3/19/2011

03-19-11 - Fitness Links

I've started working out again recently. I'm trying to do things differently this time, hopefully in a way that leads to more long term good foundational structure for my body problems. Obviously that would have been much easier to do at a young age, but better late than never I guess. I believe that in the past I may have overdeveloped the easy muscles, which is basically the "front" - pecs, abs, biceps, etc. I'm not sure if that contributed to my series of shoulder injuries, but it certainly didn't help.

My intention this time is to try to develop musculature that will help support my unstable shoulders as well as generally help with "programmer's disease". So generally that means strengthening the back, shoulder stabilizers, lots of over-head work, and dynamic work that involves full body moves, flexibility and extension.

The other change is that the gym I'm going to here happens to have no proper weights (aka barbells and racks). Hey dumb gym owners : if you only put ONE thing in your gym, it should be a power rack with barbells. And of course this gym has no power rack, just a bunch of those stupid fucking machines. That is the most useful and general purpose single piece of gym equipment. You could get a full workout with just bodyweight moves for the small muscles and a power rack for the big ones. In fact I would love a gym that's just a big empty room and a bunch of racks and bars, but that's reserved for pro athletes and nutters like crossfit.

Anyway, the one thing they do have is kettlebells, so I'm doing that. It's pretty fun learning the new moves. If you read the forums you'll see a bunch of doofuses talking about how kettlebells "change everything" and are "so much more fun". No, they're not. But they are different. So if you've done normal weights for many years and you're sick of it, it might be a nice change of pace. Learning new moves gives you mind something to do while your body is lugging weight around, it keeps you from dieing of boredom.

I'm also trying to avoid all crunch-like movements for abs, that is, all contractions. So far I'm doing a bunch of plank variants, and of course things like overhead farmers walks, but I may have to figure out some more to add to that. One of the best exercises for abs is just heavy deadlifts, but sadly I can't do that in the dumb yuppie gym.

My new links :

YouTube - Steve Cotter Talks Kettlebell Fundamental Steve Cotter Workshop Tour
YouTube - Steve Cotter Snatch
YouTube - Steve Cotter Kettlebell Turkish Get Up Instructional Video
YouTube - Steve Cotter Kettlebell Overhead Press Instructional Video
YouTube - Steve Cotter Kettlebell High Windmill Instructional
YouTube - Steve Cotter Kettlebell Dead Postion Snatch Instructional
YouTube - Steve Cotter Kettlebell Combo Lift Clean Squat Press
YouTube - Steve Cotter Kettlebell Clean Instructional Video
YouTube - Stability Ball Combination Exercises Stability Ball Exercises Oblique & Abs
YouTube - Stability Ball Combination Exercises Stability Ball Exercises Ab Tucks
YouTube - Squat Rx #9 - overhead squat
YouTube - Squat Rx #22 - overhead
YouTube - THE ONLY EXERCISE FOR SERRATUS ANETIRIOR BOXERS MUSCLES
YouTube - The Most Fun Abs Exercises You Can Do with a Ball
YouTube - The Evolution of Abs Exercises and Core Workouts
YouTube - Spinal mobility
YouTube - Push Ups with a Vengeance Part 2
YouTube - Push Ups with a Vengeance Part 1
YouTube - PUSH UPS Hindu vs Divebomber Push Up Pushup Cool Pushup
YouTube - Power Clean
YouTube - Power Clean Teaching Combination 3
YouTube - perfectly executed kettlebell full body exercise - turkish get up
YouTube - perfect russian kettlebell push press technique
YouTube - Pahlevan Akbar
YouTube - Naked Get Up
YouTube - Move Better
YouTube - Medicine Ball Ab Workout Exercises
YouTube - Mark Rippetoe The Deadlift Scapula
YouTube - Mark Rippetoe Intro to the Deadlift
YouTube - KILLER ABS - Stability ball workout
YouTube - Kettlebell Swing (Hardstyle)
YouTube - Kettlebell Snatch by Valery Fedorenko
YouTube - Kettlebell Bootstrapper Squat
YouTube - Kettlebell Basics with Steve Cotter
YouTube - Kettlebell Basics - The Kettlebell Press
YouTube - Kadochnikov System - screwing into the floor
YouTube - Kadochnikov System - Crocodile
YouTube - IKFF Joint Mobility Warm-up Phase 1-Part
YouTube - How to Perform the Kettlebell Snatch Steve Cotter Workshop Tour
YouTube - How to Master the Kettlebell Snatch
YouTube - How To Do 90 Degree Pushups
YouTube - How to avoid banging your wrist in Kettlebell Snatch-Steve Cotter
YouTube - Hip opener mobility
YouTube - geoffcraft's Channel
YouTube - Flexibility Drills for Hips & Lower Body
YouTube - Dan John - Teaching Bootstrapper Squat
YouTube - core medicine ball workout 251007
YouTube - Basic Serratus Anterior Activation
YouTube - Band Pulls for better shoulder strength and health
Yoga for Fighters Releasing the Psoas stumptuous.com
Tweaking the Overhead Squat Dislocates, Reaching Back, Grip Width and Mobility Drills - Ground Up Strength
MobilityWod
FARMER'S WALK my new quick morning work out - www.MichaelReid.ca

