W1S3 - ME Upper Body

This was a good session, definitely felt worked afterward but I've got a ways to go, especially with body-relative strength.

Full ROM warm-ups @ 45, 95, 135, 155, 185

2-Board Bench

5s @ 185, 205, 225, 245, 265, 275, 285

285 still felt pretty good but I'm not consistent with where I'm touching the board. I need to dial that in if I want to break into the 3's in the next two weeks for this movement. The 2-board feels way better than the 4-board did, and it puts the bar pretty much right where I usually fail on max attempts so I'm excited about moving it up and seeing how well it carries back over.

Pull-Ups - My god was this disappointing. When I was 167 and primarily focusing on conditioning a set of 20 pull-ups was pretty easy. Since I started powerlifting I've now grown to 230 and added well over 330lbs on my total but apparently my body-relative strength has taken a big dip. As recently as a few months ago I did a set of 15 after a couple hours of rock climbing on their rock-hold pull-up bar so I was expecting to get 15 today, but ended up only getting 10. It's also possible that my lats were tired from the board pressing, but holy shit, 10?! This needs to change. Now.

10, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 (It said in the book to max out, then do five more sets at 50% each. I was pissed about doing sets of only 5 without any extra weight but I'd done 10 and that was reality. I had to suck it up and get through the sets.)

3-Way Dumbbell Raises - Burn baby burn. Even with 10's and 12.5's these were painful. 20 front raises (I like to go from a neutral grip by my sides to a supine grip at the top), 20 side raises and 20 rear raises without stopping.

Tate Presses (Book said dumbbell extensions but didn't specify what kind, so I chose these)

3 x 10 @ 25s, 30s, 35s

W1S2 - ME Lower Body

Low Box Squat with Deadlift Stance

5s @ 45, 95, 115, 135, 185, 205, 225, 245, 265

My knees did nooooot like this. Maybe it's just cause I'm not used to it, so I'll give it another shot the same way next week. If not I might keep the low box but try just a slightly wider stance next time. The weight felt light but the leaverage was awful.

Poor Man's GHR

I can't even convince Gold's to get better bars, let alone a GHR so I had to improvise. I did a gym ball hamstring curl with my hips way up throughout the set to keep my glutes engaged, and held a 30lb dumbbell over my hips. This was killer.



3 x 15

DB Lunges

Its been a while since I did these. Knees were a bit shaky after I grinded out the last set of Box Squats.

3 x 10 per leg @ 20s, 30s, 40s

3 x 15 45-degree Hypers (pause at the bottom and the top, slow and controlled)

3 x 15 Steep Decline Sit-Ups

First Session of MAW Jim Wendler Program - DE Bench

This program has been great so far! The dynamic effort is feeling especially good, did ME upper this morning and felt much more explosive. It's also interesting doing the movements I usually do with slight variation (bench with different grips than usual, board pressing, box squats but with narrow stance and lower box). I'm going into workouts with a general idea of what to shoot for but not a clear expectation so every PR is a pleasant surprise.


Dynamic Effort Upper Body

Bench

8 x 3 @ 190 (used 315 as a training max, it's an old PR but it's still the heaviest I've done and I don't test my 1RM very often so I figure it won't kill me to set the bar a bit light)

4-Board Bench

Tune-Ups @ 190, 225, 245

3 x 3 @ 275, 295, 315

This was wierd as hell. I've only ever done up to a 2-board, and I've got long arms but the 4-board still seemed like a really tiny ROM. 315 felt pretty easy but I didn't have my training partner so I figured I would take the book's advice and leave some in the tank for next week.

Dumbbell Bench (slight incline to save the shoulders a bit, pause at the bottom)

Warm-ups

3 x 10 @ 65s, 75s, 85s

Double DB Bent Row

3 x 10 @ 70s, 80s, 90s

DeFranco 21's - 2 Sets Through

The Make-a-Wish Ebooks from EliteFTS are awesome, buy them.

I didn't remember exactly how long it had been since I did a blog entry, but I was afraid to check. When I realized how backwards that was, I decided to get my ass on here and do some typing. I haven't logged my last few workouts, which stings but it's not the worst thing that could possibly happen.

Anyway, I've just purchased the MAW foundation "Programs that Work" ebooks which are fantastic. Tons of legit programs from all walks of strength and conditioning life, including some bonus programs from Dave Tate, John Meadows and Jim Wendler. The S4 compound training wouldn't suit me at the moment, but it was still really cool to be able to read, set by set and rep by rep what the guys were doing in the compound and how it evolved.

John Meadows' programming is what I'll do if I ever get bitten by the bodybuilding bug. I doubt that will ever happen but if I were a bodybuilder, he's the kind I'd want to be.

Now, Jim Wendler's program...

Obviously I'm a huge fan of Wendler's work, having been training mostly using some kind of 5/3/1 for the last five years. This program is basically his take on a west side style program for a raw lifter - which is AWESOME. Without getting into too much detail, it lays out 16 weeks of training toward the goal of improving the maxes of the three major power lifts, plain and simple. I'm planning on following it to the end and seeing what happens. Maybe I'll just go straight back to 5/3/1, or keep doing this if I respond well. Whatever happens, I'm definitely not going to get weaker doing it and it should be a fun and refreshing challenge to start off 2014.

No matter who you are or what kind of training you like, you can benefit from these ebooks and they go toward a great cause. I actually ended up buying volume 2 twice cause I forgot to save it the first time and the link went dead. I'm sure I could've emailed them and gotten it figured out but I don't mind giving an extra 20 bucks to Make-a-Wish and getting it instantly. This is the link:

http://articles.elitefts.com/products-reviews/boost-your-knowledge-grant-a-wish/

Merry Christmas everyone.

Bench Dec 2

Took the dive and decided to try my neurological prep phase experiment with bench as well.

Warm-Ups

Triples @ 45, 95, 135, 155, 185

Added bands - extra 40lbs @ lockout

5 @ 170
5 @ 195
10 @ 220

I hadn't used bands for bench in a while - the overspeed eccentric is rough to deal with over this many reps. Felt great though, kept them on for my Jokers.

5 @ 235
5 @ 245

Put on Slingshot

5 @ 255
5 @ 265
5 @ 275
5 @ 295

Even with the slingshot, 335 at lockout with an overspeed eccentric after all the stuff I'd done earlier was pretty rough. I wasn't sure if I could do anymore and I was running out of time so I called it here.

5 x 10 Seated Military press @ 115lbs

Trap Bar Deadlifts Nov 30

Brandon brought the trap bar inside overnight so it would be usable in the morning, but by the time we finished our workout it had cooled down enough that it was still freezing our hands. Nothing makes you feel more Canadian than deadlifts in the garage at 8 am when it's -2 celcius, seeing your breath while you're lifting. Manly as we felt though, we still won't be able to keep this up much longer. For now though, yay! Another PR!

Warm-ups - 60, 110, 150, 200, 240

3 @ 290
3 @ 335
17 @ 375

There's a certain feeling you get when you crunch numbers before the workout and '17' comes up as the target number of reps to set a PR. Actually getting through it is awesome though!

3 @ 395
3 @ 420

Beyond 5/3/1 Box Squats Nov 26

This is the second week of my experiment with accomodating resistance in conjunction with 5/3/1 programming. First week was bands, this week was chains. Loving this so far.

Warm-Ups

45, 95, 115, 135, 155, 185

Added 50lbs Chains - Two Links on floor at lockout

185, 205, 225

3 @ 230
3 @ 260
6 @ 295

My knee was feeling way better this time so I tried doing the max set without wrapping up. It felt a bit shaky but okay. I just have to make sure I keep my mobility up.

3 @ 315

Its been a while since I had 365 on my back, felt good. At one point before the neck injury in August I'd done a triple with 375 straight weight, so it's nice to know I'm on my way back to that.

Leg Press - Agonizingly slow negative, slight pause, explode up

Sets of 10 @ 90, 180, 270, 360, 450, 540, 630, 720

Beyond 5/3/1 Bench Nov 24

This was a pretty good workout. I don't get as excited about numbers I do in the slingshot as I did when I first got it a few years ago but I set a PR nonetheless.

