The Split Style Isn't Dead
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In the early days of competitive weightlifting (think of the Gay Nineties and France’s Belle Epoch) weightlifting technique was very rudimentary. Since the lifts were not yet standardized there was little incentive to perfect technique. If a weight (often a fixed weight globe barbell) had to be lifted to the chest it would usually be continental pulled by those of the Germanic nations or cleaned in what could be called a “splot” style (part split, part squat) by most everyone else. Both styles were quite awkward looking.
After 1900 the more aesthetically minded French developed the “clean” style of pulling where, starting with a shoulder width stance, the barbell was pulled upwards while one foot was driven out front while the other was sent out the back. No contact with the legs or upper body was allowed (hence “clean”). This “split” technique was very stable fore and aft but could be precarious laterally.
The Germans and Austrians lost the First World War and due to still-raw post-war feelings their continental pull was abolished for competition. At the same time the lifts were then standardized around cleans and snatches, and have remained so ever since. The French saw to it that splitting thus became the standard way to pull for the next half-century.
Over time the German speaking lifters got their revenge by developing the new squat style. They might have developed it further but once again they had trouble with their neighbours which would end their long hegemony in the sport. After that war it remained for the Americans to discover the full potentialities of the style.
Although Bill Good and bodybuilding legend John Grimek had used it in the 1930s to great effect it was not until the late 1940s that things really began to change. That was when a humble man named Larry Barnholth of Akron, OH would rationalize the style and make it stable enough to gain converts. His star pupil was one Pete George who would win six world titles. This ensured that the squat would pick up steam through the 1950s. For nearly two decades splitters and squatters co-existed, each claiming the superiority of their style. But each year saw the ratio moving more in the squatters’ favor as its superiority was eventually recognized.
By 1970 splitters were all but extinct. Only a few old timers remained. Only Waldemar Baszanowski still held world records in that style while his contemporaries converted to the squat. Meanwhile virtually all new lifters were taught to squat from day one. I think I saw exactly one lifter using the split at the 2015 World Championships. It appeared to in rigor. However, just at a time when the style was considered dead it started to do a Lazarus-like act, returning to some existence if not real prominence. This was caused by two developments.
Masters LiftingThis first was Masters-age weightlifting which picked up steam after the 1980s. Many older lifters, long retired, picked up the sport again in order to relive their lifting days and to regain the shape they had then. Some were old enough that the split was all they ever used in their pulls. For them it was simply a matter of relearning their old technique. Others may have squatted in their primes but found that their joint flexibility was not what it used to be. Some of these resorted to power snatches and power cleans when they could no longer hit the low positions. The rest decided that a switch to the split might be in order especially if they could squeeze out a bit more poundage that way. Masters lifters have their own competitions but they also frequently enter open-age events as well. As such splitters are once again a more common sight in meets, so much so that younger referees have to be taught about the “no knee-touch” rule.
This rebirth of splitters has not usually been accompanied by improved split technique. This is because few of these new splitters are elite lifters. They thus have little real incentive to improve their form. Overhead positions in the squat style require good flexibility. Splitting is friendlier to those older lifters without this ability. Since their splits are a compromise between that style or not lifting at all, they are happy even if they split imperfectly.
Things are different down below though. In order to do a full split, full enough to get as low as a squatter, one has to have excellent ankle, knee and hip mobility, adductor looseness, foot displacement speed, plus the stability to get to that position and recover with heavy weights. Few non-elite lifters of that era could actually get as low as the champs then. They only split because their squatting ability was even worse. It was possible to do a high, bad split with poor mobility but it was impossible to do any squat lift without loose shoulders. So a lot of tight-jointed lifters had to be content with lower performances.
In summing up it is easier for most athletes to do a workable high split than a good full squat but if you want perfection then it is the split that is probably more difficult.
CrossFit and Sport TrainingThis brings us to the second reason the split is reappearing. As mentioned above perfecting this technique does require great athletic qualities. With the rise in popularity in CrossFit and Olympic lifting derived exercises in general sport training many coaches have learned to appreciate it virtues. Why then should their athletes use the split style?
