"Vision without action is a daydream, Action without vision is a nightmare."- Japanese Proverb
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMZcCeS0Ph8
It's been a couple weeks since I posted last as I've been busy stepping up my training another level in anticipation of the upcoming season. Last week I got three 2-a-days in and I'm looking forward to the results it brings. I've already noticed that my lactate threshold has increased substantially, and I'm getting stronger and faster than I've been before. Who woulda thought that I'd be getting faster at 26? all I can say is God Bless Athlete's Performance.
On Sunday I attended another Crossfit session at my new favorite hangout in the Valley. Each time I've taken a class there I've sworn that it was the hardest class, but Sunday's really takes the cake. We performed a routine called Fight Gone Bad, but upped the intervals to Tabata intervals, which is 8 rounds of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest. I know what you're thinking, and you're right. 10 seconds is NOT a lot of recovery time at all. For this we did a normal Movement Prep warmup with some plyometric movements and then jumped right into Tabata FGB.
http://www.valleycrossfit.com/
Fight Gone Bad consists of a circuit of 5 exercises, each one done 8 times with a 20 second maximum intensity/10 second rest interval with a 1 minute break in between exercises. You perform each exercise 8 rounds, then move to the next.
The exercises:
1. WallBall- Using a 20lb medicine ball you do a front squat with the ball at your chest, explode up and throw the ball against a wall 10 feet high as your feet leave the ground. Catch the ball as you enter your next squat so that you accept the ball's kinetic energy and transfer it into your explosion out of the squat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lstv1mOqNaw
2. Dead-lift to High-Pull- With a dumbbell or kettleball perform a deadlift and then bring the weight to your chin with your elbows flared out. Can also use a barbell if necessary, just bring your hands to the middle of the bar, about 2 inches apart from one another. We used a 32lb kettleball. Here's an example, though you want to keep your feet facing forward, rather than flared out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qruUYEGNlUM
3. Box-Jumps on a 24" platform.
4. Push-press- With a 75lb bar start with the bar at chest level while standing. Explode up and press the bar overhead so that the lift is activated by your feet and legs. Remember that you generate power for this from your legs & core, not your upper-body.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOfaWlres4A
5. Rows- On a rowing machine with medium-level tension
So the whole workout took less than 20 minutes but it was the most exhausting 20 minutes. Each lift is a full-body multi-joint lift, and 4 of them involve a squat. As you can imagine, the 20 seconds go quick, but the 10 second rest goes even quicker. It seems daunting when you start and are only at set 3, but you quickly stop thinking (because you're too fatigued) and just focus on moving as hard as you can as fast as you can as correctly as you can. To give you an ultimate analogy it felt like a hell-point for the entire session, I was at absolute total maximum output for almost a solid 20 minutes. Crossfit doesn't just make your muscles hurt, it makes your muscular system hurt. Along with your neurological, motor skills, pride...etc, etc.
We paired up for FGB and had a partner count reps for us and push us. I was (un)lucky enough to be partnered with Miss Fitness (my exercise goddess from the previous post) who gave the class a lesson in athleticism as she was easily the most in-shape person there. She went first and set the bar REAL high for me. Crossfit does a fantastic job of making everything a competition so we tallied up all the reps for all 5 activities giving you a total score. For rowing we counted calories burned per round instead of reps.
WallBalls gave me a bitch of a time because we use a huge, cushy ball that has displaced weight as opposed to the basketball-sized rubber ball that I'm used to. I must have dropped that damn thing 4 or 5 times, losing valuable rep time. Or gaining valuable recovery time, depending on the way you look at it. :)
I felt pretty strong going into the Deadlift High-Pulls and posted solid reps on that. I was most proud of my box jumps though as I managed to get 9 jumps in for 5 of the 8 rounds, which is moving fast for only having 20 seconds. I was spent for the Push-press and rows but still finished mildly strong. I finished second overall in the class with a total rep count of 333. (Miss Fitness finished at 327) and 1st place went to a cop who posted a whopping 384. The dude managed to get reps of 20 on the push press for 4 of his 8 rounds. Yeah, that's 1 a second.
Afterwards I finished some boxing intervals. It consisted of 1 minute jump-rope, 1 minute on the heavy bag, 1 minutes on the speed bag, set of ring dips, set of kipling pullups (pullups on the rings) followed by 1 minute rest. I managed to get 6 rounds in and then headed for the pool where I spent the rest of the day lounging around in the glorious LA sun and wondering why my body ached anytime I moved. I hadn't felt that bad since the last time I went to that Evil Exercise Facility of Death. Love/hate that place.
In the Ultimate world we had an awesome practice weekend up in SB the weekend before last. The weekend itinerary went something like this: practice, burritos, beer,butterfly beach & the SB co-eds, beer, bbq at Whit n' Nick's pad, beer, foosball, beer, bar, bar, bar (& more co-eds), sleep, bagels, practice, burgers, couch. Things I love about SB: see all the above.
We've also got a big weekend coming up at the Colorado Cup. Saturday has us starting off with Johnny Bravo, followed by Sub-Zero, Boston, and finally JAM. Sunday brings us Revolver, Machine, and BAT. If we were looking for a test to find out what kind of team we are then I think we found it. I am absolutely stoked to play boston and sub as it'll be my first time playing these teams. Can't wait to go to battle with the boys and get into the thick of it.
Train hard, train smart.
#40
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
STS 7-11-07 and what could've been
"You don't win the fight in the ring; you win it in the gym"- Muhammad Ali
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vL19q8yL54
Rumor on the street is that Adrian Wilson once jumped over Beau while Beau was jumping over some other guy. Just what I heard.
Did another Xfit-style workout again. And I do mean WORKout. Tried to stick to the time allotment as best as possible this time around which turned an already fatiguing set of activities into a completely gut-busting session. Seriously, at one point during the front-squat-to-push-presses I thought I was going to throw-up cuz I was so fatigued. Guess that means it's working...that and the fact the I am sore in every large muscle group today. And I thought I was in shape.
Movement Prep:
Same great stuff, different day.
Jump-rope TF
lunges w/weight overhead
hand-stand pushups
Squats w/weight overhead
Jump-rope TF
Did two sets of that with no rest in between then switched lunges for side-lunges, squats for 1-leg'd squats, and handstand pushups for plyo pushups w/one hand on a medicine ball, switching everytime. Also added hanging leg raises. Performed 4 sets total.
Functional lifts:
Hang-cleans 4 sets of 4
I then moved into the crossfit activity which consisted of a front-squat-to-push-press for 20 reps, then immediately move to 20 pullups. That's 1 set and you're supposed to perform 3 sets without rest. I still needed a solid 30 seconds rest after the first set, and a full minute after the second because I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest...followed by my lunch. Always humbling to find out you're not as tough as you think you are. Sigh.
The front-squat-to-push-press is a great exercise that adds an extra lil' twist because you're holding the bar in a push-press position instead of a regular front-squat position (elbows extended forward, bar on shoulder) which forces your core to be even more activated and the stabilizer muscles in the shoulder and upper & middle-back are working in overdrive to keep the bar centered and stable.
Once my Central Nervous System calmed itself down enough I moved into Tabata intervals for pushups and pullups. Tabata intervals are 20 seconds of as many pushups you can do, followed by 10 seconds of rest, then 20 seconds again to failure, 10 seconds rest...etc. Perform 8 sets which means that you're only working for 4 minutes total, but it is the most crushing 4 minutes, believe me. Immediately followed with pullups, and by the end I could barely grip the bar my hands and forearms were so fatigued. Great stuff all around.
After I moved back over to regular back squats and went heavy. I also followed each set with a set of medium-weight russian deadlifts to hit the hammy's even more. I had to do medium-weight because I literally couldn't hold the heavy bar as my grip was completely shot.
3 sets @ 8 reps for squats
3 sets @ 10 reps for russian dead-lifts
Moved directly into a Pillar Strength circuit that consisted of:
incline-situps w/weight
back extensions
Swiss-ball pikes
Swiss ball twists
Performed two circuits with no rest.
