NEW GADGET

Hey everyone, do you see the new gadget on the right above Operation Phoenix? It reads, "CrossFit- free issue." Click on that picture and read the document on that page. It's a great read and is what first introduced me to the idea of actual, measureable fitness. What is is, what it isn't, and one way to achieve it.

Lauren Erwin pictured above: http://games2009.crossfit.com/competitors/athlete-profile-lauren-erwin.html

Lies, Lies, Lies

I'll never forget the first time I lifted a barbell. I was in my cousin's basement laying on a bench at a monstrous 125 pounds. He asked me, "What weight do you think you can do 10 times for a bench press?" I said, "Ahhhh, how about just the bar?" And I struggled to get that bar up 10 times. But it was there, in that basement, that I "learned" how to lift weights... The classic rules applied- body part split with a lot of isolation movements (i.e. curls, tricep extensions, calf raises, etc.). And I continued that for many years getting pretty much no where. But the thing was, I noticed just about everybody else in the gym doing the same exact thing! Monday was bench day, Tuesday was arms day, Wednesday was back/shoulder day, Thursday was calf day, and Friday was... whatever I felt like.

I'm here to tell you that this type of program will (a) not get you anywhere near fit, (b) will get you sub-par strength, and (c) and sub-par results in strength and asthetics. You and I were lied to... The majority of your lifting should consist of the major lifts. Squats, Deadlifts, Presses, Pullups, and Benching should be the focal point of your training regimine... Why? Simple.

I am borrowing this train of thought from Pat Sherwood a head trainer at CrossFit HQ... Why am I training? Well, it's really simple. I want to move heavy stuff long distances as quickly as possible. Now.

Heavy stuff = Big loads = Force

Long distances = Distance

Quickly = Time

Some simple High School Science

Force * Distance = Work

_________________

Time= Power

It's a bit difficult doing math equations using this blogger, but the basis of the premise is that Force times Distance = Work. Divide that equation by Time, and you get POWER. Power on- tap. Hulk like power. Power that can be applied to any situation you find yourself in. Pulling out bushes from the ground, jacking up a flat tire on the highway, playing football, bringing in groceries- endless applications.

My goal is to generate raw power, and the most efficient way that has both been proven with actual numbers and in my own routines over the years has been modeling my training program around those core lifts. So, ditch those bicep curls and "skull crushers," and pick up some functional movements... Trust me, you'll be glad you did. I know I was.

You can see Pat Sherwood's lecture (under 4 minutes) here: http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_SherwoodWhyFunctional.wmv

Follow-Through

I joined a softball league a few weeks ago (as I referenced earlier), and after my first day of practice I found myself the next day researching tips/advice on how to swing like a "pro." Growing up my favorite baseball player was Ken Griffy Jr. I really liked how powerful he was at bat, and yet, his speed in the outfield was not something to "balk" at. None-the-less I thought that it would be good to do a bit of resarch on how to get a bit better on my technique while up to bat.

After viewing a few websites that had different tips to offer I noticed one particular tip that I know I could use... Follow-through. When I bat I tend to slow bat speed after I make contact and lose that follow-through. The same thing goes for the road of fitness. To become a beast in whatever your goals are you (and I) need to follow-through. Yes, there are sometimes obsticles that will get in our way. I realize that. I experienced those obsticles this last week when I had to bail on my 1RM attempt on the squat. Yesterday and today I did NOT train, because I had some issues with my neck.

So, next time you don't want to get up and train remember whatever it is that motivates you. Whether it's the LGN training regimine, or it's the "I don't want to be out of breath after 2 flights of stairs," or it's the fact that you dissappear when you turn sideways... It doesn't matter what your reason is- remember it, and act.

Monday though will mark the beginning of my next 7 week cycle where I will again focus on the major lifts. My alarm on Monday will sound at 5:30, and I will have a decesion to make. Do I sleep in for another 2 hours or do I get up, down a shake, and hit the garage. We'll see what happens, but after this blog post I'd BETTER get up out of that bed and hit the weights. Monday is squat day, and it will be great. I got some great tips from the seminar that Dave Tate did at CrossFit about squatting. His lecture focused on technique flaws.

During the whole session he kept correcting her as he coached. Knees out, butt back, weight on heels (you can see her toes lifted up). I know my tendancy is to let me knees cave in. So, here's to Monday's squat day. 5 sets of 3 reps.

1RM update- Squat

I failed this morning- pretty miserably too. Michael Jordan is quoted outside my bosses door saying, "I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." Hopefully after this mornings failure I'll have some better news to report at the end of my next 7 week cycle on the squat.

