A Philosophy of Strength and Health

This comment was posted recently: Anonymous said... From a PT stand point what are your views on Overhead Squats for a Pitcher in Baseball Well, in general I try not to look at things from just an American PT stand point. If I did, I'm afraid I would never squat (overhead or otherwise) nor put anything over my head. I might be stuck in wall squat and Theraband purgatory. Being around the sport of weightlifting has been invaluable to my growth as a physical therapist. I try to be open and look at movements and exercises as a coach and athlete as well. keep in mind the human body responds to stresses in many positive ways, not just negatively. keep in mind the body types, postures and common movements/ROM of other cultures. Many of my colleagues are incapable of thinking "outside the PT box" and that, in my opinion, is a shame. They fear movements, positions and efforts they themselves could never achieve and so they pooh-pooh it for eve...

There is no rest for the AD over the break. 16 teams in The Spartan wrestling tournament meant 12 to 14 hour days on Wednesday and Thursday. Back today for another 8 hours to host part of the MCC sophomore basketball tournament, then off to the local junior college to watch the varsity basketball team play at 8:30 this evening. Grapplers, cagers and Spartans--oh my! And be warned future spouses of AD's, if you are the significant other of the athtletic director and you happen to be at school when the score keeper doesn't show up, you might have to dust off your trusty no. 2 and keep the score book for the next baskteball game. I felt really old when I had to ask how many time outs they have now and how you document the 30 second vs the full timeout!

My water polo/swimming athlete let me borrow a book he received as a gift, The Ultimate Guide to Weight Training for Swimming . It contains the traditional bodybuilding/ powerlifting -based schlock. The author highlights his qualifications on the back of the book: National Bench Press Champion USAPL Regional Power Lifting Champion USAPL Ohio Bench Press Record Holder First Class Certified Personal Trainer ROTFLMAO ! Hey, where do I go to become a "First Class Certified Personal Trainer?" The book has some decent basic information in it and some really bad information in it, but primarily acts as a glorified ad for a website that provides e-coaching/training services. I couldn't find anything about the company (qualifications) that provides the training services on the website, but I did find some articles by master marketing guru, Ryan Lee. Go figure. This author has very likely attended his seminars. Turns out the company has an entire line of books "Ultima...

I didn't vote for him in my second grade class election in 1976, but today I have gained a much better appreciation of Gerald Ford. It seems Mr. Ford was a thoughtful, considerate public servant (not to mention a great athlete and coach of various sports), who put the strength and health of his country before his own political gain and the partisan politics of his critics (on both sides). It is fascinating to watch him testify before the House Judiciary Subcommittee with composure and candor, regarding Proclamation 4311 --the only sitting president ever to testify before this committee. He took it upon himself to explain to us all why it was essential for the country to move on and get back to the real problems our nation faced in the fall of 1974. Ford was a team player, serving in the House of Representatives for 24 years, working as House Minority Leader for eight. Maybe in his death, we can, as a country, remember his famous words and take them to heart in these trying times...

Is health better achieved through manipulating biology or behavior? I always read my Wash U alumni mag (did my PT grad degree there) with a bit of a skeptical eye. Lots of bragging about the medical school and research on the cellular level vs. information about more practical arts and interventions. This latest issue had two items that caught my eye. The first was a short blurb on current research by Jeff Gordon, Ph .D and his lab , and how they study the types of bacteria in the guts of special mice, to see if the different bacteria types absorb more or fewer calories from various foods. You know, we can't possibly be the fattest, sickest culture in the world just because of the poor choices we make. It must be the bacteria in our guts. Hmmmm.... The second blurb was on an alum , Allison Slade, who is now the principal at a charter school in the Chicago public school system. The school, Namaste Charter School , was founded in 2004 by a group of teachers who wanted to u...

Put this together to highlight some of the great efforts at the American Open. Okay, gotta go do some lifting myself...