Disadvantages of the SplitThere are some disadvantages to splitting, mostly to weightlifters. The extra time and pulling height so desired by some athletes is not wanted by lifters. In addition:
There are a number of other things to consider. The most obvious is the peculiar strength considerations of a splitter, namely what additional exercises are needed. There are some splitters that may think they can jettison their squat program. Not true. Squats are still a valuable exercise for all trainees, but those who do split snatches and cleans should also do lunges. This is needed for strength, flexibility, as well as even development.
Lunges are essentially single leg squats. They can be done with both feet on the floor or with the so-called Bulgarian method where the rear leg is rested on a bench or chair so that the front leg is isolated more. Needless to say, one should lunge with both legs, not just the one you always send forward. Do one set with the left leg forward, then one with the right, then back to left. This will ensure even development.
Which Leg?What leg should go forward in a split lift? The dominant leg? The other leg? This is not as easy to answer as assumed since different people will assume a different leg. At this point it is helpful to realize that about 90 percent of the world is right-handed. Most of those are also right-footed but not all are by any means. Such people, referred to as “cross-dominant” might write with their right hand but kick a soccer ball with their left foot. This is common in soccer, especially as they have to learn to kick with both feet.
Weightlifters it appears also have some cross-dominants. I had noticed that most lifters do indeed throw the non-dominant foot forward. This may be because we exert control with the back foot more while the front foot is more passively involved after it lands. However, not all do by any means.
I am one myself. I put my left forward the first time I ever jerked and I never saw a need to change. I thus assumed that this was the norm for right-handers. The left leg thus serves a non-dominant duty in stabilizing the jerk while the right leg is involved in the more precision adjustment duties of the dominant side. This made sense to me at the time. However, I have now made a cursory analysis of my extensive collection of weightlifting pictures. Most jerkers are indeed sending their left leg forward, but by nowhere near a 9:1 margin. This indicates that either there are a lot more left handed lifters than normal (unlikely) or that there are a lot of cross-dominant lifters out there. The latter seems to be the case although it appears not to be directly related to native leg dominance. Many lifters have tried it both ways and find they prefer one or the other, and that’s that. Some change later while others are forced to change when injured, without ill effects.
This choice is decided via empirical testing. New lifters will make several trials splitting each way and will finally choose the one most comfortable. Some coaches will do the push test. They push the lifter forward. The startled lifter will then instinctively throw out one leg or the other to regain control. Whichever leg they throw out, that’s the one they will throw forward in the jerk.
Hints for the Split StyleBe sure to move both legs. Many novices tend to pull on one leg and only move the rear leg, and not the forward leg. This results in a too-narrow split, poor balance, and increased injury risk. The splitting of the legs after the pull must happen extremely fast in order to successfully perform a split snatch or a split clean.
The receiving position is as follows:
As in the jerk it’s advised that the forward foot travel about 1.5 times the length of the foot. However, in the snatch or the clean the split will be deeper, so the feet will end up farther apart.
Skim the platform while moving the feet. Do not slam the front foot.
Recovery is identical to that recommended for the split jerk, namely, push up and back first with the front leg. Shuffle the front foot rearward up to half the split distance. Then either take another partial step backward or bring the rear foot forward. In this manner the bar remains in essentially the same vertical plane, thus avoiding any horizontal movement.
The above apply generally to CrossFitters and general trainees as well as weightlifters, with the exception that they may not need to split as low as the lifters. This is especially true if flexibility and adductor strength is not so important.
The split style died with weightlifters decades ago but it appears that its funeral was a bit premature. There is value in all things, even one that may seem antiquated to today’s observers.
Why not get back to the gym and give it a look.
Fitness via Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/1hdUh1E March 25, 2019 at 08:47AM
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Get the Spring 2019 Issue of 'Muscle & Fitness Hers'
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Per Bernal
In the spring edition of Muscle & Fitness Hers, two-time figure Olympia champ Erin Stern talks training without a coach, holding her ground as a natural athlete, and returning to IFBB Pro League competition. Stern may be a longtime athlete, but she's got tips that apply to every level of fitness. You'll also find plenty of workout and diet tactics to help you sculpt your summer physique and get into your best shape yet. If summer seems to be approaching a little more quickly than you expected, it may be a good time to revamp your routine with our eight-week workout program to burn fat and build muscle. Even if you've maintained a sleek physique all winter long, you may want a boost of motivation or a routine to fine-tune the details. Our spring issue features inspiring women and serious workouts to provide both. And, of course, we also shine a spotlight on your diet with a variety of nutrition news, tips, and healthy recipes to keep your physique lean as summer approaches. With a variety of other training techniques and inspiration to maximize your performance, the spring issue serves up everything you'll need to get the results you want come beach season. Get the new issue of Muscle & Fitness Hers on newsstands now!
