Another Fitness Craze Based on an Outlier

[donfrancisco]

Dear Rip,

Just finished reading an article on how Tom Brady is peddling his TB12 Method as a means of making everyone capable of extending their peak performance well into their later years.

From what I can tell, the TB12 Method is focused on maximizing the body’s “pliability”, thereby making it cabable of dispersing the forces imposed upon it and making it less susceptible to injury, even brain injuries like concussions. The article quotes him as saying, "What will happen when an athlete with tight, dense, stiff muscles ... runs and makes a sharp cut? If these functions overload a muscle, bone, tendon or ligament, he will get injured."

All artists suffer for their art and martial artists are no different. I can assure Mr. Brady that when I drive my shin through an opponent’s knee with a properly placed roundhouse kick or apply a heel hook to said knee forcefully, ligaments, tendons and bone WILL get injured, regardless of how “pliable” the component tissues are.

From what I can tell, the TB12 Method is a concatenation of well-worn fitness tripe: resistance band training, “purified” water, electrolyte supplementation, compressive sleep wear, etc. What a shame that many a weekend warrior will be taken in by this most recent form of outlier based shamanism.

Yours in strength,

Francisco

[Mark Rippetoe]

Anything to get out of having to do your squats and deadlifts. Will sell.

[AndrewLewis]

“purified” water, electrolyte supplementation

Wut?

Why would you take perfectly good water with electrolytes in it, remove the electrolytes, then drink that and on the side supplement with electrolytes?
Just drink the damn water, and if that's not enough, drink electrolytes with it.

Francisco,
I'm glad to hear you do strength training alongside your martial arts. Have you gotten the "lifting makes you slow, dude" talk from your peers/coach yet?

Anything to get out of having to do your squats and deadlifts. Will sell.

KStar may be ridiculous, but at least he has a very "you must squat, you must deadlift" mentality.
These lifting-precluding mobility specialists really tick me off.

[Matthew_888]

Dear Rip,

Just finished reading an article on how Tom Brady is peddling his TB12 Method as a means of making everyone capable of extending their peak performance well into their later years.

From what I can tell, the TB12 Method is focused on maximizing the body’s “pliability”, thereby making it cabable of dispersing the forces imposed upon it and making it less susceptible to injury, even brain injuries like concussions. The article quotes him as saying, "What will happen when an athlete with tight, dense, stiff muscles ... runs and makes a sharp cut? If these functions overload a muscle, bone, tendon or ligament, he will get injured."

All artists suffer for their art and martial artists are no different. I can assure Mr. Brady that when I drive my shin through an opponent’s knee with a properly placed roundhouse kick or apply a heel hook to said knee forcefully, ligaments, tendons and bone WILL get injured, regardless of how “pliable” the component tissues are.

From what I can tell, the TB12 Method is a concatenation of well-worn fitness tripe: resistance band training, “purified” water, electrolyte supplementation, compressive sleep wear, etc. What a shame that many a weekend warrior will be taken in by this most recent form of outlier based shamanism.

Yours in strength,

Francisco

If it has electrolytes, then it works because it has electrolytes.

[donfrancisco]

Dear Andrew,

Yes, I’ve heard that said many, many times. Sadly, even though we’ve learned a lot about the combat effectiveness of certain martial arts hand to hand tactics and strategies since the advent of mixed martial arts competition, my beloved field of martial arts remains a backwater when it comes to how to best prepare for performance outside of skills training.

The current craze seems to be gymnastics training due to the success of my teammate George St. Pierre. The reasoning seems to be that gymnasts build strength in a “balanced” manner that translates better to any sport performance. I’m afraid that as long as George remains the genetic outlier he is and as successful as he is (he just won the UFC Middleweight Championship belt last night), he will have no incentive to examine the merits of a Starting Strength approach. And unfortunately, neither will many other mixed martial artists who feel they must mimic his particular strength and conditioning regimen if they too are to be successful.

Yours in strength,

Francisco

[Pluripotent]

If it has electrolytes, then it works because it has electrolytes.

But what about the antioxidants?

[CJ Gotcher]

I wrote an article about this after his methods started making the news post-Super Bowl.

ESPN just highlighted, indirectly, the incentive that generates things like this: 'follow the money.' He is trying to develop a steady income stream and mission for his post-football career. He's obviously not the fittest or strongest, so he can't sell a strength training program as the key to his success... and the most likely reasons for his success: talent, obsessive and detailed practice, excellent coaching, good sleep, stress management, all the basics, don't sell. Like Asprey (who recently claimed he'd live to 180) and others, Brady needs something 'new' that he can copyright.

[Matt Stacks]

I wrote an article about this after his methods started making the news post-Super Bowl.

ESPN just highlighted, indirectly, the incentive that generates things like this: 'follow the money.' He is trying to develop a steady income stream and mission for his post-football career. He's obviously not the fittest or strongest, so he can't sell a strength training program as the key to his success... and the most likely reasons for his success: talent, obsessive and detailed practice, excellent coaching, good sleep, stress management, all the basics, don't sell. Like Asprey (who recently claimed he'd live to 180) and others, Brady needs something 'new' that he can copyright.

Don't forget, CJ, the ability to escape the big hit, slide with no one within 20 yards of you, or throwing the ball away as to not get plowed by a mammoth of a human. I think these could all have an effect on his longevity. Not all his pliability bullshit. Guy claims he's incapable of getting a sunburn for goodness sakes.

[Jay Mund]

the ability to escape the big hit

...the ability to convince the league that it should severely punish anyone who hits you, ever, and what the hell, change the rules about hitting quarterbacks completely...

[Matthew_888]

But what about the antioxidants?

Don't you worry: Gwen Paltrow has what you crave for.

ORGANIC APPLE CIDER VINEGAR CAPSULES that are "easy-to-swallow", 120g for 25$.
Best deal since theirEgg Vagina, sadly, I could not
have my sex change in time for the promotion. Anyways, nature always finds a way.