Met with my coach over the weekend to review a few small issues and one or two big ones. Many thanks to Scott Shetler of Extreme Conditioning and Fitness. I only see Scott a couple times a year, but he always makes time and always finds little things that I and other trainers have missed.
I need to work on speed. I'm strong enough for the lifts, but I'm not fast enough between positions. I hate to go back to this so often, but most of my speed is in my feet, not my knees. This also clearly shows that my strength training, while useful, has trained me to be slow. My squat training will be different for awhile.
Ironically, I'm about to have to trade deadlifts for swings and cleans.
Showing posts with label Technique. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Technique. Show all posts
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Friday, April 6, 2012
On schedule and lifting heavy
Ed note: I submitted this to publish on 03/19, but it never published. This journal is nearly 3wks dated now.
Welcome back. I last posted in December, and it's been an absolute whirlwind since then. I've had a job change with a relocation, a couple of illnesses in the household, and a death in the family in another state. I'm remarkably close to "on schedule", all things considered, but that was the point of having a schedule. In December, I posed the question "do you have your training plan for the next 6 months?" Copied from that post:
Phase 1 - Off-season (indefinite length, starting in January)
This is a remarkably close outcome for a 90-day forecast. I might need higher goals next time.
Welcome back. I last posted in December, and it's been an absolute whirlwind since then. I've had a job change with a relocation, a couple of illnesses in the household, and a death in the family in another state. I'm remarkably close to "on schedule", all things considered, but that was the point of having a schedule. In December, I posed the question "do you have your training plan for the next 6 months?" Copied from that post:
Phase 1 - Off-season (indefinite length, starting in January)
- I have this idea that I would like to be 150lb and pressing 2x20kg for reps and squatting it for dozens of reps and running miles before I resume LC sport training. Not certain that's all necessary, but I don't want to be struggling every rep and gassed at 6:00 like last time.
- Strength, conditioning, technique, and GPP. Build strength up to the next bell.
- Barbell dead lifts and squats, KB swings, jump squats, and military presses.
- Density KB work: 1-3' sets at comp weight or higher. Done at pace for timing and speed, done with extended overhead time for strength. Aggregate volume, if not extended sets.
- Cardio output work at HR 120-150 (5mph or less), 30-90min, 2-3/wk.
- 151-154lb, same belt size. Strict pressing 2x20kg sets of 5. Squatting 2x24kg sets of 10. Sets of squats and cleans with 2x24kg bells. OALC with 24kg bell.
- Dead lift 225lb, clean and front squat 135lb (PR). Push pressing up to 115lb BB for short sets. KB swings regularly with a 24kg, a 32kg, and pairs of 16kg.
- KB work has been interrupted, but doing 2x20kg LC at 7rpm sets for pace and recovery.
- Training 5-6 days/wk. It was fine the first few weeks, then the mental strain hit.
- Cardio work is notably short. My running HR is 155 with a 3min recovery, and walking is time-consuming. I did run 2mi-plus twice in January and February.
This is a remarkably close outcome for a 90-day forecast. I might need higher goals next time.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Why am I running?
I'm on a brief medical hiatus from lifting. I pinched a nerve in my lower back in a dead lift on September 19. That was probably healing on a timeline of 1-2 months, but it felt so much better in 1-2 weeks that I resumed training. I actually thrived and broke some personal records for a few weeks before straining it again on something totally inconsequential in mid-October.
In the meantime, I have seen my orthopedist for a 3-yr checkup and have had a month of PT. The doc says I have good hips, good knees, and a little bulge in the L5-S1 disc. He said I'm getting old, and I strained my back lifting something heavy. Offered me drugs, which I declined, and asked that I see him next time I have a boo-boo in 3 more years (joking). So far, PT has gone well. I'm pain-free and beginning to bend again. My therapist recommended I continue running, as it's probably training good posture. So, outside of all the weight lifting and kettlebells, what finally got me into running?
I only began running a couple months ago, after decades of not trying and 3 years of being completely unable. I've needed a long-slow cardio for quite some time. Stationary cycling worked my knees, but there was no impact or balance and no active engagement of the foot itself. It never "felt right". I needed to bounce. I could creep into a squat and explode out of a squat, but I couldn't leap-frog through the squat. Every running stride, especially downhill, would stiffen my knee and send the whole impact up to my hip, which would seize up in a half-mile.
