I am working with more people every week getting them ready for the Level 2 cert in San Jose in February 2010 and inevitably it's the Bent Press that has them stuck. Here is the BEST tutorial ( as well as demonstation) of bent press perfection by our own SR RKC David Whitley, The IronTamer hisself in the "Shed of Strength"
Shades of Paul Anderson
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
HKC Girya Strength
Coming to Girya Kettlebell Training Studio in December, '2009.
Get your Kettlebell certification before the first of the year fitness craze!
Get your Kettlebell certification before the first of the year fitness craze!
Registration is now open for HKC certifications on December 5 and December 12 at Girya in Palo Alto Ca. Entries are limited to 12 candidates only for the most hands on kettlebell cert you will find!
Go here to register: http://www.dragondoor.com/hkc/hkc_workshops.html or contact me at
more to come.....
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
The rythym of training.
It was bound to happen. If I got my routine settled back into place, got some sleep and more food and kept trying to progress my training whenever I could I was bound to feel better. To feel strong again. To feel like I was not just hanging on for dear life and 'surviving' my training but actually getting better.
Tracy's class on Saturday with those killer high intensity 20 rep snatch sets with the 24 kg just pushed everything into place and today I stepped back into the realm of 8 rep sets in my snatch vo2 again, and it wasn't that hard. Thank God. Bout time.Even my press workout seemed so much stronger than expected.
From consistency comes intensity.And I've found from students to clients to even Elite Instructors most people have the hardest time not with any one high intensity workout or workload but stringing together workout after workout after workout.
I always tell people when they are bragging about their current program design:"don't tell me how many workouts a week you have scheduled, tell me how many you miss in the next six months."
Not traveling is SO important. I think it truly is impossible, at least it is for me, to train hard and make any real progress if one is constantly changing their day to day routine. The body thrives on regularity and routine. Just ask any elite athlete. The answer is always the same. One can survive a serious travel schedule but I don't know anybody that thrives on it.
If one is serious about making progress you have to do what needs to be done, not what one wants to do.Simple, but not easy eh?
Snatch Vo2
15:15 16 kg
45 sets of 7
5 sets of 8
355 reps
12780 lbs
This was strong from the get and I was finishing the set with 3 seconds left for at least 20 plus sets. then it settled into 2 seconds left.The biggest problem, as usual, was my overactive sweat glands and trying to keep the bell from getting wet. My HR for most of the workout as in the low 160's and didnt jump up to the 170's until the last 15 sets. I wanted to include some 8's but when I hit 45 sets so strongly I knew I should do the last 5 sets of 8. no problem. The fact that it was as humid as it has been in eons( raining humid lol) helped a lot. It's very hard for me to go fast when I am cold or it's really dry. so the environment helped alot. I'll take it.
Hopefully this will hold and I will try to do 10 sets of 8 at the end next week and increase the loads again. when I can do 50 sets of 8 I will increase total sets. we'll see :))
KB Mil Press
20 kg x2/2
24 kgx1/1
28 kgx1/1
32 kg x1/1/1/1 ( this is a recent best. recleaned each rep.NO problem. Can't wait to get my 36 kg!
28 kgx1/1
24 kg x3/3
presses feel awesome and for some reason seem to really work at the end of snatch speed day. Who knows why? Maybe it takes that much for me to warmup. don't care. it's working.
datsit
Tracy's class on Saturday with those killer high intensity 20 rep snatch sets with the 24 kg just pushed everything into place and today I stepped back into the realm of 8 rep sets in my snatch vo2 again, and it wasn't that hard. Thank God. Bout time.Even my press workout seemed so much stronger than expected.
From consistency comes intensity.And I've found from students to clients to even Elite Instructors most people have the hardest time not with any one high intensity workout or workload but stringing together workout after workout after workout.
I always tell people when they are bragging about their current program design:"don't tell me how many workouts a week you have scheduled, tell me how many you miss in the next six months."
Not traveling is SO important. I think it truly is impossible, at least it is for me, to train hard and make any real progress if one is constantly changing their day to day routine. The body thrives on regularity and routine. Just ask any elite athlete. The answer is always the same. One can survive a serious travel schedule but I don't know anybody that thrives on it.
If one is serious about making progress you have to do what needs to be done, not what one wants to do.Simple, but not easy eh?
Snatch Vo2
15:15 16 kg
45 sets of 7
5 sets of 8
355 reps
12780 lbs
This was strong from the get and I was finishing the set with 3 seconds left for at least 20 plus sets. then it settled into 2 seconds left.The biggest problem, as usual, was my overactive sweat glands and trying to keep the bell from getting wet. My HR for most of the workout as in the low 160's and didnt jump up to the 170's until the last 15 sets. I wanted to include some 8's but when I hit 45 sets so strongly I knew I should do the last 5 sets of 8. no problem. The fact that it was as humid as it has been in eons( raining humid lol) helped a lot. It's very hard for me to go fast when I am cold or it's really dry. so the environment helped alot. I'll take it.
Hopefully this will hold and I will try to do 10 sets of 8 at the end next week and increase the loads again. when I can do 50 sets of 8 I will increase total sets. we'll see :))
KB Mil Press
20 kg x2/2
24 kgx1/1
28 kgx1/1
32 kg x1/1/1/1 ( this is a recent best. recleaned each rep.NO problem. Can't wait to get my 36 kg!
28 kgx1/1
24 kg x3/3
presses feel awesome and for some reason seem to really work at the end of snatch speed day. Who knows why? Maybe it takes that much for me to warmup. don't care. it's working.
datsit
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Bikram Yoga Master Class
After the morning's beatdown I was not sure what to expect in our 2 hour Master class at our Bikram studio;especially after the dissapointing experience we had at the last one. But I went in with an open mind and a body that wasn't too beat up, yet.
I've been feeling much stronger lately and it feels right to push myself a bit.And I knew this would be a push, I just didn't know how much or how far.
I had never been to a posture clinic/class and didn't know how much actual regular practice we would be doing versus corrective technical stuff. All I knew was that I only had to survive two hours. Just a half hour more than a normal class. That's nothing. Had to be.
I could tell right away after meeting Master Instructor Michael Harris from Yoga College of India, Bend Oregon, that he had something special. There was a calmness and confidence that was immediate aparrent to me. He opened with the ideas of intuition and starting each practice fresh, raking the ground clean and planting new seeds.I like both those ideas and I was ready to see what the training was going to be like.
When we started class and he had us do about ten million pranayama's and then hold half moon for what seemed forever I knew his calm exterior belied a serious ,serious yoga guy. Pain and suffering were part of the process, and testing limits was right there to. He would just torture us in the most loving kind way,lol.
Calm assertive as the Dog Whisperer would say.
And when I asked a posture question about which position to focus on improving first in my arms overhead position for half moon; should I concentrate more on locking my elbows and getting my arms fully overhead before trying to increase sideways depth he shut me up by making me get my arms overhead as he instructed( straight out to the sides) then lock my elbows and pull my head into position instead of my trying to get my arms back I knew he knew. He knew of what he spoke,as Tracy would say.
Like any good Zen Master he focused not on the words but the action. I shut up.
BUT, he also confirmed my belief ,via another's question, that the locked leg in standing forward head to knee is NOT about the strongest way to stand on one leg but FOR the back strengthening series!
When the knee locks the glute is taken out of the equation and the load is more on the hammies and back. This is not the safest position for the back, as they say, but is done for a much different reason.I just wish they all would know that. Hey, at least I got my answer and can feel good about going about getting my knee locked in a different way.
Using my intuition, as Michael said. I like that.
The class went very slow, then very fast and things were good except standing series went for almost 1.5 hours and I was gassing. But I never sat out a pose,although I took a knee more than a few times as he was doing corrections on others or answering questions.
He had a perfect sense of rythym and timing and never let us wait too long to get back to the practice, lest we cool off, even in the 105 degree heat. Really solid work, I learned a lot.
The guy is the real deal, I could tell. It's so cool to be in the presence of people like that,especially since their are so many poseurs out there. You know this guy has a serious serious personal practice.
That's why he can know of what he speaks, because he has found out the hard way. The right way. The only way.
I've been feeling much stronger lately and it feels right to push myself a bit.And I knew this would be a push, I just didn't know how much or how far.
I had never been to a posture clinic/class and didn't know how much actual regular practice we would be doing versus corrective technical stuff. All I knew was that I only had to survive two hours. Just a half hour more than a normal class. That's nothing. Had to be.
I could tell right away after meeting Master Instructor Michael Harris from Yoga College of India, Bend Oregon, that he had something special. There was a calmness and confidence that was immediate aparrent to me. He opened with the ideas of intuition and starting each practice fresh, raking the ground clean and planting new seeds.I like both those ideas and I was ready to see what the training was going to be like.
When we started class and he had us do about ten million pranayama's and then hold half moon for what seemed forever I knew his calm exterior belied a serious ,serious yoga guy. Pain and suffering were part of the process, and testing limits was right there to. He would just torture us in the most loving kind way,lol.
