about freakin time

bw 162.8
bf 9.7%

that took forever to get down. the stir fry's the key. mucho vegetables.

Sweat bath.

Wow. Havent had such good energy in a long time. Not being in constant pain does that I guess.
Also been enjoying walking a bit as every step doesnt hurt now. Lots of static stretching (rifga!:)) and my body is changing; getting smaller and leaner and compacting. I almost have all the joints open but there still is so far to go.

But I can tell I am in shape as I dont sit between sets now and trained today( 85 deg Plus) with no fan and just dug the sweat. I missed that the most these last five injured years. No squatting or dl volume and NO cardio means little sweat and sweat cleanses and heals.

When I dont mind the heat I know I am getting there. reminds me so much of my running, cycling days. especially the cycling,which is more muscular.

Two Hand swings
36x10
53x10

62x10x10 =100 reps = 6200 lbs

Superesetted with Tactical Pullups
4,5,6,7,8=30
3,4,5,6,7= 25
3,4,5,4,4= 20
75 total reps these were strong! I supersetted the last five sets with Farmers walks

Farmers Walks
2/36'sx200 feet 5 times= 1000 feet.

This was great as my knee didnt "adjust" badly even once the whole trip!

Heavy Bag/Southpaw

3 songs

Seems I am a lefty! this felt right for so many reasons. One, my strong right leg is now lead leg, using the left as the straight punch lets me push off my left toes to rotate TOWARDS the right, which is EXACTLY the counter -to- my -scoliosis rotation I need to train!Same with the left hook to the liver which seems to be one of the most dangerous punches their is!

Plus, being a lefty throws off righties . worked on lots of straight punches, jabs and combos as well as left and right hooks by themselves and tried to actually move my feet as I did this.Great sweat.

Rifga stretching 10 minutes on floor. left hammie got tight this am. oh yeah, stretched out ten minutes at 5 am. this so helps.

workout time = 80 minutes

bw 163.4
bf 10.9% started eating early yesterday and didnt stop much! LOL!all good stuff but a lot!


Actually going to start PLANNING an early feeding day on Sundays as I crave breakfast, my favorite meal of the day. I will eat early and fast the second part of the day. Just on Sunday. this is probably a good deviation.We'll see if I can stop, however!

datsit, getting ready for the RKC!

Mikey

125# and 145#, owner Steve Cotter.

In and Out

The longer you are "out" of balance, from either pain syndromes, length tension imbalances or orthopedic restrictions, the more it starts to see normal. It may be out of a normative "balance" but it is your balance and there it is.

I have always said give me a pain that I know over a new pain anyday. New pains in new and different places scare me much more than the same old knee, SI, rotator stuff. That being said I wonder what actually removing the restrictions does to the old "norm" now that its closer to plumb? New and different "noise" from muscles that havent been "awake" and firing in a very long time? I wonder.

As my left leg tracks more correctly and my knee bends better I am using my right leg in a different way than usual and my hallucis longis is talking to me. Actually I think the calcaneous is just not sitting right. I have to track it down and I think its the soleous/peroneals more than the hallucis itself. problem is seemingly NEVER where the pain is.

Dogens pool.

Peaking

If I didnt know better I'd say I am actually peaking. I am going to teach at the RKC this coming weekend and have been working to get in the best shape possible for the cert. Symptoms of peaking: usually heavy weights and loads feel light, energy is high, recovery is fast,previous tough workouts are done with decidely less effort, and you finish workouts feel strong and ready to do more! Of course figuring out the proper gait mechanics and having significantly less knee pain is also in that mix.

Snatch
26x5/5/5/5x2
36x5/5x2
44x5/5


53x6/6x15 sets 180 reps/9540 pounds

This was very strong and easy. made some tape grips and the large blister I have held up great! movements were strong and powerful.quick pace as well, only three of us rotating.

Ribbons/Halos
a great new move shown to me by Ken Black. Basically combines a chooping motion into a halo.I really like it. 5 sets of 15 with the 26/

Band pushdowns 100 reps/red band

bw 161.4
bf 10.4% (there ya go)

datsit,staying loose.

elite runners and mileage

http://www.powerrunning.com/Training/An%20Interesting%20Analysis%20of%20Some%20Elites.htm

Ken and Joe lift the Rif Stones

Got thechance to spend some time with Ken Black and Joe Sarti this afternoon and before they left they put the heaviest of the Rifs stones, the 125ler , on their shoulders. Nice to be young and buck strong.Ken put it up like it was 10 pounds and Joe had no problem at all. I took the picture, lol!

great guys both.

Guardians

Magnus, my Old English Bastard sword, keeps watch over Stones Gym along with the trophy from my favorite contest, the old Central Cal in San Luis Obispo where I did my first triple bodyweight squat. Next to that is one of the Rifstonians, weighing in about 125 and is fun to lift.

