Strength is a skill.

I have not done any high tension exercises for a long time as they seemed to cause more body problems then they solved. I figured I had plenty of strength in reserve from all my years of powerlifting.I stopped doing windmills,side presses, squats and deadlifts. I even dropped the press as it seemed to cause my gimpy right shoulder all kinds of impingment problems. The only overhead work I've been getting is snatches.

Since I have discovered that palms up chins and overhead hangs "puts" my shoulder back in the right place fairly easily, I have been wondering if I could press again. Playing around with windmills the other day I was blown away by how WEAK my overhead holds have become. I had even dropped the snatch holds and waiters walks I was doing as it seemed to require more rehab than it was worth.

So today, with another AM workout( I slacked off today and took another holiday off!) I wanted to see if I could figure out how to press without too much pain. Or at least whether the chins would put the shoulder back in after.

Started off with push presses which I thought might be better but they were not. As Pavel says they make it too easy to get loose which is not what I needed. I figured there might be a very specific groove that did not hurt.And I was right.It was just a much different body position than I had imagined.

I realized that I had been trying to do a strict military press and I wasn't kicking my hip under enough to really support the weight. It happened because I have( had) strong shoulders and 35 years of pressing things uner my belt and didnt realize there was more to wedging under the weight than just pressing it. It creates the base foundation of support to not only press the weight, but press it strongly.And when you have biceps impingment if you do it wrong you get a correction 'real quick'.

Pavel talks about this in his classic first book, The Russian Kettlebell Challenge;how it is vital when pressing heavy weights overhead to shift your hips under the bell to provide foundational support as well s pull the shoulder DOWN as you press up. But I had just let that go as I tried to just press the weight. After all it was so light. With my shoulder the way it is that was just not going to happen.especially on the negative rep.

You have to develop the scapula retractors to be at least as strong as your traps or you will get a biceps impingment eventually.And to do that you have to pull down as you press and keep that forearm totally vertical throughout.

In fact, I used the negative as the test as to whether to groove was right. If it was, the negative didnt hurt. If it wasnt, it did.I also had to turn more than I imagined to the right to get my forearm vertical throughout the press, another key component. I also had to stare at my forearm throughout the entire rep to guarantee it being perfectly vertical.

I forgot about how many presses I was going to do( or wanted to do) and instead focused on practicing the skill of pressing correctly. I didnt train but practiced ,searching for the right combination of position and tension to press the bell pain free with my entire body, not just my arm. I focused on rooting hard the entire time.

KB Press( only one clean per rep)

26x5/5

36x5/5x2

44x5/5x2 ( these were mainly sussing out the right groove)

53x3/3x5 sets

44x3/3x2

36x5x5

Jumping chins( scap trap hang after set)

6 sets of 5+ 10 sec scap trap hang at finish

man these are getting EASY. Stretched out my left forearm and wrist didnt hurt during chins with BOTH arm supinated. I was barely using any leg drive to get started and the negative was easy as well.

Rack walks with16 kg

2000 feet in 200 foot laps/ then an arm switch.

these were almost non stop, best they have ever felt. so much help with my gait. I love training first thing!The next question is do I add in Handstands or Arm bars to help increase ROM? We'll play with both later today! I have to whole day off , woo hoo!

datsit,staying loose and maybe getting a little stronger too.

Walking and Working.

As I start the new year and reminded of how far I have come, both physically, and mentally in the last year.My flexibility,mobility, work capacity and time-spent-in-pain have all gotten so much better ,that, as usual,I tend to forget where I was just a short while ago, and want to focus all my efforts on doing more and having more.Especially strength and the ability to do more exercises and use more weight.

I have had this "if you can do it push even harder" mentality for so long it is encoded in my genes by now, it seems. By far the hardest thing I have done in recent memory is to give up training for competition,of any kind, and be satisfied with the movements and work levels I can do that make me better the next day,not worse.

