[00:00:00] Welcome back to another episode of super you in radio. Today is Tuesday, which means we have the blueprint Power Hour with Coach Rodriguez. Just going to start just a minute where he answers your questions about training nutrition drugs everything. It really is no off topic area for this show and you can always send your questions in to reach coach Rob by sending them to on air at superhuman radio dotnet.

And he will add your question to a future show. I promise you he always does we have to pay homage to our title sponsor. Do I sound tired today? I'm going to ask you I'm going to ask coach Rob that in a second. We have to pay homage to our title sponsor All American [00:01:00] pharmaceutical in the effects sports right now.

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And without further delay calling all blueprint Army fall in line. It's time for the blueprint Power Hour with Coach Rodriguez on the Superhuman radio network.

Hey, Rob, how you. I'm doing great. Fantastic. Thanks for asking. Do I sound tired rob you sound almost like you're stuffed up. He going to headquarters now my nose. My nose is fine. I just am I'm just flattened out right now. So this I started Sunday Monday and now Tuesday and [00:02:00] I hadn't intended to do this all the way through Thursday and then take Friday and Saturday off, but I don't know.

I may have to kick off tomorrow. I'm doing. A very high volume undulating the weight whole body routine and I am doing legs to so today. I did leg presses but very light. I mean nothing to even speak of but I am telling you man. Wow, I am exhausted today after three days of this. Robert that would flatten me so that you know, what as I've always said though, if you can recover from it, God bless you.

Well, you know, I mean I am using some peptides and I almost am on HRT, so I'm sure that I'm recovering better than the average 60 year old guy, but it's just a lot of work and then there's a lot of stress to deal with day-to-day with work with real work [00:03:00] the work that actually pays bills. Yeah, right.

And so I'm probably not recovering as fast as I would if I was in my 20s living in an apartment and I could go home and take a nap after training and then get up and go out. You know, you know, what here's a really interesting idea. I've had people do this run this for however long you're going to do.

Take a week break and then rerun it with a bottle of scent the gym watch. Really. Oh, oh, yeah, maybe I should just get the synth engine now. I forgot all about it. I always do I forget about synth engine because it works so good and then you feel great and you think oh, I just feel great and then you stop taking it and you back where you were I'm going I'm going to order a bottle today.

Thank you. The best testimonial I [00:04:00] ever got was from. Was it Nate Greene Special Forces? Oh, no, ya know Nate Morrison. Yeah. I mean the do this extremely taxing hike through the mountains and timed course and he did it five days in a row and I think what he said was, you know, without it.

It flattens them and two days, maybe three at the most. Out of those five days. He recorded increases better times not worsening. So yeah, I'm going to order some today and it's probably not going to get here for a few days. So I'll probably I'm going to do what you just said. I'm going to run I'm going to try to run this again tomorrow.

I'm going to try to get to sleep really early tonight and really get a good night's sleep. I may take I may take some heroin. I'm not sure yet. That's a joke for people [00:05:00] who are tuning in for the first time. But no I may I may try to run this week out through Thursday. Like I had planned to yeah, maybe I'll just lighten up the weight cut back the volume a little bit.

But then do the whole thing again next week starting out on Sunday and start out by taking synth Engine with it. Very cool. This would be a great test. Good. I do good idea. What's going on over at the blueprint Army. Well right now we are running the best promo for the bulletin blueprint bulletin Pro that we've ever offered if you subscribe now for just 20 bucks a month and that's 10 bucks off when it's regularly, then in addition to an ongoing subscription you get 70 plus back issues, you know just chock-full of muscle gain and fat loss and you'll also get.

A free copy through normally 50 bucks my updated [00:06:00] webinar our hormone optimization, but here's the deal, you know in these back issues. There are over 300 said topics, but just as a sample of what you'll learn how to overload a muscle group muscle groups plural in just five minutes a day using a single movement what exercise this Russian lifter used to go from not making the team the Olympic team to literally setting a new world record.

It's not what most people think how former Soviet athletes use adaptogens and anabolic. What compounds when and why and then finally the single best legal product for more testosterone? Here's a Hint it is not sold. As a test booster so, you know for little more than 60 cents a day you get access to the biggest Online Library of Game Changers on the web plus monthly updates that go right to your inbox plus the new hormone optimization course coach Rob register.com for those [00:07:00] interested.

Okay. So do you want to start off with the. The email from Ethan or do you want to start off with the first question you have on the sheet? You know, what from Ethan? Okay. So even says hey Carl and Rob this is my first time riding in a question. I found shr through your guest appearance on Scott McNally show.

