What's going on?

Alright my head is absolutely swimming right now due to a gnarly wine headache. So, please bear with me. A buddy of mine came over last night, and we decided the most manly thing we could do was to ripoff all of our clothes, watch soccer, and polish off a 1.75l of red wine in two hours. I know what you're thinking: what took you all so long to finish it?

6 weeks ago I was finally able to begin training again. I can't mess with kettlebells or anything overly dynamic (you know, like sickening kipping pull ups), but I am able to strength train. So, after writing and re-writing a number of rehab programs for myself I came across Dan John's 40 Day Program. Now, as written the workout is just brutal on your body. 2x5 every day just breaks you down. Fortunately I happen to peruse IGX and came across further explanation:

"could write a 600 page rant on that question. Here is the thing: percents don't work, excel spreadsheets don't work, planned lifting doesn't work. I know, I know, someone is going to post how they followed x or y for six months. I have tried them all. So, with the 40 day, you toss out load. I usually suggest you start out with like your third to last warm up on the Bench Press for 2 x 5. So, that might be 205 or 225 for a 405 bencher. And, that is easy!

You do that this week twice and next week you toss on some more weight the first time you do 2 x 5. It goes up just as light, just as easy. By definition, you are stronger. You do that with all the variations and movements, here is the note I sent one of my athletes:

Farmer Walk or Suitcase Walk (FW: Bell in each had; SW: Bell in one hand, then switch) Vary the distance EVERY time, and probably the load…if you can.

Two sets of Five: it should be easy and be like your second or third warm up lift in a typical workout. The idea, the “secret,” is to get THIS workout to feel easier and easier!

Five-Three-Two: Five reps with your 2 x 5 weight, add weight for three, then a solid double. Make the Double!!!
Six Singles: I don’t care how you do this, but add weight each set. No misses!
One set of ten: the day after six singles, very light load for ten easy “tonic” reps.
60 percent of the workouts are 2 sets of 5, one in ten is Six Singles (followed by 1 x 10) and 20 percent (2 of 10) are 5-3-2. 
I made it that simple, because people just can't get their damn heads around the idea that you can get really strong by doing the movements. Here is the thing: if you train the 40 day workout, five days a week, that is eight weeks. Now, MOST people have NEVER done a program for 8 weeks, so the success might simply be...
you do what you say you need to do. 
I have had dozens of emails where the person starts easy strength and a week later gets hurt doing some BS thing they read in a blog or decides to Olympic lift, Highland Game, Crossfit, and Zumba...
The reason it is so easy to win, in my opinion, in sports is simply focusing on the task and lifting to support it. I can't believe when I hear football teams are doing aerobic dance, long distance runs, swimming...you name it...
Have the courage to do something for eight weeks. If it is bullshit...and it might be!...then move on. Most trainees have never done the same thing for two workouts. It is something I learned from Dick Notmeyer: we snatched and clean and jerked three days a week and Jerked off the rack and front squatted two days a week for TWO straight YEARS. Then, he let me bench and squat and my numbers were off the charts. This is when I did my very first deadlift and I pulled 555 because the gym record was 550. I don't recommend this, but damn it, it works...

Does it seem so super simple that you won't even bother trying it? Well, let me first share with you my routine and then my progress.

Movements:

Deadlift
Bench
Pull up
KB Swings
Hanging leg raise

Week 1

M: 2x5
T: 2x5
W: 2x5
T: 2x5
F: 5-3-2

Week 2

M: 2x5
T: 2x5
W: 2x5
T: 5-3-2
F: 6x1

Week 3

M: 2x5
T: 2x5
W: 5-3-2
T: 6x1
F: 1x10

Week 4

M: 2x5
T: 2x5
W: 2x5 
T: 2x5
F: 5-3-2

Week 5

M: 2x5
T: 2x5
W: 2x5
T: 5-3-2
F: 6x1

Week 6

M: 2x5
T: 2x5
W: 5-3-2
T: 6x1
F: 1x10

Week 7

M: 2x5
T: 2x5
W: 2x5 
T: 2x5
F: 5-3-2

Week 8

M: 2x5
T: 2x5
W: 2x5
T: 5-3-2
F: 6x1

Got that? I'm currently on Wednesday of week 7. Has this worked for me? You bet your sweet candy asses it has. I've hit new PRs on all lifts (well, bench and deads) and I can rip off pull-ups like I could never do before. I'm able to pull 375lbs raw (remember I'm tall and lean!), am benching over 200lbs finally (no right pec, haven't tested PR), and can do 10 strict pull-ups without pause. Pre-injury I could do 4 on a good day. 