Finally back from the ETSU Coaches College put on by Meg Stone and her husband Dr. Mike Stone. They had a great mix of high-powered speakers (including me!) for coaches of all levels. Loren Seagrave raised more than a few eyebrows with his ideas on top-speed running physiology. Dr. Jeff McBride had some interesting research and thoughts on developing max power and strength. Dr. Bill Sands spoke twice and had some great information on fatigue and the implementation of a new recovery center at the OTC in Colorado Springs. Meg did a fabulous talk on the responsibilities of being a coach and Dr. Stone spoke on training principles and theory behind strength for team and individual sports. My favorite speakers were Clive Brewer, from SportScotland and Dr. Kyle Pierce, from LSU-Shreveport. I've known Kyle for several years now, but have never seen him give a talk. His knowledge and passion for working with young people (generosity) in weightlifting, regardless of their abilities...

I'm working with a 16 y.o. swimmer/water polo athlete. He's a dream to work with strength-wise as he has no mobility issues. We are starting from scratch, but he will do well. The biggest challenge we'll face is working on his throwing. This is a kid who swam and played soccer and basketball as a youth, but who never learned how to throw properly. How to describe it? Well, some have used that phrase we all know so well: throw like a girl. But from a mechanics standpoint, what does that actually mean? For this kid, it means not having any flow of using the hip / shoulder rotational sequencing (primarily using lumbar extension), dropping the elbow significantly just prior to release, and--most importantly, no wrist flexion follow through with the arm following through. When I watched him at first, it was amazing to note that he released the ball with his wrist almost fully extended. After two sessions, I've gotten him to get better wrist positioning and follow-th...

Speaking of stupid human tricks....That post got me to thinking about "wall squats." A staple of personal trainers, a variation on the infamous physical therapy "wall slide", this exercise continues to stink up gyms and clinics around the country. And I'm sure young basketball players are still routinely tortured by coaches who make them do "wall sits." Any idiot can make it burn, right? Who needs a Smith Machine when you can have somebody lean back against the ball and mindlessly flex and extend their hips/knees? Don't let those knees go over those toes, Mrs. Jones! Is there really any reason to do this versus doing a bodyweight squat? Or a sit-to-stand for frail or post-operative patients? Why the ball? In 2000, I began working for a high-end personal training company. The organization was basically good people trying to help other good people be more fit. And although this is a topic for another blog, I made TWICE the hourly wage that I...

Just got a new Performance Conditioning for Cycling newsletter put out by USA Cycling and Ken Kontor. There's a little article by Tudor Bompa regarding the foolishness that now abounds with focusing on "training stabilizers" or what I like to call "stupid human tricks." Vern G. has expounded on the topic as well, so I don't want to beat a dead horse, but it really comes down to this: If you move well, you are training the movers and the stabilizers. If you move poorly, on the ground or on/in any other medium, you are not using the stabilizer muscles appropriately. You don't need gadgets to work stabilizers. You need to teach the body to tune out the noise. You need supervision by someone who knows what's going on and who knows how to communicate to the athlete the means by which s/he can modify the movement. The athlete must first have awareness, then alignment, then mobility and then strength. With this healthy foundation, you can then teac...

Kelly and Kendrick are amazing athletes. They work their butts off. You'll see them on an Olympic team or two. I'll comment more soon. Okay, let's hear the comments on Kendricks's " splaut " jerk! Does it make your shoulders just quiver?

Got the heck out of Dodge (St. Louis) yesterday and drove down to Birmingham, AL for the American Open Weightlifting Championships. I hope the effects of the current ice storm hitting the St. Louis area are gone by the time I have to drive back. It's in the 70s here and overcast. The temperature is supposed to drop tonight and we're supposed to get some rain, but no snow or ice is predicted. This competition is the second largest meet on the USA Weightlifting calender . Since it is an open meet, it is open to all ages, as long as you make the qualifying total. So we'll see some good juniors and some good masters competing this weekend. Many of the 2006 World Team members will not compete here, but because this meet is a qualifier for the 2007 Pan Am Games, there will be a few athletes on the bubble looking to move up in the rankings. I'll be recording all of the lifts and displaying replays for the crowd on a big screen. It should be fun. I hope to have a few of...

