Author: hsoi

What you really do (and don’t) need to get strong

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

You’ve seen those prison documentaries, and in them the inmates are huge, muscular, jacked, strong.

On the one hand, you know they get that way because they have little else to do but lift weights or work out. But have you ever looked at what their program actually is like?

In the article “Kentucky Strong: Prison Strong?” Chase Karnes interviewed an inmate about the lifting program within the prison. In short, there really isn’t a program because there isn’t much. They don’t have fancy equipment, just bars, plates, squat stand, maybe some dumbbells. They didn’t do much for fancy: press, squat, deadlift, dips, chin-ups/pull-ups, sit ups, and other basic movements.

And they got strong.

Very strong. Said the strongest guy there was 5’8″ 185# and was squatting and deadlifting 600# and benching over 400. That’s strong.

They had crappy food. They didn’t have anabolics.

But what did they have?

Motivation. The thrust of the program is survival, because you gotta be bigger, tougher, stronger than the other guy. It is prison, after all. So if this guy is doing 8 reps, you’re going to get 9. If he’s pulling 505, then you’re pulling 510.

So you don’t need a fancy gym. You don’t need most of the specialized equipment you find in most gyms. Bar, plates, bench, rack (bonus if you can do pull-ups and dips off it).

You don’t need all the bullshit supplements that get peddled all day on so many websites. You don’t need PED’s.

You need time. You need dedication. You need a strong work ethic. You need to hit the weights hard on basic movements like squat, deadlift, press, pull-ups. You need to eat the best you can. You need to rest. If you can have a training partner to motivate and push you, that’s a bonus, but otherwise you have to push yourself.

There are certainly things these men did in their lives that isn’t right. But when it comes to getting big and strong, there is certainly something they are doing right. It’s something we can learn from.

This is why we can’t have discussions

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

Marc MacYoung posted the following on Facebook:

Conflict and violence are very human behaviors. They serve a very important survival and social purpose.

Having said that we’ve kind of put ourselves into a self-eating watermelon situation about them because we’ve allowed our understanding of the subject to be controlled by an extremist ideological position.

There’s an old joke with the punchline ‘We’ve already established that. Now we’re negotiating the price.” That ‘negotiation’ is critical when we look at conflict and violence. Where do we set the line as to how much (and when is it) is acceptable?

This is where we need to recognize the extremists. Specifically those who think violence is always the answer to any problem on one side. But the other extremist position are those who maintain ‘violence never solved anything.’ The first are obvious, the second, not so much. But it is an extremist position.

If you ask the right questions, you’ll find that yeah, overwhelmingly people acknowledge there are times that violence IS the appropriate answer. And ‘now we’re negotiating the price.’ Where are those lines? When is it appropriate? When is it not appropriate and to what degree? These are all damned good questions that we need to hash out among ourselves.

Personally I come from a place where that bar is set pretty damned low. Having said that, I like living in places where the bar is set high. But this experience gives me an understanding that people will have different standards of where that bar should be set.

This includes an important understanding, that is ‘no matter what your use of force’ decision, someone is going to disagree with it.

Now being a cynical bastard I will often point out that the people who tend to disagree most strongly are the ones who didn’t get what they wanted because you chose to act. Those folks seem to take the approach that any level of force beyond which they are comfortable using to get what they want is ‘violence’ — and therefore bad (especially when it is used against them). But what they’re doing isn’t violent and therefore they don’t deserve to have violence used against them. This especially because it hurts their feelings.

That last paragraph may seem like a rant from left field — and maybe it is — but it is also common theme among the extremists who maintain that violence never solved anything. Or, and this is another weird form of mental gymnastics, physical violence is always bad and wrong. Hence anyone who uses it is also bad and wrong. And while we’re at it, if you agree that sometimes violence is the appropriate response then you’re …

Yeah, that’s a good way to encourage mature discussion, understanding, education and coming up with effective coping mechanisms to deal with conflict and violence.