Calm assertive as the Dog Whisperer would say.
And when I asked a posture question about which position to focus on improving first in my arms overhead position for half moon; should I concentrate more on locking my elbows and getting my arms fully overhead before trying to increase sideways depth he shut me up by making me get my arms overhead as he instructed( straight out to the sides) then lock my elbows and pull my head into position instead of my trying to get my arms back I knew he knew. He knew of what he spoke,as Tracy would say.
Like any good Zen Master he focused not on the words but the action. I shut up.
BUT, he also confirmed my belief ,via another's question, that the locked leg in standing forward head to knee is NOT about the strongest way to stand on one leg but FOR the back strengthening series!
When the knee locks the glute is taken out of the equation and the load is more on the hammies and back. This is not the safest position for the back, as they say, but is done for a much different reason.I just wish they all would know that. Hey, at least I got my answer and can feel good about going about getting my knee locked in a different way.
Using my intuition, as Michael said. I like that.
The class went very slow, then very fast and things were good except standing series went for almost 1.5 hours and I was gassing. But I never sat out a pose,although I took a knee more than a few times as he was doing corrections on others or answering questions.
He had a perfect sense of rythym and timing and never let us wait too long to get back to the practice, lest we cool off, even in the 105 degree heat. Really solid work, I learned a lot.
The guy is the real deal, I could tell. It's so cool to be in the presence of people like that,especially since their are so many poseurs out there. You know this guy has a serious serious personal practice.
That's why he can know of what he speaks, because he has found out the hard way. The right way. The only way.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Friday, October 09, 2009
Grace;you gotta be there when it shows up.
Who woulda thunk it? Had the strongest Bikrams practice I've had in many, many moons. My client cancelled so I could go with Tracy to the 12 noon class which is my second favorite time next to 8 am. I really didnt think I would be strong today but things started out good and got even better. Everything felt solid and this was the first time in recent memory, perhaps ever, that I did not cut short any pose at all, and, if fact, sprinted through the finish line.Now it is true that the instructor did not hold the poses long, and in fact shorted them a bit but today it wouldnt have mattered.
I always love to say that they key thing to training is, arcane periodization cycles aside, is showing up, day after day, doing your best and waiting for the gods to smile on you AND being smart enough to jump on it when you are feeling strong and ready to push it.Today was one of those days, as usual, when you would least expect it.
The fact that I hardly drank any water for the first hour spoke volumes as well.Usually I am drinking pretty regularly and as much as I can at regular intervals but today felt no need to drink.I felt calm, strong and in the moment.This experience, being in the flow, in the moment is what I lived for for most of my athletic life. There is almost nothing like it.The calmness, the ease, the perfection of the moment, no matter how good or bad it is.It still feels strong.
And strong feels good. Haven't felt strong in quite some time but I've kept showing up and waiting for it,hoping for it, praying for it.And then it appears. How cool.Havent felt in the stream in so long but there it was, like I had never left. So easy, so calm.So strong.
And tomorrow is a big day. Heavy snatches with Tracy at her class in the early AM and then a Master Class for yoga at noon. this will be fun. I'm ready.
datsit.
I always love to say that they key thing to training is, arcane periodization cycles aside, is showing up, day after day, doing your best and waiting for the gods to smile on you AND being smart enough to jump on it when you are feeling strong and ready to push it.Today was one of those days, as usual, when you would least expect it.
The fact that I hardly drank any water for the first hour spoke volumes as well.Usually I am drinking pretty regularly and as much as I can at regular intervals but today felt no need to drink.I felt calm, strong and in the moment.This experience, being in the flow, in the moment is what I lived for for most of my athletic life. There is almost nothing like it.The calmness, the ease, the perfection of the moment, no matter how good or bad it is.It still feels strong.
And strong feels good. Haven't felt strong in quite some time but I've kept showing up and waiting for it,hoping for it, praying for it.And then it appears. How cool.Havent felt in the stream in so long but there it was, like I had never left. So easy, so calm.So strong.
And tomorrow is a big day. Heavy snatches with Tracy at her class in the early AM and then a Master Class for yoga at noon. this will be fun. I'm ready.
datsit.
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Bikram bodybuilding and Snatch Vo2, tues and wed training
We are actually getting back to some semblance of a training schedule now and I made tuesday Bikrams 12 noon class as planned. And, as I expected I got my ass kicked. It was nice when I was fresh but I wasn't on tuesday and it was a struggle. That was fine and I pushed through the best I could but it was one LONG hour on my feet through the standing series and the room seemed hotter and more humid than on Sunday. It was just me, I'm sure, as Tracy had no problems with it.
It struck me though, just how much tension is involved in doing the 26 postures. Well, if one is doing them correctly, as instructed. Hey for me just locking my elbows out completely overhead in half moon is crazy hard on the triceps and delts and makes lats and serratus stretch like crazy; which, of course, is just another form of contraction and hence, tension. Tension tension everywhere.Just like bodybuilding, lol.
I definitely saw a difference in muscle tone ; a decrease, over the two weeks I didn't practice more than once a week. Locking everything out,especially all the shoulder holds really ,really really works the crap out of the upper body,lol!Awkward series got me and I had to drop my arms for a bit. Just a bit but I was hurtin'.I really focus on using my lats to hold my shoulders in place during those postures and they were just tired from saturday and sunday.no worries, I just accepted that was the limit that day but it weren't no fun.
Not really supposed to be. Especially with Bikrams favorite phrase as the tag line: " the right way is the hard way". Perfect. I was going the right way then.
No tweaks though and pretty fast recovery for today which was snatch vo2 which I also havent done in weeks,lol. RIGHT into the deep end of the pool. this was gonna hurt.
Of course Tracy was doing her workout with me using the 16 kg for sets of 6 as her easy max day so I had no choice but to man up. It really showed me how much attitude effects my strength and endurance. sleep or wine notwithstanding.
Snatch vo2
16 kg
15:15
49 sets of 7
1 set of 8
351 reps
12,636 lbs/25 minutes
505 lbs per minute/lol
this went well and my form took over. I focused as much on 'standing up with my whole body' rather than concentrating on using my hips or back or pulling the bell in. Stand up with everything was my manta.I also got the images of WSB style power goodmornings where I visualized my back as the lead extensor in the whole extensor chain. First arch it up, which open up the hips which give the knees the right leverage to finish extension. And, standing up with everything. A jump if you will.Worked well.
Tracy commented that even though I was doing sevens I was going at an 8 rep pace which is true, I always try to snatch as fast as I can that day, even if I have a second or two left over in the 15 sec. I know it's not VWC correct but neither is doing this only once a week,which I have now for 3 years!Some days that acceleration is good, somedays not so good.the key is that it's the best I can muster than workout.
KB Military press
20 kg x3/3
24 kgx2/2
28 kgx1/1
32 kg x1/1
40 clean loaded clean and mentally press
this went so well! the 32 felt light and grooved perfectly. and the 40 kg loaded clean, well I haven't cleaned that in years so I was really happy. I will keep the load high and the volume though on these. I have to remember than I am remembering how to press, not training the press.
I could feel how being so light now will be tough on the Bulldog press.It's more than half my bodyweight!How cool will that be when I press it.
My lats got worked over well in all these clean and presses too. Can't wait to pullup again, too.
Day off tomorrow.
datsit.
It struck me though, just how much tension is involved in doing the 26 postures. Well, if one is doing them correctly, as instructed. Hey for me just locking my elbows out completely overhead in half moon is crazy hard on the triceps and delts and makes lats and serratus stretch like crazy; which, of course, is just another form of contraction and hence, tension. Tension tension everywhere.Just like bodybuilding, lol.
I definitely saw a difference in muscle tone ; a decrease, over the two weeks I didn't practice more than once a week. Locking everything out,especially all the shoulder holds really ,really really works the crap out of the upper body,lol!Awkward series got me and I had to drop my arms for a bit. Just a bit but I was hurtin'.I really focus on using my lats to hold my shoulders in place during those postures and they were just tired from saturday and sunday.no worries, I just accepted that was the limit that day but it weren't no fun.
Not really supposed to be. Especially with Bikrams favorite phrase as the tag line: " the right way is the hard way". Perfect. I was going the right way then.
No tweaks though and pretty fast recovery for today which was snatch vo2 which I also havent done in weeks,lol. RIGHT into the deep end of the pool. this was gonna hurt.
Of course Tracy was doing her workout with me using the 16 kg for sets of 6 as her easy max day so I had no choice but to man up. It really showed me how much attitude effects my strength and endurance. sleep or wine notwithstanding.
Snatch vo2
16 kg
15:15
49 sets of 7
1 set of 8
351 reps
12,636 lbs/25 minutes
505 lbs per minute/lol
this went well and my form took over. I focused as much on 'standing up with my whole body' rather than concentrating on using my hips or back or pulling the bell in. Stand up with everything was my manta.I also got the images of WSB style power goodmornings where I visualized my back as the lead extensor in the whole extensor chain. First arch it up, which open up the hips which give the knees the right leverage to finish extension. And, standing up with everything. A jump if you will.Worked well.
