Well that didnt work.

The new schedule called for hi pulls today. After basically 200 snatches saturday I knew after getting up that wasnt going to work. So I figured, lets do the low rep power snatches today instead. Well that didnt work either, lol. The groove was, ahem, dead. So, back to what I was doing, presses and pullups.

Didnt eat enough yesterday and I felt it.Going to take a bit to adapt to this new lower weight. You wouldnt think two or three pounds could make such a difference but it does.I remeber when I would train at 185-186 in powerlifting and drop down to 182 for my comps and the ten plus pounds it always took off my bench. Oh well, need to be light.

9 am:

30 min RIFGA stretching.


JB Power snatch
26x5/5
36x3/3
44x3/3
53x3/3
62x3/3x2

this just wasnt working so I decided to stop.Everything felt heavy and slow.

KB Press( one clean)
44x5/5

53x3/3
x4/4
x5/5x 3 rounds 36 reps each side.

even this felt heavy. didnt push.

Supersetted with ballistic pullups
5,6,7 x3 rounds =54 reps

these felt suprisingly good considering the suspended pulls on saturday.once a week is enough though.

rack walks
200 feet per arm 36# kb/ 1200 feet total.

these felt good also.

bw 161!!
bf 10.6% ughh. never fails. weight goes down, bf goes up.at least til it settles. and the wheel turns round and round.

datsit , trying to stay loose.

RIFGA Stretching

I realize now that I must do daily training. And I do usually do daily training I just dont't count it if its not weights or something very strenuous. But it's painfully( pun intended) obvious that if I dont maintain optimal(or as close as I can come) flexibilty in my calves, hamstrings, quads, abs and shoulders that I suffer more and gradually lose enough ROM to fork up my gait or my scapula thoracic mechanics. then it's just way more work to break it up again.

It's 5:20 pm now and after relaxing all day I started to lock up about an hour ago.ALthough I really didnt want to I got down on the floor and did my yoga postures and got myself opened up. what a difference. twenty minutes and I stopped feeling so heavy and stiff.

Also added in a one legged "L" sit for loosening my hammy and get my left VMO and hip flexor to fire. ALso put in a very close stance squat to stretch my IT bands, soleus and lower quads. kind of like the chines wall squat without the squat. really opens up the IT band and fires the adductors.

Right now everything locks up from my calf up.gotta keep them open. spent a lot of time in downward dog working the calves.love that stretch.

Testosterone Nation - The Journey To Excellence

Testosterone Nation - The Journey To Excellence

To all those pretenders and trophy hunters, a beautifully written lesson by Dan John in the reality of training and competition.

Suspended Pullup bar

This is per Ken Blacks request. I have a new favorite toy.

Swing snatch

decided to do swing snatches today instead of the schedule power snatch as I didnt want to go heavy; left shoulder and biceps a bit tight from doing so much bodywork this week. Went very well.

RIFGA stretching; 30 minutes
these are my key moves:
1) tuck and roll
2) straddle stretch
3) pike stretch
4) prone cobra
5) downward dog( alternating legs into double leg)
6) soleus stretch
7) frog squat stretch
8) decompression hangs( single then double arms, over then reverse grip)
9) foam roller sequence( glutes, IT band, quads, hip flexors, calves, lumbar spine, thoracic spine, lats/teres)

sequence done three to four times.

Swing snatch
26x5/5
36x5/5
44x5/5

work sets
53x5/5
x6/6
x7/7
x8/8 x 3 rounds=156 reps
put grips on, left palm ready to go
53x5/5
x6/6
x7/7= 192 total reps, easy money honey.
10,176 foot pounds. 40 min or so, including warmups. one partner he went I went. wind is good. teshnik is good too.

Suspended Pullups( single point)
4 reps x 7 sets= 28 reps

this went great! hung my lat bar from an ironmind daisy chain and caribiner and it worked great. hard to do but it went better than expected. unbeleivable how well my shoulder has done in the last year.

Halos
18#x8/8
26#x8/8x2

this is my new favorite move.along with the suspended pullups.

bw 161.2 there we go.
bf 10 % back on track

datsit, staying loose.

Karate is a Thing of the Spirit

Karate is a Thing of the Spirit

This is how I feel about training; it trains the spirit mainly. We must defeat the weakness in ourselves before we can conquer anything else.

