Has my constant talk about Gym Movement become tiring yet? Well it's about to get even "weirder" so to speak. Both Adam T Glass and Frankie spoke about the fact that fixing your movement skills under load will help you become more flexible with your diet and your ability to use any substrate for energy. I was highly skeptical, having fought off several food sensitivities and allergies over the years. Several guys at the cert, most namely Mark Wilson, eats everything in sight and was lean as can be. And he is over 40 years old - so no excuse there. I wrote it off to great genetics and forgot about it.
Go back 6 weeks ago (right before I started on this protocol) I decided to go back to "old school" training to see what would happen. I started gaining some strength, but at what cost? Soon I felt terrible, my movement suffered and next thing I knew, I was going to the chrioprator three weeks in a row! Movement cost AND monetary costs....not smart in today's economy. But the thing I noticed the most is that after eating a certain protein bar during this period I began to feel bad after eating it. I started having digestive trouble. I became bound up and was no longer "regular."
Fast forward to the Movement training: I ate the EXACT same bars with no dire effects: Digestion - fine. Elimination - fine! Not that I have begun to eat terrible or anything but somehow or another I am able to handle things I couldn't. I am going to continue to try different things and TEST IT. Note: I spoke to Mike Nelson on this and he has been doing the same. He will be putting together an e-book on this difficult subject. Can't wait for that!
Training tonight: Chinup volume - 30PR. Overhand thick bar DL: 220 (PR) "G" gripper 40/40 and 30/30 PR volume & intensity. Had a huge pump from this simple workout, something I expect each and every time I work out. Can you say the same?
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
PRs and biofeedback
Once again, biofeedback rules! After a weekend with the guys and a somewhat lack of sleep I wondered how things would test today. I was looking to do a chest movement, pistols and triceps. After a month of testing well, bench presses tested just OK. Dips haven't tested well for at least a month. So I was hoping pushups would do the job - yes they did! As a baseline PR (have done pushups only once since starting biofeedback)I did 70 in 10 minutes, starting out with 25 for a initial intensity PR. This was a lot harder than I had imagined, but wow what a pump! That is always a nice signal that things are working well. Next went to pistols and got 30 with the blue band. Again, lack of sleep or whatever this was difficult, done in 10 minutes. What a difference a band makes - the green was simple, the blue all the way to the floor. Exactly what I need. Finished off with 6 sets of lying dumbell tricep extensions, volume PR of 760 in 7.5 minutes. All other tricep exercises tested junky, so crank it!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Interview with Craig Robley
My good friend and colleague Craig Robley was kind enough to drop by and discuss why he wants to use Top Notch Personal Training to get him into top shape. Craig will be starting his venture next week when he comes back from a trip he earned to Hawaii for excellent production at work (he is an advertising consultant for Dex). Craig is a former wrestling standout and All-American at Luther college in Iowa. As he states in the interview, he is tired of "being tired doing minor things." I can help him with that! Best of luck to Craig, and I will be posting his progress...stay tuned!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Targeted for Termination
Since my son's favorite movie is Terminator, the title above has been running rampant around my house. It of course also applies to the real world, as the company I work for has been doing some "house cleaning" as of late. While it's never fun, I always remind myself that it's business, not personal - so I felt OK about the termination early Monday AM. Then, on the way home from work I got a call from my friend who said he was let go last Thursday. It was kind of like "touche"!
Why do I bring this up? Because terminations/firings apply to many things in life. Especially in training. #1 hint: if your trainer gets you hurt, they are an idiot. It really is that simple. I've heard horror stories of clients doing kettlebell bear crawls down a concrete embankment and getting injured - all done to "make things harder" (sounds like a well-known kettlebell guru to me). Any endeavor you take on in life you are told to be relaxed so you can perform at your best. Of course, to everything except kettlebells. Wrong answer.