Also the first sign for Girya, The Art of Strength the first name of my Palo Alto studio which I opened in January 2003. Should've tradmarked that. Even though I'm Jewish I have Mary keeping watch over the place as well. Couldnt hurt.

The Zone

These are the days I live for and the reason I train. They come much fewer and farther between these days. In fact, I can't remember having one recently; the workouts are more a grind than anything.Of course, trying to train but NOT push too hard is oxymoronic, especially the moron part. It's like having one foot on the gas and the other on the brake.

And of course it comes on the heel of a shitty day. Good workouts never seem to come when I am ready for them, rested and focused and with expectations of strength power and good wind.They arrive on their own damn schedule when they damn well feel like it and if you dont like it so what? Nice to know they still care enough to come visit even once in awhile.

Been obsessing with powerlifting again and how I miss being that strong. Hell, I miss TRAINING to be that strong. Wanting to. Of course I am in the least amount of pain I have been in fifteen years and moving better everyday. Of course I feel the urge to fuck with it. Surviving the two hand swings didnt help and thinking about heavy squats always gets me going. THis will have to do as I like walking much better than even squatting.

And I think I might even taught my left leg how to walk correctly again! This could be the best physical news I've had in eons. Onto the workout:

KBHigh Pulls:
36x10/10/5/5
36x5/5/5/5
44x5/5/3/3
53x5/5

62x5/5/3/3x10 sets 160 reps, 9920 pounds
53x10/10/5/5
x9/9/4/4
x8/8/3/3
x7/7/3/3
x6/6/3/3=116reps,6148 pounds

276 reps 16,068 pounds!! Nice workload and good total number.


These just felt great. smooth and steady although not explosive until after the fifth set. The main thing was my energy was great; hardly sat down between sets at all and only took less than a minute between sets, which is rare for me. I had only counted on doing the 160 heavy ones but I had plenty left. No fan on today either and it was fine.LOTS of sweat.

Snatch holds
44 x 45 secs each arm 4 rounds.

These were very solid. ON right arm I sqqueezed the crap out of my right pec as I held the weight overhead. The more I released the pec tendon the more my shoulder dropped into the socket. This is a great technique.

Farmers walks with (2) 36's
200 foot laps 5 times 1000 feet.

This was a great time to practice the new gait technqiue and it held up great!started light on purpose with the 36's so as not to overload a new technque too much.1000 feet was it today as form was starting to begin to go. time to stop. BUT it worked very very well and its only been a few days. This is what I've been waiting for. Its been working its way down my leg for years and its time to go all the way out! I learn slowly but I dont quit and eventually figure it out.
My leg was so twisted, no wonder it hurt so much and wouldnt bend!

Heavy Bag
4 songs.

this feels really good to do, really natural. I am not getting tired at all and it feels like it is loosening up my arms.

RIFGA
ten minutes on the floor.Flexibility is really coming along and things are staying stretched out more. I have more energy at the finish than I did coming in. that hasnt happened in awhile. was in the gym for 1.5 hours and it was great. wasnt dying to get finished.


bw 161.6
bf 10.6

datsit staying loose.

125 Lb two hand swing

Venice Beach 2005 Not a bad position but my new technique keeps the arms straight and the bell is lower.

Two hand swing survival

I think I'm cool.really stretched out after the workout and again this am. awoke with no unusual back tightness and went right to Girya for 20 minutes of mat work. doing tons of thumb work lately and its taking its toll on my biceps and shoulders. that kills me more than hard training!

I just have to really go slowly on ramping up the loads in te 2 hand swing so I can adapt properly. I've been staring at the 96 lb monster at Girya and thinking" I can two hand swing that no problem". One step at a time.

I am walking MUCH better after analysing that gait analysis article and really grokking the correct leg rotations and positions during each phase of the gait cycle. Of course I was doing it backwards much of the time and externally rotating the femur and the tibia during foot contact.

Doing the opposite made and immediate difference in both my knee pain on contact and stability in the mid and full support phase.THIS is the info I needed. ALso confirmed I was correct in my assumption that the posterior tibialis was problematic in this and it was; locked short it was restricting my tib from internally rotating inthe swing phase and making me hit in external rotation.

still have work to do re patterning my gait as well as flexibility and bodywork to relieve more tensions but at least now I know which direction to go in. AMazing as well, when my postural positions are correct so much of the muscle tension dissapears with NO bodywork or foam rollers.
The low swing. yea.

Double knee bend

great post on crossfit about the double knee bend and athletics


http://www.coachesinfo.com/category/strength_and_conditioning/366/

The Power Squat of Swings.

Hopefully I didnt just screw myself. I could not face doing lots of cleans today as they work my arms more than anything and my arms are tired. Been doing TON of bodywork lately and they are shot. And I have been itching to put some form of squat back into the mix even though I should be satisfied with what I have.I so miss being a powerlifter.But my squat pattern needs way more flexibility, stability and mobility work before I ever load it so I decided to do some two handed swings, the power squat of kettlebell swings.

