use dumbbells if their shoulders are trashed. I get most of them back to using the barbell though! As a former martial art and boxing enthusiast, I have always used dumbbells. Benching with a bar was impossible up until I had surgery on my elbow. In most cases surgery does work, but can possibly be avoided with changes made in a training program. Prevention is better than a cure.

Punching & Pressing, Same Thing.

4) Train Sub-Maximally & Leave Reps In The Tank- No matter what kind of pressing you are performing, I believe fighters should rarely max out (heaviest weight you can handle) with presses and should always leave a few reps in the tank when pressing for high amount of reps. This is optimal for many reasons. Take punching for example. How many punches do you throw a day? Shadow boxing? Mitt Work? Heavy Bag? Sparring? Get my point? Those are various forms of pressing. It's the same motion and if I were to bet, you are also internally rotating your punches while doing so. More of a reason to train with some juice left over. My point is, don't tax shoulders that are already taxed out. Train with sub-maximal weight and always leave 2-3 reps in the tank.

Barbell Floor Press Inside The Power Rack Is Good Too. Decreased Range Of Motion, But You Are Still Pressing.

5) Deload to Reload- Sometimes the body needs a break with any given movement. Dumbbells, barbells, and even push-ups. No matter what variation, there may very well be too much pressing or pressing for too long in your training. Cut your pressing out of a training session or take a week off. Recovery is vital with inflammation and pain management. Keep the EGO in check. You are training for strength and condition to be a better fighter. Not a broken one who can not fight. The weight room should prepare you, and not decrease your chances at winning.

As I said earlier, books have been written about the bench press. There is so much more to benching than the above mentioned, but if you implement just one of these five “Advises” into your training and helps toward less pain and greater gains, it would have been well worth it! The sacrifice is less strength now. The reward is more strength and less pain later!!

A Side Note:
Keep the above tips in mind when it comes to your training. It does not matter what level of strength and condition you are at. Starting out, High school, College, Professional, or just a guy in the gym, technique starts the moment you approach the bar! The world would be a better place if you actually know what you are doing in the weight room.

Another Side Note:
Flexibility in the right areas helps the body become more mobile and injury reduced. By stretching the “Pecs” (muscles of your chest) and “Lats” (muscle of the back) before training, shoulder pain can be reduced from the decrease in muscle tension. “I heard it makes you weak?!?” you say. I say “If you are having shoulder pain while training, you are probably weak already!” Try it out, it may help.

References:

1. Kinakin, Ken. "Optimal Muscle Training"

2. Hamilton, Nancy. "Kinesiology. Scientific Basis Of Human Motion" Eleventh Edition

Coming Soon...

Coming Soon...

Raw footage of some of our Athletes, Weekend Warriors, and Training Advise.

Questions & Answers: 6-25-07

I am getting ready for my high school baseball season. I am going to be a freshman next year and read your web site and have a list of questions I hope you can help me out with. Being a baseball player, what are some exercises that would help me perform better? I want to increase my vertical jump and wanted to know what I can do to strengthen my legs? Will that help me from getting injured?

Thanks,

Mike V. from Keansburg, N.J.



Mike,

I think it's really awesome for an eighth grade kid to be thinking about what he can do to get ready for his high school baseball season. That in itself shows character! What is most impressive is the fact that you want to strengthen your lower body!!! Most kids your age can't get passed bench pressing and bicep curls. With that being said, I would focus on adding in a lower body day if you haven't already.

Make sure on your lower body day you focus on exercises that will increase your Posterior Chain strength (hamstrings, glutes, and spinal erectors). If you haven't learned how to squat and deadlift , I would suggest you do!! The squat and deadlift will do wonders for increasing your overall lower body strength and will definitely help toward increasing your vertical.

Regarding injury, if you properly execute the lifts and gradually increase the resistance (not being a hero in front of your friends) you will definitely increase range of motion in your joints as well as strengthen the tendons, ligaments and bones which will lead to injury reduction and greater performance gains in the gym and on the field.

Lets say your new leg day lands on Wednesday. I would have you perform a main lower body bi-lateral lift as in a (squat or deadlift variation), followed by a unilateral lift (lunge or step-up variation), a posterior chain movement (glute ham raise, back extension or reverse hyper extension), and end the training session with some abdominal and grip work. I would construct your lower body day like this:


1) Barbell Squat- start with the bar and warm up to a working weight that you will be able to handle for five sets of five reps. If you are a beginner, stick with the bar and practice good form. Don't be concerned with the weight! Develop a solid technique and gradually add weight each week breaking a record from the previous week. Training the squat in this fashion will not only help build technique, but will increase strength. Remember, if your form looks like crap, the weight is too heavy!

