A Philosophy of Strength and Health

I would like to wish everyone a happy and healthy Thanksgiving. Please enjoy this NYTimes article that describes how a young man with cerebral palsy is learning to get his physical health back. Please also see this post by Daniel Coyle of The Talent Code blog, which is how I found the story. The human body is truly wonderful and resilient. And all health care professionals should look to examples like this for insight into the power of movement, time and purposeful practice. This is what physical therapy should be.

I was told my 4 month old kitten, Felix Frankfurter, probably just sprained his R front leg after leaping over the edge of the stairs after his crinkle ball--about an 8 ft drop. Now if you zoom in on either of these images, I think you might see something is amiss. If you spend any time watching the patient, you might think his behavior and your observations of the limb itself support what the image shows. I have no formal training in radiology and I cannot tell you the anatomy of the feline forefoot. But I kinda know what a human hand/foot looks like; and if my hand/foot looked anything like this, I'm thinking there's something more than a sprain going on here. I was told there is no fracture in the R limb and that I should have Felix checked out in 3-5 days. I then insisted on a splint, paid my bill ($334.60) and made sure I had a copy of the xrays to give to my regular vet tomorrow. I am definitely NOT returning to this particular animal emergency clinic. And I wil...

The Hexlite Bar offers a different way to do explosive pulls for those who do not wish to use a straight bar. I have been using this type of pull with my big boys (6'10 and 6'9"). Now, why do you think I would choose to use this particular movement vs. traditional barbell pulls from the floor or from the blocks? I would appreciate constructive commentary and feedback from those out there who use pulls in workouts for athletes who are not competitive weightlifters.

First things first: The Thin Man is finally getting thick! That's right. Chris is now 20 lbs heavier than he was in July, during the height of the boys' club volleyball season. And it definitely shows. He demonstrates increased strength in a variety of movements and he is putting some heat on the ball during volleyball practice with better quality movement and mechanics. And no, we didn't do it by squatting heavy (he never squatted over 155 for 5s) or heavy barbell cleans (blasphemy!), yet he put 20 lbs on his 1 RM squat. We did, however, do a bunch of single leg work and some moderately heavy lifts/jump shrugs with the Hexlite bar. So, why has Chris finally been able to put on some weight? Well, there are several reasons. First, we are sure the pubertal turbo boosters are firing up. His appetite has increased and he is sweating more in training. Second, he is doing better at consistently eating more during the day and getting post-workout calories. Third and mo...

For those of you interested in the sport of weightlifting, Columbus Weightlifting recorded a short presentation by Tommy Kono (multiple-time US Olympic and World Champion) last March at The Arnold. I've embedded the second of six videos of the hour-long talk. I highly recommend the entire presentation. The link to the CWLC YouTube channel, and all six of the presentation videos, is here .

HG and Roy were a complete joy to watch on Channel 7 each evening during the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. This clip is from their show "The Ice Dream" during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.

Some good insight from the young Mr. Taylor Phinney. No one can maintain the highest levels of competitive fitness indefinitely. Work smart; pick your battles; listen to your body.