Thank you. And thank you Scott. I can't thank you enough for how much of a catalyst the blueprint Power Hour has been for me since I've discovered it a few months back. I'm flying to the episodes and learning more and more each and every day that's saying a lot for someone who's been training and researching on his own for well over 11 years now.

So thank you for all that you do for the physical culture community and thank you for listening. Wow. I'm this is yeah we can end the [00:08:00] show now. That's it folks. Thanks a lot. Remember what he said anyway. Onto the question my question deals with wrist Mobility. I'm a youngish guy of 27 years old and I like and like most of the shr our audience would suffice to say that I take meticulous care of my body with regard to diet smart safe and effective training pre habilitative measures to with an effort to prevent injury and prolong Mobility.

As of recent I've noticed tightness and decreasing and wrist Mobility. Even when I first get to the gym and perform some light stretching and drop down to do some push-ups to get the blood moving. There's a slight but tolerable discomfort in my wrist. I do work a computer most of the day's bam, which I presume has something to do with it.

So I'm mainly looking for your tips on how best to rectify the issue any measures I can take [00:09:00] to ensure healthy range of motion in my wrist moving forward after I am warmed up and I get to lifting in the gym. It's nearly never really bothered but. If I'm just hanging out at home and test how flexible my wrists are parentally forward or backward bending.

It's nothing like what I remember it to be appreciate your advice and in advance. Yeah, you know what I read this email my mind flash back to when I was just out of college. I was like 22 years old had just entered the workforce. And I began experiencing pain and decrease mobility in my wrist and I remember thinking hold on a minute.

You know, I'm a young man. I just started this job and I shouldn't have anything like carpal tunnel, which is the frankly the first thing that crossed my mind as I thought more and more about it though. He became clear. That [00:10:00] most of these in mine certainly was it was an overuse injury and not necessarily just their work on the computer.

Although that's obviously additive and it's repetitive motion. So I didn't experiment in the gym. I dropped all curling work I was doing and he almost immediately two things happen. This was a real eye-opener by wrist pain went away. And my arms for the first time started growing. Why was that the case likely?

Because those little movements that were doing, you know, various types of curls, they weren't doing much. If anything they were adding to you know, what my body had to recover from and I just poured myself into big basic pushing and pulling exercises where the biceps and the triceps  for my money.

They get plenty of work. So my first inclination would be to cut back on any direct curling movements you're doing in the gym and a special note. [00:11:00] About preacher curls. I can't prove this but I feel strongly they were the culprit at least in my case. So if I should to say too much Jim worked was too much office work can cause these sort of things and you really only have the luxury of curtailing one right if you think about it and so it's worth a shot in my opinion beyond that, you know, there are a couple different things.

That I would I would try stretches. For example, here's a good one start with your elbows tucked in at your sides in the 90 degree angle. You make a gentle fist with each hand and while moving only the wrist joint slowly circuit within words 10 to 15 times. Reverse that right and circle in the opposite direction 10 to 15 times again, repeat that sequence two or three times as you work through that stretch.

There's another one really [00:12:00] good one that helped me you extend your arm with your palm facing up towards the ceiling and then what your free hand gently press your fingers down towards the floor. And then pull them back towards your body hold that position hold each one of those for 10 to 30 seconds.

Repeat both with the other arm. Okay, you should cycle through the stretches two or three times with each arm. Anecdotally. I can also report that bridging from the floor. Dramatically improve my wrist range of motion and dexterity because think about it you're laying right flat on the floor and you have to place your hands on the floor on either side of your head and then press off the ground with your arms and legs that takes a lot of risks flexibility.

It takes a lot of strength and it works the wrist in a fashion that doesn't over stress. When you consider the [00:13:00] proper bridging works over 200 muscles, it's just a no-brainer to include them in your exercise sessions. You know, if you want to you can do them to you know, warm up. It's a fantastic warm up.

In fact for the entire body. Here's the bottom line wrist finger and hand issues are almost always the result of overuse it. Eliminating curl emotions perform Bridges and warm up before every workout with some of those, you know, either one of those are both stretches. You can also do those in between workouts.

You do all that and I'm betting you'll feel a lot better in probably in just a few weeks time. Okay, so let me put my two ccs in and this is from some personal experience and some discussions. I had with Ron Penna from Quest just this past couple weekends ago. So since my calf my left calf has completely.

