Every Sunday we post the “Sunday Seven” so you can quickly see the seven most popular articles of the week. This week’s most popular posts cover the handstand push up, the overhead squat, natural sugars, low back problems, olympic weightlifting myths, lactic acid, and working around injuries!
1. Kipping and the Handstand Push Up: Is It Safe? (Amber Larsen)
To do the HSPU, you must learn handstand basics. There can be harmful implications of learning to kip before doing the handstand push up strictly.
2. The Overhead Squat Is a Punk: Advice From Experts on How to Make It Better (Patrick McCarty)
In order to get better at this lift, I assembled some highly regarded coaches from around the country and posed this question: “My overhead squat sucks. How can I fix it?”
3. Why Natural Sugars Aren’t Any Better Than Artificial Sugars (and Neither Is Paleo!) (Vanessa Bennington)
It seems we’re losing sight of what paleo is all about and looking for sneaky ways to have our cake and eat it too.
4. Proof That Functional Strength Training Cures Low Back Problems and Pilates Won’t (Andrew Lock)
Here are two MRI scans that show the clear, undeniable proof of the failure of long-term Pilates training and the success of functional strength rehabilitation methods to cure low back pain.
5. Do This, Not That: What People With Shoulder, Wrist, Knee, or Calf Issues Should and Shouldn’t Do (Andrew Read)
Reality is most of us are messed up in some way and there are just some things we shouldn’t do. But there’s always a way to work around a problem, avoid injury, and keep edging our way forward.
6. 10 Myths About Olympic Weightlifting That Need to Stop (Dresdin Archibald)
Weightlifting is often misunderstood by the general public and, sadly, by people in other sports as well. Here are the top ten biggest myths about weightlifting, and why they’re totally untrue.
7. Why Everything You Know About Lactic Acid Might Be Wrong (Tom Kelso)
You work as hard as you can, your muscles become acidic, and your effort deteriorates. Is lactic acid to blame? Here is an update on this belief and the new research that supports it.
Photo courtesy of CrossFit Impulse.