A Philosophy of Strength and Health

If you train with a barbell, doing any of the classical movements, I highly recommend weightlifting shoes. You can basically only order them online from distributors, buy them on E-bay, or possibly pick up a pair at a national meet or NSCA or CSCCA national meeting exhibit hall. Bud Charniga , who distributes Adidas shoes in the US, has a nice article (with GREAT pics) on the history of the weightlifting shoe and why they are essential to the sport of weightlifting. You can see what he has available on his website . Other choices are DoWin , Gold Cup and VSAthletics .

Yep, Ms. Millie (a.k.a. Methuselah Anne, 127 years old in human years) and my Adidas Equipment shoes. Millie supervised my little workout yesterday. She wasn't impressed--never is, really. I guess I'll have to leap up onto the kitchen or bathroom counter in one cat-like move or something. Not likely. Her power to bodyweight ratio, as expressed by vertical jumping ability, is as good as ever; even though she's experienced some feline sarcopenia . And her paw-eye coordination is still great.

If you post a comment, please have the courtesy (and the cajones!) to leave your full name. If you want to ask me a question about a blog topic or post, and you really expect an answer, please email me via the blog. I am not interested in taking the time to respond to anonymous posts.

If you sit at the mall or the airport for a while, you will observe many different bodies moving about in various ways. All accomplish the same task; some more efficiently and effectively than others. You wonder how some survive. Observe the asymmetries. Observe the postural changes gravity has affected. Keep in mind that many of these people have no idea what they look like when they are moving, nor do they easily perceive their body in space—that their torso is flexed forward, their feet shuffle, their knees hyperextend, one hip drops more than the other with each step, they lean their torso to one side to compensate for weak hip musculature. Good, fundamental movement patterns are not a given for most adults and for many kids. I say most, not all. Many people would benefit from basic instruction in fundamental movements and how the body works most efficiently. It is like learning and practicing your ABC’s in grade school. You learn to print and write cursive. Then you lea...

I think OK GO says it best. I leave you with the lyrics of "Here It Goes Again" to say it for me. Thanks, Wylie, for telling me about this latest "functional training" method.

This is a link to an interview of cyclist Joe Papp by Dr. Dawn Richardson, posted on the VeloNews website. If you think doping isn't dangerous and doesn't mess with your physiology, you might be compelled to think again after reading this. Thanks to Bobber for posting a link to the story on the STLBiking message board.

Blogger now supports direct upload and posting of video within your blog. Pretty easy with a small clip. Not so easy with a larger file, for some reason.