River City Physical Culture

Keep my mind limber

2011-11-20T18:44:00.004-05:00

"Of course! My thinking about this case had become so uptight."

Here's some light reading: the 3 P's

And here's some heavy shit: the Fallacy of Technique

I earnestly and respectfully suggest that if you teach one of the disciplines we are always talking about here (BJJ, Judo, MMA, Weightlifting, Crossfit) that you give the two articles above an open-minded read.

If you have followed my blog for 2-3 years, you probably know that I have been preaching a similar idea: Has to be real

Rhadi Ferguson: The technical Myth

So, Matt Thornton, Cane Prevost, Rhadi Ferguson and I are all saying closely aligned things, and I think the most important thing to take away from this is that it's probably about 90 to 180 degrees out of step with the way Judo and BJJ are taught. In a previous post I commented on how most 'drills' in martial arts classes are ill-suited to the ability they intend to improve. Well, I think Cane's posts above really put a great framework around 'ne waza' to help folks look at their training another way.

I think I am a pretty intelligent guy, but my go to 'conflict deference' technique at most of the BJJ schools I frequent is to show up late so I don't have to 'learn techniques', and if that's not possible or practical then I feign the mental incapacity to possibly learn new techniques because they are too hard or too technical or something. This might sound totally ass backwards, but the truth is, as a super duper 10 stripe white belt, I don't need to know how to set up a heel hook from deep half. In fact, with my Judo background, I received my first real introduction to plain old half guard posture/pressure just a few months ago.

So, that's what's wrong. I don't really belong to one school; I have a standing invitation to train at a few whenever I want, which is a WONDERFUL BLESSING. This means that one night a week, I train at one place. Another 2-3 nights I train at another. And then once a week I take privates from a black belt. So, attending classes, about 3 times a week, what I observe is a constant stream of random, overly technical shit that is highly specific. Seriously. ALL THE TIME I see BJJ instructors do 20 minutes of exhausting warm ups (post for another time) and then the first thing they say is something like "So,OK. When you are doing de la Riva and the guy pops off your heel in the hip, this is what I want you to do."

Seriously? Who the fuck is this instructor talking to? Odds are, there's 1-2 blue belts that are working there way through that type of guard game, but even they are only going to get so much out of it... I mean if you read what Cane and Rhadi are saying it should be clear that you don't need ANOTHER technique. What you need to ask is 'why does my opponent always succeed in popping my heel off their hip?'. Everyone skips right to technique or 'possibilities' as Cane would put it without discussing what is going on at the posture or pressure levels. In all likelihood, some live drills that helped ALL the students to understand what the posture issues are for the top and bottom guy would probably clear up the problem well. The reason you are losing one aspect of your posture is probably because you aren't applying enough pressure. The reason you are having to counter your loss of de la Riva is because your de la Riva is weak, not because you need to know more techniques!

In all likelihood, less techniques and more purposeful practice will probably go a very long way. In Chinese martial arts there is a saying, "I don't fear the fighter who has practiced 1000 techniques, I fear the fighter that has practiced one technique 1000 times".

One thing that I like about Judo is that some of the underlying culture of the art helps to reinforce my way of thinking somewhat. There are between 40 and 60 something techniques in judo officially, depending on who you ask. It's assumed that you can reproduce most of them by the time you get to black belt, and it's frequently argued that you need maybe 1000-1500 hours on the mat to make that happen (5 hours a week for 4 years should do it). Given this assumption, most new judoka will learn 20-30 of the techniques in their first 6 months of judo, and the remainder will show themselves eventually. However, in many Judo clubs, there's not much discussion outside of possibly a dozen throws that represent probably 90% of all scoring techniques in the IJF. Thusly, white belts and black belts BOTH assume that when they go to judo practice that night, they will practice seoi nage and harai goshi and o uchi gari for instance. And even though every white belt knows o uchi gari, rarely will a black belt complain about practicing o uchi gari again.

In spite of all this, I see Judo teachers say to a room full of yellow belts "This one is for you more advanced guys" every time I see them teach. Who is this guy talking to?

My case in a way is a 'Galapagos' case study. I began judo in 2005, and I trained my ass off as best I could for two years, barring a few injuries and what not. I'd say I wracked up about 70-80 weeks of 6-10 hours per week type training in 50/50 stand up and ne waza. Then I moved to Richmond Va, where my options for Judo training were severely limited. I would say at this point that my reception of outside instruction all but stopped entirely. Especially as pertains to stand up. On the ground, I have had no formal instruction for quite some time outside of occasional interludes of intense private instruction, which have been major breakthrough points for me, but have been tailored to my own game and my own way of learning (I force my instructors to teach me as little as possible in one session). I say 'galapagos' to refer to Darwin's discovery of isolated species of birds that had widely diverse characteristics. So, in a way, I learned Judo ground work up to about the Gokyu or Yonkyu level as far as techniques are concerned. Then I mostly stopped adding techniques to this except where some private BJJ instruction intervened. My understanding of posture and pressure in the basics that Judo and BJJ share have grown nicely over the last 5 years. I think I perform at a BJJ blue belt level when it comes to kesa gatame, side control and reverse kesa. However, I perform at a very low beginner level in butterfly guard, half guard etc. If someone starts butt scooting, I am pretty bad at dealing with it. No one has ever explained to me the strengths and weaknesses of this posture, or what objectives I should have in acting against it. It's only been in the last few months that an instructor has begun to spell some of this stuff out for me, and it's been in a private training instruction setting where I bring it up.

So that is what is wrong. If I were waiting, I can't tell you how long I might continue to wait to simply get lucky and have an instructor go over the vary basics of the positions that I am unfamiliar with. The irony however is I have observed instructors berate their students for not executing X or Y action that the instructor has never really taught.

I sense that grappling instructors feel as though they are under considerable pressure to teach fancy shit and teach new shit as frequently as possible. This could be for a number of reasons. I do say that I see most instructors pride themselves on how they 'teach technique', but I can't help but think that this simply perpetuates the 'encyclopedic technique collection' approach to grappling, which in my mind is just shit. I mean I am a rank amateur, but I have had plenty of experiences where I was doing the one or two things that I was good at (the positions that I have a firm grasp of posture, pressure) and submissions I have never done before simply revealed themselves to me because I was in total control.

The best things about these arts are that at the end of the day, most of what the best guys in the world are doing is the shit you learn before your first rank test. True in Judo, true in BJJ. Hell, it's true in Crossfit; you are going to learn to squat and do pull ups early on, and frankly, if you want to be a bad ass, just keep practicing those. Do them well, do them heavy, and you can do whatever you want. If you can escape from most pins, sweep to a dominant position, and put pressure on someone until they do retarded shit to escape, than submitting them will likely take care of itself mostly. I think it's more important to understand how a sliding collar choke actually works than it is to learn a bazillion variations of it. You can make up your own crazy variations on the fly if you get the principles. But if you are just mimicking or replaying techniques from the library then you are probably screwed when some little thing is different from the script.

We should talk some other time about how coaching (objectives, goal setting) and teaching (3 P's) interact to facilitate learning, retention and performance.

You don't go out looking for a job dressed like that? On a weekday?

2011-10-11T16:14:00.014-04:00

Or... "What's so wrong with a Hard Routine?"

Let me preface this by saying, if you want the short version of this rant, it's "Why are you here?". As a coach, and a business owner, I've worked hard to figure out what I am presenting to you, the consumer, and why. I know why I am here. As a general approach to problem solving, I feel that if you don't identify objectives, then frankly your chances of 'success' are pretty dismal. I mean, what is success if you have no definition? Sometimes that can work. Sometimes, "I'll know it when I see it" can be an appropriate approach to long term life goals. But generally speaking it's a miserable way to go about training.

So, what do I provide? I provide technical expertise. Sure. But more importantly, I provide an environment. A culture. An attitude. A mindset. I coach athletes. In Crossfit generally, the term 'athlete' is thrown about pretty liberally. I use 'athlete' to describe a type of person, and it only has a little bit to do with performance. Being an athlete is about 'Gameness'. Athletes by my definition are committed to improvement, and willing to do what it takes to achieve progress and to bring a competitive best effort to as many events as possible. They want to win, whatever that may mean to them, and they try to hard to win. They act accordingly.

So, why are you here? Presumably, it's to get the things you want. Presumably you know what that is. Not being an expert, I don't expect you to say: "I want to increase my Sinclair total and lower my LDL to under 120 mg/DL". However, I DO expect you to tell me that your doctor told you that your cholesterol was getting too high and you want to be stronger. Those are measurements of health and fitness, and that's my business. I can tell you right up front whether or not that is a service we provide and what's realistic to expect.

I also understand that you are here for an experience; I acknowledge that my gym, and Crossfit generally, is engaged in the 'experience economy'. Like those who spend their excess income on cooking classes, vacations, Yoga and psychotherapy, Crossfitters are buying life experiences just like other american consumers. If you're looking for a building with weights in it, there's a globo gym within 3 miles of your house. That's not what I am selling. I am selling coaching and an athletic environment. I am selling the experience of the hard routine, and I am not going to settle for selling a shitty one at that. The experience that we offer is that of empowering yourself by submitting to a hard routine. One that challenges you more days than not. One that requires commitment, one that will not give freely what is not earned. To be honest, in our daily lives in America, most of us take a lot for granted. We have a lot, and much of it we didn't have to work terribly hard for. Crossfit is a treasure because it is a meritocracy: you know exactly what you are or are not capable of and much of it has to do with how hard you work for how long. Outside the gym, everyone gets a participation award. No one is a loser. At Crossfit you are usually a loser most days. This is the way it should be. Until you can earnestly say that you are more fit than 99% of people out there, you don't need someone telling you you are.

This is what I mean when I ask, "why are you here?". I offer coaching and access to the experience of the hard routine. This may not be what you want, but it's likely what you need. If you acknowledge that you are here to buy this experience, then you will likely do well. Eventually. If you are here to use my weights, you likely won't be renewing your membership, and frankly, that's OK with me. As a coach, I try to understand what you have and what you don't have. I try to help you gain what you need, not what you want (See Joshu below). In my mind, this is what a coach is, and what an athlete needs. It's true: I don't offer many pats on the back, many at-a-boys etc. "This is what you did right, this is what needs improvement. This is how we will do better next time." This is the process every day.

The first time I heard the expression "Hard Routine" it was from Pavel. I can't remember exactly what he was talking about, but generally it was the idea that the most radically transformative programs (whether mentally or physically) were the most grueling, demanding and austere. He seemed to embrace the necessity of this from time to time. I have seen since that it's a common expression amongst special forces to describe the discipline with which they conduct themselves professionally. This is of particular note, because it says almost explicitly that these guys see the professionalism and discipline that most soldiers display and they scoff at their slack asses. Given that Pavel was supposedly a trainer for the Spetsnaz I guess it's a pretty universal premise. It seemed perfectly natural to me after having spent a half year on a mountain with the shaolin monks. There I observed the differences in progress and performance between the students that devoted themselves to 'the system' and those who just got by.

