I have been pretty frustrated in the last few weeks. My squat had basically stagnated and my press was not improving much anymore. No matter how much I focused during my squatting, I was stuck on my last weight. I could not get it to 20 reps. I could barely get past 15 without collapsing. After four workouts resulting in a failure with the same weight, I reached a cross-roads. I was at the point where a mental block was forming, and I was beginning a habit of failure. I looked at my program and decided I was over-training. It was time to drop the fluff and get back to the basics. My old program had me working out five days a week: two strength workouts and three CrossFit workouts. I loved the CrossFit workouts, but they just weren't giving me enough rest to continue to make gains with my strength training. I'm now doing the basic abbreviated strength program: limited exercises, limited workouts, maximum intensity, rest and food. I now workout three times a week. Monday and Friday consist of five sets of five reps for the Clean & Press, and one set of 20 reps Breathing Squats. Wednesday is my only CrossFit workout. I'll do some light jogging on my off days to remove lactic acid and get the blood flowing, but nothing strenuous.
Today was my third strength workout on my new abbreviated program. Not only did I blow away my old PR in the C & P, but I did an almost easy 20 rep set with the weight that had been defeating me for so long. There is no better feeling than finally adding another ten pounds to the squat weight for my next workout. I feel bigger, stronger, and overall more powerful. I have definitely realized the effectiveness of the abbreviated workout schedule. I am going to stick to this routine and try to maximize my strength. Maybe after I have added 100 or so lbs to both of my lifts I will reduce my strength workouts and increase my CrossFit workouts, but that is way in the future.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Weight heaven
It has been about 2 weeks since I last posted, and the reason for the delay: My bumper plates arrived! Precious, precious weight. I have been pushing around the pounds and lovin' every minute of it. Heavy squats, presses, deadlifts, cleans, and snatches are all now at my finger tips. What was my first workout with the new Olympic set? Breathing squats. 20 reps of muscle building, mind blowing "man makers." It was awesome, and it was in my back yard.
The best part of having my own complete Olympic weight set is that I am now on my own schedule and in an environment that allows me to completely focus on my lifts with very few distractions. My last heavy workout was in the local gym. Like most gyms, this one is full of "pumpers" and "toners." These guys are too busy looking at themselves in the mirror to actually lift weights. When they do pick up a weight, it's a 20 lb dumbbell for concentration curls. They sit on the leg extension machine, the cable cross-over, and the wonderful dumbbell fly area. All of them pretending to work hard without actually pushing their bodies at all. They are 175 lbs of ripped weakness, made of mirror muscle that has absolutely no functional strength. If they tried to do a squat with their own body weight on the bar they would probably kill themselves. But hey, who needs strength when you can can do 12 reps of slow bicep curls? Besides, heavy weight is too much effort and doesn't allow you to ogle the gym bunny with the short shorts and sports bra.
Obviously, my heavy workouts in that gym were as much a challenge to my concentration as they were to my muscles. It's hard to focus on a PR lift when you have 4 guys standing a couple feet away talking about the latest supplements, while a snot nosed "personal trainer" is trying to convince you that squats are the devil and that fitness experts say that the smith machine is far better than free weights. My response is usually to throw the weight on my shoulders and growl...the trainer usually walks away and goes back to advising his 45 year old client on how to fit back into a size 8 doing nothing but yoga ball crunches. Ahh, modern fitness trends.
But that world is behind me now. My yard is now my arena. My weights my opponent. No mirrors, no distractions, no weak ass trainers. Just me and the bar.
The best part of having my own complete Olympic weight set is that I am now on my own schedule and in an environment that allows me to completely focus on my lifts with very few distractions. My last heavy workout was in the local gym. Like most gyms, this one is full of "pumpers" and "toners." These guys are too busy looking at themselves in the mirror to actually lift weights. When they do pick up a weight, it's a 20 lb dumbbell for concentration curls. They sit on the leg extension machine, the cable cross-over, and the wonderful dumbbell fly area. All of them pretending to work hard without actually pushing their bodies at all. They are 175 lbs of ripped weakness, made of mirror muscle that has absolutely no functional strength. If they tried to do a squat with their own body weight on the bar they would probably kill themselves. But hey, who needs strength when you can can do 12 reps of slow bicep curls? Besides, heavy weight is too much effort and doesn't allow you to ogle the gym bunny with the short shorts and sports bra.