Finished with Powerband walks and calf raises. Workout took an hour and 10 minutes and I think I sweated 4 gallons of water out of my system. Note to self: bring 3 shirts next you work out, you're going to need 'em.
On a side note, I realized today that I've missed out on 5 seperate tournament finals this year alone because I either couldn't make the tourney or had previously committed to another team. That sucks, as I need all the big-game experience I can get. But just for chuckles:
-Fools Fest-unable to attend. But no regrets there as Bogle's birthday in Vegas was so much ridiculous fun it would require it's own blog to fully explain. Where else can you meet Neil Patrick Harris and Travis Barker in the same club? well, LA, but you know what I mean.
-SB Classic- a local tourney, but still a tourney. Committed early to a team that lost in the semi's instead of playing with one of the 'Dor squads.
-Kaimana- Played with Voltron instead of Ono and lost to them in the semi's. But absolutely no regrets there as playing with Voltron was one of the top 3 frisbee experiences of my career thus far. It really is just SO much better in the future. And we will be back. Yeah, you heard me Ono.
-Potlatch- had an invite by both teams in the finals. Sigh. Shoulda made it happen but $700+ for a non-open tourney is a tough pill to swallow, especially when you're saving for a new car (my truck is at 120K and counting).
- Huck it Long Beach- another local tourney, but I missed the chance to play/party with Husak & Tommy again, damien, Brent Russel and some goofy guy named Corey.
But so it goes. Guess I'll just have do my darnest to make sure my team is every other tourney finals from here on out. That should even things up quite nicely. :)
On saturday I'll be participating in a Crossfit session in a studio out in the valley followed by a grappling class immediately after. (They've got a Xfit & grappling combo for $20, hard to turn that down). Never done grappling before so I'm excited & curious to see how I'll hold up. Like Fight Club says "you never really know who you are until you've been in a fight." We'll see if that applies to a training class as well.
Train hard kids, and keep that 'Dorsiflexion.
#40
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vL19q8yL54
Rumor on the street is that Adrian Wilson once jumped over Beau while Beau was jumping over some other guy. Just what I heard.
Did another Xfit-style workout again. And I do mean WORKout. Tried to stick to the time allotment as best as possible this time around which turned an already fatiguing set of activities into a completely gut-busting session. Seriously, at one point during the front-squat-to-push-presses I thought I was going to throw-up cuz I was so fatigued. Guess that means it's working...that and the fact the I am sore in every large muscle group today. And I thought I was in shape.
Movement Prep:
Same great stuff, different day.
Jump-rope TF
lunges w/weight overhead
hand-stand pushups
Squats w/weight overhead
Jump-rope TF
Did two sets of that with no rest in between then switched lunges for side-lunges, squats for 1-leg'd squats, and handstand pushups for plyo pushups w/one hand on a medicine ball, switching everytime. Also added hanging leg raises. Performed 4 sets total.
Functional lifts:
Hang-cleans 4 sets of 4
I then moved into the crossfit activity which consisted of a front-squat-to-push-press for 20 reps, then immediately move to 20 pullups. That's 1 set and you're supposed to perform 3 sets without rest. I still needed a solid 30 seconds rest after the first set, and a full minute after the second because I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest...followed by my lunch. Always humbling to find out you're not as tough as you think you are. Sigh.
The front-squat-to-push-press is a great exercise that adds an extra lil' twist because you're holding the bar in a push-press position instead of a regular front-squat position (elbows extended forward, bar on shoulder) which forces your core to be even more activated and the stabilizer muscles in the shoulder and upper & middle-back are working in overdrive to keep the bar centered and stable.
Once my Central Nervous System calmed itself down enough I moved into Tabata intervals for pushups and pullups. Tabata intervals are 20 seconds of as many pushups you can do, followed by 10 seconds of rest, then 20 seconds again to failure, 10 seconds rest...etc. Perform 8 sets which means that you're only working for 4 minutes total, but it is the most crushing 4 minutes, believe me. Immediately followed with pullups, and by the end I could barely grip the bar my hands and forearms were so fatigued. Great stuff all around.
After I moved back over to regular back squats and went heavy. I also followed each set with a set of medium-weight russian deadlifts to hit the hammy's even more. I had to do medium-weight because I literally couldn't hold the heavy bar as my grip was completely shot.
3 sets @ 8 reps for squats
3 sets @ 10 reps for russian dead-lifts
Moved directly into a Pillar Strength circuit that consisted of:
incline-situps w/weight
back extensions
Swiss-ball pikes
Swiss ball twists
Performed two circuits with no rest.
Finished with Powerband walks and calf raises. Workout took an hour and 10 minutes and I think I sweated 4 gallons of water out of my system. Note to self: bring 3 shirts next you work out, you're going to need 'em.
On a side note, I realized today that I've missed out on 5 seperate tournament finals this year alone because I either couldn't make the tourney or had previously committed to another team. That sucks, as I need all the big-game experience I can get. But just for chuckles:
-Fools Fest-unable to attend. But no regrets there as Bogle's birthday in Vegas was so much ridiculous fun it would require it's own blog to fully explain. Where else can you meet Neil Patrick Harris and Travis Barker in the same club? well, LA, but you know what I mean.
-SB Classic- a local tourney, but still a tourney. Committed early to a team that lost in the semi's instead of playing with one of the 'Dor squads.
-Kaimana- Played with Voltron instead of Ono and lost to them in the semi's. But absolutely no regrets there as playing with Voltron was one of the top 3 frisbee experiences of my career thus far. It really is just SO much better in the future. And we will be back. Yeah, you heard me Ono.
-Potlatch- had an invite by both teams in the finals. Sigh. Shoulda made it happen but $700+ for a non-open tourney is a tough pill to swallow, especially when you're saving for a new car (my truck is at 120K and counting).
- Huck it Long Beach- another local tourney, but I missed the chance to play/party with Husak & Tommy again, damien, Brent Russel and some goofy guy named Corey.
But so it goes. Guess I'll just have do my darnest to make sure my team is every other tourney finals from here on out. That should even things up quite nicely. :)
On saturday I'll be participating in a Crossfit session in a studio out in the valley followed by a grappling class immediately after. (They've got a Xfit & grappling combo for $20, hard to turn that down). Never done grappling before so I'm excited & curious to see how I'll hold up. Like Fight Club says "you never really know who you are until you've been in a fight." We'll see if that applies to a training class as well.
Train hard kids, and keep that 'Dorsiflexion.
#40
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Oaks of a Thousand and Goals for the season
"The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team"- John Wooden
Had another great Condor weekend with practices on both days. This year the majority of our practices are in Thousand Oaks, a quaint little suburb about a half hour (with no traffic) outside the city that is so picturesque that it makes me want to puke. But it's a perfect location as it's about equal distance from both SB and LA. The team has done a really fantastic job of making things easier for us LA kids, as all the Santa Barbara weekends can sometimes wear you down by the end of the season.
Funny note about TO, we used to play them for the season opener every year in HS football. It was an f'ing trek out there on the bus, used to take an hour and a half. That's a loooong time to be sitting in your football pants, especially when you're SO jacked up for the season to start. But since it was an upper-class suburb they had an amazing plethora of smoking hot rich girls there, so that gave us something to look forward to. Nothing better than beating a team AND stealing their girls. So when our JV game was over and we had to stay to watch the Varsity team play my boys & I would take our jerseys off and go over to the other side to hit on the girls, telling them that we were from nearby Agoura, or Malibu, or whatever else we could think of at the time. Some great memories of making out with a girl and getting a tap on the shoulder from my coach telling me it was time to get on the bus and asking where my jersey was. Needless to say I didn't get her number. :)
Saturday practice was great, full of fundamentals n' drills for the first couple hours, then we ran through the O plays and finished with a solid scrimmage of Broken Home kids vs. Nuclear Family's (their cheer of "mommy loves daddy" was only slightly better than our "we get 2 Xmas's") I started out sloppy, continuing my retarded trend of doing 1 dumb thing for every good thing I did. After getting off a nice forehand huck for the first goal I proceeded to turn the next 3 forehands over the course of a few points (1 bad decision, 1 bad throw, and 1 that Robbie Gillies had the sickest layout D on to get the turn. If you've never seen a 6'4" guy get completely horizontal at full speed, trust me, it's pretty f'ing amazing. Robbie is also my pick for the blow-up player of the year. That guy is going to turn some heads this season. Just you wait.) But I managed to clean it up after that, scoring a few goals, playing solid D, and no other turns as we won the scrimmage. Chalk another one up to the dysFUNctional latch-key kids. But my parents still love me, right? right?
