0-100 Athletic Performance
BSEd - Kinesiology UVA
BFR Certified Provider
NSCA CSCS coming soon
High Performance At All Levels
Do you have "bad" shoulders? Many people complain of bad shoulders and lack the ability to go fully overhead. Here, I'm demonstrating 2 exercises that are sure to improve your overall shoulder health especially if you lack shoulder flexion like myself.
1. Landmine press: you can self select the angle at which you press to fit your current shoulder range of motion and complete it successfully without extending at your lower back. Go for a full reach! Many of us don't know how to move the shoulder blade freely and this may be a reason why we may have poor shoulder health; reaching for the ceiling will allow you to move freely and safely to start regaining shoulder health/mobility.
2. D2 Flexion/Extension: represents a common movement pattern that we do in everyday life, such as putting on a seatbelt to throwing a ball. Getting better at this pattern will improve shoulder health by teaching your body on how to use your muscles appropriately and grooving a good neural pattern. It will also strengthen your lower traps which are a key component in overhead motions. If you don't have a fancy proteus available, have a partner provide manual resistance or deconstruct the movement into it's two separate parts and use resistance bands.
How to deal with setbacks! Think outside the box!
Recently I've been having issues with loading my spine and so I've been trying different things to still be able to get the most out of my training. I have been doing unilateral training which seems to be working but I'm still leaving some strength on the table.
Today, I tried something different -> "heavy" blood flow restriction. Usually BFR is done in high reps low load, but I decided to take a different approach today in hopes of having the bar feel heavy for my legs but not on my spine. It worked!
Top set was 220lbs for 3 reps and it felt similar to how 275lbs feels which is exactly what I wanted to get! I also threw in some high rep single leg RDLs to get hamstring involvement and was done in less than 30 minutes. Really pleased with how this turned out.
Remember, setbacks will happen, it's just a matter of training around them to maximize each session.
14/05/2022
PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD!
Progressive overload is a term thrown around left and right in the fitness industry, but what does it mean? Essentially, it is the governing principle by which all training programs should adhere to which is to improve over time. How improvement is measured depends on the goal. Common variables that are measured are 1RME (estimated 1 rep max), Speed, Volume, Reps, Metabolic Capacity, RPE, Power, On-field performance, HRmax, %HRmax, among others. Generally speaking, most people are concerned with how much weight they are moving now vs when they started. Here are some examples of a client progressing during the span of several months.
This client made very impressive gains throughout the course of about 4 months, HOWEVER the progress this individual made isn't typical, but it is realistic in some people. It is important to understand that the rate of improvement is inversely proportional to how long you have been training for. Beginners will tend to see faster improvements than advanced lifters through a variety of mechanisms, including neural and muscular improvements.
That said, if you want a coach that can properly implement progressive overload, so you see sustained progress, send me a DM!
Not shown in these pictures, this client couldn't do a pull-up when we first met; in our final session he could do 6; THAT'S PROGRESS!
28/03/2022
STIMULUS TO FATIGUE RATIO!
How much muscle stimulus vs. systemic fatigue are you getting from an exercise; it's not too complicated.
Your big lifts (i.e., Squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press) will likely not have the best SFR but that's okay as they provide a lot more stimulus than secondary lifts and are able to overload your system greater than secondary lifts are able to.
What does this mean? You need to balance out your major lifts with other movements that you get good SFR from. For example, a pull-up will be harder for many and quite fatiguing but a lat pulldown will not be as fatiguing and you can get more quality reps in which you feel muscles contracting in a controlled fashion. If that's you, a lat pulldown would be a worthy consideration.
SFR is but one of many variables to consider when picking and choosing exercises but it is particularly important if hypertrophy is your main goal.
If you want a program built from the ground up to suit your needs, send us a DM!
Struggling with your pull-ups? Don't worry, we've got you covered with these two variations to help you get your pull-up up to speed.
1. Pull-up with box: This is very similar to a band assist pull up in that you get assisted in the initial pull but not so much at the top. This is a good way for you to apply just the right amount of assistance so as to not make it too easy or too hard.
