How Much Ya Bench?

No shirt, no drugs...just raw power.

Drinking Kool-Aid (Part I)

"Kool-Aid" comes in many forms in the fitness world of late. CrossFit, Westside (and its many variants), Heavy Duty Training (aka "High Intensity Training"), and 5x5 programs are pretty common in strength and conditioning circles. In the kettlebell world, there are different flavors of Kool-Aid as well.



A couple of questions for the Kool-Aid drinkers out there:

Is it necessary to “drink the Kool-Aid” if you want to see how far a specific program can take you?

If you “drink the Kool-Aid” does that render you completely incapable of seeing a program’s possible limitations?

....to be continued.

Daily Stretches For Health & Strength

I've always done a lot of stretching. I started at a young age with my father when he went to the gym and later when I took gymnastics lessons, and in Tae Kwon Do and competitive swimming. I am well aware that the current trend is PNF and "dynamic" stretching - those are great but, despite what some marketeers will tell you, slow static, relaxed stretching is NOT dead. Watch just about any individual gymnast or martial artist warm up and you will see PNF, ballistic, AND traditional stretching methods in the span of 10 or even 5 minutes - you'd be hard pressed to find more powerful athletes and somehow a steady dose of slow stretching hasn't destroyed their strength.

As with anything, stretching should be introduced progressively. "Intensity" and "volume" are difficult to gauge so it's best to be conservative until your body has had time to acclimate to increased range of motion. Although the following stretches can be done at varying speeds and amplitudes, I would suggest starting slow and static, gradually increasing frequency and duration before experimenting with ballistic and dynamic variations.

Pavel says that, stretching, you are trying to "find space" and it's a great way to phrase it. As you stretch, you are finding space within a, heretofore, restricted range of motion.

The following stretches are my "go to" stretches - they have been my "go to" stretches for years. Although I don't do all of them every day, I find time to do most whenever I am in front of a television, or waiting for my wife to finish shopping, or have a spare moment. Stretching does not have to be a full-blown 30 minute yoga session - it can be as short as an elevator ride or a longer than expected phone call.


*Dislocates*
Dislocates, or partial dislocates, can be done with a broomstick, dowel, rope, or towel. Taking too narrow a grip too quickly is asking for elbow strain.



*Lying Shoulder Girdle Stretches*
Two-armed and one-armed variations stress different angles and ranges of motion. Changing the hand position will shift stress of the shoulder girdle to target the scapulae and anterior shoulder girdle.




*Doorway Shoulder Stretch*
This stretch doesn't have to be done in a doorway - it can be done against a wall, in a power rack, or a goal post. The whole forearm should be solidly braced and the body turned to lightly stretch the shoulder and pectoral region.



*Lat/Tricep Stretch*
Elevating the scapula while performing the stretch will shift stress from the tricep to the lat, infraspinatus, and teres minor.



*Good Morning Stretch*
Avoid excessive lower back flexion. Slightly bending the knees (as in a good morning or romanian deadlift) will shift stress from the hamstring insertion at the knee to the hamstring muscle bellies and origins at the hip.




*Seated Hamstring Stretches*
As with the good morning stretch, care should be taken not to excessively flex the lumbar.




*IT Band & Glute Stretches*
I see people struggle with this one all the time - most of the time it becomes just another hamstring stretch rather than hitting the IT band as intended. The key with this stretch is to kick the hip out slightly in the direction of the rear positioned leg. Notice in the pics below my hips move to the left as the upper body moves to the right.



Gently leaning side to side while on all fours will hit the glutes. I don't remember how I "discovered" this one, but it is one of the simplest, yet most effective stretches I have found for the area.



*Quad & Hip Flexor Stretches*
This is another stretch I see performed incorrectly all the time. Done incorrectly, it places stress squarely on the knee joint. Initiated from the hip, it will stretch the hip flexor and quad muscles.

SSST Revisited

Last night I gave the "SSST" (Secret Service Snatch Test) another shot. It is 10:00 of as many 53lb kettlebell snatches as you can do. It's my third time doing it (well, technically, I guess it's my fourth since I attempted it Sunday but stopped a minute early because I can't tell time). I was hoping for 200 reps and I was a little short. But, with as little fast paced snatch work as I've been doing lately, I was very pleased.



Compare this with my first attempt about two years ago (133 reps):

Easter Weekend

A lot of work to roast some marshmallows!!


Found some rocks to play with though!

Bench Press Shirt Explanation

One of the first YouTube videos I ever made about 3 years ago was a video explaining the how a powerlifter's "bench press shirt" works. I realize many people think it's cheating and it certainly isn't for everyone, but bench press shirts, shirts that assist the lifter and add poundages to his/her lift, are a reality that doesn't seem destined to change anytime soon.

I had intended to make a series of videos about bench press shirts, but never got around to it... Take a look and let me know what you think.