Normally I think of myself as a fairly "strong" woman. But that strength is fairly specific: slow strength, ground based. I'm not necessarily powerful (speed strength) and my muscular endurance is okay, but it is not something that comes naturally. I can power up a short steep hill on the bike fairly well; but if the hill is long or the resistance comes from a strong headwind on the flats, it kills me. The warm temperatures over the last week allowed for some good bike riding. On Monday, I went out with PJ , Joe and Adrienne for about 2 hours. It was a conversational, but steady pace with the temperature around 67 and winds gusting from 17 to 24 mph. The last 30 min I took the lead with Joe and we pulled PJ and Adrienne back to the cars. The steady headwind was humbling. I felt like a pipsqueak. My heart rate crept up into the 150s. I down-shifted to get into a good spinning gear, put my head down, brought my arms into a more aerodynamic position and tried n...

I've posted individual lifts by Natalie Woolfolk before, but this sequence is especially impressive as it shows a technical consistency found only in elite athletes. Natalie is a wonderful example of a female athlete who possesses all four of the components of physical health for her sport. There are no compensations. She was a gymnast as a youngster. This allowed her to develop keen kinesthetic awareness, upper and lower extremity mobility and a tremendous foundation of strength-to-bodyweight. Her postural alignment is outstanding. Her father is Kirk Woolfolk, a former weightlifter and a strength coach at the Naval Academy. Thus, she learned to lift under proper supervision. Natalie has been training at the OTC for roughly 5 years. She is 23 years old and weighs 63 kg (138 lbs). The final lift is 120 kg (265 lbs). There are very few women in this country who are capable of a double-bodyweight clean and jerk. Natalie is almost there. She will need to lift this much if ...

In my experience, there are four essential components for physical health and performance: 1. Awareness 2. Alignment 3. Mobility 4. Strength Each component is necessary; and, in my opinion, they most sucessfully build upon one another in this order.

I've changed the name of the blog (but not the URL) after a little reflection. My undergraduate degree is in the history and philosophy of science, and in the same vein, I'd really like this venture to become a compilation of thoughts related to my ever-evolving philosophy of health. And of course, there will certainly be a good number of posts that focus on strength, as I'm a bit of a strength geek and quite interested in the history of strength. It seems to me there are few out the who appreciate physical culture and physical health as distinct, but integrated body of knowledge that incorporates physical education, kinesiology , exercise physiology, physical therapy and athletic development. For many Americans, physical health is simply looking good--looking buff or cut, looking like the fitness rags say we should look. It is a commodity to be bought from supplement companies, sleazy gyms or unethical health care professionals. For many athletes, physical health is ...

I am not a weightlifter. I do lift weights. I weight train. I resistance train. I will occasionally power snatch or split clean or jerk. But I am not an athlete who competes in the sport of weightlifting. Actually, according to USA Weightlifting, there are fewer than 1000 registered female athletes in this country (school-age through masters). And you wonder why the Chinese are kicking our ass?? I have taken courses to learn about coaching weightlifting, and hope to help other coaches and athletes utilize video in their competition and training. The term weightlifting has lost its proper place in our culture, in my opinion, as the name of a specific sport. It now represents a generic activity: weight training (two words). But that is WRONG! It is the name of a specific sport! And it is one word. Not two. Many people in the US use the term Olympic lifting or Olympic weightlifting. Funny how, when you go to the Olympics—and I had the opportunity to...

This little diddy by Ok Go is catchy and the choreography has to be some of the most original of all time--certainly one of the most creative uses of treadmills ever! Stick it in your head and go exercise! This post is dedicated to my friend Sandy, a treadmill gymnastics expert--albeit, unintentionally.

I've just been asked to review a paper that compares the "conventional" concentric/concentric hamstring/quad torque ratio test vs. a "dynamic ratio control" test that measures eccentric hamstring torque vs concentric quad torque (not at the same time). This particular study did the testing on college distance runners. Admittedly, I've not been a big fan of this kind of testing for and description of hamstring or quad function. It is non-weightbearing and is capable of testing only at the knee joint, with the hip joint static. Just how functional and practical is this type of information for the ATC, PT and strength coach? Is direct measurment of single joint/muscle torque informative, even if it is a measure of eccentric strength, with regard to sport rehabilitation or performance? Or is this one aspect of sport science that misses the mark on providing useful information when it comes time to hit the court or the field? Comments?

