The Arch Position

The Arch Position

Here is how to learn the arch position – the natural strongest and safest position for your lower back. Get down on the floor on your stomach and have your arms outstretched. Lift your feet a bit off the ground. Now, slightly lift your arms which should be extended in front of you. Lift off a bit your chest and shoulders as well as your chin. Flex your glutes and lower back. Hold this slightly arched position.

Life Updates 02/28/10

Life Update

02.28.10

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, what a weird weekend for me. Two days in a row, I been getting weird morning sickness, like I feel like throwing up? I don’t get it, I do blame it on the alcohol and maybe effects of overtraining. So yesterday, I would say I took a slight break and didn’t do my 2 hour MT for the first time since maybe 2 years. I actually slept during that time and that is the first time that has ever happened to me. So I guess I am overtrained because I usually cant sleep this much even when I am tired, but it feels good to catch up on some sleep. Well tomorrow, is officially my last 4 weeks of NPTI and this week we have out 2^nd exam before the final. So fast, March is here already, wowers. Well the snow wasn’t that bad on Thursday but still this winter is just on a whole other level. Cant wait for the longer days and the warmer weather and I am ready to cut, been writing like a sumo wrestler even since last summer. So a cut is definity due. Well till later. Stay cool my friends and visit my Youtube, FB, Blogs, and Formspring Pages.

Military Press Checklist

Military Press Checklist

• Flex the legs hard.
• Press the ground through the heels.
• Tuck your plevis in.
• 
  
• Squeeze the glutes.
• Flex your abs like in the hollow position.
• Keep your forearms vertical.
• Grip super hard.
• Press the bar up.
• Once it passes above your head, shift your torso forward a bit.

Perfect Pullup/Chinup

The Perfect Pull-up and Chin-up

• Watch your grip. Make sure to grip the bar towards your fingers. Basically, it should rest on the soft part just below your fingers. Avoid pinching your skin there. Pull-ups will cause callouses but they will actually make the exercise easier. Pinching the skin, on the other hand, will cause you unnecessary pain.
• Pack your shoulders. Always start the chin-up from a dead hang position. From there the first thing to do is, with straight arms, to pull your shoulders down toward the body and pack them into your torso.
• Use your back. The pull-up or chin-up is primarily an exercise for your back muscles. Those are the lats – the muscles of your armpits. You will fail to get good if you can’t feel and use your lats. It’s just that the biceps is too small and too week, no matter how well developed, to allow you chin-up mastery. Here is quick drill to feel those muscles. Extend your arms forward and ask a buddy to exert upward pressure on your arm. Now, try to lower it in spite of his efforts. Feel those muscles working? Good – use them in the pull-ups.
• Cross your legs. The phenomenon called irradiation allows neighboring muscles to make each othe stronger when contracting harder. So by crossing and flexing your legs against each other, you become stronger.
• Bend the bar. By attempting to twist the pull-up bar downward (your left hand will twist counter-clockwise and your right hand will twist clockwise) you will achieve a greater contraction in your upper body.
• Squeeze your butt. Same as crossing your legs and gripping hard, squeezing the glutes will give you an instant strength boost.

Life Updates 02/24/10

Life Updates 02.24.10

Whats up, back again. Another snow day, I cant believe this, this will be the 4^th major storm of the season and before this storm we have already broken the snow totals record for the winter. So no NPTI today and I am quessing there is no work today because if I leave my house, I wont be able to come back home if I get stuck in the snow, especially with my drive way and how hard it will be drive into my driveway with it steep hill. Argh this really sucks, really really sucks, well in other news the countdown to graduation from NPTI is 4 weeks away. We just passed out 5^th month and well theres 1 more to go. Still cant believe it, it’s a big deal to me. Besides, still hustling at work and trying my best to learn from the fitness industry everyday and trying to learn something new everyday and being the best PT I can be. Also, I set up my youtube account, formspring, blogs, and I also brought shirts, pens, and a car sticker. More marketing to come. I also buy a cook bar, cant wait for that to come in, I love that piece of equipement.