How can your program for an athlete and avoid injury and imbalances while also increasing their performance?
This is part 3 in a 3-part series describing how to build a dangerously-effective athlete.
In part 1, we went over the EO3 Elements or what we consider “training prerequisites” and how they are paramount to seeing any result you desire.
In part 2, we covered the core methods of our approach to concurrent training and how effective it can be and why.
Today, we cover a topic we call “Body Geometry”. In short, Body Geometry is the final layer of our training and we would consider this a post requisite or overlay to our core methodology. Concurrent Training and Body Geometry are synergistic, not contradictory.
Body geometry keeps athletes safe, healthy, and optimal by fixing imbalances and increasing your efficiency and quality of how you move through programming, not instruction. I.e.; a coach can teach you how to move (and should) but a proper program will make sure every movement serves a greater purpose beyond short-term goals.
Here are the basic tenants of Body Geometry:
- Progressions: Develop your strength and movement quality first.
- Contractions: Ensure all three types of muscle contractions (isometric, eccentric, and concentric) appear in the programming at the proper dose.
- Balance: Ensure athletes operate in all three planes of movement (Sagittal, Frontal, and Transverse) while executing the correct ratio of anterior/posterior and unilateral strength that will lead to structural balance.
This is by far our most advanced method. Not because it is overly complex, rather it is incredibly nuanced. It’s something all coaches should be doing (and most are aware of our basic tenants)…but most have no method to tackle this idea. We do.
Furthermore, from our observation we have seen that some coaches like to be “good at programming” and some coaches like to be “good a movement”. To be good at one and terrible at the other is like driving with your emergency brake fully engaged…yeah, the car still moves, but is that what you want?
EO3 Elements and Concurrent training can be taught and executed in a relatively short time period. Body geometry takes coaches years to master.
By the end of this article, you will find your self enlightened, or confused. I will do my best to make sure it is the former.
Progressions
Progressions are perhaps easy to understand and implement since movements in and of themselves can be self-limiting; i.e. if you cannot do a pull-up, you will need to progress to this movement.
For the sake of not making this a 10,000+ word article, I will simply illustrate what we view as a proper progression for the pull-up, which is a very common movement many athletes have difficulty with.
The main guide in programming progressions is that they develop strength in the correct manner and build movement quality. The combination of BOTH is very important.
To go back to our pull-up example, a well-known incorrect method would be a banded pull-up in which you put a band on your foot as an assist. While there is no real wrongdoing here, it is not optimal. This does not build strength in the correct manner but the movement quality can still be optimal. This kind of progression has 1 of the 2 items we are looking for.
Another example and a true detriment here would be kipping pull-ups when the athlete cannot do any strict pull-ups. This will put an unnecessary amount of force on the clavicle and scapula. The movement quality is poor and it is not building the needed strength to be able to do strict pull-ups.
So how does one progress to strict pull-ups?
A better way to progress to the pull-up would be to build the synergistic muscles of the back and arms through bent barbell rows and single-arm row and even bicep curls. Coupled with these movements for hypertrophy you would want to throw in some eccentric movements of the pull-up either with a pull-up bar or seated with a racked barbell. The combination of these two methods will develop strength in the correct manner and build movement quality.
This idea is a little different than simply having a “sub” for an exercise. If you can’t do something, let’s ask “why?” and figure out how to get you there. It will take more than a substitution movement and involves multiple methods and techniques to progress you properly.
Contractions
Muscle contractions 101:
- Concentric contractions (shorten)
- Eccentric contractions (lengthen)
- Isometric contractions (remain the same)
It’s nearly impossible to program exercises without getting eccentric and concentric muscle contractions, it’s just how the body works.
But the “proper dose” is what we focus on. This can be hammered out easily with tempo lifting. Also, the explanation of tempo lifting is also a great way to learn about different muscle contractions. Tempo lifting also helps provide the “proper dose” we are talking about by adding in more isometric contractions which are often overlooked or never programmed.
It’s easy to program without any true isometric contractions and can be overlooked. Let’s dive into tempo lifting to better understand muscle contractions. Before we do, remember tempo lifting is not the ONLY way to properly program all three muscle contractions, that’s easy enough on its own. As I said, the explanation of tempo simply makes for a good muscle contraction lesson.
What is tempo lifting?
Tempo lifting is simply lifting to a “tempoâ€, or different times spent in the eccentric, concentric, and isometric portions of a lift (or muscle contraction).
Think of it as going slow down, pausing, then exploding upwards, then pausing again. But we will be doing it in a very defined manner.
Benefits of Tempo Lifting
— A very safe way to expand your training
— Increase Time Under Tension for Continued Strength Gains
— Corrective in nature (fixes what you suck at)
— Improved Barbell Mechanics
— Reduced risk of injury
— Works for the beginner all the way to advanced
— Has a great metabolic response (makes you fitter)
Using Tempo
If you have never seen a tempo prescription written, let me start there, as it can be confusing.
Tempo Example:
This is a tempo prescription 4010
Each number represents time (in seconds).
