Using resistance bands to train split squats or single leg bench squats is so easy and like with other RBT exercises, doesn’t require you to carry around 30lbs of weight.
This weeks RBT Live Training Episode not only shows you how to do split squats or single leg squats with bands but shows you how to adapt to those special clients and friends who were not blessed with the tall genes…
Enjoy this weeks Training episode of RBT Live and make sure you let me know what you thought of my special addition. Look forward to hearing from you on the comment section.
Have a great Halloween weekend and crank out some Band Split squats for me.
Reactive Training.. Powerful Results
Dave Schmitz
PS.. If you are interested in learning about how to train your entire body with bands using the split stance, you may want to check out Resistance Bands Unleashed DVD Series or if you don’t have bands yet.. The Total Fitness Package will set you up with everything you need. It is all about getting reactively stronger and reactive fit with resistance bands.
If you have not watched this video please do so before you continue reading. I do not know Mr. Boyle personally but I have read many of his writings. I respect him for his unwillingness to never settle for what is but always analyzing what could be. He simply never stops learning and trying to teach others.
Mike’s theory on Single legs squat drove home why I find the staggered stance to be so effective at teaching people how to integrate their lower torso with their upper torso which when all is said and done is how this body was designed to work.
Mike’s states that the low back is the limiting factor not the glutes when it comes to bilateral squats. Subsquently by going into a split stance the lower extremities, especially gluts and quads, are more effectively trained. I would say it is not just a low back but globally a trunk limiting factor.
If we are able to assist the trunk (specifically the lower abs) to stabilize the low back (specifically L5-S1) than we create less of a force leak at that point and allow the weight or vertical vector force to be dealt with using the lower torso.
Keeping the transition area of L5-S1 stable is what allows us to transfer force production to the lower torso when the load is coming from the top - down
I thought it would easier to show you than tell you so.. Here you go.
See you tomorrow to discuss why the scapula and shoulder love the split stance as well.
What types of bars do I need to hook my bands onto??
What types of bands do you use and what are all the different resistance levels??
etc, etc, etc…
It just goes to show you, first of all how exciting resistance band training is becoming and secondly how versatile it is when it comes to training anywhere.
So I thought this week I would invite you into my resistance band training world to see where I workout and where I create so many incredible Resistance Band workouts.
I hope you enjoy getting a little upclose with the Band Man.
Make sure you shoot me your comments and thoughts. I always want to hear whats working for you.
Reactive Training .. Powerful Results
Dave Schmitz
PS.. As a 46 year old who feels like 30, you can imagine how exciting it is for me to get this email.
Dave,
In the past month I have taken time off the weights and been doing all body weight and band training. My aches and pains are getting better and better, I am way more explosive, my flexability is better than ever, and I am running like I never have before.
Over 90% of us will suffer a low back injury of some kind at some point in our lives.
95% of the time that injury will be the result of poor deceleration control. What can we do to protect and decrease the chance of injuring our low back?? Well first let me tell you what won’t work.
Doing 1000’s of sit-ups every week
Doing leg raises with our low back coming off the ground on every rep
Do those silly side crunches a hundred miles a minute
Grabbing a hold of some pulley system and horsing down doing kneeling crunches
Doing the latest ab machine shown on the latest info commercial
Doing only floor planks
I can pretty much guarantee if you do the above listed training techniques or exercises, you are all but assured of suffering if not creating a low back injury.
The ab’s like any other muscles are reactors. They respond to driver of primarily gravity, ground reaction and momentum. If you do not train the ab’s to be reactors, when called upon to protect your low back from venturing to far in the ROM, they will not respond effectively or quick enough to prevent a low back injury.
It is very easy to tweak an exercise to become a trunk reaction exercise. You can create ground reaction or increase momentum or both. Gravity can also be increased by adjusting the resistance or direction of the resistance. Here are 5 easy ways to make most exercises a trunk reaction exercise.
