A Student of Fitness

Training 8 Feb: rack pull/deficit dead/incline bench.

2012-02-08T12:56:00.001-05:00

Started with some mid shin rack pulls to "potentiate" my nervous system, whatever that means (possible bro science).

Rack pull (4 inch lift): 1x185, 225, 295, 345, 395.

Superset (3:00 rounds).
Incline bench: 45x10, 95x10, 115x8, 145x6, 175x5x3.
Deficit deads: 135x10, 225x3, 295x3, 345x3, 365x3, 385x3.

I was pleasantly surprised that I managed to finish all 3 sets at 175 on the incline bench. getting 3 reps at 385 on the deficit dead was also a little better than expected. This was definitely a plus 10 percent day. I have to work all night tonight so I anticipate friday's training session will not be a good.

Training 6 Feb: Press/FSW/Pendlay

2012-02-06T17:10:00.001-05:00

Press:
45X5, 95x3,3, 115x2, 135x1, 145x5x4 + 4
Superset:
(A1) Palms up Pendlay: 165x5x5
(A2) Front Squat: 45x5, 135x5, 205x3, 225x3, 245x3.

I kept a strict 3:00 rest period going through this whole workout as I was pressed for time (pun intended). This included the superset, where I completed both exercises in the window, except for the last round, where I had to stop to help with the baby and took a 5 minute rest. This probably hurt more than it helped.

Not frustrated about missing my last set of five on the press. I did the same last week at 140 and managed to get it by Friday. I anticipate better sleep/recovery this week too. I've also been drinking a point of goat milk after pressing workouts, and I tolerate it fairly well. Well see if it helps recovery.

Training 5 Feb - TSC snatch test practice n

2012-02-05T17:05:00.001-05:00

Kb snatches: 24kg x 10 left immediately followed by 10 right, on the minute for five minutes.

I tried to work on a smoother transition between hands here. After my last snatch on the left hand, I'd catch it worth my right on the down swing.

Thus crushed me, but I was able to keep a good cranking pace, finding each round with about twenty seconds to spare. Goods to know that I can maintain 30+ reps/minute. Now I just have to develop the work capacity.

Do it every day.

2011-12-10T15:30:00.001-05:00

Though it hadn't even been two Weeks, i'm enjoying doing some form of squatting and overhead work every session. I pressed 145x3x6 yesterday, and that weight has historically bern tough for me.

I don't feel sore or burnt out yet so well see how long this lasts.

Fall training recap.

2011-12-05T19:45:00.001-05:00

My lower ab hip flexor issue has mostly healed, leaving me able to squat heavily again. However, I think sprinting would be a bad idea until its 100%, and I need to do a God deal of prehab before squatting, as I feel perpetually tight in both hip species these days. This is likely due to the fact that my walking had decreased and I never run these days, so my hips almost never go into full extension.

right now my training basically alternates between two workouts, with at least one day of rest between them.

Workout A:
Prehab,
oly snatch drills,
Push press heav sets of 5
Back squat 3RM or 5 RM
Pendlay rows or weighted chins

Workout B:
Prehab,
more oly drills,
Strict press heavy sets of 3 or 3to5RM
Front squat moderate sets of 5
Pendlay rows or weighted chins

I'm trying to go overhead every workout because I really want to progress my press, andwith adequate food and sleep I find it responds well to frequent training. As for the squatting, obviously frequency seems too work for me.

Right now I don't have the chance to use bumper plates, but that will change in the spring. Till then, I'll just keep it simple, get strong in the bottom position and overhead, and practice my snatch technique. Im relying on heavy squatting and lots of pulling movements to at least maintain if not progress my deadlift.

Some recent pr's include:
squat 305x5.
Push press 215x2, 165x5.

Also, my diet has been very clean, with everything being scratch cooked at home, lots of grass fed meat, and a fair amount of carbs coming from starchy fruits and tubers. I'm staying pretty lean (180) without trying too much. I'm fasting a little again too, which immediately leans me our more.

August and September Musings

2011-09-18T19:01:00.001-04:00

In the past 7 weeks I've made some good gains, suffered an injury outside of the weight room, and have adjusted my training accordingly, so as to continue to develop other areas while recovering. Here's a brief recap of my training over the past month and a half, a long with some new thoughts that have come to impact my approach to training...

Starting in August, I was preparing to take a break from squatting heavy to let my right foot heal a bit. Overdoing it on both barefoot squatting and barefoot walking had caused some chronic soreness. This, coupled with having to do a few weeks of shift work, forced me to stop my Texas Method progression, which was going fairly well. I did manage to work my way up to squatting 325x2x2, which isn't amazing but is certainly a PR.

I had been playing a lot of tennis in the late summer, but after one session my left hip flexor/lower ab complex felt a little off. Not to be deterred, I decided to try some sprints at the beach a few days later, without any sort of warm up. Needless to say, I injured myself in the exact same way, and for the exact same reasons, as I had a few years ago, when I over did it sprinting without warming up. This time, the muscle pull was less in my hip flexor, and more in my lower left rectus abdominus, but the effect is the same. Heavy squatting is temporarily out, as is anything requiring quick and powerful hip extension, such as running, jumping, bounding up stairs, etc. Further, ab-centric things hurt a bit, and this even includes heavy weighted chinups, during which I tend to use a posterior pelvic tilt to generate more force.

This is about 80% healed, but I'm still taking it easy. One of the benefits of this injury has been that my right foot feels completely better from backing off on heavy squats. I'm not terribly worried about my progress in the squat, which has become a priority of mine recently, and here is why: my main failing point the backsquat, along with the deadlift, is not the big movers in the legs and hips, but rather the spinal erectors. When they fail, the chest drops, the back rounds, and the entire kinetic chain falls apart. So I'm taking this opportunity to spend time working on my back. Specifically, I'm using good mornings to improve low back strength, and hamstring mobility, and I'm using Goblet squats to keep my squatting groove, and because they are particularly taxing on the thoracic spinal muscles. I believe this last bit is true because of the fact that the weight is farther forward of my center of gravity in the goblet squat than in any other variant, which forces my thoracic erector spinae to work over time to keep my chest up. Hopefully this focus on the back will pay off when I'm all healed up and can begin squatting again. As Justin from 70sbig says, when in doubt, train your back.

In addition to those problems, a lot of pressing had left my left shoulder feeling slightly iffy, due to some lingering ancient injury to my internal rotators. I decided to switch the bulk of my overhead work to using the fast curl and press, where you power curl the weight up, and press with a grip that is half way between palms facing you, and palms facing each other. I use the easy bar, and have progressed up to sets of three across with 145, and a set of 2 with 155. Again, definite progress for me. The best part about this is that I can press away with zero shoulder discomfort. I am starting to reincorporate the standing press, and my shoulders feel good for the rest they've received.

A brief stint of doing grease the groove style pullups left me with sore elbows. For volume, I've decided that a neutral grip is better for this too, for long term joint health. In the absence of neutral grip bars, spending most of my time with the chinup grip, with some palms away work, seems to completely prevent any soreness in the elbows. Also, keeping the reps low and the weight high seems to completely nix any over-use related soreness. To further develop my pulling, I've also been adding dumbbell rows, which are simply underrated, pendlay rows, which are amazing for the complementary hamstring work they provide, and no-leg-rope climbs. I tried the rope climbs for the first time in forever, and they were way easier than I remember. They do, however, fry my grip, and I think that I'll do them as often as I can as I've been looking for various ways to focus on grip training.

Low Rep, High Volume Squatting.

2011-07-31T21:57:00.002-04:00

So my buddy talked me into taking a whack at the Texas Method, with the goal being to get some more experience squatting, and to use volume in the squat to stimulate growth/strength increase in other areas. I've approached it from a low rep, high-ish volume angle, and I have to say, it's been working pretty well.
I probably should have started with some simple linear progression. Oh well. Novice effect or not, I've been gaining in the squat, and it seems to be carrying over to the dead and press. Weighted chins aren't quite as in focus as they were, but I don't think they've suffered any loss.

Essentially, monday is "Volume Day," with 5-7 sets of 3 reps on either the press or bench (I haven't really started benching yet, but should), followed by the same set/rep scheme on the squat. 5x5 is apparently recommended, but I like shorter sets and more of them. We then finish with Good mornings or other assistance work. I also work my weighted chins in here, supersetted in between presses - although this hurts my presses, so I think I'll either superset them in with squats, or do them after?

Tuesday or Wednesday is sort of a light/assistance day. We'll do some light squatting, then either bench or press for medium effort (whichever we didn't do on Monday), and then maybe some rows and cleans/snatches.

Friday is 'Intensity Day,' where the goal, for me at least, is to establish a new 3RM if the Press or Bench (whichever we did Monday), Squat, and then Deadlift, which is being driven up by the squatting, cleaning/snatching, and rowing/goodmornings.

I've also been playing tennis 2-3 times/week, which serves as some fun active recovery/light conditioning. I should probably add all kinds of stuff, primarily sprinting, but I've been doing pretty well on this program, so I can't complain too much. I do enjoy squatting twice per week actually, and am pleased to see it carry over to deadlift gains.

*A note on the deadlift: I've shifted from doing my heavy set in a 'touch-n-go' manner to fully stopping and regripping the weight between each rep. I actually think this is harder, as you can't rely on any built up tension from the eccentric. It forces you to spontaneously generate tension at the bottom, and it also means your grip isn't the limiting factor, which is good.

Deadlift - this is still flying up. Hoping for my 3RM to exceed my previous 1RM of 435 this month.
July 7th - 375/3
July 15th - 385/3
July 22nd - 405/3
July 29th - 415/3 - I'm literally dropping the bar between reps.

Press - barely met my goal of 150/3 (too much volume initially). Hoping to get 160/3 this month.
July 11th and 26th - Volume using 5-7 sets of 135.
July 15th - 150/2/2
July 29th - 150/3 (gotta call it progress, however slight). Hoping benching will drive this up.

Chin - still hoping to work this into the 120/3-5 range. Slow but steady.
July 4th - 110/3, 80/6, 50/6
July 11th - 110/3 (barely), 90/4, 45/8
July 18th - regular grip pullups: 45/10 (slight deload?)
July 26th - 105/4, 80/5, 45/7 (slight regression or plateau?)

Squat - this is flying up. Hoping for 335/3-5
July 4th - 190/5, 210/5, 230/10 (still doing 5-3-1 here).
July 11th/15th - 5-7 sets of 205 then 225 on volume day. Then set 3RM of 295 on Friday.
July18th/22nd - 5 sets of 225, then 305/3 on Intensity Day.
July 26th/29th - 225x2x2, 235x2x4, then 315 on Intensity day.

Other - I've done some assistance work here and there, to include:
Good Mornings with 135 for 5, Dumbbell rows with 120lbs for 10 (straps), plenty of cleans up to 185 (too many of these hurt my hand), snatches/OHsquats with up to 135, etc.

June Training - changes and progress.

2011-06-30T21:07:00.001-04:00

June brought some more change to my training, but also rewarded my consistency in certain areas.

I've fully incorporated the back squat into my routine, but sometimes I feel that I could benefit from squatting twice a week. many programs have you squat 2-3x/week, and right now I'm just not sure if I have the time. I have started to train occasionally on my lunch break, however, which might facilitate adding a second squat session in per week. That second session might initially just be some light volume work, i.e. sets of 8-10 at no more than 185. I'd probably also throw some cleans and weighted dips in, since I'd be doing this at a gym with bumper plates and some nice dipping bars.

With the deadlift, I've shift from doing my reps continually to setting the weight down and quickly resetting myself between each rep. It's very quick, so there is no real rest, and I think it makes it more difficult, since you can't rely on the eccentric loading to build tension. Instead, you must start from scratch and regenerate tension spontaneously before each rep. This is just slightly easier on the grip, and emphasizes starting strength more, which is good, since my goal is to increase my top end strength.

I stalled in the press, due both to being underslept (my 5 month old keeps me up late), and because I was increasing weight in 5lb increments, which was too much. I'm now using 2.5lb jumps (I have screw on collars that weigh 1.25lbs each), and I reset at 135. Hopefully this will be conducive to longer term progress.

With the weighted chin and the press, I've decided to continue increase weight consistently each week, and then reset when I no longer can get a certain rep minimum on my top set (say 2-3 reps). This may be soon on the chin, but then I am close to my 2/3 bodyweight goal anyway. I've started doing my bottom chinup set with a palms away pullup grip, because I want to keep that groove solid. This has been working pretty well.

Deadlift - considerable progress - next goal is still a 3-5 rep max at 405. 4 plates!
June 3rd - 355/6, 315/7
June 11th - 365/3, 335/4
June 18th - 365/5, 325/6
June 24th - 370/5, 330/6

Press - Resetting after a stall. End of July goal - 150x3-5.
June 3rd - 145/3, 135/4, 125/6
June 11th - missed 145 - got some light volume. (was very underslept).
June 18th - 135/5, 125/6, 115/5
June 24th - 137.5/5, 127.5/6, 117.5/5

Weighted Chin - Slowing down - next goal - 120x3 @180lbs bodyweight.
June 8th - 105/4, 80/3, 45/6
June 14th - 105/3, 80/4, 45/6 (underslept here too, hence the stall).
June 21st - 105/4, 80/5, 45/7 (slight progress),
June 29th - 110/3, 90/4, 45/10 (Had to active rest for about 30 min between sets 1&2).

Back Squat - Sorta following the 5/3/1 program for now. Near term goal: 270x5.
June 8th - 135/5, 205/5, 225/5, 245/5, 135/5/5/5
June 14th - 135/5, 185/3, 225/5, 230/5, 235/6, 135/5
June 22nd - 135/8, 205/3, 225/3, 245/8,
June 29th - 225/5, 245/3, 265/3

Sprints! - I finally started again! I want to make these an at least weekly thing, and the fact that I can train on my lunch break leaves me with pretty much no excuse not to.
June 30th - 6x~40yds.

With most of these workouts, I've thrown in some feet-elevated parallette pushups and ring dips here and there, and I've started to do about 5 turkish getups per side in the mornings, mostly to improve hip mobility and shoulder stability. I also walk about a mile several days per week. Finally, I've started playing tennis again. My conditioning sucks ... Hopefully playing more, along with the sprints, will rectify this.

May Training and Reading Recap

2011-06-01T15:45:00.001-04:00

I've been continuing with the plan of turning my 3 rep maxes into 5 rep maxes, and it's been panning out for me quite well in the Deadlift, Press, and Weighted Chinup. My front squats were doing alright, but just never feel quite right. My left knee still has some occasionally slight but sharp pain on the lateral side (outside), somewhere between where the IT band and lateral biceps femoris tendons attach at the base of the knee. I decided to give back squats a try, and they felt amazing by comparison, so I think I'll pursue that route for a while.

Also, I think the Reverse pyramid style of training isn't a great fit with the squats, at least at this stage. Reverse pyramid (3RM => 5RM, followed by a back off set or two), requires that you work near maximal loads, and I'm just no where near seasoned enough with the squat to justify that.

Instead, I'll work up to my working weight using sets of 5, and then do 2-3 sets of five at the working weight, with the final set being a max out set. I think a little autoregulation will govern how many sets at the top weight are done. I can at least benefit from the novice effect of being able to make linear progress each workout right now (i.e. +5lbs per week). We'll see how long that lasts.

Deadlift - still progressing well. Immediate goal for the month of June: 3RM = 405lbs.
May 6th - 325/5, 285/6
May 14th - 335/5, 300/6
May 29th - 345/3, 315/4 - after two weeks off from traveling, decided not to push it here.

Press - still want that bodyweight press. Goals for June: 3RM=155.
May 6th - 145/3, 135/4.
May 14th - 145/4, 135/5.
May 29th - 145/2, 135/5. Unsurprisingly, had some regression after taking two weeks off.
Chin - Immediate Goal: 3RM = +120lbs (I'm not terribly far from this).
May 2nd - 90/4, 70/5 - came close to 5th/6th reps here.
May 10th - 90/5, 70/5 - missed a 6th rep in the second set (possibly because I was very low carb)
May 18th - 105/3, 80/4, 45/5 - felt pretty good.
May 31st - 105/3, 80/4, 45/5 - after 2 weeks off, I was glad to maintain my numbers. Sets felt strong.

Front Squat - I think I might be done with this for now, due to slight knee pain.
May 10th - 225/5, 205/6, 135/10 - Did it RPT style.
May 18th - 205/3, 235/3, 205/5, 135/5.

Back Squat - Goal for June: 6-8RM = 245
May 31st - 185/5, 205/5, 225/5/7

Latest interesting reads include Stephan Guyenet's recent posts on Food Reward. Stephen is really developing a new paradygm on obesity that goes beyond a disregulation of glucose/insulin, instead focusing on the way leptin influences the hypothalimus. He proposes that the whole hyperinsulinemia issue might be a down stream effect of this Leptin insensitivity. While I feel he may be downplaying the role of insulin slightly, I defer to his expertise, and I can definitely accept his hypothesis as a fair explanation for why both low carb and low fat diets can work to cause weight loss. It's all very fascinating. I wonder if intermittent fasting has any effect on restoring leptin sensitivity?

I just read "Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It" by Gary Taubes. It was good, and I'm sure that following it's advice would yield fat loss. No one dismantles the oversimplified "calories in vs. caloris out" explanation of fat gain/loss better then Gary. And yet, if Stephan is correct, than Gary is on the right track, but has missed the mark in identifying the machanism for why his low carb diet is effective. Time will tell where the truth lies, but I imagine it will fall somehwere in between, with palatability and carbohydrate quality/quantity both making up the important factors in any diet that seeks to normalize fat mass.

And finally, I'm working through Robb Wolf's podcasts (on about his 24th), and I'm liking his perspectives on the finer points of maintaining sanity while getting into the little details of a paleo diet.

April Progress Recap

2011-04-30T17:09:00.003-04:00

This is a quick recap of the progress I've made in my lifts this month. I have managed to find the time for some mobility work, walking, and other things, and I've been eating less starch and fruit and more meat. I think this is all helping me make some modest gains.

Turn your 3RM into your 5RM
For each movement, I lift my 3 rep max for my top set, followed by 10% back off sets at an additional rep. When I can pull my 3rm for 5 reps, I increase the weight by a very small increment (2.5-5%) and repeat.

Deadlift - should have eased back into this more gently. Immediate Goal = 450 (2.5xBW)
April 6th - 330#/2 - this hurt, so I quit, and waited 2 weeks before pulling again.
April 20th - 300#/7reps, 265/8. Had to reset between reps on 1st set.
April 27th - 315#/5reps, 280/6. This 1st set was smooth and needed no resetting. Felt great.

Press - Pretty weak by my standards. Immediate Goal = 185# (1xBW)*
April 6th - 135/4, 120/6, 105/6. Last two sets were easy, so I planned to bump their weights.
April 15th - 135/5, 125/6, 115/7. Increased the 2nd &3rd sets by 5#, but left the top set the same.
April 23rd - 140/4, 130/5.
Aprily 30th - 140/4, 130/6. If I miss 140# for 5 again, I might use 135# for my 2nd set.
*I want to hit a bodyweight press before I get really serious about my hand balancing/pushups. Until then I'll practice occasionally.

Chin - Still one of my strongest lifts. Immediate Goal: +120 3RM (.66xBW)*
April 9th - +85/4, +60/5, +30/6.
April 17th - +85/5, +60/6, +35/7 - met requirments to jump up in the top set.
April 25th - +90/3, +70/5 - Felt a little off. I'm only 75% sure I hit 5, not 4, in 2nd set.
*Jim, at Beastskills.com, recommends being able to do triple with an additional 2/3 of your bodyweight before focusing solely on OAP training (negatives and assistance pulls), so a triple at 120# will be my goal for this lift.

Front Squat - I do this because I'm terrible at it (mobility issues). Immediate Goal: 275 5RM*
April 12th - 185#/5/4/4/3/4 in 5 minutes.
April 23rd - 205/4, 185/5.
April 30th - 205/6, 185/8. Deinitely jumping to 215# next session.
* Train what you suck at, right? I suck at squatting (tight hips, back), and I'm hoping that this will help.

Nutrition - I've had to deal with working some night shifts, and a generally weird schedule has limited my fasting a bit. Still, I've recently increased my protein/fat intake and decreased my starch intake a little bit. I think I was using my lifting as an excuse to eat a little too much starch/fruit, but I do so little volume that I'm kidding myself if I think any significant glycogen depletion is occurring. For now, I'll continue to keep my protein and fat intake high, my starch intake a bit lower, and to try to train fasted when possible, restricting my general eating window to about 8 (+/-2) hours per day.

As a quick example: today I ate 3 eggs scrambled in butter with left over ham and about 1 cup of cut strawberries. I had coffee with cream with it. Later I had a banana (could have easily done without this), and for dinner I had 4 italian sausages cooked in my wife's sugar free tomato sauce, which is very rich and fatty. I polished it off with half an avocado. I ate all of this between 11:30 and 6:30pm, and it comes out to:
2150 kcals
150g Fat - about 60% total calories. I generally eat about 55-65% fat.
100g Carb - this is the upper limit of what I've been eating recently.
110g Protein

Training Frequency/Volume - I've dropped any 3rd sets from my reverse pyramid training, and I'm hoping that the slight decrease in volume, along with increased protein intake, will allow me to settle into a rhythm where I'm training each lift every 7 days. I tend to need more rest, so I'll be cautious about going into workouts with inadequate recovery, but I'm hoping that I'll be able to make progress by training each lift weekly.

That's all. April was definitely productive.

Recent Activity in the Gym

2011-04-13T15:39:00.002-04:00

Just a few workouts of late, as I kick of a specific strength program (via barbell, as opposed to general HIT hypertrophy). 3 Key lifts are focused on Reverse Pyramid Training. Deadlift, Press, Weighted Pullup, with some occassional higher rep front squatting and RPT floor pressing thrown in to supplement. I'll continue with occasional hand stand, one arm pullup, and pistol practice to keep the skills fresh, but my goal is that my proficiency in each of those movements will improve as my absolute strength improves.

