Month: May 2012

AAR – BP1 & DPS1 @ KR Training, 5 May 2012

/ hsoi / 5 Comments

Another day, another group of enlightened students. 🙂

May 5th was a bit of a different day for us, having Basic Pistol 1 in the morning and Defensive Pistol Skills 1 in the afternoon. Usually we’ll run BP2 and DPS1 back-to-back, or BP1 and something else entirely unrelated in the afternoon (e.g. AT-4). And apart from being unseasonably hot out, it was a good day.

There are a few things I want to talk about that came out of the two classes, but after thinking about them on the drive home I realized they’re going to make for whole articles unto themselves, so I’ll be writing about them in the coming days. But for now, I can discuss a few small topics.

One thing I always like to point out is demographics. We had men and women, and a lot more women than usual especially for a DPS1 class. We had young folks and old folks. We had folks of various ethnicity/race. We have people of different political persuasion. I point this out because so many people want to stereotype gun owners as redneck, knuckle-dragging, old, white, men. It’s just not the case. Gun owners are all types and kinds, and no question the largest growing demographic is women. Frankly I’m thrilled to see more women shooters coming out for classes beyond basic classes, because all too often they get the basics and stop for whatever reason. Seeing more taking true self-defense classes, not just fundamental skills classes, is wonderful.

Since I have my new M&P Shield, I brought it out. I wanted BP1 students to try it to see how it fit and how a variety of people could manipulate it. And in the afternoon, there was a student that borrowed it for the whole class. She had come out previously to a Basic Pistol 2, had a Sig in .40 (IIRC), but all I recall was it being too big for her petite hands. I let her my M&P9 that day and she fared much better, but even that was still a wee big for her, so we lent her the Shield for the day. This Shield stuff will be topic of another article.

Most of my comments and observations tho are typical for these classes, because much of the same mistakes happen and revelations come to students:

  • If you have a CHL, carry your gun. You don’t get to choose when and where the fight is going to happen. The fight will happen unexpectedly, you have to react, you will be behind the curve, and well… if you aren’t prepared, you’re screwed. This isn’t to say if you are prepared you still won’t be screwed, but you need to do all you can to work things in your favor.
  • Do not be married to your equipment. This is life-saving material, so ego cannot and should not be involved, nor should money be a barrier. That doesn’t mean you need to go out and buy a $5000 Wilson Combat gun, but don’t buy cheap shit… unless I guess that’s where you value your life. Be willing to discard the gun you have (thankfully most have good resale value) and find a gun that works best for you, THAT FITS YOU (read this), that you can shoot well and are willing to practice with. We work to steer people down this road in BP1. When we get to DPS1, this is where you find out not only that guns with levers and switches and dohickies and gizmos are more problem than solution, but you also find out that your holster sucks, your magazine pouches suck, and you need to do better. Your skill is affected by your gear. No, you won’t be a Grandmaster IPSC shooter on gear alone, but no one made Grandmaster with crappy guns and gear.
  • When racking the slide, don’t help it. This is another topic I wish to elaborate on in another article.
  • Yes, you have to aim.
    • Bottom line: you need to make acceptable hits. All this fancy self-defense stuff means nothing if you can’t hit what needs to be hit. That means marksmanship fundamentals remain well… fundamental to it all. It’s at the heart of what we’re doing, just that much of the self-defense stuff means you have to do it faster, perhaps a little more coarse on accuracy (but still accurate enough), and with some other flourishes and such. But trigger control and sight alignment are still key.
  • If you didn’t shoot as well as you wanted to, at least did you have your eyes opened? Perhaps was it a bit humbling? If so, do NOT consider this a bad thing. You now have an idea of what needs to be done, of the level that you need to attain. Now it’s time to work to get there. Consider it all knowledge and learning.
  • In the Texas heat and sun, wear sunscreen and stay hydrated. Also consume some things to keep your energy up. It got into the mid-90’s, so drinking say a 1-to-1 ratio of Gatorade and water would be good, so you keep some sugar, electrolytes, and of course water in you.

