New PR

I set a new clean and jerk PR of 195#'s.  That might not sound like a lot but for me it was a huge rush.  I was stuck at 185#'s for a long time.  I had been sick (head cold flu crap) and my work schedule had kept me from following my workouts consistently.

I didn't feel like working out that day.  I was tired, stressed out, and still didn't feel that great.  I worked up to 185 and got it easy.  So I figured what the heck and gave 195 a shot.  I considered trying 190 but to be honest with you I just new I would be able to get 195.

My point is don't skip the gym just because you're tired or the "conditions" aren't perfect.  Some of my best workouts have happened when I was mentally exhausted and didn't feel like working out.

So how about you?  Ever set a PR or have a really great workout when you didn't even want to be in the gym?  Tell me your story in the comments.

Fitness and Golf

I posted this on a golf instruction forum and thought it would be applicable here.

I cringe anytime I read about someone wanting to work on golf specific exercises.

I know tons and tons of stuff about physical training from personal study and experience. I'm not a physical trainer or anything like that but I have a background in the stuff that would top most "certified" trainers that work out of local gyms. In my opinion trying to follow or develop a golf specific fitness program is a waste of time and can actually lead to a decrease in performance. If you want evidence look at the training that is done by athletes in other sports. Basketball players don't follow programs that are basketball specific. They follow programs that develop overall strength and endurance and movement in all directions.

Most of your really good athletes in any sport were also really good in other sports.  I believe this is true because playing more than one sport develops a balanced athlete and they learn to move their bodies in any direction not just the directions needed for their primary sport. This has been proven over and over again by people a lot smarter than I am.

I'm experiencing really, really good results working with a program that stresses overall improvement in strength, athletic development, and movement. I've also started some mobility work that shows a lot of promise. I didn't develop either of the programs and I'm not affiliated with them in anyway. It's free for anyone to follow but it's very difficult if you have no background in physical movement. I'm not comfortable posting the link here because this isn't my website and neither is the one that post the workouts. If you want to find it do a search for cross training and you'll get pretty close. If you want specifics you can PM and I'll give you the links to the two programs I'm following.

I'm also not going to be so bold as to say what I'm doing is the best programming on earth but it's the best I've found so far. The key is balancing improvements in strength, movement, and endurance.

It would be a very good idea to work with a trainer for a little while that can at least teach you correct movements so you don't hurt yourself. Just don't tell them you want a program to improve your golf game.

This is my blog so I'm not afraid to say that the programming that I'm currently following is outlaw crossfit and I also use mobility WOD.  You don't have to be a super athlete to follow the mobility WOD site.  In my opinion the mobility WOD is something everyone should follow regardless of age or physical ability.

What I've learned...so far

I've followed tons of different fitness programs.  Over the following few weeks I'm going to try to summarize some of the programs I've followed and what I've learned about myself following these programs.  There are a few things however, that are universal to all programs.  I'll go into more detail on these points later on.

1.  Your diet is almost as important as your program.

2.  Your program is almost as important as your diet.

3.  Supplements won't fix your problems.

4.  You need to know what results you want before you start a program or diet.

5.  You have to follow the program!

6.  You don't need a lot of equipment to get in great shape.

7.  The only excuses are the ones between your ears.

8.  Write down everything!

This might be the most important one.  I have fitness journals going back over 10 years.  I can look back at these journals and see what programming I was following, how much I weighed, what my maxes were, etc.  This is extremely important for several reasons.  You need to know if you are making progress.  You need to be able to look for trends to see what works and what doesn't work for you.  It keeps you motivated.  If you aren't tracking something, anything, you will fail.  I'll write a much more detailed post later on about the importance of tracking workouts.  For now get a notebook of your choice and a pen and start writing things down.

9.  Write down what you eat.

I wish I had figured this out and done it a long time ago.  Diet can have a huge impact on your results.  I didn't pick this habit up because it can be a real pain in the ass.  There are lots of free sites on the internet now that make it very simple to keep track of your diet.  All you need is a computer and a small scale to weigh your food.  After a while you won't have to way everything because you'll have a good idea of how much you are eating just by looking at it.  This will even work in restaurants when dragging a scale along in impractical.  You can use measuring cups to determine how much you are eating but they don't work as well in my opinion.  Not everything fits well in a measuring cup.  Frozen fruit comes to mind.

10.  Don't quit.

17 May 2012 Crossfit Workout

17 May 2012

RX

Five rounds for time of:
135 pound Power clean, 10 reps
15 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball

Scaled

Five rounds for time of:
115 pound Power clean, 10 reps
15 Wall ball shots, 15 pound ball

18:00?  Forgot to stop the timer so that's the best guess.

Power cleans are starting to get better.  Need to work on the landing though.  It feels like my lower back is a little over extended when I catch the weight.  Also need to work on catching it with my shoulders and not in my fingers.  My fingers could get a little painful when the weight starts getting a little heavier.

What is the optimal training model for strength and mobility?

Long title.  Longer question.  I'm not going to pretend to have the answer either.  I believe that like most things fitness related, there are multiple answers and models that will fit one person but not another person.

My goal is to find the best model for me.  I have been looking for the model that will give me the best blend of strength, agility, and endurance.  It's a hotly debated topic and there are several philosophies out there.

Over the next few weeks I hope to summarize many of those schools of thought here.

Stay tuned!

Eating Right

I've been following a new to me diet for about three weeks now.  It's called the "Primal Blueprint" and was developed by Mark Sisson.  You can find his blog over at marksdailyapple.  I love his blog and so far I love his diet.

My experience has been very positive so far.  I haven't had a slice of bread in three weeks.  No bagels and peanut butter for breakfast in all most as long (That was hard for me to give up.  I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.)  I'm eating a lot more meat and a lot more vegetables and fruit.

My occasional heartburn is gone.  I don't have as much knee and foot pain when I get up in the mornings.  My energy levels have been very good.  I think this week has been the best for energy so far.  I don't have the mid afternoon coma anymore (You know what I'm talking about.  Eat lunch. Go back to work.  Feel like a nap the rest of the day.

My energy level this week is what surprises me the most.  I'm in the national guard and the last weekend was a three day drill weekend.  I'm usually exhausted after one of those weekends but I feel great this week.  I don't know how else to explain it except that the diet is really working.

My only complaint so far is I've been pretty hungry.  It hasn't been near as bad this week but it's still there.  I think I'm probably under eating a little bit and still not eating enough vegetables.  I'm still learning how to eat like this so I'm not to worried about it right now.

I'll keep you updated on the progress I make.  I'm reading Mark's book at the same time so I'm sure that I'm making mistakes and still have a lot to learn but I'm okay with that.  I usually analyze everything to death before I do something so it feels really good to just jump in to something.  I'm really enjoying the journey.

Breathing is exercise too.

Don't believe me?  Try this the next time you go for a walk around your neighborhood.

Don't think about anything but your breathing while you walk and walk at a slow relaxed pace.  Take a long, slow, deep breath in through your nose.  Make the breath as deep as you can make it and then hold it for two steps.

Now let the breath out slowly through your mouth but make a ssssss sound through your teeth.  As you let the breath out tighten your core muscles as tightly as you can.  One you have forced as much air as you can out take two steps before you repeat the process.

How did it feel?  I bet you don't make it very far breathing like this.

So how does knowing that breathing is exercise too help you?  You have to make effective use of breathing during your workouts to maximize all the energy you have stored up in your muscles.  If you aren't breathing effectively you will fatigue more quickly and it will take your body longer to recover between workouts.

Later I'll make a post on how you can use breathing to strengthen your core and increase your energy every day.