Page 4 – Power Athlete Academy

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February 3, 2016 at 12:32 pm in reply to: Week 1: Discussion B #186
Conor Lynch
Participant
Thoughts after the lecture today:

1. Defining strength and what you think optimizes strength are two different things. Let’s compare two athletes: Athlete A has a 1RM squat of 605. Athlete B has a 1RM squat of 405. Both athletes attempt a 20 rep set of squats at 315. Athlete B finishes, but Athlete A stops after 15 reps. They step on to the football field. In three consecutive blocking drills Athlete B is able to drive Athlete A backwards 5 yards. What can you definitively say given that information?
- Athlete A exerted more force against a barbell for one rep.
- Athlete B exerted force against a 315lb barbell 5 more times than Athlete A.
- Athlete B exerted enough force to overcome Athlete A’s force and push him backwards 5 yards three times in a row.
Can you definitively say that was because Athlete B had a “stronger” mindset? No, although everything intuitively points to that as the explanation. My issue is that mindset can be broken down into neural patterns, hormonal production and chemical reactions in the brain. What we think of as being separate from the body is another component of the entire physical process required to produce muscular force. And in order to identify one aspect of that process as part of the definition of what strength is, it should be able to remain constant no matter what else changes.

If we repeat the same test 5 days later, with all conditions (including Athlete B’s mental edge) remaining the same would the result most likely be similar? Yes.

If we repeat the same test 5 days later, but Athlete B has not been allowed to eat for 5 days would the results be similar? Most likely not. Therefore Athlete B’s mental edge is significant, but not an absolute determining factor in strength.

I think that mental fortitude is best included as a tremendously significant factor in the chain of events that allows for strength to be displayed. But it is still one of many such factors, not a defining factor.

2. Metrics vs. Performance. Objective vs. Subjective. Harry touched on this during conversation, but I think a great parallel here is the NFL Combine. Metrics at the Combine work because the standard is consistent and you can directly compare the standard of movement from one athlete to the next in the same physical space. But when you compare Combine metrics with the same tests performed at college pro days, scores often vary significantly. So the value of metrics is directly related to consistency with which they are measured.

Metrics are also the isolation exercises of the athletic world. The remove conflicting elements and test for individual components of physical capacity. Whereas performance and competition challenges the athlete display and combine all of those elements of their physical capacity seamlessly, effortlessly, through space and often with other people working as hard as possible to prevent them from doing just that.

I like the idea that metrics allow us to measure progress for the amateur athlete, but they are mostly useful relative to that athlete’s past and future performance.

3. @carlcase Loved your definition of SAID. Think you could post it in the activities section for that assignment? Thanks bro!

@menacedolan @chobbs @train608 @benkuch
February 3, 2016 at 7:18 am in reply to: Week 1: Discussion B #176

Conor Lynch
Participant

Why do we squat? Why do we run? What’s the usefulness of performing a press or a pull-up?

They allow us to become better at the rest of our daily lives.

When you do more of those exercises, what happens?

You are able to more things, better in everyday situations. You are better at handling the demands of your environment.

How do we interact with our environment? We receive information passively through our senses and then what?

We respond. With action.

And what is action? The use of force.

So when we get better in the gym, when we get better at living, we’re really getting better at creating and applying our own force. And that’s what strength is: how well you can apply force to your environment.

Which is an incredibly daunting idea, right? I mean, how long would it take to list out all of the elements in your environment? Let’s take it back to squatting.

Imagine you’re about to perform a back squat.

Is the room hot or cold? Are you tired or rested? Is this your first squat today or your fiftieth? Are you working out with your favorite training partner or someone who has never squatted before but brought their personal boombox with them playing one Sarah McGlaughlin track on repeat? The factors that influence your squat are endless, but the task remains the same: Apply force to your environment. The more force you can apply and the more environmental conditions you can apply it to, the stronger you are.

So let’s cue up “Straight Outta Compton” and throw some iron on the bar.

