Wednesday, December 31, 2008
10 thousand hours, the Kettlebell Clean and Perfect Form for Strength - again
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Year End Clean Up
I'd like to talk about a nervana experience i just had, the last day of this year, working on my clean and press. As some of you know, i've been trying to improve the strength of my press by following a version of Kenneth Jay's beast pressing protocol. I've celebrated the effect of volume on form, and how that translates to strength. I've lauded strength as a skill that practice of correct form gives.
In this post i'd like to talk a bit about related insights that come from high volume (by "high volume" i mean LOTS of practice) and how this lead to an insight about the clean that might be useful to you, and how it lead to a PR for me in a C&P set, with heavy emphasis on the "personal" part of PR.
Making Connexions: the Ten Thousand Things
I've recently been listening to the audio book of Gladwell's Outliers. His mission is to show that success is not talent alone - the myth of the self-made man (sic) - but that it is a combination of talent, opportunity and context. This is all pretty much sociology 101 (at least the way it was taught 10-15 years ago): nothing is in isolation; we are all products of our context, and some of those are the context of "demographic accidents." Take sports training for hockey in canada or football (soccer) in the EU.
He Shoots and Shoots and Shoots and Shoots - and then He Shoots and Scores.
Gladwell demonstrates how, alas, the canadian hockey training system (and football/soccer) is biased towards kids born in the first few months of the year, and how statistically kids born in the last quarter might as well not apply. No really, the pure stats are overwhelming - all because the system biases towards kids at a very wee age who have a few more months maturity than their younger peers at a time when those few months makes a BIG difference.
As Gladwell argues, if the system had two or three periods - phasing in testing of kinds when they're ALL at exactly the same age - +/- a month or so, then the sporting world could double (or triple) its talent pool.
The key thing that Gladwell pulls together with this work is that these kids who are selected to play hockey in special teams get more ice time, more coaching, contact with better players etc etc etc. There's a cumulative effect that such that by the time they're leaving highschool, they are so much better than their casual hockey playing peers, there's no contest.
Practice - And a lot of it for Expertise
Indeed, in the most impressive part of the book to me, Gladwell shows that a person, to reach this kind of Expert level, needs to put in 10,000 hours of practice: effort with the intent to improve performance.
He goes over cases by other researchers looking at virtuoso musicians. Not one - not one! - of them (including, we see, Mozart) got away with less than 10k hours of practice to achieve mastery of their area. This is critical: there were no stars who rose to top on talent alone without this effort - equivalent to 3 hours a day, every day, for ten years. Gladwell shows that practice time ramps up over time, so it's not actually 3 hours a day non stop, but progressively building building building for a child, to a teen.
Aside: How to get 10,000 hours is no small thing: sometimes it's the result of so many cascading opportunities it's no wonder one has to be in the right place at the right time, over and over again with the wit to take advantage of those opportunities. The cases in the book make this stunningly clear and hard to deny. The affluent youth is certainly at an advantage over a less affluent youth, for instance, whose practice time may be more taxed because they have to hold down jobs - unless their jobs feed into what they want to practice in any case.
How does all the above story of practice relate to the Clean?
I'll come onto what i think is happening with the Clean and Practice in a moment. First a bit of background.
In the past month, i have not done 10 ooo cleans or presses. I've not cracked 1000. I've done around 700 presses and 150 cleans. It's interesting to start adding these things up. Makes me kinda go "only 700?? - you call that "high volume"? and yet that's 150+ reps a session on high days. So what have i learned from as *little* repetition as sub 1000 reps? Form, breathing, and today THE CLEAN.
Here's the deal: Good clean (seems to) equal(s) "Going Small"
The last big day i had that was supposed to be my "heavy" day doing maybe 12 complete reps with the 16k if i'd amazingly doubled on the week before turned out to be 36 reps - a 6 fold increase on the previous week. I put this down to improved attention to breathing technique.
Doing a few C&P during the week, i tried getting some sense of a ladder of C&P's: if i could do 36 singles a side, surely i could do at least 2 consecutive C&P's on the left? While i found i could do is three C&P's in a row on the right, but still stuck on singles in the left. Indeed, while i could fire off five presses in a row on the right with the 16, i could not get more than 2 presses (not C&Ps) on the left, and usually just 1.
This did not make sense to me physiologically. What was the problem?
Today, after a break from concerted heavy pressing of 9 days rather than the usual 6, i wanted to focus on consecutive C&P's after doing some partials work with a 20 (mm mm good). As before, i start with the strong/more coordinated side first. The first thing i noticed is that the clean seemed a wee bit easier - feeling more like the 12 than the 16. I also noticed that the whole breathing/form cycle was feeling more like the light day (work with the 12 and 8) than it had with the 16. That is, i was able to exhale a bit on the lowering of the arm, and definetly exhale on the drop (i'd been rereading pavel's discussion of the drop in ETK so this bit on form was fresh in my mind).
When i moved to my left side for the first attempted set of c&p's i failed just as usual when going for the second C&P. Stupid. Put the bell down, do a C&P from scratch with little recovery and there it is. Try the second; nothing. Shite.
Ok, now for the big Clean observation:
So i went back to the right. and really focused on the clean, really hearing brett from his kettlebell basics for strength coaches and personal trainers dvd (recommended) echoing pavel in ETK about the clean as so crucial for a good press. That's when i got the first sense of an ah ha. The clean was a little thing. A small move. Ya ya i know: we practice tame the arc, but in my conceptualization of the 16 as "heavy" i was reefing on this thing to get it up while still keeping a technically tamed arc.
When i tried deliberately what i'll call "going small" on the left hand side, the bell sorta landed in a slightly different place; it felt different around my wrist. Inhale. Up it went. ok. try that again for a single. good. up it went. do the drop for the repeat, go small up, there's that neat landing. UP! i just got two reps - no hip - pure and clean, literally. come down, go for the drop, go small into the clean, same landing, up it went. I got four fricking non-stop C&P's in a row on my left side. That's a personal record. Personal especially in that there's no competition where 4 C&P's in a row is a big deal, but it's a meaningful bench mark for me, i can tell ya. And it seems to be unequivocably the result, yet again, of technique technique technque. But how did i *get* that technique?
This is where i think the 10k comes into play.
If Strength is Also a Skill, where are our Ten Thousand Hours?
I have been focused on this move diligently with reps. So there's practice. I've also been teaching intensely over the past week, including teaching the clean (which i've found is way harder to get than the high pull; it's easier to teach the high pull first and then come back to the Clean as a "low pull" - first part before the stab up). Because of this effort to communicate to others, i've been thinking a lot more about it myself - wondering if it's been a lame clean that has screwed up my left side performance of consecutive C&P's over singles.
Combine these efforts today with intent to explore possibilities. Explore being less formal than experimental design; more "hacking" as it's called in software engineering. Good hackers are principled about their hacks: they narrow the set of possibilities they could try to likely candidates. I make this distinction lest the interpretation of "hacking" be read as assing around till something comes up. And in this case, quite early in the exploration, a solution was developed.
I doubt however that this combination of effects leading to a solution would have happened without all the previous rep work that had done two things: (1) improved overall technique in the press, so that the press technique, including breathing as part of that technique, could be ruled out as the problem (2) genuinely improved strength sufficiently so that the 16 was experienced as light(er) enough to enable less of a pull to get it up (really, it has been pretty ugly). Bring those things together, and inside a month i've gone from 1 press on the left to 36 singles, to now four full and consecutive C&P's on the left with more in the tank.
This to me, ok, incredible progress (some strength; mostly technique) has come with sub 1000 reps. Imagine what might be possible with 10,000? Or in terms of time, each workout being half an hour just focusing on the press, twice a week. That's one hour a week over 4-5 weeks. Hardly anywhere near 10 thousand hours, is it? It's 0.05 of a percent. A drop in the bucket or an intent-ful start?
Not just Practice But practice practice practice - with intent
What's the old joke about "how do you get to Carnegie Hall?" and the reply is "Practice, practice, practice"? Gladwell showed that the researchers looking at musicians demonstrated that those who would get to carnegie hall did indeed practice - but they practiced alot - and they practiced a lot more than the next level of proficiency down from them. Likewise with other models of 10k success he describes. Before they became field leading experts, no matter their native ability, they got in their 10k hours.
Mine is not a story of 10 thousand hours. In my case, i'm looking at reps rather than hours - the two are not entirely interchangeable, but when we look at learning, there is an argument that says for something to become automatic or effortless we need that many reps.
Perhaps the big Lesson of 2008 in terms of strength as a skill practice for me, and the one i'll take into the New Year is the incredible value of practice and of practice via high reps. I've heard it said before strength is a skill; treat your training as practice, but you know they were just really words before. Now those words have real and proven meaning to me.
So, micro lesson here: the clean - if your C&P is not getting you to where it should be, consider making the clean a smaller pull. It may take awhile to build up the strength to do that, but once you do, and can execute "going small" in the clean, you may find your C&P's start to track in line with your expectations. I'd be keen to hear if that helps you.
macro lesson: practice is good, fun, rewarding - more and more often, please.
A lot of exercise strategies stress "see results in only 15 minutes a day" with the obvious rationale that people have other things they want to do with their lives than be in the gym. That's fine. Charles Staley's EDT is based on 15 minute zones. Pavel's Program Minimum can be 15 mins a day.
