My 10 Best Injury-Management Tips
By Charles Staley, B.Sc, MSS
Director, Staley Training Systems
http://www.staleytraining.com
Tip One: The Hyper-Warm-Up
If you're hurtin' and you start your squat session with 135 on the bar, keep reading…
Look, if you're young, healthy, and stupid, you can skip the warm-up- for now. But if you've got a few miles on that chassis and you're not yet ready for replacement parts, it'll serve you well to institute the hyper-warm-up:
Step 1: The Early Bird Gets Burned:
If you can, your joints will appreciate a later workout as opposed to an earlier one. Synovial joints, for example, aren't fully lubricated with synovial fluid until a few hours after waking. Think of your first few hours after waking as part of your warm-up- and in fact, you'll immediately find that your exercise warm-up will be faster when you train later in the day as opposed to earlier.
Step 2: The Long, Hot Shower:
This is another example of success by "doing the opposite:" Take your shower before your workout, not after (well, OK, you can take one after too if you like). How long? How hot? As long and hot as you can comfortably tolerate- 15 minutes is probably plenty, but play around with it and you'll come up with the best duration. Warm tissues respond better to training- which is where the term "warm-up" comes from in the first place).
Step 3: Dress For Success:
Even if it's warm out, try to wear Under Armor-type sweat-wicking material. There are a number of materials available now, but the salient idea is that these new fabrics wick sweat away from your skin as you train. Why is this important? Because evaporating sweat cools your body- the exact opposite of what you're trying to do. I love cotton when I'm not training, but in the gym, forget it- I'm sold on Synthetic sweat-wicking materials. If you haven't yet tried them, I urge you to give it a go and see what you think.
Step 3: Joint Custody:
Neoprene joint sleeves help to warm your joints faster, and they also keep those joints warm through your entire workout. At Bed & Barbell, we like sleeves made by TK and Rehband, but a number of brands are available. If you haven't yet tried joint sleeves because you view them as "cheating" or "giving in," you're really missing out!
Step 4: Sweat:
Your general warm-up should be sufficient to generate a sweat. You don't need to be pouring sweat mind, you, but if you're still dry, you're not warmed up. I like skipping rope, but whatever works for you is fine.
Step 5: Come In Through The Back Door:
If you've got a "problem" joint, muscle, or body region, try training it last in the workout. Now here's why you'll probably dismiss this idea- your "problem" areas are likely to be related to exercise you deem important to you. For example, if you love to squat and/or you're a powerlifter, and your knees are a bit cranky, try squatting at the end of the workout instead of at the beginning. I know this violates the old axiom that important exercises should come first in the workout, but your HEALTH is what's really important, correct? Use your upper-body exercises as a general warm-up, and you'll find that your knees will respond better to the squats as a result.
Tip Two: Control Variables
If I've got a client who needs/wants to squats, but he's got orthopedic issues, I'll always do everything I can to ensure we're using consistent technique on every rep. For example, squat depth can be made more precise by squatting down to a box or bench. Similarly, tempo can be monitored/timed as well.
Tip Three: Hold Load Constant And Use The "O" Rating
If you've got a nagging injury that you're determined to train through, consider this tip: Every time you perform a/the exercise that tends to aggravate joint pain, use the same load, and the same set/rep bracket. For example, if you're benching with shoulder pain, you might work up to 185 pounds for 5 sets of 5. Then, every time you bench, in your training journal, make a note of your joint pain on a 1-5 scale (0 meaning no pain, 5 meaning you had so much pain you had to stop). If, over a series of bench press workouts, your "O Rating" increases, you'll need to reconsider your plan. On the other hand, if your O Rating decreases, you're probably on the right track.
Tip Four: Stop the Vicious Cycle
When you've got an injury, you might need to rest it, but if you never return to training, you'll be victimized by the "vicious cycle:" the initial injury tends to cause reduced activity, which causes atrophy, which further reduces activity, which leads to further atrophy, etc. You've gotta break that cycle somehow. And that might mean medical intervention by the way.
Tip Five: Train Injured Parts Last
This was already addressed in the first tip relating to the Hyper Warm-Up, but it bears repeating: don't hammer your hurtin' joints right out of the gate, even if that's the way you've always done it. The more a joint hurts, the later it should be trained, if at all.
Tip Six: Your Warm-Up Remains The Same
Consistent with the idea of controlling variables is the concept of using a consistent warm-up routine. Here's mine for Olympic snatches:
44 pounds (2x3)
66 pounds (2x3)
88pounds (2x3)
110 pounds (2x3)
132 pounds (2x2)
Then I proceed to my heaviest weights for the day, whatever they might be.
Notice that I always use the same weight jumps, and also notice that I perform each weight twice. This provides me with a basis of comparison- if, for example, my second set with 110 pounds feels better than the first set with that weight, I know my warm-up's working for me- I can feel myself becoming more prepared for the heavier weights to follow. Without this approach however, I don't benefit from this comparison
Tip Seven: Be Efficient
If you're a competitive lifter, are all those joint-trashing exercises really necessary? For example, let's say you're looking for a bigger bench and your elbows are becoming problematic. Further, your pecs (not your triceps) are the weak muscle group in the bench press. So why are you still doing heavy triceps extensions?
Tip Eight: Is Pain An Ibuprofin Deficiency?
OK, it's probably irresponsible for me to suggest this, but the point is, anti-inflammatories can really help. Ask your doctor, not me.
Tip Nine: If All Else Fails, Rest
I know, you don't wanna take a layoff. But if you're O Rating is climbing and your Ibuprofin purchases are breaking the budget, you might have to do it. Take heart: after a very recent three-week layoff, I hit a lifetime PR power snatch right out of the gates, at age 49. Sometimes the upside of healthier joints are worth the downside of detraining.
Tip Ten: If That Fails, See Your Doc
Here's a wild thought for ya: if you know what's actually wrong, you might be closer to finding a solution! I know, you don't want your doctor to tell you to stop lifting, but obviously he will, so just get over it. Knowledge is power. Get the knowledge, make a plan, get those joints healthy, and get back to the gym already.
About The Author
Charles Staley...world-class strength/performance coach...his colleagues call him an iconoclast, a visionary, a rule-breaker. His clients call him “The Secret Weapon” for his ability to see what other coaches miss. Charles calls himself a “geek” who struggled in Phys Ed throughout school. Whatever you call him, Charles’ methods are ahead of their time and quickly produce serious results.
Click here to visit Charles' site and grab your 5 FREE videos that will show you how to literally FORCE your body to build muscle, lose fat and gain strength with "Escalating Density Training," Charles' revolutionary, time-saving approach to lifting that focuses on performance NOT pain.
http://www.staleytrainingprograms.com
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Ah... That's better!
The moratorium on overtime has been lifted... temporarily. We'll be working OT Firday, Saturday & Sunday. Essentially, we're looking at cranking out about a weeks worth of work in three days. That's one plus. I can use the money! If I work it, I should be able to get at least 24 hours out of it. I'd actually like to try & get over 36. I wouldn't mind an extra $1k on the next paycheck. That would wipe out a LARGE chunk of my debt... or take me much, much closer to my goal.
Oh... I forgot to mention the other timely & "glorious" news:
Yeah. I'd pretty much given up on that. It's quite a surprise. I complained a bit about it & I actually mentioned my "concerns" to this new rep (who's quite a hotty). We had lunch about a month ago. After our lunch, she'd sent me an e-mail asking me to respond to some question & to voice any issues that I had. I told her that I had originally been making time & a half, and had the contract copy & pay stubs to prove it. Then I didn't hear from her. I thought that she'd blown me off. Apparently, she did her homework & discovered that YES!, I actually HAD been contracted at 1.5 time for OT.
