In between beatdowns, MMA fighter Gina Carano demonstrates hip flexion.

Yoga means, among other things, “yoking” or “unity”. Traditionally this means unity of body, mind, and breath; the breath being the most important.

One of the most effective ways to think of yoga is as sophisticated relaxation: freedom from unnecessary tension in body, mind, and breath. This does not mean lying down doing nothing! This means using the *least* amount of effort necessary to achieve results. (Sound familiar, grapplers?) Even if that result is a very, very difficult pose.

Most BJJ practitioners, grapplers, and MMA fighters end up with certain muscles totally overdeveloped. I’d like to start with psoas.

The psoas (SO-az) is the main muscle linking the upper body to the legs at the front of the hips. Because of the way BJJ works, the psoas gets very, very tight. I am always surprised when any BJJ or MMA player can sit up completely straight; most have such tight psoas muscles that they can no longer do this.

However, many non-grapplers also have a lot of psoas problems, simply from sitting all day in hip flexion, with thighs at 90 degrees to the torso. The psoas shortens and becomes tight.

An overdeveloped, shortened psoas means less mobility, reduced speed, and greater risk of injury. It tips the front of the pelvis forward and gives us “duck-butt”. It’s more or less abuse of the spine, which will eventually cause back pain.

Poses for relaxing the psoas

Supta Padangusthasana (Reclined hand-to-big-toe)*
Parvrrta Supta Padangusthasana (Revolved reclined hand-to-big-toe)
Utthita Trikonasana (Extended triangle) Don’t dump into this. Take your time.
Virabhadrasana II (Warrior II) Knee over second toe. BEND into this.
Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (One legged pigeon)
Bhujangasana (Cobra) Chest forward as your tailbone moves toward your heels. Pull your spine apart!
Vrksasana (Tree) Spin your lifted buttock under, toward your standing heel. Lift your armpit chest!
Virasana (Hero) Use a block if you need one.
Ustrasana (Camel) Do this at the wall! Push hips into the wall and LIFT your chest.
Supta virasana (Reclining hero) DEFINITELY support your upper back.
Dhanurasana (Bow) Knees IN.
Urdhva Dhanurasana (Full wheel, or modified: head to floor) Knees and elbows IN!

*If you cannot remember the pose by reading it, try going to the Yoga Journal site and typing in the Sanskrit name in the search box. You’ll get a picture and description.

**If you are new to yoga or need a different variation, check out this article… it walks you through ten simple ways to release the psoas.

I also recommend a few abdominal strengthening poses.

Good luck. Enjoy your practices, all of them, in good health.

Namaste!

“One of the most important skills in any field is learning what to ignore.”

Further reading

The Psoas Is…
The Almighty Psoas Muscle

Remember that one of the big lies in the gym was that women should stick to machines and stay away from free weights? Related to that is the lie that one should “start out” on machines and then “graduate” to free weights. Well, here’s why it ain’t so, as well as why free weights are often better for women.

from big to small… or even teeny

Many people are concerned about starting with free weights and assume that machines are safer. Their idea of “free weights” involves scary giant barbells and scarier, even more giant dudes lifting them.

Take a look at the picture to the right. That is a 2.5 lb. plate, the smallest size plate (although you can often buy even lighter ones if you look around). That’s my hand, and I don’t have very big paws.

That’s a free weight.

Not so scary, is it? You can start with just holding that little plate for your resistance. Hell, you can even start with soup cans.

No matter what your strength level and ability, free weights will accommodate it. Simply add weight as you practice and progress.

maximum muscle group work

Machines are designed to move a weight along a prescribed track. In many ways they allow you to cheat by helping you keep the movement along a certain arc. With free weights, more weird little muscles are engaged just to help you keep the thing going the way it should. Thus your overall use of your muscles is optimized, since we know that exercises which use compound muscle groups are the best for overall strength building.

stability and balance

A corollary of maximum muscle use, free weights build stability and balance in a way that machines cannot. Just trying to stand upright with, say, a squat bar across your neck requires your body to learn how not to tip over. The body’s muscles are engaged to a greater extent than they would be if you were standing under a machine which supported the bar for you. And you cannot learn this stability from a machine. In the case of muscles, they learn by doing.

You’ll often hear people talk about “stabilizer muscles” as if there’s a certain group of muscles that’s special. Stabilizer muscles are just muscles that act to provide stability during a movement. So, for example, when you squat, your leg muscles are the prime movers, but other parts are helping to execute the movement: calf and foot muscles are making sure your feet stay planted, torso muscles are making sure you don’t fold up like a wet noodle under the bar, back muscles are pulling shoulder blades back to make the shelf where the bar sits, throat muscles are helping to make that grunting sound like a bulldog burping up a bean burrito, etc. But when you do a standing shoulder press, your leg muscles become stabilizers as they work to hold you upright.

height

Being a short woman (5’0″), one of the major problems I encounter with a machine is that it simply cannot accommodate me. Shoulder pads hover around my ears, bars lie coyly just out of the reach of my stumpy arms, pulldown bars swing teasingly over my attempts to jump up to reach them (that was before I smartened up and stood on the seat). When I first began to squat, I thought I’d start on the machine, since I was a little timid about approaching the squat cage. To my surprise and annoyance I was too small for the machine, and my arms were not long enough to reach the release handle. I flailed about for a while and realized I’d have to face the dreaded cage. I did it and never looked back.

The moral of the story is this: free weights see no height. I can lift a dumbbell as high as I want or bring it down as low as I want. It doesn’t care. Machines, on the other hand, are designed so that an average person (read: man) can use them. Women are shorter than men on average, so it stands to reason that a lot of us wee women are going to be uncomfortable using many machines that just don’t want to accommodate us no matter how far down we lower the seat. Thus free weights are the ideal choice for doing many exercises comfortably and properly.

natural movement

Machines are pretty stingy with what they allow you to do. As I mentioned, the purpose of a machine is to allow you to move a weight along a pre-defined track. For many people, especially shorter women, the prescribed movement is not natural, and can in fact lead to injury. But free weights not only allow you to do the movement in a way that is natural to you, they also allow for slight variations in the exercise which many machines do not. In addition, many machines, such as the bench press machine, begin the movement when the body is in its most vulnerable position. On a bench press machine, the movement starts with the shoulder joint in a stretched position, its weakest point. In comparison, the bench press with a bar or dumbbells begins the movement at “lockout”, or with straightened arms. The trainee can then choose to use as much or as little range as she likes, depending on her individual needs.

I did some damage myself to my shoulder after I used a seated bench press machine on which the seat was stuck too low. By performing that movement which was neither natural nor comfortable, I managed to injure myself. If I had been using free weights, I would have had a better chance of finding a good groove for my individual biomechanics. The human body tends to move in an arc or curve. Machines tend to move in straight lines or limited ranges. What gives isn’t going to be the steel but your soft squishy flesh.

training for real life

Real life isn’t tidy, or organized, or perfect. Real life movements don’t usually happen while you’re safely strapped into a contraption that immobilizes most of your body, unless you’re biceps curling a 48 oz Super Big Gulp to your lips while seatbelted into a car — and c’mon, why are you doing that anyway? Real life movements are off-balance, asymmetrical, one-handed or one-legged, moving in curves and squiggles, done in funny ways, done unexpectedly, and done all day long. Real life movements involve lifting awkwardly shaped things like babies and couches and sloshy cases of beer and Rottweilers that don’t want to take a bath. Machines aren’t going to help you when it’s time to haul the groceries out of the car with a screaming toddler stuck to your hip, or when you need to move that load of topsoil for your petunia bed and can’t find your wheelbarrow.

machines that don’t suck

Now I’m going to contradict myself. There are some machines that are quite good and enable you to do things you cannot do on free weights, or things that may be somewhat awkward or impractical with free weights.

calf machine

While I do like single-leg calf raises done with a dumbbell in hand, machines offer some good options for calf training. The donkey calf machine is one of the best for training in comfort even when you are lifting a lot of weight. Unlike the standing calf machine, which places all the pressure on your shoulders (and which I swear makes me shorter when I use it), the donkey calf displaces the weight across your hips and lower back. (I suppose you could always substitute a friendly partner sitting on your hips, but that tends to get a little weird.)

Another good machine that is generally very adjustable is the seated calf machine. This one isolates your soleus because your knees are bent in the exercise. Because this one is designed to accommodate people’s lower legs, it usually allows you to go right down to the bottom of the rep, unlike the majority of standing calf machines (which are pretty much useless for anyone under 5’4″). X-tra short grrrls may have the occasional problem with the bar slipping off your knees; just try your best to hold on to it!

Finally, the leg press machine is a handy backup for calf work if no other machine is available. Seated leg presses in particular, where the body is upright in a chair sort of thing, and legs press straight out in front, parallel to the floor, are best for this, because like the donkey calf machine, the weight is distributed across the hips. If you find that you’re uncomfortable moving a lot of weight with both legs, try using only one leg at a time to reduce the load.

assisted chinup machine and lat pulldown machine

Chinups and wide-grip pullups are wonderful basic exercises that work several muscle groups. However women do not generally have the upper-body strength when they begin training to execute these movements. The assisted chin machine uses a counterweight to make it easier. You can counterweight up to 90% of your body weight and lower the amount of counterweight gradually as you become stronger.

