A Philosophy of Strength and Health

This is a cool time-lapse video of a 9 month old interacting with his environment. Pretty mobile for a non-ambulatory organism. And just dang fascinating to watch a tiny human build the foundations of physical strength and health. ( via BoingBoing )

The New York Times has a great article on Pat Summitt.

I am looking forward to participating in the 2009 GAIN Apprentorship . This is a tremendous opportunity to interact with and learn from some of the best in the field of athletic development. I first heard Vern Gambetta speak in 1998. He has had a profound impact on my development as a physical therapist, coach and an athletic development professional. I highly recommend this unique professional development opportunity. And I'm psyched that I'll finally meet Joe P. in person!

For The Thin Man (hey, it's in French), The Ab God, PB&J, The Big Red Machine and all my Crossfit Vally Park friends. One of my all-time favorites, the Werner Gunthor training video, is on YouTube. The graphics, music and hair are awesome; the content is priceless. Get strong, but make sure you learn to effectively apply it. The devil is in the details. Check out this segment (part 2). The best part starts at about 5 minutes in. Make sure you click through and watch the other three parts as you have time.

Tastes great or less filling? Shimano or Campy? Mac or PC? iPhone or Crackberry ? Kirk or Picard ? Teach the double knee bend or not? As long at there are humans, there will be debates. And some people just get really fired up over certain issues. It's okay, as long as things are kept civil and the discussion is about the facts and doesn't degenerate into value judgements, personal attacks or whining. Is there a one true way ( OTW ) to lift a barbell off the ground? Probably not. When human biomechanics and sport technique are involved there will always be some freak who defies conventional wisdom. Are there some best practices? Most people would probably say yes. Are there different approaches that are effectively used by various coaches and athletes? Yes. For those interested in the particulars (especially pulling styles) of the quick lifts and the power lifts, let me suggest you peruse Dr. John Garhammer's web page of selected publications . In par...

For those of you who enjoyed the January 5 post, here is the full lift by Jake Johnson, from two views. What do you notice about the lifter's starting position? Where is the barbell in relation to his foot? What happens as the barbell comes off the floor? P.S. See Jon, he receives the bar below parallel. That's what you have to do to lift weights greater than double-bodyweight.

If you ever need cassette tapes converted to MP3 files, Reclaim Media does a great job. And remember, you might not score a bunch a points every night, but you can always play good defense, fight for rebounds and make your free throws. Hard work and sound fundamentals will eventually pay off.

When a weightlifting coach talks about "pulling under" or "shrugging down" against the bar, this is what s/he is talking about. Not a skill many other athletes need to learn, but one of the most important skills for the competitive weightlifter. Note the feet remain in contact with the platform as the barbell continues to move upward and the athlete begins to move down. This particular lift was a successful 155 kg clean and jerk by Jake Johnson (69 kg) at the 2007 National Junior Championships.

Congrats to PB&J on being one of the ten athletes selected to the All-Tournament Team for the 16-team Meramec Tournament. He had four consistent games, leading his team in scoring 3 of the 4 games.

Amazing. There is an article from the AP in today's Post-Dispatch that says the digital television coupon plan may run out of money. $1.34 billion was allocated by Congress to subsidize the national transition from analog to digital television. Some consumers may not get their two $40 coupons. Tragedy of tragedies. Let's see. We can find $1.38 billion and hours and hours of voluntary informative programming from local and national affiliates carefully explaining to us that we will miss Dancing with the Stars if we don't have the right television or television service. I find it absolutely obscene and indicative of our screwed up national priorities. Do you really think any American has trouble funding their television habits? Imagine we made the same type of national effort to address some of the truly important aspects of national infrastructure, like public health. How about some government-sponsored coupons to subsidize joining the Y or having a session with a ...

You may want to lower the sound a bit before playing.