Personal Training
Trap Bar, Ab Wheel, Treadmill Workout OH YEAH
Heyyy! Hope everyone is having a great start to the week! I had quite a busy weekend, however I did get to enjoy this gem pictured below. I met a friend at the Paramount Cafe in South Boston (which is one of my favorite spots fo brunch lunch OR dinner) The menu is very unique with some great choices, always fresh and great service.
I ordered the Southwestern BBQ Chicken Salad (and added some additonal items to it)
In this salad it was packed to the brim with BBQ marinated chicken breast, avocado (extra-just the way I like it!) grape tomatoes, corn, black beans, carrots, lettuce, cucumbers and peppers. It was served with balsamic vinaigrette
It was so good and pretty I had to Instagram it!
Now that we got some food out of the way, its time to hit the exercise portion of the post. I wanted to talk about two ‘new to me’ tools that I have started using within the past few months and come to love. As always, I love to share this information with my readers for those who are interested in learning a new exercise and trying it out themselves!
The Trap Bar Deadlift
I have mentioned using “Trap Bar Deadlifts” quite a few times on my Facebook page and blog. It is one of my favorite deadlift variations, and I have gotten quite a few emails regarding how the heck to do it and what it is.
From first glance it looks pretty odd. No straight barbell, but rather this hexagonal shaped barbell in which you stand “inside”. I LOVE the Trap bar deadlift and think its the most amazing tool when teaching someone how to properly perform any deadlift variation.
As you can see in the picture, the handles are on the sides, whereas with a barbell you grab the bar in front of you. You load up the bar on the sides with plates. Once loaded this lifts the bar off the ground a bit to allow for proper use of a neutral spine. Whereas a conventional deadlift you have to lean forward to grab a barbell in front of you, all you have to do with a trap bar deadlift is squat down and pull up blasting from the glutes and heels of your feet. There tends to be less pressure on the low back, therefore it is a great way to introduce deadlifting to any individual ranging from beginner, intermediate to advanced various exercise history and backgrounds
By having your starting position inside of the hexagonal bar, this makes it so that the ‘weight’ or ‘load’ is closer to the individuals center of gravity. In a traditional deadlift the load is in front of your feet (on the barbell) This could potentially create more sheer stress on the lower back if you do not know how to properly deadlift. During conventional deadlifts, you stay behind the bar so most of the focus is on the posterior chain of the body (glutes, back, hamstrings) and less on the anterior (quads)
The load remains in line with your feet. The position that you are in while deadlifting neutralizes the torque and causes a bit more work and assistance from the anterior(quads) Because the anterior of the body is move involved, you may feel you are able to lift more performing the trap bar variation. This is not to say that your posterior isn’t crankin’ OH you will feel this in the glutes!!
I found this video on youtube of a woman performing some trap bar deadlifts with great form! Check it out!
If you are a deadlifting junkie like myself…you MUST Check out
this amazing article written by Nia Shanks who is by far one of the strongest chicks I know. Seriously, if you want to check out some amazing chicks lifting HEAVY weight with different deadlift variations…this post is fabulous!
Proper Technique:
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Stand inside the trap bar with feet slightly narrower than shoulder width
- Your ankles should line up right behind where the weight is loaded.
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Begin by bending down at the knees, not the hips, squatting down, hinging your hips backward (weight in your heels and glutes)
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Keep the chest up and back flat
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Concentrate on “pushing” your feet and heels (and glutes!!) through the floor while maintaining proper form
This tool always intimidated me. I think because when it first came out, I would be flipping through the TV channels and an infomercial would pop up regarding this new fitness gadget. The people using it were always in such amazing shape and it was one of those infomercials that was a bad accident, you didn’t want to watch it but still something drew you to keep looking on. Well years later, I am now aware that infomercials are made just for that purpose…BUT what I also came to realize was how amazing this little ab wheel is!
The ab wheel trains your whole core, strengthening and really engages the abs in a very unique and challenging way. Not only will your upper abs, lower abs and obliques feel the intensity of this exercise, but your entire upper body including the lats and back will get progressively stronger while doing these.
