One piece of news that I hate breaking to people is that joining a martial arts class won’t make them lean, mean and awesome looking. You’d think they’d figure it out by looking at me, but no. It’s something of a common misconception, and I can see where it’s coming from as most high profile martial artists have impressive physiques. Continue reading Martial Arts Won’t Get You Stacked
Tag Archives: exercise
One year on Convict Conditioning
A couple of weeks before we launched this blog, fellow Average Norm editor Andrei pointed a book out to me – Paul Wade’s Convict Conditioning
Breaking it down
People have mixed opinions about partial movements. Many think they’re utterly useless, while some others believe they’re harmful. That can be true if they’re done mindlessly, but there are many ways in which consciously doing partials can help you. Continue reading Breaking it down
Warm up
Some people shrug warm ups off or do them half heartedly as undesirable foreplay to “real” exercise, but the truth is that warming up before effort is a great idea if you want to stay whole. Not only does it help with long term injury prevention, but it also prepares the body for movement, which gives you better performance during – and more benefit from – the actual exercise. Continue reading Warm up
Exercise, Training, and Play
In one of his articles, Mark Rippetoe discusses the difference between exercise and training, and why the two should not be confused. Understanding the distinction is crucial if you want to improve yourself over the long term. Continue reading Exercise, Training, and Play
A pull up bar, and a new book
Obligatory warning and disclaimer: A poorly constructed pull up bar can be dangerous. We cannot accept any responsibility for any injuries or damages that may be caused by following any of the information on this page. A well constructed pull up bar can also be dangerous if you fool around with it, so be careful!
One of the things I’ve been really missing since I moved earlier this year is my pull up bar. It was just a regular in-door pull up bar, the kind you stick in a doorway, but it sure saw a lot of use.
My new place doesn’t have any doorways that can take it, or a ceiling high enough that I could mount one inside which would not end with me cracking my head. So for the last few months I just got some pull ups in whenever I could, but not being able to do them on the regular at home was bugging me some. Continue reading A pull up bar, and a new book
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)
Most of us have been felt it sometimes – and if you haven’t, chances are you will at some point. That dull pain that can set in up to a couple of days after a particularly harsh workout, and makes even the smallest movement an absolute torment. While it can happen to everyone, regardless of age and condition, and can be annoying or painful as hell, there’s no need to let the idea put you off your exercise. Here’s why. Continue reading Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)