Jonny Parr Training

1. It's well documented that caffeine drinks such as coffee, energy drinks (i.e. red bull) and green tea are stimulants that can raise concentration and energy levels etc. One of the major problems is when the source becomes addictive.

   (When is your next fix?)

This often happens to people without them realising it! From a training perspective, energy drinks are pretty common in gyms and can often 'hide' the fact you are far more fatigued than you realise. This puts undue stress on the bodies muscular and central nervous systems. However, with all that being said doesn't change the fact they taste amazing!

2. I had a scary encounter today with a 'Lhasa apso' dog.

                         (My Nemesis)

I was with the PFT boys looking at a new squat rack when the wee f***** growled and barked at the 3 of us. The other 2 boys never flinched whatsoever whereas for some reason I jumped out my skin into the unfortunate arms of Chris (we're close but not that close). Needless to say it was a tad embarassing and the boy's haven't shut up since!

(Artist's Impression of the Incident)

3. External Rotation - All good coaches know it's importance particularly for those who play sports involving alot of internal rotation (i.e. tennis). When you externally rotate, you primarily activate the infraspinatus and teres minor.

Strengthening these areas is not only a good exercise for injury reduction, posture and rotator cuff health. It will also improve your performance in lifts such as your bench and back squat (your scapula helps stabilise the bar across your back) . In terms of the bench press, your scapula acts as a platform for the weight you intend to press. Now, if your external rotators are weak, your body will automatically restrict your bodies potential to lift this weight due the 'sense' of possible injury. Weak external rotators also reduce your potential 'power output' due to the external rotators role as decelerators...if your weak in this area, your body will not allow you to fully accelerate. 

Most people tend to neglect this type of training, whether it be lack of knowledge, laziness or plain stupidity. From what i've seen and experienced in the gym, pretty much everyone needs to include external rotation strengthening exercises in their programmes. This is particularly true for the 'Average Joe' as many people tend to sit at a desk all day resulting in rounding at the shoulders. Wait, there is more! Strength training this area even benefits the 'vain' bodybuilder! Hypertrophy within the infraspinatus and terres minor is possible and what's more noticable! An example of an external rotation exercise is the video clip below.

4. How not to 'Spot' by a Few Random Punters - I spoke with a friend the other day who was training at Strathclyde University Gym when a few boys started benching. From my mates observation, one of the boys lifted towards a max effort of sorts. His first lift was clearly a max effort. He then attempted a second lift of which his spotter became distracted (for whatever reason). What preceded was unbelievable. The boy managed to lift the bar around 1/4 of the way off his chest before it 'slowly' crushed the boys nose.

Two things immediately struck me after hearing this. First off, why was the boy benching above his face? Second, the spotter, why are such an idiot?

Advice for the lifter:

1. Learn to Bench Properly by watching this Video

2. Check out this Cosmetic Surgery Site (click on pic)

(Benching wrong could possibly make you look like Balboa)

Advice for the Spotter:

1. Stay out of any gym...muppet