A Philosophy of Strength and Health

Check out this feature by CSTV on Sam Turnbull . Sam began lifting in the Spruce Creek High School program in Port Orange, Florida. She is now a resident athlete at the OTC in Colorado Springs and trains under the direction of Bob Morris. Sam recently moved up from the 48 kg class to the 53 kg class and has really improved, getting much stronger. As you will see in the video, she has tremendous natural ability and explosiveness. If she continues with the sport, she will be the heir apparent to Melanie Roach and has the potential for a 2012 and 2016 Olympic team. Sam will travel to Sicily to compete in the Jurnior International Tournament and then Peru to compete in the the World University Championships later this summer. Go Sam!

In the spirit of getting terminology straight, I'd like to suggest we use the term hip extension rather than back extension. In my book and with my people, the spine is stable and technically, the entire torso is moving in relation to the legs so it is the hip that's doing the work. I've spent many hours discussing the finer points of these terms with some weightlifting coaches. I'm all about spine/torso stability--not mobility--with this exercise and I like it for pretty much everyone. See the good vs the bad position of the spine? If athletes cannot master this movement, then they have no business even attempting SLDLs or Good Mornings or RDLs or whatever you prefer. The necessity of these movements for athletes is the topic of another blog. I think the traditional "back extension" or hyper apparati (?) are too aggressive for many people. Hey, if you are looking to do loaded spinal flexion/extension/hyperextension, have at it. I'll pass. And I...

Ye olde press behind the neck. It isn't much in favor these days--for good reason. Few US athletes have the shoulder mobility to do them properly. They are too busy doing that "other" press that shall not be mentioned here. I have cringed many times watching burly football players try to finish their summer workout doing PBNs; they have no business doing them. Their shoulder mobility sucks and they wallow in weight training programs lacking full ROM shoulder movements that perpetuate poor shoulder mobility. And so it goes. That said, PBNs are a staple of weightlifting, but the weightlifter learns not to be dependent on the ability to press--that's an infraction of the rules. Snatch grip and clean grip presses, push presses and jerks behind the neck are used all the time. But these are people who have to put stuff over their head all the time; and the strongest position overhead is slightly behind the ears, just like Shannon Sheesley demonstrates here (on the L...

This public service announcement will play on CSTV when they broadcast the 2007 Collegiate Nationals in May. Werksan Barbell, the OFFICIAL barbell of USAW (as Leo Totten, president of Werksan and BOD member of USAW would say--it's a cozy relationship), paid for the commercial. The woman who snatches the weight is Natalie Woolfolk, currently the reigning 63 kg National Champion and American record holder. Give credit to Werksan, Joe Delago and Leo for contributing to the promotion of the sport.

It doesn't have to be heavy. Put a med ball or a hold a DB at the chest. The front squat, a staple of weightlifters, is a fabulous lower body pushing for any athlete. It helps to create and challenges lower body mobility, shoulder girdle mobility and torso stability. If you can overhead squat and front squat, chances are you are pretty good to go with your basic lower and upper extremity mobility. I prefer not to do more than 5 reps in a set, ever. I require all athletes learn to use the "clean grip". There is no crossed-arm front squatting in my house. There are no Sting Rays either. There are no straps. And I haven't come across anyone who hasn't been able to master this grip with a little effort and practice--unless there is a fixed wrist deformity secondary to injury. That's another story. If the athlete has lat/teres major tightness, do a little contract relax work with an empty bar in the hands. The position may be unfamiliar or uncomfortable ...

I'm reading Mindset by Carol Dweck. Vern Gambetta referred to it recently and so far it is pretty good. The writing is a bit simple and repetitious at times, but there are some great real life examples of how a growth mindset differs from the fixed mindset. Sometimes I fall into the "fixed" mindset, thinking I'm a complete failure because I don't have an MD, JD or PhD behind my name, a book of my own, or a spot speaking on the NSCA docket yet. And while I do my own thing business-wise, I don't have a fancy facility or slew of coaches or athletes following me on a regular basis. I'm not bringing in six figures. Aren't all Chicago/Wash U grads supposed to be doing that? Silly? Yes. It's not an all or nothing gig, life. Letters and degrees don't necessarily mean one contributes to society in a positive way. And I'm certainly not the only one still paying off student loans--and that just sucks. Somebody please tell Congress to jac...