As soon as possible, however, you should move to doing negative pullups. This means moving a bench over to a chin bar, and starting in the top position, then slowly lowering yourself down. Clamber up there again, and lower down again. A helpful training partner is also good for heaving you up to the top, or for giving you just enough of a push to help you get up there mostly on your own steam. You can even begin with modified lat pulldowns that more closely simulate the demands of a pullup by doing them standing. Stand facing the pulldown machine, just behind the seat. Grab the handles as you would normally, squat down slightly pushing butt back a little and bending knees a bit, then hold that position while doing pulldowns.

More on that here.

cable stations

These is also known as a high/low pulley machine. It has a weight stack, and pulley with a loop to attach a handle in both a high and low position. Some have the pulley on an adjustable track so that you can set it at various heights. You can do a wide variety of exercises on this, as well as modify familiar exercises for either rehab or novelty.

Anecdotal evidence from my own experience and reader emails suggests that women are less guilty of it than men, since some men seem to feel that if they don’t cheat, then they can’t lift a ton of weight, and they can’t impress all their idiot friends with what a manly man they are. Women tend to be more circumspect in their approach; usually their terrible form is due to not taking the whole thing seriously enough or being too scared to try something they think is risky. Well, enough of further building up gender barriers. Here’s why you should prostrate yourself before the bitch goddess, FORM. For those who anger her meet her wrath.

what is this thing called… form?

Good form is called good form for a reason—it’s the best way to do an exercise (I know you’re thinking, “Well DUH”, but this really doesn’t seem to be obvious to many people). It’s the most efficient and effective way for your body to execute a certain movement so that it is challenging yet safe.

Good form makes an exercise more challenging to do. If it was easy your muscles would eat it for breakfast and you wouldn’t make them stronger. So cheating ultimately costs you optimum strength gains, in that your muscles aren’t being forced to get off their fat butts and work. Common forms of cheating to make things easier include:

• swinging the weight quickly to get cetrifugal force working
• throwing your whole body into what should be an isolation exercise (for example, cranking your back in order to do a biceps curl)
• rounding the back to pull or lift something, relying on your spinal connective tissue to do the work, rather than the spinal musculature
• cutting the range of motion short (e.g. doing quarter-squats)
• bouncing or jerking the weight (f’rinstance, some folks think they are very clever in getting that extra bit of momentum by bouncing the bar off their chests during a bench press–I doubt their sternum agrees)

A rep should be controlled and involve only those muscles targeted. In general, it should move through the entire range of motion, within the joint’s capabilities. Whenever I see guys in the gym thinking they’re Hercules because they can stack the calf machine although they only move up and down an inch, my pacifist nature snaps and I get a wild urge to duct-tape them to the machine while they do it properly, from all the way down to all the way up, crying crocodile tears of repentance for offending Her Form Holiness. Specialized strength trainers, or folks in physical rehab, do sometimes use partial reps for specific training purposes, but most of the time, the nimrod whose spine is vibrating under 400 lbs. of a weighted curtsey isn’t a powerlifter.

By the way, by “controlled”, I do not mean that every movement must always be slow. Simply because a movement is fast does not mean it is dangerous. There are many movements, such as Olympic lifts, throwing a ball, or executing a punch in martial arts, which are and should be done quickly. “Controlled” means that although you are deliberately accelerating a weight against resistance, you are doing it purposefully and with proper technique. If a pitcher is throwing a ball, she doesn’t just whip her arm around randomly and hope for the best; she executes a very specific and planned sequence of events.

Advocates of extra-slow weight training argue (wrongly) that any fast movement involves the use of “momentum”, and is thus inherently dangerous. This reasoning is erroneous and based primarily on misunderstandings of physiology and physics. If you are training to move slowly, then move slowly. If you are training to move quickly, then you must train at least some movements that involve the acceleration of a weight against resistance. If you’re just learning to move quickly, you can either start by moving slowly (going through the motions step by step, carefully), or by moving quickly with much less of a load (such as learning an Olympic lift with a broomstick). There is, as usual, a happy medium somewhere between these two poles that is generally appropriate for the average trainee.

But don’t be ascairt of speed. Humans are much more like quick, hyper monkeys than snails on Quaaludes and we do just fine when we move rapidly. I mean, c’mon, our ancestors would literally have been dead meat had they insisted on careful walking instead of running or scampering up a tree away from the sabre-toothed tiger. Think about this: what happens when you touch a hot burner by accident? Without conscious thought (and in fact, the signals don’t even make it all the way to your brain before your body responds), you yank your hand away. We have an entire peripheral nervous system whose job (among others) is to respond instantly to dangerous external stimuli with rapid movement, without even waiting for that lazy-assed brain to make a decision.

In real life, you often don’t get a chance to decide whether to move fast or slow. What keeps us injury-free is being prepared and conditioned for the speed, not spending our whole lives afraid of sprinting.

No-one likes being injured, and the majority of injuries in the gym (aside from dropping plates on your foot) are a direct result of bad form. Good form is intended to make sure that your musculoskeletal system is in optimum alignment. For example, when squatting, the lower back should keep a tight arch, and your butt should be sitting back behind your heels. This ensures that undue stress is not placed on the knees, and that the spine is bearing the load appropriately. Do it right the first time and save yourself the cost of that econo-bottle of Advil. For more on avoiding injuries in the gym, head to my injury section.

fundamentals of form

Each exercise is different, of course. But here are some general principles:

• Neutral spine — there are very few exercises where good form while moving a heavy load involves hunching your back or tucking your tailbone under. Head up, chest up, and don’t sag.
• Full, but not excessive range of motion — take the joint through its full range of ability. Don’t overstretch it till your sinews make crackling sounds. Don’t cut the rep short just to move more weight. Work within a range that is natural and pain-free. If you have an injury that limits your range, work within the range that is comfortable for you, trying to expand that range gradually over time.
• Use the strongest muscles to do the most work unless you’re doing some funny little rehab exercise that targets some teeny weeny muscle. When squatting or deadlifting, use your glutes and hamstrings. When pressing, use your shoulders. If you find that small parts such as your grip or lower back are fatiguing, it could be that you just need to give them a little extra targeted work and let them catch up. Or it could mean you’re relying on them too much and letting the big parts get lazy.
• Be controlled and mindful in your movements, whether those movements are fast or slow. (See above.)
• Never sacrifice technique to move more weight. Leave your ego outside the gym. Nobody is impressed by a 1/4 squat except the ignorant. It’s more impressive to do a lift properly with less weight than to do it poorly with more weight. (Naturally, your goal is to do an awesome lift with awesome weight, but be patient, darling.)
• For most goals, aim to integrate body parts rather than isolate them. (Again, for rehab, you may have to begin with isolation first if you have something that isn’t firing properly, or if you need to retrain the movement.) The body is designed to operate as a coordinated system. It performs best everyone works together.
• When learning a new exercise, start with very light weight (or no weight at all) and practice the movement first. Add weight gradually.
• If form breaks down, the set is done. Again, nobody is impressed by a bunch of ugly reps unless this is your one chance at setting a powerlifting world record. (Even then, the rep can’t get too hideous or the judges will fail it.)

form links

Of course you should start with the Dork to Diva page on this site.

Biofitness provides form diagrams for an extensive variety of exercises including many assistance exercises for the Olympic lifts. Personally I would ignore all their scary warnings about contraindicated exercises. Sure, I wouldn’t start a beginner on what the guy in the picture is lifting, but there’s no reason folks couldn’t learn these movements with no weight or a broomstick.

Bill Pearl has a good all-purpose information resource site for beginners.

ExRx lists exercises by type and muscles used. This is one of the best sites out there for basic anatomy, kinesiology, and exercise diagrams.

Exercise Armoury has a wide selection of exercises illustrated.

Exercise videos, lots of Olympic lifts and assistance exercises.

University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse Strength and Conditioning Centre has videos of exercises, including some Olympic and powerlifting lifts.

Bodybuilding.com Exercise Guide

Exercise Technique animations by body part

Muscle Beach, 1950s. Bustin' out the side press.

After being immersed in weight training for so long, it’s rare that I see a new, interesting exercise. However, a new exercise is often a great way to alleviate workout boredom. Interestingly, many of the “new” exercises I discover are in fact quite old ones that were part of the physical culture of previous generations, and were forgotten with the advent of “modern” training methods.

With the resurgence of interest in older, pre-steroid era training methods, these exercises are reappearing. Many of these exercises are excellent, functional exercises with various applications to sport. I’ve also included one that I came up with on my own. These probably already existed in some form or another, so I don’t flatter myself that I’m the Leonardo da Vinci of training or nuthin. If you’re looking for some novelty and a new challenge, give these a try.

dumbbell swing

The dumbbell swing is a very easy exercise to learn, but a challenging exercise to do once the weight increases. It’s pretty much a full body exercise, but primarily it involves the hip extensors (hips, hamstrings, and glutes), shoulders, torso, and grip. Have you ever noticed how little kids throw a ball? They sort of squat down and fling it underhand with both hands. The dumbbell swing movement is much like that. Start with a light weight, perhaps 5 pounds, to learn this one. You’ll likely find that you can manage more weight than you think once you mistress the movement, but for now, take it easy.

