Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Speed day.

Decided it was certainly time to take my own medicine and do a lighter day. My log shows a peak after five straight weeks of increase, not the best idea but it seemed to work well. So it goes when you train on instinct. Sometimes good, sometimes not so good. But today had to be down, plus after the knee incident this weekend and not sleeping much last night again, light was the order of the day.

But no training session should go to waste and this was a good opportunity to focus on perfect technique, hip snap and acceleration on my high pulls. Doing reverse pyramid ladders was up as it was last week.

High Pulls Ladder
36x10/10
44x8/8
53x6/6 Five ladders= 240 reps in 25 minutes

five times. took about 35-45 sec/rest between sets. wind was suprisingly good, for no discernible reason. been doing a lot of volume but not so much hi reps. interesting. I really like going from light,to medium to heavy and then dropping back. The light stuff really helps teach me to accelerate the weight.

It' s just like Louie says. If all you ever lift is heavy, you will get slower. Especially in the movement pattern you go heavy in all the time.Taking 70% and moving it with 90-100 % acceleration willl put that much force on the lift.When the actual load is there you can still accelerate against it. If you peceive it to be "heavy" you will hold back. If you are used to creating acceleration you can do that. ANd the KB is PERFECT for this training as you can accelerate for a long range of motion. perhaps the longest.

That is the value of speed days to me,not just learing to move 70% fast.

Farmers walks
2/36's suitcase style
100 feet
150 feet
200 feet
150 feet
100 feet
150 feet
200 feet

Wanted to keep going with 250 foot set but knee was saying hello.SO:

2/kb deadlift
2/36's x13x3 sets,1x10

this was fun.seemed to balance out the hammie work. felt like my old powerlifting barbell deadlift form. Just a quick single, loose negative, quick knee hips dip and UP. I miss deadlifting. Cant believe I actually wrote that.

more static stretching and ton o ice.

EVERYTHING was supersetted with vibrations massage and static stretching hams. have to stay LOOSE.

bw 160.4
bf 9.6%

datsit.

Monday, May 29, 2006

Rule Number Three

Nothins ever easy ever. That's rule number three. ALways one step forward, two steps back. Didnt sleep much the last two night as I have a very interesting NEW pain in my bad left knee that I've never felt before. Dont mind the 'old" injuries pain as much as I fear something brand new that I havent dealt with before.

This is new,and I think I know why but who the hell really knows? I do know it aches no matter what postition the leg is in, and then disapates for no good reason. which means nerve pain to me, which means some kind of entrapment or compession thing as I havent had any trauma.Lovely. Its medial right where the most arthritic buildup is and I think that as my lateral hamstring tension (and pain) have diminished THIS is the new balance postition for my femur/tibia and its never been there before. Hence the inflammation which I've never had. THis feels inflammed. lots of ice and nsaids and emu oil massage.

Strangely enough it feel better to walk then to sit or lie down. Trained anyway of course. Usually that makes things better, for awhile anyway.


trained at Girya at 9 am
Clean and press
36x3/3
44x3/5

53x1/1,
2/2,
3/3,
4/4,
5/5 x 3 rounds =45 reps each arm, 90 total.

These were easy and the weight felt light.body is off though.Supersetted with

ballistic pullups
5,6,7,8,3,4,5, =41 reps

lots of thumper, joint mobility and chigong like shaking in between sets as well as floor time stretching straddles, pikes and rolls.gotta stay loose. plenty of herb tea.

ice ice and then some ice.

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Snatch progressions

This is my three month chronology of snatch progressions:

Saturday 5/27 200 reps with 53!

Saturday 5/20 170 reps with 53

Wednesday 5/17 108 reps with 36#

Saturday 5/13 168 reps with 53

Saturday May 6 144 reps with 53

Monday may 1 108 reps with 53

Monday 4/24 100 reps with 53

Saturday 4/15 50 reps with 53 ,108 reps with 44#

Saturday 4/8 158 reps with 53

Saturday 4/1 148 reps with 53

Saturday 4/25 120 reps with 53

Saturday 4/18 1oo reps with 53

Saturday 4/13 180 reps with 44

Monday 3/6 120 reps with 53

Saturday 3/3 100 reps with 53


This was just instinctive, no set in stone prior planning.

