Caffeine, Music Periodization & Jim Wendler

And so after a month off coffee, I started working 60 or 70 hours a week, cracked, and got back on coffee. The first day I had coffee at work, I felt great physically, but I was trying to read and I noticed I had to re-read each paragraph numerous times before I could make sense of it. I'm also sleeping like shit again. Caffeine kills; I'll have to go through the painful process of quitting again.

My lifting is programmed all the way to August, but I'm starting to think already about how to train from August until November, and I'm strongly considering a conjugate periodization scheme, often incorrectly known as Westside or "Darkside" training. In short form this involves a maximal effort day (ME) when the lifter works up to a heavy triple or single, and a speed or dynamic effort day (DE) when the lifter will use loads around 50-60% of 1rm with an emphasis on maximizing bar speed.

Soon, I realize, I have to write a blog about my thoughts on mental intensity while lifting. Suffice it to say I never really lift at psycho intensity, or 10 on the volume scale, even though many people think I do. In truth I range from 6 to 9.5 depending on what I'm trying to do.

Because of my need to vary mental intensity, I constantly search for the perfect mood music for lifting. Crossfit is a musical no-brainer; you put on the NYC hardcore and 1,2,3 go, but lifting often requires slower, heavier music.

So yesterday I was at work, over-caffeinated and with an Internet connected pc, so I decided to get on EliteFTS Q&A and ask the great Jim Wendler about music:

"...would it be a good idea to try a ME music day with the emphasis on
heavy shit and then a DE music day with an emphasis on speed?"
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To which Mr. Wendler replied:

James,
This is a good idea, great idea, actually.

ME Music - Burning Witch, Sleep, Buried at Sea, etc.

DE Music - Infest, Brutal Truth, Kill the Client, Maruta, etc.

I think you are onto something here. Just have to define what is ME and
what is DE.

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Lessons learned:
1) stay off the coffee
2) work is better if you can hang out on EliteFTS Q&A
3) Jim Wendler thinks I'm on to something, which is huge since he's been around long enough to see everything
4) If you don't like what I have playing on Pandora, tough shit. Not only am I maximizing your chances for success, I have made the effort to consult with world class experts on your behalf.

2011 Reebok CrossFit Games

I had waffled for months on the question of whether or not I would compete in the 2011 Games Regionals. I've become a dedicated power lifter, and all my training for months has been directed towards the Colorado Regionals, November 12th, 2011. I try to do enough CrossFit to stay within 10 or so pounds of my competition weight of 181, but I don't focus on killing the work out and becoming a better CrossFitter. True, I'm an avid indoor rower, so my conditioning can never be truly horrible, but I've found - as the experts predict - training tends to force specific adaptations; while I've become formidable at rowing 500 meters and not completely hopeless at 2,000 meters, I haven't become any better at, say, wall ball shots or thrusters.

But hey, some of our athletes are trying the games, and so I'm in. That's how we roll.

Work Out 1:
AMRAP 10
30 Double Unders / 15 Power Snatches 75 pounds

What I thought going in: fuck
My plan: grind away
My Result: 122 repetitions
What I though going out: fuck, I am really bad at double unders

Work Out 2:
AMRAP 15
9 Dead Lifts - I forgot the weight, maybe 165 or so /12 Push-Ups / 15 Box Jumps @24"


What I thought going in: fuck, but not as bad as WOD 1 fuck
My plan: set a pace and sustain it, the tortoise
My Result: 251 repetitions
What I though going out: I should probably do more CrossFit

Work Out 3:
AMRAP 5
Squat Clean & Jerk 165 pounds


What I thought going in: fuck, yeah! Power endurance is my thing, especially under 10 minutes
My plan: kill, kill, kill
My Result: 36
What I though going out: I probably do enough CrossFit

Work Out 4:
AMRAP 10
60 Face-the-Bar Burpees / 30 Overhead Squats @ 120 / 10 Muscle-Ups

What I thought going in: This is a joke, right?
My plan: Endure the burpees, finish the overhead squats with 20 seconds left, run to the rings - slowly - and flatly insist I could have done a muscle-up
My Result: 74 repetitions; I didn't finish the squats
What I though going out: I hate burpees. 120 pounds should not be a heavy overhead squat, but it was post-burpee

