Tomorrow will be the 1 year mark of me throwing in the Highland Games. I LOVE the Northeast Florida Highland Games. They were my first Games when I threw the first time at 20 years old and they were my first Games back after my accident. Now I say it is my first year throwing in the Highland Games because when you have to learn how to throw all over again, I consider it a new start.
These Highland Games are huge. We throw at the Clay County Fairgrounds in Green Cove Springs, FL. The venue is big, the Masters and the A's get to throw indoors for the height events and the Caber, and there are always a ton of spectators. I love the crowd. There is nothing better than hearing the crowd after a big caber is turned or a weight for height is made. It just makes you feel good. Last time I threw I had a partial tear to my Achilles Tendon, so I didn't hit most of my goals, so here are my new goals for these games:
Stone of Strength: 40'
56# Weight for Distance: 27'
28# Weight for Distance: 60'
Hammer: 70'
Sheaf: 24' (pathetic, I know)
56# Weight for Height: 13'
Caber: Looking for one turn
I need to look at my form for the caber. I'm turning them and turning them easily, but I always end up between 1 o'clock and 2 o'clock. I think I am pulling from the shoulder, but I'll try to get my wife to shoot some video for me.
I had the opportunity to work with Andy Vince this past weekend. Andy Vince is a throws coach based out of Clermont, Florida and is a phenomenal teacher. Here is part of his resume:
Former British Director of Throws
Great Britain Under 23 National Team Head Coach
Scottish Team National Coach
Senior United Kingdom Shot Put Champion
Record Holder, Indoor Shot Put/Outdoor Shot and Discus throw at Murray State University USA
This guy made sense of the throws. He was able to explain it practically as well as biomechanically. In fact, at one point during the clinic he was talking about the biomechanics and physiology of some of the throws, one of the other throwers looked at me and said, "I bet this is really turning you on, huh."
We had about 6-7 hours of coaching which included drills for hand, body, and foot position as well as foot speed and throws techniques
Friday, February 25, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Some Thoughts on Nutrition Part II
Let's talk about me, for instance. My goal is to stay 285-305, sure that gives me quite a bit of wiggle room, but that is where I feel the best. I've walked around heavier than that and I feel like a slob. I've also walked around at 240 and I just don't feel as strong or powerful, not to mention that my lean mass is in the high 230s right now. So how do I eat? I try to eat as clean as possible. I found out while giving speeches at a local high school that my co-presenter (a figure/bikini IFBB pro competitor and marathon runner) and I both ate relatively the same. Both of our nutritional profiles were very similar. The big difference, portion size and types. We both eat tons of chicken, beans, green leafy vegetables, etc..., but I will eat everything on the entire chicken, while she sticks with the tenders or the breasts. Where she may eat 1/2 a cup of beans with her meal I'll eat the whole can. You can see where this is going, but we have totally different goals and the "technical profile" is the same.
Now, can I eat completely clean all the time? No. {INSERT HORRIFIC GASP HERE} I'll be the first to admit that I do not eat clean 100% of the time. When I lose my appetite and can't eat as often as I should, I have to make up for it with pretty calorically dense stuff. This isn't saying I sit down with gallons of ice cream, I will however, pick fattier cuts of meat(dark poultry, chuck beef, etc...) or add extra oils to my meals like olive, flax, and grapeseed. Remember that my goal is to maintain a certain weight that is 100+ lbs over that of your average male. When my training gets really intense and I feel my body "shutting down" to the stimulus, I have to eat more. In my personal opinion there is no such thing as over-training in non-elite athletes. There is only under-eating and under-resting.
If you are trying to lose weight is this a good protocol to follow? NO!!! If you want to lose weight you have to eat clean and be consistent. Consistency is the key for dropping weight. Not, "I did well the past three days, so I can take it easy today". IT DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY! If I said, "I got in 5500 cals for the past week, I think I'll only eat 2200 today", would I stay at my desired weight? There is not a snowball's chance in hell I would. Match your nutrition to the goals you want to accomplish.
To be frank: You eat like shit...You're gonna look like shit! Garbage in = garbage out.
"Ma!!! Where's muh proteeen?!
My opinion: the more you get the better. It helps with satiety(feeling of being full) and ensures you have all the building blocks you need to make all the necessary repairs. Remember that fat and protein are the building blocks for everything in the body. The biggest key is knowing when you need to get certain types.
After Training:
Whey Protein Isolate by far is the best for post-workout. It is the fastest absorbing, most biologically available form of protein. This is what you want to pump your body full of post-workout. Get the protein in the system as fast as possible so that you can stay anabolic. Pair this with a high Glycemic Load carbohydrate (Vitargo, Turbinado sugar, Honey), no fat and you have the perfect post workout shake. Fruit is so-so to use but remember that there is also fructose in fruit, so the glycogen produced from fructose will be most likely stored in the liver, not the muscles. Fat will slow down the digestion and absorption, so leave it out here.