Sunday
bw 161.4
bf 9.6%

the leaness continues.

Saturday, May 27, 2006

Herb Elliott on Percy Cerutty

Herb Elliott on Percy Cerutty

One of the worlds greatest milers on one of the greatest running coaches.Some of his great quotes:

"Think … deeply … and separate what you wish from what you are prepared to do." --Percy Wells Cerutty

“Watch children run, and go and do likewise.” -- Percy Wells Cerutty

``Pain (and fatigue) is weakness leaving the body." – Percy Wells Cerutty

``The thing that marks the super athlete is his capacity to suffer, and stand up to continued suffering." -- Percy Wells Cerutty

“For most athletes there is a huge gap between what they would like to accomplish, what they believe they are capable of, and what they actually can accomplish, and finally what they really have the potential to accomplish through structured and systematic training.” – Percy Wells Cerutty

“Emphasize the values of Stoic persistence, Franciscan self-denial, Christian simplicity, Olympic dreams, Spartan strength, and Primitive Warrior fearlessness in everything you do in life, and you will find success.” -- Percy Wells Cerutty


"The secret to winning: If it hurts, make it hurt more." -- Percy Wells Cerutty


"The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win." – Percy Wells Cerutty “You only ever grow as a human being if you're outside your comfort zone.” – Percy Wells Cerutty

Snatch Goal Accomplished.

In order to commemorate Pavels "Rite of Passage" in his newRKC book I had set my sights on 200 snatches. Not the Elite level of doing them in 10 minutes USSST style but total reps in one session. Plenty of work for me, considering it wasnt too long ago 100 was my top volume number.

I have been hacking away at it, waving the volume up and down as the days energy and injuries dictated.You just never know when you are going to feel good. On those days you have to man up and get things done because you dont know when, or if, it will come again.

Of course my training "partners" all flaked today but to show them how seriously unnecesary they are in the KB training mode I made 200 snatches today solo.How all important tests are accomplished, really.Just you and the weight. Didnt plan on it but felt so good when I hit 176 I just kept going. PLUS made an important teshnik discovery along the way!

Snatches

warmup: one arm swings/transfers
26x20+20
36x15+15
44x10+10

snatch
36x5/5
44x5/5

53x5/5
x7/7
x9/9
x6/6
x8/8
x10/10
x7/7
x9/9
x12/12
x5/5
x5/5
x5/5
x5/5
x7/7 = 200!

About one minute to 75 sec rest/sets. total time = 35 minutes.Wind was very good today.Could go faster but am scared of tweaking my shoulder/bicep.

I got a bit tired at 176 and felt the right biceps working too hard but re focused on really hitting the glutes HARD as the I went to punch through and that solved that! Plus I realized how important that hip snap is at that time- it really makes the kb weightless so that the punch through has NO arm component.Important technical piece.

SO a all time pr and NO injuries. very, very happy.

Tactical pullups

5x5 and done.

next week really cut volume and work on holding the snatch at the top.

time to celebrate and get ready for Gracie/ Hughes. Hope Gracie wins.

datsit!


bw 162
bf 10.2%



Wednesday, May 24, 2006

tough but good.

Tough start today. worked early and straight through with a lot of bodywork and stretching of clients. The static hold positions are what get me. When I move I feel better.Also probably not eating enough as I was feeling a bit week at noon.Homflecker says to cycle though higher protein/fats and higher carbs emphasis on the main meal and I have been doing more dairy proteins and grains and less green veggies. also much less dessert and I feel weaker! LOL! Its the old powerlifter in me.ONe of the best parts of being a powerlifter was trying to get into the next weight class.

have to up my calories a bit for the next few days.Feel good strength wise but energy could be better.
ALso decided I do need a third workout as I didnt want to snatch again today, nor press on saturday. thought I would try hi pulls as that is a good balance between hips and upper back.


