I have leaned a lot during this mentorship, about myself as a coach and myself as an individual. I have grown more comfortable with communicating with those in the gym who I may not be as familiar with or have not met before, but I have also found the boundary of keeping things professional with those that I do know. The gym is a place were people come to better themselves, to become a better athlete, and to create a better lifestyle. I feel I have made, and can continue to make, the gym a more enjoyable place where people can express themselves. I will be moving on from Tiffin University in May, but I am unsure about the path I will take, whether it be a full-time position with a soccer team or in a sports performance setting. What I do know is that I will take my experiences and use them as a tool to become the best coach I can be, as well as a respected coach amongst my peers.
For my final day in the gym, I stepped away from conventional quad dominant workouts and included a box step up and Cossack squat for the students that were in the gym. The box step up can improve power as they are looking to bring their weight up to the height of the box without any momentum. In this instance, I had this student perform the step up with dumbbells in both hands, as well as a knee drive with the opposite leg once stepped up. When they stood up, the leg that performed the leg drive would then return straight back to the ground, followed by the standing leg. They then Swapped legs. They repeated this for 6 repetitions each leg, for a total of three sets.
The Cossack squat is an exercise that is not often performed in gyms, so I felt it a good idea to put it in the mix today. This student started with a light dumbbell, holding it as they would a goblet squat. They had their feet much wider than shoulder width, they then leaned to one side as if they were going to sit down. They then brought themselves back up to the starting position before performing the same movement on the opposite side. The student performed 6 total reps, three on each side, for three sets. I brought up to the student that the Cossack squat is a very beneficial exercise to have. It aids in lower body mobility and improves balance as it needs coordination and control to perform effectively. I have tried to have students and athletes incorporate forearm exercises, but many people push it to the side and just focus mainly on their biceps and triceps. The forearm exercise I chose for one student was the reverse barbell curl. With the bar weighing 45 pounds there was no need to add weight through the sets as it would become more difficult with each set. The student held onto the bar with their hands shoulder-width and an overhand grip.Adding some wrist flexion during the lift could increase the difficulty of the exercise, but I had the student keep their wrists straight. Controlling the weight during both phases reduces swinging with concentration on the forearms. Performing forearm exercises, whether it is a reverse curl or hammer curl, can help increase grip strength and wrist stability.
A favorite exercise for triceps is the straight bar push down, so I felt it appropriate to add it into a different students workout regimen. With the cable set at the highest point, the student used an overhand grip to push the bar down, keeping all focus on the triceps, including a squeeze at the bottom. It is important to note that the student could have used an underhand grip, but we opted for the overhand. As the student allowed the bar to come back to the starting position, they let their elbows come forward from their midline just slightly to create a greater tricep stretch. An exercise that I had not seen performed while I had been in the gym was the military press with a barbell. This could be because there is no set up strictly for that movement, or if it because students and athletes would rather use dumbbells to perform their shoulder press. But I decided to work with some students with this exercise to change things up. To keep all focus on the deltoids with no push from the feet, I had them perform the exercise seated. The was set up overhead inline with the shoulders. With some help lifting the bar from the rack, each student would bar down to their chin and push back up. Keeping a moderate weight ensured the students that they kept tension on their shoulders without bringing the weight down too far, causing injury, or losing form and bringing their back off the bench. I mentioned that benefits from the military press are muscle strength and size and shoulder stability.
Another exercise that targets the rear delts are rear delt flyers. I mentioned to the student that this should be performed with a light to moderate weight as going heavy may recruit the back muscles, taking away from the rear delts. I had the student grab two light dumbbells to perform a warm up set to focus the tension on the rear delts. With a slight bend at the waist and knees, they brought the weight up as if they were pulling with the target muscles, squeezing at the top of the motion. By focusing on the often-neglected rear delts, these flyes address muscle imbalances, improve posture, and increase shoulder aesthetics. Another day working with quads, another front squat. Instead of performing regular front squats, I had the athlete perform pulse front squats. The set up was the same for a typical front squat: bar resting on shoulders and collar bone, elbows up, feet just wider than shoulder-width. The only addition was the pulse at the bottom of the squat. The pulse is a small, deliberate bounce that helps to further engage the muscles before driving back up to the starting position. It also increased the time under tension, which helps lead to muscle growth and endurance.
