Thursday, March 12, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Kai Pulls 357 lbs. and my 55 reviews.
Even when it's about someone else, it's still about me. :)
I've been working with Kai for a while now helping him prep for the TSC and he has made amazing leaps forward in his strength and endurance. Right now he is on track to hit 100 snatches in 5 minutes, pull 385 (my prediction) and hit 15 pull ups.
Last Friday Kai came in to Girya and successfully pulled 357 lbs.
In other news I recently hit 55 reviews on my RKC instructor page, bringing me ever closer to the top 10.
Don't be shy about putting in your two cents. Just remember, I only want to hear good things.
I've been working with Kai for a while now helping him prep for the TSC and he has made amazing leaps forward in his strength and endurance. Right now he is on track to hit 100 snatches in 5 minutes, pull 385 (my prediction) and hit 15 pull ups.
Last Friday Kai came in to Girya and successfully pulled 357 lbs.
In other news I recently hit 55 reviews on my RKC instructor page, bringing me ever closer to the top 10.
Don't be shy about putting in your two cents. Just remember, I only want to hear good things.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Hard-wired for maximum tension with the one arm push up.
During my struggle to press out the 48 kg. I am learning many lessons by force. Over the past month I have found myself having days where I couldn't press out the 32 kg. I knew this was not a factor of strength, as I was stronger in everything else. It was a factor of technique. Knowing this I went back to GTG with one arm push ups. If you've done many oapu's you know that you have to be tight. There is no being loose in a oapu.
I did the below a little over a year ago...
Looking back on it now I see a lot of room for improvement. Part of my current quest is to balance out my right and left as well as perform my one arm push ups with feet together. Really, I don't consider one arm push ups to be that difficult if you know how to get tight. If your tension techniques are not locked in, then yes they will be damn near impossible.
This applies to heavy presses as well. I am taking the remedial lessons I am learning from my one arm push ups and now applying them to my presses. I cannot allow myself to get lazy with my technique or my shoulders will pay the price. Nothing is given, it must be taken.
So today during my presses it wasn't just about sucking my shoulder into the socket, but sucking my whole body into it. This worked. The 32 kg. went up easily. I pressed out the 28 kg. for 3 reps each side with authority, and probably could have gone 5 reps.
When you first start using the hard-style method you have to think about everything. You have to keep a mental index of what is tight, what is loose, etc. Over time it becomes more intuitive and you don't have to think about it as much. Instead of indexing what is tight, you just look for what is loose, or half-loose. Then you realize you can tighten up 5 times as hard as you used to be able to. The process is never ending, so don't rest on your laurels just because you figured out how to squeeze your glutes.
By the time you get a ways down the road, hitting your glutes, abs, legs, etc. during a press should be like hitting a rock.
I recall during RKC someone telling me that he couldn't properly clean a 16 kg. because it was too light. That's a no go. Whether it be a clean, a swing, or a press, you should be able to apply maximum tension and proper technique with any weight or no weight. The point that I really grasped the basic elements of high tension was during the UCLA RKC when Rif was called out to perform a deadlift with no weight. You would have thought he was pulling six-hundred pounds. Your press with an empty hand should look the same.
So, to wrap it all up I leave you with this.
I did the below a little over a year ago...
Looking back on it now I see a lot of room for improvement. Part of my current quest is to balance out my right and left as well as perform my one arm push ups with feet together. Really, I don't consider one arm push ups to be that difficult if you know how to get tight. If your tension techniques are not locked in, then yes they will be damn near impossible.
This applies to heavy presses as well. I am taking the remedial lessons I am learning from my one arm push ups and now applying them to my presses. I cannot allow myself to get lazy with my technique or my shoulders will pay the price. Nothing is given, it must be taken.
So today during my presses it wasn't just about sucking my shoulder into the socket, but sucking my whole body into it. This worked. The 32 kg. went up easily. I pressed out the 28 kg. for 3 reps each side with authority, and probably could have gone 5 reps.
When you first start using the hard-style method you have to think about everything. You have to keep a mental index of what is tight, what is loose, etc. Over time it becomes more intuitive and you don't have to think about it as much. Instead of indexing what is tight, you just look for what is loose, or half-loose. Then you realize you can tighten up 5 times as hard as you used to be able to. The process is never ending, so don't rest on your laurels just because you figured out how to squeeze your glutes.
By the time you get a ways down the road, hitting your glutes, abs, legs, etc. during a press should be like hitting a rock.
I recall during RKC someone telling me that he couldn't properly clean a 16 kg. because it was too light. That's a no go. Whether it be a clean, a swing, or a press, you should be able to apply maximum tension and proper technique with any weight or no weight. The point that I really grasped the basic elements of high tension was during the UCLA RKC when Rif was called out to perform a deadlift with no weight. You would have thought he was pulling six-hundred pounds. Your press with an empty hand should look the same.
So, to wrap it all up I leave you with this.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Monday, March 2, 2009
Beast Challenge Progress and Recovery
Here's the current stats on my Beast Challenge Progress.
Pistol- 40 kg.
Press- 36 kg.
Pull Up- 28 kg.
