Author: hsoi

2013-11-15 training log

/ hsoi

You go down, you get back up. It’s simple… maybe not easy tho.

Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 25, week 3

  • Work Set – Squat (working max: 310#)
    • 45 x 5
    • 45 x 5
    • 125 x 5
    • 155 x 5
    • 190 x 3
    • 235 x 5
    • 265 x 3
    • 300 x 2 (PR)
  • Leg Press
    • 135 x 15
    • 225 x 12
    • 315 x 10
    • 225 x 10
    • 135 x 10
  • Leg Curls
    • 45 x 12 x 4
  • Crunches
    • BW x 15
    • BW x 12
    • BW x 8
  • Foam Rolling

I did 300# last time, and just told myself… you did it for 1 rep, today you’ll do it for 2.

And 2 I did.

I felt like I could have done a third, but the plan was 2 and to put everything into those 2. And it happened.

I cannot deny this gets into scary territory for me. But I keep telling myself that 230 used to slay me, but today 235 was just part of my work up. Plus, the reps were no big deal. Stay upright, stay tight, big air, and just push like hell. Push. Push. Push. No problem. 265 without a belt was even fine. Sure it’s feels heavy, but that doesn’t mean it’s hard or impossible.

And so 300 wasn’t that big a deal. Still kinda intimidated me, but away I went. It’s just a number.

Yes, I’m going to try 3 wheels before the year is over. Next cycle will go up 10#, so technically that’s 310 on my 5/3/1 week next cycle, so why not do it for 1 rep then Joker Set it to 315, y’know?

Leg press was a fast pyramid. Put plates on, reps, stand up and add/remove plates, reps, and just keep going with minimal rest. That was killer. I do think the emphasis on my quads with my assistance work is paying off.

It was a reasonable day. I’m happy and looking forward to the rest of the 5/3/1 week and the next cycle starting immediately after (no deload).

Pushing – walking a fine line

/ hsoi

In a prior article, I referenced an article written by Kathy Jackson. Kathy discusses her role as a self-defense instructor, and the gravity of that role. And while she might strive to make a fun class and work to see her students enjoy her teaching, she understands there’s something more she must do:

In order to fulfill my most important responsibility to my students, I have to risk pushing them beyond their comfort levels. And I have to do it in a way that will cause them to work harder rather than to shut down. If I’m not willing to take that risk for the sake of my students’ lives, I have no right to call myself a self-defense instructor.

We do this in classes at KR Training, varying the level of “push” depending upon the class. In a class like Basic Pistol 1, for some of the students they are pushing their comfort levels merely by attending class and picking up a gun for the first time, so we instructors don’t need to add push and pressure (just comfort and reassurance). In a class like Defensive Pistol Skills 1, we start to relay the gravity of carrying a gun and what self-defense actually involves, so we have students shoot on a timer and yes there’s some yelling by the instructors to raise the pressure levels (because someone trying to kill you is going to be a pressure-filled event!). Then you get to force-on-force classes, and those have a range of discomfort as well.

I think that’s why some people avoid training, or at least, particular types of training.

I know I’m victim of it. I’m human too. I like comfort. I like known. I don’t like getting my ass kicked, I don’t like the physical pain, I don’t like the ego bruising.

But we don’t get better unless we push ourselves. Heck, the only reason I can squat 300# now is because I pushed myself over my fears, over my discomfort, over my hate of squatting, over my fear of getting hurt, fear of not being able to get back up. I pushed myself, I got better.

Generally we shouldn’t take big leaps: someone that’s never done force-on-force before, even just verbal no-contact role-playing stuff, probably shouldn’t take SouthNarc’s ECQC as a first go. But if the thought of force-on-force is a little scary to you, I urge to to find a “101-level” type of FoF class (e.g. KR Training’s AT-2) and give it a try. I’ve never seen anyone come out of such a class not better for it.

So realize, when your teacher, coach, instructor, whatever pushes you, it’s an attempt to help you get better. If we go too far over the line, it’s not malicious; but do let us know so we can be mindful (because too far will just cause you to shut down and close off to learning). But don’t worry if you feel a little uncomfortable: we all did, we all do, we all will, and we all will grow from it.

2013-11-13 training log

/ hsoi

Just another day.

Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 25, week 2

  • Work Set – Press (working max: WT#)
    • 45 x 5
    • 45 x 5
    • 65 x 5
    • 85 x 5
    • 100 x 3
    • 115 x 3
    • 135 x 3
    • 150 x 4
  • Close-grip pulldowns (neutral grip, superset with warm-up pressing sets)
    • 70 x 15 x 5
  • Press
    • 100 x 10
    • 100 x 10
    • 100 x 6
    • 100 x 6
    • 100 x 5
  • Wide, pronated grip pulldowns
    • 100 x 12 x 5
  • Cable EZ-Bar pressdowns (pin the elbows to the side)
    • 40 x 12 x 3
  • Rotating DB curls (superset with pressdowns)
    • 25 x 12 x 3
  • Foam Rolling

Just a day. Nothing good, nothing bad. Just a day.