I can smell the
Oh... I forgot to mention the other timely & "glorious" news:
Hi Jon!
I spoke with ______ this afternoon and he mentioned that we’re in the process of drafting you a new contract so that you’re officially making time and half for your OT. Are you going to be available tomorrow morning or afternoon for me to swing by and have you sign it? If you’re around we could grab some coffee on campus as well and catch up. Let me know if you’re available for one or both of those and I’ll get this taken care of for you. Have a great rest of your day!
Yeah. I'd pretty much given up on that. It's quite a surprise. I complained a bit about it & I actually mentioned my "concerns" to this new rep (who's quite a hotty). We had lunch about a month ago. After our lunch, she'd sent me an e-mail asking me to respond to some question & to voice any issues that I had. I told her that I had originally been making time & a half, and had the contract copy & pay stubs to prove it. Then I didn't hear from her. I thought that she'd blown me off. Apparently, she did her homework & discovered that YES!, I actually HAD been contracted at 1.5 time for OT.
I can smell the
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Keeping The Faith
Once again I'm thinking about priorities & the amount of work involved in meeting goals. One of my coworkers saw a Brazilian beach house that I currently have as the wallpaper on my desk top. He asked me about it & then responded "Yeah. It's good to have a dream." Then he started to walk away. I basically responded that any imbecile can have a dream. Goals are what you want to have.
People who dream are looking for a temporary escape from the despair of their daily life. They don't belive that they possess the capability to correct their course or improve their condition. Interstingly, it's been my own experience that many of these people are the same ones who transfer their own ineptitude onto others with whom they come into contact. Their reactions to the interests & goals of others apparently range from disdain to acerbic attack.
This is one reason that I haven't mentioned my intentions to too many people. That includes my family. I'm not expecting lot of support there, nor anywhere else. Part of it is that in my past, I have rarely finished anything that I have started. So, I well deserve the backlash from that. The other reason is that I am interested in persuing a dangerous career field. Oddly, if I were talking abotu becomming a police officer or fireman, I doubt that I'd be having problems in the area of support.
Ultimately, this is up to ME! I'm on my own here, in organizing, planning & support. Nobody else is going to help me. (Though I will say that my landlord has been extremely decent abou this; essentially forgoing rent until I get the funds together. Of course despite our differences, I count him as one of the best friends that I will ever have, even if I do not believe that he understands what's actually behind a lot of this.)
Right now, I'm writing this as though to myself. I don't expect anyone to ever read it. It's just as well. I'm on my own in this. The blog if for me more than anyone else. It's either this or talk to myself.
As I said, I'm on my own. Certainly there is part of me that wants ot be able to meet people again & tell them "I told you that I'd do this." Yet ultimately, it doesn't matter to me if I never see them again. I've always been somewhat of a loner & feeling a need to be independent. I enjoyed it for a while but in teh lastfew years I've become reliant on the company of others. I hate it.
Any impetus, any preparation and the eventual outcome are in my hands. I must come to acknowledge also that even being accepted into training is fundamentally upom me. This is a burden... and it is a release.
I've thought again this week about perceptiosn; how I perceive those around me & how they observe me. I suspect that my utter disgust with my current environment & situation resembles anger. Part of it is, but it is mainly anger that I transfer. I don't despise those around me all that much more than I despise myself for being here... essentially by choice. I am where I am due to my own decisions. I am a product of them. That is the key however. Because it signifies that if one were to make dissimilar decisions, then the results would reflect such a correction.
Even now, part of me is doubting. (Yes... I know that this all sound like a horrible paperback novel at times.) I'm fairly certian that the doubt & fear will increase as I come closer to the goal. I suspect that is why self-motivation is so difficut. Honestly, the mor prepared I am for this, the more difficult it will be to make excuses not to follow through. That's one reason I'm writing this. I want to be able to look back & read it to remind me.
Do not let this last opportunity pass you by. You will never forgive yourself.
People who dream are looking for a temporary escape from the despair of their daily life. They don't belive that they possess the capability to correct their course or improve their condition. Interstingly, it's been my own experience that many of these people are the same ones who transfer their own ineptitude onto others with whom they come into contact. Their reactions to the interests & goals of others apparently range from disdain to acerbic attack.
This is one reason that I haven't mentioned my intentions to too many people. That includes my family. I'm not expecting lot of support there, nor anywhere else. Part of it is that in my past, I have rarely finished anything that I have started. So, I well deserve the backlash from that. The other reason is that I am interested in persuing a dangerous career field. Oddly, if I were talking abotu becomming a police officer or fireman, I doubt that I'd be having problems in the area of support.
Ultimately, this is up to ME! I'm on my own here, in organizing, planning & support. Nobody else is going to help me. (Though I will say that my landlord has been extremely decent abou this; essentially forgoing rent until I get the funds together. Of course despite our differences, I count him as one of the best friends that I will ever have, even if I do not believe that he understands what's actually behind a lot of this.)
Right now, I'm writing this as though to myself. I don't expect anyone to ever read it. It's just as well. I'm on my own in this. The blog if for me more than anyone else. It's either this or talk to myself.
As I said, I'm on my own. Certainly there is part of me that wants ot be able to meet people again & tell them "I told you that I'd do this." Yet ultimately, it doesn't matter to me if I never see them again. I've always been somewhat of a loner & feeling a need to be independent. I enjoyed it for a while but in teh lastfew years I've become reliant on the company of others. I hate it.
Any impetus, any preparation and the eventual outcome are in my hands. I must come to acknowledge also that even being accepted into training is fundamentally upom me. This is a burden... and it is a release.
I've thought again this week about perceptiosn; how I perceive those around me & how they observe me. I suspect that my utter disgust with my current environment & situation resembles anger. Part of it is, but it is mainly anger that I transfer. I don't despise those around me all that much more than I despise myself for being here... essentially by choice. I am where I am due to my own decisions. I am a product of them. That is the key however. Because it signifies that if one were to make dissimilar decisions, then the results would reflect such a correction.
Even now, part of me is doubting. (Yes... I know that this all sound like a horrible paperback novel at times.) I'm fairly certian that the doubt & fear will increase as I come closer to the goal. I suspect that is why self-motivation is so difficut. Honestly, the mor prepared I am for this, the more difficult it will be to make excuses not to follow through. That's one reason I'm writing this. I want to be able to look back & read it to remind me.
Do not let this last opportunity pass you by. You will never forgive yourself.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Expatriation?
Yes, I'm still thinking about leaving. I'm trying tomake it a GOAL rather than a dream. Brazil is still looking very good. I stumbled across some old properties that I'd been looking at a year or so ago. I don't know if this particular place is still available but I really like the local. It's not as heavy a tourist haven as Rio, but it's still in a populated area with beaches & an airport. This particular property is located in Florianopolis on the southern coast about 200 miles south of Sao Paulo.
There's a Krav Maga Academy located about 20 miles north in Florianopolis. The property in these locations looks inexpensive as their not in the tourist locations... but are close enough to the larger cities that airports & such are easily accessible. I'm still interested in studying Krav Maga. Who knows if I'll be able to get the opportunity before the year is over. I haven't had very good luck so far & even if my health holds up I suspect that the hours at work are going to get crazy by Fall.
One of the questions on the (old) application for CASS was whether or not the applicant would be willing to move to South America to pursue contracts. This was before 9/11 & the latest nightmare in the Middle east. South America is where I want to be. More specifically... Brazil.