So in looking at my giant pack of books and DVDs I have begun to think of ideas and protocols that need to be terminated -exercises and routines that use someone else's internal feedback. Why this is coming crystal clear to me is due to my jumping on "The Gym Movement" bandwagon which focuses on personal biofeedback to determine an exercise's effectiveness. It's time to weed out the junk and focus on what works. There is so much info out there you need to know what you DON'T like to know what you DO like. I have an inner peace I've never had before and its great! So when the next DVD or book that comes out touting its effectiveness, please throw it against the wall to see if it sticks. If it's not listening to YOU it will not help YOU.
Training tonight: Broke TBDL volume PR (via the 380-385 Matrix) got 7,705 in 25 minutes, and a density PR as well. Then did 100 lunges in 7.5 minutes (PR)which really kicked my butt. I had to watch and make sure the tension wasn't ramping up to much - there were times my breathing was hosed up and had to back off a bit. Did a little grip work but I was shot. Great workout!
Why do I bring this up? Because terminations/firings apply to many things in life. Especially in training. #1 hint: if your trainer gets you hurt, they are an idiot. It really is that simple. I've heard horror stories of clients doing kettlebell bear crawls down a concrete embankment and getting injured - all done to "make things harder" (sounds like a well-known kettlebell guru to me). Any endeavor you take on in life you are told to be relaxed so you can perform at your best. Of course, to everything except kettlebells. Wrong answer.
So in looking at my giant pack of books and DVDs I have begun to think of ideas and protocols that need to be terminated -exercises and routines that use someone else's internal feedback. Why this is coming crystal clear to me is due to my jumping on "The Gym Movement" bandwagon which focuses on personal biofeedback to determine an exercise's effectiveness. It's time to weed out the junk and focus on what works. There is so much info out there you need to know what you DON'T like to know what you DO like. I have an inner peace I've never had before and its great! So when the next DVD or book that comes out touting its effectiveness, please throw it against the wall to see if it sticks. If it's not listening to YOU it will not help YOU.
Training tonight: Broke TBDL volume PR (via the 380-385 Matrix) got 7,705 in 25 minutes, and a density PR as well. Then did 100 lunges in 7.5 minutes (PR)which really kicked my butt. I had to watch and make sure the tension wasn't ramping up to much - there were times my breathing was hosed up and had to back off a bit. Did a little grip work but I was shot. Great workout!
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Keep the PRs coming
Thur workout: DL volume PR 4,485/regular grip pullup volume PR: 26 reps/1arm swings 24K density PR 80 reps in 4.5mn. Sat workout: KB Press volume PR 2904 in 10 minutes. Used the 20K for 66. Lying tricep (BB) 65x5 baseline PR, volume of 1,225, density of 153 (8mn). DSP gripper PRs 2415 in 5mn/density 483. Decided to do pistol work tomorrow, I want to focus on that.
As I stated in my last post, it is not HARD to break PRs. You have a goal every single workout and you just "Do it". It really is a great feeling to know that you are getting better every single day. "Get your reps in" is good advice, but you need to know how many and how fast you did it (in perfect form of course). Deadlift for instance, my volume PR is 4485. How can I not improve when I get to 5,000 or more? Your body responds to stress by laying down tissue - and this is noted in me gaining 5 pounds "mysteriously" since the cert three weeks ago. As Frankie said, the only limiting factor is TIME.....who knows where I'll be by year-end? Great stuff!
As I stated in my last post, it is not HARD to break PRs. You have a goal every single workout and you just "Do it". It really is a great feeling to know that you are getting better every single day. "Get your reps in" is good advice, but you need to know how many and how fast you did it (in perfect form of course). Deadlift for instance, my volume PR is 4485. How can I not improve when I get to 5,000 or more? Your body responds to stress by laying down tissue - and this is noted in me gaining 5 pounds "mysteriously" since the cert three weeks ago. As Frankie said, the only limiting factor is TIME.....who knows where I'll be by year-end? Great stuff!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
PR nite
Frankie Faires of the Movement program said adaptation is a never ending process. You are getting better or worse every single minute of every day. You cannot FORCE adaptation, no matter what your externally focused personal trainer may tell you. Besides, no one knows your body better than YOU. 'Nuff said.
