Exercise Q&A’s by strength coach Chad Waterbury

I train a what is basically a “fit and tone gym.” I train in the mornings when the personal trainers in the gym are out in full force. They criticize and ridicule me because I do front squats (they don’t have proper rack so I have to clean the squat weight), squat cleans, power cleans, clean and press, free weight hack squats, the snatch (with light weight, though, I use this for a speed workout). Basically, they don’t like that I do full squats and the fast lifts. They are telling all of the people at my gym I’m an idiot. Am I?
Thanks, Jeff

Jeff, here’s what you do. Buy “Skippy B. Trainer” a plane ticket to Columbus, OH. Send him to the Westside Barbell club where some of the strongest lifters in the world train and perform light/speed work twice every week. Tell Skippy to call these guys idiots and you won’t have to worry about seeing his ugly mug ever again! Lifters must often train explosively with free weights to build the type of strength necessary for developing a muscular system that functions outside of the “seated abductor chrome and fern” crowd. You must build explosive strength to train the muscles to more readily activate the higher threshold motor units which is important for activities such as max squatting and jumping the fence in your girlfriend’s backyard when he father comes home a little too early one night! Yes you are doing the right thing, just make sure your fast squats are only explosive during the concentric (lifting) phase, otherwise, joint damage could easily occur if you are fast on the eccentric phase and try to reverse the motion too quickly. A good tempo for speed squats is 30X0, which translates to a 3s lowering phase, no pause, lifting as quickly as possible, no pause at the top. Your training load for fast squats and Olympic lifts should be around 60% of your “raw” 1RM.

Dear sir, I’m after some info on tennis elbow I have had it for quite a while now. I still train, but I only perform exercises that don’t irritate it. Can you please suggest some methods of healing it? Thanks coach! Mike C.

First, you should be sure you actually have tennis elbow. Often, it is a generic term given to any injury around the elbow joint. Assuming you actually do have Tennis Elbow I would recommend rest above all other variables initially. Tennis elbow or “lateral epicondylitis” is a cumulative trauma disorder (CTD) caused by repetitive loading of the tissues. Therefore, rest is the most important recovery technique, don’t try to “work through it” because it will only accentuate the problem. Beyond a few weeks of rest, CTD’s are successfully treated with Active Release Techniques. Visit www.activerelease.com to find a practitioner near you.

I am a 38 yr old male that has been active in sports since age 10. I have wrestled professionally the last 13 years and recently have many injuries and have also experienced many injuries during my training. For example, I tore my quad last November and my pec just last week. I have been advised to take time off and did last Nov and took also last week off. The first layoff resulted in a 10 lb increase in bodyweight and a gain of 5 lbs in the last two weeks. I am certified through the ISSA as a fitness trainer and was working with a trainer when both injuries happened. I need to lose some body fat and keep up my conditioning program and strength. Please help with any suggestions or thoughts. Thanks for your time and consideration. Bobby

Bobby, if you need to lose body fat, the first thing you should look at is your eating plan. Your protein consumption should be 1-1.5g/lb. Bodyweight each day. Focus your carbohydrate intake on green vegetables and supplement with fish oil and flaxseed oil. BCAA will help you lose body fat if taken correctly. If you are not training due to injuries, take the BCAA at night before bed. If you are training, take BCAA after the workout and before bed.

Hi. Could you please explain to me what difference between conventional deadlifts and sumo deadlifts, as far as their physiological adaptation goes? And do you have a preference of one over the other? Great web site and keep up the good work. Victor

Sumo deadlifts are performed with the feet much wider than conventional deadlifts and with the grip inside the legs. Although the term “conventional” is a misnomer in my opinion because what might be “conventional” for one lifter, might not be for another. All technicalities aside, sumo deadlifts allow for a shorter range of motion before lock-out and therefore are the “technique of choice” for many powerlifters. I have no preferences and you shouldn’t either if you want maximum development. Make sure you perform all variations and don’t stick with the style you are most efficient and strongest at like most lifters do. If you want to get strong, you must lift where you are weak so pick the movement you are weakest at and perform it for 6 workouts before switching to another position. Also, don’t use the mixed grip as it can be harmful to the bicep and can create muscular imbalance problems in the upper back.

