Gymnastic strength and grappling

Man, its been a while since i updated this blog.  Sorry for that.  I started a new job recently, have been busy with things, and i guess i have not had alot of thoughts on fitness that i felt were good enough to write about.

Not to long ago i got Building the Gymnastic Body, by Christopher Sommer.  Its a book of basic gymnastic exercise progressions for the fitness enthusiast.  Its not designed to get you to the olympics, but rather to give you some new strength training tools for your toolbox.

I, like most folks i think, have always been amazed by gymnasts.  Their ability to display strength, coordination, flexibility through the multitude movements they must execute is pretty amazing.  The few former gymnasts i have grappled at BJJ class have always been amazingly strong, with insane upper body strength and a good base.  I think the body awareness and strength developed through gymnastics really carries over to grappling.

So a few weeks ago i decided to implement some gymnastics strength movements for my upper body and core strength work.  In a nutshell i am training progressions on the three main static holds in Building the Gymnastic Body.  They are planche, front lever, and back lever.  With each of those you pair one strength movement, like a chin up variation, muscle up, handstand, push up, etc.  So you do a submaximal static hold, then walk over and do your strength movement, rest a minute or so, and repeat the desired amount of sets.  I’d highly recommend getting the book and checking out www.gymnasticbodies.com for more information.  There is alot of variation possible with this type of programming, and its easy to work in core and lower body movements such as squatting, deadlifting, etc.  Perhaps when i get a back lever i will post a picture.

So i am doing that twice a week, training juijitsu at least three times a week, and fitting in a Crossfit Metcon when i can.  I am kind of experimenting how it goes trying to get my conditioning solely from grappling.

Trying to cut a bit of fat, so today is the first day of logging my food.  Its going ok, 2200 calories total, 210 gr of protein, and 36 gr carbs.  140 gr of Fat.  We’ll see how it goes.

Anton

Analysis Paralysis

One of the great things about the internet, especially in relation to health and fitness, is the wealth of information out there.  Literally anything you could want to know is probably out there, and most likely for free.  There are workout programs galore, targeting every imaginable goal and involing a wide range of equipment.  Unfortunately with this all this accessible information there comes a downside, to much reading and thinking, but not enough doing.  I know i am guilty of it myself at times.  I’ll find one program that seems effective, run with it for a few weeks, then change because i run across something else that just seems cooler or more interesting, never my body a chance to make any progress with the first program.  I could literally spend all day contemplating different programs.  Full body training, body part splits, olympic lifts, barbells, dumbells, sandbags, conditioning, etc.  Eventually i’ll find the perfect program that makes use of it all, then ill be set for life, right?  Wrong.

First off i think its neccessary to have goals.  If you don’t know where you are going then you cannot plan the best route to get there.  Then find or devise a program that meets your needs, and just do it for a few months before you reevaluate.  Give it time to work for your body and dont jump ship to the next best thing you see on the internet.

As for myself i am going to give Mike Ruthefords Max Effort Black Box a try.  I have heard alot of good things about it, and it seems to cover the strength and conditioning sprctrum i need for grappling.

Anton

The value of deadlifting

This past weekend was a good example of regular deadlifting in the gym carrying over to outside the gym.  No, i didnt have to lift a car off someone.  But i did have to help my friends with a heavy couch.  Not that i am super strong or anything, but i was easily able to just bend down and pick my end, knowing that my lower back was strong.

I would encourage everyone to learn the deadlift.  All it requires in the way of equipment is an Olympic bar and some weight, and if its new to you not even that much weight is needed.  People are always selling olympic bars and weights cheap.  The deadlift works the entire body, and will help ensure strong legs, back, and grip.  Not to mention protection against osteoperosis.

Check out the Power Lifts section of the Crossfit.com FAQ for a bunch of great instructional videos on the deadlift.

Anton

Recent Crossfit Total

This past Saturday we had a Crossfit Total event at Crossfit Portland.  The Total is your combined weight lifted in the Squat, Standing Press, and Deadlift.  I squatted 300, pressed 140, and deadlifted 360.  The squat was a ten pound PR, but i have pressed 145 and deadlifted 375 in the past.  I just didnt have it on that day i guess.  I think my preperation leading up to the Total could have been better.  I maxed my deadlift to near to the event, which was probably not a good idea.

One thing i feel i need to work on with the deadlift is speed off the floor.  My second attempt was 380, and while i could break it off the floor, i just could  not get it much towards my knees.  I think the problem was trying to slowly squeeze it up, rather than grip and rip.  The next Total is towards of March, and in between i am going to work a speed cycle for my Deads.  It will look like this:

1-24: 15 singles @ 65% (on the minute)
1-31: 12 singles @ 70% (on the minute)
2-7: 10 singles @ 75% (on the minute)
2-14: 8 singles @ 80% (on the minute)
2-21: 6 singles @ 85% (on the minute)
2-28: 4 singles @ 90% (on the 3 minute)
3-7: 2 singles @ 95% (on the 5 minute)
3-14: 10 singles @ 65% (on the minute)
3-21 Crossfit total 2

I got the cycle from a fellow crossfitter at the gym, and i think he may have got it from Westside Barbell.

