You Just Gotta Do It
Thanks to Leonid Mamchenkov for the photo
"Open wide! Here comes the airplane!"
When I was younger I hated vegetables so my mom had to airplane-feed them into my mouth. It was fun till I almost choked on a broccoli spear. Now it's hard for me to eat meals on airplanes without gagging, a sort of Pavlovian response, I guess. Well, that or shitty airline food.
She also tricked me into eating raw spinach, saying I'd grow big and strong like Popeye. Nevermind the fact Popeye's forearms were incredibly disproportionate to the rest of his body. Muscle is muscle and I wasn't picky as long as I got some.
My mom was a master at getting me to do things that I hated but were good for me. Now that I'm a big boy and can forgo the salad for a chicken burrito I'm probably not getting anywhere near the nutrients I need from vegetables. So I try to invoke my inner-mom and make myself eat a few servings every day which is as much an exercise in self-control as it is in creative yuck-reducing cooking. (Thank you, Precision Nutrition.)
But eating vegetables is only one of the things I know I need to do that I don't like. Recently, I realized I needed to branch out and add more things to the list. I mean, if I can add some salt, pepper, olive oil, and red pepper flakes to my broccoli to make it more palatable, I should be able to spice up the other shit I hate, right?
Stretching
When I first started lifting weights I read that static stretching significantly reduced power if performed before training. So I decided to stop doing it completely.
(I recently read a study that showed it only reduced it by a little; not enough to matter since I'm not a professional athlete. Live and learn.)
For the past eight years the only stretching I did was regulated to my bed while yawning after waking up.
Then about a year ago I hired Mike Robertson to write a few month's worth of training programs to help stop the clicking in my shoulder. I took some photos of my posture and sent them to Robertson for an evaluation (I did so only after coercing my little brother and assuring him I'd never tell anyone he had to take photos of me in my boxers. Sorry, Austin).
Robertson recommended a ton of stretching to help "reestablish my tissue length and quality while breaking down scar tissue and getting rid of trigger points." Apparently neglecting my soft-tissue quality for the better half of a decade was having some negative effects on my lifting, my posture, and was probably the culprit for my bum shoulder.
I took his advice and lo and behold the stretching helped everything Robertson said it would.
I've since added it to my daily routine in the morning. (Drink coffee, stretch, and listen to music.) I've been consistent with it for a few months now and it's turned into a habit rather than something I force myself to do. And because I've been consistent, it works. But I still hate it.
(Side note: I was recently sent a G2 fitness mat, which Paula Abdul sponsors. Despite that obvious injustice it's actually pretty cool; mine has drawings of guys doing stretches on it. My now inspired girlfriend wants to make a mat with sex positions, so be on the lookout.)
Cardio
Here's how I started my "Kettlebells Put to the Test" article that ran on TMuscle in January of this year:
"I have an embarrassing confession to make.
I can't walk up a long flight of stairs without getting a little winded. If I play a game of pick-up basketball, I'm usually huffing after the first few minutes. And while I could use my mild asthma as an excuse for my aversion to anything resembling cardio, that's just a cop-out."
If you read through the article you'll see how great kettlebells were for helping me with my conditioning. (They were also good for doorstops or unnecessarily heavy paperweights.)
I don't care if you call it cardio, conditioning, or Try-Not-To-Vomit; I fucking hated it and still do.
Yet I have to go for a hike, drag a sled, or swing some 'bells at least once per week to feel good. I'm not talking about "feel good" in the physical sense, mind you; Dave Tate and I agree that conditioning sucks donkey balls. I'm talking more about the feeling you get directly after you finish something you hate. It's a small victory, a chance to feel like you're in charge.
So, why are you telling me this?
I guess what I'm saying is that sometimes you have to fight your inner-pussy and actually do some stuff that'll benefit you, despite how it makes you feel at the time. (At least that's what some guys tell themselves after they screw a fat chick. Although I'm not sure of the benefit there.)
So what do you hate? Why is it good for you? And are you currently doing it?
Sack up, gentlemen. I'd like to know.
Comments for This Entry
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Ever since I got rear ended my neck has been clicking. I've been doing stretches for the past few weeks and already notice a big difference even though they are painfully boring, its just something you gotta do. Otherwise every time I turn my head to shoulder check I'll be reminded of being lazy with a click.