But some comments.

It feels cool to be putting 45# plates on for sets other than my heaviest set. It wasn’t too long ago when I worked up to 45’s…. now it’s just part of my working up. Progress is cool.

I’m taking less rest between sets — all sets. I think this is going to become a staple.

The rotating DB curls worked better today. A little more weight helped. I think what helped more tho was not alternating hands. Doing them simultaneously seemed to make things work better. Probably because when I do one hand at a time, there’s a bit of body lean towards that side, which will change leverages. *shrug* Whatever. The more weight and simultaneous felt good, so I’ll keep with that for now.

The Second Annual Suburban Dad Survivalist Preparedness Conference

/ hsoi

Paul Martin, known to some as “The Suburban Dad Survivalist“, is presenting the Second Annual Suburban Dad Survivalist Preparedness Conference.

The event will be held on Saturday, January 4, 2014 from 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM at the Cabela’s in Buda, Texas.

Complete details on the conference, including speakers, schedule, cost, etc. can be found at the SDS website.

I will be presenting at the conference, and look forward to seeing you there!

KR Training November 2013 Newsletter

/ hsoi

The KR Training November 2013 newsletter is short, sweet, and now available. Classes are firming up through Spring 2014, with plenty of guest instructors coming.

Also, are you in the Central Texas area and doing anything this coming Saturday November 16? If not, Karl needs a few more students for his AT-7 force-on-force class. An excellent training opportunity.

There’s also a special in the newsletter. Between that and the FoF class, well… we know money is tight, we know ammo supplies are low, so anything you can do to gain training within your budget, all the better.

Instructor Ethics

/ hsoi / 5 Comments

Here I sit in the too-early morning — even too early for me (stupid daylight savings time). Later today (at the time of this writing, which isn’t the same as the date of publication) I will be sitting in a classroom to renew my Texas Concealed Handgun License Instructor certification.

I dug back through some emails I sent to myself, finding an article Kathy Jackson wrote titled Instructor Ethics 101:

When you step up to teach a self-defense class, you are literally asking students to bet their lives on the quality of the information you have and on your ability to teach it to them. This is no exaggeration, but just the simple truth.

[…]

I have even heard some handgun instructors deny that they are teaching self-defense. “It’s just a carry permit class,” they say — as if people carry guns for any other purpose. Or, “I’m just teaching them to use a handgun, that’s all.” But if your students think otherwise, if they come to you to learn skills they think they can use to protect themselves and their loved ones, you’re still on the hook. It’s so tempting to engage in these kinds of denials, and maybe that’s a more comfortable place for us to live as instructors, but it does our students no good.

As I prepare myself to sit in a room full of other CHL Instructors, I hope every single one of them understands it’s not “just a carry permit class”. That they take the gravity to heart, and will go forth and teach accordingly.

Even for myself, it’s a good reminder.

2013-11-11 training log

/ hsoi

Lunges… they can be humbling!

Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 25, week 2

  • Work Set – Deadlift (working max: 400#)
    • 160 x 5
    • 205 x 5
    • 245 x 3
    • 285 x 3
    • 325 x 3
    • 365 x 5
  • Lunges
    • 20 (each) x 10 x 3

Oh, what a fun session!

Deadlifts went fine. I lifted mixed-grip the entire time because I wanted to focus on some technique. I want to work on flexing my triceps as I lift to ensure straight arm. I wouldn’t be surprised if the inevitable “curling” that happens with the supine hand contributes to that elbow-area soreness. Apart from that, the lifts went fine.

I am trying to not look at my main lift now as “warmup” vs. “work” sets. It’s just working up, period. It changes the mental approach a little bit because now I’m just working up. No approaching the sets too differently, rest periods too differently. Just lift. And I am doing this not only as a mental thing, but also to help reduce rest times between sets — let’s shorten it, so maybe like 3-4 minutes between heavy sets instead of 5. Every minute adds up.

Then… lunges.

I opted to start doing them because of some issues around my knee and lower-quad area. Doing walking lunges as a part of my general warmup I know have been helpful to me, so let’s try doing them proper and full. All my issues right now are with quads, and if this can help bring them up, great.

Oh my.