Work Out 5:
AMRAP 20
5 Power Cleans @145 / 10 Toes-to-Bar / 15 Wall Ball Shots 20# to 10'


What I thought going in: what the fuck? 20 minutes? I signed up for CrossFit games, not an ultra-marathon
My plan: Keep moving, under no circumstances look at the clock
My Result: 191 Repetitions
What I though going out: what the fuck? 20 minutes? No more ultra-endurance events for me


Work Out 6:
AMRAP 5
3 Thrusters @ 95# / 3 Pull-Ups
then
6/6
9/9
12/12
15/15
18/18 (You get it, right?)

What I thought going in: This should be the best one since 3, and if not it's 7 minutes and the last one, so fuck it
My Plan: kill, kill, kill
My Result: 75 repetitions
What I thought going out: that was fun in a met-conny way (I'll do this one again maybe once or twice.)


Like Olympic lifting coach Max Mormont says, nobody is competitive until they lose.

I'm doing this again next year. Top 100 should suffice; I'm a power lifter, kids.

Karl Marx didn't Train

There was a time, not so long ago really, when I would have claimed to be a Green-Socialist. Over time I learn and evolve, which can happen at a fast rate for me since I spend a vast amount of my free time at the public library reading on an array of subjects, often including economics. I've seen that capitalism is the best of all the imperfect systems, and that it might not even kill us off early if it's intelligently regulated. In sum then, if you're a Democrat, I'm a liberal, and if you're a Republican, I'm still a Socialist.

If I understand Marx and his ilk correctly, the problem is just that under Capitalism assholes are going to exploit non-assholes, and remember the environment is a non-asshole, for their own gain. Uncle Karl apparently got this idea hanging out in English textile mills, which I gather were not much different than some of the contemporary factories I have worked in that made me a young Socialist.

The thing is just this: if Uncle Karl had spent his time in the gym, or in the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy he wouldn't have bothered writing any manifestos.

Unlike in so many other environments, assholes don't thrive in the gym or the academy. In Fact, they don't even last. You might occasionally meet one, but if you stay with it a week or two, or maybe a couple months in an extreme case, he'll be gone. You can go in and be yourself without any central planning or regulation to protect you.

You, not the asshole, will thrive.

Over time your own experience will convince you I'm correct here, but this wouldn't really be a post without my personal experience, so I'll offer a couple anecdotes.

Let's just say I'm not a rich guy, and at times lately I could much better be described as poor. I had decided I could no longer afford BJJ, and after I had been gone a month the good people at Dark Horse BJJ contacted me, asked what the problem was, and provided a solution. Without going into detail, let's say I'm now creatively financed. This all happened, I'm sure, because I'm viewed in the academy as a team member and not an exploitable resource.

Now to be sure, some of my income gap, let's call it, is caused by my desire to run my own gym. I can't very well get any kind of normal job and still put in the time and effort I think my own team deserves. So, much of the time when I'm between library books, I think how nice it would be to have a high-paying, part time job with flexible hours and benefits. Unfortunately, you can't - or I should say I haven't - been able to find any such thing on any of the Internet job sites, so obviously print media isn't going to help.

I was beginning to think that perhaps there were no jobs meeting my criteria, when I was surprised to get an e-mail saying in effect, "James, send me a current resume. My company has an opening for a high-paying part time job with flexible hours and benefits."

What didn't surprise me is that the e-mail was from a young man I cut my training teeth on a few years ago. I taught him the Big Three and put him on a simple 5x5, and I guess he thought it was time to try paying me back. I'm not sure if I'll actually get the job, of course, but this is radically better than I had been doing on my own.

I do still admire the Chinese Communists who forged steel in their backyards, but I have been helped more by the steel relationships I have forged in the gym and the academy.

I leave it to you to decide how to act in the outside world, but I suggest you hit the gym or the academy and see how life is supposed to be.

Just don't be an asshole, eh?

