The Cornwell Files

1.25.2010

Blog

Ralph Cornwell

Undergrad From University of Maryland/Radford University Va
Masters of Science from Virginia Tech
Doctor of Philosophy -Science Virginia Tech Completion Date 12/10

Former Strength Coach
Radford University
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
United States Military Academy at West Point
North Carolina Agriculture and Technology State University
West Montgomery High School, NC

Served as Sport Performance Director and Owner of 2 Sports Performance Facilities 1 in Blacksburg, Va, the other in Greensboro, NC.

I have been training on Pendulum 5-way neck for about a month and have had remarkable results. The weight has steadily gone up on the exercises, but the amazing thing is my neck circumference has increased by an inch and a half.

Never gotten those types of results from any neck machine and I have tryed them all. I am currently preparing for my Ph.D. case study which involves the question: If you increase the circumference of the neck through resistance training and increase the stiffness ratio,as soft tissue becomes stronger, along with trapezius strength increases thus reducing the deformation rate during contact(impact) would you not decrease impact forces to the head, neck area and transfer or dissipate the forces throughout the trapezius,upper back muscles and ultimately have those forces absorbed through the stronger back muscles, hip/glute area transferring those forces finally to the much stronger lower body muscles.

Also, would this not help to reduce or lessen the rate of concussion or more importantly would it not lower the subconcussive forces of small impacts that seem to cause as much or more long term damage to the athlete. Would a bigger stronger neck not raise the tipping point in which we start to see real long-term brain damage, Well, that’s what I intend to find out. I will be setting up my lab at the Virginia Tech campus where I am completing my Ph.D..

The pendulum neck machine will be an intricate part of the case study and I want to share the data with all the coaches out their so we can better protect our athletes from harm. We cant’ forget it all starts with the neck. The vulnerable part of the human anatomy with respect to contact sports or life in general is our cervical spine which supports the skull which incases our most important component with regards to life -our brain.

Please feel free to ask any questions about anything and you can follow my progress on the Rogers Blog.

TRAIN THOSE NECKS-KEEP SHRUGIN’

6.2.2023

Closed And Open Chain

Open kinetic chain exercises of the lower limb are movements, where the distal segment is unloaded and free to move. The opposite is true of closed kinetic chain exercises, whereby there is enough resistance to prohibit free motion.

Closed kinetic chain exercises are movements such as squats, Pendulum Squat Pro, leg presses and lunges, while open chain exercises are actions like leg curls, leg extensions and the Pendulum Reverse Glute Ham.

The kinetic chain can be understood as interrelated joints and body parts working with one another during motion. This creates a chain of events that affects the movement of neighboring joints and segments.

The advantage of open chain movements is that they tend to be better at isolating muscle and often are selected for specific rehabilitation and used to accentuate performance. While closed chain movements in general would be classified as more functional and closely approximating movements that are used in sport and daily life.

Open Chain Reverse Glute Ham

Closed Chain Pendulum Power Squat Pro

Closed Chain Pendulum Power Squat Pro XT

5.11.2023

Arkansas Baseball Weight Room

5.11.2023

2-for-2 Method

Some trainers, coaches and athletes use what is called the 2-for-2 Method for increasing training load. The rule is if the trainee can perform two or more repetitions over one’s ‘repetition goal’ in the last set of an exercise, for two consecutive workouts, the weight is added for that particular exercise the next training session.