Ask the Certified Personal Trainer

[Greg Aucoin]

Hi Everyone,

I should have started this thread years ago, but I was inspired by Heenan's thread today to get this going. I know that NEFA, like the general population, consists of those who are: avid fitness enthusiasts, somewhat into exercise, enjoy exercise, but not indoors, only exercise after something bad happens to them physically, and those who just want to play disc golf. There will be something here for everyone, I promise!

I'll be detailing lots of relevent information regarding working out in general, and disc golf specifically. Questions are welcome.

My career since graduating from Westfield State College in 2004 has been working as an NSCA Certified Personal Trainer. The main reason (other than it being recognized worldwide as one of the most respected certifications) I decided to become NSCA certified was the fact that a main focus of theirs is training athletes. I ran track at WSC (sprints 400m and under and jumps), and was interested in improving my performance through training, and eventually helping other teammates and friends do the same. Between coursework in movement science at WSC, and most importantly, continuing education and field experience since graduation, I've learned quite a bit about what works/ doesn't work, and why.

Between my sophomore and senior years in college, I experienced firsthand a few failures that still stick with me today. Most importantly, I saw that performance (especially speed and power) decreased when my body weight was higher than it should have been for optimal performance in track (those 10 lbs. or so do make a huge difference!). Secondly, the balance in strength and flexibility was out of whack in opposing muscle groups, leading to a couple major injuries (muscle strains).

Where there are imbalances, dysfunction is soon to follow, and then comes pain/injury. So, my first principle of training is founded in working to improve imbalances to reduce dysfunction, and STAY INJURY FREE! The human body is an amazing thing that will find ways to work through or around the imbalances, but usually, the end result is pain or injury, especially in fast and/or repetitive movements, such as throwing a disc.

So, to start, if you are serious about improving your health/performance, a functional movement screen, or a good look in the mirror/observation from friends/family will point out major imbalances that could lead to trouble. Examples that I commonly see are: hips that are tight/weak (leads to knee, lower back trouble), poor posture/shoulders rounded forward, tight chest muscles, weak back muscles ( lead to major upper body injuries that linger, esp. rotator cuff problems), lack of core strength caused by sitting at a desk all day (core muscles are the first to contract during any limb movements, if they are weak, too much stress will be placed on your other muscle groups (throwing arm, pivot leg, for example).

[Eric Kevorkian]

I'll start with the questions...

Where do you get your HGH?

[Matt Aubin]

OK I have a serious question for ya.

My right (throwing) shoulder makes a gawd-awful clicking/grinding/popping sound during a backhand reach back motion. When my elbow gets to about the right pec, that's when it pops. It doesn't hurt at all, unless I purposely use my left hand to pull the right arm until the shoulder pops. I'm not reaching back too far, and it'll sometimes pop on short throws too.

I've re-worked my throwing to be smoother and slower with more snap, concentrating on the last 10% of the throw instead of worrying about reaching back far or anything. It's worked well, gaining distance and accuracy, but I just know that eventually my shoulder will sh!t the bed one day, especially if I try to throw further this year.

Like I said, it doesn't really hurt, and I asked my doctor about it (made it click for him too) and he said as long as it's not painful, just listen to your body and be careful. What I'd like to know is IF I should be doing exercises to strengthen what seems to be a bad shoulder, and if so, which ones. Free weights? Should I try to build the muscles or work on more reps? I'd rather do an ounce of prevention now to avoid shoulder surgery later.

[Greg Aucoin]

If you've read my first post, you understand that working on improving strength and flexibility imbalances is first and foremost. How to do so is the tricky part, but that's why I'm here to help. There are many misconceptions about exercise that will get you hurt, little to no results, and so frustrated that you think it's all a waste of time, and you'd be better off playing a round instead!

Time and equipment limitations don't have to stop you from fast results, especially at first. Before you get into lifting weights, mastering moving your body weight in different planes should be a priority. For example, if you cannot perform a body weight squat/lunge without proper form, you should not be doing a weighted squat/leg press. Same goes for bench/chest presses before doing a proper pushup. Almost everyone I work with started with a major imbalance or two like a much stronger right side, weak abdominals, that made these foundational body weight movements look ugly and asymmetrical. If the hamstrings/lower back are tight, and core is weak (typical for daytime desk job types), lunges and squat form become something entirely different, where more stress is placed on joints and spine, instead of working your muscles. The same principle will apply to a disc golf throw where a weak link is present. Here are a couple of glaring examples: if your shoulder flexibility and/or rotator cuff strength is poor, throwing overhead shots is asking for trouble, if your legs and core are weak/tight, throwing sidearms is going to be much too shoulder/elbow reliant, and is asking for trouble, if your rotational flexibility is poor, then your backhand power will suffer, as will your hips downward.