Snatch Hi Pulls
36x10/10
44x8/8
53x6/6
62x5/5
72x5/5
36x15/15
44x10/10
53x8/8
62x6/6
72x6/6
53x10/10
44x10/10
36x10/10

218 total reps in about 25 minutes.

I went at a leisurely pace,resting a minute or two; going when I felt ready to do the next set.too long a rest is no good either. I like training this way, I always have. Have to go at MY pace.time went fast, didnt seem like that many reps.

Bottoms up cleans
36x5/5
44x5/5
53x5/5
62x3/3 (easy)
44x5/5

I love this move but have to be careful not to get too cocky with it.

Farmers walk with X Vest
25 lb vest plus 2 36's

100 feet in rack
100 feet in suitcase

5 sets.

This was way tough as my knee was aching a lot. Too much time in my seiza kneeling chair I think.Its great for my knee and quad flexibility as well as a great postural chair but I think I've overdone it a bit.

The hi pulls were strong though.

Monday, May 22, 2006

Press and pull

So I seem to have lived through my saturday snatch session although I must be getting menopause as I sweated through TWO shirts last night as I slept. this getting old thing aint no fun at all.Night sweats, lovely.

Clean and press
36x5/5x2
44x5/5 ( seems I found a use for a non standard issue kb)
53x3/3
62x2/2
72x2/2x3
53x5/5

These went pretty well. Still letting my elbow swing wide on the left arm on the second rep press but other than that it went up easy. 3-4 no problem and the first time I've done this in months.Or at least it seems that long. too lazy to check.

Superesetted withTactical pullups
5,6,7,8,7,6,6= 45 reps

that added up faster than I thought. Nice

Waiters walks
100 feet each arm, with 36# x 5 times

rack then suitcase farmers walk
50 feet each style with 44# x 4 times

energy good. shoulder position on right side overhead finally coming along.

bw 160.4 ( havent rehadyrated yet I see)
bf 10.5% ( see above)

datsit.

Sunday, May 21, 2006

My fats.

I have some seriously good fats in my diet right now:

1) macademia nut oil
2) coconut oil
3) cod liver oil
4) fish oil
5) flak seed oil
6) olive oil

not to mention the almonds, peanut butter,macademia nuts,butter and dairy foods in the diet! inflammation is feeling better all the time( with the occasional exception of spine falling out ass.)

Tsampa.org: Siff's Bodymass Adjustment Formula for the Squat, Bench press, Deadlift and Powerlifting Total

Tsampa.org: Siff's Bodymass Adjustment Formula for the Squat, Bench press, Deadlift and Powerlifting Total

This is a good thing to keep handy.

The gospel of Sq'waht

The gospel of Sq'waht

Perfect for a Sunday morning. The squat rack was my alter for many, many years.

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Full Pyramid Snatch

Inch by inch I'm making it towards 200 snatches. Solo AM training today and its so obvious how cold I am this early compared to my normal 1 pm starts. Have to be very, very careful,especially since it's only a week since my spine fell out my ass.So fo course I went for a pr! LOL! Never said I was sane, just dedicated.

Snatch
warmups with 16kg
8/8x3 sets with occasionally hi pull in between

53x5/5
x6/6
x7/7
x8/8
x9/9
x10/10( this was 90 reps and the first time in eons I did 10 reps with the 53- wind was no problem just afraid of hurting something. SO hard to go with the foot on the gas and the brake at the same time.
x9/9
x8/8
x7/7
x6/6
x5/5
x5/5 total = 170 reps. current pr.

Havent done this type of pyramid ladder ever with snatches and it worked well. wasnt gassed at all at the top end of the ladder just afraid of pushing too hard so I worked down rather than starting at the bottom which seemed too easy. Nice. Also so interesting to me how much my groove "moves around" when I'm snatching. Still stayed focused on tight glutes at top, drawing the bow and keeping the descent in close but towards the end, as fatugue set in it seemed a more swing type pull really let the bell fly rather than my usual olympic snatch pull.

Still had to keep it in close to protect the biceps/shoulder. Everything's fine,knock wood.

