Home Articles Neanderthal No More: Part IV

Neanderthal No More: Part IV

Written on July 1, 2004 at 3:48 pm, by Eric Cressey

After reading Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3, you’ve probably come to grips with the fact that you have a greater resemblance to Cro-Magnon man than you previously thought. Now, what are you going to do about it?

The program outlined below is designed to keep your current strength levels intact while correcting the muscle imbalances holding back your strength and physique. We have two primary goals:

1) Hit the global muscles hard and heavy with a four-day per week program.

2) Hit the local muscles daily (or at the very least on off days) to take advantage of the motor learning effects produced by frequent, low-intensity training.

What are “global” and “local” muscles? Local muscles (also known as the deep muscular system) are extremely important when we’re discussing posture improvements. The primary roles of the deep muscular system are motor control, segmental stabilization, and fine-tuning of movements.

On the flip side, you have the global (or superficial) muscle system. The primary role of the superficial muscle system is to produce movement, power, and torque. As a general rule, when you have significant postural issues, your global or superficial system is overactive and the deeper system is inhibited or weak.

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