Monday, March 29, 2010
Hanging Leg Raise: With Technique Anything is Possible?
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Have you ever suddenly done something that seemed impossible, even just moments before, and then, seemingly, it just happened? You wonder if you really actually did it? This morning i did something that yesterday felt a million miles away and fettle or another incarnation. I speak of the Hanging Leg Raise.
In this move, one hangs (tho that's deceptive) from a pull up bar (or door jam in my case), and then raises one's outstretched legs all the way straight out and arc'ing up until they touch the bar with their toes.
The Hanging Leg Raise Proper: One hangs in an inverted U - the image of Will Williams (of the Master Class on Breathing in the Front Squat) on the right is going above and beyond that toes-to-bar edge as he pushes his legs further up past his hands. Pavel Tsatsouline has a number of innovations on this theme as well, modelled in his freebie Hanging Leg Raise book (comes with a subscription to the power to the people mailing list - nice bonus (you can sign up here)). But while these gents get on with the business of Going Beyond, let's just chat for a moment about the humble to Boldly Go in the First Place.
Here's the deal: for me, i was introduced to this move/challenge about a month ago at the RKC II - we spent time going over drills to prep for doing an HLR and that focused on what one might only term "getting short" by compressing in the middle, sucking in the gut, sucking in the shoulders.
Let me say right now, that these instructions while percolating in my head did not connect the bits with me on the day. I am not generally a fast learner. On the other hand, when i get it, i get it. This was not going to be a Get It day.
Here's what i felt: struggle struggle struggle struggle - just to get my outstretched legs to parallel - barely. Struggle struggle struggle struggle. Puff puff puff puff.
I would try to do the HLR each day since my return that i've had access to a place from which i can hang. Struggle struggle struggle.
Rannoch of Simple Strength suggested that i try doing the knee tuck (shown left, modelled by Pavel- knees to chest first, and then straighten legs. I have to say that that one just about made me cry: knees to chest, ok, but straighten the legs from there? oh ya. not happening. Thank you though, Rannoch, for trying to help.
And then a funny thing happened yesterday.
Floor Work. One of the challenges i'd been trying has been with lying on the floor pulling against jump stretch bands while doing the leg raise part (we learned this at the cert). Yesterday, this went from my previous experience of "i am ripping my arms out of my sockets and getting nowhere" to "my legs are going over awfully easily; i must be doing something wrong." I did try the HLR after that and got to a cleaner parallel, but not up all the way. So again i thought, hmm. must have done something wrong.
THis morning, without really thinking about it, i thought i'll give it a go, and kinda started doing a pull up, and found my legs going up. I did this a few times. Singles. I posted to the RKC forum to check with colleagues if this was indeed an HLR or if the starting pull up was not right. I didn't think it was; it's not: arms must be straight.
The gang there - Al (who's been featured on b2d), Jordan Vezina, Jon Engum and Max Shank, all gave me some terrific tips, to try. but the main point was arms have to be straight. So i tried everything again i'd done this morning except the elbows bent (arms straight did not work this morning), and it worked. repeatedly. Now why arms straight worked this afternoon and not this morning, i don't know. But it did. And here's the thing: it was pretty easy. The hard part is hanging on.
Technique Rules. We talk about technique all the time being so important. And i've definitely had technique tweaks improve something i've done, but i've never before had it help me go from barley there to prepped, cooked and served. But if anything is an example of a proof of the "strength is a skill" concept that Pavel Tsatsouline has engendered in the RKC, i can't think of a better personal demonstration.
Much and all as i would like to believe i am suddenly that much stronger today than i was yesterday, the evidence is everywhere before me that i am not (though i did just go try to press the 24 just in case). So the only difference is technique - getting the compression of the gut, the shoulder inhalation, the lat activation, et voila.
How to *get* the technique? Right now i don't know how to translate what i've learned about HLR technique into how to accelerate teaching "getting" the technique for someone in a similar position, but here are a few thoughts.
The above is still rather fuzzy. Perhaps folks who coach (including myself) are just saying "duh" because of course one teaches technique and focuses on that before adding load or at least concurrent to loaded work (as per the volume of the perfect rep quest). So why was this move different? I'm not entirely sure. But there are lessons to be learned from this about connecting with technique, patience with the technique, finding methods that make the technique accessible and achievable in another context if the actual context (like hanging from a bar) is a step too far. Whoever developed the floor work drills for teaching the feel of the leg raise - genius.
