Friday, January 18, 2013
b2d's Exploration of the Tao and How of We're Working Out - Interview with Al Kavadlo
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Towards looking into this question, Mr. Kavadlo kindly agreed to do an interview with me. Initially, my questions were around the design rationale for Kavadlo's Raising the Bar DVD, but as i started to read more of AK's work, and chat more, this whole question of approach not just in terms of content but of the thinking behind the content came up.
In the following, we're looking for the Al K un grr methodology by talking about Raising the Bar, We're Working Out, YouTube videos and the Progressive Calisthenics Certification that just got announced, but really, i hope what we're going to get at through all these what's is some of the why's that the joyful approach of al kavadlo resonates so well - at least with b2d - though it doesn't seem like any of us here are alone.
In particular, why i find Kavadlo's work important as a case study is for a bunch of refinements:
So by the end of this post, you'll see a full on rough analysis to produce the Al Kavadlo Presentation Methodology. Hope you find it useful in your own practice.
Prologue
The best i can come up with is, Kavadlo is doing some really interesting things in terms of use of media and approach/philosophy to fitness that resonates, while also being different. I mentioned this difference in the review, in particular about bodyweight work. That difference to me is about vibe - approachability. What i've noticed in a lot of the calisthenics videos on the 'Tube is that they are performance oriented with uber ripped dudes doing amazing things that are just completely inaccessible. Like c'mon. And then there's Al doing the same thing SMILING and saying - for free - here's how to do this. Performance vs Practice. Practice vs Performance.
And two concepts of particular relevance where we see the Zen of WWO in RTB: beginner's mind - where challenging moves stay challenging and practice remains important; and getting to a place of Intestinal Fortitude - having to be able to commit to the process of adaptation - to make progress.
..]
There is a difference between the Who and [the What and the Way]. I make know claims here to know Al Kavadlo - not the intent here. As said, the focus has been to better see if i understand what the person is trying to explore and how the presentation of that WHAT communicates that Way. As said at the outset, while that's an interesting thing, the purpose here is not biography but methodology, and what informs that method. Why care? well, methods like skills are replicable. By exploring the components of a method, we may decide these methods are worth exploring further via replication/emulation in our own personal or coaching practice.
I really hope, therefore, this wee article has given y'all a sense of the Al Kavadlo approach, and why it's that approach (perhaps less than the thing itself) that feels so intriguing, captivating, delightful (and effective) about Al's bringing bodyweight work to the Net.
Working the Method/Skills - Deliberate Practice of Presentation. These components i've listed may at least be a good chunk of what we might call the Al K presentation method. While the individual bits are likely familiar to most of us, it seems to me that Kavadlo is the first person on the Net using these principles in a co-ordianated way to deliver content. The result is Kavadlo's presentation style, oui? BUT - by looking at this style, we can explore those components, and make decisions about adopting them.
Some of us do some of these things in this list unconsciously. If we grr about our practice, we likely grr if we teach it or when we show off. By stepping back and looking at method deliberately we can CHOOSE to focus on it and act on it. Al's smile, as he says, is his signature. It's certainly what keeps me coming back.
Those of us who do presentations - can we choose to focus on say that vibe that we use in the presentation and keep it in the demo? Or even simply become aware that that's something that can be constructed, created and practiced?
When doing the pull up photo that would become the poster clip for the gal's "my first pull up" progress party - i was definitely thinking (a) being in the environment and (b) expressing joy - this is fun (cuz it is).
That's on the in front of camera part of the presentation; there's also the practice of getting comfortable being on camera AND getting skilled up about some basic video editing, uploading, managing a youtube channel etc - because Al K does it all himself. These are are EACH method decision points: where do we want to put our practice cycles first if we want to communicate online, and in media that's delivered via an online space?
Working the Method. By way of comparison, consider tony horton of p90x fame. If you know P90X, He hits a number of the above components, doesn't he? As a mental exercise to see how method works, one might ask, what would Tony need to add or change to demonstrate the full Al K method for presentation - and still be true to P90X? Is there anyone else you can think of in the presentation of knowledge space where you can check the AK methods of presentation? (We could get into an entire discussion at some point about whether/how coaches need to be able to model physically what they coach).
The goal here is not to say "here's how to clone Al Kavadlo" - but how to look at the methods that are so well done, and think of them as skills we might want to practice if and as we present ourselves/our thing - whatever that is.
To that end, here's a little more un grring bodyweight work with AK.
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Ever looked at YouTube to learn how to do some bodyweight movement like a one arm push up or a human flag? Chances are, if so, you've encountered the video series that begins "Hi. I'm Al Kavadlo and We're working out." If there's a bodyweight move of interest, chances are high there's a wee Kavadlo video on how to get going with it.
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| YouTube Al: the familiar friendly face of I am Sparticus Kavadlo |
These instructional vignettes have a recognisable set of signature elements: Al's smiling face as model and host; most often Tompkin Square Park in New York as the live, outdoor setting; a set of progressions on how to get from start to advanced form with the movement. The quality is consistently high; the videos useful, and usually leaves one hungry for more insight into these strategies. And as such, they're pretty unique. Unique in terms of breadth of a freebie web resource, and unique in the joyful style of presentation. There is no aloofness, no grr. And yet there's this awesome strength. What's going on here?
Towards looking into this question, Mr. Kavadlo kindly agreed to do an interview with me. Initially, my questions were around the design rationale for Kavadlo's Raising the Bar DVD, but as i started to read more of AK's work, and chat more, this whole question of approach not just in terms of content but of the thinking behind the content came up.
This Piece in Not about Al Kavadlo. It's about the How of Al Kavadlo's Tao.
To that end, the following overview of the Kavadlo ouvre to date and interview in and around Raising the Bar is an attempt to look at some of these ideas that i'm framing as the presentation of the un grr of bodyweight work.
In the following, we're looking for the Al K un grr methodology by talking about Raising the Bar, We're Working Out, YouTube videos and the Progressive Calisthenics Certification that just got announced, but really, i hope what we're going to get at through all these what's is some of the why's that the joyful approach of al kavadlo resonates so well - at least with b2d - though it doesn't seem like any of us here are alone.
In particular, why i find Kavadlo's work important as a case study is for a bunch of refinements:
- he's one of the first guys to bring bodyweight work to the Net
- he's taken youTube as a particular kind of media (video, 3min max) and used it deliberately to showcase what he does - and just being on youtube - getting that that IS where the action is now for online presentation - is very compelling.
- he uses filmic conventions to consider shot, framing etc - so he THINKS about presentation, right down to theme music
- he and the environment and what he models are so tightly coupled so effectively its hard to imagine bodyweight any other way
- he himself embodies a whole lot of what he models and so it cycles back into the production.
- he uses this production for promotion yes, but promotion through education - what has been found over and over to be the succesful mode for selling online.
- the dvd/books/blog are a well-integrated extension of this "brand" with depth, passion, soul.
So by the end of this post, you'll see a full on rough analysis to produce the Al Kavadlo Presentation Methodology. Hope you find it useful in your own practice.
Prologue
The Philosophy of AK's Practice: Humility Before the Bar
In the process of doing this interview i started to look at More Things Al - including going back to the book version of Raising the Bar, and reading his ebook on general training called (of course) We're Working Out. It's been an interesting process. I mean, really, who cares about what goes into making a fitness video? or what someone thinks about training? If it's a good tool it's a good tool; it stands on its own; don't need no more. So why care about interviewing Al - not to ask about personal stuff but about professional stuff - and in particular the approach.
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| exploring personal limits: marathoning in flats |
That smile Al has said is a signature. For sure, but that smile comes from an attitude A philosophy - at least it feels that way. And, i think - at least so far - before Al/We're working Out goes global as a brand and IT All Changes - is a humility. Especially in the We're Working Out book - where al shares his philosophy of training and invites us to participate. That participation, by the way, includes running. Guess what? We're optimized for movement - running in particular, it seems. So good things happen when we practice that skill, too. Just saying - and increasingly folks i know in fitness are getting this: many are into sprinting but i'm betting that more and more are going to get that relaxed longer runs have a place for our selves too.
Al comes across as a very human person who has gone through a process to find out what resonates with him, that is (i keep saying this) accessible and real, from finding his path in fitness to finding a path for becoming more expert in that practice
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| Al Kavadlo from We're Working Out - reflecting on going from a bodybuilder focus to a lean calisthenics machine process - and where happiness lies. |
The process Kavadlo unpacks is very simple -- and b2d readers will get how this approacht resonates with a b2d focus (for example here on rep practice): begin - begin with a doable rep. and then do the rep again, and do another rep, and do the reps do the reps, and keep doing the reps. It will all happen. It happens. It comes.
Which brings us to the worked examples of the application of that philosophy - Raising the Bar, the book and the DVD.
Will it Blend? Making Use of the Kavadlo Corpus
So i have We're Working Out (WWO), Raising the Bar (RTB) the book, Raising the Bar the DVD - how do these work together, one might ask.
The Book - First off it's just visually pleasing. It's a fine ebook but it's an excellent looking physical
volume. The pics are great. These are done by Colleen Leung. The layout / design is by Derek Bringham. Bringham has done a lot of books with Dragon Door. He set the tone with Enter the Kettlebell - one of the best designed fitness books out there (never mind the content). But, combined with Al's vision and Leung's visuals, this thing works as a really nice coffee table book! So, here's a strategy: if you want to inspire your pals, get the hardcopy and leave it out where they'll thumb through it. I really really wish there were a combo deal where you can buy either the ebook or the physical book and get its analog/digital twin at half price. John du Cane, how 'bout it?
Beyond the Coffee Table. For me the book has (slowly) become a go-to place for Kavadlo's thinking about the movements and approaches to them. The book features more contexts than the DVD in which a movement might be explored. The book includes others besides the Kavadlo bro's doing the moves. There are normal looking gals doing pull ups for instance (by normal i mean they do not look like they were members of the US olympic gymnastics team - this to me is a plus to have us see that these moves ARE within the reach of humans if we practice).
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| Al pals of Thompkin Square Park in RTB |
The book connects the philosophy of Al's WWO with the practice of the bar work.
For instance, we once again see that while hanging leg raises are the path to a six pack, eating real food - like veggies - is the only True Way to seeing them. That's another thing i like about Kavadlo's approach - staying healthy is part of this. doing healthful things is important. All of the processes can be achieved without supplements and eating reasonably, eating real food. We also see humility and humanness in RTB the book as in WWO: Al 'fess's up to an abs symmetry envy he's had of his big brother Danny.
And two concepts of particular relevance where we see the Zen of WWO in RTB: beginner's mind - where challenging moves stay challenging and practice remains important; and getting to a place of Intestinal Fortitude - having to be able to commit to the process of adaptation - to make progress.
The DVD - on the other hand - the DVD is, as per the afore mentioned review - a great visual feast of modelled progressions and forms of a movement. It's like, let's assume the Tude is in place; now here's what practice can look like.
In other words, the book gets more into head space and alternatives while the DVD models progressions.
What are we Doing Here? Building Trust - in a Difference
As said, i've been asking myself - who cares about a professional practice interview? If the tools are good, they're good. and i certainly think the DVD is great and the books are really nice complements for the head space needed to support the practice.
And for those interested in the Al way there is WWO; al's own blog has a lot of articles about his process. So what more do we need here??
Indeed, it's this plethora of material that's only built confidence around Al that he's got a nice approach to fitness - an approach that is DIFFERENT IN A GOOD WAY. The non-grr way. The Tao of UnGrr. Do you know what i mean? Do you like that, too? One doesn't have to get all butched up and matchod out to go demonstrate skill. One can smile, laugh, have fun. And be serious.