New Schedule

This is the new cycle:

Saturday:

JB Power Snatch
Tactical Pullups
Kb Halo

Monday

High Pulls
Waiter Walks
db kickbacks


Wednesday

Swing snatch
Ballistic pullups
rack walks



I like the look of this.Time, as always will tell.

Shift in direction?

Thinking about changing the direction of the workout a bit by dropping presses and adding in another snatch workout; with lighter weight and an endurance focus. I have been focusing on the strength part of the strength/endurance work that kbs can give. thats why I think I'm gaining weight again. Even those it's good mass I know I need to be lighter, in an absolute sense, not just a compostion sense.

just weighed

163 and 9.6%. same as yesterday.The presses really encourage me to go heavy, in a movement that really overworks the things that forked up my shoulder in the first place. the snatches and pullups and walks are the real keys for my shoulder strength and health. I'm a naturally good presser and its easy to overwork them

Thinking about doing one power snatch workout on saturdays along with tactical pullups , hi pulls and tactical pullups on monday and swing snatches and kickbacks on wednesday. The JB snatch will give me an eccentric in the press pattern and that will keep me strong enough in the press should I want to test it a bit.Plus of course racks and waiters walks,.

did TONS of flexibilty work today with clients as well as and hour and a half demo with a new client who was great. ex baseball player and lifter and BJJ guyand also a PT trainer who wants to get RKC>. great stuff, picked everything up SO FAST. Thanks Mike Mahler for the referrall!

High Pulls

was really out of it today and had a bad headache all morning. almost never get headaches so it was annoying.Knew I'd feel better if I trained and so it was.

High Pulls
36x5/5x2

53x8/8
x10/10
x12/12 =

60 rep rounds/ 4 rounds
/240 reps/12,720 foot pounds
/424 pounds /min - w/0=30 minutes

I was just off here but it was not hard. the heat is starting to get to me a bit.got a decent rythym in the last rounds. wind was good and recovery quick. less than a minute/sets.

waiters walks
36# 2 laps each arm. 4 rounds 12 total laps. 1200 feet.

MAN it is hot and doing these outside at 1 pm is fun!Much better though, I remember when one lap with the 26 would kill me.

2 DB kickbacks 15#
set one 70 reps
set two 30 reps

next week 80 and 20 then 100 continuous after that.

bw 163
bf 9/6%

datsit, staying loose.

Pavel's Weekly Russian Kettlebell Challenge Tip: A crisper and more powerful kettlebell swing

Pavel's Weekly Russian Kettlebell Challenge Tip: A crisper and more powerful kettlebell swing

A great swing visualization tip by Ken Black, RKC.

A few things things to add on Bram's excellent advice: Kettlebells, Strength, Fitness, Martial Arts

A few things things to add on Bram's excellent advice: Kettlebells, Strength, Fitness, Martial Arts

Another classic Prof. Maxwell post!

Must be building muscle

Cause my bodyfat level is low and I aint losing any weight! cant beleive it. Ate very clean and lightly yesterday too. 163.8! but 9.2% again. Very weird. Must be just the fact that I am using the two pood and the 28 kg again,as well as doing a decent amount of volume. Since my walk is doing better and my knee hurts less I guess it is ok.wierd though. I was thinking I would try to get under 160 but unless I want to up the lighter volume by A LOT, and cut out using the heavier weights I'm not sure thats gonna happen. We'll see.

Pullups(plyo/istic style)
4,5,6x4 rounds=60
+ 4,4 total 68 reps( 68% intensity)


Superset with Clean and Presses( long cycle)
36x5/5
44x5/5
53x3/3

work sets
62x3/3x5 sets = 30 reps

I am coining the term( tongue fully in cheek) plyo/istic to describe exercises or methods of performing them, that combine both plyometric( or powermetric for those Siff fans) and ballistic actions. Or it could be ballimetric? LOL.
Movements, such as the swing or the snatch, typically called ballistic, are in fact both plyometric( the back swing- overspeed eccentrics that pull you into a strech shortening cycle) AND ballistic the initial thrust followed by a relaxation phase where the limb continues moving from the original inertial energy. Or at least that sounds right.

