Hi All,

Well I missed last week but with good reason as I had travelled to Wales to watch the national team play the Barbarians in the Millenium Stadium! A great weekend was had and I can’t wait to get back playing.

Anyway as I said my mind goes overtime so gonna get a few things out and hopefully get somefeedback from you guys?!

1. For me the rate of force development (in this case how fast you can lift the bar) is the most decisive aspect of your lift. Yes I know the benefit of eccentric training and time under tension and I always make sure to incorporate these into my programs, however, for me if you aren’t lifting the bar with maximum force you are wasting your time!!! Just to expand a little on this point without dragging it out for page after page I would like to point out that in the majority of cases the intention to lift as fast as possible will suffice even if the bar is travelling slower (there are obviously exceptions to this such as Olympic Lifting)
2. Again something I have mentioned a number of times both in my writing and face to face with people is that we should coach people not just show them! A visual demonstration is important, however, so is the ability to verbally explain and most importantly to spot and correct mistakes in technique.
3. Loving the recent influx of articles, videos and podcasts about the benefits of correct posture and in particular neutral alignment while lifting. Yes this topic is well know but I personally feel that not enough emphasis is placed on it by a number of coaches as they atempt to improve their athletes performance by loading up extra weight all the time.
4. Bit of a different vibe here but actually cleaned out my gear bag this week and got to thinking what is necassary. For me my soft tissue gear is vital so that is my foam roller, stick and hard ball. Along with this are different strength dyna bands, thick grips, chalk and supplements. What do you need?

Well that’s it for another week have a read and drop me a comment and have a strong week.

Mike