Advanced Workout Chop and Lift - Part 3 by Gray Cook | Date Released : 03 Dec 2007 0 comments Print Close In Part 2 of this article series, I discussed the split arm chop and lift. Hopefully, you have practiced this move and have observed the benefits of three dimensional strength training. Knowing this exercise has given you more than a killer upper body workout and posture reinforcer, it has given you body knowledge on these cross body moves. It has given you great hip and core stability and improved your balance. It has reduced asymmetry and reinforced posture. The body knowledge can be converted to freedom. The freedom I’m talking about is the freedom to workout anywhere. Up to now you needed equipment to do the chop and lift. Once you know the moves, you can advance to a portable chop and lift. We are always envious because runners have it made. They can enjoy a great workout anywhere by simply packing a pair of running shoes. If you enjoy strength training moves that help your sport and fitness, and you already have a great workout, chances are the equipment is not portable and does not travel well. Strange gyms and hotel fitness centers may have limited or unfamiliar equipment, causing you to spend half your workout trying to fit your workout to their equipment. Many of the golf and tennis professionals I’ve worked with have this very problem as they have a long competitive season filled with travel. If you would like to maintain your strength gains but need or want to travel, you can still have some consistency. I personally like dumbbell and kettlebell work, but the weight ranges I prefer don’t travel well. A large diameter band can change up my training, offer some variety on the road and add less than a pound to my baggage. Trainers and therapists who work with clients and patients in their homes also like the portability and economy of tubing products. Figure 1 Resistance tubing does have limitations. The elastic resistance usually will not give the load or resistance that a weight stack and pulley will provide. Elastic tubing is also often criticized because the resistance increases from the beginning to end of the movement, making the resistance less uniform. However, these two factors that seem to be a disadvantage are actually benefits if you use the tubing to its full potential. Tubing does not need to be as heavy as weight because you are going to add speed to your workout. You will follow a natural force-velocity curve and add a new dimension to your workout. You will increase your speed of movement but must reduce the force to make it possible. As you accelerate through the movement, the elastic will increase the tension or force as you try to maintain your speed. This will help to convert the strength you gained in your chop and lift training into power with improved wrist, forearm speed and control. The half kneeling position is helpful when training with tubing because it offers improved balance and demonstrates any undetected differences in the right and left side (see Figure 1). Remember to always train for a balance of strength and power between the left and right side (see Figure 2). Figure 2 The tubing can be attached to a door or safely tethered to a piece of weight training equipment. The tubing is set high for the chop and low for the lift. It should be situated slightly behind you, creating a diagonal pull from the rear and across your body. This will leave the finish position more in front of the body than the cable chop. The lift will also come from a position more behind to a front press. The pull from behind on both the chop and lift creates an opportunity to work on the quick change from a pull to a push. It will reinforce quick hands and a smooth forearm and wrist rotation. The tubing will be chopped from the side of the knee that is up (see Figure 3). The tubing will be lifted from the side of the knee that is down. For the chop, the tubing should be anchored about six inches to two foot above your head (in standing). This will create a good angle for your downward pull to push movement (see Figure 4). Figure 3 Figure 4 For the lift, the tubing should be anchored as low as possible. To create the best angle possible for the lift exercise, elevate your knee on a sturdy but padded surface (see Figure 5). Four inches up to 14 inches will work. This is also helpful if you have trouble bending the knee all the way to the floor. You can use the tubing chop to work on stability and posture with some benefit to the hips as well. In a swing, throw, punch, jump or cutting activity, an efficient hip movement is fundamental to generate power. The hips get the movement going but then need to actually stop moving to transfer energy up into the torso, then the shoulders and then the arms. This is required to effectively generate power. Figure 5 The chop can help reinforce this as well with a simple coordination drill. The set up for the drill is the same as the tubing chop but with the addition of a