Quote of the Day 6/30/08

"Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it."



- Dwight D. Eisenhower

Quote of the Day 7/28/08

"Great things are not something accidental, but must certainly be willed."



-Vincent Van Gogh

Quote of the Day 6/27/08

"Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek."



- Mario Andretti

Quote of the Day 6/26/08

"Obstacles are things a person sees when he takes his eyes off his goal."



- E. Joseph Cossman

Quote of the Day 6/25/08

"Sports is a metaphor for overcoming obstacles and achieving against great odds. Athletes, in times of difficulty, can be important role models."



- Bill Bradley

5 Things Every High School Athlete Should Know About Resistance Training

Athletes are beginning to discover the benefits of resistance training at earlier and earlier ages. Resistance training is a very important part of the young athletes training for sports because with a decrease in physical education programs in our schools and early specialization of many athletes in one sport at young age. Athletes are already set up for injury because they have muscular imbalances, loss of functional movement, decreased range of motion at several joints and tight muscles at very young ages. Being involved in a proper resistance training program will help many of these issues and help to prevent many of the injuries that are epidemic among high school and middle school athletes. A “proper” and let me stress “PROPER” resistance training program for a middle school and high school athlete will be designed to improve or prevent the potential for injury because of lack of functional movement, muscular imbalances, decreased flexibility and mobility.

So, I have come up with my list of the 5 things every high school athletes should know about resistance training.

Check out my article on The Athletes Equation Website

Quote of the Day 6/24/08

"Sports is like rock 'n' roll. Both are dominant cultural forces, both speak an international language, and both are all about emotions."



- Phil Knight

Quote of the Day 6/23/08

"Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better."



- Pat Riley

Quote of the Day 6/20/08

"Infinite striving to be the best is man's duty; it is its own reward. Everything else is in God's hands."



- Mohandas Gandhi

Quote of the Day 6/19/08

"What it lies in our power to do, it lies in our power not to do."



- Aristotle

Quote of the Day 6/18/08

"The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn, the bird waits in the egg, and in the highest vision of the soul a waking angel stirs. Dreams are the seedlings of realities."



- James Allen

Kinetic Chain

I am reading "Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training" by Mark Rippetoe & Lon Kilgore. Not only is this book very worth picking up it is very enlightening on many different topics. One thing that is emphasized in this book is the importance of the Kinetic Chain.

The Kinetic Chain is a fancy way of saying the foot bone is connected to the shin bone the shin bone is connected to the thigh bone and so on. Basically how it works is that the body is interconnected by soft tissue and connective tissue. These bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons and connective tissue is what allows our body to be strong, dynamic and highly mobile.

In the Book "Starting Strength: Basic Barbell training" the authors have one of the best explanations for how strength training with free weights trains the Kinetic Chain. In the chapter going over the deadlift the authors explain the lift simply and very concise with this explanation of how the body moves to perform the lift:

"The quadriceps straighten the knees, and if the back angle stays constant, the bar comes vertically up the shins. But, it is the hip extensors - glutes and hamstrings - acting as stabilizers during the initial phase of the pull, that maintain the back angle by exerting tension on the pelvis from the posterior, at their insertion points on the ischium and ilium. if the spinal erectors keep the back flat, the hip extensors "anchor" the back angle by pulling down on the distal pelvis. The pelvis and the spine are locked in line by the erectors, so the hamstrings actually keep the chest up and the back angle constant. This enables the scapulas to stay over the bar, allowing the quad work of straightening the knee to lift the bar off the ground."

That is a GREAT example of how the kinetic chain works. So if you think machines are better to train with than barbells and free weights. I challenge you to comment on this post and give me an explanation on how Machines & Nautilus can provide such a benefit to the Kinetic Chain.