Tracy commented that even though I was doing sevens I was going at an 8 rep pace which is true, I always try to snatch as fast as I can that day, even if I have a second or two left over in the 15 sec. I know it's not VWC correct but neither is doing this only once a week,which I have now for 3 years!Some days that acceleration is good, somedays not so good.the key is that it's the best I can muster than workout.
KB Military press
20 kg x3/3
24 kgx2/2
28 kgx1/1
32 kg x1/1
40 clean loaded clean and mentally press
this went so well! the 32 felt light and grooved perfectly. and the 40 kg loaded clean, well I haven't cleaned that in years so I was really happy. I will keep the load high and the volume though on these. I have to remember than I am remembering how to press, not training the press.
I could feel how being so light now will be tough on the Bulldog press.It's more than half my bodyweight!How cool will that be when I press it.
My lats got worked over well in all these clean and presses too. Can't wait to pullup again, too.
Day off tomorrow.
datsit.
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Like riding a bike- up a steep hill.
That's what my Bikrams instructor told me this morning as we walked into class and I said I hoped I remembered how to do the class, it felt like it had been so long since I practiced. "Ah", he said, "you'll remember,it's just like riding a bike, up a steep hill".
And that is so true.
Actually it wasn't that bad at all,even though Tracy and I forced ourselves to the 8 am class.I think it's better to take the beating before you are fully concious and can really feel how hard it is. Plus, it wakes you right up.The heat actually felt good too, as the fall weather is setting in and my blood is still thin from all the outside summer certs and lots of great zinfandel :))
My engine runs hot all the time and doing Bikrams in the summer is a lot like adding insult to injury.In the winter it's a great respite from the cold( I know I like in Cali and it's not really "cold". But I also went to school in Iowa so I do know cold and 30 degrees is still cold to me no matter what the summer was like.
Anyway, as usual I was stronger from the layoff and for a change my conditioning felt alright as well.Being ready for some heat helped too.
I AM tight as crap though and that was apparent right from the gate. Pranayama went well but as soon as I got, or should I say "tried" to get my arms overhead for half moon and back bend series I could really see how much overhead and thoracic flexibility I had lost.It felt good to really reach tall and open up the rectus and obliques and lats.Still my arms didnt want to lock out and my shoulders felt super tight.
Ditto on the forward bend and it was interesting to do poses with my feet THAT close together( heels and toes touching). That rarely happens in real life but what a big stretch it is.
Lower back felt a bit fragile as I haven't done much flexion like that lately so I took it easy.
Still that HUGE sweat after the first series was a welcome relief,like diving in a pool. A heated pool but a pool nonetheless.
The standing series always kicks my ass and today was no exception.When you can't get your knee to fully lock out with NO weight on it trying to keep it as locked out as possible while similtaneously pull the other leg up and bend over completely is quite the trick.I have to focus on so many things that aren't working every second of the pose that's it's very hard to know exactly what to concentrate on most.
One of the contradictions in Bikrams is their constant admonishments to push "beyond your flexibility" and to take each pose to it's fullest expression regardless of your current level of flexibilty and mastery as well as to do each component perfectly and not move beyond that one stage until it is mastered!Well which one Sir?
The dialogue speaks to the students as if eveyone can do the pose correctly and the main goal is taking it further and further into the 'fullest' expression.
And I'm still trying to stand on my left leg and keep my knee locked out enough to grab my right foot while bent over and not shift to much to the left to center myself,lol. Lots of fun.
So I focus on what I think is the most important element that day and, as usual ,my breath and meditating through the 90 minutes.
I want to work at 80 % of my physical ability and as close to 100% of my mental ability that day.The mind leads the body and the breath leads the mind.I can only push as hard as I can maintain my breathing and today was solid.I didnt get ahead of myself physically or mentally.
Things were tight though and I gave up after six tries to get my left knee to bend enough to get into standing bow pulling pose.I went into my own variation for the remaining 30 seconds and did get it for the second set. But That hasn't happened in awhile.
Right now I am set for two solid days of yoga( sunday and tuesday, with an optional third on Fridays.Friday means 4:30 pm and I loathe that.We'll see. Two good days will be fine.I need recovery as much as anything and I can really tell since the layoff that yoga, although it stretches me out, creates as much tension in the body from the static poses as lots of traditional lifting can.at least for me.especially all that one legged stuff on my bad side.Got to make sure I balance it out with as much relaxation stuff.
tomorrow perhaps a couple hi rep clubbell sets.
datsit.
,
And that is so true.
Actually it wasn't that bad at all,even though Tracy and I forced ourselves to the 8 am class.I think it's better to take the beating before you are fully concious and can really feel how hard it is. Plus, it wakes you right up.The heat actually felt good too, as the fall weather is setting in and my blood is still thin from all the outside summer certs and lots of great zinfandel :))
My engine runs hot all the time and doing Bikrams in the summer is a lot like adding insult to injury.In the winter it's a great respite from the cold( I know I like in Cali and it's not really "cold". But I also went to school in Iowa so I do know cold and 30 degrees is still cold to me no matter what the summer was like.
Anyway, as usual I was stronger from the layoff and for a change my conditioning felt alright as well.Being ready for some heat helped too.
I AM tight as crap though and that was apparent right from the gate. Pranayama went well but as soon as I got, or should I say "tried" to get my arms overhead for half moon and back bend series I could really see how much overhead and thoracic flexibility I had lost.It felt good to really reach tall and open up the rectus and obliques and lats.Still my arms didnt want to lock out and my shoulders felt super tight.
Ditto on the forward bend and it was interesting to do poses with my feet THAT close together( heels and toes touching). That rarely happens in real life but what a big stretch it is.
Lower back felt a bit fragile as I haven't done much flexion like that lately so I took it easy.
Still that HUGE sweat after the first series was a welcome relief,like diving in a pool. A heated pool but a pool nonetheless.
The standing series always kicks my ass and today was no exception.When you can't get your knee to fully lock out with NO weight on it trying to keep it as locked out as possible while similtaneously pull the other leg up and bend over completely is quite the trick.I have to focus on so many things that aren't working every second of the pose that's it's very hard to know exactly what to concentrate on most.
One of the contradictions in Bikrams is their constant admonishments to push "beyond your flexibility" and to take each pose to it's fullest expression regardless of your current level of flexibilty and mastery as well as to do each component perfectly and not move beyond that one stage until it is mastered!Well which one Sir?
The dialogue speaks to the students as if eveyone can do the pose correctly and the main goal is taking it further and further into the 'fullest' expression.
And I'm still trying to stand on my left leg and keep my knee locked out enough to grab my right foot while bent over and not shift to much to the left to center myself,lol. Lots of fun.
So I focus on what I think is the most important element that day and, as usual ,my breath and meditating through the 90 minutes.
I want to work at 80 % of my physical ability and as close to 100% of my mental ability that day.The mind leads the body and the breath leads the mind.I can only push as hard as I can maintain my breathing and today was solid.I didnt get ahead of myself physically or mentally.
Things were tight though and I gave up after six tries to get my left knee to bend enough to get into standing bow pulling pose.I went into my own variation for the remaining 30 seconds and did get it for the second set. But That hasn't happened in awhile.
Right now I am set for two solid days of yoga( sunday and tuesday, with an optional third on Fridays.Friday means 4:30 pm and I loathe that.We'll see. Two good days will be fine.I need recovery as much as anything and I can really tell since the layoff that yoga, although it stretches me out, creates as much tension in the body from the static poses as lots of traditional lifting can.at least for me.especially all that one legged stuff on my bad side.Got to make sure I balance it out with as much relaxation stuff.
tomorrow perhaps a couple hi rep clubbell sets.
datsit.
,
Saturday, October 03, 2009
Snatches and swings.
Back to basics, and how humbling it is. I haven't trained swings for volume in eons and it was very apparent this morning. Now, granted I am just getting back into volume type training but I was surprised at how much they hit different things than just the snatches I have been doing.
Now I will have to cut snatch volume back, at least at first, to accomodate doing more swings but I think that's fine for now. I have had a year straight of almost all snatches and my 50,000 reps are going to get there so I can change course a little now.
Had to train very early this am to accomdate Nick and it was COLD too, so I took it very slow to get started. I also took my passive warmup Russian Style 10 min HOT bath to get things less stiff. I always know winter is upon me when I start taking baths before my workouts again.