Related Story. All this must sound so basic as opposed to any new insight, so before i dig a further hole in trying to convey this, let me close with a related "ah ha".
A bit ago Asha Wagner, in an interview here about pistoling the 24 for the women's beast challenge, said that she had only used the 12 regularly, never a 24 before that on-the-day test. She'd done lots of volume, greasing the groove with the 12, but the most she'd ever pistoled prior to that test was the 16.
I own i was pretty amazed that technique/form work with a 12 would deliver such a result with the 24, but after today's experience, i'm more a believer in technique-as-strength, strength-as-a-skill than yesterday.
So, best takeaway perhaps? find whatever assisted variant will enable an athlete to experience the complete movement - and focus on the use of TECHNIQUE rather than strength to achieve that movement first and foremost - where there's just enough strength challenge to feel the technque - and then strength will come.
Again, that's plainly not a unique insight - but the clarity of just how critical that focus is has really come shining through - one might say finally. Tweet Follow @begin2dig
In this move, one hangs (tho that's deceptive) from a pull up bar (or door jam in my case), and then raises one's outstretched legs all the way straight out and arc'ing up until they touch the bar with their toes.
The Hanging Leg Raise Proper: One hangs in an inverted U - the image of Will Williams (of the Master Class on Breathing in the Front Squat) on the right is going above and beyond that toes-to-bar edge as he pushes his legs further up past his hands. Pavel Tsatsouline has a number of innovations on this theme as well, modelled in his freebie Hanging Leg Raise book (comes with a subscription to the power to the people mailing list - nice bonus (you can sign up here)). But while these gents get on with the business of Going Beyond, let's just chat for a moment about the humble to Boldly Go in the First Place.
Here's the deal: for me, i was introduced to this move/challenge about a month ago at the RKC II - we spent time going over drills to prep for doing an HLR and that focused on what one might only term "getting short" by compressing in the middle, sucking in the gut, sucking in the shoulders.
Let me say right now, that these instructions while percolating in my head did not connect the bits with me on the day. I am not generally a fast learner. On the other hand, when i get it, i get it. This was not going to be a Get It day.
Here's what i felt: struggle struggle struggle struggle - just to get my outstretched legs to parallel - barely. Struggle struggle struggle struggle. Puff puff puff puff.
I would try to do the HLR each day since my return that i've had access to a place from which i can hang. Struggle struggle struggle.
Rannoch of Simple Strength suggested that i try doing the knee tuck (shown left, modelled by Pavel- knees to chest first, and then straighten legs. I have to say that that one just about made me cry: knees to chest, ok, but straighten the legs from there? oh ya. not happening. Thank you though, Rannoch, for trying to help.And then a funny thing happened yesterday.
Floor Work. One of the challenges i'd been trying has been with lying on the floor pulling against jump stretch bands while doing the leg raise part (we learned this at the cert). Yesterday, this went from my previous experience of "i am ripping my arms out of my sockets and getting nowhere" to "my legs are going over awfully easily; i must be doing something wrong." I did try the HLR after that and got to a cleaner parallel, but not up all the way. So again i thought, hmm. must have done something wrong.
THis morning, without really thinking about it, i thought i'll give it a go, and kinda started doing a pull up, and found my legs going up. I did this a few times. Singles. I posted to the RKC forum to check with colleagues if this was indeed an HLR or if the starting pull up was not right. I didn't think it was; it's not: arms must be straight.
The gang there - Al (who's been featured on b2d), Jordan Vezina, Jon Engum and Max Shank, all gave me some terrific tips, to try. but the main point was arms have to be straight. So i tried everything again i'd done this morning except the elbows bent (arms straight did not work this morning), and it worked. repeatedly. Now why arms straight worked this afternoon and not this morning, i don't know. But it did. And here's the thing: it was pretty easy. The hard part is hanging on.
Technique Rules. We talk about technique all the time being so important. And i've definitely had technique tweaks improve something i've done, but i've never before had it help me go from barley there to prepped, cooked and served. But if anything is an example of a proof of the "strength is a skill" concept that Pavel Tsatsouline has engendered in the RKC, i can't think of a better personal demonstration.
Much and all as i would like to believe i am suddenly that much stronger today than i was yesterday, the evidence is everywhere before me that i am not (though i did just go try to press the 24 just in case). So the only difference is technique - getting the compression of the gut, the shoulder inhalation, the lat activation, et voila.
How to *get* the technique? Right now i don't know how to translate what i've learned about HLR technique into how to accelerate teaching "getting" the technique for someone in a similar position, but here are a few thoughts.