Cleans
53x5/5
72x5/5x3 sets

Nice to see this feels light and this movement is PERFECT for after snatches when I want to keep the legs and hips going but dont want to just do swings.

Farmers walk: 2/53's
8 50 foot laps: 30 sec /laps

Set out to do 100 foot laps but left knee was adjusting so I decided to cut them short. still good work.

stretching: ten minutes: hammies, abs and shoulders. total workout time 60 minutes.

datsit.

bw 161.2
bf 11.2% ( damn early am dehydration!)
bf

Thursday, May 18, 2006

A final distillation

I think I have it distilled down to the right exercises for me now. The ones that give more than they take and that seem to strengthen me and allow me to challenge them a little without kicking my ass.

They are:

snatch
clean
press
pullup
farmers walk
waiters walk.

Dis is it. The workout split will look like this:

Workout A
snatch
cleans
farmers

Workout B
clean and press
pullups
waiters walk

They will be alternated every other workout on my three day schedule;which means each will get two workouts one week followed by one session the next. A built in wave cycle.

One snatch workout will work reps 10 and under and build volume, the other will work reps 10-20 and build endurance and form. The press can be regular kb military or bottoms up but done long cycle for strength. Same with pullups which will be tactical, ballistic or weighted.

farmers are done with two kbs heavy or one kb light. waiters will either snatch grip or palm.

I like this.As minimalist as it gets.Basically down to the 16 and the 24 kg except for the 32 for presses.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Snatches and cleans

Very light. was very hesitant going in today,really not wanting my glutes,hammies and lumbars to lock up again. No thanks. BUT I have to train so lets see what happens.

Snatch
26x8/8
36x10/10
x12/12
x14/14
x16/16

108 total.

Did a warmup of cleans, swing and snatch and was worried as the glutes started tightening a bit. Switched to straight repetitive snatch where it wanted instead of so much glute tightening and things relaxed. I cannot do circuit training no matter how hard I try. DOnt like it.
these felt good though. It is easier on my body to snatch than to swing, for sure.

Cleans
36x10/10
53x6/6
x8/8
x10/10
x6/6
x8/8
x10/10

96 reps

I love this move and it always comes through for me.great leg ,hip, back drive and a non problematic arm move.and good cardio too if I push the pace and do higher reps.don't know why I fight it.

waiters walk with 26#
2 laps per arm 6 times

decided to go light today as I wasnt sure I would be able to walk at all. the lighter weight wasnt that much easier as the problem with the right shoulder is flexibilty first, left side is easy.My legs hips and back actually participated as well. beautiful day.

datsit.

Goals and Deadlines

Looking through many training logs and blogs I am very surprised I do not see more young guys competing. In whatever their chosen sport. Hardly any TSC competitors and those who do it seem to rarely repeat. Same with GS, although I totally understand not wanting to undergo THAT torture.

But( here we go old man) when I was in my teens ,twenties and thirties I LIVED for competing and ALWAYS had goals and deadlines. ANd ways of seriously testing myself if not for comps. I figured the best way to get the best information that was available on physical training was to live like, and try to become like those pros that did it for real.

"GO to the racetrack" Dr Fred Hatfield wrote, "if you want to learn how to drive fast."Better advice I had not heard so I went to the race track; which at various times was pro bodybuilding, olympic and pro cycling, elite level powerlifting and now the best KB teachers in the world.

So I am a bit suprised in how little interest there seems to be. My motto always has been : First you live like a Pro, THEN you get to be a Pro."All I've ever wanted was to be a Pro,an Olympian, Elite. Thats what I lived for.And sacrificed,mightily, for.

SO I comitted to living like a professional athlete(to the best of my ability) in my chosen sport or physical art at the time. ANd I still try to live that way today, although being an old, broken down ex competitive athlete makes that difficult. You recognize soon that the time available to BE that Pro is WAAAAAY shorter than you ever thought. ANd it goes by much faster.

My job now is to train but NOT push , something I am as uncomfortable with as not brushing my teeth.To be a pro at NOT getting hurt and being able to work as much as possible, as pain free as possible.
No where near as much fun as what Nick is doing training for a 600 Pound squat at APC Nationals.

