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Bench Press

 

Ah, the ultimate buddy lift – the good old Bench Press! probably the first lift many a young man ever learnt and therefore has become a staple in nearly all a young adolescents and wanna be strong mans routine. Want to get hench – then your better bench, apparently…..

 

Now i’m not the biggest fan of this ego lift. Its performed supine – that is laying on your back. Its almost always taught and performed wrong and i’ve seen and had to treat so many injured shoulders because of it.

 

Having said that, there is no denying that many a herculean physique and strength level has been built using this primal lift. Performed correctly, with the right emphasis and training protocol, we can return the Bench Press to some of its former glory.

 

Does the Bench Press belong in this series of functional Power Lifting? When executed correctly – yes. Its a multi functional, compound movement that can be full body athletic lift and most importantly, you can lift heavy on it. There is no denying that you can build some raw upper body power with this lift. Also, you’re going to do it anyway (no matter what i say) so you may as well do it properly!

 

The Bench Press is an whole body athletic movement but the musculature primarily stimulated are the anterior delt’s, pec’s major (driving the bar off the chest) and triceps (aiding in the full lockout of the arms) and the muscles in the forearm isometrically. There’s a bunch of stuff happening with the lats, rotator cuff’s etc acting as stabalizers during the lift and i’ll be going deeper into that in a future article.

 

Bench Press video

 

We’ll be covering the following-

 

Mobility/movement primer thoracic surge

Correct set up on the bench

7 key components applied to the bench press

Optimal grip width

Proper foot placement

Head and tongue position

Bending the bar to create more tension and aids in sucking the shoulders in

Concentric faze

Eccentric faze

Where to keep your gaze during the lift

Compensatory movement – the prone cobra

Special Considerations

 

Why the tongue on the roof of the mouth? I’ve had clients and seen gym rats using their head as another purchase with which to push off with and aid in the lifting of the bar – needless to say that this crazy manoeuvre will result in an injury to the neck and spine. To remedy this, I insist that the persistent offender perform the Bench Press with their head slightly elevated off the bench – maybe an inch or so. This is where the tongue plays an important part. Placing it on to the roof of your mouth activates the deep neck flexors so the neck extensors don’t become overused, creating a balanced column of strength that your head can now be supported by. Keeping the head from being correctly stabilised will result in an imbalance between the posterior and anterior portion on the neck resulting in a distorted cervical spine (or forward head posture, which will in the future become a structural deformation) and become the home of a whole host of other injuries. Also, we’re building strength and balance to the entire body through these lifts – including the neck!

 

Use a proper bench! Most gyms have correct benches, that the olympic style barbell is usually housed on but i have seen gyms with a bench that looks like it have been bought from your local supermarket. Ensure the bench is wide enough that your shoulders aren’t draped over the edges and long enough that its supporting you, head to butt. Also ensure its base of support is sturdy – you don’t want to be on something that has all the stability of a rickety bridge (like in the indiana jones movies!) whilst hoisting serious iron over your neck!

 

Go on then – train and get strong at this lift so you can ask the inevitable question to your wide eyed gym buddies….. “how much you benchin bro!?”

 

The Squat

There aren’t enough good words that can be said about the Squat.  It rivals the Deadlift as the King of multi joint compound movements and I’d like to think of it as its younger brother.  So, that’s like a Duke or something.

 

Despite the Squat being as basic movement as you could perform, I mean, all you’re doing is putting a weight on your back, squatting down and standing back up but i’ve been coaching in gyms all over the globe and the Squat is one of the most bastardized exercises out there.

I’ve seen everyone from the MMA fighters to the wannabe strongman make this seemingly simple exercise look like a good morning or other bowing to the sun type movement!