The Significant Bit So this interview is trying to get at a little more of that process than is currently expressed in the extent material by and around all things AK - i hope i'm conveying why that process is an Interesting Bit (aside: there's this thing in coding about a significant bit, how that one binary switch turning it on or off makes all the difference. Kavadlo's flipped on an interesting, significant bit in his approach).
Look, it's maybe like this: there are so many ways to achieve the same ends - consider all the ways there are to get a pull up - all the programs (here's b2d's own pull up 101 summary of half a dozen approaches at least). Anyone claiming to be different or have THE answer - well that's gotta just be greeted with some skepticism. So increasingly, i find that the rational behind how we present that process is where interesting things happen.
In other words, how does communication of a process work that it lead to success for some group of people? And success in this case is multiple: first, it's helping to introduce people to and move them forward in a new kind of physical practice. Al's doing that in this bodyweight practice. Second, it's an attitude/approach. That is, the humility before the bar, as i'm calling it: one is not *special* - one has to show up. And Al keeps showing up. Walks the walk. You just can't fake these movements. And who has to go "grr" when you can do a Human Flag??
And Now, The Interview(s)
With the above context in place, let's get into even more thoughts from Al about his design rationale.
b2d: Many people have come to know your work through your YouTube vids, and i've heard you say on an interview that you get emails all the time about how to do a muscle up or a human flag etc. Can you take us through the process a bit about how long you prep a move before you video it, how you decide to do this?
AK: High level moves like the human flag are always a work in progress. I talk pretty in depth about my journey toward the flag in these articles: mymadmethods, t-nation, blog
yes - it was the t-nation one that convinced me one assistance exercise for the flag would be getting lighter/leaner...
As for how long I work on a move before I video myself, I record my training just about whenever I can. It sort of allows me to be my own trainer. I don't usually make the video public until I can do the move somewhat decently though! I'm constantly refining my skills though. I sometimes watch my youtube videos from a couple years ago and see mistakes in my form that I didn't notice at the time. That's part of why I keep making new videos. I can do a lot of these exercises better now!
Raising the Bar
b2d Raising the Bar the book gets to freeze frame some of that process of the practice. It also includes a variety of folks carrying out their bar practices. In both WWO and RTB, you talk about the value of having workout partners but not getting hooked on having a partner. In your own practice, what role do these other folks play in your workouts - do you connect with these guys regularly? do you say let's have a pull up a thon on saturday?
AK: Yes, there are a lot of regulars at TSP and we're always getting inspired by each other. Sometimes formal meet-ups are planned in advance, but usually you just wind up working out with whoever is around - though in the winter, there are a lot less people around! Here's a video of a big TSP meet-up that took place in 2011:
Cool. Another feature of the book for which a big thank you for spending many glossy pages on women doing pull ups. And right at the start of the book, too. i'd like to see women doing one arm pull ups and hand stand push ups please - preferably people who do not have a gymnastics background - that is really bumming me out - that so many of these bodyweight icons all seem to have gymnastics backgrounds - doing it since they were kids. Phooey.
AK: I'm really glad that you appreciate me including lots of women in Raising The Bar. I promise my next book will feature at least one photo of a non-gymnast woman doing a handstand push-up
Speaking of rules, in your own work where you talk about training certs, you kinda neg the CSCS, saying in effect suck it up and pass the test then do what you want. Did you not find much of worth in that program/text?
AK: I'm guessing you read my recent T-Nation piece on certifications, right? It's not so much that I am trying to single out the NSCA, but rather that I am trying to demystify the cert industry in general. The value of actual personal training experience exponentially exceeds that of the certification process, especially for certs that don't include any hands-on work.
MUSIC Ok, let's circle back to this a little later and move into your vids for now. You have a fabulous and welcoming attitude in your We're Working Out vids. What inspired the name, the great music theme, and doing videos to reach people in the first place?
AK: As for my theme music, I write and record all my own music, which is great because I don't have to pay for licensing, but also because music has been a passion of mine since even before fitness. I've also been a into writing, photography and videography for a long time, so doing my blog, and making books and DVDs allows me to combine all of the things I enjoy most.
Can folks listen to your music elsewhere? does your theme tune have a name? (again - it's great the way that works with the clips - signature smile; signature tune - interesting instrumentation).
AK: My theme song was originally the intro to a song I wrote and recorded several years ago before I even started my blog. (Music has been an interest of mine since even before working out.) After the site was up I had the idea to use that riff as my theme music. I've since gone back and re-recorded an extended version of the theme which is the version you hear on the DVD and in my more recent youtube clips. I actually put some of my music up on iTunes a while back, including the full version of the song that wound up becoming my theme. Ironically enough, the song is called "Don't Want You To See Me."
You can also hear it in its entirely in this older youtube clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iU8NRfLtF0
I bet most folks did not know about this OTHER creative side of your work. It adds to the sense of you and your style coming to working out, outside.
SMILIN' STYLE This question about your style of presentation is a big differentiator. For instance, i love watching the baraholics do their thing, but that's kinda how i feel - it's their thing, rather than an invitation to get to that place too. You have this "**WE*** part of we're working out. it's an invitation. across the nation... how did you develop that smile/approach??
AK: My smile has definitely become part of my signature. A lot of people think working out has to be this really serious thing but that mindset is a bit of a turnoff for me. There's absolutely a serious aspect to it, but I like to keep a lighthearted attitude because that is just my nature. Something I've often said is that to be successful in the fitness industry you have to embrace your personality and find the people you click with. Nobody is the best trainer for everyone. I'm catering to an audience in the fitness world that has been neglected for a long time. Working out isn't just for clean-cut muscle-head jocks and women who look like Barbie.
good to know :)
As a kid I was a geek
GEEKs n' Freaks You mean you're no longer a geek? and what kind of geek? what do you mean by "neglected" - you're thinking of whom?
Haha - I guess you're right - once a geek, always a geek! Though sometimes people don't expect it from my appearance, I am definitely still a nerd at heart. As for the neglected segment of the fitness industry, I'm talking about the geeks, freaks and weirdos. People who don't fit the textbook definition of "normal."
ok
I was also always bad at sports.
(aside: let's do some vision work together sometime, al…there's just no need for this...no need...)
When you're bad at sports as a kid, you tend to get made fun of rather than being given encouragement or positivity.
or, hmm, skills training?
As I grew up, I was surprised to discover that fitness could actually be FUN. I'm just trying to spread that message.
Fun indeed. But also specifically bodyweight. You've likely noticed over the past maybe two years a growing trend towards bodyweight work. You've been ahead of the curve, would you say? What do you think is bringing folks back to body based skills for strength and conditioning?
I am very excited about the recent resurgence of bodyweight training and I'm grateful to be a part of it. There's definitely been a growing trend towards bodyweight exercise but it still hasn't totally infiltrated the mainstream. When you are into a subculture like the bodyweight community, it's easy to forget that it's still on the fringes. If you go into almost any mainstream gym it's still just a sea of machines and most of the people there will have never even heard of a muscle-up or a human flag, nonetheless be training toward one themselves.
hmm. it's really cool that you see that.
DVD MAKING OF... What's really interesting to note about The Raising the Bar DVD is that it is entirely your production - that's cool - and Dragon Door (DD) is mainly the distributor for you. How did that happen? there's LOT of ways you could have produced and sold this vid - so why this one?
for some of the videographer geeks in the house, can you tell us about the euqipment you use for your we're working out vids? given your shiftlessness, for instance, where does the mic go??
Making this DVD was a fun process but also a tremendous amount of work. I actually had never intended to make a DVD - it always seemed like too much work and the written word has always been more appealing to me. I like making the youtube clips but they are all very short and the standards for production values tend to be lower on Youtube. So it's a much smaller production and less of a time commitment. However, Dragon Door President John Du Cane was really into the idea of making a DVD to go with my book Raising The Bar and I guess it wasn't that hard for him to convince me! Dragon Door has a great reputation and huge following. I feel lucky to get to work with them. Once John told me that he would let me have total creative control it became a very exciting proposal.
The Book Making Of That's excellent - would you like to talk a little bit about how the book happened? how you got hooked up with DD for that? maybe we can sell a few of these, too? love the photography.
I first got involved with Dragon Door through Paul "Coach" Wade. He liked some of the photos on my blog and asked me if I would be interested in modeling for the sequel (CC2) to his popular Convict Conditioning book.
Of course I jumped at the chance. I exchanged a few emails with John Du Cane as well around this time and told him about the book I was writing about pull-ups. He expressed interest and when the manuscript was done I showed it to John and he loved it.
Then the DVD was shot on several different days over the course of close to two months -
wow! that's a long shoot
There was always with a week or so in between shootings. There was really no other way we could have done all those difficult moves as many times as we had to. I feel like we really crammed a lot of content into this DVD and I didn't want the form to suffer on any of the demonstrations so we had to spread it out.
Understandable.
Danny Kavadlo Could i ask why you decided to team up with your bro for most of the moves? It works - though i'm hard pressed to think why it works to have you both replicate these moves (the windshield wipers looks great by the way) - what inspired this?
Involving Danny in this DVD seemed like an obvious choice to me. Our personalities play nicely off each other and it's much more visually interesting to see two different people performing the moves.
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| Al and Danny - from RTB the Book |
It's also good to see that different bodies might look slightly different while performing the same exercise, to give the viewer a bigger scope of reference. Plus I love getting to work with Danny - it's just more fun having him involved. Danny is a busy personal trainer in his own right, so schedule-wise he can't always be in everything I do, but for the DVD we made sure to get our schedules in sync to make it happen.
Makes sense. but wow! Even for a project of this size, that's a lot of coordination, focus, effort. And yet the feel stays very true to the youTube vids.
Most of my youtube videos are just shot on a cheap little camera on a tripod. For the DVD I got actual camera people with better equipment! As for the sound, we couldn't use lav mics because we weren't wearing shirts, so we just had a mic a few feet in front of us and waited for patches of silence - which if you've ever been to NYC, you know can take a while. It was honestly a bit maddening trying to film the talking parts since jackhammers and car alarms keep going off. That's part of why I wound up doing so much voiceover. But hey, everything is a learning experience and I'm quite pleased with the end result, so it was all worth it!
It's super that it is outside - that's another big differentiator. it feels, again, real and fresh. Given the amount of effort, Is this DVD the first in a series? or what is on the ak horizon for reaching the peeps?
As for the future, I'm getting close to finishing my next book, which is all about no-equipment bodyweight strength training. It's titled "Pushing The Limits! - Total Body Strength With No Equipment" and will cover everything from basic push-ups and squats, up to handstand push-ups, pistols, one arm push-ups and more. I'm not sure what the next thing after that is yet. There are several ideas kicking around in my mind, but I usually just try to take things as they come.
PS: PCC
And now, let's circle back to certifications - while we were starting this interview the official announcement came out that you're leading a bodyweight certification with dragon door. Progressive Calisithenics Certification (PCC). Let's talk about that for a moment.
Ok questions: you're saying that the cert will require some challenge to pass. Voila:
MEN’S TEST
1. FULL SQUATS: 40 reps
2. FULL PUSH-UPS: 30 reps
3. HANGING KNEE RAISES: 20 reps
4. FULL PULL-UPS: 10 reps
TOTAL: 100 reps
WOMEN’S TEST
1. FULL SQUATS: 40 reps
2. KNEELING PUSH-UPS: 30 reps
3. HANGING KNEE RAISES: 20 reps
4. AUSTRALIAN PULL-UPS: 10 reps
TOTAL: 100 reps
Does that include a within three months if you can do it and send in a vid you get the cert?? eg, the rkc has always had a snatch test and other assessments guarenteeing a 60% pass rate on the day with the three month buffer zone. Is this the same?