2. Assisted pull-up machine: This is probably the best way to build up towards a full-fledged pull-up as the assistance is consistent and has a numerical value attached to it so you can monitor your progress and progressively decrease assistance as needed.
Also remember to go all the way down on your pull-ups and chin-ups. Don't stop halfway down. To get the full benefit of any exercise you want to take the working muscles and joints through their full range of motion.
THE BEST WARM-UP YOU'RE NOT DOING!!
Neural Drive Warm-up
Hopefully you are doing a solid warm-up before every single workout, but this is something that you're probably not doing and may help you get over the hump especially when lifting heavier weights. This technique is basically doing some maximal isometric contractions that are non-fatiguing to prime your nervous system for maximal force production. The great thing is that you can do this with all your big lifts (squat, deadlift, overhead press).
For bench press, you take an empty bar and press against the J-cups on the rack with the intent of moving the bar for about 5 seconds, take a breather and then repeat. You can do this about 3 times and then head onto your working sets and you should see some solid benefits.
So you want to jump higher?
Jumping is a powerful movement so getting stronger AND practicing powerful motions will both help in improving your vertical jump. Jumping also works triple extension, which is key in many sports, so having a better vertical (and broad) jump generally translates well to sport performance improvements.
Here are two of my favorite ways to improve jumping:
1. Hex-bar jumping deadlifts: pick a weight that's around 30-85% of your 1RM and do 3 reps as explosive as you can! Pro tip: if you warm up doing regular hex-bar deadlifts using heavier weight you may get an even better response by triggering post activation potentiation (more on that in a future video).
2. Barbell Squats into multi-effort jumps: again, pick a weight that's around 30-85% of your 1 RM and do 3-6 reps as forcefully as possible (without jumping). Then rack the bar and do the same amount of jumps without weight. You should feel very light and be able to improve your vertical given enough time.
If you want a program specifically built to suit your needs send us a DM!
P.S. Meta business suite wouldn't let me post it as two separate videos. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause watching the video.
The one arm row: a common exercise done in gyms everywhere. Also a commonly incorrectly performed exercise.
Things to consider:
1. Stance: how you stand will be critical in determining difficulty. The more parallel to the floor that you are, the harder it'll be. There's no right or wrong angle; just something to consider.
2. To stay neutral throughout or should you flex on the eccentric part of the movement. Let's think critically. We're taught to stay neutral during a deadlift to avoid injury but a deadlift is many times heavier than a 1-arm row so flexing a bit is probably not as bad as you think. Now let's think about the muscle we're trying to target - the lats. In order to fully stretch out the lats you may need to reach towards the floor and maybe protract your scapula a bit. This is perfectly fine!
3. Where should you pull? Pull towards your pocket. You want to drive your elbow into your pocket! This will allow for maximum glenohumeral extension which is the main function of the lats!
Let's put it all together. Set up comfortably (I like this staggered tripod stance), try to maintain a neutral spine while allowing yourself to reach the floor to maximally stretch your lats, and finally drive your elbow to your pocket for maximum contraction!
If you want an INDIVIDUALIZED training program and coaching to guide you along, send me a DM!
Stay athletic.
One mistake many people make when doing the bench press is not tensing their whole body and not digging into the floor during the press.
This exercise is designed to correct that. By placing your hips off the bench (yes, I know it's tricky to get the weight up) you will force yourself to push into the floor to prevent your body from collapsing. You can make the exercise harder by scooting further away or by using a box and only having your scapula and head on the box. This exercise should help you learn how to properly dig into the floor during the bench, making the whole movement more efficient and easier to perform, hopefully adding some weight along the way. Make sure to give it a try next time!
If you want a program made to suit your needs, send me a DM today!
07/02/2022
13 MINUTES IS ENOUGH!!
This 2019 study shows that 3, 13-min sessions per week was sufficient to elicit strength and endurance gains, however higher volumes correlated with more hypertrophy.