 

So misunderstood is this exercise that many trainers have said that the weighted barbell squat is dangerous and even unnatural, opting instead for “safer” options, like the smith machine and the leg press!  I’m not going to bash these exercises in this article (too much) as I want to get on with the instruction of the proper exercises; suffice it to say,  who the hell lifts a weight supported on two railings and a straight back in real life?  And the leg press!  This sled with weights has been responsible for more bad backs (injuries) than any other single exercise I can think of.  Leaning forward on a squat is an unnatural movement, is it?  Try standing up from your comfy lazy boy without leaning forward – good luck!

 

A properly performed squat will build your body from head to toe in one of the most functionally useful movement patterns possible.  Jumping, lifting, running – are all positively affected by the squat.

 

A correct and heavy squat has also been documented to show massive increases in testosterone and growth hormone, more than any other single movement – strength and lean muscle tissue with loss of fat will be your reward.  This increase in growth hormone will also stimulate growth in the upper body making this a full body blaster!

 

Old time strong man, legend and proper person, the mightiest minister, Paul Anderson even wrote an entire book on this primal lift.  He and his training partners have built freakish size and strength in short periods of time with his now famous and classic 20 rep breathing squat routine…. from www.cbass.com -

 

“Bob Peoples and the weight lifting aficionados who read IronMan magazine now know that Paul Anderson was a man to watch.  But how did he get so strong so fast? According to Peoples’ article, he did it by squatting all day, every other day.  On the alternate day, he worked on the bench press and a few other exercises.”

I’ve tried it and yes, it’s a puker

 

Should I not be doing half squats?  Err….no.  Hell no.  The half squat has been used as a “safer” (read: pussified) version of the proper exercise but in the long run causes muscle imbalance issues and robs you of the truth strength you should be able to attain.  The half squat movement will mainly stimulate the quads but the actual (full) SQUAT also places great emphasis on the glutes and hamstrings, allowing for overall and greater development – hip to heel.  The knee joint is the  strongest in a fully flexed/extended position, not the positions in-between.  So do them properly or don’t do them at all!

 

Squats (along with the Deadlift) are responsible for rehabbing and strengthening my poor old knees – and if you know me, you know the problems I’ve had with them over the years.  Surgeries and all – I now function pain free and with full mobility!

 

What’s a full squat, I hear you ask!  Hips pass below the knee in the bottom position, baby!

 

“If you don’t bend those legs and do those squats, you’ll never reach your potential.”
Paul Anderson, The King of Squats.

 

Performing the Squat

 

It is important to remember that there are several squat variations – Power Squat, Sumo Squat, Olympic Squat, Overhead Squat and Front Squat,  all which have their place and elicit various responses but the focus of this article will be the standard Power Squat as it gives you the biggest ‘bang for your buck’ in terms of benefits against the  time/effort put in.  This variation (above all the others) is also the one where you can lift the most poundage!

 

What we’ll be covering in the Squat Video -

 

Mobility – the ‘prisoner squat’ to prime the movement pattern and open up those hips and knees

 

Gripping the bar and positioning

How to un-rack

Where to fix your gaze

7 key components

Chest high position

Foot distance

Squat depth

Power breathing on exertion

 

Compensatory movement to decompress the joints and work the functional opposite movement pattern to maintain balance of the body and remain injury free.

Safety points

 

I know we’ve been pushing the macho strength angle but the squat is not to be messed with.  Remember, before you drive the weight in a piston like fashion away from the earth, you first need to lower the weight.  And gravity will not be your friend! As you lower the big heavy bar and the large weights that accompany it, it will attempt to fold your body like a concertina and turn you in to a human pancake – so remain ‘in the movement’ and vigilant.  Therefore I suggest that you perform all heavy squats in a power rack.  If your gym doesn’t have one – change gyms.

 

In no other lift do you emphasize more total body contraction than you do in the squat.  Act like you’re in prison – keep your whole body tight, your abs pressurised and your butt clenched throughout this whole movement!