For Meals:
Turkey and eggs are king here. Both are extremely biologically available and absorb well. Eggs are also full of great fats and other nutrients you need like cholesterol. OOHHH NOOO NOT CHOLESTEROL. Different post for a different time, but cholesterol is the main building block for your sex hormones, like testosterone. Turkey breast has less than half of the fat of the leanest cut of beef. Now this means Thanksgiving type turkey breast, not the chopped, boiled, formed crap you get in the deli and on sandwiches.
Don't be afraid to eat red meat either. Red meat had tons of things that are phenomenal for you like: creatine, B-vitamins, iron, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, selenium, zinc, and the list goes on and on. Choose the leaner cuts like: meat from the Round, Loin, Sirloin, and Flank. Stay away from the Chuck, Rib, Shoulder and Brisket as they are very fatty. Expand you horizons and try other sources of red meat like Buffalo and Lamb. Mmmmmmm, Laaaaaammmmmb.
Chicken is a staple for most people trying to get lean. Stick with the breast and the tender when trying to lean out, but eat everything if you are trying to maintain or gain. Consider yourself a "hardgainer"??? Eat a whole chicken every day and you'll not longer have "hardgainer" issues. Its cheap, easy to cook and you can make it taste like anything you want.
Slow absorbing protein:
Micellar Casein rules the roost. Remember when Met-Rx protein first came out and it was phenomenal? Everyone saw great results and it was the best thing on the market. Then they reformulated it and left out the Micellar Casein because it was too expensive to keep in the product. Met-Rx protein got crappier and most of it was due to the exclusion of Micellar Casein. Get it in shake form or from cottage cheese for slow absorption. Casein form a gel in the stomach and has been shown to release amino acids into the blood stream for up to 6-7 hours after ingestion. Pair it with some soluble fiber and some fish or flax oil for an even more drawn out release. Those "old-people fiber powders" actually work well for this. Just be sure to mix it and SLAM it down. If you let it sit in the glass too long it is gonna get gross, quick.
That is all for today. If you want to hear about a specific topic write a comment and I'll do something up for you.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Some Thoughts on Nutrition
First do something simple; think about foods that upset your stomach in any way, shape, or form. Does it make you nauseous after you eat it? Do you get gassy? Does it make you feel bloated? Chances are that you have a insensitivity to a food. Now, insensitivities are not full-blown allergies, but they can be just as detrimental to your nutrition. Lets take wheat(and other cereal grains) into consideration.
People that are insensitive to wheat have absorption issues. When they eat wheat and it is introduced into the small intestine the villi(small finger-like projections) in the small intestine will lay down. Now the purpose of these villi is to increase the amount of surface area in the small intestine to increase chances of absorption of nutrients. They lay down and you are not absorbing the nutrients that you need.
I hate that "Paleo" has become a fad, but there is some merit to it. If you could not go out and pick it or kill it yourself, don't eat it. What does this do? It just eliminates processed foods. The exception that I make to this is supplementation. You have to think like this. We have been around for 1.2-2 million years, depending on who you ask. We have only had agriculture for the past 10,000 years and most of that was centered around Northern Europe. That is a flash in the pan when you think about the grand scheme of things. You can't go out and take wheat off of the stalk, throw it in your mouth and digest it. You have to process the ever-loving bejeezus out of it to be able to digest it. With that processing comes extra crap that does not need to be put in your body.
Chances are, unless you are of 100% northern European descent you will have an intolerance or an insensitivity to agricultural products like wheat or milk. It is more uncommon to be able to digest milk properly than it is to be lactose intolerant. Why is this? Milk has not been in the human diet long enough to elicit an adaptation. A great example is Native Americans. Dairy has never been in their diet so intolerance is 100% in adults.
Next point...Eat things in their natural state. Wheat grows in nature, but we have turn it into something else before we can use it. Same thing with corn. Not to be crude, but you can always tell when the last time you ate corn was. If it looks the same way coming out, as it did going in, you are getting no benefit from it. Chicken grows naturally, but a chicken nugget isn't natural. There are 38 different ingredients in a single chicken nugget. Pretty gross right? Now look at a box of Cheerios, there are over 20 ingredients in a single Cheerio. They beat the crap out of the grains they are using and process them so much they have to add back vitamins and minerals that were already in the original grain. Plus, the more you pulverize something, then more the surface area is increased. Why is this important? Surface area affects the Glycemic Load of a food. The higher the Glycemic Load, the more it affects your blood sugar levels, which in turn affects insulin response.
I'll go into more depth a little later, but if you got nothing else out of this, remember the bold points. When you shop, ask yourself these two things when you pick up an item. Next time we'll talk about portion sizes and protein selection. Trust me...I worked my way through college as a Meat Cutter/Butcher.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Goals
What are your goals?
Pretty simple question right? If it took you longer than half a second to start rattling off answers you are doing a pretty crappy job of setting goals. I know that it tends to be a loaded question, but if you have to think about your goals to be able to verbalize them you have already started off on the wrong foot.
The first question you need to ask yourself is, "What do I want?". This does not have to exclusively apply to training, you can apply it to any part of your life. Ex. "Matt what do you want?", to which I would reply, "A 600 lb raw Deadlift by the end of 2011".