Dwindled away. I've developed [00:14:00] a knee problem. That's kind of counterintuitive. Right? I mean, why would my knee it's below my knees above my calf. Why would I develop ankle problems? It turns out that knee stability is dependent on the calf. Now, let's look at forums for a second the problem with people's elbows and wrists.

Is that when they train biceps and forearms they only train them in One Direction ever think about this, you know you have opposing muscles on your forearm the ones that. Close the fingers and pull the wrist in and under but you also have the ones that open the fingers wide and Pull and I guess it would be extend the wrist up.

No one trains those muscles. No one think about it. When's the last time you saw somebody actually doing a reverse curl where they grab the bar Palms down and then curl it. Okay. So here's what you need [00:15:00] to start doing you want you risk to be more flexible because think about it. You've got really dominant muscles guiding the wrist and you got these weak ones that are trying to fight back sure.

You're losing Mobility because the muscles. That activate and balance the wrists are not balanced. So start doing reverse curls grab a light bar 20 pounds a straight bar Palms down and start with your arms straight down at pointing to your feet. And then curl them up bring the bar up do a reverse curl start doing those with lightweight.

Watch. What happens to your wrists. Just watch. Yeah. That's a really good point. They are very rare to see in gyms and you're absolutely right. You know, you've got one range of motion. That's what worked all the time very frequently and another that's not worked at all. What does that tell you about a possible [00:16:00] and balance well, and then think about think about keyboard work you're sitting there.

Your elbows are bent at 90 degrees your palms are facing down and the muscles that I'm talking about working there statically locked all day long keeping your wrist straight out, right? So by now doing these reverse wrist curls, you're actually going to get those muscles more into dynamic range of motion instead of this static motion for 8 hours a day.

That's its add that to the list of what Rob just said and you're going to be gold very good boy. Okay, so we go on to the next question here. Actually the next isn't a question per se I wanted to give an update on my DNA test results. Oh, yes. So if you recall a long time ago I sent away for this and I'm going to preface this piece like telling you to not order through anabolic genes [00:17:00] to come which was the outfit I use because more than six months later.

I still don't have the results that I really ordered it for which optimizing my training and diet. What I was able to get was the wrong data file. I had to download it and then I had to upload it to another unaffiliated site just to read it. Now that that only cost 12 bucks, but it's in addition to the nearly 300.

1. You know, so it really adds up the raw data shows ancestry with a few surprises there, but more importantly things like the jeans that you have for hundreds literally hundreds of medical conditions. Now for each condition usually have a certain number of good or protective genes. Bad which could be considered causative genes and neutral genes one thing it can't tell you though is the effect that your environment and maybe how life experiences shape you so [00:18:00] for example, it turns out I have the gene for alcoholism yet.

I rarely if ever touch alcohol. Why is that? Well, I learned in college you can either drink heavy or train heavy, but you can't do both. Right. I decided to lift heavy sword glass of wine after dinner is as far as things go with alcohol one area though of concern is cancer it kept showing up in the form of colon cancer lung cancer and neoplasms further.

It said that if I do develop cancer, it's likely to spread fast. I have very few protective good genes. For those specific Cancers and upon further investigation, you know, my mother's side of the family is riddled with it riddled with cancer. But for the most part they worked really hard to get it meaning.

They were Chainsmokers heavy drinkers, right? So, you know that you can imagine concerning stuff right as you're reading this [00:19:00] that's honestly not how I look at it because knowing this information. It became clear that prevention right is really what I need to be working hard towards so in addition the scheduling of colonoscopy, I quickly identified three compounds that are.

You know have pretty profound cancer preventive effects. I was already taking two of them and I just added the third those compounds will appear in the next blueprint Poland and and I feel that even without being predisposed to cancer. There's great benefit and taking all three of them and the best part is they're really inexpensive.

So interestingly enough the data goes so far as to identify things like. Your propensity to anger your aptitude for intelligence in addition to those, you know hundreds of pathological conditions. I was pleased to see that I have a lot of protective genes for Alzheimer's and Dementia, you know, that was my biggest worry prior to [00:20:00] seeing this cancer stuff in almost every other case the DNA results were spot-on right?

There was some depression. There was anxiety which are two conditions that after most of my adult life. I finally licked but man, but I have liked to have known about that earlier, right it also tells you which drugs agree with your physiology and which don't and there again, it was incredibly accurate because when I was going through bouts of depression, They tried, you know more than half a dozen different antidepressants with me two of which cause suicidal thoughts and I'm the last guy that you're thinking of that right.

