Intervention by Dan John, (22) The five principles - How do I get from here to there?, Notes

Post date: Jan 19, 2016 12:56:36 PM

Dan John - On Target Publishing

(22) The Five Principles - How do I get from here to there?

• • Principle 1: Strength training for lean body mass and joint mobility work trumps everything else.

    • How much time should be spent on hypertrophy and mobility? - As much time as you can spare. If the goal is to live well enough as long as you can, don’t ignore either one.

    • When sitting for prolonged periods, there’s always the need to stretch the core of the bent over body-- the hips, psoas, pecs and biceps.

    • Vladimir Janda - muscles necessary for posture -- two groups: tonic - which tend to be shorter when tired or old, phasic - those muscles which tend to weaken under stress (or age) If a tiger chased you up a tree, you’d use tonic muscles to hang from a branch for a really long time. If you decided to chase down a deer to throw rocks at, you’d use phasic muscles (the muscles of youth)

• • Principle 2. Fundamental Human Movements are fundamental - We need fundamentals first! The concept of prolonged reflection tells us: givens have been proven correct over and over again. If you make an honest effort to learn your art, you find that the true gems are the ones you learned on the first day. It’s pretty simple but it may take 30 years to simplify things:

    • Dick Notmeyer - Olympic Lifts and Front Squat

    • Ralph Maughan - Show up, throw, do some lifting

    • Marriage Counselor - Adultery is hell on a marriage.

    • Covert Bailey - 10 lbs for a dollar. 10 lbs of what?

  • Principle 3. Standards and Gaps must be constantly assessed.

    • Standards must be constantly addressed: you only move forward by vigilantly and aggressively sorting out your weaknesses and gaps and bringing them up to some standard. True, compete with your strengths, but your ability to move ahead is all about dealing with your gaps. Most people need to fill in the gaps , not more work on strengths. Our gaps cause problems over the long term.

    • “The gaps in the door must fit just right. Enough is enough..” - Mike Boyle

    • Filling the Gaps: Most of us need to do more hypertrophy work, have more variety in movement, do more loaded carries and sort out any squat movement issues, don’t do too much too soon and use smarter recovery to support the training load

  • Principle 4. The notion of ‘park bench’ vs. ‘bus bench’ workouts must be applied during the training lifetime. Bus bench - on the clock. Park bench - we wait for nothing.

    • The how. If you had a competent P.E. Coach at anytime, you have the basic ‘how’ of fitness. You know this: Jog two laps, knock off a few stretches and calisthenics and then go play a game for an hour. Report all injuries, shower and clean your feet.

    • The problem is that the fitness industry mostly sells death march workouts that most of us can’t do day in and day out. We need to look at the why. Why we workout:

      • to get in shape

      • lose some fat

      • look better

      • feel better

      • move better

    • Park bench is most appropriate most of the time. When we train or compete take the time to enjoy the view, the air, breathe, and don’t worry about the squirrels. Whatever comes along should be viewed through the lens of wonder and thanks. Realize that at best very few competitions will be perfect. When the stars align for that perfect performance, don’t mess it up by adding too much energy -- you just have to let it go. The park bench attitude helps during that 20% of the time when things go completely wrong. If you can keep your wits, feed a squirrel or two, you may salvage the competition. Nothing frightens the competition more than a serene smile or face: they think you are up to something. Survival depends on our fitness. Train hard but enjoy competition. Compete hard but enjoy your training. Never judge a workout or training program as good or bad solely on a single day.

      • “We must ever bear in mind that apart from the will, there's nothing good or bad and that we must not try to anticipate or direct events, but merely accept them with intelligence” -- Epictetus

      • First, let things happen and don’t judge them as good or bad. Enjoy the opportunity to train and compete. Second, find a community who supports your goals and be sure you take the steps to support your own goals. Don’t lose sight of the spiral as you strive to achieve your goals.

    • The bus bench workout consists of a program, training manual or some other cookie cutter approach with a built in duration (2 weeks to 12 weeks). It can work. Bus bench approach is absolutely correct 2 times per year--like the joke about the broken clock. Most people can handle going all out, doing two bus bench programs per year. (For the non athlete, perhaps in January and the few weeks leading up to bikini season. ) The issue is that many people turn all 52 weeks of the year into bus bench workouts. Both education and fitness should be served by a healthy mix of both park bench and bus bench workouts. We should read for both pleasure and knowledge. Don’t forget to enjoy.

  • Principle 5. Constantly strive for Mastery and Grace

    • “Everything we learn in sports should also lead us to the same insights about life.” -- George Leonard

    • The lessons learned about preparing, peaking and programming for victory in the ring or on the field are lessons of life. Sometimes you can get away with cutting corners, but most of the time you can’t. The best performances have a silken laziness that defy explanation--built on a solid foundation of millions of reps. Remember: Always strive for a quiet head, efficient movements and a sense of calm while training. It is difficult to look elegant with sweat burning in your eyes, but try.

    • Proper fitness training will be seen in the body shape. Graceful, masterful movement and beauty in the form: Men will have that X shape--Broad Shoulders, thin waist, powerful buttocks and thighs. Women will have and hourglass shape- narrow waist bordered by a more round top and bottom.

    • Beautiful movement is not only a joy to watch but tends to be pain free. Good technique shouldn’t hurt. The two keys to a better physique are better performance and happy, pain-free joints: grace and compression. With age, it becomes increasingly important to increase lean body mass and maintain joint mobility. Grace and compression should live in a yin yang relationship, don’t let either partner lead. When standing, walking, sprinting and training strive for grace as the key quality of effort. When doing restorative and mobility work, dance through the feeling of compression and expansion. For the benefits of compression: do yoga, develop a stretch routine (Pavel: relax into stretch)