A Philosophy of Strength and Health

A little off topic, but a delightful way to get a great fall week off to a great start.

For weightlifting groupies... If you are wondering if your classical lifts are in line with each other, or with your assistance lifts, check out the Sport Expert weightlifting calculator . The site also has some very good technique analysis from international competitions. http://www.sportexpert.biz

Via BoingBoing. Very interesting!

The squat is fundamental to physical health and athletic development. Load the kinetic chain of the lower extremity in a balanced, efficient manner; then unload. Create a base of support ( BoS ), control your center of mass ( CoM ) through a range of motion. In the process, you train awareness, alignment, mobility, strength, power, strength endurance, power endurance—whatever you need. I probably teach the squat a bit differently than many of my rehab and athletic development colleagues. My squat instruction is based upon a weightlifting squat, not a powerlifting squat or a wall sit. All single leg and other squat variations (speed, pause, partial) and hex or straight bar deadlifts flow from this movement. Remember, we are training a whole body movement pattern, not any one muscle group. The body moves down and the torso stays tall, parallel with the shin. The knee must go over the toe and there is an emphasis on feeling the full foot pressing against the...

Here are a few clips of Kara's progress over the last 5 weeks. After training for a few days, it became clear to me that Kara would benefit from trying the split snatch. If someone has ankle, hip flexor, or shoulder/t-spine mobility limitations, the split snatch can be a great alternative. It is a very beautiful, athletic movement, as Kara demonstrates. Can you see the changes in her posture and overall mobility?

So glad Friday is here. It has been a long, but good week. Supposed to be beautiful this weekend, in the 70's. I am so ready for fall. Recently, many of my CF friends have taken a greater interest in working on their mobility. This a good thing. Joint health and movement skill require a flexible, supple musculoskeletal system. One cannot effectively use strength and power without good mobility. My four building blocks of physical health are awareness, alignment, mobility and strength. A training plan must develop all aspects of your movement system, not just strength and power. Mobility must be integrated and developed within the context of what you need to do. It must be a part of your training, not a random afterthought. If your programming is mindful and purposeful, then your training will not only work to make you stronger. It will also work to address your strength in the context of your mobility needs. Quality strength and power movement grooves mobility. So I urge...