25 March - Deadlift- 285#/11 reps for my topset, with a romanian focus. (barefoot).

6 April - Standing Press - 135#/4, 120/6, and 105/6. pleasant soreness in the days after.
6 April - Deadlift 330#/2 - felt astonishingly weak here, and might have strained my spinal erectors. The pressing volume, and having spent the previous 8 hours sitting at a desk, probably helped.

9 April - Weighted Pullup - +85#/4, +60#/5, and +30#/6. similar pleasant soreness.

12 April - Front squat - 185#/20 reps in <5 minutes - broken into 5,4,4,3,4. This was done in shoes - while I think barefoot bodyweight squatting is an essential mobility heal, I've decided to quite my purism and front squat in shoes to benefit from the movement. Quads are absolutely fried today, glutes are tired too.

I'm resting about 8-9 days between key lifts, and I'm also holding off on deadlifting again, since I sorta mildly stained myself.

I'm opting for front squat right now, vice back, for a number of reasons. I can dump a missed lift easily at home, and it emphasizes T-Spine mobility.

I'll see if I can't keep this up for 8-10 sessions per lift (at 8-9 days apart). After that i'll re-evaluate.

Blogs influencing me right now, and some goals.

2011-04-04T12:53:00.000-04:00

Below, I've listed a few posts that have really influenced my thinking recently on diet and training. There are many great posts that I've come across with interesting exercises, different recipes, and etc. Those listed below have actually caused slight perspective shifts, or re-evaluations, in my approach to health in general.

1. First, Martin Berkhan of the excellent Leangains.com wrote a great article about Walking the Walk. This was a real poke in the eye for me, as I consider myself as having every ounce of know-how and ability necessary to be very lean, very strong, and very mobile (i.e. pain free joints). And yet, I'm none of these things. I'm leaner and stronger than average, and I can squat comfortably barefoot, which many fellow desk jockies can not do. And yet, I'm no where near where someone who talks as much talk as I do should be. This was a big motivator to my recent increase in adherence. Incidentally, I'm also starting to employ Martin's concepts on Reverse Pyramid Training for about two workouts every 10 days for my specific strength goals.

2. Next up is Kurt Harris of PaNu, with his series of post on Macronutrients (Fats, Carbs, and CarbsII) and on Ketosis (and II). These posts clarify a lot of confusion on the topics, and I feel that they dissuade paleo-ers from trying to be too fundamental about macronutrient make-up. It seems that these ideas come to a head in Dr. Harris' post on Paleo 2.0, a new way to think about ancestral eating. I'm on board.

3. Regarding training, in addition to two heavy conventional lifting workouts every 10ish days (deadlift/military press/weighted pullup/power clean), I'm also trying to work in a high intensity session about twice a month, using exercises that don't really conflict or interfere. Generally - leg press, pushup, and just maybe a row of some sort. This serves to maintain my conditioning address any motor patterns that don't get much involvement from my other lifts. Anyway, as always Doug McGuff is a continued source of good information on optimizing these workouts, and today he had a great post about eccentric/concentric turn-around, with a big hat tip to Renaissance Exercise. I checked them out, and am really enjoying their perspectives on the finer points of high intensity training.

4. And finally, mobility. Ah you fickle beast. I have frequently taken up a mobility regimen, only to get bored and drop off of it. Perhaps this time is no different, but for the time being, I'm greatly enjoying Kelly Starret's MobilityWod.com. Kelly, a prehab/rehab guru, is in the process of offering 365 days worth of anatomically sound, sports-minded mobility 'WODs,' or workouts of the day, a la CrossFit. I've started from the beginning, working through a WOD a day, give or take. I can honestly say I already feel the difference, and it's motivated me to do some more foam rolling too. So every day I take about 10-15 minutes to mobility work and foam rolling in the evening. Since I generally only commit about 1-1.5 hours to exercise each week (tops including any commute), this isn't hard for me to fit in. I think Kelly does an excellent job making the material practically oriented, accessible, and entertaining. Of the three of these, I might be most inclined to recommend this to everyone.

So with this I've given a snapshot of my training right now. Diet is essentially a leangains style 16-18 hour fast 4-5 days per week, with a 20-22 hour fast (i.e. a single meal that day) 1-2 days per week. With that, I've been chipping down in weight, having seen sub 180lbs for the first time in 8 years! Having added a fair bit of muscle mass since then, I'm pleased with my gains in body composition. But, as I mentioned earlier, I'm no where near where I know I would be if I was even half as diligent as I should be.

short term goals (3-6 months):
bodyweight < 175lbs.
standing press >175lbs
deadlift < 440 (my old PR at 215lbs bodyweight, and a 2.5lbs bodyweight pull at 175.)
weighted pullup < +135

long term goals (12-18 months):
bodyweight <175
free standing hand stand pushup(s)
deadlift < 515 (3xBW)
one armed pullup(s)

I'm notorious for not sticking to goals, but the older I get, the clearer my goals become, so perhaps this will change with maturity!

Toadstools, Lamb, Biscuits, and Sauerkraut!

2011-04-01T22:53:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple of Paleo meals my wife and I enjoyed recently - or should I say, Paleo 2.0? (Hat tip to Dr. Harris).

The "Toadstool" version of Nourished Kitchen's Dutch Baby Pancake

First up we have the "Breakfast toadstool" It's an adaptation of Nourished Kitchen's Dutch Baby pancake. I've had success swapping almond & coconut flours for sprouted wheat flour, and eliminating the added sugar, and so I decided to give blueberries a try instead of apples, as follows:

- preheat oven to 425F
- in an oven safe pan, sauté 2-3 cups blueberries (we pick them in bulk and always have some frozen) in butter until they become syrup-like.
- in a bowl, whisk 8 eggs, 1/3 cup almond flour, 2/3 cups coconut flour (extra to absorb all the moisture from the blueberries), 1 tsp baking powder, 1/4 cup heavy cream (again to accommodate extra moisture from the blueberries), cinnamon, nutmeg, and a pinch of salt to taste.
- add the mixture to the berries in the pan, stir a little to even it all out and prevent the eggs from scrambling, and then get it in the oven. Knife test it after 20-30 minutes - a dryish knife means done, but this stays pretty moist!
It takes on such an amazingly blue color, that it ends up looking like something the Cheshire cat might hang out on. We call it a toadstool, but it is delicious and fluffy - with plenty of eggs to satisfy.

Brats with homemade sauerkraut.

Next we have a few delicious brats my wife cooked up, along with homemade sauerkraut. The kraut is crazy simple:
- rinse and finely shred a head of cabbage.
- add a handful (actually use your hands - the bacteria is a must!) to a glass jar (old pickle jar are perfect).
- use a wooden spoon to crush up the cabbage until it has released all its water.
- add a sprinkling of salt.
- repeat till full!
- once the jar is full, push the cabbage down until it's fairly tightly packed. Ideally it will be covered by it's juices, but if it's not quite, then add a little water.
- put the lid on, but don't screw it down at all - air needs to be able to escape.
- put it on a plate (to catch any juices) on top of your fridge, and leave it for 2 weeks. it's done when it's not making any bubbles any more.
- when you open it, you shouldn't see any mold on top, and it should smell like sauerkraut! It tasted slightly sweeter than store bought stuff, but still good and we haven't gotten sick yet after a few days of eating it!

Bone in Lamb roast with Potato starch biscuits.

This was dinner tonight, and what a meal it was! We had a 3lb lamb roast, and cooked it as follows:

- marinated for several hours to overnight in salt, pepper, garlic powder, balsalmic vinegar and red wine.

- preheat oven to 350F

- put 1 tbsp clarified butter in a cast iron skillet, bring to hot (just shy of smoking)

- sear the lamb roast on each side for about a minute each - getting it crusty

- take the skillet and put it in the oven at 350F. It took only about an hour to get to 135-140, after which I took it out and let it sit for 10 minutes.

- the clarified butter and drippings made an awesome gravy by themselves.

as for the biscuits, recipe to follow. Suffice to say, it was our first time cooking with Potato Starch (not potato flour), and they were amazing. By far one of the best gluten free substitution recipe's we have ever made. We don't eat a lot of "gluten free" alternative baked goods, but these were so good that we'll be making them again real soon. They simply contained potato starch, butter, xantham gum, baking soda, and baking powder and salt.

Anyway, that's all for now. By all means share any ideas on these or other recipes, as well as any questions you have, and good luck with your Paleo 2.0 experiment!

Kelly Starrett's MobilityWOD.com

2011-03-12T19:45:00.000-05:00

I've posted about mobility before, and I do a little mobility work now and then. However, I've never really taken my own advice and dedicated time to rectifying my mobility issues - at least not with any consistency. Perhaps it's time to change that!

Thanks to Chris at the excellent Conditioning Research blog, I happened upon Kelly Starrett's Mobility Workout of the Day. A Doctor of Physical Therapy, and founder of CrossFit SanFrancisco, he's got a great deal of experience in maximizing physical performance.

Anyway, on to the point. In the fashion of CrossFit's Greg Glassman, Kelly offers a daily mobility workout (usually about 5-15 minutes) which addresses different aspects of shoulder, hip, knee, ankle, and spinal mobility. I think it's a great resource, and tonight, I'm going to begin with his first "workout," from August of last year, and work through all of them. I've always had dismal ankle, hip, and shoulder mobility, and I think this program may be great for me, especially since I'm only training 1-2 times per week (aside from a little Grease the Groove skill work on the Hand Stand and Muscle Up).

If you're at all like me, and have a poor level of discipline for sticking with a mobility/stretching regimen, then this might be for you. A no-brainer, easy to perform mobility exercise every day.

Here's the first one, which I'm doing tonight. It focuses on spending time in a deep, unload squat. I don't do much loaded bilateral squatting, but I think bodyweight only squatting is an absolutely vital movement, and one I don't do enough of. Pavel Tsatsouline does a great job of explaining why in his video seminar: Beyond Stretching.

Here goes nothing.

Paleo Doctors

2011-03-07T11:18:00.000-05:00

This is a great new resource, put together by Rob Wolf and Dr. Loren Cordain. Thank you guys!

http://paleophysiciansnetwork.com/mission

There have been listings of low-carb doctors in the past, but I'm hoping this will grow to be even more useful. Well done.

Addicted to Customization?

2011-03-06T21:07:00.000-05:00

So my training wouldn't be truly mine if I didn't feel the compulsion to bastardize other people's training methods, splicing together bits and pieces of different schools of thought. But, in the spirit of Bruce Lee, and heeding the wisest physiculturists out there, I guess I'll always feel the need to take what works from other peoples protocols and leave the rest.

To paraphrase 30 Rock's Jack Donaghy in the pilot episode, sometimes you need to take something that works perfectly well and change it to make it truly your own.

Now don't get me wrong - it would be unfair of me to customize someone else's protocol, and then cry "ineffective!" if it didn't work for me. I understand that completely. On the contrary, I do tend to do a program as prescribed. If I get results, it goes in the tool box.

And that's the case with what I've been doing recently. On my deployment, I had access to minimal equipment, but I had enough to do a fairly High Intensity 'Big 5' workout, as prescribed by Doug McGuff in the book Body by Science. I made significant gains in my pulling movements (specifically lat pull-down) and in the leg press.

Areas that didn't benefit so much? Overhead press. That's always been a weak point for me, and I think it stems primarily from poor muscle endurance. Some of my training partners on this deployment were significantly weaker than me in any other lift, even pressing movements, but they would match me on the super-slow overhead press. And these are guys who, I know for certain, I can out military press. There's something about the super slow overhead press that just makes it a difficult movement for me.

Further experimentation showed deadlifts to be equally unsuitable for super slow training. My spinal erectors fatigued far too quickly to enable any real hamstring fatigue. So the press and deadlift didn't really benefit from this kind of training.

Now before I continue, I know there are pieces of equipment conducive to training these two motor patterns in a very effective HIT fashion. I just didn't have them available, and still don't.

Anyway, starting about two months ago, I was looking for a training program that would take extremely little time out of my week, would produce global metabolic conditioning and improved body composition, and would help me improve in my specific strength goals, which are:

2.5 and then 3xbodyweight deadlift.
1x Bodyweight overhead press
A strict one armed pullup.

At first, I started doing Jim Wendler's very effective 5/3/1 program, but with an HIT/SuperSlow emphasis on the last set. This has been working pretty well - it gives me the intensity of the HIT workouts, along with the simple weight progression of Wendler's program.

However, as I mentioned, the press and the deadlift just don't work well with a super slow style of training (for me personally). So I broke it up into the following split:

Weekend A: Bulgarian Front Squat, Weighted Pullup, and Pushups.
- this is done with a few warm up sets, and then the working set of each lift is terminated by a superslow eccentric, and then followed immediately by the next, HIT style. The cardiovascular effect is devastating.

Weekend B: Barbell Press, Deadlifts, and One Arm Pullup Negatives. This is done with a slower pace, and an emphasis on strength generation over fatigue generation. I feel more pumped after this workout, not dead.

*I'm also planning to incorporate a weekly sprint session.

I have some ideas on why this split is a good balance on my specific goal work, and general conditioning/composition work. It seems that having my main HIT/superslow workouts be actually 14 days apart is an IDEAL rest period - I've been progressing smoothly. We'll see about the deadlift/press/OAP day. I'll post some thoughts and progress reports.

The main goal here is to improve strength, conditioning, and composition, with minimal time. 30-45 minutes of total gym time per week (my garage) seems to meet that last requirement.

Also, a quick not. I've been keeping fairly consistently on a 7-8 hour feeding window every day, starting at about 11:30-1pm and ending at around 7:30 to 8 pm. In addition, I push out the typical 16 hour fast to about 20-22 hours one day per week. I've been noticing slow but steady body fat reduction, and I'm pretty satisfied with the pace. When I sleep and eat well (so no excess water retention), I see lower and lower weights. This morning I weighed 179 lbs after a cup of black coffee and a trip to the lieu. That's the least I've weighed in 8 years!

And yet I'm easily stronger than ever. I don't know what my max deadlift is right now, but I can pull 315# for a continuous set of 10, and I can do a set of 3 weighted pullups with an additional 95#. These strength improvements, though modest, tell me my fasting is allowing me to reduce fat while maintaining and even improving muscle mass.

We'll see where this program leaves me in another few months.

I'm Back.

2011-01-17T21:01:00.001-05:00

Well, it's been several months since my last post. About half way through my deployment, I lost the ability to access the blogger.com domain, and thus my ability to post.

Training through deployment continued to move along a High Intensity Training style track, with many benefits. After a while, my training partner got itchy, so we switched to a 5-3-1 (i.e. Jim Wendler) style training plan, with a High Intensity style approach to the final rep of the final set. Think 2 primer sets and then a main work set, where absolute failure is reached on the last rep. The thing I like about the 5-3-1 set up is it's easily measurable, and allows for infrequent training.

Now that I'm home, here's what my schedule is looking like, each workout is done once every 2 weeks. All exercises are done on a 5-3-1 program, so the same set scheme is repeated once every 6 weeks, with different weights each time.

Workout A:
Bulgarian Front Squats on each leg
Weighted Chin Ups (slightly narrower than shoulder width)

Workout B:
Romanian Deadlifts of the rack (5-6 inches elevated since I'm still working on flexibility)
Standing Barbell Press

I'll have some more thoughts to follow, but this is my training program in brief for the next few months. I wanted something simple, trackable, and infrequent, because I'm not going to have much time on my hands in the coming months. My wife is due with our first in a few weeks, so frequent and thoughtfully crafted workouts won't be possible. Working 4 compound movements in an easily trackable way, with some high-intensity emphasis, will hopefully enable me to keep my conditioning up, while making some modest strength gains.

More to follow on all things food, exercise, and baby.

(Nearly) Mid Deployment Update

2010-08-25T05:40:00.001-04:00

I'm nearly over the half-way hump in this deployment, and since it's been 6 or 7 weeks since my last post, I figured I'd make a record of where my training is at right now.

I'm still utlizing the High Intensity Training methodology - single set, super slow to failure - predominantly with compound movements. I typically move at a "10 seconds up, 10 seconds down" cadence. I don't always time myself, and I never record my times. I only use time as a measure of whether I should move up in weight or not. If I have to gut out a 4th rep, with an average speed of ~20 seconds per rep, I know that I'm not quite ready to move up in weight. However, if I can just finish a 5th rep, that indicates a rough Time Under Load of 95-105 seconds, which is where I'd consider I weight increase for the next workout.

While I don't normally like the Smith Machine, I use it underway because the rocking makes some free weight exercises unsafe and impractical for the HIT/SS training style. Technique heavy movements just don't work well with this program, because you end up reaching technical failure long before you reach absolute muscle failure, and that's not the point. The perk of the Smith Machine is that it enables me to do some movements that would normally be to technique/stabilization heavy, like rear leg elevated split squats. With free-weights, these seem somewhat impractical, but on the Smith they work well in taxing the glutes and quads effectively.

This is how my routine has been for the past few weeks, and I plan on continuing it for at least the next two months (about 6 workouts per split).
Day 1
- Single Leg Front Squat (Rear Leg Elevated)*
- Bench Press*
- Quarter Deadlift + Shrug
- Calf Extension**
- Hanging Knee Raise
Day 2
- Single Leg Romanian Deadlift*
- Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press
- Lat Pull Down
- Single Leg Swiss Ball Glute/Ham Bridge Curl***
- Calf Extension**

* - Smith Machine
** - Leg Press Machine
*** - Begun by lying with upper back flat on the ground, working leg's foot on the smith ball with knee bent 90 degrees, and non-working leg's ankle crossed and resting on the working knee. While maintaining a straight line between the working knee and the shoulders (contracting glute and spinal erectors), slowly extend working leg, rolling Swiss Ball away from you. Once the leg is nearly extended, contract glutes and hamstrings to pull the heel towards the body, rolling the Swiss Ball back to the starting position.

I space these workouts out by about 5-6 days, so that each gets repeated every 10-12 days. In between each HIT/SS workout, I have added a High Intensity Interval Training workout. I do the Tabata protocol on a Concept 2 Rowing machine: 20 seconds of maximum exertion rowing, followed by 10 seconds of complete rest, repeated 7 times, for 8 total 30 second intervals. The effects are devastating, and I am enjoying the posterior chain engagement associated with the rowing as well. It is especially exhausting, and usually it takes nearly 1 hour for me to fully catch my breath.

I have shared my training methods with several people on my ship, and they all seem to have good results from both the HIT and the HIIT training styles. One thing I notice is that no one ever takes as long to recover as I do. I wonder if I simply have poor recovery, or if it is because more advanced trainees can exert themselves harder and have more muscle mass to replenish. Of course I'd like to believe the latter, but I've always noticed that I'd be gasping for air long after other people had fully recovered following a 5K for example. I think I really do have genetically poor recovery ability - I wonder which metabolic component of the process of recovery is my weak point.

That's all for now - I'll post an update if I end up significantly changing my training, or if I notice any significant results as far as strength, conditioning, or body composition are concerned. These results will likely be associated by periods of particularly clean eating, as my diet and sleep schedule have been poor recently, required consistent training and consistent intermittent fasting (2-3x/week) to maintain my current body composition.

Deployment 2010

2010-07-06T08:39:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm a month and a half into my second and final deployment, and while it got off to a slow start, the days are now flying by! Sleep and diet are definitely the two biggest challenges I encounter in trying to remain healthy.

Sleep is really a manner of being disciplined about getting work done early, budgeting my time wisely, and having the sense to sleep when I need to. Since the sleep is frequently broken into two chunks, a normal 7 hours seems less regenerative, so allotting time for a nap here and there makes a big difference as far as water retention, exercise recovery, and general well-being are concerned.

Diet is another matter. I generally eat more starch on deployment, in the form of rice and potato, because quality fat is hard to find, and the energy must come from somewhere. So long as I avoid wheat, I seem to manage this macronutrient intake ratio just fine, though I don't believe I'm as healthy as I would be were I to have access to more fat and thus eat less carbohydrate. Sugar and wheat are constant temptations which, when I'm exhausted, are hard to avoid since we are constantly surrounded by them, and the alternative to pasta, pizza, or sandwhiches isn't always palatable. Still, I've been fairly good about minimizing these foods. Vegetable oils are also quite pervasive, and these can be even harder to avoid, so I've gone up to about 3 grams of molecularly distilled fish oil per day.

Intermittent fasting, when I can manage it, also plays an important role in mitigating the poor diet on board. My body always is glad of the opportunity to have what is essentially a zero carb, high fat day, involving a complete break for the digestive track.

As far as exercise, I've been fairly consistent with my Body by Science/HIT style training of late. I have two workouts that I do in every 10-12 day period. The one is a big 4 or big 5, depending on how you look at it.

Seated Barbell Military Press on a Smith Machine
Lat Pull Down
Slight Decline Bench Press on a Smith Machine
Single Leg Leg Press, first left, then right.

I shifted to the single leg press, since I found that I was generating too much pressure in my abdominal cavity with the double leg press, to the point where I think I actually strained a blood vessel in my head. After that, any time I got my heart rate up, the back of my head would throb in pain for almost two weeks. The single leg has completely rectified that problem. Now I can put every ounce of effort I can muster into a given effort, and not worry about putting too much of a strain on my body. I've also gained quickly, moving from a "16" on the leg press machine with both legs, to a "10" with each leg, which I'll be doing for the first time tomorrow. I recommend going to single leg work for anyone who has felt the need to hinder progress in the double leg press for the sake of avoid strain on the whole system.

As for my "Little 2 plus" workout, it centers around Calf Extensions on the Leg press machine, and a half-deadlift shrug on the smith machine, going from full extension to lowering the bar tothe knee. The latter exercise provides a good stimulation to the spinal erectors in addition to heavily taxing the trapezius muscles. After these two, I tinker with some ab exercises and forearm work - whatever I am feeling in the mood for.

I have also been trying to keep my legs loose by walking for a mile or two once or twice a week, simply to shake out the stiffness brought on by 6 hours of standing every day. I am considering occasionally doing an 8 round tabata interval on the concept 2 rowing machine before my walks, in order to regain some lost anaerobic/aerobic conditioning. Doug McGuff recommended some infrequent intervals if you rest for more than 8-10 days between big 5 workouts, and since my "Little 2 plus" workouts aren't very aerobically taxing, it seems like his suggestion applies. I'm doing a "big 5" tomorrow, and then on Thursday or Friday I'll do an interval/walking session and see how it goes.

