Yesterday I took the afternoon off work to celebrate my wife's birthday and to rake the serious accumulation of leaves in the front yard. It was a beautiful day and I would sneak into the garage from time to time to do some work.
Deadlift
350x2
BUP 32kg R, 24 KG L
Singles and Doubles on Explosive Pullups
7 rounds of 8 on 15:15 protocol (16kg)
28/24 Snatch (32kg), PR on both sides
25/25 Snatch (24kg)
Surprise PR on the 32kg snatches, nice. I attribute this solely to hardstyle snatching with a 16kg and 24kg lately. My glutes and hips were feeling strong. My limiting factor is the wrists when the reps start getting around 25 on the right and 21 on the left. The wrist starts to bend back. If I could find a way to fix that I could hit many more reps...wind and explosiveness were not a problem. VO2max is a great way to utilize the smaller bells.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Hardstyle Ventura 2009, or Why I love the RKC
Hardstyle Ventura 2009, or Why I love the RKC
By Sean Schniederjan, RKC
Pavel’s first bodyweight, Naked Warrior focused workshop in almost three years, on the scenic shores of Ventura, with 50+ in attendance started as an idea right at this desk I’m sitting at nearly 9 months ago. The original idea was a private workshop at my alma mater, focusing on the TSC lifts. After going back and forth with Pavel a few times it appeared that a public workshop would be the way to go.
I vaguely remembered a Pavel workshop that was put on by Mark Toomey (RKC Team Leader) in Reno back in 2007. I remembered Mark’s forum post about the incredible manners exhibited by the attendees at the post workshop dinner at Mark’s private residence and how everyone picked up after themselves. I guess this story made a strong impression on me as it did for Mark. If it weren’t for that memorable detail, I would have likely forgotten that Mark did the workshop with Pavel and likely never would have called him up.
Since Mark had done a workshop with Pavel and I hadn’t, I called him up and asked him for some advice. I told him my idea and he told me his. His was much better.
The word got off a little slowly. There are RKCs to fix that problem, namely Dr. Mark Cheng and David Whitley, Sr. RKC. I asked them for help getting the word out and they did. It sold out rather quickly with their aid.
It had been a few years since I’d been in Ventura so I asked the local, Sr. RKC Doug Nepodal for some help with good places to get coffee and have a group dinner. Group seating at Winchester’s on a Saturday night would have been impossible without his help.
Pavel suggested making kettlebells available. It was last minute, but Dragondoor Dennis put together the order and had them at the hotel ready to distribute. The only slight difference in my order and the ones shipped out was an extra 48kg kettlebell. Literally two minutes after noticing the extra Beast on my order form, I was emailed by one of the attendees (an RKCII) asking if it was too late to request a 48kg.
One of the worries I had was the size of the park. Dave Whitley and I rolled in Friday night to survey the field. It was much bigger, and much more beautiful than I had remembered. I wished I would have arranged some video of what I knew was going to be a memorable workshop. The park was so beautiful and serene that Pavel could teach the workshop in Russian and I would still come away glad I was there. First thing the morning of the workshop, Jordan Vezina, RKC asked to do some filming and put together a very nice piece in HD:
I had asked my buddy from college to take some pictures. Unfortunately, he had to take off before we could do a group pic. No problem, Jen Bryan, RKC had her camera there. Turns out she is a professional, and therefore has a really nice camera and took some money shots.
Once I knew the workshop was sold out, I put an open invite to all RKC Team Leaders and up. Several took me up on the invite and drove significant distances for the chance to listen to Pavel. These are strong, successful men and they sacrificed their Saturdays to come down and help out. Master RKC Rif even put his experience and expertise in gymnastics to teach the handstand portion of the menu. This of course was not in the original plan, but to the delight of 50 eager listeners in the cool California sun, it was something we all got to experience and benefit from.
On a personal note, seeing Rif teach bodyweight strength was one of my personal RKC dream teaching scenarios, Dan John teaching oly lifts with double KBs being the other. Rif was actually kind enough to be my partner on a few drills, how awesome is that?!
And then there was the workshop itself. I asked Pavel, how are you going to teach one arm pushups, KB Military presses, and handstand pushups without smoking the shoulders and everyone in attendance in the first hour? At the RKC, there is military presses only and some pushups, and even that was a bit of a handful. Pavel answered the way any expert would answer: he would assess the situation first before making a definite plan.
What he did on that beach is something that put smiles on the faces of all those in attendance. We were experiencing GTG (Grease the groove, cf. Naked Warrior) straight from the mind that first articulated what GTG was and why it works. The answer was to cycle from movement to movement, and have them build upon one another. Just when the shoulders would start getting smoked, we would move back to pistols and vice versa. And true to the essence of GTG, EVERYONE was getting stronger throughout the day. Well, this is Pavel so it did start to taper off at around 3pm. Extreme pain was felt my many attendees on Sunday. It was hard and easy.
It is hard to imagine how satisfying this experience of GTGing is when you are going through the motions with Pavel himself. This satisfaction was felt by the strength veterans and newbies at HSV alike. He broke down the exercises into their elements and made pistols and one arm pushups accessible to all, just as he said he would. The park overlooking Ventura beach is a good place to experience a master doing his work.
What I noticed from talking with the people there is that the workshop was as laid back as the scenery in which it was held. The RKC personnel were there, but there would be no gym boss going off every 5 minutes for swings. No snatch tests. No military pressing half your BW in front of the group. It was just a group of people getting stronger without any pressure coming from the outside. Hardstyle Ventura is the RKC on vacation.
Sr. RKC Will Williams made the trip from the East Coast. Little did I or any of the other attendees know, Will was taking scrupulous notes of most every detail that Pavel uttered on that beach. Since then, he has spent significant time and energy, and sacrifice of other things he could have done, to polish these notes and make them available in manual format to those who attended the event. In a way, this is better than a manual because it is based on what actually went down between Pavel and this particular group. It is suited to the attendees. Not to mention the fact that W2 possesses a brilliant Hardstyle Mind. I will be going over these pages as I train indoors over the long Minnesota winter. This is exciting.
And since my mind tends to gravitate toward the spiritual side of things, I couldn’t help but notice that strength is almost a spiritual reality, even though it pertains to the physical body. Strength is hidden. It comes out in different manifestations and you know that a person is strong when they execute certain movements the right way. A pistol is a great example. Seeing a person go down to rock bottom shows hip flexibily, proper hip mechanics, glute and hamstring activation, a good static stomp, hip flexor strength and mobility, hamstring flexibility, and a host of other attributes. You know that strength exists in a person through external signs, but strength itself is an internal, hidden reality. This is very similar to arguments on the existence of the soul, which is known by attributing a cause to explain various external realities or signs. To get metaphysical, the act of strength in a person is ordered to doing strong things, and when strong things are being done, this is when strength is most itself, when it "is" in the fullest sense. Marina Park is a good place to contemplate these kinds of things on your water break.
The moral of Hardstyle Ventura (haha) for me was discovered while sitting on a patio in sunny Santa Monica the morning after discussing what went down with Mark Toomey and Doc Cheng. There was a young man who traveled from New Brunswick, on the Eastern end of Canada, to the West Coast for this event. It took him 12 hours to make the trip (one way). His mother was there too. Mark related how he had spoken with this young man’s mother and that he had recently fallen in with a bad crowd and was beginning to head down the path that many young people go down but one that few people would say is “good.” But the mother proudly announced that things changed suddenly when her son picked up a book on biomechanics and soon thereafter discovered Pavel. A light went on, a passion was discovered, and there would be no looking back. Better this discovery happen at age 19 rather than 30, right? He heard about this workshop and was determined to go, whatever the sacrifice of time and money and the discomforts of tedious travel. His mother was there to help him make the journey. Mark walked over to Pavel toward the end of the workshop, tapped him on the shoulder and said “Hey, Pavel, you know this kid traveled over 12 hours to see you.”
Mark’s theory was that Hardstyle Ventura was put on for this young man, unbeknown to all of us. I was surprised to observe Mark rather quiet at the workshop. Turns out he was listening rather than talking, and by doing so discovered the best storyline of this incredible event which would have remain hidden had he not done so. I'll be shocked if this youngster doesn't join the ranks of the RKCs.
By Sean Schniederjan, RKC
Pavel’s first bodyweight, Naked Warrior focused workshop in almost three years, on the scenic shores of Ventura, with 50+ in attendance started as an idea right at this desk I’m sitting at nearly 9 months ago. The original idea was a private workshop at my alma mater, focusing on the TSC lifts. After going back and forth with Pavel a few times it appeared that a public workshop would be the way to go.
I vaguely remembered a Pavel workshop that was put on by Mark Toomey (RKC Team Leader) in Reno back in 2007. I remembered Mark’s forum post about the incredible manners exhibited by the attendees at the post workshop dinner at Mark’s private residence and how everyone picked up after themselves. I guess this story made a strong impression on me as it did for Mark. If it weren’t for that memorable detail, I would have likely forgotten that Mark did the workshop with Pavel and likely never would have called him up.
Since Mark had done a workshop with Pavel and I hadn’t, I called him up and asked him for some advice. I told him my idea and he told me his. His was much better.
The word got off a little slowly. There are RKCs to fix that problem, namely Dr. Mark Cheng and David Whitley, Sr. RKC. I asked them for help getting the word out and they did. It sold out rather quickly with their aid.
It had been a few years since I’d been in Ventura so I asked the local, Sr. RKC Doug Nepodal for some help with good places to get coffee and have a group dinner. Group seating at Winchester’s on a Saturday night would have been impossible without his help.
Pavel suggested making kettlebells available. It was last minute, but Dragondoor Dennis put together the order and had them at the hotel ready to distribute. The only slight difference in my order and the ones shipped out was an extra 48kg kettlebell. Literally two minutes after noticing the extra Beast on my order form, I was emailed by one of the attendees (an RKCII) asking if it was too late to request a 48kg.
One of the worries I had was the size of the park. Dave Whitley and I rolled in Friday night to survey the field. It was much bigger, and much more beautiful than I had remembered. I wished I would have arranged some video of what I knew was going to be a memorable workshop. The park was so beautiful and serene that Pavel could teach the workshop in Russian and I would still come away glad I was there. First thing the morning of the workshop, Jordan Vezina, RKC asked to do some filming and put together a very nice piece in HD:
I had asked my buddy from college to take some pictures. Unfortunately, he had to take off before we could do a group pic. No problem, Jen Bryan, RKC had her camera there. Turns out she is a professional, and therefore has a really nice camera and took some money shots.
