It’s amazing what kind of stuff pops up on the internet.

Tonight, this video popped up on my Facebook newsfeed http://youtu.be/uDawlrIeaVM – I can’t repost the video here because the option has been disabled. But here’s a picture:

lance cleans

It’s a video of the man himself Lance Armstrong doing several exercises in the gym. Now you would expect an athlete with Lance’s accomplishments to be quite proficient in the gym; however, this is not the case. It’s sloppy and not as effective as it could be.

For the lay person reading/watching, this technique is horrendous and it’s not surprising he didn’t get hurt. Would be interesting to see what WOULD happen if Lance had been coached by a strength and conditioning coach that knew what he/she was doing.

It doesn’t end there.

The fastest man alive doesn’t do cleans correctly either.

Usain also had some back trouble last season – wonder if it was caused by poor exercise technique in the gym?

It’s unfortunate these athletes didn’t have good coaching when they were learning these lifts. Maybe they didn’t have any coaching at all (but I doubt that). Would also be interesting to see how fast Usain would have ran if he was 110% effective in the gym.

No disrespect toward these two gentlemen, just wanted to take this opportunity to use these videos as an educational tool for you.

If you want to learn how to do the clean correctly, check out my 1st article on T-Nation: A Surefire Way to Learn the Clean.

Here’s a short video of me doing the same exercise. I’m still working on my technique, but you can see a huge difference from how Lance and Usain are performing the same exercise.

Lance or Usain, if you’re reading this, LET ME HELP YOU!

Thanks for reading,

-JK

lisa jumping onto a box

JKC was recommended to me by a fellow runner. I was experiencing injuries, and feeling weak and fragile. When I started with JKC, Jon asked me about my goals and my focus. I wanted to concentrate specifically on running, and preventing injury. Jon developed a program for me that has enabled me to focus on my form and strength and has been flexible enough to enable me to train for many different races. I have been training with JKC for six years, and during that time I have enjoyed Jon and Thomas’s expertise in a very warm and supportive atmosphere.

I’m 34 and started at JKC in 2015. My wife joined while I was working away in 2015 and started making amazing progress while also completing exercises I’d never perform on my own. I felt I was missing out so I signed up. JKC helps in establishing goals while also having clear direction of what to do, and how, in each session. They also measure your progress which is another means of motivation! At other gyms I wouldn’t have a clear plan and would just use whatever equipment was free, it was hard to see any results. Between setting some personal bests and making good friends its hard to identify a favorite memory.  One that does come to mind was when I hit my target goal/PB in both bench and squats in the same session, big day.

I had spent a fair bit of time in gyms in my teens and twenties but I turned away from the gym to focus on activities that I enjoyed more. What keeps me at JKC is that I do really enjoy it. I always feel that I’ve accomplished something when I leave at the end of my workout. The environment is really positive and focused on challenging yourself whatever your level of comfort and fitness. I’ve also seen results that I’m really happy with; having someone who really knows what they’re talking about to guide your workouts makes them way more effective and focused than just “going to the gym”.

Shortly after I started at JKC, I sustained a fairly major injury that took me off my feet for several months. When I started to get back to activity, it was very difficult. Jon and Thomas worked hard to tailor my workouts to my goals and what I could do. With their help, I’ve been steadily building back strength and function.

Not having much if any experience with professional gyms I though it would be along the lines of going to a facility and doing your own thing, getting some instructions from time to time, if you asked for it, and for most part working out on your own, in a large impersonalized setting. I was a bit apprehensive as I figured I’d be standing around a lot looking at all this equipment wondering what to do with it, or worst doing something to hurt myself. Well I couldn’t have been more wrong. Both Jon and Thomas are very attentive, professional trainers, who lay-out an exercise program, from start to finish, for you. They demonstrate the exercise they want you to do and then watch you do it to make sure you got it right. Jon and Thomas are very thorough, patience and non-assuming.

I am the oldest client at JKC at 79 years, soon to be 80. I started training at JKC July 2021. I started at JKC because two of my three sons Justin and Michael and their partners Andrea and Keir and one of my doctors recommended JKC. They all train at JKC Now my wife Linda trains at JKC too. My third son Jonathan lives in Kingston. There is a congenial community atmosphere at JKC. People are introduced to each other. There is effective personal training at JKC.

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