Hey Reader,

Two weeks after our wedding, we were in a near fatal car accident.

Long story short, I fell asleep at the wheel on the highway doing 70 mph and veered off the road.

Instead of the standard metal version, we went through a cable guard rail that would have decapitated us, but the cable snapped before it reached the cab of the truck. Thank God!

Anyway, my new wife and stepson get out with minor injuries, but I was stuck in the driver seat for over 2 hours with my legs pinned beneath the dash. (Technically the steering column, but I had to Google it and I’m not gonna make you do that.)

Turns out having your legs crushed to the brink of snapping in half for over 2 hours causes a bit of nerve damage. For the next 6 weeks, I used a walker to get around. And a cane for several weeks after that.

Like an idiot, I didn’t go to physical therapy. Instead, I went to the gym. With a cane! Hobbling back and forth between the weight rack and the bench like some twisted version of Benjamin Button on a bodybuilding kick.

Fortunately, some jacked, gorilla-looking dude took pity on me and helped me put the weights back.

Fast forward nearly 20 years and I’m still struggling to figure out why I’m having such a hard time with increasing my squat.

Duh! You’ve got nerve damage, you idiot.

Anyway, just for kicks, I started lifting in my socks a few weeks ago. Well, it turns out that ditching your shoes is a great way to improve the mind muscle connection because you don’t have this squishy cushion between your foot and the floor messing with your equilibrium.

(NOTE: I’m still wearing socks because any gym floor is gross no matter how hard they try to keep it clean.)

Now, I’m not drinking the barefoot koolaid and suggesting you never wear shoes again (gross). But, your shoes might be part of the problem because your feet are your primary contact point with the ground. When you’re wearing shoes there’s this manufactured cushion getting in the way.

Imagine you went through your whole life with mittens on to protect your hands. How hard would it be to type? Really friggin' hard! You'd be the slowest text-er in your group of friends.

All I’m saying is slowly start introducing working out in your socks. It might help you break through a plateau or improve your form.

But don’t run barefoot. That’s just stupid. (Yeah, I said it.)

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WEEKLY WISDOM

When was the last time you didn't give up when you really wanted to?

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Move your body.
Clear your mind.
Repeat.

Keep up the good work!
-KC

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Q: Why are spiders so smart?

A: They can find everything on the web.

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