Month: September 2016

This was previously a Facebook Post on my business Page,

attached to this post was the article by Eric Cressey that turned me onto this subject. Something worthy of note near the end of his post, Cressey urges the reader to improve their ability to think critically; to think of the purpose or reason for doing certain moves / training in a certain way. As a trainer you want to be a carpenter, not a lumberjack….

In quotations below is the original FB post:

“Here is what is on my mind:
>Training Methods vs. Applications<

Kettlbells/hardstyle, Polwerlifting/westside barbell, Crossift, HIIT – These are all Methods of training.

LatsOn Training is a Strength and Conditioning gym that I own with Tyler Lees-schmut.

While sticking to an overarching theme of FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENT, LatsOn provides quality instruction in KETTLEBELL SKILLS and POWERLIFTING. The combination of these two methodologies is the most efficient way to get strong and stay mobile.

The fundamentals one learns from each of these methodologies can be applied to most human movement and sport.

It is no wonder we have a Kettlebells Skills Class / a Powerlifting Class (known as powerfuliftington around here) AND a Strength and Conditioning Class that expertly combines the two methodologies, corrective movements and body weight exercises.

Strength is Mandatory

believe it or not, you build cardiovascular endurance and muscular endurance when you train for strength. Not only that, the stronger you are the easier you will be able to improve your conditioning later. The key is proper programming.

Here are some examples of the range of class members:

• 70 year old female who can double clean and press 12kgs x5+reps. Oh, and she runs marathons.
• female office worker who Deadlifted 300lbs at the Tactical Strength Challenge in April of 2016 and can manage 60-70 snatches with the 12kg in 5 mins, no problem. She also enjoys racing, swimming, fencing and (I am sure) long walks on the beach.
• Handyman/construction worker and Uber driver who fills the bar with all our plates whenever he Squat or Deadlifts.
• Husband + Wife and 2 of their 4 kids, all with unique movement abilities, all of which are manageable in our Class setting.

The key to being able to managing such a spectrum of movement profiles – As I said, is proper programming.

But all the programming in the world is meaningless –

– with out proper APPLICATION

that is, proper application of;

• the program
• exercise technique
• cueing and instructing
• progressions and regressions **
• etc….

This is what we do BEST

The idea is to use your workout as an opportunity to practice good movement habits, so that when you need to move out side the gym, you can!

Therefore it is the application or purpose for training that really matters.

The Methodology you use is important in so far as it has to work with your current life/physical situation.

Traing that fits your current life/physical situation can be considered Functional.

Therefore in a nutshell, the multiform methodology We use can be called Functional Training for Life!

 

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The point of this article is to make you think about your current exercise regime,

or maybe to think of starting one.

And if you need help,

give someone who thinks about these kind of things a call 😉

>

Here is the Eric Cressey Article :

Strength and Conditioning Programs: Methods vs. Applications

 

 

ATTENTION! ATTENTION; read all about it…

… literally!

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Definition of ATTENTION:

– the ability to process environmental information

*

Areas where ATTENTION can be placed:

1) directed to external event

2) directed to internal sensory information

3) directed at internal mental operations

*

How to train Attention

• clearly identify a main focus
• slowly add in secondary focus
• keep adding more foci

*

 

Complex movements or chains of movements (that is linking exercises one right after another) help sharpens your technique by forcing fast recall and execution of a movement pattern, followed by another different movement pattern, followed by another and another…

This constant alteration of movement patterns demands that you pay attention to what you are doing at all times. For this reason Complexes/Chains are one of the best ways to learn and retain new movement patterns (as well as previously mentioned, a great way to sharpen technique).

To directly train your ability to Focus consider numbers 1-3 above. You must choose one of them at first, and then slowly build complexity on top of it.

Here is a quick blurb on each of these topics:

1) External events:

• life requires your attention whether you like it or not. Except for your thoughts EVERYTHING else is external. The simple amoeba would never have evolved into homo-sapiens if they were not aware of – and able to react to – their environment. Therefore on a deep evolutionary level, attention or awareness of the environment is critical to life itself.
• in sport, reacting to environmental cues is a skill, and so is knowing which cues to be aware of (and which not) and how to react to them appropriately. Paying attention for certain environmental cues / signals / stimuli is also a skill, one that has been cultivated by professional athletes –  some intentionally through training and some naturally via genetics.
• with every movement you perform you require environmental information to help orient yourself in space. In the gym you are given the chance to challenge these systems in a controlled environment.

2) Internal sensory information:

• Say your knee hurts when you squat, take a really light weight and close your eyes. SLOWLY descend into your squat while keeping your torso slightly pressurized.  – your focus is to perceive where, when and why your pain is occurring – If you are moving slow enough you might be able to skip right past the point where pain usually occurs. If you encounter the pain again, figure out at what height you can comfortably get to and then get use to doing pause reps to that height. A few weeks later try this drill again.
• in this way you will become better at recognizing your own movement ‘errors’. This ability to self correct ones movement is of major importance for injury prevention. knowledge is power! get a trainer to check for any potential danger signs in your movement patterns – hopefully they will also teach you good movement habits that encourage safety.