Goals & it's Past Time to Fucking go off Here

I was happy to see that VP and MG took the initiative in putting up a goal board at TFCF, and I'm happy to watch it start filling up. There are many ways to get to where you want to go, but it's necessary to have some more or less defined idea of where exactly it is you're going. I suppose there is an anti-goal camp, and possibly that's okay for them, but I've always tried to set goals. There are many sources explaining effective goal setting, and they do a better job than I do. I'd only say make your goals meaningful to you. Maybe I'm biased, but I think the strangest looking thing on the board so far is my own goal of rowing a 1:26.4 500m. It seems arbitrary, but actually that represents a triple body weight in wattage 500 for me. I can't expect anyone to be as enamored of rowing as I am, but within our cult, the triple body weight 500 is a serious rite of passage, and it's a good example of what I think of as meaningful. Sure, if you really can't think of anything Earth shaking for you as an individual, join the pull-up club. At least you'll find new motivation to progress, and along the way maybe you'll discover another goal nearer your own heart.

Now I'd like to take some time to write on the difference between behaviors and outcomes. I didn't invent this line of thinking either, but after encountering it, it had a big impact on my thinking and my long term prospects for progress. It's simply this: rowing a 1:26.4 500 is an outcome, and in the end, I can't force a certain outcome. Focusing on outcomes can be dangerous in that if the outcome is not met, dejection sets in. I can provide my own perfect example. You'll see that my primary goal is acheiving a 200 kilo squat, and while it wasn't written publicly until a few days ago, that was also my primary goal back in July. At that time I was sure I would hit 200k by November 2010, when in reality I squatted 365 pounds, a full 10 less than I had done in July. Shit happens. I've learned that a healthier and ultimately more productive idea is to focus on behaviors. Squatting 200 k requires certain behaviors, for example I have to squat once a week, attend to my rest, eat well, and so on. These are behaviors, and in the end, I have perfect control over them. Further if I'm consistent in hitting my behavioral goals, there's a good chance I'll eventually get my desired outcomes also.

To fucking go off now, which I assure you has to be done lest I put a medicine ball through someone's head, let me start with some background without I hope giving too much detail. Basically, my personal life is chaotic, uncertain, and for those that have developed the stoicism I have had to, actually fun most of the time. Right now I'd assess my position as almost in the gutter, and yet perilously close to being successful. I never suspected that the two could be so close together. As further necessary background, let me admit that I have developed a fluid sort of morality as that seems to me to have been necessary to survive in the way I do. I can, however, unhesitatingly say I have never fucked over anyone who has earned my loyalty, and though I've regretted it more than once, one of the easiest things to do is earn my loyalty.

So the problem, it seems, is that some fuckhead is apparently threatened enough by my utter failure - wild success tightrope walking act, that he feels it necessary to start the kiddy, behind-the-back rumor mongering. Word on the street, or those streets behind my back at any rate, is that I'm shutting down my operation.

Nice try junior high.

I started doing what I do because I love it. I'm going to finish doing what I do because I still love it, and many of you have come to love it.

There is a good chance I'll downsize, but only to the extent that I'll get rid of unused capacity. I certainly won't be cutting service.

Don't believe the shit talk. You'll know when I'm quitting because it will be several months or years after I start sleeping in the gutter.

So immature shit-talker, have at it. Huff and puff and so on.

Me and mine are setting goals and exceeding them.

Progress is Like a Mustache

Apologies to the readers; I have to prioritize the BJJ blog, and I am really enjoying that one since it forces me to think about my game and how to improve it. Things I used to get bummed about and forget in two weeks, I now write down and analyze. I think I might make progress again.

On the CF/PL front, I'm between cycles, and I've been doing everything intuitively, or more precisely, fucking off. If I want to do something, I do it, if I don't want to do something, I don't do it.

Last week I wanted to see where my bench is, and I worked up to a paused 250 single with a narrow grip. This is a sort of neo-PR as it's the most I've done since I stopped benching years ago. Even better though, it's an all-time narrow grip PR. Previously my best with a narrow grip was around 215. After doing some intense wide grip work last October and November, I started to get some shoulder pain, and I thought it was time to bring the grip in and not worry about my numbers. Longevity also counts, afterall.