Warm-Ups

Triples @ 45, 65, 95, 115, 135, 155, 185

5 @ 190
3 @ 215
10 @ 240 (Sloppy, capped it to prevent injury and hopefully do better on Jokers)

Singles @ 255, 265, 280, 290, 300

290 and 300 both pulled to the left, no idea why. Its never happened before and it was annoying as hell. I was able to wrestle it back into the groove to finish but it took way more energy than it should have.

Put the slingshot on for the next few singles

1 @ 300
1 @ 315
1 @ 335
0 @ 355 - 335 felt super easy so I jumped the gun on this a bit. Felt really weak off the chest.
1 @ 345 - Destroyed this. I was shocked at how easy it felt.
0 @ 355 - I figured the first 355 attempt must have been a technical error based on how easy 345 felt, so I rested about five minutes, got my head right and tried it again. I almost got it, was way stronger off the chest but still got stuck about four inches off. I'm not too worried, I think it'll fly up when I do Joker singles again in three weeks.

Rear Delt Fly Machine

6 x 10 @ 100, 120, 140, 160, 180, 200

Beyond BJJ Box Squats Nov 20

Horrible knee pain kinda put a damper on this workout. My knees have been terrible for years but the left one has really been bothering me for a little while now. If it's not one thing...

Anyway, it was hurting for my trap bar deads as well but I wrapped it and that seemed to help. I figured squats would be okay if I wrapped my knees after 185 or so. It didn't end up being the case, but at least I got my base percentages done.

Triples @ 45, 65, 95, 115, 135, 155, 185 - I usually go 45, 95, 135, 185 etc but I figured a few extra warmup sets would help the knee. They didn't.

Added Bands (about 140lbs extra at lockout)

Fives at 135, 185, 215, 245, 280

5 x 20 Gym Ball Hamstring Curls

Seven Habits of Trying to Be Successful - EliteFTS

This is a great article I read this morning on EliteFTS, so I thought I'd share it here for those who don't frequent EliteFTS (you should though)

http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/a-lion-in-iron-seven-habits-of-trying-to-be-successful/

Beyond 5/3/1 Bench Nov 17

Surprisingly good workout today! I was out late watching the fights and didn't exactly wake up with a spring in my step but I picked up a NOS on the way to Gold's and it helped quite a bit.

Warm-ups

Triples @ 45, 65, 95, 115, 135, 155 superset with sets of 10 band pull-aparts

3 @ 180
3 @ 205
14 @ 230

This was definitely a PR for 230! I might otherwise have capped this to get some volume in but still save more energy for the Jokers, but by some wierd fluke my training partner and I ended up with the exact same working sets for today since he's a couple of cycles ahead of me. I weigh more than him so I wanted to push myself to do at least a few more reps than he did.

3 @ 245 - Good god, did this feel way heavier than 245. I did rest after my max set at 230 but maybe not enough.

3 @ 255, 265 - These felt way better and faster than 245 did

2 @ 275 - Yeah, I was done. First rep went up really easily, second rep was a bit wobbly, lowered the third rep way too fast and lost my arch a bit, I'm not even sure I got it off my chest.

Lateral Raises - 10 Second Parallel hold followed by 10 reps

Got these from John Meadows' member area on his website, the burn is awesome.

4 sets @ 10, 15, 20, 25lb dumbbells

Rear Delt Cable Flies

4 Sets of 20 @ 15, 25, 35, 15 (super slow on the last set)

Tricep Pushdowns

4 Sets of 20 @ 40, 50, 65, 85

Beyond 5/3/1 Trap Bar Deadlift

I'm loving this for 5/3/1. Using the trap bar doesn't hurt my neck, and my glutes and hamstrings get worked really well with the dead stop at the bottom every time.

Triples @ 60, 110, 150, 200, 240

Fives @ 270, 310

19 @ 355

This was a bit disappointing, not because of the number (it projects 580 for a 1RM, lol) but because I thought I was at 18 when I stopped. My usual rule is "Stop when the reps start to get ugly" but if I'd known I was at 19 I definitely would've done 20. One slightly ugly rep wouldn't have killed me.

Five @ 375

Had to go to work :( Hopefully it doesn't get too cold to train in the garage for another few weeks so I can do this some more before our winter Gold's Gym hibernation.

Beyond 5/3/1 Bench Nov 10

Back to 5/3/1 with new targets. I decided to take more conservative training maxes using 80% instead of 90% and build up some good momentum. While I was prepping for the black belt grading everything felt heavy, even the first and second working sets. I was way too burnt out.

Warm-up triples at 45, 95, 115, 135, 155

5's at 165, 190
10 Reps @ 215 (I decided to cap this. I wanted to hit most if not all my jokers and I don't care much about what I can do with 215)

Jokers

5's at 230, 240, 250, 260
Triple at 270 (Five at 260 felt really easy so I had a lot of confidence going into this but I took the bar too low on the first rep and had to wrestle it back into the groove. I should've racked, rested and tried again but I thought I could salvage it. The next two reps drained me way more than they should've, didn't feel up to taking another crack at it.)

Seated Military Press - Slow negative and long pause at the bottom

Sets of 10 @ 45, 65, 95, 115 (burned like hell)

Superset - Tricep Pushdowns and Dumbbell Hammer Curls

Four Sets of ten reps each exercise - up to 140lbs pushdowns and 55lb curls

Trap Bar Farmer Walks Nov 4

I'm adding these in for grip, conditioning and variety. I even figured out a way to use 5/3/1 to program it, though I'll need to establish a baseline with some more progressive work. Unfortunately here in Edmonton the temperature is starting to drop pretty quickly and Brandon and I are about to leave the toys in the garage and start our Gold's Gym hibernation. Even for this workout I was planning on using the alley where we do our sled dragging for the farmer walking but it was covered in ice, so we had to do 15-foot lengths of Brandon's garage with a quick turn-around-and-deadlift at each end. It was still fun.

These are the 'sets' I did

2 x 15ft

4 x 15ft

6 x 15ft

8 x 15ft

12 x 15ft

20 x 15ft

We used 240lbs for all of these.

What My Black Belt Means to Me

On October 25th, 2013, I received my black belt in Brazilian Jiu-JItsu from Mestre Sylvio Behring. It was a seven-hour instructor symposium culminating in my demonstration, in which I showed some of my best techniques including wrestling, no-gi, sport Jiu-Jitsu in the gi and self-defense. Two of my training partners assisted me in the demo, a brown belt named John and a blue belt named Correy. This was the demo:




In the weeks leading up to this huge day, I did a lot of thinking about the concept of a black belt, what it represents and what it means to me to wear one. I remember the day I made the decision to leave the MMA school I was training at before Arashi-Do, which was mainly a Kyokushin Karate school. While they did have grappling elements in the program, I knew that someday I wanted to be a black belt in BJJ and that I couldn't achieve it if I stayed there and that was one of the main reasons I left. Even then though, I didn't really understand the gravity of actually being one. I was too far removed. Being a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to me meant being Fabricio Verdum or Ricardo Arona - respected and feared. In my state of emotional maturity at the time (See: teenager), that was what I wanted out of it.

When I arrived at Arashi-Do, BJJ was definitely a means to an end. I had my sights set on being a professional fighter and had my second pro fight just before starting to train there officially. However, when I got a taste of real BJJ, I completely fell in love with it and MMA quickly became a distant second priority, then dropped from my mind entirely.

When I was growing up, I was a competitive swimmer. I was very successful in swimming on a national level, but it wasn't really the kind of sport that you got into as a way of expressing your individuality. The best and fastest way to perform the four strokes has been established for decades now, and success on a technical level will depend largely on how well you're suited to it. Jiu-Jitsu, on the other hand is so incredibly expansive - literally anyone can find Jiu-Jitsu that works well for them and expresses their personality and intellect. I know that statistically very few people that start Jiu-Jitsu will ever make it to purple belt, let alone black but I've just never understood how.

I love everything about BJJ. I love how I can train in it for literally the rest of my life and still discover new things about it. I love the kind of people it attracts (three of my four groomsmen were people I've met through BJJ) and I love how when people look at me doing BJJ, it doesn't look exactly the same as anyone else in the world doing it, and since I started the thought has literally never crossed my mind that there might be a day that I don't do this stuff anymore. Being a 10th degree Red Belt is even further removed from me now than black belt was when I first started, but now that the black belt has come and gone, if I keep teaching and training for the rest of my life, who knows?

