TRAINER: Mike Barwis, Univ of Michigan

This is Mike Barwis. He is the strength and conditioning coach for the University of Michigan.

Listen to his answer to the question: In the grand scheme of things, how different is your training program than other programs around the country?

This is the sort of enthusiasm and passion you want from a S&C coach!! He has a real method and philosophy. You can tell he believes in it.

Thanks to Steve W for sending us this video.

Toilets and Range of Motion

Range of Motion (ROM) is an often neglected term or idea in the fitness realm. The most popular cardio machines in health clubs (elliptical, bikes, recumbent bikes, skiers, treadmills, stair steppers) do not address ROM issues. In many cases, they actually build on the problem!!

What does a toilet have to do with Range of Motion?

We just renovated a bathroom in our home. The one-level style of our home caters to older folks, and we wanted to add another feature that might increase this appeal....a taller-than-normal toilet. Old people like these thrones because they are easier to get on and off than a standard one. These bowls are no longer called "handicapped" models, but "comfort height." What troubles me is not how many younger people request these models, but rather why they are needed! Read on.

What is "the ROM issue?"

ROM is the degree to which certain joints bend, stretch, flex, hold, and articulate. Those people with poor ROM have difficulty getting into and out of certain body or joint positions. Those with exceptional ROM easily manipulate their bodies into and out of not only normal positions, but the extremes at which their bodies are capable of. Simply put, we should strive to reach the maximum of ROM in all of our body's joints and movements. But we do a bad job at maintaining this pre-programmed condition. Enter the ROM issue. Or should we say "epidemic."

It is proven fact that our muscles are weakest at the maximums or extremes of ROM. Take climbing stairs for example. A staircase made of 6" tall stairs is easy to climb. The ROM required of our hips, knees, and ankles is nominal. However, stretch each stair riser height to 12". Now we see increases in the ROM required in all of these joints and muscles. It becomes more difficult because our muscles are forced into positions where they aren't as strong. Now stretch that stair riser height to something even taller!

Take the "lunge test"

I just walked around my home with a measuring tape. My bar stools are 30". I was able to get one flat foot on top of the barstool and step up onto it (beware of the ceiling! If I hadn't had tall ceilings, I'd have knocked myself out.) I encourage you to try the same. Find something taller than 12" and sturdy and climb up on it like a stair. No hands! For those of you who are adventurous, find the maximum height you can get a foot up onto. For me at 74" height, the 36" kitchen counter was about 1" too high to plant my foot onto. Getting up onto it would be another challenge!

This diminished strength at maximum ROM is normal to ALL people. It is nature. The problem is that many of us can no longer even get our bodies into the position in the first place, let alone get out of it.

Old people begin to fail at taller stairs, then normal height stairs. This ability decreases until any stairs are impossible.

Problems with "luxurious" cardio machines

In the article Third World Squat by Craig Weller, the author believes all humans should address poor muscular balance and flexibility. He doesn't see these imbalances in those who live in third-world countries for the reasons listed in his article. These indigenous peoples have maintained the natural ROMs programmed into our human design. They have not allowed comfort equipment or safe-to-use cardio machines to adversely affect their bodies' ROM.

So what happens as we grow older? We allow ourselves to adapt to our surroundings: chairs, elevators, Rascal scooters. We lose muscular and joint flexibility. We find comfort in using fitness equipment that keep our joints from these maximums of ROM. Take the above listed cardio machines. They limit our ranges of motion. Why? One reason is that there is a smaller chance of injury in operating in these narrow ROMs...leading to fewer lawsuits against the manufacturers and health club. Another reason is that the human body does not get as sore when kept within comfortable ROMs, and we "feel good" after the workout...which keeps us paying membership dues and buying the equipment. So we use them. Lastly, these machines are open for use to a wider variety of skill level for those with poor flexibility...because beginners have to begin somewhere!

Users of these machines leave the club feeling good. Yet they generally leaving without working on one of the most neglected aspects of fitness: wide Range of Motion.