There are obviously varying degrees of these issues, but preventing injuries by recognizing and working on your areas that need improvement are crucial.

[Greg Aucoin]

OK I have a serious question for ya.

My right (throwing) shoulder makes a gawd-awful clicking/grinding/popping sound during a backhand reach back motion. When my elbow gets to about the right pec, that's when it pops. It doesn't hurt at all, unless I purposely use my left hand to pull the right arm until the shoulder pops. I'm not reaching back too far, and it'll sometimes pop on short throws too.

I've re-worked my throwing to be smoother and slower with more snap, concentrating on the last 10% of the throw instead of worrying about reaching back far or anything. It's worked well, gaining distance and accuracy, but I just know that eventually my shoulder will sh!t the bed one day, especially if I try to throw further this year.

Like I said, it doesn't really hurt, and I asked my doctor about it (made it click for him too) and he said as long as it's not painful, just listen to your body and be careful. What I'd like to know is IF I should be doing exercises to strengthen what seems to be a bad shoulder, and if so, which ones. Free weights? Should I try to build the muscles or work on more reps? I'd rather do an ounce of prevention now to avoid shoulder surgery later.

Good question, Matt, and great words of wisdom at the end!

Many perfectly healthy joints can make a popping, or clicking noise. You should be concerned if you feel pinching, numbness or pain.

You (and all of the rest of us) should be doing exercises and stretches that prepare the shoulder joint for disc throwing. Most commonly, the chest muscles are tight, pulling the shoulders forward of where they should be, and the rotator cuff tendons in the back of the shoulder are not as short and strong as they should be. Your back muscles should also be strengthened to maintain a balance.

To stretch the chest, walking through a doorway with your hands at a height between your hips and mid chest works great. Stagger your stance, and walk through the doorway until you feel a stretch that is tolerable to hold for 30 seconds. Likely, one side is tighter than the other, and it's often the opposite of your dominant arm, especially if you perform strengthening exercises. Just make sure you keep your hands at the same height (have someone check this). If one side is tighter, you can perform this stretch by isolating one side at a time, and rotating your body away from the side being stretched.

To strengthen the rotator cuff tendons, unlike major muscle groups, light or no weights should be used, and repetitions of up to 20 reps are most effective. The point is to make sure other larger, stronger muscles in the shoulders don't take over and do the work. These exercises produce a deep burn in the shoulder when done correctly, and weights will likely never exceed 10 lbs. I will post video links soon, but exercises I recommend are: external/internal rotations (done with bands or cables), Y's, T's, and P's (I prefer to do these with no weight, stomach down, on a stability ball), and pronation/supination (done with light dumbbells or no weight, especially good for overhead throwers). Form is essential to these exercises being of any benefit.

[Bill Stewart]

Thank you for the public service, Greg. I have a question for you: Is there any sort of rule of thumb about exercises you can do every day? For example at the gym, I'll rotate 6 upper body and 6 leg exercises so that I do them every other day at most. I.e. did leg press tues, and will do them this a.m. On the other hand I do all my core stuff (crunches/side crunches/reverse sit-ups/ab-bench) every day (old trainer in gym told me this was o.k. a couple years ago).

First of all do you agree with him? And is it due to the "large muscle groups" vs. the more specific muscles worked on machines?

No problems, just want to check the little factoid/belief system that governs my routine.

Thank you again,

Stew a.k.a Bill Stewart

[Brad Harris]

I throw primarily sidearm with a lot of power and snap. I find that by the end of most rounds, I have quite a bit of soreness in my elbow. Later in the season the pain will linger for the next day or two. I usually take a couple of Asprin prior to a round which seems to help, but I'm looking for some good preventative advice.

Are there any good exercises I can do to put less strain on the elbow for that throwing motion? If not, is there anything I should focus on form-wise to prevent soreness without sacrificing power?

