Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Never Back Down!



















"Commit..No Excuses." I said this would be my mantra, and yesterday I had to call upon it.
Wednesday was day three of Program Minimum - Redux. I had a few clients to train between 6am-930am, and I tend to get very involved w/ my clients. They learn best, I think, when I mirror the technique of a certain lift, so I'll do a few resp with them. Training like that tends to give you small workout throughout the day. I wasn't tired, but I was worried that it would take some fuel away form what I had planned for myself. It did keep me warm and loose all day.
I arrived at the gym at 530am, got the place running, and did my sets of fighter pull ups before my first client got there. Today I did 1(8,7,6,5,4). I really dig this program. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to build upper body strength, or to anyone who really wants to know how a true pull up should be done. Not knocking the Crossfit practitioners, but I just don't see how the kipping pull up is beneficial other than as a progression to the true pull up. Just my opinion.
10am was my time to get lost in about 40 Turkish Get Ups. Today's TGU consisted of 4 sets of 5/5 reps with a 55lb (My boss has Aders in the gym. They're all in lbs). My goal wasn't the #'s, but to really control the weight, and move as though it were a part of me. I felt strong and in control. I manipulated the weight rather than the opposite. I found that if I flexed my wrist and really squeezed the bell, it helped keep my shoulder in place and elbow locked. I wanted to go for 5 sets but during set 4 rep 4, I started to feel a little fatigued so I st oped at set 4 with the idea that I am saving set 5 for another day.
It may just be me, but every time I finish a few sets of TGUs, I feel energized, loose, and alive. At night, however, I sleep like a baby. Therapeutic? I can attest.
5pm is when the real pain began. I named the second version of my Man Maker series Swing For Your Life. The circuit consists primarily of 24KG swings paired with active rest rounds of either light KB work or body weighted movements. The A.R. portions where specifically chosen for how well I thought they complimented the swing.
Swing For Your Life ( I did 3 rounds)

Repeat Following Circuit For 3-5 Rounds w/ 15 Sec Rest b/t Exercises and 1min rest b/t Rounds
· 30 sec Swings
· 30 sec F8TH
· 30 sec Swings
· 30 sec Hindu Push Ups
· 30 sec Swings
· 30 sec Clean Catch
· 30 sec Swings
· 30 sec Burpees
· 30 sec Swings
· 30 sec Fire Hose Waves
· 30 sec Swings
Doubling up on the swings helped me evaluate my form. I realized that I wasn't loading my glutes enough. This killed my back swing and further murdered my explosiveness for the font swing. It was easily fixed by letting the bell glide through my legs, then at the point it reached my crotch I aggressively hiked it back and really focused on pushing my hips back with perfect form. I felt a lot more powerful after that.
So I goofed a little. I forgot about the Hindu push ups on rounds 2-3, so I missed out on some swings. Unfortunately, I didn't realize it until them end. My garage was cooking like an brick oven, my clothes completely drenched, and my heart rate was around 220. I could have called it quits right there, but could I face the Elite at the RKC knowing that I did not give it my all during my training. My form wasn't failing. If it had been, that would be a different story. I was just smoked.
"Commit..No Excuses!" Rang in my ear. I sucked it up, and made up for my mistake. Surprisingly, I found that my swing was crisp and flowed very naturally. Oh yeah, and I also realized that I set the Gymboss to 30/10 instead of 30/15. That hurt.

1 comment:

  1. I do the same thing with many of my clients...especially since most of them can't just simply do the exercise when I call its name out and they'll never remember what order it goes in. It won't make you weaker and in fact should help "grease the groove".

    Kipping is just a different kind of exercise. Kind of like the push press as opposed to the strict shoulder press.

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