- i thought i needed to work on ab strength to do this move - develop more strength rather than skill. How can i spot the difference in someone else to see that it's not about more muscle fiber firing but about technique?
- I have been consciously thinking about applying the technique lessons - and trying to practice these - rather than thinking so much about brute strength - so maybe that's what sifted through and finally connected?
- and maybe that's the best way to coach someone: help them focus on the technique, chew on the technique, and feel the technique applied - this was for me why the floor work with the bands was such a biggie - i think - it's where at the cert i could feel like different parts were connecting.
The above is still rather fuzzy. Perhaps folks who coach (including myself) are just saying "duh" because of course one teaches technique and focuses on that before adding load or at least concurrent to loaded work (as per the volume of the perfect rep quest). So why was this move different? I'm not entirely sure. But there are lessons to be learned from this about connecting with technique, patience with the technique, finding methods that make the technique accessible and achievable in another context if the actual context (like hanging from a bar) is a step too far. Whoever developed the floor work drills for teaching the feel of the leg raise - genius.
Related Story. All this must sound so basic as opposed to any new insight, so before i dig a further hole in trying to convey this, let me close with a related "ah ha".
A bit ago Asha Wagner, in an interview here about pistoling the 24 for the women's beast challenge, said that she had only used the 12 regularly, never a 24 before that on-the-day test. She'd done lots of volume, greasing the groove with the 12, but the most she'd ever pistoled prior to that test was the 16.
I own i was pretty amazed that technique/form work with a 12 would deliver such a result with the 24, but after today's experience, i'm more a believer in technique-as-strength, strength-as-a-skill than yesterday.
So, best takeaway perhaps? find whatever assisted variant will enable an athlete to experience the complete movement - and focus on the use of TECHNIQUE rather than strength to achieve that movement first and foremost - where there's just enough strength challenge to feel the technque - and then strength will come.
Again, that's plainly not a unique insight - but the clarity of just how critical that focus is has really come shining through - one might say finally. Tweet Follow @begin2dig
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Friday, March 26, 2010
Windmill/Press 100's - volume that works ya.
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Ever have what you think will be a wee workout take you by surprise? That's what happened to me with a humble combo of see saw presses and windmills. 10 walking see saw presses with my light kb's, followed by 10 windmills each side, without letting go of the bells, or pausing but to swap sides on the windmills. To be clear:
Windmill Fever. I have not done this many consecutive windmills before, and i don't think i've done this many sea-saws before (i'm not sure there were this many in the 2008 grad workout). And i felt this - a sense of having really worked my shoulders, moved my hips and adductors, and, why is this a surprise but it is, my obliques.
And i feel a wee bit cooked. Neural motor adaptations is a wonderful thing.
You may wonder why this particular combination?
One of the cool things about going to various events in one's space is meeting folks. At the RKC II i was surprised to see Dan John whom i'd not met before. We got talking about my quest to press the beast
, and his advice was to press. A lot. Indeed, his view is that gals need to press more to press big. One of his suggestions was mixing up windmills with sea-saws for one of the press days. I'm not sure if the above is what he had in mind, but it feels pretty good.
Light Bells Rejuvenated. So if anyone thinks their light bells have run out of gas, i'd suggest giving a highish volume workout like this a go. Especially the windmills in volume - who'd have thought?
And as part of that beast challenge quest, i've been mixing in pistols and pull ups - lots of each, even if high volume means box pistols (barely touch down) and band assisted pull ups to get my 50-100 in.
Reminder, too, RKC Master Trainer Andrea du Cane (shown left with model form) of the Kettlebell Goddess workout & ruler of the Windmill, will be in Southampton, UK June 6 to lead the first UK HKC kettlebell certification (more info here)
Hope to see ya there. Tweet Follow @begin2dig
- 1 set of ten, walking see-saw presses
- 1 set of ten, windmills with both bells one side
- 1 set of ten, windmills, with both bells, other side
- put the bells down
- shake it off
- breath
- repeat 10 times
- from the see-saw, both bells, back to the rack
- one arm avec one bell is extended down
- the other presses up
- align feet for windmill in opposite direction of up arm as per usual
- kick out hip in the up arm direction
- descend until bottom of bell of lowered arm makes contact with
ground - c'mon back up to standing
- go on back down.
- for me ten times was my happy place.
