Author: hsoi

2014-10-06 training log

/ hsoi

Certainly enjoying “Base Building model 2” on my bench press. Will it pan out for me? Time will tell.

Today was slightly different because last week was just trying out model 2 to see how it would go. Today I opted to get it back to how I was doing things before, mainly being stricter about rest between sets and got it back to 60 seconds between sets. For sure that made things tougher. I felt it during all the work sets, and the AMRAP set only got to 15 whereas last week it was 16 an I only stopped because I was bored whereas today the 15 was some work (just shy of failure). But all stands to reason given the decrease in rest.

And I am enjoying close-grips. Will keep those up.

In related news… it’s now been about 2 months of de-fatting myself. How’s it going?

Well, progress this past month was poor, technically only dropping a couple pounds (I’m officially at 248 lbs). Why? I’m not exactly sure on all fronts, no one thing I don’t think, but a combination. I think I stalled out just naturally so the diet needed to get an adjustment. I think there was too much “wait and see” time in there before the adjustment was applied, so a couple weeks were eaten up staying at weight due to just staticness of diet. I also had a snafu that I am unsure of the depth or impact; the Wife accidentally bought a 6-pack of normal sugared soda instead of diet soda. Neither of us noticed until I had consumed almost the whole 6-pack (the normal Hansens and Diet Hansens cans are visually very similar; unlike say Coke vs. Diet Coke which have very distictly different can apparance). Given how close to the dietary edge I’m skating, I’m sure it was more than enough calories to blow things out. sigh

So… that sucks. I may be up for another diet adjustment, but we’ll have to see how that goes. I got tired of reading my old dial-scale and bought a digital scale this past weekend. While the 2 scales are actually very close in reading, they aren’t 100% the same. So while I appear to be starting back on the downward trend, it’s hard to say if I actually am or not, if I’m dealing with measurement differences or not. Just hard to say; needs more time.

I am getting a little weary on the diet, but it’s not bad. Just keep focused on the desired end goal, and just keep pushing through.

Based upon Paul Carter’s Basebuilding

  • Bench Press (model 2)
    • bar x 5
    • bar x 5
    • 115 x 5
    • 130 x 4
    • 155 x 3
    • 170 x 2
    • 190 x 1
    • 200 x 1
    • 190 x 5
    • 190 x 5
    • 190 x 5
    • 170 x 5
    • 170 x 5
    • 170 x 5
    • 135 x 15 (AMRAP)
  • Machine Flies
    • 85 x 10
    • 85 x 10
    • 85 x 10
    • 85 x 10
  • Close-grip Bench Press
    • 100 x 10
    • 100 x 10
    • 100 x 10
    • 100 x 10
  • Hammer Curls (by 5’s)
    • 30e x 10e
    • 30e x 10e
    • 30e x 10e
    • 30e x 9e

Sunday Metal – My Favorite Sepultura

/ hsoi

Of course any favorite Sepultura is Sepultura that still has Max and Igor in the band. Sorry guys, but they were Sepultura.

“Inner Self” is one of those songs that I prefer a live version over the album version. I had a copy of their “Live in Barcelona” VHS, and I cannot listen to the song without hearing in my head Max’s command to Barcelona to “destroy dis fucking place”.

Certainly “Arise” was a breakthrough album for them.

But the crazy thing is… while I don’t like the whole album, I love “Roots Bloody Roots”. The rhythm, the primal screaming, the groove. I mean, play this song live and watch the crowd go into a frenzy. It’s just that kind of song.

Practicing by the Odds

/ hsoi

When I read “The Bell-Curve: Shooting Practice by the Odds” over at the Growing Up Guns blog, it bore a striking resemblance to the article series I wrote last year on “Minimum Competency for Defensive Pistol“. Just shows that great minds think alike. 🙂

We took similar approaches: look at the realities of private citizen gunfights (vs. military or law enforcement engagements, which are a different context), see what actually happens in them, and thus what has the highest probability of happening. Based upon that, it makes sense for those of us with limited training budget (time, money) to at least initially focus our skills in those areas. I mean, if no encounter ever uses weak-hand-only behind-the-back while hanging from the rafters shooting skills… is that really something you should spend 90% of your practice time on? Instead, if 90% of encounters involve being able to draw from concealment, get acceptable hits, in a small area, from close range, quickly, with both hands… maybe that’s where you should focus your training time.