My Old Links :

YouTube - Tommy Kono lecture instruction on Olympic Lifting Part 1
YouTube - Dabaya 5x200 front squat
YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. - stiznel
Yoga Journal - Upward Bow or Wheel Pose
Workrave
Women's Weight Training
Welcome to CrossFit Forging Elite Fitness
Viparita Dandasana
Training to failure
Training Primer
TN Shoulder Savers 2
TN Shoulder Savers 1
TN Monster Shoulders
TN Band Man
The York Handbalancing Course
The Video FitCast- Episode 6 - Google Video
The TNT Workout Plan - Men's Health
The One Arm Chin-upPull-up
The Coach - Dan John - Lifiting and Throwing
The 2+2 Forums Rotator Cuff Exercises
TESTOSTERONE NATION - The Shoulder Training Bible
TESTOSTERONE NATION - Single Leg
TESTOSTERONE NATION - Romanian vs. Stiff-Legged Deadlifts
TESTOSTERONE NATION - Neanderthal No More, Part V
TESTOSTERONE NATION - Most Powerful Program Ever
TESTOSTERONE NATION - Mastering the Deadlift
TESTOSTERONE NATION - HSS-100 Back Specialization
Testosterone Nation - Hardcore Stretching, Part II
Testosterone Nation - Forgotten Squats
TESTOSTERONE NATION - Feel Better for 10 Bucks
TESTOSTERONE NATION - Essential Waterbury Program Design
TESTOSTERONE NATION - EasyHard Gainers
TESTOSTERONE NATION - Designer Athletes
TESTOSTERONE NATION - Core Training for Smart Folks
TESTOSTERONE NATION - Computer Guy Workouts
TESTOSTERONE NATION - Computer Guy part 2
TESTOSTERONE NATION - Back On Track
TESTOSTERONE NATION - A Thinking Man's Guide to Sets and Reps
TESTOSTERONE NATION - A Beautiful Snatch
tennis ball ART
stretching
Stretching and Flexibility - Table of Contents
Squat Rx
San Francisco Sport and Spine Physical Therapy San Francisco, The Castro Yelp
Romanian Dead lift
Rippetoe-Starting Strength FAQ - Bodybuilding.com Forums
Rippetoe's Starting Strength - Bodybuilding.com Forums
Rippetoe's program - Bodybuilding.com Forums
Rack Pull
PSOAS Massage & Bodywork - San Francisco's Best Massage
Posture for a Healthy Back
PNF Stretching
Physical Therapy Corner Iliotibial Band Friction Syndrome Treatment
OHPositionSnatchFB10-6-07.mov (videoquicktime Object)
My RSI Story
MIKE'S GYM Programs
Mastering the Deadlift Part II
Madcow Training - Table of Contents, 5x5 Programs, Dual Factor Theory, Training Theory
Low Back Program Exercises � Portal
Low Back Pain Exercise Guide
Kyphosis - Robb Wolf Shorties Catalyst Athletics The Performance Menu
Kettlebells Training Video - The Turkish Getup Exercise
Iliotibial band stretch
HST - Charles T. Ridgely
HSNHST Articles
How to benefit from Planned Overtraining
Hollywood Muscle
Hindu Pushups
HACK
Gym Jones - Knowledge
Guide to Novice Barbell Training, aka the Official RIPPETOE-STARTING STRENGTH FAQ - Bodybuilding.com Forums
Grease the Groove for Strength A Strength Training and Powerlifting article from Dragon Door Publications
Got Rings
GNC Pro Performance� - Therapy - Pelvic Tilts
Girl Squat
Foam Roller Exercises
Finger training
ExRx Exercise & Muscle Directory
eMedicine - Hamstring Strain Article by Jeffrey M Heftler, MD
EliteFitness.com Bodybuilding Forums - View Single Post - HELLO! your on STEROIDS REMEMBER
Deepsquatter back & abs
Dan John Front Squat
CYCLING PERFORMANCE TIPS - knee pain
CrossFit Exercises
Chakra-asana - The Wheel Posture - Yoga Postures Step-By-Step
Building an Olympic Body through Bodyweight Conditioning A Bodyweight Strength Training article from Dragon Door Publication
Bodybuilding.com Presents Diet Calculation Results
Bodybuilding.com - Patrick Hagerman - Flexibility For Swimming!
BikeTheWest.com - Nevada's Best Bike Rides
BetterU News - Issue #35 - Best Rear Delt Exercise, The Formulator for Forearms, Lower Back Pain and Bodybuliding
Beast Skills
Beast Skills - Tutorials for Bodyweight Feats
AbcBodybuilding
AbcBodybuilding.com