I suppose my experience in routines 'hard' as such has shaped my coaching style somewhat. I have to admit, as a personal trainer in the average gym, my approach was different before leaving for China than what it is today (after a few years of trying to train 10-20 people a day and having seen various elite athletics teams train). It's something of a joke amongst friends, acquaintances and clients that I can be anywhere from:

unsympathetic

not nurturing

tactless

to:

a dick

That always makes me chuckle. For a couple of reasons. I guess it depends on your definition of nurturing. I tend to think of nurturing as 'facilitating growth', not making you feel better. I love my clients and I work my ass off to come up with the best system for them. For 10+ years, I have wanted very badly to be as strong as I can be for my size and to learn martial arts. The lengths to which I have gone to get stronger have included intense training programs that involved lifting twice a day or more, working through or until injuries, being treated like shit by coaches and athletes stronger than me so that I could stay under their guidance or environment long enough to learn from them and more. I have blown thousands of dollars on DVDs, workshops, certifications and classes and coaching sessions. I have traveled all over the country. I have spent hundreds of hours in college weight rooms and have gone 10's of thousands of dollar in debt to get a college degree. ALL OF IT FOR MIXED RESULTS. Sometimes experiences were worth it, sometimes they weren't. But I typically paid out the ass in some way or the other for both.

That's what I did for strength. Multiply all that again for martial arts. I have changed my work schedule, quit jobs, saved up $1,000's to leave for China for half a year, gone to any number of tournements and schools, bought DVDs, went to camps and seminars and so on just like above, and just like above, I took the good with the bad, and just like above, there was at least as much bad as good, and I just HAD TO SWALLOW IT ALL. It was far from perfect, but I had to accept that and make the best of it. If you haven't had the pleasure of learning something complex, difficult and dangerous from an asian, you should really try it. Then come back and tell me I'm a dick.

What I do as a coach and a business person is I try to distill this process down to convey the best things I learned, while helping my clients avoid a lot of the bullshit and unnecessary pitfalls that befell me. And there's a lot of bullshit out there. In light of all this, I have to admit that there are times that I envy my clients. I wish I were them. I wish I was the one in class, getting coaching, and training with others and being taught what's important and what's a waste of time directly, instead of having to learn the hard way. Sometimes I get feedback that I am not flexible enough or that our policies at the gym are hard to comply with. I have a hard time hearing that something we do is not accessible, because I have seen the alternative: Most gurus out there are more charlatan than expert, and what they offer is often more expensive and less valuable than what we are laying out. I know because I had to 'wander through the woods' stumbling past many of them. Let me be clear: every learning experience I have had has offered me less substance for more cost than what I offer today in my coaching/teaching. That is my mission statement; that is where I am coming from. I know that eventually our business will succeed because we offer a better value than anyone else out there.

The only compromises I ever make in our coaching and training system have everything to do with market realities. In essence, my gym would be better, but that would scare off too many potential clients. I have changed the way we structure beginners' classes, how we bring people in for trials, how we handle payments and other issues to make it easier and more convenient to start training with us. Honestly, much of it is irrelevant. Even if ALL my prices are listed on my webpage, the number one question I get on the phone is "How much does it cost?" I can't tell you the temptations that run through my head, the possible sarcastic responses that leap immediately to the frontal cortex. Is it unreasonable for me to doubt the prospects of a potential student who won't make the effort to navigate an additional page in to our website to try and answer some of his own questions?

When I was 21 years old I began bartending under two GREAT mentors: Johnny Dollar and JD Doyle. These professionals had been working in hospitality for longer than I had been alive, and they were experienced enough to have a system. I was lucky. JD was known around Atlanta as being something of a 'populist' wine expert: a genius at making great wines accessible to consumers of moderate means instead of only the rich elite snobby types. As an Irish guy from south Boston with a mouth like a sailor and the look of a Popeye with no hair, he would never be mistaken for a snob. But he understood wine and he made a profound observation about it that I think can be generalized to other subjects. I paraphrase:

"All the best wines come from shitty soil; the vines have to struggle to bear fruit to make truly exceptional wine."

I was trolling through the Judoforum a few weeks back, and someone started a thread about little things that made big differences in people's practice. Ie, knowing what you know now, what would judoka tell beginners were the easiest ways to make the biggest improvements in their judo. I'd say the two most popular answers were:

1. Show up

2. Don't be late

Last quote, then I am done;

A monk told Joshu, "I have just entered the monastery. Please teach me."

Joshu asked, "Have you eaten your rice porridge?

The monk replied, "I have eaten."

Joshu said, "Then you had better wash your bowl."

New Shit Has Come to Light

2011-06-09T17:32:00.011-04:00

In the discipline of motor behavior, learning or control (what have you), academics subdivide motor activities in to a number of categories. Some of the most fundamental are as follows:

Open vs Closed

Within this paradigm, movements fall in along a continuum from open at one end to closed on the other. A movement that is 'closed' or occurs within a closed environment is one in which there are a limited number of external variables, and the movement is relatively predictable, as is the environment in which it occurs. Think bowling. The ball, the floor, the lane, they are always the same, and hence you can be fairly certain of what to expect when you attempt to perform. The only thing that really changes is internally within the performer, sometimes they have a good shot, sometimes a bad shot.

A movement that is open or more aptly a performance environment that is open is one in which there are many variables outside the control of the performer, and as such they must react correctly to changing stimuli, often on short notice to make adjustments to their regular techniques that fit the changing environment or movements made by their opposition.

Discrete, Serial or Continuous

Researchers and academics also break movements down based upon their beginning and end points within the context.

Discrete movements are essentially singular and irreducible, and begin and end with one motion.

Serial movements are comprised of several connected movements that progress towards a final goal.

Continuous movements are cyclical and ongoing in nature, with no clear beginning or end point.

Example: Crossfit.

In Crossfit, the pull up happens in a closed environment. The rules are always the same, the environment relatively stable and you choose when the rep begins and ends.

How you do the movement determines what type of skill it is:

Deadhangs are like discrete movements; up, down, done.

Swinging Kip Pull Ups are serial, in that you arch, hollow, kip with the hips, pull to the bar, push off the bar, and swing back in to your next rep.

Butterfly Kips are continuous: you're elliptical path is smooth, and an outside observer can not distinguish the beginning from the end and the only real constraints are when you choose to start and stop.

Example: Grappling.

In Judo or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, there are a lot of drills and training methods that are used 'just because'. Often, the purported reason for doing a drill is to get better at a particular type of technique in randori, rolling or competition.

For example, many BJJ and Judo schools teach the armbar, one from the guard and one from mount. They often teach a drill to help get better at the armbar, to make it more 'automatic'. While it's true that a great number of repetitions of a movement will enhance the automaticity with which it's performed, only within the context within which its practiced. Hence, in order to transfer, the domains and movement types MUST match. Therefore, if a skill is open and serial, but your drill is closed and discrete, the transference will be minimal at best. In fact, there's a strong chance that there will be some interference or negative consequences to your mismatch of training and application. So that we're all on the same page, here's a video to make it clear:

As you can see in the video above, there are different ways to look at and drill the armbar in practice situations, but in the context of application, the armbar is OPEN and SERIAL. In order for Marissa to set up an armbar she has to either force her opponent to react or she must respond to the actions of her opponent. Keith may try to pass, may lose his balance, may commit his arms to certain grips. Marissa must sense these changes in the environment and adjust accordingly, and the matter of executing the arm lock itself never magically appears, it's also after a set up: securing the arm, controlling the upper body, aligning the legs then locking the elbow.

So, what's my point?

My point is this: We all want our practice to make us better at the tasks we want to do. In sport those tasks are almost always of a competitive and open variety. In one way, martial arts that include sparring are already a step ahead, as non-cooperative sparring accounts for much of this training need. Non-cooperative sparring is always open by nature.

But what about the other hour of class, the one you spend drilling? Are hundreds of uchikomis and 20 minutes of drills like the continuous armbar making you a better fighter?

The answer is a complex one. The short answer is yes, a little. The long answer is something more like: While repetitive closed drills of a discrete or continuous nature likely won't make you WORSE as a fighter, they are liking doing very little to make you better.

Most martial arts are taught in a format like this:

1. Let me show you this move

2. You try it out, slow and without resistance

3. You spar, and hope you think to do that move during sparring

4. Some weeks later you are expected to do it well in repetitive drilling

(5. One day you will do it naturally during sparring)

Depending on who your teacher is or where you train, each of these segments may take up varying proportions of your time. They all play necessary roles within the framework of going from not knowing them at all to correct placement of automatic movements. In the beginning, you absolutely have to have the movements shown to you. After this, you will go through a period where simply remember the order of the steps is the main focus of your practice. Once you no longer struggle to simply remember the movement, then you want to get better at it: do it faster, more precisely, with more force or better timing. Once you 'know' the movement, then you have to apply the movement within the environment of sparring. That's where things start getting tricky. That's also when the motor learning side of things goes from the purely mechanical to the cognitive: you have to sense changes, perceive what they mean, interpret the relevant information to you, choose a response and then execute that response.

Most martial arts instructors do a good job of showing you techniques. They themselves are technical masters of these movements, and can demonstrate to you how to do them correctly in great detail. Many students are adept at mimicking these movements within the context of drilling. They can replicate the motions well after a short period of practice like this. The hard part comes when it's time to show you how, when and where to apply those techniques. How do you know when it's time to try and stick your foot in the hip, turn and go for it?

One answer is to incorporate drills that require decisions. For instance, perhaps you can still drill the armbar from the closed guard, but your partner can attempt two different passes. Each will require a different correct response to set up an armbar as an answer to their attempt to pass.

As simple as this drill is, it's still infinitely better (1 vs 0) than the continuous armbar drill showed at the end of the first section of the video, at least in terms of perception, decision making and reaction time. This is a good time to introduce the concept of degrees of freedom: the number of possible outcomes or choices. In reality, BJJ contains hundreds of degrees of freedom and as such is probably one of the most cognitively rich sports out there. In terms of drilling, simply going from only one possible answer (closed) to two or more (open) instantly enhances the experience of the trainee. Due to the open nature of the sport, an athlete with poor movements but sound cognitive skills will likely fair better in sparring and competition. Obviously combining both would make for a superior athlete.

Lies My Weightlifting Coach told me

2011-05-23T09:13:00.008-04:00

Or the less controversial subtitle:

Or the least controversial truth: Different generalizations can be made about different populations.

SO. The traditional wisdom in weightlifting is that one's clean and snatch can be predicted via their back squat. IE, the higher the squat, the higher the total. Obviously, any coach would concede that their are technical elements that contribute to success or failure, particularly stability, depth and speed in the front and overhead squat as well as speed in the third pull.

What exercises are best to supplement the traditional lifts, on an individual or case by case basis is an appropriate argument to have specifically. But to suggest anything other than back squats as the king of exercises generally would be tantamount to heresy. Or so the traditional wisdom goes. It wasn't whether or not back squats were great, it was always whether or not you also needed front squats, or overhead squats, or pulls or power variations for instance.

Various systems of training have argued the relative contribution of the back squat rather than it's necessity. In the Sportivny press, Charniga argues that (due to the high competitive success of athletes who do a greater volume of the full lifts and lesser volumes of back squats) "There does not appear to be any scientific support in the literature for the notion that a "squat routine" (a specific loading in squats for the purpose of achieving higher results in this exercise) would be integral part of the training of weightlifters (2001)". His stance that excessive squatting (12-21% of volume being typical, 15% common amongst successful lifters) will be detrimental to performance sticks out, particularly in america where the back squat is a favorite amongst not only weightlifters, but also powerlifters and other strength athletes.

