Wednesday, May 12, 2010

"Uh..WOW..."

I LOVE this video. It is exhibit 1A about why I love and am completely fascinated by bio-mechanics. Questions such as, “Why does person A move that way but person B move this way?” And, “Why is this person strong, but that person isn’t?” have always intrigued me, which is why I do what I do, I guess.

This is why I’m fascinated by the woman in this video: her name is Miki Barber, and she’s a competitive sprinter. Not since I saw Kris Jenkins on “Sport Science” or LaDanian Tomlinson on “60 minutes” have I said to myself “Jesus, now THAT is bio-mechanical perfection!”

While thinking about Miki’s impressive performance, I realized there are many take home messages to be learned here: Lessons for me, for other trainers, for my clients, and frankly for anyone who exercises.

After you watch the video, and say “uh…WOW!” like I did, come back and learn the take home messages:

Check Miki out: (and as an FYI: 70kg is 165lbs – that’s what she hang cleans at the end of the video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAAP8ux5x8g

Having seen the video, here are things you may or may not already know, but we all could use a reminder. In no particular order:

1. She doesn’t do cardio – she sprints.

As I said, she’s a sprinter. She doesn’t go for long runs, she doesn’t get on the elliptical at the gym, she isn’t on the treadmill for 45 minutes at a clip. She exerts maximum effort every time she runs, then stops, rests, and does it again. And in case you didn’t notice, she has about as much body fat as a snack tray.

2. She lifts HEAVY weights.

Pay attention ladies: For the umpteenth time, heavy weights do not mean big muscles. Miki isn’t playing around with the tricep pushdown machine, or the inner thigh machine to “tone” nor is she lying on the floor in the same spot for an hour and calling it “lengthening” her muscles. She picks up very heavy things and moves them – the result is strong, feminine and ripped.

3. This is how important triple extension is.

I tell my clients all the time, if you can’t triple extend (ankle, knee and hip), you will NEVER be strong. The fact that she can triple extend fast and effectivelyis the main reason that barbell gets up in the air.

4. This is how important scapular retraction is.

I’m sure my clients are sick of me saying “Shoulders back, chest out!” all the time. In addition to avoiding that RIDICULOUS rolled shoulder posture, pulling the shoulder blades back is crucial to strength. Another reason 70kg can be thrown by a small woman.

5. This is how important lumbar stabilization is.

My clients (and one of my colleagues) are tired of hearing me say it, part 2: If your spine moves during movement, you are weak – period. Watch the video again: Does her back round at the bottom? Nope. Does it arch on the way up? Nope. It doesn’t mother-frigging FLINCH. It stays stable so the hips and shoulders can move the weight – AS IS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN. Remember this the next time tells you to “stretch your back”…uugghhh…

6. Movement efficiency – she the smallest one!

I wrote a blog awhile back about the relatively small people in my facility that can move A LOT of weight mostly due to their movement efficiency. This reaffirms what I said – this is the smallest girl there, but moves the most weight. Why? Because her spine doesn’t move, her hips do. Because her knees don’t crash, they stabilize. Because her feet don’t point outwards and evert (reason #783 “plie” squats are beyond stupid). The other women had some of those issues and as a result are not as strong pound for pound.

There’s actually more, but I could be here all day. Just remember if you’re a client of mine, this is why I repeat these things over and over. If you’re an athlete, remember that this is why it’s not HOW MUCH you lift, it’s HOW IT’S LIFTED. And if you’re not a client of mine or not an athlete, remember this is why you need to come train at our facility.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Survivor and the TR

I’m always asked “What should I be eating?” Almost without exception my answer is “just eat less of whatever you’re already eating”. I’ve found this solves 99% of the issues for 99% of the people who ask.

But from the department of “People don’t really want my advice, they just want their own opinion validated”, they look at me like there’s no way I can be right, and don’t take my advice. Then they go try their own way, or follow something they read in some stupid magazine – and they fail.

Enter “Survivor”.

If you need more evidence that I know of where I speak, just watch “Survivor”. (Yes, I watch Survivor – it’s great TV and definitely is a guilty pleasure of mine.) As Leslie and I were watching it the other night, we both commented how they contestants always seem to look better at the end of the season than they do at the beginning of the season. It seems the ones who were a little overweight at the start of the season, now have muscle tone and definition. The ones who were already in decent shape now have ripped six-packs.

And the only reason this is so, is because of their caloric restriction. They…simply…eat…less.

These people are not “doing cardio”, nor are they “doing abs”. They didn’t “cut back on carbs” or go “low fat” or "high protein". They simply reduced their total caloric intake.

Of course I’m not suggesting you should limit your calories to such an extreme level. But do take home the overall point:

Don’t make it more complicated than it is: If you want to lose body fat, just eat less.


Parvati knows I'm right!