Alright, so that was a little over the top, but I imagined myself giving that talk to a group of novice athletes about to squat. There are elements of Newton, Siff and Hatfield. I wanted to create an understanding that strength is expressed against other objects or forces. Without something to express force against, strength does not exist. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, right? That’s Isaac Newton. Then Mel gets us to a cellular level with “…the ability of a given muscle or group of muscles to generate muscular force under specific conditions.” (Siff, 2003) So the heart of strength is muscular force production, but that force is relative to ‘specific conditions’, i.e. the environment it acts against. The fantastic lists laid out by Dr. Hatfield (1989) address elements of the environment including: equipment, heat, cold, humidity, precipitation and altitude amongst others. While those factors affect the ability of muscle fibers to produce force, the end measurement remains: How much force could your muscles apply to the task you used them for in your environment? Did you have enough strength?

Hatfield, Fred (1989). Power: a scientific approach. 2.

Siff, Mel (2003). Supertraining. 1.
February 1, 2016 at 8:41 am in reply to: Week 1: Discussion A #126

Conor Lynch
Participant

Short Term:

1. Complete Power Athlete Academy with 95% score on all graded materials.

2. Have 3 in person meetings with subject matter expert coaches outside of PAHQ / CrossFit field to develop mentor relationships.

3. Maintain 100% on time weekly communication with 6 coaching trainees at my gym while also maintaining 100% on time content submission for PAHQ.

Long Term:

1. Earn invitation to CrossFit Football Seminar as acknowledged Coaching Intern by 1 July 2016.

2. Confirm dates for a 2-4 in person training and shadowing with Raphael Ruiz by 1 July 2016.

3. Create written, standardized modules for all of our in house coaches training and distribute hard copies to our coaches by 1 July 2016.
February 1, 2016 at 8:38 am in reply to: Week 1: Discussion A #124

Conor Lynch
Participant

List 3 Short term (3 months) and 3 Long Term (6 months) professional/coaching goals that follow SMART Guidelines. Due: FEB 1, 12pm EST
S Specific: Be clear and define your goal.
M Measurable: Have some sort of measurement to gauge progress towards the goal.
A Attainable: Decide whether this is something that is realistic and attainable.
R Relevant: Decide whether the goal is right for you as the individual and in your best interest and not others.
T Time: Set a deadline; open ended goals with no finish line are rarely accomplished.
Short Term:
1. Complete Power Athlete Academy with 95% score on all graded materials.
2. Have 3 in person meetings with subject matter expert coaches outside of PAHQ / CrossFit field to develop mentor relationships.
3. Maintain 100% on time weekly communication with 6 coaching trainees at my gym while also maintaining 100% on time content submission for PAHQ.
Long Term:
1. Earn invitation to CrossFit Football Seminar as acknowledged Coaching Intern by 1 July 2016.
2. Confirm dates for a 2-4 in person training and shadowing with Raphael Ruiz by 1 July 2016.
3. Create written, standardized modules for all of our in house coaches training and distribute hard copies to our coaches by 1 July 2016.
January 31, 2016 at 4:03 pm in reply to: Week 1: Activity A #108

Conor Lynch
Participant

Aaaaaaaaand let’s try take 2, after blowing up the wrong message board earlier today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe95D-HapJo
February 3, 2016 at 7:37 am in reply to: Week 1: Discussion B #180

Conor Lynch
Participant

@menacedolan @train608 What about the idea that strength cannot exist without circumstance? If strength is force applied, then all strength is relative to the task at hand and there aren’t different types of strength–simply different ways to express it, measure it or influence how it is produced.
February 3, 2016 at 7:25 am in reply to: Week 1: Discussion B #178

Conor Lynch
Participant

@denny I like the reference of strength as a unit of measure. It frames the question in terms that can be demonstrated, measured and repeated. What would your scale of units of measurement look like? 0 to 100? 0 to infinity? How many units would a 400lb squat be? And how many units until my beard fills in like @tonyfu?
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