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Fitness via Muscle & Fitness https://ift.tt/2zjtGBz March 22, 2019 at 02:16PM
The 6-Week Workout Plan for a Leaner Physique
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Any successful fat loss program is going to take you out of your comfort zone, both in the gym and in the kitchen. Effective fat loss workouts are generally energy depleting and physically and mentally taxing and best paired with a nutritional plan of attack that’s filled with healthy, real foods (no processed, fast food crap), which leaves you in a slight calorie deficit. Enter the 6-Week Fat Blast. To maximally reduce your body fat percent, you’re going to have to start in the kitchen. You may have heard the saying that abs are made in the kitchen, which is true - you can lose fat and not even pick up a single weight or run a single step. But in order to build muscle, increase muscular strength and cardiovascular fitness, you’re going to have to hit the gym. So, to stimulate as much fat loss as possible, your program will consist of 3 full body workouts per week (alternating between Workout A and Workout B) with 2 days of cardio and 2 days off. Over the 6-weeks, your program will look like this:
Edgar Artiga Workout A: Full Body
*Barbell Complex = Bent Over Row, Hang Power Clean to Push Press, Back Squat Hero Images / Getty Workout B: Full Body
*Barbell Complex = Romanian Deadlift, Hang Clean to Thruster (squat to press), Good Morning Per Bernal Cardio Workout 1Start with a 5-10 minute general cardiovascular warm up followed by 5-10 minute dynamic drills (stretches and skipping variations). Next, set up a treadmill to the maximal incline and at a speed you can sprint for 30-seconds. Set up a mat beside your treadmill with an exercise ball, a 50lb dumbbell and an ab wheel.
Repeat this total sequence 8-10 times through. Finish with a 5-10 minute general cardiovascular cool down. Cardio Workout 2Start with a 5-10 minute general cardiovascular warm up followed by 5-10 minute dynamic drills (stretches and skipping variations). Next, set up a treadmill to the maximal incline and at a speed you can sprint for 60-seconds.
Repeat this total sequence 6-8 times through. Finish with a 5-10 minute general cardiovascular cool down. Losing fat and taking your body fat percent down is not as easy task. You’re going to need a great support team to help you stay on track. Make sure to get enough quality sleep per night to ensure you can recovery well in between workouts – shoot for 7-9 hours per night. Drink plenty of water spaced throughout the day and prepare healthy snacks just incase you’re out and get hungry. Remember, diet plays more of a role in fat loss than high intensity workouts. I’ll end by rephrasing a quote I read from fitness great Adam Bornstein: “Eat for the body you want, not for the body you currently have.” If you're looking for a fat-shedding diet to follow while on this plan, check out our
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Fitness via Muscle & Fitness https://ift.tt/2zjtGBz March 22, 2019 at 02:16PM
Tyson Recalls Nearly 70,000 Pounds of Chicken Strips
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U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service
Before you eat those frozen chicken strips, beware. Tyson has recalled 69,093 pounds of frozen, ready-to-eat chicken strip products. The products may contain extraneous materials, specifically pieces of metal, according to federal food safety and inspection officials. Products under the recall, according to the Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), include 25-ounce bags of frozen Tyson Fully Cooked Buffalo Style Chicken Strips (Chicken Breast Strip Fritters with Rib Meat and Buffalo Style Sauce) and Tyson Fully Cooked Crispy Chicken Strips (Chicken Breast Strip Fritters with Rib Meat), in addition to 20 oz. bags of Spare Time Fully Cooked Buffalo Style Chicken Strips (Chicken Breast Strip Fritters with Rib Meat and Buffalo Sauce). The frozen, ready-to-eat chicken strips were produced on November 30, 2018 and bear the establishment code "P-7221" on the back of the package and a "use by" date of November 30, 2019, according to the FSIS. These frozen products, according to Tyson, were sent to distribution centers in the following states: Arkansas, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. Tyson reported that two consumers found fragments of metal in the products, which prompted the company to recall the items. No illnesses or injuries from the products have been reported, but consumers are urged not to consume these items and to discard or return any Tyson products that may have been impacted by the recall.