- after ten, bring bells to the rack,
- swap sides for windmilling to the opposite side
- do the ten for that side
- after ten come back to the rack
- from rack, park the bells
- shake it out, recovery, rinse, repeat
the photo on the right is for illustration purposes only:
get that hip back, mike, lock out that pressing elbow
get that hip back, mike, lock out that pressing elbow
Windmill Fever. I have not done this many consecutive windmills before, and i don't think i've done this many sea-saws before (i'm not sure there were this many in the 2008 grad workout). And i felt this - a sense of having really worked my shoulders, moved my hips and adductors, and, why is this a surprise but it is, my obliques.
And i feel a wee bit cooked. Neural motor adaptations is a wonderful thing.
You may wonder why this particular combination?
One of the cool things about going to various events in one's space is meeting folks. At the RKC II i was surprised to see Dan John whom i'd not met before. We got talking about my quest to press the beast
, and his advice was to press. A lot. Indeed, his view is that gals need to press more to press big. One of his suggestions was mixing up windmills with sea-saws for one of the press days. I'm not sure if the above is what he had in mind, but it feels pretty good.Light Bells Rejuvenated. So if anyone thinks their light bells have run out of gas, i'd suggest giving a highish volume workout like this a go. Especially the windmills in volume - who'd have thought?
And as part of that beast challenge quest, i've been mixing in pistols and pull ups - lots of each, even if high volume means box pistols (barely touch down) and band assisted pull ups to get my 50-100 in.
Reminder, too, RKC Master Trainer Andrea du Cane (shown left with model form) of the Kettlebell Goddess workout & ruler of the Windmill, will be in Southampton, UK June 6 to lead the first UK HKC kettlebell certification (more info here)
Hope to see ya there. Tweet Follow @begin2dig
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Sleep: (should be) the new fitness craze
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Sleep - the final frontier
If we have our workout program dialed in, and our eating dialed in, what's left? Sleep? We log our workouts; we watch our eating. Do we think much about our sleep?
For athletes we know how important sleep is for recovery. Body builders know how critical it is for muscle building. But most of us barely have sleep in our field of view, other than to say we're too busy to get enough. And way way too many world leaders and health professionals work sleep deprived
How did you sleep, a partner might ask? Ya, ok. Or not. And that's it. If the question comes up.
Sleep Work Outs? So, just like we might say we need to get in shape and develop a program to achieve that goal, or likewise get a plan to eat better, how many of us get a strategy to sleep better?
Later this week i'll be chatting with Stephan Fabregas of myZeo about sleep and what sleep is, and some wild thoughts around how sleeping is an evolutionary strategy.
In the meantime, what's your experience with sleep? Do you sleep well? If not have you thought about formally getting a better sleeping strategy?
Keep it Dark: Here's one thing i've been finding- my room is not dark all night: there's light leak through the windows. As an experiment i've been using an eye mask that folks use to sleep in the daylight. And guess what? sleeping more through the night.
Tweet
Follow @begin2dig
If we have our workout program dialed in, and our eating dialed in, what's left? Sleep? We log our workouts; we watch our eating. Do we think much about our sleep?
For athletes we know how important sleep is for recovery. Body builders know how critical it is for muscle building. But most of us barely have sleep in our field of view, other than to say we're too busy to get enough. And way way too many world leaders and health professionals work sleep deprived
How did you sleep, a partner might ask? Ya, ok. Or not. And that's it. If the question comes up.
Sleep Work Outs? So, just like we might say we need to get in shape and develop a program to achieve that goal, or likewise get a plan to eat better, how many of us get a strategy to sleep better?
Later this week i'll be chatting with Stephan Fabregas of myZeo about sleep and what sleep is, and some wild thoughts around how sleeping is an evolutionary strategy.
In the meantime, what's your experience with sleep? Do you sleep well? If not have you thought about formally getting a better sleeping strategy?
Keep it Dark: Here's one thing i've been finding- my room is not dark all night: there's light leak through the windows. As an experiment i've been using an eye mask that folks use to sleep in the daylight. And guess what? sleeping more through the night.
Tweet
Follow @begin2dig
Monday, March 22, 2010
Spring Wellbeing Haikus at b2d on fb - please share yours
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Spring Wellbeing Haiku Quest: Is spring putting a bit more zing in your step? Are new thoughts and plans and actions budding forth?
If so, please drop by the begin2dig Spring Revitalization Discussion page on facebook and share a Haiku of yours.
The form of a Haiku is 3 lines, 5/7/5 syllables a line. A few examples are already there.
Why a haiku? well in some psych literature, we see that apparently self-reflection is a great thing, and i'm thinking too that having some kind of structure to reflect around with a topic might just be spring like and unearth new thoughts.
