Just back from a whirlwind 'mini-vacation' which includes two days in
Calgary watching Lyle M speedskate while visiting with Lyle and Elzi and
then a 8 hour drive (2:30 in the morning start) to watch my son wrestle at
provincials.
Couple of observations for y'all.
First, my sin Chris won provincials. He did have a point scored on him in
the tournament, but as usual he was no flash - just win, baby. He has
worked hard for this and pops is proud, as always.
Second, hanging around with Lyle and Elzi puts me into a delta state
(state of excitement and focus) because they have so many ideas and are so
passionate about athletic training and science. So I had a great time in
Calgary. I now have a ton of ideas (quite incidental to the conversations
we had we were about other people training for the most part) to apply to
my own training. So it is going to be a busy day as I apply a Westside
type of template to olympic lifting focusing on one ME strength day, on
speed day and two technique days per week.
Third, speed skating is a cool sport. When you get the opportunity to
watch rink side the power of the athletes blows you away. And we had the
opportunity to get up-close and real personal. The meet director (a
professor I know quite well) let Elzi and I into the inner track coaching
area during a 5,000 meter world record skate. He commented we were in an
elite group - he has never let a spectator in there before. He also
explained some of the key elements of the skate and what the coaches were
doing during the attempt. Too cool.
So basically you see these huge thighs just driving into the ice in a
controlled power output, but you better look quick because they flash by
so quickly. The speed they move at is amazing. The precision of the
technique is really, really freaky. I've never seen anything quite like
it.
Lyle was impressive, especially as he is so new to the sport. It was
obvious he fit in well, both in terms of looking like he belonged as a
skater and as an important member of his elite team. The coach actually
came to the weight room to watch some technique work and criticism during
Elzi's training session. It was obvious he was using Lyle's knowledge of
training to benefit his team.
The weight room at the olympic oval is neat. Quite a set-up. Upstairs they
have a typical gym set-up with free weights and machines. Most students
and a lot of the student athletes lift there.
Downstairs is the hardcore area. Squat racks and platforms everywhere,
with tons of bars and bumpers. All kinds of boxes, sleds for dragging,
glute-ham-gastroc, reverse hyper, benches and other specialized equipment.
It was an awesome gym in a relatively small space. And due to the
separation of gyms only the very serious ventured there. Too cool.
So it was a fun holiday. Elzi was having to hold herself back from joining
the short-track skating team (they had a meet the day before I arrived).
She thought that was a very cool sport - roller derby on ice. Lyle did
four skates and exploded his PR's in all four. 14 countries were
represented at the domestic meet, which is a hugely popular meet. I also
got to chat a bit with the mmet director who is hugely passionate about
sport and he introduced me to the strength and conditioning guru in
Calgary. We traded email addresses and I'm going to pick his mind a
little. Great contact. Met Lyle's mom, who is also very impressive in how
quickly she grasped key aspects of speedskating. Did a mini-workout with
Elzi who showed excellent technique in the hi-bar olympic squat, front
squat and clean. I was a little banged up from my own wrestling, but still
pumped up to clean within 10 kgs of my PB and get some technique
suggestions from Lyle. He opined that maybe I wasn't completely roont by
powerlifting after all and he was willing to take back about half of the
bad things he had said about me.
:^)
And my wife and I filled the back of the van up with boxes from Ikea.
:^(
--
Keith