I finished a set of one rep at 295 which is 10 pounds below my all time max... It went up pretty easy, so I got greedy and added 30 pounds. I was able to get out of the hole of the squat thanks to the natural bounce the muscles allow for, but the bar just wouldn't go up any further. So, with 325 on the bar I had to bail, and it HURT- I think it might have been semi dangerous as well. I've got a sore neck and a bruised forearm, but I guess that's to be expected when heavier weights are lifted. I did not have the technique down like this guy did when he had to bail: http://vimeo.com/4094433

But, I think I learned my lesson and thanks to a few other guys that have done the same thing in the past I don't foresee myself messing up this poorly again. I could have got 310 for sure if I would have went for that instead of 325. Tomorrow will be the press, and we'll see if I can break my old record of 140. We'll see how it goes.

1RM scheduled and next planned cycle

I will be testing 1RM's tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday. Tomorrow will be the squat. Thursday will be the press, and Friday will be the deadlift. That will conclude my first cycle of CrossFit Strength Bias (CFSB)... My plan is to do a second cycle of this program to continue on the road of my 2009 goals for each of the lifts. If I had to guess I would say my new maxes will be somwhere in the vicinity of a 315-320 lb squat, 385-405 lb deadlift, and 145-150 lb press.

Plans for my next 7 weeks will be something very much like this last cycle. I will continue to focus on the squat, deadlift, and press. I plan to ditch the front squat day and substitue an Oly (olympic) lifting day where I will focus on clean/jerks for the next 7 weeks. I also will begin to focus on hitting my '09 goal for Fran of 3:30 (demo of Fran: http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/Josh_Greg-Fran.wmv). I plan to focus on a lot of MetCons that should finish under 5 minutes with thrusters and pullups as the focus.

On the 4th week of this 7 week cycle I will be in Cleveland and Chicago for vacation. I would love to get some WOD's in, but I probably won't. No worries though. It will be a nice break, and I will just be sure to hit it HARD for the next 4 weeks.

CrossFit Hierarchy of Development

I've been back at the training game since November of 2008, and as I look at my training log, I know I've come a long way in six months. I've gone through three phases since I began training again in November. The first phase was Starting Strength (http://www.amazon.com/Starting-Strength-2nd-Mark-Rippetoe/dp/0976805421) on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday where I worked the Squat, Deadlift, Bench Press, Press, and Power Clean.

Great book and amazing program. Simple, but effective. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I did workouts from the main page at Crossfit to get some metabolic conditioning in (http://www.crossfit.com/). The second phase was a simple 3 on 1 off, 1 on 2 off where I strictly followed the CrossFit site. Then the third phase has been something called CrossFit Strength Bias where I train a major lift (squat, deadlift, press, front squat) and then do a short metabolic conditioning (MetCon) workout. So far, I love CrossFit Strength Bias (CFSB).

But the whole reason I'm writing this is to illustrate something that became very much evident last night during a softball scrimmage. It's been several years since I've been on a baseball/softball field. To be honest, I was nervous to both, field and bat. It's been SOOOO long that I didn't know how embarrasing the night could end up. None-the-less, I did fine out in the field with two catches and 0 errors. But the surprise came when I was up to bat. I flew out my first at bat hitting the ball pretty deep to center. The second at bat is where the magic happened. I hit a solo shot to center field... Now I'm not trying to brag, but I've NEVER been ANY type of a power hitter, and at 170 pounds I don't think anyone (including myself) expected me to hit the ball that far and that hard. It felt good, but why in the world did the ball go that far? I would suggest to you the CF Hierarchy of Development.

The basis of the premise is that Coach Greg Glassman teaches is that as you build from the ground up you'll see sigificant improvements in each of the above diciplines... I saw that application last night. Though my diligent work at nutrition, MetCon, gymnastics (yeah muscle up-http://www.vimeo.com/3580419), and weightlifting/throwing I've found a direct correlative to a sport that I have not played in a 1/2 decade. Something I'm doing is working, and I can only suggest that it is the common denominator. CrossFit training.

There's a lot of talk out there within the fitness industry where people say things like, "I don't know about you but I want to LOOK like I work out." I guess I'm a bit different than they are, and chances are most of you are too (even if you don't know it). I want to PERFORM like I TRAIN. I want to be able to apply what I do in my garage to every facet of my life. All show and no go isn't for me... I train so I can excel at life's physical/mental tasks. Of course there's an added benefit of LGN for the wifey, but it's just that- an added benefit. So, next time you feel like that extra hour of sleep is really going to be THAT satisfying, remember this post. Remember that performing well at life's physical tasks is not a light switch that you can turn on and off. It's hard work. It truly does take a lot of sweat, some tears, occasional blood on the barbell, and possibly breakfast in a very acidic form (yea Allpass). The choice is yours! Come train with me at 6:00 a.m.