Month: November 2011

2011-11-25 workout

/ hsoi

Realized some things today….

“Week 1”

  • 5 reps – Bench Press (working max: 210#)
    • 2x5x45 (warmup)
    • 1x5x85
    • 1x5x105
    • 1x3x130
    • 1x5x140 (work)
    • 1x5x160
    • 1x10x180
  • Asst. #1 – Bench Press
    • 5 x 10 x 120
  • Asst. #2 – Dumbbell rows
    • 5 x 10 x 50
  • GPP – Sprints
    • 2 “reps” of walking the course (90-ish yards each way)
    • Tabata style (20 sec. sprint, 10 sec. walk)
    • 4 “reps” (8 reps is one Tabata set)
    • 2 “reps” of walking for a cooldown
  • Grip
    • 3x10xS, 2 sec. hold between reps

Today a few things hit home.

First, I’ve found myself saying “gosh, the weights felt heavy today” a lot. I think I have to come to accept something: the weights are always going to feel heavy now. I read about guys squatting 1000# and they say that it feels like you’re being crushed by all the weight. Sure I only squat a fraction of that, but the point remains: it’s just going to be heavy because it is heavy. You are going to feel all that weight upon you. So, I have to stop thinking “gosh it’s heavy” as if in some way expecting it to maybe feel light… because it won’t ever again (except maybe on deload weeks, relative to the week prior).

On that same token, I need to increase my rest periods. On the 5/3/1 exercise, warmups can rest enough to change the plates and move on. On the work sets, no more “2 min max” rest, instead go for a 3 minute minimum and more if I need it. On assistance work, at least 1 minute but no more than 2.

Both of these things come from a simple place: inexperience. Never in my life have I moved weights this heavy. I’ve never been here before. I just don’t know what to expect. Plus, all lifting I’ve ever done has always been “bodybuilder style” lifting, where you want to keep rest periods short. Now I’m about strength building (with muscle mass a secondary consideration), and that just means I will need more rest, especially as the weights get heavier. So it’s a bunch of changing my habits, changing my perceptions. The timer during my work sets isn’t to say “start lifting when the timer gets to zero or just prior”, but instead “you can’t even think about starting to lift until the timer hits zero, and take more if you need it”. Assistance work is to build some mass, so a little less rest is going to happen there, but I still want to allow myself to rest if I need it…. just not too much.

So on that….

The work sets of benching went well. Pushed out 10 reps with the 180 and felt good there.

On assistance benching, I’m going to start pausing at the bottom of the rep to give myself a little more work. Due to that, I almost didn’t make it through the sets today. 🙂

Rows felt good. Keeping my arm at about a 45Âş angle (instead of upper arm “pinned” to my side) and that feels like it’s hitting my back more in the way I need it. I think about moving the elbow up, not pulling the weight up. That gets more back involved, less concern about my arms.

Sprints… felt a little more comfortable with it all today, but I am still going to need time to catch my stride and feel comfortable with it. As I type this, my calves/shins are hurting… I really don’t want shin splints to happen, thus the new running shoes. But my body still needs to adapt to it all, so I’ll stick with only 4 “reps” for now until my body adjusts and adapts. On that note, I had been thinking about keeping my squat work this cycle at last cycle’s work levels because of this extra leg work. I’m not sure now, due to my change in attitude about the rest periods. I’m going to go ahead and let the next workout progress as normal (i.e. 10# jump over last cycle) and we’ll just see how it goes. If it slays me and I have recovery problems, I’ll back off. Else, press on!

I also opted to change my grip workout a bit. I’m going to do the “heavy” grip work on deadlift day since that puts a lot of grip work in with the deadlifts and the hanging leg/knee raises. But then, I’ll do the “light” grip day on bench day. I get some grip work on this day, so I think light day can happen here. This also allows more recovery time then between grip workouts instead of spreading things across every workout and risking impacting recovery in a negative way. We’ll see how it goes.

Rush Hour is a Reminder

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

You know what gives me perspective in life?

Rush hour traffic.

