"Garry and I have had some conversations back and forth about his history, his thirst to share and his future and continued involvement in the BD commmunity. I will be continually reaching out to those out there to share their piece; Garry has one that is covered with experience and as we all know "effort".
He will be doing some pieces in the future on speed, speed drills and and thoughts/ideas to share.
An original..."
OPT:
What is your current lifestyle values - give our readers a little insight into what inspires you each day.
UNIT:
gaining knowledge, diversity and skill development is a large part of what I do on a daily basis, and am inspired more when those aspects are implemented and integrated for self development while at the same time helping others...
OPT:
What is your background in sport and experiences that upgraded your learning?
UNIT:
well I played quite a few sports growing up but in college gained focus in track and field competing in the decathlon for South Carolina. my best events were (oddly enough), the javelin (62.5m), pole vault (15'9") and 1500m (4:18) during my college years I was also on the crew team for a year during a red shirt season and was introduced to rowing and it's sport.
continuing to compete and train for track and field was easy during medical school because of love, familiarity and convenience of facilities as I went to med school in the same city I went to college. life after med school has been a bit different though. track training took a back seat and I was wandering aimlessly in the fitness community looking for something that fit. my brother in law (rory hanlin) then introduced me to crossfit. I tried it for a couple months here and there, but still wasn't sold on it, and continued to 'shop' around. in feb/march of 2009, he told me about this OPT blog that he was gonna start to follow, came to visit, we did a workout, and I was hooked and have been a follower and advocate ever since...
OPT:
When we teach others about going back and forth from absolute strength to strength speed to speed strength to absolute speed; we often find that it is in the persons essence to be categorically better at one over the other always...while we know this might not change a lot but holding onto to our principles of balance, why do you feel its necessary to ensure folks have this balance?
UNIT:
its similar to trying to lift 4 balls (ea attribute) attached by 1 ft chains (back and forth arrows, linear/circular) toward the ceiling (goals)... if u grab just one ball and lift it, it'll only go so far until the others start to move... conversely, if there r goals that ur trying to reach with one aspect, it'll move easier if the other balls/components are picked up and elevated... I suppose I'm saying that (barring some extreme examples that I can think of) improvement in one single area is limited by the others after a certain point. eventhough one might have a particular niche or essence, that category may plateau or cease to improve until the other 3 areas are trained or addressed... speed is an integral aspect to each area. it involves aspects of coordination, neuromuscular recruitment and CNS stimulation that transcend other aspects of the continuum...
OPT:
Why the interest in speed development...and what can this mean to the CrossFitter and fitness go-er?
UNIT:
the interest started early on in life, and continues to this day. it's awesome to see people break their own perceived notions of 'fast' or 'speed' and show them ways to be more proficient in those avenues than they thought possible...
i enjoy biomechanics and how it relates to sport... and in my humble opinion, the faster the body is able to move the more interesting biomechanics and force application/generation becomes...
I feel that in the ten tenants of crossfit, speed is under-tested, under appreciated and under trained... for the crossfitter, if speed is developed appropriately benchmarks will improve... if u can do a Fran unbroken without rest between movements in 3:01, then how do u get a 2:40 Fran?... by moving faster through the movements (as an example). for the average fitness-goer, adding speed work and development will continue to allow progression of fitness and well-roundedness, ie an attribute that can be applied nearly universally in workout routines and daily living and will create better body/muscle awareness...
OPT:
What is a good "test" of speed that folks can use to determine how "fast" they are?
UNIT:
great question...
I would say that a flying 40meter/yard dash is a good test, although not performed often...
many athletes in sports have their 40 yard dash tested, so it is a relatively easy number to compare to see where you sit on the speed spectrum. but ease isn't necessarily the best.
in a 40, there are individuals with a lot of power that can get started and moving fast, but whose top end speed isn't up to par. on the other hand there are individuals whose top end speed is stellar but it takes nearly the whole 40 to get up to top speed. if people compared their 40 to their flying 40 (20m run up to get to top speed), then u start to get insight into the individuals speed capacity or top speed vs their speed generation, or speed power...
will address why 40 and not 30 or 60 or 100 another time.
OPT:
Are their specific drills that the daily fitness person can add to their line up to help in speed development?
UNIT:
most definitely. depending on the workout to be performed, facilities available, etc, things from sprint drills (walking vs skipping), dot drills, jumping drills, bounding/plyos... it is contingent on those individuals goals, training level/age, injury status and underlying essence...
OPT:
Anything else you'd like to add?
UNIT:
I really appreciate this opportunity to be a part of this inspiring and growing community... thank you.
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