When It Clicks

If something is extremely hard to learn - for example, high school math (and if it was easy for you, just go with the analogy), you would practice and practice - and then be tested on it, anything to verify that you know the method inside and out . . . .



But the issue in high school is that it always came back to haunt you again and again.  Therefore, you didn't forget it until many years later.  Now there is a possibility that you have kids or you don't, but for those of you that do, this next statement may make a lot of sense.

The kids ask for your help, you have no idea what they are talking about, therefore you take their text book from them and you start to read.  At first its like hieroglyphics - and then it starts to click, and before you know it, you are doing high school mathematics. 

So what does this have to do with anything fitness related?

When you learn something - we sometimes take for granted that we will always remember what it is and how we do it.  If it happens to be a compound movement - Compound exercises are multi-joint movements that work several muscles or muscle groups at one time, it could be quite difficult because we are always thinking about it. Our brains cause us to think, "Argh", you yell internally when you mess up, and then you start to think through what it is your doing incorrectly, but then we catch you, and slowly walk back through the process again.

Last night we worked the power snatch - and for some folks, they just started to get the feel.  It was like the first time you rode the bike without the training wheels and you just started to get how to maintain your balance.  Well, when you were younger, you didn't just put the bike down and move onto something else - you practiced - and if memory serves me correctly - a lot.  You always wanted to get on that bike and go somewhere.  Now you don't pick up a barbell and travel when you snatch (or maybe you do - potentially another blog topic), but you do start to have some bodily awareness that you want to fully grasp, the opening of the hips, the shrug, followed by the pull and the "flipping" (for lack of a better word) of the weight so it moves in an arc directly overhead to locked out arms.

Get back on that bike (err, snatch - or whatever movement you just learned).  Everyday, regardless if its just with a PVC pipe, it will only take a minute.  Watch a video on the Burgener Warm-up  - trust me, if you figure the Snatch out, so many things will pop into place for you and quite easily, the weight will start moving up quickly.

**FYI - that is not my bike.







- Coach Tony

"The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding. "
Leonardo da Vinci