I had accepted for so many years the muscle and joint pain and limited mobility that followed the heavy intense sessions I did regularly to prepare thoroughly for competition that I forgot what it was like NOT to be wrecked after training.I took the pain as just the price of admission to the Elite Club I wanted to play in.Character building if you will. If it didnt kill me,it made me stronger, the saying goes. ANd it did, at least mentally.

I have had my share of internet battles with morons over the years although I have been much better about wasting my time trying to talk to people who don't want to discuss or debate training concept and experiences ,but just ridicule ,insult and deride your efforts to make up for their lack of accomplishment or effort on their own part.

And truth be told I let myself get pulled into another of those sinkholes of energy the last week. It got me so fired up and so frustrated at my "one foot on the gas and the other on the brake" training that I was seriously contemplating taking my foot off the brake and training for real again.
For so many years, starting with my knee injury at 17, my body has let me down and not been able to do what my mind and spirit has wanted it to.So much of my training, and my study and research into training, has been about figuring out ways around these huge boulders in the path of my desires and goals.
I am thankful for the many insights and secrets this has led me to and that it is has been relevant to my non injured clients and students as well.But so much of what I do, and have to do, is so individualized that it has little carryover to the functionally healthy person, except in a general sense.

So as soon as I started devising my little "plan" to regain a semblance of my former strength so I could properly challenge these keyboard warriors I realized what the true test of my strength and manhood is these days: Walking and Working.

AS I have said before, the problem isnt DOING the workouts but recovering from them.That is the reason I dont squat anymore, as much as I LOVE the exercise. The problem is gimping around for the next week and the interminable hours wasted having to beat the extra tension out of my leg so I can walk somewhat normally.

Doing a movement to make you stronger for "life" that cripples you for life is crazy and I finally get that now.Same with heavy presses for my shoulder.I rely on my arms and shoulders so much in my bodywork and training that I do for clients that it is counterproductive to the Nth degree to waste myself in my workouts and not be able to work properly.

At this stage in my life those two attributes; walking and working,have to be the litmus test as to how well my "gym" training is working.If it is making me better for those qualities then it is on track.If not,then,it is not. A tough pill to swallow,especially as I feel so much better from doing it right! How ironic.

Don't be sissy.Man up and do what you need to do, not just what you want.Even if it means doing less. This is tough and I dont suspect it's going to get easier. Getting old isnt for the weak.

Artur Ginko Snatches

Although this was on Toms blog it's just such beautiful form I wanted to archive it on my blog as well.With the exception of the corkscrew descent it is very similar to how I am snatching lately: lots of forward lean, high hips and a straight arm swing snatch.Of course the man is a world class gs athlete and that is 32 kg he is playing with.The mirror provides lots of opportunities for motion analysis from both sides.

Nick Sweeney throws the discus

Having Doc Rob show up at Stones yesterday brought back many memories.I have a new client who was a Heptathlete for Ireland and the name of my old friend Nick Sweeney was brought up.Nick was a multi time Olympian for Ireland and trained for many years at my World Gym in Campbell as well as my garage gym.Great great guy and super funny. Strong as a horse too although he had as many injuries as me and was forced to retire and resume real life as a stock broker in NY.
Found this video of him throwing in 1999 ,when he was still training with us.

Robs squat videos

Rob squats a big 770! talk about bar speed.




Rob warms up with 700.

Doc Rob squats BIG!

Great friend and pro strongman Rob Meulenberg showed up for a squat session at Stones today to see where he is at for a meet he has in two weeks.
After warming up well he hit easy singles with 700 and 770! This is after not having done any formal powerlifting training in two and a half years!
Rob sees this as the WSB conjugate method in action. He just got very strong in a lot of very varied posititions and it made his powerlifts go up! special exercises and a training both high force and high velocity.

Have the videos but youtube is throwing a hissy fit. will post them later.
this is still warming up and is about halfway down. Doc Rob squats deep.

300 snatches

I got this number in my head and I couldnt get it out. Knew I wanted to go lighter today and use the 20 kg and thought 300 sounded good. Wednesdays 240 one arm swings with the 24 kg gave me a lot of confidence so I thought I could do it. THen, good friend and pro strongman Rob Meulenberg showed up to squat and I knew it was a done deal!

