Month: September 2012

15 Quick Training Tips from Dave Tate

/ hsoi

While most of these tips apply to lifting, we probably all need to pay better attention to #15.

  1. Try to drive your heels into the floor when you bench press.
  2. Training and building a lift are two totally different things. Know the difference.
  3. Don’t press the bar out of the rack when your bench press, pull it out instead.
  4. Break with the hips first when you squat.
  5. When training lats, focus on pulling more with the pinky finger side of your hands.
  6. If you have a weaker side/arm when you bench press – DON’T look at it.
  7. When you box squat count in your head, one thousand one…then stand up explosively.
  8. The advanced lifter needs less volume and the beginner more. Much is due to coordination and efficiency.
  9. A fat bar can take a lot of strain off the elbows and shoulders with pressing and extension movements.
  10. Grip work is very hard to recover from, so keep it to one or two times per week. Once every four days is a better option.
  11. If you’re dead-set on overhead pressing, but your shoulders hurt when you do them, try it with a reverse grip.
  12. Close-stance safety bar low box squats will solve the majority, but not all, of falling-forward problems in the squat.
  13. When you squat drive you head back into your traps.
  14. When you bench press keep your wrists in line with your elbows.
  15. Keep your excuses to yourself – nobody cares.

emphasis added.

(originally printed here)

Based on characteristics, not gender

/ hsoi / 1 Comment

The feature article in the Sep. 5, 2012 edition of The Shooting Wire is titled “Between the Berms: The Weaker Sex?”

It’s about the introduction of women to shooting sports, and how often it’s done in a manner that treats women as weaker. That they are given .22’s to start out with because there’s less recoil. But that many times men are started out with 9’s or .45’s because they can handle it.

Actually what further struck me about the article was the author, Paul Erhardt’s, use of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association as examples of tough women. It makes me smile because I know a member of the Texas Rollergirls has been out to KR Training a few times. I’ve seen her on the track, I’ve seen her shoot, and she’s certainly tough.

I think Paul’s right tho. There’s a lot of “little lady” sexism in shooting for whatever reason. It may be ignorance. It may be machismo. It may be chivilary. It may be misunderstanding. But whatever it is, it’s there.

Over my years of teaching, especially teaching beginners, I see that factors should generally not be gender-based but characteristic based.

The ability to properly grip a large gun isn’t based on gender, but on hand size. I’ve seen women with large hands and men with small hands.

Starting off a new shooter (never held a gun before, never shot a gun before, maybe never seen or heard a gun except via Hollywood), it is wise to start with a .22. This is especially true if they’re nervous or scared or intimidated by the notion. If someone is scared, starting off with a .44 Magnum is going to be loud and painful and not sow productive seeds. As a n00b they don’t know how hard to grip the gun, any loud noise is going to make them jump. Starting with a .22 is great as a “lowest barrier of entry” to ease them into things. But it certainly shouldn’t stop there. Move them on to a 9, to a .45, to a .40. If you’ve got more, let them try more… but only as much as they wish to. I’ve had some students shoot a 9 and want to stop. I’ve had some clamor to shoot the biggest, baddest gun available… again and again. I’ve seen this from men and from women.

If we talk recoil and “being weak”, I’ve seen some weak men that couldn’t adequately handle a mid-range caliber handgun. I’ve seen men with grip problems, arthritis, and other things that essentially make them “weak”. I’ve seen women hammer the hell of of every gun they shot.

On the other hand, there are certainly issues that are gender-based. Women are built differently from men, with different curves both concave and convex. This creates realities about things like carry methods and holster selection. IWB doesn’t work for many women. OWB can work with drop-and-offset holsters. Men generally can’t wear a Flashbang Holster.

In competition shooting sports, all other things being equal, men are generally going to produce faster times than women when the sports involve more physical aspects like running. Usain Bolt holds the world record in the 100m sprint with 9.58 seconds. Florence Griffith-Joyner holds the record at 10.49.

 

So there are certainly some realities that gender brings to the table. We cannot and should not deny those, if we’re to be honest and forthright.

