Crashing through barriers

There's a quote common to the Iron Radio podcast that I like, "crashing through barriers". One of the show's regulars frequently greets skinny-weak new clients with instructions to gain 20lb immediately, by any means necessary, and maintain that weight while they get strong until further notice. It's radical, but it has worked again and again. Losing weight is just eating less and walking more. Anybody can lose weight, but building lean body mass is expensive and time-consuming and limited by things like age, genetics, and endocrinology.

My weight crept up and down for almost 3 weeks while I (only) slightly overate and my lifts went nowhere. I even spent the week of Thanksgiving with a family member in the hospital, running around, carrying stress, eating cafeteria food. It wasn't until after Thanksgiving that I finally broke the inertia.

March, 2013 - 151lb; 185lb back squats, low bar, 1 set 5 reps
Nov 10, 2013 - 154lb
Nov 17, 2013 - 159lb
Nov 28, 2013 - 157lb
Dec 02, 2013 - 161lb; 185lb back squat, high bar, 5 sets of 7
Dec 05, 2013 - 164lb; 185lb back squat, high bar, last set, 15 reps

Before various readers question why I'm doing full squats instead of half squats for KB jerk (because squats), why I'm outside my weight class (temporarily), why I'm not running (torn calf), or why I'm not following the Lupatin and Rudnev paper (blogged about it) on mass and max strength, just don't. You know who you are. Don't.

I couldn't launch the green bells overhead when my legs got tired. I couldn't straighten my spine and breath in the rack. I was 147lb, against my will, for 5 years. My L5/S1 disc was loose. Today, this session, this bodyweight, all that is drifting further behind me.

21 Day Squat Challenge, Fall of 2013

One of the more disruptive training ideas I've come across in the last few years is high-frequency training. I stumbled across Nick Horton and his 21 Day Squat Challenge some months ago, and the idea intrigued me. There are a few groups of athletes that train daily, and their recovery capacity is something I just completely lack. I have a few months before I compete again, so the time is ripe for change.

I started this on August 19 as a sort of jump-start for my offseason GPP.  I'll be using the author's "Volcano" ramp and "Classic Nemesis" intensifier (references), alternating back/front squats and dips/chins+cable rows daily. (I have never had enough upper body mobility or strength.) This program has a lot of sets and build-up, so my maxes are usually 205 back and 175 front by the time I get there.

Horton and others define 4 intensity zones as shown below:

• Zone 1 – 90% of max to 100% of your 1 rep max (B185+, F160+)
• Zone 2 – 70% to 89% of max (B145+, F125+)
• Zone 3 – 50% to 69% of max (B105+, F90+)
• Zone 4 – 49% and lower (B105-, F90-)

The first 4 days were all Zone 3, until I got my movements back under me. The goal is to have 70% of your total weight moved done above 70% of your day's max. I'm also observing that by the time I hit a 3RM, I probably can't add any more weight for 2RM and 1RM. That ends up being 3-2-1 at probably the same weight, then the intensifier sets. This week's work looks like this.

Tu: back squats, dips

- BSQ

3@115,135,155,165,185

3-2-1RM: 3@195, 2@195, 1@205

(zones start at 185, 145, 105)

3@Zone3: 145,155,165, 185

5@Zone2: 115,115

- Dips: 6,5,5.9,10,7x5 (70)

Notes: 6175 total, 31%/zone1, 38%/zone2, 31%/zone3

155 is my new "out of the hole" weight. Almost missed 3rd 195. Dips felt great, almost 2.5x my usual volume.

 

W: front, chins

-> goal: 5000lbs, posted on Facebook

- FSQ

3@95,115,135,145,155,165

3-2-1RM @175

(zones start at 160,125,90)

3@Zone2: 3@125,135,145,155

2x5@Zone3: 2x5@95

Chins: 5,3,5,3,4

Rows: 15,15,10,10

Notes: 6110 total, 25%/z1, 43%/z2, 32%/z3,

Maybe do 5k back w 20lb increments, 4k front w 15lb increments. This took a whole 1:15. Need to be fresher when I hit 1RM and not be here all day.