I have been invited to speak on the use of video in coaching at the first East Tennessee University's Coaches & Sports Sciences College in December (14-16). The list of speakers includes an interesting mix of US and UK sport scientists and coaches. And for those with the NSCA certification, the event offers a relatively inexpensive opportunity for CEUs. Learn more about it here . Speaking of the NSCA, anybody else notice the blurb in the latest T&C about the new "Fly Solo Program" targeted at certifying high school professionals (p. 38)? Boyd Epley says this "seven or eight hour camp" --to be held at NSCA-approved centers around the country--will allow coaches and physical education teachers to gain certification to run a strength program. Additional details will be announced in 2007. I wonder how the course material will differ from the CSCS? Comments from the weight room, anyone?

That's a very good question. Vern Gambetta offers his take on using dumbbells here . I agree with what he says. And like Joe P. says, a good teacher uses many tools depending on the needs of the student--and uses them in their appropriate context. I use my Power Block bells for db snatches all the time. They are a bit clunky for clean-related stuff, for my taste, but I don't have any issues with others using them. Many implements can be used with triple extension; the barbell is not a sacred cow. That said... The sport of weightlifting offers partial movements that can help anyone learn to be more powerful. And remember, it is a SPORT in itself; you must respect the complexity of the movements if you are going to use them with non-weightlifting athletes. Using the barbell vs dumbbells allows for maximum resistance, but presents some technical challenges. If the athlete has mobility issues (ankle, hip, shoulder) or is very tall, hitting the appropriate positions...

Now, I will not use this blog to comment on politics, but I will occasionally comment on things pertaining to being a woman in a male-dominated professional culture. I happened to hear the beginning of President Bush's press conference today and one comment caught my attention. While Mr. Bush was acknowledging Nancy Pelosi's rise to the post of Speaker of the House of Representatives--the first time a woman has EVER been in this position, regardless of party affiliation--he made the following remark (not a quote but he said something to this effect): During my conversation with her, I gave her the name of several interior decorators in Washington so she can pick out some drapes for her new office. That, my friends, is a classic Narcisstic back-handed slam--a tactical, grand gesture meant to put this woman in her place. In short, it says the following to her and the country: She may be the new Speaker of the House and her party might now be in control, but I will, in a futile ...

1. Physical education and sport preparation are not one and the same. One test, one measure, may not fit all. 2. Our society is currently failing our young people by not providing them with adequate physical education. Instead of emphasizing elements and skills of lifetime health and fitness as an integral part of elementary and high school education, we rely on the "fitness industry" (Curves, Shape magazine, etc) to sell us our physical health as adults. 3. Many high school coaches would benefit from the information and financial resources that elite level and college coaches have available to them. Those of us in the athletic development realm owe it to these people to contribute to their development, mentoring them when possible, not just sell them cookbooks and gadgets.

A friend disagreed with my post on the basketball guys running the mile in 6:30. And I agree with her, the mile run has no predictive value of basketball ability, nor does it prepare one for true basketball fitness. But I don't think asking high school players to pass this traditional field test is asking anything out of the ordinary with regard to an assessment of general fitness or of the disciplined mindset for being successful as a team. Data from the President's Council on Physical Fitness states that a 6:30ish mile time is approximately 70th percentile for high school boys age 16 & 17. High school sports aren't just about the sport specific success--they are also about participation, self-discipline and team work. High school basketball isn't just about shake 'n bake for the dunk on Sports Center. And here are some other interesting things to consider. There are about 1100 guys at this school, which has a very strong basketball tradition. There are 4...

AJ ran well, but not as well as she wanted. She bettered her time from last year by 1 minute ( 22:53 to 21:53 ), but the overall competitiveness of the race was higher than last year and she finished in 89 / 166. Her goal was top 25 at the beginning of the season, then last week top 40. It was cold (40s) and raining during some of the race. She felt she could’ve and should’ve gone out faster, as she feels she was blocked by several groups of runners during the race. She had a good effort on Firehouse Hill, passing 7 girls, but as she entered the last mile, her hands became increasingly painful, cold and swollen. Ah, but for a pair of gloves! Her team finished 8 th ; they had hoped for a top 4 placing. Their top runner AR, a junior who had finished 28 th as a freshman, finally made All-State (top 25) and finished 15 th . AJ stayed for the medal ceremony and said is has really motivated her to work for the top 25 next year. Racing is much different tha...

