[dwagman]

[b]Quote from dinoman on February 25, 2013, 15:21[/b]

There really is not much on the internet covering proper evaluation of lifting bars. And what is available – is heavy in propoganda as its from bar manufacturers. There’s some info in discussion forums – but much of that is BS.

Hey, that sounds just like all of the training and nutrition advise you get from all of these self-proclaimed gurus and supplement companies.

Al, thank you for bringing the science of statics and dynamics into your presentation. Regardless of whether we’re talking about barbells or how a muscle adapts to training stressors and supplements, science is the answer not hype, myth, personal opinion, and conjecture.

Dan

—
Dan

For Body Intellect Brochure click here: https://www.icloud.com/keynote/0fcsokZWooW_1B1uZmL1AI5fA#BI-DW

Those who are enamored of practice without science
are like a pilot who goes onto a ship without rudder or
compass and never has any certainty to where he is going.
Leonardo Da Vinci; 1452-1519

[dwagman]

James, the first thing that comes to mind about mini-gym is…HYPE. Whenever a company presents their product in such a way, I personally get turned off and question their product and marketing approach. But that’s personal opinion.

From a factual perspective, I have to wonder if their machines are truly isokinetic. One of the factors to consider is whether resistance remains the same regardless of speed of movement. You’d need fancy biomechanical machinery to find out for sure. The company doesn’t talk about that. The company does talk about isokinetics, ranges of motion, etc., but make errors and (naturally) leaves out those points that speak against isokinetic training.

So what’s the bottom line? Well, that, like any other athletic pursuit, depends on your goals. That’s the most critical question that any athlete/coach needs to answer with specificity and not just with “I wanna get faster,” I wanna get stronger,” “I wanna get bigger.” So, do you just want to enjoy yourself by doing something different and by using a different piece of equipment? Well, then, go for it.

On the other hand, if you want to increase your maximal strength for one repetition for all-round lifts, you’d be wasting your money…and training time…on a training approach that won’t help you reach your goals.

Hope this helps. And by the looks of it, since you have that 3″ plank, what else do you really need anyway? LOL

-d

—
Dan

For Body Intellect Brochure click here: https://www.icloud.com/keynote/0fcsokZWooW_1B1uZmL1AI5fA#BI-DW

Those who are enamored of practice without science
are like a pilot who goes onto a ship without rudder or
compass and never has any certainty to where he is going.
Leonardo Da Vinci; 1452-1519

[dwagman]

Hey James, glad you liked the story. I have no idea how much fingerboards go for these days. But you don’t have to buy one as you can make your own. Do an Online search for homemade fingerboard, etc. Check this out:

http://sportales.com/sports/how-to-make-a-fingerboard-or-hangboard-for-forearm-stength-training/

That approach requires some fancy tools. Another approach is to just buy a hard wood backing plate and upon it you bolt with a countersink different sized blocks of wood from which you can get a good grip, down to only 2 links of fingers, down to one link. Then you attach that board wherever and however you like. If you don’t mind spending a little more, then you can go to a climbing/bouldering website and buy just a few holds the size you want and attach them to whatever you like.

I think that this sort of training can be an important adjunct to lifters who are into finger lifts and grip strength and want to change things up a bit. It’ll certainly add to the overall development of hand and finger strength. But it’s also kinda like comparing a pullup to a pulldown; similar but not the same.

-d

—
Dan

For Body Intellect Brochure click here: https://www.icloud.com/keynote/0fcsokZWooW_1B1uZmL1AI5fA#BI-DW

Those who are enamored of practice without science
are like a pilot who goes onto a ship without rudder or
compass and never has any certainty to where he is going.
Leonardo Da Vinci; 1452-1519

[dwagman]

OK, I see what you mean now. Yeah, those are somewhat “isokinetic,” though nowhere near the sophistication of the machines used in exercise science research. With that, I don’t think it appropriate to refer to them as isokinetic and doing so falls into the category of marketing hype.