2) Dumbbell Lunge- 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps each leg. You can alternate or work one leg at a time.


3) Low Back Extensions- 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps.


4) Dumbbell Floor Crunches- 2-3 sets of 12- 25 reps.


5) Dumbbell Holds for Time- 2-3 sets of as long as you can hold a heavy pair of dumbbells until you have to let them go. If you can barely hold on to them for 2 seconds than it's probably too heavy!


Stick to this lower body day for 3-4 weeks at a time. Every Wednesday you should have the intent to be better than last week. Whether it's an extra couple of reps (within your rep range) or a five pound personal record, you should be able to do more every time. In about 3-4 weeks, change the exercises so you don't burn yourself out. When you start getting stronger, your rep range will have to change for that first exercise. Until then good luck and let me know how you make out kid.



A Side Note:

Flexibility is a part of training. There is not one strength training program that will give you the maximum benefits for performance if flexibility isn't part of the program. Remember that the weight training that is performed is increasing tension within the muscles and of the surrounding joints as well as increasing lean muscle tissue. During this process, it is vital to maintain flexibility in order to keep the body explosive, fast, and mobile. You want to train to be strong and fast, not strong and slow. The point of it all is to set a time to stretch the entire body out, not right before a training session.



Another Side Note:

Your hand is the first point of contact holding the bat, gripping the ball, or closing the mitt on a ball you just scooped out of the air. Increased strength in the wrist's, forearms, and grip will increase bat speed and control. If you want to have command on the bat, ball, and mitt then train the grip!




The only way to be great is to train for it!

Sacrifice for Reward: Armadillo

Barnegat High School 16
Manchester High School 1

YESS Training would like to congratulate Shannon C. of Barnegat High School for her "crushing" win over Manchester High.
Shannon aka "Armadillo" (an Armadillo is a burrowing mammal who's body is covered in hard plates) has proven that she is not afraid to get dirty on the field and there's nothing soft about her game! Pitching only five innings (mercy rule), Shannon let up only one run, but what's most impressive was her offense with 1 single, 1 double, 2 RBIs, with 2 stolen bases scoring twice!

Hmm. I wonder what kind of training helped prepare Armadillo for such an impressive outing? Were not going to take all the credit. What I can tell you is for a solid four months Shannon was in the gym sacrificing in order to prepare herself for High-School Softball. She obviously did a great job because she is a freshman starting on Junior Varsity (Yes a freshman)!!


Check out one of Shannon's lower body workouts:

• Dynamic Barbell Box Squats 8sets of 2 reps at 60%

• Dumb Bell Step-ups 3sets of 12 reps

• Reverse Hypers 4 sets of 12 reps

• Grips Training "Captains of Crush Gripper" 3 sets of max reps

A Side Note:

Shannon did not make it on this site just because of her outstanding performance on the field. It was mostly because of her performance off the field. When I wrote "Sacrifice for Reward" I meant it. She not only trained at the "Alpha Garage" for four solid months, but hardly ever missed a training session and trained her heart out every time!

Another Side Note:

There is a "No Show Tunes" rule at the Alpha Garage. This rule went into effect because of Shannon! Out of all the athletes I have ever trained, Shannon remains the only one who gets pumped up listening to Monty Python songs before training. She does make up for it when blasting Gun's N' Roses during her final sets!

Don't Stand On Balls!

It's always scary when a certain tool or exercise is marketed as the only way to train. This is one of the reasons why I believe in Conjugated training programs that we provide. All Conjugated means is "All Together" or training multiple aspects at the same time. We train our athletes with methods that use many tools to overcome whatever it is they are trying to achieve. We squat, deadlift, push, pull, lunge and twist everyday of our lives both in and out of the ring or the athletic field. These movements are known as the Primal Pattern Movements (PPM). The PPM's are engraved into every human beings nervous system and is a part of our genetic make up. Add resistance to these movements and the athletes strength and condition increases. Handling weight or resistance with these movements in and itself helps with balance and core strength. Take the Stability Ball for instance. I couldn't help myself. This is a perfect example of a good training tool gone wrong. There are many reasons why we implement Stability Balls in our training program, but this is not one of them. Notice how the dude in the video is already sporting a "Cast". You don't have to watch CSI or Cold Case Files to figure out that this is probably not his first attempt at abusing Stability Balls. Check this out:


Can you guess the picture below that represents proper usage of a Stability Ball?