I had been thinking of it like Louies accomadating resistance, i.e "outrun the chains" but it's different. Its Plyoistic.The box kills the stretch reflex; the backswing creates it.But it also means there has to be the 'loose' phase or its not ballistic. Fast and loose as Pavel would say I bet.

Pullups were solid. All first sets of four were tactical, then plyoistic. slight bounce stretch into the lats ,quick pull then float over the bar.tacticals were all paused long at bottom and held at chin.

Rack walks
one 44 lb KB

100 feet left, 100 feet right=0ne lap

6 laps= 1200 feet.

these were very very strong! best ever maybe. gait is much inproved and much less "clunking" in the knee as I walk.pace was fast too.


bw 163.8
bf 9.2%!!!

this is an lean as I've been in a long time. Upper body is way up too from all this snatch press and pullup volume.I actually feel like I have arms again . It reminds me of when I was a gymnast. Very light and very strong. and built.not bad for an old crippled guy.


Oh yeah, and props to Jason Brown for straightening me out about ballistics.ALways trying to learn something.

Heavy power snatch day.

Wasnt quite sure what I wanted to do today but the original game plan was heavy JB snatches. Left shoulder came out a bit the other day just moving the arm the wrong way. The heat tends to exacerbate any spasmed muscles I have as staying fully hydrated is tough, when I sweat like a menopausal woman at night.

So I wasnt quite sure but planned to start like that. Went very well as it turned out.

JB Snatches( snatch then lower to shoulder)
warmup:
26x5/5
36x5/5
44x5/5

work sets
53x3/3
62x3/3
72x3/3x 4 rounds!!!

53x36 reps=1908
62x36 reps=2232
72x36 reps=2592

total=6732

Very, very very happy with this performance. The snatches were all strong, powerful and safe.I really liked waving the weights each set and that really helped me to maintain my power as I went from the 24 to the 32 kg bell.Dropping back to the 24 after the 32 really made that fly as well!
All negatives were lowered to the shoulder. I started the first rep of each set with power clean as my first rep"rip it off the ground" technique with the two pood was going out too much and not up enough. It worked great and made all the reps the same. Much safer feeling too.

Cleans
53x5/5
62x5/5
72x5/5x 3 rounds

this worked equally well here as well and really reinforced the same type of leg/hip drive in the power snatch. When I do swing snatches a I will sub out bottoms up cleans. This routine is working out great!

2 kb deadlifts
62'sx8x3 sets

Good finisher to refocus my arch.

bw 163.4
bf 9.2%!!!!!

no sugar at all yesterday. was getting out of hand with desserts.Didnt think I was that low!Fasted later too as well.Excellent.

datsit, staying loose.

This is too freaky.

Mark's Stutz on P bars/North Miami Beach High School.1975

Was looking up a gymnastics photo on google for a post I was answering on Dragon Door when I ran across this name: Seymour Rifkind. Slightly different spelling, I see Rifkin all the time but never with the "D".

On this site:

http://www.illinoishsglorydays.com/id198.html

and this info:

1968-69 Team Finished THIRD in State Competition

Individual Medalists

Seymour Rifkind All-Around STATE CHAMPION!!
Parallel Bars STATE CHAMPION!!
Rings 3RD PLACE
Horizontal Bars 5TH PLACE
Bob Quintanales Parallel Bars 5TH PLACE
Al Weiner Trampoline 5TH PLACE

Turns out my older "brother" not only did gymnastics but is an author

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1932872000/002-2075919-2404052?v=glance&n=283155

and has been strongly influenced by Eastern philosophy, including Zen, and a serious appreciation of the Samurai code as was I, about the same time, apparently.

Got his phone number from the web and called him up. You never know. Turns out he also was a gymnast at the University of Iowa, same school that I went to, just four years earlier! He also coached gymnastics, worked with Olympic gymnasts, ran marathons,climbed Mt. Kilamanjaro ,competed at an international level in tennis and took up Karate at 51 and became a black belt and certified instructor. His family is also from the place(Lithuania) that my great great grandparents are from. He also has a son the same age as mine.

I urgedhim to try kettlebells and it turns out he works out of La Jolla and I have him IronCores name. Brett should be able to introduce him to kettlebells quite nicely. I know he will love them.

He says he is now in training for the Ironman triathlon. I've got to read this book and meet this guy. Too weird!

Rowing Uphill.