The PCC will be a lot like the RKC in terms of the testing. RKC has the snatch test, PCC has "The Century" (details are on DD's site). And like the RKC, we will be giving those who cannot pass the century in person a chance to video themselves and send it in afterward.
Ok another obvious question that needs to be head on addressed: how is this cert different than Convict Conditioning? What would get someone to pay for this course if they've made progress with that program - or for that matter with your awesome DVD? how does this course fit into your own path for your work - such as the latest DVD raising the bar? what will the differences be between that work and this cert program?
As for how the PCC is different than CC, the curriculum is much more inclusive than CC, which really only talks about 6 movement patterns. Even if you include CC2, it's still barely half of the total PCC curriculum, which includes things like front levers, back levers, muscle-ups, etc. I guess the closest approximation you can make is that the PCC curriculum combines content from the CC books as well as my books, but it will still go more in-depth than any of those materials. More importantly, however, is that it's an interactive experience! RTB and CC are great resources, but they can't actually tell you if your form is correct or give you cues specific to your situation. Also, since the course is designed with other trainers in mind, the PCC will go into great detail about how to appropriately teach and program these movements for other individuals. And of course, it's a chance for attendees to train with Danny and I in person and pick our brains during the Q&A session.
How does Paul Wade fit into the Al K world? you seem to have this thing down, al, about teaching progressions, so why bond with someone else?
Why would I join up with Paul Wade? Why wouldn't I want to join with him?!? CC is far and away the most popular book ever on bodyweight training and while I've made a name for myself on my own, teaming up with Paul and DD is one of those rare opportunities to combine our efforts and take things to the next level. I guess it's an example of the sum of the parts being stronger than each part on its own.
How many certs will you and Danny be leading in a year do your reckon? And women lined up to work with you? non-gymnast backgrounds?
I'm not sure how often we are going to be offering the PCC - I guess that depends on how much demand there winds up being. My hope is that it will grow to the level of the RKC, but only time will tell.
Can we come back to the test for a sec? Can you help contextualise the century test with the goals of the cert? Realistically, someone just able to do that set is not likely to end the cert doing a human flag, and that's on the menu, so...
As for the Century, it definitely does not qualify someone to teach the human flag. The PCC cert and Century test establish a baseline level of competency in calisthenics - enough to qualify certified individuals to instruct beginners and intermediate level students. The more advanced moves will be in the workshop, as some candidates will be ready to learn them, but very few personal training clients are going to be anywhere near ready for moves like the flag and muscle-ups, so it isn't essential for PCC candidates to be able to perform them. It's kind of like how at the RKC, there might be a few people attempting the beast tamer of iron maiden challenges, but for most people the snatch test is plenty to convey competency in the basics.
Ok. Thank you. A bit of a background question to wrap, if i may: i have to ask: what, no martial arts background? nothing wrong with that if there is - but if not - how refreshing.
I've dabbled in marital arts (a little Tae Kwon Do as a kid and a brief stint practicing Jiu-jitsu as an adult) but I never enjoyed those things as much as strength training and calisthenics (I discuss this in more detail in my first book). It's hard to nail down exactly what's so appealing to me about calisthenics. There are a lot of things about it that are very similar to martial arts - particularly the discipline and the direct cause-and-effect relationship between how much work one puts in and their skill level - but I've never been a violent or aggressive person and besides, martial arts are always so serious. Calisthenics is more fun and playful, which better suits my personality.
And one more: why do you think it's great and fun to be able to do these bodyweight movements? what keeps you going with the lever and fingertip work and exploring moves?
There's just something special and transcendent about calisthenics that I can't really articulate.
The Un Grr Difference
After all of the above, that last statement might be seen as filling in the definition of irony, eh? Or possibly it's a bit of that zen in the kone sense of we're working out: discuss everything but the thing itself. For now.There is a difference between the Who and [the What and the Way]. I make know claims here to know Al Kavadlo - not the intent here. As said, the focus has been to better see if i understand what the person is trying to explore and how the presentation of that WHAT communicates that Way. As said at the outset, while that's an interesting thing, the purpose here is not biography but methodology, and what informs that method. Why care? well, methods like skills are replicable. By exploring the components of a method, we may decide these methods are worth exploring further via replication/emulation in our own personal or coaching practice.
I really hope, therefore, this wee article has given y'all a sense of the Al Kavadlo approach, and why it's that approach (perhaps less than the thing itself) that feels so intriguing, captivating, delightful (and effective) about Al's bringing bodyweight work to the Net.
The Methodology of Presentation
Nice sentiment. But what IS then the AK methodology not of working out - a lot of that is already in WWO - but of re-presentation of work? - Here's a few of the significant bits:- walk the walk - demonstrably
- if your goal is to have folks able to explore pull ups anywhere, show pull ups anywhere.
- If the goal is that anywhere is an opportunity for practice, show that.
- if buddies play a role, show that
- if being at ease and having fun is important, show that
- Be true to your space
- if you do your thing in a park, go demo in the park
- Model progress
- if you're opening the door for someone, demonstrate the completion but especially model a path to completion
- Let the Movement reflect the You, too
- if your style is joy, show joy in the movement.
- Humility before the Bar (or implement/technology of practice)
- repeating the message constantly that these moves are not "owned" once and they're in the bag, but require constant practice
- Respect the body
- finding what works for you and then doing it - alot: al's thing is bodyweight - found after exploring/playing with lots of other stuff.
- food: keeping it real food and hence lean
- movement: endurance and absolute strength not so far apart - so running as a part of practice for instance is part of the WHOLE presentation package - with joy
- Stepping Up
- the videos themselves are a testimony to a public stepping up, but so is putting up in front of others who are likewise practicing. Not (necessarily) a competition, but a reminder that
- we can learn from others
- be encouraged by others
- encourage others
- and keep ourselves honest
- Attitude - of joy and honesty
- this is sorta like let the movement reflect you - but it's also part of the pre movement. Al talks on camera, does voice overs explaining the approach. so the attitude in the movement is the same as in what precedes it.
- Practice - getting in lots of reps - Respect the audience
- Al talks about video'ing himself often for being his own coach; he's also done *lots* of youtube videos. Practice - doing it a lot - finding time to do it a lot - is a kind of respect for the audience.
There are a ton of training vids - this practice of presentation is a key element - caring and working to make it effective from music to voice over to shots - is an undeniable (but often unperceived attribute of) what keeps us coming back, no?
 |
| mc repete apres le model du al k with the gal's first pull upprogress party |
Some of us do some of these things in this list unconsciously. If we grr about our practice, we likely grr if we teach it or when we show off. By stepping back and looking at method deliberately we can CHOOSE to focus on it and act on it. Al's smile, as he says, is his signature. It's certainly what keeps me coming back.
Those of us who do presentations - can we choose to focus on say that vibe that we use in the presentation and keep it in the demo? Or even simply become aware that that's something that can be constructed, created and practiced?
When doing the pull up photo that would become the poster clip for the gal's "my first pull up" progress party - i was definitely thinking (a) being in the environment and (b) expressing joy - this is fun (cuz it is).
That's on the in front of camera part of the presentation; there's also the practice of getting comfortable being on camera AND getting skilled up about some basic video editing, uploading, managing a youtube channel etc - because Al K does it all himself. These are are EACH method decision points: where do we want to put our practice cycles first if we want to communicate online, and in media that's delivered via an online space?
Working the Method. By way of comparison, consider tony horton of p90x fame. If you know P90X, He hits a number of the above components, doesn't he? As a mental exercise to see how method works, one might ask, what would Tony need to add or change to demonstrate the full Al K method for presentation - and still be true to P90X? Is there anyone else you can think of in the presentation of knowledge space where you can check the AK methods of presentation? (We could get into an entire discussion at some point about whether/how coaches need to be able to model physically what they coach).
The goal here is not to say "here's how to clone Al Kavadlo" - but how to look at the methods that are so well done, and think of them as skills we might want to practice if and as we present ourselves/our thing - whatever that is.
To that end, here's a little more un grring bodyweight work with AK.
And, Post Post Script, Thank You
On a personal note, one of the real gifts of Al's stuff? Inspired me to try moves i'd not have thought of exploring before (someone has to help get more images of women doing these moves, eh?...)
 |
| mc recently in Fwance - where now they not only kiss on main street but do elbow levers in the park where "nous faisons de la musculation" |
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Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Consider the Brain as Physical and the 22nd C Trainer may be a Warrior Teaching Nun
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Our brains are physical. Like a leg, an eyeball, a heart.
Our brains are physical.
and really complex.
SO how do we train the physical brain?
I'll suggest below that the physical brain requires three types of training: (1) physical (cardio vascular/mitochondria building related); (2) sensory-motor training and - wait for it - (3) deep, expert conversation. I'll make the case that this latter component has been demonstrated compellingly in a very long standing study on brain disease.
Some coaches/trainers are versed in type one training. Some folks carry out type 2 training -an example of this kind of practice is z-health, like i-phase, discussed in this overview. But what of type 3? of facilitating rich, complex language use, something pretty particular to humans but that has particular physical payoffs for brain function especially in later life? Language as physical.
So this piece is an initial exploration of thinking about the brain as physical and the implications for practice and the professional practice of coaching/training holistic wellbeing/fitness.
That to me is just wild - it's an integral part of a physical being - not where the body is an inconvenient attachment to the brain, or conversely where the brain has no real role in our workouts beyond keeping track of the number of reps we're at in a set.
So if the brain is a part of our body (yes) how do we train the brain for its physical well being? If we have cardio-vascular workouts what are ensephalo workouts?
For some reason it is not initially easy for me to grok seeing the brain like the heart in terms of training. Let's look at this: i mean, when we think of our body, do we think of our brains as part of that, or as something separate from the body? As in, there's the brain and there's the body? How often do we hear that phrase? "The brain/body."
This separation of brain/body is likely not a good idea. When we make this separation, we tend to ignore that our brains need physical support, just like the rest of our physical being. If it's a wee bit of a challenge for you to see the brain in the same context as the heart or lungs, i get it. Maybe this will help: you might say well the heart and lungs benefit from aerobics - they thrive on blood and oxygen so exercise for the heart and lungs - makes sense. But brain damage occurs from the deprivation of oxygen to the brain. Physical well being benefits the brain, too.
But it seems there are also some special kinds of practice that the brain's particular functions benefit from that are more cognitive than physical, BUT that have physical - both brain and body - pay offs. As we'll see - this special kind of workout may need those of us who coach to reconsider just how holistic are our approaches - we may not be as, well, smart, in our coaching as we may have thought we are?
So let's take it from the top again. Our brains are part of our bodies. And just like the rest of our bodies, they're plastic.That means they adapt; they can reshape and hold that new shape. And just like the rest of the body, the brain is a use it or lose it system. And just like the rest of our body, our brains benefit from working out. But our brains seem to need *two* types of working out.
In other words, language practice - not what we think of as a physical thing - builds physical properties / disease defences for the brain. At least we know about the disease defences now - but what else that is also "unseen" until post mortem - and plainly there's much we're not yet "seeing" in these disembodied brains - like how they can appear diseased but not perform as such? Basically: the abstract practice of language takes place in physical space - in the tissues of the brain - and has substantial benefit to whole person performance. WOW.
