After my last post, I got some questions on when someone should begin incorporating plyometrics into their training. People asked questions like, "how much do I need to squat to safely do plyometrics?" and "what age can my kid start doing them?" and "jumping makes me ridiculously sore and its affecting my workouts, why do I suck?" and "I am a female athlete and don't want to blow out my ACL's, what jumps are best for me?"
There are answers to these questions. But, just like every other time in life you have a question about something, there is a heaping pile of bullshit that must be sifted through in order to find the real answers.
First off, when I am talking about plyometrics, I am not talking about this:
Any exercise you do in your living room in front of Christmas lights with your best workout bro without a shirt on is probably not good for you.
I am talking about explosive plyometrics. Exercises that require the use of boxes, weights, and the ability to turn off the little voice in your head that keeps screaming "NO, DON'T DO THIS!!!!" Not the exercises that are used in P90X or local "sculpting" group fitness classes. These exercises do not build speed and do not build explosive strength... which is all you should care about.
Before I get to the meat and potatoes of this thing, make sure your landing mechanics don't suck:
Now that you are all nice and mobile, we can now address all of the bull-shattery that surrounds explosive plyometric training.
I am a female/youth athlete/youth athlete coach, are plyometrics safe?
First off, yes/yes/yes. A smart, well coached, and well executed periodized strength training and plyometric program is not only safe, it greatly reduces the risk of ACL injury. Here are some excerpts from a recent review of plyometric training and how it relates to injury prevention in female athletes:
"However, Mandelbaum and colleagues (2005) placed 844 female soccer players between the ages of 14 and 18 in a sports-specific training intervention that occurred prior to their soccer practice. The intervention included a variety of plyometric exercises to improve core strength and balance. The authors compared this group to 1913 females who did not complete the intervention. They found that those in the intervention group had an 88% decrease in ACL injuries during the first year of the study and 74% in the second year compared with those in the control group."
"The use of plyometrics to reduce injury rate in female sports has for the most part been positively supported in research. Pfeiffer, Shea, Roberts, Grandstrand, and Bond (2006) implemented a twenty minute, twice weekly, plyometric-based training program with female high school athletes over a two year period. The training focused on deceleration from a sprint and the mechanics of landing from a jump during their respective seasons. The rate of non contact ACL injuries was not found to differ between those that completed the plyometric training and those who did not."
Not only do plyo's help reduce injury risk, or at the very least don't increase it, plyometrics may help speed recovery from an injury and return the athlete to sporting condition faster than not using plyometrics:
"Similarly, other studies that have assessed the inclusion of plyometric training on serious injuries have found that such training reduces the incidence among female athletes in multiple sports (Hewett, Lindenfeld, Riccoene, & Noyes, 1999), and can decrease impact forces and increase hamstring torques in jumping activities (Hewett, Stroupe, Nance, & Noyes, 1996). "
Wow. A specific method of training that helps reduce the risk of hamstring injuries. Since no athlete has ever hurt their hamstring ever, I guess you can just sweep plyometrics under the rug because they are too dangerous.
Some common sense thinking for youth athletes, male and female alike:
Most youth athletes are much smaller than older athletes. This lack of mass means a lack of ground reaction forces that come into play. This is why kids can run around, sprint, jump, throw, and do many complex sporting tasks for a very long period of time without getting too beat up or worn out. Want a practical example? If you have kids that play sports or coach kids in a sport, odds are you are taking them to a million different tournaments and camps throughout the season/offseason. No one gives a second thought about the ground reactive forces that are caused by sprinting, which can be upwards of 4 to 5 times your body weight, when they sign their kids up for a 4 day straight 29 game elimination tournament then rush home to get them back in time for their practice at school.
Hopefully this helped clear some stuff up. Now go jump on stuff, it's good for you!
Solum Per Exitum. Just a hop, skip, and a jump away!
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Developing Reactive Strength To Get More Awesome At Stuff
This is one of the coolest things I have ever seen:
So is this:
Oh what the hell, this is cool too:
How does a 198lb man, Phil "Squatzilla" Harrington, achieve a squat almost four times his body weight? The primary answer is working your ass off for decades. The secondary answer is developing a ton of reactive strength.
What is Reactive Strength?
