WARRIOR STRENGTH

Is Weightilfting Dying?

2013-05-22T20:24:00.000-07:00

Weightlifters love the sport, but does anyone else?

While in many ways more people than ever are learning about the Snatch and Clean and Jerk and their variations, the actual sport of Weightlifting seems to be dying. It has never had more than a cult following here in the United States, and now it sounds like world wide interest and support is waning. Below is an article by Randall Strossen, owner of Ironmind Enterprises, who probably has as good a handle on the health of weightlifting around the world as anyone. As he points out, Crossfit gyms and strength and conditioning programs are using the lifts and their variations more than ever before, yet the sport itself seems to shoot itself in the foot with corruption and lack of imagination in marketing and promotion of the sport. While more and athletes are understanding and using the lifts to develop strength and power, fewer and fewer are actually pursuing or supporting the sport itself. Ironically a few days after this article appeared, Tomas Ajan was re-elected so we can only look forward to more of the same. It is a real shame as weightlifting is a great sport, but it has had so many continuing drug issues that it has little credibility with the general public and the powers that be would rather present the image of reforming the sport than make real changes in testing and enforcement. It's especially sad because weightlifting at it's best is exciting and personifies pure athletic power. Meet promoters must make competitions more spectator friendly by using music, multi-media, good announcers who keep the crowds informed on the amount of weight and the places....etc., and venues with good seating. Most local meets (and many larger meets) lack all of the above. Most lifters are focused on their lifting and most meet directors are also coaching and mainly focused on their lifters. It makes weightlifting a kind of small and inbred group who meet one anothers needs. No one is really promoting the sport to appeal to those outside of the small lifting community. It can't continue on the same path much longer.

IWF Elections: Calling for a New Course

With the IWF elections drawing near, most of the discussion is about a change in leadership—whether citing lengthy reports, accounts in the press or personal anecdotes, plenty of serious questions have been raised about unreported funds, massive cash transactions and curious patterns in the sport’s doping control procedures.   

A lifter like Ilya Ilyin can’t help but inspire with his performances—he is fully capable of generating excitement far beyond the inner circle of the sport. It is time for weightlifting to cast off its blinders, quit doing business as usual and enter the 21st century. IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen photo.

Certainly, there is good reason to consider a substantial overhaul in terms of how the sport of weightlifting conducts business because if it were a business, it most likely already would have declared bankruptcy and some of its leaders been deposed, if not brought to trial.

Serious stuff, but let’s leave those matters to others and dwell on something that while lacking the tabloid element is an even more serious indication that things have gone seriously wrong in the sport and whoever captains the ship in the future needs to have a much different sense of where he is headed.

In short, the sport of weightlifting is dying, a relic of the last century, mired in an approach spawned in the Cold War era and one that takes its operating cues from a socialist approach to sport, rather than one based on the open market reality of the 21st century.

So, power is consolidated in the hands of a few, who rule imperially, and rather than building a sustainable enterprise that can thrive without limit in the market, we have an approach that limps along via government grants, payments for drug fines, and marking up the hotel rooms that the competitors and officials participating in major championships are required to stay in—all the while turning those contests into bloated week-long affairs aimed more at building quantity (think hotel revenue and entry fees) than quality.

Been to a major weightlifting championships lately? See any real spectators? How about the sponsors? Or the kids clamoring to get into the sport?

Instead, you’re in a large hall with the bottom third dominated by the stage and the many handfuls of officials who oversee lifting that takes place in what is virtually an empty arena—the only people in the stands are coaches, athletes and significant others.

Of course, there are exceptions, as we have seen with Pyrros Dimas in Greece or Naim Suleymanoglu in Turkey or, more broadly, for the 2011 World Championships in Paris, but generally speaking, the sport exists in a social vacuum. Why?

Is it that strength is not recognized or appreciated? Or that the snatch and clean and jerk are too obscure?

This is hardly the case because TWI was smart enough to launch a TV show, created by Barry Frank, called the World’s Strongest Man in 1977. It has a huge global viewership and continues through all these years—a fabulous success by any television standard. The world’s strongest man? Sounds like the birthright of weightlifting to me, so who was in command when a TV show waltzed away with this title? Would the CEO turn a blind eye and escape pointed questions from his board and his shareholders if the formula for Coca-Cola were stolen on his watch?

And as for the lifts themselves, consider that CrossFit, which began in a garage about a decade ago, is now a business worth in the range of US$50,000,000 and it’s projected to possibly grow tenfold. Guess what’s among its core movements? The snatch and the clean and jerk. In fact, ask people who are doing these lifts what they are doing and they’re likely to say, “CrossFit.”

Speaking with my Eurosport colleague David Goldstrom, who heads a company called Televison in Europe and first came to weightlifting in 1995, he mentioned that Eurosport alone had approximately 31,000,000 viewers during this year’s Senior European Weightlifting Championships in Tirana, Albania, which he called “very good viewing” and said “there might be another 10,000,000 from the other countries.”

Goldstrom sees this as a clear indication of the sport’s untapped potential: “There is so much more we could be doing. The sport is fast moving, it has a strong climax . . . everyone understands strength,” he said.

Cutting to the chase, I asked Goldstrom to grade the sport (giving it anything from an A to an F) in terms of making the public aware of and appreciative of it.

“C is as far as I could go,” he said. And in terms of capitalizing on its assets, Goldstrom gave the sport “a definite F.”

Goldstrom, incidentally, was quick to praise the organizers of the 2011 European Weightlifting Championships in Kazan, Russia for having done an unusually good job in terms of things like staging and facility management, and the 2011 World Weightlifting Championships in Paris, France for presenting a theater-like stage and for attracting a bigger audience than could be accommodated within the hall, day after day.

I would second those and add that what Antonio Urso and David Goldstrom brought to the 2008 Senior European Weightlifting Championships (Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy) deserves special mention for what I called “Best Staging, Best Lighting . . . The New Look of Weightlifting” (MILO, September 2008, Vol. 16, No. 2, p. 25).

Incidentally, while it’s easy to cast the marketing failures of the sport in ideological terms, there is no requirement that success must come in the form of a Harvard MBA or a shirtsleeves California entrepreneur: My first serious discussion about how weightlifting needed to do a better job of promoting itself was with the Chinese coach Xiong Han Yang, and it was president of the Chinese Weightlifting Association, Ma Wenguang, who kindly agreed to send his 2004 Olympic gold medalists Shi Zhiyong and Zhang Guozheng and coach Chen Wen Bin to the USA for an exhibition IronMind had organized at the 2005 Arnold Sports Festival, in what was the first time weightlifting was featured on the main exposition hall stage.

Whether it’s finances or drugs, the rules of the the business must be followed or sanctions should be expected. It’s also the case that businesses that do not adapt to meet the demands of the marketplace will go the way of the dinosaur and the buggy whip.

It’s time for weightlifting to clean up its act and get with the times: out with the old and in with the new.

Weightlifting Motivation

2013-05-18T08:15:00.000-07:00

A little motivation for the new week. If these don't get your blood pumping, you had better see a doctor, or a funeral director.......

An Opinion on Supplements

2013-05-13T17:09:00.001-07:00

The real unretouched truth.........

The article below reflects my experience with supplements. I take a multivitamin-mineral tablet along with some fish oil and that's about it. When I was younger and wanting to gain weight, I found protein supplements to be helpful as well. But nothing beats good food. In general, as the article states, the cost to benefit ratio with supplements is just not there. Nothing can compensate for lack of a disciplined diet and smart and consistent training.

