Thursday, August 31, 2006

Sam Byrd 1003 Squat at 198 - Google Video

Sam Byrd 1003 Squat at 198 - Google Video

This is one sweet squat. Perfect form with a 198 lb man squatting 1003 pounds! I met these guys at Nicks meet and they are great! Serious, serious old school power lifters.North Georgia Barbell Club. real deal too.

YouTube - Denis Kang vs Amar Suloev - PRIDE Bushido 12

YouTube - Denis Kang vs Amar Suloev - PRIDE Bushido 12

MAN! Dennis Kang is the real deal!

Wednesday, August 30, 2006


Mileage.

Really got the sense that I was putting in the miles today during my workout. Very much like I did when I did a daily hour run for many moons.Or when I was racing bikes and knew I had to get a certain amount of miles in to make the weekly total I wanted. Not saying I am sane, but it is the truth.

I get a very strong sense of accomplishment and control when I get these things done regularly and feel like I am getting strong and have more stamina.But it was uphil getting started today. Took a 20 minute power nap after the last client to try to clear my head and get in the right mental space.AS well as decide what to do. I did 500 reps last week and heavy the week before that so medium was on the table. The 53 sounded right.

5am

30 minutes rifga stretching

10 am
15 minutes overhead dislocates with jo stick. This has been seriouly neglected and today I really felt its potential for opening up my right shoulder.



1:15 pm
High Pulls
36x5/5/5/5
44x5/5

53x6/6
x8/8
x10/10
x12/12
x14/14 x2= 200 reps in 30 min/10,600 pounds
x5/5x 5 sets in 10 min.

took forever to get warmed up and find 'todays' groove, but I knew not to push it.Thought I was going to do sets of ten but that seemed too hard. After the first 100 I was ready to push a little and legs and lungs were good. I knew I wanted more than 200 but didnt want any more reps. the sets of five were very explosive and done with little rests /sets.

One of the things I hate about high reps sets is having to cut the intensity in order to makeit through. I much prefer to go all out and die quickly.kinda like powerlifting. kinda like ONE rep,lol. Good to be in better shape but it is sheer hard work.After all these years of not being able to do any cardio this feels good. being a powerlifter was easier.

Snatch holds
53x30/30 seconds each arm x4 sets

these were interesting. left arm is so easy as it sits perfectly in the socket. the right is constantly being pulled forward by my tight clavicular pec ,front delt and lats. I decided to do a little neuormuscular therapy so I squeezed the upper outer right pec with the left hand as I held the way. MAN it released quickly and my arm slid further back then it has been. Cool. more shoulder dislocates with stick.


Rack walks with 44
100 feet each arm for sets of 200 feet.

100 feet total

rough today. out of gas.just wanted to get it done.knee is not sitting right lots of calf NMT needed.

bw 161.6
bf 11% !!!!

dont feel dehydrated and the mirror is better than ever. very strange. lighter and definitely feel and look leaner but the scale is up. mirror lies less.

Monday, August 28, 2006

Just get through.


Its always those days when I have no good reason not to have a good workout that I really struggle. Slept really well, had a cancellation and got to start early and spent an half hour stretching twice this am before the workout. And yet it was a freakin struggle to get going and every set after that! Pure exercise in willpower to finish what I had planned. I wasnt particularly weak just not motivated. Oh well, I got over it.

Pullups
5,6,7,8
5,6,7,8
5,5,5,5

72 total reps done touch and go style, all reps chin over bar

supersetted with Bottoms up cleans
36x5/5
44x5/5
53x5/5
62x4/4
x5/5
x5/5 these were just a grind. no problem but no flow, just work.
53x6/6
44x8/8

The last sets of five chins were supersetted with waiters walks
36x1200 feet in sets of 2oo per arm.

15 minutes Rifga

these too were just tight and stiff.Need more beef I think.

bw 163.6
bf 10.6%

the mirror says much leaner.

datsit, staying loose

Sunday, August 27, 2006

New training partner


Found a new training partner, or Tracy did, at the Flea Market. He( or she?) is a bit lean but got some great curves.
Decided to put RIFGA stretching on the schedule for Sundays so I dont end up so locked up on Mondays from laying around all day.
RIFGA( 20 minutes)
floor work
tuck and rolls
pike stretch( dorsi and plantar flexion)
straddle stretches overhead reaches
downward dog
horse stance
shoulder stretch from dw dog
prone cobra
upward facing dog
sun salutation( knee stretch variation)
spider squat stretch
L sit stretches
High bar stretches
single and double arms
over and under grips single arms
Overhead stick stretch dislocates
RIFGA floor work again
( on the second go round, on the shoulder stretchs from downward dog I really got the arms in tight and a serious stretch, right from the scapulas.I heard/felt my right shoulder "clunk" and hoped/prayed it was a good one. It seemed to be external but I never know til I get up and try to move.
I think my shoulder dislocated IN, and feels like it is 'sitting right' for the first time in a long time. Its been way better than ever these last few months but still not really floating around in their. Dont know how long it will last but it feels great right now.
as I raise my arms the humeral head glides, as it should, and not lock, as it seems to want to do.
feel much better stretched out.

