A Philosophy of Strength and Health

From a parent of one of my high school boys this morning: Yeah those eyes are slowly opening. In his gym class he has really noticed the difference between his technique you have taught him and the others. I think that was a major milestone for him. He is seeing the benefits and rationale behind proper body position and technique. You have his ear right now. He is trusting you. There is a method to my madness. They just have to have the patience and persistence to do what the others often don't have the will to do. But first they have to trust and believe in what we are doing.

One of my favorite things is when my athletes send me pictures of the dinners they have cooked or their grocery carts. It usually takes a while--especially with high school boys. They have to first care about eating and then learn to accept responsibility for preparing their own food. The first step for many guys is making scrambled eggs or their own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for their lunch or after school snack. This is the fist step in their evolution. Food shopping and real cooking are not usually high on their list of fun things to do, especially when mom and dad are still around. Not even close to being on the radar. But then something changes--usually is it going away to college--and WHAMMO , whole foods, lean meat, vegetables, fruits, nuts suddenly become part of their vocabulary and shopping list. They send me pictures of giant salads and stirfrys . They very excitedly tell me they start to feel the benefits of eating better and they embrace the oppor...

My friend Kelvin Giles likes to emphasize that athletes must earn the right to progress. I am in full agreement with him. My kids have to earn the right to progress, especially with the squat. And with very tall, thin athletes, I need to be even more patient to develop the mobility and infrastructure needed to squat with quality movement. I teach my athletes to have respect for the movement, as it is one of the more important things they can do to develop total body strength and power. We don't chase numbers on the barbell when squatting. We always thoroughly warm up and work up to the work set. Just like 6' 10" Eric Moeller is doing in the picture above. Every weightlifting coach I have worked with emphasizes the same thing. There is a purpose and a context to the intensity and volume of each set within a training session and within that particular training cycle. Unfortunately, many others chase numbers on the barbell in the weightroom. You can see t...

Four years ago this week, I recorded Mel's Tuesday morning training session of cleans and clean pulls. From the vaults, August 16, 2007. This cycle of training is just after her bronze medal performance at the 2007 Pan Am Games.

You used to be able to do this when you were 2. If you can do it when you are 20, you are ahead of the game. This is the kind of mobility a weightlifter works toward. It is the kind of sagittal plane mobility that is part of good joint health and good back health. See how the shin and torso are parallel? Squatting should be part of your movement vocabulary. Find someone to help you learn how to squat. Start here and work your way into the frontal and transverse planes. Be patient. Be consistent.

"Thank you so much for all your help. I thought I was going to have to have surgery." These are the words from a young patient I discharged yesterday. I saw him 6 times over an 8 week period. He came to me with osteolysis of the R AC joint. Pain with sleeping and any R UE activity. An avid bench presser and upper body lifter, I knew we had to change his mindset and exercise habits if he was going to heal. He paid for every visit out of his own pocket. I spent 1 hour with him each session. We talked about the importance of muscular balance and flexibility about the shoulder joint. I stressed that tight lats and pecs weren't going to be beneficial for long term shoulder health. I taught him a variety of overhead and multi-planar moments, starting initially with basic flexion and limited ROM ab/adduction. Each week we progressed a bit, adding UE exercises in weight-bearing and dumbbell pressing movements. I never once used a modality. The first few visi...