I have had back issues from these in the past which I why I dropped them from the mix, finally.Flexion is the problem as well as loading my back and hips bilaterally.But I have been demoing these lots at work and though I might be ready to tolerate them. Man I hope so.It's such a basic power drill. Much like a good power squat.real simple so you can go real hard.Hard is good.

Tracy does all low swings, where the bell comes up between the crotch and the navel and its a serious efficient stroke. SO much hips and legs and the back stays nicely in extension. LOTS of sitting back though, like the power squat. Like the second pull of the olympic snatch or clean, which creates more watts of power than ANY OTHER MOVEMENT KNOWN. Amazing. So I decided to use that technique. whole lots less pull on my shoulders as well. we'll see if its too much hips for my back.

Also, with the low swing I can fully lock my elbows which is hard to do as the bell swings higher.I have really long arms and small feet( base) I always want to pull the bell into a vertical arc except for this style. this may work. it sure is mainly hips and legs.

Two hand swings
36x10x2
44x15

53x15x9 sets 135 reps 7155 pounds.

Supersetted with tactical pullups( long pauses in bottom)
5,6,7,8
4,5,6,7
3,4,5,6= 66 reps

suprsingly strong today. I way hung out inthe stretch hang position,which I have been rushing lately, to get more reps. A big mistake. work the stretch.

Waiters Walks
26# kbx 4 lap sets x3= 1200 feet
no rest between arms

Heavy Bag

3 songs( ala Bill Fox style)

this works great. Bag is hung properly and I'm on plywood. this was fun actuallygot a rythym and lo and behold I actually started moving my feet towards the end. wrapped my hands today and wore bag gloves. cannot afford to mess up my hands or wrists!

bw 163.4
bf 10.4%!!

LOL, As my weight goes up my bodyfat goes down. hilarious.

datsit , here's hoping I dont lock up :))

gait mechanics

this is a GREAT analysis of gait mechanics and I really need to study this in depth. I didnt realize how critical and detailed the movement of the foot/ ankle was to proper gait. duh, of course but who knew?
I immediately got pain relief in one stance support by rotating my femur internally on footstrike instead of whtever the hell else I was doing!WHen you have bad joints natural movements arent natural anymore and pain cycles can cause a really bad downward spiral of motor patterns.

Have pain, change the pattern, pattern is not good, have pain and repeat, ad infinitum.Knowing exactly where the bones ar esuppsoed to go during each movement really helps me do it correctly when the knee acts up or the bones move out of position.

I also go how the foot turns from a 'mobile adaptor' for the ground to a rigid source of force generation during the contact phase to the full support phase. this is critical when the knee is painful if loaded inproperly.I am very excited about this information.


9 am RIFGA stretching 20 min
Bosu ball two foot stands/stretching ankles.


http://www.drpribut.com/sports/spgait.html

Hard style.

I've been trying to decide lately what direction I want my training to go in, in regards my snatch training. If I go towards the Rite of Passage ten minute challenge, or a USSST, I need to really focus on upping the rep count, on a per set basis as well as a total volume level. Since this will be strength endurance training I need to lower my explosiveness and focus on a controlled force output preparing me to go ten minutes.

Trouble is I just dont like training this red fiber way. I guess I really am a white fiber type at heart.That's what I so loved about WSB training. Low reps per set really let you( and FORCE you) to go all out each rep.Volume is moderate as you can't do that many reps when you are going 100% force on each rep and I have to get past that ,lol. I mean with WSB squat training we only did 8-10 sets of 2 in the squat. and single on max effort day.

The only way I like going low intensity is when it is low enough to disassociate and cruise. cant do that with a KB!And even if you can I dont really like it.

Did five only in the snatch today and really focused on compensatory acceleration on each rep. No holding back or trying to find the most efficient ( shortest) stroke. If anything I sat much deeper than usual trying to get more of a pendulum swing, and more momentum going. Felt great!

I might be able to go back to the JB snatch/press technique with this, which is even a MORE powerful jump.

Snatch 9 am
26x10/10x2
36x5/5x2
44x5/5

53x5/5 x15 sets = 150 reps/7950 pounds.

High Pulls
53x10/10x3 sets 60 reps/ 3150 pounds.

this was very good, took about 10 sets to get really explosive( hey its early and I'm old!) but when it did they were flying. much more natural too.


halos
26x12/12 x3 sets

bw 160.6 !!!
bf 11.2%!!!

man this is weird! I am eating cleaner than ever! Of course it is early in the day and I've had less than half the water I usually have on weekdays when I weigh in but this is strange.I feel good so I will continue and screw the scale. I like being closer to 160 though, that's good.

datsit staying loose.