We’ll see how it goes.  My lifting for the squat and press will just be basic linear progression with some backoff weeks thrown in.

Anton

More Novice Phase Wrapup

This past Friday i had Scott Hagnas do a Biosignature analysis on me.  Biosig is a method developed by strength coach Charles Polquin.  It involves a comprehensive body fat measurements at various sites on the body, which then correspond to various hormonal or dietary imbalances.  For example, i store a decent amount of fat in the sub-scapular region, which means i am not very carb tolerant. Analysis of the results can help to determine the most effecient path to ones goals.

In addition to all that my body fat was also measured.  Here is how it went down.

Beginning of Starting Strength program
160lbs 12% bodyfat
140lbs lean mass

End of Starting Strength Program
185lbs 17.5% bodyfat
153lbs lean mass

So that is 13lbs of lean body mass in two months. Not to bad for someone who is not a total rank beginner. I think alot of that was being relatively unadapted to the squat, and squatting three times a week put some muscle on my legs. I did gain 25lbs overall, so the other 12lbs was fat, probably not an ideal muscle to fat ratio for bulking. I may try it again next year eating better so as not to gain quite so much fat. Not eating buckets of doughnuts would probably help.

So now its time to get on the Paleo eating plan, drop the fat, and back into more regular juijitsu practice. The first few days are going to be hell as my body is used to all the sugar and carbs. But i won’t miss shitting three times a day, and getting more conditioning back on the mat will be nice.

Anton

End of Starting Strength Novice Phase

Well its the end of the Starting Strength Novice phase for me.  In two months i have upped my bodyweight and made good gains in strength.

Bodyweight
Start 160lbs
End 185lbs

Back Squat
Start 185 3 x 5
End 275 3 x 5

Press
Start 85 3 x 5
End 130 3 x 4-5

Deadlift
Start 225 x 5
End 290 x 5

Bench Press
Start 155 3 x 5
End 195 3 x 5

I followed the novice routine outlined in Practical Programming and added weight to each lift every workout, with a few back off periods.  My decision to move onto the intermediate phase was based on a few things, but  I mainly just missed my sport of juijitsu alot.  I was able to go a few times a week, but with all the lifting, eating,  and squatting my performance pretty much sucked on the mat.  I knew that was going to be the result of concentrating on other things, but in the end grappling is always #1 for me.  I think my strength levels are high enough not to have to worry about being overpowered at whatever weight i settle into.  Also the squats were getting heavy enough that i felt i was not completely recovering in time for the next workout.  Could i have made better progress by not grappling at all and eating even more?  Probably so.

My plan is now to put together an intermediate phase program tailored more to fit in with my grappling practice.  My initial thoughts are to have:

Day 1 Low volume/high intensity day, something like 3 x 3 on a few basic barbell lifts.  Probably rotate between squats, presses, deadlifts, bench, and chins.  This will allow me to keep my strength gains and i can still increase the weight on the bar, though slower.

Day 3  A conditioning session or a lighter lifting day.

Day 5  Focus on power and speed strength.  I would like to start Olympic lifting on this day once i get some teaching from a local coach.

I think this 3-4 days of juijitsu practice is doable, especially if i can get a strength and a grappling session in on the same day.

Overall i am very happy with how i did on the Novice Phase of Starting Strength.  While my lifts are nothing spectacular that is the most i have ever squatted before.  I’ve gained a decent amount of muscle that i can hopefully keep once i work on shedding this fat.  Hope in the next phase i work on making this strength i have gained applicaple to my grappling game, as well as continue to put more weight on the bar on a weekly basis.

Anton

Starting Strength Week 2

Well i am in the middle of week 2 of my Starting Strength program.  I started out the squat at 185, press at 85, bench at 155 (never have been a good bencher), had 12 unweighted pull ups, and deadlifted 215.  All the barbell lifts were for five repitions.  The bench and press alternate every workout, as do the deadlift and pull ups.  With the pull ups i am suppossed to do weighted ones every other pull up workout.

I’ll be squatting 210 today, pressing all of 100lbs, and shooting for at least 12 deadhang pull ups.  Last workout i deadlifted 225 for five reps, which felt good.  So far the squat feels heavy but not overly impossible.  I think part of it is mentally getting used to working up to squatting some real weight.  Double bodyweight is my eventual goal.  I feel i should have started the bench press a little more conservatively.  160 lbs on the last workout was already giving me some problems for the last few reps.  I was able to complete them, but the bar speed slowed a bit.  I’ll see how it goes.

