🕯️ Art of Acquiescence and How to Do the Lat Pull Down Machine

NEWS:
The Rise Ozempic Babies 🤰 

Hundreds of thousands of people worldwide are taking Ozempic. We’ve heard a lot about the drug. From weight loss, lowered blood pressure, “Ozempic face.” Now, we are seeing “Ozempic babies”. Where women who have taken the drug report unexpected pregnancies. Why is that? Women with type 2 diabetes often experience fertility difficulties and miscarriages. Now we introduce a drug where weight loss is the main outcome. I think weight loss and metabolic improvement are the main reasons we see is a rise in pregnancies with Ozempic users. However, we are still early and doctors recommend to thread carefully.

“We encourage patients to be off the medication for at least two to three months before they begin conception.” - Dr. McConnell

EXERCISE:
The lat pulldown is a compound exercise designed to target many muscles of the back, most notably the latissimus dorsi. Targeting the lats and muscles of the back gives you the long and slender look.

However, many people do this wrong. They either aren’t engaging the proper muscles or their set up is wrong. Here’s a quick guide on how to do this exercise properly.

1. Adjust the pads so your knees are securely placed underneath. (make sure there is no movement as you want it to be stable)

2. Grasp the bar with your hands shoulder width or slightly wider.

3. Brace your core to create a strong base. Slightly lean back 20-30 degrees. (matching the line of pull to optimize for the lats)

4. Avoid excessive lumbar extension (extreme arching of low-back)

5. Pull the bar toward your chest. Think about bringing your shoulders away while at the same time retracting & dropping the shoulder blade (scapula).

   
   Tips:

   • Keep the trunk stabilized and avoid swinging of the torso. When you swing it creates momentum and you could probably lift heavier but you are activating more lumbar erectors.

   • When returning to the starting position you want to control on the way up. This part is called the eccentric part of the contraction. This is vital for muscle activation.

INSIGHT:
The Art of Acquiescence 🕯️

Has there been times in your life where something happens out of your control? Falling out of love in a relationship? Receive news about a health condition you had no idea about? Things happens all the time. The art of acquiescence is a concept that teaches us to accept things that are beyond our control. It is not, passive acceptance. It's not giving up. The art of acquiescence is accepting the reality of the current obstacle and figuring out a way to work around it.

C'est la vie or that's life; it is not always perfect nor is it certain to work out in the way that you had hoped.