Saturday, August 26, 2006

USST snatch training

well, I finally made myself do some higher rep snatches ,switching hands as I would in a5 or 10 minutes snatch test. Every time I have tried to make myself do these types of workouts I would chicken out. After the 500 hi pulls on wednesday I had more confidence in my cardio and it worked great! I am going to sneak up on these tests.

Snatch
36x5/5/5/5x2
44x3/3/3/3

53x5/5/5/5 x 8 sets
160 total reps
8480 total pounds.

This was a great start. good compromise too as the total number of reps done was a good backoff number for me but the intensity was good with the 20 reps per set.Legs definitely were the weak link as they got the most fatigued on the second time through.
I can also see how my legs letting tired encourage me pulling with my arms. This is great lower body training for me. wind was good but it was more challenging than normal.
Only two of use today so it was a fast pace.

Halos
26x10/10
36x10/10 x2

these are great!

Heavy Bag

3 one minute rounds

my first time ever hitting one of these and it was cool. Mostly jabs and straight right and then combos.lots of fun.

bw 162.4
bf 10.4%

man, I hate writing down anything with 2 digits!

datsit, staying loose.

samurai


this could be the template for my shoulder tattoo.

Friday, August 25, 2006

Problems with blogger

I switched from the regular blogger to a new, beta version of blogger and now I am having trouble being able to comment on other blogs. Hopefully they will get this figured out but didnt want you all to think I stopped caring. Or reading.

also started a new blog in the process of trying to post a photo to my old blog to answer the DD forum question about V sits. Scanned in some old HS photos of Mark as gymnast

heres the link

http://Girevik.blogspot.com

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Heavy Bag

Woo Hoo! My new 50 pound heavy bag arrived. I just put it up on the power rack to look at it and we'll decide where to hang it later. very very nice canvas and well filled. quality stuff. Not to mention great for sandbag training.Very hard to grip and awkward,I can tell that already.Man I so love beinga ble to train again and am truly thankful and humbled by how important and beautiful the simplest of movements are.
I spent my whole life chasing extreme movement and performance and what really, really matters was what we all do everyday.squatting lunging, pushing pressing bending twisting and gait. Primal Patterns. Oh yeah, and punching. Posted by Picasa

Light High pulls and a new volume pr.

Inspired by Kenneths Jays KB study using the 16 kg snatch( achieving 96% max VO2 at max heartrate!) and having done a heavy pull day last week I decided 10 sets of 40 reps might be in order, switching every ten.

I have had little desire to do high reps since Mike Castro kicked my ass so thoroughly getting ready for the RKC. But my wind has been coming up very steadily of late and 'climbing the hills' have been much easier. I am settling into a strength endurance state of mine.

I have been afraid of the 16 kg for a long time. Afraid to spend too much time with such a "light" weight. BUt reps is reps and light is critical for it to stay loose, and getting tight is the death knell of endurance. SO 16 kg it is. I like the round numbers. 400 reps sounded good. Old pr with the 20 kg is 360. 40 more with a light weight should be no problem, right? LOL, this is always how I get myself in trouble but we'll shall see.

High Pulls

36x10/10/10/10 x 10 sets
400 reps,14,400 pounds

53x10/10x5 sets
100 reps,5300 pounds

total reps = 500! total tonnage=19,700 pounds!

Good thing I didnt know it was that close to 20,000 pounds I would have finished it off!

each set took about one minute and I rested about 1.5-2 minutes beween sets. Nick was there to bench and company always makes me train harder; which is why I try to avoid it. It took five sets to get loose enough to really explode and the last five sets were the easiest,even as I fatigued. I was loose and could jump.

After that I figured, "500 is a great number and I feel good( it had been about 30 minutes) lets go for 500" So I took the 24 kg( warmed up now it felt LIGHT) and banged them out. Like the old days. PUSH baby PUSH. Gonna pay later though.

Oh yeah, day four off voltaren. Just aspirin (1 gm) and alleve(440 mg) split up. So far so good.

Snatch Overhead Holds

20kgx one minute x 3 sets

harder than it should be. up from the 16 kg last time and 45 sec.

rack walks
20 kg x 200 feet 6 times, alternate arms. 1200 feet.