Snatches
12 kgx8/8
16 kg x 8/8x2 32 reps 512 lbs
16kgx5/5/5/5 x2 20 reps 720
20 kgx 5/5 10 reps 440
20 kgx5/5/3/3 16 reps 704
20 kgx5/5/5/5x3 60 reps 2640
24 kg x 5/5 10 reps x 3 30 reps 1590
106 reps total
4206 lbs
pretty weak but it's a start. need more sleep and food.
one arm swings
20 kg x 10/10 x 3 60 reps 2640
24 kg x 8/8 x 3 48 reps 2544
these felt good. did them barefoot as opposed to wearing my OL boot as I do on snatches. what can I say, I'm weird, biomechanically,lol. at least.flat foot feels much better for my swings and the heel works better for the snatch.considering my still too tight right shoulder I'm not suprised. hey it works. Plus I really felt my glutes much better and I think my back can now handle more glute work. we'll see.
back to yoga tomorrow too. now THAT should be fun.
it's been awhile.I can already feel my hammies getting tight so I'm off to do some floor work
datsit.
Now I will have to cut snatch volume back, at least at first, to accomodate doing more swings but I think that's fine for now. I have had a year straight of almost all snatches and my 50,000 reps are going to get there so I can change course a little now.
Had to train very early this am to accomdate Nick and it was COLD too, so I took it very slow to get started. I also took my passive warmup Russian Style 10 min HOT bath to get things less stiff. I always know winter is upon me when I start taking baths before my workouts again.
Snatches
12 kgx8/8
16 kg x 8/8x2 32 reps 512 lbs
16kgx5/5/5/5 x2 20 reps 720
20 kgx 5/5 10 reps 440
20 kgx5/5/3/3 16 reps 704
20 kgx5/5/5/5x3 60 reps 2640
24 kg x 5/5 10 reps x 3 30 reps 1590
106 reps total
4206 lbs
pretty weak but it's a start. need more sleep and food.
one arm swings
20 kg x 10/10 x 3 60 reps 2640
24 kg x 8/8 x 3 48 reps 2544
these felt good. did them barefoot as opposed to wearing my OL boot as I do on snatches. what can I say, I'm weird, biomechanically,lol. at least.flat foot feels much better for my swings and the heel works better for the snatch.considering my still too tight right shoulder I'm not suprised. hey it works. Plus I really felt my glutes much better and I think my back can now handle more glute work. we'll see.
back to yoga tomorrow too. now THAT should be fun.
it's been awhile.I can already feel my hammies getting tight so I'm off to do some floor work
datsit.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Off season training begins; the New Year
At the HKC
In the Jewish calender we just began the new year last week.The RKC cert season just came to a close for me this weekend so I began my new year of training today as well.It feels like I havent trained for real forever and it was hard, as usual, getting started except that I really FELT like training, for a change. I could feel my body getting softer and weaker lately and I hate that. I was ready to get under some weight even though my non trainin inertia was trying it's best to hold me back. Not going to happen and I was well rested, motivated by the power of the HKC and all it's possibilities and the desire to get some of my old goals accomplished this year.
I knew I wasn't going to benefit from the hard and fast training of snatch Vo2( my nervous system couldn't handle it anyway) but I wanted to mix things up a bit. So I did.
Snatch
16 kg x 10/10
12/12
14/14:72 reps 2592 lbs
20 kg x 8/8
10/10
12/12:60 reps 2640 lbs
24 kg x 5/5
6/6
7/7
5/5: 60 reps 3180 lbs
16 kg x 20/20 40 reps 1440
232 total reps
8412 lbs
Tracy trained with me today, doing my exact 'sets and reps' style workout as she had done max vo2 yesterday. probably a bit boring for her but she snatched the 16 kg for those same sets and reps like it was nothing.
My groove felt solid and the weight light. Things moved fast as well and I havent done so many hi rep sets since the last 36:36 protocol and that was only on one arm at a time. my wind held well and the 20/20 down set was almost fun. I like training ladders like this and haven't done so for a long time.
It reminds me very much of my bodybuilding training where you are always adding weight or reps to the set, then finishing with a light, but intense, down set for a good pump. I wanted to get a bit of a pump today and wake up my lazy of late body. worked great.
KB Military Press
20 kg x 4/4 ( one clean per press)
24 kg x 3/3
28 kg x 2/2
32 kgx1/1
this went great! The 32 kg went up like lightening!AND my shoulder felt( feels) fine. excellent. just have to moderate the volume of this AND the bottoms up presses as well as keep my flexibility and shoulder mobility up. I really appreciate the press and whatever natural talent and leverage I have for it so much more now.
I finally also get to work with Tracy on her pressing now and she easily pressed the 12, 14 and 16 kg with both arms with my patented 'mind spot'. lol. she will press the 16 kg and more with no 'mind spot' very soon.Just the begining of her kb strength phase. Can't wait to see how strong she will get.
25 lb Clubbell
two handed arm cast 10/10
two handed arm cast barbarian press 8/8
two handed sheild cast 8/8
two handed sheild cast, barbarian press 5/5
one arm cleans 5/5 x 2
these went great as well I felt solid in the one arm clean for a change .I will convert that into one arm clean then arm cast soon. I need 20 lb clubbells for sure. they are on the list.
very good start back to getting into the best shape I have been in in years.here we go!
datsit.
I knew I wasn't going to benefit from the hard and fast training of snatch Vo2( my nervous system couldn't handle it anyway) but I wanted to mix things up a bit. So I did.
Snatch
16 kg x 10/10
12/12
14/14:72 reps 2592 lbs
20 kg x 8/8
10/10
12/12:60 reps 2640 lbs
24 kg x 5/5
6/6
7/7
5/5: 60 reps 3180 lbs
16 kg x 20/20 40 reps 1440
232 total reps
8412 lbs
Tracy trained with me today, doing my exact 'sets and reps' style workout as she had done max vo2 yesterday. probably a bit boring for her but she snatched the 16 kg for those same sets and reps like it was nothing.
My groove felt solid and the weight light. Things moved fast as well and I havent done so many hi rep sets since the last 36:36 protocol and that was only on one arm at a time. my wind held well and the 20/20 down set was almost fun. I like training ladders like this and haven't done so for a long time.
It reminds me very much of my bodybuilding training where you are always adding weight or reps to the set, then finishing with a light, but intense, down set for a good pump. I wanted to get a bit of a pump today and wake up my lazy of late body. worked great.
KB Military Press
20 kg x 4/4 ( one clean per press)
24 kg x 3/3
28 kg x 2/2
32 kgx1/1
this went great! The 32 kg went up like lightening!AND my shoulder felt( feels) fine. excellent. just have to moderate the volume of this AND the bottoms up presses as well as keep my flexibility and shoulder mobility up. I really appreciate the press and whatever natural talent and leverage I have for it so much more now.
I finally also get to work with Tracy on her pressing now and she easily pressed the 12, 14 and 16 kg with both arms with my patented 'mind spot'. lol. she will press the 16 kg and more with no 'mind spot' very soon.Just the begining of her kb strength phase. Can't wait to see how strong she will get.
25 lb Clubbell
two handed arm cast 10/10
two handed arm cast barbarian press 8/8
two handed sheild cast 8/8
two handed sheild cast, barbarian press 5/5
one arm cleans 5/5 x 2
these went great as well I felt solid in the one arm clean for a change .I will convert that into one arm clean then arm cast soon. I need 20 lb clubbells for sure. they are on the list.
very good start back to getting into the best shape I have been in in years.here we go!
datsit.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Back from the HKC
Just got back in from St Paul and an incredible weekend at the innaugural HKC, certification. Hardstyle Kettlebell Certified! 130 candidates showed up for a one day program minimum intensive with the best and most important techniques and details of the best of the RKC exercises. It was even better than expected and the students and the instructors were amazed at how much got done.
It was lead by the Chief Instructor himself, Pavel , with all the Masters and almost all the Senior Instructors( SRKC Sara Cheatam could not make it) leading the ten teams!What an unreal sight. Luckily the weather held( it was supposed to rain) and we cooked instead of gotten soaked!Rain would not have been fun but it went perfectly.
The candidates showed in pretty decent shape but realized pretty quickly just how much there was to learn about such simple exercises,lol. This cert is going to be huge and will expose the basics of the RKC system to more people than you can shake a stick at.AND, I get to run these certs too! Way freakin' cool. The rollout for this is just beginning and it's just going to get very big very fast. I want to convert Girya into the Northern California HKC Central! I want to make it possible to work with as many people as possible at Girya for these certifications as well as going out to other locations to certify instructors in the basics of Hardstyle Kettlebell training.
This will mainly involve making as much space as possible and buying even more kettlebells. This can be done!
We've also got to get our " how to program the KB swing" book and dvd going. Lots and lots to do. But mainly I NEED to get some kind of training rythym going again, and fast.it feels like I havent worked out for real in a LONG time, much less done any serious yoga. I'm going to be one hurting puppy on all fronts very quickly. Can't wait.
We've also got to get our " how to program the KB swing" book and dvd going. Lots and lots to do. But mainly I NEED to get some kind of training rythym going again, and fast.it feels like I havent worked out for real in a LONG time, much less done any serious yoga. I'm going to be one hurting puppy on all fronts very quickly. Can't wait.
