Phil's Journal Comments.

[robertscott]

you doing any core work as part of your warm up?

[Proper Knob]

Not really.

[robertscott]

you should start man, a few sets of bird dogs has my back feeling like a million bucks. I wouldn't ever squat or anything like that without doing some core work first

[Jungledoc]

I concluded that bird dogs weren't worth much, maybe OK for a beginner, but of no value to a big tough guy like me. Seriously, they don't seem to make a difference for me. Am I missing something?

[Proper Knob]

Bob - I do throw bird dogs and bridges and their like into my warmup. Crossed wires with regards to what core meant.

Doc - The issue I have with BD's is that they are incredibly hard to tell if you are doing them correctly. Anyone can get on all fours, almost anyone, and extend their legs and arms but to execute the exercise properly ie, neutral spine and stable pelvis though out the extending of limbs, is hard to gauge by yourself. You really need someone assessing the movement for you. I thought I had good BD form, one side is good but my other side is a little off. I only know this as my girlfriend pointed it out to me, when she gave me some coaching cues to correct the dodgy side the exercise became a lot harder.

[Jungledoc]

Maybe I'll have to post a bird dog form check video when I get back to the US!

[Oscar_Actuary]

please tag it NSFW

[KPj]

Most common mistakes with bird dogs,

Lower back arching and the rear leg going a bit wild. It'll kick out to the side, externally rotate (your toes will point out as you reach back), or you just don't get full extension (straight leg and in line with the torso - should be a straight line from leg to torso, basically).

Another is hyperextending the neck. In other words, you should be looking at the floor.

Bird dogs shouldn't be difficult but, if they are, you should probably hold back on the heavy stuff until you clean it up. It's a basic movement. For some beginners, or people you could class as "de conditioned", bird dogs can be a brutal "core" exercise but the aim is to make them effortless...

You can progress them by narrowing your base, which would involve bringing your planted/down leg and arm closer together (bring the "down" arm more in front of your down-knee).

KPj

p.s the Bird dog is part of the FMS (Rotary Stability)... Should be effortless. If it's not then you should address it, at least in my own opinion.

[robertscott]

it took me a long time to get bird dogs right. It just clicks after a while

[Jungledoc]

I'll give it a try this afternoon when I have a partner to look at them.

[Proper Knob]

So I've finished the '4 weeks to a bigger chest' program I was following, although it took a little longer than four weeks due to 'life' and I'm not sure if I have a bigger chest, not that I even care. It was fun but more importantly I learnt from something from it and my back is feeling great.

So onwards I've decided to go back to a straight 5x5 linear progression for a while. I'll start somewhere around 70% of my perceived max and ramp it up from there. I'll be doing Deadlifts, bench press and safety bar squats this way and and adding a speed bench also. So the new routine will look something like this -

Deadlifts 5x5
Walking lunges
Back Raises
Landmines

Bench Press 5x5
Floor press
Barbell Rows/Cable rows (depending on how busy gym is)
Arms

SSB Squats 5x5
DB RDL's
Back Raises
Rollouts

Speed Bench
Landmine Press
Chins
Vanity work

When I start stalling on 5x5 I'll switch to 3x5 and when I stall with that progression I'll switch again to 3x3. When I stall on that I'll switch to singles and see where I end up.

[robertscott]

thoughts on the Dan Trink program?

[Proper Knob]

Firstly, I enjoyed doing it, it was nice to do something completely different. I'll bullet point my thoughts.

1. Made me utillise exercises and equipment which i wouldn't normally use, some of which will be added to my repertoire from now on.
2. It was nice to not think about percentages and rep PR's for a while and just go in and lift on the fly.
3. It was a lot of pressing, maybe not suitable for someone with a dicky shoulder.
4. Rests were minimal so not a lot of weight was needed, most of the program was supersets so it was a case of walking from one station to the other and then back again. As a result the sessions didn't take too long.

I think i'll try one of his other programs on t-nation a little later in the year.

[Jungledoc]

Have you previously posted a link to the chest program? I'm curious, not that I would possibly want a bigger chest.

[Proper Knob]

I had done in my journal, but here it is again.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_art ... gger_chest" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;