I’ve worked from home full-time for geez… 12+ years. That’s afforded me a great many things in life, but it’s also come with its own costs and sacrifices. In the end tho, it works out with more in the plus column.

One of those pluses is that I’m not trapped in a car for 2+ hours a day driving to/from work.

So when I have to go about town and get caught in rush hour traffic, it always provides me with perspective… a reminder of what I don’t have, and what I do have.

On this day of Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for the life I have. No, it’s not perfect, but it’s more than I expected I’d ever have.

2011-11-23 – workout… sprints hurt :-)

/ hsoi

Tried something else for sprints today…. ouch. 🙂

“Week 1”

  • 5 reps – Deadlifts (working max: 295#)
    • 1x5x120 (warmup)
    • 1x5x150
    • 1x3x180
    • 1x5x195 (work)
    • 1x5x225
    • 1x8x255
  • Asst. #1 – Good Mornings
    • 5 x 10 x 65
  • Asst. #2 – Hanging Knee Raises
    • 5 x 6 x BW
  • Metcon – Sprints
    • 1/2 a Tabata set, 20 seconds sprint, 10 seconds walk
  • Grip
    • 2x10xS, 2 sec hold between each rep
    • 3x5xT, 2 sec hold between each rep
    • 1 10 sec hold, No. 1

Today was OK. Weight felt kinda heavy and looking back well, my deadlift PR was 1x8x275 so why I only cranked out 8 with 255 today I’m not sure. I did feel like I could do more but said “leave some in the tank”. So maybe it was just being conservative. I’m also a bit concerned about my rest levels… sleep has been an issue for me (some problems) and I just may not be recovering like I need to. Hrm. Still, they felt like strong reps, just like I didn’t want to do a whole lot.

I supersetted the good mornings and the knee raises. My knee raises are doing well, working to touch my knees to my shoulders on every rep, so I’m getting a good curl with my body, working more than just hip flexors. I did notice my left hand grip starting to slip on the last couple reps of the last couple sets, but I just hung on and kept going. The superset works things a little harder, but I’m good with that due to time and a little more intensity.

Sprints. First thing…. I bought myself a good pair of running shoes because Chucks just won’t cut it with all the impact involved, so that means more gear to haul to the gym: lift in Chucks, run in the New Balances. I then paced off 90 yards. The plan is to use the Tabata method: sprint 20 seconds, walk 10 seconds, that’s “1 rep”. If I can pull 1 good set of those (8 “reps”) that should be a good start. But of course, there’s no way I’m doing 8 right now. I only did 4 (so “half” a set). I want to get my body used to things: the running, the impact, the whole motion. 4 didn’t quite tax me today, I was sucking wind but didn’t feel exhausted or like I was going to throw up, but it was good enough. My lower legs are a bit tight and achy from the past couple sprint trials, just because it’s a new motion. Plus today’s deadlifting put a lot of work into my hamstrings and on the first sprint I guess I had a little too much stride and my right hamstring isn’t too happy with me right now. I don’t want to have this long gazelle stride where my heel lands way out in front of me and then my hams “pull” my body forward, rather I want to just keep having my body being “pushed forward” by my stride; so it won’t be this long stride, but knees high, arms pumping, and going as hard as I can. Again, kinda like tire running or well, what you’d do if you were pushing a Prowler. Of course, by round 3 I felt like I was sprinting for my life but I’m sure I looked like I was barely jogging. 🙂 All good. I’ll work my way up. At least this felt like a lot more work and intensity than rope jumping.

And grip, I bumped up to a 3×5 for the “work”. Left hand is of course a little weaker and I’ll keep things at a level until my left catches up with my right. My always think to involve the pinky: that’s so key

Speaking of grip stuff… I tried that “Liquid Chalk” stuff today. Seemed alright. Not sure how much it actually helped, but I don’t think it hurt.

I think I may take a nap today.

Truth about Violence

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

Just as it is prudent to wear your seat belt while driving, it makes sense to know how best to respond to violence. In fact, it is overwhelmingly likely that some of you will become the targets of violence in the future. The purpose of this essay is to help you prepare for it.

