Balancing Tension and Relaxation.

Or, put another way, strength and movement. I pressed my brand new 36 kg today, on both sides, after 100 snatches with the 24 kg and not a whole lot of sleep. But the question is, as is said so often, is just because you can doesnt mean you should.
I've been very excited about regaining my pressing ability again, or should I say ,some pressing ability, and what happens when some lost function of mine comes back online again after a long absence is that I tend to go too hard, too often too fast.
Almost did that today as I slightly tweaked my right forearm, for no damn good reason, after I finished the press.I did the same thing on the other side, two weeks ago( right before the HSV) seminar cleaning the 40 kg.
My problem is, as it is for many people, including injured ex athletes, is that you don't where the line is until you have crossed it. and many times that means making the lift easily but having applied too much tension into the movement and coming up tweaked.
I have known for quite awhile that too much tension in my already too strong wrist flexors, elbow flexors and shoulder flexors ends up with restricted ROM in my shoulders and pain in my right one.
I have to carefully balance out the tension(strength) work I do with a greater amount of relaxation work for the same areas. I tend to do well with this until I start feeling good, and healthy( yes you read that right) and STOP doing enough of the boring stretching/corrective exericse pre/rehab work that GOT me back to function in the first place.Yes, I am human after all :))
For the last couple years I had so much problems associated with ANY tension in my torso and arm flexors that I cut out ANY pressing and or tension exercises. Worked well and now I can press again, it seems, but not too much and not too heavy.
The next step off of a peak is always down and today was a peak that started in August at the San Diego cert when I realized I could bottoms up press and ended today with a solid press of the 36 kg. I weight about 157 so that's not a bad ratio and the thing motored up.
BUT, with my right arm it got a little bit out of the groove and, like the seasoned competitor that I am, I ignored it , righted things and just "made it work".ANd tweaked myself a bit in the process. Nothing that a bunch of massage, stick work, stretching, Z drills, yoga, more stretching won't fix quickly but I got the message.
Just like I CAN snatch the 28 and 32 kg bells, I will not any longer because the risk is not worth the reward and when the going gets tough I just ignore my body signals and get it done. Great for young competitors but not for old guys who need basic function more than new pr's.
That being said I will continue to press, I just need to back off again and recycle. I also want to focus more on the handstands and hs presses as well.
I know I CAN press the Bulldog, I just don't know if the pieces will hold together after I do. There's plenty of time for that.
Maybe.
Tracy was killing her presses with the 14 kg and it's amazing how much progress she has made with the strict version of this lift in such a short time. I love training with her :))

Snatch
16 kg x5/5 x2
20 kgx5/5
24 kg x 5/5 x9 sets
x10/10x 1 set
110 reps
5830 lbs

these went really well.I am getting used to training at Girya now and these felt really strong ane effortless. I wanted to do more but I know I was going to press the 36 so I wanted to save something for it. Cardio was solid too.

KB Military press
24 kg x1/1
28 kgx1/1
32 kgx1/1
36kgx1/1 PR!! All time.

these went very well and i was happy I warmed up with the snatches so well. it made a difference.

Clubbell torch swings

2 10 lb cbs x 10
2 15 lb cbs x10 x 3 sets

these definitely helped my tweaky right elbow into full extension.

Handstands

4 sets 20 second. very strong.

datsit

Volume snatches and bikrams

Nick was back today so I didnt get to train snatch vo2 with Tracy, and I really missed it. SO I compensated by doing some basic volume work with sets of 16 reps and maximal acceleration and not a too long rest period. We went "I go, you" and I did sets of 8 reps per arm , 16 per set and it was too easy. Amazing that last week I did the same work in half the time, lol. Then I find out that Tracy did 30 sets of 8 and 32 sets of 7 in snatch vo2 with the SIXTEEN KILO ( same weight as me ) and I really felt weeny. Back to training with the swing queen at Girya next week and more serious volume.
BUT , the workout was decent, volume wise, and technique and power wise, so I can't complain. The sixteen is a freakin light weight for me after all. It better be.