Once I knew the workshop was sold out, I put an open invite to all RKC Team Leaders and up. Several took me up on the invite and drove significant distances for the chance to listen to Pavel. These are strong, successful men and they sacrificed their Saturdays to come down and help out. Master RKC Rif even put his experience and expertise in gymnastics to teach the handstand portion of the menu. This of course was not in the original plan, but to the delight of 50 eager listeners in the cool California sun, it was something we all got to experience and benefit from.
On a personal note, seeing Rif teach bodyweight strength was one of my personal RKC dream teaching scenarios, Dan John teaching oly lifts with double KBs being the other. Rif was actually kind enough to be my partner on a few drills, how awesome is that?!
And then there was the workshop itself. I asked Pavel, how are you going to teach one arm pushups, KB Military presses, and handstand pushups without smoking the shoulders and everyone in attendance in the first hour? At the RKC, there is military presses only and some pushups, and even that was a bit of a handful. Pavel answered the way any expert would answer: he would assess the situation first before making a definite plan.
What he did on that beach is something that put smiles on the faces of all those in attendance. We were experiencing GTG (Grease the groove, cf. Naked Warrior) straight from the mind that first articulated what GTG was and why it works. The answer was to cycle from movement to movement, and have them build upon one another. Just when the shoulders would start getting smoked, we would move back to pistols and vice versa. And true to the essence of GTG, EVERYONE was getting stronger throughout the day. Well, this is Pavel so it did start to taper off at around 3pm. Extreme pain was felt my many attendees on Sunday. It was hard and easy.
It is hard to imagine how satisfying this experience of GTGing is when you are going through the motions with Pavel himself. This satisfaction was felt by the strength veterans and newbies at HSV alike. He broke down the exercises into their elements and made pistols and one arm pushups accessible to all, just as he said he would. The park overlooking Ventura beach is a good place to experience a master doing his work.
What I noticed from talking with the people there is that the workshop was as laid back as the scenery in which it was held. The RKC personnel were there, but there would be no gym boss going off every 5 minutes for swings. No snatch tests. No military pressing half your BW in front of the group. It was just a group of people getting stronger without any pressure coming from the outside. Hardstyle Ventura is the RKC on vacation.
Sr. RKC Will Williams made the trip from the East Coast. Little did I or any of the other attendees know, Will was taking scrupulous notes of most every detail that Pavel uttered on that beach. Since then, he has spent significant time and energy, and sacrifice of other things he could have done, to polish these notes and make them available in manual format to those who attended the event. In a way, this is better than a manual because it is based on what actually went down between Pavel and this particular group. It is suited to the attendees. Not to mention the fact that W2 possesses a brilliant Hardstyle Mind. I will be going over these pages as I train indoors over the long Minnesota winter. This is exciting.
And since my mind tends to gravitate toward the spiritual side of things, I couldn’t help but notice that strength is almost a spiritual reality, even though it pertains to the physical body. Strength is hidden. It comes out in different manifestations and you know that a person is strong when they execute certain movements the right way. A pistol is a great example. Seeing a person go down to rock bottom shows hip flexibily, proper hip mechanics, glute and hamstring activation, a good static stomp, hip flexor strength and mobility, hamstring flexibility, and a host of other attributes. You know that strength exists in a person through external signs, but strength itself is an internal, hidden reality. This is very similar to arguments on the existence of the soul, which is known by attributing a cause to explain various external realities or signs. To get metaphysical, the act of strength in a person is ordered to doing strong things, and when strong things are being done, this is when strength is most itself, when it "is" in the fullest sense. Marina Park is a good place to contemplate these kinds of things on your water break.
The moral of Hardstyle Ventura (haha) for me was discovered while sitting on a patio in sunny Santa Monica the morning after discussing what went down with Mark Toomey and Doc Cheng. There was a young man who traveled from New Brunswick, on the Eastern end of Canada, to the West Coast for this event. It took him 12 hours to make the trip (one way). His mother was there too. Mark related how he had spoken with this young man’s mother and that he had recently fallen in with a bad crowd and was beginning to head down the path that many young people go down but one that few people would say is “good.” But the mother proudly announced that things changed suddenly when her son picked up a book on biomechanics and soon thereafter discovered Pavel. A light went on, a passion was discovered, and there would be no looking back. Better this discovery happen at age 19 rather than 30, right? He heard about this workshop and was determined to go, whatever the sacrifice of time and money and the discomforts of tedious travel. His mother was there to help him make the journey. Mark walked over to Pavel toward the end of the workshop, tapped him on the shoulder and said “Hey, Pavel, you know this kid traveled over 12 hours to see you.”
Mark’s theory was that Hardstyle Ventura was put on for this young man, unbeknown to all of us. I was surprised to observe Mark rather quiet at the workshop. Turns out he was listening rather than talking, and by doing so discovered the best storyline of this incredible event which would have remain hidden had he not done so. I'll be shocked if this youngster doesn't join the ranks of the RKCs.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Training Update
Been battling sickness lately, but nothing too debilitating so I've mostly been GTGing pushups, pullups, and deadlifting. Last week five minutes of 15:15 with a 24kg was all I could handle conditioning-wise. Snatches and swings have been used more for hip mobility than conditioning by really focusing on punching backwards with the hips to load them up as forcefully as possible. I think this has helped because yesterday I ripped 400 pounds off the ground faster than I ever have before. Hips back!
A few times a week I've been doing one-legged wall squats for 30 seconds per leg. These are very evil and leave my upper hammies and glutes sore for 2-3 days after. I noticed by shifting the back forwards and backwards (more like upright against the wall) shifts the load from the quads to the hamstrings. Play around with it, its pretty cool. I've found these static pistol holds really help with pistols, big surprise.
5 days until Hardstyle Ventura, this is gonna be awesome...50 people on Marina Park in Ventura overlooking the beach, cannot wait! Its going to be a long painful day though, Pavel will be going over one arm pushups, hand stand pushups, MPs, pistols and pull-ups...the pain awaits!
A few times a week I've been doing one-legged wall squats for 30 seconds per leg. These are very evil and leave my upper hammies and glutes sore for 2-3 days after. I noticed by shifting the back forwards and backwards (more like upright against the wall) shifts the load from the quads to the hamstrings. Play around with it, its pretty cool. I've found these static pistol holds really help with pistols, big surprise.
5 days until Hardstyle Ventura, this is gonna be awesome...50 people on Marina Park in Ventura overlooking the beach, cannot wait! Its going to be a long painful day though, Pavel will be going over one arm pushups, hand stand pushups, MPs, pistols and pull-ups...the pain awaits!
Monday, September 21, 2009
Weekend Recap
Had a great weekend meeting Dr. Mark Cheng and Kenneth Jay! I stopped at the Woodfire Grill Saturday night and talked shop and then took them to the airport Sunday night. I usually train alone so its nice to be able to talk training with some friendly geniuses.
Saturday brought this little doozy:
100 Pullups, 100R/100L 32kg Military Presses, then
SSST, 180 in 9:20.
It started early in the day. I had taken the previous 3 days off and was feeling a little sick, but when I went to the garage I did a few pull-ups and a few presses. Then I had a vision of setting a pull-up/MP volume PR followed by 200 24kg snatches in 10 minutes. So I did 5 pull-ups followed by 5/5 MPs when I could throughout the day. I finished with those at around 4pm.
I was doing work around the house and didn't get a chance for the SSST until right before dinner. I was cruising to 200 when I started getting pressure from the dinner bell...I had to abort at 180 with 9:20 on the clock. The good news is that I had 200 in the bag. The swings lately are definitely helping with conditioning, as they ought to do.
2 days later, traps and lats are still feeling it!
Saturday brought this little doozy:
100 Pullups, 100R/100L 32kg Military Presses, then
SSST, 180 in 9:20.
It started early in the day. I had taken the previous 3 days off and was feeling a little sick, but when I went to the garage I did a few pull-ups and a few presses. Then I had a vision of setting a pull-up/MP volume PR followed by 200 24kg snatches in 10 minutes. So I did 5 pull-ups followed by 5/5 MPs when I could throughout the day. I finished with those at around 4pm.
I was doing work around the house and didn't get a chance for the SSST until right before dinner. I was cruising to 200 when I started getting pressure from the dinner bell...I had to abort at 180 with 9:20 on the clock. The good news is that I had 200 in the bag. The swings lately are definitely helping with conditioning, as they ought to do.
2 days later, traps and lats are still feeling it!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
I'm an Addict
Last night the kids didn't get to bed until close to 10pm and I was exhausted from an action packed 3 day weekend. What did I do? Go out to the garage and set a volume PR:
60 32kg Military Presses (r/l) and BW Pull-ups
(6x1/3/5), 2x3
Then 100 consecutive one arm swings (32 kg, 5x10/10)
Took my time, about one hour to complete. Tired as hell today but it was worth it.
60 32kg Military Presses (r/l) and BW Pull-ups
(6x1/3/5), 2x3
Then 100 consecutive one arm swings (32 kg, 5x10/10)
Took my time, about one hour to complete. Tired as hell today but it was worth it.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Surprise Gripper PR and a Lesson in Hardstyle
I think of the grippers as a test of crush grip strength, I don't use them to do "workouts," simply because I don't like them that much. I have them hanging on my tool bench so that every couple of months I can pick up the Captain of Crush number 2 and give it a squeeze and see what happens.
Yesterday was a day off from training and I was getting work done around the house so I picked it up for an impromptu set. I PRd on both sides, 9 on the right (should have attempted 10, now I will never know) and 6 on the left. The strange thing was that it felt like closing the number 1. In fact, on the 5th rep on my right I had to do a double take because it was feeling so ridiculously easy to close. Was this due to all the state fair food and beer I had consumed the day before?
Training lately has consisted of lots of pull-ups (relatively speaking of course), weighted pull-ups, kettlebell military pressing (high volume day and heavy day), and swings and snatches. That is all.
One thing that I've gotten better at since getting the pull-up bar (the strength game is always full of surprises) is that it is the best teacher of intra-abdominal pressure for amplifying your strength that I have found. I have practiced power breathing for years with kettlebells and barbells, but I see two big time advantages to learn and practice this skill hanging from a bar:
1.) It is kind of awkward at first to "lift" the tail bone up and push the lower back backwards. For me, the natural pulling position on the bar is to fully extend the upper and lower spine. Properly engaging the dear abbies on the bar pushes the lower part of the torso forward, and this feels strange at first. Once this position is attained, send the breath deep down into the stomach (and power flex the glutes) and note how much easier it is to pull yourself up. So why is this a great way to practice power breathing? It is all about context, and when you start getting the habit on the pull-up bar, despite the "unnatural" feel to it, it becomes easier to do on the ground, for when you need it to press a heavy kettlebell or close your heavy gripper. Try this on the bar and then do some military presses and see if you can tell a difference in your ability to amplify your strength from your abdomen.
