Author: hsoi

2013-09-16 training log

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That was different.

Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 23, week 3

  • Work Set – Bench Press (working max: 220#)
    • 45 x 5 x 2 sets (warmup)
    • 95 x 5
    • 110 x 5
    • 135 x 3
    • 165 x 5 (work)
    • 190 x 3
    • 210 x 6
  • Assistance – BB Incline Press
    • 135 x 10
    • 135 x 9
    • 135 x 7
    • 135 x 6
    • 135 x 6
  • Assistance – Pull-ups (superset between each pressing set)
    • BW (band-assisted) x 4 x 11 sets
  • Assistance – DB Rows
    • 55 x 10 x 2 sets
    • 55 x 15
  • Foam Rolling

Pressing was generally fine. I realized my legs were wiggly and all over the place. I still find myself frustrated with the ability to plant my legs and get tight. If I push towards my head, my butt comes off the bench. If I work to keep my butt on the bench, there’s no tightness nor drive in my legs. I have found it helps to really get arched… to push myself with my legs, get into that hard arch, and that seems to help, but not enough. Ugh.

Oh well. I’ll keep at it.

Meantime, I called an audible and opted to do barbell inclines instead of dumbbell. Why? Just felt like it. I’ll say, it’s the first time I’ve done BB inclines in…. I have no idea but many many years. I figure if I’m doing 55# DB’s I could throw 135 on the bar and see what I could do. What was horrible? It was… weird. I was not used to that plane of motion. The uprights/rack are really close to your head, so I don’t just unrack the bar but unrack and have to do a half-press to get it out just to start. But I pulled it out the first time and almost overshot and may have landed the bar in my lap! It was just not something I was ready for… that feeling. Then as I worked it, the bar path, the balance… all very different and strange feeling. To come all the way down touching the bar to the base of my throat (essentially) was different. And I apparently had the seat adjusted a little too high because when I went to rack it I almost missed the top of the uprights and could have lost the bar over the back! That would have been ugly. So uh… I probably should have started with an empty bar, got the feel, then went. But I didn’t. Still, by the end of things I felt where I should be and it didn’t feel so strange any more. I may stick with the BB for a while on inclines… it felt a lot more working than the DB’s did, and the range of motion didn’t feel all that different (tho of course it is).

Sunday Metal – Best Thrash Bands of All Time – #8 Death Angel

/ hsoi

Loudwire came up with a list of the top 10 thrash bands of all time. Like all “top X lists” it’s some fact and a lot of opinion. Still, I thought it’d make for a good Sunday Metal theme.

#8 Death Angel

I never really got into Death Angel, but I did appreciate they were different. “A Room with a View”

Ladies – here’s some good advice

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This is from tacTissy, and it’s an excellent primer on how to select your first handgun — from a woman’s perspective.

(h/t TXGunGeek)

And while gender shouldn’t matter, it does. The main reason is because there’s still too much male-whatever that goes on in the gun world. Some of it is well-intended, because it’s a guy just trying to be chivalrous but unfortunately fails. Some is just asshole-ish (“hey babe, try shooting these 12 gauge 3″ magnum slugs while I video it”). And in my years of teaching at KR Training I’ve seen more than my fair share of women that have come to class with a gun given to them by their husband or boyfriend, which is just wrong for them. It’s a great gun for him, but horrible for her. We swap her a gun that is more suitable for her, and suddenly she smiles and everything improves.

It’s why I started doing a segment in the KR Training Basic Pistol 1 class comparing revolvers. Because all too often a woman will go into a gun shop, they will say “Little lady, you want one of these” and show her an airweight snub revolver. She buys it, shoots it once, it hurts like hell, and she never wants to shoot it again. What good did that do anyone? So I developed a segment where they shoot 1 round out of an airweight snub, then 1 round (same load) out of a large-frame revolver. Without fail everyone hates the snub and enjoys the large revolver. I don’t do it to hurt people, but to give them knowledge so they can say “hell no!” when the well-intended salesman tries to suggest the snub. It also demonstrates the realities of physics, that a larger, heavier gun is really going to make a better first choice because they are a lot more fun to shoot.

And while some things are certainly gender-based, most things aren’t. The size and strength of one’s hands play a large part in choosing the right gun, and size and strength of hands has little to do with gender. That is, it’s not “women need a small gun and men need a big one” but rather, the person needs a gun that fits their hands — smaller hands may need a smaller gun, larger hands may need a larger gun (note: gender didn’t enter into this).

What tacTissy talks about closely mirrors KR Training’s own guide to selecting your first handgun and what we teach in our classes. What I especially liked about her video was she relates the concepts of selection to… well… a woman’s world. I think her underwear analogy was awesome and spot-on.

 

2013-09-13 training log

/ hsoi

1 good is better than any bad, right?

Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 23, week 3

  • Work Set – Squat (working max: 300#)
    • 45 x 5 x 2 sets (warmup)
    • 120 x 5
    • 150 x 5
    • 180 x 3
    • 230 x 5 (work)
    • 260 x 3
    • 290 x 1
  • Assistance – Front Squat
    • 95 x 8 x 5 sets
  • Assistance – Crunches
    • BW x 20 (alternating sides)
    • BW x 10
  • Farmer’s Walk
    • 60# dumbbell per hand
    • 3 50 yard trips
    • 10 breath rest between trips
  • Foam Rolling… a LOT

I only did 1 rep with 290. I’m pretty sure I hit depth, but I may not have — I didn’t stay down there long and wasn’t focused on where my hip crease was relative to my knee, I was focused on going back up.

My cue for today was “explode”. I wanted to ensure the speed of my descent was fast on every rep. Not a free-fall drop, but I didn’t want to go slow either. And of course, weight gets heavier and you want to slow down more. No. I wanted to go at a decent speed down and really get that stretch reflex rebound. I know for certain I was hitting depth as I worked up (in fact, I think I was below parallel), but I was paying attention to that. On the last set, I just wanted to ensure I got back up… and I may not have hit depth, but I know I went down pretty darn low.

The cue was “explode”. Drop down, and just before I hit bottom tell myself “explode” and really drive drive drive up. It worked well, but I may have just fired off a hair too fast on the last one… yes, out of fear of not getting back up.

And I got 1 rep, and left it alone. I wasn’t sure about getting 2, to be honest, and I opted to stick with making 1 rep instead of missing any. I already knew I was going to repeat these same weights next cycle, going for more reps. So…meh.

Oh, and when I did the farmers walk, instead of a 45# plate in each hand, I grabbed 60# dumbbells. Why 60? Because the dumbbell rack is 2 tiers with the heavier stuff on top. The lightest dumbbell on the top rack was 60, so that’s what I grabbed. 🙂 but what a difference it made. I actually felt the weight as I moved. I felt it pulling on my whole body, and everything having to work! All this time I was skeptical, wondering gee, is this how it’s supposed to work? Everyone says it’s such a killer exercise…. now I’m able to see. 3 trips was enough after all the other work I did. I’ll probably stick with the 60’s work up to something like 5 or 10 trips… then bump up the weight. We’ll see, but yeah, this is better. 🙂

Realistic achievement, further perspective

/ hsoi

I was talking with someone about my gym work and that my current max squat is 295×2. He said that was pretty good (and he’s active in the fitness world, so he’s got fair perspective). And I grant it is, but it’s not what I want… probably because it’s so close yet so far from 300. And that I’ll feel more accomplishment when I am squatting 3 wheels (315#) with good form.

But we always think it’s never enough, and to an extent that’s good drive. But what’s realistic to achieve? Especially when what grabs the headlines are the guys putting up sick totals like Dan Green or Donnie Thompson. Yes, those guys are the exception, but we rarely hear about the rule. So what’s realistic?

I’ve touched on this before: accepting you have to wait, that perspective works both ways, and that there are limits of reality.

But I came across another excellent article that takes a serious look at powerlifting numbers to try to put things in perspective.

The author looks at the rankings and records of a number of drug-free powerlifting federations. Here’s some perspective right off the bat:

So, what do these numbers tell us? The first thing I noticed is that the following lifts are extremely hard to achieve:

  • Squat – 600 pounds
  • Bench Press – 400 pounds
  • Deadlift – 650 pounds

It’s safe to say that if you hit these numbers, you’re well into Elite territory for a raw, natural lifter. It should also be noted that it is darn near impossible to hit a 2000 raw, natural powerlifting total. Only a small handful of natural lifters have performed this amazing feat.

And me, being one in the “masters” category, those numbers are going to be even harder to hit. Not impossible (tho for me, starting this late in the game, maybe so). But still, there you go.

I’ve often said if I could bench 3 wheels, squat 4, and deadlift 5 (or maybe 6) I’d be quite happy. Given what’s presented in this article? I’m about on par with what a person casually pursuing this (i.e. not trying to be a professional powerlifter) could expect with hard work.

So there you go. Realize that a 225# bench press is actually pretty darn good, so long as it’s a real bench press and not some quarter-rep b.s. on a Smith Machine. No it’s not an elite total, but you’re still stronger than most people. Keep your drive to be better than you were yesterday, but do mind perspective.. keeps you on a healthier keel.