The next important question to ask yourself is, "Why do I want it?". This is a crucial part of the goal setting process. If you want to do something because your old lady thinks you should, it is a bad choice. Make sure that the thing that you want is something YOU want, not what someone else wants for you. You have to be intrinsically motivated, which means the source of motivation has to come from within you.
Now, I know that acronyms end up being cheesy most of the time, but this one works and has been effective for a long time. Make your goals S.M.A.R.T.
S-Specific. Your goals need to be specific. Not, "I want to lose weight", or "I want a heavier Deadlift". Go take a leak, congratulations, you just lost weight. Put a napkin over your plates and lift it, good job chief, you just lifted a heavier amount of weight. Are those significant improvements? Hell no. "I want to lose 10 lbs". Now we are getting somewhere, you just listed what you want to do in a specific manner.
M-Measurable. You need to be able to measure to track your results. "I don't keep track of my lifting." You sir, are a friggin' idiot. How do you know you are making progress? Keep a log of some sort, even if you jot it down in a notebook that is enough to help keep you accountable. Now when you are tracking your weight, don’t weigh in every day, especially if you are a female. Hormones, water, salt, etc... All these things affect your weight from day to day. Hell, you give me two hours, a wet sauna, a hoodie and sweat pants and I can shed 5 lbs. Did I really lose 5 lbs? No, I just manipulated fluid levels.
A-Attainable- Can you get to the goal? What if my goal was to Deadlift 800lbs by the end of 2011? Or, I want to have a PhD by the end of this month. It is just not attainable. If we changed that up to something more attainable the goal has the opportunity to be met. Which feeds right into the next point...
R-Realistic. Is your goal realistic? This ties right in with attainable. This one should be common sense, but you would be surprised at some of the unrealistic goals I've seen before. Say it is February, and I'm training some frat boy (yes, they are boys) and he wants to gain 10lbs of lean mass and lose 5% body fat by Spring Break in 30-some-odd days. It is just not realistic.
T-Time Restricted. Have a cap on when you want to achieve your goal. If your goal is to lose 10 lbs, when do you want to lose it by? 5 weeks? 12 weeks? 3 years? Give yourself a time-frame and make it challenging. Don;t make your goals too soft on the time restriction. Chances are you'll slack off and not reach them in the end anyway.
Make short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals. Make sure your short-term goals are getting you to your mid-term goals and your mid-term goals are getting you to your long-term goals. Set a "big picture" goal and make sure that you have a step by step process to get yourself to place you want to be. If you have to sit down and re-assess the goals you have set somewhere down the line, which is no problem. In fact, that is a good thing, it means you have the goal setting process down.
Now go out, make some goals, and work your way towards them.
Pretty simple question right? If it took you longer than half a second to start rattling off answers you are doing a pretty crappy job of setting goals. I know that it tends to be a loaded question, but if you have to think about your goals to be able to verbalize them you have already started off on the wrong foot.
The first question you need to ask yourself is, "What do I want?". This does not have to exclusively apply to training, you can apply it to any part of your life. Ex. "Matt what do you want?", to which I would reply, "A 600 lb raw Deadlift by the end of 2011".
The next important question to ask yourself is, "Why do I want it?". This is a crucial part of the goal setting process. If you want to do something because your old lady thinks you should, it is a bad choice. Make sure that the thing that you want is something YOU want, not what someone else wants for you. You have to be intrinsically motivated, which means the source of motivation has to come from within you.
Now, I know that acronyms end up being cheesy most of the time, but this one works and has been effective for a long time. Make your goals S.M.A.R.T.
S-Specific. Your goals need to be specific. Not, "I want to lose weight", or "I want a heavier Deadlift". Go take a leak, congratulations, you just lost weight. Put a napkin over your plates and lift it, good job chief, you just lifted a heavier amount of weight. Are those significant improvements? Hell no. "I want to lose 10 lbs". Now we are getting somewhere, you just listed what you want to do in a specific manner.
M-Measurable. You need to be able to measure to track your results. "I don't keep track of my lifting." You sir, are a friggin' idiot. How do you know you are making progress? Keep a log of some sort, even if you jot it down in a notebook that is enough to help keep you accountable. Now when you are tracking your weight, don’t weigh in every day, especially if you are a female. Hormones, water, salt, etc... All these things affect your weight from day to day. Hell, you give me two hours, a wet sauna, a hoodie and sweat pants and I can shed 5 lbs. Did I really lose 5 lbs? No, I just manipulated fluid levels.
A-Attainable- Can you get to the goal? What if my goal was to Deadlift 800lbs by the end of 2011? Or, I want to have a PhD by the end of this month. It is just not attainable. If we changed that up to something more attainable the goal has the opportunity to be met. Which feeds right into the next point...
R-Realistic. Is your goal realistic? This ties right in with attainable. This one should be common sense, but you would be surprised at some of the unrealistic goals I've seen before. Say it is February, and I'm training some frat boy (yes, they are boys) and he wants to gain 10lbs of lean mass and lose 5% body fat by Spring Break in 30-some-odd days. It is just not realistic.