View Larger Map
Last week I apparently forgot to submit my hours. I must have hit Save at the end of the day thinking that I hit Submit. So when I fixed the problem yesterday, I wasn't expecting to get a pay check today. As a result, I pulled $400 out of savings. I was thinking that I could replace it when I got a double check next Friday. It turns out that I did get paid so I apparently got it turned in in time. (I still have some hours that have been submitted & paid but never approved. I have no idea how ot handle those now since that manager has left the team.)
So the account is back up to $2k. However, I won't be able to put little if anything in there this week because in anticipation of being broke, I decided to pay some additional bills & take the money out of the large check I expected next week to replace it. Still, I just made several payments within the last two weeks so I can probably put some extra in next pay period.
There's a Krav Maga Academy located about 20 miles north in Florianopolis. The property in these locations looks inexpensive as their not in the tourist locations... but are close enough to the larger cities that airports & such are easily accessible. I'm still interested in studying Krav Maga. Who knows if I'll be able to get the opportunity before the year is over. I haven't had very good luck so far & even if my health holds up I suspect that the hours at work are going to get crazy by Fall.
One of the questions on the (old) application for CASS was whether or not the applicant would be willing to move to South America to pursue contracts. This was before 9/11 & the latest nightmare in the Middle east. South America is where I want to be. More specifically... Brazil.
View Larger Map
Last week I apparently forgot to submit my hours. I must have hit Save at the end of the day thinking that I hit Submit. So when I fixed the problem yesterday, I wasn't expecting to get a pay check today. As a result, I pulled $400 out of savings. I was thinking that I could replace it when I got a double check next Friday. It turns out that I did get paid so I apparently got it turned in in time. (I still have some hours that have been submitted & paid but never approved. I have no idea how ot handle those now since that manager has left the team.)
So the account is back up to $2k. However, I won't be able to put little if anything in there this week because in anticipation of being broke, I decided to pay some additional bills & take the money out of the large check I expected next week to replace it. Still, I just made several payments within the last two weeks so I can probably put some extra in next pay period.
Friday, April 17, 2009
"It's not fun, until it's done!"
That's a 'new' mantra, jingle, whatever, that's been e-mailed about the team today. "It isn't done until it makes you grin!" Funny, I would have thought that it was "done" when the bugs were fixed & it performed as intended... & required. I can see why I'm just not cut out for this industry. The cute slogans don't create the necessary euphoria with me. In fact, they make me nauseas. 
The fact of the matter here is that quality-of-substance is a non-issue. If you cram enough bells & whistles into a product, it doesn’t matter whether or not it’s functional for the basic purpose… because it’s COOL! Picture a Formula 1 racer sans running engine. Nice to look at but you won’t be taking that sucker out onto the track any time soon. You can pump all of the “great ideas” that you want into something but if with every change you make each intended function less usable… it’s rather pointless, yes?
Then there’s the total lack of communication around here. It’s like we have at least two separate companies working on the same job. I think I understand something of what Lee felt at Gettysburg. He was wondering what happened to Jackson & his cavalry while Jackson is off joyriding & burning warehouses 100-miles away, oblivious to the coming destruction.
On a brighter note, I hit the 1/3 mark today as far as funding for the EP training. It's a rough estimate, putting the $6,170 as the minimum & only being able to pay for the course & airfare. Again, all this assumes that my application is accepted... & that I either remain employed for the entire 6-months... or that I risk paying my deposit & work toearn the rest before I attend, hopefully early in 2010. It's a tough call & I suspectthat part of my motivation for preperations isn't really going to kick in until I shell out that $3500 deposit.
The fact of the matter here is that quality-of-substance is a non-issue. If you cram enough bells & whistles into a product, it doesn’t matter whether or not it’s functional for the basic purpose… because it’s COOL! Picture a Formula 1 racer sans running engine. Nice to look at but you won’t be taking that sucker out onto the track any time soon. You can pump all of the “great ideas” that you want into something but if with every change you make each intended function less usable… it’s rather pointless, yes?
Then there’s the total lack of communication around here. It’s like we have at least two separate companies working on the same job. I think I understand something of what Lee felt at Gettysburg. He was wondering what happened to Jackson & his cavalry while Jackson is off joyriding & burning warehouses 100-miles away, oblivious to the coming destruction.
On a brighter note, I hit the 1/3 mark today as far as funding for the EP training. It's a rough estimate, putting the $6,170 as the minimum & only being able to pay for the course & airfare. Again, all this assumes that my application is accepted... & that I either remain employed for the entire 6-months... or that I risk paying my deposit & work toearn the rest before I attend, hopefully early in 2010. It's a tough call & I suspectthat part of my motivation for preperations isn't really going to kick in until I shell out that $3500 deposit.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
What's the meaning of it all...
Seriously. What's the reward for working at a company, on a team that appears utterly incapable of organizing itself for success? I've seen grade school bake sales with better organization. These are people who should know about "best practices" & use some common sense. Yet it appears that languor is the prevailing mood. Either that or it's simply blatant stupidity.
I've also noticed a developing trend as well. It seems to me that each team I work on is less organized than the previous one. Is this because of the rumored talent drain or is it that the limited supply of functioning brains cells in the universe is finally nearing exhaustion?
"I work for the greatest software company on the world!" Now... come on. Do you actually believe that or are you brown nosing to keep your pitiful job? Is this also the only software company that you've ever worked at? Though it wouldn't matter because every one that I have ever worked at has been equally abyssmal. How does it make you feel to be that damned desperate? Certainly, in the current economic environment I fully understand clinging to ones employer... but in all seriousness, do yo uhonestly believe that this company won't throw you under the train to improve the bottom line? Are you completely to the daily product & organizational issues that plague the workplace? Wow. Simply, Wow.
I've also noticed a developing trend as well. It seems to me that each team I work on is less organized than the previous one. Is this because of the rumored talent drain or is it that the limited supply of functioning brains cells in the universe is finally nearing exhaustion?
"I work for the greatest software company on the world!" Now... come on. Do you actually believe that or are you brown nosing to keep your pitiful job? Is this also the only software company that you've ever worked at? Though it wouldn't matter because every one that I have ever worked at has been equally abyssmal. How does it make you feel to be that damned desperate? Certainly, in the current economic environment I fully understand clinging to ones employer... but in all seriousness, do yo uhonestly believe that this company won't throw you under the train to improve the bottom line? Are you completely to the daily product & organizational issues that plague the workplace? Wow. Simply, Wow.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Very Tired...
I believe that much of my (apparent) exhaustion is the stress of uncertainty with the job. I hate not knowing about the length of tenure. On the one hand, it sounds positive when you look at the Milestone projections & listen to the blather from management. On the other hand, I've been through layoff's before. So I have a bit of a heightened sensitivity when I hear a PM telling me "plans".
It's not that I love the job. I'm looking at how long I actually may or may not have to save money for the Executive Protection training. I just passed my three-month anniversary, but they don't have to keep me an entire six. They could let me go any time.
I estimated that I would need to remain employed at least until mid-July (six months) in order to get the full amount saved to attend CASS. If I have to take a lower paying position, it doesn't make it impossible to attend, but it does make it more difficult. I wouldn't be able to save as much per month, nor would I be able to have as much of a cushion of savings in addition to the tuition.
I really don't want to attend the shorter High Risk Tactical Operator Course. (They may suggest that as my starting point... or they may dismiss me entirely & not even accept my application.) If I have a chance to attend the full-length Advanced Executive Protection Course, that is what I wish to do. I believe that it will be the best option for my entering the industry.
