Try this variant (video here: https://www.instagram.com/p/B5LRYk6jUWm/) wherein you have some assist to keep from rotation; but aim to place the “non-working” arm at an angle where it can’t provide tons of vertical assist. I’ve also used the side of the cage previously. With this barbell in front at shoulder height and extended arm, this is helpful placement to reduce body rotation but prevent from excessive vertical assist.
At 250lbs, even the assisted version showcased here is right at limit. These low rep high intensity efforts are a bit at odds with my current program, hypertrophy for six more weeks. But this would be a solid regular program addition for those in a max strength or peak phase. Enjoy.
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It's a cop out to think, "I'm not good enough at 'X' or in 'Y'." Titles, recognition, and achievement are seldom contingent on skill or being "good enough," whatever that means anyway.
Have you ever met the allegedly or ostensibly "good enough" people? Or heard them speak? Just about every "somebody" I've met at big companies is underwhelming. They aren't captivating speakers. They aren't strong writers. The don't have a powerful presence. Their critical thinking skills rank somewhere on the cognitive development chart between plankton and lichen. Most are just products of attrition, occasionally expedited in their rise by route of cronyism or nepotism. They've stuck around long enough, were in the right place at the right time, and/or were connected to the "right people." And you have to keep that in mind when your mind goes into doubt or self-criticism. Those inept people were able to become presidents, VPs, executives, "somebody" fundamentally by hanging around and connections. Seriously. Learn their stories. Some of the most captivating speakers I’ve ever heard were lifelong missionaries with barely two nickels to rub together. What they’ve seen and how they’ve devoted themselves to their fellow man is beyond admirable. A doofus who tripped his way to the top can’t capture that impact in a speech. Some of the most rigorous thinkers of all time refused titles. Ever heard of Newton? How many people believe they could outthink Tesla? But he had zero ambition to become the world’s first trillionaire (an easy feat if he would’ve kept the patent on electricity and monetized his inventions). Meanwhile, some goofball who has spent two decades riding other people’s coattails is on a motivational speaking tour. You don't need to doubt yourself. You are good enough ESPECIALLY when compared to the “movers and shakers” of the world. Just show up; and stick around long enough. It's amazing how "good enough" you are when you just stick around or connect to the right “somebodies.” Watch out for wolves in sheep’s clothing trying to sell you this bag of goods, this MLM scheme, this cult, this weirdo culture. Those people are crazy. I mean, they want you to feel better and live longer. Keep your distance.
#eatright #fitnesslunatics #extremist #fundamentalist #crackpot #quack #pseudoscience #hack #scammer #advice I used to roll my eyes at people who talk about their afflictions in a grateful tone.
“It’s humbling.” “It’s grounding.” “It reminds me of the divine plan.” “It hones my focus toward all the blessings I have.” Ugh. It sounds so fake. Then, I had a child whose autoimmune programming led us to the emergency room at least once every 4 weeks for 4 years. Constant fight or flight for four years. Imagine a perfectly RATIONAL fear for every day for four years. Every food, every particulate in the air can spell the end of your son’s life. Otherwise innocuous particles (even the medications to treat the disease) are an urgent reminder that the very next minute you could be a grieving parent. Every soap, every detergent, every snack which other parents so blithely gift to their kids was akin to sweeping a minefield. The next step? It could be fine. It could be doom. I heard people talk about their life challenges, and I was jealous. I fantasized about what life must be like when you don't have to constantly be consumed every hour of every day about nature murdering your child. But when you persist you achieve a love affair with simple things: breathing, clean water, moments at home holding your kids. Persist I did. Fall of 2018 and the following Winter I took on far too much, all the while thinking it was not enough. The cost was palpable exactly one year ago this past December: I had shingles. And its pain was deep. But, I’m thankful for it. It reminded me of just how defeated I once was, 2015, in the throes of our son’s health problems, incapacitated by Lyme recovery, a newborn daughter, and a surgically reattached shoulder while launching a new location. That year and the next, the building owner refused to make good on certain promises. That refusal hurt us, hurt friends, hurt colleagues. By the obvious metric, that hurt was seven figures. By another more important metric, the pain of the building owner's misrepresentation cannot carry enough zeroes to communicate the harm. So I had shingles. So what. It killed. But it couldn’t deprive me of my resolve. It was a wonderful reminder of how good I’ve had it, and how much worse things once seemed to be. Go ahead and roll your eyes. I once did. But if you can humor me for a moment, imagine how abundant life can feel in the good times if you are thankful for affliction in the bad times. This should go without saying. But, unfortunately, there is a pervasive belief that any one single person's testimonial must be THE WAY for all people for all time.
