Diesel Crew - Muscle Building, Athletic Development, Strength Training, Grip Strength

Strength and Conditioning for Elite Athletic Performance - Free Articles, Videos for Coaches, Fitness Professionals, Personal Trainers, Athletic Trainers, Physical Therapists for All Sports

As Seen On
  • Home
  • Media
    • Video
    • Articles
    • Galleries
    • Interviews
    • GS Radio
    • Contact
  • Products
    • eBooks
    • Manuals
    • DVDs
    • Services
  • Team Diesel
    • Napalm’s Blog
    • Smiitty’s Blog
    • Spray Series
    • Testmonials
  • Resources
    • Links
    • Contact
  • Forum
  • Home
  • Media
    • Video
    • Articles
    • Galleries
    • Interviews
    • GS Radio
    • Contact
  • Products
    • eBooks
    • Manuals
    • DVDs
    • Services
  • Team Diesel
    • Napalm’s Blog
    • Smiitty’s Blog
    • Spray Series
    • Testmonials
  • Resources
    • Links
    • Contact
  • Forum

Exposing the Matrix

neo-tricking-us-with-his-moves

I can’t hold back any longer!  I am here to expose the Matrix.

Have you ever seen Keanu Reeves?  Yes, he rides a motorcycle.  Yes he has a band.  And yes, he has a very substantial beard.  I mean he could either be the 4th dude from ZZ Top, or rent the space in his beard for a butterfly or sparrow retreat.

This post is AWESOME!

I think I actually saw a biscuit fall out of it once.  But that is not the point.

The point is, this dude really expects us to believe that he was actually strong enough and limber enough to pull off those bullet dodging stunts?

Well sir, you haven’t fooled me!

I have recently uncovered this never-before-seen, undoctored pic of Keanu on the set of the matrix.  It clearly shows that Mr. Reeves was in fact performing these very mobile stunts while on a swiss ball!

Ah ha!  I caught you!

neo-getting-his-mobility-on copy

After this really cool intro, let’s really get into it.

Real Swiss Ball Training

I have recently done a ton of research on how to improve the mobility of my athletes.  In fact, I think I have some pretty important ideas that I will document over the course of the upcoming months.

My biggest influences have been in no particular order:

– Frank Shamrock

– Mike Robertson and Eric Cressey

– Scott Sonnon

_____________________________________________________________

Mike and Eric for their important work with Magnificent Mobility.  Mobility was an essential part of the AMD structure and it all started with them opening my eyes to how important mobility is.

Definition of Mobility (my informal definition, yes you can quote me) – ability to freely move through the intended motion for all movements or exercise without restrictions and have strength and stability throughout this range of motion.

What is the difference between mobility and flexibility? Flexibility implies range of motion.  But it does not imply strength in this extended range of motion.

Flexibility can be enhanced with static stretching.  But mobility exercises not only improve  range of motion of a joint, but also activates the engaged musculature during the movement.

A win-win.

Both static stretching and mobility drills have their place in a strength program.  And therefore both should be used.

Prior to a workout, the CNS must be charged and excited and your core temperature must be increased.  Mobility drills can accomplish this very effectively when used in conjunction with SMR and activation work.  All of these are an essential part of a thorough warm-up.

That is why Mike and Eric’s product is so important.

Now on to Scott and Shamrock.

A while ago I came across a video of Shamrock using a swiss ball for his mobility drills.  I really loved the concept for many reasons.

The swiss ball used in this manner will:

  • improve full body mobility; ankles, hips, thoracic spine, shoulders, elbows, wrists
  • improve proprioception and kinesthetic awareness
  • promote fascial raking and effective “sensory” activation
  • become ONE part of a great warm-up (SMR, Mobility, Activation, Warm-up) that is relaxing and fun
  • be great for transitioning for combat athletes

This led into my ongoing discovery of Scott Sonnon’s work.    All of these “mentors” have shaped and are continuing to shape my ever changing view of movement.

Enjoy.

Post your comments about your own mobility work AND how you felt after trying this new drill.

Spread The Word

Smitty on Twitter


Smitty on Facebook

Products




Resources
Smitty’s Bio

Smitty’s Articles

Smitty’s Videos

Ask Smitty a Question


Copyright© 2009 The Diesel Crew, LLC. All rights reserved.
You may not reproduce this article or post.