Now my job is to force myself into though gym each training day even though I freakin HATE training last, when I am already shot;only to have to put the brakes on as soon as I get there.

I would freakin KILL for the bodies and youth of so many of those out there who have all the physical skills but so little athletic ambition.I truly understand the concept now that "youth is wasted on the young" ,lol!

Of course they are probably much smarter than me and not destroying their bodies in pursuit of some old fashioned romantic notions of Heroic acts mixed with insecurity( the basis of all "self improvement" acts).

This weekends flush down the pain toilet was also a great reminder for me of how precious the most basic movements of life are and how inconsequential my all time squat pr really is in the grand scheme of things. But on that daily scheme of things it sure is a hell of a lot of fun.

OK rant over. Training on next entry.

Monday, May 15, 2006

I think I know what did it.

tweaked my back, I mean. I've been doing a Quigong movement that John ducane showed me at the cert;its called coiling silk and its done IN A WIDE HORSE STANCE SQUAT POSITION. Duh, I cant freaking squat, even with bodyweight AS IT IMPARTS WAY TOO MUCH TENSION INTO MY HAMMIES AND GLUTES. Just what locked up yesterday.

I've been doing the coiling silk movement, which involves moving laterally and going sequentiall lower for a bit but had a solid five minutes of it on saturday. that and the dehydrationa re what set me up for this I now believe. Everything else was the same as usual, why this sudden blast of extra muscle tightness? No more squat although I really loved the Coiling Silk movement, its fetl great and was a ( almost except that it helped cripple me, lol) warmup.
Single arm KB lifts please.Oh and walking.

Dodged a bullet. barely.

Well it just goes to show me that you can never really relax. After Saturdays great( and very easy) workout, about 4:30 pm my hammies, lower back and abs started to lock up like they did back in 2000 when my disc went. Not a happy camper. I havent been stretching as much lately as i have been feeling so good ! Classic mistake. It also went from cold to HOT here almost overnight and I got dehydrated.Not a good combo.Took magnuesium citrate, mineral solution and drank a ton of de caf herbal tea.

Not much sleep Saturday night and turning in bed hurt the SI and quadratus badly on the left side. Sciatica the whole shebang. Lovely. Very interesting as stretching DID NOT help;in fact made it worse as the bodys reaction to the stretch was to contract. THis was not good. What did help was 600 mg inbuprofen and TONS of vibaration massage on the affected muscles. I could NOT get down to the floor to even stretch anyway.

I had forgotten how much pain I was in 24/7 for so many years and how much time I had to invest every single day to work on myself enough to open things up. Plus, torturing yourself with myofascial techniques, foam rollers, sharp round objects and thumpers to releive pain later is just no fun.BUt it has to be done or Marky dont go nowhere. Sunday was better all day until 7 or so when the whole things tightened up again. Again more trigger point work and vibration thumping.

Got most of it and woke up this am in not too much pain and the day got better as it went on.Once the hammies release the pelvis stabilizes and the bak settles down. Lots of decompression hanging too.

I was happy I could do a little something today.

press( one clean, done with two hands)
26x5/5
36x5/5
53x5/5x7 sets 70 reps.

this was ok, the cleans were dicey at first but actually things started to open up well.supersetted with pullups

Tactical pullups( very strict)
5x8 sets =40 reps

Farmers suitcase walk
2/36'sx 2 laps -- 25 lb X vest on as well.

these were ok but it was HOT!

Stretching;20 minutes

I SO now appreciate being ( mostly) out of accute and debilitating pain, as I was in prior to becoming a Girevik! I DO NOT want to go back to 2 hours worth of self applied bodywork to be able to walk the next day.I think this is an anomoly as well as a message from the universe: DOnt take it for granted. Be thankful. And I am.


we'll see how I do. Have to stay hydrated and stay the HELL away from two handed swings. They never work for me and I just have to accept this.Same as squats .

oh well. doesnt matter. walking is better.

datsit.

Saturday, May 13, 2006

Welcome to the Official Website of the Warrior Diet

Welcome to the Official Website of the Warrior Diet

The basics of the Warrior Diet.