I think a lot of us haven't thought of our workouts really really *as* skills we're developing. For myself, for instance, i wanted to be taught correct form and practice it in order to get strong. The end game was to lean out, get strong, show others (especially geeks) how to do likewise. In other words, learn the form, then just do it a lot. Like those mind bendingly boring scales on the piano: know how to do the finger positions, then just keep doing them and upping the tempo. Not that swinging a KB has ever been boring like scales were as a kid, but i have been known to have the TV on while doing them.
So where does the ten thousand hours equals expert come in here? What i'm getting from strength as a skill, as a practice, is that there are levels of expertise to something as simple as pressing a weight. I kinda had an inkling of that the first time i saw Will Williams do a KB front squat, but i didn't make the connection between that and that practice practice practice isn't just doing scales, it's doing each rep with *intent* to learn and do better.
Hearing the Obvious - finally: the Tao in the Ten Thousand Things is Real
Reading the above back, it all seems so basic: i'm not saying anything new. But i guess it's taken this journey of exploring the Perfect Rep to really hear this message. This is a nice conclusion to a big year of learning and practice: RKC, nsca cscs, zhealth, fms, and this past week completing the ck-fms. It's nice to wrap up with something approaching an insight or better understanding of the meeting and meaning of strength as a skill.
So for the new year, i hope for all the folks who have been kind enough to read through this and make it to the end, that you find new love and purpose in your practice of strength, and if not new, then reinvigorated. I hope for you a year filled with health and practice so engaging that you don't hit any dry patches where you lose faith, stop working out for any length of time. So i guess i hope you find a way to practice daily, to get to a love of practice that takes you to your own 10k in fitness and in health.
All the best for 2009,
mc
Rest is good!
it's a Little Thing - the little clean
Why avoid practice? Tweet Follow @begin2dig
I'd like to talk about a nervana experience i just had, the last day of this year, working on my clean and press. As some of you know, i've been trying to improve the strength of my press by following a version of Kenneth Jay's beast pressing protocol. I've celebrated the effect of volume on form, and how that translates to strength. I've lauded strength as a skill that practice of correct form gives.
In this post i'd like to talk a bit about related insights that come from high volume (by "high volume" i mean LOTS of practice) and how this lead to an insight about the clean that might be useful to you, and how it lead to a PR for me in a C&P set, with heavy emphasis on the "personal" part of PR.
Making Connexions: the Ten Thousand Things
I've recently been listening to the audio book of Gladwell's Outliers. His mission is to show that success is not talent alone - the myth of the self-made man (sic) - but that it is a combination of talent, opportunity and context. This is all pretty much sociology 101 (at least the way it was taught 10-15 years ago): nothing is in isolation; we are all products of our context, and some of those are the context of "demographic accidents." Take sports training for hockey in canada or football (soccer) in the EU.
He Shoots and Shoots and Shoots and Shoots - and then He Shoots and Scores.
Gladwell demonstrates how, alas, the canadian hockey training system (and football/soccer) is biased towards kids born in the first few months of the year, and how statistically kids born in the last quarter might as well not apply. No really, the pure stats are overwhelming - all because the system biases towards kids at a very wee age who have a few more months maturity than their younger peers at a time when those few months makes a BIG difference.As Gladwell argues, if the system had two or three periods - phasing in testing of kinds when they're ALL at exactly the same age - +/- a month or so, then the sporting world could double (or triple) its talent pool.
The key thing that Gladwell pulls together with this work is that these kids who are selected to play hockey in special teams get more ice time, more coaching, contact with better players etc etc etc. There's a cumulative effect that such that by the time they're leaving highschool, they are so much better than their casual hockey playing peers, there's no contest.
Practice - And a lot of it for Expertise
Indeed, in the most impressive part of the book to me, Gladwell shows that a person, to reach this kind of Expert level, needs to put in 10,000 hours of practice: effort with the intent to improve performance.
He goes over cases by other researchers looking at virtuoso musicians. Not one - not one! - of them (including, we see, Mozart) got away with less than 10k hours of practice to achieve mastery of their area. This is critical: there were no stars who rose to top on talent alone without this effort - equivalent to 3 hours a day, every day, for ten years. Gladwell shows that practice time ramps up over time, so it's not actually 3 hours a day non stop, but progressively building building building for a child, to a teen.
Aside: How to get 10,000 hours is no small thing: sometimes it's the result of so many cascading opportunities it's no wonder one has to be in the right place at the right time, over and over again with the wit to take advantage of those opportunities. The cases in the book make this stunningly clear and hard to deny. The affluent youth is certainly at an advantage over a less affluent youth, for instance, whose practice time may be more taxed because they have to hold down jobs - unless their jobs feed into what they want to practice in any case.
How does all the above story of practice relate to the Clean?
I'll come onto what i think is happening with the Clean and Practice in a moment. First a bit of background.
In the past month, i have not done 10 ooo cleans or presses. I've not cracked 1000. I've done around 700 presses and 150 cleans. It's interesting to start adding these things up. Makes me kinda go "only 700?? - you call that "high volume"? and yet that's 150+ reps a session on high days. So what have i learned from as *little* repetition as sub 1000 reps? Form, breathing, and today THE CLEAN.
Here's the deal: Good clean (seems to) equal(s) "Going Small"
The last big day i had that was supposed to be my "heavy" day doing maybe 12 complete reps with the 16k if i'd amazingly doubled on the week before turned out to be 36 reps - a 6 fold increase on the previous week. I put this down to improved attention to breathing technique.
Doing a few C&P during the week, i tried getting some sense of a ladder of C&P's: if i could do 36 singles a side, surely i could do at least 2 consecutive C&P's on the left? While i found i could do is three C&P's in a row on the right, but still stuck on singles in the left. Indeed, while i could fire off five presses in a row on the right with the 16, i could not get more than 2 presses (not C&Ps) on the left, and usually just 1.This did not make sense to me physiologically. What was the problem?
Today, after a break from concerted heavy pressing of 9 days rather than the usual 6, i wanted to focus on consecutive C&P's after doing some partials work with a 20 (mm mm good). As before, i start with the strong/more coordinated side first. The first thing i noticed is that the clean seemed a wee bit easier - feeling more like the 12 than the 16. I also noticed that the whole breathing/form cycle was feeling more like the light day (work with the 12 and 8) than it had with the 16. That is, i was able to exhale a bit on the lowering of the arm, and definetly exhale on the drop (i'd been rereading pavel's discussion of the drop in ETK so this bit on form was fresh in my mind).
When i moved to my left side for the first attempted set of c&p's i failed just as usual when going for the second C&P. Stupid. Put the bell down, do a C&P from scratch with little recovery and there it is. Try the second; nothing. Shite.
Ok, now for the big Clean observation:
So i went back to the right. and really focused on the clean, really hearing brett from his kettlebell basics for strength coaches and personal trainers dvd (recommended) echoing pavel in ETK about the clean as so crucial for a good press. That's when i got the first sense of an ah ha. The clean was a little thing. A small move. Ya ya i know: we practice tame the arc, but in my conceptualization of the 16 as "heavy" i was reefing on this thing to get it up while still keeping a technically tamed arc.
When i tried deliberately what i'll call "going small" on the left hand side, the bell sorta landed in a slightly different place; it felt different around my wrist. Inhale. Up it went. ok. try that again for a single. good. up it went. do the drop for the repeat, go small up, there's that neat landing. UP! i just got two reps - no hip - pure and clean, literally. come down, go for the drop, go small into the clean, same landing, up it went. I got four fricking non-stop C&P's in a row on my left side. That's a personal record. Personal especially in that there's no competition where 4 C&P's in a row is a big deal, but it's a meaningful bench mark for me, i can tell ya. And it seems to be unequivocably the result, yet again, of technique technique technque. But how did i *get* that technique?
This is where i think the 10k comes into play.
If Strength is Also a Skill, where are our Ten Thousand Hours?
I have been focused on this move diligently with reps. So there's practice. I've also been teaching intensely over the past week, including teaching the clean (which i've found is way harder to get than the high pull; it's easier to teach the high pull first and then come back to the Clean as a "low pull" - first part before the stab up). Because of this effort to communicate to others, i've been thinking a lot more about it myself - wondering if it's been a lame clean that has screwed up my left side performance of consecutive C&P's over singles.
Combine these efforts today with intent to explore possibilities. Explore being less formal than experimental design; more "hacking" as it's called in software engineering. Good hackers are principled about their hacks: they narrow the set of possibilities they could try to likely candidates. I make this distinction lest the interpretation of "hacking" be read as assing around till something comes up. And in this case, quite early in the exploration, a solution was developed.
I doubt however that this combination of effects leading to a solution would have happened without all the previous rep work that had done two things: (1) improved overall technique in the press, so that the press technique, including breathing as part of that technique, could be ruled out as the problem (2) genuinely improved strength sufficiently so that the 16 was experienced as light(er) enough to enable less of a pull to get it up (really, it has been pretty ugly). Bring those things together, and inside a month i've gone from 1 press on the left to 36 singles, to now four full and consecutive C&P's on the left with more in the tank.
