Stardate: 24th July 2014
Them: “What should I take to look like you?”
me: “Take a yoga class.”
Them: “wtf dude? This is a SERIOUS question!!”
…I’m always serious.
Stretching and emphasizing impeccable posture are two of the most important things one should focus on, to support weight-training, fitness, and aesthetic development.
This post, by the way, is aimed at you:
-Guys with the too-big chest, forward-sloping shoulders, who walk around as if their back is so wide that their arms can’t go down (when, in reality, there’s no muscle there at all).
– Chicks who walk as if they’re swinging humongous legs around a 5lb vagina… when, in reality, their legs are tiny and lacking any semblance of tone.
Stop it. Stretch more. Focus on the upper back muscles… you know, the ones you can’t see or think you can’t show of in the club… the ones that help to maintain posture pulling the shoulder blades back without conscious effort on your part (were they firing optimally).
I recently had a discussion with highly-ranked Olympic lifter… who said that they never do direct bicep work, because (they believe) doing so will result in an inability to lock the arms out completely. She referenced the average gym guy, who walks around with his arms slightly bent at all time, because he works his arms so much. I pointed out a couple things to her:
– My arms are 2-4″ bigger than the average gym guy
– I don’t have that problem
I also pointed out that the reason that Olympic lifters have hypermobility isn’t their lack of direct bicep work… it is due to the extreme stretch position of their primary lifts. e.g. the snatch, which requires developing hypermobile wrists and biceps.
I also pointed out that the reason why I don’t suffer from ‘gym-guy syndrome’ is the same: extreme stretching… Either via the lifts I undertake, or active daily stretching and re-alignment.
Which brings me back to the core point: Stretch more.
Don’t be a gym douche.
Yours in fitness,
-Corey “Narkissos” Springer
Apollo Fitness Barbados 