Sunday morning brought tons o' marking drills, hucks drills, and a whole bunch of endzone work, for which we definitely needed. I felt great by the end of it, felt much better about my timing, and worked with Dugan a bunch on endzone cuts. SO good to have that guy out there with us. His calm demeanor and ability to translate his knowledge of the game makes a world of a difference. And he's got some ok breaks too.
My goals for the upcoming season:
1. Take the other team's stud receiver, D him up, and shut him down/contain him enough that we get the W.
2. Move the disc as fast as possible when it's in my hands with a high-percentage throw.
3. No drops. Ever.
4. Improve my mark tenfold. Which would move it from god-awful to just plain mediocre.
5. Be a supportive & positive teammate always.
6. Be super-vocal and active on the sidelines always.
7. Score goals when we get the turn.
8. Be a resource for my teammates to help them achieve their athletic potential.
Going to do another Xfit workout in about an hour. Will post on it and let you know it goes. My prediction is that I'm going to be exhausted. Just a hunch.
Had another great Condor weekend with practices on both days. This year the majority of our practices are in Thousand Oaks, a quaint little suburb about a half hour (with no traffic) outside the city that is so picturesque that it makes me want to puke. But it's a perfect location as it's about equal distance from both SB and LA. The team has done a really fantastic job of making things easier for us LA kids, as all the Santa Barbara weekends can sometimes wear you down by the end of the season.
Funny note about TO, we used to play them for the season opener every year in HS football. It was an f'ing trek out there on the bus, used to take an hour and a half. That's a loooong time to be sitting in your football pants, especially when you're SO jacked up for the season to start. But since it was an upper-class suburb they had an amazing plethora of smoking hot rich girls there, so that gave us something to look forward to. Nothing better than beating a team AND stealing their girls. So when our JV game was over and we had to stay to watch the Varsity team play my boys & I would take our jerseys off and go over to the other side to hit on the girls, telling them that we were from nearby Agoura, or Malibu, or whatever else we could think of at the time. Some great memories of making out with a girl and getting a tap on the shoulder from my coach telling me it was time to get on the bus and asking where my jersey was. Needless to say I didn't get her number. :)
Saturday practice was great, full of fundamentals n' drills for the first couple hours, then we ran through the O plays and finished with a solid scrimmage of Broken Home kids vs. Nuclear Family's (their cheer of "mommy loves daddy" was only slightly better than our "we get 2 Xmas's") I started out sloppy, continuing my retarded trend of doing 1 dumb thing for every good thing I did. After getting off a nice forehand huck for the first goal I proceeded to turn the next 3 forehands over the course of a few points (1 bad decision, 1 bad throw, and 1 that Robbie Gillies had the sickest layout D on to get the turn. If you've never seen a 6'4" guy get completely horizontal at full speed, trust me, it's pretty f'ing amazing. Robbie is also my pick for the blow-up player of the year. That guy is going to turn some heads this season. Just you wait.) But I managed to clean it up after that, scoring a few goals, playing solid D, and no other turns as we won the scrimmage. Chalk another one up to the dysFUNctional latch-key kids. But my parents still love me, right? right?
Sunday morning brought tons o' marking drills, hucks drills, and a whole bunch of endzone work, for which we definitely needed. I felt great by the end of it, felt much better about my timing, and worked with Dugan a bunch on endzone cuts. SO good to have that guy out there with us. His calm demeanor and ability to translate his knowledge of the game makes a world of a difference. And he's got some ok breaks too.
My goals for the upcoming season:
1. Take the other team's stud receiver, D him up, and shut him down/contain him enough that we get the W.
2. Move the disc as fast as possible when it's in my hands with a high-percentage throw.
3. No drops. Ever.
4. Improve my mark tenfold. Which would move it from god-awful to just plain mediocre.
5. Be a supportive & positive teammate always.
6. Be super-vocal and active on the sidelines always.
7. Score goals when we get the turn.
8. Be a resource for my teammates to help them achieve their athletic potential.
Going to do another Xfit workout in about an hour. Will post on it and let you know it goes. My prediction is that I'm going to be exhausted. Just a hunch.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
STS 7-4-07 XFit and the Kwik-E-Mart
"Doctors and scientists said that breaking the four-minute mile was impossible, that one would die in the attempt. Thus, when I got up from the track after collapsing at the finish line, I figured I was dead."- Roger Bannister (After becoming the first person to break the four-minute mile, 1952)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=zPo7qwMluHo
Had a great workout yesterday. Whit, one of the Condor captains, showed me a Crossfit workout that I incorporated into my session. Crossfit is a program designed by police and military tactical specialists for combat conditioning. It's principles are extremely effective: full-body exercises done in rapid succession until exhuastion immediately followed with body-weight activities. They stress doing a variety of different athletic skills to keep your body adapting and workouts fresh. They use a lot of kettelball, medicine ball, and gymastic fundamentals in intense, exhuastive, and short workouts.
Movement Prep:
Usual nonsense. Set 1 was Jump-rope to failure followed by lunges holding a 6lb medicine ball in each hand over the head followed by hand-stand pushups followed by medicine ball squats. Switched up leg and pushup exercises for sets 2 and 3.
Full-body Lift:
Hang-cleans: 4 sets @ 4 reps
Jumped right into the Crossfit activity. This particular one is called "Frans" (not sure why, and frankly the name is kinda lame) consisted of 20 front-squat to push-press immediately followed by 20 pull-ups. You're supposed to then go directly back into another set of those, but I must admit that I was flat-out fatigued from the first set and needed a break before going again. Here's another video of what it looks like:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=e0nwx7Q5j-k
Now I consider myself in decent shape, but it's been a long time since I've done 20 front squats in row, much less combined with a push-press, so I was exhausted at the end of the second set. I knew it was going to be a good workout, but those XFit guys know what they're doing. Full-body, functional, and exhausting. Sounds good to me.
Pillar Strength Circuit:
Went directly from that into a Pillar Strength circuit that also included some medicine ball plyometrics. Went through each activity once with no rest. Completed two circuits.
Swiss-ball pushups
Split-squat medicine ball forward throws against a wall.
Swiss-ball knee tucks
Side-plank
Swiss ball situps w/weight
Hanging leg raises
Last functional lift:
Russian deadlifts 3 sets @ 8 reps
Finished with power-band walks to failure and calf raises. Props to CrossFit for inspiring this workout. For more info check out www.crossfit.com. I even looked at a CrossFit center in the Valley to check out the real deal. We've got practice this weekend but I'm definitely going to next weekend. They have a CrossFit session immediately followed by a grappling class, all for $20. Never done grappling but it'd be fun to take a class on it. Will let you know how it goes.
Also, as a sweet teaser for the new Simpsons Movie they put a Kwik-E-Mart in Burbank complete with it's own Frostillicus in the freezer. Must get over there and get photo taken with the Man himself. God bless the Simpsons. So. Funny.
http://www.7-eleven.com/kem.asp
#40
http://youtube.com/watch?v=zPo7qwMluHo
Had a great workout yesterday. Whit, one of the Condor captains, showed me a Crossfit workout that I incorporated into my session. Crossfit is a program designed by police and military tactical specialists for combat conditioning. It's principles are extremely effective: full-body exercises done in rapid succession until exhuastion immediately followed with body-weight activities. They stress doing a variety of different athletic skills to keep your body adapting and workouts fresh. They use a lot of kettelball, medicine ball, and gymastic fundamentals in intense, exhuastive, and short workouts.
