Chances Are, You Suck At This You're probably either doing the stiff knees: got it from Sparkbmxtraining or the rounded low back This is from CliftonParkchiro or both.... See Wha' Had Happen Wazz You're all like the Tin Man. [Tweet "You can't move from the hip, hell you don't even know what a hip is..."] We gotta change that, cause without some hips you're gonna (probably) get some big time fugazi awesome feelings in your lower back. Now this is what hinging the hip looks like: From Bodybuilding.com Hips back Shins Vertical Chest "up" Straight line shoulders through hips Lower back in neutral I know what you're thinking, it's … [Read more...]
What Moving your Couch and Exercise Have in Common and it’s NOT Back Pain
May 13, 2014 by
Or, Spend $10 at Lowes and Up Your Game. As far as I know Valerie Waters is a VERY good trainer, and she is without doubt VERY successful. She should get ALL credit for thinking up using furniture sliders as exercise equipment. I'm sure someone did it before her, but she popularized it. So, in this age of the internet guru "inventing" exercises and programs and that jackassery, I'm just trying to give credit where it's due. Thanks Val. To the Point: Once you have some training/ strength under your belt, you should go to Lowes (it's not that I dislike Home Depot, it's just that they don't have the right size...ie. the BIG ones) and spend $10. Don't sweat … [Read more...]
There Actually ARE Uses for the Stability Ball
May 6, 2014 by
The Right Tool For the Right Job The Stability ball, just like Kettlebells, Sliders, the TRX etc. is just another tool in the toolbox. [Tweet "That means there is a time and a place for unstable surface training in a program."] Here's a quick reference guide: Never the time and the place... Sometimes the time and the place. The time and the place, a lot of the time that doesn't mean MOST... First things first, When is NEVER the time? Almost All Lower Body Training and Upper Body Strength Work Why NEVER on the Lower Body? Cause it doesn't work like that homie. Caveat: yes unstable surfaces work well in the rehabilitation of lower limb … [Read more...]
What the F* is the “Open Side”, the Value of Offset Loading
March 31, 2014 by
Common Email From An Online Client: "Roy, what the hell is the "open side". followed up with "Why do we do this?" Welp, Here's the Answer(s) The "Open Side"/ Offset Loading Explained: When we load traditionally, the weight in both hands, it's easier to balance the load. Because the load is spread across a greater "surface area" in that the entire shoulder girdle and core is activated about equally. The weight is more evenly distributed across the hips. Basically, the pull on the system is more "even" left to right and because most motion occurs in the saggital plane (front to back) an even load means that less tension/ force has to be allocated to … [Read more...]
With Age Comes Wisdom…..
March 11, 2014 by
Or so they say.... Stoled it from Bluemoonblog Now that I've been on this earth for a third of a decade I'd like to think I've learned a thing or two. So in honor of getting old(er) here's some things I think I've learned about my fitness: 1. I can't do at 33 what I could do at 23. My workouts even 2 years ago were much "more" than they are today. More volume, more intensity....more of everything. What I've learned is that my recovery just isn't what it used to be and I need to be more mindful of that. I used to feel "beat up" most of the week. Despite less sleep and a boatload more stressors, backing off a little has helped my recovery immensely. I … [Read more...]
Where to Start…..
December 30, 2013 by
New Years Resolutions are stupid, you should already be doing those things, coming up so that means LOTS of people coming into the gyms, many of them for the first time either ever or in a loooooong time. Sadly, there is so much conflicting information out there, that it's hard to figure out what you should be doing to get the results you want. That means most people will take one of two paths: Path 1: The Observer They'll watch what others in the gym are doing (especially those people working with "fitness professionals" ) and they're going to mimic those exercises as best they can. <----this would make sense until you realize the BIG Secret....most "Fitness … [Read more...]
The Circus is in Town
December 10, 2013 by
Too often this happens: Exercise is overly complex and difficult to do <----- person equates overcoming a difficult obstacle with success/ progress--------> difficult exercise's value is given credence. Such thinking is a logical fallacy: Appeal to Novelty Appeals to novelty assume that the newness of an idea is evidence of its truth. They are thus also related to the bandwagon fallacy. That an idea is new certainly doesn’t entail that it is true. Many recent ideas have no merit whatsoever, as history has shown; every idea, including those that we now reject as absurd beyond belief, were new at one time. Some ideas that are new now will surely go the same … [Read more...]
Olympic Lifting, Nice, But Not Necessary.
November 7, 2013 by
"Athletes Need Olympic Lifts for Power Development" From strong-athlete.com How many times have you heard that line? Probably a lot....The NSCA indoctrinates everyone with it.......and I used to repeat it.... Then I got educated, thought about it and realized...that's some dogmatic BS. First things first: What is Power? Other than A kick-ass magazine about all things STRONG.... It's a measure of work done over time. Power= Work/ Time So the faster you can do work...ie. create the displacement of an object relative to a fixed point, the more powerful you are. Ex. A. 225lbs bench for 3 reps in 3 seconds. B. 225lbs bench for 3 reps in 6 … [Read more...]
