# EMS specific exercises



## MSDeltaFlt (Feb 20, 2010)

Since my return to EMS following my crash and rehabilitation, I've strived to focus on the exercises specific to the motions we do in the field focusing on strength with endurance and cardio.  So here is what I've found to be most productive for me and my body.  Every body is different and technique is everything.  If you cannot do the exercise correctly with the weight you have, drop the weight and add reps.  If anyone has some other exercises that they have found to also be beneficial, please share them.

Here are mine.

*Benchpress/pushups/inclined benchpress/butterflies*: for moving pts from bed to bed on the pushing side.

*Curls/close grip rows/wide grip rows/shoulder shrugs/reverse butterflies*: for moving pts from bed to bed on the pulling side.

*Deadlifts/squats*:  for lifting LSB pts from ground to stretcher/lifting stretcher to load position.

*Straightleg deadlifts/modified straightleg deadlifts/lumbar extensions/weighted lumbar extensions*: for lifting pts from ground using 2 man carry where you are holding pt from underneath their arms behind their torso.  Straightleg deadlifts and modified straightleg deadlifts are advanced exercises meaning if you don't use proper technique you will hurt yourself.  Basically a modified straightleg deadlift is a straightleg deadlift with the bar on your shoulders like in a squat.

*Any and all core exercises*.  The majority of your strength and endurance come your center (core) using your center of gravity.  I've found that a lot of core exercises performed mostly by women (meaning not just situps and crunches) are the ones that burn the most so I like to do those.  The next day it always hurts to sneeze.

For cardio I do walking in full sweats on a treadmill on a slope for half an hour, jogging before that, and just about whatever I can do to get my heart rate up and sweat as much as I can without overdoing it.

Since technique is everything and I use it frequently in the gym, when I'm lifting a heavy pt I'll remember to lift said pt using proper technique and I don't hurt my back or anyother part of my body.


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## 46Young (Feb 21, 2010)

Lose the bench press, it's wrecked many a shoulder or pec. Try this for both a combo Cx/ab stability exercise:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1YXrZF3Y64&feature=channel

For EMS use deadlifts, suitcase deads, snatch grip deads, romanian deads, olympic style front squats, renegade rows, inverted rows, pullups, pushups/spiderman pushups/power overs on a medicine ball, dips, hanging toes to bar, plank, side plank, DB or BB power clean or power snatch, swings, bulgarian split squats, Farmer's walks for grip work, Waiter's walk for shoulder health and stability. Also BB/DB/KB complexes for metcon, or just do a ton of burpees (or reverse burpees if you're too heavy to jump without hurting your joints). Instead, do light DB power clean&jerks for intervals. 

Oh, I love the turkish get up. I can knock out reps with the 28kg kettlebell. My 40 kg bell came yeaterday. I'm going to try a TGU with it. Wish me luck.


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## Nick647 (Feb 21, 2010)

Renegade Rows suck so much.


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## Aidey (Feb 21, 2010)

On the lumbar extensions, are you doing them on a roman chair? If so, maybe consider doing good mornings instead, as it is very easy to hyper-extend on the roman chair, which can lead to problems later on.


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## fit4duty (Feb 21, 2010)

46Young said:


> Lose the bench press, it's wrecked many a shoulder or pec. Try this for both a combo Cx/ab stability exercise:
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1YXrZF3Y64&feature=channel
> 
> ...



Just to be clear Bench Pressing hasn't ruined many a shoulder and pec -- Bench Pressing wrong has. Most exercises with the exception of the seated leg extension outside of a rehab program are not fundamentally bad nor will they led to injury UNLESS you are not executiing them correctly and/or you are creating serious imbalances because of exercise selection, pre-existing imbalance/injury etc. Hell the push ups shown in the video are more dangerous than a standard bench press simply because you are moving which requires the body be able to stablize itself dynamically and if your body doesnt have the requisite strength and coordination to do that guess what ......the likelyhood of wecking your shoulder, wrist, back increases exponentially! And don't get me started on o-lifts (absolutely fantastic exercises but over 90% of people attempting to do them have piss-poor execution) same with deadlifts. Take home message is that there is no inherently bad exercise just incorrect performance that leads to injury.

The overriding question has to be how does the exercise or movement or training solve the fundamental problem one is addressing. And then what does one have to do to be able to execute it correctly. That determines the effectiveness of not only individual exercise but the entire training program.

