Dan John: Wandering Weights, Our Epic Journey Through All Things Heavy, Issue # 14
I find it hard to believe that Saturday Night Live is forty years old. I watched the first episode because George Carlin was on it. The first show was basically some stand-up comedy and a music act at first, with a skit or two thrown in. The Muppets were on it, too, in the beginning.
Like all things, it's sometimes hard to see where something is going by the first efforts. That’s why I am always amazed how people will start “fixing” a young kid on the first attempts at the squat or snatch. I joke that I wait until the 10,000th rep to correct things. Sure, it's a joke, but you need time to see the big issues. If you can fix it with the perfect cue, it stays. It’s like SNL’s Weekend Update: It works, it stays.
The timing of this article on habit-based training couldn’t be better. This idea, using the ticker, is one of the best self-help coaching tools I've ever seen. Get the reps in, find a community to support you, and keep track of the lessons you learn as you go.
Marc Halpern, our resident nutritionist here at the gym, has another new article on the diet and book, 5:2. He does a nice job showing how to address the issues with this approach. Fasting is a good tool, but please don’t act like you're a hero because you skipped breakfast.
On the topic of food, I thought this was not only sensible, but also a very different discussion about diet and family life. The meal plans are “clean,” too.
These ten points and this David Carr speech over at Openculture was well worth my time, and probably yours, too. I like success articles because so much of athletic and life achievements comes down to “Show Up,” to paraphrase Woody Allen. The points are easy to follow, but I especially love these two—
- Be a worker among workers. It’s more important that you fit in before you stick out.
- Follow the “Mom Rule.” Don’t do anything you couldn’t explain or justify to your mom.
If you love track and field, this site has links to every event, and great information on the throwing events. In the past year or two, the links have really improved for my beloved sport. It’s not just “warm up and jog a bit” any more.
Mike Warren Brown sent me a couple articles from Dragondoor when I was on my last trip. It’s nice to see Intervention referenced. And it's funny to see “Push, Pull, Hinge, Squat, Carry, and Groundwork” just tossed around as a given now. Like the goblet squat and the slosh pipe, everybody seems to use these concepts today, but forget the long story about how they magically appeared one day. Here are the articles Mike sent me.
One of the best things I learned from my RKC years was the “hollow rock” position. I try to explain it in my workshops, but here's someone a lot smarter and better at it:Chris Garay's Gymnastic Drills for Strength & Mobility.
Finally, I'm a big fan of Bret Contreras and I like his blog. If you can take those athletic qualities you have been developing in the gym and utilize them on the field, you have it right.
My best to you until next week. This week, by the way, we're finishing up the edit of my forthcoming book, Can You Go? I'll update you as we move along, but Laree tells me we'll see it in May. The editing is killing me, in case you were wondering—I don't like to wish my life away, but let's get this chore over with.
Keep lifting and learning.
Dan
DanJohn.net
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