A big THANKS to "anonymous" for sending me a DVD of the entire Polish Training Video and a copy of the Werner Gunther training video. Both of these classics have provided me with some ideas and a big shot of enthusiasm for general physical preparation of young athletes--and remind me how important it is for the elite athlete. Talk about getting back to basics. You don't always need fancy training equipment to be successful. You need a creative, thoughtful coach to plan, set goals and then lead you through the work to reach those goals. BUT, on the subject of fancy equipment (well, a laptop and a digital video camera)--namely use of video feedback with the elite lifter--I was excited to see the Polish teams using the technology they had available to provide immediate visual feedback of bar trajectory, velocity and acceleration--back in the 70's! It is very easy now to get this data for our athletes with Dartfish. You don't have to have a V-scope ($10,000) or a ...

Every Monday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch publishes their Health & Fitness Section. Sometimes it has some decent information. Other times it simply perpetuates the latest fitness gunk that you see in the Shapes, etc of the fitness industry. I'll let you be the judge of this effort. Here's a link to the full article and even a video. At least the technology now allows us to see the full movements. Most of the time, stills--even sequence stills--have a hard time fully communicating the movements. I always wonder where publications get their referrals for the fitness people they profile. Any comments from the blogosphere on the article, stills or the video?

Hi dee hi dee hi dee ho! My second home (college & grad work) and THE SOUTH SIDE now earns the right to bid against Rio, Madrid, Tokyo and Prague for the 2016 Olympic Games. The Monsters of the Midway will put up a great bid and hopefully the world will again gather in Jackson Park, The Midway Plaisance and Washington Park--as they did for the 1892 World's Fair. Take the Metra from the 53rd Street stop to weightlifting and indoor volleyball at McCormick Place East? Woo hoo! Take the #6 Jeffrey Express to track cycling right on Lake Shore Drive??? Swimming at UIC??? Come on University of Chicago, put your brains, connections and money to work and help the USOC win the bid. Make the South Side shine! An Olympic Stadium in Hyde Park? Man the thought of that just blows my mind....Nothing like taking in some Olympic sports and then hitting Jimmy's Woodlawn Tap for a beer and the Medici on 57th for a late night basket of fries. I might just have to break down and have ...

Why all the fuss about some new genetic link to obesity? For the majority of Americans, the problem isn't in their genetic make up; it's in their refrigerator and the drive thru windows they patronize. Kurt Vonnegut dies from complications following a fall. Falls are a physical therapist's worst nightmare--traumatic brain injuries, hip fractures, ect . The morbidity and mortality related to falls is amazing. Do everything you can to keep yourself and your loved ones healthy, mobile, strong and with good basic balance. I say we make a "Burn with Vern" t-shirt--kinda in the Napoleon Dynamite "Vote for Pedro" look. The St. Louis Marathon is this weekend. They say there are about 24,000 people in town for the various races over two days. Wonder how this group will mingle with the 50,000 NRA members who are also downtown for their national convention? Death by trainer interval workout today. Survived a decent trainer workout (for me). I have the a...

I'd heard about this footage but never seen it until today when someone posted a link to it from the ever wacky GoHeavy forum. This is part of a Polish training video that apparently used to be available from the NSCA a while back. If anyone out there has a copy of this or knows someone who does, please have them contact me. I'd love to get a full copy. Just the bare necessities to train and even the old Universal gym getting a real workout from the entire Polish national team. Watch the entire thing to get to the accessory training--kettle bells, Universal gym, stall bar work--at the end! Note these guys have to effectively lower the barbell from overhead and the shoulders. No excessive slamming of the weights on the floor just because they can.