The problem with the extremist position isn’t that it exists, it’s that they won’t shut up about it. In doing so they don’t allow other people to have different points of view and, by extension, a discussion. They will constantly attempt to control the conversation or — if they can’t do that — shut it down with outbursts about how violence is wrong and evil, should not be tolerated and how society must change.

Uh actually that’s what we’re trying to do by ‘negotiating the price’ and gaining a fuller understanding of the subject than ‘it’s evil and wrong.’

Oh you want society to change in particular waaaaaaay…

He’s quite right… we are negotiating on price.

I used to hold onto the notion of violence never being an answer. For anyone that reads even a bit of my writing, you should know I no longer hold that position. I believe that violence can be an answer, and sometimes it is the right and only answer. Case in point, if a woman is being raped, should she not respond with violence? Isn’t a kick to the groin, a palm strike to the nose, thumbs to the eyes, pepper spray, kicking, biting, screaming…. fighting (back). Is this not violence? Is this not a violent response? Is this not an aggressive action? Think about it for a moment. If violence is never the answer, then what other recourse does this rape victim have? lie back and enjoy it?  Because even responses like to vomit or pee on your rapist are arguably a violent response, if perhaps just on the lower end of the scale. If you truly stand by the notion that “violence is never the answer”, then you are damning women to being raped. However, I don’t think this is what you mean, nor what you want.

So in fact, if you think about it hard enough and if you’re honest with yourself, you do accept that violence can be an answer and that sometimes it is the right and only answer. As Marc says, we’re just negotiating price.

Pay heed to the latter point Marc is making. If you really are an open-minded person, you’ll shut up and listen. You will earnestly allow for the possibility that you could be persuaded, even if it means giving up all you know and have built for yourself, if in fact Truth shows you were wrong and “the other way” is right. If you are unwilling to admit you could be wrong, if you are unwilling to give it all up, then it becomes rather difficult – and perhaps pointless – to have any discussion, because you don’t want to discuss, you just want to be right.

Alas, today more people are interested in being right than in finding truth.

2013-08-05 training log

/ hsoi

I can’t wait for the “3 steps forward” part. 🙂

Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 22, week 2

  • Work Set – Deadlift (working max: 370#)
    • 1x5x150 (warmup)
    • 1x5x185
    • 1x3x225
    • 1x3x260 (work)
    • 1x3x300
    • 1x4x335
  • Assistance – Deficit Deadlift (1.5″ deficit)
    • 3 x 8 x 185
  • Farmer’s Walks
    • 5, 100 yard trips, 45# plate in each hand, 10 breath rest between trips
  • Assistance – Crunches
    • 1 x 20 x BW
  • Foam Rolling

I have to keep reminding myself that the “2 steps back” is good for me. I know it is. I can feel it. It wasn’t just a reset of weights, but also of technique… keeping my back flat, pushing with the legs. I repeat, I have never felt a leg workout like I have since I did this reset and worked to “push with my legs” instead of “pull with my back”. Yeah I can’t hit the numbers like I used to… but that’s the “3 steps forward” I’ll eventually get to after these 2 steps back. 🙂

and I have to say, I am growing to enjoy deficit deadlifts. It’s hard, but it pushes me.

As an aside, I’ve been doing more reading and thinking. There’s a lot swirling in my head, but in short I think I need to add some explosive work. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. If I did Prowler pushes, that’d probably fill the bill, but alas, no Prowler. But I have been thinking about power cleans for quite some time. I wasn’t able to do them in the past because of gym limitations, but now that I go at a different hour and the population is different, I can do some judicious rearranging and should be able to make the space to do them. I think with the evolution I’m taking to go for 6-week cycles (2 cycles, no deload in between, increase weights across cycles, deload on 7th week), adding more back work superset as you should; less overall exercises per session; etc… well… power cleans may well fit the bill for me. I need to figure out where and just how I want to work it in, but that’s my current thinking. I think it will do me good because well… I’m too slow and creaky and my body could use something explosive.

