How many of your own life lessons come from stupidity?
Lessons like…
[feature_box style=”9″ only_advanced=”There%20are%20no%20title%20options%20for%20the%20choosen%20style” alignment=”center”]Don’t ride a city bike while intoxicated and wearing a cowboy costume. True story but we’ll have to save that for another time when Ryan can explain himself.
If someone’s swinging a baseball bat, steer clear. Yep, another Ryan story that lead to a little concussion.
Read the UPTOWN-DOWNTOWN signs before just jumping on the subway but more importantly, do not split up. Especially if one of you doesn’t know the city quite well yet. Sorry about that one Ry.
Do not let some friendly brotherly competition land you in the hospital. Mhmm, didn’t learn that one my first or second time. But hey, third time’s a charm right?
[/feature_box]Maybe it’s not stupidity but our youth and answering the call to adventure. Acting before thinking. But maybe those decisions push us forward and make us grow.
That’s it. Let’s just call it, the Evolution of a Bro.
Not my most flattering image…
In the past, I’ve spoken about a little Friday Fun that lead to a shoulder dislocation, an ambulance trip to Bellevue Hospital’s children’s emergency room, and some knuckleheads documenting the whole thing on their iPhones. Thanks Ry and Ken.
Pretty amusing story. Hell, even a certain someone thought so.
Just skip to the 3:10 mark…Yup, that might be one of your favorite bros she’s referring to. [Lowers head in embarrassment]
Fast forward 18 months later and my shoulder had never felt better. Going through the progressions and overcoming my mental hesitations, I was back to doing it all. Even though the surgeon insisted on repairing the labrum and warning me that there was a 90 percent chance it would happen again, it did not stop me from pressing overhead, doing weighted pull-ups, starting some kettlebell snatches again, or getting in the boxing ring.
Then it happened again. This time not in a heated brotherly battle. Instead, while coming out the clinch during a Muay Thai sparring session. Oh, the joy of your hand hanging below your knee. In my stubborn refusal for surgery and to prove this doctor wrong, I was not expecting to be in another emergency room about to get injected with morphine for the first time.
You can call it stupidity or whatever you’d like, but I learned an important lesson that day. The importance of SMART and EFFECTIVE TRAINING.
With only 8 weeks (4 of which were in a sling 24-7) before my move across country to Los Angeles, I was on a very limited amount of time to get healthy FAST. The major problem being my anxiety to push forward and the doc doing everything in his power to hold me back and give the healing process some time to do its job.
With a lot of patience, determination, the hands of a good friend and even better professional, Connor Ryan at Drive495, a supplement regimen from Steve Macari, and prioritizing recovery, I gained 90 percent of my shoulder mobility within a week of finally taking that damn sling off.
In the remaining weeks, my focused shifted from breathing, aerobic based conditioning, and a down shift in carbs to progressing from baby crawling (hands and knees) to the big bad bear ones. Five minutes continuously, I might add.
With a majority of mobility in place, my focus was all on stability to gain those last few degrees of flexion overhead. The rest was all about intelligent training that progressed me to my goals beyond getting healthy.
That leads us to this week’s More Than Meat and Potatoes episode.
Ryan explains that you can actually improve your mobility with resistance based exercises. Yes, getting stronger and putting some load on your system can actually increase your range of motion and make your shoulder training more effective.
You just need the right exercises.
Luckily, Ryan gives you three ways (plus Eric’s bonus) to warm up and set the stage to build those DELTS OF DOOM.
For me, it helped to get that last 10 percent in range of motion and crush ALL the sets of lateral raises. Hell, Ryan and I even do Behind the Neck presses just last week. I haven’t looked back since.
Enjoy.
This concept of using strength-based movements to improve your mobility does not only apply to your shoulder. You can do the same for every joint in your body.
Say you want to improve or at least maintain the amount of ankle mobility you currently have, there is no better way to do so than actually SQUAT ASS TO GRASS. It doesn’t have to be loaded with big wheels. Instead, it can be simple as a goblet squat added to your dynamic warm up.
The biggest take away of this More Than Meat and Potatoes episode is…
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- RESTORE MOBILITY.
- MAINTAIN THAT MOBILITY WITH MOVEMENT & ADDED STABILITY.
With that said, you do not need an hour long, intensive warm up. Instead focus on where you need mobility most. Then add some stability based exercises like Ryan shows above. Finally, get right to your training and kick some ass.
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