These machines are not all bad. They serve a purpose. A limited purpose. The problem lies in the belief that these machines are the end-all-be-all. These machines are good for warmups, rehab, and beginners with limited flexibility and ROM. But we should aim to advance beyond them! Into a program that includes ways to optimize our abilities to get into and out of these extreme positions. Ask yourself if YOU condition your body within wide degrees of joint movement or not.

Flexibility

Being flexible is a very positive physical trait. However, muscular flexibility on its own is not enough to claim "wide ROM." Wide ROM factors in strength and balance at those extreme positions. You might falsely believe you have ROM because you have a terrific stretching routine. Don't be fooled. You might be missing something.

Another test

Here is another at-home hands-on segment. Some call this the "box squat test." Find something low to sit on. Maybe it's a 5-gallon bucket, a milk crate, or a cinder block. Maybe it's a stack of Olympic weight plates, two cases of beer, or a stack of phone books. Maybe it's the toilet seat. Sit down. Put your feet bottoms flat on the ground. Yes that means your heels too. Stand up without gaining momentum or rocking to your toes. Can you do it? Keep messing with different heights to find the lowest measurement you can. As our friend Tom G poetically rhymes, "Get your ass to the grass!"

To do this test well, you must have muscular balance. Most deficiencies are in the posterior chain of hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. Not just flexibility. But strength.

The soft couch at the family party

You've all probably been told at some time, "Don't let grandma sit in that chair. She'll never get out!"

Have you ever been to a family party where an older uncle or grandma sits down in that couch with soft cushions? A couple of you had to reach out your hands to pull him or her up? But of course not after he or she gave all the effort possible to get out on their own accord. They shifted momentum. Tried to rock themselves to the edge. They tried to press down on the couch or chair arms (mimicking a dip position). But they had to resort to you and your cousin pulling them onto their feet.

Back to the toilet

Talk about "functional fitness." Wow. Who'd have thought that ROM and practical real-life fitness would have an application in the bathroom? And who'd have thought I'd sink down to actually write about it?

We are catering to this adaption of narrow ROM in our powder rooms when we put in comfort-height toilets. The problem is that it seems as though the people who NEED these items are getting younger and younger. It's a sad state of affairs when middle-aged folks need to rock themselves off the potty.

We will all get old and weak and feeble. Hopefully I get to live that old. But I'm not going down without a fight. I'll continue to bash cardio machines and poor ROM. I'll steadily suggest and make a case for third-world squatting and wide lunges....for those in preschool, the nursing home, and everyone in between. I really truly believe that working within and striving for wide ROM as a young person, and continuing into older years, provides for the highest probability of a high quality of life into old age.

The day might come when I am too old, weak, or injured to get up off the toilet by myself. But it is not today. And if I have a say-so in it, it's not anytime soon either.

Please make a commitment to increasing your ROM. Do something about it today.

MORE: For more on ROM and scaling issues, please read George Demetriou's article here.

Prison Workout #3 - Ripped hands

There is something rather sexy about a woman with gym chalk on her hands.

Maybe it's the attitude they take with regards to that activity in which they are partaking in that exact moment. Hey, I know this might hurt my hands, but the reward is worth the risk. They chalk up their palms in preparation to attempt something difficult, knowing they might fail. I'm giving it my all. They work through the pain until the task is complete. The momentary discomfort is less than the lasting sting of failure or quitting.

The above photo is of my wife's hand after PWO#3 - Zeta (a grand total of 6000# from ground to overhead using any movement, load, or repetition scheme....for time, of course). She just got finished with clean-and-jerking a total of THREE TONS of weight!! 34:30 of continual full-body movement.

