Strength

What topics do you have the most unique opinions, methods, or expertise around?

Expertise: Optimizing Endurance Athletes with Superior Conditioning

Topics that I have the most unique opinions, methods or expertise around is working with an athlete, specifically an endurance athlete, and combining their strength and conditioning program and their performance based training program and putting them together. In a perfect world, I am working with them in person with strength and conditioning and I'm also writing their endurance training programs as well and I'm blending the two to have them peak in the best ways possible. Also through this lens, one of the things that I focus on is not just writing someone's endurance training program based on their physiology but also looking at their musculoskeletal system and seeing what they can do physically and making sure that what their physical movements can do in person when I watch them do the strength and conditioning and training that they can also perform that to their best functional quality, so their mechanical quality, not physiological quality in their endurance training programs. Making sure that I'm writing, watching them move physically and making sure that the program that I'm writing for them for the endurance work that not only can they get their heart rate to where it needs to be or their pace where it needs to be but they're also moving in a very, very efficient, economic, powerful and safe way and you have to see both sides of that. You have to see the physical and then also the physiological and then combine them. So a lot of that comes back from my background as a strength and conditioning coach and endurance coach. Also, I grew up in my father's chiropractic office and I've been watching posture and learning about just the way the body moves and kinesiology since I was seven years old. So it's all that history that brings it all together and what we get out of that is a very strong athlete that can not only complete the workouts on paper but you can also see that they're very much in control of their workouts when you watch them move, which is huge.

Working with athletes, specifically an endurance athlete, requires blending strength and performance-based training programs. This involves looking at both the physiological and musculoskeletal systems to ensure the athlete can move in an efficient, powerful, and safe way. This knowledge is based on a background in strength conditioning and endurance coaching, as well as experience growing up in a chiropractic office observing posture and kinesiology. The result of this expertise is a strong athlete that can control their workouts.

https://assets.anyquestion.com/raw/upload/rdqytpypjgdypbrnwkvu.vtt

I have unique opinions, methods, and expertise when it comes to working with endurance athletes, particularly in combining their strength and conditioning program with their performance-based training program. Ideally, I work with athletes in person to provide both strength and conditioning training and write their endurance training programs. By blending the two, we aim for optimal performance peaks. Additionally, I focus not only on an athlete's physiological needs but also on their musculoskeletal system. This involves observing their physical movements during strength and conditioning sessions to ensure that the endurance training program is designed to enhance their functional quality, including efficient, powerful, and safe movement. I draw from my background as a strength and conditioning coach, as well as my upbringing in my father's chiropractic office, where I learned about posture, body movement, and kinesiology from a young age. The result is a well-rounded athlete who not only completes workouts on paper but also exhibits control and proficiency in their movements.

What are the most important strength exercises for endurance athletes?

Unlock Your Endurance Potential with Powerful Hip Exercises

What are the most important strength exercises for endurance athletes? We're going to prioritize powerful hip generated exercises. And this is because generally speaking, most endurance sports require full body movement. And with full body movement, we need to make sure that we have a strong activated core that we can generate power from so we can apply that to our full kinetic chain. Here are some exercises that I like. The Romanian deadlift is a horizontal hip generated exercise. So we're going to draw those hips backwards, eccentrically engaging the hamstrings and then drive the hips forward, ending with a neutral spine and feeling nice and tall. This is great for forward generated exercises such as running. The squat or front squat is a vertically hip generated exercise. We're going to send the hips down and then we're going to drive the hips up. We can progress this to an overhead press, which is a great full kinetic chain exercise. And we can even take that into a single arm overhead press where you're going to see some rotation that allows us to focus on the leg that we're driving through. The Bulgarian split squat is a challenging exercise. It requires more stability and balance than a traditional squat or lunge for that matter. Since the front leg is doing most of the work, we have a great opportunity to compare one leg to the other, searching for both muscular imbalances, balance in general, or any other type of asymmetries. The reverse lunge row checks a lot of boxes. We get to focus on single leg and single arm strength and we connect that through some contralateral core engagement. This can also turn into a power generated exercise with some balance as we do that progression of that single leg knee drive as well.