6 comments:

Wes said...

Why are you avoiding contractions for abs? They're not a good exercise?

cbloom said...

They're fine if you want to make certain ab muscles stronger.

For most programmers, such as myself, one of the biggest body problems for programmers is tightness and shortness through the front, from the pelvis to the collarbone. Contractions in general contribute to that. You can balance it by doing a lot of stretching and a lot of back extensions, but most people don't because front contractions are so much easier than back contractions, and stretching takes a lot of time.

So if you just go do some ab crunches and then sit at a computer the rest of the time, you are tightening a rubber band on the front of your body which messes up the ribs, tilts the collarbone down, messes up the shoulders, etc.

castano said...

MobilityWod is pretty awesome. I also like its sister site: GymnasticsWod.

Tom Forsyth said...

It sounds like you want to learn to row.

Per Vognsen said...

I did weightlifting in Korea for a bit less than a year but took a long break of 1.5 years because of my travels. About ten days ago I got back into it while I'm waiting to fly to RAD on the 18th.

My gym isn't as bad as yours but it's still pretty damn bad. There's a power rack but it doesn't have safety pins, so I can't really do max-effort back squats and have to be a bit less aggressive with them than I'd like. I'm doing overhead squats but they don't have bumper plates and so I can't really dump the bar. The floor around the power rack is also uneven and wobbly as hell. So, everything kind of sucks, but it'll have to do for the next few weeks.

Hoping to find a real barbell place over there...

cbloom said...

"Hoping to find a real barbell place over there... "

It's hard to find. There used to be an *awesome* one in Redmond 10 years ago, one of my favorite gyms ever. Chalk everywhere and huge guys doing 700 pounds and passing out.

Anyhoo, there is a crossfit place right near RAD, and if you can get past the kool-aid drinking and mild cult-ishness of it, they do have proper weights.

old rants