Now. What I would have given to have had that doubt of before trying them right? Think about it. Think about that in the example. I just gave that kind of info can literally save lives. One last condition that I only have bad genes for something called Ankylosing [00:21:00] Spondylitis. So I just so happen to train a woman but this condition what happens is the disease fuses the SI joint in place it Marx's its way up the spine fusing all those other vertebrae and place and eventually attacks other joints crippling you and once it reaches the chest cavity.

People die eventually of Suffocation. But again, they told her that there was nothing she could do her doctor said go home and basically wait to thy here's a handicap sticker. Maybe that'll help. I told her when she started with me. I said look, I am not a doctor, but I'll tell you this their advice is crap.

I told her to toss the handicap sticker. And that we were going on the offensive find out what we could do. Now at first she was so weak. She couldn't perform a single Bridge from the floor and when I say week, I mean she literally [00:22:00] couldn't lift her head off the floor. Okay, a year and a half later this woman today can drink 50 pounds of chain around her neck.

It performed five walks to the floor and back up again. Try that on for size sometime, you know, so what I did was I took a video of her performing those long walks and I told her next time you're at the doctor play it form she did and that's the last anyone ever suggested to her that she's handicapped.

So here's the deal. I'm actively identifying right now. Trying to identify another company that does this kind of testing with obviously much better customer service. And when I have that get it out to my newsletter subscribers first, but really folks think about this, you know, I was talking to my son about it.

I didn't go into detail on the cancer or anything, but I said some this [00:23:00] was this wasn't even science. When I was your age 12 years old and it really makes you stop and think where they going to be in 10 years 2050. I mean if they can tell you from your DNA test results that you're quicker to anger than somewhat, you know, the average person or you have genes that make it more likely you'll live to a hundred.

What else are they going to be able to tell the future? You don't maybe your likelihood that you commit a crime, you know, it gets kind of scary. But I am still plowing my way through it. There is really literally that much data that you know a week later. I'm still finding new stuff. So there's two types of people I think when it comes to this.

I want to know I want to know because I'm convinced there are things I can do my wife on the [00:24:00] other hand. She was listening to me read this stuff and it was very difficult for her. And she said you know what? I'm just going to leave it up to God what my numbers up my numbers so I would say just before you order.

Understand that going in and try to accurately identify which kind of person you are because you know in some people this could be very disturbing the very disturbing read. We're going to take a quick commercial break when we come back. We've got lots more questions. Stay tuned you listening to the blueprint power hour.

We shall return

Rob. I had my DNA tested too, and I'm 14 percent Northern African and one percent Neanderthal. Well, well that time you thought you were Italian. You know how I am Italian. I'm the rest of me is Italian and Balkan which is Greek. So yeah, I am I mean I'm like, [00:25:00] you know, 80% Italian and Greek and then 14 well, but we all started in Africa.

Everybody so I'm just I just haven't evolved far enough to get it down lower than 14% Well, you know, I was surprised to buy my ancestry data. There was 15% Scandinavian, which. You know, I was always told polish Italian check and but never in the Naviance. Oh, I think you know most people are finding some surprises.

Did you have did you not have any African or Neanderthal in you or Asian Asia it because don't forget Asia is not just China and Japan it's you know, it's turkey. It's a de lot of areas that can be considered part of the age. No, it was all anywhere from Northern Italy to north east Europe to Scandinavia.

It just yeah seem to be. Confined to those areas. So this week so Rob if you had to pick just one [00:26:00] movement to perform. It was the only movement you can perform. Let's say you're on vacation. You don't have a lot of time to train and you can't do a bunch of different things. You can just do one thing to the to the limit and you get out of there.

Would it be the squad or the deadly? This is a really tough one if I had to pick one, it probably be the deadlift because you working, you know, slightly more total monthly. Yeah, I agree. But the you know, there's always a catch right fact is you can't deadlift as frequently as you can squat. The deadlift is taxes the central nervous system very heavily.

So if people have one, you know thing they could improve trade it heavy less frequently. Now, that doesn't mean you can't have light speed days, you know, you can and should pulling against pulling a lesser amount [00:27:00] of bar weight against bands is a fantastic way, you know to work on bar speed. And you know Force equals mass times acceleration.

So make sure you're working both mass and acceleration. Okay, a similar question why dips and pull over Czar better than bench presses and lat pull Downs? You know bench presses are obviously in maybe the next two curls the most popular exercises out there, right and there are a lot more people doing lat pull-downs versus people doing pull-ups.

