Posts Tagged ‘Little Bit’
Snatches, Ring Dips, and Rope Climbs
My all time favorite lifts are the squat, deadlift, pullup, and pushup. You know, the basics. I’m all about the K.I.S.S. principle when training. There’s really no need to complicate things. I think with all the fancy equipment and hundreds of TV training gurus out there today, people tend to over think their training. It’s not that complicated.
Believe me!
Just think for a minute. What did people used to do before globo gyms, celebrity trainers, and the internet? Take a few minutes and google some of the old time strongmen. Those guys were incredibly strong and unbelievably well conditioned. They didn’t do anything fancy. They lifted heavy, sprinted, jumped, and ate clean.
I mentioned some of my favorite movements above but I’ve been expanding my horizons lately, trying to get better at things the give me a little bit of trouble.
Take a look at some of my new favorites!
Know how to finish!
It’s taken a while but I’m back!
I hope your new year has gotten off to a rockin’ start.
One of the biggest keys in winning in sports is knowing how to finish. You hear coaches and players talking about being their best at the end of games, either coming from behind to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat or holding off a furious attempt by an opponent and bringing home a big win.
Well, the same can be applied to your training. Do you finish an awesome session wanting more or in a heap of sweat and snot on the floor? Which way is best?
To be honest with you, for me, it’s a little bit of both. Jason Ferruggia talked a lot about how you finish a training session in a series of three posts that really kicked arse. If you haven’t read these yet, you have to take a look at these three articles, It Ain’t Strength Training Unless…, Conditioning Confusion Part I and II.
It really depends on your goals. If you want to get stronger you have to lift, eat, and recover. Not every session needs to be failure leaving your eyes popping out of their sockets. Nor does it need to be a conditioning fest. Conversely if your main goal is getting lean then chances are you won’t be able to make huge strength gains.
It’s all about prioritizing your goals.
For example, my biggest goal right now is strength. I hit 3 lifts per week, hit some hill sprints a couple times per week and include a couple of finishers at the end of my lifting days to stay lean.
Speaking of finishers- here is a quick one I hit after an upper body lift full of heavy presses, rows, and tons of bodyweight training.
My kettlebell technique isn’t the greatest yet, I know, but I’m practicing and determined to perfect this awesome training tool.
How do you like to finish a session?
Drop a comment and share your favorites.
I Failed!
Friday was a rough day in the gym!
After deadlifts I walked over to my newly hung climbing ropes to hit some hand over hand climbs.
It was an epic fail. Well, at least in my opinion it was. It wasn’t like I wasn’t able to get up the rope it just wasn’t up to my standards. Going up wasn’t a problem but lowering myself was. My grip was a wreck!
The old me would have been pissed off and in a bad mood the rest of the day. But the new me uses failures like this as motivation. I need to get my grip stronger. I need to do more bodyweight work. I won’t let the ropes kick my ass again.
I’ve said it before, I am no longer afraid to fail whether it be in training or in my business. If someone says no I won’t let it get me down or take it personally. It will just be time to move on to the next group.
If I miss a lift, I’ll come back more determined to kick a** than ever before!
I have failed a lot over the last 14 months. However, I’ve learned a little bit about myself with each failure which will no doubt lead to my success in the future.
Don’t be afraid to fail. You have to “GFGI” if you want it!
Below are some of my favorite quotes about success and failure that have helped me change my mindset.
“The great barrier to success is the fear of failure.”
“There are no failures, just experiences and your reactions to them.”
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.”
Upper Body Training and Deadlift Madness!
I have two quick training updates for you today.
My lifts are getting stronger albeit, little by little. Hey progress is progress right?
I’ve identified two weaknesses as my strength increases. First, I need more drive off the chest on the bench. I tend to get a little stuck at the beginning and it costs me during the course of a set.
Second, as my deadlift increases, I’ve noticed my grip fails before anything else. Now this can be cause by one of two factors. Deadlifts are my last big lift of the weak and I’ve already attacked my grip with tons or pullups and other movements or my grip just sucks!
I tend to think it’s not one over the other but rather a little bit of both. I’m sure as hell not going to go easy on the pullups and such so I’ll be adding in some extra grip work.
Being able to identify your weaknesses during the course of a training cycle is paramount to continued progress. You must constantly assess yourself!
Get Stronger Wk 6 – Day 3
1 – Hang Snatch + Squat + Back Thruster 5×5
2 – Bench Press 5×8,8,6,6,5
3a – Mixed Grip Pullups w/ Towel 5xsubmax
3b – Pushups 5xsubmax
Get Stronger Wk 6 – Day 4
1 – Deadlift 7×10,8,6,6,4,3,3
2 – DB Reverse Lunges 5×20
Five Rds for Time
3a – Burpees x10
3b – SB Shoulder x3(L/R)
3c – Sledge Hammer Swings x10 (L/R)
This was a great finisher to the week!
I’ve started keeping my lower body days short, sweet, and intense since on the other training days I’m getting some kind of squat or hill sprint during a session.
That’s right I’m hitting my lower body roughly 5 days per week. A little unconventional I know but my recovery is theret and my strength continues to go up.
Sometimes you have to forget the conventional rules and take a different path.
Barbell Complexes and Deload Training
Ahh….
Time to deload this week. As I mentioned in my last post, don’t be afraid of the deload.
I talked about being pretty busted up from the last session of last week. I still am a little bit. It must have been a good one, huh?
All that let me know was this was the right time to deload.
Today I hit some barbell complexes and mobility work to aid in recovery. Check out the complex below.
Get Strong(er) Wk 4 – Deload #1
Barbell Complex – 4rds
1 – Snatch Grip Deadlift – 5
2 – Hang Snatch – 5
3 – Hang Clean – 5
4 – Front Squat – 5
5 – Military Press – 5
6 – Back Squat – 5
7 – Back Thruster – 5
This one was a beast! I pushed the pace and hit 4 rds before my grip totally gave out on me.
Time to work on the grip strength!
Here’s a little training music to get your week started off the right way!
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