T-Time Restricted. Have a cap on when you want to achieve your goal. If your goal is to lose 10 lbs, when do you want to lose it by? 5 weeks? 12 weeks? 3 years? Give yourself a time-frame and make it challenging. Don;t make your goals too soft on the time restriction. Chances are you'll slack off and not reach them in the end anyway.
Make short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals. Make sure your short-term goals are getting you to your mid-term goals and your mid-term goals are getting you to your long-term goals. Set a "big picture" goal and make sure that you have a step by step process to get yourself to place you want to be. If you have to sit down and re-assess the goals you have set somewhere down the line, which is no problem. In fact, that is a good thing, it means you have the goal setting process down.
Now go out, make some goals, and work your way towards them.
Monday, January 31, 2011
AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!!!
Any who, I figured I'd do something totally different than normal and blog about something else in my life. Today I'll cover shaving. For most guys shaving is seen as a chore. There is no joy in it, no pride and there is certainly no craftsmanship involved in it anymore. The blades are numerous, sharpened by chemicals, the "shaving cream" is nothing more than "goop" that comes from an aerosol can and the act itself is usually carried out in the shower just like any other maintenance-type grooming.
I used to HATE shaving. It chewed up my face, gave me bad acne and burned for almost an hour after I got done. I tried everything; 2 blade, 3 blade, 4 blade, different types of shaving gels, creams, and soaps. My beard is not coarse by any means, but it is quite dense, so if I wanted to keep a razor as sharp as it needed to be, I had to change out the cartridges out every third shave. That got really expensive and my face was not getting any better treatment. So how did I solve this? I grew a beard. Well, that got old and I decided to start shaving again, but this time I went all out and started shaving my head for the first time. I'm not going bald by any means, actually it pisses a lot of people off when I shave my head because, to quote, "You have such gorgeous, thick hair". That was when I discovered HeadBlade products.
HeadBlade is a company that makes products exclusively for guys that shave their heads. They make shaving creams, aftershave and even a razor system designed for shaving your head. Well, the razor sucked just like every other razor I had tried in my life, but the shaving cream was what I got the "Ah-Ha" from. I started to use the shaving cream on my face as well as my head and I begun to see good results on my face as well as my scalp. Then it dawned on me, shaving was not about just the razor but the total system that you use. I then started doing research.
Come to find out there were bigger and better things out there for shaving and to boot the vast majority of them were not all that expensive. First I started working on building a better lather. I started out with Kiss My Face shaving creams and using a brush. For those of you that have never shaved with a brush and hot, hand-made lather, you are doing yourself a great disservice. If you change nothing else about your shaving, this is the one thing to convert over to. A good lather will make a shave ten times better. Invest in a good brush, not the crappy boar hair brushes you get in the pharmacies and Walmart, but a good badger hair brush. A crappy brush makes a crappy lather, just like crappy soap makes a crappy lather. There are some good videos on YouTube on making your own lather.
Once I became pretty proficient in making a good lather and saw better, but not good results into my shaving, I went for a different razor system. I looked for all kinds of different options and the two that made the most sense were the double edge razors, like your grandpa used to use, and the straight razor, like you see in the movies. Straight razor shaving completely intrigued me. Buy on razor for the rest of your life, sharpen it to your liking and you get a clean close shave every time. I already had the vast majority of the hones I needed to get the job done, all I needed now was a razor and a strop. Being the handyman that I am, I wanted to do things my way. I went to eBay and found some old razors and strops I could restore. I cleaned the razors, reconditioned the strops, and started honing the razors. After about a week of making sure everything was in order I did my first straight shave and loved it. I've fallen in love ever since.
Shaving has become more of a part of my evening wind-down time. I take pride in it, hell, I even look forward to it. This evening I just took all of my stuff, put it on the coffee table and shaved while I talked to my wife. If you look at the picture at the top that is all the shaving stuff that is required to do a shave wherever you want. It is a scuttle(white thing to keep the lather warm), Silvertip Badger brush, shaving cream, a straight razor, a mirror and a damp cloth. I also had to strop the razor, but the strop was not in the picture. Being the nostalgic nerd that I am, I took the badger knot that I ordered and installed it into the shaving brush handle that my Dad used when I was a kid.
As you can probably see, the vast majority of these blades are stained, or have a patina. I love a good patina, not only does it protect the blade, but it shows that the razor has history. Not just some thing that someone used to shave with at one point but a tool, used for a purpose. Patina tells a story to me just like the pits and scratches on the old shotguns and rifles that I restore(another blog post for another time). Who am I to take that away just to make the metal more aesthetically pleasing to someone else? But, that is just one man's opinion.