Snatch time.

Great day today. Slept well, woke up in little pain and felt mentally ready to attack 168 snatches.I've decided to just train with the Big Three Kettlebells: the 16,24 and 32 kg.The Original Russian set.
Using too heavy bells for swings is just conterproductive I've decided as the higher force reuqired to swing the 32 and the 40 just creates havoc with my knees as well as creates too much muscle tension all over.
I can clean, press and bottoms up the two pood with no problems so I will use them on those exercises. On snatches swings and walks I will use the 16 or the 24 only. The key component for me with swings is speed. If it slows down it's no good.And if its too heavy for me to move fast it's no good.
Pavel might be right( big surprise there) that the bigger jumps are more productive.We'll see.

Warmup
16 kg
two hand swing
one arm swings
darcs
cleans

about 10 reps each . two sets

Snatches
16kgs x5/5x2
53x6/6
x7/7
x8/8 x four rounds 42 reps per round 168 total! 9072 foot pounds of work

These went very very well.Held each at top for a solid count as well.conditioning, form and work capacity are increasing nicely. 200 here I come!Around one min to 1.5 rest between sets. very comfortable.

two hand swings
53x10x13 sets =130 reps

these were too easy but I figured I had just done a pr exercise volume and should step back a bit. with the 24 kg I can do higher reps ladders.

ballistic pullups
6,7,8,9,6,7,,5,5= 53 reps. no problem

felt too easy. would have done farmers walk but was helping nick with his new squat suit. Man I wish I would have add access to these when I was competing!

bw= 162.8
bf 10.5%

holding steady. datsit.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

My Courage Corner

wow. mondays little foray into volume land left me feeling very flat today. No worries as it is strength day, lol!! Made sure not to ask myself that silly question as I stepped into my favorite garage dungeon.Plus this is day three off ALL prescription NSAIDS. This is the first time in 10 years. Each time in the past I would get off I would lock up in pain after 12-18 hours. definitely getter 'better'. Just two regular aspirin a day( for now).

Truthfully I think all the oils are really helping.

Clean and press
36x5/5x2
44x5/5x2

53x5/5x2
62x2/2
53x3/3
62x2/2
53x3/3
62x2/2
53x3/3= 50 total reps

this wave loading within the workout is very interesting.The sets got easier( as usual) as the sets went on. I am a slow warmer upper.

Bottoms up Clean
36x5/5
44x5/5
53x5/5
62x3/3x2

these also warmed up well. besides being tired the 62 was very easy for the trips. Five would have been no problem but wanted to leave a little in the tank

Farmers walk combo
{ waiters walk, rack walk, suitcase farmers}
all with 16 kg
one lap per position per arm-8 laps per set x 4 sets

switching arm positions REALLY lets me keep going and takes the pressure off my grip and puts it on my legs. perfect.

Waiters walk
16kg x 2 laps per arm, 1 time
x 1 lap per arm, 1 time

dead. datsit.

bw 162
bf 9.9%

Monday, May 08, 2006

What Oil Should You be Cooking With, and Which Should You Avoid? 10/15/03

What Oil Should You be Cooking With, and Which Should You Avoid? 10/15/03

Some very interesting stuff here.

Weight ladders

taking a cue from Jack Reape on waving the weight up and down during the workout but keeping the reps constant I decided to try it today with snatch hi pulls. Was going to press but my upper body felt still "used" from all the snatches so I thought I focus more on the lower half.

turns out even with hi pulls my arms get pumped. oh well.I swear I am sitting back as much as I can. Draw the Bow- it's now written across my gym on the blackboard I face when I train. I like it. A simple and accurate cue.Line up the head and the feet and the hips are the bowstring.

Draw the Bow.


Snatch Hi Pulls
36x10/10
44x10/10
53x10/10
62x10/10 x 4 rounds.

320 reps in 33 minutes.

I was so impressed with Tracy's 800 reps in 40 minutes that I tried to push the pace a bit. Amazing how hard reps are and SO SO much like climbing steep hills on a racing bicycle.Never liked that either although I did tons of it.