The most important strength exercises for endurance athletes are Romanian deadlifts, squats/front squats, overhead presses, Bulgarian split squats, and reverse lunge rows. These exercises focus on hip-generated power and full kinetic chain movement, helping to build core strength and stability.

https://assets.anyquestion.com/raw/upload/fzqly53koxconuuswajj.vtt

For endurance athletes, the most important strength exercises prioritize powerful hip-generated movements. These exercises are crucial because most endurance sports involve full-body movement, and a strong, activated core is essential for generating power throughout the kinetic chain. Here are some exercises that I recommend:

1. Romanian deadlift: This horizontal hip-generated exercise involves drawing the hips backward to engage the hamstrings eccentrically. Then, driving the hips forward with a neutral spine, ending in an upright position. It's particularly beneficial for forward-focused exercises like running.

2. Squat or front squat: These vertically hip-generated exercises involve lowering the hips and then driving them upward. Progressing to an overhead press adds a full kinetic chain element to the exercise. For an added challenge, try a single-arm overhead press that incorporates rotation and emphasizes the leg being driven through.

3. Bulgarian split squat: This exercise requires more stability and balance compared to traditional squats or lunges. As most of the work is done by the front leg, it provides an opportunity to identify muscular imbalances, assess overall balance, and spot any asymmetries between legs.

4. Reverse lunge row: This exercise targets single-leg and single-arm strength while engaging contralateral core muscles. It can also be progressed into a power-generated exercise with balance by incorporating a knee drive on each leg.

By incorporating these strength exercises into their training routine, endurance athletes can improve their overall performance and reduce the risk of injuries associated with imbalances or weaknesses in their kinetic chain.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

The Best Advice: Don't Follow the Crowd

The best advice I've ever received is do not follow the crowd. In life, don't follow the crowd. And what that means is think for yourself. Make decisions that are in your best interest. If you follow the crowd, you're disempowering your actions. You're not critically thinking about what's best for you. Now, if you don't follow the crowd, you can take a breath and say, what decision do I need to make that's in my best interest? And now you're creating a sense of agency. And you can make a decision that's based on your own personal convictions. And once you do that, you can take responsibility for your decisions, which is one of the most important things, because regardless of the result of your decisions, whether it's a positive or quote unquote negative thing, you can learn and grow because you're taking responsibility. You're taking ownership of your actions, something that you can lose if you follow the crowd and you start blaming the crowd. Now, this advice was given from my father. Quick little story about my father. Born in Europe in 1942 during World War II. Middle child, older brother, younger sister. We were Jews escaping the wrath of Nazi Germany. And after the war, we were put in my family's DP camps in Germany and they came to America in 1949. My dad was seven. Soon as he got to America, became a shoe shine boy. Going to bars, shining shoes, seven years old, 10 o'clock at night and making some money. And the biggest thing that he told me besides not following the crowd is that having the opportunity to make decisions, having that freedom is a huge privilege. And having the opportunity to fail and grow from that, a huge privilege. And it's a shame to let that opportunity slot. So we're all, or most of us who have this opportunity are incredibly lucky and you have to seize that.

The best advice I've ever received is to not follow the crowd and think for yourself. Making decisions based on your own convictions and taking responsibility for those decisions is an incredibly lucky privilege that should not be wasted.

https://assets.anyquestion.com/raw/upload/i3uy47zyldymw6bxzwpn.vtt

The best advice I've ever received is to not follow the crowd. This means thinking for yourself and making decisions that are in your best interest. By not following the crowd, you empower your actions and critically consider what's best for you. It allows you to create a sense of agency and make decisions based on your own convictions. Taking responsibility for your decisions is crucial, regardless of the outcome. Learning and growth come from owning your actions, something that can be lost if you blame others or follow the crowd. This advice came from my father, who shared his own story of escaping Nazi Germany during World War II. He emphasized the privilege of having the freedom to make decisions and the opportunity to fail and learn from it. It's a shame to let such opportunities go to waste, so we must seize them with gratitude.

Do planks help increase shoulder strength?

Planks: The Key to Strengthening Shoulder Joints!