From the calloused hands of the weightlifters to the soft hands of the setter....Took some video of my boys the DeSmet Spartans (in home white) in their first match of the season against big Metro Catholic Conference rival CBC Cadets (in purple). The Spartans won in three, after letting game two slip away to a scrappy CBC bunch. The St. Louis area has some fine boys high school and club volleyball. Check out the video and see what good boys volleyball is all about. Many of the larger schools in the area sport THREE teams: freshman, JV and Varsity! How cool is that to see these young men working together and duking it out on the volleyball court in the spring! Here's the link to an embedded WMV file of about 6 minutes of highlights of a 90 minute match. Right click on the video to zoom into full-screen viewing. Feel free to click on the DeSmet Volleyball link at the top of the page, go to the video box and download the 23 MB file if you want some footage of boys volleybal...

Those of you who read this blog regularly know I'm a big fan of the sport of weightlifting; a real geek. It is a beautiful, technical sport with a great deal of history. I was never a weightlifting athlete myself, but I coach a bit now and have had the opportunity to be mentored by some of the best weightlifting athletes and coaches in the US. I've come to know some of the most knowledgeable academicians--John Garhammer , Mike Stone--who study the sport and the attributes of its athletes. Weightlifting movements are an end in themselves for the athletes that compete in the sport. The assistance movements are a means toward the specific end of performing the classical lifts (clean, jerk, snatch). Assistance movements can be used by other athletes for the purposes of learning how to generate vertical forces, being explosive, etc. They can be used to help athletes develop basic strength, power, stability and mobility. But every coach must ask her or himself whether or not c...

This high school junior is a real go-getter! AJ had the opportunity to try the steeplechase and she loved it! Personally, I think I'd be terrified to confront those barriers. She's having a great time running the lead-off leg of the 4 x 800 and either doing the mile or two mile. Tomorrow she's shooting for a 2:30 in the 800 and 12:30 in the two mile. She's doing bodyweight work and some work on her own at the Y. Basic stuff. I'm so excited for and proud of her. She was dreading track and now she's found her niche and seems to be having a blast. She's embraced doing more quality speed work and has overcome her fear of running in front of the crowds. I'm looking forward to watching her run at the All Catholic meet next Saturday. Woo hoo!

I've put together some warm up and competition footage of Melanie Roach, Carissa Gump , Natalie Woolfolk and Doreen Fullhart from the World Team Qualifier in early March. As of April 4, 2007, Melanie is ranked 6 th in the world (53 kg class), Natalie is ranked 4 th (63 kg class) and Doreen is ranked 11 th (75 kg class). Carissa is coming back from shoulder surgery and needs to add about 20 kgs to her total to get into the top 15 in the world. Note the empty bar work Natalie does in preparation for competition. This is an example of dynamic warmup and should give you an idea of the shoulder, hip and ankle flexibility these athletes have. By showing these women in action, I hope to debunk some of the negative stereotypes that people have of female weightlifters and weightlifting in general. Slow, inflexible, BULKY--you know the drill. Melanie is married, a mother of three, a former gymnast and owns a gymnastics school. Natalie is a former Level 10 gymnast and lives at t...

Charles Bradley Huff recently won America's first track cycling World Championship medal in 9 years. Not bad for a kid from tiny Fair Grove, MO. Not bad for a kid who could never make his high school baseball team, nor his college track team. Instead, he became a collegiate cheerleader and finally got a road bike, after riding mountain bikes. At 28, Brad is coming into his own as an elite athlete. And all this after a long battle with anorexia. Check out Brad's blog and his bio --these pictures are from there. You can read about his journey into cycling, puberty and his battle with disordered eating. Check out his race resume. No magic; just hard work, one race at a time. Parents, take heed. Not all elite athletes are born with their respective sport ability oozing out of their pores at the tender age of 10. Not all have a team of personal coaches or personal trainers. High school or age-group athletic success or lack-thereof does not always predict adult athletic a...