“Fitness or Fiction: The Truth About Diet and Exercise”

by Brent Brookbush MS, PES, CES, CSCS, ACSM H/FS

Purchase your copy at Amazon.com; available in paperback, e-book, or for rent withAmazon Prime

Myth #18: Most supplements are effective, I should trust my local supplement dealer.

What You Should Know: Writing this section of the book has changed my view of supplementation from skepticism to utter dismay. There is no doubt in my mind that the supplement industry is a multi-billion dollar, bull-shit industry, with few exceptions!

So as a general rule, I steer far clear of supplementation. But, I seem to be the exception rather than the rule. Supplements are more popular than ever, and even high school athletes are hooked^{50, 143}.

What’s Wrong with Supplementation

1 Because they are marketed as a food item they are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). That means no one is policing their effectiveness, purity, claims, or potential for risk.

2 There is a general lack of unbiased third party research to support any claims made by supplement manufacturers. Most “research studies” seen in magazines and advertisements are done by the company who manufacture the product and are inherently biased. Further, case studies, including the testimonials of individuals, represents the weakest form of research.

3 Those supplements that are effective are generally far too expensive for the small effect they have on your performance. (Ex. $700 – $1000 a year for a product that may increase your performance by less than 1 percent.) Personal training and education on program design strategies give you far more bang for your buck. HMB is a great example of a product that has some effectiveness, but in the amount that has been proven effective is way too expensive for the average consumer.

4 Most supplements are so new that long term studies are not possible. There are many supplements on the market that are so new that research has yet to be done, and long-term effects cannot be investigated. These products may hold the key to untapped levels of performance, or they may have terrible long-term side-effects. Supplementation must be weighed on the basis of risk versus reward. Unless you are performing at the highest levels of competition and rely on athletic performance to pay your bills, it is hard to justify the risk and expense of supplementation, and at the highest level of competition many of these substances are banned anyway.

5 Many supplements have potentially harmful side effects when combined with other medications or certain food products. (example: ephedrine and beta blockers). The Anne Marie Capati vs. Crunch Gyms case is a tragic example. At 37 years old, Anne Marie Capati had a stroke during a training session. It is believed that a reaction between her hypertension medication and the supplement Thermadrine (containing ephedrine) is to blame.

6 Many manufacturers overstate claim, or generalize the effects of their product to include markets that will receive little benefit. An example of generalization: Gatorade is an extremely effective performance enhancer for intense endurance events lasting longer than an hour, and is effective as a recovery aid post exhausting intense exercise. Some of their advertising infers that Gatorade will enhance the performance of any activity, including pool, golf, and weight lifting. Although Gatorade is a great product, it will not enhance the performance of short duration events and lighter activity.

7 Supplements should be just that, supplements to a healthy diet. They should not be used to replace real food and good nutritional practices. If you eat garbage most of the time it is unlikely one drink, bar, or powder, is going to improve your performance. Improving your eating habits should precede any supplement considerations. A good diet is your foundation for better health, weight loss, and/or performance, supplements are minor details in comparison.

How to Pick Up Girls at the Gym

2013-05-10T08:43:00.000-07:00

A little humor is always a good thing. One of my students showed me this, even the girls in the class thought it was funny.

Coaching in the United States of America in 2013

2013-05-07T14:23:00.001-07:00

Personally, I prefer not to use physical activities as punishment, for reasons I explained in earlier posts. The long range effect of such coaching is to develop an aversion to exercise. My personal feelings about that aside, this situation is a sad one. Here in the USA teachers and coaches are under attack for the low performance of their students, yet when any effort is made to really challenge them, parents protest and work to get them fired. Administrators are spineless and cave in to the parents. Scholastic coaches have no support. This particular incident is definitely a border line issue. Personally I would not have done what these coaches did. But really, the hands on the video seem more dirty than injured. The blisters are not any worse than the scrapes that come from chopping wood, digging with a shovel, or falling on the track with your hands out. Parents are more concerned about protecting their children from any consequences than they are about their commitment to the team and individual excellence. It sounds like the kids chose to take a day off from practice to do something that they could have likely done on their own. It seems as though the majority of the team did just that and were at practice and likely at the prom as well. Parents today want excellence without commitment. They want freedom to choose, not only their actions, but the consequences. We are certainly free to make our own choices, but we also must take responsibility for the consequences that follow. The local reporters make it seem like cruel and unusual punishment. Where were they 40 years ago when my high school coaches dragged us behind their cars around a cinder track in early attempts at overspeed training? We spent hours cleaning the cinders out after we wiped out, and this didn't happen infrequently either. We were subjected to practices in full equipment in the hot sun, no water breaks, (to toughen us up) and getting slapped around when we missed assignments. Oprah and Dr. Phil would have field day interviewing us. Somehow we survived and actually feel that life is supposed to be hard sometimes. We actually came to believe that when you screw up, you take responsibility. Here in the USA in 2013, coaches are at the mercy of the kids and their parents. Offend one and you lose your job.

Four track coaches have been placed on administrative leave and asked to resign from coaching after some of their athletes were hurt during practice.

A parent, who didn’t want to be identified, said a handful of Cascade High School students were forced to do bear crawls on their track during Wednesday’s practice as punishment for missing a practice last week.The practice they missed was scheduled the day before prom. The father we spoke with said his son missed practice because he needed to pick up his tux.

A bear crawl is an athletic move where a person places their hands and feet on the ground and crawls. Their knees never touch the ground.

“I don’t know what they were thinking. I’ve been a coach and I’ve done athletics and I understand there needs to be a consequence when you miss practice. And you know, if you want to do the bear crawls, you can do 600 yards as far as I’m concerned on grass, but not on a tar track when it’s 80 degrees outside,” he said.

The father was told some students had to do more laps around the track than others.

“Apparently one coach made the decision to do it and all four coaches talked about it and it was agreed upon that that’s what they would do,” he said.

His son was taken to the ER after practice. He suffered 1st and 2nd degree burns on his hands after being forced to go around the track twice.

“I think (in) this situation, people weren’t thinking well. People make mistakes, but they sure need to live up to their mistakes,” he said.

The father of the track athlete would like to speak with the coaches.

“I just hope that these coaches will see that there’s a line there when it comes to your authority over these students. (I hope the students) will see that, you know, if you think something is wrong, if you think you are being asked to do something that isn’t right then don’t so it,” he said.

Another parent, whose child runs for the track team, said she was surprised and angry about the punishment.

“I send my kid to school to be protected and they did this. It’s not right,” Tammy Rulfs said.

Rulfs said her daughter’s hands hurt.

“I want to see the coaches have to do what the children did,” Rulfs said.

Mill Creek Community School Corporation officials met with track parents on Thursday afternoon. Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Jill Jay said they are investigating the incident. In a statement she said:

“Last night we became aware of an incident involving the boys’ and girls’ high school track team and inappropriate conduct by the team coaches. We immediately began an investigation and interviewed those involved. In addition, our office contacted the Indiana Department of Child Services. We sincerely apologize to the parents and assure them we do not condone, nor will we tolerate this type of behavior from our school employees. We have requested that all four coaches resign from their coaching positions and they have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.”

