Dutch Lowy

In case you have had your head stuck under a rock for the last couple weeks you would know that we are in the middle of the biggest sporting event on the planet (No, not the CF games). The World Cup 2010 in South Africa has just started the knock out rounds. The USA just lost to Ghana last night and the entire continent of Africa has lost their mind. This is huge for them! A sad day for the US but when you can’t play with the best, well, you lose…

Moving on, I wanted to talk about what i have seen in the Coaches at the cup. Despite the criticism that Diego Maradona has gotten as the national coach i really think he is one of the better coaches at the cup. Yes, everyone makes mistakes and especially if you are Argentinian you will know his faults but her are a couple reasons i like his style.

• He likes to Party… (I had to throw this one in there, just for a laugh)
• He has fun with his players and practices even when its time to be serious.
• He is passionate about what he does and it shows.
• He knows the Game.

These are just a couple of reasons i respect him as a coach.  Now Do you show the same sort of Passion when your clients/players do something great?  Is it part of the culture at your gym to get excited about something that your people have never done before (PR’s).  If not, get EXCITED!!  See how that reaction translates into the excitement of your people and keep that energy moving!

Below are some good ways to celebrate:

One more point i want to bring up just because i love this clip and can feel the love.  Everyone has their own way of expressing their passion.  Some of the best coaches on the planet aren’t always the most tactful.  They do, however; have the respect and love of their players.  I will leave you with this clip from Bobby Knight.  Please take caution if you watch it.  It is riddled with foul language.  Its also pretty harsh but you better believe it is effective.

Also, in case you haven’t noticed, its time to watch some Football (soccer)!!!!  Don’t let me down.

Here are a couple pictures i have on my desktop that i have used to show people certain positions that they are missing. I hope this helps as i feel positions are the most important thing to understand especially when coaching people in the lifts.

In this picture you can see the different styles of initial pull off the ground in the snatch. The lifter to your left has a more straight leg position with the shoulders more forward of the bar. The lifter to your right has a more upright torso and more bend in the legs. The lifter to the left is not what i teach but doesn’t mean he is wrong. In fact he is one of the better lifters in the county and his father (who lifted the same way) was one of the best in the world. The lifter on the right is what i try to get people to look like off the floor and just above the knees. Weight is shifted back in his heels, chest is more upright, bar is close to his body, and shoulders are over the bar. Both are good positions, i just prefer to teach the one on the right.

In this series, the first lifter (Natalie Burgener) is in an ideal position as she starts to explode from the jumping position. Notice how her feet are flat on the ground and shoulders are behind the bar but it is as close to her body as possible. This is Called the high hang position and is crucial for lifters to go through. This isn’t something i teach specifically as i feel that if i can get someone into the previous position in the first picture and stay back in the heels then this position is naturally found during the lift.
The second picture in this series is a dear friend of mine (Jordan Morchat, head trainer at Black Box S&C/Crossfit ATM). I was showing her position compared to Natalies and i think she got it. I actually have this same problem where we let the bar forward and rush into the high hang position. As you can see it pulls her into her toes early and allows the bar to drift away from her. You can also see that her shoulders are still over the bar when, in fact, they should be behind the bar and her feet should be flat.
Can you see how nice and balanced Natalie looks compared to Jordan? Jordan will be there soon!!

This last picture shows the ideal position in the dip portion of the jerk. This is something i see people miss all the time. The dip is not a squat. You do not push your butt back as you do in the squat. Notice the knees out, feet flat on the ground and butt going straight down between the heels. If the bar travels forward at ALL this will be an impossible lift to make.

As a coach these are some of the position i look for. You have to have a good eye to be able to see missed positions or at least have a good camera to slow it down a bit. I encourage everyone both lifters and coaches to video lifts so both can see good and bad things about each lift. Since i train alone (without a coach present) i take plenty of video to send out to powers stronger than me. This is very helpful for me to both see faults and get quality feedback. Don’t have a coach?
Get one Here!!!