Pace Ladder Variations

The pace ladders I introduced previously are easy to implement into training. However, small adjustments to the intervals or numbers can make a huge difference in how fatigue is spread throughout the timed effort. Pace ladders (or waves) can be structured a number of ways to different effect.

Compare the following pace ladders that might be done with the kettlebell snatch (note that dashes indicate a change in pace, and a slash indicates switching hands):

Pace Ladder A (Even Number of Rungs)
:15 rungs
1-3-5-7-1-3-5-7-1-3-5-7/1-3-5-7-1-3-5-7-1-3-5-7 (90 reps in 6:00)

Pace Ladder B (Odd Number of Rungs)
:15 rungs
2-4-6-2-4-6-2-4-6-2-4-6/2-4-6-2-4-6-2-4-6-2-4-6 (96 reps in 6:00)

Although the overall pace in the ladders above is slightly different (15rpm vs. 16rpm), the average total pace is not the only difference. In the first ladder, the pace per minute is steady at 15 reps per minute. In the second ladder, the pace varies; 14 reps in the first minute, 16 reps in the second minute, and 18 reps in the third.

A third option for structuring the ladders is to gradually increase the number of rungs within the set.

Pace Ladder C (Escalating Ladders)
:15 rungs
2-2-3-2-3-4-2-3-4-5-2-3-4-5-6/2-2-3-2-3-4-2-3-4-5-2-3-4-5-6 (100 reps in 7:30)

A fourth option is to gradually increase the number of rungs until you cannot keep up with the time alloted, at which point you would either switch hands and/or start again at the bottom rung. (*=missed interval)

Ladder D (King of the Mountain)
:20 rungs
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-7*/1-2-3-4-5-6-7-6* (69 reps in 5:20)

Variations in pace do not need to be "laddered". They can just as easily be waved with the crest and/or the trough remaining constant. For example, consider the following pace waves:

Ladder E (Pace Wave, evenly paced among minutes)
:30 rungs
5-10-5-10-5-10/5-10-5-10-5-10 (90 reps in 6:00)

Ladder F (Pace Wave, pace varies among minutes)
:20 rungs
6-4-6-4-6-4-6-4-6/6-4-6-4-6-4-6 (92 reps in 6:00)

Ladder G (Pace Wave, escalating crest)
:20 rungs
3-4-3-5-3-6-3-7/3-4-3-5-3-6-3-7 (68 reps in 5:20)

Kettlebell On The Brain

HEAVY KETTLE

Surrogate Parenting

I just got back from one of my son's activities and was appalled by parents who were more interested in their cell phones than their children's lessons, or their other small children running around the facility unsupervised. One parent, engrossed in her cell phone conversation, handed a Mt. Dew to her one year old to polish off... Later, when she wasn't on the phone, her parenting discourse, in the course of 10 minutes, ranged from playful, giggling banter to hysterics.

Is it any wonder that we have obesity and mental health epidemics in this country when parents substitute television, video games, sugary caffeinated beverages, and junk food for attention, conversation, and interaction with their children? Our problems run deep and it's not something that physical education and/or health classes can be expected to solve or even make a dent in without a wider support system.

Pace Ladders

"Ladders" are a way of organizing the reps of your work sets so that some sets are easy and others may be gut-wrenchingly hard. The reps will generally ramp up from a relatively easy effort, to a peak, and then start over again. So, for example, suppose you were doing bench press work sets with 225lbs, instead of doing five sets of five, you might do ladders and your rep scheme might be: x2, x4, x6, x2, x4, x6, etc. The number of "rungs" on the ladder, or how many trips up the ladder may vary. Pavel Tsatsouline's description of ladders can be found at Clarence Bass' site - Pavel's Ladder

I've been experimenting with the use of ladders within a girevoy sport timed-set protocol and I think it will be a good way to break up the mental monotony of long timed sets. I don't know if it is a new idea for GS, but the "pace ladders" I have been experimenting with are ladders of different rep tempos within a given set. So, for example, if you were doing a 5:00 set of jerks, you might start out at a slow pace, move to a medium pace, then a fast pace, and back to a slow pace and begin the process again - all without setting down the weight or switching hands.



Last night, I did a pace ladder with kettlebell snatches, changing rep tempo every 30 seconds. I used the following three-rung ladder:

:30 = 3 reps (first rung)
:30 = 6 reps (second rung)
:30 = 10 reps (third rung)
:30 = 3 reps
:30 = 6 reps
:30 = 9 reps
(switch hands and repeat)

In successive training sessions, the goal may be to gradually add ladders, add rungs (like 12 reps, for example), or add weight. You may decide to change the tempo scheme as well. For a change of pace (pun intended), give pace ladders a try.

Related Article: How To Make CMS Rank in the Long Cycle by David Whitley

Colorful Kettlebells

Sharpie "Paint" Markers + Kettlebells =
Fun For A Dad and His Five Year Old Son