Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Strength/Power Compounds and Inspiration

Yesterday we had our monthly staff meeting which is comprised of Exercise/Housekeeping/Education. We had some guy come in from a equipment company trying to give us a workout with his new equipment. Originally he was supposed to workout the entire staff for an hour, but could not get all the equipment he needed. So then it rested on my shoulders to take half of the Personal Trainers for half of the hour while he wroked with the other half. I decided to use this opportunity to show how bright my team was, so in our meeting we came up with a 30minute ass kicking of a workout. Now mind you, we have trainers that do corrective exercise, to "functional" trainers, and even a couple of animals. Here is how it panned out.

All done with a partner:
Deadlift 6 reps
Tuck Jumps 20 reps
The rest period was however long it took your partner to complete the set. You had to complete 3 total rounds. Of course, I pair up with a guy that has springs for legs and endurance for days. I seriously got 60s of rest between sets if I was lucky.

My weight broke down like this
405x6 + 20 Tuck Jumps
455x6 + 20 Tuck Jumps
495x3 + 20 Slow Tuck jumps
I just did not have the gas in the tank with those short rest intervals so I had to call it at 3 reps at 495

The next compound was upper body based and was also done with a partner:
Dumbbell Floor Press 8 reps
Plyo Pushups 20 reps

These were torture. I don't Bench Press that often. It doesn't carry over to my sport and I just don't care how much I Bench Press. The Incline and the Overhead Press are what I implement in my training, so these blew.

After this we all went and played around with the new equipment that was described as being functional. ***NOTE***: If you are trying to sell me something and you want to seem legitimate, don't use the word functional. When someone uses the word functional when describing their exercise style or the equipment they are trying to sell, I immediately shut off. Functional has become this "hot" word in the industry and I hate it. The term has become so bastardized and so trendy that just hearing the word makes my stomach want to turn.

INSPIRATION:

We have a guy on our team by the name of Andy and he is a phenomenal asset. He has been in tons of gyms, has more experience than 95% of our trainers, and is in better shape than most people half his age. Yesterday he gave a presentation on inspiration. He talked about sources of inspiration that he draws from, went over the hierarchy of needs and a ton of other stuff. He told a story of Marine who was involved in a parachtuting accident that left him with a set of 12" rods on either side of his spine, a cage on the spine, and did not have the ability to walk. He wanted to stay in the Marines, so he started to walk with a walker, then went to canes, then to shuffling. Within a year he was able to pass his Marine Corps PFT and just over three years later ran a marathon.

I liked the story, but personally I don't get too excited about running. If you fall in the same boat, you should look to Jason Pegg and Bob Youngs for some inspiration. Sgt. Pegg was injured in an IED blast in Afghanistan that basically left him with no left elbow. He spent 18 months in Walter Reed Medical Center as a result of his injuries. Now he Squats 900+ and Deadlifts 700+.

Bob Youngs was diagnosed with Leukemia and during his battle he was read his last rights and his family was told that he would not make it through the night, twice. Bob was an Elite class powerlifter and went from one of the strongest men around to someone who could barely support his own bodyweight. His book Extraordinary Resolve details the experience. If you want more info I'll put the links at the end.


Links:

Jason Pegg's Log:
http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/training-logs.asp?tid=173&__N=The 1000lbs Pursuit

Bob Youngs' Log:
http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/training-logs.asp?tid=61&__N=Bob Youngs

Extraordinary Resolve:
http://www.flexcart.com/members/elitefts/default.asp?m=PD&cid=114&pid=3646

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