Finally, I frequently do pistols and pullup variants while on watch, to pass the time. I've noticed some improvement in my pistol ability, so hopefully I can keep greasing the groove without over taxing my joints, and really develop those skills further.

My goal, for this deployment, is simply to maintain/improve body composition/muscle mass, and to mitigate the negative effects of a poorer quality diet. I want to be able to come home and not have any weight to loose, and have developed the muscular base to return to my free weight training with the potential for some strength gains in my favorite lifts (deadlift, standing press, weighted pullup).

Strength to Weight Ratio

2010-05-16T10:59:00.000-04:00

It's been quite a few weeks, and I've been in somewhat of a cruise control mode as I make final preparations before deployment. I've gotten a few good but uneventful Body by Science workouts in, and I'm currently taking a week or two off from any training so I begin this deployment fully recovered. I know this sounds like heresy, but by keeping my diet fairly Paleo, and remaining very active with gardening, walking, and general business, I'm feeling good and staying reasonably lean. Also, my lovely wife has been making some wonderful, paleo dishes recently, which I'll be adding to the scrolling photo album to the left.

"Strength-to-Weight Ratio." It's kind of a buzz term for trendy fitness talk, so I'll try not to regurgitate too much of what we all already know. I'll simply testify to the benefits of focusing on improving your strength to weight ratio. You can improve it by losing weight, or getting stronger, and I've found that by adopting a Paleolithic lifestyle (eating less grain, sugar, and veggie oils, eating more animal products, doing less cardio and more strength/sprint training, etc) has done wonders to lower my body weight while increasing my lean muscle mass and strength.

The first benefit that's commonly associated with improving your S/W (my new abbreviation) is improved athleticism. If you improve strength, and decrease weight, you're going to be able to jump a little higher, do a few more pullups, get a muscle up more readily, and just be more nimble in general. I routinely notice this in myself. I was never athletic when I was in highschool. I was always slow and cumbersome, and would always be smoked by leaner guys in sports like soccer, where changing direction and accelerating are the deciding factors in performance. Recently, be it while on a hike, or playing a game of softball, I've noticed that I have a level of athleticism and coordination I never had before, and I can't accredit this to anything other than the fact that I'm stronger and lighter.

The less discussed, but at least as beneficial product of improving your S/W is improved cardio. When I say "cardio," I'm simply referring to how often/easily you get winded. When you improve your strength to weight ratio, I'm convinced that improved cardio/respiratory endurance comes part and parcel with that. And it makes sense. "Cardio" is the term we use for how good you are at supplying oxygen to your muscles to do work. If your muscles, however, have to do less work to ascend a flight of stairs (because you weigh 30lbs less) then they're going to need less oxygen, and thus you'll have a perceived improvement in your cardio because you'll be huffing and puffing less. You may not have actually become better at delivering oxygen, but who cares? A task which previously would have winded you now doesn't.

Furthermore, if you improve your strength such that an exertion which formerly required 20% of your strength now only requires 15%, surely this takes a smaller toll on your energy reserves. Such an exertion would still require the same number of calories to perform, but being stronger would allow you to recruit quick recovering Slow Twitch fibers for something that before would have required the use of quickly tiring, slow to recover Fast Twitch fibers. Slow twitch fibers can fully recover in minutes or even seconds, as compared with the hours, days, or even weeks that can be necessary for the totally recovery of Fast Twitch fibers.

So the moral of my story is that maintaining an evolutionarily sound strength to weight ratio should take priority over trying to maintain an certain level of cardio. I think you'll find that maintaining a good S/W will provide you with all the "cardio" you need to enjoy an active life. Any cardiovascularly demanding activities you plan on doing down the road can be trained for with interval training when the time comes!

Softball

2010-04-25T17:22:00.001-04:00

I skipped my HIT session this week in lieu of a few hours of slow pitch softball on Friday morning. I don't think I've touched a glove or bat more than once in 10 years, so I was less concerned with distinguishing myself, and more concerned with not looking like a fool.

However, it seems these concerns were unwarranted. I played well, scored the tying run in the final inning of our second game, and ended up pitching our final game and fielding the final out. We went undefeated for three games, none of which were taken too seriously, but it was a good time, and I managed to put the ball in the outfield at every at-bat. I'm still no softball player, but it's amazing what improving your strength/power to weight ratio does for your athleticism. While I'm still not at all naturally athletic, I was certainly surprised at my ability to keep up.

What I'm really surprised by is how primal I found softball to be. Unlike my previous experiences with organized sports (I was, tragically, a cross-country runner in my past life), the movements and pace of softball really do fit into what I imagine a paleo-lithic hunting experience might be. Not that this is new information, but the game consists of:

A lot of patient waiting.
Short, maximum effort sprints. (between bases)
Maximum effort heaves (throwing the ball).
Maximum effort swings (hitting the ball).
Lateral shifting and diving (fielding the ball).
An emphasis on accuracy and hand-eye coordination.

It's funny because even though I enjoyed little league, though I wasn't that good, I've always looked at baseball players as the laziest of athletes. They spend so much time standing around! This really is a mark of the impact our modern, misguided understanding of fitness on our perception of athleticism.

From a 'paleo' perspective, baseball/softball really forces you through many motor patterns you might have experienced when hunting. Waiting, focusing, sprinting, heaving, swinging, hitting . . . sounds like what you'd have to do to kill something to me!

Anyway, it was a good time, and made for a good change of pace to my routine. I got a great deal of sun, and best of all, I was able to perform well while fasted all morning. I also played in my vibrams. This elicited no end of comments from concerned bystanders waiting for me to break my ankle. I emerged unscathed. The only difficulty was in skidding to a stop on the dirt, as the friction generated gave me some hot spots on my toes. Otherwise, it was refreshing to do some sprinting

Resting and fine tuning.

2010-04-13T16:03:00.000-04:00

I trained HIT style today, after an 8 day rest. It was an excellent workout, and a minor tweak drastically increased the difficulty.

8kg Weighted Pullup - 75 Seconds
75# Barbell Press - 75 Seconds
145# Partial Romanian Deadlift - 72 Seconds.

The focus in this workout was to spend almost all my time in the portion of the rep where mechanical advantage was the smallest. In otherwords, I spent little time where I am strong, and lots of time where I am weak. Times where I am strong are during the lockout of the press, the very top of the pullup, and at lockout in the deadlift. With the first two movements, I tried to very quickly move through the strong portions of the movement, and very slowly through the weak portions. For the Romanian Deadlift, I simply didn't proceed past the lower quad.

Because the weight is so light, the RDL becomes extremely easy when the bar is at mid-thigh and above, which defeats the purpose of HIT in my mind. I wanted to maintain a high level of tension for the entire time under load. So, once the bar reached the bottom of my quads, I descended back into the bottom of the rep. This made for a tremendous amount of tension on the hamstrings and glutes, which was the goal. My spinal erectors also felt the burn, since they were given no breaks where the lockout portion would usually be. So while my TUL for the RDL is lower than it was, I don't count it as a regression, since this method of execution is much more difficult.

I'm on leave at the moment, and I'm trying to make the best of it, physically. I did indulge in some sweets over the weekend, including a trip to an amazing Italian Pastry Cafe off Arthur Ave in the Bronx. However, I'm trying to eat cleanly and maximize my sleep for the rest of my time off. I don't want to pass on the chance to do some quality recovering.

Rockin and Rollin.

2010-04-09T16:23:00.000-04:00

I've had two extremely challenging HIT sessions over the past two weeks, both of which occurred underway. We had a fair amount of choppy seas during these underways, so I had to rely on machines for these workouts. As much as I enjoy my "functional" training, these were still excellent sessions, and much akin to the sessions I've been putting my friends through recently.

My machine workout on board follows this pattern:
Smith Machine Seated Military Press
Lat Pull Down
Smith Machine Decline Bench
Romanian Deadlift (Preacher Curl Bar)
Leg Press

My second workout was brutal and saw TUL improvements across the board with stable weights. All of my 'clients' are enjoying steady gains as well, so I think I may have 3 converts on my hands. They all continue to love the efficiency of the Body By Science training program.

As for my training, while I think 4 of these movements are very suited to HIT training, the RDL may need to be replaced by some sort of Glute/Ham raise like movement - it gets a bit too easy at the top, so I may consider abbreviating it to the bottom of the movement. The leg press isn't actually too bad if I focus on maintaining the lordotic curve in my lower spine. By intentionally emphasizing the glutes I manage to do a fairly comprehensive job of taxing my posterior chain.

As for MCA, or mouth closed activity, I've been logging three to five 1.5-2 mile walks each week at a brisk but comfortable pace on a 2-4 degree incline. I set the treadmill to fluctuate between zero and 4 degree inclines randomly, so that it simulates a slightly hilly walk, but I make sure that I can breath easily through my nose throughout. I've found that I feel great when I do this consistently, and since I do my walking in my vibram five fingers, my knees feel much better.

Eating healthy underway remains a challenge, as a significant portion of the food is breaded, fried in vegetable oil, or both. Salad dressings all contain soy bean oils, and any snacks available are highly processed garbage for the most part. I'll pass on the 'healthy' Whole Wheat Pop Tarts, thanks. I continue to supplement Vitamin D and fish oil, to get my walking in, to fast occasionally, and to sleep as much as my schedule allows. I should be able to get a fair amount of sunshine in during the coming underway time, so I will make the best of that.

that's all for now. I may focus in the next month or so on other measures I take to live a healthy life at sea. In the mean time, I'm going to enjoy dry land as much as possible!

Clients? On a Smith Machine?

2010-03-21T12:15:00.003-04:00

I am still reeling from this morning's workout, and it only took 15 minutes for me to set up my equipment, do a little potentiation (priming of the musculature), and perform the whole workout, which was done barefoot and fasted since the previous evening.

8kg Weighted Pullup - 73 Seconds
75# Barbell Press - 75 Seconds*
145# Romanian Deadlift - 100 seconds

Though I remained stable in the press, I had my wife count of seconds for each exercise, forcing me to adhere exactly to 10 seconds up, 10 seconds down instead of approximating this by counting 10 'breaths.' I feel this increased the challenge a bit, which is why I'm especially pleased with the pullups and RDL's, and why I'm not disappointed with the presses. I consider this to be improvement all around.

These past two weeks I've begun to coach several shipmates of mine in Body by Science style high intensity training. Of course, I counseled them that I'm not a fitness professional, but they decided to train with me anyway, aware of the risk.

In keeping with the spirit of BBS, my main focus in training them is safety, followed by intensity. The movements I have them perform are:

Standard lat pull down.
Seated military press on the Smith Machine.
Standard seated cable row.
Slight decline bench press on the Smith Machine.
Leg Press.

It is with much chagrin that I must admit that the Smith Machine may have it's place. While my instinct screams "it's not functional!", my senses tell me that, within high intensity training, it may be well suited for pressing movements. I'll offer some more thoughts on this later.

When training my friends, the one point I constantly harp on is posture. For each movement, I demand a big chest, tight abs, shoulders 'packed' (back and down), and the lordotic curve of the lumbar spine safely maintained. This is especially important in the military press and leg press. Allowing the spine to round during either movement is dangerous, and I am tyrannical in my emphasis that this be avoided.

For the press: As the smith machine naturally angles in it's bar path, I have them sit, leaning forward, such that the bar will track in front of them, not behind. They lean into the bar slightly, so that their spine is in line with the bar path of the machine. Thus the bar edns up tracking directly 'overhead' in relation to their alignment. This forces them to assume proper spine posture, and in my estimation protects both their back and shoulders from injury. It seems to be working, and I may post a video to demonstrate.

As for the leg press, poor spine position allows the butt to rise up off the seat at the bottom of the motion, placing enormous stress on the spine. By maintaining a slightly and naturally arched back, such that a pen can easily slide between the center of the back and the pad, we can ensure that this won't happen, and that the stress remains on the muscles of the hips.

I am reluctant to have any of my friends do any compound movements with this style of training, as I don't want lack of experience to lead to poor posture as they fatigue. They are all progressing, and the machines will suite nicely for now. The main components of their progress do not yet lie in any noticeable hypertrophy, but rather in improved posture/form and in an increased threshold of intensity/pain, which leads to improved TUL's.

They all continue to marvel at how efficient the workout is. 10 minutes of exertion leaves them taxed, yet invigorated. Hopefully I've saved a few more folks from the drudgery of Chronic Cardio . . .

Green denotes improvement.

WOW and Brutalized Spinal Erectors.

2010-03-14T17:30:00.001-04:00

Erector Spinae
Courtesy of Real Body Work

This 'workout of the week' was exceedingly challenging, and felt amazing. The metabolic condition aspect was quite intense.

Training went as follows:
8kg Weighted Pullup - 62 seconds
75# Barbell Press - 75 seconds
145# Romanian Deadlift - 93 seconds *
24kg Goblet Squat - 56 seconds *

This week, I implemented several changes, based upon my musings after last week's WOW.

- I performed all exercises in a strict HIT fashion, meaning no more fast concentrics (10 count up, 10 count down)
- I performed my pullups with a palms away grip.
- I used the barbell press instead of the kettlebell press
- I incorporated a goblet squat after my deadlifting.
- I emphasized spending as little time as possible in the strongest position of each movement, such as the top of the deadlift, or the bottom OR top of the press.

I am smoked, as these changes made for an extremely demanding workout. I am especially pleased with how exhausted my erector spinae are (see picture), as I think strengthening postural musculature should be a priority for anyone who trains.

*The increased time under tension brought about by eliminating my fast concentrics made for some absolutely brutal romanian deadlifts, and I though my hamstrings got a very taxing workout, the real limiting factor that forced me to stop was my erector spinae fatiguing. I had planned on doing Goblet Squats afterwards, and I went through with it knowing I would fail early. My spinal erectors were so toasted I didn't even last a minute despite the light load.

As for the other changes, I think the palms away grip shifted the focus towards the lats and away from the biceps. I also focused on spending as little time as possible at the very bottom of the movement, where the biceps are very dominant. By emphasizing a big, open chest, I brought all of the pulling muscles of the back into play, and I could feel the exhaustion immediately as I went to press.

The Barbell press was not only more cardiovascularly taxing than the KB press, it also seemed to increased the apparent time under tension. Even at lockout, where I spent as little time as possible, there was more tension felt, since the arms were not completely verticle at lockout, as they are in the KB press. As with the pullups, I also emphasized spending the bulk of my time in the middle of the movement. I reached absolute failure in the end, failing as I tried with all my might to prevent the weight from lowering.

I don't think I'll be Goblet Squatting next week, as my quads couldn't benefit from them. My spinal erectors were too exhausted and failed too early. I'll have to pick another movement here. I hate to admit it, but it seems like a properly performed leg press would suit.

† I've noticed a mild bit of hypertrophy these past two weeks, despite being dissatisfied with my previous two workouts.

A slight stall

2010-03-07T12:17:00.001-05:00

HIT workout today involving weighted pullups, waiter presses, and squatting. I'm slightly frustrated with my lack of progress, but several variables, including poor sleep this week, can more than account for that. I had also just eaten a pretty large meal, and I usually train fasted, so this could impact things as well.

It would be unfair to question the efficacy of the system without giving it a legitimate fair shot. I've been doing my concentrics quickly (Slow-E, "Fast-C"), but I think I'm going to do the program as designed for a little while. This will invariable result in decreases in time under load and load itself, but that's ok. I'm not proud.

This week looked like this:

12kg weighted pullup - 70 seconds (6 reps?)
16kg KB waiter press - 82 seconds/77 seconds.
145# barbell back squat - 80 seconds (6 reps) - this involved a pause before the last rep.

My plans for next week:

65# Barbell Press - this should be easy, so I'll just establish a baseline.
12kg weighted pullup, with a palms away grip. I feel like my arms have been doing most of the work recently with the palms facing grip, and the lighter weight should accommodate increased TUL.
145# Romanian - again, much lighter weight to account for the slower reps.

I'm also going to see if I can get a full 56 hours (7 days x 8 hrs) of quality sleep between this and my next workout. This is one area that I continue to be undisciplined in, despite how essential I know it is. From body composition to mental clarity, almost all areas of my health/fitness improve when I'm well rested.

We'll see how this goes. I'm not that frustrated because I've been relatively pleased with my muscle mass lately (I think I've made small gains in this regard despite stalled TUL's). Since I think this style of training may become a periodic part of my long term training, it is good that it seems to accomplish its goal of time-efficient hypertrophy.

Training and a decadent lunch.

2010-02-27T13:39:00.004-05:00

As expected, my TUL's are slightly worse this week. After those sprints on Sunday, I had no choice but to delay my super slow training, as my whole body (even my upper back!) was sore from those sprints. Despite the short TUL's, the session was great, and I think my next session should show some good gains.

12kg Weighted Pullup - 63 seconds (7 reps)

16kg KB Waiter Press - ~83 seconds each (9 reps each)

185# Romanian Deadlift - 86 seconds (9 reps)*

*The Deadlift might also be lower because the largest plates I used this time were 35#'s, slightly increasing the range of motion. Great training in any event. I feel great and I know I'll be getting a lot of sleep and good food in me over the next few days, so I'm poised for some decent gains.

As for the pizza, the recipe is simple, and pleases every time:

Crust:

1 Head of Cauliflower - chopped, boiled, and mashed (try to strain as much water as possible before mashing)

2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella, added while the cauliflower is still hot so it melts in, then add

2 TBSP Coconut flour and -

2 Eggs after it has cooled a little (we don't want them to cook yet) along with a -

A sprinkling of baking powder.

Some Garlic and Onion powder mixed into the crust.

Ideally, bake on a pizza stone, but whatever you bake it on, put a piece of Parchment (not wax!) Paper down, and cook it at 400 degrees till it starts to brown. Take it out, and flip it over onto another piece of parchment paper (this is tricky), and put it back in the oven on the pizza stone to brown the other side.

Then take it back out, covered it with your toppings. In my case, I put:

A thin layer of Ricotta (about a cup)

Sausage.

Sliced fresh mozzarella.

Pimentos, Pesto, and some olive oil.

Return to the oven to get good and melty, then cut, serve, and enjoy!

Sprints, finally.

2010-02-20T11:55:00.001-05:00

This amazing photo courtesy of Sebastian

After a regrettable hip flexor injury (sprint-related), I'm cautiously reintroducing sprinting into my regimen. I feel it's a vital part of being primal (Primal Blue Print Law #5). With the weather getting warmer, I really want to capitalize on the opportunity.

After some striding, lunges, and other warmups to ensure my hip flexors were ready. I performed 5 x 5 second sprints, resting ~2 minutes between efforts. I'll increase the volume as I adapt to this style of exertion. Sprinting on concrete in Vibrams was challenging. Adaptation needed.

My Getups require more rest.

2010-02-18T11:05:00.000-05:00

Another round of turkish getups, done High-Intensity/Time Under Load style. I think 6 days of rest is either too much, or not enough rest. I'll err on the side of not enough, and wait a solid 7 days before my next go. I was much more deliberate with my pacing this time. I paused for a full breath at each of the seven steps of the get up, as I and many others perform them.

24kg Kettlebell Turkish Get Up (Left) - 2:24 - 4 and 1/4 reps
24kg Kettlebell Turkish Get Up (Right) - 2:02 - 4 reps (failed just before finishing the last rep)

I'm willing to chalk the slight regression up to a more rigid adherence to pacing on my left arm, which caused me to be slightly more tired going into the right arm set. Adapting to this, along with more rest, should help me post some improved times under load next week.

HIT Back Squats, among other things.

2010-02-15T12:52:00.001-05:00

I had given back squatting, and bilateral squatting in general, some what of a break to give my knee a chance to heal. I just didn't feel super comfortable with even remotely heavy loads.

Luckily, high intensity training focuses on loads that would otherwise be considered pretty light. Since I don't find Bulgarian Split Squats, or other unilateral squatting movements, particularly suitable to high intensity style training, I figured I'd give the back squat another try. It was brutal!

I definitely overestimated myself on the loading, as it's been a long time since I've squatted, and I've never done it in HIT fashion.

12kg Weighted Pullup - 62 seconds (6 reps)
16kg KB Waiter Press - 104/102 seconds (10+10 reps)
165# Back Squat - 61 seconds (6 reps)*
Fasted and Barefoot.

This was a good, challenging workout, with a pretty good metabolic conditioning hit. Though I begin with fast eccentrics, I went to true failure in both the pullup and press. I'm not terribly disappointed with the stable pullup TUL, as I ate poorly this weekend, and with the big sweat pants I was wearing, I'm about 3lbs heavier than I was last week, so I guess I'm technically up in weight for that movement.

For the waiter press, I'm very pleased with this progress - a nearly 40 second jump in time under load! Though I enjoy the floor press, I'm more concerned with shoulder strength and health, so I've decided to be consistent and make this my pressing movement for each workout, with the pullup being my pulling movement for each as well. I think the progress I'll make doing this is more useful to me than the more 'well-rounded' strength I might slowly develop by incorporating a lateral press and lateral pull. A little experimentation, if you will.

As for the squat, I anticipated that 165# would be a bit heavy, and I was right. I could certainly have done more reps, but I would have had to rest in the standing position, which defeats the purpose, in my opinion, of the high intensity approach of sustained time under load. Next time, I'm going to drop to 145#, and see if I can't get a TUL closer to 2 minutes before I increase the weight. The prospect of being able to get a few months of productive training in without having to go much heavier than 200lbs (if that) is appealing to me, as I really want to be cautious with my left knee. I can squat these weights and feel no discomfort at all, which is worth the price of working with "wimpy" weights.

Great links for the week.

2010-02-13T21:34:00.005-05:00

Here are some of the more interesting things I've read this week:

A solid interview with functional movement guru Paul Chek.

Tom Naughton tells us why Real Milk Gets A Raw Deal.

Dr. Mike tackles Anthony Colpo.