I still have many other issues that I need to address; including getting back on track with the fitness routine & the Spanish studies. The job issue seems to be serving as a useful distraction. One again, it's coming down to the question of just how badly I want to succeed at this if I get the opportunity. The course won't be easy & I need to be as prepared as I can be.
It's not that I love the job. I'm looking at how long I actually may or may not have to save money for the Executive Protection training. I just passed my three-month anniversary, but they don't have to keep me an entire six. They could let me go any time.
I estimated that I would need to remain employed at least until mid-July (six months) in order to get the full amount saved to attend CASS. If I have to take a lower paying position, it doesn't make it impossible to attend, but it does make it more difficult. I wouldn't be able to save as much per month, nor would I be able to have as much of a cushion of savings in addition to the tuition.
I really don't want to attend the shorter High Risk Tactical Operator Course. (They may suggest that as my starting point... or they may dismiss me entirely & not even accept my application.) If I have a chance to attend the full-length Advanced Executive Protection Course, that is what I wish to do. I believe that it will be the best option for my entering the industry.
I still have many other issues that I need to address; including getting back on track with the fitness routine & the Spanish studies. The job issue seems to be serving as a useful distraction. One again, it's coming down to the question of just how badly I want to succeed at this if I get the opportunity. The course won't be easy & I need to be as prepared as I can be.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Employment Horizons...
After the meeting a wover a week ago, I was feeling positive about my prospects on this team. It only took a week of abnormal activity to change that 180 degrees. Changes have come up suddenly,... inlcuding the dropping of all the previous automation & even the previously supported platforms... & we now have no idea just what the eventual outcome will be.
So once again, I'm expecting to be jobless at the end of my 6-month run. This a may even occur before that. The lackof communication within this group is frustrating to say the least. I can assume that things may be a bit better if our manager was an FTE. He's not. So, he tends ot be left out of the loop just like the rest of us. We find out important details after-the-fact. Given this environment, I've been looking at other employment options. I cannot afford to try & survive on unemployment in anticipation of picking up another MS contract.
I'm a little over 1/4 of the way to having the funding for the Executive Protection course... but am preparing for the possibility that I will simply not be able to afford the advanced immersion course. I may have to settle for enrolling in the shorter, operator course. This isn't what I wanted, but being realistic about getting the opportunity to obtain the training would be best. When all is said & done, they may not even accept my application. If that happens, than I'm done. If it's accepted, then I'd prefer to stack the deck in my favor.
So once again, I'm expecting to be jobless at the end of my 6-month run. This a may even occur before that. The lackof communication within this group is frustrating to say the least. I can assume that things may be a bit better if our manager was an FTE. He's not. So, he tends ot be left out of the loop just like the rest of us. We find out important details after-the-fact. Given this environment, I've been looking at other employment options. I cannot afford to try & survive on unemployment in anticipation of picking up another MS contract.
I'm a little over 1/4 of the way to having the funding for the Executive Protection course... but am preparing for the possibility that I will simply not be able to afford the advanced immersion course. I may have to settle for enrolling in the shorter, operator course. This isn't what I wanted, but being realistic about getting the opportunity to obtain the training would be best. When all is said & done, they may not even accept my application. If that happens, than I'm done. If it's accepted, then I'd prefer to stack the deck in my favor.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Truth or Fiction? A Look at Bodybuilding Maxims
Truth or Fiction? A Look at Bodybuilding Maxims
By Charles Staley, B.Sc, MSS
Director, Staley Training Systems
http://www.staleytraining.com
Like all fields of human endeavor, bodybuilding has accumulated a vast collection of maxims— brief encapsulations of truth which are intended to serve as memorable (and often humorous) reminders of the proper way of doing things.
So, I thought I’d take a look at some of these time-worn exonerations and see if these "kernels of truth" are worth their weight, or better left unsaid.
One short disclaimer: I was not able to identify the authors of these statements, in every case, but wanted to give credit whenever possible. In some cases, I have identified the person thought to be author of a given statement. Any oversights and/or inaccuracies are not intentional.
"No pain, no gain"
This is perhaps the most classic, most oft-quoted maxim from the world of bodybuilding. It refers to the fact that you have to venture beyond your comfort level while exercising in order to gain beneficial results.
Unfortunately, taken literally, this maxim could be more harmful than helpful. It doesn’t take a lot of intelligence to hurt yourself during a workout. It does, however, take a reasonable measure of smarts plus common sense to get results from your training. I also happen to think that most weight trainingrelated injuries are not acute, but long-term damage that you aren’t aware of until it’s too late. I recently saw a photo of extreme fighter Frank Shamrock performing what he called a "power clean" with a grip that was at least 12 inches too wide. In 10 or 15 years I’m sure he’ll wonder why he’s in too much pain to lift anymore.
"No brain, no gain"
An intelligent counter-point to the above, and I agree: hard training is all but worthless if not conducted intelligently.
"They'll bury me big"
Translation: "I don’t care if I die in the process, I will do anything to get freaky huge!" It’s unfortunate how so many people will risk their health, career potential, relationships, and pretty much everything else for the one in a bizillian chance that they will ultimately win the Mr/Ms Whatever contest. Self-actualized people, on the other hand, train because of the rewards inherent in the process, not for a result which will probably never come.
"Go heavy or go home"
The idea that heavy weights must always be used irrespective of everything else is a mistaken idea, even for competitive lifters. Few athletes have the discipline to maintain correct technique with truly heavy weights. This may explain why Jimmy "the Iron Bull" Pallechia is so popular.
A much more refined approach, especially for bodybuilders, is to find how to get the most results with the lightest weights. Case in point: when Olympic weightlifter Joel Senate came to me early this year, I increased his front squat by 26 pounds in 4 weeks by using only lunges— and the most additional weight we used was 20 pound dumbbells!
"If the bar ain't bendin' you're just pretendin’"
More of the same. I actually think it takes a lot more discipline and fortitude to lift a moderate weight to exhaustion with optimal technique than it does to lift big weights with sloppy form.
"Refuse to Lose"
Sounds nice as long as you’re winning.
"Tough times don't last— tough people do"
Ditto.
"Difficulty is relative to your preparation"
I believe the author of this is Dan Millman. I find this to be profound, and illustrative of a methodological approach to training. It isn’t true in the literal sense— some people can never be successful competitive bodybuilders, for instance. But if you’ve identified challenging and realistic goals for yourself, this maxim can serve as inspiration when you have a hard time getting geared up for your next workout.
"Train, don't strain"
This seems to suggest that you needn’t work hard during exercise. The very definition of training is the regular, planned application of stress for the purpose of causing a desired adaptation. Of course, beginners or de-conditioned people don’t need to push particularly hard at the beginning, so at the most I’ll say that this is wise advice for beginners.
"Stimulate, don't annihilate"
This one was often used by Lee Haney on his television show. In order to make progress, you must expose the body to slightly higher levels of stress that it is used to experiencing. I think Haney has captured the essence of this truth quite nicely.
"Train for shape, and size will follow" (Sigmund Klein?)
The reverse makes more sense. Nevertheless, your muscle shape is genetically pre-determined. You can’t train for shape, no matter what anyone tells you. However, as a muscle becomes larger, it’s shape does change (because now the girth of the muscle is a greater percentage of its length), but that change is pre-determined. Nevertheless, literally every month, you’ll find an article about "peaking" your biceps in some muscle mag.
"It's all you!"
Whenever I hear someone yelling this in the gym, I always look over to see someone struggling to pull a bar off of his partner. As my colleague Dr. Sal Arria likes to point out, most people can easily lift a 45 pound bar with two pinkies. So the next time you tell your partner that you hardly helped him at all, think again.
