Month: August 2018

270818 Smith machine explosive plyo benches

Smith machine explosive plyo benches 270818
The limitations to a forceful contraction straight through a move occur at the end of any concentric move. This is the joint activating the ‘braking effect’ about three quarters of the way through, as it nears the end of the movement. This is the mechanism the body uses to protect the joint from tearing itself apart.

Some of the more common ways to short circuit this muscle shut down is through the use of the supine medicine ball toss, and the plyo push ups. An off shoot of the plyometric method for the upper body, specifically for the bench press, is through the use of a non-cable, non-counterbalanced Smith machine.

Warm up as you would for a regular bench press session. After you have warmed up the shoulder and pectoralis regions move over to the Smith Machine. Begin by loading the bar with a LIGHT weight (30-40% of a five rep max to begin with). Make certain the bench is positioned exactly where you intend to bench from-there can be no room for errors from this point forward.

Take the weight and forcefully push it up wards. The difference from a regular Smith machine bench press is this:

Instead of holding onto the bar at the top of the concentric motion and slowing the bar down you let it fly upward. Then you catch it on the down stroke a little bit above your chest then by keeping the amortization phase nano-seconds short ram it up again.

This does two things for your power production:

1. It allows a utilization of the full Range of Motion
2. It helps you produce Power
Go slowly as you learn how to do this great training exercise.

Remember that injuries slow your progress down….

200818 Exercise clothing

 Exercise clothing 200818

Lifting weights implies wearing the correct attire to help prevent injuries from occurring. Some of the personal adornments that have shown up in the gym are just this side of ludicrous and certainly not appropriate in the weight room. Some examples are listed next.

*Large necklaces that make it difficult to rest a bar on the upper torso are something better left in the locker or at home.
*Rings on every finger that dig into the skin during a chin up, curl or dead lift.
*Flip flops or sandals of any sort have no place in the gym.

The last mentioned is in my opinion the most critical of those on the list. A shoe that fully encloses your foot provides a bit of security if a piece of equipment falls and hit the foot. A sandal gives you no protection at all.

Select shoes that give good ankle and solid arch support. They should also provide your foot with superior lateral stability by having good upper support; unlike the smaller low cut running shoes. The shoe also needs to have enough room in the toe box to prevent your toes from rubbing at the tips. If you plan to do lateral cutting drills in your program then make certain the shoes you chose have excellent traction capabilities.

130818 VO2 Max Formula

VO2 Max Formula 130818

By Danny M. O’Dell, M.A. CSCS*D

Interested in what your VO2 Max may be?

Here is a quick method to find out without using high priced equipment. It is equated to how far you are able to run in 12 minutes. K. H. Cooper, of the famed Cooper Institute came up with this equation for aerobic fitness.

The protocol is to warm up efficiently as it will be a maximum effort. Warm up and run on a level course. The course selected should have markings in meters so you know how far you have gone at the conclusion.

The equation:
VO2 max= 33 + 0.17 (x-133)
X is the distance (in meters) covered in one minute

From Science of Sports Training by Thomas Kurz published by Stadion Publishing Company Island Pond, VT.

060818 Building Athletic Movement-part3

060818 Building Athletic Movement

Physical athleticism requires precise mastery and powerful execution of specific sport movement/motor system patterns. In order to accomplish these multifaceted demands on the body each of the interacting sequential muscle groups within the kinematic chain and kinematic system have to be functioning and producing their peak tension at the exact right time.

In the beginning stages of learning a new skill or exercise the dynamic elements are weak, which makes the law of facilitation immediately relevant. This law states that each time a movement is performed wrong it becomes easier to repeat and harder to execute the right pattern in the future. With each repetition the movement becomes more difficult to correct. Fortunately these early mistakes don’t have long lasting effects on the system-if they are continually modified in closer approximations of the exact movement.

As the pattern becomes closer to perfect the body automatically finds more effective ways to reconcile the discrepancies of the motor unit’s interrelationships. These changes are the result of differentiations in, and increases within the emphasis of neuromuscular output at the varying times necessary to produce maximum power when needed in the chain of events.

It is at this time in the training sequence that performance of correct repetitions begins to take hold. The relationship between the movement strength amplitude curve and the execution time decreases indicating approaching movement perfection.

Once this takes place the process is complete and the movement is performed technically correct with little to no wasted energy.

Summary:

Continual training in the techniques of your sport at the closest equivalent to perfection requires constant attention to the detailed execution of each movement pattern.

Fundamentals of special strength training in sport, Y. V. Verkhoshansky