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Fitness via Muscle & Fitness https://ift.tt/2zjtGBz March 22, 2019 at 10:57AM
New ‘John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum’ Trailer Released
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Fans of Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure may have been distracted by the news that there will, indeed, be a third installment of the cult film—the first in nearly 30 years—in 2020. But Keanu Reeves fans can still catch him sooner (sans Alex Winter), in the another third installment: John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum. The film has been under wraps since it started filming last year, but now we have a first glimpse into Parabellum, which continues where Part 2 left off. Director, Chad Stahelski, who helmed the first two films, returns to Wick’s story as the antihero who has a $14 million bounty on his head and is hunted at every turn. He wields swords while speeding on a motorcycle, shoots 'em up, climbs a mountainous desert, and even rides a horse through the streets of New York City. The excommunicated Wick is in deep this time, especially since he also killed a member of the High Table. It seems dogs will also play a huge role in Parabellum. In the first film (2014), Wick's beagle pup Daisy died—and he's had a vengeance ever since—but there’s no word on the fate of his new furry companion, who was last seen on the run with him at the end of Part 2. Nevertheless, dogs will be front and center in the upcoming film—Halle Berry’s Sofia even has some attack canines. (Berry literally became a dog trainer during the filming.) Ex-Matrix co-star Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane (American Gods), and Lance Reddick return, along with Berry and Jason Mantzoukas, to round out the cast. Check out the latest trailer below.
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Fitness via Muscle & Fitness https://ift.tt/2zjtGBz March 22, 2019 at 09:53AM
Step Into the Arena Part II: You Need a Team
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At age 9: “Okay, it’s time for y’all to come inside and clean-up for dinner.”
At age 12: “I know y’all go to the park to play football after school, but I need you home by 5 to do homework and get ready for dinner.”
At age 13: “I told you that you could go play ghosts in the graveyard at the park. Not that you could come home at 2 am!”
At age 14: “Where the hell have you been all day?”
My childhood, like yours, was a constant succession of games and competitions. Summers were littered with sports camps and free time was spent organizing friends to play other games. When I got to high-school activities grew more focused and serious. I began training hard. The majority of sport play was reserved for practice and structured competition, although summers and off-seasons still featured a good bit of less formal play just for its own sake. By my senior year, I was as good an athlete as ever. The year was filled with competitive highlights and ego-trips. And then it was over.
Competition minded adults have always finished high-school or college athletics only to find themselves in a no man’s land where the passion’s that dominated their life are now completely unavailable. Team sport is reserved only for the professionals. They are left to either coach or re-orient themselves into an individual sport like biking, running, Crossfit, or martial arts. While these are phenomenal pursuits they lack the social dependency that many adults desperately need.
Canada’s Sport for Life Initiative has created a brilliant, developmentally appropriate framework they call the Long Term Athletic Development (LTAD) model. Their mission was to create the most possible Canadian Olympians while also driving up the quality of the nation’s lifetime health. It turns out these goals are extremely compatible.
By contrast, American norms have drastically reduced the pool of talent as youth sports participation plummets every year in response to insane costs and obsessive cultures. The Aspen Institute’s Sports & Society Program reports that “only 36.9 percent of children ages 6-12 played team sports on a regular basis in 2016 – down from 38.6 in 2015 and 44.5 in 2008.” The excesses of youth sports are driving families away from these transformative childhood experiences, and replacing them with screen time and passive entertainment. The few remaining are more subject to norms driven by extremists whose only mission in life is to guarantee their child a college scholarship. Despite fewer American youth athletes, overuse injuries have skyrocketed, a consequence of only ever playing structured sport and the overuse typical of premature specialization.
The LTAD model looks at developmental science to clarify age-appropriate sport attitudes. By clearly warning off early specialization and overstructure, they’ve fostered an atmosphere where youth play many sports, building a full, balanced athletic tool kit. While American youth are experiencing sport as parent-controlled, hyper-focused drudgery, Canadian youth sport has thrived as children learn the joys of team sport. Structure and physical training are added progressively at scientifically supported, age-appropriate intervals and doses.