I am beat. Left glute is saying hello. this could be good or bad, we'll see tomorrow.lots of stretching and hydrating to do.
My swing groove is really settling in and I am getting more comfortable all the time.


bw 163.6
bf 10%

datsit.stay loose.


oh yeah the heavy bag is in and I got it tentatively set up in the power rack. this will be fun!

http://www.gordbrownskiing.com/Coolstuff.htm

Way cool stability ball training.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

National Geographic Channel - Fight Science

National Geographic Channel - Fight Science

Man this is an amazing show! I wish I had access to some of that equipment to measure kb stuff!The martial artists have GOT to be happy with this stuff.

The SEAL Quest ~ Ultimate BUD/S Preparation

The SEAL Quest ~ Ultimate BUD/S Preparation

Great site and well worth revisiting.One thing I realized I missed the first time is the importance of NOT rolling through painful areas as this activates the muscle spindles keeping the muscle tight and therefore painful. Youa re to stop and hold at the painful site untill it dissipates 75% or so.This causes a GTO inhibition and decreases tension, which is what I'm after, after all. Really well done guide and the foam roller is a constant companion to me, along with my thumper.

Monday, August 21, 2006

Bodybuilding.com - David Robson - The Art Of Boxing: Skills, Drills And Benefits!

Bodybuilding.com - David Robson - The Art Of Boxing: Skills, Drills And Benefits!

Nice little video primer on the basic boxing moves.

Cleans and pullups.

weird day. had two last minute cancels this AM and got off early (plenty of stretch time) but still was creaky by training. I am also making another attempt at getting of the prescription nsaids and that might have something to do with it. Just good old aspirin and alleve. we'll see. two days so far.

Cleans
36x5/5x2
44x5/5
53x5/5
62x5/5

72x5/5x5 sets

SUPERSET WITH

Tactical Pullups( long pause at bottom)
3,4,5,6x 3 rounds = 54
3,4
total reps = 61

not bad for tacticals. shoulder was tight from two hours of straight bodywork on the last two clients.

Waiters Walks
36#x200 feet per arm 4 laps per arm 1600 feet total, new pr.

Shadow Boxing: (4)45 sec rounds

getting ready for my new bag! This should be fun.

overhead stretching and RIFGA for legs 10 minutes.

supersetted these with the last sets of pullups. these are definitely getting better.
this was one of those' just get er dun' days.

will weigh in later. need more water.

datsit, staying loose

later:

BW 163.6
BF 9.9% dats it.

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Hecht vault

Man I just like looking at this picture. I was very close to being able to do this with a full twist when my college coach, the amazing Neil Schmitt, changed it to a Tsukahara, carthweel/piked back,which was more popular at the time. I liked the full twisting Hecht;no one else was doing it. Posted by Picasa

Freshman year Univ. Of Iowa, 1975

 Posted by Picasa

Just swing: the gymnastics version.

When I was a wee lad, about 15, the Japanese Gymnasts were my heroes. I had seen them in the '72 Olympics in Munich and I determined, right then and there, that I would be that. I studied everything I could get my hands on about their approach to training and was pleasantly suprised that they considered their training a "Do" or Way. A physical path to a spiritual Enlightment. Their philosphy was a blend of Samurai Martial Spirit, and the Way of Zen, which I then began to study.

One of my American heroes was Steve Hug, a National level gymnast from Stanford. Steve was a good gymnast but not great. He went to Japan to study at the Japanese Physical Education College that was turning out all the Olympians. He came back and the next year won everything and went on to do the best ever for an American at the next Olympics.

He told us that for the first six months they told him all he was to do was swing. Just swing, on the pommel horse, on the rings, the parallel bars and high bar. Just circles and swings and giants. After six months he might be ready for compulsory exercises. He did so and came back transformed. I also wanted to go to Japan to study and started to make plans but then I blew out my knee.

I think about that story all the time. It has a perfect analogy with the Russian Kettlebell swing.

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Snatch Day.

Slept well last night for the first time all week. Good timing. SI is fine and back to my old tried and proven snatch technique. No more messing around.

Snatch

36x5/5/5/5x2
44x5/5

53x5/5
x6/6
x7/7 for four rounds = 144
53x5/5/5/5/5/5/5= 30
x5/5

total reps= 184.
total tonnage= 9752- need to get up over 10,000 regularly.

these were EASY,even though I was stiff and tight. When I finally got warmed up, just in time for the last round, I decided to try transfers and it worked great. 30 reps on one turn at the end and it was simple.Legs and hips were tiring faster than arms/shoulders which is what I wanted.
definitely have to play with this more. Snatches took about 45 minutes as there were four of us. I snuck in double sets occasionally but it was a steady but slow place. Lots of power though!

