metabolic maintenence

our motto…

“TO BE GROWING THE DAY WE DIE”

we need a running commentary for this entry…

…heel squats were born out of necessity

a couple of decades ago, following a mishap, the ball of the writer’s left foot was touching the ground before the heel

the response was to do squats using a 20kg bar with only his heels coming into contact with the ground

it worked

for the first time in years, his steps became firm

over the following years, the exercise was replaced as dozens of different remedies were tried in an attempt to get other parts of the anatomy working properly

it is only in the last couple of weeks that the writer remembered the exercise and its benefits that he decided to see if a variation of a regular squat, the heel squat, will live up to the status of the regular squat as the king/queen of exercises

the regular squat – see here

the reason the regular squat is called the queen or king of exercises is that it finds all the weaknesses within the body

e.g. back in the day when the writer was squatting with a double-body weight, he is alone in the gym with a guy called trevor curtin

trevor was ranked the world’s no.3 in his weight category

the writer asked him, “why are my biceps feeling the greatest stress while squatting?”

trevor replied, “the squat highlights the weakest part of the body”

it was a quote the writer never forgot

it is brought up here to inform you why the squat is called the queen/king of exercises

the second point being brought to your attention is… the writer has never seen on youtube or in weight-lifting competition a person doing a regular squat with a straight back

the only person the writer has ever seen or heard of doing regular squats with a straight back was the person who first introduced him to weightlifting (name withheld)

he weighed 11stone 7lbs and he could do 3 sets of 8 reps of regular squats with a weight of 140 kg with s straight back and do it without the slightest sign of effort

he used a block of wood to keep his back straight

floating squat

in athletics, there are sprinters known as “floaters”

at, or near the point of maximum effort, our bodies have a built-in mechanism that “takes over” and removes the effort of doing something

see here as flo-jo begins smiling as the effort goes out of the running

it’s not just running

it can also happen while squatting

at the gym with a spotter at the back of me just in case something goes wrong

took in a gulp of air and began the movement

on the way down a sensation, best described as weightlessness, occurred

without thinking about it the movement went through its full course of the thighs going parallel to the ground and back up to starting position without any sensation of weight

a person can understand why, during our evolution, the need to maintain a fast run would be necessary

a lion fancies you as a quick snack and makes a beeline for you

the refuge of a tree or cliff is nearby

you will only get away with your life if you can maintain your top speed for a hundred metres

so o.k. it makes sense that the body would have a way to escape danger in certain circumstances, but a squat!

there’s got to be a reason for a floating squat

but what?

no doubt it will become known eventually

in the meantime, may you come to know the weird and wonderful experience of a floating squat

the writer is using a block of wood 5 by 40 by 15 centimetres

the wall is 14 centimetres behind the wood

using a wooden broom handle as a barbell

wearing casual shoes with a 3 centimetre heel

method

starting position

the weight of your body should be more or less evenly distributed through both the ball and heel of the feet, with perhaps a slight bias through the heels

as you begin to lower you will, as the writer experiences it, discover your weight automatically passing through to the heels

the ball of the feet and the toes act as a balance

the first priority is keeping your back straight

this will pass the strain through to the knees

the strain on he knees is used as the guage

this is where the writer is currently

strengthening the weakest link

the writer is on a vitamin c and collagen diet

vitamin c is the nearest thing we have to a “magic bullet” for our physiology as a whole

collagen is the magic bullet for joints – ongoing… 05032023

when the writer first began doing it a week or so back, within two or three reps the stress was alarming

he re-discovered just how “pokey” the heel squat is

in the very first minute of the first set i rediscovered why the exercise had dropped out of favour, the exercise is too “pokey”

within the first three repetitons of the heel squat tendons that hadn’t been in use for years sprang into life

it was only possible to do two or three heel squats before the discomfort told the brain to stop

recommended approach… ongoing…

a three-pronged approach to health is adopted

activity-sleep-food

we recognise that the weakest link in our physiology is our heart

more of us die from heart problems than anything else

the biggest killer of mankind is the heart – see here

sweat

“sweat is the best cardiovascular agent that’s known to man” – a stafford cardiologist

the best sweat the writer ever had came from a game of squash

he had to drink six or seven pints of fruit juice to quench his thirst!

it is possible to work up a fair sweat using weights in the home – see here

a good yardstick for determining our health is to measure the rate at which our bodies utilise the nitrogen in our food – a large appetite and a flat belly is a good indication the person is getting all the nitrogen she/he needs

the text the purple line that extends from should read “as much of the heel as possible…”

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