PR night included 225# Bench matrix (+ a few extra reps) = PR volume 4,725. Goblet squat intensity PR 88x5; volume PR of 1,840 and density PR of 184 (done in 10 minutes). BUP went a lot better than I thought. Got a PR of 10 with R and 8 on the L with the 36#er. Got a total of 38 reps in 7.75 minutes for a volume and density PR as well.
I am happy to inform you that breaking records all the time does not mean you will be broken. The funny thing is I don't feel tired at all. I am sleeping more soundly than ever and lately have even been getting up a bit earlier! The biggest thing to all this is taking meticulous record keeping. Because I destroy records every week I must re-write the record books each Sunday night in preparation for next week's onslaught. As FF says, TIME is the only limiting factor.....is this awesome or what?
PR night included 225# Bench matrix (+ a few extra reps) = PR volume 4,725. Goblet squat intensity PR 88x5; volume PR of 1,840 and density PR of 184 (done in 10 minutes). BUP went a lot better than I thought. Got a PR of 10 with R and 8 on the L with the 36#er. Got a total of 38 reps in 7.75 minutes for a volume and density PR as well.
I am happy to inform you that breaking records all the time does not mean you will be broken. The funny thing is I don't feel tired at all. I am sleeping more soundly than ever and lately have even been getting up a bit earlier! The biggest thing to all this is taking meticulous record keeping. Because I destroy records every week I must re-write the record books each Sunday night in preparation for next week's onslaught. As FF says, TIME is the only limiting factor.....is this awesome or what?
Monday, May 3, 2010
The Biofeedback craze
Greetings,
Lots has happened since I last posted, and fortunately for me most of it is VERY good! About a year ago Mike Nelson introduced me to biofeedback training and last month Frankie Faires and Adam Glass put on a seminar on it (Mike attended as well). All I can say is brilliant! Just when my training had gotten to an all-time confusion and frustration level, this came around. I just can't say enough about the concept of PRs everyday. You have to feel it to believe it. I will be posting on several of the key points in the post to come, in addition to my and my clients training results.
05/03/2010 workout:
Snatch:Volume PR of 4,988 in 25 minutes included 40 reps with the 32K, also a PR. My goal is to snatch the Bulldog so its important for the 70# to feel like a breeze - Mike figures 10 smooth easy reps and I'll be there. I'll try some max numbers soon.
Pistol: Did 65 reps at a variety of heights; my pin ladened left ankle has always been an issue so I will keep cranking on this and making it look EZ.
Reverse curl: done with my thick bar, I did 4x6 with 30# just to get my feet wet and get a baseline PR. This program is so fun because it "forces" you (bad word oh well) to change up your exercises. Change up = fun times!
More soon..........
Lots has happened since I last posted, and fortunately for me most of it is VERY good! About a year ago Mike Nelson introduced me to biofeedback training and last month Frankie Faires and Adam Glass put on a seminar on it (Mike attended as well). All I can say is brilliant! Just when my training had gotten to an all-time confusion and frustration level, this came around. I just can't say enough about the concept of PRs everyday. You have to feel it to believe it. I will be posting on several of the key points in the post to come, in addition to my and my clients training results.
05/03/2010 workout:
Snatch:Volume PR of 4,988 in 25 minutes included 40 reps with the 32K, also a PR. My goal is to snatch the Bulldog so its important for the 70# to feel like a breeze - Mike figures 10 smooth easy reps and I'll be there. I'll try some max numbers soon.
Pistol: Did 65 reps at a variety of heights; my pin ladened left ankle has always been an issue so I will keep cranking on this and making it look EZ.
Reverse curl: done with my thick bar, I did 4x6 with 30# just to get my feet wet and get a baseline PR. This program is so fun because it "forces" you (bad word oh well) to change up your exercises. Change up = fun times!
More soon..........
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