A very good essay about self-defense, touching on 3 key principles of how to stay alive and out of trouble. (h/t Low Tech Combat)

Go read the article. On the whole I agree with it, but I do have some comments.

Principle #1: Avoid dangerous people and dangerous places.

This is true. The more you do to avoid trouble in the first place, the better. Some gun-folk may have heard it as “don’t go anywhere with a gun that you wouldn’t go without a gun”. Training courses such as Insights Training Center’s Street and Vehicle Tactics, and building upon that, SouthNarc’s Managing Unknown Contacts (MUC) can be quite useful in this realm.

Just remember Insight’s ABC’s: Always Be Cool.

Principle #2: Do not defend your property.

When I first read this, my gut feeling was to disagree. There can be very valid and just reasons for defense of property. However, when you read his elaboration on the principle, he’s basically alluding to the “beer and tv maxim“. I do agree with that and believe it a worthwhile guiding principle.

Principle #3: Respond immediately and escape.

I’ll agree here. When it comes, you must respond swiftly. Get away? Yes. It’s a good way to ensure you can live another day. We’re not out to have some sort of just fight, we’re not crime-fighters, we’re merely trying to defend our lives and keep on living. Escape enables that end.

And yes:

If someone puts a gun to your head and demands your purse or wallet, hand it over immediately and run. Don’t worry about being shot in the back: If your attacker is going to shoot you for running, he was going to shoot you if you stayed in place, and at point-blank range. By running, you make yourself harder to kill.

By running, you do make yourself harder to kill. For a lot of gun people, think about it like the Tueller Drill in reverse. If someone can close the gap that quickly, someone can also increase the gap that quickly. That means it doesn’t take you all that long to get out of range. I recall in a class with Tom Givens that he said something to the effect of about 8 yards (or maybe 10 yards?) or so, most people can’t hit worth a darn after that distance. So if someone can close a 7 yard gap in 1.5 seconds, you can make a 7 yard gap in 1.5 seconds… not much time at all to put yourself at a distance that most people can’t hit you at… and since you’re moving, you’ll be an even more difficult target. So indeed, there’s something to Nike-Fu as a self-defense tactic.

But is it always that easy? Can you always “just escape”?

What if your attacker has a knife to your child’s throat and tells you that everything is going to be okay as long as you cooperate by lying face down on the floor? Don’t do it. It would be better to flee the house—because as soon as you leave, he will know that the clock is ticking: Within moments, you will be at a neighbor’s home summoning help. If this intruder is going to murder your child before fleeing himself, he was going to murder your child anyway—either before or after he killed you. And he was going to take his time doing it. Granted, it is almost impossible to imagine leaving one’s child in such a circumstance—but if you can’t leave, you must grab a weapon and press your own attack. Complying in the hope that a sociopath will keep his promise to you is always the wrong move.

I admit, I haven’t considered that option in that scenario. And I’m not sure I can. I cannot see myself fleeing from my children in their most dire moment of need. I admit, I don’t believe compliance with a nutjob is going to get me anywhere, but I’m also just not sure that escaping to call for help is going to accomplish good things. Or at least, it seems that either way things could go good or things could go ugly… and I guess I’d rather take my chances sticking around. If I leave my child, not only the feeling that gives them of Dad leaving them (and while my kids might know how to fight, they’re still children and my leaving could easily destroy their morale), but now I don’t know where they are and what’s going on… is child going to be taken to crime scene #2?

A perfect example that just happened down in Houston.

It all started when Goodie’s 14-year-old daughter, Moriah, was headed to school around 6:30 a.m. Investigators said she’d just locked up her home and was walking down the sidewalk when she was approached by two men.

[…]

“The gentlemen that had her around the neck said he was going to kill her if [the father] did not back away. [The suspect] started dragging the young girl into the street. There was some separation, and at that point the daddy was able to fire one shot at the suspect,” Stauber said.

Read the full article. Does YOU escaping really sound like a viable option in that circumstance? Or does pressing the attack to enable your child to escape seem like the better option?

