maybe it's worth checking out physical therapy as a preventative measure, like you'd get a physical exam every year at your PCP. I learned more than I cared about wrt my shoulder going to physical therapy following a rotator cuff injury.
Common Muscular Weaknesses
81–90 of 140 posts
Re: Common Muscular Weaknesses
#82I really wish there were places that could legitimately analyze muscle imbalances and suggest corrective exercises. The internet only works for the most common ones, such as pelvic tilt, and sometimes you mis-diagnose yourself. A lot of the "great" information online is bro-science, and doctors generally don't care at all, so neither is optimal. P.S. The military uses fancy position sensors to track muscle imbalances…
One of the interesting things my trainer did before we started was three sessions of analysis. Measuring flexibility, symmetry, strength, and recovery. We then put together a plan to fix issues identified from that to get to a solid baseline, so that when we work all the muscles together to get better systemic performance they participate in the motions as designed. This was stuff that he learned getting a kinesiolog…
Is your trainer in the bay area? I'd be interested in a trainer that is good at those things; or if anyone else has a trainer in San Francisco that does those things, please comment!
Re: Common Muscular Weaknesses
#83Without knowing who the audience is, its not very responsible to recommend people do certain kinds of training for "fixing" physiological issues. If you have access to medical services, please make sure to get an evaluation done before trying anything on your own. An acquaintance who had shoulder problems and read comments on a random forum (not unlike what people seem to be doing here) about using stand up presses to strengthen shoulders. Turns out he had some scapular issues and had to get surgery done to fix it. Luckily, the presses didn't make it worse, but they could have. Yes, if you're an healthy adult, you might be just fine, but you never know who ends up reading your post.
Re: Common Muscular Weaknesses
#84Recommendation for those looking to build serious functional strength and avoid injury: Convict Conditioning. Emphasis is on calisthenics (body weight training) not pumping iron. Can’t recommend it highly enough. https://www.dragondoor.com/convict-conditioning-downloadable...
I think Convict Conditioning is a joke compared to this site: http://beastskills.com Why? Because no one knows who the CC author is, and the model for many of the exercises is the guy from bestskills, who gives legit advice and has a well known background (gymnast). He also doesn't try to glorify bodweight exercises like CC does. Imo, CC is just ineffective - for example the towel method for a one-arm chin instead of…
I mean, yeah, beastskills is legit for all the reasons you mention.
But it seems like it should be possible to give a shout out to beast skills without needing to disparage CC - they’re clearly working together and share the same core principles on weight training.
I can’t speak to effectiveness of towel method yet as I’ve just started it. But I did start out by adding a weight belt to pull-ups and that didn’t seem to work well after a while. I saw results when switching to the CC method, slowly working through the steps. Perhaps different methods work for different people.
Re: Common Muscular Weaknesses
#85Earlier quoted context omitted.
Bodyweight training is great (I often do it on rest days), but don't think that people pumping iron doing powerlifting are not 'practically' strong. When a person is dead lifting 500+ pounds or squatting 400+ they are strong anyway you slice it.
Seems a bit nitpicky to zero in on that one word, but okay, I added an edit. Strength is strength, I just tend to gravitate towards things that could help me in survival type situations.
How do push-ups and pull-ups apply to survival situations?
Re: Common Muscular Weaknesses
#86The site recommends crunches and leg extensions... crunches are not a great exercise for functional ab muscles, and leg extensions are generally verboten due to stress on the knees from the open chain loading. It's good to be thinking of this stuff though. I highly recommend Athlean-X(his free youtube videos, can't say anything about his programs) and Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength program. Between these two, I've…
Keyboard jockeys pretty much always have tight pec minors. I started watching other people's body mechanics years ago and I had to stop looking at my coworkers because it was distressing. Tight pecs can cause a lot of mid back problems which is how I got diagnosed. I had this weird muscle spasm a couple inches below my shoulder blade on one side, when holding my arms out in front of me for long. Asked someone about i…
A note for the "test": the problems with forearm wrist joints might tweak an angle.
After an accident with both bones broken and dislocated wrecking these in my right arm, head of ulna is out of normal placement, but I know the exact amount of force (pain is quite measurable) and direction to put my hand straight.
Re: Common Muscular Weaknesses
#87Earlier quoted context omitted.
Seems a bit nitpicky to zero in on that one word, but okay, I added an edit. Strength is strength, I just tend to gravitate towards things that could help me in survival type situations.
How do push-ups and pull-ups apply to survival situations?
Lol. Skeptics out in force today. Have you ever had to hang from or climb something? Or maybe slip and fall off a ledge? The ability to pull your body weight up seems like it could come in reasonably handy in certain situations.
Re: Common Muscular Weaknesses
#88Earlier quoted context omitted.
Strongly agree with the body weight training, but also check out the bodyweightfitness subreddit [0] for good discussion and advice. They have a simple and concise starting routine [1] for people just starting out. There are also some mild critiques [2] of Convict Conditioning. It's very good for a very practical kind of strength, but you will likely not get big very fast, if that's what you're looking for. I've been…
Sure. My interest is primarily practical strength, and by that I mean "ability to move my own body through space in practical real world situations, as opposed to sheer brute force". The end state is more “jacked” than big. Looking jacked is certainly an ego boost, but the confidence that comes from being able to stunts like one arm pull-ups + pushups, wall walking etc is by far the biggest win for me. Not quite ther…
For sure. There's the 'jacked' aesthetic, and there's being strong and capable in our own bodies alone. While those things are often found together, there are definitely times when one is lacking.
Both are practical for doing what their goals are. Sometimes people want social signaling, sometimes they want community, sometimes they want skills.
Gymnastics is awesome though. I wish there was more adult classes for general skills out there.
Re: Common Muscular Weaknesses
#89Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think Convict Conditioning is a joke compared to this site: http://beastskills.com Why? Because no one knows who the CC author is, and the model for many of the exercises is the guy from bestskills, who gives legit advice and has a well known background (gymnast). He also doesn't try to glorify bodweight exercises like CC does. Imo, CC is just ineffective - for example the towel method for a one-arm chin instead of…
I mean, yeah, beastskills is legit for all the reasons you mention. But it seems like it should be possible to give a shout out to beast skills without needing to disparage CC - they’re clearly working together and share the same core principles on weight training. I can’t speak to effectiveness of towel method yet as I’ve just started it. But I did start out by adding a weight belt to pull-ups and that didn’t seem t…
Beastskills is a superior resource. CC is just a money-grabbing ploy, which is fine, but there is no reason to go with it.
As far as adding weight not working for you - you are more likely not eating enough / not resting enough / don't have the right rep/set numbers, etc.
The appeal of adding weight is that you can fully control progressive overload, as in, add tiny amounts of weight.
Anyway, watch out for bicep tendinitis - first time in my life I had to stretch my biceps.
Also, remember that it's a long journey, as in years (unless you weigh 120 lbs).
Good luck!
Re: Common Muscular Weaknesses
#90Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength I like this gist of his program, but as someone who did it years ago, there's a few things I'd change. First, remove cleans, and add barbell rows. Lots of people make this adjustment. I don't find the exercise to be beginner friendly. Second, deadlifts will be there own focused day almost immediately. Outside of one's probably first month, doing squats + bench + deadlift is nearly…
The squat style has a lot to do with body types I think. His squat style completely cleared up lower back and hip pains I was having with high-bar. I think people should try both and see where their bodies are most comfortable.
Agree. Everybody’s geometry differs so choice of high or low bar will be very related to femur length vs torso length. One size fits all approach isn’t going to work for a lot of people.