This to me, ok, incredible progress (some strength; mostly technique) has come with sub 1000 reps. Imagine what might be possible with 10,000? Or in terms of time, each workout being half an hour just focusing on the press, twice a week. That's one hour a week over 4-5 weeks. Hardly anywhere near 10 thousand hours, is it? It's 0.05 of a percent. A drop in the bucket or an intent-ful start?
Not just Practice But practice practice practice - with intent
What's the old joke about "how do you get to Carnegie Hall?" and the reply is "Practice, practice, practice"? Gladwell showed that the researchers looking at musicians demonstrated that those who would get to carnegie hall did indeed practice - but they practiced alot - and they practiced a lot more than the next level of proficiency down from them. Likewise with other models of 10k success he describes. Before they became field leading experts, no matter their native ability, they got in their 10k hours.
Mine is not a story of 10 thousand hours. In my case, i'm looking at reps rather than hours - the two are not entirely interchangeable, but when we look at learning, there is an argument that says for something to become automatic or effortless we need that many reps.
Perhaps the big Lesson of 2008 in terms of strength as a skill practice for me, and the one i'll take into the New Year is the incredible value of practice and of practice via high reps. I've heard it said before strength is a skill; treat your training as practice, but you know they were just really words before. Now those words have real and proven meaning to me.
So, micro lesson here: the clean - if your C&P is not getting you to where it should be, consider making the clean a smaller pull. It may take awhile to build up the strength to do that, but once you do, and can execute "going small" in the clean, you may find your C&P's start to track in line with your expectations. I'd be keen to hear if that helps you.
macro lesson: practice is good, fun, rewarding - more and more often, please.
A lot of exercise strategies stress "see results in only 15 minutes a day" with the obvious rationale that people have other things they want to do with their lives than be in the gym. That's fine. Charles Staley's EDT is based on 15 minute zones. Pavel's Program Minimum can be 15 mins a day.
I think a lot of us haven't thought of our workouts really really *as* skills we're developing. For myself, for instance, i wanted to be taught correct form and practice it in order to get strong. The end game was to lean out, get strong, show others (especially geeks) how to do likewise. In other words, learn the form, then just do it a lot. Like those mind bendingly boring scales on the piano: know how to do the finger positions, then just keep doing them and upping the tempo. Not that swinging a KB has ever been boring like scales were as a kid, but i have been known to have the TV on while doing them.
So where does the ten thousand hours equals expert come in here? What i'm getting from strength as a skill, as a practice, is that there are levels of expertise to something as simple as pressing a weight. I kinda had an inkling of that the first time i saw Will Williams do a KB front squat, but i didn't make the connection between that and that practice practice practice isn't just doing scales, it's doing each rep with *intent* to learn and do better.
Hearing the Obvious - finally: the Tao in the Ten Thousand Things is Real
Reading the above back, it all seems so basic: i'm not saying anything new. But i guess it's taken this journey of exploring the Perfect Rep to really hear this message. This is a nice conclusion to a big year of learning and practice: RKC, nsca cscs, zhealth, fms, and this past week completing the ck-fms. It's nice to wrap up with something approaching an insight or better understanding of the meeting and meaning of strength as a skill.
So for the new year, i hope for all the folks who have been kind enough to read through this and make it to the end, that you find new love and purpose in your practice of strength, and if not new, then reinvigorated. I hope for you a year filled with health and practice so engaging that you don't hit any dry patches where you lose faith, stop working out for any length of time. So i guess i hope you find a way to practice daily, to get to a love of practice that takes you to your own 10k in fitness and in health.
All the best for 2009,
mc
Rest is good!
it's a Little Thing - the little clean
Why avoid practice? Tweet Follow @begin2dig
PDF
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Perfect Rep Quest Con't: Insane Improvement - from Breathing?
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Ça me surprend.
It's been one more week of the mc variant of the KJ Beast Hi/Lo volume program. I hadn't planned on writing up until next week as i didn't anticipate having anything compelling to report, based on Light Weight/ High Rep day - just steady progress. The change on the low volume/heavy weight day seems, well, absurd: it's a six fold increase on last week. What's that about? Let's recap:
Light/High Volume day (dec 18): steady progress
Good improvements, more in line with what i'd call normal increases with a kind of EDT approach.
That said, the what was supposed to be low reps / high load day kinda blows this progress out of the water. You won't believe this. I don't know why i'm writing it down. It's too insane. You'll see.
Low (ha!) Rep/ Heavy Day (Dec 21): well that's a surprise
Just to recap, this is my saga to get up to the 24kg. An impossible seeming dream considering i could maybe press the 16 once on the left (my weaker side) and that only on a very very good day. To recap with the sixteen pressing, starting with the right, but gated by the left.
Recovery: Less =more reps?
Last week i'd said how important full recovery was. That i was taking my 3 mins, and failed after 6 good reps. So this week, again, i focussed on full recovery, z health drills during those 3 mins.
After i hit 11 reps, which was already one shy of doubling my last week's progress, i decided to cut the recovery back - surely that would nip this progress in the bud. It didn't. So after a few more reps, i just kept cutting the recovery time back: 2.30, 2.00, 1:30, 1:00, 0.45, 0.30, till it got to where i was just C&P'ing, putting the bell down, marking down the rep and time, and repping it again.
Just for ref, here's the times from after rep 11. - a rep is C&P right; C&P left; recovery. The times mark the END of the set - after i've scratched a | for the rep.
12 - 13:03:53
13- 13:07: 02
14- 13:04:40
15- 13:12:15
16 - 13:14:34
17- 13:16:49
18 - 13:18:54
19 - 13:20:55
20 - 13:22:05
21 - 13:22:59
22 - 13:23:57
23- 13:24:40
24 -13:25:32
25 - 13:26:16
26 -13:26:16
27 - 13:27:42
28 - 13:28:18
29 -13:28:56
30 - 13:29:30
31 - 13:30:09
32 -13:30:45
33 - 13:31:20
34 - 13:31:50
35- 13:32:23
36 -13:32:50
Ok, i personally have never ever had a change of this magnitude in a week. Last week, i was SURE that it was because i had rushed recovery time just a bit (from 3 mins to closer to 2min30sec) that resulted in failing at rep 7. This week, after 35 reps, i couldn't fail with as little as 30 secs rest. So what's different this week? I had a shot in my left (weaker) arm Friday which still hurts, so thought i was really gonna suck this week. Other than a virus coruscating through me? It may be breathing.
Breathing - Part of Efficiency and the Perfect Rep
As part of a convo with breath master Will Williams, we got looking at the difference between the specifics of the Valsalva maneuver and Power Breathing as Pavel has decribed it. This exchange caused me to go back to anywhere Pavel's discussed breathing in ETK, Power to the People and Naked Warrior.
The version that resonated with me the most? Naked Warrior, where Pavel recalling what he'd learned from Mas Oyama about forcing the air down. But fundamentally, Pavel writes "As long as the contents of your stomach are compressed—you are power breathing" (p.82). That really resonated with me. There's lots more in that chapter of NW and i strongly recommend it, cuz i'm just saying that of ALL the parts of the technique, that is the aspect that really was Ah Ha with me rereading it. I still don't have Will's hiss down (see his front squat vid), but i was able to get that stomach compressed, sinking the breath down. grr.
So what's coming together here? Form of the C&P - it's getting smoother, and i suspect that's coming a lot from the high volume/light days. And that 6 fold improvement over last week? Is that down to the breathing?
You may ask if so, what on earth was i doing before? On the light loads, i'm inhaling when pressing up, and exhaling when bringing the bell down. On the heavy day last week i tried to have enough space to inhale a bit pressing up; exhale on the down.
This time, taking that power breathing of not to inhale or exhale completely, but to hold that compression, i got my air down, held it through the up phase of the C&P, getting a proper park/pause at the shoulder and press up. Most of the time, i still had the breath in me with the bell coming down; other times it was shhh'shd out coming down.
I've become a convert as well to the notion that a good clean sets up a good press. It's not like i didn't believe this before, but with all this practice, i feel like my clean really is becoming smoother - and easier with the 16 - a challenging weight- which is nice. I'll be intrigued to see how this smoothness with the mass translates - or if it does - to my 5min snatch test.
Whither Next with Heavy Day?
Today's practice feels like some kind of breakthrough. I don't really feel any different, but i can't deny the numbers. Many things to check out at any point in the future. Based on these 36 singles, it may be time to start thinking about giving regular ETK ladders a try with the 16.
As for the Bête quest, and since Kenneth's heavy days are supposed to be 5 - 15 heavy presses, requiring that full recovery, it may be time to go for KJ's double bell pressing and partials. That is, use two KB's rather than one. A 16k with a 5 pounder (see, those GNC/Everlast suckers can come in handy) is 18 and a bit kg, so more than 16 and not quite the 20. Kenneth also suggests that the requirements to balance those two bells really pushes on correct form.
Is this a Great Big WTF Effect or am i Dreaming?
Of course a big part of me says that today must have been some mysterious fluke, since i haven't gained pounds of muscle in my shoulders, i'm quite sure (i don't think it's possible within a month for a gal to do that). If there was any doubt before, i'm here to testify: strength sure does seem to be a skill. So here's to neuromuscular adaptation, form, breathing, and lots and lots of perfect rep practice. Tweet Follow @begin2dig
Ça me surprend.