The Life of a Chinese Weightlifter, Zhang Guozheng

2013-05-03T04:27:00.002-07:00

This video takes 25 minutes to watch, but is a fascinating look at the life of a Chinese weightlifter and gives insight into what it takes to compete at a world class level. Also what life is like for an athlete in a communist regime.

Ultimate Stupidity

2013-04-29T17:39:00.000-07:00

Something about this just doesn't look right!

This article appeared in the Arizona Republic newspaper this week. Arizona is famous for it's extreme right wing views, but this is so far right that it's left, in my opinion. How ironic that the anti government involvement people want to regulate a community's right to provide recreational and fitness facilities to it's citizens. They don't do much for their "out of touch" image when they propose closing down public facilities in order to deflect competition from for-profit commercial gyms. Only in Arizona.
Communities all over the world have been providing facilities and encouraging public involvement for their own health and fitness for centuries. What are these people thinking? Someone's brother-in-law must own a Planet Fitness in the area.

By Parker LeavittThe Republic | azcentral.comTue Apr 16, 2013 11:07 PM

The Goldwater Institute is demanding that Gilbert cease operations at its popular Freestone Recreation Center over concerns that the $11 million public facility violates state law and unfairly competes with private fitness centers.

Goldwater attorney Taylor Earl said the conservative think tank hopes to send a message across the state that compels governments “to stay within their constitutional bounds,” something the group believes Gilbert has overstepped in building the public fitness center.

The dispute will be closely watched by other Arizona cities and towns, especially Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa and Tempe, all of which have similar recreational facilities.

Freestone opened in 2002 with basketball and racquetball courts, exercise equipment, saunas and a 40-foot rock-climbing wall. Daily admission costs $4 for an adult Gilbert resident and $6 for a non-resident.

The town estimates that the center has 236,000 visitors annually.

In a letter to Gilbert Mayor John Lewis in November, Earl contends the recreation center provides services beyond the scope allowed by state statute and is therefore “unauthorized and illegal.”

Though Freestone is now nearly 11 years old, a local gym owner complained to the Goldwater Institute last year, prompting the group’s recent legal challenge, Earl said. He refused to identify the owner but said it was a gym in Gilbert.

“Private health clubs in the area have not only been forced to fund their competition through taxation, but they cannot compete with Freestone on equal footing,” Earl argues in his letter to the town.

Goldwater has asked Gilbert either to shutter the recreation center or to sell it to a private company. The town should also order a legal audit of its Parks and Recreation Department to look for other facilities it may not have the legal authority to operate, Earl said.

Gilbert’s Freestone center is not unique in the Valley. There are several other facilities that also provide exercise equipment, sport courts and rock climbing to the general public.

Mesa’s Red Mountain Multigenerational Center, for example, offers cardio machines, volleyball, rock climbing and massage therapy. Admission prices are similar to those at Freestone.

Scottsdale and Phoenix offer multiple public fitness centers, and Tempe’s Kiwanis Recreation Center includes a gym, batting range and wave pool.

Goldwater says Gilbert is different because the town does not have a voter-approved charter that broadly defines its powers. Instead, the town derives authority from state statute, giving it limited powers, Goldwater says.

Ken Strobeck, executive director of the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, said cities and towns for the most part have the same powers whether they have adopted a charter.

City charters historically were more meaningful, but the Legislature in recent years has granted more authority to “general law” cities, which don’t have a charter, Strobeck said. It’s been 20 years since the last city charter was adopted, he added.

There are 19 charter cities in Arizona, according to the league. Among Phoenix-area municipalities with more than 50,000 residents, only Gilbert and Surprise remain without charters.

Still, those communities have the right to develop parks, league general counsel William Bock said. If Goldwater is trying to draw the line on what type of park is allowed, it is “splitting hairs too much,” Bock said.

Earl said the Goldwater Institute hopes Gilbert will voluntarily comply with its demand but hinted at possible litigation if the town refuses.

If the issue ends up in court, Earl said, the case could exceed the scope and significance of the high-profile CityNorth case, in which Goldwater challenged Phoenix’s $97 million incentive deal for the mixed-use development.

Strobeck agreed that the case would be significant for municipalities but thinks that it is unlikely that a court would issue a ruling that requires cities to receive permission from the state Legislature for every activity.

Gilbert’s contract town attorney, Susan Goodwin, dismissed Goldwater’s claims in a response she sent to the organization in December asserting the town’s right to own and operate the facility “for the general good of the public.”

Cities and towns are not restricted from competing with the private sector in providing recreation opportunities, Goodwin wrote.

In March, Earl again prodded the town on its operations at Freestone and restated his opinion that the center does not meet the definition of a park.

The Goldwater complaint came as a “big surprise” to the town, Goodwin said.

The Gilbert Town Council was scheduled to meet in executive session on Tuesday evening to discuss the Goldwater complaint. Officials are forbidden by law from divulging details of such closed-door meetings.

The makeup of the council leans to the right, and recent elections have sent staunch conservatives with “tea party” ties to Gilbert Town Hall. It remains unclear, however, if the council will be receptive to Goldwater’s demands.

Former Phoenix Mayor Paul Johnson, now a member of the centrist Grand Canyon Institute, said the Goldwater complaint is “depressing” and “out of touch.” Johnson said the argument reminds him of one made by a resident during his tenure as mayor, when Phoenix weighed funding a swimming pool.

“They said, ‘Mayor, if these kids want to swim, they ought to swim in their own backyard,’ ” Johnson recalled.

But there will always be groups of people who lack the financial means for such activities, and cutting them off from public facilities is only asking for trouble, Johnson said.

“I will make you a guarantee. You will need to hire a lot more police because, sooner or later, some of those kids will get into trouble,” Johnson said. “You are sowing the seeds of revolution. That’s something that history tells you.”

Preventing Lumbar Injuries in Rotational Striking Athletes

2013-04-24T05:36:00.000-07:00

The Hammer Throw does not require twisting of the torso, but is a rotation around the axis of the body. This requires stabilization, not increasing the range of spinal rotation.

We've posted some things in the past about the difference between rotation and twisting. Many "strength and conditioning coaches" seem to think that rotational force is developed by doing twisting movements. I would argue that twisting the spine beyond it's range of motion with additional weight is a recipe for injury. In fact, I would argue that trying to increase the range of motion beyond what the spinal discs are designed to rotate is unnecessary and deleterious. Below is an article that appeared in the April 2013 Strength and Conditioning Journal that supports this idea.

I only printed the conclusion below. I also included the references for any academic types out there. The entire article can be read on the NSCA website or in the journal. It points out that the most injurious position is when the back is rotated while in extension.

The human back is an amazing structure that allows us to do many things. My experience is that the spinal musculature is best strengthened by staying with in the normal spinal range of motion. While there are some individuals with "iron backs" who can get away with trying to stretch the spine beyond it's range of motion, most of us eventually will end up with disc herniation if we persist in chronically over stretching the spine. My best advice, and it's also backed up by research, is strengthen the supportive musculature around the spine by doing heavy overhead work, squatting and pulling movements without a belt as much as possible, along with various varieties of back raises, side bend work, abdominal work...etc. Excessive twisting and trying to stretch the spine, especially when it is in extension, causes cumulative microtruama and will eventually result in a herniated disc. Often the disc will "blowout" doing a simple movment like a pull, deadlift, or even bending over to pick up something and the athlete will think that this was the cause, when actually it was just the "straw that broke the camels back." Train smart. Think stabilizaton, not pushing the range of motion when training the low back.

