The Mullet

Jared Allen

I feel the blog is getting a little too serious as of late, so here's a brief video today that should bring us back to normal.

Jared Allen is a freak on the football field, and this video made me laugh pretty hard, so hopefully you'll enjoy it as well.

See ya tomorrow!

MR

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Double Vision

See things twice

I was listening to an audio series a while back, and they made an interesting point about the things we achieve in life.

Here's the jist of it:  Everything we achieve in life, we see twice.  The second time is obvious, when we actually achieve that goal.

The first time, however, occurs much earlier - when we see it in our own mind for the first time.  This is a fascinating concept to me. 

How come some people can squat 1000 pounds, while others use the same weights year after year?

How can some people lose 10, 25, 50 or even 100 pounds, while others spin their wheels for months at a time without any sort of noticeable progress?

Beyond fitness, what about general life goals?  Why do some people have happy, fulfilling relationships?  Why do some people achieve financial freedom? 

Quite simply, what do these people do differently from the rest?

There's something to this concept that's not really tangible.  We can't see it, or touch it, but I feel there's a state of mind where our psyche takes hold of an idea or concept and won't let it go until we've achieved something great.

At the risk of sounding hokey, I want to remind you that it's still ok to dream a bit. 

If you could do anything with no risk of failing whatsoever, what would it be?  It could be a physical goal, a financial goal, or really anything you want to set your mind to.

Really lock in on that vision - what kind of person would you be?  How would you carry yourself?  How would you be different from who you are today?

The more realistic the image, the easier it will be to get there.

I'm interested, though - what kind of images do you all have for yourselves in the comings weeks, months, and years?

Stay strong

MR

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The Law of Repeated Exposures

The front squat

This past week, I had a ton of workouts to write.  Not only were IFAST members ready for new programs, but I also got the first batch written for my Haiti online training clients.

As I was writing them, I got to thinking about how my programming has changed over the years.  Coming from a powerlifting/sport performance background, I think I often felt that people need 3-4 different "workouts" every week.  If I did anything less, it was only because I was lazy or didn't want to write out more training days!

For intermediate and advanced lifters, you absolutely need different training days.  Not only do they need more variety from a psychological perspective, but they adapt more quickly to any kind of program you throw their way as well.

For many people, though, they need to adhere to the law of repeated exposures. 

(I'm not even really sure if this is a law or not, but hey, this is my blog so I'm making it a law today!)

A lot of my online and beginning clients don't need 3-4 specialized training days; instead, what they need are repeated exposures to exercises that are going to clean up their posture, movement and efficiency. 

They need to learn how to stabilize their core and lumbar spine.

They need dedicated strengthening work for little guys like the rotator cuff, scapulae and hip stabilizers.

They need some work to loosen up their hip flexors.  Sometimes it's the tensor fascia latae (TFL), sometimes it's the recuts femoris, and sometimes it's the psoas.  But almost everyone needs some sort of dedicated flexibility work for the anterior hip.

So not only do they need these physical qualities, but they need to be exposed to them frequently.  In this case, an A-B workout split works quite well - if I know they need a lot of work on these basic movements, why would I give them something else?  Simply for novelty?

When you're writing your next program, think about how much variety you really need to get results.  If you're a beginner or low-level intermediate, I'd put cash money on the fact that you'd benefit from adhering to the law of repeated exposures.

Stay strong

MR

PS For what it's worth, this rule applies regardless of your goals.  Whether your focus is on posture/alignment, strength, fat loss, whatever.  Basic work on basic movements can do a ton for you.

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Random Friday 1-22-10

Today, we're keeping it short and sweet.  I do have a DVD to film tomorrow, after all! :)

Here are my quick hit thoughts for the week:

- Laree Draper wrote up a fantastic review of "Assess and Correct" last week, and I'm just now getting around to posting it.  You can find the review HERE.

-  Speaking of Assess and Correct, there's been more and more great feedback coming in.  If you're still on the fence, you may want to check out the testimonials page from the site.

-  My good friend Mark Young wrote up a fantastic blog post about using EMG for exercise presecriptions.  I love Mark because he's a critical thinker, and willing to look beyond the surface to find his answers.  If you're in the field, be sure to check out his post.

EMG for Exercise Prescription

-  Finally, I did want to take a moment and thank you all for your support.  Not only have you been incredibly supportive of my site and me over the years, but for supporting my recent Haiti endeavor as well.

All in all, we raised $7,700 to help the crisis that's going on in Haiti, and it's all because of people like you! 

That's it for today folks.  Have a great weekend!

All the best

Mike

PS Go Colts!

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