It’s not to say other skills should be ignored, it’s just a matter of prioritization due to the fact we are all limited on time and money. So, spend that time wisely.

We arrive at some slightly different conclusions, and provide a different set of drills (tho we both started with Gila Hayes’ drill). But ultimately we’re saying the same thing in different ways.

I encourage you to give the DefensiveDaddy’s article a read. It’s further perspective on this important topic.

2014-10-03 training log

/ hsoi

I was very distracted by something else in life, so I just wasn’t all there today. But in a way things worked out.

First, it actually made me move slower, and I found I then put more emphasis in moving from the shoulders and moving at a different pace, and I actually got more out of it. My back felt more worked after this session. So, something good to take from it.

Second, while due to the life stuff I really didn’t want to go to the gym, just forced myself to do so. In the end, I felt better about all things. Still not ideal yet, but better. The iron cures all, I guess.

Called an audible. Dropped shrugs in favor of upright rows. They are a favorite of mine and have always given me good results. Shrugs just don’t seem to give me the same results, so even tho I had the bar all set to start shrugging, I was walking by the rack and just grabbed a bar and started rowing. I will say, in the past I started to have shoulder issues, but I think that came from rowing too high (e.g. bringing bar to chin). Some time ago I did rows after reading some articles on variations, and started to row with a very wide grip and only to about mid-chest; that still put my upper arms just beyond parallel to the ground, so it was still productive and was much more friendly to my shoulders. What I think I may change to is to use the EZ bar with a narrow grip, but that allows me to have my hands tilted at a more natural angle, then still row to only about mid-chest so my upper arms just break parallel. I’ll see how that goes.

And the rotator cuff work feels good… it’s just a challenge to truly keep the upper arm and elbow locked in place so that all movement comes purely from rotating the shoulder. It’s just new to me. 🙂

Based upon Paul Carter’s Basebuilding

  • BB Rows
    • 150 x 8
    • 150 x 8
    • 150 x 8
    • 150 x 8
  • Wide, Neutral-grip Lat Pulldowns
    • 135 x 8
    • 135 x 8
    • 135 x 8
    • 135 x 8
  • Upright Rows
    • 50 x 15
    • 60 x 15
    • 60 x 12
    • 60 x 12
  • Cable Shoulder Internal Rotation
    • 20 x 20
    • 20 x 20
  • Cable Shoulder External Rotation
    • 10 x 10
    • 10 x 10
  • Cable Shoulder Upright Internal Rotation
    • 20 x 20
    • 20 x 20
  • Cable Shoulder Upright External Rotation
    • 10 x 15
    • 10 x 15

    • KR Training October 2014 Newsletter

    / hsoi

    The KR Training (September) October 2014 newsletter is out.

    Karl’s running some specials:

    October 25 – Every armed citizen should train to this level. Our most important courses.
    Defensive Pistol Skills 2 + AT-2 Force on Force + Low Light Shooting – all 3 for $180

    Already taken these but haven’t practiced the skills in awhile? 
    REFRESHER DISCOUNT: repeat any individual course you’ve taken before for $20 off.
    The October 25 classes will include special drills using the range cars.

    That’s one bonus that you normally do NOT get with these. There are a couple cars on the range from the prior guest-instructor visit by Dave Spaulding for his Vehicle Combatives class. So this particular iteration of classes will provide some extras you normally won’t get!

    Move on… to what?

    / hsoi

    Continuing the discussion on “pick your gear, and move on“.

    So once you have your equipment picked out, where are you to move on to?

    Getting the skill needed to run that equipment at an acceptable level.

