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August 2008 Stay Focused I need to keep pushing this hard – real hard, because more and more ‘secret’, ‘cutting edge’ etc, training crap keeps pouring out from all kinds of media sources, especially the Internet. And all this stuff does is get trainees distracted from what really produces great results - the powerful basics. I guess most trainees still want to be entertained while training. If you want to be entertained then go to a movie instead of the gym. The gym is a place of work – hard progressive work. It is a Dungeon, not a Theatre. And the phonies pushing this new wave training junk are simply part of the act going on in the Theatre. A number of trainees that I have personally worked with – that were making progress – have gotten lured into these programs only to end up going around in circles, essentially going nowhere. A beginner up to intermediate trainee can become a ‘beast’ compared to most trainees out there if they simply stick to the same basic exercises for up to 2 years, as long as they go into the gym put a little bit more weight on the bar and go to work pushing it or pulling it up as hard as they can. Their focus needs to be on ways to ‘get it up’ and to advance their ability to concentrate on great technique while putting out great effort. There is nothing wrong with incorporating variety into training – and past the intermediate stage it becomes necessary. But variety should not be relied upon as ‘the only’ training variable that will deliver results. Only hard work that manifests itself in progression does that; delivers great results. Most of the junk out there is just distorted anomalies of the basics anyway. Performing aerobic and/or anaerobic work is one of these ‘basics’ that has been give a lot of ‘stage time’ over the last several years by ‘the actors’. You know, it used to be that aerobic work, or extra anaerobic work outside of weight training (i.e. Sprinting) was frowned upon for strength athletes, then it became accepted (and of course given a ‘name’ – General Physical Preparation work), and now it is being morphed into all kinds of ‘stuff’ that can ‘transform’ your body. Well, the truth of the matter is that whether aerobic/anaerobic work is performed with a stationary bike, jogging on the street, sprinting on the football field, pulling a sled, pushing a lawn mower, swinging kettlebells around, going through a gauntlet of various exercises (circuit program), or any other way to ‘color it up’ – it is still simply aerobic/anaerobic work. The same is true for good old-fashioned stretching. Wow, this has really morphed into a bunch of distracting stuff – especially the ‘dynamic/functional’ stretching stuff. Now, I think dynamic stretching has a place, but not at the expense of good old static stretching. A former strength coach of mine convinced me to let him try putting many trainees on what became a dynamic/functional stretching routine. The short story is that these trainees after several months of dynamic/functional stretching work would have been much better off if they would have simply performed static stretching consistently. A word about all the new ‘functional’ training stuff out there; most of it has become junk. What started out as something good – using exercises/methods from physical therapy for rehabilitation and prehabilitation and to alleviate weaknesses – has become a real ‘dog and pony’ show. I recall seeing a video of a ‘world renowned’ strength coach putting a trainee through a ‘functional exercise’ – the trainee had bands around her knees, squatting to a bench on one leg, and I think she was holding a barbell plate out in front of her body. Now, what the heck kind of ‘weakness’ is this idiot coach trying to correct with this stupid exercise? Oh I’m sure it had something to do with ‘strengthening her core’ for ‘real life situations’. What real life situation requires that? I swear I think he was going to ask her to hop around on one leg next, and at the same time make her rub her stomach with one hand, pat her head with the other, and bark like a dog! It’s really getting stupid. Specific strength weaknesses can easily be corrected with simple movements like rotator cuff work, post delt work, back extensions, reverse calf raises, to name a few. And if you want to really strength your ‘core’ then do heavy ab, oblique and lower back work – period! One specific movement really gets in my crawl; the ‘plank’. It has a trainee get up into what is basically the top position of a pushup, except that instead of their upper body being supported on their hands they are supported on their elbows with the forearm flat on the ground. This is supposed to be ‘the best’, ‘the most functional’ and safest way to strengthen ‘the core’. It teaches the trainee to ‘integrate’ all their muscles together to stabilize the core. First of all how the heck is this supposed to help anyone with necessary ‘functional, real life situation’ core strength? Isometric work – which is all this movement is – only has about a 5-degree carryover of strength in either direction. If you have to pick up a heavy suitcase, a boulder, a heavy child, a double-bodyweight deadlift, a 50-pound bag of play sand, or slam another fighter to the ground, etc, you will need strength through a much broader range of motion – much more than a measly 10 degrees (5-degrees both directions)! And as far as teaching the trainee how to ‘integrate’ (flex) the multiple muscles of the core together, it is much harder – and more real-life result producing – to learn to ‘integrate’ (flex) the muscles while going through a range of motion. The basics always work – always. Have the courage to say no to the junk, and not get distracted. Perform the big movements properly, with aggression that produces progression. Hit the aerobics and/or anaerobic training 2 or 3 times per week, stretch and eat properly according to what you want to accomplish. Play sports, throw a med ball, do some calisthenics, or perform some ‘field drills’ consistently and your ‘functional’ abilities will be taken care of. Stay (or get) focused on what really produces results. [And I assure you there still aren’t any secret programs] Till next month. John |
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