This was not as bad as I thought. Dropping down from the 62 to the 36 was amazingly refreshing, rep wise and the power ( bell speed) went up significantly.The 62 was a horse for this many reps,especially just after the 53.But the goodnews is that my wind is much inproved and recovery was much better than expected.

BUt my energy overall has been exceptionally good of late. Who knows, maybe its all the coconut, flax seed,cod liver and fish oils I've been swilling? I felt downright punchy yesterday and felt like I should workout. THAT hasnt't happened in years.

Sure is better when you are not in pain.

I wonder how 36,62,44,53 would feel? This ladder has some interesting possibilities.

Suitcase Farmers Walk
2 53's x 200ft /set.

4 total sets

This was way harder than I expected and I'm not sure why other than I havent regular farmers walked with the 53's in awhile. Suckers felt HEAVY~!


tactical pullups( pause at bottom, chin over)
3,4,5,3,4,5= 24 these were good but I was done.huge forearm and arm pump/

bw 164
bf 10.3%

Am I freaking gaining MUSCLE?I havent been this heavy in awhile.Its gotta be all the volume.. Wnat to get my bw down to 160 though.Its those Bulldog and Two Pood sets, lol!!And I did carb up this weekend, I'll sweat it off soon enough, its getting hot in herre.

datsit.

Saturday, May 06, 2006

Strength and Power

Not bad for an old man I think.

Back in the saddle today for a regular saturday volume snatch workout. Had a few decent workouts this week but was eager to see what 144 snatches would feel like.Saturdays I won't care about how little rest I take but how much power and strength I can generate. Fits in well with all the powerlifting that's also going on.

Hi pull/snatch (warmup)
26x8/8 one pull,one snatch
36x8/8 x2
44x6/6x2

Snatch
53x5/5
x6/6
x7/7 x4 rounds 144 reps total. Not bad at all

this was much better than I thought it might be given how hard 100 were on Monday. really got under the weight and held at the top of each rep.

two hand hi pulls
53x8
62x8
72x8

88x8x5 sets 45 sec rest/set

I really wanted to focus on explosion and holding the tight glutes at the top of each rep rather than going for hi reps. this felt great. much prefer the hi pull arc to the long arm swing arc. much easier on biceps and shoulders for me

Pullups( ballistic)
5,6,7,8,5,6,7,5,5= 54 highest volume in awhile

datsit. feel great. Posted by Picasa

Friday, May 05, 2006

Quads vs. hams vs. deadlift vs. squat: Kettlebells, Strength, Fitness, Martial Arts

Quads vs. hams vs. deadlift vs. squat: Kettlebells, Strength, Fitness, Martial Arts

Another great post, this time by trainer Zacariah Salazar. THis guys knows his stuff.

Training to failure is mis-understood by many: Kettlebells, Strength, Fitness, Martial Arts

Training to failure is mis-understood by many: Kettlebells, Strength, Fitness, Martial Arts

More wisdom from Prof. Maxwell.

Feeder workout

Finally feel I have the energy to add another session in the mix. Decided to do some H2H and waiters walks in.

Circuit
around body pass
around leg pass
figure eights
underhand flips( both arms) 10 reps each with 12 kg

Waiters walks
2 laps with right then 2 laps with left arm

did nonstop circuits for 20 minutes. havent doent his in awhile. Perfect.I really love H2H stuff;reminds me so much of gymnastics. Now I'm ready for tomorrows 150 snatches!

datsit.

bw 162
bf 9.5%

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Getting back my groove

I almost feel normal again.Mondays snatch workout was absorbed very well with no body issue and my hips feel like they are awake again. Settled back into my comfortable schedule of sleeping not near enough, waking far too early and staying focused on my numbers for the day.This saturday will get me back to the regular schedule for real and all will be well.LOL.Decided to do some more swing to kick the hips into overdrive to return.

