A Philosophy of Strength and Health

Big Ryan "PB&J" Pierson stands 6' 10" and weighs 248 lbs. He's finishing his sophomore year in high school and hopes to play college basketball. We are building and rebuilding this young athlete. He suffered a tibial avulsion fracture last spring and then spent an extra two weeks in the hospital battling a pulmonary embolism. Right now, he's learning to train--building basic strength, mobility and body awareness. We have a long way to go, but I'm very happy with his progress. Watch out MCC foes, you're going to see a completely different Ryan Pierson next year.

I encourage anyone who has the privilege of teaching, coaching or leading others in a workout to be mindful of how they program. Why do you do what you do? Why now with this person? Random application of exercise can be beneficial to the mind and body, if it is a novel stimulus. But there should be a "big picture" plan in the end. I understand there are clients who thrive on the "more is better" mantra. Part of our job is to help these people understand this is not the most beneficial training plan. Better is better. More is not necessarily better. Those who criticize endurance athletes for doing a bunch of garbage mileage when running, biking or swimming are falling into the same trap with doing hundreds and thousands of repetitions of bodyweight exercises. Is what you are asking your client to do beneficial or just busywork? Look at the volume of reps over one week, one month, one year, and multiple years. Look at what is happening to the body. Do ...

MSNBC will broadcast a 1 hour version of the USA Weightlifting Olympic Trials tomorrow at 12 noon EST--that would 11 am CST for me. We'll be watching it live and then having a little gathering later in the day (6 pm) to replay it, watch a little of the 2007 World Championships video and maybe even do a screening of Visions of Eight in the FoberMax home theater. All St. Louis area peeps are welcome to stop by and join in the fun; give me a call (314.368.5266) or shoot me an email if you'd like to stop by. BYOB. We have great stories to tell of our Atlanta adventure and some good Scooby snacks.

David McCullough spoke to the 2008 graduating class at Boston College. He urged them to fight the good fight against the vacuous verbal virus that plagues young people. "Just imagine if in his inaugural address John F. Kennedy had said, 'Ask not what your country can, you know, do for you, but what you can, like, do for your country actually," he said. I promise to do my part. Read the rest of the story here .

What a day! The weather was beautiful and the facilities at Georgia Tech were outstanding. Thank you Dean Alford, Chandler Alford and CJ Stockel for doing it right. The athletes gave it their all. See the full results here . See AP images from Friday here and from Saturday (top 10 competitors) here . Melanie went 5/6 and totaled 190 kg, to secure the #1 ranking. She hit a LIFETIME best in the snatch, going 77 kg, 79 kg and then 81 kg! She then nailed a 104 kg clean and jerk to move into first and then hit 109 kg to put herself 3% ahead of the rest. I am so proud of her. She did everything her coach asked of her and took care of the details--staying hydrated, keeping her weight up and keeping herself quiet and relaxed the two days before the competition. No one, not even her own family, knew what room she was in at the hotel. She did not allow any distractions. The result: a 7 kg improvement from March and a comeback PR total that solidified her dream of becoming an Olymp...

Here is the beginning of a great article by Ohio Wesleyan U. soccer coach Jay Martin. Read the full article here . Stop the Tournaments Too many games, little preparation and no training opportunities By Jay Martin, Ph.D. Tournaments, tournaments, tournaments. They are overwhelming youth soccer in this country. Everyone wants to play in tournaments. Soccer America has an entire issue devoted to tournaments. Every soccer publication in this country lists pages of tournaments for our children to attend! Every year the biggest decision a club team makes is "which tournaments do we attend?" Most clubs have a person or three who do nothing but prepare for tournaments. Stop the tournaments, I want to get off. Tournaments are hurting America's soccer playing youth. Soccer tournaments started in this country as a way for clubs to raise funds to pay the bills. Great idea. Clubs would sponsor a tournament early in a playing seaso...

Interesting interview with Renaldo Nehemiah .

Video is not just about analyzing mistakes. It is also about creating confidence in the athlete. This is a some recent training footage I put together for Melanie for that purpose. Visualize success. Remember the sweet ease of the movement. It's the same whether the bar weighs 60 kilos or 80 kilos. Gym weight. The final lift is 80 kilos; she weighs about 55 kilos. Her best comeback competition lift so far is 79 kilos.

Take a look inside the world of a truly remarkable woman and athlete. Scroll down the front page of the NY Times home page for a great video, then head to the sports section for the print story . Have a hanky nearby--it will tug at your heart.

Not bad for a couple of old fogey coaches, eh?

Two weeks from tomorrow, some of my very good friends will take to the platform for the biggest contest of their lives. They will battle each other and the many physical aches and pains that have accumulated over the last year. But for many, the biggest battle will be with their mind. Can I do it? What if I don't do it? What will people think of me? What will I think of myself. Playing the "inner game" is learning how to overcome these mental obstacles. It is learning how to be in the moment and let the body do what it has been trained to do. You have to get out of your own way to succeed. UK parkour specialist Blaine Hinkley has a great blog post about the inner game and his experience with it during his training. He also refers to the book that inspired his exploration of this aspect of preparation and training, Timothy Gallwey's Introduction to the Inner Game of Tennis.