So try it out. If not straight shaving, at least try making your own lather. But watch out, it is just as easy to get addicted to acquiring new soap, creams, and brushes as it is new razors. Right now I have three different soaps, two different creams, two double edge razors, eight straight razors, two complete brushes and two vintage brush handles that need new knots. To make it worse, that is considered pretty bush league compared to some of the collectors (read addicts) out there.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Been a while
It has been one of the longer hiatuses I've taken from blogging since I started this blog back up. It has been a crazy past week or two. New intern, new hires, master level class and new hire orientation to plan and instruct. I'll be instructing three classes this go 'round, The Anatomy of Training, Interval/Metabolic Training and Facility Orientation. To be honest, the Facility Orientation is the most difficult to keep track of and remember everything.
The facility I work at is HUGE and I have to go over everything from the cold pool to the group ex. room to the free weights to the two Personal Training rooms. The biggest challenge is going over all of the equipment in the Personal Training rooms. Kettlebells, Macebells, dead and live medicine balls, bands, chains, blast straps, Vertimax, and ALL the other stuff that we have in the room. Not to mention I have to go through and show them all how and why all these things work. It is especially a challenge when the vast majority of these cats have never handled any of the non-traditional equipment. I just have to make sure that they become proficient in the use of the stuff before they give it to their clients.
I went to the Hoggetown Medieval Faire yesterday with my wife, son and the in-laws. I figured at least I'd get to see some good looking women in wench outfits or corsets. Oh boy was I wrong! I used to work with a guy that was into the DragonCons and ComicCons and all that stuff. He used to talk about how these things and Ren. Faires had all these hot chicks in outfits. I was lied to I tell you, lied to. On the lighter side, it was fun. Kaine and I shot some dude with a bow and arrows, we stared at weirdos that dressed up as God knows what and had nothing to do with medieval times, and watched dudes beat the ever-loving crap out of each other with foam weapons.
The facility I work at is HUGE and I have to go over everything from the cold pool to the group ex. room to the free weights to the two Personal Training rooms. The biggest challenge is going over all of the equipment in the Personal Training rooms. Kettlebells, Macebells, dead and live medicine balls, bands, chains, blast straps, Vertimax, and ALL the other stuff that we have in the room. Not to mention I have to go through and show them all how and why all these things work. It is especially a challenge when the vast majority of these cats have never handled any of the non-traditional equipment. I just have to make sure that they become proficient in the use of the stuff before they give it to their clients.
I went to the Hoggetown Medieval Faire yesterday with my wife, son and the in-laws. I figured at least I'd get to see some good looking women in wench outfits or corsets. Oh boy was I wrong! I used to work with a guy that was into the DragonCons and ComicCons and all that stuff. He used to talk about how these things and Ren. Faires had all these hot chicks in outfits. I was lied to I tell you, lied to. On the lighter side, it was fun. Kaine and I shot some dude with a bow and arrows, we stared at weirdos that dressed up as God knows what and had nothing to do with medieval times, and watched dudes beat the ever-loving crap out of each other with foam weapons.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Central Florida Highland Games
I am officially an Amateur A Division competitor. Let me tell you, it feels pretty damned good. The morning of the competition they were predicting an overflow of B Division competitors, so they allowed me to throw with the big boys based on my past throws. I was really excited to learn and boy did I ever learn.
Lessons Learned
1. My form is absolute garbage. No lie, I looked like some hulking galoot out there on some of the throws. I don't pick up my chest in time for the stone, pull too late on the weights for distance, have horrible timing on the weight for height, and God help my sheaf. I did okay in some events, but I was always at the back of the pack.
2. My Caber is not as bad as I thought. I was the third athlete to turn the caber on the day, finished fifth, but at least I got the thing to turn. It was only 2:00, and I need more pull out of my upper body.
3. I was stronger than most of my competitors. At least in the weight room anyway. Hearing some of these talk I'm smashing weights in the weight room they won't even touch. This leads me to believe that I really need to work on my throws and not concentrate so damn much on my numbers in the gym. Practice on the throws is going to be my main concern over the next month and a half to get ready for Jax. The only guy that I talked to that was stronger than I was ended up being Wes Kiser. This guy is fixing to go pro in the Highland Games and is an absolute animal in the weight room as well as on the field.
4. I've been relying way too much on brute force. I LOVE getting in the gym and hitting MY Big 5: Squat, Deadlift, Overhead Press, Power Clean, Power Snatch. Being strong as a bull is great when all you do is actually lift the weights, but when you have specialized throws, you need technique. I will still hit up the big lifts, but from now on it will not be my big focus. I need to find a park or a field around town to hit up throws practice at least once a week.
5. My upper body strength is pathetic. I can blame it on my shoulder all I want, but if I want to succeed in the Highland Games the way I want to, I HAVE to just suck it up and JFDI, as my Dad would say. For crying out loud I have a 500+ lb deadlift, an almost 300lb clean and I can only 3 board press 275!? It is absolutely pathetic. I may take a trip down to Orlando Barbell to get some help from Brian Schwab. Brian is a graduate of the University of Florida and a world record holding powerlifter. I talked to him Sunday and he said it would be okay to come down and train every once and a while.