I also need some rest but I don't know if I'm going to be getting much of that with all this new activity that will be going on.
Tracy was there of course and was assisting for Master Instructor Brett Jones, so she is pumped up to start doing these certs locally as well. I have a built in brilliant assistant for my certs! Perfect. AS well as the incomparably competent Jordan Vezina. This year should be very interesting.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Strength training.
When I was still pressing.Back to the future.After all the traveling, walking and heat tolerance training I've been doing in the last month, not to mention the last week, my comeback workout today was definitely not going to be max vo2. I do not need to sweat anymore for a couple days and I need to get my base level strength back not my endurance.
The combination of travel not enough sleep or food always plays havoc with my endurance anyway. Today needed to be heavy.
Although what would constitute heavy was anyone's guess,lol.
I did get to train first thing this am, which I love, as two of my clients are on vacation. What a luxury and how I miss it. I used to arrange my life so I could train first, when my focus and concentration were at it's peak. That was then and now reality takes precedence, so the times when I do get to train first is such a gift.
Of course I am stiff as a board these days early so it does take more warmup but that's no issue. Some Z neural warmup and some rifga stretches and I am good to go.
Snatches were first up on the schedule
warmups
12kg x5/5x2
16 kg x5/5 x2
20 kg x5/5 x2
24 kg x5/5 x 10 sets
100 reps
5300 lbs
not bad at all. speed of reps was solid although I did have to moderate my technique( less swing snatch and more vertical) as my lats were tight from all the sitting and the bottoms up misses and I felt my spine say: nah.
Switched to a style with a little more leg drive and all was good. Each of the reps was held overhead solidly and the last one for 3-5 seconds for good measure.
KB Military press
I don't know what's got into me but I think I may be able to train the press more regularly and NOT aggravate my right side rotator cuff and teres major.Maybe taking two years off all pressing and doing nothing but rehab, corrective drills and Z has paid off?
Not doing any bottoms up pressing on my right side this weekend left it raring to go to do something and everything went up like an empty bell. Course it was light but hey, its hours later now and I don't feel any worse for the work
20 kg x5/5
24 kg x3/3
28 kg x3/3
No problem! I could easily press the 32kg but want to save something.It felt more solid than ever and that has me excited! I will probably put these in on Saturdays after heavy snatches and keep the volume down. I also will alternate regular presses with bottoms up presses.Man I have missed these! Lets hope the shoulder holds together as it should.I also want to include more cleans in the workouts, including double bell cleans.
Now I want to press the Bulldog. Bottoms up the 32 kg and Military press the 40 kg. Good solid goals.
CB Arm casts
15 lb CB x 8/8 x 4 sets
CB Shield Casts
15 lb cb x 8/8x 3 sets
CB standing bench
15 lbx 3 sets of 6/6 ( these were interesting, havent done doubles in quite some time)
Finally my work loads are coming back up. and not bad either just one day off the cert. things are looking up.
datsit.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Exceeding Structural Limitations
Tracy, my able assistant instructor Kelli, James of Team Rif( winner of the technique competition!) Wynne and Steve from Kenneths and Coach Dan Johns( I believe) team and myself at our group dinner Sept 2009 RKC.We all have structural limitations, every one of us. It matters not if you are a 21 year old elite athlete or a 52 year ex elite athlete, we all live in the world of space /time and are subject to the laws of physics and the reality of ligament strength and stability.Even ifthe thresholds are extremely high there are still limits they and must be approached with caution.
Mine are just that more readily apparent.
I know what I know because of how I have lived the last 38 years training,competing and working on recovery with a seriously messed up left knee. This is no more apparent when I go from my normal routine to a four day adventure otherwise known as the RKC.
I used to train for competition. Now I train for life. And spending four days on my feet walking standing and demonstrating becomes the challenge.Especially when I do more in the those four days that approach the structural limits of my knee and my will power than I do in the month preceding it.
It's not the workload so much, although for these weekends the most basic functions of life, standing and walking, become my competition, my Rite of Passage. The goal: to go as long as possible and strongly as possible and recover as quickly as possible. All the while showing no pain. So its' 12-13 hours on the field each day followed by business dinners and meetings. The hard part is NOT getting the 1-2 hours a day my knee, hamstring and calf needs for stretching, rolling, deep tissue work and structural balancing to keep the surrounding hamstrings, calf and IT bands from just knotting themselves up into a seriously painful chuck of tension that can takes days or even a week to unravel.Once tonic muscles lock down into spasm,especially if they are attached to hypermobile joints , they can resist opening like a moray eels' vise clamp of a jaw on your hand.
Everything affects everything else and once I lock up my hamstring and calf nothing good happens to my gait. Especially if I don't take the almost stupid amount of time it takes to work it out.
It's here I learned for real that the real limitations of training are NOT what workout you can conjure up, but what you can recover from, no matter what the level we are talking about.
I know it's not that tough for most because my right leg feels fine and normal. A bit tired and sore(especially when it has to compensate for what my left refuses to do) but no where near what the left feels like.
The knee could be replaced, should be replaced and will be replaced some day but not now. Too much to do and I'm not excited about the down time, not to mention I don't have the best confidence in Doctors or medical science at all. I would rather be in control of my stress levels on the leg and the recovery process to advance my ability to do work on it. And its been going great. But certs always kick its ass and this one was no exception. ALl I need is a bunch of time on the floor and the roller and just relaxing with my legs up and the tv on. Real downtime.
And it will get done because this coming weekend is the inagrual HKC cert and I will be there with my lovely wife to work with those hearty souls that want to join the RKC/HKC community.It will be a way cool event and I wouldn't miss it for the world.So it's time to rehydrate, stretch out, chill out and throw some kbs around tomorrow.
Some good news:
I had three very close attempts on the 32 kg bottoms up press on Saturday, getting the best one up 3/4 before losing balance, on a break from the teaching.I did all my attempts with only my left arm as I didn't want to chance tweaking my goofy right thumb like I did in San Diego.That bell will be pressed, no doubt.Another of my assistant instructions BJJ athlete Juan Bacca was there pushing me on as I had helped him try to press the Beast on another break. Neither of us got what we wanted but we both learned a lot. Juan rocks.
AS did Mark Erickson my third assistant. These guys all helped me immeasureably this weekend and are all great instructors and kb athletes. I would work with any of them anytime.
But I did do the 28 kg again, much easier this time so that was great.The real key to it, as with the regular kb press is perfect tenison in the clean. I was in a rush and didnt really lock in the b/u clean position and lost stability at the sticking point. BUT I learned something and I know I can do it.And I won't have to wait another year, lol.
But I do need to get some rest.
This cert was rocking and to me there is no place I would rather teach than at RKC HQ in Minnesota. It is home and everything flows just perfectly. Had a great team again, who, as usual, and on command transformed themselves from easily gassed rookies to go forever, do whatever RKC vets on Sunday, just when I thought they would give in. They didn't. They just got better. ANd stronger. And have more determination than they did when they were fresh , rested( and nervous!) on Friday.It was much hotter than expected and this took it's toll on the candidates, but to me, after getting through San Diegos bikram temperatures it was downright cool,lol.
I just need a 28 hour day and I will be fine.
datsit.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Sliding on a rail:Snatch Vo2 15:15
Another messed up week and we end up doing snatch vo2 today at 2 oclock after 7 hard clients. Lots of demos and not great sleep last night. Mark was a tired pup today but as usual Tracy pulled me through it.I love the RKC season but it plays havoc with my schedule; work and training, as well as my recovery. I needs LOTS of bodywork and stretching still as well as that old fashioned commodity: downtime.The harder I train the more real downtime I need.
That may not be for everyone but it is for me.
Otherwise I am just gritting my teeth and getting through it but usually that means the intensity is too high and one can only hammer that nail so low before bad things happen. Like getting sick or injury so I have to be really careful when the schedule gets crazy like this.But I got it done;even after bikrams yesterday. I swear though, I sweated every bit as much today in 30 minutes than I did yesterday in 90! LOL> No lie.Not loving it.Dehydration is no joke and it's slow to replace all the H20 and the minerals.
snatch vo2
50 sets of 7
15:15
25 mintues
350 reps
12,600 lbs
and that was it.very very happy I got through it at all much less all 50. I thought Tracy was only going to do 42 sets of 7 but with the 16 kg which I forgot to bring. Since she only used the 14 kg she decided to do 50 sets. Ugh. I would have been happy with 42 but hey it's just a few more minutes.
I knew from the start that I really had to maximize the momentum with each rep, really tame the arc and use the power of momentum to it's max if I was going to have a chance to get the reps I needed today. I was a bit beat.
and the main thing is, it got done. It worked really well, I tried to throw the bell down as hard as possible really saw the bell traveling on a 'virtual rail', in an arc.fast.much better for me than the OL style more 'up and down' technique. at least for now and for speed and power.
possible new schedule
saturday : heavy snatch
sunday: bikrams
monday: off
tuesday: bikrams
wednesday : snatch vo2
thursday: off
Friday : optional bikrams
we'll see
datsit.