Grip the dumbbell with both hands. It’s up to you whether you want to place one hand over the other or, if you have small hands, adjacent to one another along the handle’s length. I don’t recommend interlacing your fingers unless you dig the sensation of your knuckles grinding together. Keep your arms relaxed and straight. Squat down. Let the weight hang between your legs naturally. This is the starting position, as shown in the left hand picture. Ascend explosively and powerfully, driving through your heels, and swing the dumbbell up and out, focusing more on out than up (it’ll go up on its own steam if you focus on swinging it out).

Control the part just at the very top so you don’t fling it through the back wall. The right hand picture shows the top position. Then, let the dumbbell drop naturally, but under control, down to the starting position. The only thing to remember is to squat down and bend from the hips as the weight comes down, rather than bending over from the waist and hunching the back.

These can be done with quite a heavy weight, for low-rep sets, but it’s also an excellent challenge to do them for high-rep sets, to build strength-endurance and improve conditioning levels. They make an excellent warmup/cooldown exercise with ligher weight. 25 reps is about 1 minute. One thing I like to do for a quick and dirty conditioning workout is alternate 1 min sets of these with 30 to 60 seconds of jumping rope. I set a timer for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on how energetic I feel, and just go at the swings and rope jumping, resting for perhaps 10 to 20 seconds in between, until the time’s up.

These can also be done with one hand instead of two, as shown here, but I’m not as partial to that style, as my shoulders don’t seem to dig it. Anyhoo, it’s your call.

one-hand side press

This is one of my all-time favourites. It builds shoulder, grip and torso strength and stability and depending on how far you bend over, hip flexibility. I recommend starting with a very light weight to get the hang of this one. In my experience, it’s risky to use a weight that’s heavier than about your 5 to 6 rep max for this one, as the stabilization of the shoulder joint is so critical. Heavy 5 rep sets are fine, but I wouldn’t max out on this particular exercise. Err on the side of one or two fewer reps, and slightly lighter weight, than you think you can manage.

This can be done with a barbell or dumbbell, but I prefer the barbell. It seems to balance easier, and plus it looks cooler. Many gyms have lighter pre-loaded barbells, and that’s what I use. My dream is to press the full sized 45 pound bar just once. In this photo I’m using a standard barbell, which is only 15 lbs. You could even start with a broomstick.

Grip the bar at its centre so that it feels balanced. The position of your palm is up to you. When I initially learned this movement, my shoulder was a bit dodgy from being a stupidass on the bench press, so I found it more comfortable to have my palm facing the midline of my body. Now I turn the palm slightly more forward, as you can see in the leftmost photo.

Press upward and lean down, away from the bar, bending from the hip. Think of pressing yourself downward and away from the bar, rather than pressing the bar upward. As you press upward, your weight will naturally shift to one side, so also think about pushing the hip outwards on the pressing side, as shown in the centre pic.

This movement takes some practice, so don’t get discouraged. Start with light weight and don’t go down too far right away. You can even start with a fairly upright press and focus on shifting the hip out. Other descriptions of this lift that I’ve seen recommend looking up at the pressing hand. Doing that makes me want to fall over, so do whatever works for you.

Here’s the little bit extra for your obliques. Keeping your pressing arm straight, return to the fully upright position, as shown in the right hand picture. Then lower the bar under control, returning it to the starting position. Be quite careful and slow with this bar descent. For some reason it’s easy to let this descent get unbalanced, so take care with it until you’re familiar with the movement.

1-hand snatch

Yes, yes, I said snatch. Hee hee hee. Hilarity ensues.

The snatch is one of the two Olympic lifts (the other is the clean). The “real” version is quite a technical lift and requires some coaching to perfect. However, the one-hand power version is much easier, particularly with a dumbbell. This lift is founded on the same concept as the dumbbell swing, namely, that the lower body powers the movement and the upper body is just sort of along for the ride. The dumbbell snatch, like the dumbbell swing, is a good full-body lift to do either for multiple low-rep sets for power, or for higher reps for strength-endurance and conditioning. A friend of mine calls this one the “Hooray for everything!” exercise. It takes a few attempts, but actually isn’t very difficult to figure out.

To get the hang of what the one-hand snatch one feels like, try these two practice movements first. For the first practice movement, stand with arms loosely at your sides. No weight. Squat down, then jump up. Keep your arms really relaxed and floppy. You’ll notice that as you jump up, your arms flap upwards on their own, because of the drive from the lower body. You need to put very little effort into making them flop almost fully overhead. This lower body drive with relaxed arms is the idea behind the one-hand snatch.

For the second practice movement, just work on shrugging your shoulders upwards at the same time you come up on to your toes. Get the hang of doing these two things together.

Once you have those two things down pat, grab a weight and give it the real lift a try. Squat down with the dumbbell hanging between your knees. As you can see in the left hand picture below, I like to place the non-lifting hand on my leg for stability. The lifting arm stays relaxed and straight. This is not an upright row or a curl. Driving with the legs, explode upwards and on to your toes. Shrug up as you come up on your toes, as shown in the middle picture. This will help drive the dumbbell upwards. Keep the weight close to your body throughout the first part of the lift, until it passes about the level of your waist. It should travel upwards in more or less a straight line, not in an outward arc like the dumbbell swing. Once you’ve shrugged it explosively, the dumbbell should be travelling fairly nicely on its own steam, so all you need to do is “catch” it at the top, as shown in the right hand picture. Drop down a little bit to do the catch, as if you’re shrugging the dumbbell up, then squatting down quickly underneath it. Think about getting under it to catch it at the top. Try to avoid making it into a one-hand press. The arm should stay fairly straight. If you’re having problems at the top, try a lighter weight, and/or ducking underneath the dumbbell as it clears the level of your head. Just like the dumbbell swing, make sure you hang on to this one at the top!

The barbell one-hand snatch is a variation on the dumbbell version. It adds a bit of grip work to the challenge. The movement is the same, although the starting position is slightly different, as shown in the left hand picture below. The top position is the same as the final position of the one-hand press (and in fact, since I am lazy, it is the same picture as the top of the one hand press). For some extra fun, and by fun, I mean dementia and pain, try a one-hand barbell snatch plus side press combo. Snatch the bar up, steady it, lower it under control to the start position of the one-hand press. Perform a one-hand press. Return the bar to shoulder level, then let it drop under control to the start position of the snatch

flapping bird

This one should be done with fairly light weight; it’s not a max-lift type exercise, but rather a conditioning, balance, and flexibility type of exercise. The goal is to get a nice deep lunge with good form, as well as a full range of motion with the arms overhead.

Holding a weight in each hand, and with arms relaxed at your sides, step forward into a lunge position. Drop down into a split squat, as shown in the picture on the left. Weight should be firmly planted and primarily on the heel of the front foot. Upper body has a good upright posture and does not droop forward.

Ascend smoothly from the split squat, driving through the heel of the front foot. As you do so, raise straight arms up and to the sides, forming an arc, until they are overhead. Don’t step back from the lunge, but keep feet planted. Lower arms under control. Once arms are down, drop into the split squat again. Aim to make this a seamless movement. When you ascend, everything goes up, and when you descend into the squat, everything goes down.

There are lots more where these came from. Stay tuned for more creative lunacy…

Maryssa, reigning champion of the 25-lb bodyweight class, demonstrates correct use of alternating grip in the deadlift.

While still somewhat confined to the realm of obscurity, powerlifting is a growing sport, particularly for women. It is estimated that about 10% of competitive PLers are women. Part of the appeal of PLing lies its relative simplicity: it is a one-person activity, the lifts can be fairly easily learned (though it takes a while to fully master them), equipment is minimal, and meets generally consist of a few people getting together with a barbell and a scorecard. For women, PLing is also inviting because competitors are divided into gender, weight, and age classes, which means that each person is only competing against those like them. At most lower levels of competition, men and women compete in the same event (though not against one another), in numeric order by bodyweight, and this tends to result in a feeling of collegiality and mutual respect.

There are three lifts used in PLing: the squat (aka the back squat), the bench press, and the deadlift. While different federations have different rules, here are some rough guidelines for each lift. For more detailed instructions, make sure to check the rulebook of each PL federation or organization.

the judging

The first thing to know is that different federations have different rules. So, when you begin to compete, ask for the rulebook of the organization which is hosting the meet, and read it carefully. Rules cover everything from attire to equipment to procedures for each lift, etc. It’s also worth attending as many competitions as possible before you set foot on the platform, just to see what the day’s events involve, and under what conditions you are expected to lift. It’s a good idea to try to emulate these conditions in training practice a few times, so that you’re prepared for the setting, procedures, and pressure. A competition lift can be much different from a gym lift. For instance, you won’t get a mirror to check your squat position or depth.

Before the competition, you will be weighed, and assigned a weight class. Weight classes for women range from around 95 lbs. to around 190 lbs., and usually increase in about 10 lb. increments. Anything heavier than about 190-200 lbs. is considered a superheavyweight (SHW) class, and all SHWs compete together.

You will also likely be assigned an age class. Most federations have at least a couple of different age classes, such as teen classes and master (over 40) classes.

In competition, generally there are three judges seated to the front and sides of the lifter. Each judge has a pass/fail vote, expressed by three lights. A white light signifies a pass, a red light a fail. A lifter must get at least two white lights in order to pass a lift. The judges are looking for things like proper depth (on squat and benchpress), proper racking and unracking, and so forth. Some federations require lifters to pause at certain points in the lift (like at the bottom in the squat, or at the top in the lockout of the deadlift), or to wait for a command (such as “squat” or “press”). A lift will also receive three red lights if the lifter does not complete the lift.