Sets of 8,9 and 10 will give me 270 reps for five rounds! 4 rounds will still give me 216. 300 might be the next new high level mark.

halos
12 kg x8/8 x 4 sets

2 kb deads
2/62's x 8 x 3 sets( I was done).

bw163
bf 11.1 %!!!

must be chunking up. sucks too cuase I'm eating cleaner than normal. hate that..

datsit,staying loose.

Nick Squats

Nick on set three of eight sets of three. Just coming off the box. 315 plus 50 pounds of chain. Really, really good squat form. Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Heavy high pulls.

Seems like there is a very intersting macro cycle going on here, which I seem to be following by instinct.Working off my central principle of working as hard as possible while avoiding injuries or "tweaks" at all costs I seem to be varying the loads and intensities just enough to keep increasing my work capacity without a set plan.
Just having a few exercises at my disposal changes the deal as well. I can't do so many things that I have to use my imagination in regards to volume and intensity waves as well as peaks.

Since I PR'ed in the high pulls last week,volume wise, I thought it would be good to go heavy.Far away from last weeks workload but still an increase in work capacity and total load. I know right away if the workload I decided upon will work that day or not. If my whole being goes "ughhh" then I know its not right for the day.If it goes" that sounds interesting" then I'm golden.Usually its pretty much the opposite of what I did last time.

This is pretty much just for hi pulls and pullups but not for snatches or walks. They like a much more linear like increase;very small changes in volume and intensity. THis is where groove is vital.

High Pulls

36x5/5/5/5

53x10/10
62x8/8
72x6/6= 48 reps total per round. one minute rest /sets and rounds.

Five rounds= 240 total reps! Nice.

100 reps with 53= 5300 lbs.
80 reps with 62= 4960
60 reps with 72 = 4320
total volume = 14,50 lbs! Nice. total time =35 minutes.

this was perfect,totally different than what I have been doing lately and these fibers were fresh, while the groove was solid from all the reps. good combo.Took me awhile to warmup going so heavy so quickly but by the second round the speed was up and the power was better.Old men take time to warmup it seems.

My wind was very very solid which makes me happy. Before KBs I could do NO cardio because of my knee and this was very frustrating for an old overtrainer like me. I loved to run and bike and swim and train for hours on end.Not being able to push my squat or dl even left me with the cardio condition of a real old man. Love having good recovery and still being able to do hi reps.

Snatch Holds
36x one minute
44x45 seconds
53x30 seconds x 2 sets

these were tough!really let me settle in and focus on pulling the shoulder down and where my leg/hip support was coming from.good stuff

Rack walks
double rack with 36's x 200 feet x3

didnt like these. the single rack is better,especially since I am back to doing double farmers on sats.shoulder and knee adjusting with these

One high one low rack walks
100 feet per armx 2

double farmers walks with 36's
500 feet.

ugh.go back to the singles.

calves,hamstrings and undergrip overhead stretches:10 minutes .SI joint is all better.
Need to stay focused on achieving double undergrip hangs on bar as well. need to do my chinups soon.

bw 163.
bf 10.9%

feel lean as shit.these things NEVER add up to my perception of muscle mass,size or leaness, but it's still good data.

datsit.staying loose.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Monday, August 14, 2006

Now this should be interesting

there has got to be some huge numbers coming out of this study.

Character training.

Havent had one of these days in awhile. Felt great all morning til the last client and then just started to lock up like a big dog. So much of my knee problem is from a really tight ,weak and unstable left ankle( when I ripped out my knee it was my foot that was stuck in the wrestling mat). When I lose dorsiflexion the knee is right next in line to be "out".
SLow pace today as each set was supersetted with stretching, foam roller or thumping work.

Saturday's GS experiment definitely overloaded my left SI and is a perfect example of although I am "better at it" then the form I am using; and it will probably increase my snatch numbers, I shouldn't and won't use it. I am too strong and explosive for my connective tissues and joints and probably have been for quite some time. I need the safest form that most fully distributes the load top to bottom. My old snatch for is fine, back to that.

Pullups
6,7,8,5,6,7,5,5,5,5,5,6= 70 reps.

these were done touch and go. outside of my right teres and levator being tight these were easy.

Supersetted with

Clean and Press
36x5/5
44x5/5

53x5/5x5 sets

These were strong and easy but I would like to find another exercise to take the place of these on Mondays.The pullups rock but the presses always seem to overload my levator and teres. snatches, however do not.maybe I'll try do cleans by themselves, supersetted with the pullups. that's definitely worth a try.

Something heavier than the snatches on saturdays but lower reps than a hi pull or swing workout, which I cant do afters saturdays volume.I can vary with the bottoms up or regular cleans for reps up to ten. that should be interesting.I dont need more front delt. presses just dont interest me.