Ivanov has argued that 127% of your Clean and Jerk would be sufficient leg strength, where as Roman suggested that athletes would be able to Clean and Jerk about that ratio, and Snatch about 80% of their C&J. Basically, most experienced coaches are relating the competitive lifts as some percentage of the back squat. In a recent comment I observed from Glen Pendlay online, he argued that some athletes are C&J'ing weights as high as 100% of back squat, and this was due to (in my understanding of his comments) to the specificity of their training, as well as their technical superiority as compared to novices. I am not sure what to make of this assertion exactly, as many of the citations above were made by russians in laboratory like settings measuring world and olympic champions. This leads me to conclude that most likely where some discrepancies derive from is not content, but rather in labeling and/or measuring.

Furthermore, Pendlay's statements bring to light the role of EXPERIENCE, which is really what I wanted to talk about. The argument that the more experienced the lifter, the more individual strengths and weaknesses matter, and the more specialized training methods are required is to me as simple as stating that training must go from more general to more specific or from easier to harder. DUH.

I have observed in my own students, that over time they go through phases were different things matter, but to be honest NONE of them can be considered advanced, elite, or to have achieved technical mastery or their potential yet. These phases are as follows:

The bent over RDL-High Pull Reverse Curl Tall clean phase
The football power reverse curl
the mature pull to power clean
the "shit, I needed to squat lower" phase

It's not until they reach stage four (6-24 months after initiating training for most) that they begin to understand why I have been harping on the front squat and their elbows for the last two years.

for fuck's sake

It's at this stage, that more than the back squat, the ability to do the front squat (in the clean) or the overhead squat (in the snatch) in excess of what they were doing in their power variations determines their advancement as a lifter. Those athletes who can front squat more than the power clean keep pushing their PRs up, and it's the same with the OHS and snatch.

Thusly, for beginners, I have always felt that the most relevant lift to predict weightlifting performance was not the squat, but rather the deadlift. Until they get to the stage where they are squatting truly under the bar and under parallel to catch and are no longer power cleaning/snatching, the deadlift represents the raw capacity to elevate the bar from the floor.

Important caveat; I understand that a clean pull is not a deadlift. And I can verbalize all the reasons why. But without significant training time, this does not change the behaviors or outcomes of my beginning crossfitters. They bend down, and they pull the bar up, hard and fast. They catch it high. That's just the way it is, and it stays that way for a few weeks or a few months.

So, when we are talking about novice competitive lifters, who have their own weightlifting shoes, and they snatch over bodyweight and they back squat like they front and overhead, then yes, I agree, 80% and 60% of back squat is a good standard for them. Those numbers just so happen to correspond to the typical ratio novice weightlifters tend to experience between the squats too. Coincidence?

And finally, when it comes to Crossfitters, beginning weightlifters who are not specialists, who enjoy the lifts about as much as they enjoy skin the cats and 2000m rows, well, if you want those guys to clean and snatch more, BRING UP THEIR DEADLIFT. If you want them to continue to make progress past the 1-2 year mark, you better make sure that they are concurrently improving their skills in the front squat and overhead squat. But don't fool yourself: Until they get much better, the deadlift is the best way to get them to lift more in their muscle cleans and power snatches.

And here's the proof: Taken from my record board, I have run SPSS on about 25 of my clients who have 1RM data for at least most of the following lifts:

Clean

Jerk

Snatch

Squat

Deadlift

Press

Front Squat

Overhead Squat

In a regression analysis incorporating the deadlift, front squat and back squat it was determined that you could predict about 94% of the variation amongst clean performance with these three lifts.

In the regression, deadlifts were significant at p=.038, whereas squats (front and back) where not at p=.39 and p=.37 respectively. The correlation between deadlift and clean amongst this group was r=.961. As you can see from this analysis, deadlifting was much more predictive of current outcomes than squatting was. This is not to say that it's time to turn the weightlifting world upside down, and that Chigishev needs to bring his DL up to 600kgs if he wants to take Rezazedah in the snatch.

What it does mean, is that if it's your first year of Crossfitting, and your DL is still not that great, you can do squat snatches from the high hang with an empty bar til yer blue in the face, but the guy that's hitting his 5x5s in the deadlift is going to crush you at most met cons. When I am not working from my laptop and I have more sophisticated screen shot takers and editing stuff, I will put up the outputs from SPSS so you can see the data directly, and I will also publish the same analysis of the snatch.

The gist of it is this: give or take a few (like 5) per cent, your deadlift predicts your clean and snatch like this:

Clean= 52% of DL

Snatch=38% of DL

So, wanna do Isabel as Rx'ed? Get your DL over at least 355lbs (opening up that 135lb power snatch). Wanna do Isabel fast? Make sure that Rx'ed is less than 70% of your max, or in DL terms, make sure you can DL 507lbs.

For the first year or two, it really is that simple. I highly recommend Power to the People by Pavel Tsatsouline to help you bring up your DL fast, if you can't train in person with me.

(I am an expert)

"How you gonna keep em down on the Farm once they've seen Carl Hungus?"

2011-05-19T09:50:00.004-04:00

So, thus begins my series of observations and lamentations on coaching, teaching and learning.

For the summer, I have a new student: a temporary client, on loan to me from another affiliate where this student normally lives most of the year (her college town). If I recall correctly, she has been Crossfitting for approximately one year.

First off, she seems like a great client/trainee: she has a positive attitude, she shows up ready to work. At first glance, she is young (still college aged), cute and not out of shape. Please understand that this HELPS the atmosphere around the gym to have people of all shapes and sizes, but it's human nature that most people would rather be around people like her, than angry old fat men.

Here's the rub; she's already been tainted by another system. Let me explain.

Today is Thursday, and Monday and Wednesday were her first nights. So I am writing this the following morning, and these are simply my first impressions, but to be fair, there is nothing unique about this particular client or this situation. Because she's new to our gym and we haven't had time to have her 'test out' I placed her in the lower of our two levels of classes (for now, as was explained when she enrolled). The workout on Monday was Power to the People deadlifts, then 2 sets of presses, and then some midline stabilization conditioning. Last night was 5x5 in the front squat. I was not her coach during Monday night, but I was for Wednesday night. It was a full class, and due to some recent classes the other five students who are ALL rank amateurs, had 1, 3 or 5 reps maxes for their front squat. I asked if our new girl did too (she's been training for a year). She said she didn't know exactly off the top of her head, so I asked for a ball park. Unwilling to estimate, she volunteered to go to her car and get her training log (SWEET!). When she returned, the most recent record she could locate for doing 'strength work' on the front squat was a workout from several months back where she performed 20, 15, and 10 repetitions with a 45lb barbell. That was it. That was what she had: a 10 rep max, performed presumably 2-5 minutes after a 20 reps max.

Not to be discouraged, I offered, "You can lift with X, and just start really low weight and go up as fast as you feel comfortable/can maintain technique". Which is what she did. I believe she started somewhere around 42lbs (10kg bar+training wheels). It was ok, but could be better. Elbows were low, thoracic curve was very flexed, depth was basically parallel (we encourage a lot more on the front and overhead), knees tracked a little medially, but nothing as egregious as most first timers, and still essentially safe. Keep in mind however, this is a 20ish year old college girl with Crossfit experience; 125lbs BW. She worked her way up to about 67lbs I think, before really losing form and doing one final set a little lighter.

I have high standards for both technical prowess and relative strength; I think both are key to great Crossfitting and great health and movement generally. Needless to say I was a little disappointed in the skill set and base level that was being brought in, but excited by the challenge of helping this client improve the basics, and return to her home affiliate a better athlete.

She approached me after all the other students had left. She was concerned. Not about her lack of strength or technique (she was outlifted by every single one of my students, who again are all mostly beginners) but rather that she was (in my words here) bored. At her gym, they often do some strength work first (like 3 sets of 10-20 apparently) and THEN do a real WOD. She was worried that she would fall out of shape over the summer should she continue to train like this.

Do any of you (those reading this blog) teach anything? I know some of you do, whether it's elementary school, weightlifting or BJJ. So, I pose to you this question: How would you feel, and what would you do to help the student understand, if they came to you and told you that you're training was going to make them worse? Particularly if they were coming in with orthapaedic injuries and low performance (possibly related to their previous training regime)?

The truth is, she's wearing a knee brace due to a very old ACL surgery that has started to 'act up again'. She's kyphotic and hasn't kept to prescribed treatment plan to help her correct it. And she struggles to move 50%BW in the front squat for five reps (as a 'healthy' young woman). Meanwhile she doesn't want to negatively impact her fitness by spending 1-2 workouts a week working on quality of movement and strength.

When I told her how important I felt relative strength was, and how I believed it would help any athlete do more work in less time in a met con type work out, she seemed skeptical, or maybe even disappointed. I felt as though she was trying to tell me that without ending up on the floor in a pile of sweat, sexy metcon style, she wasn't really training. And as I stated earlier, her sentiments are not unique.

Sometimes I feel like Crossfit is ruining Crossfit. I also think that americans are unique snow-flakes, and hence they cannot mold themselves to 'the program'. They cannot subvert their individuality in submission to a complete program that will change their lives, because they know better, have other ideas, or just don't want to do the work.

Especially the 'boring' work.

After ten years of experimenting, after 140 credit hours, a bachelors degree (and well on my way to a masters), many of the most prestigious certifications in my field, and hundreds of hours of mentorship under other great coaches... I HAVE A SYSTEM. Presumably that's why you showed up, and presumably that's why you're paying me. Follow the system, do the work. Get what you NEED.

Maybe that's my problem; I deliver what people need, not what they want.

I is back

2011-05-19T09:44:00.002-04:00

Now let's see if I remember how to use this thing.

So, in September, around the time of my last post, I began grad school.

In November we moved Crossfit Full Circle to a new location, and we have subsequently doubled our membership.

It's been a busy time.

P Let Handstand Progress

2010-09-24T17:47:00.000-04:00

P let Progress from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Paleo Diet as Type II Diabetes Intervention

2010-09-22T14:04:00.001-04:00

For this post, I am going to share a link to some European research comparing the effects of two diets on Type II Diabetes treatment.

Happy readin'

Comments welcome.

Windmill for Grapplers and Pre-Hab

2010-09-18T18:01:00.003-04:00

Some suggestions for Windmill training:

-Weight isn't important at first, and for many trainees, is never that important. The benefits come from functional active stretching for the TFL/IT band

-Focus on lateral hip movement. Like back squatting or RDL'ing, you need to focus on pushing your hips horizontally first before worrying about anything going 'down'. And just like those other movements, if you're good about the hips going to the side, well then you'll likely find yourself headed down without trying

-Once full ROM is achieved (palm on the floor) then start adding weight. Generally 1/3rd total weight up top, 2/3rds in the lower hand

-Placement of the weight and type of weight greatly affects training effect. More weight up top places the emphasis on shoulder stability, whereas heavier weights in the bottom hand turn this in to more of a squat/dl type of training. The further the COM of the object from your grip or the longer the lever arms away from your grip the more challenge you'll get in balance and grip.