The black belt represents the techniques I've learned, but when I look at it or feel it around my waist I know that it's also made up of the experiences and people that make up my Jiu-Jitsu family. It's amazing to think about how much of my life has happened since I walked into Arashi-Do with a white belt on. I think that's also why I love teaching so much. If someone in my class someday looks at their own black belt and thinks to themselves that some of their happiest memories are from being on the mats in my class, I think I'll have achieved something very special, as my instructors have done for me.

Oct 30th Trap Bar Deads and Sled Dragging

Alright! So... I've missed blogging a few workouts.

I'm very happy to be back deadlifting again though! I haven't deadlifted heavy since the neck injury in early August, and haven't gone this long without deads since I was like 18. Buying the trap bar was one of the best moves I've ever made. The high handles, neutral grip and foot position makes a world of difference, and since I'm so tall even the high handles are well below my knees.

One big difference is that with a traditional bar I usually do touch-and-go deadlifts, with the trap bar I do a dead stop every time.

Triples:

60 (Empty Bar), 110, 150, 200, 240, 290, 330, 380, 420, 440, 470

The triple at 470 was a little shaky but still felt good. The trap bar is a smaller diameter than the Cemco barbell that Brandon and I use for everything else, and the knurling isn't as deep so it doesn't take chalk as well but my grip still felt great. It'll take some getting used to.

Sled Dragging

370lbs - Dragged it approx 200m with a slow trudge using the harness

HCT12 Bench and Sled Training Oct 17

Today's mental break workout pulls from something I tried years ago - the HCT12 program designed by wannabebig.com . It's basically just rest-pause training, working up to a heavy 6 and then doing three doubles at the same weight immediately afterward, resting 30-60 seconds between each set to add up to 12 reps at a 6-rep max.

Bench - Sets of 6 @ 45, 95, 115, 135, 155, 185, 205, 225, 245

6 + 2 + 2 + 3 @ 265

After I finished my last double I still felt good and couldn't think of a good reason not to attempt a third rep - still went up nice and fast. I actually felt really good about this workout because my PR with 265 is 7. Granted I did that right after I benched 315 for the first time, but it was still a strong PR and the best I've done so to successfully hit HCT12 at this weight plus an extra rep with good speed felt great.

and now... THE SLED!!!!!!

I just got this thing so I could start doing heavy sled dragging as assistance for deads and squats, but I'll also use it for a bunch of other things, like today:

8 25ft Hand over Hand drags @ 280
4 25ft Facing-Away Overhead Tricep Throws @ 190

I kinda made up that second exercise, or at least haven't seen it before and it's awesome! I'm going to need more rope though. I thought 25 feet would be enough but I must have been thinking about meters because I eat up 25ft in about five good pulls with 180lbs on the sled. I also need to start getting to Brandon's earlier because traffic is getting worse and worse.

Box Squat Work Capacity - Oct 14

Lately I've been beating myself up for my shitty 5/3/1 performances even though I know that it's going to take a back seat until the grading. My last couple of workouts, I've decided to take a bit of a mental break from 5/3/1 and do some different stuff. After the craziness of the grading is over, I'll pick it back up - though I may have to rework some of my numbers. It's really frustrating when you lose momentum, but true strength is measured across years, even decades, not weeks.

I got this idea from Louie Simmons in an athletic development workout he demonstrated during a workshop. He had the athlete do 16 triples, one every 30 seconds with a 1-minute break every four sets. We did it without the breaks, mainly because Brandon and I couldn't figure out a time breakdown where we could get into the rack, set up and squat before it was the other guy's turn. We basically just jumped in as soon as the other was done.

16 x 3 Dynamic Box Squats @ 205 + 90lbs band tension at lockout

We chose the weight based on roughly 50% intensity but while it got the heart rate up and got me breathing a bit heavier, it wasn't what I thought it would be. We were barely resting at all so I guess we would have to change the weight next time.

3 sets Hanging Knees to Elbows

Log Pressing Oct 9

Warm-Ups with Barbell

2 x 10 @ 45
1 x 10 @ 65

Log

1 x 10 @ 100
1 x 10 @ 110
5 x 10 @ 120

I felt like a zombie this morning so I decided volume might be a better idea than pushing myself and risking the quality of my mat time later. The presentation I'm doing for my black belt is going to be two parts - one no-gi and wrestling, the other BJJ. Tonight will be the first time I do it all together, so it's going to be pretty exhausting.

1 x 15 Incline DB Press with 50's

This was when I realized it was 9:20 and I had to speed to work :(

Bench Oct 6

Warm-Ups

Triples @ 45, 95, 115, 135, 155, 185

5 @ 205
3 @ 230
6 @ 260

Meh. This was okay but I was feeling pretty sluggish. I can't complain too much though, my PR with 265 is 7, and that was when I was just doing a normal BJJ class schedule and mainly powerlifting. Since I started prep for my grading at the end of the month I'm down in weight, doing more conditioning, taking in less calories and doing a lot more mat time. Getting as close to PR territory as I did should feel pretty good but it doesn't really.

1 @ 275
1 @ 295

High Incline DB Press

I did these HCT12 style, working up to a heavy six and then rest-pausing for three doubles immediately afterward with about 30 seconds in between.

6's @ 35, 45, 55, 65, 75

6 + 2 + 2 + 3 @ 85

I did the third rep just on the last set just cause. It was in the tank.

Slingshot Push-Ups - One set of 70 as fast as I could

Face Pulls - 3 x 15


Still have to do demo prep later today and likely some conditioning as well even if it's just a tabata of something.

Leg Pressing Oct 3

I had planned to squat today but preparing for my demo has set my neck rehab back quite a bit. I'm doing lots of mobility work for it but it has definitely felt like one step forward two steps back with the extra mat time and trying to maintain some kind of lifting schedule. I decided to leg press instead.

Concept 2 Rowing - 5 Minutes easy

Foam Rolling and Gym Ball Neck Work


Sets of 10 with slow negative at:

90, 180, 270, 360, 450, 540, 630, 720

Strip Set:

630 x 16
450 x 12
270 x 12
90 x 60

Tabata Intervals Oct 1

Snuck in some training between teaching Kids BJJ and No-Gi today.

Tabata Double 20KG Kettlebell Push Cleans

Push Cleans are a really cool exercise that kills the grip if you do them right, and gets the heart rate up very quickly as well. After you rack the bells, you push them straight out with enough explosiveness that the kettlebells flip over and even out with your arm trajectory - as if you'd swung them up there. Then you activate your lats to pull the kettlebells down into the swing to load the hips at a high velocity. Once the kettlebells are on their way back up you have to activate the lats again to reign them in to the racked position.

For those of you unfamiliar with Tabata, it's a very efficient training protocol called IE1 created by Prof. Izumi Tabata for Olympic speed skaters in Japan. 20s work, 10s rest, repeated 8 times for a total of four minutes. Training this way a few times a week his athletes were able to markedly improve both their anerobic and aerobic capacity, which is impressive considering that the athletes were already Olympic level athletes - the cream of the crop.

My rep counts went as follows:

13, 13, 12, 12, 12, 12, 11, 12

Total: 97 Reps (3880KG volume)

This definitely jacked my heart rate up but I'll use 24's or 28's next time. I never had to stop to rest during an interval and I was having trouble cycling the cleans quickly enough to get more than 12-13 without technique getting crappy.

Tabata Plank w/Knee Tucks - Normal Plank during rest intervals

These were miserable... wasn't even counting, just trying to survive.

Plank Hold for Time - 1:40

Bench Sep 29

Pretty straight forward bench day, no PR's or anything but solid training.

Triples at 45, 95, 115, 135, 155, 190, 230

Capped my max set at 8 reps for 245

Triples at 260, 270, 280

High Incline DB Press

2 x 15 at 50's, 70's

T-bar Angled Machine Row - For these I would row to my chest, stick it there for a slow 3-count and then lower it slowly.

3 x 10 @ 45, 70, 90

No idea what the actual mechanism weighs without weights on it, doesn't matter a lot.

HIIT can be miserable, but damned if Muse doesn't make it a lot better

September 27 Evening HIIT

20 mins of John Meadows 45/15 protocol on airdyne. Workout data was 256 calories, approx 4 miles travelled. Finished with a three minute cooldown alternating between upper only and lower only every 30s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej8rdi-cwdw&feature=youtube_gdata_player

September 27 Log Pressing

I'm definitely becoming a bit more competent with the log, though I've still got a long way to go. Damn training has been so touch and go lately between the wedding, moving and preparing for my black belt grading at the end of October. I'm going to try using my girevoy sport belt next time instead of my powerlifting belt. It doesn't allow for the kind of mobility required to set and clean the log. I see now why a lot of strongman competitors wear the big thick polypropolene belts instead of powerlifting belts for the atlas stone and log pressing events.