Preventing Lumbar Injuries in Rotational Striking Athletes

Gillies, Aaron MS, CSCS¹; Dorgo, Sandor PhD, CSCS²

CONCLUSION

In summary, training for rotational sports involves increasing stability of the spine rather than improving mobility. Some programs indicate rotary motion with the pelvis fixed and violent rotation of the shoulders and spine, known as the “X-factor.” Developing high levels of rotary torque is not a task for the lumbar spine and abdominal musculature; it is a task for the hip and shoulder joints. Increased X-factor or angle difference between the pelvis and shoulders increases strain on the IVD as well as stress on the pars region of the vertebrae, which overtime can lead to herniated disks or stress fractures. Transferring the high levels of rotary torque from the lower body to the upper body is the task of the trunk muscles. To reduce the risk of a lumbar spine injury, these muscle systems should thus be trained as a cohesive unit rather than in isolated segments.

By progressing through a progressive training program that includes neuromuscular facilitation, endurance, strength, and power phases that improve lumbar stability during rotation, athletes can reduce the risk of lumbar injury during sport participation. Performance in rotary sport movements such as a golf swing, baseball swing, discuss throw, and hockey slap shot can benefit from the outlined program.

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Jim Thorpe, Finally Going Home

2013-04-23T07:21:00.001-07:00

Jim competing in the discus. Note the ring and the foot wear.

The story of Jim Thorpe is an amazing but sad episode in the history of American athletics. Born and raised on a reservation in Oklahoma, he won the Olympic decathlon, played pro baseball, and is a member of the NFL Hall of Fame. In fact, his statue is the first thing you see when you enter the building. He is pretty much responsible for the survival of the NFL in it's earliest days. His story and list of accomplishments are too great to recount fully here, but Google his name if you want more information. There are tons of stories about his exploits as a competitor and his amazing life.

He was stripped of his Olympic medals after it was discovered that he played baseball for money during the summer while attending the Carlisle Indian boarding school. After his death this was corrected and his medals were restored. He was a simple and unsophisticated man who was generous with his means and died penniless living in a trailer while working as a laborer. His 3rd wife sold his name and remains to a small town in Pennsylvania near Carlisle where he was sent to school so they could use it as a tourist attraction. It is really symbolic of the way so many exploited his unique talents and benefited from his innocence and good nature while he was alive. It seems that this too, is finally being corrected and his family will finally be able to return his body to his home land which is important to Native Americans.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The two surviving children of sports great Jim Thorpe won a critical ruling Friday in federal court that could clear the way for his remains to be removed from a mausoleum in the Pennsylvania town that bears his name and reinterred on American Indian land in Oklahoma.
U.S. District Judge Richard Caputo ruled in favor of sons Bill and Richard Thorpe and against Jim Thorpe borough in northeastern Pennsylvania, saying the town itself amounts to a museum under the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

The men’s lawyer, Stephen R. Ward of Tulsa, Okla., said they will now pursue the legal process to have their father, who won the decathlon and pentathlon in the 1912 Olympics, returned to Sac and Fox land in central Oklahoma.
Messages seeking comment from lawyers for the borough, and top borough officials, were not immediately returned. They could appeal Caputo’s decision.
Ward said the brothers were pleased with the decision.
“They and their brothers and other members of the family have wanted this and have worked for this for a long time,” he said. “They well remember how the wishes of the Indian members of the family were not respected concerning their father’s burial.”
After Jim Thorpe died without a will in 1953 at age 64, third wife Patricia Thorpe made a deal with two merging towns in the Poconos, Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk, to have the new town named for him. His remains have been kept for the past six decades in a borough-owned roadside memorial along the Lehigh River.
Caputo wrote that the result may seem at odds with notions of commercial or contract law.
“Congress, however, recognized larger and different concerns in such circumstances, namely, the sanctity of the Native American culture’s treatment of the remains of those of Native American ancestry,” the judge said. “It did so against a history of exploitation of Native American artifacts and remains for commercial purposes.”
Ward said Bill Thorpe, who lives in Oklahoma, and Richard, a resident of the Dallas area, have not decided whether to bury their father alongside their paternal grandfather in a cemetery in Shawnee, Okla., or at another spot in the area.
Ward said the brothers are not seeking to have the town change its name, and the judge said any concerns about the borough’s identity were misplaced.
Thorpe was born in Oklahoma and became a professional football and baseball player, as well as a Hollywood actor. The town that bears his name — which he likely never visited — has become a popular tourist destination, replete with trendy shops, historic architecture and outdoor activities connected to the mountainous region.
Ward said any tourist benefit that Thorpe’s remains may have once provided has long become nonexistent.

Competing in the Shotput.

The first NFL superstar.

Is This Cool or What?

2013-04-21T12:33:00.000-07:00

Bostonians on Saturday were exhilarated with relief at the news that the deadly marathon bomber that put their city on lockdown was finally captured. In true American style, the town celebrated getting back to normal with a good ol' Red Sox baseball game--as well as a surprise performance from another national treasure, Neil Diamond.

The legendary entertainer flew into Boston and worked up the idea all of his own accord, asking if he could serenade Fenway Park with a live performance of his classic "Sweet Caroline"--which is the unofficial anthem of the team and played during every home-game eighth inning since 2002.

The enthusiastic crowd of 35,000 burst into roars of approval when the 72-year-old Diamond walked out on the field sporting a Boston baseball cap.

"What an honor it is for me to be here today!" answered Diamond. "I bring love from the whole country."

What followed was a buoyant sing-a-long fest, with the smiling Fenway Faithful dancing, waving American flags, and chanting "U.S.A! U.S.A!"

To top off the afternoon, the Red Sox won their game against the Kansas City Royals, 4-3.

In solidarity with Boston, "Sweet Caroline" was blasted in ballparks across the nation over the weekend. The song was even played and sang in Red Sox archenemy territory, Yankee Stadium.

Another Warrior Passes On

2013-04-18T12:39:00.000-07:00

Albert Smith, a true Warrior.

We have featured these modern Warriors, the Navajo Code Talkers, in the past. These men left the reservation as young men and used their Navajo language as a code that was never broken. They functioned in the heat of battle and were integral to the success of the U.S. forces in the Pacific theater during WWII. There are but a few remaining and another passed this week. We would like honor Albert Smith with trubute written by his niece, Farina Smith. She also beautifully defines what it means to be a Warrior. Below are the links to our past posts:

http://www.haskestrength.com/2010/07/navajo-codetalkers.html

http://www.haskestrength.com/2011/12/honoring-our-warriors.html

Here is the official and historically accurate website:

http://navajocodetalkers.org/

Shibízhí Albert Smith, Navajo Code Talker begins a new journey

In Bighorse the Warrior, Tiana Bighorse defines what a “warrior” means to the Navajo:

"In Navajo, a warrior means someone who can get through the snowstorm when no one else can. In Navajo, a warrior is the one that doesn't get the flu when everyone else does- the only one walking around, making a fire for the sick, giving them medicine, feeding them food, making them strong to fight the flu. In Navajo, a warrior is the one who can use words so everyone knows they are part of the same family. In Navajo, a warrior says what is in the people's hearts. Talks about what the land means to them. Brings them together to fight for it" (xxiv).

Many people recognized my uncle Albert Smith as a warrior, because he served in World War II as a Navajo Code Talker. Many people also knew Albert as a warrior in the Navajo sense of the title. I, Farina King, did.

