20 Kipping Pullups

I managed to do 20 kipping pull ups yesterday for the first time.  Not a huge number, but its kind of a first major benchmark people try to reach.  We had to do 20 pull ups in the warm up, i got to 10 and it felt easy so i decided to go for it.  I was pretty happy.

Anton

My parents are working out

I am pretty stoked about something. My parents have been lifting weights. My dad has been emailing back and forth with me about how he is working at his bench press. I think that is pretty cool. My parents have always been pretty active with running, swimming and hiking, but have never really done much resistance training. Any activity is better than no activity, but for the past few years i have been encouraging them to lift. Maintaining and gaining muscle mass, increasing bone density, and strengthening the tendons and ligaments are all positive benefits of weight training. You read about older people who struggle to get out of chairs and I’ll be damned if thats going to happen to my parents.

Being the helpful trainer that i am i have started to design a strength routine for them. They are in Florida and i am in Oregon, so i can’t train them regularly, but at least i can start them off on the right foot when i go to visit in September.

The strength routine is nothing out of the ordinary. I am not worrying about super intense conditioning routines at the moment, we can tackle the thrusters and kipping pull ups later on. I tried to keep a couple points in mind when i wrote this program

• Emphasize full body compound movements that work multiple joints and muscle groups. Stuff like the press, squat, lunge, pull ups, body rows, bench, barbell rows, deadlifts, and push ups These provide the most bang for the buck and will carry over into everyday functional movement.

• Give them some time to adapt before upping the intensity. I decided to start with 2 sets of 10 reps for most of the exercises. It will let their joints and ligaments get used to the load, as well as promote some muscle growth. After a few weeks i would up it to 3 sets. As they continue to add weight i would look at dropping the reps and upping the intensity. Starting my parents off on a heavy 5 x 5 program would probably be a bit much

• Use ground based exercises whenever possible. Movements done standing will engage more stabilizer muscles as well as the core.

• Emphasize proper form and progression. I’d like to teach my parents how to squat and deadlift, but i know from past conversations that they are wary of these movements. I can teach them body weight squats. Unless their gym has bumper plates (rubber plates the size of a 45 that range anywhere from 10 to 25 pounds) its hard to start the deadlift the correct height from the ground at a light weight. Plus unless i was there to regularly coach them i would worry about form. I think movements like weighted lunges, stiff legged deadlifts, and bodyweight squats are good alternatives. Or who knows, perhaps they will want to deadlift.

Thats about it. Certainly nothing you can’t get from a basic bodybuilding routine. And though my parents are not trying to be bodybuilders they do want to build or maintain muscle. With all the great and different strength and conditioning programs out there you often hear that the old “3 x10-12″ is no good, but i think for the beginning trainee who goal is strength and muscle its not a bad way to start. If i could train them or they had access to a Crossfit gym i might go a different route, but i think this is fine to start. You can find my parents’ workout program down in the Resources section.  If you have any comments or criticisms about it i would love to hear.

Anton

Back On Coffee

Sorry no posts in a while. I have been pretty busy with stuff. This blog entry will kind of a multi topic update, then i will get something else out soon.

So i have been back on the coffee for about a week. Ahh sweet coffee. I just missed it to much. I guess on some level i obviously craved the caffine, but i feel i really missed the taste and smell. I have been limiting myself to regular cup or if i go out a 12oz size a day. I think that will be enough to let me enjoy it, and as long as i dont start drinking quad shots of espresso in the afternoon i should be ok.

I have discovered a new favorite breakfast item, Chicken chorizo. Its a mexican style sausage, and you can find it at Trader Joes. Other stores usually have the pork variety, which is tasty too, but the chicken version has more protein and is less fatty. An easy way to prepare it in the morning is to saute up some onions in olive oil, then cut open one end of the chorizo casing and squeeze it out into the pan. I usually use two links. Let it cook for a few then add some eggs and your veggies of choice, i like spinach, chard, broccoli, and green/red peppers. Mix this whole concoction together and when the eggs and chorizo are cooked you are done. This high protein meal combined with all the veggies should keep one full for a while. I can now eat breakfast in the morning and remain full till lunch at noon. Back when i was eating oatmeal or even eggs and veggies for breakfast i would be hungry again by ten. If some of you are looking for an easy filling breakfast give the chorizo dish a try.

I was up in Sequim, WA, this past weekend visiting family and my friend spotted what sounded like the most disgusting drink in a convenience store.

Bud Light combined with Calamto, which is apparently tomato juice and clam broth. I don’t think it can get worse than that. Take a crappy beer and combine it with something equally as bad. If anyone out there has tried one i want to hear about it!

Anton

My Eating Plan

Whoops. I was looking back over my eating log and realized i made a mistake in my math. Under the Zone Diet guidelines my daily calories should be 1500, not 2000. Oh well, chalk up a few days to extreme overeating.