-You don't have to limit yourself to one type of implement: Some of my favorite objects to do the windmill with include dumbbells, barbells and plates (held like a waiter's tray)

-There are a variety of protocols you could use to train this lift. Some of my favorite are PTTP, 3-5 rule and maximum effort style protocols. Pavel always recommend this be treated as a low rep, high weight type of movement, and I basically agree.

Give them all a try, but for the sake of simplicity, start with 10lb dumbbell or the like and get it right! You'll thank me later. Leave comments.

Thanks!

Front Squat Work Out

2010-09-17T18:16:00.001-04:00

Front Squat Workout from Full Circle on Vimeo.

I Wanna ROCK!

2010-09-17T16:21:00.003-04:00

Coconut Milk is seriously sweet.

So the can in the video is "Mae Ploy" brand coconut milk, and its ok. I bought it for $1.75 at my local chinese grocery store, and it's 19oz total (big).

It has seven servings, each serving consisting of about 1/3 cup.

17g F (12g Saturated)

3g C

2gP

10% Iron

No real sodium or cholesterol

For a hard core ass Paleo shake, my recommendation:

6oz Coconut Milk

3-4 TBS frozen Pineapple

1 drop vanilla extract

2 Eggs

Starting the Hand Stand Push Up... On Rings

2010-09-11T13:44:00.003-04:00

HANDSTAND PUSH UPS!

There, so with your attention. I will now proceed.

In Crossfit, we are usually talking about something like this:

Diane from Jesse Hickey on Vimeo.

I don't know Jesse, but I applaud him. Got a cool looking place, and some decent squats.

In Gymnastics, we are usually talking about something like this:

This kid is just beast!

My favorite are these:

At least as far as a WOD goes, you need the wall or something in order to maintain balance and focus on speed.

Which I think is why/how the HSPU as done on RINGS actually works. It's just no one is strong enough to do them.

Well, this guy is:

Anyways, if you've been following the blog for a while, you know that I have been working for a while on my parallette handstand, and my handstand push up. Well, sucking as I do at pressing, I have still got a long way to go. I let it slide for a little while, bringing up my jerks and my bench press instead, which can't hurt.

Why I have not been working on is the rings. At first I wasn't sure how to get up. I started with the band assisted handstand, and stepped up to the rings:

Handstand Push Ups on Rings from Full Circle on Vimeo.

I eventually figured out how to do it right; Something I had learned a year or two ago from Jeff Tucker and from Jim Bathurst: The forward roll. This position is traditionally used by gymnasts to start what they call the 'press to handstand' which is frankly, the easiest way to get in to the handstand...

Forward Roll Entry from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Just goes to show you; you can reinvent the wheel, or you can read the instruction manual. It's up to you!

Now that I know what I am doing, I also know that you have to be seriously strong as shit to do a single press to handstand or a push up from the handstand. My bodyweight is around 160, my press is about 130lbs. Not great. My bench is likely about 210 and my jerk is 195-235 depending on starting position. I am no where near getting my first unassisted HSPU on the rings (or parallettes for that matter). The wall and short ROM ain't so bad. The P-lets... i can start but get stuck. The rings? I don't even move. I don't stir. Whatsoever.

I know what I need to work on!

Sometimes I am surprised

2010-09-02T20:31:00.002-04:00

Hey everybody!

So, I was thinking about some of the ideas I had about covering my favorite pulling training, and it occurred to me...

Whenever I see something that is really popular all of the sudden, I am often surprised. Well not surprised. I think that I am like "That's nothing to freak out about: we've all been doing that for years."

Then I realize that maybe I don't know what a lot of people are doing. Or what their not doing. Hehe... There's a great article a few months back about Donald Rumsfeld's 'unknown unknowns', and not to get all philosophical on you, but maybe I don't know what you don't know. Maybe you don't know that you don't know it. Whatever the case, there's probably stuff you want to read more about.

So what is it?

PLEASE, PLEASE PLEASE: Post your thoughts to comments. I like figuring out how to manage the long term training of athletes that have a WIDE VARIETY of physical demands placed on them. So, I like looking at how to handle the the training load and volume of a grappler who's got to go to BJJ 4 times a week, and Judo twice a week, and he lifts 2-4 times a week and there's no set 'season'. I want to know 'enough' about powerlifting, weightlifting, plyometrics and conditioning such that I can prepare someone like that widely and broadly. I like doing it with KBs, barbells, rings, parallettes, bags, dumbbells, bodies etc.

What do you like? What should we cover more of on RCPC?

Leave your thoughts in comments.

Pulling for Grappling: PART 2

2010-08-28T17:12:00.006-04:00

Hey everybody.

So I am back to talk again about training for grappling, specifically more about horizontal pulling strength. If you didn't read the previous post, here's the deal; pulling is exceptionally important for joint health, injury prevention and in grappling it's a primary mover for a large number of skills. Frankly, it's one of the few sports where pulling is straight up more important than pushing.

So, also in the last post, we addressed developing conditioning and volume base for pulling training, with one of my favorites, the RKC High Pull. Check that post out HERE.

For this post, we're still talking the same movement patterns, but now we are going to talk about different energy systems. Anyone who has trained with me or talked shop about athletic development with me knows that I basically think that strength is the basal bio-motor ability for all other motor abilities. IE, endurance is no more than some percentage of your max strength repeated. True, some are more efficient than others (make use of a higher percentage of max) but at the end of the day, (listen to this) greater absolute strength implies a greater capacity for endurance.

SO! What you gotta do is, you gotta get STRONG. Like GO-Rilla strong. Like rippin arms off in the middle of the match strong. Like "Honey. I broke the door knob again." strong.

In my experience, there are many ways to make BIG gains in strength, but the best by far is the barbell. Incremental loads, universal accessibility, ease of use. The benefits of the worlds most popular strength tool go on and on.

The bench press is king of horizontal pressing. But it doesn't really have a perfect antagonist. Bent over rows with a barbell come with some impediments to training; if you want to pull more than you push (for many men, in excess of bodyweight) you have to have incredible low back strength and stamina to hold the correct positions throughout the set. Few do. They just end up doing shitty and dangerous rows.

A friend of mine, Gant Grimes, turned me on to the 'Pendlay Row', named after wrestler, olympic lifting coach and equipment manufacturer Glen Pendlay. The Pendlay row is a dynamic, explosive rowing movement that actively incorporates the muscles of the shoulder joint, shoulder girdle AND the low back in a coordinated and functional manner that allows both for a more practical ease of use as well as greater weights to be lifted. WIN WIN.

Here's what it looks like:

The key with the lift is to start light at first, and build up your technique. Eventually, you will get to a place where your Pendlay row will start to rival your bench press (~70-100%).

I would treat this as a very low volume lift mostly, with shorter sets. Pavel's 3x5 rule works nicely here, or use something like Prilepin's chart or Westside formats (DE or ME) to really build it up.

Pulling for Grappling

2010-08-26T14:52:00.003-04:00

Hey Y'all.

Hope you been doing good. Been a little while since I really put a lot of quality posts around here, but I am back at it. Schedule permitting, expect to see me put a new post at least weekly, if not more frequently.

OK!

So, now that's outta the way. PULLING FOR GRAPPLING?

So, I do Judo. Did Judo. That was where I started. Not a lot of Judo to choose from in my new town (the RVA). But there sure is a shit-ton of BJJ. So that's what I been doing. Mostly Gi stuff, b/c my Judo prepared me better for that, and I am a little apprehensive about strangers sweating on me THAT MUCH, so not a lot of No Gi for me. Secret time, I love no Gi, I just never seem to have free time when those classes are.

SO: In physically preparing for grappling, you gotta be functional, well rounded and have a good combination of power, strength, endurance and straight up cardio. If you have two or less, you gonna have troubles. In developing strength and power, there's plenty of literature regarding GREAT tools for hip extension power, like the squat, the deadlift, the olympic lifts and so on. There's guys that write whole books on the bench press. But what about pulling? Can't ever forget, grappling is a sport of controlling distance, and sucking people in to take away space, and using your upper body to pull is a big part of that. YOU GOTTA HAVE THE PULLING! In fact, every smart coach is going to tell you, if you can't pull a little more than you can push, you're going to fuck up your shoulder eventually.

Well, thanks to Greg Glassman, we all know the pull up. It's everywhere. No escaping it. But that's on the vertical plane. SHIT. If you have some BJJ match where you gotta reach up, grab some dude and pull him down or yourself up to him, JOIN ANOTHER TOURNAMENT! This one ain't right.

All kidding aside, vertical pulling is awesome, but what we REALLY need to address is horizontal pulling. So, over the next couple of posts, I am going to go over my favorite training tools for horizontal pulling for grapplers.

The first one is the RKC High Pull (RKC HP). Thanks Pavel and other senior RKCs for making this one a standard with good KB coaches everywhere. Jason C Brown has one of my favorite KB videos of all time where he shows how the teach the Snatch by learning the high pull first. It's great.

First off, the High Pull is built off the swing: if you can't swing (one handed or two or two belled) you don't need to be reading this post. Get your ass a coach and start with the basics!

Second: It's the one-handed swing that really matters, so this is an 'intermediate' move in my book. The RKC HP requires grip endurance, shoulder and elbow joint stabilization, good swing mechanics and all that implies, as well as strength and power in the shoulder joint and shoulder girdle. It's a coordinated, functional WHOLE BODY pulling movement that is at least 60% hips and only 40% arms. You hear me meat-head? It's not just your arms. Like everything in Judo(and thus in life) you gotta learn how to use your hips to minimize the work and maximize the results!

Take a LOOK:

The RKC HP also offers a lot of variety in training: you can use one KB or two, you can use the same weight, or two different weights, and finally you can vary the weight, the reps, the sets, the rest and more.

The key is to develop a plan for the energy system you need to develop, and work backwards from there. As a BJJ white belt or Judoka, your matches are 5 minutes. So having enough gas to blast through six minutes is 120%, it's overkill.

So here's what you do:

-build up to six minutes of work step by step

-then start taking away rest

-then start adding weight and playing with higher intensities

You can build up the total volume of work to six minutes in a variety of ways, but my favorite method is like this:

Monday: do 3 big sets

Wednesday: do 5 medium sets where the total time adds up to slightly more than Monday

Friday: 7 sets, again, total is a little more

the following week, you can start off where you left off Friday, or slightly less.

Example: you try out your KB, and you can do 25 reps on the strong hand and 20 on the weak hand. Here's what you do:

M: 3 sets of 15 (~150-200 seconds depending on height)

W: 5 sets 11

F: 7 sets of 9

Maybe give yourself 2 minutes rest between sets

next week start with 3 sets of 18-20

once you get up over the hundred mark, start reducing the rest time or get a heavier bell

Since this is low intensity, and high volume, you can use it as assistance work to other focused upper body strength training (talk about that later) as cardio after other training, or simply on it's own. These workouts will take about 15 minutes tops.

Try that out, see if that doesn't increase your wind, as well as reduce the fatigue you feel in your arms after a long roll. It's great for grip fighting endurance. GREAT.

Mark's Daily Apple

2010-08-24T13:36:00.003-04:00

Rules

I have been spending a LOT of time on MDA (for the insiders...).

Sometimes I am on the blog. But my favorite way to use MDA is via my iPhone!

PRIMAL BLUEPRINT?

there's an app for that.