How to Build Muscle | Muscle Building Workouts | How to Lose Fat | Six Pack Abs | Build Muscle, Muscle Gaining Workouts | Build Muscle Membership Site

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

How to Build Muscle | Muscle Building Workouts | How to Lose Fat | Six Pack Abs | Build Muscle, Muscle Gaining Workouts | Build Muscle Membership Site

Articles You Might Also Like:

  • Cossack Squats with 60lbs of Chains
  • Essential Hip Mobility – How to Warm-up Correctly
  • Foam Rolling 101 With Advanced Techniques
  • How to Build Muscle – Massive Shoulders
  • Top 5 Simple Muscle Building Tips – Essential Mass Building Exercises

Tags: flexibility, improve athletic performance, improve strength, mobility, muscle building, stretching

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 8th, 2009 at 6:34 pm and is filed under accelerated muscular development, core training workouts, core workouts for athletes, how to build muscle, strength training muscle building workouts, strength training to improve athletic performance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

About Jedd Johnson

24 Responses to “Exposing the Matrix”

  1. Shane Says:
    October 8th, 2009 at 7:01 pm

    I’m trying that. Thanks

  2. Rhea Morales Says:
    October 8th, 2009 at 7:27 pm

    I had some time so I got up and tried it since I have a ball at home. It feels good. I get some great stretching in my back and abs. Feels good on my shoulder blades too. I’m pretty comfortable on the ball because I do teach a stability ball class. I had the most fun going from my stomach to my back, to sitting. I think this would be a great exercise for wrestlers or BBJ competitors as it helps them to find flow and mobility while rolling. I never thought Reeves was that great of an actor. I liked him in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Every time I see him on film, it looks like he’s still playing Ted to me.

    As far as mobility is concerned, I always felt the most agile when practicing Shao lin kung fu. I’m thinking of going back to it as I remember how mobile I was and how good I felt. There’s noting like flowing form a lunge to a squat to a kick back to a lunge again. Some forms had you jump and then roll on the floor etc. There were too many to master so I gave it up. Here’s a link of a Southern Shao Lin form. I liked this style because of the low lunges and squats. I though it was great conditioning for my legs. Would love your feedback:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Z-4fqKzCVU

  3. NicoDojo Says:
    October 9th, 2009 at 12:38 am

    I have been a huge fan of Swiss ball training. Unfortunately mobility work was brought to me until recentely. Mobility work is the missing link between flexibility and strength however it is so underrated. I wish I had known mobility work when I was a baseball player.
    I use a lot of foam roller for my mobility work. That tool is absolutely amazing and the results are great.

  4. sidharth Says:
    October 9th, 2009 at 6:48 am

    hey Smitty,

    great stuff, awesome full body integration and mobility work which well complements kinesthetic awareness training too.
    Scott Sonnon’s work is impressive, with his intu-flow series ,prasara yoga, would also love to know whether you are also taking interest in clubbell circular training.

  5. Anatoly Says:
    October 9th, 2009 at 7:22 am

    Hey,Smith,
    I like Swiss ball as well and use it all the time.
    Thank you for this great information!

  6. Dave Hedges Says:
    October 9th, 2009 at 8:10 am

    Good post, I too saw the Frank Shamrock video and immediately tried it. A few weeks later, I dropped into the studio and spotted one of my lads, who’s a wrestler was doing the same thing. I put 2 and 2 together.

    Since then, whenever I’m feeling particularly banged up, out comes the ball, and I just flow away. Watching your man has given me a few new moves to try out though!

    It has really served a client of mine who has serious issues. Forced to retire from Triathlon because of Arthritis in her knees, and now we think her spine and shoulders. She commented that a fe minutes playing with my ball (sorry, couldn’t resist) was as good as going for a swim. She’s very tight and bound up, even worse when the arthritis is bad, but the ball loosens her right up.

    Good work, looking forward to further vids on this same topic.

    Did you see this from Sonnon, just beutiful, been playing with this too, reminded me of my old aiki days, gotta get back into rolling:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdWUUVTkQ-E&feature=autofb

    Regards

    Dave Hedges

  7. Jerry Shreck Says:
    October 9th, 2009 at 8:13 am

    Well, I guess I know what I am doing to day with a swiss ball! I have done some of that but never “flowing” movements. Looking forward to giving it a shot.

