Friday, January 29, 2010

This week's workouts..

Friday:
Front Squats: 2 24kg x 10 x 8
Deadlifts: 340 x 5 x 3
Renegade Rows: 24kg x 3 x 10
Double cleans: 2 24kg x 3 x 15

Thursday: Long Cycle Ladders: 2 24kg x 5 x (2,4,6,8,10)
==> These felt really good, going to try some 32kg x (2,4,6) ladders next week.

Wednesday:
TGU: 32kg x 10:00
Swings: 32kg x 10 x 20
Snatches: 32kg x 20L/20R (going for 30L/30R on Sunday)

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Jack Reape Deadlift Challenge

I had a client skip a session with me on Friday, so I decided to get this in.

This the Jack Reape Deadlift Challenge. The details of the challenge are as simple as can be: Do as many 315lb deadlifts as you can get in 30 minutes

I got 154, and here was the reps scheme that I used:
Top of the minute:
315 x 13 x 5
315 x 6 x 6
315 x 1 x 5 (started to get a headache due to bad breathing patterns)

Top of the :50
315 x 4 x 3 (starting feeling second wind)
315 x 7 x 4

Top of the :45 (so that I finished "while working")
315 x 2 x 4

If you don't like this notation, here it is with the "start time" of each set noted:
set # start of set reps cumulative

1 00:00 5 5
2 01:00 5 10
3 02:00 5 15
4 03:00 5 20
5 04:00 5 25
6 05:00 5 30
7 06:00 5 35
8 07:00 5 40
9 08:00 5 45
10 09:00 5 50
11 10:00 5 55
12 11:00 5 60
13 12:00 5 65

14 13:00 6 71
15 14:00 6 77
16 15:00 6 83
17 16:00 6 89
18 17:00 6 95
19 18:00 6 101

20 19:00 5 106

21 19:50 3 109
22 20:40 3 112
23 21:30 3 115
24 22:20 3 118

25 23:10 4 122
26 24:00 4 126
27 24:50 4 130
28 25:40 4 134
29 26:30 4 138
30 27:20 4 142
31 28:10 4 146

32 28:55 4 150
33 29:40 4 154

Not too bad, but I would think there are guys that could kill this.

Friday, January 22, 2010

I have been working with a lot of new clients over the last two weeks...

Here is what I have learned....

1. When people lift something, they tend to look at it. Many times, this is a bad. The reason for this: Where the eyes go, the body follows. Look at the bar when you deadlift, you will round your back. Instead, look at a spot about 7-9 feet in front of you. You hips will go down, the shoulders will go back, and your will be able to drive through the heels. This will give you better leverage and is much safer. This only little tip added 60lbs to someone's deadlift.

2. Instructions between lifts can be detailed. Instructions during lifts much be concise. Two words max, and preferably one. The reason, if they are focused on what you are saying, they are not focused on their lifting and body positioning. Where I have really seen this is I have two clients who do follow along KB DVDs. Their form, and their head positions specifically, were atrocious. I have never really seen the point of a follow-along DVD, unless you have the attention span of an ant. Can someone tell me what the point is?

3. People feed of others energy. I think for this reason I am going to group training only.

4. If you are a female, and you wear heels all of the time, you will most likely fail the "Overhead Squat" test of the functional movement screen. The reason: shortened calf and lengthened tibialis anterior. What that means is that you will not be able to keep the feet flat during the test.

For you athletes, there are a number of sports where this improper length-tension relationships will kill your performance: Bowling (this TA also everts the foot, which is important for balance), golf (will pitch your body forward, making you less powerful in the hitting zone), running (this will cause your foot fall to happen too far in front of you, putting major stress on the knee and back). Guys in their 60's that ran a lot in the 80's got knee replacements in the "aughts".

Also, this imbalance can migrate up to the hips (pitch forward) and shoulders (round forward).

5. With the kb swings, quality counts a lot more than quantity. I have seen some people do a swing so short the bell barely moves up or down. What work is being done and/or what skills are being developed. For this reason, I never use swings as a gauge of fitness. It is an open chain exercise w/o a fixed complete. Don't get me wrong, I use good swings for prep, but I measure snatches for performance.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Wed and Thu workouts.

Wednesday: Legs
Front Squats: 56kg x 10 x 5
Deadlift: 135, 205, 255, 305 x 1 x 5; 357, 375 x 1 x 3; 427 x 1 x 1
Sumo Deadlift (speed): 357 x 5 x 1
Max VO2 Snatch: 24kg x 20 x 8 (on the :30)

Thursday Morning: Back
Pullup Ladders: BW x 3 x 5,7,9
Bent Rows: 135, 185, 225, 245 x 1 x 10; 265 x 1 x 7
Lat Pulldowns: 150, 180, 210, 240, 255 x 1 x 10; 270, 285 x 1 x 6
Scapular Holds: 195 x 3 x :60
Cable Pulldowns: up to 180 x 1 x 10
Single Arm Rows: up to 95 x 1 x 10

Thursday Late Afternoon:
Long Cycle Clean and Jerk: 2 24kg x 5 x (2,4,6,8) -- been a while
Renegade Rows: 24kg x 3 x 10
Dimel Deadlifts: 135, 185, 235 x 1 x 20 (easier than I though)

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

USF Kettlebell Club

Had 5 people at the USF Kettlebell Club. Program was light presses, front squats, copious swings, farmers walks.

ST (female) got her first snatches. Before anyone learns how to snatch, their swing form has to be very solid.

If you are in the USF area and you are interested in kettlebells, contact me at faizalenu(at)yahoo.com to get started.

Here is a review from the DragonDoor forum from Josh, a member who used to wrestle for USF and still wrestles:

Words can't even begin to describe the success that my workout has reached through the instruction of Faizal. This man i very willing to work with any situation that you have and to help you get through it. he teaches things in a way that anyone can understand, and stresses key points which make any and every workout more successful.I've had several injuries that I've accumulated over the years through collegiate wrestling, and working with Faizal has enabled me to really regain the strength and the conditioning that I once had. Faizal is the best fitness trainer I've ever worked with, and his emphasis on kettlebells really causes me to WANT to workout. I would HIGHLY recommend this man.

Friday, January 1, 2010

End of Decade Workout

Final workout of the decade:
With 2 24kg bells for 20 reps sets of 10 exercises:

* Double Swings
* Double Cleans
* Double Snatches (did this over 2 sets, could have gotten 15, 20 would not have been safe)
* Double Jerks
* Renegade Rows
* Floor Presses
* Front Squats
* Crush pushups (since I could only use one bell, I did a set of 40)
* Dead Cleans
* Kettlebell Burpees

Took about 32.5 minutes. Final weigh in of 2009: 175.5lb