Results matching “Bird”

Stealth Vegetables - illustration by Sylvia Nickerson
Illustration by Sylvia Nickerson

A few snippets from this week’s health news :

  • Like Cures Like
  • Would you like to reduce the risk of developing anything from cancer to Alzheimer's? In that case, you should expose your body to heavy physical stress. So heavy that it borders on being injurious.
  • Selenium pills 'may combat HIV'
  • Taking daily selenium supplements may block the build up of HIV in a patient's blood, research suggests.
  • The Older-and-Wiser Hypothesis
  • In 1950, the psychoanalyst Erik H. Erikson, in a famous treatise on the phases of life development, identified wisdom as a likely, but not inevitable, byproduct of growing older...Unfortunately for researchers who followed, Erikson didn’t bother to define wisdom.
  • Kidney health group turns to YouTube
  • A health lobby group says it has turned to YouTube to campaign for kidney disease awareness because the federal government is failing to promote the issue. NB : The video's here [streaming, 5.3mb .flv download]
  • Kids Don't Notice "Stealth Vegetables"
  • A Penn State study shows that decreasing the calorie density of foods by adding vegetables and other lower-calorie ingredients leads to a reduction in children's calorie intake and an increase in vegetable consumption.

Oh, and "Stealth Vegetables" doesn't just mean hiding the peas under your knife. Although that works occasionally.

Dirt - Test articles

Dirt

Taken at this year's Stebbing Scramble. Photo by David Ian Roberts.

The Zercher Squat - Test articles

Tom Black performing a Zercher SquatThis is the first in a series of Timeless Exercises; a collaboration with Run to Win's Blaine Moore. The Zercher Squat.

What is the Zercher Squat?

To the uninitiated, the Zercher Squat is a strange beast. Instead of the bar being held across the shoulders (slightly higher or lower for Olympic Weightlifters, Bodybuilders and Powerlifters); it's held in the crook of your arms. The inside of your elbows, if you like.

This is somewhat painful (although you do get used to it a little), however it's an extremely effective exercise. As Louie Simmons notes in Dead Lift Secrets :

It teaches you exactly how to squat. It teaches you to push your knees apart. Push your chest up. Push your buttocks out. The whole nine yards.

Origins

The Zercher Squat was one of the many cruel and unusual exercises created by St Louis strongman Ed Zercher (1902 - 1995). Zercher's own home gym resembled a junkyard more than a basement, and was filled with such toys as anvils, wrecking balls and assorted pieces of machinery. Sounds perfect.

Technique

This is one of the rare exercises where using a thick bar actually makes it more comfortable. A strongman yoke with an adjustable crossbar is great; a thick (2.5" - 3") barbell is also a good choice.

The lift comprises two stages, although it is common to see only the second one being performed in gyms.

The weighted bar begins on the floor, and is deadlifted (using a conventional, or shoulder-width stance) to a point a little above the knee. Aim for the lower quad muscles, rather than your kneecaps.

Slowly squat down; balancing the bar at this point on your lower thighs. Slide your arms under the bar until it reaches your elbows. Now stand up.

Simply reverse the process to complete the exercise. That's one rep.

NB : You may notice that this movement resembles the action of lifting a heavy stone, and it can be a great way to help train for such an event.

How to hold the bar

Regardless of how you hold the bar, there'll be some pain involved. Whilst you can probably ignore it when there's 50kg on the bar, it's a different story when the bar weighs 200kg.

There are three things to consider here. Experiment with them and find the combination that feels right to you. They are :

How your hands are -

  • as fists
  • clasped together

How your forearms are -

  • crossed over
  • bringing your hands together
  • straight ahead (or at a slight angle)

What the bar is resting against -

  • your skin
  • a board
  • something soft, such as a towel

The videos below show a variety of these combinations.

Defying Gravity - Test articles

Defying GravityVia Kat Ricker : a great compilation by the Iron Maven showing the grace of female Olympic Weightlifting [streaming, 14.4mb .flv download].

Pull apartThese guys employ some unusual training methods, to say the least [streaming, 10.2mb .flv download].

The Yin Stack - Test articles

Sleeping peacefullyMike Demeter points to a great piece by Charles Poliquin on the Yin Stack. If you're like me and tend to have a head filled with ideas shortly before bedtime, this is definitely something to consider.

Magnesium is a wonderful thing.

500lb lockoutJoe DeFranco still has it. A 500lb suspended chain lockout [streaming, 1mb .flv download].

Matt GaryJon points to a nice piece by Matt Gary over on the EliteFTS site - Top 10 Mistakes Novice Lifters Make. Excellent advice.

King Cobra Squat - Test articles

King Cobra SquatVia Chuck Halbakken : Got 2 × 24kg kettlebells and a Bosu? Try the King Cobra Squat.

16 weeks - Test articles

This is a man who would not take it anymoreWhen I started lifting weights a few years ago (free weights, that is - I tried a few machines at a commercial gym about 10 years ago), my thinking was that I'd push myself hard for the first few months. After that, with a bit of luck I'd enjoy it enough to keep going at a similar pace.

I'm still lifting them a little over three years later, so I guess it worked.

Cody has given himself 16 weeks to perform his own transformation. As you'll see on his blog, he's right at the start of what should be an amazing journey. Pop over and say hello.

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