Spealler Explains the Butterfly Kip

2010-07-21T09:09:00.002-04:00

Kashiwazaki

2010-07-16T13:26:00.003-04:00

I am totally mesmerized by this.

Watching this guy re-assures me that an emphasis on Sutemi Waza is not crap judo.

KASHIWAZAKI DIJÒN 08 from durangojudo on Vimeo.

The Difference

2010-07-13T15:01:00.003-04:00

PolyFace Farms is probably known by many, due to the iconic Joel appearing in last year's Film, Food Inc.

Well, someone did a micronutrient comparison of a PolyFace Farms egg and the standard egg you buy in the grocery store. Polyface's eggs are laid by pastured chickens whom have never consumed any type of drugs and have lived on an entirely natural diet.

Here's the numbers below:

Polyface eggs really are the best in the world!

The below study from Mother Earth News compares Polyface Eggs with the USDA standard egg:

Polyface Farm vitamin E: 7.37 mg
USDA vitamin E: 0.97 mg
Vitamin A: 763 IU
USDA vitamin A: 487 IU
Beta carotene: 76.2 mcg
USDA beta carotene: 10 mcg
Folate: 10200 mcg
USDA folate: 47 mcg
Omega-3s: 0.71 g
USDA omega-3s: 0.033g
Cholesterol: 292 mg
USDA cholesterol: 423 mg
Saturated Fat: 2.31 g
USDA saturated fat: 3.1 g

These numbers are taken from their website.

If you care about Vitamin E or Omega balance (you should) this data is pretty impressive. Not everyone is in a position to fork over $4/dozen (as is the average price for such eggs at farmer's markets) but to me I believe that it is well worth the price. I will pay twice as much to get 7x as much Omega3's. That's a no-brainer.

Bike Muscle Up

2010-07-01T10:51:00.000-04:00

VCU Strongman

2010-06-28T07:33:00.001-04:00

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=104202626297974

strongman group trying to start up at VCU.

presumably, topics would mostly include lifting and implement training, often at VCU's new rec center as well as The Weight Room, a local powerlifting and strongman facility.

If you are a VCU student and interested, check it out on facebook.

Contact is Alex Foxworthy

Blowout

2010-06-22T10:27:00.002-04:00

MuscleDriver still has both 25lb Kraiburgs AND Do Wins listed as 'blowout' sales.

First WOD - Richmond Affiliate Gathering

2010-05-27T23:23:00.001-04:00

Here's the break down for the first WOD for

the Richmond affiliate gathering

June 26th, 10am

Richmond Affiliate Gathering WOD 1 from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Pendlay Technique Plates

2010-05-25T13:56:00.003-04:00

54.99 at MuscleDriverUSA

Check around; That's retarded cheap. I haven't tried them yet myself, but I am fairly confident that if Pendlay is putting his name on it, it's pretty competitive.

Compare Vimeo to Youtube?

2010-05-24T16:32:00.001-04:00

Sumo DL Retest from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Sumo DL Update

2010-05-24T16:12:00.001-04:00

Just finishing my adaptation of Pavel's 'Pins to Pillars' program, which is mostly hypertrophy and back squatting. Added 5lbs to the squat, 10 to the bench and 10 to the DL with only a little high intensity strength work.

Thank you TS

2010-05-11T14:41:00.000-04:00

Two Powerlfiters, one Blue Heat

2010-05-02T13:14:00.001-04:00

Shits be all up on the inner-webs

2010-04-29T19:40:00.002-04:00

Reverse Band Benchin'

2010-04-24T20:10:00.004-04:00

After Klint tempted me to test my max out, and after having had a good day working 185x4, I tried this, in the hopes of having a good size 'average weight' and a little bit of TUT with supramaximal weights.

Dug it.

Reverse Band Benchin' from Full Circle on Vimeo.

CSCS Exam completed

2010-04-22T12:58:00.000-04:00

I completed my CSCS exam this morning, and though I am not allowed to see my scores I was given confirmation of my passing score.

I am fairly confident that I did well, as you are allowed 4 hours to complete the exam, and with instructions and a bathroom break I was done in about 80 minutes...

In a few weeks I will be able to submit my diploma (oh, and also receive a Bachelor of Science degree in the process!) and make it official!

Thanks to everyone that has helped me, kept me in the game or reinforced my academic progress with all the practical experiences I have gained over the last few years...

coaches and instructors with whom I have worked with directly in the last couple of years that have contributed substantially to my growth as a coach:

Pavel Tsatsouline

Jeff Tucker

Tim Kontos

Ryan Horn

Chris Lawyer

And thanks to my clients! You're why I get up at 5am.

Training Partners Wanted!

2010-04-21T07:25:00.000-04:00

Experienced heavyweight powerlifter seeking training partners:

4 days a week, has a training facility very well equipped, seeks experienced training partners for spotting, board holding, hand offs and monolift operation etc.

Please contact me if you are interested:

struckjm@gmail.com

or click the mail me link below

Men's Track at VCU

2010-04-20T08:01:00.001-04:00

The guys from men's track finishing their workout with a few box jumps.

Final height was 60.5"

Smolov Resources

2010-04-13T16:37:00.002-04:00

Comments to follow:

The original article by Pavel

one calculator for your lifts:

numbers webpage

FAQ

Ken James describes his experience

What is best in Life?

2010-03-21T07:52:00.001-04:00

Complex Training from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Get some shoes!

2010-03-17T15:29:00.006-04:00

MuscleDriverUSA

is selling Do Wins for $69.

the sexiest o lifting shoes ever worn

They are selling the York Squat Stand for only $209.

you will never see a better stand for less: o lifts, squats and bench, with plate storage to boot!

Take a look at York's basic barbell, a 1000lb'er at 30mm (perfect for basic powerlifting) for $165

back to basics

Cap Bumpers are on sale, as is all their track and field stuff.

There's just a crap load of stuff on sale. They now have all the Pendlay stuff in stock too, so maybe it's worthwhile to just see what's new. They have competition style KB's now too.

Deadliftin in the Garage

2010-03-14T13:51:00.002-04:00

Decided to do a little retest of my max DL.

Starting a program built around DL's, Power Snatches and LOTS of Push Pressin'.

Got the Power Snatch up to a wopping 137lbs. Push Press is good at about 150lbs, and now the Deadlift...

Retest DL 1RM from Full Circle on Vimeo.

March at school

2010-03-12T17:15:00.001-05:00

What do they know about partying or anything else?

March at VCU from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Recent liftin

2010-02-18T15:02:00.001-05:00

February at VCU from Full Circle on Vimeo.

The Fuhrer does it again!

2009-12-14T10:17:00.001-05:00

Long contest with Brian

2009-12-06T21:59:00.003-05:00

This was a fun, hard match.
I know my opponent was exhausted. Hopefully I hid how tired I was too pretty well.

part 1

part 2

part 3

part 4

part 5

part of me thinks he may have given me the arm to get the match over with. he was pretty tired. whatever the case, his jiu jitsu was solid and there weren't many opening that I found to exploit until the very end of the match, which was some 21 minutes and change long!

How to be the Old Man Champ

2009-12-06T21:41:00.001-05:00

Conjugate Highlights

2009-12-01T08:11:00.002-05:00

Some of my stuff I've been doing from Crossfit Full Circle's WOD

Conjugate Highlights 11-30 from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Conjugate or Concurrent O Lifting

2009-11-30T19:14:00.002-05:00

As promised previously, here's where I am getting to with these concepts;

Make the fast faster.
Don't limit to the barbell.
Rotate exercises.

Separate Max and Dynamic Effort via a Binary and Qualitative dichotomy. So, my first big idea was that Dynamic Effort is really all about speed, and the combination of form, speed and weight that is next to impossible to measure outside of lab. Hence, Dynamic methods might be best for those lifts fundamentally 'qualitative' anyways; pulls especially.

For Dynamic workouts, the focus would be pulls, squats and overhead lifts (press, jerk etc). I thought about incorporating two non-competitive lifts in one day as well, such as High Pulls and Strict Presses for instance. However, I think that it would be better to truly work one lift hard, with 8-12 sets of 1-4 reps, and increase the training frequency (5 days a week or more) rather than try to cover too much ground in each workout. This has a lot of potential too as Dynamic workouts tend to be short and sweet, which bodes very well for an athlete's hormonal profile.

For Maximum Effort workouts, one would lean to those lifts that are binary in nature, ie pass/fail. In the snatch, you either complete the lift or you don't. Good examples of max effort day lifts might include:
full lifts
hang variants
power variants
snatch balance
jerks from various starts and finishes
squats, DLs and presses

notice that the overlap here is in pulls, squats and presses again. Ie, an athlete would constantly be working squatting and pulling. That sounds like a surefire way to increase your O lifts.

Like the Westside system, the best application of the supplemental and accessory lifts would be a combination of basics that everyone needs (core strength) and special exercises that would bring up an athlete's weakest links. The latter should be determined by coaches or trusted lifting partners, not yourself!

I'll post examples in a week or two of workouts by the week, to kind of show what I am talking about.

Then I failed

2009-11-22T14:47:00.000-05:00

Not Today! from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Then I did this

2009-11-21T18:29:00.001-05:00

Max Effort OHS - 215 from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Max Effort Overhead Squat

2009-11-13T07:15:00.002-05:00

Here's Thursday's 6 sets of 2

I actually hit a new PR of 205, 205 for 2, and 1.35xBW, as I actually weigh a few pounds less than the last time I hit 195lbs for two.
I've also never jerked 205 or had that overhead before.

Max Effort Overhead Squat from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Conjugate Methods and O Lifting

2009-11-04T17:22:00.005-05:00

Anyone who knows a thing or two, please chime in.

Every time I read something from Dave Tate, EliteFTS or Louie Simmons, at some point or another, the Dynamo Club and O Lifting gets mentioned as sort of the birth place of their ideas on Conjugate lifting, namely what later was described by Zatsiorsky as such;

Dynamic Effort Method
Maximum Effort Method
Repetition Method

What I know: Dynamo (an athletic club in Riga) developed a system of training for their Weightlifting competitors that centered around ~30 'special exercises' that were constantly rotated. These were related to but not the classic lifts. These lifters soon rose to claim many national, world and Olympic titles, before the system was later replaced by others (Russian and Bulgarian national systems).

Louie states directly that reading descriptions of these training methods led to his development of the 'Westside Barbell Method' of training powerlifters.

So, here's where I get a little lost; how do your apply the IDEA and the techniques of something like Dynamic Effort methods to something that's already FAST (like the Snatch).

So, that's what I am working on right now. I have tried to find info in English, but so far have been disappointed.

In a few days, when I have a few more minutes, I will share what I have been coming up with as my own solution to these philosophical questions and the system I am trying to develop to address them.

Here's one easy answer: assistance lifts to the classics, performed 'westside style'...
ie, DE= 50-60% 1RM with CAT
for examples:

ME BS and DE OHS from Full Circle on Vimeo.

For Example, my PR Overhead Squat is 195lbs for 2 reps, so perhaps about 210lbs. 60% of this would be 125lbs, which is the weight I am using in the above video. In addition, there is about 30lbs of Chains, set up such that most of the weight is absent at the bottom of the lift and it increases rapidly as I ascend. I performed one repetition of this submaximal load as explosively as possible, for 8 sets of 1 with about 45 seconds rest between sets. I incorporate a pause as I have no box, and don't wish to pursue to traditional longer pause on a box, typical of traditional Westside training methods.

