bulletproof back – master manual - amazon s3 · 2019-02-27 · welcome to the bulletproof back...

Training Guide

Training Guide

Copyright © 2019 by Mixed Martial Media Inc. – All Rights Reserved. No part of

this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without

express written permission of Eric Wong or Mixed Martial Media Inc.

Published by: Mixed Martial Media Inc.

1139 College Street, 1st Floor

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

M6H 1B5

E-mail: [email protected]

Web: www.precisionmovement.coach

This program is designed to improve your fitness. Not cure cancer, gonorrhea, or

any other disease you may have. While a lot of time and effort has been invested

in making this program as effective and safe as possible, you may still hurt

yourself while doing it. You may even die. While both are unlikely, if either

happens, it’s not my fault. It could’ve been just the trigger for something that’s

been hanging around for a while, waiting to come out. That’s why before starting

any exercise program, including this one, you may want to get cleared by your

doctor. If you have any weird symptoms like dizziness, pain in your left arm,

forgetfulness, or anything else that’s not normal, stop and seek medical help. If

you choose not to obtain the consent of your physician and/or work with your

physician throughout the duration of your time using the recommendations in the

program, you are agreeing to accept full responsibility for your actions. I don’t

know what the law says if your doctor is fat and unhealthy, though, in which case

you may want to get a new doctor. You can’t give what you don’t have! This is my

legal disclaimer as well as a tidbit of sound advice.

Disclaimer

There is always a risk of injury when performing any type of exercise. You must

consult with your physician prior to beginning any exercise program or if you have

any medical condition or injury that contraindicates physical activity. If you

experience any light-headedness, dizziness, or shortness of breath while

exercising, stop the movement and consult a physician. The exercise information

is not meant to provide any medical advice; it is for educational purposes only. No

liability is assumed by Mixed Martial Media Inc. for any of the information

contained herein.

Training Guide

Table of Contents

Introduction ........................................................................................................... 4

Mobility and Developmental Exercises .............................................................................. 6

Movement Pattern Based Training .................................................................................... 8

How to Use the Tracking and Progression Log .............................................................. 10

Corrective Phase ................................................................................................. 16

Overview .............................................................................................................................. 16

Mobility and Developmental Exercises ............................................................................ 22

Day 1 ..................................................................................................................................... 24

Day 2 ..................................................................................................................................... 25

Foundation Phase ............................................................................................... 26

Overview .............................................................................................................................. 26


Day 1 ..................................................................................................................................... 32

Day 2 ..................................................................................................................................... 33

3D Strength Phase .............................................................................................. 35

Overview .............................................................................................................................. 35


Day 1 ..................................................................................................................................... 38

Day 2 ..................................................................................................................................... 39

BULLETPROOF Phase ......................................................................................... 41

Overview .............................................................................................................................. 41


Day 1 ..................................................................................................................................... 46

Day 2 ..................................................................................................................................... 47

Training Guide

Introduction

Welcome to the Bulletproof Back Training Guide!

By following this program, you’re about to leave your back pain behind for

good.

Most therapy options will only bring you back to your previous level and won’t

improve your condition over and above what you were like before pain.

Some may even make your back pain worse and more frequent!

This program is different.

It’s designed to take you from having regular bouts of pain towards successful

management and ultimately elimination of your back pain.

I consider each and everyone an athlete, even if you don’t play an organized

sport.

If you’ve got kids and you want to keep up with them, you’re an athlete.

If you put groceries into your car, you’re an athlete.

These tasks require certain levels of strength and stability and if it’s missing,

you’ll get hurt.

The Bulletproof Back Training Program develops your body so that it’s ready

for anything that you want to throw at it – from simple tasks of daily living to

sports like MMA or soccer.

The program is divided into 4 different phases that build on the phase

preceding it so that your body develops in a progressive fashion before being

exposed to more advanced and challenging methods and exercises.

Each phase includes 2 workouts (Day 1 and Day 2) that you alternate between.

Training Guide

It’s recommended that you perform 3 workouts per week, but you can also

drop this down to 2 workouts per week if you feel like you’re overtraining.

However, the volume and intensity of each workout is carefully prescribed so

that overtraining doesn’t happen.

Training Guide

Mobility and Developmental Exercises

Each phase also includes a specific mobility and developmental routine that I

recommend you perform daily, but at the very least, before each workout.

Feel free to split this routine up into 2 parts if you can’t do it all at once – there

are a lot of exercises in each routine, but once you know them, you’ll be able to

go through them all in around 10 minutes.

The mobility routine works on improving the mobility of the specific joints and

movements that are often a source of back pain and tissue damage.

Hip and thoracic mobility will be focused on here.

Part of mobility training is making sure the right muscles are firing, that means

that activation exercises are also included.

Specifically, the glutes, scapular retractors and deep stabilizer muscles of the

spine will be activated through these exercises, which will help them work

when they’re needed during the workouts.

