I was driving with a friend on Highway 17 through the mountains YEARS ago. We were listening to music at a high volume. Upon our dialog, he reached to turn it down so we could communicate. I slapped his hand away from the volume button and yelled to him, "SPEAK LOUDER...NEVER TOUCH THE VOLUME!"
There was listening to music
Listening to music at a high volume
and then there was the way I liked it...window shattering.
I told the story of being a 17 year old Nautilus Trainer for a fella named Mike Artega. He owned one of the first "Nautilus Clubs" in the area. I would come into the gym in the afternoon and CRANK the music up. He'd walk calmly over to the receiver and turn it down. Hmmmmm... I was left in charge to close the gym and when he left...yup...the music went to 11 on a 10 scale.
He later cited some study that referenced how LOUD music wasn't optimal when strength or conditioning training. I, of course, called BULLSHIT! After all...I was 17 and knew EVERYTHING.
Fast forward 40 years and one of my current team mates Marilia Coutinho as in Dr. Marilia Coutinho...as in the chick with a PhD and if she didn't do the research on a topic, she sure as shit SEARCHED the topic in detail, wrote about that very subject. "Well I'll be damned...Mike was right after all".
I'm not certain WHEN it happens or WHY it happens, but at a point in life, you become FINISHED with LOUD NOISES anyway.
We have weights now that get tossed to the ground...Ka BOOM!
We have Crossfit instructors and/or "hardcore" Powerlifters that are young and have that music not only cranked up to 10 but has a background bass that thumps to your inner soul.
We have air conditioning/heating units that drone on ALL day.
And I have a voice that after barking out orders for the last 50 years has little left.
Here's my take and recommend it to everyone, if you can't hear your coach and that coach has veins popping in his/her neck from screaming instructions, turn the LOUD down!!!
I've actually come to like silence.
Silence in:
Training
Atmosphere
Home
Gym
Commute rides
and mostly PEOPLE! (kidding...sort of)
Turn the volume down to a lower level so you can preserve your hearing and NOT over stimulate your nervous system.
Give it a try...I'll bet your performance goes UP!
Today's training:
AirDyne Bike: 20 minutes steady state
Paused Box Squat:
Same EXACT set up as last week.
Work up to a HEAVY 4 reps that exceed last weeks number by 10-15 pounds
Rep squat: 4x10 @ the same weight you repped for last week No pause.
Walking Lunge: 4x10
GHR: 4x10 vs. Mini Band
Suspended Knees to Elbow: 4x10
Bike Commute: 20 minutes
Now off to Colorado Springs with my son for a "President's Day Hockey Tournament"