Thursday, April 1, 2010
Going Light - a lot - to get Heavy - a few thoughts on why focused higher volume works
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Why does doing lots of volume at lighter loads translate into big strength gains? What's going on? This post explores a possible model for why based on motor learning, the nervous system and threat reduction. The bottom line? Load of reps getting technique means how to lift heavy is the only thing the nervous system has to worry about when actually going heavy. I'll be keen to hear what you think.
One of the constantly surprising ways to lift heavier is to lift lighter - a lot. And of course with perfect form. This is not new knowledge. Pavel Tsatsouline is famous for espousing this technique as "greasing the groove" in his book Naked Warrior. Kenneth Jay's program for succeeding in the beast challenge (pistol, pull up, press with 48kg bell) is to mix high volume days with heavy load days. Dan John in talking with me about pressing has been preaching volume and regular pressing.
And yet, it's still kind of hard to believe, isn't it? Pick a load where one can do 100 or more reps of whatever, and do it. However one paces that over a period, keep getting in those reps. But today, i got my first weighted pistol ever (something previously that felt impossible), and all i've been doing is PARTIAL body weight pistols, but lots of 'em. That got me thinking, how can lifting frequently for many reps at a load light enough to support that volume translate into big lift gains?
Practice does make Perfect(er) Part of the answer is about motor learning and the nervous system; part of the answer is about technique, and practicing technique. They're both rather related concepts.
Motor Learning. Back in the late 60's Fitts and Posner first posed the concept of motor learning and thinking about learning a physical skill. They proposed going through three stages of learning, and that rep ranges have become associated with those ranges. For instance, the first few hundred reps of something is conscious effort. We need to think about what we're doing. The next phase into thousands of reps can be about still focusing on the move, but having the knowledge to self-correct the move. The last phase, thousands of reps is when the action can be carried out reflexively.We are no longer havng to bring attention to it; we can rely on those neurological patterns to carry out the action.
Muscle Firing Pattern Refinement. It seems that when we learn something new with our bodies, our brains and nervous systems don't have the maps to carry out those moves with any kind of grace. They send lots of muscle action to the load as with each rep, a process of elimination and refinement goes on to figure out just how much muscle fiber is needed, when and where. This is where reeasrch shows for instance that a newbie doing a marial arts kick is firing muscles throughout the whole kick, whereas an experienced practitioner has some firing at initiation, relaxation through the kick and then more firing at the end. Extremely economical, refined and focused.
Technique as threat reduction. Combining skill development with muscle firing refinement, it seems that we have sufficient experience with a movement such that when we add load, that is the only new parameter our bodies need to address. That's way easier than trying to figure out everything from scratch.
In a model that considers our nervous system as fundamentally determining whether we are under threat or not, and making adjustments to the whole system based on that assessment, this "only one new thing" idea makes sense, too. If the nervous system is coping with putting the body into a new position for a less familiar move that doesn't feel that stable and then load is added on top of it, all that may add up to some kind of threat perception. As i've written about many times before in this sensory-motor model, perceived threat has the immediate effect of shutting down performance.
So perhaps what we can see from the value of repping loads of volume and doable (not sissy) loads for that volume is that we are teaching our nervous systems to see these moves as well under our control. From that the system is willing to let us turn on those additional parameters like balance, extra muscle fiber etc, because everything else is well known to be well in hand.
SAID and the importance of the Perfect Rep. The SAID principle (specific adaptation to imposed demand) is another reason for attention for form for everyone of those higher volume reps. Each rep teaches the nervous system how to map performance to handle this movement. Each rep teaches us how to prepare well for greater load.
This practicing volume with lighter loads but treating the performance like their heavy loads is another process for the nervous system's sense of security. If we practice appropriate bracing and breathing every rep if our mind is on going for bigger loads then again, once we hit the heavy load, we will have that breathing pattern primed, the hips ready, because we will have mapped it, practiced it, adapted to it.
A story of Practice to Strength: Getting my first weighted pistol.
For some time i have struggled with weighted pistols. It seemed impossible to me. That's not an ideal place to be for someone who wants to do the gal's version of the Beast Challenge: pistol, press and pull up a 24kg KB. So for the past couple weeks i've thought, well, let's go back to scratch and start ramping up volume. Dan John's been telling me to press heavy gals have to get volume up on the press; maybe that applies to the pistol. Ok. Let's amp it up.
So i've been practicing the perfect rep in my pistol a bunch of ways: one day i'll do 10 sets of 5 a side going to a hassock and back up - just touch not sit. Another day it's to a lower thing. Another day it's using bands in front of me to get to rock bottom and back up. Another day it's with the 12 to the hassock, then more bodyweight ones. And really, every rep is focused: how's my form?
So today, after my 5*5*10's a side to the hassock, i thought. "hmm" (yes i did really think "hmm") and i went to grab a 12. Why? because this is the size that gal's Beast Tamer Asha Wagner said she used for her grease the groove work to get to do the 24 on the day of the challenge, never having done a 24 ever - the heaviest weight she'd pistoled was a 16. So that's why i grabbed a 12.
