🚨 I Failed A Test

In this week's P.O. Box:

I absolutely bombed a mobility test last week.

Here are the embarrassing results (all of these scores are out of 100, mind you):

I took this test at a Stretch Lab (a place Adam Levitan recommended to me). As you might be able to guess from the name, it’s a franchise of “one-on-one assisted stretch studios.”

At your first visit, they have you do three overhead squats while a 3D body scanning tool measures how well your body moves across four different data points: Mobility, Activation, Posture, and Symmetry.

Failing this test wasn’t surprising—it confirmed something I already knew—yet it was still striking to see my lack of mobility distilled down to such pitiful numbers.

I’m pretty dialed in with most of my health and fitness stuff. I have relatively good eating habits (except when #ShipCast goes long) and stay consistent with my workout routines.

But if I have one glaring weakness, it’s (duh) my mobility.

I’ve always been frustrated by it, but recently I’ve become increasingly aggravated that I can’t do basic squat/hinge/posterior chain movements with proper form.

Sure, I grit my teeth and get through exercises like kettlebell swings and squat thrusters and deadlifts, but:

• My form is subpar (leaning forward too much, hunched shoulders, etc.)

• My progress has stalled out (hard to ramp up weight when I can’t do the exercises correctly)

• And my lower back takes a beating on those exercise days

I’ve had stretches (no pun intended) over the years where I’ve committed to a consistent yoga practice and I do regularly utilize my standing desk to take it easy on my back, but other than a few “cat-cows” and a couple half-assed minutes on the foam roller, I’ve never taken my lack of mobility seriously.

I’m changing that this Fall.

I’m going to commit to at least one stretching session a week at Stretch Lab (it ain’t cheap, but I need the accountability and sunk-cost motivation to build the habit) and at minimum two other extended stretching sessions at home (Stretch Lab has an app with lots of On Demand videos and I’ve already found a bunch of good stuff on YouTube).

Right now I’m focusing almost exclusively on my hamstrings, which seem to be the root cause of all my mobility issues.

I’ll retake the test at the end of the season to gauge my progress. I’m not sure what is even possible, but it would be great to at least get up into the 60s across the board.

D’s get degrees, right?

💎 Hidden Gems: My favorite Week 2 game. I don’t always like to game stack in Battle Royale, but making an exception for this one.

☕️ DFS pain, A big Ridley “L” & Best Ball sweats. In the debut of "Pete's Pourtfolio Review," we review my single entry DFS lineups on DraftKings and my top teams in Underdog's Best Ball Mania IV. Topics discussed: Puka Nacua breakout week, Calvin Ridley L, losing with Brandon Aiyuk and Kendrick Bourne, checking the Deposit Kingdom Weekly League results, pouring one out for JK Dobbins, tilting the Falcons passing offense, and reviewing Weekly Winners and other best ball lineups.

🧠 How to leverage DFS sims with Adam Levitan and Mike Leone. The sim wars are heating up with ETR joining the mix and LOLz is on the beat. Bric explains the three types of sims and Leone and Levitan discuss how they utilize The Solver sims from a handbuilder perspective. Other topics discussed: are sims removing the fun in DFS, how to know if sims are good, a new thought on chalk defenses, and projecting small-field DFS exposures.

🏆️ Fantasy Life roundup. We wrote about 3 Big Surprises From Week 1 and 4 Must-Add players for Week 2. Also nailed the RB calls for TNF, which feels good.

🚢 #ShipCast: Eagles vs. Vikings with Arif Hasan. In the first #ShipCast of the year, the crew sweat some Pick 'Em entries on Underdog revolving around Alexander Mattison under 49.5 yards, experience the highs and lows of D'Andre Swift and Rashaad Penny, have a hilarious conversation about kickers and holders with Arif, sift through delicate best ball exposure lies from the chat, and fire up a potentially corrupted Sporcle quick about 2014 WRs.

💪 Swolecast: Draftkings Week 2 picks. The premier first-look DFS show walks you through the DFS slate. Kitchen needs to work on our imagination exercise.

📈 Stat Chasing: A Stealth RB1, Sneaky TEs & Week 2 Waiver Adds. Super stoked to have Drico and Sackreligious running through all of the actionable usage trends each week on Ship Chasing. Such good info for waivers, trades, daily drafts, and DFS.

We got 4 shows on tap before the Week 2 main slate kicks off…

🧩 Block Party: Week 2 DFS Plays & GPP Strat w/ JMToWin

⏱️ Off & On The Clock: Week 2 Draft Party w/ Badge Bros

🥃 DFS After Dark: Interview & DFS Builds w/ Drew Dinkmeyer

🤓 Week 2 DFS Cram: Top GPP Plays & Hidden Gems

🖥️ The Utilization Report is a game changer. The amount of free tools on Fantasy Life these days is incredible. This screener for viewing advance stats for player usage is invaluable. I’ve been using it constantly to decipher various backfields and WR rooms:

👨‍💻 What the hell is FriendTech? I capitulated and joined this new crypto social media site that is mobile-only. Here are some invite codes if you want to see what it’s about (first come first serve): ft-u3c505ws, ft-p5pucboi, ft-m3g9z7ih, ft-geyylo24, ft-5s5l3rw4, ft-cxjt52r2.

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