Talked to the varsity basketball coach Tuesday after hearing they had several guys in tryouts who could not make the required mile time of 6:30. Now, we can debate the value of the mile for basketball, but it is certainly a tradition that most of us faced every November. I hated every second of that stupid mile, but I made damn sure I came in under the required time. There was no way I was going to fail or run that mile more than one time. That meant I worked a little harder on weekends and after volleyball practice, making sure I was prepared for that dreaded afternoon. I was amazed when this coach told me 5 of the 13 guys trying out (some are still in football and soccer), failed this test. How sad! Over one-third of these young men didn't have the general aerobic fitness to run a mile in 6:30? Why? Are they that unmotivated to prepare? Are they just dumb? Do they think playing half-court is the only thing you need to do to prepare for the high school season? The one k...

Just picked up the November copy of Sauce Magazine , a local foodie publication that tends to have interesting articles on area restaurants, chefs and all things food. This issue has an article by Jill Baughman that discusses the controversy over the role of food with regard to seasonal allergies. If you live in the Midwest, and especially St. Louis, you know the region is notorious for having hordes of people who suffer from seasonal allergies and sinus infections. I used to be one of those people. But I changed my diet (eliminated dairy, gluten and animal proteins) and have since eliminated my use of medication to control seasonal allergies and sinus infections, as well as cleared my skin of troublesome acne. Let me share are few quotes from Dr. H. James Wedner, chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology at the Washington University School of Medicine: "There are a lot of old wives' tales about foods or drinks that stop respiratory allergy symptoms, but none of them...

Take that Kenny Rogers. The Karma Fairy came through. You won game two, but she put the pine tar curse on the rest of your pitching staff and they couldn't field a ball to save their hide or win the World Series. And some 5'7" shortstop and his ragtag teammates with the 13th best record in baseball, come together to win 4 games to 1. It wasn't the most beautiful series, but the Cardinals did what it took to win--and sometimes that means simply making fewer mistakes than your opponent. Many times, the winning team makes their own luck. The last time the Cardinals won the World Series (1982), I was in 8th grade and I was in love with 2nd baseman Tommy Herr. I suffered through 1985 (KC) and 2004 (Red Sox). And my lovely husband is a crazed Minnesota Twins fan who takes great pleasure in reminding me frequently that his beloved Twins beat the Cardinals in 1987. This will quiet him down for a while, at least until pitchers and catchers report next spring. I'm ...

As my husband will gladly tell you, I am notorious for leaving things in my pockets. Things which aren't found until they are destroyed in the washer and/or dryer. Tissues, lip balm, money--you name it. I try, but I just can't seem to clean out my pockets before depositing my clothes in the dirty pile. Well, last night I was doing laundry and thought I finally got what I deserved. The knocking sound in the dryer turned out to be my little Lexar 512 Mb Jump Drive, sans it's little protective cap. Great. Was there anything really important on it? Oh well, maybe I'll learn, right? On a whim I decided to see if it still worked. Popped that puppy in the USB port and to my surprise, heard the familiar "cling clang" of Windows XP. Clicked "My Computer" and there was the icon. Clicked on the icon and there were my documents, squeaky clean. Who'dathunkit?

The District Cross Country Championships are this Saturday. AJ will be running on a course she ran back in September, going 21:50 on a hilly course and finishing 15/250. The competition will not be stiff in terms of teams qualifying for the State Championship next Saturday, so there is some pressure but not a great deal. Her team should qualify easily (top 2 teams). We are tapering her resistance training to more basic work and keeping things quick and fast. I watched her run last Friday, where she had a great 21:04 time on a tough course and finished 26/120+ girls (30 teams) with both 3A and 4A schools competing. AJ's school is 3A, meaning it is a smaller school. As a freshman, she ran that particular course in 24:00+; last year she ran it in 22:30. So she's making some great progress overall in her development as a runner. During the race I was able to see her go by 4 or 5 times and it seemed like her stride was a bit too long and her stride frequency a bit slow. It d...