But anyways, an important role of your midsection is stabilization. This skill tests your ability to maintain muscular tension through the midsection and maintain correct form.
What you want to be sure you learn how to do prior to ab wheeling is how to perform a proper pelvic tilt. By keeping the core activated and engaged, this will take pressure off of the low back that most people tend to ‘feel’ when they perform the ab wheel roll out.
Below is a picture of an anterior pelvic tilt. My entire abdominal region is not engaged at all and as you can see there is a bit of a forward arch in my back
Below is a picture of a Neutral Pelvis (fully engaged) The pelvis, pubic bone and hip bone remain in the same plane. The pelvis is not rotated forward or tilted backwards either. It is in this neutral position that the abdominal muscles can be fully contracted and engaged. The pelvis should not necessary ‘tuck under’ but it should just remain in one even plane.
One way I like to introduce the neutral spine to clients is to have them lay flat on the ground with their knees up and feet flat. I will have them try to rotate their pelvis into the mat so there is no space in between their back and the mat. They should try to ‘imprint’ their back into the mat. After they get this down, we repeat for 2 sets of 10 reps…contracting and releasing. This will teach the body to activate that neutral spine
One way I like to introduce the neutral spine to clients is to have them lay flat on the ground with their knees up and feet flat. I will have them try to rotate their pelvis into the mat so there is no space in between their back and the mat. They should try to ‘imprint’ their back into the mat. After they get this down, we repeat for 2 sets of 10 reps…contracting and releasing. This will teach the body to activate that neutral spine
You can control the pelvis to be tilted forward to backwards, which in turn will change the curve of your lower spine. By tilting the pelvis backwards slightly before you roll out with the wheel, you can engage the abdominal muscles properly, keep the midsection tight, and be able to pull yourself back up into standing position. Note that moving the pelvis does not involve moving the shoulders.
I like to begin this exercise in the kneeling position and from there make further progressions. I place some cushioning (either a mat or bench rest) under my knees.
–From your knees you begin to push the wheel out in front of you, keeping your body in one smooth motion. As you wheel farther out, more stress is put on the abs and back to stabilize the body. I would say this is an advanced movement because if you don’t have a very Strong core, you will immediately lose the position thus arching the back and possibly injure yourself.
–Begin by limiting your range of motion to only rolling down halfway.
Tips:
-You want to make sure to keep the head down and tuck the chin. This will ensure that your spine stays neutral and flat
-If you feel any sort of twinging in your low back, this is a sign to STOP and come back up
-Engage and SQUEEZE even before you begin the motion. Right away you should feel your abs ‘fire’
-Stay focused on form the entire time and really feel the mind muscle connection
-As you roll back up, try to come up in one motion…(not letting your glutes come back up first then your body)
Now if you want a kickbutt new treadmill workout?!
‘TRY TO BEAT ME’ TREADMILL ROUTINE
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Time
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Speed
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Incline
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0-3:00
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3.8
|
5%
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3:00-4:00
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6.0
|
10%
|
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4:00-5:00
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3.0
|
10%
|
|
5:00-6:00
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6.2
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10%
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6:00-7:00
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3.0
|
10%
|
|
7:00-8:00
|
5.5
|
15%
|
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8:00-9:00
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2.0
|
15%
|
|
9:00-10:00
|
5.6
|
15%
|
|
10:00-11:00
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2.0
|
10%
|
|
11:00-12:00
|
8.0
|
3.0%
|
|
12:00-13:00
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3.0
|
3.0%
|
|
13:00-14:00
|
9.5
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0%
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|
14:00-15:00
|
3.0
|
0%
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REPEAT MINUTES 3:00-15:00 one more time through!!
As always before you perform any workout…make sure you are properly warmed up!
AND If you missed my post on 5 of my favorite new exercises check it out for even more great new exercises you can start incorporating.
Any favorite new workouts/exerices or tools?