With that said congrats MSDeltaFLT on the come back! Is the current rotation of exercises you are doing coming from rehab/PT or something you put together on your own? And most importantly, if its working for you don't change a thing just keep rotating the exercises to keep the act of working out and your body from becoming stale. Keep it up!


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## 46Young (Feb 21, 2010)

fit4duty said:


> Just to be clear Bench Pressing hasn't ruined many a shoulder and pec -- Bench Pressing wrong has. Most exercises with the exception of the seated leg extension outside of a rehab program are not fundamentally bad nor will they led to injury UNLESS you are not executiing them correctly and/or you are creating serious imbalances because of exercise selection, pre-existing imbalance/injury etc. Hell the push ups shown in the video are more dangerous than a standard bench press simply because you are moving which requires the body be able to stablize itself dynamically and if your body doesnt have the requisite strength and coordination to do that guess what ......the likelyhood of wecking your shoulder, wrist, back increases exponentially! And don't get me started on o-lifts (absolutely fantastic exercises but over 90% of people attempting to do them have piss-poor execution) same with deadlifts. Take home message is that there is no inherently bad exercise just incorrect performance that leads to injury.
> 
> The overriding question has to be how does the exercise or movement or training solve the fundamental problem one is addressing. And then what does one have to do to be able to execute it correctly. That determines the effectiveness of not only individual exercise but the entire training program.
> 
> With that said congrats MSDeltaFLT on the come back! Is the current rotation of exercises you are doing coming from rehab/PT or something you put together on your own? And most importantly, if its working for you don't change a thing just keep rotating the exercises to keep the act of working out and your body from becoming stale. Keep it up!



One of my favorite routines is to do a superset of pullups into renegade rows, where each row is preceded by a pushup. Fun. 

The thing that I should have mentioned about the power wheel exercise is that one would need to progress to that point. I would think you need at least a 20RM in pushups and be able to hold at least a min to minute and a half plank before you try.

I had the good luck to have a weightlifting club, Lost Battalion Hall in Queens NY. I'm with you on the O-lift form issues. If you don't have formal training, you'll eventually blow out your back or shoulder or something. Hang power versions are the easiest to teach, but you can get the same benefit from doing DB or KB versions with little risk. Crossfit is smoking crack when the advise you to have "80% or so proper form" for the metcon WOD's. BB O-lifts ahould be done for 1-5 reps only, with proper form, unless you really know what you're doing.


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## Nick647 (Feb 21, 2010)

I tend to do a lot of cardio.  Usually the crosstrainer or stairmaster is what I enjoy the most.  I weigh roughly around 250 and so I am trying to lose weight and gain muscle as it comes.  In the workout program I participate in twice a week, usually, we do weight stuff a bit as well.  I just wanna focus more on losing weight then anything.


P.S. Woot, Im a forum lieutenant now...(lame i know) but it feels good to be promoted via message board.


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## medic417 (Feb 21, 2010)

Keep in mind that as you build muscle your body actually gets rid of fat better.  So while cardio may be the focus in losing weight do not overlook the benefit of building muscle.  If doing cardio and muscle it may seem weight comes off slower but it actually is better for you.


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## Nick647 (Feb 21, 2010)

medic417 said:


> Keep in mind that as you build muscle your body actually gets rid of fat better.  So while cardio may be the focus in losing weight do not overlook the benefit of building muscle.  If doing cardio and muscle it may seem weight comes off slower but it actually is better for you.



Of course.  I knew that.  I try not to kill myself with the weights.  I enjoy doing curls and dumbell press.  When I bench, I ALWAYS have a spotter.  I see these muscled out dudes lifting over 200 without one, I get confused.  Thats just me though.  They have more experience clearly.   I think another part I focus a ton on cardio is that it just makes me feel good and it improves my mental toughness, if you know what I mean.  Everytime I hit the stairmaster or cross trainer, I try to discipline myself more and more in terms of time, incline, etc.  And when I am sweating bullets at the end, I feel good too!


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## el Murpharino (Feb 21, 2010)

46Young said:


> Oh, I love the turkish get up. I can knock out reps with the 28kg kettlebell. My 40 kg bell came yeaterday. I'm going to try a TGU with it. Wish me luck.



You're nuts, man   Good luck with that one.  TGU's suck...how many reps are you doing per side?


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## 46Young (Feb 21, 2010)

el Murpharino said:


> You're nuts, man   Good luck with that one.  TGU's suck...how many reps are you doing per side?



First day was an off day. In my garage I played around with a few snatches, C&J's and swings.