But on the whole, most issues, most problems, most limits when it comes to shooting… they have nothing to do with gender and we need to look beyond gender at the issue’s fundamental nature. That way we do best service to the shooter, no matter who they are or what their gender is.

2012-09-07 dry fire practice

/ hsoi

Following TLG’s sample dry fire routine.

Week 4, Day 5, shooter’s choice.

Given last week’s WHO work, I opted to do the basic routine but emphasizing WHO again.

  1. 20 reps of wall drill from extension WHO
  2. 5 reps of wall drill from extension SHO
  3. 5 reps of wall drill from extension 2H
  4. 20 reps of wall drill from press-out WHO
  5. 5 reps of wall drill from press-out SHO
  6. 5 reps of wall drill from press-out 2H

I just wanted more WHO work.

But I’m also working on slowing down and not going overall faster than I can do everything smooth and together. For example, trying to reduce the time between extension and the trigger break. Get things going faster and with a “good enough” sight picture.

Squat Setup

/ hsoi

I meant to include this in my “cycle 13 – squat 3” entry, but was pressed for time.

Over the Labor Day weekend I read this article on visualization and it contained this video about setting up for the squat:

I don’t know why I always end up finding, watching, reading things about changing technique just before my heaviest lifts of the cycle… but here I go again. 🙂

I am happy I found this video tho. It helped me a great deal. I found myself paying more attention to my squat during that session, and I do think it paid off.

One of the biggest things that helped? Grab the bar and squeeze it to death with your hands. It was hard to remember to maintain that death grip on the bar the entire set, but I reckon that’s being new to it and that will come. But it did help. Plus you can watch Suzy (Suzie? Sioux-z? Suzanne Hartwig-Gary either way) grab the bar then basically slam her body and shoulders up into the bar. Funny thing… I didn’t set out to do that, but when you grab the bar like that, you can’t help but just slam up in there and set the bar where it needs to be across your shoulders. Interesting.

I focused on 3 steps, which I basically do, but it’s a little tougher at times in my gym due to the type of rack used (not a power rack or simple uprights), to ensure I get back far enough. But do-able.

Then squat. Keep head driven back into the bar. Keep that death grip. Big gulp of air and press like hell into the belt.

And from the visualization article, I read to treat every rep as a single. I kept that in mind and did that very thing. Let the bar settle. Just take the time. In the article the author speaks about treating it like reloading a rifle. Well, in my pistol dry fire practice it’s like the press-out after the reload — treat it like a single, don’t just smear one action into the next.

Somehow this all helped.

And it kinda blows my mind that, if the diet/fat-loss doesn’t get too much in the way, I will be squatting 300# in 2 more cycles… before the end of the year. That seems crazy to me. Exciting.

I want to keep this video in mind tho, and probably rewatch it a bunch of times. It’s one of the more useful videos I’ve watched.

2012-09-06 workout – Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 13, Bench Press 3

/ hsoi

PR’s are good, and the next cycle’s PR will be better. 🙂

“Week 3”

  • 5/3/1 – Bench Press (working max: 230#)
    • 2x5x45 (warmup)
    • 1x5x95
    • 1x5x115
    • 1x3x140
    • 1x5x175 (work)
    • 1x3x200
    • 1x6x220 (PR)
  • Asst. #1 – Bench Press
    • 5 x 10 x 135
  • Asst. #2 – 1-Arm Dumbbell Rows
    • 5 x 10 x 70
  • Foam Rolling

PR’s are nice. 🙂

Technically I’ve done 220# bench before, back during cycle 8. Did it for 3 reps, the BBB 3-month challenge. So today is really just a rep PR. But I also like that last cycle’s PR was 6 reps of 215. So keeping the reps the same and going up in weight? I’ll take it.

Assistance work was solid, but I didn’t realize until later that I dropped my row weight down. This is fine. I’m wanting to firm my technique back up here… that every rep is done as if I’m pulling with my elbow. That is, instead of focusing on the hand and pulling from there, focus on the elbow as if there’s a string going from my elbow to the ceiling and pulling up on that string is what pulls things. Engages the shoulders and back more, less arm. I think that was a Dave Tate tip. So a little less weight, a little more focus, all good.