The developmental routine is a set of exercises that train motor patterns that

are ingrained in the central nervous system.

The specific developmental exercise categories are crawling, twisting and

rolling, left-right brain integration exercises, star exercises and coordination

exercises.

I learned the concept of developmental exercises from Paul Chek and have

been very successful at using them to help my clients and athletes wake up

sleepy muscles.

Training these developmental movement patterns helps your central nervous

system recruit deep stabilizer muscles that are often inhibited in people with

back pain.

Training Guide

The central nervous system (CNS) is the master controller and by using these

special developmental exercises, we’re basically resetting the master

controller.

We can then tell the CNS it exactly what we need with the more advanced core

stability exercises and methods.

Here’s a table outlining each category of developmental exercises and the

progression of each category:

Diaphragmatic

breathing

Lower ab co-

ordination Twist & roll

1) Supine

2) 4-point

3) Sitting

4) Standing

1) Level 1 & 2

2) Level 3

3) Level 4

4) Level 4 – straight

legs

1) Clamshell roll

2) Hip & pelvis

integrator

3) Upper body twist

4) Shoulder threading

Star exercises Crawling L/R brain integration

1) Alternating superman

SB

2) Reverse hypers SB

3) Superman SB

4) Seated posture trainer

SB

1) Prone knee-to-

armpit

2) Infant crawl

3) Bear walk

4) Prone bridge

crawler

1) Supine cross crawl

2) Horse stance

dynamic

3) Standing cross

crawl

4) Lateral woodchop

Training Guide

Movement Pattern-Based Training

There are over 600 skeletal muscles in the human body.

Each joint in your body is surrounded by many different

muscles that are attached at varying angles, each having

different functions such as movement or stability.

So if you attempt to work every muscle in your body

equally like a bodybuilder, you might need to get your

Ph.D. in anatomy before starting your exercise program!

Training like a bodybuilder also requires you to exercise

more frequently (5-6 days/week) than most people with

their busy schedules can manage.

Thus, for those who try to follow a bodybuilding routine

but only workout 2-4 days a week, the routine will not

produce the desired results.

In contrast, if you exercise focusing on movement patterns and full-body

routines, you can exercise 3 days/week and achieve your health and fitness

goals.

Six basic movement patterns exist:

1. Push

2. Pull

3. Lunge

4. Squat

5. Bend

6. Twist

If your exercise program contains all of these movement patterns, you can be

sure to be working all of the muscles in your body the way they were designed

to work.

Depending on the movement, some muscles will function as prime movers,

while others will work as stabilizers.

Training Guide

For example, the Reverse Lunge requires you to use your quads, glutes,

hamstrings, and calves as prime movers, as well as all of the joints around the

ankle, knee, hip, and core as stabilizers.

If you’re holding dumbbells, you’re also training your forearms and shoulders

as stabilizers as well. So how can this simply be a ‘leg’ exercise?

Regardless of what muscle is working when, your body is designed for

movement, so if your training is focused on moving your body correctly

through proper choice of exercises and attention to perfect technique, you’ll

be training the muscles in a balanced fashion to improve your movement.

This is the essence of what functional exercise is all about – not standing on a

BOSU ball while juggling 5 pound dumbbells!

In addition to the primary movement patterns, any exercise where movement

only occurs at one joint I consider to be an accessory movement, e.g. Bicep

curls, Lateral dumbbell raises, and Tricep extensions.

You’ll be performing exercises predominantly from the six fundamental

movement patterns, but you’ll also perform some accessory movements.

See the chart on the following page for examples of exercises for each

fundamental movement pattern and how they relate to everyday life.

Training Guide

The 6 Fundamental Movement Patterns

Push

Overhead barbell press

Givi

ng a

kid

an

airpl

ane

ride

Pull Mid-cable row

Opening a door

Lunge Forward

alternati

ng lunge

Walki

ng up

stairs

Squat Back barbell squats

Sitting down on a chair

Bend Stiff-leg deadlift

Picking something up from

ground

Training Guide

Twist

Cable woodchop

Swinging a golf club

Training Guide

How to Use the Tracking and Progression Log

The first chart you’ll see is the workout chart. It looks like the following:

PUSH COMPLEX

Exercise Reps Tempo Intensity Rest Sets

A1) Bench 3 – 4 2 0 X -1 RM 2 – 4

Exercise, reps, and sets should be familiar to you by now. For tempo, intensity,

and rest, here’s how it’s used in this program:

