Grip and Neck Strength

As a strength coach in a collegiate program, I have noticed a lot more emphasis on neck and grip strength.  Prior to my work at FAU I did not know the extreme importance of neck and grip strength.  The average individual who simply trains for wellness or aesthetic reasons does not recognize or know much about incorporating such things into his/her program.

Grip strength is something that was always important for me in the sport of gymnastics.  I don’t think that any other sport demands as much grip strength.  Swinging around the high bar, if you lose your grip, you are going to be sent flying into the ground.  We use athletic chalk and grips, but the grip strength is still an important factor.  Most of our grip development comes from developmental training.  Swinging on the bar when you are young begins to work your grip.  As you grow as a gymnast, the skills become more demanding and you must naturally develop a stronger grip.  You do a lot of “pulling” in the port of gymnastics and this really helps to develop grip strength.

Sports such as football, golf, tennis, baseball, etc…. all require grip strength.  It is important not to neglect this area.  Non athlete individuals also require grip strength.  I can’t count how many times I have had to open a jar or loosen something for someone who had little grip strength.

There are several types of strength involved with “grip strength”.  I would extend this to mean hand and forearm strength.  There is the ability stabilize the wrist,  there is the ability to literally grip (crush, smash, grip) an object and there is the strength to grip with the fingers.  When you are training your “grip strength” you want to incorporate all these things.  I have found that pulling exercises in the weight room are a good way to get extra grip workout during your workout.  If your grip is failing before the main muscle targeted in an exercise, than you know you need more grip work.  I do one arm rows with 120lb dumbbells, and I know that if my grip strength was weak I would not be able to pull that kind of weight.  Additional exercises such as farmers walks, wrist rollers, wrist curls, etc have been important exercises in my own workout.

Neck work is even more neglected than grip strength.  It is common sense that one of the most vulnerable areas for injury in sport is the neck.  Football players are constantly putting pressure on the cervical spine.   A program that includes neck strength components might be the difference between a sore neck and an athlete sustaining a serious injury.  Neck training also improves posture and helps on lifts such as the bench and squat.    

One problem with neck work is the availability of equipment to work the muscles.  This is no excuse at FAU.  We manually work the neck with our athletes.  This is the most functional and cost effective method to training the neck.  To manually work the neck your simply resist the movement of the athletes head with your hand as they are lying down.  If you only rely on machines for neck work, you would need an awfully large facility.

Workout 4/10 - 4/16

4/10: Chest

Decline Bench Press 12/10/8/6/3/3/3/3

DB Flat 3x15

Cable Chest 4x10

Push Ups 100

Run 1 Mile

Abdominals

8 90 degree

4/11: Arms/Shoulders

Shoulder Press Max Out

Incline DB Curl  3x6

Shoulder Lat Raise

Shoulder Front Raise

Tri Pull Downs 3x15

Skull Crushers 3x12

Dips 100

Abdominal Routine

4/12:Legs

Squat: 12/10/8/3/3/3/6

Leg Press 3x10

Calf Raises

Manuel Squatsx4

DB Lounges 3x8

Glute Med

ABS

4/13:Chest/Back

Bench Press: 10/12/8/3/3/3/3

Incline DB: 3x12

Inverted Row 3x20

Widechest 3x15

1 arm DB Row 3x15

Hammer Pulldown  4x8

Abdominal Routine

4/14: Rest

4/15:Arms/Shoulders

Easy bar curl 3x8  2x3

DB tri extension 3x12

Incline db curl 3x6

Tri pull down 3x12

OH press 3x8

Shoulder DB complex 3x

90 degree on bench 3x3

Abdominal Routine

Run 1.5 miles

4/16: Cardio/ABS

Run 7 Miles

Core work 45 mins.

Sled Drags

Sled dragging is something that I had little experience with prior to my work with FAU.  The first time I tried sled dragging, I was surprised at how challenging it actually was.  With the athletes at FAU I have found that sled dragging helps athletes recover after squatting.  I have also learned how sled drags are good for establishing GPP (general physical preparedness). 

            My first impressions of sled work were not that great.  I didn’t like them.  I felt that there were better ways to condition athletes and establish a good GPP.  After trying the drags and learning the many different variations that can be performed with a sled, I quickly became a fan.  They are cost effective and very versatile. 