Warm-ups with barbell

2 x 10 @ 45, 2 x 10 @ 65

Strict Press with Log

6 @ 100
6 @ 120
4, 5, 4, 4, 4 @ 140

The second set felt way better than the others, though it still sucked. I think the clean was better - still trying to get used to the idea of flaring my elbows when I clean like in the EFS instructional videos.

3 Sets of Pull-ups

10 Underhand
10 Neutral
10 Angled

September 25th - Horrible Box Squats, Pretty Good Rowing

Squats were awful today. Even 185 felt heavy... 315 felt like a house on my back. I still did a triple but I was feeling headachey and slow, hope I'm not coming down with something. I actually had a pretty good sleep last night.

Triples @ 45, 95, 135, 185, 225, 275, 295, 315

I decided that I'd be playing with fire if I kept going with squats with little chance of a real reward so I skipped to the conditioning I had planned.

10 Minutes 30/30 HIIT on Concept 2

I used the calories/hour function as an intensity indicator, trying to keep it above 1600 during the work intervals. I had a couple of dips in the later rounds but I think those were mainly because of slower eccentric phases and awkward catches as a result. In the opening 15 seconds of each interval I was actually breaking 2000 in the early rounds, 1800-1900 in the later.

September 17 HIIT

I did some HIIT with two machines in my store today - one is a summit trainer made by Superweigh SEG and the other is a commercial airdyne I sell. First I did John Meadows' preferred protocol of 45 seconds steady with no resistance followed by 15 seconds of OH GOD A BEAR IS CHASING ME AND IT HAS A GUN with the maximum resistance. I did that for 20 minutes on the summit trainer. Because it's on an incline and uses a "Driving down and back" motion it hits the glutes and hips very nicely. By the end of the 20 minute period I'd done 2.3 miles on the 25 degree slant. Obviously this has exactly no correlation to how much real ground I would've covered, but the point is to try to beat that next time.

After that I did five minutes of 30/30 on the airdyne, standing upper-body only. I take the seat all the way out so I can stand over it with a wide enough stance that the pedals don't touch me. If you really try to rip on it as hard as you can during the work intervals then it's surprisingly hard on the abs and obliques, since they're responsible for slowing, then reversing the momentum each time the handles reach their end ranges. I find it to be great pre-hab correlation for BJJ, since the majority of abdominal and lower back injuries in BJJ occur while either trying to generate rotational force, or resisting it.

Cardio machines aren't typically my first choice for conditioning but they do have their place and they do make the training easily trackable and programmable, which I like. As long as it's a machine that is set up to hit large, strong muscle groups in compound ranges of motion at high intensity with comfortable ergonomics then it works great. Concept 2 rowers are very, very good but an airdyne is a great choice for a BJJ school since it's so compact.

I'm married!!!

The reason I've fallen off the blogging wagon is that on September 14th, I made my amazing fiance my wife. Surrounded by friends and family, we said our vows to each other at the citadel theater, then had our reception at the Ramada inn. I really cannot describe how happy I am. To have found someone that understands, supports and loves me as much as she does is a blessing, and also a lesson.

Before Stephanie, pretty much all of my girlfriends had fallen into my lap in some way or another. I started dating when I was about 12 and at the time I was swimming ten times a week at two hours a shot. On top of that I had dryland training consisting of a steady diet of running and weightlifting. My weekends were usually meets, many out of town and even the ones that weren't would start with a 7 am saturday morning practice followed by hill sprints. This complete lack of spare time meant that pretty much all relationships happened within the club, usually after a slow burn from so much consistent exposure to one another. Being teenagers there never really was much mystery to it. Everyone knew everyone and if two people were attracted enough to one another to consider a relationship then it never surprised anyone when it finally became official. I never had to go out and try to meet random people, to put myself out there and play the game like other people.

It didn't change as I aged, either. I decided on massage therapy as a career before I graduated high school and didn't take any breaks between grade 12 and my first semester at the Somatics Institute. I quit swimming when I was 15 but immediately took up kettlebell training, Ketto Ryu Ju-Jutsu and Kyokushin Karate to feed my passion for athletics and fill the massive holes in my schedule left by swimming. Again, all of my dating ventures were born from people inside my comfy social circle, people who were around me all the time for other reasons, got to know the real me and the attraction grew naturally until we both acknowledged it. I left Ketto Ryu and Karate for BJJ and Muay Thai, massage therapy for the fitness sales industry, but still, nothing changed. Whether the relationships were short, long, successful or abysmal failures, they all started that way - the easy way.

Stephanie walked into my store one day, months after the end of what had been by far my most successful relationship. I was in a place where I was starting to think about dating again but no idea how to go about it. My best friend's wife (fiance at the time) had even taken it upon herself to create online dating profiles on my behalf. She walked into my store and turned my entire comfy world upside down. She was looking for a cheap doorway chin-up bar, but we ended up talking for about an hour. I was inundated with every cliche I've ever heard of - the butterflies, the stuttering, the clumsiness, everything. I knew I had to do something but I didn't know what, so I ended up taking her information for the chin-up bar, even though we don't really need it for such a cheap soft good purchase. After she left, I couldn't stop thinking about her. I called my co-manager Jessica, my brother, and my best friend even though I didn't really know anything about her. I spent the rest of the day grinning like an idiot.

I ended up calling her at work with the cheap and incredibly transparent excuse of seeing how her chin-up bar was working out for her. After a brief laugh when she told me she'd torn down her doorframe with it, I asked her out. She said she would call me back since she was at work, though I found out later it was because she needed to break it off with the guy she'd been seeing because she was secretly just as crazy about me as I was about her, and hoping I would call her. When I picked her up for our first date, I was nervous as hell, especially because I realized that I was 24 years old and had never done this before. This was the first time I'd had to fly blind in this situation, not knowing if she was attracted to me or not and knowing that I had no cushioning to fall back on, no history of not acting like a tool around her for her to refer to and realize that I wasn't being myself. I stood a very real chance of screwing this up, and if I did then it would be all on me.

That's the difference. I am who I am and Stephanie is who she is, and no matter how we met I have faith that we would have eventually gotten to this place together, but she was the first one I've felt like I had to go out and get myself if I wanted her. I had to dig deep into places I'd never explored within my emotional sense of self and learn the skills I'd never learned back when I was a teenager, when it didn't matter anyway because the relationships had no substance or basis in reality. It wasn't easy this time, but as soon as I saw her walk in the door I knew I would do anything.

Oh, and she's actually EXCITED about the idea of making our entire basement into a dungeon of Elite FTS equipment when we buy a house. Score.

Bench September 11

This was a good workout, actually. When I arrived at the garage I was feeling pretty good despite not having slept very well and decided today was the day I would work up to a heavy single. It turned out not to be the best idea, but I had a decent back-off set and then some great assistance work with the log.

fives at 45, 95, 115, 135, 155, 185, 205, 225

3 @ 240

Singles at 265, 275, 285, 295

The 295-300 mark has become an anytime weight for me ever since I broke the 315 plateau, the kind of weight that will still feel heavy but I know I can work up to even on a particularly high-gravity day. It serves as kind of an intensity indicator. How it feels will determine whether I go any heavier that day and today it went up, but it was very sluggish. I might have been able to go up to 300 or 305, but it wouldn't have been a PR anyway and would have carried a higher risk of injury. I figured under the circumstances it would be better to back off to 255 and get some volume in.

255 x 9

Strongman Log Cheat Curl and Strict Press

I absolutely love this movement as assistance for the bench press and as a supplement to BJJ. I've heard of it being utilized often in strongman but I wasn't crazy about doing it with dumbbells or the barbell variations of it. Now that I have the log and tried it I'm hooked.

3 x 12 @ 90lbs - first set with the wide handles, second and third with the narrow handles. I didn't add any weight since it was my first try at it and wasn't sure if it would cause any tendonitis flare-ups, but I felt great afterward and since. I'm going to try adding weight next time, but definitely going to keep it above ten reps for now.