As a total side note, Dynamic Effort OHS mess up my traps something fierce! Dude, my traps and rhomboids where screaming for a few days after the first time I combined this with High Pulls (part of the mistake perhaps).

Playing with new Toys

2009-11-04T11:39:00.002-05:00

Crossfit Full Circle just got a weight vest,
to help program for some of our more advanced trainees.

I went through Muscle Driver USA and got the Valeo 20lbs vest.
It's fairly comfortable, though really it doesn't breath great, and it gets pretty warm
in there when you where it over a fleece!

Here's some gymnastics with the vest on;

Weight Vest Gymnastics from Full Circle on Vimeo.

One box at a time

2009-10-07T12:57:00.001-04:00

Dwarf Bamboo to Scale

Before

After

Thai Red Curry Chicken Salad

2009-09-21T12:32:00.004-04:00

I am eating this right now.

Awesome.

So, you can buy any type of crap frozen chicken if you want, or use left overs, or buy fancy-pants free range stuff. I am not sure it's going to make much of a difference in this recipe flavor wise.

The basic idea is chicken breasts, slow cooked in a crockpot of thai red curry, shredded to 'pulled chicken' and mixed with some traditional and some non-traditional chicken salad ingredients.

Thai Chicken Salad
6 chicken breats
2 cans of coconut milk
about half a can of thai Red Curry Paste

These three are mixed together in a crockpot and left to simmer on low for 5-10 hours. High for as little as 3 would probably work though

The breasts are taken out, cooled and then pulled

for the 'salad'

1/2 cup mayonnaise (you could experiment here, I used Kraft's EVOO mayo. I think Japanese Kewpie would be really good too)
2 TBS lime juice
1/4 large red onion, finely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper finely chopped
cup or two of fresh cilantro
pinch of salt, pepper
~tsp of thai red curry paste, to taste (this stuff is potent, so add a pinch or two at a time until the spiciness is good for you)
I meant to add diced fresh pineapple, but forgot to buy some!

I have eaten this over greens, with apples and almonds, and it's fucking great. No dressing needed for the greens!

here's the TOTALLY AMAZING GREAT part; this recipe makes like 5 pounds of this shit! I could put about two ice scream scoops worth on a salad every day and not run out for a week or two! Leave it in the fridge, serve it cold. EASY.

PS: For the ZONE
Coconut milk is basically fat, but little of it is actually transferred into the salad. It's merely a 'stock' in which to cook the chicken

your choice of Mayo will dramatically impact your nutritional content
Kraft EVOO mayo: ~64g F for the whole recipe
6 chicken breasts ~ 180g P
Veggies etc ~ 20-30g C
realistically, this is almost 1:1 F:P with negligible carbohydrates

Paleo Recipes

2009-09-21T10:45:00.003-04:00

I am seriously considering making homemade mayonnaise...

anyways, I was REALLY HAPPY with some recent dishes I will share the basic idea with you;

Caballeros Meatballs
1 pound of bison 'chuck'
1/2 lb of Chorizo (faith farms in GreenBay Va)
1/4 large red onion, finely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
tsp onion powder
1 whole egg (faith farms, green bay VA) beaten
chopped fresh cilantro, a small handful

mash 'em all up, wad into 1-1/2" balls
bake at 350 for about 20 minutes on each side
makes about 10 meatballs, and two or three are filling!
for zoners, I'd estimate that the these are 1 block Carb, 3 blocks protein and 6-7 blocks fat EACH

I didn't do this sauce, but I wish I had...
would be rad with Sour Cream, but good with Mayo base:

2-3 TBS of Mayo (kewpie?)
2-3 cups of raw clinatro
blend... drizzle on meatballs

they need something, or otherwise they will seem a little dry

Concessions I have made

2009-09-07T11:35:00.002-04:00

To the modern world and my own tastes/circumstances
whilst trying to follow a 'Paleo' diet:

Dried Fruit

Injera (?)

Beer

One half packet of Truvia

some lentils, peas and garbanzos (less than one serving each)

Sweet Potatoes (Fries) (?)

Edamame (?)

Deadlifts

2009-08-08T16:24:00.000-04:00

8-8 WOD - Deadlifts from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Clean WOD

2009-08-07T18:40:00.001-04:00

8-7-2009 WOD from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Handstand Work

2009-08-07T17:18:00.000-04:00

Testing the P Let Handstand from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Re test max pull ups

2009-08-06T19:01:00.000-04:00

Test Max Pull Ups from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Fundamentals Course starting soon

2009-08-06T13:33:00.004-04:00

This is how we introduce people to Crossfit at our Gym:

Fundamentals

Work the Shoulder Stand

2009-07-26T16:26:00.002-04:00

I have been working on the Parallette Handstand for quite some time.

I have tried a variety of methods to enhance my training: working on the floor and on the parallettes, with band support in doing handstand push ups, with a spotter, doing wall handstands and most recently, working the shoulder stand.
If you saw the post on Death Metal you know what I mean. I have been working the transition from L sit to shoulder stand rather regularly (as my clients will likely tell you), and slowly but surely my comfort and ability to maintain the position for longer periods of time has increased. Most recently, I have confirmed that I can do sets of 20 seconds or more most of the time.

Of all the supplemental methods, I would rank spotting very highly, as well as wall handstands. However, it is with shoulder stands that I feel like I have gained the most in terms of time and ability to stabilize. And it feels like it's from strength.
Let me explain. When performing the shoulder stand, there is a very high level of tension in the wrist, forearm, elbow, upper arm and shoulder the entire time you are holding it. You maintain your balance by way of straightening or bending your body, mostly at the hip, and by bending your wrists. Those of you who do Judo will know what I mean. It feels like 'answering the phone' on the collar grip. For those of you who passed some sort of bio mechanics or kinesiology course, we're talking mostly about a fine balance controlled through forceful radial or ulnar deviation at the wrist. The thing is, while you hold the shoulder stand, you have to force most of your balance by pulling against your own bodyweight with those motions at the wrist on the parallettes.

As I have gained the ability to do this for longer periods of time, I have noticed it's much easier to do the same thing whilst in the handstand, and as such, to use pure grip strength essentially to make minute adjustments to balance with the wrists, and more gross adjustments with the legs.

Here's some video to show the two:

Shoulder stand strength from Full Circle on Vimeo.

So, my advice to those that want to improve their handstands; practice the most closely related strength holds, they seem to help immensely!

How Paleo Are you?

2009-07-20T09:20:00.000-04:00

Take the Quiz

30 "Muscle Ups" For time

2009-07-14T08:04:00.004-04:00

Recently there was a video on the HQ homepage of 30 kip ups for time labeled 30 muscle ups for time and it got me thinking;
how would a 'anything goes' approach to the workout, redefined as from under to over for 30, change the time/power output?

30 Muscle Ups for time from Full Circle on Vimeo.

for me, not much.

I think I need to work more on my dips. That's really where I was struggling the most or slowing down the worst.

Gymnastics Workout

2009-07-11T07:35:00.000-04:00

Gymnastics Workout 7-10-2009 from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Food Inc. Screening and Panel Discussion

2009-07-10T15:32:00.003-04:00

This Saturday, following the 4pm and 7pm showing of "Food Inc." at
MovieLand on Richmond's North Side
there will be a panel discussion regarding the subject covered in the film, as well as complimentary food and wine provided by Whole Foods.
I think it might be worth checking out.

Claims staked and controversies

2009-07-08T10:49:00.003-04:00

One of my stated goals was to be able to perform the
'30 muscle ups for time'
WOD at 5 minutes or less
I had never done it before, but really wanted to try after seeing this recently:

www.crossfit.com

July 6, 2009

Monday 090706

Check it out here
technically a rest day, there were two really awesome links;
an interview with Robert Kaplan (Balkan Ghosts, Warrior Politics, the Ends of the Earth)
and a video of '30 Muscle Ups for time'

sort of

It was actually an athlete from (i think) Crossfit Montreal named Mizar, performing the Kip Up or Kip Up to front support. A movement that entails the same range of motion as the muscle up, to ascend from below the rings to above the rings. However the kip up is driven almost entirely by the hips, whereas the muscle up (ideally...) is driven entirely by the shoulder and elbow.
If you've ever trained with me, you know that I am pretty critical of what is typically demonstrated as a Muscle Up in the Crossfit Community;
http://www.vimeo.com/2755820
This would probably be considered pretty good
maybe somewhat better than this
http://www.vimeo.com/3159442
Not that either of these guys aren't strong. It's just that both are kipping pulls from bent arms. With the first guy, with lats like a gorilla, you'd think he'd be able to actually pull himself up. From a straight arm at the bottom to above the rings at the top without kipping. But no.
There were several others which also included kipping presses as well. That is beyond the scope of this post.
The issue is one of terminology really. And Defined standards. Since the muscle up has a very clear definition in one movement discipline that we purport to draw from, I think we should agree to adopt a meaning for the word that is closely allied with what exists in that discipline. I wouldn't call a Turkish Get Up an Overhead Squat simply because the load travels the same distance.
Finally, I don't think there is anything wrong with having a workout that is essentially:
'Go from below the rings (straight arm) to above the rings (straight arm) 30 reps for time'
I know that doesn't seem as succinct as 30 MU for time, but it's more accurate. Let's face it, every time we explain what we really mean when we do Grace it makes us look like we're back-pedaling. Let's not make it worse for ourselves.

OK. So that being said, I did the strictest muscle ups I could for 30 reps for time. I finished that in 8:53. In a few days I am going to try an experiment and do 'from below to above' 30 reps for time, with kipping muscle ups and kip ups, and see how fast I can do that. Since I get to rest my arms a little, I think I can do it significantly faster.

Finally, as regards Mizar himself and what he did in that video; Holy Shit! The kip up is hard. I can barely do it from a regular grip. I usually do it from the false grip to make it easier. The fact that he burned through 30 of those as fast as he did is clear evidence that he is one hell of an athlete. Way to go man!

more more more

2009-07-01T17:15:00.001-04:00

Snatch 6-30 from Full Circle on Vimeo.

this is why I'm hot.

2009-06-25T21:14:00.005-04:00

What a lot of snatching;
since monday, I have had 7 sessions on the bar in 4 days. Most of which included high hangs or snatches from the floor with 115lbs or more (1RM is 145, so that's at least 80%, typically for doubles/triples)

After an 11 set session this morning that culminated in a 265lbs snatch grip RDL, I actually came back tonight (after 3 hours of classes taught) and hit 140lbs from the floor, or 96%. I should have been exhausted. Well, I was. But the thing went up mostly b/c I jumped under it. It's reassuring.

High Frequency Snatch training from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Damn son!

2009-06-24T12:02:00.002-04:00

A recent comment from Crandall:

""Jason, I think you got nine here, that is very good. Just keep your core tight and get your shoulders up in your ears and you will be able to get to 15 BW OHS. It took me over a year of training to get there, but now it is easy. I have faith in you!! Be SAFE and ROCK OUT!!!""

Crandall finds 15 reps in the Overhead Squat easy.