Racks Walks

single 36# x 200 feet. 3 laps each arm 1200 total.

these actually helped my knee a bit.


bw 162
bf 10.9%

have to stop eating that damn licorice. I cant resist it. back to ice cream. oh yeah, I was still eating ice cream. I think I see the problem.

datsit. gotta go get loose.

I've got to get Tracy to post a blog.She did 100 rep swing, snatch transfer sets today with the 26 in three minutes. She took a two minute rest and did six more. 700 plus reps again.amazing.

Saturday, August 12, 2006

revver.com :: video :: Interview with Ed Coan - 2006

revver.com :: video :: Interview with Ed Coan - 2006

Interview and training of the Legendary Ed Coan, Power God extraordinaire.

1200 two hand swings in 60 minutes

Tracy the Mutant just finished 60 minutes of two handed swings with the 20 kg and the 16 kg. 600 with each. One minute on, one minute off. 200 swings per 10 minutes.

600x36=21,600 pounds
600x44=26,400

total volume=48,000 pounds or 24 tons.Now dats some work.

Latvian snatch technique training

Knew I needed a light day so it was the 20kg today.Have been studying the Lativian Arturo's snatch video that Tom showed us the other day and decided to try to play with his technique. I deadlift with a really high hip and a lot of lean and thought this form might fit me. Sure enough it was very natural from the get, always a good sign.

My knees don't like to bend anyways and my lumbo/pelvic rythym is such that if I lean forward at all my hips shift back.Trying to sit back with little lean engages my quads and not my hips and back. This was a major problem in powerlifting as I tried to adapt to the "correct technique" and it never felt right.

This was easy to mimic from the start and I even felt my grip shifting to the first two fingers instead of the two middle ones that I usually pull from.I was towards the inner curve as well, isntead of dead center as always.AND I was almost fully pronating my arm in the bottom something that NEVER felt right before.

However I was leaning over way more than ever before and it seemed to 'clear a pathway' into the backswing. thats the only way I can describe it.This style definitely turns the hip into the hinge and the fulcrum."riding the brookstick",i.e. keeping the arm and the bell high in the crotch was much easier too and my shoulder and biceps felt well protected. much less tendency to pull with my arm. could feel that immediately. ALso the 'yank' was strong too and kept the bell in over the base very easily. grip felt little stress and forearms much less pump than normal with 12 rep sets.

Definitely felt my body turn INTO a pendulum.Again, only way I can describe it.We'll see, however if I can walk tomorrow. More focused load on the back and upper hips.

7 am

RIFGA stretch 15minutes



9 am
Latvian Snatch
36x8/8x2

44x12/12 x7 sets= 168 reps
7392 pounds. a good backoff week number

Bottoms up clean
36x5/5
44x4/4
53x3/3 suprisingly strong/havent done these in awhile
62x3/3 easy!
72x3/3x2 sets. these were as solid as I have done. cant do these too often though.

2 kb farmers walk
2 53's x100 feet,15 sec rest x7 laps.

thanks to Ken for the inspiration for both these moves. the double farms felt good,havent done them in months.

Halos
26x10/10x 4 sets

These rock. tired at the end though. wanted to do five. next week.

will weigh in later when I am rehydrated before I eat.



BW 163.6
BF 10/7%

still not fully watered but its ok.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Royce V Hughes 2?

Royce V Hughes 2?
Now this will be good. way better than Shamrock Ortiz 3. Maybe Hughes will get some work this time.

Death is an Adviser.

From one of my all time favorite books,"Journey to Ixtlan" by Carlos Castenada. This book had a huge impact on me when I read it when I was 17 or so.

Chp 4 Death is an Adviser.

"death is our eternal companion," Don Juan said with a most serious air. " It is always to your left, an an arm's length.
....It has always been watching you. It will until the day it taps you. How can anyone feel so important when we know that dealth is stalking us?" he asked.
" The thing to do when you're impatient" he proceeded," is to turn to your left and ask advice from your death. An immense amount of pettiness is dropped if your death makes a gesture to you , or if you catch a glimpse of it or if you have the feeling that your companion is there watching you."

I told him that I believe him and that he did not have to press the issue any further because I was terrified.He had one of his roaring belly laughs.

He replied that the issue of our death was never pressed dar enough. ANd I argued that it would be meaninless for me to dwell upon my death, since a thought would only bring discomfort and fear.

" you're full of crap!" he explained. "Death is the only wise adviser that we have. Whenever you feel, as you always do, that everything is going wrong and that you're about to be annihilated, turn to your death and ask if that is so. Your death will tell you that you're wrong; that nothing really matters outside its touch. Yo ur death will tell you :'I havent touched you yet'.