  8. Jim Smith Says:
    October 9th, 2009 at 10:55 am

    Awesome Jerry, keep me posted. It is amazing how great you feel afterwards.

  9. Jim Smith Says:
    October 9th, 2009 at 10:55 am

    Nice Dave, thanks for the link! I have been doing this for about 2 months and I feel great!

  10. Jim Smith Says:
    October 9th, 2009 at 10:56 am

    You got it Anatoly!

  11. Jim Smith Says:
    October 9th, 2009 at 10:56 am

    Sonnon’s work is years ahead of its time.

  12. Jim Smith Says:
    October 9th, 2009 at 10:56 am

    It is so important for improving movement, thanks for the feedback Nico!

  13. Jim Smith Says:
    October 9th, 2009 at 11:02 am

    very nice Rhea, thanks for sharing.

  14. Jim Smith Says:
    October 9th, 2009 at 11:02 am

    Let’s us know how it goes!

  15. Coach mike Says:
    October 9th, 2009 at 11:32 am

    Great stuff! I have a ball with 10lbs of sand in it! For my wrestlers I have drills were they roll it up the wall also! It will stay put until they land on it in a sprawl and medicine ball drills take another demension with a heavy swiss ball!

  16. Jim Smith Says:
    October 9th, 2009 at 11:49 am

    Awesome Mike!

  17. Jim Smith Says:
    October 9th, 2009 at 11:50 am

    Hey Mike, how about an article on how you use the medicine ball with your wrestlers for the Diesel site?!

  18. Pedro A. Morales Says:
    October 9th, 2009 at 5:18 pm

    Awesome!!! Differently trying these!!! Again Diesel Crew Delivers the Goods!! Can’t wait to Start AMD this Monday with Dave! Thanks for everything Bro!

    Sincerely

    Pedro A. Morales

  19. Coach mike Says:
    October 9th, 2009 at 5:21 pm

    Wow what an invite! I am honored! I would love to do one for you!

  20. Jeff Says:
    October 9th, 2009 at 8:26 pm

    Sonnon is otherworldly, almost to the point of making you wonder if half of it actually applies to most folks. Some of the stuff he does is that amazing!

    Smitty, in terms of flexibility versus mobility, is the natural progression (assuming restriction) to restore a little bit of flexibility at a time and then immediately lay down stability in the “newly” acquired ROM? And then to work on maintaining that new ROM by incorporating various mobility drills?

  21. Jim Smith Says:
    October 9th, 2009 at 10:08 pm

    In general, yes, the progression would be moderate. The simple introduction of new movements into the warm-up or exploring new “ranges” or articulations such as lunges from a deficit.

    For athletes, the analysis of the program must be regressive. Start and analyze the movements of the sport(s) and then get a baseline for the athlete. What is the gap between what movements the athletes can make (and can the athletes make them powerfully and with strength) and what the sport requires. Then build exercises and movements into the program to address these gaps.

  22. dixon Says:
    October 10th, 2009 at 10:55 am

    good one jim! i liked ur combatcore very much.

  23. Mike T Nelson Says:
    October 10th, 2009 at 1:49 pm

    Good stuff Smitty!

    My thoughts on Jeff’s comment are similar to Smitty’s, but a bit different.

    I feel ALL athletes need a base level of mobility first, and this would be joint mobility work for EVERY joint, taking it through a full range of motion. If you want to speak a foreign language (new movement) you need to know the letters first. Basic joint mobility for every joint is the letters.

    Putting them together in words is the next step, so you work to combine them into more movement based approaches; and these appear more sports specific.

    Smitty is dead nuts on, that all of this is based of an analysis of the athlete’s current weak points.

    Hope that helps!
    Rock on
    Mike T Nelson PhD(c)
    http://www.ExtremeHumanPerformance.com

  24. Jacob Hiller Says:
    July 2nd, 2010 at 1:43 pm

    Thanks for the post, nice distinction on mobility and flexiblity.

    I was skeptical of SMR until it completely alleviated a sore back I had one week. We travel constantly, to a different country every 1- 3 months, and I have one small suitcase (and one for my wife), but… I made room for the foam roller in there. I love that thing.