            I recently began having my golf team do sled work.  They are just getting out of season and I am hitting them with the conditioning.  They have responded well so far.  Since athletes often get tired of the usual stuff, sled work makes them feel good.  Although the athletes are pushing themselves, they get a sense of pride over conquering the sled.  In some senses it makes a golfer feel like a football player.       

            In “Endless Sled Dragging Variations That Will Dramatically Improve Your Performance”, an article by Zach Even, I learned of all the following sled drag variations:

Pull throughs with a split rope, 1 arm rows with a split rope, forward drag with arms behind back, rows to chest with split rope, sumo walks, forward walks with arms extended in front of you…etc….etc. 

The list goes on and on.  It is only limited by the creativity of the individual.  This is why sleds are so great.  You are working and conditioning your athletes and you can always keep it new. 

Explosive work can be done with the sleds.  A benefit to this is that there is no eccentric phase and there is very low impact on the body.  There are not many low impact explosive exercises.  There is also a quicker healing time due to the low impact.  Any and every strength program should include sled drags. 

Workout 4/3- 4/9

4/3 : : Legs

12/10/8/6/6 /6squat   

3x10 Front Squat

3x10 Leg press/calf raises

3x8 DB lounges

4x8 Leg Extension machine

4x8 Leg Curl Machine

2x20 Manuel Squats

2x20 Lounges

3x20 H-stand Pushups

Abdominal routine

4/4: Arms/Shoulders

 Incline DB curl 3x6

4x Isometric Holds

3x Negative Curl

DB tri extension 3x12

BB curl 3x20

Tri pull down 3x12

Seated OH press 3x12

Shoulder DB complex 3x

Abdominal Routine

 4/5: Chest/Back

DB Press 4x8

4x8 DB Flies

3x10 One Arm DB Row

12/10/8/6/6/6 Bench Press

3x8 Straight Arm Pullover

3x8 Hammer Row

3x20 Inverted Row

12/10/8/6 Latt Pulldown

3x10Back Extensions

Wide chest Bench 3x20

Abdominal Routine

4/6: Rest

4/7: Run 5 Miles

ABS

4/8: Legs

Squat 3x12

Leg Press 3x10

Leg Curl 3x15

Leg Extension 3x12

Manuel Squat 3x20

ABS

4/9: Cardio/ABS

Run 7 Miles

Networking

Networking is one of the most important parts of any professional’s career.  I remember when I was a freshman in college; one of the first things they told me was to start networking.  When I was a sophomore I took a trip to the corporate wellness center in the Comcast building of Philadelphia.  When I was there they advice I was given was to “start networking!!”  My feeling is that college gives you a special kind of networking.  In college you become close friends with people of any and all professions.  Within Kinesiology there are several people who I would love to work with or go into business with.  This is a type of networking that is unique to college.  Since these people were your roommates or classmates, you know there background and work ethic.

Outside your own personal realm of friends is the entire professional world.  If you are a normal everyday person, (who is not well connected) like myself, than you need to begin networking and establishing some type of recognition with the different professionals out there.  Being an intern at FAU has helped me to do just that.  At FAU there are all different kinds of opportunities.  I now know head strength coaches and many different people in the field of strength and conditioning.  My internship experience has been unique in the fact that I was also exposed to the private side of the industry.  I have not only established good friends, but people who may be integral to some career move in my future.

This blog is another great tool.  Expressing my thought and ideas helps other professionals get to know what I am about.  When I contact a coach I will encourage them to check out this blog.  The internet has totally changed how things are done and how we are able to promote ourselves.  Networking is essential in the world today.  Some of the greatest people in the world never get the opportunity they deserve because they don’t know how to network.

Workout 3/27- 4/2

3/27: Legs

Box Squat 12/10/8/6/3/3

3x6 Leg press/20 calf raises

3x8 DB lounges

4x8 Leg Extension machine

4x8 Leg Curl Machine

50 Manuel Squats/ 3x30sec holds

40 Lounges

Glute Med Walks

3x20 H-stand Pushups

Abdominal routine

3/28: Chest/Back

Flat Bench:

12/10/8/6/3/3/3

Decline Bench:

12/10/8/6/6/4

DB Flys 3x8

Inverted Row 4x15

Pull ups 4x15

DB Row 3x8

Hammer Pulldown 3x10

Abs Routine

3/29: Arms (skip shoulders)