As I mentioned in the earlier post, using an isokinetic approach to exercise science research holds very important benefits and is, in fact, a must depending on the research question scientists aim to answer. However, as it soooo often goes, you end up with unqualified and scientifically untrained business people, coaches, athletes, etc., seeking to cash in on research by misrepresenting the findings, over generalizing the findings, etc. And so you have these companies that claim greater gains via “accommodated resistance” or “isokinetics,” etc.

Of course researchers have looked at the gains aspect, too, and of course we covered it in past issues of JOPP. In fact, researchers at the University of Kansas (sorry Al…snicker) were one of the first to look at the concept of “accommodated resistance” and similar ideas as far back as the mid to late 90’s and found them to be ineffective in many ways as it relates to training gains, performance enhancement, etc.

Why? A bit difficult to explain in this format. Suffice to say, the human’s nervous system, musculature, lever systems, etc., are not designed to work “that way.” Gravity plays a role, too. So basically, when you do things that screw with nature (like making an exercise more difficult when it naturally becomes easier, keeping the speed of movement constant when it naturally changes throughout the range of motion, etc.), you end up on the shorter end of the stick. It’s really quite silly and exercise scientists have known that for decades. Sadly, most lifters and coaches get caught up in the hype and these myths never seem to die.

-d

—
Dan

For Body Intellect Brochure click here: https://www.icloud.com/keynote/0fcsokZWooW_1B1uZmL1AI5fA#BI-DW

Those who are enamored of practice without science
are like a pilot who goes onto a ship without rudder or
compass and never has any certainty to where he is going.
Leonardo Da Vinci; 1452-1519

[dwagman]

What’s an Isokinetic Power Rack? Isokinetic refers to the speed of movement being constant. Researchers, as an example, to test various components of muscle contraction, will do so in, as an example, an isokinetic leg extension and set it, say, at 60-degrees per second. That way all subjects perform the exercise exactly the same to eliminate many confounding variables.

Of course this isn’t the way exercises are performed in “real life” as they’re dynamic, meaning that the speed of movement changes throughout the range of motion. From a training perspective, then, doing isokinetics is of little relevance.

With that said, is there a power rack that you can set the speed of movement so that it remains constant through the range of motion? I’m only aware of Smith machines that are set up that way for research purposes.

-d

—
Dan

For Body Intellect Brochure click here: https://www.icloud.com/keynote/0fcsokZWooW_1B1uZmL1AI5fA#BI-DW

Those who are enamored of practice without science
are like a pilot who goes onto a ship without rudder or
compass and never has any certainty to where he is going.
Leonardo Da Vinci; 1452-1519

[dwagman]

Throughout my lifting “career” I never really liked weightlifting. To me, lifting a barbell overhead, albeit in two different ways, is, well, boring. So I got into powerlifting instead. But then all that silly gear got introduced and it became a test of “gear strength” as opposed to “muscle strength.” Not to mention 40+ different organizations where EVERYBODY can now claim to be a national champ and record holder. Time for a divorce!

Thank goodness for all-round. But I think it takes a “special” group of people to get into this sport. There are so many lifts that you’re bound to encounter some, or many, that’ll kick your ass. It can be real humbling. But to me, and presumably you, that’s what it’s all about.

As a next step, I think you should take your plank to 24 Hr. Fitness. LOL

Don’t forget to show us your dungeon when it’s all finished. And don’t forget to install mirrors. 🙂

-d

—
Dan

For Body Intellect Brochure click here: https://www.icloud.com/keynote/0fcsokZWooW_1B1uZmL1AI5fA#BI-DW

Those who are enamored of practice without science
are like a pilot who goes onto a ship without rudder or
compass and never has any certainty to where he is going.
Leonardo Da Vinci; 1452-1519

[dwagman]

Cool!

—
Dan

For Body Intellect Brochure click here: https://www.icloud.com/keynote/0fcsokZWooW_1B1uZmL1AI5fA#BI-DW

Those who are enamored of practice without science
are like a pilot who goes onto a ship without rudder or
compass and never has any certainty to where he is going.
Leonardo Da Vinci; 1452-1519

[dwagman]

OK guys ‘n’ gals, problem solved. Sorry about the delay. Enjoy.