Once I got to work, I did three sets of band pull-aparts with a 50lb resistance tube.

Box Squats September 9th

Today's workout was pretty exciting, didn't do 5/3/1 programming but just put in some volume and tested the waters with some heavy-ish weight. My neck is feeling better, especially with a low bar position but I have to be very careful to maintain a tight arch, even more so than usual. As soon as I start to pitch forward even a little bit as the weight gets heavy it starts to get painful.

Triples at 45, 95, 135, 185, 225, 275, 315, 335

Singles at 355, 370

Back-off set of 12 at 275

Three sets of hanging knees-to-elbows

A Perspective on Isolation Exercises for BJJ

If you've read Part 1 of my series "Functional Strength - Are You Missing the Point?" then you've already had a taste of how I feel about the current state of "functional fitness" and what an under-educated, misrepresented circus it is quickly becoming. I've spoken to crossfitters that have breathlessly explained to me that the only way to achieve any respectable level of fitness is to do 5-7 random WODS a week with 110% intensity and no periodization at all. Then I listen to an interview with Crossfit Games contender Chris Spealer, in which he intelligently and articulately explains how he essentially does a west side split, with a weekly 5/3/1 squat day and work with an olympic lifting coach, while doing 2-3 metcon WODs a week for conditioning with assistance exercises to address his weaker muscle groups. How is it possible that both of these people think they're on the same team?

Anyway, one of the hot topics of debate is isolation movements, and whether or not they have a place in an athlete's program. The knee-jerk reaction of many functional training advocates will be "No, in fact for every bicep curl you do, an angel is hurled into a swirling abyss of spikes, fire and Nicki Minaj music" but bear with me for a moment. It is very true that in terms of training economy, compound multi-joint movements should take precedence over isolation exercises. My workouts have been very cramped lately, so my priority is getting my work done on the primary movement. I haven't had much time to do assistance work at all, let alone isolation work. That said, isolation does absolutely have a place in the preparation of a BJJ practitioner/competitor.

The major case against isolation is that simple, single-joint movements happen rarely if ever in a lifestyle/sport situation. Most of our athletic efforts outside the weight room are full-body, so of course compound movements like squats, deadlifts, pull-ups etc should have better carryover. The thing is though... we actually do have isolation movements in our sport. They're called submissions, specifically joint locks. The techniques used by bodybuilders to promote sarcoplasmic hypertrophy in a given muscle group are designed to remove as many other large, strong muscle groups from the equation as possible and focus a high degree of force at a single joint. If that sounds familiar, it's because that's exactly what the joint-locking techniques of BJJ are designed to do. With this in mind, isolation exercises alongside a joint mobility practice should start to make more sense from an injury prevention perspective. It honestly doesn't have to be a lot. You could throw a few sets of curls, lateral raises, skullcrushers, rear delt flies, external rotations, hamstring curls and other isolation movements into scattered workouts over a course of months, or just hit them all in a row with some theraband tubing as a prehab circuit you do before or after training. What I will tell you is that when the inevitable happens and you let an armbar go a little too far while drilling, having thickened the tendonous attachments with a bit of special attention can mean the difference between shaking it off and continuing, or being off the mats for a week.

This isn't just for BJJ, either. In a recent EliteFTS article, professional strongman competitors were asked if they were only allowed five gym exercises, which ones they would choose. Three of them included curls, and all for exactly the same reason - when you do curls, you tear your biceps less often. No matter the sport, when you take a look at the common injuries you'll see a similar pattern - that the injury occurred when a particular joint or muscle which is usually supported by other larger muscle groups was placed in a situation where it had to fend for itself and failed to do so. The difference in our sport is that instead of a chance occurrence, the situation is being planned and engineered by a human being. A quarterback may go several years throwing a football the same way until the one day he takes a funny step while doing so and strains his bicep tendon, but if on a weekly basis you're having your joints twisted and bent on purpose, it becomes just short of inevitable. You need to be prepared. Nobody is talking about performance implications - you aren't going to try to curl your way out of the armbar or prioritize machine leg extensions over squats. If this article is used as an excuse for that then we'll have to have an unpleasant conversation. I'm simply saying that if you add just a bit of isolation work to your routine along with regular joint mobility practice, you have a better chance of not missing mat time and that's worth sucking it up.

Log Pressing September 4, 2013

Today was the first day I got to play with my new Xtreme Monkey strongman log. I was planning on doing a baseline wave of 10's, 8's, 6's and 4's but it looks like I'm going to have to do more practice before I can put any relevant numbers on the board. I figured years of kettlebell pressing experience would have somewhat prepared me for log pressing but it turns out that log pressing is truly unique. I also haven't decided if the 5/3/1 log pressing day is going to be strict pressing or push pressing, or if I'm going to clean every time, or press it out of the rack. So many possibilities!

Anyway, the log itself apparently weighs 90lbs. Feels like a lot more than that right now.

90 x 10
110 x 10
140 x 1 (pressed it pretty easily but wobbled at the top and had to put it down... didn't feel good for the neck)
130 x 6 (felt WAY heavier than 130lbs should. Ego officially out the window)
110 x 10
90 x 10

Afterward I felt a very healthy pump in... well, the upper body. The whole thing. Everywhere. I can't believe how strong the upper back and traps on pro strongman must be to be able to keep the log stuck to the chest as they clean it when the thing weighs over 300lbs.

Afterward we loaded it into the power cage and did some floor pressing with it.

90 x 10
110 x 10
140 x 10
180 x 10

These were pretty smooth but still pumped up the triceps like crazy. I love this thing!

Video coming soon.

Agatsu West Classic: Proper Hydrotherapy

Agatsu West Classics are articles I wrote in 2007 when I had just graduated from the Somatics Institute of Massage Therapy, and had just started BJJ. I wrote them to give a unique anatomical and pathophysiological point of view on the techniques I was learning, that inquisitive minds might better their understanding of "why" certain techniques worked the way they did, rather than just being satisfied with "how" to do them. Some were basic rehab and prehab concepts as well. This one deals with one of the most widely used forms of physical therapy in the world - heat and cold.

***

The "How" and "Why" of Proper Hydrotherapy

What is Hydrotherapy?

For those of you that are not familiar with the term hydrotherapy, it describes the application of heat or cold to help with the healing process of an injury, or to produce some other physiological response. Hydrotherapy forms one of the staples of an effective massage treatment, and is also widely used in sport, but as well-meaning as coaches or comrades are, there are many misconceptions about the proper application and timing of hydrotherapy for an injury as the result of training, and make no mistake, incorrect hydrotherapy can have a significant effect on the completion and speed of the healing process. Cold hydrotherapy, as a general rule, draws fluid out of the area of application, and heat draws fluids in. Common knowledge usually extends at least this far. But when exactly do you want fluids drawn into the site of injury, or out? Can both hot and cold be used in the same treatment? And how long and often should the hydrotherapy be applied? For that matter, what do cold and heat actually do, beyond their effect on fluids? To answer these questions, I first have to explain the physiological effects of hot and cold, and the three stages of healing that every injury undergoes.

What Heat Does:

-A local increase in tissue temperature, studies have shown that an application of heat on the surface of the skin can affect tissues about 3-4 cm into the fascia and superficial muscles.

-Increase in vasodilation, as well as blood flow both to the skin and muscles. This results in an increase in metabolism, oxygen and nutrient supply, and an increase in sweat production. Applications to the limbs is proven to increase bloodflow two-fold, with the effect persisting for approximately one hour after the application was removed.

-Pain perception is decreased, as a result of decreased nerve conduction velocity.

-Muscle spasms are decreased, because heating of muscle spindles causes them to decrease their sensitivity and rate of firing.

-General relaxation and sedation occurs.

What Cold Does:

-Local reduction of the temperature of skin and muscle.

-Local vasoconstriction, decreasing blood flow. Decreased cell metabolism and leukocyte migration results in a decrease in inflammation.

-Pain may be decreased if the skin is hypersensitive to cold, in this case the ice may act as a counter-irritant, decreasing the stimulus of the pain.

-Collagen extensibility (muscle flexibility) is decreased.

**VERY IMPORTANT: Stages of Stimulus with Ice Application**

When ice is applied to the skin, the client will experience the following stages in order over several minutes:

1) a sensation of cold
2) tingling or itching
3) aching or burning
4) numbness

An application of ice should not be removed before all four stages have been experienced, and to remove the application after numbness has been experienced for a couple of minutes is an effective guideline for the length of each treatment.