Reactive Strength is the ability to absorb force in one direction then rapidly apply force in a different direction. Using this definition, you can find practical applications of Reactive Strength in every facet of sport competition. Sprinting is one example:
Sprinting is a cycle of repeatedly falling and catching yourself. Let me make this very, very clear: there is no pushing off in a sprint. Gravity is the propelling force when running... yes, even your precious jogging. Even when you are walking, the only thing that is keeping you moving is gravity, reactive forces, and your bodies response to these forces. Think I am full of shit? Stand up right now. As tall as you can with your hips, knees, and shoulders locked completely out. Now, try to take a step forward without LEANING into it first. If a push off actually existed, you should just be able to start moving without any assistance from gravity. This is simply impossible. Even when competitive Olympic sprinters start with their feet in the blocks, there is no push off. There is only a concentric action of the hip flexor complex in order to catch the body off the blocks. Those blocks enable sprinters to begin falling before they start running. This way, they can pretty much start in the most optimal accelerating angle to develop the most speed possible in the shortest amount of time.
As you can see, the lead leg is driving out in order to make sure the sprinters don't smash all of their teeth out on the track. If a push off were necessary, or even possible, the blocks would be perpendicular to the ground. Instead, they are angles so that the sprinter can optimally catch after falling off the block.
Need more convincing? How about some science! Enter the Extensors Paradox:
Figure A:
This graph is showing the exact moment your quads stop producing force when you are running. The point at which concentric activity ceases is the moment the leg begins to travel BACK down to the ground. Once it contacts, the Ground Reactive Force is absorbed and then the quads must apply force to pull the leg back up to begin another cycle. If the quads were to somehow begin to actively push off the ground, the runner would end up with a toothless face full of dirt.
Figure 2:
Showing the reactive force being absorbed from the ground by the support leg.
Thus sprint/running speed/economy is completely governed by the runners ability to absorb and overcome reactive forces.
Jumping with a countermovent is another practical example seen in sport. Check this out:
When he is not climbing into the stands to beat up an opposing teams fans, he is actually a pretty good football player.
This is a perfect example of overcoming Reactive Forces and completely demoralizing an opponent just by sheer out-awesome-ing them. There are a lot of things in play here. The force he had to overcome to line-up on the defender after the spin, timing the jump perfect OUT OF A DEAD SPRINT, overcoming the horizontal displacement of that sprint, overcoming the landing force and accelerating to a sprint, then accelerating fast enough to out run everybody else for a good 40 yards.
I don't have anything else to say about that because it is just too awesome.
An often overlooked venue as far as development is concerned, Barbell Strength Sports require a TON (pun intended) of Reactive Strength.
Reactive Strength for Squatting
What exactly did Squatzilla do to get that 755lb un-equipped squat at 198lbs body weight? A lot of this:
Albeit, this is not a true reactive drill with the lack of countermovement, you get the idea: being explosive will get you stronger and being stronger will make you more explosive.
A more appropriate exercise example for squatting:
Hopefully, after my previous explanations, you understand why I dropped the weights on the floor. Those were 50lb dumbbells, if I remember correctly. The weights being in hand upon the landing meant I had to overcome my own body weight plus 100 extra pounds in order to jump to the higher box. Dropping the weights before take off creates an almost overspeed effect. Meaning that I still have to overcome the reactive force of landing (that is the force developed from my 280lb body weight plus the added 100lbs) and jump to the next box without the static weight of the 50lb dumbbells but against the extra reactive force that they developed. This variation is ideal for developing reactive strength for squatting because of the countermovement involved upon landing. It mimics the reversal of the weight after the eccentric phase of a heavy squat.
Other awesome variations:
This was my first time trying this exercise so there are a few problems with it. My contact time with the ground is too long (mostly because that bar weighs 75lbs) and my landing mechanics are really, really bad. My toes are turned out too far and this is causing my arches to collapse and my knees to cave in. Land these with your feet flat and toes forward. This is an excellent variation just because the second jump is forced from a position that almost exactly mimics the bottom or 'out of the hole' portion of a squat... again, assuming your landing mechanics don't suck.
Same thing but with dumbbells:
With a different displacement:
This one involved a broad jump. The horizontal displacement of the forward jump makes the vertical displacement of the box jump much more difficult.
There are about a billion other variations for squatting. Just get creative. The formula is simple:
Jump, land with a countermovement, jump. Keep track of height and weight records. Constantly varying up the exercises and working with increasing weights and heights will.
