A Trend You'll Want to Reverse ASAP!

As a Coach that's been doing this for a bit, I have picked up on to trends that take place on the gym floor. Some are good and others you'll want to stop ASAP. This topic falls under that later category.

General shoulder dysfunction as well as Bicep tendinitis are two issues that pop up more than we'd like. To start, our posture is typically pretty awful. Anteriorly rotated shoulders, a tight, immobile thoracic spine, and overdeveloped anterior muscles mixed with weak posterior muscle groups is a recipe for trouble in and of itself. Now throw in the workloads we place on our bodies....Uff!

Pushups, pullups, overhead pressing, dips or even overhead squats and snatches are all prime candidates for really aggravating the shoulder. To be clear, the movements aren't necessarily the problem, but rather the less than ideal positions or movement patterns displayed during said movements. This is especially the case when these exercises are done in large doses; what technique and solid position was once present, quickly disappears when the athlete goes in to "survival mode".

What makes this area less stable than others is the fact that the shoulder joint is designed for great range of motion and versatility, but tends to be less stable than your hip, for example. This all occurs because this joint is really a collection of muscles, tendons and ligaments that (should) secure the head of the humerus solidly within the Glenoid Fossa. A Fossa, by the way, is defined as a shallow depression on a bone into which another bone fits to form a joint.

Did you pick up on that? "A shallow depression..."

Sounds super solid to me. (sarcasm)

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Look. All I really want to do with this post is offer a quick and easy way to keep those shoulders happier and healthier. I don't want to get all scientific and go through a college level Anat/Phys class with you. I'm sure you don't want that either. So, in short:

1.If you have some grumpy shoulders, this will help.

2.If you'd like to keep your shoulders from getting grumpy, do this.

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Redefine

This theme of "redefining" has presented itself on numerous occasions this week, so I thought that I would take that as a sign that others of you out there could somehow use this post. So here we go.

I think that most of you would agree that we as humans often assume that once something has a definition, that definition can not be altered. Correct? 

In some cases I would agree with that. But in the case of how we process information, events, or situations I think that being able to redefine what these things mean is an incredibly valuable tool. Let me give you an example....

And, of course, like most of my examples - this one will be workout-centric:

I have recently been in a "rebuilding" and "relearning" phase with my workouts lately. Why? Over years and years of training and weightlifting, I have taught myself to move in ways that allow for large loads to be moved quickly....BUT....the way I've been moving has stressed specific areas in my back due to poor mechanics.

Now, these issues that are just now making themselves known have been due to countless repetitions while hyper-extending my back. And, just to be clear, this is not an issue of sloppy lifting, but rather the opposite. I was working so hard to maintain a tight lower back that I overshot it and ended up overusing it and pissing it off.

Now - and this is where we get back to today's lesson - I am having to step away from the loads that I used to attack with zero hesitation and refocus on moving lighter loads with more dialed-in mechanics and better positions.

As you can imagine, forcing yourself to lift less than you're accustomed to can be super frustrating. I kept finding myself pissed off and unmotivated to do anything just because I felt unable to lift like usual.

In order to move past this road-block, I had to sit down with myself and redefine what "heavy" was for me. I told myself that training heavy just to say that I can do a 415 back squat is really not what I'm in this shit for. I do this so that I am strong and healthy and able to take on any new challenges that pop up.

Needless to say, if my back is so f*cked up that I can't stand up, I am missing my target....BIG TIME!

By redefining "heavy", I was able to accept the situation and look at it as a positive challenge to take on. Getting to the point where I can move 415 again will be a major accomplishment - especially when I can do it without sacrificing solid positions and mechanics!

Now, with this new goal and challenge, I've found my groove again and am fired up to build an even stronger version of myself. It's going to be a fun project for me, and one that I think will offer many important lessons that I will undoubtedly share with y'all. (Get excited!)

Does all of that make sense? I hope so, because I feel like it's human nature to beat ourselves down based on what we "usedacould", rather than accepting the fact that life is not a linear progression. There will be ups and downs, but if our average outcome is in an upward, positive direction......we win!

This is all to say that if you're able to use the practice of redefinition in a positive manner, you will be setting yourself up for a lot less stress and much more success.

Give it shot the next time you're faced with a difficult situation. Ask yourself how you could redefine the meaning of (blank) to better deal with the obstacle and ultimately navigate it successfully.

I hope that you find this useful.