I’ve always said that the scapula is my second favorite bone (insert joke here).

Apparently, I’m not the only one.

http://www.biertijd.com/mediaplayer/?itemid=6353

Thanks to super-client Galya Talkington for the link

Bill

My friend Jim Smith looks at things from all angles…literally.  His brain never stops and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t sleep.

Last time he was in town, dinner was like the ultimate roundtable discussion on every training method imaginable.

As one of the masterminds behind the Diesel Crew, he’s also got a reputation for being one of the great brains in strength and conditioning

His Building the Ultimate MMA Athlete book is one of the most thorough resources on the subject.

His Chaos Manual is literally the bible of supplementary training.  At over 600 pages of “no fluff” information, it’s a go-to book for solving the “what to do in this case” training issues.

As much as I enjoy and reference these books, I think Smitty has outdone himself and just about everyone else.

He’s just released his new book, Combat Core:  Advance Torso Training for Explosive Strength and Power. 

There are many “must haves” in the strength and conditioning field, but this beats them all in the core conditioning category.  Like I mentioned in the title, this is real core training.

By the way, Smitty is known to overdeliver in the information department, so if you’re on the fence, here’s what you get in addition to Combat Core:

The Combat Core Basic Package includes:

Combat Core
BoxingPerformance.com Interview
BoxingPerformance.com $1 Trial Membership
The Deadlift 101 Video
The Deadlift 101 Manual
The Underground Combat Files
The S&C Interrogation Files
Lifetime Updates

The Combat Core Deluxe Package includes:

Combat Core
BoxingPerformance.com Interview
BoxingPerformance.com $1 Trial Membership
The Deadlift 101 Video
The Deadlift 101 Manual
The Underground Combat Files
The S&C Interrogation Files
The Complete Abdominal Index
Advanced Kettlebell Training
Sledgehammer Essentials
The Summer Shredder Program
The MMA Power Program
Lifetime Updates

Get it while it’s on sale.

Bill

I was doing my food prep last night while my wife was watching “60 minutes.”  Most of the time I’d have ignored the TV, but they were talking about the science of sleep and it’s impact on health so my ears perked up.

Here’s some highlights:

After 6 nights of sleep deprivation, subjects of one study were found to be pre-diabetic…6 nights!

Leptin hormone concentrations are altered by sleep deprivation such that you become hungrier and consume more calories.  This kind of makes sense that I you’re awake more you would eat more, but these calories may be in excess of your daily requirements and increase fat storage.

A lack of deep sleep may be risk factor in most of the major cardiovascular diseases.

As we age, we spend less time in deep sleep.

Sleep is not just a primary recovery tool as part of your training (see http://billhartman.net/blog/2007/06/22/restoration/), but it’s also an important component of overall health.

One little piece of advice:  Try to go to sleep and wake at the same times each day.  Otherwise, it’s like constantly changing time zones which makes it harder to get restorative sleep.

Here’s a link to the 60 minutes segment:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/14/60minutes/main3939721.shtml

Bill

The 2008 Indianapolis Performance Enhancement Seminar is set!

Here are the details:

When: Saturday, May 17th, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Where: Omni Severin Hotel, Downtown Indianapolis
Cost: $129 Before April 1st; $159 April 1st and after

For those of you looking for NSCA CEU’s, we’ve applied for .7 CEU’s for this event!

Mike Robertson and I will be heading up this seminar, and we’ve got some great topics at hand.

You can get the entire seminar brochure and sign up at Mike’s website:  www.robertsontrainingsystems.com

I’ll see you there.

Bill

You don’t typically think of the lats as being shoulder stabilizers, but the latissimus dorsi tendon has fibers that attach directly to the posterior shoulder capsule which keep the capsule taught during shoulder rotation.

The biceps long head also provides an important stabilizing function during the first 50 degrees of arm elevation and external rotation by keeping the humeral head pushed back into the glenoid.

While these “uncommon” shoulder stabilizers play important roles, the subscapularis is well known in its role as the primary dynamic stabilizer to prevent anterior/superior migration of the humeral head that can result in impingement or worse a rotator cuff tear.

My friend Eric Cressey recently touched on another important aspect of the role of the subscapularis in his blog not to long ago that may of interest to strength athletes and powerlifters.

Bill

P.S.  If you already own Inside-Out expect a special bonus offer coming in your email very soon!