Overall I had a great weekend. Thursday morning I tweaked my left Achilles Tendon that left me with a pretty significant limp. I sought some advice from two Athletic Trainers we have on staff at work and they both recommended Achilles taping. Basically this tape job creates an artificial external Achilles Tendon. I had my wife do it the morning of the competition and it kept me from getting hurt any worse than I already was. Don't get me wrong I threw like garbage because I threw like garbage, but I just didn't have that "oomph" that I usually have on my throws. If you want you can check out my field of competitors HERE.
I hit 2 Prs. A 1 foot PR on the sheaf which brings me to 22 whole feet. It makes me sick to even say that. I also hit a 5 foot PR on the Hammer.
I'd like to thank Kevin Dupuis and Jim Gibson for pointing out some errors in my throwing. Jim won Athlete of the Day and Kevin smoked just about everyone on every event. The only setback is that Kevin fouled out of the 56 WFD.
Now its is back to the drawing board. Remember that programming I was talking about earlier? Yeah, that is in the trash now and I have to reconfigure things. Oh well, that is the way the game is played. Time to go back to the drawing board...
Lessons Learned
1. My form is absolute garbage. No lie, I looked like some hulking galoot out there on some of the throws. I don't pick up my chest in time for the stone, pull too late on the weights for distance, have horrible timing on the weight for height, and God help my sheaf. I did okay in some events, but I was always at the back of the pack.
2. My Caber is not as bad as I thought. I was the third athlete to turn the caber on the day, finished fifth, but at least I got the thing to turn. It was only 2:00, and I need more pull out of my upper body.
3. I was stronger than most of my competitors. At least in the weight room anyway. Hearing some of these talk I'm smashing weights in the weight room they won't even touch. This leads me to believe that I really need to work on my throws and not concentrate so damn much on my numbers in the gym. Practice on the throws is going to be my main concern over the next month and a half to get ready for Jax. The only guy that I talked to that was stronger than I was ended up being Wes Kiser. This guy is fixing to go pro in the Highland Games and is an absolute animal in the weight room as well as on the field.
4. I've been relying way too much on brute force. I LOVE getting in the gym and hitting MY Big 5: Squat, Deadlift, Overhead Press, Power Clean, Power Snatch. Being strong as a bull is great when all you do is actually lift the weights, but when you have specialized throws, you need technique. I will still hit up the big lifts, but from now on it will not be my big focus. I need to find a park or a field around town to hit up throws practice at least once a week.
5. My upper body strength is pathetic. I can blame it on my shoulder all I want, but if I want to succeed in the Highland Games the way I want to, I HAVE to just suck it up and JFDI, as my Dad would say. For crying out loud I have a 500+ lb deadlift, an almost 300lb clean and I can only 3 board press 275!? It is absolutely pathetic. I may take a trip down to Orlando Barbell to get some help from Brian Schwab. Brian is a graduate of the University of Florida and a world record holding powerlifter. I talked to him Sunday and he said it would be okay to come down and train every once and a while.
Overall I had a great weekend. Thursday morning I tweaked my left Achilles Tendon that left me with a pretty significant limp. I sought some advice from two Athletic Trainers we have on staff at work and they both recommended Achilles taping. Basically this tape job creates an artificial external Achilles Tendon. I had my wife do it the morning of the competition and it kept me from getting hurt any worse than I already was. Don't get me wrong I threw like garbage because I threw like garbage, but I just didn't have that "oomph" that I usually have on my throws. If you want you can check out my field of competitors HERE.
I hit 2 Prs. A 1 foot PR on the sheaf which brings me to 22 whole feet. It makes me sick to even say that. I also hit a 5 foot PR on the Hammer.
I'd like to thank Kevin Dupuis and Jim Gibson for pointing out some errors in my throwing. Jim won Athlete of the Day and Kevin smoked just about everyone on every event. The only setback is that Kevin fouled out of the 56 WFD.
Now its is back to the drawing board. Remember that programming I was talking about earlier? Yeah, that is in the trash now and I have to reconfigure things. Oh well, that is the way the game is played. Time to go back to the drawing board...
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Writing My Own Programming
I'm sitting here trying to plan out my programming for the next few months. Decisions, decisions, decisions... Conjugate Method? Block Periodization? Hepburn A and B? Westside Template? Wendler's 5/3/1? Or try my own blend of programming?
I'm already very explosive and I don't feel like I get too much out of Dynamic Effort work, but I do feel speed work is needed. Just not utilized as its own day during the week. Over the past two months I haven't put all of my training on my blog because I've been experimenting a little bit. Going back to a previous post, you have to stick with something for a considerable amount of time before you get to see the true results. Well, you've seen some of the PR's I've put up in the Squat, Deadlift, and various presses, so the template I'm using is working. Now, I just need to see if I continue to see more gains after a planned deload. In a month or two I may write about the findings and the method.
As it stands I'm pulling ideas from all over the place. Just like everything else in this industry I'm sure it has been done before in some way, shape, or form. I like all of the methods mentioned before, but some don't have enough explosiveness built in for the Highland Games, others are geared too much toward powerlifting to have too much crossover. As I said before, I'm going to give it some time and post results later.