Diet is progressing nicely. I still wonder about my reduced intake vs. my performance but I really do think since I’m keeping my carbs up that’s enabling me to still progress with my lifts. Huzzah.

2012-09-06 dry fire practice

/ hsoi

Following TLG’s sample dry fire routine.

Week 4, Day 4, basic routine

  1. 20 reps of wall drill from extension 2H
  2. 5 reps of wall drill from extension SHO
  3. 5 reps of wall drill from extension WHO
  4. 20 reps of wall drill from press-out 2H
  5. 5 reps of wall drill from press-out SHO
  6. 5 reps of wall drill from press-out WHO

First… I missed yesterday’s practice. 😦  First missed practice in almost 2 months. Dang it. The day just got away from me. Since it’s a flashlight routine and the days are getting shorter, I wanted to do it before bed but… bed beat me. 😦  I’ll make up the session this weekend.

As for today’s practice, I’m working on pressing out faster and ensuring I get the trigger break just as I get to extension. WHO needs more work in that area. 🙂

A tidbit of wisdom

/ hsoi

Besse Cooper is among an elite group of eight super centenarians who have lived to the age of 116.

Her secret to longevity? “I mind my own business,” Cooper says. “And I don’t eat junk food.”

Emphasis added.

Full story. (h/t Maku mozo!)

Best Belts

/ hsoi / 6 Comments

When I needed a belt for my weight training, I’m glad I had Google and resources like Marc Rippetoe. That’s how I found out about BestBelts.net.

I didn’t want the “tapered” cheap belts you find in the sporting goods stores, nor velcro or anything like that. I wanted something serious that would actually work because well… what makes a belt work isn’t the wide part in the back, it’s the wide part in the front. So really, a powerlifting belt is what you need.

But other than that… what to get?

I’m tall enough that I can use a 4″ belt. Thickness? 10mm is good enough for my needs. The thing is, I didn’t quite know exactly what to get… so I called BestBelts on the phone and asked them. Spoke with Dean, and boy if he wasn’t the nicest guy. So helpful. He told me exactly what was needed and right for me, and told me exactly how to measure myself for the belt — and he’d custom cut it just for me. That was cool… no extra charge either. Plus, it might be custom made, but it’s got a lifetime warranty. Lots of places don’t cover custom work the same as “off the shelf” work, but not Best Belts. It’s all hand-made, high quality.

I got a single-prong (double-prong offers little more than unbuckling frustration), the Athlete model. Back when I bought my belt there was an option for “regular” or “soft”, but it seems now they’re all just “soft”… which is basically a broken-in type of feel but I’ll tell you.. it’s far from soft, just a bit more pliable from the get go. After using it over a year, it’s still quite stiff in the ways that matter but easy to get on and off. I’m really happy with the quality. Oh… and cool that I could get it in blue too. 🙂

You know what else is cool? No logos. It’s a good looking belt, but no branding on it whatsoever. Dean could totally plaster his name on things if he wanted to, but he doesn’t. And I really like that. I don’t begrudge advertising at all, but sometimes it’s nice to go brandless in our overly-branded world. Dean’s work speaks for itself, and word-of-mouth is a far more powerful advertiser.

Why do I write this now, a year later? Well, I always meant to write up some kudos for Dean and BestBelts because I am quite happy with the product… it was just something that unfortunately fell through the cracks. But, given my new quest for fat-loss well… I think I’m going to need a new belt soon. When I cinch the belt up now, I only have 1 empty belt hole… I didn’t cinch it up that tight some time ago but now I really clamp it down, using the rack at the gym for extra leverage to really crank it down tight for everything but deadlifts (leave 2 holes for deadlift). I’ve already noticed my regular dress belt is getting tightened up a little more… yes, I’ve shed a bit of fat already, so it’s only a matter of time before I’m at the last hole on the belt. When that happens, I will order a new belt. Yeah, I might be able to get away with that for a while, but it creates a really long end on the belt that sometimes gets in the way when squatting. Besides, isn’t buying a smaller belt one of the nice ego rubs and side-effects of shedding belly flab? 🙂

And when I do buy a new belt, I’ll be buying from BestBelts again. I’m a satisfied customer. Why go somewhere else?