Thursday, October 29, 2009
For me I’ve often found that I didn’t really place too much merit in the theory that music can motivate herculean efforts in the gym. Don’t get me wrong, I feel that music is a complete necessity. Anyone who’s stepped into a facility resembling superman’s fortress of solitude will tell you a quiet gym is about as intense as a hello kitty backpack. But that’s it, nothing more. My formula was: silence=excruciating misery, music=gotta be there, genre be damned. As long as there was something distracting me from the various guttural moans and grunts I figured game on, Spice Girls away.
Is this what you like to listen to before a max effort deadlift?
Our clientele is diverse and the gym has had a wide variety of musical styling’s bumping through the walls. Little Wayne’s profound lyricism, Lamb of Gods driving double bass and Kelly Clarkson’s sparking octave bending wail (thanks Kyle), we have pretty much heard it all. But I have been looking around recently and noticing some people respond tremendously well to a certain track, hammering out weights they may or may not have other wise attained. I myself reconnected with a tremendous “smash your head through a wall” album- Rage Against The Machine’s self titled album, and saw a bit of the mad dog come out in me.
So what is it? Hogwash? Valid? What say you iron heads, does music dictate how you are going to perform or will Air Supply’s greatest hits carry you though a max effort lower body day? Let the debate “rage” away!
-Brian Matthews
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
I cannot stand people who are soft. They bother me. I will never force someone to do something they claim hurts, but my God, it seems as though these days a lot of people are critically injured only to make a miraculous recovery 48 hours later. Whether it’s “my shoulder” or my “hamstring” or what have you. Whatever happened to the good old days when the football coach would say “Son, either you are hurt, or you are injured.” The implication being, we all have to train through, and play through bumps, tweaks, and bruises, but should never put ourselves at risk to become seriously injured. I guess what I am saying is these days, it seems as though an alarming majority of people simply don’t know the difference between mild pain and serious injury, which goes along the fact that people of this generation are butter soft!
Am I saying to train through pain? ABSOLUTELY NOT. But people, there is a large difference between muscle tenderness and a torn hamstring. If you are tender or sore from a workout, take care of yourself. Don’t go out drinking 3 times a week, drink no water during the day, and sleep for 5 hours a night, and then wonder why you can’t do Glute Ham Raises without cramping. Are you really that dumb? Rather, hydrate well, eat well, sleep well, stretch, foam roll, and repeat, and you will be amazed with how much better you feel.
Toughen up and take care of yourselves, and the gains WILL follow!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Long Live the Back Squat
These days, the internet is buzzing over a highly respected strength coach’s video in which he talks about his elimination of the back squat from his athletic programming. Now, before I even delve into this matter, I would like to start by saying that I have a lot of respect for this person, and think he is an awesome strength coach. Just because I don’t agree with everything that he says, doesn’t mean that I can’t still learn from him, and believe me, I still do learn quite a bit from this individual.
The strength coach’s reasoning is simple. He feels as though single leg variations (i.e. the Bulgarian Split Squat or Pistol Squats) overload the lower body, and provide for more effective strength gains due to the fact that in the back squat, the lower back gives out before the legs do. I can see his point, and I agree with him, HOWEVER, I am a strong believer in not ignoring a muscular weakness. This is why they invented the leg press machine. It completely overloads the lower body, while taking the lower back out of the lift. Does this mean that the leg press machine is more effective than squatting? Hell no! Any strength coach worth his salt will tell you that is not the case.
Now, in his video he discusses that the core musculature (abdominals, obliques, lower back) is responsible for allowing us to back squat effectively by providing the transfer of power and strength needed to conduct the lift. I know that at times, the lower back does give out, but if we can get that lower back strong, don’t you think that will help us athletically in a myriad of ways?
The King of the Jungle: The Back Squat
While I can see his point, I don’t see how one could OBJECTIVELY perform a Bulgarian Split Squat for Max Effort Work. EVERYTIME I perform this movement, the leg that is up is being pre-fatigued in the stretched position, particularly in the hip flexor and quadriceps. When you finish the set on one leg, even if you rest between legs, the other leg is simply not as fresh as the first. This is the main reason why I do not think I would ever perform this lift as an indicator exercise.
I love Bulgarian Split Squats for accessory work, and happen to think they are a great exercise, but just not an exercise where I am going to worry tremendously about the numbers. I happen to value this exercise as an excellent hip mobilizer/stretch, and find that when the weight goes up, the depth goes up without constant reinforcement. I also have to question the safety of performing Max Effort work in this position, with a heavy load.
In closing, here are some random thoughts:
-Back squatting is FUN, Bulgarian Split Squats are NOT FUN, and in the private setting, your athletes had better be having a little bit of fun in the gym.