Movement Prep:
Usual nonsense. Set 1 was Jump-rope to failure followed by lunges holding a 6lb medicine ball in each hand over the head followed by hand-stand pushups followed by medicine ball squats. Switched up leg and pushup exercises for sets 2 and 3.
Full-body Lift:
Hang-cleans: 4 sets @ 4 reps
Jumped right into the Crossfit activity. This particular one is called "Frans" (not sure why, and frankly the name is kinda lame) consisted of 20 front-squat to push-press immediately followed by 20 pull-ups. You're supposed to then go directly back into another set of those, but I must admit that I was flat-out fatigued from the first set and needed a break before going again. Here's another video of what it looks like:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=e0nwx7Q5j-k
Now I consider myself in decent shape, but it's been a long time since I've done 20 front squats in row, much less combined with a push-press, so I was exhausted at the end of the second set. I knew it was going to be a good workout, but those XFit guys know what they're doing. Full-body, functional, and exhausting. Sounds good to me.
Pillar Strength Circuit:
Went directly from that into a Pillar Strength circuit that also included some medicine ball plyometrics. Went through each activity once with no rest. Completed two circuits.
Swiss-ball pushups
Split-squat medicine ball forward throws against a wall.
Swiss-ball knee tucks
Side-plank
Swiss ball situps w/weight
Hanging leg raises
Last functional lift:
Russian deadlifts 3 sets @ 8 reps
Finished with power-band walks to failure and calf raises. Props to CrossFit for inspiring this workout. For more info check out www.crossfit.com. I even looked at a CrossFit center in the Valley to check out the real deal. We've got practice this weekend but I'm definitely going to next weekend. They have a CrossFit session immediately followed by a grappling class, all for $20. Never done grappling but it'd be fun to take a class on it. Will let you know how it goes.
Also, as a sweet teaser for the new Simpsons Movie they put a Kwik-E-Mart in Burbank complete with it's own Frostillicus in the freezer. Must get over there and get photo taken with the Man himself. God bless the Simpsons. So. Funny.
http://www.7-eleven.com/kem.asp
#40
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
STS 6-26-07 & Count Snatchula in da house.
"If you train hard, you'll not only be hard, you'll be hard to beat." -Herschel Walker
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCKuLT9wqP8
That clip is probably the most athletic thing I've ever seen.
Changed things up a bit today. Got up early to do an AM workout. Not really a huge fan of early morning lifting because it usually takes my body a lot longer to warm up and sometimes I feel like it doesn't respond as well...almost like my muscles are used to being in a resting state at that time. Huh. But it's good to keep 'em guessing, and I should get used to working out in the morning as first round games are definitely in the AM. Plus now I can play golf tonight. Booyah. Here's todays workout:
Movement Prep: (no rest between these exercises)
Jump-rope TF (to failure)
Lunges w/med. ball
Handstand pushups
squats w/med. ball
Jump-rope TF
Side lunges
Handstand pushups
1-foot'd squats
Jump-rope TF
Walking lunges w/med. ball
Hand-stand pushups
side-step squats
Jump-rope TF
That was set #1. Switched up the handstand pushups for 1-handed pushups (on an incline platform) and also added some hanging leg-raises on set 2. Finished that and jump-roped for another 8 minutes or so going through the different variations to warm up further. (Remember that 10 minutes of jumping rope burns as many calories as 30 minutes of running. Something to think about.) I'm also a big fan of 1-leg squats right now. They are SO much harder than they look, and really work the intertior/exterior stabilization muscles. Legs were feelin' pretty saucy by this point so I knew it was going to be a good workout. Had to move fast today as well as I only had an hour to get through all the lifts before work so I decided to do a lot of circuit n' superset (moving from exercise to exercise without rest) work after the heavy lifts.
Multi-joint Lifts:
As always, started with hang cleans. Don't forget the primary focus of these strength-training sessions is on the Posterior Chain (back, lower back[& core], glutes, hammy's, calves). Legs were springy today so I was able to pound through the first 3 sets of cleans pretty fast, ended up doing 6 sets total. Cleans are fun because it's 100% maximum output on a quick-burst movement vs. slow n' steady lifting, so while they are immensely tiring n' difficult, they only last 3-4 seconds per lift.
Hang Cleans 6 sets @ 4 reps
Deadlifts 2 sets @ 8 reps
Front-squats 2 sets @ 8 reps
Regular squats 3 sets @ 6 reps (heavy)
Front-squats are still one of my favorite lifts right now because nothing makes my core work as hard and you can really feel it in the wrists n' grip strength as well. (Great for holding onto that disc). Dropped down the reps on the regular squats but went heavy throughout. When doing your squats remember to go slow on the way down, no reason to rush at all. Should take you 3-4 seconds to completely lower. Focus, as always, is on form and control.
Core/Stability/Circuit:
Physioball pushups 3 sets TF-(feet on a small physioball, hands on large. Balance for 10 seconds then attempt pushups. Notice I said attempt. Only could do pushups on the first set. Those mofo's CRUSH.)
Did a Pillar Strength Circuit next:
Cable-chops to medicine ball twists to physioball knee-tucks without rest.
Moved directly into Army Ranger standards just to make sure I could still hang:
80 pushups in 2 minutes
80 situps in 2 minutes
14 pullups
(Super-set)
Technically I should run a 2-mile in under 15 minutes immediately following to truly say I kept up with Army Ranger standards, but I'm fairly confident that I could do that pretty easily if I ever wanted to run for 2 miles. In a row. Without catching a football or frisbee. Just running. Yeah...sounds like fun. Bleh.
Last Multi-joint lift:
Walking lunges w/weight 6 sets @ 12 reps
Finished with a super-set of Power-band walks @ 4 sets TF
Second time using the powerbands, those things are S-O-L-I-D. Will post further about them in a future blog. But I will say that they are lateraliffic.
Only had 7 minutes left on the clock by now, only enough time to get one last lift in. Decided to stick to an oldie-but-goodie, also one of my top 3 favorite lifts right now: 1-handed Snatches. Same lower-body and core movement as the hang-clean, exploding up out of a squat and catching yourself back in it, but the single arm goes straight overhead following the natural line of the body. It's a phenomenal exercise because you're using the whole body and strengthening the abs at it's weakest point (arms extended). You're teaching your body to stay strong n' stable while fully extended from the torso up...exactly the same body positioning when you're at the height of your jump skying some chump for the disc.
Seems to fit all the criteria for an effective ultimate-specific exercise:
Full-body and functional: check.
Explosive n' fast-twitch: check.
Body positioning during lift translates over to body positioning during on-field movement: check.
Stimulates muscles in way different from previous exercises: check.
Makes me tired: check.
Final Synopsis:
Count Snatchula is up in da heezy.
Here's a visual example for all ya suckas that don't know:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg77Os9mtXs
Ran the 'dors through the speed movement program on Saturday for the first part of practice. I managed to get through the first 3 phases in under an hour and threw a good amount of information at them. Almost all of them picked right up on the concepts and were able to recognize how it translates to on-field movement. Because that's what it's all about: how does what I do while training apply to how I move and react on the field.
The most rewarding part was seeing how f'ing athletic some of my teammates are. I had them doing movements that they had never done before and some of them looked like they'd been practicing it for years. All good signs. I'm very excited to progress further into the program with them and see how they respond to it. Most importantly, I got some of them to analyze my program and methods against their current workouts and compare/contrast. Anything I can do to get my teammates to cognitively analyze their training will only serve to enhance their training. (even if they disagree with me for some weird reason) Because the point is not just to train hard, but to train smart as well.
