Smitty gets fitty

Discussion in 'Training Logs' started by Smitfire, Jun 27, 2012.

  1. Fish Of Doom

    Fish Of Doom Will : Mind : Motion Supporter

    or someone holding your ankles, which would probably be more ergonomic and less awkward :D
     
  2. Fish Of Doom

    Fish Of Doom Will : Mind : Motion Supporter

    but yeah, aim for super fine motor control to try to get as much as possible to engage that can help you stabilize the spine (there are a LOT of really small muscles that connect adjacent vertebra that no one ever pays attention to because they're small and don't show up when you flex. get those working, and you will likely stand a better chance of not throwing out your back again. then work on back specific strength to reinforce that, and then go for general strength where pre-existing back functionality is a determinant on how likely your back is to go kaput if you push too much)
     
  3. Smitfire

    Smitfire Cactus Schlong

    So with the aid of my handy sofa I included some of FOD's back raises in my morning stretch off/yoga.
     
  4. Fish Of Doom

    Fish Of Doom Will : Mind : Motion Supporter

    yay!

    how'd they feel?
     
  5. Smitfire

    Smitfire Cactus Schlong

    Weird. Tricky being "aware" of your spine flexing.
    Sort of like when you do a yoga posture and think you're relaxed into it but on further reflection realise you're actually tensing somewhere.
    So I found it odd trying to consciously activate the spine a bit at a time rather than just arching.
    Good exercise though.

    Reading some of Frodo's links in the health thread I realise my posture and core probably leave a lot to be desired.
     
  6. Fish Of Doom

    Fish Of Doom Will : Mind : Motion Supporter

    yeah, posture manipulation is funky stuff. very useful once you get the hang of it though, particularly as a lot of people don't realize that every single vertebra comprises at least two joints (with the structures directly above and below, plus more in the case of the thoracic ones because of the ribs), even if the main movement comes from the big-ass spinal erectors rather than the smaller intervertebral muscles. then people go and do like 100-rep crunches and supermans, tire the big ones out and the little muscles that stabilize the spine just ragequit and your spine goes poof.
     
  7. Frodocious

    Frodocious She who MUST be obeyed! Moderator Supporter

  8. Fish Of Doom

    Fish Of Doom Will : Mind : Motion Supporter

    i'm more of a fan of chest supported DB rows, myself, as pull-aparts have never felt very good on my shoulders (i think they're one of those things where people miss the forest for the trees and get faddish about one particular way of doing it instead of just the general movement), but anything that opens up the front of the chest and makes your rotator cuff and traps work is generally worth doing (with the same caveat as before that your objective is to get the front of the torso to expand and the back to contract rather than just trying to get the DBs up or the band to stretch).
     
  9. Fish Of Doom

    Fish Of Doom Will : Mind : Motion Supporter

    on the other hand i love shoulder dislocates with a band rather than with a dowel, as you can move your hands around while still in the stretch, which is pretty nice.
     
  10. Smitfire

    Smitfire Cactus Schlong

    I think my main posture bad point is too much curve in the lower spine and (anterior?) pelvic tilt.
    One of your links Frodo basically described me too a tee (complete with picture!).
     
  11. Fish Of Doom

    Fish Of Doom Will : Mind : Motion Supporter

    plank your ass off, then. plank so much that karate instructors froth at the mouth in the murderous desire to krotty-chop you when they see you, and you find yourself constantly avoiding berserk carpenters brandishing hammer and nail, and you have to camouflage yourself by clinging to the side of wooden boats.

    or something like that :p
     
  12. HarryF

    HarryF Malued Vember

    Yay, posture improvement!

    I really hope I'm not teaching anyone's grandmother to suck eggs, but there's a really good self assessment method where you get someone else to take pictures of you standing up from front, back and both sides - stand comfortably, take a big breath in, then let it out and they take the picture; you need to be not wearing much (how little depends on how well you know/trust the photographer) so you can see how things are aligned.