3) Internal mental operations:

• when training with complex movements it is useful to automate chunks of it so as to open up more mental room for paying attention to the environment. To help the process of automation do some mental repetitions and/or ‘ghost’ reps (a body weight imitation of the movement).  Just like studying for a test, mental practice will make you more confident in performing the actual repetitions.
• this subject however, is much more than just being aware of how you are moving – it is concerned with the psychological and motivational operations of the mind as well.  Therefore you can go as far as purposefully and scientifically incorporating different emotional states into your training. Hate? Anger? Determination? Gratitude? which emotion is ‘strongest’?
• mental operations are also involved in movements that require a high level of timing. What is suggested when learning such movements is to “feel” your way through it. At high speeds the logical mind cannot keep up so one must rely on their intuitions and automated reactions.

* stay tuned for an article on Movement Automation *

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Wikipedia defines attention as follows:

“Attention is the behavioral and cognitive process of selectively concentrating on a discrete aspect of information, whether deemed subjective or objective, while ignoring other perceivable information. Attention has also been referred to as the allocation of limited processing resources”

 

‘selectively’

‘ignoring other … information’

‘limited … resources’

Does this sound very reliable?

That is because it is not …

Attention, or awareness, is a skill – Like concentration, attention is a muscle that needs to be flexed and its strength cultivated – In the name of heath and efficiency it just make sense to ‘pay attention’ while you work out.

Stop watching TV and learn something about your body. Or maybe be a movement scientist and explore different Attention modalities. Your body will thank you when you are older!

Put some ‘physical capital’ into the ‘bank’ now,

so that you can cash out later and live comfortably

🙂

I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it

Be Strong, Live long.

Motor Learning and Neuroscience tells us a thing or two about performance and how it is effected by our level of arousal

 

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The Inverted – U : Arousal and Performance – or; Why we don’t train like maniacs (all the time…)

 

 

On the left : inactivity, sleep – low arousal – poor performance

 

 

In the middle of the bell curve : Peak Performance

 

 

On the right : hyper vigilance – high arousal – poor performance

 

 

Note:

• performance increases as arousal increases, to a point – I.E. too much caffeine will inhibit your ability to lift the maximum amount of weight.
• each exercise has its own unique Arousal – Performance Curve.
• at a certain level of arousal, performance starts to quickly decline – therefore there is no real reason to push yourself past that curve : not only will the time required to recover increase, you will get no positive technique benefit from training past this point.

 

Why we DO train like maniacs sometimes :

Knowing where your limits are, or in this case knowing the required level of arousal for any given exercise, is very valuable in predicting the success of more complex movements and will help motivate your progress.

NOT knowing your limits will – over time – cause a shrinking effect! of your mind and your body! A literal narrowing of your perceived abilities both physical and mental. You more or less talk yourself into thinking you can’t do things (often simply b/c you haven’t done them in a while).

Safely Testing your strength and conditioning abilities is not something recommended unless you have a trainer/coach with lots of experience.

 

How to SAFELY prepare your arousal level :

Breathing and Mental techniques are extremely effective in both elevating and relaxing the nervous system

Imagine a wave-frequency – and the frequency of this wave determines your body’s arousal level. This wave-frequency can be effected by either physiological means or psychological means.

E.X:

• Increase arousal:
  • 1) increase breathing rate / controlled hyperventilation
  • 2) scream “I AM FUCKING UNSTOPPABLE” in your head as fast as possible for 3-5 minutes
• Decrease Arousal:
  • 1) decrease breathing rate / linger in the exhale
  • 2) match slow exhales with “my limbs are heavy and warm” / “relax” etc… nice and drawn out ….

 

Why we do NOT train like maniacs (all the time) :

A good principle to live by = MINIMAL EFFECTIVE DOSE

“the smallest dose that will produce a desired outcome” – Tim Ferris, 4 Hour Body.

Any more than the MED will increase:

• recovery time between sets, resulting in poorer performance in subsequent sets
• recover time between peak physical condition
• soreness and fatigue post workout and the next day
• basically makes life more stressful than it needs to be!!!

 

THE LAST important thing to expand on is this = every movement has it own, unique, arousal level for peak performance!***

The more ‘smarter’ or more complex, the less stable and the longer in duration a movement is – the lower the ideal level of arousal will be.

The easier, sometimes called “stupider” movements (big heavy compound exercises like Deadlift and Squat) – the higher the arousal level can be, due to the lower level of complexity of movement (as compared to a Pistol Squat or a Single Arm Press).

 

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I hope this makes you think,

Maybe it makes you push yourself –

Maybe it makes you realize you need to tone it down a bit…

ANYWAY

have a great day my friends, I will leave you with this :

“ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST. WHAT YOU PLANT NOW, YOU WILL HARVEST LATER”

– Og Mandino