How Do I Implement Reactive Strength Exercises?
These drills require you to be pretty fresh in order to perform them optimally. With that in mind, you can just add them into your workouts, right after a thorough warm-up and before you being your main work for the day. The most common complaint I get about this recommendation is "Won't these make me too tired for the rest of my workout?" Yes... if you are ridiculously out of shape. If this is the case, I strongly recommend adding in Reactive Strength exercises to get in better shape.
Don't be an idiot. Warm-up, work up to reasonable weights and box heights, don't miss a box and kill yourself, and ease into training this way. Master the basics first. Make sure you can perfectly perform a body weight kneeling jump before you try to do one with a barbell on your back. Make sure you can jump to a given box height before you try to depth jump to it with a 75lb weight west on.
These do not have to be high volume to be effective. They just have to be high intensity. Start off with, after a warm-up, three tough Reactive Strength exercises. After a few weeks, work up to 6 tough jumps then establish a max on the exercise. I wouldn't recommend doing more than 12 total jumps, after a warm-up, especially if you are squatting or deadlifting heavy that day.
Jumping and explosive strength exercises for deadlifting are a little trickier because a deadlift does not have an eccentric portion... making reactive forces basically non-existent in the lift. I will write up a separate post on "Jumpin' on Stuff for Pullin' More Stuff" soon.
Good luck. And again, don't miss the box and kill yourself.
Solum Per Exitum... unless you can jump over it.
So is this:
Oh what the hell, this is cool too:
How does a 198lb man, Phil "Squatzilla" Harrington, achieve a squat almost four times his body weight? The primary answer is working your ass off for decades. The secondary answer is developing a ton of reactive strength.
What is Reactive Strength?
Reactive Strength is the ability to absorb force in one direction then rapidly apply force in a different direction. Using this definition, you can find practical applications of Reactive Strength in every facet of sport competition. Sprinting is one example:
Sprinting is a cycle of repeatedly falling and catching yourself. Let me make this very, very clear: there is no pushing off in a sprint. Gravity is the propelling force when running... yes, even your precious jogging. Even when you are walking, the only thing that is keeping you moving is gravity, reactive forces, and your bodies response to these forces. Think I am full of shit? Stand up right now. As tall as you can with your hips, knees, and shoulders locked completely out. Now, try to take a step forward without LEANING into it first. If a push off actually existed, you should just be able to start moving without any assistance from gravity. This is simply impossible. Even when competitive Olympic sprinters start with their feet in the blocks, there is no push off. There is only a concentric action of the hip flexor complex in order to catch the body off the blocks. Those blocks enable sprinters to begin falling before they start running. This way, they can pretty much start in the most optimal accelerating angle to develop the most speed possible in the shortest amount of time.
As you can see, the lead leg is driving out in order to make sure the sprinters don't smash all of their teeth out on the track. If a push off were necessary, or even possible, the blocks would be perpendicular to the ground. Instead, they are angles so that the sprinter can optimally catch after falling off the block.Need more convincing? How about some science! Enter the Extensors Paradox:
Figure A:
This graph is showing the exact moment your quads stop producing force when you are running. The point at which concentric activity ceases is the moment the leg begins to travel BACK down to the ground. Once it contacts, the Ground Reactive Force is absorbed and then the quads must apply force to pull the leg back up to begin another cycle. If the quads were to somehow begin to actively push off the ground, the runner would end up with a toothless face full of dirt.Figure 2:
Showing the reactive force being absorbed from the ground by the support leg.Thus sprint/running speed/economy is completely governed by the runners ability to absorb and overcome reactive forces.
Jumping with a countermovent is another practical example seen in sport. Check this out:
When he is not climbing into the stands to beat up an opposing teams fans, he is actually a pretty good football player.
This is a perfect example of overcoming Reactive Forces and completely demoralizing an opponent just by sheer out-awesome-ing them. There are a lot of things in play here. The force he had to overcome to line-up on the defender after the spin, timing the jump perfect OUT OF A DEAD SPRINT, overcoming the horizontal displacement of that sprint, overcoming the landing force and accelerating to a sprint, then accelerating fast enough to out run everybody else for a good 40 yards.
I don't have anything else to say about that because it is just too awesome.
An often overlooked venue as far as development is concerned, Barbell Strength Sports require a TON (pun intended) of Reactive Strength.