- 4 seconds – Eccentric (down) Lengthening
- 0 seconds – Pause (isometric hold)
- 1 second – Concentric (up) Shortening
- 0 seconds- Pause (isometric hold)
It could also be 4111
- 4 seconds – Eccentric (down) Lengthening
- 1 second – Pause (isometric hold)
- 1 second – Concentric (up) Shortening
- 1 second- Pause (isometric hold)
Don’t get confused about concentric, eccentric, isometric, etc.
Here’s an easy way to look at it, but keep in mind, this is a “guideline†and not a perfect way to look at things in EVERY lift, but it helps most of the time. Since I know it won’t only be programming nerds and coaches reading this, here’s how you can think of it:
The eccentric part of lift — This is where the muscle lengthens, but that’s confusing, so think of the eccentric part of the lift as the part of the lift no one cares about
In the squat does anyone care how you go down or do they only care if you got it up?
Got it up, right?
So the eccentric in the squat is the down (no one cares about this on Instagram)
For a pull-up, does anyone really care if you can lower yourself down really slowly?? No! Because if you can’t pull your chin over the bar, it’s not a pull-up.
So the eccentric in the pull-up would be lowering your body down from the bar.
I hope this is making sense. Often times, you can also say the eccentric portion of the lift is when weight moves toward the ground, while this is not always true, it is more often than not and REALLY simplifies it.
If you understand the eccentric being the part of a lift “no one cares about†then concentric should be very easy to understand.
Concentric is the part people care about or shortening of the muscle.
- The way up on a squat (standing it up)
- They way up on a deadlift (locking it out)
- The chin over the bar on a pull-up (a successful rep)
You get it.
The last thing you need to understand is the isometric portions of the lift, or where you would pause. So the top of the squat, or pausing at the bottom of the squat. That one is easy.
I know that was a long-winded explanation, but this probably makes a lot more sense now:
- 4 seconds – Eccentric (down) Lengthening
- 0 seconds – Pause (isometric hold)
- 1 second – Concentric (up) Shortening
- 0 seconds- Pause (isometric hold)
Now I don’t need to explain what the eccentric and concentric is on EVERY lift, because you get the concept.
Squat 4111 Example:
- 4 seconds taking the weight down
- 1-second pause in the bottom
- 1 second to stand it up
- 1-second pause at the top (standing)
Look, you’re an expert now!
Balance
There are three planes of human movement.
- Sagittal Plane: Movements that occur in a forward and backward motion (anterior/posterior). Ex: squats, calf raises, front shoulder raises, straight leg raises
- Frontal Plane: Movements that occur to the side of the body (lateral/medial). Ex: pull-ups, shoulder press, lateral raises, side lunges
- Transverse Plane: Rotational movements (superior/inferior). This plane is often the most neglected during training and the weakest. Ex: bench press, reverse felt flies, face pulls
You’ll notice that within our definition we further emphasize “the ratio of anterior/posterior movement”. Yes, anterior/posterior movement is the sagittal plane but having the correct ratio is why we further define this tenant as we do.
What’s the ratio…?
This will fully depend on your goal but we typically stick to a 1:1, 2:1, or even 1:2 posterior to anterior ratio dependent on the current training cycle goal.
Remember when I said this was nuanced? Don’t get too wrapped around having the exact ratio but DO have a ratio and see what your ratio comes out to be. We have seen a lot of programs end up with a 20:1 ratio because they simply weren’t paying attention.
When it comes to the Frontal Plane, we don’t have a ratio and just make sure the items are balanced and included in the programming. Since the frontal plane can easily be executed in unilateral movements, the frontal plane typically will round itself out if you do keep to these types of movements.
Lastly, the transverse plane also has no ratio based on another form of movement. We are just looking to make sure our program has it on a weekly basis or 3-4 times per 4-week wave.
And that’s it!
This is kind of not simple and kind of not easy… 🙂
But it is the work that needs to be done nonetheless.
Your takeaway: Focus on proper progressions and all planes of movement and muscle contractions to keep athletes healthy, safe and optimal.
Build the Strength & Fitness You Need for Your Life
Odds are your program doesn’t factor in most of this stuff… That’s not OK!
The old method of combining some random strength program and a random condition workout is a great recipe for disaster over a long enough timeline.
Training is more complex than that and is not something that should be handed to an instagram guru’s n=1 program nor your next door neighbor’s son who is an ultra part-time coach.
Even if you are passionate about this stuff…are you a professional? Ask yourself these questions:
- How busy are you and do you have the time to do all this even if you already know it?
- How much time do you spend reading literature to stay up to date?
- What is your overall curiosity and passion for learning. If you’re not learning quite a bit as a coach, you’re probably not that great.
Don’t you want a professional team that is dedicated to this pursuit?
Then you are most likely ready for Garage Gym Athlete!!
Garage Gym Athlete is the “tip of the spear” for our training. We identify training weaknesses, solve them through our program design, and validate it with science.
For ongoing daily training that exploits everything we have discusses here and more, check out Garage Gym Athlete.
One athlete of ours, Al from Australia, shared that “The programming is great, it works and sniffs out your weaknesses – its challenging, however, the big difference is the community – it’s motivating, educational and fun.â€
Use our Simple, Proven, and Effective training to build your body, engine, and strength.
