Strict Chest To Bar Pull Ups

June 16, 2013 Leave a comment

 

Kat Dalecki, Australian CrossFit Regional Athlete for Reebok CrossFit GCS demonstrates how to do strict Chest to Bar (CTB) Pull Ups.

Points to note:
1. From the hang, she takes her time to set her posture up correctly. Doing this maximizes her ability to pull herself up with a stiff but responsive spine.

2. Minimal thoracolumbar spinal extension. Kat had done over an hour’s worth of heavy programming so it isn’t technically perfect but pretty damned good. When you extend in the thoracolumbar spine to do strict pull ups, you “bleed” energy – you might be able to do more reps but in the long run, your overall strength will plateau sooner. It is better to develop your strength with your weaker areas dictating the load. Good technique ALWAYS triumphs over weights and reps in the Physiotherapy world.

3. Head and chin stays in place throughout the movement. This ensures that the anterior and posterior muscles are in the optimum position for the movement. Try to avoid poking the chin up to break the plane of the bar when training – when competing, I understand the need to do whatever is safe but necessary to achieve your goals…but you should practice as strictly as possible as often as possible.

4. The shoulders retract to commence the movement but it is not excessive. Kat commences the movement and it flows into the whole sequence nicely. Practicing the retraction from the dead hang is a good technique to practice. However, remember that it isn’t about pulling as far down as you can before you pull up.

5. Kat controls the descent all the way to the bottom. There are NO hard jarring moments in her shoulders, no weak spots in her range, or a rapid, uncontrolled descent. Practicing this way allows you to develop your strength overall.

Strengthening your strict pullups – whether it be chest to bar or chin over bar is like any strength program – try 5 sets of max reps with perfect form with 2-3mins between sets. If you cannot do 1 rep, then get on a box, get to the end (pulled up) position and practice the descent only. If that is too uncontrolled, leave your feet on the box. The more you practice, the better you will become.

Please post your questions, comments or video links below for feedback :)

Filed under Crossfit Exercises, Whole Body

Good Posture? – How squeezing your butt, ribs down, shoulders down & back and head retracted = WEAKER

June 15, 2013 Leave a comment

 

Posture – there are lots of qualified and unqualified people out there who will give you advice but most of them don’t test the results of their advice.

Here is a video showing the most common cues and I demonstrate how your actually have LESS force as a result of this – don’t take my word for it…try it yourself!

The cues and the problems I have with them are:

1. Squeeze your butt and posteriorly tilt your pelvis – doing this usually results in muscles that are on all the time – good for photos, bad for your posture. Doing this will almost always result in making your hips glide forwards and so your hip flexors will activate to protect the hip joint – ever feel like you are NOT making headway with your hip flexor tightness? It is probably trying to protect you!

2. Ribs down – a good cue and one that I do use…however, there are “ribs down” and there are “RIBS DOWN!”. I don’t want you to have an excessively extended spine but I don’t want you to feel like you are stiff and walking around in a strait-jacket! Get the position and then RELAX!

3. Shoulders Down and Back – The most commonly given and WORST advice for most people because most people overcook it and go too far back and too far down. Doing this will make you WEAKER in the shoulders because the ball joint should sit on TOP of the socket. Pulling your shoulders down and back will make the socket point down towards the ground so there isn’t much support for your shoulders…so the muscles have to work harder and so have less force to put towards moving and lifting heavy stuff

4. Chin Down and Head Back – A lot of desk workers do poke their chin out…but making a double chin is overcooking the correction. It is better to focus on standing taller with your head in a good position and then RELAX.

So the test I used here was a resisted isometric manual muscle test for forward flexion. You can do the test in any position you want, it doesn’t matter.

So the secret to good posture is simple – get your landmarks right – sternum over pubic bone, keep those ribs down and then relax your position without losing your posture. There will be a little tension in the system but not so much you feel stiff.

Always test and retest – ANY cue or correction should IMPROVE things, NOT MAKE YOU WEAKER!!

Post your comments, questions or videos for feedback below – happy to have a chat!