Reactive Strength for Squatting
What exactly did Squatzilla do to get that 755lb un-equipped squat at 198lbs body weight? A lot of this:
Albeit, this is not a true reactive drill with the lack of countermovement, you get the idea: being explosive will get you stronger and being stronger will make you more explosive.
A more appropriate exercise example for squatting:
Hopefully, after my previous explanations, you understand why I dropped the weights on the floor. Those were 50lb dumbbells, if I remember correctly. The weights being in hand upon the landing meant I had to overcome my own body weight plus 100 extra pounds in order to jump to the higher box. Dropping the weights before take off creates an almost overspeed effect. Meaning that I still have to overcome the reactive force of landing (that is the force developed from my 280lb body weight plus the added 100lbs) and jump to the next box without the static weight of the 50lb dumbbells but against the extra reactive force that they developed. This variation is ideal for developing reactive strength for squatting because of the countermovement involved upon landing. It mimics the reversal of the weight after the eccentric phase of a heavy squat.
Other awesome variations:
This was my first time trying this exercise so there are a few problems with it. My contact time with the ground is too long (mostly because that bar weighs 75lbs) and my landing mechanics are really, really bad. My toes are turned out too far and this is causing my arches to collapse and my knees to cave in. Land these with your feet flat and toes forward. This is an excellent variation just because the second jump is forced from a position that almost exactly mimics the bottom or 'out of the hole' portion of a squat... again, assuming your landing mechanics don't suck.
Same thing but with dumbbells:
With a different displacement:
This one involved a broad jump. The horizontal displacement of the forward jump makes the vertical displacement of the box jump much more difficult.
There are about a billion other variations for squatting. Just get creative. The formula is simple:
Jump, land with a countermovement, jump. Keep track of height and weight records. Constantly varying up the exercises and working with increasing weights and heights will.
How Do I Implement Reactive Strength Exercises?
These drills require you to be pretty fresh in order to perform them optimally. With that in mind, you can just add them into your workouts, right after a thorough warm-up and before you being your main work for the day. The most common complaint I get about this recommendation is "Won't these make me too tired for the rest of my workout?" Yes... if you are ridiculously out of shape. If this is the case, I strongly recommend adding in Reactive Strength exercises to get in better shape.
Don't be an idiot. Warm-up, work up to reasonable weights and box heights, don't miss a box and kill yourself, and ease into training this way. Master the basics first. Make sure you can perfectly perform a body weight kneeling jump before you try to do one with a barbell on your back. Make sure you can jump to a given box height before you try to depth jump to it with a 75lb weight west on.
These do not have to be high volume to be effective. They just have to be high intensity. Start off with, after a warm-up, three tough Reactive Strength exercises. After a few weeks, work up to 6 tough jumps then establish a max on the exercise. I wouldn't recommend doing more than 12 total jumps, after a warm-up, especially if you are squatting or deadlifting heavy that day.
Jumping and explosive strength exercises for deadlifting are a little trickier because a deadlift does not have an eccentric portion... making reactive forces basically non-existent in the lift. I will write up a separate post on "Jumpin' on Stuff for Pullin' More Stuff" soon.
Good luck. And again, don't miss the box and kill yourself.
Solum Per Exitum... unless you can jump over it.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Supplements That Don't Suck: Pre-Workout's That Won't Make You Have a Heart Attack: Part 1: Jak3d Is Stupid.
There is a pretty big difference between real-life and training-life. For example, real-life problems are rarely solved with bench pressing...
... unless you are in a situation where you are trapped, holding a bed of nails under another guy who is bench pressing a telephone pole. If this is a common scenario in your life, I want to start hanging out with you.
Real-life is stressful, mind numbing, unsatisfying, and can seriously drag you down when needing to go full-blown Incredible Hulk in the weight room or on the field. If when it comes time to train for the day and you are dragging ass because your life is miserable, odds are, training will not be optimal that day. This leaves you with two options:
1. Burn all forms of identification, get expensive plastic surgery, and start a new life somewhere else (because you failed at the one you are living now).
or, and more practically,
2. Get a quality pre-workout supplement.
Here is a little disclaimer: I have no ties to any supplement companies... probably because I am outwardly loud spoken about how 99% of the stuff is bullshit anyway. Also, I would never recommend anything that I wouldn't take myself. Which, as you are about to find out, the list of things that I consider worth taking is not very long. Time to start up the Bullshit Detector:
Jak3d... and Pretty Much Everything Else With DMAA
This is really going to piss off every meathead on Earth because you can't walk into any gym in America without seeing at least one jerk-ass chugging this stuff out of a shaker cup. Even though the 'hardcore' looking label spouts all of the University baked research to prove Jak3d is the bees knees, the main active ingredient, 1,3-dimethylamylamine(DMAA), leaves me with some questions.