Guest of Sunday Metal – W – Triumph

/ hsoi

When I write up the Sunday Metal posts, frequently I choose themes or take inspiration from somewhere. For a while I’ve thought about having some guest postings, and that continues.

The next some posts will be from my close friend, W. He’s flown the flag of metal for many years, including being a metal radio DJ around the same time I was (tho we didn’t meet until after). We’ve been friends for many years, been to numerous shows together, and share a love of the music. So I figured he’d make a good first guest to Sunday Metal. So with that, onwards!

I won tickets to a Triumph show from a radio station. (No, not Z-Rock!) The jaw-dropping show they put on was not to be eclipsed until years later when MetallicA’s “…And Justice For All” performance laid near-permanent claim to the coveted “OMG! Show!” belt.

Canadian. Trio. Arena Rock. Not Rush? Whaa? These guys are way under-rated in the world of rock. Perhaps they were overshadowed by their more progressive and technical Canadian brethren? Possibly. But that show earned them a prominent place in my tape collection from that day forward. (Yes, tape collection. Yes, I’m old. Learn from my wisdom, whipper-snappers! And stay off my lawn!) There’s no lack of virtuosity, songwriting or performance here. You have heard some of their songs. I say with confidence, that up to and including the “Thunder Seven” album, you would be doing yourself a favor to seek out the ones you haven’t heard.

Sticking with it

/ hsoi

We all suffer from this at some point: the need to — but the inability to — stick with something and follow through with it.

Really, the only way we succeed in many things is to stick with it, to keep going long after you want to stop/quit/give-up. Of course, sometimes it is wise to stop because you realize it’s fruitless or not taking you towards your true goals. But sometimes it is precisely where you want to go, yet you can’t get there.

One place folks constantly fail on this is “diet and exercise”. We know we’re supposed to “eat better” and “exercise more”, and we try, but after a few weeks or a few months it fades. You see it in gyms every January when people decide to join up, then in February when they all fade away.

I recently read this article on Fitocracy about The Myth of Willpower and ‘Eat Less, Move More’. It talks about the need for a positive feedback loop in order to succeed:

At a high level, there’s only one way to succeed at fitness. All fitness successes and failures can be explained using the following framework.

The only way to succeed at fitness is to create a positive feedback loop.

In laymen’s terms, that means engaging in fitness­‐related activities, and then seeing enough results to motivate you to keep going.

When you decide to start any fitness regimen, there is a certain amount of friction or “pains” working against you – the pain of giving up your favorite foods, taking time to exercise, giving up alcohol, being constantly hungry, etc.

After some time has passed, you will have to determine (consciously or subconsciously) if the results are worth continuing. One week into a fitness regimen, you might ask yourself a few questions:

Did I lose enough weight? Do I look better in the mirror? Do I feel healthier and more energized?

If the rewards outweigh the pain, then the feedback loop is renewed. The strength of your feedback loop can be summed up below:

Strength of Fitness Feedback Loop = Fitness Reward ­- Fitness Pain

Creating this feedback loop is the only way to succeed in fitness. It’s the same way that a business must become profitable to exist. You must create this feedback loop to stick to a healthy lifestyle. There is no alternative.

If you’ve always struggled with maintaining a fitness regimen, it doesn’t mean that you’re a pathetic, weak-willed individual. It means there was a breakdown somewhere in creating this feedback loop: the pain of dieting was too high, you did not accumulate enough reward, or you didn’t measure your progress.

It’s quite right. I never thought about it before, but it is true.

I look at my own efforts. When I engaged in martial arts for purposes of fitness, I didn’t have a direct feedback loop regarding the fitness itself, but the martial arts program did because I would see myself climbing up the belt ranks. That gave positive feedback, and you kept coming back for more.