No Soap or Poo Update

Hunter Gather Love talks Rancid Fats, and the Acid-Base balance.

Stephan debunks the causal link between saturated fat and insulin resistance.

Running on your toe is better for you, but maybe we should walk with a slight heal strike?

And easily the most interesting:

What if the HIV wasn't the cause of Aids, but actually a relatively inactive virus? And what if, in the hit early and hit hard drug treatments for AIDS, with their vicious and liver killing side-effects, more harm than good was being done?

These are the questions that Rebbecca Culshaw, PhD in Mathematical Biology, asks with her new book: Science Sold Out: Does HIV Really Cause Aids. She summarizes her arguments in these articles. Why I Quit HIV and The Aftermath. Definitely a pretty interesting theory, but it shouldn't be hard for any Paleo/Primal lifestyler to imagine the medical establishment getting something horribly, horribly wrong - even, or especially, something this important.

Getups - Time Under Load style.

2010-02-12T11:41:00.000-05:00

A quick round of kettlebell turkish getups (fasted), with the emphasis on time under load. This is a 4kg jump from the last TUL based getup workout that I did back in January. TUL remained pretty constant.

24kg TGU (left arm) - 2:22 - 4 reps
24kg TGU (right arm) - 2:20 - 3.75* reps

*I failed before I reached the bottom of the lift.
This workout is very short, very tough, and very effective.

I'm not an athlete, nor do I play one on TV.

2010-02-07T11:50:00.001-05:00

A pretty challenging BBS/HIT/Fast C-Slow E workout this week. Down in weight but slightly up in TUL for the pullup, up in weight for the RDL, Stable for the KB press. I am still very much enjoying the intensity, metabolic effect, and time-efficiency of these workouts. While I still like doing explosive things, I am starting to accept the fact that I'm not an athlete.

12kg Weighted Pullup - 60 seconds
16kg KB Waiter Press - ~68 seconds per arm
185# RDL - 90 seconds.
(fasted and barefoot.)

I was pleased with the romanians, and I think shooting for a 2 minute TUL with 225# isn't an unrealistic goal over time. As for the pullups and press, these are sort of in maintenance mode as my training has been a little inconsistent recently. It's been 2 weeks since my last HIT session, so I can't complain too much. I was toying with the idea of doing some light squatting, HIT style, at the end, but I really gave the RDL's my all and had nothing left afterwards.

I've been finding it easier recently to accept the fact that I'm not an athlete. I do love explosive movements, and while I can and should incorporate some power-centric training into my regimen, it's not necessary for me to train like an athlete all the time to be happy, healthy, and fit.

Fortunately, my deployment has been delayed, giving me an extra month and a half on dry land. I think simply adding some sprinting to my training will more than take advantage of this, and will serve as a totally sufficient stimulus to improve my power production. For now, I think I'll try to get a consistent 2 months worth of big 3/4 workouts, turkish getup time under load workouts, and sprint sessions. I think a realistic goal is to try to cycle through these 8 times each.

This schedule change also means I'll get to spend an extra 6 weeks enjoying my wife's delicious and nourishing cooking, and just enjoying her company. I can't think of anything more ancestral/primal than just spending time enjoying the company of your family, so I plan to maximize that over the next 3 months!

About Student of Fitness

2010-02-05T15:13:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the About Page.

This Blog is an effort to track and share my efforts to live a healthier life. Over it's course, I have tried many fitness regimens, always experimenting to determine what does and does not work for me personally. Looking back, you can see that I've made mistakes, I've been overzealous, and I have even been stupid at times with my approach nutrition and fitness. However, I have learned a great deal, exhaustively researching the concepts behind various approaches to health, and I have decided that I am healthiest, and fittest, when I move and eat in ways similar to the way our ancestors likely moved and ate.

If you follow my attempts to be a true student of fitness, you'll find that I occasionally alter my routine, abandoning or embracing certain approaches. Though I might appear inconsistent at times, I am continually honing my craft and adding tools to my arsenal, and I feel better all the time for it. Our lives are experiments, I enjoy learning, through experimentation, as much as I can about myself and the way I interact with my environment, be it on a personal, physical, or emotional level.

I encourage you to read on and leave a comment. Hopefully we'll learn something together. We live in an exciting time. The evidence supporting an ancestral or paleolithic approach to health and fitness grows daily, while the poorly founded arguments supporting our nation's conventional approach to health wither. In the same way that doctors no longer recommend smoking, I believe that soon they will no longer recommend avoiding saturated fat, nor will they encourage that you eat whole grains. It will take time, and it will be painful. The truth, however, will prevail eventually, and I hope that you and I are well ahead of the game when it does!

Move Frequently, at a Slow Pace

2010-01-26T11:18:00.000-05:00

I felt it would be a shame to let a perfectly good fast go to waste today, so I decided to finally act on my intentions of late to begin walking more. In his book, The Primal Blue Print, Mark Sisson discusses the need for good amounts of long, very low intensity activity, or "Mouth Closed Activity" (MCA) as I like to call it - if you have to open your mouth to breath, your working way to hard for this. The benefits are more about enhanced circulation, accelerated recovery, and lubrication of the joints then they are about calories burned, metabolic stimulus, or muscular/CNS inroading.

Unfortunately both of the treadmills were taking, so I began with 25 minutes of relaxed cycling while I slugged my way through the profound but heavy Road to Serfdom, by F.A. Hayek. (A post is forth-coming about the incredible applicability of Hayek's theories to the Paleo-Libertarian movement). Then, when a treadmill opened up, I did another 20 minutes of walking, in my vibrams, at about a 2.7mph pace. Due to the rocking of the ship, the feeling of traversing slightly hilly terrain is simulated, which is enjoyable but slightly hinders your ability to read.

My intentions are to combine a diet of walking and fish oil to prevent general stiffness and soreness in the knees and back which tends to be brought on by prolonged periods of standing still combined by prolonged periods of sitting. More to follow on how I plan to weather this upcoming deployment.

First Workout On Board

2010-01-23T13:48:00.007-05:00

And we are pitching and tossing like nobody's business as we steam through some lousy weather. This brings back the element of timing your lifts so that they are executed when the ship isn't healing, pitching, or rolling too heavily. Trying to lift while gravity is making up it's mind about which way it wants to pull the weight is . . . tricky.

On a side note, excuse the absurd new layout. I was playing with some potential new layouts and made the mistake of not saving the exact HTML formatting, thus completely messing my site up and losing some widgets. When I have access to a faster connection at home, I'll clean it back up.

Anyway, for my first workout on board, I managed to get a pretty challenging session of high intensity, slow eccentric, fastish concentric training in. It went like this, 15 hours fasted and in vibrams:

+25# Pullup - TUL= 0:54 (5 reps?) the fat pullup bar fried my grip, and my pulling muscles still had enough juice left for at least another rep or more.
+25# Dip - TUL= 0:53 (5 reps)
165# RDL - TUL= 1:01 (5 reps) performed with an easy bar which was easy on the shins, I failed early in these as well because my grip was so tired from the pullups. Definitely had 2 more reps in me. I also performed this facing "up-hill" on an incline, which essentially increases the ROM of the movement by stretching the calves.
135# Squat - TUL= 1:02 (5 reps) I didn't bother going heavy or to true failure, as I'm still wary of straining my left knee. I felt my posterior chain was a little short changed from my early failure in the RDL, so I performed so widish stance squats in order to tax the quads and posterior chain a bit more. Challenging but manageable, and I again had 1 more really good rep in the tank.

A good session which allowed me to dial in the weights I'll be using on the ship for a while. I think this "big 4" session is actually pretty workable, though I may incorporate an overhead pressing movement eventually and make it a big 5. If I eventually plateau in my TUL's and weights, maybe I'll split it into two big three sessions.

Still enjoying playing with HIT training, especially for the metabolic effect. I'll be continuing the fast until dinner (22 hrs total). The food on the ship is of such low quality, and eating cleanly is so difficult that I am considering fasting twice weekly. We'll see how workable this is, and I'll post more on trying to make a Paleolithic lifestyle work with the completely unnatural schedule of being a watch stander at sea.

Lots of Experimentation.

2010-01-18T14:57:00.006-05:00

Got a little trigger happy with experimentation today, but that's the name of the game I play. If you track through the archives here, you'll notice that I'm always trying new things and tinkering with my methods to yield the most practical, effective, and enjoyable conditioning program possible.

Recently I've been trying to determine what free-weight exercises I can feasibly incorporate into the mesocycle of high-intensity style training I've been enjoying over the past two months.

Today's workout was fasted, in vibrams, and went like this:

95# Barbell Press - 48 seconds (4 reps + 1 partial)

16kg (35#) Weighted Pullup - 47 seconds (4 reps + 1 partial)

155# Bridge Floor Press -6 reps (TUL?)

75# Bulgarian Split Squat - 6+5 reps (TUL's?)

The metabolic deficit created with this workout was enormous. I was gasping for air for no less than 10 minutes. The end effect quite comparable with that of an extremely taxing Tabata session or the dead sprint at the end of a 5k race. I never cease to surprise myself with how exhausting these workouts are.

Lessons learned:

• I've lost some strength in the press, as indicated by my low TUL. I didn't game this movement properly.

• The barbell press is manageable, but emphasis must be placed on keeping the forearms vertical throughout the movement.

• The bulgarian split squat is such an exhausting movement that it's very difficult to do as well on my right leg (which is stronger) as I do on my left leg. Perhaps this movement should done first?

Regaining some TGU strength.

2010-01-16T16:25:00.005-05:00

Another Time Under Load based TGU workout today, in my efforts to emphasize shoulder stability and mobility while regaining some strength (I snatch the 24kg bell today for the first time in a while, and it felt so heavy!)

Using the 20kg bell, I did 7 step Get Ups continuously on my left arm, before taking a break and repeating this on my right arm. I tried to pause for a breath at each step of the get up.

20kg Get Ups:

Left - 6 reps(?) for a 2:30 TUL

Right - 5 reps for a 2:20 TUL

Finished with a few dead hangs (emphasis on shoulder ROM) and pullups.

Certainly nothing to write home about - not even my heavy kettlebell and my shoulders are totally fried right now - but I felt pretty good afterwards. I can't be sure that I did 6 reps and not 5 on my left arm, but if it was 6, they were faster reps than the ones I did on my right side. Shorter TUL on the right arm is also attributable to the fact that the first set was pretty tiring.

More Slow E, Fast C Experimentation

2010-01-10T17:28:00.003-05:00

I did another workout involving slow eccentrics and fast concentrics, this time introducing the Bridge Floor Press, or BFP from here-on. This is simply a floor press done with the hips bridged up approximating the range of motion of a decline bench.

Anyway, after some potentiation (plyo pushups, plyo pushups, high jumps), I played with the weights to feel what I'd be able to handle, and then performed the three exercises with 10 breath eccentrics, and fast concentrics. I terminated the exercise when the concentrics became slow and grinding.

Pullup + 16kg x 5 reps (47 seconds TUL)

BFP x 6 (50 seconds TUL)

RDL x 7 (70 seconds TUL)

This was brutal, even though the TUL's were a little lower than I'd anticipated.

My GetUps are weak!

2010-01-09T15:58:00.002-05:00

I did a short turkish get up doubles progression today. I'm planning on a Slow E, Fast C workout tomorrow, featuring the Romanian Deadlift, Bridge Floor Press, and Pullup, so I didn't want to tire myself out too badly. This simple work out turned out to be pretty challenging, as I've done so few TGU's recently that I've lost much of my strength in this lift. My left shoulder hasn't been feeling very strong recently, and I'm wondering if a diet of my getups will help.

12kg TGU x 2L+2R

16kg TGU x 2+2

20kg TGU x 2+2

24kg TGU x 1+2

A few pullups were mixed in to this. Though I was only doing doubles, I was spending about 2 - 3 breaths at each stage of the getup, which works out to a continuous time under load of 2-2.5 minutes per arm, per weight! Even though the weight remains overhead the entire time, the shoulder is still working through a broad range of motion as the torso's orientation changes drastically throughout the movement.

Though I am reticent to plan far in advance (my goals/plans change constantly), I think for the next two months I'd like to build my volume with this movement to, perhaps, a continuous set of 5 - 7 getups (~10:00 TUL) per arm. Though it's only a guess, I think this would prepare my shoulder girdle for some safe strength gains throughout the rest of 2010. We'll see if I actually stick to this plan . . .

LDIH's - Vacation Stand By

2009-12-30T11:45:00.003-05:00

Now that my training has become centered around 1-2 intense sessions per week, going for a week or so without training doesn't really bother me. However, I am fasting today and decided to capitalize on my fasted state with a quick session of LDIH's, or Long Duration Isolation Holds. Similar in application and effect to a BBS/HIT style of training, these involve assuming a position of Least Mechanical Advantage, and holding the static position till failure. In theory, as the slow twitch fibers fatigue, the fast twitch fibers activate, and then fail before the slow twitch fibers can recover and contribute again.

These are great because they require no equipment, though I didn't really get a chance to work my pulling muscles. However, since I do pullups quite frequently in a GTG fashion, I can afford to go another week without working them. On the other hand, I don't do pushups enough, so some supplemental pushup work is always good I think.

So, here's what I did.

First, a set of Slow Eccentric, Fast Concentric Modified Planche Pushups. TUL ~ 105 seconds.

Then, unilateral glute bridges. TUL ~ 70 seconds per leg.

Finally, unilateral planks. TUL ~60 seconds per leg.

My glutes are fried after the bridges, and my hip flexors and abs are toast after the unilateral planks, which force you to resist both twisting and collapsing the spine. At the end of this session, each muscle from above my knee to below my ribs was taxed, and the whole thing took about 8 minutes.

Nothing major here, but I won't feel too bad if I don't train again for a week. Our next stop on this trip will give me access to a barbell though . . .

Slow Eccentric, Fast Concentric video

2009-12-26T11:14:00.003-05:00

In this post, I detailed my most recent Slow E, Fast C workout. Here is a video of the same.

TUL's were:

Press - 68-70s/arm (7 reps each)

Row - 46s/arm (5 reps)

BSS - 60l+50r (6l+5r reps)

Slow E's, Fast C's, take 4

2009-12-24T14:03:00.006-05:00

Today I came back to the Bulgarian (Rear Leg Elevated) Split Squat, which with the Romanian Deadlift consists the bed rock of my posterior chain training. I'm still learning this movement, as you will see, with respect to balance and finding the sweet spot in my stance for optimal range of motion. It is a very challenging movement, and it leaves my quads and glutes smoked afterwards.

The session went as follows. First, potentiation/activition.

Several rounds of:

3-5 explosive pullups,

2-3 explosive pushups,

2-3 explosive 8kg KB presses (propelling the bell 2-3 feet overhead with a strict pressing movement)

5 x Russian Speed Lunges (demonstrated here by Keith), with bodyweight, and then with an 8kg bell.

This was all done to amp up without developing any fatigue.

Then, I did a few singles and doubles of my working exercises in order to properly select my working weights.

The meat of this sessions was as follows:

7+7 x 16kg KB Waiter Press *

5 x 145# Barbell Row

6+5 x 75# Bulgarian Split Squat**

*I chose the waiter press instead because it allows for more vertical arm position, decrease torque on the elbow, as compared to a traditional press. I love the standard KB press, but find it unsuitable for slow negatives for this reason.

** I had to rest pause my last rep on the right leg, and I suspect it's because I ended up with a wider stance and thus greater range of motion.

In keeping with the theme of my training of late, eccentrics were done with a 10 breath count, and concentrics were done as fast as possible. The set was terminated when the concentric started to deteriorate into a grind, losing it's pop. This session was particularly taxing in a MetCon sense. The weights may seem light, but with this style of training, they are very challenging. More thoughts to follow.

** Afterthoughts - this workout has left me feeling taxed a day later, but not severely drained in a CNS sense. I think the potentiating work helped to optimize my training, and stopping when I lost the snap in each rep prevented me from readlining my CNS too much.

Random Ponderings

2009-12-22T21:19:00.003-05:00

I know that potentiating my sets, and then working towards finding the maximal force generation sweet spot, is likely the best way to increase my body's capabilities. I also know that taking advantage of this principle would likely require me to train at least several times a week. I love the way these workouts make me feel.

I know that focusing my training around time under load enables me to see gains even if I only train once a week, or less. I also love the metabolic effect that a multi-exercise, total body, High Intensity style workout leaves me with, sucking wind for 10-30 minutes afterwards.

I wonder if what I'm doing now, a sort of blending of these two concepts, can work. Imagine this. Three to four sets of a circuit. In the first sets, light weights are done with controlled eccentrics and explosive (as hard as possible) concentrics. In the final, main set, I use 10-12 second eccentrics, combined with the same explosive concentrics. When I can no longer move the weight quickly in the concentric, I terminate the set.

Doug McGuff discussed, in his book w/ John Little, some different methods for determining when to terminate the set, based on goals, etc. For a certain trainee, it might be beneficial to push the set into negatives only with assisted concentrics until negative failure. Or it might be better to stop earlier, when concentric failure is reached. I feel that by terminating the set when I feel a drop in concentric rep speed, I'm keeping the focus on explosiveness, while still taking advantage of the slower eccentrics.

Time will tell if this tinkering leads to a productive methodology that I can rely on for long term gains.

Another thing to consider is that I don't really want to get much bigger. However, I've come to learn that true maintenance is a myth. If you're not gaining, your losing. I feel I can strike a good balance by trying to make gains with experimentation, and thus at least maintain without the fear that I'm missing out on potential gains.

Lot's to think about. Hat tips to Keith, Doug, and the many other exercise gurus I rely upon to stimulate my thinking.

Slow Eccentrics, Fast Concentrics, Take 3

2009-12-20T16:17:00.002-05:00

Third session experimenting with slow controlled eccentrics (10 count) and fast concentrics.

This was modeled after my first workout, again using the Romanian Deadlift to work the posterior chain.

Three rounds of increasing intensity of

Pullups: 5 x Bodyweight, 5 x BW +10#, 5 x BW +26#

Pushups 5 x regular pushups, 5 x parallette pushups, 5 x parrallette pushups feet elevated 18"

RDL's: 5 x 95#, 5 x 115#, 6 x 155#

All reps were done with a roughly 10 second eccentric, and the concentric performed as fast as possible. The goal was that the concentric would have slowed to a near halt by the last rep of the last round. This was achieved with proper loading of the pullup, and required 1-2 additional reps in the other exercises to achieve.

I am still playing with the ideal pushing movement to work into this workout. The parrallette pushups were doable, and would be easy to recreate with Hex dumbbells. The RDL continues to feel excellent on the hamstrings. I am looking forward to my next session utilizing the Bulgarian (or Rear Leg Elevated) Split Squat. They do for the glutes and quads what the RDL does for the hams. I may have found another favorite lower body movements.

Paleo/Low-Carb Physicians - I need your help!

2009-12-12T12:10:00.004-05:00

For some folks it just doesn't matter . . .

Despite the sheer, overwhelming weight of the evidence supporting the healthfulness of a lifestyle free of refined grains, sugars, and vegetable oils, some people still can't get their heads around the fact that the medical establishment demonizes fat, and places grains on a pedestal. Even though the logic against the conventional dietary advice is so hard to dispute, some people can't accept that the vast "consensus" of doctors might be wrong.

But what if all of them weren't wrong?

What if this consensus was as much of a myth as the advice it allegedly supports?

What if I told you that a great many doctors don't agree with the AMA, the ADA's, and the conventional wisdom?

What if I said that there had been vehement opposition to these absurdities since the beginning, in the 50's, when Ancel Keys criminally cherry picked his data, persuaded the right people, and precipitated a federal interference into the way we eat?

I submit that these doctors are out there, but it would be great if I could point to all of them at once and say "Look, Doctors who say fat is good . . . See?!?!?!"

So, I am going to create a list of reputable, certified, practicing physicians (researchers are ok too), who are out there, spreading the word that animal fat is good, excessive carbohydrate might not be, and the refined grains, sugars, and vegetable oils that the ADA(s) and AMA endorse are killing us.

But I need your help!

If you know of such doctors or researchers, point me too them. I will compile them into a list and post it here. If there are such lists already extant, direct me to them as well, and I'll incorporate them into the list. The goal here is to create a listing so large that anyone can link to it and say: "Here are 1oo, or 1,ooo doctors, all who know that we've been lied to, and that traditional diets will save us from the diseases of civilization."

Your contribution, no matter how small, will be a great help in my quest to compile such a list. I hope it will serve as a great resource to anyone who seeks to spread the truth and be an apologist for ancestral nutrition.

Cheers,

Bryce

Another Experimental HIT/Super Slow Workout

2009-12-10T18:04:00.004-05:00

Last weeks workout gave me a lot of hope for my training during my upcoming deployment. Seeing that the Romanian Deadlift works very well with Super Slow/High Intensity Training was definitely motivating. The pullups and dips also went well, and it's good to know that, on my first couple of workouts, I'll be able to meet satisfactory TUL's (times under load) with my bodyweight. Not having to utilize any assistance (bands, spotting, etc) will make training this way easier.

Today I decided to experiment with three different exercises to see how they fair in a SS/HIT training methodology. I ended up doing two rounds of the following circuit, as I was in a hurry.

5L+5R x 16kg KB press
5L+5R x 20kg Renegade Row
5L+5R x 45#,65# Rear Leg Elevated Split Squats, or RLESS's.

All reps were done on one side before proceeding to the next side, and all reps were done with a speedy concentric and a 10 count eccentric. It was a very good workout, and I was near failure on both upper body exercises.

I really enjoy the fact that these workouts are short, but leave me gasping for air for anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes afterwards. It's a great feeling that I've missed in my training of late, which has been all but devoid of any metabolic conditioning.

Thoughts:

The KB Press isn't really suitable for super slow training. I imagine barbell pressing wouldn't be any better, as they both can lead to a little discomfort in the elbow, especially during the slow eccentric portion. Dumbell presses might be different, and HSPU's are worth a shot.