Filed under Posture, Uncategorized, Whole Body

A CrossFit Athlete’s Guide to Regionals/Games Preparation Part 1

April 10, 2013 3 Comments

Chest to Bar Pull Ups

GCS Athlete Kat Dalecki demonstrating strict Chest to Bar Pull Ups

The 2013 CrossFit Open is now finished. You may have made it to this next level…now it gets real! So how do you prepare for this event? Is this the main game for you or are you a serious contender for the Games?

Over the next 5 weeks, I intend on helping you prepare your body to be the best it can be for your next major competition…The CrossFit Regional Competition.

Read more of this post

Filed under Body Regions, Crossfit Exercises, Information for Patients Tagged with ,

CrossFit Open 13.4 Advice

March 28, 2013 Leave a comment

13.4 is here – clean and jerk (C+J) and toes to bar (TTB) ladder – 7mins AMRAP.

Here are my initial thoughts, tips, prep and strategies.

 

Overall impressions:

  • This is a like a 1500m race – feels like forever for slugs like me but for the top guys, this will be a sprint where every dropped bar, every broken toes to bar, and even the transition time will make a difference.
  • I think the Toes to Bar will be a major difference at the top end…this is assuming the top end athletes find 135/95lbs relatively easy.
  • Grip endurance is key – consider using a 15kg bar…

Clean and jerk at 135lbs/95lbs

  • Heavy enough for me but will it be heavy enough for those at the top? It is Grace weight which means that if up have a 1:30 grace, you should hit that by 2:30-3:00 (3+6+9+12). That means you have the round of 15 and 18 to get to in the final 4-4:30mins.
  • To hook grip or not? I will be. My grip is weak so the TTB will get me so I will need all the help I can get in getting that bar up :) It may even be worthwhile considering using the 15kg bar to give your hands a different grip range…
  • Lastly, the longer you can pump out the multiple reps, the better.

Prep:

  • Shoulders: make sure your shoulders at the back are freed up so you can get into front rack efficiently. Stretch out your median, ulnar and radial nerves. Make sure your lats, pecs, serratus anterior and external obliques are freed up so you can lock out overhead and avoid a no-rep!
  • Neck and Back: Please keep your back and neck flat and still in your cleans. This will help prevent the repetitive strain soreness I will no doubt be dealing with after Easter. Keeping your back straight will be hard because TTB encourages flexion in your spine. If your face is parallel to the wall in your setup for cleans, IT IS A WEAK POSITION. Keep the distance from your chin to your sternum the same height. If you let your chin poke out, you will put the anterior muscles in a position that is hard to generate force from.
  • Hips and knees: – most people can power clean this weight – so while you won’t go into a full squat, make sure your hips are freed up. In your power clean catch position, let the hips take the weight into the back of the hip. This will help spare your hip flexors in the TTB.
  • Forearms/arms: – stretch them out. It is too late to develop your grip strength :-/ I suggest you push jerk as the top guys will be pushing 60+ reps of of each exercise and us weaker “enthusiasts” will need all the help we can get. A 15kg bar has a different grip size which may be useful.

 

Toes To Bar:

  • Like the box jumps, this may be where the top athletes come undone. The longer you can maintain unbroken reps, the better.
  • Make sure, especially if you are being filmed, that you meet the standards.

Prep:

- Shoulders: The prep for the C+J should be good. Get some kips in to free the shoulders up but the best TTB don’t swing around too much – Jessica Coughlan’s 21, 21, 11-10 unbroken in last year’s regionals is still fresh in my memory!

- Neck and Back: Try to keep your head aligned and watch for excessive lumbar extension if you have a sore back. Hollow rocks, Wall walks etc will activate the positions you should hit.

- Hips and knees: The warm up for cleans should be good enough. Make sure you can maximise the hips flexion component as this will spare your back from repeated flexion and extension…and thus soreness!

- Forearms/arms: Grip will be difficult to maintain. Between rounds, move those fingers and work those callouses

 

Good luck everyone. I am about to do it in about 90mins time so if I have any further insights, I will pass them on :)

Until then, stay safe :)

Filed under Crossfit Exercises, Information for Patients Tagged with , , , , ,

CrossFit Open WOD 13.3 – Advice and Injury Prevention Tips

March 21, 2013 1 Comment

So, the CrossFit open WOD 13.3 is actually the same as CrossFit Open WOD 12.4 – in other words, you get a chance to see if you have gotten any better!