I can present the basic biographical information about my uncle. Albert Smith was born in December 1924 near Mariano Lake, New Mexico. He attended boarding school as a child in New Mexico. At the age of 16, he volunteered to serve in the U.S. Marines during WWII with his brother, George, providing false information about his age at the time to meet the requirements to join the military. He was selected to train as a Navajo Code Talker. He served in the 4th, 14th, and 23rd Marine Divisions. He faced combat and worked in military code operations on the Marshall Islands, Saipan, Tinian, and Iwo Jima. Smith returned to Navajo lands after his service in WWII, and then married in September 1953. He traveled abroad again for the U.S. military to Korea and left right before conflict broke out in the Korean War.

Smith continued and finished his education to become a teacher for American Indian students and worked In Oregon for some time before returning to New Mexico to settle in Gallup with his wife and their daughter, Alberta. He has been President of the Navajo Code Talkers Association and has served in other capacities in the association. He has traveled extensively to speak publicly about his experiences as a Navajo Code Talker after the code was declassified in 1968. He has participated in the making of documentaries and the writing of monographs concerning the history of the Navajo Code Talkers. He was also selected as the technical advisor for the film, Windtalkers, directed by John Woo in 2002.

At the age of 89 in the months before his passing, Smith continued to share his knowledge and experience with communities throughout the country.

What makes Albert a warrior to me in the Navajo sense is that he always fought in life for the people he loved and the land. He touched many lives after his service in WWII as a teacher and parent. Helen and Albert opened their home to many children without a place to go. They opened their home to me and re-connected me with my Navajo heritage and family. Shibízhí inspired me to pursue my dreams and passions, and to become a historian who could tell such incredible and touching stories as his own. He was the most spiritual person that I knew, reminding me that a Creator exists and cares for us his children. He taught me to respect all and our Mother Earth, and he showed me how the “mountain is our church.” The land orients us in our purposes and growth in life. I love you, Shibízhí, and I always will. I close with his own poem that he wrote in honor of his fellow veterans in World War II who passed on before him.

Rest in Peace

We are proud Americans,

Proud Navajo Marines

And, the Proud,

Humble Navajo Code Talkers.

Today as warriors

We stand before you with humility,

With honor and with pride.

These attributes, you left us to enjoy,

To care for, and to treasure.

With your passage through the shadow of death,

Came our precious Freedom, Liberty and Justice.

We survivors of these conflicts honor you,

With a special tribute;

Lend us your spiritual ears,

Drums of the ages have echoed

For you with songs and dances.

—poem by Albert Smith

His posterity will forever blessed by his example.

More Rigert

2013-04-16T14:08:00.001-07:00

Awhile ago we had a post paying tribute to the great Russian weight lifter and coach, David Rigert. I ran across this documentary clip that has english sub-titles. The translation is pretty literal but not hard to follow. It is fascinating to me. His influence on those of us who grew up weightlifting in the 60's and 70's cannot be overstated.He was, and is, a formidable figure.

Rigert on the right. You can pick out the elite lifters from the back view.

Rigert in his prime was an awe inspiring specimen!
Functional personified.

No wonder we were all inspired by him!

American Football Declining?

2013-04-12T05:09:00.002-07:00

Ziggy Ansah is living the American football dream. An African native, he has only played for a few years but is set to make some serious money in the NFL. He is a unique physical specimen and an amazing story. A the bottom is a video clip of a recent interview with him and a team mate.

I have to admit that I was surprised to see the article below a few days ago. Here in the U.S.A. the game we call football (we call the game the rest of the world calls football, soccer here) dominates the sporting landscape. The revenue generated from filling stadiums with fans each Fall along with booster donations, pretty much funds the rest of the sports at most high schools and universities. Football drives the strength and conditioning programs as the facility design, and scheduling access are determined by the desires of the football staff. Football players receive the greatest amount of recognition and rewards from society and from the schools they represent.

The article claims a large drop in participation here in our state of Arizona. I'm not sure that I have actually seen such a drop in our area, although I have to say that the quality of athlete seems to have dropped some in the last few years. I coached football for 23 years and have been out of it for about 9 years now. On some of the last teams I coached we had every player capable of a minimum 100 kg. clean. Now our local team might have two players who are able to do that. Double bodyweight squats were the norm, now they are rare. This decline is not limited to football either. The track results also show similar deterioration. I recently officiated the Discus at a varsity track meet with 20 teams and didn't even have 9 boys throw over 100 ft. The winning distance was 119 ft. This all concerns me.

While I think that maybe the increased coverage of concussions may have something to do with the decline in football participation, I fear that the major cause is lack of desire by many of our youth to do anything physically challenging. It is easier to play fantasy football on the computer than it is to prepare and practice. While our best athletes are better than ever in many ways, with improved training and nutritional knowledge and resources, the numbers who are actually taking advantage are decreasing. Here in the U.S., during the last election, much was made of the growing gap between the rich and the poor. I can see some validity in that. Well, I also see a growing gap between the few who value physical health and strength and those who think it has become obsolete in our techno world.
If you are reading this, I know which side you are on. Don't let go. The world needs Warriors more than ever.

COLLEGE PARK - When the undefeated St. Frances Academy football team prepared to play Friends School of Baltimore last October, they didn't expect to win without playing.

But that's exactly what happened when Friends was forced to forfeit after showing up with only 13 players.

"I was very surprised," said Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association Executive Director Rick Diggs of the forfeits. "I've been director for 20 years and I can't remember the last forfeit."

What happened to Friends is unusual, but not unheard of in Maryland.

Football participation in Maryland in the 2011-2012 season dropped by nearly 500 student-athletes from the previous year, a 3.5 percent drop, according to the most recent data from the National Federation of State High School Associations.

It's the largest decline the state has seen in seven years, and the third drop in four years.

The MIAA, which oversees the state's private schools, has also seen smaller schools like Friends consistently struggle to field full-sized football rosters. The Friends School forfeit was the first of two this season in the MIAA.

"You ideally want 35 kids to a roster, but there just aren't enough kids to go around," Diggs said.

To cope with the decline, some schools have begun dropping their freshman or junior varsity squads in an effort to put more players on varsity.

"If the freshman level drops, eventually it will have a larger effect on the varsity program," said A.K. Johnson, student activities coordinator for Charles County. "It will be interesting to see what happens this year."

Eric Michael, supervisor of health athletics and physical education for Washington County, said his schools have also struggled to field multiple teams recently, noting that some teams have hovered around the "20-25 mark" the last three years.

"We've always fielded three teams, but because of our smaller schools, at times it has been difficult to field a JV and freshman team," he said. "You've got to be smart about it. If our numbers are down, we're not going to put a team out there."

Athletics officials said growing parental concerns about safety in football could explain part of the drop.

In 2002, a study was published linking physical violence in football to long term brain damage known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE.

To combat the growing concern over the safety of its players, the NFL has initiated rule changes and new testing protocols to limit hits to the head and concussions. More than 2,000 former players are now suing the league for not warning them about the possible long term ramifications of football.

"The concussion thing is a concern," said John Gillis, associate director for publication and communications at the National Federation of State High School Associations. "There could be parents out there who have pulled their kids out [because of fear of concussions]."

Michael, the Washington County athletics supervisor, is one of those parents.

"I was a football player, I've been a coach and I'm a parent. And I'm not so sure about my son playing. I held him out this year because I don't want him being improperly taught at this young age."