Snatches
26x5/5/5/5x2
36x4/4/4/4

44x5/5/5/5x15 sets
300 reps ! Ties PR
13,200 pounds

excellent. wasnt the fastest pace but it was steady as we had some spotting to do but cardio was fine. switching off hands every five reps let me really focus on going hard each rep and getting more overload on the legs and hips than the arms. switching hands frequently definitely changes the focus from arm and shoulder fatigue to the overall system and lower body. And thats what I need.
My form was very solid throughout and I didnt even get any hammie fatigue until the last two sets and it was mild. I just have to think 'one arm swing' and let myself bend over. much smoother that was. did NOT pause at the top much for two reasons:
1) it definitely is harder on my right shoulder
2) it definitely slows down the pace from more of a total sprint to a collection of single reps.

This was much easier than the first time I had done it. Should have done another set.wasnt quite sure this was my pr. have to get better at recording these different weight prs.

I do have to add my snatch holds back in though as that position,esepcially with no presses or windmills is getting weaker,even as my flexibility increases.

Halos
26x10/10
36x8/8x2
26x10/10

datsit, very happy with the workout and what a thrill it was to have big Doc Rob squatting heavy again. Brought back lots of great memories!Staying loose.

Once a Runner

This quote is from one of my favorite books Once A Runner by John L Parker . It's about the trials and tribulations of being an elite runner. It also hit the perfect note in this passage to describe how I approach my Hardcore life and training for years

"Cassidy sought no euphoric interludes. They came, when they did, quite naturally and he was content to enjoy them privately. He ran not for crypto-religious reasons, but to win races, to cover ground fast. Not only to be better than his fellows, but better than himself. To be faster by a tenth of a second, by an inch, by two feet or two yards than he had been the week or year before. He sought to conquer the physical limitations placed upon him by a three-dimensional world (and if Time is the fourth dimension, that too was his province). If he could conquer the weakness, the cowardice in himself, he would not worry about the rest; it would come. Training was a rite of purification; from it came speed, strength. Racing was a rite of death; from it came knowledge. Such rites demand, if they are to be meaningful at all, a certain amount of time spent precisely on the Red Line, where you can lean over the manicured putting green at the edge of the precipice and see exactly nothing."
"Running to him was real, the way he did it the realest thing he knew. It was all joy and woe, hard as diamond; it made him weary beyond comprehension. But it also made him free."That quarter mile oval may be one of the few places in the world where the bastards can't screw you over, Quenton. That's because there's no place to hide out there. No way to fake it or charm your way through, no deals to be made. You know all that stuff. You've talked about it. It's why you became a miler. The question is whether you are prepared to live by it or whether it was just a bunch of words."
."

Hardcore

Tom Furman had a great blog entry the other day entititled "Dont be a sissy"http://physicalstrategies.blogspot.com/2006/12/dont-be-sissy.html.
The post deals with the topic of toughness and the difference between mature,real world toughness that reveals itself when the chips are down and the narcissistic, almost manufactured toughness of the obsessive trainee and the specialist athlete.

And do I know that world. I have spent most of my life trying to control, manipulate and otherwise bend- to -my- will my body and my mind and my environment to adhere to the training and competition goals I had set forth. And for many, many, many years nothing else came ahead of my training,my competitions my recovery and creating the ideal environment to make gains from. I only had to look around at the best in the field at whatever I was trying to do to see exactly what I needed to bring to the table to have a chance of success.

But I have always thought of this as my career and I was doing what was necessary to get ahead. I always wanted to be the best I could be and learn from the best there were.At the very least I could read them and or talk to them.I always thought that inorder to be a pro one needed to live like a pro first, and then you could be one. I still feel that way.

I have always known this as being Hardcore. Hardcore lived and breathed and slept and ate and dreamt their goals. I remember dreaming about gymnastics every night from 9th grade through college. Every night.My heroes were always the most hardcore at whatever sport I was in and relished being like them. The Bushido code of the Samurai called for total committment and devotion to the goal,no matter the price and I tried my best to live up to it.