The exercise protocol was as follows:
Flat barbell bench press, barbell military press, wide grip lateral pulldown, seated cable row, barbell back squat, machine leg press, and unilateral machine leg extension.
Each set was to be performed to 8-12 reps. 2 seconds down, 1 second up. 90 seconds rest between sets. For the 13-minute session, 1 set of each exercise was performed.
To note: participants of this study had been training at least 3x per week for over a year.
However, I do believe this intervention would have shown similar results for beginners as they would require less stimulus to see statistically significant changes.
07/02/2022
UPDATE: I have accepted a strength and conditioning internship opportunity with the UVA football team this semester! What does this mean? I will still be accepting online clients! However, content production may be lower as a result of school, clinical rotations, and the internship.
GO HOOS!
24/01/2022
BEST TIP to MANAGE WEIGHT!
Whether you want to gain or lose weight, you want to pay attention to NEAT!
NEAT is ways you burn calories doing activities while you're not doing exercise; the biggest way probably being walking!
If you want to lose weight, then increasing your NEAT should be a priority.
If you want to gain weight, you still want to keep an eye on NEAT as to not gain too much fat vs muscle while gaining weight.
All in all, NEAT is KEY in managing weight and likely helps in keeping a desirable body composition and maintaining/gaining long-term health benefits along the way.
The easiest form of NEAT is walking; take stairs, park far away. These extra steps will add up day after day and will yield positive long-term results!
19/01/2022
ARE YOU EXERCISING OR TRAINING?
Many would think both are the same, but they're not!
Doing exercise can be defined as working out for health-related benefits or for fun; training is performing exercise in a structured manner to achieve a certain goal.
If you don't have a certain goal to reach, then exercising randomly is perfectly fine as exercise alone will give you plenty of benefits. I have posted the ACSM guidelines for you to view and decide how you want to go about completing them. These guidelines are generalized for the entire US population and aren't specific to anyone.
If you want to achieve certain fitness goals, you should train towards them in a structured way.
If you need help deciding whether you want to exercise or train; or if you need help with your training program, send us a DM!
PRO TIP: the best training and exercise program is one that allows for maximum adherence. Consistency will get you results!
17/01/2022
As with every year, many people want to lose weight and decide to go on a diet. But with so many diet options how do you know what way to go? It's quite simple really, pick the one you can do consistently. There is no secret to any diet; they all work the same way - by creating a caloric deficit!
All weight loss diets work whenever there is a caloric deficit; no diet will result in weight loss if you're not in deficit. Weight loss occurs whenever you burn more calories than what you eat. It's that simple!
However, you may want to eat a higher intake of protein and do resistance exercise to preserve muscle mass (which aids in further weight loss because it is metabolically active tissue). Also, protein has thermogenic effects during digestion that over the course of months and years, may result in noticeable change.
Get your sleep! Plenty of studies done in college students show that those that sleep less gain more weight due to there being more eating opportunities the longer you stay awake.
Build a sustainable eating pattern! It doesn't matter if you diet perfectly for a month and lose several lbs, if you can't keep it up. The best diet is the one you can continue doing indefinitely.
PRO TIP: instead of eliminating food choices, change the portions that you're eating; this usually works extremely well early on. Also look up satiety index of foods you eat; certain foods keep you full for longer and you want to maximize on those foods.
REMEMBER WE ARE HOSTING A 50% OFF SALE DURING THE MONTH OF JANUARY!
Send us a DM if you want to get started now!
13/01/2022
Did you start off your new year's resolution but need some guidance? This is for everyone looking to improve their fitness this year!
For the first time ever, you can get 50% OFF your first month of online coaching! All you need to do is like and share this post and you can get 50% OFF!
*Offer valid through the end of January
04/01/2022
THE BIGGEST GYM MISTAKE!!!
The biggest gym mistake without a doubt is people not knowing what they're doing and so they do 3-4 sets of 8-12 of everything. Then they wake up extremely sore and hate working out. STOP THIS!
Your body needs to build work capacity over a period of time, so you need to follow progressive overload to see maximum benefits with the least amount of drawbacks.
