Dr Mel Siff Blog

Anyone who has trained seriously with weights for a while knows that there
are many ways of executing full back squats with different types of
apparatus. Here are a few of them:

1. Free weights (barbells)
2. Free weights plus elastic bands (increasing resistance)
3. Free weights plus chains (increasing resistance)
4. Free weights plus partner adding resistance (increasing resistance)
5. Squats on Smith machine
6. Squats on isokinetic machine (accommodating resistance)
7. Squats on cam machine (varying resistance)
8. Free weights plus isokinetic resistance
9. Squats with weights hanging off belt

Each one of these different apparatus types of squat has its own
applications. Would anyone care to comment on some of them with which they
may be familiar? What are the specific values of each of these types of
squat?

Dr Mel C Siff

<< I am from Bangladesh. In my country people have this conception that if
teenagers do more of stretching exercise or hang theirselves on to bar, they
will grow taller. Could you please tell me whether stretching does help a
person to grow tall? >>

*** Since height depends strongly on skeletal length, it is extremely
unlikely that short periods of time spent on stretching soft tissues will
have any noticeable effect on overall height. Height and general growth is
determined predominantly by genetics and nutrition.

A Russian book, called “School of Height” did discuss methods of increasing
height in youngsters (probably pre-pubescent), one of them being sleeping
under weighted traction, another being regular weight training. Dr Yessis
translated parts of this book, so he may be able to recall more details than
I can.

Pathological shortness of stature and impediments of growth have been treated
in very young children with human growth hormone, but stretching like in the
typical fitness class or yoga session has never been shown to produce any
significant permanent increases in height. To borrow an expression that has
been applied in other senses, “if you want to be tall, you have to choose the
right parents!”

Dr Mel C Siff

The latest issue of the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research (Aug
2000, 295-301) contained the following article:

Rimmer E & Sleivert G ‘Effects of a Plyometrics Intervention Program on
Sprint Performance’

It compared the training effects of two different training programs on a
group of 32 male rugby and touch rugby players of average age 24 years. One
group trained with sprint training, while the other group performed
“sprint-specific plyometric exercises.” While the plyometrics group decreased
their ground contact time at 37m distance by 4.4%, the authors concluded that
a sprint specific plyometrics program can improve 40m sprint performance to
the same extent as standard sprint training, possibly by shortening ground
contact time.

The article also noted that the plyometrics intervention appears to have had
the greatest effect on sprint performance during the initial acceleration
stage. This findings concurs with what Young (Sprint bounding and the sprint
bound index Nat Strength Cond Assoc J 1992, 14: 18-21) suggested, namely
that bounding may be considered a specific exercise for the development of
acceleration because of the similar contact times of bounding and sprinting
during the initial acceleration phase.

The authors end the article by stating that coaches and participants should
“consider a plyometrics training program that incorporates sprint-specific
exercises as part of the overall training program.”

And that returns us to where we began! This is precisely the sort of
conclusion that Verkhoshansky and others reached when they did the pioneering
work of plyometric training about 40 years ago. They stressed the importance
of using plyometrics (actually, ’shock method’) as a part of the overall
training program integrated with other forms of strength training in a
suitable sequence of training ‘complexes’ (e.g. see Siff & Verhkoshansky
“Supertraining” 1999, Ch 5.3).

Dr Mel C Siff

training program integrated with other forms of strength training in a suitable sequence of training ‘complexes' (e.g. see Siff & Verhkoshansky “Supertraining” 1999, Ch 5.3). Dr Mel C Siff. Share and Enjoy: ...

training program integrated with other forms of strength training in a suitable sequence of training ‘complexes' (eg see Siff & Verhkoshansky “Supertraining” 1999, Ch 5.3). Dr Mel C Siff. Share and Enjoy: ...