I have a question about improving the bench press. Do you have any special routine or guidelines to help a person increase their max bench press such as a cycle or specific number of sets and reps? If you do not have a routine, could you please create me one. Or if its better, can you show me a 3 day split for all the body parts using your article, training with maximal weights? Thank you. Robert

This is about a $500 question! I receive a ton of questions like this that are almost impossible to answer accurately. I can’t fix a bench press unless I know about the previous training routine. It’s like calling up your doctor and saying, “Doc, I hurt, fix me.” I need to know how the triceps, delts and lats are trained. Also, I need to know if any speed work is being performed since this is the missing link in many programs. My first advice for improving the bench press is this – make sure your rowing strength is as great as your flat bench strength. This advice is often preached by Ian King and I agree wholeheartedly. Also, a great bench requires super strong triceps, deltoids and lats. What no pecs?! You got it, the pecs are the most overrated bench pressing muscle group so ditch the flys! You must perform heavy movements to build absolute strength and fast/light movements for explosive strength but don’t do them on the same day. If I don’t know anything about the previous routine I recommend a Westside style routine for bench which involves a max assistant lift such as a floor press (bench press while laying on the floor) working up in weight to a 1-2 rep max. 4 or 5 days later perform 6-10 sets of 3 reps for speed bench press with approximately 60% of your raw 1RM. Train the hell out of your lats, delts and triceps after each method for 4-6 sets of 4-6 reps. Keep alternating the method and change your max assistant lift every 3-4 workouts.

I’m very interested in the training technique with chains. As a personal trainer it would help to add to my knowledge. Any info would be extremely helpful. Thanks Criss.

Chains are a great tool for extensor muscle group exercises such as the partial bench press, powerlifting squat and partial military press. They work by matching the strength curve of the movement so you are challenged throughout the lift and not just at the bottom. Why the partial movements? Because these exercises represent a “true” ascending strength curve for most lifters. Whereas some lifters are actually stronger in the “bottom” of the lift compared to the midrange. I recommend you use chains for 3-4 weeks before cycling to another method. They are great, but demanding. Louie Simmons and Dave Tate are the two people most responsible for popularizing chains in strength training. Visit Dave’s website elitefts.com for articles on training with chains.

I would appreciate any and all information you can give me. I have never been a dieter. I played for the US national team in Water Polo and practiced 5 hours a day 6 days a week. Due to all the exercise I was very fit, but now I have embarked on a legal career I have discovered that I am a bit covetous of my low body fat which is now a fading memory. I have purchased the Metabolic Diet as per your recommedations, and have followed it closely, but I have failed to see any results. You mentioned that some portion of the population is carb friendly. How can I tell if I am among them? How do I know if I should be using the Metabolic Diet? I cannot spend more than 4 hours a week training currently. I hope this is possibly still adequate to return some modicum of cuts to my body. Thank you in advance. Michael

If you purchased the Metabolic Diet book you should be familiar with Dr. Di Pasquale’s method to test your carb tolerance using the Metabolic Index. This book, along with “Natural Hormonal Enhancement” by Rob Faigin are the two best on the subject. I would guess your new “lack of activity” lifestyle has slowed your metabolism to the point where you are probably eating too many Calories. If you have diligently followed all the guidelines in The Metabolic Diet and still haven’t lost fat I recommend you get a food allergies test. This test can be performed by your physician and gives a lot of useful information regarding foods you may be overly sensitive to thus inhibiting fat-burning.

Hi Coach Waterbury, could you please tell me if a lockout necessary on all exercises? Thanks Charles

No, a lockout is only necessary for resting. Therefore, if your goal is maximum time under tension, drop the lockouts.

I have 2 questions: 1) About the sand bag for jiujitsu (and, I assume, judo) – how heavy?

2) Background – I have suffered an injury which took several years to find an effective route to rehab. Before that, I was a high-level athlete and judoka with excellent endurance, explosiveness and low bodyfat. I am now ready to get back into that outrageous shape, but, I keep pushing myself too hard and overtraining. I have also noticed my waist refuses to shrink back down (it is almost all fat under the abdominal muscles). I am around 19% bodyfat and 205 pounds. I used to compete at 175, but I have put muscle on my legs and back during the rehab. What is the most efficient way I can simultaneously shrink my waistline (priority #1) and develop the kind of explosive and endurance condition needed to compete as a judoka (and possibly no-holds-barred fights) again? Sorry for the length. Thanks in advance.

1) I can’t prescribe a sandbag weight if I don’t know your strength levels. I would recommend you start with a load around 100lbs. If you can’t lift it overhead at least three times, drop the weight.

2) If you need to shrink your waistline refer to the previous recommendations as stated above (question 3) for eating guidelines. Assuming your injury wasn’t something that would contraindicate full squatting perform the following routine which is similar to the Mechanical Advantage example in Poliquin’s Modern Trends book:

• Perform a 30X0 set of 4-5 rep heel-elevated front squats
• Rest 3s and reposition yourself under the bar and perform 4-5
  reps of heel-elevated back squats
• Rest 3s and reposition yourself under the bar and perform 4-5
  reps of heels-flat back squat
• Rest 3 minutes and perform 3-5 more cycles.

You’ll be sweatin’ like Clinton in a monogamy seminar!

Chad Waterbury is a strength and conditioning coach with Bachelor of Science degrees in Human Biology and Physical Science. He operates his company Chad Waterbury Strength & Conditioning in Santa Monica, CA where his clientele ranges from athletes and members of military special force units to non-athletes seeking exceptional performance and development. He has numerous articles published in such online journals such as Testosterone and the American Journal of Exercise.