I'm already very explosive and I don't feel like I get too much out of Dynamic Effort work, but I do feel speed work is needed. Just not utilized as its own day during the week. Over the past two months I haven't put all of my training on my blog because I've been experimenting a little bit. Going back to a previous post, you have to stick with something for a considerable amount of time before you get to see the true results. Well, you've seen some of the PR's I've put up in the Squat, Deadlift, and various presses, so the template I'm using is working. Now, I just need to see if I continue to see more gains after a planned deload. In a month or two I may write about the findings and the method.
As it stands I'm pulling ideas from all over the place. Just like everything else in this industry I'm sure it has been done before in some way, shape, or form. I like all of the methods mentioned before, but some don't have enough explosiveness built in for the Highland Games, others are geared too much toward powerlifting to have too much crossover. As I said before, I'm going to give it some time and post results later.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Update and Last Games as a B
Well it has been a while since my last blog post, so here goes.
I have spent the past two weekends of my life moving. Nothing makes me more inscenced than moving. I loathe it, but it had to be done. Instead of living in the thriving metropolis that is Melrose, FL we have decided to move back into Gainesville. We found a house to rent here that is pretty alright, but it is a HUGE change from 18 acres of land on a lake. We will still make it out there as often as possible, but the commute was killing us and we were spending something like $700+ a month in gas alone. The best part is my drive to work is now 15 minutes, where it was 40-45 minutes before.
Training has been going very well and now I'm deloading to get ready for my competition in Orlando this weekend. I feel strong and fast, which is a big change over the past few Highland Games I've competed in. In the past I've felt strong and slow or fast and weak, so the current combination is what I've been looking for. A lot of it has probably come from me not worrying so much about my weight. I'm going to compete at the weight I walk around at and not worry about bulking or too much of a salt bloat. Another thing, I'm not going to drink the night before the competition. I usually get together with some of the guys and have a pint or nine, but this time I'm not going to drink at all. I find that my endurance is much better without drinking the night before.
Equipment will be different this time too. I thought about getting a pair of lighter Powerlifting briefs to help out, but I decided against it at the end. I'll be using hammer spikes for the first time in this games and that should put some extra oomph on my throws. I've decided to stay away from the throwing spikes and just throw in my Five Fingers. Sure, I get a ton of crap for throwing in them from the other competitors, but they work and I throw farther than the guys that laugh at them. I should start giggling at the guys in soccer cleats. I'll be wearing a belt this time it will be a Spud Inc. 3 ply Deadlift Belt. It will probably only be used for the 56# Weight For Height and the Caber. I finally got my sheaf fork tuned in and filed/sanded down the way it needs to be, but I SUCK AT THE SHEAF.
Here are my goals for the weekend
56#WFD: 26'+
28#WFD: 52'+
Heavy Hammer: 70'+
56# WFH: 12'+
Stone of Strength: 40' This is a mark I cannot seem to beat, but I feel much more confident in reaching this goal this go 'round
Caber: At least one 12:00. I'm always one of the few guys that turns it, but I usually end up over-muscling it and jacking up the turn.
Sheaf: Try not to embarrass myself too bad. I SUCK AT THE SHEAF.
I don't care if I win or not, I just want to be in the A's. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the guys I throw with in the B's, but I'm not learning anything from them. So this will be my last Highland Games as a B regardless of if I win or not. It is time for me to move on and start throwing with the big boys and learn a thing or two. I know I'm definitely strong enough to be in the A's, I just need to translate the technique a little better.
All I need now is to pack up the Blue Heat, ammonia, and the kilt...
I have spent the past two weekends of my life moving. Nothing makes me more inscenced than moving. I loathe it, but it had to be done. Instead of living in the thriving metropolis that is Melrose, FL we have decided to move back into Gainesville. We found a house to rent here that is pretty alright, but it is a HUGE change from 18 acres of land on a lake. We will still make it out there as often as possible, but the commute was killing us and we were spending something like $700+ a month in gas alone. The best part is my drive to work is now 15 minutes, where it was 40-45 minutes before.
Training has been going very well and now I'm deloading to get ready for my competition in Orlando this weekend. I feel strong and fast, which is a big change over the past few Highland Games I've competed in. In the past I've felt strong and slow or fast and weak, so the current combination is what I've been looking for. A lot of it has probably come from me not worrying so much about my weight. I'm going to compete at the weight I walk around at and not worry about bulking or too much of a salt bloat. Another thing, I'm not going to drink the night before the competition. I usually get together with some of the guys and have a pint or nine, but this time I'm not going to drink at all. I find that my endurance is much better without drinking the night before.
