Bodytribe

Hi folks, welcome to the second installment of Questions Answered, where I attempt to catch up on my Tumblr Inbox. First, check out the first installment, since I discuss the protocols of asking a question somewhere in the post.

Teaching a oly lifting workshop.

On with the show…

Q: How can I target my lower abs to tighten them up?

A: What are lower abs? Can’t find ‘em on any muscular anatomy chart. “Targeting” something that doesn’t exist might be hard, but it must be important, since you asked, so let’s break this down a bit. Your use of the word “tighten” might be a clue… since carrying around tension in a muscle when it is at rest is a painful, and potentially dangerous goal, then I’ll assume there is something else going on in the general geography of your lower abdomen area.

Yes, I’m fucking with you. It is sort of amazing how a sentence that says one thing can mean something entirely different. You’ve got extra fat around the belly button/belt line area and you’re under the false impression that exercising the muscle underneath will do the physiological impossibility of decreasing that specific fat. So your real question is:

“How can I decrease the fat around my midsection?”

But we don’t ask that question because we’d rather believe that there is a magical exercise that breaks physiological laws and ‘tightens’ that area (please don’t ever dream of having ‘tight’ muscles… that’s called tension and it leads to injury and immobility), rather than facing the truth…

You don’t eat as well as you could.

So, as I mentioned in the first round of questions, the answer to all aesthetic questions is the same.  We call it the 3 basics: Train Hard, Eat Well and Rest Hard.

Allyson teaching at Strength Camp

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Q: How far should hands be apart on the bench press? Im 5-11 ish but my wingspan is 78 inches. So i always kept my hands closer than some other people at the gym. But I have reached a plateau on the bench 10 to 12 reps at 225 while all of my other lifts are increasing(military press,squat,deadlift etc). So how far do you recommend hands being apart on the bench?

To add to my earlier q right now my width is at about shoulder width or slightly wider.

A: I’m no longer editing questions to fix errors. If you type at a level lower than your actual IQ, I’m not saving you from appearing like you have the grammar skills of a second grader. I also wrote considerably on the concept of respect for education and educators when asking a question in the first Questions Answered installment. Please take the time to read it and understand that it will be worth my time to answer a question if the inquisition is presented with care, which means taking the time to follow the basic guidelines of our language, the REAL guidelines, not the bullshit anarchy of modern digitalism.

Anyway… the bench press. How far should apart should your hands be? Or is the question how to break a plateau? Perhaps we’ll address both…

First, hand width is a matter of personal preference. Strict guidelines serve no purpose, so play with it.  You like narrow. Groovy. Might there be benefit to wider? Yup… less range of motion, easier to pack the lats (which I guarantee you’ll probably need additional training on), more chest activation, etc., but maybe you’re a monster tricep presser. Then the narrower grip might be to your advantage.

Which leads to breaking the plateau. You’ll probably want to revamp your technique. The common bodybuilder-style bench press of flat back, no leg drive and absolutely no concept of lat activation will simply give you some rotator-cuff damage in a few years. So my suggestion is to delve into powerlifting bench training if you haven’t already, and discover the beauties of driving with the feet, getting a tight arch and that said lat pack I keep going on about. the bench is a full-body lift when done right, not a chest exercise.

One of the best videos on the art of bench pressing, JM Blakley’s Building the Perfect Beast, is getting harder to find these days, but if you ever get your hands on a copy (I still have the VHS version), it is well worth watching.

Al benching her bodyweight in an APA meet.

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Q: Ever try parkour? :D

Yup. Love it.  Will do considerably more in the upcoming years.

Cliff jumping at Fort Funston

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Q: Right about now I am just doing a couple of resistance band training for my shoulders and started a detox diet for a week, after that just looking and researching information on tips and advice of what to do, when to do, how to do training for getting stronger (not focusing on getting volume what i want is strength, if i gain volume at the process i don’t mind but mainly strength is my objective so i can develop good balance and coordination) I am looking for all the info an tips i can get.

A: Getting stronger? The 3 Basics: Train Hard, Eat Well, Rest Hard.  What does that mean? Oh, that’s a biggie…

First, define “strength.” Since you can’t achieve what isn’t defined, this is always step one. I define it as ability, and waxed philosophically about it in this article a bit. But here’s a few short answers to get the mind and body rolling…

1) Covet intensity. Be willing to delve into a level of discomfort for short bursts of time. Now avoid being stupid about it… learn technique and have a cache of movement selections.  But just know this shit is going to get a little scary. (By the way, this is reason number 1 that most folks avoid strength and real fitness… it means hard work)

2) Lift heavy.  Not always, not EVERY time, but get excited about picking up something beyond what you think you’re capable of.

3) Eat. Real Food in real quantities. Too many calories are wasted, unless your goal is also getting fat. Too little calories means wasting your time in the gym. Don’t run your high performance machine on cheap gas or an empty tank.

4) Covet mobility, flow and grace. Yup, this is the oft ignored part of the game.  It isn’t HARDCORE enough for some folks. Fuck ‘em. When the zombie apocalypse comes, they’ll get eaten first for being too slow and tight. Or in a decade or so, if not sooner, their organic machines will fall apart, then their former 500 pound squat will now be about 15 pounds if their lucky, which means their 500 pound squat means dick.

5) Give. Strength is ultimately a big, fat waste of time if it doesn’t benefit the Tribe, the community. I quote Dave Draper in a past blog post that I feel sums it up nicely:

The obvious truth is you and I take care of ourselves so we are more able to take care of those around us. We are extraordinarily generous and considerate people, like a breed of our own. We lift weights that we may lighten the load for our neighbors. We eat healthy foods that we may care for the ill when they grow faint. We seek longevity because someone must attend the aging and failing in their time of need. We sleep, rest and relax with peace-loving diligence that we may serve others tirelessly. We, through our consistent exercise, develop discipline, patience and compassion, needed character qualities when called upon by God and man to mitigate strife and negotiate peace.

Dan deadlifts