gym Archives - Tucson Strength

Deadlifting Dont’s

Danny — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 17:11:47 +0000

What not to do on the Deadlift

The Deadlift is one of the Big 3 in the sport of Powerlifting, something we take seriously at Tucson Strength. When I first shot this video the intent was to inform the powerlifting athlete of what NOT to do because it will disqualify you in in powerlifting competition. The more I think about, if you are going to deadlift with barbell you shouldn’t do any of these things regardless if you are competing in a sport or not.

Ramping

Ramping isn’t a powerlifting rule book term, but it’s the slang for letting the bar rest on your legs. Once that bar passes your knees, you should not let your knees shoot under the bar. This allows you to slide the bar up your legs and can create a mechanical advantage to getting the weight up. I’ve seen people do this quickly and get away with it, but when you do this you leave it up to the judges, you run the risk of getting DQ’d for the lift. I see people doing this in the gym on their training sets and the more you practice it, the more you will be prone to make it a part of your habit. STOP IT.

DESCENDING BAR

Once you break the ground with the bar, the bar must always be moving up. The bar can stop, but it can’t go back down then up again. If you are in a grind of a lift and fighting the weight and keep the bar moving up. Many times at a meet if the head ref sees the bar go down and back up they will give you the down command because they already know the lift has failed. Also your feet have to stay planted. If you step before the bar touches the mat its a red light.

DOnt drop the bar

DOn’t get in the habit of dropping your deadlifts in the gym. You will always revert to your training when things get heavy. When you lockout the deadlift and receive the “down” command keep your hands on the bar until the plates touch the mat. If you drop right before you will still get a red light.

shaking the bar

Many lifters have a prelift tradition of getting nuts and jerking on the bar. If you jerk on the bar so hard and the plates leave the ground, that is a red light. Once the plates leave the ground it is considered an attempt. Yes getting psyched up is part of the sport, but so is control.

Hope these tips help.

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The Bench Press: Gym PR vs Competition Bench

Admin — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 20:16:56 +0000

I can’t count the times someone has come into the gym that tells me they can bench a certain amount, only to get trapped underneath the bar when attempting 1 competition rep at that weight. Bench pressing in competition is a different beast, and the skills must be practiced. To make it even more confusing each federation has slightly different rules. Since I am a referee for USPA I will write this referring mostly to USPA rules but there are some commonalities amongst all many of the feds.

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

Showing control and following commands are the biggest difference. It is one thing to psych yourself up for a huge PR in the gym. If you are just lifting off and bouncing the bar off your chest then locking it out, it counts in the gym and there is nothing wrong with that. If you are getting stronger then good for you. If you are in a meet, the referees are looking for you to be able to control the weight throughout the range of motion. There are 3 commands you need to know on the Bench. “START”, “PRESS”, “RACK”.

Once you un-rack the weight (or have your spotter lift you off) you have to show control at the top with your elbows locked out. Once you show control the referee will shout out, “START”. Once that command is called the only thing you can do is bring the bar down to your chest. Once the bar touches the chest the referee will wait for the bar to be motionless on your chest and they will scream out “PRESS”. The next movement has to be directly up. When the elbows are locked out and you show control at the top your will receive the “RACK” command, and you put the weight back into the rack. Failure to obey the commands will get you red lights, even if you have a “successful” attempt.

THERE IS MORE..

Knowing the commands is great, but there are a few other things to know about the rules. Ill never forget when I was 18 years old I was at a hardcore gym and I witnessed a guy stacking on plate after plate on the bar. I watched him lift the weight off the rack and bounce the bar off his chest like a trampoline. As he was fighting the weight, his back arched and his ass came off the bench by at least 10 inches or more. He got the weight up and the gym cheered. It was cool to watch, but that would never fly in a competition. On the bench press, your butt must stay on the bench at all times to have the lift count. Once you get that start command your butt cannot leave the bench.

Another problem that occurs, is when lifters start their set up and lift the bar off with their butt off the bench, then set their butt down after the fact. Since the head judge can’t see your butt on the bench he is only looking at bar control. If your bar is out of the rack and he feels you are ready to lift you will get the “START” command. If your butt is off the bench you will receive red lights from the side referees. If you are going to use this set up method in USPA you can let the head ref know you put your butt down late, but you are still risking a red light since he cannot see that angle.

BELOW are 2 videos demonstrating things not to do with your butt on the bench.

WATCH THE SINK

Once the bar is motionless on your chest and your receive the “PRESS” command your next movement has to be up. Many lifters will sink the bar deep into their chest before pressing. That is fine, but make sure that you sink it before the press command. If you get “PRESS” then sink and press you will be red lighted. It is super important that if you have this habit that you practice your press timing on the bench.

There are a few more key differences between hitting legit benches in a meet vs being in the gym.