 

A lot of so called trainers out there blame the squat for bad knees – of course this is true if you perform this lift as if you’re on a trampoline!  When descending, DO NOT just drop down, passively falling your butt to the floor as if sitting on the sofa after a hard day’s work.  Instead, actively PULL yourself down (using your hip flexors), maintaining correct knee and toe alignment and pressure in your core.  The feeling should be like the loading of an incredibly strong spring.  When reaching the bottom – power breath and drive up slow and steady uncoiling yourself, keeping tight all the way to lock-out position.  If at any time you feel you’re loosing focus – don’t mess around – one step towards the pins and re-rack that bar!

 

Keep the reps low, the focus and weights high and start adding this great movement in to your strength cycle!

 

The Overhead Press

 

Lifting something heavy and straight overhead has to be the grand daddy of all pressing movements and is the perfect partner to the previously articled ‘King of Pulling Movements – the Deadlift’. The Over Head Press (OHP) is truly a pressing movement which really does build and emphasise raw upper body strength.

 

Back in the pre steroid, sleeveless tops and cut off jean era – your buddies wouldn’t ask  “Dude! How much you benching!?”  but  instead, how much can you press! The OHP builds upper body strength and a concrete core whilst teaching the lower and upper body to work in unison to support the heavy loads as they are driven skyward. All without overdeveloping the pec’s into female like breasts.

 

The press is mistakenly thought of as solely an arm and shoulder developer, where as you’d have a tough time finding a better exercise for this purpose, make no mistake, this old school lift is a whole body athletic movement – made more so by the insistence for us to perform it standing.

 

The arms and shoulders may appear to be doing all the work but the abs, obliques, costals and the back are are stabilizing the body and assisting the hips and legs to lift and support the upper musculature in driving the weight into loclout position overhead.

 

How to Over Head Press Video

 

Heres what you’ll see in this video;

 

- Mobility/movement primer (shoulder circles)

- Stance set up

- Grip style and width

- Explanation of the 7 key components in relation to the overhead press

- Bar placement in palms

- Bracing of the core to protect the back (power breathing)

- Concentric faze

- Eccentric faze

- The ‘sway’ back movement performed whilst pressing

- Why shoulder pack

- Physical landmarks whilst the bar is in full lock out to ensure correct alignment

- Compensatory movement – to decompress and rebalance the body by working the functional opposite movement.

 

 

Special Considerations:

If you have immobile shoulders or have adopted a posture where the shoulders are  rounded (due to our desk sitting lifestyles) you MUST invest extra time in correcting this. In an effort to raise your arm overhead (weighted or otherwise) you will hyper extend your back giving you the illusion of full mobility and instead just you will be preparing yourself for a world of back pain usually and mistakenly associated with the OHP.

Having tight Lats, Pec minor, and/or Teres Major etc. are all contributing factors as of why ANY overhead movement will be greatly inhibited. Taking a peak into your local commercial gym will give you an insight in to how and why – (pseudo-bodybuilders) who can not get there arms fully extended above their heads - loss of motion due to partial ROM Lat exercises, partial ROM shoulder exercises, too many abdominal crunches, as well as simply never attaining full ROM overhead.

One of the major reasons people take time off work in (in the UK at least)  is because of lower back pain. No doubt related to the excessive amount of time spent sitting in a chair or and and lack of correct core function. Due to this, I recommend and emphasise the importance of a tight core to protect it. Again, the power breathing is employed here as your trying to cause a large amount of intra-abdominal muscular pressure. Together with the contraction of the abs/gutes ‘bracing’ is achieved.  Believe me when I say you don’t want to be hoisting large loads over your head without your lumbar spine having some support (literally) from its muscular cousins of the core.

Finally the sway back movement. Why, you may ask. Its quite straight forward really. You want to lift the heavy loads in the shortest and safest route, which in this case is in a straight line overhead. Unfortunately your head/face is in the way so you’ve got to move it by swaying! If you don’t perform this movement, you are in danger of pushing the weight out in front of you like some sort of weird standing incline press which will only spell trouble when lifting serious poundages.  On the flip side, you don’t want to excessive sway back either – the movement is subtle and is just enough for you to move out of the way without the bar smashing into you beak!

