Do you know why we are able to rest most when lying down? Maybe this is obvious to you, but I know it was a profound insight to me. It’s because that’s the position that we have the most points of contact with a stable surface, which (of course) means that it requires the least amount of energy to, well… be.
Our bodies like stability and the less stability we have, the more work we need to do to manage our relationship with gravity. If you’ve ever been extremely tired you know there’s a profound difference in how it feels to lay down versus sitting in a chair. Even though you’re doing virtually nothing active in either case, lying down feels remarkably more restful. That difference can be mostly explained by all the work we’re doing to resist gravity and maintain a mostly erect shape.
All this is to say that stability is a key variable in and around the gym. There are a slew of options we have as coaches to add or subtract stability from nearly any movement situation depending on the desired training effect. If you find yourself struggling to meet the points of performance or desired range of motion for a given movement, you’d be surprised at how much adding a point of stability can help things.
Want to challenge a movement? Remove stability!
8/27/21 WOD
DEUCE ATHLETICS GPP
Complete 4 Rounds for quality of:
12 Front Rack Reverse Lunges
6 Kneeling Med Ball Throws(ea)
Then, every 3:00 for 5 rounds complete the following for load:
3 Power Cleans
6 Pull-ups
12 Push-ups
DEUCE BACKLOT GPP
Complete 4 rounds for quality of:
5 Pause DL (:02 AK)
:45 Side Plank(ea)
Then, complete the 4 rounds for quality of:
12 Single Leg RDL
:30 Pallof Press(ea)
Then, complete 4 rounds for quality of:
12 Straight Arm Pulldown
15 Seated Banded Pulldown
DEUCE GARAGE GPP
7-7-7-Max
Strict Pull Up
Complete 3 rounds for quality of:
8 Decline Ring Row
16 Alt 1-Arm DB Bench Press
10 Ab Roll Outs
Then, with a partner, complete 16 alternating rounds for time off:
6 Alt 1-Arm DB Power Clean and Jerks (70/50)
12 Slam Balls