Wednesday, June 13, 2007

I should know better

there is no keeping up with the Jones's. At least not for me and 99% of everybody else. This guy is strong. I had not forgotten but that video was a good reminder. Don't try this at home folks.



I should know this by now. I am 50 years old and have been beating my head( and other major joints) against the wall since I was 14.But inspired by Mr Jones's incredible compliation video I decided I needed to get a little more leg bend into my swing and snatch techniques and see whether I can tolerate that( I am not injured btw,so the story ends well). I always want to be stronger and Mr Jones looked AWFULLY strong in those moves.

I so wish I would have had youtube to study mechanics from when I was a wee lad as I can ( and have learned tons by studying physical movement frame by frame and in slow motion. Watching the exact mechanics of a really heavy lift teaches us so much about what really goes on in max effort lifts as opposed to what many theorize as to what goes on.
SO I decided my 'built to deadlift' swing mechanics might allow for a little more squat to 'spread the load" as Pavel says.I can do it but it's not how I'm built to maximall produce force in a posterior chain move. Just aint me. Maybe not ever and definitely not now.

ANd NOT listening to what my body was telling me to do when I was powerlifting contributed greatly to my further hurting myself, I now know. I should have been squatting with a closer stance, with an olympic boot and looking down. Just how I pull( minus the boot). SO this time I should listen to what I know to be true.
You are only really strong in one or perhaps one and a half positions. Find them, cultivate them, love them. They are precious and can be fleeting. Like a baseball players swing.Train your weakpoints. Compete your strengths.
But as my stick press is making my overhead positions more fully extended and stable the stick squat is doing the same to my lower body and my squat pattern is coming back. ANd my sumo squat stretch( floor) and Pavels hip opening stretch are doing just that.
I rotated slightly to the right to re orient myself( as per my gait) and swung that way. Felt great and I felt square even though I felt turned.Two hand swings rock! They are the power squat of the ballistic world. And swinging that 88 is no joke! My wife is tough!

Two Hand Swings
16kgx10
20kgx10

24kgx10
28kgx10
32kgx10
88kgx10 x 3 rounds. 2minute rest/sets

120 reps 5160 pounds

way off usual training schedule and decided to power up abit as I have to taper again next week and will miss normal training when I'm at the Level 2.These felt great and I was using both legs and hips and had my center of gravity much more in the middle of the base. Felt strong.If I can do these like this; and for power I will satisfied.

Snatch Practice
30 minutes of working on the snatch in sets of 5, sometimes alternated with swings.Playing with different swing grooves and hip snap timing. I am NOT a OL style snatcher as my shoulder and biceps do not like it at all. I can certainly do it well enough and it feels good my the bones dont like it,.
BUT, what the hell am I doing???? I should not worm my way back into training this as alift again, just as I cannot train the squat as a lift again. It's just stupid.

Rack Walk
one lap, 1200 feet, switching arms every 200 feet.

wow, this was good.

BW 159.5!!!
BF 9.9%
Water 59.5%


wow, I am light. Warrior diet rocked at the cert.its hot too which is great. I can always tell when i am in good shape when I am heat adapted. The heat at the cert didnt bother me at all. I love to sweat.

But one can see how easily I can , and have, gotten myself in trouble by trying to always be better than I currently am.And when I see someone doing something I know how to do I always think " hell, if he can do it I should be able to!" Or least an approximation. I love strength and always want to feel and be stronger. The better I feel the more It want to push.

Shoot for the stars, end up on the roof. Shoot for the roof, maybe not get off the floor.

11 comments:

Royce said...

Great post man. And you're right the 88 is no joke. Glad things are going good and returning to square.

Mark Reifkind said...

thanks royce. I am hoping my back can at least let me play with two hand swings once in awhile, I really dig them.

D Silveri said...

Man there is a gene that is in men that is not in women... the thought of "he does it... I can do it better!" that is the downfall to us men.

of course there is a really satisfying feeling about using the 40kg. the 48 doesnt get much use at my house.

but the 40kg makes you smile after!

Aaron Friday said...

Mr. Jones is smiling because he's so strong.

Christine said...

Dustin, we have that gene too... it's called the "oh no that b!tch didn't..." gene. :) Girljocks want to beat other Girljocks, trust me.

Brett Jones said...

Rif,
No worries - you have "been there and done that" - your accomplishments stand on their own.
Plus I don't have two joints held together with scar tissue!

Christine - "oh no..." - I almost spit my coffee out! ;)

Mark Reifkind said...

rotflmao christine. I know too you girls have your own variation of that gene.

Mark Reifkind said...

brett, thanks man but that desire never seems to leave.I have to keep remembering my limitation is not my will but my joints.
that shit just gets me psyched, though,lol!

Iron Tamer said...

Great post Rif.

I think that being around Brett, on the plane, walking around in Copenhagen, in the hotel, on the field, all that, made me stronger.

Either by osmosis or inspiration, I dunno.....

Brett Jones said...

Thanks David - must have been the danish beer.

Mark Reifkind said...

"hold my beer and watch this...."

cant wait for Denmark.

155 x 3 x 5, 160 x 3 x 5, 20 kg swings 5 x 8/8, floor pushups 40, 35

 Thought about going back to 5x5 for a hot second then my left shoulder  reminded me why I stopped doing them before. It doesn't seem to...