“Oi Collins…”
Two questions from last week…
- Lower back
- Plateaus
“Is His Back Safe?!”
This one is / was regarding a deadlift… The correct starting position for the lower back during a deadlift requires a normal anatomical arch, aka, a neutral spine… An overextended, or hyperextended, lordotic curve is unnecessary, dangerous, and actually quite difficult for people of normal flexibility to get into… The idea that we must see a visible lordotic curve in the lumbar spine in order for the deadlift to be safe / correct is a misconception coming from people with little to no back muscle, and / or no idea how to use their core… So people who never deadlift correctly, basically…
In the deadlift start position, flare your obliques, then try to raise your chest and upper back… This [said from the position of being behind my laptop and likely never having met most of the people reading this] keeps your spine nice and safe. If you’re reading this and you’re not a Blackbrook member, get a [good] professional to check you over…
“I Think I’ve Hit A Plateau, What's Going On?”
Oh man, this is quite a big one, but in keeping with the quick question format, I’ll keep it as brief as possible…
If you go back through the programming you’ll see that there is absolutely nothing in there that will detract from or obstruct the general goals of losing fat, gaining muscle, increasing performance in all 10 general physical areas, and acquiring greater skill.
Absolutely nothing.
I can also state with confidence that the standard of coaching is really quite high here, too, assuming you listen, that is…
So this leaves us with the following areas.
1. Are YOU getting enough sleep each and every night?
To quote sleep expert Doctor Kirk Parsley, "Getting less than 6 hours of sleep in [just] one night lowers serum testosterone 30%, IGF-1 30%, Insulin sensitivity by 30%, Increases fasting insulin and fasting blood glucose about the same, and lowers sex drive by 25-30%..."
You can look all that up and how it relates to athletic performance and fat accumulation if you really want, but the gist is this: with no sleep, there’s no recovery, and with no recovery, there’s no improvement… And you’re also going to stockpile body fat right round the midsection…
2. Are YOU drinking enough water?
A drop of 1.5% in your hydration levels translates as a 10% drop in your maximal strength and an 11% drop in your V02 max… And the leaner you are, the worse the drop…
3. Are YOU getting the right amount of calories, and the right kind of calories?
Incredibly, incredibly obvious… You need to eat enough to recover and grow in order to come back better than last time. Most of the foods you choose to eat should promote athleticism and an athletic physique; if they don’t they won’t help you…
4. Are YOU managing your stress well?
Huge topic…
You can read a little about it here: http://main.poliquingroup.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/916/Five_Things_You_Must_Know_About_Stress.aspx
Leave your phone at home and go for a walk in the woods.
5. Are YOU adding anything to or subtracting anything from the program?
Another big one…
As mentioned in point number 3, the point of training is to come back better next time. When you train, you break down muscle fibers. In order to come back better, they need to recover and grow, and this is done by eating and sleeping. If you pile a whole bunch of lunges on top of a CFBB session, you now have more crap to recover from, and this takes time… It’s a fact, I’m afraid… You grow stronger when you rest, not when you train.
What if you spent the weekend climbing, cycling or doing XYZ?
Then I applaud you. Gym work should be used to supplement your life, not take over it… 100% do more active things outside of the gym, just be aware they will affect your performance inside the gym. I am more than happy with that if you are.
As for subtracting from the programminging, cherry picking workouts will ensure that your weak areas remain your weak areas, and unfortunately you are only as strong as your weakest link…
“Sit the f*** down and have a beer…”
~ Coach Collins
Copyright 2018
Two questions from last week…
- Lower back
- Plateaus
“Is His Back Safe?!”
This one is / was regarding a deadlift… The correct starting position for the lower back during a deadlift requires a normal anatomical arch, aka, a neutral spine… An overextended, or hyperextended, lordotic curve is unnecessary, dangerous, and actually quite difficult for people of normal flexibility to get into… The idea that we must see a visible lordotic curve in the lumbar spine in order for the deadlift to be safe / correct is a misconception coming from people with little to no back muscle, and / or no idea how to use their core… So people who never deadlift correctly, basically…
In the deadlift start position, flare your obliques, then try to raise your chest and upper back… This [said from the position of being behind my laptop and likely never having met most of the people reading this] keeps your spine nice and safe. If you’re reading this and you’re not a Blackbrook member, get a [good] professional to check you over…
“I Think I’ve Hit A Plateau, What's Going On?”
Oh man, this is quite a big one, but in keeping with the quick question format, I’ll keep it as brief as possible…
If you go back through the programming you’ll see that there is absolutely nothing in there that will detract from or obstruct the general goals of losing fat, gaining muscle, increasing performance in all 10 general physical areas, and acquiring greater skill.
Absolutely nothing.
I can also state with confidence that the standard of coaching is really quite high here, too, assuming you listen, that is…
So this leaves us with the following areas.
1. Are YOU getting enough sleep each and every night?
To quote sleep expert Doctor Kirk Parsley, "Getting less than 6 hours of sleep in [just] one night lowers serum testosterone 30%, IGF-1 30%, Insulin sensitivity by 30%, Increases fasting insulin and fasting blood glucose about the same, and lowers sex drive by 25-30%..."
You can look all that up and how it relates to athletic performance and fat accumulation if you really want, but the gist is this: with no sleep, there’s no recovery, and with no recovery, there’s no improvement… And you’re also going to stockpile body fat right round the midsection…
2. Are YOU drinking enough water?
A drop of 1.5% in your hydration levels translates as a 10% drop in your maximal strength and an 11% drop in your V02 max… And the leaner you are, the worse the drop…
3. Are YOU getting the right amount of calories, and the right kind of calories?
Incredibly, incredibly obvious… You need to eat enough to recover and grow in order to come back better than last time. Most of the foods you choose to eat should promote athleticism and an athletic physique; if they don’t they won’t help you…
4. Are YOU managing your stress well?
Huge topic…
You can read a little about it here: http://main.poliquingroup.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/916/Five_Things_You_Must_Know_About_Stress.aspx
Leave your phone at home and go for a walk in the woods.
5. Are YOU adding anything to or subtracting anything from the program?
Another big one…
As mentioned in point number 3, the point of training is to come back better next time. When you train, you break down muscle fibers. In order to come back better, they need to recover and grow, and this is done by eating and sleeping. If you pile a whole bunch of lunges on top of a CFBB session, you now have more crap to recover from, and this takes time… It’s a fact, I’m afraid… You grow stronger when you rest, not when you train.
What if you spent the weekend climbing, cycling or doing XYZ?
Then I applaud you. Gym work should be used to supplement your life, not take over it… 100% do more active things outside of the gym, just be aware they will affect your performance inside the gym. I am more than happy with that if you are.
As for subtracting from the programminging, cherry picking workouts will ensure that your weak areas remain your weak areas, and unfortunately you are only as strong as your weakest link…
“Sit the f*** down and have a beer…”
~ Coach Collins
Copyright 2018