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I fucking hate stretching... No I'm not doing it... but now that you posted this I decided to do it. Damn you Nate...
Sincerely,
J.C. -
Nice post!
I'm doing some posture changing exercises for my small forward head posture. I like swinging the kettlebell and lifting heavy stuff so the posture exercises are not a real challenge, but it's for the best :).
Great conclusion in the end about the fat chick, LOL!
Greets from Belgium,
Ken -
Hey Nate can you please post those workouts that Mike Robertson gave you and help a poor student out. Ever since you described them concerning the box front squat I was intrigued. I have done the designer athlete program and bought magnificent mobility. I would love to see those programs if you could.
Thanks. -
It's crazy that you would write about that, but I guess meatheads have problems and hatred toward the same things. Two weeks ago I had noticed a pressure in my left anterior deltoid on any heavy pressing... so I decided to beef up the back training to heavy twice a week to build its strength up. I felt that there was an imbalance favoring my presses.
I also am backing off bench and shoulder presses to once a week each. AND I am stretching with my group fitness GA who has a thing for yoga... she tears me up man.
With the heavier, more often back training I also am incorporating 6-10 sets of rear delt work bc they blow. In order to press more I need to build a better, more solid base "to push off of" so to speak.
i also hate guys that wear their extra ShMedium polo shirts to show off their rib cages... the meathead is a dieing breed my man, but that is a whole different story.
good post -
I know i should do alot of stretching, but I haven't done it in a while I usually skip the stretching at soccer and cricket training, by organising my kit bag or pretending I am on the phone or something. I do warm-up but stretching for me has also been a pet hate of mine. I have been meaning to buy a foam roller for months but to no avail, one day.
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Foam Rolling
Man, I hate it. However; if you haven't added this to your training program it is a must. It does feel as if you are having your muscle ripped completely off the bone (especially the IT band)!
And one non-training related.
Lawn Mowing
I moved out on my own to an apartment when I was 18. It was pretty sweet not having to mow for 6 years! Since I recently purchased a house however; I have to mow and weed eat. It is a bitch. I make it a little more enjoyable by loading my iPod up with some Iron Radio and TheFitCast podcast, along with some Kings of Leon, Dispatch and Bob Marley. -
I have a sign on the wall in my room that says, "Every time you stay up late, every time you sleep in, every time you skip a workout, every time you eat garbage, every time you avoid the hard part, it makes it that much easier for me to beat you."
Foam rolling and stretching has been one of those things for me too. I still hate it but force myself to do it. I've learned to use it as my introspection time before a workout. I put my headphones in, put the hood on my hoodie up and pretty much disappear to the world.
Other than that there is a bunch of stuff I hate to do. Like eating frequently. Seriously, if I could take all my food in the form of pills or some kind of IV I'd be a happy camper. So, I force myself to have two cooking days each week (girlfriends are great for this) and make a ton of food that I store in tupperware. At the start of the day I fill my backpack with containers and eat them whenever it's time for a meal.
Oh, and being nice to fat people. Apparently it's something you're supposed to do, but I still die a little on the inside each time.
"I did crystal meth for a while. I didn't do rehab to stop either. I just hardened the fuck up." - Jason Ellis -
Stretching, foam rolling... they're both right up there with root canals and holding your wife's purse while she tries on something that costs enough to keep me in beer and cheeseburgers for a couple of months. Necessary evil, but I have a hard time getting motivated to do it.
I may try the morning coffee & music routine. It's just me and the dogs at that time of day, so it could work... -
Things I hate: Cardio, Foam Rolling, Lifting anything for more than 4 reps, my job, and cleaning my apartment. However, I still do them all.
Things I like: Seems like you wrote this article with more smartassness than other recent ones. Your witty, smartassness is what drew me to this blog in the first place. Keep it up. -
Thanks for all the comments guys. I had no idea so many people hated stretching and foam rolling as much as me.
-Nate -
I especially hate straight running or jogging. I play on a club ultimate team and get plenty of running between the 3 practices a week, but i absolutely cannot stand straight cardio.
I always see people jogging on the sidewalk on my way to class or up to the rec and I just can't imagine why someone would want to run like that.