The planks increase shoulder strength. They definitely help strengthen the joint. The shoulder joint moves so fluidly and the plank does put you in a static position so there are some things that you can do to stabilize the joint more. Shoulder power and shoulder strength, you're going to want to do some, you can do a lot of heavy weights and work through the ranges. However, just to work on some plank stuff, just to give you some plank options, some things you can do is some scapular planks where you're pushing through the scapula to work on your serratus, I really like these. You can also do some shoulder taps. It's also going to strengthen your core too, which is super important when you're strengthening your shoulders is to connect it to the core, so I like those. One thing you can do to get a little bit of the posterior part of your shoulders is do some trunk rotation and squeeze the shoulder blades or open up. You can do that with a weight as well, just like so, opening up. But yeah, there's tons you can do, but those are some ways that you can strengthen your shoulder joint through plank.

Planks can help strengthen the shoulder joint by doing subscapular planks, shoulder taps, trunk rotation, and squeezing/opening up with a weight.

https://assets.anyquestion.com/raw/upload/p1noju57ck3iiy89sibd.vtt

Planks can indeed help increase shoulder strength by strengthening the joint. While the shoulder joint is known for its fluid movement, planks provide a static position that allows for stabilization of the joint. To further enhance shoulder power and strength, incorporating additional exercises can be beneficial.

For plank variations that target the shoulders, consider scapular planks where you focus on pushing through the scapula to engage the serratus muscles. Shoulder taps can also be effective in strengthening the shoulders while engaging the core. It's important to connect shoulder strengthening exercises with core exercises for optimal results.

To target the posterior part of the shoulders, trunk rotations with shoulder blade squeezes can be performed. This exercise can be done with or without weights, focusing on opening up the shoulder blades.

While there are various exercises to strengthen the shoulder joint, incorporating these plank variations can be a valuable addition to your routine.

How do you help athletes stay focused and motivated during the long-term training process and avoid burnout?

Avoid burnout and keep athletes motivated: the key to long-term success.

How do you help athletes stay focused and motivated during the long-term training process and avoid burnout? Let's talk about the burnout first. You know, if this isn't working with your lifestyle as an athlete, especially an age group athlete, then it's a recipe for burnout. There's too much training or there's too much life going on, something's going to give and it tends to be the training. So first thing is if we want to avoid burnout, we have to make sure that the training load or duration or frequency is working with this person's life. The motivation part is all about, you know, we always go back to the why. You know, why are we doing this? And there's two reasons. There's two main reasons that we can look at for the why. The you know, the personal growth, the lessons we learn every day during the training, and then the goals. And even with the goals, we have to ask why? What kind of catharsis are we looking for? What type of, you know, what are we looking for in terms of success? And we can keep asking the why and go deeper and deeper, but the motivation is super important about that. We have to create context to each workout, whether that be the strength bike workout is the why to make you stronger, to get you to your bigger goal. There always has to be context. So applying context to each workout is super important and helps with motivation. And also, giving a little break here and there too. You know, if we're doing a long-term training process and we're finding that we're getting close to burnout, that means that we may have to adjust the training process. So it depends on the athlete, and one of the things that we really have to focus on that most good coaches do is communication and talking to the athlete and understand what's going on.

To help athletes stay focused and motivated during a long-term training process and avoid burnout, it is important to ensure the training load or duration or frequency is compatible with the athlete's lifestyle. Motivation can be increased by creating context to each workout, such as understanding how it will help them achieve their goals. Additionally, communication between the coach and athlete is essential to understand what is going on and if any adjustments need to be made.

https://assets.anyquestion.com/raw/upload/blncn1urpxodnsglds6e.vtt

To help athletes stay focused, motivated, and avoid burnout during long-term training, there are a few key strategies to consider. First, it's important to address the risk of burnout by ensuring that the training load, duration, and frequency align with the athlete's lifestyle. Finding the right balance is crucial to prevent overwhelming training demands.

For motivation, it's essential to continuously revisit the why behind the training. This involves exploring both personal growth and the goals the athlete has set. By understanding the deeper reasons and desired outcomes, motivation can be sustained. It's also helpful to create context for each workout, connecting it to the larger goal or purpose. This context provides meaning and helps maintain motivation.