Equipment will be different this time too. I thought about getting a pair of lighter Powerlifting briefs to help out, but I decided against it at the end. I'll be using hammer spikes for the first time in this games and that should put some extra oomph on my throws. I've decided to stay away from the throwing spikes and just throw in my Five Fingers. Sure, I get a ton of crap for throwing in them from the other competitors, but they work and I throw farther than the guys that laugh at them. I should start giggling at the guys in soccer cleats. I'll be wearing a belt this time it will be a Spud Inc. 3 ply Deadlift Belt. It will probably only be used for the 56# Weight For Height and the Caber. I finally got my sheaf fork tuned in and filed/sanded down the way it needs to be, but I SUCK AT THE SHEAF.
Here are my goals for the weekend
56#WFD: 26'+
28#WFD: 52'+
Heavy Hammer: 70'+
56# WFH: 12'+
Stone of Strength: 40' This is a mark I cannot seem to beat, but I feel much more confident in reaching this goal this go 'round
Caber: At least one 12:00. I'm always one of the few guys that turns it, but I usually end up over-muscling it and jacking up the turn.
Sheaf: Try not to embarrass myself too bad. I SUCK AT THE SHEAF.
I don't care if I win or not, I just want to be in the A's. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the guys I throw with in the B's, but I'm not learning anything from them. So this will be my last Highland Games as a B regardless of if I win or not. It is time for me to move on and start throwing with the big boys and learn a thing or two. I know I'm definitely strong enough to be in the A's, I just need to translate the technique a little better.
All I need now is to pack up the Blue Heat, ammonia, and the kilt...
Thursday, January 6, 2011
New Intern and Make That 3 days in a Row
I have a new intern in from the University of Florida and her first day was yesterday. If I wasn't with a client I was getting her set up for the upcoming semester. I love interns. Not in that "Mentor on a power trip" way where I get to make them do busy work and all the crap work I don't want to do. I hate when I hear that people's internships are full of that kind of stuff. I eat up the opportunity to teach people fresh out of academia. Get them in the trenches, get them lifting, keep them away from the "fitness trend" stuff that makes this industry reek of douche-baggery. So far I'm batting .500 on interns as far as success, but the last guy I had didn't have "it".
You have to have a certain amount of personality and presence to succeed in this industry. You have to be able to carry on a conversation, think on your feet, and speak clearly without mumbling. The cat had the knowledge and all the book smarts he needed, he just could not get it going on the other front. Too timid, too soft spoken and just had very little confidence. I can teach you all day long on Block Periodization, Conjugate Method, Non-Linear Periodization, stretching, flexibility, etc..., but he couldn't come up with the things I can't teach.
The other intern has become one of our busiest trainers. She logs in hours to rival the big dogs and gets her clients phenomenal results. She is logging in double the hours of the other trainers in her hiring class. This new intern has the potential of the first intern, I just have to make sure that I give her all the tools she need to succeed. Plus, it helps that now I get to hand-pick the interns and she was one I picked out of four others that applied.
I had only 30 mins yesterday to lift, so I was going to work up to 405 on the Squat and do a pain set. A pain set in my book is a 75-80% of your 1 Rep Max done for max repetitions. Well it is New Year's Resolution time in the gym and both Squat racks were occupied and the rest of the straight bars were being used for Power Biceps Curls. So I hit up the Trap Bar and SFW.
Trap Bar Deadlift
135x5
225x5
315x5
405x3
455x3
495x3
545x4 (Rep PR!!!)
I love a PR even if it is 5-10lbs or 1-2 more reps with a set weight. It keep me going and gives me drive. I'm going to take today off and do some Accessory work Friday then deload next week to get ready for the Highland Games. Right now my Erectors and Glutes are fried.
Highland Games PRs here I come. I want to set at least 5 PRs next weekend
You have to have a certain amount of personality and presence to succeed in this industry. You have to be able to carry on a conversation, think on your feet, and speak clearly without mumbling. The cat had the knowledge and all the book smarts he needed, he just could not get it going on the other front. Too timid, too soft spoken and just had very little confidence. I can teach you all day long on Block Periodization, Conjugate Method, Non-Linear Periodization, stretching, flexibility, etc..., but he couldn't come up with the things I can't teach.
The other intern has become one of our busiest trainers. She logs in hours to rival the big dogs and gets her clients phenomenal results. She is logging in double the hours of the other trainers in her hiring class. This new intern has the potential of the first intern, I just have to make sure that I give her all the tools she need to succeed. Plus, it helps that now I get to hand-pick the interns and she was one I picked out of four others that applied.
I had only 30 mins yesterday to lift, so I was going to work up to 405 on the Squat and do a pain set. A pain set in my book is a 75-80% of your 1 Rep Max done for max repetitions. Well it is New Year's Resolution time in the gym and both Squat racks were occupied and the rest of the straight bars were being used for Power Biceps Curls. So I hit up the Trap Bar and SFW.
Trap Bar Deadlift
135x5
225x5
315x5
405x3
455x3
495x3
545x4 (Rep PR!!!)
I love a PR even if it is 5-10lbs or 1-2 more reps with a set weight. It keep me going and gives me drive. I'm going to take today off and do some Accessory work Friday then deload next week to get ready for the Highland Games. Right now my Erectors and Glutes are fried.
Highland Games PRs here I come. I want to set at least 5 PRs next weekend
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