Generally, the LTAD stages are as follows:
Any efforts to right America’s destructive youth sports culture would do well to study the Canadian model. Still, like most perceptions of sport and fitness, after the “competitive stage” (this ends after high-school and college for most people), Canada drops the ball. It seems collective humanity is getting stuck by this archetype where team sport must end before adulthood, unless you are a professional. The physical role of the adult is only conceived of as watching team sport, coaching team sport, and, if time/desire permits, training their body for its own sake, with no prospect of ever having to perform again.
The LTAD model breaks down at the train to compete stage. After a lifetime enjoying sports, society broadly decides that athletes should begin devoting enormous energy to a select few pursuits, or they can choose to stay “active for life,” whatever that means. A 16-year-old young man is left deciding whether he wants to invest 20+ hours per week playing soccer or to start doing pilates? It is A or B. Hypercompetitive or just don’t die. If the varsity years of high-school athletics don’t present this ultimatum, then college almost certainly does.
Furthermore, even if they want to remain competing in this train to compete stage of life, they may not have the option. Team sport increasingly becomes available only to the very talented and those willing to pay exorbitantly for select sports leagues.
At some point, generally between 16 to 22, regardless of whether you choose to be hypercompetitive or not, society seems to agree that the invaluable team-sport experience that virtually defined your early years should now be unavailable. For some reason that is reserved for children and professionals. Adult sport options become solitary and, often, less sport than extension of training. While I have a deep respect for martial-arts and marathoners and think these sports are necessary, they lack the element of mutual dependency and collective mission that make team sport such a transcendent experience.
Culturally, we stop conceiving of team play for its own sake as a priority and this leads to declining physical, mental, and emotional health. What outlet could better address these adult needs than if humanity started to respect that these were needs for all people, not just kids.
Particularly in this age of automation, team sport play should be considered a necessity for people of all ages. Clearly, you usually wouldn’t want to have 55-year-olds playing 25-year-olds in soccer. But, hell, if I’m 55 that is my goal. People would come in all shapes, sizes, genders, and levels that, depending on the sport, might require more or less stratification. Injuries might occasionally occur, outrage and litigation culture may have a hissy fit, but collective humanity would
I respect that the LTAD wants adults to be self-sufficient and autonomous in guiding their adult physical development. I agree that a well-developed model should promote freedom and individual responsibility. Still, we have failed to conceive of a more fulfilling and human-enriching vision. The best approach to the final stage of our athletic development model should be a return to earlier stages where there is great variety and focus on process over outcome. This more than anything else would provide communities a gateway into valuing health.
Today, even if avenues for adult team sport did exist, the adults who engage are typically labelled big kids. They are the irresponsible who refuse to grow up. Adults are supposed to work at a desk all day and then battle traffic to get home so they can rush the kids across three towns for their ultra, triple-dog super elite 5th grade travel ball practice. They aren’t supposed to still be playing themselves.
There are very few outlets and even less social normalization for adult sports leagues. Sure, you can play beer-league softball, but what about health-oriented communities where it is normal and encouraged for adults to engage in regular team sport? Particularly as technology grows to create an atmosphere insufficient for meeting our human needs, team sport must become a staple for all ages, or communities will slip further into obesity, depression and the host of epidemics currently sweeping the developed world. Modern healthcare costs are unsustainably high and no one feels these costs more than employers dealing with their population’s lethargy and absenteeism.
Next time, I’ll explore why employers seem especially well-suited to address these growing concerns and how easily it would be for a new model of adult health to take root at foresighted companies. While private sector gyms would certainly benefit from this perspective, the adult organization seems an especially potent environment to combat the modern health crisis.
This Week’s Mission: The eventual fate of our children is to become adults. We have to restore and model a passionate adult experience, if we want them to achieve that. Decide on a skill you want to learn and begin practicing. Childhood is a never ending succession of sucking at new pursuits until they become skills. For some reason, we adults grow averse to this essential process. Decide to learn bodyweight gymnastics, juggling, Wim Hof method, tennis, harmonica, Spanish, or any other skill. This may seem to contradict my message today, but I assure you the two work hand in hand. At age 9: “Okay, it’s time for y’all to come inside and clean-up for dinner.”