That may not be for everyone but it is for me.
Otherwise I am just gritting my teeth and getting through it but usually that means the intensity is too high and one can only hammer that nail so low before bad things happen. Like getting sick or injury so I have to be really careful when the schedule gets crazy like this.But I got it done;even after bikrams yesterday. I swear though, I sweated every bit as much today in 30 minutes than I did yesterday in 90! LOL> No lie.Not loving it.Dehydration is no joke and it's slow to replace all the H20 and the minerals.
snatch vo2
50 sets of 7
15:15
25 mintues
350 reps
12,600 lbs
and that was it.very very happy I got through it at all much less all 50. I thought Tracy was only going to do 42 sets of 7 but with the 16 kg which I forgot to bring. Since she only used the 14 kg she decided to do 50 sets. Ugh. I would have been happy with 42 but hey it's just a few more minutes.
I knew from the start that I really had to maximize the momentum with each rep, really tame the arc and use the power of momentum to it's max if I was going to have a chance to get the reps I needed today. I was a bit beat.
and the main thing is, it got done. It worked really well, I tried to throw the bell down as hard as possible really saw the bell traveling on a 'virtual rail', in an arc.fast.much better for me than the OL style more 'up and down' technique. at least for now and for speed and power.
possible new schedule
saturday : heavy snatch
sunday: bikrams
monday: off
tuesday: bikrams
wednesday : snatch vo2
thursday: off
Friday : optional bikrams
we'll see
datsit.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Bikrams Torture chamber
Another 90 sweaty minutes in Bikrams torture chamber today after a week of no yoga.It's always both easier and harder doing yoga after a long yoga rest; easier because I'm not so beat up by the static tension, heat and dehydration and harder because I've slid down the conditioning slope in regards all those qualities. Not to mention mental toughness. But having Tracy right next to me always makes it easier as she glides so effortlessly through the movements and it's really no problem for her.
I did well through pranayama, half moon and awkward poses but, as usual, had my hat handed to me in the single leg only balancing series. It seems like my standing forward head to knee has gotten significantly worse over the months, but in reality, I'm just asking more of the pose and have realized I have to go backwards to go forwards. WAY backwards. All the way backwards. But it's ok.Getting the strength in the single leg support is the key. Not the leg kick out although I do love to do it on my left leg. It's not that hard if your knee works, lol.
Standing bow pulling pose surprised me as I could get into it fairly easily on my left leg but my lack of stamina got me and I came out of the pose after 75% of the time. Have to build back up slowly, no matter what the dialogue.Man's got to know his limitations, lol.
Warrior pose just about killed me although tree pose wasnt as bad as I expected.The teacher really handled the heat perfectly and opened the door at jus the right moments. Exercising in 105 deg heat is no joke. Especially for an hour and a half.
Give it a try and report back.
Cruised through back series and really concentrated on my breath. Once I get to the floor I'm home free.
Snatch vo2 tomorrow. Can't wait.
datsit.
I did well through pranayama, half moon and awkward poses but, as usual, had my hat handed to me in the single leg only balancing series. It seems like my standing forward head to knee has gotten significantly worse over the months, but in reality, I'm just asking more of the pose and have realized I have to go backwards to go forwards. WAY backwards. All the way backwards. But it's ok.Getting the strength in the single leg support is the key. Not the leg kick out although I do love to do it on my left leg. It's not that hard if your knee works, lol.
Standing bow pulling pose surprised me as I could get into it fairly easily on my left leg but my lack of stamina got me and I came out of the pose after 75% of the time. Have to build back up slowly, no matter what the dialogue.Man's got to know his limitations, lol.
Warrior pose just about killed me although tree pose wasnt as bad as I expected.The teacher really handled the heat perfectly and opened the door at jus the right moments. Exercising in 105 deg heat is no joke. Especially for an hour and a half.
Give it a try and report back.
Cruised through back series and really concentrated on my breath. Once I get to the floor I'm home free.
Snatch vo2 tomorrow. Can't wait.
datsit.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
The Beatings will continue until morale improves.
With repeated force and effort.
Lol, actually morale has improved, but the beating will still continue.We just call them workouts.Good one today. Just one week to go until the next cert in Minnesota( my absolute favorite place to teach, it's just home for the RKC, beautiful sunny San Diego, or even San Jose not withstanding) and I need to up the volume. Work capacity rules for life fitness and mine has been off. Getting better though.
And made some inroads into my quest for the Rite of Passage snatch test ( one day,lol) of 200 reps in 10 minutes with the 24 kg. I thought it might be a good idea to be able to do 200 total reps per workouts( let alone in ten minutes) in the sets of ten I will be doing.
Tracy's five minute snatch test and max vo2 training with the 16 kg inspired me last week and I'll be using that for motivation. SO today it was sets of 8 which, even though it's only 3 reps more per side seems WAY harder than that.
Actually everything was fine, cardio was good, hands held up well, the back and hips were good too. Nick was there and we went quickly in 'i go, you go ' pace.Used a definitive swing snatch technique today and it really got the speed up, a necessity if I'm going to try to sneak sets of ten into the mix.I so love my five rep sets,though. SO easy.
Snatch
16 kg x 8/8x2
20 kgx6/6
24kgx8/8 x 10 sets
160 reps
8480 lbs
Had dreams last night as I preview my workout(imagine that) of doing 10 reps per side and 200 reps but I thought it smarter to make haste slowly and decided on 8's. I could have done 10's which is exactly what I wanted to feel. Not that I could barely do them. Havent done anything more than 5's with the 24 in eons and I can't tweak anything this close to the cert.Mainly happy with how strong my cardio was.no worries.
Bottoms up clean
20 kg x5/5
24kgx5/5
28kgx5/5
32kgx3/3
Very happy with these, both the technique and the workload! Each hold was very very solid with great lat and total lower body rooting and solidity.excellent. AND my right thumb did NOT dislocate when I did the 28 or 32 kg as it did two weeks ago in san diego. most excellent.I just rushed it last time. I want to bottoms up press the 32kg at some point and this training will help.
took off the OL shoes for these. hey, it's what the body said to do so I listened.
Two Hand Clubbell Barbarian press
25 lb CB for 4 sets of 8
pretty tired for these for some reason but they were solid.
total workout time about 50 minutes.
Rifga stretching before and after, really focused on opening up left ankle, calf, hammie and right shoulder.
Datsit.
Lol, actually morale has improved, but the beating will still continue.We just call them workouts.Good one today. Just one week to go until the next cert in Minnesota( my absolute favorite place to teach, it's just home for the RKC, beautiful sunny San Diego, or even San Jose not withstanding) and I need to up the volume. Work capacity rules for life fitness and mine has been off. Getting better though.
And made some inroads into my quest for the Rite of Passage snatch test ( one day,lol) of 200 reps in 10 minutes with the 24 kg. I thought it might be a good idea to be able to do 200 total reps per workouts( let alone in ten minutes) in the sets of ten I will be doing.
Tracy's five minute snatch test and max vo2 training with the 16 kg inspired me last week and I'll be using that for motivation. SO today it was sets of 8 which, even though it's only 3 reps more per side seems WAY harder than that.
Actually everything was fine, cardio was good, hands held up well, the back and hips were good too. Nick was there and we went quickly in 'i go, you go ' pace.Used a definitive swing snatch technique today and it really got the speed up, a necessity if I'm going to try to sneak sets of ten into the mix.I so love my five rep sets,though. SO easy.
Snatch
16 kg x 8/8x2
20 kgx6/6
24kgx8/8 x 10 sets
160 reps
8480 lbs
Had dreams last night as I preview my workout(imagine that) of doing 10 reps per side and 200 reps but I thought it smarter to make haste slowly and decided on 8's. I could have done 10's which is exactly what I wanted to feel. Not that I could barely do them. Havent done anything more than 5's with the 24 in eons and I can't tweak anything this close to the cert.Mainly happy with how strong my cardio was.no worries.
Bottoms up clean
20 kg x5/5
24kgx5/5
28kgx5/5
32kgx3/3
Very happy with these, both the technique and the workload! Each hold was very very solid with great lat and total lower body rooting and solidity.excellent. AND my right thumb did NOT dislocate when I did the 28 or 32 kg as it did two weeks ago in san diego. most excellent.I just rushed it last time. I want to bottoms up press the 32kg at some point and this training will help.
took off the OL shoes for these. hey, it's what the body said to do so I listened.
Two Hand Clubbell Barbarian press
25 lb CB for 4 sets of 8
pretty tired for these for some reason but they were solid.
total workout time about 50 minutes.
Rifga stretching before and after, really focused on opening up left ankle, calf, hammie and right shoulder.
Datsit.
