Thursday, June 21, 2007

Safety

"Safety also get dragged into discussions of movement velocity, under the assumption that fast is dangerous, as in driving a car. But just as in driving, it really depends on the ability of the operator. The more experienced an athlete becomes with barbell exercises, the more efficiently and safely he can perform them at higher speeds. Squats can be dangerous for novices at high speeds, but for advanced athletes high-speed squats are a very productive power exercise." Mark Rippetoe, Practical Programming

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

functional form

The whole body approach to working out, is a far greater tool, than training individual muscles. Training like a bodybuilder will produce bodybuilder results. The muscles will look good but be of next to no use to you, flexibility will be limited and you will be prone to injury because of uneven muscle development. Large muscle movements that are functional in life will be the answer to practical and usable strength. (squats, deadlifts, standing presses) amongst others replicate standing from the ground, picking and object from the ground, and lifting an object overhead. The ability to do these simple tasks efficiently will crossover to sports and life almost instantly. Muscles trained with these exercises in a strength program will become like rocks rather than gaining bulk (although some bulk will eventually occur)
"Women who claim to be afraid to train hard because they 'always bulk up too much' are often already pretty bulky, or thin but weak and conditioned, and have found another excuse to continue life sitting on their butts."
my personal results: from an endurance training program to switching to crossfit, is that my muscle when relaxed now are in a lot of cases more solid before when flexed. I've decreased in weight, and increased in strength, and even have set or been able to match endurance times without long tedious endurance training.

Monday, June 18, 2007

putting practice to use

Mike M lands his jump in near perfect squat form on the 24" box AWESOME and POWERFUL


When the workout is over form tends to shoot out the window. When picking up a weight anytime in the gym or outside of the gym strong form should be used. This will enable a reaction response (during sporting or work) , getting into a powerful position rather than a lazy position. The results of form will allow you to lift longer and more weight.... (the goal of working out) There is no point to being strict with form during a workout just do do body weight squats on toes later, or pick up a heavy object from the ground with a rolled back, and bent at the waist....
Homework :Implement the lifts and lift form into daily life

Sunday, June 17, 2007

From the bean field

First family WOD:
Me, Dad, Mom (I changed the rep counts a bit for mom+dad)

Slam Ball 12lbs (30-20-10) (10bs, 8lbs bouncing med ball)
Skipping (200-150-100) sub's less reps, and just standing jumps
Box Jump 24" (30-20-10) subs 18" step up, leg raise to touch top (both leg = one rep)
Wall Ball 15lbs (30-20-10) subs 10lbs ball, BW squats