Author: gary

Range of motion, or ROM, is an often overlooked but very important part of lifting weights. It's a key factor in maintaining mobility, especially as we get less young.

The term "muscle-bound" is usually associated with a heavily developed bodybuilder whose own muscular development limits his movement. But big muscles don't automatically lead to poor mobility. Lots of athletes have significant muscular development along with excellent mobility. It's not a muscle's size that limits mobility; it's the ROM. And that applies to any size muscle.

I wasn't planning on writing this post. But I'm doing it anyway.

One of the news feeds I use recognizes that I read a lot of fitness-related articles so it shows me more than most people see. Most are easily dismissed by the titles: they might be "click bait" or something I already know or something I don't care about. This one's headline warned me it was likely to be a train wreck; I was curious to see just how bad it was. My mistake.

Many years ago (but not too many...I'm still a young man after all), I asked a friend how many situps he could do. I still remember his response: "As many as I need to."

An amusing answer, but it raises an interesting question: just how strong do we need to be?

Next up in our series on home workout equipment, at #7 are foam rollers. These aren't used directly for working out but are mostly used for self-massage, often after a workout although they can also be used on recovery days or even as part of a warmup.

A long-time StrongFast Planet reader asked me to comment on this article about motivation. It's titled "Motivation is Overrated" and is from Outside Online prompted by ultra-endurance athlete Rich Roll.

He suggests that "Mood follows action." Regular readers of The Planet will find this a familiar concept. And of course I have more to say about it.

Continuing the series on home workout equipment, at #6 we deviate from standard fitness equipment to auxiliary equipment. This stuff might seem trivial but it's useful enough to rate this high. Specifically, a timer and a whiteboard. No, really! Stick with me here.