Results matching “Bird”

'Let's go siesta / In your Ford Fiesta'

Elastica, Car Song

Today's Sunday Life magazine (part of the Sun-Herald newspaper) has an interesting piece on power-napping - Sleeping on the job. This looks at the benefits of a 10-20 minute nap in the afternoon, as part of a regular work schedule.

According to the author Thea O'Connor, State Street Australia recently trialled pod-style napping (using pods such as the MetroNap) for a month; with a very positive response from staff. Of those that booked themselves in for a nap, 43% said that they felt 'good' afterwards and 21% felt 'excellent'. As great as these pods look (straight from 2001: A Space Odyssey), I can't help thinking that they're an expensive way of kicking your shoes off and lying down for 10-20 minutes. A nap can be a wonderful thing, regardless of your environment.

The article also mentions some interesting research currently being carried out by Professor Leon Lack at Adelaide's Flinders University. Prof. Lack has compared 5,10,20 and 30 minute naps - measuring such things as sleepiness, reaction time and cognitive performance immediately afterward. In many ways, the 10 minute nap seems to be the 'power-napping' champion.

A final word from media manager Harry M Miller, himself a regular napper.

Napping is a great idea. It's a kind of traffic control that slows down your brain.

At least for a while.

Further reading

Napping Project
Thea O'Connor

Self-confessed 'napping activist' Thea O'Connor is certainly helping to change the corporate mindset in many parts of the world. Through her writing, speeches and consultancy work, Thea is bringing the power of the nap one step closer to many.

Newspaper articles

Links to numerous articles by Professor Lack and others at Flinders University's School of Psychology, Sleep Research Laboratory.

Mike Pelosi takes an interesting look at the short-term (a couple of months) effect of Strongman training on a Powerlifter. In short, there are some very positive changes.

It's getting hot again (38C/100F the other day), and it's been a busy week here on Straight to the Bar. If you've just joined us, dive right in with these :

• Biphasic sleep resources : it seems that the popularity of this sleeping schedule is gradually expanding, and I was asked by a few people to jot down a few sites where things are happening. If you're thinking of making the switch, start by looking here.
• 97 pages of fun : Jamie noted this great intro to the Olympic Lifts by Dan John. While you're waiting for the video to arrive, take a look at this.
• 7 conditioning secrets of successful combat athletes : A lengthy title and a great article from Jason Ferrugia. Whether combat's your thing or not, it's a great read.
• Lats - not just for pulldowns : Eric Cressey combines an anatomy lesson with techniques to get the lats firing in the major lift. Great stuff.
• Blast from the past : Big, hairy and incredibly strong. Fred Hatfield revisits Doyle Kenady's 903 deadlift from 20 years ago. Superb.

Bud Jeffries takes another brief look [.pdf, 288kb] at the training of several old-time and modern-day strongmen in part II of the 'How and why some of the strongest' article series (part I [.pdf, 356kb]). Some great names in there.

More video action, this time coming via the Diesel Crew : Rodney Mullen skateboarding [streaming, 5.4mb .flv via KeepVid]. Now that's impressive.

The Secret Service Snatch Test (SSST) involves snatching a 24kg/53lb kettlebell as many times as possible in 10 minutes. Not an easy task by any means.

Here's a video of Dustin Silveri doing 195 - a fantastic effort.

Eric Cressey has an interesting piece over on T-Nation regarding the lats. It's a fairly wide-ranging discussion, covering everything from a bit of basic anatomy to their involvement in the major lifts. Definitely worth a read.

After several years of enforced kickboxing matches, 48 orangutans have finally arrived back in their native Indonesia. The boxing matches were suspended in 2004 following numerous complaints - after all, boxing's great when you choose to do it.

Dr Squat (Fred Hatfield) takes a nostalgic look at the 903 lb deadlift of Doyle Kenady 20 years ago, with a reprint of an article from Vol 10.4 of Powerlifting USA. Good stuff.

Jason Ferruggia takes a great look at several effective methods of training for combat athletes. As he states in the article :

neither wrestling nor any form of mixed martial arts are aerobic sports. Therefore, aerobic training of any kind is a complete waste of your time.

and

During these two to five minute bouts you'll find yourself squatting, pressing, pulling, lunging, twisting, and bridging. You'll make explosive movements, slow grinding strength-based movements, and you'll hold isometric contractions a lot longer than you can comfortably stand.

As you can see, Ferrugia strays from the usual path yet again. A good read.