The Bamboo Cage - Immobilization and Muscle Pain. A different take on why we need to mobilize and move our muscles.
The Science of Toning Shoes from NYT. I've posted on these type of shoes before. The claims these shoe companies make seemed dubious from the start, and later reports (coming from lawsuits) claimed the shoes caused greater damage. This article tempers both sides of the argument. My $.02: these type of shoes do not enhance athletic performance, help strengthen muscles or burn more calories. The instability they provide makes an unsafe platform for your feet. Leave em alone.
The End of the Line. Worldwide consumption of fish is one the rise. And the oceans might have a tough time with the demand. That makes me think of this. Are you a fish eater? Post to comments.
Workout Of The Day
5 RFT
Run 400m
20 Deadlift 145/95
20 Pushups
10 Deadlift 145/95
10 Pushups
Pushups are standard. Chest to deck, press to full extension.
Get Upside Down
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Our "strength" session will be a little different today. Once again, many of your strength numbers are going through the roof. On Tuesday, a relatively slow day, we had several 300# plus back squats. On Monday, we had several 200# plus Cleans. Great numbers! I want to make sure we are getting the gymnastic and body control training to go with our huge, and constantly improving strength numbers. Second, I want to give the body a break from the barbell, but still work the body.
For Thursday's session, we'll work on Turkish Get Ups and Handstand positions. Np pressure of a clock. Take your time getting into the positions, and get comfortable with them. For the handstands, use the wall if needed. Try parallettes if you're feeling froggy.
5 Barbell Rules. Even though we're not messing with the barbell today, it's important to respect it's power.
Strength/Skill
For 20 minutes, practice the following 2 movements
Handstands (Practice the position, HS pushups, HS walks. Cartwheels. Be creative)
Turkish Get Ups (TGU), work on sets of 3-5, try to build weight from last session
The Cortisol Connection by Shawn Talbot. Cortisol is the "stress hormone". Cortisol is good for you, but needs to be kept in check, much like cholesterol or insulin. My knowledge of cortisol is basic, but simply: cortisol is good before an effort, and bad after. The "stress", or anticipation for an event (be it a WOD, a public speaking engagement, etc) prepares you and readies your body. After the effort, elevated cortisol levels can lead to other maladies.
Bob W snatching. Bob is a tall dude, and has to move that bar a long way…
Workout Of The Day
Strength/Skill
Snatch
1-1-1
Build to a heavy single
Snatch Pulls
3-3-3
Metcon
"Randy"
75 Snatches for time
Men - 75, Ladies - 55
Commitment
Monday, July 11, 2011
Yesterday, I had some training notes on our deadlifting plan. For the remainder of the summer, we will alternate between back squats one week, and front squats the next. Each squatting session, (after a warm up with some lighter squatting) will consist of a heavy set of 5, two sets of 3, two sets of 1, and a final set. The final set, which will change every two weeks, is the max effort set. This final set is where you will find your 3RM, 5RM, 10RM, or the dreaded 20RM. To hit this final sets effectively, you will need to know your abilities so you can best maximize your work in the time given. So be prepared and know your abilities and the numbers (within reason) that you want to hit.
Personally, I have a specific plan for each one of these lifts. I chart each set of squats on my training log, and my next session I attempt to improve on my last session.
Total Commitment. Cool post on a Japanese Judo master. It's a coincidence that I just watched a pretty cool film, 13 Assassins, about some committed Samurai. Very similar to The Seven Samurai, or it's American doppleganger, The Magnificent Seven.
I grew up obsessed with warrior cultures and histories. My brother's and I read and watched everything we could get our hands on. This was right in my wheelhouse.
Workout Of The Day
Strength/Skill
Back Squat
5-3-3-1-1-Heavy Single
Metcon
3 RFT
Run 400m
35 Wallball Shots
21 Pullups
Grace, deadlifting and new coconut water prices…
Sunday, July 10, 2011
We had some great Grace times on Friday! We had multiple low 2 minute times, which is awesome. Now improvement becomes the hard part. I probably the same advice to everyone. This is what I would do for the next 6 weeks to improve on Grace.
Build to your big set out of the gate. BUT you may want to be conservative. If you can get 17 straight, but that blows out your engine, maybe you need to stop at 15. Then, take a quick rest, and get back on the bar for 3's (or 5, or another 15, depending on your strategy.
The hardest part of Grace is after you complete your big set. Completing reps in sets of more than 1 becomes very difficult when you've just red-lined your engine. But that's exactly what you need to do. If you can hold to doubles and triples instead of singles, you will go faster. It just takes too much time to allow the bar to settle on singles. Your goal should be to delay the onset of single reps until the mid-20's.
There's a way to train this. Following a WOD, throw your Grace weight on the bar (if you're not interrupting a class). Do 3 sets of 3 C&J, Grace style (touch and go, fast). Or 4 sets of 2. Or whatever meets your strategy. But do it when you're tired, just like you will be after 15 or so clean and jerks. I would try this once or twice a week.
On deadlifting (or lack thereof)
You may have noticed we have not deadlifted for the strength portion in a few weeks. That is by design. First off, many of your are really good at it. Second, we deadlifted every week for 6 months. Guys and gals hit major lifts, now it's time to adjust the focus. On the mens side, we have 2 500# deadlifters, a couple more in the 450 range and close to a dozen that hover around 400. That's strong. In effect, we are still deadlifting every week, but now it's as clean pulls and snatch pulls which are faster and more dynamic.
Deadlifts will still come up in the conditioning (Metcon) portion of the class. But the clean/snatch pulls really emphasize the grip needed for the heavy,fast pulling. The speed and power that you have to generate move the bar on the clean and the snatch will carry over to your deadlift.
So, please fight the urge to "break" your sets of 3 on the pulls. Hang onto the bar, and work the movement.
Raley's just jacked up the price of Amy&Brian's Coconut Water by $0.40! WTF?!?
Workout Of The Day
Strength/Skill
Clean
1-1-1
Quickly build to a heavy single
Clean Pulls
3-3-3
Use your final heavy Clean for your first set of clean pulls.
