Month #7 Week #29
Power & Accuracy
We’re just about half way through our month of “Power”! We’ll be continuing to work on waking up those fast twitch muscle fibers and we’ll be doing so with an added element of “Accuracy” for this week in particular. Let’s face it, it’s one thing to exhibit physical power, but another altogether to do it with enough control to be accurate!
In our Tues. & Thurs. Large group classes we’ll be doing plenty of jumping, throwing & swinging… I do wish I had access to a weighted sled right now! We can plan on using that Vibrometer again to work on our accuracy when landing after we jump and I know we’ll have some specific targets to hit with our medicine ball slams… For those who’ve just recently been introduced (or re-introduced after years) to the agility ladder, I know we’ll be having opportunity to refine what we’ve learned so far and I’m hoping we can even introduce some slightly more sophisticated techniques… (Also good for our weekly attribute of accuracy!).
We’ve really been enjoying the outdoor pavilion at the church for our cool down, mobility sessions and the out door end of session 5 minutes of meditation has been phenomenal. We’ll be talking a little bit more about the concept of “Forest Bathing” and I’m totally looking forward to it!
Remember friends, we’re in this for the LONG RUN so let’s not worry about perfection and aim for consistency… We’ve a lot of life to live and this is just another beautiful part of the journey as a whole..
Until next week!
Daryll
Month #7 Week #28 - More Power
This month we’re focusing on the attribute of “Power”. Last week I discussed the importance of this attribute to our senior population in particular. As often happens when you cycle through Monthly and Weekly attributes, we have a week were they are the same! So… You can expect plenty of Medicine Ball throws, “Tuck Jumps”, “Ball Slams”, Sprints & drills designed to engage those fast twitch muscle fibers!
We were able to get a number of baseline metrics last week and this double emphasis on power will make it easy to work with those who missed last week.
I’d like to take this time to remind everyone that our fitness is something that takes more effort than showing up for a class once or twice a week. Our large group classes are specifically designed to fill in for those attributes that aren’t regularly addressed
(agility, balance, coordination & yes, power)... All us, however, need to be working on our fitness on an “almost daily” basis. I know that it’s hard to find that kind of time but… We’ve learned that it’s basically a required part of our “Maintenance Schedule” that simply can’t be skipped if we want to remain functioning!
In addition to our classes, it is recommended that each of the participants regularly engage in a separate strength program, work your mobility through yoga or a daily mobility routine AND engage in 150 to 300 minutes of aerobic conditioning.
If we can manage the time to maintain our homes, cars or other material possessions, we can certainly find time for something without which, these possessions would be meaningless. Our health trumps them all and needs to be THE priority!
June - Week #27 - Power
Welcome to the month of June!
This month we’ll be specifically training the attribute of POWER. Besides the “Big Three” attributes of Strength, Aerobic Endurance and Flexibility, the importance of the attribute of POWER to our senior population is paramount!
Science has taught us some interesting things regarding this often neglected attribute (neglected among the senior population anyway). As it turns out, POWER is not only an attribute that declines at a greater rate than strength, but is also the attribute that has the greatest effect on our performance of ADL’s (Activities of Daily Living).
Power, in regards to fitness, can be defined as “The ability to exert a maximal force in as short a time as possible, as in accelerating, jumping and throwing implements.**” While strength can determine how much force can be generated in order to move or lift an object, POWER is the ability to move that load quickly enough to make it functionally significant (Move fast enough to engage momentum against gravity or friction).
I have previously discussed the importance of strength training as we age. We now know that seniors experience a 1% to 2% decline of muscle mass per year and how this can (and usually does without intervention) result in bodies that are too frail to be able maintain an active lifestyle. When talking about POWER however we learn that our power actually decreases at a rate of over 3% per year!
The reason for this is simple. We have been able to classify several types of muscle fiber in the human body and have identified some as “fast twitch” and others as “slow twitch”. As the name implies, the fast twitch muscles are more responsible for power generation (force times speed). As it turns out, these “fast twitch” fibers are lost at a much greater rate than the others.
For our first of the month “Metric Monday”, we’ll be using some classic established tests such as the 30 second chair stand test and I’ll also be adding some light med ball tosses for distance (overhand, underhand and press from the chest) to determine some baselines for the month… I’m truly looking forward to seeing how well we progress with some time specifically set aside for this important attribute of fitness!
We'll be utilizing several different modalities to engage our fast twitch capacities that will include speed training, plyometrics, resistance bands and a liberal use of isometric holds. Application” of the attribute of Power
In our daily and recreational lives we utilize power in many ways… Pushing, pulling, lifting, swinging and hitting. Our chores in the yard can depend on this attribute in many ways whether we’re pushing a lawn mower over a bump or yanking a stubborn weed, hammering a nail or lifting a bag of mulch into our trunk. The rule here is to stay active and simply “Do the Work”... From a recreational perspective, we can engage this attribute of power whenever we swing a club or paddle, throw a ball or a punch, sprint to a goal or jump for a basket… Common forms of recreation that utilize our attribute of power are:
- Baseball / Softball
- Golf
- Tennis
- Racquetball / Handball
- Soccer
- Basketball
- Bowling
I’m sure I’ve missed many… Please feel free to help me fill in the holes I’ve missed!
This should be an interesting month and I hope to see you training!
Daryll