Incline DB curl 3x6

DB tri extension 3x12

BB curl 3x20

Tri pull down 3x12

Negatives 3x3

Hammer Incline Iso.  3x10

Dips 3x20

Abdominal Routine

3/30: Rest

3/31: Legs:

12/10/8/8/8 /8squat   

3x10 Front Squat

3x8 DB lounges

4x8 Leg Extension machine

4x8 Leg Curl Machine

2x20 Manuel Squats

2x20 Lounges

3x20 H-stand Pushups

Abdominal routine

3/31: Chest/Back:

DB Press 4x8

3x8 RDL

3x8 DB Flies

3x12 One Arm DB Row

12/10/8/6/6/6 Incline Bench Press

3x8 Straight Arm Pullover

3x8 Hammer Row

3x20 Inverted Row

12/10/8/6 Latt Pulldown

3x10Back Extensions

Wide chest Bench 3x20

Abdominal Routine

4/1: Arms/Shoulders

BB curl 3x12

DB tri extension 3x12

Incline db curl 3x20

Tri pull down 3x12

OH press 3x12

Shoulder DB complex 3x

Abdominal Routine

4/2: Run 7 Miles

Researching Shakes and Bars

As a strength coach, or any health professional, It is important to know about protein supplementation.  Recovery is one of the most important aspects of a program, and we want our athletes to maximize their potential.  There are too many options out there in the current market and we need to search out what is good and what is not.

In an article entitled, “Effects of Whey Isolate, Creatine, and Resistance Training on Muscle Hypertrophy”   they describe how, “Whey protein supplements generally contain a higher concentration of essential amino acids (EAA) than other protein sources and have rapid absorption kinetics.  The study looks at the effects of Whey Protein, Creatine and the combination of the 2.  In this study creatine seems to have to greatest effect on the athletes 1RM (compared to simple CHO replacement).   I found it interesting that this article points out that there was no greater increase between Creatine CHO and Creatine with Whey Protein.  This seems to mitigate the validity behind whey protein.  The science is iffy.  The end conclusion is that there need to be more research behind the effects of protein.  

We must realize that the average American gets more protein than they need and that the average America knows little to nothing on supplementation.  Athletes trust what their coaches tell them.  It is also out responsibility to not over supplement and to only promote recovery and proper natural means of supplementation.  I personally only believe in protein supplementation.  I am not a fan of the current trends of pre-workout shakes and so on.  I really feel that our athletes over supplement.  Do you really see a difference between athletes on creatine and the athletes not on creatine?  I believe that half of the game is mental.

A study titled, “Effect of Post Exercise Supplement Consumption on Adaptations to Resistance Training “ showed that, “Post-resistance exercise consumption of MILK and CHO caused similar  adaptations  to  resistance  training.”  This article concluded that there was not enough difference between the two to really claim one as more effective.  That being said, there are many high level lifters who will tell you otherwise.

When it comes to distribution of protein to the athletes I think that chocolate milk from the Café would be more than enough, but having a budget would give me more options.  I only wish it were possible to give every athlete a shaker cup and a scoop of Optimum Gold Standard, but that is not going to happen.  Since the research seems to point out that a combination of protein and CHOs is best for muscle protein synthesis and tissue repair I would choose a shake with both these qualities.  I am torn between two different options.  I would either give my athletes bottles of chocolate milk, or go with the new G3.  Although I have never been a fan of Gatorade (lots of high Fructose Corn Syrup), G3 is a drink that more athletes will be able to drink right after working out.  It drinks more like a sports drink and appeals more to the athletes.

A G3 has 16 grams of protein, 14 grams of carbs and only 120 Kcals.  Although I would like to see a greater carb to protein ratio in this drink, I still feel like it would be one of the better choices out there.  I found this drink for as low as .99 cents, making it extremely affordable for all the teams.

With 10,000 the basketball team could buy more shakes than they could possible drink in one year.  Even men’s Tennis, with a $900 budget could afford shakes for the year.  

I would consider bars for CHO replacement mid workout/competition.  I would choose Larabar.  Each larabar has only 2-9 ingredients.  I was always amazed that the twinkie has over 36 ingredients in it.  Larabar = unsweetened fruit, nuts and spice.  Larabars go for around or under a dollar a piece!