First PT session with the 40kg bulldog:

TGU, one rep each side, one min rest, 4 sets. Two attempts at the last set on the left side. I knew I was done at that point. I'll try doubles in a couple of days.

snatch, 6 reps each side, 5 sets, one min rest.

C&J, 5 reps each side, one min rest.

Front squat, 5 reps each side, 4 sets. My legs were fine, my shoulders couldn't hold the rack position and gave out. With a bell that large, it wants to roll forward.

MacGyver glute ham raises, to do these you face backwards, hook your ankles into the pads of a lat pulldown machine or DB rack, unbend your knees to lower, and push off the floor to get up if needed. 5 reps, 4 sets, one min rest.

Hanging toes to bar, 10 reps, 5 sets, one min rest.

40 kg waiters walk, you walk for distance until failure with the kettlebell locked out overhead. 2 sets each side.

Two handed swings, as I don't have the balls to try hand to hand yet, at least not at the end of a session. 25 reps, 6 sets, one min rest.

Then I died. Seriously, check out this site. go to the forums, and select kettlebells. Many videos, some with quality instruction. I like the crush curl. You take the bell, clasp your hands on both sides, squeeze using your pecs, and curl it. I didn't do this with the bulldog, obviously. I'll try it with a one pood and see how it goes.

http://www.straighttothebar.com/


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## MSDeltaFlt (Feb 22, 2010)

fit4duty said:


> Just to be clear Bench Pressing hasn't ruined many a shoulder and pec -- *Bench Pressing wrong has*. Most exercises with the exception of the seated leg extension outside of a rehab program are not fundamentally bad nor will they led to injury UNLESS you are not executiing them correctly and/or you are creating serious imbalances because of exercise selection, pre-existing imbalance/injury etc. Hell the push ups shown in the video are more dangerous than a standard bench press simply because you are moving which requires the body be able to stablize itself dynamically and if your body doesnt have the requisite strength and coordination to do that guess what ......the likelyhood of wecking your shoulder, wrist, back increases exponentially! And don't get me started on o-lifts (absolutely fantastic exercises but over 90% of people attempting to do them have piss-poor execution) same with deadlifts. Take home message is that there is no inherently bad exercise just incorrect performance that leads to injury.
> 
> The overriding question has to be how does the exercise or movement or training solve the fundamental problem one is addressing. And then what does one have to do to be able to execute it correctly. That determines the effectiveness of not only individual exercise but the entire training program.
> 
> *With that said congrats MSDeltaFLT on the come back! Is the current rotation of exercises you are doing coming from rehab/PT or something you put together on your own? And most importantly, if its working for you don't change a thing just keep rotating the exercises to keep the act of working out and your body from becoming stale*. Keep it up!


 
Hence my earlier statement.  *Technique is everything*.  If you can't do it correctly, drop the weight and add reps.  If you still can't do it right, don't do it at all.  Sometimes it takes a 3rd person watching you to see if you're doing it right.  I've had to drop weight on squats because I increased too much weight too soon and one of the trainers/staff was watching me use wrong form and told me what I was doing.  I dropped some of the weight and now my form is a lot better.

Thanks, Fit.  As far as my routine goes, it's a little bit of what I've always known, some from PT, some from what I've figured out on my own, and some from what I've seen from watching and talking with others in the gym.  I absolutely love the routine I'm doing.  I'll mix it up some, but generally I love the ones I'm doing.  If it's not fun I won't do it, and these routines are a blast to do... especially with some AC/DC cranked to 11 making my ears bleed.  Sing it with me, "Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah.  Thundah!"


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## Nelg (Feb 22, 2010)

Glad to know I'm not the only one that sees the benefit of certain gym exerciser and the muscle/cardio route. It along with eating better helped me go from 325 December of 2008 to my current weight of 225. I know that it may seem like I lost way to much over a year (believe me, it surprised me how quick it shed off), but in all honesty, I never did much of anything that would speed that up other then just try to be healthier. (helps that my girlfriend is a dietitian student... lol )

I started out on treadmill, running laps around parks here, hitting the upper body muscle wise with various forms of free weights and machines and working the lower body. Found that that, drinking 100 oz of water a day (Had so much energy besides flushing system out) and just switching my diet around helped me shed all that and just feel so much better to boot.

I feel that once I get my NREMT going and start furthering my career, I can do better for not only the patients, but for my family and myself. Future family and all.

And to anyone wondering, I'm 6'4, 225 and hovering around 26% BMI. Much better then what I was at. Just love to lose the gut I still have, not much of one anymore, but still only part I feel I have left. :blush:


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