I love this phrase, coined by Paul tucker RKC. I was describing hi rep ballistic work like cying up hill. Paul said rowing uphill and its a closer fit to the reality,imho.lots more upper body and back work than cycling but the same slog. Does make you tough, though and tough is good.

312 HI PULLS today with the 20 kg!!!! ALL time PR.

Where the hell did that come from? Wind and recovery was great, I hardly had to sit down at all,lol! Just looked back on my blog and my best ever before was 256 reps on June 14. Nice.

Hi Pulls

44x10/10
x12/12
x14/14
x16/16 x2 rounds, 208 reps in 15 minutes
44x16/16
x14/14
x12/12
x10/10 x1 round 104 reps
( had to do it backwards for the last reps as I really didnt want to.Much harder on the lungs.) Very surprised at the effeciency of my swing now. could breathe entirely through my nose the whole time. definitely adapting to strength endurance work. finally.

312 reps in 26 minutes. 13,728 pounds!!! 528 pounds /minute. 6.84 TONS!! woo freaking hoo.I love the numbers, it is very satisfying to KNOW something exactly.good or bad.

Waiters Walk
36 lb kb, 200 feet per arm, 3 times each. 1200 feet total.

these were aslo much better. Havent been able to do 200 feet with the 36, just the 26. overhead postition is getting more solid every workout and my gait technique is really doing well. walking straighter than ever.

2 db kickbacks

15#x50 reps
x25
x25
100 reps. This will get very interesting as the reps get to 100 for one set. definitely helping even out the tension in my biceps and shoulders.good to see my once decent triceps spring back to life too.
When I was powerlifter I was all triceps,now I'm a girevik its all biceps! balance baby,balance!

bw 162.4
bf 9.7%

thank goodness. wondering when I would see single digits again. Feel big and lean too.

dats it,staying loose.

More on sport/obsession (too long): Kettlebells, Strength, Fitness, Martial Arts

More on sport/obsession (too long): Kettlebells, Strength, Fitness, Martial Arts

A rant by Rif.

Art De Vany

Art De Vany

Great post by Art Devany and Mark Sisson on the fragility and overspecialization of the elite athlete.

100 Pullups.

All time most pullups in one workout. Goal achieved. This is a very, very,very long way from where I was a year or so ago, not able to hang from a pullup bar without further damaging my severely impinged and unbalanced right shoulder. I did not have full overhead flexion( almost really have it even now) and my shoulders, biceps neck and upper back were never happy.

I was happy when I could hang from the bar with my full weight on my shoulders! and just being able to do scapula pullups( which I believe are the key to me regaining scapulo/thoracic function -along with the kb) So 100 reps is quite a milestone for me. PR's come in all shapes and sizes these days it seems.

Ballistic pullups S/S Clean and press
chin over bar on EVERY rep- no pause but no bounce at bottom.
ladders
5,6,7,8x 3 sets= 78 reps
5,5,5,7 one set=100!!!!

100x162 lbsbw = 1620 pounds

Clean and Press
36,44x5/5

53x5/5x5 sets
=50 repsx 53 lbs = 2650 pounds.

these werent hard but definitely not easy. especially behind all those chins. did the pullups then right into the clean and press. this is a good way for me to superset.

glad I got that off my back. now I dont have to do it again for awhile and I know what my training percentage zones are. 70 reps is 70% and that has meaning now. this was about maximal without any psyching.the last set of seven( which happened because I miscounted!) was very tough and I had to take the last rep over as it DIDNT make it over the bar. Couldnt cheat the last rep so I dropped down then remounted and made it ..

Rack Farmers walks( superetted the last pullups with these)
1 36# kb ,two laps (100 ft) per arm x 3 sets each.did a set of pullups between arms.these were strong.


bw 161.8
bf 10.4%

seems to be stuck up there.eating better too. huh......?

datsit, staying loose.

Kettlebells and Powerlifting

a great interview of Donnie Thompson, RKC and Elite Powerlifter on why he loves KB training, and how it has helped his powerlifting, athleticism and health.

Work

Work

Snatches again.