"I don't want to get too big" (In my best Jerry Sienfeld)
Is this really a problem for people? This statement comes predominately from females who put shoulder pads in their blouses. Go figure. Could you imagine enrolling in a course or beginning some new endeavor saying "I’ll do this as long as I don’t become too successful."? Don’t use fear of success as an excuse for not training.
"Strength built quickly is lost quickly"
In the strength training community, it is generally accepted that high intensity strength training will increase strength quickly, but this strength tends to be "unstable," or quickly eroding. High volume strength training increases strength slowly, but strength gained in this manner tends to be more "permanent."
These two observations support the concept of periodization, where a high intensity "peaking" cycle follows a high volume "foundational" cycle of training in order to exploit both types of adaptations. Incidentally, if you have strength trained for many years, you’ll be able to take a few months off, and be able to maintain your strength and body composition quite well. Beginners can’t afford to do this however.
"Quality before quantity"
This is a beaut of a universal truth. It applies to a workout just as much as it applies to a year or an entire athletic career. Let’s say that you can perform about 6-7 pull-ups, but would love to be able to do 3 sets of 10 someday. Most people simply try to add reps (quantity) every workout, which usually leads nowhere because it doesn’t make you any stronger.
A better approach would be to use lower reps (i.e., higher quality)— say down to 2-3 reps per set (which may require that you use additional weight hooked to a belt), and then gradually, add sets. After 3-4 weeks when you can do in the neighborhood of 10-12 sets of 2-3 reps, try one all-out set for reps and see what happens. I know you’ll be happy with the result!
"First isolate, then integrate" (Paul Chek)
This is an eloquent statement which applies to the periodization of training. First make the individual muscles strong (concentrating on the weakest ones), then use exercises and patterns which require these muscles to work together in primal movement patterns. As a twist on this, it may not be lack of strength which limits your performance, but inadequate flexibility, endurance, or proprioception. The basic idea is that each muscle must have optimal performance parameters before it can bear its share of the load in complex exercise patterns or sport skills.
"There is no joy in victory, no sorrow in defeat"
This simply means that you shouldn’t get too caught up in your successes or your failures. If you win, it’s time to step up to the next level. If you lose, you need to re-group, learn from your mistakes, and make a new plan of action. Most people do just the opposite— when they win (or make progress), they shrine off the training program that got them there, and vow to do nothing else for the rest of their lives. When they lose (or fail to make progress), they just shrug it off, and continue to do the same thing that led to failure, but expecting a different result.
"Train slow, be slow"
I disagree— slow movements will not hurt your speed any more than fast training will hurt your slowness. If anything, movements performed at a slightly lower speed may have an adverse effect on speed. Since no barbell movement can come anywhere near the speed commonly used in most sports, why take the risk? I always smile when I see martial artists and boxers performing fast punches with dumbbells— these "punches" are much slower than unweighted ones, so they don’t make you any faster. And since the weights are so light, they also don’t make you any stronger!
"If it doesn't kill you, it will make you strong"
Or, it might injure you. This is a totally inappropriate statement when applied to training.
"Pain is weakness leaving the body"
I don’t know where this originated from, but I like it, and it really has a degree of truth, doesn’t it?
"Train big, eat big, sleep big"
A good philosophy for people wishing to gain weight and who aren’t too wrapped up in their current job.
"There's no such thing as overtraining, only undereating and undersleeping"
Another way to state the previous maxim. However, it is possible to have a training schedule which cannot be recovered from, particularly if there is insufficient variation for long periods of time.
"God made Nautilus machines to keep geeks off barbells" (Mike Burgener).
I’m sorry, but I always slip into a grin whenever I hear this one— a guilty pleasure. However, if we’re willing to be honest, machines can have a place in everyone’s training. The problem is when people use machines as "the path of least resistance," because that’s what they are when overused or used for the wrong reasons. Many fitness enterpeneurs have taken the machine psychology a few steps further and have made a lot of money doing so— for example, remember "toning tables"?
"Real athletes sit down between their sets; everyone else sits down during their sets"
A slam against bodybuilders from the weightlifting community. Weightlifters, bodybuilders, and powerlifters have more in common than they usually realize, however.
"Real athletes lift standing up"
Another tear-jerker from the weightlifting community. It refers to the fact that the Olympic lifts (snatch and clean & jerk) are performed in a standing position. It’s also a subtle dig against bench pressing, which admittedly has questionable transfer to most athletic and everyday activities.
"Bodybuilders... Big for Nothin!'"
Few bodybuilders have so much mass that it impairs their everyday functioning, so this statement has no relevance in my mind. The vast majority of people would do well with more muscle, not less.
"7 days without a workout makes one weak."
Convenient play on words, but it only applies to beginners. Otherwise, an occasional week off helps more than it hurts. For example, my Olympic weightlifters normally train between 46 and 48 weeks a year.
"The difficulty of an exercise is proportional to its value" (Eric Burkhardt)
There is enormous truth in this. How rarely I see people squatting, or chinning, or performing step-ups. How common it is to see people making a career out of what they already do best— limber women who concentrate on stretching, thick-chested men who do nothing but bench press.
"If you're in the gym more than an hour, you're not training, you're making friends" (Charles Poliquin).
Charles is dead-on with this statement. If you are genuinely training, it’s hard to spend much more than an hour at the gym. I find it remarkable that people who use the gym for serious training are considered "hard core," while people who use it for socializing and reading the morning paper are considered much more rational.
"Agonize. Don't socialize" (Eric Burkhardt)
Another nice way to say the above.
"If in doubt, add more weight"
No logic here, but what else is new? I’d rather say "If in doubt, congratulate yourself because at least you have some inkling that maybe you’re doing it wrong"!
"Do as many as you can, and then three more"
An old coaches maxim to get across the idea of maximal effort. However, I must emphasize that your exercise technique should be the same from your first to your last rep. If any aspect changes— speed, range of motion, posture, etc.— it means you hit failure and then found some way of altering your technique in order to complete more reps. The possible exception to this rule is when using Tellekinetics, which in effect, is a scientific form of cheating.
"You can't shoot a cannon out of a canoe"
This is from Dr. Fred Hatfield, president of the International Sports Sciences Association. He’s referring to the fact that you must have a superior "base" (read: leg strength) in order to be able to exploit your upper body strength. In fact, many top bodybuilders throughout the years have preached heavy lower body work for both lower and upper body gains.
"Squats are king of all exercises"
No exercise is the King of anything. Squats are a valuable tool for lots of people. However, they cannot be properly performed by others. Over-glorifying one exercise causes others to be ignored. Think of exercises as tools, which have utility when used appropriately in the right situations.
"Just do it"
I see everyone just doing it...improperly. Odd how such a non-descript little saying became so popular.
Conclusion
Weight training is not unique with regards to the kinds of proclamations we’ve looked at in this article. Other fields of endeavor have their own pearls of wisdom as well. The trick is to separate the truth from the fiction; to use what is useful and discard the rest.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About The Author
Charles Staley...world-class strength/performance coach...his colleagues call him an iconoclast, a visionary, a rule-breaker. His clients call him “The Secret Weapon” for his ability to see what other coaches miss. Charles calls himself a “geek” who struggled in Phys Ed throughout school. Whatever you call him, Charles’ methods are ahead of their time and quickly produce serious results.
Click here to visit Charles' site and grab your 5 FREE videos that will show you how to literally FORCE your body to build muscle, lose fat and gain strength with "Escalating Density Training," Charles' revolutionary, time-saving approach to lifting that focuses on performance NOT pain.
