Don’t miss these great links!

OK, I have to confess that this is not even half of the great links that I starred this week in my Google Reader account.  I just started at the bottom and worked my way up until I had to stop.

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• The British Medical Journal has published a study on the “Unintended effects of statins in men and women in England and Wales”.  The study found that statin use was associated with decreased risks of oesophageal cancer but increased risks of moderate or serious liver dysfunction, acute renal failure, moderate or serious myopathy, and cataract.  What I find very interesting as a lay-person is that those side-effects look very much like a rapidly ageing body to me.  If I were to speculate (again, as a lay-person) then I would think that whatever the statins were reducing was actually key to NOT ageing… Gosh, but that would be cholesterol? 
• Craig Pfisterer has done another fantastic meet report of the Seventh Battle of the Badass in New York.  As always, it’s a great read and has some video footage of the actual events.
• I am always happy to recommend the World’s Strongest Librarian but this post featuring an imaginary interview between Josh and Chong Li, the bad guy from the Jean-Claude Van Damme film, Bloodsport, was hilarious.  If you’ve seen Bloodsport (and you remember it reasonably well) and you feel the need to smile today, then do yourself a favour and read this article.  I am laughing as I write this, just remembering the dialogue.
• RossTraining have done two great posts about homemade equipment.  The first is about a homemade wrist-roller and the second is a homemade neck harness.  Both would have fitted perfectly into my round-up post about homemade gym equipment…  Oh well.
• Relative Strength Advantage have produced a nice little handstand push-up tutorial with a whole battery of helpful hints and tips.  If this is a skill you are thinking about developing, this might be a good article to check out.
• If you were intrigued and fascinated by the whole Floyd Landis story but came away from the commentary feeling like the journalists were not really getting underneath the skin of what was really happening and that they weren’t really saying anything new, then check out this Science of Sport article, which at least tries to say something a bit more interesting.
• IronManMagazine have an interesting little article on the relative benefits of squatting and deadlifting for building muscle.  I have been through a weight-gaining cycle not squatting but deadlifting and I will probably go through a weight-gaining cycle not deadlifting but squatting later this year.  What am I saying?  I am trying to say that I don’t know whether I agree or not… I was broadly happy with my progress just deadlifting but I am definitely hoping for quicker gains while squatting. 
• Lyle McDonald has done an interesting series on training the obese beginner.  I suspect that one day I may end up being a personal trainer so I found this series very thought-provoking.  It’s a real stab in the eye for the celebrity trainers who get their out-of-shape clients doing a couple of hours of strength training every week and nothing else.  Here are parts one, two and three.  What’s more, when I went to the home page of Lyle’s blog to pick up the links, I noted that he bears a striking similarity to Carl Lanore of SuperhumanRadio… Wierd, I know.
• After quoting Douglas Adams on the subject of the internet in last week’s links post, I was surprised to find that it was Towel Day on 25 May.  Apparently, fans of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy carry a towel with them on this day to show their appreciation for his great work.
• I was pleased to see that people are starting to take the idea of very-low-carb diets a lot more seriously these days, with this review of a study of very-low-carb diets for athletes.
• Eric J Moss definitely ruffles a few feathers when he blogs and I certainly would think twice about working with him if I were the sensitive sort.  However, he has moments of comic genius, like in this post where he completely captures my world view when it comes to strength, health and fitness.  It’s worth quoting in full. Moss sums up kinetic anatomy, saying: “I am not looking for some scientific sounding answer like the way the uvulus muscle connects to the upper dorcimi via the ligament whose name sounds like those little dinosaurs from Jurassic Park.  I am looking for an answer that simply stems from common sense.”  Just brilliant.  Those little dinosaurs.  Awesome.
• Dave Draper has published a great guest post explaining why you have lower back pain from sitting.  To summarise the post: when you sit down, the iliopsoas contracts and you bend at the top of your legs, while your pelvis rotates forward and down to enable the move.  However, if you sit for a long time, the iliopsoas shortens and when you stand up, the muscle stretches. The tight iliopsoas pulls down on your lumbar vertebrae, and it also makes the quadriceps shorten in order for you to straighten your leg.  The now-shortened quadriceps will pull your pelvis down in the front and put a further strain on your lumbar vertebrae.  This causes lower back pain.
• Now let’s check out a few videos.  I am sure that you will have been expecting me to post this video of Andy Bolton pulling 432.5kg (953lbs) for a new world record.  Andy proves, once again, why he is the greatest deadlifter who ever lived (sorry Doyle): 

• Thanks to Squat RX for posting this remarkable video up.  I am not sure what to make of it and make no claims about the possibility of walking on water whatsoever…

• Be amazed by this startling stacked kettlebell bottom-up press.  I would add that I have met Rob Russell and can confirm that he is not as mad as this video makes him appear:

• And thanks to Conditioning Research for drawing our attention to this great little promotional video for powerlifting:

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