Sunday, February 8, 2009
Weighted Pistol Puzzle
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I own i have been frustrated by the weighted pistol. My body weight pistol is not a car wreck. On a good day, can even do that lovely hold your toe with leg outstetched while going up and down. But the weighted version - any kind of weight - is a challenge i canna crack. I wonder if part of this is the way a woman's center of mass is different from a guy's?
Anyway, i've finally been places where i can set up a rig to give adam glass's advice a go:
If you're just looking to get your body weight pistol happening, there are two sources: the best freebie is at Beast Skills. (i think the person's first name is Jim, but it's actually really challenging to find his name on his site!)
The best book/video on building appropriate strength/tension techniques, also featuring how to get a one arm push up, is Pavel Tsatsouline's Naked Warrior.
If you've had trouble with weighted pistols, and have found techniques to break the cycle and get success, please share.
I'll let you know how the sling shot technique progresses.
Feb 25: update here and prelim review of Steve Cotter's mastering the pistol Tweet Follow @begin2dig
Anyway, i've finally been places where i can set up a rig to give adam glass's advice a go:
- hang a band from something (adam suggests within a power rack/cage) to be able, effectively, to put one's butt in a sling to help with that get up from the ground sticking point.
If you're just looking to get your body weight pistol happening, there are two sources: the best freebie is at Beast Skills. (i think the person's first name is Jim, but it's actually really challenging to find his name on his site!)The best book/video on building appropriate strength/tension techniques, also featuring how to get a one arm push up, is Pavel Tsatsouline's Naked Warrior.
If you've had trouble with weighted pistols, and have found techniques to break the cycle and get success, please share.
I'll let you know how the sling shot technique progresses.
Feb 25: update here and prelim review of Steve Cotter's mastering the pistol Tweet Follow @begin2dig
PDF
Friday, February 6, 2009
quick update
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Hi folks,
just a quick update to say i've been on the road for over the past fortnight, just catching up. I'm sorry for no new posts in that period, and appreciate your patience.
Coming up in the next week or so:
bone mineral density and thoughts on enhancing it (for adam), how bands might bust plateaus, and vitamin d: how do you get enough? what is enough? no really.
see y'all soon.
mc - back where the UK seems to feel the ice age was too long ago to remember how to shovel. i sense there'll be ample time this millennium to rekindle those skills. Tweet Follow @begin2dig
just a quick update to say i've been on the road for over the past fortnight, just catching up. I'm sorry for no new posts in that period, and appreciate your patience.
Coming up in the next week or so:
bone mineral density and thoughts on enhancing it (for adam), how bands might bust plateaus, and vitamin d: how do you get enough? what is enough? no really.
see y'all soon.
mc - back where the UK seems to feel the ice age was too long ago to remember how to shovel. i sense there'll be ample time this millennium to rekindle those skills. Tweet Follow @begin2dig
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Summary of Perfect Rep Quest so far - article listing
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Over the past couple months i've been exploring the concept of the Perfect Rep that can be developed from both high and low volume cycles, as presented by Kenneth Jay's beast protocol, when combined with Time and 5rep of 10RM sets, as presented by Charles Staley in EDT.
The quest is not over, but there are enough posts getting potentially lost in blog world that i thought it might be useful to have one post that just references them all to date. Likewise, i've posted the links as a sidebar on the blog, too, just for the time being.
Thank you to those folks who have written to say they've found this series useful, and hope those coming to it for the first time may find something of use for your own program.
Let me know.
Coda
The quest is not over, but there are enough posts getting potentially lost in blog world that i thought it might be useful to have one post that just references them all to date. Likewise, i've posted the links as a sidebar on the blog, too, just for the time being.
That's the series so far. What's compelling to me is not just the strength gains but what a difference a wee month of focused attention on one move can bring. This is working this move only twice a week, but with progress i would not have thought possible even with focussed practice.
2008-11-21 Exploring the Perfect Rep: the Kettlebell Front Squat Revisisted.
This article takes a look at small adjustments in movement that have big effects - like head position in the front squat and the effect of the arthrokinetic reflex on strength.
