Random Friday Thoughts

Time for another Random Friday Thoughts post.

It’s been a fairly random kind of week, which partly explains why there’s been little activity on the blog this week.

How random?

We had the very tall Mr Yuri Marmerstein in teaching Handstands, Flexibility and Acrobatics over the weekend.

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Doing my best not to out pose @yuri_marmerstein He's bigger than he looks…… #wgfamily #irishfitfam #yurimarmerstein

A post shared by Dave Hedges (@dave_hedges) on Oct 14, 2018 at 11:37am PDT

This afternoon I’m flying to England to co-present at the Shoulder Health workshop in Brighton. I’ve got my Pahlavandles packed and we’ve a room full of people keen to hear what myself and Andrew Bellamy have to say.

Of course, not all shoulder rehab is Indian Club use. Here’s Sean on route back from a suspected tear in the rotator cuff:

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Upper traps are an area many don't need to do direct work on. With a good diet of Swings, deadlifts and overhead presses, they ought to be getting enough. There are always exceptions Of course, for aesthetics, all muscles deserve a bit of dedicated attention. But for those who tend towards depressed shoulders, direct work is a must. Here Sean is using a light shrug, leaning away for maximal range of motion. The light weight is to ensure there is no cheat and we target the exact muscles we require. In his case, this exercise is to stimulate, not annihilate. Sean pairs this with a hollow body push up going into a full protraction as part of his shoulder rehabilitation program. #wgfamily #irishfitfam #scapula #shrugs #traps #rehab #prehab #AiM #strength #mobility #endurance

A post shared by Dave Hedges (@dave_hedges) on Oct 19, 2018 at 3:21am PDT

This image stolen from the American Council on Exercise via google images is a lovely, clear explanation of the various scapula movements:

So while a huge amount of people live in some combination of elevation and protraction (as mine are right now as I type this…) A lesser portion of the population is predisposed to depressed shoulders. And many from Yoga, Military, the gym or some very traditional martial arts may even have trained themselves into Retraction.

The key point is that no position is inherently bad. The inability to go into and out of all positions smoothly is the problem. Sean with his depressed shoulders, struggles to achieve a good upward rotation, which carries problems for any actions requiring the arms being taken overhead.

And then of course there’s the problem that not all shoulder problems are shoulder problems at all. But that’s another blog post…..

One more thing…

On instagram I’ve posted a few “One Minute Tutorials” which I’m going back hashtagging with #OMT for searchability (or something…)

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A one minute tutorial on the heel lift as seen in the Kettlebell Snatch The heel lifts as the body leans back to counterbalance the Kettlebell So its not just a heel lift, its a hip lift, a rib lift, a shoulder lift. Get the body leaning and the heel will lift all by itself #wgfamily #irishfitfam #Kettlebellsport #girevoy #girevik #iukl #aiklf #kettlebellsnatch

A post shared by Dave Hedges (@dave_hedges) on Oct 17, 2018 at 3:54am PDT

Do YOU have a question that can be answered in 60 seconds or less? If so, ask and, if I know the answer, I’ll answer.

Hit me up with a comment below or drop an email

Chat soon

Dave