-d

—
Dan

For Body Intellect Brochure click here: https://www.icloud.com/keynote/0fcsokZWooW_1B1uZmL1AI5fA#BI-DW

Those who are enamored of practice without science
are like a pilot who goes onto a ship without rudder or
compass and never has any certainty to where he is going.
Leonardo Da Vinci; 1452-1519

[dwagman]

I’ve just been made aware that there are some problems with some of the movies. We’ll work on that and I’ll let you know when we’re good to go.

-d

—
Dan

For Body Intellect Brochure click here: https://www.icloud.com/keynote/0fcsokZWooW_1B1uZmL1AI5fA#BI-DW

Those who are enamored of practice without science
are like a pilot who goes onto a ship without rudder or
compass and never has any certainty to where he is going.
Leonardo Da Vinci; 1452-1519

[dwagman]

Best Valentine’s Day weekend EVER!

Al, thanks for being my Valentine. 🙂

-d

—
Dan

For Body Intellect Brochure click here: https://www.icloud.com/keynote/0fcsokZWooW_1B1uZmL1AI5fA#BI-DW

Those who are enamored of practice without science
are like a pilot who goes onto a ship without rudder or
compass and never has any certainty to where he is going.
Leonardo Da Vinci; 1452-1519

[dwagman]

Gosh darnitt, Dinoman! I knew as soon as I hit send that the 2″ = 2″ would get me in the ass. Of course I agree that even when a bar is in fact precisely 2″, another one at the precise same diameter could still hold differences in steel that could either enhance or diminish grip strength.

Now I’ve gotta pick a fight with ET. 🙂

I hear what you’re saying about your own, personal experience. But please consider that you’re only looking at one moment in time when this injury occurred. Just because the injury occurred at a moment when you did not wear a belt, is not necessarily an indication that not wearing the belt caused the injury. Considering “who you are” and that you “always” train, I would argue that there were many things that lead up to this injury over time. I would go as far as arguing that the injury would’ve occurred with or without the belt. Here are some additional reasons for this statement…

Injuries occur due to one of, or a combination of, these reasons:

1. Doing too much too soon, e.g., you think you’re strong enough to lift 500, but you’re not (could be just at that point in time because you indeed lifted that much before), and you try it anyway.

2. You use poor technique. This need not be a deviation in technique that can be seen with the naked eye, it can constitute minute changes imperceptible to the eye, but you’ll feel it. Your back could’ve come out of neutral spine ever so slightly, rounded, and there goes your disc.

3. You’re overtrained (OT). Determining OT is rather difficult because it involves both physiology and psychology. And believe it or not, research has established that the most reliable way to determine OT is via sport psychological measures, not physical ones. What this means is that you could’ve been OT and not even know it, and the weakest link went–your disc.

So please don’t dismiss the research. Studies take all variables into account to dwindle it down to the specific things the scientists are interested in. Overall, however, it’s clear that in the long term by using a belt you’re increasing your risk of injury because you’re preventing your spine from moving and adapting in the proper way. For the vast majority of lifters, then, it’s only a matter of time. And just because there are some that don’t have problems, that’s not evidence that the belt is a good and healthy thing to use. One of my fellow paratrooper’s chute didn’t open and he screamed in like crazy…and survived. That’s not evidence against the effectiveness of a parachute when jumping out of a plane.

Now, the ergogenic aspect of a belt, well, that’s an entirely different discussion.

OK, gotta hit the Dungeon and add the finishing touches for my Valentine weekend in Kansas…LET’S GET READY TO CRAAAAAAAAAANK!!!!!

-d

—
Dan

For Body Intellect Brochure click here: https://www.icloud.com/keynote/0fcsokZWooW_1B1uZmL1AI5fA#BI-DW

Those who are enamored of practice without science
are like a pilot who goes onto a ship without rudder or
compass and never has any certainty to where he is going.
Leonardo Da Vinci; 1452-1519

[dwagman]

OK, so if I go by the rules as expressed in the USAWA Rule Book, where there is no mention about how to front load, just that it’s permitted, then every lifter would be able to choose his/her preferred combination of plates and how they’re stacked on the bar.