But officials aren't pointing to safety concerns as the sole reason for the drop.

"We aren't drawing the line at concussions," said Bob Colgate, the director of sports and sports medicine at the National Federation of State High School Associations. "There are many factors our states are looking at, like consolidation between schools."

"You can hypothesize on many things," said Ned Sparks, executive director of the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association. "People not being able to afford the pay to play system because of the economy. Are students playing other sports? We're offering more sports than ever, so that could be a factor."

The decline is also evident at the sport's lowest levels. According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association, youth football experienced a nearly 20 percent drop in participation from 2008-2011, a decline second only to wrestling during that time.

Maryland high school football officials said they will wait to see data from last season before they consider taking more drastic steps to increase participation. The downward trend of participation in football is being felt more drastically in other states.

Arizona had 7,800 less high school football players in the 2011 season than the year before, about a 39 percent drop, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations. Ohio has lost approximately 16 percent of its players in the last four years, and Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota have all experienced four straight years of decline.

"2011 was probably our most substantial drop in terms of football," Colgate said. "It wasn't surprising. We've talked about this at rules committee meetings and will continue to bring it up at future meetings."

Like the NFL, the National Federation of State High School Associations has discussed making rule changes to prevent more concussions.

"If we see another sharp decline, we'll have to take a closer look at things," Colgate said.

Despite the safety concerns, there are still those who believe in high school football.

"I'm a firm believer there are certain benefits and experiences to be had by playing sports at the high school level," Gillis said. "It's part of the high school experience. There's nothing like it."

Anatomy of a Myth

2013-04-08T09:51:00.000-07:00

While this is a lengthy video, it is a good discussion of the premises of the so called "Paleo Diet". My point is not so much to discredit any particular diet, but to call attention to the tendency to make (and accept) many false claims as fact if they are presented often enough and with some semblance of authority or even nice graphics. While there is no doubt that minimizing processed foods is a great idea, trying to copy the eating habits of ancient populations can be misguided for many reasons as outlined here. Hey, I'm not even sure there was such thing as Neanderthal or Paleo men. "Scientists" find a bone or skull here and there and then try to build an entire civilization. Heck, my uncle Leroy looks exactly like a Neanderthal. If someone digs him up a few thousand years from now they'll probably think he was the norm. lol
For a common sense approach to nutrition and eating, check out Clarence Bass's website cbass.com He presents a smart and sustainable way to be healthy and strong for the entire lifespan.

700 Bench Press by High Schooler

2013-04-02T11:09:00.000-07:00

I have had several co-workers e-mail this video clip to me with comments about how awesome it is. This has appeared on several national news sites here in the U.S. This kid is still in high school. When I was his age Pat Casey had only recently broke the 600 lb. barrier wearing a wrestling singlet. A handful of men followed such as Jim Williams and Don Reinhoudt, wearing t-shirts. At that time we never dreamed that a kid our age would someday do 700 lb. while in high school. Of course we never dreamed of contraptions like bench shirts and never thought about contorting our position on the bench to be able to elevate more.
While this is certainly an unusually strong young man, how do you explain things like bench shirts, wraps, and mechanically shortened range of motion to outsiders? Let alone get into an intelligent discussion on the relevancy of the bench press to football in the first place. In my experience it is about impossible to put a lift like this into perspective for a non-lifter. This young man is certainly a prodigious bencher within the rules of the organization he is competing in. Is it making him a better football player or athlete? That is another question......

6 Rules of "Success"

2013-03-30T16:55:00.000-07:00

I've said on this website before, while Arnold is certainly inspirational in many ways, he has fallen short on what is most important; in being a real man. Nevertheless, I know we are all imperfect in our own ways and we can always learn something. Arnold gives a good speech here that I believe to be true on many levels. I can appreciate that, even while avoiding some of his mistakes, maintaining my personal honor, and making my family my highest priority.
A preamble to this speech should include an admonition to define success. If your definition is limited to fame and/or fortune your choices and motivation will be much different than if you include personal honor and a righteous posterity as a measurement.
I hope Arnold finds that real success is much more than fame or fortune. Maybe I would humbly add a 7th rule, Always be honest to yourself and in your dealings with your fellow man. Treat others as you would be treated.

Joe Weider

2013-03-26T20:17:00.000-07:00

A "doctored" photo of Joe Weider. He was never very muscular or strong. He was a promoter par excellence.

Another iron game legend passed away this week. Joe Weider passed away at the age of 93. As a young man I grew up in the midst of the "war" between Bob Hoffman and Joe Weider.
Hoffman and his York Barbell Company along with his York Barbell Club weightlifting team ruled the competitive lifting world here in the United States anyway. He published Strength and Health and Muscular Development magazines and marketed a line of supplements based in the small town of York in my native Pennsylvania.
Meanwhile Joe Weider began to build a bodybuilding empire that began in Canada, then moved to New York City, then the west coast. Joe also had his magazines. In my era it was Muscle Builder/Power, which later became Muscle and Fitness which is still going strong today. He also had an ever changing line of supplements.
Hoffman and the York Barbell Co. were pretty straight forward and marketed their products as health and character building. Lifting was promoted before bodybuilding and while York did use the physiques of their lifters such as John Grimek, Steve Stanko, Vern Weaver, and many others to market their products; the York way was to show that physical development followed performance.
Joe Weider came along and turned that world upside down. In the Weider business image was everything. He promoted bodybuilding for it's own sake and divorced it from any types of physical performance. Appearance became the only measure.
His magazines featured physique photos the likes of which were never seen before. He used lighting and angles to really show the definition and muscular separation like never before. He marketed his products with spectacular names like Super Pro 101, Mega Atomic Shakes, and Arm Blasters, He showed girls in bikinis hanging off of the bodybuilders at the beach and made muscles seem sexy. He even gave names to workout strategies such as SuperSets, Giant Sets, and Bombing and Blasting your way to muscle growth. Muscle up and make out was the theme.
Now, with the perspective of time, it's hard to say who won the "war". Weider certainly outlived Hoffman. Bob died a couple of decodes ago at the age of 85 and was senile in his waning years. The York magazines are only a memory and the barbell company is only a shadow of what it once was. They don't even make their own weights anymore and while many still hang on to their old York bars, the current line isn't used in competition anywhere. U.S. weight lifting has continued to decline and shows no signs of approaching the York dominance of by gone days.
Meanwhile Muscle and Fitness, Shape, and a long line of Weider products continue to command attention.Bodybuilding for men and women is popular around the world in many forms. I suppose if one were to measure the "success" of both companies in terms of sales and income, then Weider wins hands down. Even I have to give Weider his due for his marketing genius, but I'm not sure all of the attention is for the best so far as promoting real health and fitness.
The magazines promote an unrealistic image with the retouched photos and drug induced bodybuilders. The articles are really only thinly disguised advertisements for overpriced and marginally effective products.
A few years ago when I was actively involved in the NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association) there was a proposal by some of the board members to invite Joe Weider to the annual convention and give him an award for his contributions to the strength and conditioning field. The NSCA president at the time stated that if they did, he would cancel his membership. In the end his sentiments carried the day and Joe was never recognized by the NSCA. That pretty much sums up my opinion as well.
While he certainly brought attention and publicity to weight training and fitness, it was mostly hype and misinformation. History will now be the judge.

A typical Weider advertisement circa 1970's.

