IKSC Weekly Links: May 3, 2020
I like “testing” my fitness level and endurance on things outside the gym. One of those is just plain old physical work. The last thing in the world I want to be is ”that guy” who looks muscular and fit, but can’t earn his salt doing some kind of actual, useful work. Saturday’s project was shoveling, hauling and spreading this pile of gravel (5 square yards). I dug in, and got it all done in 3 hours and 15 minutes. According to my phone step counter I took about 9,000 steps during that time loading and pushing a wheelbarrow over and over. I loaded it pretty heavy to reduce trips and each trip was about 150 feet.
My heartrate was elevated the whole time, just like it would be if I were doing a medium level cardio workout. The most sore thing on my body is actually my feet, but that is because I was wearing an old pair of barefoot trainers and moving that heavy wheelbarrow load over and over means lots of overall pounds on the foot facia and all those little muscles. I would have been a little better off with something with a little more support.
Main thing is my back isn’t a bit sore and my hands aren’t blistered. Those might not be “mirror muscles” like pecs and biceps, but I think they’re quite a bit more useful. Good to know they’re intact. They’re also the first things to go when you start getting soft. The main point I bring this up is that the kind of fitness I hope to spread is that which is useable by functional human beings, not gym rats. I have to test that myself, too.
Best glute exercise? It might be the step up. I’ve used the step-up off an on in the past. This is an interesting article. It is also useful to look at where the hex (trap) bar deadlift ranks on there. The kettlebell swing is very similar to that even though it isn’t listed on here.
https://www.ergo-log.com/the-step-up-very-best-exercise-for-the-glutes.html
Not a fan of lawn care? I’m with you. Here are some good reasons to ditch the lawn. That was actually a big part of my rock hauling.
https://www.sacredcow.info/blog/quit-lawncare-not-beef
More on vitamin D. I know this is a weekly thing, but it is such a common thread.
https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-21211/v1
Video of the Week: This is Steve Maxwell, one of my big influences. This is why we do HUMAN movements like rolling, crawling, etc. You’ll see exercise programs that like to mimic animal movement patterns. Focus on moving like a human.
The second video is a more in-depth video with Steve. I was fortunate to attend a few of his workshops a few years back.
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