It took squatting and stairs to rebuild my running, which is interesting. My orthopedist and I disagreed strongly about squats, but he could not argue with my success. I supposedly had a partial ACL tear 3 years ago, and there's no evidence of it now. What does squatting have to do with running? I needed to safely train my leg to drop me in and out of the "hole" without seizing up as a protective reflex. You can't train around a fear reflex under the full-weight burden that causes fear in the first place. You train around that reflex with a fraction of that weight to regain movement and confidence. I had to do deep squats, jump squats, and other movements that required and reinforced elasticity to rebuild elasticity.
The running motion itself required some study. I've had an interest in minimalist shoes and the type of running done by unshod and barely-shod billions around the world since long before Nike, Inc was born in 1972. I work out in Vibram Five Fingers, so I started testing my running motion in them. Running doesn't hurt because it's unnatural; it hurts because you're doing it wrong. (That could be an article unto itself.) It is, rather, the epitome of "natural" human movement. My wife comments that I creep around in my comfy shoes but have this unusually heavy footstep in my motorcycle boots. In bare feet, I'm the wind itself.
I found a few steps into my first run that I land on my midfoot, with a little roll from the outer edge in. I found a few minutes in that I like a fairly high step and broad arc beneath me. I described it once like an ostrich, where the foot reaches forward and scratches the ground beneath the body. A lot of other natural running schools keep the feet basically below and behind the body. I reach forward by comparison, but I've figured out why. That is the important point; I paid attention to what my joints needed. It's inefficient by any measure, but I run 30 minutes twice a week without pain.
Why would I go to all this trouble? First, there's an element of self-discovery and achievement. I'm not a licensed physical therapist, but I rebuilt a cripple into a runner and a weight lifter. Second, every pair of strides is a chance to check my alignment, my balance, the blown right leg, the left ankle I sprained in high school on an otherwise uninjured leg. The footfalls in those goofy plastic shoes on the treadmill give me constant feedback, and I can tell by their tone whether I'm landing on my heel or too flat or too pronated. I run around 850 pairs of strides in every mile, each one a movement screen.
Understand I've done maybe two months of running, with a couple years of conditioning work before it. I'm running in increments not of laps or minutes, but of 2-3 miles. Running is not an unnatural movement. Minimal shoes and bare feet are not dangerous. Squats are not bad for your knees. If I have learned any overarching theme from this long process, it is that my problem is probably not the activity but that I am doing it wrong. I deadlifted wrong, and I knew I rounded my back when I did it, but prior to that, I had added 50lb to my all-time max dead lift. I was rehabbing my knee wrong until I started squatting deep. I was running wrong, in expensive running shoes. I'm clearly blogging wrong, but thanks for joining me along the way.
In the meantime, I have seen my orthopedist for a 3-yr checkup and have had a month of PT. The doc says I have good hips, good knees, and a little bulge in the L5-S1 disc. He said I'm getting old, and I strained my back lifting something heavy. Offered me drugs, which I declined, and asked that I see him next time I have a boo-boo in 3 more years (joking). So far, PT has gone well. I'm pain-free and beginning to bend again. My therapist recommended I continue running, as it's probably training good posture. So, outside of all the weight lifting and kettlebells, what finally got me into running?
I only began running a couple months ago, after decades of not trying and 3 years of being completely unable. I've needed a long-slow cardio for quite some time. Stationary cycling worked my knees, but there was no impact or balance and no active engagement of the foot itself. It never "felt right". I needed to bounce. I could creep into a squat and explode out of a squat, but I couldn't leap-frog through the squat. Every running stride, especially downhill, would stiffen my knee and send the whole impact up to my hip, which would seize up in a half-mile.