It's been one more week of the mc variant of the KJ Beast Hi/Lo volume program. I hadn't planned on writing up until next week as i didn't anticipate having anything compelling to report, based on Light Weight/ High Rep day - just steady progress. The change on the low volume/heavy weight day seems, well, absurd: it's a six fold increase on last week. What's that about? Let's recap:
Light/High Volume day (dec 18): steady progress
Good improvements, more in line with what i'd call normal increases with a kind of EDT approach.
- In the first 15 min PR Zone, 13 sets of 5 reps with 12k. fine.
- In the second 15 min PR Zone, 4 sets of 5 with the 12, followed by 12 sets of 5 with an 8.
That said, the what was supposed to be low reps / high load day kinda blows this progress out of the water. You won't believe this. I don't know why i'm writing it down. It's too insane. You'll see.
Low (ha!) Rep/ Heavy Day (Dec 21): well that's a surprise
Just to recap, this is my saga to get up to the 24kg. An impossible seeming dream considering i could maybe press the 16 once on the left (my weaker side) and that only on a very very good day. To recap with the sixteen pressing, starting with the right, but gated by the left.
- 1st week: 1 Rep
- 2nd week: 2 Reps
- 3rd week: 6 reps
- all of these going to failure.
- this week: 36 reps. I *quit* before failure, and with perfect form.
Recovery: Less =more reps?
Last week i'd said how important full recovery was. That i was taking my 3 mins, and failed after 6 good reps. So this week, again, i focussed on full recovery, z health drills during those 3 mins.
After i hit 11 reps, which was already one shy of doubling my last week's progress, i decided to cut the recovery back - surely that would nip this progress in the bud. It didn't. So after a few more reps, i just kept cutting the recovery time back: 2.30, 2.00, 1:30, 1:00, 0.45, 0.30, till it got to where i was just C&P'ing, putting the bell down, marking down the rep and time, and repping it again.
Just for ref, here's the times from after rep 11. - a rep is C&P right; C&P left; recovery. The times mark the END of the set - after i've scratched a | for the rep.
12 - 13:03:53
13- 13:07: 02
14- 13:04:40
15- 13:12:15
16 - 13:14:34
17- 13:16:49
18 - 13:18:54
19 - 13:20:55
20 - 13:22:05
21 - 13:22:59
22 - 13:23:57
23- 13:24:40
24 -13:25:32
25 - 13:26:16
26 -13:26:16
27 - 13:27:42
28 - 13:28:18
29 -13:28:56
30 - 13:29:30
31 - 13:30:09
32 -13:30:45
33 - 13:31:20
34 - 13:31:50
35- 13:32:23
36 -13:32:50
Ok, i personally have never ever had a change of this magnitude in a week. Last week, i was SURE that it was because i had rushed recovery time just a bit (from 3 mins to closer to 2min30sec) that resulted in failing at rep 7. This week, after 35 reps, i couldn't fail with as little as 30 secs rest. So what's different this week? I had a shot in my left (weaker) arm Friday which still hurts, so thought i was really gonna suck this week. Other than a virus coruscating through me? It may be breathing.
Breathing - Part of Efficiency and the Perfect Rep
As part of a convo with breath master Will Williams, we got looking at the difference between the specifics of the Valsalva maneuver and Power Breathing as Pavel has decribed it. This exchange caused me to go back to anywhere Pavel's discussed breathing in ETK, Power to the People and Naked Warrior.
The version that resonated with me the most? Naked Warrior, where Pavel recalling what he'd learned from Mas Oyama about forcing the air down. But fundamentally, Pavel writes "As long as the contents of your stomach are compressed—you are power breathing" (p.82). That really resonated with me. There's lots more in that chapter of NW and i strongly recommend it, cuz i'm just saying that of ALL the parts of the technique, that is the aspect that really was Ah Ha with me rereading it. I still don't have Will's hiss down (see his front squat vid), but i was able to get that stomach compressed, sinking the breath down. grr.
So what's coming together here? Form of the C&P - it's getting smoother, and i suspect that's coming a lot from the high volume/light days. And that 6 fold improvement over last week? Is that down to the breathing?
You may ask if so, what on earth was i doing before? On the light loads, i'm inhaling when pressing up, and exhaling when bringing the bell down. On the heavy day last week i tried to have enough space to inhale a bit pressing up; exhale on the down.
This time, taking that power breathing of not to inhale or exhale completely, but to hold that compression, i got my air down, held it through the up phase of the C&P, getting a proper park/pause at the shoulder and press up. Most of the time, i still had the breath in me with the bell coming down; other times it was shhh'shd out coming down.
I've become a convert as well to the notion that a good clean sets up a good press. It's not like i didn't believe this before, but with all this practice, i feel like my clean really is becoming smoother - and easier with the 16 - a challenging weight- which is nice. I'll be intrigued to see how this smoothness with the mass translates - or if it does - to my 5min snatch test.
Whither Next with Heavy Day?
Today's practice feels like some kind of breakthrough. I don't really feel any different, but i can't deny the numbers. Many things to check out at any point in the future. Based on these 36 singles, it may be time to start thinking about giving regular ETK ladders a try with the 16.
As for the Bête quest, and since Kenneth's heavy days are supposed to be 5 - 15 heavy presses, requiring that full recovery, it may be time to go for KJ's double bell pressing and partials. That is, use two KB's rather than one. A 16k with a 5 pounder (see, those GNC/Everlast suckers can come in handy) is 18 and a bit kg, so more than 16 and not quite the 20. Kenneth also suggests that the requirements to balance those two bells really pushes on correct form.
Is this a Great Big WTF Effect or am i Dreaming?
Of course a big part of me says that today must have been some mysterious fluke, since i haven't gained pounds of muscle in my shoulders, i'm quite sure (i don't think it's possible within a month for a gal to do that). If there was any doubt before, i'm here to testify: strength sure does seem to be a skill. So here's to neuromuscular adaptation, form, breathing, and lots and lots of perfect rep practice. Tweet Follow @begin2dig
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Gifts for the Fitness Geek
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It's not too late to think about giving a fitness geek in your life something that will make them *really happy.* If it's too late for the package to make it under the tree, why not print out an image of the thing so they know it's on the way?
The following has suggestions for Stocking Stuffers, Readable References, Kettlebell Training of many Varieties, Lifting, Training Support and of course FOOD. Hope y'all enjoy - and maybe treat yourself.
Stocking Stuffers:
If you need something small to pack into that stocking, here's a couple suggestions
Bands: Iron Woodies are great bands, excellent quality. Especially for someone working on their pullups, these can be a powerful assist.
I like 'em cuz they're
Timers: I've been writing alot about the value of timed sets, being a big Escalating Density Training fan. There are many devices you can use - an egg timer, a good old fashioned clock. The gymboss is designed for workouts, though, with various modes of single time zones; dual time zones (for work/rest intervals), repeats. It's just convenient. And it works.
Hydration. Nothing like a great water bottle to take to the gym, or use at home mid sets. Though i would love to say my passion is for stainless steel, the valves on such bottles usually suck. The best compromise right now seems to be the Camelbak Bottle with bite valve - now without toxic bpa's!
Sunshine.
Given the fact that unless you live in sunny climes such that you can bask your body, most of us are apparently super vitamin D deficient. This is the nutrient generated by the sun in our skin. If we don't get a great big sun hit, it makes sense we're tacking to the low side, and this is SO IMPORTANT for calcium in our bones and a whole raft of other good things to work. Daily doses are now recommended to be anywhere from 2000IU (10 times the current RDI) to 15,000IU, pending who you read - anyway it's more than most of us get. This may not seem like a big deal, but as a loving stocking stuffer, a can or two of high potency Vit. D (at least 1000IU a shot) wouldn't go amis - print out one of these articles as wrapping paper. Now Foods and Carlsons make these biggie IU sizes, and seem to have good reviews for quality as well. Vegetairians, take note that D2 is an alternative to the sheep lanolin/fish base for Vit D, and a recent study suggests D2 is equivalent to D3 in efficacy.
Shirts & stuff. Nothing stuffs into a stocking like a highly compressed T.
Designed in the UK (Scotland is part of the UK); made and sold in the US of A, Rannoch's Way of the Kettlebell T.s
Other lovely small things that could be in the stocking or under the tree? I know it's not much of kb, but whether as a paper weight or a double kb one-handed press, i still get a kick out of these itty bitty 5lb'ers at GNC. They're just fun.
Recovery Stocking Stuffers (or under the tree if you're feeling generous). If your fitness geek is just starting to workout at home or at the gym, they may not be used to getting that recovery nutrition thing happening with a workout drink, so here's a few to think of:
Readable References:
Strength Training Anatomy, Frederic Delavier, Amazon US ||Amazon UK
This is a fabulous illustrated manual that shows what muscles are hit by all the main weight lifting moves. It's organized by muscle group: arms, shoulders, chest, back , legs, butt, abs.
It shows the muscles in the context of the actual move, so you can see why those are the muscles affected. This book is recommended for the interested fitness geek.
Manual of Structural Kinesiology, Thompson, Floyd, Amazon US
|| Amazon UK 
Now while the Anatomy book is grand for seeing muscles used in context, it doesn't explain how that muscle operates in a move. This text on kinesiology does just that in a well illustrated and highly accessible fashion. It's one of the books i've used in putting together why the pull up is a Lat based move, and how firing the lats works in the kettlebell swing. This book is recommended for the more serious fitness geek.