The reason why things like dips and push ups and pull over and pull up stretch out. Those other movements is because. Essentially, you're moving the body and the weight through space simultaneously. It's the reason why you can you can plug real big numbers for the leg press right into, you know, the amount of weight lifted times.

The number of reps times the number of sets divided by the time [00:28:00] it takes you to lift it you get astronomical numbers even compared to the squat but in the real world who builds bigger legs. People who squat that's because their body and the weight is moving through space simultaneously in effect your brain and specially your central nervous system are in much higher gear because they know that the relative danger of the exercise and go.

You know is up there, you know what happens on a seven leg extensions if you hit failure on ripped in a represent nothing you lower the weight and you go get a drink from the water fountain you fail on the squat rep 10. That's a big is a big noise in the gym and everybody's looking at you because you just drop the bar off your back, right?

I mean you're at best you're missing the lift at worst. You're getting hurt bad. And again there again, let's [00:29:00] look at push-ups versus the bench, press try this little exercise. Sometimes it's a real eye-opener put out for you know, how much you want to put on the bench and lightweight just to warm up and pump out 15 to 20 reps stand up and kind of just observe how you feel give it three to five minutes and then repeat that exercise but this time with push-ups.

Push-ups you'll find that if you perform them you are much more alert. It pumps oxygen. You're into the lungs it brings more blood to the muscles it more effectively engages the abdominals which need to be statically contracted everything down to your toes Steve Reeves. Huge proponent of the push-up.

It wasn't until later in this country more recently when the whole bench press craze, you know took effect now. I have no problem saying this if you're interested in lifting or building rather, the maximum amount [00:30:00] of muscle tissue dips pullovers and push-ups will get you there faster than the bench press.

And I might add in a much safer fashion. Well, and then if you feel like man, you know, I can bang out a hundred push up so easily now, what do I do? It's called a weight vest. Yes. Exactly. Or you can do a million push-up spine doing with one arm. Yeah, but that's not always practical but I mean a weight vest so you could put get a weight vest that has 70 pounds in it and then you can actually add weight to it from there.

You can put some. What do they call them bungee cords and you can strap 45 pound plates to your back and you could you could you could add easily a couple hundred pounds to your body your upper body and do push up with that and watch you know for a [00:31:00] lot of us, especially the broader your shoulders are.

Yep, the bench press is a very unnatural movement for us. Amen. And you know guys with narrow shoulders they tend to be stronger bench presses because their arms are in closer to their body. But yeah, but once you start turning your hands out and flattening your hands and putting them on the floor, you'll find out like how strong you really are in a bench bread.

I mean in a way today. Push-up try them. They're insane. They're insane even more practical or if you don't have the weight best push-ups with your feet elevated on a bench Bingo or even you know, if you're strong enough with your feet elevated up on the wall to higher and higher right degrees that stuff builds.

Strength, like gorilla like strikes Silverback strength put it that way. It really does and yeah, it's only body weight. But listen [00:32:00] you change the leverage point and you change everything you build up to the point where you can perform push-ups with your feet high up on the wall your chest your triceps your shoulders.

You're gonna explode with muscularity. The only problem is. People don't they either are reluctant to try it in the first place or they don't work the movement long enough to exploit it because all their friends are bench-pressing and the water cooler talk is how much you bench. You know, what now?

The other thing about the bent the push-up is. I did a show with Bobby Cooper last year. I think it was called drop and give me 20 and I told people look just add 20 push-ups a day to you. You're doing your training. Now, you're doing your cardio now just add 20 push-ups a day just drop just drop at the kitchen floor in the afternoon before dinner and [00:33:00] do 20 push-ups and make it then do for.

And then someday do 60 and then and when you get to the point where you're doing multiple sets throughout the day where you're just dropping and doing 20 push-ups and you realize oh God. I just did three hundred push-ups today on top of my normal routine and you won't have to guess because you look at your body and go holy F like they're like shoulders look at my chest.

Look at my triceps. Lot of lot of people today and gyms are chasing the pump right there using all these no.2 products you want an incredible pump do push-ups. Yeah. Yeah, right they say, oh this this supplement gave me a pump all day. Well, you know after three hundred push-ups, I did today also gave me a pump all day.

Yeah, exactly check it out and you'll see many people. People want to [00:34:00] know what drugs you're on and when you tell them now I'm just doing push-ups every now and then throughout the day on top of my normal training. They won't get it. They don't believe now they won't believe it. We're going to take a break and we'll come back.