Progressive Overload is simply the principle by which you increase intensity every week by manipulating one or more of the following parameters:
1. Exercise Duration (reps, sets, time)
2. Rest time (less rest = higher intensity)
3. Weight (more weight = higher intensity)
If you need help on how to properly set yourself up for success, send me a DM today and we'll get started on your 2022 goals ASAP!
So you only have a pair of dumbbells and don't know what to do? This is for you!
The entire workout is doing 100 devil's presses. You can split this up however you want. Just do 100. Simple; works most muscles. You'll feel it tomorrow. Good luck!
This simple workout consists of 3 exercises completed in a circuit manner.
1. Pull-up: Try and keep your legs in front so that you're not extending your lumbar spine and you can truly focus on pulling your way up without cheating. During your first set, do 2 reps less than your max. Try and keep doing the same amount of reps throughout the session.
2. Bent Over Rows w/dumbbells: I like to cue clients to pull towards their pockets, this will target your lats significantly and preserve your arms. Make sure you're pulling with your back and not your arms. Do 10 reps.
3. Supermans: Perform reps for 30 seconds.
Perform as many rounds as possible within 20-25 minutes, taking 2-3 minutes rest between sets.
Perform as many rounds as possible within 30 minutes with 2-3 minutes rest between sets. For simplicity's sake, let's do 10 reps of everything. Given the nature of this workout, you'll get enough volume to maintain muscle mass and strength while taxing your cardiovascular system.
1: Deep squats
2: TRX rows
3: TRX chest press: you can substitute these for feet elevated push-ups if you can tolerate
4: TRX Ts
5: TRX assisted pull-ups
6: TRX Biceps Curls
7: TRX overhead triceps extensions (skull crushers)
8: TRX supported jumping split squats
Have Fun!
So you got stuck with your bench press? Here we have 2 exercises that are sure to help you improve your bench press!
1. Pin Press (you can also do a floor press): The big advantage of this exercise is that you have to pause at the pins so that the elastic energy in your muscles and tendons dissipates and doesn't allow you to use the stretch reflex and bounce the weight up. It also helps you build strength in the middle portion of the exercise which tends to be the sticking point for many.
2. Weighted Push-up: Needless to say, you'll need someone to put the weight on your back. This exercise reinforces proper pressing mechanics and allows you to overload quite a bit in a safe manner. Go slow on the way down to get the most out of this exercise.
For both of these exercises you want to use a weight & rep scheme that translates to about an 8/10 difficulty. Give these a shot and see some improvements in your bench press.
11/11/2021
NEW SERVICE ALERT!!!
NOW OFFERING IN-PERSON TRAINING
I'm very excited to announce this service for everyone in the Charlottesville area.
With this we have updated our service pricing.
Let's get STRONG together and stay athletic.
02/11/2021
Introducing the 0-100 Program Store! If you want a program to follow but don't want all the coaching that goes along with my typical service that this is for you! This is the first program that will be available for purchase. I will be adding more program as time goes on so you can pick whichever is better suited to your needs.
If you want to purchase the first phase of the 0-100 challenge then click the link below!
https://www.bridgeathletic.com/product/0100challengephase1-48753
Are you new to training or are looking for a deload/maintenance leg day routine that's effective, short, and simple to follow? Then this is the video for you!
This whole routine should take 30 minutes. You will be doing 2 sets of everything.
Warm-up: Giant set. You'll have warmed up your entire lower body after two sets of these and you'll be ready to take on the rest of the workout.
1a. Goblet box squats 10 reps
1b. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift 8 reps
1c. Split Squat 6 reps
Working Sets
1. Leg Press 8 reps @ 80% intensity
Feel free to use an angled leg press, hack squat, or smith machine if you want to get a bit more ROM. Try and lower the weight using a 2-3 second count to challenge yourself
2. Leg Curl 11 reps @ 80% intensity
Focus on trying to get a good stretch and a good squeeze rep after rep
3. Leg Extension 12 reps @ 80% intensity
Make sure you're squeezing hard on every rep and slowly lowering the weight
4. Back Extensions 7 reps @ 90% intensity
Squeeze your glutes! Your glutes should be the main focus of this exercise!
