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30.4.11
29.4.11
On Weightlifting: A Personal View
Chapter 4
ON THE BENEFITS OF SUBORDINATE EXERCISES
BOTH IN REGARDS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BODY AS WELL AS THE WELL-BEING OF THE MIND
BY DONNY SHANKLE CPT
1
Weightlifters Push-up
end of eccentric
Because the wrists of the weightlifter take a beating over the years the push-up should be done with the hands clinched in a fist. This will keep the pressure more evenly dispersed along the length of the entire powerful forearm. Elbows are kept tucked into the sides of the body and the eyes are looking down at a 45 degree angle. DO NOT let the head drift forward and down as this will cause a strain on the neck muscles in particular the sternocleidomastoid. The torso is held in perfect alignment from the feet to the crown of the head improving the isometric strength of the entire body. The lungs and stomach are full of air which has been inhaled prior in the concentric phase.
end of concentric
The weightlifters body is still held in perfect alignment and the eyes are still at a 45 degree angle. The fists have gone white from the exertion applied and the weightlifter exhales as he pushes through the sticking point. The concentric phase is held for two seconds with the arms completely locked to allow the elbow joint to strengthen in preparation for the jerk and snatch. The pectoral muscles, front deltoids, and triceps muscles are the prime movers. The muscles of the abdomen and spine are the stabilizers. The isometric stability of this exercise teaches the weightlifter to keep their body as rigid as possible when standing up from a clean, snatch, or when dipping for the jerk.
SETS: 2
REPS: 10-20
ADVANCED WAY: add weight plate across the upper back or butt
LENGTH OF DURATION: 3-5 minutes
PLACEMENT IN TRAINING: very end
On Weightlifting: A Personal View
CHAPTER 5
ON SOME COMMON QUESTIONS
Unraveling The Many Different Query's Held By Both Spectators And Competitors
By Donny Shankle CPT
Q: I recently hit myself in the throat so hard with the bar on a clean that, I have partially lost my voice leaving the area tender. Is this normal and should I be concerned?
If you have a question you would like me to answer in regards to weightlifting, please send it to my email at donny.shankle@gmail.com
27.4.11
26.4.11
On Weightlifting: A Personal View
Chapter 4
ON THE BENEFITS OF SUBORDINATE EXERCISES
BOTH IN REGARDS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BODY AS WELL AS THE WELL-BEING OF THE MIND
BY DONNY SHANKLE CPT
“Familiarity Breeds Contempt.” Anonymous
INTRODUCTION
Exercises other than the snatch and clean & jerk
when performed during training can have a decided effect on your
optimum performance. Subordinate exercises when programmed properly
in your training can improve muscle tone and conditioning, prevent
injury, alleviate stress, build confidence, increase appetite, help
monitor weight gain and increase strength. The monotonous training of
snatching and clean & jerking can be a tiresome process for the
weightlifter. The addition of other popular and weightlifting
exercises can be invigorating to the mind and relaxing for the body.
It is important to note the following exercises must be done in
conjunction with the main two exercises snatch and clean & jerk
and training should never entail solely these exercises alone.
Many of the exercises discussed here are already known
by many people as being rudimentary forms of basic strength training.
Other exercises listed will help improve your performance on the
platform. The more popular exercises have been modified to give
special attention to the weightlifter. Due to the fact that many
advanced weightlifters have developed mobility problems over the
course of years in their training I have adjusted many of the
exercises. Fundamentals are what I am getting back to here while
taking into consideration the desire developed by the weightlifter to
improve their total and win. All set and rep parameters, you will
notice, are kept minimal because I do not want to waste the effort of
the weightlifter, but rather give the mind a momentary break from the
constant hammering of snatch and clean & jerk with variation.
These exercises continue to keep the weightlifter in the gym training
which is necessary in becoming a champion.
For each description, when needed, I have included
pictures demonstrating both the eccentric and concentric phases of
the exercise. All exercises are to be done with strict discipline
making sure to perform each exercise the way I have explained. Any
lapse in form is due to a synergistic imbalance of the force-couple
relationship and should be immediately corrected and conditioned to
perfection. The development of every muscle from the prime movers to
the smaller stabilization muscles will help improve peak force by
keeping the body in the correct position during either lift. The
weightlifting exercises listed are to get you moving faster, improve
your strength, and teach you how your body is supposed to move. A
healthy body and sound mind increases the neuro-muscular efficiency
of the weightlifter enabling him to train maximally as much as
possible.
