CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Man oh man, can you believe it’s June? We had an unseasonable cold month (even for Boston standards) this past month, so I was glad to see May go, but seriously….June? Already?

I had a busy week this past week so I didn’t have ample opportunity to get much writing done, sorry! I do have some good ideas percolating around in my head for next week, so I promise to try to make up for it.

Nonetheless, here’s this week’s list of stuff to read….

Copyright: urfingus / 123RF Stock Photo

 

Check This Stuff Out First (It’s All About Me)

1. Strong Body-Strong Mind – Toronto & Boston

Lisa and I will be in Toronto in two weeks presenting our Strong Body-Strong Mind workshop. We’re really excited since it will be our first family get-away since Julian was born.

We’re bringing him with us by the way….on a plane…..at four months old.

Holy shit, what the hell are we doing?1

There are still some seats available, and you can go HERE for more details.

However, we’re really excited to announce we’ll also be doing a workshop in Boston later this summer.

This graphic took me an hour to make. Not kidding.

The idea is simple: there’s a corner in the industry that’s underserved….mental skills. There are a lot of people out there who write about “mindset” and describe themselves as mindset coaches (whatever the heck that means) who, by and large, have zero academic background in that department.

Lisa went to school for this shit.

I went to school to help turn people into badasses.

Lisa can speak to building competency and discussing how to build the skills to develop rapport with clients. I can speak to getting people bigger, stronger, and faster.

Strong Body-Strong Mind = see you there?

To purchase you can go HERE.

2) Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint – Orlando

Our Vancouver shindig in April sold out, but Dean and I have recently announced a stop in Orlando, FL later this year, October 21-22nd at Spark Fitness.

I’ve never been to Orlando. There’s no way in hell I’m visiting Disney World.

You can go HERE for more details and to sign up.

Stuff to Read

Hypertrophy-Stability-Motor Control Continuum – Sam Spinelli

Nice article from Sam Spinelli on Dean Somerset’s site on a concept I wish more fit pros would consider: finding the right “place” on the continuum where your clients possess ownership of movement via stability/motor control which then leads to hitting goals, whether they’re for function, performance, or aesthetics.

Bryce Harper vs. Hunter Strickland: The Ridiculousness of Basebrawling Shows Itself Again – Jeff Passan

Not fitness related, but I always enjoy Jeff’s writing.

Garbage reliever does a garbage job and does a garbage thing leading to a garbage scenario.

The Best Pelvic Floor Exercises: Beyond Kegels – Dr. Sarah Duvall

Dr. Duvall wrote an excellent article for this site a few weeks ago titled 5 Things to Consider With Postpartum Training. It was excellent because I have excellent taste in the people I choose to provide additional content on this site….;o)

Given she lives in Boston as well we decided to meet up yesterday in a local coffee shop. We got to talking about pelvic floor issues, specifically prolapse (because, what else do you talk about in a coffee shop?), and one sentence she said made me want to jump up and give her a high-five:

“Women need to lift heavy so that more serious shit doesn’t happen (I.e., prolapse). A three-year old isn’t light.”

Now, “heavy” in this sense is subjective. But all things considered, assuming proper exercise technique and progressions have been met, there’s no reason to think women can’t be more aggressive when trying to train postpartum.

I love her message and it’s quite a stark contrast from the litany of other “pelvic floor specialist” out there regurgitating drivel who have very little experience actually coaching people; let alone having the educational background to back their claims up.2

Social Media Shenanigans

Twitter

Instagram

People “hang out” on their lower backs too much. It’s more back friendly to use your active restraints (muscle) than passive restraints (ligaments, bone) in an effort to gain stability. The latter is often why so many people’s backs hurt all the time. The top video is a prime example. Look at how I finish the lift…I sorta just “hang out” on my lumbar spine. Ouch. Alternatively, the bottom video showcases me engaging my abs (producing a flexion moment) to create more stability, better alignment, and less of a burden on my lumbar spine. Put another way: I’m not substituting lumbar extension for hip extension. And you see this in a plethora of other ways too: watch people perform carries, planks, or any number of exercises. Teach people to respect tension and to gain stability the right way. The small things matter.

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  1. The flight from Boston to Toronto is a short one, so I think we’ll be okay. If not, I have a super-sized bottle of Nyquil ready to go. KIDDING, kidding.
  2. As Sarah and I were chatting yesterday she brought up a Instagram fitness celebrity who claims to be a “pelvic floor and postpartum specialist” who, within the first minute of a recently released video series said something to the effect of “this exercise focuses on your most outer abdominal muscle, the TA.” For those who aren’t a moron, the TA is actually a “deep” core muscle, kinda like the body’s natural weight belt.”