My friend Mack Kay wrote a post over in the members forum on FLS and I thought it would be good info to share with you. Just like the rest of us, there are things in his fitness program that need work. This article is about getting better in the area that you are weakest.
Corrective Action For Weak Exercises – Getting Better All The Time
By Mack Kay
Everyone has weak exercises they want to get better at. For me it is a huge list! This includes pullups, dips, deadlifts, and cleans.
My personal corrective action for getting better all the time is as follows:
Getting Better At Dips & Chins:
Dips:
I could not do 8 dips with a full stretch on bottom 2 months ago. To fix it I began doing different stretches (with a wooden bar) and 3 sets as a warm up for any work out. My improvement went from 6 half reps to 15 full solid reps for 3 sets. My training consisted of shoulder stretches and weighted dips of which I can do with 80lbs for 5 reps now. (As a note, Ray can do it with 100+lbs for sets. Awesome).
Chins:
Brutal exercise for me. I have a good push movement but a weak pull movement. I went to the Check institute (Great place in Okatoks, you cant lose by getting a performance review there, they are world renowned) and verified it. I was the most rounded athlete between myself and some MMA fighters (good friends of whom are incredible athletes and I have all the respect in the world for) and yet struggled with pull exercises. Correction: 3 sets of chins every day at the gym. I have since gone from 3 – 5reps max to 3 sets of 10+ reps. I do them under handed and kipping style. My forearms hurt like crazy when I do over hand ones so I just adapted. Big difference between kipping ones and strict form, both have their + and – ‘s. Again Ray is awesome at them, if you want to learn great form, watch him.
Getting Better At Deadlifts and Power Cleans:
Like most I have the power but not the form. Unlike most, I know my form sucks. With light weights I can keep my lumbar curve tight but at a certain point I bend like a straw. Its brutal form and causes me alot pain. I know how to do it but it takes practice. Good form does not happen over night. If you see me in the gym with light weights and breathing heavy it is because I am concentrating so hard on form it wears me down.
Train Hard Rest Harder:
Getting enough sleep can be an issue too and don’t think a ton of monster energy drinks will solve the problem. The harder you train the harder you need to rest to recover. There is an article over at life hacks about getting better fitness through sleep you might want to check out.
Point is, I know my weaknesses and am trying to improve it daily. I’m getting better all the time and hopefully you are too!
Great article Mack! If you don’t recognize your own weaknesses and set goals, what is the point of all of this fitness stuff. I have also come to realize that this will be a continuous evolutionary process for the rest of my life. That is what makes it fun, don’t you think? Stretching has been huge for me. Now I wouldn’t think of not doing it and everything has improved. I’ve also been doing yoga once a week and my flexibility has improved even more. And you are right, Ray is awesome. Have a great day.