[Jim Bobka]

Hey Greg, any advice on keeping from getting old? This happens to me quite regularly, like daily.

[Greg Aucoin]

Shoulder Exercises

Here's a continuation of my answer to Matt's question, but these build a solid foundation for the small muscles of the shoulders and deeper in the back. They are challenging, and burn like crazy when you do them properly, and can be done with little equipment. Basically, everything posted and demonstrated by this guy is quality and worth listening to/trying out. He is one of the few people putting videos up that is qualified to do so. If any of you have specific questions regarding shoulder exercises after watching these, just let me know. I would recommend doing these at least once per week, but no more than every other day. Do them at the very end of your workout, if you are working out larger muscles groups that day. If your only other exercise that day is cardio, then it doesn't matter if you do these before or after. Doing one or two sets of these before you play would be fine. As far as reps, I do no more than 15 reps of up to 3 of the Y's, T's, W's in succession. 2 sets is most typical for me and my clients. Performing the exercises more frequently (2-3x per week), would be much more beneficial than going all out and doing more sets on one day.

Brad, these should also be a foundation for you, as a sidearm thrower.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssYqvTaK ... 737DC7FFEC

[Greg Aucoin]

Thank you for the public service, Greg. I have a question for you: Is there any sort of rule of thumb about exercises you can do every day? For example at the gym, I'll rotate 6 upper body and 6 leg exercises so that I do them every other day at most. I.e. did leg press tues, and will do them this a.m. On the other hand I do all my core stuff (crunches/side crunches/reverse sit-ups/ab-bench) every day (old trainer in gym told me this was o.k. a couple years ago).

First of all do you agree with him? And is it due to the "large muscle groups" vs. the more specific muscles worked on machines?

No problems, just want to check the little factoid/belief system that governs my routine.

Thank you again,

Stew a.k.a Bill Stewart

Great questions there, Stew. I hear these a lot, and everyone should be clear on them. In working ANY muscle (group), you should provide 48 hours or so for recovery, NOTHING on consecutive days!! If you are using the proper intensity/form/duration/exercise selection, then you will need that recovery period. If you are not feeling any soreness/fatigue a day or two after working a muscle group, then it's time to mix up your exercise selection/order/intensity a bit. Alternating between upper and lower body is fine. Other ideas could be doing total body one day, then doing core specific/cardio the next, then take a day off, and repeat. Or, you could do all pushing exercises one day (pushups, triceps pulldowns, shoulder press), then do pulling the next day (lat pulldowns, rows, biceps curls, etc.).

For core, I like to focus on abdominals at the end of one workout (doing exercises like stability ball crunches and ab bridges/planks), and after the next day's workout, focus on the obliques (side core muscles) and lower back (with exercises like cable/band/med. ball rotations through a variety of angles, and reverse back extensions (hands on floor, hips on stability ball, raise just your legs, while straight, off the ground until your glutes and lower back are contracted tight, then slowly lower legs back to floor until toes touch floor).

I will be posting video links to very effective, safe core exercises soon.

As a side note, your stronger muscle groups that you are "better at doing" will tend to be less sore. Focus should be on doing the relatively weaker muscle groups that tend to be sore longer, more frequently. They will improve in strength, recovery period, etc. This tends to be the case with legs, especially for guys who do heavy lifts and/or have a "legs day". Soreness can last for up to a week after those types of training sessions, and it would be much more beneficial to pick 2 lower body exercises, and do them every other day than go all out on one day.

[Greg Aucoin]

I throw primarily sidearm with a lot of power and snap. I find that by the end of most rounds, I have quite a bit of soreness in my elbow. Later in the season the pain will linger for the next day or two. I usually take a couple of Asprin prior to a round which seems to help, but I'm looking for some good preventative advice.

Are there any good exercises I can do to put less strain on the elbow for that throwing motion? If not, is there anything I should focus on form-wise to prevent soreness without sacrificing power?

Another great question, Brad. From what I've heard and read, this applies to a lot of sidearm dominant players out there. If not the elbow, then usually the shoulder is the issue.

