Big Bird Training, Training From The Bird Nest Options

[jimmyprich]

cant wait for the video Big Bird

[Big Bird]

Spring is lurking and the weather is changing - at least it is here out west.

With that comes more racing, but also comes yard-work, bbq's and other worthless garbage. j/k

The ultimate key to getting faster and destroying your competition is to stay consistent with your training. This time of year is when all the 'new year's resolution' folks make it easier for the dedicated to get a better parking spot at the gym.

I don't care what or how you train, but don't bail now that the weather is good.

Worst case scenario is you'll continue to get into better shape/health and it becomes a lifestyle rather than setting new goals around Thanksgiving.

Now do some form of training after work TODAY!

[CWracer]

Injuries while training:

Just talked to a racing buddy of mine at the track today who has been unable to race for a while due to an injury he sustained while performing squats and he apparently leaned too far forward.

This got me thinking about my own training and the possibility of an injury done while lifting. I've been training 2x per week, alternating squats and deadlifts. I try to be careful, but I'm no expert. Also, I workout alone because I can only go at odd times. I don't want to miss out on racing due to an injury, but also, my job is also pretty active and I can't imagine trying to perform my tasks with a back injury.


So....let's talk safety.

[CWracer]

I found this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90dbFDXfL3Q&feature=player_embedded

It's 10 min long and he really goes into detail on performing a squat.

[Jake77]

[quote name='CWracer' date='Apr 22 2012, 09:19 PM' post='1168603']
Injuries while training:

Just talked to a racing buddy of mine at the track today who has been unable to race for a while due to an injury he sustained while performing squats and he apparently leaned too far forward.

This got me thinking about my own training and the possibility of an injury done while lifting. I've been training 2x per week, alternating squats and deadlifts. I try to be careful, but I'm no expert. Also, I workout alone because I can only go at odd times. I don't want to miss out on racing due to an injury, but also, my job is also pretty active and I can't imagine trying to perform my tasks with a back injury.


So....let's talk safety.
[/quote]
James Wilson has so much great videos and blog posts about lifting and lifting saftey, I love all his stuff. I think his programs would probably be the best for bmxers, especially older bmxers. He really gets into much of the strength and mobility work and tells you in what ways it will benefit your riding. Enough with my man crush on James.

There's tons of great info on the web about lifting saftey. Coach Mike Boyle is one of the top coaches and he looks at everything he does with a risk to reward view. If it's dangerous he's probably going to cut it out of his programs and add a safer exercise. He stays away from ab crunches/ sit ups and most bi-lateral lowerbody work with front squats and saftey bar deadlifts the few exceptions.

For squatting I like single leg variations and I also really like front squats rather than the back squats for a few reasons. First of all, back squats are fine for some people but most people lack the mobility to do really good squats with the load on their back. Back squatting tends to make you break at the knees first, and really lean much farther forward into the squat to counter balance the weight on your back. When you put it in front of you, you will notice yourself start to break at the hips first and you usually keep a much more upright torso. When you hold something in front of you, you will notice your lats engage and tighten up your core which protects the spine. Try it in the mirror, take your shirt off, turn sideways and put your arms in both positions and go thru the squatting motion. Second reason is you usually don't load up a front squat with quite as much weight as a back squat which is a good thing for your back. If you normally back squat 300 lbs you may be front squatting 250 lbs or something like that. Less compression on your spine is a good thing. One more good thing about it is, the more upright torso keeps you in a more natural posture that should mimic proper form on a bike. You don't see too many Elite men hunched over while pedaling.

If you're concerned about knee pain while squatting, then maybe box squatting might be best. Box squatting tends to let you keep a much more verticle tibia and puts less stress on your knees. One thing with box squatting is sit down GENTLY! You probably want some kind of cushion too, so you're not smashing your spine between the weight and the box. I think Big Bird is an expert box squatter, and I'm sure he could give us more info. Bird, I know you do lots of back squatting, but what do you think about box front squats? Possibly the safest of both worlds??? I recently read some research that Rate of force development for box squatting was 3-4 times more than a traditional squat. As power athletes, that is what we're looking to build.

Hope some of this helps.

[woodybmx86]

wow for all the talk on the other sections about training and racing... this section has hardly any posts. hahahah.

[s4lnj]

a time you post in this section it dissappears unless the topic is pinned. it keeps me from starting threads, i'm sure there are threads caught in limbo tha people might be interested in as well.

[Jake77]

Yeah I think more people would post, but it's almost a total waste of time. The only way the moderators look at this forum is if you post a link to anyone who isn't paying them money.

[CWracer]

[quote name='Jake77' date='Apr 23 2012, 05:50 PM' post='1168697']
James Wilson has so much great videos and blog posts about lifting and lifting saftey, I love all his stuff. I think his programs would probably be the best for bmxers, especially older bmxers. He really gets into much of the strength and mobility work and tells you in what ways it will benefit your riding. Enough with my man crush on James.

There's tons of great info on the web about lifting saftey. Coach Mike Boyle is one of the top coaches and he looks at everything he does with a risk to reward view. If it's dangerous he's probably going to cut it out of his programs and add a safer exercise. He stays away from ab crunches/ sit ups and most bi-lateral lowerbody work with front squats and saftey bar deadlifts the few exceptions.

For squatting I like single leg variations and I also really like front squats rather than the back squats for a few reasons. First of all, back squats are fine for some people but most people lack the mobility to do really good squats with the load on their back. Back squatting tends to make you break at the knees first, and really lean much farther forward into the squat to counter balance the weight on your back. When you put it in front of you, you will notice yourself start to break at the hips first and you usually keep a much more upright torso. When you hold something in front of you, you will notice your lats engage and tighten up your core which protects the spine. Try it in the mirror, take your shirt off, turn sideways and put your arms in both positions and go thru the squatting motion. Second reason is you usually don't load up a front squat with quite as much weight as a back squat which is a good thing for your back. If you normally back squat 300 lbs you may be front squatting 250 lbs or something like that. Less compression on your spine is a good thing. One more good thing about it is, the more upright torso keeps you in a more natural posture that should mimic proper form on a bike. You don't see too many Elite men hunched over while pedaling.

If you're concerned about knee pain while squatting, then maybe box squatting might be best. Box squatting tends to let you keep a much more verticle tibia and puts less stress on your knees. One thing with box squatting is sit down GENTLY! You probably want some kind of cushion too, so you're not smashing your spine between the weight and the box. I think Big Bird is an expert box squatter, and I'm sure he could give us more info. Bird, I know you do lots of back squatting, but what do you think about box front squats? Possibly the safest of both worlds??? I recently read some research that Rate of force development for box squatting was 3-4 times more than a traditional squat. As power athletes, that is what we're looking to build.

Hope some of this helps.
[/quote]


Thanks. I've never really done a front squat. I should probably learn how. The one time I tried placing the bar in front it felt pretty uncomfortable so I decided against it. But it should probably be something I should learn if for no other reason than to have a variation so I can change things up.

I'm not pushing a lot of weight in my squats yet. I always start with an empty bar and do a few just to make sure I've got some form going on, and then add weight each set until I feel like I've gone about as much as I can do and then pyramid back down.

I'd like to try doing box squats to make sure I'm getting proper depth.

Like I said earlier, seeing a friend on the injured list from shifting during a squat sent a red flag up for me. I don't want to hurt myself. I'm very physically active at work, and of course I'd hate to miss my racing. An injury would not be good.

[CWracer]

Boy, this place died an early death.