Reps – the number of times you perform the movement, for this example, 3-4

reps means you lift the weight 3 or 4 times, then stop, this equals 1 set

Tempo – the pace of the movement or amount of time to hold a static exercise

• 2 0 2 – lower the weight over 2 sec (eccentric), no pause at bottom,

lift weight over 2 sec (concentric); if you see an ‘x’ that means you do

the rep as fast as possible

• 1 2 X – lower the weight over 1 sec, pause at the bottom for 2 sec, lift

the weight as explosively as possible

• X 0 X – lower the weight quickly (don’t slow it down), no pause at

bottom, lift the weight as explosively as possible

• Hold x s – Hold the exercise for ‘x’ number of seconds

Intensity – the amount of weight to use or time to work for the exercise

• -1 RM – stop when you feel like you have one more rep left in perfect

form; for these prescriptions, it’ll take you 1 workout to figure out

about how much weight equals a -1 RM, then you’ll know after that

and can adjust during the set depending on how you feel

• -2 RM – stop when you feel like you have two more perfect reps left

• BW – body weight exercise

• % 1 RM –your 1 rep-max multiplied by the % given

Rest - amount of time to rest in between sets

•

60 s – if you see a down arrow, it means proceed to the next

exercise without resting, once you see the right arrow, rest for the

Training Guide

amount of time shown then go back to the first exercise in the

sequence (superset or circuit techniques)

The # of reps, sets, and tempo you use each workout changes from

session to session and is outlined in the tracking and progression log, so

make sure that you look at the Tracking and Progression log for each

workout’s details.

The # of sets you do is in grey in the box corresponding to the exercise

prescribed.

Training Guide

Choosing Intensity

For some exercises, the Intensity column is left blank. If you see this, it means

that you just choose a weight where you can perform the outlined # of reps in

perfect form, but the set is still challenging.

Here’s an example of how to use the Tracking and Progression log properly

and progress from the previous workout using the example:

PUSH COMPLEX


1) Bench 3 – 4 2 0 X -1 RM 2 – 4

TRACKING and PROGRESSION LOG

# Date: Aug 30 # Date: # Date: # Date:

1 3 4 2

185 175 175

1 4 4 3

185 175 175

1 4 sets

1 3 sets

Here’s how the exercise went down:

1. First set for 3 reps at 185 lbs. Athlete felt he wouldn’t hit the 3-4 range so

dropped the weight for the next set.

2. Second set for 4 reps at 175 lbs. Athlete might’ve been able to squeeze

out 5 reps, but stopped at 4 because that’s the prescribed rep range.

3. Third set for 2 reps at 175 lbs. Athlete felt he’d get the 3 – 4 reps as

outlined, but felt like he was losing form so stopped at 2.

So for the next workout, he can do the first 2 sets exactly the same, then aim

for 3 reps for the third set. This would signal progress.

You may or may not improve every workout, since the body will take time to

adapt and keep the new level of strength and other factors such as stress,

sleep, and nutrition will affect your energy and performance.

Training Guide

If you make an improvement in one workout, at the very least aim to maintain

that improvement in your next workout.

Training Guide

Corrective Phase

Overview

1. Establish neuromuscular pathways and kinesthetic awareness of key

stabilizing muscles of the spine including the transverse abdominis,

multifidus, glutes, lumbar extensors, obliques, and rectus abdominis.

2. Correct muscular imbalances and postural dysfunctions.

3. Deload the spine to allow for optimal healing and repair by removing

axial loading.

4. Train the thoracolumbar fascia by strengthen the lats and glutes.

5. Establish perfect technique in two key movement patterns affecting

back health: the Lunge and Bend.

The Corrective Phase is designed to fix, or at least begin the process of fixing

the problems that, if left unaddressed, will result in you continuing to

experience back pain for the rest of your life.

So if you’re of the ‘no pain, no gain’ mindset, or you’re used to pushing yourself

to the limits in your workouts all the time, this phase will be difficult to stick to.

But it’s vitally important that you do stick to it, as it creates the foundation for

the rest of the Bulletproof Back Training Program.

Now, we’ll delve into the background behind this phase and help you

understand exactly how this phase works to set you up for a life free from back

pain.

Training Guide

1. Establish Neuromuscular Pathways and Kinesthetic Awareness

Point #1 uses some big fancy words and terms

that you may be unfamiliar with.

Here’s the breakdown in plain English: what

you’ll be doing is creating new connections

between your brain and the key stabilizer

muscles of your spine (neuromuscular

pathways), and you’ll learn to feel these muscles

as they work (kinesthetic awareness).

Sounds simple?

Not so fast.

Many of these exercises will take time to perform correctly. Many of them may

look like you’re doing them right, but often, the proper muscles won’t be

working.

You’ll learn full details in the instructional videos, but one thing to note is that

the exercises specifically for the deep stabilizing muscles of the spine, such as

the TvA Activations and

Horse Stance Vertical are difficult to feel at first, but you must not try to

squeeze these muscles like you squeeze your biceps.

Doing so will cause the bigger, more superficial muscles to activate as you’ve

already created these neuromuscular connections and they’ll try to take over,

keeping the key stabilizers asleep.

Instead, focus on maintaining perfect alignment and a slight contraction

through the muscles, and as you repeat the movements over time, both the

pathways and your awareness will grow.