I feel that if your going to run, you may as well be playing a sport or at least running for a goal. Also theres some sort of mental block for me, i can run for shit unless i'm playing a sport and i can run all damn day as long as i'm running after a disc haha. -
I used to fucking HATE cardio, but while I could run for a couple of minutes I was winded after a short run. I also had very poor flexibility and the thought of stretching to fix it made me think of 24 other things I'd rather be doing. This list could include but would not be limited to talking to my house plants to make them more comfortable or alphabetizing the contents of my recycling bin
I then signed up for martial arts classes which forced me to twice a week push through high intensity cardio and stretching, I now look forward to my cardio sessions, not only because I get to kick things really hard but because I get that small feeling of victory knowing I survived something I used to hate.
The key is finding some way to take your mind off how much you hate whatever it may be, just for that little window of time it takes to find that small place in your heart where you maybe, kinda enjoy it.
In other news, I have a kyphosis and foam rolling makes me feel like 3000 flaming gryphons are descending on my spine and slowly tearing away the flesh. -
I'm fairly new to lifting, just a couple of years - but i never streched or did cardio, the very thought of it just sucked, big time. I'm 45 and at my age and my late start - just wanted to pack on a couple of pounds of muscle - but i developed a neck that actually 'crunched' when i moved it, i popped my shoulder doing bench, my knees felt like i had bought them fom a little old lady on ebay - i was crumbling.
So I tried something different for a few months - P90X. I know, i know - but it made me warm up, it made me strech, it got me doing Plyometrics, cardio and yoga (which i am shit at and still sucks balls) but the difference it made says it all.
Now i do weights one day and some kind of cardio the next - i still warm up and strech - and not only am i lifting better, heavier and injury free (well, almost) i kinda enjoy it (don't give me that look!) Don't get me wrong, Cardio is still the devils work, like alcohol free beer and de-caff coffee, but sometimes you just have to suck it up and be a hero. -
At everyone who also hates stretching (most us meatheads) - Have any of you ever tried Bikram Yoga? It's intense. Essentially it's 90 minutes of yoga with a core focus, performed in a 105-110 degree room. You sweat your balls off (burn aprox 1000 calories), loosen up your otherwise tight body and hit the core pretty hard. Not to mention the class is full of fit broads. Just make sure to bring in a G2, gallon of water and a few towels.
Here are some other things I hate:
1. Fat people with excuses (most fat people)
2. Slow Drivers
3. Cold Weather -
I personally have to stretch before working out to fully achieve that mind muscle connection.
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Ha - what do you expect from us? When I was a kid, I used to think that warming up was for pussies - as I got older, yeah, thought stretching was for pussies - now starting to see the value in that - and seeing the benefits from it as well - (PS the fact that we're all touting the value and importance of stretching is a sign that we're getting old, FYI)
Hmmm - what am I not doing that I should be doing more of? How long do ya got? For me, I'm probably not giving enough genuine value to the people around me and in my life - I'm not doing enough to try to help them, nor am I taking a genuine interest in other people - funny enough, helping other people achieve their ends and being a positive force in their lives are some of the most satisfying things you can do personally, but we get so caught up in our own personal shit that we ignore this - a MAJOR commonality among the most impressive people I've met in my life and the people I respect most are they are tremendous value givers - I have noticed this as a major fault and sticking point in myself, have sought to consciously re-frame myself greatly in this area, and am now acting along those lines the best I can -
Great job getting us to think about what we're doing and to question our activities lately man - I think the whole self-improvement and make-money got us all pushing forward and taking action - now we need to make sure we're doing the right things and heading in the right direction - whether everything we're doing is really giving us the lives we want - keep settin the pace bro - -
Excellent post, Kaiser.
Really.
-Nate -
Great post! I sometimes have to remind myself to stretch before beginning a workout.
I once read in a fitness magazine that one of the best times to stretch is after a shower, your muscles are loosened, and it can help increase flexibility, so I try to do that when I remember -
Thanks for this! From my own experience, I have to say that most of my major gains came when I got comfortable with picking the heavier weight or the harder movement, even if it meant finishing DFL. And I think the biggest plus comes in the mental department; it's humbling, motivating and satisfying to try something truly difficult, struggle through it and make it to the other side, however long it might take. This especially true with the community we have: I can't tell you how many times I've been pushed further than I thought possible by the cheers of those who finished before me. The mental toughness you gain from this will serve you far better than the extra seconds you have off the clock by scaling.
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Steve 2:02pm Sep 28, 2009