As a final point, I got to meet “That Guy” from Rock in a Sea of Chaos. How cool!

Updated: That Guy posted his AAR of the class.

A different self-defense checklist

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

Mike Seeklander shares some, possibly unorthodox, thoughts on a self-defense checklist.

Most people think about self-defense in terms of hard skills, like shooting a gun, deploying pepper spray, shouting “NO!” and issuing palm strikes to the face. Sure that’s all part of it, but there’s so much more fundamental stuff.

I like how Mike’s #1 is to learn first aid. The need for first aid is arguably more important and something you’re more likely to use on a regular basis. I mean sure… we carry our guns because someday it may save our lives, but first aid skills save many more lives on a more common basis. Until I took Lone Star Medic’s Dynamic First Aid class a few months back, my first aid knowledge was still based upon what I had learned in Boy Scouts. I had been searching for a first aid course for some time, I knew my skills were lacking, so it was great when LSM’s course came up. I do consider seeking additional medical training a priority, an LSM is coming back to KR Training in September 2012. I’ll be there.

I also appreciate Mike’s #2 about physical fitness. Sometimes the best defense (see what I did there?) is to escape. If you can’t run 25 yards without collapsing from lack of breath, if you struggle to get up off the floor or just from a bended knee, you are at a major disadvantage. If you need somewhere to start, I’ll give you two suggestions. 1. Pick one thing in your diet to clean up, like stop drinking soda or cut back on it (e.g. at most 1 per day, or maybe 1 per week). No major changes, just 1 thing.  2. When you drive somewhere, park your car away from the store. Not in some “tactically unsound” way (e.g. that dark, unpopulated corner of the lot), but don’t keep circling or striving to get a space that’s as close to the building doors as possible. Parking a little further away means you have to walk a little more, and that’s a good thing.  These are small things, but these little things will add up.

Go read the rest of Mike’s article. It’s sound advice.

Where to go next

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

I had to run this morning so I couldn’t write much, but I’ve got some time now to write.

As much as I have enjoyed doing the Wendler 5/3/1 “Boring But Big 3 Month Challenge”, I’m going to have to shelve it. The workouts are taking longer, mostly due to the extended rest periods necessary between sets, and even reps!  With the new job I can’t be as leisurely with my schedule, time is more important than before, so I need to adjust in order to get my workout times down. I just can’t make my needed schedule with the workout length I presently have.

That said, I really have appreciated the challenge, and am bummed to not finish the last month. Being forced to make assistance work weights at ever-increasing amounts was a good thing. It really pushed me and gave me a different perspective on things. I’m sure 70% would have been very eye-opening for me. I’d like to try going back on the challenge sometime in the future, just have to wait until the schedule can handle it.

So what’s my plan?

Well, what’s my goal? I have no specific goal, like training for a meet. It’s just about getting stronger, bigger, and maintaining good health. So Boring But Big remains a good template. In fact, I’m going to mostly keep the template used by the challenge, just adjust it.

Here’s the layout:

Day 1

Press, superset with chin-ups (supinated grip)
Assistance press, superset with pronated grip lat pulldowns (grip width to be determined by what pleases my shoulders)
Triceps pushdowns, cambered bar

Day 2

Deadlift
Assistance deadlift
Hanging leg raises

Day 3

Bench Press, superset with dumbbell rows
Assistance bench press, superset with face pulls
EZ-bar curls

Day 4

Squat
Assistance squat
Something for abs… maybe just good old sit-up, over the swiss ball for better range of motion

So you can see, it’s still BBB, but the traditional style of doing the main lift then doing the main lift again with lighter weight. I’m wanting to see what difference this makes vs. the mixed approach the challenge takes. Volume, y’know? Plus the assistance work is essentially the challenge’s work, just shuffled around on the days a bit.