I have outlined some of my initial impressions and ideas concerning advice for the elite athletes and “enthusiasts” (aka the rest of the world). Otherwise, please take care and if you are new to CrossFit, find someone to help you sit on the toilet!

In case you don’t know what 13.3 is…

As Many Repetitions/Rounds (!) As Possible in 12 minutes of:

150 Wall-ball shots

90 Double Unders (skipping)

30 Muscle-Ups

Read more of this post

Filed under Body Regions, Crossfit Exercises, Foot/Ankle, Information for Patients

Lowering the Crossfit Injury Rate

February 3, 2013 2 Comments

Whether you love or hate Crossfit, it is here to stay. I personally LOVE Crossfit. I wrote a blog post in April last year about Crossfit and why injuries occur – you can read it here. I have been consulting with high level and the general Crossfit population for well over a year now. This blog post is about the common issues that I see and how to reduce the injury rate in Crossfit…

Read more of this post

Filed under Crossfit Exercises, Our Philosophy, Whole Body Tagged with , , , , ,

Why I love Crossfit Effects (CFX)… and always will

January 31, 2013 4 Comments

Crossfit Effects (CFX) is where I started my Crossfit journey. Mick Shaw and his coaches have been a fantastic resource and the friends I have made there have meant that Crossfit is one of the longest things that I have stuck with for quite some time – I try to go 5-6 times per week.

Because I sold my business, I needed to find rooms to rent. Unfortunately, CFX is within the area that I cannot work in under the terms of the sale contract – and fair enough too. I have been negotiating with some different places where I can rent a room and continue to see my patients. Because of this, I will be leaving CFX to train where I work (the subject of another blog – this blog is about CFX).

The purpose of this blog post is to clearly outline that I am leaving CFX on good terms, to acknowledge how much it has changed my life and to encourage others who want to try Crossfit to try it at CFX.

Read more of this post

Filed under About Antony, Crossfit Exercises, Information for Patients

Announcement – Antony has resigned from Penshurst Physiotherapy Centre

January 23, 2013 6 Comments

Penshurst Physio - Corner of Railway Parade and Pacific Avenue

Penshurst Physio before Antony Lo sold it to Colin Phillips.

A short history…

On April 13, 2001, I took over Penshurst Physiotherapy Centre from Ralph Geary. We eventually bought a building nearby and gradually expanded our business into multidisciplinary centre. During my ownership, we basically quadrupled the business.

In 2012, Colin Phillips (the new owner of Penshurst Physiotherapy Centre) asked if we were willing to sell him the practice. We were and so negotiations commenced and an agreement was met.

On Oct 2, 2012, I handed over the business to Colin. I had agreed to stay on and really wanted to continue to be a part of the business. However, I found it more difficult that I had imagined. However, even until I went away on holidays, I still intended to stay on.

What will I be doing?

Antony works on an elite Regional Competitor

Treating Crossfit athletes of all standards is a passion of mine and I will be continuing to pursue this

It wasn’t until my first week back at work did I decide to leave. I think it will be best for Colin and the rest of the staff at Penshurst Physio to have a clean start and a fresh shot at making it on their own.

I have already had plenty of opportunities to work in many different locations and clinics however I haven’t finalised any plans at this stage. Due to the usual contract restrictions of working within a certain radius, I will be looking at renting some rooms in the Inner West, Parramatta and Sutherland Shire regions. I will finalise these locations and make them publicly available when they are confirmed.

I will be continuing in providing “second opinion” work, Crossfit specialised assessment and treatment and running seminars for health professionals and the public. I will certainly also be available for any of my past patients who choose to follow me – as usual, my goal/desire/mission is to go “above and beyond” in providing the best quality services I can. I won’t be setting up a clinic like I have run before – my new work will be a different type of business model to Penshurst Physio.

