Hitchcock Strength and Conditioning

Your back pain maybe related to a lack of strength.

Strength as a Back Pain Cure | FiveX3 Training Mackenzie talks about her experience managing back pain after starting training at FiveX3 Training, A Starting Strength Affiliate Gym in Baltimore, MD.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3585w9FmOGs

Strength Training - It's Never Too Late 91 year old Mrs Virginia Rizan uses barbell training at Wichita Falls Athletic Club. After a few months of training, "Gus" put her walker in the closet and h...

Attention individuals 40+: Please listen to a message from an M.D. who actually trains with weights about the benefits of barbell exercises for the aging person. Just using machines and doing cardio will not provide the same benefits. Contact me to learn the right exercises to do and the right way to perform them to be able to elicit the benefits as mentioned in the video below.

#19: The Barbell Prescription for Healthy Aging Dr. Jonathon Sullivan, Starting Strength Coach and author of The Barbell Prescription, explains why strength training with barbells is optimal for people ove...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ty5zJdPrqys

Why You Should Not Be Running (Audio Only) Mark Rippetoe reads his article on using strength training for optimal health rather than running. The full text of the article can be found here: https://st...

Wondering why you aren't getting the results you want in your typical gym using all the fancy machinery?

One big reason is that many gym machines isolate specific muscles, and muscles were meant to be used as a group, with many muscles and joints acting together as a unit simultaneously. Think of squatting down to pick something up, or lifting something off the ground. These basic primal movement patterns use many muscle groups at once, and for muscles to operate at their maximum intensity potential, they need to be trained as a unit with free weight compound exercises (Exercises that use many muscles at once, like a squat, bench press or deadlift).

Even with gym machines that are considered compound exercises, such as a leg press or machine bench press, the free weight versions of the exercises allow you to move in a natural movement pattern for your unique body proportions by not being locked into the rigid movement mechanics of a machine. Further, being locked into a rigid movement pattern like those exhibited in exercise machines can actually increase your risk for injury compared with free weights that move with you and adapt to your specific movement patterns.

Finally, training with free weight compound barbell exercises forces you to train the stabilizer muscles of the body automatically by forcing your body to balance the load as it moves through space....No need for any exotic exercises or machines to train these stabilizer muscles if you are performing the exercises with free weights, which saves you time in the gym. Further, when you train barbell compound exercises like the squat, deadlift, and overhead press, it also allows you to train your overall balance and coordination by moving your body through space with a loaded barbell which will carry over to all aspects of your physical life.

Machine exercises largely fail to do this for you!

The reason gyms want you to use the machines is that it takes a lot of training and know how to properly educate their staff to teach someone the compound free weight barbell exercises. Even most personal trainers, despite how good they may look, don't understand the importance of free weight exercises and how to perform the properly themselves. You need a coach that specializes in teaching the proper form, mechanics and programming for the major barbell exercises to help reach your overall strength and physical potential.

The video below explains the concept above in greater detail. Do yourself a favor and hire a competent barbell coach this new year and make the progress in the gym you want. Please contact Chris at 865-336-6439 for details.

Barbells vs. Machines vs. Everything Else (Audio Only) Mark Rippetoe reads his article on the efficacy and reason for barbell training, especially when compared to machines and other forms of exercise.

Strength Training is more important for seniors than any other age group. Loss of muscle and strength allows you to age faster and lose your independence at an earlier age than if you had maintained or gained strength and muscle as you aged. It's not too late to regain strength and muscle and improve your life. It's best to seek out a qualified strength coach that can help you perform free weight exercises correctly. Please watch this video for more information and contact me at 865-336-6439 for a free consultation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M4q0esqPvs.

Strength Training for People My Age (Audio Only) Mark Rippetoe performs an audio reading on his article about strength training for those of us with a bit more life experience. Full text of the article can ...