New Year, New You And all that bullshit, right? Dietary New Years Resolutions usually amount to, "This is the year, I'll finally eat like an adult, quit making excuses for my craptastic food choices, (and yes, they are CHOICES), and take actual f-ing responsibility for what I, a fully functioning adult human being, put in my mouth". But, let's get real. Linda brought doughnuts this morning. Boston Crème... I'll just have one and start tomorrow. <----find tomorrow on the calendar.. Hell, its only the end of January, your resolution has probably already been "broken" and you're at the same place you were on February 1, 2018, and February 1, 2017 … [Read more...]
You Should Do This: TRX Serratus Saw
January 18, 2019 by
TRX Serratus Saw In the world of underappreciated muscles the serratus anterior is basically at the top of the list. What's a Serratus Anterior Do? "The function of the serratus anterior muscle is to allow the forward rotation of the arm and to pull the scapula forward and around the rib cage. The scapula is able to move laterally due to the serratus anterior muscle, which is vital for the elevation of the arm. The serratus anterior muscle also allows the upward rotation of the arm, which allows a person to lift items over their head. When the shoulder blade is in fixed position , e.g : breathing after a sprint , the serratus anterior lifts the ribcage and thus … [Read more...]
You Should Do This: RKC Plank
January 11, 2019 by
Remember Planking? The internet meme from circa 2010. "Planking is a photo fad which involves lying face down with arms to the sides in unusual public spaces, photographing the scene and sharing the image online. In form, it bears striking resemblance to the Lying Down Game, a similar photo fad that became popular among UK Facebook users in 2010." -Know Your Meme Yeah, well, neither does anyone else. But it happened. Basically, what you did was lay, face down, flat as a board, on something. Got it on Flickr from Pat Hayes That was "Planking". Yes, its pretty different from a Plank exercise, but not really. 8 Hours, 1 Minute As far as I can tell that's … [Read more...]
You Should Do This: Kettlebell Batwing Gorilla Row
January 2, 2019 by
Want Healthy Shoulders? You need to pull more. A good rule of thumb is you should be pulling, or more specifically horizontal pulling, ie rowing vs pushing, ie benching in a volume of 2 or 3 to 1. That means 2 or 3 sets of pulling exercises to every pushing exercise. Keep in Mind: You need to PUSH the rowing weight harder than you probably are already. Too often people will institute this 2:1 rowing to pressing ratio, but the pressing is done with intention and effort and the pulling is done half heartedly with 50% weights. A Sometimes Foolproof Way to Ensure The @or 3:1 Ratio Happens Calculate your total volume. Volume, not sets. Volume= … [Read more...]
You Should Do This: 90/90 Hip Stretch
December 24, 2018 by
Back Pain is an Epidemic But it's not the back who is to blame. It's often the thoracic spine and/ or the hips. In general, people with bad backs, have strong backs with too much motion occurring at the lumbar region "those who have more motion in their backs have a greater risk of having future back troubles people with troubled backs use their backs more. Generally, they walk, sit, stand and lift using mechanics that increase back loads. Many of them have stronger backs but are less endurable than matched asymptomatic controls (McGill et al, 2003). They tend to have more motion in their backs and less motion and load in their hips." - Designing Back Exercise: … [Read more...]
The Greatness of the Great Toe: Part 2
December 12, 2018 by
The Great Toe Needs to Be Great It wants to be great. You just have to let it be. Your Big Toe needs to move. <----as we learned in Part one, which you can read by clicking the link The Greatness of the Great Toe Specifically the 1st metatarsophalangeal joint (MTP), where the big toe articulates with the foot, needs to be mobile and strong. If the Big Toe isn't functioning as it should your balance wont be very good because you can't make microadjustments to the natural sway of the body at the foot. Your walking gait will be off due to the inability to dorsiflex the hallux and take full advantage of the Windlass … [Read more...]
The Greatness of the Great Toe: Part 1
December 9, 2018 by
The Big Toe It's the Biggest Toe For a Reason Take your shoes off... I'll wait... Socks too. Ok, look at your foot. Which one is it more like? From: Foot Morphological Difference between Habitually Shod and Unshod Runners The "crumpled up" one on the left, or the "splayed out" one on the right? Look like the crumpled up one? That's what a lifetime in shoes does to you. Unfortunately, crumpled up feet that look like this have become "normal" in todays society. Just Cause It's "Normal", Doesn't Mean It's Right At least not from an evolutionary standpoint. We're meant to have wide, splayed out feet. "A logical prediction from an engineering view of an ideal foot is … [Read more...]
A Story of Fire and Ice: Act 2: Man Discovers Fire….
November 28, 2018 by
Last time we went over Is Ice Nice? Is R.I.C.E really the best practice in all circumstances? Or, should we, respect basic physiology, use our noggins, and do something other than just slap a bag of ice on every injury? FIIIIIRREEEEE!!!!! Heat, fire, literally helped make us human. "a surge in human brain size that occurred roughly 1.8 million years ago can be directly linked to the innovation of cooking. Homo erectus, considered the first modern human species, learned to cook and doubled its brain size over the course of 600,000 years. Similar size primates—gorillas, chimpanzees, and other great apes, all of which subsisted on a diet of raw foods—did … [Read more...]