Snatches
16 kg
15 sets of 8/8
4 sets of 8/8/8/8
1 sets of 8/8
320 snatches
11,520 lbs

not bad.

Bikrams
A couple hours later I did a Bikrams class and had a very solid practice.Yoga training has been going really well lately and I was actually looking forward to the class; even after 300 plus snatches.My body felt relatively balanced and relatively flexible and my mind stayed relatively calm throughout the ninety minutes. Tracy's practice is rocking these days and having her energy by my side always helps. It really is cool to see/feel it down so right right next to you. She could easily be a teacher. And a great one. She knows her practice from the inside out.I think she will teach some day. But for now her practice just really inspires mine with it's strength, grace, ease and beauty.Take a picture.
My left leg lockout in standing forward head to knee continues to improve and that's great. cardio is pretty solid now too and I need to keep this momentum going.It's so nice to finish a practice and NOT worry that my lower back is going to tweak at any moment or my knee is going to lockout up at any moment. Yoga as recovery. This is what I want it to be. And to have that ease after a hard kb workout is twice as satsifying.

datsit.

Restoring lost physical function

This is the name of my dvd that was shot a few years ago at the Level 2 RKC and what has been the primary focus on my existance since a serious back injury in 2000 really brought to my attention just how asymmetrical and out of balance I had become after 26 years of competitive training and competitions.
I completely credit Pavel Tsatsouline , the KB and his methodology of training ,called the RKC ,with helping me to start my journey back to physical balance ( by using an asymmetrical tool no less,lol) and strength and health.
That started in 2001 when I got my first kettlebell and has continued to reach new levels of physical mobility, flexibilty, strength and the ability to do again movements I thought might be lost forever. Especially the ability to train with tension and train some strenght moves again.
And not paying a serious pain price for days afterward. That part is REAL important.
I could always DO the workout, I would just lose all kinds of function and be in serious pain for days after, that's all,lol.
This recovery reached a new high today as I did double kb presses for the first time in EONS; and did them strongly and with good shoulder mobility. And NO teres pain.
Then I went on to train my free handstands and knew without a doubt that I would not only regain( have) my ability to do the best skill I ever had, that I would also be able to do straight arm straight leg handstand presses but freestanding handstand pushups as well.Today was a test; the ability to press both bells similtaneously would really show me if my torso mobility had improved enough to handle bilateral pressing again.
I have been pleased as punch to be able to do single arm kb military presses again but knew I wouldnt have a chance at HS pushups until I could do double presses. This need to constantly and consistently improve is exactly what got me hurt in the first place but it is who I am, even if the improvement is some variation of some silly rehab movement that I am embarassed to think about.So I HAVE to go more slowly than I want.
But my extremely lessened time required on both the foam roller and the thumper tell me things are going in the right direction for sure. Many ways to the same goal.
Crucial to this,imo, is to work on all aspects of your goals at the same time, spending the most on your weaknesses. This is what turns them into strengths.For so long flexibility( or lack thereof) was my weakest attribute and what I have focused most on, as well as trying to removing excess tension in the skeletal muscles by various myofascial release methods, stretching and yoga. It is working.Has worked. Will continue to work until I am as square, plump and neutral as I need to be and then I will maintain that. Have to.Hurts too much if I don't.Big motivator there.
All this was after 24 kg snatches and getting to train with the KB Swing queen was great again. SO SO cool to have my love as my training partner I can't tell you. She is tough as nails and cuts me no slack. Nor herself.
She also has dived into her weakness as she is training tension skills for the first time and has honored me by allowing her to coach her.Progress is undoubtable.
We are completely revamping Girya as HKC Central and for Tracy's and Jordan's class needs and everything is very exciting.I am training there for the first time ever and it's great.The studio will become the KB dojo I've always wanted :))

Next will being able to train my squat again. Hey,miracles happen, I know this to be true.

Snatch
warmup:
16 kgx5/5x2
20 kgx4/4

worksets:
24 kg x 5/5
x 6/6
x 7/7 x 3 rounds
x5/5 x2 rounds
128 reps
13,568 lbs

Man this felt heavy for the first few sets, still not used to training the heavier bells mid week but it was fine after the first few sets. was going to do more reps but hands were a but hot( lost my file!) and wanted to get onto the double presses and see if they would work! Not a bad snatch number for me at all.Form felt very solid.

