Newton and Resistance Bands
On Saturday, I witnessed a young man really getting his sweat on in the gym. He was laying on his stomach on a bench, with a band looped under the frame of the bench and up over the back of his head. This band was providing the resistance for what was, at best, a clear misunderstanding of the term “chin-ups”; he was lifting his head in a nodding motion, with the apparent goal of strengthening his neck. He looked extremely silly, but he was partaking in an emerging trend in the weight room – accommodating resistance.
What is logic of these chains and bands? Read on.
April 19, 2011
Real Results – FTA Feature
Richard at Free the Animal posted a great feature about me today. Big thanks!
Below is the full version of the story I sent Richard. Enjoy!
1 comment April 19, 2011
Manic Monday: Egg Whites
Today’s post will be a bit of a doozy, so I’ll do my best to keep it short. In fact, I’ll pretty much outsource the majority of the post.
Here’s what we’ll be discussing today:
- Egg Yolks offer a superb nutritional profile.
- Cholesterol doesn’t cause heart disease.
- If you’re going to ditch half of your hard-earned eggs, make it the white part.
Simon says…Jump!
1 comment April 18, 2011
Biomechanics of Lower Back Engagement in Lifting
This one is a little dry, so feel free to skip to the conclusions. It started as a report for the Orthopaedic Biomechanics class I’m taking. It’s nothing revolutionary in the field (not even close), but I thought you all might be interested in reading it nonetheless.
While the lifting of heavy objects is daily routine for a smaller share of us than our hunter-gatherer ancestors, it can be said with certainty that each of us will eventually lift something of substantial weight. We know that poor form can result in injury – everyone has been told to bend at the knees with a straight back – but what magnitudes of forces are sustained by our bodies in these movements? Is it beneficial to bend at the knees?
Today we’ll examine the forces exerted by the back extensor muscle (lower back) and supported by the spine during heavy lifting. The movement examined is a straight-leg back extension carrying a 50lb weight with relaxed arms.
2 comments April 18, 2011
DIY Barefoot Shoes – Vans Slip-Ons
I love me some Vans Slip-Ons. Especially clean ones. As a result, I have quite a few pairs that aren’t dead, but aren’t quite fresh enough for first-line duty.
Of course, there are tons of good reasons to go barefoot. It improves running form, and a whole host of other good stuff. That’s all the time I’ll spend convincing you to ditch the standard shoes, because most of you are probably already on board here.
For my barefooting, I love Vibram Five-Fingers. As a result, I get funny looks from everyone.
The solution? Make an old pair of slip-ons feel like VFFs.
Click ahead for pics.
3 comments April 16, 2011
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