How To Build Bulletproof Shoulders

PRCD

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I bought "Inside-Out" by Cressey a long time ago. Pretty good, but he has a very Cartesian/biomedical understanding of pain and movement restriction. Maybe that's changed in 10 years.

If you can't do an exercise because of pain or restriction, change the range and plane of motion or the speed.
 

Chocki

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I bought "Inside-Out" by Cressey a long time ago. Pretty good, but he has a very Cartesian/biomedical understanding of pain and movement restriction. Maybe that's changed in 10 years.

If you can't do an exercise because of pain or restriction, change the range and plane of motion or the speed.
Sounded like a lot of people are interested in how they can fix jacked up shoulders.
Cressey’s status as MLB’s go to guy for this is good enough for me.
 

PRCD

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Probably. Max knows a lot too.
I'm trying to figure out why he's so jacked. He used to play soccer so that explains the legs. He does a lot of gymnastics so that explains the upper body, but he's still a lot more jacked than most gymnasts.

Here's why I think a lot of these movements actually aid movement and reduce pain: they're novel:
 

Chocki

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I'm trying to figure out why he's so jacked. He used to play soccer so that explains the legs. He does a lot of gymnastics so that explains the upper body, but he's still a lot more jacked than most gymnasts.

Here's why I think a lot of these movements actually aid movement and reduce pain: they're novel:
I’m too stupid and lazy, mostly just lazy to dive into the why. If somebody fully legit as Max(and I’m starting to think no one’s more legit) says do it, it’s good enough for me
“when I first started exercising seriously, I couldn’t do a single pull-up. As a supposedly fit man (18 years old), this was considered pretty sad. Though I didn’t have a gymnastics background or even a good strength base, the progress I have made in the past several years (8 to be exact) has been pretty damn good if I do say so myself. The past 3-4 years especially I have made exponentially more progress than the previous 4-5.“ Max Shank


I’m a year out from being able to replicate his backyard set up and putting in real work with Ultimate Athleticism. I’m 50 and I don’t think it’s too late to attain full beast mode. In the meantime I’m going to get serious about fucking around and work with his new “daily practice” program, Primal Athleticism.

Max’s physique reminds me of a picture I saw of an old school pro hockey player who liked to work on his farm.

If Ido Portal and Dan John had a baby it would be Max Shank.

 
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Chocki

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"I'm trying to figure out why he's so jacked."

There is this supplement. It's called genetics.
Lol. You picked the wrong person to hate on. Max won the genetic lottery in three areas.
1)Intelligence. He may be the smartest person I’ve ever met.
2)Height. He’s short so that definitely helps with gymnastics.
3)Determination. “firm or fixed intention to achieve a desired end”

Max “It's funny, I had an exceptionally weak upper body when I was 17. My legs were strong because I was a good soccer player, but my upper body was totally weak. A lot of people ask if I was a gymnast or wrestler when I was younger because I have that type of build now. But it's just because of my training.“

I figured out a long time ago that if you train like an athlete you’re going to look like one. Train the way a specific athlete does and you’re going to look like those athletes within the constraints of body type and age. Ie train like a wrestler, gymnast, fighter, etc does and you’re going to look like one.
 
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PRCD

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Lol. You picked the wrong person to hate on. Max won the genetic lottery in three areas.
1)Intelligence. He may be the smartest person I’ve ever met.
2)Height. He’s short so that definitely helps with gymnastics.
So legs from soccer and he's shorter. You have to factor-in your body segment lengths (anthropometry) and height into exercise selection.

Did you hang gym rings in your garage?
 

Autoprax

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Lol. You picked the wrong person to hate on. Max won the genetic lottery in three areas.
1)Intelligence. He may be the smartest person I’ve ever met.
2)Height. He’s short so that definitely helps with gymnastics.
3)Determination. “firm or fixed intention to achieve a desired end”

Max “It's funny, I had an exceptionally weak upper body when I was 17. My legs were strong because I was a good soccer player, but my upper body was totally weak. A lot of people ask if I was a gymnast or wrestler when I was younger because I have that type of build now. But it's just because of my training.“

I figured out a long time ago that if you train like an athlete you’re going to look like one. Train the way a specific athlete does and you’re going to look like those athletes within the constraints of body type and age. Ie train like a wrestler, gymnast, fighter, etc does and you’re going to look like one.
I don't hate.

I had friends who would quit training for six months and they would get super skinny and weak. I would be able to lift way more than they could and I carried more muscle when they came back because I trained hard and consistently during that 6 months.

Then they would train for three months with me doing the exact workout that I did and shoot right past me in size and strength.

Genetics matter.

So does good consistent training.
 

PRCD

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@Chocki I actually have shank's "Bulletproof Shoulders" and "Ultimate Athleticism." Having tried both, I didn't find they resonated that much with me but that doesn't matter since I have different body segment lengths and goals and just didn't find it all that fun. If you like it, great!

What is Primal Athleticism like? Is it a self-driven/self-defined mobility flow like he was demonstrating several years ago? Can you scale the duration for your own time constraints? How does is work for neck and shoulder mobility problems?

@Autoprax Have you seen this?
 

Chocki

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@Chocki I actually have shank's "Bulletproof Shoulders" and "Ultimate Athleticism." Having tried both, I didn't find they resonated that much with me but that doesn't matter since I have different body segment lengths and goals and just didn't find it all that fun. If you like it, great!

What is Primal Athleticism like? Is it a self-driven/self-defined mobility flow like he was demonstrating several years ago? Can you scale the duration for your own time constraints? How does is work for neck and shoulder mobility problems?

@Autoprax Have you seen this?
Max would be the first one to say if it ain’t fun then fuck it. Life is short
IMO the UA template is as valid as it gets. For reference:

 
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Chocki

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I don't hate.

I had friends who would quit training for six months and they would get super skinny and weak. I would be able to lift way more than they could and I carried more muscle when they came back because I trained hard and consistently during that 6 months.

Then they would train for three months with me doing the exact workout that I did and shoot right past me in size and strength.

Genetics matter.

So does good consistent training.
Consistency is everything.
Genetics don’t mean sh!t. Mine suck. 5’10 with thin wrists. Naturally weak. I did get broad shoulders. I would assume genetics would be a good predictor of success in the NFL combine?
Unfortunately there’s “no consistent statistical relationship between combine tests and professional football performance, with the notable exception of sprint tests for running backs.“



Size is irrelevant and strength is relative.
 
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PRCD

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Max would be the first one to say if it ain’t fun then fook it. Life is short
IMO the UA template is as valid as it gets. For reference:

Still no wedding ring on his hand and no kids, lol. He's definitely turned into a SoCal middle-aged man.

I'm probably going to pick up PA, thanks.
 

Autoprax

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@Chocki I actually have shank's "Bulletproof Shoulders" and "Ultimate Athleticism." Having tried both, I didn't find they resonated that much with me but that doesn't matter since I have different body segment lengths and goals and just didn't find it all that fun. If you like it, great!

What is Primal Athleticism like? Is it a self-driven/self-defined mobility flow like he was demonstrating several years ago? Can you scale the duration for your own time constraints? How does is work for neck and shoulder mobility problems?

@Autoprax Have you seen this?
Yes!