I figured i would try to detail my eating plan for those that are interested. As far as the big picture goes i try to eat natural, unprocessed foods as much as possible. So for me that means no sugar, crackers, cookies, milk, bread, white rice, and most other foods that you find in the store. I try to stick to meat and eggs, veggies and some fruit, and healthy fats. All the simple carbs and sugar that make up the average american diet spike your insulin and blood sugar. Do that for a long period of time and neglect exercise and you are headed towards type II diabetes. Regular milk like you find in the store is overly processed and devoid of most nutrients. If i could get raw milk straight from a cows udder i would drink that. By sticking to protiens and healthy fats you will have more energy, as your blood sugar and insulin level won’t be surging up and down.

What i am doing is usually called “Zone-Paleo”. I figured my daily calories based on the Zone diet formula, which is a caloric restrictive diet. The idea is to get enough to support muscle mass and athletic performance but not enough to support fat. With the normal Zone diet any food source is wide open, as long as you stick to the Zone ratio of Protiens-Carbs-Fats. Zone Paleo is caloric restriction, but usually ends up lowering the carb amounts and upping the fat. That is due to the fact that fat is the main source of fuel, not carbs since they don’t get many.

My daily caloric level and carbohydrate content are still where i am experimenting. Between Brazillian Juijitsu, Crossfit, and other activities i wonder if i am getting enough calories. If i feel hungry during the day i will eat, though i try to stick with good choices. I’m not perfect though, as you’ll see by the root beer float and iced chai on my food log. Plus all the good microbrewed beer around here.

Most grappling and a large part of the Crossfit workouts are glycotic in nature. That means they rely on glycogen for energy, which comes from carbohydrates, to the best of my knowledge. Longer, less intense efforts like marathon running rely on the aerobic system, which is fueled by fat, and short, intense bursts of energy like power lifting, olympic lifting, or 100m sprinting rely on the ATP energy system. So i wonder how Paleo i can get, when i need some carbs for my activities of choice. But i know there are some Crossfit monsters out there that eat totally Paleo, and Scott Hagnas seems to perform very well on a Paleo diet. Maybe i have not just worked hard enough on switching my body over to burning fat for fuel.

Anton

Day 4 Without Coffee

So its day four without coffee. Not as bad as i thought, though i do miss the activity of going to the coffee shop and smelling that lovely aroma. I have been drinking some black tea in place of coffee to take some of the caffeine edge off, but its not nearly as satisfying.

The first day off i had intermittent headaches but thankfully we were out camping in the woods, so its not like i could run to a Starbucks. Plus we had plenty of beer, so i just drank some of that. Not being pressured to go anywhere or do anything was a nice help for those first two days. Now the real challenge will be sitting here at work bored, when what i usually do is go around the corner to the coffee shop. Perhaps i can go around the corner and get some meth instead. Haha.

Food and Workout log

Over on the Resources sidebar i have posted links to my food log, and i will have a workout log up soon. Its time to start keeping better track of that stuff, and i figured others might like to see what i do and eat on a daily basis. Maybe it will give you all some examples of what to do or not to do, depending on how bad i am cheating with the food.
Anton

Paleo Breakfast Ideas

Check out this post from Scott Hagnas at Crossfit Portland on Paleo Breakfast ideas.

Breakfast Ideas

Some great tips on cooking wholesome healthy breakfasts that will keep you going for hours. For people that are used to eating cereal, toast, or bagels breakfast is often the hardest meal to change. Eat some protein, veggies, and healthy fats. It won’t jack up your blood sugar and will keep you fuller longer. I eat four eggs and half a pound of veggies most mornings, which is alot of food.

Anton

Lower body, push, pull

I am a big fan of simple strength training routines. I have alot to do outside the gym, and my strength training can’t wipe me out for juijitsu practice. I need to get in the gym, do my lifting, and get out.

I first heard Robb Wolf talk about this series on his blog post of Art Devaney’s
. There is a link to a document where he goes into a bit more detail. He also talks about it in the Fight Prep article in the May 2007 Performance Menu Magazine. The protocol is basically this:

3×5 sets of 3×5 reps of
Lower Body movement
Pushing movement
Pulling movement

So that could be deadlift, push press, and weighted pull up. Or you could do back squats instead of deadlifts. Weighted dips could be done instead of the push press. Or bench. You could climb a rope instead of doing pull ups if you have access to one. Once you can do all the required reps for a given exercise then up the weight. This kind of progression is very effective at increasing strength levels for the basic lifts, takes very little time, and leaves you plenty of energy to play your sport. It worked well for me for the deadlift. When i first started training it 180 lbs felt heavy, then two months later i was up to double body weight at 320 lbs. It feels good to keep adding weight each session.

Since this a quick strength routine one could easily throw in a conditioning finisher. Sprints, farmers walks, sandbag carry, high rep kettlebell swings, tabata squats, burpees. Basically use whatever tools you have on hand.

Anton