I have never squatted 6000 pounds in a day before, let alone by front squat. I've also never done this volume of full-bodyweight dips before, which should help my lockout. I've read that the upper body can take a tremendous volume. This will be interesting to monitor, as these exercises don't exactly degrade before they stop.

Smallest Winner, Biggest Loser

There's a difference between fitness and sport: sport has winners and losers. Yes, it's noble to set a goal and test yourself, but you could do that alone in the park. You paid $49 to pin on a number and join a crowd. As Jerry Seinfeld said, the New York Marathon is "a man from Kenya, a woman from Norway, and 20,000 losers", and you actually paid money to be one of them. That is no longer about fitness, unless you have 19,000 close friends you like to run with.

All alone at 65kg

The iron sports are segregated into weight classes, so a small meet may give a gold medal to every competitor. A large meet may have 10 golds, silvers, and bronzes, and a Best Lifter trophy that usually goes to a heavyweight or a visiting champion. While I've never actually earned either of these places, my thoughts today are about the silver and bronze.

I have a confession to make: I have a competitive side. I may not have a terribly motivated constitution overall, so this may be more of a selfish streak or a need for approval. My current pursuit in kettlebell sport highlights the conditions that I am middle-aged, a late starter, and teensy. There is virtually nothing I can do about those facts. I've come to know most of the region's competitors around my size, so I can predict weeks in advance whether I'll medal at a meet based on its Facebook page.

Winning for the first time at 70kg

For more than 2 years, I've been alone in the lightest weight class. You can barely imagine what it's like to stand on the platform with no competition and no hope of Best Lifter, year after year. It shouldn't matter, but it does to me. In a meet this Spring, I finally outscored a competitor in my own weight class and 3 heavier athletes lifting the same bells. That was the first time I've had direct competition, and oddly the first time I haven't felt like my certificate read "Participant". I'm sorry for how shallow that sounds, but it's honest.

There is this certain challenge to one's self-esteem when you stand out for your novelty instead of your achievement. I've lifted the same bells as much heavier guys and made ranking scores multiple times. But I never beat anyone fair and square, never won Best Lifter, and never lifted the heaviest bells. I am honored to have earned some respect, but even respect can stick in your throat.

My August meet recently changed affiliations to an organization that uses 10kg-wide weight classes instead of 5kg-wide, and requires me to move up to 24kg bells. I did not see this coming. A local Candidate for Master of Sport has been roped into my weight class, probably along with several other larger guys. This wider class will likely contest both silver and bronze. (We couldn't beat Dunn with a tranquilizer gun and a head start.) I have to move up to 24kg bells to compete at all, so there's a deadline on that open-ended goal I've been chasing for over a year. My Summer suddenly seems less mundane, and this upcoming meet will probably be the best thing that's happened to my training in years.

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)

• 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.

Phase 2 was intended to start in March and escalate KB volume and set length.  This is what I'm up to as of now.

• 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.

At each of these personal interruptions, I knew I would lose time from KB practice. The clean, push press, and front squat complexes have been invaluable, a barbell analog for KB LC if there ever was one. I'm bigger and stronger, at or beyond where I was last September. Honestly, it's fun working on heavy triples, but I need to focus on submaximal dozens periodically when my max hits a plateau. KB sport is all about the plateau.

This is a remarkably close outcome for a 90-day forecast. I might need higher goals next time.

You have a training plan for the next six months, right?

I'm trying a 5-step seasonal training schedule, adapted from Coach's notes and John Wild Buckley's blog.  I think it's time I let go of my 65kg bodyweight and got stronger, at least in the offseason when I'm trying to move up a bell. First PT and recovery, then a serious strength - mass - strength-endurance season before resuming KB sport. This post was written and edited during phase 1 and published late in the 2-wk break in (highlighted below) of Dan John's "Mass Made Simple" article on T-Nation.