    This starts out with basic marksmanship skills: gripping the gun, stance, how to aim, how to press the trigger (without disturbing the sights), how to shoot faster, more accurately, on the move, how to reload, how to clear malfunctions, and so on.

    Yes you can get this on your own, but I’d say finding good instruction is invaluable towards helping you get there in a more efficient manner. Learn something, then go practice it. Come back and learn more, then continue to practice it.

    During this time, you’ll probably shake some issues out with your equipment and find out what does and does not work. Do not be afraid to refine your equipment or fully start over if that’s what is needed.

    But once the equipment is settled, it’s then time to acquire the skill to use that equipment. Keep moving down the road.

    2014-10-01 training log

    / hsoi

    Geez. It’s already October.

    Today was a day for experimentation. Sumo deadlifting.

    I want to try sumo for a bit because 1. I’ve never done it, 2. my knee might appreciate it more than conventional, 3. it could be viable as assistance work (or who knows, I might be better sumo than conventional — tho I doubt it given 1. I have a strong back, 2. the way my body is built), 4. why the heck not? It’s more learning, and this is a good time to get my learn on.

    After squatting I gave myself 15 minutes to do whatever I wanted rearding sumo. Didn’t track it. The key was to put 135 on the bar and just try to figure out form and technique. I did a bunch of research since last week, so I know the basics of what to do. I did 135 for singles for a while, so I had to set up each time. Given how tall I am, I started with feet as wide as I could: not quite toes-to-plates because that’s a fine way to get a plate on a toe, but about 1-2″ from the plates, at about a 45º angle. Yeah… I don’t quite have the physiology for sumo. But I did a bunch of singles that way to try to get the hang of it. I will need to work a bit on flexibility to get all the way down, so any more sumo work I do may have a slight bend forward to help me get all the way down, but I will work on that.

    After some time doing singles at 135, I went to 185 to give me a little more weight and balance. I then started doing triples to see how that would go. I also played around more with my stance width and went with a width that put my shins “centered” at the rings on the bar. Oddly, that worked a lot better for me than a very wide stance.

    Anyways, 15 minutes of just trying things out, pulling singles, pulling triples, and being more concerned with technique and form. It was OK. My back felt like it got zero work, but everything between my belt line and my knees, especially on the medial and posterior sides, felt like it got some work — especially my adductors. So, I could see this being some good assistance work in that area.

    I’ll stick with sumos for a while and see how it goes for me.

    Based upon Paul Carter’s Basebuilding

    • Squats (model 1)
      • bar x 5
      • bar x 5
      • 150 x 5
      • 175 x 4
      • 205 x 3
      • 225 x 2
      • 260 x 1
      • 180 x 5
      • 180 x 5
      • 180 x 5
      • 180 x 5
      • 180 x 5
    • Sumo Deadlift – no tracking, just experimenting with it. See above.
    • Leg Press
      • 165 x 20
      • 165 x 20

    Pick your accessories, and move on

    / hsoi / 1 Comment

    Continuing the discussion on “pick your gear, and move on“.

    Accessories don’t have to match your purse, and any color is fine as long as it’s black (even after Labor Day). 🙂  I’m talking about other essential gear such as holsters, magazine pouches, belts, maybe flashlights.

    This is an area where the discussion widens a bit because some of it comes down to you and your circumstances. For example, while men can wear a holster inside the waistband of their pants at the 3 o’clock position, a lot of women cannot because of waists and hips going out and how that would point the butt/grip of the gun into her side and thus be both uncomfortable and difficult to draw.

    A lot of this ends up being a matter of experimentation. Where you’re just going to have to buy a lot of things, try a lot of things, discard a lot of things, until you find what works for you.

    But there are some areas where we can offer some advice.

    A good holster matters. You need to carry your gun in a holster, that provides protection to the gun, especially in terms of covering the trigger guard so things cannot get in there and work the trigger when it shouldn’t be worked! A good holster also has a mouth that remains open; collapsing holsters create all manner of hazard and difficulties for reholstering, which is something you will have to do so why make it complicated and risky for yourself when you don’t have to?

