Squatting Every Day

And then sometimes you have an idea.  You can't be sure if it's good or bad, so eventually you have to try it.

For two or three or four or five years, however long I've been serious enough about lifting to check up on the generally unreliable reports about what the Bulgarians are doing, I've been fascinated with the idea of squatting every day, and I knew eventually I'd try it.

I thought that I would train for the 2014 USAPL Raw Nationals in July in much the same way I've trained the last 18 or so months, after which, what the hell, I'd experiment with squatting everyday.

But then last Saturday I popped my elbow.  While it looks fine on the outside, it's still very angry, and it doesn't like to go to full extension.  I find I can do slow push ups, and I did a pull up today which I won't try to repeat soon since it made my elbow feel worse than it did Saturday.  I'm almost, but not quite, stupid enough to try any pressing.

A lot of guys, I fear, would take a couple months off here.


Earlier this week I saw an article headline which claimed men's self esteem is lowered when doors are held open for them.  I didn't read the article because I don't read articles like that, but I know I don't care about doors.  Sometimes people hold doors for me because they're genuinely great people, and as I have observed, sometimes they do so because they find me intimidating which makes me laugh.

But if I didn't train, I'm certain that my self esteem would take a bigger hit than it did in my latter teens when I happened on porn and what passes for average genitals.

So I decided to squat everyday.  By far the most reputable source I've read on this, James Steel, recommends hitting at least 70% of 1rm everyday, and going over 80% a couple times a week.  I don't know exactly where my 1rm is these days, so I don't know what 70% is, but 315 is close enough and it's easy to load.

I might improve some of my physical attributes doing this, or I might die, but I was going to do that eventually anyway.  Besides, I've been listening to a lot of what I call drug rap in training lately, and if those guys can ball until they fall, I can squat until I rot.

Thus far though, I feel great.  Obviously my lifting density is way up, but my volume and intensity are both down.   If I were to guess what happens eventually, I'd say I'll get a little bit stronger and a little bit leaner while feeling great all the time and having plenty of physical resources left over to train jiu jitsu with regularity.

And so there are some more ideas I have, but I'm not taking a couple months off anytime soon.

Well actually I've never had that idea, and I still slam doors on people who do.

BJJ Blues

Again I'm processing a loss.

Of course whenever you compete you can be adequately prepared, but you can't know whether you'll be a winner or loser.

At the urging of my younger training partners, I decided to compete in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu again after a four or five year break from competition.  I think it's a matter of integrity to walk the walk, as is commonly said, and if nothing else I set out to show that while I am aging, I am  not in any way enfeebled.

I was happy with both my physical and technical preparation going in.  I believe my guard has improved tremendously since returning to BJJ, and while my top game is rudimentary, it's serviceable. 

My team mates at Dark Horse BJJ and the guys I lift and condition with had me in good shape, and while I fought nerves for days, I was ready to return.

Waiting to warm up,

Without recounting the fight in entirety, I lost by submission to an Americana from mount.  I felt like I was in no real danger; I was carefully monitoring my shoulder which the Americana attacks, when quite unexpectedly my elbow popped and I tapped  right as the referee was moving to stop me.

My elbow.  Abraded but neither swollen nor discolored.

Obviously I'm not happy about losing.  I've been listening to music and playing one minute Internet chess which has me feeling tolerably well, and I'm not taking this loss nearly as badly as I would have in my previous competitive career.

Actually I have several things to feel good about going forward:

While I was nervous for days leading to the event, I have never been so calm on the mat.

I implemented my game plan of jumping closed guard with no problems.

I stayed active in guard. I nearly swept, I replaced guard after a near pass, and I had a good early submission attempt.  (Why oh why oh why oh why did I try a triangle when I almost certainly should have kept turning an omoplata?  I'd be writing a different blog now.)

I maintained my composure and kept fighting when the position turned against me.

I successfully defended my back and escaped a bow and arrow choke which normally is kryptonite for me.

My conditioning was superior.  Until my elbow popped, I was feeling very good while my opponent was panting.  Until the elbow gave out, I thought I would be able to escape and turn the tide.

I was fully present during the fight and was able to monitor my opponent's energy level.  I was particularly happy about this because I had been working hard on it in competition training.  (It comes in handy when you have to train with younger guys.  I work hard on feeling them wane and only then taking my shots.)



At this point my elbow doesn't feel any worse than it usually does with tendinitis, and unless it does something strange overnight I'll be training tomorrow.

I have to get serious now about the World Masters in October.

If it were entirely up to me, maybe I'd take another four years off.

But I have integrity, and it's not only about me.

God willing I'll be in Long Beach in October for my family, for my friends.

One Week

As far as I can remember, I hadn't been sick for five years.  So when I got sick last week, it sucked.

I stumbled through a couple lackluster training sessions early last week, before I was either sleeping when possible or wishing I were asleep when it was not actually possible , and before my nose was leaking first clear shit and later green shit.

So, reluctantly and under advisement from my coach I stopped training.