Practice was both days this weekend and they were constructive, informative, and exhausting. Our captains do a great job of setting up smart, tough practices that make the most of the few hours that we have together. Very fundamental practices...exactly what I need. And love. I am SO fired up for the upcoming season. Our team is starting to come together and find it's sense of identity. We're practicing with fire n' intensity and everybody seems to be on the same page in terms of discipline and commitment. This squad definitely has heart n' grit. Two things I'm a big fan of.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCKuLT9wqP8
That clip is probably the most athletic thing I've ever seen.
Changed things up a bit today. Got up early to do an AM workout. Not really a huge fan of early morning lifting because it usually takes my body a lot longer to warm up and sometimes I feel like it doesn't respond as well...almost like my muscles are used to being in a resting state at that time. Huh. But it's good to keep 'em guessing, and I should get used to working out in the morning as first round games are definitely in the AM. Plus now I can play golf tonight. Booyah. Here's todays workout:
Movement Prep: (no rest between these exercises)
Jump-rope TF (to failure)
Lunges w/med. ball
Handstand pushups
squats w/med. ball
Jump-rope TF
Side lunges
Handstand pushups
1-foot'd squats
Jump-rope TF
Walking lunges w/med. ball
Hand-stand pushups
side-step squats
Jump-rope TF
That was set #1. Switched up the handstand pushups for 1-handed pushups (on an incline platform) and also added some hanging leg-raises on set 2. Finished that and jump-roped for another 8 minutes or so going through the different variations to warm up further. (Remember that 10 minutes of jumping rope burns as many calories as 30 minutes of running. Something to think about.) I'm also a big fan of 1-leg squats right now. They are SO much harder than they look, and really work the intertior/exterior stabilization muscles. Legs were feelin' pretty saucy by this point so I knew it was going to be a good workout. Had to move fast today as well as I only had an hour to get through all the lifts before work so I decided to do a lot of circuit n' superset (moving from exercise to exercise without rest) work after the heavy lifts.
Multi-joint Lifts:
As always, started with hang cleans. Don't forget the primary focus of these strength-training sessions is on the Posterior Chain (back, lower back[& core], glutes, hammy's, calves). Legs were springy today so I was able to pound through the first 3 sets of cleans pretty fast, ended up doing 6 sets total. Cleans are fun because it's 100% maximum output on a quick-burst movement vs. slow n' steady lifting, so while they are immensely tiring n' difficult, they only last 3-4 seconds per lift.
Hang Cleans 6 sets @ 4 reps
Deadlifts 2 sets @ 8 reps
Front-squats 2 sets @ 8 reps
Regular squats 3 sets @ 6 reps (heavy)
Front-squats are still one of my favorite lifts right now because nothing makes my core work as hard and you can really feel it in the wrists n' grip strength as well. (Great for holding onto that disc). Dropped down the reps on the regular squats but went heavy throughout. When doing your squats remember to go slow on the way down, no reason to rush at all. Should take you 3-4 seconds to completely lower. Focus, as always, is on form and control.
Core/Stability/Circuit:
Physioball pushups 3 sets TF-(feet on a small physioball, hands on large. Balance for 10 seconds then attempt pushups. Notice I said attempt. Only could do pushups on the first set. Those mofo's CRUSH.)
Did a Pillar Strength Circuit next:
Cable-chops to medicine ball twists to physioball knee-tucks without rest.
Moved directly into Army Ranger standards just to make sure I could still hang:
80 pushups in 2 minutes
80 situps in 2 minutes
14 pullups
(Super-set)
Technically I should run a 2-mile in under 15 minutes immediately following to truly say I kept up with Army Ranger standards, but I'm fairly confident that I could do that pretty easily if I ever wanted to run for 2 miles. In a row. Without catching a football or frisbee. Just running. Yeah...sounds like fun. Bleh.
Last Multi-joint lift:
Walking lunges w/weight 6 sets @ 12 reps
Finished with a super-set of Power-band walks @ 4 sets TF
Second time using the powerbands, those things are S-O-L-I-D. Will post further about them in a future blog. But I will say that they are lateraliffic.
Only had 7 minutes left on the clock by now, only enough time to get one last lift in. Decided to stick to an oldie-but-goodie, also one of my top 3 favorite lifts right now: 1-handed Snatches. Same lower-body and core movement as the hang-clean, exploding up out of a squat and catching yourself back in it, but the single arm goes straight overhead following the natural line of the body. It's a phenomenal exercise because you're using the whole body and strengthening the abs at it's weakest point (arms extended). You're teaching your body to stay strong n' stable while fully extended from the torso up...exactly the same body positioning when you're at the height of your jump skying some chump for the disc.
Seems to fit all the criteria for an effective ultimate-specific exercise:
Full-body and functional: check.
Explosive n' fast-twitch: check.
Body positioning during lift translates over to body positioning during on-field movement: check.
Stimulates muscles in way different from previous exercises: check.
Makes me tired: check.
Final Synopsis:
Count Snatchula is up in da heezy.
Here's a visual example for all ya suckas that don't know:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg77Os9mtXs
Ran the 'dors through the speed movement program on Saturday for the first part of practice. I managed to get through the first 3 phases in under an hour and threw a good amount of information at them. Almost all of them picked right up on the concepts and were able to recognize how it translates to on-field movement. Because that's what it's all about: how does what I do while training apply to how I move and react on the field.
The most rewarding part was seeing how f'ing athletic some of my teammates are. I had them doing movements that they had never done before and some of them looked like they'd been practicing it for years. All good signs. I'm very excited to progress further into the program with them and see how they respond to it. Most importantly, I got some of them to analyze my program and methods against their current workouts and compare/contrast. Anything I can do to get my teammates to cognitively analyze their training will only serve to enhance their training. (even if they disagree with me for some weird reason) Because the point is not just to train hard, but to train smart as well.
Practice was both days this weekend and they were constructive, informative, and exhausting. Our captains do a great job of setting up smart, tough practices that make the most of the few hours that we have together. Very fundamental practices...exactly what I need. And love. I am SO fired up for the upcoming season. Our team is starting to come together and find it's sense of identity. We're practicing with fire n' intensity and everybody seems to be on the same page in terms of discipline and commitment. This squad definitely has heart n' grit. Two things I'm a big fan of.
Friday, June 22, 2007
ST Workout 6-21
"I can barely lift my arms, I did so many" - Ron Burgundy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwbDoQGdDKo&mode=related&search=
My Strength-Training program (you'll notice I don't refer to it as weight-lifting because...well...you do so much more than just lifting weights that it's actually insulting to my Strength-training program to call it that. Seriously. She told me she was insulted. We're all about new-age terminology 'round here) also follows a four-phase system.
Phase 1- Movement Prep
Movement Prep is SO much more than just warming up. It's about getting your body (with emphasis on legs + core) ready for the madness you're about to put it through while also raising your internal body temperature. You're going to perform the movements you're about to do but with body-weight.
The single greatest activity for Movement Prep is jumping rope. If you fancy yourself an athlete and jumping rope isn't a part of your routine then you are simply selling yourself short. Jumping rope for 10 minutes burns as much calories as 30 minutes of running. There's a reason jumping rope has been a staple of boxing and other sports for many, many years. Because to jump rope successfully your body must be in correct positioning. Everything from your head down must be in perfect alignment and your core holds your body stabilized while your legs are plyometrically and anaerobically moving. So you're warming up, getting lighter on your toes, and teaching your core it's proper alignment. Name me another activity that does all of that as effectively. Plus it's pretty f'ing fun when you can go for a couple of minutes and do all the many variations that there are. Still workin' on the double-jump crossovers though...not much luck there yet. Yet.
I like to mix in different body-weight functional movements in between my jump rope intervals. (Functional is defined as any full-body activity that resembles any movement either on the field or in your normal daily activity. Two examples would be a side-lung, such as when you're trying to stop a backhand break, or a deadlift, like when you're picking your grocery's up off the floor).