EVEN LOCKOUT and BAR PATH

Having both arms lockout at the same time is important. If you have a discrepancy in your arms and you let one side fall behind it is crucial to have the bar lockout at the top evenly. The bar can’t look like a seesaw going up. Another important factor is the bar cannot move back down at all once the press command is given, the bar path has to continue up. If you are fighting a max weight and the bar starts to come back down, even for a split second you will get a red light. The bar can stop if you are grinding, and it can be super slow, but it just can’t start moving back down. If that happens the ref will yell out “TAKE IT” and the spotters will grab the bar and rack it.

HEAD and FEET

In USPA your head can come off the bench during the bench press. In a few other federations the head cannot come off the bench. In USPA you can be on your toes, but your feet cannot move all over the place during the lift. Other federations require heels to be planted on the ground so it is important to know the rules of the fed you are competing in. Again it is important to know the rules and most importantly practice your training utilizing the rules.

Here is a link to the USPA rule book. If you have any questions regarding competing in the sport of powerlifting please feel free to reach out to us. We will be hosting a free powerlifting workshop on January 16th to discuss the rules, meet prep, and what to expect on meet day. Join our newsletter below and add us on social media to get alerted when we RSVP!

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So You Want to be a Personal Trainer

Admin — Wed, 28 Oct 2020 00:30:43 +0000

I am celebrating 20 years of being a personal trainer. When I started this journey it was because I loved being in the gym and thought that I had something to offer people that were struggling to find success working out. I cringe when thinking back upon some of my early days of training people. Even with a college degree and certification in the field, I was relatively clueless on how to train people effectively. If I want to be really honest, when I first started training others I did’t even know how to teach a compound lift correctly.

Here are a few are a few other things I like to share with people before they make the jump into the field.

YOU HAVE TO HUSTLE

Being a Personal Trainer or Strength Coach is a life long journey of continual education, experimentation, and hustle. My first 6 months as a trainer I made less than minimum wage. I spent 10+ hours per day at the gym trying to attract clients. I had to work construction part time to just have some cash on hand and lived with my parents for a few months. The hustle really never ends as a trainer. There are countless hours of building your clientele. When you are busy it is great, but when the holidays come and your clients are out of town your pay check can get crushed. To be a successful trainer you have to constantly market yourself and be able to save your money for slower seasons. To be successful in any field you have to work hard, but as a trainer there are no salaried positions that pay you to build your clientele book. You have to enter it with thinking that are running your own business and are responsible for your own success.

TRAINING YOURSELF ISN’T THE SAME AS TRAINING OTHERS

“I love being the gym”……..” Working out is the most important part of my life and want to make it a career.” …. ” I have transformed my life and I want to help others”.

Though all these thing are assets when wanting to become a trainer, they don’t mean you will be successful. Just because you changed your life with exercise doesn’t mean you can help others do the same. Being able to work with people with different injury histories and mental attitudes is very different than overcoming your own battles and doing what you love. Remember many of the people you ill be training don’t love it, that is why they are hiring you. Being a great gym rat won’t transfer over to being a good coach. That 62 year old guy that is stiff as a rock might not need an upper/body push pull split that you have in your back pocket. Believe it or not they may not even need to touch a weight for a long while. They may need some breathing and mobility work while focusing on mastering the fundamentals of learning how to move their body again.

WORKING WITH ELITE ATHLETES ISN’T THE STARTING POINT

So many new trainers tell me they want to work with athletes. I get it. It is glamorous, it looks exciting and fun. Seeing that NFL wide receiver with his trainer doing explosive drills is awesome. Here is the truth. If you don’t have an “IN” with University or other athletic program you will need to start where everyone else does, In a gym filled with regular people. Even if you have an “IN” you will still need experience to get your foot in the door. In the beginning you won’t have dozens of athletes just blowing up your phone to train with you because you just earned your NSCA cert. Most of the people looking for training that can afford your services, are regular working folk or retired people that need your help.

I had a prospective trainer (new trainer) tell me on an interview once that he prefers to work with athletes and hopes focus on higher level athletes. I immediately asked “What would you do to make a pro athlete better with an injury history and gross asymmetries in their hips?” I was met with a blank stare and stuttering…. Exactly. Most new trainers wouldn’t even know what to do with a pro athlete if they had one ask them for help. At best, they could make them better in the gym but wouldn’t be able to help them perform better in their sport.

Many of the sports performance training centers that are known for training athletes for the combines etc still make most of their money training regular people. Sure they have the walls lined with pictures of athletes and framed jerseys, but those athletes aren’t what usually pays the bills. I have personally trained a few high end athletes in my life including a couple of Olympians, and It was awesome, but my business can’t grow only catering to pros. The reality is, if you can learn how to get that 45 year old computer engineer to move better, become stronger, and injury free, you will have the ability to get busier as a trainer. It may not be as glamorous, but it is a start and crucial to learn.