It took squatting and stairs to rebuild my running, which is interesting. My orthopedist and I disagreed strongly about squats, but he could not argue with my success. I supposedly had a partial ACL tear 3 years ago, and there's no evidence of it now. What does squatting have to do with running? I needed to safely train my leg to drop me in and out of the "hole" without seizing up as a protective reflex. You can't train around a fear reflex under the full-weight burden that causes fear in the first place. You train around that reflex with a fraction of that weight to regain movement and confidence. I had to do deep squats, jump squats, and other movements that required and reinforced elasticity to rebuild elasticity.
The running motion itself required some study. I've had an interest in minimalist shoes and the type of running done by unshod and barely-shod billions around the world since long before Nike, Inc was born in 1972. I work out in Vibram Five Fingers, so I started testing my running motion in them. Running doesn't hurt because it's unnatural; it hurts because you're doing it wrong. (That could be an article unto itself.) It is, rather, the epitome of "natural" human movement. My wife comments that I creep around in my comfy shoes but have this unusually heavy footstep in my motorcycle boots. In bare feet, I'm the wind itself.
I found a few steps into my first run that I land on my midfoot, with a little roll from the outer edge in. I found a few minutes in that I like a fairly high step and broad arc beneath me. I described it once like an ostrich, where the foot reaches forward and scratches the ground beneath the body. A lot of other natural running schools keep the feet basically below and behind the body. I reach forward by comparison, but I've figured out why. That is the important point; I paid attention to what my joints needed. It's inefficient by any measure, but I run 30 minutes twice a week without pain.
Why would I go to all this trouble? First, there's an element of self-discovery and achievement. I'm not a licensed physical therapist, but I rebuilt a cripple into a runner and a weight lifter. Second, every pair of strides is a chance to check my alignment, my balance, the blown right leg, the left ankle I sprained in high school on an otherwise uninjured leg. The footfalls in those goofy plastic shoes on the treadmill give me constant feedback, and I can tell by their tone whether I'm landing on my heel or too flat or too pronated. I run around 850 pairs of strides in every mile, each one a movement screen.
Understand I've done maybe two months of running, with a couple years of conditioning work before it. I'm running in increments not of laps or minutes, but of 2-3 miles. Running is not an unnatural movement. Minimal shoes and bare feet are not dangerous. Squats are not bad for your knees. If I have learned any overarching theme from this long process, it is that my problem is probably not the activity but that I am doing it wrong. I deadlifted wrong, and I knew I rounded my back when I did it, but prior to that, I had added 50lb to my all-time max dead lift. I was rehabbing my knee wrong until I started squatting deep. I was running wrong, in expensive running shoes. I'm clearly blogging wrong, but thanks for joining me along the way.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
The longest 10min of my life, and the next-longest 10min
I prematurely published my log for 08/14-08/20 on the 19th, so I edited the title and wrote a new piece for today. I even did some sets of 5 heavy last night after work that aren't listed, but I'll just call it pre-dinner and let it go. Today's session was good enough to post on its own. I don't do this often.
--
08/20 Sat 2x20kg Jerk
Mobility, band work, 2 sets 5 Bench Jumps
-
Goal = J:2x20/6-8/1'/1'r x7-9 (felt another set in me at the end)
Done = 10 sets 8/1', a PR by 3 full minutes
-
Partial BW dips: 2 sets 20
20kg SW: 30ea, 20ea
10’ Stair carries: 2'carry/30"rest x5, longer rest on #5
Stretch
--
This is actually the first time I've accumulated 10 minutes of Jerk in one session. My Spring cycle was organized to stretch short sets into long sets. The long sets wore me out, so I never actually did 3' x 3 or 5' x 2 or any volume that added up close to 10'. I was one of the few competitors at State who did not finish the clock. The pure beginners, the still-overweight women snatching 8kg, finished their clocks. I made rank plus 9, completely drained, and set the bells down. I knew I had done something wrong.
This was a technically good session, including a few recoveries. The overhead squat training helped me later on. I'm working on launching the bells straight up instead of up and back, more Denisov, less Goncharov. The balance is tenuous, but there's less strain on my back. My new shoulder-width stance can accommodate a clean, more stable and ready for LC. And obviously, I'm recovering well. This is a good place to be 11 weeks out from Regionals.