Question#1: What does DMAA do?
Study: https://physsportsmed.org/doi/10.3810/psm.2011.09.1927
Basically, DMAA raises your rate pressure product(a way to measure stress on the heart, i.e. higher=dying) and blood pressure... two things that can be accomplished, sans laboratory grown amphetamines, by doing a 10 minute warm-up. The thing that interests me about this study is the conclusion:
"Conclusion: We report for the first time that acute ingestion of 1,3-dimethylamylamine alone and in combination with caffeine results in an increase in SBP, DBP, and RPP without an increase in HR. The largest increase is observed at 60 minutes post-ingestion of C + G 75 mg. These changes cannot be explained by circulating plasma norepinephrine and epinephrene."
This tells me that the laboratory scientists that do research and conduct studies for a living, HAVE NO IDEA WHAT DMAA DOES. All they concluded was taking DMAA put more stress on your heart by completely avoiding the normal mechanisms that cause stress on your heart. This is absolutely terrifying to me. I compare it to sitting down and looking at the most delicious cheeseburger ever created and it was made just for me. Then all of a sudden, the burger disappears and I get the shitty, post-gigantic cheeseburger, can't move or breathe normally for a few hours feeling without even getting to enjoy a single bite.
Question#2: But, I'm a dumbass meathead and don't care about my health, will DMAA help me perform better?
No, dumbass:
Study: http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/jcr.2011.0019
Question#3: Will it cause me to fail a drug test?
Although DMAA is not a World Anti-Doping Agency banned substance, it will show up positive for amphetamines:
Study: http://jat.oxfordjournals.org/content/35/3/183.short
Question#4: But, everybody I know is taking it. How can it not work?
Well, either everyone you know is stupid or they are secretly going to underground raves and dance clubs all night.
Study: http://journal.nzma.org.nz/journal/123-1327/4480/
Yes, that says DMAA is a common 'party-pill'... this pretty much explains that stupid Techno Viking video, I guess:
Just down some Jak3d, it will make all 10 hours of that video go by much faster.
Question#5: I just had my first Cardiac Event from Jak3d. What do I do now?
Go here and join the ever growing list of other people Jak3d and DMAA is killing:
http://www.resource4thepeople.com/defectivedrugs/jack3d-lawsuit.html
Hated on Jak3d a little longer than I planned. Part 2 will cover things that will actually help, not just shit talking on what won't.
Solum Per Exitum.
... unless you are in a situation where you are trapped, holding a bed of nails under another guy who is bench pressing a telephone pole. If this is a common scenario in your life, I want to start hanging out with you.Real-life is stressful, mind numbing, unsatisfying, and can seriously drag you down when needing to go full-blown Incredible Hulk in the weight room or on the field. If when it comes time to train for the day and you are dragging ass because your life is miserable, odds are, training will not be optimal that day. This leaves you with two options:
1. Burn all forms of identification, get expensive plastic surgery, and start a new life somewhere else (because you failed at the one you are living now).
or, and more practically,
2. Get a quality pre-workout supplement.
Here is a little disclaimer: I have no ties to any supplement companies... probably because I am outwardly loud spoken about how 99% of the stuff is bullshit anyway. Also, I would never recommend anything that I wouldn't take myself. Which, as you are about to find out, the list of things that I consider worth taking is not very long. Time to start up the Bullshit Detector:
Jak3d... and Pretty Much Everything Else With DMAA
This is really going to piss off every meathead on Earth because you can't walk into any gym in America without seeing at least one jerk-ass chugging this stuff out of a shaker cup. Even though the 'hardcore' looking label spouts all of the University baked research to prove Jak3d is the bees knees, the main active ingredient, 1,3-dimethylamylamine(DMAA), leaves me with some questions.
Question#1: What does DMAA do?