Food wise i have been eating around 3200 cal per day, sometimes a bit more depending.  Just a note, if you have not drank milk for a few months don’t go and try to drink half a gallon of whole milk in a day.  I was not a happy camper.  I tried to drink some more milk a few days later and just felt all snotty and bloated.  So far i have been getting enough calories and protien from other sources, so i will forgo the milk for now.

I gained a few pounds right away, though its probably just water weight from all the eating.  I am going to monitor my weight over the next couple weeks before deciding if i need to up the calories.

Anton

Eating for weight gain

I’ll be kicking off Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength routine today.  I think i would function better with more muscle and less fat.  I could cut down at my present weight and probably be around 150, but i would not have any more muscle, and most of the guys in juijitsu are big enough as it is.  I would just get flung around on the mat.

I had been logging my food before for a bit but stopped due to laziness, i guess.  Today i started an account on FitDay.  Its pretty convenient, you just enter amounts of what you ate and it calculated all the nutrients.  I can see how much protein, fat, and carbs i am eating.

My plan is to simply lift hard and take in more calories then i expend, which should hopefully result in some muscle.  Starting Strength is three days a week, and ideally should be done on its own.  But i can’t bear to drop grappling, so i will have to manage the best i can and make sure i eat enough.  I am shooting for 3200 calories a day (bodyweight of 160lbs x 20) and will monitor from there.  If i gain weight to fast i will scale back, and if i am not putting anythig on i will have to up it.  I am initially trying to get all my calories from Paleo friendly sources, meat, lots of fat, nuts, veggies, and some carbs like sweet potatoes.  If adequte food intake becomes a problem then i will have to look at less acceptable sources like Burgerville (yum).

Since i started logging today and have been consciously trying to get enough food i have felt really good.   I realize now that previously in my day to day eating i was not getting nearly enough fat.  I have eaten a ton more fat today and have felt great, despite the limited carbs.

If you are interested in check out my Fitday log you can find it here.

I’ll post here at regularly people can see how this is all progressing.

Anton

Establishing a Strength Base

Physical strength is the most important quality in life – Mark Rippetoe

I have been reading Starting Strength and Practical Programmig by Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore.  What great books.  If every beginner started out with these books they would be well ahead of most of the gym going population.

I think spending a few months establishing a general strength base before moving onto conditioning movements can be a very good strategy for beginners.  Strength endurance is dependent partially on maximal strength.  High repetition push ups will be much easier with a good base of pressing strength.  The body adapts amazingly to a routine of heavy squats, presses, deadlifts, and powercleans.  They will raise strength levels and build muscle if you eat for it.  The beginner can literally add more weight to the bar at each workout.

After reaching an adequate strength level, say close to a double bodyweight deadlift and squat, and close to a bodyweight press, you could change the routine and start to add in some metabolic conditioning.  Once reached strength levels can easily be maintained with once a week heavy lifting.  With improved strength things like thrusters, high rep deadlifts, and handstand push ups will be much easier.  I think that is a faster way to success as opposed to jumping into the conditioning workouts from day one and having to modify nearly every movement.

Curious where your strength numbers are?  Check out Mark Rippetoe’s Strength Standards.
If you fall into the untrained or novice categories it might be worth going on a strength cycle for a few months.  I’ll bet you notice an improvement when add your conditioning routines back in.

Anton

Heavy lifting with Jim

Don't worry, i go down to parallel

I did some heavy (to me) lifting with my friend Jim out at his house this past weekend. We had originally planned on the doing the Crossfit Total, which is max lifts on the Squat, Deadlift, and Press. But we ended up just squatting and pressing. I was pretty beat up from a three hour grappling session the day before.

I want to improve my strength on the basic barbell lifts. I can deadlift double bodyweight, which is ok, but my squat and press are lagging. I squatted 235 on sat, and felt i had about 15 pounds in me still, but Jim wanted to hold me back for that day. My goal is 320, or double bodyweight. I think it will come fairly easily, given that i have never squatted heavy for an extend period of time.

My press topped out at 122 or so. Not much weight, we did a few sets of lockouts at my sticking point afterwards. I tend to get stuck when the bar gets to my forehead, so hopefully the lockouts and more pressing will help with that.

I am not trying to be a super weightlifter or anything. But i would like to get my strength up to at least baseline levels. I feel grappling requires more muscular endurance and explosiveness than high maximal strength, but i think devoting once a week to max strength is fine. Endurance and explosiveness can only develop so far before they are hindered by maximal strength output.

All of 122 pounds or so

Anton