Rough City Athletics

making great progress with his sumo deadlifts, and giving a bit of insight into his primary accessory work.

For coaching and program inquiries, be sure to check out the link in our bio!

Programming 101: Pausing is a great way to add variation to an exercise to build upon specific weaknesseS. Utilized properly, they not only emphasize and build upon the weak "area" of the movement, but can also teach proper ex*****on if there are any technical breakdowns during the regular movement.

For coaching and program inquiries, be sure to check out the link in our bio!

Programming 101: It's always a good idea to focus on the big compound lifts to serve as the "meat and potatoes" of your program. As you progress, spice it up using accessory movements that highlight your individual weak areas to help keep your physique and strength balanced. You dont need to do every exercise to be big and strong, you just need to pick quality exercises and perform quality work.

For coaching and program inquiries, be sure to check out the link in our bio!

RCA friend with a great shoulder prep and rehab exercise!
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Kettlebell Serratus Press & Screwdriver
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Following up yesterday's post about moving the scapula, here's a drill to strengthen the serratus anterior and can be beneficial if your shoulder blades are constantly "down & back."
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The kettlebell can be used bottom down or bottom up, bottom up being more challenging. Strengthening the serratus anterior is important for any overhead work and to promote "normal" scapulohumeral rhythm. (I use normal loosely as there is evidence suggesting differences in motion between individuals may not be "abnormal" and just may represent normal kinematic variance, McQuade, 2016). Think about it though, during full pain-free shoulder elevation does it really matter if someone's scapula only posteriorly tilts 15 degrees opposed to 20 degrees? Can you even see that 5 degree difference anyway? 🤔 Maybe I'm wrong, just some food for thought. -
At the end of the video, I also demo the "screwdriver" which I picked up from .henochdpt at a recent seminar in Boston. Going through some shoulder ER/IR with the kettlebell is an option to load and strengthen the rotators of the shoulder. Great strength training warm-up and it also can have rehab implications! Make sure you are rotating the shoulder and not just pronating/supinating at the forearm.


________________________________________________________Prime-Physio Fitness: Improving the fitness world by integrating physical therapy principles and a better understanding of movement .

Life doesnt always go to plan, and training is no different. Sometimes, when all the right cards have been played, things can still go wrong. When these things happen, the best thing you and your coach can do is try to analyze the situation, and determine the best course of action to follow. Also, if given the opportunity, always squat with the safeties on!

For coaching and program inquiries, be sure to check out the link in our bio!

is on a tear on the Rugged Weightlifting program!
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No excuses not to get your training in when your seeking excellence. Late Saturday sesh clean and push press @215 working towards better movement on this phase of programming.

Whatever your goals are, there is one thing that is more important than any other factor, and that is consistency. Doing something that puts you closer to your goal for a day, week, or month, is easy. Being consistent on a monthly or yearly scale is much much harder. Being consistent requires commitment to yourself and your goals, no matter what they are. Consistency trumps all things; you wont go anywhere without it, and the sky is the limit if you do. For coaching and program inquiries, be sure to check out the link in our bio!

Evaluating or testing your lifts doesn't mean striving to hit a PR, though the two often go hand-in-hand after a successful training cycle. Proper evaluation shouldn't be an all out max, but a guage to assess whether or not progress has been made. This can be a PR at times, but it also doesnt have to be; progress can be made in the absence of PRs.For coaching and program inquiries, be sure to check out the link in our bio!

Squat [email protected] RTF and Bench 176x4@2RTF
is one of our top powerlifting clients and is coached by
She is just beginning her prep for CPU nationals.
Check out the link in our bio for more great content or follow us on facebook!

Grinding out a lift is a skill in and of itself. It takes guts, determination, and a lot of mental willpower. With that being said, there is a time and place for it; grinding out lifts is very taxing, and doing so with sub-optimal form / technique can increase your chances of injury. Grind wisely!
For coaching and program inquiries, be sure to check out the link in our bio!

with
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Working some aerobic plyometrics where the focus was on building some elasticity in the foot/ankle and the knee, while spending my rest intervals doing some low level ankle proprioception drills.
The drill went 2 minutes of low hops 6 at a time, rest 1 minute doing various drills like shown, repeat 2 more times.
Over the next few weeks I'll progress this to 5 minutes straight and then increase the intensity of the hops.
For athletes who need to run a lot (soccer, basketball) this is incredibly beneficial.
If you have mobility/stability or rehab questions, send me an email

Squat Strategies 9: Finding a comfortable rack position can be tricky with front squats. The bar should rest on or just above the anterior deltoid and collar bone, though this may vary slightly from lifter to lifter. Aim to keep the chest tall and the elbows high to prevent bar movement, and brace the core hard to maintain a rigid upper body.

For coaching and program inquiries, be sure to check out the link in our bio!

***y

is working up a storm on training while managing a wrist injury.
He has been dealing with a wrist issue for the last 4-5 weeks that required detouring from weightlifting (sn**ch and clean & jerk). That hasn't stopped him from pursuing strength!
Check out the link in our bio for more great content or follow us on facebook!

Squat Strategies 8: When squatting, should you squat as low as possible or stop at parallel? Both styles have their pros and cons. Squatting as low as possible will take advantage of the "bounce reflex", making it easier to rebound out of the hole, however it also means an increased range of motion. Stopping at depth decreases the range of motion, but also requires more energy from the athlete to slow the eccentric, come to a stop, then begin the concentric movement (the pause is for emphasis and because doesnt know how to squat *just* at depth 😋).

For coaching and program inquiries, be sure to check out the link in our bio!

***y

with
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I used to wish the gym would be easy for me; but then I realized everyone would do it. Now I embrace the grind and the hard days. Determined to grow and be the best version of me

The hybrid build for has been going well. He's been hitting rep PRs and still building size 🙌💪 The primary driver of muscular hypertrophy is volume, so even while we've been focusing on keeping his big 3 strong we're still keeping the total volume high... Plus there's been more arm accessories in the past month than what has done in the entire last year of training!

RCA coach recently finished up an 8 week training cycle with great success! Overall, his front squat, incline bench, and close grip bench saw an increase of ~11%, while his conventional deadlift rose by ~5% (155kg, 115kg, 142.5kg, and 230kg respectively). Since he is not competing until the summer of 2017, now is the best time to focus on accessory movements that will carry over to his competition lifts.

For coaching and program inquiries, be sure to check out the link in our bio!

***y

Squat Strategies 7: While the back squat is considered a lower body exercise, it does require a lot of upper body stabilization to be performed optimally and safely. Before beginning the eccentric, make sure the lats are activated and engaged. This will keep the bar firmly placed upon the rear delts (low bar) or upper traps (high bar), minimizing bar movement or rolling. A good cue for this is to try to wrap the bar around your torso.

For coaching and program inquiries, be sure to check out the link in our bio!

***y