On another note, if you get an “IN” with a University as an entry level strength coach, expect to work 70+ hours per week and not make much money. It’s a grind to get in and work your way up in that industry. Most burn out pretty early on.

IT IS A LIFE LONG JOURNEY OF LEARNING

I really had no clue what I was getting into. My first few years I did some fill in the blank continuing education worksheets to keep my certification active. I did the bare minimum to learn anything new. I was in my 20’s and probably had too big of an ego. I stood at a turning point one day and was strongly considering changing careers. I dove into some deeper learning of the human body and felt energized in the field again. I started building some very effective tools and training became exciting to me again. That began the journey of spending 10’s of thousands of dollars on my continuing education over the years. Continual learning differentiates you from the rest of the industry and builds an amazing base.

There are so many solid workshops and certifications in the industry now that can transform your life and career. Specializing in, strength training, corrective exercise, kettlebell training, mobility training, nutritional education, and behavioral modification are abundant. There is no shortage of quality education in the fitness field. The sooner you start to embrace learning the better your career will be. It won’t be cheap, but it will be worth it!

LEARNING DOESN’T JUST COME FROM WORKSHOPS AND CERTIFICATIONS

Over the years some of my best learning experience have been from working with other coaches. I have hired nutrition coaches, running coaches, and strength coaches to program for me and teach me new things. I have learned a ton from them. I have picked up new skills like learning to swim for a triathlon and entered a 70.3 Ironman after years of being a strength athlete. Being a beginner again was an amazing experience that transformed me as a coach. Pushing yourself to learn in this field is huge.

These are just a few things that come to mind and wanted to share. IF you have any other question about the industry or training feel free to email or reach out on social media and I’m happy to answer them for you.

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Training For Strength Vs Training for Size

Admin — Wed, 07 Oct 2020 03:22:59 +0000

Many people come into the gym and crush weights. They push so hard they can’t get another rep. Though training hard is important, training smart and with discretion is important if you want to see continual growth in your strength. Training to failure and pushing muscular fatigue is important in building size, it shouldn’t be the focus in building strength. Manageable reps is crucial in building strength.

There are many factors that go into a strength training program such as the individuals specific training experience and base strength. Choosing the appropriate rep ranges to improve strength is very different than just working hard. Strength is a product of working with appropriate volumes and intensities. Most strength training programs work with training percentages of 70%-85%. The important aspect isn’t just pushing to failure in these rep ranges.

Working with 75% of your your 1RM is very common. 75% of your 1RM is usually around a 10 Rep max. When having athletes work with 75% we usually have them do set of 4-6 repetitions with that weight. So they have 4-6 reps in the tank with that weight when working with it. The key with this is being able to build training volume without trashing the system with tons of fatigue. ThiThe number of sets can vary and will be the topic of another post. 5×5 is a very popular training program for a reason. Most athletes start at around 70% and add weight weekly with 5x5s. This will equate to training percentages of 70-80%. Once you hit 8-% 5x5s become too taxing and lifters swish to rep schemes scubas 5 or 6 sets of 3 reps. A big mistake we see are people that are working with 75% and doing multiple sets of 8-10reps. That may work for building size but not optimal for building maximal strength.

Stay tuned and we will discuss optimal training sets x reps for strength.

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STOP LYING TO YOURSELF

Admin — Thu, 01 Oct 2020 09:00:05 +0000

Fitness can be an uphill battle. It is tough and a lot to maneuver through. The most important thing to have is Grit and perseverance. You are not always going to be on top of the world or feeling awesome. The key is to stay in the game. We see people cancel gym memberships all the time because they have an ouchy. They have a sore shoulder or a tweaked knee. All of a sudden they can’t exercise anything? They use an injury as an excuse to quit. So many people just give up on fitness because they don’t have the “time” or “energy” to go the gym. What people need to do is replace that excuse with, My health and fitness are not important to me right now, or they aren’t a priority for me. People need to get honest. When they free themselves up and admit fitness isn’t important for them, they can focus on things that are. Battling out the guilt isn’t worth it. If on the other hand it is a priority for them, they have to treat it as such and actually prioritize their health and fitness and stop making excuses.

At Tucson Strength we are tight group that cares about our community and their progress, but we can’t push water uphill. We create an amazing environment, great programming, and a community like no other, but we can’t make you want it or force you to show up. We are here to help anyone that needs a hand, but can’t make something a priority for you.

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When Motivation Is at an All Time Low

Admin — Thu, 28 Mar 2019 13:53:20 +0000

Handle Your Shit… This has been my tagline for close to a decade. I stole it from a close friend and training partner years ago and made it my own. This saying adorns my office walls in multiple areas; my wonderful clients and employees have gifted the saying to me in numerous forms. I used to tell clients this when they would come to me with tons of excuses about inconsistency in training or not following the program.

