by Australian coach Peter Upham
(The Strength Coach)
“All rise.
Open your hymn books to page 69 and we shall all sing ‘Pump Iron’.
“Please be seated.
“A few announcements before today’s sermon; we’re praying today for a few of the missionaries that we sponsor, you all remember Ross and Nicole Livingston,……. well as some of you know, they’re in Uganda and they’ve started up the Ugandan Powerlifting Federation and that is an AFPF affiliate. They’re doing really well and having their first raw comp this weekend so we pray that that goes well. They’re a Barbell based gym and they’re doing their comps the right way, Raw is belt and knee wraps only; No elbows sleeves! As it is written in the Technical Manual.
“We’re also praying for Daniel Secombe today, as he embarks next week on an outreach program in the local strongman community. Daniel is hoping to talk to different strongman athletes about the Holy Barbell and will be inviting them along to a special service we are having next week where they can come and talk about the Barbell, ask some questions, and just get to know Strength the same way that we all do, so Outreach Week is going to be a great opportunity for this gym to see some new faces come along in the future.
Check out this really cool article called “Instinctive sleeping and resting postures: an anthropological and zoological approach to treatment of low back and joint pain”. Be sure to read the actual article in addition to looking at the awkward pictures. It’s fascinating.
After yesterday’s post highlighting the benefits of a quality diet, and today’s post focused on how resting postures can improve or prevent joint problems, some readers are thinking, “What the hell? Is he gonna live in a cave next?” Well, if I had a choice, I’d live in this quaint cabin. Here’s the deal: I’m obsessed with efficiency. When I was in school, I wanted to learn about the human body so I could improve it. When I started coaching, I wanted to learn how to best move the body with respect to mechanics and anatomy. When I started learning about training, I wanted to know how to optimally train the body. I constantly aim to have optimal technique in any athletic movement whether it’s lifting, shooting a gun, swimming, running, or agilely moving when playing pick-up volleyball. When I am cleaning up around the house, I think of the most efficient method to do each chore so that I don’t waste movement or time walking back and forth. So when there is clearly a dietary method that can improve the efficiency of the human body AND it can be tweaked to use for lifters, then I’m going to use it. It results in recovering more efficiently, but it also results in increasing the potential for long-term health. Like Rob Lowe, I want to live until I’m 150.
So when I see a physiotherapist who has spent many years around tribal and zoological populations, and he observes constants in how they rest, I consider that information relevant. I don’t take it for granted when the physiotherapist says that tribal populations simply don’t have many musculoskeletal problems. I deem that highly relevant. In the same way that a series of adaptations resulted in the evolution of various species, they have adapted to using particular methods of rest that prevent getting gunked up hips, knees, backs, and shoulders. I’m an anatomy and physiology nerd because it helps you and me get better.
Think about it: were our “ancestors” sitting hunched over in chairs on a regular basis? Even if we disregard the “this is how we evolved argument” (which is entirely valid and relevant), we can still observe the lack of joint issues in “tribal populations”. For example, what we call the “paleo squat” is observed by Tetley in this article and “can be very helpful in treating backs”, particularly in opening up the sacro-iliac joint and lumbar region.
'Paleo squat' picture from the article
Observe these positions and share your thoughts in the comments.
Are you unhappy with how you look? Do you look in the mirror wishing you had a muscular physique instead of a portly disposition? Are you unhappy with your performance? Do you want to still train into old age? These are legitimate concerns that you are okay to have. Surprisingly the “online strength training communities” seem to have a disdain for “healthy eating”, yet have a respect for strong guys who are also jacked. It’s quite possible to achieve, but it takes effort.
Jake Briskin has asked me several times to do a post on Marilyn Monroe. I think the real reason is because he has a fetish with “black and white” realities. Sorry, Jake, the world is full of color.
Marilyn Monroe was one of the first sex icons in modern American culture. It’s been said that she was a “tomboy” when growing up because she liked to run around with the boys and compete. She ran, swam, and played softball. However, later in life she established two unconventional habits: she exercised with weights and ate a “high protein” diet.
The 70’s Big week started with a female post describing how certain exercises require a good “contraction of the muscles” instead of merely moving weight, yet the post is relevant to guys too. On Tuesday I cleared up that I don’t hate CrossFit because some people thought I did (though I obviously disagree with some things). The truth is I just don’t give too much of a damn what other people do and disliking someone for their training philosophy is just being a dickhead. Disliking someone (a bro) for walking in front of you is also being a dickhead. On Wednesday we inducted Ricky Bruch into the 70’s Big Hall of Fame. Thursday I told the story of how Sid Bream did the unthinkable and asked if you could live with yourself if you missed Donny Shankle’s shot at making the Olympic team (but also good luck to Chad Vaughn and Kendrick Farris). CONTINUE READING Continue reading →