Additionally, incorporating occasional breaks into the training process can be beneficial. Recognizing signs of potential burnout and adjusting the training accordingly is important for long-term success. Communication plays a vital role in this process, as coaches need to regularly engage with athletes, listen to their concerns, and understand what they are experiencing.

By considering these strategies, coaches can support athletes in staying focused, motivated, and avoiding burnout throughout their long-term training journey.

What are your opinions on “knees over toes” guy?

Knees Over Toes Guy: Extreme but Convincing Approach to Strengthening Knees

What's your opinion on the knees over toes guy? I like him. His social media can come off being extreme because the movements he does is impressive, but they're extreme, they're catching your attention. However, the narrative that he's pushing is not extreme. You know, he talks about a lot of like eccentric knee flexion work and things like that. He's really big on the sled. And it's all about, you know, a very standard linear progression of, you know, increasing resistance to make your knees stronger. And he's doing a lot through a lot of quad strength and a lot of hip flexor mobility. So it's nothing crazy. You know, he preaches it, I believe him. I think he lives his life with a lot of conviction. He's not trying to sell things as much as he is, he's trying to just, you know, spread his narrative, which is not crazy. He's just catching people's attention with some extreme movements. So I'm all for it. And in general, the knees over toes, don't push your knees over your toes narrative is, you know, it's being, it's outdated at this point, you know, and it's okay to do it. It's just understanding what your body's capable of doing first and making sure that you're not putting it in any type of compromise spot or vulnerability.

I like the knees over toes guy because he preaches a standard linear progression with increasing resistance to make your knees stronger. He's not trying to sell things as much as he is trying to spread his narrative which is not crazy, but he catches people's attention with extreme movements. It's okay to do it, but it's important to understand what your body is capable of doing first.

https://assets.anyquestion.com/raw/upload/l3odvvoraevijvr1ywrb.vtt

What are your thoughts on the knees over toes guy? Personally, I like him. While his social media may come across as extreme due to the impressive and attention-grabbing movements he showcases, the narrative he promotes is not extreme. He emphasizes eccentric knee flexion work and focuses on exercises like sled work to progressively increase resistance and strengthen the knees. He also emphasizes quad strength and hip flexor mobility, which are not uncommon concepts.

I believe in his message and appreciate his conviction in living by it. He's not primarily trying to sell products but rather spreading his narrative, which is not outlandish. The extreme movements he demonstrates are simply a way to catch people's attention.

In general, the notion of avoiding knees going over toes is outdated. It's okay to allow your knees to go over your toes, as long as you understand your body's capabilities and avoid compromising its position or vulnerability.

Overall, I support the knees over toes guy and believe in the importance of understanding and respecting our body's abilities while working towards knee strength and mobility.

Swimming

Triathlon

Photography

Track & Field

Nutrition

Physical Therapy

Running

Pets

Cycling

Podcasting

HealthCare

Musculoskeletal

Hockey

First Responders

Integrative Medicine

Chiropractic

Cross Country Skiing

Adaptive Sports

Mental Health

Surfing

Climbing

Tennis

Military

Mind Body

Scholars

Criminal Justice

Liquor

Golf

CrossFit

Soccer

Pickleball

Hunting

Public Speaking

Venture Capital

Program Design

Injury Prevention

Strength Training

Gear & Equipment

Coach Advice

Opinions & Insights

Ben Kessel graduated from SUNY Buffalo with a degree in Personal Health & Wellness Training. He is a certified Strength & Conditioning Coach, ISSA Certified Fitness Trainer, and Specialist in Performance Nutrition. He is a USAT Level II coach & USATF coach and has attended continuing education intensives at the Olympic Training Center. He offers strength & conditioning, endurance sports coaching, and running analysis. He actively participates in triathlons and endurance sports, is the official Strength and Conditioning coach of the Brooklyn Tri Club, and has qualified for Team USA 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023. He is an Ironman finisher and has won multiple local races overall. He has led seminars and written articles on Strength & Conditioning, Triathlon, and general wellness.

Neither AnyQuestion nor its Experts provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment or otherwise provide professional healthcare services.

Benjamin Kessel