2008-12-01 The Perfect Rep and the Role of Volume with Form
Why i got interested in Kenneth Jay's Beast Pressing protocol for improving pressing strength: what is high volume (lower weight) supposed to do for improving strength? How does the quantity of reps contribute to learning patterns? and how does this connect to strength?
2008-12-05 Perfect Rep Quest: Volume + Integrated Cardio
A quick reflection on using high cardio reps between these high volume sets to help support strength - based on research around "integrated cardio"
2008-12-14 Strength and the Perfect Rep: Volume Works
Six fold increase in heavy presses between two sessions of heavy volume work.
2008-12-15 mc's Version of KJ's Beast Pressing Protocol
Some folks wanted to know more clearly the aspects of my adaptation of Kenneth's beast pressing protocol. Basically, it's adding some EDT elements. Works for me, but i make no claims yet (a sample of one person being rather small) that this is an optimal approach. It works for me though.
2008-12-21 Perfect Rep & Insane Improvement from Breathing?
500% improvement on the heavy day from the last session? from breathing?
2008-12-31 The Perfect Rep, the Kettlebell Clean and 10 thousand Hours
This one is a longer piece about how all the above sessions came together to help fix my weaker side's clean to get the press. The problem: i could do many singles but zip series on that side. It seems the foundation laid in just over a month of high volume/low volume provided sufficient basis to unpack the clean issue and get it working to enable sequential C&P'ing. Practice really does make a difference. That seems so obvious, as i suppose the best solutions do, but the reasons why practice works seem more nuanced than anticipated.
Thank you to those folks who have written to say they've found this series useful, and hope those coming to it for the first time may find something of use for your own program.
Let me know.
Coda
2009-02-10 I just C&P'd the 20Tweet Follow @begin2dig
This is a celebration of sorts that yes, this stuff all really does work. This post has been regularly updated with experience with the 20. That's a touch more than a 1/3 my bodyweight, so i'm happy. 24 is in my sights.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Recommended Sites for Wellness and Workouts
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Adam Glass is a Strong Guy. I'd like to put that in perspective: he's a *practically* strong guy. That doesn't mean he's practically as in almost strong, but practically as in "fit for purpose," functional, expressive of same. Now, he does lots of cool strength demos, from ripping card decks to bending nails, closing grippers and pressing very heavy things up into the air from the ground, but fundamentally he is a grounded strength and fitness practitioner - all these prac terms practical, practitioner - all speak to expertise derived from lots of practice of skills.
I'd like to recommend his blog, Walk the Road Less Travelled, to you because he takes the time to shoot videos of him doing what he does, and he discusses it too. He has a rich section of article from strength training to practical tips on card tearing. Most particularly, i like the videos. They're kinda freaky and inspiring all at the same time. I also like the fact that Adam's gym looks pretty basic - in other words, proving once again we don't need tons of "stuff" to get strong, but it does take practice practice practice. it's just that practice of the right technique works. As Adam Glass demonstrates. Thanks Adam.
The next blog i'd like to bring to your attention is Georgie Fear's Nutrition Solutions. Ms. Fear is a registered dietician, trainer and phd candidate. Her site is full of nutritional goodness about the kinds of questions around food most of us have all the time - how much sugar ok; why peas might be worth a second look; isn't diet soda ok? how do you get vitamin d into your diet and why should you care?
Why should you trust Georgie's blog? For me, besides listening to her explain stuff in conversation (reflected in this post - just look for her name) on the blog and at the Precision Nutrition forum, she's a Registered Dietician. I only learned this past year that that qualification is a Really Big Deal - lots of university level education, practicums, exams. Where anyone and their dog can call themselves a Nutritionist, the RD really has been trained and is then grilled about knowing their stuff before they get certified by the Commission for Accreditation for Dietetics Education. That she's also now doing a PhD in nutrition suggests a serious interest and commitment to the topic. The style of the blog is well grokable. My guess is you'll be pleased you took a peek and have it as a reference.
