As a strength and conditioning coach, all that matters is the results you deliver to your athletes. Considering no two athletes are the same, it is reasonable to assume that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to training. If we want to become capable of solving any strength and conditioning problem an athlete may face, we must keep an open mind and use all of the tools at our disposal.
Ideally, an athlete should be rolling into the training week feeling adequately recovered and ready to handle some heavy weights. This week, we will work up to our first max-effort single attempt of the four-week PR training plan. This week will test an athlete's most significant weakness in the bench press.
At Westside, much demand is placed on the shoulders every week. For an athlete to remain trainable, they must put in the work necessary to build the muscles that support the shoulder. Training the larger muscle groups of the shoulder isn't tough to do. We can accomplish that with any regular barbell or dumbbell.
The question then becomes, how can we best improve the strength and durability of the four smaller muscles that make up the rotator cuff? The answer is simple, the Earthquake Bar, commonly known as the bamboo bar.
