Mark Sayer

STAY READY! Happy Monday! What are you training today?👇 SEASONAL (like skiing) athlete? READ TO THE END!

In the carousel, one of my favorite protocols, “contrast training,” involves taking two similar movement patterns and contrasting one loaded above 85% (current) 1RM with one that is explosive.

This is great for athletes, BUT, once a base has been built might be EVEN more important for those of you looking to be strong and resilient into your 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and beyond! Why do I say “even more,” for people who aren’t competitive athletes? Well, if you do martial arts, sprint, or perform a spot where you cut angles (tennis), then you are at least already receiving some form of explosive activity.

If you sit at a desk, it’s even more important that we progress you to something athletic in your routine.
If you sit at a desk most of the year and love to ski or snowboard, for example, you need something that prepares your body to generate and absorb force. Also, the body you most likely want will be built with fast-twitch muscle, FAST TWITCH IS THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH! Are you over 40 and want to stay strong, fast, and resilient? Send me a DM and let’s talk!

Getting stronger hamstrings helps everything, and ESPECIALLY it can help lower back pain. Your lower back is susceptible to injury partly because it bears significant loads and stresses. Think of your back as this antenna in this photo. It’s not standing up on its own. It has guy wires providing equal and opposite tension to keep it upright.

Your hamstrings and lower abs are like guy wires for your spine.  The hamstrings stabilize the spine. Hamstrings will not be fully developed without knee-flexion work (think leg curl). One simple reason is that the shorter head of the hamstrings (aka the biceps femoris) inserts below the hip joint.

Most of the time, even gym-goers and “bros” treat the leg curl machine as an ancillary move to be just tossed in at the end of training for 2-3 sets of 10 or so.
I’m here to tell you that you should train the leg curl HARD, with numerous sets, and heavy, even sometimes doing sets of 4 reps.

Direct hamstring work is one of the foundations of the Resilient Back Method™.️

This five-week program costs a fraction of what working with me one-on-one usually does. If you are a man over or around 40 who isn’t completely satisfied with what you see when you’re shirtless and wants a bulletproof low back, then this is for you!

DM me today to set up a no-pressure call to see if this program is the right fit for you!