Author: hsoi

2012-07-26 workout – Wendler 5/3/1 program, Cycle 12, Deadlift/Press 1 (again)

/ hsoi

And now day 2 of starting cycle 12 over again.

“Week 1”

  • 5 reps – Deadlift (working max: 345#)
    • 1x5x140 (warmup)
    • 1x5x175
    • 1x3x210
    • 1x5x225 (work)
    • 1x5x260
    • 1x8x295
  • 5 reps – Press (working max: 155#)
    • 2x5x45 (warmup)
    • 1x5x65
    • 1x5x80
    • 1x3x95
    • 1x5x100 (work)
    • 1x5x120
    • 1x7x135
  • Asst. #1 – DB Rows
    • 3 x 10 x 80
  • Asst. #2 – Pulldown Abs
    • 3 x 12 x 80
  • Asst. #3 – Dips
    • 3 x 8/6/6 x BW (around 235)
  • Asst. #4 – DB Hammer Curls
    • 3 x 10/6/6 x 30

For some reason today I was all about speed and explosive power. When I was doing my deadlifts, and especially when I was doing my Presses, I was just going fast… just exploding and moving the weight with as much speed as I could. Not sure why I did that, but I did. I think with Press it hit because the music blaring on the stereo was awesome. 🙂 But I cranked it hard and really dug it. I’m fine-tuning my Press technique, especially that whole issue with how I get a little dizzy when unracking and setting up for the first press.

On the pulldown abs… while I like the exercise, I don’t like the side-effects. The rope handles kill my hands and neck. Gym owner and I were talking and he had me try another variation… the type where you kneel on the floor, and using a single handle (like you would for cable crossovers) grabbing it like it’s a horn coming out of your unicorn forehead. I did it for one set, but the weight was too light, but I’m going to give it a try. It seems it’ll have its own suck, but hey… no harm in trying it and seeing.

And you can see my assistance reps dropped. Not sure why. My guesses are either 1. how I tore up the palm heel of my right hand some days ago, and the bruising and scabbing over really hurt when I put pressure on it, 2. from all the explosive main lifts, I was just pooped. No matter. I still worked hard, regardless of the actual numbers.

OH, and on deadlift. While it seems to make some more sense to pronate my left and supinate my right, that just is NOT working for me. I’m getting some sort of deposit on the inside palm “knuckle” of my right middle finger, and this just puts pressure on it. Plus I notice much more desire to “curl” the bar in this position. When I got to rep 5 on the last set I switched my grip and it felt a lot better… I lost my groove, but I think supinating my left and pronating my right is the better way. It was good to experiment, now I know for certain.

True Nutrition Whey Flavor #26 – Kiwi Strawberry

/ hsoi

I bought the TrueNutrition.com 38 Flavor sample pack.

Kiwi Strawberry

What hit me the most here was wondering where the kiwi flavor was. I was looking for that tart banana-like flavor, and didn’t find it. It just tasted like strawberry. Maybe it was more subtle? Maybe if I had this more side-by-side to a “pure strawberry” flavor I could find it? It wasn’t bad at all, don’t get me wrong, but I just couldn’t find the kiwi flavoring.

True Nutrition Whey Flavor #25 – French Vanilla Cream

/ hsoi

I bought the TrueNutrition.com 38 Flavor sample pack.

French Vanilla Cream.

It was… fine. I drank this one in water and all I can remember was feeling kinda neutral about it. But it’s about as close to “plain vanilla” as they offer both literally and figuratively.

2012-07-25 dry fire practice

/ hsoi

Following TLG’s sample dry fire routine.

Week 2, Day 3, reloads

  1. 10 reps of wall drill from press-out 2H
  2. 20 reps reload from slidelock, slow, 2H
  3. 20 reps reload from slidelock, 3/4 speed, 2H
  4. 10 reps reload from slidelock, slow, 2H
  5. 10 reps of wall drill form press-out, 2H

While the session calls for different speeds, I did all my reloads fairly slow or even slower. I wanted to ensure the entire orchestration of movements was correct and solid.

I also did some Burkett Reloads and played around with where my eyes look. Do they look at the top edge of the magwell? the bottom edge? or somewhere “in” the magwell? Results inconclusive, but you do need to focus somewhere, not just have nebulous eyesight in the area. I think having a point “in” the magwell works best because that’s where you want things to go… aiming with your eyes, and if you aim to an edge, you’ll hit the edge. I’ll want to play with this more. To this point I’ve just “looked”, but I’m playing with a refinement of the look.

True Nutrition Whey Flavor #24 – Cookie Dough

/ hsoi

I bought the TrueNutrition.com 38 Flavor sample pack.

Cookie Dough.

This was a let down. I love cookie dough ice cream. I love cookies. So I guess I had particular expectations of flavor, and when this didn’t meet them it was a real let down.

The flavor wasn’t bad, but it just wasn’t what I wanted. I tried to place what it was about it, but just couldn’t come up with a way to describe it.

To be fair, I figure this is more a failure of expectation than anything about the flavor itself.

No one is above having problems

/ hsoi

Todd Louis Green has just started a new pistol endurance test, and report #2 had a few things that I’d like to point out.

This is probably more relevant to beginner and intermediate students.

First, a common thing we see in many Basic Pistol 1 & 2, Defensive Pistol 1, Handgunning: Beyond the Basics, classes is… trigger slap/yank. In fact, we actually see it in all our classes, but those classes tend to manifest it a lot more because it tends to be the first time folks become aware of the concept and start to understand why all their shots are going low-left.

