THEME OF THE WEEK: #1- Anterior Shoulder Pain, #2- IIFYM+ Thrive Released & #3- Developing Mind & Meaning
Quick update. Solid week in the Gym working on the JUN-18 #HyperWorkouts Training Block – loving the super heavy 3-Rep Max combined with lots of volume. Enjoying the continued commitment to structuring my days for maximum productivity and outlook. Plus, been working on some deeper mind development and ‘branding’ the approach we at AdapNation take to Thriving through food. One issue…
#1 – Anterior Shoulder Pain
Look, we all have skeletal and muscular imbalances through our day to day life – especially if we are office based and/or do lots of travel, typically assuming poor positions.
I’m on a journey to improving my Thoracic Spine mobility and Upper Crossed Syndrome (aka forward head and slight hunch). It’s heaps better due to my daily mobility work, strength training and visits to a chiropractor. That said, I do struggle with the symptoms – occasional upper back tightness, neck ache and a weaker than desired bench press.
The reason for my weaker Bench Press, is because of chronically tight pec muscles which now place my shoulders forward slightly, and out of a stable position. So, when I bench press, my issue is maintaining a strong and stable shoulder joint position. When the weight gets heavy, I tend to hunch my shoulders forward to get that extra strength. That takes the humerus out of a stable join position and makes my prone to inflammation of shoulder related muscles and tendons.
To compensate and ensure safety, I use a Bench Blaster (review article here) that forces a more stable shoulder position. I also have to actively think about engaging my lats and pinning my shoulders back. I also do some mobility and joint capsule distraction to attempt to seat my humerus back into joint as it should be. In time, it will get fully restored, but it takes time.
The issue I’ve come up against over the last couple of weeks is attempting to handle the high-volume in JUN-18 #HyperWorkouts Training Block. I’ve purposely had the chest volume and sets increase dramatically to illicit further Chest development – a a stubborn body part for me. But, with that extra volume and my shoulder joint stability issues, I’ve managed to aggravate Biceps Long Head and Rotator Cuff through allowing my shoulders to hunch forward when fatiguing.
THE PLAN: Saw the Chiro. I’m now being more committed to shoulder joint distraction and rotator cuff strengthening work, plus being more vigilant than ever on my seating and standing posture. I’m also doing some Cold/Hot treatment on my left shoulder to help calm the inflammation, as well as continuing my ZMA supplementation.
#2 – IIFYM+ Thrive Released!
At AdapNation, our goal it to help people be their best – their body, their mind and their overall wellness and vitality. We’ve seen it firsthand and are inundated by examples of just how powerful food choices and consumption habits – both extraordinarily good AND bad.
I am honestly the best version of myself today, at 37 years old, than I have ever been. I’ve cleaned up my diet and now see nutrition is a vital habit to enable me to thrive. Thrive in terms of energy, productivity, care, outlook, mood, body composition and overall disease-free wellness.
So, last week I put the finishing touches on our Sustainable Eating Approach here at AdapNation – called IIFYM+ Thrive. It’s been released as a 3-Part Article, which covers the why behind the diet approach, the foundations of our food choices, the 10 daily principles we live by and some other useful tips for managing a great body and nutritional wellness. Here’s the link if you’re interested – IIFYM+ THRIVE – AdapNation’s Approach to Nutritional Wellness [PART 1].
#1 – Developing Mind & Meaning
Just finished Own The Day, Own Your Life by Aubrey Marcus. It was a great read, and really provides much of the inspiration behind the deliberate changes in habit and scheduling I’ve adopted over the last month or so. I was so impressed that I bought the hardback for my Brothers birthday – I see it as a great gist to bestow on people I care for. If you’re into ever improving your life, productivity and energy, I would encourage you to take a flick.
Now, after quite some encouragement from the online sources I get my information, I’ve decided to get into a deep and challenging book called 12 Rules For Life by Jordan B. Peterson. If you haven’t heard of Jordan, he is an acclaimed Canadian Psychologist that has hit Youtube in a bog way over the last few years. People rave about his philosophies of life and meaning.
I like to cycle through Optimal Wellness, Fitness, Entrepreneurship, Business and Self Development books – so to be multi-dimensional and not just geek out on my field of practice. So, the next month or so is my investment to better understanding the meaning of life… Deep maaan! 😉
[for all my book recommendations, you check out the Book Recommendations section]
Focus For This Week
In terms of Fitness, Nutrition, Wellness and Body Goals, here’s my focus for this week:
- Shoulder Rehab work – as per above, still working through the inflammation. It’s not stopping workouts, but could do if not cared for.
- Breaking my Weight Plateau – May need to increase calories again, as weight is stalling at 196-197lbs.
- Social Media restraint – Continuing to improve my ownership of social media, versus the other way around, but am still allowing too much distraction and inefficiency in the morning.
I’ll let you know how I get on next week… 🙂
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