Fall is here, and it is dark and gloomy. When I wake up it is always dark and gloomy now. Even when the sky is clear it still does not get light out until a little after 7am. So I have no desire to get out and do my morning run until about 8. There goes my mornings. This morning, I finally got off my tush and woke up my dogs (believe it or not my Pit bulls do NOT like to wake up in the morning). Sometimes I just put my head down and when I get to the first trail I just jog and completely space out, like I am not even in my body. So I am jogging along thinking about gawd knows what, and Lola runs past me. I look ahead and not more that ten yards ahead is a fluffy St. Bernard sized black bear doing EXACTLY what I am. Not paying attention moseying along the trail. Lucy ran past me too so I yelled as loud as I could "LOLA LEAVE THE BEAR ALONE!!!!" The bear turned around a saw Lola behind him and took a sharp right into the bushes. Lola and Lucy went the same way, but came back out onto the trail almost immediately. I was amazed they didn't keep going. They use to take off after the critters and sometimes it would take up to an hour to get them back, foaming at the mouth completely out of breath. It took five years to get Lola to realize chasing the critters does not pay out. Three times she has had her butt ripped open chasing critters, not understanding wild life likes to be left alone. So I am VERY proud of her this morning. She finally gets it. And there is nothing more exciting than being that close to wildllife that size. He was absoltuley beautiful. Big, black and fluffy. I can't get over how thick and healthy the bears behind my place are. I felt bad for I scared the poor guy this morning. I am sure he is over it by now.
Change subject.....Sometimes I watch trainers at the various gyms I belong to, or, catch a bit of something on the boob tube, and I am amazed at the "new trends" in training. However......once in a while I pull out some of my old training books that go back as far as the early 70's and flip throught the pages in curiosity, just to check back at the things I learned way back when. It leaves me baffled because there are a ton of super smart excercises you never see anymore on the floor of a gym that are so essential.
As far as knowing your body and knowing muscle I am sure there are very few people who realy understand, let alone even care about. Most are more concerned about being lean and porportionate without having to learn about what is actually underneath the skin. So I just wanted to share this bit of information I was reading the other day in a "70's" fitness class paperwork that I was referring back to. It is about the Structural Classification of Muscles. There are seven;
Longitudinal - This is a long straplike muscle whose fibers lie parallel to its long axis. Tow examples are the rectus abdominis on the front of the abdomen and the sartorius, which slants across the front of the thigh.
Triangular or Fan Shaped - This is a relatively flat type of muscle whose fibers radiate from a narrow attachment at the one end to a broad attachment at the other. The pectoralis major on the front of the chest is an excellent example.
Fusiform or Spindle-Shaped - This is usually a rounded muscle which tapers at either end. It may be long or short, large or small. Good examples are the brachialis and the brachioradialis muscles of the arm.
Penniform or Feather-like - In this type of muscle a series of short parallel fibers extends diagonally from the side of a long tendon, giving the muscle as a whole the appearance of a wing feather. Examples are digitorum longus and dibialis poesterior muscles of the leg.
Bipenniform - This is a double penniform muscle. It is characterized by a long central tendon with the fibers extending diagonally in pairs from either side of the tendon. It resembles a symmetrical tail feather. Examples are flexor hallucis longus and rectus femoris.
Multipenniform - In this type of muscle there are several tendons present, with the muscle fibers running diagonally between them. The middle portion of the deltoid muscle is an example of a multipenniform muscle.
Now go to your anatomy reference book and look these up so you can understand. I believe the more you understand, the mechanics of the muscles, the more you yourself can understand what it takes ot make them stronger/healthier. I believe anyone that takes the time to work out needs to take the time to reference what they are actually doing to themselves. Or should I say for themselves.
People are constantly asking me my opinions on supplements, and hardly ever ask about training. Why is that? Are we really becoming that world where every answer comes in pill form? I think so.........hmmm.......