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Back in the groove;Snatch Vo2 and Bikrams
Actually did make it to both my Bikram practice on Monday and got my Snatch Vo2 workout in today instead of yesterday . I spent tuesday afternoon in the jurors room waiting to see if I was going to be picked. The case got dismissed as we were being called so I lucked out. So max was on the schedule today.a day late but some needed rest as well.
And, as luck would have it, a client cancelled and Tracy could make it down to Girya to do the workout early. I always prefer training as close to possible as first thing( if I have enough time to warmup, that is) and I rarely get to do it these days except for Saturdays.Tracy was going to train with the 16 kg, same as me, and that always gets me going.She was doing less reps/set than I but so what? She's a chick and I had to not only get my numbers going but appear not to suffer too much.
10 is about the perfect time for me, just warmed up enough from three clients but not tired yet.As usual I did one warmup set with the 12 kg for my right shoulder warmup and then it's on.
I never know exactly what form my body will want to use that day and this was no exception. I start with the idea of flexing my knees more and using more of a close to the body snatch but my body wanted to swing snatch it more and work more from a hinge/pendulum arc technique. I've learned not to fight the body too much anymore when it announces something. It tends to win,and win big when I ignore it's messages. So, swing style it was and the pace was good.I lose the ability to go fast so quickly these days so eights was out and I wanted to make sure I could get my fifty sets in first.
Here's the breakdown:
16 kg max vo2 15:15
45 sets of 7
5 sets of 8
355 reps
12,780 lbs
Man, I love seeing those tons add up! Tracy did 42 sets with the 16 before tearing a callus and stopping for the day. She just did 100 reps in five minutes a few days ago and now this,not bad at all and such a great inspiration. She's done 60 sets of 7 with the 16 kg before and will do more again soon. Of course that was with the sock sleeve and these are without.Significantly harder on her hands this way but she'll adapt fast.
Clubbell mills
10 lbs x10/10/10/10
10 lbs x 20/20
15 lbs x 8/8
15 lbs x 7/7
havent done these in awhile;really like the move just have to make sure to do a solid toe pivot or I soak up too much torque in the lumbar spine.
Clubbell shield cast, one arm
15 lbs x 10/10 x 2 sets
ran out of time, but very happy with the workout and the workload.
Bikrams went very well on Monday despite not having done a class in over a week.I went into it with no expectations other than to breathe my way through it and sweat out some poisons. Things went well and showed very clearly how sometimes recovery is more important than loading, especially as one ages. The frequency, not to mention the intensity, of loading ,and the ability to recovery from such,when one gets into their 40's and 50's changes significantly and should be ignored at one's own risk. I've even been getting to work early and doing my rifga stretches again. This is key for getting my left knee to extend as much as it can.It's jsut time consuming and boring a hell.Especially at 5:30 am but hey, what can I do?
Bikrams is so much about static strength, our strongest strength ability( first static, then eccentric, then concentric) and it really works deeper into one's strength than is immediately apparent.Add in the heat levels, the balance requirements and sheer ability to concentrate and many many important strength and mental skills are being worked. and hard. But my recovery from each practice seems to be better than before, but that may be about not hammering too many classes each as much as anything. The main thing is that I feel I can train it now and not wreck myself.
And I still continue to work on being able to lock out my left leg,especially in the one legged poses and it's tough stuff.The best part though is NOT being dead or tweaked the next day, which I had been for months.Even my hydration levels come back to normal quicker, even with so few workouts.
Want to get 200 24 kg snatches on Saturday, the last heavy workout before my next cert, if the gods be smiling that day.
datsit.
And, as luck would have it, a client cancelled and Tracy could make it down to Girya to do the workout early. I always prefer training as close to possible as first thing( if I have enough time to warmup, that is) and I rarely get to do it these days except for Saturdays.Tracy was going to train with the 16 kg, same as me, and that always gets me going.She was doing less reps/set than I but so what? She's a chick and I had to not only get my numbers going but appear not to suffer too much.
10 is about the perfect time for me, just warmed up enough from three clients but not tired yet.As usual I did one warmup set with the 12 kg for my right shoulder warmup and then it's on.
I never know exactly what form my body will want to use that day and this was no exception. I start with the idea of flexing my knees more and using more of a close to the body snatch but my body wanted to swing snatch it more and work more from a hinge/pendulum arc technique. I've learned not to fight the body too much anymore when it announces something. It tends to win,and win big when I ignore it's messages. So, swing style it was and the pace was good.I lose the ability to go fast so quickly these days so eights was out and I wanted to make sure I could get my fifty sets in first.
Here's the breakdown:
16 kg max vo2 15:15
45 sets of 7
5 sets of 8
355 reps
12,780 lbs
Man, I love seeing those tons add up! Tracy did 42 sets with the 16 before tearing a callus and stopping for the day. She just did 100 reps in five minutes a few days ago and now this,not bad at all and such a great inspiration. She's done 60 sets of 7 with the 16 kg before and will do more again soon. Of course that was with the sock sleeve and these are without.Significantly harder on her hands this way but she'll adapt fast.
Clubbell mills
10 lbs x10/10/10/10
10 lbs x 20/20
15 lbs x 8/8
15 lbs x 7/7
havent done these in awhile;really like the move just have to make sure to do a solid toe pivot or I soak up too much torque in the lumbar spine.
Clubbell shield cast, one arm
15 lbs x 10/10 x 2 sets
ran out of time, but very happy with the workout and the workload.
Bikrams went very well on Monday despite not having done a class in over a week.I went into it with no expectations other than to breathe my way through it and sweat out some poisons. Things went well and showed very clearly how sometimes recovery is more important than loading, especially as one ages. The frequency, not to mention the intensity, of loading ,and the ability to recovery from such,when one gets into their 40's and 50's changes significantly and should be ignored at one's own risk. I've even been getting to work early and doing my rifga stretches again. This is key for getting my left knee to extend as much as it can.It's jsut time consuming and boring a hell.Especially at 5:30 am but hey, what can I do?
Bikrams is so much about static strength, our strongest strength ability( first static, then eccentric, then concentric) and it really works deeper into one's strength than is immediately apparent.Add in the heat levels, the balance requirements and sheer ability to concentrate and many many important strength and mental skills are being worked. and hard. But my recovery from each practice seems to be better than before, but that may be about not hammering too many classes each as much as anything. The main thing is that I feel I can train it now and not wreck myself.
And I still continue to work on being able to lock out my left leg,especially in the one legged poses and it's tough stuff.The best part though is NOT being dead or tweaked the next day, which I had been for months.Even my hydration levels come back to normal quicker, even with so few workouts.
Want to get 200 24 kg snatches on Saturday, the last heavy workout before my next cert, if the gods be smiling that day.
datsit.
Sunday, September 06, 2009
Weakness is an icy hill
not a slippery slope. I skipped a workout for perhaps the first time in my life yesterday. For sure the first time in recent memory and it taught me a lesson, fast. Just as the Hungarian RKC's say " eating just makes you hungry", not training just makes you weak.
For bunches of reasons,none that really matter, this last 6 weeks has been a rollercoaster of travel and stress and after baking in the sun for three days in SD, having my first grandchild born on Wednesday, then too much wine and too little sleep on Friday. I flat out skipped my snatch workout Saturday. The fact that my last remaining training partner was in Mexico didn't help; if Nick had been there he's have forced me to train.But he wasn't and that matters not a whit.
I have always said the true test of an athlete, or someone who wants to be one, is the ability to train, and to train appropriately hard by themselves.
In fact, it's almost a prerequisite to the getting through the gateway to full 'athlete' status, at least in my book.A Rite of Passage if you will.
Good training partners are harder to find than hen's teeth and more valuable.But counting on them is always folly and if you need one to get in your workout then you are doomed. Having good ones makes things SO much easier but I never relied on one. Until I did.Then if they don't show up it makes life SO much harder to get in there and push it when no is watching, or caring or pushing. You don't realize how much energy a training partner can provide until they are not there.
And I could have trained with Tracy and Meg at Girya( check out her site for her snatch test results( http://tracysfoodandthought.blogspot.com/) but I chickened out and just drove down,counted their reps and cheered them on. But I didnt train.
I hadnt trained Bikrams in a week either, and I could so feel the weakness pouring over me, telling me it really didn't matter, that I needed more recovery, that things have been tough and I needed rest. Which I did. But I also needed to snatch.
I barely got any work in in SD cert despite teaching the snatch and I had just skipped my workout. Not good.I had done max this tuesday but I need more work with the 24kg and it didnt look good.
Especially when I woke up this AM and realized I had to do it today. Damn.I was not feeling great and I havent trained on Sunday in a long time and I am SUCH a creature of habit. Not bad for a competitive athlete, but very bad for the life athlete.And seeing the look in Tracy's eye didn't help either.She said she knew I would show up to help them but she thought I would do something. But I didn't.
And it made me feel worse, not better.
SO ,in the words of Steve Maxwell, " I have failed you so I will punish myself". And I did.
And I feel SO much better now,lol.
And stronger,too, btw.
