Saturday, 02.04.12: Weights and Movement

As we grow, I feel a little refresher is in need on this topic.  It has come up recently with a lot of people, not just one.  When I write these workouts I have a training stimulus I want to achieve.  Sometimes I want you to go heavy at the sake of rounds or time and others I want you to move fast and keep moving at lighter weights.  However one thing is always the same:  NEVER GO HEAVIER OF FASTER THAN FORM CAN HANDLE!!!

This is true on strength work as well, lift what you can proerly with good safe form and complete range of motion.  If you move properly and go full range of motion you will get stronger faster even if it means checking your ego and taking a step back first.  You may be new and maybe you could squat 350 with crap form and half ROM, great good for you but now we are going to scale back to what you can do with solid form and full ROM.  Yes, it may hurt the ego and it may feel weak but trust me it is better in the long term to do it right with less weight. 

Also, there are some really good athletes and strong people in the gym do not try to keep up with anyone else.  Get you stronger and better before worryiing about beating someone else or lifting as much as them.  That is a recipe for disaster, just worry about you getting better.  If you then want to compete we'll talk and get you ready to do that.

If you are ever unsure about what to do for weights in a workout talk to me and I will get you set, also start tracking and writing down what you are doing, this will help.  There are all kinds of Droid/iPhone apps to track WODs, use them.

Friday:
Front Squat 2 x 5

OH Squat 5@60%, 5@70% AMRAP@80%

Olympic Strength:
Clean: Floor, Hang, Mid Hang x 7

WOD:
10 Sumo Deadlift 225/155
15 Wall Ball 20/14
Rounds in 8 Min

Friday, 02.03.12: Progress

This is another good one from Neghar Fonooni about Progress.  It doesn't always have to show in a PR, it could be better movement, your old PR feeling easier or moving a submax weight more as in the AMRAP round of Wendler.  Getting 80% 3 more times than last month is progress whether your 1 RM changes or not!

progress

n[ˈprəʊgrɛs]

1.movement forward, esp. towards a place or objective

2.satisfactory development, growth, or advance

3.advance towards completion, maturity, or perfection

 

We talk a lot about "personal records", or "PR's" in our line of work. The focus is usually on moving more weight, moving the same weight for more reps, or moving something (including yourself) faster. It's always about the numbers. And if you didn't set a PR, you're on a plateau.

 

That's all well and good if you have a young training age. The younger your training age (time spent in the gym, doing serious work), the more measurable progress you will make. In the first year you will make amazing gains. I remember a few years ago, going from front squatting basically zero, to front squatting 115 and being insanely excited. Fast forward a couple of years and A LOT of squats later-and I haven't gotten past 160. I used to beat myself up for it, trying to figure out why I sucked so badly at front squats. I had it programmed in my mind that if I wasn't moving more weight, I wasn't progressing, and lack of progress is a coach's (and athlete's) worst nightmare. To be fair, I did have to take a solid seven months of off squatting in the middle of those years due to my knee surgery, but I still felt as though my "numbers" should have been higher.

 

Unfortunately, my training age is so much higher now, that gains don't come on rapidly, and are harder to see and feel. I might only put 15 pounds on my squat in the course of a year, and that's being generous. So, in an effort to keep my sanity, and to stop berating myself for my squatting inadequacies, I began to change my paradigm as it relates to "progress."

 

The thesaurus sites the following words as synonyms for progress: Development, advancement, growth, gain, and improvement. If you are training intelligently and consistently, chances are you have experienced these things on some level-even if you haven't put more weight on your squat (or dead lift, or press, etc). Because here's the thing: Better is not "more", better is better.

 

I got to thinking about this when I realized that although I was still squatting 125x5, 145x3, or 160x1, for example, I

was doing it better. I may not have added load, but I added efficiency. Heavy squats felt easier, and smoother. Valgus of the knees was basically non-existent. Form and technique were sharper. The feeling I had after a set of squats was one of exhilaration-not fatigue. Isn't this progress? Isn't moving the same load more, yet more efficiently, a substantial form of progress and improvement? If you move a lot of weight, and set a "PR", but do so with sloppy technique, is it still progress?

 

I see a lot of videos on YouTube and Facebook of people and their PR's. And do you know what I see? A lot of sloppy turkish get ups, ugly squats, not-so-strict overhead presses, and round back dead lifts. This does not impress me. More is not better-better is better. Intelligent training, efficient movement, beautiful strength, perseverance-this impresses me.

 

Part of the problem is we are PR obsessed. I PR'd in volume today-I lifted one more rep. I PR'd in weight today, I added 2.5 lbs. I PR'd in time today, I rested 20 seconds instead of 30. It's a little absurd isn't it? Next thing you know we'll be setting PRs in time to put on vibrams or shake up a protein shake. It's ridiculous. We feel as though if we do not regularly set PRs, we are stagnant and weak. All that serves to do is mentally destroy any ability to actually progress, and perpetuates the cycle.

 

I have found that when I stopped trying so hard to progress, I progressed immensely. True, the only way to get stronger and more powerful is to progressively place a demand on the body. But does that have to mean "more" or "heavier"? Not necessarily. Simply moving more efficiently, performing the same lift, but doing so with relative ease-this is progress. I'm still doing get ups with a 28kg kettlebell, just like I was 5 months ago. But now when I do it, it's smooth, it's solid. I pick it up and know that without question, I will complete it without fear of losing it. I'm not in a hurry to move up to the 32kg, in an effort to set a "PR". I'm not ready. Rushing to PR would be foolish and premature.

 

Should you strive to get stronger, faster, BETTER? Absolutely. But chances are that stressing out about setting personal records is not the most efficient way to get there.

 

Practice. Train. Groove good movement patterns, and challenge yourself consistently and intelligently. If you do that, progress will become an inevitable outcome.

 

Thursday:
Front Squat 2 x 5

Press 5@60%, 5@70%, AMRAP @80%

Jerk Practice

WOD:
15 Thruster
15 Pull Ups
Rounds in 7 Min

Thursday, 02.02.12: Gymnastics Seminar

SuperFit 2012: Male Compilation Video from Antwone Walters on Vimeo.

The ladies got the love yesterday so here is the guy's SuperFt Video.  I did not pick the music or have anything to do with the video...

On Sunday March 4 we will be having a Gymnastics Seminar that will run from 9 AM until about 1 or 2.  The cost is $75 and will cover Kipping, Muscle Ups, Ring work, Handstands (push ups, freestanding and walks).  It will be taught by Mike Prolifko, one of the coaches at Apollo Gymnastics.  Every Monday I watch his 7-10 year olds do stuff on the rings that you guys all wish you could do.  If Muscle Ups and Handstands are important to you than this is going to be well worth it.  Everytime I mention how we want to work muscle ups he laughs and says how easy they are and are hardly a skill.   I need 10 at least, I will put a sign up on the wall tomorrow!

Wednesday:
Front Squat 1 RM or 2 x 5

Deadlift- 5@60%, 5@70%, AMRAP @80%

WOD:
5 Power Clean 155/105
5 Burpees
7 Rounds