Many glaring examples of this exist within the exercise science world. One of them is an understanding of hip, knee, and ankle alignment which has quite a bit of nuance. Within correcting people’s imbalances, there is this technique of prying the knees apart. It makes sense some of the time for some people. The reasons for this have to do with the way the tibia and fibula move, joint spaces, ankle dynamics, medial glute activation, and so much more. Prying is A part of understanding this. One technique. Which works really well for a lot of people. But not ALL people. There is also the natural opposite and consequents. Crossfit Mobility Expert, Kelly Starret, is under scrutiny for missing the many other pieces to this puzzle; and it turns out he doesn't come out clean. I've actually begun to wonder if the excessive knee-pry is also causing pelvic instability among adherents. As you can plainly see in the photos of Starrett versus actual expert technicians, he cannot achieve as smooth or great of depth as they. Read more here: https://www.elev8wellness.com/…/crossfits-most-authoritativ… There are chronic diseases which plague people. In this case, this client was already behind the 8 ball with autoimmune diseases which nearly took her life in the early 90s (check out her podcast linked in the comments). Consequently, she went on multiple rounds of fluoroquinolone drugs which toxically disable the body through nerve damage, extreme laxity of connective tissue, and therefore ruined proprioception.
We connected in 2013 and began an involved regimen with corrective work, dietary alterations, and slowly integrated strengthening at an as-tolerated level, always with the belief that she could restore life abundantly. This photo is from 2015, after two years of incredible hard work, wherein she set the studio record at an 18 MINUTE PLANK. Make no mistake, the journey is still going. But via intelligent progressions the impossible can become not only possible, but likely. Fat metabolism is undisturbed by the consumption of food before bed, at least when it’s primarily protein for women who do strength training: https://academic.oup.com/…/a…/doi/10.1093/jn/nxz186/5555589…
Athletes whose goal is predominantly aesthetics or leanness have little concern about eating before bed, especially when trying to hit a HIGH ENOUGH intake of certain macros, especially protein. Ask lean athletes. You’ll confirm this. There are many nonsense old tropes in the dietary advice world. One of them was to avoid eating before bed. A novel one is connecting protein intake to "weight gain." Both are painfully mistaken. There is evidence behind nutrient timing for all kinds of outcomes. WHEN you eat WHAT you eat matter. When we’re talking bedtime snacks, especially those which are mainly amino-acid-containing, the concerns were not just overblown, they were dead wrong. Now we see they are unscientific or even anti-science. Martial artists figured out long ago, you're going to spend far less energy by pulling/drawing, redirecting existing momentum, instead of attempting to stop and/or reverse it.
Once, at a development meeting years ago, we were each assigned a real but totally insane product to "sell" to our randomly selected role-play partners. No other instructions were provided. After both groups went, we recapped people's techniques. The moderator classified our sales techniques into "pushing" or "pulling". "Pushing" is the passé and old-school technique of extolling all the benefits of a product or service from the salesperson's point-of-view. "Pulling" is an unassuming approach aimed at discovery of the potential buyer's needs and wants, and subsequently walking them through the matching of those variables to their needs and wants. "Pushing" basically only works when the sale was going to happen regardless of the salesperson or her efforts. "Pulling" works with even the coldest of leads. There are laws which govern the universe. No matter how much we wish they weren't real, no matter how much we push against them, they won't be overcome. You cannot get leaner without suppression/control of insulin. You won't accumulate a retirement portfolio without regular contributions. You won't create wealth unless you spend less than you make. You cannot reduce energy spent by multiplying choices. You cannot become fulfilled by rejecting all wisdom. So often the door moves one way, and only one way: toward you. Just pull. Caffeine protects the brain. I’ve heard some clinicians vilify it or even tell people with Parkinson’s to avoid it; but look closely at this wiki.
Though it was recently discovered (lookup the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität study from 2017) that Parkinson’s is in part an autoimmune disease, almost no American clinicians address it as such. Though the primary drug used to treat Parkinson’s (l-dopa) accelerates the progression of the disease, in part through the increased expression of adenosine, almost no American clinician includes drugs which suppress adenosine (A2a receptor antagonists) for patients using l-dopa. I know. I’ve had several clients with Parkinson’s. Caffeine is proven to suppress adenosine expression. That is, caffeine addresses several levels of the actual disease; whereas l-dopa addresses some symptoms while progressing the disease. Most researchers, however, fail to use effective (high enough) dosages of caffeine in Parkinson’s research. Odd. More odd is that there are now drugs being developed for Parkinson’s specifically for their role in adenosine suppression. Here’s one, called “istradefylline.” Pay extra close attention to paragraph one, especially sentence 4. When it’s caffeine, authorities tend to dismiss its effectiveness or vilify it. When it’s a vendable pharma drug, it’s an official therapy. Curious. I'm as skeptical as the next consumer when it comes to the specious claims made about supplements and essential oils. But when you hearken to the effectiveness of "official therapy" or "mainstream science" or "approved medications" simply because they're popular among official bodies of authority in the scientific or medical world you are not being skeptical and freethinking. |
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