First off, philosophically, I'd approach this upcoming season like a baseball pitcher. Try building up your arm strength/# of throws per day/week gradually, especially if you've taken most of the winter off. Start by flicking putters in the yard, trying to get a clean/no wobble release on a variety of lines (hyzer, straight, anhyzer). Then, work your way up to doing this with midranges like buzzzes, rocs/wasps, etc. Extend your distance once again by working lines with fairway drivers (leopard, teebird, firebird). Finally, do the same thing with your longest, high speed drivers (destroyer, boss, force). If you skip right to throwing your fastest drivers, chances are your arm is not conditioned to be throwing speed 13 drivers right away, especially for entire rounds, or rounds on back to back days.

I found that throwing very hard, with overstable, high speed drivers caused quite a bit of shoulder pain for me a couple seasons ago. Playing back to back days was almost impossible without quite a bit of pain. I adopted a different throwing style last season, where I'd focus on throwing discs that I release flat, or with a hyzer angle (from my hips), rather than throwing high (mid chest height) anhyzers.

Sidearm throwing styles vary greatly, but I'd highly recommend checking out the shoulder exercises I linked above. In addition to the shoulder exercises, I use a variety of lunge exercises to prepare my lower body for throwing a lot of hard sidearms. Walking lunges with a twist (both directions) and multi-directional lunges are two of my favorite forms of lunges that improve balance, stability of the hips/knees/ankles, strength, range of motion, and endurance in all of the leg muscles (esp. glutes, thighs, hamstrings). Keep an eye out for the core exercises I post soon, as well. The combination of a powerful, flexible lower body/core will take lots of stress off of your throwing arm, and you will get as much, or more power and distance!

Edit: Also, for stability of the elbow joint, specifically, you'll want to make sure that you have a nice balance of strength and flexibility of your biceps, triceps, and forearms. I recommend working a variety of angles, to target all of the arm muscles. For example, I do biceps curls with a standard palm up grip, hammer curls with knuckles facing out, and reverse curls (with a bent bar, or dumbbells), which target the forearms and wrist extensors (also VERY important in getting the "tendon bounce" that launches huge drives!). For triceps, working one arm at a time is great, especially if there's a noticeable difference in strength. Some of my favorites are: reverse grip pulldowns on cables, diamond (forefingers and thumbs touch) and close grip (elbows against ribcage) pushups, and behind the head extensions (seated on a stability ball is great).

Important form notes for arm exercises: Never go beyond (lesser angle than) a 90 degree bend of your elbow during triceps exercises (especially on machines where resistance is being used)! This is very dangerous, and it's a sensitive joint that you do not want to have lingering problems with for years.

During biceps exercises, make sure you use a full range of motion, especially at the bottom of the motion (arms will almost be straight, but not to the point of locking your elbow). Having strong, lengthened muscles in the biceps will be very advantageous.

[Greg Aucoin]

Hey Greg, any advice on keeping from getting old? This happens to me quite regularly, like daily.

How frequently do you exercise, other than work and disc golf, Jim? A combination of resistance training/cardio/yoga/pilates would do wonders for making you feel like you're 20+ years younger. To throw an example out there, my highest performing client is a 40 something year old scientist by day, and I now do 3 of my workouts per week with him, because he is at such a high level that challenges me, too. His recovery, relative strength and cardiovascular health exceed mine. My only chance of beating him at something is when we run! He's been working with me 3x week for 5 years, but has been at a very high level since about 1 year into his training routines. I don't think he imagined performing at this level would be possible, but he's in his best shape ever, and will probably still be outperforming me when he's 50+.

[Doug Callaghan]

What would you recommend to improve a persons posture. Ive always had bad posture and would like to try and improve it. I have a bench/dumbells/excercise bike thats it. No machines. Only thing ive done is ive tried to do my back and chest equally so my chest doesnt hunch me over. Still would love to know if there are other things i can do.

thanks.

[Matt Aubin]

Greg you friggin rock, thanks so much.

[Jim Bobka]

Actually it was supposed to be humorous. Looks like I've gotta exercise my funny bone more.
thanks for the input though..... jimbob

[Bill Stewart]

Greg you friggin rock, thanks so much.

X2

Thanks Greg.

[Rob Underwood]

How do you feel about dumbbell snatches to help build explosive power?

[Greg Aucoin]

What would you recommend to improve a persons posture. Ive always had bad posture and would like to try and improve it. I have a bench/dumbells/excercise bike thats it. No machines. Only thing ive done is ive tried to do my back and chest equally so my chest doesnt hunch me over. Still would love to know if there are other things i can do.

thanks.