Personally, i would also like to know who of these nuns actually were the more physically active and how that maps to the results, too. Did they garden or did they play a field sport or ride a bike? Would the same results around idea density be found with accomplished dancers, athletes or artists? Or is there something particular about language, for which our brains seem particularly adapted in so many ways (language centers specifically, for instance) that requires this particular skill to reduce these brain risks?
And like other physical practice, language skills/language expression can be practiced, too. We never stop adapting: we can get better what we practice physically and intellectually. One way to practice nudging ourselves in language: we can go deeper into developing our expertise on a topic. We don't stop there; we re-present that information; we practice explain it. The ability to express something at a more expert level is part of assessing idea density (pdf of paper).
In wellbeing there are so many topics where we can go deeper into our knowledge of practice: nutrition, physiology, anatomy, neurology itself. Like picking an exercise program, we don't have to get the "right" topic, we just need to start.
And practice.
And perhaps step up from time to time.
We know how in physical practice, there are competitions: team challenges, individual lifting competitions, etc, where we can test ourselves from time to time? Same thing with intellectual work. We can do courses with exams; collaborate on paper writing, give a guest lecture for a class - or a group - we just need to make sure there's a bona fide expert in the room who will be able to assess how credible we are, and how well we handle questions.
We can improve our performance in these scenario by getting our heart rates up before a performance/test and by sipping water throughout - but that's for another post.
The main thing - our brains are physical - need reps just like the rest of us; they just need - it seems - two kinds: they need physical and cognitive stimulation.
How do we do that? Working the good ol' sagittal plane may just not be enough.
So in 2013, if we're coaches, how are we going to bring brain-as-part-of-the-body assessment into our client history? If we're coaches, how will we coach brain health? how coach improvement for idea density? If we are our own coaches, how will we develop a program to support this?
Part 2 - More of the Brain Engaged - But to start to get engagement with as much of the brain as possible - so that it does fire on all cylinders we may want to explore greater ranges of full on sensory stimulation: visual, vestibular, proprioceptive - this means working just the good ol sagittal plane may be missing greater brain engagement. In my experience, so far, Z-Health (faq) has the most developed systems for approaching this encephalo-aspect of brain as part of the body training. If you're not familiar with Z-Health, there's a swath of articles here about various aspects of the approach.
Part 3 - As for those components of language enervation shown in the nun study to be able to overcome the physical deterioration of the brain that usually signifies cognitive deterioration, one might be tempted to say well that's the role of a classical education is it not? Where learning to think and to speak well, to converse intelligently is not a sign of snootery but in what we see here, physical resilience. But if we're coaches we're not grades school teachers; and we're not ph.d's.
Hmm. Some of us are. That aside, imagine if we were - if not ph d's - at least licensed professionals rather than weekend certified quacks that most of us are. But even that aside, what if that new licensed, registered profession took into account not just the physical training of strength or fitness, not just the sensory motor development of the brain/body connection, but also took into account this intellectual as physical development of the brain for our longitudinal health, not just the today look in the mirror health.
A good education indeed includes all these aspects. Perhaps we just haven't had all this physical evidence to prove and thus tweak the connections between these components, but it's overwhelming isn't it, that quality of life - of long life - demands it?
As coaches, how many of us really think long term about our clients? Or are we often forced to be politicians, to focus on the current term/session, rather than the lifetime of the client?
This last section has not been meant as a criticism of any individual or for that matter any current training qualification program: it's a critique of our practice. What are we really doing here? How are we trained to do it? What is acceptable to us as clients? If we can barely stand to work out on our own or with a trainer for an hour, what is wrong with us? If as a trainer we wants to minimize sessions to less than an hour what's wrong with us?
Once upon a time in a galaxy far far away, when education was important, the curriculum included physical and intellectual practice. Throughout history, the great innovators have been - i'm convinced - people who have been both physical and intellectual if not a bit spiritual.
Maybe if we were to create a profession - one where the trainer is as respected as the doctor or whomever is respected these days - the concept of trainer would disappear (and really what does that tell us that our culture has evolved a job like "trainer"? ) - and we would be back to educators. But instead of having a Physics teacher AND a PE teacher, what if they were the same? If students would have to know these subjects why not the teachers?
And as we moved through life, we would keep up our health and our intellectual practice that we learned in school - because school wouldn't be a prison or just a party, but would be where we learned to feel the best we could possibly feel because we would know ourselves. We could use assessments whether EEG's of our brains during sleep or step counters or ph strips to understand ourselves and tune ourselves and our social encounters to be better. Converse, play an instrument, read, speak well, do science, do ourselves.
What can i say - i've seen cloud atlas, the movie: the future might be very interesting looking. Education may make a come back.
Ok, i'll stop there. THis article was going to be a review of health and wellbeing books i've enjoyed in 2012 - and then this happened. Thanks for listening. will be keen to hear your thoughts.
A challenge? There are some challenges for new kinds of training/coaching for total body, total physical health that has to involve the physical brain - that training for physical brain well being is multi-sensoral and intellectual as well as physical. I've suggested that by the 22nd C we may get how to do this right in terms of professional practice and cultural figures that will initiate these practices for us. How do we get from now to then? Can we do so in less than 100 years? How do we contribute today?
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Our brains are physical.
and really complex.
SO how do we train the physical brain?
| Philosophia: how do you work out? |
Some coaches/trainers are versed in type one training. Some folks carry out type 2 training -an example of this kind of practice is z-health, like i-phase, discussed in this overview. But what of type 3? of facilitating rich, complex language use, something pretty particular to humans but that has particular physical payoffs for brain function especially in later life? Language as physical.
So this piece is an initial exploration of thinking about the brain as physical and the implications for practice and the professional practice of coaching/training holistic wellbeing/fitness.
Shall we stop the Brain/Body division in our Language?
The brain is physicalThat to me is just wild - it's an integral part of a physical being - not where the body is an inconvenient attachment to the brain, or conversely where the brain has no real role in our workouts beyond keeping track of the number of reps we're at in a set.
So if the brain is a part of our body (yes) how do we train the brain for its physical well being? If we have cardio-vascular workouts what are ensephalo workouts?
How Train The Brain - For its Physical Well Being?
This separation of brain/body is likely not a good idea. When we make this separation, we tend to ignore that our brains need physical support, just like the rest of our physical being. If it's a wee bit of a challenge for you to see the brain in the same context as the heart or lungs, i get it. Maybe this will help: you might say well the heart and lungs benefit from aerobics - they thrive on blood and oxygen so exercise for the heart and lungs - makes sense. But brain damage occurs from the deprivation of oxygen to the brain. Physical well being benefits the brain, too.
But it seems there are also some special kinds of practice that the brain's particular functions benefit from that are more cognitive than physical, BUT that have physical - both brain and body - pay offs. As we'll see - this special kind of workout may need those of us who coach to reconsider just how holistic are our approaches - we may not be as, well, smart, in our coaching as we may have thought we are?
One: We usually think of our brains for our smarts, our cognitive performance. That cognitive performance simply improves by our activity level. If you really want to get into the research around this fact, take a look at the second half of this tech report called "burn the chair." My favorite take away here is that according to the results of a very large, compelling study (the whitehall cohort study), being sedentary over time does in fact make us stupid. or stupid-er. Movement is important for cognition. Move; be smarter.
Two: it seems from long term research looking at brains of nuns who have willed their brains to science (work aptly called the Nun Study, overview from WIRED here) that idea density is related to the plasticity and resilience of the brain itself. Idea density is a now pretty standard psychological measure of the number of propositions used to express a concept. Roger Martin has a lovely piece from 1996 to explain the idea density concept.
A bottom line from the nun study work: poorer/simpler language skills earlier in life seems to be strongly correlated to a significantly higher risk of dementia and Alzheimers. One of the ways the researchers saw this resilience was not just in the live, life-time testing of cognitive performance between the nuns, but also looking at their actual, physical brains, post-mortem. What they saw were brains that physically LOOKED like the brains were in a state of dementia, BUT many nuns showed no SIGNS of dementia. The ones who did not seem to have had the higher idea density/richer language skills.
Personally, i would also like to know who of these nuns actually were the more physically active and how that maps to the results, too. Did they garden or did they play a field sport or ride a bike? Would the same results around idea density be found with accomplished dancers, athletes or artists? Or is there something particular about language, for which our brains seem particularly adapted in so many ways (language centers specifically, for instance) that requires this particular skill to reduce these brain risks?
Nudging the Physical Brain via Intellectual/Cognitive Skills Practice
The suggestion from the ongoing results from the Nun Study (and there is tons of work since it started in 1986) when combined with all the work in the physical / cognitive performance space overviewed in Burn the Chair suggests that we need good dolops of both physical movement and intellectual engagement (specifically in language) for the ongoing health of our brains, that very physical part of our bodies.And like other physical practice, language skills/language expression can be practiced, too. We never stop adapting: we can get better what we practice physically and intellectually. One way to practice nudging ourselves in language: we can go deeper into developing our expertise on a topic. We don't stop there; we re-present that information; we practice explain it. The ability to express something at a more expert level is part of assessing idea density (pdf of paper).
 |
| Kandel's Principles of Neural Science, new 5th edition, fabulous text for beginner and expert to look at this topic. (US/ UK) |
And practice.
And perhaps step up from time to time.
We know how in physical practice, there are competitions: team challenges, individual lifting competitions, etc, where we can test ourselves from time to time? Same thing with intellectual work. We can do courses with exams; collaborate on paper writing, give a guest lecture for a class - or a group - we just need to make sure there's a bona fide expert in the room who will be able to assess how credible we are, and how well we handle questions.
We can improve our performance in these scenario by getting our heart rates up before a performance/test and by sipping water throughout - but that's for another post.
The main thing - our brains are physical - need reps just like the rest of us; they just need - it seems - two kinds: they need physical and cognitive stimulation.
How do we do that? Working the good ol' sagittal plane may just not be enough.
The Future of Physical Culture - includes the physical brain
The point of this post? In our physical training, we get very good about training a lot of the body. When we remember that we need to train all of it - including the brain, just like the heart and the lungs - we have a new opportunity and possibly requirement for pushing our practice to affect our brains physical wellbeing. That's amazing.So in 2013, if we're coaches, how are we going to bring brain-as-part-of-the-body assessment into our client history? If we're coaches, how will we coach brain health? how coach improvement for idea density? If we are our own coaches, how will we develop a program to support this?
Some considerations for Holistic Physical Brain Training
Part 1 - Trad "Physical Health/Movement" Physical stimulation of the brain may mean both creating an optimal healthy environment for the brain - so movement works here.Part 2 - More of the Brain Engaged - But to start to get engagement with as much of the brain as possible - so that it does fire on all cylinders we may want to explore greater ranges of full on sensory stimulation: visual, vestibular, proprioceptive - this means working just the good ol sagittal plane may be missing greater brain engagement. In my experience, so far, Z-Health (faq) has the most developed systems for approaching this encephalo-aspect of brain as part of the body training. If you're not familiar with Z-Health, there's a swath of articles here about various aspects of the approach.
Part 3 - As for those components of language enervation shown in the nun study to be able to overcome the physical deterioration of the brain that usually signifies cognitive deterioration, one might be tempted to say well that's the role of a classical education is it not? Where learning to think and to speak well, to converse intelligently is not a sign of snootery but in what we see here, physical resilience. But if we're coaches we're not grades school teachers; and we're not ph.d's.
