CENTRAL STRENGTH NEWS

Vol. 2, Ed. 4

Monday, January 15, 2007

Rakkasan Raiders

Hartshorn's hallow

Five years ago I had the opportunity to take part in a special reunion.

Massage: Why we do it and how it works

At this reunion I met 2 very interesting men and they began to tell

Why do we encourage athletes to foam roll, stick massage, & use tennis balls? Yes, it does

stories about what life used to be like. There were the traditional claim

feel good but that is not the reason behind massage. We encourage massage to increase muscle

that life was much harder back then etc. After about 45 minutes of

tissue quality. Tissue quality basically refers to the knots in your muscle. By massaging our the

explaining to me all the differences between their generation and mine,

knots, the muscle will return to its normal length. We use the example of a rubber band. If you

one man paused & looked me square in the eye and asked the questi

tie a knot in the rubber band and stretch it, it will not be as long as it could be without the knot.

"but do you know what has not changed?" To that question he answer

Also, if you continue to stretch the rubber band it always breaks above or below the knot. When

"Our Will." He explained that no matter how things change from year t

you have a knot in your muscle tissue, that muscle will not be able to stretch thru its normal range

year the will of a person remains the same. You see this reunion was

and will most likely become pulled. The muscles with knots in them will not be able to function

unit reunion, past members of our brigade returned to meet young

properly and another muscle will compensate for it, this leads to misuse injuries commonly diagnosed

soldiers and these 2 men that I talked with were both experts on will.

as overuse injuries. One example is knee pain that is actually caused by poor tissue quality

Both received Medals of Honor in the Korean War. That day they

in the glutes or hip rotators. The best time to utilize massage is preworkout. Work out the knots

explained to me that everybody is capable of anything; it is just a matt

and then warm-up properly. This will ensure that your muscle tissue is ready to train effectively.

of their willingness to try. Most people run from the tough situations in

Foundations of the haus

life, but as I learned from these heroes, it is the people that get strong

Squatting to Parallel: Top 5 Reasons People Don't Squat to Parallel

when life gets tough and that have the will to succeed that can

You have all heard the 5 reasons why we squat to parallel (see issue 2/6/06) and require every athlete

accomplish anything. The will of some people is immeasurable; their

to do so. What follows are the top 5 reasons why people are "afraid" to squat to parallel and thus

actions, because of their will, can only be measured in eternity. Are

squat like 2nd grade girls. #1 The person trained under the BFS program in high school. This system

you one of these people? Are you willing?

is renowned for producing high-squatting Nancy's who claim to squat 400+lbs than they actually can.

Central Nutrition

#2 "I'm lifting to tone my body, not to gain weight." Although this one comes primarily from the female

The Power of Green Tea

population, we have heard it from a few so called "men" as well. The following comment goes out to all

Green Tea-another good food that gets a bad rep (along with broccoli,

female athletes out there, females don't possess enough testosterone needed to gain large amounts of

prunes, etc)-but can significantly help you lead a healthy lifestyle as

muscle mass. So go ahead and train hard, you will maintain your feminine physique. #3 "I can use more

well as help you to recover. Without getting too scientific, as you age

weight." Well tough nuggets! Learn how to handle weight to parallel. No one is impressed with heavy

your body becomes more and more damaged by free radicals. What

weight and poor form. #4 "It hurts to go down that far." Yep, I am sure it does because you are using

in the world is that, as Nick Mulder would say? Basically every time y

muscles that are weak for you. Make them stronger and you don't have to worry about this one.

breathe you take in oxygen. Oxygen enters the body and is metaboliz

#5 "My high school gym teacher told me it's bad for my knees." Tell your high school gym teacher to

just like everything else that enters your body. As it is metabolized

go back to school and relearn some things because he/she is wrong, again. You actually strengthen

loose electrons float around in the body causing damage to cells.

the knee joint capsule by squatting, with correct form, to parallel. Well there you have it no more

Green tea, along with other types of Antioxidants, grab a hold of those

excuses. One last thing . . . Remember knowledge isn't power, applied knowledge is power.

loose electrons thus no longer causing damage. Free radical damage

Final Thought

increases when you are stressed, exercise or age--guess what, all of

Talk is cheap. Everyone has dreams, some more than others, and everyone likes to talk about their

those apply to you guys! Green tea is one of the most powerful

dreams and goals for the upcoming season or off-season. But, when it comes down to it, and it is time

antioxidants. But, not only is it an antioxidant and thus helps you

to practice and train, not everyone is willing to do what is actually necessary to achieve their dreams.

recover, it is also thermogenic which means that it will increase your

They love to talk about how hard they "will train" or "did train" when in actuality they aren't willing to pay

overall metabolism. If you aren't drinking green tea already then now it

the price. The old saying that actions speak louder than words continues to ring truer every day. We

is time to start. Try drinking 1-3 glasses per day. Is green tea the end

live in an "easy button" world and it doesn't take a coach or a teammate too long to find out who talks

all be all? No it isn't but it is one more small piece that helps

about getting better and who actually invests and wants to get better. Ask yourself if you are willing

separate you from everyone else and that's what it is all about.

to eliminate everything that is in the way of your goal and then go and do it--stop just talking abo

leadership is what you do, not what you say

Central strength-training: Redefined

A special thanks to Coaches Tim Bates, Joe Niehaus & Tom Hartshorn for their great contributions to the newsletter.