...."It doesnt matter what the decision is,"he said." Nothing could be more or less serious than anything else. Don't you see? In a a world where death is the hunter there are no small or big decisions. There are only decisions that we make in the face of our inevitable death."

Great video of GS snatch technique

Thanks to Tom Corrigan for the link. I told my wife I thought I looked like this guy and she said: "yeah, but he's bigger". OUCH. THis looks as much like a Hardstyle snatch as it does a GS one. Interesting

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Hi Pull PR. Climbing that hill and thanks to Ken Black.

Did not expect this. Slept poorly last night and sweated out too making me once tight cranky dude this am. Just hoped to get through this one but I'm on a roll it seems.

Snatch Hi Pull Ladders
36x5/5

44x10/10
x12/12
x14/14
x16/16
x18/18
x20/20= 180 in 15 minutes
x 2 rounds=360 all time volume PR. 35 minutes

started off with the idea of doing 10/10/5/5 and get used to switching to get some higher volume but whenever I think about doing it I just never do. Did these ladders instead and they were SOLID. Started off too explosively but then settled in when I thought about the workout as big hill I had to climb and realized I had to pace myself. All reps were the same upper chest/chin height pull. Just didnt try to accelerate maximally the entire time.Stayed focus on waiting for the bell to start its forward swing THEN snapping the hips with it.

Also on pulling the shoulder DOWN as the bell begins to float. ALso realized if I just push my hips back first to descend and THEN deal with the bells trajectory it is much easier on the grip and arm as the hip leads the bell as well as keeping it in it closer over my feet.

The hill climb analogy worked well till the last two sets; then I invoked Ken Blacks visualization of the knee as the fulcrum with half the energy going into the floor and the other half up,extending the femur and hip. worked really well and I could breathe through my nose the entire time. 360 reps is 48 more reps than my old pr.

Waiters Walks

3 sets of 200 feet each arm 1200 feet total with 16 kg. I was dead. the hi pulls killed me.

band kickbacks
1x40
1x20
1x20

we'll see. wanted to do 2 kb olympic cleans but there was nothing for that.

BW 163.2
BF 10.0%

Too much sweating and not enough fiber ;((

datsit, time to stretch.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

More validation for the Warrior Diet

Looks like intermittment fasting might be VERY good for us.

More from Dr. Wong

Enzymes and their functions in the body.

Plus a serious inadvertent advertisement for the benefits of kettlebell training without mentioning kbs. All the maladys he sites can be helped immeasurably and most efficiently, with just a kettlebell .

Monday, August 07, 2006

Syria is the key | Jerusalem Post

Syria is the key Jerusalem Post

I couldn't agree more.

Interview With Dr. Wong

Interview With Dr. Wong

Great interview by Mike Mahler of Dr WIlliam Wong. Very interesting information across the board! gonna have to work on my chin ups now.

Clean/Press and Suspended pullups

Posted by Picasa
Another good one in the books.It's nice to have a low volume workout after all the snatches on saturday.

Superset Clean and Press with Pullups

C&P
36x5/5
44x5/5
53x4/4
62x3/3

72x2/2x4 sets
62x3/3x2 sets

These went very well and could have easily done triples.

Suspended pullups
8 sets of 5 reps

the last few sets of these the instability really came out. Very hard to stabilize the bar in the transverse plane. You can really tell which arm pulls harder!

Rack Walks with 44#
2 100 foot laps each arm per set
1200 feet total.

these were as strong as they ever were. Nice.

BW 162.4
BF 10.6%


up and down we go,lol.

datsit, staying loose.

Oh yeah, my mutant wife snatched 400 reps with the 26 in less than 30 minutes.She's kicking my ass.

Suspended pullups

 Posted by Picasa

Saturday, August 05, 2006

Snatch PR. 210 reps

I love training for PR's. It's so satisfying. By keeping track of them and wave load training I can be like Alexeev and keep breaking pr's by a few pounds( reps for me). Of course for Alexeev it was World records and he got paid each time, no matter how small a new record it was. Me too. I get paid big time just by knowing for sure I am getting better.

2 KB Olympic Clean
( outside legs)
26'sx8
36'sx8x3 sets

I like these.Will try them Wednesday with the 53's to see if I can avoid smacking my knees.

Swing Snatch
36x5/5
44x5/5

53x6/6
x7/7
x8/8= 42 reps Five rounds= 210 reps/all time PR!
11,130 pounds

excellent. after last weeks 192 I knew I should go for a pr today instead of a back off week.went med fast, probably about 1.5 min/sets as I had to wedge in between Nicks squat sets. total time 45 minutes or so. Going slowly though really allows for more power output on each set.even the last sets were fast.