It hasn’t been brought up yet but i was thinking about this the other day.  If it was possible to have a legit, if not NICE, training center (gym) and not charge anyone i would be the first to do it.  I have this strange desire to help people accomplish things they never thought possible.  It brings me joy.

So WHY do i charge people to train with me?  Well its kinda simple and kinda complex.

First of all its rare to find people that will actually listen to you when they don’t have anything invested in the situation.   My previous life as an unknown trainer brought this up alot.  What makes this 25 yr old college punk so knowledgeable?  Why should i listen to him.  In the off chance that i got  complete stranger to train with me (people usually came from referrals) it usually took a couple months to build a solid reputation.  Strangely enough the fantastic coach that is running Black Box S&C/CF ATM in college station was a complete stranger (her husband wandered in one day and just never left, then he brought his wife in).

I now understand that it takes a little time to EARN peoples trust and prove to them that you are a legit coach and usually more importantly a legit person.  Initially there needs to be some sort of exchange.  If i could take something different from everyone that held value to them ( i did this in the old days and thats why i have some of the things i have now, i still ride my bike, thanks Drew) i would but i would also have tons of crap that meant little to me.

Money has a strange effect in that there is a number that everyone has where they absolutely will not waste it.  For some its $50, for some its $500 and others its $5000.  I took an online course a couple weeks ago that was 8 weeks and cost $1500.  I did everything in my power to participate in every online discussion and lesson.  Even though i was on the road quite a bit, i still forced myself to make time.  I remember coming back to my hotel room from a bar and then going back to the bar…

By charging people i place value on myself and the commitment of clients.  I understand that the only thing bringing some people back for the first couple months is their financial commitment.  They think, just like i do, “I paid x for this training so it better work and i’m not gonna just throw the money away.”  Those that don’t show usually didn’t have enough of a commitment and thats my fault as much as theirs.  I have actually increased the price of training on clients that would cancel frequently.

Anyway, i hope this makes sense to some of you, both coaches and clients.  Bottom line is that i would do this for free, but its unlikely that most people would initially.  Its also highly unlikely that a landlord would go for that…

Recently i have been doing some reading about exercise Physiology and what makes people strong.  Why is someone that weighs the same as me able to lift twice as much?

Ok, Maybe not twice but 60kg more is fucking impressive. Sorry for the repeat on this video its just such a great once!
Technique plays a roll but i think there is more, and here is the basic sciency stuff that i will try to simplify for you.

Basically if you are a certain height, and a certain body fat percentage, you will have the same muscle mass as someone else with the same measurements.  Just as a starting point we will use myself and olympic caliber weightlifters in my weight class (69 kg).  I lift a fraction of what they do.  Literally a fraction.  Just from looking at pictures i would say we have generally the same build.  Short and stocky.  So why are they able to lift so much more?

Well, here is my take on it.  Its more about activation than muscle mass.  So for those of you that think getting stronger means getting bigger, listen closely.  Currently i know that i am not using my muscle mass to its full potential.  generally it is accepted that the beginning lifter will see great gains as their neurological system adapts to the demands placed on it by the increased load.  You do move more weight but its not due to your muscles growing bigger or stronger, its due to your neurological system firing faster, and in sync with each other.  The more advanced lifter will develop a more efficient system that will allow bigger neurons to fire earlier and therefore lift more weight with less effort.

The development of this efficiency takes years.  Once you have activated these pathways, it takes less energy to recruit them in the future and thats how you get stronger.  I also believe that this is why the guy that lifted a lot in high school or college can still walk in the gym and out lift most new lifters.  I have heard of people waling into a gym, having not lifted in 10 years, and snatching 150+.  I can say my experience has been similar.  I snatched 95 only 3 months after a broken collar bone and literally didn’t train for at least 2 of those months.  Once i got the patterns back it was not a problem to handle the weight.

This theory presents a huge issue for those of you that take a randomized approach to strength training (CF.com style programming).  How are you supposed to recruit new motor units or neurons and actually get stronger if you never give yourself the chance to develop these pathways?