You sure we’ll be done by 4? LOL

-d

—
Dan

For Body Intellect Brochure click here: https://www.icloud.com/keynote/0fcsokZWooW_1B1uZmL1AI5fA#BI-DW

Those who are enamored of practice without science
are like a pilot who goes onto a ship without rudder or
compass and never has any certainty to where he is going.
Leonardo Da Vinci; 1452-1519

[dwagman]

[b]Quote from 61pwcc on February 5, 2013, 17:25[/b]
it must really suck to be on Performance Enhancing Drugs(PED). How do your know what REALLY works for a diet and/or a training program?! It must royally suck to think you’re nothing without being on ‘it’. It must constantly suck to wonder,”how much is me doing this versus what I’m taking?”. It must absolutely suck to know you’ll quit only when you’re dead or nearly so. If you DO quit, it will god awfully suck to know that training(if you resume) will NEVER be like it was.
I never have and never will envy those folks. Why would I?

That’s an interesting perspective. I wonder how that compares to using knee wraps, wrist wraps, and a belt. After all, they all artificially enhance a lifter’s performance. Bottom line, if a guy takes a shot of testosterone once a wk to get bigger and stronger, how’s that really any different than a guy who has his training partner wrap his knees so that he can squat the 500 pounds he otherwise couldn’t squat?

And there’s one more consideration governing knee wraps and a belt…they do not prevent injury. In fact, research is rather clear that the use of a belt and knee wraps can instead cause injury.

So one guy is artificially enhancing his performance by taking a drug, the other wraps up his joints. At the end of the day, the result is the same…you ain’t strong enough to lift the weight without the aid.

Dan

—
Dan

For Body Intellect Brochure click here: https://www.icloud.com/keynote/0fcsokZWooW_1B1uZmL1AI5fA#BI-DW

Those who are enamored of practice without science
are like a pilot who goes onto a ship without rudder or
compass and never has any certainty to where he is going.
Leonardo Da Vinci; 1452-1519

[dwagman]

I lost a friend from the gym to lung cancer. She was only 35 and never smoked a cigarette a day in her life. It was very sad to watch the progression of this cancer.

Art, you have my condolences.

—
Dan

For Body Intellect Brochure click here: https://www.icloud.com/keynote/0fcsokZWooW_1B1uZmL1AI5fA#BI-DW

Those who are enamored of practice without science
are like a pilot who goes onto a ship without rudder or
compass and never has any certainty to where he is going.
Leonardo Da Vinci; 1452-1519

[dwagman]

Matt’s record is listed in the USAWA record book under “Deadlift, Fulton, Ciavattone grip.” That same lift by Matt is also listed in the IAWA record book under “2-Hand Fulton” as performed on the same date.

The USAWA rules for a Ciavattone grip do not allow a hook grip and are ostensibly the same as what Randy had the lifters do. The IAWA rules for the 2-Hands Fulton are silent regarding hooking or not.

According to my pictures, and Al’s recollection (though I don’t recall Al being there and witnessing this first-hand), Matt did indeed hook his overhand grip on the Fulton bar.

Now, what 2″ bar is used seems irrelevant to me. After all, I use the Iron Mind AA in my training, it was the bar used last year at IAWA worlds, and 2″ is 2″.

The issue as I see it is:
a) What world record did Burk break? What sanction, if any, was this run under?
b) Although clearly an impressive lift, Burk’s is not comparable to what Matt did in ’01 weighing about 30 pounds less than Burk.
c) Now it turns out that there may have been a recording error in Matt’s attempt as he apparently did hook the barbell, which would mean he didn’t do a Ciavattone on a Fulton bar. With that info, if accurate, then Burk’s lift is not only impressive, but does exceed what has been done in USAWA and IAWA, but unless this meet held some sanction, it’s only an unofficial world record and should be viewed and reported as such.

—
Dan

For Body Intellect Brochure click here: https://www.icloud.com/keynote/0fcsokZWooW_1B1uZmL1AI5fA#BI-DW

Those who are enamored of practice without science
are like a pilot who goes onto a ship without rudder or
compass and never has any certainty to where he is going.
Leonardo Da Vinci; 1452-1519

[Author]

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