2.) The gain in strength you get from this technique is immediate. I have done power breathing with military presses but sometimes do not feel the added strength. I probably wasn't doing it right. On the bar, however, this is not the case. I ALWAYS feel the added strength right away because it feels as though the body is much lighter and easier to pull up. Try it for yourself if you haven't, it is an amazing feeling. And again, do some pressing with your kettlebell immediately afterwards and see if you notice some carryover.
Practicing intra-abdominal pressure on the pull up bar, in addition to the grip work from hanging on the bar with bodyweight (I weigh ~215 pounds), bodyweight plus 18 and 35 pound kettlebells Spetznaz style pull-ups, and swinging and snatching kettlebells, led to the surprise PR yesterday with the Captain of Crush #2.
It is worth noting that the resistance on the grip from pull-ups and snatches is no where near what it takes to close a #2 gripper. Even with 35 pounds added, the weight being pulled is ~250 pounds, or 125 pounds per hand. Snatching a 70 pound kettlebell is only 70 pounds multiplied by however fast it descends. The Captain of Crush number 2 is close to 200 pounds of spring coiled resistance for one hand. If you are going to close that thing, you better know how to amplify.
Before yesterday, I knew that you could close a #2 as a side effect from kettlebell and bodyweight strength training. Now I'm thinking the #3 is a possibility if you train Hardstyle consistently and intelligently.
For more detailed information on power breathing and its application to bodyweight strength, check out:
The Naked Warrior-Master the Secrets of the Super-Strong-Using Bodyweight Exercises Only
Order Kettlebells Here
This is the pull-up bar I've been using in my garage, its heavy duty and raises high enough so I don't have to bend my knees (I'm 6'3")
Tactical Athlete Pull-up System
Yesterday was a day off from training and I was getting work done around the house so I picked it up for an impromptu set. I PRd on both sides, 9 on the right (should have attempted 10, now I will never know) and 6 on the left. The strange thing was that it felt like closing the number 1. In fact, on the 5th rep on my right I had to do a double take because it was feeling so ridiculously easy to close. Was this due to all the state fair food and beer I had consumed the day before?
Training lately has consisted of lots of pull-ups (relatively speaking of course), weighted pull-ups, kettlebell military pressing (high volume day and heavy day), and swings and snatches. That is all.
One thing that I've gotten better at since getting the pull-up bar (the strength game is always full of surprises) is that it is the best teacher of intra-abdominal pressure for amplifying your strength that I have found. I have practiced power breathing for years with kettlebells and barbells, but I see two big time advantages to learn and practice this skill hanging from a bar:
1.) It is kind of awkward at first to "lift" the tail bone up and push the lower back backwards. For me, the natural pulling position on the bar is to fully extend the upper and lower spine. Properly engaging the dear abbies on the bar pushes the lower part of the torso forward, and this feels strange at first. Once this position is attained, send the breath deep down into the stomach (and power flex the glutes) and note how much easier it is to pull yourself up. So why is this a great way to practice power breathing? It is all about context, and when you start getting the habit on the pull-up bar, despite the "unnatural" feel to it, it becomes easier to do on the ground, for when you need it to press a heavy kettlebell or close your heavy gripper. Try this on the bar and then do some military presses and see if you can tell a difference in your ability to amplify your strength from your abdomen.
2.) The gain in strength you get from this technique is immediate. I have done power breathing with military presses but sometimes do not feel the added strength. I probably wasn't doing it right. On the bar, however, this is not the case. I ALWAYS feel the added strength right away because it feels as though the body is much lighter and easier to pull up. Try it for yourself if you haven't, it is an amazing feeling. And again, do some pressing with your kettlebell immediately afterwards and see if you notice some carryover.
Practicing intra-abdominal pressure on the pull up bar, in addition to the grip work from hanging on the bar with bodyweight (I weigh ~215 pounds), bodyweight plus 18 and 35 pound kettlebells Spetznaz style pull-ups, and swinging and snatching kettlebells, led to the surprise PR yesterday with the Captain of Crush #2.
It is worth noting that the resistance on the grip from pull-ups and snatches is no where near what it takes to close a #2 gripper. Even with 35 pounds added, the weight being pulled is ~250 pounds, or 125 pounds per hand. Snatching a 70 pound kettlebell is only 70 pounds multiplied by however fast it descends. The Captain of Crush number 2 is close to 200 pounds of spring coiled resistance for one hand. If you are going to close that thing, you better know how to amplify.
Before yesterday, I knew that you could close a #2 as a side effect from kettlebell and bodyweight strength training. Now I'm thinking the #3 is a possibility if you train Hardstyle consistently and intelligently.
For more detailed information on power breathing and its application to bodyweight strength, check out:
The Naked Warrior-Master the Secrets of the Super-Strong-Using Bodyweight Exercises Only
Order Kettlebells Here
This is the pull-up bar I've been using in my garage, its heavy duty and raises high enough so I don't have to bend my knees (I'm 6'3")
Tactical Athlete Pull-up System
Friday, September 4, 2009
Pavel on the American Swing vs. the Hardstyle RKC Swing
"Comrades, overhead swings have been around and are occasionally done by weightlifters in Eastern Europe. I have mentioned this exercise in the Russian Kettlebell Challenge book. You may do them if:
1. You have mastered a lower swing.
2. You have no thoracic and shoulder restrictions and you do not hyperextend your back or jam your shoulders on the top.
3. Your body is skinny enough not to get in the way.
Com. Brett Jones has pointed that "The snatch is an exercise in elevating the energy, the swing is an exercise in projecting the energy forward. If we want to elevate—we will snatch."
Why would you want to project your force forward rather than up?—Because, unlike weigthtlifting and some Highland throwing, many sports (boxing, martial arts, football, shot put, etc.) demand it. And when you project your force forward your abs and lats act as the sights of a gun. The arms pointing forward and the abs being short bring the "sights" in line. "Spreading the sights" weakens the punch. Try an experiment: throw a few punches against a chest level target, then punch a target overhead, and compare your power.
Read up on Prof. McGill's concepts of "superstiffness" and "leakage"."
1. You have mastered a lower swing.
2. You have no thoracic and shoulder restrictions and you do not hyperextend your back or jam your shoulders on the top.
3. Your body is skinny enough not to get in the way.
Com. Brett Jones has pointed that "The snatch is an exercise in elevating the energy, the swing is an exercise in projecting the energy forward. If we want to elevate—we will snatch."
Why would you want to project your force forward rather than up?—Because, unlike weigthtlifting and some Highland throwing, many sports (boxing, martial arts, football, shot put, etc.) demand it. And when you project your force forward your abs and lats act as the sights of a gun. The arms pointing forward and the abs being short bring the "sights" in line. "Spreading the sights" weakens the punch. Try an experiment: throw a few punches against a chest level target, then punch a target overhead, and compare your power.
Read up on Prof. McGill's concepts of "superstiffness" and "leakage"."
Training Lately
I've moved up out of the basement and into the garage, where the kettlebells and pull up bar reside. I plan on moving the barbell up there. Its got a high ceiling and a huge heater that will serve my digits well when the harsh northern winter begins to take hold.
Out of all the places I've lived, I like the weather in Minnesota the best. There is something rugged and beautiful about the winters, which are nice in their own right but also give perspective to the lush and fertile part of the year. This summer has been especially nice. We have turned on our A/C a total of 2 weeks over the course of the summer.
I've been rotating Don Quixote, John's Gospel, Ron Paul's "The Revolution", and watching Monk Season 7. I've gotten in the habit of picking up flowers for my wife. We are painting the cabinets in the kitchen so I've been out in the garage sanding all of the goodness off that had been the product of the previous owners, who had lived in the house for 40 years.
I've been doing ETKish style KB workouts, adding pull-ups. When I first got the bar I could't do one with 16kg and 2 days ago I did 2 and probably could have done a few more. The 24kg will fall soon, I can touch my chin, but its a reach. I don't own it quite yet.
A big boost to the pull-ups besides doing slow push-ups to cultivate the lats is "hollowing" the midsection. All this means is that you flex your abs and glutes (properly) before pulling. It feels strange, because the tailbone curls forward and up, thus upsetting the natural hang position. It is called hollowing because doing this literally makes the midsection feel hollow and light. Try it if you haven't and you will pull yourself right up.
2 days ago I did some single bulldog military presses. They felt strong, and with a few of them I felt as though the beast would have gone up. I might gravitate to a Kenneth Jay high volume light/low volume heavy protocol for presses and pull-ups. Volume is fun and heavy is fun, so why not do both.
Swings and snatches are coming along. Sunday Night I did 100 snatches with the 32kg and that almost killed me though. It was after a long car trip with the fam though, but still that was nasty. I almost vomited...almost. Last week 120 bulldog one arm swings were knocked down.
I'm gonna try to pull at least a few times before the TSC, but training will mainly focus on killing the pull-ups and snatches.
Out of all the places I've lived, I like the weather in Minnesota the best. There is something rugged and beautiful about the winters, which are nice in their own right but also give perspective to the lush and fertile part of the year. This summer has been especially nice. We have turned on our A/C a total of 2 weeks over the course of the summer.
I've been rotating Don Quixote, John's Gospel, Ron Paul's "The Revolution", and watching Monk Season 7. I've gotten in the habit of picking up flowers for my wife. We are painting the cabinets in the kitchen so I've been out in the garage sanding all of the goodness off that had been the product of the previous owners, who had lived in the house for 40 years.
I've been doing ETKish style KB workouts, adding pull-ups. When I first got the bar I could't do one with 16kg and 2 days ago I did 2 and probably could have done a few more. The 24kg will fall soon, I can touch my chin, but its a reach. I don't own it quite yet.
A big boost to the pull-ups besides doing slow push-ups to cultivate the lats is "hollowing" the midsection. All this means is that you flex your abs and glutes (properly) before pulling. It feels strange, because the tailbone curls forward and up, thus upsetting the natural hang position. It is called hollowing because doing this literally makes the midsection feel hollow and light. Try it if you haven't and you will pull yourself right up.
2 days ago I did some single bulldog military presses. They felt strong, and with a few of them I felt as though the beast would have gone up. I might gravitate to a Kenneth Jay high volume light/low volume heavy protocol for presses and pull-ups. Volume is fun and heavy is fun, so why not do both.
Swings and snatches are coming along. Sunday Night I did 100 snatches with the 32kg and that almost killed me though. It was after a long car trip with the fam though, but still that was nasty. I almost vomited...almost. Last week 120 bulldog one arm swings were knocked down.
