Coming Events and Randomness

This is going to be a collective effort today - some updates and some randomness to boot. I hope you enjoy it!

- Did you know if you Google the word "Random" the pic to the right comes up on the front page? I thought it was fitting, given the holiday season....

- Still need NSCA CEU's? All Robertson Training Systems products are approved for CEU's, and if you use the discount code "NSCA" you get an additional 10% off your order!

- Speaking of the NSCA, I actually took care of my recertification last night, and it was surprisingly easy. Kudos to the NSCA for getting something right!

- We still have openings for our January 24th KB seminar with Brett Jones at I-FAST. We'll be covering the basic lifts such as swings, snatches, windmills, Turkish get-ups, etc. Cost is $175 and the seminar will run from 10 am - 5 pm. If you're interested in attending shoot me an e-mail at indyfast@gmail.com.

- I hate my laptop. It randomly turns caps lock on and won't turn it off. The only way to correct this is to open a new file and just randomly hit buttons until it stops. Other times, I'll actually hit the ultra-sensitive directional pad while typing and sponataneously erase all of what I just wrote. It's a month or two away from enduring the 5 foot drop test.

- Did I mention I can't wait until the new site is up?!?!?!?! We're in the process of migrating it now, and my web guru extraordinaire Jason Lengstorf is doing all kinds of fancy computer things to make it work. I'm glad I hired this one out!

- Last but not least, I'm doing an interview with Leigh Peele for her site next Monday. Stay tuned for details and I'll shoot you a link when it's done. And BTW, Leigh Rocks.

Have a great weekend!

MR

Random thoughts - 12/9

I can't muster up a solid performance today, so here are my random thoughts for the week.

- Everyone knows I'm a huge football fan. One of my favorite players (even though he's not a Colt) is Marion Barber of the Dallas Cowboys. If you like hard-hitting, smash-mouth football, you have to like MB3. As many have noted, the guy "runs angry."

However, has Jerry Jones lost his mind? He recently called out Barber for - wait for it - for being soft because he couldn't play with a dislocated toe and calf injury!

Now maybe it's just me, but it seems as though the ability to plant, cut and run effectively might be important for a running back in the NFL. And it also seems to me that your foot and calf are kind of important for all of these. Call me crazy, but this is one guy on the team I wouldn't want to call out in that regard.

- NSCA CEU time is rolling around again, and we offer CEU's for all of our products. Be sure to check out our products page if you need last minute CEU's for this 2008 reporting period!

- The web update is getting closer every day, and I really think you're going to enjoy the look and feel of the new site. You'll obviously have all the same great content, but we've incorporated some much needed functional changes so that you'll never have to go randomly clicking for articles/posts again!

- I'm officially out of my fantasy football league as of this past weekend. Without Barber, and Clinton Portis playing poorly, I really didn't have a shot. All well, maybe next year!

Stay strong

MR

Bill Hartman Guest Blog: Stiffness vs. Shortness

Today we have a guest blog from my business partner and physical therapist extraordinaire Bill Hartman. This is a key concept when it comes to designing more effective training programs and getting the intended response.

Enjoy!
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I think it’s important to distinguish between whether a muscle is short or if it is stiff when determining a corrective plan. Treat each case the same and only half of your clients will improve.

A short muscle lacks length. It may be that the muscle is positioned in a shortened position frequently and the muscle fibers have dropped sarcomeres in series or the connective tissues have adaptively shortened.

If you actively and/or passively stabilize the proximal attachment of the muscle and move the joint into a position to stretch the muscle, the proximal attachment will move well before reaching the end range of motion of the joint.

A stiff muscle has greater resistance to stretch. This may be due to hypertrophy or a greater quantity of connective tissues. Think of two rubber bands made of the same material, but one rubber band is wider than the other. The materials would have equal extensibility but because one has greater width, it take more force to stretch it the same length as a thinner band.

In the case of a stiff muscle, if you actively and/or passively stabilize the proximal attachment and move the joint into a position to stretch the muscle, The joint will move through it’s full range of motion without movement at the proximal attachment assuming enough force is applied to stretch the muscle.

Short muscles require repetitive, prolonged stretching to encourage creep of connective tissues and the addition of sarcomeres in series to add length.

Stiff muscles can be corrected by balancing the stiffness across a joint by strengthening their antagonists and by holding the antagonists in a shortened position as they may have been adaptively lengthened over time.

Bill
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If you'd like to learn more about the differences between stiffness and shortness, as well as ways to address each, be sure to check out the Indy Seminar DVD's. And if you need NSCA CEU's, be sure to use the "NSCA" coupon code to get 10% off your order!

Stay strong
MR