I still went to the gym and watched some good kids squat and dead lift.  I paid a lot of attention to the triangle formed between the thighs, back, and arms on the dead, and between the thighs, back, and the imaginary line dropped from the barbell to the foot on the squat.  Then I asked myself if any lever arms could be shorter in each lifter's triangle, made corrections, and helped the good kids be better kids.

That's the kind of shit I do, and I do that because I do it.  In other words, I do this stuff.

I started training again today, and after six days it felt great to be back.  I think that's because I do this shit, and if I didn't, I'd do something else.

And I realized some trainers don't train, and they wouldn't miss it because it's not what they do.

And that makes me sick.

Stimulus and Adaptation

Saturday night, Sunday, and until 2 pm today I've been lost in post meet reflection.  Our guys did great which made me wonder why some guys do great while some wander the labyrinth of "fitness" for years with no discernible improvement.

I wanted to show Mike how much better his ugly first double body weight squat was than mine, so I tracked down a video of mine.  I was mildly surprised to see that the video was from 2010, and while that's actually two years and a few months ago instead of three years ago, it seemed to me as though it was only some months ago.

And so I was forced to realize not that I gained 80 pounds on my squat in some months, but rather that it took me me two years and a few months.  I can of course cite as many excuses as necessary to explain what took me so long, and some of them are even quite good like the one about how I was lifting with a hernia for way too many of those months and constantly fearing that perhaps my intestines really would fall on the floor through my nut sack.

But maybe I need not defend my 80 pound gain.  It's something less than stellar, and yet it's probably in the top few percent among people who claim to train.

So I did this thing which was less than stellar and perhaps to some not even very good but which still compares favorably to so many people I know or have heard about second hand, and with my deep love for Humanity I was compelled to meditate on what so many people insist on fucking up.

At length I grew frustrated in my fruitless meditation, so I turned on facebook.

And there, on the road to Dumbassness, the scales fell from my eyes.

Most people, it became apparent, are focused on the brutality of their work outs.  This is understandable because I have noticed that posting my actual normal work loads garners nothing, while posts about prodigious volumes ending with the trainee dissolving in blood and vomit get three "likes" and two comments.

An appropriate stimulus, on the other hand, gets a desired adaptation.

And oh yes, I have been guilty of three like, two comment seeking behavior myself.  I just decided somewhere I would rather improve even if it's not a dramatic process.

Ah, and at 2 pm today?  I did a rather banal bench and press session.

It's not comment worthy.  It's merely calculated to give me an adaptation for my August meet.

I'm not stellar, but I have to improve my positioning on the Top Fifty List.

I don't know. To me being there feels better than posting about how I'm going to get there.

Colorado State Championships

Saturday, 3/2/13, I went to Denver with Barney, Mike, and Ricardo for the NASA Colorado State Championships.  I had planned on handling these three guys, but I also picked up two orphans, Ben - who trained with us last summer - who ended up pulling 622 weighing 212, and Adam who benched 303 at 181.

Mike and Ricardo had too many PRs to count, six I think, and along the way they both got their first double body weight squats.

Mike with 165 Kg.

Ricardo with 200 Kg.

They both made it look much easier than I did when I did it on the same platform three years ago.


I'm excited to be part of this small but motivated group that is working to raise the floor on what constitutes a good lift.  We're in a good position to push and pull each other, and over time we might get a few more to join.

We also have a couple women who will be in a good position to challenge state and even national records in the next few meets, and they further strengthen our collective efforts.

I was proud of Barney who failed to meet his potential this time around, but who made a credible attempt to increase his own state records.  He narrowly missed his state record squat attempt on depth even though it looks great from our camera angle.  He and I had been working over the past few weeks on the speed of his descent, and he looks much closer to a 16 year old than a 66 year old here.  Barney will be back lifting much more than this in August.

I had a fun if exhausting day sweating 33 lifts by five lifters.  Of necessity our guys will take a week off now, but the women and I will be hammering it again today or tomorrow getting ready for May when I will coach again and August when I will finally get back on the platform.

2 pm, Squat Doubles

With five months to train, my heavy day is just starting to get heavy again.  I wanted to get some video early on and see if there are any glaring holes in my form.

To anyone I've ever invited to "come back at 2 pm," this is what the work sets look like.


375 x 2

390 x 2

405 x 2

Yes, the last rep was getting heavy and there is some adult language.  I don't care.  I'm not trying to be a modern man.


And too, it's still only 98% about me.  If I didn't train, how could I expect my trainees to?

Kaitlyn breaks 200:

Sunday

Last Sunday, 2/24/13, I went with Audrey Burgio to the USA Kettlebell Lifting Bolt competition in Denver.  I went only in the role of spectator and cheerleader because Audrey doesn't need my coaching with the kettlebell.

I would have had a great time just watching, but it was even better because Audrey won her division.

After driving back to Longmont along a very slushy I-25, we decided post competition eating was in order.  We kept it paleo until dessert when Audrey decided to get a Jack Daniels whiskey cake.  After forty minutes of work with kettlebells, I figured Audrey would be okay loading some dirty carbs.  I couldn't really justify the half cake I ate, but I did it anyway.

Audrey was back in the gym working Monday, but that shit went straight to my hips.