Obviously, my heavy workouts in that gym were as much a challenge to my concentration as they were to my muscles. It's hard to focus on a PR lift when you have 4 guys standing a couple feet away talking about the latest supplements, while a snot nosed "personal trainer" is trying to convince you that squats are the devil and that fitness experts say that the smith machine is far better than free weights. My response is usually to throw the weight on my shoulders and growl...the trainer usually walks away and goes back to advising his 45 year old client on how to fit back into a size 8 doing nothing but yoga ball crunches. Ahh, modern fitness trends.
But that world is behind me now. My yard is now my arena. My weights my opponent. No mirrors, no distractions, no weak ass trainers. Just me and the bar.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Still waiting
Well, it's week 2 in Baltimore and I'm still waiting on my set of bumper plates to come in the mail. I've received my Olympic bar and my power rack (awesome!), but having all the support tools without the weights has been a bit frustrating. The pull-up bar on the power rack has come in very useful and I still have my rings, kettlebells, and heavy bag. Pretty much every CrossFit workout can be adapted to use those items. It has been a while since I did high-rep kettlebell work, and it is a smoker! My last workout was a 20 minute continuous superset: 10 kettlebell snatches per arm and 10 ring dips. I rotated through the 2 exercises as many times as possible in 20 minutes. At the 15 minute mark I was in a good deal of pain....at 20 minutes I dropped the kettlebell and collapsed on the ground. I was only using a 44 lbs bell, but I instead of doing the standard swing snatch, I did the snatch from a dead hang. This takes away the back swing and most of your momentum and really forces your body to generate full power on every snatch. Needless to say I was very sore the next day.
Today I am doing a 5K run. I haven't done a long run since I left Ft Bragg at the beginning of the month. When left to own choices, I tend to refrain from a lot of long distance running (not that a 5K is long distance). That is why CrossFit is such a great site. When the workout of the day says 5K, I do a damn 5K. When it says 10K, out I go with my running shoes. CrossFit forces me to cover all my fitness bases.
So until my bumper plates arrive I am going to continue to adapt my CrossFit workouts to what I have and really amp up on improving my metabolic conditioning. After all, the metabolic conditioning work is what transformed me when I first started doing CrossFit. Time to get back to the basics. Let's hope the weights come in eventually....I going into heavy squat withdrawal.
Today I am doing a 5K run. I haven't done a long run since I left Ft Bragg at the beginning of the month. When left to own choices, I tend to refrain from a lot of long distance running (not that a 5K is long distance). That is why CrossFit is such a great site. When the workout of the day says 5K, I do a damn 5K. When it says 10K, out I go with my running shoes. CrossFit forces me to cover all my fitness bases.
So until my bumper plates arrive I am going to continue to adapt my CrossFit workouts to what I have and really amp up on improving my metabolic conditioning. After all, the metabolic conditioning work is what transformed me when I first started doing CrossFit. Time to get back to the basics. Let's hope the weights come in eventually....I going into heavy squat withdrawal.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Fun with Heavy Bags
I really enjoy using non-standard weights during my workouts. My favorite is an old duffel bag that I have filled with about 150 lbs of sand, dirt, etc. I use it as a great alternative to my Olympic weights for everything from clean and press to long distance walks with the bag on my shoulder. You'd be surprised how hard your body has to work to move a weight that isn't balanced, doesn't have handles, and can't be kept centered on the body. You may be able to do a nice set of 200 lb cleans with your Olympic weights, but after a set of cleans with my 150 lb heavy bag your stabilizer muscles, forearms, and back will be hurting in new and exciting ways. Another way that the heavy bag works you is that since it is a non-standard shape and balance, your can't keep strict form during the lift. My lower back is always a lot more fatigued after a heavy bag lift, because I usually have to bend my back to handle the weight. I used to be worried about this. Everything you read about in the standard fitness materials speaks very ill of bending your back during lifts. That is, everything except the good stuff. In Brooks Kubik's Dinosaur Training, he has a whole section on using non-standard weights. Not only does he not speak ill of the bent back, but he actually says it will greatly improve your overall strength and power. He points out that most of the time that you have to exert strength/power in life is with a bent back...be it in a football tackle, a grappling move, picking up a large bag of groceries, etc. It is just another one of Kubik's awesome revelations of common sense training.
