| We are all born with the potential for flexibility. There are both elastic and collagenous fibers in our muscles. Collagenous fibers stabilize the join. Elastic fibers enable range of motion and also allow our body segments to move quickly and accurately into position for maximal mechanical efficiency. I have found after years of schooling, training and working with countless people, in this my life's work, that certain guidelines work very well when doing flexibility training. To get the most out of such training, your muscles must be either hot or tired or both. I remember one time I went to some Olympic caliber athletes training at a center is East Berlin. They were taking hot showers! I thought I had missed the practice - not so. They were warming up for flexibility work before they practiced their sport. Our training programs incorporate stretching the muscles that have just been worked so that they are hot and tired. In addition, many of the exercises are cardiovascular and stretching provides meaningful rest for the heart and system. I find that 20 to 40 second bouts of static stretching works very well. By static, I mean getting to the end of flexibility and then holding that position for a length of time. We know that longer periods of stretching can get more results. The problem is you feel less strong after such stretching. Other kinds of stretching are effective too. We find that contracting the muscle for five seconds then stretching it for 15 seconds for 2 bouts creates a meaningful progression of stretching. Then contract the muscle 5 seconds and stretch 15 seconds when the joint is straight and when the joint is bent. A slow bending and straightening of the joint 5 times, or a total of 45 seconds to a minute, moves the stretch from the muscle origin to its insertion or visa versa. This way the whole length of the muscle is stretched. Some stretching can be done ballistically with safety and excellent results. Ballistic means the limb is going so fast it out runs the muscle until the very end of the movement at which point the muscle catches up and tugs hard on the bone. Ballistic stretches result in a certain amount of muscle pulls when done without a general and specific warm up. It is theorized that with the muscles warmed up and with static stretching done previously, the muscle is not only flexible enough for the ballistic stretch but the inhibiting factor of the opposite muscle groups is diminished allowing a greater range of motion. |
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| Anatomy of a Program | An explanation of what a program is and how it is developed. |
| Weight Training for Your Lifestyle | The benefits of weight training (athletic training) regardless of your age or condition |
| The World According to Carl | Advice from Carl Miller |
| Our Staff | Meet Carl and Sandra's staff! |
| Miller Weightlifting | Our lifters compete in national and international Olympic-style weightlifting meets. |
| Fun Meets | Weightlifting meets for our members without the pressure of competition. Members can show their skills for fun in a meet atmosphere or tune-up for their next big meet! |