Rehab/Phase 1 intro

• 5wks PT, Convict Conditioning big 6 done 2/day, 3d/wk, stairs on day 1 and treadmill on day 3.  Made outstanding progress, bridges helped rehab, handstands helped shoulders and presses.  Testing double KB presses in wk 5, I pressed 2x20kg for the first time ever.  Running up to 3mi.
• December and January: a close adaptation of Mass Made Simple. 3 sets of 2-3 primary lifts, 5 reps, 5 reps, and "as many". A finisher of 2-3 sets of 20-30 reps high back squats around 70% 1RM for the first 2-few weeks, then many sets for the next 4 weeks.  I don't know how his athletes had time for what was in that article.  25 sets of 20 after a regular workout?
• Monday: 5 each bench presses (maybe dumbbell, maybe inclined), inverted rows, front squats. May substitute or add some uneven pushups. High volume back squats. Walk stairs 10' unloaded to finish.
• Wednesday: 5 each clean and press, pullups, single leg dead lifts. High volume back squats.
• Friday: back and spine work, more focus on joint mobility drills than other days.  10 HLR to the bar, 5 of the Spetznaz hip rolling drills (need a link), 5 Maxwell rolling planks, and some tumbling drills. Follow by 20-40' light run. 6mph = 2mi/20'.  5mph = 2.5mi/30'. Score a 40' run every few weeks.
• Eat for growth and recovery: protein supplements, Metamucil, and 4 or 5 meals. Magnesium oil spray on knee and hip after every session and on back when needed.
• 2-wk break in: I am visibly bigger but barely 2lb heavier. CC work always bulks me and did so in November. This hasn't been heavy yet. With 2x16kg, presses are solid up to 10 reps and squats up to 30. Time to add weight with dumbbells or barbells. Limit the bulking phase to 4 weeks. Repeat in February if necessary, but only after a break and some fat loss.

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.

Phase 2 - Preseason (4-6wks, maybe 8wks starting in March)

• KB sets 5-7' minimum at or near target rpm, 4-5 training days/wk. 1 10' comp set weekly or biweekly. All 1-2' density work stops.
•  This is the AKC plan. I found I was doing well on a Russian/Denisov plan last year: 2-3' sets at pace to more than 10' volume, varying the rest.  May do 3-4days/wk density work, 1 day 10' comp set.
• Barbell work reduced to squats and jump squats.  All pullups and horizontal pressing stops.  Overhead pressing replaced by heavy OAJ with static holds.
• Introduce cardio power work at HR above 150, 2-3min intervals: sprints, KB stairs, Eagles. Maintain cardio work 2-3/wk.

Phase 3 - Peaking (2-4wks including competition, maybe 6wks starting in May)

• 4days/wk: 1 set comp weight/6-8'@target rpm. 1 day/wk: 1 set comp weight/10'@target rpm. Any day that you feel smoked and unable to work the distance with comp weight, use 1 size lighter.
• See comment above about AKC/Russian plans.  Not sure at this early time whether this is best for me, based on last year's experience.
• Mix output cardio and power cardio, 2-3/wk.
• Only strength work might be squat jumps. Almost all assistance work on mobility and low-HR cardio.
• The week of competition, 1 10' comp set, 1 6-8' set at comp or lighter, then Competition phase.

Phase 4 - Competition (2-3 days in mid-June)

• 1-3 days off with recovery work and light cardio. Federenko's experience was that he lost conditioning after only 2 days.  Maybe test this in Peaking phase with consecutive long runs and HR monitoring.

Phase 5 - Postseason

• Karaoke and burgers.  (John Wild Buckley)
• At least 1wk mobility/maintenance work, light running, stretching, and massage.

Tentative schedule based around June 18, 2010 meet.

• Off-season - through February
• Preseason - March to May (T minus 3mos)
• Peaking - May to mid-June (T minus 4-6wks)
• Competition - mid-June (T minus days)
• Postseason - when the bells hit the mat

Suggestions

• Technique at wk 2 of peaking phase should determine your target weight if you plan to make 10'.
• Stair carries lifted me over the hump, but they should have followed a more solid month of long, 130bpm cardio. Bicycling barely served this purpose, but I abandoned it because there was no load on my legs. Running 5mph raises my pulse to 150, but running slower is bumpy on my joints. May just accept running as "volume cardio" and stairs as "power cardio", regardless of being outside my block on the HR chart.

