I remember a quote that the Great Bruce Lee once said when asked about his Kung Fu style. He said, the best Kung Fu fighting style is to have no style.
I thought about this for a while and began to recognize a few things based on some of the newborns that are brought into my gym with their post preggo moms.
Ever watch a baby move? It's pure, it's full range, there are few if any limitations and it's perfect!
We go about putting weight on our backs and in our hands. We begin to run in a certain pattern. We then add sport implements that further limit moment patterns that we are suppose to be able to do yet through our "Specialization" we begin to shut down what was once "normal".
THEN, we try to go through and do what things we once were able to do, just to find out that because of our "Specialization" we no longer are capable or if we do, we HURT when doing it.
I made a comment on Social Media that came from a Chinese Proverb..."You are as old as your spine".
My pal and a lot of people know him, Todd Brock wrote back explaining how "immobile" he was too.
I've added a bunch of "MOVEMENTS" to my accessory training and haven't really reported any of it. I was trying to explain to Todd about what it was without sounding like I started "playing for the other side" (not that there is anything wrong with that~ Seinfeld)
I live in the San Francisco Bay area and almost any park you can find some aging Asians practicing Tai Chi. So that is some of it. He lives in Alabama. Good chance there is not one in the park doing Tai.
BUT!!!! That's not all. I've been COLORING out of the lines AFTER I of course get my Squat/Bench/Dead in. But a bit different.
For instance, did you know that the SQUAT isn't for only putting 1000 lbs on your back and getting back up with it? It's actually a position of REST. Try putting your hamstrings on your calves while keeping your heels down and sitting with a perpendicular spine to the ground. Can you stay that way for 15, 30, 60 minutes?
Try doing a few Squat Pause sets. Stay in the hole for a 10 count with just the bar on your back. Make all the adjustments you cue the squat with while down there. How about doing those 5 sets of 12 reps that I had my people do yesterday and SEE how you feel the next 24 and 48 hours.
How about doing the "X","Y", "Z" shoulder exercise in not only the standing upright position but one of incline at 45 Degree AND perpendicular to the floor.
The body MOVES in three planes of motion, yet we limit it to the one or two. (or sometimes which way the mirror reflects)
By specializing, and we must do so to get better in certain sports, we begin to limit other aspects.
For shits and giggles, ADD one or two extra MOVEMENTS that aren't the norm.
CRAWL under a 1 foot barrier for some distance and not touch
Do dips on some Blast Straps instead of parallel bars
Do 50 wrestling "sit throughs" to each side and see how those abs feel 24 hours from now.
How about balancing a PVC pipe on your feet while in the supine position on the floor and your feet straight up toward the ceiling. NOW move the pipe from a 9-3 o'clock position to a 12-6 and then the other way.
How many points of contact do you need to stand up from lying on the floor.
(I kipped up, cause I'm a BADASS)
Today:
3 board Press until three reps gets hard, but not impossible. Add 10 lbs and do 2 more sets of three.
Tricep Ext:
3 x10 x moderate weight
3x6x heavy enough but not elbow damaging
Shoulder Press:
5x10
Pull a Part: 4x33
Me and a few other:
As a Giant Set Circuit:
Incline Bench Press
Bench Press
Incline Fly
Flat Fly
12x12x50 for the presses and 12x12x25 for the flys
Banded Bouncing Kettle Bell Shrugs: 3 count bounce: 4x10x72 lbs KB
Neck: 1x15x5.0
Overhead Press: 12x12x50
HyVck Truck Wall Pressing or as it looked today, "Wax On;Wax Off and don't worry about coloring in the lines"
3x5 extended reps.
Ninja Ground Crawl: 3x20 yards with a few rest breaks
I'm typing this in a Rice Paddy Squat and my back is jacked from it. My groin might explode.