Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Don't think




just do it. That was my mantra today as I kicked myself into the garage to swing as hard as I could today. Mondays speed work really kick my ass and I can now see this as a pattern. Kind of CNS DOMS that hits 72 hours later,lol.Just flat. That's a problem cause if I'm too flat that 24 kg can feel might heavy.Escpecially for the 300 plus swings I want to do with it.
But it always feels better after I break a sweat( that don't take long these days) and get started and I know this so I just get out there. And I am right.But it still ain't nowhere near easy.

Just like if you want to lift heavy you have to make big jumps, if I want bigger swing numbers than I have to do higher reps per set. SO today was tens on each arm followed by DARCs. But after Monday Snatch Hell, anything is low reps and slow.

One arm swing/ DARC combination
24 kg
10/10/10 x11 sets
330 reps
17,490 pounds
max heartrate for any one set: 166
average: 154

Its also interesting that on wednesdays: I am always tired but my groove is always better,lol.Very smooth and strong. shorter strokes and LOTS of focus on just the hip snap and keeping the hips locked in longer. It's way too easy to jsut snap the hips and relax the glutes which immediately leads to me leaning too early.
Tracy is right, we need to go back and do more swing work.AS usual once I am warm this aint bad.I like getting big chunks of work cut out each set and I dont have to sacrifice power yet either.

Snatch Holds
16 kgx60 sec x 3sets
Stick slides 4 x6

Stick Shoulder extensions ( both grips) 4x8
I LOVE This exercise, it really gets all the little stuff around the scapula and mid spine.Just hold a stick behind your butt, shoulder width at arms length. With LOCKED elbows raise the stick as far back behind you as you can and feel the stretch on the front delt, biceps, radiobrachialis, prontator teres and the scapular retractor muscles contract hard! Not to mention the triceps. I do it with an overgrip and undergrip. I also use the mirror to make sure the shoulders and the stick stay perfectly level as I raise it behind me.
Think straight arm front raise with the stick behind the back! LOL> I'll get a pictureup when I can. but its easy and its great.Excellent counter stretch to the kettlebell grip muscles tightness.

Rack walks 16 kg
800 feet
800 feet

switching hands as usual every 200 feet. A bit beat by now.Don't think I ate enough last night.

rifga stretch 15 minutes ( really needed this)

I was wondering why I was getting so tight and then I realized I havent had any anti inflamms for 3 days which is a record for me lately. Like the last 7 years.So not quite ready to come all the way off but getting closer.
The foam roller and the thumper and the individualized stretching routines might not be the latest in neurological approaches to balancing the body, but just like I prefer in training I need a simple, direct hands on approach I can use daily.The bottom line for me, again just like in training, is 'am I seeing results and can I rely on myself to get it done?' And I am and thats way good enough for me now. I try not to get off horses that aren' t broken.Lord knows I've riden some broken ones for far too long.

datsit. Gotta stretch AND eat.

6 comments:

Chris said...

i really enjoy these posts on stretching / rehab type work. As I get older just functioning and being fit for life is so much more important than being strong or big. And strtching/ roller / massage has become essential for that. I still try to "Sarno" the pain sometimes - I find that stress is the big thing that kicks off the tightness in the tonic muscles - but now I'm learnign how to stretch them out when it hits.

Mark Reifkind said...

chris,
thanks and I know exactly what you mean. staying loose and 'open' as much as possible has become so much more important to me than any performance goal because I have no choice.
anything other focus really hurts.work capacity though is still climbing even as the pain and tightness goes down and stays down.
the more I do it ( stretch thump roll etc) the less intensely I have to do it and for less time as well.I have to settle for nothing less than square and plumb or things get painful and slide back to old postures.
and yes stress can kick that in in no time!

Aaron Friday said...

Your shoulder stretches rock! Thanks for all the ideas. We NEED them.

Mark Reifkind said...

yeah shoulders are tough to open when their tight. this extension one is amazing.PLUS it works the very hard to reach between the shoulder blade area in a very unique way.Plus plus it really opens up tight elbows and biceps.if the biceos are too tight the shoulders always gonna hurt.

Iron Tamer said...

When "shorter stokes", "snap the hips" and "relax the glutes" are all in the same paragraph, i still chuckle.

Good work Mark. On an unrelated note, have you ever had Structural Integration work done (some call it Rolfing)?

Mark Reifkind said...

david, I hesitated before typing shorter stroke as I knew someone would, ahem, jump on it,lol.

and yes I have had a course of rolfing done back in 1985.its worked very well but I still had ( have) the need for daily myo fascial work of some kind.

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...