It's been a while since my last post and I've been pretty busy to say the least. Last weekend I competed in my first real 5km race. It's funny when people say that 5km is an easy distance compared to something like a marathon. I have to question if they've ever ran a 5km, and if so, how hard did they push themselves. That was one of the hardest things I've ever done. After the race I felt like someone had removed my kidneys, lungs, and heart, and steamrolled the crap out of them. Not too mention my hamstrings felt like they had been put through a paper shredder. Anyways, the course was about 5.2km and I ended up with a time of 18:56...not bad for "non-runner".
I also just had one of my articles published in the Mar/April edition of Can-Fit Pro Magazine. It's called "Running Away from the Weights: Dispelling the myths of strength training for runners". So if you are a member take a look and let me know what you think.
I wanted to also take the time to inform everyone of my colleague Carmen Bott's new website. It's a great looking site with phenomenal resources. In particular, I wanted to highlight her latest blog post which points out the infinite examples of taking a fitness tool and adding it to strength training for the sake of variation. Carm's post can be found at www.carmenbott.com/blog .
Lastly, I'd like to point out how some of the philosophy's of the Human Motion team were not only put together for strength and conditioning but they seem to hold true for success in general. Jim Kelley writes for sportsnet.ca and recently published an article regarding the Leaf's missing the playoffs...again. Never wanting to miss out on an opportunity to torture Leaf's Nation, I thought I'd share some of his article and point out the similarities to the pillars of Human Motion.
JK: "Since his (Brian Burke's) arrival his changes have been few and largely inconsequential. Now you might make an argument that a GM that arrived in November could have tried to do more and perhaps should have done more, but I won't go there. Change for the sake of change and the appearance of doing something is a big part of the reason the Leafs are out of the postseason for the fourth time in as many seasons and a big part of the reason the team has been something of a laughingstock for years going on decades."
HM: CBott's post talks about variation for the sake of variation and why this gets away from true results. As the title says, "Since when was variety a training principle?". Just as the Leaf's are the laughingstock of the NHL, not getting results due to circus acts in the gym is the laughingstock of the S&C world.
JK: "The smartest and most sensible thing Burke has done so far is secure a long-term (a reported six years) deal for himself at a salary that makes firing him anytime soon a serious financial caution and in setting himself up for the long term, Burke has set the Leafs up for the kind of sensible, long-term change that the franchise has needed for decades. He's not likely to need the entire six seasons, but he would be wise to take the time he needs to build a foundation for the shaky franchise and then to build upon that foundation.That may sound backward to the higher-ups at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, people who have run the organization for years with an eye toward short-term financial gain instead of long-term and, eventually, fundamentally sound business principles that would not only ensure high revenue streams, but might someday also produce a winner."
HM: Essentially this is the basis behind Building a Strong Foundation. To rush into a weight program without first ironing out the underlying biomechanical issues an athlete has is simply looking for the short term gain. If you take the time to allow the body to adapt to concrete core, joint stability, mobility, and technique, you will set yourself up for success for the long term. We could run a bootcamp to make quick cash and let athletes get their "sweat" on, but we are looking for long term results, not a long term physio bill.
JK: "One thing you can always say about a Burke-managed team is players get their chance. The ones that are here have had theirs. Some will stay, others won't and Burke will make those decisions based not on what he's heard, but what he's seen. It makes a difference.What he did say without hesitation is that the next step is to make the playoffs and that is a reachable goal as early as next season and that: 'We're going to make changes to do it.' Making an assessment is the first step. Having a plan is the second one."
HM: As an industry, we should make decisions (exercise selection, program design, coaching cues, etc.) based on research and in the trenches work, not the latest fad or celebrity regime. Assessments are used to determine the plan of action. And, "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail" is a phrase echoed throughout our team.
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for my next post regarding the always entertaining elliptical.
No comments:
Post a Comment