Hmm. Some of us are. That aside, imagine if we were - if not ph d's - at least licensed professionals rather than weekend certified quacks that most of us are. But even that aside, what if that new licensed, registered profession took into account not just the physical training of strength or fitness, not just the sensory motor development of the brain/body connection, but also took into account this intellectual as physical development of the brain for our longitudinal health, not just the today look in the mirror health.
A good education indeed includes all these aspects. Perhaps we just haven't had all this physical evidence to prove and thus tweak the connections between these components, but it's overwhelming isn't it, that quality of life - of long life - demands it?
As coaches, how many of us really think long term about our clients? Or are we often forced to be politicians, to focus on the current term/session, rather than the lifetime of the client?
Nuns and Monks; The 22nd Century Trainer as Mendicant Warrior Teachers?
This last section has not been meant as a criticism of any individual or for that matter any current training qualification program: it's a critique of our practice. What are we really doing here? How are we trained to do it? What is acceptable to us as clients? If we can barely stand to work out on our own or with a trainer for an hour, what is wrong with us? If as a trainer we wants to minimize sessions to less than an hour what's wrong with us?
Once upon a time in a galaxy far far away, when education was important, the curriculum included physical and intellectual practice. Throughout history, the great innovators have been - i'm convinced - people who have been both physical and intellectual if not a bit spiritual.
Maybe if we were to create a profession - one where the trainer is as respected as the doctor or whomever is respected these days - the concept of trainer would disappear (and really what does that tell us that our culture has evolved a job like "trainer"? ) - and we would be back to educators. But instead of having a Physics teacher AND a PE teacher, what if they were the same? If students would have to know these subjects why not the teachers?
And as we moved through life, we would keep up our health and our intellectual practice that we learned in school - because school wouldn't be a prison or just a party, but would be where we learned to feel the best we could possibly feel because we would know ourselves. We could use assessments whether EEG's of our brains during sleep or step counters or ph strips to understand ourselves and tune ourselves and our social encounters to be better. Converse, play an instrument, read, speak well, do science, do ourselves.
What can i say - i've seen cloud atlas, the movie: the future might be very interesting looking. Education may make a come back.
Ok, i'll stop there. THis article was going to be a review of health and wellbeing books i've enjoyed in 2012 - and then this happened. Thanks for listening. will be keen to hear your thoughts.
A challenge? There are some challenges for new kinds of training/coaching for total body, total physical health that has to involve the physical brain - that training for physical brain well being is multi-sensoral and intellectual as well as physical. I've suggested that by the 22nd C we may get how to do this right in terms of professional practice and cultural figures that will initiate these practices for us. How do we get from now to then? Can we do so in less than 100 years? How do we contribute today?
Tweet Follow @begin2dig
Saturday, December 29, 2012
In strength, the most reps with the best volume/intensity wins?
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In strength work, there are so many ways to skin a cat. There are so many ways to get to be able to move more load. But when it comes to skills (and strength is a ....), it seems that over and over what is required is to perform the thing over and over.
In strength training this over and over-ness is celebrated in what might be term the Fundamental Unit of Strength Practice: the Rep - as in the REP-etition. How many reps are in a set, how many sets for total reps. And more:
Note that getting reps says nothing about load - just to learn a skill, we need reps.
In strength work, we're trying to induce a particular change: to get stronger. How 'bout that. Getting stronger requires the body being made to adapt to new loads (as best as we understand it - that requirement to grow/change/adapt is crucial to nudging strength).
In this case, where strength is a skill and we need reps to build a skill, and we need load change to nudge strength development, it seems we have a bit of a conundrum: how to blend reps (lots of reps) and load with appropriate recovery to gain skill/strength.
i hypothesize i was also reteaching my spirit that my shoulder WAS getting better, and that i will press again. and again and again. The adaptation here is for re-modelling everything from tissue to movement patterns. A sufficient load for a challenge in each rep, but also to enable sets of (for me) 50 to 75 to 100 at a go, with short breaks of 1-3 minutes before diving in again.
SO many reps - so many form-perfect reps. I'm trying to remodel pain free firing patterns, too. Part of the problem of an injury is that it can literally cause proper muscle patterns to get fouled up, so that the coordination of the movement is off to compensate around where pain is/has been (there is research here but i do not have the papers to hand. dang. i'll fill this in anon).
I suspect that re-injuries occur once someone says they feel better often because the feeling better is of an out-of-balance firing pattern - or a pattern where part of the muscle itself may not be firing. Re-patterning the whole movement without pain, over and over again i'm guessing in no small part is telling the body/brain that the right pattern is safe. This is a hypothesis on my part, based on my own experience and in working with folks where there muscles are in part "off" post injury and post rehab, and where cuing them to come back on contributes almost immediately to getting out of pain.
My own pain forced me to explore mega reps: it's all i could do, and colleagues i'd trusted said then do that - lots and lots and lots. They were right. Perfect form, burning it in. That's a great foundation for re-building even better strength than ever before. Really (example story).
My coaching thoughts at this point would be: if someone is learning a movement in strength and they care about it and want to excel at it then make this band work a volume day for one's training to get to the 10k point in reps. I'd also recommend working with a coach to make sure the movement getting repped in is a good one, then do the 10k. At one volume session a week, that's 2.5 months. Taking the long view for a life time of lifting, that 2.5 months for bullet proofing doesn't sound like much does it?
Think Karate Kid: Wax on; wax off - it pays off, no?
I find this a very satisfying way to train for light-ish days - though that's a bit of a misnomer. Anyone who's ever done 10 sets of ten pistols per leg, bodyweight, will tell you - i'm guessing - that that's not nothing. At least that's my story and i'm sticking with it.
Ken Froese calls such 100 kinds of days "play" days - as in explore a movement - get to know it - use a weight that enables a challenge and fatigue at post 10. This kind of practice is about getting stronger, but also building up knowledge of a movement. If we want to get in 10,000 such reps to build up expertise. that's 100 days of 100 reps - that's likely 2 years for once a week volume limited to 100 reps.
From a motor learning perspective, we actually need hundreds of thousands of reps to get to a place where they are as unconscious in their performance as a skill like walking. If we think about sports like tennis where someone is swinging swinging swinging with the raquet, forehand, backhand, slicing, dicing - they may have an advantage of getting to those high reps sooner, eh to "own" that movement?
Now there is *some* suggestion/hypothesizing that load *may* cut down some of the number of reps required in terms of learning - why? because more muscle fibers and so more nerves will get involved in learning that movement, and so movement learning *may* be slightly accelerated. But what's the ratio? 2reps at 90% is worth 5 at 85%? - not quite ready to go there.
What does seem clear is that adding load/challenge can accelerate a learning insight, but that we still need to rep that insight in for the patterns to become autonomic.
Now that is not a lot of reps. But it's in the zone of Prilepin's table (and how to use it) for a heavy practice in the 80% zone. Prilepin is something power lifter Fawn Friday turned me on to (pointing to this youtube summary in particular). It's been very good - the table - for generating some two dozen world records, apparently.
So, if the volume days let my nervous system get used to the movement, then the load days let my body figure out how to add one more element to the practice: load. The body has to fire up more muscle fibers; there may be in fact different firing patterns with load; different timings; different balance. So getting experience with a heavier load - and getting reps in - means a different kind of training. If we want volume, we need more recovery.
Distributing the load across time is where the protocol known as Grease the Groove can be handy - grabbing those challenging reps whenever the opportunitiy presents itself.
What i have found however, is that when i'm initially working up to a new load, i need that full workout before hand - it's a warm up or something - that initially i cannot just step in and get a rep with a 20 or with a 24. I need time for it to become familiar (or perhaps you're saying that's me just becoming stronger. strength is a .... )
For instance, today it was: first rep of three rung ladder (which is effectively a single) was 22kg, then the second and third rungs (2 and 3 reps each, or double followed by triple) were with a 20kg.
Then at the end of the work out, i did a few singles just with the 24. These 22's and definitely 24s are the ones of which i can only do after getting in ladders of 20s - so far.
Of course when we get to singles we add in another version of the Rep - the One Rep Max, or Intensity.
Double Prilepin Workout? What's surprising to me is that my heaviest lifts -at or approaching a 1RM -will come at the end of a long workout - an hour or so in like with that 24kg press. I may only get one rep here. or a few. They're exciting.
These singles suggest that all the previous working sets are a kind of warm up? I dunno - as said - it seems like a kind of double Prilipen - the 80% workout followed by a 90%+ - does that make sense?
I have tested this repeatedly where i have tried a new load earlier in the practice session and not gotten it; tried again much latter, and voila. Beautiful.
What is happening here? Shouldn't i be more fatigued by this point? it's not like i've been pulling any punches with the work done to that point? Fascinating. But i enjoy it and it seems to be working.
But for today,
this article started with the observation there are so many ways to skin a cat - to get a lift - easy strength; waving loads; german volume training; periodization etc etc.
There are more programs than sense, are there not?
How decide?
So, a question: if in music, chess, sport (like soccer or tennis), programming, the most reps leads to the best results,
In strength training - does the person with the most reps, the best volume, simply win? Follow up question: win not just for now, but consecutively?
Even if there is no best plan, best program, might optimising for most reps have particular fringe benefits that go beyond the success/goal of the moment?
Related Posts
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In strength training this over and over-ness is celebrated in what might be term the Fundamental Unit of Strength Practice: the Rep - as in the REP-etition. How many reps are in a set, how many sets for total reps. And more:
Total reps * load = Volume (mass)
(Total reps * load) / time = Density (load/min)
everything in strength practice is factored around the rep (etition).
Likewise In learning a motor skill (and strength is a....) there is no way around number of reps. Before we can get to a point where we can effectively correct ourselves, to have enough awareness in ourselves about a movement, we need 1000's of reps. Actually, tens of thousands. For that skill to become as basic as walking - hundreds of thousands.Note that getting reps says nothing about load - just to learn a skill, we need reps.
In strength work, we're trying to induce a particular change: to get stronger. How 'bout that. Getting stronger requires the body being made to adapt to new loads (as best as we understand it - that requirement to grow/change/adapt is crucial to nudging strength).
In this case, where strength is a skill and we need reps to build a skill, and we need load change to nudge strength development, it seems we have a bit of a conundrum: how to blend reps (lots of reps) and load with appropriate recovery to gain skill/strength.
Total reps * load = VolumeHere are some of the ways i've been exploring ratios of reps with load/time for strength skills practice: looking at how to get 1000s, 100s, 10's and 1's.
(Total reps * load) / time = Density
1000s: rehabbing from injury; rebuilding a movement map.
When i was doing literally thousands of reps with a band for my shoulder, i was both strengthening it, repairing it and relearning the movement of the press (and the pull - do 1000s of presses, gotta do an equal and opposite movement: thousands of pulls).i hypothesize i was also reteaching my spirit that my shoulder WAS getting better, and that i will press again. and again and again. The adaptation here is for re-modelling everything from tissue to movement patterns. A sufficient load for a challenge in each rep, but also to enable sets of (for me) 50 to 75 to 100 at a go, with short breaks of 1-3 minutes before diving in again.
SO many reps - so many form-perfect reps. I'm trying to remodel pain free firing patterns, too. Part of the problem of an injury is that it can literally cause proper muscle patterns to get fouled up, so that the coordination of the movement is off to compensate around where pain is/has been (there is research here but i do not have the papers to hand. dang. i'll fill this in anon).
