Zach Greenwald is the founder of StrengthRatio. His team consists of athletes who may originally have hunted him down to resolve injury, but end up staying to improve their performance. He’s worked with elite Weightlifters, CrossFitters, Strongman athletes, you name it. Zach’s principles have been a huge influence on my own programming, so listen really carefully -- this guy is super smart.

 

In this episode, we talk about:

 

• Programming philosophies that you can start applying to your assistance work
• Flexibility test that you can use to assess readiness, recovery, and much more
• Nuts and bolts behind improving performance while training pain-free

 

Show Notes:

 

• Biofeedback in weight training (5:00)
• Repeatable flexibility test to take the guesswork out. What does this feedback mean? (9:10)
• Zach’s first athlete, Becca Gerdon and low back pain (13:15)
• Travis Cooper’s case study with low back pain (14:06)
• What does your sport not feature? (16:30)
• Eccentric work and carries for Weightlifting (18:00)
• Deadlifting and low back pain (20:00)
• What stresses your flexibility? Objectively measuring what’s stressful instead of just trying to guess (22:15)
• Lack of eccentric work in CrossFit (23:00)
• Most common injury or irritability that CrossFitters experience (24:30)
• Downward pulling in CrossFit (26:00)
• Break down the sport in it’s most frequent motions and filling the void (27:50)
• Test #1: Chest To Bar vs Dips (28:50)
• Test #2: Pressing vs Pulling (29:15)
• Benefits of including carrying in training (30:05)
• Can you Farmer’s Carry 10-20% over your Back Squat? (31:35)
• Including carries without fancy equipment (32:40)
• How does all this assistance work DIRECTLY transfer to sports specific skills? (34:30)
• Volume for the assistance work (38:00)
• Cardio for Weightlifters and the recovery process (39:15)
• Mobility vs Stability and their part in a holistic training program (45:40)
• Zach’s approach to addressing tight hip flexors (47:00)
• Using the flexibility test to find the joint mobilizations that work for you (49:00)
• Zach’s observations on what seems to help his athletes get to their longest flexibility post-test (51:15)
• Connective tissue vs Muscle tissue (51:40)
• Biggest influences in the last few years (55:30)
• Resources to check out if you want to dive deeper (57:35)
• Three staple exercises/concepts to start including in your training (60:00)

 

People mentioned:

 

• David Dellanave
• Corey Duvall
• Greg Everett
• Travis Mash
• Travis Cooper
• Rebecca Gerdon
• Chad Wesley Smith

 

Resources we talked about:

 

• ROM Testing for Strength Training (the flexibility test we kept talking about)
• CSCS books
• Anatomy Trains
• Olympic Weightlifting: A Complete Guide For Athletes & Coaches
• Olympic Weightlifting: Cues & Corrections

 

How you can connect with Zach:

 

• www.strengthratio.com
• Instagram: @strengthratio

 

If you’re interested in signing up for the 3 Day Strength Challenge to help you improve your stability, balance, and body awareness — sign up at theairbornemind.com to get started for free.

You’ll also get my Weekly Athlete Digest — a roundup of articles, training songs, knowledge bombs I’ve encountered, and other useful resources from the week.

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