When Crandall posts a video of himself doing this, he will begin co-hosting this show with me; It'll be like a he-said/she-said thing. I can see it now:

Jason: "Now, about core training... I prefer heavy deadlifts, supplemented with the occasional V Up."
Crandall: "Crandall likes to ROCK it! with sit ups. You know that Crandall speaks the truth Jason, even if your russian ears are full of wax."

Fucking rich.

Another claim

2009-06-23T12:23:00.004-04:00

I haven't been focusing on this as such, and hence why I forgot it, but I definitely am pretty passionate about completing 15 reps at or above bodyweight in the overhead squat.

how it started

recent goings on

see you soon Nicole!
(presuming that I could afford a return to a lvl 1, had time and could get into one before 2010)

OHS - Reps X BW from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Steak/Claim

2009-06-22T12:14:00.002-04:00

That steak is mine.

Last night Stephanie and I made Ribeyes. Damn. I had been reading up on barbeque and there's frequent mention of brining to ensure moisture retention.
I don't know if it was the brine marinade, the fat content/marbling, the low-slow-mid rare temp or what, but holy shit! That was like meat-butter in my mouth.

Now, onto the real point. Inspired by some sort of Jon Gilson-Melissa/Dallas triangle, I decided to 'stake my claim' on the 603 website. So now it's on the line...

Here's what I said:

LTG:
1000lb CFT (currently 809lbs)
3xBW DL (~2.6x)
250lbs C&J (195lbs)
185lbs+ Snatch (145lbs)
50 pull ups (30)
30 Muscle Ups for time sub 5 minutes (?)

FREESTANDING PARALLETTE HANDSTAND
The snatch and the HSPU totally captivate my imagination and attention right now, and have for quite a few weeks. Maybe months.

I propose the following WOD:

"Diane of the Beast"

DL 2xBW
Freestanding Parallette Handstand Push Up
for 12-9-6 reps for time

I say I will be able to do in under 10 minutes within a year. How's that for a claim?

Actually, I think that's some pretty bold shit. But you've seen me; I've been working like mad on the HSPU and the Snatch lately. I'd like to be good at Fran and crap like that too, but not as much as I want to be a circus freak. We'll see how that all goes.

I will leave you with one of my favourite scenes from the Simpsons (paraphrased due to memory):

Marge: "You know Homer, you don't have to run off and join the carnival simply because the opportunity presents itself."
Homer: "You know Marge, in a lot of ways you and I are two very different people..."

My Religion

2009-06-20T07:42:00.002-04:00

Gentle readers;
I am learning what it feels like to be stalked. So I receive an email from Crandall about twice a week, and a comment on every WOD and every post here.

Here's the latest e-mail:

Hello Jason, beautiful day? Crandall here. Very interesting article. I guess since you are Russian, you started fitness with Russian way of thinking? Whoah! it seems as if you have a religion here, the religion of Crossfit. Be VERY careful, religions can blind you to the truth. With religion often groupthink and bias sets in. Crandall knows this, especially since it has blinded you to the truth Crandall speaks. Oh, and I read that you think you are part of the "best"? That is super Jason, you are very confident. But remember, there is always more to learn and you can always get better. Ok Jason, super style, but remember, SAFETY first, then ROCK IT Jason!!!

Always for the best and sincerely,

Crandall, CPT, AFPA

"Remember, Crandall is here to HELP you, not HURT you. Now, let's ROCK!!!"

I figure since my e-mail is available online and this guy has abused that, I thought I'd make his e-mail address available so that ANYONE that had ANY questions about fitness could hit him up too.

crandall4ualldayallnight@hotmail.com

of course, that e-mail address is totally not creepy right?

hit and miss

2009-06-19T15:40:00.000-04:00

Snatch Work 6-19 from Full Circle on Vimeo.

some lucky shots

2009-06-19T14:19:00.000-04:00

Snatch Hi Def from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Physical Culture

2009-06-18T12:07:00.004-04:00

What does that mean?

I get this question quite a lot. I guess my lifting started in earnest with Pavel's Power to the People to which I still refer people when they ask about basic strength training or more specifically about relative strength.
I bring this up because Pavel and several russian influenced authors have frequently made reference to a publishing house and magazine that I have in fact never seen:

"Fizkultura i Sport"

You don't have to be a linguist to guess what that means in Russian. I would compare these guys to Human Kinetics here in the states, the only difference being that they seem to have covered a wider range of sports in more depth and had more of an eye towards science a long time ago. I guess when I say 'science' I mean that other authors cite the publisher as having published literature on periodization, power and olympic lifting specifically decades ago (50's, 60's etc).

Whatever the specifics of this publishing firm may have been, this idea of 'Physical Culture' really captured my attention. But I have to admit, not unlike answering 'What is Crossfit' I do sometimes stumble to explain 'What is Physical Culture?'.
I would like others to understand the appeal to me, so I will do my best to explain. I'd like to start with the culture part.
I hit Wikipedia first. I got a lot of information about English Romanticism. WTF. Anyways, I had always learned culture (history, language, psychology or anthopolgy classes) as the following concept:

Language, food and custom. A commonly shared set of practices, beliefs or ways of doing something.

With this understanding I always felt that culture was something shared. Hence, one could not so much 'gain culture' or possess it. One could only hope to understand it better. I liked this idea A LOT as well.

In martial arts (and other more 'mystical' physical disciplines like Yoga etc) it is often made very clear that there are practitioners who have come before you. Call them coach, Sifu, Guru or Sensei there is always someone that has already traveled the path you intend to set upon. As such, there is a guide and even the best are reminded that we are standing on somone else's shoulders. With the admission that the human body hasn't changed much over the course of our recorded history the best martial arts (and by extension physical disciplines of any kind) admit that there's really nothing new under the sun.

There isn't. It has ALL been done before. To hope to invent something new in the strictest sense is to delude yourself and to dilute our shared pool. Everytime I see an infomercial for some piece of exercise equipment I think about this. What was once comical ( youtube ) has actually of late made me angrier and angrier. Well... not that video, as that is pretty funny. But seriously. If you are a serious trainee or even coach, how many times has a less discerning but earnest fitness enthusiast asked you a sincere question about some total piece of crap toy or some ridiculous exercise that is obviously a total waste of time?

Think about it; in this sense our shared way of doing things has been so polluted that we spend more time refuting false claims, answering ridiculous questions and convincing others that we are in fact not crazy that we lose significant swathes of training time that could have been devoted to (get this) training. As unscrupulous schiester look for a quick buck, the rest of us scramble behind them frantically trying to REDUCE the complexity of this field.

I must admit that in this way, I feel like someone protecting a 'dying culture'. One that in some way or another has found itself made less competitive by the vagueries of history. I think of the steady erosion of specific cultures throughout the world (the Maori or the American Indian or what have you) and I feel the same sense of loss and anger. The funny thing is that these cultures are neither obsolete nor inferior. They were well adapted to their environment until an external force changed that environment more rapidly than the culture could adapt. And it remains to be seen whether or not the culture that in essence replaced it (if you are reading this... 'your's') is in fact truly 'better' in any way.

To clarify; Is Gold's gym truly better suited to it's environment? I argue yes. Does that make it a better species? Darwin wouldn't use words like that, nor would Jared Diamond. Is the environment changing? I would also argue yes.

Are we the dinosaur or the mammal? Am I mixing too many metaphors?

I would argue that Crossfit is more like so much algae. Simple. Efficient. Adaptable. PROVEN. Prettier plants have come and gone. But algae has found a way to make what it needs out of what is available. And to not only survive, but thrive. For milennia.

Olympic Weightlifting has only changed so much since the 60's. Before barbells there were weights of all kinds: Stones, scales or other people, the challenge to pick something up off the ground and put it over head has been with us since we started recording stories. Gymnastics has changed only so much for the last few hundred years. Yoga like disciplines the same. Martial arts disciplines the same. The list could go on.

This is Physical Culture. This is what we should be sharing, enjoying and protecting. Becuase it's at the heart and soul of how we enjoy inhabiting our bodies. Think if someone came along and just wiped out the collective knowledge of cooking, and all that remained was simply nutritious, flavourless paste. How many of us would kill ourselves? You can't avoid the eating issue. And you'll not likely soon escape your body. It's your's and your gonna have to deal with it.

The point is this; there are plenty of things that people have enjoyed and in fact devoted their lives to for generations. And as the world 'gets smaller' we get to share them all. Hence my adoration of the Olympics, which does encapsulate one of the loftiest ambitions of international diplomacy. So why look for something new? Why not look around, and take notice of so much of what has been there all along?

I will leave you with the motto of Fizkultura i Sport, care of Wikipedia:

"Когда серебряные трубы возвещают победу, они зовут на пьедестал не только победителя, они славят СПОРТ: разум и силу, мужество и волю, верность, отвагу и честь; они славят ЛЮДЕЙ, отдавших сердца спорту, зовущих своими делами, своим примером на жизненный подвиг!"^[1]

A rough translation into English would be:
“ "When silver trumpets announce the victory, they invite on the pedestal not just a winner, they sing the praises of SPORTS: of mind and of strength,
of courage and of will, of faithfulness, of bravery and of honour;
they sing the praises of PEOPLE, who gave up their hearts to sports,
who call upon the life exploit by their example!"

May we continue to be so lucky. That our culture should be enriched by people, efforts and share experiences such as these!

Crandall; Only trying to help

2009-06-14T12:53:00.000-04:00

A recent e-mail I received:

Jason,

Hello, I hope you are having beautiful day! Crandall here. I wanted to let you know I understand why you are trying to make Crandall go away. I am not orthodox, I am cutting edge. I do not fit into the typical fitness mindset. Everything new and different is scary at first. Crandall knows this. So your natural reaction is to panic and flee and try to make Crandall disappear. I understand. Other people have their ways of doing things, but Crandall gets RESULTS!

I read on your site about the Crossfit, and how people make fun of it and criticize it. Realize, that is like YOU criticizing ME for not fitting within your mainstream.

So, it would appear that the real 800 pound Gorilla in the room is Crandall.

I am thinking about opening up a new fitness site online called "crandallsfitnessemporium" and I will let you know when it is up.

Remember, Jason, things are not bad just because they are "new" or "different". Trying to run from Crandall and the truth I speak only makes you look scared to your clients and the people reading your blog. If you truly believe what you are saying, you would be able to stand having me around. But I threaten you, and threaten the fitness orthodoxy. I know that now.

Always for the best and sincerely,

Crandall, CPT, AFPA

"Remember, Crandall is here to HELP you, not HURT you. Now, let's ROCK!!!"

Working Snatch!

2009-06-12T10:12:00.000-04:00

6-11-2009 Snatch (hi Def) from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Greg Glassman on Kipping Pull Ups

2009-06-09T07:55:00.001-04:00

Coach Greg Glassman, founder of Crossfit talks about why the kipping pull up

If you already get this, you should check out our new T shirts
http://www.crossfitfullcircle.com/?p=1170

Hand Stand Push Up

2009-06-08T16:52:00.001-04:00

Beast Skills

great tutorial

pics:

notice the angle and depth of both, as well as the extension of the hip in the Parallette version. You pretty much have to be straight, can't go arched.

Thanks for visiting

2009-06-08T16:14:00.001-04:00

Now shut the hell up.

Anyone who reads my posts regularly, I encourage you to mock any retarded comments (including my own) that you see on any of these posts.