We have all heard of "The Core" and how everyone needs to train "The Core". "The Core" has almost become a phenomenon in itself. It's pretty freaky. Whisper "The Core" to yourself. Freaky, right? When most people think of what "The Core" (you can stop whispering it) is they think of the abdominals (Ab's). To me "The Core" is not just the Ab's but the entire hip complex, abdominal content, spine, and shoulder girdle. These are the stabilizing muscles in the body's ability to control it's constant changing center of gravity. The theory behind the Stability Ball is that it offers an unstable training surface for the body's core to be challenged. This unstable training surface or environment demands "The Core" to stabilize itself by the body's ability to demonstrate postural control and muscular balance during movement. The funny thing is an athlete does just that when they are balancing a barbell in movements like the front or back squat or any of the PPM's. Are you telling me that this dude has no core strength because he does not stand or jump on a Stability Ball?

Is This Not "Core" Strength At It's Best?

Is the entire hip complex, abdominal content, spine, shoulder girdle, not being challenged with this athlete (Beside every other major and supporting muscle group)? Doesn't the bar count as an unstable surface that needs postural control to perform the squat(The Squat is one of the PPM's)? Last time I checked, the ring and athletic field did not move. It was the fighter pushing off the mat overcoming resistance (his/her opponent).

Now here's my "BEEF" with training on Stability Balls:

I am "all for" adding and do in fact have my fighters use Stability Balls in their training, but It's one of the many tools that we implement in our program. We do not get carried away to extremes with Stability Balls as in standing on top of them. It's not the primary focus and should not be in any one's training unless you are training for the circus. No thumbs up from me here. The benefit should always out weigh the risk. It is very dangerous standing on a Stability Ball. I train fighters (Boxing, MMA, Kick Boxing, Muay Thai, Jiu Jitsu, Etc). Every fighter that I have trained have become really strong and fast with out ever having to stand on one Stability Ball! Imagine that? What's the sense of training for a fight if you have a 99% chance of falling on your ass and busting it in the process! Makes absolutely no sense. Fighting does though!

Here is what you should have learned:

-Fighters should never stand on Stability Balls. The risk out weighs the benefit.

-Stability Balls can be used in a fighters training, just not for standing.

-Primal Pattern Movements, especially with added resistance build balance and postural control. Standing and Jumping on Stability Balls gets your head cracked open and a cast on your arm.

-The picture of the athlete performing Stability Ball weighted cable crunches represents one of the many ways a Stability Ball can be properly used. This happens to be one of the exercises we use to train "The Core".

-Whispering "The Core" to yourself can be freaky.

-"The Core" can be considered the entire hip complex, abdominal content, spine and shoulder girdle.

- Fighters and Athlete's in the traditional sports will benefit from dumbbell and barbell exercises where their center of gravity is challenged through movements such as the Squat. Like the ring and athletic playing field, the athlete has to use their entire body to push off the mat and control their center of gravity exhibiting postural control to perform the task at hand. The task in the Squat is the barbell weight and in the ring, your opponent trying to crush you to the ground.

-It's very dangerous standing on a Stability Ball.

-99% of all athletes who attempt standing on Stability Balls usually fall even under supervision.

-Standing on Stability Balls for most fighters makes absolutely no sense!

A Side Note:

The Stability Ball does in fact create a training surface that challenges the body to stabilize itself. Dumbbell chest presses, weighted abdominal crunches, and hamstring pull-ins are just a few movements we use the Stability Ball for. Another safe and effective way the Stability ball can be used to help further "Core" development is through body weight "Reverse Hypers". Just choose a big enough stability ball.

Body Weight Reverse Hypers:

In a push-up position, align stability ball under the lower portion of your abdominals and hips. In the start position toes should remain just off the floor, keeping the legs straight. Start the movement by squeezing your glutes (rear) and extending your "straight legs" away from the floor. Return to the start position in a controlled manner. This is a basic body weight exercise that strengthens the glutes, lower back, and hamstrings. This movement can be supplemented into your training program as a low back warm-up. If you do not have access to a reverse hyper machine, add some ankle weights and make sure you crank the reps up. 2-3 sets of 10-25 reps should get you started!