I suspect that re-injuries occur once someone says they feel better often because the feeling better is of an out-of-balance firing pattern - or a pattern where part of the muscle itself may not be firing. Re-patterning the whole movement without pain, over and over again i'm guessing in no small part is telling the body/brain that the right pattern is safe. This is a hypothesis on my part, based on my own experience and in working with folks where there muscles are in part "off" post injury and post rehab, and where cuing them to come back on contributes almost immediately to getting out of pain.
My own pain forced me to explore mega reps: it's all i could do, and colleagues i'd trusted said then do that - lots and lots and lots. They were right. Perfect form, burning it in. That's a great foundation for re-building even better strength than ever before. Really (example story).
My coaching thoughts at this point would be: if someone is learning a movement in strength and they care about it and want to excel at it then make this band work a volume day for one's training to get to the 10k point in reps. I'd also recommend working with a coach to make sure the movement getting repped in is a good one, then do the 10k. At one volume session a week, that's 2.5 months. Taking the long view for a life time of lifting, that 2.5 months for bullet proofing doesn't sound like much does it?
Think Karate Kid: Wax on; wax off - it pays off, no?
100s: Exploring a Movement with greater Load; Hypertrophy
This past year, Kenneth Jay introduced me to German Volume Training - a well known protocol for hypertrophy. Alas, i don't do hypertrophy it seems. But i do like volume training this way. For KJ, it's sets of ten with a load where the 11th or 12th rep would be failure, and not allowing full recovery between sets (30-60sec). So ten sets of ten.I find this a very satisfying way to train for light-ish days - though that's a bit of a misnomer. Anyone who's ever done 10 sets of ten pistols per leg, bodyweight, will tell you - i'm guessing - that that's not nothing. At least that's my story and i'm sticking with it.
Ken Froese calls such 100 kinds of days "play" days - as in explore a movement - get to know it - use a weight that enables a challenge and fatigue at post 10. This kind of practice is about getting stronger, but also building up knowledge of a movement. If we want to get in 10,000 such reps to build up expertise. that's 100 days of 100 reps - that's likely 2 years for once a week volume limited to 100 reps.
From a motor learning perspective, we actually need hundreds of thousands of reps to get to a place where they are as unconscious in their performance as a skill like walking. If we think about sports like tennis where someone is swinging swinging swinging with the raquet, forehand, backhand, slicing, dicing - they may have an advantage of getting to those high reps sooner, eh to "own" that movement?
Now there is *some* suggestion/hypothesizing that load *may* cut down some of the number of reps required in terms of learning - why? because more muscle fibers and so more nerves will get involved in learning that movement, and so movement learning *may* be slightly accelerated. But what's the ratio? 2reps at 90% is worth 5 at 85%? - not quite ready to go there.
What does seem clear is that adding load/challenge can accelerate a learning insight, but that we still need to rep that insight in for the patterns to become autonomic.
10's: Getting to the Heavy Stuff
I have found in my own practice that i value volume like crazy but that i also require time for heavier loads in my strength practice. This is why my particular approach - what i really enjoy - is a volume day and a load day when working on progressing a lift. The heavy days mean usually three rung ladders and some singles work. I may end a 90min session with 25 reps total.Now that is not a lot of reps. But it's in the zone of Prilepin's table (and how to use it) for a heavy practice in the 80% zone. Prilepin is something power lifter Fawn Friday turned me on to (pointing to this youtube summary in particular). It's been very good - the table - for generating some two dozen world records, apparently.
 |
| Prilepin's Table |
Distributing the load across time is where the protocol known as Grease the Groove can be handy - grabbing those challenging reps whenever the opportunitiy presents itself.
What i have found however, is that when i'm initially working up to a new load, i need that full workout before hand - it's a warm up or something - that initially i cannot just step in and get a rep with a 20 or with a 24. I need time for it to become familiar (or perhaps you're saying that's me just becoming stronger. strength is a .... )
1's: singles - the beauty of the One in Ten Thousand. The Goal.
In the workouts with the 10s of reps rather than the 100's i also value the singles. I'm not sure if that means i do a kind of double Prilipen: sets of 1-3 reps (usually three rung ladders), then heavier singles. Sometimes the first rep of a ladder is the heavier load, that i can do for a single, then loads i can do for triples.For instance, today it was: first rep of three rung ladder (which is effectively a single) was 22kg, then the second and third rungs (2 and 3 reps each, or double followed by triple) were with a 20kg.
Then at the end of the work out, i did a few singles just with the 24. These 22's and definitely 24s are the ones of which i can only do after getting in ladders of 20s - so far.
Of course when we get to singles we add in another version of the Rep - the One Rep Max, or Intensity.
( Current Lift / One Rep Max ) * 100 = % of 1RMThe "% of 1 rep max" is what's used in the Prilepin table, above.
Double Prilepin Workout? What's surprising to me is that my heaviest lifts -at or approaching a 1RM -will come at the end of a long workout - an hour or so in like with that 24kg press. I may only get one rep here. or a few. They're exciting.
These singles suggest that all the previous working sets are a kind of warm up? I dunno - as said - it seems like a kind of double Prilipen - the 80% workout followed by a 90%+ - does that make sense?
I have tested this repeatedly where i have tried a new load earlier in the practice session and not gotten it; tried again much latter, and voila. Beautiful.
What is happening here? Shouldn't i be more fatigued by this point? it's not like i've been pulling any punches with the work done to that point? Fascinating. But i enjoy it and it seems to be working.
Reps: Beyond the Lift - keeping mobile
At some point, we can talk about Reps, in terms of building movement, and being more than just about strength. there we might discuss other aspects of our practice where we need reps - for energy systems, different planes of movement than the forever sagital.But for today,
this article started with the observation there are so many ways to skin a cat - to get a lift - easy strength; waving loads; german volume training; periodization etc etc.
There are more programs than sense, are there not?
How decide?
So, a question: if in music, chess, sport (like soccer or tennis), programming, the most reps leads to the best results,
In strength training - does the person with the most reps, the best volume, simply win? Follow up question: win not just for now, but consecutively?
Even if there is no best plan, best program, might optimising for most reps have particular fringe benefits that go beyond the success/goal of the moment?
Related Posts
- The Perfect Rep Quest: early exploration with volume
- When is More More?
- Ten Thousand hours and the Kettlebell Clean
- The Early Perfect Rep/Form experiment
- Motivation/Habit Forming - motivation as skill
- Dietary Change of habit
- Asha Wagner - volume for skill
- Iron Maiden experience
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Friday, December 21, 2012
Shayne Autry, Dec 19, 2012 - in Memorium -
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I'm not sure how to describe Shayne Autry. I kinda fell in love with Shayne the first time i interacted with him. This was at a z-health course - sustenance - and one of the exercises was to team up and practice active listening. Shayne and i were sitting close to each other so we teamed up. I was supposed to talk about something to do with my training and he was supposed to practice listening, reflecting and i think making some suggestions.
I immediately felt safe starting to chat with Shayne, first because he seemed quietly self-possessed, second because of his lovely texas accent, and third, well, third, Shayne and i are about the same height. What some might call "short."
Beyond these qualities, what made me feel so sweet on Shayne is how well he listened and how well he engaged - i felt heard and like my practice was going to get better.
Shayne could also do amazing movements on the rings - there was a set hanging up where we were at - and he was lovely in his demonstration of skills, and kind in his demonstration of techniques to progress a movement. I was taken with the muscle up, and i recall how he gently and clearly demonstrated the role of the hand position in getting the muscle up on the rings.
I had no idea that this grounded guy was also a 5th degree karate black belt instructor. I learned this later - and not from him - at another course. Why i say i have no idea is that i was more accustomed to the folks who made their martial arts prowess a thing. If you're in this space you likely know what i mean: the guys with the chest forward and the shaved head whose sentences are often peppered with references to their particular speciality. This is not a critique - just an observation of how many of the folks in that space recognize each other. It's a kind of uniform. IT's not however the uniform that shayne wore - at least not where i encountered him, which was in Phoenix on courses. There you're seeing a guy in sandles, jammers, a loose t-shirt, longish hair tied back in a pony tale, beard. Everything looked relaxed, loose, compact.
When i learned about his martial arts expertise, i thought you are like columbo or the spy in sun tzu who no one would expect is the expert, the gymnast, the lethal fists. So impressed that what came to the fore was just this warm, welcoming Texan.
I can't say i "know" Shayne at all. I think i've seen him in person less than a handful of times - always at courses, but always looked forward to seeing him, hearing his voice and especially seeing his awesome smile. It just wouldn't be the same if he wasn't there.
I remember last year when i think i learned about him running his own academy thinking that ya, what a great coach - his students must be so lucky to have him teach them martial arts. And i'd again be struck with how un-pre-possessing this guy who could likely kill me faster than look at me, seemed to be.
video put together by one of Shayne's cousins
Over the past year or so, Shayne and i connected mainly over the net via posts on Facebook - he'd reply to something on one of my posts; i'd reply to one of his. Mostly kibitzing. I don't know why - we just did. It was alway a kind of Warm feeling that another human being was connecting not just with the b2d stuff, but more often the regular fb posts - not conversations - just contact - a virtual smile - acknowledgement - i dunno. Friendly and fun. I think we spoke more this way online - with these kinda virtual buddy shoulder punches - than we did in person.
The last contact i have from Shayne is a message shortly after an FB event b2d hosted - a one arm push up progress party. Shayne sent me a direct message - first time - saying he thought he might have a way to improve my push up and to call him. Remembering his muscle up ideas, i was really excited that he was offering some thoughts here. And how interesting that he was offering his phone number for contact rather than a message contact or public post.
I'd been on the road at the time his note came in and just saw it the other day. Calling...Guess i missed him...
Then i saw the email from zhealth saying that Shayne had died and there were as yet no other details about cause of death. He was 37. 37.
I still can't parse this. Did i just miss him? Did he want to talk? Hello? Is anybody there?
Shayne, i'm so so so sorry i missed you. That's just not right. None of this is right.
What happened? What can i do?
Despite not knowing Shayne deeply, Shayne's digital greetings have been a gift in my life, and i'm feeling the loss suddenly, keenly. It's a hole around something i didn't really even know i had. It's arrival was unexpected; its departure, more wrenching than expected having reflected on what is lost and that will never be there again.
And that i missed his call seemingly offered so close to the end of his whole life - his whole life. What did i miss? Could i have been there for him in some way?
That seems the most bitter: to have been so close to that moment and there is no "catch ya later." It's gone. Shayne's just gone.
So no i don't know really how do describe Shayne in any kind of deep knowing way to tell you any part of his story; i can't witness anything else about him, beyond these glimpses of someone who seemed to be a warm and generous human being, someone i'd trust as a coach, and recommend to anyone else who might be in his area, and loved in these exchanges where the words weren't important; it was just the contact, the presence. It occurs to me how potent this contact has been - what a gift.
Of all the folks i know, he's one of the few who so regularly reached out to just make contact - and never asked for anything back. I realise thinking on this how rare that kind of contact is, and how delightful, how priceless. It's amazing to me, i think, that such quality can shine through, be so potent, even with so little quantity. That's powerful isn't it? That is a kind of testimony to person. A proof that he was here. Will be remembered warmly and missed deeply for at least these gifts.
For those who don't know Shayne and may be wondering why i'm using this blog to talk about Shayne, please allow me to offer this: i think it is important to recognize that a really good member of the health and wellbeing community is gone. That someone who helped shape a profound aspect of people's lives be recognised for this work.
WE are so few of us famous but still profoundly affect the lives around us and so out of repsect should be named, honored, noted, remembered. Shayne Autry stepped here.