Last night's MP went something like this:
Jump rope TF (to failure)
body-weight lunges-10 reps
hand-stand pushups against the wall-10 reps
Jump rope TF
body weight side-lunges
hand-stand pushups against the wall
Jump-rope TF
1-legged squats
hand-stand pushups against the wall
Jump-rope TF
That's one set. In 7-8 minutes I've done 3 different types of full-body functional movements for my core and legs, an upper-body stabilization exercise that also hits the core, and done high-intensity anaerobic and plyometric movements.
For set 2 I switch the Hand-stand pushups for some variation of a plyometric pushup (like doing the "clap" pushup without the clap part, simply springing off the ground with your hands and landing back down into the pushup and plyometrically repeat) and mix-in hanging leg raises (for further core activation and to warm up my grip) or a pull-up set and some type of twisting activity with a medicine ball. The point is to do different activities, keep moving, and make sure every activity is functional and full-body. There is NO body-part training involved in these workouts. For further clarification on the reasons for that read my previous blog.
I usually do 2 or 3 sets depending on how I feel. I also like to grab a 25 or 35lb pound and perform the lunges and squats while holding the weight over my head with locked arms. This strengthens the abs and core at it's weakest point (fully extended upper-body) and works the stabilization muscles in the upper-body. If I'm doing a 3rd set I'll again change up the movements in between the jump-rope sessions. Inch-worms, backwards-walking lunges, cross-over squats are all examples of other body-weight activities.
Phase 2- Multi-joint full-body lifts
This, as my old football coach used to say, is where we separate the men from the boys. Phase 2 is the nitty-gritty. The emphasis on this phase is on working the Posterior Chain (from your Erector Spinae and Core down through the hip muscles and glutes (ass) through the hamstrings and calf). Your Posterior Chain controls all of your movement, especially running and jumping. The two exercises I always do religiously is the hang-clean and the squat. They are without a doubt the two greatest strength exercises ever. After that I pick 2 other full-body lifts to perform along with them.
Last night:
4 sets of hang-cleans @ 4 reps each
2 sets of dead-lifts @ 8 reps each
4 sets of squats @ 10-8-8-6 with increasing weight.
Also, every other workout I do front-squats to switch things up. If you've never done those, give 'em a whirl. They f'ing CRUSH. Usually by this time my legs need a lil' break before I can jump into the next full-body lift so I move into Phase 3, then come back and finish the last full-body lift. Cuz that's how I roll. :-)
Phase 3- Core and upper-body supersets
This phase is all about working your core, or what Mark Verstegen calls your Pillar Strength (core + hips + stabilization muscles in the legs) while also hitting the upper-body with supersets (moving from one directly to the other) to keep your heart rate up, to work when you're tired, and to push that threshold further, further, further. The only isolated upper-body work I do is body-weight activity (dips, pull-ups, push-ups...etc). Boxing takes care of the rest of my upper-body strength so I can focus on my legs and core. It's been a long time since I've bench-pressed anything, there's simply too many other better exercises to be done.
Last night:
Physioball push-ups- balancing on two physioballs, one for the hands and one for the feet TF
Pull-ups TF
Dips TF
Physioball Pikes TF
Chin-ups TF
Plyometric push-ups
Physioball Plank w/feet on bench TF
Close-grip pull-up TF
Dips TF
Twists w/medicine ball TF
All these exercises are done as a circuit, without a break. Keep moving, keep pushing. None of these activities are using weight so you've really got nothing to piss n' moan about. Pushing through when you're tired now means you won't be as tired on double-game point. Hopefully.
By now my core and stabilizer muscles are rocked so it's the perfect time for that last multi-joint lift. Here's where you figure out what kind of mental toughness you have. Walking lunges, step-ups, donkey-press (1-legged if you're a badass), squat-presses, straight-leg deadlifts...etc are all examples of full-body multi-joint lifts. Enjoy this last exercise knowing it's the last heavy lift of the day.
Phase 4- uni-lateral/stabilization training w/disassociation
Phase 4's emphasis is on performing 1-footed (unilateral) leg + core exercises intermixed with stabilization training with upper-body disassociation(being able to maintain an athletic position while your upper-body is moving independently and explosively...sound familiar?).
85% of your stride is done on one foot (think about it) so we want the body to be so unbelievably comfortable working on one foot that it's second nature. I usually pick 2 exercises and mix them in with 2 stabilization/disassociation exercises
Last night:
-1-legged russian deadlifts 2 sets @12 reps
-split-squat medicine ball presses (while in a lunge, hold a medicine ball and chest-pass it against a wall, catching it still in the lunge. Maintain the stance and hold. That. Core. Strong. ) 1 set w/each leg forward. 10-12 reps.
-Step-ups w/medicine ball toss (step-up onto a platform while pressing the med. ball up, catch and come down, repeat with opposite leg) 2 sets @ 12 reps
- split-squats w/overhead med. ball tosses (same thing but throw the med. ball like you would soccer-style on an out of bound throw-in) 1 set w/each leg forward. 10-12 reps.
Recovery
Eat. Eat. Eat. You have a 15-minute window from when you finish your workout for maximum amount of absorption of protein and carbs for muscle-building potential. Every 15 minutes after that window passes your body's ability to absorb that food is decreased exponentially. I know you're not hungry, but it doesn't matter. Food is not food anymore, it's fuel. And your body needs it irregardless of what your stomach or head says. So Eat, and eat healthy. Protein and simple carbs are essential right away. Follow with complex carbs and more protein. and Drink a mad grip of water, but you should be doing that anyway.
Rest, stretch, and buy a foam roller. It's like your own personal massage. LOVE those things.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwbDoQGdDKo&mode=related&search=
My Strength-Training program (you'll notice I don't refer to it as weight-lifting because...well...you do so much more than just lifting weights that it's actually insulting to my Strength-training program to call it that. Seriously. She told me she was insulted. We're all about new-age terminology 'round here) also follows a four-phase system.
Phase 1- Movement Prep
Movement Prep is SO much more than just warming up. It's about getting your body (with emphasis on legs + core) ready for the madness you're about to put it through while also raising your internal body temperature. You're going to perform the movements you're about to do but with body-weight.
The single greatest activity for Movement Prep is jumping rope. If you fancy yourself an athlete and jumping rope isn't a part of your routine then you are simply selling yourself short. Jumping rope for 10 minutes burns as much calories as 30 minutes of running. There's a reason jumping rope has been a staple of boxing and other sports for many, many years. Because to jump rope successfully your body must be in correct positioning. Everything from your head down must be in perfect alignment and your core holds your body stabilized while your legs are plyometrically and anaerobically moving. So you're warming up, getting lighter on your toes, and teaching your core it's proper alignment. Name me another activity that does all of that as effectively. Plus it's pretty f'ing fun when you can go for a couple of minutes and do all the many variations that there are. Still workin' on the double-jump crossovers though...not much luck there yet. Yet.
I like to mix in different body-weight functional movements in between my jump rope intervals. (Functional is defined as any full-body activity that resembles any movement either on the field or in your normal daily activity. Two examples would be a side-lung, such as when you're trying to stop a backhand break, or a deadlift, like when you're picking your grocery's up off the floor).
Last night's MP went something like this:
Jump rope TF (to failure)
body-weight lunges-10 reps
hand-stand pushups against the wall-10 reps
Jump rope TF
body weight side-lunges
hand-stand pushups against the wall
Jump-rope TF
1-legged squats
hand-stand pushups against the wall
Jump-rope TF
That's one set. In 7-8 minutes I've done 3 different types of full-body functional movements for my core and legs, an upper-body stabilization exercise that also hits the core, and done high-intensity anaerobic and plyometric movements.
For set 2 I switch the Hand-stand pushups for some variation of a plyometric pushup (like doing the "clap" pushup without the clap part, simply springing off the ground with your hands and landing back down into the pushup and plyometrically repeat) and mix-in hanging leg raises (for further core activation and to warm up my grip) or a pull-up set and some type of twisting activity with a medicine ball. The point is to do different activities, keep moving, and make sure every activity is functional and full-body. There is NO body-part training involved in these workouts. For further clarification on the reasons for that read my previous blog.