I worked with an athlete previously on trap bar deadlift, and I was able to work with them again on the same exercise. I was able to see the corrections made from the previous time, as well as the weight moving smoother. As the weight was moving smooth, I suggested increasing the weight each set. It became troublesome towards the end of the later sets as the weight increased, which was suspected, but they were still able to move the weight and keep good form throughout. Because I worked with two assisting muscle groups yesterday, I looked to work two more assisting groups today with back and biceps. Although I worked with different students, I mentioned to them that it would be beneficial to tire the back muscles first before biceps instead of the other way around. The back exercise that I chose for the first student to work on was the one arm dumbbell row. This could be performed resting against a bench or against the dumbbell rack. I had them stand with their feet just past shoulder-width, dumbbell in one hand, and the other hand resting against a bench. With a slight bend in the knees and waist, and dumbbell hanging, they would pull the dumbbell towards their hip crease. Squeezing at the top of the movement, they would use lats and traps to control the weight back to the starting position. I would have them perform seven more reps for a total of eight each side for three sets.
The other student I worked with was working on biceps, so I incorporated barbell curls into their routine. As the bar weighs 45 pounds, there is no need to add heavy weight; an additional five to ten pounds each side will have the desired effect. I had them grab the bar with an underhand grip shoulder-width apart. They curled the barbell upward toward their shoulders while keeping elbows tight to their body and squeezing their biceps. Controlling the bar back to the start position, they kept tension on the biceps. They performed three sets of twelve reps. Back into another big chest day today, I assisted with bench press, but instead of working for three sets of eight reps, I had the student work on power. This included more sets with decreasing reps per set. Before we started lifting, I had the student warm up, stretching their chest and triceps and performing lightweight reps. Moving in to the working sets, I had them perform five sets, with the first set consisting of five reps. The weight started off at a moderate to heavy weight, heavy enough to where they were struggling on the last rep. Increasing the weight on the next set, I had them try to complete five reps again. The weight increased each set, which became a struggle so the reps lowered also. The final set is not a max rep, but a weight heavy enough where they are able to lower the bar and get it back up themselves. As it was a more power based workout, the rest between sets was longer than normal, about two to three minutes.
The next exercise I opted for was a skullcrusher, but I had a different student lie on the ground. Having the student on the ground meant that the dumbbells, or bar, would come to a dead stop. This required more power and engagement from the triceps to bring the dumbbells back to the starting position. I mentioned to the student that this was a great exercise to keep in rotation as it helps with increasing bench press weight. Performing this exercise on the ground is a great way to isolate the triceps. I have only had to assist one student with a 1 rep max attempt and that was for the bench press, so thankfully today I was able to assist with a squat 1 rep max. Poor technique or trying to squat a weight that is too heavy can cause injury, so we made sure the rack set up was correct. I had the student move the safety bars to a height where, if they failed, the bar would be caught. The warm up required a lower body stretch including hip and ankle mobility. Following the warm up, I had the student perform sets of increasing weight and lowering reps, focusing on breathing and speed, until they became comfortable at moderate to heavy weights at one rep. When they started to use heavier weights, I urged them to use a weight belt to provide stability for their core. As I assisted with the warm up, I also helped with making sure they were able to lift the weight. The student, unfortunately, was not able to beat their previous max, but they did match it.
Finishing off the day with some core exercises, I had a student perform the glute bridge and dead bug exercises. Teaching them the glute bridge, I had them lie on their back with legs bent. They then raised their hips off the ground, using their core and glutes to do so. It improves posture and lessens lower back discomfort by strengthening the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back. Staying on their back, I had the student perform the dead bug exercise by extending their arms and legs toward the ceiling and then lowering their opposing arm and leg while maintaining an engaged core. It targets deep abdominal muscles to improve balance, coordination, and core stability. For sets and reps, I had them perform three sets of 12 reps for each exercise. An exercise I feel is not utilized enough for biceps is the chin up. The chin up is neglected as an exercise itself, with people opting for the pull up to target their back instead, but especially when looking for bicep growth. I had the athlete grip the bar the correct way: a little narrower than shoulder-width apart, with palms facing toward the body. Looking to keep the lats less engaged, the pull is initiated by bringing the shoulder blades together with the actual pull being done by the biceps. Once the athlete’s chin reached or cleared the bar, they would control themselves back down. It was important for them to keep their core embraced to reduce swinging. Chin ups could help improve the athletes grip strength, as well as muscular endurance.
Overhead exercises for triceps are seldom performed in the gym as many people prefer to use cables or perform a skullcrusher. Using a single dumbbell, I had the student perform an overhead tricep extension. This could have been done either standing or sitting, but we chose to sit. With the dumbbell situated overhead, just behind the head, the student lowered the weight until their forearms were parallel with the ground (going further can create a greater stretch in the tricep but can also increase the risk of injury). Overhead extensions help build strength and definition in the triceps, increase shoulder stability, and increase the ability to push weights like bench presses and overhead presses. |
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