I want to get your opinion on the best machines at the gym that actually are worth using stay tuned. You're listening to the blueprint power brought to you brought to you by coach Rob register.com. Check it out. We'll be right back. Welcome back to the blueprint power. Taping your mouth as legit folks.

We're going to do a show on it next week. It's the real thing. You want to see deeper sleep if you track your sleep like I do with the order ring or your fit. Watch what happens when you start taping your mouth. It's amazing. Your nose is your carburetor. It [00:35:00] tells the brain how much oxygen is coming in how much carbon dioxide is coming in?

How much is getting out? It recycles nitric oxide. It lowers blood pressure when you don't breathe through your nose. That things don't work, right okay with that greater analogy with the carburetor how it is. It is the sensors in your nose. Go right to your brain. They tell the body what to expect here's what's coming.

That's they tell the body and when you don't breathe through, you know, you bring through your mouth all night long. This is what blood pressure goes up in the middle of the night. This is when you don't get into deep sleep. Sympathetic parasympathetic overdrive. I mean, it's a horrible thing people.

Wake up in the morning to go. I don't understand why I don't feel rested. I'll tell you why tape your mouth. Okay? So what did what Jim machines are [00:36:00] actually worth using you think huh? You know, normally I rail against machines. I think most of us do we prefer free weights, right? However, there are exceptions and I have three favorite.

The first is the pullover machine and you know the deal there is on almost every kind of roll your biceps real first or obviously a much smaller muscle groups in your left by using a well-designed pullover machine pressing primarily with just the elbows. The less will actually reach failure as opposed to the biceps.

I am also a huge. Proponent going back to the original blueprint of what's called loaded stretch position movement where by at certain points during the lift. The muscle is stretched maximally before reversing the motion and Performing the con Centric or raising of it. Big fan of those. I also like for many of the same reasons seated cable rows.

I've always kind of followed the Mantra [00:37:00] that vertical rows like pull-downs and pull ups for with and horizontal rows. Like one arm dumbbell rows for thickness seated cable rows are. You know what? I would consider to be a mixed plain row almost like a t-bar row, you know, they're there in the middle fantastic movement do make sure you're getting a you know, very deep very powerful stretch on the bottom.

And then finally The Leverage What machine this is one versatile little bugger. It seems to agree. I think the type rehab is. I carry on baby at our gym. Yeah, I carrying. Yeah, so but suffice it to say it really agreed with me meaning. I did not feel any pain in the knees. I did not feel any pain in the lower back.

And yes, it allows you to lift, you know more than you could otherwise, you know free bar Squad, but that isn't a bad thing, right? I [00:38:00] mean the more weight lifted. The war overload that's generated. I also tell you that the leverage squat at least with them, you know, the one with the pads were where I train it is an exceptional shoulder, press type of machine.

So you're standing in the machine facing in with your legs locked and your hands are just underneath the pads where your shoulders normally go. You press up in the way and the beauty of it is it's almost like a Jammer press in that the elbow is closed into the body. We talked before about how the bench press kit can be hell on the shoulder and that's because the art of the elbow rather splayed out at a 90 degree angle when you're doing shoulder presses on The Leverage squat machine.

The elbow is kept in whereby it's in line. With the wrist and the shoulder and when all three of those joints [00:39:00] are in line, that's not only the safest position for your body. But it's also the strongest I get that that I trained for it, but I get a phenomenal pump in my shoulders when I use a Leverage What machine for.

I'm sure you got your favorites too. Right? I mean the power squad or The Leverage Squad as you like to call it. I love the Nautilus the original Nautilus pull over and I love to use it as you know without my hands on the bar, but just my elbows against the pad and I you know. I am not bragging, but I've been doing it for so long and it's such a great movement because it builds up the middle of the back, which is the hardest.

Everybody talked about the Christmas tree. It builds the middle of the back up that you can't get if you don't hold onto the handles [00:40:00] if you just use the pads your elbows against the pads and you push you let your hands come apart and you let your arms go past you. All the way till your elbows are behind your back and you will find development in your back that you've never seen before and you got to go full range of motion.

A lot of guys. They're afraid to go up too high because they feel the pressure in their shoulders then lighten up. Lighten up lighten up and slowly grow the whole complex of muscles that hold the shoulders and place including the lats because I can do the entire stack for a good fifteen reps solid good form reps and like this morning.

I went light. I just did a hundred fifty five pounds. I did it for 25 reps two sets bang I was done but you know really, you know, I let my [00:41:00] hands come together. And I put my fist in my left palm at the top and then as I bring the pad down as I bring the this the arm, the swing arm down. I open my hands up and I let them go right past my side boom.

