It seems I committed the cardinal sin of blogging last week- and people are pissed. While I appreciated the notes and emails from various readers telling me to get my butt in gear and update the blog (I love you too everyone), it wasn’t until I called my mom last week to check in, that I feared for my life. You see, I’m originally from central New York (the Finger Lakes region to be exact), and I only make it home once or twice a year to see my family. As you might expect, my blog tends to be an easy and convenient way for my “peeps” to keep tabs on me. Nevertheless, being the good son that I am, I still try to make a conscious effort to call my mom once a week to check in. You know, to make the Baby Jesus happy.
The following is a detailed transcript of my last conversation with Mom
Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring
Me: Hi mom, I love you.
Cue Darth Vader theme music
Mom: Why haven’t you blogged this week?
Me: Um, I uh, was busy going to church and knitting sweaters for the homeless?
Mom: Don’t bullshit me Gentilcore. No son of mine neglects his responsibilities. Didn’t I raise you the right way?
Me: You’re right mom. I can’t believe I pulled a Fass, and thought I could go a lunar cycle without blogging. I’m on it.
Mom: Your meatloaf is on its way.
1. So, I have been experimenting with some Olympic lifts lately, implementing some “cleans” into my programming 1-2 days per week. Let me just be blunt- by “cleans,” what I really mean to say is “explosive reverse arm curls.” I think there’s a lot to be said about stepping out of your comfort zone from time to time and experimenting with different training modalities. Which is to say, goddammit I suck.
2. One of the cool things about working at CP is the fact that we have people from all over the world stopping by to say hi and to observe. To be honest, it’s quite humbling at times to know that people travel from exciting and exotic places like England, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Pittsburgh (note sarcasm) to watch Eric, Brian, and myself coach.
What’s more, it’s always a great feeling when other fitness professionals walk in and compliment us on how well our athletes/clients are coached. I’m not one to blow sunshine up my own ass, but when a strength coach from Australia (Joey Hayes) stops by after visiting several other facilities across the United States, and goes out of his way to say that we’re the best facility he’s been to in regards to coaching, program design, atmosphere, and overall structure, I think that’s pretty darn cool.
3. I came across this cool video from Jim Smith (Smitty) from Diesel Crew talking about 3D Ankle Mobility. For those of you suffering from shin splints and/or chronic knee pain, give this a look. Definitely worth five minutes of your time.
4. Last week, er, I mean two weeks ago, I briefly talked about ankle sprains and how many of us can benefit by just getting out of our shoes more often. I know this goes against the grain of what most of us have been led to believe, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense- the shoes we wear are what causes many of our chronic issues as it relates to things such as fibromyalgia, anterior knee pain, lower back pain, etc. I know people like to toss out terms like over-pronation, supination, flat feet, no arches, blah blah blah. But the truth of the matter is, 99.5596% of us weren’t born with all these issues, and it wasn’t until the mass marketing of “athletic” foot wear that many of these dysfunctions started to reach epidemic levels.
Now, don’t get me wrong- I think it’s a bit overzealous to just tell people to blatantly stop wearing shoes altogether. I recognize that there are exceptions to the rule, and some people just need the extra cushioning when they train. Similarly, I don’t think it would go over too well if you walked into your next business meeting with sandles on. That said, I think the more we can get people out of their shoes, the better. At the very least, do all your warm-up, dynamic mobility, activation drills barefoot. If possible, all deadlift variations should be done barefoot- this will obviously be contingent on how strict your gym is. Likewise, all box squat variations can be done barefoot as well.
On an aside, I went sprinting yesterday at the Harvard football stadium (turf), and to test my bad-assery, I did my build-up sprints barefoot. While my feet were fairly sore by the end of day (which could have very well been a direct result from walking around the city all day), I will say that it felt really good. To be continued……….
5. Go see (500) Days of Summer. Hands down, the best movie I’ve seen so far this year. What can I say? I like to lift heavy things and have an affinity for movies that explore the intricate dynamics of relationships. Read: I like to heavy things and won’t be making out with anything other than my left arm for the foreseeable future.