The Renegade Row was done with the supporting arm on a parallete to allow for fuller range of motion on the row. I will need to play with the loading, but this is a candidate for a permanent fixture in my potential HIT routine. If I don't do renegade rows, I'll probably just do a standard row and add a plank.

The Rear Leg Elevated split squat was challenging, even at such a light weight (45# in the first round, 65# in the second). I'm not used to the movement so perhaps my learning curve will be steep with this lift. Instability would be mitigated by doing a lunge variation (weight in the hands vice on the back), but this might offer more instability still than doing the split squats in a smith machine (my only alternative on the ship). Overall I like this movement and feel it has good potential in a HIT routine, especially as the position doesn't allow for as much resting at lockout as a traditional bilateral squat.

So, my idea, which I'm kicking around for deployment, is:
Day A: Weighted Pullup, Weighted Dip, Romanian Deadlift (Smith or Dumbells, possibly unilateral).
Day B: Row or Renegade Row, Dumbbell Press or a Pushup variant, Rear Leg Elevated Split Squat or Lunge (Smith or Dumbbells).

I'm going to try different variations of these movements in my next few workouts, until I decide how I'm going to apply them during deployment. Some movements I'd really like to find a way to incorporate into my training, without severely interfering with the HIT training, are:

Turkish Getups, Presses, Pistols, and One Arm Pullup and Pushup Practice. Training these movements, even in a grease the groove fashion, has been unrealistic these past few weeks, save for a very rare single here and there. Work has kept me too busy, and making any progress with these movements requires a good deal of consistency.

I wonder if I'd really be "losing time" if I spent my whole deployment significantly improving my strength to weight ratio.

Shoulder's Better. Back to Training

2009-12-03T17:52:00.006-05:00

My shoulder impingement is thankfully gone. I don't know what variable, or combination of variables, was causing the impingement sensation, but it seems that I have resolved the problem with proper sleep (position and duration), a return to paleo nutrition, and avoiding bad/slumped posture throughout the day.

Based on this recovery, and on my inactivity of late, I decided to log my first workout in my new home gym. This was done nearly 20 hours into a fast, and barefoot.

4 Rounds of
5 x Romanian Deadlift (w/ 45#, 95#, 115#, and 135# respectively)
5 x Pullups
5 x Ring Dips

The whole routine was done with minimal rest, without rushing but expeditiously moving from exercise to exercise. Each rep of each exercise was done with as powerful of a concentric phase as possible, and an 8-10 eccentric phase. This super slow/HIT negative phase was brutal, and left me sucking wind for 10 minutes after, and feeling slightly out of breath for 90 minutes after. The HIT brings with it an intense Metabolic Conditioning component.

As usual, it felt great to really move again. My next workout will involve a good volume of wall squats (facing the wall, not sitting against it) and Turkish Getups, and possibly some renegade rows.

This doesn't exactly fall into the 5/3/1 protocol, but I may make it work. Not sure where I want my training to go from here.

Nerve Impingement and some thoughts

2009-11-30T19:30:00.003-05:00

So some combination of: sleeping in an off-position, my terrible diet (auto-immune problems?), minimal physical activity or mobility work, and not enough sleep over the past few weeks, has left me with a problem:

Ulnar Nerve Entrapment, or impingement of the nerve that runs through the shoulder, along the under side of the upper arm, through the elbow and wrist, and into the pinky and ring fingers. This impingement can be caused from many things, including -

• movement patters - I frequently reach my left arm behind my back to adjust the volume/channel knobs on my radio for work

• sleeping on your side with your hand supporting your neck - I've done this a few times recently, all on crappy mattresses that weren't mine.

• arterial thrombosis, or inflammation - could this have been caused by my poor diet over thanksgiving?

• Rheumatism or hyperthyroidism - both exacerbated, if not caused, by a poor diet.

So, before I can be sure of what the cause is, I have to eliminate confounding variables, meaning: sleep properly and enough, eat correctly, avoid stressful movement patterns. I'm going to be diligent about this for a week to see if the problem resolves itselve.

An interesting point is that I've felt this sensation before, but never realized it was a nerve issue, since it was very mild and fleeting and came occurred infrequently. I never paid it much attention until a few days ago, when it reappeared with a vengeance.

Some unrelated thoughts:

As a kid, did you ever wonder how we got along before tooth-brushes were invented? How did people live past the age of 16 without any teeth left? Steven has just posted his 8th installment on Malocclusion and dental health in pre-agricultural peoples, all who got on just fine without toothbrushes.

In 9th grade, I remember learning about the human cell membrane, and specifically about cholesterol. As I learned about how essential it was for any cell to maintain it's shape, I remember thinking - isn't this stuff bad for us? "Isn't cholesterol bad for you?" I asked my teacher. Despite the fact that Mr. Kilduff was a truly devoted and enthralling teacher, I remember him giving a vague answer to the effect of: "Only if you eat too much."

It's amazing how many things we instinctively question in youth, but grow accustomed to and accept as we mature.

A little Black Friday Activity

2009-11-27T18:05:00.003-05:00

Up at the grandparent's house for Thanksgiving, and needless to say, plenty of pie, stuffing, and other wheat/sugar filled stuffs were consumed. For the remainder of the weekend, I'm going to stick to turkey, my wife's paleo stuffing (recipe forthcoming), and almond flour apple tart.

As for exercise, these past two weeks have been a whirlwind of 12 and 15 hour work days, and weekends busy moving into our new house. I've found no time to put in a dedicated workout, but I have managed to work in some pistols, pullups, wall squats, and ring dips now and then. Today was my first "workout," done with no equipment.

I simply did 3 Long Duration Isolation Holds (LDIH), performed at the joint position of Least Mechanical Advantage (LMA).

Standard Plank - 2:30
Lunge each leg - ~1:00 - done with a broad stance (lots of separation between front/rear leg).

This was just enough to make me not feel like a waste of life. I felt reasonably good afterwards, and think that I'll put this type of LDIH workout in my back pocket for situations like this weekend.

A busy week, a new home, and some turkish Getups

2009-11-16T20:30:00.003-05:00

I missed the opportunity to train my posterior chain with SGLP's last week, for two reasons:

1 - we bought a house
2 - Norfolk flooded.

Luckily, our new house proved to stay pretty dry, so the flood was actually a good thing, as it served as a final shake down before we closed on the property. One good thing about this house, other than the fact that we love it, love the neighborhood, etc etc, is that it has a garage large enough to put my squat rack/pullup station in, meaning I have all the space I need to work out in anyway I choose.

However, despite my new home gym, I was so busy moving I barely had any time to get a workout in. No loss though, as I did plenty of heaving, hauling, overhead lifting, squating, lunging, and etc throughout the course of the weekend. We didn't hire movers, relying on good friends and strong backs instead. I imagine it probably did me some good to simply use the strength I've worked to build.

In any event, I managed to squeeze a quick session of Turkish getup doubles in, continuing to Grease the Groove on this excellent movement.

45# Barbell Get Up x 3 sets x (2+2).

Nothing super tough. The focus was more on mobility in the shoulders and hips. I must say that the turkish getup does an excellent job of putting all four major joints (shoulders&hips) through their complete ranges of motion. The squat version of the turkish get up does this even more so, but that is something I'll have to progress towards.

Throughout the movement, I focus on:
- fully bridging the hips (glute activation/hip hyperextension) before coming to the lunge
- keeping my shoulder back and up by my ear, instead of out in front of me.

I think I'll keep throwing in these light TGU sessions for now. It is easy enough that it doesn't take away from any other training that I might feel like doing, but 3 sets of 45# doubles with the barbell is slightly taxing on the shoulders, and I'll see if I can't ratchet this up to sets of 5 before adding even 10lbs to the bar. The barbell is so much more unstable than a kettlebell!

Here's a vid (hope it works) of me doing some get ups, emphasizing hip hyper extension and a high "active" shoulder. I hope to follow this with an eventual post on the tremendous carry over this movement has on submission grappling/Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. From standing up in base, to closed gaurd sweeps, to half guard sweeps, so much of grappling relies on the ability to base out on one leg and one arm. More to follow on that for those grapplers out there.

Prove It

2009-11-09T18:49:00.003-05:00

When I'm asked why
I avoid sneakers,
eat tons of fat,
don't care much for fiber,
strive to get direct sunlight,
occasionally skip breakfast and lunch,
and don't eat bread,
I happily explain myself. And many times, as I explain the basis for many of these facets of my ancestral lifestyle, I am told to "Prove It."

Prove, they ask, that we evolved to be meat eaters. Prove that Multiple Sclerosis, Heart Disease, Cancer, Diabetes (I & II), Crohn's, Arthritis, Lupus, Gout, Fatty Liver Diseases, Stroke, Obesity, and the rest of the diseases of civilization simply DO NOT OCCUR in pre-agricultural societies where sugar and grain aren't major parts of the diet. (yes, you read that list of conditions properly - they are all a result of the western diet).

Frequently, I am happy to explain and offer the evidence, but occasionally I offer this as my response:

I have no reason to lie to myself. I explored the evidence, and satisfied my own scientifically critical mind. I have proven to myself, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that they way I live is the right way to live. If you would like more proof, then do your own homework. Hold your beliefs up to the light of the evidence, and see if they are revealed to be as true as you thought they were.

Though I enjoy sharing what I've learned, occasionally it is a relief to be able to tell the naysayer who's trying to convince me I'm wrong: "Do you're own homework, I've done mine."

Shoulder Girdle Strength/Mobility Session III

2009-11-07T17:58:00.005-05:00

Repeat of this workout, with two rounds of the circuit, and with the exception that I eliminated the front squats (my knee has been bothering me a little). I did 5 reps of the mobility pullups each round, and then finished the session with a Turkish Getup double on each arm with unloaded barbell.

Quick session, but I'm enjoying the barbell Turkish Getups as part of my warmup/cooldown. They don't detract from my power/mobility training as far as budgeting fatigue goes, and I think I'll continue to increase the volume and frequency of these in my training.

As for this workout, I felt up to doing a third ladder, but decided instead to hold off and repeat this on Monday or Tuesday. My thinking is that GTG style neurological adaptation will be better served by more total volume throughout the week, vice more total volume in a given session. I also squeezed a pistol in on each leg with a 16kg KB racked, which is a bit tougher than doing them with the bell gripped by the horns. How my knees feel tomorrow will show whether this was a good idea, or not.

Kelly got a pretty good deadlifting session in.

130# (65% of new max) x 5
140# (75%) x 5
150# (85%) x 4, 4*

She followed this by doing standard and side planks, to balance the spinal flexion resistance training (deadlifts) with some spinal extension resistance training.
*She had some left in the tank, and was unsatisfied with her last set, so she handily banged out another set of 4 reps.

Great training was had by all, and there was much rejoicing.

Influenza Comfort Food

2009-11-05T21:30:00.004-05:00

This past week, my heart ached for the ignorance of some of my colleagues. A nasty flu is running through my workplace (possibly induced by mandatory flu shots/mists?). Symptoms: exhaustion, upper respiratory troubles, nausea/vomiting, etc.

Needless to say, I didn't get sick, despite working in close quarters (literally elbow to elbow in cramped spaces), with very sick individuals for most of the week. I was under rested, but kept my diet clean, supplemented with an extra 5K IU of Vitamin D3 (10k IU total). Surprise, surprise. I, who was plagued by bronchitis multiple times a year for most of my life, didn't so much as sniffle. I'm not sure the last time I was sick, but I've been keeping track since I went Paleo in January (I was low carb before that), and I haven't gotten even slightly sick since then.

There are many explanations, but I think my ancestral life style is a contributing factor. Of my four friends who have started to try and eat Paleo (with iffy but admirable compliance), two of them got slightly sick for a day or two, unlike many others who were laid up for a week with this bug.

Here's the part where my heart breaks. Every sick person was attempting to cure their dehydration with Gatorade, painfully unaware that sugar drastically hamstrings your immune system for several hours after consumption.

They were also staying indoors to avoid any cold (it wasn't that cold), and as such were leaving their immune systems starving for vitamin D. Worst of all, they were avoiding "heavy, fattening foods" (read: meat) and gorging themselves on Ramen Noodles, Crackers, Teddy Grahams, and all other manner of wheat based, sugar filled garbage. Amidst all the sniffling, many were still healthy enough to display "That'll catch up to you one day" sneers at my typical lunch box fair of plentiful fatty meat and moderate fruit/veggie/starch.

The 'silence' of their lack of nutritional understanding is deafening.

5/3/1 Cycle 2, Wk 1 & Turkish Getups

2009-11-05T17:53:00.004-05:00

I've been enjoying my mobility work on my ladder day, but I felt like adding a little extra, so today, before and after my Snatch Grip Low Pull workout, I did a couple barbell turkish getups. Doing them with the barbell certainly forces you to have a more verticle arm vice doing them with a kettlebell. I enjoyed them, and I think I'll continue to incorporate them on my SGLP day, slowly adding volume, while keeping the weight low. The focus will remain on mobility.

Anyway, on to the low pulls.
SGLP
175# x 5 (65% of new adjusted max, based on taking 90% of original estimate, and adding 10lbs)
185# x 5 (75%)
195# x 7! (85%) [reps PR]

Definitely pleased with these numbers. I used straps this time, and I think they made a huge difference, keeping the focus on the posterior chain, and not allowing grip endurance to limit explosive performance. My forearms still were burnt out at the end, but the best part was that, even on my last rep, I wasn't just rising up onto my toes upon exploding, I was leaving the ground completely.

I finished the evening with a few wall squats. Gotta do more of those!

I've been doing it all wrong.

2009-11-03T18:12:00.002-05:00

As a believer that self-scrutiny is the key to self-mastery, I was trying to identify some areas in my training that could use improvement. I took a look at personal weaknesses, strengths, and areas that need focus, and I've drawn a pretty revolutionary conclusion that I feel will really take my training and health to the next level. This revelation stems from a simple realization about myself:

My guns just aren't big enough.

Luckily, I've found the solution. Big Guns.

It seems that all of my shortfalls can be easily corrected by doing a simple workout centered around 12 sets of 15 reps of bicep curls on the Big Guns Machine, only three times a day. By simply incorporating these short, hour long workouts a mere 21 times per week, I'm certain I'll correct this serious flaw in my proportions, and open the door to new levels of health, functionality, and all around hugeness.

I'll be sure to post regularly on my progress, but since I'll be training over 80 times per month, I may have to combine some of the posts. Furthermore, bandwidth will likely become a concern as throngs of readers become Students of Fitness themselves in their quest to achieve the Howitzers I shall no doubt develop after a mere 8 to 14 months of dedicated training on the Big Guns machine.

Keep checking in for updates.

Shoulder Girdle Strength/Mobility session II

2009-10-31T11:28:00.004-04:00

I did a very simple, quick version of this workout from last Saturday.

2 Ladders of shoulder girdle mobility pullups, assisted one arm pullups, 2x24kg kettlebell presses, and 2x24kg KB front squats.

So rung one would be: 1+1 Assisted OAP, 1 double kb snatch and press, followed by a front squat. Rung two would be double, and rung three would begin with a set of 3-5 of the mobility pullups, followed by 3 KB snatch and presses and 3 front squats.

6 total assisted OAP's per arm.
15 total mobility pullups
12 total 2x24kg presses
12 total 2x24kg front squats

Since the volume is pretty light on this, I may start doing it twice a week.

Kelly did her deload Romanian Deadlift week, similar to what I did Wednesday.

Romanian Deadlift
5 x 65# (~40% of adjusted 1rm)
5 x 85# (~50% of adjusted 1rm)
5 x 100# (~60% of adjusted 1rm)

As with my workout, the focus was on a controlled eccentric as deep as possible. She's able to touch her toes with a perfect back arch, putting her hamstring flexibility light years ahead of mine.

Definitely nice to enjoy a little direct sunshine after a busy week of getting to work before the sun rises, and leaving as or after it sets.

A Great Steak Dinner

2009-10-29T21:40:00.002-04:00

It was my turn to cook tonight. I was glad that I left my audience satisfied. On the menu was a beautiful 21 ounce NY strip steak (for around $10, not a terrible price and so worth it), and sweet potato steak frites.

Richard's advice on cooking the fries was spot on. Fry them, dry them, fry them again on much higher heat, and shake with salt. Money. I used bacon fat, and it's amazing how you don't need that much, because it just doesn't cook off like olive oil. These fries came out wonderfully.

The marinade was simple enough. 2 cloves finely minced garlic, and 5 leaves fresh minced basil, pressed into the steak, then sea salt and cracked pepper sprinkled over the top. Cover with EVOO and wrap in saran wrap and refrigerate over night. Take out 1hr prior to cooking. Get a pan as hot as possible. Sprinkle some salt in it, then flash sear all four sides of the steak before broiling at 400 for around 10 minutes/side. It came out a beautiful medium.Good stuff.

All together, the meal was excellent, especially with Richard's blue cheese sauce. Thanks for that! I love showing people, who tell me they couldn't deal with dieting, what I get to eat every day! I enjoy showing the same to people who say fat is bad for you even more.

More fat for me!

Rippetoe's Strength Standards

2009-10-29T20:17:00.003-04:00

Mark Rippetoe is one of my favorite strength coaches and the author of the excellent Starting Strength, perhaps the best guide on basic powerlifting barbell movements out there. It details not only how to perform, but how to coach what Mark considers to be the five primary lifts: squat, bench press, standing press, deadlift, and power clean.

Marks Daily Apple had an article on various fitness standards today, and in it they included a link to Mark's own standards for strength for athletes of various "training ages."

Anyway, the standards for a man of my weight (≤ 181#) are, in order from Untrained, Novice (several months training), Intermediate (2 yrs of training), Advanced (multiple years with specific goals and much experience), and Elite (top strength athletes, less that 1% of competition).

Standing Press: 81#, 110#, 138#, 164#, 218#
#138, is easy for me. Since I don't press often, I think w/ practice I could quickly get to 164#
-advanced

Bench Press: 128#, 164#, 201#, 275#, 343#.
Again I don't bench, but a dip w/ +100# would be manageable, so I think at least 275# with a little practice.
-advanced

Power Clean: 85#, 158#, 194#, 264#, 310#.
It would take a lot of practice to get to 264#, but 194# would be managable.
-intermediate

Squat: 119#, 220#, 269#, 367#, 479#.
I'd like to say I could squat 269#, but I rarely barbell squat. Being honest, I'd say I have the lower body strength to squat 269# (seeing as how I used to rep 220# easily).
-intermediate

Deadlift: 148#, 274, 315#, 438#, 548#.
I have pulled a 435# before, but doubt I could right now.
-intermediate.

So intermediate on lower body, advanced on upper. I think if there was an upper body pulling movement in there, I'd be advanced in that too (weighted pullup?). Many of my guesses were just that - I don't ever bench, so it's easy to say I can bench this, but I don't really care about that lift anyway.

Regardless, it's interesting to see how I'd stack up with Coach Rip's standards here. I honestly believe that when your training time is limited, that time is best spent cultivating and improving your strength/power to bodyweight ratio. A good strength or power/bw ratio takes much time and effort, and dissipates quickly in inactivity. Conditioning, however, can be developed quickly, and recovered more quickly, especially when you already have a good strength to weight ratio.

I read a crossfit coach once say that the stronger, less conditioned newcomers tend to adapt and excel more quickly than the conditioned, weaker newcomers.

Treat strength, power, and mobility as the currency with which other measures of fitness are purchased. From these most other attributes of fitness are derived. Through these our goals of feeling and looking good, and being capable and injury free, are achieved.

5/3/1 Cycle 1, Wk 4, fasted.

2009-10-28T18:43:00.006-04:00

This is the deload week, but instead of using the snatch grip low pull, I decided to use the Romanian deadlift for my light work. My reasoning is that working the RDL served as an opportunity to get some really deep stretches at the bottom. I worked it in a top down fashion from a rack.

Romanian Deadlift
5 x 95# (~40% of adjusted 1rm)
5 x 115# (~50% of adjusted 1rm)
5 x 135# (~60% of adjusted 1rm)

The focus was on a nice, deep eccentric, sending the hips backwards and enjoying a deep stretch in the hamstrings at the bottom of each rep. These felt great, and actually served as a pretty challenging workout for the spinal erectors, as maintaining the lordotic lumbar curve at the bottom of each rep required maximal tension.

I finished by teaching a friend the barbell press and doing numerous singles at a very light weight, and then did a standard LDIH style plank for about 110 seconds before calling it a day. I think the isometric nature of the plank serves as a good balance to the isometric contractions required of the spinal erectors in keeping the lower back arched securely throughout the deadlift. Pretty good training overall, done in vibrams about 16 hours into a 24 hour fast.

Some Shoulder Mobility Work, Press/OAP ladders, and Kelly's 5/3/1 C1, WK 3 DL

2009-10-24T16:46:00.005-04:00

Took advantage of the blustery but warm weather we are having, and got in an out door training session. Taking a little inspiration from Pavel's new RTK program, I did a double KB press ladder, mixed with a ladder of assisted One Armed Pullups with controlled eccentrics.

First, I did some shoulder mobility work on the pullup bar, since that is the focus of my overhead training right now. Hanging from a pullup bar is a good way to develop your passive mobility, but the next step is to develop your active mobility, so here's what I was doing to that end:

Hanging from a pullup bar, with a palms away grip a little narrower than I'd usually use, I tried to push my shoulders as high into my ears as they would go, "unscrewing" if you will. Once there, I then tried to pull the bar backwards over my head, keeping my arms straight. Think of the feeling you get if you held a broom stick with both hands (palms down), at shoulder width, and then tried to move it an arc up, over, and behind your head, keeping your arms straight (another great drill).

This really engages the shoulder musculature responsible for keeping weight back and over your center of mass during a press. Once in that position, I'd squeeze for a second, before finally, moving right into a standard pullup. I then repeated this for a couple sets of three reps. You really feel this in the muscles of the upper back, which are working to essentially move your center of gravity forwards as you try to pull the bar back. I'm going to see if warming up and cooling down with this movement will help increase the active range of motion in my shoulders!

Anyway, my actual workout went like this:

2 ladders of 3 rungs
Towel assisted one arm pullup with controlled negative.
2x20kg KB Snatch and press (1 snatch per rung).