Very interesting stuff. Set out to do more JB power snatches today but thats not how they ended up( why am I not surprised ;) )

JB snatch
36x5/5x2
44x5/5

53x5/5x5 sets

Swing snatch
53x5/5x10 sets

=150 reps/7950 pounds/199 pounds/min in 40 minutes

Lots of surprises here. It started well but I soon realized that doing a negative military press for 150-200 reps is going to have its consequences. It was early morning and my shoulder was doing it but not digging it. I think the JB snatch will be perfect for the heavier bells and low reps but not for volume work with a light(er) bell.I'm surprised the tonnage is so low as well. Pretty leisurely pace and the JB form is slower as well.

Much more vertical power generation with the power snatch though, thats for sure.Just keep the reps low.

I am considering alternating snatch workouts; one week volume with the swing snatch and the next week low rep power snatches with the 62 and 72 lb bells.This might be good.

KB Cleans
53x5/5
62x3/3
72x3/3

88x3/3x3!!!

Niiiice. Figured since I want to press the thing I should start getting used to having it in the rack position. Did loaded cleans and held the rack position for a solid count on each rep.each set got easier. Nice Bulldog.

2 KB DL
2x10 with the 62's

bw 163
bf 10.7%

datsit, stay loose.

A Test.

This is the stuff that gets me in trouble.Its also why I love to compete and to train. There is nothing like that zone that you experience when you are attempting that which you are not sure you can achieve. Stare into the void. ANd jump in with both feet.

As long as its a reasonable ,and not an insane task, you can occasionally get away with it when you are as old as I am.Lol, I wish I were kidding.And when you do it is sweet again.

All of Jason Browns videos got me thinking about retooling my snatch technique, thinking this is a MUCH safer method of snatching for me and probably most people.I also involves more body tension as you do a press negative to get the bell to the shoulder( not a GS drop). Huh. Now a there's balance of fluidity and tension in the same exercise!

I just have to find a way to lower it on the right shoulder as press negatives usually are hard on it and can lock up my teres if I'm not carefull.

Watching Jasons form also reminds me that these ARE Olympic lifts. THat is another thing I really like about his form. it is a very athletic version ,I just wish I had the kids shoulders. much more of a vertical jump/arc than just a hip snap. an olympic squat versus a wsb power squat( Pavels version)

JB Snatch
36x5/5
44x5/5
53x3/3
62x3/3 !!
72x3/3 !!!!!!!!!!!
62x3/3
62x3/3
62x3/3
62x3/3
62x3/3=24 reps

THis is the most I have snatched in a long time. Since my biceps fascia tear.Of course my arms and shoulders may fall off tomorrow but I dont think they will. This is a really, really good way for me to snatch . It feels much more like an olympic style snatch to me.Like I am really jumping. The pace is slower andI can position myself more definitively . Reminds me of my clean position, as a matter of fact and that always feels like a great groove. having the weight in close to me makes a world of difference on my grip and biceps as well.

I just dont think I have the hip size or strength to handle the forces a heavy bell generates on the downswing.again, this thinking is what gets me in trouble.

I used to do OL snatch with barbells occasionally and was decent at it, given my shoulder, and could power snatch 154-163 fairly strongly. this feels like that movement to me.Lowering it on the right was hard and I think I have to keep my palm FORWARD as if lowering a barbell. I'll play with it,

BUT THE FREAKING TWO POOD AGAIN! I never thought I would do it again, and in fact vowed not too( realized I just broke that. oops.- ah< I vowed never to SWING snatch again, and I havent. Its a detail but a crucial one I think.....) the 28kg volume was very strong and had great acceleration. If this works I will be very happy. strong feels so good.

Hi Pulls

53x10/10x 10 sets= 200 reps 10,600 pounds/20= 530 pounds/minute

20 minutes

wind was GREAT on this and recovery was as good as its been. feel very strong.teshik was great too.

all in the right sequence. felt good and I am having much more patience in the bottom of the swing; waiting for the right time to apply force. Just like the tap swing on the high bar or rings. there is just ONE spot that is perfect and you have to hit it.

2 db kickbacks 15#
40 reps
20 reps
20
20=100 reps. will stay with this till I can get two sets of 50. this is really helping unlock my biceps.done at high tempo ,no negative.

datsit,stay loose.

bw 161.8
bf 10.9%

Athletes.com - Jason C. Brown - Kettlebell Training For Power-Endurance!

Athletes.com - Jason C. Brown - Kettlebell Training For Power-Endurance!