SuperTraining Mel Siff (US, via Amazon || UK, UKSCA)
For a book easily acknowledged as one of the best in the field, if not the Bible of training, it is not easy to find. So if you have a serious fitness geek on your hands who does not have this tome, scoring if for them will trigger some truly warm seasonal glow. This ain't a book for the faint of heart, but for those keen, the rewards are a plenty. Serious Fitness Geek recommended
Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning. Beachle and Earl Amazon US ||in the UK
This is the NSCA's main text for their CSCS certification. As an overview of all aspects informing athletic performance, from muscle physiology to hormones to lifting practice to program development, it's a fabulous reference. This is the BRAND NEW 3rd edition. It's a FAB reference for any coach or someone you can see becoming a serious fitness geek.
Science and Practice of Strength Training. Zatsiorosky and Kraemer Amazon UK || Amazon US
This book is a great complement to both Supertraining and Essentials. It focuses on plan development, the rational and approaches. Again, this is serious fitness geek territory.
Kettlebells
Now if you've heard someone you care about saying they want to get back into shape, and you've discussed kettlebells, of course the best way to get them started is that bundle of tough love for the beginner and experienced swinger alike that is Enter the Kettlebell, book and DVD (review here). If they are brand new to the experience, you may want to add the appropriate kettlebell to that package, too. Dragon Door makes the best US made bells in North America. London Kettlebells is the best value in the UK, and Kenneth Jay's Kettlebells.dk are indisputably the best in the rest of the EU.
Muscle Mass & KB's If you're also want to be-gift someone who is keen to add some mass while
getting strong, and are keen to support a kettlebell addiction, the original source of the KB+Heavy=Mass is of course Mike Mahler. Kettlebell Solutions for Size and Strength is a great one, but my fave is actually the Kettlebell Solution for Fat Loss and Mental Toughness - and not because i've used it to burn fat; because the videos of the big moves are better than the previous edition. I'd combine the ebook "The Agressive Strength Solution for Size and Strength" and its workouts with the Mental Toughness DVD. DVD's Available in the US from MM's site; available in the UK from London Kettlebells.
Cadio and KB's If you're interested in helping out someone who wants to get a little more cardio into their lives, there's any of the Art of Strength vids, the Newport in particular (review) being a challenger. These are available from AOS in the US, and from yup, London Kettlebells in the UK.
Cardio Overdrive: VO2 Max. Advanced Strength Strategies, Kenneth Jay. This is it: the original VO2max KB program, illustrated, discussed, demonstrated as formally taught at the RKC Level II cert.
Lifting
Deadlift Nirvana. If the fitness geek in your life has discovered the deadlift (perhaps you've helped foster that discovery), of course the best program for getting into that move is Pavel's Power to the People. If you're concerned about that person's well being, though, and want to ensure they're getting that all-critical form just right, there's a super DVD that can help: Brett Jones and Gray Cook's Secrets of the Backside. The DVD details potential issues with the lift, how to correct them, and of course, shows (from dual angles) proper deadlift form(s). Excellent.
Pull Ups. Lifting oneself is a great alternative or complement to lifting heavy objects. An affordable, non-invasive pull up bar is one that can work in a door way. In the UK, there's Golds Gym Telescopic Chrome Chinning Bar
. I've been using this at the office for over a year. i can quickly attach and detach iron woody bands to them for high rep days via a carabiner (big mouth type from REI). In the states, a version of this kinda bar is available, too, by Go Fit for about 18 USD.
There's more than one way to swing a pull up. If you have a space that allows it, the TRX is a mechanism that puts many bodyweight assisted exercises, from pull ups to dips, all in a single unit. By space, i mean a beam somewhere you can put a hook into, or a tree or a bar. I've seen these slung of chain link fences. There are other similar gym-in-a-bag products, for sure. This just happens to be the best built - really. The design of the sliders for instance is really top rate, using very good hardware.
And for yet one more spin on the pull up or the dip, especially for crossfit junkies, one of the sweetest versions of the classic rings are these super-light and portable rings by Elite Fiteness. Great articles on the site as well as companion DVD's.
Training Support
Dynamic Joint Mobility.
Perhaps one of the most crucial and often overlooked aspects of a fitness program is joint mobility. The reasons for taking ten minutes to move *each joint* through its full range of motion are myriad.
While there are a variety of joint mobility DVDs, the one i recommend is Z health. You can see why in a series of three posts (1, 2, 3), but the fast answer is that there is a well-founded scientific, neurologically centered reason for *each* move in the program.
The program starts with R-Phase, and is complemented by an abbreviated routine called the Nueral Warm Up. It is followed by I-Phase. R-Phase is what it's founder Eric Cobb refers to as the vocabulary of the program; i phase is the grammar. If you want to start with only one DVD, the R-phase DVD is great, but i'd recommend getting the R-Phase and Neural Warm Up 1 package. R-Phase provides detailed moves and instruction that are critical; the neural warm up would potentially move too fast without those building blocks, and precision is the name of the game here. The advanatage of the Neural Warm Up is that, based on what you learn in R-phase, it takes you through a total joint range of motion session in 10 mins. Z Health DVDs are a great family gift, too: we *all* move.
The Gift that Keeps on Giving: Give the Gift of One on One Assessment
If your athlete is just starting out or is an experienced fitness geek, there's one thing that will always provide a super return on that gift: give them a check up session with a certified trainer/movement specialist.
For hardstyle Kettlebells, there are RKC's all over the world (listing) that can give a keen eye to movement and tweak it to add to that athlete's movement efficiency. Speaking of efficiency, most of us could move better. The Functional Movement Screen is one assessment an FMS specialist can offer to evaluate movement patterns. If your beloved geek has been complaining of pain or weakness in certain moves, the Z Health assessment by a Z certified trainer is another great tool. As currency crumbles, you will find that there are an increasing number of RKC's who are also FMS and Z certified, so you can get even more bang for that gift-giving buck (or euro or pound).
Food that says health and love:
And finally, since eating is such a critical part of any fitness geek's repertoire - indeed without which nothing - help in the hungry heart cannot go amiss.
Raw Cacao Nibs. What says love better than chocolate? This legendary aphrodisiac has also more recently been listed as a "super food." Lots of protein, good fiber, polyphenols. Good stuff (here's more info).
A really great way to put max love into another's hands is by going straight to the source with organic cacao nibs. The great thing about the nibs is you can eat 'em for one heck of a cocoa hit straight out of the bag. You can also pour them in a bowl with raisins and nuts, and have an incredible taste sensation - the raisins bring out an almost red wine-y flavour to the nibs. Awesome. They're also great in a blender to make a protein shake. Add in some coffee beans, and it's lethal.
Organic Raw Chocolate Cacao Nibs by Sunfood Nutrition are probably the best quality in the US. In the UK, intriguingly, a wee company called "detox your world" has made the best effort to get the best sources onto the island.
Cooking? Who said Cooking?
Making a healthy but decadent meal for someone is also an act of love, of course, but what to cook that meets both these requirements? The Gourmet Nutrtion Vol. 2 cookbook to the rescue. The pictures alone get taste buds salivating. Check out the site: there's a sampler you can download for a range of recipes from the book.
One of the big plusses of GN2 is that it has all the nutrition info of the complete recipe AND it gives that info based on large and small portion sizes. One more benefit: it has meal templates as well to help make selections based on your fitness goals.
If you're giving this to a cooking neophyte, no worries there, either: there are sections on what to shop for, basic tools to have in the kitchen and some basic techniques for making sure these recipes work.
Ok, and as an aside, in case the one you love doesn't quite know how to think about their eating you could also bundle in the Precision Nutrition System which includes 7 books/guides for creating and supporting 10 habits for lifetime successful eating (review here). This ain't a *diet* plan, where one is restricted in what they want from eating for a period of time. This is an approach to eating - all the time. Paradigm shifting habits, we're talking.
You can also give them this pdf for free on the Strageties for Success that is Precision Nutrition. It's a 40 page condensed version of the whole system, as a preview.
And to All a Good Night
All the best of the Season to you, and here's to a healthy, happy, prosperous New Year.
UPDATE: additional book ideas from pain management to motivation now listed
mc Tweet Follow @begin2dig
It's not too late to think about giving a fitness geek in your life something that will make them *really happy.* If it's too late for the package to make it under the tree, why not print out an image of the thing so they know it's on the way?The following has suggestions for Stocking Stuffers, Readable References, Kettlebell Training of many Varieties, Lifting, Training Support and of course FOOD. Hope y'all enjoy - and maybe treat yourself.
Stocking Stuffers:
If you need something small to pack into that stocking, here's a couple suggestions
Bands: Iron Woodies are great bands, excellent quality. Especially for someone working on their pullups, these can be a powerful assist.I like 'em cuz they're
- a tad less expensive than some of the others, but still very well made.
- they come in three lengths, depending on application
- they have a specific "pull up package"
- Great value for money.
- they have a specific EU rate, BUT,
- if you're in the UK, you can get them from London Kettlebells directly
Timers: I've been writing alot about the value of timed sets, being a big Escalating Density Training fan. There are many devices you can use - an egg timer, a good old fashioned clock. The gymboss is designed for workouts, though, with various modes of single time zones; dual time zones (for work/rest intervals), repeats. It's just convenient. And it works.Hydration. Nothing like a great water bottle to take to the gym, or use at home mid sets. Though i would love to say my passion is for stainless steel, the valves on such bottles usually suck. The best compromise right now seems to be the Camelbak Bottle with bite valve - now without toxic bpa's!Sunshine.