All subordinate exercises chosen are merely personal
favorites of mine I have learned over the years. Many involve the
development of the lungs and posterior chain. A strong back is
essential in this sport and will take time to reach maturity. I
initially struggled with identifying the proper term for categorizing
these exercises eventually settling on subordinate. I concluded that
learning the snatch and clean & jerk are, of course, the primary
discipline to be mastered by the weightlifter. Any other exercise
performed outside of these two are subordinate to mastering the
efficiency needed in understanding controlled power (a term I
will explain in chapter 6). In order to fully grasp the concept of
controlled power, however, the weightlifter must first
understand how the body works against resistance and how it is
supposed to move. Subordination implies a system of ranking. While I
may rank these exercises beneath the elite classical lifts I do not
do so in a negative connotation. The list of exercises given do have
merit when performed correctly and properly. Combining the 5 factors
of the champions mind (discussed in chapter 1) with the 10 virtues
(discussed in chapter 2) to be embodied after gaining efficiency
through repetition, the understanding and practice of these
subordinate exercises creates a triumvirate of stability. To say that
any of these concepts mentioned can do without one or the other is
like saying a military officer is in no need of his enlisted troops.
One is in need of the other to complete the mission, while the others
are in need of a just leader to direct its strength. These
subordinate exercises help to teach the weightlifter about his/her
body as a form of practical study. The immersion of oneself in
“study,” in my opinion, is a tool used by champions which helps
them stay focused on goals. This constant “study” of the body and
mind relationship through various forms of exercise allows such
champions to avoid distraction, temptation, and setback. Use these
exercises also as a way to correct deficiencies in your lifting and
to keep training interesting.
Subordinate exercises teach the weightlifter
sensorimotor integration as well as a better understanding of
movement, natural stretch reflex, and the importance behind
maintaining a strong back arch. Many beginning weightlifters lack the
candid knowledge of how their body is actually supposed to function
and move. With each exercise performed by the weightlifter in
training they will become more familiar with proper muscle mechanics.
For example, the weightlifter will understand that the function of
the weightlifters shrug is to utilize bar rotation and the trapezoid
muscle is to both stabilize a weight overhead and isometrically
control a weight at the sides of the body.
This chapter is a guide to help keep the drug free
weightlifter holistically healthy and proprioceptively acute.
Every action must be executed with meditative tranquility and the
exercises should be a thing of beauty
to behold. I view the engagement of my body, no matter how I
command it to move or perform, as an art form.
Just as the dancer moves her body to the rhythm of music, or the
sculptor closes his eyes and lets his hands chisel and create what he
can only see in his mind, the weightlifter moves in sync with the
barbell with incomprehensible power that has been tailored with
patient care. Let us begin with the weightlifters push-up.
25.4.11
2003 Camp Pendleton Strongest Warrior Interview
From the sports section of Camp Pendleton's Newspaper "The Scout"
October 3, 2003
ARTICLE READS
MANTRA FOR THE LAST VIKING IS SIMPLE: JUST BE THE BEST
SGT. MATTHEW J. EPRIGHT
Friends call him The Last Viking. He's 6-foot, 215pounds, built like an ancient warrior, and he lives his life by a simple code: “To be the Best.”
Donald Shankle was that and then some Friday at the Strongest Warrior competition at the Santa Margarita 33 Area Parade Deck.
Closely resembling ESPN's strong man competitions, Marine Corps Community Service's Strongest Warrior competition consists of five grueling events – Humvee Pull, Military Press, Tire Flip, Farmers Walk, and Stone Carry – designed to test the physical and mental limits of the individuals who participate.
Ninth Communications Battalion's Shankle, whose “code” is tattooed in Greek on his back, has been training for this type of event for most of his life.
“He was born to do this,” said Meiko Shankle, his wife. She added that while some guys watch and videotape football games, her husband watches and re-watches strong man competitions, studying the techniques used by the winners.
“He's always pushing his body to the limit,” 9th Communications Michael Silamianos said.
“We had these oxygen tanks taller than me (in Kuwait and Iraq). He would carry them around,” Silamianos said, telling how Shankle trained while deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Shankle placed first or second in every event except the Tire Flip. “That's the only event I was very disappointed in,” he said. “I flipped a few tires out in Iraq, I guess I need to flip a few more.”
Ninth Communications Chris Helm captured second place in the 200 plus weight class, as well as second overall. Finishing third in weight and overall was Steven McCanless of Combat Service Support Battalion-12.
In the middleweight class (175.5 – 199.5 pounds) Arthur Solomon of CSSB-12 took first, Andrew Rodney of 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment took second and there was a tie for third between Easton Taylor of 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment and Robert Brown of 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion.
The 150.5 – 175 pound weight class was won by Jose Uribe of Headquarters Battalion. Austin Nichols, of the staff academy, finished second, and Cory Gehring of 5th Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment finished third.
“It's about heart, not so much about physical strength,” Shankle said. “It's about how bad you want it, and how much your willing to put up with pain; how much you can push through , to be the best.”
(Caption reads)
Donald Shankle dominated the strongest warrior competition on Friday. Here he is competing in the Tire Flip.