Still, to have the option put into my head? I’m not unhappy it happened. I never considered it before, but I’m sure I’ll contemplate it now to determine pros, cons, appropriate situations, under what circumstances it might actually be the best option. I’m not going to outright poo-poo it, but I will admit it may be difficult for me to overcome and accept it as a possible option.

Regardless, the article is overall a good one. The core is solid, and even if you don’t agree with it, I think what the article presents is well-worth considering… if for nothing else, the expansion and presentation of new ideas helps you find better solutions: either the new one is better, or you add more support to your existing solutions.

Stop thinking so much; it gets in the way

/ hsoi

Whether the student practices swordsmanship, archery, caligraphy, or tea ceremony, any conscious understanding of the practice that remains in the mind will only cause conflict during a performance.

-Munenori

From Maku mozo!

So true. So true.

Turn off the brain, and just do.

Far easier said than done, especially since it takes near-mastery before you can just do.

Strive.

2011-11-21 workout, starting cycle 4 of Wender 5/3/1

/ hsoi

Starting cycle 4 of the Wendler 5/3/1 program.

“Week 1”

  • 5 reps – Press (working max: 140#)
    • 2x5x45 (warmup)
    • 1x5x55
    • 1x5x70
    • 1x3x85
    • 1x5x90 (work)
    • 1x5x105
    • 1x7x120
  • Asst. #1 – Press
    • 5 x 10 x 65
  • Asst. #2 – Supinated, shoulder-width grip lat pulldowns
    • 5 x 10 x 120
  • Metcon – sprints
    • 40 yards
    • walk twice
    • jog twice
    • 5 x 1 walk, 1 jog, 1 sprint
    • walk… I dunno… 100 yards, twice, cooldown

And so, starting cycle 4 on Wendler 5/3/1.

Pressing went nicely. Felt good. Weights are feeling heavier, but that’s ok…. just keep pressing! Went up only 5# but remember, last cycle I goofed and went up due to mis-reading my charts and so I’m just continuing up, so it’s a bit of a big jump, but I know I’ll be alright.

On the assistance pressing, a 5# jump but boy it felt harder. I normally take 1 min of rest between sets but I needed a little more here (90 to 120 seconds, never let myself do more than 2 minutes but mostly it was as “ok, do I feel rested enough?” feeling). So my goal during the cycle will be to get my rest periods down.

Pulldowns went well, feeling hard those last few reps of the last few sets. I have wondered if I might want to go up another 5# and let my rest periods here increase too. I’ve been (re)reading more Wendler stuff, including his 5/3/1 Powerlifting book and well… the reason I kept my rest periods during assistance work to 1 minute was to get and keep my heart rate up to add to conditioning. But, if I’m moving into doing prowler and sprints? Do I really want/need that? Better to perhaps lift a big heavier, a bit more intensive on the assistance work, go for 1-2 minutes of rest. Let it be a bit more for mass building, y’know?

Went outside and sprinted. I have those 40-50 yards measured off. I walked it twice, jogged it twice, then did 5 “reps” of walk it, then jog it, then sprint it. That felt enough for today. I also timed it. Now remember, when I jog and sprint I’m doing it with high knees, kinda like I’m tire running but moving forward faster than a tire run would allow. In timing it, it took about 30 seconds to walk it, 20-ish to jog, and 10 to sprint. Hrm. Not exactly the work intervals you want; HIIT wants about a 2:1 ratio of work to rest, but for now, this is alright to help my body adapt and get used to things. But still… I think that perhaps I’ll go with a Tabata format and measure of maybe 90 yards or so, figuring that 80 yards of that sort of sprinting would be about 20 seconds of work, and 10 yards of walking would be about 10 seconds or rest. So, 90 yards, I can go up and back at least 4 and up to 8 times. On Wednesday I may measure that out and see how it goes.

I also thought, again after reading more Wendler yesterday, that I might back off my squat numbers and repeat the same squat numbers from last cycle. Why? Because I’m adding in some intensive leg work and my body needs time to adapt… could take 3-4 weeks for my body to get there, and my squat will suffer for it. But like Wendler says, it’s about long term goals, years, not weeks or even months. You’ll never get weaker by going lighter. I’ll see how I feel tho come next week since the first squat won’t be for another week.

