‘Key Functional Exercises You Should Know.’

I am a simple guy. My motto is a quote by Einstein; ‘If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself.’  I don’t like to write never ending blog posts. Getting straight to the point has always been my style. In your face, no holds barred viewpoints and opinions. The review of my mentor’s new DVD is no exception either. If you follow me or Stop Chasing Pain you already know how I feel about Gray Cook. If you don’t, you are about to find out. lol

I love Gray Cook! He has been one of the single biggest influences in my career. He is a close friend. We are both rednecks from Virginia. (I can say that because I am one..lol) My hometown is 30-minutes from were he lives and practices.

When he talks, I listen.  

When he says do this, I do that. 

When he says don’t do that I stop doing that.

When he puts out new material I buy it. 

Why?

Because the man is smart as hell, loves what he does, is open to other opinions, and does his best to help improve the world and himself. Yes, I am going to tell you to buy this DVD and here is why? It all starts with why anyway. The ‘what’ and the ‘how’ are pieces of the ‘why.’  Start with why and the rest just falls into place.

Top Ten “Whys’

1. The DVD begins with Gray talking about functional exercises and movement. I have never seen anything like it when Gray speaks. He commands a room. You become captivated. The man knows his stuff inside and out. Gray is the KING of analogies and metaphors, making it much easier to truly understand how movement is key to performance and recovery. His opening speech sets the tone for the entire video. Just sit back and soak it up.
2. The DVD comes with an awesome PDF script and MP3 audio download full of lectures and video interviews. You get lots of EXTRAS in the DVD that will add to your knowledge. That’s what we call a win-win.
3. My friend Dr. Mark Cheng drops in and helps with the Turkish Getup section of the video. If you don’t know Doc Cheng put that on your MUST DO LIST and follow this man. He is an RKC, StrongFirst Kettlebell GURU. Watching him perform a TGU is a thing of beauty. He gives great tips on cracking the secrets of a TGU. Oh and Gray is walking you through it too. Hello epic coolness.
4. Think you know deadlifts? Gray gives you new ways of harnessing the power of the deadlift for corrective exercise. He takes a member o the audience and coaches them on a kettlebell deadlift. You see regressions and progressions with emphasis on packing the lats and hinging at the hips.
5. Chops and Lifts work basic patterns of the sling system of movement. Gray teaches subtle cueing techniques for the chop and lift to help hip and core stability. This is an exercise that is very easy to do WRONG! Positioning and motion are pivotal to proper outcome. How to follow thru with the arms is worth a treasure in this section because most people do it incorrectly.
6. The awesome Lee Burton pops in at the beginning of the video with Gray talking about how the Functional Movement Screen came about and how its progressed over the years. They make a dynamite team sharing their passion for movement teaching and education.
7. Bloopers are cool. A few laughs will be had. Laughing rules!
8. New material. Even if you already have DVD’s of Gray and functional movement this can add to your arsenal. Because Gray is always learning himself there are may new knowledge bombs dropped here in this set. Even if you walk away with one new perspective on a movement or exercise it’s worth it.
9. You can see the excitement and passion in the audience. Like minded people who sharing what they love. It’s a great DVD that was filmed at a Perform Better seminar. So it’s real people. Interaction. Q and A. Not just a camera trained on someone in a room following a script. It’s real life. That is how we learn.
10. Because you should! Some things you just can’t go wrong with in life. It’s called a no brainer.

Stop Chasing Pain was forged from the work of Gray Cook. If you enjoy the information and posts I provide then you will definitely love this DVD. Invest in yourself. I promise you will thank me.

>>>>> Click here to purchase

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I started working out when I was 14 years old in my basement with plastic covered cement weights from Joe Weider. My bench was put together by nuts and bolts and it’s a miracle it never collapsed. My dumbbells had to be secured with a wrench and those big ass square screw heads. I discovered bodybuilding after reading Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Autobiography. Changed my life. I spent countless days and hours in that cold basement going after a dream.

I slowly made my way to a real gym after packing on some muscle and self confidence. I finally outgrew the weight set. Gyms back in the early 80′s were like the Gold’s Gym in Pumping Iron, (antique…lol) not the super fitness facilities you see now with all the amenities. Like a spa resort! It was more hardcore and definitely not full of the types of members you see in clubs now. I saw some crazy stuff in my day with technique, form, nutty routines, stupid exercises, and just plain dumb mistakes. Was it because we did not know any better? I think not…WHY? Funny thing is 30+ years later I am still seeing the same stupid stuff! You would think after all these decades people would know better…NOPE! I guess it’s just human nature to do stupid shit.

So in a little bit of retro flashback memory lane I decide to put together a List of 15 crazy ass things I still see happening in fitness today. Over the course of the next several weeks I will post a few of each. When you go to the gym next time take a look around…you will probably see these for yourself. It’s nationwide:)

And do it begins…

1. Monday is still Universal Chest Day 

Gotta pump up those pecs man. Line up for the bench presses every Monday. Mostly teenage boys and cocky jerks all clamoring for a shot at the magical 315. Three plates is the goal. Packs of 3-4 guys pushing each other to get a one rep max. Of course by the time they get a turn 20-minutes went by, but hey who cares about intensity? Hell, I did it myself! Now I see it in the gym today and I just shake my head laughing. Some things never change! Oh and did I mention they have legs like toothpicks? lol

2.  2-hour cardio sessions

Hey I have a thought. If 30 minutes of cardio is good then 2-hours must be awesome right?! Wrong…I can do it before I workout with weights to get my metabolism going too…Wrong! What is it about marathon cardio that people love so much? I don’t get it. I hate that shit. Does anyone have fun doing it? If they say yes, they are lying. They have to be. Let’s climb a stairmaster going nowhere and lean on the equipment so I can go longer. Try as we might, the long cardio sessions have their hold on people. Like a bad relationship you just can’t stay away from even though you know you should and everybody says the person is a bad influence. Yeah that’s it. Cardio is your dysfunctional relationship. The bad boy your Dad hates and the nasty girl your Mom despises.

Next post we will cover #3 and #4. Here’s a hint…nobody ever trains them. lol

Until then…peace out.

**Visit Stop Chasing Pain on Facebook for some cool stuff and daily posts that blow up some neurons in your brain…get ya thinking a bit! BOOM!

                                                      –Leonardo da Vinci

How can you argue with that quote? You can’t! Simplicity is how SCP rolls. My mission is straightforward simple; give you,effective, powerful and results driven strategies for taking back control of your life from pain.

This self made in-the -trenches video clip will show you a simple move to help shoulder pain. All you will use is a ball and strap. I am demonstrating with my CORE4 Strap and Ball.

The video shows the SCP CORE4 RAIL system in action.

Release muscles

Activate muscles

Integrate movement

Lock In relationship

Use the ball to release out trigger points and fascial restrictions. This primes the area for stretching. Stretch the pectorals and shoulder using the SCP Core4 Strap in the doorway. Activate weaker muscles with isometrics integrating the relationship of movement efficiency. Meaning: when you use the shoulder, muscles move at the right time and in the right sequence. Lock in the movement with a baseline body movement of compression on the shoulder like a pushup against the wall…to neural edge tolerance. NO PAIN!

This combination is very effective for relieving many shoulder problems. Give it a try. When the Core4 kit comes out you can purchase the entire program with the strap and ball..

Available right on this website in a week!

Stopchasingpain.com

Move Smarter…Move Better…Feel Great!