I'm gonna try to pull at least a few times before the TSC, but training will mainly focus on killing the pull-ups and snatches.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
TAPS Bar is Here
I've been doing enough pulling and benching lately so with the arrival of the new pull up bar, I'm going to switch gears a little to begin training for the TSC. First a few words about the TAPS system:
It has greatly exceeded my expectations. I love being able to jump up and bang out pull ups without bending my knees (I'm 6'3"). It weighs about 90 pounds but is fairly easy to collapse and move around the garage. Its easy to safely move the height up and down. Yesterday was an off day and while waiting for the fam I lowered it and did some leg and knees raises. It is sturdy as a mule (besides being a little bit wobbly due to the uneven garage. It bothered me at first but after a few satisfying sets of pull ups and weighted pull ups I no longer cared).
I can see why the RKC level II and Pavel uses these bars.
Get yours Here
Two nights ago delivered one of the most satisfying workouts I've had in a long time. I dusted off my 32 kilo kettlebell and did press ladders adding a pull up for each press.
I did 5x1/1 MP+1 PU,2/2 MP+2 PU,3/3 MP+3 PU . I did the ROP for a lot of 2007 but couldn't really do pull ups because my lats weren't strong enough, so its nice to be able to do these even though the numbers aren't that great. What I liked about this combination is that the push and pull movements seemed to compliment one another to the point of strengthening both throughout the workout. So on the last set, my press and pull up felt stronger than when I started. I haven't done KB presses in a while and I haven't done this kind of volume of pull ups ever (don't think I've ever done 30 in one session...might be wrong), so I was surprised by how strong and solid everything felt.
Was feeling so good I did 6x10/10 one arm swings with the 32. I wasn't counting, but probably rested for a minute in between sets. After that I did the dishes for my wife, to really make it a productive evening, lol.
I'm gonna roll with this (KBs, PUs, and dishes) until the TSC and see what happens. I'll try to DL maybe once a week or just settle on the swings.
It has greatly exceeded my expectations. I love being able to jump up and bang out pull ups without bending my knees (I'm 6'3"). It weighs about 90 pounds but is fairly easy to collapse and move around the garage. Its easy to safely move the height up and down. Yesterday was an off day and while waiting for the fam I lowered it and did some leg and knees raises. It is sturdy as a mule (besides being a little bit wobbly due to the uneven garage. It bothered me at first but after a few satisfying sets of pull ups and weighted pull ups I no longer cared).
I can see why the RKC level II and Pavel uses these bars.
Get yours Here
Two nights ago delivered one of the most satisfying workouts I've had in a long time. I dusted off my 32 kilo kettlebell and did press ladders adding a pull up for each press.
I did 5x1/1 MP+1 PU,2/2 MP+2 PU,3/3 MP+3 PU . I did the ROP for a lot of 2007 but couldn't really do pull ups because my lats weren't strong enough, so its nice to be able to do these even though the numbers aren't that great. What I liked about this combination is that the push and pull movements seemed to compliment one another to the point of strengthening both throughout the workout. So on the last set, my press and pull up felt stronger than when I started. I haven't done KB presses in a while and I haven't done this kind of volume of pull ups ever (don't think I've ever done 30 in one session...might be wrong), so I was surprised by how strong and solid everything felt.
Was feeling so good I did 6x10/10 one arm swings with the 32. I wasn't counting, but probably rested for a minute in between sets. After that I did the dishes for my wife, to really make it a productive evening, lol.
I'm gonna roll with this (KBs, PUs, and dishes) until the TSC and see what happens. I'll try to DL maybe once a week or just settle on the swings.
Monday, August 17, 2009
The Benfits of Deadlifting and some How-to
Why Deadlift?
Most of you have probably tried Kettlebells and circuits and other ways of getting you smoked in a hurry. Imagine all the intensity of one of those workouts compacted into 3 or 4 seconds. That’s what it feels like to do heavy deadlifts. If kettlebells are for people who have little time in their lives for working out, barbell deadlifts are for people who have absolutely no time to workout but whose barbells are strategically placed in some productive room in the house. My barbell set is conveniently located in between my washer and dryer and the workbench down in the basement. With three children age three and under, I literally have to sneak in a good set of 3-5 whenever I possibly can. I have found that a barbell lying on the floor in the basement gives me more bang for my buck than a kettlebell, and there are no pools of sweat to speak of and it doesn’t take 5-10 minutes to gather my wits about me so I can resume speaking and breathing normally.
Someone once objected to Pavel that deadlifting is not worth doing because it is a detriment to cardio and endurance. Pavel responded that while deadlifting will do nothing for preparing for a marathon, it will come in handy for moving furniture all day. It seems paradoxical. Brief, intense lifting “spreads out” over the lifting taken up over the course of your day. Furniture lifting, although not routine for most us, illustrates this point perfectly. It makes sense: the couch has been downgraded from a heavy, bulky mass to something that feels light. Now you only need to use one arm to lift it.
Deadlifting is an investment in your back. Since the couch isn’t so heavy and you now know how to lift properly, you will not be making any more visits to your local doc or chiropractor. How many dollars are spent around the world fixing a bad back or a good back that wasn’t quite ready for a routine lift? This can be avoided by getting together with someone who knows how to lift properly. Your neighborhood RKC is a good person to talk to. In my opinion, this investment in your time and money can be best spent lifting something much heavier than what you will encounter on a day to day basis, and while a heavy kettlebell will likely do the job, a heavy barbell is guaranteed to be heavier than anything you will take on throughout your days and years. It goes without saying that a loaded barbell is really freaking heavy. The ease by which you can make small or large modifications in weight is unsurpassed.
Grinds make you lean. I remember reading a post a few years ago on the dragondoor forum of a guy who was getting a little pudgy on his all kettlebell girevoy sport diet. He was a little upset because he was spending all this time doing intense kettlebell workouts, yet was developing a gut! This is why the school of Hardstyle is not solely devoted to high rep sweat-fests (they of course have their place), but also to grinding out something heavy and nasty. Pavel suggested this to the disgruntled poster: have you done your grinds today? I didn’t start leaning out on kettlebells until I got devoted to heavy military pressing. This principle works all the more by using a loaded barbell. Military pressing is great, but it cannot be denied that deadlifting is more useful. Pavel often suggests cycling a deadlift program and a kettlebell program, such as Power to The People-Russian Strength Training Secrets for a month and then Enter the Kettlebell! Strength Secret of the Soviet Supermen By Pavel or Viking Warrior Conditioning The Scientific Approach to Forging a Heart of Elastic Steel for the next month. This is a simple way to get the best of both worlds and make gains in both over time.
How to Deadlift?
Really good deadlifting is an art. There are men and women out there capable of lifting over three times their bodyweight. There are many books written on all of the nuances of picking something off the ground, but I simply offer you a few things that have helped me make gains and avoid injury, and like I mention above, visiting an RKC or an experienced power lifter is the best start you can make. The kettlebell deadlift is the first order of action at the three day RKC certification. If you cannot meet with an RKC, Pavel’s Power to the People! is recognized as the go to book on deadlifting. These resources will teach you the nuts and bolts of deadlifting, such as leg positioning, hip positioning, spine positioning, shoulder positioning, head and eye positioning, tension, proper grip, [Sandy, you could add some more things here if you think of anything], etc. in addition of what not to do.
I’ll highlight a few essentials:
Load Gradually.
I have come across numerous different programs for increasing one’s deadlift ranging from Pavel’s Power to the People!, which calls for 5 days a week of lifting, to the Rif Cycle, which is only once a week. Every program I’ve seen contains the bit of common sense that you start with a manageable weight and go up from there. Going to heavy too soon will fry your central nervous system and will leave you feeling like crap for a few days with little or no desire to do anything, let alone picking up something heavy again. On the flipside, starting with something heavy yet manageable will do wonders for your energy and vitality (try it for yourself!).
Rounding Your Back
There is such a thing as a rounded back deadlift that some elite powerlifters use to their advantage. This should not be confused with a breakdown in your form and the overwhelming of the load causing your back to round. The former is intentional and the latter is not. Keep your thoracic spine straight.
Tense every muscle in your Body
Arms, legs, and glutes should be at maximal tension. Pretend you are wearing cement boots so that your shins are perpendicular to the ground and actively push your feet “through” the ground. Crush grip the bar with your hands. Keep your shoulder screwed in.
Hips Back, not Down, aka “The Wedge”
About a month ago Pavel posted a front raise/squat move with a light KB to help instruct the wedge technique for a more successful deadlift on the RKC Private Forum (which btw, is almost worth the price of attending the The Russian Kettlebell Challenge -Pavel Tsatsouline alone). I practiced it, it worked, and it set a PR for me. I had failed 200kg (440 pounds) twice before squatting with a 25 pound barbell plate...go figure. One of the benefits of being in a community of jedis. A few days later I found this concept simplified even more from the mind/blog of Master RKC Brett Jones:
""In a squat the hips go down but in the Deadlift the hips go back." I'll even emphasize this more by saying that the hips go back and up. Too many people turn their DL into a squat and in that position your back ends up the fulcrum but if you sit the hips back (and "up") then your hips will be the fulcrum."
This was my mistake for a long time. My hips were going down, in essence turning my deadlift into a squat. The squat and deadlift have their similarities, but they are essentially totally different movements. If you are squatting your deadlift, the load is displaced ever so slightly to your lower back…which makes all the difference in the world when working with weights closer to your max. You will notice that by keeping your hips back, you will not feel the load on your back, but in your glutes and upper legs, which is how the human body was designed to absorb heavy loads.
Sean Schniederjan, RKC is a husband and father, an avid Hardstyle Enthusiast and Trainer, and producer of Pavel Tsatsouline’s Hardstyle Ventura Workshop in October 2009 (Pavel’s 1st public bodyweight strength workshop since 2006). Email me at schniederjanRKC@aol.com if you need questions answered, program design or any help with your training. If you live in the St. Paul area, contact me for personal training.
Most of you have probably tried Kettlebells and circuits and other ways of getting you smoked in a hurry. Imagine all the intensity of one of those workouts compacted into 3 or 4 seconds. That’s what it feels like to do heavy deadlifts. If kettlebells are for people who have little time in their lives for working out, barbell deadlifts are for people who have absolutely no time to workout but whose barbells are strategically placed in some productive room in the house. My barbell set is conveniently located in between my washer and dryer and the workbench down in the basement. With three children age three and under, I literally have to sneak in a good set of 3-5 whenever I possibly can. I have found that a barbell lying on the floor in the basement gives me more bang for my buck than a kettlebell, and there are no pools of sweat to speak of and it doesn’t take 5-10 minutes to gather my wits about me so I can resume speaking and breathing normally.