And I knew that the weakness is back in it's place, just a faint call to me that I can barely hear. And that it doesn't feel good at all down that road. Not at all.I am only doing two kb workouts per week when factoring in at least 2 Bikrams classes at well. In survival mode just two kb workouts will keep me strong enough to deal with life and stress but less than that and you are skaking downhill.
There is NO CHOICE. Do the damn workout.
Because it's Saturday and it's snatch day.Or Max Vo2day,or deadlifts or whatever you scheduled because it would get you that much closer to your (current) goal.
Because to not do it is just helping you skate down that inevitable icy hill just that much faster.
Scale it, yes.Modify it, of course. Just don't not show up. Unless blood is involved.
lol.
I think.
Snatch
16kgx5/5x2
20 kgx5/5
24kgx5/5x14 sets
x10/10
150 snatches
7950 pounds
Negative split pace as usual. Rest periods started out slow( real slow,lol) and got much faster as I warmed up. entire snatch workout took about 25 minutes but each set was hard as I could go.The fact I could do 10/10 so strongly at the end was very encouraging. Watching Tracy kill her RKC snatch requirement yesterday really inspired me. 10 rep sets per hand with perfect overhead positions and holds with no putting the bell down and no break in pace was awesome.
16kg for women is no joke just as 24 kg for most men is no joke.I still need to do the 10 minute SSST someday soon and I better get my work capacity up.
I took for granted my work capacity two years ago. Not again.
One Clubbell Arm Casts
10/10x5 15 # CB sets no stopping.
there's my hundred rep set,lol. I swtiched hands every 10 reps and it was easy. Didn't time it but probably around 3.5 - 4 minute sets
One arm sheild casts
15# CB x 10/10 x 2 sets
Two Handed Barbarian Press
25 # x 8/8 x 3 sets
now I am feeling like myself. Damn, it takes me forever to warmup these days.
total workout time about 50 minutes, including RIFGA stretching at start
datsit.
For bunches of reasons,none that really matter, this last 6 weeks has been a rollercoaster of travel and stress and after baking in the sun for three days in SD, having my first grandchild born on Wednesday, then too much wine and too little sleep on Friday. I flat out skipped my snatch workout Saturday. The fact that my last remaining training partner was in Mexico didn't help; if Nick had been there he's have forced me to train.But he wasn't and that matters not a whit.
I have always said the true test of an athlete, or someone who wants to be one, is the ability to train, and to train appropriately hard by themselves.
In fact, it's almost a prerequisite to the getting through the gateway to full 'athlete' status, at least in my book.A Rite of Passage if you will.
Good training partners are harder to find than hen's teeth and more valuable.But counting on them is always folly and if you need one to get in your workout then you are doomed. Having good ones makes things SO much easier but I never relied on one. Until I did.Then if they don't show up it makes life SO much harder to get in there and push it when no is watching, or caring or pushing. You don't realize how much energy a training partner can provide until they are not there.
And I could have trained with Tracy and Meg at Girya( check out her site for her snatch test results( http://tracysfoodandthought.blogspot.com/) but I chickened out and just drove down,counted their reps and cheered them on. But I didnt train.
I hadnt trained Bikrams in a week either, and I could so feel the weakness pouring over me, telling me it really didn't matter, that I needed more recovery, that things have been tough and I needed rest. Which I did. But I also needed to snatch.
I barely got any work in in SD cert despite teaching the snatch and I had just skipped my workout. Not good.I had done max this tuesday but I need more work with the 24kg and it didnt look good.
Especially when I woke up this AM and realized I had to do it today. Damn.I was not feeling great and I havent trained on Sunday in a long time and I am SUCH a creature of habit. Not bad for a competitive athlete, but very bad for the life athlete.And seeing the look in Tracy's eye didn't help either.She said she knew I would show up to help them but she thought I would do something. But I didn't.
And it made me feel worse, not better.
SO ,in the words of Steve Maxwell, " I have failed you so I will punish myself". And I did.
And I feel SO much better now,lol.
And stronger,too, btw.
And I knew that the weakness is back in it's place, just a faint call to me that I can barely hear. And that it doesn't feel good at all down that road. Not at all.I am only doing two kb workouts per week when factoring in at least 2 Bikrams classes at well. In survival mode just two kb workouts will keep me strong enough to deal with life and stress but less than that and you are skaking downhill.
There is NO CHOICE. Do the damn workout.
Because it's Saturday and it's snatch day.Or Max Vo2day,or deadlifts or whatever you scheduled because it would get you that much closer to your (current) goal.
Because to not do it is just helping you skate down that inevitable icy hill just that much faster.
Scale it, yes.Modify it, of course. Just don't not show up. Unless blood is involved.
lol.
I think.
Snatch
16kgx5/5x2
20 kgx5/5
24kgx5/5x14 sets
x10/10
150 snatches
7950 pounds
Negative split pace as usual. Rest periods started out slow( real slow,lol) and got much faster as I warmed up. entire snatch workout took about 25 minutes but each set was hard as I could go.The fact I could do 10/10 so strongly at the end was very encouraging. Watching Tracy kill her RKC snatch requirement yesterday really inspired me. 10 rep sets per hand with perfect overhead positions and holds with no putting the bell down and no break in pace was awesome.
16kg for women is no joke just as 24 kg for most men is no joke.I still need to do the 10 minute SSST someday soon and I better get my work capacity up.
I took for granted my work capacity two years ago. Not again.
One Clubbell Arm Casts
10/10x5 15 # CB sets no stopping.
there's my hundred rep set,lol. I swtiched hands every 10 reps and it was easy. Didn't time it but probably around 3.5 - 4 minute sets
One arm sheild casts
15# CB x 10/10 x 2 sets
Two Handed Barbarian Press
25 # x 8/8 x 3 sets
now I am feeling like myself. Damn, it takes me forever to warmup these days.
total workout time about 50 minutes, including RIFGA stretching at start
datsit.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Kurt Thomas, my gymnastics hero.
I almost forgot what a physical genius he was. Brilliant. My role model for what I wanted to be as a gymnast.
The Raw and the Cooked; Hardstyle Freestyle MVo2
One of the misses with the 28 kg. SO close.
I think I may have cooked some internal organs over the weekend. Not well done but definitely medium rare. ANd some seriously interested DOMS is kicking in in my left hamstring and glute but lots of foam rolling and straddle floor stretches as well as the everpresent downward dogs are keeping the hound at bay.Just can't be lazy.
I did lots of snatches this weekend as I taught the snatch segment of the cert( with the top down style which works GREAT!) and did them flatfooted .It worked the hammies just that much differently that usual and I now remember why I switched to the OL shoe. Not for the swing but for the snatch the heels really helps me spread the load better on my legs.
SO I was just a bit raw under the skin with the DOMS coming on as well as cooking nicely from the 3 days of sun as I contemplated doing max vo2 today or just taking another day to rest and just stretch.The idea of sweating out what remaining body water I have left was not appealing either as I thought of the last session which resembled a Bikram class much more than I would like.
But I have found very consistently now that 'getting back on the horse' and doing the movements you know work for you, at a lessened intensity, works great for getting a lot of these aches and stiffness OUT, pretty quickly.But I didnt want to go over the edge intensity wise as I have pulled my glute before training too hard when already stiff at the start. So instead of strict
15:15( there was NO WAY I was even contemplating 36:36) I decided to go by feel and do it free style. Still doing 15 seconds with 7 reps per side but then resting as much or as little as I felt was appropriate.I tend to start slowly anyway and build speed as I warmup.
I was still shooting for 50 sets but I would take my time to get them
Tracy had already trained mvo2 yesterday with her class so I wasn't going to mess her up doing it this way. She stood by though to cheer me on and make sure I wasn't taking too much rest,lol.
I decided I couldn't sit on the stability ball between sets to make sure I didn't dawdle.
SO:
Free style Mvo2
16 kg
7 reps per set
45 sets
8 reps per set last 5 sets
355 total reps
12780 lbs
man I LOVE training this way its SO much easier!! That damn gym boss kicks my ass everytime and the 15 seconds rest gets SO short it's barely there,lol.
With more rest to work I can really keep the intensity up so much more but it's the fighting against the ever growing fatigue that really sets sthe stage for the adaptive gains in CV and muscular endurance. ANd it makes workouts like these feel so easy. Even sore and cooked.
I'm glad I got something in at least.I did the first 25 sets classic 15:15 with 7 reps per side. The second 20 sets I did 7 right then transfered and did 7 left before resting. I wanted to get it over with. I was probably doing more work to rest at the point but I dont know.
The last five sets I did 8 reps per 15 seconds and only took 15 seconds rest. Just to see,lol.AND it did reset my leg and hips, which feels much more 'normal' now. This is good
Two handed clubbell barbarian press
4 sets of 10 each
Two handed clubbell swipes
4 sets of 10 each
Clubbells rock, the perfect compliment to my kb work. Love em.
datsit.
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