Each lifter is given three attempts at each lift. A lifter must complete at least one attempt at each lift to continue in the meet. So, if you pass all your squat attempts, but not one of your bench attempts, you won’t be allowed to continue on to the deadlift portion. Lifters are allowed to select which weight they will use for each attempt. For the first attempt, most people select a weight they know they can do perfectly. Let’s say that your most recent personal record (PR) in the gym is 100 lbs. For your first attempt, you might choose to do 80 lbs, so that you know you can do it, and you stay in the meet. For the second attempt, you might do 100 lbs. You know you can do this one, probably. If you do well here, you might feel lucky and ask that the next attempt be 110 lbs. Quite likely you will make this lift too, due to the excitement of being at the meet and the adrenaline rush. Or, you might fail. Either way, you will stay in the meet, having chosen your weights well. You are judged by your best successful attempt.

At the end of the meet, assuming you made it through, you will be assigned a total. This is the sum of your best numbers in each lift. So, if you have successfully completed a 150 lb. squat, a 100 lb. bench, and a 200 lb. deadlift, you will have a total of 450 lbs. The person with the best total in each weight/age/gender class wins that class.

the squat

The PLing squat is usually done in a particular style. Unlike a bodybuilding or Olympic lifting-style squat, the PL squat is generally done with a relatively wide stance and the bar sitting as low as possible on the back. The lifter descends to parallel, which refers to the top of the thigh being parallel to the floor (often you hear people claiming to squat X ridiculous lbs to parallel, but it’s deeper than a lot of folks think, so be suspicious of these claims). The wide stance recruits more of the glute and hamstring muscles than a narrower stance, so that the lifter can move much more weight.

In competition, the lifter steps up to the rack, which is loaded with a bar. She steps under the bar, gets into position, and steps away from the rack (this is known as a walkout). Often she must wait for the squat command from the judges. Then she squats to the proper depth, waits for the command to ascend if she has to (or just pauses there if she doesn’t), and ascends. She stands and waits for the command to rack the bar, racks the bar, and steps backwards away from it.

the bench press

The bench press is most people’s weakest lift. One trick that PLers use (and this is legal, although it probably shouldn’t be) is to retract their shoulder blades and arch their back (keeping hips and shoulders on the bench), so that their chest is up higher and the bar has a shorter distance to travel. Some people have bench arches that would make a yogi proud. I think this is a bit bogus, but hey, you might as well learn to do it if it’s legal. Both feet must also remain on the floor (shorter lifters can have plates put under their feet).

The lifter lies on the bench and gets into position. She reaches up for the bar. Often the spotters will unrack it and hand it off to her, or she may have to unrack it herself. She waits for the bench command, then lowers the bar evenly to her chest, pauses or waits for the press command, and presses it evenly back up (in other words, both arms must press the bar up without allowing the bar to tilt). She waits for the command to rack and does so, or sometimes the spotters help to get it back onto the rack.

the deadlift

This is the lift (in my opinion) that separates the girls from the women. The rules tend to be a bit more relaxed for this lift, in that you can lift either sumo or conventional style, dive down to the bar and rip it, or squat down carefully and adjust your grip before lifting.

Whatever style you choose, you must pull the bar off the floor and into the lockout position. While you can pause (cause, hey, that sucker is heavy), you cannot allow the bar to travel back downward or hitch it on your legs. The lockout position is a standing position with legs straight and shoulders back. You must pause in the lockout, then set the bar down under control. There are no spotters for this lift.

the equipment

Different competitions have different equipment needs. The basic PLing ensemble consists of a singlet, a tshirt (no logos allowed, except for a few equipment manufacturer labels), and footwear of choice (some feds have rules about proper footwear, and some lifters use different shoes for squatting and deadlifting). Raw competitions generally only allow the lifters to wear this, but sometimes allow a belt. Chalk is permitted in all cases. It is debatable how much equipment adds to a lift, but people feel that 10-20% is about right for full equipment.

For competitions where equipment is permitted, there are different items used for each lift. For the squat: a squat suit, which is a very tight sort of singlet; a belt; knee wraps. Lifters usually chalk their hands and backs where the bar rests. For the bench, a bench shirt, which is again a very tight sort of t-shirt, and sometimes wrist wraps are allowed. Lifters chalk their hands and entire backs (I think this is a bit goofy… I mean, it’s not like most people are prone to suddenly sliding off the bench, but anyway…). For the deadlift, lifters often wear lifting slippers, a belt, knee socks to prevent the bar from chafing the shins, and the hands are chalked. Some lifters use talcum powder on their shins and thighs to prevent chafing, but this is often frowned on since spilled powder can make the platform slippery.

the links

Does this sound like fun to you? Well then, check out some of these links.
If you’re at all interested in PLing, check out Deepsquatter’s site, particularly the Strength email list. Tips, training, meet reports, and more.

Powerlifting.com is your one-stop information shop.

The doctor, as always, is in. Dr. Squat’s excellent site is great for the budding PLer as well as the average newbie.

Jackal’s Gym has some handy little calculators for calculating your max, as well as a periodized program based on your goals.

Weighty Matters is a good all-purpose site.

Knowing which federation you want to lift in is important. Most require some kind of membership, so check it out in advance if you plan to compete. Federation websites are great places to start for learning rules and what is available in your area.

International Powerlifting Federation

Asian Powerlifting Federation (bet you didn’t know Uzbekistan had a PL federation!)

Canadian Powerlifting Union

Down Unda, both Australia and New Zealand

European Powerlifting Federation

U.S.A. Powerlifting

Come on ladies! Are you sick of watching men do pull-ups and you can’t even do one? I know I was! As a fitness coach I stay current with the latest developments. I am always looking for workouts to stay in shape that are not only effective, but also fun. Since most of my clients are more concerned with having a lean physique than with developing real strength, it’s been a challenge to convince them that training for strength is an excellent way to become leaner.

Many women have the illusion that if they even glance at free weights, they will end up looking like Arnold’s long lost twin sister. As a result, women flock to aerobics classes and exercise machines every year with the hope of discovering the holy grail of fat loss. I do not have to tell you what the end result is. Think I am being too harsh? Go to an aerobics class today and take a mental note of the class. Now go back in a month and take a look at the results. See what I mean? Results that are noticeable do not come from just cardiovascular exercise. Make no mistake about it, the best way to get a lean, sexy, and a well defined physique is with heavy weights and low reps. Why? Read the rest of the article to find out. I am also going to go over what I believe is the most effective form of weight training for women and what it did for me. By the time you get to the end of this article, you will be over the irrational fear that lifting heavy weights makes women bulky. You will have a plan of action to develop a body that is super strong and conditioned — the body you have always wanted. Lets get started!

Many woman who insist on training with light or medium weights and doing many reps end up building Sarcosplasmic Hypertrophy, common in body building, is bloated, soft and useless muscle. Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy involves the growth of the sarcoplasm and non contractile proteins that do not directly contribute to muscular force production. Filament area density decreases while cross-sectional area increases, without a significant increase in strength. Proper strength training leads to gains in Myofibrillar Hypertrophy which is referred to as strong and dense muscle. This type of hypertrophy occurs due to an increase in myosin-actin filaments. Contractile proteins are synthesized and filament density increases (Zatsiorsky 1995). Using lower reps and heavy weights is the best way to achieve the lean physique. Moreover, you will actually have strength that works; strength that will let you achieve that pull up you’ve always wanted. And don’t worry, most women do not have the testosterone levels to achieve the big bulky muscles. Men have 10 to 15 times the amount of testosterone women posses. Men still have to work very hard to put on muscle. In order to build big bulky muscles you have to have the right amount of testosterone levels, an increased caloric intake, and a regimen that includes lots of volume. Lots of volume can mean 5-10 sets per exercise, which then leads to increased volume of sarcoplasmic fluid inside the cell and between the cells.

So what is the best way to develop real strength? I am firmly convinced it is kettlebell training. When I discovered kettlebells, I was hooked immediately and stopped training with dumbbells and machines. After training with only kettlebells 2-3 times a week for 10 weeks, I lost about 4-5% of my body fat. I am 5’3 and was 118 pounds with 18% body fat. Now I’m 112 lb, much stronger and more conditioned and have a body fat of 13%. I look better now than I did in college. I was amazed and so were my clients and other trainers; they begged me to teach them what I was doing.

swing

The first kettlebell exercise I start my clients with is the swing. The swing is the foundation of Russian Kettlebell training. It teaches (a) the hip thrust that is powerful and explosive, (b) compressed breathing, and (c) how to generate force quickly. This exercise gives you the skills necessary to excel in all Kettlebell lifts. Spend a lot of time perfecting your swings. Here is how to get started:

Most woman start with an 8kg weight and men with a 16kg kettlebell. Some woman can start with a 12kg.

1. Take a natural squat stance making sure your knees are aligned with your ankles.

1. Keep your head up and looking straight forward
2. Keep a straight back- even when bending forward from hips
3. Sit back rather than dip down

2. Keep weight on your heels during swings until the top of the movement; you may shift your weight on your entire foot if that feels more comfortable.