Someone once objected to Pavel that deadlifting is not worth doing because it is a detriment to cardio and endurance. Pavel responded that while deadlifting will do nothing for preparing for a marathon, it will come in handy for moving furniture all day. It seems paradoxical. Brief, intense lifting “spreads out” over the lifting taken up over the course of your day. Furniture lifting, although not routine for most us, illustrates this point perfectly. It makes sense: the couch has been downgraded from a heavy, bulky mass to something that feels light. Now you only need to use one arm to lift it.
Deadlifting is an investment in your back. Since the couch isn’t so heavy and you now know how to lift properly, you will not be making any more visits to your local doc or chiropractor. How many dollars are spent around the world fixing a bad back or a good back that wasn’t quite ready for a routine lift? This can be avoided by getting together with someone who knows how to lift properly. Your neighborhood RKC is a good person to talk to. In my opinion, this investment in your time and money can be best spent lifting something much heavier than what you will encounter on a day to day basis, and while a heavy kettlebell will likely do the job, a heavy barbell is guaranteed to be heavier than anything you will take on throughout your days and years. It goes without saying that a loaded barbell is really freaking heavy. The ease by which you can make small or large modifications in weight is unsurpassed.
Grinds make you lean. I remember reading a post a few years ago on the dragondoor forum of a guy who was getting a little pudgy on his all kettlebell girevoy sport diet. He was a little upset because he was spending all this time doing intense kettlebell workouts, yet was developing a gut! This is why the school of Hardstyle is not solely devoted to high rep sweat-fests (they of course have their place), but also to grinding out something heavy and nasty. Pavel suggested this to the disgruntled poster: have you done your grinds today? I didn’t start leaning out on kettlebells until I got devoted to heavy military pressing. This principle works all the more by using a loaded barbell. Military pressing is great, but it cannot be denied that deadlifting is more useful. Pavel often suggests cycling a deadlift program and a kettlebell program, such as Power to The People-Russian Strength Training Secrets for a month and then Enter the Kettlebell! Strength Secret of the Soviet Supermen By Pavel or Viking Warrior Conditioning The Scientific Approach to Forging a Heart of Elastic Steel for the next month. This is a simple way to get the best of both worlds and make gains in both over time.
How to Deadlift?
Really good deadlifting is an art. There are men and women out there capable of lifting over three times their bodyweight. There are many books written on all of the nuances of picking something off the ground, but I simply offer you a few things that have helped me make gains and avoid injury, and like I mention above, visiting an RKC or an experienced power lifter is the best start you can make. The kettlebell deadlift is the first order of action at the three day RKC certification. If you cannot meet with an RKC, Pavel’s Power to the People! is recognized as the go to book on deadlifting. These resources will teach you the nuts and bolts of deadlifting, such as leg positioning, hip positioning, spine positioning, shoulder positioning, head and eye positioning, tension, proper grip, [Sandy, you could add some more things here if you think of anything], etc. in addition of what not to do.
I’ll highlight a few essentials:
Load Gradually.
I have come across numerous different programs for increasing one’s deadlift ranging from Pavel’s Power to the People!, which calls for 5 days a week of lifting, to the Rif Cycle, which is only once a week. Every program I’ve seen contains the bit of common sense that you start with a manageable weight and go up from there. Going to heavy too soon will fry your central nervous system and will leave you feeling like crap for a few days with little or no desire to do anything, let alone picking up something heavy again. On the flipside, starting with something heavy yet manageable will do wonders for your energy and vitality (try it for yourself!).
Rounding Your Back
There is such a thing as a rounded back deadlift that some elite powerlifters use to their advantage. This should not be confused with a breakdown in your form and the overwhelming of the load causing your back to round. The former is intentional and the latter is not. Keep your thoracic spine straight.
Tense every muscle in your Body
Arms, legs, and glutes should be at maximal tension. Pretend you are wearing cement boots so that your shins are perpendicular to the ground and actively push your feet “through” the ground. Crush grip the bar with your hands. Keep your shoulder screwed in.
Hips Back, not Down, aka “The Wedge”
About a month ago Pavel posted a front raise/squat move with a light KB to help instruct the wedge technique for a more successful deadlift on the RKC Private Forum (which btw, is almost worth the price of attending the The Russian Kettlebell Challenge -Pavel Tsatsouline alone). I practiced it, it worked, and it set a PR for me. I had failed 200kg (440 pounds) twice before squatting with a 25 pound barbell plate...go figure. One of the benefits of being in a community of jedis. A few days later I found this concept simplified even more from the mind/blog of Master RKC Brett Jones:
""In a squat the hips go down but in the Deadlift the hips go back." I'll even emphasize this more by saying that the hips go back and up. Too many people turn their DL into a squat and in that position your back ends up the fulcrum but if you sit the hips back (and "up") then your hips will be the fulcrum."
This was my mistake for a long time. My hips were going down, in essence turning my deadlift into a squat. The squat and deadlift have their similarities, but they are essentially totally different movements. If you are squatting your deadlift, the load is displaced ever so slightly to your lower back…which makes all the difference in the world when working with weights closer to your max. You will notice that by keeping your hips back, you will not feel the load on your back, but in your glutes and upper legs, which is how the human body was designed to absorb heavy loads.
Sean Schniederjan, RKC is a husband and father, an avid Hardstyle Enthusiast and Trainer, and producer of Pavel Tsatsouline’s Hardstyle Ventura Workshop in October 2009 (Pavel’s 1st public bodyweight strength workshop since 2006). Email me at schniederjanRKC@aol.com if you need questions answered, program design or any help with your training. If you live in the St. Paul area, contact me for personal training.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Instructors Lined Up for Hardstyle Ventura
I'm proud to announce the presence of these men at HSV:
Chief Instructor Pavel
Master RKC
Rif
Sr. RKCs:
Dave Whitley
Doug Nepodal
Will Williams
RKC TLs:
Mark Toomey
Doc Cheng
Paul Daniels
Mike CastroGiovanni
Jay Armstrong
Jeremy Layport
Chief Instructor Pavel
Master RKC
Rif
Sr. RKCs:
Dave Whitley
Doug Nepodal
Will Williams
RKC TLs:
Mark Toomey
Doc Cheng
Paul Daniels
Mike CastroGiovanni
Jay Armstrong
Jeremy Layport
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
The Strength Journey
Funny how years can go by and the most simple yet fundamental aspects to training seem to elude you. When we think about the history of our training, there are moments that stand out where the occasion for learning a concept and placing it into our training fits in just perfectly. I've probably had more than three of these, but these are the three that really stand out:
1.) I went to the April 2008 RKC as a victim for the certification candidates to teach (to demonstrate they can teach what they've been taught at the RKC). Its free and a good perk to living in St. Paul. I had been three times but this time I really got my time's worth because as fate would have it, my lesson was with RKC Candidate and Powerlifting Champion Ellen Stein. Pavel stopped by and made sure I knew who she was and luckily I was ready because about 5 people had already pointed it out to me. Ellen looked at my military press and noticed something didn't look right. My thoracic spine was not straight. This was causing me all kinds of discomfort in my upper back, not to mention the strength I was losing in my press. I had taken lessons from several qualified teachers, but this simple point had never been brought to light for some reason.
2.) Earlier this year I was reading up on Steve Maxwell's blog as I'm wont to do and he described the push-up form in a way I had never heard. Its pretty simple: keep your elbows in and shoulders down and go up and down slowly. It was dead of winter in MN and as fate would have it it was too cold to do KBs in my 3 season porch courage corner, so I worked on these push-ups for a few months inside. I really noticed the lats in a new way from doing these and it manifested itself on the pull-up bar. I went from 3 weak pull-ups to 10 just from a few (OK it was actually several) solid push-ups. My Military Press is much more solid now as well.
3.) About a month ago Pavel posted a front raise/squat move with a light KB to help instruct the wedge technique for a more successful deadlift. I practiced it and it worked and helped set a PR. A few days later I found this concept simplified even more from the mind/blog of Master RKC Brett Jones:
""In a squat the hips go down but in the Deadlift the hips go back."I'll even emphasize this more by saying that the hips go back and up. Too many people turn their DL into a squat and in that position your back ends up the fulcrum but if you sit the hips back (and "up") then your hips will be the fulcrum."
In other words, I had been squatting all this time, not deadlifting. The main thing I noticed from this very simple yet subtle change to setting up the DL is that you no longer "feel it" in the lower spinal erectors, but instead in the coccyx area. Also, the glutes and hamstrings fire intensely because those muscles take more of the load off the lower back.
All of these things are so simple you scratch your head and say "why didn't someone tell me this before?" But the strength journey is one of gradual discovery and evolution. Be on the lookout and ready to receive and implement the concepts that you come across to enhance your training. As St. Thomas Aquinas points out:
"whatever is received is received according to the mode of the receiver."
1.) I went to the April 2008 RKC as a victim for the certification candidates to teach (to demonstrate they can teach what they've been taught at the RKC). Its free and a good perk to living in St. Paul. I had been three times but this time I really got my time's worth because as fate would have it, my lesson was with RKC Candidate and Powerlifting Champion Ellen Stein. Pavel stopped by and made sure I knew who she was and luckily I was ready because about 5 people had already pointed it out to me. Ellen looked at my military press and noticed something didn't look right. My thoracic spine was not straight. This was causing me all kinds of discomfort in my upper back, not to mention the strength I was losing in my press. I had taken lessons from several qualified teachers, but this simple point had never been brought to light for some reason.
2.) Earlier this year I was reading up on Steve Maxwell's blog as I'm wont to do and he described the push-up form in a way I had never heard. Its pretty simple: keep your elbows in and shoulders down and go up and down slowly. It was dead of winter in MN and as fate would have it it was too cold to do KBs in my 3 season porch courage corner, so I worked on these push-ups for a few months inside. I really noticed the lats in a new way from doing these and it manifested itself on the pull-up bar. I went from 3 weak pull-ups to 10 just from a few (OK it was actually several) solid push-ups. My Military Press is much more solid now as well.
3.) About a month ago Pavel posted a front raise/squat move with a light KB to help instruct the wedge technique for a more successful deadlift. I practiced it and it worked and helped set a PR. A few days later I found this concept simplified even more from the mind/blog of Master RKC Brett Jones:
""In a squat the hips go down but in the Deadlift the hips go back."I'll even emphasize this more by saying that the hips go back and up. Too many people turn their DL into a squat and in that position your back ends up the fulcrum but if you sit the hips back (and "up") then your hips will be the fulcrum."
