CENTRAL STRENGTH NEWS
Vol. 11, Ed. 6
Monday: Jan 25, 2016
Rakkasan Raiders
Science and practice of training
Fly With The Flock
Improvements
This week we will continue with our 15 laws of leadership taken from the book,
Legacy. What we will discuss today we learn from birds during their annual
migration. A flock of birds carve a graceful V across the breaking day. One bird
leads, another follows, another takes the lead, in an endless synchronized support
system, much like the peloton of professional cyclists. Ornithologists say that
flying this way is 70 percent more efficient than flying solo. If a bird falls out of
formation, it feels the wind resistance and rejoins the flock. Should one fall
behind, others stay back until it can fly again. No bird gets left behind. Successful
teams must work the same way. We will all have days during our training and
preparation where we will be challenged mentally and physically to perform and
without good teammates, we will not survive. The things in which are hardest to
achieve often take an entire team effort. There is no way to achieve your absolute
best without having the right people around you to come alongside and push you.
It is also critical to the development of the team that teammates work to uphold
each other to a high standard. This means both in public and behind closed
doors. You must become a family. Close families fly together. They fly with the
flock. Much like a spearhead, the force must move in one direction in order for it
to be effective. Everyone must be moving towards the same point, flying in
formation. Be of one mind and fly with the flock.
Whether you are a veteran in the weight room moving the most weight every time you set foot on a platform
or a first time lifter who has just smelled the weight room for the first time, there are always improvements to
be made. The key is to understand that you do not know everything. Socrates said, "True wisdom comes to
each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us." This
certainly applies to training and how each one of us approaches it. Each program across the country is
different, and to a certain degree each program is successful doing incredibly different things. While most
every program squats and benches, no program does it the same. The key is to continually assess how your
body and your attitude fits into the training program. It is amazing how one day you think you know everything
there is to know about the squat and your technique and six months down the road you are doing it
completely different. Being highly motivated and invested into the program makes all the difference in the
world. Improvements can only take place if you are willing to start over and learn how it has been successful
for others. There is a wealth of knowledge out there to explore and there's always somebody who is investing
in it. Why not you?
Central Nutrition
Caffeine
In recent years, caffeine has been widely considered a nutritional aid for athletes.
In the body, caffeine gets absorbed very quickly, is peaked about 1-2 hours after
being ingested, and anything that does not get used up is broken down by the liver
to then exit the body as waste. One study has looked at the effects caffeine has
on both endurance and short-term exercise. For endurance it found that it does
create a performance increase because of the adrenaline that is released into our
blood stream which then causes free fatty acids to be released and used by the
working muscles. This use of fat allows for our glycogen (carbohydrate) stores to
be spared for later when our muscles are fatigued, thus optimizing performance.
However, the degree to which caffeine helps is still unclear. It was also found that
caffeine can have a slight positive impact on shorter bouts of exercise. However,
in this situation, these benefits only happen for up to 5 minutes and just like with
the endurance results, have no clear degree of assistance. Caffeine and athletic
performance is a much debated subject and because there is still limited
information with specifics, all information needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
Like with anything else, the effects of caffeine on performance has the potential to
benefit athletes, but is purely based on the individual. Yet, if you are interested
and have thought about caffeine as an enhancer of your own performance, make
sure you get used to drinking it during training rather than trying it right before
competition.
THE IRON FILE
ACTIVATE YOUR GLUTES
All the muscles we train are important, but in athletics the foundation for strength and speed starts in the hips.
The most vital to explosive power and strength are the glutes. The powerhouse of the hips, the stronger your
glutes are the faster you are and the more efficient you'll be able to move. The problem with a lot of athletes
is that weak glutes are no phenomenon. From hours of sitting in the classroom during the day, your hip
flexors can become tight, which can make extending your hips (flexing your glutes) more difficult. The glutes
can become inactive due to the hip flexors being tight after prolonged periods of sitting during the day. Now
the act of sitting in class can't really be avoided because class is imperative to those that are trying to get an
education and graduate, so skipping class isn't an option. But what we can do, is we can always do some
extra glute and hip work to keep them active and strong. Before the workout and even while you are in the
dorms keep your hips loose and activated by keeping them moving. Simply doing hip pops or shoulder
bridges are effective. Before and after you lift, use the four-way hip machine. This is extremely helpful in
getting the hips warmed up and the glutes activated before a big workout. The stronger your glutes, the better
an athlete you can become. The glutes can never be to strong.
Final Thought
In 1519, Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes set sail with 11 boats filled with 600 Spanish soldiers on a
quest to conquer the Aztec empire in Mexico. The Aztecs hoarded some of the world's greatest treasure
of gold, silver, and precious jewels. But for more than 600 years, conquerors with far more resources at
their disposal had attempted to conquer the Aztecs and colonize the Yucatan Peninsula but failed every
time. But Cortes was well-aware of this fact. And for that reason he took a much different approach. Upon
landing on the coast of Mexico, Cortes did not order his men into immediate battle conquering Aztec cities.
Instead he ordered his men to BURN THE BOATS. They destroyed their 11 ships. There would be no retreatno surrender. Their only option would be to conquer the Aztecs and return victorious to Spain in Aztec
ships or die trying. Knowing they had only one option, the Spaniards did what so many had failed to do and
conquered the Aztecs, captured their treasure, and won over the land of Mexico for the Spanish empire.
great success comes from total commitment
Central Strength: ATTACK
The Central Strength News archive can be found at www.central.edu/athletics/strength/newsletters