Double KB press( one clean per set)
12 kgx3
16kx3
20kgx3
24kgx3!! very easy. very.
20 kg x5

this was so exciting,especially that they were so strong. I am going to cycle three presses( just like WSB max effort days): 1) single kb military press, 2) double kb military press 3) and bottoms up press.
I will also add in Handstand pushups when the time is right. I am also going to start doing pushups again, another thing I was very very good at and havent been able to do safely for years.This will probably be an assistance exercise for awhile.

handstands
( against wall) 2 sets of 20 seconds
free standings
LOTs( tracy was taking pictures, LOTS OF handstands)

these went well and I can really see from the pictures JUST how tight my shoulders and shoulder girdle still is and how much work I still have to do re; throacic mobility BUT it's a start. A great great start and I am very happy :))

Doubling up.

Not only made it through my Bikrams practice yesterday after a pretty tough snatch Vo2 workout but had a stellar practice to boot. Attitude made all the difference( as well as my back cooperating!) and finally getting some momentum back in my training cycle. It's amazing to me how much difference it can make missing or making a few workouts in a row!

I didnt know how well my arms would work in the first part of the series after all those snatches, swipes and handstands but they held up pretty well.

The key improvement for me of late in Bikrams is in my weakest and least favorite movement the standing forward head to knee(standing on my left leg).

Since my left knee doesnt full extend or bend it's been a real struggle trying to figure out what to do and how to progress( or regress) the posture since the cueing states that " the posture doesnt start until the standing leg is LOCKED".

or as Bikram says "Lock the damn knee, lock the damn knee, lock the damn knee".

Okay, well what if it doesnt lock?

I've tried it allkinds of different ways and I finally decided to eat some humble pie and go all the way back to the most basic of basic positions, locking myknee as best as I can with full weight over the whole foot with my right leg taking as much weight as necessary to lock out the left leg.

Now this sums up just how weak the left knee and the muscles are with the leg locked but that's where it is, and ,suprisingly, I have made progress with this technique.When I first started I needed the entire right foot on the floor to lock out the left knee. Yesterday I was down to just the big and second toe and the left leg was locking out pretty well. Soon I will be able to hold the knee locked with my right leg off the floor a bit.

Now, considering I can do the entire pose pretty well on my right leg this is not that much fun to do but the right thing to do.It just sucks being the only one in class in this most beginning of beginning positions.But I am finally making progress in the pose, don't dread it like I have, and it doesnt hurt my back or lock up my left hamstring. Good stuff overall.

Getting through a class now doesn't feel like such an exercise in survival but another workout, where I can moderate the intensity of what I am doing by how I feel going in and it doesnt require three days of recovery and tons of specialized stretching to recover from it.

Hell, I feel like I could practice again today if I wanted.I'm not going to but I could, and that's the key.Progress is going in the right direction ,and as anyone who knows me knows, trendline is what is important to me.

One is either getting stronger or weaker, there is no standing still.All that matters is direction even though I also realize that sometimes going backwards IS going forwards. A Zen koan for sure, but in general the above statement is true.

It also always helps to be practicing every time with such an amazing Yogini as my wife is. I get better just being next to her as she goes effortlessly and strongly at the same time through her practice. She has such a high standard for her practice that she is way tough on herself if she doesn't hit everything perfectly everytime but as I said, I get stronger and better just seeing how things are supposed to be done right next to me and feeling her energy.

I never thought I would love yoga, much less Bikrams , as much as I do but I have come to really enjoy it in ways I never imagined, EVEN the group class element.Maybe it's just me getting older but the group energy and the admonitions of the teachers really help pull so much out of me than I can myself these days. Any port in a storm, eh?

The Warrior's Way.

I've never been a soldier or been to battle but I've been a warrior for most of my life. At least by my definition. To me a warrior is one who takes up the call and goes to battle, regardless of who or what the enemy is.Or the challenge. One who is undaunted by the challenge they have ahead of them and pushes on despite great pain, fear,mistakes, setbacks or whatever else is in their path to their stated goal or mission.

