Two hours later staring at the same blank page in blogger, I'm writing anything that comes to mind.
-We all need to spend more time on the ground.
The minute you have trouble getting off the ground is the minute you become old. I'm not just referring to exercises done on a mat, I'm talking about the actual act of getting on the ground and getting back up. Many of the adult clients I see in class take 5 or more seconds to stand up when they've been on the ground when they're fresh, and they avoid any non-foot related contact with the ground throughout the rest of the workout if at all possible.
Standing up from a lying position, when you really consider it, is a very complex series of movements that require balance, strength, and whole-body coordination; it's an extremely effective exercise by itself, and until the recent popularity of Turkish get-ups it has been completely ignored. The ability to get up with minimal effort or pain is one of the truest signs of physical health and wellness.
-Chalk will turn a good workout into a great one.
I have really sweaty hands. They sweat within two minutes of my warm up, and indeed start sweating any time I even think about picking up a heavy weight. They're doing it right now. STOP IT, HANDS, WE'RE NOT EVEN DOING ANYTHING.
The best $7 I ever spent on the internet was for two blocks of lifting chalk off of Amazon.com. Immediately, all of my lifts went up 20 to 30 lbs, or at least the ones involving picking up a bar. It's just a drying agent, but that added friction had made high-rep and single deadlifts, bottoms up kettlebell presses, rows, chins, cleans, and snatches so much easier and safer I can't imagine going without it now.
Plus, it lets you keep your grip strength, unlike straps. It also tears up your hands something fierce, which can be good or bad depending on how tough you like to look.
-If you can only have one strong body part, make it your butt.
The gluteus maximus -your big butt muscle- is the largest muscle in the body for a reason. It's primary role is to extend the hips, and it's the key player in any motion involving running, jumping, squatting, stepping up, or picking something off the ground correctly. Weak glutes are very often associated with lower back pain, and you can avoid such problems simply by keeping your rear end in proper working order.
However, the glutes also play a very important secondary role in things like overhead pressing. If you have trouble keeping your back from arching during a heavy overhead press, try squeezing your butt throughout the rep. This creates a stable platform at the base of your spine, and can really help to keep a good posture.
It also looks really good in jeans.
-Sometimes the best way to recover is to work a little more.
Rest and recovery are vital to success in the gym, but some people take it way too far. Too much rest and recovery is what made us as a nation (and soon to be as a planet) fat and out of shape!
I'm not saying you need to fight through debilitating soreness every day, and I'm all for the occasional 24 hr corpse pose, but the key to staying active is to take it literally. The day after a particularly heavy workout, try going into the gym and just moving for a while; do some light goblet squats, a few sets of your favorite mobility exercise, that one stretch that feels really good, some curls if the right people are watching, and go home. A light workout will help you recover better than laying on the couch, and it will also help establish a healthy relationship with movement and exercise you won't get if you only associate workouts with misery.
If you only did light workouts every day for the rest of your life, you'd be stronger and healthier than if you did one hard workout every two weeks.
Stay tuned for more random, un-proofread, semi-interesting fitness blurbs.
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