I held a 20# dumbbell in each hand, not to really add much weight but more to help me have just enough weight to keep my body in alignment. I did these standing, step forward, then push back up to the original position. I counted reps per “both legs”, so right, left, 1 rep, right, left, 2 reps, etc.. On that third set I started to fade. It was killing me! Again, only a minute rest between sets, and it was just hurting. My quads were pumped to the max and on fire. After the 3rd set, a few seconds after stopping, my quads were engorged and hurting. Good hurt, but so bothersome I couldn’t do anything more! I said that was enough lunging, tried to move to Good Mornings, but couldn’t because I couldn’t really stand! Ab work was out too because you need some hip stabilization, and that wasn’t going to happen. 🙂

So next time, save the lunges towards the end of the session.

But man…. while I hate lunges, I’m going to keep at it for a while and see how they fare for me.

Sometimes, you gotta be Dad first

/ hsoi

As the kids get older, it’s been fun to take them to various events to “expand their cultural horizons”.

I remember when I was a kid, my parents taking me to things like plays, musicals, orchestral concerts. True “high culture” stuff.

Me? I went with Daughter to see Orange Goblin and Holy Grail. 🙂  Oh sure, we’ll do some of the “high culture” stuff too, but I’m still going to do the things I enjoy, and that tends to be a little rough around the edges.

So, speaking of “high culture”….

I’ve wanted to see Gov’t Mule for some time. I’d call myself a casual fan overall, but I really love the passion and soul Warren Haynes puts into his singing, playing, and songwriting. I know they’re a band that you have to see live to truly appreciate, and finally I got the chance.

As a side note, I had never heard of opening act Vintage Trouble before buying tickets for this show. When I saw the bill, checked VT out, and Daughter and I became instant fans. Really good stuff. And their live show? Huge energy. Singer Ty Taylor knows how to command the stage and the audience. Do yourself a favor and check these guys out. Here are 3 tracks to check out: “Nobody Told Me” (the first song I heard, and it sold me), “Blues Hand Me Down“, and “Pelvis Pusher” (if this song doesn’t make you want to get up and boogie, I don’t know how to help you).

Anyways…

We figured it would be fun to take the whole family to see Gov’t Mule. I wanted to go, Daughter did, Wife did, and the boys… well, let’s just say they were good sports. 😉

We piled in the car, went downtown, had a great dinner, then into the show. Vintage Trouble tore it up, and being a live show in Austin… everyone around us was sparking up.

Then Gov’t Mule took the stage, and suddenly I found myself transported to Amsterdam.

I swear I’ve not seen and smelled so much pot smoke in my life.  I think even the trees were toking. 🙂

It was evident this wasn’t sitting well with the family. They’re just not around smoke at all (neither Wife nor I smoke, and with Austin’s indoor smoking ban, you just don’t get exposed much to any smoke). Plus, marijuana smoke is a lot more harsh than tobacco smoke, so young lungs just couldn’t take it. It was even a little much for me, but I deal with it because I’m wanting to see the show.

After a little bit, the kids were feeling bad, so we tried moving back to a more open spot. It was better (and tho further from the stage, it was elevated so you could see better), but still not great. I mean, we were near the entrance so no one was going to smoke pot there, but enough cigarettes against already irritated child airways and well….

Sometimes you gotta be Dad.

We left the show about half-way through.

*sigh*

Yeah I was disappointed, but the kids are of course more important. I’ll check the rest of the show out on muletracks later.

But there was some fun and good that came out of it.

The kids are now well-aware of what marijuana smells like. “Mom? I smell skunk…” Yes,  Youngest; that’s marijuana.

And I think they’ve all been cured of any desire to smoke pot. 🙂  It’s good when you don’t have to struggle later to pull up the weeds (pun intended), when the seeds don’t get sown in the first place.

We are not the people you should be afraid of

/ hsoi / 3 Comments

The Texas Department of Public Safety keeps track of conviction rates for Texas Concealed Handgun License holders. You can see all the published reports so far, and here’s the 2011 list (latest as of this writing).

While it’s evident CHL holders are not immune from doing bad things, the data does support the notion that CHL holders are an extremely law-abiding bunch – far and above the citizenry as a whole.

Here’s some number crunching:

The number of CHL holders that commit murder or manslaughter is remarkably low. From the DPS reports for 1996 through 2011, the number of murder and manslaughter convictions for CHL holders totaled 30 over the 16 years.

DPS also reports on the number of active CHL holders for each year. Those numbers were totaled to obtain the number of CHL holder-years. The total number of CHL holder-years for the 1996-2011 is 4,295,434.

The two numbers give us the ratio of CHL holder convictions for murder and manslaughter per 100,000 CHL holders per year. That number is .70/100,000.

Yes, the decimal point is in the correct place.

The rate of murder and manslaughter for the general population of Texas averaged for the years 1996-2011 is 6.0/100,000.

If such is the case, why do you think we’re the people you need to stop? Why are you afraid of us? We’re demonstrably more law-abiding and statistically less likely to commit a crime. Aren’t we the very sort of people you desire?