Some Cross Fit Perspective

2013-03-22T05:33:00.000-07:00

Casey Burgener is an example of a top U.S. lifter who is now involved in CrossFit.

We have addressed CrossFit on this site before. In the meantime it only keeps growing. We believe it has it's place and value. It is the for everyone, but there is definitely a place for it for those who understand and implement it wisely. We also believe that, like many fads, it is often misunderstood and misused. I don't see CrossFit dying out, like Exergenies, Nautilus, and Nordic Track....etc. But I do see it becoming more refined as the trendy wannabes are weeded out and real coaches adapt it to their athletes. Below is a good analysis by Glenn Pendlay, a top U.S. weight lifting coach and successful training entrepaneur. A lot of good weightlfiting coaches are now involved in CrossFit and it is becoming a mutually beneficial arrangement as interest and understanding of competetive lifting is growing and CrossFitters are developing better technique and more rational programs. For example, in the latest Utah state weightlifting championships there were over 90 lifters entered. The most ever and the majority were CrossFitters who were anxious to try. While some were clearly out of their league, others showed potential and all enjoyed the experience. Weightlifting in Utah has more people who are interested than ever before.

Glenn Pendlay on CrossFit

"As weightlifters, or those that use weightlifting movements in training, squat deep, and worry more about lifting more weight than about how defined our arms are (I would guess this describes most on t...his board)… what did we used to complain about?

1. No place to train with bumpers and chalk.
2. Getting hassled about dropping weight
3. “Trainers” at the local globo gym telling us squatting deep was gonna ruin our knees.
4. Girlfriends not wanting to squat because she is afraid she will get “bulky”
5. For the competitive weightlifters among us, getting asked “how much ya bench?” after telling someone you are a weightlifter.
6. Trying to explain what a snatch is to someone, usually ending with a pantomime then the words “you know, like they do in the Olympics”
7. If you ever tell someone, hey you should try it its fun, being told “oh no, I could never do that”
8. Being surrounded in any gym by folks that think eating red meat or fat is the enemy of good health or a good looking body.
9. Curls in the squat rack.
10. Pink dumbells.

So with Crossfit you get…

1. 2000 + more gyms around the country with bumpers and chalk.
2. Most Crossfitters would think you were weird if you DIDN’T drop weights.
3. They may debate where to put the bar on their backs, but they all squat deep.
4. Crossfit girls squat heavy and are proud of getting a rounder butt from it.
5. Most Crossfitters don’t bench press, they might ask you how much you squat instead.
6. Most Crossfitter’s snatch, those that dont certainly know what it is.
7. Crossfit is filled with people people who not only want to try new things, but are willing to work hard to learn and won’t be put off by falling on their butt a few times.
8. Crossfitters, as a whole seem to be proud that they not only eat meat, but are able to eat GOOD (meaning eat a LOT) and still look good because they train so hard. A couple cookouts at Crossfit boxes remain the only two times I have seen women bragging about how many ribs they ate. And not fatties. Young, in shape women.
9. Crossfitters are the ones who will make fun of YOU, if YOU do curls in the squat rack.
10. Crossfitters only use pink kettlebells.

Are their assholes in CF? I am sure their are, but off the top of my head I can’t think of many that I have met, and, there are certainly assholes in the weightlifting community also.

Are their elitists in CF? Yes, there are. But what is a common criticism of the weightlifting community? That we are elitist. And just like in CF, yeah, there are elitists among us. I don’t think its the norm, but they are there.

The fact that CF has exposed quite literally hundreds of thousands of people to weightlifting aside, do you know what I most like about Crossfit?

They appreciate what we do. I quite often find myself in front of a group of crossfitters with someone like Donny, or Jon, or Caleb demonstrating a heavy snatch or clean and jerk. And you know what, these people appreciate what they are seeing. They appreciate what it took to accomplish it, the work, the years of work, the athleticism, the strength and power. The years of pain, the sacrifice. And for these lifters, there is finally a community, a rather large one, that appreciates what they do, that admires them for it. And that is a beautiful thing. Especially when the average person watching someone do a 140kg snatch has about the same ability to appreciate it as someone who doesnt know how to play chess does to appreciate what they are seeing if they watched a Bobby Fisher chess game.

Weightlifting finally has a fan base. And it’s growing. And that is gonna open up all sorts of new opportunities for the sport.

I will leave you with one last thought. Donny Shankle has been able to drop most of his personal training clients, while finally getting the access to chiropractic, massage, etc, that was always financially tough to get when he needed it. Why is he able to work much less, rest and train more, and still financially swing all those little things that help him?

To a large extent, its been Crossfitters. Now I don’t want to ignore others who have helped, and even donated. But it’s the Crossfit boxes that are holding fund raisers for him, its the Crossfit websites that are encouraging their members to go to his blog and hit the donate button that are the most active in raising money.

You can certainly find the bad in anything. But I prefer to say the glass is half full. In this instance, maybe even 3/4 full."

Yaanibaa Collins, Lifting for Life

2013-03-19T19:23:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Yaanibaa Collins, My older (by two years) sister won the Utah State Open Weightlifting meet in the 75 kg. class. Yaani held state weightlifting records in both Arizona and Utah during her younger days. In high school she was an All-Arizona volleyball player as well as state runner-up in the discus. She graduated from BYU as an ATC (certified athletic trainer) and worked with BYU football and rugby teams. After marrying and having 3 children, she decided to compete again. We are proud of her and her commitment to a balanced life. She trains mainly in her basement when the kids are napping and her husband babysits now and then so she can visit and train with some other local lifters a few times a week. She is doing some of her best lifting ever right now. One of the neat things is that her children love to mimic her lifting with sticks. They are most likely to grow up enjoying exercise as well. Yaanibaa is a Navajo female war name the means "went to battle and returned".

Yaani starts her kids young!

Yaani and her 3 children after she pushed them up Y mountain in a stroller!

Husband Jake is a physical educator, mountain biker, and wrestling coach.

Long Live the Amazing Fred Lowe!

2013-03-16T10:04:00.001-07:00

Fred in his prime. Note the great leg development.

One of the all-time great American lifters, whom we don't hear much about, is Fred Lowe. He had an amazing career that began in the late 60's and is still going strong as a Masters competitor. Among his accomplishments are:
A 3 time Olympian, 1968, 1972, and 1976.
Also 8 national championships, 1969, 70, 72, 73, 74, 75 ,76 and a comeback in 1981.
He clean and jerked an American record of over 400 lb.(182.5 kg.) at a bodyweight of 165 lb. (75 kg.)

Below are some video clips that show him lifting in his prime and one from the 2012 American Open.

He is still amazing.

Finally there is a video containing a short interview on his backround and squatting technique for beginning athletes.

Fred was an inspiration to me as a young lifter and he still inspires me as I strive to cope with the issues of aging. He coaches and instructs many young athletes and is in demand at Cross-fit clinics.

A more recent picture of Fred.

Strength, An Endangered Species?

2013-03-12T15:59:00.000-07:00

Raw strength is a worthy goal!

Below is a good article that expresses our Haske Warrior Strength philosophy well. In today's world the value of strength seems to be minimized for more "sophisticated" qualities. Being physically strong is a good thing and worthy of an investment of time and energy. While it may be possible to live and even get rich now days by pushing buttons on a computer and never going outside or straining a muscle, such individuals never really experience the thrill of actually living life to the fullest. We are physical creatures who enjoy life the most when we are in touch with our bodies. Nothing puts us in touch with our bodies like a physical challenge. Don't let strength become endangered in your life!