The use of heavy bags and other non-standard weights is also very practical. An old duffel bag is about $15 at an army surplus store. If you know someone in the Army, I'll bet they have at least 6 of them and will be willing to give you one. I know I do. Go to Home Depot or the like and buy a few 50 lb bags of the cheapest dirt, seeds, saw dust that you can find. Put a couple heavy duty trash bags on each bag of sand/dirt to ensure that it doesn't leak anywhere. You now have everything you need to make a 50 - 150 lb heavy bag. If you don't want to mess with the dirt/seeds, the just find fill the duffel with heavy stuff from around the house: books, tools, standard weight plates, etc. The more awkward the better.
In Iraq I obviously didn't have access to a weight set all the time. When we were in a combat outpost for months at a time, we would need to stay strong somehow. We used sand bags, duffel bags, a couple sets of body armor tied together....whatever we could get our hands on. Not only did it keep us strong, but I made a lot of great gains in strength, flexibility, and overall coordination that I wouldn't have experienced using balanced weights. Non-standard weights also give you a great connection with the strongmen of the past. As you lift and toss around these large bags, boulders, and logs you can't help but feel connected to ancient warriors of the past. In my mind I can see men like Hercules and Hector growing up using whatever weight they could find and becoming some of the greatest heroes of all time. Give it a try, and while you're at it check in with Brooks Kubik and CrossFit. Both are great sources for information on the use of non-standard weights and on strength and fitness in general.
Also, a shout out to my friend Chris! Thanks for reading the blog. You could probably use me as a non-standard weight, you damn giant.
The use of heavy bags and other non-standard weights is also very practical. An old duffel bag is about $15 at an army surplus store. If you know someone in the Army, I'll bet they have at least 6 of them and will be willing to give you one. I know I do. Go to Home Depot or the like and buy a few 50 lb bags of the cheapest dirt, seeds, saw dust that you can find. Put a couple heavy duty trash bags on each bag of sand/dirt to ensure that it doesn't leak anywhere. You now have everything you need to make a 50 - 150 lb heavy bag. If you don't want to mess with the dirt/seeds, the just find fill the duffel with heavy stuff from around the house: books, tools, standard weight plates, etc. The more awkward the better.
In Iraq I obviously didn't have access to a weight set all the time. When we were in a combat outpost for months at a time, we would need to stay strong somehow. We used sand bags, duffel bags, a couple sets of body armor tied together....whatever we could get our hands on. Not only did it keep us strong, but I made a lot of great gains in strength, flexibility, and overall coordination that I wouldn't have experienced using balanced weights. Non-standard weights also give you a great connection with the strongmen of the past. As you lift and toss around these large bags, boulders, and logs you can't help but feel connected to ancient warriors of the past. In my mind I can see men like Hercules and Hector growing up using whatever weight they could find and becoming some of the greatest heroes of all time. Give it a try, and while you're at it check in with Brooks Kubik and CrossFit. Both are great sources for information on the use of non-standard weights and on strength and fitness in general.
Also, a shout out to my friend Chris! Thanks for reading the blog. You could probably use me as a non-standard weight, you damn giant.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
The Big Hurt
Today was an exceptionally sore day. I woke up this morning and my whole body ached. Yesterday was a heavy lifting day and you always pay the price the following morning. The heavy lift was a 20 rep set of heavy squats, 5x5 sets of heavy presses, and 3 x 5 sets of heavy deadlifts. I love my heavy days. I'm not always a big fan of the day after. Although, the more I hurt the next day the more satisfied I am that I worked hard enough on my heavy lifts.
Right now I am integrating my heavy lift days into my 3 days on, 1 day off CrossFit schedule. It goes METCON, Heavy, METCON, rest, repeat. For my METCON (metabolic conditioning) days I just take a workout off the CrossFit site. For my heavy days I alternate workouts based on the Dinosaur Training method. Heavy workout 1 consists of squats, presses, and deadlifts. Heavy workout 2 consists of cleans, bench press, and heavy curls. I also do tough grip training on my heavy days. I've started getting great results from this METCON/Dinosaur mix.