At age 12: “I know y’all go to the park to play football after school, but I need you home by 5 to do homework and get ready for dinner.”
At age 13: “I told you that you could go play ghosts in the graveyard at the park. Not that you could come home at 2am!”
At age 14: “Where the hell have you been all day?”
My childhood, like yours, was a constant succession of games and competitions. Summers were littered with sports camps and free time was spent organizing friends to play other games.
When I got to high-school activities grew more focused and serious. I began training hard. The majority of sports play was reserved for practice and structured competition, although summers and off-seasons still featured a good bit of less formal play just for its own sake. By my senior year, I was as good an athlete as ever. The year was filled with competitive highlights and ego-trips. And then it was over.
Competition-minded adults have always finished high-school or college athletics only to find themselves in a no man’s land where the passion’s that dominated their life are now completely unavailable.
Team sport is reserved only for professionals. They are left to either coach or re-orient themselves into an individual sport like biking, running, Crossfit, or martial arts. While these are phenomenal pursuits they lack the social dependency that many adults desperately need.
A Better ModelCanada’s Sport for Life Initiative has created a brilliant, developmentally appropriate framework they call the Long Term Athletic Development (LTAD) model. Their mission was to create the most possible Canadian Olympians while also driving up the quality of the nation’s lifetime health. It turns out these goals are extremely compatible.
By contrast, American norms have drastically reduced the pool of talent as youth sports participation plummets every year in response to insane costs and obsessive cultures. The Aspen Institute’s Sports & Society Program reports that “only 36.9 percent of children ages 6-12 played team sports on a regular basis in 2016 – down from 38.6 in 2015 and 44.5 in 2008.”
The excesses of youth sports are driving families away from these transformative childhood experiences and replacing them with screen time and passive entertainment. The few remaining are more subject to norms driven by extremists whose only mission in life is to guarantee their child a college scholarship. Despite fewer American youth athletes, overuse injuries have skyrocketed, a consequence of only ever playing structured sport and the overuse typical of premature specialization.
The LTAD model looks at developmental science to clarify age-appropriate sports attitudes. By clearly warning off early specialization and over-structure, they’ve fostered an atmosphere where youth play many sports, building a full, balanced athletic tool kit. While American youth are experiencing sport as parent-controlled, hyper-focused drudgery, Canadian youth sport has thrived as children learn the joys of team sport. Structure and physical training are added progressively at scientifically supported, age-appropriate intervals and doses.
Generally, the LTAD stages are as follows:
What About the Adults?Any efforts to right America’s destructive youth sports culture would do well to study the Canadian model. Still, like most perceptions of sport and fitness, after the “competitive stage” (this ends after high-school and college for most people), Canada drops the ball.
It seems collective humanity is getting stuck by this archetype where team sport must end before adulthood unless you are a professional. The role of the body for adults is only conceived of as watching team sport, coaching team sport, and, if time/desire permits, training their body for its own sake, with no prospect of ever having to perform again.
The LTAD model breaks down at the train to compete stage. After a lifetime enjoying sports, society broadly decides that athletes should begin devoting enormous energy to a select few pursuits, or they can choose to stay “active for life,” whatever that means.
A 16-year-old young man is left deciding whether he wants to invest 20+ hours per week playing soccer or to start doing pilates? It is A or B. Hypercompetitive or just don’t die. If the varsity years of high-school athletics don’t present this ultimatum, then college almost certainly does.
Furthermore, even if they want to remain competing in this train to compete stage of life, they may not have the option. Team sport increasingly becomes available only to the very talented and those willing to pay exorbitantly for select sports leagues.
At some point, generally between 16 to 22, regardless of whether you choose to be hypercompetitive or not, society seems to agree that the invaluable team-sport experience that virtually defined your early years should now be unavailable. For some reason that is reserved for children and professionals.
Adult sports options become solitary and, often, less sport than an extension of training. While I have a deep respect for martial-arts, powerlifting, and marathoners, and I think these sports are necessary, they lack the element of mutual dependency and collective mission that make team sport such a transcendent experience.
