Let us take a brief journey
into the land of negative injunctions, as often it is more instructive to know
what to avoid as it is mighty time-saving.
Ah, if only the
57-year-old me was privy to this wisdom decades ago.
Well, better late than
never!
One: Hands-Under
Push-Ups
·
From a
bio-mechanical perspective the hands positioned beneath the shoulders contributes
little to chest-development/stamina but places more stress on the front
deltoids.
·
Lest one think,
“Well, at least there’s the delt development aspect” there are more efficient
“burners” to do that job.
·
The
Push-Up can be tweaked to return the emphasis to its original intention of
chest development and then…
·
Followed
by a second tweak to “finish” the front deltoids once the prime target has been
dialed in and hones.
Two: Flat
Push-Ups are a 2/3rds Measure
·
The
standard straight-planked push-up [even if one adjusts to the mentioned proper
tweaked position] was still considered a pale imitation of a “Real” push-up.
·
Failure to
engage this last 1/3rd aspect was a head-scratcher to the Physical
Culturist of yore.
Three: Straight-Legged
Toes-to-Bar or Windshield Wipers as Abdominal Development
·
Half-Levers,
L-Sits, Piked Toes-to-Bars, etc. any exercise where the legs are locked and rigid
were used by Old Timers but…
·
Not as
developers [particularly not the assumed target of “abs”—they knew better.]
·
Any straight-legged
levering was considered a feat, a display, a demonstration but not as the developer
itself.
·
It was
felt that straight legs contributed only to a bit of hip-flexor engagement [and
there are better options] and primarily as a psoas stressor.
·
Repetitive
psoas engagement was seen as anathema as the psoas is the only major muscle
group that links the upper body to the lower body.
·
The
attachment from lumbar spine to twining attachment thru the pelvis, to Old
School thought, led to postural deviation and back pain if engaged too often or
under repetitive straight-legged load.
·
There was
a wiser way to develop these areas, turn the burn on what is desired, preserve
the spine, and improve posture.
·
Confoundingly
enough, it involves a partial point of absolute relaxation and a curious
leg-split.
Four: Momentum
is Not Strength
·
The clean,
the jerk, the kettlebell swing, the kipping pull-up etc. were all also classed
in the Feat category.
·
Using
these Feats as Primary training was alien to Old School thought.
·
Pure Strength,
be it bodyweight or additional loads was built by avoiding momentum at all
costs.
Five: Pull-Ups
Develop the Back
·
Um, only
partially.
·
The strict
pull-up [never the kip unless one was performing a gymnastic feat] was more a position
to move thru when one was performing a gymnastic strength feat.
·
The back
was seen for what it is, a massive interplay of broadly sweeping musculature.
·
A horizontal
bar was a go-to tool, but…what we think of as a standard pull-up was seldom
part of the strength-building roster.
Six: Chin-Ups
Develop the Biceps
·
Biceps engagement
is minimal, the underhand grip is still about back engagement, and again, as in
our prior lesson, there are far more efficient ways to attack the upper-posterior
chain.
Seven: Sled
Pulls Build Strength
·
Yes, but
at a cost…
·
Yes, it is
one of the current flavors but again, big pulls, big pushes, big drags were
seen as part of the Feat category and not as a go-to in steady rotation.
·
Why? Allow
me to hint that at all Old Schoolers were familiar with draft animals, be that yoked
oxen, horses at plow, dogs pulling travois on the plains or sleds in snow.
·
All had firsthand
knowledge of what steady and continual use of the sled led to over time.
We will delve into each
of these over time, as well as the recent science that backs up Old School
assertions.
Of course, much of
this is covered in each volume of The Unleaded Conditioning Program
which seeks to use Old School Principles to build 21st Century health.
See this blog for more
on Old School Conditioning or the available Unleaded Volumes in our store.
Why merely
read about it, when you can live it? Consider joining The Black Box Brotherhood
The Black Box Combat & Conditioning Training Warehouse
The Rough ‘n’ Tumble Raconteur Podcast
Comments
Post a Comment