In other words, I had been squatting all this time, not deadlifting. The main thing I noticed from this very simple yet subtle change to setting up the DL is that you no longer "feel it" in the lower spinal erectors, but instead in the coccyx area. Also, the glutes and hamstrings fire intensely because those muscles take more of the load off the lower back.
All of these things are so simple you scratch your head and say "why didn't someone tell me this before?" But the strength journey is one of gradual discovery and evolution. Be on the lookout and ready to receive and implement the concepts that you come across to enhance your training. As St. Thomas Aquinas points out:
"whatever is received is received according to the mode of the receiver."
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Ego
Battling the ego is one of the most important parts of training and life. This is a difficult task for me. Upon a little reflection, it is such a ridiculous thing. There is always someone better and someone worse. I feel my training has been boring lately and part of that is probably because it isn't really "impressive," i.e. the numbers aren't impressive.
Rif's comeback post put some perspective on this. I should be thankful for good, pain free movement. Train consistently and purposefully (lately I have been, following PTP using a bench press instead of the bent press). 2x5 for each 4-5 days a week is all...just keep the head down and keep working....don't sweat the numbers its not about that. But it is. Paradox.
Rif's comeback post put some perspective on this. I should be thankful for good, pain free movement. Train consistently and purposefully (lately I have been, following PTP using a bench press instead of the bent press). 2x5 for each 4-5 days a week is all...just keep the head down and keep working....don't sweat the numbers its not about that. But it is. Paradox.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Weekend Update
Nothing too exciting lately, just been sticking with the 40 day program. Worked up to 2x185x5 on the Bench and am now back off a little and on DL I’m at 360x5 and 340x5 (I think I’m on day 10). Been using the PTP template where you drop 20 pounds on the second set for DLs. Kind of boring stuff, but upper body is feeling strong, I think this bench work will lend itself to a stonger KB military press, we’ll see.
Saturday night was fun, tailgated at a Saints game and then watched fireworks off the roof of a condo in the warehouse district in Minneapolis. There was a pull up bar in the gym up there so did a ton of those and got a few from the group I was with to engage the lats as well...gouda times. I only got 8, but had to bend the legs as the bar was not built for tall comrades.
About to take some time off boozing, I realized that that extra 10 pounds comes the beers. I want to do well at pull-ups at the TSC in Sept. so I will back off for that and Hardstyle Ventura in October.
Sunday took the kids to lumberjack days. Those lumberjacks are beasts! Wish I could saw that quickly and effectively. I wanted to talk to them about their training and tricks they use, but the crowds were large and didn’t get a chance.
The dog jumping was also cool, saw a black lab grab a bone off a chain over 7 feet, he grabbed it with room to go, whereas the other dogs were missing it.
Saturday night was fun, tailgated at a Saints game and then watched fireworks off the roof of a condo in the warehouse district in Minneapolis. There was a pull up bar in the gym up there so did a ton of those and got a few from the group I was with to engage the lats as well...gouda times. I only got 8, but had to bend the legs as the bar was not built for tall comrades.
About to take some time off boozing, I realized that that extra 10 pounds comes the beers. I want to do well at pull-ups at the TSC in Sept. so I will back off for that and Hardstyle Ventura in October.
Sunday took the kids to lumberjack days. Those lumberjacks are beasts! Wish I could saw that quickly and effectively. I wanted to talk to them about their training and tricks they use, but the crowds were large and didn’t get a chance.
The dog jumping was also cool, saw a black lab grab a bone off a chain over 7 feet, he grabbed it with room to go, whereas the other dogs were missing it.
Friday, July 17, 2009
OK, the Program Shopping is Over
For the next 40 days I'll be doing Dan John's 40 day program. Details Here:
Dan John 40 Day Program for Strength
I was hesitant about mixing VO2max and strength work. It might work, but I think this program suites my current goals better.
I just set up a bench in my basement. I've never been into benching before so this should be fun, and I'm hoping that increasing my bench will carryover to this Steve Maxwell Pushup challenge I've been doing lately.
Last Night, Day 1:
Bench: 2x5x160
DL: 2x5x315 (felt heavy)
Plate Curls: 1x5/5 (25+5), 1x5/5 (25)
20 swings with 2 35 pound BB plates (dynamic pinching)
5 Evil Situps (that's what I call them: legs hover, then peel your spine off the ground up, then same path back to starting position. Do them slow, they are very efficient)
This is kind of like PTP and incorporates my other goals perfectly plus you get a little conditioning from the swings.
Dan John 40 Day Program for Strength
I was hesitant about mixing VO2max and strength work. It might work, but I think this program suites my current goals better.
I just set up a bench in my basement. I've never been into benching before so this should be fun, and I'm hoping that increasing my bench will carryover to this Steve Maxwell Pushup challenge I've been doing lately.
Last Night, Day 1:
Bench: 2x5x160
DL: 2x5x315 (felt heavy)
Plate Curls: 1x5/5 (25+5), 1x5/5 (25)
20 swings with 2 35 pound BB plates (dynamic pinching)
5 Evil Situps (that's what I call them: legs hover, then peel your spine off the ground up, then same path back to starting position. Do them slow, they are very efficient)
This is kind of like PTP and incorporates my other goals perfectly plus you get a little conditioning from the swings.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
A Press and a VOmit Session
VOmit is an invention of Aaron Friday used to describe a VO2max session within 10 minutes of a large dinner.
MP 40kg: 1/1
Haven't picked up the bulldog in a while and wasn't even sure if it would go up, but it turned out to be probably my best press ever. There was no lean and the thing shot right up. I want to get a beast and see if the same would happen, but in the meantime I'll try adding my 8kg to the 40kg and give that a go after work.
VO2max:
15:15, 16KG, 8 REPS PER SESHY, 25 Min, 50 rounds
Jordan Vezina suggested that you can do two VO2max sessions per week and two days of DLing as long as you don't go over 25 minutes in VO2max. I'm gonna try this because I want to keep pulling but not neglect my heart, so hopefully this will work.
MP 40kg: 1/1
Haven't picked up the bulldog in a while and wasn't even sure if it would go up, but it turned out to be probably my best press ever. There was no lean and the thing shot right up. I want to get a beast and see if the same would happen, but in the meantime I'll try adding my 8kg to the 40kg and give that a go after work.
VO2max:
15:15, 16KG, 8 REPS PER SESHY, 25 Min, 50 rounds
Jordan Vezina suggested that you can do two VO2max sessions per week and two days of DLing as long as you don't go over 25 minutes in VO2max. I'm gonna try this because I want to keep pulling but not neglect my heart, so hopefully this will work.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Quick Weekend Recap
Freaking tired after a long weekend working in the yard and doing several KB workouts.
Saturday morning I did some wrist work, singles and doubles of 16kg KB hammer curls, leverage work with my shovel, and Bottom Up cleans and presses with the 32kg. Then to the park with the kids and did some pull-ups, bar dips, and hanging leg raises. Its Monday and the dear abbies are still feeling it.
Saturday night 22 minutes of 8 reps of 15:15 vo2max w/ 16kg.
Sunday pulled 365x5 (felt so easy with my new wedge technique). Hips back! That’s all it is. Really increases leverage.
Sunday night did some swings with the wife and 18 Steve Maxwell SLOW pushups. Wish I could rest today :(
Also checked out this nursery called Gerton's. It is BIG and got a lot of ideas about designing our backyard patio.
Saturday morning I did some wrist work, singles and doubles of 16kg KB hammer curls, leverage work with my shovel, and Bottom Up cleans and presses with the 32kg. Then to the park with the kids and did some pull-ups, bar dips, and hanging leg raises. Its Monday and the dear abbies are still feeling it.
Saturday night 22 minutes of 8 reps of 15:15 vo2max w/ 16kg.
Sunday pulled 365x5 (felt so easy with my new wedge technique). Hips back! That’s all it is. Really increases leverage.
Sunday night did some swings with the wife and 18 Steve Maxwell SLOW pushups. Wish I could rest today :(
Also checked out this nursery called Gerton's. It is BIG and got a lot of ideas about designing our backyard patio.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
PR!
1x440
Much more satisfying than the 430 last week. Here's how it went down:
Last week, Jason Marshall (RKCII), dropped this description of a squat/front raise that teaches "the wedge" with very little weight.
Jason says:
"Actually, do a negative curl at the bottom of the goblet squat...like Jeff showed at your Level I. Hold the elbows in extension, then begin the front raise. As you front raise, think Tall Spine, Open Hips, Weight in the Heels, Knees Over Heels. When you get to your limit ROM in the front raise, simultaneously spread the floor with your knees, activate the glutes and stand up in your maxed out front raise position. Over head is not the goal if you don't have the mobility in your t-spine or shoulders. Bang out a few light reps then go pull. It's like you lever yourself under the weight. Pretty cool!"
Rested yesterday and was feeling stong today, so went down to the basement thinking heavy. Did 2x5 of this squat with 2 10 pound plates. Attempted 1x445 with no warm up and got it off the ground, but was too rusty to fight with it. So I shook the tension off, did 1x5 of those squats with a 25 pound plate, did a few explosive jumps, took 5 pounds off, then went again. Wasn't fast, but blasted right through my usual sticking point. Around the usual sticking point, I swear I almost cracked a smile as I thought "this is going up this time, I got this." Might have even been good for a few more pounds.
Overall, it felt great, like what a PR should feel like: not too fast and not too slow or difficult.
Strength and Honor
Much more satisfying than the 430 last week. Here's how it went down:
Last week, Jason Marshall (RKCII), dropped this description of a squat/front raise that teaches "the wedge" with very little weight.
Jason says:
"Actually, do a negative curl at the bottom of the goblet squat...like Jeff showed at your Level I. Hold the elbows in extension, then begin the front raise. As you front raise, think Tall Spine, Open Hips, Weight in the Heels, Knees Over Heels. When you get to your limit ROM in the front raise, simultaneously spread the floor with your knees, activate the glutes and stand up in your maxed out front raise position. Over head is not the goal if you don't have the mobility in your t-spine or shoulders. Bang out a few light reps then go pull. It's like you lever yourself under the weight. Pretty cool!"
Rested yesterday and was feeling stong today, so went down to the basement thinking heavy. Did 2x5 of this squat with 2 10 pound plates. Attempted 1x445 with no warm up and got it off the ground, but was too rusty to fight with it. So I shook the tension off, did 1x5 of those squats with a 25 pound plate, did a few explosive jumps, took 5 pounds off, then went again. Wasn't fast, but blasted right through my usual sticking point. Around the usual sticking point, I swear I almost cracked a smile as I thought "this is going up this time, I got this." Might have even been good for a few more pounds.
