Episode 358/365: Make the Invisible Visible, Remove the Connection and Add Speed

Hey Mwodies,

As we get closer to wrapping up the mobility project (don’t worry, the MWod will go on in and be way better), we need to make sure that we spend ample time understanding some of the ways that the Movement and Mobility model works.  In this mission, we examine how speed and lost connection make creating positions of high torque and stability difficult.  For example, think of the difference between a strict overhead press and a jerk.  In a press, the athlete can theoretically generate a great deal of tension on the set up, and actively press through the range (with connecting tension on the tissues) to the overhead (ideally/theoretically stable)  position.  But what happens when  a movement removes the through range torque like the jerk?  Reconstituting a position of high stability with a lost “through” connection creates enormous challenges to motor control and mobility.  This is why for example, stiff and muscle bound guys can press and even push press, but find push jerking horrible.  Removing connections is a way to illustrate the real athlete self.  Most of sport and mission requires spontaneous force and torque production out of difficult and definitively not preset positions.  Oh, and most likely the best athlete will also be able to create the highest  torques, greatest stability, and best position the MOST quickly as well.  Oh, you can air squat?  Try and drop into the bottom position.  How’d that go?  Drop and rebound?  Sounds like plyo-training and wall balls.  Athletes will fool you with their sneaky compensation ways.  Your job is to understand what you see.  Make the invisible visible. Remember, the stimulus for adaptation (exercise) is also the best diagnostic tool. We have to teach the principles of olympic style weight lifting and gymnastics to our athletes or we can’t see what’s really happening in our training. Cut the connection cord.  See what happens.

Kstar