A Newsletter!

Let me just start by saying this is not going to be a newsletter. By the very definition, that would mean that this virtual letter to you would be full of news each time it lands in your inbox. I am of the opinion that there is enough news being hurled around and it I have no interest in adding to that daily barrage.

Instead, I am going to write about topics that I am currently learning about, items that I think would be helpful for other people to learn about, and things that are just tickling my fancy on any given day.

The plan is that every time you hear from me, you’ll be getting:

• One concept or principle that you can use in your own training or rehab.

• One recommendation for a book or piece of media that is geared towards performing your best.

• And something that is brightening my day - whether that be in the business or personally.

Sitting down to willfully publish my own thoughts to the world ranks just between waterboarding and scaphism. That being said, here I am standing on the proverbial cliff edge of diffidence because I have been semi-harangued by people I respect into believing that I may actually have something helpful to say to the masses (hi Mom!). So with that being said, over the edge we go…

The Bilateral Strength Deficit

Let’s start with some science! Seemingly everyone is constantly looking for ways to make their workouts more effective, their time in the gym more concise and productive. To add to that, I think that one of the ways we can make our time spent exercising most productive is to make it look more like real life - whatever that means for you.

The Bilateral Strength Deficit, sometimes called the bilateral force or limb deficit, is a phenomenon wherein the sum of the force output of unilateral efforts is greater than the force output of a bilateral effort. Translation: I can lift 60lbs on my right and my left (60+60=120), but only 110lbs when I push with both at the same time. What in the hell?

This deserves more research than it has gotten thus far, and there isn’t a clear consensus on why this is happening. The prevailing theory right now is that your central nervous system is essentially overloaded with the effort of using both arms/legs and fires up a more conservative response to massive weights you’re lifting in order to come out on the other side injury-free.

Whether that is what is actually happening or not, the fact remains that we are able to shift more total tin using one limb at a time rather than both at once. The takeaway here for me is that if you are interested in getting stronger, you should be doing single-arm and single-leg exercises more often. From a performance and functionality standpoint, I love this even more. There are very, very few times in life where we are pushing on something with both arms with the same amount of force at the same time.

For all of the times we aren’t seductively opening doors in the great halls of kings, we are using single limb efforts. Training should prepare you for real life, so let’s do that.

Breath by James Nestor

I have found myself recommending this book time and time again to patients and friends, so it seemed like a great place to start for recommendations here.

Normally I could only get through this sort of science-based fiction writing because of the looming threat of a group presentation or public execution (redundant?), but Nestor manages to package scientific insights in a narrative of his own journey to being able to feel like can breath again. There are lots of insane vignettes in the book, and not everything will be applicable or useable. That said, anyone who reads this book will come away with a very perspective on how they breath and how they could potentially do a better job of it.

I myself have been wearing a tiny piece of tape on my mouth when I sleep every night as a result of reading it for the past year and a half. And while I might look incredibly comfortable hostage, I have felt a shocking difference in my quality of sleep as a result. Shocking good.

You can buy the book here, unless you are vehemently against Amazon - which I totally get, but I don’t seem to have the backbone to break free (Backbone! Get it? Chiropractor!). If you do happen to read it, tell me what you think! I’m also curious to hear who out there is an undercover mouth-taper and what sorts of tapes and techniques they use.

Brendan Leonard - Semi-Rad

What better way to kickoff a new (not)newsletter than to recommend another newsletter?! I have been a reader if Brendan Leonard’s Substack, Semi-Rad, for the better part of three years at this point and have nothing but good things to say about. He is writer, illustrator, and adventurer who’s work I think everyone would enjoy, even if you’re not into ultrarunning, optimism, 90’s hip hop, or burritos.

I have two of his books sitting on my shelf, one of which is titled “I Hate Running and You Can Too”. There’s plenty to unpack there as to the kind of person we’re dealing with and why that might resonate with me.

His email arrives every Friday with links and musings and if anyone ever compared my writing to his, I would call them a liar and thank them profusely.

Next Time

And there you have it! For better or for worse the first one is out. The first of anything can be quite daunting, but the reality is that it is usually the lumpy test-run of the batch and nobody is going to ever see it anyway. As of now my intention is to repeat this offense once per month and include topics and recommendations that are actually of interest to me. I can’t stress enough how I do not want this to be a rote exercise in entrepreneurial marketing and so the ride ahead will hopefully be quite bumpy and full of surprising swerves to the left.

If you or anyone you know is interested in learning more about lifting with one arm vs two, or breathing, or where to begin on the rehab journey, please reach out to me and we can work together to get you where you want to be. Respond to this email. Forward it to a friend or an enemy. Schedule a call with me to take the first step over the edge yourself!

Last thing! It would help me tremendously if you and every person you know followed me on Instagram. Social media is exceedingly low on my list of favorite things, but we all must make sacrifices to appease the capitalist gods. Find me at @bksportschiro and say nice things to me.

Talk to you soon,

Dean Hottum, DC, MS, Alphabet Soup

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