Study: https://physsportsmed.org/doi/10.3810/psm.2011.09.1927
Basically, DMAA raises your rate pressure product(a way to measure stress on the heart, i.e. higher=dying) and blood pressure... two things that can be accomplished, sans laboratory grown amphetamines, by doing a 10 minute warm-up. The thing that interests me about this study is the conclusion:
"Conclusion: We report for the first time that acute ingestion of 1,3-dimethylamylamine alone and in combination with caffeine results in an increase in SBP, DBP, and RPP without an increase in HR. The largest increase is observed at 60 minutes post-ingestion of C + G 75 mg. These changes cannot be explained by circulating plasma norepinephrine and epinephrene."
This tells me that the laboratory scientists that do research and conduct studies for a living, HAVE NO IDEA WHAT DMAA DOES. All they concluded was taking DMAA put more stress on your heart by completely avoiding the normal mechanisms that cause stress on your heart. This is absolutely terrifying to me. I compare it to sitting down and looking at the most delicious cheeseburger ever created and it was made just for me. Then all of a sudden, the burger disappears and I get the shitty, post-gigantic cheeseburger, can't move or breathe normally for a few hours feeling without even getting to enjoy a single bite.
Question#2: But, I'm a dumbass meathead and don't care about my health, will DMAA help me perform better?
No, dumbass:
Study: http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/jcr.2011.0019
Question#3: Will it cause me to fail a drug test?
Although DMAA is not a World Anti-Doping Agency banned substance, it will show up positive for amphetamines:
Study: http://jat.oxfordjournals.org/content/35/3/183.short
Question#4: But, everybody I know is taking it. How can it not work?
Well, either everyone you know is stupid or they are secretly going to underground raves and dance clubs all night.
Study: http://journal.nzma.org.nz/journal/123-1327/4480/
Yes, that says DMAA is a common 'party-pill'... this pretty much explains that stupid Techno Viking video, I guess:
Just down some Jak3d, it will make all 10 hours of that video go by much faster.
Question#5: I just had my first Cardiac Event from Jak3d. What do I do now?
Go here and join the ever growing list of other people Jak3d and DMAA is killing:
http://www.resource4thepeople.com/defectivedrugs/jack3d-lawsuit.html
Hated on Jak3d a little longer than I planned. Part 2 will cover things that will actually help, not just shit talking on what won't.
Solum Per Exitum.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Bench Press Technique- Upper Back Bad-Assery
Made a video on how to arch your upper back and where your pressure should be distributed under a heavy bar. Suck it, gravity:
Solum Per Exitum... might as well bench your way out.
Solum Per Exitum... might as well bench your way out.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Breaking News: Strong Triceps Are IN This Summer... So, Bench More Right Now.
Quick post about an awesome exercise. Here is the video:
Yes, the bar is touching my throat with every rep. This is kinda like a JM Press just with and extended ROM and increased chance of death. Death is a small price to pay for a huge bench press.
Sorry for my fat face.
Solum Per Exitum.
Yes, the bar is touching my throat with every rep. This is kinda like a JM Press just with and extended ROM and increased chance of death. Death is a small price to pay for a huge bench press.
Sorry for my fat face.
Solum Per Exitum.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
The Only WOD That Matters...
Want to tone those upper body muscles? Want swole, ripplin' biceps with elevator cable sized veins to show off to yourself in the mirror at the gym/in your shirtless cell phone facebook profile picture... that you update every 5 minutes? Want those sexy, toothpick thin arms you see all you favorite celebrities sporting because the adaptation of their gag reflex has caused them to have to jam their entire arm down their throat in order to stimulate the release of the hand full of celery and fat free peanut butter they gorged themselves on? You would certainly need too after you go one calorie over your three calorie a week diet.
Well, this workout does none of these things. Don't worry though, your inability to move your arms up to your mouth will not impede the possibility of puking your guts out...
... especially if your guts are made of 5/8inch galvanized chain.
I affectionately call this the Murder Log:
Using a Strongman Log- Load the bar with 187lbs (or close to it) for Men, 100lbs for Women and do 30 Clean and Presses in the fastest time possible.
Then go immediately to:
Dumbbell Benching- Pick a weight and bench it for 10 minutes straight.
Multiply the time it took to complete 30 reps by the weight you used for benching.