The one arm pullup work went well. Essentially I'd grip a towel hanging from the bar w/ my non-working arm, and use that to assist the one arm pullup on the way up, doing as little work with the assisting arm as possible. I'd then let go on the assisting arm and lower myself under control with the working arm. I only did 2 rungs of the second ladder, as I started to feel the slightest hints of elbow soreness. This is the real challenge I think with OAP training: get there without developing tendonitis. So now I'll rest this movement, doing no GTG, for a good while.

The KB presses felt good too. I did a double KB snatch before each rung (not rep), and focused on a good squeeze of the shoulders into the ears at the top, trying to pull my head through without hyperextending my spine. This required keeping my trunk tight, and it felt good. The weights are light, as I'm focusing just on the mobility for right now.

After rung 3 of each of these ladders, I did 5 KB front squats, again similar to the RTK protocol (which I'm still learning about). The focus with the front squats is not letting my upper body fall forward, and not letting my hamstrings and hips relax at the bottom. I want no softness, keeping maximal tension for a snappy concentric.

Kelly got some good work in on her 3rd week of 5/3/1 deadlift training.
Cycle 1, week 3:
140# (75%) x 5
150# (85%) x 3,
160# (95%) x 1+, she got 2 here!

This was all based on her adjusted max (90% of her estimated max of 185#). Grip fatigue was the limiting factor her, so I think she's going to use straps next time on her final set. If the point of the exercise is training the hips and legs, it seems silly to let grip be the deciding factor. Some farmers walks and other supplementary work can serve to develop the grip, and only the final set of each workout would use straps.

Great training today!

H1N1 Vaccine Mandatory for Military

2009-10-20T17:35:00.004-04:00

Military personnel will be compelled to be vaccinated against the H1N1 strain of the flu, in addition to seasonal influenza. Here is some interesting perspective on the issue.

The Navy utilizes the principles of ORM, or Operational Risk Management, to mitigate risk in everything it does. The first principle of ORM is: "Accept risk when benefits outweigh the cost." So how does the Navy decide if the benefits of a vaccine outweigh the costs?

When making the decision to make any vaccine mandatory, the Navy has to consider a few things. First, they must ask: "How would a ship (for that is the general subject of such policies) be affected if the virus were introduced. Then "How contagious is it." "How sick would the infected individuals get?"

It basically boils down to a question of operational impact: "How badly will the ship, as an operational unit, be affected if swine flu breaks out on board?" This is a huge concern, because a warship can not afford to compromise it's ability to do it's job. However, the results of such an outbreak may not be that bad.

Now, the benefits are obvious: if everyone is vaccinated, there will be no swine flu outbreak on a warship. That's a good thing.

The risks are a little less obvious. First, there is the fact that the injectable swine flu virus will likely have levels of mercury that are higher than the normal federal regulations permit. This is because these regulations can be waived when there is an outbreak of a dangerous illness, and when the vaccine is in short supply. The vaccine is certainly in short supply, but there is much debate as to whether the H1N1 virus constitutes a dangerous illness.

I certainly do not have the expertise, nor would I want the responsibility, to decide whether or not to make a vaccine mandatory that will have levels of mercury that are considered dangerous by the National Institute of Health. This is not to mention the risk of Guillain-Barre Syndrome that is associated with any flu vaccine.

The powers that be feel that these risks are outweighed by the benefits a swine flu vaccine offers. This is despite the fact that in the vast majority of cases, symptoms are mild, and all incidents of swine-flu related death have occurred in individuals with previous major health complications.

Since the health of many sailors rests in the hands of the Navy, we must hope that all of these risks associated were considered before this decision was made. It would be unfortunate if we didn't learn from our mistakes (watch the vids), as Don highlights in his excellent post on immune system bolstering measures we can all take to protect ourselves from the flu.

Smashing reps PRs - SGDL: Cycle 1 week 3

2009-10-20T17:10:00.004-04:00

On my first SGDL workout, I set a reps PR, or a personal best combination in a repetition/weight combination, at 185# 6 rep max. Today I smashed it.

I did this workout at noon, about 14 hours into a fast that won't be broken till around 9 tonight (a bit over 24 hours). It was in vibrams, and was preceded by a short brisk jog in my vibrams.

Here's how this workout went.
Cycle 1, week 3:
75% x 5,
85% x 3,
95% x 1+ (to failure), all based on the adjusted max (90% of my estimated max of 245#).

For me, this turned out as follows.
SGLP
185# x 5
200# x 3
210# x 6!

I was feeling very good going into this workout, fasted. I slept well the night before (8.5+ hrs), and even though I must admit I ate some garbage last night, today I was ready to go. I exploded through my first two sets, and despite some serious grip fatigue, I managed to gut out 6 reps in my last set in good form (controlled RDL eccentric, explosive concentric).

I finished this off by doing 2 x 3 reps of 135# strict RDL, to feel a good stretch. I prefer to do this instead of stretching afterward, as I feel it is more useful to develop mobility in the pattern I intend to use it.

Best part, I was in and out in around 20 minutes! Great training today.

A couple new food pics

2009-10-14T20:51:00.003-04:00

Can be found in my album to the right. You can check out some of my wife's amazing cooking.

Some new additions to our paleo dinner schedule

- Pumpkin Sausage Soup - modified from Beth at Cavemanfood, thanks!
- Pulled Pork with sauteed Tomatillo sauce in lettuce wraps.
- Spaghetti squash with Spinach, along side an old favorite - coconut chicken.

I'll try to get Kelly to guest post her recipes to these eventually. Till then, eat well!

One Step Back for Two Steps Forward

2009-10-12T13:39:00.005-04:00

I'm going to do something unusual. Instead of continuing to go heavier and heavier in the press, I'm going to correct my mobility issues, and then I'm going to work on pressing heavier. I'm hoping that correcting my mobility shortcomings will, in the end, pave the foundation for some impressive and healthy strength gains.

So which mobility issues am I talking about? Well, my hip mobility is so-so, but I'm working on that, with my pistol training, snatch gip low pull work, and front squatting, and it's getting better. The main issue here, however, is my shoulder and upper thoracic mobility. Though I've gotten a lot stronger with my one arm kettlebell pressing, I've noticed a good amount of leaning is necessary, indicating that my rotator cuff range of motion is limited. From the side, it becomes apparent that I don't actually complete the ROM with my presses, I simply hyperextend my lower back to allow for the bell to track overhead.

What's worse, while barbell overhead squatting is challenging for me, kettlebell overhead squatting is flat out impossible, even with only one bell. As I decend into the squat, the bell always falls forward. Double overhead KB Presses are another diagnostic tool that reveal a mobility issue: they aren't possible without some lower back hyperextension. Ideally I'd be able to keep my glutes and abs tightly contracted (which would actually improve overall pressing potential) without any hyperextension or my arms falling forwards (they should remain tucked up next to the ears).

Well, I'm using a variant of the deadlift to correct some hip mobility issues, so it seems fitting that I think I want to use light double kettlebell presses to correct my shoulder mobility issues. I think that focusing on range of motion, proper posture, and tension will enable me to develop a healthy level of mobility in the shoulder girdle, in the same way that they are helping to improve my hip mobility. I'm not yet sure how I'm going to program this movement, but I think for now I'll simply grease the groove and do one or two short sets every day. Again, the focus will be:

- maximal tension
- keeping the shoulders in the ears
- keeping the abs tight, the glutes contracted, and the lower back in normal alignment (not hyperextended)
- getting all of this to be pain free and comfortable.

I really think that movements with good range of motions, like snatch grip deadlifts, front squats, and presses. can serve to both diagnose and treat mobility issues, and I am to prove it! I'll let you know how it goes.

As a side note, I won't be pressing heavy kettlebells for a while in a grease the groove fashion. I am keeping up with the one arm pullup eccentrics and pistols, but I think I may incorporate one arm pushups for a while and see how that goes. It's a good movement, and I'm always amazed at how much internal pressure you can build up with it - the "take a deep breath and push" kind of pressure.

In any event, I think I'll practice it for a little while, focusing on keeping my body board-like, instead of just moving my upper body around my elbow, and trying to keep my feet and pressing arm close to the longitudinal center of my body (as in not spread out really far). We'll see how this goes as well.

5/3/1 SGLP & Deadlift session, cycle 1, week 2

2009-10-11T15:55:00.003-04:00

Kelly and I did our second Deadlift/SGLP workout today. This is week two in the cycle, so down in reps, up in weight. The percentages for each of us today were:
70% x 3,
80% x 3,
90% x 3+ (to failure), all based on the adjusted max (90% of our estimated max).

For me, this turned out as follows.
SGLP
175# x 3
185# x 3
205# x 5*
(this was a challenge for my grip, plus doing this barefoot on slightly uneven lawn added a twist)

And for Kelly:
Deadlifting:
135# x 3
140# x 3
150# x 5*

So we both set some reps PR's today. Nothing huge, just steady progress and small successes every day. We both attempted to do our warm up sets as explosively as possible for CNS priming. For me, this involved light SGLP's that turned into jumps, with deep RDL eccentrics. Neither of us were particularly fired up for this, but we got some good work in, established some new PR's, and called it a day.

Some good stuff. I'm already feeling a little more mobile in the hip/hamstring area, and the motor pattern of a powerful hip extension done explosively is coming back to me.

Prepare to be frustrated - My review of Stuffed

2009-10-11T09:41:00.006-04:00

I am currently finishing Stuffed an insider's look at who's really making america fat. It's all I can do to continue ...

I'm thankful that I only paid 10$ for this (second hand off Amazon), and I'll explain why, but first I'd urge you to check out Dr. Michael Eades' gentler review of the book on his excellent blog. You'll find the review about half way down the page.

I shall not be so accommodating of Mr. Cardello's work. However, I will start by saying that the book does have value for the information to be gained therein. As promised, we get an increased understanding of the marketing mechanisms that govern the food industry and compel it to produce lower quality products in order to survive. We learn about the power of a corporate purchasing agent, and about the contracts that bottled drink and fast food companies have made with schools to place their products at arms reach of children. We learn of tragically failed attempts to make healthier food available to the masses, and of the innumerable subconscious mechanisms exploited by marketing experts to get you to purchase lower quality, more addictive food. As Dr. Eades said, all of this information, which is contained within the first 80% of the book, is very enlightening and invaluable.

Some of the points that I conditionally agree with (conditions italicized):
• we as a nation are fat, in part, because we are too good at marketing low quality food to ourselves.
• in order to survive, food companies feel they have no choice but to produce low quality food and to market them masterfully.
• food companies would do well to consider that keeping their customers healthy will yield long term benefits. If there are 25% more senior citizens in 30 years, then there is a larger consumer base, and all the food companies will grow and prosper as a result.

But then Mr. Cardello descends into his theories on how to solve the nation's health problems. These theories, I'm sorry to say, are founded on a painfully ignorant understanding of human health, and accordingly are painfully frustrating to read.100 calorie packs. No I'm serious. Mr. Cardello touts 100 calorie packs as part of the solution. He suggests that the way to save America is to simply get them to eat smaller quantities of garbage, instead of eliminating the garbage all together. Granted, he does suggest we need to drink diet soda instead of regular soda, but in the same breath he states we must find ways to reduce the saturated fat in our diet. I'm sorry, but did Mr. Cardello come across research proving saturated is in any way hazardous to human health? That would certainly be news, because to date, there is no conclusive evidence to suggest that saturated fat is bad for you. In fact, when your body stores fat for later use, it stores most of it as saturated fat . . . because that's what it needs to survive. On top of that, if you don't get enough saturated fat, your body will actually convert starch into saturated fat for use and for storage. It's that important to your health.

By the end, two themes become obvious, and I believe they are the crux of his book. This is a pity because they are, in my opinion, either misguided, underhanded, or both.

First, Hank believes the power to correct the health problem lies solely with the food industry, for they are the only ones with the power to effect change. While I agree it would benefit everyone if these companies used a little foresight, I think the true power lies elsewhere. Has Hank forgotten about government subsidies? He rightfully demonizes the all-pervasive high-fructose corn syrup that is largely responsible for the rise in obesity and diabetes over the past 30 years. (It is a pity he doesn't also recognize that the soy and wheat produced along side corn are almost as harmful). But then, in a stroke of obtuseness, he amazingly manages not to conclude that by simply eliminating government subsidies, the artificially low prices of these garbage foods would rise, and it might no longer be cheaper to feed your children fruit loops than it is to feed them free range eggs.

The second theme that pervades Hank's proposed solutions is that we must look to technology and the future for the solution. According this book, salvation can be found only through technological advancements, such as making better frankenoils with which to fry, or finding a way to make a chocolate that has no cacao in it, because of the evil saturated fat. Yes, he actually suggests cacao free chocolate, instead of switching to nearly sugar free dark chocolate.

And here is where the underhandedness comes into play. In the beginning of the book, we are essentially told that the food industry has connived and manipulated us into being fat, by exploiting our natures. But as the book progresses, we learn that they really had no choice, and then we read about all the wonderful advancements in technology that companies like Nabisco and Coca Cola are making. By the end of the book, these corporations are no longer bad guys, they are the answer to all of our problems. Mr. Cardello attempts to leave us with a hope-filled image of the future, nay the present, in which agri-business and the food industry are working passionately to help us all be healthier.

This book sells itself by pretending to be a condemnation of the food industry, only to become a tribute to it's ingenuity and concern for our well-being.

I'm sorry Hank, but until we abandon the conventional dietary wisdom you are obviously still relying upon, and start looking backwards, instead of forwards, for ways to eat healthier, things aren't going to get any better . . . no matter how much technology we throw at the problem.

Natural foods. Eat them, and have a great weekend!

A new toy, and some thoughts from this week.

2009-10-10T21:43:00.007-04:00

I just came home with a pretty gently used Weider 560 Squat Rack. It's the kind of thing that you find at Sam's club for about ~$325, but I bought it of craigslist for $75! The seller moved in, found it in their garage, and wanted it gone. I was happy to oblige them. I really have no use for a bench, so I let them keep it. It wouldn't have fit in my hatchback anyway after the rack was disassembled and stuffed in there. I did, however, get:

1 x 7ft 45# bar
2x45#, 2x35#, 2x25#, 2x10#, 4x5#, 2x2.5# plates (300#)
The squat rack, with sliding adjustable safety bars, starting support hooks, a decent pullup bar, and a useless pulley system for curls/tricep pushdowns, pulldowns (which shall be removed and discarded promptly).

It's actually pretty sturdy, enough to squat reasonably heavy on (at least up to around 300#, which is all I'll need for a good year of front squatting with a power emphasis), and I'd feel comfortable knocking myself out with weighted or kipping pullups on it too. Nothing special here, but I'd been meaning to get a bar for the home anyway. For the price of any bar w/ weights on craigslist, I got the bar, the weights, and a decent rack.

---

As for this past week, it was my first week underway in a while, and I found it reasonably easy to stay Paleo. Some things that helped me through:
• When combined with an apple or plum, cheap 100% baking chocolate is pretty good.
• Sardines make a good stand by when they're serving in the ward room (which is frequent).
• Vitamin D supplementation is essential when you live in a tin can and don't get enough sun.
• Coconut milk is your friend - a great source of saturated fat - in coffee or on it's own.
And most importantly.
• Everyone around you will eat a poptart and drink a Mt. Dew every 23 minutes, literally. They will then punish themselves on the eliptical for 60 minutes, followed by some intense bicep curls, and then ponder over the fact that fitting into their uniforms is difficult, and that you "must have good genes." The most challenging thing about this is to wait to offer advice until it's asked of you. This is hard for me, but it's the only way it won't fall on deaf ears.

---

Greasing the groove is going reasonably well. The one armed pullup eccentrics are, at times, becoming partial concentrics! This is big progress. Pistols, too are getting better as well. I wasn't able to do any heavy KB presses, but I'm thinking one armed pushups might be a good substitute, while underway, for greasing the groove. Hmmm. Other thoughts on the horizon are the addition of a ladder workout into my current regimen. I'll only do this if I think I can get more volume weekly with the ladders than with the GTG, without giving myself tendonitis or negatively impacting my 5-3-1 power/mobility training.

Tomorrow I'll either front squat, or SGLP, depending on what Kelly's feeling like doing. Either way it'll be in my back yard, thanks to my new gear.

First 5/3/1 Snatch Grip Low Pull Session

2009-10-03T11:50:00.004-04:00

Today I did my first Snatch Grip Low Pull workout under the 5/3/1 protocol, en vibram. I ball parked my max in this lift at 245#, trying to be conservative, and the workout turned out to be pretty manageable. Under the protocol, you estimate your max, take 90% of that, and then base all your lift percentages on that adjusted max.

So the percentages for each of us today were:
65% x 5,
75% x 5,
85% x 5+ (to failure), all based on the adjusted max.

For me, this turned out as follows.
SGLP
165# x 5
175# x 5
185# x 6*

*This set was to "failure," but failure was actually caused by my grip becoming questionable. Still, I was able to maintain a good emphasis on mobility at the bottom and power at the top. I wasn't 100% sure this movement would work for this type of training.

Kelly also did her first 5/3/1 workout today, using the deadlift and focusing on a snappy concentric and a controlled eccentric.

125# x 5
135# x 5
140# x 6

These numbers were exactly in line with an estimated max of 185# (adjusted max of 165#). We'll do the next 5/3/1 workout for these movements in about 7-8 days, and get to setting more reps PR's.

Great training!

GTG in action

2009-10-01T12:16:00.002-04:00

I'm going to start keeping track of my training for the one arm pullup, and for balance's sake, a 40kg KB press, both of which I'm using Grease the Groove style training to acheive.

I'm training for the One armed pullup by doing partials (which I can do now, with my arm bent at about 110 degrees) and/or controlled negatives, and I'm training for the 40kg press simply by pressing 36kg for singles. My goal is to get an average of 10 singles per arm, per exercise, per week. It's not much, but it will add up, especially considering that my recent rest pause training only had me pressing 5+5 singles per week.

I'm going to see if I can't acheive at least the first goal after 100 singles (10 weeks from now).

I'll also be tracking pistols, because I'm simply trying to get better at them.

So far:
Since 30 SEP 09
3+3 OAP(partials)
2+2 36kg Presses
1+1 Pistols

5/3/1 Planning and a Front Squat Session

2009-10-01T11:57:00.004-04:00

I'm getting ready to begin a cycle of the 5/3/1 training regimen, focusing on power and mobility, instead of strength and hypertrophy.

Since I'm now trainging for a one armed pullup and a 40kg one arm KB press using GTG, I don't plan on incorporating heavy upper body movements into this cycle. Instead I'm going to focus on two lifts, with the goal being to correct mobility weaknesses while developing power.

The Snatch Grip Low Pull - essentially a snatch grip deadlift with a clean low pull at the top.
The Power Front Squat - a front squat in which the snap at the top causes the bar to leave the shoulders.

Both of these exercises are challenging for me to retain proper form at the bottom. I have to choose a lighter weight, and focus on maintaining maximum tension to keep my back from rounding in both cases. As such, lighter weights must be used, and these lend themselves to a "power" focus at the end of the concentric portion of each rep. As I reach the top of both movements, I explode, with the goal of making the bar weightless. So long as I can do this, I know I have selected a weight that is not too heavy, and my goal of emphasizing power over a grinding strength movement has ben accomplished.

So, two movements with long, challenging ranges of motion, performed with controlled, tension building eccentrics emphasizing mobility, and forceful concentrics emphasizing power. Sounds good.

Today I did front squats. For the first few sets, I let the movement turn into a thruster to see if I could make this work long term. However, I find it becomes more of a conditioning workout, which is not my goal here. Each set was preceded by a clean.

Thrusters:
115# x 3
135# x 3

Power Front Squats1
145# x 5
155# x 5
165# x 5

Simply some light work here. The challenging part, for me, is maintaining tension so I don't relax at the bottom of the movement. I don't know how I developed the habit of relaxing at the bottom, but I am correcting it. When I do this, the movement feels good, and I get a good drive and send the bar airborne for a moment at the top. Did some tension holds at the bottom of a weightless squat to call it a day. I plan on keeping the weights light for the first cycle, as it is a challenge enough to simply maintain an upright posture at the bottom.

All this was done in Vibrams - not that I'm against a weightlifting shoe, but again my focus is mobility, so I'm not trying to decrease the mobility of the movement by elevating my heals.

Are you tougher than a 105lb girl?

2009-09-27T19:53:00.002-04:00

I forgot to post Kelly's workout along with mine today. Rather than do any specific set/rep scheme, she simply got some brutal, Dan John style weight hauling training in today.

6 rounds of:
2x20kg KB farmers walk x 24 paces
2x20kg KB walking lunge x 1 step per leg.

Seems pretty short and simple, but bear in mind she weighs ~105# and was hauling close to 90lbs (>85%BW). How many girls do you know that can do that? I know plenty of guys who couldn't.

After this, she still had the time to make an amazing dinner:
Sea Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Crusted Ribeye steaks with onions and broccoli sauteed in Bacon Fat, along side a small portion of sweet potato with cinnamon. Accompanied by a couple glasses of Pinot Noir, this was a perfect end to a pleasant Sunday.

2009-09-27T15:49:00.002-04:00

Had an ok session today.

36kg Press x 1 (left), every 30 seconds for 4 rounds.
36kg Press x 1 (right), every 30 seconds for 3 rounds.

40kg Weighted Bar Pullup, every 30 seconds for 12 rounds, failed on 13.

I wasn't feeling super strong on the presses, and I'm starting to think that, even though I can press 36kg(24kg+12kg), it's still difficult and sloppy enough that I could benefit from simply greasing the groove on this, doing a single several days a week.

The pullups went well. I used alternating mixed grips for each rep, and this felt pretty good. I wasn't surprised (actually I was pleased) to get 12 reps, since pullups on the bar are more difficult I think. Along with training the KB press in GTG fashion, I think I may try to work OAP eccentrics in the same way, doing 1+1 every time I press 36kg for 1+1 (maybe 1+1 pistols too?).

