Small things that we do actually add up to make us better or worst. These manifests as strange phenomenons in gyms. I am a Strength and Conditioning coach, not a sports scientist so my observations in the gym where I work all day would not survive the rigid scrutiny of the people who come from the planet of the lab, or from the guys whose last names are hard to pronounce. I can’t spell it either but it’s something MS in PhD or something.
- You see, a lot of guys, not necessarily men, are attracted by the gravitational pull of the bench press. They exert a lot of effort in this exercise. Observe a subject male specimen perform what seems like maximum effort. Then watch as an attractive female walks by. The male subject would add more plates to his bench press. The size and weight of the plates are directly proportional to the curvaceousness of the girl’s hips multiplied by the the revealing factor of the tightness of the female’s yoga pants. Then the male subject would perform the bench press but the range of motion is reduced by a big factor. This factor can be determined by subtracting the male subject’s actual ability to his ego. The bigger the ego, the more plates but the shallower the movement. In short, don’t train like a fool. Train don’t just exercise. And train so you get better at something useful.
- Adonis is alive. Due to the undulations of the Earth’s rotation caused by increasing rate of the unnecessary bashing of the 25 lb dumbell on gym floors, a wormhole has opened in our world and a vortex opens up once in awhile. Guess where it opens: right in front of the full length wall mirror in the gym just in front of the dumbell rack. You can usually observe Adonis doing dumbell biceps curls or ez-bar biceps curls. Once in awhile, he is mistakenly teleported to another planet- that of the Squat Cage. Chaos ensures when the tribe of the Squat see Adonis biceps curling their sacred Olympic bar in front of the Squat Cage.
- Have you ever heard of eccentric contraction on the last rep? No? well, it is because it is now an endangered specie. Lifting a load requires your muscle fibers to shorten as myosin pulls the actin filaments closer. Lifting is not complete since what comes up must come down. So the myosin releases the actin filaments, supposedly still under control. This type of contraction, called eccentric contraction, can actually resist a higher load than concentric contraction. Yet, it has become a fad in gyms, for people to simply drop the barbell, dumbell, or whatever they are lifting, to the floor after the last concentric contraction. Their reason behind is mostly ego related- to make a loud smashing sound so as to attract attention. But as per my unscientific observation, the last, and probably the most important bit of the set, has been wasted. It could have been a chance to be still under control even when you are t
he most tired in that set. Keep repeating- being in control of yourself even when you are at your worst, and it manifests in your life. You would learn how to persist when things are at their hardest until you achieve your goal. Do the opposite- letting go of your discipline and self control when you feel a slight discomfort- and it also manifests in your life: you will lack any discipline to push yourself when you are out of your comfort zone.
A noisy can is an empty can. It is also true in the gym. Some trainers seem to know it all and would comments on clients of other trainers or athletes being trained by other Strength coaches. Yet they themselves do not know how to lift. Their clients, or athletes for Strength coaches, also do not know how to lift properly and have not made substantial improvement but they keep on talking and talking as if they know everything. What is interesting is that they can fool a lot of people. That is because people tend to believe somebody who is talkative and assertive while knowledgeable individuals tend to hesitate to mouth around quickly since they analyze and put things to perspective first before giving comments. The lesson here is, if you are going to choose your Strength coach or trainer, observe him or her first, and observe his or her athletes or clients. Be careful when asking for comments since those making comments may have been fooled too. And talk less, do more.
People go to the gym to train and/or to make up for some insecurities. The gym is a place where a person can make his or her mind and body better. But it can also be a place where the body may start to look better but the mind degenerates into self-centeredness. So instead of training primarily to feed the ego, train to discipline your mind and your body. Simple good manners and gestures count a lot. Train Better! Live Better!
valstrengthtraining 