Full Contact Friday #2 led off with a rescue puppy picture. For Full Contact Friday #3 we went with kitties.
Today we are bringing together a collection of tips, posts, and videos, from folks that believe improvements in physical performance spill over into your career and personal life.
So, let’s have some fun. The two most important things you can do:
1. Share a relevant post from your blog with us in the comments section.
2. If you don’t have a blog but are interested in joining the conversation, then leave a comment or share a relevant post, article, video, etc. that you came across this month.
I’ll kick things off with a few items that came my way:
Chris of Paleo-ish shared this video with me on facebook. After watching this film, you’ll know better than to mess with Miss May Whitley or the “weaker” sex.
At the end of last month, Matthew Perryman of AmpedTraining put out this gem of an article. How much can the CNS handle? [Stress]
Quote: I’m suggesting that, in training, we can separate the psychological stress from the physical stress; and with practice, we can learn to fine-tune our psychological reactions to control the stress response. It’s highly unlikely that central fatigue has an on/off switch, as opposed to a sliding scale. If we can learn to minimize the emotional stress, then we can dramatically reduce both the short- and long-term effects of CNS fatigue.
Along these lines, I’ve used Tactical Breathing in the gym and before sparring. I am not one to have to pump myself up, rather I prefer to breathe off some of the anxiety. On the other side of the coin, I have been absolutely physically wiped out after hotly contested trials. Not much physical work, but the constant stress during that period leaves me feeling run down. This is an important topic. You should read Matt’s article…it will get you thinking.
In this article from Discover magazine, Floyd Landis is quoted as saying:
You got to go about it another way and you’ve got to legalise doping. They [the testers] are so far behind in the testing organisations that there’s no way to change it now. Just accept that it’s here, that it’s not going away and that it’s just going to get more complicated and the fact that it’s not that complicated yet compared to what it will be. Ten years from now it’s going to be four times as hard as it now to test for things.
Here is the joke on Floyd, they aren’t really trying to catch violators. Catching athletes that are using is not in the interests of the regulating agencies, as they are interested in promoting their sports. World records, home run derbies, multiple gold medals, and seven consecutive Tour de France victories are the events that capture the interest of the casual fan and “promote” the sport. Thus, there is a motive not to catch athletes, particularly big name athletes that are the face of the sport. Unfortunately for Floyd, when he won the Tour, there were a lot of other motives at play…and look, they caught him.
This issue reminds me of that Upton Sinclair quote: It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.
It is difficult to solve the doping problem when so many salaries depend on not solving it.
JC at JCD Fitness must have had the upcoming summer and bikini season in mind, when he and RogLaw posted this two part series on glute exercises.
Part 1: Azz Builders, Rump Shakers and Money Makers
Part 2: The ABC’s of Advanced Booty Creation
By the way, these exercises are for guys too. I know that focusing on glutes helped a lot in adding power to my jump back kicks in Tae Kwon Do. For more on glute exercises, definitely check out the blog of Bret “The Glute Guy” Contreras and his article Dispelling the Glute Myth.
Speaking of Tae Kwon Do, thanks to Travis and Larry for sharing and breaking down this kick for me (not that I can do it, but thanks for sharing).
Seems like lots of beaches and many gyms have a guy like this…extremely talented, but also haunted by demons. I think I already know how this story ends, but maybe I’ll be surprised.
One last note. The new Stretch Exercise Eat T-shirts are done. If all goes well, tomorrow, I’ll be doing an outdoor session with GETFizzYcal and friends, and we will definitely be getting the TXP rolling once again. In the meantime, check out the new design and email me if you want to exchange shirts.
Now it’s your turn, spread the knowledge by posting a favorite link in the comments.
STRETCH EXERCISE EAT 