Agreed, unless you 1)Compete in powerlifting 2)have twig legs and need to pack on some good size real quick that only Heavy Squats can provde, id always opt for single leg work
17.01.2020
Ok, situation got worse as I suspected.
Second lesson with the coach for upper body, total crash. I am a Pinocchio, a wooden boy (girl in my case) so stiffed and immobile that I’ve never imagined.
I have no shoulder mobility at all. My traps overcome above everything else.
I would say- all of us are in the same situation, just never been tested with proper technique.
I must confess, that just a half of split squat, 7 -8 no weighted hip trusts and 10-ish squats with 20 kg bar with extended time under tension and many orders “Open the knees, open the knees” - and I have brutal muscle soreness in my inner thights and glutes.
It’s almost unreal. I watched all of their videos with their clients and I laughted so hard and thought that they are fake. And now I have to throw all of my worthless work of moving different objects up and down and to start to use my muscles correctly.
The video is in bulgarian but you can see this type of split squat that I just couldn’t do even one rep.Well, almost one with the right leg. I was sticked to the ground. I was so embarrased. All of these 50 kg lunges and so on…
Almost no one could do it in first try. Perfectly straight back, flexed glutes, flexed core, knees out, balance proportionaly distribute between two legs, movement backward and up not forward.
1 Like
Do you feel there’s a benefit to this new style of training?
I don’t have a new style, these were two lessons that only show me my week points. Nothing more. But , yes, these two hours enlightened me so much! I could’n do so simple exercises, I couldn’t row with straight back, I couldn’t rise my hands overhead with straight back sticked to the wall, I couldn’t squat with knees out and stable ancles.
All of my muscle fibres was shaking under the tension of just 10 kg only to keep the back straight and core flexed in the same time. It was AWFUL, I was shivering like a newborn lamb without any weight on the bar.
And my shoulders- I think that they are so tough. Well, they look like this only outside. My rare shoulders are absolutely immobile , like wooden. All exercises I do with my traps mostly.
I will try to integrate these advices in my routine as much as I can. There will be 6 more workouts with this coach in the future.
1 Like
That makes sense as an approach then.
My worry was that this was going to be all the training you did and I was thinking “that’s great for fixing weaknesses, but as some point she’s gonna have to lift some damn weights”
1 Like
Yes, I want to lift some fucking heavy weights and look like a beast , but just now I will try to do it properly. May be I won’t , we’ll see :).
1 Like
OMG and the second part- talking starts about at 2 min.
Open knees isn’t appropriate for everyone. Dogmatic approach isn’t a good sign
1 Like
I think yoga would be a neat addition to most people’s training.
That being said, imo these things should be a supplement to your training, not the main focus if your primary goal is to move heavy things. No one has good form with moving heavy things, unless they’ve been coached since childhood like professional Olympic lifters.
Gonna have to hit X for doubt on this one. Weightlifting positions have high mobility demands to be fair but I don’t think cobra snatches/C+J.
For everything else a lot of mobility gains can come from performing movements that challenge mobility. e.g. I started off stiff leg deadlifting with the bar at mid thigh because that’s are as far as I could go. Over a few weeks every rep was a weighted/dynamic stretch so now I can pull from a deficit.
Extra mobility work may not required if the movement demands can create mobility adaption
2 Likes
I’m sure some zealous form police can point out issues in every lift we do, which was what I was trying to get at.
I agree. I’ve noticed that my pressing form is improving since I started doing BTN presses. Challenging movements will create improvements as long as you’re consistent with them.
1 Like
It’s not a bad mindset to be never satisfied with how nice technique is. Constantly tweaking
1 Like
Yeah, I’m leaning that way too. Especially having see Cobra lift, because there’s only a few technical changes to make.
Pretty cynical but common business model in some trainers, new client comes along and first thing is tell them how terrible their technique/mobility/movement is so you get to spend the first few months ‘fixing’ the problems (nice little earner there); then you start them back on the regular lifts with super low weight to ‘relearn correct technique’ for a few months (because you want a new smartphone for awesome insta content); and then with any luck when you finally start letting them use a bit more weight they’re so much weaker they can’t do shit because all they’ve done for six months bullshit, which means you need to ‘fix’ their core stability and stabiliser muscles (which is handy because you really want that new Fitbit). If you do it right that’s six to nine months they’ve been paying you before they get the shits and go elsewhere, by which time you’ve gotten one or two new clients.
5 Likes
Completely untrue.
No one with shit technique has good technique moving heavy things. No one weak has good technique moving heavy things.
Anyone with good technique and who is reasonably strong generally moves heavy things with good technique.
3 Likes
U r well versed in the dark ways. Suspicious
1 Like
It is because, as my wife likes to remind me, I have no soul.
Knowing the dark ways comes with the territory.
1 Like
That’s true in the most cases.
But , Markko, I’ ve been training for 12-13 years do you think that I am so stupid to be so easyly fooled? And these two coaches have complete free YouTube channel and Facebook and Instagram and everything is there for free. Yes i paid some cash but not so much and in every moment i could say " oo, fuck this shit, i’m greater and stronger and better than you bla bla bla"
And they didn’t say me in any moment “we should work with you for 10 months , you should pay xxx $”. No. They just showed me 3-4 tricks to test myself. And the result is FUUUCK 
I thought i am pretty strong and I move big weights but that’s because of many compensatory mechanisms. I will do my video of these tricks.
My knees go inside in every step and every squat. It’s not so visible because my feet are open to 45degrees but my ancles go forward and lead the knees. So my feet and anckles are smashed all the time. I don’t have pain but that’s not important.
I know this for decades but i don’t know or perhaps i don’t want to fix it. I ignored it because that’s easier. Don’t change my mind at this point. 
2 Likes
In this case you’re very lucky, and you’re getting excellent information for a reasonable price.
I just have a very jaundiced view of the fitness industry.
1 Like
I don’t want extra mobility. I have no mobility at all 
1 Like