I didnt have the most talent of anyone but I knew I had more will and more willingness to sacrifice than most anyone I met. I loved the fact that one could not 'buy' physical success, it had to be earned. And by default if you had it you have earned it. The most democratic of situations and one I still relish today.

I lived like an ascetic monk and focused as much as possible on "perfecting" my life so that it supported training as much as possible.Money meant nothing to me and possesions were things that just got in the way.

Society rewards obsessive compulsive successes in all walks of life. IN big time sports to big time business. How many hours a week does a partner in a big time law firm or VC firm put in each week? As many as it takes,and how balanced is that? Not very but people rationalize it with " thats what you gotta do to make the big bucks". Which is true.Is it balanced? No.

If you do this for an amateur sport, as I did, people think you are nuts because there is no "payoff". Well, no monetary payoff perhaps but is that all that matters? I could never have learned the things I know about training and the body without that obsessive,one pointed laser beam behavior.

One can only recover from so much stress. To be a top athlete requires that as much of that stress come from training and not from other distractions like real jobs and demanding families.

So most top level athletes are on the brink of illness and injury all the time and live in a very narcissitic world. The next step off ANY peak is down. To be a top athlete, and these days there are NUMEROUS monetary rewards, means making many sacrifices.

But there are only so many chances one has and it soon becomes obvious what once was a passion is now just a hobby.

Of course this all changed, as it must, with a wife and a son. From focusing on just yourself to realizing your son and wife, and not you, is the most important thing in the world.And that decisions about what you do have to be put through that filter first. Not your competition or your training goals.

And thats where becoming real tough instead of just gym tough comes in.Really learning what "man up" really means each monday morning. realizing that the commericial that says "challenges dont build character, they reveal it " is correct and that how big your arms are or what your best squat is doenst mean much in the real world.Doing what needs to be done regardless of whether you want to do it or not does.

One of the joys of my life is being able to train myself first thing of the morning. I always have my best energy early and loved being able to totally focus on the training goals of the day.But my clients like that too and they come first. SO I have to train after expending maximal energy on being the best trainer I can for the first part of the day. THEN its my turn, when I'm stiff, cold and tired. Boo freakin hoo. Man up, get in the gym and get what I can done as best I can.

Now, as I approach mid century I realize THAT is my new Hardcore.

I am now training for Toms version of toughness and it's perfectly appropriate for this stage of my life. Being able to do real world tasks strongly and with good energy is way more important than any specific number goal of my training. My training now is to make me tougher, more resilient,more mobile, more enduring and more balanced ;not just as big or as strong or as skilled as I could be.That was for another time.

And yes it was FUN.I still beleive that to accomplish great things in life one has to be, as Jon Pall Siggmarson said in his video" I'm a little crazy; yes I have to be." There is a price for everything, including a balanced life. What the value of anything can only be answered individually. I have many scars but wouldnt trade any of them for the experiences that produced them, thats for sure.

One Arm Swings

Recovered better than exected from the swing medley on monday. No substitute for me getting on the floor and opening things up right and thats what I did.Had one arm swings on the menu today and wasnt sure whether to use the 20 or 24 kg weight.I decided I would back off on the snatch weight this saturday to the 20 kg and go for 250 plus snatches so that meant today was the 24 kg again.

One Arm Swing

26x5/5/5/5

36x5/5/5/5x2

44x5/5/5/5

53x5/5/5/5 x12 sets

240 reps

12,720 pounds

these went very very well. all swings were head high and leaving the arm locked into the body worked great!Let myself bend over and got great momentum and force production. I like the idea of doing low reps per arm and switching more. This will let me work at both my goals similtaneous: high force output per rep AND high volume.

I did one set of 10/10 one the 11 the set and could feel myself gear down right from the start knowing I had more reps to do!

