Happy Memorial Day
I hope everyone is enjoying their Memorial Day weekend. I know I've certainly been enjoying this awesome weather and allowing myself to get outside a little more than usual, and I hope everyone else is doing the same. At the same time, please don't forget the purpose of this weekend. Remember our heroes that have fallen for our country in years past, and also take a moment to spare a thought to the countless troops that are still fighting for us today. Thank you to our soldiers!
Going along with the theme of Memorial Day weekend (and along with the fact that I promised myself I wouldn't spend more than 10 minutes at my computer today), I'm going to spare you all from a long blog post and show a quick clip of one of the Army Rangers running through a workout. This blew my mind when I found out this is just the WARM-UP for these guys. This is quite impressive for many reasons, and I chuckled a bit when I saw the guy was barely breaking a sweat at the end. It's always awesome to know those defending our country lead from the front!
Now, get off your computers and spend some time outside today!
-Steve
My Stupid Decision for the Week - and More!
1. I’ll go ahead and lead off with what I hope is my only stupid decision for the week. Yes, it already occurred, halfway through Monday, thank you very much. A couple weeks ago a colleague of mine at Mason loaned me several fancy little devices called Myotests. These little guys look like iPods from about 4 years ago and provide some phenomenal testing feedback. You can run tests on the bench press, half-squat, several vertical jump variations, and something called “stiffness.” The Myotest provides feedback about each test with precision I’ve not been privy to before. It gives readings like Power (W and W/kg), Strength (N), Speed (cm/s), Ground Contact Time (ms), and stiffness (kN/m).
As is my tendency, I dove headfirst into the world of Myotest data. Before resurfacing I was reminded that the Snatch (especially the second pull) can supposedly generate more power than any other barbell movement. So, I decided to do some snatches – you know, for old time’s sake and to see if I’m capable of generating 3000W.
On Friday, I added a few hang snatches to the end of my lift to remember how they felt. The verdict: not too bad, definitely something to work on. Only thing worth noting: I could feel the stretch on my slightly internally rotated right shoulder. Whatever.
Now for the stupid part: Monday, I didn’t have a lift scheduled. On my off days I’ve been making a habit of doing something, really whatever strikes my fancy, to improve my general work capacity and conditioning. So, I decided to do more hang snatches – singles this time, because I’m thinking clearly. Well, long story short, I pulled something in my neck. I’m 99% sure it’s the upper part of my trapezius. Guess which side the pull occurred on… oh yeah, the right side. Should’ve seen this one coming.
So, what are the take home points in all this? 1. Myotests are pretty sweet, and, 2. When you’re training for a powerlifting meet that requires no overhead movements, it’s not advisable to throw in snatch singles on a whim.
2. Over the weekend I was contacted by a publication referencing an article I contributed to several years ago. I had all but forgotten about it, but was reminded that it’s referenced on about two-dozen other training sites. Here it is: Top Ten Reasons Heavy Weights Don’t Bulk Up the Female Athlete. It’s a pretty good read.
3. Finally, for my “No One Cares” tidbit of the day: Ryan and I discovered that adding a turbo charger to Toyota RAV4’s (like the one we have) is “a thing” in other countries. All kidding aside, you can jack these little guys up to produce between 300 to 500 hp! Check out the video below, if you’ve ever driven a RAV you know how amazing this is. We’re considering building ourselves the ultimate sleeper.
In my Half Squat test I generated 2440W, not bad considering I didn't hurt myself and it wasn't one of the fancy, technical, and purportedly superior Olypmic lifts. - Sarah