And i did it. Rock bottom. It looked ugly. But i did it. First time ever. But there it was. And boy was i pouring on everything i'd learned about tension and squeezing the handles to get up, et voila. And it was not with a 12 held out as a counter weight. it was up close and personal, the way i want to do this. It worked. It actually worked. Once. But it's a start.
Give the nervous system a break. Practice more with less weight?
So, for me, this is once again the lesson of volume. I thought because i could do a couple bodyweight pistols that since folks said i was strong enough, i should be able to do a weighted pistol. What today demonstrated - just on how i felt stuff turn on in my body to make the attempt work - is that my body really did not know how to pistol - confidently, comfortably, reflexively. It still doesn't. I'm only just getting to that partially with the touch butt to hassock pistols. Each couple times as one thing gets stronger, something else comes in for focus. First it's smooth getting down and up. Recently it's knee position.
All of this equates to practice. I guess because actually so MUCH is going on in a move. That practice is important to build up a reflexive response around all the stuff we CAN get hundreds of reps in when we back off the load, like form and technique and related muscle patterns. What my own experience is drilling into me is that it seems we need this kind of practice to make it possible to do load.
Getting strong through technique focused volume sounds pretty cool, eh? almost like it's cheating: why will doing all this light stuff let me do the big heavy stuff?
Probably it won't if the volume is sloppy - but that's just a guess - but i guess that because the technique for load isn't being practiced so that prep would be missing and so when load is added one more thing has to be balanced at a higher level by the nervous system. But in just walking through all that's involved in picking up something heavy on demand, all the awareness and skill, this volume practice doesn't seem like getting away with something. It seems essential.
I guess i've been thinking about heavy stuff lifting as too much about the muscles. And yes that's pretty important. Duh. But i didn't get stronger overnight that i can suddenly lift 12kg more with one leg today that i couldn't lift yesterday. I'm going with what's changed is that my nervous system is feeling better about managing the load challenge cuz the pattern challenge feels better.
That's cool. That's two new technique wins this week: ugly hanging leg raises and now an ugly weighted pistol. Two things that have felt entirely beyond me have gone bang bang down down. All with focus on technique and practicing that focus a lot. Not enough, but it's a start. That ugliness in form will also get worked out with practice as my bod learns more about handling these loads, and gets to rep in a few more new patterns.
I hope that maybe if you've been shying away from volume practice focusing on perfect reps this may give you a bit of a boost to give focused volume a try. You'll be glad you did.
Next challenge - seeing how long focused volume takes to get from pressing the 20 to the 24. That's where my oh ye of little faith boundry is right now.
Your mileage may vary, so please let me know what you find.
mc
ps that's RKC II Instructor KC Reiter at the beast challenge, pistoling a 48.
Related Posts
One of the constantly surprising ways to lift heavier is to lift lighter - a lot. And of course with perfect form. This is not new knowledge. Pavel Tsatsouline is famous for espousing this technique as "greasing the groove" in his book Naked Warrior. Kenneth Jay's program for succeeding in the beast challenge (pistol, pull up, press with 48kg bell) is to mix high volume days with heavy load days. Dan John in talking with me about pressing has been preaching volume and regular pressing. And yet, it's still kind of hard to believe, isn't it? Pick a load where one can do 100 or more reps of whatever, and do it. However one paces that over a period, keep getting in those reps. But today, i got my first weighted pistol ever (something previously that felt impossible), and all i've been doing is PARTIAL body weight pistols, but lots of 'em. That got me thinking, how can lifting frequently for many reps at a load light enough to support that volume translate into big lift gains?
Fawn Friday, a keen practitioner of sheiko high vol/lower load and Matt Gary's
training with Prilipen high volume, demo'ing a smooth 24kg press
training with Prilipen high volume, demo'ing a smooth 24kg press
Practice does make Perfect(er) Part of the answer is about motor learning and the nervous system; part of the answer is about technique, and practicing technique. They're both rather related concepts.
Motor Learning. Back in the late 60's Fitts and Posner first posed the concept of motor learning and thinking about learning a physical skill. They proposed going through three stages of learning, and that rep ranges have become associated with those ranges. For instance, the first few hundred reps of something is conscious effort. We need to think about what we're doing. The next phase into thousands of reps can be about still focusing on the move, but having the knowledge to self-correct the move. The last phase, thousands of reps is when the action can be carried out reflexively.We are no longer havng to bring attention to it; we can rely on those neurological patterns to carry out the action.
Muscle Firing Pattern Refinement. It seems that when we learn something new with our bodies, our brains and nervous systems don't have the maps to carry out those moves with any kind of grace. They send lots of muscle action to the load as with each rep, a process of elimination and refinement goes on to figure out just how much muscle fiber is needed, when and where. This is where reeasrch shows for instance that a newbie doing a marial arts kick is firing muscles throughout the whole kick, whereas an experienced practitioner has some firing at initiation, relaxation through the kick and then more firing at the end. Extremely economical, refined and focused.
Technique as threat reduction. Combining skill development with muscle firing refinement, it seems that we have sufficient experience with a movement such that when we add load, that is the only new parameter our bodies need to address. That's way easier than trying to figure out everything from scratch.