I also really focused on throwing the weight into the backswing more than ever today and it worked great! Really pulled me into the hips and produced a much more powerful stretch reflex.keep working on this and in hi pulls.Definitely hard style though, lol, as its bigger ROM.

Halos
18x8/8
26x10/10
36x10/10
26x12/12
18x15/15

these are great,can really feel them between the shoulder blades.

Bosu one foot stands; ten minutes of alternating legs. not strong at all I really need to get back to these.

bw 162
bf 11%

these early moring weighins on Saturday never give me enough time to rehydrate. Leaner than ever though and the mirror says the same thing;no worries.

datsit, staying loose.

Nutrition & Metabolism | Full text | Ketogenic diets and physical performance

Nutrition & Metabolism Full text Ketogenic diets and physical performance

A very interesting article looking at carbs versus fats for performance.

Thursday, August 03, 2006

KB training for MMA, great video

The word is spreading.

Back into single digits.

That was weird.

bw 162
bf9.8%

5:30 am 2o minutes Rifga

1 pm 20 minutes Rifga focus on soleus/peroneal release, standing on left leg and full knee extension . my calf/lower hammy gets so tight and wrecks my gait.I stop standing as much on this leg which really messes things up. Have to do some left leg stationary holds keeping the weight on the medial arch and rotating the femur internally as well as locking out the knee.

so much fun.

Gene Expression

The referenced post by Art Devany . Interestingly, and not uncoicidentally, Lance Armstrong always waits at least an hour or more after his Tour de France preperation rides before eating to continue the fat burning effect



Gene Expression and Muscle Glycogen
March 27, 2006 02:16 PM
I said it before and I say it again now: filling your muscles with glycogen is nonsense. I have pointed out how gene expression is altered by your activity and your stores of nutrients, among other things. And I have argued that body builders and runners and others who rush to refill their muscle with glycogen right after a work out are actually turning down the training response.
Now, here is an interesting article that measures gene expression and it shows that it is turned down when your muscles contain a lot of glycogen. You reduce the magnitude of the adaptive response to exercise if you are in a hurry, as so many body builders and runners are, to replenish your glycogen stores. They are not thinking at all about gene signaling and adaptation. They are in the linear thinking mode and must reason in a simple (dumb) inventory framework. Use up the glycogen and refill it right away.
This is one of those non-linearities. If you replace the glycogen right away you turn off the gene expression that builds more muscle and does other complex things in muscle tissue. Note the article speaks of TRANSIENT genetic induction, not a steady state. Inducing transients is the essence of the intermittent approach of Evolutionary Fitness.
The abstract follows... There is something very important about uncoupling protein UCP3 that only I and a few others know about and I may be the only person to incorporate respiratory chain uncoupling in anti-aging model and practice.
Influence of pre-exercise muscle glycogen content on exercise-induced transcriptional regulation of metabolic genes
Henriette Pilegaard *, Charlotte Keller †, Adam Steensberg †, Jørn Wulff Helge ‡, Bente Klarlund Pedersen †, Bengt Saltin ‡ and P. Darrell Neufer §
The Copenhagen Muscle Research Centre, * The August Krogh Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, † Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, ‡ Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Denmark and § The John B. Pierce Laboratory and Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
Transcription of metabolic genes is transiently induced during recovery from exercise in skeletal muscle of humans. To determine whether pre-exercise muscle glycogen content influences the magnitude and/or duration of this adaptive response, six male subjects performed one-legged cycling exercise to lower muscle glycogen content in one leg and then, the following day, completed 2.5 h low intensity two-legged cycling exercise. Nuclei and mRNA were isolated from biopsies obtained from the vastus lateralis muscle of the control and reduced glycogen (pre-exercise glycogen = 609 ± 47 and 337 ± 33 mmol kg-1 dry weight, respectively) legs before and after 0, 2 and 5 h of recovery. Exercise induced a significant (P <> 6-fold) than in the control (< 3-fold) trial. Induction of PDK4 and UCP3 mRNA in response to exercise was also signficantly higher in the low glycogen (11.4- and 3.5-fold, respectively) than in the control (5.0- and 1.7-fold, respectively) trial. These data indicate that low muscle glycogen content enhances the transcriptional activation of some metabolic genes in response to exercise, raising the possibility that signalling mechanisms sensitive to glycogen content and/or FFA availability may be linked to the transcriptional control of exercise-responsive genes.

Its not Paleo

this is from Dr Devany's blog. This makes so much sense to me. I am the archetypal lab rat/athlete, having grown up in the gym and totally concentrated over done endevours. As far as possible from a wild animal, except when I was doing a lot of ultra trail runner when I lived in Santa Fe. then it was much more by feel and in depths of serious nature but I was still as regulated as a bank and a serious numbers counters. I'm trying to do better now but it's not working training wise. Hopefully the diet is helping a bit, and I cant overtrain much anymore, even if I want to.