golf club or three to four foot stick or dowel. Place one end at or slightly below the belt-line on the side with the knee in the down position. It should be set out to the side at a 45 degree angle. The club or stick will probably fall a few times before you can find a balanced position. Once it is set, start the chop movement slowly and then increase your speed. See if you can perform four to six chops with increasing speed without the club falling. You will immediately become aware that your hip wants to keep moving backward. This is hip flexion and may indicate unnecessary hip flexor activity instead of glut and core stability. If your hip is moving, it cannot be learning to decelerate or be stable, so regroup and stiffen your body. Stay tall and try to move as fast as possible without dropping the club or stick. Do this in both directions and don’t think about your core. Just think about moving your arms and keeping your hips under you. The hips will actually give a small rotation to start your chop, but you need to stop that movement and use that small initial hip punch to complete the move with the rest of your body. The move is not simply an arm movement, even though it looks like a total arm movement. Good hip strength and core stability create a solid anchor for the arms to pull toward and push from. Now, you have no excuses for not doing some form of training when you are traveling or have limited equipment. So pack up the band and get going! Back to top About the author: Gray Cook Gray Cook, a practicing physical therapist, has spent his entire career refining and developing functional evaluation exercise techniques. His interests have led him in two directions. The first was in the field of reactive training techniques starting with his Masters thesis. His work was developed into a journal article that was the foundation of a nationally recognized continuing education course for physical therapists and athletic trainers. The course is offered through the North American Sports Medicine Institute and the information ultimately became a book chapter. Gray’s second contribution was in the form of functional movement screening. This tool is not so much an evaluation for individuals entering rehabilitation as it is a screening tool for individuals participating in sports and fitness activities. Gray’s first movement screen targeted the athletic population out of a desire to curtail the unnecessary injuries in athletics as a result of poor conditioning and poor flexibility that result in poor movement patterns. He realized that the one piece of information not currently being considered in the field of sports medicine, sports conditioning, fitness and rehabilitation was that movement is represented not by isolated singular movements but by unique patterns of movement that can either work together or against each other in the human system. Cook realized that a system needed to be in place to recognize and objectify these patterns. Gray has lectured nationally and internationally in the fields of physical therapy, sports medicine and performance enhancement. He has served as a consultant to numerous universities and professional sports teams in all four major sports. Gray’s consulting is not limited to rehabilitation and sports medicine. He is equally sought after for his advice on conditioning and performance enhancement. Gray currently practices physical therapy in southwest Virginia and continues to publish and present topics related to rehabilitation and exercise. Gray is a board-certified orthopedic clinical specialist with the American Physical Therapy Association. He is a certified strength and conditioning specialist with the National Strength and Conditioning Association and a Level I coach with the U. S. Weight Lifting Federation. Full Author Details Related content Content from Gray Cook Chop and Lift - Part 2 Gray Cook | Articles Strength vs Function: Universal Principles by Gray Cook | Videos Secret Series: Strength and Flexibility Continuum by Gray Cook | Videos Chop and Lift - Part 1 Gray Cook | Articles From Core to Pillar Strength by Mark Verstegen | Videos Training Rotational Movements Lenny Parracino | Articles Training Movement Specificity Gray Cook | Articles Movement Patterns Dianne Woodruff | Articles Movement Dysfunction Noah Hittner | Articles Watch Your Feet for Improved Core Stability Gray Cook | Articles Wall Sit w/Arm Raise Gray Cook | Articles Chop and Lift - Part 3 Gray Cook | Articles Chop and Lift - Part 2 Gray Cook | Articles Proper Form and Muscle Fatigue Gray Cook | Articles Chop and Lift - Part 1 Gray Cook | Articles Reebok Movement Screens and Tight Hamstrings Gray Cook | Articles What's Behind the Injury? Gray Cook | Articles The Back Side of the Core Gray Cook | Articles Training Movement Specificity Gray Cook | Articles Squat Test: Reebok Screens Gray Cook | Articles Core and Neurostabilization Training Gray Cook | Articles Please login to leave a comment Comments (0) Back to top