How to Get Instantly Stronger: Some Secrets behind the Science of Strength*

[Fourth J109 article — Scientific How-to Article.]

There are times when non-athletic persons (like me) are faced with tasks and instances that make us wish we are stronger than we really are. Fortunately there are ways to significantly improve and boost our strength for times like these.

In school, some physical education courses assess health and skills components of the body such as strength. In “real life,” moments that make us wish we had stayed physically fit and paid more attention to building up our body’s strength always come up, sometimes unexpectedly. We may have to carry heavy things just when there is nobody around to ask help from. There are also times when we wish our lower bodies are more adept at jumping over a considerable distance, such as a hole or a poodle of flood on the road.

Faced with these apparently daunting tasks, we regret not having trained our bodies to becoming stronger. However, weightlifting, which is a sport that relies heavily on explosive strength, can provide us with little secrets that could help us increase the strength of our upper bodies and serve the purpose at hand. And seemingly mundane and unrelated objects such as tape and golf balls can also help improve the strength of our lower bodies and consequently, the distance we can cover in a jump.

If we watch weightlifters in competitions, we can notice the “ritual” they do before performing the lift. Korean weightlifting commentator Lee Hangkyung, in a show about the facts of the human body, explains the rationale of these “rituals.” Doing these steps, no matter how untrained our bodies are, can improve our strength and allow us to lift objects that we are previously not able to.

First, the trainer makes the weightlifter smell something from a bottle. This bottle contains liquid ammonia, which is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen. It is colorless and has a very strong pungent odor. Upon smelling ammonia, our concentration level will heighten and produce an awakening effect. It then releases the tension we might feel facing an undoable task.

Next, the trainer hits the muscle of the legs and the face of the weightlifter. More than agitating the athlete and making him want to hit the trainer back, hitting the muscles conditions the brain to make it focus on the task. This also serves as the warm-up for the muscles since lifting is like an instantaneous work-out.
We can also notice that weightlifters wear belt. The athletes are using special weighted belts, but for our purpose, an ordinary belt with decent width and firmness will do. The belt makes the body gather up all the strength and gear it towards the part where it’s needed: the torso. Wearing the belt also helps protect the muscles that are used in lifting.

The fourth and last “ritual” justifies the inherent need for pep rallies in sport competitions. In this case, it is the weightlifter who cheers himself on. The cry full of will power is helpful when faced with a heavy weight that needs lifting. This yell increases the person’s confidence level and shows others that they can do it. Indeed, it’s more often about having a disposition of mind over matter.

These might just be simple tricks but they can really do wonders and make non-athletic persons increase strength just when it is needed the most even without proper and long-term physical training.

The next secret to strength will be able to help non-jumpers cross a considerable distance using simple and seemingly unrelated things. These are the tape and golf balls—or any small balls which could be held inside the hands.

It is rather hard to believe but if one ties the toes together with tape, and then he does the run and jump, he can jump farther. He can tie the feet using the tape in whatever manner he wants to. The difference between distances he can cover without the tape and with the tape is striking—it could increase by up to 20%.  The goal in tying the feet is to make the toes come together. The bones and the ligaments come together and the power in the toes becomes stronger. Therefore, the jump will be more powerful.

The next trick involves holding small balls in both hands. The ball becomes a balance and gives the body a center. Consequently, the hands stimulate our nerves and sensors in the muscles and joints. This revitalizes the brain, specifically the motor cortex, and the electric signal travels faster to the efferent nerves which are responsible for the body’s movements. Thus, the muscles can move easier and stronger. This makes it possible for us to jump further than we originally can.

Of course, impressive results on physical tests such as weightlifting and jumping will not occur out of nowhere. Attaining ability to lift heavy objects and to cover distance in a single jump stems from a fully-functional and healthy body. These steps are by no means the ends to attaining strength that can be used when needed. They certainly are helpful for a purpose at hand or another, but a well-developed and physically fit body would easily do the trick whenever a heavy box needs lifting or a large poodle of water needs jumping over.

*Anchored on the “Strength” episode of the show “Explorations of the Human Body” by SBS (Korea) that aired from November 11, 2007 to February 3, 2008

Thanks to SuperJunior for the inspiration! ♥ Haha.

These Walls of Texts

are just walls of texts.

Ugh, boo, self. Boo.

I wonder when I’ll have the urge to write things again about what goes on in my routinely-tiresome-yet-empty life recently. LOL.

I’ve just updated myself with Ramon Baustista’s posts on Tumblr.

That’s why I’m being emo.

Happy birthday to my arch-enemy on things PBA, Chester.