I posted an entry on this blog: "Hand and Callus Care." I never really embraced the whole "Check out my nasty ripped up hands. I'm a stud" mentality. But after seeing my wife's rip this week, I had a slight change of heart. After all the kettlebelling she's done, and after all the care she gives her hands, she still got a rip. And now I'm that guy who posts a picture of messed up hands on his site saying, "Hey look at this!" I guess it's the pride of having a partner whose determination and focus won't let her quit. (By the way, her C&J form was most excellent!)

It really was a "rite of passage" for her. She completed the 6000#. She didn't even say anything about it until after the WO. This injury simply had more to do with pure volume of work rather than neglect of hand care. And now she can join in the silly discussions about calluses, and bar knurl, and pumice stones, and skin graters, and pullups, and hand lotions, and how she still managed to get a rip. Her first rip.

And I got to cut off the flap of skin!

Athlete: Melissa Stockwell

One of my brothers and I were down in Chicago to cheer on our other brother in his first sprint triathlon. We are waiting along the course to get another glimpse of him. Oddly there was a break in the steady stream of racers exiting the swim, off to get their bikes. Around the bend I saw a runner with an odd gait, soon to realize she only had one leg.

We stopped dead in our tracks. The otherwise quiet crowd begins cheering and clapping like I hadn't heard it that entire morning! What an unbelievable experience to watch her race!! At that moment, so many thoughts, emotions, and questions fill your mind. My brother manages to snap a few photos before she speeds by. We in our cheering group talked about her for a while after she disappeared.

I got home. I couldn't let it rest. Who was the woman? What happened to her? What's her story? I check the photo. I needed to know who this woman was. She wasn't the first para-athlete I'd ever seen. Just something about that dramatic way she entered into view and inspired the crowd as she passed...with no other racers around her. With no bib number visible on her arms and knowing nothing other than what's in the above photo, I didn't have many leads to investigate. I won't bore you with the Googling details, but I eventually identify her:

1LT Melissa Stockwell, 1st Cavalry Division, United States Army.

I came to learn Melissa lost her leg when an IED exploded during a convoy in Iraq. She quickly returned to active sports, including swimming and triathlons. She was a Paralympian in the 2008 Beijing games...swimming in three events. We just so happened to see her during her first international distance triathlon right here in Chicago!! A real blessing.

Little more needs to be said about this amazing woman. Not many like her around. I'm thankful for having been able to see her today.

Link to her blog and website.

Hand and callus care

Nothing will give calluses to one's hands as quickly as heavy doses of deadlifts, pullups, or kettlebelling. Basically any of the "pulls" will mess up hands!

The tearing or ripping of these hardened palm calluses are called "rips."  Rips have been wrongly embraced by some weightlifting cultures as some "red badge of courage." These folks proudly display photos of bloody palms, covered in now-pink chalk dust, with captions like, "Check out these babies! I worked out hard."  The caption should have read, "Look at me. I'm an idiot who didn't take care of my hands. Now I'll have to cut back my training until it heals."

There is no pride in getting a rip. It generally means that one hasn't properly addressed the needs of their hands. (Yes, rips and tears do happen to those who do spend time treating calluses...so don't jump my case.)  Let's face it: Rips are injuries. They are cuts or deep scrapes on the gripping side of the human hand. And they affect not only further weight or gymnastics training, they adversely interrupt everyday life!

I bring up this topic because I got a rip the other day while doing pullups. It was after a few days of weighted pullups and kettlebell deadlifts and cleans.  I went into this workout looking at my hands thinking, "I should have shaved these calluses off."  But for saving the minor inconvenience, I did not. I went straight into the workout even though I knew better. I got the rip, then had to finish my workout hanging from my fingertips.

Treatment of calluses: I've tried a lot of techniques and tools to treat my calluses.  I've almost completely abandoned the pocketknife and teeth-gnawing tactics for more effective methods.  The above photo is of the Ped Egg.  It's like a cheese grater for dead skin. If you watch the commercial, you'll see it's marketed towards a woman's feet...far from a bulky powerlifter!  But the Ped Egg works wonders on palm calluses.  I tried one at a local gym (eeewww....community egg. Yeah, I know it's disgusting.)  Now I have my own.  

