Cool Beyond Words

Star Wars Tai Chi from John Leo on Vimeo.

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Form and Function

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Way back in 2002, I scanned these images by Howard Schatz from Sports Illustrated (October 14, 2002). A fascinating array of elite female athlete physiques, heights and weights, eh? These are some of the women featured in his book Athlete --a very cool pictorial essay that celebrates athletic form and function.
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The 411 on Back Angles and Torque When Squatting

The angle of the torso, when squatting, is not a function of whether or not the bar is high or low on the back. The angle of the torso (and thus torque on the spine) is primarily determined by the angle of the shin, a.k.a how much the ankle dorsiflexes. AND IN MY BOOK, THIS IS THE KEY TO BEST BACK TRAINING PRACTICES. GET IT??? MAKE YOUR QUADS, HAMS AND GLUTES DO THE WORK. If your shin is perpendicular to the floor, then your torso will incline forward to keep the CoM over your BoS, regardless of how low the bar is on your back. And your back will be forced to handle higher torque. A good, general rule of thumb, IMHO, is to keep the shins and the torso parallel, from an inclination standpoint. This could change with femur/torso length issues (tight adductors and hips in general can cause issues too), but this method is pretty good to help someone figure out whether or not they have decent ankle flexibility when squatting. And this will minimize torque on the back, as we will d...
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The Right Tool For The Job

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Somebody referred to my bar--the Hexlite Bar--as a crutch--right in front of me.  It's not the first time someone has spoken in a negative manner of the bar right to my face.  Rippetoe told me, in front of an entire basic barbell certification class, that he thought it was worthless. I just smiled. Many in the iron game are fixated on the barbell.  They look at it as the ultimate tool to build strength; and for the weightlifting zealots, it is the tool for developing power.  Because we all know that weightlifters are the strongest and most powerful athletes, right?  So then we should train just like they do because...well maybe... not...it depends, right? Don't get me wrong.  I love weightlifting.  There are 4 different barbells in my home gym.  I enjoy training with the barbell and teaching people how to use a barbell.  It is almost a lost art in this country.  But for every technically sound, good squat, clean or power snatch in t...
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