Given the fact that unless you live in sunny climes such that you can bask your body, most of us are apparently super vitamin D deficient. This is the nutrient generated by the sun in our skin. If we don't get a great big sun hit, it makes sense we're tacking to the low side, and this is SO IMPORTANT for calcium in our bones and a whole raft of other good things to work. Daily doses are now recommended to be anywhere from 2000IU (10 times the current RDI) to 15,000IU, pending who you read - anyway it's more than most of us get. This may not seem like a big deal, but as a loving stocking stuffer, a can or two of high potency Vit. D (at least 1000IU a shot) wouldn't go amis - print out one of these articles as wrapping paper. Now Foods and Carlsons make these biggie IU sizes, and seem to have good reviews for quality as well. Vegetairians, take note that D2 is an alternative to the sheep lanolin/fish base for Vit D, and a recent study suggests D2 is equivalent to D3 in efficacy.Shirts & stuff. Nothing stuffs into a stocking like a highly compressed T. Designed in the UK (Scotland is part of the UK); made and sold in the US of A, Rannoch's Way of the Kettlebell T.sOther lovely small things that could be in the stocking or under the tree? I know it's not much of kb, but whether as a paper weight or a double kb one-handed press, i still get a kick out of these itty bitty 5lb'ers at GNC. They're just fun.
Recovery Stocking Stuffers (or under the tree if you're feeling generous). If your fitness geek is just starting to workout at home or at the gym, they may not be used to getting that recovery nutrition thing happening with a workout drink, so here's a few to think of:
- Surge - if resistance is their bag. It's a 2 to 1 carb to protein ratio, just right and nice for workouts
- Endurox - if cardio is their bag - intense rowing, cylcing or that VO2max kb cycle. That's a 4 to 1 Carb/protein ration, shown to be optimal for endurance efforts and recovery.
- ICE - this is a BCAA and flavouring drink for someone working out, trying to get lean with the focus on that fat burn - the BCAA's make sure the muscles get the amino acids they need for repair without adding caloric load - BCAA's aren't digested as regular whey protein is.
- Roll Your Own - if you have an adventurous fitness geek at home, you can provide the ingredients for each of the above by ordering them from TrueProtein.Com or BulkNutrition.Com - or by providing gift certificates to the same. Hydrolyzed whey protein, bcaa's, and maltodextrin/dextrose in the appropriate ratios, and you're rocking.
- TO SHAKE IT ALL UP: my fave shaker cup by far - cuz it really works - the turbo shaker.
Readable References:
Strength Training Anatomy, Frederic Delavier, Amazon US ||Amazon UK
This is a fabulous illustrated manual that shows what muscles are hit by all the main weight lifting moves. It's organized by muscle group: arms, shoulders, chest, back , legs, butt, abs.It shows the muscles in the context of the actual move, so you can see why those are the muscles affected. This book is recommended for the interested fitness geek.
Manual of Structural Kinesiology, Thompson, Floyd, Amazon US
|| Amazon UK Now while the Anatomy book is grand for seeing muscles used in context, it doesn't explain how that muscle operates in a move. This text on kinesiology does just that in a well illustrated and highly accessible fashion. It's one of the books i've used in putting together why the pull up is a Lat based move, and how firing the lats works in the kettlebell swing. This book is recommended for the more serious fitness geek.SuperTraining Mel Siff (US, via Amazon || UK, UKSCA)
For a book easily acknowledged as one of the best in the field, if not the Bible of training, it is not easy to find. So if you have a serious fitness geek on your hands who does not have this tome, scoring if for them will trigger some truly warm seasonal glow. This ain't a book for the faint of heart, but for those keen, the rewards are a plenty. Serious Fitness Geek recommendedEssentials of Strength Training and Conditioning. Beachle and Earl Amazon US ||in the UKThis is the NSCA's main text for their CSCS certification. As an overview of all aspects informing athletic performance, from muscle physiology to hormones to lifting practice to program development, it's a fabulous reference. This is the BRAND NEW 3rd edition. It's a FAB reference for any coach or someone you can see becoming a serious fitness geek.
Science and Practice of Strength Training. Zatsiorosky and Kraemer Amazon UK || Amazon USThis book is a great complement to both Supertraining and Essentials. It focuses on plan development, the rational and approaches. Again, this is serious fitness geek territory.
Kettlebells
Muscle Mass & KB's If you're also want to be-gift someone who is keen to add some mass while
getting strong, and are keen to support a kettlebell addiction, the original source of the KB+Heavy=Mass is of course Mike Mahler. Kettlebell Solutions for Size and Strength is a great one, but my fave is actually the Kettlebell Solution for Fat Loss and Mental Toughness - and not because i've used it to burn fat; because the videos of the big moves are better than the previous edition. I'd combine the ebook "The Agressive Strength Solution for Size and Strength" and its workouts with the Mental Toughness DVD. DVD's Available in the US from MM's site; available in the UK from London Kettlebells.Cadio and KB's If you're interested in helping out someone who wants to get a little more cardio into their lives, there's any of the Art of Strength vids, the Newport in particular (review) being a challenger. These are available from AOS in the US, and from yup, London Kettlebells in the UK.Cardio Overdrive: VO2 Max. Advanced Strength Strategies, Kenneth Jay. This is it: the original VO2max KB program, illustrated, discussed, demonstrated as formally taught at the RKC Level II cert.
Lifting
Deadlift Nirvana. If the fitness geek in your life has discovered the deadlift (perhaps you've helped foster that discovery), of course the best program for getting into that move is Pavel's Power to the People. If you're concerned about that person's well being, though, and want to ensure they're getting that all-critical form just right, there's a super DVD that can help: Brett Jones and Gray Cook's Secrets of the Backside. The DVD details potential issues with the lift, how to correct them, and of course, shows (from dual angles) proper deadlift form(s). Excellent.
Pull Ups. Lifting oneself is a great alternative or complement to lifting heavy objects. An affordable, non-invasive pull up bar is one that can work in a door way. In the UK, there's Golds Gym Telescopic Chrome Chinning Bar. I've been using this at the office for over a year. i can quickly attach and detach iron woody bands to them for high rep days via a carabiner (big mouth type from REI). In the states, a version of this kinda bar is available, too, by Go Fit for about 18 USD.
There's more than one way to swing a pull up. If you have a space that allows it, the TRX is a mechanism that puts many bodyweight assisted exercises, from pull ups to dips, all in a single unit. By space, i mean a beam somewhere you can put a hook into, or a tree or a bar. I've seen these slung of chain link fences. There are other similar gym-in-a-bag products, for sure. This just happens to be the best built - really. The design of the sliders for instance is really top rate, using very good hardware.
And for yet one more spin on the pull up or the dip, especially for crossfit junkies, one of the sweetest versions of the classic rings are these super-light and portable rings by Elite Fiteness. Great articles on the site as well as companion DVD's.Training Support
Dynamic Joint Mobility.
Perhaps one of the most crucial and often overlooked aspects of a fitness program is joint mobility. The reasons for taking ten minutes to move *each joint* through its full range of motion are myriad.While there are a variety of joint mobility DVDs, the one i recommend is Z health. You can see why in a series of three posts (1, 2, 3), but the fast answer is that there is a well-founded scientific, neurologically centered reason for *each* move in the program.
The program starts with R-Phase, and is complemented by an abbreviated routine called the Nueral Warm Up. It is followed by I-Phase. R-Phase is what it's founder Eric Cobb refers to as the vocabulary of the program; i phase is the grammar. If you want to start with only one DVD, the R-phase DVD is great, but i'd recommend getting the R-Phase and Neural Warm Up 1 package. R-Phase provides detailed moves and instruction that are critical; the neural warm up would potentially move too fast without those building blocks, and precision is the name of the game here. The advanatage of the Neural Warm Up is that, based on what you learn in R-phase, it takes you through a total joint range of motion session in 10 mins. Z Health DVDs are a great family gift, too: we *all* move.
The Gift that Keeps on Giving: Give the Gift of One on One Assessment
If your athlete is just starting out or is an experienced fitness geek, there's one thing that will always provide a super return on that gift: give them a check up session with a certified trainer/movement specialist.
For hardstyle Kettlebells, there are RKC's all over the world (listing) that can give a keen eye to movement and tweak it to add to that athlete's movement efficiency. Speaking of efficiency, most of us could move better. The Functional Movement Screen is one assessment an FMS specialist can offer to evaluate movement patterns. If your beloved geek has been complaining of pain or weakness in certain moves, the Z Health assessment by a Z certified trainer is another great tool. As currency crumbles, you will find that there are an increasing number of RKC's who are also FMS and Z certified, so you can get even more bang for that gift-giving buck (or euro or pound).
Food that says health and love:
And finally, since eating is such a critical part of any fitness geek's repertoire - indeed without which nothing - help in the hungry heart cannot go amiss.