I need your help in re-establishing my faith in the internet. So, this goes out to all you Nphocus, Matt, Gant, Melissas and others that know what's what and have a great sense of humor to tell these idiots to shut the fuck up.

Because I am over them. And almost over the internet.

Good KB DVD

2009-06-02T09:55:00.002-04:00

From Russia with Tough Love
on Amazon

Why?

2009-06-02T09:05:00.002-04:00

thanks to Crossfit Swift for bringing this to my attention via Facebook!

Thank you to NPR for introducing me to Elwood, America's second ugliest dog.

Death Metal

2009-05-27T20:47:00.000-04:00

Progression of Rock'n'Roll to Death Metal from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Fred's Zone

2009-05-25T14:29:00.004-04:00

Breakfast

3 boiled eggs
2 slices turkey bacon
15 almonds
2 apples

Food Item

Servings

Cals

Fat

Cholest

Sodium

Carbs

Sugars

Fiber

Protein

egg

3.00

210

14g

645mg

195mg

18g

Raw Apple

10.00

170

0mg

43g

Almonds

15.00

105

0mg

Butterball Turkey Bacon

2.00

0mg

270mg

Thank you the Daily Plate.com

Click totals for charts!	Totals:	535	26g	645mg	465mg	49g	2g	2g	27g
% of your daily value		26.75%	39.23%	215%	19.38%	16.33%	n/a	n/a	53%
		Cals	Fat	Cholest	Sodium	Carbs	Sugars	Fiber	Protein

26g Fat = 9 blocks
49g Carb = 5.5 Blocks
27g Protein = 4 blocks

Almost!
Let's say you are trying to eat 4 blocks, the only thing not over is the protein. You need to scale back the fat and carbs. Less apple, and drop the almonds (sucks).

Try this:

Food Item

Servings

Cals

Fat

Cholest

Sodium

Carbs

Sugars

Fiber

Protein

egg

1.00

215mg

65mg

Raw Apple

7.00

119

0mg

30g

Butterball Turkey Bacon

3.00

0mg

405mg

Egg White

2.00

0mg

110mg

Scrambled eggs of 2 whites and one whole (large).
3 slices Turkey bacon(butterball brand)
No almonds
1 large apple or 1.5 medium apples (7 oz)
That's almost exactly 3 blocks on everything

REmember, what's different about the Zone is that each macronutrient is equally represented and balanced at EVERY meal. That means some careful juggling and some time measuring, but can really pay off for those unaccustomed to this type of control.

Now, for Rx... Try doing 21 blocks a day for 2 weeks. If you comply 90% or more, and you are not losing weight, than try 19, then 18 etc until it works, or you die.

Good luck dude, and be sure to tell me or Mark how it goes!

Make sense?

Not bad?

2009-05-25T11:05:00.004-04:00

Compared to comparable Crossfitters...

It gets even better when you eliminate Robbie, Cam and Scott for actually being over the line for lightweights.

This was the ranking for LW 1000m Male 30-40 years old.

Here's how I hang with NO restrictions as to weight class, age or gender:

New 1000m PR

2009-05-25T09:31:00.003-04:00

Working through some issues with technique, with one of my clients who used to row competitively, I was to pscyched up to not try and pull something fast.

My previous PR had been 3:47.

I did 3:41 today, and it was a little easier overall. I think my rowing is really starting to come along. I mean that time is pretty solid for an amateur light weight, especially one that rarely rows!
I think I tip the scale at about 155 right now.

Also, I am considering saving my time and posting A LOT less here. Sorry guys. I can still use this as a format to store info (videos and pics) and to answer specific questions from friends, but the unsolicited advice I receive from experts is hard for me to ignore, and that's not productive for me at all.

My Search

2009-05-21T09:52:00.001-04:00

My Search function reveals all

Workin the gymnastics

2009-05-09T17:33:00.002-04:00

Working my handstand, I have decided that
the freestanding paralette handstand is going to be my crowning achievement.
I have also decided to get there by way of a press to handstand from the paralettes.

On my way there, there's this:

The rock and roll from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Pictures of real estate

2009-05-08T15:38:00.004-04:00

Walk Around the Big Blue Box from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Here are some pics of 'the Big Blue Box'

9012 Hermitage Road

We are the Truth

2009-05-08T11:01:00.002-04:00

Matt can be wordy.
Don't let it mess you up. Take the message!

I often blame my lack of popularity on my tendency to say things like this. It may not force you to change your panties, but this is the truth.

It must be real; if it is, then there are no advanced or secret techniques.

The functional martial arts he refers to (like the way he mentions Judo first :) ) are real. They work. Working on getting better at them will be a meaningful journey.

Olympic Lifting is real. You either lift the weight, or you don't. And there is a BEST way.

Crossfit is real. You can either get it done in X time or you can't. Following that path WILL make you a better person. And there is a BEST way.

snatch work 5-7-2009

2009-05-07T14:20:00.002-04:00

Hit some low pulls
some high pulls
some snatches
and some romanian deadlifts

Snatch Workout 5-7-2009 from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Who would win in a fight?

2009-05-06T18:49:00.001-04:00

Hitler or Greg Glassman?

Who had the bigger army and more devout followers?

Who could hold sway over a rally better?

It's a tough call...

More Complex training

2009-05-02T10:58:00.003-04:00

Complex Lifting Video:

Complex Lifting: Squat and Jump from Full Circle on Vimeo.

I have posted on complex lifting before:
link

Here's a variation I did yesterday to make our WOD at Crossfit Full Circle a little more fun.
I have been concerned that my progress in the O lifts has been stalling some, mostly because I haven't added anything to my squat or deadlift in forever(almost all my training is dedicated to improving form in the O lifts and mastering new gymnastics skills). I also have not been working at a really high level of peak power. Crossfit has been improving my 'fitness', just not my strength, speed or power. So I will be working the strict press West Side style for a few weeks, and working knee/hip strength/power complexes to complement them. See if I can put a few pounds on my CFT, as well as start hitting bigger high pulls so I can start cleaning and snatching more.

I heart Snatch still

2009-04-27T13:33:00.000-04:00

Snatch Techniques 4-24 from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Off to Beast

2009-04-26T08:26:00.003-04:00

Hitting up the seminar today at CrossfitRVA

it's Jim from Beast Skills.com (at some point someone dropped the Z ?)

we will be learning bodyweight/gymnastics skills.

So I was perusing the Crossfit RVA website, and a few posts down I found these:

I thought that they were pretty brilliant and that I should share them: So thanks to Jake and Brandon for hosting Jim and inviting us and sharing these wonderful vids they found on YouTube.

Handstand

2009-04-24T12:22:00.001-04:00

WOD
4-24-2009
the handstand

I have been teaching the Handstand a lot at Full Circle the last few weeks, and it's kind of like Greasing the Groove; It's really helped!

Here's a few weeks ago;
http://rivercitypc.blogspot.com/2009/01/paralette-handstands.html

Here's where we were at today;

Handstand WOD 4-24 from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Things are going pretty good...

Shit. Now I gotta go for 200...

2009-04-20T14:22:00.000-04:00

JERK! from Full Circle on Vimeo.

max rep pull ups

2009-04-18T06:00:00.002-04:00

Feel like I am slipping a little, but then again I had just done the 603 WOD a few hours earlier

Max Reps Pull Ups from Full Circle on Vimeo.

the WOD

2009-04-17T11:15:00.002-04:00

So, I have been following both Crossfit 603 and Melissa Byers' blog since we struck a conversation,
narry a year ago...

A few days ago, there was some discussion about the WOD. I thought it quite lovely;

Bodyweight x 20 = Total Load

Overhead Squat total load in whatever denomination you choose as fast as possible.
No longer totally sucking at the OHS this was pretty irresistible to me. I chose to complete the workout with 95lbs, which I once (about a year ago; see here) did for 25 reps straight. That was about a year ago, at the end of a 3-4 week training cycle completely focused on high reps with fixed weights in the OHS. I still have dreams of besting Nicole Carrol at a cert. OHS-off. We'll see.

Here's my performance on their WOD. I thought it was awesome (not me, the workout).

603's OHS WOD from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Here's how I'd handle Lincoln's concerns; Break my clients into groups;
beginners do 10xBW
regulars 20xBW
Elite/Firebreathers do 30xBW

Beginners are encouraged to use exceptionally low weights, and to get lots of reps. Intermediates should be forced to do 50-70% of their current 1RM. Advanced should be allowed to self select a weight 95/65lbs or greater.

Muscle Up assistance techniques

2009-04-08T23:46:00.004-04:00

Since posting these vids;

http://rivercitypc.blogspot.com/2008/12/assistance-to-muscle-up.html

http://rivercitypc.blogspot.com/2008/12/bustin-move.html

I have been interested in finding ways to build up to
and lately enhance performance in the Muscle Up.

Here's my latest efforts:

Muscle Up Assistance lifts from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Recent goings on...

2009-04-08T14:13:00.004-04:00

I actually got Mike Burgnener to watch and review my snatch related techniques via Facebook.

Pretty cool.

So his analysis of this work out was as follows:

http://rivercitypc.blogspot.com/2009/04/4-1-2009.html

- Don't worry about doing high pulls, it's messing up your form;
elbows are going back instead of up
- Try inserting a pause at the bottom of your Overhead Squats,
it will build strength and help recover heavier snatches

So, I tried to shut up and listen. I created this video a few days later and he also graciously reviewed it as well.

Snatch Review from Full Circle on Vimeo.

His comments were as follows:

- you are very coachable
- keep up the good work
- you come out of the high hang (open the hip angle) a little too hastily;
try to withhold extending the hip just a little while longer

I was very pleased. A friend on Facebook said; 'I can't believe that you got Mike Burgener to comment on your lifts!' I said; 'I asked nicely.'

Being 'Technical'

2009-04-04T11:03:00.005-04:00

Rhadi Ferguson is a guy with a Phd in education. A CSCS, who's worked closely with some of the top names in Strength and Conditionig in the States. He's coached UFC fighters and Olympians.
He's the only guy I can think of who's hit 'the triple crown', if you will, of grappling by competing in the ADCC, Mundials and the Olympics in Submission Wrestling, BJJ and Judo respectively.

I pride myself on shutting the fuck up and listening when someone like this wants to say something about being a better competitive grappler.

Here's a recent post from his blog;

The Technical Myth

Most people I know with experience in martial arts, particularly the more traditional of the three of those mentioned above, insist that 'Technique' is key. I agree. Sort of. Rhadi agrees. Sort of. He mentions the French system of training Judo specifcally. I think more of the Russians.

I don't want to get into it, because I think really if you care at all about being better at what you do(whatever it is really) you should take a minute to read it. But to save us both some time, I will give you the gist of it;

If your definition of 'technique' is perfect mimicry of some famous asian master from long ago, you probably suck in competition.
If your concept of technique has evolved into 'the most efficient way for me to do what I want/need to do' then you're probably on your way.

The sad truth is, if you are 'ready' to hear this, you probably already know this. If you're not, you probably won't read it. If you do, you'll argue with it; deny, avoid, discredit etc. That's cool. Maybe later.

Whoever you are, it'll take 10 minutes to read, and can't be all that bad. When is more information or insight into someone else's opinion all negative?