Low Tech Combat

/ hsoi

The guys over at Low Tech Combat made a video to introduce their concepts.

The video seems a little different for the context… seems like a business presentation more than self-defense. Nevertheless, it highlights what LTC is all about. If you’re interested in self-defense by any means (guns, martial arts, whatever), these guys have some useful insights worth heeding.

Wendler on Teamwork

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

Jim Wendler on teamwork:

Teamwork is not something that can be taught without consequences. We?d like to think we are all about Teamwork until the shit hits the fan; then it’s every man/woman for themselves. This is the same thing that people do in marriages, relationships and in some cases, as parents. It’s easy when it’s easy but no one wants to stick around when it’s hard.

Teamwork is spreading the credit when it goes well and not selling your co-workers out when it doesn’t.

90% of the time people point fingers and go to the boss and complain/bitch about co-workers. Unfortunately, these kinds of people are rewarded.

TEAMS are built strong by three things:

1. Strong leaders.
2. People who are willing to fulfill their roles.
3. Team is willing to take care of problems internally,

Teams work together to bring everyone into the group.
Teams work together to make sure there is success.
Teams don’t tattle on others like a 10 year old.
Teams work to make weak people better.
Teams have a strong leader; the leader delegates and doesn?t reward suck ups.

Full article.

Wendler 5/3/1 cycle 3 wrap up, cycle 4 thoughts

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

With today’s workout I finished my 3rd cycle of the Wendler 5/3/1 method, following a general “boring but big” template 3x a week with a little metcon/GPP. Started to also experiment with working on grip, and changing around my metcon/GPP.

I’m still very pleased with this workout program. It’s slow progress, but there’s progress and my body generally feels happy for it. This is all good. I’m happy with the direction, the results, and where things are going. I see little reason to change the basic program, but I do see some tweaks coming.

First, as has been mentioned in my logs, I’m changing up my GPP. Jumping rope just isn’t going to cut it any more. When the guy with the Prowler shows up, I’m going to do that because it r00l3z. But since it may not always happen, I’m going to sprint instead. I need to come up with a reasonable routine for the sprinting, but my hope is that will work. My desired goal here isn’t just to increase my conditioning, but also to see about accelerating some fat loss. I don’t want to do some sort of “cutting” cycle where I cut back on calories, cut back on the strength work, all in an effort to just drop fat… because as far as I can see, you can do things wisely and drop some fat, maybe slowly, but that’s fine. For this 4th cycle I’m not going to directly change much other than what I do for GPP, but I have thought that perhaps during the 5th cycle I might try changing the diet up for the 6 weeks of the cycle, leaving my strength weights alone (i.e. do 4th cycle weights again), and see if I can drop 10# of fat. But we’ll see… I’ll figure that out in about 6 weeks.

I think I’m going to need to invest in a good pair of running shoes. The Chucks are great for most of my working out, but the running? It’s going to hurt.

I’ve also had some thoughts about adding a little more work to my workout sessions. Yes, a little more “bodybuilding” type stuff (see Wender on a bb template), because yes I’d like to put on a little more muscle mass in some areas. But I don’t know yet. I think I’d rather focus on some of the fat shedding, but we’ll see. Much to think about. Won’t be happening this 4th cycle.

Another thing is working on my grip, and for now that’s just going to be those CoC grippers as I outlined in some past workout logs. We’ll see how it pans out.

So as for the 4th cycle itself, I think what I’m most excited about is hitting some milestones. I’ll be using 135# for my pressing, which is cool to move into the 45# plates.  Bench press is going to break 200#. Deadlift is nearing 300. And my squats are going to go into true PR territory finally. So it’s going to be a rather cool cycle. I need to ensure I get a lot of rest. 🙂  I’ve wondered about how these work-weights translate into a 1RM, just because one gets curious. I’m not going to sweat it too much. But I do think about it… I’m human.

Wife comments on how my body is looking, is improving. So hey… life’s good. 🙂