Last night as I slept, I had another one of those dreams that revealed so much about myself to me, stuff I already knew, but stuff that is hammered home MORE every time I see it.
And part of that dream, or I think part of what I saw when I woke up and was between the completely unconscious and the “semi conscious” . . .
. . . It was a picture of me. Yours truly.
From the BACK.
Now I’ve often had dreams of me doing pull-ups etc succeeded by workouts where I did exactly the same.
But I’m not quite sure why I saw my BACK – specifically, my LOWER back in the dream . . . but I get it now.
Actually, it came to mind while I was brushing my teeth, and now here I am, writing to YOU about it!
(There in itself is a clue in terms of the inner workings of your REAL mind, the TRUE seat of power, and no it ain’t got nothing to do with brushing your teeth either!!).
What do I mean?
Well, simple.
It’s not always and usually not the fat you have that is VISIBLE.
I’ve said this in terms of subcutaneous and visceral fat, the latter being invisible and far more harmful, lapping around your organs . . .
And in terms of fitness, it’s really the BACK that shows you how fit and strong a person is my friend.
The ENTIRE back.
Upper, mid and lower. And the forearms and legs.
It’s NOT THE chest and six pack.
Sure, those might come about as a result of you training the right way, but they ain’t the only indicator by far.
I still remember a dude telling me the following a couple of years ago (which I did write about).
“Do you go to the gym? Your back is built!”
And this was when I was somewhat out of shape (well, not really, but by MY own high standards) and had more fat around the midsection and arse than I’ve had liked.
Yet, he could tell.
And one of the litmus tests of fitness (note – not necessarily piddly body fat levels and all that) is the SIDES of your core.
Notice how Apollo Creed’s trainer playfully gives him Rocky one to the sides before asking how fit he was.
And Apollo goes, we’ve been living MODERN, but we’re going to train OLD style now (this while standing in that dank, damp dungeon which produced CHAMPIONS!).
For me, it’s always been about my lower back which I cannot see.
I always “reach around” (when in doubt) and try and “grab” the area around the spinal erectors for one.
If there is ANY “meat” on there I can “hold”, well, I’m getting out of shape.
But in general, and usually – there is nothing.
Just smooth skin and solid MUSCLE.
And the same thing for my entire back.
And that, my friend is the real litmus test of whether or not your overweight etc.
It’s not about the front of the body. It’s about the BACK. You truly do gotta “back it up” as they say!
Best,
Rahul Mookerjee
PS – Pull-ups will build a back that will stay for a long, long time my friend. Years after you stop doing ‘em in some cases. Here is the definitive guide to starting and getting to ACE level at pull-ups - - https://0excusesfitness.com/pull-ups-from-dud-to-stud-within-a-matter-of-weeks/
PS #2 – And for truly advanced stuff, go right HERE.