chin ups
Book Progress and Fred Hahn on The Today Show
Unfortunately, I’m not going to have the book finished in time for the holidays like I was hoping, but it should be ready within the next few months, and is shaping up to be better than what I had anticipated, although very different than what I had originally planned.
Also, we still have to wait another couple of weeks for John Little and Doug McGuff’s new book, Body by Science. I was hoping the shipping date would move up on this, but Doug informs me it won’t be released until January 9th. As soon as I get a chance to read it I will post a review here, and if possible an interview with John and Doug.
Luke Baye doing dumbbell presses at 2 years old.
For those of you who missed it, HIT trainer and author Fred Hahn was on the Today Show this morning talking about strength training for children. Although it would have been nice if they’d have given him a bit more time, I think he did a good job of getting his point across and it would be great if more parents encouraged their children to strength train. It would go a long way towards reducing childhood obesity and all the health problems that go along with it.
Fred’s new book, Strong Kids, Healthy Kids, is available now, and in my opinion would make a great gift for parents of young children. Any child who is mature enough to take it seriously and follow directions will benefit tremendously from the regimen in Fred’s book, which is a slow-motion, high intensity strength program geared towards children.
Another interesting book I found recently on children’s fitness is Operation Pull Your Own Weight. The author recommends children develop and maintain the ability to perform pull ups as a means of maintaining strong, lean bodies. While I would add at least presses and squats to that, it is hard to beat chin ups or pull ups as an all around upper body exercise. Weighted chin ups have been a cornerstone of my routines for years, and one of the exercises by which I judge my overall progress. › Continue reading
Effect of Hand and Shoulder Position On Elbow Flexor Involvement During Curling and Pulling Exercises
This morning during a phone conversation with Greg Anderson the subject of the previous post on the effect of hand position on triceps involvement came up.. Greg mentioned, and I agree, hand position makes little difference to arm flexor involvement during curling and pulling movements as well.
Articles on arm training in bodybuilding magazines and web sites often make claims of different hand or shoulder positions or grip width having the effect of isolating or emphasizing one head of the biceps or a particular arm flexor (i.e. incline curls to target the long head of the biceps, hammer curls to target the brachioradialus, reverse grip curls to target the brachialis, etc.). While there is some truth to this - changes in hand or shoulder position affect the relative length and thus the ability of some of the elbow flexors to produce force - the effect on muscular development is greatly exaggerated. › Continue reading
Rack Mod: Attachment Point for Chain, Bands, Rope, Etc.
You can easily add attachment points to many squat or power racks for chains, bands, gymnastic rings and numerous other devices by swapping heavy duty eye bolts for the regular bolts. Additional attachment points can be placed anywhere else on the rack by drilling new holes if you have the appropriate tools. More on this later…
Before swapping out bolts, you’ll need to know the diameter and length you’ll need. Most home and commercial equipment uses 3/8 and 1/2 inch hex bolts. The bolt size is not the same as the head size. A 3/8 inch bolt will have a 9/16 inch head, and a 1/2 inch bolt will have a 3/4 inch head. Check the head size using your socket or wrench and write it down.
Remove the bolt and measure the distance from the bottom of the head to the end. Write this down. Or, take the bolt with you to the hardware store and compare directly. Let anyone else that might use the rack know you’ve removed the bolt before you go.
When selecting eye bolts, check the packaging for the safe working load. The stainless steel bolts will typically have the highest, although zinc plated steel will usually be more than strong enough for most uses. The eye bolts I purchased will handle up to 540 pounds, and the spring clips up to 400. The packaging will usually contain some warning about not using the product for support of human weight or athletic equipment, but this is just there to cover their ass - a properly secured 3/8 or larger steel eye bolt is more than strong enough to safely support you and then some. If you’re over 400 pounds I doubt you’re going to be doing any body weight rows or ring dips any way. Use common sense. If you ever notice any kind of wear or damage to a bolt or spring clip, replace it. Hardware is much cheaper than an emergency room visit for a concussion or broken bone. › Continue reading