It's a great movement to actually the bar that everybody holds onto hits me in the middle abdomen. That's how far back I bring that bar. Yep. Yep, you know if I'm not mistaken you posted a video 1. Of you performing those and so for every one that may have trouble visualizing what we're talking about maybe repost that yeah.

Yeah, there were honest to God. I thought it was the best kind of a tutorial on how to perform the movement in really exhaust the lat. Yeah. I'm going to I'm going to actually get it while we're talking here. So yeah, so those two [00:42:00] those two things are really my favorite go-to. As far as yeah as far as machines in the gym, and right now I'm relegated to machines just because I'm not as strong as I was since I have been training my legs.

It's amazing how much strength you lose not just in your legs, but in your entire body when you don't train your legs, yeah, but the good news is my upper body is growing so fast because all the energy I used to put into my lower body and my back is just kind of being spent on my upper body now, so.

With that question. What's the most dangerous machine? Do you think in the gym? I don't think of any contest the Smith machine. I think by far is the most dangerous and really why well, it puts a shearing force on the knee and not just. Coming up, you know from the [00:43:00] shin bone so to speak but also going down and the situation is exacerbated and I see a lot of women doing this when they put their feet together and really walk their legs far out in front of them and they'll go down and little squat back up and I can't tell you the number of people.

That'll come up to me and say yeah, I got knee problems really what how what happened Smith machine Smith machine squats, you know who wrote an excellent piece on this know who Charles poliquin Henry look. Yeah and the poliquin principles you can read all about the shearing forces that it puts on the knee and the hell on the body.

That is the Smith machine. Yep. The puddle by that. I mean, there are there are ways to use the Smith machine sensibly. I think your problem is that I see people doing stupid movements on [00:44:00] the Smith machine like deadlifting on the Smith machine is not a good idea because the bar in a traditional deadlift has to be able to move and reposition it center of gravity as you stand up and with the Smith machine.

You're actually pulling against the bar. Yep. What's the same with the bench press, you know, the bar very seldomly for most body types moves in a perfect straight up and down line and you're really doing a disservice to your shoulders. You know, if regular benching for the shoulders is dangerous, you know Smith doing it on the Smith machine is really asking for.

Really asking for but I have seen some people do shrugs personally. I spoke before about push-ups with your feet being elevated, you know higher and higher right the Smith machine is excellent for that because you can put your yeah, but do you have to put your ankles over [00:45:00] it or press your feet ballsy feet against it?

No, I put my ankles over it. You know, it's the thing about that is. It's always a consistent height, right? So every time you go up or wrong, I forget what the graduated increments are. It's been a while. But yeah, I mean for progressively upping right where your feet are the Smith machine is it's a good tool for that for the push.

So I suppose you could press into it with your toes. But now I think you got to hang your hang your feet over it. I thought so too. I was just thinking I wonder if it hurts your ankles if you hang your feet over it, but I guess not because you're really not putting a lot of weight on your legs.

Right? Right. So yeah, that's my two cents if you have another machine in my no I don't I [00:46:00] don't know that I classify any machine as being dangerous and only because I think I recognize the limitations of machines and I've always used them. For the reasons that they work best, you know, like I see people doing push Downs for their triceps on the leg extension machine.

Like know the leg curl machine, so I saw a guy the other day kneeling down in front of the leg curl machine. So imagine the seated leg curl machine, right? Yep, and you know, the arm is sticking straight out. You got the rounded pad right there and you're going to put your feet over it and you're going to curl it underneath you.

Right? Right, and I see this guy kneeling down in front of it and he's holding the pad with his hands and he's pushing down on it like in a. I guess like a tricep pushdown kind of a movement but keep [00:47:00] in mind that that that has an arc. Why did you don't just push it straight down you push it down and away from you with each.

Right and I'm thinking to myself why like with all we have we have real tricep pushdown machines. We have a hammer dip machine that's plate loaded. We have multiple pulley machines where you could go do. Push downs and any type of tricep movement you want like I almost see people doing stupid stuff just so that they can somebody will go.

Oh, wow. I've never seen anybody do that before. Yeah. There's a good reason. It's a stupid idea. You know what? I mean? I know I've seen some events of stuff myself and at the you know, it's  usually counterproductive. There are some people that have come up with some good ones. Have you ever seen have you ever seen a woman on the so [00:48:00] the abductor machine is the one where you're pushing out right now.

