Natural Strength

In yesterday Sarasota paper there was a very interesting article about a 71 deputy sheriff who can bench press 410 pounds. That is really amazing. It is even more amazing to see the guy’s picture; he looks like he is about fifty. He works out two or three times a week, but said that most of his strength was “natural.” In the next sentence he tells about starting in a circus balancing act when he was five years old with his brother. They continued the act until he was fifty. The act consisted of balancing his weight and his brother while standing on his head! (Sarasota was the home of many circus performers when Ringling Brothers was headquartered here) Immediately I thought of what a great foundation in structural and supporting strength this gave him. He is right, his strength was natural, and it was developed by strengthening ligaments, tendons and synergistic muscles that now enable him to bench press 410 pounds. This just served to reinforce a lesson that I learned the hard way. To lift heavy, you must prepare to lift heavy. That preparation is a logical progression from body weight gravitational loading to allow the body to adapt over time. Those of you that work with middle school and high school athletes should heed this lesson. Spend two years getting them ready to lift heavy and they will lift real heavy! If you start lifting heavy right away (young athletes can do it) you will pay the price later. The price will be injuries and a plateau in gains.