The constant struggle I now face is finding the balance between hard work and over training. Today was verging on over training. Today I did a METCON that consisted of a 1 mile run followed by 2 minutes each of pushups, pullups, squats, burpees, and situps. The 10 minutes of bodyweight exercises started immediately after the run with no rest between exercises. The workout did not go well. My legs felt like they were made of cement during most of the run and my shoulders and legs were so sore that I couldn't do half the number of pushups and squats that I am usually able to perform. I was dragging so much that I really don't think I got a whole lot out of the workout. I got my heart rate up, but I wasn't able to push hard enough to really break a sweat. I may have to start replacing my post heavy day METCON with a long, slow run instead. Either that or I may just have to take an extra day off every once in a while.
No matter how, when, or if I choose to adjust my routine...I will always be sore. Sore is the name of the game. If I'm not sore, then I didn't put enough weight on the bar. I look forward to feeling sore the rest of my life. As I get stronger and become a more advanced lifter my body will probably get less sore, but the pain will be there. It will serve as a constant reminder that everything worthwhile comes with a price.
Right now I am integrating my heavy lift days into my 3 days on, 1 day off CrossFit schedule. It goes METCON, Heavy, METCON, rest, repeat. For my METCON (metabolic conditioning) days I just take a workout off the CrossFit site. For my heavy days I alternate workouts based on the Dinosaur Training method. Heavy workout 1 consists of squats, presses, and deadlifts. Heavy workout 2 consists of cleans, bench press, and heavy curls. I also do tough grip training on my heavy days. I've started getting great results from this METCON/Dinosaur mix.
The constant struggle I now face is finding the balance between hard work and over training. Today was verging on over training. Today I did a METCON that consisted of a 1 mile run followed by 2 minutes each of pushups, pullups, squats, burpees, and situps. The 10 minutes of bodyweight exercises started immediately after the run with no rest between exercises. The workout did not go well. My legs felt like they were made of cement during most of the run and my shoulders and legs were so sore that I couldn't do half the number of pushups and squats that I am usually able to perform. I was dragging so much that I really don't think I got a whole lot out of the workout. I got my heart rate up, but I wasn't able to push hard enough to really break a sweat. I may have to start replacing my post heavy day METCON with a long, slow run instead. Either that or I may just have to take an extra day off every once in a while.
No matter how, when, or if I choose to adjust my routine...I will always be sore. Sore is the name of the game. If I'm not sore, then I didn't put enough weight on the bar. I look forward to feeling sore the rest of my life. As I get stronger and become a more advanced lifter my body will probably get less sore, but the pain will be there. It will serve as a constant reminder that everything worthwhile comes with a price.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
The Death Set
OK. I'm adding a new aspect to my workouts. I'm starting to do single, heavy sets in certain exercises. The single set consists of 20 reps of a very heavy weight. It is intended to push you past your limits and force your body into thinking that you are putting so much stress on it that it must grow stronger or die. Today I did a set of squats, press, and deadlifts. Here is basically how it went:
I step under the bar to begin my 20 reps of squats. I get my mind ready and lift the weight off the rack. The first four reps are heavy, but manageable. By rep five I'm starting to think there is a chance I won't make it to 20. I hit rep 10 and my legs are shaking. My body is telling me to stop and that there is no way I can drop into a full squat without falling over. I start to believe my body is right at about rep 13. I'm getting stuck at the bottom of the lift. Each rep becomes a drop into the full squat and then a 6-7 second battle to get the bar moving up again. My face is purple. I'm fighting hard to keep good form, but I'm losing control of my body. My grunts become full growls at about 16 reps. People are probably looking at me funny, but my peripheral vision is beginning to black out and I can't see anything but the wall in front of me. The last two reps seem like they take minutes each. When all is said and done the bar is back on the rack, but crooked. I don't have enough energy to fix it. I'm laying on my back looking at the ceiling tiles. My vision starts to refocus and after a few minutes on the floor my breathing is back to normal.
Needless to say I took about a 10 minute break before moving on to my next exercise. The press and deadlift sets were hard, but not compared to the squat. The funny thing is that I don't think I pushed myself as hard as I could have on the squats. I took a few seconds here and there to rest during the 20 reps. The hardest aspect of the set was overcoming my own body's desire to stop.
20 rep squats suck. They are agonizingly painful and mentally more demanding than any other workout I've ever done. I hate them. I absolutely despise them. I can't wait to try again next week.