I also use a pumice stone.  For a few dollars, a stone can get some of what the Ped Egg cannot. I use the Ped Egg on the dry, hardened skin before my hands get wet, and the stone while washing my hands or during a shower.  This combination ensures I remove whatever I possibly can.

Other options are Dremel tools (I'm serious!) and callus shavers. With my Ped Egg success, I haven't tried either of them. For what it's worth, with the exception of pumice stones, work on calluses when your hands are bone dry!

For when the callus rips:  After a rip, it is best to cut away the flap of skin. I've used everything from a thumbnail, to pocketknife, to scissors, to nail clippers, to my teeth. I like to cut the flap when my hands are moist, either from sweat or after washing.  The skin cuts cleaner. If you wait until the flap "hardens," you lose that pliability of the skin.  Of course washing is critical, and covering during subsequent workouts until it heals is a good plan. 

Take care of your hands. There is no elite status for those who bleed during a workout session. Blood on equipment is not only slippery, it's unsanitary and potentially deadly. Rips happen. Let's keep them to a minimum, so we can maximize our training.

Injuries and Operational Readiness

I recently sat in on a Police Kinesiology Company (PKCO) seminar at the Illinois Tactical Officers Association. This was the same seminar mentioned a few entries back. The instructors provided an overview of "police specific" training. Many interesting ideas were presented in a very professional manner.

One topic really hit home, and it is an issue often overlooked in all types of training (functional training included).

Working Injured.

We have all gone to work injured. Most of us train injured, simply because we either cannot or will not stop training. The more I dwell on this topic, the more I realize how important, and understated, it is. This is especially true for those of us who rely on fitness to carry out our everyday duties.

This may seem to be an obvious truth to most, but think back. How many times have you shocked your system with a few too many airsquats, resulting in an inability to walk down stairs or quickly exit your vehicle? How often have you strained your back, making a squat or quick turn painful or impossible to complete? I am not alone in saying I have done both, several times.

As many of us are pushing our physical limitations with a variety of functional exercises and programs, don't lose sight of why we are working out. Don't be afraid to scale the workouts you see on the CrossFit mainpage, Prison Workout, etc. Setting personal records is great, but it should not be done at the expense of operational readiness.

A Fine Line

“There is a fine line between hard and stupid!’ These words from my old Gunny didn’t ring as true to a 19 year old Marine as they do today. I remember the days where going on “light duty” was a sign of weakness to our fellow Marines. Days when we PT’d with sprains, breaks, cuts and any number of injuries. Pain for the sake of pride.

Now don’t get me wrong. As young Marines we needed to gain the strength of mind and character to fight through tough times. There is a distinct difference between pain and injury. You can be in pain such as sucking wind on a long run or muscles cramping during a 300 workout. That pain is goooood. (especially when it’s over!). But there can be no good in continuing to run (during a workout) after tearing your ACL. That is simply injury. You will only make it worse, lengthen your recovery time and in turn affect your fitness goals.

Let’s fast forward to today. A few years older and wiser, right? Sometimes, I wonder.

Any number of injuries should have sent me to the doctor. Problems with my knees, back and neck. Several years of pain and “sucking it up”. Hard or stupid? (as my Gunny rings in my ears) The simple answer… STUPID!!

My knees which had bothered me for so long, affecting my running, walking and day to day quality of life. It was a hard fix… I needed to stretch! In about 20 minutes my doctor gave me the simplest of cures which had me back running within the month.

My neck and back which caused me much discomfort and loss of strength. That was a pinched nerve. This is a continuing fix but is better every day.

My fitness level has raised drastically since I sought treatment. A healthy body will always outperform an unhealthy one. I wonder where I could be if not for those couple years. Well, enough wondering as I cannot control the past, only the future.

So for those of you who are procrastinating on treatment of an injury, I ask you.. “Are you being hard or stupid?!”