24.4.11
And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
And ye are witnesses of these things. - Luke 24:44-48
Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
And ye are witnesses of these things. - Luke 24:44-48
23.4.11
On Weightlifting: A Personal View
Chapter 10
On The Importance Of Knowing Your Way Around The Kitchen
Recipes From Home And Abroad
By Donny Shankle CPT
On The Importance Of Knowing Your Way Around The Kitchen
Recipes From Home And Abroad
By Donny Shankle CPT
“Diet is the most important factor”
Barbequed Tri-Tip With Grilled Tomatoes and Homemade Mashed Potatoes
3lb. Tri-Tip Roast
12 Cherry Tomatoes
6 Large Potatoes
1 Yellow Onion
Olive Oil
BBQ Sauce (your favorite)
Garlic
Sea salt
Black Pepper
Crushed Red Pepper
Butter
2 Skewers
Louisiana Hot Sauce
Tri-tip is a popular cut of beef in California and it is cheap enough to make and enjoy quality meat everyday. The sweetness of the grilled tomatoes combined with a nice char on the tri-tip with buttery mashed potatoes is a fantastic dinner for you and your family this Easter.
Marinate your tri-tip overnight in your favorite BBQ sauce. Poke some holes in your roast and dilute the sauce a little so it gets in the meat easier. Sprinkle a little salt and about a palm full of crushed red pepper on the roast making sure to rub the pepper in between your fingers to release the heat.
After your roast has marinated take it out the fridge and let it come back to room temperature before you put it on the grill. Fire up your grill really hot at about 450 degrees and place your roast directly over the heat. DO NOT go anywhere while the meat is searing or you are likely to burn it. It should take approximately 2-4 minutes on each side to get some nice grill marks but be sure and check it often. After you have charred the outside bring your heat down to about 300 degrees and move your roast over to an indirect heat. Once the internal temperature reads 140 degrees take the roast off and wrap it in foil. It will continue to cook on its own about 5 degrees more. This should give you a medium cooked tri-tip which I find to be just right for this cut of beef.
While your roast is on the grill peel up your potatoes and cut them small enough to allow them to cook evenly. Bring a pot of water to boil and drop your potatoes in. Once you can poke a fork through them and they easily slide off they are done. Strain your potatoes and drop in a stick and a half of butter, freshly minced garlic (about a teaspoon), 2 pinches of sea salt, and fresh ground black pepper to your liking. Mash everything together by hand until you reach the texture you want. Cover with foil and set aside until you are ready to serve.
Wash your baby tomatoes in a bowl and combine them with olive oil, sea salt, and Louisiana hot sauce. Skewer your tomatoes with some sliced onion in between each tomato. Place them on the grill directly only long enough to blacken them very slightly and then move to an indirect heat so they can finish doing their thing. I swear these tomatoes will be the best thing you ever put in your mouth when they are done right.
This dish is so easy to prepare. To plate just slice the tri-tip to your preference and drizzle a little more BBQ sauce on top. Get yourself a weightlifters size portion of mashed potatoes along with a couple sweet tomatoes. I like to add just a little more hot sauce on my tomatoes towards the end for a little extra southern style kick. This recipe is guaranteed to add 20 kilos to your total and make you smile. Happy Easter and enjoy.
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13.4.11
Only Be Determined
By Donny Shankle CPT
You're going to have a chance one day
Maybe just a choice for others
To make a decision or pursue a path
Know that your wisdom is no guarantee of success
Whether it be conditioned victories that ended in defeats
Intimate love eclipsed with unbearable and painful loneliness
Cold homelessness atop uncertain accommodations
Or simply a belly full of condensed broth
It will never be a question of your ability to persevere through chances and trials
Failure is a guarantee and at times a blessing
Have the conviction, however, to never let it end there
Fierce determination is the surest way to manifest a dream
Every time a challenge is presented run to it
Dig your nails in the fucking earth and crawl to it
Do not dare miss your chance to live forever
And surely don't give a damn to those the quill will never be dipped for
Remember man at his best overshadows his worst
You will never get to do any moment of life over again
Live with that pain everyday and apply yourself infinitely again and again
Or lie forever with the worms as they drink the pools of tears from your eyes
Everything you do ensure it is done with the determination of being the best
Leave lasting impressions to those who cross your path
Intend for men to never forget the exertion it took of their lungs to keep up with you
Make love to your woman with indelible passion she will tremble to feel again
There is no soul on God's green earth who lives without mistake
Wash your hands of it and seize your moment
Don't let any second rate son-of-a-bitch rob it from you
And certainly don't be the coward who stinks of nothing but self-pity for himself
Let your determination be a parasite on the minds of your enemies
Show no mercy to those who did not work as hard as you did
Be gracious to those who helped you along your way
Pray your stubbornness will last as long as the beating of your heart
New choices and chances spring forth daily
Be as determined as the slave who broke the chains of his master
Their will only ever at the end of the day be just you
Be determined until the day you walk on water
Then you can rest
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