Culturally, we stop conceiving of team play for its own sake as a priority and this leads to declining physical, mental, and emotional health. What outlet could better address these adult needs than if humanity started to respect that these were needs for all people, not just kids?
Particularly in this age of automation, team sports play should be considered a necessity for people of all ages. Clearly, you usually wouldn’t want to have 55-year-olds playing 25-year-olds in soccer.
But, hell, if I’m 55 that is my goal. People would come in all shapes, sizes, genders, and levels that, depending on the sport, might require more or less stratification. Injuries might occasionally occur, outrage and litigation culture may have a hissy fit, but collective humanity would improve drastically.
I respect that the LTAD wants adults to be self-sufficient and autonomous in guiding their adult physical development. I agree that a well-developed model should promote freedom and individual responsibility. Still, we have failed to conceive of a more fulfilling and human-enriching vision.
The best approach to the final stage of our athletic development model should be a return to earlier stages where there is a great variety of sports and a focus on process over outcome. This more than anything else would provide communities a gateway into valuing health.
Today, even if avenues for adult team sport did exist, the adults who engage are typically labeled big kids. They are seen as the irresponsible who refuse to grow up. Adults are supposed to work at a desk all day and then battle traffic to get home so they can rush the kids across three towns for their ultra, triple-dog super elite 5th-grade travel ball practice. They aren’t supposed to still be playing themselves.
There are very few outlets and even less social normalization for adult sports leagues. Sure, you can play beer-league softball, but what about health-oriented communities where it is normal and encouraged for adults to engage in regular team sport?
Particularly as technology grows to create an atmosphere insufficient for meeting our human needs, team sport must become a staple for all ages, or communities will slip further into obesity, depression and the host of epidemics currently sweeping the developed world. Modern healthcare costs are unsustainably high and no one feels these costs more than employers dealing with their population’s lethargy and absenteeism.
Next time, I’ll explore why employers seem especially well-suited to address these growing concerns and how easily it would be for a new model of adult health to take root at foresighted companies. While private sector gyms would certainly benefit from this perspective, the adult organization seems an especially potent environment to combat the modern health crisis.
This Week’s MissionThe eventual fate of our children is to become adults. We have to restore and model a passionate adult experience if we want them to achieve that. Decide on a skill you want to learn and begin practicing.
Childhood is a never-ending succession of sucking at new pursuits until they become skills. For some reason, we adults grow averse to this essential process. Decide to learn bodyweight gymnastics, juggling, Wim Hof method, tennis, harmonica, Spanish, or any other skill. This may seem to contradict my message today, but I assure you the two work hand in hand. Fitness via Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/1GxgPEe March 22, 2019 at 09:19AM
This 18-Year-Old Is Probably Fitter Than You'll Ever Be
https://ift.tt/2HMj8iH Fitness via Muscle & Fitness https://ift.tt/2zjtGBz March 21, 2019 at 03:45PM
Heart Rate Zones: A Brief Review of Normal and Dangerous Heart Rates
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Despite being the center of one of the most crucial bodily systems, many people don’t know much about their heart or how it works. Resting heart rate is the rhythm of oxygen flowing through your body while you are less active. This includes activities, such as sleeping, sitting at your desk in an office, or just watching television at home. Symptoms of a high resting heart rate include low energy levels, low blood pressure, reduced blood circulation, and discomfort while breathing. Having a lower resting heart rate means that you are at less risk of heart disease, because it takes your heart less energy to maintain a rhythm, allowing your body to better take of care itself. Why Do Athletes Have Lower Heart Rates?Ever wonder why athletes have lower heart rates than their non-athletic counterparts? Well, according to the American Heart Association, athletes having a lower heart rate is common because “their heart muscle is in better condition and doesn’t need to work as hard to maintain a steady beat.” Essentially, since they outwork you in the gym or their sport of choice, they have a clear edge. So, how low can an athlete’s heart rate go? As low as 40 beats per minute (BPM). Impressive … not to mention, motivation for all you non-athletes to move and get your heart health in better shape. There's also evidence that a lower resting pulse rate can lead to a longer life. How to Measure Your Heart Rate?If Muscle & Fitness put you on the spot and asked how to measure your heart rate, would you know? Measuring your heart rate essentially