A Philosophy of Strength and Health

Star Wars Tai Chi from John Leo on Vimeo .

A peek into Thursday afternoon's training. Lots to work on, but these four are learning and incorporating new stuff every day. It takes time and purposeful practice to learn new motor skills.

What is the angle of the shin when one lands with good mechanics on one foot? On two feet? What is the angle of the shin when one uses proper acceleration mechanics? What is the angle of the shin with skipping? What is the angle of the shin in the "athletic stance" or "ready position" for many sports? Batting stance? Getting low on defense? Doesn't effective ground-based force production require a coordinated effort using the foot, ankle, knee and hip? Shouldn't the squat mechanics we teach support teaching a coordinated effort of the entire lower extremity, not just focus on the heel and the hip? The forefoot, midfoot, ankle and knee are also important parts of the equation. Center of pressure on the foot is dynamic, not static. Shouldn't the athlete learn to feel this? Isn't this a part of being balanced? Can we really reduce squat mechanics to the heel and the hip, when so much else of athletic movement calls for a positive shin angle and...

He's driven almost3,000 miles over the last year without a single visit to the gas station. We track our monthly electricity usage and cannot discern an increase in our bill. We could be off-setting any increase by the fact that also dropped cable / network TV at the same time, so we do not run the projector very often. It's very interesting to drive Elmo out among other cars. You realize just how powerful and large the average car is and how fast people drive on neighborhood roads. Few, if any, people drive the speed limit on roads with 30-40 mph limits unless a cop is visible. I even notice a difference in my temperament when I drive Elmo vs Sheila (2004 Subaru Forester XT, 5 speed). I have more patience and calm--I cannot really be in a hurry and I cannot use my car to vent frustration. It makes me wonder how different the roads would be if people could not show aggressiveness through their driving. Speaking of calm, not having TV in the house for a year has been fant...

Today is the end of week three in our training for the hybrid Crossfit / USA Weightlifting competition October 1-3. I'm working with 4 individuals and we train 8+ hours a week, over 4 days. Two athletes only train 2x a week with my, while the others train 4 days. I told my 4x/week people that I would work with them only under the following conditions: 1. No Crossfit class workouts for duration of our training (2 months). If you have withdrawal or a panic attack, text me and I'll talk you down and give you something appropriate. 2. The following exercises are off limits: deadlifts, kipping pull ups, KTE, CF-style KB swings, ring dips, muscle ups, Prowler pushing, thrusters, push presses. 3. The following exercises are ok: double-unders, rowing, sprints, bodyweight squats, lunges, front squats (strict form), snatches, cleans, power and split jerks, incline DB presses, HSPU. Just 8 weeks. I know you can do it. Let your bodies recover from your training for and participat...

I say ditch the Fosamax and get a Hexlite bar, a set of Hitechplates and a few iron plates. I'll come teach you to lift correctly and we'll use gravity to build your bone density.

No Kara, the Hexlite bar isn't the Ab Rocker! Talk about ROTFLMAO.

Sometimes there are differences between the L and R sides. Do they matter? If so, do you know why they are there? How might they affect performance and training down the road?