Strength

A lot of the training process can really be summed up in a couple quick sound bites. The goal we are trying to achieve with training is to balance the length tension dynamics within the musculoskeletal system. When you get this blend correct or in other words optimize this balance what happens is that people move more freely and create more force with less effort. If you can't balance the scales then you close the joint spaces so tightly that what happens is restriction of

The challenges of training a dynamic system(the human body) that has self regulating protective mechanisms built into it are such that changes to the stressors must be made methodically and intelligently. The heaviest of lifts or the 1RM is commonly understood as 100% of capacity. The Soviets would have an interesting perspective on this as they would not define a 100% effort to a lift unless there was an injury in the process of executing the lift. In this understanding e

When we get right down to it strength and conditioning is a math game. How much tonnage of stress can you recover and benefit from? If you haven't ever done the math before this becomes an important process to consider. More stress at some point is just more stress and a lack of recovery options just creates an environment ripe for injury issues to show up. The big question is what is sustainable? If getting strongER for your lifetime is more important than getting stron

According to Bondarchuk the back squat was a non specific exercise for Olympic Lifting that caused some potential concerns for the low back. Since in Olympic Lifting there are no actual sporting positions that rely on back squatting the back squat exercises is technically assistance work. It may be a very similar movement when compared to the front squat but ultimately front squats are going to be more sport specific than back squats. He developed some concerns about the i

When we see someone sprint incredibly fast, jump very high or lift heavy weights what you don't often see is the detail behind the performance. Often what gets missed is the firing pattern, the rate coding and the overall precision by which the performance occurs. Which, in the moment, it's easy to just be completely overwhelmed by the visual spectacle that is unfolding before your eyes. However, when learning how to emulate such feats it pays to be intentional about learn

Every movement we do as human beings on planet earth is created against a gravitational constraint. The rate of gravity is 9.8mps(aka roughly 22mph) which is why when you see people run very fast, lift heavy weights or jump very high or for long distances it's impressive to watch. It's not just the free body out in space creating force. It's a body that is under constraint of 22mph expending incredible energy in order to go break free from that constraint. When you were a

When learning to do deadlifts, good mornings, kettlebell swings and many other hip dominant movements what becomes important to learn first are the best positions to train with. Ideally, the vertical shin is the critical component to learn. It doesn't matter if you are swinging, doing good morning variations, deadlift variations or other hinge movements. The vertical shin or "L" position is the first component that is critical to the development of these patterns. If we c

The reality of living on earth is that the brain and the body adapt to the stress of gravitational constraint. Since gravitational force is a constant 9.8 mps what occurs pretty early on in childhood is that the development of the motor system encounters this stress and is influenced by it in significant ways. The challenges of this are that the adaptations are not always the most favorable. Since the body and brain are linked in function and dysfunction what we can not gu

One of the biggest and most important jobs of the personal trainer/strength coach is to assist their clients in identifying muscle imbalances. Now in some cases the imbalances are so great that pain is normal for their gait and general movement outside of training. This is one of those indicators that the musculoskeletal system is severely imbalanced. The length tension dynamics are so at odds with each other that the body is sending the brain a signal that the system is i

The fitness industry is full of quick fix short term solutions that are cheap. The problem is that they are not legitimate in either their ability to create adaptation or influence the capacity of the body to change in any way. This is because your body has a weight. You weigh something and in order to change the dynamic capacity of that structure it's necessary to lift things that are relatively challenging to that structure. Pile after pile of fitness gadgets are not go

One of the big concerns for many people engaging in strength training is that they are going to look different. Which is ironic because for a lot of other people that is why they are starting in the first place. They want to look different. The subtleties here are abundant and profound. What becomes important to understand is that no one starts training and in a very short period of time becomes a version of She-Hulk/Hulk. Biological adaptation on the muscular level does