My Pistols and Pull Ups keep building, but I've momentarily stalled on my presses. No big deal, this is just the ebb and flow of the training cycle. I'm going back to school on my TGU, dropping to the 24 kg. bell and going for more continuous reps and ironing out movement pattern and ROM issues I'm having from right to left. I think this will contribute to my pressing. I'm also doing a lot of bent pressing on the 32 and 40 kg., and really emphasizing the negative at the finish of the movement. I'll also be going back to work more strictly on pressing ladders and working GTG with pistols and pull ups. I think I can do this in 2009. That being said, I probably won't actually do the challenge until 2010. Can i pistol the 40? Yeah, but the rules say I have to go calf to hamstring. I am below parallel, but not that low. My chin is over the bar with the 28 kg., but not throat to the bar. When I walk out on that field I have to be able to kill all three events. None of this guessing game BS. "Can I pistol the Beast? Gee, might as well find out in front of 70 strangers."
On another note, recovery is good. Right now I'm probably at an hour or more of recovery work everyday. Stretching, Rolling, Z-Health. I'd have a hobo hit me in the head with a bag of dead cats if I thought it would help.
Already I can see a big difference. My hips are finally unlocking, my right hamstring is un-strung, my right shoulder is behaving, and my left knee has stopped popping and the stiffness is gone. I figured out (with Tara's help) that my left quad and IT band were just insanely tight. Tomorrow I'm going to try my first full pistol on my left leg in a while. I'm looking forward to killing it with one-legged squats again. It's amazing I basically worked my way up from the 24 kg. to the 40 kg. barely doing any pistols.
Pistol- 40 kg.
Press- 36 kg.
Pull Up- 28 kg.
My Pistols and Pull Ups keep building, but I've momentarily stalled on my presses. No big deal, this is just the ebb and flow of the training cycle. I'm going back to school on my TGU, dropping to the 24 kg. bell and going for more continuous reps and ironing out movement pattern and ROM issues I'm having from right to left. I think this will contribute to my pressing. I'm also doing a lot of bent pressing on the 32 and 40 kg., and really emphasizing the negative at the finish of the movement. I'll also be going back to work more strictly on pressing ladders and working GTG with pistols and pull ups. I think I can do this in 2009. That being said, I probably won't actually do the challenge until 2010. Can i pistol the 40? Yeah, but the rules say I have to go calf to hamstring. I am below parallel, but not that low. My chin is over the bar with the 28 kg., but not throat to the bar. When I walk out on that field I have to be able to kill all three events. None of this guessing game BS. "Can I pistol the Beast? Gee, might as well find out in front of 70 strangers."
On another note, recovery is good. Right now I'm probably at an hour or more of recovery work everyday. Stretching, Rolling, Z-Health. I'd have a hobo hit me in the head with a bag of dead cats if I thought it would help.
Already I can see a big difference. My hips are finally unlocking, my right hamstring is un-strung, my right shoulder is behaving, and my left knee has stopped popping and the stiffness is gone. I figured out (with Tara's help) that my left quad and IT band were just insanely tight. Tomorrow I'm going to try my first full pistol on my left leg in a while. I'm looking forward to killing it with one-legged squats again. It's amazing I basically worked my way up from the 24 kg. to the 40 kg. barely doing any pistols.
A 28 kg. pull-up... finally.
I tried this a few weeks ago and was stopped cold about a quarter of the way up. Tonight I managed to get my chin over the bar with a 28 kg. kettlebell hanging from my belt. I'm still about 170, so I know this is due to a strength increase, and not just dropped weight. Lately I've been doing a day or two of volume training as well as GTG, which seems to be working.
It's very gratifying to finally get some movement with the pull-ups after I was stalled for so long.
It's very gratifying to finally get some movement with the pull-ups after I was stalled for so long.
Paul Chek Article
Check out this article.
I particularly like the way he hammers on nutrition. I don't have money falling out of my pockets, but I eat organic, and I make an effort to eat healthy. Every so often someone tells me organic food is a scam. Now, I recognize there is a wide spectrum between organic food and McDonalds. For most people I think falling in the middle is just fine. Remember, just because you can't see the damage being done doesn't mean it isn't there. I've just read too much research and had it re-enforced by too many people who know their stuff to think organic food is a racket. Just the experience of how I function now vs. when I was eating food full of chemicals and pesticides is evidence enough for me.
Recently I've taken to trying to drink only water. Just in the past week or so, but again I'm already functioning better.
I love when people tell me organic food is too expensive, at least in CA. It's a different gig out here, and I'm sure in other parts of the country it is waaay more expensive. That being said, I've noticed people seem very entitled about food, and don't think much of their budget should be assigned to it. How much of your budget will be assigned to that oxygen tank or that rascal scooter?
I particularly like the way he hammers on nutrition. I don't have money falling out of my pockets, but I eat organic, and I make an effort to eat healthy. Every so often someone tells me organic food is a scam. Now, I recognize there is a wide spectrum between organic food and McDonalds. For most people I think falling in the middle is just fine. Remember, just because you can't see the damage being done doesn't mean it isn't there. I've just read too much research and had it re-enforced by too many people who know their stuff to think organic food is a racket. Just the experience of how I function now vs. when I was eating food full of chemicals and pesticides is evidence enough for me.
Recently I've taken to trying to drink only water. Just in the past week or so, but again I'm already functioning better.
I love when people tell me organic food is too expensive, at least in CA. It's a different gig out here, and I'm sure in other parts of the country it is waaay more expensive. That being said, I've noticed people seem very entitled about food, and don't think much of their budget should be assigned to it. How much of your budget will be assigned to that oxygen tank or that rascal scooter?
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