5 Strength Exercises for a Desert Island
If I were going to a desert island and could only take one type of squat with me, I would pick Bulgarian Split Squats.
How to Use Occlusion Bands
Aim for 60% of Max Blood Flow Occlusion
Science says all the good things seem to happen around 60% of max blood flow occlusion depending on what device you are using. This allows for just enough venous restriction with continued arterial blood flow.
With a Sports Rehab Tourniquet - pump the pressure until you can no longer feel an arterial pulse (my advice it to use medial malleolus/ inner ankle pulse). Then measure approximately 60% of that OR aim for between 130-150mmHg – for first timers start lower (thank me later).
The Best Shoulder Strength Exercise – Bar None
COVID has brought about many travesties and hardships to us all. Times are indeed tough – we cannot visit loved ones or get outside for hours on end to enjoy the delicious Melbourne winter weather (which seems to be one of the more mild ones in memory just to rub it in our faces). Gyms are closed, and so are our favourite restaurants and bars – this has forced me into finding a different type of bar to pass the time and get me through COVID lockdown 2.0 – the kettlebell arm bar.
Should Eccentric Progressive overload replace all Static Stetching
The jury is still out on static stretching (except this author, who quit the jury room a while ago to go to the pub), but a lot of people are very attached to it so let’s have a look.
Muscles are elastic, so if you reach for your toes for 30 seconds, you’ll get a little bit closer to them. Yay #mobilitygainz! But tomorrow/next week/next year you’ll reach again and they’ll be just as far away… So what have you really gained?
Your muscles are changing constantly depending on what you do. So if you go “hey I need you to lengthen out just for this minute”, they will. Problems arise when you’re also telling them “hey we mostly just need to sit in this chair” or “if we quarter-rep this bench press I can get an extra plate on.”
If you spend 1% of your time passively trying to get into positions that you want, but that you don’t actively load, train or use for the other 99%, is it really worth your muscles’ time to change?
Shruglyfe
If I had a dollar for every time someone said to me "so and so told me I have the hardest traps they've ever touched" ... well, honestly all I would probably do with it is bankroll an even more extravagant Woolies Dreamy Choc cookie habit than I already have (but how sick would that be!)
What I mean is, the upper traps would have to be the most massaged area of the body. But they’re still so tight all the time, amiright?
Men are Attracted to a Strong Woman
I’m very lucky to be surrounded by women of this calibre; women who are strong not only physically but, in their values, their opinions, and in standing the fuck up for themselves. These women are athletes, entrepreneurs, and experts in their fields; they are basically strong at life. Their courage and strength inspire me to be stronger, they will tell me when I’m being a dickhead, and encourage me to not allow anyone else to treat me like one.
Blood Flow Restriction training during this Glittering tropical fuckstorm of Cosmic Proportions
At time of writing the only people who have access to all the gym equipment they need to train with any kind of normalcy are either very lucky, very resourceful or very rich.
Personally, I’m not the kind of person to have a gratitude journal but if I did I’m sure there would be many pages on how grateful I am that my amazing gym loaned me some of their weights, I was able to borrow some from the clinic, and my twin sister has been stockpiling second-hand gym equipment from Gumtree for years (I’m sorry about all the jokes Kel - it wasn’t weird, you are a fkn genius.)
Technique is King - or is it ??
If you’ve ever done any of the exercise, it’s likely that you’ve heard the phrase “technique is King” (or similar).
I’d like to play the devil’s advocate here, just to question whether our fetish with form has missed the point. Maybe it hasn’t - I’m happy to be wrong on this one.
I feel like culture around technique has drifted so far out of context that it’s more like the Emperor’s new clothes. It seems to have devolved into a lot of mansplaining dweebs stipulating narrower and narrower terms and conditions on any movement and trolling any differing perspective until everyone’s too tired of the criticism to step out and say “Oi! Maybe there’s a bit more to it than that.”