Mixed grip chin pulls/jumping off bosu

6 sets of 6 with 5 second hang/scap tracs at end of set

these went very well. I am almost ready for real ones, I can tell.

that was it as Mike Castro and Mr Bosu David Weck showed up and we played with some of Wecks TopSecret new toys.I am sworn to secrecy but great stuff is coming down the pike.

bw 161

bf 8.9%

water 60.8%

datsit, staying loose.

Jon Pall.

Christmas present to myself.

One of my least favorite aspects of being( finally) a responsible adult and having to actually work for a living is not being able to train first thing in the morning. Nothing I love more than to get up and have nothing to do but focus on my training before I have to do the rest of the real world tasks.
I get to do so on Saturdays and it is always the highlight of my week. So today, having taken the day, off I got to train myself first thing and was happy as a kid on, well, Christmas day.

Plus, I believe I have finally figured out what to do with my Monday's workout. One of the realizations from Saturdays snatch workout was that my bent over form, for better or worse, was MY form and trying to mess with it to mimic a more squat style was not only silly but ineffective. I wanted to do another swing based workout but hitting the same nail with one arm swings or even lighter snatches didnt make sense. that groove wasn't recovered yet.

Another realization is that my high pull form, both one arm and two hand, IS more of a squat based pattern, getting my hips and legs more.But it doesnt work for my snatch. And doesnt have to, I now see. I can use these exercises on Monday and let them hit my (relatively) underutlized glutes and legs and still let my back and hams recover from snatches.
These will be a special exercise to target the areas my comp form does not get. As they get stronger it should make my snatch form stronger as well.Less weak points everywhere makes you stronger.

Again, the proof of the pudding is in the eating so we will see how I am tomorrow and wednesday.

I also wanted to increase volume and was reading former Sr. RKC Nate Morrisons adn Air Force ParaRescue instructors site http://milfitmag.com on strength endurance training for military and LEOs. This type of real world functional, go all day ,real world strength endurance is what I am after now and the more my work capacity comes up the better I feel. His articles on continuous work circuits and high rep swing trainig is very inspiring

heres just a hint from his site.

The Swing is a cyclic and ballistic exercise, which challenges the musculature of the trunk in an off balanced dynamic and functional manner. No rep is the truly the same.
The Swing develops power and power endurance like no other exercise. Guidelines for the Swing
If you have lower back pain or soreness, start with a light weight and limited range of motion. Gradually increase the range of motion before you increase weight. This is assuming your doctor has cleared you!
If you are a woman, especially recovering from child birth, follow #1 and also be sure to pay extra attention to contracting your glutes and all of the muscles of the abdomen (as if bracing for a punch).
If you are in the military, work up to over 100 reps per set with a 24kg KB.
If you are in SOF, go heavier and shoot for 50-100 reps with a 32kg KB, especially if your team carries large ruck loads of 100+ pounds.
For detailed instructions on performing the Swing, be sure to pick up a copy of my video, The Kettlebell Starter. Also check our archives

When I get my knee replaced and can really walk/hike/ruck watch out!
I highly recommend you check out Nate's site as there is always great info on a multitude of topics there.It is a pay site and you always get more than what you pay for! Way more.

Swing Medley

Circuit
two hand swing
one arm hi pull
two hand hipull
DARCS

10 reps each with 12 kg 50 reps =1300 lbs
10 reps each with 16 kg 50 reps =1800 lbs
10 reps each with 20 kg 50 reps = 2200 lbs

150 reps/5300 pounds

all supersetted with 200 foot rack walks, 100 foot per arm with 16 kg

then with the 24 kg

two hand swing 20 reps

one arm hi pull 20 reps

two hand hi pull 20 reps

DARC 20 reps
twice through

80 reps per round/160 total/8480 pounds total + swing circuit above=310 reps/13680 pounds.

each set was superesetted with 200 ft rack walks with 16 kg. The swings were not done in a circuit.I had ambitions of three rounds and 240 reps but the second round was much tougher and I didnt want to be wrecked tomorrow.

2000 feet of rack walks PR!