I usually do 2 or 3 sets depending on how I feel. I also like to grab a 25 or 35lb pound and perform the lunges and squats while holding the weight over my head with locked arms. This strengthens the abs and core at it's weakest point (fully extended upper-body) and works the stabilization muscles in the upper-body. If I'm doing a 3rd set I'll again change up the movements in between the jump-rope sessions. Inch-worms, backwards-walking lunges, cross-over squats are all examples of other body-weight activities.
Phase 2- Multi-joint full-body lifts
This, as my old football coach used to say, is where we separate the men from the boys. Phase 2 is the nitty-gritty. The emphasis on this phase is on working the Posterior Chain (from your Erector Spinae and Core down through the hip muscles and glutes (ass) through the hamstrings and calf). Your Posterior Chain controls all of your movement, especially running and jumping. The two exercises I always do religiously is the hang-clean and the squat. They are without a doubt the two greatest strength exercises ever. After that I pick 2 other full-body lifts to perform along with them.
Last night:
4 sets of hang-cleans @ 4 reps each
2 sets of dead-lifts @ 8 reps each
4 sets of squats @ 10-8-8-6 with increasing weight.
Also, every other workout I do front-squats to switch things up. If you've never done those, give 'em a whirl. They f'ing CRUSH. Usually by this time my legs need a lil' break before I can jump into the next full-body lift so I move into Phase 3, then come back and finish the last full-body lift. Cuz that's how I roll. :-)
Phase 3- Core and upper-body supersets
This phase is all about working your core, or what Mark Verstegen calls your Pillar Strength (core + hips + stabilization muscles in the legs) while also hitting the upper-body with supersets (moving from one directly to the other) to keep your heart rate up, to work when you're tired, and to push that threshold further, further, further. The only isolated upper-body work I do is body-weight activity (dips, pull-ups, push-ups...etc). Boxing takes care of the rest of my upper-body strength so I can focus on my legs and core. It's been a long time since I've bench-pressed anything, there's simply too many other better exercises to be done.
Last night:
Physioball push-ups- balancing on two physioballs, one for the hands and one for the feet TF
Pull-ups TF
Dips TF
Physioball Pikes TF
Chin-ups TF
Plyometric push-ups
Physioball Plank w/feet on bench TF
Close-grip pull-up TF
Dips TF
Twists w/medicine ball TF
All these exercises are done as a circuit, without a break. Keep moving, keep pushing. None of these activities are using weight so you've really got nothing to piss n' moan about. Pushing through when you're tired now means you won't be as tired on double-game point. Hopefully.
By now my core and stabilizer muscles are rocked so it's the perfect time for that last multi-joint lift. Here's where you figure out what kind of mental toughness you have. Walking lunges, step-ups, donkey-press (1-legged if you're a badass), squat-presses, straight-leg deadlifts...etc are all examples of full-body multi-joint lifts. Enjoy this last exercise knowing it's the last heavy lift of the day.
Phase 4- uni-lateral/stabilization training w/disassociation
Phase 4's emphasis is on performing 1-footed (unilateral) leg + core exercises intermixed with stabilization training with upper-body disassociation(being able to maintain an athletic position while your upper-body is moving independently and explosively...sound familiar?).
85% of your stride is done on one foot (think about it) so we want the body to be so unbelievably comfortable working on one foot that it's second nature. I usually pick 2 exercises and mix them in with 2 stabilization/disassociation exercises
Last night:
-1-legged russian deadlifts 2 sets @12 reps
-split-squat medicine ball presses (while in a lunge, hold a medicine ball and chest-pass it against a wall, catching it still in the lunge. Maintain the stance and hold. That. Core. Strong. ) 1 set w/each leg forward. 10-12 reps.
-Step-ups w/medicine ball toss (step-up onto a platform while pressing the med. ball up, catch and come down, repeat with opposite leg) 2 sets @ 12 reps
- split-squats w/overhead med. ball tosses (same thing but throw the med. ball like you would soccer-style on an out of bound throw-in) 1 set w/each leg forward. 10-12 reps.
Recovery
Eat. Eat. Eat. You have a 15-minute window from when you finish your workout for maximum amount of absorption of protein and carbs for muscle-building potential. Every 15 minutes after that window passes your body's ability to absorb that food is decreased exponentially. I know you're not hungry, but it doesn't matter. Food is not food anymore, it's fuel. And your body needs it irregardless of what your stomach or head says. So Eat, and eat healthy. Protein and simple carbs are essential right away. Follow with complex carbs and more protein. and Drink a mad grip of water, but you should be doing that anyway.
Rest, stretch, and buy a foam roller. It's like your own personal massage. LOVE those things.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
New Strength-Training Program
Things they are a' changing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90xhaI8TNgA
A huge study was recently published and has been causing a mini-revolution in the weightlifting world because it's shattering some old time bodybuilding dogma. The study was done on male subjects with a variety of fitness levels (something like 20 thousand separate workout sessions were recorded) and what they found is really interesting, and makes a lot of sense when you get all the info. Here's the jist of it, and a new program to try out:
Old Program: "Body-part Training"This is the type of program that we've all grown up on. It consists of dividing the body into specific muscle groups and dedicating an entire session to working each individually. (ex: back and bi's one day, chest and tri's the next.) The first main problem with this program is that even though you are training daily, each muscle group is targeted only once a week. Twice a week if you're aggro. This limits the body's muscle-building potential because multiple studies have shown that "muscle-protein synthesis is elevated for up to 48 hours after a resistance-training session." Which means that after the 48-hour muscle-growth period has expired, the biological stimulus for your body to build new muscle returns to normal. With the old body-part training method the 48-hour muscle growth period will have passed by the time you get to that muscle again. (ex: you do chest on Monday, the earliest day to do chest again would be Friday, if you rest a day. Obviously missing the 48hr window). By taking too many days between individual muscle sessions the program simply isn't taking enough adanvantage of the body's full muscle-building potential.
The other problem is since body-part training is usually performed intensely on consecutive days, it impedes the recovery process because the nutrients your body needs to repair the muscle damage from the previous day are allocated toward providing energy for your workout instead. The important thing to remember about muscles is that they grow best when you're resting, not working. The new program erases this problem because a day of recovery automatically follows each workout.
New Program: A full-body workout three times a week, resting a day after each session. With this program you are going to work each muscle more often, and it's going to spend more total time growing. (Note: rest is defined as a non-weightlifting session. You obviously can do ultimate practice/training on these days. I prefer to do my abs on these off days also.)
Day 1: 4 sets with 5 reps with 90 seconds rest between.
Day 2: 2 sets with 15 reps with 30 seconds rest between.
Day 3: 3 set with 10 reps with 60 seconds rest between.
Each workout choose 2-3 exercises for each muscle major muscle group (chest, back, shoulders, legs) and 1 exercise for the smaller muscles (triceps, biceps, calves..etc). Vary it up each time, choosing different lifts each day (ex. regular bench-press Monday, incline Wednesday, decline Friday). If you stick to the rest schedule you can easily get out the door in an hour. For legs, make sure at least two lifts is a full body movement i.e. squats, deadlifts, powercleans, lunges...etc
Important: The other major change you are going to make is on the the lift technique itself. The focus of this lift is going to be on the negative. During the lift you are going to take 3 seconds to lower the weight and 1 second to raise it. Literally count to three while on the negative part of the lift.This can be a change for some, but slow the lift down on the negative, control the weight, and let it burn on the way down. You might to have start lighter than you usually do, but don't worry about that. Do whatever weight that allows you to perform the lift in true form and in total control. Think of momentum as your enemy, void it from your workout completely, and never ever let it bounce off your body or swing it. Don't be that guy. This rep/set range stimulates both your strength/power and endurance muscle fibers and the variance also keeps the routine from getting stale. To do this right you should have a stopwatch and keep to the schedule, especially the rest between. Don't forget, it's the intensity of the session that counts, not how much weight you throw around.
