Yoga Bear
My quads are barkin’ today. I don’t think it’s the 20 rep squat. I think it’s the 100 or so front squats I did yesterday. Low weight, low frequency, high volume.
Attempted yoga tonight. I seem to recall that I didn’t like doing yoga when I was sore before. I also don’t recall particularly liking to do it in the evening. I think I’m gonna need to find something else for evenings. Maybe I can squeeze in some morning yoga on Sundays, we’ll see, I do like to sleep past 5 at least one day a week.
I recall thinking about finding something other than yoga last time I was doing it too. Tonight I was thinking about joint mobility, something to really get in the hips and shoulders, although in truth my wrists and ankles probably need it just as bad or worse. Is there a DVD or book out there for that or do I just need to finally invest in a Physical therapist?
Anvil or Hammer 
on January 17, 2007 on 11:02 am
If there’s a pool reasonably close by, swimming’s always a good option. It can be as relaxing or as energetic as you want to make it.
I also find it helps with shoulder mobility. Gets them moving in slightly different ways.
on January 17, 2007 on 8:52 pm
Scott,
I’ve done the ppol thing and actually like it. Coming from the midwest, I am also used to public pools. From what I can tell, out here, no public pools.
on January 18, 2007 on 11:50 am
The Inside-Out program from T-nation does a pretty good job of going through the steps for building up shoulder health and maintaining it.
I got the magnificent mobility DVD, but it’s just exercises, no real programming.
on January 18, 2007 on 5:22 pm
I haven’t yet but I’ll look up the Inside-Out thing. I’ve heard of that DVD but never heard much, doesn’t sound like it’s really worth the investment. I don’t think there are a lot of really solid mobility/stretching programs out there that aren’t yoga and of the ones that are yoga, it seems like 90% kinda suck. Ah well, it’s the nature of things.
on January 20, 2007 on 11:10 am
I think a big part of the problem is it’s really easy to do the mobility movement, but do it wrong. The real value in my mind for mobility work is to strengthen the weak muscles in the chain (and stretch the tight ones), building up resistance to injury. If you are already compensating, there’s a good chance you’ll continue to compensate with other muscles when doing the exercise that’s supposed to hit the weak area.
Teaching someone how to do it right, without working with them in person, has to be really hard. Mobility work is something I’d like to gain a better understanding of as well. Chris has said that the ability to do an overhead squat was a good indicator of things working pretty well. I can’t right now, and it’s something I’d like to achieve at some point.
Another big barrier I’ve encountered is learning how to identify where the chain of movement is breaking down. I know when I walk right now, my right hip feels wierd, and that seems to carry into a odd feeling in my right knee when I squat down. Other than taking the standard “stretches for squatting” exercises and doing them, there isn’t a good way for a non-expert to identify what is weak and what is tight. You really have to learn in person from someone already who knows how to screen the movements.
on January 20, 2007 on 8:24 pm
I would agree with all of the above. I can’t really add anything to it cause Scott summed it up better than I could. So I’ll settle for, I agree. 🙂
on January 22, 2007 on 1:05 am
Cool Mike. I just ordered an unreasonable quantity of books relating to this topic, so I’ll let you know if any of them turn out to be any good. I’ve got a lot of free time on my hands now that I’ve implemented the changes to my training I wrote you about.
on January 22, 2007 on 7:23 am
“Cool Mike. I just ordered an unreasonable quantity of books relating to this topic”
lol, great line. I’ll look forward to hearing back on that Scott. May each one provide you with insight that far exceeds the cost.