1. Overload the body to one side by doing unilateral training. Especially with vertical or horizontal force vectors
2. Create multiple force vectors. Bands in conjunction with any dead weight objects can accomplish this
3. Add a step with the exercise which immediately brings in ground reaction forces and additional momentum for your trunk to deal with.
4. Adding in the a rotational plane will immediately activate the trunk since the obliques and transverse abdominus have strong rotational biases
5. Performing the step and lift movement in an integrated fashion with an emphasis on getting off the loading phase as fast as possible.
Is your head spinning yet??
Well what if told you I could incorporate all five of these training options with 1 exercise??
Now realize this exercise is not for the person who has not incorporated some low level trunk stabilization first. However, if you have done your pre-trunk training, than I have a great trunk blasting, delt building, heart pumping workout that will teach your trunk how to react with power.
Give it a try and let me know what you think.
Enjoy this week’s RBT Live… Building a powerful 6 pack
Training beyond the Contraction
Dave Schmitz
PS.. Looking for other great trunk reaction ideas?? Resistance bands Unleashed DVD Series will show you how to unleash the power of Reactive Trunk Training.
As I started to train more with resistance bands it soon became apparent to me that bands were not just a strength training tool but could also be a muscle activation tool.
Resistance bands flat versus tubular structural charateristics allowed me to attach bands to our body in many places. Anytime you attach a band to the body, be it at the hip, the trunk, the wrist or the lower leg, you immediately create a tactile sensation that wakes up the muscles associated to that region.
For instances, if I attached a band around the hips and face away from the band attachment, I immediately heighten the awareness of gluteal muscles because of the posterior force vector being applied to the anterior hip .
This can be very helpful if you are trying to improve hip extension which we all know is a key functional movement when it comes to creating horizontal or vector explosiveness of the body.
Now by applying another dead weight training tool that also enhance hip extension, you can train with multiple vectors and really compliment the deadweight movement. This is what I refer to as multi-vector training.
Multi-vector training can serve to enhance function in 2 ways:
1. By complimenting the movement and activating key muscles to become more active in the movement.
2. By creating vectors that oppose each other and cause the body to become more unstable or overloaded to one side.
I will address #2 in the near future but for today we want to use it to compliment a movement.
Today RBT Live is all about using bands to in multi-vector training set up to increase hip extension with the kettlebell swing.
I hope you enjoy this week RBT Live “Kettlebell - Band Multi-vector Training to enhance hip explosiveness”
If you are looking for more ways to incorporate multi-vector training you may want to check out ResistanceBandsUnleashed DVD series. It will provide you over 50 plus ways to implement bands independently or inconjunction with other training tools.
One of the things I really love about band training is how easy it is to partner up. I don’t know about you but I crank up the intensity when I am being challenged by a partner. Especially when that partner is getting after it.
Attachment Free Exercises - Stationary Partner Holding - Dynamic Partner Holding or Combo Band Drills. I go over all of these in the new Partner Band Training DVD.
Combo band training allows each partner to be connected up into a linked band set up so you are getting the horizontal vector impact while also performing another exercise. This could require using another tool like a sandbag or kettlebell or just using another band like I am about to show you.
Regardless how you set it up, this is like doing a Super - Super band set.
A few suggestions before you get after this awesome Partner Band Training option.
1. Make sure you have mastered the exercises individually first
2. Make sure you have a willing partner
3. Give yourself at least 10-15sec to transition (30s is ok as well)
4. Choose easier exercises at first
5. Make sure you know how to hold
6. Keep band strength low and train high reps first
7. Use time based sets not rep based sets… However you can challenge your partner to match reps with you if you like a little competition.
These are great workouts for fat loss, building strength endurance, improving metabolic workload or just making it fun for your bootcampers.
Here is a run - push combo that I just recently did using 50-10 Workout Muse Interval. Enjoy the video and make sure you shoot me questions and comments you have about RBT Partner based training. Also let me know how RBT is going for you.
If you have bands and are not using partner based training, give it a try. I promise you clients will love it.
