Movement Digest – April 18, 2021

Before we dive in, a quick question for you: what is your favourite upper body exercise? 

I have been messing around with a few new ones, myself (standing chest press, dumbbell t push-up, standing upward chest fly) and am planning to write an article about them soon. Do you know any weird or lesser-known ones that you can share with me? Hit reply on this email and let me know!

And now, with that out of the way, on with this week’s digest!

If any of the following topics happen to tickle your fancy, click the underlined text to read or listen.

Podcasts:

Change Academy – Changes We’d Like to Keep
A year ago, virtually every aspect of our lives changed profoundly. These weren’t changes we chose but changes that were forced on us.  Now that we are beginning to imagine life returning to something more similar to pre-pandemic, we have some decisions to make.

Get-Fit Guy – Why You Shouldn’t Train Like a Pro
What did a recent study of a short Dutch workout called Fit20 reveal about the benefits of working out for just 20 minutes once a week? The biggest takeaway might be that training like a pro athlete isn’t the right approach for mere mortals.

Get-Fit Guy – How Should Skinny People Exercise?
Surprise! Skinny people can be unhappy with their bodies, too. Get-Fit Guy asked a bones-to-bulk expert to share some quick tips to help even the skinniest ectomorph build some muscle.

Blogs:

AskMen.com – How to Get Better at Pull-Ups
What is it about pull-ups that makes them so impressive, and why do so many lifters judge themselves based on how many they can crank out in a row? AskMen asked me to help them answer those questions (and more). 

Videos:

Stationary Bike – Active Recovery

Recovering between sets of high-intensity intervals doesn’t have to include sitting on a bench scrolling through Instagram. In fact, you can continue moving your body in interesting ways (like pedaling a ProForm Pro 22 studio bike) while you recover. 

The workout I demonstrate in this video goes like this:
– Warm-up with some easy cycling.
— 30 seconds of High Intensity (running on the spot with high knees).
– Cycle easy again until your heart rate returns to your aerobic zone. 
— 30 seconds of High Intensity (burpees).
– Cycle easy again until your heart rate drops to aerobic.
— 30 seconds of High Intensity (jumping jacks).
– Cool down with some easy cycling. 

Read more about this workout and how you can use this technique. 

Social Media:

In this Instagram post, I am doing a col plunge. The weather is finally warming up, so I decided to go for a real dip in the ocean near my house on Vancouver Island. The air temperature was about 7 degrees but the water was around 8 degrees, so why not!? It was bracing, invigorating, and fun enough that I have done it on three more mornings since then. 

I have written about cold therapy or cryotherapy before (check out my Scientific American article) and although the science is pretty mixed, there really is something about spending a few minutes in some cold water that really does feel beneficial. I am totally ok with it all being in my head, in this case, because it’s free and it comes along with some lovely scenery 🙂

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.