From Todd:

As expected, the biggest challenge with the crisp trigger break has been anticipation. During the Rangemaster class we shot a number of qualification standards and while I was able to score 100% on all of them, at the 25yd line I definitely launched a few that danced precariously close to being outside the 8″ scoring zone. That’s just sloppy trigger work on my part and a habit I’m going to have to break. Most of Monday’s practice session was spent working on 2″ dots at speed to help exterminate the jerks and snatches infesting my trigger finger.

A 1911’s trigger is rather different from a Glock, and Todd is feeling the effects and having to adjust. The take home? Even someone who shoots as well and as much as TLG still can have troubles with trigger control. None of us are above it, so don’t get yourself too stressed out about it. Know that it’s there, know that you’re doing it, and just work to improve.

Second, equipment matters. Do not be afraid to modify the gun (within reason) to help you shoot it better. Or, don’t be afraid to get a whole other gun. Now in TLG’s case, he’s shooting a particular gun for a particular reason, so he can’t get a whole other gun, thus he has to modify it. The key is everyone is built different and so if one gun isn’t working for you, you need to make adjustments to the equipment to make it work.

The gun is wearing fairly thick stocks (Crimson Trace Lasergrips) which, combined with my stubby thumbs and more than a decade of using my trigger finger to drop a magazine rather than my thumb, made reloads glacially slow. I’ve now installed an Ed Brown extended magazine catch. The catch needed major fitting as it would neither allow a magazine to be inserted (no pressure on the mag catch button) nor allow a mag to drop free (when the button was pushed in all the way). My totally inexpert Dremel and sandpaper work was adequate to the task but I’ve got both a 10-8 mag catch and a custom Heirloom Precision (thanks, Jason!) extended catch on their way.

You can also read about some other equipment issues, such as magazine failures.

I mention these things for the sake of beginner and intermediate shooters (because I expect advanced shooters should know this already). No one is above having problems. No one is above working on their technique. Don’t beat yourself up because your technique is poor, or your equipment isn’t up to snuff. Just acknowledge the issue and work to remedy it. This will enable improvement and progress.

True Nutrition Whey Flavor #23 – Citrus Limeade

/ hsoi

I bought the TrueNutrition.com 38 Flavor sample pack.

Citrus Limeade.

This was better than the Old-Fashioned Lemonade, but maybe because it was mixed in milk. I have to say tho, all the artificial colors are what you’d expect… the Lemonade was a bright (like neon) yellow. This Citrus Limeade was a bright neon green. The flavor wasn’t as off-putting as the Lemonade was, but it still didn’t float my boat. Pass.

 

True Nutrition Whey Flavor #22 – Old-fashioned Lemonade

/ hsoi

I bought the TrueNutrition.com 38 Flavor sample pack.

Old-fashioned Lemonade

Um… no.

I had this in water and it… well… just no. Maybe if it tasted more like Countrytime, maybe. But… well, no. 🙂

 

Lone Star School of Music

/ hsoi

I originally wrote this over at Yelp, and since it’s my review there I felt it only right I also post it here.

Plus, I can give an update. 🙂

When searching for a music school for my children, I chose Lone Star School of Music because of the flexible scheduling and diverse teaching staff. I have stayed with Lone Star because of the wonderful experience. The owners are great people, friendly, knowledgable, responsive. The teaching staff is fantastic.

What I love most about Lone Star is the emphasis on having fun. They understand that it’s more important to develop a love of music, than to play scales and drills all day. Sure, they still work on scales and fundamentals, and all those things, but if the kids don’t love playing then scales don’t matter; love playing and you understand scales are part of playing and you don’t mind so much. If there’s any testimony to the fun and enjoyment, one of my children always bummed out the lesson is over because he has so much fun and doesn’t want to stop! Never a chore to practice, never a battle to go to lesson time. Another of my children wants to do more of the school’s additional offerings, like the Rock Camp and Rock Band. The child actually just did Rock Camp and had a blast… Kurt (owner) makes a big effort to make it a lot of fun and ensure the kids have a wonderful experience that builds great memories.

Just great stuff.

Since I wrote that review, Kiddos are still going strong. All are still taking lessons, all are still enjoying it. There’s no chore, but there is a lot of exploration. Oldest has widened his musical tastes. Daughter bounces around on every instrument she can, working to learn songs by ear. Youngest is getting quite an ear for classical music. Like I originally wrote: the school and teachers work to foster a love of music. That’s most evident in the Rock Band class.

A couple months ago there were finally enough kids on the right instruments wanting to play in a band together, and so the Rock Band class has been going. This is a pretty neat deal where they work with a teacher (yes, a little adult supervision, direction, and input is good here… so it’s not just aimless banging around), they work up a library of songs, and the school will book them on gigs every month. They’re not quite ready for their first gig yet, but soon. It’s great listening to them work it out in practice. They work, but they also have a lot of fun. The biggest surprise is Oldest. We had no idea he’d want to do anything like that, but he jumped in on his own and while reluctant at first, I think he’s more excited about going to weekly practice than Daughter is!

I’m really happy with Lone Star School of Music.

2012-07-24 dry fire practice

/ hsoi

Following TLG’s sample dry fire routine.

Week 1, Day 2, draws.

  1. 10 reps of wall drill from press-out 2H
  2. 20 reps of wall drill from holster 2H
  3. 5 reps of wall drill from holster, SHO
  4. 5 reps of wall drill from holster, WHO
  5. 10 reps draw & fire at 3/4 speed, 2H
  6. 10 reps draw & fire slow 2H

I’m trying to make the strings that don’t specify speed be at “full speed”. Granted, they aren’t as good as they could be, but I am seeing the sights and able to call my shots, which is still of use. But it just means on the 3/4 speed and slow speed to make them all perfect. From that will come the correctness.