Rules for Using Lifting Straps

It is common to see lifting straps being used in the weight room. But, these useful training tools are often used at inappropriate times or abused all together. Lifting straps are used to help increase grip on a bar. Well, lets look at this statement a little closer. "lifting straps are used to help increase grip on a bar." Well, if grip strength is a limiting factor for an exercise then it should be trained and one way to train it is to lift weights that stress grip strength. Take the Deadlift exercise. This exercise requires optimal grip strength. If you are training the Deadlift for competition you are not going to be allowed to use straps in competition so why use them during training. If you are trianing with the deadlift for sports then one of the benefits of the lift is the improvement of grip strength. With the deadlift the only time grip strength will become an issue is if one of two things happens. One, the load being lifted is unable to be lifted because the back is not strong enough to lift it. If this is the case then YOU SHOULD NOT BE LIFTING IT. Second, your grip strength is not strong enough to handle the weight. If this is the case straps are indicated. So, with the deadlift example here are the rules for useing lifting straps.

1. DO NOT use straps for any warm up sets.

2. DO NOT use straps if you are trying to improve your grip because your hands are sweaty. If this is the case DO USE chaulk. If your gym does not allow the use of chaulk then you should find a gym that does.

3. DO use straps when you are training heavy lifts that are near max effort.

Using straps comes down to common sense most of the time. Look at your goal of training, look at the weight you are lifting, and know if using straps is needed. If you have to question useing straps or not to then your desicion is made don't use straps.

Quote of the Day 6/17/08

"You have to dream dreams to live dreams."

- Eric Lindros

Quote of the Day 6/16/08

"What you are will show in what you do."

- Thomas A. Edison

Thoughts on Mental Toughness

Watching the final round of the US Open today I began to think if it is possible to train Mental Toughness. Watching Tiger Woods battle with a bad leg and the other golfers battle knowing Tiger is lurking.

To find the essence of what mental toughness is you must watch the drama of the final round of a Major Golf Championship and there has been anyone as mentally tough as Tiger Woods. Watching him line up his put on 18 today to force an 18 hole playoff tomorrow, you knew he knew he was going to sink it.

Is it possible to train mental toughness. I think it is and I think it is easier than you think. The first place an athlete should look to train for mental toughness is in the weight room. Putting yourself in position to do things you may think you are not capable of is one way to develop mental toughness. In the weight room athlete do this day in day out. But, do they think about the time they were max testing or going for a triple at 95% 1RM when in their sport they need to be mentally tough?

I think that in the weight room every once and a while an exercise needs to be placed into the program to train mental toughness. If athletes develop the resolve in the weight room to "Belly up and get it done" they will be able to bear down when it gets tough.

Mental toughness is an intangible in sports but one every athlete can achieve at a high level. Being strong from the weight room does not have to be limited to just the muscles.

Quote of the Day 6/13/08

"Life is a gamble. You can get hurt, but people die in plane crashes, lose their arms and legs in car accidents; people die every day. Same with fighters: some die, some get hurt, some go on. You just don't let yourself believe it will happen to you."

- Muhammad Ali

Quote of the Day 6/12/08

"What we live by we die by."

- Robert Frost

Quote of the Day 6/11/08

"While living I want to live well."

- Geronimo

Quote of the Day 6/10/08

"The man who makes everything that leads to happiness depends upon himself, and not upon other men, has adopted the very best plan for living happily. This is the man of moderation, the man of manly character and of wisdom."

- Plato

Quote of the Day 6/9/08

"Persistence is to the character of man as carbon is to steel."

- Napoleon Hill

Quote of the Day 5/6/08

"Paralyze resistance with persistence."

- Woody Hayes

Quote of the Day 6/5/08

"It's a piece of cake until you get to the top."

- Richard M. Nixon

Quote of the Day 6/4/08

"You only get better by playing."

- Buddy Rich

Quote of the Day 6/3/08

"The most successful men in the end are those whose success is the result of steady accretion. It is the man who carefully advances step by step, with his mind becoming wider and wider - and progressively better able to grasp any theme or situation."

- Alexander Graham Bell

Quote of the Day 6/2/08

"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment."

- Buddha