I step under the bar to begin my 20 reps of squats. I get my mind ready and lift the weight off the rack. The first four reps are heavy, but manageable. By rep five I'm starting to think there is a chance I won't make it to 20. I hit rep 10 and my legs are shaking. My body is telling me to stop and that there is no way I can drop into a full squat without falling over. I start to believe my body is right at about rep 13. I'm getting stuck at the bottom of the lift. Each rep becomes a drop into the full squat and then a 6-7 second battle to get the bar moving up again. My face is purple. I'm fighting hard to keep good form, but I'm losing control of my body. My grunts become full growls at about 16 reps. People are probably looking at me funny, but my peripheral vision is beginning to black out and I can't see anything but the wall in front of me. The last two reps seem like they take minutes each. When all is said and done the bar is back on the rack, but crooked. I don't have enough energy to fix it. I'm laying on my back looking at the ceiling tiles. My vision starts to refocus and after a few minutes on the floor my breathing is back to normal.
Needless to say I took about a 10 minute break before moving on to my next exercise. The press and deadlift sets were hard, but not compared to the squat. The funny thing is that I don't think I pushed myself as hard as I could have on the squats. I took a few seconds here and there to rest during the 20 reps. The hardest aspect of the set was overcoming my own body's desire to stop.
20 rep squats suck. They are agonizingly painful and mentally more demanding than any other workout I've ever done. I hate them. I absolutely despise them. I can't wait to try again next week.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Become a Dinosaur
I got a great book in the mail yesterday. It's called Dinosaur Training , by Brooks Kubik, and it will change your life. After reading the first few chapters I realized that this book is perhaps the first truly honest, no-holds-barred book I've read about strength training. Kubik focuses on what he calls the Golden Age of strength training, which is basically the first half of the 20th century. This was the time before bodybuilding, steroids, and chrome plated weight machines became the rage of American fitness (or lack there of). This was the time where strength athletes accomplished amazing feats of physical performance through guts and a no-excuses training mentality. This was the time of the dinosaurs. Reading this book will not only inspire you and educate you with stories of the old school strongmen, but will show you how utterly ridiculous a lot of today's fitness ideas are when compared to the Golden Age. It will change the way you think and train.
Kubik shows you a lot of great ways to build strength, but he does not limit you to any training method. He focuses more on the mind set and training mentality you need to truly gain strength. You can read his book and decide to either use one of his suggested workout routines or apply his mentality to your current workouts. Either way, you'll be amazed at how awesome you'll feel and the strength gains you'll make. I personally have applied his hard core training philosophy to my CrossFit regimen, with amazing results. I didn't think CrossFit could get any better, but by tweaking it a little and focusing on very heavy weights I have taken my workouts to a whole new level.
Kubik's book isn't the only good read out there. If you want another great book, try Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe. It is a great look at powerlifting and it gives in-depth lessons on how to properly perform the classic lifts. This is the book that taught me how to safely and effectively do squats, which led to great gains in total body strength. If you combine the technical expertise of Mark Rippetoe with the overall motivation and hard-core philosophy of Brooks Kubik, you will be on the right path to building gorilla strength.
I'm sure there are other old-school strength coaches out there that I don't know about. If you know of any, let me know. I am a firm believer in learning as much about the physical culture as possible. Never stop learning and never stop adding weight to the bar. huh. I like that phrase. OK, that phrase is officially mine. If you use it, you'd better quote me.
Kubik shows you a lot of great ways to build strength, but he does not limit you to any training method. He focuses more on the mind set and training mentality you need to truly gain strength. You can read his book and decide to either use one of his suggested workout routines or apply his mentality to your current workouts. Either way, you'll be amazed at how awesome you'll feel and the strength gains you'll make. I personally have applied his hard core training philosophy to my CrossFit regimen, with amazing results. I didn't think CrossFit could get any better, but by tweaking it a little and focusing on very heavy weights I have taken my workouts to a whole new level.
Kubik's book isn't the only good read out there. If you want another great book, try Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe. It is a great look at powerlifting and it gives in-depth lessons on how to properly perform the classic lifts. This is the book that taught me how to safely and effectively do squats, which led to great gains in total body strength. If you combine the technical expertise of Mark Rippetoe with the overall motivation and hard-core philosophy of Brooks Kubik, you will be on the right path to building gorilla strength.
I'm sure there are other old-school strength coaches out there that I don't know about. If you know of any, let me know. I am a firm believer in learning as much about the physical culture as possible. Never stop learning and never stop adding weight to the bar. huh. I like that phrase. OK, that phrase is officially mine. If you use it, you'd better quote me.
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