GREAT, GREAT, GREAT KB VIDEOS by Jason Brown RKC. I love this guys' KB technique and style.

Back to normal

bw 160.8
bf 10.3%

thats better.

RIFGA stretching 20 minutes am
20 minutes 2 pm

Have decided to really start considering my stretching workouts as real workouts. This is the most important stuff I have to do now anyhow. This is what is getting me out of pain.

A good one.

What a surprise. A really strong workout when yesterday I was so beatdown you would have thought I competed. Pulled a felxor muscle in my forearm from yanking so many suit straps up and wrapping knees and could barely make a fist yesterday. My knee decided to lockup as well, just to make my day complete. Probably dehydrated as well.

You never know how its going to go til you go so I did. Very happy, although it took all I had to keep from getting under a squat bar as well as seeing how my shoulder felt under a bench. Good discipline prevailed and I did my scheduled workout.

Military KB press( one clean)
36x5/5
44x5/5
53x3/3
62x2/2

72x2/2x4 sets 1152 lbs
53x5/5x 4 sets 2120 lbs
total 3272 lbs 56 reps

very, very solid presses even though I was pretty beat. The groove is greased.The Bulldog is mine, just a matter of the day.

superestted with tactical pullups
4/5/6 x4 rounds= 60 reps 75% of max volume, which were done ballistically.these were strong!


rack walk/one 36# kb
alternate arms each lap( 100 ft) x10 laps 1000 feet total.

these actually made the knee feel better. definitely help me find my groove.

RIFGA( rif yoga)
15 minutes.


bw 160.8
bf 11.2% still dehydrated I guess. feel much leaner than I have been though.

More PR's from Nick at APC Nationals

or How to put 100 pounds on your squat and 124 pounds on your total in 9 months! My training partner and protege Nick Bruckner had another stellar meet this weekend, going 8 for 9 again with 5 PRs and breaking the 600 pound squat barrier as well as the 1500 pound total barrier at the same time! Nick was on fire again squatting 525,573(pr) and 601( huge pr!), benching 374( his only miss that he made on his third attempt, and deadlifting 451,507( PR) and 520 for a huge pr and getting his 1500 with a 1504 total tieing for third place in his first nationals!

We neeeded 525 for his 1500 and the choice was between 523 and 529 so I choose the 520 which I wasnt positive he could get. But I also knew that if he made 523 and ended up with 1498 he would have killed me for not calling for the 529 so I did.came through like a Champ! Also got to spend the day with Pete Diaz and Ken Black from Sacto and had a great time with these fine RKC's.

The meet was perfect with a great venue, excellent warmup and competition equipment and tough but fair judging. Having to only deal with two weight classes for his flight made this meet go very quickly as well though it still took all day. heres a link to the videos Ken so graciously posted on his blog.

Nick lost the 198's to a 48 year old marc Caplan who squatted 780, benched mid fours and pulled mid sixes. HE lost first on the last pull of the day to James Kegrice who had to pull a third attempt 705 to beat Marc for a trip to the Worlds and got it! Unbeleivable! great great fun. ALMOST as much fun as competing myself but much less pain involved.http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=OtherSideOfStrength

Complexes.

Took a page out of Jack reapes book and did some snatch complexes today. Basically this means changing weight every set and keeping the reps the same. Since I am a day early today and my biceps/forearms are a bit sore from Wednesdays 210 hi pulls I decided doing some light stuff would be good.

Snatch
36x5/5 ( 2520 lbs)
44x5/5 (3080)
53x5/5 ( 3710) = 9310 lbs/25 = 372 lbs/min.

x 7 rounds. 210 reps in 25 minutes


Not a bad workout at all. I like going from light to heavy, really makes me work my speed.Just had 45 mintues to get this in between clients.

tactical pullups
8,5,5,5,5,5

33 reps


datsit, stayloose.

Tomorrow is NATIONALS! can't wait to see Nick get some PR's.

onions, spinach,eggs, feta, macademia nut oil. yum.

Solid session.

Today went well. Worked a full shift( 6 clients back to back) and was able to go right into the workout without a "power nap", lol. Made better jumps on the primary exercise( hi pulls) and made all the reps I had figured on.wind was good as well.pace much faster than of late. I didnt time them( hate watching the clock!) I would estimate 45-60 seconds as opposed to my 60-90 seconds the last month or so. Definitely felt like I got a good second will for once.