This week I wanted to see where my squat was. I had felt extremely good the last two weeks first hitting a 345 double, then doing a 350 single that felt ridiculously light, so I thought I'd push for a real single.

I missed 375 on depth, but I could feel it was a mental and not physical problem, so I loaded 385 and hit it without much struggle. Since this was a 10 pound PR I stopped, but probably I should have tried 405. At any rate 375 was where I was last July when I blew up my back.

I remember laying face down on the mats wondering if I would leave under my own power, and then as the weeks passed, I wondered if I'd ever squat 100, 200, or 300 pounds again.

That was also about the time I was growing the fuzzy outline of a future mustache. I just did what I was supposed to, in this case not shaving, and six or seven months later I've got a braided beuty that would make Genghis Khan jealous.

Other than that, I'm doing 30 days of ultra strict paleo eating. That's not really much of a challenege for me, so to make it meaningful, I removed nuts from my diet. I didn't waste time weighing myself, but subjectively I feel leaner already.

Finally today is my first day in about 80 years without coffee. I'm alive, sort of. I'll report on this one later.

Competition

I have long had difficulty understanding people's aversion to competition. Coaches are always asked, “when should I start competing,” and with a few minor exceptions not even worth noting, the answer to anyone who expresses interest is, “right now.” I think many people are afraid of competition or think they're not good enough. The rebuttal to anyone who isn't “good enough” is simply to point out that competition is against the person you were yesterday, no-one and nothing else. It's hard or impossible to avoid fear, but it might help to remember that life is competition, and playing a sport is actually the safest way to compete. You get to choose the time, event, location, and to a certain extent who you compete against perhaps based on age or skill level. Life isn't like that. You're happily working away, you get called into the boss's office, and it's game on. You didn't know it was coming, you didn't get to prepare, and you don't even know the rules, but suddenly you're competing for a raise or maybe even just to keep your job.

Lately I've competed in three sports. I'll briefly run down how these sports are looked at, how I look at them, and why they might matter.

Power lifting

What it looks like from the outside: a bunch of guys and a few women trying to lift as much as they can in the squat, bench press, and dead lift.

What it looks like from the inside: you versus “can't.” “Can't” comes in many forms, fear, dis-belief, unwillingness. I guarantee that at the bottom of a heavy squat, you'll meet “can't” head-on, and you'll conquer it or get smashed.

Why it matters: How many times “couldn't” you do something? What was it, public speaking, meeting a longstanding problem you were avoiding, tackling a project you put off for months? Maybe like me you've had days you “couldn't” get out of bed. Get on a platform and lift more weight than you did yesterday. Start proving to yourself that you can.


Indoor Rowing

What it looks like from the outside: men and women pulling like crazy on an indoor rowing machine, an “erg,” sometimes for a set time, sometimes for a set distance, commonly 2,000 or 500 meters.

What it looks like from the inside: you versus pain. In the 2,000 meter race pain comes like a relentless stalker. You go 800 or maybe even 1100 meters looking over your shoulder knowing the inevitable pain is coming, and it does. Then you have 900-1200 meters left to try to make friends, because pain will be there until the end. The 500 is more like running a gauntlet with a flying start. If you're good you get 200 or even 250 meters before you even get hit. Then you get hit, and get get hard. No problem, you just go like a maniac for 250-300 more meters because if you slow down at that point it just hurts worse.

Why it matters: sorry, pain is a part of life. You really want help getting on and off the toilet because your hip or knee hurts? Why not make friends with pain now? He'll be around.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

What it look like from the outside: two men or women grappling and trying to win by choking the opponent unconscious or breaking a limb.

What it looks like from the inside: you versus a real live opponent who is not only trying to stop you from doing what you want, he's trying to do something worse to you first. It can be fun if you're winning. If you're losing, prepare for a claustrophobic nightmare.

Why it matters: I don't make lemonade. Life doesn't hand out lemons, it hands out people who want to oppose you or get in your way just for the hell of it. It's good to learn early to win the fights you can with the least possible energy, and it's good to learn how to lose as you sometimes must. If you're losing, fine. Learn to lose by referee's decision, not by being choked out.




