Wednesday, November 01, 2006

How to eat an elephant.

The great Bernard Hinault, one of my cycling heroes and role models.


One bite at a time, I am told. Had it in my mind to do 400 reps with the 20 kg in the high pull today. My best is 400 with the 16 done a few months ago.This was harder. Since I did very heavy cleans Monday I knew I wanted something light and fast. I didnt realize I was going to include long as well. I so like to build on momentum and have hard time backing off. You can see where the injuries come from though.

No guts no glory.

Oh yeah, glory ain't that grand. I have to remember that.But not today.

Hi pulls
( russian passive warmup- hot bath 10 minutes- this really helps)

26x5/5/5/5
36x5/5/5/5

44x10/10/5/5 x 10 sets: 13,200 pounds

first five sets( 150 reps) in 12min/
second five sets(150) in 11 min
300 reps in 23:28 give or take a few second.

44x10/10x5 sets(100 reps) in 9min:4400 pounds

total reps 400 total weight 17,600 pounds in 32 minutes.

Was not happy with form and this happens frequently when I have my mind on a number and am hell bent to get it.Its not my form was bad but took me a long time, as usual, to really loosen up enough to swing fluidly. Was happy with my conditioning though I was breathing hard. THe hot bath on a very empty stomach and then 30 rep sets made my feel I started an uphill climb on my bike with no warmup. Settled in around 270 reps, lol.
right shoulder a bit 'impingy' and didnt settle in as well til the end.

Overhead snatch holds
16 kg x 45 sec x 4 sets
Bosu ball stands
two feet, eyes closed, neck mobility drills

the overhead holds helps settle down my shoulder quite a bit. still way tight but I did realize i have to stretch my front delt, in flexion and internal rotation a lot more.

rack walks
200 feet each arm 800 feet.

just beat now.

bw 162
bf 9.7%
water 60.2%

thats good but I am hungry.

staying loose.

13 comments:

Pete said...

Rif,

I respect the hell out of your animal determination to chase dragons! Incredible volume and tenacity.

I was just in a rollover accident today. Totalled my car. I walked away with aches. All emergency personnel that arrived were amazed when they cut me out of the car that I walked out on my own. One of the CHP guys said that my car looked like there should have been a fatality inside. I thank God he was watching over me. I also believe that the type of tension training that we do prepares the body to be more resilient to impact.

Live to love and train another day.

Mark Reifkind said...

Pete! thank God you are ok. I was literally just thinking I hadnt heard from you in awhile! and yes I think the training certainly helps deflect the shocks of serious stuff like that.

It certainly wakes you up to the fragility and the incredible gift that life is.

I just found out that my son Gabes PE teacher, Brian Mayock, just died of a heart attack last night, playing tennis.He was just 58 and left a son my sons age 17. Brian was a great guy, a real man, a great father and an athlete. I met him at Mike Mahlers seminar 4 years ago and he was a powerlifter as well.

we arent promised one more second and every breath is a gift.This is the type of thing, and what you went through Pete, that really reminds you of that, and of what truly is important in life.

Mark Reifkind said...

oh yeah, thats for the compliment. I try to be as animal like in training as possible.I ahve six cats and I love to watch them move. learn something every day.

Tom Furman said...

Pete, take it easy, and thank God you are OK. My wife Cindy and I went thru in 1 year, two totalled vehicles and two deaths in our family. We both got pneumonia. So chill, decompress, and manage mental and physical recovery.

Geoff Neupert said...

Yeah, Pete, thank God you're OK. Ditto what Tom said.

Rif, you're an animal. 400 reps. Sick.

Mark Reifkind said...

geoff thanks dude.just trying to keep up with tracy.she did something like 1100 swing combinations in 40 min last week. thats cotter land( he did 1000 one arm swings in 44 min)

Tom Furman said...

1100 Swings?? Geez, what is her resting pulse like?? 38bpm??

Tommy Shook said...

Holy Crap Pete!!
Glad you're ok man, did you go get checked out anyways to make sure ther aren't any occult injuries??
Was it a frontal impact or a T-bone collision?
Man, glad you're alright though...be well bro!

Mark Reifkind said...

geoff she got some serious cardio skills.

Franz Snideman said...

Pete,

Thank God that you are okay! Our webmaster was in accident similar a couple of months ago (a drunk driver hit him on the highway and he rolled his jeep).

Life is precious and we must live life like it is our last day. Be well my brother!

Rif, great job! You are Mr. Conditioning:)

Pete said...

Rif,

I am sorry to hear about you son's PE teacher. I hope he is handling it well. This whole incident reminds me of what Larry Darrow's character in the Razor's Edge said about life, "there are no guarantees."

Tom F.,

Wow, that is alot of stress and sadness in one year for you and your family. I hope that all is well with you and your family now. I agree with taking the time to decompress, that post-trauma effects are no BS. I am taking the prudent route, and doing what I would recommend to my students if they were in my position.

Shook,

I did get checked out (full story on my blog) and it was a rollover, to a side impact into a light pole. They are calling me "neanderthal man" now at work due to me walking away with no visible injuries. I have been blessed with a body that can take a beating. Good thing I am too old to do MMA! My wife would kill me if I told her I wanted to go into the cage.

Franz,
Glad to hear your webmaster is ok. A rollover is a scary thing to survive. The sounds are surreal when you are in the car.

You are so right, life is precious. Don't waste it on petty matters, or petty arguments with those you love.

Anonymous said...

Love that photo of Hinault. He was/is one of my cycling heroes, too. In 1986 I drove to Colorado just to see him race in person at the Coors Classic.

And in contrast to many of the borderline-anorexic pro cyclists of today's peloton, the Badger (as Hinault was known) always looked healthfully muscular on the bike.

Hey, when the mood strikes you, I'd love to hear some stories of your cycling days. And I'm digging the cycling/strength tips that some of your other commentators are sharing. Thanks.

Mark Reifkind said...

thanks john. I did way more training than racing my bike but I did get to spend quite a bit of time with the bike studs of Palo Alto bike club. they really taught me everything I know about riding.
I dont know if you remember Ian Jackson, the crazy writer for Runners world but he was with us at the time and what a maniac he was!
I remember when I first started riding with him he would smoke me badly on the descents coming down from Skyline blvd up here in the santa cruz moutains. After two seasons of training I could easily beat him on the descents. CLimbs, however were another story!But I could always go the distance no matter how far the ride.
Ian became a big time yoga guy too.

I was once covering a Talbots club bike event, San Francisco to Los Angles over night bike ride.One guy, Mark Kahn was riding the whole thing and trying to reset the record in under 24 hours.
The rest were riding in shifts as his domestiques.

I was freelancing for City Sports magazine.

I had ridden 70 miles that morning and was in the van when we left sf.
everything was going great until I noticed around midnight that guys NOT on the team were taking shifts in the peleton.

I asked if I could take a shift too and they said yes! I borrowed all my clothes and someones bike and went into the black night realizing I had never ridden in a true peleton before, where you split breaking the wind and have to keep tight ranks.

Next thing I knew I had done a 50 mile shift and was stoked! I did another two shifts and was lucky enough to be in the group when the crossed the finish line in LA in under 24 hours! Mark Kahn had done the whole thing and was dropping rested riders in the San Marcos hills! the guys was a horse.

great stuff. cycling is freaking TOUGH!big balls stuff.

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...