Enjoy and get strong!

 

The Deadlift

 

It seems I’ve stirred up a lot of interest with the GPP and especially the Powerlifting articles.  A few  people had forgotten the advantages of building a substantial strength base and appreciated  sophistication of the “tri-ring” formula applied to the important conventional movements.  In the following series, I’ll be addressing the queries on the application of the Circular Strength Training  protocols to the seemingly primitive but unparalleled strength building movements.

 

We’ll start with what I consider the king of all powerlifting movements – the Deadlift.  I honestly think that this is the daddy of strength training. Whereas the pec’s, abs, biceps are what not get you laid; the back, tri’s, glutes and hamstrings will get you paid!  Yes, despite what conventional fitness modalities would have you believe, humans are rear wheel drive,  our power is primarily from the posterior chain.  Nothing will develop the backside of your body in a more functional movement pattern than pulling a heavily loaded bar off the floor as in the Deadlift.

 

The brutish strength, confidence and just flat out alpha type feel you get from ripping monstrous poundages off the floor with your bare hands is just hard to match.

 

The Deadlift, being a compound movement, utilises nearly every major muscle of your body:
• Spinal Erectors
• Quads
• Glutes
• Hamstrings
• Lower Back
• Middle and Upper Trapezius
• Abdominals and Obliques
• Lats
• Calves

 

Manning up (even if you are a woman) and  getting properly acquainted with this movement will ensure you’ll be doing away with 60% of the machinery in your local gym!  Wave goodbye to your leg press and smith machine and shake hands with your new found crushing grip strength with the pulling and lifting strength developed through diligent practice of this incredible lift.

 

This lift is so great that it will even affect you on the bio-chemical level.  The multi joint, compound lifts such as this have been shown to stimulate release of testosterone and growth hormone, the two essential chemicals, if an increase in lean muscle, strength and fat loss is your goal – as it should be!

 

I personally have a lot to thank the Deadlift for.  Years ago, I was plagued with patellofemoral pain and a host of other problems at the knee, hip, ankle, and lower back; the worst being an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear which required a replacement ligament from my hamstring.  This, I later discovered, was a general weakness in the posterior chain and in particular my bicep femoris (hamstrings).  I spent time with the good old leg curl machine, but make no mistake my friends – although this piece of seemingly suitable apparatus looks like a perfect fit for my needs, it does not require a co contraction of the glutes and hamstrings, works in the open chain and occurs in a fixed line of motion.  Our bodies are a little smarter than that and crave the closed chain, truly functional movement like the deadlift (and its variations) over some piece of selectorised equipment!  My knees have been pain and injury free since – even post-surgery!

 

How to Deadlift Video

Here is what you’ll see in the video:

 

Mobility/movement primer

 

Explanation of the 7 key components in relation to the Deadlift

Conventional Deadlift stance

Distance from bar

Hip placement / posture

Hip fold movement

Power breathing causing bracing, intra-abdominal pressure

Grip (over/over and over/under) considerations

Concentric phase

Eccentric phase

Head posture, where to keep your gaze during the lift

 

Compensatory movement – down dog – to decompress and rebalance the body by working the functional opposite movement.

 

 

 

 

 

Extra tips

 

Footwear

When deadlifting, resist the urge to wear your favourite Nike Max or any other shoe that looks like an astronaut should wear it.  Instead, opt for a shoe that gives you the ability to actually feel the floor and get some kind of feedback on correct weight distribution, foot position and placement. Flat, thin soled footwear like Chuck Taylor’s, wrestling shoes, UGS (Universal Grappling Shoes) or Vibram Five Fingers – like the ones I wear in the video – are the way to go.  When you start lifting some serious weight, you’ll be glad you are not doing so from and unstable, thick soled platform!