I haven't deadlifted ALL year and I was able to get 375lbs after 6 weeks. That's an accomplishment to me. I'm hoping to join the 405lb club by the end of next week. That may be pushing it, but I'm going to shoot for it. 

My elbow is holding up relatively well. There is minimal discomfort after I'm done. I've started working with the Thera-Band Flexbar, which I highly recommend. Here is a study backing up Thera-Band's claims. Oh, my elbow can also do the same. Eccentric exercise works! 

Making amends to my mending process

Exactly 2 weeks have past since my last rah rah post about the Rangers, so I guess I should be even more cheerleaderish in this post since they made the World Series. Alas, I shall not. I got a little cocky last year, and the Rangers ended up getting their poo pushed in by the buzzsaw known as the '10 San Francisco Giants. This year I'm going to keep my mouth shut and pretend like I'm just happy to be along for the ride. Unless, of course, they win and then I'm going to be more obnoxious than a front running Yankee fan. So, today I'm going to share a few new items I've picked up to help some of my injuries be less painful.

I'm going to reveal something embarrassing now. I have small wrists. I know, you thought I'd finally admit to having full blown HIV (or what we in the professional medical community call "AIDS"), but no. I'm sorry. Yes. I'm sad to report that my parents again failed me and left me with frail wrists. Somewhere along the lines of my youthful exuberance to have sick grip strength and be able to perform 360* ballistic pull ups I severely injured my wrists. I've talked about that. I failed to go through the proper progressions. Again, live and learn. Since then I've tried a myriad of shit wrist wraps and braces, all which have not worked. That ranges from McDavid to Nike to athletic tape to KT tape and more. All of those products are decent and have their applications, but it wasn't what I needed. Some of the power lifting wraps were great and all, but super bulky and not conducive to what I'm doing.

So what did I do, much later than I should have done? Bought these:

Garage Ink wrist wraps. The support these things give is unreal. On top of that, they don't cut my circulation off even when I tighten them fully. That right there was a major downfall of the Nike and McDavid wraps. Well, that and the support is only good for frail old ladies picking through apples at the grocery store.

I digress, the wraps are well made and I'm actually able to do press movements again. I was even able to carry 90lbs of kettlebells (50lb and 40lb KBs, my gym hates the metric system) in my hand with zero discomfort. I decided to give them a full test yesterday and did a lot of bench pressing and DB pressing. Simply fantastic.

Just how small are my wrists? Well, those wraps are the smallest ones at 12". There is a larger size. Check them out over at Garage Ink Powerlifting. I actually bought them from christiansfitnessfactory.com, but whatever. Side note about CFF.com: good customer service and I received those wraps in 3 days. Not bad. If you go over to the site try not to get too nauseated by the Crossfit (tm) (c) stuff. The kool aid is strong, so be stronger than it.

What else did I get to assist my injuries? Well, this purchase was moreso to prevent injuries. As I said in an earlier post I transitioned too quickly to the minimalist shoes and my knees and feet were a tad sore. So, I scaled back and bought shoes that still provide me what I want in a trainer, but give a tad more cushioning.

It's a pair of custom Nikes using their NikeID "system" on their website. I mixed the Nike Free Run +2 cage with the Nike Free 3.0 sole. My thoughts on them so far? If you have a dog that sheds a lot then be forewarned as these are fur magnets. Even the soles. My dog also doesn't seem to like them very much. Perhaps that is because they were made in Vietnam and there could be some dog parts used in them. How about that for a complete and utter butchering of a stereotype? Don't judge me.

"How do the shoes fit? How do they feel? Are you FREE?!"

Good question, self. They fit fantastic and I can't wait to train in them tomorrow. If you're looking at purchasing a Free model, whichever one it may be, just know that the toe box runs very small so you absolutely must go up a size. For instance, I'm a 12 and I had to get a 12.5.