I broke my knee in my junior year of high school and was back competing at the start of senior year. I destroyed my shoulder in college , then learned to run and ran a marathon six months later.I'm not that special but I am a warrior. I will find a way. I'm not afraid of pain or effort.

And sometimes the warrior chooses the mission and sometimes the mission chooses them. Doesnt matter, the warrior goes forth and does their best, and the outcome is the outcome.Not being attatched to the outcome is classic Zen buddhist philosophy.

Samurai warriors studied Zen Buddhism and did Zen meditation to lose their egos and to learn how to be totally in the moment.The last thing a Samurai wanted in the heat of battle was to try to save their own life or to be concerned for the future. That , in their mind, would guarantee defeat and most certain death. Only if they were 'already dead' in their minds, could they give themselves totally to the moment and do whatever was necessary to defeat their opponent. Any hesitation would give their opponent a huge advantage.

To be able to give oneself totally to the moment, no matter how painful or uncomfortable it is is crucial, again in my opinion, to be able to succeed in the gym, or in life for that matter.

To me most people fall into two categories, workers and pleasure seekers. Workers just want to know what it is that is required of them to meet their goals and they will push on,towards that goal. They may, and most probably will, fail, perhaps again and again, gets pushed down or over but they get back up and try again. Pleasure seekers really want their goal too but when it gets tough or too hard, or too boring they cave, fold like melted cheese sandwhiches and inevitably try to find a way around the obstacle, instead of going through it, as they should. I'm a worker, I know no other way.

As Bikram says, the right way is the Hard Way; and if you can you Must. I agree.

Not that it doesnt suck but it doesnt matter. Find a way. You gotta do the work. that bell ain't gonna swing itself.

And usually that way involves letting the pain happen, not trying to get away, accepting it,not reveling in it like a masochist but letting it happen and waiting; waiting for it to transform, as it will, as it must, as it does; into something better, something greater, something stronger.Making you stronger in the process. Into more of who you really are.

So what does that have to do with my training this morning,lol?

Well I really, really, really didnt want to do max vo2 this morning. My schedule is completely screwed. BOth training partners are gone, the stability and regularity I crave is gone.Everything's different. I have to drive down to Girya and train too early, I have to try and keep up with the Swing Queen and not be too embarassed, Saturday is no longer heavy and slow day. Boo hoo hoo.Cry me a river Rif.

But I did it and it was fine. I let Tracy drag me kicking, but not screaming to the gym and used her and Meg as inspiration to get my head out of my ass and do the work. To let it hurt and just go through it, and NOT try to 'sneak up on the bar" as the Big Chief Jim McGoldrick used to say about my deadlift style. GO through, not around.

Snatch Vo2

15:15

16 kg

30 sets of 7

20 sets of 8

370 reps

13,320 lbs

I was only going to do 15 sets of 8's as it was early and i was tired and waah waah waah, and then I realized both Tracy and Meg were using the 16 kg, same as me,were doing SIXTY sets and planned on doing 10 sets of 8 at the end.Shit. I had to man up.And it was fine.Not expecting it to be easy makes it easier. weird.

Biceps were tight from the 180 snatches heavy on wednesday and it took awhile to fine the best groove but that's the deal. Deal with it and get it done.

Two clubbell swipes

10 lbs x 20

15 lbs x 20, 15,13, 12,12

these were good and just the ticket for stretching out my tight elbow flexors. I love this move and have done 300 continous reps with the 10's and 150 continuous with the 15's. havent been able to tolerate it for awhile because of my back but I think that's done.

Pressed on wedneday and want to give that a break.

Handstands( against wall)

5 sets of 20 seconds( really working to open up shoulders

Shoulder stretch on chin bar as superset.

these got much easier with each set.Determined to get these back strong again. still need way more shoulder flexibility but it's coming.

datsit. going to double up today and do a bikrams class with my love in one hour.More opportunity to man up.

More Ventura,Handstands, Bikrams and snatches.