    You will rarely (probably never) find a good holster at stores in town. Hooray for the Internet tho, and you can find good holster makers all over. For example,  Comp-Tac, Blade Tech, Raven Concealment, Custom Carry Concepts, Dale Fricke. The list is far from inclusive.

    If you can, you should carry some means of reloading your gun, like an extra magazine. You then need a way to carry it. Anything with flaps that cover it? Pass (unless you’re in law enforcement, which has different requirements). Most of the good holster makers also make good magazine pouches.

    If you carry on your waist, you need a good belt. Thick, wide, a fair amount of rigidity, to help carry and distrubute the weight of the gun, the magazine(s), and whatever else you carry on your belt. A good belt goes a long ways.

    I like to carry a flashlight, because it’s useful. Not a tac-light on the rail on my gun, but just a plain-old flashlight. You could carry it in your pocket, or some of the holster makers also make pouches to allow the light to be carried on your belt.

    Admittedly this is one area of gear when there’s a bit more room for discussion, but it really comes down to just finding the necessary gear that fits your needs. But once you find it? Move on.

    2014-09-29 training log

    / hsoi

    I think I like model 2.

    So after feeling stagnation with my bench pressing on Base Building model 1, I thought I’d try switching to model 2 to see if I make any progress. Again, I grant my stagnation may be diet-induced, but it may not (since other things are progressing). So since I can’t really vary the diet right now but I can vary the training well… let’s try it and see what comes from it.

    I will say, I liked this better than model 1. Maybe because it’s back to 5 reps. 😉 Maybe it’s the increased intensity. Maybe the increased volume. I don’t know, but I did like it more.

    I opted to keep the rest of the session stable to see how it would fare post-model 2. I do think I can up the assistance work a bit.

    I think the only thing I didn’t like was the AMRAP set because I just got bored and stopped because it was like “ok, that’s enough…” 😉 But that said, I think this might also give me a needed mental boost because striving to set a rep PR here should be good for the mental side of things — to more easily see progress.

    Anyways, I didn’t lift this session truly as I should have, with CAT and all that. I didn’t know what to expect and so I pulled back a bit, took a bit more rest between sets (e.g. 90 seconds instead of 60). But after seeing how it all went, I’ll push back towards normal next week.

    Based upon Paul Carter’s Basebuilding

    • Bench Press (model 2)
      • bar x 5
      • bar x 5
      • 115 x 5
      • 130 x 4
      • 155 x 3
      • 170 x 2
      • 190 x 1
      • 200 x 1
      • 190 x 5
      • 190 x 5
      • 190 x 5
      • 170 x 5
      • 170 x 5
      • 170 x 5
      • 135 x 16 (AMRAP)
    • Machine Flies
      • 85 x 10
      • 85 x 10
      • 85 x 10
      • 85 x 10
    • Close-grip Bench Press
      • 95 x 10
      • 95 x 10
      • 95 x 10
      • 95 x 10
    • Hammer Curls (by 5’s)
      • 30e x 10
      • 30e x 10
      • 30e x 10
      • 30e x 9

    Sunday Metal – My Favorite Overkill

    / hsoi

    How many albums does Overkill have now?

    I realized the other day that while some albums are stronger than others, every album is Overkill. It felt like AC/DC… you know when you buy an AC/DC album, you know what you’re going to get. No radical shifts in formula here, just balls-to-the-wall neck-wrecking thrash.

    “Bring Me the Night” stands out because it just comes at such a break-neck pace. It’s the song that made me go back and rediscover Overkill.

    “Necroshine” is so cool. It’s an Overkill song but has this different vibe to it. Another song I could listen to over and over and not get tired of it.

    But for me, without question my favorite Overkill song is “I Hate”. A song whose lyrics were an anthem of my youth, and still ride with me today.

    I still hate people who make you feel small. Still hate having my back against the wall. Still hate being talked down too.  But I don’t care what you say… FUCK YOU! 😉