1. Maintain your balance at all times.
2. At the bottom position you should feel your hamstrings stretch.

3. Explode the hips while keeping your arms straight and loose. The power comes from your legs not your arms. (Do not try and muscle the swing). Keep your shoulders down.

4. Lock out the hips and knees at the top position. This is where you develop the power to swing the kettlebell.

1. Squeeze the glutes tight every time you thrust
2. Brace your abs to protect your spine.

5. Your breathing should be a power inhale to your abdomen in through the nose at the bottom of the swing. As you snap your hips you let out a little fast breath bracing your spine (like you would with power punches)

Start out by doing 3-5 sets of 15 swings with a lighter bell. When you can do this without overtaxing yourself, move on to a heavier kettlebell. If you’re seeking to get your heart rate up, this is for you. If you are doing the swings correctly your glutes will be sore the next day.

There are many variations with swings you can do once you get it down. There are two-handed swings, alternating swings, double swing (if you have two kettlebells; take a wider stance for this or say bye-bye to knee caps), walking swings, high swings, and so much more. Here are four other exercises you can add to your workout once you feel ready to move on.

turkish get-up

The Turkish get-up is an excellent exercise for shoulder stability, flexibility, and resilience. This is a very slow drill. Keep in mind to breathe shallowly and keep your abs pressurized through out the set.

1. Lie on your back and press the kettlebell (KB) in the air

1. Elbow must be locked through the duration of the set
2. Keep the handle at the base of the palm and your wrist tight

2. Roll to your side and sit up keeping your eyes on the bell
3. Use your free elbow to prop yourself up and get on one knee
4. Carefully stand up
5. Slowly reverse the movement and return to the floor (keeping your eye on the KB at all times)

clean

The clean is not only an exercise but a safe means to get the KBs to your shoulders for other drills.

Get in the same stance and pick the KB off the floor as you would for a swing.

1. Keeping your arm loose: the KB is lifted with your hip thrust.
2. Keep your elbow in and quickly flip your elbow under when the bell has almost reached your shoulder. Do not pull with your arm or try and cheat curl it up to your shoulder! The power is from your hip thrust.
3. Right before the KB has landed on your forearm, quickly dipping your knees and getting under it will take away the impact.
4. When returning the KB to the bottom position, keep your arm very loose. Swing it back between your legs and repeat.

front kb squat

The front squat is an outstanding leg strength, back, abs, and flexibility developer. This is by far the most practical of all squatting movements. It can be done with one or two KBs.

	1. Clean the kettlebell and let it rest in the crook of your elbow. 2. Take a breath through your belly before descending. 3. Squat down as deep as you feel comfortable. Pause for 2 seconds. 4. Pressurize your abdomen and straighten out. 5. Push steadily through your heels as you ascend back to the top position. Hint: Never release all the air in your abdominal cavity at one time.
Front squat, 2 kettlebells

Front squat, 1 kettlebell

one-legged deadlift

The one-legged deadlift is a great exercise that strengthens the hamstrings, glutes, and is important for both athletic power and back safety. It will teach you the very valuable skill of overall tension and staying tight.

1. Have two KB on the ground side by side with enough room for your foot to fit between them.
2. Grip the ground with your toes and keep the muscles around your ankle and on the bottom of your foot tight.
3. Hinge over at your hips with a semi-squat and grab the KB’s. (Eyes are looking straight).
4. Tense the glute of the loaded leg and brace the abs for that imaginary punch.
5. Staying very tight throughout the body, push straight down with your leg and squeeze the bells off the ground.
6. Try to maintain a straight spine. Do not attempt to recover lost balance by fidgeting; this could injure your knee.

workout plan

Here is a sample program to get you started with the five exercises you just learned. Just to keep it simple for beginners, I would recommend 1 minute rests between each set. If you become very fatigue to where you lose your form, I advise you to stop immediately or go down to a lighter weight. If you are looking for higher intensity do one set of each exercise without stopping, then take a 1-2 minute break after all are completed and repeat 3-5 times.

Monday

One Arm Clean 3×6 on each arm
Front Squat 3×8
Two Arm Swing 3×20

Wednesday

Turkish-Get Up 2×3 per side
One-Legged Dead Lifts 3×5 per leg
One Arm Swing 2×15 on each arm

Friday

Double Clean 2×5
Double Front Squat 2×5
Turkish-Get Up 2×3 per side
Alternating Swings 3×15 per arm

So there you have it. Real strength and power exercises with weights for women and men that will get you that lean physique and real strength. Don’t be surprised if your athletic performance improves after 4 weeks of adding this type of training in to your life. There are endless possibilities of fun and extremely difficult things you can do with kettlebells. Last important thing is to always play it safe! While its good to push your body to the limits, it’s imperative to know when you are over exerting yourself. If you have any questions feel free to contact me at Lauren@socaltrainer.com.

references

Zatsiorsky,V. (1995) Science and Practice of Strength Training. Human Kinetics.

Also check out Brooks’ new DVD, The Ultimate Body Sculpt and Conditioning with Kettlebells.

I’ve only had this DVD a while and already I’m recommending it to just about everyone who wants to get started with kettlebells, and/or to women who are looking for a quick, efficient workout that builds real-world strength and fitness. Brooks offers a comprehensive introduction to some basic kettlebell movements along with some bodyweight exercises such as pushups, mountain climbers and squat thrusts (aka burpees).

The DVD offers clear instruction with safety tips that cover the basics of good form. Brooks provides helpful verbal cues on exercises, e.g. when doing the clean, the thumb points behind you. She describes what each exercise does, and shows variations for beginners, such as squatting to a bench instead of full depth. She gives starting weights are given for both women and men; and recommends a fairly respectable starting amount for both total newbies and stronger women. There are two workouts plus a joint mobility section. For the quick workout, there is a timer graphic that effectively demonstrates how little time it actually takes to get an excellent and challenging workout. Rest times are filled with little factoid screens describing Brooks’ qualifications and experience.

Although most of the information is gender neutral, Lauren is a big inspiration for women. It’s great to see a DVD address issues such as modifying the one-arm kettlebell clean to accommodate breasts, and Brooks includes some material that describes her pregnancy experiences with kettlebells. She used them almost till the end of her pregnancy, and recommends most pregnant women continue kettlebell training in moderation. Brooks shows photos of herself with her child, and during pregnancy, to emphasize this message. Brooks’ costar is a woman in her 50s who’s had two children by C-section. Both Brooks and her workout partner provide a powerful demonstration of what a difference good nutrition and physical training can make in helping women stay lean and fit. Brooks and her costar are fabulous poster girls for heavy, intense training and healthy eating.

Personally, I think the noble pushup has been overshadowed by fancier things, and has acquired a rather underrated status. Pushups are things they do in the army, or things you might remember from gym class years ago. In any case they’re not cool.

Of course, I beg to differ. Pushups are a fun, challenging exercise, and everyone can benefit from them. Pushups and pushup variations are a great addition to a program. They can serve many purposes. You can incorporate them as an exercise in their own right, as an assistance exercise for another lift like bench press, as a plyometric exercise to build explosive pushing strength (perhaps for a throwing sport of some kind), as a bodyweight conditioning exercise, as an endurance challenge, whatever you like. Interestingly, though I experienced shoulder pain from bench pressing and dips, I never had a problem with pushups.

Pushups demand more stability and body control than a bench press, even though the movement looks sort of the same (essentially a pushup looks like an upside-down bench press). However, unlike the bench press where you’re lying on a bench, in the pushup you are required to stabilize your body as it moves through three-dimensional space. You can’t allow the body to sag in the middle; you must keep it rigid. As a result, you get lots of bonus work through the rest of the body. Often, when I do pushups, especially with elevated feet, what hurts the most are my abs!

Pushups train pretty much every “pushing” muscle in the upper body: shoulders, triceps, and pecs, along with lots of stabilizer involvement from the rest of the body. The forearms are helping out to keep you in position, the torso (abs, obliques, lower back) is working to keep you rigid, and the lower back is tensing up to do the same thing. As you know, I like to knock off a bunch of birds with one stone, and pushups definitely fit the bill.

Contrary to fitness doctrine, one thing pushups will not do is anything for your boobs. Pushups will not make them perkier or smaller or bigger or anything at all, because pushups work muscles, and breasts are not muscle.

Like a lot of stuff to do with exercise, I think women get told a Big Old Lie on the pushup issue. Way back when in elementary school they had us doing “girl pushups” from the knees. This despite the fact that none of us–male or female–had hit puberty yet, so we were all sort of the same size and strength (okay, I was always the smallest kid in my class, but all the normal kids were at least the same), all of us had a good strength to mass ratio, and loads of childhood energy. If you think about it, it’s pretty stupid to tell a sugar-fuelled kid whose bodyweight won’t see triple digits for years, and who can scoot up a tree like a spastic squirrel, that they should take it easy. The Man pretty much sold us short right off the bat, so we grew up thinking that “girl pushups” were the only thing we could do.

Anyhoo, it’s never too late! Any healthy adult woman, with enough training, should be able to crank out at least one, and preferably more, pushups from the feet. Of course, just like chinups, most women don’t start out strong enough because we wasted so much time doing the sucky “girl pushups”. That’s okay, because if pushup weakness is the sickness, Doctor Krista has the cure! I’ve provided a progression program from Pushup Chump to Pushup Champ (and by the way, I hear rumours that there’s a 90-year-old female powerlifter out there who can crank out 30 perfect pushups, so none of you have any excuses for not at least trying… unless you’re 100, then I’ll let you get away with, like, 10).