The obvious objection to this program that bodybuilders argued is that total-body training doesn't allow you to work muscle groups hard enough. They are basing this on the assumption that a single muscles requires 30+ minutes to work out. (Meaning you'd be in the gym all day to hit every muscle). But if you compare the set/rep numbers of each program, you can achieve the same number of exercises per muscle per week, if not more. For example, the old body-part program would have you do 4 chest exercises at 3 sets each per week (total= 12 sets). With the new program you can achieve 12 sets simply by doing 4 sets 3x a week. According to Alwyn Cosgrove, the trainer that collected the data, "you need to think of training like a presciption. You wouldn't take an entire bottle of Advil on Monday to relive pain all week; you'd take smaller doses at regular intervals."
Also refuting the bodybuilder's argument is a concept called volume-threshold theory that states that "muscle growth occurs once a muscle has been exposed to 90 to 120 seconds of total tension." The beauty of the negative-emphasis lifting technique is that each repetition is going to last around 6-7 seconds. So it's very easy to achieve that 120 second total tension bar and stimulate muscle growth.
Important: To save on time and increase your workout intensity even more you can also perform alternation sets. When possible, pair exercises that work opposite muscle groups and cut the rest period between sets in half. (ex: one set of bench press, followed by quick rest, then upright-row for back. That's one set. Repeat according to what rep/set schedule you're doing that day). This concept is based on the the law of reciprocal innervation that states "for every neural activation of a muscle, there is a corresponding inhibition of the opposite muscle" So by working your back the opposite chest muscles are forced to relax, thereby resting. This can cut 8-10 minutes off your workout time and increases heartrate, calories burned, and workout intensity. Just don't forget to emphasize the negative, and keep that form perfect.
Here's an example of an alteration set:
Exercise 1: Wide grip deadlift
Exercise 2: Dumbbell incline press (chest)
Exercise 2A: Cable Row (back)
Exercise 3: Wide-grip Lat pulldown (back)
Exercise 3A: Swiss ball pike (pushup positon with shins resting on swiss-ball. Raise your hips as high as you can as you roll the ball toward your body. Pause at top, then return to start by lowering your hips and rolling the ball backward.)
For more info check in with the man himself at http://www.alywncosgrove.com/ and Mark Verstegen's site at http://www.coreperformance.com/.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90xhaI8TNgA
A huge study was recently published and has been causing a mini-revolution in the weightlifting world because it's shattering some old time bodybuilding dogma. The study was done on male subjects with a variety of fitness levels (something like 20 thousand separate workout sessions were recorded) and what they found is really interesting, and makes a lot of sense when you get all the info. Here's the jist of it, and a new program to try out:
Old Program: "Body-part Training"This is the type of program that we've all grown up on. It consists of dividing the body into specific muscle groups and dedicating an entire session to working each individually. (ex: back and bi's one day, chest and tri's the next.) The first main problem with this program is that even though you are training daily, each muscle group is targeted only once a week. Twice a week if you're aggro. This limits the body's muscle-building potential because multiple studies have shown that "muscle-protein synthesis is elevated for up to 48 hours after a resistance-training session." Which means that after the 48-hour muscle-growth period has expired, the biological stimulus for your body to build new muscle returns to normal. With the old body-part training method the 48-hour muscle growth period will have passed by the time you get to that muscle again. (ex: you do chest on Monday, the earliest day to do chest again would be Friday, if you rest a day. Obviously missing the 48hr window). By taking too many days between individual muscle sessions the program simply isn't taking enough adanvantage of the body's full muscle-building potential.
The other problem is since body-part training is usually performed intensely on consecutive days, it impedes the recovery process because the nutrients your body needs to repair the muscle damage from the previous day are allocated toward providing energy for your workout instead. The important thing to remember about muscles is that they grow best when you're resting, not working. The new program erases this problem because a day of recovery automatically follows each workout.
New Program: A full-body workout three times a week, resting a day after each session. With this program you are going to work each muscle more often, and it's going to spend more total time growing. (Note: rest is defined as a non-weightlifting session. You obviously can do ultimate practice/training on these days. I prefer to do my abs on these off days also.)
Day 1: 4 sets with 5 reps with 90 seconds rest between.
Day 2: 2 sets with 15 reps with 30 seconds rest between.
Day 3: 3 set with 10 reps with 60 seconds rest between.
Each workout choose 2-3 exercises for each muscle major muscle group (chest, back, shoulders, legs) and 1 exercise for the smaller muscles (triceps, biceps, calves..etc). Vary it up each time, choosing different lifts each day (ex. regular bench-press Monday, incline Wednesday, decline Friday). If you stick to the rest schedule you can easily get out the door in an hour. For legs, make sure at least two lifts is a full body movement i.e. squats, deadlifts, powercleans, lunges...etc
Important: The other major change you are going to make is on the the lift technique itself. The focus of this lift is going to be on the negative. During the lift you are going to take 3 seconds to lower the weight and 1 second to raise it. Literally count to three while on the negative part of the lift.This can be a change for some, but slow the lift down on the negative, control the weight, and let it burn on the way down. You might to have start lighter than you usually do, but don't worry about that. Do whatever weight that allows you to perform the lift in true form and in total control. Think of momentum as your enemy, void it from your workout completely, and never ever let it bounce off your body or swing it. Don't be that guy. This rep/set range stimulates both your strength/power and endurance muscle fibers and the variance also keeps the routine from getting stale. To do this right you should have a stopwatch and keep to the schedule, especially the rest between. Don't forget, it's the intensity of the session that counts, not how much weight you throw around.
The obvious objection to this program that bodybuilders argued is that total-body training doesn't allow you to work muscle groups hard enough. They are basing this on the assumption that a single muscles requires 30+ minutes to work out. (Meaning you'd be in the gym all day to hit every muscle). But if you compare the set/rep numbers of each program, you can achieve the same number of exercises per muscle per week, if not more. For example, the old body-part program would have you do 4 chest exercises at 3 sets each per week (total= 12 sets). With the new program you can achieve 12 sets simply by doing 4 sets 3x a week. According to Alwyn Cosgrove, the trainer that collected the data, "you need to think of training like a presciption. You wouldn't take an entire bottle of Advil on Monday to relive pain all week; you'd take smaller doses at regular intervals."
Also refuting the bodybuilder's argument is a concept called volume-threshold theory that states that "muscle growth occurs once a muscle has been exposed to 90 to 120 seconds of total tension." The beauty of the negative-emphasis lifting technique is that each repetition is going to last around 6-7 seconds. So it's very easy to achieve that 120 second total tension bar and stimulate muscle growth.
Important: To save on time and increase your workout intensity even more you can also perform alternation sets. When possible, pair exercises that work opposite muscle groups and cut the rest period between sets in half. (ex: one set of bench press, followed by quick rest, then upright-row for back. That's one set. Repeat according to what rep/set schedule you're doing that day). This concept is based on the the law of reciprocal innervation that states "for every neural activation of a muscle, there is a corresponding inhibition of the opposite muscle" So by working your back the opposite chest muscles are forced to relax, thereby resting. This can cut 8-10 minutes off your workout time and increases heartrate, calories burned, and workout intensity. Just don't forget to emphasize the negative, and keep that form perfect.
Here's an example of an alteration set:
Exercise 1: Wide grip deadlift
Exercise 2: Dumbbell incline press (chest)
Exercise 2A: Cable Row (back)
Exercise 3: Wide-grip Lat pulldown (back)
Exercise 3A: Swiss ball pike (pushup positon with shins resting on swiss-ball. Raise your hips as high as you can as you roll the ball toward your body. Pause at top, then return to start by lowering your hips and rolling the ball backward.)
For more info check in with the man himself at http://www.alywncosgrove.com/ and Mark Verstegen's site at http://www.coreperformance.com/.
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