FRI: You Always Have a Blast in the Gym? Red Flag.

As a reminder, we will be closed Monday, New Year’s Day. 

I love pancakes. 9am for breakfast? Obvi. 9pm for a snack? Equally obvi in my world, dog. I have a Tupperware holster of three pancakes at any given time in our fridge for when I just want to grab one and go (that is unless Anna compromises my stash). live by a firm motto that it’s always pancake o’clock somewhere, so why hold yourself hostage to a time on a clock, amirite?

However, the process for making them gets under my skin in a way that I cannot describe. First, I have to mix everything together. The powder undoubtedly spills somewhere, and once I’ve added all of the requisite ingredients, it’s usually another splash or spill while I’m stirring it all together. Next, they go onto the electric griddle. I make large pancakes son, so when I flip, they often break. Another spill. Once everything is done, I now have to wait for the griddle to cool before I wipe it down by hand. It’s electric, so I can’t wash it. Once that’s done, I have to scrub the batter out of the measuring cup. Pancake batter sticks and solidifies quickly, so it’s not just a quick rinse.

It’s not an easy process and I know going in I will have to allocate a little extra clean up time if I want to get my desired sweet, golden cakes.

I do it because the ends justify the irritable means.

Don’t get me wrong. The gym is supposed to be fun. Getting results? That shit’s a blast. However, we don’t always have to enjoy the means to reaching it. In fact, we’re probably most effective when we’re not. If we are constantly playing our greatest hits in the gym then we’re likely setting ourselves up for imbalance and the corrosiveness of compensatory patterns.

For example, if you love back squats and deadlifts and ignore lunges, RDLs, step-ups and other single-leg work then you never train single-leg strength. We all have a side of our body that is stronger and if we leave that strong side to constantly overpower the weak side, we create forces of torque on our joints that is unnatural.

Always pull so heavy that you need to mix your deadlift grip? Might be great for central nervous output at 90% and up, but it’s quite likely very detrimental to spine and hip alignment as you’re dosing your body both external and internal torque at the same time.

Never show up on structure days that might include work like landmines, rope pulls, and sand bags? Then you’re robbing yourself of non-negotiable work on smaller muscles that fill the role of stability, and even larger prime movers that rarely get focus like the pec major.

Not only is it beneficial that we not enjoy some of it, it’s imperative. It’s our only form of whistleblowing that we have for ourselves. After all, we can’t control when and where you show up to class, we can only program as diversely as we can and hope that the two intersect.

Take enjoyment inventory and measure it against where you most attend. You’ll then have answers on where you probably need a little more work.

If you want the pancakes, you have to come to grips with the process of making them.

-Dave

Friday, 12.29.17

First, for Structure.
Perform 1 set every 4 minutes for 16 minutes.
8 OH Grip Deadlifts
8 DB Side Raises
(x4)
—
Then, for Conditioning.
Complete as fast as possible while maintaining position.
500m Run
50 Goblet Squats (53#/35#)
50 Push-Ups
50 Plyo Lunge Jumps
50 Barbell Rows (95#/65#)
500m Run
(25’ Cap)