11 Sep 2010 23:28
Controlling Anxiety During Lifting
by EricT 28 Jan 2010 16:30
Much of the Getting in the Zone series of articles are focused on areas of sport psychology. Having psychologists help athletes perform better is a relatively new thing. While I have drawn from that, as I read some of the articles on this subject (controlling anxiety, etc) from sport psychologists, I wonder if many of them really "get it". Sure they understand the statistics and have a background in the psychology affecting performance, but have they ever been there? Do they know what it feels like? I read with interest an article in the "Mind Games" section of the NSCA's performance training journal by Suzie Tuffey Riewald entitled "Help, I'm Nervous". It's related, of course to my Getting in the Zone series of articles.
28 Jan 2010 16:30
Comments: 8
Defining Stress as Stress and Rest Between Sets
by EricT 03 May 2010 13:40
Semantics. That's what I'm thinking about. Language can be so subtle it's downright frustrating. So frustrating in fact that there comes a point where we just don't want to be bothered by it's nuances. We want broad, sweeping definitions. Hence, the origin of such phrases as "that's just semantics", or "you're arguing semantics".
03 May 2010 13:40
Comments: 0
Going to the Heart of Things: Break the "Advanced" Mess Down to Its Essence
by EricT 04 May 2010 13:46
I complained about the misuse of quotes in fitness articles in my first Bad Fitness Article post. While writing the last post in that series I was thinking about the mess of programs and so-called advanced training techniques and this caused me to go all philosophical. So I wanted to see if I could use quotes in a useful and legitimate way to illustrate some of my ideas in this area. I called on two of my favorites and went from Bruce Lee to Emerson.
04 May 2010 13:46
Comments: 2
Strength Training Motivation And Goal Setting
by EricT 01 Jun 2010 20:13
Why do you strength train? Are you even clear on the reasons? Do they change from week to week? With so much emphasis on goals perhaps we are missing something even more fundamental and vital. Motivation. What good are goals when you are not even clear what motivates you to do what you do?
01 Jun 2010 20:13
Comments: 29
Strength Performance Psychology Versus Physiology: It's All Mental
by EricT 08 Jun 2010 14:02
I've complained and I've complained about silly quantitative notions concerning the factors that determine success. It's 20% percent training, 80% nutrition and stuff like that. Complete and utter nonsense. Says nothing. Contributes nothing.
08 Jun 2010 14:02
Comments: 1
The Strength Program and Pain Plot
by EricT 29 Jun 2010 05:32
You're going to wonder why there is a psychology lecture on a strength training blog, I'm sure. Well bear with me because I'm not even going to talk about psychology, even though that is an interest of mine. Listen to the lecture by Dr. Paul Bloom of Yale University and get with me on this because it relates to some of the points I've been making in my posts here and many comments and articles throughout the site.
29 Jun 2010 05:32
Comments: 3
Self Control: Not all its Cracked Up To Be
by EricT 01 Sep 2010 15:44
More and more, everyone is learning that "diets" don't work. Sure, people drop weight on diets but they fail to make a lasting change. I don't need to go into this, you know all about yo-yo dieting. Despite this there are still plenty of judgmental folks (who probably wouldn't know a problem if it bit them in the tuchus) who will say stuff like, "jeez, what ever happened to old fashioned self-control?"
01 Sep 2010 15:44
Comments: 5
The Paradox of Choice by Dr. Barry Schwartz
by EricT 11 Sep 2010 21:25
Confession. I'm a real geek for Ted Talks. I particularly love this talk by Dr. Barry Schwartz. If you don’t relate to most of the things Schwartz talks about in this video then you may have already discovered the secret to happiness!
Schwartz is a sociology professor at Swarthmore and author of "The Paradox of Choice: Why Less is More". In the talk he makes a great case for how the abundance of choice in our affluent Western society is making us miserable. The story Dr. Schwartz relates about buying a new pair of jeans made me laugh because that is ME. I want that pair of jeans too…the kind that used to be the only kind.
11 Sep 2010 21:25
Comments: 0
Fitness: All Encompassing Means Paralyzing?
by EricT 16 Sep 2010 12:59
So in the last post I presented the talk by Dr. Barry Schwartz regarding “The Paradox of Choice”. Also of late I have been speaking about having specific goals in our training and making specific choices about the direction our training should take.
If you read my piece on the concept of fitness you’ll see that I don’t think much of the word. Yes, I use it on occasion for brevity or convenience but depending on your perspective it’s either to vague or too all-encompassing.
16 Sep 2010 12:59
Comments: 0
The Rudy Effect: How Goals are Really Reached
by EricT 30 Nov 2010 14:46
Sometimes I get myself so busy with writing about how to strength train, getting all down and dirty with the technical stuff, that I forget something very important. The same thing with dispensing advice.
You see, something that I sometimes forget but that is always in the back of my brain is a sad fact: The majority of people who find my articles or ask my advice will not be training a year from now. Or even a few months from now. In fact it is quite likely that one of my articles is the first and last thing they will ever read about strength training or any other kind of "fitness pursuit". And the same is true of anyone who does what I do.
30 Nov 2010 14:46
Comments: 6
Asinine Expectations in Strength Training
by EricT 10 Jan 2011 15:00
I have noticed something curious in the strength training world and in the fitness world at large. Strength training and fitness professionals need to be less "me" oriented and the public needs to be less "other" oriented.
10 Jan 2011 15:00
Comments: 10
Fitness and Strength Training: It's A Process
by EricT 11 Jan 2011 17:29
I am in the process of transferring some old posts from the old "GUStrength's Blog" to here. This post was written in August 2009 and like many of the posts over there was never really seen. I think it is a good one and worth having more visibility, but I'll let you be the judge. It concerns a subject that we often discuss here at GUS, which comes down to the question of being a "task oriented" or "outcome oriented" person. This has been mentioned in numerous forum discussions and articles, so we must think it is a fairly important distinction. Here, I am trying to clear up just why that is.
11 Jan 2011 17:29
Comments: 1
Guilt and Exercise Don't Mix
by EricT 12 Jan 2011 17:26
I just read a blog post in which someone talked about a 30 day gym goal. I won't link to it or embarrass the person I'll just talk about the very typical thought process that was at work.
Basically this person "guilted" himself into going to the gym. He didn't express any compulsion to be active or to exercise at all. He simply felt that he "had better make the gym a habit" because "they" say it is important.
12 Jan 2011 17:26
Comments: 1
All Important Attitudes: How They Affect our Fitness and Strength Training Pursuits
by EricT 16 Jan 2011 19:17
Blogs and magazine articles abound that are aimed at at changing people's attitudes about fitness. I particularly notice those that concern attitudes towards strength training. Just recently I complained about the "selling of strength training" and much of my writing concerns strength training "propoganda" as I call it.
More often or not, however, it's not propaganda. In fact it's nothing new at all. "Strength training is good for you," is about as special as it gets. And perhaps a list of benefits that you can find on 500 other similar sites.
16 Jan 2011 19:17
Comments: 3
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