I'm glad to have known him even to this small degree, glad to be able to tell you about him, sorry i can't introduce you to him, but hope you will raise a glass this holiday to the good folks who have tried to make our lives better - and even not knowing him - take my word for it if you might - that he's worth remembering in that toast too.
Miss you, Shayne.
mc
Tweet Follow @begin2dig
I'm not sure how to describe Shayne Autry. I kinda fell in love with Shayne the first time i interacted with him. This was at a z-health course - sustenance - and one of the exercises was to team up and practice active listening. Shayne and i were sitting close to each other so we teamed up. I was supposed to talk about something to do with my training and he was supposed to practice listening, reflecting and i think making some suggestions.
 |
| This photo was taken by Kathy Graves, Shane's buddy, and fellow karate expert and zhealth trainer/co-course attender. |
I immediately felt safe starting to chat with Shayne, first because he seemed quietly self-possessed, second because of his lovely texas accent, and third, well, third, Shayne and i are about the same height. What some might call "short."
Beyond these qualities, what made me feel so sweet on Shayne is how well he listened and how well he engaged - i felt heard and like my practice was going to get better.
Shayne could also do amazing movements on the rings - there was a set hanging up where we were at - and he was lovely in his demonstration of skills, and kind in his demonstration of techniques to progress a movement. I was taken with the muscle up, and i recall how he gently and clearly demonstrated the role of the hand position in getting the muscle up on the rings.
I had no idea that this grounded guy was also a 5th degree karate black belt instructor. I learned this later - and not from him - at another course. Why i say i have no idea is that i was more accustomed to the folks who made their martial arts prowess a thing. If you're in this space you likely know what i mean: the guys with the chest forward and the shaved head whose sentences are often peppered with references to their particular speciality. This is not a critique - just an observation of how many of the folks in that space recognize each other. It's a kind of uniform. IT's not however the uniform that shayne wore - at least not where i encountered him, which was in Phoenix on courses. There you're seeing a guy in sandles, jammers, a loose t-shirt, longish hair tied back in a pony tale, beard. Everything looked relaxed, loose, compact.
When i learned about his martial arts expertise, i thought you are like columbo or the spy in sun tzu who no one would expect is the expert, the gymnast, the lethal fists. So impressed that what came to the fore was just this warm, welcoming Texan.
I can't say i "know" Shayne at all. I think i've seen him in person less than a handful of times - always at courses, but always looked forward to seeing him, hearing his voice and especially seeing his awesome smile. It just wouldn't be the same if he wasn't there.
I remember last year when i think i learned about him running his own academy thinking that ya, what a great coach - his students must be so lucky to have him teach them martial arts. And i'd again be struck with how un-pre-possessing this guy who could likely kill me faster than look at me, seemed to be.
video put together by one of Shayne's cousins
Over the past year or so, Shayne and i connected mainly over the net via posts on Facebook - he'd reply to something on one of my posts; i'd reply to one of his. Mostly kibitzing. I don't know why - we just did. It was alway a kind of Warm feeling that another human being was connecting not just with the b2d stuff, but more often the regular fb posts - not conversations - just contact - a virtual smile - acknowledgement - i dunno. Friendly and fun. I think we spoke more this way online - with these kinda virtual buddy shoulder punches - than we did in person.
The last contact i have from Shayne is a message shortly after an FB event b2d hosted - a one arm push up progress party. Shayne sent me a direct message - first time - saying he thought he might have a way to improve my push up and to call him. Remembering his muscle up ideas, i was really excited that he was offering some thoughts here. And how interesting that he was offering his phone number for contact rather than a message contact or public post.
I'd been on the road at the time his note came in and just saw it the other day. Calling...Guess i missed him...
Then i saw the email from zhealth saying that Shayne had died and there were as yet no other details about cause of death. He was 37. 37.
I still can't parse this. Did i just miss him? Did he want to talk? Hello? Is anybody there?
Shayne, i'm so so so sorry i missed you. That's just not right. None of this is right.
What happened? What can i do?
Despite not knowing Shayne deeply, Shayne's digital greetings have been a gift in my life, and i'm feeling the loss suddenly, keenly. It's a hole around something i didn't really even know i had. It's arrival was unexpected; its departure, more wrenching than expected having reflected on what is lost and that will never be there again.
And that i missed his call seemingly offered so close to the end of his whole life - his whole life. What did i miss? Could i have been there for him in some way?
That seems the most bitter: to have been so close to that moment and there is no "catch ya later." It's gone. Shayne's just gone.
So no i don't know really how do describe Shayne in any kind of deep knowing way to tell you any part of his story; i can't witness anything else about him, beyond these glimpses of someone who seemed to be a warm and generous human being, someone i'd trust as a coach, and recommend to anyone else who might be in his area, and loved in these exchanges where the words weren't important; it was just the contact, the presence. It occurs to me how potent this contact has been - what a gift.
Of all the folks i know, he's one of the few who so regularly reached out to just make contact - and never asked for anything back. I realise thinking on this how rare that kind of contact is, and how delightful, how priceless. It's amazing to me, i think, that such quality can shine through, be so potent, even with so little quantity. That's powerful isn't it? That is a kind of testimony to person. A proof that he was here. Will be remembered warmly and missed deeply for at least these gifts.
For those who don't know Shayne and may be wondering why i'm using this blog to talk about Shayne, please allow me to offer this: i think it is important to recognize that a really good member of the health and wellbeing community is gone. That someone who helped shape a profound aspect of people's lives be recognised for this work.
WE are so few of us famous but still profoundly affect the lives around us and so out of repsect should be named, honored, noted, remembered. Shayne Autry stepped here.
I'm glad to have known him even to this small degree, glad to be able to tell you about him, sorry i can't introduce you to him, but hope you will raise a glass this holiday to the good folks who have tried to make our lives better - and even not knowing him - take my word for it if you might - that he's worth remembering in that toast too.
Miss you, Shayne.
mc
Tweet Follow @begin2dig
Sunday, December 16, 2012
al kavadlo: raising the bar on using the bar - dvd review
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Pull ups rock, right? They are a fundamental, do anywhere, super core, righteous bodyweight exercise. They are the foundation to so many other things of goodness, too, in self-strengthening skill work. Despite this, if you walk into any room (including a gym), the number of people who can do a full tactical pull up (palms facing away, neck to the bar, straight pull without momentum) will be, it seems, vanishingly small.
But don't worry: Al Kavadlo of We're Working Out Youtube fame is here to help, with a DELIGHTFUL DVD called Raising the Bar on pull ups and all moves (including levers and dips) related to pull ups - and bar work.
In fact, this video is so engaging you'll enjoy it if either (a) you already do pull ups - and are interested in getting into their variants like muscle ups or one arm chins (b) you have no intention of doing pull ups or (c) you know people who would like to do pull ups and haven't quite cracked it yet. Anyone you give this to will find something delightful in it.
And Yes i said "delightful"- a couple times. You may ask: can something mc just called "delightful" be taken seriously as a grrr me do pull ups grr type product. Well yes, indeed. And that's part of the delight. You can grr if you wish (Al's brother Danny who demos the movements, too, puts out some of that grr - just so you can do that vibe, too). Or, as Al makes clear from his own presentation, no grring required to be serious about our practice.
Personally, if someone's smiling while doing a one arm pull up, that's just gosh darn inviting, don't you think? Like, if a guy's all RRR and looking super intense doing a dip it's like "that's super hard ---- oooo - i dunno if i could do that." Whereas seeing Al, the vibe is totally "wow, that looks like fun. i'm gonna give that a go."
And towards that go getting, Al K. puts out a good series of progressions for each of the movements described and illustrated.
[Update: interview with AK about raising the bar now posted - Jan, 2013]
The DVD itself covers
These guys are both inked up pretty intensely - but they look very distinct even here. It's very interesting. The ink is also - i think - why when they do their work shirtless it doesn't feel like they're showing off - being buff studs. It feels like they have their ink on. Dunno - it just works.Very urban: the ere art fits in with the art/graffiti around them. Definitely city boys. This is real. I'll come back to that realness in a sec. In the meantime, a brief overview of the work through which the Kavadlo bros take us with the bar.
DIPS There's a nice logic to the chapters on the DVD too - after pull ups, we get Dips - a great triceps focused, full on body movement. If you think you know everything about dips - on parallel bars or rings, have you experienced the Korean Dip on a straight bar? The plyo dip? of course - there has to be a plyo dip. There's even psuedo cycling while dipping in case you don't think your core is getting enough attention.
HANGS: No Pull Ups Required Speaking of which - here's where all sorts of hanging leg variants come into play - including awesome progressions. The cool thing about these hanging variants is that we do not have to be pull up masters to do these: can we hang from the bar?
Balance the bod - HAND STANDS Here's one step off the bar to doing some inversion orientation. Why? doing pulls, gotta counterbalance with some pushes - ain't nothing like handstands for this. Now i like to work shoulder stand press ups every day, but i cannot get that balance thing yet so i imagine i shall back away from the press ups to balance and maybe hand walking - why? it looks COOL! - and see someone go from a frog stand to a hand stand (yes that's in here) - well that's on my "i couldn't do that" - but thanks to this DVD i'm thinking - well - i can practice that. Already one simple tip from Al in this section improved my frog stand times immediately - like wow.
LEVERS? well, you can do them on a bench or a bar - hence being on this DVD - they're bar movements. And personally? i've now hit the wall - from this point i'm watching for pleasure as opposed to practice - maybe next year at this time i'll be ready for this part of the DVD - and isnt' that cool? Like i said: lots of room to grow.
When i was but a grad student, twenty something, training with the x-country team, every once in awhile the guy who worked the desk at the uni gym - forty something very craigy and lean and fit - would come into the gym and pull a few one arms in his t-shirt and sweats. I can't think of one gal there who didn't swoon just a little bit. Somehow a 20 year old doing that just wouldn't have had the same effect - not that there was a 20 something in the gym who could do that. mm mm mm. You know the difference in the second real star wars where Luke goes after Darth Vadar and whips out his light saber and then Darth brings his out, slow and controlled? That sorta thing. Nothing says experience like a well executed, controlled, slow, strong one arm pull up. But i digress.
Presentation: Excellent
The filming, editing, presentation of this video is EXCELLENT - Kavadlo produced and edited the whole thing. The music, as with his We're Working Out vids is his own, too.
You know how most DVD's are filmed inside in a studio and they just have that kinda contrived vibe to them? Well, Raising the Bar is NOT a studio DVD. This whole thing takes place outside, in the real, mainly at Thomkin Square Park in NYC. It's a real space where Al actually works out and children play and sirens scream.
But also unlike a lot of single camera health DVD's that more or less set up in front of the athletes and that's it? One angle throughout - well, Al's thought about the shots for these moves. We see the move from the whole body; we get shots close up; we get shots from the top of the bar. And it's done so well, we don't notice the cuts to get the shots because they just feel logical in terms of conveying what we need to see to understand the movements.
Even the audio has been well-considered. Good audio on site describing the moves, and voice over the particulars of the movements for good attention to detail.
I mentioned the body art and how the guys fit in with the environment they use in the vid. Urban and real. This real-ness is another delightful and compelling part of the video - and another reason why i recommend it so highly - these guys walk the talk. They completely embody what they're talking about, they demo it, and you know from this presentation is not only part of what they do themselves, but what they have rather a lot of reps coaching others to do, too.
HIGH TRUST If you're interested in coaching fitness, this DVD is a masterclass in presentation. If you're into learning these moves, this is a presentation you can trust. Getting both of these attributes in one package? Goodness.