Raw Cacao Nibs. What says love better than chocolate? This legendary aphrodisiac has also more recently been listed as a "super food." Lots of protein, good fiber, polyphenols. Good stuff (here's more info).A really great way to put max love into another's hands is by going straight to the source with organic cacao nibs. The great thing about the nibs is you can eat 'em for one heck of a cocoa hit straight out of the bag. You can also pour them in a bowl with raisins and nuts, and have an incredible taste sensation - the raisins bring out an almost red wine-y flavour to the nibs. Awesome. They're also great in a blender to make a protein shake. Add in some coffee beans, and it's lethal.
Organic Raw Chocolate Cacao Nibs by Sunfood Nutrition are probably the best quality in the US. In the UK, intriguingly, a wee company called "detox your world" has made the best effort to get the best sources onto the island.
Cooking? Who said Cooking?Making a healthy but decadent meal for someone is also an act of love, of course, but what to cook that meets both these requirements? The Gourmet Nutrtion Vol. 2 cookbook to the rescue. The pictures alone get taste buds salivating. Check out the site: there's a sampler you can download for a range of recipes from the book.
One of the big plusses of GN2 is that it has all the nutrition info of the complete recipe AND it gives that info based on large and small portion sizes. One more benefit: it has meal templates as well to help make selections based on your fitness goals.
If you're giving this to a cooking neophyte, no worries there, either: there are sections on what to shop for, basic tools to have in the kitchen and some basic techniques for making sure these recipes work.
Ok, and as an aside, in case the one you love doesn't quite know how to think about their eating you could also bundle in the Precision Nutrition System which includes 7 books/guides for creating and supporting 10 habits for lifetime successful eating (review here). This ain't a *diet* plan, where one is restricted in what they want from eating for a period of time. This is an approach to eating - all the time. Paradigm shifting habits, we're talking.
You can also give them this pdf for free on the Strageties for Success that is Precision Nutrition. It's a 40 page condensed version of the whole system, as a preview.
And to All a Good Night
All the best of the Season to you, and here's to a healthy, happy, prosperous New Year.
UPDATE: additional book ideas from pain management to motivation now listed
mc Tweet Follow @begin2dig
Monday, December 15, 2008
mc's version of KJ's beast pressing protocol - just fyi
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Protocol Review: What do i do?
A few folks have kindly asked exactly what am i doing in this volume protocol for presses i've been writing about recently (here's the latest post). Thanks for reading and for your interest.
The following is my current rif on KJ's Beast Plan for Presses (described in the RKC manual, 2007, 2008 and the subject of a forthcoming book).
As said, this is a slight variant on the protocol developed by Kenneth Jay. Any compromises to that plan are entirely mine. This post is not a protocol endorsement at all - i'm just experimenting and have not completed that experiment. I'm posting this in the interest of being clear about the method of the approach. I'll continue to report my results, but i'm only a sample of one so far. If you're interested in playing along, by all means, but again, no guarentees :)
With that caveat in place, here we go:
Light Day
As soon as form on the press starts to go south - like a complete rep but needing to put in a hip - go to a lighter bell, and keep going.
I do two 15 min zones. Many challenges within this: getting to 200 reps with perfect form; getting to the complete cycle with the same weight are two good ones.
Heavy Day
Again, i set the 15min timer - not so much because i want to work for 15 mins, but because i want to make *sure* i use the full period for recovery. If i cut that short, the rep fails. That's all there is to it - at least for me. And strength work like this is 2-3 mins. The timer helps me stick to that because i HATE waiting and like to rush to do the next press. For me, that's a doomed strategy, so i use the timer. Then, with heavy bell ready,
Then recovery. Then it's onto partials. reset timer.
So, Kenneth has neat ideas here: if i don't want to do parials with a 4k jump up to the 20, i could do partials with a double bell combination. KJ is a big fan of stacking bells, even if they don't come up to the goal weight of the new bell. Here's where that happens for me: just before one heavy bell looses form.
So, the Partial recipe is to press up with the assist of the other hand, come down to sticking point; press back up; come down a little further, press up; down a little further, press up. This approach to partials is very cool. It works on both sides - where i get down to on each side is a bit different, but it's working.
Two notes on the partials: perfect form.
First, as said, if i feel form is about to get lost, i bail to go to the 16 stacked with another bell, for slightly under the 20 weight, to about an 18. Second, breathing and handle gripping.
Many folks already know this; i've heard it alot too, but it's not until i've really practiced it with this approach that i've gotten how vital it is. For me, it's
There's at least a two day gap between the light day and the heavy day for pressing, so that's *only* once a week for the complete pressing cycle. The other days of the week are currently replete with fighting despair while trying to build up my pistol and pull up, again with heavy/light days per both, snatching once a week (or so) to stay solid with the new RKC snatch test numbers, and a whole lot of rowing thrown in for fun, happiness and alternating steady state/interval cardio. Thanks to KJ there too for pointing out the similarity between rowing and snatching.
Ok, wow, surprised that took so many words to detail, but i hope that helps anyone curious about exactly what i'm doing in these sets. Tweet Follow @begin2dig
A few folks have kindly asked exactly what am i doing in this volume protocol for presses i've been writing about recently (here's the latest post). Thanks for reading and for your interest.
The following is my current rif on KJ's Beast Plan for Presses (described in the RKC manual, 2007, 2008 and the subject of a forthcoming book).As said, this is a slight variant on the protocol developed by Kenneth Jay. Any compromises to that plan are entirely mine. This post is not a protocol endorsement at all - i'm just experimenting and have not completed that experiment. I'm posting this in the interest of being clear about the method of the approach. I'll continue to report my results, but i'm only a sample of one so far. If you're interested in playing along, by all means, but again, no guarentees :)
With that caveat in place, here we go:
Light Day
- pick a weight i can do ten reps with and get ready for multiple sets of five
- set a timer for 15mins (i like the gymboss as a physical device & use it alot, but for a BIG screen version, this freebie javascript page rules.).
- Press strong/best side for 5 - inhale on the press/exhale on the descent. focus on form each rep.
- Press weaker/lesser side for 5
- Put the bell down
- Do TEN bodyweight DeadLifts (so focus on form, in particular, bone rhythm, so that's getting the ass down fast to finish with the knees, exhaling on the out, inhaling on the up. These are done FAST - as fast as can be done to keep that perfect bone rhythm form, yes, but also to keep the heart up to test the effect of integrated cardio)
- mark down complete set with a | in a workout book.
- Take a breath
As soon as form on the press starts to go south - like a complete rep but needing to put in a hip - go to a lighter bell, and keep going.
I do two 15 min zones. Many challenges within this: getting to 200 reps with perfect form; getting to the complete cycle with the same weight are two good ones.
Heavy Day
Again, i set the 15min timer - not so much because i want to work for 15 mins, but because i want to make *sure* i use the full period for recovery. If i cut that short, the rep fails. That's all there is to it - at least for me. And strength work like this is 2-3 mins. The timer helps me stick to that because i HATE waiting and like to rush to do the next press. For me, that's a doomed strategy, so i use the timer. Then, with heavy bell ready,
- i do my C&P on the strong side; park the bell.
- Pause for a breath to feel in the zone.
- Do my C&P on the weaker side. park the bell.
- Do z health drills during the recovery period.
- make SURE the full recovery period has passed.
- Repeat.
Then recovery. Then it's onto partials. reset timer.
So, Kenneth has neat ideas here: if i don't want to do parials with a 4k jump up to the 20, i could do partials with a double bell combination. KJ is a big fan of stacking bells, even if they don't come up to the goal weight of the new bell. Here's where that happens for me: just before one heavy bell looses form.
So, the Partial recipe is to press up with the assist of the other hand, come down to sticking point; press back up; come down a little further, press up; down a little further, press up. This approach to partials is very cool. It works on both sides - where i get down to on each side is a bit different, but it's working.
Two notes on the partials: perfect form.
First, as said, if i feel form is about to get lost, i bail to go to the 16 stacked with another bell, for slightly under the 20 weight, to about an 18. Second, breathing and handle gripping.
Many folks already know this; i've heard it alot too, but it's not until i've really practiced it with this approach that i've gotten how vital it is. For me, it's
- inhale going up; exhale coming down - it's just smoother, more in control - for me, anyway.
- grip the handle especially if in grief on going up. When i've felt my weaker side pushing through the sticking point, gripping the handle with extra force on the heavy day, and towards the end of the light day, helped keep the form groove.
There's at least a two day gap between the light day and the heavy day for pressing, so that's *only* once a week for the complete pressing cycle. The other days of the week are currently replete with fighting despair while trying to build up my pistol and pull up, again with heavy/light days per both, snatching once a week (or so) to stay solid with the new RKC snatch test numbers, and a whole lot of rowing thrown in for fun, happiness and alternating steady state/interval cardio. Thanks to KJ there too for pointing out the similarity between rowing and snatching.
Ok, wow, surprised that took so many words to detail, but i hope that helps anyone curious about exactly what i'm doing in these sets. Tweet Follow @begin2dig
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Strength and the Perfect Rep, continued: volume works
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A week or so ago i posted about my initial experience of trying Kenneth Jay's high reps lower weight / higher weight lower reps work. The report covered my first effort with high volume.
To recap First Light Day of Cycle:
A bit of background: for me, getting a 16 press on my left side has felt pretty hit or miss. The stars have to be aligned or something. I was therefore keen to see if the reps of grooving in the form were going to have an impact. The answer seems to be "yes."