begins with taking your pulse. Make sure you’re calm, relaxed, and have been still for quite some time, before placing your index and middle fingers on the side of your windpipe, pressed directly under your jawbone. Or place your index and middle fingers on the inside of your opposite wrist beneath your thumb. According to the Mayo Clinic, this is where the number crunching begins. Count the number of beats in 15 seconds. Now multiply that number by four to get your beats per minute. As simple as measuring your heart rate is, factors—age, health history, emotional state at the time, medications, overall fitness level, and whether you’re a smoker—can influence it as well. If you don’t want to measure your heart rate yourself, you can also opt to rely on a Fitbit activity tracker, which uses its trademarked PurePulse Technology to track your continuous heart rate automatically, right from the comfort of your wrist. There are also several apps available that measure your heart rate as well. The Dangers of Low Heart Rates and Fast Heart RatesAdults with a low heart rate may be diagnosed with Bradycardia—when your heart rate is less than 60 beats per minute (BPM), not as a result of physical fitness. A lower heart rate means your brain and other organs aren’t getting a sufficient supply of oxygen and your body will let you know that via a number of ways, including near-fainting or fainting, dizziness, shortness of breath, and chest pains to name a few. The Mayo Clinic says people should seek emergency care if they experience chest pain for more than a few minutes. These people might eventually need a pacemaker. Left untreated, a lower-than-average heart rate could result in regular fainting; heart failure, which occurs when your heart doesn’t pump enough blood; or sudden cardiac arrest or death. The opposite of Bradycardia is Tachycardia, which is when an adult experiences upwards of 100 BPM. Like people with Bradycardia, adults with rapid heart rates might experience fainting or dizziness. Unlike them, however, they might experience a rapid heartbeat, palpitations or a sensation of fluttering in the chest. In addition, they might experience a tightness of the chest or chest pain, as reported by the AHA. The Mayo Clinic adds that if these symptoms are left untreated that “Tachycardia can disrupt normal heart function and lead to serious complications, including heart failure, stroke, sudden cardiac arrest or death.” What Should The Average Heart Rate Be?The average heart rate should be between 60 BPM and 100 BPM for adults who are sitting or laying down still and not ill at the time of measuring.
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Cubs Star Anthony Rizzo Talks the One Exercise That Helped Build His All-Star Swing
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Anthony Rizzo isn’t even 30 yet, but the Chicago Cubs first baseman is already flexing the same level of accomplishments as a veteran entering the end of their career. The 29-year-old is a three-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glove winner, a Silver Slugger winner, and has one World Series championship to his name. The secret to Rizzo’s success? Training for durability—he has played in at least 153 games in each of the Cubs’ past four seasons. Stretching and Listening to His BodyThe rigors of a 162-game season break down many baseball players. Entering his ninth season, Anthony says his value on stretching has only appreciated over time. “I think it’s just knowing my body more and the importance of stretching now as opposed to a few years ago,” Rizzo says. “It’s all about prevention. You want to play, you want to be healthy and you don’t want to be injured. You want to be on the field playing, so you can produce.” Part of his process during the season is knowing when to push himself to the limit in the gym and knowing when to listen to the signs of fatigue and take it easy. “On days when we hit the gym and we’re not feeling it, we’ll take a lighter workout,” says Rizzo, who’s also an athlete investor in BodyArmor sports drinks. “On some days, we’ll go and just do cardio. On some days, we’ll not go at all, just get more rest. It all depends on the schedule and what’s going on, but you have to be in tune with your body. There's days where you can get good workouts in, there’s days you can’t. To play a long time in baseball, you’ve got to really make sure you’re taking care of yourself and doing it the right way.” Cable Chops Help Simulate His Swing There’s no better substitute for swinging a bat than getting in the cage or better yet, stepping up to the plate and taking live pitches with movement. But Rizzo has relied on one gym exercise to help simulate his swing on the field throughout his Major League Baseball career: the cable chop. “That’s really the closest you could get to emulating the swing in that exact moment,” Anthony says about the exercise. “The core movement that you get out of it is similar to when you swing normally. It’s pretty accurate and spot on, because you’re using the same muscles as you would when you swing.” Cable chops have helped Anthony hit for contact and power—the slugger has recorded at least 156 hits, 25 home runs and 101 RBI in each of his past four seasons.
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