Wednesday, August 27, 2008

"In Victory, Tighten Your Helmet!"


In Japanese, there is a proverb, 勝って兜の緒を締めよ (katte kabuto no o o shimeyo), which means "In victory, tighten your helmet!". It is a warning to not rest on your laurels and be ready for your enemies to return. Celebrate a win in battle and you may lose the campaign. Pushing onward without reevaluating your position can be disastrous.

Your enemies in training are often fatigue and lack of concentration. After hitting big gym PRs we have to be careful that in celebration we don't push ourselves into overtraining or injury, nor neglect our weaknesses.

Monday, August 25, 2008

September Is "Work Your Weakness Month"

It's official - September is "Work Your Weakness Month". If abs are your weakness, September is the time to brush the dust of that evil ab wheel. If your hamstring flexibility sucks, 30 days of work (and recovery) can make a difference. If there's an exercise that you should be doing, but somehow never get to or haven't gotten to lately, this month's for you!

What will I be working on in September?
*Abs
*Wrist Work
*Squats

Of course, other training will continue, but I plan to devote two sessions/week to one or more of these areas. If I can't spare two full training sessions, I will at least start my training with squats or an exercise targeting the abs or wrists.

What's your weakness?

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Words of Wisdom from Quint Studer

The following quote is from a book written for business leaders, but it can be applied just as well to coaches, parents, and educators:


Why Leaders Don't Compliment: Some Common Myths and Excuses


People really need recognition and specific feedback, and a good compliment provides both. But too many leaders resist giving them, for a variety of reasons. Ask yourself: Do I harbor any of these beliefs and attitudes about complimenting my employees?

*Big Head: "If I compliment them too much, they'll get a big head!"

*Complacency: "If I tell them they did a good job, they'll get complacent!"

*Martyrdom: "If I don't need a compliment; why should they?"

*Another Day, Another Dollar: "They should just be happy with a day's work for a day's pay - in fact, they should be grateful to have a job at all!"

*Scrooge Mentality: "I can give out only so many compliments a week!"

*Pride: "This is hokey!"

Remember, recognized behavior gets repeated. It's okay if you feel uncomfortable as you begin to compliment. Just do it... and know that it will feel more natural with time.

- Quint Studer (from "Results That Last: Hardwiring Behaviors That Will Take Your Company to the Top")

Sunday, August 17, 2008

The Zone of Proximal Development



In social learning psychology circles, the idea of the "Zone of Proximal Development" is a popular one. In simple terms, the zone of proximal development (or "ZPD") consists of tasks and skills that are a little beyond a learner's current level of competence that can be done with assistance. Tasks and skills in the zone of proximal development generally are very difficult for the learner to do by themselves. The goal of an educator then would be to provide learners with experiences within their individual ZPDs (challenging, but not TOO challenging) and giving the necessary assistance to help the learner progress and develop.

What does this have to do with resistance training? A lot really. It's pretty common to see new trainees do much more than what is necessary (of the wrong things to boot!) as they begin training. Trying to exceed the limits of the newbie "zone" very quickly accelerates the development of bad habits. The reverse is also true for some perpetual plateauers - trainees who never train hard enough stimulate growth.

The million dollar questions then are "Where is my ZPD?" and "How do I know if I'm over or under-shooting it?" Not easy questions to answer but, generally, manipulation of the following training parameters are key:

*Recovery (Am I getting enough rest? Am I getting too much?)
*Diet (Am I eating enough? Am I eating right?)
*Training Volume (Am I pushing the reps enough or too much? Is the total amount of weight moved in training too much or not enough?)
*Training Intensity (Is the weight challenging enough or am I coasting through reps? Is every rep gut-bustingly hard? Do I need to back off?)
*Training Density (Is the rest between exertions appropriate? Could I rest less? Should I rest more?)
*Training Frequency (Do I train frequently enough? Is every workout like a weekend-warrior-sore-for-a-week event? Do I train too often?)
*Exercise Selection (Am I doing the right exercises? Will these exercises strengthen what needs to be strengthened?)
*Exercise Order (Am I doing the important things first? Does the sequence of exercises every vary? ...Should it?)

It's not a list to obsess about. Make adjustments as necessary, but stay the path and do your best to find the "zone".

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Words of Wisdom From Gray Cook


Last week, I had the pleasure of giving a workshop for a group of personal trainers. We spent some time discussing the concepts of power "leakage" vs. "linkage" and I asked them the question "When you teach proper technique to someone who's been doing a lift wrong for some time, what happens to their training poundages?" The answer (that many missed) is that the training weights will almost certainly go down temporarily, but it is absolutely necessary for your long-term progress. You are building a foundation for bigger future gains.

As may be expected, Gray Cook does a good job of explaining this in Athletic Body In Balance:

It is possible for an athlete to perform well even when poor form is used, but eventually the athlete will experience breakdown, inconsistency, fatigue, soreness, and even injury. It should be the goal of the training program to create efficient movement in the activity. This will conserve energy, keep the athlete relaxed, and allow the athlete to practice more and compete with less stress.

The problem is that poor form may be easier, more familiar, and more comfortable, and it may even seem to take less energy than proper form. Proper form, however, will take far less energy in the long run. Poor form, even if it leads to some initial success, will eventually rob the athlete and cost far more time and effort than what is required to fix the weak links. Poor form can incorporate less overall muscle activity and therefore seem easier, but don't confuse this feeling with efficiency. Muscles are accustomed to generating the desired movement and maintaining optimal body position. To be efficient, the athlete must fulfill both criteria and then demonstrate the ability to reproduce the activity without a decline in quality. The athlete who understands this will be more efficient and will develop the muscles that were designed to perform the activity.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

RIDICULOUS!



Just unbelievable... I can't imagine how anyone could be so dominating, swimming 18 times and for 8 straight days - so talented, hard-working, and has absolutely nailed his peak. If he had more time, how many more events could he win?

Squat Rx #21: "Hips Back"

The "hips back" cue is a great one for squatting, but not necessarily if you squat with a high-bar position. May be commonsense, but I hope it's helpful to some. Any comments would be appreciated.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Oksana Chusovitina



Watching the Olympics last night , I don't know if I was more impressed with the world record shattering U.S. 4x100 Freestyle relay or the vaulting of Oksana Chusovitina, a 33 year old gymnast from Uzbekistan, competing for Germany after moving there to seek leukemia treatment for her son. Now competing in her FIFTH Olympic Games, this eight time world champion has already qualified for the finals in the vault. Oksana is pictured below on the right with Alicia Sacramore of the U.S. and Cheng Fei of China:

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Words of Wisdom from Harry Beckwith

"We assume if we've heard something, we know it, and if we know it, we are acting upon it.

But people constantly repeat advice because all of us constantly ignore it.

This fact is actually a phenomenon: It's a form of magical thinking. We believe that when we hear something, we learn it, and that once we learn it, we believe we act on it.

We don't.

You find a parallel to this in at least three-fourths of all companies. They have made a plan. Because of this, they believe they are executing the plan.

But knowing is not doing. And knowing and thinking never is enough.

So if you believe you have heard it before, you have. But ask yourself, and then answer with brutal honesty, the question: Am I acting on that knowledge?"

- Harry Beckwith