Aside 2: What's on the Feet?? yes that's Al Kavadlo movin' in some sweet Xero Shoes (review)
As said, there is nothing not to enjoy in this DVD. The case for its purchase, as i hope i've made above, is pretty clear whether we're interested in bodyweight practice ourselves, or helping folks casually or professionally, this presentation is a gift. As a class in how to make an instructional video - pretty nice work there too.
BUT wait, there's one more reason: Al Kavadlo has been giving it away on YouTube for years now. If you want to learn how to do anything bodyweight from a dragon flag to a Human Flag, he's there with his zippy happy We're Working Out videos. My sense is that buying Raising the Bar is a nice way to give back and to say "thank you" to Al for all those freebies. Not only does the purchase become a thank you, but we still get all this great content. A bargain, a value, a gift.
Summing up. I can't think of when i've been this impressed with a package - especially since really Al K. put the package together himself - this is his vision of what Raising the Bar should be. Plainly he's attracted a swell crew and willing publisher to support that vision. Again, the biggie for me is the realness of the presentation as well as the friendliness. We can smile and make progress; we can make amazing progress with our bodyweight alone; we do not need a gym. What the workouts together show is that we do need each other - or do well when we can help each other.
Nice nice material, nice presentation, nice story. Great model DVD. Enjoy - and if you really want a kick, put Raising the Bar in someone's stocking this holiday. And if you think it's too late to get the physical copy, order it and stick a pic of the cover into the stocking so they know it's coming.
In an upcoming episode of b2d, we'll have an interview with Al K about the making of Raising the Bar, and some of his fitness philosophy. Really cool, nice guy on top of the talent for training modelled here. In the meantime, while you wait for your DVD to arrive, check out Al's website. Interesting cool articles there too.
Best of the Season Getting To, On, Up and Raising the Bar.
Related Posts:
In fact, this video is so engaging you'll enjoy it if either (a) you already do pull ups - and are interested in getting into their variants like muscle ups or one arm chins (b) you have no intention of doing pull ups or (c) you know people who would like to do pull ups and haven't quite cracked it yet. Anyone you give this to will find something delightful in it.
And Yes i said "delightful"- a couple times. You may ask: can something mc just called "delightful" be taken seriously as a grrr me do pull ups grr type product. Well yes, indeed. And that's part of the delight. You can grr if you wish (Al's brother Danny who demos the movements, too, puts out some of that grr - just so you can do that vibe, too). Or, as Al makes clear from his own presentation, no grring required to be serious about our practice.
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| Smiling AND doing a one arm hanging V-sit? What's not to love? Feel inspired? |
And towards that go getting, Al K. puts out a good series of progressions for each of the movements described and illustrated.
[Update: interview with AK about raising the bar now posted - Jan, 2013]
The DVD itself covers
- Pull Ups - about a million varieties for all levels - from beginner to advanced like the archer pull up
- Dips - again, both progressions to get started with the move, and then to move on up
- Various intensifiers like hanging leg raises - again with progressions - L sits, V sits
- Hand stands - from wall assisted to free standing
- Muscle Ups and Levers
- One arms - of course - one arms.
- Practice - putting these movements together for developing strength and skill - Al and Dan
- Walk about - a great section of this vid is the proof that bar work is available in all sorts of places - and considering how constantly New York is under construction, the opportunities there to grab a scaffolding bar and pull up are celebrated.
Frame of Reference: DVD as Bar Progress Resource
There is a bloody lot of material on this DVD. It's over 50mins long, and feels very rich. An imagined use is as a reference for progressions. For example, someone working on getting a pull up may watch chapter one to get all the ideas about hand position and progressions, and then dig into a particular progression for awhile, knowing that once they get that step, the next one is there to study, such as simply playing with grip position - chin, pull and neutral variants.
If one's focus is hand stands or levers or muscle ups - just go to that chapter and run the well considered progressions.
Presentors: Al and Danny Kavadlo - Awesome combo
One of the many unique and compelling aspects of this DVD is that while written, produced and edited by Al Kavadlo, his trainer brother Danny joins him to show a slightly different body type approaching the same movements. And if you've followed any of Kavadlo's We're Working Out Vids, it's interesting to see Danny's New Look - a great complement to Al's.
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| The Brothers Kavadlo in Raising the Bar. |
So the video gives us two different bodies doing the moves individually, and then shows them carrying out the moves in sync. Now that's FUN!
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| Synchro Rollovers |
These guys are both inked up pretty intensely - but they look very distinct even here. It's very interesting. The ink is also - i think - why when they do their work shirtless it doesn't feel like they're showing off - being buff studs. It feels like they have their ink on. Dunno - it just works.Very urban: the ere art fits in with the art/graffiti around them. Definitely city boys. This is real. I'll come back to that realness in a sec. In the meantime, a brief overview of the work through which the Kavadlo bros take us with the bar.
HUGELY accessible and CHALLENGING across all levels.
It's no small thing to create a DVD that works for beginners to advanced and all the spaces in between. Al's achieved this though. There will be very few people in the population who can say to each move on this vid, ya i got that i own that, Next. And even those few souls will appreciate the presentation of the material. When they get folks coming to them to say "how do you DO that??" you can now say - you brave people - 'Well here, check out Kavadlo's Raising the Bar - i know i did!"
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| Duel Dipping |
HANGS: No Pull Ups Required Speaking of which - here's where all sorts of hanging leg variants come into play - including awesome progressions. The cool thing about these hanging variants is that we do not have to be pull up masters to do these: can we hang from the bar?
How to hang is covered in the video - and believe me there is technique here so as not to stress the shoulders. Hanging is kinda a misnomer i think - that sounds really slack - but a good hang sucks in the shoulders - the back is nice and active while the core is also working and then from that hand we get some leg work.
Aside, a wish: If i had my way - or enough money to have my way - i'd have pull up bars installed everywhere - starting with my campus - attached to buildings, and posts driven into the ground. Everywhere pull up bars. And the verticals can be used for human flags, and shinnying up and down.
ADVANCED From basic pull ups, we get (bien sur) advanced pull ups - all sorts of playing with hand/shoulder combinations - that not only are a whole new workout place with pull ups but explore new positions - slightly below the bar; above the bar - all over the bar. Sweet stuff.
MUSCLE UPS And yes for those at the ten bodyweight pull up place (i just hit that this fall - happy happy - let me say again, getting lean makes pull ups suddenly easier - go figure) - then there's a thumbs up to work the Muscle Up on a bar - or what looks really lovely - on parallel bars.
Then as with each chapter, we get some sequences on how to put these variants together into some nice working funky combos.
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| Wall-supported Hand Stands for Shoulder Strength: The push to the Pull up Pull |
But the biggie here? Kavadlo cares (i can see that as a t-shirt slogan). Really - we do pulls; we need pushes. So while not on the bar it supports the bar. In balance. Very nice, don't you think? Don't you want this video even more now because it's so thoughtful?
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| Bench Levers towards Bar levers - and still Smiling |
That said, Skin the Cat is in here - as a progression - and i've been doing that since i was a little kid so i guess i have a wee bite of this - towards a real back lever - so goodness - maybe not quite a year away...
FULL CIRCLE: ONE ARM PULL UPS: And then, way out there, the sinecure of bar movements, the sex on a plate, he's so fine movement of pull ups: the one arm.
When i was but a grad student, twenty something, training with the x-country team, every once in awhile the guy who worked the desk at the uni gym - forty something very craigy and lean and fit - would come into the gym and pull a few one arms in his t-shirt and sweats. I can't think of one gal there who didn't swoon just a little bit. Somehow a 20 year old doing that just wouldn't have had the same effect - not that there was a 20 something in the gym who could do that. mm mm mm. You know the difference in the second real star wars where Luke goes after Darth Vadar and whips out his light saber and then Darth brings his out, slow and controlled? That sorta thing. Nothing says experience like a well executed, controlled, slow, strong one arm pull up. But i digress.
The brothers Kavadlo present a set of progressions and variations for this movement too. For instance: can we hang from a bar, one armed - no shoulder stress? How get that full range of motion practice? They have solutions there too.
The filming, editing, presentation of this video is EXCELLENT - Kavadlo produced and edited the whole thing. The music, as with his We're Working Out vids is his own, too.
You know how most DVD's are filmed inside in a studio and they just have that kinda contrived vibe to them? Well, Raising the Bar is NOT a studio DVD. This whole thing takes place outside, in the real, mainly at Thomkin Square Park in NYC. It's a real space where Al actually works out and children play and sirens scream.
 |
| Nice use of camera angle to show position on pull up |
Even the audio has been well-considered. Good audio on site describing the moves, and voice over the particulars of the movements for good attention to detail.
I mentioned the body art and how the guys fit in with the environment they use in the vid. Urban and real. This real-ness is another delightful and compelling part of the video - and another reason why i recommend it so highly - these guys walk the talk. They completely embody what they're talking about, they demo it, and you know from this presentation is not only part of what they do themselves, but what they have rather a lot of reps coaching others to do, too.
HIGH TRUST If you're interested in coaching fitness, this DVD is a masterclass in presentation. If you're into learning these moves, this is a presentation you can trust. Getting both of these attributes in one package? Goodness.
Aside 2: What's on the Feet?? yes that's Al Kavadlo movin' in some sweet Xero Shoes (review)
Recommendation: Buy and Give Raising the Bar
buy it for about 16 different reasons - just buy it - for yourself and for someone you loveAs said, there is nothing not to enjoy in this DVD. The case for its purchase, as i hope i've made above, is pretty clear whether we're interested in bodyweight practice ourselves, or helping folks casually or professionally, this presentation is a gift. As a class in how to make an instructional video - pretty nice work there too.
BUT wait, there's one more reason: Al Kavadlo has been giving it away on YouTube for years now. If you want to learn how to do anything bodyweight from a dragon flag to a Human Flag, he's there with his zippy happy We're Working Out videos. My sense is that buying Raising the Bar is a nice way to give back and to say "thank you" to Al for all those freebies. Not only does the purchase become a thank you, but we still get all this great content. A bargain, a value, a gift.
 |
| the human flags in the real - no special equipment required |
Summing up. I can't think of when i've been this impressed with a package - especially since really Al K. put the package together himself - this is his vision of what Raising the Bar should be. Plainly he's attracted a swell crew and willing publisher to support that vision. Again, the biggie for me is the realness of the presentation as well as the friendliness. We can smile and make progress; we can make amazing progress with our bodyweight alone; we do not need a gym. What the workouts together show is that we do need each other - or do well when we can help each other.
Nice nice material, nice presentation, nice story. Great model DVD. Enjoy - and if you really want a kick, put Raising the Bar in someone's stocking this holiday. And if you think it's too late to get the physical copy, order it and stick a pic of the cover into the stocking so they know it's coming.
In an upcoming episode of b2d, we'll have an interview with Al K about the making of Raising the Bar, and some of his fitness philosophy. Really cool, nice guy on top of the talent for training modelled here. In the meantime, while you wait for your DVD to arrive, check out Al's website. Interesting cool articles there too.
Best of the Season Getting To, On, Up and Raising the Bar.
Related Posts:
- Interview with Kavadlo - about Methodology of We're Working Out Presentation
- The Magnificent Shoulder Part 1 - kinesiology
- The magnificent Shoulder Part 2 - more kinesiology
- Shoulder Pain - in the wrist?
- Shoulder work - in the liver?
- Coming back from Shoulder Injury - towards the iron maiden
- NOTE ON b2d affiliate links....
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