Start wherever you feel comfortable in this progression. Some of you might want to start right at stage 1, while others can jump to stage 2 or even 3. Before you move to the next stage, ensure that you can perform the easier exercise with rigid body and a good range of motion. You can also try doing one or two sets of the harder exercise, then finishing up with an easier one. You’re ready to move to the next stage when you can comfortably do about ten to fifteen reps of the easier pushup. You don’t have to go for long sets of pushups, though. If you like, something like 5 sets of 5 can be fun, especially if you alternate with a partner: when she finishes, you start, and vice versa. If you really want to get better at pushups, do a few (not a lot) every day, and gradually increase the number you do. Let’s say you can do 10 but you want to do 20. Start by doing 5 every day. Over several days, gradually add 1 rep, so you’re doing 6, then 7, then 8, and so on.

Because I’m always a bit concerned about shoulder health, I don’t recommend taking the pushup deeper than a 90 degree bend in elbows. However, you may adapt this recommendation to suit your own abilities. If you have healthy shoulders and have never had any shoulder discomfort, go deeper if you like. If you have ever had any shoulder pain, stick to the suggested 90 degree limit. Deeper pushups can stretch the shoulder capsule and put strain on the joint, and if the joint is already compromised, this can cause pain.

1: wall pushup

Stand facing a wall. The farther away your feet are from the wall, the harder the pushup will be. Place palms on the wall, just below your shoulders, a bit wider than shoulders. Keeping body rigid in a straight line, lean in towards the wall.

2: counter pushup

I actually prefer people to work into a full pushup using these rather than the knee pushups below. They simply push up from a ledge of decreasing depth: a counter, then a bench, then a step, then eventually the floor as in step 4. The lower the ledge, the harder the pushup will be.

A very simple and lo-tech way to progress through to lower ledges is to use a staircase. Stand facing a staircase and place hands on about the fifth or sixth step. As you get better, work your way down the staircase. Just watch your face on the way down!

Place palms on a sturdy ledge, just below your shoulders, a bit wider than shoulders. Keeping body rigid in a straight line, lean in towards the ledge. If this bothers your shoulders, try adjusting your hand position so your palms are slightly narrower, slightly farther down your body, and your upper arms aren’t so flared out.

krista, i’m a frickin’ animal! this stuff is too easy!

Fine, be like that. If you think you’re so big, try the following ideas.

Triceps pushups. The bottom position is shown in the picture below. Instead of arranging your hands like you’re doing an upside-down bench press, place palms on the floor further down your body, beside your ribcage. Place them close to your body so that your forearms are nearly touching your ribs. Push up in this position, keeping elbows close to the body throughout the movement. These look easy till you try. My husband laughed at me when I suggested these to him. He quit laughing pretty fast.

Giant sets. How many pushups can you do in one set? Each workout, try to increase that number. If you can do 50, you’re pretty slick. If you can do 100, come over to my house and kick my ass. I’ll deserve it.

Clapping pushups. Start in the top position of the pushup from feet. Descend as normal into the pushup, then at the bottom push up explosively, and try to get your body high enough so that you can quickly clap your hands before returning to the regular starting position.

One-hand pushups. You’ll need to spread your feet wider to get the balance right.

Handstand pushups. This is the natural extension of elevated feet pushups. You can use a progressively higher elevation by putting your feet against the wall, or one of those gymnastics ladders if you have one. To use a wall, start in the top position of a pushup with your feet against a wall. Then, scuttle your hands backwards and “walk” your feet up the wall (ideally get a wall that you can get some friction from, like a cinder block wall, and be in bare feet if you can) to the desired height. Aim for eventually doing a pushup with body approximately vertical. Oh yeah, and send me a pic. I’ll put it up on the site, you pushup monster you. Do be aware, though, that the greater the foot elevation, the more the load shifts to your shoulders, so if you’re doing pushups for pec work, stick to lower feet elevations.

email from a satisfied customer…

Hey Krista –

I started with some free weights this past fall, about when I found your site. I’m using dumbbells at the house, and have a garage sale weight bench and bar out in the barn. I found I couldn’t do a full push-up when I started.

I just recently turned 50, and so as a challenge to myself did 50+ push-ups (3 sets of 20, 20, 15 … added 5 for good measure and just a brief break in between sets) and actually felt comfortable, so definitely some progress. Using the dumbbells got my arms in shape to allow the push-ups … as well as using a bench or picnic table to start out doing them at an angle (thanks for the tip), rather than doing the “girls push-ups” as we learned in gradeschool, starting from the knees.

Thanks for all the info, fun, and inspiration —

Cindy

Pullups are also darn hard for the average woman to do. Most untrained females who are older than 10 and heavier than 50 lbs can’t do them. The good news, though, is that most trained women CAN do them. It just takes practice, patience, and time. So, if you’ve always wanted to do a pullup, or you have to do a few to pass a military or police fitness test, this article is for you!

BTW, the May 2008 Experience Life has an article by me on how to learn to do a pullup. Check it out — their pictures are much nicer than mine! Clear the Bar

The first thing to mention is the role of strength relative to mass. The heavier you are, the more weight you’re going to be pulling up. If you need to do pullups for something like a job-related fitness test and you have excess body fat to lose, then consider dumping some of that body fat overboard (of course, using a sensible nutrition plan of moderate caloric restriction and perhaps some interval training, as recommended elsewhere on this site). The lighter you are, the better your chances. That being said, the heaviest woman I’ve ever seen do a pullup was nearly 200 lbs., so it can be done even if you’re bigger. It’s just that this is one of those areas of physical unfairness where it’s better to be smaller.

Here is the progression that will take you from ultra-beginner to your first pullup. Feel free to skip steps if you’re already advanced, and/or if you’re curious enough to see how you’ll do on the harder levels. You don’t need anything fancy like an assisted pullup machine, but the machine does come in handy if you’ve got one available.

holding the bar

But first, a word about pullup grips. There are many ways to hold the bar. While in general, the movement remains more or less the same regardless of grip, there are slight differences depending on the grip. There are no rules about which grip to use, so use the one that you prefer.

An underhand grip is probably the easiest along with the parallel grip (see below). This grip is approximately shoulder width or narrower — even as narrow as your hands touching one another — and palms face you. This grip involves the biceps the most. Pullups done with an underhand grip are often referred to as chinups.

A parallel grip, with palms facing one another, is my personal favourite and in my opinion, frequently the easiest and most comfortable for the shoulders. Some pullup bars have a parallel grip built in. If your gym doesn’t, steal the parallel handle from the cable row station and hook it over the bar as shown in the pic to the right. When using this modification with the handle, you’ll need to orient yourself so that the bar is pointing front and back, rather than side to side, as in a regular pullup.

An overhand grip tends to involve the rear shoulders (deltoids) much more as primary movers, especially if the grip is wide. The more the grip causes your elbows to flare out from your body (as in the wide grip, bottom pic), the more involved the rear deltoids will be. The biceps involvement is somewhat less compared to the underhand grip. Also, the wider the grip, the more stress on the shoulders, so if you have rotator cuff problems, avoid the wider overhand grip as it may trigger shoulder pain. A wide overhand grip is generally the hardest grip to use aside from modified one-hand grips.

As you get more advanced, experiment with other grips. A mixed grip uses one hand over and one hand under. You won’t pull straight facing the bar; rather, your body will twist a little as you come up. This is good for a little extra challenge, particularly to the midsection that will have to work to stabilize you. Alternate hands with each set.

A modified one-hand grip is great for climbers, grip strength, and for working on the ultimate goal: a one-hand pullup (no, I haven’t done it yet. I may never… but a girl can dream). One hand grasps the bar, while the other sits lower down, grasping the rope. You can use a towel looped over the bar, or in this case, the rope handle stolen from the cable station. This provides an asymmetrical load: the side holding the bar will have to do much more pulling work than the side holding the rope, but the side holding the rope will experience much more of a demand on forearm and hand strength. Again, remember to switch sides for each set. OK, on to the progression!

step 1: modifying the lat pulldown This movement modification more closely mimics the type of demand on the midsection that pullups involve. You can use a cable station or the lat pulldown machine. Stand behind the machine’s seat if you’re using the lat pulldown station, as shown in the pic on the right, facing the stack. Reach up and grab the handle. Squat down slightly, bending at knees and hips. Pull the handle or bar to your chest as you normally would. You don’t even need to use the lat pulldown station; you could use any cable station that allows a handle to be attached at the top. It’s fun to experiment with other handles, such as the parallel handle, or to do these one-handed for a little extra zing.

step 2: assisted pullups These can be done in two ways. One way is to use an assisted pullup machine (sometimes known as a Gravitron) that uses a counterweight so that you are only pulling up a fraction of your body weight. The assisted pullup machine has the advantage of providing progressively declining resistance. For example, you can begin with pulling up only 40% of your body weight and progressing in 5 or 10% intervals gradually towards your goal. The second way, if you don’t have an assisted pullup machine, or if you feel like going low-tech, is to do the assisted chinup as shown in the photos to the right. This is perhaps the one good use of a Smith machine, as it should never be used for squatting unless you enjoy having your spinal vertebrae slide and crunch over one another like amorous tectonic plates. You could also use a barbell placed in a squat cage or rack, as I have done in the pictures. Set the bar up at approximately chest height. Push a bench in front of the cage or Smith machine. Sit down in the cage and reach up to grab the bar, then put your feet on the bench. The bench will support some of your lower body weight so that you aren’t pulling up quite so much. The more of your legs that are supported by the bench, the more assistance you’ll get. The first photo shows the starting position for the assisted pullup. You can use whatever grip you like, although a shoulder-width or slightly wider overhand or underhand grip will work best. Dorky facial expression, as demonstrated, is optional (although judging from how often it appears in my lifting photos, perhaps it is the secret to strength). The second photo shows the top position of this pullup. Why am I looking to the side? I have no idea. Perhaps there is a shiny object over there. I have the attention span of a goldfish. Anyhoo, notice that I keep my legs straight throughout the movement.

step 3: negative pullups

This involves the same use of the Smith machine as in Step 2. Or you can use a regular bar; it’s just easier to do when the bar is a little lower. A negative pullup eliminates the pulling up part of the rep, which is the hardest part, and just focuses on the lowering down part, which is easier. The “negative” refers to the negative part of the rep, also known as the eccentric portion. Thus, instead of focusing on pulling up (known as the “positive” or “concentric” portion of the rep), you focus on slowly resisting gravity on the way down.