If you want a greater challenge, then do 4 sets of all working sets and you should feel a pretty good pump afterwards!
20/10/2021
How to AVOID PLATEAUS!
Plateaus are very common in people that have seen fast progress in their first months of training but suddenly hit a brick wall. It is also common in heavily trained individuals that improvise their training.
So how to do you avoid reaching a plateau?
1. Progressive Overload is KING! Focus on slowly building your progress. Increase intensity by increasing reps, weight, sets or decreasing rest. Make the workout harder week by week. STOP going to failure every set.
2. Train in blocks of 6-8 weeks. This allows you to train with moderate to high intensity while minimizing risk of overreaching during the training block. In 6-8 weeks you may create sufficient adaptation to slow down progress or hit a temporary limit, so it is wise to mix things up a bit after this time mark.
3. Remember to deload after the 6-8 week block! Your body can't train intensely indefinitely; it needs time to recover! You can either take a week off or have a 2 week deload/active recovery phase. Either works well!
4. Focus on sleep! Get sufficient sleep to allow your body to rest and recover every day! his will allow for maximal gains!
5. Set goals for each training phase! Pick one thing to get better at or something to achieve each training block! Phase A could be to get a better deadlift, Phase B could be a better squat, Phase C could be to run a mile without stopping, etc.
Stay Athletic!
So you want a bigger, better deadlift?! Then these are some exercises for you!
1. Pause Deadlifts: hold the deadlift for 1-3 seconds at that spot. This'll make your spinal erectors stronger and will help you move past that sticking point.
2: Hex-bar Deadlifts: you can put more weight on the hex-bar typically and so it helps build top-end lock out strength. It also helps your body prepare to handle higher loads.
3: Back Extensions: Strengthens your spinal erectors as well as your glutes and the rest of your posterior chain, making it a fantastic accessory movement to improve your deadlift!
30/09/2021
HOW DOES YOUR TRAINING LOOK? Training should generally follow progressive overload, meaning it becomes more difficult over time. As you can see, the average difficulty increases every week, peaking at week 6. Total load also peaks at week 6.
Volume peaks at week 3 but then goes down for a deload week and goes back up during week 5 and 6.
Do you want a properly programmed training regime? Send me DM!
27/09/2021
In a road trip you want to be efficient and maximize MPGs to avoid stops. To do this you need to hit a sweet spot and not go too fast or too slow.
The same applies to your training. You have to hit a sweet spot where you can keep progressing without plateauing or getting injured. To do this most of your training should be done around 75-85% intensity! Here you will see a lot of progress while limiting injury risk and avoiding fast plateaus.
Are your arm/shoulder workouts getting a bit stale? Try any one of these exercises to switch things up.
1. Z press: you can also perform this with a barbell using the squat rack pins. Do 10-15 reps of this exercise and you'll feel your shoulders on fire.
2. Chin-up: instead of focusing on pulling with your back, focus on feeling with your biceps to get bigger arms!
3. Single Arm Overhead Triceps Extensions: focus on squeezing at the top on each rep! Chase the pump!
4. STRICT biceps curls! Stand against a wall and keep your hands in front at all times. You WILL feel the difference. Leave your ego at the door as you will need to lower the weight to do this properly.
5. TRX T's: Focus on your side and rear delts as well as your upper back! Beware, this is harder than it looks!
6. TRX triceps extensions: The more parallel to the ground you are, the harder it gets. Feel the stretch in your triceps and chase the pump!
So you want big and strong glutes? DEADLIFT
You want a bulletproof back? DEADLIFT
Do you want to improve your posture? DEADLIFT
Without a doubt, the deadlift is one of the best exercises around when executed properly and should be a part of everyone's routine (or at least some variation of it). If you don't know how to deadlift properly, stay tuned as I will post a deadlift tutorial soon!
Don't just deadlift, deadlift with good form and often! Your body and health will thank you for it!
Stay athletic!
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