Training Guide

2. Correct Muscular Imbalances and Postural Dysfunctions

During the Corrective Phase, you’ll aggressively be working at your muscular

imbalances and postural dysfunctions to get you back in alignment and to stop

you from looking like a primate!

Stretching will play a big role in fixing you up, but you won’t just be doing

standard static stretches, you’ll also perform some contract-relax stretching to

target the nervous system and tendons, two components that static stretching

doesn’t do as good a job at addressing.

In my experience, most active people don’t stretch at all, and for those who do,

many of them don’t do the proper stretches for their body – they stick to the

ones they like.

Based on the results of your physical assessment, you’ll be performing

stretches that are tailored to your individual needs, so stick with them and

you’ll be back in balance in no time.

If you don’t, think of what happens to a car whose alignment is off – the tires

will wear out prematurely. Well think of your joints as your tires; if your

muscles are out of alignment, your joints will wear out early, so make this

component a priority.

Training Guide

3. Deload the Spine

This is a very important component of this initial phase to facilitate healing and

repair of the tissues and structures in your spine.

All people who have back pain have some type of damage in their spine,

whether it’s the vertebrae, intervertebral discs, nerves, muscles, ligaments or

fascia – something is damaged, which is why it hurts.

But regardless of what hurts, for healing to occur, you’ve got to make sure that

there are no excessive forces going through the damaged tissues, otherwise

healing can’t take place.

That’s why you’ll be eliminating axial loading of the spine during this phase by

removing all exercises with a bar on your shoulders or free weights in your

hands, as well as all seated exercises, as compressive forces are greatest in

these exercises and positions. In a study by Nachemson, sitting was shown to

produce 40% more compression on the lumbar spine vs. standing!

4. Train the Thoracolumbar Fascia by Strengthening the Lats and Glutes

Many traditional back pain programs fail to include exercises for one of the

most important components of a stable back – the thoracolumbar fascia (TLF).

Training Guide

The TLF is a very strong tissue that attaches directly to the lumbar spine. It’s

also an important area as it connects the lower body to the upper body.

Without strong fascia, forces generated by the glutes and lats that will provide

stability to your spine will be lost.

Training Guide

5. Establish Perfect Lunge and Bend Movement Patterns

These two movement patterns are the most important ones to start with when

working to correct back problems.

The Lunge is key because when you perform it correctly, your glutes are

working in a dynamic, functional movement, and to get a full range of motion,

you must have sufficient flexibility through the hip flexors – two important

factors in back health.

The first exercise we’ll use to restore your Bend movement pattern is the Stiff-

leg Deadlift (SLD). The SLD trains your ability to maintain a neutral spine

through activation of the low back muscles, glutes, and hamstrings during hip

flexion (bending over).

Being able to perform the SLD properly serves as your foundation for

performing many other exercises, including conventional Deadlifts, Squats,

and Bent-over Rows, as well as many movements in your everyday life, such as

lifting things from the floor and washing your face!

We’re going to stick with bodyweight movements for these two movement

patterns to keep the load on the spine low and make sure your body is in

alignment and you have perfect technique before adding weights.

Well there you have the rationale behind the Corrective Phase, hopefully this

has got you motivated to stick to the program, even though you may be used

to hard training and intense workouts.

By sticking to this program, you’ll be able to play sports or train as hard as you

want in the future, so enough talk, get to it!

Training Guide

Corrective Phase Mobility and Developmental Exercises

The Corrective Phase Mobility and Flexibility Program is designed to get your

body back in balance, activate key stabilizer muscles, and develop proper

movement patterns in the key movements affecting back pain.

We’ll be starting each Mobility program with a brisk walk that you can do either

outdoors, on the treadmill, or around the gym if you don’t mind looking a little

cuckoo.

Walking helps in 2 ways: it activates the deep core muscles of the spine

including the transverse abdominis and multifidis, and it helps to bring blood

flow to the lumbar region.

For it to be effective, you must keep a brisk pace (no need to power walk

though) and you MUST swing your arms – the arm swing causes the increased

deep core muscle activation and concurrent blood flow increase to facilitate

healing of damaged tissues.

Exercise Repetitions / Duration

1) Supine deep breathing 10 x 4 seconds in, 4 seconds out

2) Brisk walk (treadmill,

outdoors) 5 minutes

3) Cat / Camel 5 cycles

4) Hamstring wall stretch 1 x 30 s per

5) Lunge stretch 1 x 20 s per

6) Standing calf stretch 1 x 20 s per

7) Deep core activations (Level

1/2)