Oh that wasn't pine tar. It was just dirt on my hand. Right Kenny. You were caught "brown-handed." But for whatever reason, you gambled and won. Like many other adults in this day and age--politicians, heads of corporations, other professional athletes--this 42 y.o. baseball pitcher has LIED to the entire world about what was on his hand and why it was there. Straight up lied and denied right at us. Unbelievable? Not today. Deny, lie, deny and abdicate responsibility for our words and actions. This is what our society does now and it trickles down to our young people like you wouldn't believe. Hey, if professional athletes can get away with it, why can't a high school athlete who is accused of violating a high school's drug and alcohol policy get away with the same tactic? The high school doesn't have the blood alcohol reading of my body before or after the dance. I didn't drink and you cannot prove I did. Now let me practice and play....

If the athletes are truly quad dominant and you want to initiate posterior chain strengthening, why spend so much time—weeks--on a quad dominant exercise? Let’s get to the point, the human body responds to appropriately applied overload. I am curious to know just how bad the posterior hip and ankle flexibility is in female middle distance/distance athletes—and thus the need for this drastic remediation. I would tend to think the opposite is true—that males are more prone to inflexibility. Just my experience with high school boys. Are the male middle distance runners asked to do this exercise or just the females? Is the macho bias of the collegiate weight room showing through with prescription of this particular exercise? Reminds me of the George Carlin routine (weight room version): On the MEN’S side of the weight room, we do: HACK SQUATS On the girls’ side of the weight room, we do: si...

Well, I'm bummed. A young athlete I know has been kicked out of one of the USOC Olympic Training Centers--for the second and final time. All of the talent in the world. This kid's physical abilities allowed her to walk into a great situation--room, board, college tuition, health care and training--a situation and opportunity many athletes in Olympic sports never have. This kid has the capability of representing the US in London in the 2012 Olympics, but the chances of that happening are greatly decreased now as she will be forced to fend for herself for training space and coaching. Maybe I'm cynical, but it seems many of today's young athletes have trouble remaining disciplined and making good choices. Alcohol, sportsmanship, working as a team--heck, just showing up to training on time--many of them just don't seem to get it. The coaches are forced to act as baby sitters for people who cannot seem to keep their pants on or keep themselves sober--even at World...

Anybody else checked out the sport specific training article in the latest T&C? I have to say I am utterly shocked and disappointed in the article by Matthew Ludwig, assistant strength coach at the University of Washington. I was hoping to find some extra goodies and inspiration for AJ's workouts--which have been going well and I'll update after today's tough race. You can see a full summer workout program for the Huskies women's distance runners here . The long track sprinters and hurdlers actually get to front squat. Why is this? I don't see how incorporating a "sissy squat" into a program helps any athlete gain the proper lower extremity strength and mobility to do any kind of other squat. What is wrong with simply having them stay upright with a med ball or other implement and encouraging closed-chain ankle dorsiflexion? Why do the long track/hurdlers do front squats, but not the middle distance women? AJ has been taught all kinds of squats: b...

Get the lowdown here. Stick it in your head and have a great weekend!

Finally took the time to look over this ChiRunning stuff. A friend of mine is going to one of their workshops in Atlanta. I'm skeptical. From what I can tell from the website, this is a very slickly-run gig. Lots of product available for sale--they have even made it really easy for anyone (affiliates!) to make some money, by providing the html code for products to embed in your website so any click through from your site brings you an easy 20% commission. I can't really find any good references on the actual techniques they teach, just general lay terminology: core strength, don't over-stride, don't focus on a heel-strike. In one sense, it seems like they are providing some good BASIC info to the adult runner. If you've ever watched a 5k or marathon, it is PAINFUL to watch many of the participants move. There is no wonder why there are running injuries in the masses. Most recreational runners are not blessed with naturally efficient running mechanics or...