Stages of Healing:

Acute: This is the first stage of an injury, the stage immediately following the onset of the injury, whether it was some kind of trauma such as a car accident, or something more gradual, perhaps related to some kind of overuse over time, such as tendonitis. This stage usually lasts about a week at most, and for a traumatic injury is usually characterized by significant inflammation, a significantly decreased range of motion, and severe pain (or at least, the most severe the pain from the particular injury is ever going to be). During this stage, cold hydrotherapy is appropriate. A local application (ice pack) is ideal, To control inflammation but also to quarantine the appropriate amount of it. If you read the explanation of what heat does, you may be wondering why you wouldn't want an increase of oxygen and nutrients, and decreased pain sensitivity. Always remember that pain and inflammation are tools that the body uses to protect itself, and to let you know that something is wrong, and they are both useful and necessary. However, the body often overcompensates with inflammation, so ice is a good way to make sure there's enough inflammation to splint and protect the joint, but not too much.

Sub-Acute: This stage usually lasts for 2-3 weeks after the acute stage. There may still be swelling and inflammation, but not as much. Usually pain will be decreased as well. Most if not all range of motion will usually be recovered, but if there was any loss of strength as a result of the injury, it will be noticed during this stage. During sub-acute it is appropriate to apply heat, as well as contrast hydrotherapy, which means to apply heat for a period of time, then immediately apply ice for about a third of the time the heat was applied. This will create a pump action within the site of injury and help to clear away what is left of the inflammation, and restore functionality to the surrounding muscles.

Chronic: This stage lasts from whenever sub-acute ends, until either the injury is resolved or the person dies. During this stage, heat and contrast hydrotherapy are appropriate, but a short application of cold can be used after activity, especially if the activity aggrevates the injury.

Beyond 5/3/1 Bench Aug 25

If I were to describe this morning's bench training in one word, it would be... confusing.

Getting out of bed was rough, way too hot and muggy to sleep well last night and only enough time for a small bowl of oatmeal and some creatine hydrochloride before I had to get out the door. Warm-ups and the first two working sets felt really good, but the max set at 245 was... well, it just was. 9 good reps with 245 isn't terrible, but it isn't great either - certainly not knocking on a PR of any kind. As I started my first two Joker sets I felt better, triples went up nice and easy at 255 and 270. 285 for a triple would have been breaking new ground as the best sets of 3 I got up to when I was doing the Patrick Nyman program were at 280, and those were the main course at the time, not something I would've done after a set of 9 at 245.

Unfortunately, something happened as I was lowering the bar for the first rep. I wish I could say exactly what. I think I may have taken it too high, or maybe my hand position was off but I ended up kinda pressing it up and to the left instead of straight up. I still managed to wrestle it back to center and finish the rep, but my position on the bench was compromised. I tried for a second rep but she wasn't having it. By this point I was considering calling it and moving on to assistance work, I was starting to feel hungry and deflated and my joints were a bit iffy after my diagonal 285lb bench, but I didn't quite feel done.

I decided that I would throw on the slingshot and try it that way. The slingshot is a nifty invention by Mark Bell that adds a bit of mechanical overload as well as some much-appreciated stability in the bench press. You can get one at howmuchyabench.net and I highly recommend that you do - it's great for when you have as many old injuries as I do and don't want to miss workouts when you have tendonitis flare-ups. My reps felt fantastic with the slingshot on, so I went all the way up to a pretty easy triple at 315.

Warm-Ups

3 @ 45, 95, 115, 135, 155

Working Sets

3 @ 190
3 @ 220
9 @ 245

Jokers

3 @ 255
3 @ 270
1 @ 285, missed second
3 @ 285 w/ss
3 @ 295 w/ss
3 @ 315 w/ss

3 x 15 Rear Delt Flies superset with 3 x 15 tricep pressdowns (not shown in video)



The handsome gentleman behind me is my best friend and training partner, Brandon. We're actually doing the same programming but he doesn't blog like the cool kids.

Functional Strength - Are You Missing the Point? (Part 1)

Unless you have been living under a rock (or at least, since 300 came out) you've likely heard the term "Functional Strength" a few times. If you're involved directly with the strength and conditioning world, you've probably heard the term from about 100 people, with 120 definitions. Everyone seems to agree on at least one point - that functional strength refers to the idea of applying strength training in activities other than strength training. It seems pretty straight forward to me. Unfortunately, there seem to be quite a few different schools of thought as far as how you actually build functional strength, as opposed to non-functional. This is especially important for the training of athletes, where the entire function of the training itself is only to improve performance in a sport.

It's not unusual for there to be differing schools of thought regarding some aspect of strength and conditioning. I honestly don't even consider it a bad thing. I start to have issues right about the time I start talking to this guy:

"Oh I don't lift weights or do any of that bodybuilding stuff anymore, I'm working on functional strength."

Okay, so you don't see the point in doing concentration curls, cable crossovers or machine leg extensions to improve your football performance. That's fine, but this guy came up and started talking to me when I was doing box squats. It isn't the first time this has happened either, on a personal or professional scale. I've heard this language used even in interviews with the coaching staff of professional and collegiate sports teams - that they're leaving the entire weight room behind in pursuit of functional strength, opting instead for a whirlwind of tire flipping, rope undulations, mercilessly beating tires with sledgehammers and whatever else they can scribble down while watching UFC All Access. When did squats, deadlifts, pressing and benching get thrown in with the hydraulic preacher curl machine?!

Ultimately, the problem starts and ends with people misunderstanding this simple fact:
Strength is strength.
Functional strength isn't different from strength, it's a mixture of STRENGTH (the contractile potential of the muscle tissue itself) and SKILLS (the speed and efficiency by which the brain and nervous system can assess, interpret and react to a given stimulus). Strength + skills. It's that simple. Misunderstanding this is what leads to anecdotal arguments like this:

"When I used to work for a moving company, there was a guy that we hired who was huge and lifted crazy weights at the gym, but he had no functional strength compared to the guys that lifted couches all day. Even I could do the job easier than him and I was half his size."

This sort of example isn't uncommon, and it feeds into the idea that this guy was missing some kind of special strength that can only be obtained by lifting couches. What the veteran movers had that he didn't were skills. While they didn't have the strength he had, they had spent years grooving the neuromuscular patterns necessary for the specific demands of their job, making more efficient use of what strength they did have. This makes a huge difference, and once the stronger man learns the skills necessary for the job, it'll be much easier for him than it is for the others.

We see this all the time in BJJ and MMA. Of course a skinny 150lb purple belt is going to humiliate a muscular 200lb white belt most of the time because of the huge skill disparity. However, give it a couple of years and now it's a 200lb blue belt against a 150lb brown belt. The brown belt may still win more often than not, but I guarantee it will be a very different match. The 200lb fighter didn't have to catch his skills all the way up to the 150lb fighter's level, he just needed to gain enough skills to apply his strength advantage. This is why we have weight divisions.

Odd Lift/Strongman movements like hitting a tire with a sledgehammer address neuromuscular development, by building "specific power production". This is the ability to channel the strength of all of your individual muscle groups in a team effort to do something more specific, like hitting the tire. This, with enough repetition forms the basis of the "skill" of hitting the tire. That skill will increase your aptitude for applying your strength in other specific ways that are neurologically similar, like swinging a baseball bat, or throwing a punch. Ultimately nothing will improve skills for your sport more than playing your sport (SERIOUSLY), but the sledgehammer/tire provides an easy way to make the training repeatable, scaleable and trackable - very important for goal-setting.

Now, here's the important part. While doing these kinds of unconventional movements can be great for specific power production and conditioning, you can think of them as shaping a clay sculpture - taking what clay you have and applying it differently. The clay itself is your baseline level of strength, and you can shape it as many different as you want but at some point, you may simply need more clay. These kinds of movements will never build actual baseline strength anywhere near as quickly or effectively as plain old squats, deadlifts, pulling and pushing using barbells, dumbbells and kettlebells. If a football player can't squat his bodyweight, he isn't going to get the same benefit from flipping tires as another player that can. Even strongman competitors will do a lot of weekly volume of basic weight training, and the wierd unconventional stuff is the actual sport they play. Given a similar skill set for the yoke carry event, a strongman competitor that can squat 600lbs will be able to move a 400lb yoke a lot easier than another one that squats 400lbs.