When I lifted weights in my prior years, I would see some level of positive feedback in the initial stages, but then it waned and I would too. Why have I stuck with it the past couple years? Because I see this positive feedback loop constantly. I may hit a rep PR, or this cycle sets a true PR. I can look in the mirror and see how my body is becoming something I like more than the body I had previously. The program I’m on (Wendler 5/3/1) is set up for constant positive feedback. And it does keep you coming back.

I really don’t care if people want to lift weights or jog for miles. You do whatever it takes to give you the positive feedback. I have a friend of mine that’s right now trying to lose weight and he’s just getting on the elliptical machine every day. It’s not what I care to do, but for him it works because seeing him post that post-workout picture of the elliptical’s readout to Facebook? Positive feedback gets created not only in seeing better numbers each time, but also because there are people liking the picture and encouraging him on. So it’s not really about the particular program, it’s just about keeping the positive feedback loop going in whatever way works for you that keeps you willingly and happily going back for more.

So whatever you goals are — fitness, health, or otherwise. Do you have a program? Do you have something actually laid out to help you along? And does it include some way of having a positive feedback loop? If not, see what you can do to remedy this. It may be just the thing to keep you going for the long haul.

2013-08-02 training log

/ hsoi

Now with more back work.

Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 22, week 2

  • Work Set – Bench Press (working max: 215#)
    • 2x5x45 (warmup)
    • 1x5x85
    • 1x5x110
    • 1x3x130
    • 1x3x150 (work)
    • 1x3x175
    • 1x6x195
  • Assistance – DB Incline Press
    • 5 x 10 x 50
  • All Pressing work superset with band-assisted pull-ups, 3 reps per set
  • Assistance – DB Rows (Kroc style)
    • 3 x 10/10/25 x 50
  • Superset the DB rows with dips, 3 reps per set

This session felt really really good. Maybe it was all the pizza I ate last night and was just fired up. But I felt really good. By the end of things I felt worked, but not exhausted. In fact, I kinda wished I had worked a little more!

On the work set, I only did 6. I certainly left some in the tank and looking back I probably could have done 1-2 more and still not pushed it all the way. Oh well. I am trying to be conservative and leave enough in the tank now. But to that end, I then didn’t feel all that bad on inclines — I do think I should go up to 55’s. But I also changed form there a bit. I’ve been trying to be nice to my shoulder by letting my elbows come ina nd the dumbbells then turn a bit. I was reading something and I’m took more the approach of acting like the dumbbells were a barbell, in terms of keeping things oriented. That actually pushed my shoulder a little more, which I think it needed in a good way.

I mean, when I did the dips, that sort of bottom-position is precisely what I need for a stretch to my anterior delts, which I think is what they need right now to get over this issue.

But… what I really did that was different? More back work.

See, Wendler doesn’t spell it out, but he tells you that for every pressing set you need to do a pulling set (or two). I just don’t do that. The main reason was when I tried it long ago, my shoulders really hated it. I gave it up because I didn’t want to sacrifice the main lift. But I tried something different today.

First, I went really light. The pull-ups were band-assisted (cause I’m still too wussy to do so much volume unassisted), and I only did 3 reps per set. I will slowly work it up, sets across for now, so next session will get 4 reps, etc..

Second, I am going against the plane. That is, there’s something to be said for doing the push and pull in the same plane. So if you bench, you row. If you press, you pulldown/pull-up. That keeps the motion in the same plane. Well, in the past when I did it, that’s how I superset, and I don’t think my shoulders liked it. But now I’m going “perpendicular”. So my push was benching, so my pull was pull-ups. I’m thinking for my pressing days, then to do something like face-pulls. My shoulders didn’t complain today, but I also didn’t have them under heavy stress. So, we’ll see if this strategy pans out for my shoulders and back.

But also, one reason I chose to do extra work afterwards was for arm work. I mean, I didn’t get enoug bicep and forearm work, right? But now if I do this much extra back work, well, I’ll get a bunch. So I really didn’t bother doing any extra work. But I did think after I did my rows to superset in some dips… just because dips are cool, and I think that stretch may help my shoulder issues right now.