Clearly, this was not elite mastery of the 10' clock, but this is my new baseline. I had a baseline a year ago of 3200kg ballistics every workout, based initially on 200 16kg swings. Now I have 80reps/10' at 2x20kg... which is ironically 3200kg. (I just noticed that!) What's important is that I did 10 minutes of my skill, then 10 minutes of 2x20kg stair carries for conditioning. This cycle, that's step 1, ground floor, my de-loading routine after a month of heavier stuff.
--
08/20 Sat 2x20kg Jerk
Mobility, band work, 2 sets 5 Bench Jumps
-
Goal = J:2x20/6-8/1'/1'r x7-9 (felt another set in me at the end)
Done = 10 sets 8/1', a PR by 3 full minutes
-
Partial BW dips: 2 sets 20
20kg SW: 30ea, 20ea
10’ Stair carries: 2'carry/30"rest x5, longer rest on #5
Stretch
--
This is actually the first time I've accumulated 10 minutes of Jerk in one session. My Spring cycle was organized to stretch short sets into long sets. The long sets wore me out, so I never actually did 3' x 3 or 5' x 2 or any volume that added up close to 10'. I was one of the few competitors at State who did not finish the clock. The pure beginners, the still-overweight women snatching 8kg, finished their clocks. I made rank plus 9, completely drained, and set the bells down. I knew I had done something wrong.
This was a technically good session, including a few recoveries. The overhead squat training helped me later on. I'm working on launching the bells straight up instead of up and back, more Denisov, less Goncharov. The balance is tenuous, but there's less strain on my back. My new shoulder-width stance can accommodate a clean, more stable and ready for LC. And obviously, I'm recovering well. This is a good place to be 11 weeks out from Regionals.
Clearly, this was not elite mastery of the 10' clock, but this is my new baseline. I had a baseline a year ago of 3200kg ballistics every workout, based initially on 200 16kg swings. Now I have 80reps/10' at 2x20kg... which is ironically 3200kg. (I just noticed that!) What's important is that I did 10 minutes of my skill, then 10 minutes of 2x20kg stair carries for conditioning. This cycle, that's step 1, ground floor, my de-loading routine after a month of heavier stuff.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
What exactly did you train today?
I read a few senior trainers' personal training logs, and I'm noticing a pattern. They don't seem to organize their own training like the rest of us. So many group sessions and forum posts at "my level" will include snatches, Russian twists, Renegade Rows, KB deadlifts, floor presses, but I less often see "long cycle clean & press" (LCCP) or "swings and get-ups". The first elective, advanced training workshop I was privileged to attend in the RKC school was all about swings and get-ups, by MRKCs David Whitley and Jeff O'Connor. The answer to every question was "swings and get-ups", and yet it was revolutionary when SRKC Zar Horton proposed a season dedicated to swings and get-ups to start 2011. Rather than be surprised, we all should have seen it coming.
I laid out a recent group session with get-ups, front squats, LCCP, and swings. I thought it was a little busy, but those were the elements of ETK and the HKC and should be familiar to everyone. It caught some of them completely off-guard. They were accustomed to 6-8 different things a session, some of which I'd call assistance drills. I was accustomed to drilling 2 basics. I've done just LCCP for 45min every weekend of the last three months, but I didn't think it would fly for a group class. Maybe I should have tried it.
The journals of many elite trainers have entries like "snatches and pistols" or "pullups and long cycle". It may be 5-7 days between repeats of a particular exercise. Some of them will do those two exercises for dozens or hundreds of reps, as practice. Some of them have a seasonal focus, like Rif's gradual return to the press or Dave's bending stuff while his knee heals. More often, it's because they don't need a whole week, like I do, to put in a significant volume of practice. They, better than I, can answer the question "what exactly did you train today?"
I spent a year-plus working my press to the next heavier bell. It was successful, but it took forever. Now I'm taking a season to work a) the "rest of my body", b) get-ups and swings with a heavier bell, and c) competition lifts. I'm by no means an expert, but I've learned to recognize a plateau and I'm learning to focus. Pistols and pullups (largely therapeutic), carrying a heavy weight, snatches and jerks. That's maybe 6 months of work, with a good sense of focus. My blog's going to be BOR-ing, but I like what Rif reposted recently: "Simple and boring usually is code for consistently basic, heavy and progressive."