Level 1 = 10 reps x 5 sec hold

Level 2 = 10 reps per leg

8) Clamshell roll 10 per side

9) Alternating superman on SB 3 per side x 5 sec hold

10) Prone knee-to-armpit 10 per side

11) Horse stance vertical 3 x 10 s per

Training Guide

12) Supine cross crawl 10 per

13) Hip extensions 10-20 x 2 s hold

14) Shoulder blade pinches 10 x 2 s hold

15) Stiff-leg deadlifts

(bodyweight) 2 sets x 10 reps, 20 sec rest

Training Guide

Corrective Exercise Program Day 1


1) Wide grip pulldown 8 – 12 Control -1 RM 60-90 s 2 – 4

2) Split squat Up to 15

per Control -1 RM 60-90 s 2 – 4

3) Pushups Up to 15 2 0 2 -1 RM 60-90 s 2 – 4

4) Supermans on SB 3 – 5 per Hold 10 s ~ 30 s 2

5) Forward ball roll 6 – 10 Hold 5 s ~ 30 s 2

6) Foot on ball bridge 1 – 5 Hold 10-60 s ~ 30 s 2

TRACKING and PROGRESSION LOG – Workouts #1-3

# MM / DD MM / DD MM / DD

1 3 sets 4 sets 2 sets



4 3 reps per 3 reps per 4 reps per

5 6 reps 7 reps 8 reps

6 5 reps x 10 s hold 3 reps x 20 s hold 3 reps x 20 s hold








6 2 reps x 30 s hold 1 rep x 60 s hold 1 rep x 60 s hold

Training Guide

Corrective Exercise Program Day 2


1) Seated row 12 – 15 Control -1 RM 60 s 2 – 4

A2) Reverse lunge Up to 20

per Control BW only 2 – 4

A3) Tricep cable

pushdown 12 – 15 Control -1 RM 60-90 s 2 – 4

4) Hip extension on SB 6 – 10 Hold 5 s ~ 30 s 2 – 3

5) Side bridges 1 – 5 Hold 10-60 s ~ 30 s 2

6) Forward ball roll 6 – 10 Hold 5 s ~ 30 s 2

















Training Guide

Foundation Phase

Overview

1. Introduce exercises that load the spine axially

2. Progress one-dimensional core stability exercise difficulty, strength, and

endurance

3. Introduce exercises that require multi-dimensional and dynamic core

stability

4. Begin strengthening Squat, Bend, and Lunge movement patterns

The Corrective Phase was designed to promote healing of the tissues in and

around the spine and develop the neuromuscular pathways and strength of

the deep core muscles which are dormant in people with back pain.

The Foundation Phase is the first phase where you begin the process of

bulletproofing your back.

1. Introduce Exercises that Load the Spine Axially

Because the Corrective Phase was designed for optimal healing, no exercises

that loaded the spine axially were included.

Axial loading is anything where your spine is vertical (sitting or standing) and

you’re either holding on to weights in your hands or you’ve got a barbell on

your back.

Now that you’ve deloaded the spine for 4 weeks, you’re ready to reintroduce

these types of exercises.

However, you won’t be shocking the spine by working on heavy exercises right

away, instead, we’re choosing exercises that will reintroduce axial loading

more gradually, before getting back to heavy exercises like Squats and

Deadlifts.

Training Guide

2. Progress One-Dimensional Core Stability Exercises

Now that you’ve developed the neuromuscular pathways and kinesthetic

awareness (feel) of the deep muscles, you’ll be progressing the strength and

endurance of these muscles with more challenging exercises.

The various methods of progression that you’ll use in this phase include

decreasing the base of support (one leg vs two), using an unstable surface like

a Swiss ball, increasing the duration of holds, and adding weight.

Training Guide

3. Introduce Multi-Dimensional and Dynamic Core Stability Exercises

You’ll also start exercises that require multi-dimensional core stability versus

stability in just one plane. Remember how there are 3 primary planes of

motion of the body, as shown in the diagram below:

An example is the 1-leg foot on ball bridge – with only one leg on the ball, your

hips want to rotate, and it’s up to the deep core muscles and posterior chain

(lumbar extensors, glutes, hamstrings) to provide you with the rotational

stability you need to hold the exercise in proper form.

This is all on top of needing to maintain proper alignment by pushing your hips

up – requiring two dimensions of core stability.

4. Begin Strengthening Squat, Bend, and Lunge Movement Patterns

There were 3 reasons why we didn’t work on strengthening these movement

patterns during the Corrective Phase:

1. They all require axial loading

2. They all require stability from the deep core muscles

3. They are the exercises that contribute the most to chronic back pain

Training Guide

We just spoke about #1.

For #2, now that you’re able to use your deep core muscles to provide your

body with stability, you’ll work on integrating their use during each of the

major movement patterns: squat, bend, lunge, push, and pull.

Finally – the Squat, Bend, and Lunge movement patterns are the movements

that most people with back pain perform improperly, either because they

learned poor exercise technique, or their bodies weren’t mobile enough to

ever do them properly in the first place.

The mobility and flexibility programs are designed to restore your body’s ability

to execute the movements properly, while the exercise videos will give you all

the coaching and cues you need to perform the movements in perfect form.

So pay close attention to the videos and be sure to focus on perfect technique

throughout the set and once you feel that break in form, stop the set and write

down how many reps you got.

