![]() Ever since being glued to the TV when watching Dragon Ball Z, I wanted to be a combination of muscle and movement. This combination is what I've been tinkering with my entire life. One of the more frequent questions I get is how to merge barbell training, bodyweight training, and acrobatics into a program that also plays hand to creating an “X” physique. But they should be done for the right reasons. This all isn't to say back squats are no good. If you want to train like this, there's hope for you yet. (I wrote about this a bit in my post about unconventional athleticism.) Not a training day goes by when I don't do some kind of acro-gymnastics, be it handstands, kip-ups, macaccos, or whathaveyou. His training is considered “unique,” which is a problem. ![]() Perhaps we should take a page out of Georges St-Pierre's playbook. There'd be a plyo floor, mats, a foam pit, rings, parallel bars, uneven pars, pommel horses, squat racks, barbells, dumbbells, and oh-so much more. If I ever open up a gym, it would be a combination of free weights and gymnastics equipment. ![]() It's only a matter of time before gymnastics takes over the world. These ideas proliferate from our attempts to categorize the idea of “athleticism.” I can go on a long spiel about our faulty categorical minds (and intend to in the future), but I think Lynn Swann (a great athlete that took ballet) was able to see something most everyone else can’t: movement mastery isn’t meathead mastery. ![]() Squat to make your legs stronger, and then let strong legs do what they may to your athletic skills. Both have their purpose, but once you start doing one for the other, problems arise.ĭon't squat to become a better athlete. Saying squats increase athleticism is saying that squats will help you learn how to better jump and spin 360 to your non-dominant side. This is something I'm considering permanently calling Schwartz Twisting. Don't twist your Schwarts, kids.ĭon't mash meathead with movement. Writing print won't make you a better cursive writer. That's because no amount of non-specific work will ever be specific to a complex task. Now I want you to jump and spin 360 degrees to the opposite side.įeels different, doesn't it? So different, in fact, that you probably didn't make the full rotation…and landed rather uneasily. I didn't specify a direction, so you likely spun to the side you're most comfortable with. At the start of this article, you jumped and spun 360 degrees. Proof squats aren't all that athletic…and twisting your SchwartzĪ perfect example as to why box jumps or back squats don't help you learn complex tasks takes us back to our initial game. Movement, flow, self dominance-these things aren’t learned with pre-programmed faux-athletic motor tasks. Jumping on top of a 50” box is nice (kind of, but not really), but can you jump 10”, spin full circle, and stick the landing comfortably? I’d rather see the latter than the former. Back squats make movement more powerful, but they don't do anything for learning complex-dynamic non-linear motor skills.Įven worse is the, “Do a dumbbell lunge with a side step and rotation to work in the transverse abductional supramittent plane.” This stuff makes me wonder if these people have ever really moved in their life, as I’m sure any true mover will tell you that such methods won’t do much…other than make you look like you haven't a clue about movement. Not so much jumping power in itself.Īnd back squats? While certainly a useful exercise, I think one-too-many people think they are the sole responsibility for athletic greatness. Anyone over 5” with legs is capable of a 20” box jump, even with only jumping 1” in the air as the height of the “box jump” is largely bent on being able to tuck your knees to your chest rapidly. The sad truth is that many “strength” folk know little about movement. ![]() (Or you can just break your foot…hey, I never said I was any good at these things.) And thus, a lot of the great so-called athletic programs are a bunch of barbell exercises with the inclusion of box jumps.Ĭompare that to flinging your body in the air, spinning a few times, losing temporal awareness, forfeiting all faculties, and living to talk about it. This “strength and conditioning” world is a place where box jumps are seen as athletic. Looking back, especially after having “strength and conditioning” experience, I’ve come to see that most of the people in barbell land share a different view of athleticism than I do. I thought squatting until I cried blood was the way to somehow become a better trickster. When I was a young trickster padawan, and I was introduced to strength training, I sought most of my movement answers in the barbell. Hopefully you'll stick the landing after rotating full circle. Dip down a bit, jump in the air, and spin 360 degrees before landing. Stand up, feet shoulder-width apart, and arms by your side. ![]()
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