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Seven Old School Combat Conditioning No-No’s by Mark Hatmaker

 


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.

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