By Charles Staley, B.Sc, MSS
Director, Staley Training Systems
http://www.staleytraining.com
Like all fields of human endeavor, bodybuilding has accumulated a vast collection of maxims— brief encapsulations of truth which are intended to serve as memorable (and often humorous) reminders of the proper way of doing things.
So, I thought I’d take a look at some of these time-worn exonerations and see if these "kernels of truth" are worth their weight, or better left unsaid.
One short disclaimer: I was not able to identify the authors of these statements, in every case, but wanted to give credit whenever possible. In some cases, I have identified the person thought to be author of a given statement. Any oversights and/or inaccuracies are not intentional.
"No pain, no gain"
This is perhaps the most classic, most oft-quoted maxim from the world of bodybuilding. It refers to the fact that you have to venture beyond your comfort level while exercising in order to gain beneficial results.
Unfortunately, taken literally, this maxim could be more harmful than helpful. It doesn’t take a lot of intelligence to hurt yourself during a workout. It does, however, take a reasonable measure of smarts plus common sense to get results from your training. I also happen to think that most weight trainingrelated injuries are not acute, but long-term damage that you aren’t aware of until it’s too late. I recently saw a photo of extreme fighter Frank Shamrock performing what he called a "power clean" with a grip that was at least 12 inches too wide. In 10 or 15 years I’m sure he’ll wonder why he’s in too much pain to lift anymore.
"No brain, no gain"
An intelligent counter-point to the above, and I agree: hard training is all but worthless if not conducted intelligently.
"They'll bury me big"
Translation: "I don’t care if I die in the process, I will do anything to get freaky huge!" It’s unfortunate how so many people will risk their health, career potential, relationships, and pretty much everything else for the one in a bizillian chance that they will ultimately win the Mr/Ms Whatever contest. Self-actualized people, on the other hand, train because of the rewards inherent in the process, not for a result which will probably never come.
"Go heavy or go home"
The idea that heavy weights must always be used irrespective of everything else is a mistaken idea, even for competitive lifters. Few athletes have the discipline to maintain correct technique with truly heavy weights. This may explain why Jimmy "the Iron Bull" Pallechia is so popular.
A much more refined approach, especially for bodybuilders, is to find how to get the most results with the lightest weights. Case in point: when Olympic weightlifter Joel Senate came to me early this year, I increased his front squat by 26 pounds in 4 weeks by using only lunges— and the most additional weight we used was 20 pound dumbbells!
"If the bar ain't bendin' you're just pretendin’"
More of the same. I actually think it takes a lot more discipline and fortitude to lift a moderate weight to exhaustion with optimal technique than it does to lift big weights with sloppy form.
"Refuse to Lose"
Sounds nice as long as you’re winning.
"Tough times don't last— tough people do"
Ditto.
"Difficulty is relative to your preparation"
I believe the author of this is Dan Millman. I find this to be profound, and illustrative of a methodological approach to training. It isn’t true in the literal sense— some people can never be successful competitive bodybuilders, for instance. But if you’ve identified challenging and realistic goals for yourself, this maxim can serve as inspiration when you have a hard time getting geared up for your next workout.
"Train, don't strain"
This seems to suggest that you needn’t work hard during exercise. The very definition of training is the regular, planned application of stress for the purpose of causing a desired adaptation. Of course, beginners or de-conditioned people don’t need to push particularly hard at the beginning, so at the most I’ll say that this is wise advice for beginners.
"Stimulate, don't annihilate"
This one was often used by Lee Haney on his television show. In order to make progress, you must expose the body to slightly higher levels of stress that it is used to experiencing. I think Haney has captured the essence of this truth quite nicely.
"Train for shape, and size will follow" (Sigmund Klein?)
The reverse makes more sense. Nevertheless, your muscle shape is genetically pre-determined. You can’t train for shape, no matter what anyone tells you. However, as a muscle becomes larger, it’s shape does change (because now the girth of the muscle is a greater percentage of its length), but that change is pre-determined. Nevertheless, literally every month, you’ll find an article about "peaking" your biceps in some muscle mag.
"It's all you!"
Whenever I hear someone yelling this in the gym, I always look over to see someone struggling to pull a bar off of his partner. As my colleague Dr. Sal Arria likes to point out, most people can easily lift a 45 pound bar with two pinkies. So the next time you tell your partner that you hardly helped him at all, think again.
"I don't want to get too big" (In my best Jerry Sienfeld)
Is this really a problem for people? This statement comes predominately from females who put shoulder pads in their blouses. Go figure. Could you imagine enrolling in a course or beginning some new endeavor saying "I’ll do this as long as I don’t become too successful."? Don’t use fear of success as an excuse for not training.
"Strength built quickly is lost quickly"
In the strength training community, it is generally accepted that high intensity strength training will increase strength quickly, but this strength tends to be "unstable," or quickly eroding. High volume strength training increases strength slowly, but strength gained in this manner tends to be more "permanent."
These two observations support the concept of periodization, where a high intensity "peaking" cycle follows a high volume "foundational" cycle of training in order to exploit both types of adaptations. Incidentally, if you have strength trained for many years, you’ll be able to take a few months off, and be able to maintain your strength and body composition quite well. Beginners can’t afford to do this however.
"Quality before quantity"
This is a beaut of a universal truth. It applies to a workout just as much as it applies to a year or an entire athletic career. Let’s say that you can perform about 6-7 pull-ups, but would love to be able to do 3 sets of 10 someday. Most people simply try to add reps (quantity) every workout, which usually leads nowhere because it doesn’t make you any stronger.
A better approach would be to use lower reps (i.e., higher quality)— say down to 2-3 reps per set (which may require that you use additional weight hooked to a belt), and then gradually, add sets. After 3-4 weeks when you can do in the neighborhood of 10-12 sets of 2-3 reps, try one all-out set for reps and see what happens. I know you’ll be happy with the result!
"First isolate, then integrate" (Paul Chek)
This is an eloquent statement which applies to the periodization of training. First make the individual muscles strong (concentrating on the weakest ones), then use exercises and patterns which require these muscles to work together in primal movement patterns. As a twist on this, it may not be lack of strength which limits your performance, but inadequate flexibility, endurance, or proprioception. The basic idea is that each muscle must have optimal performance parameters before it can bear its share of the load in complex exercise patterns or sport skills.
"There is no joy in victory, no sorrow in defeat"
This simply means that you shouldn’t get too caught up in your successes or your failures. If you win, it’s time to step up to the next level. If you lose, you need to re-group, learn from your mistakes, and make a new plan of action. Most people do just the opposite— when they win (or make progress), they shrine off the training program that got them there, and vow to do nothing else for the rest of their lives. When they lose (or fail to make progress), they just shrug it off, and continue to do the same thing that led to failure, but expecting a different result.
"Train slow, be slow"
I disagree— slow movements will not hurt your speed any more than fast training will hurt your slowness. If anything, movements performed at a slightly lower speed may have an adverse effect on speed. Since no barbell movement can come anywhere near the speed commonly used in most sports, why take the risk? I always smile when I see martial artists and boxers performing fast punches with dumbbells— these "punches" are much slower than unweighted ones, so they don’t make you any faster. And since the weights are so light, they also don’t make you any stronger!
"If it doesn't kill you, it will make you strong"
Or, it might injure you. This is a totally inappropriate statement when applied to training.
"Pain is weakness leaving the body"
I don’t know where this originated from, but I like it, and it really has a degree of truth, doesn’t it?
"Train big, eat big, sleep big"
A good philosophy for people wishing to gain weight and who aren’t too wrapped up in their current job.