To sum up Part 1 - Go ahead and do all the crazy alternative stuff you want, but it shouldn't be all you do. If you're serious about being a better athlete, don't neglect the basics. The first step to being functionally strong is being strong, period.

Stay Tuned for Part 2!

Box Squats August 21

Alright, so I went for another adjustment and some ART yesterday, and tried squatting for the first time in a few weeks. It went about as well as I could have hoped. I started to feel it once we got over about 225, but I'm not in any pain now so I imagine the worst of it is behind me. I just have to acclimate myself to loading the spine with the heavier weight now, but the sluggishness and stiffness could just as easily just be the time off as the neck.

Triples at:

45, 95, 115, 135, 155, 185, 205, 225, 245, 255, 275, 325

Romanian Deadlifts:

3 x 12 @ 95, 115, 135

The Romanian deads weren't the greatest idea I've ever had. I didn't think they would affect my neck as much as the heavy squats did but they were actually worse. Lots of menthol gel and foam rolling in my near future.

Ordered a Strongman Log!!!

I've been planning for a while to order a strongman log, and I finally pulled the trigger on it. I'm planning on making my second upper body day a log pressing day, should make for awesome carryover for BJJ, and be easier on my joints too. I'll probably do a simple 3-week wave of 8's, 6's and 4's to see where I'm at, then do a rep-max calculation so I can integrate it into 5/3/1. I haven't done a ton of log work before so this preliminary wave will also give me time to work on technique, especially for the clean. Psyched!

Agatsu West Classic: Reciprocal Inhibition

Agatsu West Classics are articles I wrote in 2007 when I had just graduated from the Somatics Institute of Massage Therapy, and had just started BJJ. I wrote them to give a unique anatomical and pathophysiological point of view on the techniques I was learning, that inquisitive minds might better their understanding of "why" certain techniques worked the way they did, rather than just being satisfied with "how" to do them. Some were basic rehab and prehab concepts as well. This one deals with a neuromuscular function called 'reciprocal inhibition' and how it can be useful for stretching and cramps.

***

I know that "Reciprocal Inhibition" sounds unnecessarily wordy, but bear with me, because this concept will help immensely in your tournament/fight prep and general well-being. It has to do with stretching and relaxing muscles, and is especially useful when a muscle is cramped, spasming, or is tight for some other reason and stretching it normally is too painful. The concept is based on one of the fundamental rules of muscles, that in every action there is an agonist muscle and an antagonist muscle, and that every movement of the body involves the agonist contracting (shortening) and at least one antagonist relaxing (lengthening). The easiest example is a bicep curl. When you contract your bicep and it shortens to lift the weight, the tricep, which is our antagonist in this case, is informed by the brain by way of proprioceptors to lengthen and relax. When the weight is let back down, the bicep lengthens and relaxes, and the tricep shortens.

When a muscle is lengthened through reciprocal inhibition, there is one fundamental differing factor from manually lengthening the muscle through stretching, and it has to do with how each type of lengthening is interpreted by the brain.

When a muscle is manually stretched, it is being pulled close to, or all the way to, its limit, which may be shortened if the muscle is currently in dysfunction. At this point, you may feel pain, which is the brain's way of telling you to stop lengthening the muscle because it is going to tear. As an added precaution, the brain stimulates a proprioceptive response telling the muscle to contract, in order to fight the stretch. If a muscle is shortened by a spasm, which is an uncontrolled and painful contraction, it's common sense that to do anything which would stimulate it to contract further is harmful and ineffective, so what can be done to help the muscle to lengthen in this situation?

This is where reciprocal inhibition comes in. Say you have a spasm in your hamstrings on your right leg, and its stuck about halfway in the range of motion. It hurts too much to extend the leg anymore, so it can't be stretched manually. You wouldn't want to try to bear through it either, because as I said before, your brain will fight you over it. So how do you get the brain and its fleet of proprioceptors on your side? The hamstrings are responsible for flexing the leg (bringing your heel to your butt), so their partner in reciprocal inhibition is the muscle group that does the opposite, which is the quadricep group.

So then, have a seat, and get a partner to hold your shin and secure it in place, and contract the quadriceps, trying to extend your leg, but with your partner bracing against you, so that you can't actually lengthen it any further and worsen the spasm. The muscles are working to extend the leg, but in order for the quadriceps to shorten and pull the leg into extension, their antagonist, the hamstrings, have to be able to lengthen. So now, even though the leg isn't actually extending, the brain detects that it's trying to, and therefore triggers the proprioceptors to tell the hamstring spindles to let down and relax, therefore making it easier after a few repititions of this process to gradually extend the leg with less and less pain.

Simple, isn't it? But there's one catch, the hamstrings/quadriceps pairing is easy enough to figure out, and other simple ones like the bicep/tricep pairing, but not all agonist/antagonist pairs are as easy to figure out if you haven't studied anatomy, so how do you know which muscle to contract in order to help another lengthen? With this in mind, I've put together a list of common muscles and their reciprocal partners, it's at the bottom. Remember, reciprocal inhibition works both ways. If one of these muscles is shortened and it hurts too much to stretch it, contract its partner.

**NOTE: This can also be thought of in terms of action. If you want to use RI on a muscle but don't know the name of it, think about what it does. If it hurts to extend your arm, then hold it in place and flex it.**

Triceps/Biceps
Hamstrings/Quadriceps
Forearm Flexors/Forearm Extensors
Upper Traps/Latissimus Dorsi
Deltoids/Latissimus Dorsi
Abdominals/Quadratus Lumborum (lower back)
Pectorals/Rhomboids (upper back)
Right side of neck/Left side of neck
Hip Flexors/Glutes
Hip Adductors (inner thigh)/Hip Abductors (outer thigh)

5/3/1 Bench Training August 16

Okay! First day back after a much-needed vacation in Mexico. I wish I'd gotten more training in but the resort gym had dumbbells up to 50 and a smith cage half covered in rust. We fooled around a bit but aside from bodyweight dips and stuff like that, we never did get anything we would call a workout. God do I hate smith machines.

On the bright side, I did go and see Dr. Masters (amazing chiro and ART specialist at Champions Chiropractic in Edmonton) to get my back and neck put back together. I swear, there must have been fifty cracks, most of those from cervical adjustments. I'm still a bit stiff but most of the pain is gone and I'm going back in on Monday for some ART. I wasn't sure what to expect from today's benching but I think it went pretty well.

Warm-ups

3-5 @ 45, 95, 115, 135, 155

5 @ 180
5 @ 205
13 @ 230 (This felt quite good actually, projected a max of 329. I have done 240 for 12 before so it wasn't a peak performance but since I haven't benched in a week and a half, I'll take it)

Joker Sets

5 @ 245
5 @ 255
5 @ 265

Backed off with a set of 8 @ 180 with pauses of around 2s. No time for assistance work again today, going to have to start training earlier. The primary work for Beyond 5/3/1 with jokers and back-offs takes a LOT longer than original 5/3/1. I like the extra volume a lot though.

Agatsu West Classic: The "Why" of the Triangle Choke

Agatsu West Classics are articles I wrote in 2007 when I had just graduated from the Somatics Institute of Massage Therapy, and had just started BJJ. I wrote them to give a unique anatomical and pathophysiological point of view on the techniques I was learning, that inquisitive minds might better their understanding of "why" certain techniques worked the way they did, rather than just being satisfied with "how" to do them. Some were basic rehab and prehab concepts as well. This one features the triangle choke - and though my understanding of BJJ is now light years ahead of what it was at the time, everything in the article is still accurate and relevant. Hope you enjoy.

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I chose the triangle to cover today, because not only is it likely the highest-percentage of the three in high-level competition, it's also one of those subs where tiny things make huge differences, and attention to positioning and ice-cold technique is key. Thanks to www.lockflow.com for the demonstration pictures.



















1. Royce Gracie holds Jonothan Burke in his closed guard. He secures one of Burke's arms above the elbow. This is done for two simple reasons. The first is that he has more control over the dexterity of Burke's arm, and the second is that later on in the technique, when Royce wants to assert control on Burke's torso, he'll have more influence the closer to the torso he is. Which arm he chooses to secure will depend on which arm will be easier to pass through his legs. In this case, Burke is actually trying to separate Royce's legs with his left arm, so Royce controls the right.