I’m also supersetting all upper body work. I need all that back work, so might as well compress things down with supersets. Wendler always said that every pressing movement should be superset with chins, so this is getting truer to his approach. I’m also trying to superset the exercises that seem most opposite/complementary to the main movement. This, plus trying to keep rest periods during assistance work to 2 minutes at most, is where I hope to gain some time improvements. I’m also hoping this might tax my aerobic system a bit more.

On weights, I’m going to stay at the same working maxes for cycle 9 as I used on cycle 8. I’m changing up enough other things, plus I’m going to add back in doing rep maxes on the final work sets. This should be enough to give me a good work this cycle, plus help me determine if I’m really at my max level and truly need a reset, or can keep going. Weights for assistance work will be somewhere in the 50-60% range. I’ll probably start with 60% and adjust as needed. I’ll be resting less, so 60% may be a bit much, but I’d rather let the first week miss some reps and then I’ll know better how to adjust in the following weeks. And yes, while I usually stick with a weight value during the whole cycle, I will adjust immediately on this to find where I should be, if the weights are too far off. I still want the assistance work to be hard.

I also opted to mix it up just a little more. I’ve been doing DB hammer curls for a while, so let’s try barbell and using the EZ bar to involve a little more forearm. I’ve also used the rope handles for a long time for triceps, so let’s try using the EZ bar for some variety. One exercise exception is ab work. I just can’t do the ab wheel… it makes my head explode in a bad way. So traditional sit-ups may have to suffice. But I’d do them over this swiss ball, since the gym doesn’t have anything like a Roman Chair.

I’m hoping this will allow me to continue along making the same sort of strength and size gains, or maybe more. 🙂  This may last for just 1 cycle, I don’t know. It’s a transition and adjustment for me, and I may need to tweak it further to make it suit my needs. I may also see that I need to reset my weights, and that’s acceptable as I’ve been wondering about that… but at least now I’ll have a better idea of the need for and then perhaps how much to reset by.
Life’s so much more fun when you look at it as a journey. 🙂

2012-05-04 workout – Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 8, squat 3

/ hsoi / 3 Comments

Go to gym. Set PR. Leave.

“Week 3” – BBB 3 Month Challenge

  • 5/3/1 – Squat (working max: 280#)
    • 2x5x45 (warmup)
    • 1x5x115
    • 1x5x140
    • 1x3x170
    • 1x5x215 (work)
    • 1x3x240
    • 1x3x270 (PR)
  • Foam Rolling

Need to get going earlier than usual this morning, so it’s a “jack shit” kind of day.

Went in, set squat PR, left. Well OK, I foam rolled some before leaving. 🙂

Comments.

I was falling forward on the last set, but it’s not too surprising for that to happen on “max weight”. Still, things to work on. The gym owner spotted me this morning and was mentioning keeping abs really tight. As I think back yeah, I’m not 100% sure where my Valsalva was regarding my belt and everything…. I was focusing so much more on 1. hip drive, 2. arm drive, that I think I forgot everything else. Rep 1 was bowling shoe ugly, but I cleaned up the other 2 reps; still not perfect, but better. So, things to work on.

I am also thinking that yes, I’m going to stop the challenge and switch up to a template that might make my workout more efficient. I’ll have to detail it later tho… gotta go.

A lady’s perspective

/ hsoi

So, how am I supposed to fight off a male attacker, who is probably both bigger and stronger than I am? What if there are more than one of them? The same way thousands of other women accomplish this—by being armed and skillful in my handgun’s use. By being armed and knowing what to do I can take back control over my own life. I do not carry a pistol so I can impose my will on someone else. I carry a pistol so someone else cannot impose their will on me!

– Lynn Givens (emphasis added)

Lynn writes about firearms training from a ladies’ perspective in the May 2012 issue of the Rangemanster newsletter.

Gun control (anti-gun) advocates view guns as bad things that are only capable of bringing about evil things. They are tools used by bad people to bring harm and havoc to good people. They cannot see that good people can use them in good ways.