Repeat sets are one of the Partner Band Training options I will often implement within my bootcamp setting.
It provides me a way to effectively manipulate the workout in 3 different ways
1. Allows me to push clients into using heavier bands to train with. The powerlifting community taught me this concept of using several low rep sets to increase work volume with heavier loads. Most people can do 2-5 reps vs. concerning themselves with 8-10 reps.
2. Repeat sets is an easier way to bring new campers into partner band training without the initial concern with holding. All the new camper has to be concerned with is performing the exercise which I as an instructor can easily monitor. It also teaches stabilization in between sets which preps them for partner holding.
3. It allows you to do more total body exercises or teach more advanced variations of exercises to specific groups. Example being.. split squats with or without an overhead press. High pulls with or without a step.
Heres a simple Repeat Set Partner Band Training Workout
Push Press
Split Squat Left
High Pull
Split Squat Right
Squat Pull
Repeat sets are an outstanding way to get bootcampers rocking with a bigger band.
Let me know what you think
Training Beyond the Contraction
Dave Schmitz
Repeat sets is just one of several Partner Band Training concepts available on the new Partner Band Training DVD and manual. For more information on how to get Partner band training started click HERE!!
I know many of you watch my videos and than try to reproduce the workouts using bungee cords or tubular training devices.
Why do I know this??
Because I use to have a closet full of this stuff until I came across flat continuous looped layered resistance bands.
Here are 3 reasons why you should not attemp RBT drills with these devices.
1. Tubular elastic devices are molded and will not withstand the aggressive pressure I put on bands with my workout routines. Tubular devices can be used for light upper torso or rehabilitative exercise but when it time to get after it be careful.
2. Tubes and bungee cords are round and will not adhere to the body. As a result they roll and slip making drills like running and double crossover set ups difficult to do. Hooking them on your feet is next to impossible. Also they will not stay in place to create good propriceptive feedback with core or hip stabilization training.
3. Nylon covered tubes and bungee cords have a stopping point and do not allow for overstretching to accidiently occur. This an injury waiting to happen, my friend. If you try to do aggressive running drills with these, you are back injury waiting to happen and if it is a client… Well you don’t want to go there. Even if you try to adjust your running it will not work. First you or your client will not work as hard because you are worried about getting jacked up and secondly as you keep going you will naturally keeping working out further and further without knowing it until all the sudden you stop. It is not pretty.
Lets Just Stop the madness!!
Let’s agree on one thing…. Resistance bands are in a class by themselves and if you stay connected with me, it will be flat layered continuous resistance bands only. I have emptied my closets of everything else.
By the way, partner training is virtually impossible to do in bungee cords or tubes.
Why do I bring this up??
I have been doing Partner Band Training since I first started training large groups 8 years ago. It is simply the best way to crush it with bands. Over the next 2 weeks I will be launching a brand new Partner Band Training product that will solidify why RBT is in a class by itself.
Stay connected and make sure you shoot me some of your band stories.
Always enjoy seeing how others are doing with RBT.
4 Years ago I came across an individual who has become a great professional peer and even better friend.
When BJ Gaddour told me he was going to create WorkoutMuse.. I said let me know when the train leaves because I do not want to miss that trip.
Today is the day the train pulls out.
I have been working with WM for over 2 years now and I said it on day 1 and continue to say it today. WM cranks up your workout by a minimum of 30% or more.
That is:
30% more Fat Burning
30% Great Cardio Vascular output
30% More intensity
30% More Muscle burning production
30% More result in 30% less time.
Check out exactly what I mean…. Where do you want to train.
I dare anyone to find a tool that covers it all.. Flexibility, Total Body Strength, Speed development, cardio explosion and accelerated power. And now with WM.. maximum fat burning capabilities.
Guys I am pumped and BJ …. Thank you for bring it all together with WorkoutMuse
Watch for more RBT and Workout Muse coming your way.
Dave Schmitz