In a model that considers our nervous system as fundamentally determining whether we are under threat or not, and making adjustments to the whole system based on that assessment, this "only one new thing" idea makes sense, too. If the nervous system is coping with putting the body into a new position for a less familiar move that doesn't feel that stable and then load is added on top of it, all that may add up to some kind of threat perception. As i've written about many times before in this sensory-motor model, perceived threat has the immediate effect of shutting down performance.
So perhaps what we can see from the value of repping loads of volume and doable (not sissy) loads for that volume is that we are teaching our nervous systems to see these moves as well under our control. From that the system is willing to let us turn on those additional parameters like balance, extra muscle fiber etc, because everything else is well known to be well in hand.
SAID and the importance of the Perfect Rep. The SAID principle (specific adaptation to imposed demand) is another reason for attention for form for everyone of those higher volume reps. Each rep teaches the nervous system how to map performance to handle this movement. Each rep teaches us how to prepare well for greater load.
This practicing volume with lighter loads but treating the performance like their heavy loads is another process for the nervous system's sense of security. If we practice appropriate bracing and breathing every rep if our mind is on going for bigger loads then again, once we hit the heavy load, we will have that breathing pattern primed, the hips ready, because we will have mapped it, practiced it, adapted to it.
A story of Practice to Strength: Getting my first weighted pistol.
So i've been practicing the perfect rep in my pistol a bunch of ways: one day i'll do 10 sets of 5 a side going to a hassock and back up - just touch not sit. Another day it's to a lower thing. Another day it's using bands in front of me to get to rock bottom and back up. Another day it's with the 12 to the hassock, then more bodyweight ones. And really, every rep is focused: how's my form?
So today, after my 5*5*10's a side to the hassock, i thought. "hmm" (yes i did really think "hmm") and i went to grab a 12. Why? because this is the size that gal's Beast Tamer Asha Wagner said she used for her grease the groove work to get to do the 24 on the day of the challenge, never having done a 24 ever - the heaviest weight she'd pistoled was a 16. So that's why i grabbed a 12.
And i did it. Rock bottom. It looked ugly. But i did it. First time ever. But there it was. And boy was i pouring on everything i'd learned about tension and squeezing the handles to get up, et voila. And it was not with a 12 held out as a counter weight. it was up close and personal, the way i want to do this. It worked. It actually worked. Once. But it's a start.
Give the nervous system a break. Practice more with less weight?
So, for me, this is once again the lesson of volume. I thought because i could do a couple bodyweight pistols that since folks said i was strong enough, i should be able to do a weighted pistol. What today demonstrated - just on how i felt stuff turn on in my body to make the attempt work - is that my body really did not know how to pistol - confidently, comfortably, reflexively. It still doesn't. I'm only just getting to that partially with the touch butt to hassock pistols. Each couple times as one thing gets stronger, something else comes in for focus. First it's smooth getting down and up. Recently it's knee position.
All of this equates to practice. I guess because actually so MUCH is going on in a move. That practice is important to build up a reflexive response around all the stuff we CAN get hundreds of reps in when we back off the load, like form and technique and related muscle patterns. What my own experience is drilling into me is that it seems we need this kind of practice to make it possible to do load.
Getting strong through technique focused volume sounds pretty cool, eh? almost like it's cheating: why will doing all this light stuff let me do the big heavy stuff?
Probably it won't if the volume is sloppy - but that's just a guess - but i guess that because the technique for load isn't being practiced so that prep would be missing and so when load is added one more thing has to be balanced at a higher level by the nervous system. But in just walking through all that's involved in picking up something heavy on demand, all the awareness and skill, this volume practice doesn't seem like getting away with something. It seems essential.
I guess i've been thinking about heavy stuff lifting as too much about the muscles. And yes that's pretty important. Duh. But i didn't get stronger overnight that i can suddenly lift 12kg more with one leg today that i couldn't lift yesterday. I'm going with what's changed is that my nervous system is feeling better about managing the load challenge cuz the pattern challenge feels better.
That's cool. That's two new technique wins this week: ugly hanging leg raises and now an ugly weighted pistol. Two things that have felt entirely beyond me have gone bang bang down down. All with focus on technique and practicing that focus a lot. Not enough, but it's a start. That ugliness in form will also get worked out with practice as my bod learns more about handling these loads, and gets to rep in a few more new patterns.
I hope that maybe if you've been shying away from volume practice focusing on perfect reps this may give you a bit of a boost to give focused volume a try. You'll be glad you did.
Next challenge - seeing how long focused volume takes to get from pressing the 20 to the 24. That's where my oh ye of little faith boundry is right now.
Your mileage may vary, so please let me know what you find.
mc
ps that's RKC II Instructor KC Reiter at the beast challenge, pistoling a 48.
Related Posts
- Perfect Rep Quest Index
- How many reps of that drill?
- Hanging Leg Raise: Strength is a skill
- Asha Wagner, women's beast tamer and awesome athlete
- Sensory Motor Training: the other side of strength
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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
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.
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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
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