Jumping Chins

3x5

this was working out well until my left wrist started protesting so I switched to a mixed grip! Left arm pronated and right arm supinated. As twisted as I am it felt really GOOD! Of course.But then I thought about how much I used mixed grips( both sides) in my powerlifting deadlift and thought this might actually square me up!

jumping pull/chin off bosu

5x5 !

this worked well. I am so tweaked, lol.If i ever were to dl again, instead of using a hook grip to try to be square that way I would use a left hand undergrip and a right hand overgrip to twist me left to right, the manner I need to go to be "square" . THe other way just perpetuates my existing imbalances! But I ain't gonna be deadlifting anyway.No thanks I dont need that too,lol.

datsit! one hour of pretty much continuous work, right on target.
staying loose.

Twenty years ago

although not in Dec. A little trip down memory lane. March, 1987

Ten years ago today.

Ten years ago today I was just 39 and perhaps the strongest I have ever been in my life.I weighed 190 and was working on a 600 pound squat and a 430 plus bench(long term goals) . A few workouts from my log of that week:

12/23/96 Max effort dl

1) Safety bar deadlift off pins( bar is balanced on shoulders, hands at comp dl bar level)

175x5x2

25x2

340x1

394x1 (pr)

406x X miss

2) Wt hypers

50x8

70x8

90x8x2

50x5x5 sec holds

3)reverse hypers

210x12x4 sets

4) 2 DB wall sits( at parallel)

50lbs x30 sec

90lbsx 30 sec

100#x30 sec( pr)

5) spread eagle situp(straight leg)

100lbs x10x3 sets

6) cable side bends

110 lbs x10x3 sets

7) standing calf raises 4 sets

12/26/96 bench max effort

1)close grip decline 135x5x2

225x3x2

275x1

315x1

365x1

390x X

390x1 PR ( love getting these after I miss!)

2)Close grip decline ring grip

315x1

365x1

390x1 PR ( got my 6 reps above 90 as per Prilepins table, I sure sign I was in shape.)

3) rack extensions from dead stop in power rack

88x10

132x8

176x8

225x5

247x5

269x5

291x4 315x2.5 (LOL)

strong triceps and lats were my bench. weird weights as I have half pounds and half kilo set

4) wt pullups

bwx8

25x5

45x5

60x5x2

bwx12

5) plate raise seated

100lbs x10x3 sets

6) chest supported row

3x8

7) db hammer curl

40,50,60 lbs x 6 reps

12/27/96 Box squat speed day

12.5 inch hard box(loose suit bottoms/belt)

135x3x2
185x3
225x2
275x2
315x2

337lbs x 2 reps x 10 sets, 45 sec rest/sets

381x1
413x1
430x1



2) arched back good morning

225x8
270x6
315x5x3 sets



3) reverse hypers

210x12
260x12x3 sets



4) cable pull throughs

200lbs x15x3 sets



5) incline leg raises 4 sets to failure


6) incline straight leg situps 4 sets to failure


7) donkey calf raises 4x15

two months later I squatted 513( made an easy 562 but got reds )benched 391( missed 407) pulled 545 and just missed 562 weighing 191.No one can say we didnt train hard.

Back shoulders and arms, kb style.

Runners legs and Go Late.

I have been obsessed with leg strength and leg training since I destroyed my shoulder in 1977 and realized I could only train with my legs and they sucked. They had been weak since my knee injury in 1975. Then I learned how to run and got a feeling of strength and endurance in my legs I had never felt before. That they could run forever and not get tired.An amazing feeling and one I miss more than any of the other physical skills I can no longer do.
Even more then running, cycling gave me a feeling of power and strength in my legs that was amazing yet you were tired to the bike. Running made me feel like an animal. A fast and strong one with a solid base.

When I went into bodybuilding I became truly obsessed with getting big legs. I was told the more muscle I had the bettter protected my damaged knee would be and I took it to heart.BUt they got tight. And out of a natural balance that running gave them.Powerlifting made it even worse; tighter and even more unbalanced.