Personally, I tell myself to Handle My Shit numerous times a week regarding many aspects of life. As a business owner, a family man, and 40-something-year-old athlete I am constantly trying to Handle My Shit.

As a personal trainer/fitness professional it’s always been important to keep my body in good shape and lead from the front. Over the years I have competed in powerlifting, triathlons, and half marathons. I’ve trained for physically challenging certifications and completely transformed my body many times. I do all this because a) I love to push myself physically and continually challenge what I can do, and B) I like to use myself as an example to show people that they are capable of doing things they never thought of.

I was never a gifted athlete. I was a chubby kid who earned the nickname Pudge Muffin. Over time I became a decent athlete, but never a star. I was the kid that showed up to practice every day on the football team, but rarely played. I look back and wonder Why didn’t I just quit? I got my ass kicked on the football team. I really wasn’t good nor was I strong. I lifted weights, but was by far one of the weakest kids on the team. I remember getting flattened more times than I care to admit only to show up again the next day at practice.

So why am I sharing all of this?

Recently, life has changed in a big way for me. I decided to take the biggest risk of my life by expanding my gym from a very successful and comfortable location to a huge facility with over double the space and close to triple the rent. I did it because I had a vision, and the risk of not doing it was greater than the risk of failing, but that’s not why I’m writing this. I am writing this because my motivation to train, push myself physically toward a big goal, and crush workouts is complete shit right now. Training/exercising/working out/whatever you want to call it has never been a problem for me…… until January 2019. Life is great, but stress is stress. Trying to balance training, eating healthy, growing a business, spending time with family and loved ones—it’s kicking my ass. This fitness thing is no different for me than it is for many people. I feel the struggle.

Last Sunday I woke up completely exhausted after a round trip to Phoenix on Saturday. It took all of my energy to roll out of bed, and I hate to admit this has been happening a lot. I had a 6-mile run planned that morning on my Training Peaks schedule. After my second cup of coffee I decided on a casual 2.5-mile walk with my dog. That is what I had in me that day. There was no moderate jog, interval, or even a brisk walk. It was a stroll for an hour with my pup. When I was done with my walk I was grateful to have done something physical that was also good for my mind. Good stress and bad stress still have the common denominator of STRESS. Learning how to adapt and respond to it is crucial. I could have psyched myself up to run that day, but more than likely it would have depleted me and left me in worse shape. I could also have chosen to do nothing. One thing I know is doing absolutely nothing and sitting on my ass is rarely ever the right answer unless I have a fever or a doctor gave me orders to do so. There seems to be a recurring theme in the fitness world about going hard or going home, or being some sort of warrior/lion/predator animal in the gym. Let’s face it: that’s all bullshit. Truth: it’s consistency, not intensity, where the magic happens.

I am reminded of a story about a guy I met at a gym nearly two decades ago. He had suffered a heart attack and had a wake up call to get into shape. He showed up to the gym 5 days per week before the sun came up to work out. One day I noticed him walk in the gym, sit down on a bench by the front desk, and then get up to leave. I asked him why he was leaving. I will never forget his answer. He told me that he woke up and felt like complete hell. He was pretty sure he had a fever and knew he couldn’t work out, but he didn’t want to break his routine of driving to the gym. So he showed up that day, then want back home to rest. That is discipline. He’d developed a habit that he was not going to break based on how he was feeling that day.

Because I have very little motivation to train right now, I rely on discipline to be physically active consistently. To keep my body moving. The goal right now is to be active 6 days per week with a combination of lifting, running/conditioning, stretching, or walking. The goal is consistency, not a personal record or getting a certain amount of miles in. I still have a program scheduled and I know I can modify it when I need to. Just show up! Looking back to my days on the football team I’m grateful that I learned the discipline of showing up even when I didn’t really want to be there.

Everyone goes through times of poor motivation and stress, even fit pros who seem to have that area of life in perfect order. Showing up consistently during those tougher times sets you up for success when the time is right.

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NOT $9.95

Admin — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 03:07:24 +0000

If you are looking for the cheapest membership around we are not your solution. We won’t compete on price with a race to the bottom that we are seeing with gyms in Tucson. We are not looking to fill our gym with 10,000 members only hoping that most people don’t show up. We want to keep our community smaller so we can offer the personalized touch you expect when looking for gym community. You will be known on a first name basis with our staff . We do pride ourselves in providing a supportive community, specialized strength training equipment, and amazing training services.

We are your solution if you:

Are looking to train with a community of like minded individuals.
Don’t want to just join another big box gym.
Value high quality strength training equipment and environment.
Are a Strength athlete such as a Powerlifter, Olympic Lifter, or Crossfit Competitor looking for an amazing open access gym membership to do your thing on your own time.
Looking for a qualified coach to guide you on your journey whether you are new to training or an experienced athlete looking for guidance.

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