 

 

Do NOT use gloves!  Your swanky weight lifting gloves will inhibit the reflexes in your hands stopping you from gripping the bar as hard as you normally would and prevent you from recruiting the maximum amount of muscle fibres throughout the body.   They also look ridiculous. You want to grip the bar better? Then invest in some chalk.  If you want to complain about rough and calloused hands – I don’t want to hear it!

 

As for the weight belt – just don’t do it to yourself. The job of the core is to contain the pressure you create through your use of correct power breathing and in turn, stabilise the spine. Wearing the belt will be robbing your midsection of its responsibilities whist making you look silly in the process. Consistent use of the belt will teach your body to function incorrectly and become reliant on its use. Unless you walk around all day wearing one…..which is not cool.

 

Special considerations

Maintaining the correct back position – a tight arch in the lumbar spine – is imperative to efficient and safe performance of the Deadlift.  Rounding of the lower back is not permitted during this movement and has been the reason for many a destroyed back.  If you cannot maintain correct alignment in the spine then may I suggest strengthening the back with an exercise like the Good Morning.  Failing that, search out a good coach and get to the root of the problem.  This is a great exercise ONLY when performed properly!

 

Now go and get beastly strong – enjoy!

 

Saturday the 12th Feb, saw the first Sambo for MMA seminar held at Fight Science Gym, Aldershot! This fantastic facility is run by UK MMA champion and all around good guy Nick ‘The Headhunter” Chapman. He was kind enough to invite yours truly down to conduct a small workshop on the style of Sambo taught to me by my coach, World Champion and Master of Sport Scott Sonnon. I had a great time showing the intricacies, differences and advancements of our style of Sambo which was well received by the ‘The Headhunter” and his team. I must say that as well as owning an amazing 20.000 ft facility, fully loaded with all the tools and toys a budding martial artist could ever want, Nick and his team also possessed incredibly humble attitudes and an amazing work ethic. It was truly a honor and a pleasure coaching these warriors for the day – and they all tapped in a very manly fashion. No screaming!!

 

 

Below is a testimonial from the man himself:

“I have been grappling and cross training martial arts for many years including, BJJ, Wrestling, Judo, Tae Kwon Do, K1, Muay Thai, all for MMA. I have developed my skills enough to secure a British MMA Title, but always looking for ways to improve my chances of success in the cage. I have known Vik Hothi for many years, but never knew until very recently that he has achieved black belt status in Sambo. He is humble and never one to brag. I have heard about this art and the devastating leg locks, so naturally i was keen to find out more. I asked Vik if he would hold a seminar at my gym Fight Science. He agreed and we were all completely amazed. He is a fantastic instructor as well as being an awesome practitioner of the Sambo art. I am now on a quest to reach the black belt grade through Viks instruction. Amazing guy, amazing coach, very inspirational and someone whom i would fully recommend.”

Nick “The Headhunter” Chapman, Managing Director at Fight Science Limited, UK      MMA Champion.

The following article contains information on how Scott Sonnon’s patented Tri-Ring Integration system and CST’s (Circular Strength Training) 7 key components can be applied to creating a more sophisticated, safer and efficient approach to a power lifting workouts and its specific movements.

 

There’s a lot of misinformation about powerlifting and its main movements such as the deadlift, squat, bench press barbell rows. I believe that these have come from uneducated trainers, people looking at the SPORT of powerlifting and the athletes involved in that, weak people who want an excuse to not be strong or new age yogis.

 

Just like with ANY training protocol there are chances of injuries and over specifications – especially with training programmes asking for increased loads over a training cycle. At the beginning stage of powerlifting, the movements are performed with relative ease and a low level of skill in order to see and feel progressions in physique and strength.  As the neuromuscular system and the body get strong quite quickly when powerlifting (perhaps more than most exercising protocols) the ego gets massaged and the excitement coupled with the alluring promise of Herculean strength ensures the inevitable – over training and injury soon follow as the athlete attempts to match the previous weeks success.

 

Make no mistake, this will happen with bodyweight, kettlebell and even clubbell movements if workouts are not structured properly – it’s just a lot more obvious when you are attempting to lift your bodyweight over your head, such as in an overhead press or ripping triple your bodyweight off the floor with a deadlift.