I'm not squeezing in right the idea put have you ever seen someone on the abductor machine but not sitting in the seat. But on the opposite end facing the seat holding onto this the back of the seat and doing it that way. Yes, there are many women in like Jim that do that do they not understand that it's the same exact movement if you sit over the seat, but don't sit on it and just keep your ass off the seat.

It's the same like I get it. I understand. What is the difference between doing abductors sitting and standing a profound because your glutes are really working. Because they're keeping you up off the seat as they're doing the movement. But there's this there's no advantage to be facing at the other way.

I'm sure some personal trainer started doing [00:49:00] this and made it his signature or her signature move and she's like, oh the and then people are like, oh, yeah, she must she must be with bombshell cuz they do it that way what they really need say is she must be an idiot because she doesn't understand that doing it that way and doing it the other way, but just not sitting down as the same thing.

Yeah. Yeah, I'm with you there on the positive side. I did see what I thought and tried afterwards. I thought it was genius. You know those hexagonal plates. Yeah with the they've got a hole on either end. Yeah for your hand for you to hold grab with your hand. Yeah. I saw a fellow the other day.

He was doing shoulder presses with it. And at first I kind of scarf that it but then I went and I did some and some gum. There's [00:50:00] something that just feels right about it. Yeah pause in Palms in so that's good for your shoulders. Right? Exactly. So pronated grip of beyond that, you know, you can't use quite as much weight, but that's because.

Your balance it right your balance has to be much better on those even versus dumbbell presses the same way. So, you know as a as a one-off if you're interested in looking for something new I'd say give that a world so I we have to take a break. We have to take we have let's do this.

Let's take a break. Now. I've got more questions for you. This is my opportunity to interview coach Rob reddish. He's usually answering your questions today. He's answering mine and you can learn more about him at coach Rob register.com. If you want to you can sign up for the blueprint. He's got great content there.

Check it out. [00:51:00] We'll be right back.

Welcome back. So what's the best exercise for hamstrings six of one half a dozen of another of the glute ham raise or the reverse hyper now can be a difficult discussion or an issue because few gyms have a reverse hyper or even a glute ham race, right, but you can but you can at least do glute-ham raises.

If you get creative with other pieces of equipment around the gym right manual glute-ham raise exactly, but you know, what is ironic about that is in those gyms that have one if I belong to two gyms that have both glute-ham races and reverse Hyper's almost nobody uses them and I'll tell you why number one almost.

Nobody knows set of perform a proper glued hammer. They are also extremely difficult. You need to be incredibly strong to do again a proper one. A lot of people use it frankly as [00:52:00] they do, you know a back extension. That's not what it is. You are literally curling your body back up with your hamstrings and glutes.

Yeah, and this is not easy if you're a big guy like me. No, you know, I mean I see girls doing them and they do them. Broom stick handles where they kind of hold onto it and they can push off of it to get the motion started but I've seen big guys do them completely unassisted and I have such respect for the hamstring strength that they have because you know think about it like, you know, 75% of your weight is you from your hips and up right your glute.

Well, let's rephrase that you're gluten up. Okay. Yep, and your hamstrings are basically. Your body May. It's really a freaking a testament to strength. And you know, do you do you think it's good to start off [00:53:00] with using objects to push off and get started and it so you really just doing a partial at that point in time, but you gently start to activate and get stronger in the lower portion of the movement as you become a little more Gutsy.

The best thing that you can do is use a minivan. And bring it up so that it's pulling from behind you and you just Loop it over your arms, you know, so it settles kind of in your armpits and the Practical effect is that when you get into the position where it's most difficult to come back up the band is assisting you but the further you come up the less demand assist.

So over time you will develop the strength to perform a manual body weight glute-ham race. If you are exceptionally strong on the movement, you can also use a band going in the other direction meaning [00:54:00] it's hooked up to a position. Let's say below your waist and the band goes behind your neck. And that provides resistance against your body coming back up, but be that as it may you almost never see people doing it correctly and it's really a shame because the glute ham raise is one of the two best.

And it costs a lot. I mean glute-ham raises are not cheap the reverse hyper on the other hand. Well likewise that's not cheap either but I've both built one and I've worked on the commercial, you know Pro Models Super Pro Models and all that they laid dormant and I'll tell you why. I know I know what the reason is over loading and unloading a reverse hyperkinetic.

This is a real pain. You have to love reverse hypers and what reverse Hyper's do for you in order to load a significant amount of weight on.