March 2008 Archives

I practiced cleans today at 35 and 55 pounds. All I want to do is get faster since I saw video of my slow clean. I did a bunch of reps starting at the high hang, shrugging and dropping. Then I tried some from the floor. Scott sensibly told me I should start from the knees instead, do 50 or 60 reps that way, and try from the floor when those are really comfortable. I'm glad at least I'm starting to be able to hold my upper back in position for the shrug, and I understand what Scott means when he mentions that. Before a couple of weeks ago I couldn't feel it.

By this time it was pouring outside and I had the scooter so I decided to work on presses and deadlifts. On the press I warmed up and did five sets of 5 reps at 33 kg (80 percent of my 1-rep max). I was a little afraid that I wouldn't get through all five sets but with several minutes rest between sets it went fine.

On the deadlift I warmed up and did one set of 5 at 91 kg (also 80 percent of 1RM). Hard work but I love doing it. Afterward I rolled on the hard foam cylinder with the front of my legs (quads), then stood and stretched them as well as I could. It felt good.

By now it was snowing, and I rode home on the scooter by repeatedly wiping snow off my helmet visor. If it had been sticking to the road I would have been in trouble but it wasn't.

I've been looking at deadlift videos. A lot of them show guys lifting hundreds of pounds and saying they show "proper deadlift technique" or "how to deadlift." But they show rounded backs in the starting position and most of the way up to lockout. Is this just because these are 1-rep max lifts? Not if they can't even hold the back straight in the start position, while the bar is still on the floor. It would be easy to be misled by these guys if you were looking for good technique without having a coach. It's important to keep the back in extension, or at least "flat."

Every deadlift video I found that showed the lifter's back flat or extended from the ground up was from a CrossFitter, except on some very heavy 1-rep max lifts, but when their form isn't ideal they don't claim to be showing proper form--instead they state that they're practicing, or that if their client rounded the back like this, they would stop them. Don't deadlift with a rounded back or you'll surely give weightlifting a bad name eventually.

I've added a page containing my notes from the RKC cert I went to last June. I copied it there from its old location on my old blog. It is listed on the left under the heading "Pages."

The purpose of this event is to let women learn about barbell exercises from each other: primarily the squat, press, and deadlift. Non-gym members who are inexperienced with barbells are especially welcome.

Women who haven't used barbells: come find out why barbell exercises are so great and why you should use them.
CrossFit women with limited barbell experience: Come and ask questions. Fill in some gaps in your knowledge in a friendly female setting.
Women who use and love barbells: please come help spread the enthusiasm, help beginners, show off your heavy lifts, and trade coaching tips.

Are you using the Paleo and/or Zone eating plans while training? Bring your favorite recipes to trade.

Class size is limited to 12 people. To sign up or ask questions, email fran at fitnotes.net
Date: Saturday, April 19, 2:00 to 4:00 PM or so
Price: $30.

After practicing, we will have an unofficial CrossFit Total: three attempts at each of the three lifts. You can add weight and find out how much you can lift; or practice your form some more at a light weight; or watch and ask questions. An unofficial CFT is especially good for women who have wanted to participate in a CFT but had not figured out what weights they should attempt.

Additionally if time allows we'll look at the short video clips I'll make of people's lifts; I'll put them on CD for everyone afterward either way.

We're located right down the street from Hale's Ales, so sign up and let's plan to continue the party afterwards for people who are hungry after all that lifting.

Tom and I have been having so much fun making movie clips in the gym. He caught my PR 42-kg press (95 lbs) and 115-kg deadlift (253 lbs), also a PR, with the camera so as usual I couldn't resist posting them. The older I get the more I'm going to enjoy these--the activities AND the video documentation. Hopefully I'll be able to press 44 kg by my 44th birthday this year.

21 thrusters (weight: 65 pounds)
21 pull-ups
15 thrusters
15 pull-ups
9 thrusters
9 pull-ups
Time: 5:34

Last time (a couple of weeks ago) I did "fran" all alone in the gym and I was slower with less weight. Yesterday I was well rested and there was a noisy room full of people working out. I was really glad to be that much faster and heavier, and had no shoulder problem.

I had been unusually tired the previous two days after doing a lot of snatch practice followed by heavy squats to a new max (96 kg) on Monday. I wasn't sure that should have made me feel totally spent for two whole days, but Scott told me he experienced the same thing when he was doing more O-lifting practice.

It's in the March 2008 issue in a long feature about 50 fun ways to stay in shape. The reporter came in late January and spent a while with me to see what kettlebells were all about. Click on the inside page thumbnail to see what it says.