Diesel Crew Newsletter


Get Diesel Blog Posts Emailed to You:

  



DIESEL DIRECTORY

Find EVERY Single Post Ever Written on DieselCrew.com.

Click Here: All DieselCrew.com Entries

Search DieselCrew.com

Upcoming Events

CONTEST: Grip Hogs Day, Wyalusing PA

Click Here


Motivation & Muscle Podcast

Featured Products

DC Grip Strength
how to train to lift the blob

bend steel, bend wrenches, roll frying pans




How to Bend Horseshoes








How to Bend Horseshoes
    How to Tear Phone Books
Card Tearing Ebook
     Bending Manual
Nail Bending DVD
Euro Pinch Two Hands Pinch Yraining
Nail Bending DVD
    build grip strength hand strength forearm strength
Diesel Strength Training Products

build strength strongman training information
Advanced Kettlebell Challenges Build Strength with Kettlebells
    improve strength conditioning recovery grip strength
home made strength training equipment
how to do strongman atlas stone training
Members Only
build grip strength and learn feats of strength

Stay Connected – Jedd

Friend me on Twitter!
Subscribe to my Youtube Videos!
Friend me on Facebook!
Check Out my Images on Flickr!
Join my Network on LinkedIn!
Check out my blog!

Training Center

FREE EBOOK - AWESOME

How to Build Muscle Articles

3 Insanely Effective Upper Body Warm-ups

Ultimate Lower Body Warm-up

Ultimate Pull-up Video

How to Shoulder Rehab

How to Bench Press

How to Squat

How to Deadlift

How to Train with Odd Objects

Top 7 Tips for Building Muscle

Massive Back Training

Massive Arm Training 1

Massive Arm Training 2

Massive Arm Training 3

Advanced Activation Techniques

Speed Training for Athletes

Perfect Workout for Travelers

Popular Videos

Shoulder Rehab Protocol

Ultimate Two Minute Warm-up

No More Knee Pain - Part 1

No More Knee Pain - Part 2

Advanced Pull-up Training 1

Advanced Pull-up Training 2

Improve Pressing Power 1

Improve Pressing Power 2

Popular Articles

Celebrity Fitness - Build Muscle

How to Build Muscle

Build Muscle Now with Ladders

19 Tips for Fixing Your Squat

Fix Your Squat - Part 2

Fixing the Shoulders

The Summer Six-Pack

Keys for the Hard Gainer

Improving Your Deadlift Grip

Top 5 Core Exercises

Media

Home Team Diesel
Media Resources
Products Forum

MUSCLE BUILDING / GAIN MUSCLE MASS / HOW TO BUILD MUSCLE:
Accelerated Muscular Development | How to Build Muscle | How to Bench Press Muscle Building Anatomy | Muscle Building Nutrition - Build Muscle Mass | Sled Dragging Workouts Strength Training - Muscle Building Workouts | Strength Training Powerlifting | Strength Training Workouts How to Lose Fat - Fat Loss | Kettlebell Training | Strength Training Workouts Injury Rehab - How to Rehab an Injury

CORE WORKOUTS / CORE TRAINING / SIX PACKS ABS:
Core Training Workouts | Core Workouts for Athletes

ATHLETIC STRENGTH TRAINING / STRENGTH WORKOUTS / BUILD STRENGTH:
Athletic Strength Training Train With Odd Objects Strength Training to Improve Athletic Performance | Core Workouts for Athletes | Strongman Training for Athletes Baseball Strength and Conditioning | Improve Speed Bag Training

GRIP STRENGTH / IMPROVE GRIP STRENGTH / GRIP TRAINING FOR ATHLETES:
Bending Grip Strength | How to Tear Cards | Grip Strength Blob Lifting | How to Improve Crushing Grip Strength Improve Grip Strength | Improve Crushing Grip Strength | Grip Strength Blob Lifting | Grip Strength Competition

OLD STRONGMAN / OLD TIME STRONGMAN / STRONGMAN FEATS OF STRENGTH:
Old Strongman Feats of Strength

DAILY MOTIVATION / INSPIRATION:
Daily Inspiration - Motivation

BUILD YOUR OWN GYM:
Create Your Own Garage Gym

Copyright © 2006 – 2009 The Diesel Crew, LLC. All rights reserved.

Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer

Cleantalk Pixel