 

Correct cycling within a routine, rep range, times under tension etc. Is incredibly important to continual and injury free progress during a powerlifting cycle.  Knowing when to push the poundage is not nearly as important as knowing when to push yourself AWAY from it.  Cutting back on your poundage in order to work your way back up and exceed your previous best lifts is an essential skill learnt through trial and error or taught to you by a knowledgeable and thoughtful coach.

 

I’ve also heard the ill-informed mention that the movements are unnatural for the human body and “excessive” weight bearing is bad for our joints and structure.  That the “performance breathing” will cause horrible internal injuries, so it’s best to keep using your colour coded Ken & Barbie kettlebells in “functional” movement patterns in order to get the body and the athleticism you you’ve always wanted.  Try telling that to your ancestors.  I wonder, if they couldn’t cut down and pick up materials (weight bearing squats, pressing), throw spears hunting and picking up boar or dear (pressing,lunges and squats), would  those same “experts” still be around today to advise the public not to perform the movements that ensured the continuation of their bloodline!

 

Power breathing also has its place.  Whereas I think it’s totally overused in workouts nowadays (I’ve personally seen gym goers hissing away while pulling away on a pink Dynaband!), power breathing when performing heavy lifts ensures the rise in intra-abdominal pressure, creating a ‘virtual weight lifting belt’ which braces the core and protects the spine.  Imagine pressing your body weight or more over your head without a strong and sturdy core – it would give you a one way ticket to my osteopath.  And he charges a lot!

 

After figuring out how you are going to cycle your workouts, rep ranges, etc. We can now move on to performance of the workout and the individual exercises in a safe and progressive manner.

 

(Ring 1) Starting the workout with movement(s) to specifically prime the joints and movement pattern for the individual exercise has been found to aid significantly in the prevention of injury and prepared the athlete (physically and mentally) for the work ahead.  This will ensure that the correct and safe ranges of motion and form can be maintained for that particular exercise.  This is very different to stretching the muscles before performing power lifting movements, as stretching will destabilize the joints. You want to be mobile but not loose.

 

(Ring 2) Next will be the actual performance of the individual exercises.  Despite the powerlifting movements looking brutish and basic in nature (and they kind of are at the beginner stage of training) there must still be quite a few technical points for you to adhere to to ensure the safe passage to the island of strength.

 

The best, easiest to assimilate and safest way to proceed is to use the 7 Key components. The 7KC were taught to me by one of my coaches, Scott Sonnon, who uses this as a measure for good quality athletic movement. Any time you see good quality movement, you’ll be able to identify them by noticing the following:

 

The 7 key components from the ground up are:

 

-Leg drive (pushing away from the earth with the legs)

-Hip recruitment (making sure to drive through with the hips)

-Core activation (by power breathing)

-Crown to coccyx alignment (top of the head to tail bone)

-Shoulder pack (keeping the arm “sucked” in to the shoulder socket)

-Elbow position/lock

-Grip confirmation/wrist alignment.

 

The final piece of the puzzle is the decompressing and compensating of the weight bearing movements.

 

(Ring 3) Working the body in the functional opposite direction is a lot different from merely performing a couple of random stretches after a heavy set.  Specifically designed or assigned yoga movements can be used here.  The selected exercises are performed not by merely holding the pose but actively working in the functional opposite movement pattern for strengthening it, whilst the worked movement pattern is forced to “relax” off and decompress.  Following this process will also ensure that your joints will stay lubricated and mobile after being compressed by the weight.

 

Adhering to the 7KC will have you performing PB’s (personal best) lifts like a pro safely and efficiently.  The joint mobility and yoga movements will mobilise and rebalance the body ensuring that the athlete doesn’t experience the over specification so feared by the functional trainer.

 

Keep these points in mind when performing these primal but important lifts and create a solid foundation of strength and general physical preparedness that your future sophisticated programs can truly build upon.