There was once a time when strength ran supreme. It was the quality by which a person could be measured and judged. It was idolized and worshiped by those who coined sayings of its prominence, “Only the strong shall survive.” Without this trait there was no progress, no honor, no life. The physically strong were admired and looked to for guidance, protection, and inspiration. Civilizations were built by the strong and then torn down and burned to ashes by the stronger.

However, this time has long passed us by and physical strength is endangered. This regression did not happen overnight, rather it was a slow and gradual disease taking hold over centuries. For a long time, this trait and its followers were oblivious of the gradual decay that was taking place. They were unaware that they were slowly being hunted.

Centuries ago, we could not survive without strength. Our great ancestors knew this and placed the highest value on its development. Today, strength is treated as an outcast—unvalued and left to die. The pursuit of it is now looked upon as trite or moronic, a waste of time and energy. How easily people have forgotten what this trait has done for us. It was what kept us alive during the hunt, what protected us against enemies, what gave us confidence during turmoil. It was the primary catalyst in our progress, and we have forgotten and neglected it as if it were a stranger.

The days of hunting for our next meal and protecting our families against deadly wildlife are in the past; however, the value of physical strength remains the same. A quality so important to humanity that it cannot just vanish and be forgotten…although, there are some who wish it were that way. With every infomercial that sells the next fitness gadget, and with every workout video that claims to have reinvented the wheel, we stray further from it. The quest for strength was once pure, but now it is littered with “experts” who care nothing for its development or preservation, who only desire to piggyback off of it to make a profit. Poachers claim that the pursuit of this quality can harm us. They claim that what once kept us safe and healthy is now un-safe and detrimental.

The path to strength is more than physical, it as an all-encompassing quality. Strength is the skeleton key, opening doors that were previously locked. It teaches the values of courage, patience, and perseverance. There are still many who genuinely respect the quality of strength and all that it has done for us; however, I fear that number is dwindling.

So for those of you reading this, I ask that every time you train, you respect this trait and its qualities. When you speak of it, let your words be true and in favor of its prosper. When you see injustice towards it, speak up and defend it.

However, most of all, enjoy the journey towards this trait. Although the road forward can be treacherous, it has been built this way for a reason. Without the hardships, failures, and frustrations this path bears, the unworthy would walk along it freely. Do not stray from this road when forward progress stalls, for strength has always been an elusive trait—broad as day one moment then vanished the next. It is as if strength has developed a defense mechanism, always moving and hiding, cautious and suspicious of the intents of those who walk its road. Do not let this ever defer you from it, for many have walked it genuinely—to arrive with open arms.

Joe Amberlock (Orlandi) is an undergraduate student at Liberty University pursuing a degree in Kinesiology. Joe’s tutelage under master strength coaches Bill Gillespie and Dave Williams, along with experience working with Division 1 collegiate athletics, has allowed him to learn, apply, and share his methods to all levels of athletes. Find out more at AmberlockPerformance.com

Strengths rewards are greater than trophies, but those are nice too!

Jon Cole, R.I.P.

2013-03-07T18:33:00.001-08:00

Jon Cole getting ready to Press.

Jon Cole was one of the lifting heros of my youth. He was an amazing power athlete who excelled in a wide variety of events. Some of his marks are listed below. It is noteworthy that his olympic lifts were almost completely devoid of technique. They were basically very rough power snatches and cleans. He also was a pioneering strength and conditioning coach. One of the first in the NCAA. He was hired by legendary football coach Frank Kush at Arizona State University to make the football players stronger and faster. ASU had a reputation as one of the fastest teams in the country back then. Jon was quite an intimidating figure and he had no problems with player compliance. No one claims that Jon was "clean" when these feats were performed. His prime was well before testing for PED's. Indeed he battled alcoholism and substance addiction throughout his life. He died last week of lung failure at the age of 71.

1) Ran the 100 yard dash weighing 258 lbs in 9.9 at a sanctioned AAU event.
2) Threw a baseball 435 feet witnessed by Arizona State University Head Baseball coach.
3) Place kicked a football 68 yards witnessed by legendary Arizona State Univ Head Football coach Mr Frank Kush.
4) Owner of 62 National, American, and World Records.
*************************************************************
Track & Field Records
1) Threw the Discus 231 feet
2) Tossed the Shot Put 71' 4"
3) Threw the Javelin 241 feet

Powerlifting Records*************

1972
1) Squat 905
2) Bench Press 580
3) Deadlift 885
4) total 2370
5) First powerlifter to total over 2300 pounds
6) All lifts in powerlifting were performed raw with only ace bandages as knee wraps, an exercise belt, no power belt.

Olympic Lifting records********************

1972
1) Military Press 430
2) Snatch 340
3) Clean & Jerk 430
4) Total 1,200

Jon Cole deadlifting big. Notice the old style Adidas throwing shoes.

Day of the Dead- Last Man Standing

2013-03-04T11:55:00.000-08:00

Who is the Last Man Standing?
Hint: He is wearing a HASKESTRENGTH T-shirt and looks like Clark Kent X 2 or 3, with legs for arms.
Oliver does an easy 700 for the win. Took a big jump and narrowly missed 750, then called it day.
I'm not sure I appreciate the music, but the video is fun to watch. One lift meets are fun and a good way to celebrate strength and the Warrior Spirit.

Some More Bench Pressing Fun

2013-02-26T09:53:00.001-08:00

Just another day for Oliver. Warming up with 315......

Then on to 405......

No wonder he looks like he has four legs! Bench press is an effective upper body exercise when performed correctly without all the "gear" and hype. How often does Oliver bench? Seldom more than once a week. He also works hard on overhead strength and has a military press of 315, Push press of 160 kg and a Jerk off the rack with 200kg. THis is done training 3-4 times weekly for a little over and hour each session while working full-time, taking 6 hours of graduate school credits and being a husband and father to two boys. He proves you can lift well without revolving your life around lifting.

This is a Bench Press!

2013-02-22T09:58:00.000-08:00

Oliver Whaley does 505 with close grip wearing nothing but a T-shirt!

All you bench shirted, doped up, wide grip to shorten the range of motion wannabes, take notes!

This is how real strong men do it.

Long live the Warriors!

WARRIOR STRENGTH

Is Weightilfting Dying?

Weightlifting Motivation

An Opinion on Supplements

How to Pick Up Girls at the Gym

Coaching in the United States of America in 2013

The Life of a Chinese Weightlifter, Zhang Guozheng

Ultimate Stupidity

Preventing Lumbar Injuries in Rotational Striking Athletes

Preventing Lumbar Injuries in Rotational Striking Athletes

Gillies, Aaron MS, CSCS1; Dorgo, Sandor PhD, CSCS2

Jim Thorpe, Finally Going Home

Is This Cool or What?

Another Warrior Passes On

More Rigert

American Football Declining?

Anatomy of a Myth

700 Bench Press by High Schooler

6 Rules of "Success"

Joe Weider

Some Cross Fit Perspective

Yaanibaa Collins, Lifting for Life

Long Live the Amazing Fred Lowe!

Strength, An Endangered Species?

Jon Cole, R.I.P.

Day of the Dead- Last Man Standing

Some More Bench Pressing Fun

This is a Bench Press!

Gillies, Aaron MS, CSCS¹; Dorgo, Sandor PhD, CSCS²