Let’s go back to Lynn for a moment.

I came to this realization some years ago when I was being stalked by a mentally disturbed man who made credible death threats against me, my family, and others. The police and private investigators were looking into these death threats, but were unable to do anything. I never thought I would have to pick up a gun until someone tried to take my and my son’s choices out of our hands. It then became very real when I found my picture on the front page of the newspaper in an article about crime.

So you tell me… what should Lynn have done? Do you truly think a restraining order would keep her and her son alive? Yelling “NO!” and issuing a palm strike to the nose wasn’t going to cut it. Pepper spray or a taser isn’t going to be all that effective against someone bent on killing her. So you tell me, what should she have done? What would you have her do, since you, the gun-banner, think she shouldn’t be allowed to have a gun to enable her to preserve her and her son’s lives against this man? Would you, the gun-banner, be willing to guard Lynn all day and all day, every day, every week, every month, be willing to put your life on the line to protect her? If so, awesome. If not, then why not? And then again, what should she do?

A firearm is a force equalizer. I know Lynn, and while I know what a determined fighter she is, she’s still vulnerable. That Smith & Wesson M&P on her hip allows her to even the odds. It allows those who are weaker, older, of lesser stature — and believe me, for every badass guy you can think of, there’s someone bigger and badder out there — to stand on more solid ground against those who wish to do evil unto them. Why do anti-gun folks want the elderly, the frail, women, children, anyone to be at the mercy of those who wish to do them harm?

 

Deer control

/ hsoi / 6 Comments

Waterton Lakes National Park has a mule deer problem. The deer wander into the town because… it’s safe. But that the puts hundreds of deer into the town, which can cause its own set of problems… but then a bigger one happens too, like other animals that prey on the deer wandering into town.

It’s all a big problem.

Parks Canada is taking a really cool approach to working with the problem.

Adapt the natural abilities of… Border Collies.

The whole concept is cool, but it’s also just cool watching Jill (the collie) work. I love watching smart dogs.

2012-05-02 workout – Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 8, bench press 3

/ hsoi

Not feeding ego is the take-home from today.

“Week 3” – BBB 3 Month Challenge

  • 5/3/1 – Bench Press (working max: 230#)
    • 2x5x45 (warmup)
    • 1x5x95
    • 1x5x115
    • 1x3x140
    • 1x5x175 (work)
    • 1x3x200
    • 1x3x220 (PR)
  • Asst. #1A – Press
    • 5 x 10/10/10/10/8 x 95
  • Asst. #1B – 1-Arm Dumbbell Rows (supersetted with the Press)
    • 5 x 10 x 70
  • Asst. #2 – Rope Triceps Pushdowns
    • 3 x 12 x 50

I thought about doing 225# today. I’m “right there”, why not, right?

Well, why? It’s purely an ego thing. As I thought before, I might stop the challenge due to the new job situation and try a different workout setup that might get me in and out of the gym a bit faster. And I thought if I did that, I’d probably keep my weights the same that cycle as the cycle just prior. So that would mean if I did this next cycle, I’d keep benching at 220 and the “2 wheels” milestone would be put off for another almost 2 months.

But the reason for that? Nothing but ego… eagerness, impatience, and ego.

220 is still a PR for me. Why should I skip it and rush ahead? If there was a legit reason, like I was prepping for a meet and needed to work up for that, that’s one thing. But here? Nothing but ego.

Like Henry Rollins said:

Most injuries involving the Iron come from ego. I once spent a few weeks lifting weight that my body wasn’t ready for and spent a few months not picking up anything heavier than a fork. Try to lift what you’re not prepared to and the Iron will teach you a little lesson in restraint and self-control.

And I remember this… this very thing from Rollins kept going through my mind as a counter to my desire to rush into “2 wheels”. And it’s a good lesson… the restraint, the self-control, that far more important to have. Sure I WANT the 225, but it will come; maybe not when I want it, but it will come so long as I perservere.