The diagonal lift on a cable machine is a great tool to work shoulders and core stability.
What does the lift do?
Time to stop doing this and start working smarter
This exercise falls into a similar category as the “isometric pallof press” in that it works the core isometrically, forcing you to resist rotational forces. In addition though, it trains your anterior and medial delts for a nice set of shoulders!
How to do it!
We usually start our personal training clients in a tall kneeling position in order to minimize initial instability. The task is to keep the core stable while lifting the rope diagonally past the opposing shoulder, away from the cable. It is crucial to maintain hip stability at all times.
Progressions would be:
Half kneeling
Standing
Altering movement speed
The true test will be performing this exercise fast and maintaining form at all times.
What do I need to pay attention to?
You can squeeze a pad or foam roller with your knees in order to help with stability
Keeping the hips and torso from rotating.
Keep the shoulders packed
Vary the speed of the exercise and the load
I would love to help you with your core or sports performance training. Let me know if my team of personal trainers and coaches and I can help you.
Last year I started running Ultra-Marathons. That seems kind of crazy since I have only done two marathons prior to it. On September first I participated in the Iron Mountain 50 Mile Ultra-Marathon and it was a fantastic experience. This past Saturday 2/1/2013 I participated in the Charlotte Ultra Run, a 50k here on the Mallard Creek Greenway. This is the second time this race was held, but the first time for me to participate.
It was pretty darn cold on Saturday. When I made my decision on what to wear I had to weigh between starting temps and temps later on in the race. Since I anticipated to be finished after 4:15 at the latest, I decided to wear my cold weather gear with gloves and sleeves in case I needed to take something off.
The race organization was great. We were able to stay in the local schools gymnasium until the beginning of the race. Everything was organized smoothly and check in as well as medical forms got done without a hitch. At 8 am the gun went off and we started at the same time as the 10 k people. At first it threw me a little bit off since I was not sure who was a 10k or 50k racer, it always helps me to orient myself, but soon I settled into my own pace. The plan was 8 min/miles for 15 miles and then 7:40 min/miles for the second half of the race (in a perfect world).
I started too fast and paid for it on loop 4 and 5 of the 6.2 mile course by slowing down considerably. The course is nice and even and the hills are quite small. Throughout the race personal was checking up on runners to make sure they were okay and everyone was cheerful and supportive. I can clearly say it was a well supported race.
I came with an average of 3 sec per min/mile into the finish line than planned which cost me about 3-4 min overall. I am happy about my result but could have done a better job at sticking to my pace.
I consider the race a great way of entering into the world of Ultra-Marathons because of the ease of the course, the great organization and support and the short distance. I caution runners though: It is easy to look at a 31.07 mile event just like you would at a marathon. If you pace yourself at the same speed as what you would consider your marathon pace you might end up fizzling out over the last 5 miles. Make sure to fuel up appropriately and don’t let yourself be swept away by the excitement of the start and run too fast too quickly. I made a rookie mistake and paid for it.
I think I will sign up again for this race. I had a great time and fully plan to beat my time from last year again this time.
Michael Anders
Head Trainer Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting – transforming one life at a time.
A lot of us do are bicyclists, runners, triathletes or other athletes (soccer, basketball, etc) of some kind that have more sustained efforts as competitions and are highly dependent on glycogen (carbohydrate) stores.
This is a prerace countdown and it will need some modifications for various sports.
Day 7
it is the time for one completely exhaustive workout
focus on the week areas, go through all areas that are important and don’t be timid
drink plenty during the workout and following the workout.
consume 400 calories of carbs followed by 800 over the next several hours
Day 6
tapered exercise starts (in endurance sports it often starts two weeks prior to the competition)
75-80% Carb intake, 10 % protein and 10 % fat
total energy intake should be adapted to the reduced workout day.
Activities are either reduced by time or intensity or both
Day 5
still maintain a consistently high carbohydrate intake
reduce intensity and duration of your exercise even more
the activity should be definitely less than what you are used to
Day 4
time to finalize your race / competition strategies
your training should focus on the key elements of your special skills, but with emphasis on keeping your from becoming exhausted
protein intake is increased up to max. 2g / kg body weight to ensure all tissue repairs are taken care of and to improve creatine prodcution.
Day 3
low to moderate exercise intenisty
high carb intake (65%)
reduce other activities to put emphasis on recovery and relaxation
no exhaustion, overheating etc.
Day 2
no more morning training schedule
reduce the afternoon training schedule if you are a professional athlete
the focus is on reviewing skill and working on the mental strategy
carb intake 65%
Day 1
plenty of rest
no full routines, full speed runs, etc.
walk part of the course, get familiar with the competition venue
avoid watching opponents and focus on watching videos of your own success
Competition Day
plan everything
have a backup plan for things that can go wrong
don’t change your eating habits to something you have not done before
This is quite general and certain sports will need an adaptation, but it gives you a general idea on what to do.
Let me know if you have any questions
Have a fit and healthy day, make it happen now!
Michael Anders
Source: Benardot, Dan (2006). Advanced Sports Nutrition – Fine-tune your food and fluid intake for optimal training and performance. Human Kinetics.
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