So I gave up the squat motion except as a stretch a year and a half ago and it was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I LIVED to squat and worshiped at the alter of Tom Platz and then Ed Coan and Kirk Karwoski.But my legs have felt better and better the more is just did snatches and swings and did not load the legs with squats.

I could be strong at squats in the workout and limp around all week, or not squat at all and be a much better walker all week. Not much of a choice anymore.

But today I realized, as I was rounding the corner into my 200th snatch, that my legs were taking on the feeling I used to have as a runner. Smaller and less one rep max strong but enduring and resilient in a way they havent been in years. I am steadily loosing the unbalanced tension that was causing so much knee and back pain and my legs are 'getting under me' again.

The swings and the snatch dont put me into a classic squat pattern and use the legs that way but even in my deadlifters lean over style the legs are getting worked and worked well! ANd the more I try to make myself "use the legs" more the worse I am. You have to use what works for you.


(Long warmup with swings with 12 kg and 16 kg)

snatch
16kgx5/5x2
20kgx3/3x2

24kg
5/5
6/6
7/7
8/8
9/9
10/10 x2
5/5
5/5

200 reps/10,600 pounds

in about 45 minutes.

this was a good one although it took forever to get started. My right shoulder has been out for the last couple days( messing around with pressing again!) and I didnt know how things would hold. Plus the super cold and early start does not help that.
But it was fine.Made me really concentrate on keeping the arm straight as I came out of the hole.

BUT ,as I started to fatigue and bit and slow down around 150 reps I was trying to sit back more to get more hip snap and that wasnt working. What I realized was, just like in my dl I have to lean over more to get my hips into it better and thats what I did! Worked like a charmOpened the stroke up a bit, got more momentum and didnt hurt anything!

I also realized I have to think 'go late' on the snap to hit it in the right place. I always want to go early and rush it.Missed my snatches last week and was worried it would feel heavy. no problems.excellent.

halos
12kg x8/8x4 sets

Chin Hangs
4 sets of 8-10 sec.These feel GREAT!

bw 160.8

bf8.8%

water60.8%

datsit staying loose.

Recovery

Training is really about recovery.Recovery is the holy grail of any kind of training because it truly is the limiting factor as to the gains you are going to make. That,of course and genetics. But that is another topic.

You can only make as much progress as you can handle loads in training.FOr instance, if you want to squat 500 pounds as a max you need to be able to train with 70-85% of that, or 350-425 lbs on a regular basis. We can argue as to how often and much much you should train with those loads but the key is being able to work with those weights. If you can do the workouts but they break you down so much you dont get stronger. you get weaker.so recovery is key and is truly the factor limiting how good you will get.

If you want to run a 4 min mile you better be able to do the 20 quarters in 63 seconds that the top milers can do with ease.Not only do those workouts but recover from them stronger than you were going in. Not an easy task and one that requires considerable sacrifice and dedication to accomplish.Building up to those required loads takes many many progressive workouts. And you have to recover from each one. the less the recovery the greater the chance of injury as well.

There are a multiple of facets to increasing recovery not the least of which is anabolics which work well( in the short run) and are easy. Hence their popularity. The least popular are the ones that require thought,work and discipline such as regular massage and body therapy, stretching, active recovery work,nutrition,visualization and not the least of which a very calm, balanced lifestyle and lots of rest as well as sleep.

Olympic and true professional athletes are very lazy when they are not training as they are very jealous of their recovery energy and know the more they waste with superfluous activities the slower their progress will be. It's all a choice of course. Stay out late, have some drinks and party a bit or watch a dvd, doing some mental preparation for the tomorrows workout and get 8 hours of great sleep.It's all about priorities and choices. Every day. Every choice.

Makes a big difference, especially over the long run,positive or negative, which is where all the real progress takes place.If you aren't in it for the long haul you are't in it.

Rest is not the same as sleep and those who never sit down and put their legs up will have very dead legs the next day. This is especially true for endurance athletes,bodybuilders and powerlifters. trying to get to the top of your game requires quite a bit of work and sacrifice, just no way around it.