This issue came out about the same time I sent an email to my list of interested people to promote the second 6-week series, and it filled up within three days. Kettlebells are getting popular. Why learn them from me? I've been using them for several years, I've trained under three excellent kettlebell coaches, and I know how to keep safety in mind thanks to that and other training experience.

The current six-week class winds up this Thursday. At about session eight I started to see people's abilities really taking off! It was cool. All of a sudden the hip power in the kettlebell swing appeared. Trainees' work capacity had grown enough to power through a hard workout with few stops. The ability to stabilize the trunk and back with a weight in a lot of different positions has become solid. It's fun and rewarding to introduce people to kettlebells and the skills that they require.

I can see that people have had trouble commenting because of the registration. I have tried to turn that off, so please try again to comment using "anonymous" which should now be the only option. Thanks. Hopefully this blog won't require much more tinkering.

Last time, a year ago, I did Fran in 5:56 with 65 pounds. Today I did it in 5:57 with 55 pounds. Ever since I started having that sporadic shoulder problem (which I think of as "the twang") I'm more tentative with thrusters. No shoulder problem today but I'm always anticipating it. I'll work on thrusters and pull-ups for a couple of months and do it with 65 to see how it goes. My press is way stronger than it was a year ago for sure, but the thruster is so much more aggressive.

I practiced snatch drops and snatches today at 15 to 22 kg, working on my ability to catch it low and get out of the power-snatch trap. Then I did 11 and 15 overhead squats with 22 kg. All that was with Scott and before "Fran," which I did alone in the gym.

Tom and I had so much fun in the gym today, making videos of each other lifting weights. We have already learned a lot from seeing ourselves. I felt strong on the squat and ended up getting a new 1-rep max of 95 kg (209 pounds), which Tom got on video. I just love being able to do this stuff! And then to go home and cook some steaks. Life is good.

Nancy and I were partners for this workout. We used two 12-kg kettlebells. For 20 minutes, partners take turns: clean the two KBs; with them racked, lunge right; lunge left; jerk. How many rounds can you do in 20 minutes? Nancy and I did 51 (each).

We weren't finished. Next we had to sit on the floor with a barbell, legs out straight in front, and press the barbell overhead for one minute. Nancy and I used a women's bar (15 kg) and got 18 and 26 reps. That's really hard!

I went to the gym in the afternoon yesterday to do my O-lifting workout, which involved cleans, snatch drops, snatch pulls from blocks, and overhead squats.

Then I worked with my client WS, trying out barbell squats and presses with him for the first time. He did great considering he's older than most of my trainees have been and is still working on his squat in every sense. I use a 19-inch box as a depth gauge on his air squats and kettlebell goblet squats, so we used that for barbell back squatting as well. I got the bar as low as possible on his back, hoping to help keep him from tipping forward onto his toes as he descended. It took four sets with the 45-pound bar, but in the end he was getting down to the box on most reps. The press is easier for him because he has pretty good overhead shoulder flexibility. We didn't have time to work on his deadlift.

I stuck around for Scott's workout class because he had said we'd do some deadlifting, and I want to start working on mine since repeating my same max at the CrossFit Total last week. I worked up through six sets of five, to a broken set of five at 90 kg. Then we did a CrossFit workout that involved three rounds: run 400 meters, 50 air squats. My time was 10-minutes-something and I was tired! I was going to work out today but decided to rest. Did some light yard work instead--washing rocks for a fountain!

I've been Googling to find the name of a woman I saw on either Johnny Carson or David Letterman sometime between 1988 and 1994. She was at least 60 years old and she lifted a huge barbell and gave a huge grin. I think she did a deadlift, but all I really remember is her proud grin.

I still haven't found her, but I found this short but interesting piece on the first women's powerlifting meet.

7 pull-ups
7 thrusters (I used a 25-kg barbell)
7 burpees
7 rounds for time
12:58

This workout came from trainer Tim via some elaborate, loud videos posted over a period of several days on crossfit.com.

Rainier CrossFit hosted the CrossFit Total event. The CFT gives you three attempts at three lifts (squat, press, deadlift). Your heaviest of each are totaled, in pounds, for your score. I squatted 192, pressed 89, and deadlifted 242 for a total of 523. My old total, last August, was 496 so I was happy with yesterday's result, but I need to practice deadlifting. My deadlift had not gone up.

My squat and press were new personal records. I can now press two-thirds bodyweight overhead--rewarding, because I had specifically been working on that.

My eyes should be looking straight ahead. It sure is hard to break habits such as where your eyes are pointed.