So there we go. Today felt awesome. I liked how it went. and I hope that as I ramp it up more that it’ll pay off more all around.

But he was unarmed!

/ hsoi / 6 Comments

There are those that make great effort to point out how someone was “unarmed” when they were shot/killed.

This is typically done in an attempt to make a case of wrongful force disparity. That is, if A has a gun and B has only hands, then A is automatically at the advantage, B automatically at the disadvantage, and thus it’s wrong for A to use the gun to stop B because B was “unarmed”.

This isn’t dueling.

There aren’t any gentlemanly rules.

This isn’t sport where we strive to contrive an environment of “equal footing” and a “level playing field”.

This also isn’t necessarily murder or some other accusation you wish to cast upon A merely because A had a gun and B didn’t (blanket statement; each particular case should be examined on its own circumstances, data, and merit).

What this is is a failure to understand what sort of damage an “unarmed” person can do.

Tim has written a good article explaining the sort of damage an unarmed person can do. It has pictures and video to demonstrate.

Being “armed” or “unarmed” does not correlate to the level of danger one can pose to others. There are folks that are armed and not dangerous, and there are those that are unarmed and quite dangerous. We should not assume that having a gun means one is dangerous and not having a gun means one is harmless. Issues of use of force, force disparity, and self-defense are more complex than media hysterics and ignorant Facebook posts make it out to be.

2013-07-31 training log

/ hsoi

Better, I think.

Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 22, week 2

  • Work Set – Squat (working max: 290#)
    • 2x5x45 (warmup)
    • 1x5x115
    • 1x5x145
    • 1x3x175
    • 1x3x205 (work)
    • 1x3x235
    • 1x3x265
  • Assistance – Pause Squat
    • 3 x 5 x 205
  • Assistance – Crunches
    • 1 x 20 x BW
  • Farmer’s Walks
    • 4 100 yard trips, 45# plate in each hand, 10 breath rest between trips

I’m a little disappointed that I only got 3 reps @ 265 today. I was hoping for at least 4 and preferably 5, but I got what I got. I think I know why.

First, I’ve been working so hard on keeping my back up and pressing with my legs. Both on squat and deadlift. I can really feel it, and I can tell that my legs are working much more, and there’s less “levering it up” with my back and hip-hinge. So this is good. I also videoed myself today and see that I’m going below parallel, which is also good. But then, it of course isn’t helping me move a lot of weight because I’m directly addressing my weak points. 🙂 So it all stands to reason. I think I could have gotten 4 but when I hit the hole on 3 I realized I had lost all upper-back tightness — I was so focused on keeping up and pressing with my legs, I just lost my upper back… got some slight levering on the way up, and figured to just rack it because the first sign of that sort of thing is my cue to stop because form is degrading. Well, I probably could have stood up, retightened, and hit a 4th, but didn’t really realize all that until I was out from the bar. Oh well.

Anyways tho, if ultimately I’m overcoming weak points, I’ll take it. I’d rather have 3 good reps than 5 sloppy.

And pause squats… damn. Those are killer. I like them because they really force me to be strict and good with my form. You can’t let momentum throw you into something sloppy or break your form. And shit, they are hard.

It was a good session. I really am hoping I am overcoming my weak points here. We shall see next squat session, I reckon. 🙂

Science!

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

Step off your political soapbox and put on your scientist lab coat. Here’s a lesson in cavitation physics, courtesy of slow-motion photography, a swimming poll, and an AK-47.

(h/t Shawn)

Yeah, the oscillation bubble was really cool.

2013-07-29 training log

/ hsoi

Need… carbs….

Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 22, week 1

  • Work Set – Press (working max: 150#)
    • 2x5x45 (warmup)
    • 1x5x60
    • 1x5x75
    • 1x3x90
    • 1x5x100 (work)
    • 1x5x115
    • 1x7x130
  • Assistance – Press
    • 5 x 10/10/10/6/6 x 90
  • Assistance – Lat Pulldowns
    • 7 x 10/10/16/10/10/10/15 x 100/100/100/110/110/90/70
  • Assistance – Lateral Raises
    • 3 x 15/15/12 x 15
  • Assistance – Straight-bar Pressdowns
    • 3 x 20/12/10 x 40
  • Assistance – Hammer Curls, 30 rep
    • 3 x 30-rep x 25

I don’t know what it is. Was it the diet getting to me? all the mental, physical, and emotional stress I’ve been under lately? I really don’t know if I wanted it for stress relief or if my body truly needed it. But whatever the reason, my body has been screaming for carbs the past few days. On Sunday I gave in and allowed myself to just eat. I didn’t gorge or anything, but if I wanted something, I ate it. So yeah, a couple ounces of ice cream, a few plums, a piece of the banana bread Wife made (with einkorn wheat), the stew she made the prior night (potatoes, carrots, etc.). Whatever. I just ate.

And yes, I feel better. But I also felt rather lethargic when I first got to the gym. But after the warm-up sets, I felt alright. In fact, I think it was kinda good because I was just lifting. I wasn’t out of the zone, I wasn’t in the zone, I just was. And the lifts just went. I found myself not cuing myself, not really thinking, but I would find myself with a tight body, and really pushing and pressing the way I should. It was pretty cool.

So I worked hard and pushed myself a little further. Shorter rest times between sets, and just moved along. I thought to try doing the lat pulldowns Kroc-style, but then I realized why I hate so many reps. 😉 So I stopped, upped the weight, and did more. Then for whatever reason I felt like my back needed more, so I dropped the weight and did a few more sets. I think it was worth it.

You know… Wendler doesn’t make it obvious, but it’s there if you read. He talks about adding in lots of back work. Basically, for every pressing movement you do a pulling movement (or 2). So every bench/press set, you do something like pull-ups in between. I don’t do that… but yeah, I should. I tried in the past to do it, but my shoulders did not like me. Maybe I should try again. And I thought this morning, maybe do it the same way. So as I work up in my main set, work up in my back set. When I do my assistance pressing with a straight set, then also drop the weight and do straight set of rows or whatever. I dunno, but the key is trying to get more back work in, in a way that keeps my shoulders happy.

I also think if I do that, I can pull back on my other work. So my sessions become just 3 exercises, like the book tends to lay out.

We shall see.

But in other news… the diet.

So it’s been about a month now and I can say I’m probably 8# down. That’s nice, but not really. I lost most of that during the first 10-14 days and have basically stalled. I’m not sure why and what has caused the stall, or what I need to do to remedy it.

But I’m starting to wonder if I just can’t do this. That for my body, my needs, etc… I need to eat a little more, and just wait a lot longer. That is, allow myself some carbs, more than I have. Still try to stick to a mostly carb-less diet, but don’t kill myself. So keep on the same track I’m on, but if I have a piece of fruit with breakfast, fine. So it’s not a major deviation, but just don’t let myself go nuts. I’ve noticed my craving was really bad (and I’ve learned this isn’t just a “want” craving, but my body is truly in need of something). I’ve also noticed things like increased forgetfulness and other problems. So I think my body just was not functioning right. I can’t afford that.

And so, if it means it takes me 12 months to get my body where it is… an even slower approach, but perhaps a more steady and truly changes my lifestyle… well, I guess I should find that for the good, right? It’s more painful to accept if this is the truth of it all, but it may be how it has to be.

I don’t know. I said my next assessment point will be Labor Day, so I’ll see then. For now, I’m going to try to keep to the same approach, tho if my body needs something I won’t deny it. And we’ll see how it goes.

I will admit… this depresses me a bit. It’s not what I’m wanting to hear. But if it’s how it has to be, I’ll come around. 🙂