Are you murdering your pistols? Do you wear lifting shoes (or anything other than flats) to do pistols? Do you cheat by using your forefoot and toes instead of your heels? Are you having trouble even performing pistols? BE honest. Im not hear to judge. Trust me, I just figured out how to do them yesterday :) Many articles have been written and videos taped regarding the how tos; but, every single one of them completely negate one simple fact. People have forgotten how to use their butts and hamstrings (a.k.a. the posterior chain) all day everyday so they have a ridiculously hard time trying to use them while exercising/training (like in crossfit or anything else for that matter). Are you one of those people? Here is a straightforward test to tell. Stand up with barefeet, ensure both feet are underneath your hips and your toes are pointed forward, your pelvis is neutral and your legs are STRAIGHT (meaning you are 100% NOT bending at the knees). Make sure youre actually doing this properly otherwise the entire purpose of the assessment is lost. The pelvis can be tricky to put in neutral [i.e. what the heck does that mean?]. Touch your crouch bone (pubic symphysis- look at first image) and the front of your pelvis on either side (ASIS- anterior superior iliac spine- look at first image) seeing to it that both (ASIS and pubic symphysis) are on the same line, vertically staked (see the profile picture of the pelvis). Once your pelvis is set while standing tall [relax your ribs all you rib thrusters!] and legs straight => raise and lower your kneecaps. Translation please: Contract your quads to raise your kneecaps, then completely relax your quads to allow them to fall. There ought to be zero tension in the quads whilst the kneecap is relaxed. Can you raise and lower your kneecaps (without cheating)? Most people deceive themselves, thinking- I can do it, I can do it!- so have someone else look at you while doing it. Any form of altered body movement is a telltale sign that you are a quad dominant person all day everyday while standing, walking, stepping, moving. PERIOD. We have patterned our neuromuscular network to basically mess up our bodies. Unreal!!! On a positive note you can change it. YES! Just relax your kneecaps. Hahahaha. Im funny! Easier said than done right? Firstly MOST people have super stupid tight hamstrings. Having the antagonistic muscles tight (hamstrings) to the agonist muscles (quadriceps) will make it crazy hard to to relax the quads. Several times a day stretch, roll, mobilize, voodoo floss, go through ranges of motion for your hamstrings (as much as possible NOT including the time you are in the gym/box doing your workout. That doesnt even count!). After the hammie stretches you can do this routine: start by sitting on the ground with the legs out in front of you to see if you can raise and lower your kneecaps. Then start standing up while hinging at the hips so you have less strain on the quads to raise and lower your kneecaps. As it gets easier slowly start standing up to a normal standing position. Finally when you can do that then try and walk! Or stand up from a seated position! Or step up stairs all the while relaxing your kneecaps and not dominating with your quads. Your quads are on your body for good reason but NOT to muck it up! You might say Whatever! I can do pistols but I cant raise and lower my kneecaps. Screw this! As you wish. Im just letting you know your risk of injuries to your body significantly increases to areas such as the knees, hamstrings, pelvic floor and the pelvis (just to name a few) …. in addition to more pressure placed on the toes and forefeet equating to other forms of impairment. Maybe not today or tomorrow but down the road. Just imagine if you properly engaged your hamstrings and glute muscles all day everyday how much easier working out would be? How much more you could lift? How much easier pistols would be? How much less aches and pains you would have in your body before, during and after a workout? Yup, thats right. The next time you do a pistol take your shoes off and emphasize using the heel part of your foot so you can activate your posterior chain (let go of using your forefeet and toes). If you cant do a pistol like this, then continue on with barefeet or flat shoes - always focusing on the heels- and go back to progressions using a box or strap or whatever it is you like using. Far better for your body to learn to move better in the long run than to wreck havoc with your tissues, causing injury and weakening your chances of those extra few kilos of a PB while lifting!
Posted on: Sun, 02 Nov 2014 09:13:28 +0000
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