    You can read the spoiler now if you want, it's a(n incomplete) list of what to look for in the assessment, but try not to let it influence how you stand for the pictures...

    Use paint (or some other fancy photo manipulation package) to draw straight lines to check the following:

    From the side, your ear, shoulder, hip and knee should all be in line, with everything being somewhere over your heel to mid foot; without too much forward curve in your upper back, or backward curve in your lower back; your upper arms should hang vertically, just about in line with your spine

    Check this on both sides.

    From the front, things should be at equal heights on both sides (ears, shoulders, hips, knees, hands); your feet should ideally be both pointed forward (but turned out no more than about 10 degrees); knee caps should point in the same direction as your toes (again, ideally forward); your hands should have palms facing each other (by your side, or slightly in front is OK), with thumbs facing forwards; your collar bones should be about horizontal (forming a coat hanger shape with your upper traps).

    From the back, you can look for similar things as the front, plus, your spine should look completely vertical, and shoulder blades should both be at the same height and rotation; and there should NOT be a big lump of fat at the base of your neck.

    Phew!

    After this, you can try to target what might need a little work...

    common corrective examples:

    Upper back - things that work your rhomboids and lower traps (e.g. pull aparts/cable expander pulls/barbell rows (don't be tempted to go heavy) with 'big gorilla chest', straight arm dips (like a reverse shrug))

    Lower abs - dead bug and plank variations (with proper form and activated TVA), vacuum breathing, supported/unsupported leg lowering etc etc

    Added bonus: stretch the antagonist prior to doing the exercise, e.g. stretch pec major/minor (and maybe biceps) prior to doing pull aparts :D

    Hope this helps :)
     
  13. HarryF

    HarryF Malued Vember

  14. Fish Of Doom

    Fish Of Doom Will : Mind : Motion Supporter

    i dislike this article :p (although i follow the author's youtube channel as she has some interesting stuff)

    point one: t-spine extension while deadlifting causing loss of strength. t-spine extension is how you pull the slack out of the bar and is a necessary component of straight-back deadlifting.

    point two: planks not helping with anterior pelvic tilt. first of all, what she describes isn't planking, it's people doing stupid crap instead of planking right. her job as a trainer is to coach them to do it right, not to switch them to another exercise because she can't be bothered to tell them "your abdomen is sagging down, try engaging your abs and glutes" (which is, you know, how you keep proper posture in a plank and what actually causes the loaded stretching of the hip flexors that is how planks directly help combat anterior pelvic tilt).

    point three: planks don't work because they're bilateral and the problem can be unilateral. this is just dumb and lazy. one, you can plank on only one side (lift one leg or one arm, or just do a side plank, ffs), two, a unilateral problem will likely manifest in warped planking posture and can be coached from there by adjusting the posture back to neutral.
     
  15. HarryF

    HarryF Malued Vember

    :D That's me schooled

    The thing I took from the article was that I was missing quad stretches (because I was), although I don't do the one she puts forward, I do the rear foot elevated lunge (like a deep BSS) with same side arm reaching upwards...

    And quite right, planks (bilateral and unilateral) are good if you suck in that belly...
     
  16. Smitfire

    Smitfire Cactus Schlong

    Interesting article but the lack of pictures makes the exercises really hard to visualise. :(
     
  17. Frodocious

    Frodocious She who MUST be obeyed! Moderator Supporter

  18. HarryF

    HarryF Malued Vember

    There were videos for each exercise when I first read it... They seem to be broken now... :( indeed! Um, find and search her utoob channel?
     
  19. Fish Of Doom

    Fish Of Doom Will : Mind : Motion Supporter

    *poke*

    how's the back doing?
     
  20. Smitfire

    Smitfire Cactus Schlong

    MUCH better thanks for asking good sir.
    Added in planks, deadbugs etc to my daily stuff. That, the yoga and rolling my back a couple of times during the work day has seemed to help things massively
    Still trying to get some semblence of regularity in my life to fit the weights in but the sessions I have managed have gone well (if anything it's my dodgy right wrist that's the problem now!).
     

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