Since I'm already planning on shifting to snatch grip deadlifts on a 5/3/1 program, perhaps I will make time for a day of front squats and barbell presses, also done 5/3/1 style. That's still only tentative, but the SGDL's are definitely happening. I want to do this for 2-3 cycles with the primary focus being improved hip mobility, then strength/power. As such, all reps will contain snappy concentrics and slow, RDL style eccentrics. Some cleans will be used for warm-up/CNS-potentiation.

Rest-pause training has been great these past few months, but now I'd like to dedicate a little more time to some specific goals, namely - drastically improved hip mobility and getting a one armed pullup. This coming thursday/friday I'll begin the 5/3/1 Snatch grip deadlifts.

Practice

2009-09-23T22:06:00.005-04:00

A light practice session today, including:

1. Some really light deads (~25-30%1RM) for several sets of 3-5 reps, emphasizing:
- Romanian Deadlift style eccentric phase.
- rate at which the hips and shoulders rise
- lowering the bar from the knees to the ground without rising on the toes

2. Some really light presses (25-30%1RM) for several sets of 3-5 reps, emphasizing:
- good shrug
- creating a base through emphasis of the tricep-latissimus contact
- a tight lockout at the top, shoulders in the ears.

3. 2x400 yard barefoot runs at a moderate to brisk pace, in vibrams. This is the first time I've run farther than sprint distance in them. Emphasis on:
- landing on the ball of the foot
- foot fall roughly under the center of gravity
- breathing through the nose to regulate the pace
I noticed that, without any conscious effort, the basic mechanics of "Pose" style running manifest themselves during a barefoot run. An argument may be made for the benefit of non-pose style running when using thick healed trainers, but when running near barefoot, pose seems to be as natural of a posture as you can find.

My calves are sore, and my legs are smoked thanks to a few thirty minute, sprint-coast style bike rides I've done recently. Needless to say, deadlifting will be postponed a few more days. I'm still debating whether to continue w/ the rest-pause, or to move to a 5/3/1 Snatch Grip Dead Lift routine.

As for Kelly . . .

She did a 'real' workout, hitting an ass-busting EDT session, involving 16kg thruster singles and single jumping pullups. She did 12 rounds in about 8 minutes. Down from here previous mark, but still a great session, and done fasted! All by a woman who, not long ago, could barely last 3-4 hours watching a movie in a fasted state, let alone doing a brutally intense conditioning workout involving putting 1/3 of her bodyweight overhead, and lifting her bodyweight to a bar, repeatedly. How many chicks can do that?

Being goal oriented will make you really friggen strong.

2009-09-22T17:21:00.004-04:00

I don't often put up other people's blog posts here, as you can just find them in my blogroll (there are some amazing movers and shakers there that I suggest you check out).

However, there is one guy who probably doesn't pop up often in the Paleo/Primal blogosphere: The Unbreakable Adam Glass.

In this video, he goes through some of his accomplishments for the year so far. I think goal oriented training is huge. Certainly a large portion of your training should be spontaneous, random exercise and play, but at any given time having a few goals that you are working on is a great way to stay on track.

Being stronger is not a useful goal. Neither is getting ripped. Those things are great things to strive for, but what I am talking about are quantifiable goals, such as: do a pistol, do a muscle-up, or deadlift 3x bodyweight. It doesn't really matter (well maybe it does), but having goals is the important part.

When you have a specific goal, you can feel a very discrete, tangible sense of accomplishment when you reach it. When you have nebulous goals, like lose weight, it's harder to feel that accomplishment because you can't say for sure when you've reached it. Not all of your training needs to be dedicated to achieving goals, but I can tell you that I feel immense satisfaction every time I do a pistol, because I practice and trained to be able to do one for a long time. Amidst my other training, I made time to do assistance exercises for this movement, and now I can bust one out and feel great about that.

Adam Glass is an example of a guy who pretty much ALWAYS does goal oriented training. From what I've watched of his training, of which he has posted countless video evidence, it's obvious that everything he does is towards a goal. He doesn't necessarily care if he's ripped or looks good shirtless. He simply cares about being stronger than you are, and he is. Check out some of his accomplishments. Even if you don't decide to delve into eclectic world of grip strength and strong man lifts, you'll certainly be motivated to test the limits of what you think you are capable of.

My favorite part of the video is when a burly monster of a guy with forearms bigger than my calves can't come close to bending a horse shoe. He says "that thing's not going anywhere," and Adam grabs it and bends it straight like it's a coat hanger. Oh yeah, and he bottom's up presses, with one arm, what most people can barely overhead press with two.

Huge Gains

2009-09-21T20:27:00.002-04:00

I made some major gains today, during a fasted Rest-Pause push and pull workout. I was feeling strong, took some gambles, and came out on top.

36kg Press x 1 (left), every 30 seconds for 4 rounds, + 2 failures.
36kg Press x 1 (right), every 30 seconds for 6 rounds (final was near failure).

40kg Weighted Ring Pullup, every 30 seconds for 15 rounds, last rep was near failure.

Needless to say, I didn't exactly stick to my plans from last week. I was particularly well rested and felt strong, so after a quick warmup, I decided to set my 30 second timer up and simply try a 36kg press, with the intention that if I got it (a first), I would simply continue with the set.

*It is important to note that I have to press a 24kg+12kg bell to get 36kg, which presents a slight, but welcome, gripping challenge.

Anyway, I only got a handful of reps per side, but that's fine, because I've finally broken through the 32kg barrier I was at, and can now spend the next month or two working at 36kg. I am very pleased, because I was worried that I'd never make this jump without some drastic changes to my training. Luckily, no such changes were needed, and I can continue training Rest pause style for a while longer.

As for the pullups, I was so amped up after my success with the presses, that I decided to up the weight in the pullups, and of course increase the rest interval to the baseline 30 seconds. I smashed this, getting all 15 reps, while having to gut out the last. I managed to get a good, crisp concentric, and a controlled eccentric on every rep, drawing it out on the last one.

Next workout I will drop to 15 seconds and resume my efforts to get 15 reps, but at this new weight. I am, of course, very happy that I only had to spend one session at this weight/rest interval combo before progressing.

***

As for warming up, one important change I've made is that I don't warmup either of these movements with heavy weight. Instead I focus on using light weight, moved as quickly as possible. For the pullups, this of course means a powerful pullup where I am basically trying to get airborne. For the presses, this involves me taking the 8kg and then the 12kg bells, holding them waiter style (palm up on the bell itself), and throwing it straight overhead explosively. I do all of this only for singles, and I find it serves to neurologically prime me for maximal exertion without fatiguing the muscles at all.

Clean & FSQ Ladders

2009-09-19T20:20:00.000-04:00

Got a quick and brutal workout in this Saturday. We were out of town, so deadlifting was out, but our hips weren't going to skate off without earning their keep.

I repeated the ladder workout detailed here.

2x24kg KB Clean & Front Squat x 5 rungs (1 Clean, 1 FSQ, 2 Cleans, 2 FSQs, etc).

This isn't any kind of progress, but I've only done this a few times, with plenty of rest in between, and I'm simply pleased with the conditioning and strength building stimulus it offers.

Kelly did the same thing with her 16kg bell, but did each rung on both arms since she was only using 1 bell. This too would be brutal.

I find this kind of workout is taxing much in the same way a barbell complex is, because you never drop the weight.

More EDT and RP push & pull

2009-09-13T14:27:00.003-04:00

Pretty good workout in the sun today.

Kelly smoked her previous numbers in the EDT workout she does:

Time Period: 10:00
As many rounds as possible of: 16kg KB Thruster x 1+1 & 1 Jumping Ring Pullup
Result: 19 rounds (a pretty impressive 3 round increase)

32kg Press x 1 (left), every 15 seconds for 14 rounds before failing
32kg Press x 1 (right), every 15 seconds for 17 rounds before failing

36kg Weighted Ring Pullup, every 15 seconds for 11 rounds, failing half way up the 12th.

I'm relatively pleased with the modest gains I made today. My left shoulder didn't really progress, but I'd like to think my form in the earlier rounds was a bit better than it had been last week. Despite the minor decrease, I'm still dropping to 10 seconds rest between rounds for next week. Should be quite a challenge. As for the pullups, a 1 rep gain isn't bad. I'm getting pretty close to 15, so I'll just keep on trucking. I anticipate getting more sleep this week, so that should help me recover by next Sunday. I also need to make the effort to do no GTG for at least 2-3 days. I think it's a great thing, but it can interfere with recovery.

A down swing on the deadlift.

2009-09-11T16:42:00.004-04:00

It had been 14 days since I last deadlifted, though I did do some clean & squat ladders a week ago to keep the posterior chain involved. Still, I was towards the end of a 24 hour fast, and at the end of a very tiring week. I suppose that accounts for a little regression. Kelly was also tired, but since this is her first time working at this weight, one can't really call this a technical regression. Since we ended up putting up a pretty low volume, we're going to repeat this workout likely on Friday, and no later than Sunday of this coming week.

I warmed up with some light deads, cleans, and presses.

165# Deadlift x 4, 1 rep every 30 seconds, reaching actual failure.

345# Deadlift x 7, 1 rep every 30 seconds, technical failure with some left in the tank.

I think that two weeks without deadlifting left my hamstrings tight, and it showed as I reached technical failure early on in the set, despite having some gas left in the tank. I want to repeat this workout soon. My hope is that more frequent deadlifting sessions, which only go to technical failure instead of true failure, will facilitate the development and maintenance of more hamstring flexibility. That was definitely the deciding factor today. 14 days is definitely too long of a gap. ~8 days seems to be my sweet spot.

Blueberries Rule - Ice Cream and Pancakes

2009-09-10T19:55:00.004-04:00

The pictures to the right reveal that I'm still making good use of the frozen berries we picked a month ago.

Throw a cup of frozen berries in a pan with a large pad of butter, and simmer until they become deep purple and syrup-like. Then pour over pancakes for an unbelievable breakfast, or use it to top cream cheese tarts!

And let's not forget Ice Cream.
• Make a blueberry sauce in the manner described above - about 1.5 cups frozen berries
• then mix with 1 can coconut milk
• then add 1 cup heavy whipping cream or whole pastured milk (I was out, but the heavy whipping cream will be zero carb, thus no lactose).
• I added 1 tablespoon of honey, which was barely noticeable, but I don't think it'll do much damage.
• Chill the whole mixture, then throw it in your ice cream maker for 30 minutes. I could have used eggs to thicken, but I was looking for simple, and this was so easy!

A Fundamental Disconnect

2009-09-10T18:00:00.002-04:00

I decided to just rant on my own space, rather than fill up Mark's blog with an enormous ranting reply to his poignant latest post. Read it before we go on. So here's a question:

Why do we have jobs?

Is it so we can have cool toys, or to go out to the movies? Is it so we can afford the best cell phone? Don't get me wrong. I love gadgets, I'm a movie nut, and I can't wait to get a new cell phone for which I probably have no need.

Fundamentally, though, wouldn't the purpose of a profession be to enable us to feed, clothe, and shelter our families, before anything else? If so, why are we willing to pay lots to receive quality clothing and quality shelter, but not quality food? These things seem to be the most fundamentally important needs we have, so it's unbelievable to me that so many people have decided to completely blow off eating real food that costs more than pittance.

I am routinely surprised at how unwilling someone would be to by some fresh caught fish, or some grass fed beef, because it's a bit expensive. I certainly see the value in easing into the Paleo way of life; of slowly making adjustments to the grocery list, as part of a complete reprioritization of the way we look at life. First you start buying free range eggs, then maybe you get some pastured milk. After a while, maybe you can ditch the whole wheat pastas for a pound or two of grass fed beef. We are slowly making this transition now (and on the horizon, a reasonably priced 1/4 grass fed cow is bound for our freezer).

I get a surprised look when I tell a peer in my position (24, married) that I pay extra for groceries, but don't have cable. I'm not against cable, I just have no need for it with the internet, free digital antennae tv ($10), and a dvd player. Basically, I save $50-60/month on cable and spend that much and a little extra each month on groceries. That's not to mention all of the sodas, fast food, and takeout I simply don't waste dollars on the way my peers do.

It seems that we've become so accustomed to cheap or free food, that we no longer consider food as a major expense. We are "entitled" to food at near nothing costs. Eggs should cost 8 cents a piece (while candy bars cost 80 cents), and we should be able to feed our kids pasta and cereal for a week on 10 bucks. That a pound of grassfed ground beef, capable of feeding 2 people with good appetites, costs $4-6 bucks, is a shock to people. Those same people would spend $7 on a whopper, fries and a drink for 1 person. This is hilarious to me.

There is a frightening fundamental disconnect between our understanding of what we 'deserve,' and reality. It's no wonder that we, as a generation, spend more on health care and less on food than our parents did. We think we are saving money by feeding ourselves on fruit loops and ramen, and in reality we are incurring the life long costs of disease. I won't get started on the health care issue that is burdening us right now, save to say that it wouldn't even be an issue, if we weren't spending $1 Trillion/year treating preventable diseases that wouldn't exist in the absence of dietary sugar, cereal grains, and processed/hydrogenated vegetable oils/shortening.

Perhaps we can all look at the way we spend our dough, and ask ourselves what is important to us: Saving some money in the grocery store, or living lives with less disease and unnecessary socioeconomic burden?

I'm going to go eat some eggs I paid "too much for," and they're gonna be delicious.

"All your questions answered." An email to some friends

2009-09-08T19:37:00.004-04:00

I wrote the following email to help several family members, colleagues, and peers of my wife's and mine, who have questions about our way of life. Thanks to those whom I reference in the email, and to the many other excellent writers to whose blogs I frequently refer friends and family to.

Hey everyone,

My wife Kelly and I have been receiving a ton of questions from many of you regarding the way we eat and exercise. A few years ago, I'd have been pretty confused too if someone was telling me that they only worked out once or twice a week, ate tons of fat, remained relatively lean, and felt great. I'd tell them they just had lucky genes, but that they were going to get a heart attack any minute.

Well, I became fascinated with nutrition and fitness because I spent most of my life a bit chunkier than I'd have liked. I got tired of never feeling comfortable with my shirt off, of feeling unfit and always tired, and of being at the mercy of an always ravenous appetite. I'd heard of the Atkins diet and other low-carb diets, and had succeeded in losing a little weight on them. However, it wasn't until I really adopted a fundamental change towards the way I look at food that I was able to commit to a more natural way of eating. Instead of demonizing carbohydrates, I simply avoid processed foods of any kind, from nutrigrain bars to hot dogs, and everything in between.

The way I eat is pretty simple. I remove all the parts of the Standard American Diet (SAD) that simply weren't around during the million years we spend walking the earth before civilization and agriculture came around about 10,000 years or so ago. This mainly includes, in order of priority:

• refined sugar (especially High Fructose Corn Syrup),
• refined grains/carbohydrates (yes, even 'whole' grains),
• processed and hydrogenated vegetable oils (Crisco, Canola Oil, and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils).

These things really are completely foreign to our metabolisms, as any anthropologist can tell you. Unfortunately, many of the things you see on grocery store shelves are made primarily of these things. From Ketchup to Nutrigrain bars, and from salad dressings to cereals, there is very little in a grocery store that is free of these. The things that are make up my diet: a variety of meats and fish, nuts, seeds, non-starchy fruits and veggies, and the occasional potato, sweet potato, or banana.

Some people can eat the SAD and feel ok and be thin. But, if you are like Kelly or I were, then you either aren't as thin, or don't feel as well as you would like to. If that's the case, I invite you to try and eat the way we eat. It is a challenge at first, but I have never met one single person who has committed to this way of eating for at least a month or two and not decided it was the best thing for them.

Many of you might also believe that it is immoral to eat in a manner that causes the deaths of animals. I think that this is noble, but I'd ask you to consider this: if you eat a diet consisting of the products of large scale agriculture (corn, wheat, & soy), than millions of animals every year are killed to produce the harvests that make your bread, cereal, chips, drinks (high fructose CORN syrup), and even your tofu (soy). The animals that are taken to feed a meat eating people are nothing compared to the vast eco-systems that are wiped out to plant vast single-crop fields. It is unfortunate, but it simply is not possible to feed your self nutritious food with sacrificing some creature somewhere.

So where do you get started. If you're looking for guidance on what to eat (or not to eat), how to work out, and in general how to live a more 'paleo' life, there are several amazing websites and news letters that are free sources of great information.

websites
Mark's Daily Apple has countless posts on great recipes, tips to eating healthy, and tips to working out efficiently.
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-blueprint-health-challenge-newsletter/
Mark also has a free newsletter with 22 issues covering all the major topics of the paleo lifestyle that you can receive in email form:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-blueprint-health-challenge-newsletter/

If you are interested in actually understanding the science behind why eating a diet free of sugar, grain, and processed vegetable oils is the best way to avoid (and yes, even combat the effects of) heart attack, stroke, cancer, diabetes, overweight, and the rest of the 'Diseases of Civilization,' than check out Stephen at Whole Health Source. He's a neurobiologist who's passion for health science is shared in the hundreds of articles he's written on the data supporting natural eating.
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/

Richard Nikoley, of Free the Animal is a major mover and shaker in the Paleo Community, but turn elsewhere if you're sensitive to language or the harsh truth. He puts out excellent content, and takes no bull from anyone. His blog, which is one of my favorites, could easily be renamed "No Quarter for Fools."

http://freetheanimal.com/ancestral-life-way/

some videos

Sugar: The Bitter Truth
Paleo in a Nutshell: Food
Paleo in a Nutshell 2: Exercise

Gary Taubes Interview

some books
If you have the patience for books, I recommend the following, in order:
The Primal Blue Print, by Mark Sisson (of Mark's Daily Apple), tells you everything you need to know to get started.
Good Calories, Bad Calories, by Gary Taubes, looks at every major study on obesity, diabetes, and heart disease conducted over the past century, and it's a really fascinating read (but very long).
The Great Cholesterol Con, by Dr. Malcolm Kendrick, smashes the many myths about cholesterol that are out there.
The Vegetarian Myth is a fascinating book by a former vegan of 20 years whose health was ravaged by the under nutrition of a meatless diet. She expounds on the fact that, indirectly or directly, living things must die somewhere for you to survive, either in slaughterhouses, or under harvesting machinery (rabbits, prairie dogs, etc).

There are many other great websites and resources, but there is enough here to answer most of your questions. I hope this has been helpful (it certainly was long enough). Thanks for taking the time to read all of this, and let me know if there's anything else your curious about.

Good luck,
Bryce and Kelly Lee

EDT and Devastating rest pause

2009-09-06T13:54:00.004-04:00

First, Kelly did a variant of Escalating Density Training, where she rotated between two movements to get as many reps as possible in a specific time period:

Time Period: 10:00
As many rounds as possible of: 16kg KB Thruster x 1+1 & 1 Jumping Ring Pullup
Result: 16 rounds!

This is pretty damned impressive, considering she's putting just over a third of her bodyweight overhead . . . with one arm. Furthermore, her pullups are coming along well. Kelly started to stall with the rest pause pullup/kb press combo, but EDT fits more into her ideal training preference: metabolically intense style workouts that will still build strength. It also allows for more quantized increases in difficulty (i.e. one additional round in 10 minutes), unlike rest pause pressing and rest pause jumping pullups).

As for me . . .
Since alternating arms didn't work last time, I decided to keep the 15 second rest interval, and do all my reps with the left arm first, before taking a break and moving to the right. It worked, and I can barely lift my arms.

32kg Press x 1 (left), every 15 seconds for 15 rounds before failing
32kg Press x 1 (right), every 15 seconds for 14 rounds before failing

36kg Weighted Ring Pullup, every 15 seconds for 10 rounds, plus an 11th rep at double rest (30s).

I'm very pleased with the presses. Doing all reps on one arm before switching made it much more manageable, and actually makes a 10 second rest period a realistic next step. That's a good thing because I still think it will be a little while before I'm strong enough to press 36kg for singles. As for right now, I'll remain at this rest/weight combo for one more workout, as I couldn't get a 15th rep on my right arm, and I'd say I reached technical failure on the left arm at around 13 reps.

As for the pullups, no real improvement from the last session. I think I was definitely weakened by the presses, which were extremely taxing. Still, I wanted to do something to increase the stimulus, so I increased rest for just one extra rep. I will say that my power on the concentric, and my control on the eccentric portion of the lift, have both improved at this weight, so I'm not totally discouraged. I will however rest more than 7 days before the next workout, as I can already tell 10 minutes after completing it that the inroading was quite substantial.

Not a bad way to celebrate labor day weekend.

Clean and Squat Ladders in lieu of deadlifting

2009-09-04T13:29:00.003-04:00

I was considering deadlifting, but it just wasn't in the cards for today. Instead, something that seriously challenges the posterior chain and metabolic pathways:

A single 5 rung ladder of 2x24kg Clean & Squats, without setting the bells down (in vibrams)

This truly is exhausting, but it isn't so bad that it will leave me sore come Monday when I'll likely want to deadlift. Furthermore, it is brutal on all of the metabolic pathways. It took just under 2:00, but left me sucking wind for 5-6 minutes afterwards. I could have done more ladders, but didn't feel the need. This was just enough to capitalize on a nearly 20 hour fast, deplete some glycogen stores, and work some light squatting into my week without interfering with my primary posterior chain training.

Kelly did plank holds in the standard, left, and right positions for about a minute each. Good stuff.

Late edit: The next day (Saturday), I did 2 sprints at the beach, my first sprints in months, and on Sunday I am quite sore. Amazing how much impact just a tiny bit of exertion can have on your body. I'll probably wait a few more days before deadlifting.

Changes needed with pressing.

2009-08-30T15:10:00.003-04:00

So so today. Training:

Me -
32kg Press x 1+1, every 15 seconds for 3 rounds before failing*
It became quickly apparent that 15 seconds was simply not enough time to switch back and forth between arms and get both reps in. After this, I did:
2x24kg Press x 3 reps x 3 sets, emphasizing shoulder mobility.

36kg Weighted Pullups, every 15 seconds for 10 rounds**
Some slight progress here - Depending on my mood I may move up to 40kg next time instead of pushing for 15 reps at this pace.