Thanks Adam and Georgie for putting out the knowledge on strength and nutrition practice. Tweet Follow @begin2dig
Adam Glass is a Strong Guy. I'd like to put that in perspective: he's a *practically* strong guy. That doesn't mean he's practically as in almost strong, but practically as in "fit for purpose," functional, expressive of same. Now, he does lots of cool strength demos, from ripping card decks to bending nails, closing grippers and pressing very heavy things up into the air from the ground, but fundamentally he is a grounded strength and fitness practitioner - all these prac terms practical, practitioner - all speak to expertise derived from lots of practice of skills.I'd like to recommend his blog, Walk the Road Less Travelled, to you because he takes the time to shoot videos of him doing what he does, and he discusses it too. He has a rich section of article from strength training to practical tips on card tearing. Most particularly, i like the videos. They're kinda freaky and inspiring all at the same time. I also like the fact that Adam's gym looks pretty basic - in other words, proving once again we don't need tons of "stuff" to get strong, but it does take practice practice practice. it's just that practice of the right technique works. As Adam Glass demonstrates. Thanks Adam.
The next blog i'd like to bring to your attention is Georgie Fear's Nutrition Solutions. Ms. Fear is a registered dietician, trainer and phd candidate. Her site is full of nutritional goodness about the kinds of questions around food most of us have all the time - how much sugar ok; why peas might be worth a second look; isn't diet soda ok? how do you get vitamin d into your diet and why should you care?Why should you trust Georgie's blog? For me, besides listening to her explain stuff in conversation (reflected in this post - just look for her name) on the blog and at the Precision Nutrition forum, she's a Registered Dietician. I only learned this past year that that qualification is a Really Big Deal - lots of university level education, practicums, exams. Where anyone and their dog can call themselves a Nutritionist, the RD really has been trained and is then grilled about knowing their stuff before they get certified by the Commission for Accreditation for Dietetics Education. That she's also now doing a PhD in nutrition suggests a serious interest and commitment to the topic. The style of the blog is well grokable. My guess is you'll be pleased you took a peek and have it as a reference.
Thanks Adam and Georgie for putting out the knowledge on strength and nutrition practice. Tweet Follow @begin2dig
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Running the Bells - Intense Kettlebell Cardio "Hill" Workouts
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When road biking, once a week, hill workouts were the mission. Strength to climb and endure the climb, when the angle is causing the heart to work harder is a great general workout too. Of course one of the great parts is coming down the other side for recovery.
Runners also use hill workouts to help develop speed (short fast steep climbs with lots of recovery) and longer hill climbs like cyclists for endurance/stamina.
It's possible to simulate the cardio aspects of hill workouts with kettlebells both for conditioning, endurance, and, of course, body composition/fat loss. Not sure if it will translate to the speed benefits, but i'd hypothesize there may be some carryover. But let's leave that question aside for the moment and focus on the endurance strength and cardio.
So, here's one way i've found to get a great endurance workout in, similar to my cycling hill workouts, and that may be more enjoyable or engaging than simply swinging for sets.
Running the Bells Set Up
Here's how running the bells works, and it's pretty simple. First, set the timer on 15 mins. Then, line up a set of bells, for me that's 8, 12, 16, 20, 24. I do 10 swings per bell going up, then come back down 10 each. The point is to keep swinging. That's different than most swing sets for time: it's not X swings then break, or swing for 2 mins then break. It's no break. The recovery is in the coming down the hill - the progressively lighter bells coming back down.
The no. of swings per bell can be varried too if you want to make the hills steeper or the flats longer. You could even line up bells this way if you wanted in a tour de france of varying sizes, eg 8, 12, 12, 16,12,20, 24, sudden drop to 12, 20, 12, 8, 8. Another alternative is to change the counts for the bells, do the number of swings of that size bell. etc.
It's (usually) about Time
What you may want to consider, though, is planning your route before you start. So set up either the bells or the rep scheme (or both) before starting so you have a strategy in mind, and progress you can monitor, and then adjust for the next time. And then keep going for time. You may want to give a run a test drive to see how it feels for you.
