The title here is an unabashed Top Gun Maverick reference. The hard deck is the zone below 10,000-5,000 feet at which a pilot is flying close if not fatally close to the ground. I’m using the hard deck here for some humorous hyperbole, comparing this with pushing oneself in athletic performance past previous limits orContinue reading “Olympic Lifting & Beyond: High Performance and “The Hard Deck””
Category Archives: sports
Health + Performance: Taking The Cold Plunge
On the first hot summer day here in Boston, Cryomed on Boylston Street offered a cold plunge tub on the sidewalk in front of their store and after I saw the e-mail decided to go for it. I’d never done a cold plunge or ice bath before but I’d heard and read about many healthContinue reading “Health + Performance: Taking The Cold Plunge”
Olympic Lifting & Beyond: How I Boost Muscle Recovery In Training
1. Sleep Generous amounts of it and even the occasional unabashed hibernation! This is a vital means of regeneration and recovery. I do best with a more traditional rhythm, when I’m more or less following the sun. And remember, the mental rest is just as important. By now you may have heard that nervous systemContinue reading “Olympic Lifting & Beyond: How I Boost Muscle Recovery In Training”
Olympic Lifting: How Do I Squat? Let Me Count The Ways
It’s been well established that the Barbell Back Squat is one of the best exercises for developing full body strength. However, when it comes to the world of Olympic Weightlifting, one has to be able to perform all the squats, and impeccably — particularly the Front Squat and the Overhead Squat. Neither the Clean &Continue reading “Olympic Lifting: How Do I Squat? Let Me Count The Ways”
Olympic Lifting & Beyond: Preventing Plantar Fasciitis
Like any other part of the body, the feet are multilayer and complex, functioning as systems inside systems; not in isolation — They’re comprised of bones, nerves, muscles and blood vessels. Holding and transporting the weight of the body and then some, feet are especially significant and biomechanically complex, with 26 bones and 33 joints.Continue reading “Olympic Lifting & Beyond: Preventing Plantar Fasciitis”
Essay: What Makes A Champion?
One can examine an athlete’s technical specifications such as path of travel or velocity, and those are important for analysis, yet when considering what makes the champion athletes, their qualities often defy convention. Highly decorated Olympic track star and 36 year old mother Allyson Felix is a perfect example. Lü Xiaojun, 37, just claimed weightliftingContinue reading “Essay: What Makes A Champion?”
Let’s Talk About: Age-ism
First of all — excellence is excellence at any age, and that often comes from *experience,* and weathering both victories and failures. It is completely ridiculous to cap the age of achievement before an individual has the opportunity to truly go out into the world, learn, experiment and explore. Only focusing on athletes in theirContinue reading “Let’s Talk About: Age-ism”
Studio Shangri-La 