Dan John: Wandering Weights, Our Epic Journey Through All Things Heavy, Issue # 4
I’m down at the Major League Baseball Winter Meetings, where I heard a phrase that deserves its own website: “Don’t trade inches for angles.” The idea here is, in performance sports trying to add a little more oomph with a higher knee, bigger step or whatever might cost you success by putting the joints (or the whole body) in the wrong position.
In throwing, we often see young throwers try to add a “wee bit more” here, and lose distance out there. That’s my history as a thrower. When I struggled, I tried to steal a faster way through the ring and I gave up the levers.
Look at your sport through this lens. We see it with guys trying to get the big hit and then miss the tackle. A batter swings for the fences, and the guy on third just watches the whiff. I’m sure there is a life lesson here, too.
My friend and DVD partner, Gray Cook, does a really nice job explaining the concept of strength. It’s well worth your time exploring this. Here’s Part One; here’s Part Two.
Back in the 1990s, Osmo Kiiha helped me with my training. At one point, he told me about the great lifter and coach Clyde Emrich, and soon I added a new hero. For inspiration, read these simple training ideas and concepts: Osmo on Clyde.
Two of my heroes in lifting were Joe Dube and Bob Bednarski. My “one lift a day” program was (and still is) based on their insights. You can see some terrible coverage of weightlifting, but watching Bednarski and Dube at their prime is always fun. Bob returned 100 days after this injury:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r52SUoqea_o
In case you were wondering, here is how it SHOULD be covered.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhApLIWDg20
I love the PBS series with Rick Steves, showing his wanderings around the earth. What I like most is his preparation. I often ask my athletes about their lists. If you don’t think this is important, when I was at Skyline College one of our sprinters forgot his shorts. This is Rick’s packing list.
I’m a big fan of Greg O’Gallagher (by way of Mike Warren Brown). To add a little variety this week, I asked him for his three best blog posts, and, well, here you go.
Eating on the road is a big issue for me and I need to get better at it.
Greg believes in lifting heavy, intermittent fasting and clear standards. I’m always looking out for smart people saying smart things, and I like the focus in his work. He followed up those post suggestions with an additional game-changer post. Enjoy.
That last blog ties in well with something from Scott Krall’s website. CEOs and elites have some qualities worth discussing. Think about this: World Class Potential.
As a bonus, we dip into the video archives again, where you can enjoy my methods of teaching the Olympic lifts. I can teach 120 people to O lift — that's 120 people at the same time. At least consider the methods before you find fault.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_igzIQDRFE
Oh, and in case you missed it (is that even possible?), Josh Hillis and I just came out with a new book. Get the details here.
Dan
DanJohn.net
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