2. This shows from another angle that Royce has successfully passed Burk's left arm through his legs. He still has control over Burk's right elbow in the same fashion as described in number 1. At this point he's also controlling Burk's left arm, the one he passed through, with his right hand, and driving it in toward Burk's body. This is done for two reasons. One reason is that Burk can't employ his left hand in any way to defend against the triangle choke, or in the context of MMA, he can't punch Royce with it.



The second reason is that in any style of martial arts, whether the practitioners do a good job of it or not, a fundamental rule is that the more off-balance your opponent, so long as you remain balanced, the more advantageous the situation is for you. At this point in the situation, Burk's upper body is overextended forward, and the majority of his weight is outside his realm of strength.



















This is another angle of the second position, but this is displaying another critical detail in Royce's expert execution of this technique. As he rests his calf across the back of Burk's neck in preparation for the choke, he moves his right hip in toward the arm he passed through, using his left foot on Burke's hip to speed up this movement, to make his body almost perpendicular to Burk's.



This is done for two reasons. The first reason is that if Royce remains in line with Burk's body, he is vulnerable to slamming. Check out Arona vs Rampage if you want to see a good example of that. Even in a fully locked-in triangle, it's possible for Burk to get to his feet. If he can get to his feet, and Royce is in line with him, he need only assume the proper head-up posture for a deadlift or squat in order to easily lift Royce's body.



The second reason has to do with the strength of Royce's choke in this position. With his body in line with Burk's, his right leg is internally rotated, which makes squeezing inward about half hamstrings, half adductor group (inner thigh). However, refer to my article about reciprocal inhibition. Anytime a muscle is working, its partner somewhere on the body is being sent signals to relax. The hamstrings and adductors, the muscles that you're trying to squeeze with, are all main players in EXTERNAL rotation of the flexed knee, which is the opposite movement. so if you're in line with the person you're choking, forcing you to internally rotate your leg, all the muscles you're trying to squeeze with are being sent signals by the brain to relax and lengthen, which means the strength of your choke is being halved without you even realizing it. By switching up the position attack from the side, you're making it a more direct hamstring effort, with much less interference from the brain.











Finally, the finished choke position. Not much to say about this, besides the actual location of the artery you're attacking. The mechanics of any choke with the arm inside is to bring the acromio-clavicular joint (bump about halfway between your neck and shoulder) into the common carotid artery, or one of its branches, on the side of the neck, just in front of the cervical spine, shown here:







If that artery isn't being pressured, the choke isn't working, so if he's been hanging out in your triangle choke for 30 seconds, look at his ear, then track straight down the neck from the ear. About halfway down the neck, in line with the ear, is your target, so shift around until his shoulder is there and then try squeezing again. Hope you guys found this useful, make sure to leave me some comments whether you did or not!

Dave Tate: The Void

This is a motivational video featuring video and audio clips of Dave Tate, head of EliteFTS and a huge inspirational figure for me. If you lift weights, I think you'd be hard pressed to watch this video and not have it hit a few nerves.

Beyond 5/3/1 Close-Grip Bench August 2

My two current upper body days for Beyond 5/3/1 are CG bench and normal bench - for a couple of reasons. I have a hard time with standing presses using an olympic bar, especially lately because of my neck. I tried 5/3/1 press with kettlebells for a while once, but because the kettlebells only go up in increments of 4KG it was a bit redundant - the way I've got my excel set up it would be a couple of full cycles before any numbers would change. I still do kettlebell pressing as assistance work, though. The other reason is that for a 6-month stretch I was using the Patrick Nyman bench program and got fantastic results from it - hard triples at 255 to easy triples at 280! The program alternates CG and normal grip each week and it felt really good - plus tricep strength/stability is super important for BJJ.

I'm planning on investing in a strongman log and switching out CG bench for log pressing. I'm hoping that the log pressing will be easier on my joints, plus log pressing is badass and should have great carryover to the mats.

Anyway, this was today's training. I'm still being careful with my neck - jamming it into the bench when I arch is doable but not comfortable. Usually I stop my sets when the reps start to get ugly, but right now I'm stopping 1-2 reps short of that point.

Warm-ups - Triples at 45, 95, 115, 135, 155

3 @ 175
3 @ 200
10 @ 225 (Projected PR of 299.9)

These felt surprisingly good, actually. I took the tenth a bit high on my chest and felt my elbows flare, making for an awkward groove on the concentric phase. It still went up nice and fast once I got it off my chest and tucked my elbows, but I didn't want to be too greedy. One of the great things about any version of 5/3/1 is that it's all designed around building momentum over the long term. You try your best to set PR's every workout, but even if you're training around an injury or just having a shitty high-gravity day in general, you can stay on schedule and keep grinding.

Joker Sets:

3 @ 240
3 @ 250
1 @ 260

The first rep at 260 felt good, but arching hard was starting to take its toll.

Back-off Sets - 1-2 second pause on the chest

3 x 8 @ 175

Did some pull-aparts and pressdowns when I got to work but too many things on my plate to get any real assistance work done.

Leg Training Mountain Dog Style - August 1, 2013

Typically my lower body Beyond 5/3/1 days are Box Squats or Deadlifts, but I've been dealing with a neck injury since last Monday. It presents as a pinched nerve, but I've also had symptoms like these from a thoracic rib being out of place. My chiro/ART guy is on vacation right now, and he's the only one I trust for upper cervical adjustment so I'm having to train around it right now. I love mountain dog style training for assistance work, so today Brandon and I decided we'd have some fun and blast the legs without having to load the spine.

Seated Hamstring Curls - Pause at the bottom

I did five or six warm-up sets of 10, then two sets of 12 at 160lbs.


Leg Press - After I warmed up, I added 0.5 inch strength bands doubled up around the safety spotter handles of the leg press. The press itself is a Precor Icarian on about a 45 degree slant. These bands are equivalent to elitefts pro minis, and based on how I've calibrated them on reverse band pins I figure they probably add about 150lbs at the top of the movement when they're doubled up. Not nearly as much of a difference on a leg press as on a squat, but it definitely does force me to be more explosive which is why I add them.

Sets of 8 with slow negatives

@ 90, 180, 270, 360, 450, 540

Added Bands, Sets of 10 with Fast Tempo

540, 630, 720

Back down to 540, did 10 with very slow negatives

Strip Set - 10 Reps as fast as possible with 360, 270, 180, and 90

All I had time for before I had to head to work.

Welcome

Welcome, and thank you for checking out my blog. My name is Tyson LaRone, and this is what originally started as a simple online workout log for Beyond 5/3/1, a strength training program by Jim Wendler that I use to supplement BJJ. I'm now planning to use it as an outlet for any of my ramblings concerning my lifting, BJJ, general health and wellness and life in general. Hopefully you'll find it informative if you're into any of these topics!

A little about me:

BJJ: I am a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, training and teaching at Arashi-Do Martial Arts in Edmonton, Alberta under Professor Mike Yackulic. We're part of Equipe Behring International, under Mestre Sylvio Behring in Rio De Janeiro. We're fortunate enough to host him twice a year for seminars, privates and grading. I've been training under Prof. Mike and Mestre Behring for about seven and a half years now.

Lifting: I started lifting weights when I was quite young as a part of training for competitive swimming, which I did at a national level until about 11 years ago, when I was 15. That's when I started training with kettlebells and training in Ketto Ryu Ju-Jutsu. I now work for the Agatsu Organization as an SAKC, teaching kettlebell instructor certifications. I started doing the original 5/3/1 and eating my face off when I was 21, in an attempt to move up a few weight divisions but fell in love with powerlifting. Two years ago, I became a Speed and Agility Specialist through the IYCA.

Professional Life: I manage the south Edmonton location of a nationwide company called Fitness Depot, selling fitness equipment. I also teach a fitness class, Kids BJJ and Advanced No-Gi at Arashi-Do. I went to a private college for Massage Therapy and worked as an RMT for a couple of years, but ultimately decided that massage therapy was much better as a friend than a roommate. I still get to use my education every day for strength/conditioning and BJJ, so I don't regret it at all.

Personal Life: I have a wonderful wife named Stephanie, and two cats named Batman and D'Artagnan. When I'm not selling, lifting or rolling, I'm reading sci fi or fantasy novels, watching movies or doing anything to do with cars or racing.