Stretch out?

Did you hear about the Animal Cracker recall? All the SEALS were broken. (Thanks Krissy Jones :D).

Hope all is well with you. I suppose that I had better come up with some answers. The last Breakthrough Newsletter generated some questions.

Aside from writing, speaking and performing, I have been in the ‘fitness business’ since 1984- 25 years. I have always attempted to stay ‘up’ on current research in exercise science as well as trends.

And I’ve also read extensively on the subject. And I’ve applied much of what I’ve learned into my own training which has taken me from Triathlons to performing feats of strength. In fact, I’ve been coached by the modern-day Grand Master of Strongmen- Dennis Rogers.

And I’ve been injured many times and had to seek out answers to get healed. And many times the answers were not easy to come by.

Then 3 years ago I crossed paths with 2 gentlemen- Denis Thompson and Jay Schroeder. And after visiting with them and hearing what they had to say and seeing the results of their work, I wished that I had met them 25 years ago. Actually, I wish I had met them when I was 14 years old.

Their knowledge of how the human body PERFORMS is remarkable. The most difficult task for me is trying in un-learn the vast amount of useless information I had been served since the my beginnings in the ‘fitness industry’.

So consider this. Wherever you are right now, make a muscle (flex your bicep). Squeeze it hard.

Okay, now relax. Muscles only can do 1 of 2 things. They can either contract or relax. That’s it. Muscles DO NOT stretch.

So if Stretching is part of your routine and Muscles do not stretch, what exactly are you stretching? Well your bones are not going to stretch, so the only things left are your Ligaments and Tendons. And what is the job of Ligaments and Tendons? To anchor your muscles and stabilize your Joints. So Stretching as we have come to know it, actually De-Stabilizes your Joints and SETS YOU UP FOR INJURY. Hmmm….

Maybe then, we should be learning how to turn muscles on and off at the right time. This would allow us to relax our muscles more completely. We will be able to move through a full range of motion freely and efficiently- without risking injury by stretching the heck out our ligaments (ps- ligaments are supposed to be tight).

Next time we’ll address Cardio and I’ll tell you how my son ran a mile 39 seconds faster than his previous lifetime best- after he had not run AT ALL for over 3 months.

As my friend David DeNotaris always says, “Make it a Great Day”...bye4now...

Your friend (iC),
Russell Jones

PS- Please visit us at the http://www.powerworkshop.org/ and http://www.arpwavenj.com/ to see what’s new.

Copyright, the Power Workshop Inc., 2005