Also be sure to notice the prescription of -2 RM intensity – this means you

should stop well 2 reps short of losing form. The first time you do the exercise,

you won’t know, but after that, you should have a pretty good idea. This is to

ensure that perfect technique is maintained for every rep.

Remember – practice doesn’t make perfect – PERFECT PRACTICE makes

perfect!

Training Guide

Foundation Phase Mobility and Flexibility Program

The Foundation Phase Mobility and Flexibility Program is designed to progress

the work done during the Corrective Phase and more aggressively address the

psoas/rectus femoris muscle group, the hip addctors (groin), and the

piriformis.

You did not aggressively work these areas in the Corrective Phase because

when tight, they provide stability to the lumbar spine.

During a healing phase, tightness around the area is desired so that episodes

of instability don’t occur and set you back further.

That’s why when you throw your back out, all the muscles around your back

and hips tighten up – to keep the spine from moving so that no further

damage occurs.

But, because you’ve gone through a healing phase, the tissues should be on

their way towards recovery and the deep muscles will be primed and ready to

make sure no future damage occurs, so you can now work on restoring

optimal mobility.


1) 4-point deep breathing 10 x 4 sec in, 4 sec out

2) Brisk walk (treadmill, outdoors) 5 minutes

3) Groin stretch on SB 1 x 20 s per

4) Lunge stretch on SB 1 x 20 s per

5) Figure 4 stretch on SB/wall 1 x 20 s per

6) Hip & pelvis integrator 5 – 10 per

7) Deep core activations (Level 3) 10 reps per

8) Infant crawling 30 – 50 steps

9) Horse stance dynamic 10 per

10) Leg swings 10 per

11) Shoulder stick mobilization 10 per

Training Guide

12) Reverse hypers on SB 10

13) 1-leg Stiff-leg deadlift 10 per

14) Prone cobra 3 reps x 10 s hold/2 s

down

15) 1-leg hip extensions 10-20 reps x 2 s hold per

16) Reverse lunge + reach 10 per

Training Guide

Foundation Phase – Day 1

Exercise Reps Tempo Intensity Rest Sets A1) Chinup 8 – 12 Control -1 RM 2 – 4

A2) Forward squat 12 – 15 Control -2 RM 60-90 s 2 – 4

3) DB press on SB 8 – 12 Control -1 RM 60-90 s 2 – 4

4) Stiff-leg deadlift 8 – 10 Control -2 RM 90 s 2 – 3

5) 1-arm DB bicep curls 8 – 10 per Control -1 RM 60 s 2 – 4

6) Horse stance horizontal 3 – 5 per Hold 10 s ~ 30 s 2

7) 1-leg foot on ball bridge 1 – 3 per Hold 10-30 s ~ 30 s 2



A1 3 sets 4 sets 3 sets






7 3 reps x 10 s hold per 3 reps x 10 s hold per 2 reps x 20 s hold per









7 2 reps x 20 s hold per 1 rep x 30 s hold per 1 rep x 30 s hold per

Training Guide

Foundation Phase - Day 2

Exercise Reps Tempo Intensit

y

Rest Sets

1) Standing Arnold press 8 – 12 Control -1 RM 60 s 3 – 5

A2) 1-arm seated cable row 8 – 12 per Control -1 RM 2 – 4

A3) Reverse DB lunges 6 – 8 per Control -1 RM 60-90 s 2 – 4

4) Dynamic prone bridge on SB 1 – 5 Hold 10-60 s ~ 30 s 3

B5) Weighted hip extension SB 6 – 8 Hold 5 s -1 RM 2 – 3

B6) 1-arm side DB raise 8 – 12 per Control -1 RM 30-60 s 2 – 3

7) Side bridge hold on SB 1 – 3 per Hold 10-45 s ~ 30 s 2







B5 2 sets 3 sets 2 sets










Training Guide



Training Guide

3D Strength Phase

Overview

1. Progress multi-dimensional and dynamic core stability exercise difficulty,

strength, and endurance

2. Introduce advanced mobility exercises

We live in a 3-dimensional world. That’s why I find most commercial gyms so

backwards – every machine and piece of equipment is designed to lock you

into a single plane of motion.

When I first started doing MMA and training fighters, it was clear that machines

and traditional bodybuilding exercises wouldn’t cut it if I wanted top physical

performance out of myself and my athletes.

So I started using exercises that work the body in 2 or all 3 planes of motion

and started getting much better results.

One of the first fighters I trained, Jeff Joslin, quickly noticed how much his

striking power improved after integrating 3D exercises.

While you may not be knocking people out for a living, you can use 3D

exercises to ensure that your core muscles are ready to stabilize your spine in

any situation.

All sports require 3-dimensional stability, even running! In sports like baseball

and golf, it’s obvious that we’re required to rotate to throw, hit, or swing the

the club.

But with running it’s not so obvious, yet still vitally important. The drive off of

one leg causes a rotational force at the hips that is counterbalanced by both

the opposite arm swing and the core muscles, otherwise your spine would be

rotating every step, causing a tremendous amount of stress to the discs,

ligaments, and vertebrae.