I laid out a recent group session with get-ups, front squats, LCCP, and swings. I thought it was a little busy, but those were the elements of ETK and the HKC and should be familiar to everyone. It caught some of them completely off-guard. They were accustomed to 6-8 different things a session, some of which I'd call assistance drills. I was accustomed to drilling 2 basics. I've done just LCCP for 45min every weekend of the last three months, but I didn't think it would fly for a group class. Maybe I should have tried it.
The journals of many elite trainers have entries like "snatches and pistols" or "pullups and long cycle". It may be 5-7 days between repeats of a particular exercise. Some of them will do those two exercises for dozens or hundreds of reps, as practice. Some of them have a seasonal focus, like Rif's gradual return to the press or Dave's bending stuff while his knee heals. More often, it's because they don't need a whole week, like I do, to put in a significant volume of practice. They, better than I, can answer the question "what exactly did you train today?"
I spent a year-plus working my press to the next heavier bell. It was successful, but it took forever. Now I'm taking a season to work a) the "rest of my body", b) get-ups and swings with a heavier bell, and c) competition lifts. I'm by no means an expert, but I've learned to recognize a plateau and I'm learning to focus. Pistols and pullups (largely therapeutic), carrying a heavy weight, snatches and jerks. That's maybe 6 months of work, with a good sense of focus. My blog's going to be BOR-ing, but I like what Rif reposted recently: "Simple and boring usually is code for consistently basic, heavy and progressive."
Monday, May 17, 2010
When you least expect it.... 'poof' up in the air
I've had a goal of completing a strict Military Press on each arm with my 24kg kettlebell. I own a pair of 12kg and 16kg that I nicknamed Frik and Frak some time ago. When my new 24kg arrived, I was briefly out of four-letter "F" words for training equipment. I had one other suggestion that didn't "fit", so it's been "Frank the 24" ever since. That title phrase has been on my lips for some three months now.
When you least expect it, Frank... 'poof' up in the air.
I managed to snatch Frank a couple reps on each arm about 10 days ago. That was barely unsafe, but it was fun beyond measure. I pressed Frank with my dominant right arm on March 25. The last two months have been swings, snatches, and left arm therapy.
2 @18kg (41lb) on each arm
2 @20kg (46lb) on each arm
2 @24kg (53lb) on each arm
2 @24kg later with less warm-up
I lowered each rep slowly, like there was a cup of water on top. The last time I tried that on the left, the bell didn't come off my shoulder. Literally.
I've been watching Rif's technique of progressively loading his swings and presses for some time now. I'm liking what this does for me. I'll try some sets of 5 and 3-rung ladders at 20kg for the next 2 weeks, pressing 24kg in singles as the mood strikes me. The goal is to condition up to a set of 5 straight @24kg by May 31.
What a relief!
When you least expect it, Frank... 'poof' up in the air.
I managed to snatch Frank a couple reps on each arm about 10 days ago. That was barely unsafe, but it was fun beyond measure. I pressed Frank with my dominant right arm on March 25. The last two months have been swings, snatches, and left arm therapy.
- Waiter Presses: could barely do one with 12kg the first time. Can do sets of 5 @16kg now, and have even done some ladders. Military Presses got cleaner and quicker, but not all that much stronger. Arm is more mobile and healthy for the experience.
- Bottom-Up Presses: still can't BUP 16kg left-handed, but that may be neurological instead of muscular. Long-term goal.
- Overloads: I started adding incremental weight last weekend, which is doing me a world of good.
2 @18kg (41lb) on each arm
2 @20kg (46lb) on each arm
2 @24kg (53lb) on each arm
2 @24kg later with less warm-up
I lowered each rep slowly, like there was a cup of water on top. The last time I tried that on the left, the bell didn't come off my shoulder. Literally.
I've been watching Rif's technique of progressively loading his swings and presses for some time now. I'm liking what this does for me. I'll try some sets of 5 and 3-rung ladders at 20kg for the next 2 weeks, pressing 24kg in singles as the mood strikes me. The goal is to condition up to a set of 5 straight @24kg by May 31.
What a relief!
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