Below is a case study of pre Z Health and post Z Health along with some tips from yours truly.
Fawn and Aaron stopped by for some deadlift work the other day. Fawn is an RKC who trains clients here in MN, so check out her blog here. Aaron has a blog also, click here. Fawn has not deadlifted for quite some time recently, but has done lots of yoga and KB work and Aaron has been getting busy with the KBs too. Both will be competing at the upcoming TSC (Tactical Strength Challenge) here on Sat Sept 8 along with myself and some other athletes here in MN. If you are in the area, come on out and sign up! It is a max deadlift, max pullups in a row, and max reps on the KB snatch in 5 minutes. Good times!
Here is Fawn's deadlift preZ/instruction. Pretty good and she worked up to 215 X 1 (old PR back in early Spring 2007 was 225 lbs). Video below of 215 lbs
If the above video does not run, click here for the youtube version
It looked like her glutes and hamstrings could use a little help. I had her perform some Z Health drills (lateral ankle tilts, outside toe pulls, and elbow circles) and then did a re-assessment (brief gait and manual muscle tests). She deadlifted again with only those 2 changes and it looked better and she reported that it was easier. Nice!
Now the tricky part. I had her alter her technique some based on the Z Health principals of long spine and used the Bone Rhythm to move the weight.
The first one was to keep a long spine with a flat back. This includes the head also, so you start looking at the floor not the ceiling. Next I had her use the Bone Rhythm to move all her joints at the same time to lift the weight. She gradually worked back up to the the same weight along with a few other tips and tricks along the way.
Here is the video from about 30 minutes later, post Z and some tips
Youtube version here
Note the bar speed is faster and much smoother. She reported that it felt easier also. A few days later she broke her PR with a pull of 235 and then again later with 245 lbs. Whoooo ha. Nice job!
click here to see it!
Aaron stopped by at the same time and I ran him through a similar process. Here is the pre Z/instructions pull (deadlift).
Youtube version here
I did not get to record his "post Z pull" but below is some video he shot from the Press gym a few days later. Much smoother!
Click here for the video
Both reported less strain on their low back and actually felt GOOD afterwards and the next day , even after some heavy pulls. Make sense since the weight is shifted more towards the glutes and hams (which is the goal for everyone doing the deadlift), since the muscles in the low back are actually quite small (esp. compared to the glutes, hams, adductors, etc).
Take Away
Weight training should ENHANCE your life, posture and movement!
It should not leave you beaten into a blood pulp and barely able to wash your face in the sink the next morning (that was me 1 year ago). Aaron said "Mike, end of the session was great. I didn't feel beat up at all and had a lot of energy."
Fawn stated, "Mike, after lifting Aaron and I both felt great. In fact, on the way home, (after splitting a protein shake) we joked about turning around and going back for another workout.LOL!" Both were lifting MORE weight than they had in the past also!
If your training is leaving you feeling like a train wreck, you may want to rethink it.
If you are in the Minnesota area and are interested in a weight training session or a Z Health session, click here for more information.
Misc stuff
EliteFTS on Youtube
EliteFTS has some great videos up on youtube now. Check them out. Jim Wendler cracks me up all the time, but I am not sure he should have a camera. Click here for the link
Z Health Presentation in Minnesota
Brad "No Relation" Nelson, Andrea DuCane and myself are doing a Z Health presentation at Kinetic Edge in Minnesota on September 5. Unfortunately it sold out in 36 hours, but we will be doing more; so if you want in on the list for the next one please email me at michaeltnelson AT yahoo DOT com to be added to the list.
Rock on
Mike N