You may decide you don't want to work for time - that you say "i just want to run the course 3 times and just see how long that takes me"
For me, going for time may be a hang over from running/cycling, where time is about endurance, and you're looking at the distance covered in that time improving.
But also, when you're thinking about body comp goals, getting longer sets in is a good thing, so if you can do your hills non-stop for 15 mins (that 8 can come in really handy to be able to keep swinging non stop when forearms are no longer able to help hang onto the 24). When you're feeling really good, you can go for more sets. A typical hill workout on the bike was an hour. I'll tell ya, i have not done these hill workouts for that long with KB's. A couple 15 min sets has been it.
Variety, Endurance, Body Comp - and Grip
Running the bells is a way to bring some variety into my kettlebell practice, and let me focus on a different part of my conditioning - stamina/endurance - while burning a whole lot of calories, giving me a hybrid resistance/cardio workout, and hitting the backside and grip all at the same time.
Really - the grip work is not to be underestimated as part of an endurance workout. That just doesn't happen on a bike, and only partially on a rower. This grip work is just one of the many not so hidden benefits of kettlebells.
Let me know if you give Running the Bells a shot and how you find 'em.
mc Tweet Follow @begin2dig
Runners also use hill workouts to help develop speed (short fast steep climbs with lots of recovery) and longer hill climbs like cyclists for endurance/stamina.
It's possible to simulate the cardio aspects of hill workouts with kettlebells both for conditioning, endurance, and, of course, body composition/fat loss. Not sure if it will translate to the speed benefits, but i'd hypothesize there may be some carryover. But let's leave that question aside for the moment and focus on the endurance strength and cardio.
So, here's one way i've found to get a great endurance workout in, similar to my cycling hill workouts, and that may be more enjoyable or engaging than simply swinging for sets.
Running the Bells Set Up
Here's how running the bells works, and it's pretty simple. First, set the timer on 15 mins. Then, line up a set of bells, for me that's 8, 12, 16, 20, 24. I do 10 swings per bell going up, then come back down 10 each. The point is to keep swinging. That's different than most swing sets for time: it's not X swings then break, or swing for 2 mins then break. It's no break. The recovery is in the coming down the hill - the progressively lighter bells coming back down.The no. of swings per bell can be varried too if you want to make the hills steeper or the flats longer. You could even line up bells this way if you wanted in a tour de france of varying sizes, eg 8, 12, 12, 16,12,20, 24, sudden drop to 12, 20, 12, 8, 8. Another alternative is to change the counts for the bells, do the number of swings of that size bell. etc.
It's (usually) about Time
What you may want to consider, though, is planning your route before you start. So set up either the bells or the rep scheme (or both) before starting so you have a strategy in mind, and progress you can monitor, and then adjust for the next time. And then keep going for time. You may want to give a run a test drive to see how it feels for you.
You may decide you don't want to work for time - that you say "i just want to run the course 3 times and just see how long that takes me"
For me, going for time may be a hang over from running/cycling, where time is about endurance, and you're looking at the distance covered in that time improving.
But also, when you're thinking about body comp goals, getting longer sets in is a good thing, so if you can do your hills non-stop for 15 mins (that 8 can come in really handy to be able to keep swinging non stop when forearms are no longer able to help hang onto the 24). When you're feeling really good, you can go for more sets. A typical hill workout on the bike was an hour. I'll tell ya, i have not done these hill workouts for that long with KB's. A couple 15 min sets has been it.
Variety, Endurance, Body Comp - and Grip
Running the bells is a way to bring some variety into my kettlebell practice, and let me focus on a different part of my conditioning - stamina/endurance - while burning a whole lot of calories, giving me a hybrid resistance/cardio workout, and hitting the backside and grip all at the same time.
Really - the grip work is not to be underestimated as part of an endurance workout. That just doesn't happen on a bike, and only partially on a rower. This grip work is just one of the many not so hidden benefits of kettlebells.
Let me know if you give Running the Bells a shot and how you find 'em.
mc Tweet Follow @begin2dig
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