Kelly was having an off day, and did some good jumping pullup singles with controlled eccentrics instead of the rest pause.

As for me, I am still making slow but steady progress with the pullups. I emphasized a more controlled eccentric this time around, and still managed to get an extra rep. As for the KB presses, jumping to 36kg is too big of an increase. However, doing 1+1 in 15 seconds is unfeasible when you are holding two bells in one hand. Things might be different if I owned 32 and 36 kg bells, but I don't, nor do I have the $300 they'd cost.

So, my options are:

• Do all reps on the left arm followed by all reps on the right. This would allow me to continue decreasing the interval down to as low as 10 seconds.
• Focus on ladders, or 25 for a bigger engine, type training with my two 24kg bells. This would help to improve my shoulder mobility, since you can't get away with the sloppiness that's possible with unilateral pressing.
• Make barbell pressing my primary overhead exercise. This would allow for smaller incremental increases in load, and I do enjoy the lift, but it would also require us to spend more time at the gym, and it would require technical adaptations.

In the end, it's possible my rest pause macrocycle may be nearing it's end. I'm going to press on (pun intended) until I'm sure that I've gotten everything I can out of this protocol before I'm finished with it.

up to 345# Rest Pause Deads

2009-08-28T15:55:00.004-04:00

Warmed up with some explosive light deadlifts, with an RDL style eccentric.

Kelly did:

155# Deadlift x 15, 1 rep every 30 seconds, 14th and 15th reps were sheer desire.
(Major progress here obviously, next session she will progress to 165#).

I did:

345# Deadlift x 9, 1 rep every 30 seconds, stopping at technical failure, with a little left in the tank.

Despite the fact that I felt pretty lousy going into this session, I am definitely pleased with these numbers. I'll get my 15 reps within the next two sessions, drop to 15 seconds rest, and go from there for a while. I decided to be conservative and only increase the weight by ~10%. At this weight, however, it would have been pointless to spend a session using 45 or 60 second rest periods.

I'm also pleased at my progress considering that I'm doing each of these pulls essentially barefoot. I feel my hip/hamstring mobility is improving, and I finished this session off with some light romanian deadlift eccentrics to maximize flexibility. Also this session began and ended with 10 dips, for kicks.

We're both proud of this session! Time to eat some meat.

Quick & Deadly - clean & squat ladder

2009-08-25T16:19:00.005-04:00

Didn't have more than a few minutes today, and wanted to do something that was, above all, metabolically demanding.

Without setting the bells down (squats were done w/ both bells racked):
2x20kg KB - 1 Clean, 1 Squat, 2 Cleans, 2 Squats, 3 Cleans, 3 Squats, 4 Cleans, 4 Squats, 5 Cleans, 5 Squats.

And that's it. It was tough, and since it was my first time doing this, I didn't push for a 6th set. I might have died. I didn't want to be too sore for my deadlifting session on Thursday either, though I think most of the soreness will be localized to the quads, and I don't mind if they're sore for the deadlifts. More work for my posterior chain.

Perhaps 2-3 x 3-4 rungs would be a good balance of metabolic intensity while mitigating muscular fatigue. The purist goal here would be to go for a 10 rung ladder, as RX'ed by Dan John.

It's been a while since I've done any sort of metcon . . . I was smoked.

Late addition: Forgot to mention this workout was done about 21 hours into a fast. Dinner (Roast Chicken and Salad), wasn't till 25 hours into the fast. This was one of the more successful fasts I've had in a while, thanks to good pre-fast nutrition . . . i.e. lots and lots of fat!

Lactose, and some recent food pics . . .

2009-08-24T20:45:00.007-04:00

Can be seen on the right. I'm posting them via the Picasa Desktop application, and the most recent handful automatically represent on the side here. Clicking on any will take you to the album where more can be seen.

Two interesting and absolutely delicious substitution dishes my wife Kelly made were:
White Lasagna rolls using eggplant strips vice pasta, stuffed with ricotta, mozzarella, and sausage, and covered with a roasted red pepper cream sauce.
Ham and Asparagus in a Fontina cream sauce over boiled cabbage. The cabbage actually served as a very nice pasta substitute, holding the sauce very well.

Additionally, there's evidence of the tremendous blue berry haul we recently made at a local orchard. Lots of fun, lots of sun, and now we have desert for weeks! Berries and heavy cream are delicious.

Which brings me to another thought - I find that I get a bit of an irritable gut when I drink milk, even though I love it. However, this effect is greatly diminished with zero carb dairy products: i.e. many hard cheeses, butter, and most importantly, heavy whipping cream. I use the latter in coffee, as the basis for ice cream, and over berries as a desert. We had a friend over who, to my delight, was shocked that anybody actually buys "the quart sized heavy cream carton." If she only knew how quickly we go through them! Anyway, I suppose it's common sense, in that zero carb necessitates zero lactose, right?

Enjoy the picks, go forth, and eat more fat than your friends do.

Press & Pull Gains

2009-08-23T15:18:00.002-04:00

Quick Post today on a really good workout.

Me -
32kg Press x 1+1, every 20 seconds for 15 rounds before failing*
36kg Weighted Pullups, every 15 seconds for 9 rounds**

Kelly -
Jumping pullups, every 15 seconds for 20 rounds, then every 30s for 6 more.•
12kg Press x 1+1, every 30 seconds for 15+15••

*I got my desired 15, but reached technical failure earlier so I'll stay at this weight.
**My 8th and 9th reps were iffy
•Clearly Kelly has nailed this rest/difficulty (height) combo, so next time she'll rest less.
••Solid progress! Technical failure at ~rep 10-11, so same weight/rest next time.

I need to continue GTG'ing my pullups when I have free time, as this seems to help speed progress along. Same goes for pistols, but that's another story.

Snatch Grip Deadlifts and some Heavy Singles

2009-08-19T21:35:00.003-04:00

Practiced some Snatch Grip Deadlifts today, as I'm trying to develop greater range of motion in my hips, specifically in the hamstrings. My back rounds a bit at the very bottom, indicative of short hamstrings pulling the pelvis into posterior tilt, which thus rounds the lower back. Not good.

Using a Snatch Grip is a great way to increase the range of motion of a standard deadlift.

Anyway, I did some deadlifts, snatch grip deadlifts (SGDLs), cleans, and front squats with 45#, 115#, 155#, 175#, followed by a standard and SGDL single each at 225, standard singles at 315# and 365#, then a failed attempt at 405# before finishing with an ok single at 385#.

Kelly warmed up to her old PR of 175#, which is great at 108# bodyweight! She then had a missed rep at 185#.

It was a good training session to show us where we're at, and to give us a break from the grueling nature of our rest pause singles.

A video of our technique is forthcoming.

Too much rest

2009-08-16T14:26:00.003-04:00

In the search for the ideal rest period, I've determined much to my shock that 15 days of rest is too much. Actually I knew this session would yield poor numbers, but I didn't really have an opportunity to do it sooner.

32kg Press x 1+1, every 30 seconds for 15 rounds before failing*
36kg Weighted Pullups, every 15 seconds for 8 rounds**

*I didn't feel like pushing it any further, as my form was deteriorating.
**No progress or regress, but that's ok considering how much time elapsed since my last session.

Kelly got weaker in the pullups, but stronger in the presses, due to a few workouts involving TGU's and thrusters since our last push/pull workout together.

Jumping pullups, every 15 seconds for 7 rounds, then every 30s for 6 more.
12kg Press x 1+1, every 30 seconds for 14+14••

•• There was improvement here, since none but the last rep involved any lower body contribution.

We also incorporated a bit of squatting in various forms with the kettlebells at the end.

I didn't want to push too hard today, because I think I may start a split where every week we do a workout involving 1 push, 1 pull, and 1 lower body movement.

For me, that might be: Deadlift/Barbell Press and KB Press/weighted pullup/front squat.

More on that to follow.

Better Granularity on ideal rest . . .

2009-08-10T17:48:00.004-04:00

Photo courtesy of jimmysmithtraining.

We deadlifted today, 11 days after our last session and it seems that it was a little too much rest. At this current weight and interval combo, muscular fatigue seems to play a slightly larger roll than CNS fatigue in the inroading process, and I think I recover a little more quickly as a result. So, when the rest intervals are longer (30-45seconds), 10-11 days is ok, and when it's shorter (15-20 seconds), 7-9 days is better.

At least that's what my records are telling me, but the sample size of workouts under this protocol is still relatively small. In any case, on to the training, done in Vibram Five Fingers.

Warmup:
First, 10 dips, a few goblet squats and rear leg elevated split squats.
Then a deadlift, low pull, hang clean, front squat, and a few presses each at 45#, 95#, 135#, and 155# (no presses at 155), followed by 1 single DL at 225#.

Then Kelly was up first with some good progress:

155# Deadlift x 10, 1 rep every 30 seconds, solid form, quit after very tough 10th.

Followed by myself

315# Deadlift x 15, 1 rep every 15 seconds, with decent form.

As usual, Kelly's form was text book. My lordotic lumbar curve started to disappear into a straight (maybe ever so slightly rounded) lower back at the end. Regardless, I'm pleased with where I'm at with this weight, and next time I'm going to bump up the weight. My next deadlifting session will be a ramp up to an easy max (not a true 1RM), to gauge where my next weight should be, followed by several singles at that weight. I anticipate it will be between 345# and 365#.

My next DL session after that will involve attempting to pull 10 singles with 1 minute rest between each. If I succeed, I won't push on to 15 reps there, but will immediately drop to 45s rest the following workout for a goal of 10 reps. Once I get that, it'll be down to 30 seconds, where I'll work up to 15 reps before dropping back to 15 seconds of rest for a goal of 15 reps.

The workouts of increased rest intervals almost serve as mental and physical deloading phase, in that, though they are taxing to the CNS, they aren't as draining mentally, nor do they leave you as sore. It's a nice change of pace built into the program. Time will tell if it's effective.

Planks, KB Front Squats, Pistols

2009-08-06T16:37:00.005-04:00

I wanted to further work on rehabing my left flexor with some strengthening/ROM drills. I also hadn't hit any planks in a while, so:

2 sets of 5 Front Squats w/ 20kg KB x 2 racked
2 sets of 1+1 Pistol in Vibrams
1:30 Standard Plank w/ feet elevated 18 inches.
1:02 Left Plank w/ feet elevated 18 inches.
1:09 Right Plank w/ feet elevated 18 inches.

The Front Squats were done with a very controlled eccentric to maximize stretching and working the groin/hip flexor musculature. Also, these mark the first successful 'naked' pistols I've ever done with no shoes on or counterweight. I think the GTG work has helped, and preceding these with the front squats to prime my hips was also beneficial. As for the planks, they were very difficult since I haven't done them in a while, and since my abs were tired from the FSQ's and Pistols.

Not a bad rehab session.

Kelly hit a quick but brutal workout as well.

8 continuous rounds of 1+1 Turkish Getups with the 12kg Bell.

Good training was had by all.

Paleo Blueberry Cheesecake Tarts: Wife Guest Post

2009-08-02T19:37:00.003-04:00

Kelly made these incredible cheese cake tarts last night for a dinner party we went to. They were very Paleo friendly, despite a little dairy and honey. She was kind enough to write up a guest post detailing the recipe. A little humor and some helpful details should make it a good read.

Paleo Blueberry Cheesecake Tarts

Pre-heat oven to 375F, and line a 12-cup muffin tin with individual cupcake papers. While oven is heating up, make the crust.

Crust*

3/4 c almond flour

3/4 c coconut flour

1 stick butter, chilled but soft

1/4 c ice water

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

*I adapted the ingredients from a crust recipe I saw on the Free the Animal blog, leaving out the dates and adding the honey/vanilla instead.

Blend the 2 flours together in a mixing bowl, then transfer to food processor. Cut butter into several smaller pats and add to flour. Pulse until combined, so that the mixture resembles pea-sized crumbles (*NOTE* This is the only acceptable reference to legumes when describing a paleo recipe). Slowly add in water, about 1 tablespoon at a time, until it is all incorporated. The mixture should now resemble a dry dough. Place back into mixing bowl and fold in the honey and vanilla.

Divide dough into 12 equal balls, and press a ball into the bottom of each cupcake paper. Using fingers or a spoon, carefully spread the dough up the edges of each cup. (You can play with the thickness of the sides and bottom here, making them as thick or thin as the dough allows. I made 12 tarts, but the crusts were thick enough that you could stretch the dough thinner and make a few more tarts.) Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown on the edges.

While crusts are baking, make filling.

Filling:

1 c heavy whipping cream

8oz cream cheese, softened

2 tbsp honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

16oz blueberries, fresh or frozen (substitute other berries if desired)

Beat heavy cream with whisk or blender until peaks form. Cut cream cheese into pieces and blend with honey and vanilla into heavy cream. When crusts are finished, remove from muffin tin and place on plate to cool. Do not remove papers. Spoon filling into crusts, and press up against the sides so that there is a small space in the middle. Reserve a small amount of filling for garnish. Place in refrigerator to cool and harden, approximately 2-3hrs.

Place blueberries in skillet over low to medium-low heat and cook down until fruit resembles a thick syrup. Place in refrigerator to cool.

Right before serving, carefully remove papers from tarts. It is important to wait until the tarts are cooled, because the crust can be crumbly right out of the oven and the hardened filling will help hold it together apart from the paper. Spoon blueberry into center of tarts and garnish with remaining cream and mint leaves, if desired. Enjoy!

My Way of Life

2009-08-01T16:32:00.000-04:00

Along with my physical training, described here, I follow a particular way of life which can be described as Ancestral, Paleolithic, Primal, Hunter Gatherer, etc. etc.

Essentially, I try to look back to the way we evolved to exist for clues as to how to live a healthy life. Numerous pre-agrarian peoples lived well into old age and were free of the diseases that plague civilization: diabetes, cancer, heart disease. We follow the advice of our government and get sicker and sicker. Perhaps looking towards how we used to live before everything came in a plastic wrapper is a simpler answer.

What does this mean for me as far as diet goes?? Aside from the occasional indulgences:

Refined foods are all but excluded - (virtually no grains, sugars, or processed/hydrogenated vegetable oils).
Starchy natural foods, like bananas, potatoes, and rice, are only occasionally eaten.
Most of my caloric intake comes from animal fat, animal protein, and some healthy vegetable fats, in that order.
I frequently eat berries and nuts, and occasionally enjoy fleshier fruits like apples.
I frequently eat small amounts of dark chocolate (85% cacao), and enjoy red wine daily).
I supplement some fish oil and vitamin D when direct sun exposure is unavailable.
I occasionally (3-4 times/month) fast until dinner, which is actually pretty easy (once your blood sugar is properly regulated, living off of your own body fat for a couple extra hours is easy).

As you can see I follow what many would call a 'fad' diet of meat, some fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, little starch, less sugar, and a little wine. It suits me well, and the science to support its healthfulness is too overwhelming to list. Simply peruse the sites and blogs listed in my blog roll for more substantiation. No truly logical person could possibly read the research that I and these other intellectuals have read and draw different conclusions.

I eat real food, get some sun, workout infrequently and intensely, enjoy the outdoors, and sleep as much as I can. If you forget what you 'think' you know and consider the evidence, I imagine it won't take long before you find yourself living a similar natural lifestyle to the one I'm enjoying right now . . .

My Current Training, in Brief

2009-08-01T14:26:00.000-04:00

For the past few months, my training has been focused around raw strength in a few basic compound movements: the overhead kettlebell press, weighted pullup, and deadlift. Few stones are left unturned with these movements, and my focus has been on heavy singles. This has allowed me to train about only 1-2 times a week and still make significant gains in strength, with some moderate hypertrophy merely serving as a positive side effect.

I do a good deal of skill/practice work on the side, primarily in the form of light squatting movements to improve ankle, knee, and hip mobility, along with some pistols and one armed pullup practice. I'll also intermittently incorporate sprints, dedicated plank sessions, and some short intense interval work with kettlebells. There's currently no rhyme or reason to this - I just do so when I feel like it.

Down the road, I will no doubt dedicate some macrocycles to interval training and power training. Developing elite levels of metabolic conditioning, along with the ability to produce power up to my genetic potential, are both very long term goals of mine. However, right now I'm simply building a good strength to weight ratio, which I feel serves as the foundation for any developments in conditioning or power production.

Rest Pause Push and Pull

2009-08-01T13:55:00.006-04:00

Great session today. I think the small amounts of groove greasing that I do throughout the week are helping for sure.

32kg Press x 1+1, every 30 seconds for 18 rounds before failing*
36kg Weighted Pullups, every 15 seconds for 8 rounds**

*Form definitely improved here. I was able to smoothly flare the arm out to the side, drive up, and put my shoulder in my ear. Significantly less leaning as well. Very happy with this.
**I tried doubling the rest for a 9th rep, but didn't stand a chance. These reps all went very well though.

10:00 of 12kg Kettlebell C&P left, C&P right, burpee, jumping pullup - she got 15 reps!

Next time around, I'll decrease the rest between presses to 20 seconds per round. That will be very challenging, since I have to switch hands between reps, and I'm balancing two bells here. I'll keep the interval and load for the pullups where it is, since I have room to improve there (gotta get 15!).

No program is perfect, and for me it's always been hard to stick with any one program. I'm going to keep going with this program for a while yet, because even though it's lacking in some areas, my gains are very tangible, and I'm developing a broad and stable strength base upon which I can build up other areas of fitness later.

Food, Inc.

2009-07-31T21:25:00.003-04:00

I'm quite impressed. The movie presents an important message in a very effective, clear, powerful manner. Coming away from the film, it's hard not to want to change the way you feed yourself . . . luckily we already have.

Plain and simple, the more dissociated we are from the way food gets from the farm to our dinner table, the easier it is for animals, the environment, farmers, and even our bodies to be taken advantage of by a destructive system.

Food, Inc. attempts to be (successfully I think) our generation's The Jungle.

Go see it this weekend.

Almost there ...

2009-07-29T16:37:00.003-04:00

I think I'll need one more workout at 315# before I can advance my deadlift to the next weight - 345#. Why 345? I think with this protocol, a 10% increase in weight is safe. Having worked your way down from 45-60 seconds of rest between reps to 15 seconds of rest over the course of 5-6 weeks is, I think, enough time for your body to adapt to the weight. Also 345 was at one point my 1RM, so I like the idea of using it for a whole workout.

Anyway, today's workout went as follows, about 20 hours into a fast (in vibrams for me):

We warmed up with 45#, 95#, and 115# (Kelly did a few deads, and I did 3 C&P's at each weight).

Then Kelly did her rest pause deadlifting:

155# Deadlift x 8, 1 rep every 30 seconds, with excellent form, failing on rep 9.

Then I did a few warmup reps at 155# (cleans), and at 225# (DL's), before rest pausing:

315# Deadlift x 14, 1 rep every 15 seconds, with decent form.

Kelly as usual had near perfect deadlifting form, with an ideal lordotic lumbar curve, hips and shoulders rising together, and no sticking points. My form was alright, and when I deteriorated from a natural arched lumbar curve to a straight lower back between my 13th-14th reps, I decided to call it a day. Neither of us did any reps at extended rest intervals, as I'm of the opinion that if you can progress while doing less, you should, and we are.

We're both pleased with this level of progress, Kelly having increased 33% in reps at cadence (from 6-8), and me jumping 27% (11-14).

I plan on doing one more workout at this weight, with the goal to get at least 15 reps and to maintain a good lordotic lumbar curve throughout. I don't think that this is unfeasible. After that, I'll increase the weight, and enjoy a period of heavy singles with larger rest intervals. It'll be great training, but much easier mentally than forcing myself to do reps clustered so quickly together. These closely clustered heavy deads are brutally demanding on the energy pathways. I was sucking wind for 10 minutes afterwards!

Great training today. We also did some front squats to warmup. We are both pretty lousy at these because we tend to lean forward in the squat. This indicates a strength/balance issue that we'll eventually have to address.

It isn't that fat makes you full ...

2009-07-28T11:43:00.007-04:00

It's that carbs make you hungry. I read this in Gary Taubes' Good Calories, Bad Calories, and it registered with me immediately. I have noticed this in the past, and I've been noticing it especially over the past week.

Anytime one hears reference to low carb, high fat diets being filling, they associate fat and protein with satiety. Eat lots of fat and protein, and you'll be full. Though they are filling, pasta can be too. Both fill the stomach, and both digest and leave the stomach. Yet, in the absence of much carbohydrate, subjects in carb-restricted diet studies routinely report a lack of hunger in the hours following their feedings. I've noticed recently that the same amount of protein and fat (lets take a steak) is less filling in the long run when accompanied by fruit, or some dark chocolate, which are healthy, unrefined sources of small amounts of sugar. Though they are healthy in moderation and can be a good part of one's diet, they still have sugar.

Sugar even in small amounts illicits more insulin production than most other foods, and that in turn will create a feedback loop leading to the production of the hormones that make us hungry. Hunger is a phenomenon triggered at the cellular level, and that's where insulin comes in and messes things up.

So here's my personal take away. When I'm in a situation where I know I won't have access to healthy food later, and I decide I want to delay any feelings of hunger, I find that eating only fat and protein and almost no carbohydrate will greatly delay the onset of hunger. I won't always go super low carb like this, because I love some fruit and dark chocolate and nut butter now and then. But when getting hungry is inevitable ad inconvenient, super low carb it is.

A big take away here for me personally is the pertinence to Intermittent Fasting. I think fasting is an invigorating, effective, and very feasible way to increase insulin sensitivity, maintain my weight, and maximize the effect of my major growth hormone producing workouts (since growth hormone production is increased in a fasted state). I usually skip breakfast a few times per week, and skip breakfast and lunch one day per week, ideally before an intense heavy lifting or sprinting workout.

I'm always looking for ways to make my fasts more effective and more manageable. Some things I always try to do during a fast are: stay hydrated, sleep as much as possible, and get an intense workout in at the height of my hunger (usually mid afternoon) to both mitigate hunger and capitalize on HGH response. From now on, I'll also make sure to severely restrict carb intake the night before my fast. I want to see how effective this is at further delaying feelings of hunger.

I'll report back on how this goos.