Why not give it a go.
See ya over there?
mc Tweet Follow @begin2dig
If so, please drop by the begin2dig Spring Revitalization Discussion page on facebook and share a Haiku of yours.
The form of a Haiku is 3 lines, 5/7/5 syllables a line. A few examples are already there.
Why a haiku? well in some psych literature, we see that apparently self-reflection is a great thing, and i'm thinking too that having some kind of structure to reflect around with a topic might just be spring like and unearth new thoughts.
Why not give it a go.
See ya over there?
mc Tweet Follow @begin2dig
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Sleep and the Carrot Cake Correlation: have you experienced this?
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Can carrot cake help sleep? Or is it just the icing? A couple weeks ago, i was coming to the end of a several month low cal low starchy carb lifestyle as part of the 
final training push for an event. One night, about a week after said event, but still having been quite diet-rigerous (by then it was habit) a group of us were out for dinner, and the waiter brought out the desert tray. On this cart was the largest slice of carrot cake i had ever seen. "It's usually bigger on the plate when they serve it"
I asked if anyone wanted to share a piece. Of those interested in the carrot cake, two other studly guys were quite happy to have their own. Ok then. I was still hungry. I was ready to go for it. Not only that i was quite sure i'd be done first. Not rushing; just i was still hungry.
The deserts arrive. The coffee arrives. The deserts are indeed huge. They are also lavished with some kind of white icing and perhaps some cream cheese kind of middle. The cake part was very good. The icing's sugar hit was intense. Wow what a rush. And yes, i did finish the cake first, but only the lads were able to polish off all the icing and middle substance.
Interestingly there were predictions of an immanent and horrible sugar crash, but perhaps i got to sleep soon enough after this (within about 90mins), but no such crash occurred. What did happen is that for the first time since i could remember, i slept through the night. I woke up feeling terrific. I have not had quite such a deep sleep since.
Is there a carrot cake correlation?
A while ago, i wrote about work that showed that mega hi GI carbs taken four hours before planned sleep resulted in getting to sleep and staying there. In looking at the GI of carrot cake (in the 50's) and the Jasmin rice used in the study (100+) that doesn't seem quite to fit. Maybe the icing put it over the top - even though i think, seem to recall, leaving quite a bit?
Dunno. I just dunno.
But if you've had any kind of similar carrot cake experience related to high quatlity sleep and high wellb
eing the next day, please let me know.
Keen to learn.
Oh, and coming up on B2D: discussions with Stephan Fabregas, Sleep reearcher at myzeo.com.
We'll get at this thing that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care yet. Tweet Follow @begin2dig
final training push for an event. One night, about a week after said event, but still having been quite diet-rigerous (by then it was habit) a group of us were out for dinner, and the waiter brought out the desert tray. On this cart was the largest slice of carrot cake i had ever seen. "It's usually bigger on the plate when they serve it"I asked if anyone wanted to share a piece. Of those interested in the carrot cake, two other studly guys were quite happy to have their own. Ok then. I was still hungry. I was ready to go for it. Not only that i was quite sure i'd be done first. Not rushing; just i was still hungry.
The deserts arrive. The coffee arrives. The deserts are indeed huge. They are also lavished with some kind of white icing and perhaps some cream cheese kind of middle. The cake part was very good. The icing's sugar hit was intense. Wow what a rush. And yes, i did finish the cake first, but only the lads were able to polish off all the icing and middle substance.
Interestingly there were predictions of an immanent and horrible sugar crash, but perhaps i got to sleep soon enough after this (within about 90mins), but no such crash occurred. What did happen is that for the first time since i could remember, i slept through the night. I woke up feeling terrific. I have not had quite such a deep sleep since.
Is there a carrot cake correlation?
A while ago, i wrote about work that showed that mega hi GI carbs taken four hours before planned sleep resulted in getting to sleep and staying there. In looking at the GI of carrot cake (in the 50's) and the Jasmin rice used in the study (100+) that doesn't seem quite to fit. Maybe the icing put it over the top - even though i think, seem to recall, leaving quite a bit?
Dunno. I just dunno.
But if you've had any kind of similar carrot cake experience related to high quatlity sleep and high wellb
eing the next day, please let me know.Keen to learn.
Oh, and coming up on B2D: discussions with Stephan Fabregas, Sleep reearcher at myzeo.com.
We'll get at this thing that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care yet. Tweet Follow @begin2dig
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