SMART Fitness LTD.

A common cue lifters and coaches alike use when deadlifting is to “have long arms”.

But, what does this actually mean? You can’t make your arms longer if you wanted to…it’s a set length.

What this cue is trying to say is to push shoulder blades away, creating distance from shoulder blades and ribcage.

What makes this useful is that it can help apply an advantageous mechanical leverage into the bar, so you can be stronger off the floor. Can be.

The official list of what king of the castle will consist of is here.

In this video we go over the exercises, the parameters: reps, sets and rules.

Everyone will start with “100 points”; winners of specific challenges will gain points, losers will lose points, and doing something outside the rules will dock you points.

That way: the elite freak doesn’t have an unfair advantage.

Day 1:
1) 15 mins air bike: 55-60 RPM, nose only breathing.
2) trap bar step up at your body weight onto a knee height box: 5 reps per leg
3) overhead walking lunges: 20 reps per leg: 45 lbs male/25 lbs female THEN right into full turf worlds greatest stretch: with a 5 minute time cap to complete both.

Day 2:
1) 100 wall balls: Hyrox standard
2) sold push and pull: Hyrox standard
3) bicep curls to failure: strict curl, with 30% of your body weight
(No time cap this day)

May the greatest lifters of random activities win. Also the audio did me dirty every time I moved. I sorry.

A tight muscle doesn’t always need stretching, rolling, or myofacial releasing.

However, it can help to produce a position that allows you to work within what you need to improve. Ie. lat stretch then a t spine ext pattern unloaded into a single arm row.

By itself, the lat stretch is seemingly not doing much, but when paired with an unloaded mobility drill, and using a row as a loaded t spine/back pattern, they work together.

You likely can’t stretch your way into the position you want. But you can load the stretch you need over time.

Strength is the culmination of several factors coming together at the right place, at the right time.

Assuming someone has:
1. A non-novice training age
2. An understanding of fatigue management
3. Recognition of how external factors play a role
4. Some muscle mass- and not a large quantity of fat mass
5. Moderately proficient at their skill in the gym
6. An understanding of recovery protocols

You will make progress, until you don’t. Then things have to change, that’s where growth occurs.

Tight muscles aren’t always weak muscles. But sometimes they are, and when they are, being stronger helps.

If you stay weak, you have a few things going against you:
1) you’re weak
2) things hurt
3) positioning is usually worse

Improve positioning through strength, stability and mobility. Not just one.

As an aside: it’s rarely “strengthen muscle x” and result will be improvement “in performance y”. It’s largely a global response.

Stretching and mobilizing have their place- I’m a big advocate of both with clients…when it makes sense.

If you’re stretching, rolling, mobilizing, doing ISOs, PAILS/RAILS/CARs and still not seeing productive changes, chance are it’s not a mobility issue. It may not even be a strength issue.

It could be a positional issue: where your centre of mass is off, problems may ensue.

Your hips, ribcage, shoulders, neck, breathing can all be at play. Sometimes together, sometimes in isolation. The devil is in the details.

Stacking ribs and pelvis is often a fairly nebulous topic when it comes to lifting.
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The goal is to produce as much tension as you can in your abdominal wall/torso.
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If we think of a pop can that is unopened, there is a large pressure build up, when popped open, pressure decreases.
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The human torso, producing pressure in the thorax, is similar: if no air, pressure drops. We want lots of pressure built, through breath.
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The easiest way to do this: actually take a breath out, engage obliques, then take a breath into thorax.
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How do you brace?

Understanding how to stack, and when to stack your major joints is often times a game changer: when you don’t know how.

The cool thing is, it’s typically not super hard to achieve, it’s more a matter of knowing how.

It’s not that a “more tilted pelvis” (anterior pelvic tilt or posterior), and a more “flared ribcage” (ribs up or down) is bad, but rather maybe one is less useful in specific contexts.

Good, stable, strong lifters, have an ability to move into and out of positions with relative ease. Less, aware we’ll say struggle to control the hips/pelvis and ribs/shoulders.

If you’re someone who wants to take their training seriously, now is the time.

Having worked with several high level performers, we know how to get it done!

With multiple streams to help you achieve your goals, it’s never been easier than now.

Note link below is in bio.

Cool tid bits of athletes (in order):

powerlifter at provincial level

_ OUA football- currently at CFL combine

national level powerlifter, weightlifter enthusiast

dake national level powerlifter

provincial level powerlifter

winner of multiple Hyrox events, CrossFit lover

winner of multiple Hyrox events, CrossFit killa

OHL hockey

NCAA soccer

quesnel national level powerlifter, yogi

worlds games athlete for ultimate frisbee

messina OUA football

provincial level powerlifter

Outside of surgical related, contact based or genetically predisposed injuries, common injuries in the gym and outside, likely don’t warrant a total overhaul to your normal.

If you follow basic systems of fatigue regulation, have some understanding where your pain comes from, load management, stability demands, and what you’re lacking within your training- you can very much “train normally”.

The basic rehab context of passive to active, to active resisted likely doesn’t do much help, unless you truly need it. On the whole, most folks don’t need this for something that is kinda sore or kinda stiff.

Train better, don’t just stop or avoid something because “ouchie”.

Oh and stopping entirely with hopes it goes away: likely setting you back longer than if you just did something.