"There's no such thing as overtraining, only undereating and undersleeping"
Another way to state the previous maxim. However, it is possible to have a training schedule which cannot be recovered from, particularly if there is insufficient variation for long periods of time.
"God made Nautilus machines to keep geeks off barbells" (Mike Burgener).
I’m sorry, but I always slip into a grin whenever I hear this one— a guilty pleasure. However, if we’re willing to be honest, machines can have a place in everyone’s training. The problem is when people use machines as "the path of least resistance," because that’s what they are when overused or used for the wrong reasons. Many fitness enterpeneurs have taken the machine psychology a few steps further and have made a lot of money doing so— for example, remember "toning tables"?
"Real athletes sit down between their sets; everyone else sits down during their sets"
A slam against bodybuilders from the weightlifting community. Weightlifters, bodybuilders, and powerlifters have more in common than they usually realize, however.
"Real athletes lift standing up"
Another tear-jerker from the weightlifting community. It refers to the fact that the Olympic lifts (snatch and clean & jerk) are performed in a standing position. It’s also a subtle dig against bench pressing, which admittedly has questionable transfer to most athletic and everyday activities.
"Bodybuilders... Big for Nothin!'"
Few bodybuilders have so much mass that it impairs their everyday functioning, so this statement has no relevance in my mind. The vast majority of people would do well with more muscle, not less.
"7 days without a workout makes one weak."
Convenient play on words, but it only applies to beginners. Otherwise, an occasional week off helps more than it hurts. For example, my Olympic weightlifters normally train between 46 and 48 weeks a year.
"The difficulty of an exercise is proportional to its value" (Eric Burkhardt)
There is enormous truth in this. How rarely I see people squatting, or chinning, or performing step-ups. How common it is to see people making a career out of what they already do best— limber women who concentrate on stretching, thick-chested men who do nothing but bench press.
"If you're in the gym more than an hour, you're not training, you're making friends" (Charles Poliquin).
Charles is dead-on with this statement. If you are genuinely training, it’s hard to spend much more than an hour at the gym. I find it remarkable that people who use the gym for serious training are considered "hard core," while people who use it for socializing and reading the morning paper are considered much more rational.
"Agonize. Don't socialize" (Eric Burkhardt)
Another nice way to say the above.
"If in doubt, add more weight"
No logic here, but what else is new? I’d rather say "If in doubt, congratulate yourself because at least you have some inkling that maybe you’re doing it wrong"!
"Do as many as you can, and then three more"
An old coaches maxim to get across the idea of maximal effort. However, I must emphasize that your exercise technique should be the same from your first to your last rep. If any aspect changes— speed, range of motion, posture, etc.— it means you hit failure and then found some way of altering your technique in order to complete more reps. The possible exception to this rule is when using Tellekinetics, which in effect, is a scientific form of cheating.
"You can't shoot a cannon out of a canoe"
This is from Dr. Fred Hatfield, president of the International Sports Sciences Association. He’s referring to the fact that you must have a superior "base" (read: leg strength) in order to be able to exploit your upper body strength. In fact, many top bodybuilders throughout the years have preached heavy lower body work for both lower and upper body gains.
"Squats are king of all exercises"
No exercise is the King of anything. Squats are a valuable tool for lots of people. However, they cannot be properly performed by others. Over-glorifying one exercise causes others to be ignored. Think of exercises as tools, which have utility when used appropriately in the right situations.
"Just do it"
I see everyone just doing it...improperly. Odd how such a non-descript little saying became so popular.
Conclusion
Weight training is not unique with regards to the kinds of proclamations we’ve looked at in this article. Other fields of endeavor have their own pearls of wisdom as well. The trick is to separate the truth from the fiction; to use what is useful and discard the rest.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About The Author
Charles Staley...world-class strength/performance coach...his colleagues call him an iconoclast, a visionary, a rule-breaker. His clients call him “The Secret Weapon” for his ability to see what other coaches miss. Charles calls himself a “geek” who struggled in Phys Ed throughout school. Whatever you call him, Charles’ methods are ahead of their time and quickly produce serious results.
Click here to visit Charles' site and grab your 5 FREE videos that will show you how to literally FORCE your body to build muscle, lose fat and gain strength with "Escalating Density Training," Charles' revolutionary, time-saving approach to lifting that focuses on performance NOT pain.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
So... No Overtime...
Last week we were informed that there would be no overtime authorized. If I recall, the word absolutely was used in the proclamation. Earlier that day I'd gotten a look at some "planning" for the team & it appears that our workload is being tripled (at least). We lost one tester who was cut at his six-month anniversary. The other tester is on vacation for the next two weeks.
Now... I don't mind hard work. It makes the day & week go by quicker. However, I've always resented being set up to fail. I'm hopefully that this is an attempt to justify the staff that we still have. With the pay cuts, the overtime rate cuts & now the announcements that no OT will be authorized, I'm a bit nervous about the future.
The bottom line for me is... MONEY! Not necessarily how much they're paying me, but HOW LONG will they be paying me!? I really don't want to have to go looking for a job come July. For one thing, I'll only be eligible to work another six months at MS. That may hamper my getting another contract. I'm not sure how other companies are going to be, staffing wise. Cutbacks are to be expected all over the industry. I'm wondering if MS will start cutting the existing contractors in order to decrease costs. So those of us, who were hired in at the higher wages & only took the 10% cut, will essentially be forced to take the additional pay cut immediately.
I just want to be earning enough money up until the end of the year to finance getting the hell out of this industry completely & forever! Rather than subsiding, my interest in doing this is becoming stronger every passing day. I'm truly beginning to loathe the place & this feeling actually has nothing to do with the current contract.
I like my current supervisor. I like the other people I'm working with. [Okay. We are down to two... & the one remaining guy is incredibly annoying... but he's terrified of me, so that works!] just think that the industry itself is BS. It appears that in order to get anywhere one must become a narcissistic putz.
I'm even contemplating taking the shorter Private Security course if it turns out that I am unable to get the full financing for the Executive Protection course. I hate to go that route. It isn't what I want to do... & contrary to what some people seem to think, I do not have a death wish. Still, it may end up being the only avenue available. It's not even all that much cheaper than the full 30-day training. I'd be spending around 30% less. It's a little under $4k sans airfare as opposed to a bit over $6k.
All I can really do is work towards the goal & control what I am able to control. Keep working... somewhere... & keep putting cash into savings to get me out of here.
Now... I don't mind hard work. It makes the day & week go by quicker. However, I've always resented being set up to fail. I'm hopefully that this is an attempt to justify the staff that we still have. With the pay cuts, the overtime rate cuts & now the announcements that no OT will be authorized, I'm a bit nervous about the future.
The bottom line for me is... MONEY! Not necessarily how much they're paying me, but HOW LONG will they be paying me!? I really don't want to have to go looking for a job come July. For one thing, I'll only be eligible to work another six months at MS. That may hamper my getting another contract. I'm not sure how other companies are going to be, staffing wise. Cutbacks are to be expected all over the industry. I'm wondering if MS will start cutting the existing contractors in order to decrease costs. So those of us, who were hired in at the higher wages & only took the 10% cut, will essentially be forced to take the additional pay cut immediately.
I just want to be earning enough money up until the end of the year to finance getting the hell out of this industry completely & forever! Rather than subsiding, my interest in doing this is becoming stronger every passing day. I'm truly beginning to loathe the place & this feeling actually has nothing to do with the current contract.