As I write this though I am struck by how much things have changed for me.Again, this is from the perspective of the specialist athlete whose main purpose was to progress in competition. The concept of the "human animal" who is not training for sepcialzed sport competition but to be "ever ready and fit" to survive is a different way of thinking, and of training for me.

But to progress in your discipline of choice you must be able to do harder and harder workouts. To do that you have to figure out how to recover as fast and completely as possible between sessions.Its all part of the puzzle of experiements and discovery that is training.

Greedy.

Not much sleep last night; was up from 2:30 am on and out of bed at 4 am. Knew it was going to be rough as I had extra clients today to take care of coming makeups. Late start. ALso I think I let how good I feel lately go to my head, as usual. Here I am thinking about max force and high velocity training and forgetting that just a few months ago I was hoping I could train at all!

I have to not forget that I should KNOW by now I have to stick to the movements and workloads that have shown of late NOT to injure me, but actually to make me better and not to get too greedy.It is my nature to always want to push more. To lift more, more heavily, more intensely, more often. I want to be able to do what the best can do and I have to realize that is what got me so injured in the first place.

To be able to move much more painfree, hell, to actually be able to MOVE at all is a blessing.To be able to snatch and swing hard and do 15,000 pound workloads and walk normal the next day is an amazing thing.

I can only load my right shoulder overhead so much without it complaining greatly is a reality I have to accept. Snatching well once a week is good enough. It has to be.

To be able to walk without much of a limp is an unbelievably great thing.

Suck it up and get started.

10 min HOT bath as passive warmup

One arm swings( straight arm)
26x10/10x2
36x8/8x2

44x8/8x 15 sets
240 reps, 10,560 lbs
20 minutes

this went very well once I settled down and decided to keep the reps down.I wanted a rep range that ended with strong power,regardless of what it was.I'm not very fast after ten reps of anything.Eights felt easy and still had plenty of snap on them. I recover much much better if I dont get into oxygen debt. as soon as that happens recovery sucks ass.
Form felt good and shoulder was fine.

Bosu Jumping Chins
6,6,5,5,4=26!!!
full weight hang and scapula tractions after each set!!!!! no problem,actually felt GOOD to hang like that. still have to go slowly and be very careful, this is so new.

rack walks 20 kg
200 feet per arm 1200 feet total

these felt great! left wrist was a little strained buy the supination and hangs but I didnt push it.

bw 161
bf 9.4%
water 60.2%

damned gingerbread cookies. I can eat ice cream and keep my bf down but as SOON as I add the processed flour shit back in it goes up!and one of my clients gave me 8 of my favorite cheese danish, which is my favorite pastry! uh oh.

datsit, staying loose.

Cheks progressions of training: revised.

Chek advocates that training progresses in this order

1) flexibility( both joints and muscle length)

2) stability

3) strength

4) endurance

5) power

I have used this metric for many years for my clients and myself with great success but I think it time I adapted it a bit:

1) flexibility/mobility

2) stability

3) basic endurance

4) strength

5) strength endurance

6) power

I think once the joint is mobile and stable than, as McGill suggests basic endurance of that stable position is important as a base for strength training. Then strengh THEN strength endurance. Then power training can come into play safely.

Scott Wilson from start to finish.

Scott as very advanced teenager the late eighties
the early eighties

The late ninties
Scott was an incredible training partner, business partner,mentor and most of all, friend.I learned as much from my time with him than I have with just about anyone I've spent time with. The consumate professional I NEVER,EVER, EVER saw Scott cheat on his decided upon diet plan until Sunday, his cheat day.His discipline was PERFECT.

He would just want to smell the donuts I was eating and that was enough, lol!

That is until cheat day and WATCH OUT, it wasnt pretty.This guy was the epitome of the hard core professional bodybuilder during its golden era and NEVER got the acclaim he deserved, although he had more covers than anyone but arnold!He jsut couldnt pose for shit and never worked it at all although I begged him. He hated it and it showed. He shook and that looks like shit. Had he had had better body control he would have cleaned up. Oh yeah and if he hadn't advertised for the wrong supplement company, lol!