Oh, and yes the tongues on the shoes really do read "CHAMP IS HERE". That's my small dedication to the Mavs. Sure I may suffer from a slight bout of megalomania, but I promise I'm not referring to myself.

So, given the progress I'm making I should finally be able to get back to actually training and writing about the same. I'm a bit tired of these filler blog posts, although they do seem to be a hot topic amongst all the fly ladies around the vending machine at work.

Stay hard.

p.s. Mavs 2011 Champs

The Rangers win! The Rangers win!

Sorry. If it's not obvious I just finished watching game 4 of the ALDS. My (yes, MY) Texas Rangers just beat the Rays 3-1 in the uncomfortable 5 game ALDS. Now it's off to face either the Tigers or the Yankees. At least that won't be a 5 game series, unless one team loses in 5. My prediction? As long as the Yankees lose at some point, I don't care who wins. Kidding. But seriously I love it when the Yankees lose. Kind of how the nation loves it when the Cowboys lose. Of course, those people are inbred and beat their children. I read that on wikipedia.

So the last three weeks I've done zero upper body outside of core work. I should have completely cut off all stress in that area MONTHS ago, but I'm stubborn and had the "bug". I just couldn't stop training, lest I go insane and find other, less healthy outlets for my over abundance of energy. You know, like impaling virgin puppies on unsuspecting unicorns' horns. Don't judge me. You know you've come close to doing the same. We're all human here.

I'm happy to report that my elbow and wrist have made significant improvements. Both areas are still tender, but I'm actually able to exert force and pressure with minimal discomfort. That's huge. At least for me. So, hopefully I'll be ready to get back at it sometime in the next several weeks. This blog will update at a significantly higher rate at that time.

Until then, I shall continue reading this historic cluster F of a thread on Irongarm. Now, that thread is old news to many, but new to me. Yeah, it's really 1111 pages. It's as if you're watching the evolution (or devolution if you prefer) of the world of strength and conditioning. There is literally no way to give you a summation of said thread. It's basically just one huge Crossfit bash session with some incredibly intelligent, and not so intelligent, people. There are also quite a few big names from around the industry posting in there, which I always find fascinating. For those of you not familiar with Irongarm, it's a spin off site from the Dragon Door forums. A group of many were tired of censorship, John Du Cane or whatever else, and created that site. I think it's happened about eleventy times across the internet. If you must know, I've literally read every word through page 74. Again, don't judge me. I've actually learned some things, but I'm pretty sure whatever I learned is going to be buried way below all of the inane stuff I also read.

BTW, my girlfriend won't even subscribe to my blog. How sorry is that? I mean she can't read and always drools on my keyboard due to not having a properly tensioned jaw or a full set of teeth, but it's the thought that counts. You know, perception is everything and all that.

The great Dr. Yessis on the state of plyometrics today

I'll admit I am guilty of over broadening the definition of plyometrics. I actually committed said sin in the previous blog post about box jumps, and a reader kindly asked about my word usage (I believe I tagged the post with "plyo jumps"). I didn't fully understand the meaning of his question, but now I do.  I'd go back and edit my blog entry and shore up the language, but word has it that is immediate grounds for blacklisting in the competitive world of blogging. We bloggers are effing hardcore.

I must admit I'm a bit ashamed for being guilty of this, as I have often scoffed at "p90x athletes" and fitness class whores for talking about the sweet plyos they do. Such is life.

Watch the video, and listen to the man. Dr. Michael Yessis is a legend and knows what he is talking about.

Musclin' Up with Mango

Oh the videos we come across when searching for something else. I happened to find this fantastic instructional piece when searching for vids on the reproductive cycles of unicorns. Everyone meet Mango. He's going to teach you how to do a muscle up.

Okay back to my important research.

Working on my hops

I used to be able to jump. Not so much now. Well, I used to be able to do a lot of things that I can't do now, but that doesn't keep me from trying to get back to that point or close. I've really worked on improving my maximal strength and accelerative strength in my lower body. It's slow going, but I'm getting closer to where I want to be.