The last week and a half of turned out to be pretty maximal, volume wise( 210 snatches with 20 kg) and strength wise (6x3 withthe 28kg clean and presses). shoulders and arms are just tired.

Hi Pulls
36x5/5/5/5
53x5/5

62x8/8 x 13 sets. 208 reps 12,896 lbs of work. 25 min. Niiiiiiiice.

Since my arms and shoulders were very tight and tired I kind of 'had' to get the load off them and onto the hips. I was suprised at how loose I could get in the swing as the first two sets felt very heavy in my hands. real decent hip snap and timing of that and heel stomp and hi pull was nicely in sequence.boom, boom BOOM! Good float.

Waiters walk
100ft x 10 laps with 36# alternate arms each lap.

one lap, rest 15 seconds, two laps, rest 15 sec. right shoulder is still so much tighter. BUT I'm using the 36! which I have not been able to. good trend line.

2 db kickbacks 15#x 75 reps( 30,25, 25)

How did I forget to add these? actually I wanted to do a triceps movement that would help release some of the tension in my biceps and this was my best guess for something that would hit tris hard but NOT increase shoulder or pec tension. worked pretty well, could have easily dont 100 but want to see how things feel tomorrow. when I get 100 I will go to the twenties.



bw 161.8
bf 10.9%! man , this is not a good trendline and I have not been eating as much crap. BUT I have been eating more pasta and NOT doing my spinach, onions and shroom stif frys. just lazy but I have to do it.


datsit,stay loose.

Optimal bodyweight

This is something I've been thinking a lot about lately. What is the ideal bodyweight for a person? What is the optimal weight for maximizing all the basic qualities one needs to function well in life? What is the correct strength to weight ratio for having some of all the strength qualities( limit strength,speed strength, strength speed,etc,starting strength,etc) and still having decent cv and muscular endurance as well as maintaining normal joint mobility and function?

I've spend so much of my athletic life either trying to gain or lose both body mass and muscle that I really dont know what my ideal weight is. I've been watching MMA athletes talk about getting down to fight at a certain weight ;" its my natural weight" they say.

natural weight training six hours a day or natural weight basically just living life?Training competitively for a sport changes everything.Or does it?

I was 135 lbs , 5'7" tall at 18 years old all the while eating anything that wasnt nailed down and training in competitive gymnastics 4-5 hours a day 5-6 days a week.I had great relative strength, low body fat, good power and starting strength and great mobility and quickness.
Actually this was probably me at my "crossfit"( for lack of a better term) best.

then I went lower to 125 as a marathon and ultra runner. too thin and very weak.
Up to almost 200 for bodybuilding and powerlifting.Lots of muscle but poor endurance,mobility,and limit strength as well.
One of my best bodyweights was at 154 lb. as a road cyclist riding 300-400 miles a week. this was a good weight. Had good leg strength( my calves have never been as good) endurance, power, speed agility,leaness and my upper body strenght and size maintained very easily;actually too easily as I was always carve it off so I could look like a real cyclist.

Just goes to show that whatever muscle is natural and easy to put on is hard to get off. Its the fake stuff, the muscle WE decide to add that seems to come off so easy.

Of course what you do always decides what happens physically. Grow up on a farm pitching hay and cranking on wrenches you will get very strong How big will be determined by genetics and how many calories you stuff in.

watching these fighters lately has made me re evaluate the strength to weight ratio thing as well as how to balance strength, mobility, endurance, etc.Of course I realize its all individual and will vary acording to goal. BUt I wonder what I would weigh if I grew up in a natural environment and ate according to appetite not a program design for gaining or losing mass?

Just like the less I eat the more I realize how little I really need, the lighter I get the more I realize that really functional( not necesarily sport) strength is more neurological than musclar and trying to alter that might be folly, in the long run. Of course competition changes everything;you mold the body to the will and the desire, and ego.

I am thinking more about what is "natural" and best for the long haul; now that I am an old guy and can ponder these things, :))

One thing is sure; the less need there is for limit strength the more that is left for training many more training qualities. the intensity is so high from overload training and the body stiffness required to lift truly heavy weights kind of squashes so many things out.

