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CENTRAL STRENGTH NEWS
| Vol. 2, Ed. 3 |
Monday, October 16, 2006 |
Rakkasan Raiders
Goal-Setting: Commitment
This is a story about a guy who had a goal, and there was nothing
that could stop him from reaching it. Private Frazier, like his father
and grandfather before him, wanted nothing more that to be an
infantryman in the U.S. Army. For nearly 6 months Frazier pushed
himself harder than he had ever dreamed of. He was learning the
art of warfare and excelling in it. He quickly became a leader among
his platoon. Out on a run one morning Frazier felt his hip pop and
pain shot down his leg. He found out that he had degenerative bone
disease and his hips were literally disintegrating. Frazier was told
that he would be kicked our of the military prior to graduation.
Frazier begged the Drill Sergeants to let him finish, even though he
could not officially graduate. Two weeks later Frazier had one
challenge left, a 25-mile road march. One mile 17 Frazier's right
hip splintered. With help from his teammates he limped on 1 leg
and tried to keep the grueling pace. During mile 22 his left hip went
due to the added pressure. We carried Frazier the last 3 miles. The
next day he was on a plane , dreams crushed, but he had completed
his training. When the bumps & bruises of a long season get you
down, remember Private Frazier. Are you willing to push yourself?
Hartshorn's Hallow
PAL Mechanics Part II: Lateral Speed and Change of Direction
Although linear speed is important, almost every sport relies much more heavily on lateral
speed and change of direction. We use the same PAL acronym when teaching lateral speed
& agility mechanics. Lateral PAL stands for: Push, Athletic Base, and Low center of gravity. You
have to Push off your outside leg at all times. If you try to pull with the inside foot you cannot
stop and go the other direction or you will fall on your face. Also, if you are pulling with your inside
foot then it is impossible to maintain an Athletic base because your feet are too close together.
Maintaining an athletic base simply means that you need to have your feet about shoulder width
apart, hips low and torso upright. It is extremely important that your feet do not come any closer
that shoulder width. Maintaining a Low center of gravity is accomplished by keeping your hips low.
This makes changing direction easier and helps to maintain balance. Just like if you were going to
tip over two refrigerators of the same weight, it is easier to tip over a 7ft tall one than it is to tip over a
4 ft tall one. Attention to details and proper mechanics can drastically increase your performance.
Central Nutrition
The Importance of Hydration
The following are 21 foods that should make up the bulk of anyone's
food intake. It was taken from Dr. John Berardi, one of the leading sports nutritionists in
the field today. Here they are:
| 1. Lean red meat |
11. Mixed Beans |
| 2. Salmon |
12. Quinoa |
| 3. Omega-3 Eggs |
13. Whole Oats |
| 4. Low fat, plain yogurt |
14. Mixed Nuts |
| 5. Protein supplements |
15. Avocados |
| 6. Spinach |
16. Extra Virgin Olive Oil |
| 7. Tomatoes |
17. Fish Oil |
| 8. Cruciferous Vegetables |
18. Flax Seeds (ground) |
| *broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower |
19. Green Tea |
| 9. Mixed Berries |
20. Liquid Exercise Drinks |
| 10. Oranges |
21. Greens+ supplement |
Add these to your diet and records will be sure to fall!
Foundations of the Haus
The Hang Clean
Explosive power is vital. There are many ways to develop this explosive power and we feel that one
of the best ways is with variations of Olympic lifts, which include the hang clean. There are four basic
positions of the hang clean; the start position, power position, triple extension and the front squat
catch. In a good start position the athlete's feet should be directly under the hips, knees slightly
bent, hands in your pockets and your chest out with your shoulder blades pulled back tightly. Now,
to move into the power position, simply push your hips back sliding the bar down the thighs to the
top of the knee with your chest over the bar. From this position we move into the triple extension of
the ankle, knee and hip. This can be simplified to the athlete by telling them to jump and shrug. The
force you apply against the ground with your feet will cause the bar to travel up your body. As the bar
travels you will drop into your front squat catch position. When we drop our hips to catch we want to
be in an athletic position with the feet flat; basically a quarter squat with the elbows parallel to the floor.
The most common errors of the hang clean are two-fold. One, the athlete bends the knees instead
of pushing the hips back. Two, the athlete bends at the elbow while in the power position. If we do
this, any force that is generated with our lower body will dissipate. The elbows must remained locked.
Explosive hip power is vital in every sport. Remember, knowledge isn't power, applied knowledge is power!
Final Thoughts
There is power in numbers. This is true in about any facet in life. We constantly see different types of
people coming to train. Some train by themselves, others train with a 2-5 of people while others train
in large packs. It has been our observation that the bigger the group the more intense the training
environment. Training environments are addictive and we all feed off the energy in the room.
The bottom line is that you can see more in your teammate/training partner than you can see in
yourself. We all need other people to challenge and motivate us and they need you as well. Don't
just settle for nonchalant lifting environments. Train together and Win.
"Adversity causes some men to break and others to break records"
central strength training: Redefined
A special thanks to Coaches Tim Bates, Tom Hartshorn, & Joe
Niehaus for their great contributions to the newsletter.
Contact
information
Jake Anderson, CSCS
Central College Strength and Conditioning Coordinator
812 University
Campus
Box 6600
Pella, Iowa 50219
(641) 628-7695
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