Start by grabbing the bar with your desired grip. Jump up to the top position of a pullup, with arms fully bent and chin over the bar. That’s the starting position. Then, lower yourself down as slowly as possible. Try for a slow 3 or 4 count per negative.

step 4: partner assistance

Once you can do 4 to 5 good slow negative chins, try a partner assist. Grab the bar, bend your knees 90 degrees, and have a partner place their hands under your shins in order to apply gentle upward assistance.

Often, just a little boost from a partner at the bottom is all you need, and you should be well on your way!

step 5: the pullup

Hell yeah! You did your first big-girl pullup!

Pause to celebrate the completion of your first pullup. It is a special moment in every woman’s life, ranking just below giving birth and above your wedding day. Or something like that. Force everyone in the gym to kiss your biceps. Scream “YEAH!!” and pump your fist in the air. Do a victory lap around the gym while singing, “Weeeee are the chaaampyuuuns my freeeeeeend…”

readers butch up, pull up

Stumptuous readers busting out their first big girl pullups! Show us how it’s done, ladies.

And update from Katie:

Lee-Ann’s pullup (Click to download in MOV format)

ok, i can haul myself up, now what?

You’ll find that it’s often easier to add weight than reps to chinups. Try for sets of singles rather than multiple reps, and try them more frequently than once weekly, say 2 to 3 times weekly. As long as you don’t max out and you stay well under your capacity (e.g. do 1 pullup if you can normally do 3), you can even do them every day if you’re used to them, but I don’t suggest that beginners do this, as their wrists and elbows are not sufficiently conditioned and will likely complain.

Another option is to do a regular chinup 1 to 2 x weekly, then assisted lighter chins another 2 x weekly. This will also help with your grip. Ideally, go for shorter sets with pullups, and do them a couple of times a week. You’ll fatigue easily with these, so the first set is where the magic happens.

There's another dorky facial expression. Maybe there is something to it. To be fair, it is hard to do a weighted pullup and not make a goofy face.

The easiest way to add weight to pullups is with a dip belt. This is a nylon belt with a chain. The chain is threaded through a weight plate, and the plate hangs between the knees, as shown in the pic to the right. The belts are pretty cheap; maybe $20 or so at your local fitness emporium. They come in leather versions too, but I’m not crazy about those, as the leather tends to cut into your hips.

You can also try holding lighter plates (such as the 2.5, 5, and 10 lbs) between your knees. This isn’t a bad method but I do not recommend just dropping the plate by opening your knees when you’re done the set. It has a surprisingly high probability of smashing your ankle on the way down. Must be a funny gravity thing, I guess. Make the extra effort to remove the plate by hand. As you get into larger plates, such as the one shown in the pic (which I think is a 25 lb one but can’t tell definitively), you’ll want to use a dip belt unless you have Knees O’ Steel.

And of course, feel free to pursue the pot of gold dream of a one-handed pullup by using the mixed-grip methods shown above, and placing your rope hand further down the rope over time. If you manage it, take a picture and send it to me. I shall proclaim you Pullup Mistress.

Sadly, few movements are as badly mangled in the average gym as the squat. Let me make this perfectly clear at the outset: IF YOU DO NOT OR CAN NOT SQUAT, YOU SERIOUSLY LIMIT YOUR MOVEMENT OPTIONS.

Also, IF YOU DO A CHEATER SQUAT JUST TO SATISFY YOUR EGO THEN YOU DESERVE TO GET YOUR ASS KICKED.

Of course, we all have to start somewhere! There’s no shame in not being able to squat if you are prepared to apply yourself diligently to the project of kissing the floor with your butt cheeks. Take your time, keep at it, and progress through the stages at your own pace.

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step 1: railing squat

what it does:

This is both a good beginner exercise and a fine pre-squat stretch. It also helps you learn the concept of sitting down and back, rather than just down.

what you’ll see in the video:

Stand facing a railing about waist height. Grab it with both hands and squat down and back, so far back that you’d fall over backwards were you not holding the rail. Go all the way down. I mean all the way down. That’s a real woman’s squat depth. That is your goal. Unless you have some injury or movement restriction preventing you from hitting full depth, accept no substitutes!!

Sit at the bottom for a few seconds, then come up. Use your arms to help pull you up, if you need to. Go for sets of 25. (Sorry about the head and feet getting cut off in this one but hey, all you need is the middle part of me anyway!)

For a pre-squat stretch to help you build the flexibility to go to full depth with a real squat, do this movement and then sit at the bottom for longer, perhaps 5-10 seconds. Repeat for reps.

step 2: “bottom-up” squat, aka “potty” squat

what it does:

Newbies get scared going down into the squat. It starts to seem like a really long way and they cut it short way too early. This helps you work towards a full depth squat and removes the mental hurdle of the descent. It’s also good for beginners who don’t yet have a lot of leg strength. The goal is to do an unassisted full depth squat.

what you’ll see in the video:

Find something to sit on: a box, bench, or step. A staircase is good because then over time, you can simply work your way to lower stairs. Slide your feet forward so your shins are about vertical (notice me shuffling them back into position before the second rep). Take a deep breath, pushing your chest up and out. This is your start position. Bend forward from the hips, keeping the torso straight (not straight up and down, just a straight line from neck to hips without hunching or letting shoulders slump forward). Lean forward from the hips. Stand up. That’s one rep. Once you get really good at these, perhaps a couple of confident sets of 20 to 25 reps, lose the step and squat freely, all the way down till your butt hits your calves. That’s step 3.

On the first rep, you can see I use my hands to push off my knees. This is good if your legs aren’t strong yet, and you need a little extra vavoom. On the second rep, I hold my arms out in front, which helps you keep your balance. Whichever you prefer is fine.

step 3: full squat

Actually, there should be a step 2.5 in here, which is the full depth squat without a bar, but you can probably figure this one out.

what it does:

I shouldn’t even have to explain the awesomeness of the squat, but here is more reading:

Learning the Squat Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

what you’ll see in the video:

A quick glimpse of the elusive cinematographer and my beatdown buddy! This is followed by me unracking the bar from the cage. Notice I’m stepping forward into a lunge to do this. This helps keep me stable and avoids pitching forward. I set the bar up on the “meat shelf” of my upper back, NOT the base of the neck. Feel the back of your neck and find the big bumps of the cervical vertebrae. The bar should sit below this.

I walk back to get into position and look forward. Then I begin the descent by sitting back and down. My butt drops behind my heels, and my torso stays tight (I don’t let it flop forward, but I can lean from the hips). Notice the depth of this. The back of my thighs make contact with my calves. That’s a full squat, ladies.

step 4: one-legged squat

Now we’re cooking with gas my friends. This one separates the women from the girls.

what it does:

Unilateral (one sided) movements are ideal for sport training. Asymmetrical movements more accurately mimic the demands of real life. This particular movement has also been shown to activate the deep hip and glute muscles more significantly than a two-legged squat, so it’s also good for anyone wanting to strengthen and/or rehab those areas in particular.

For a fun variation on this one that helps train agility and which is a great conditioning exercise if you go for high reps, include a back roll. Squat down, drop your butt to the floor, roll back into a full back somersault, and stop when you’ve righted yourself and you’re back on your feet in a crouch. Go forward into a front somersault and in a smooth motion as you complete the somersault, plant one foot and ascend from the one-legged squat.

what you’ll see in the video:

I hold one leg out in front, and then sink down into the squat. You can also experiment with holding the nonworking leg out to the side or the back. Hands are held out in front for balance.

