Guest Post: Stretch What’s Tightening, Strengthen What’s Weakening

Happy to have Slade Jones guest posting today. Slade is the owner of Revolutionary Fitness gym and author of Lean Made Simple. Enjoy! 

-Christine

Enter Slade Jones

Years ago, Vladimir Janda presented the distinction between the “tonic” muscles and the “phasic” muscles. The tonic muscles become tighter with age (pecs, biceps, hip flexors, and hamstrings) and the “phasic” muscles become weaker with age (deltoids, triceps, abs, glutes).

And, about three years ago, I trained a client who was preparing for a bikini competition. Before that, I had been working with the over-50 population, so this was going to be a new challenge for me – or so I thought. For the next few months, she trained in a way that was almost identical to my clients who were over fifty, using the concepts Janda outlined in his work. She pressed weights overhead, snatched kettlebells, and did lots and lots of deadlifts. In the end, she ended up taking third in her first bikini competition.

If something worked so well for both a bikini competitor and baby boomers, then it will probably work for anybody. Taylor Lewis has recently made this concept popular by sharing his experiences working with professional baseball players and people with cystic fibrosis. These two populations would seem to be at opposite ends of the training spectrum, but they aren’t as different as we think. They need a lot of the same things.

This is why I’m a huge fan of focusing the bulk of your training time on getting stronger at two of the five fundamental human movements….

The push and the hinge.

In my experience, if you get stronger at these two movement patterns I guarantee you will look and feel better.

And, if you’re like me, you like goals to shoot for.  Here are a few goals to work towards…

 

Strength Goals

Single Arm Overhead Press: (Push)

Women: 1/3 BW for 1 rep each side

Men: 1/2 BW for 1 rep each side

Deadlift: (Hinge)

Women: 2xBW for 1 rep

Men: 2.5xBW for 1 rep

 

Conditioning Goals

Single Arm KB Clean and Press: (Push)

Women: 80 reps with the 12kg in 5 minutes (or less)

Men: 80 reps with the 24kg in 5 minutes (or less)

KB Snatch: (Hinge)

Women: 100 reps with the 16kg in 5 minutes (or less)

Men: 100 reps with the 24kg in 5 minutes (or less)

 

If you can achieve these goals, but still aren’t at your body composition goals, the gym ISN’T your problem.  It’s either diet, sleep, and/or something else.

If you can’t achieve these goals, then you need to put more focus on getting stronger in the gym.

 

Here is an example of what a workout based on these principles might look like:

 

5 Rounds

1A) Deadlift (Glutes): x 2 (Double overhand. Focus on speed.  No missed reps.)

1B) Hip Flexor Stretch (Hip Flexors): x 20 seconds each

 

3 Rounds

2A) Single Arm Overhead Press (Deltoids and Triceps): x 2 each – 3 each – 5 each

(Complete 2, 3, and 5 before moving on to the windmill stretch)

2B) Windmill Stretch (Hamstrings): x 20 seconds each

 

1 Round

3A) KB Snatch (Glutes): x 20 each

3B) Ab Wheel Rollout (Abs): x 5

3C) KB Snatch: x 15 each

3D) Ab Wheel Rollout: x 5

3E) KB Snatch: x 10 each

3F) Ab Wheel Rollout: x 5

3G) KB Snatch: x 5 each

3H) Ab Wheel Rollout: x 5

 

1 Round

4) Stoney Stretch (Pecs, Biceps, and Hip Flexors): x 1 minute each

 

Remember, this is just an example. Insert whatever exercises you feel comfortable using. The key is to focus on strengthening the “phasics,” while stretching the “tonics.”

If you interested in further information, check out my new book Lean Made Simple.

 

  Slade Jones is the owner of Revolutionary Fitness, a unique client-centric gym in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Slade works with a wide variety of clients, from those just trying to stay in shape (or get there) to athletes, injured athletes, and former athletes seeking to maintain strength.

Revolutionary Fitness is best known for cultivating a supportive atmosphere where members of all ages and backgrounds share the experience of seeking a better way of life by focusing on their individual health and fitness goals.