8 am @ Girya Studio

One arm swing
36x10+10
44x20+20=40
44x10+10+10+10 + 10 two hand swings=50
44x10+10+10+10+10 +10 2 hand swings+10 darcs=60
44x10+10+15 2 hand swings+15 darcs=50
total with 44=200

I love nice round numbers.right brachialis locked up from pulling to hard too fast. I'm old, I need more warmup.too strong for my own joints and muscle. I like this system tracy has developed though of switching hands so often.Way easier to do much higher reps.

clean and press/ tactical pullups
44x5/5 3
53x5/5 4
62x3/3 5
72x2/2 5

I pressed strongly at Girya for some reason. The bells weight right but I am always stronger pressing there than at Stones. Weird. Cant swing for shit there though. Pullups were long pause at bottom.

Bottoms up clean/ tactical pullups
44x5/5 5
53x5/5 5

havent done these in ages and they went very well. this is a very strong move for me and one I should maintain. Tweaked myself a bit with the bulldog last time and realized I am too strong in these for my own good. I should stay with 72 and below.But its way solid for me and look great :)) I do love training in the AM.


1:30 pm at Stones

Farmers walk
25 lb weight vest and 2 36# kbs

4 laps each set x 4 times.

These were good. Like the vest. helps overload the legs more and the grip less. I've got to stop being so lazy, and get a sled, put it in my truncka nd go to the freaking park. I know thats what my legs need next.The grip is now the limiting factor in my farmers walks. not long ago it was my legs.

datsit.

bw 161.8
bf 9.9%


Monday, May 01, 2006

Disappearing hips

Its amazing what disapears first on me when I have to miss training. My glutes and hips go first; amazingly quickly too, and then the quads. Arms and pecs stay with almost no training( except for those 34 years,lol). Course I was training my glutes and hips during those years as well and look what happened there.

My schedule, and therefore my system, are all crazy and it hit me good this morning at 4:10 am. Really, really, really, really wanted to sleep more. I focused hard and well for these last two weeks and it culmanated with this weekends comp and now it is done. Could feel the big adrenal letdown last night. Not too worry. Nothing some good workouts and getting back on my schedule wont fix.
Felt weak as a kitten today and totally non motivated. especially after 7 clients kicked my ass. pussy.Course my prayers for sun and heat were answered and its amazing how much quicker I warm up now as opposed to the "spring" we just had. time to de-ice and drop a few more pounds of butter.

I am incorporating virgin cocnut oil and coconut cream concentrate into my diet as a fuel source.Will cook the veggies in it.it is a medium chain trigyceride and has thermogenic properties. plus its tasty.need tog et more fish oil as well. summer is not the time for cod liver oil.

Snatch
36x8/8
44x8/8 ( no need for multiple sets now)

53x5/5
x6/6
x7/7 x 3 rounds

total = 108 reps

Man this was a slow ass start!!!.No umph at all!! But I knew if I didnt just freakin GO I would feel worse, much worse tomorrow. More rest would have been a disaster.Just do your numbers and the rest will follow. It actually didnt feel that bad strength or position wise but wind was way off.

tabata two hand swings
53x20 sec on/10 sec off x 6 sets.

ugh.

Man ten seconds is NO kind of rest at all.Interesting how it compares to wsb's speed squat 12x2 with 45 sec rest/sets. two reps take about 5 sec total at most so it is really a strength training ratio with 8 or so times more rest than work. now thats funny and interesting. food for thought.Course it kicked your ass anyway.

I think 15 second on and 15 sec off would be a good aerobic ratio interval with a solid power dimension.have to try that.

Farmers walk
low rack 2/36's x 2 laps
hi rack postition 2x36's x2 laps + 2 laps low rack x two sets.


havent done four laps of anything so thats good.I think that changing the rack position, just like changing which arm is doing the swing lets you go longer and distracts you as you train.the hi rack position makes my shoulders "clunk" though and I dont like that.

Pullups
5,6,7,5
23 reps

Just some extra work to make it an hour. beat but know I am back on track.

datsit.

bw 161.6
bf 10.4%



205, 215, 217.5,205 x 1 x 6, 190 x 1 x 3, laterals, rear delts bw pushups

 Well this went great. not perfect but the basic premise worked and I'm happy. I was not optimistic at all about this at all given recen...