2013-09-11 training log

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Remember – like a bodybuilder

Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 23, week 2

  • Work Set – Press (working max: 155#)
    • 45 x 5 x 2 sets (warmup)
    • 65 x 5
    • 80 x 5
    • 95 x 3
    • 110 x 3 (work)
    • 125 x 3
    • 140 x 6
  • Assistance – Press
    • 95 x 10 x 3 sets
    • 95 x 9
    • 95 x 7
  • Assistance – Seated Rows (superset with all pressing)
    • 75 x 10 x 10 sets
    • 75 x 15
  • Assistance – Wide-grip lat pulldowns
    • 100 x 10 x 3 sets
  • And I superset the pulldowns with 30x20x3 of some tricep pressdowns with an EZ-bar, so my hands came to my sides
  • And then did like 25xbarx3 with an empty EZ-bar for a little biceps pump
  • Foam Rolling

Pressing went fine. I was actually of a pretty clear mind today so the lifting went pretty well. I’m getting myself to push a little more, keeping my whole body tight, refining technique here, so things are getting better. It may detract from my numbers a bit as I use some effort to set up better, but that’s fine.

On the assistance work, I have to remember to work this like a bodybuilder — build muscle. Push those reps hard. Don’t just focus on the concentric but also really give work to the eccentric (if the negative helps with building muscle, work it). Full range of motion, squeeze at the peak, and all that good stuff.

For whatever reason I opted to do a little arm pumping at the end. Normally when I do tricep pressdowns I use the rope attachment, and that keeps my hands in front of me. But I was lazy, there was already an EZ-bar attachment on the pulldown/pressdown station, so I went with it. My hands were about shoulder-width apart, so when I got to the bottom of the movement my hands would be, in essence, at my side. Lock out, and boy, that whole movement really changed things. I felt a ton of burn in my rear shoulder area. Not sure of what muscles precisely that was, but think about it… stuff like stiff-arm pullovers? This was essentially that at the peak, so I felt it some in my lats too. Dang… hurt so good. then just some empty bar curls for a wee bit of biceps pump (curls for the girls), and that was that.

Main thing? remember to treat the assistance work like a bodybuilder.

Blind people and guns

/ hsoi / 6 Comments

Iowa is granting permits to acquire or carry guns in public to people who are legally or completely blind.

No one questions the legality of the permits. State law does not allow sheriffs to deny an Iowan the right to carry a weapon based on physical ability.

The quandary centers squarely on public safety. Advocates for the disabled and Iowa law enforcement officers disagree over whether it’s a good idea for visually disabled Iowans to have weapons.

Full story (h/t Eric)

I’ve seen numerous people mentioning this story. Of those I know that are in the anti-gun camp, they just see this as more gun lunacy and how the NRA is infiltrating and destroying everything. Of those on the pro-gun side,  I’ve seen them asking  questions and wondering, because this obviously creates some uncertainty and uncomfortableness.

When my friend Eric posted this on Facebook, here’s how I responded:

An interesting notion for sure. Certainly lots of legal implications involved, but setting those aside…

To me it still comes down to a simple thing: should people be denied the ability (right?) to defend themselves. We could even argue that folks with disabilities are, by nature, at a greater disadvantage and thus could be argued have even more need to have “force equalizers” to make up for the greater disparity caused by their disability. To deny them, to leave them in a position of greater vulnerability, would be wrong. It’s such a popular notion to care for and give special dispensation to the vulnerable, to afford them greater protection — especially by and from the state — would it be right for the state and general populace to deny them the ability?

That isn’t to say it may be right for them to actually do it [meaning: blind people shooting guns, blind people having carry permits, etc.]… but that’s different from the state forcing them into a greater state of vulnerability.

I have taught a few deaf people to shoot guns. They’re actually really good shots because there’s no BANG to make them flinch; quite an advantage. We have to do a little different handling of range commands and teaching style, but that’s not a big deal.

Haven’t taught any blind folks tho. I don’t really have a firm stance on this… quite open to discussion. The above is just my gut reaction, because I don’t see why we (or rather, The State) should deny good people the God-given right to self-defense.

Of course, the State denies all sorts of things all the time. Some of them are right, some of them are wrong, and no matter what we shouldn’t be making legislation off knee-jerk reactions and feelings. Furthermore, legality and morality are (should be) two separate things: just because it’s legal doesn’t necessarily mean it’s right, and just because it’s illegal doesn’t necessarily mean it’s wrong. As well, just because it’s legal doesn’t always mean it’s a good idea to do, and just because it’s illegal doesn’t mean it’s always a good idea to avoid.

Because well… you tell me what a blind woman is supposed to do in response to being raped. You acknowledge her blindness puts her at a disadvantage, do you really want to make her more vulnerable? Before you deny her right to self-defense, before you deny her right to life, before you deny her right to choose, before you deny her “women’s health”, offer a better solution.

