May 17, 2017 · 8:18 am
“I want to be big and strong”
^^ A sentence many a man has said over the years and continues to say to this day.
“I want to be lean and strong”
^^ Something I’m pleased to announce more women are saying, it seems there has been a shift in them saying ‘I just want to be skinny’ to now learning the benefit of being lean and strong, it’s great to see.
While it is only my opinion, I feel everybody should be strong.
I’m not talking about record breaking strong, just strong enough to stay healthy and stave off the effects of ageing on the body.
These sports all centre around lifting:
– Weightlifting (olympic lifting)
– CrossFit (some may not like this one)
Did you know lifting weights can have the following positive effects on the body:
– Hormonal benefits: Higher testosterone, better insulin regulation, more growth hormone, lower cortisol to name a few
– Lowers body fat (great for improving health)
– A higher TDEE (total daily energy expenditure, more calories burnt in a day)
– Increased strength for sport/daily life
– Looking better naked (the most important benefit, obviously)
Those are only some of the benefits, there are numerous more.
Personally I’d say the mental improvement is the pivotal one as this can have the biggest impact on a persons life in a very positive way.
If you’re not an athlete and lift for health/confidence you should do it because you enjoy it, not because you feel you have to, that’s the secret to balance and long term sustainability.
Don’t eat yourself up if you miss a session, chalk it up to life and sue it as a rest day, that way you’ll be more motivated when you get to go in, excited to train in fact. Keep this in mind and you’ll find you don’t fall out of love with training.
What if lifting isn’t for you?
That’s cool, find soothing you do enjoy, here are some other options for improving strength and all achieving all the other benefits mentioned above:
– Calisthenics: bodyweight/movement training, loads of fun
– Kettlebells (sport or hard style)
– Climbing/outdoor sports
There are almost endless options.
Find something you enjoy, training shouldn’t be a chore.
Now go, have fun and make progress.
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March 23, 2015 · 11:47 am
Today was listed as ‘Heavy’ for Deadlifts.
I was psyched.
I was ready.
I was humbled….
Planning on getting at least 215kg, but in the end only just getting 200kg brought me back down to earth with a lightning speed.
I failed. I may indeed fail next time, but I will fail better.
After giving my performance today some thought and comparison from that of last week, there was one thing that stood out, there was noticeably less tension being generated. As many of you know the more tension you can generate means the more force you can produce, the more force you can produce the more speed you can generate, if you can generate sufficient speed against an object to overcome its static load then you will move the object.
For those who don’t know, this image might help:
Tension is like pulling back a spring with weight, you load it to the point of where it won’t take any more (It might start to shake because of all the stored tension in it), if you then release that tension you will be able generate a certain amount of force and move the weight.
F=(ma) – Force = Mass x Acceleration
In short I lost my tension.
Strength is a skill and you should practice every lift in the way you would for a 1RM, it doesn’t matter if there is 50% on the bar. Your body will remember the tension and thus be able to recreate the feeling when the weight is heavy which will make it a lot easier to lift.
Here are 3 drills to practice to help you improve your bodies connection:
1 – The Plank – Tense EVERYTHING! You should be shaking throughout.
2 – Farmers Walk/Hold – Pick up a heavy weight and hold it there.
3 – Crucifix Hold – Pick up two weights and hold them out like you’re nailed to a cross, keep them there.
Enjoy
Ross
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