Last week I was finally able to consistently hit 45" on the box jump. I know that isn't high compared to others you've most likely seen, but again this is only a step towards my end goal. I've seen some pretty funny rigged box jump setups on youtube. Here is mine:

No that mat behind the box isn't to stop me from falling. It's to help cushion my knees jumping down since I'm training in minimalist shoes. My knees are currently taking the brunt of the stress during this transition. Here's the vid of me completing the jump. I suggest turning your speakers way down since my buddy decides to go all raging hormonal cheerleader on me:

GOOOOOOOOOOOOO JUMPING YAY!!!! I'm going to shoot for 50" next week, but I'm going to have to setup shop outside or somewhere with higher ceilings. Yesterday I was able to complete the same exercise, but with a 45" plate underneath the mat. Sound precarious? It is, but I just have to remain focused and everything is fine. If my mind isn't right then I step away from the box and reset. I figure that's way better than falling and hurting myself.

Some new toys, and knee discomfort is uncomfortable

Well, one of my favorite sites for really expensive workout equipment FINALLY got their resistance bands back in stock. That would be EliteFTS. Sure there are plenty of other bands out there that are fantastic, but I like to support certain companies and this is one of them. So I immediately ordered a couple "average" bands. They naturally went on sale for 25% off the next day, but I'm so incredibly wealthy that I scoff at such handouts. I don't want your charity! I mean, you can tell my over abundance of wealth just by the mere fact that I have a Blogger blog and not my own domain. Tremble before my wallet which may or may not be falling apart. All jokes aside (which will undoubtedly be taken seriously by someone, here is the average band compared to the light:

That's a hefty band. Here is their band calibration chart just in case anyone is interested:

I'll be using these for sprints, rows, presses, core work, isometrics, and stretching. They're such a fantastic tool. If I had a large reader base I'm sure I'd receive comments like "BRO WHY R U NOT USING THE BANDS FOR BENCHING AND SQUATTING? THAT'S WHAT THEY ARE MADE 4 BRO. STAY 2TRU." Well, fictional reader powerlifter guy (sorry PLs I know all of you aren't uneducated neanderthals), I literally have no way to use these at my gym for either movement as my gym's bench press benches do not have pegs nor do the power racks. Oh wait, my gym doesn't even have a power rack. I used to leave that as a suggestion in the suggestion box daily. My words have so far gone unheeded. I should be used to that by now.

I did discover another goal: I'm not even strong enough to do a one arm OH press with the average band, so I'll certainly be working on that.

Mix up your training people. Break up the monotony that some of our daily routines unfortunately inflict. In a later blog I'll show you how and where I use these tools. I'll even provide photographic evidence. Does that make your pants excited?

I almost forgot about my knees. For the first time, that I can remember at least, my knees are sore and making me slightly tentative. I have been putting them through hell the last several weeks due to my training for mastering the pistol squat, but I feel that has been doing nothing but strengthening them. Well, on Tuesday I did some heavy plyometric exercises. The one that pushed me over the edge was the plyo box jump, jump down, and immediately explode into a long jump. I've been able to go deep on squats (ass to floor, or hammy to calf. whichever) for quite awhile now, but nothing has stressed my knees like the aforementioned plyo exercise. Wow. Next time I'm going to use a mat.  When I jump off the plyo box I went deep on my landing, and same goes for the landing after the long jump. My knees are literally up at my chest.

So, live and learn. Plyometrics are no joke and I know that. I should have cushioned my landing with a mat while doing this exercise. My knees are just a tad sore and that's it. It'll go away, but let this be a reminder to not immediately go into hero mode before you're ready!

If any of you are wondering when I became such a proponent of full squats, and I know ALL of you are, it was after watching a training session with Dirk Nowitzki and the great Holger Geschwindner. Dirk has an amazing ability to recover from knee injuries quickly, and that is largely attributed to his training with the German mad scientist. Holger has Dirk do court long ass to floor long jumps. It looks awfully silly when a 7 footer is doing it, but that workout has conditioned his knees to perform and remain stable through the full range of motion. That's necessary in basketball, and most pro sports, as awkward falls are the norm. I fully realize that doing that is not ideal for everyone, and it's certainly something that no beginner should ever attempt. You have to work yourself up to the point where you do have that flexibility and strength in the knees to get that low. Otherwise you could be facing massive injury, because knee injuries are nothing to joke about unlike most every single Presidential nominee for the next term.

Stay hard, Dallas.