The 3D Strength phase is all about progression so you’ll be building off the

more basic exercises in the Foundation phase to perform more advanced

Training Guide

exercises like the 1-arm DB press on SB, T-lateral ball roll, and Forward DB

lunge and 1-arm curl.

You’ll also be building the general strength and endurance in the basic

movement patterns like the Pull, Squat and Deadlift, because as much as 3D

strength and stability is important, we can’t forget about strengthening the

major muscles of the body that do most of the brute force work in sport and

life.

Training Guide

3D Strength Phase Mobility and Flexibility Program

The 3D Strength Phase Mobility and Flexibility Program takes your mobility and

flexibility to another level through the inclusion of more advanced movements,

such as the Cossack lunge and Groiner.

Although these movements may seem simple at first glance, pay close

attention to all of the details as the details make the difference between

making an exercise effective or potentially harmful.

When you perform the Cossack lunge and Groiner, make sure that you’re not

rounding your back out to try to go deeper into the movements.

You want to go as deep as possible while still maintaining neutral spine.


1) Sitting deep breathing 10 x 4 sec in, 4 sec out

2) Brisk walking

(treadmill/outdoors) 5

3) Snow angels 20 reps

4) Chest stretch on SB 1 x 20 s per

5) Squat stretch 1 x 30 s

6) Downward calf stretch 1 x 20 s per

7) Deep core activations (Level 4) 10 reps

8) Upper body twist 5 – 10 per

9) Superman on SB Hold 1 – 2 mins

10) Bear walk 30 – 50 steps

11) Standing cross crawl 10 per

12) Cossack lunge 10 reps per

13) Prone row &rotate on incline

bench 10 reps

14) Pushups (Elbows in tight) 10 reps

15) Groiner 5 reps x 5 s hold per

16) Donkey kicks 10 reps x 2 s hold per

Training Guide

3D Strength Phase - Day 1


1) Back squat 10 – 12 Control -2 RM 60-90 s 2 – 3

A2) Woodchops 8 – 10 per Control -1 RM 2 – 4

A3) Bent over underhand

row 8 – 12 Control -2 RM 60 s 2 – 4

4) 1-arm DB press on SB 6 – 8 per Control -1 RM 60 s 2 – 4

B5) Dynamic prone bridge

SB 2 – 5

Hold 10-30

s ~ 2 – 3

B6) Leg curl on SB 8 - 15 Control ~ 60 s 2 – 3

7) Horse stance alphabet M – Z Control ~ 30 s 2







B5 2 sets x 3 reps, 10 s

hold

2 sets x 3 reps, 10 s

hold


hold

B6 2 sets x 8 reps 2 sets x 10 reps 3 sets x 10 reps

7 Up to ‘K’ Up to ‘N’ Up to ‘Q’







Training Guide

B5 2 sets x 1 rep, 30 s

hold 3 sets x 1 rep, 30 s hold 2 sets x 2 reps, 30 s hold


7 Up to ‘T’ Up to ‘W’ Up to ‘Z’

3D Strength Phase - Day 2


1) Deadlift 5 Control Ramping 60-90 s 5

A2) 1-arm kneeling Arnold press 8 – 12 per Control -1 RM 2 – 4

A3) Forward DB lunge & curl 6 – 8 per Control -1 RM 60-90 s 2 – 4

4) 1-arm DB row 8 – 10 per Control -1 RM 60 s 2 – 4

B5) T-lateral ball roll 2 per Hold 5 s ~ 2 – 4

B6) Pushups on SB 8 – 12 2 0 2 ~ 60-90 s 2 – 4

7) 1-leg side bridge 1 – 3 per Hold 10-30 s ~ 30 s 2














Training Guide






Training Guide

Bulletproof Phase

Overview

1. Train 3D core stability during explosive movements

2. Engage 3D core stability during elevated heart and respiratory rates

By working through the first 3 phases, you’ll be ready to enter the Bulletproof

Phase.

Now that you’ve developed excellent levels of stability in all planes of motion

as well as multi-dimensional and dynamic core stability, you’re ready to further

challenge your body to ensure that no matter what the situation, your back

won’t get thrown out!

1. Train 3D Core Stability During Explosive Movements

Ensuring that you’re able to maintain a neutral spine and stability through the

core during explosive exercises is what you need if you’re participating in any

sport that requires explosive movements, such as hitting a golf ball, shooting a

hockey puck, throwing your opponent in martial arts, catching some air on the

slopes and sprinting, to name a few.

But it’s not just sport that requires the ability to maintain stability of the spine –

everyday life presents challenges that might end up in a few days of immobility

if the core can’t react fast enough to stabilize.

If you’ve ever missed a step, fell on ice, tried to catch something before it fell or

lifted a heavy box into the trunk of your car, you’ve already used this quality.