First Heavy Day of Cycle:
Since this mayn't be entirely the easiest way to derive the routine, and since i've had a few questions, if you're interested on exactly what i've done, please see this new post on the protocol.
The personal benefit of volume:
The first obvious benefit of volume is that i got a 50%
improvement on the left side. Now, i'm pretty durn sure i'm not 50% stronger on the left than i have been. What seemed to be happening is that the form was far more locked in. And so the form was applied to the heavier weight.
Additionally, one of my foci on doing the reps on the high volume day was to focus on breathing, especially on the bell going up - inhale up, exhale bringing it down. Doing that breathing pattern really seemed to make the left side (the weaker side) come into form. Biggest difference: the left press was WAY more relaxed.
Doing this breathing during the partials with the 20 was also a revelation in smoothness. I've done such partials before, and usually ended up holding my breath. Breathing is better :)
The Next High Volume Day
Now this was cool and unexpected. The next high vol day went like this:
The next Heavy Day
Well Joy and Amazement, here's the pay off, if there was any doubt. How many C&P's with the 16? SIX. that's right: from 2 to 6 on both sides. That's a three fold improvement on just the session before. To be clear that's 6 C&P singles rather than 2 singles.
How do i know it was only 6? I lost it on the 7th and 8th attempts on the left side - finishing with an assist each time. That was not deliberate. I could not tell from the previous efforts that the left side was going to fail. So i need to learn to listen to that.
Action during Recovery on Heavy Day: i should also note that i did various z health drills during the recovery phase between these singles, mainly, but not exclusively, shoulder drills. Did that contribute to the gains as well? A recent study on integrated cardio (discussed here) seemed to suggest that ROM work (like z) does contribute to strength gains. It's something i'll continue to do when i have a 2-3 min recovery pause on a heavy day. Form form form.
Relaxed Tension?
The big, and i mean BIG difference for me in these C&P's was that they felt smooth. Like they were just gonna GO UP. The left side was not as fast going up as the right side - the sticking point echo was there in the 3rd-6th reps, but i could just tell that i could press through them solidly, stable upper body, no hip coming into it.
Also, with the breathing and form, the move became far more of a clean - exhaling into the rack - and then the press, inhaling into the up, lock, exhaling down into the rack. I hadn't been so aware previously of the rack at the end of the clean, and especially the value of that exhale into the rack. Relaxed.
I know, in HardStyle we talk about tension, and getting all tight and locked, but we also talk about the balance of relaxation/tension. And perhaps that's what was kind of happening here for me: a better balance of tension and relaxation.
When gals doing GS events are ripping off TONS of C&P's with the 16 (inspiring, eh?), my few 6 singles may seem pretty frickin' tame, but, i console myself: i'm not doing GS at this time; my focus is on getting stronger presses. The 16 is a start.
Next Steps:keep going
This report is just ONE complete cycle really of the high/low
approach. My approach will be to see how the adaptation/strength curve progresses: will there be more sets of 12, till i get 2 full zones (2 full 15 min periods) of complete 12's; what will the carry over to the heavy presses be? More 16's? how long till finally pressing the 20? will the 24 come into sight, which is the end game here. I don't expect each week to give these kinds of % increases, but am keen to see how the curve unfolds.
Summing Up
It's too soon to make any real summative statements about the effects of high/low volume on my strength - the gains i've had so far seem like adaptation more than raw strength - they're just too big. But so what? The way these moves *feel* is so much better that if i got no other benefit than closer to the Perfect Rep, that would be worth the price of admission. But the payoff seems to be that this protocol, as promised by its author, is also pushing well into strength. Thanks again to Al for pointing me to it.
Tweet Follow @begin2dig
To recap First Light Day of Cycle:
- 9 sets of 5 at 12kg, followed by 8 sets of 5 with 8's in the first 15 min zone.
- Then 20 sets of 5 with all 8's in the second 15 minutes.
- Breaks were used with bodyweight deadlifts focusing on bone rythmn, form and breathing.
- ((9*5*12) + (8*5*8)) + (20*5*8)= 1340 vol, with 37 sets total - 185 reps
A bit of background: for me, getting a 16 press on my left side has felt pretty hit or miss. The stars have to be aligned or something. I was therefore keen to see if the reps of grooving in the form were going to have an impact. The answer seems to be "yes."
First Heavy Day of Cycle:
- I did a C&P on the right with the 16 - good. fine
- The C&P on the left? solid. wow. That thing just went up. wow. The stars are aligned, right?
- So then the 2.5-3min break for full recovery (more on recovery times for different kinds of strength here).
- I did a C&P on the right, starting with the strong side first (here's why).
- And, amazing! that sucker went up on the left side again - no hip, just solid up.
- Recovery.
- I got it up on the right again, the left side stuck half way so it got an assist. Recovery, again right side went up (rep 4) and the left side again hit the sticking point, so got an assist.
- Recovery.
- Then did a set of partials with the 20 on both sides. Breathing right here - inhale on the press; exhale slightly on the down; inhale on the extension. up and down as KJ says each time trying to get a little lower and back up. Works.
- BIG EVENT: 2 solid C&P's on the left. *Doubled* previous effort
Since this mayn't be entirely the easiest way to derive the routine, and since i've had a few questions, if you're interested on exactly what i've done, please see this new post on the protocol.
The personal benefit of volume:
The first obvious benefit of volume is that i got a 50%
improvement on the left side. Now, i'm pretty durn sure i'm not 50% stronger on the left than i have been. What seemed to be happening is that the form was far more locked in. And so the form was applied to the heavier weight.Additionally, one of my foci on doing the reps on the high volume day was to focus on breathing, especially on the bell going up - inhale up, exhale bringing it down. Doing that breathing pattern really seemed to make the left side (the weaker side) come into form. Biggest difference: the left press was WAY more relaxed.
Doing this breathing during the partials with the 20 was also a revelation in smoothness. I've done such partials before, and usually ended up holding my breath. Breathing is better :)
The Next High Volume Day
Now this was cool and unexpected. The next high vol day went like this:
- first 15min zone: 13 sets of 5 ALL 12k's (no break between zones)
- second 15 min zone: 2 more sets of 5 at 12's followed by 13 sets of 5 with 8's.
- Not only is that an increase in the number of sets with the 12 (from 9 to 15 - just under 50% improvement) for a total 28 sets. 140 reps / side total
- The rest between sets was exactly the same as the previous day (10 bw dl's) so it seems the sets themselves were somewhat longer.
- That said, total Volume is up: (13*5*12)+((2*5*12)+(13*5*8))= 1420. A little under 10% improvement in one week.
The next Heavy Day
Well Joy and Amazement, here's the pay off, if there was any doubt. How many C&P's with the 16? SIX. that's right: from 2 to 6 on both sides. That's a three fold improvement on just the session before. To be clear that's 6 C&P singles rather than 2 singles.
How do i know it was only 6? I lost it on the 7th and 8th attempts on the left side - finishing with an assist each time. That was not deliberate. I could not tell from the previous efforts that the left side was going to fail. So i need to learn to listen to that.
Action during Recovery on Heavy Day: i should also note that i did various z health drills during the recovery phase between these singles, mainly, but not exclusively, shoulder drills. Did that contribute to the gains as well? A recent study on integrated cardio (discussed here) seemed to suggest that ROM work (like z) does contribute to strength gains. It's something i'll continue to do when i have a 2-3 min recovery pause on a heavy day. Form form form.
Relaxed Tension?
The big, and i mean BIG difference for me in these C&P's was that they felt smooth. Like they were just gonna GO UP. The left side was not as fast going up as the right side - the sticking point echo was there in the 3rd-6th reps, but i could just tell that i could press through them solidly, stable upper body, no hip coming into it.
Also, with the breathing and form, the move became far more of a clean - exhaling into the rack - and then the press, inhaling into the up, lock, exhaling down into the rack. I hadn't been so aware previously of the rack at the end of the clean, and especially the value of that exhale into the rack. Relaxed.
I know, in HardStyle we talk about tension, and getting all tight and locked, but we also talk about the balance of relaxation/tension. And perhaps that's what was kind of happening here for me: a better balance of tension and relaxation.
When gals doing GS events are ripping off TONS of C&P's with the 16 (inspiring, eh?), my few 6 singles may seem pretty frickin' tame, but, i console myself: i'm not doing GS at this time; my focus is on getting stronger presses. The 16 is a start.
Next Steps:keep going
This report is just ONE complete cycle really of the high/low
approach. My approach will be to see how the adaptation/strength curve progresses: will there be more sets of 12, till i get 2 full zones (2 full 15 min periods) of complete 12's; what will the carry over to the heavy presses be? More 16's? how long till finally pressing the 20? will the 24 come into sight, which is the end game here. I don't expect each week to give these kinds of % increases, but am keen to see how the curve unfolds.Summing Up
It's too soon to make any real summative statements about the effects of high/low volume on my strength - the gains i've had so far seem like adaptation more than raw strength - they're just too big. But so what? The way these moves *feel* is so much better that if i got no other benefit than closer to the Perfect Rep, that would be worth the price of admission. But the payoff seems to be that this protocol, as promised by its author, is also pushing well into strength. Thanks again to Al for pointing me to it.
Tweet Follow @begin2dig
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