Jordan did a great job capturing the essence of the day in Ventura.TOns and tons of great work on the bodyweight drills themselves as well as the corrective exercises and 'fixes' for each of the movements.With the beach and the great waves in the background just 400 feet or so from the training and a perfect day weather wise you really couldnt ask for more if you wanted to master the principles and concepts of high tension training with bodyweight.
And with about 12 toplevel instructors the teacher student ratio was insane.There is so much information that really needs to be mastered about how important bodyweight training is, and how much of a foundation it is to become truly strong with resistance work that it really can't be overstated. If one can't use their own bodyweight strongly why would they need more resistance?
ANd it was great, as I wrote earlier to be able to bounce back into my handstands, and, more importantly, NOT get tweaked by doing so!I was fine Sunday and Monday and to me it was a clear sign for go ahead for getting back into handstand training. I also checked on my video date that I posted and it was almost a year to date earlier!crazy.
When I first started taking Bikrams just about a year and half ago I decided that one of the reasons was to help me recover my gymnastics body and some of the flexibilities and movements that I used to have.I now feel like this is finally starting to happen. I can get through a Bikrams class walking normally (well for me,lol)the next day and with almost no residual problems. THis has NOT been the case for many moons and getting through the ninety minutes in the heat was not as hard as trying to unravel myself for the next three days.Now it seems I have the progessions pretty well dialed in for my knee and back and shoulder and I can really just focus on the training and getting stronger. this is great.and I can really see how it opens me up much like my gymnastics stretching did, although I still have much more stretching work to do. Like get back my splits.not to mention much more shoulder mobility for my handstands.
and this has inspired me to work on getting back my hs pushup and straight arm,straight leg handstand press. I used to be the Master of the straight arm press and I can possibly be again. Just have to get back on that road.I think I am ready.

Yoga yesterday was great and a perfect first workout back after my undesired layoff.snatching today went well and no problem after yoga
Decided to switch max vo2 days to saturday with Tracy at Girya and make Wednesdays heavy snatch day.its good to be a bit warmed up for 24 kg snatches.

Snatch
16 kg x5/5 x3
20 kg x 8/8x5
24 kgx5/5 x9
x10/10
80 reps with 20 kg/3520
100 reps with 24 kg/5300
total reps = 180
total weight=8820

nice! 80 reps with the 20 and 100 with the 24 with a decent set of 20/20 at the end. had much more just wanted to make sure everything was in the right place. rest between sets about 45 sec or so.

Handstands
5 sets of 15-20 sec
these went very well. against the wall although most were free held. stillhave to open up my right shoulder more. abit twisted. more bretzels.lol.

Clean and press
24 kg xx1/1
x2/2
x3/3nice and light.
elbow was a bit tweaked after the last press workout. handstands fixed that although I still wanted to be careful.

datsit

Ventura Hardstyle Worksop with Pavel; short debrief.

Just got back from a great weekend out in the sun and surf at Pavel's Hardstyle Ventura workshop. Almost all the boys were there with Senior Instructors David Whitley, Will Williams, Doug Nepodal, and Team Leaders Doctor Mark Cheng, Mark Toomey,Jeremy Layport as well as RKC prodigal son Michael Castrogiovanni,and Paul Daniels.
We had about 35 students and so much was covered in the 7 hours it was hard to beleive. Pistols, pullups, pushups, hanging leg raises, headstands, handstands , handstand presses ALL kinds of related drill,corrective exercises and assistance work was demonstrated and learned.
I got called into service to teach the handstand segment and was extremely happy to find out I can still do a handstand; the last time I tried being almost a year ago as shown in the video below.In fact it went so well I have been completely inspired to start training my handstand again.
I also realized that I need to develop my own version of a bodyweight exercise/movement seminar based on my gymnastics background and the exercises and drills that I know from years of training and coaching gymnastics.I think my shoulders and back are finally ready to handle a bit more of upside down work. My handstand was my favorite and best skill when I was a gymnast. I never missed a handstand in my seven years of competing and I'm very proud of that.
It was so much fun to teach people who have never done a handstand the joy of inverted strength, and so nice to see that my restoring lost function work is still progressing.
mo later.