I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was taking part in "Dry January". I didn't make a big song and dance about it, but I decided to go for a calendar month or so with no alcohol. A few people have asked me about my experience, so here are a few points. Why take a break from drinking? Alcohol is an interesting topic. As a drug it is widely accepted in society, central to so much of our socialising and leisure. There seem to be lots of health benefits - so we are told - yet there are also a lot of problems in terms of health, relationships and lifestyle that come from drinking. Over a few years I'd begun to become aware and then concerned that I was drinking too much and too regularly. I am in a busy and stressful job and sometimes a glass of wine after work to relax is really helpful. But over time, one glass became two. Two glasses became ....I might as well finish the bottle. A habit got established....and was starting to get too e...
.......interesting things about fitness, strength, diet and performance.
Comments
Shucks, I'm already half-way there. For years, I've been intending to start a new diet "tomorrow."
Now I'm adding a new exercise routine.
I intend to exercise tomorrow.
Serious;y, though, it is an interesting video. Thanks!
Chris
For the most part, the same thing except actually applied:
http://www.dragondoor.com/cgi-bin/articles.pl?rm=mode3&articleid=269
While guys like Doug McGuff have convinced me that speed isn't necessary to develop the fast twitch musculature, I think overspeed training and and explosive training can contribute greatly to reinforcing and improving your central nervous system's ability to innervate and activate more muscle fibers.
No one person will ever be able to fire every single one of the muscle fibers at one time (a safety mechanism), but while we can make those muscle fibers strongest with slower training, isn't it possible that faster training may help us to reach our fullest potential for gross muscle fiber activation?
-Bryce
Just my opinion, of course :)
Clearly.
Obviouly you have to get faster you have to get strong (or rather at least have the CNS + musculature in place), THEN train it through actual sprinting and plyometrics to improve output.
@Keith - CNS I do wonder if this is application of strength, skill training if you like. Similarly with force development.
I know a guy who is a competitive sprinter and trains with members of the British squad. They do weights but most of the training is skill based - form drills, actual running. Plus some plyometrics - bounding etc. Incidentally, like most sprinters he seems to be injured about 70% of the time with pulls, hernias and tears.
Although most of the Parkour guys who get strong are doing most of their stuff plyometrically from just practicing. However, I would not advocate this style of development... leads to too many injuries, and is much slower than strength training.
Also, Olympic lifters traditionally have some of the highest vertical leaps recorded and they do mostly explosive movements. It would seem that Luke has an opinion that is not supported by much of the industry when he says that cleans are actually sending the body a signal to go slower to something like that. Everything I have read about explosive movements says that they help the body recruit more motor units and increase rate coding.
this is where it gets interesting.
Leg extension is useless for performance? - the argument that we are proposing is that all exercises are directly in some ways useless for performance. They are only good at making you stronger. Performance is about skill, applying the strength.
RE Olympic lifters. Yes they are explosive and jump high. I wonder which comes first? There may of course be a big selection bias. Maybe the good olympic lifters are those who are naturally explosive and would be that way irrespective of their training. Perhaps it is not their training that makes them explosive but their explosiveness that is what makes them suited for lifting?
I have read about explosive movements too and it is not as straightforward as you make out.
It is interesting.....and complex