I don't have any formula for getting on the podium, as I've rarely been there. I've watched awards ceremonies from the furthest corner of the room, and I've missed some entirely when it seemed to me I had to get out of the room as soon as possible.

It's okay. The person you were yesterday wouldn't have entered the arena. You've started the winning process. If you make to the podium someday, congratulations. If you never make it, congratulations. You beat the crap out of the person you were yesterday, and that's all and everything you can possibly have any control over.

Let's Go to the Mailbag for Reader Q&A

Matt C of Atlanta, Ga. writes in today, "What happened to barbell mile? Now you're a rower? I thought the cross fit was training for the bjj? Focus!"

First thanks for reading, Matt. In the past weeks I've learned that this blog's readers include some people I really admire. I have a small but quality circulation, and I like that.

Basically nothing happened to Barbell Mile. Before the Mile High Sprints I took two de-loading weeks in a row, and now I'm repeated last month's cycle, so if I did post it would look like:

3 x 5 of something, with not a lot of weight.

The only noteworthy thing to happen lately is that I hit a PR press which is actually pretty sweet since the press is usually the last lift to come up.

I'm also working on another blog now, and in effect I get paid for doing that one, so if I am capable of writing 150 words for example, I have to give them to the guys paying me. It's not at all easy for me to write any of these, but that would be a subject for a blog on writing.

Am I rower? Yes, I think so. By far my favorite physical activity right now is trying to blow myself apart in under 90 seconds rowing a 500. Not so fun for me but even more important is trying to improve my 2000 which is pathetic judging from my 500. So yes, I'm a rower, and I'm going to row until I get it right.

In addition to being a rower, I'm a power lifter. Now it's true that you can't ride two horses with one ass, but since I row and lift at sort of a high intermediate old guy level, I'm pretty sure I can get away with training both as long as I seriously de-load one of them as I near a competition in the other. I would further guess that my seriously good 500 is a result of my pretty good back squat. In fact, my high intermediate old guy 500 blew away a few college rowers at the Sprints. I strive to take my games beyond the high intermediate old guy level, and should one of them suddenly become really good, I'd re-evaluate my training and see if I should push the good one and really go light on the other one, but right now I'm not in danger of suddenly getting extremely good at anything.

So what happened to BJJ? Well one can look at BJJ as physical training, sport, art, or self-defense. When I started BJJ, I had physical training in mind, but it soon became my sport. I was aware that some day for some reason I wouldn't compete in BJJ and at that point I'd continue training to appreciate the art. I had assumed I'd quit competing when I was 70 or so. Now I haven't given up on competing. The problem is just that if I compete as a master in a state tournament, I'm going to have to pay a bunch of money to fight a guy who is most likely from a sister school, and I won't be able to put my heart into beating him. It would make more sense to get together at one of our academies and contest maybe three out of five without paying $70. International tournaments on the other hand are a blast if my limited experience still holds. I went to the Pan-Ams two or so years ago and had a great time. I vowed I'd be back the next year in fact. Between injuries and poverty, it hasn't made sense for me to fly to one of the coasts for a big tournament. Currently I'm training jiu-jitsu at a nice relaxed speed and enjoying searching for technical proficiency while I develop it as an art.

I hope my life works out such that some year I can hit the Pan-Ams or better the World Seniors. When that becomes possible, yes, I'll use cross fit to condition. I may be a high intermediate old guy, but I can still get into ass-whuppin' condition in six weeks with crossfit, so I'm just not worried about maintaining a high state of physical preparedness for BJJ right now.

Finally your question is well-timed. I just laid out an entire 24 weeks of training today. It's largely an experiment to see if I want to put it in for some of my clients, and it's focused on pushing the power lifts, fucking destroying college rowers on the erg, and maintaining enough conditioning so that I can make good on my six weeks claim should circumstances make that necessary.

As an afterword, the other blog is about BJJ. I don't control it, but it will be made public when enough material has been amassed. Yes, I love BJJ. It just can't be my main sport right now.