Most folks have trouble getting this one right away. When I first started, I got crazy muscle cramps in the upper thigh of the leg being held out in front, not the actual squatting leg. Anyway, to make it easier in the beginning, squat down to a bench just like you did in Step 1. You can also use a staircase, and as you get stronger, sit down to lower and lower steps.

step 5: overhead squat

what it does:

We’re now moving into Serious Badass territory. An overhead squat works just about all the muscles you have. In particular, the OHS is excellent for developing shoulder and upper back strength along with midsection stability. It’ll also give you some kickass balance training. Since the OHS obviously includes a squat, it also involves the lower body, but this isn’t going to be the lower body’s pump-till-ya-puke exercise because you can’t use as much weight. Nevertheless I find that my hips get lots of work on this one. Begin with a broomstick. TRUST ME.

what you’ll see in the video:

I start with the bar high in the power cage, so I don’t have to get it up to overhead. This is good if you’re a beginner and don’t know how to perform a snatch lift to move the bar from floor to overhead. Notice I do that little lunge thing underneath, stepping one foot foward. Balance is critical here, and a staggered foot stance will help you stay steady as you unrack the weight. (I show the lift on the third rep.)

I hold the bar in a wide (aka snatch) grip. The snatch grip should feel almost uncomfortably wide. Were you standing with the bar hanging down, the grip would be wide enough that the bar would sit approximately at the level of your hip crease (i.e. where the bend is when you lift your thigh).

If I could communicate only one thing about the OHS, it’s this: hold the bar behind your head, rather than directly overhead. If you try to hold it where you feel it’s directly overhead, you’ll pitch forward. Hold it as far back as you can. Try to “stretch” the bar apart like it’s a piece of taffy — pull your hands outwards. This will help create the tension you need to hold the bar firmly up there.

Like a regular squat, sit back and down rather than straight down. As always, make sure to look straight ahead or very slightly up. There is a feeling I get when I’m at the bottom of a full depth OHS that is indescribable. It feels simultaneously very comfortable and deeply satisfying yet very challenging. Mistressing this exercise will certainly give you a sense of accomplishment.

I perform two reps and then lower the bar to show how to pull it up using the snatch-type lift. With the bar close to my body and my arms straight, I slide the bar down to just above the knees. Then, in a smooth motion, keeping the arms straight, I essentially “jump” with the bar (rather than just trying to pull it with my arms). This explosively extends the hips, knees, and ankles, and gives the bar the momentum to fly up. In fact, the arms are almost floppy and relaxed. Just like in jiu-jitsu, the hips do the work. I take a moment to get the bar in position at the top, and squat down a third time. Then I re-rack.

You kids stop laughing at the word snatch. Hee hee hee snatch.

squat stance

In the beginning you will likely be focusing on not falling over, so you won’t be terribly concerned with your squat stance. However, eventually you may be interested in experimenting with squat stances. Perhaps you want to find the one which is most advantageous for you, or you are thinking of competing in powerlifting. Whatever your reason, it is helpful to know what each stance involves. Bear in mind that everyone is different, and there’s lots of room for variation. There are no hard and fast rules about which one is right for you. For example, many people with longer legs find that they prefer a wider stance, and it makes it easier for them to hit full depth, but there are exceptions, such as my giraffe-legged husband who can do a rather astonishing narrow stance squat.

Here are the two basic back squat stances. Since I took these shots at home, and since my husband persists in being unreasonable about my idea to remove all of the living room furniture and install a complete home gym in its place, I am demonstrating this with my trusty broomstick.

The wide stance, low bar squat is the powerlifting style squat. Feet are placed quite wide apart, and toes are often turned out. The bar sits low on the traps. It puts people with strong hamstrings, glutes, and hips at an advantage, since hip extension provides much of the drive. The wider your foot placement, the harder it will be to hit depth, since the hip joint will eventually limit how far down you can go (compare my depth at the bottom of the wide-stance and narrow-stance squats). Powerlifters use this style because it helps them hit parallel but no lower, and a lot of weight can be moved this way. It looks like I’m really hyperextending my back in the photo on the left, but I’ve just started sitting back into the descent a bit.

The narrow stance, high bar squat is the one that I use. The bar sits relatively higher up on the traps, and the feet are roughly shoulder width apart. Full depth is easily achieved as long as hamstrings are flexible and lower back is strong. Toes may travel slightly beyond knees, but it’s not usually a problem. This stance is good for people with strong quads, and/or for people who also perform Olympic lifts. Knee extension is more significant in this squat than in the wide stance style, which means that more work is done by the quads.

squatting stretches

Here are some stretches that will help you squat more easily, effectively and correctly. All stretches should be executed after a good warmup. Since these stretches are intended as remedial work for the squat, you can break the “no static stretching before weights” rule and do them before you squat, as well as after.

The best squat stretch of all is squatting (there’s a zen truth in there somewhere). To do this stretch, simply squat down and sit there in the squat position for 3-5 seconds, letting your own weight push you into the stretch. Ascend as normal, then repeat. Do this a few times every day, or every workout, and within a couple of weeks this should be a piece of cake. You can also put a bar on your back for this one, and the added weight will also help to push you further into the stretch. To get a deeper hip stretch from this, squat down with no weight on your back, then once you are at the bottom, take your elbows and use them to push your knees outwards. Hold for 5 seconds, then ascend. Repeat as desired.

Tight hamstrings are often to blame for rounding out the lower back at the bottom. Many people stretch hamstrings incorrectly, using stretches such as the sit-and-reach stretch (not to be confused with the sit-and-spin), where they bend from the waist. It’s much more effective to stretch the hamstrings while bending from the hip. For a beginner stretch, simply bend forward from the hips, keeping an arch in the lower back, as shown in the picture on the left. Once you’ve gotten good at this, progress to the deeper stretch shown in the middle picture, with foot elevated on a step, bench, or chair. Keep bending from the hips, not the waist, and push butt back as your upper body leans down. You can also stretch the hamstrings while lying down, using a towel looped around your calf, as shown in the picture on the right.

Tight hips can be stretched out with this version of the classic yoga pigeon pose. To get into this pose, sit on the floor with your left knee bent in front of you (knee bent about 90 degrees; don’t overbend), and the right leg straight-ish in front of you. Roll on to your left butt cheek, and swing the right leg back as far as it will go. In the beginning it probably won’t go very far, and you’ll have to keep the right knee bent. Roll back towards the center so that weight is evenly distributed. The farther you roll to the right, the deeper the stretch in the front of your right hip. Sit up straight, push chest out, and press right hip forward. The farther up you sit, the more you’ll feel the stretch in the front of your right hip. The farther forward you lean, the more you’ll feel the stretch in the outside of the left hip. I like to do this as a two-step stretch: get into position, then stretch first in the upright position shown, followed by leaning forward (you can go as far down as resting your forehead on the floor, if you like). Repeat on other side of course. I like this stretch a lot because it’s a good one-two punch. You stretch out the outside of one hip, and the front of the other. Don’t forget to breathe deeply and relax for this one, because it’s a deep stretch.

For the front of the hip, try the stretch shown to the right. Step forward with one leg, keeping upper body upright and tucking pelvis under very slightly. Drop rear knee straight down until a stretch is felt in the front of the hip. You may find that you need to tuck the pelvis under a fair bit to make this stretch happen. Keep front shin and rear thigh approximately vertical, and do not hyperextend the lower back. If you like, you can hold a railing for balance during this stretch.

Second, try the following stretches. Stand facing a wall. Place hands on wall, slide one foot back, press heel down, as shown in picture to left. Hold for 10-30 seconds, then bend knee and continue pressing down on heel, as shown in the right hand picture. Another good stretch is to stand on a step, holding a railing. Slide one foot off the step, so that the heel is off the step while the toes are still on the step. Press that heel down and hold for 10-30 seconds.

Pain on the outside of the knee is often alleviated by stretching the iliotibial band, which is a long strip of mostly connective tissue that runs down the thigh from hip to knee. Though the tissue spans the length of the thigh, it is most often felt in the knee area, outside and just above. Runners especially are likely to be familiar with the pain of IT band irritation. This knee pain is actually relieved by stretching hip abductor muscles, the glutes and the tensor fascia latae. The hip stretches described above will help, as will this stretch. Cross left leg over right as shown, straighten both legs, then push hip out to the right like Mae West workin’ it.

Another handy tip for self-treating knee pain is massage with a rolling pin. While seated watching TV or whatever, stretch your leg out in front of you and rest it on your coffee table, footstool, or helpful golden retriever. Take the rolling pin and roll it down the length of your thigh, working in small areas about 6″ square. Use gentle pressure at first, then increase. Work along the entire thigh, wherever there is soft tissue, particularly along the outside. This rolling pin massage also feels great on the front of your shins. If you don’t have a rolling pin handy, try just using your thumbs to work along the outside of the thigh from the knee upwards, making small circles about 1-2″ in diameter, and using a firm pressure. Do this self-massage for several minutes, once or twice a day.

therapeutic squatting variations

The squat itself can be modified to correct problems in technique. A common problem is allowing the knees to cave inwards. This can signify, in part, a weakness in hip abductors, but it can also be just poor learned form. To un-learn this as well as focus on strengthening hips, try this trick. Take a piece of elastic tubing or exercise bands (you don’t have to use this; you can use any piece of cord you have lying around, but the elastic stuff works really well). Tie it into a loop, then place the loop around your knees while standing. The loop should be long enough so that it allows you to stand normally, but short enough that you have to press your knees outwards to keep it from falling down. Then, using light weight, execute your squat as normal, making sure to press knees outwards throughout.

Knee pain can sometimes be treated using this squat modification. Squat as normal, but hold a basketball or soccer ball between your knees. You’ll have to focus on pressing inwards or the ball will drop. This is often prescribed by physiotherapists who identify a hip abductor or vastus medialis weakness.