Little things can help keep us safer

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“(Hubbart) began to sexually assault women in their homes in 1972,” the petition said. “He committed 25 or 26 such assaults that year, all of them in the Los Angeles area. He would drive around in the early morning and look for homes that had garage doors open, indicating the man of the house had gone to work. He would also look for children’s toys, believing that mothers would be protective of their children and more likely to cooperate with him. He would bind the women’s hands and cover their faces, then sexually assault them.”

Regarding Christopher Hubbart, a serial rapist, and his release.

This isn’t about the horrible things Hubbart did. But it does afford us a chance to learn so perhaps no one else will become a victim of such a monster.

Look at what Hubbart did. He didn’t attack in the middle of the night. He didn’t stroll around a college campus or a dim parking lot.

No, he drove around neighborhoods — like yours — looking for signs of vulnerability:

  • Open garage doors
    • Not just being open, but then empty… with signs the “alpha predator” was not around
  • Children’s toys
    • Children usually mean there’s a woman nearby
    • That women will be willing to “give him what he wants” because he can always play towards injury of the children

I see it constantly as I go around town. People leaving their garage doors open, windows open, doors and windows unlocked. Signs that say “come on in”. It makes for easy access, and it shows a lackadaisical attitude towards one’s personal safety. That you don’t care, that you don’t think it could happen to you, that you’ve never considered that it could… and thus you are all the more vulnerable, and all the more susceptible prey to the sick predator.

Kids toys left out also raise signals like that there’s probably a video game console inside — make a quick buck by selling it. Various signs that help to make your home, and perhaps you, more appealing. And yes, Hubbart’s notion of the woman being more willing to submit out of fear of injury to the children? Just another angle to take advantage of.

No, this is not right. But the sad part is it happened over and over. He committed a couple dozen of these. Where was the fighting back? Where was the unwillingness to be a victim?

And are you really going to tell me these women would have been better off without a gun? And without the determination and mindset to use it, to prevent their attack, and the possible future attacks of others?  Are you saying they should “just give him what he wants?” because that’s the mantra so many utter as the proper response to being a crime victim… but Hubbart is what happens when you “give them what they want”.

No. Learn from this horrible situation. Learn how you can do a few simple things to make yourself less appealing as and more difficult to be a victim. If you’re going to become a statistic, make it one for the “win” column.

2013-09-09 training log

/ hsoi

Ooopf.

Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 23, week 2

  • Work Set – Deadlift (working max: 380#)
    • 1x5x155 (warmup)
    • 1x5x190
    • 1x3x230
    • 1x3x270 (work)
    • 1x3x310
    • 1x5x345
  • Assistance – Deficit Deadlift (1.5″ deficit)
    • 5 x 8/6/6/6/6 x 195
  • Assistance – Farmer’s walk
    • 3 50yd trips, 45# plate in each hand
  • Foam Rolling

I continue to emphasize breaking off the floor with leg drive. It has to be legs pushing, not back lifting. And oh, it kicks my ass. 🙂 And lifting without a belt (save for the heaviest set) really helps you focus more on getting things right, tight, and working through. It’s good. And it kicked my ass today.

Following with the deficits… as you can see, I’d get to around 6 and that’s all I could do keeping strict. I’d start to feel things falter and refused to go forward with a rounded back and everything falling apart. Only about 90 seconds rest between those sets too. I swear, everything from mid-back to my knees was screaming afterwards. I spent much time on the foam roller at the end of this session.

Because it was really kicking me, I got back into doing farmers walks. The plates I put on the ground to give me my deficit, just pick them up and take the long way back to the plate rack. 🙂 I could only manage 3 trips because again my whole posterior chain was dying.

All in all tho, a good session. Very happy.

In other news… picked up Brandon Lilly’s new “365-Strong” book. It doesn’t add a lot over the original Cube Method book (a lot felt like a rehash, esp. due to the reuse of so many pictures and spare layout.. but it was a really nice layout and made for a good dramatic delivery of a lot of points Bradon makes), but yet it’s a good supplement. I think what it does is help clear up some of the dogma around Cube. That it’s not precisely this, but rather steps back a bit and tries to clarify what the backing philosophy is. I think Wendler does a better job at conveying “this is the meat of 5/3/1, this is what it’s about, go from there”, but I do think 365-Strong clears it up a bit more. The layout of the Cube Boss program I think also makes for a much better cookie cutter template, since a lot of people just starting out with the program will do well to have a cookie cutter at first, then branch out from there after they get a better feel for the program. I’m thinking about trying Cube Boss, or perhaps the Cube Extreme (once more gets printed about that flavor of the program). Very curious to see how such a change may benefit me. I mean, it’s been like 2 years on 5/3/1 and it’s obviously worked well for me, and I think it’s enough to not just be a program jumper. We shall see. No plans to change yet, but I’ll keep reading and thinking.