I met Logan at the Super Human Training Workshop in Tallahassee, Florida a few years ago. He has some interesting approaches to training.
This is one
Why do odd object training?
This gal shares why women need to lift weights
Stopping the “orphan-makers” (how our training might help you quit smoking)
Since cancer has wreaked havoc on my family members and friends over the years, I have a serious dislike of cigarette smoking. Most everyone I know who has died of cancer was a smokers (connect the dots)..
Many people still smoke even though they have lost friends and loved ones to cancer. evidently, they just don’t get it.
Like I said before just connect the dots, it’s a “no-brainer”, or it should be!
If I know someone is a smoker when they come to my gym, i normally refuse to train them because I already they are not serious about getting healthy and fit. The only exception I make is if after I explain to them why I call cigarettes
“orphan-makers” (People with kids or teens who smoke are in the process of making them orphans) and they agree to quit before they start training, I can help them keep that commitment by how I program their training. A cigarette will become the last thing they would ever want!
I cannot physically stop them from sucking burning weeds into their lungs,
but I can help build the desire to quit for good in them.
I could care less about “political correctness”, I care about seeing kids and teens have their parents in good health.
If this ticks of smokers, that’s too bad. Give your kids a break and quit smoking.
Fear of getting under the bar will derail your progress
I always have to chuckle when I hear someone, usually a young man, tell me he is not afraid of anything.
Right away I know two things about him
- he’s never been in a dangerous situation
- he’s lying
There is a reason for fear, just like there is for pain. They warn you of potentially deadly situations. I heard fear described once as organic (no , I don’t mean like food), it is “hardwired” into us for our own protection. Pay attention to it, it might save your life.
Never confuse fear with panic. Panic is uncontrollable fear; it serves no useful purpose.
Getting under a heavy barbell can generate fear. Feeling that is not necessarily bad, but you still have to do the lift.
If it makes you too scared to get under the bar, then you are messing up.
Right now think of the heaviest types lifts you do. Granted you can get hurt on a deadlift, but not usually from the barbell falling on you.
The bench press and back squat both have the potential to injure or kill you if you are careless.
There are ways to minimize the risk, like having excellent technique, very experienced spotters, safety bars, etc.
Can it still be very intimidating, even then?
You bet! You should just go ahead a make the lift any way.
Don’t be paralyzed by fear.
I was at a Strongman event a couple of years ago and watched a fairly young competitor load a stone weight over 400 LB.
If he fell with it, he could have gotten wrecked. If he was fearful at all, he didn’t show it; he just attacked the lift.
Olympic lifts can be hazardous, and they require absolute concentration.
They cannot be spotted and the lifter catches the bar, most commonly, in a squat.
Yes, dangerous lifts can be done safely, and yes you might be scared; but do the lift anyhow!
You might get more than a great lift, you might also become mentally tougher.
vintage video of John Brookfield teaching Battling Ropes to Bud Jeffries, Julio Anta, & myself
This taken several years ago, before we moved into the Cave.
We shared floor space with another business, but we still got the work done!
Handling stress through exercise
Life happens
Life is hard
Life is unfair
Life sucks
Ever heard these or thought them yourself?
Probably, if you are honest with yourself.
The media bombards people 24/7 with bad news, which is stressful enough.
Most of the things you are watching or hearing about are happening to someone else or some place else. Maybe you can learn to handle that to a certain degree because you removed from it.
It’s a whole different story when it happens to you or someone you love!
Consciously we can often cope pretty well; but subconsciously damage is being done.
For example, four months ago, a family member had a serious, life-threatening medical situation while we were on the other side of the country on vacation and had to get an emergency flight back. The next month another family member also did and soon passed away.
Shortly afterwards I was getting a check up with my doctor and he was very concerned about my blood pressure, which was pretty high, The stresses of the ongoing medical problems and the recent death in our family was getting to me and affecting my health.
My doctor wanted to put me on medications for this, which I was against. I prayerfully considered the situation in light of his advice and I knew I could fix this (with GOD’S help) through my training
I changed my training program slightly, then attacked it. I have been monitoring my blood pressure for the past few months and it got lower and lower. Thank GOD!
Today it was 105/67 without meds, just a lot of prayer and hard work.
Everyone is different, and I am not a doctor or suggesting you do what I did, but it worked for me.
Take supplements or not?
After a long hard day of work, this gal still gets it done
How electro-mechanical delay can negatively affect your lifting
Several years ago, I had the opportunity to write a few articles for Mike Mahler’s Aggressive Strength Newsletter. He was the first guy I ever saw doing double kettlebell lifts (100 LB 0r more each).
One of the subjects I wrote about was electro-mechanical delay, briefly it is the time it takes for your muscles actually contract after they receive the signal to fire.
“In contraction of skeletal muscle a delay exists between the onset of electrical activity and measurable tension. This delay in electromechanical coupling has been stated to be between 30 and 100 ms. Thus, in rapid movements it may be possible for electromyographic (EMG) activity to have terminated before force can be detected.”
Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol. 1979 Nov;42(3):159-63.
Electromechanical delay in human skeletal muscle under concentric and eccentric contractions.
Cavanagh PR, Komi PV.
As a coach/athlete you have probably how some people will begin a lift, like a deadlift, and not develop whole-body tension before they begin to pull.
They just do not seem to develop enough power that way. It’s almost like an energy leak.
When we had Our Powerlifting Coach, Dru Patrick (aka “the beast-maker”) at the Cave
you could hear his commanding voice bellowing out, “Tight,tight,tight! Everything tight!”
Coach Patrick was a tough, no-nonsense Powerlifter. He had a 550LB raw bench and knew about strength.
He always insisted on the whole body being tight before the lift started; and he was living proof that it made a difference!
In my original article I mentioned two ways to reduce electro-mechanical delay:
1) use a counter-movement prior to moving whatever weight you were using
This is fine for kettlebell training, but not barbell lifts
2) develop whole-body tension before you begin to pull
Just like the beast-maker said, “Tight,tight,tight! Everything tight!”
The Cave 