I like my current supervisor. I like the other people I'm working with. [Okay. We are down to two... & the one remaining guy is incredibly annoying... but he's terrified of me, so that works!] just think that the industry itself is BS. It appears that in order to get anywhere one must become a narcissistic putz.
I'm even contemplating taking the shorter Private Security course if it turns out that I am unable to get the full financing for the Executive Protection course. I hate to go that route. It isn't what I want to do... & contrary to what some people seem to think, I do not have a death wish. Still, it may end up being the only avenue available. It's not even all that much cheaper than the full 30-day training. I'd be spending around 30% less. It's a little under $4k sans airfare as opposed to a bit over $6k.
All I can really do is work towards the goal & control what I am able to control. Keep working... somewhere... & keep putting cash into savings to get me out of here.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
More on Self-defense...
After yesterdays failed attempt at getting enrolled for the Krav Maga course [For the record, I've been trying to get in there since the spring of 2008!] I decided to return to my "roots" and will be enrolling once again in American Combato under Bradley J. Steiner.
In his training ventures, Professor Steiner studied under a number of instructors; one of them being Charles Nelson. Mr. Nelson is no longer with us, but his established school remains... as does his renowned system.
Unfortunately, Steiners videos are no longer available. I own two in VHS format. The first is a session on the basics of self-defense under the American Combato system. The second is an excellent representation of defense with the walking stick. Not only would I like to see these made available again (in DVD format!) but I'd like to see some additional content. Perhaps something reflecting the skill sets for the different belt levels. The basics video is a good introduction however, as are Professor Steiners various books.
On that general theme, I thought I'd post some of Nelsons course material. These courses are currently available & were done with the intention of supplying the average individual with the ways & means to defend themselves without having to invest the capital in time, tuition & GAS MONEY! They was intended to go out to those who could not attend his school...
The Nelson school currently offers DVD copies of all of Nelsons classic course material as well as the original Little Red Book. Paladin Press offers their own version of the nelson title which is actually a combination of both the Little Grey and Little Red books. It's a great value! Paladin is also a great source for this type of material.
Nelsons stuff is great. Carl Cestari is another one of my favorites. Unfortunately, due to unscrupulous "partners" much of his material has been chopped up, edited & watered down to allow maximization of profits. If you can find copies of the original Cestari material, GRAB IT! Some video clips are available on YouTube. Otherwise the material may be found on eBay or similar sources.
Here's a beginners library list, courtesy of Bradley J. Steiner:
1. KILL OR GET KILLED, by Rex Applegate
2. ALL-IN FIGHTING (GET TOUGH!), by W.E. Fairbairn
3. COLD STEEL, by John Styers
4. V-5 HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT, by the U.S. Naval Institute
5. HANDBOOK OF SELF-DEFENSE IN PICTURES AND TEXT,
by John Martone
6. UNARMED CLOSE COMBAT (LETHAL UNARMED COMBAT),
by Malcolm Harris
7. AMERICAN COMBAT JUDO, by Bernard Cosneck
8. U.S. ARMY FIELD MANUAL 21-150 (COMBATIVES) - 1971 EDITION,
by the U.S. Army
9. DYNAMIC SELF-DEFENSE, by Sam Allred
10. BRUCE TEGNER'S COMPLETE BOOK OF JUKADO,
by Bruce Tegnér
11. BRUCE TEGNER'S COMPLETE BOOK OF SELF-DEFENSE,
by Bruce Tegnér
12. STICK FIGHTING FOR SELF-DEFENSE, by Bruce Tegnér
13. INSTANT SELF-DEFENSE, by Bruce Tegnér
14. MODERN SELF-DEFENSE, by Robert H. Sigward
15, ARWROLOGY, by Gordon Perrigard
16. SELF-DEFENCE COMPLETE, by Pat Butler
I may add some additional titles to this list... assuming that someone will eventually stumble across this stuff & be genuinely interested.
There may be additional volumes by Tegner available now. Amazon lists more of his books as newly available. Steiner has re-released The Tactical Skills of Hand-to-Hand Combat... a classic in its own right.
In addition to this title, he has another volume on disarming & defense against weapons titled No second Chance. Prof. Steiner has also authored several other tomes that are currently out of print, but may still be found if one has the wherewithal to go on safari. I recently saw ads for Subway Survival (written during his time in Phoenix) & the book was valued at between $200 & $300. So... I'm glad that I have a copy.
In his training ventures, Professor Steiner studied under a number of instructors; one of them being Charles Nelson. Mr. Nelson is no longer with us, but his established school remains... as does his renowned system.
Unfortunately, Steiners videos are no longer available. I own two in VHS format. The first is a session on the basics of self-defense under the American Combato system. The second is an excellent representation of defense with the walking stick. Not only would I like to see these made available again (in DVD format!) but I'd like to see some additional content. Perhaps something reflecting the skill sets for the different belt levels. The basics video is a good introduction however, as are Professor Steiners various books.
On that general theme, I thought I'd post some of Nelsons course material. These courses are currently available & were done with the intention of supplying the average individual with the ways & means to defend themselves without having to invest the capital in time, tuition & GAS MONEY! They was intended to go out to those who could not attend his school...
The Nelson school currently offers DVD copies of all of Nelsons classic course material as well as the original Little Red Book. Paladin Press offers their own version of the nelson title which is actually a combination of both the Little Grey and Little Red books. It's a great value! Paladin is also a great source for this type of material.
Nelsons stuff is great. Carl Cestari is another one of my favorites. Unfortunately, due to unscrupulous "partners" much of his material has been chopped up, edited & watered down to allow maximization of profits. If you can find copies of the original Cestari material, GRAB IT! Some video clips are available on YouTube. Otherwise the material may be found on eBay or similar sources.
Here's a beginners library list, courtesy of Bradley J. Steiner:
1. KILL OR GET KILLED, by Rex Applegate
2. ALL-IN FIGHTING (GET TOUGH!), by W.E. Fairbairn
3. COLD STEEL, by John Styers
4. V-5 HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT, by the U.S. Naval Institute
5. HANDBOOK OF SELF-DEFENSE IN PICTURES AND TEXT,
by John Martone
6. UNARMED CLOSE COMBAT (LETHAL UNARMED COMBAT),
by Malcolm Harris
7. AMERICAN COMBAT JUDO, by Bernard Cosneck
8. U.S. ARMY FIELD MANUAL 21-150 (COMBATIVES) - 1971 EDITION,
by the U.S. Army
9. DYNAMIC SELF-DEFENSE, by Sam Allred
10. BRUCE TEGNER'S COMPLETE BOOK OF JUKADO,
by Bruce Tegnér
11. BRUCE TEGNER'S COMPLETE BOOK OF SELF-DEFENSE,
by Bruce Tegnér
12. STICK FIGHTING FOR SELF-DEFENSE, by Bruce Tegnér
13. INSTANT SELF-DEFENSE, by Bruce Tegnér
14. MODERN SELF-DEFENSE, by Robert H. Sigward
15, ARWROLOGY, by Gordon Perrigard
16. SELF-DEFENCE COMPLETE, by Pat Butler
I may add some additional titles to this list... assuming that someone will eventually stumble across this stuff & be genuinely interested.
There may be additional volumes by Tegner available now. Amazon lists more of his books as newly available. Steiner has re-released The Tactical Skills of Hand-to-Hand Combat... a classic in its own right.
In addition to this title, he has another volume on disarming & defense against weapons titled No second Chance. Prof. Steiner has also authored several other tomes that are currently out of print, but may still be found if one has the wherewithal to go on safari. I recently saw ads for Subway Survival (written during his time in Phoenix) & the book was valued at between $200 & $300. So... I'm glad that I have a copy.
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