Overall, it felt great, like what a PR should feel like: not too fast and not too slow or difficult.
Strength and Honor
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
A good Core Thrashin!
2 min of static one arm pushup lockout holds (switching sides ever 30 seconds)
3x12 (1 minute) 5 second pushups (2 sec down, 2 sec up, 1 sec lockout)
3x20/20 one arm swings (32kg)
Definitely a core thrasher!
Think I'll do KBs for a week or so then try another DL Cycle.
3x12 (1 minute) 5 second pushups (2 sec down, 2 sec up, 1 sec lockout)
3x20/20 one arm swings (32kg)
Definitely a core thrasher!
Think I'll do KBs for a week or so then try another DL Cycle.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Great ID Weekend
To me, a great weekend is where I get work done around the house, spend quality time with the wifey and kids, get some prayer in, and of course, a few workouts.
This 3 day weekend delivered on all fronts. Here are my workouts from Friday and Saturday:
Friday:
(All 32kg)
GTG pushups and MPs, worked up to my fastest BUP with the 32kg ever, it shot up fast. GTG'd wrist leverage with my shovel prior and think that transferred over to a strong BUP. Then did a few hammer curls with the 16kg.
Then 3x3/3 MP ->3 goblet squats, then 1x5/5->5 of the same
Saturday:
Prior to the feast I wanted to get an SSST in. Haven't done this in a while or done much conditioning at all for that matter so was pleased to get 180 with some left over in the tank. Did 160 without putting the bell down, but this was at an extremely slow pace. I put the bell down after 160 and looked at the clock to see a little over 9:00 had gone by! I was bummed, because I really wanted 200. So I took a brief breather and banged out another 20 (10/10) quick ones for 180 total. Then ate a ton over at a friends house and drank some Summits, talked politics/economics while it rained and played Bachi Ball on his sloped lawn once the sun emerged.
Sunday:
Was sore as hell. Sawed down a few trees for my in-laws for active recovery and drove to St. Louis Park with my wife to partake in Smoothie King! First time I've had one since living in TX years ago, they're pricey but oh so delicious. The traditional mass at St. Agnes w/ Gregorian Chant Sunday gave me some time for silent prayer and time with my maker that balanced out the weekend.
God Bless America!
This 3 day weekend delivered on all fronts. Here are my workouts from Friday and Saturday:
Friday:
(All 32kg)
GTG pushups and MPs, worked up to my fastest BUP with the 32kg ever, it shot up fast. GTG'd wrist leverage with my shovel prior and think that transferred over to a strong BUP. Then did a few hammer curls with the 16kg.
Then 3x3/3 MP ->3 goblet squats, then 1x5/5->5 of the same
Saturday:
Prior to the feast I wanted to get an SSST in. Haven't done this in a while or done much conditioning at all for that matter so was pleased to get 180 with some left over in the tank. Did 160 without putting the bell down, but this was at an extremely slow pace. I put the bell down after 160 and looked at the clock to see a little over 9:00 had gone by! I was bummed, because I really wanted 200. So I took a brief breather and banged out another 20 (10/10) quick ones for 180 total. Then ate a ton over at a friends house and drank some Summits, talked politics/economics while it rained and played Bachi Ball on his sloped lawn once the sun emerged.
Sunday:
Was sore as hell. Sawed down a few trees for my in-laws for active recovery and drove to St. Louis Park with my wife to partake in Smoothie King! First time I've had one since living in TX years ago, they're pricey but oh so delicious. The traditional mass at St. Agnes w/ Gregorian Chant Sunday gave me some time for silent prayer and time with my maker that balanced out the weekend.
God Bless America!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Back to KBs
Felt great to switch gears:
Double Military Press (switching a 24 and 16 each set)
2x2,3,5,10
2x2,3,5
One arm swings:
2x30/30. Smoked and done hardstyle.
Double Military Press (switching a 24 and 16 each set)
2x2,3,5,10
2x2,3,5
One arm swings:
2x30/30. Smoked and done hardstyle.
On How to KILL the SSST
How to go from Zero to Hero in the Secret Service Snatch Test in Two Easy Steps:
Step One: Read and do ETK. There is no doubt that this is the best kettlebell program for raw beginners and those who have a decent base level of strength but no direction in their training. Keep in mind that this isn’t a “workout” book, it is a program that is essentially a road map for hitting difficult yet obtainable goals: Pressing the kettlebell closest to one half your bodyweight and the simple, sinister, and brutal Secret Service Snatch Test (SSST), which will humble even the most elite athletes. The real beauty of ETK is that if you follow it, you will be able to do the SSST, while the most elite athlete with little or no kettlebell experience would be tossing his or her cookies on the pavement. The level of conditioning it takes to perform the SSST is truly out of this world, yet attainable with a little focus and discipline in your training.
What is the SSST?
Pavel goes into a detailed description of the origins of the SSST in ETK, but essentially it is performing 200 snatches (24kg for men, 16kg for women) in 10 minutes. The bell may be set down and you may take as many hand switches as you please. All you have to do is get to 200 and I guarantee you will not come close on your first try. I don’t believe I’ve heard of anyone faring well on their first try. You probably guessed that the United States Secret Service uses this to test the mental and physical abilities of their agents under high levels of stress. There is a point every victim of the test reaches during the test where the true nature of the stress of what you are doing becomes evident to the body and mind. The mind and body experience an intense “shock” that can only be overcome with good form and sharp mental stamina. You really must experience this for yourself.
My Experience with the ETK
I’m your average male. I’m not a mutant by any means and don’t have a lot of sports and working out in my background besides the occasional push up and curl binges in high school and college. However, following ETK and my own tweaked up version of the Program Minimum allowed me to hit a 240 in the SSST, which some might consider mutant territory in this particular endeavor. That was a few years ago and to this day is my proudest physical achievement.
I had been doing KBs for around two years prior with little direction. I randomly did swings, snatches, Turkish get-ups, floor presses, military presses, etc, pretty much towed the party line. Soon after the release of ETK, the dragondoor forum was buzzing with talk of the SSST. I hadn’t bought or read ETK yet, but I thought since all these people were attacking the SSST, I might as well do it too since I knew how to snatch a KB and could fairly easily bang out sets of 10-20 snatches with a 24kg. So I grabbed my watch, my kettlebell, and ventured out to the backyard to do 200 reps in 10 minutes. I thought I was a pretty good snatcher and with a tough attitude, I honestly thought I was going to go out there and do this. As Troy MacClure, the washed out actor voiced by Phil Hartmann in the early years of the Simpsons would say: “Nothing could be further from the truth!” It was around the 8 or 9 minute mark and I was positively done at a little over 120 total snatches. I could not do one more snatch, even if someone were yelling at me or offering me something of high value.
The truth set in and it hurt. Humility is knowledge of the truth, and I had just experienced the truth: I was a looooong way from 200 snatches in 10 minutes.
A few weeks later ETK arrived. This was the first laid out training program I had ever done. Weeks started going by and I was surprised at how easy it was to stay on the program. There is something natural about the way the program is set up. Easy, Medium, and Heavy days with the lifts used (swings and snatches, along with presses for the shoulder/arm work) just agreed with me and I had no trouble fulfilling my three day per week obligation. I hardly ever used the optional “variety days,” which was a testament to how satisfying and quality my workouts were for the minimal three days. My variety day was resting my body. Progress came quickly. After a few weeks of the swings, I noticed I could (big surprise) do more swings…in less time!
The light days on ETK use snatches instead of swings, with more of an emphasis on pure form than killing yourself as you would on a heavy day. About a month or two into the program I remember having to 8 minutes of snatching on the easy day. I decided to test myself and go harder than the requirements of that day and I ended up with 160 snatches in 8 minutes. That shocked me, but what shocked me even more was that I was relatively close to not being smoked (I always get smoked from snatches, but this was real progress)!
So I kept at it and at last test day came. Long story short, I made a calculation error in my set breakdown and did only 197 in 10 minutes when I thought I had done 207. It was a colossal bummer, but I knew I was right at the doorstep of 200. More swings later, I tested again and hit 210. I remember thinking that something magical was going to happen the moment I crossed 200. I was expecting my shirt to get ripped off my body and my soul torn from my body and thrown into heaven by a jealous god (or some other strange mystical thing you read in comments section of the howling wolves t-shirts on amazon).
Follow ETK by the spirit and the letter and you will pass the Secret Service Snatch Test. If I can, then you can. Every girivik should own a dog-eared copy of Enter the Kettlebell! If you don’t have it, get it. There are good resources for beginners out there, but nothing will deliver the quickness of results in less time in a rational, comprehensive, yet simple manner as ETK. This book belongs in the library of anyone remotely interested in physical culture.
Once you have crossed 200, here is another simple strategy I discovered for getting closer to 250 in the SSST:
Do one arm swings (always do one arm swings when training for the SSST) with a heavier bell. For men, mix it up with a 32kg and a 40kg. For shoulder stability and more core and conditioning work, do Turkish getups with a 32kg and a 40kg. If you can do 200 in the SSST but want more, try this simple 3 day program:
You’ll be doing two medium days (there are no easy days because you are a stud now), and one balls out heavy day for a total of three days. Depending on how you feel, use either the 32kg or the 40kg for swings and get-ups. Depending on how you feel, do 5-10 minutes of TGUs, alternating sides with each rep, rest for a minute or two, then do 5-10 minutes of one arm swings. On a heavy day, shoot for 300 one arm swings in 10 minutes with the 32kg or 200 with the 40kg. It won’t happen most likely, but those are the numbers you should measure yourself against. On the heavy days for TGU, aim at not taking breaks between reps. When you get closer to 10 minutes, it gets difficult to not take a brief breather. So 10 minutes of continuous get-ups with a 32kg should be your measure on the heavy day. Don’t use the 40kg for get-ups or swings on the heavy day. The 40kg is used on one of the medium days to make the 32kg feel lighter on heavy days. So do your best with the bulldog on a medium day, but don’t do anything stupid. That thing is heavy. As a general rule, anything over 100 one arm swings in 5 minutes with a 40kg is pretty good. 5 minutes of more or less continuous TGU reps with the 40kg is pretty good. But again, the 40kg is used to make the 32kg easier to handle on heavy days, so don’t get bogged down with your 40kg numbers as much.
Do this for a month or two and then pick up the 24kg for an SSST. That thing will be feeling nice and light. If you are in the 260-300 range with one arm swings with a 32kg and you can do 8-10 minutes of continuous TGUs with a 32kg, then you have the conditioning and shoulder stability requisites to truly kill the SSST.
