The 4-Hour Body_ An Uncommon Guide to Ra - Timothy Ferriss [139]
OPTIONAL WEEKS 7+: MONDAY AND FRIDAY, 30–45 MINUTES PER SESSION—SUSTAINED PRE-HAB AND STRENGTHENING
For weeks 7 and beyond, you can incorporate the full- kneeling C&L and 2SDL for symmetrical corrections and pure strength. Perform this sequence twice a week if you’d like to further reduce injury risk. I simply retest every 4–6 weeks and fix accordingly.
But to continue with the program, once 10% or greater strength differences are corrected, use two sets of 3–5 reps (I prefer 5) per side for each exercise.
TGU
Full-kneeling C&L
2SDL
Half-kneeling C&L
1SDL
The 2SDL is performed exactly like the 1SDL but instead of lifting with one arm, you either hold a barbell with both hands, or, my preference, hold a dumbbell/kettlebell in each hand.
Taking 30–45 minutes twice per week to do these exercises takes less time, and sacrifices less progress, than 6–24 months of recovery after a major injury.
Four exercises can keep you stable and strong. Too busy? Do whatever you can, as every bit helps.
Focus on pre-hab so you never have to do rehab.
Exercise Details
EXERCISE #1—CHOP AND LIFT (C&L)
Chopping is a downward diagonal movement across the body from a high position to a low position, and lifting is the upward diagonal movement from a low position to a high position. They are essentially mirror images of one another.
The start and finish positions of the chop.
The start and finish positions of the lift. The block under the knee, which I did not use, is optional and used here to achieve a more acute upward angle.
There are two stances commonly used when performing the C&L, seen above.
We will focus on the “half- kneeling” C&L for two reasons.
First, it is important to address asymmetrical (left-right) problems before any issues present on both sides, and the half-kneeling position addresses both upper and lower asymmetries. Second, of the six people I tested with a single-leg flexibility assessment (see sidebar), all had major left- right differences.
Half-Kneeling Description
One knee is down and one knee is up, with thighs and calves at 90-degree right angles to each other.
The full and half-kneeling leg positions.
You will always chop to the down knee and lift toward the upward knee. Each move is a pull- to- a- push movement, and keep the hands close to the chest on the transition. In the chop, for example, you pull the bar to your sternum and press it to the floor. The cable should travel in a straight line.
Both the front foot and down knee should ideally be placed in a straight line, and tape on the ground (or any line) can be used to ensure this is the case.
Ideal placement on one line.
If this narrow stance proves too difficult, use a wider base. Put your front foot four inches off the knee line and bring it in closer over several workouts. Just ensure that the width is the same for the left and right sides in each individual workout, which is critical for keeping your comparisons accurate.
The 80/20 Chopping and Lifting Program
Guidelines
1. Stick with a “bar” for the first month or two. Both the half-kneeling chop and the half-kneeling lift will be performed on cables using either an attachable bar or, as in our photographs, the more common “tricep extension” attachment with the rope fully slid to one side to imitate a bar. This is what I used.
On the left: Tricep rope attachment (normal). On the right: Rope attachment converted into a “bar.”
This bar or fake-bar approach forces you to use your core to counteract the mechanical disadvantage, rather than cheat through the movement with arm strength.
If you want to perform the C&L at home or while traveling, you can use resistance bands.2 If using bands, the movement becomes more of a press to the front of the body as opposed to across the body.
2. Unload between repetitions if possible (rest the weight stack). This is something I missed in my first several workouts, as I was overseas and incommunicado. I still doubled my strength and corrected my imbalance