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.

At least exert yourself

Ed. note: There is a slim chance that a couple of people I know will recognize the situation I describe and the people I'm talking about. I mean no offense, but this profoundly affected me and needs to be said. It's not hurtful, it's just blunt, and it is heart-felt and honest.

--

I did some jerk and some long cycle with a pair of 20kg (44lb) kettlebells today, my current standard, and a pair of modest jerks at the end of the 90min session with a pair of 24kg (53lb) bells. Now the 2 24kg bells were a personal record, and 48kg (106lb) overhead for the first time was every bit heavy. Not three months ago, I nearly put 2 20kg bells on my head with that same lift, but now I train with them regularly. It was a big deal to me that I didn't eat those green 24s.

I saw some new folks training this week. One was pressing a pair of 35lb weights without pausing at the shoulder or at the top and deadlifting 53lb in a circuit.  Realize that they were deadlifting, from the floor with both hands, less weight than they were lifting overhead. Now realize that again. When I was 16 years old, I deadlifted a spinet piano once when it tipped over on a moving truck ramp, and I had never lifted weights in high school. They were deadlifting 53 pounds, in a gym, for which they paid money.

These folks were turning their heads to make eye contact and chat. They were talking freely instead of bracing themselves with a deep breath to protect the spine. These are not just my pet peeves; these are details that you cover subconsciously every day to lift things out of your car because the reach feels awkward.

I'm glad they were trying, but let's face facts. This was not exercise. This was not focused; this was not even safe. Going to a gym to get less old/fat/feeble does not automatically make you less old/fat/feeble. Hard work does. I accept I'm good at this because it's my hobby, but I am not the strongest person my size that I know. I know a 120lb woman who can deadlift over 200lb, which I cannot. If some guy bigger than me doesn't want to launch 40kg (88lb) overhead like I do, that's fine, but I know he can lift it off the floor. The point is that he was not even exerting himself, so he was wasting his time and not getting any healthier.

Clinical studies have shown as little as 15min of strenuous exercise on 3 days a week can reduce your body fat and blood lipids.  90min a week was shown to add as much as 3 years to your life expectancy in a long-term study in Taiwan. This isn't about kettlebells or about fat shredding or cardio vs HIIT vs strength training. What I do and call "cardio" is carry 40kg up and down stairs after my regular workout, but I couldn't survive a modern aerobics class. I don't care. I'm stronger than 3 months ago. My cholesterol is down. I eat like a puppy in a bacon store, and I can see my abs in the mirror. None of this would be true if I were too lazy to actually exert myself or too bored by the experience to keep it up.

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.

Basic Welcome Message

First, thank you for following along.  This will be an ongoing conversation about health and physical training that began for me in the Summer of 2008 at age 38.  There was a catastrophic injury and a long rehab.  That rehab was the first commitment I had made toward my own fitness in some 15 years.

I am a kettlebell enthusiast and certified instructor of kettlebell skills.  My training on shiny white machines stagnated until I found a new motivation in moving myself and simple pieces of iron in the Summer of 2009.  What followed has been an exciting and interesting discovery in strength and well-being that continues to this day.

Every few months some men's magazine or website will present "15 physical skills every man should have".  15 pullups, 25 pushups, run 5 miles, carry someone your weight up two flights of stairs, that sort of thing.  Useful stuff for getting out from under a motorcycle or into an open window overhead or carrying an injured comrade to safety.  There are strong, rippling monsters of manhood that cannot do a pullup or touch their toes.  There are people who can run a marathon but cannot carry a heavy load up stairs, and vice versa. The day I handed my walker to my nurse and clambered up two flights of stairs because the elevator was broken, I committed to be more physically fit.  Here we go.

-j