Bank on hormones: Jason Lezak

I am one of those people who loses my breath when I get over excited.  As a sports fanatic, whether it be football, athletics, or curling, watching the final moments of a battle can be a life or death situation.  Ussain Bolt’s 100m world record left me hyperventilating.  Jason Lezak’s historic split literally had me blue in the face.

To put you on my page, you need to go back to the Beijing Olympics of ’08 – men’s 4 x 100m freestyle relay.

Possibly thee most exciting chlorinated race of all time, in my opinion anyway!

Jason Lezak, an American Olympic swimmer, all though a well regarded figure amongst the HTH henchmen, this single feat propelled him right into the sporting hall of fame. Lezak is no doubt an elite swimmer, who has no personal coach and in ’08 he was the oldest man on the US swim team.

He rose from behind in the final 25m of the 400m freestyle relay event, being led by world record holders France, who were convinced and had already claimed bragging rights to the Gold medal prior to the start of the race.  Lezak tailed Alain Bernard by a full bodies length advantage, yet split a 46 flat in the final moments, making it the fastest 100m freestyle split in the history of the sport.

I’ve attached this clip so you can really understand the sheer exuberance of the race:
Jason Lezak

I have watched this video over and over, I have downloaded several versions of the race to allow me to dissect every stroke.  Lezak smashing a historic split in the time that he did is phenomenal, it is almost as if someone hooked him and dragged him like a tuna on steroids through the final meters of the pool.

Getting behind the physical swim I saw that Lezak gets into the water at 2.38, to a first time viewer his stroke looks pretty similar to his french opponent.  His first turn is at 21.50 next to Bernard’s 21.27, he is trailing behind like a dead fish, yet in the final 25m he runs down Bernard like he has been fuel injected.

Analyzing Lezak, I learnt that he is a full inch shorter than Bernard. His swim form displays a change in the last 50m, his left arm delays longer than the right which causes an interference with his breathing, therefore he is taking in less oxygen, which just poses more questions.

The lack of oxygen  effects the maximising on the purchase of the water and looking at Bernard, his efficient strokes vent smaller bursts and Lezak is literally launching his torso further out the water, requiring more energy, so physically how did he propel forward at such a pace?

I just cant get my head around it, the change of form, the interfered breathing, the energy required to plummet his body further out of the water, yet he rockets a full 9 inches forward in a matter of seconds to win the race!

I can only put it down to chemical synthesis.  Epinephrine or adrenaline as we know it, caused this incredible feat.  When the body surges adrenaline there is an increase of energy sent to the muscles, which boosts their ability to react.  Adrenaline finds its way to the heart which immediately boosts its rate and strength which increases the respiratory exchange.  More oxygen equals better performance.

Lezak is the human equivalent of a formula 1 car with fuel injection.  The science behind this victory is mind boggling.

Simply amazing feat of strength and power!

Get a grip

I used to be absolutely shocking at kettlebell snatches, a few months ago I’d hang from a bar like a dead fish, and doing one rep of a deadlift (correctly) was something I always struggled with.  Training for hours every week made me physically strong and fit, no doubt, but I just wasn’t performing as optimally as I knew I could.

Doing high repetition drills were nightmarish, I felt like I had the physical strength, but my hands just couldn’t keep up with the pace. The same goes for my pull up power, I could pull off one rep of a chin up, on a narrow bar while kipping, but the chance of me completing a strict wide hand pull up on a 2″ bar was as believable as Bill Clinton’s statements surrounding Monica Lewinsky.

It just made me realize that there really is no such thing as a person with weak hands and a strong body, it just does not work that way.

The sad reality of the situation is that very few people actually work on this area of strength, and we can only put that down to ignorance.  If you are going to attack the gym day after day with no guidance from a professional, its an area you are going to think very little about.  Improving your grip strength has a positive correlation on your over all strength.

Try flipping a tire or grabbing a sandbag and actually pressing it, running with it, rowing it, or throwing it.  If you cant hold the damn thing, how are you going to move it? Weak hands are going to effect your potential in so many areas.  Weak hands, wrists and fingers are only going to limit your potential.

Improving this strength is not only for enhancing your lifting potential but is essential for combat athletes too.  Weak hands are disastrous for performance in battle, your hands are what generates and transfers your strength throughout your body.  Weak hands produce very little force and strong hands do damage.  Weak hands equal weak fighters.

A strong grip improves your dexterity, enables you to lift heavier, builds endurance in your hands and builds injury resilience.  Then again its also not what you do, but how you do it.  There are so many gadgets on the market today for improving your grip strength, but if you don’t want to get your ass handed to you its going to take a lot more than some mechanism to enable you to bend horse shoes.

When using kettlebells probably one of the best things you could do is juggling, and anything that involves bottoms up moves and pinch gripping, otherwise incorporate bar hangs, rope work, rope pull ups, wrist rolling (I was recently introduced to this, and it has already done wonders for me) otherwise if you with a trained professional work on levering and plate pinching.

I still have much to learn about grip strength, but with the little work I have done improving this area I can already feel the vast difference and have already broken more personal records having incorporated it into my training.

So come to grips with your weaknesses and get a grip on your strengths.

Durban’s Poison

I am a gypsy.  I have lived in fourteen different cities around the world, five of which have been in South Africa alone. Two years ago I found myself moving to Durban, and have not looked back since.  This has got to be one of thee most prismatic, diverse, and captivating cities of them all.

As I am up at dawn, grabbing life by the bells, I am constantly surrounded by some of Durban’s finest poison.  These addicts are unlike the common habitue, they don’t have excuses for anything.  These guys are getting high no matter what the circumstance. From the honest cyclist, runner and athlete, to the soul surfer, the paddlers, the rugby boys and the serious lifters.  These guys are out their searching for their natural high, pursuing their passion, chasing that perfect wave, beating the odds, and smashing their limitations.

As well as these Durbanites, there also comes the infamous weekend warriors, MMA wannabees and gym junkies filtering through the atmosphere.  This special lot are just as feisty by week day.  Smashing the machines, chugging down the top of the range supplements, trawling the local gyms for a taste of the exercise high and smashing back cold beers by night.

Regardless of whether the locals are serious about sport or serious about having six packs to flash the beach babes on the weekends.  Durbanites are passionate about being active.

Whether thier goal is to complete the comrades, win the Mr Price Pro, bring home the Curry Cup or simply to look amazing in a gym vest while you cruise the beachfront with your hat backwards, each one of these ninjas need a sound gpp program (general physical practice) to make them better, faster, stronger, harder and fitter!

Combining the conditioning from kettlebells with the strength work from calisthenics into their daily routines will blast their fitness levels straight into Superman’s underpants.

Whilst kettlebells develop your posterior chain, building solid cores, improved athleticism and strength endurance, bodyweight training gives you reaction power, improved co-ordination, balance, synergy and raw strength, making you more efficient, effective and functional on the field, in the water and on the beach front.

We are proudly Durbanites, we are proudly active and we are damn right colourful. Getting out there and involved in real training the real way, forgetting the tug toners, bosu balls, pec-decs and treadmills and getting a taste of ballistic training with kettlebells and old school strength training will give you that edge above the rest.

Practical methods of training will improve your sport, your life and your functionality no matter what drives you.  No matter what drives Durban.