 

Note* power breathing has been shown to increase blood pressure, so do get checked by your doctor to make sure it’s safe for you to perform the lifts and use this breathing technique.  Also, weightlifters sometimes suffer from Valsalva retinopathy. This is a haemorrhage of the retina caused by holding your breath while “pushing”.  While the damage isn’t usually permanent, it’s still something to think about.  If you have vision problems after an intense lifting session, you now know the reason.

 

General Physical Preparedness

 

Many of my new clients like the idea of lifting kettlebells and swinging clubbells, training and possessing increased levels of sophistication but can’t do 10 pushups, a single pull-up or get tired walking across the room – that’s where GPP or General Physical Preparedness  training comes in!

 

“GPP training serves several functions: 1) the formation, strengthening or restoration of habits (skills) which play an auxiliary, facilitory role in sports perfectioning. 2) As a means of educating abilities, developed insufficiently by the selected type of sport, raising the general work capacity or preserving it. 3) As active rest, assisting the restoration processes after significant, specific loading and counteracting the monotony of the training. These functions define the role of the general-preparatory exercises in the athlete’s training system.” (Medvedeyev, 1988)

 

GPP can be done in many different ways but over the years i’ve seen time and again the the heavy, basic natural movements are the way to go. Cant beat them. Squat, deadlift, some kind of rowing or pulling movement (barbell rows/pull-ups) and a pressing movement like the over head press or the bench press, will be the strength base that everything can platform off.

 

Providing these movements are done with the correct instruction, the benefits can be great. Increased strength, fixing imbalances, the ability to attain greater levels of flexibility safely and increased cardio are all rewards for time spent lifting real iron. Once you’ve really studied these brutally basic movements you’ll discover that they too can be performed with there own level of sophistication.

 

GPP isn’t just for the new and uninitiated but also for the athlete or weekend warrior who’s moved up the pyramid performing and spending more time on other, more sophisticated levels of training. You will actually bring your increased and developed motor functions to the more “traditional” exercises and be able to perform them with greater efficiency, less chance of injury and with better results.

 

A lot of coaches will argue if GPP is even necessary! Many say that it is not and that that an athlete’s time is better spent on their sport. In my findings and opinion, i have found that purely training for one’s sport will all but ensure over specification and weakness.

 

And if you’re in the sport of LIFE, then creating a large enough (GPP) base that everything else can easily platform off is a must for a heathy, pain free journey up the sophistication ladder.

 

I like revisiting and increasing my foundational level of strength, VO2 max and various corrective exercises every year as it ensures that I am able to endure the rigorous of the specific training I put my body through. One of my teachers, Scott Sonnon, is often quoted in saying ‘be more prepared than the challenges you face’ and i think that describes this whole subject perfectly.

 

If i’m entering a grappling competition where i’ll be suplexing 85kilo fighters I want to be deadlifting/squatting double that. Not only then will I be able to safely perform specific power-metric movements (increasing my explosiveness) in preparation for contest day but also to endure the months of training leading up to that day. Possessing strength in the bank will help with long, injury free training camps.

 

GPP isn’t specific to strength training or cardio but for me, going back and performing basic levels of Intuflow (joint mobility) really concentrating on deepening my practice focusing on flexibility (the rebalancing benefits of deep yoga practice) and getting treatments with an osteopath or structural integration practitioner are all important pieces of this base level puzzle.

 

Cultivating something I like call Essential Life Force (ELF) energy (others call it ‘Prana‘ or ‘Chi’)  by meditating, yogic and chi kung breathing exercises, crystal healing and spending more time with friends and family are incredibly important and beneficial. Life, the world and everything that happens within it can drain you, stress you out and can leave you drained emotionally and spiritually (which will obviously affect you physically) and investing in some active recovery for you mind as well as your body can go a long way in preventing burn out and illness.

 

Don’t be scared to revisit and spend some quality time with GPP – your body, mind and spirit will thank you for it!