ETK KB/Book/DVD Starter Kit Found Here for men:
Men's 35lb Russian Kettlebell Quick-Start Kit with DVD
For Ladies:
Women's 26lb Ultimate Kettlebell Workout Kit
KBs Only:
Up to 30% price reduction on Dragon Door's classic RKC Kettlebells
Book Only:
Enter the Kettlebell! Strength Secret of the Soviet Supermen By Pavel
Step One: Read and do ETK. There is no doubt that this is the best kettlebell program for raw beginners and those who have a decent base level of strength but no direction in their training. Keep in mind that this isn’t a “workout” book, it is a program that is essentially a road map for hitting difficult yet obtainable goals: Pressing the kettlebell closest to one half your bodyweight and the simple, sinister, and brutal Secret Service Snatch Test (SSST), which will humble even the most elite athletes. The real beauty of ETK is that if you follow it, you will be able to do the SSST, while the most elite athlete with little or no kettlebell experience would be tossing his or her cookies on the pavement. The level of conditioning it takes to perform the SSST is truly out of this world, yet attainable with a little focus and discipline in your training.
What is the SSST?
Pavel goes into a detailed description of the origins of the SSST in ETK, but essentially it is performing 200 snatches (24kg for men, 16kg for women) in 10 minutes. The bell may be set down and you may take as many hand switches as you please. All you have to do is get to 200 and I guarantee you will not come close on your first try. I don’t believe I’ve heard of anyone faring well on their first try. You probably guessed that the United States Secret Service uses this to test the mental and physical abilities of their agents under high levels of stress. There is a point every victim of the test reaches during the test where the true nature of the stress of what you are doing becomes evident to the body and mind. The mind and body experience an intense “shock” that can only be overcome with good form and sharp mental stamina. You really must experience this for yourself.
My Experience with the ETK
I’m your average male. I’m not a mutant by any means and don’t have a lot of sports and working out in my background besides the occasional push up and curl binges in high school and college. However, following ETK and my own tweaked up version of the Program Minimum allowed me to hit a 240 in the SSST, which some might consider mutant territory in this particular endeavor. That was a few years ago and to this day is my proudest physical achievement.
I had been doing KBs for around two years prior with little direction. I randomly did swings, snatches, Turkish get-ups, floor presses, military presses, etc, pretty much towed the party line. Soon after the release of ETK, the dragondoor forum was buzzing with talk of the SSST. I hadn’t bought or read ETK yet, but I thought since all these people were attacking the SSST, I might as well do it too since I knew how to snatch a KB and could fairly easily bang out sets of 10-20 snatches with a 24kg. So I grabbed my watch, my kettlebell, and ventured out to the backyard to do 200 reps in 10 minutes. I thought I was a pretty good snatcher and with a tough attitude, I honestly thought I was going to go out there and do this. As Troy MacClure, the washed out actor voiced by Phil Hartmann in the early years of the Simpsons would say: “Nothing could be further from the truth!” It was around the 8 or 9 minute mark and I was positively done at a little over 120 total snatches. I could not do one more snatch, even if someone were yelling at me or offering me something of high value.
The truth set in and it hurt. Humility is knowledge of the truth, and I had just experienced the truth: I was a looooong way from 200 snatches in 10 minutes.
A few weeks later ETK arrived. This was the first laid out training program I had ever done. Weeks started going by and I was surprised at how easy it was to stay on the program. There is something natural about the way the program is set up. Easy, Medium, and Heavy days with the lifts used (swings and snatches, along with presses for the shoulder/arm work) just agreed with me and I had no trouble fulfilling my three day per week obligation. I hardly ever used the optional “variety days,” which was a testament to how satisfying and quality my workouts were for the minimal three days. My variety day was resting my body. Progress came quickly. After a few weeks of the swings, I noticed I could (big surprise) do more swings…in less time!
The light days on ETK use snatches instead of swings, with more of an emphasis on pure form than killing yourself as you would on a heavy day. About a month or two into the program I remember having to 8 minutes of snatching on the easy day. I decided to test myself and go harder than the requirements of that day and I ended up with 160 snatches in 8 minutes. That shocked me, but what shocked me even more was that I was relatively close to not being smoked (I always get smoked from snatches, but this was real progress)!
So I kept at it and at last test day came. Long story short, I made a calculation error in my set breakdown and did only 197 in 10 minutes when I thought I had done 207. It was a colossal bummer, but I knew I was right at the doorstep of 200. More swings later, I tested again and hit 210. I remember thinking that something magical was going to happen the moment I crossed 200. I was expecting my shirt to get ripped off my body and my soul torn from my body and thrown into heaven by a jealous god (or some other strange mystical thing you read in comments section of the howling wolves t-shirts on amazon).
Follow ETK by the spirit and the letter and you will pass the Secret Service Snatch Test. If I can, then you can. Every girivik should own a dog-eared copy of Enter the Kettlebell! If you don’t have it, get it. There are good resources for beginners out there, but nothing will deliver the quickness of results in less time in a rational, comprehensive, yet simple manner as ETK. This book belongs in the library of anyone remotely interested in physical culture.
Once you have crossed 200, here is another simple strategy I discovered for getting closer to 250 in the SSST:
Do one arm swings (always do one arm swings when training for the SSST) with a heavier bell. For men, mix it up with a 32kg and a 40kg. For shoulder stability and more core and conditioning work, do Turkish getups with a 32kg and a 40kg. If you can do 200 in the SSST but want more, try this simple 3 day program:
You’ll be doing two medium days (there are no easy days because you are a stud now), and one balls out heavy day for a total of three days. Depending on how you feel, use either the 32kg or the 40kg for swings and get-ups. Depending on how you feel, do 5-10 minutes of TGUs, alternating sides with each rep, rest for a minute or two, then do 5-10 minutes of one arm swings. On a heavy day, shoot for 300 one arm swings in 10 minutes with the 32kg or 200 with the 40kg. It won’t happen most likely, but those are the numbers you should measure yourself against. On the heavy days for TGU, aim at not taking breaks between reps. When you get closer to 10 minutes, it gets difficult to not take a brief breather. So 10 minutes of continuous get-ups with a 32kg should be your measure on the heavy day. Don’t use the 40kg for get-ups or swings on the heavy day. The 40kg is used on one of the medium days to make the 32kg feel lighter on heavy days. So do your best with the bulldog on a medium day, but don’t do anything stupid. That thing is heavy. As a general rule, anything over 100 one arm swings in 5 minutes with a 40kg is pretty good. 5 minutes of more or less continuous TGU reps with the 40kg is pretty good. But again, the 40kg is used to make the 32kg easier to handle on heavy days, so don’t get bogged down with your 40kg numbers as much.
Do this for a month or two and then pick up the 24kg for an SSST. That thing will be feeling nice and light. If you are in the 260-300 range with one arm swings with a 32kg and you can do 8-10 minutes of continuous TGUs with a 32kg, then you have the conditioning and shoulder stability requisites to truly kill the SSST.
ETK KB/Book/DVD Starter Kit Found Here for men:
Men's 35lb Russian Kettlebell Quick-Start Kit with DVD
For Ladies:
Women's 26lb Ultimate Kettlebell Workout Kit
KBs Only:
Up to 30% price reduction on Dragon Door's classic RKC Kettlebells
Book Only:
Enter the Kettlebell! Strength Secret of the Soviet Supermen By Pavel
Monday, June 29, 2009
Small PR
Today was test day. It went OK. I hit 430 then missed 450 (got to about the same point as 440 at the last TSC). I felt my tension was off for both. I rushed through warmups (1x355 and 1x405).
A little pissed because I think this is about where I was before this cycle. But from what little I've read this is a gradual thing. In hindsight, I think I would have warmed up more and then gone for 440.
Upwards and onward, a PR is a PR.
A little pissed because I think this is about where I was before this cycle. But from what little I've read this is a gradual thing. In hindsight, I think I would have warmed up more and then gone for 440.
Upwards and onward, a PR is a PR.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
The Vette
My dad, who is living the dream at the moment, cruised through town yesterday in his Red 2009 Corvette. He let me drive it, but he wouldn't let me gun it. Still, I got an idea of how fast that car is. I put the slightest pressure on the gas and it started to GO. I looked at the RPMs and it hadn't even hit 2,000. If you really put the petal to the metal I could see it easily getting away from you. You wouldn't want to do that within the city limits. It felt like driving the bat-mobile or something.
Anne, my wife, suggested we go to my favorite feasting grounds, Buca di Beppo for a family style Italian dinner. I wasn't hungry, but I wanted to be if that's where I'd be eating dinner. So I tried the Dan John workout that Pavel mentioned in his latest newsletter. I took rests and bounced the squats a bit, because I'm lazy and could reap the benefits of getting smoked even without following the rigorous instructions. Squats were feeling great...no pain on the femur. Definitely still can't pistol on the left, but relative light goblet squats are fine I guess:
5x10 Push ups
10,9,8....3,2,1 Goblet Squat->Two Arm Swing (24kg)
Then I didn't eat for three hours. Had a few beers and went into Buca's and annihilated the family portions.
The sun came out and Dad and I cruised down the Smith Street bridge overlooking the river and downtown St. Paul with the top down. Then we went up Summit and back down Grand, that was great.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Last day of my first DL Singles Cycle
Had a great, although far from perfect finish today. Hit 6x395 and called it a day. I'll be testing 1RM early next week after some rest, which will be nice. Today felt much better than 6x390 at the end of last week. Fourth rep was the best rep I feel I've done. My stance and leverage must have been dead on because it felt like a very short, quick distance between the floor and lockout. There was no fight from the BB, just fluid movement. It made me wonder if guys who have mastered the DL consistantly hit perfect or near perfect reps. I'm sure they have their bad days like golfers.
Glutes were firing hard and the reps felt explosive, despite a little fatigue from the previous four days and six weeks of consistent lifting.
A PR is on the way, that I am sure of. Depending on how I feel, I'll be shooting for 110% of my old 1RM (425), which is approximately 445. Part of my wants 450 in a bad way though, so we'll see what happens.
I got some video, but the vantage point was terrible. I'm such a freaking idiot. I could have tested the first rep to make sure, but no.
Glutes were firing hard and the reps felt explosive, despite a little fatigue from the previous four days and six weeks of consistent lifting.
A PR is on the way, that I am sure of. Depending on how I feel, I'll be shooting for 110% of my old 1RM (425), which is approximately 445. Part of my wants 450 in a bad way though, so we'll see what happens.
I got some video, but the vantage point was terrible. I'm such a freaking idiot. I could have tested the first rep to make sure, but no.
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