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This is one of the most common misconceived and misunderstood myths in all of exercise. The orgins of this myth are probably from misplaced perceptions and false cause and effect logic. It is my hope I can help you understand the truth behind this truly debilitating myth. Before we get too deep into this discussion we need to provide clarity on two items:

We've all seen weightlifters, gymnasts and rock climbers utilize chalk for their grip while training. The scientific name for performance chalk is magnesium carbonate and it very well may possess superhuman properties. If you lift heavy things and you are not utilizing the power of chalk you are wrong. Yep that's right, you are wrong. Go buy some chalk now and here's why...

We lift heavy things for many reasons but the obvious one is to get stronger. If you have lifted weights or done any type of strength training for any appreciable time you know that strength gains are not constant as plateaus are a common part of the strength building process.

 Everything works but only for a limited time. The human body is amazing at adapting, this is why a beginner new to lifting makes loads of progress in the beginning simply by showing up and the same reason they stagnate three months later.

The Brettzel 1.0 is a stretch that really gets bang for its buck. I highly recommend you give it a try.

  •  Position yourself as shown in the video. Flex your top hip above 90 degrees if possible and hold it down with the bottom hand.
  • Turn your bottom hip outward and try to grab your ankle with your top hand.
  • To activate the stretch actively press into the top leg with the bottom hand while pulling the knee up, attempting to drive the knee and hip into deeper hip flexion and adduction. At the same time actively attempt to extend the down hip by contracting the glutes (butt muscles) while pulling the heel towards your butt, creating hip extension and internal rotation and knee flexion.
  • The breath should increase the stretch as you exhale look to increase the stretch.
  • Don't force it, if you can't relax into the stretch use the variation that is best appropriate for your abilities.

 

When it comes to getting stronger everything works, that's right everything works-at least initially. Almost any new training program will bring on some type of new gains during the initial stages.

A nice cold dunk for a tremendous cause. 

"Two great principles of strength and conditioning: everything works; everything works, but only for so long." –Dan John

Although the words are interchanged quite a bit, training and working out (exercise) are not the same; in fact they are completely different, and your long-term success is absolutely dependent on an understanding of the difference between the two words.

The push-up is a valuable exercise which is a staple in many exercise programs. Unfortunately, many people lack the strength to complete the exercise efficiently taking away from its value and potentially making it harmful in certain cases. Provided is a step by step progression to build your push-up strength.

 

Here is our approach to getting the absoute most out of every training session.