A big problem with justifying training by appealing to DST is that no one really understands it properly (including, I would suggest, most of its proponents).
However, because proponents of DST seem so confident in their delivery, they can appear to have some advanced knowledge of training (this is why they like it).
I'm always surprised by how many (experienced) coaches think that the bar is supposed to bang against the thigh/hips during the pull.
Do they really believe it is possible to "knee" the bar upwards? Not to mention that this seems like a pretty painful strategy.
Sep 1, 2018 • 17 tweets • 2 min read
What is the theory in Dynamic Systems Theory? (thread/rant)
One of @stevemagness's "Rules of Everything" is "We overemphasise the importance of what we can measure and what we already know".
Similarly, in skills coaching we overemphasise the importance of what we can see.
In Olympic weightlifting, one of the easiest positions to see is the so called “triple extension” that occurs at the end of the pull.
This leads many coaches to spend a great deal of time working on this position.
To be effective in your coaching you need to know why errors happen.
In squatting, most errors are due to the fact that athletes are afraid they are going to fall over.
When we squat, we need to keep the projection of our centre of mass (the arrow in the picture), within our base of support (the pink area in the picture). If the arrow moves outside of our base of support we will fall over.
Aug 15, 2018 • 14 tweets • 4 min read
#ForceVectorTheory. A force is, by definition, a vector. The name of the theory is thus a tautology and should really just be “Force Theory”. I thus propose the new name #TheoryOfTheMagicalHorizontalForceMuscle which more accurately captures the fundamental idea behind the theory
Biomechanics 101 - understand the distinction between global (relative to the world) and local (relative to the athlete) frames of reference. When people refer to “horizontal” forces they generally mean in the global frame #TheoryOfTheMagicalHorizontalForceMuscle