Movement is life. I'm so glad I can move again.Being really strong was fun, but this is better.I'm 160-163 now who knows where I will end up?

Lessons from my shoulder and Pullups PR.

It's very peculiar that I seem to get tweaked in an area that one or more of my clients are having problems with; almost as a way for me to figure out what to do with them. It's been this way for a long time and I have discovered many secrets but enough already! LOL!

Right levator,teres and scalenes got a bit tight during my 210 snatches Saturday and reared their ugly head Sunday. Havent had this shoulder issue in months and I'd fogotten what a pain in the ass it is. I can get rid of it but just another reminder from God and the Universe that I should not even think about testing myself with high rep snatches anymore. It just aint in the cards and I have to accept that.

Clean and Press
36x5/5
44x3/3
53x3/3

62x3/3x5 sets
53x5/5

30 presses with the 62 is a pr and they were easy, despite my tight right shoulder.

Superesetted with ballistic pullups
5,6,7,8,5,6,7,8,5,5,5,5,4,4= 80 Reps All Time PR!

The last four sets with supersetted with Rack Walks

44lbx100 feet darc swing to other arm 100 ft= one lap

four total laps

Did a lot of percussion massage, overhead stretching and ART between sets. Another thirty minutes of bodywork after.

One thing I should mention is that I do TONS of flexibility and mobility work all day long,especially on my off days. THis is out of necessity or I will lock up BUT it gets done. Mostly pikes, straddles, prone cobras and pumps on the floor and overhead decompression stretches from the chin bar as well as tons of thumber muscle de-inhibition work on the overly tight muscles.

bw 163
bf 10.8%

No wonder I'm strong I'm heavy and fat. I have to stay away from trying to become to good of a presser. THis will hurt me I'm sure. I beleive I can train to press the Bulldog safely but thats it. ANd I can't get too carried away with volume either.

datsit, stay loose.

How To Swing - The United States Patent Office explains it all�for you. By Timothy Noah

How To Swing - The United States Patent Office explains it all�for you. By Timothy Noah

maybe the kb swing needs to be patented as well?

BREITBART.COM - Chewing the fat: New theories on world's obesity pandemic

BREITBART.COM - Chewing the fat: New theories on world's obesity pandemic

This is such crap! Anyone who deals in fitness KNOWS how badly people eat; and how much corn syrup, trans fats sugars, starches and overall JUST TOO MANY FREAKING CALORIES people overeat in a day. And how LITTLE real movement they do.

Everyone's always trying to find an excuse why its NOT what they are overeating and underworking that's making them fat.
Great, another excuse for the undisciplined and lazy to hang their hats on.

"I'm fat because I dont get enough sleep." Yeah, right.

Stones Gym

AH, I love my little dungeon in the garage.I really missed training there these past two saturdays but today we were back!After reading all the great GS exploits of Cate Imes and Franz snatching the Bulldog for 15 reps and seeing Bill Fox back training for hi rep snatches I thought I would give it a bit of a go. I hate high reps :}}

Snatch
36x5/5/5/5x2

44x10/10
x12/12
x14/14
x16/16
x18/18= 140 reps
these were very solid considering I havent done anything higher than 1o in months. but MAN were my forearms pumped! I have pretty big forearms and they pump like mad.
( put on gymnastics grips; havent used these in a year!)
44x10/10 sprint set
x12/12 sprint set
x14/14= 212 total. this took about 35 minutes. 9328 louds/266 lbs per min

Man those grip rock. totally let me focus on the movement. I love doing kb sprint snatches too. they almost seem easily than the ones where I rest on top in the lockout.

clean and jerk
44x5/5
53x3/3x5 sets

wanted to see if I could work these in but its not a good idea. the shoulder has to go through that weightless middles phase and it doesnt like it. But even still my cardio was very good. very happy with that. and from low rep sets to boot!
I really should stay away from hi rep snatches with no arm switches. the shoulder and biceps really feel at risk when any fatigue sets in.Well, it was fun to play. Plus they feel like they mostly work by forearms. no gs or ssst for me :((
But,beleive me I am not complaining. just being able to snatch at all, and to be able to train hard three days a week with increasing work capacity and diminshing pain is a freaking miracle!

datsit, stay loose.

bw 162.2
bf 10.1%