Wednesday Wrap Up #3 - KEEP GOING
Wednesday Wrap Up #3. pancakes, insane feats of strength & finesse, and a hyper condensed summary of Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield. Oh, and a world on fire.
Brook Slagle • 2023-11-08
wasssup, its brook!
Welcome to Wednesday Wrap Up #3.
Here is what to expect in this entry: pancakes, insane feats of strength & finesse, and a hyper condensed summary of Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield. Oh, and a world on fire.
Cue the Oppenheimer memes! (at the end)
how I am getting in the pancake split, the forbidden fruit of my mobility journey:
The pancake splits is a position that I have always struggled with. It is incredibly uncomfortable for me. And that is all the reason on why I am going to face it head on.
But first… What is the pancake splits?
It is a complex splits variation that involves sending the legs in opposite directions and folding at the hips.
Here is what it looks like near its final form:
How I am starting my pancake journey:
Get strong in the horse stance. I am doing hip hinging movements while maintaining anterior pelvic tilt to get those hips mobile and strong.
I pair this with weighted seated good mornings and eventually, will progress to a straight leg variation to target the pancake splits more directly.
In conjunction with above… I will use gravity to help me in the standing pancake and/or the a straddle Jefferson curl.
That is how I am going to achieve the early stages of the pancake splits.
This should get me to 85% of the pancake splits and give me enough freedom to sit in a straddle on the floor with zero issues.
Here is where I am currently at: (this is very hard to hold btw)
The progression to eventually reach full extension and expression in pancake splits will look like this: (all information from Range of Strength - not personally practiced as I am not there yet)
Get stronger in hip abduction, adduction, and compression.
Train compression with straddle leg lifts. In doing so will improve hip flexor strength. Do both abduction and adduction exercises; something like a resistance band straddle lifts or moving weight towards your body with adduction squeezes.
Solidify the anterior pelvic tilt to gain flexibility through the medial hamstring.
Do this by doing floor seated straddle good morning and band resisted pancake pulse holds.
To get final last inches, using reference markers for ballistic stretching and additional chest to floor distance reference markers to tell the body where you are at.
As you progress, the more complex the training can get, it seems.
Ultimately, time in the position rules all, and these are targeted accessory movements to boost the getting-there process of attaining the pancake splits.
See you in 3 months with a progress update!
my source of information: link
how I am Turning Pro:
Over the last few days I have read and reviewed Steven Pressfield’s monumental book Turning Pro. It goes in-depth on how to navigate the (hopefully) inevitable transition that all creatives endure, the transition from AMATEUR to PROFESSIONAL. (if you are reading this newsletter, it applies to you.)
If you plan on reading the book and don’t want any sort of “spoilers”, skip to the next heading and once you are done reading this letter just read the book. It is a short read, you can read it in an afternoon if you are a fast reader, it’s sub 150 pages.
Buy it here to support the author and not Amazon.
Have you struggled with procrastination?
Failing on an endeavor and then sulking in the emotion and almost.. savoring it?
You need to turn pro.
While “navigating the transition from amateur and turning pro” is cool… What does it actually mean to “turn pro”?
Turning pro means defeating resistance. It means overcoming your amateur behaviors and habits.
It means, more so than anything, doing the fucking work.
But doing the work isn’t that simple, it involves overcoming things.. things like shadow careers & callings, addiction, and distraction. The worst part? These seem like the best move in the present, but all of these are barriers that prevent the amateur from blossoming into a pro.
You will have to go through pain, sacrifice, struggle and loneliness on the path to becoming a pro. These are universal experiences of the creative and ambitious.
But the pay-off is worth it.
And that is what this book discusses. Stories of good omens, hardships, and actionable advice on setting up yourself to become pro.
I am no pro yet. But writing this newsletter is a part of my practice.
And at an essence, this book radiates energy that want to embody in this newsletter. (After all… the name of the newsletter is KEEP GOING)
I implore you to give the book a read.
becoming a StrongFirst Beast Tamer: an incredible strength title.
The StrongFirst Beast Tamer requirements: All done with a 48KG / 105LB kettlebell.
Strict Military Press
Pistol Squat
Strict neck-to-bar Pull up
Check it out:
attenzione pickpocket! this is a seriously impressive and informative video on the art of pickpocketing
I am equally more confident in detecting pick pocking as I am scared of the finesse of some people after watching that video.
Be safe out there.
a new artist that I found: Scro
Genre blend and bending Scro popped up in one of my curated Spotify playlists this week and I couldn’t get enough.
Imagine if heavy music like the Deftones and midwest emo like American Football had a baby with 100 gecs hyper/glitch pop.
It is shockingly good.
Check it out:
A world on fire (sunset)
Lincoln, NE, USA
Although I miss mountains and coastal cliffs… a flat landscape produces some breathtaking sunsets.
Makes the world look like it is on fire.
I hope you enjoyed this entry of Wednesday Wrap Up.
If you found something cool that you want to show me or just want to chat, drop me a reply!
KEEP GOING
B.S.