Multiply that number by 150. The product equals the number of calories you now have to eat (within an hour of finishing the workout) in order to not die in your sleep the evening after completing the two exercises.
For example, here are my numbers:
8 minutes and 45 seconds for the log (8.45) x 30lbs for the benching (30) x 150 = a 16inch meat lovers Stromboli and a gallon of gatorade... then the remaining 30,000 calories were from whole sticks of butter and baconators.
Disclaimer: If you make it through the workout, then you are awesome. If by some freak genetic anomaly you are able to eat the amount of resulting calories from the above equation, then you are my hero.
Solum Per Exitum.
Well, this workout does none of these things. Don't worry though, your inability to move your arms up to your mouth will not impede the possibility of puking your guts out...
... especially if your guts are made of 5/8inch galvanized chain.I affectionately call this the Murder Log:
Using a Strongman Log- Load the bar with 187lbs (or close to it) for Men, 100lbs for Women and do 30 Clean and Presses in the fastest time possible.
Then go immediately to:
Dumbbell Benching- Pick a weight and bench it for 10 minutes straight.
Multiply the time it took to complete 30 reps by the weight you used for benching.
Multiply that number by 150. The product equals the number of calories you now have to eat (within an hour of finishing the workout) in order to not die in your sleep the evening after completing the two exercises.
For example, here are my numbers:
8 minutes and 45 seconds for the log (8.45) x 30lbs for the benching (30) x 150 = a 16inch meat lovers Stromboli and a gallon of gatorade... then the remaining 30,000 calories were from whole sticks of butter and baconators.
Disclaimer: If you make it through the workout, then you are awesome. If by some freak genetic anomaly you are able to eat the amount of resulting calories from the above equation, then you are my hero.
Solum Per Exitum.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Research That Doesn't Suck: Heavy Weight is Bad for Your Back
... Only if you think having a weak/hurt back is good for you. A recent study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research looked at two elite level, female powerlifters in order to determine if their bone mineral density levels were higher than that of the rest of the awful, weak, piss poor excuse for a human being population. Both women have more than 30 years of competitive powerlifting experience, are lifetime drug free athletes, and are apparently two of the most bad ass middle aged women on the planet.
Lumbar spine, femoral, and various other hip measurements were taken and compared to previously established norms
The first women, 48 years old, showed bone mineral significantly higher than the average for both men and women at her age. The second women, 54 years old, registered the highest bone mineral density ever recorded for a female regardless of age.
Why are their bones so much stronger than the porous little toothpicks keeping your body upright? The answer is an awesome principle called Wolffs Law. This states that any force that causes a bone to go under tension or bend, like when you are underneath world record squats all the time, osteoblasts (cells that are responsible for new bone formation) are stimulated and new bone grows in order to adapt.
Let me recap: these two women have been lifting heavy weights and winning trophies for the majority of their lives. Osteoporosis and lower back problems are a non-issue if your bones are thicker than Redwoods.
For all of you research nerds out there saying how this doesn't mean anything because it is only a Case Study and only involved two subjects, stop being such a butt-head. Somewhere out there, a 54 year old women will kick your ass for questioning these findings.
Stop screwing around. Go lift something heavy. Your bones are begging for it.
Solum Per Exitum... and it's easier when your bones are break-proof.
Lumbar spine, femoral, and various other hip measurements were taken and compared to previously established norms
The first women, 48 years old, showed bone mineral significantly higher than the average for both men and women at her age. The second women, 54 years old, registered the highest bone mineral density ever recorded for a female regardless of age.
Why are their bones so much stronger than the porous little toothpicks keeping your body upright? The answer is an awesome principle called Wolffs Law. This states that any force that causes a bone to go under tension or bend, like when you are underneath world record squats all the time, osteoblasts (cells that are responsible for new bone formation) are stimulated and new bone grows in order to adapt.
Let me recap: these two women have been lifting heavy weights and winning trophies for the majority of their lives. Osteoporosis and lower back problems are a non-issue if your bones are thicker than Redwoods.
For all of you research nerds out there saying how this doesn't mean anything because it is only a Case Study and only involved two subjects, stop being such a butt-head. Somewhere out there, a 54 year old women will kick your ass for questioning these findings.
Stop screwing around. Go lift something heavy. Your bones are begging for it.
Solum Per Exitum... and it's easier when your bones are break-proof.
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