Got some new cycling shoes today. Carbon-soled bling. Once again, I chose to shop in the men's section because the color and functional design in the equipment was better than that in the women's section. Men's equipment and clothing functions better and looks better. Always. That's because it is designed for an ATHLETE. Women's stuff seems to be designed for men to look at women or for women to really not perform at an elite level. Not even recreate. I am happy companies are finally beginning to manufacture sport equipment designed specifically for women. Size and anatomy are different. We are not simply miniature men. But, and this is very common with cycling equipment, the women's specific design (WSD) stuff is usually has at least one of the following characteristics: 1. Inferior componetry--bikes get the crappy, low-level groupos, saddles, etc 2. Looks frumpy--not cool and fast 3. Nasty pastel colors 4. Designed to show skin, not function as ath...

So I've been absent for a few days--nothing like an 18 y.o. cat with a kidney infection and kidney stone, along with redefining my affiliation with Dartfish to distract me. But here I am. I'm speaking to a group of individuals enrolled in a weight loss program through the Washington University Program in Physical Therapy next week. My friend Cindi (Cinister, the super cyclist and registered dietician) has invited me to speak for the second year. The topic du jour is resistance training: Don't believe the Hype: Be Smart, Be Healthy, Be Strong. My goal is to get these people to actually understand that using weights and training with real resistance is NOT going to cause any undo masculinization or lead to that great American fear, unwanted bulk. Who the hell started this absurd myth anyway? Every week this fitness myth is propagated by mass media. Why on 9/25 our wonderful Post-Dispatch "Health & Fitness" section carried a special article from the Was...

This is a little montage of the members of the 2006 USA World Team. They will compete in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) next week. This world championship event is very important, as it is the initial competition for team slots for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The US is hoping to score big points on the women's side and field a full team (4 athletes) for the 2008 Olympics. The men have a tough road ahead of them, but may benefit from many recent positive drug tests at the European Championships. In fact, the Iranian team had 9 lifters (all male I presume) test positive and the entire team was banned from competing next week. The US could score some higher places and needed points if we do well. Our athletes face a very challenging task, competing against some teams and federations who expertly and systematically apply doping science and practice. In a fine show of the political cesspool of elite international sport, the current superheavyweight world and Olympic cha...

I NEVER watch the morning news shows, but am watching this morning as CBS is having a young female weightlifter, Michelle Glasgow, on. The content of the shows and the commercials are just stupefying. How can any person with half a brain watch this stuff? Drugs, crap food and more drugs to make you more comfortable eating the crap food. Then I saw the commercial for Organic Rice Krispies???!!! You have got to be kidding me. The absurdity of it all...

Frank DeFord had a great commentary on high school sports yesterday. My husband is feeling the pressure as his school gears up for a new capital campaign for new and improved athletic facilities. Everybody else in the conference is building additional gyms and putting in turf fields. Here we go.... TJ did not make his select club volleyball team. I was bummed. Went to the tryout on Sunday for a bit--it was overwhelming. There were so many, maybe 60, 17 year olds trying out for 20 spots--two teams of ten. It was clear he did not have the skill level or physical prowess necessary to "hang with the big dogs". By age 17, the players on this club demonstrate a fairly high level of sport specialization AND athleticism. And it became clear to me that there is little room on these select teams for a true generalist--a decent team utility player without exceptional physical traits or capabilities. There was nothing 2 months of basic strength, agility and movement training ...

Joe P. emailed to inquire about AJ. She’s doing very well—no shin splints or anything. Works with me one day per week and 2x on her own, assuming she has one competition on Friday or Saturday each week. Here are her results thus far (keep in mind she was 101/164 last fall at the Missouri 3A State Championships with a 22:55 5k as a sophomore, on a hilly course ): Fleet Feet Nike Run 2 miles 2 nd of 100 12:59 First Capitol Run 5k 15 th of 250 21:50 MICDS Invitational 5k 7 th of 96 21:40 Lutheran North Inv 5k 6 th of 100 21:03 We are looking to 5 weeks or so of continued strength improvement. Right now, AJ is working on not going out too fast, but really coming on strong in the last mile. At the Lutheran North race, she negative split the mile 3 vs mile 2. I monitor her as best I can to make sure we are not ...