Its Not Paleo
August 1, 2006 10:43 AM
Many people describe the Evolutionary Fitness diet as a paleo diet (meaning paleolithic or old stone age). There is an element of truth to this, but it is far from a correct description of EF eating. Beginning with a paleo conception of diet is a good model, but many take a too-literal view of the model and try to eat like what they imagine or what some author describes as a diet of, say, 100,000 years ago. They may even eat only raw meat which I think is far from safe in our world of infected cattle and not-so-clean food handling. Even wild animals carry an infectious load of parasites and pathogens.
Others find a contradiction when they see how I eat and compare it to what they imagine a paleo diet to be. That I drink wine and beer and take some supplements looks to be a contradiction to the paleo model that they somehow ascribe to me. It is not a contradiction to the EF way of eating, even though it may appear to be contrary to a narrow model of paleo eating.
I have sometimes described the EF way of eating as PaleoMed, meaning a blending of paleo and mediterranean foods and cooking styles. I clearly eat far more fruits and vegetables than an ancestor of 100,000 years ago, though that would depend also on where you take the ancestral location to be. Wine and beer are also outside the paleo range, but well within the med range.
Then one has to consider modern foods. They are far from the paleo stuff of life and even not very close to med foods. Fruits are too sweet now and lack flavor and texture. Vegetables may not have sufficient mineral content and also be lacking in color, flavor, and texture. On the other hand, they are available in great variety and often year round. Moreover, one can get olive oil and wonderful spices, fresh or in a container, all the time.
Why not take advantage of the benefits of this variety and freshness? I do.
As you have seen from the many meals I have put up on the site, I go for color, texture, and freshness in all I cook. This implies a high antioxidant content and diversification in toxins and minerals. My carbs come from water-containing plants, almost exclusively. This means fresh vegetables and fruits. I do not juice vegetables or fruits (sorry Jack La Laine) because 1. it is better to chew, and 2. juicing breaks the cell walls and significantly increases the glycemic index because it increases surface area relative to mass, permitting better access of the enzymes that convert plant starch to sugar. (This is a major problem with white flour because milling creates a small particle of almost pure starch.)
The other Mediterranean aspect of my eating is the pleasure and simple enjoyment of preparing flavorful, colorful meals. And eating them without haste or TV. I cook to music and eat to music or to enjoy company when I have it. Dinner was always a special time for my wife and I.
Finally, there is the temporal pattern...Read More »
of EF eating. Never three squares a day all the time. Skipping meals is just fine. Even alternating days of little food with days a good deal of food is healthful. But, never gorging, just eating to a comfortable level. A huge meal followed by a big desert (just this one time) is an enormous shock to your metabolism. You will get such a big rush of insulin that you will turn off insulin receptors. It is like sun exposure: one big shock from a real, all-day burn is far worse for your skin (and your whole system) than more frequent moderate exposure.
Eating 5 or 6 or more times a day (to stay in positive nitrogen balance) is plain dumb (read my post on gene expression). You will build less, not more muscle, because you turn down gene expression and you sabotage your insulin sensitivity.

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

300 Hi Pulls.

All time PR with the 53. I've done 312 with the 44 but never the 53. these things come when I least expect it. I just have to be on the lookout for them and be willing to go for it when the time is right.

Nikko drobbed by to train with me today and I'm sure that had a lot to do with it. Way more energy immediately. He was pulling too, 358 for 15 singles and that made my measely 24 kg seem even lighter. wind again was solid and rest periods short.He went I went and considering he's only doing singles it was a pretty quick pace.

Hi Pull
16kgx5/5
20kgx5/5

53kgx8/8
x10/10
x12/12= 60 reps
Five rounds = 300 24 KG Hi Pulls
15,900 Foot Pounds WOW! Dats some tonnage.


These were suprisingly easy. very very solid groove and was really concentrating on creating a ballistic float on the hi pull by rooting hard and staying "on the glutes" on the hi pull part. wanted the bell to feel light in the hand at the top. also focused hard on pulling the shoulder down as the bell went up.snatched the 300th rep; just because.wind and groove were both solid.

2kb dl 28kg
8,9,10,10


overhead snatch position holds

16kgx60 sec each arm
20 kgx45 sec each arm
24 kg x 30 sec each arm

these were solid and interesting. could really stay focused on pulling the shoulder down and pushing the chest forward. will keep them in the mix with the waiters walks.

I'm seriously dehydrated it seems after sweating all night last night.

bw 162.2
bf 11%!!!


time to hydrate.

datsit, staying watered.

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...