Nick Newman discusses his first encounter with a very interesting training approach : assisted jump training. From the blog :

Assisted Jump training enables the athlete to perform high intensity jumping exercises while at a reduced body weight. Under these conditions the athlete can produce greater take off velocities than what would normally be possible.

Nice one.

Pop over and say hi to grip and DIY equipment enthusiast - and I suspect, Ministry fan - the enigmatic flagmonkey.

Before Bill Murray got all serious, sad, and Oscar-worthy, he made Groundhog Day. If you remember, he played an arrogant weatherman for a local news station. He also referred to himself as "The talent".
While stranded in a small town, one of the locals mentions something about the weather. Murray embarks on a lengthy, scientific speech about cold and hot fronts, longitudes and latitudes, et cetera. When he finishes the lecture, he says:

"Now, did you really want to talk about the weather, or were you just making chitchat?"

I thought I wanted to learn about anatomy - I was just making chitchat.

Anyone who lifts weights or works out or ages will eventually get injured. It might be a small tweak in your neck or a fractured femur. Some day, something will happen that will set you back in your training. It may not even be your fault when it happens. Our bodies are vulnerable - getting hurt is sometimes the cost of being alive.

One way to prevent injuries or recover from them is to study some anatomy. You know how to do a dumbbell curl. But do you actually know what is happening in your body when you perform the curl? I mean, do you really know? Would Socrates examine you and say that you know or would he start questioning you your knowledge?

Saying "Well, I squeeze at the top for maximum contraction and I lower it slowly because I love me that pump" doesn't count.

Frederic Delavier doesn't make chitchat in Strength Training Anatomy.


Back to that curl. In Strength Training Anatomy, Delavier demonstrates that the following muscles and mechanisms are involved in the curl...

• Flexor carpi ulnaris
• Flexor carpi radialis
• Brachialis
• Triceps brachii, long head
• Anterior deltoid
• Clavicular head
• Brachioradialis
• Extensor carpi radialis longus
• Anconeus

Turns out that when I said "I want to learn some anatomy", I was making chitchat.

It might sound daunting, but here is the good news:

The Book is 99% Pictures! Hooray!

The stereotype is that picture books are for dummies and babies. Not so. I am not a master of visualizing complex medical terminologies on the fly and I don't feel bad about it.

Off the top of your head, maybe you can't think of just how to ensure that your clavicular head doesn't screw up your curls. I certainly can't. We don't have to.

A great collection of pinch lifts from Adam, kicking off with a brilliant custom pinch bar from Ryan. Nice work.

Strongman Matt Brouse definitely has his own way of looking at the world. For starters, check out his review of the Michigan Grip Championships '09. Good stuff.

Adam demonstrates the Reverse, Double Underhand and Double Overhand methods of bending. Nice one.

Ross Enamait shows a home-made Tornado Ball in action. Good stuff.

For a solid dose of Strongman training, check out the team at Sniper Performance. Good stuff.

You know you should be eating more fresh fruits and vegetables and eating lean-protein rich foods for health, but where do you find the time to prepare them? Our modern fast-paced lifestyles can make it seem like an ominous endeavor to get nourishing and delicious meals on the table on a daily basis. The biggest stumbling block is not having healthy food on hand when hunger strikes. One solution is to shop, chop, prep, and cook food in advance of meals, before you're ready to reach for whatever processed, packaged, and preserved food is within easy reach. To get a running start for the week, set aside a four-hour block of time on Saturday or Sunday. You're not going to make a week's worth of food in one afternoon--the food wouldn't be fresh, flavorful, or nutritious. (Although salad dressings, marinades, toasted nuts, salsa, chutney, and barbecue sauces will keep for two weeks, most other foods will not. Your goal: turn your refrigerator into a healthy salad bar and deli and set up for the first half to three-quarters of the week. With a head start, it won't take as much effort to keep the food flowing.

1. Shop ahead

   To eat produce-dominated meals three times a day, you must purchase copious quantities of vegetables and fruits. You'll want to fill every nook and cranny with fresh produce, and restock as your supply dwindles. If your refrigerator is amply stocked with fresh foods, you're more apt to eat them than processed foods.

2. Chop ahead

   Wash, dry, and chop an assortment of colorful vegetables for steaming, stir frying, simmering, sauteing, parboiling, or tossing into salads. Don't chop every vegetable in the house, just enough for three or four days, then repeat.

3. Quit canning...but use jars

   Canning calls for excessive salt and leads to significant nutrient losses. But don't toss those jars--they're perfect for storing chopped raw or parboiled vegetables, salad dressings, sauces, marinades, raw or toasted nuts, seeds, shredded coconut, melon or pineapple cubes, broth and stock in the fridge, and for shelving dried herbs, spices, fruits, vegetables, and baking supplies.
   SIDE BAR: What's so great about glass jars? (1) They're non-toxic and won't off-gas chemicals or leach carcinogenic phthalates (plasticizers) and xenoestrogens into your food; (2) won't retain residual flavors or odors from previously stored foods; (3) are easy to line up in the refrigerator and pantry; (4) allow you to see what's inside at a glance; (5) grab your attention, inviting you to eat more colorful foods, particularly produce prepped ahead (6) are inexpensive, durable, and (7) an ecological alternative to plastic.

4. Label, label, label

   Attach small squares of paper with rubber bands or use masking tape and indelible markers to note contents and date perishable items so you don't keep foods around past their prime.

5. Spin-off

   

   Bacon, Eggs & Greens.
   Make salads a daily do. Rinse greens in a bowl, drain, whirl dry in a salad spinner, then stash the container on the top shelf of the fridge. (Place a cotton placemat or dish towel underneath to absorb moisture if your spinner has openings on the bottom.) For a split second salad, slice or tear lettuce leaves unless the leaves are small. Top with colorful raw, roasted, grilled, parboiled, or steamed vegetables, garnish or dress, and serve. For one-dish dining, add sliced, diced, or flaked fish, poultry, or meat.

Laree notes the superb Back to Form Fitness, Keith Scott's online home. A great read.