Doug, I'd recommend checking out the shoulder exercises I posted above, and also doing bent over rows, with your opp. knee of the arm you're lifting with on a bench. Make sure you keep your back very flat during the entire lift (this is probably the hardest part of the exercise). Focus should be on using your upper back, and back of your shoulder to do the work, rather than your biceps. Start with your weak arm first, always. If you can do a set of 12 with great form, increase your weight for the next set. Make sure you use a controlled motion on the way down, to get the benefit of both the upward and downward movement of the weight.

Another great dumbbell exercise is reverse (rear deltoid flyes).

Stretching your chest muscles as I described above for Matt is also great. Using a stability ball to stretch would also be a great idea. Lying on your back, over the ball. You'd also use the ball for a variety of exercises; it's a great $25 investment.

[Greg Aucoin]

How do you feel about dumbbell snatches to help build explosive power?

Rob, power lifts are excellent for improving sports performance! It's all about quality form, low reps (no more than 6), and challenging weights. I use kettlebells quite a bit for hang cleans to presses, and enjoy working one arm at a time, because my left is always less powerful. Dumbbells are a little tougher to work with, but definitely get the job done. The more muscles that have to fire quickly in these compound lifts, the better. Coordination and power will improve, and they are much needed in the proper sequence during disc golf throws.

[Greg Aucoin]

Here are a few of my favorite leg exercises:

http://www.nsca-lift.org/videos/Split%2 ... rted%20Leg)/defaultsplitsquatsupport.shtml

http://www.nsca-lift.org/videos/DB%20Lu ... unge.shtml

http://www.nsca-lift.org/videos/DB%20La ... unge.shtml

Starting off with body weight only for each is best. If you can do 12 per side comfortably, with great form, increase resistance by 10 lbs. for the next set.

[Matt Aubin]

first link doesn't work, second one works without PW.

[Jeff Wiechowski]

Fixed the 1st link....... both can be viewed w/o PW

[Greg Aucoin]

Oh, shoot, I just edited it.

[Bobby Direnzo]

How much does a cycle go for now? $300?

[Scott Howard]

Hey Greg,

Spinal Stenosis in the lower back, I got that sh!t. As you can tell from this past weekend at FDR, I assume you realized I'm a fat ass, So besides shedding a few (dozen) pounds, any advice you could give on dealing with this would be much appreciated. I currently pretend to do core exercises and spend as much time as I can on an inversion table for decompression. Also get mauled by a chiro 1 to 2 times a week. Thanks!

[Greg Aucoin]

Good call on the inversion table, Scott. Sounds like you're on the right track with what you're doing there. If you want to frequent the chiro less often and avoid worsening the problem, stop pretending to do core exercises and get down to business!

I'd highly recommend these, even done twice per week would be good, 3 times and you will be feeling great, with a very strong core. These are excellent core exercises for everyone to try.

Stability Ball Crunches, Back Extensions, Leg Bridges - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOv2TDLv8wU

Planks - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvaL9EfAO4M&NR=1

Reverse Back Extension (I prefer this to regular back extensions, but both have their place) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VHnIId-vsc

A great way to warm up your muscles prior to discing, and decompress/alleviate muscle tension post-rounds is to use a foam roller for self massage. Here's what that looks like in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJLxruO3 ... re=related

[Kevin Fanning]

Plyometrics are the shiz dude. Planks, scissors, frankensteins, leg lifts, I love it all and need to get reaquainted with them as well as my abdominals. I think they're probably a package deal!

Greg, what is a quality stretch for your lower back. Say at the end of a second round or at the end of a long day of disc and all that putting is weighing down on your lower back and in turn throwing off the rest of your mechanics. Is it wise to be stretching it at all during the round? When is a good time and what is a good exercise?

[Greg Aucoin]

Yes, plyometrics are awesome, and I'll be covering that soon.

Great question on stretching, Kevin! This is a very important topic, and I'll try to address what we should be doing to prevent injury, pain, and tightness during and after disc golf with a thorough post later today!

[Scott Howard]

The Aucoin Core Workout (AWC) starts today! Thanks!

[Greg Aucoin]

You're welcome, Scott, keep us posted on your progress!