Training Guide

Now, you’ll train it directly to ensure that if any situation comes up, you’re

ready for it

Training Guide

2. Engage 3D Core Stability During Elevated Heart and Respiratory Rates

The next step in bulletproofing your back is to be able to maintain core stability

while you’re breathing hard and your heart is pounding out of your chest.

Many have never worked this quality and that can leave your back at risk when

you’re working hard or tired.

As I’m sure you can imagine, this is realistic to the demands you’ll meet in most

sports and situations in your everyday life.

Even when weight training, your ability to maintain core stability through an

extended set or superset will save your back from wear and tear.

As a side benefit, you’ll also develop excellent general physical preparedness

(GPP) during this phase.

I first started working this quality with my MMA athletes. They need to be able

to maintain great control of their core even when they’re extremely tired from

a flurry of exchanges, so we’d get their heart rates and breathing up with

intervals, then immediately move to core exercises.

After doing this for a month, I noticed my own ability to control my core

muscles drastically increased, and it was after putting everything together, that

Training Guide

since the time of writing this, I’ve now been free of ANY incidents of back pain

for just over 3 years.

This includes through all of the training that I did preparing for a Brazilian Jiu-

Jitsu (grappling) tournament, learning how to surf, taking huge spills trying to

jump off ramps while snowboarding and through my current training regiment

to compete in amateur boxing.

Training Guide

BULLETPROOF Phase Mobility and Flexibility Program

The Bulletproof Phase Mobility and Flexibility Program is designed to optimize

your mobility through challenging exercises to ensure that you’ve got full range

of motion while keeping your spine in a safe, neutral position.

Pay close attention to the details of each exercise description, especially the Y-

Squats, Hindu pushups, and Cossack warrior lunge.

These exercises done properly will strengthen your body and core through

challenging movements, but if you let form slip, you’ll be straining the tissues

of the back and it can lead to further bouts of back pain, so practice picture

perfect form.


1) Standing deep breathing 10 reps x 4 sec in, 4 sec out

2) Brisk walking 5 minutes

3) Tabletop 4 reps x 5 sec

4) Lat stretch on SB 1 x 20 sec per

5) Lunge stretch on SB 1 x 30 sec per

6) Hamstring wall stretch 1 x 30 sec per

7) Deep core activations

(Level 4 – straight)

Aim for 10 reps, stop if poor

form

8) Shoulder threading 5 – 10 per

9) Seated posture trainer on SB 1 – 2 mins

10) Prone bridge crawler 10 – 20 per

11) Lateral woodchop 6 – 10 per

12) 1-leg side bridge 10 reps per

13) Y-Squats 10 reps

14) Wall slides 10 reps

15) Hindu pushups Aim for 10 reps, stop if poor

form

16) Cossack warrior lunge Aim for 10 reps per, stop if poor

form

Training Guide

Bulletproof Phase - Day 1


1) Bulgarian split squats 6 – 8 per Control -1 RM 1-2 min 2 – 4

A2) Explosive pushups 6 – 10 Control ~ 2 – 4

A3) 1-leg curl on SB 6 – 10 per Control ~ 60 s 2 – 4

4) 1-arm tripod row 8 – 10 per Control -1 RM 60 s 2 – 4

B5) High knee run on spot 30 seconds Control -1 RM 2 – 4

B6) Turkish getups 2 – 6 per Control Low 2 – 3

B7) 1-arm prone bridge on SB 1 – 2 per Hold 10-30 s ~ 60 s 2 – 3




A2 3 sets x 6 reps 4 sets x 6 reps 2 sets x 8 reps

A3 3 sets x 6 reps per 4 sets x 6 reps per 2 sets x 8 reps per


B5 2 sets 3 3 sets


B7 2 sets x 2 reps, 10 s

hold


hold 3 sets x 1 rep, 20 s hold




A2 4 sets x 8 reps 2 sets x 10 reps 3 sets x 10 reps

A3 4 sets x 8 reps per 2 sets x 10 reps per 3 sets x 10 reps per




Training Guide

B7 2 sets x 1 rep, 20 s hold 3 sets x 1 rep, 30 s hold 3 sets x 1 rep, 30 s hold

Bulletproof Phase - Day 2


1) Deadlift 3 – 4 FORM -1 RM 1 – 2 min 2 – 4

A2) 1-arm push press 6 – 8 per Explosive -1 RM 2 – 4

A3) Pullups 6 – 10 Control -1 RM 60-90 s 2 – 4

B4) Squat jumps 12 – 20 Explosive ~ 2 – 4

B5) Reverse lunge w/cable press 8 – 10 per Control -1 RM 2 – 4

B6) 1-leg T-lateral ball roll 2 per Hold 5 s ~ 60 s 2 – 4

7) Side bridge hold on SB w/DB 1 – 3 per Hold 10-20 s ~ 30 s 2

















Training Guide



bulletproof back – master manual - amazon s3 · 2019-02-27 · welcome to the bulletproof back...

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