-The Bulgarian Split Squat does not provide an objective measurement of lower body strength.
-Back Squatting is a GREAT way to help develop a strong core, which will transfer to an increased level of performance on the athletic field.
-The Back Squat STILL works the lower body quite well. Perform a widow maker set of 20 reps and then try and tell me that it doesn’t.
-“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The Back Squat has been king for many years for a REASON. It works.
-Should EVERYONE Back Squat? No, if you are tall with long femurs, or have any lower back issues, than perhaps it is best to deload the bar and perform either single leg variations or leg presses.For all of you 6’6” guys that love to squat, If you are able to tolerate back squats, then go ahead! However, for all of you 5’11” guys out there, just shut up and squat!
Monday, October 19, 2009
On Sunday morning, I woke up to find, like many of you, that 20 year old UConn Football CB Jasper Howard had died after an on campus stabbing. My mouth was literally open as I saw the ESPN highlights of him playing the game of his life against Louisville only HOURS before, recording 11 tackles and recovering a key fumble. How could this happen? While I do not know the circumstances of his untimely passing, nor does it particularly matter, I was deeply saddened that a young, expectant father had died so soon, with so much life to live. Perhaps Jasper can serve a greater purpose to us all in life.
How many stupid, trivial things do we get stressed out over?'
How many of us do not take a chance, out of fear of failure?
How many of us are NOT living the life we want to live, and are just going through the motions day by day?
How many of us can look in the mirror and say that, at the end of the day, we have worked as hard as we could have, or that we have tried our hardest to reach a certain goal in life?
Obviously I am sad Jasper had to leave us. I did not know him, but perhaps Jasper can touch the lives of many people he did not know, by causing people to re-evaluate their own lives. ALL of us can stand to make improvements in the way we live our lives, and although he paid the ultimate price, Jasper's passing will undoubtedly save the lives of many. Life is too short, so live yours to the fullest.
R.I.P., Jasper, we are truly sad to see you go.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
1.) “Running cross country is the best way to prepare for wrestling season.”
For me, this is kind of like bringing a knife into a gunfight. Will you have a weapon? Yes, you will have one, but I can assure you it is not the one you want! Wrestling works all 3 energy systems (ATP-PC, Alactic, and Oxidative), so our physical preparation needs to reflect the development of ALL of these energy systems, not just the oxidative energy system (the system used on long, slow runs)At our gym, our wrestlers perform a combination of heavy strength training (chins, bench, squat, deadlifts), explosive movements (box jumps, broad jumps), accessory movements to bring up muscular weaknesses/prevent injury, and of course, conditioning. We condition using sleds, prowlers, complexes, and strongman circuits that test not only your physical capacity but your mental resolve. We call this type of conditioning Metabolic Conditioning, and is by far and away the most superior method of conditioning if you are a wrestler. It is oxidative, it is alactic, it requires explosive strength…and it kicks your butt!
2.) “Strength training will make me gain weight, and I won’t be able to wrestle in my weight class.”
This is a complete lie, and it saddens me that so many high school wrestlers don’t strength train for this reason! Think about ALL of the people in this country that lose weight by strength training…there are quite a few! By strength training you increase your metabolic rate by increasing the amount of lean muscle tissue you have on your body (which requires more calories to upkeep at rest). If you are eating a clean, balanced diet that is not focused on an excess of calories (please make sure you are eating enough and not depriving yourself), you will not gain weight because our bodies require a caloric excess to build an appreciable amount of muscle. Even if you do put on muscle, you will be leaner in the long run, and “bigger” in your weight class. I have strictly discussed body composition here, do I even have to get into the performance gains you will see by getting stronger?
3.) “Once I get in shape for the season, I don’t need to strength train in season.”
Say you have a Chemistry test in 5 weeks. You spend the first week studying your butt off, but then things start to “get in the way,” and by the 3rd, 4th, and 5th weeks you aren’t studying at all. Do you think you will perform well on that test? No! Strength training is the same way. We want to be at our STRONGEST in season, so it makes no sense to just stop during the season. Even 1-2 quality sessions a week can make a tremendous difference. In a sport that can come down to minor details and “wouldas, couldas, shouldas,” why leave it to chance? Stay STRONG in season! If you study for the Chem test right up to the test, you will perform far better than you would have otherwise.
4.) “I don’t have a gym so I guess I won’t strength train.”
Who says you need a gym? Sure, we do use barbells and dumbbells in our facility, but we also use homemade sandbags, gravel filled kegs, and PLENTY of bodyweight movements. Ever see Rocky IV? Sure, it is just a movie, but the point is, resistance is just resistance, whether it is coming from manual resistance or a $20,000 machine. Be creative, innovative, and don’t make excuses!