Thank You’s:

I wish Colin and the staff at Penshurst Physio all the best. Within 3 months, I expect that the shadow of my presence will have diminished and he will have a practice built on his own reputation.

Penshurst Physio staff - Thank you!

The staff at Penshurst Physio at the 2012 Christmas Party

I would like to thank my staff throughout the years who have made both Sans Souci Physiotherapy Centre and Penshurst Physiotherapy Centre an enjoyable place to work, a friendly place for the patients to come to and get healed at and for ultimately being the reason why we ran 2 very successful practices.

I would like to thank those who have helped me immensely with ancillary services such as Plumbing, Electrical, cleaning and IT services. Particular mention must be made of Peter and Shona Ross who are amazingly generous people…thank you!

I would like to thank my patients who have been very loyal and understanding as I made mistakes throughout the years and learned from them. Without my patients, their word-of-mouth referrals and their advocacy for me and the practices, we wouldn’t have had our businesses grow by so much. Thank you for your support.

Lastly, I would like to thank my family and my wife Dianne. Without my parents, I would not have bought my first practice – they took a punt on a 25 year old who said he could do it…without any experience! My brother Adrian who is now a doctor – he basically ran Sans Souci Physio for me while I took care of Penshurst. My sister Amanda for the graphic design work over the years. My children who taught me through the school of hard knocks how to relate to my ante-natal and post-natal patients on a whole new level! And to Dianne who righted the ship in the early days and then ran a tight outfit. Without her tireless work, I would be in an administrative nightmare.

Antony's family

Thank you to my family – without their support over the years, I would not have been able to achieve all that I have!

Useful Links:

Website: www.myphysios.com.au

Facebook (business): www.facebook.com/physiodetective

Facebook (personal): www.facebook.com/antonylo

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/antonylo

Twitter: www.twitter.com/physiodetective

Education Website: www.myPTeducation.com

Filed under About Antony, Information for Patients Tagged with , , , ,

Not All Physios Are Equal

December 30, 2012 1 Comment

“Aren’t all Physiotherapists the same?”

One of the most difficult tasks I have with prospective new clients is convincing them that I am different to other Physiotherapists that they have seen in the past. This is generally because people simply don’t know that there are different types of Physiotherapists out there with different levels of recognised experience and skills.

So who should you see and when should you see someone else?

Read more of this post

Filed under About Antony, Information for Patients, Specialisation Process

High Velocity, Low Amplitude (HVLA) thrust = also known as “cracking necks and backs”

December 26, 2012 Leave a comment

This post is going to get a little scientific – apologies – but it was prompted by thinking about a statement by an eminent manual therapist Leon Chiatow…and has been the way I was taught to “manipulate” joints. But in the quest for “truth”, I have to wonder about the science behind what we say and what we mean…

‎”It is worth emphasizing that, by definition, HVLA impulse, or thrust, involves high velocity, not high force.” – Leon Chaitow, ND, DO

I have always been confused by this type of statement… it doesn’t seem to make sense to me from a physics point of view. Perhaps you can check my reasoning below?

Force = mass x acceleration. Assuming the mass is constant and you start from a relatively still position, then to move from a stationary position to one of high velocity, then acceleration has to be high (v2-v1/t). Therefore successful manual therapists, IMHO, actually achieve higher forces as they can more easily generate rapid speed in a localised area.

Having said that, they also produce (usually) less displacement (s) (that would be the low amplitude bit in HVLA): s=u.t + 0.5.a.t^2. Since initial velocity (u) = 0, then it is the acceleration and time that makes the difference. Since the required distance to achieve manipulation is small, then it takes less time.

Unskilled/novice manual therapist “look wrong” because they are slow (takes more time), move the patient too much (increased distance), and “try too hard” in general.

Therefore, perhaps instead of saying “Force”, people actually mean “Work”: Work = Force x Distance. Power = Work x Time. So whilst the force has increased (mass x acceleration), the Work and Power has decreased when compared to novices…

…however, if you say “force increases”, then students will just try to push harder (increase power and work) because they don’t understand physics…

Truth vs Pragmatism?

Filed under Information for Patients

← Older posts

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 1,117 other followers